December 2009

We had a wonderful Christmas. We missed Mamaw but knew she was at Jesus' birthday party in heaven! Jude wanted and knew we couldn't afford a very expensive star wars toy, but we squeezed it out! We wrapped it in Lainey's paper and he was so shocked when he opened it for her! He was very very grateful! We have some videos that we need to post soon! The kids got way to much stuff, as usual! Aunt Charmel and Uncle Ron got Jude the Mini Eye Clops thing that you plug into the TV and it shows a magnified image of whatever it's pointing at. I highly recommend it!! He has been wanting it for a while and it was a total surprise to us all when he received it! It is really really cool! We got them a mini trampoline. We are hoping eventually Lainey will use it. Jude likes it a lot. We told him he could use it when he gets angry too just to get rid of the anger energy! Ugh to many new gifts to name all of which they both love! I put Lainey's in a round tub to have in the living room and as I type she is getting each and every one of them out! It is so cute her trying to reach the very bottom!

Lainey almost opened some pkgs! She of course was more interested in the boxes than the gifts! She has been walking so much! She has even walked with her drink! She has outgrown her back brace already! That was a bit of a shock. She and Jude have gone through growth spurts in the last couple months!

We are hoping to really get back to more of a schedule in the new year. After Mamaw's passing we have not focused on anything very well. I think we are going to try a bit more structure. Jude's writing has never been great but in the last 2 months it has gotten worse. He wrote his J and D backwards in his own name several times. He seems to be looking forward to some planned type schooly stuff. I don't know we will just allow it to flow where we all compromise!


This is at Mamaw and Papaw's on Christmas. Mamaw had the shopping just about done when she passed away...lucky Papaw!! :) She got Jude some really great star wars figures! Lainey likes them too.

Jude's surprise gift! As you can see, he was unbelievable happy over it!

Lainey enjoyed her gifts as well. We got her a Bilibo (yellow thing). It can be whatever the child wants, seat, hat, stepping stone! We thought maybe she would like it as she gets older. We knew Jude would enjoy it now! They both like it!

Jude "finally" in the snow! He had been waiting "forever" to play in the snow at Papaw's!

Jude made several ornaments for the tree this year. We got a bag of loose silk flowers at Wal-mart for a couple bucks and he did a lot with them. This is a snowman he made by taking apart a white silk flower to use it's petals! It also had a felt hat and beads!

Sadly we lost my grandfather a couple of days before Christmas. He was my mom's father. He had been ill for awhile and we were expecting his passing. Although he could be a difficult man to get along with he was our family. The kids went to the visitation with me as Chad was at work. Jude was so strong for me! I was quite anxious in going (not from his passing so much as it making me miss Mom even more) and he was a huge rock for me. I am so proud of and thankful for my son! We have decided to not go to UWWG this time. It was a decision we made as a family. It saddens us, but we all think it's best. Perhaps next year!

Fall/Halloween 2009

No suprise, Jude was a Star Wars character for Halloween! Darth Vader! I had to rush Lainey to the ER early that morning due to a fever and her being listless. It turned out to be an urinary tract infection. She was so sleepy all day. Daddy and Jude went trick or treating and had a wonderful time! We spoke of the tradition of Halloween and what it means now, why some christians do not observe it, etc.

This is a play-doh creation Jude made of he and Daddy at a hot dog roast! It is his best play-doh creation yet! We all were very impressed with his patience in making it!

Pumpkin Festival trip

Mamaw and Aunt Annie Bannie took Jude to the Pumpkin Festival in Circleville. This was the last trip Mamaw and Jude went on. Jude drew a picture of their time there and it was buried with Mamaw. Mamaw spoke of this trip often and each time she laughed until she cried! What a glorious memory!!

He was amazed to see how large the seeds of the big pumpkins were! He rode a few rides and bought souvenirs for us.

Various Pictures.

I have finally gone through pictures on our cell phones and camera to post. It was difficult because we had so many that had Mom or when we were with her. Anyway better late than never! I will be posting a few different ones!

This is Jude's game pass! It says "Free Game Pass untill Flip card over" the other side has a date.


This is from when the Pinta and Nina came to Marietta!

After a long spell with no rain, Jude found that Mamaw and Papaw's creek had almost dried up in some spots. He found two larger fish that were in a spot that had dried up on either side and was only about 8 inches deep at the deepest point. Most of the time their dorsal fin was popping out of the water. He felt so sad for them, they were large for being in the creek when the creek is full! So he caught them with a net and put them in a bucket and took them down to the driveway bridge. There on one side was a bit of deep water and he placed them there! He was very thoughtful!

November 2009

This has been a somber time for us. We very suddenly and unexpectedly lost Mamaw. She was such an important part of our lives and we miss her terribly. Jude was sadden but is supremely confident that Mamaw is in heaven and is much better off now. Lainey of course doesn't understand but she definitely senses something is missing. She sometimes just crawls around looking and cries. She has cried every night when it's bedtime since Mamaw's passing. This usually is a very happy time for her. Last night was the first time she hasn't cried. My mom was my best girlfriend and greatest supporter. She was the kindest most self-less person I have ever known. While I am greatly sadden with her passing, I find comfort and joy in the wonderful years I was lucky enough to have had her! I am also comforted by the knowledge that she now can no longer feel pain and sadness.

As far as "school" type stuff there has been much talk over many subjects but I honestly haven't kept track. Mamaw had MS but died of an aneurysm, so that has been discussed. We have also been talking about how you just don't know when the Lord is going to call you up so you need to enjoy each day and to be the best person you can everyday. We are not sure if we will be attending the UWWG now or not. We still have the reservations so hopefully it will still happen.

October week 3 2009

Jude is still loving Star Wars the Clone Wars! He did a search on Google and found a great new site-Hasbro.com It has a lot of fun Star Wars and other stuff too. It has a place where you can make your own comic book. You choose the background, characters and phrases. The shape of the "cell" and word bubbles even have options! Jude was very excited and here is some pics of the one he made.

We bought a 3-D foam castle kit at the store. Both the kids love it. We built it as it's supposed to be and Jude has built 5 or 6 different styles in the last 2 days! He built one for flood zones, one for earthquake areas and one for tornado prone areas lol.

Jude had gathered a ton of candy from just one parade. We don't normally eat a lot of candy and since it's close to Halloween time we decided to make a Haunted Candy Castle! It took 2 1/2 hrs but was well worth it! I made the castle shape with old boxes we had and Jude and I unwrapped an enormous amount of candy. Since we used a hot glue gun to attach the candy Jude told me where he wanted things but I put most of them on. He was afraid he would get burnt. It turned out great and got rid of a bunch of yucky candy :D

These are the flowers Jude picked for me on his hikes with Mamaw.

Jude made a stuffed animal. It's from a pattern that we have where he can choose from 2 different body shapes, 2 ears, 2 legs and 2 arm shapes so there are a lot of variations. He choose the fabric and the accessories.

This week we learned about early America. We learned about different Native American tribes across the country and about Columbus and subsequent voyagers to the Americas. Jude found it very interesting and sad at the same time. He thought they way the white settlers treated the Native Americans was awful. We also went down to see the Pinta and Nina while they were docked in town. We didn't go on them but they were neat to see. Jude did a couple searches online about the boats too. He made a totem pole that represented our family-(top to bottom) Daddy-Bear because he is brave and strong, Mommy-Pig because she likes them, Jude- Fox because he's kinda sneaky and Lainey-cat because she is curious and can be noisy! lol He also did a drawing of the Pinta and even spelled it correctly!!

Lainey received a package in the mail from Aunt Sissy! She loved the bag. She got a very cute pair of shoes that squeak (kinda like a dog toy) when she walks or bangs her feet together! Lainey loves them so much! She doesn't normally like to wear shoes but she enjoys these ones a lot.

Jude found a sandstone rock at Mamaw and Papaw's and brought it home and drew on it with a marker and then I etched out (with one of those vibrating tool things) his design of a trilobite. He made his own "fossil"! It was so fun.

Jude has done a few workbooks in the last couple of weeks just here and there though. He has found a new hobby-playing in the kitchen! I give him spices and small bowls filled with things like, sugar, flour, bread crumbs, instant tea, etc. He then gets out measuring cups, spoons and water and goes to town! One time it was a tasting session I endured-that was kinda scary! Then he dissolved some orange tic-tacs and used that as a base to make "perfumes" he called the base - L'Bonjour. It was hysterical.

We also refilled the goody box with new treats. At the store I gave him a budget of how much I was willing to spend for the box and he choose items that fit in the budget. We have small rewards for good behavior (like balloons, small dinosaur figures, etc.) Handipoints rewards (Star wars action figures) and Chapter book rewards for every five books (Hot wheels cars, tracks, and a dvd ($5 one))

Lainey has been walking better and better! She now walks up and down the hallway. It's not a long hallway mind you, but still impressive! She has opened closet doors twice now. The are the metal bi-fold kind. She hasn't quite figured out how exactly she is doing it though! I hope she doesn't figure that out soon or we will be in trouble for sure! LOL

Various Pictures from Jude and Mamaw's Nature Hike

Crazy curvy tree!

Roots, rocks, and flowers.

Carving in stones. There were several some dated early 1900's

Mushrooms and flowers

Jude

October week 1 and 2 2009

There seems to be an ebb and flow to unschooling. There will be weeks where Jude is greatly inspired to learn about so many things, then a few days, sometimes a week, when he just isn't into anything. I'm assuming that's normal, or at least for us anyway!

We surprised the kids and took them to Columbus Zoo. We told Jude that Lainey had an appointment at Children's Hospital, it was a great surprise! We took a ton of pictures but only posted some of them. Jude got one of those grabber type things with an animal head as a souvenir. He knew it was a lizard but not what kind. The next day he got online and looked up what kind it was (green iguana) and all about it's habitat and how it lives.

Jude had read about this world's stinkiest flower, err excuse me as Jude corrects me it's a mushroom, in Ranger Rick magazine. He told us all about it at the Zoo. He thought this pose would be funny!

The zookeepers were out with the animals a lot that day. The zookeeper is right beside Chad so the kangaroo is amazingly close. It was really awesome! Jude said "if I didn't read the sign that said not to pet them, I would so be tempted right now!"

It was really windy and Lainey never fussed once even though she hates winds and usually cries. Daddy tried to warm her hands without her getting mad. He did a great job, she was giggling like crazy!

For a minute we weren't sure which on was our son and which one was the bonobo! LOL

This was in the My Home exhibit at the zoo. They have a neat inside play/learn area. Jude was crawling underneath and Daddy told him to pop his head through and look right. Jude had no idea the wolf was there it was so cute.

Yehaw! Lainey was cracking up at Jude saying that and acting like he was riding a bronco instead of a wild boar statue!

This is at the Langur exhibit in the Asia section. The little orange thing is a baby! It was absolutely the cutest thing. We watched it for a long time.

This is a deer in the Asia section. He was well hidden until the zookeeper came out! He wanted lovins!





We had a whole day to celebrate Star Wars for Jude! We watched movies and played games. We slipped papers with characters names inside the balloons and Jude had to pop them without his hands or mouth. Once he "rescued" Princess Leia he got a reward (Star Wars Magazine).

Our menu for our Star Wars day was: Clone Trooper eggs with Tattooine Toast for breakfast, Dagobha Soup and Ewoks (gummy bears) for dessert as Lunch, Land speeders (buffalo chicken tenders), Light sabers (carrot sticks) and Vader Tots for dinner, wookie cookies(star crunch) for dessert. And finally for a snack, Padawan Popcorn.

As Jude was reading a dinosaur book he decided he wanted to know more about trilobites so I told him to go online and do a search. He was so tickled at all the info he found. His favorite was an inside diagram. This is his version. He forgot the heart but did a great job!

This is Jude's fiddle he made.

This is a baby turtle the maintenance man found outside our apartment. It's the smallest any of us had seen before. We let him go across the road near a creek.

This is our homemade pasta sauce cooling for the freezer!

There have been tons of questions and answers along the last few weeks but in all honesty I don't remember them all! Jude is always inquisitive so I guess I lose track sometimes of what all he asks about!

Lainey had an eye dr. appt and the Dr said we can still postpone another surgery! Yay! She has discovered that she can pop out the letters in a foam letter board. She's been enjoying the cool weather.