{ pretty, happy, funny, real } on wednesday

Our morning started off with Art. Not the school kind of Art. But Art nonetheless. I cannot keep plain white paper or colored pencils in this house. Nor scotch tape. I suppose I'm happy that my children are so crafty. Because I'm not, and it frustrates me. Craft and draw and cut and paste away kids!



{ real }

Zach still takes a morning nap. And I was extremely happy to see him wake up in a good mood. He usually is NOT a happy-waker-upper. But he was sweet and smiley and playful this morning. I do believe all three of his teethers have popped through, which is a major relief to both of us.



{ happy }

When we went outside this afternoon, I did actually take my Outdoor Hour Challenge October Newsletter with me to try and plan some Nature Study. But it just confused me. So I decided to just pick a Seasons Tree for us (mind you, it's not really OUR tree ... it's a tree on an empty lot on the corner of our street. but you can see if from our deck. and it's just a hop, skip, and a jump away from our yard. so I've declared it our Seasons Tree). We will watch it closely as it changes over the seasons, and share what we learn with all of you.



{ pretty }

The boys also went Bug Hunting. They found grass hoppers, a bunch of roly poly bugs (their favorite), and a crazy looking spider that I made them release ASAP. Connor acted like I was insane for worrying that they would get hurt, and informed me (the arachnophobic mother) that it was just a grass spider because of the yellow and black stripes. Um, okay. Go let it free anyway. Thank you.

When we all sat down for dinner this evening, Wesley had snuck his grass hopper in (thank heavens it wasn't the spider), and was trying to hide it in his lap. The girls flipped out, but I made a bargain with him ... so Hopper is out on the deck until morning.

Judah quickly got bored with all the Bug Hunting, and decided to spend some time with our kitten, Mittens. He LOVES Mittens. Mittens tolerates him. She's actually very good with him. We lucked out with two good doggish-cats.

Judah shared his Kitty Nature Study time with Zach and Korinne, but Zach also quickly got bored and decided he wanted down. He's an expert down-the-lap slider.




{ funny }

 We then ended our day in much the same way we started. With books (The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree, Freight Train, I Hear, I See, I Touch, Titch, Good Night, Gorilla, and Ten, Nine, Eight ... we highly recommend them all!) and Art.

 :: happy wednesday! ::

:: on a tuesday afternoon

We got a very, very late start today. As in we completely skipped Morning Meeting. Which, if you're a mom of preschoolers, you just know that's asking for trouble. The littles always get to 'do school' first. Always. But not today. So, we skipped Morning Meeting, and went straight into Astronomy and American History. We notebooked about the Sun and made our cover pages and notebook pages for part one of American History: History? Why? (which is why I was so quick to come up with some pretty great quotes on why History is important on Facebook today. they were right in the lesson. you're welcome Dad and Mike) We talked about the theme of our American History series, "I believe the United States of America is the most remarkable nation that has ever existed. No other nation, in the history of the world, has ever provided so much freedom, so much justice, and so much opportunity to so many people." Good theme. I'm happy, happy, happy with our History. Very happy.

Wesley refused to nap today. Wesley refuses to nap every day. So, instead we played Sorry. I have no idea how to play Sorry. But Wesley assured me he did. "You draw a card Mom, and move your piece the number on your card." Oh. Works for me. We'll just call it Sorry Math. While Wesley and I played Sorry Math, Zach played Catch the Milk Jug. Then my mom called and chatted with us for a while.

By the time I got off the phone with my mom, everyone else was up from naps and we headed outside for some Nature Study. Not really. But Benjamin and Judah were studying a tree pretty hard. We really did go outside to play Football, though. Because my sons are obsessed with Football. And bacon.

I got some really neat shots of Zach and Judah on the deck. But not of Korinne. Isn't her braid cute? My girls make me smile. Even though they won't let me take their pictures anymore.

At the end of the day, I was so tired from skipping Morning Meeting and faking Nature Study that I was only able to make my signature dish for SUPPER. Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup. And I only did that half way, it was really just toasted cheese bread and Tomato Soup. But it was gobbled up. And I learned that half my kids' favorite soup is Tomato Soup. How?! did I miss something so wonderful as that all these years? You'd think I was preoccupied with laundry or something.

:: happy tuesday! ::

:: on a monday morning

Early in the morning, five boys found their dad's food magazines. And because they are his sons, they got all excited when I said they could get them all out and look. And look they did. For a long while. Ooohing and aaahing at all the good things they could choose from. Their list is long. And it includes many things with bacon. Because they are his sons. :)

Kylie made bread. For the second morning in a row. She had made two loaves on Sunday, so excited to try a new recipe. And it flopped. And she was so disappointed. She said she knew it wouldn't turn out right, because it didn't smell right. Honestly, it wasn't bad. But it wasn't hers. So this morning, she went back to tried-and-true ... and was happy. As were a bunch of her hungry, homemade-bread-loving siblings (and her mom).

We finally started our Astronomy study. We read all the way through Lesson 1 (don't get too excited, it was pretty short). We skipped the mnemonic sentence to help us memorize the names of the planets, and went with a song. We're pretty good at memorizing with songs. TJ copied his notebook page straight from the YouTube video. Happily. (I dare you to watch. You'll sing it all day, and know the planets too!)

Baby is teething. Three at once this time. Which is better than four, but still rough. This non-expression of his is pretty constant ... sleep is not. Poor baby. He's still so cute. Couldn't you just kiss those sweet cheeks off? Me too.


:: happy monday! ::

saturdays {in october} are for sharing a scary story

the little old lady who wasn't afraid of anything from Kathi Bailey on Vimeo.

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything
Linda Williams

about us

hi, I'm Kathi ... an army wife, blessed momma of eight, challenged homemaker, children's literature lover, vanilla coffee drinker, tidal homeschooler, expert laundress, amateur photographer, sometimes blogger, library patron, and Jesus follower.

I'm happily married to Brian ... he calls me princess, cooks dinner sometime,s and teaches math to our kids. He works full time for the Army Reserves, and is attending Seminary in hopes of being a Chaplain.

We have eight children,

Zacharias Eugene ... born February 18th, 2012. Zach spends his days crawling, saying da-da ('say Momma Zach, say Momma'), nursing and eating bananas and only orange veggies, oh! and he shares his bed with me and Brian.

Judah Wayne ... the (almost) 3 year old. Jude spends his days wreaking havoc on our little homeschool, singing, reading stories, and playing with play doh.

Benjamin Richard ... the 4 year old. Ben spends his days putting paper in his notebook, escaping vegetables, wearing a buzz lightyear costume, and consuming as much sugar as possible.

Wesley Ray ... the 5 year old. Ray Ray spends his days trying to hang with the big boys, speeding through his school work, drawing baseball cards, and riding his bike.

Tyler Joseph ... the (almost) 8 year old. TJ spends his days sorting his baseball cards, memorizing sports stats, getting as many hugs as he can, protesting school work, and watching as much TV as his anti-television mom will allow.

Connor Scott ... the 10 year old. Bubba spends his days drawing, studying his college football preview book, neglecting trash day, dawdling through school work, and planning his weekend according to what football games are on.

Korinne Shea ... the 12 year old. Rin spends her days reading, and reading, and reading. She occasionally does school work (she writes stories well ... go figure), and she enjoys baking, knitting, and has a pinterest addiction.

Kylie Sierra ... the 15.5 year old. 'Sissy' spends her days loving on the littles, trying to get all her high school work done, practicing piano, quoting jane austen, and trying to stay focused. On anything. For more than 4 minutes.

... ... ...

I love my life, and pray earnestly for tomorrow. This little blog is our book of days, I hope you enjoy your time here as much as I enjoy sharing it.

daybook, october 4th

Outside my window... it's dark and cool right now. But the days are still warm. Too warm. Not quite Indian-summer-ish. But definitely still summer. I try not to think of the cool autumn temperatures that I'm sure our family is experiencing at home. Or the beautiful, colorful trees. Or the smile driving by Shaw Farms would bring.



i love that i caught Benjamin laughing at her

I am thinking... that it's for certain I'll never make it through this daybook before Zach starts stirring. He's been asleep since 7:30-ish. It could almost be a record. Sleep, little baby, sleep.

I am thankful... for our new, safe neighborhood. I met another neighbor today. A lady, about my age, who we thought *must* be divorced. No. She is a widow. And spoke of her husband, Jeff, with a sparkle in her eye.

In the kitchen... I made a chicken devan tonight. It was yummy. But more exciting was the little Recipe Notebook I made once the kids were all in bed. I've just been throwing recipes in a binder for years. Now, they are all organized. And pretty.

I am wearing... my sea-green moon and stars jammies. I am in bed.

I am creating... oh, I already said this. I'm pretty proud of my non-creative self, so I'll say it again. I created a Recipe Notebook. I also covered another composition notebook I'd been using to take down blog notes. They look so much nicer covered.

I am going... I will probably take all the kids to WalMart tomorrow. Judah got his birthday card from Mamaw and Papaw today, and I've pretty much decided he can spend his gift money on whatever he wants. Which will be a Hawkeye action figure. Or maybe Captain America on his motorcycle.



letters and phonics have proved to be a little much for the Kindergartner ... so we're not stressing, and spending more time on the fun things. things already mastered. so as to not overwhelm.

I am wondering... how that trip to WalMart will go with all the kids. Storytime Tuesday morning was enough to kill me. Really. I swore we'd never go back. And the library is my favorite place.

I am reading... Keeping House: The Litany of Everyday Life (excellent), Anne of Green Gables, Jesus Calling (for kids), and many different Read Alouds to the kids.

I am hoping... that Judah is able to ride the big wheel/trike/bike we bought him for his birthday. He wanted a Shark Attack bike, but we couldn't find it. So I showed him a few different Radio Flyers on Amazon ... and let him choose.

I am looking forward to... the weekend. Pizza and a movie tomorrow night. A birthday day Saturday. And resting Sunday.

I am learning... the planning side of homemaking. This house is so much bigger (more to clean, but easier), and our washing machine is so much smaller (more loads to wash), and our grocery budget needs scaled back.

Around the house... I still cannot find the box with all my autumn decorations and books in it. I'm hoping we find it this weekend, so we can makes things a little more festive.

I am pondering... "The week has this written all over it: God only allows pain if He’s allowing something new to be born" -AV

A favorite quote for today... as I was making my Recipe Notebook, I thought of all the time I've spent in the kitchen the last few years with my girls ... cooking the recipes I was going through and organizing, and I thought of my favorite Dolly Parton quote, “When I was a little girl, I always wanted to be in the kitchen because it was warm, and that’s where my mother was. You never lose that feeling.”

One of my favorite things... Friday night's easy dinner. Pizza. Sometimes the take out kind. Sometimes the frozen kind. Tomorrow night's is the frozen kind.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Judah turns 3 Saturday. *THAT* is all the (big) plans we need!

A peek into my day...
 




i'm sorry. snack time could not get any better when you're sharing with this guy!

autumn book basket

Storybooks:
Move Over, ROVER! by Karen Beaumont
:: The rain is pouring...it's a good thing Rover is snuggled up safe and sound and dry inside his doghouse. But slowly, one by one, some friends show up looking for a cozy place to wait out the storm.

Pumpkin Moonshine by Tasha Tudor
:: Sylvie Ann sets out across her Grandmummy's cornfields to find "the very finest and largest pumpkin," so she can make a pumpkin moonshine (jack-o-lantern). But when she finds the perfect pumpkin, it's so very big, she decides to roll it home...which causes quite the predicament.

The Tale of Benjamin Bunny by Beatrix Potter
:: Because I have a Benjamin. Because I love Beatrix Potter. Because it mentions a scarecrow.

The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree by Stan and Jan Berenstain
:: Three little bears, with light, stick, and rope...do they dare go into the spooky old tree? (This is about as 'spooky' as we get here. I hear the audio book is wonderful...too bad it's only available in audio cassette, for $50!)

The Surprise from Frog and Toad All Year by Arnold Lobel
:: It's October, and Frog and Toad decide to secretly surprise one another, by raking the other's yard. They are both happy...to have done a good deed for their dear friend. I *love* this story.

Hush Little Baby by Sylvia Long
:: You can check the link to read my previous review of this sweet, little book. What Mama doesn't want to show their little baby the harvest moon?

and our new book, this autumn:

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda D. Williams
:: "0nce upon a time, there was a little old lady who was not afraid of anything! But one autumn night, while walking in the woods, the little old lady heard . . . CLOMP, CLOMP, SHAKE, SHAKE, CLAP, CLAP. And the little old lady who was not afraid of anything had the scare of her life!"

Read Alouds:

Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
:: The most fall-ish one in the series, in our opinion. It's been read over and over by my three oldest, and the boys all *love* to listen on audio book as they fall asleep.

The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh
:: An easy, sweet little story about a very brave little girl, and her new friends. Sarah and her father finish building their new home in fall.

Poetry, Songs, and Nursery Rhymes:
Leaves by Elsie N. Brady
Gathering Leaves by Robert Frost
I'm A Little Scarecrow (I'm A Little Teapot)Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater

:: Happy Reading in autumn! ::

circuses and evening sun

Today while reading My Book House, I discovered that TJ has a fear of circuses. He gets that from me. We do not enjoy Dumbo. Does anyone enjoy Dumbo? What *is* with that whole elephants on parade scene? Scary.

We didn't have tea time this afternoon, we had chocolate milk time. With graham crackers ... which we dunked into the chocolate milk because you do not have to use tea time manners if you're not actually having tea time.

We spent the late afternoon outside sledding down the hill on boxes again, playing with the kitties, and taking a walk (or road march ... whatever). When we got home, we moved to the back deck where I snapped a picture I love of all the kids, and then another one of the view of the neighborhood and beyond from the deck.

As we were getting ready to set the dinner table, I noticed the evening sun shining through the front windows. And it made me happy. The poor massacred flower on the table, however, makes me sad.

Happy Sleeping,
kathi