Year 2, Day 295: Falling Back In

The weather took a nosedive today and got really rainy and cold, so it was perfect timing to get back into the books after a week off.  I'm a project and to do list person, so I'm a bit sad to reshelve my projects again, but they will always be there waiting to be done when I get a chance.  It was a great school day with only a little bit of protest.  What made it great was just being a bit more patient and not pushing so hard on things like math for Keturah.  We spent 30 solid minutes on 3 multi digit multiplication problems.  She doesn't have her math facts memorized, so it simply takes her longer.  She worked hard on those 3 problems and she understood her mistakes.  She's nearing the end of this book, which some would think makes her "behind" because it was last year's book, but this is a mastery program and if you just make steady progress, that's all that's important.  If you don't understand these basic concepts well, then you can't do the higher maths.  So, we'll just take our time and as long as she cooperates like she did today, the experience will be fine.

Justin was a handful though during history lessons.  They both have hard time keeping their mouth shut and I think it's because they are just used to having opportunities all day to talk versus sitting and listening to the teacher up front.  But I know they can do it because I watched them sit through multiple worship services this weekend and behave just fine.  It's just me that they seem to think they have the freedom to speak their minds with.  I guess that's a good thing.  But, today, Keturah was able to narrate back to me more information than Justin was.  His mind was somewhere else.  He did see his friends yesterday, and that peer to peer interaction just doesn't something to his brain and he gets all goofy crazy.  Think: he doesn't sit upright on the couch but rather upside down with his head practically on the floor and his feet in the air.  Or he's making some kind of ridiculous sound.  Justin gets giddy.  And that's perfectly normal.

We finished Keturah's clothes sorting today, although she doesn't like dresses with many buttons or frills.  I have a hard time putting them away though and I like to save some for "just in case" there's a fancy event.  And she looks so beautiful in them!  I'm guessing she doesn't want to attract attention to herself since she is more of an introvert.  I can understand that.  I probably dress that way, too, to be honest.  I like to blend into the background and never go for the glam and glitzy.  Plain jane we are.

And those streamers!  They were dragged around alot today and at one point Keturah had them wrapped around one wrist and hand as well as both ankles separately like ace bandages.  They do get less fun to play with the more you crunch them up because they become thinner and just look like a silver rope.  So we'll see how long they actual last.

I showed Abishai the clips of Jack Jack from the movie "The Incredibles" and he was scared when Jack Jack was a fireball.  He has a very caring heart which is evident in his play because after hurting his cars, he often "fixes" them back up, too.  He even noticed a car with it's hood up at a Jiffy Lube we passed yesterday and sounded really concerned about it.

Sissy is a great teacher and she makes sure he says please and thank you.

Little boy in a big room full of stuff.  There was a point to this picture, but I don't remember.  I still have some work to do in here though.  We pulled all of Benaiah's stuff out and I'm going to reorganize it for him into categories and such, and maybe even set stuff aside that he wants long term, but not in a dorm room.  I also just want it to fit in the closet better and I know there are huge gaps in all the boxes.  The boxes to the left are the leftover books and paperwork I need to go through when we have another break from school.  And no, actually, I don't have time to even do one box a day right now.

Just reading books together in a plastic tub.  That's totally normal, right?

I was busy on my computer, Jared was busy in the garage and Keturah was off doing something in her room, too.  I came in and found the three boys stuck to three different screens.  Check out how Abishai likes to cross his legs like his big brothers.  Oh, and I purchased some things to finish off the picture wall, so I hope to get to that later this week.  Super cheap and I have this vision for it that involves a tiny bit of craftiness.  I love crafts!  In fact, I wanted Keturah to do a simple cut and paste worksheet for school and I ended up being the one to glue it together after she cut it because I love crafting!  Plus, I'm a bit impatient and she actually doesn't have that much experience (none of them do) in the typical art projects other kids do at school.  I don't seek out busywork like that.  But I do have paints and doo dahs and glue and now colored clay and somewhere we have charcoal pencils and real artist paper.  It's all there, but that kind of art is not something I know how to do.  It's available and I'm willing to do it anytime, even painting, if I have the chance to lay some newspaper down.  Ding, ding, ding!  I have an idea of where I can get Abishai into doing more of it, too.  Anyway, every house project will come together at some point.  Piece by piece.

Grandma brought over leftovers and glowsticks!  Exciting times!  We don't use glowsticks often, so it was a great surprise!

And the camera caught the action quite nicely in this particular lighting.  I'm super stoked that I can fiddle with the settings on my camera just a tiny bit and capture something like this.

Pretty!

Round and round the arm.

Science lesson: Justin asked why the blue isn't as bright as the others and of course the answer is that the wavelengths of blues and purples are much longer than reds and oranges, so they are more subtle.

So neat!

Light sabers!

Thomas got some special "glow in the dark" treatment.  Then Abishai brought the glowstick in my bed the next morning.  I know they are non toxic, but the contents do stain if the stick breaks.  Naturally, it made me nervous, but nothing happened.

Hiding from diaper time.  Abishai gets nervous about getting his diaper changed after a BM.  Sometimes the area gets raw and it does hurt, so I don't blame him.  No judging, but we still haven't focused on potty training yet.  When I'm ready, we will did it.  I did successfully potty train 3 other kids with some help, so, I know I can do this.  I just don't want to.  Oh, and those pj's will definitely become a favorite because they have "dump it out" trucks and "excadators" on them (dump trucks and excavators).