I am looking into the living room at my husband and my children. We are listening to Christmas music and they are playing a game together. I love my family!

Co-Sleeping

This is why we co-sleep. Not because we can tease Amelie the next morning for sleeping on her sisters bum (we did) but because they snuggle up close every night. Last night I went into their room and their faces were almost pressed up against each other and were hugging in their sleep. I may collect these pictures and show them at their weddings.

I took some fall pictures of the kids. Cohen was sleeping so I just go the girls.

Halloween at Early Years

Halloween day we went to Early Years and enjoyed all of the activities. Making ginger bread houses with icing was a hit! Amelie made a few houses and helped other children make theirs. We kept Cohen away from it ;)
We have a picture of Ricky painting because it shows her concentration. She will work forever on one of her masterpieces! Just like daddy.
Here is Cohen playing with cars. Are you surprised? haha
And Roo is playing with a toy. They really enjoy Early Years!
This year Amelie was a ninja turtle, Ricky was a ballerina, Cohen was a lion and Roo was a frog.

"BEAUTY"

How can you not smile when you look at this picture?

We were at the Apple Farm and Cohen saw the hayride. Oh was he excited! We waited in line for a few minutes all the while Coco is bawling. He just couldn't wait to get on this ride! This picture is of him sitting on it. There is a tractor pulling a trailer. I could just bite him!

Baking Apple Pies

The girls and I made some yummy apple pies. I love these pictures of them. It really shows how close they are!

Our 5K walk for Africa

Here are some pictures of our 5K walk for Africa. Since I have already shared our adventure in a previous post I will just let you enjoy the pics of the kids.

When I wasn't looking

This is a Geoboard. We use this as part of our Math curriculum. It is a special treat because it isn't involved in every lesson. I really love how Amelie can be learning about symmetry and shapes and Ricky can be using her creative skills. I look up and Ricky shows me what she has been so diligently working on. I was impressed! Look at that proud face!

We have been chosen! One of these pictures are going to be in the new Sonlight Catalogue! We are so excited!

Once Upon a Tea Cup

The S Family went to "Once Upon a Tea Cup" and boy did they have fun! They got to dress up in
princess clothes and then undress and do it all over again. That is right up Ricky's alley! They got to decorate their own cookies and drink out of tea cups. It is nice to treat the kids to something special.

Reagan's 1st Birthday

Our sweet little Roo is 1 now. She is starting to get her own little personality. She definitely likes to be heard. Ron and the kids made birthday hats to celebrate. Stop growing little one!

Since I haven't posted pictures in a while I thought I would open up with this gift. This is what we get to wake up to every morning. Aren't we lucky?

You're running out of room there dad!

Home learning at its finest

Now Ricky! It is time for school. Take your books out! Hehe.

Potty Training

Who is this? Who could this possibly be?
I will give you a hint. He is 2 years old and has a fear of the toilet/potty. This little guy runs and hides when he has to go to the washroom. All you hear are little grunts. This is what our little Coco is doing in the picture. I thought the little feet were adorable so I took a pic.

Adventures in learning

Oh boy...we have done a lot of stuff!
First I will tell you about our walk for Africa. The S family walked along the river (5k) to raise money for people in Africa. This allowed us to study up on the continent and learn how they live. It is very important to teach our children about poverty and how we can help. They are the next generation. Who knows how much good they can do? Plenty! The walk there was fine. I took my shoes off (optional) and walked with the kids and dad. The way back was a bit more eventful. They decided they wanted to touch EVERYTHING, run on EVERYTHING and climb EVERYTHING. Walking with a 5 month pregnant mom...this is not advisable. By this time I was starting to get sore and hot. We finally made it back. Somehow it made it more real when I wasn't enjoying it. Should I really be enjoying a leisurely walk while walking for Africa? I do believe there should have been some sort of sacrifice. I gave up my sanity and patience for the walk back. haha

We also went for a walk in the woods. It was getting a bit late and dark so we walked in a field with tall weeds. This was excellent because we have been learning about trees and how seeds get around. We were covered in burrs so we got to see firsthand, seeds transporting.

Last week I was talking to Ron and my arm started going numb. It was my hand and half of my arm. Soon after my tongue went numb. I went to the hospital and they scheduled me for an emergency MRI for the next morning. They were worried about a stroke. They haven't called with any news so that is good.

We went to the apple farm this weekend. We got to pick some apples and are going to be making apple pies soon. There really is learning all around us!

No pictures? Boo

The S family is still alive and kicking. Our little Roo decided to stick her tongue into the piece that the camera card plugs into. So now it is full of peanut butter and not working. lol
As you have probably read below, we are having a boy. We are very excited about this! Baby Callum. We have not been doing much out of the ordinary. We are in the process of growing leaves on carrots to show that they are actually roots. The kids really like to grow things.
Right now Amelie and Ricky are playing nicely and Cohen is taking a nap with dad.
The pictures will be back soon.

It's a..........

BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy dance inserted here!!!

OUR Mr. Potato Head

WE DO IT RIGHT!!

I am in awe of my children

Ah..our children. I chose Amelie and Cohen's pictures because I love them.
We have a lovely series of books called From Start to Finish. This book that Ricky is holding up is From Peanut to Peanut Butter. She brought this book to Ron and said, "Dad look! It's From Peanut Butter to Cracker!" What a little sweetie!

Sonlight didn't choose us for the cover

Ah well! I personally think our picture was better than the ones chosen but I may be biased. :)

Today I am feeling out of sorts. I got some sad news so I decided to have a tea party with the girls. What better way to bring up your spirits? I would have taken pictures but Ron is out and has the camera. I guess I will have to keep these pictures in my memory.

Here is the picture we submitted to be on the cover of our homeschooling magazine.

Lazy Days

This week we have done nothing. Or have we?? I guess we have done a lot of things but nothing planned. I am allowed to feel lazy! I am pregnant! Ok Justifying is over :)
I have been working on another blog called www.circumcisionwhataripoff.blogspot.com I am enjoying myself.
Yesterday the girls were outside planting seeds. The evidence (packages) are still laying out in the grass. Hmm I wonder if we will sprout veggies and flowers in our driveway? Only time will tell.
I am adding a picture of Cohen here just because. He doesn't get as much time on here because..well..he is a little tornado! Always on the go. I could eat him. I think I will wait until he is awake.

Our little (or more accurately .. big) visitor

What is this treat we found? Or shall we call it a delicacy? In China it sure is!
This is a Cicada bug. Do you hear those loud vibration sounds in the trees? Here is our culprit.
We researched him (and it was a him because he made sounds) and found out he doesn't bite or sting. The kids got a chance to pet him before he flew off into the trees.
This particular Cicada lives from 13-17 yrs. Can you believe it? It burrows 8 1/2 feet into the ground and is nymph for most of its life. As a nymph it eats liquid from tree and plant roots. As an adult it eats tree sap. It really is a very interesting bug!

Artistic Visions

AND here is our "art table!" As you can see it is not organized. There are shells glued onto paper, pastel drawings and marker pens in this art pile. I realized that if you go out with your children and pick up some art supplies it makes them more interested in it. Instead of the same old boring coloring books and paints, they have a whole new set of things to do.

In the other picture is something I bought through Sonlight. They are pastel crayons but when you use a paintbrush it turns into watercolor. So they can draw some art and make some of it watercolor. This has been a really big hit!!!

Learning about symmetry and some more shape names

Here we are doing a math "lesson." I put this in quotations because it isn't really a lesson. We do follow along with the schedule but it is basically having fun with math. Here we are learning about symmetry. If we fold an ellipse or a triangle we learn that it is symmetrical by folding them and placing them against a mirror.
If the girls didn't enjoy math as much as they do we would find some other way to learn it.

We no longer have a kitchen table. If I were to look behind me I would see our previous eating place has turned into an art table. Colored pens, construction paper, shells glued to paper, etc...
If we are not doing art the kids are outside playing on their trampoline. (Safety net is definitely a positive!!) It has been too cold for them to swim. If it were up to the kids they would be swimming until their lips turned blue.
We are having a lazy day today. Some down time from the past few days. I have some pictures to upload onto the computer of us playing math. Since this is a lazy day I am not going to do it until tomorrow. lol
I am happy to see the kids concentration on having fun and enjoying the weather.

Unschooling and new stuff

I have been researching unschooling. What is that you ask? Unschooling is letting your child lead their learning. My role is to make sure there is plenty of readily available information at their fingertips. I find that this has opened my mind and given me more patience. Another part of my role is to always be turned "on." If they have a question I can't say.."We will look that up later." Isn't that what most of us do? I have to be willing to put down what I am doing and help find the answer. If we wait they may lose interest. By the time I get to it they won't even remember asking the question. And OH SO MANY QUESTIONS!!! What kind of bug made these eggs on these leaves? (It was a leaf beetle) What is a ledge? This was a hard one to answer! I know what a ledge is but to explain it..UGH. What does consider mean? They have soooo many questions and my mind feels like putty sometimes trying to explain. Another part of my role (I have put on myself) is creating opportunities to learn. Not all unschoolers do this but I want to. We play math and the girls LOVE that. We still do science projects (what kid doesn't love getting messy?) We will not be forcing them to sit down and do lessons. We will see how it goes.
Yesterday we went shopping for "school" supplies. It was fun. They get SO excited about glue, markers and books. You would think they were picking out lollipops or some big toy. Nope. We got some duo-tangs and Amelie has been making magazines ever since. She is drawing pictures, gluing pictures and paper clips (oh and we can't forget the shells they collected at the beach with dad!!)
Ricky hasn't shown much interest in it yet. Soon I am going to be showing them what symmetry is. They will have fun cutting and folding shapes.
Cohen got a much needed haircut yesterday by dad. We did it quickly because he doesn't like it.
Reagan is starting to stand at the coffee table. Well Ron is placing her there and she stays for a bit. I couldn't imagine her walking. She is sooo tiny!!
Oh and the best new yet!!!
Roo's cat scan results and blood work was normal. She is gaining more weight. ANNDDD drum roll please....
NO MRI!!! The paediatrician said she doesn't advise it anymore. YAY!

Our Girls