New Job

I stopped working when I was pregnant with my awesome kids. Then they decided they wanted to go to school 5 days a week - still mornings only. It was time to start looking for a job.

My request was simple - I wanted part time, mornings only, in the field of Education. Hah! I did eventually find a job. I teach part time at a local private school. I'm teaching high school Math and Science, which is a nice change of pace. There are times they have a lot in common with preschoolers, but I refrain from pointing that out to them.

I hope to be able to keep up this blog, but my time is more and more torn and my main focus will always be my kids.

A Tale of Two Beds - Part 19

Once again, here are the links to the previous 18 tales. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Frustration, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18.

Here's a twist on an old favorite. This time she moved into his room. Of course she brought along every stuffed animal she has so they wouldn't get lonely.

See that nice comfortable bed? Why would you sleep there? Clearly the floor is much more... hard.

He arranged and tucked in all of his animals. Then he curled up next to them.

She also arranged her animals, but she decided to stay in bed.

Um... I can't even explain why this would happen. He is asleep. I did move him fully into the bed after taking the picture.

Wordless Wednesday

I'm getting better at this!

Piano Recital

When the kids were 3 they were both in a group music/piano class. After a year of those, we decided to move Sweet Son to private lessons. This was his first recital as a solo rather than part of a class. He had to sit with the other performers, go up when it was his turn, play everything without music, bow, and go sit back down with the other performers. That's a lot to ask for a 4 year old. Here's the result:

Isn't the bow the cutest thing ever?

Chemistry

It's clear how much we love our local Science Museum. They offer homeschool classes and the kids were excited to learn more Chemistry, which is this semester's focus. Like all programs we have tried at the museum, this one is great.

The kids had their first day of Chemistry today. Today was lab safety so all of the groups were together - PreK-8th grade (30 students total). They had to go around and introduce themselves and say something interesting. Sweet Son told everyone about how we made a volcano yesterday (we did, it was my first time ever doing paper mache - no clue on spelling that one). Then Sweet Daughter jumped in and started explaining the parts of the volcano and how to know if it is magma or lava. The teachers were rather impressed. hehe

Girl Muscles!

The slow way to go down the fire pole. Those are some girl muscles!

I have a dream

On the way to school yesterday this conversation happened:

Sweet Son: Mama, I had a dream like Martin Luther King Jr.
Me: You did? What was your dream?
Sweet Son: Well, not just like Martin Luther King Jr.
Me: Ok, what was your dream?
Sweet Son: MLK Jr wanted everyone to be nice and do stuff together no matter what they looked like.
Sweet Son: Yeah, my dream wasn't like that.
Me: What was your dream?
Sweet Son: I dreamed about happy alligators.

Sweet Daughter later said she dreams about her recital and having everyone watch her sing and how everyone will clap when she bows.

Wordless Wednesday

Science Experiments

I go to pick up the kids from school. Sweet Son is ready first and we are standing in the hall waiting on Sweet Daughter. I tell Sweet Son to put on his hat and gloves because it is cold outside. I add that it is literally freezing temperatures.

He gets distracted by this last statement and comes up with a plan. He proposes we put water outside to freeze, but this time instead of putting out a lot, maybe we could do different amounts. One container with a little, one with a lot - except in two different size containers, so 4 total. Then we can see which will freeze first. The other parents waiting in the hallway are looking at him and are clearly impressed.

I ask which he thinks will freeze first. He says the smallest one should because there is less of it to freeze. Then he thinks some more and says well, maybe the bigger container with the small amount because it will be more spread out. It will have more top area, so it might freeze first. I said that's a great hypothesis. He starts jumping up and down asking if we can test it. I agree (I know, I'm such a push over).

The director walks down the hallway and says hi to all of us waiting. One of the moms pulls her aside and says, "That boy just designed his own Science experiment!" The director looked at Sweet Son and said, "Yeah, he does that a lot." She just kept walking.

I'm not sure if I'm more impressed that he clearly did design it or that apparently the director wasn't surprised. My kids are awesome.

MLK Jr.

Every year I read the kids MLK Jr's famous speech. Each year I ask the kids what it was about with varying degrees of understanding. This year they were confused by one thing. Why wouldn't people who are black and white be the same? Sweet Daughter even added, "It's just skin color, it's not anything important like if they know how to follow the rules." I tried explaining that in the recent past people believed the darker your skin color the worse of a person you were. Sweet Son exclaimed, "That's just rude!" They both named people they are friends with who have different color skin. They both pointed out that they are darker than I am. (haha, I know) They are glad MLK Jr did something so that people would be nice to each other.

They were most surprised to find out not everyone agreed and that some people wanted to hurt him. Sweet Daughter said, "Maybe it was a baby who tried to hurt him because they don't know the rules." I said there were many adults who were upset at the idea of all people being equal. Sweet Son said, "But why? That's not logical!"

I love my kids.

Snow Skiing

This was the kids' second skiing trip, so the big question is, how did they do? Here are some photos and a video to demonstrate.

Sweet Son getting ready to go down the hill.

Sweet Daughter going down the hill with me following closely.

Both kids impatient to get going. Notice the lack of crowd on the hill. Amazing.

4 clips combined - the first two were at the beginning of the trip and the last two were at the end. They are better at skiing than I was when I was 4 and better than when I was on my 2nd ski trip.

On the mountain

As a kid I was always afraid of the chair lift when skiing. I still have a bit of healthy respect them. Sweet Husband is better at the whole hold a kid while taking a selfie thing.

The boys

Daddy Daughter time

A close look at the groomer is always exciting.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Wonderful Husband was left at home with the kids for awhile. I came home to see this "project" he had them working on. Lots of the ads that come in the mail, scissors, and glue - put them together and they make... a mess! The kids loved it.

Annual Ski Trip

It's January again, so time for our annual family ski trip. This would be our second annual, but you have to start somewhere, right?

We stay on the mountain because driving to the hill and then putting on the gear is a pain with two kids. We rented a one bedroom condo with access to the slope just outside the door. We were right between the just learning hill with the tow rope and the beginner slope. Perfect for the kids.

Once a year they have a bike race through town, up and down the mountain, and over a frozen lake. we went out the door to cheer them on. The bikers all smiled and waved (some laughed) at our kids yelling at them thing like "you can do it" and "go, go, go!" 

Walking around the town they have fires which feel great when you are cold.

Holiday lights and fires with snow in the background

Snow Fight!

Gathering snow to throw is so much easier when there is a lot of snow!

They started with reasonable sized snow balls.

They discovered just how much fun it is to throw it toward Daddy.

If small snowballs are good...

More Science Museum

Of course, Science isn't just for kids.

Wonderful Husband demonstrating how to build with Keva Planks . The museum also has an earthquake table where you can test your structures to see what they can stand up to.

Giant bubbles are fun. Sweet Son is playing with the father of some friends.

They also have art tables set up so the kids can make something to take home.

Science Museum Members' Party

One of the many benefits of being members of our local Science Museum, is the party before they open a new exhibit. These are always fun and there is never a crowd.

The Maker exhibit. The majority of the museum was turned into things the kids could make or take apart. They got to take apart computers and build climbing structures among other things.

They also had two different live shows. You can see our kids (in their school uniforms) sitting by two friends watching the coffee creamer flavoring go up in flames.

During the other show that evening, Sweet Daughter was pulled into the act.

Wordless Wednesday

Love

Sweet Son: "Sister, do you know how much I love you?"
Sweet Daughter: "100?"
Sweet Son: "No, it's more than that."
Sweet Daughter: "102?"
Sweet Son: "I love you 110."
Sweet Daughter: "Wow"

Awwwwww

Volcano

Knowing we had a trip planned for February that included visiting a volcano, we needed to learn about them first. After many books and small experiments, we finally did the one every kid loves - making our own volcano.

Starting the paper mache  around the bottle - clearly dressed to get dirty

Messy, sticky, FUN

It was cold outside and it's difficult to paint in heavy coats so we moved inside on this day.

Before we could actually use the volcano, we had to know what to put inside it. We experimented with multiple things settling on vinegar and baking soda. We also experimented with different amounts. Then we decided to add one other special ingredient.

Are you ready to see the results?

Lite Brite

Both kids got a new Lite Brite for Christmas. Sweet Daughter loves hers and uses it daily. Sweet Son liked the idea of having his picture taken if he completed one. My only issue with the new design is the pegs are incredibly difficult to get out. We did discover that if you have one of the Lego tools for pulling Legos apart, it works perfectly for prying these out as well.

Flowers

Vase in a window

Boat Picture and Ummm??? They look really proud though!

Her Boat

2014 Summary

It's been another year of growth for the blog. I thought I would share some fun stats from the last year.

Top 10 posts:
Eye Droppers
Car Seats, Baby Carriers
Twin Pregnancy
MyCausora
Teething Necklaces
Art with Babies
Chiropractic Care
Tummy Time
TV and Computer Time for Babies
Homemade Zamboni

Top 10 searches that lead to my blog:
breastfeeding animals by humans
homemade zamboni
amber necklace for teething research
amber teething necklace research
barbaloot bed river
eating and walking in venice
homemade zamboni
how to build a homemade zamboni
how to make a homemade zamboni

So clearly, I'm an expert on zambonis...

My readers come from all over the world which is awesome, many countries that I don't know anyone in and that I would love to visit. Anyone want to sponsor my family?
United States
Ukraine
China
Russia
Canada
France
United Kingdom
Germany
Romania
Australia

I hosted/sponsored 9 giveaways worth a total of $1,900 over the year. I am already working on more - some will be posted here while others will be on the facebook page, so feel free to like that page as well. Because of the strange facebook algorithm, you will have to either check in on the page or like/comment on things if you want them to show up in your news feed. The giveaway I did in December on the facebook page only reached 1/2 of the people who have liked the page. Frustrating.

This year I plan on doing more giveaways and hopefully they will be worth even more! I am open to ideas - what type of giveaways do you prefer?