Creative handwriting

Homeschooling is going pretty well.  There are certain subjects the Test pilot likes better than others.  Handwriting would be one that he is not thrilled about.  I think it's the monotony of repetitive writing of  the letters.  

I do handwriting practice with Crash usually at the same time.  He does print and the Test Pilot cursive.

I tried to mix things up one day.  We used shaving creme on baking sheets as our medium and they had to "write" in the creme.

I got mixed results.  The Test pilot thought it was pretty cool.  Crash would not put his hands in there to save his life.  (I should have known better.)  Wingman liked to look at it but not touch.

Crash and Wingman did participate a little when I let them use a q-tip instead of their finger to write.

It did give us a good laugh and a break from the monotony.

Nails

I was reviewing Crash's AWANA Bible verse for the week with him.

"...Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us...Ephesians 5:2"

We recited it together a few times.

I then explained that Jesus loved Crash so much that he died on the cross as the punishment for his sins.

Crash's responds, "Mama, I don't want nails in my hands."

Zoo field trip

Here's some shots of our recent Zoo field trip.  It was the perfect day.  Sunny and 60 degrees.

 I had planned to try and go a museum to correlate with our history but nothing really fit the bill so we adapted.  We have been studying about Christopher Columbus and his visit to the New World.  The test pilot had to locate animals in the zoo that would be native to that part of the world Columbus visited.

Here he is identifying Caribbean Flamingos.  This exercise was pretty challenging but our zoo apparently is heavy in the Asia and Australian animals.  Oh well!

Wingman especially loved the zoo.  He loves "Go Diego Go" cartoon which is all about animals and rescuing animals.  He was so glad to see lemurs, red eyed tree frogs, and spectacled bears in person.

Turtles were out everywhere in all sorts of exhibits.  The boys loved counting them.

Crash loved the lories.  He literally said "hi" to just about every bird in the exhibit.  The birds would actually "talk" back to him.  It was entertaining to watch.

Cousin swap

My sister and I did a kid swap for a few days before Christmas.  Crash went to stay with her and Cousin E and A came with us.

The Test pilot and Cousin E played Wii most of their waking hours.  Since the Wii was new and it was Christmas we decided to lift the time restrictions on Wii playing.  Every few hours I would tell them to take a Wii break.  Cousin E would state, "Thanks.  My hand was starting to hurt."  Lego Star Wars and Lego Indiana Jones seem to be their favorite games right now.

Wingman was so happy to have Cousin A here.  He likes to play light sabers as much as the next boy but he also loves to color and craft too.  Him and Cousin A did lots of crafty things.  It was fun to watch them play.

Side note: I had a crash course in doing "girl" hair.  I am afraid I did not do a good job.  My sister always has her hair looking fabulous.  The pony tail holders kept falling out.  I need more practice.

Thanks for coming!

Christmas stuff at home

I know these are late, but better late than never.

Here's some shots of our Christmas time at home.  I love decorating our mantle.  It's one of my favorite things to do each year.

Here's some photos of the brothers in their Christmas duds.

I love this shot.  Inevitably, mom or dad is doing something completely ridiculous in the background to get these giggles.

We made and decorated lots of Christmas cookies.  I actually make them and they get to decorate their own personal cookie each night after dinner.  That is always so much fun for them.

Here's Wingman with one of his gifts from family in Ohio.  Watch out world- here comes Jedi Buzz Lightyear!

Good memories!

Feeling very bad...

We decided to get our boys a much anticipated Wii game console for Christmas.  They LOVE, LOVE it!  They would play non-stop or until they went blind if we let them.

We also got them the Lego Star Wars game for the Wii, which they LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!  They play until their hands cramp up.

The test pilot in particular enjoys this game.  I have never played which is part of my problem.  Apparently, you keep playing and rack up points/money to buy new characters like Boba Fett who cost $100,000.  You can save the game each time you quit so you don't have to start over.

This afternoon the test pilot was not home.  Crash and Wingman wanted to play Lego Star Wars on the Wii.  I said yes but said they needed to start a "new" game so to not mess up what the test pilot had been earning.

Apparently, that was the WRONG thing to do.  Instead of protecting his winnings, I deleted all his money, points, and characters.  He was been crying on and off for a few hours in despair.  He had just finally had enough money to buy Boba Fett.  I feel pretty rotten!

I had to promise him some extra Wii time to try and make up points.  We also discussed the need for mommy to learn to properly play Lego Star Wars so this does not happen again.  I will commence my Wii training tomorrow.

New Year 2011

We are home and trying to get settled after all the holiday festivities.  We all had a great Christmas seeing many family members on my side of the family.  I will post pictures when I finally unpack my camera.

Tomorrow we return to "normal" life.  We will re-start homeschooling after our break.  So far it has gone really well in spite of all the craziness.  The test pilot and I still need to work out a few kinks since I had been splitting duty with the Captain, but all in all we have really enjoyed homeschooling and plan on continuing.

The Captain returns to contract work.  We are still undecided if this is to be a permanent job or not.  He does have a phone interview still to be scheduled with Company A.  Company B wants to schedule an in person interview this month.  There are lots of perks to having a stable job with a stable income, but both of these jobs require a move.  Also, after being laid off twice in 18 months the concept of a "stable" job just isn't what it used to be.  Just another reminder, that I can only put my trust in the Lord not in jobs or anything else.

Wingman and Crash return to Mother's Day Out and speech therapy for Crash.  Wingman loves MDO.  It's good for his excessive social needs.  Crash enjoys the comraderie and it's been good for his development.  Speech therapy is making good progress.  I have checked into a private Christian Kindergarten for next year. If we are here, I would love for him to attend there.  The teacher seems amazing.  I have heard her praises for years.

So that is the plan for tomorrow.