It’s high time I got this blog caught up.     I’m going to condense all the pictures from the last three weeks of January into one post.   Here we go!

January 11, 2012- Bowling

With the rising cost of living, especially the price of groceries and gas, it can be hard for a family of six to afford going out anymore!    I have discovered two great websites- Groupon and Restaurant(dot)com.    In November I was able to buy a four pass bowling coupon for $10!  That included a game of bowling for four and shoe rentals- the normal price is $30.   I set it aside until after the holiday rush quieted down.    Restaurant(dot)com sells gift cards to restaurants and they often have great deals.   I was able to purchase a $25 gift card to our favorite pizza restaurant for $2!     We had a great afternoon out- the kids enjoyed their first time bowling.  Kip is a great bowler- he had 2 strikes and 8 spares.   I did not bowl as I don’t really care for it- I enjoyed watching everyone else and keeping track of Lyra.

January 16, 2012- Morning Glories- sleepy girls in the morning.   Savvy, 4 years old and Lyra, 21 months old.

January 17, 2012- Park Day

I’ve lived in the South for 22 years and I don’t ever remember a winter this warm.   We have consistently had sunny days in the 60′s.    Consequently, we’ve been packing up lunch and heading over to the new playground 4 miles from our house pretty often.    Such fun to meet with other homeschooling friends for fellowship and encouragement.

January 20, 2012- More Park Days & First Pigtails

Lyra has had her first pig tails and oh my, she is SO cute!   Of course, she is also very busy so it has been nearly impossible to really get a good picture of them.  I made several attempts while she was eating lunch- they aren’t as good as I’d like but they’ll do.   She is also an absolutely WILD baby- she loves to rough house- you cannot throw her high enough, swing her hard enough- she laughs & laughs & laughs.   She is so fun!

Eating her lunch at the park!

January 21, 2012- Build A Bear

Nathan has been asking and asking to go to Build A Bear, probably for over  a year.    He was given $30 and a $10 B-A-B coupon for his birthday so off we went.

With the coupon, there was enough left over to do a second animal.   Nathan chose to make Lyra a soft bunny.   He is giving it to her for Valentine’s Day.   Sweet, eh? 

January 21, 2012- Black Eye

Lyra fell while playing in the living room and landed on the scope of Nathan’s rifle.   This is shortly after it happened.   There was almost a perfect circle around her eye.  It looked pretty bead the next few days but I wasn’t able to get a good picture of it.

January 28, 2012 Sisters- Mary playing with and dressing up Lyra.

January 31, 2012 My Two Seven Year Olds

Because Mary & Nathan are exactly 11 months apart (2/3/2004 and then 1/3/2005), I always have one month each year where they are both the same age.     Here are my two seven year olds.    I know Nathan’s hair is atrociously long- I took him to get it cut a few days later.

I had to post a picture of Nathan and his “hicket”.  I am not sure what the proper name is for this tool but it is Nathan’s favorite tool of Kip’s.  He hauls it all around the yard digging stuff, etc. with it.    Every day he asks me – “Mom, can I take my hicket outside and play?”

Love this picture of the two of them!

From an email I sent to Kip’s Aunt today.   I know I’ll enjoy looking back on this in 20 years. 

Here is a snippet of today- I thought you might find it somewhat amusing to look back and remember how it was with little kids in the house!     Showered & dressed by 7:30am.  45 minutes to check my email, eat breakfast, switch laundry, monitor Mary & Nathan’s chores and do the breakfast dishes.  8:15 we are all heading upstairs for 30 minutes of getting the children dressed, hair fixed, make beds, clean rooms, etc.   8:45am Bible study with the kids.  9:00am- Lyra goes down for a nap.  I spend the next 1 hour & 15 minutes trying to get Mary and Nathan through their language arts, phonics & math and do Savvy’s preschool work.   Get Lyra up at 10:15 and spend the next 30 minutes reading history out loud (we are studying the 1850′s right now).    Then downstairs- send Nathan out to the backyard with Lyra.  Direct Mary & Savvy to clean the living room.  I start the bread for tonight.  Then they go outside & I bring Lyra in.  Lyra & I eat lunch.   Then I put her in the living room & fix lunch for the 3 older kids.   While they are eating lunch they listen to their Suzuki Piano Music and I read aloud to them from the Burgess Bird Book for Children (we are studying birds for Science).    While I pick up lunch I am supervising Mary & Nathan practicing their piano (8 songs each).    By now it is 1:15pm.   Put the younger two girls down for a nap.   Older two kids sent outside to play.   While they are playing I fold laundry, sort mail, check email, put spaghetti sauce & meatballs on the stove to simmer, sweep & mop the floor, get the rolls fixed and rising.   Call kids in for snack and to wash faces.  Piano teacher arrives at 4:00pm for lessons.  While they are having lessons I get the little girls up, make croutons from scratch for our salad,  assemble a salad and cook the pasta.   After lessons our piano teacher stays for dinner.  He leaves around 7:30pm.  I take the girls upstairs, put Lyra to bed, listen to Mary read to me & Savvy for 20 minutes and then put them down.   Then sweep & mop the kitchen floor for the second time today.  Meanwhile Kip & Nathan are out in the garage painting his pinewood derby car for the race on Saturday.  I just sat down and I never did get to cleaning the three bathrooms (maybe, hopefully, tomorrow?).     WHEW!!!