Marching along...

I cannot believe that the month of March has come and gone. I swear, the older I get, the faster time moves (well, unless in the middle of a deployment!)

We had a busy month -- birthday parties (I made the fondant blanket and stars for a VERY detailed cake), breakfast with the Princesses, a slumber party, bowling, starting a new school, and, of course, Daddy's homecoming.

Homecoming Photos

You all have been waiting so patiently for the photos we took while waiting for B to arrive home this week. Thank you for giving our family some time to get reacquainted and settled. We're having a wonderful time together...

Anyway, enjoy the few photos I was able to snap...

He's Home!!

He's home!! Will post more photos soon...

Many accomplishments

Cadey has had a great time at school the last two weeks -- well, after I drop her off, that is. We are still having some grumbling in the morning about the "dumb clothes" and she sometimes tries the "I don't want to go to school" routine, but once she's there, she does VERY well.

For example:

Her first week, Cadey earned Student of the Week, complete with a coupon for a free buffet at Golden Corral. (Oh, yay! Lucky me -- where's Bapaw when you need him to take the grands on a trip to the GC???)

Her second week, Cadey read enough books on her "Book It!" form that she earned a coupon for a free personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut. (I'm all over that one!) She also earned enough money (it's a discipline/behavior method the teacher uses in class) that she was rewarded with a trip to the Treasure Box. Only the top three money earners for the week get a trip to the Box!

So, I am thrilled with her accomplishments. The teacher also said she is doing very well, and is right in line with the class -- and is reading "VERY WELL" for her age. Ahhh... I'm so proud of my punkin' and am so happy she's found her place!

Busy Weekend...

We've had a busy weekend. We enjoyed a slumber party on Friday, breakfast with the princesses on Saturday, and ended the weekend with a great day spent bowling with friends...

Enjoy the photos!

School Uniforms

Though she isn't too sure about the uniforms for her new school, I think C looks so cute. And, talk about making the choosing-of-the-clothes so much easier!!!

Enjoy the few pics I've been able to capture -- C's not sure she wants her photo taken in her "dumb clothes!" (And yes, her eyes are really puffy -- early mornings, now that we have to drive to school!!)

School Update

As most of you know, we've been homeschooling C since November. She started out the year in kindergarten at a local public school, but the experience was not great. (See a previous post about it -- look back in October or November of '08)

Homeschooling has been going very well. It has been an amazing journey for me to not only be C's Momma, but her teacher as well. It's been great to see her grow and learn and to be able to do school our way, on our time, at our pace. The flexibility of scheduling, the ability to pace her according to her learning needs, and the lack of early morning scurry to get ready really made homeschooling fantastic.

However, while those things were wonderful about homeschooling, I was also starting to notice some problems. First, C was becoming almost territorial of me. She didn't want to share. I assume that is normal for a child who has siblings, however it was becoming an issue. I was also having trouble dropping her off anywhere that required a caregiver other than myself. It was as if she'd regressed to being really shy, uncomfortable around strangers, and very stubborn when asked to behave bravely. It was not fun for either of us. And, it was beginning to rub off on her brother. I also noticed that she was having trouble separating home-is-home from home-is-school. Constantly asking for TV, or playtime, etc. I always allowed her breaks of "free time" between each subject (which were only 15-20 mins at a time anyway).

I was recently talking to a friend of mine and she mentioned a local Christian school where she sends her daughter. This friend is someone I've known for over 6 years and her daughter and C have gone to school since they were 2.

So, C and I went and looked at the school last week. We both loved it. Why?
~Small Class Size (13)
~Contained Class (all activities with one group of kids -- great for my shy one!)
~GREAT curriculum -- A beka -- same as I was using at home
~A Bible based/teaching school
~Loving teacher
~Affordable tuition
~Shorter day than public school (4.5 hrs. vs 7 hrs)

Drawbacks:
~Not as much alone time with my girl (I think that's a drawback, but right now I'm just relishing the "me" time!)
~It is a 25-30 minute drive ONE WAY from our home.

Though she's only been going for two days, I can already see a difference in C. She's happier, more talkative, more outgoing. I know it sounds weird, but it's true. It's like she's found something she was missing -- something that I couldn't give her. I think it was the love, encouragement, and company of a group of kids her own age.

So, anyway, that's our big news. C is now in a Christian Academy and loving every minute of it. (The only thing she doesn't like is the uniforms -- but I think she looks very cute!)

Blast from the past...

The kids love looking at "old" pictures of themselves and watching movies of themselves. Here's a couple "oldies but goodies" pulled from the archives...






In case you can't understand, they are asking each other, "How do you do?" Then, C goes into her own thing -- "Look Mom, I catched a fish!"

Ahhh... where has the time gone???

Bye, bye February!

We didn't do anything overly thrilling this month... M spent a lot of time outside playing in the sand, riding his bike, and banging on trees ("sword fights") C spent her free time dressing up, building houses, and taking care of her babies.

Who ever said that there aren't ingrained differences in the sexes was way off...

Anyway, enjoy the few photos I managed to snap this month.