My littlest monkey climbs... all the time, on everything. Yesterday was no exception. It was right before naptime. We were having our typical storytime. Now sometimes my baby man will sit in my lap and listen to the story. And other times, like the typical 14 (almost 15, wow!) month old, he will run around while I read. Yesterday was a run day. And a climb day. Into the toy shopping cart he went. And over it tumbled. My little guy fell straight forward and landed smack on his face. He was silent for about two seconds, then started howling. I immediately picked him up and blood literally poured from his mouth. As my heart beat faster, and my tears started to come, I asked my biggest little man (who is seven) to go get Daddy (who had taken a sick day). We couldn't see well enough to tell if his baby teeth were broken, or pushed up. My worst fear, that he had swallowed them! Granny came over (God bless her!) and took care of my two big boys, as well as my two preschool charges. Daddy and I rushed baby to the ER. The ER docs and nurses couldn't tell either, so they sent us to the Peds dentist. Through lots of tears (mine and baby's!), and a very strong Daddy, we got some x-rays and another examination. Sure enough, those little baby teeth had smacked our hardwood floor so hard, they had been pushed up into the gums. The dentist sent us home with instructions on keeping an eye out for infection, and the reassurance that those two teeth will reemerge in a couple of months.

In the meantime, I am finally calm, and I thank God for my hubby's sick day!

The Question: How can I inflate a balloon without blowing air into it?

Step One: Measure four tablespoons of vinegar into an empty water bottle.Step Two: Using a funnel, measure two tablespoons of baking soda into a balloon.Step Three: Carefully place the balloon onto the bottle. Step Four: Slowly lift up the balloon, dumping the baking soda into the vinegar.Amaze yourself and your little brothers. Hey, the vinegar fizzes and the balloon inflates!
That was cool!Time to put it into the Science Notebook.

Cub Scouts is quickly becoming a big part of our life! Here is Big Boy showing off his rock collection at a Den Meeting. The infamous Blue and Gold Banquet... Western themed!The cacti the den boys made for our table decorMy family of cowboys
I couldn't believe my biggest played a game that required a blindfold... and eating something! (Although he didn't, which is why...) He became a grumpy cowboy!One of my favorite cowboy costumes ever!

Game Night

My friend Michelle and I sing together in New Life Voices and Harmonia. Recently she and her family came over to watch some video of our singing, and it turned into an impromptu game night! I had to B&W the photos, as she and I both had a cold and our noses were red!!

Michelle

Steve and MichelleThe Small Gamers
My Sweetie and Me

What an interesting experience... this past Sunday, we sang at a Black History Month production at the University of Cambellsville. We made the front page of the newspaper, but I will also post pics soon!

It's the little things that my boys find exciting. Today they washed rocks and painted them gold. We are going to pretend they are "fools' gold" for our Cub Scout western themed Blue & Gold Banquet on Saturday.

I am not a poet

I am not a babysitter.
I am a helpmeet.
I am a mommy.
I am a daughter.
I am a teacher.
I am a singer.
I am a keeper of my home.
I strive to be even more.

Just a question to get you thinking. If you were a working mom (or dad) and you had the day off work, would you rather spend it with your children, or drop them off at daycare because you had already paid for that week?

I am not by any means supermom. I try to be, but I think a lot of moms do. We try to do it all, have a career, keep the house in perfect order, and raise happy, healthy, well behaved children. Some of us work out of necessity, to keep the finances afloat. Some of us work to keep a certain type of lifestyle. Some of us have careers outside the home simply to get outside the home! Before I had my children, I worked in childcare and/or taught preschool and kindergarten (depending on which facility treated and viewed me as a teacher). When I had my first baby, I just could not stand the thought of putting that baby into an assembly line situtation, even if I were working in the next classroom. I chose to get a certification to run a childcare out of my house. I could still do what I enjoyed, help my husband make ends meet, and be with my baby. Over the years, my opinions and viewpoints have changed from one end of the spectrum to the other. I started a blog because I wanted a voice. I hope the next few blogs will give me just that.

New Life Voices

Singing at the Coffee Shop. My little friend Alicia joined us for Amazing Grace.

Michelle and Me

Wish me luck... audition Saturday for National Anthem for Lexington Legends baseball!!

The Pinewood Derby

After lots of preparation, the Pinewood Derby is over. Middle man had a blast making his light saber car, and competing in the Outlaw Category! And Big created a Batman Car, winning all three of his races, and coming in 7th out of 50 overall! And the cherry on top.... Mommy was asked to sing the National Anthem before the race!! What an exciting day it was.

Homeschool

Whew, I just completed an exhaustive search during naptime for some good notebooking pages for rocks and/or minerals. My big guy is making a display for his rock collection to complete a cub scout belt loop. He wanted a picture of some sort for the top of his cookie tin (which houses only 20 or so of his rocks. While I was searching, I discovered that Konos curriculum (of which I own Volume 1) has a section on rocks! He wanted to do a rock experiment today, so he got out all of his rocks and proceeded to test them all with vinegar for the presence of limestone. We had been using a spiral notebook for science notes and experiments. He was so excited, that I decided to start an offical binder-style notebook. I printed out the cover, which he colored (a big deal in itself, he's not a big fan of coloring!). Then together we completed an experiment page. He even did most of the writing himself... hooray! For math today, we worked on multiplication. Using an egg carton and some heart shaped pasta, we practiced making sets. It came so easily for Big guy, that he quickly completed the Valentine themed worksheet I printed out!
Just a few minutes ago, while his brothers and little friends were peacefully sleeping, he started and won a third grade computer game.

My little man looking at the ice storm that left us powerless for three days...

Mommy, these icicles are huge!

Middle Man's 4th Birthday Sweet cousin at the party