Ten Things - the grabber arm

Ten Things:

1. This picture is from Calvin's birthday 5 years ago, back when he was turning two.
2. One of Mimi and Pa's gifts for him was a "grabber arm" because he liked using Pa's.
3. All four boys still love wearing mis-matched clothes.
4. Matching pajamas are super cute, but it just rarely happens around here.
5. Actually, pajamas rarely happen around here -- the boys sleep in the same clothes they wear during the day.
6. A different canvas is hanging over the mantel.
7. I don't know why the boys' pictures aren't hanging up next to the canvas. That's been our "spot" for 8x10 pictures for a long time.
8. That hedgehog lunchbox served us well over the years.
9. Another gift there on the couch is a growling tiger book that we still have. (Calvin was born into a love for tigers, partly because of his name).
10. I would like to have my own "grabber arm" to pick up trash we see on our walks and park visits.

Ten Things Tuesday - Pizza Picnic

1. This picture makes me so happy! Colson shoveling that pizza into his mouth -- ha!
2. For several years now, we have eaten pizza as a family every Friday night. We call it "Pizza Family Movie Night," but we don't always watch a movie. We rotate between ordering pizza and making pizza (or cooking a frozen pizza). Our go-to is Domino's since we all like it, it is affordable, and it is close to our house.
3. Since it was Friday, we stopped by to get a pizza on our way to a park. Daddy was working, which worked out because he doesn't really like Little Caesars pizza.
4. Drive-through hot-and-ready pizza is as convenient as they come! 
5. We are all about pajama pants and mismatched clothes! 
6. Carter's favorite toppings are pepperoni and pineapple.
7. The other boys prefer cheese (for now). 
8. Cooper goes back and forth about whether or not he likes pizza. He's usually excited to go pick it up. "Pizza! Yay! Yummy pizza!" but then 20 minutes will refuse to eat any pizza and says, "I don't yike pizza!" On this particular day, he ate two whole pieces by himself.
9. Calvin likes "the triangle pizza" (not thin crust), but he doesn't like to eat the crust on the end. That part usually goes to Colson or me.
10. As I write this on a chilly day in December, I miss days when we could go to the parks comfortably without coats.

Thankful Thursday

42,252. hearing the squeals of the big boys playing outside together

42,253. the little boys taking longer-than-usual naps

42,254. tweezers

42,255. You satisfy me more than the richest of foods

42,256. re-connecting with friends and acquaintances

42,257. looking forward to a camp zoom call

42,258. pomegranate seeds

42,259. lasagna for dinner already prepped

42,260. the flexibility of homeschooling life

42,261. finishing a quick graphic novel 

42,262. Scripture memory connections

42,263. David Platt's sermon on fearing God

42,264. looking forward to family time tonight

42,265. heat in our home

42,266. the boys learning to close the front door quietly

42,267. firming up some holiday plans

42,268. Bible time at the table this morning

42,269. Cooper singing "You are my sunshine"

42,270. the portability of the keyboard

42,271. carrots

42,272. seeing Tracy again this morning

42,273. Carter's quirky habits

42,274. Calvin excited about acquiring more of Daddy's magazines

42,275. boys completing their checklists without complaint

42,276. listening to boys plunk away at the piano

42,277. choosing to be less irritable instead of expecting others to be less irritating

42,278. a load of laundry done!

42,279. "I Rille Love Mary" posted on my wall as a reminder

Thankful Thursday - what "schooling" can look like

(I wrote this on Thursday but am just now finishing it on Friday)

The boys would have started school yesterday if they were still enrolled in the public school. Our district, like most if not all of the public school districts in Kentucky, has opted to begin completely virtual. This would mean that Carter and Calvin would have been on the computer with their class from 9:00-11:30 and then work on other things on their own in the afternoon. During that window of time, they were out on the back deck playing nicely together inventing a new variation of Mario chess that involves a goat, cow, and checkers in addition to the regular characters. We also spent an hour in the backyard, and we read books. I'm loving the flexibility that homeschooling provides. While there will definitely be more structure when we start in a week and a half, it's nice to be in charge of our own schedule and learning. 

Usually, "the first day of school" is such a definitive mark in time. This is the day you put on your first-day-of-school outfit and take a picture in front of the door and go off to start your new grade in school. I say that we're "starting" homeschool the day after Labor Day, but that just means we're starting our curriculum. Technically, we've never "stopped" schooling over the summer. We haven't done workbooks, but that doesn't equate with "school." 

Here's some of the "school" just from yesterday:

• Carter tried to make a dessert by melting a popsicle in a sugar cone. What he didn't anticipate was that the liquid would turn the cone soggy.
• Carter also made a recipe that he wanted to make for us for dinner. It involved brown sugar, flour, eggs, milk, turkey, and hot dogs. It was palatable. I think Carter and I were the only ones who ate ours, though.
• The boys made their Mario chess game variation.
• Calvin put one cup of water in the fridge and one in the freezer to see which one he'd like better.
• Whenever Calvin asks how much time we have until we can go inside, I make him figure out the elapsed time himself by telling him the current time and the time we'll go in.
• Calvin's been my assistant in potty training Cooper. We read books to him while we sat and waited.
• They practiced their piano songs and played around on the piano, too.
• They helped with their younger brothers. We tell them it's training to become a dad. :-)
• We observed lots of bugs in the dirt, including a "grub" that looked like just a shell but squirted when I pressed it.
• Colson's "schooling" involved teaching himself how to climb up on the bench and navigate our backyard.

Lord of all, to Thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise...

41,231. making progress in the backyard

41,232. watching the boys' interactions

41,233. small habits

41,234. lots of time outside

41,235. Carter making dinner for us with a recipe he created ("turkey dogs")

41,236. love my students!

41,237. Carter and Calvin making up chess variations

41,238. Mildred Cable and Kamala Harris on audio

41,239. Cooper peeing standing up

41,240. so glad the boys weren't in "school" online today

41,241. Alice, Teresa, Candy, and Yelena on my schedule today

41,242. working on Titus 1 song

41,243. the discipline of early mornings

41,244. Lucas helping with potty training

41,245. Calvin knowing his way around the kitchen

41,246. Calvin helping to get Cooper ready for bed

41,247. "Hey! Pipe down!" -Cooper during Good Night, Good Night, Construction Site

41,248. Cooper's expanding vocabulary

41,249. lots of potty books from the library

41,250. option of curbside pickup for yearbook, library books

41,251. excited about AWANA: Home Edition

41,252. Scott Co. library had book we needed

41,253. love to listen to audiobooks while I'm working

41,254. Colson able to maneuver around the backyard hazards

41,255. visible progress with rocks and weeds

Ten Things Tuesday - Calvin 5 years ago

1. This was taken in the Fall of 2015 when Calvin was 1 1/2. 
2. I love food-in-the-hair pictures and so-sleepy-I'll-just-sleep-here pictures. This one captures both.
3. Of the four boys, he's the only one with brown hair as a toddler. Carter's has gotten darker as he has gotten older, but it started white-blond like the youngest two (and like me when I was little).
4. We still have the same high chair (now occupied by Colson). The cloth cover is back on, but I think we've forever misplaced the straps and buckle (which would come in handy since Colson is starting to wriggle his way into a standing position).
5. We no longer have that sippy cup, but we do still use those plates that Lucas has had since his bachelor days.
6. We're a peanut butter family. It goes back to my dad's most frequent request of me, "Mary, bring me the peanut butter and a spoon."
7. We left Calvin's hair long at this age because it curled in the back. Cooper's is similar, and he still hasn't gotten a haircut at 2 1/2.
8. Our dining area is carpeted, and it has taken a beating over the years. We would never pick white carpet for a house full of kids. We don't want to replace it until they get older, though.
9. This is the most common place for the high chair, but we are known to move furniture around frequently. Currently, our table is pulled up to our couch in our living room, so the high chair is over there, too.
10. It's fun seeing the same toys, furniture, and clothes used by the boys over the years. One side effect of hand-me-downs is the nostalgia factor. "I remember when..."

School - Bizarre

This week, our county is announcing the ever-evolving plan for public schools this fall. While we haven't officially sent our homeschool letter to the superintendent, we've already notified the principal at the boys' school. It's nice to not be at the mercy of what the school board will decide. We've been super cautious and strict with social distancing (more than anyone I know!), and I'm glad that I came to the decision of homeschooling from my own desire and free will (and with the blessing of my husband) without being backed into it kicking and screaming, like many will be. The school where I've taught for 3 years is planning to go back like normal, with certain precautions in place and with a "watch live from home" option. I'm still excited about homeschooling, but there are things I will miss about teaching in a regular classroom. I have to remind myself, though, that so much of what I loved about teaching -- the interactions, the fieldtrips, the I-know-you're-fifth-graders-but-come-to-the-carpet-for-storytime gatherings -- won't look the same. I'm thankful that our family is able to homeschool, and I don't envy those in leadership right now. There are no win-win solutions. 

JESUS, You are the Source of all wisdom. I ask for Your wisdom for these superintendents and principals and school boards and teachers making incredibly difficult decisions. Give them clarity of thought. Give them great creativity to think in new and innovative ways. Give them courage to face the school year. You are present, and You want to walk with us through difficult days. May we turn to You and not away from You in this time. In Jesus' name, Amen!

This was Calvin's kindergarten teacher, the assistant, and the interpreter.

We drove through to drop off their remaining assignments and to pick up a graduation gift.

---

(poem written 5-1-20)

There is a rollout plan

    for some businesses 

        to start re-opening in May

So some have the sense of 

    "This is almost over"

        and they consider quarantine

            in the past tense:

    "What were your favorite meals you made during quarantine?"

Yet I feel this is just beginning

    Crazy to say that after 7 weeks, this could be "just beginning"

It felt long that we'd be out 2 weeks from school

    then the rest of the year,

        but I'm already looking to next year

I had wanted to do homeschooling

    because I like all the quality time with my boys

    and because we are thriving as a family

I wasn't even thinking about the risks

    of sending the boys back to school

        pre-vaccine

That seems to solidify the decision

A second wave is inevitable

How long will this thing drag out?

When will we return to "normal?"

    Or will we ever?

---

(poem written 5-26-20)

Bizarre

That's the word that keeps coming to mind

Bizarre

    to be packing up my classroom

        alone

        with my door shut

        talking to my colleagues through my mask or through my door

            instead of dropping in whenever I think of something to tell them

                or whenever I need whiteboard spray or a staple remover

Bizarre

    to be finishing the end of the school year

    without all the normal end-of-the-school-year hoopla

Bizarre

    to be wrapping up my time at Summit

    where I thought I'd be for years to come

Bizarre

    to be so conscious about germs

    after years of an it'll-build-their-immune-system way of life

Here I am

    wearing a mask

        not even touching doorknobs

        paranoid about having to go to the bathroom in public

Bizarre

    to stand so far apart when talking to someone

    to wipe down groceries before putting them away

    to shoo my children away from neighbors or walkers

but it's also bizarre

    to have some semblance of "normal"

    when the world right now is anything but normal

       

This "Exit Only" door was where I entered school every morning for 3 years. 

It's still hard to believe that it's not "my school" anymore.

A Swing and a Hit/Miss

(written 4-27-20)

A swing

    and a hit    

        Carter made a list of verses to memorize

    and a miss

        Carter threw a slobbering fit when asked to play a song on the piano

A swing

    and a hit

        Calvin is super helpful with his little brothers and me

    and a miss

        Calvin is also super buggy/touchy with his brothers and me

A swing

    and a hit

        Cooper can consistently count to 10 on his own

    and a miss

        Cooper's first morning of potty training -- 5 (pee/poop in undies) to 0 (pee/poop in potty)

A swing

    and a hit

        Colson's eating more and more "regular" foods

    and a miss

        Colson wasn't ready for the edges of Cheez-its

Such is motherhood

A series of hits and misses

    but the homeruns make up for the strikeouts

    and you can't get a hit if you don't swing