Fall is Feeling Cozy

It is thunderstorming outside right now.  

Hail coming in sheets.  Booming thunder.  Bright lighting.

This is really exciting stuff around here.

Fall is really here!

And it is feeling cozy in this house.

 Felted acorns bought from Etsy a couple years ago.

Flashcard in the background is from my Italian alphabet cards.

Acorn - Ghianda

Project courtesy of Tina of Paisley & Lace.

I glued Lentils & Split Peas on the felt leaves she cut for us.

Pom Pom Toms I made years ago, trying to follow Martha's directions.

I prefer the little guys to the big fatty.

Fireside Hangout

We got up this morning & it was cold & overcast.  All week it has been quite warm.  

So, we figured it would warm up soon & we would go for a walk.

It stayed cold & dark all morning.

So, the kids & I built a fire instead.

 Then we just hung out & played.

After dinner, we roasted marshmallows with Daddy.

Embrace the Camera with me & link up over at The Anderson Crew.

g is for goose - Preschooler Stuff

g is for goose (as always - thanks to Totally Tots.)

The easiness of this craft letter was such a welcome relief 

after the complex fish letter.  Phew!

We didn't really do any intense learning this week.

We watched the documentary Winged Migration.

We looked at books about geese.

We learned about the hard "g" sound & 

practiced writing it in salt &

identifying it in sentences.

There were plenty of g words to make fun sentences from

• gorilla
• girl
• green
• garden
• grass
• gaze
• glorious
• geese
• gaggle
• giggle
• grazing
• gift
• grin

But, mostly we read Mother Goose nursery rhymes.

And we did some of our own rhyming word practice.

And, we did Mother Goose activities.

We baked Hot Cross Buns.

(Hot Cross Buns, Hot Cross Buns,

1 a penny, 2 a penny...)

We may make "pease porridge" tomorrow.

(Pease porridge hot, Pease porridge cold...)

And the kids did a dramatized puppet show of Jack & Jill.

We video taped it.  But, I don't know how to get the video onto my computer.

We made paper bag puppets & finger painted the back drop.

They practiced their lines & preformed for daddy.

They did a great job!

Big Girl Outing

Gillian & I took a little big girl date yesterday.

She got a hair cut at mommy's hair salon.

She loved it!

She now wants to be a hair salon lady when she grows up.

She's planning to blow dry & brush my hair for me today.

Post hair cut, we went to downtown Santa Cruz 

(Gillian marvels at the beauty of Pacific Avenue)

to get her a pair of jeans.

I've needed to get her new pants for quite some time.

Poor girl had to continually hold them up in the back 

if she didn't want her bottom to show.

We found some pants that can keep her covered.

It was a challenge for a 4 year to buy blue jeans during the holiday season, 

when there were shelves of sparkle shoes with gems on them 

& racks of frilly tutu skirts.

We got the tiny bunny to share with her siblings, 

instead of expensive Christmas bling.

We browsed Stripe.  

Gillian ooohhed and awed over all the treasures.  

She was amazed by the golden jewelry.

Then we picked up dinner & brought it home to the rest of the family.

She was glad that bed time was soon.  She said she was exhausted.

I'm learning to Embrace the Camera.  You can do it, too.  

Link up with Emily at the The Anderson Crew.

'round Here

I can't seem to stop cleaning.  It feels mentally good.
But, it wears this girl out a bit, too.
Gillian loves it.
Her excitement over things being cleaned all the time could be called "giddy".
She's declared numerous times how nice it is for me to clean.
She loves the smell of clean rooms.
The other day I had mopped with Pine Sol while they were taking their nap.
I was resting in bed when she woke up.
She came in with me & related the way that she felt upon waking.
"Something smelled so sweet.  It woke me up & it felt so nice for me."

Kendall has kicks that our strong enough for the kiddies to feel.
They like to try to get her attention - talking to her & rubbing my belly.
The other day when Kendall didn't give any good kicks in response to Gillian,
she said, "I wonder if Kendall doesn't know that I am knocking on her door?"

When we got home from Macdoel
(which I never really posted about.  Sorry.  Lame, I know.)
Scott's Pineapple Guava were just ripening.

Yum.

The kids want to check the bushes every day now.
Peyton says, "mmmmmmmm...  Wummy."

I am very addicted to this Apple & Curry Quinoa Salad right now.
I make it multiple times a week.
I also love celery.

Right now I have foccacia rising.  We'll eat Spaghetti for dinner.
Scott & I have a movie for tonight.
I am looking forward to that.
But, I am also feeling like the couch doesn't offer enough comfort
for my large, achy self.

I won't ask Scott to bring the tv into the room.

I am super anti tv in the bedroom.

But, a big ole bed sounds nice.

I think I'll blow up the guest aerobed & make a bedroom in the family room.

That sounds cozy.

That makes movie night sound one hundred times more wonderful.

Baby Mo is waking.  That means this post is over.

When You're in the Third

That's Moira's head in the center of the photo.  She wouldn't stay still, little squirm bug...

I am now in the third trimester.
I started feeling a bit third trimester-ish a couple weeks ago.

So, it is good to actually be there now.

I feel sore with all my spreading ligaments & all that sort of third trimester stuff.  

I get worn out so easily.

But, the nesting has set in.

I am scrubbing out my dishwasher,

sanitizing my fridge,

organizing closets,

getting rid of stuff,

& feeling rather bored of the blog world.

Peyton has also been working on getting things looking lovely around here.

f is for fish - preschool week wrap up

f is for fish

Man.  This alphabet craft card was tedious.  But, the kids love it.


Reading -

Rainbow Fish

Everyone knows Rainbow Fish, right?  He's the most beautiful fish in the sea.  

He learns that happiness comes when you share your blessings, 

rather than hoard them to yourself.

Fish is Fish
Cute story about a fish & a tadpole friendship.  
The fish learns to be content in his fishy state.

Crinkleroot's Guide to 25 Fish Every Child Should Know
This is the first of the Crinkleroot Jr. Nature Guides that I have seen & I loved it. 
The pictures are beautiful.  I want to see the rest of the series.

 Letter Recognition -

They listened & looked for the letter "f" as I read, then circled them all.

• The foxy freshwater fish tried to avoid the fly fisherman.
• Those four friends feel like their fried fish fingers are a foodie feast.
• The freckled frog freaked out when his fort caught fire.

Games - 

We talked about "schooling" fish &
then we played follow the leader & Simon Says.

Rhyme & Finger Play - 
We learned a nursery rhyme -

One, Two, Three, Four, Five,

Once I caught a fish alive.....

Check out a little lesson on the nursery rhyme here at First School.

Math -

We practiced counting & number recognition,
counting goldfish crackers into a muffin tin.

Art -

I drew a rainbow fish for both of the kids onto watercolor paper. 

For their artwork, they used watercolor pencils & 

then a wet brush to paint their fish.

Watercolor pencils make for a tidy painting experience.

Then mom added some glitter spots for some shimmer.

But, baby Mo was quick & dumped a whole bottle of glitter all over the table. 

We were the sparkle family.

So much for tidy.



* We were out of town for fish week.  So we didn't do tons. 

We will just have a review week this week & jump into the letter "g" next week.

Image Doctoring (how far is okay?)

I've wanted to write about this.  But, it is kinda hard. 
I guess mostly because I know it is a big problem. 
But, I don't quite know where I think my own line should be drawn. 

This morning I was reading this
(yes.  it's true.  I was reading that celebrity "news" site...)
& was really glad for Rachael Leigh Cooks
standing up against image doctoring.
What do you think? 
Do you think we've become too desensitized to photo editing? 
I think it is awful for photo editors to "shave" down someone's hips
or enlarge a gal's chest. 
But, is it okay to fix the oily shine on your face with your photoshop? 
Or, erase your zits? 
Or fix your teeth?  Or at least change the light so it flatters you?
I don't know. I am questioning all of that.

Even though I know our wedding photographer was great
(& even more amazing now 6 years later)
& I really do love our photos,
sometimes I look at the pictures & wonder why, as the bride,
I don't look more like a movie star. 
Can't they fix that now days? 
Make you look better than real life?
Isn't every bride supposed to look like a movie star in her photos?
But, our photographer didn't edit the photos in order
to turn our shots into glamour shots. 
(And this is where I need to tell you I don't know anything about photo editing. 
And, I am sure he did some editing. 
And, that fixing the light or bringing more clarity & such things
are not the things I am talking about.)
They are pictures of the way we really looked. 
So, a few hours into a sweaty hot day,
my make-up was mostly gone & my face was all shiney. 
Sometimes, I am bummed that he didn't "fix" me with editing magic.
But, really I am glad.  (I think I am.  No.  I am.  I am...)