Monday, March 31, 2014

Comes To Town

When the circus comes to town... all must attend. It was Charlotte and Marley's first experience... and they LOVED it. Charlotte enjoyed the "swinging lady"... aka trapeze, the most... and I'm fairly certain, Marley's favorite part, were the snocones... yes, I gave my baby some colored/flavored ice... and she loved it. The hubby's favorite part were the cats that did tricks, and for me, I really enjoyed the bears this time around (although my usual favorite are the motorcycles in the cage). All in all, Sunday was a Funday. Really... we could have been doing anything as a family... and it would have been an awesome day. Weekends always fly by way too fast.













That is NOT how I style my hair these days... that is courtesy of the crazy Oklahoma winds that we had yesterday. Also, today is the last day of that hideous stache on my husband's face... so thankful April comes tomorrow! 

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Sunday, March 30, 2014

School Sessions: Chapter 7

We celebrated this week with our 100th day of schooling from home (Charlotte was in school for a month before we pulled her out)... and boy does it feel like we're getting somewhere! We only have about 2 months of schooling left, before her Kindergarten year is at a close... and I think I just might start her on 1st grade, especially since her reading is totally taking off.

This week, other than our typical school work, she's been practicing reading each day for about 15 minutes or more... sometimes on her own, but most of the time, I'm around to help guide her with words she doesn't know. If she's reading away from me, she always comes running when a word has her stumped... it's too cute.

So we're mostly reviewing phonics/reading these days, I've introduced science experiments... we did some planting last week, but this week we did the "celery and food dye" experiment. She LOVED it. We invited our friends to join us... they learned how to write out a simple scientific method... and each day, observed the changes that they saw. Charlotte's prediction was accurate... she was so happy to see the stalk turn darker red each and every day.

Day 1:





Day 2: 


Day 3: 


This week's highlights

-  Charlotte fully enjoy this week's experiment... She was soooo cute, she even wanted to pull out her magnifying lens to look closely at the stalk, to get an accurate observation on Day 2 and Day 3.

-  She's reading like a champ... I can't praise her enough for her effort.

- Charlotte learned the difference between Odd/Even numbers... which has helped her figure out how to count by 2's a lot more easily.

-  lots of time with friends.


This week's lows:

-  Mommy had a debilitating headache one day that put her in the worst mood ever, with ZERO patience... so thankful that those are not an everyday occurrence.
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Saturday, March 29, 2014

Sweet As Honey Blog Tour

Some of you may know... but probably not many... that I am the granddaughter of a beekeeper. I grew up spending summers in my grandparent's garden- tending to the raspberry bushes (mostly), making mud pies, picking vegetables, and witnessed my grandfather smoke out the hives and begin the process for harvesting the honey. When Bonnie, from Going Home To Roost released her new fabric line, Sweet As Honey, there was NO way I could pass up on the opportunity to be part of this blog tour and create something fun out of this gorgeous fabric line...



The colors in the fabric are so warm and yet vibrant... each and every pattern seemed "yummy" to me. According to Bonnie, "It takes me to the most lovely place, where the sun is always shining, the birds fly free and the honey is extra sweet." ... Amen.

As soon as I spotted this fabric, I KNEW that I needed to have a little "fun" with it, and create something whimsical... something to invite Spring into my home...

There's something about pinwheels that scream Spring... and warmth... and these little ones were created, mounted onto craft sized dowel rods, and immediately placed in a jar. 



The colors worked perfectly for my master bedroom's gallery wall... but really, if you place them anywhere in your house, you're sure to smile as you walk by them. I stuck with 3... because I'll have 3 little ones come the end of this summer... but could you imagine a whole jar full? Another idea, is to decorate a simple gift wrapping with one of these lovelies. Talk about brightening someone's day...

Click here to view all 25 projects on this blog tour... so many beautiful creations that you do not want to miss out on. Be sure to check out Caitlin from Salty Oat's beautiful market tote... and I'm super excited to see what tomorrow brings over at Craft Nurse Quilt.
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Thursday, March 27, 2014

Savoring Every Drop

So I have decided that rainy days... well, they're perfectly timed... I think they're God's way of helping us slow down, relax... and stay in our pjs all day long (okay, that last one might be a Mommy thought...)

Charlotte, on the other hand.... has a different idea of what rainy days mean...






She's all about savoring every drop that falls from the sky.

** Hearing aids are ALWAYS removed on Charlotte before rain play can occur... no worries. 

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Wednesday, March 26, 2014

30 seconds.

A LONG time ago, I started sharing photography tips on this blog... and I've sort of let it go to the wayside... you know, because I dove into motherhood full throttle (adopted a little one, had a baby, and pregnant with another, all within 3 years!)... maybe just maybe, it'll be something that I'll bring back, if there's any interest (do comment below, if there's something specific you'd like to learn or that I might be able to share with you). In the meantime, be sure to check out this post... it has a lot of fun tips regarding angles... When photographing little ones, it's SO important to try out the many different angles/ways that you can capture a moment. You can snap a few pictures in less than 30 seconds... and they can ALL look different... like the ones I captured of Marley below...






When capturing photos of little ones, you gotta move quickly... sometimes 30 seconds is all you're given... make the most of it! 
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Saturday, March 22, 2014

School Sessions: Chapter 6

While most kids have been on spring break this week or last week... we've been doing lots of reviewing, and trying to play a little catch up with other learning activities. The weather just turned into a beautiful Oklahoma spring, so we've enjoyed a lot of "play" time and adventures outside the home... whether it's the zoo or the playground. We've spent a bunch of time planting in the garden, and starting seedlings in the house (Charlotte loves when the sprouts start to pop up... it's her favorite thing to do, watch something grow... well, and water them). We've also been mastering the map of the United States/Canada... she can pretty much point out where most states/provinces are... so this week we started state Capitals! She has such an interest for geography... it's awesome...



This week's highlights

- Charlotte was able to add a number with any other number from 0-6, in her head... didn't have to use the number line... HUGE lightbulb moment for her, when realized she could do it (ex: 75+3=__)

- Reading out loud from her books, like a champ.

- Can count by 2's to 100.

This week's lows:

- Mommy's patience was a bit thin at times.

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Thursday, March 20, 2014

Hello Spring...

We had such a great 1st day of Spring... and I'm pretty sure everyone around the world has celebrated over this day, because of the dreadful winter we all head (minus those in Hawaii and Florida and other tropical places). Not only did we get to the playground for 2 hours, but we colored and had a "ripping" party for one of Charlotte's Winter pictures that she created. She got to shred it all up, in honor of welcoming Spring. Hope everyone that lived near a Rita's, was able to indulge... man oh man, what I'd give for some water ice.






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