Today in a nutshell:
Time with Kenzie this morning - ate pancakes and fruit
Madi had her first piano lesson this morning - new books and all. Learning how to hold her hands at the piano and learned a few new songs in the "black key" position. Will learn note names next week.
Madi was able to talk to Mason today so that was good.
The girls built a house out of the table and couch using cushions and blankets and things. They spent a lot of time just playing in it.
Study time consisted of 40 minutes on www.ixl.com with math skills by grade. She was able to review what was learned in third grade here and take practice tests. I am able to view her results in different graphs to see how much time she has spent on the areas (multiplication, division, etc...) and how many minutes she is spending in each area. As well as which areas take her longer to do, how many problems she is getting correct/wrong in each area and where she has "gold medaled" and met the expectations. One of the best parts is that it is a thirty day trial so we can do it every day through August 13.
We had tacos for dinner with turkey meat - Madi seemed to like them quite a bit.
I went to the Girl's Night Out at church where we had henna tattoos, did Zumba, got our eyebrows/upper lips done by Just Stringz, and took goofy pictures in a photo booth. Super fun! So Jeremy had the girls tonight. He said that Riley, Madi and he all fell asleep in Riley's bed.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Sleepover #2
Today was soooo hot again! So hard to do anything with the kids outside except swim! But it's even too hot to go out to do that in the middle of the day so we waited until right before dinner.
The morning went fine. Riley and Madi were getting on each other's nerves. Madi made eggs for breakfast. Smelly eggs at that. Riley told her that she smelled. Madi was offended. So she told Riley that she smelled. Ah - the sound of children in the morning :)
It did get better after that. I took the girls to Walmart as we have a lot of food, but nothing that actually creates a full meal. Came home and then we did laundry and the girls played some games on the computer. Then Kenzie came over for the sleepover after lunch!
I needed yarn to start a blanket for a friend who is having her first baby so the girls came with me (of course) to Michaels. I let Madi and Kenzie roam the store together while I took Riley and Jules to the yarn section. Made me nervous to let them go, but Kenzie does it often when she has friends and it's a relatively small store and they are mature enough to handle it in small doses. I gave Madi a coupon for 40% off one item and she purchased two things that she seems to already love: a loom that includes 100 plus bands and a book that shows her how to draw animals. She's already drawn two birds and a dog. They look great!
We went to my parents' house to swim and then the girls worked on their looms. Wild to think that Kenzie and Madi first swam together two years ago right before you and Madison boarded the plane back to the Philippines when she was eight.
Speaking of two years ago, check out this pic of Riley and Madi from 2009. They sure have grown!
My brother Jim was going to get pizza and actually purchased pizza for all of us to eat - incredibly thoughtful of him. The girls enjoyed it. Jeremy met us there for dinner and then Kenzie and Madi were able to ride in his cool car. Not that my car is not cool inside - it's just not "cool." haha
Madi and Kenzie are now watching the movie "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" and we'll do smores as soon as Riley is completely asleep. It's a Daddy night so Jeremy is up there with her. I had a few small talks with Madi today about the playdate - making sure to do things her friends want to do, being a good host, being polite and using manners, thinking of her friend first. It can sometimes be hard for Madi to think of her guests and instead she wants to be more bossy than thoughtful or will leave the friend by themselves and go do something on her own while the friend is left without someone there. So it's something we're trying to work on with her. I figure the more playdates and sleepovers with the right people, the more opportunity to practice!
Thanks for waking Jeremy up this morning! He said it was a little crazy waking up to an iPod in his face, but that he was very thankful to be woken up so he wasn't even later.
Madi was able to talk with Mason today. I will let her call him again tomorrow so we can figure out a good day for a playdate. He mentioned weekends and the next free Saturday she has is not until the first weekend in August. She has a sleepover for Charidy's birthday one weekend and the next weekend she will have just returned home from Camp KidJam!!
Speaking of which, I just received confirmation that she is definitely going to Camp KidJam! Very exciting!!! She'll love it and I think it will be life changing in many ways. Camp is always so awesome. Wish I were going! :) Website is: http://www.whatisorange.org/campkidjam/ (in case I hadn't already put that in here)
Riley is now asleep so the girls are eating smores. Simple solution when there is no bonfire: put one graham cracker with marshmallows and chocolate in microwave. Heat for 8-10 secs. Put other graham cracker on top and eat!
The morning went fine. Riley and Madi were getting on each other's nerves. Madi made eggs for breakfast. Smelly eggs at that. Riley told her that she smelled. Madi was offended. So she told Riley that she smelled. Ah - the sound of children in the morning :)
It did get better after that. I took the girls to Walmart as we have a lot of food, but nothing that actually creates a full meal. Came home and then we did laundry and the girls played some games on the computer. Then Kenzie came over for the sleepover after lunch!
I needed yarn to start a blanket for a friend who is having her first baby so the girls came with me (of course) to Michaels. I let Madi and Kenzie roam the store together while I took Riley and Jules to the yarn section. Made me nervous to let them go, but Kenzie does it often when she has friends and it's a relatively small store and they are mature enough to handle it in small doses. I gave Madi a coupon for 40% off one item and she purchased two things that she seems to already love: a loom that includes 100 plus bands and a book that shows her how to draw animals. She's already drawn two birds and a dog. They look great!
We went to my parents' house to swim and then the girls worked on their looms. Wild to think that Kenzie and Madi first swam together two years ago right before you and Madison boarded the plane back to the Philippines when she was eight.
Speaking of two years ago, check out this pic of Riley and Madi from 2009. They sure have grown!
My brother Jim was going to get pizza and actually purchased pizza for all of us to eat - incredibly thoughtful of him. The girls enjoyed it. Jeremy met us there for dinner and then Kenzie and Madi were able to ride in his cool car. Not that my car is not cool inside - it's just not "cool." haha
Madi and Kenzie are now watching the movie "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" and we'll do smores as soon as Riley is completely asleep. It's a Daddy night so Jeremy is up there with her. I had a few small talks with Madi today about the playdate - making sure to do things her friends want to do, being a good host, being polite and using manners, thinking of her friend first. It can sometimes be hard for Madi to think of her guests and instead she wants to be more bossy than thoughtful or will leave the friend by themselves and go do something on her own while the friend is left without someone there. So it's something we're trying to work on with her. I figure the more playdates and sleepovers with the right people, the more opportunity to practice!
Thanks for waking Jeremy up this morning! He said it was a little crazy waking up to an iPod in his face, but that he was very thankful to be woken up so he wasn't even later.
Madi was able to talk with Mason today. I will let her call him again tomorrow so we can figure out a good day for a playdate. He mentioned weekends and the next free Saturday she has is not until the first weekend in August. She has a sleepover for Charidy's birthday one weekend and the next weekend she will have just returned home from Camp KidJam!!
Speaking of which, I just received confirmation that she is definitely going to Camp KidJam! Very exciting!!! She'll love it and I think it will be life changing in many ways. Camp is always so awesome. Wish I were going! :) Website is: http://www.whatisorange.org/campkidjam/ (in case I hadn't already put that in here)
Riley is now asleep so the girls are eating smores. Simple solution when there is no bonfire: put one graham cracker with marshmallows and chocolate in microwave. Heat for 8-10 secs. Put other graham cracker on top and eat!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
108
The heat today probably feels much like the Philippines - just minus the amount of moisture in the air. My car was reading 108 on the way home today and the forecast is calling for weather of at least 101 for the next ten days. Needless to say, we won't be going outside much.
Today was very low-key. The girls all woke up around 7am. Julia was silent for an hour so I finally went up to find her just lying in her bed quiet as could be. We had breakfast and then Julia went down for her usual nap around 10am. Madi went for an early morning bike ride, but came home early because she said it was just too hot out.
During her nap, Riley, Madi and I made homemade bread. We used the recipe from her Kid's Cooking book. I let the girls take turn measuring and pouring the ingredients in the bowl. Madi did a lot of the mixing of the water into the dry ingredients. She loved it! Her hands were all slimy and goopy. Once it was mixed, I split the dough into two equal parts. This way the girls could each knead their own loaf of bread. I told them to get angry and start punching (as they were already punching it anyway). They laughed and loved hitting it hard. I set a timer for ten minutes and they kneaded the entire time.
Then we put the dough into two bowls, covered them and set them in the windowsill to help them rise faster. Only took an hour for them to be ready. The girls each played on their iPods while sitting next to their dough bowls. They had fun watching it rise.
Madi decided to shape her dough into different things - letters, turtles, etc... I just put Riley's dough into the bread pan. Both turned out sooo yummy and good!
Later in the day, I took all the girls to my mom's house to meet her so they could swim. We were only outside for about 30 minutes. They had a snack and now we're home for dinner.
Madi has had a really hard time getting to sleep and has been doing a lot of games on her iPod when trying to sleep. So we're letting her play on it until dinner tonight and then she can't use the iPod for games after dinner. The stimulation from it and the desire to get to new levels of her game are keeping her from sleeping. We're hoping this will help!
The girls kept teasing us saying "Riley got a real, live horse today!" We'd go "Really??!!" Then Madi would ask Riley to sit on her back and put on her hat (the blanket was her saddle). Madi would pretend to be a horse and Riley would ride her for a bit. Was cute.
Today was very low-key. The girls all woke up around 7am. Julia was silent for an hour so I finally went up to find her just lying in her bed quiet as could be. We had breakfast and then Julia went down for her usual nap around 10am. Madi went for an early morning bike ride, but came home early because she said it was just too hot out.
During her nap, Riley, Madi and I made homemade bread. We used the recipe from her Kid's Cooking book. I let the girls take turn measuring and pouring the ingredients in the bowl. Madi did a lot of the mixing of the water into the dry ingredients. She loved it! Her hands were all slimy and goopy. Once it was mixed, I split the dough into two equal parts. This way the girls could each knead their own loaf of bread. I told them to get angry and start punching (as they were already punching it anyway). They laughed and loved hitting it hard. I set a timer for ten minutes and they kneaded the entire time.
Then we put the dough into two bowls, covered them and set them in the windowsill to help them rise faster. Only took an hour for them to be ready. The girls each played on their iPods while sitting next to their dough bowls. They had fun watching it rise.
Madi decided to shape her dough into different things - letters, turtles, etc... I just put Riley's dough into the bread pan. Both turned out sooo yummy and good!
Later in the day, I took all the girls to my mom's house to meet her so they could swim. We were only outside for about 30 minutes. They had a snack and now we're home for dinner.
Madi has had a really hard time getting to sleep and has been doing a lot of games on her iPod when trying to sleep. So we're letting her play on it until dinner tonight and then she can't use the iPod for games after dinner. The stimulation from it and the desire to get to new levels of her game are keeping her from sleeping. We're hoping this will help!
The girls kept teasing us saying "Riley got a real, live horse today!" We'd go "Really??!!" Then Madi would ask Riley to sit on her back and put on her hat (the blanket was her saddle). Madi would pretend to be a horse and Riley would ride her for a bit. Was cute.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Tired
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!
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!
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)