Bucking the status quo...again.

This time we are doing it with our children's education. I heard that gasp.

We have decided after much deliberation, investigation, and introspection to switch to educating our kids full time at home....rather than a conventional classroom.

Why ,you ask ,would we do such a shocking, unusual, drastic thing?

Well, that is what I'm going to try to put into words. I know most people around us will think we are mentally insane, negligent or too brave for our own good. They might be right. Time will tell. That being said...

I was not home schooled myself.

None of my close-by friends or any of my own large extended family home schools or was home schooled (to my knowledge).

No one in my church home schools.

10 years ago I think I knew of one or two stereotypical home-schooled families but that was it. We live in a small rural community with out clubs or co-ops to meet other home schooling families.

When Aili began Kindgarten we entertained the idea of homeschooling. I was probably 50/50 at that point. She began kindergarten in public school and has done very well over the past 4 years. When we left for Mexico last winter we pulled our kids out of school packed up their public school books and taught them in our trailer. That served as a catalyst and realization that we can do this. It is possible.

In recent years I have met more and more of my mommy peers who educate their children themselves. I am usually surprised that they seem so normal (and even cool.) The typical home school stereotype has definitely been broken with many of this generations parents. It seems there are now more and more skinny jean wearing, iphone tapping, soccer moms who have decided to invest themselves, their time, and their resources into strengthening their family and equipping their kids for adulthood. It's a big decision, one that we are committed to, but also one we will play by ear as the years go by. What's best for our kids in the next couple years may not be whats best for them 4 years from now.

The following are NOT reasons why we are switching to homeschooling:

1. I want to fit in with the people who think wearing pioneer dresses and tiny bonnets makes God like them more.

2. I have superior knowledge and intelligence. I'm smarter than their public school teachers and I'm a whiz kid at calculus and chemistry.

3. I have brilliant kids. (sometimes they hide it well behind the nose picking)

4. I want to raise my kids in a hermetically sealed and sanitized Christian bubble.

5. I hope to raise socially awkward kids who wear slacks 3 inches too short, scratch their dandruff and avoid all eye contact. I want to start using the word "slacks" in sentences more often.

6. We hate public schools. (on the contrary, for the most part, we had a really good experience in our 4 years of public school...they had very caring and invested teachers)

7. We think that homeschooling is the only responsible, natural, or God ordained type of education for all kids. (It's an individual choice out of many "good" options and not suitable for all families).

8. I want to have hyper control over everything my child thinks, feels, and experiences.

9. I'm an armpit hair braiding hippy or a psychotic legalist.

10. I want to start sewing matching denim jumpers for me and my daughter.

11. I have a dream of giving birth to 16 children who all perform in our musical travelling show and whose names all start with the letter K.

These are some of the reasons we are switching from our rural public school to teach our kids at home.

1. Time is short. The years I have with my children, influencing, equiping and helping to shape their character is going by quickly. The end of these formative years is in sight. From the time our children are born we, as parents ,are (generally speaking)the main influence, support and teachers in our children's lives...it seems natural that our role crosses over into other aspects of learning as well. I don't want to look back and feel one bit of regret that somehow I wasted years, days or even hours of our time together.

2. I like who my kids are when they aren't in school all day. We got a taste of our school-less kids last winter in Mexico and over this summer. It is a stark and definate contrast to the children who we rush out the door in the morning and who come back home grumpy, tired, snarky, lippy and looking for a fight (they bring home the school pecking order). I don't want whats left over of my children after school, activities, homework is finished. Effective parenting isn't about "quality time" but quantity time. It's in the quantity time that kids open up their hearts to us and share whats on their minds. That is where those teachable moments are hidden.

3. Roman is an outside the box learner. He is bright, imaginative and insatiably curious about the world around him. He LOVES to learn. However he hates to do it sitting in a desk holding a pencil to a paper (which he will still have to do briefly each day). It has been next to impossible for him to absorb any information in a distracting classroom setting. I believe that true education is about learning and fostering a love of learning that will last a lifetime...not programming my kid to conform to a classroom setting. School for him has been painfully frustrating for everyone involved. It has negatively effected his self esteem, confidence and desire to learn anything. In contrast he will sit for hours while I read to him about any topic from light refraction to Ancient history. Right now we are reading through the classics Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. He absorbs the information like a sponge...even if he stands on his head while I read. We have all kinds of classic novels, children encyclopedias, and educational books piled up waiting to be discovered...and a world waiting to be explored. That's learning.

4. I hate early morning rush. Enough said.

5. I love the flexibility that homeschooling offers. We don't follow anyone else's schedule or rules. We make our own. If we want to spend the winter in Mexico , we will. If we want to take a 3 day trip in the middle of the week we can. If we want to make popcorn and watch Little House on the Prairie and call it history class we will.

6. I want my children to thrive, not only survive, their years of schooling.

7. It is a more efficient way to learn. Our "bookwork" time will probably only take a couple hours at most. After that comes reading together as a family, educational games, and learning by living. They have a lot more time in the day for things like music lessons, discovering hobbies, reading, sports, volunteering, and just being kids. Because they have so much more time in the day for diverse activity and experiences, I think it will make them well rounded adults.

8. They can work ahead in subjects that they excel in and can work at their own pace in subjects that are more challenging for them. (This is ideal for Roman who loves to learn, is good at math...but is a full grade level behind in reading.) They won't get left behind, fall through the cracks or be held back in areas they want to move faster in. If a topic interests them they have the time, freedom and encouragement to follow their natural curiosity and study it.

9. No more packed lunches. I hate packing school lunches.

Well I need to go now but I'm sure I'll come up with a reason number 10...or even 15 as the school year goes by. It should be quite an adventure.

August Camping

My "big kids" got their first try at carrying Cece in the Ergo carrier while I supervised close by. It made them feel pretty grown up and Miss Cece enjoyed the view and attention from her big sis and brother. Roman is looking a little bit Mexican in this photo. Barefoot and a baby sister strapped to his back...although the carrier is a little more high-tech than the average shawl sling.

Miss Cece loved the water. She was fascinated by the sand and water as she sat wiggling and splashing in it. It's so fun to watch a child discover the world around them. I feel so blessed to be a part of that. Cece will be 5 months old in a few days!

My boys waiting to get pulled behind a friends boat. They had so much fun!
The Dad's hanging out with the boys around the campfire.Serenity.

• a disposition free from stress or emotion
• peace: the absence of mental stress or anxiety

Last weekend we went camping with our church family. It was so nice to visit, relax and enjoy each others company in such a casual atmosphere. So important for strengthening friendships, sharing our lives, and deepening relationships.

It was a good family time for us too.

The weather has now taken a turn and we have had cool, wet, stormy weather all week. I hope that these pictures weren't the last hoorah of summer. It has been a crazy wet summer! I don't think , as farmers, I've ever considered saying we've had too much rain...but this year...quite possibly we have. The crops which looked amazing a couple months ago (due to so much rain) have now been pummeled by relentless wind, rain and hail storms. Whats left standing is soggy and rotting rather than ripening. I think my families farm may have faired better than some (a lot of farmers didn't even get their land seeded due to so much rain) but we could sure use a couple months of hot dry weather. With winter just around the corner ,and such a short growing season, it's going to be cutting it close I think.

All this cool weather has me thinking about (dreading) the end of summer. In case you are new to my blog and haven't heard me complain about Canadian winter....I intensely dislike the cold. As I watch the looming clouds and feel the chill that's already in the air and I can't help but picture snow and ice. A shiver just ran down my spine even writing those words.

I want to load up my car and drive to my Mexican home.

I haven't written about Mexico much since we came back to Canada. Not because I don't think about it. I think about our time there, our friends there and our possible return there on a daily basis. I miss it so much! (although I am still enjoying living in a real house).

We have absolutely no idea if we will make it down there again this winter. It won't be for an extended time like last year but I am still dreaming of a few weeks or a month of rekindling friendships, checking on our kids in Santa Fe, and hitting a few taco stands...not gonna lie about the taco cravings.

I have a feeling this winter will be focused on fighting for our girl here in Canada before we can take her down to Mexico as part of our family. More on that later.

Another big change this winter is that we will be homeschooling for the first time in a real home. We did it for 6 months in our trailer last winter but this will be our first full school year. It will also be our first time using our own curriculum and making our own rules (last year we just took their books from school and attempted to keep up with the busy work). It's been a summer of going back and forth trying to decide what to do. Pros and Cons, praying, thinking, investigating. I have lots to write about regarding our decision and why we decided, after 4 years of enjoying public rural school , to make a somewhat drastic switch. I am now, officially, a home-school mom. I guess I'd better start sewing our matching denim skirts....or not.

Track and Field Day

Before I begin with the Track and field day pictures....here is another freak show picture.

I chased him outside shortly after snapping this shot.

I literally have children hanging from my ceiling and climbing my walls. Despite finding it somewhat irritating....I do find it quite impressive.

Me and a very precious little girl. I am soaking up our time with little Cece. She is growing so fast and getting so much easier as the newborn stage passes. I am totally in love....and totally enjoying having a little girl after so many boys. I had a heart dropping scare yesterday when I missed a call from her case worker. I was so afraid to call back because I was sure that she would ask me to bring her in. It always happens so suddenly like that. I almost had a panic attack when I saw Social Services number on my call display! Turns out she's not leaving yet. phew. I can put off the heart ache a little longer.....

No ,climbing my walls isn't a track and field event. If it were this boy would definitely win a medal. I think we need to build some monkey bars or climbing walls OUTSIDE this summer!

It's a good thing you can't see my scowling face telling my son to get his dirty paws off my wall.

I am starting to wonder if he was bit by a spider at some point....

So far I haven't seen any signs of a web shooting ability.

Today was Track and Field day at my kids school.

Meet team Hickville. Yes, that is the size of their k-6 school.

Its' the same school I attended...and my dad....and my grandpa...

Every Burlando kid knows that where you lack in athletic ability you can make up for with showmanship....or clown-man-ship.

Run Roman Run!

Silas and his "bef fwens"

Watching kids at the "ball throw" event.

Elementary school high jump is always very entertaining.

Aili actually made it over the bar without knocking it over...despite her interesting form.

Another classic event, running long jump.

Despite my questionably bad attitude leading into the day it turned out to be a lot of fun. The rain went away for the day. The wind kept the mosquito's in hiding and the temperature was perfect. Nathanael was able to come and work our shift in the makeshift food booth. The kids enjoyed hotdogs , rice krispie squares, 10 cent candies, and cheetos for lunch!

That right there is worth writing about.

Last Day of Preschool

Silas went to his last day of Betty's preschool. Yes, she is the same woman who also cares for special needs babies 24 hours a day.
She still finds the energy to teach a group of preschoolers 4 hours per week.
Silas has very much enjoyed his first preschool experience. He is such a classroom type of kid. So very different from his big brother at that age! He loves to sit and colour, do crafts, sing action songs and learn all the things kids learn in preschool. Having a little boy who does whatever the rest of the class is doing is a bit of a novelty for me.

It was such a good experience for him to have his own "school" and for me to have a few hours a week that I can do other ministry or work. The last two days I was able to work in the 'Day home for children with disabilities'. When preschool finished at 12 , Aili babysat him nearby until lunch break (1pm). Today, I was also able to spend the afternoon with the kids at the Day home.

The Preschool is in English so he didn't learn a whole lot of spanish there , other than how to say "MIO!" (MINE!) and other preschool survival banter.
The pre-school age kids from the orphanage come as well as some other staff children.

He came home this morning with a big piece of orange paper covered in snap shots of his time at preschool and a group picture. He proudly showed off his craft of the day, a kite, as well as a balloon with the words "Adios Silas!" on it. He also had an adorable stuffed monkey wrapped around his neck. Thankyou for loving on Silas Cristin and Betty! You made him feel pretty special today...and he loves the monkey.

Sweet kids from the Cuna (Nursery).

My boys

More pool pictures. :) We are actually having a real weekend right now... in the middle of harvest time! We are done harvesting lentils and it will be a couple weeks until the wheat is ready. It doesn't usually work out that we have half time break in between crops. We gave'er hard for a couple weeks and now I have some time to re-group at home before we go again.
Silas is OK being the half-time show.

The weather has been HOT the last couple weeks which has been great for getting the crops dried out....my garden and yard are pretty much toasted right now (being sorely neglected). In fact I have given whats left of my garden over to the hoards of grasshoppers that have moved in.

We spent some time at a neighbors pool this afternoon....yay for generous neighbors with pools!
Silas LOVES the water! What a fish. He even has built in flippers ;)

Silas and his Daddy making parents everywhere gasp and twitch.

My Romeo. We celebrated the end to a LONG first week of school with a surprise party (pizza, popcorn and old school starwars trilogy). The kids have never seen them and I had only seen the first one...as a child, so it was a fun movie watching weekend. Snuggling up as a family watching movies was just what we needed. The light sabers just made it extra special :)

Roman has had a bit of a hard time adjusting to school everyday. Getting back into the groove of things after a summer of climbing trees and building forts is going to be a bit of a challenge I think.
After watching him burst into tears 4 out of 5 mornings last week, I am hoping that this coming week will be easier. It will only be a 4 day week anyway.
He is in "Room 1" (there are 2 rooms total for grades k-6). They have k-3 in the same classroom right now and although the small country school has SO many benefits I think the distraction factor is going to be an issue for this guy.
I think homeschooling him this winter will be a good thing. I'm psyching myself up for the challenge.
We are starting them out in school this fall and will home school (with mainly the schools curriculum) for our 6 month stay in Mexico.
I know it will be difficult at times to keep on task (and to have patience) but I think that working his schooling around the way a busy little boy is wired (instead of trying to cram him into something he wasn't made for ) will benefit him and promote more enjoyment of learning.

Our trip will be an adventure and a huge learning experience for all the kids. Only about a month left!!!

Check out the lashes on this boy. You have to look closely to really see how long they are...they are freaky long. He is so used to people gasping and commenting on his gorgeous lashes that he just replies "I know" and gets embarrassed. I remind him he should say thank you but to him I don't think its really a compliment. They'll drive the girls crazy someday though :)

Sunday Fun day and braggin about my girl

"I dirty Mama!"

Aili has been such a big girl lately and by "big girl" I mean she is turning into a really enjoyable and helpful young lady. She will be 8 next month. Its hard to believe that in a few short years she will be entering adolescence. That seems totally inconceivable to me. A few years ago (or so it seems) she was my bright eyed baby girl.

I am really getting a taste lately of the friendship I know we will have as she grows up. Its been nice having her around home more now that school is over. We've had a lot more one on one time together lately because of her once a month orthodontist appointments in town....we ditch the boys and try to make a date of it. Its been fun.

Now for the bragging. We got report cards this week and as usual reading it makes me so proud of her.

She is doing really well in all her subjects and has even improved in them since the beginning of the year. More than the subject grades I love the marks she gets on character and social development. Some of the comments on her report card were.

"Aili is a very respectful student. She shows accountability for her actions as well as self-control. Keep up the great attitude Aili."

"She is able to work with her peers and shows respect toward her teacher and the rules of the class."

"She listens and participates well"

She had a new teacher this year and was a little worried about loosing the teacher she had since kindergarten. In this little two room rural school kids keep the same teacher for quite a few years or until the teacher moves on.

Her new teacher was excellent. He loves the kids but isn't a softy and expects a lot of them. Aili loves a challenge.

Her consideration for other students, her respect for authority and her diligence in her school work are always themes in report cards and in interviews.

She is such a natural little leader and enjoys organizing events and getting people involved.

She loves to teach younger children and set up activities for them.

She is surprisingly comfortable with public speaking.

She is a quirky, imaginative, non-conforming, generous, compassionate, loyal, assertive, outgoing and independent little girl.

She is totally comfortable surrounded by creative mess and chaos....which at times causes conflict between her and I , particularly in regards to her bedroom. :) She always has several projects going simultaneously.

I makes me smile to think of all the things God might do with this little girl in her lifetime.

She makes me feel so proud and blessed to be her mom.

We spent the afternoon yesterday with some good friends at their back yard lake. They farm most of the land around the little lake so it literally is in their back yard. Great company, good location, beautiful scenery, no crowds and the price is perfect. :)

We went only anticipating a campfire since it wasn't very hot but when the big inflatable slide made its debut into the water they all went. Once the clothes were wet and uncomfortable they mostly ended up in their underwear. Like I said we were really secluded..and well, I won't deny it, we are hicks. As you can see Silas' shorts didn't stay up very well so eventually they came off to in favor of his birthday suit. Unfortunately I hadn't taken his ear plugs (he has ear tubes) and he is paying for it with an ear ache today. oops.

It was such a nice relaxing afternoon. I think we need to head over there more often...next time we'll bring our swimsuits. :)

Meet the Graduate

This handsome fellow just graduated from Kindergarten. Yep, they celebrate "kindergarten graduation" now. I thought that was kind of weird when we first started back into the school scene but turns out its a lot of fun. Moving from kindergarten into grade one is a big deal after all. :)
In kindergarten they are still "little" in a cute , innocent sort of way. I realized with Aili how fast they start to change and grow up once elementary school really begins. They turn into "big kids" SO fast. I kind of feel like this is the official end to his little boy years. Next come disproportionately large permanent teeth and an expanded knowledge of the world. I enjoy the big kid stage, but something of that adorable innocence is lost with the baby teeth.

Clowning his way through the award service. Shocking, I know.

Graduating Kindergarten class of '09! With nine kids this is considered a really big grade in our school. I told you it was a small school.

Each of the students received a "most likely too" award from their teacher at the ceremony. There was a teacher, paleontologist, politician, computer tech, and scientist. Roman was awarded "most likely to be a song writer". His teacher announced that Roman regularly writes her pages and pages of "music" and performs them in front of the class. I think his "music" is a squiggly lines (the words) and notes (dots with stems) written on pages of paper.
He has had an amazing teacher this year! We are so pleased that he had someone who saw the best in him and taught him in such a fun and creative way.
You never know.....maybe we do have a little composer on our hands.
Guess I'd better look into music lessons.

We wrapped up the evening with a special Roman favorite supper:

BBQ Hamburgers :
homemade whole -wheat buns, farm beef, lettuce (from our garden..yippee its ready!) and tomato

Mexican bean salad :
mixed beans (black, pinto, navy, kidney and garbanzo)
red and orange peppers
cilantro (also from the garden)
tomato
green onion (from the garden)
fresh squeezed lime (definately NOT from my garden )
pinch of salt.
a pinch of cumin.

Can you tell I'm excited that my garden is actually producing a little bit now? :)

Thats as close to a recipe as I get. I'm not a very good recipe follower or measurer (exept if I'm baking...then I at least use a recipe as a guide). This is a really yummy, colorful and very nutritious salad that goes along great with a Bar-b-q. I make variations of it all the time.

And for dessert:

Chocolate cake and icecream!!!
Now thats a real treat in this house. I wanted Roman to feel great about his acheivement and I knew having cake and icecream (normally reserved for birthdays) would do it. I was right! :)

I have a great egg free chocolate cake recipe and I bought Chapmans "made in a nut free facility" icecream for the occasion.
I don't do mixes .
If I can make it myself I won't buy it in a box.
I'm wierd that way.

Daddy even brought him home a little gift. I know we are over the top with this...but knowing what a struggle school has been for him we are ok with being over the top ! :)

A microscope!
($9 at the Bargain store)
I'm actually surprised it even works for that price!
The kids have been looking at dirty fingernails, boogers, and leftover oatmeal in the thing all morning.

Maybe I've got a budding scientist on my hands too :)

I'm feeling so speshle.

I realize this is my second post in one day but I just had to brag a little. The "mothers day tea" at the kids school was lovely. Complete with cheesy songs, poems and talent. We were served coffee and fruit. Silas enjoyed the plate of fruit so much that he shoved more in his mouth than he could effectively process. I was busy visiting and didn't notice that he had overstuffed until it was all being spit out on my plate. I covered it with a napkin and apologised to the people lucky enough to have chosen to sit with us.

Speaking of lucky. I was particularly lucky today. First of all I was gifted with these wonderful items from my children. I love the card from Aili.
"roses are red viltits are blue
shiger is sweet and so are you"
"Have a speshle day."

awww, I feel so speshle.

And a nice mug shot of Roman to hang on the wall. And it will no doubt be hung on my wall...somewhere...Roman will make sure of that.

And to add to the luck I won the most coveted door prize! (It was arranged much more beautifully complete with plastic wrapping and a bow....but we already got into it). One of the Grandmas of a couple of the students often donates her baking for raffles or door prizes. And I won it!! ME the one who never wins anything! I actually snuck out to take Silas to the bathroom when they started to draw names figuring that was more polite than leavng during the singing solos. On my way back to my table someone said "Hey, you won a basket of bunnies" at least that is what I thought I heard. I was a little concerned as I made my way back to the table. Fortunately they were saying buns and not bunnies. yummy. Unfortunately I have to hide them from my allergy baby ...but the rest of us will have no problem eating our basket full of baking. Stop in for coffee and you can have one too :)

Romans First Report Card

So, after many months of School the kindergartners finally got their first report card. I opened it with much trepidation and fear. It was basically what I had braced myself for, with a few surprises added in. First of all, I'm not sure I understand the whole grading system. We have been in the school system for a few years now but what ever happened to A, B, C ,D etc ? We now have random letters of numbers, which are different with every report card and require a "key" to decipher.

When reading the comments, I read a bit between the lines, keeping in mind that his teacher is so sweet she is almost positive to a fault. Comments such as "Roman is slowly adapting to a classroom climate." Could be interpreted as Roman is frequently disruptive in a classroom setting but he is starting to learn that we are here for a reason.

Or "He seems to be enjoying school more and is attempting to pay attention in class" . That is a comment I could be proud of but the "attempting" is not all that encouraging.

One of my favorites is " Roman loves stories and will listen intentively when he is interested".....bingo. That about sums it up.

He did do very well in the "Creative Arts development" which includes things like having his own ideas, using props creatively, listening and moving to music, rhythm activities, and singing. All of those are things that he loves so I'm glad that it is showing through at school. He told me " I'm the best singer in the class" I congratulated him and chuckled. I suspect he's the loudest anyway. The teacher commented "Roman enjoys music and loves to sing".

I feel a little guilty as a mother who should have been teaching him the area of basic knowledge of colors, alphabet, phone number, birthday. To say he's never been interested in any of these things is an understatement, and I guess I just didn't bother with the battle. I have tried but gave up too easily maybe. He does finally know his colors though (just details he never cared about enough to try to learn.) ...."except orange". And according to the report card he knows his alphabet up to the letter "p"......well obviously that would be the letter where he stops the song and starts cracking jokes instead. He may never learn the alphabet past "p" in fact. I really do need to work with him on these things and attempt to make them interesting and maybe even fun for him. After all there are a lot more years of learning left to do. Even just doing homework, which he doesn't get unless he misses a day, is painful for both of us. As you can see by the face above. He had to finish a simple coloring activity and it was an hour of drama just to get him to do it. He has been coloring a little more in recent months (before that he never colored) but it can't be in a coloring book. He hates anything that restricts him in anyway, he would rather invent his own pictures....so doing an assignment is tough. I was complaining to his Dad about the trouble with homework and he sympathetically said he remembers feeling the exact same way. He remembers it almost being physically impossible to engage himself and just get it done if it was something he was not interested in....even if it was easy. He is his fathers son , in so many ways. It an attempt to convince him to finish his homework I told him that it was his "quest" he got even more mad and told me "MOM, a quest is something fun like fighting a dragon to save a princess, finding lost treasure, or saving the world from an evil villain!!!....NOT doing coloring!" I stand corrected.


On a more positive note he seems to do well in math, or rather pre-math activities like sorting, patterns etc. So my fingers are still crossed for that. I just feel almost bad for him because I know the structure and bookwork of school goes against everything about his personality. It is something he has to learn and he will have to learn to function in that setting...even if it is a challenge. His teacher did comment that his attention span is improving and his fine motor skills are getting better to , so I'm holding onto that and hoping they continue to get better. Kids change so much in these first few years of school.

I have to admit the other day as he was heading to school and grumbling about it, I told him that he had to pay attention in class and learn what he needed to learn or he would be in kindergarten forever.....a tiny mommy fib. I told him that before he could set out to travel the world he needed to finish all his years of school and it would take even longer if he didn't learn the first time and had to do them over again. That got his attention.

I love this boys creativity, imagination and sense of adventure. I wouldn't change him for anything. I just have a foreboding feeling that the next 12 years might be a bit of a struggle. I'm hoping I'm wrong, and I certainly don't want to give him anything but a confident and positive impression about his schooling experience. Fortunately he can't read or use the computer and get wind of my fears for him. I know that God has great things for this boy and will use all his energy, perseverance, passion and his think outside the box outlook on everything for something special. He may not have a future as a accountant or a librarian but I'm ok with that :) He'd rather be a surfer/ musician/ world traveller anyway. I'm just hoping he's one that knows the color orange.


p.s Roman just said the funniest thing to me....somewhat over the line inappropriate for writing about, I apologize ahead of time if you are offended easily...but its from the mouth of a 5 year old who was perfectly serious at the time. I had a good laugh once I got over the shock.

Roman - (with an air of smugness and pride) " My p#*#s is pretty big for my age....I think its because I exercise a lot"

Me - " gasp, shock.......um, Roman how exactly do you exercise your -----"

well I'll leave the rest to your imagination. Needless to say I laughed so hard tears rolled down my cheeks. Then we had a bit of a talk.


side note: He's really into exercising, running and lifting heavy stuff....so it stands to reason that he wouldn't neglect that part too. Being a mom to boys is quite an adventure.

Pelo loco and Harvest time

These are my two astonishingly brilliant looking children headed to school. It happens to be spirit week which translates into sending children to school looking strange everyday.









Aili looking groovy on Hippy Day

Silas has "helped" me out in the Combine the last couple days...I only last an hour or so before I call Grandma to come get him...but he loves it. He woke up at one in the morning last night asking to go in the 'bombine'











He can't fight sleep any longer.