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Who Can Resist a Puppy?
I’ve posted about our journey with pets and our first time fostering in other posts. We have always been animal lovers and enjoy helping them. After our first Foster experience and “Foster Fail”, we knew we wanted to foster again in memory of Max. Lucky for us, two days after returning our first fosters, the shelter had two puppies they needed out of the shelter ASAP. These would be the fourth and fifth fosters. Enter Gus Gus and Jaq. These two were the smallest puppies in a litter of five and they were 5 weeks old. They smelled worse than any dogs we had ever been around. Their fur was…
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When Loss Leads to Love
In my previous post, How Our Pet Journey Began, I wrote about Max. Max was a phenomenal dog and a beloved family member. When we said goodbye to him when Cancer took his quality of life away, we were devastated. When someone you love is gone, there is an emptiness around. The empty kennel, dog bed, or spot by your feet at night. Even his anxiety left a void. The house was quieter. Every time we say goodbye to a pet, we are astonished at the quiet that remains. Quite frankly, it would be enjoyable, if we weren’t so used to the noise. Max loved everyone. He loved every dog…
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How Our Pet Journey Began
Growing up, our household had varying allergy issues so we did not have dogs or cats. I recall having gerbils. When we introduced a new one to the cage, they began fighting. When I retrieved the new one from the cage, it jumped up and bit my nose. Shaking your head around with a rodent attached to the end of your nose is definitely memorable. I also attempted to keep hamsters, until I learned the hard way that they will kill their young. Our family also had a guinea pig, a rabbit (briefly, thanks to a fox) and a parrot named Cooper. In my teen years, a beautiful Main Coon…
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Kindergarten Year has Begun!
It feels strange to write that Headline – “Kindergarten Year has Begun.” If I have to choose a grade to categorize our current homeschool level, I suppose that’d be it… but one of the joys of Homeschooling is that you aren’t locked into a level. When someone is ready to move ahead to more challenging things, you have that freedom. The same applies if someone needs to hang back a little. Regardless, the purpose of this post is to share how I prepared for this year of schooling. I’m currently 34 weeks pregnant and my baby brain is in full swing. Because of this, I had to get SUPER organized…
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Chore Charts : Bring on the Helping!
We started using a pocket chart for scheduling our school “days” this year, and the kids responded really positively to it. My husband suggested that I use it to put up tasks that are expected from the kids, so that they could turn them around when the tasks are completed – like we do with our school tasks. When I began using rows of my scheduler for chores, I had to significantly simplify the school list and the kids were a little annoyed. I decided to give making our own mini charts a shot. Mind you, they aren’t flawless, but they were quick and easy and in the big scheme…
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Dreaming of Baby Gear
With a little one growing in my womb, I’m spending some time thinking about what baby gear I loved with my first two babies. My son is now almost 6 and my daughter is 4, so it’s been a while, but there are still some things I won’t be changing. The list below is in order, as best as I can recall, from birth on. There were certain things I was grateful to have in my hospital bag, and other things that we used for years. I hope this helps someone! Luna Bars : Yes, the hospital will provide meals, but in between, I was FAMISHED. Having some snacks of my own…
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Expectations
We all have expectations. Planning is part of survival. We plan out so much of life. There is the matter of where food and shelter and our basic needs will be met, and there are other things like social events and education and our responsibilities. Some days, I wrestle with my expectations of what I “should” be accomplishing, as plans are ever changing. It is nice to know what to expect. It gives us a sense of security, however false it may be, and helps us let our guard down. My family is in another season of “Expecting.” We recently found out that I am pregnant and the emotional roller…
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Artist Study: Matisse
One of the most enjoyable parts of homeschooling, at least in my home, is that I am not limited to the constraints of a prepared curriculum. Sometimes, this is overwhelming, as I find myself desiging a custom curriculum for Reading AND Math AND Science AND Art… Most of the time, I enjoy it, immensely. Among the fun things we learned, we were most inspired by Matisse’s determination to continue with his art, even after he was limited to his bed. Did you know that he wore sunglasses, because the colors he was using were too bright for his aging eyes? Fascinating! Art Projects, Inspired by Matisse I was so excited to…
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Artist Study : Monet
One of the most enjoyable parts of homeschooling, at least in my home, is that I am not limited to the constraints of a prepared curriculum. Sometimes, this is overwhelming, as I find myself desiging a custom curriculum for Reading AND Math AND Science AND Art… Most of the time, I enjoy it, immensely. I decided to start studying artists with the kids, and the first Artist that we studied was Monet. Among the fun things we learned, Monet found himself under the waves on at least one occassion, as the tide came in while he was painting. We learned that his mood could change like the weather and that…
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Library Bags : Encouraging a Love of Literature!
I took the kids to a Pajama Storytime, earlier this week. They enjoyed it very much and wanted to bring some books home. How does a Momma say no to that? I got a library card for my son, who is almost 5, and let the kids choose some books. The lesson I learned was that having preschoolers carry a stack of books can be, well, challenging. On Wednesday, I asked the little monkeys if they would enjoy having a bag to carry their library books in. The answer was an enthusiastic “Yes!” I promptly searched pinterest for “library bags” and found the Kids Totes by Running with Scissors. I had the…
