Let's plan!

Day 2: Plan together one thing you've always wanted to learn about.

We have had a very busy Saturday today but it was the perfect day for us (G man and I) to sit down and plan out a project.  There was some planning that had to do with just me.  I had already planned to finish our curriculum in the upcoming month, but we will continue math and some reading through out the summer.  This may be a project that we begin during the summer on top of our continued work.

I explained what a project is and what it might look like.  Gibson thought for a minute and said he likes the Moon, doing school work, Transformers, and watching TV.  Since our school work consists of thematic units we have already completed a unit study on the moon.  I was overjoyed that he listed school in his list of likes.  Transformers are awesome toys but what type of project could we do with that?  So I ran with TV.  I told him that we couldn't just watch TV for our project but we could create our own TV show if he wanted to do that.  His eyes lit up and he started telling me all kinds of ideas for his show.  Jackpot!!

Now we get to start really planning.  Are we going to do a web show or video camera?  Are we going to have a script or wing it? Are we going to use drawings, people, or toys to portray it?  Who is going to pay for the costs?  What topic will our show be about? Is it a continuing show with episodes or a short movie?  We are busy busy busy trying to rein in our ideas.  We may not be able to wait until the summer!!

Loving homeschooling!

Well our state's homeschool convention is coming up next month and it is all that is on my mind!  Last year was our first year to attend and it was amazing.  We are all signed up this year and I have went through the workshop lists and the vendor lists about a hundred times!  I love how this time helps us as a couple prepare for the future of our kids.  G man and Little miss don't attend with us because this is our time to review our goals for them, our homeschool vision, and revamp what isn't working!  In an effort to reign in all this excitement I have decided to start another 30 day challenge.  I really enjoy the 30 day challenges.  This one is 30 days to a better homeschool.  You can see the complete 30 day list here.  (NOTE this will probably not be done in 30 consecutive days since we school in a traditional 5 day week.)

Day 1: Say only positive, supportive things about your child's work.

G man has been working for almost 2 years now on sight words.  He started reading in December and is doing well.  (He is reading age appropriate books that mainly consist of sight words.)  My biggest frustration as of late is that he forgets words that he has been working on since day 1 and sometimes even the word he just sounded out one page back.  Or my biggest frustration he will sound out the word gut /g/, /u/, /t/ perfectly but then he will say "fan" or some other off the wall word!  I just want to scream!!!  But then I sit back and wonder... have I praised his efforts? (Please note I do get excited about his learning with him, this is just a pet peeve that works well with today's challenge.)

Today I made sure that Little miss was ready to listen to a story and made sure I was too.  We got out his BOB book and curled up to listen.  G man started off great and then he hit his first bump in the road... instead of "the" he read "ta-he" so I gently reminded him how to say it.  He was so proud of himself when he finished. Little miss and I stood and clapped for him.

Some of the supportive phrases I used:
     "I like how you took your time on that word you didn't know."
     "Wow!  You read that page great!"
     "I like how you used the picture to help you read the words."
     "You remembered the question mark and tried to change your voice.  I like that effort."

Reading time today was much less painful for me than most and even though I don't show G man my frustrations I also don't praise him enough.  He felt so much more confidant in his reading today.

                         

Both of these are the types of books G man likes to read.

Party like a Time Lord!

G man is 5 and for the last 6 months he has wanted A Doctor Who party.  I wanted him to have one just as much as he wanted it!  We are so wrapped into this wonderful show.  If you don't know what it is check it out here... you won't regret it!  You can also catch up on the seasons on Netflix.  Any who putting on a Doctor Who party was much harder then I thought although this show has caught on in the US there are no party supplies to be found in the US.  I ordered a TON of items from Europe but no typical party supplies (plates, napkins, table cloths, etc.) so I turned to Pinterest.  I found some awesome ideas and came up with some of my own and here is the result!

G man as the 11th Doctor. (his favorite) His suit is from Rugged Butts and I got very lucky and found a nice dress shirt from a thrift store and I made his bow tie myself.  The sonic screwdriver is his daddy's but G man has taken it over!

Love this one!!

Jammie Dodgers or Tardis self destruct buttons!!

Adipose (marshmallows)... the fat just walks away!! 

Edible ball bearings... Sixlets on cookies. 

Puh puh puh pizza!  Got to love plastic Mickey!

Celery of course!

Care for a Jelly Baby?

I also laid out some Vote Saxon signs and there were pictures to accompany all the food since we had some non Whovians in attendance.

The cake is my FAVORITE!!!! We had "Dalektable" cupcakes and the best cake topper ever from this fun Ebay Shop.

Dinosaurs on a Spaceship PINATA!!!! Um yes please!!!!

Tardis goody bags... I had good intentions of making these look better but address label stickers on blue bags did the trick! They had candy, silly straws (the Doctor is always silly), glittery bouncy balls (planets), homemade bowties made by my awesome sister-in-law, and 3D glasses (in honor of my favorite David Tennant!)

Happy with his Whovian gifts and all the fun!!!

He also received a Whovian inspired surprise pack in the mail!!!  This made his day! I suggest you check out Boho Bear and all the fun she has!

We had a good time and one happy boy when it was all said and done!

Koo koo kachoo Little miss is 2!

 Little miss has changed so much but one thing has stayed true she likes to boss people around!  I love this rotten girl with my whole heart.  Little miss was God's answer to our hurting hearts after suffering a loss and then getting pregnant when we least expected it.  We have a tradition G man and I started about the Birthday Fairy.  I keep saying him and I will write a book about her one day and we will.  The birthday fairy comes and leaves balloons, confetti, and a couple cheap toys (dollar tree) for us in our bedroom floors for us to wake up to.  This is the first time the Birthday Fairy has visited Little Miss.  She got a fun Minnie Mouse puzzle and some lovely necklaces.

 For her 2nd birthday we went with a Beatles theme and I love how it came out!  I had so much fun planning and pinning all kinds of fun Beatles ideas.  We had a yummy Beatles themed lunch spread with help from my mom!

I am the "deviled" egg man and Here comes the sun "chips"

You say it's your birthday... cake!

Sgt. Dr. Pepper and for the benefit of Mr. Sprite!

Let it B-L-Ts and Yellow submarine sandwiches.

My little loves at the party!!  G man who is currently obsessed with Doctor Who is wearing a whovian inspired Beatles shirt and Little miss is driving around in her groovy VW Bug that our friend gave us!

The amazing Jessica at Two Sticks Photography took Little Miss' 2 year pictures and I love love love how they came out!!

At the party we had Check Photography capturing so many fun memories!

Fun with cousins!!

We also had a groovy photo booth set up!!

Kissing Daddy!

This is such a fun shot!!!!

We had some tears and some very 2 year old attitude but all in all we had a blast!!

Thank you to everyone who helped make this special girl feel loved on her special day!!

Tabitha and the sappy, emotional, no good day....

Last night around 11pm I hear Little miss coughing and breathing real hard... I wait for a minute to see if she can clear it on her own and when she continues coughing and began to cry I went to get her.  We stayed on the couch til nearly 2:30am I had to adjust her every time she coughed so that she could regain her breath!  She wheezed and coughed all night!  I finally decided to drag out the nebulizer only to realize we have no medication for it that are in date!  I cried all night listening to her breathe.  (I may have missed out on some shut eye but Little miss slept through the whole thing!  She woke up maybe twice crying but that was it.  I moved her around, made sure her head was elevated, even did the percussion on her back, and she didn't wake up.)

All morning I was pretty emotional.  I kept thinking of Little miss on the oxygen helmet at the hospital and seeing her little body struggle and fight for every breath.  I thought about how many times we have used her little penguin nebulizer.  I cried because we can't use the little pacifier attachment on the nebulizer anymore because she is too big for a pacifier now.  She will be 2 in 10 days!  Where did the time go!  It seemed as if G man was my baby for a long time and she is just growing up quick.

Her picture for her 2nd birthday invitation!

Well I had it all together by lunch time.  Cory was coming home early due to a dentist trip and I couldn't wait to just sit and laugh as a family together.  I watched a video on youtube that made me cry for about an hour over how lucky I am to have a father that loves me and was able to walk me down the isle!  Then the phone rang and zapped me back into reality and it was the boutique calling to say her birthday shirt was ready!!  Cried some more!  G man didn't talk to me for awhile because he didn't know what to say and the idea that someone would cry because someone else s' body is growing was beyond him.  I finally pulled myself together and went to pick up the shirt.  It is so perfect!  I can't wait to celebrate with this crazy little girl!

Spoiler...her birthday shirt says "Koo Koo Ka-choo Lennon is 2."