Once upon a time...

In our house, we are used to older girls reading to younger girls (I think that's the main reason Hailey has no real inner drive to learn phonics - not only is it work, but she has Brynna, a voracious reader, as a roommate who will read her anything she wants). We've had girls reading to their baby dolls, even.

But last night was a new one for us.
This is Lauryn reading to her hungry, hungry hippos. Not only that, but even though she is holding an Usborne book of fairy tales, she is "reading" them the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I didn't realize she had it so memorized that she didn't even need the pictures to prompt her.

And I guess it is an appropriate story for the hungry hippos. :-)

Just for the record

To those of you who think I always have it all together:

Because Kora had a doctor's appointment not too long before her piano practice today, I had packed lunch for the kiddos to take with us, so we could picnic at the church where Kora's teacher is. I packed the cooler with the refrigerated items, grabbed the bread, chips, even a roll of paper towels to use for plates and napkins. I had everything I needed for a couple of ham and cheese sandwiches and three peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Everything.

Except the peanut butter. When you see them, ask how they like jelly sandwiches.

I don't wanna grow up...

I think nearly all of us can remember thinking as a child, "I can't wait until I am grown up! Then I can ________!" Fill in the blank - do what I want, stay up as late as I want, eat whatever I want, never have anyone tell me what to do, etc. I don't remember the particular thing that I longed to be free of, but I do remember being convinced that life would be so much better then. I know my husband felt the same way - he ran away from home at age 17, he was so convinced that life would be better that way.

There are days now that I long for something of those carefree - comparatively - days of childhood. Oh, yes, there are joys that children cannot understand that I have been privileged to experience: marrying the man I love, growing together over the years into "one flesh," becoming a mother, having deeper friendships than a young girl can experience, oversees travel, etc.

But there are also days when the load seems heavy.

Over the years, I have known what it is like to have marriage problems, family problems, to rush a child to the ER, to be very worried about money, to watch friends hurting and suffering, to be severely depressed, to make difficult decisions. Sometimes it seems unbearable.

No, nothing is really wrong today. Nothing bad has happened. It just seems like over the past 4-5 months, that so much has happened to us and the people in our lives - some small irritations, some big life changing situations - that at times I wish for the days when my only problem was whether I was going to have to take a nap or what cartoon to watch on TV. My friends and family out there who are going through difficult times of one type or another, please know that I am praying for you.

Birth Center

UPDATE:The website for the new center is:
www.sanantoniobirthcenter.com
Thanks, Candace!

One of the errands I had to go to Saturday was actually my first appointment with the midwife. This is the same wonderful lady who delivered Lauryn here at our house (in my bathtub actually, but that is a story for another day). I had forgotten just how much I really like this woman. Not only is she incredibly knowledgeable about the entire pregnancy, labor, delivery, recovery process, she trusts the mommy. She actually listens to you, and doesn't treat any concern or belief you have as silly. She works with you so that you can have the best pregnancy and delivery as possible.

She also has a new birth center! Now we plan on having this baby at home as well, but if it weren't for having to leave my house, I sure wouldn't mind having this baby there. It looks like a spa room. And, for those who are nervous about not having a baby at a hospital, the new center is at Babcock and Wurzback, just about a minute and a half from 4-5 hospitals, and right across the street from a fire department.

Next time I go, I'll ask Janet if I can take pictures for the blog. And maybe some time I'll get around to posting that birth story.

I could get used to this...

I went to a new-to-me store yesterday. In fact, I had many errands, but one was a need for some maternity specialty items, so I went to a place on I10 here in San Antonio called Destination Maternity. It's actually 3 stores in one - Motherhood, Pea in a Pod, and Mimi Maternity. Which means that 90% of the clothes are out of my price range, but there are just some things Target doesn't carry.

Just before I enter the door, I stop to enjoy a nice trickling fountain in a small courtyard area leading to the door. As I enter the door, a very nice sales lady greets me and asks if I had ever been there before. She then showed me where everything was and asked, "Would you like a bottle of water or some orange juice while you shop?"

As I walk back to the area of the store which had what I needed, I noticed a cute little play area for small kids, surrounded by a low wall to kind of box the area in. Just to the side of this area were two flat screen televisions tuned to college football games. This was obviously an area where the poor hapless husbands of the customers had a place to sit and watch sports while the gestating females in their lives shopped.

And while they weren't intrusive, the sales staff was very helpful - like when I was lost about sizes. They were also very interested in all the details about your pregnancy. They wrap your purchases, however mundane, in tissue paper and place them in a crisp paper bag with handles - no plastic if you please - and offer you a water or juice for the road.

I tell you, if you are pregnant and need to feel pampered, go window shop at this place. I felt like I had been an honored guest. I know it's their job and all, but I could definitely get used to being treated like that when I was out spending my (husband's) hard-earned money. :-)

Classical...Star Wars?

Can it still be considered classical education if you use Star Wars as an illustration?

The other day, Kora and I were discussing one of the stories in Canterbury Tales, and I was trying to describe irony to her. The most obvious example I could think of was Episode III of Star Wars. Anakin, in trying to prevent the thing he most feared, decided on a course of actions that directly led to the dreaded event. She instantly got it, and was then able to describe the irony in the literature she had read.

So will this get me kicked out of the classical education community? ;-)

School is the Pits

The girls are studying astronomy this year, and we've just finished up a chapter on Mercury. As a hands-on project, I made a ball of salt dough. The girls had a ball pretending that marbles and pencils were asteroids slamming into the planet. Even Lauryn got into the action.

After drying overnight, the planet has hardened. As Mercury has no atmosphere, it has no protection against space debris. However, there are parts of Mercury that are relatively smooth. This has most scientists confused, because after "millions of years", it "should" be completely pock marked.
If you are ever looking for a creation based, young earth worldview science elementary curriculum, please take a look at the Elementary Apologia books. It's science is solid, but geared age appropriately, all the while giving God the glory for the creation we are studying.