7/6/2006 Back to Schooling & Rambling

We need to get back in the swing of things and are working into it slowly. We've been so busy that I feel like the kids & I haven't spent much time together.

Now, I'm always with my children, but some days I'm not really WITH them. Know what I mean?

So, yesterday was a good day of "being with" them.

We got much of our seatwork done. Hannah only got her math done as she & I had to spend quite a bit of time learning a new concept-calculating volume and capacity. That was hard for both of us. We figured how many boxes of a particular size would fit into our homeschool room also after doing this lesson.

We had a picnic outside on the lawn with pumpkin bread, blueberries, cheese & crackers & smoothies. I read The Sword of the Samurai out loud. We are really enjoying this book and learning about Japan.

Then the kids had free time while I got Susanna down for a nap. Hannah did some cleaning in her room and took her rug outside to hang on the line. She wanted to beat it like they used to do in the "olden" days. She also likes washing clothes out there and draping them on bushes. It makes a very odd picture for people who happen to come by on days that Hannah does this. LOL.

Jonah decided to take his own nature hike with a petri dish and collected some specimens from the woods for us to look up. Hannah got so excited by his finds that she went with him to find more things.

Jonah also helped me in the garden today. I am putting more bark mulch in the garden paths around my raised beds. I will take a pic when it's all done. It is really looking pretty. Pat made a bunch of stakes for me for the tomatoes and to put strings around the asparagus bed. They were draping all over everything, so now they are contained-yeah!

Jonah is such a good helper. He filled the wheelbarrow with bark mulch while I spread out the last load. We have our best talks when we work together.

He told me that while Jared (his cousin) was here he kept daring Jonah to do things and telling Jonah to dare him to do things. I asked him how he handled that and he said he told Jared that only a fool takes a dare or gives one. I was so proud of him! He also said he had to hide the 4-wheeler keys because Jared kept saying he was going to start it. He also hid the lawn mower keys and the tractor keys. The tractor won't start without being jumped, so that's not a worry. But, I'm glad Jonah hid the keys to the other 2 machines. I told him next time bring us the keys and let us know what is going on.

Pat came home in time for dinner. We had hamburgers, salad & leftover zucchini parmesan. Then we went for a nice long 4-wheeler ride on the seasonal roads-ended up visiting at a friend's Christmas tree farm for a bit. He was telling us that all his ducks have been killed by something and a coyote dragged off their cat. We were really sad for them. They have a new kitten now, but aren't going to do ducks again. I guess this is the third year in a row this has happened. Last week they saw a coyote puppy on the side of the road.

At home, Pat played catch with the kids outside for a bit while I cleaned up the dishes. They got ready for bed and Pat read them their story while I got Susanna to bed. She is still nursing, so I nurse her and rock her to sleep. She nurses 3 times/day. She's 21 months old, but people are starting to act surprised if they find out she still nurses. I don't care-I love this special time with her. I had a breast reduction before we got married & had kids and this is the first time that nursing has been so successful. I worked really hard at it (got thrush & mastitis 3 times, too) and am not in a rush to give it up. Hannah nursed for 5 months & Jonah for 4 months, but I didn't make much and had to supplement. They both weaned themselves, preferring the bottle that was faster and had more in it. This time, I only needed to supplement for a few months and only once a day.

Went to bed last night satisfied with the day and thanking the Lord for it.