Beautiful Connecticut

I am really going to miss it here! I never would have that that would be the case when we moved here, but 4 1/2 years later it has really grown on me.

We have been spending a good part of our days stomping through the woods. Who can resist in October? I think this is my favorite month of the year! Beth does her phonics and math work in the evenings now, after it has gotten dark and we're in for the day.





This morning we took a little field trip over to Mystic to walk along the river and watch the drawbridge open. We are learning about rivers this week, so I thought it would be a good time for a visit.

Happy Birthday :)

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband! He's 27 this year, and we started dating when he was 17 (and I was 16.) I can't believe it has been ten years already! I still feel the same. I guess the four kids prove we are not teenagers anymore though. Next month will make eight years of marriage as well.



I'm so glad it fell on Columbus Day this year...it's awesome having a three day weekend! The weather was perfect for apple picking too, so we spent a nice day at the orchard. After that it was home for apple crisp and cider....yummy!

I just love having Matt home. I enjoy his company of course, but it's also nice having an extra set of hands. I feel like I can get so much more done, and he always the best ideas for activities with the big kids. I think I should look for a job and let him homeschool!

Home Again :)

We had a wonderful visit to North Carolina and Virginia last week. It is never easy taking such a long trip with four little kids, but I have to say that my kids all travel pretty well. Unfortunately we did have one get sick on the way down (she had a fever and was throwing up, poor thing) but at least no one else got it. My brother-in-laws wedding was beautiful, and little Miss Beth made a very cute flower girl. We also enjoyed seeing lots of family we have not seen in several years.



After 10 days on the road we were all happy to roll back up to our own home this weekend. Now if I could only catch up on laundry, unpacking, and all of our regular housework.... Katy still wants me to hold her 24/7 so it is very hard to get much of anything done during the day. I feel like I should be some kind of baby expert at this point, but it turns out each baby has been totally different. I feel like my holding her so much we are just teaching her to expect that, but on the other hand she gets SO upset when we do put her down that I feel terrible. She dislikes her swing, her bouncy seat, and the sling I have. I just bought her a bumbo chair and a different carrier today to try. Have you ever met such a spoiled little princess? I figure I will just have to do the best I can for now, and this time next year she will be up and running all over the place anyway. I'm not sure how that is going to equal LESS housework...but at least I'll be able to get off the couch and get to work, lol.

Week 4

We are having a short school week since we are leaving for my BIL's wedding first thing Thursday morning. I am looking forward to seeing all of our relatives, but not to the 14+ hour drive.

This is our FIAR book of the week.


Another great story! So far I am loving each of the book selections. This one is especially good for us since Beth and Matt are learning a little about Chinese geography and culture, and little Carrie is having fun with duck related activities. Anyone remember this song? I know I sang it when I was a preschooler. Carrie has us singing it all day!

Six little ducks that I once knew
Fat ones, skinny ones, fair ones too
But the one little duck with the feather on her back
She led the others with a quack, quack, quack
Quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack
She led the others with a quack, quack, quack

Well down to the river they did go
Wibble wobble, wibble wobble, ho ho ho
But the one little duck with the feather on her back
She led the others with a quack, quack, quack
Quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack
She led the others with a quack, quack, quack

Well home from the river they did come
Wibble wobble, wibble wobble, ho hum hum
But the one little duck with the feather on his back
He led the others with a quack, quack, quack
Quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack
He led the others with a quack, quack, quack
Quack, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack
He led the others with a quack, quack, quack

Aside from our Ping related activities we have managed to get some math and phonics lessons in with Beth, and have spent tons of time playing outside. It is about 70 degrees during the day now - perfect! All of our fall activities started back up this week as well, so I have been doing a little running around. We have AWANA's, gymnastics, swim lessons, library storytime, and a science class that meets twice a month. Spread over the course of the week those seem like just enough for us.


In the house the kids manage to keep themselves entertained pretty well. They have never been big on TV, which I suppose is good, but their dusk till dawn playing sure does make a mess of my house! Beth at least is a good little helper when it comes time to cleanup. The others are a work in progress...


When they do venture down from their playroom, this is what I find. I think Matt needs to stop letting his sisters give him fashion advice.

Week 3

We're having another fun and busy week...I can't believe it is already Wednesday afternoon! This past weekend we went to the zoo, fair, Chuck E Cheese, and the park. I think my house is a kids' paradise, lol. It's because all I want to do is play with the kids myself....I have to make myself stay home and take care of the housework and cooking. I think the kids' favorite outing was the fair. We didn't do the rides this year....we just went to see all the 4-H exhibits. Beth especially LOVED all the animals and wanted to sit and watch all the 4-H kids show their animals. She now wants me to buy her a little brown goat. I think military housing would frown upon that.

We are enjoying our school work as well. This is our book of the week.


It's such a cute story....I recommend it for anyone, even if you are not using Five in a Row. My kids are loving FIAR btw! I wasn't sure that they'd go for reading the same book five times in one week, but we even my hyper little boy loves to sit and listen to the story each day. The books are older and can be a bit hard to find, but so far each one I've read has been of the best quality. Beth is still plugging along with her kindergarten phonics and math programs. Math is a favorite for all of the kids and is easy to include the little guys in, but reading is turning out to be quite a challenge. The other kids are just so LOUD all the time, and I have a lot of trouble trying to keep her focused long enough to get through a lesson. I'm thinking about either shifting her reading work to during quiet time (when all the kids are in their own rooms) or the evening (when my dh is home to help.)

My little Katy is three months old now....she is just too sweet! She never ever lets us put her down, but she does reward us with little smiles and coos all day long. I feel like I could actually catch up around the house if she would sleep a little better....but it just isn't in the cards! Maybe next year, lol.


Matt wrote his name for the first time this week! A certain Very Bad Mommy threw his paper in the trash, then later had to fish it out from under broken egg shells (ew.) Luckily the part he wrote on was dry, so I cut that out and managed to save it. He also enjoyed painting and several other art activities this week. A few months ago he wouldn't have been interested in any of this. I'm glad to see him sitting for short periods at least now.


Mostly though, he just wants to spend his days outside....having sword fights and getting into all sorts of messes. He plays happily with his sisters all day, but he is mighty excited when the school bus comes at 4pm and drops all the neighborhood boys back off.

Week 2

We are settling into our school routine - if there is such a thing as "routine" with a two year old and two month old in the house anyway. I loved having Matt home for Labor Day. If only every work week was four days with a three day weekend. I think that would make life just about perfect! We grilled out with friends twice this weekend, went swimming at the lake, went to the splash park, and went to an outdoor concert by the CG Band. Basically we just tried to enjoy a last taste of summer! A lot of our summer hangouts closed for the season on Monday, and by the time they reopen next year we will be long gone from Connecticut.

Beth has done about 50 lessons in her McRuffy LA and Math books now (we started last spring, then took the summer off.) She is doing really well. It frustrates me though that she can do perfect work with me sitting beside her, but then when I go to tend to the little ones the whole thing falls apart. I'm not sure if it's lack of focus, just her age, or the fact that she just enjoys me sitting with her, lol. Of course you'd have to have a heck of an attention span to get anything done in this zoo....I know I can barely keep my train of thought most mornings! She is on the verge of reading independently, and I think she will really enjoy being able to do that. She LOVES books, and has since she was a baby. Carrie on the other hand likes to color in her books...or my books...or on the furniture.....I've got to watch that girl!

Kindergarten

Today was Beth's first day of kindergarten. I just can't believe how big she has gotten!

The kids were super excited about their new lunch boxes, even though we ate at home.





My big girl with her new lunch box and tennies



Matt is in pre-k this year.



We started our day with circle time - complete with the pledge, a special song, our memory Bible verse, calendar, and a weather report.

We then moved onto Math and Reading. Beth is using McRuffy this year. Matt has some workbooks I have picked up here and there.



Our FIAR book this week is "Lentil" so we read that and did some related activities.



Matt did a little pattern work....you can tell he did this for like ten seconds before he made a rainbow railroad track, lol. That's my boy!





At some point we went outside to do some swinging and tossed around the football for a while. It was HOT, but the kids still wanted out.

The rest of our morning was spent listening to music and working with some craft materials. The kids loved making these picture frames. I was really surprised that Carrie could do this completely on her own...she's growing up on me!





After lunch we got on the school bus after all. Sort of anyway, lol. We hit up an indoor playplace for a few hours of air conditioned fun.







So that was my Bethie's first day of school! :) I think it went really well, and the kids are excited about starting the school year. Of course tomorrow we may or may not be getting a hurricane. I thought I had left all that mess behind me when we moved to New England!