peaches

I made our favorite breakfast cake again, this time with some of the fresh peaches we picked.

The rest I sliced and froze up in 2 gallon size bags. Last year I learned from good ol' Martha Stewart that when freezing fruit, first spread the fruit across a cookie sheet, put the cookie sheet in the freezer for several hours until the fruit is frozen, then put the fruit in freezer bags. Now when I open my bags, I have individually frozen fruit so I can easily remove a small portion. A bit of extra prep time on the freezing end, but it's worth it in the long run.

And speaking of frozen fruit, along with those 2 bags of peaches, we have 5 bags of blueberries, 2 of strawberries, and 3 of blackberries--all from our summer picking. Now we will enjoy fruit smoothies, blueberries in our oatmeal, the occasional cobbler and other fruity treats throughout the winter months.

our snuggle bug

Caleb was snuggling in our bed the other morning. He had been curled up with Daddy for several minutes when he began squirming, "I want to sweep wif Mommy."
"Why?" asked Daddy.
"Becuss you awr a widdle bit stinky."

caleb's schoolday

Period 1 - play with pattern blocks.

Period 2 - continue playing with pattern blocks and build a fence around the entire table.
Period 3 - color a fish "wif wots and wots of eyez and diffwent cowuhs of hair."

Period 3.5 - get distracted while coloring fish and experiment on floor.

Period 4 - learn about consequences.

family pictograph

car conversations

Maddie was telling Caleb about the 'lipstick' that Mommy had put on her before we left the house. Not wanting to be left out, Caleb insisted that, "When boys get to be two, den dey can weah wipsticks."

I was left explaining to Caleb that first, boys do not wear lipstick, and second, he will be 4 next year, not 2.

the clock game

Maddie has really enjoyed the Clock Game. I found this activity in my phonics/handwriting curriculum, Spell to Write and Read. The game is simple--set up number cards like a clock face and do simple tasks.
Some tasks we've done:
-go to a particular time, like 4:00
-go to a time of day, like breakfast (8:00)
-set up the clock by herself.

We're doing this activity as prep for handwriting where we'll use the clock face to help direct her strokes, but this is also a great activity for learning the basic concepts of telling time. Even Caleb likes to participate. Who wouldn't like jumping around a circle?

This week's practice: using blank cards and performing the same tasks on a blank clock face.

oh how my children love me

After breakfast we were sitting around the table, the 4 of us, and conversation led to the color of our eyes. I was sharing sweetly how Maddie's eyes were so dark blue when she was born, they looked like a cross between navy and violet.
"Did you think it was pretty, Mommy?"
"Yes, I did."
Maddie and Caleb began to look at Braden's and my eyes. Maddie, really scrutinizing my eyes, observed (innocently I might add),
"Mommy, your eyes are the ugliest color of green I ever saw."
And if one time wasn't enough, she repeated herself, quite amazed and emphasizing UGLY. Then to add more salt to the wound, Caleb added,
"Youh eyes haff red cwacks in dem. Why do dey haff wots of wed cwacks?"
I said, "Because you wear me out and I'm tired this morning!" No, I'm kidding, I didn't say anything. I just laughed. Ah kids, you gotta love 'em!