Homeschooling....

Maybe I will. I have questioned my ability to be able to do it, but this video is proof that I could definitely do it and be successful.

Seriously though, it is something that I have been considering, but at this point it is any body's guess concerning what we will be doing. I have looked into the Montessori preschool for Joseph, and it looks great, but also expensive. I am also looking at the Nature center preschool, which seems nice too. There they take daily hikes on the preserve, and do lots of nature related activities. The programs of both look great, but to tell the truth, I don't look forward to having to drive Joseph there and dropping him off only to have to go back and pick him up again in an hour and a half at the longest. Getting in and out of the the house with both kids is hard enough when we stay all together, plus being a taxi really doesn't sound like much fun for me or the baby. Honestly, there are so many free kids programs here in Lincoln, that it really seems a waste to pay for a program, and I like having Joseph home anyway. I have met lots of stay at home mom's here that are using these programs, and some that plan to keep homeschooling beyond kindergarten. I even know one home schooled kindergartner who is reading "Little House on the Prairie." Of course there is a huge debate over kids who stay home vs. go to school, but the augments against homeschooling don't really seem to be all too compelling. People always mention the socialization aspect of school, but if you think about it, where else will a person encounter such a large group of peers who are exactly the same age and working on the same things? It would seem that being active in the community would be much more healthy, and have a better influence on children. Then of course there is the argument that homeschooling is risky academically. Well, there are of course guidelines that one is given by the school district, as well as testing that happens periodically. Finally, there are plenty of brilliant people who were home schooled, and plenty of people who attended regular school who only ended up dropping out in the end. And of course, the biggest benefit of homeschooling is that one can travel during the school year, when the flights are cheap. When your family is spread over three countries, that is quite a weighty consideration.

One week later....

this is how much our potato guys grew in just one week!

Dreams can come true, with initiative

One thing I have always wanted to do was send drawings and stories to my nieces and nephews, but as so often happens it alway just remained a dream. Well, sometimes dreams do come true, and this last week I decided to draw a couple of birthday cards; one for one of my nephews in California, and one for one of my nieces in Spain. No stories yet, and there is definately room for improvement, but at least it is a start. It was so much fun doing these cards, that I definately want to keep making them.

Guitar

Well, now that Tommy is three months old, I am starting to have more energy and more time for other things. I am actually trying to teach myself to play guitar. I have been singing so much with Tommy and Joseph that I thought "Hey, why don't I get the guitar out and play while I sing?" That way I can learn something new, while being with them. Of course it is much harder than that , so at the moment I am just playing a few cords. Tonight after Joseph went to sleep I learned three cords while Tommy laid next to me on the futon and listened. He seemed to think I was playing music.
I had just gotten the guitar out on the day I took this photo, and Joseph of course wanted to try. At one point he pointed to one of the strings and told me with all seriousness "This string is the 'J' string." For those of you who don't know music, there is no 'J' string. I think he picked that letter because it is the first letter of his name and the one with which he is the most familiar. Too cute!

Striking Resembalance

A few days ago I went for a walk with Tommy in a baby carrier under my coat because it was so cold, and just before leaving I looked at myself in the mirror.


What I saw was that I bear a striking resemblance to Gossamer, the red haired monster from bugs bunny. That is a good thing, because he was always one of my favourite characters. If I add a pair of sneakers and a radio playing "Power house" from my pocket, perhaps I have my next Halloween costume!

Pine near park

Today on the way to our nature Mommy and Me class I told Joseph that Pioneer Park is the name of the park where the nature center is. He thought about that for a minute, and then said "Well then I suppose that there must be Pines here then."

Potato guys

People always say that the Midwest is a great place to raise kids, and I have to agree. There are so many things to do here for toddlers and preschools that you can very easily go somewhere good for kids everyday. We generally go to one of the library story time or toddler time programs every week, and now I found out about a great preschool program that they have at the Lincoln's Children's Museum every week too. We went last week, and the theme was 'Gardening.' There were several stations where the kids could do art projects, and they could also look at worms, dig in some dirt to find fake worms, and listen to a story. This is where Joseph made these potato guys, who will be growing hair that is actually grass.

Triumphant

Tommy rolled over for the first time yesterday, and this is how he looked right after he did; he looks rather tickled.

Keva Planks

I am just so behind on everything! I have been trying to write thank you notes for people who sent gifts for Tommy for so long (I have actually done some, but just not all.) We received some money gifts from some people, and for a long time I just couldn't decide on what to get since everything from Joseph is still in good shape. I was thinking of getting a really great set of blocks, but just couldn't decide on which kind. At least not until I took Joseph to the Lincoln Children's Museum last Wednesday. There they had an amazing display of these great blocks called Keva Planks. The display is a room full of the most amazing creations (some of which you can see on the website in the gallery,) but what is really great is that these blocks are for all ages, from Toddler to Adult they say. It really does seem like there is no way kids could outgrow them, and that little fingers can easily manipulate them. Lucky for us I still had the money for the baby saved, as well as some old birthday money for Joseph. I can't wait until they get here! I guess I better write those thank you notes while I wait... : )

Three months old

Today Tsjomme is three months old! Of course I am a little sad to put away his clothes, but he is growing so nicely, and changing so much. The past week or so has been much easier because he is much less fussy. In the evenings he doesn't really fuss at all now, and usually goes to sleep around eight o'clock. He also seems to be a lot more alert lately and likes to watch Jim and Joseph at the dinner table from my lap or his little chair. Last night he seemed to be imitating us talking because he was intensely looking at us with a little frown and making lots of noise while we were talking. It wasn't lilting like when he wants me to sing, so that is why I think he was imitating us. I sing a lot, and about two weeks ago he stated to make little lilting calls when I was singing. Sometimes he also does it when I am not singing, but when he wants me to sing to him. He just seems so much older and wiser all of a sudden the last couple of weeks; he even laughed for the first time today when I was tickling his belly!

First Day of School

A few weeks ago I took Joseph to our first day of a Mommy and Me class at the Nature center. Joseph really loved it. The first day was about worms, and when we were there the kids were supposed to pretend they were worms. During the story that was about worms there was a spider character , and being rather impressed with the teachers impression of a spider Joseph decided he would rather be a spider than a worm. All week long he did talk about worms and pretended to be one too.
This last week was about birds. The kids got to look at birds nests and eggs, and we took a walk to look at some bird houses out side around the nature center. During the story the teacher showed the kids pictures of birds, and Joseph knew some of them (the Cardinal and American Robin) that we have in our yard. This week Joseph pretended to be a bird when eating his spaghetti noodles. : )

Here is a picture of when I was trying to leave the nature center. The first day it took us an hour to leave! Between Joseph and the baby it is hard to get moving.

They grow up so fast!

Today we went for a walk, and Jim carried Joseph in the Ergo. His pants were way to short when he was riding in it, so we decided it was time to change his clothes to the next size. Joseph was very excited to get a closet full of new clothes. I thought he might get upset about packing away some of his favorite clothes, but he was so excited about some of the car and truck prints on things that it really wasn't too difficult. I also have to change Tommy's clothes to the 3-6 month size, and I will be doing that tomorrow. Luckily I got everything sorted in different boxes by size, so switching is relatively easy. It is amazing how things change when they get older though. This time Joseph was helping me to hang his new clothes on hangers, and he did a really good job!