Spoiled Cat

A Claws update is needed!  

Yes.  This cat is still around.  It is truly a miracle.  In my eyes and the kids eyes.  Mallory will sometimes say, "I can't even believe we have our very own cat."  

It is starting to get really cold at night and we had to figure out what we were going to do with Claws.  We didn't know where he slept, but we wanted him to have a warm place if/when he needed it.  He basically uses us for food.  He seems to show up at meal times every day.

Jesse and the kids spent approximately 4 hours building/installing a cat door into our shop.  They built a ledge on the outside of the window and the inside of the window.  So he could lay in his bed and look out the window!!  Spoiled!  

While they were building this luxury cat spot... Claws was outside and he heard them sawing metal and he flipped out!  He did not like that noise at all!!

When they get it all done they want to show Claws his new home.  So they go and get him and they can not get him into the shop.  He won't go in.  He heard that awful noise and wants nothing to do with it.  Oh yeah... he isn't deaf anymore.  He is really good at ignoring us!  Like super good!  He hears!  The kids and Jesse tried to carry him and he meows and paces and stresses out.

Every day for about 5 days they would slowly try to get Claws into the shop.  They would only allow him to eat if he came in there.  Well they eventually won and he now likes the shop.

This is just a boy who thinks he is one cool kid with his jacket and bomber hat!!  

Doodle Bug

If I get a pencil in my hand and I have paper... I am going to doodle all over that!  My bible study books are covered in doodles.  So much so that a few weeks ago I decided to just take a notebook.  This is one bible study session of doodles.  

Then it branched into recreating signs I was seeing.

Now I am hooked!  I am filing this notebook and it has been so relaxing.  I had no idea this creative side of me needed to come out more.  

A Peek at the School Table

Some day I may want to look back and remember what it looked like doing school.  I took a couple snapshots a week ago.

We all sit at a table together.  Which might sound all warm and fuzzy and sweet.  But one of these kids (cough-Mallory-cough) likes to spread out over the whole table forgetting that the rest of us need to sit here too!!  So we have moments of "who's sheet is this?"  "Mallory where is your math sheet?"  "Please put your done sheets into your folders!"  "Do we need 16 pencils on the table right now?"

A look over Max's shoulder.  Here he is working on his handwriting book.

A look over Melanie's shoulder.  She keeps asking for homework and I haven't been good about it... but this week I happened to print off a bunch of sheets to see if she could do it.  I need to give the girl more credit!!  She did everything with a breeze!  And wanted more!  My only child right now who asks for more work!  This was actually her first day of "real" work.  She was beaming!  She showed everyone who came over her folder of work!  

(See Mallory's homework creeping over Melanie's homework.)

A look over Mallory's shoulder.  At third grade it seems as if I don't teach her much.  She is very independent!  I type up a daily assignment sheet and she just works her way down the sheet.  She even is amazing at teaching herself new things!  As a third grader she gets to do cursive.  She can never wait for me to help/show her so she just teaches herself!  And she is pretty darn good it and I think it might be a pretty good quality to have.  Don't get crazy though - we go over everything she does, correct it, and then do certain subjects together.  

This is a look over my shoulder.  At this point in the day it was Max's turn to be with me.  Now again this is not all sunshine and roses either!!  There are moments and days where this is super hard!  Three kids.  Three kids in very different learning ranges.  Three kids trying to talk to me at once.   

But the days that go so well, where you see the light bulb click, when you see the progress... that's the magic!!!  That is what pushes me to keep going and fighting the chaos!    

Big girl school was exhausting for this one!!  She takes her quiet time/nap in my bed and I have a rule that you don't get to sleep past 4pm.  So I woke her and I could tell she just wasn't ready to wake up yet, so I carried her out to the couch and was cooking supper and trying to talk to her and next thing I know she fell back asleep.  She still had marker on her face from the morning of school work!!  

Lefty!!

Melanie is a full blown left hand kid!  She has been since she was super tiny!

I love her being left handed.  However we use a lot of dry ease in our schooling and she has to be super careful or she will ease everything she is writing because her hand drags right behind the marker. 

 It is easier for her to draw with them.  It is crazy to me how quickly she picked up drawing too!  Maybe I forget at what age they do these things... that's probably it.

Right now she loves to draw people.  

Halloween Night 2017

It took me a while to blog this because it took me a while to recover!!  This whole day/event may seem petty and crazy... but I tell you in the moment IT WAS NOT!!  

Halloween fell on a day where we take Melanie to story hour at the library.  I thought, oh how cute would it be if you guys dressed up and went!  I got 2 yes and 1 no.

My one no... Maxwell!  This should really come as no surprise to me as he hasn't dressed up the past few years.  HOWEVER!  This child was so sad when I showed up with costumes for the girls and not him!!  His words were... "But Mom!!  I would dress up if I was an army man!"  It never crossed my mind to be an army man so I thought this was brilliant and we immediately went to Savers and got him a costume.  Which he was thrilled about!  Down right proud of!!  Thank you Mom!  Your the best Mom!!

Now!  Halloween Day!  

Nope!  Not doing it!  I never said those words!  I never dress up!  Worst Mom ever!

Then I have these visions on how to do Mallory's hair for Wonder Woman.  I pinterested it!  I had the vision!!  She was in her costume before any one of us was dressed.  She was ready!  I tell her how we are going to do her hair with her Wonder Woman headband.  She says, "Um.  I can't find it."

She literally could not find it!!  See as soon as she got this costume she ripped off the headband and put it on!  She didn't take it off for a few days!!  Now... its gone.  Like so gone!  We can't find it anywhere!!  Your telling me... Lynn this is why we don't use/wear the costumes until Halloween.  YES!  I agree!!  But I was tricked into thinking I was the worst Mom by telling them they had to wait until Halloween so I caved (peer pressure) and told them if they broke, ripped, or lost anything it was not my fault!!  And then when it really happened I should of not cared... but I did!  

Now Melanie who is a butterfly.  A few weeks before Halloween Max comes in the house with Melanie's headband to her costume in two pieces!  He found it outside broke laying in the lawn!  I had dug out Melanie's headband for a little photo session on the front steps and then put the headband on the counter.  We had friends over and Mallory took the headband and I asked her not too (because I know it is going to get broke) she promised she wouldn't.  Well... she didn't.  But she passed it onto one of the friends we had over... and she was wearing it and broke it and left it lay in the lawn.  

This begins Halloween!!

This year Lukas stopped over to walk with the girls while they trick or treated.  He does the scary side of Halloween and the little two do not like that!!  We had Lukas put his mask on after he was behind the kids.  Well Melanie eventually turned around and saw it and she ran!  

Max had to sleep with his light on all night.  He just doesn't like the scary side of Halloween.  I totally understand that.  I may be just like him.

Halloween also fell on a night were Jesse couldn't be with us.  (He was working out of town.) Grandma to the rescue!!  It was cold this year (we had snow the day before) and so we were piled under blankets and had a heater going!!

The cat!  Claws!  You guys, I can't even make this up!  Claws wasn't around all day and then when trick or treating started he shows up!  My Mom hates cats more then me!  He tried to sit with them on the step and then I think they made him leave because he was getting in the candy bowl.  Well I was out with the girls trick or treating down our street [I swear to you] I saw Claws chasing a group of kids into a yard!!  Then he eventually sat here in our landscaping watching everyone.  He even got into our house one time and was quickly hauled out by the kids because my Mom and I are not going to touch him!

We ended the night with some candy and sent the kids to bed and I found a glass of wine and ate a few of my favorite candy bars from the kids stash.  

I also swore off buying any more costumes.  

Pumpkin Carving

It has been awhile since we carved pumpkins.  It was so much work for Jesse and I do it... but this year we grew our own pumpkins.  We had a ton!!  Plus the kids are way bigger this year.  

As soon I mentioned we were carving pumpkins Jesse brought in the power tools.

Jesse and I used power tools to carve our pumpkins.  

Melanie was making this face the entire time she scooped.  She had never carved a pumpkin before!  She didn't even know what was inside a pumpkin!  I gave the kids dry ease markers to draw out their faces before carving and Melanie thought it was just draw on your pumpkin.

I eventually sat down with Melanie to help her.  She wanted a cat.  That didn't go well.  We settled just on a pumpkin face.  

Mallory's, Melanie's and Lynn's

Jesse's and Max's

This bigger kid stage is kind of fun!!  Less mess!  No one cried!  No potty breaks!  No snack breaks!  The things we may eventual miss and long for... but it was fun this year!!  ;)