A Tantrum in Pictures
I try to take little pictures of the kids throughout the day. On this particular day, Bean was playing “Mommy” with her baby in the stroller. I thought it was cute so I snapped a picture.
“Take a picture of my baby”
She put her baby in the stroller and I asked for another picture. ”No”, she replied.
What? No? You can’t just tell me no! So I took another picture anyway.
Well, that just ticked her off!
The fact that I took yet another picture of her only made it worse. She went to the sofa and hid her face. So I took a picture of that.
That was a the straw that broke the camel’s back! She was furious with me for taking YET ANOTHER picture of her.
At this point, she flipped out and threw an all-out tantrum because I was taking her picture. Yes, I realize that it was cruel of me to keep snapping pics but I thought it was rather funny. Yes, I’m mean like that *snicker*
She threw herself in the floor and everything! It probably didn’t help matters much that, not only was I still taking her picture, but I was also laughing.
Smarty had the audacity to come and lay on the sofa to watch her fit! She flipped out! For whatever reason, he was NOT allowed to lay on the sofa.
I know this picture is not in focus but I loved it! You can just feel the anger and aggravation!
“STOP TAKING MY PICTURE!”
So, I stopped.
But not before one last shot of her lip all pouted out 
)
Yes, I’m the meanest mommy in the world.
Happy Mother’s Day
There is nothing like being a mommy! I love every minute of it.
Big Al and me, right after I became a mommy.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the mommies out there,
Such a Good Little Mommy
On the weekends, we like to spend as much time outside as we can. With the weather we’ve been enjoying lately, we have grilled out quite a bit.
Big Al is learning to “man the grill”. Gosh, where has my little boy gone? Who is this big (little) guy in his place?
When we eat out on the back deck, I bring Bean’s high chair out there. We only have four chairs with our hand-me-down table. The last time we ate out there, Bean got busy and dragged her baby’s high chair out on the deck too. It was too cute!
She put her baby in the chair and set her a plate and some food.
She messed in the cabinets and found some plastic cups for drinks.
And then she went into her little Chef Barbie kitchen and cooked up some cake for everyone.
She’s such a good little mommy!
Cousins
Bean loves her cousins. My nephew is exactly eight months older than Bean. They love each other so very, very much. They talk on the phone often and beg to visit each other. Unfortunately, my sister and I live 3 1/2 hours apart so our kids don’t get to see each other as often as we (or they) would like.
Last Saturday was my niece’s first birthday. Smarty and Big Al had a baseball game so Bean and I traveled to North Carolina alone to attend the party and spend the night at my sister’s house.
Bean and Nephew were so happy to see each other. He came running out to the van and, as soon as Bean’s feet hit the ground, they embraced in a huge hug! They really enjoyed their time together, even though it was quite short.
Nephew LOVES motorcycles. He took Bean for a ride on his motorcycle. Why do I have the feeling they will be doing this again in about 15 years with a real motorcycle?
Bean wanted to take it for a spin herself. I was surprised that she even knew how to ride it, considering that she had never ridden anything like that before. But, she did well and she really enjoyed herself.
Nephew didn’t really care for having to hand his motorcycle over to his cousin, though. Things were better when Bean took him for a ride.
Have I mentioned how gorgeous my niece is? She is.
She really enjoyed her birthday cake, too!
I *heart* her curls. I have stick-straight, fine, limp hair. I really, really love her curls.
The kids all had a blast playing together. They played and played and played some more. By the end of the day, they were too exhausted to even give us a good smile for a picture. This was the best of, like, ten pictures.
They took a bath together. They had a blast wearing washcloth hats!
At bedtime, they decided they needed to both sleep in one bed. Nephew volunteered to “read” Bean a story. She got up for 10 drinks of water and ended up sleeping with me instead.
On Sunday morning, they went out to play before Bean and I had to get on the road. Nephew hooked up the bike trailer to his bike and took Bean for a ride. They are so adorable together!
It was so sweet to watch Bean and Nephew spend time together. I hope that one day we can live closer to each other. Until then, short weekends and quick visits and phone calls will have to do. It doesn’t seem to hinder their bond.
I Can See The Light
This week, we will wrap up Week 34 in our little homeschool adventure! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!
In some ways it has gone by so quickly and in other ways, it has dragged on and on.
All I can say is that it has been quite the experience. Kudos to those women who homeschool all their children from start to finish! I can’t help but think maybe we may have all been better off if we had done this from the start. Having my children in public school for several years before taking them out gave them (and me) different expectations for homeschool. I can’t tell you how many times I would give them an assignment and they would say “Well, my teacher always told me….” or “In public school, we….” I eventually learned not to take it personally or get upset. Now, my response is simply “I am your teacher and this is what I’m telling you” or “There’s a reason you’re not in public school.”
When we started school in August, Bean was 22 months old. She was happy to sit at the table and color while we had school. She loved doing school! Now, as we wrap up the year, Bean is 2 1/2 and she is into everything! She no longer wants to sit still at the table and color. She would much rather drag out all of the DVDs, the pots and pans, and the clothes in her drawers and closet, and terrorize the dog. As the year has gone on, it has gotten a tad bit stressful, thanks to a certain 2 year old! Of course, it may not have been quite so stressful if the boys would keep working when I went to get Bean out of a mess instead of immediately jumping up and running off to act out a scene from Star Wars!
I have been counting down the days until this school year would be over. Many, many days ended with me in tears. I have made it clear to my husband that nothing could make me want to do this again. More days than one, I’ve been sure that I have ruined our lives by taking my kids out of public school.
Do you want to know a secret?
Part of me is really going to miss homeschooling my kids.
There, I said it!
Yes, I know I’m insane. I know it has driven me crazy for the past 9 months. But, if our house doesn’t sell before school starts in the fall, there’s a good possibility that I’ll be doing it again. And I *think* I’m okay with that.
Hoping that light at the end of the tunnel isn’t the train,
My Heart Hurts
Because I love her so very much. Because she’s such a strong woman who has been through so much in life already. And because I can’t bear to think of her as becoming weak and getting sick.
Prayers for my Nanny,
Proud Mama Moment
Last week, Big Al “crossed over” from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. He has worked so hard as a Webelos Scout and I am so very proud of him. Of 20 possible achievements, he completed all 20! For this, he earned the Super Achiever award. He also worked hard to earn his Arrow of Light – the highest award in Cub Scouting and the only one that can be worn on his Boy Scout uniform. Like I said, I am SO very proud of him!
Here are some pics from his big night:
The cakes I made for the ceremony. One is the Arrow of Light and the other is the Scout badge.
Getting his Super Achiever award pinned on…
Receiving the Arrow of Light. His leaders had arrows hand made and mounted for them and had a little plaque engraved for each of them with their name, pack number, den number, date, etc. They are really nice.
Crossing over the bridge….
My boy scout….
Here’s another picture of his Arrow of Light. He also got the patch to wear on his uniform.
Wordless Wednesday
What better way to jump back into blogging than with a good ol’ Wordless Wednesday post? I guess since I’ve typed this, it’s not so “wordless” now, is it?
Life as a Homeschool Mom
Whew! I never imagined life as a homeschooling mom would be so busy! Well, I mean, I kinda knew it would be but I never expected to be this dang tired! We’ve survived the first six-weeks and things are falling into place so I thought I’d share about our experiences with you.
All in all, homeschooling is going quite well. I went into it with the expectation that my children would “rebel” against me and expect me to take it easy on them (as a teacher) since I am their mom. I was right.
The first week was nothing short of awesome! The boys worked hard and got all their work finished and life was blissful!
The second week, Smarty decided that he shouldn’t have to show any of his work in math because I should know that he can do it. Big Al decided that he didn’t have to listen to me anymore. Boy, that was one rough week! We went through the whole “I wish I was back in public school” thing. And the whole “You’re the meanest mom in the whole world” thing. Oh, and the “Why don’t you like me? If you liked me you wouldn’t make me do all of this work” thing too! Good times.
The third week started off as bad as the second week but got better as the days went on. The fourth week started well and then got worse as the days passed! I was ready to pull my hair out! I wondered what in the world I had gotten myself into. But, somewhere around the middle of the fifth week, things started getting better. The boys started working better. I started to feel a bit more relaxed. Life began to get better for all of us! Not blissful, but better.
We have been getting school finished in the [state] required four hours every day instead of 7 or 8 these last couple of weeks. Smarty is a full week ahead on his reading because he is interested in his books and loves them so much! Big Al is still dealing with having to listen to his mom all day long and never getting a break from his little brother, but he’s starting to deal with it in ways other than pounding his brother and smart-mouthing his mother. Thank goodness!
Bean is enjoying her days in a homeschool household as well. She got a new coloring book and some crayons to start the school year and she really enjoys coloring while the boys do their work. When I make copies of their worksheets, sometimes I’ll run an extra for her so she can “work” like the big boys. She especially likes to be like her brothers. Sometimes she gets tired of school, though, so she just goes off to her room and plays with her baby dolls….or empties the kitchen cabinet….or terrorizes the dog. She enjoys herself nonetheless.
Here are a few pics from our first few weeks of homeschool:
Wordless Wednesday: Summertime Fun!
Never Miss A Post:
My Homeschool Curriculum:
Earn Free Stuff:
I Joined, Have You?
Places You Can Find Me….
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