We had a good day today. The girls spent the day at Kami's house while I taught lessons at home. Kenzie is coming over for a sleepover on Thursday night which will be fun! They did some 'yarning' today and played.
Madi was quite tired. She said she woke up at 4am and couldn't get back to sleep so she played games on her iPod to help her sleep, but she wasn't able to get back to sleep :( We explained that the iPod will be more stimulating and it'd be better to read or put on some soothing music to help her sleep. Hoping she has a better night of sleep tonight!
She missed your call this morning because she was in the shower and by the time she got to it, it was too late (it was on the counter in the bathroom). She called back immediately. I'm thinking the connection may not have been great as it was having problems connecting. Hopefully she'll catch you in the morning!
So a great day! Sorry so short - just not too much to say!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
Back Again!
Madison was able to ride her bike alone for the first time today. She was given her walkie talkie and I had mine. Her code name: Foxtrot. Mine: Private. Riley: Unicorn. Jules: babababa. I talked with her about some safety tips and off she went. She was supposed to check in with me at the end of the street. She got as far as the front of the house saying "These things are awesome!!" So it wasn't a problem at all for her to check in. In fact, she gave me the 411 about every five seconds - "I'm at the second alley. I'm at the first tree. I'm at Apache." Then she hit the "alarm" button which tells me she's in need of help. I check in "Are you ok?" She says "I hit a tree. Was holding the bike with one hand while I talked to you." So after that, she checked in a little less frequently. Thankfully, she didn't hit it hard.
She came in for a water break and then went out for a little longer.
Rest of the day was usual stuff - she did one page of Roman Numeral practice (she said she really loves those because they are like clues) and she did two pages of multiplication practice. All her multiplication practice is paying off!! There were tons of problems and she only got two wrong - 8 x 6 and 6 x 8. I showed her that she had them all correct until the 8 by 6 which she quickly knew what it was. She is gaining confidence in her math skills and doing very well.
We also made another trip out to The Gap at the mall. Still having a crazy sale. So she got two pairs of $2 flip flops, $4 shirt, $2 shirt and two pairs of jean capris at $5 each. She was very excited. Though saying "thank you" does not come easy to her. I can tell by her face that she is thankful, but she doesn't say it verbally. We're working on it with her.
We also went to Target to get Julia some of her food as she was running out. Riley managed to tie Julia's dress to the cart and Julia managed to pull Riley's hair. So the fussing from both of them was super fun for those few moments. Thankfully it didn't last long.
The girls played and it was a calm rest of the day. Madi was able to eat her pancit canton (sp?!) at lunch and loved it. Jeremy read with her tonight. She is really missing you badly, the last few days in particular. I'm not quite sure what to do to help her with that other than to tell her that we love her, you love her and we're all here to help.
She came in for a water break and then went out for a little longer.
Rest of the day was usual stuff - she did one page of Roman Numeral practice (she said she really loves those because they are like clues) and she did two pages of multiplication practice. All her multiplication practice is paying off!! There were tons of problems and she only got two wrong - 8 x 6 and 6 x 8. I showed her that she had them all correct until the 8 by 6 which she quickly knew what it was. She is gaining confidence in her math skills and doing very well.
We also made another trip out to The Gap at the mall. Still having a crazy sale. So she got two pairs of $2 flip flops, $4 shirt, $2 shirt and two pairs of jean capris at $5 each. She was very excited. Though saying "thank you" does not come easy to her. I can tell by her face that she is thankful, but she doesn't say it verbally. We're working on it with her.
We also went to Target to get Julia some of her food as she was running out. Riley managed to tie Julia's dress to the cart and Julia managed to pull Riley's hair. So the fussing from both of them was super fun for those few moments. Thankfully it didn't last long.
The girls played and it was a calm rest of the day. Madi was able to eat her pancit canton (sp?!) at lunch and loved it. Jeremy read with her tonight. She is really missing you badly, the last few days in particular. I'm not quite sure what to do to help her with that other than to tell her that we love her, you love her and we're all here to help.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Frisbee Adventure
So the girls and I decided to throw a frisbee in the backyard of Poppi and Grammy's house. There are two chain link fences on either side of the yard and a tall wooden fence with two planks running side to side along it. Riley threw the frisbee over the chain link fence a few times and Madi retrieved it. Then she threw it up and over the wooden fence. There was no way we could completely climb the fence because there weren't planks running side to side on the other side of the fence. And I know this because I climbed up on the planks on the fence to look over. Then Madi climbed up to see. We could tell there was an alley leading to it. So we ventured down the street to see how we could get there. Once we came to the end of the alley, we saw how much brush and sunflowers and overgrown weeds there were and decided to go back home.
Once home, I suggested using yarn and something at the end to hook the frisbee. Madi thought of the hook from the Tinkertoy set so we got it all ready and thought it would be fun to see if we could get it. Madi tried many times, but with the wind and how far from the fence the frisbee was, it wasn't working. So then I tried. Since Madi was still holding the yarn, I couldn't get it close enough so I asked her to let go of the yarn. Then forgot I had asked her to let go of the yarn. And flung the yarn and the hook over the fence right next to the frisbee.
So off we went back down the path again to the alley way. There was enough of a clearing on the side of the chainlink fence side and at one point, she even climbed sideways along the fence to get over some brush (and past what she said was a rustling in the brush - probably the bunny we had recently seen?! Hopefully!). She rescued the frisbee and the yarn/hook and came back. In the meantime, Riley had to go to the bathroom and as we were not close enough to the house, I just had her go back in the brush. Fun times, right! :)
We went home feeling very victorious and happy. Quite the adventure.
Once home, I suggested using yarn and something at the end to hook the frisbee. Madi thought of the hook from the Tinkertoy set so we got it all ready and thought it would be fun to see if we could get it. Madi tried many times, but with the wind and how far from the fence the frisbee was, it wasn't working. So then I tried. Since Madi was still holding the yarn, I couldn't get it close enough so I asked her to let go of the yarn. Then forgot I had asked her to let go of the yarn. And flung the yarn and the hook over the fence right next to the frisbee.
So off we went back down the path again to the alley way. There was enough of a clearing on the side of the chainlink fence side and at one point, she even climbed sideways along the fence to get over some brush (and past what she said was a rustling in the brush - probably the bunny we had recently seen?! Hopefully!). She rescued the frisbee and the yarn/hook and came back. In the meantime, Riley had to go to the bathroom and as we were not close enough to the house, I just had her go back in the brush. Fun times, right! :)
We went home feeling very victorious and happy. Quite the adventure.
Road Trip!
We met Poppi at church and then went out to Chick Fila where the girls got food and cow hats. It was "dress like a cow" day and there were even two people dressed in cow outfits. The girls loved that. Then we went to church where Madi loaded up on her loot (books). She got some really great books! Then we went home and back out to eat at Olive Garden. The girls were both tired and hungry.
On Saturday, the girls stayed home with Poppi and watched a movie or two while Grammy and I went out to Walmart. We had sandwiches with chips and yogurts. Then Grammy, Madi, Riley and I went to the roller skating rink while Poppi went down to the church. It was one of the highlights of the trip! None of us had roller skated in a few years and it was Riley's first time doing it. The girls laced up their skates and then I took Riley by the hands and led her down and back the aisle area. I did the same with Madi a few times just so she could get the hang of it. Then we ventured onto the rink. Madi gained more confidence the more she went around. I skated backwards and helped Riley learn how to skate. The girls had a great time. You'll even see the wall in the background that says "Merry Christmas!"
Each night Poppi read the devotional with the girls - Naaman one night, Noah the other.
That night we ate chicken strips, mashed potatoes and fried okra. Poppi and Grammy went to church while the girls and I stayed home. We decided to go outside and toss a small frisbee around. I had the girls do it out back so we wouldn't have to be out front by the street. Little did I know it would become quite an adventure.... More to come about that later.
The girls were totally worn out by the end of the day and both of them took a nap in the car on the way home.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Twins!
No I am NOT pregnant. :) The twins are also not a body part (or two). haha
The girls are now twins - Riley and Madi that is. I'll explain it later in the post.
Today was a good, but mentally tiring day. Mentally tiring because I felt as though I was juggling three balls at one time and each one had a different need at the same time - ALL day long. Usually there's a little lull. Not today :)
Our van was in need of an oil change as well as an inspection. Since we leave for Killeen tomorrow morning, I didn't want to go without taking care of both of them. So I decided this morning to take the three girls to Firestone Auto. We put together some fun bags - Madi brought some paper and things to draw with, Riley brought some blocks and a blanket and Julia had her snacks and some little people and of course, whatever everyone else brought. We left at 8am.
Thankfully, there weren't very many people in the waiting area - like four others. So we took the corner area of the seating area and I put the pink blanket down so Jules would have somewhere to sit to put her blocks and people and such. The girls each chose a chair to sit in. Madi started drawing right away, Riley played blocks and Julia had her snack.
Then the girls started to play hide and seek. No one around seemed to mind and since they were staying away from the counter and playing very quietly, I didn't care. However, Riley wouldn't cover her eyes to count. So Madi asked if Julia could find them. I took Jules to a window and counted to 15. Then I let Julia go down on the floor to see if she could find the girls. Mind you, this place is not large at all! So the hiding places were limited. But Julia loved finding them and giggled so much. The girls were really really well behaved. We didn't get any dirty looks and a few of the people even said "Hi!" to Julia as she smiled at them. We only did a few rounds of it and then we went back to our spots.
The girls had a granola bar for a snack. I read a short book to Riley. Julia played blocks and little people. Riley and Madi went to the glass door to watch them work on the car. As long as the men weren't bothered and they didn't block people, I let them watch. Thankfully no one came in or out during those ten minutes.
The last ten minutes the girls played on their iPod and iPod Touch. I packed up the blocks and asked the girls to help clean up - which they did without a second reminder. We checked out and after an hour and a half of changing what they were doing every ten minutes, we left. I was lesson planning in my head - geared it toward the four year old age when you want to rotate activities every 8-12 minutes to keep them focused. Worked great! But my brain was tired.
When we got home, Julia went to bed and I asked Madi if she wanted to do some study time now or later. She chose now, but fell asleep on her bed for a little while. So I had her come downstairs and she did some cursive practice, cinquain poetry, metaphors/simile work and eleven math problems. She did great on the cursive and English work, but only had four of the eleven math problems correct. So I sat down with her and went over it. She had rushed through it and I told her that she really needed to take her time. We worked through the problems together and all was fine.
We ate lunch and then the girls played. Madi is in need of some new pjs so I started looking online at several stores to decide where we should look. Couldn't believe the prices!! Toddler and baby or women pjs are so much cheaper than the tween clothing. Pants alone are $19.95 and shorts were $14.95 - this is at Old Navy, Macy's, Gap... So I found some decent prices that looked decent on sale at Macy's and thought we'd go to see if they were of good quality. Come to find out, the sale price was on the individual pieces - not the set as they were shown online. So it was $8 for a tank and $8 for shorts that had the drawstring fraying. I told Madi we'd keep looking.
We walked into the Gap. They were having a huge sale of 30% off the kid's clothing that was already on the sale racks. But to make it even better, since I have a Gap card, they give an additional 25% off of that. We found the pj section and there were tank tops for $7.99 - 30% - 25% so they were only $4 or so. We found some cute pants that were still $19.95 so I told Madi we'd pass on those. But then in the back of the store they had some cute capri pants that were only $5 after the discounts! So I got her a few pairs of capris, tanks, a few tshirts, a pair of shorts, jeans (only $6!!) and a cute skirt.
Riley really, really wanted to get some pjs to look like Madi. So I got her two sets of the same clothes so they could be twins. They look SO cute!!! They were invited to swim at my parents' house again tonight so Jeremy took them over and they dressed in one of their pj outfits. They were so excited.
We leave for Killeen tomorrow morning around 9am or so. Should be a really fun weekend!
Pj Twins:
The girls are now twins - Riley and Madi that is. I'll explain it later in the post.
Today was a good, but mentally tiring day. Mentally tiring because I felt as though I was juggling three balls at one time and each one had a different need at the same time - ALL day long. Usually there's a little lull. Not today :)
Our van was in need of an oil change as well as an inspection. Since we leave for Killeen tomorrow morning, I didn't want to go without taking care of both of them. So I decided this morning to take the three girls to Firestone Auto. We put together some fun bags - Madi brought some paper and things to draw with, Riley brought some blocks and a blanket and Julia had her snacks and some little people and of course, whatever everyone else brought. We left at 8am.
Thankfully, there weren't very many people in the waiting area - like four others. So we took the corner area of the seating area and I put the pink blanket down so Jules would have somewhere to sit to put her blocks and people and such. The girls each chose a chair to sit in. Madi started drawing right away, Riley played blocks and Julia had her snack.
Then the girls started to play hide and seek. No one around seemed to mind and since they were staying away from the counter and playing very quietly, I didn't care. However, Riley wouldn't cover her eyes to count. So Madi asked if Julia could find them. I took Jules to a window and counted to 15. Then I let Julia go down on the floor to see if she could find the girls. Mind you, this place is not large at all! So the hiding places were limited. But Julia loved finding them and giggled so much. The girls were really really well behaved. We didn't get any dirty looks and a few of the people even said "Hi!" to Julia as she smiled at them. We only did a few rounds of it and then we went back to our spots.
The girls had a granola bar for a snack. I read a short book to Riley. Julia played blocks and little people. Riley and Madi went to the glass door to watch them work on the car. As long as the men weren't bothered and they didn't block people, I let them watch. Thankfully no one came in or out during those ten minutes.
The last ten minutes the girls played on their iPod and iPod Touch. I packed up the blocks and asked the girls to help clean up - which they did without a second reminder. We checked out and after an hour and a half of changing what they were doing every ten minutes, we left. I was lesson planning in my head - geared it toward the four year old age when you want to rotate activities every 8-12 minutes to keep them focused. Worked great! But my brain was tired.
When we got home, Julia went to bed and I asked Madi if she wanted to do some study time now or later. She chose now, but fell asleep on her bed for a little while. So I had her come downstairs and she did some cursive practice, cinquain poetry, metaphors/simile work and eleven math problems. She did great on the cursive and English work, but only had four of the eleven math problems correct. So I sat down with her and went over it. She had rushed through it and I told her that she really needed to take her time. We worked through the problems together and all was fine.
We ate lunch and then the girls played. Madi is in need of some new pjs so I started looking online at several stores to decide where we should look. Couldn't believe the prices!! Toddler and baby or women pjs are so much cheaper than the tween clothing. Pants alone are $19.95 and shorts were $14.95 - this is at Old Navy, Macy's, Gap... So I found some decent prices that looked decent on sale at Macy's and thought we'd go to see if they were of good quality. Come to find out, the sale price was on the individual pieces - not the set as they were shown online. So it was $8 for a tank and $8 for shorts that had the drawstring fraying. I told Madi we'd keep looking.
We walked into the Gap. They were having a huge sale of 30% off the kid's clothing that was already on the sale racks. But to make it even better, since I have a Gap card, they give an additional 25% off of that. We found the pj section and there were tank tops for $7.99 - 30% - 25% so they were only $4 or so. We found some cute pants that were still $19.95 so I told Madi we'd pass on those. But then in the back of the store they had some cute capri pants that were only $5 after the discounts! So I got her a few pairs of capris, tanks, a few tshirts, a pair of shorts, jeans (only $6!!) and a cute skirt.
Riley really, really wanted to get some pjs to look like Madi. So I got her two sets of the same clothes so they could be twins. They look SO cute!!! They were invited to swim at my parents' house again tonight so Jeremy took them over and they dressed in one of their pj outfits. They were so excited.
We leave for Killeen tomorrow morning around 9am or so. Should be a really fun weekend!
Pj Twins:
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Babysitting Course and Time with Friends
Today was super fun. We took the morning doing our usual stuff and Madi really loved talking with you a few times on the phone. She made two new friends today - Madison and Shelby. I went over Madison's house to pick her up and since Shelby was there and I knew she was going to the babysitting class as well, I invited her to come over too. The girls did the usual things - hide and seek, Wii, lunch, dessert, and just play time in the playroom. They decided to use the foam blocks to do what they call "Wipeout Kids." They stack the wedges on top of each other and then slide on the top one or jump on their knees on it. Or slide down the slide into it. Madi has a five minute video of it. Lots of laughter. Tons of giggling. And of course, lots and lots of talking. Girls are really good at that :)
Then Madison's mom picked the girls up and they met up with Charidy. The four girls went to the Frisco Fire Safety Town.
(website: http://www.friscotexas.gov/safetytown/Pages/default.aspx)
They took a babysitting class and learned how to change babies, feed them, do cpr and take care of them. They also talked about fire safety, where to go in tornado weather, and basic safety information. The course was free. Then Charidy's mom dropped her off at home.
After dinner tonight, I took Riley and Madi to my parents' house for a late night swim. They even got to have the pool lights turned on as well as the bubbles in the hot tub. Of course, they loved it.
We read the Bible when we got home and then read the next chapter of our most recent book "Chasing Vermeer." Great book. Was on the list of all of the private schools for summer reading.
Madi also tried her first WebQuest. She did a "Map Adventure." Using our address, she had figure out two different ways to write directions to our house. So we printed the map and then using N,S,E, and W, she had to write out directions from the Main Street near us. This will also be a good map for her to use when bike riding. Madi also had to fill out a worksheet that we printed that had her list six types of maps and what information each map gives. So she finished all of it. Wasn't as in-depth as I was hoping it would be, but it was useful and a start. WebQuests are really great when used correctly. This one was a little too basic and easy. I have one on famous Texans and Americans that will cover the main people she would have learned about in third grade. So I plan to have her do that soon.
Nothing too exciting tomorrow planned. Possibly getting my car inspected. Woo hoo! We'll pack for Poppi and Grammy's house so we can leave Friday morning, but other than that, we're just going to play tomorrow! And maybe make homemade bread... if I remember!
Then Madison's mom picked the girls up and they met up with Charidy. The four girls went to the Frisco Fire Safety Town.
(website: http://www.friscotexas.gov/safetytown/Pages/default.aspx)
They took a babysitting class and learned how to change babies, feed them, do cpr and take care of them. They also talked about fire safety, where to go in tornado weather, and basic safety information. The course was free. Then Charidy's mom dropped her off at home.
After dinner tonight, I took Riley and Madi to my parents' house for a late night swim. They even got to have the pool lights turned on as well as the bubbles in the hot tub. Of course, they loved it.
We read the Bible when we got home and then read the next chapter of our most recent book "Chasing Vermeer." Great book. Was on the list of all of the private schools for summer reading.
Madi also tried her first WebQuest. She did a "Map Adventure." Using our address, she had figure out two different ways to write directions to our house. So we printed the map and then using N,S,E, and W, she had to write out directions from the Main Street near us. This will also be a good map for her to use when bike riding. Madi also had to fill out a worksheet that we printed that had her list six types of maps and what information each map gives. So she finished all of it. Wasn't as in-depth as I was hoping it would be, but it was useful and a start. WebQuests are really great when used correctly. This one was a little too basic and easy. I have one on famous Texans and Americans that will cover the main people she would have learned about in third grade. So I plan to have her do that soon.
Nothing too exciting tomorrow planned. Possibly getting my car inspected. Woo hoo! We'll pack for Poppi and Grammy's house so we can leave Friday morning, but other than that, we're just going to play tomorrow! And maybe make homemade bread... if I remember!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
You Belong to Me
This has become our anthem. Taylor Swift rocks and we are rocking out with her - in the car anyway. This is the girls' favorite song. Jules loves to bob her head to it the whole time
Good day today. Madi and Julia went over Kami's house for most of the day until 3:30pm. I took Riley to her four year old check-up and then she stayed with me for the rest of the day. Had her play on the computer during the few lessons I had. Madi had fun with Kenzie.
When we got home, I vacuumed and Madi and Riley played for a very short time. I gave Madi the option to put her laundry away now or later. She chose right then. Only she didn't just put away the laundry that was in the hamper. She wanted to put her formal clothes in the closet and everything else in the dresser. The pile on the bed was incredible. I let her do it her way and when I came back in a little later, I gave her a few tips to help her find places for everything as it was not fitting in the dresser. So I explained what to hang (sweatshirts, not cotton shirts; jeans, skirts and anything bulky; don't want to stretch out the shoulders of her shirts) and she organized all of her drawers the way she wanted them. I also showed her how to hang things in the closet by color and the type of clothing they are. All pants together. All skirts together. Put shirts by color. Etc... When we were finished, she loved it and was very excited about how it all looked. She thought it looked neat. I tried to explain why to put shirts by color (so if she's looking for a certain shirt, she doesn't have to search high and low for it - that way it saves time when we're in a hurry or just time in general).
Madi also did about 40 minutes of math work tonight. Finished the entire math section of her TAKS book that you purchased. We only have 30 some questions or so of English/Writing to do as well as practicing pre-writing and writing skills. She did great with the math tonight. I sat with her the entire time while Riley played and Julia ate. She was very focused and we read the problems together. Went really well.
Madi is playing Sims now on her iPod and Riley is playing nearby. We finished the Babysitter's Club book last night so now we'll start another new book tonight. Or Jeremy will - it's my night with Riley and his night with Madi for the reading part.
Hope you're good! We won't be leaving anywhere early tomorrow - not until 9:30am - so Madi can call or you can call if you have a chance.
Good day today. Madi and Julia went over Kami's house for most of the day until 3:30pm. I took Riley to her four year old check-up and then she stayed with me for the rest of the day. Had her play on the computer during the few lessons I had. Madi had fun with Kenzie.
When we got home, I vacuumed and Madi and Riley played for a very short time. I gave Madi the option to put her laundry away now or later. She chose right then. Only she didn't just put away the laundry that was in the hamper. She wanted to put her formal clothes in the closet and everything else in the dresser. The pile on the bed was incredible. I let her do it her way and when I came back in a little later, I gave her a few tips to help her find places for everything as it was not fitting in the dresser. So I explained what to hang (sweatshirts, not cotton shirts; jeans, skirts and anything bulky; don't want to stretch out the shoulders of her shirts) and she organized all of her drawers the way she wanted them. I also showed her how to hang things in the closet by color and the type of clothing they are. All pants together. All skirts together. Put shirts by color. Etc... When we were finished, she loved it and was very excited about how it all looked. She thought it looked neat. I tried to explain why to put shirts by color (so if she's looking for a certain shirt, she doesn't have to search high and low for it - that way it saves time when we're in a hurry or just time in general).
Madi also did about 40 minutes of math work tonight. Finished the entire math section of her TAKS book that you purchased. We only have 30 some questions or so of English/Writing to do as well as practicing pre-writing and writing skills. She did great with the math tonight. I sat with her the entire time while Riley played and Julia ate. She was very focused and we read the problems together. Went really well.
Madi is playing Sims now on her iPod and Riley is playing nearby. We finished the Babysitter's Club book last night so now we'll start another new book tonight. Or Jeremy will - it's my night with Riley and his night with Madi for the reading part.
Hope you're good! We won't be leaving anywhere early tomorrow - not until 9:30am - so Madi can call or you can call if you have a chance.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)