week 32 in pictures

very layla-heavy this week. camera magnet.

sunday: do not believe that crap about boys and girls being no different. I used to believe it. I did everything I could to provide gender neutral toys and experiences. and then I experienced reality. shane and micah play with cars in this way: they line then up. they race them. they crash them. they make outrageous wrecking noises and ‘vroom vroom’ noises. they build stuff like car washes and repair shops and off-road vehicle parks out of blocks for the cars to use… layla plays with cars in this way. (and may I add that this is all after the cars have had baby cars and taken their naps under the blanket…

monday: layla is super happy to have mastered the hula hoop!

tuesday: this magic little piece of plastic was in layla’s stocking last christmas. it’s a card holder and is SO awesome for little kids who want to play card games, but can’t manage a whole handful of cards.

wednesday: this picture cracks me up. micah built this complicated whatever out of blocks and layla was SO impressed with it, she ran off, made a sign for him to hold, and took his picture. so typical! (in case you’re not fluent in kindergartenese, it says, “I made it all by myself. signed, micah”)

thursday: this is a little nasty, but shane has been losing teeth like crazy. he yanked out 3 big, fat molars in the course of 1 week. I think he may actually be OUT of teeth to lose now.

friday: layla and my mom, playing pick up sticks.

saturday: while doing some sorting at my mom’s, we ran across a random package of clay. my kids have lots of play dough, but not clay, so I brought it home for them and they love it. micah sat here for over an hour, just squishing and cutting.

and the extras. not too many this week.

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for my not-so-american friends

i didn't have an actual roll w/ the green plaid on it, but i found a refill and an empty roll in my junk drawer (yeah, i know, that should tell me something). but even the empty one says 'scotch' on it. there you go! SCOTCH TAPE!

first day of school

so, we started school today. this is a big deal because it is OUR first day of official homeschooling. you know, here. at home. most everyone reading this is already aware of the fact that shane has been homeschooled since first grade, but that he has spent the majority of that ‘school’ time, with my mother as his ‘teacher’. this was a fine arrangement, she was willing and more than qualified, and he was learning. but for a variety of reasons, not the least of which being my mother’s current cancer issues, it had become clear that it was time for me to take over. AND,with layla being 4 now, i really wanted to do a little bit more preschool stuff with her. being a little bit of a chicken flake, i (with much urging from my loving husband) decided the best route to go would be with a packaged curriculum. i figured it would be the most time-effective way to cover what we needed to cover, and be somewhat dummy-proof, but at the same time, having the option to supplement with as much

does home ec even exist anymore?

my last post got me thinking about how i somehow missed 'learning' all of those things which are essential in running a successful home. i'm wondering who dropped the ball on this (because, i can't possibly take responsibility for my own shortcomings here). i guess traditionally, one learns these things from their parents. i suppose i did learn a lot of my domestic skills at home. for example, the husband is supposed to eat the leftovers in the fridge. when making a bed, the 'top' of the top sheet goes down so that when you fold the edge over the blanket, the 'top' side is then up. why this matters when you are just going to cover the whole thing with a pillow and comforter is totally beyond me. but that's how you do it. so yes, my mother taught me how to iron, do laundry, clean a toilet, etc. my dad taught me how to plant a garden, mow a lawn, appreciate baseball, etc. and then there's home ec. do people still take home ec? i took it

project life 2014 week 3

monday: every time I get out of the shower, this cat is waiting for me, so he can get in and lick up the water off the floor of the shower. it’s his favorite way to get a drink. cats are weird. tuesday: this cracked me up. had micah at the grocery store with me and he spots the produce scale. so of course, he wanted to weigh something. he went for his little donkey kong lego toy that he had with him. tuesday: this is my parents’ cat, beatrice. she is small and feisty, and has the prettiest eyes ever. she’s not so fond of it when I come over to make up beds, and usually finds herself made into one because she refuses to move. wednesday: layla has been very interested in all things domestic lately, and really wants to learn how to cook. so I told her she could start helping me make dinner. this night, it was homemade, cheesy mac & cheese with ham and peas & carrots. she did almost all of it herself. from boiling the noodles, to cutting the cheese (yes, I did just say that), mi

i have "done something"

about shane's room. if you notice over there on my BIG FAT TO DO LIST, for ages now, i've had "do something about shane's room" on the list. and it has sat there on the list, doing nothing. well yesterday, we "did something". i couldn't put "clean shane's room". that wouldn't really cover it. i wasn't sure exactly how to phrase what is was that needed to be done in there, mainly because i don't really know the proper grammatical term for "set off 4 sticks of dynamite followed by much jackhammering and industrial vacuuming". needless to say, it was a pit! every saturday, one of his chores is to clean his room. but at this point, that was just putting clothes in the basket, books on the shelf, toys in bins, etc. anything else was WAY too big of an undertaking for a 9 year old boy on his way out the door. sadly, i didn't think to take a 'before' picture, so i didn't bother with an '

rachel's continued ramblings

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