3 1/2 year old wisdom

I really need to write about these more often. Lucy (3 1/2) has some of the funniest things to say. Here is a recent convo with her:

Lucy: Mom, You know, plants need water, and soil, and sun.
Me: wow Lucy that is pretty smart.
Lucy: and pixie dust.
:-P

Another day I was washing the bedding in our room. This was after we had washed her bedding several times that week due to early morning accidents. She came in and with exaggerated exasperation she exclaimed, "Who peed?"

She's always got us laughing.

Weeks 3 & 4 of the Bauslaugh academy.

Weeks 3 & 4 were spent studying the geography of the United States. The girls worked on becoming familiar with all 50 states. Leslie's goal was to get a basic understanding and just to be able to name a few states. She had about 25 states memorized by the time we finished. Lindsay's goal was to memorize every state and be able to locate as many as possible. Both did very well. In art, we made sand art like the Navajo Native Americans and quilt patterns like early pioneers. We had a field trip planned for after baby Walker's arrival to a museum at Lake Chelan that has artifacts from our pioneer ancestors. Kind of fun for the girls to explore. I would have loved to dig deeper into US history- but this year is more about geography- the history element comes in following years of the curriculum.

In science, the girls learned about forests. This made for some fun nature walks since we live in this particular biome. On our favorite walk, we used a tree id app to identify the trees in a park near my parents' house that has some great trees. Lindsay was excited to identify a western red cedar. They also had a field trip with their grand parents to Northwest Trek, a local wildlife preserve. Complete with a trip through old-growth Forrest. I don't have pictures of the trip though. :-(

Both girls finished up a unit in both English and Math. And we began spelling and reading curriculum.

I really enjoy how homeschooling has made me more aware of my children's strengths and weaknesses. I'm hoping to be able to give them the attention they need to turn their weaknesses into strengths!

After these two weeks, we had a planned 4 week break for the arrival of Baby walker.
Here are some pictures from weeks 3&4:

Our school, week 2.

This week we spent more time on maps. The girls learned about many different uses for and types of maps. They learned about scale and measurement on maps and even made a scale map of their rooms (1in=1ft). We ended the week making two cakes depicting the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. In science we covered biomes, located the tropics, temperate and arctic zones of the globe. We also went on a nature walk and took leaves (from the ground) and made bark rubbings to identify what kind of trees grow in our "biome."they seemed to enjoy being little scientists exploring their world. We ended the week with water and oxygen cycles.
Leslie (2nd grade) is working on ar words in spelling, learning about types of sentences in English, and reviewing basic addition and subtraction in math.
Lindsay starts spelling next week. She is also learning about different kinds of sentences as well as sentence diagramming in English. In Math, Lindsay is reviewing place value and regrouping.
In Bible we have been talking about how Jesus came and died for everyone, not just Christians. Each day has started with rich discussion about this topic- it has been fun to hear these girls grow in wisdom, as well as their faith.
One struggle we have had is with our read aloud time- the book selected by My Father's world is a classical allegory. It is a bit dark and not suitable for my girls at this time. So we decided to shelf it until they are older. So for now, we are reading some of their favorite chapter books instead. The girls are also reading books on their own, as well as reading to their little sister. It was a joy to hear Leslie very expressively read Green Eggs and Ham to Lucy this week, I wish I had recorded it.
I learned a couple of thugs this week, myself. I learned that making a checklist for each girl of what they needed to get done that day was really effective. I also included things that they needed to do sometime before bed that night. Things on the list are generally things that help me out (play with Lucy, take laundry upstairs, read to Lucy, etc.). The list helps the girls stay a little more focused.
I also learned that we need a more specific time limit to some tasks. One of the girls would take all day to finish her work if given the chance! So now we set a timer and whatever isn't done will become 'roomwork,' or work they have to do in their room after school time (we can't really call it homework can we?).
Lastly, I learned that my oldest needs to have her math lesson at the end of the day. For whatever reason, she has been unable to focus during the mid morning math session. But after lunch she can sit and focus on it much better.

It has been great getting to know both girls' learning strengths and weaknesses. I won't lie and say it has been the picture of a perfect homeschool, but we are working toward a school that works for my girls. My goal this year is to not quit! No matter how hard things seem. Here are some pictures of our second week:

Home School, week 1!

So we jumped into our curriculum this week. We are using a unit study from My Father's World called Exploring Countries and Cultures (ECC). This allows me to do several subjects integrated and teach both girls at the same time. They work on math, reading, and English on their own level. Working with my girls in this way has already given me some insight into how each of them learns and what they struggle with. I also have been working with Lucy on pre-school concepts (to her we are playing games).
We are really enjoying the curriculum so far. The first two weeks are an intro to the year in which we will be traveling all over the world. This week the girls learned about maps in geography, habitats in science, and our study verse for Bible was John 3:16. In art we created a collage of beautiful faces from all over the world, and listened to traditional songs from all over the world. In math, as the beginning of the school year usually consists of review, both girls are reviewing concepts. In English, both girls are learning about sentences at their grade level. We also work on handwriting, spelling, and reading. I'm sure I am forgetting something!!
Here are some picture highlights from our week: we discovered how difficult it is to map a round world on a flat piece of paper, we observed the habitat in our backyard.

Our life, no longer in Texas.

It has been over a year since we moved back to Washington.  We miss Texas terribly but had many reasons for moving back here.  Some we knew about, some God has revealed to us in amazing ways this last 14 months.  And since we still own our house in Texas (it is being rented out), we always say there is a possibility that we will end up back in our little town once again.  We are always open to whatever God has for us, wherever he puts us.  That being said, looking back at this blog and the fun we had in Texas sure makes us miss it more!! 

So now on to our next adventure!  (Well there are a couple of them) 1) We are starting home school this year.  It is something I actually always wanted to do but didn't have the confidence.  I started looking into homeschooling last year, knowing we were moving once again (to be closer to Lance's work, going from a 2 hour commute to a 25 min commute), I wanted to see if home schooling might work for us.  I always thought that people chose home school out of fear, but in my research I quickly learned that that was not the reason for a majority of home schooling families.  I also found that all of the fears that I had about home schooling were unfounded, mostly because of my background and education as an educator.  Time and time again, books were addressing the common fears and worries of a home schooling parent- and I did not fit into any of these categories.  Most home schooling parents worry that they don't have what it takes to teach their children- I have a degree that says I have what it takes.  Many home schooling parents face challenges from their own parents and others questioning their ability to teach their children- if our parents have any doubt, they probably wouldn't express it due to the fact that they know I can teach other peoples' children.  I still struggle with my own lack of confidence, but I dealt with that when I was teaching 7th and 8th graders too, it's just part of my personality.  But I draw from my experience in public schools both good and bad to help me feel confidently that we are making the right decision for our girls.  When I started to really research our options for home schooling, I got really excited.  I get to teach the way I was taught to teach in the PLU Master's in Education program.  Something that is seemingly impossible (especially in Washington) with the mess that public schools are in trying to please everyone, being limited by an impossible budget, and increasingly strained by the number of students they have to educate.  I get to teach my kids in a way I always wanted to teach, and in the comfort of our own home.  I get to do what I love, and not feel defeated before I start.  The girls are excited too, hopefully this will continue as we get going.  The other day Lindsay (9) told us that it was the first time she was excited to start school.  She has been asking me to home school her every year since Kindergarten.  We hope to use this blog as part of our record keeping and communicating what the girls are learning.  Hopefully the girls will start making some of the posts so you can hear from them first-hand about how this adventure is going,.

Our second new adventure should arrive around the end of September.  We are currently expecting our 4th child.  And this time, its a boy!  So all of us have some learning to do this year as mom learns about being a boy mommy and sisters learn all about having a little brother.  We are all excited for the adventures coming our way this year!

Lucy Jo is 16 months old!

Time is going way too fast! Can't believe my baby is 16 months old. Sorry I haven't been better at updating! Lucy is such a joyful little girl! She is our little family comedian. Always keeps us laughing. The best time of the day is bed time- she gets a little loopy and likes be silly to get laughs. As for development- Lucy has a few words- Mamamamamama ;-) , Da Da, Uh-Oh!, and woah! This girl knows exactly what she wants, when she wants it, but without words, she can get quite frustrated at those of us who are too slow to understand her. Her favorite thing to do is climb. She's not afraid of much and will climb anything. Usually, you can find her standing on a chair in the kitchen trying to get something that the girls thought they had put out of her reach. She is a busy little 16th month old! And we love every minute of it!

Leslie's lunches

*warning- This is a bit long*

Since this was our second go-around with Kindergarten, I thought I pretty much had it down. Knew what to expect, how to prepare my Leslie, how to handle the first week of school. I did not, see much being a problem, since Leslie has been anticipating this week since she watched us drop her big sister off for Kindergarten 2 years ago. Well, I should have known better. Leslie's issue has been lunch. Something I did not anticipate from her.
Leslie has never had much of a problem with food. There aren't many things that Leslie doesn't like. She loves to eat things that most kids do not. Broccoli is one of her favorites, along with many other fruits and veggies. But on the second day of school, I noticed that she wasn't finishing her food. She still had her go-gurt (yogurt in a tube) and unopened Capri-sun along with 1/2 of her sandwich in the lunch bag. I asked her why she didn't eat her food- she said she didn't like the yogurt because it was strawberry, and she didn't want to finish her sandwich, no explanation for the juice. So day #3 I put blueberry yogurt, string cheese, sandwich, chocolate pudding and a drink in. Surely she would find something that she liked in all of that. That night everything except the cheese and the sandwich was still in the bag! And the pudding had been opened, two bites taken and closed up to be saved for later. So in grilling her about her meal she said she didn't like anything I gave her and she didn't have time. SO, for day #4 I decided to go easier on her. Gave her cheese, sandwich and a drink. She ate everything, so I guessed that I had finally figured out what would work for her, simplicity. But on the way home, in the car she started freaking out because her papers were wet. That is when I discovered a partially consumed Capri-sun in the bag, leaking all over. She said she thought she could save it for later! So Day #5. It seemed that Leslie was mostly rejecting things that were processed. Didn't like the yogurt, didn't like the pudding or the pirates booty (cheddar flavored rice puffs) that I sent for snack. So I would go natural for this girl. Today, I just gave her the cheese, some blueberries, a sandwich and juice. She ate it all. But today was Ice Cream day. I had given her a dollar to get ice cream from the cafeteria. We weren't out of the school parking lot yet when she screamed, " My ice cream melted!!!" "What?" I said. "I was saving it for after school and it melted!" Yes, my precious 5 year old thought that her ice pack in her lunch bag would keep her ice cream for her til after school. And the result was a soupy-orange creamsicle mess in her lunch bag. She said she didn't have time to eat it, so she wanted to save it for later. I don't know what to say, except, I hope she gets lunch figured out before too long. ;-)

The First Day of School!

Today was the first day of Second grade for Lindsay, and Kindergarten for Leslie! What a great day! They were both a little nervous and excited. I am sure they will not miss us at all! Here are some pictures from our morning:

A Long Road Ahead...

Cancer is a word that my sister and I grew up with. Our mother dealt with Cancer when we were 1 and 3. She had Hodgkins and fought it and won. Some of my earliest memories are of her fight. But never in my mind did I ever think that we would have to face the monster again. Until last Wednesday, when mom went in to a doctor appointment to finally get someone to check out the pain she has been dealing with for over 6 months. By that afternoon, we were checking her into the hospital, and being told that she may be sick again with a new cancer. The doctor said he was 98% sure and he said this fighting his own tears. He was the same doctor who had told a young mom over 30 years ago that she had the very treatable Hodgkins. But this time, the news is not as encouraging. He suspected that she had Multiple Myeloma. We had to wait until late Friday to hear from the Oncologist that it was in fact, Multiple Myeloma. This cancer is treatable, but not curable. It will be something that she has to fight for the rest of her life. And, eventually, it could claim it.

At this point, we are waiting for information on a chromosome test that they had to run. It will determine just how likely the treatment is to actually work. That will affect the possible prognosis. Mom is recieving Chemo. The type of Chemo that they are giving her is not supposed to cause her to lose her hair. She is still in the hospital this morning, and is expected to come home today.



She has a long road ahead of her. But I take comfort in knowing that God is in control of this and all situations. And everything happens for His glory. It doesn't seem fair that he allowed this to happen to Mom for a second time in her life, and that she and dad have this tough road ahead of them. But our bodies are imperfect, temporary, and bound to this earth. We aren't getting out of here without pain. There is something good that will come out of this- though it is hard to imagine- I dare to believe that there is a reason for all this suffering, though I may never know what that is. This song has been an encouragement for me in the last week. It is called "Before the Morning" by Josh Wilson



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIhoI7qQ_Sc

Lindsay and Leslie's Popsicle Stand

Today was the community garage sale- so Lindsay and Leslie really wanted to have a popsicle stand. They sold popsicles and sodas. They are pretty good sales girls. They are raising money for a Nintendo DS- something they have been saving for since Christmas- Mommy and Daddy really hope they have enough to get them before our big trip to WA so they will have something to play with on the trip! :-)

11 months old!

This is really going too fast. I wish there was a way to slow time down!

Lucy Jo turned 11 months old today. She has had a very busy month. We have been to the DR several times this month for weight and ear infection related issues. As for her growth issues. We don't have any answers, except to say that her blood doesn't indicate any problems. She is gaining weight at a better pace now but her height is still slow. I really am not worried about it much. I just think she's a little petite girl. Lucy had been dealing with ear infections this month, going through two rounds of antibiotics. Still not sure if it is all gone yet, but we have to go to the DR to have her checked out again. (Like we haven't been there enough?!)
Lucy has been reaching some important milestones this month(another reason not to be worried about her size). About 3 weeks ago, she began walking independently. No help, standing up from the middle of the floor and taking steps. Now she walks everywhere! And gets into things! She also discovered that she can get up the stairs pretty quickly, like before mom notices, scary! Lucy Jo is also sporting 2 more teeth, making it 4 in all. These teeth mean that Lucy has been enjoying a bigger variety of food, and boy, does she like food! In this food adventure we have discovered that Lucy is allergic to eggs. So we will be avoiding those for her for a couple of years. We have also discovered that Lucy LOVES the pool, she is a natural fish (well, if I let her actually swim!). Finally, Lucy is becoming quite proficient in her signs. She uses please, more, and all done (which works for night night and good bye too). I am pretty sure that in the last few days she has even attempted to say please while signing it, making please one of her first words! Before Mama and Dada- such a polite little girl!

Results of the tests

Well, we have most of the results from the horrid blood test. Everything has come back normal! There is one more test that had something to do with growth that they had to send out. But Thyroid, blood gas and anything else they tested came back normal. She's just an itty bitty for now. Who knows, she could surprise us and be our tallest kiddo. Only time will tell, and I'm in no hurry!

This was definitely not my favorite

Took Lucy to get her second blood test at the hospital today. The worst part was not the hour and a half wait (apparently I showed up at lunch time, which I didn't know until I finally got in). It was the holding my baby down while she cried and seeing a needle stuck in her arm as her arm turned blue from the turniquet. It seemed to take forever for the 3 techs to get the blood they needed for all of the tests. I am sure it was only seconds but before it was over I thought I was going to revisit my lunch. It was excruciating to see her face as she looked at me pleading to save her from the mean needle lady. It was not my favorite, and I hope I never have to do that again, ever.

I hope to get the results of the tests in the next couple of days. I am confident that everything is fine, the Doctor just wants to rule out any problems, me too.

Lucy Blood Tests

Just letting friends and family know that the Dr is running blood tests on Lucy Jo. I am not totally sure what it is they are looking for. But what triggered the tests was Lucy's stalled height growth. Her weight is improving but her height pretty much went unchanged over the last few months. They ordered blood tests last week and most of them came back normal but they are concerned about her electrolyte numbers. So, we have to take her in to the hospital sometime in the next week to get this special blood draw that they only do at the hospital. I'm not totally concerned because I don't know what to be concerned about...I guess ignorance is bliss. Just worried about the finances, as usual. Then I remember who is in control, He has provided in the past, and He won't stop now.

Lucy Jo is 10 months old!

Wow, that month went by fast! Lucy Jo is already 10 months old! Can't believe we will be celebrating her 1st birthday in 2 months!
My sweet girl is trying to walk! If you haven't already seen Lance's video of her first steps you need to check it out here: Lucy Jo Takes her First Steps. She is even more steady now and will try to walk away from things now. She will pull up and walk right out into the room, then sit down. Lucy has also started to use her signs! The older girls didn't catch on to the signs until 12 months. But Lucy Jo is already using "all done." Which is very useful! She also waves good bye. We have also started to try to teach her blowing kisses, so far she just smacks her mouth, but she's getting there. She is beginning to understand the word no (she even gives her head a shake when we say it), though I wish she would understand what obeying this command means sometimes! Especially when she is screeching. This is a new thing for us Bauslaugh's, the older girls did not screech, it is definitely not my favorite. Lucy Jo has also acquired another tooth in the last week, she now has two on the bottom front and one on the top front. She has a yucky habit of grinding the the top and bottom, it gives me chills just thinking about it!

We have had a busy month, here are some pictures:
Lucy Jo at the Dallas Arboretum

Lucy and her Sister's reading.

Lucy gets a ride in her new backpack.

Not walking, but still funny!

Resurrection Weekend!

We had a three day weekend thanks to school and work taking Good Friday off! Friday morning we all got to go with Leslie to Kindergarten Round-up. Basically, we just turned in registration papers and got to visit Mrs. Merchant, our favorite Kinder teacher! We are praying that Leslie will end up in her class, just like Lindsay did. Leslie was more than ready, she wanted to bring her letter worksheets that we do at home to show the teachers and she wanted to bring a backpack so she could start school now! It was also nice that we ran into 2 friends, one from Church and a friend through Girl Scouts, who are going to go to K at the same school next year. It was definitely different being one of the "experienced" moms this time around. I told one of the first time mom's who was fighting tears that I wouldn't lie to her, it is one of the hardest things ever, but I survived, and she will too! I am hoping that the first week of Leslie's Kindergarten won't be as traumatic as Lindsay's was!Saturday we spent the day cleaning and fixing some things around the house. Lance also spent a good part of the day smoking his first meat on his new grill. It turned out really great! We had too much meat for just our family so we invited some friends over from down the street. It was a very pleasant Saturday. The one hic-up was when Lindsay announced that there wasn't an Easter Bunny in front of all the little ones. Oops- It's really something we've never discussed. I guess we never told her there was or wasn't one. We never really put effort into keeping up the Easter Bunny charade like we do Santa Clause. Hopefully she didn't ruin Easter for the little ones!Sunday we did the traditional Easter egg hunt. The girls did very well. This was the first year we got to really hide eggs. It was challenging but they found all 30. Lucy just enjoyed watching the big girls and checking out the eggs. She has been feeling a little down with her teeth coming in so she was kind of mellow . We went to church, heard a great message that Lindsay really got into. Leslie even got up and sang with the kids at the front of the church! Something we have been trying to get the girls to do for a while! It was very exciting. She just decided she didn't need Lindsay to go with her to be brave. You can't tell from the picture but she was doing the hand motions and singing right along, though a little timidly. After Church we had supper with Aunt Debra and then just played for the afternoon. It was pretty Laid back!

I have to admit that Friday was so busy with Kindergarten round up and grocery shopping and house cleaning that we almost forgot it was Good Friday. I suppose many people go through life too busy to remember what Christ did for us. We almost missed it! Don't miss it! It's not about a religion, rules, tradition, its about a relationship with a God that exists and cares about what is going on down here. Though sometimes, it can seem like He doesn't care. Like so many innocents are suffering. The truth is that God knows, cares and grieves for our situation, but there is a reason for all, and as He allowed His Son to suffer for all of us to be reconciled to Him, he allows the suffering we see and hear about every day, for a bigger purpose than we can understand.

Lucy Jo Is 9 Months Old!

It is going WAY too fast! Little bit is already 9 months old! She is getting more independent by the day and has popped a couple of teeth in the last couple of weeks! Which has made things very "interesting" to say the least.
Since she is now 9 months old, we had a 9 month check up. I have been concerned about her growth since she is truly just a little mite. 2 weeks ago we had a weight check at 14.1 lbs. She grew less than a pound in almost 3 months. So, I spent the last two weeks trying to get her to eat more and get more calories doing it! We did accomplish an improvement of .9 lbs. So the Dr is happy that she is improving and now that she is at 9 months and has a few teeth in her mouth, she is starting to discover the world of table food! Everything else at her 9 month appointment went very well. She is VERY active, which is probably one of the reasons she has a hard time putting on the pounds, she just burns it all off.
Things that Lucy does all the time now:

• smiles very easily
• gets ticklish under her arm
• plays peek a boo with you
  
• claps when you say "clap clap" or she just hears clapping
• pulls her self up on furniture and cruises around
• does not sit still for much, including diaper changes!
• LOVES her big sisters
• Says Da da and ma ma and we "think" she is starting to attach those words
• Sort of waves good bye- but it takes lots of prompting
  

Girl Scout Powder Puff Derby and 3 on 3 tourney

We had a busy Saturday last week. First, we had Lindsay's GS troop Powder Puff Pine Car Derby which was lots of fun! Just like the boy scouts but with lots of glitter! :-)

Then, we went straight from there to the church for the 3 on 3 tournament that Lance helped organize. They also had fun things for the kids so we just had to stop! The girls' favorite thing was the big giant ball (or human hamster ball), I had to tear them away from it!

A busy Spring Break!

Lindsay started Spring Break with her Girl Scout Troop making their cars for the Powder Puff derby all pretty and sparkly (while the dads made them fast!)
Grammie, Papa Jim and Auntie Heidi made a trip out to see us and then we all drove down to see Bobby in Austin and then a day trip in San Antonio
The Texan Bauslaugh at the Alamo.

We ended Spring Break with 6 inches of snow in our back yard! What a crazy week!