Life with 10

Wake Up:  kids get dressed, make beds, put away laundry

Breakfast:  homemade baked oats/ toast and PB/ hard boiled eggs/ french toast/ pancakes/ scrambled eggs and sausage + fruit and milk

(when we have pancakes, I make 5-6 dozen for breakfast)

Lunch:  PBJ/ turkey sandwiches/ egg salad/ tuna salad/ cheese quesadillas

(we use an entire loaf of bread each day, go through 3-6 dozen eggs a week, and drink 4-6 gallons of milk a week . . . )

Kids chores:  sweep, mop, vacuum, load and empty dishwasher, sort dry laundry, clean up toy shelves, make beds, hang wet laundry, empty trashcans, clean windows, dust, clean up yard and carport, clean out van

(we run the laundry, clean the kitchen, hand wash big pots and pans, and change the sheets)

School: we try to start after breakfast and finish up after lunch.  Math, Language Arts, Handwriting, phonics, Spelling, history reading, read alouds, poetry memorization, chess and Latin (with daddy). 

Shows/ Movies:  kids are enjoying Avatar cartoon on Amazon, BBC Robin Hood and Phineas and Ferb on Netflix.  Little ones like Daniel Tiger and Little Einsteins on Netflix.  For weekly movie night, we've enjoyed classic Hitchcock Movies (The Man Who Knew Too Much, Rope, . . . )

Playtime:  Burke and Tesfaye love archery, Hendrick sorts coins and works with his animals, Hiwot sews or colors, Maegli leads creative play with Maclaren and Kolpin, Davis

All the kids know how to mix bottles and all want to hold Addison. 
(I have to remind them that I get priority, I'm the mama ;)

We count off in the car - each kids knows his/her own number, although Maclaren often says "I not here!" which means Dabney always copies.  When Maclaren says "eight," so does Dabney :)

4 months

Our sweet, beautiful, smiley Addison in 4 months old!

Little Miss still sleeps in a crib at the foot of the bed, we're all sleeping well (Praise God!), so I think we'll keep this arrangement for a bit longer.  Addy is a super sweet roommate.  Eventually we'll move her down the hall for her to share a room with her sister, Dabney.  

At 4 months:

chuckles

smiley

chatty ("aaah, aaah, aaah")

loves her paci

sleeps 10 hours at night

eats 7-8 times/ day (bottles and nursing)

takes 2 naps each day (sleeps 1 hour each morning, 3 hours each afternoon)

weighs 12 pounds

wears size 3 month and 3-6 months

grabs at her clothes, her paci, burp cloths, fingers, and toys

very social

watches TV (!)

loves to be held

tries to hold her bottle

spits a lot

drools a lot 

(she soaks through each outfit)

stinky

dry skin

active

strong

tries to sit up

loves to be held in a standing position

busy

big feet

We are smitten with our Addy girl.  Her adoring siblings are always eager to help her, snuggle with her, and play with her.  We feel incredibly blessed to have her in our family.  She is a joy!

4th Month

Preserving

When it comes to our annual preserving, I am so thankful for lots of helpers: helpers to pick and gather fruits (stawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and apples), helpers to wash and clean, helpers to peel and chop, helpers to wash glass jars, and helpers to crank the food mill. 

This weekend, we processed 54 half-pints of gorgeous jam (strawberry, blackberry, blueberry, and mixed berry), and 25 quarts of applesauce. 

The applesauce won't last us very long, but the jam should last us until next year!  Yummy :)

Backyard Geese

For a few weeks each fall, our small backyard lake is full of honking geese. 

Our Baby Girls

Layla checking in on her favorite nearly-four-month-old :)

Floor Plans

As someone who dreams in floor plans, I was quite proud of my kids dream house plan creations.  It's fun to dream :)
(I was also quite impressed that they didn't neglect important things like bathrooms!)

Hendrick

Maegli

Davis

Addy

Fall Soccer

Tis the season for City League Soccer.  We love the fun atmosphere, teaching emphasis, low pressure, and short season of the City League.  We are proud to have 2 boys playing on a U12 team, Hendrick and Tesfaye.  This year has brought a lot of changes: the U12 teams are co-ed - their team has 8 boys and 8 girls, and there are 3 refs on the field - they're now being called for "off-sides."  It's been a learning experience!    We were thrilled to get a fantastic coach this year, one of Mike's co-workers, who until this year has only coached girl teams.  He has done a great job.  Through lots of pre-game practices, this group of kids has really gelled together into a strong team. 

Tesfaye, as usual, loves playing striker, but is a great team player.   Hendrick is most comfortable in a defense position, where his height gives him an advantage.  He especially loves playing goalie and is practicing lots to become more comfortable using his hands. 

We're 2 games into their 8 game season, and have thoroughly enjoyed siting sidelines together at each practice and game - they're so much fun to watch!  This team is working incredibly hard on the field!

This game, Tesfaye scored 3 of the teams 4 goals.  He has grown into a very mature player - passing to his teammates and backing them up.  After his third goal, he moved back into a defense position for the rest of the game.   Their team won 4-2.  The second game, the final score was 12-5!  This team is playing incredibly well together. 

Hendrick was not too keen on wearing the goalie jersey, but was thrilled to spend the second half in the goal box.  He looked good out there!

 
We're excited for the next several weeks of soccer - 6 games to go!

School Year 2015-2016

Back in July, we began our new school year.  (This year, we're transitioning to a year-round school schedule.)  We're already 36 days into our school year! 

This year we are proud to be home educating 7 "officially registered" students: Hendrick in 6th grade, Jackson Tesfaye in 5th grade, Davis in 4th grade, Burke in 3rd grade, Hanna Hiwot and Maegli in 2nd grade, and Kolpin in Kindergarten. 

We're excited for another year of schooling growth and adventures with our children. 

Plus we have several super cuties who play a part in our school day :)

Toothless

"I accidentally lost my tooth."  

The first lost tooth for our 6-year-old!