leaves are falling

Just an ordinary day. I was sitting on the front porch playing a game on my iTouch. I was outside with Anne and Ben because it is the only place Ben seems to be happy lately. Anne had just begun to play with the pile of leaves when Dave got home from work. They grabbed handfuls of leaves, threw them in the air and yelled, "Surprise!"

What I should remember:
--Anne looking a bit like a ragamuffin. Hair all askew. Nose running. Somewhat mismatched outfit since I need to go shopping for fall clothes for her. She brought me that dress out of her drawer that morning and proclaimed herself a princess when I put it on her.
--Dave immediately going to play with her when he came home. He's a Super Dad indeed.
--The weather was beautiful today. Its supposed to turn cold tomorrow.
--Ben actually sitting in his bouncy chair contentedly. Those moments seem to be rare lately.
--Enjoying "Where's My Water" on my iTouch. I really love technology.
--Dinner ended up being a bit late. Dave reminded me yet again that the simple act of holding the baby or sitting outside with my toddler actually can count as doing something.

Anne's babies

Anne is bursting with personality which brings us nearly equal doses of laughter and aggravation daily. Her latest obsession are her "babies". She loves dolls and little stuffed animals. She carries them around. They get stuffed into purses. She wants me to hug them. This morning, she lined them up at the counter for breakfast.

 

Anne often comes to tell me that her babies are sad. This morning the babies were hungry so she fed them and then they were happy.

I love this Anne-girl and her almost-too-big-to-handle personality.

afternoon at the park

Because Nathan asked if we could.
Because it was a gorgeous September day.
Because we can.

smiles

Ben is starting to smile and coo at us. I love it when a baby's personality starts to show. It makes the sleepless nights and fussy days a little easier to handle.

back to school

Dear me. It would appear my blog has been rather neglected. Never fear, faithful readers, I have returned! I will be "catching up" eventually with a few posts about the last two months. Check back and scroll down. There will be more!

Last week, when the rest of the neighborhood was heading back to school, we were busy having a few more days of summer fun. On Tuesday, Dave took the older kids to Trafalga. Then we went to Pizza Pie Cafe (an all you can eat pizza/pasta/salad buffet) and finally, we finished the day at Seven Peaks. We brought two cars thinking I would need to leave early with Ben and Anne. No such luck for me. Ben slept for two hours and then was happy in my arms for the next two hours so we stayed until closing. Dave and the kids had a fantastic time. On Friday, we spent the afternoon at the pond with our wonderful neighbors. We were there for three hours of fun in the water and sand.

Now, like the rest of the rank and file, we are back in school. I should clarify. We are back to our regular routine. Slade thinks I'm the meanest mom since I make them do schoolwork all through the summer. They do a page of math, twenty minutes of reading on their own. Plus, our history and science co-op continues through the summer. Monday was the day to actually get back to a full school schedule. The week so far has actually gone really well. Our schedule looks something like this:

8:00 Practice Time
9:00 Breakfast
9:30 Chores
10:00-12:00 Math and Language Arts
12:00 Lunch
1:00 History and Science
2:00 Quiet Time (I don't think there has been a day when we've actually had "quiet time" but I still keep it in the schedule because hope springs eternal.)
3:00 Free Time

For the record's sake, this is the curriculum we are using this year.
Math: Math-U-See
Grammar: First Language Lessons (Nathan and Slade), Analytical Grammar (Emma)
Spelling: All About Spelling
Vocabulary: Wordly Wise (Nathan and Slade), Vocabulary from Classical Roots (Emma)
Writing: Writing with Ease
History: Story of the World
Science: Botany from Apologia Science and The Elements

This is our 8th year of homeschooling. It took a few years of trial and error but I feel quite settled in our routine now. I do try to tweak things here and there but we've been doing things this way for about five years now. Adding a new baby into the mix is always a little tricky. On Monday, Ben slept from 10-12. The next day, he had a major diaper blow out during the middle of Math. Today he was fussy and wanting to be held the whole time. When things get tough I just try to remember the great ideas from this essay: The Baby is the Lesson. Our school time definitely does not always go smoothly but somehow we usually manage to get things done.

Happy Learning, everyone. Here's to a great year!

6th grader

4th grader

2nd grader

preschooler

cutest two year old

darling daughters

handsome boys

biggest and littlest

all six!

hello world

Because of the gestational diabetes I have been dealing with this pregnancy, I was told that I would be induced a week early. Friday, July 1, was the day.

We arrived at the hospital at 7 am. After getting all the preliminaries like paperwork out of the way, I got an IV and was started on pitocin. The doctor also broke my water at the same time. The baby did not handle the start of contractions well at all. After each contraction his heart rate dropped. Consequently, they turned off the pitocin. We waited about an hour before the pitocin was restarted and I got an epidural. This was just before 11 am.Things continued moving along. Dave read The Girl Who Could Fly out loud to me. I didn't feel much until about 1:30 when the contractions got quite severe. The doctor was called and after pushing through two contractions, Benjamin Warren said hello to the world at 1:58 p.m., weighing 7 lbs. 1 oz. and measuring 19.5 inches

 

Ben wasn't breathing well so I only got to hold him for about a minute before they whisked him off to the nursery to put him on oxygen. Dave went with him and watched him get his first bath. After almost two hours, we were finally reunited.

 

Megan brought the rest of the crew to see their new baby brother at about 5:30 that evening.

 

 

 

They came back the next morning to visit also. Dave left about 4 in the afternoon on Saturday leaving me alone for a quiet evening and morning. Ben and I finally went home on Sunday at about 1 in the afternoon.

 

Here we are 9 days later. I am feeling really good. I've felt the best I've ever felt after a delivery. Ben is doing great too. He is acting just like a newborn--eating a lot, pooping a lot, sleeping a lot. He seems to be a fairly calm baby so far but that certainly could change. The other kids all adore him and want to hold him all the time. Even Anne loves the baby and she has handled his arrival rather well. I've been told to put him down and hold her instead only a few times. Last week, Dave took mornings off and Keri came to help in the afternoons. There has been lots of quiet time for me to watch TV, read books, eat lots of the formerly restricted carbs, and enjoy my new baby. Today, I even managed to take a few pictures.

 

Tomorrow, Dave is going back to work and the reality of life with six children will really hit. Wish me luck!