Welcome! Here you can read about our adventures homeschooling our four kids, our canning and crafting experiences, our discoveries and business ventures and our lives as suburban homesteaders. Thanks for stopping in! Enjoy reading!
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Happy New Year!
Ben and Hannah played for a couple of hours with my cousin and her friend, running through the house, playing hide-and-seek and other games. They ran to get food and drink and then disappeared back upstairs until they 'needed' something else (like more chips or something). They called for other cousins to play 'monster' with them and they were chased around the house. They had a blast and needless to say they were very tired when we got in the car. They were a little grumpy (overtired) but all quieted down pretty quickly as we drove home.
Below is a picture of the kids as we pulled into the garage at 9:45pm.
Happy New Year!
The Monkey Family
Friday, December 29, 2006
My birthday...
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Meals...
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
No TV update...
Monday, December 25, 2006
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
bounce...
Monday, December 18, 2006
Walking fun...
Snacking in the slide
Down the chimney
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Potty learning...
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Problem solved...
A story: the other day I was nursing Noah to sleep and had told the older 2 to be quiet while I put him down. I wasn't 5 minutes into it and Noah was settling down that Hannah started to scream and cry at the table about something. Then Ben started to cry. They cried together while they explained to each other why and what about was wrong with what happened (I don't recall the actual reason). Two minutes later they stopped and continued with lunch and it was over. When Noah was good and asleep I went to them and asked them what happened. They explained and weren't upset with each other at all. It was so great to hear that they had solved the problem on their own, even though it had made both of them cry.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Tree...
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Old-Fashioned Christmas fun...
Hannah looks frightened and Ben is in heaven
Hannah...again looks terrifed and Ben...well he's LOVING it!
(Hannah had a smile on her face soon after this picture)
Hannah, Noah and I with Santa
Ben is tuckered out
Friday, December 08, 2006
Static...
I love it when the kids' hair gets all wild, it makes me smile and it's crazy to get a picture. And all the while, the kids...well they don't know what the big deal is!
Static is the theme over at Mama Says Om this week.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
No TV...
While I was cooking dinner tonight, I sensed that the kids were missing TV....here's what gave me that thought:
Monday, November 27, 2006
Rain...
When we went out this afternoon, it was like I was letting the wild animals out after years of being cooped up. They went straight into the garage for their big wheels and tricycles and got busy racing each other up and down the block, Noah running after them. Ben zooming by barely missing toes. And Hannah dancing around wildly. We let them play outdoors until the sun went down and they couldn't see anymore.
It makes me thankful for not living where it rains a lot!
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Beekers....
Friday, November 24, 2006
Grumpy...
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Happy Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Thanksgiving count-down...
Internal clocks...
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
New discovery...
So, I do think he is ready for books on tape, they certainly will help in the car for those long drives that we do...once a year!
Monday, November 20, 2006
A morning with Daddy...
Sunday, November 19, 2006
New chairs...
Before-yuck...so dirty!
After :-)
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Brotherly love...
Friday, November 17, 2006
A love of books...
Noah loves books. Here we are reading together with Ben (who also loves books) about the baby in the bath. Noah picks books up at all times of the day. He wants to learn all about the animals or about what the babies are doing. He is such a bookworm...already! Isn't it great?
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Too big...
Well now it seems that he is getting too big for these cars. So sad...
Doesn't he look like he's having fun?
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Shovelling...
Monday, November 13, 2006
grand opening...
Ben suspended
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Shopping...
Hannah loves grocery shopping. She has a bounce in her step throughout the store and is talk talk talking the entire time. She has Mommy's undivided attention time and is a mighty big helper. The other shoppers are quite amused by her energy as they dodge her quick steps in the aisles. She has been to the stores enough times that she is getting to know where the products are and which ones she can pick up herself. She's such a big girl.
It's nice to have a shopping companion/helper.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Baby talk....
...
Hannah: "dibalookee maaamaa"
...
Hannah: "Mommy, didn't you hear me? I want a glass of milk!"
Me: "Oh...no I didn't hear you. You were making funny noises with your mouth."
(I give her the glass of milk.)
...
Hannah: "daabaaka lloookeee"
I guess that's thank you?
Yep, baby talk is the norm these days...another phase, I hope.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
First pictures...
Here are some of his first pictures (some of the ones with people and their faces)!
Hannah...up close
Marissa and Auntie Heather
Monday, November 06, 2006
Little teachers....
So every so often during the day I will hear Ben or Hannah (taking turns teaching) repeating a word or short phrase to Noah in hopes that he will just blurt it out. "Ap-ple, Noah, ap-ple, Noah this is an ap-ple, can you say ap-ple? Ap-ple, ap-ple, ap-ple..." Ben will say. Hannah will do her own version of this with another word such as "up" or "ball" or "truck". Noah has picked up a few words along the way. It is amazing that such little people can be so perceptive and receptive to pick up on a strategy like that. They are born little teachers! It's wonderful.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Happy Birthday Ben!
Ben celebrated his official birthday today. He was so excited, now he can say that he is FIVE! Ben is a spirited boy who keeps us on our toes all day. He loves to tie knots, create one of a kind creations, play games, invent games, pretend play all day, snuggle with us, learn new things, chase his sister around, giggle, laugh, have fun...
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Secret...
We went in and saw the flamingos and ducks at the entrance (can't go to the zoo without seeing any animals!) and Noah went wild quacking at them and trying to climb into the enclosure with them. We watched them for a long time and then set off for the stores. We found just the right one and went back to watch the flamingos and ducks for a bit more.
Hannah really wanted to tell Ben that we went to the zoo today but she didn't. She hid the bag of gifts in my closet so he won't find them until the morning. We'll wrap them up for him tomorrow and hope that he loves his new baby jaguar.
Hannah bought herself something too (she had some Halloween money) a baby cheetah! So now the baby jaguar and the baby cheetah will play together.
First words...
Friday, November 03, 2006
Apple pie...
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Delight...
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Halloween...
So, Marissa came over with her Mommy and Ryan and we had dinner before going out on the town. (I had to get some real food in them before they gorged on sugar). We walked down two blocks and around those two blocks only. It took us about an hour and when we got home the kids pumpkins were full to the rim with candy (Ben's handle actually snapped in half from the weight!) They ran (seriously ran) from house to house that we had to run also. Only at the corners did they stop to wait for us old folks to catch up.
When we got home they poured their candy out and got to choose 10 pieces that they wanted to keep to eat and then we put the pumkins outside on the back patio for the great pumpkin. He was going to eat all the candy and give them a present for it. My kids were all excited about that. Who could be upset about getting a present? We just didn't want all that candy staring at them (and us) for the next three months. We'll see how it goes over tomorrow....
The trick-or-treat crew
Monday, October 30, 2006
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Halloween birthday...
Monday, October 23, 2006
Happy Birthday Noah!
So since he was awake, we went to the backyard and found some airplanes in the sky. He was surprised to see them in the sky...and not in his books! He kept looking for them flying overhead. Ah... a new discovery! We read books, books, and more books in the afternoon. We drove around for a bit (hoping he'd fall asleep) only to come home with him not sleeping. He played around with Daddy when he got home and before we knew it the day was almost over. Noah got his first taste of carrot cake (in cupcake form) but didn't really dive into it. He kept eating the dinner pieces that were still on the tray.
Happy Birthday Noah! We love you!
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Apple-pickers...
Hannah munching on an apple in the orchard.
Noah finds all kinds of apples.
Ben finding some apples in the tree
Tons of apples under each apple tree!
Not bad for a day of apple-picking...well an hour or so...(see the pear?)
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Elmo (part 2)...
Corey retraced last nights drive home this morning and found Elmo...but he is a little hurt. His eyes are missing and he looks a bit beat up (by wheels, I'm sure). When he got home from work this afernoon he took Hannah, Ben and I to the car to show us. Hannah held her hands together in front of her and was distraught. She didn't want him anymore, didn't even want to touch him. She was on the verge of tears. She told Corey to put him back in the car. We'll hold on to him just in case she changes her mind in a few days.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
The story about Elmo...
So we bought him.
He has been a part of our lives for such a long time, he's practically family. We have since received gifts of Elmo in a Halloween costume, Hokey Pokey Elmo, Silly Parts Elmo, Elmo this and Elmo that but Elmo doll has remained "the one true love" for Hannah. Hannah sleeps with Elmo, nurses Elmo, rocks Elmo and cares for Elmo as if he were her baby (even though we have many dolls-he is "the one"). She loves to watch him on TV too, we even have many of the videos to choose from and take with us.
Lately Elmo's name has changed to "Boots" because Hannah is also infatuated with Dora the Explorer. We take him everywhere and when she brings him along but doesn't feel like sharing him with others he stays in the car, waiting for her return. He takes a ride in the stroller when we go for walks, he flies in the air for fun, he hangs in the tree (because he's a monkey--well Boots is), he eats dinner with us and shares Hannah's sleep right next to her in bed. Needless to say that he is a part of our family.
Today, Elmo helped Hannah pop bubbles in the back yard, he took a nap with her and then went to the playground with her, Ben, Noah and Corey. On their way home from the park, Ben and Hannah were looking forward to having dinner but still continued to play their imaginary games for the car ride home. Ben grabbed Elmo and threw him out the car window. Hannah shrieked and started to cry. Elmo was propelled into a dangerous area of the street so Corey couldn't reach him, couldn't park the car to even try. So they came home, Hannah in tears but Ben had a solution...he would buy her another at the store.
Such is the sad story of our dear friend Elmo.
More to come...
Monday, October 16, 2006
29...
Friday, October 13, 2006
Butter...
Pssstt...Hey Bitsy Bunting...notice the Tupperware we used for this? :-)
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Books...
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Ducks...
Noah and Hannah watching the ducks
The mama & baby girl hippos posing together