It's a GIRL!!!

Poor Blake, but he'll be OK.

We're planning to name her Alyssa Madison.

She's due June 15th, but I've yet to go early.

Have a great day!

Reading to Music

I've started working with Blake on reading. We're currently on lesson 10 in Teach Your Child to read in 100 Easy Lessons where he is learning to sound out simple words like "sam" and "cat". He's excited and doing well. Oh please let it continue like this!

So, when and where do I fit in this 1 on 1 with Blake? First thing in the school day, of course. Sierra is busy practicing her guitar in the living room, Bailey is practicing her piano in the family room, and Blake and I are snuggled up on my bed "reading". Jingle Bells, Greensleeves, and "aaammm" "am" going on all at once. It's music to my ears.

Happy Belated Birthday Blake

Way back when Blake turned 5, we were planning on having a party for him. Unfortunately, it was the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and all but one of his friends couldn't make it. So, we decided to move it. To January. When everyone could make it. When we weren't all busy with Christmas stuff. Ah, life. Sigh.

Anyway, we had a great time.

My kids made the monster cupcakes. The eyes were the best parts. Yum!

Happy 5th Birthday Blake!

Snow Day=Jammie Day

It's cold outside today. And it's snowing. One of those days that you just feel like staying in your pajamas, curling up with a blanket, drinking hot chocolate, and reading a book.

Ah, but we have to do school today. Sigh.

Wait! We have school at home! We can do whatever we want, right?! Hee hee.

Let it be declared that today is a Jammie Day!

Hooray, hooray for Jammie Day!

It is currently 11am, and we are all snuggled up with our fuzzy blankets in the living room, clothed in pajamas, fuzzy socks, and bathrobes, doing our math. We just had grilled ham, cheese and apple sandwiches, and we're waiting for our hot apple cider to cool enough to drink. Warm baths are planned after school is over for those who want them, and then we'll watch the rest of Avatar's season 2. Chores, well, they just need to be done before bed.

What a wonderful way to spend a snowy school day!

Merry Christmas 2011

My kids love taking Christmas pictures, especially the silly type. It makes it hard to take the standard "good" picture, but we always seem to end up with a lot of fun ones.

Have a very Merry Christmas! See you next year!

Christmas Letter 2011

Hey everyone,

Yet another year has come and gone, as they always seem to do. Unfortunately, this year had been a hard one for us, both financially and emotionally. However, there have been many rays of sunshine amidst the gloom, and family and friends have been a great help to us. We’ve really appreciated it, so thank you!

Seth has been hit the hardest around here. His bankruptcy practice has slowed down drastically over the past 12 months. Apparently, most people who can file have, and everyone else is so poor that bankruptcy actually won’t help. We are hoping that things will pick up once the economy does, but in the mean time, he is looking at additional sources of income, from expanding his practice to include consumer protection cases to doing Japanese translation for law firms and other legal contract work that’s available. Job aside, he has been able to spend a lot of time with the family.

Misty has had a full year. Along with homeschooling the kids, she was able to do seasonal, part time work grading statewide standardized tests for 3^rd-11^th grade reading comprehension and math. She also started working on finishing the basement. She has been able to complete enough to do some wall boarding and hopes to have the walls and ceilings done by next summer. Misty also discovered she was pregnant last June, then miscarried at 10 weeks along. A couple months later, she was pregnant again, this time with twins. Unfortunately, at 9 ½ weeks, she lost one. The surviving baby is alive and well, happily kicking and dancing away. He/she is expected to make an appearance around mid June next year.

Sierra, who is now 9 ½ and full of ideas, is doing well. She’s learning long multiplication and division in math, reading longer chapter books, and creating her own books on the computer. She is also taking, and doing very well in, Guitar and Musical Theatre at Options (once a week public school for the homeschooled). She will be performing the part of Toulouse, the little grey kitten from the Disney version, in their production of Aristocrats this coming spring.

Bailey is now 7 and has finally lost her first two teeth. She’s so proud! She has graduated to reading chapters, and is currently on the Disney Fairy books. Her artistic abilities have flourished in photography, drawing, and sculpting, and will soon be giving her older sister a run for her money. At Options, among other things, she has been learning Spanish and a lot about animals, weather, and cultures.

Blake, our 5 year-old giant, still maintains the cleanest room in the house. That boy likes things to be just so! He started doing preschool work this year and loves writing his letters and numbers, drawing shapes, and doing dot to dots and mazes. “Use your fingers, Blake, not your fist!” His imagination has flourished as well as he plays pretend with his sisters and toys, and he also seems to have an artistic streak along with his acute spatial awareness.

Casper, our cat, somehow hurt his hip earlier this year, but it is slowly healing. Lately, he has discovered that he doesn’t like snow, so to alleviate his boredom when he’s trapped inside, he will lie down in the middle of the hall or kitchen to bat at anything that crosses his path. What a silly cat!

Yes, we’ve had lots of sunshine amid the gloom. We hope that you’ve had sunshine too. Happy Holidays, and may your new year be bright!

Chocolate Mice

I can't really call this a "snack", but my kids love to make them, and they're pretty easy. Actually, the hardest part is by far finding maraschino cherries with stems. So, here's what you do:

Per mouse you will need:

1 marachino cherry with a stem

1 Hershey's Kiss

2 chocolate chips

melted dipping chocolate (almond bark)

First, dry the cherries off on a paper towel, unwrap the kisses, have the chocolate chips ready, and line a pan with waxed paper. Then melt the almond bark in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth. (Be sure to stir, or the chocolate can burn.)

Pick up a cherry by the stem (it's tail), and dip it in the chocolate to coat. Scrape off any extra and place on the waxed paper with the "tail" off to one side. Place the kiss, flat side, against the cherry opposite the stem. The place the ears (chocolate chips), point side toward the cherry at the top of the kiss. Cool and enjoy.