How Long Has It Been??

Oh, I've been really bad about keeping up with my posts. It's not that I've run out of things to say. Stan would tell you that I could never run out of things to say. But, somehow I stopped putting it all down. I wasn't planning on picking it back up, to be honest, but I came across a link on Stan's Facebook page, so I started reading my old posts. It had me a bit teary looking back over the events cataloged over the last year and a half, so I thought I would try again. Not that anyone will probably read this but me, but that's enough for now.

Anyway, I thought I'd start with our First Day of School Photos. This is Brandon's 6th year of homeschooling, Emma Kate's 2nd. Both scored exceptionally well last year on their Iowa exams, so we must be doing something right. Either that or their just both brilliant. Or maybe it's both. I'm going to assume it's both.

So here they both are. Gotten big, haven't they?

Just Brandon. My little Einstein. Honestly, I know people always think their kids are gifted, but this kid is the smartest person I know. And he's really dedicated, too. He's been taking guitar lessons for about 3 months, and it's just amazing listening to him play.

My sweet girl. She's a chatterbox like I've never seen, but she's so funny and so sweet. And, though she may live to torment her brother, she's also incredibly kind to him as well. You can never offer her just one of anything without hearing the question "What about Brandon?"

Santa Claus

We decided to go see Santa Claus today. We went to MacArthur Center, where they have a very neat little set-up. Prior to seeing Santa, you walk through a mini-village with Polar Express decor - you can pull the rope to hear the train horn and turn all sorts of noise-making wheels and handles - and then through a giant snow globe. After picking as much 'snow' as we could out of the kids' hair, they got to see Santa. Emma asked for "That fluffable bears video game" (aka Build-a-Bear Workshop), and Brandon asked for an Electric guitar. Santa informed Brandon that an acoustic would be easier to practice on.

After that, we were all (well, I was) pretty wiped out, so we came home, and Mom and Dad took a nap. I'm so ready to say farewell to this mono crap.

So, here is the photo that we paid WAY too much for (seriously, when did they start charging $30 for the smallest photo package that includes a couple of tiny pictures printed off-center on cheap photo paper?) I suppose you can't put a price on memories. But if you could it'd be $36 plus tax...

Random Thoughts

One of my friends has started posting her children's random thoughts every week. You know, those "did you know" kind of things kids come up with? So, tonight at dinner, Brandon had a "did you know" moment, and I thought I'd share it.

Brandon: "Did you know that the reason a whip makes that snapping noise is because it actually breaks the sound barrier when you crack it?"

Me: "Um, no I did not know that. Are you sure about that? It doesn't sound right."

Brandon: "Yep, I saw it on the Discovery Channel."

So, being the skeptic that I am, I looked it up. According to Wikipedia, "The tip of the whip breaks the sound barrier and causes a sharp crack—literally a sonic boom." He's like a sponge, that kid.

Emma's Paper Dolls

So, what does any decent mother do when she has to get rid of the beloved family pet, and the children are distraught. Well, I don't know, but I decided on bribery. Emma was in tears and all I could think was to say, "What can I do to make this better? If you could have anything at all right now, what would it be?"

Magic. The tears stop almost instantaneously, and she looks up at me. "Paper Dolls." Really?!? Well, not just any paper dolls - these are $25 paper dolls.

So, these are the dolls. I have to say they're really cute, and it's fun making the clothes. It's a little more than Emma can do at this point (she puts the little doo-dads on them after I make the clothes from fabric), but it reminds me of when I was young and my mom used to make clothes for my Barbie dolls.

Doesn't she look happy? It was totally worth the $25.

They're very sturdy made of this thick board-like stuff, so there's no danger of ripping off a limb or anything.

Emma picks the fabrics and the pattern (there are over 100 different patterns for tops, bottoms, dresses, bathing suits, etc, and also shoes, purses, and other accessories) and I make them.

It even came with a boy, but all he seems to want to do is kiss the little blonde girl. Seriously, Brandon is almost 11, and he still covers his head and makes disgusted noises when people on tv start kissing, but my girl...well, she's all about the love.

Our first fashion show. Did you notice the little blonde people holding hands?

Macbeth Through the Eyes of a Ten Year Old

Brandon recently read the story of Macbeth (an abridged version) as part of a history assignment, and here's what he had to say when asked to give a summary:

Macbeth wanted to be the king of Scotland. Three witches, called the weird sisters, told Macbeth he wouldn't be king.

So, Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth, decided to kill the king of Scotland. Their plan worked, and they blamed it on the servant. The youngest son ran away to Ireland. The eldest son's army attacked. Macbeth was killed by Macduff.

I really like this curriculum (it's History Odyssey by Pandia Press). I certainly don't remember reading Shakespeare in elementary school. After he finished his summary, we watched the animated version of the play. We stopped it occasionally to discuss the language (it was the original phrasing). The graphics were pretty old school, so I don't think they (Em watched, too) were terribly impressed, but Brandon did check out a graphic novel of The Twelfth Night from the library, so at least he's interested.

Ancient History

Remember I said Emma's favorite class is Ancients. Well, now I can see why. Look at these great photos her teacher, Miss Cynthia, took of the class and their project: The Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Emma and her first grade friends.

Emma and friend J. (Stan says our daughter has a very big mouth.)

Front view of the gardens.

Side view of the gardens - see the cute little figures? Isn't it great?

7 Random Things

So, Kari, one of my friends from co-op (yep, I have friends now, thanks to a brilliant move, and two unsuspecting Virginians that made it all possible) apparently doesn't like that I've not posted anything in a while. I have things to tell about, but all my pictures of said things are still in the camera, and I've been waiting for my husband to put them on a flash drive so I can upload them...anyway, I'll be posting like mad once I get my pictures.

So, back to Kari - she tagged me with this 7 random facts about me thing (if you don't know what tagging is, think of a cyber chain letter with survey attached, and you kind of get the idea). So, I'm supposed to:

• Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird. (Since this is our family blog - I'm going to bend this a bit and do 7 facts about us)
• Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a message on their blog. (Like I know seven people. I figure if you see this and want to do it...consider yourself tagged. There.)

Here are my 7:

1. Brandon was born one month early but totally healthy.
2. Emma was born one day late, but I'd been having contractions for 3 1/2 months.
3. We watch The Amazing Race together as a family every week.
4. Stan has a black belt in Choi Kwang Do.
5. The last time Brandon lost a tooth, Emma wrote the tooth fairy a note explaining that though she was 6 1/2 years old, she'd yet to lose any teeth, but could she have some money, too, please...the tooth fairy was very generous and left our savvy girl (who still has all of her baby teeth) $5.
6. I knew I was going to marry Stan on our third date. It was Valentine's Day, and he brought me a single rose, a very sweet card, and a bag of Reese's peanut butter cups. The rose was nice and all, but the Reese's sealed the deal. I went home and told my mom that I'd met the boy I was going to marry. We were engaged 6 months later and married 3 months after that.
7. Emma's Favorite books right now are the Little Critter series - she has to get 2 or 3 on our weekly trips to the library. Brandon's current favorites are the Shadow Children series.