Queen to My 3 Boys: February 2008

Why Homeschool?

Yikes! How would you respond to your child being treated like this?

I don't know about all of you but when I was young, my parents had the very same vaccuum for eons. So did my friends' parents. Not us. Our vaccuum cleaners break down so often, they almost seem disposable. It makes me cranky!

You know that song...the one with the lyrics 'I'm in love and I'm a believer'? I know it sounds quirky, but I hum that to myself everytime I vaccuum now. I love my new vaccuum! It is a Dirt Devil from Costco and cost me around $100. It is lightweight - I carry it while doing the stairs. We have no carpet in our house, only hardwood & tile, so I put the bare floors head on it and go. There is no bag, I just empty the canister. And it sucks like the dickens! And if it doesn't last, I'm going to march right on into Costco and get a new one.

Ethnic Favourites?

Our church is hosting a Missions Festival this weekend. On Saturday, we are asked to bring an ethnic dish. Anybody have any suggestions? Something yummy, but not too tricky. If you're not a blogger, leave me a recipe in your comment. If you are a blogger, post your recipe and direct me to your site. I'm sure others would be excited to try out a great new recipe.

After the weekend is over, I'll do a post on which recipe I chose and if it was a success.

Eeeeerrrch! Where Are The Brakes On This Baby?

Zane turned 3 months on the weekend and yesterday rolled over for the first time. I put him on his belly, he started to fuss, I looked over and he was on his back. Hmmmm...I thought I put him on his belly. I went over and put him on his belly again. Whoops, over he went. This time I saw it - and so did Dylan so I have a witness. I thought I'd grab the video camera, so I plopped him back on his belly and before I could turn around, he was back on his back. Fast learner. After I got the video camera, he stopped. Go figure. Zane is not too fond of his 'tummy-time' in the first place. Now I'll never get him to have it.

My question: Where are the brakes? How do I slow things down a little so I can savor each stage just a little longer?

The Good Ol' Hockey Game

Dylan's hockey team played in an out-of-town tournament this weekend. Here are a few pictures of the action.

At this level, each player takes turns playing goalie. To some, it feels like a punishment, but others can't wait!

He missed out playing centre this time. He sure hustles to get there first!

At the hotel room, the boys were still trying to wear off excess energy. It would be fantastic if I had half the energy that they have!

This is Kobe's 'I'm gonna get you good' face - gritting his teeth and all.

Poor Daddy! Just wait until Zane gets in there!

We don't normally let the boys jump on the beds, but I just had to get some action pictures after I saw Dylan do it once. I cannot believe that he still had so much energy after all that hockey!

"I can't wait to come play too!"

When Dylan was getting out of his hockey gear after his last game, he heard 'Coach Ray' say that he wanted to get home quickly so that he could play in his team's tournament game at 1:30. After hearing that, he badly wanted to see Coach Ray play. We went straight to the arena when we got back to town. Coach Ray did not disappoint him. He scored the first two goals and went up another notch on Dylan's hero list.

Dylan hasn't seen Dwayne play hockey yet, either. Dwayne has been thinking about starting back next year. If Dylan is so excited to see Coach Ray play, image how thrilling it will be to see Daddy!

We also went swimming while we were there. We all had a great time! There is a wonderful kiddie area where even Kobe can touch the whole way. They have buckets, floatie toys and rubber ducks floating all around. Zane and I were sitting with my back against the ledge. Kobe came along and started lining up the ducks on the ledge behind me. He made many trips back and forth, getting more ducks to line up. If they weren't sitting 'just right', he'd straighten them out. When he was finished, he had about 40 ducks lined up. Dwayne started messing with him and would remove one without Kobe seeing him. Then Kobe would notice that it didn't look right and quickly fix it. Can anybody say 'OCD'?

We Love Wedgits!

Hey, have you ever heard of Wedgits? A friend recommended them here and I thought I'd give them a whirl. She was right - if you're going to buy them, get a large set, like the Explorer Pak. You want many pieces!

We bought them for Kobe's birthday, but Daddy & I just could not wait to play with them. We carefully unpacked them and ~~had a blast with them~~ did a trial run to make sure they were suitable for Kobe.

They are great fun for the whole family - even though it says for 8 years+. We dump out the box and ~~fight over all the pieces~~ get busy building. Everyone in the family uses them differently. Some of us create designs on our own, some just stack them and some follow patterns, but all of us have fun. I'd definitely get me some if I were you!

It's A Lunar Eclipse!

My friend, who always lets me know of events I'm unaware of, called me to tell me about the lunar eclipse tonight.

I asked, "When?"

Her reply? "Right now. Go look out your window."

So, here's my family looking out the window...

And here is what they were looking at.
Did you catch it from where you live? The next one to be seen from Canada is apparently in 2010. I'll get my friend to give you a call.

My New Toy

Yes, it's finally here. My new toy - a Canon Digital Rebel XTi SLR and a sweet little lens to go with. Happy birthday to me. It's not actually my birthday yet, but I turn 30 in a couple of months. I figure if I have to turn 30, there'd better be something fabulous about it...the thought of 30 just sucks!

Seconds after I got the lens attached, I looked out my window to this...

Then Dylan & I went out to give it a whirl...

At 4 am, Zane nursed. As I was checking on the other children, I saw the deer out the window again. I thought I'd see how a night-shot would turn out.

I went back to bed, freezing cold after standing on the porch in my robe. In the morning, Dwayne asked me why I had been so cold. When I told him, he just shook his head & smirked.

...On The Top Of The World, Looking Down On Creation...

Yesterday we went up to the alpine and had some family fun. There were lots of us that went, doing a variety of activities. We had snowmobiling (everybody had to snowmobile to get up there), tobagganing, snowboarding, building snowforts and skiing. It's a long tobaggan hill, so hitchin' a ride is a must! The photo-ops were abound. Too bad my new camera still wasn't in. The shots aren't fabulous with this camera. It also would have been nice to have some more blue sky. But hey, you can't have it all!

This is our 'community backyard'. It feels like the top of the world!

Here is the tobaggan hill (to the right of the cabin).

Dylan on the GT.

The ride up the hill. Much too far to walk!

Dylan's very first shot at snowboarding. A friend is going tandem with him - showing him the feel of it before he tries it himself.

My little Dylan going solo.

Care for trying a jump at the bottom?

Kobe getting pulled on his sled by Daddy.

Kobe chillin' - eating his hot dog.

My brother and his almost-2-year-old.

The whole day, Zane was bundled up under my jacket in his Moby D Wrap. He was cozy and sleeping most of the time. I was waddling around taking pictures, feeling a bit large in my snowsuit and him in my jacket. Felt a little like being pregnant again!

One of the children that came had a tobaggan crash. He is alright now, but it did require a trip to the hospital. Since he is my friend's kid and some of you also read her blog, I'll leave it up to her to post about it. Other than that, it was a wonderful time for all!

Another Celebrated Dancing Bear Lapbook

We just finished a new lapbook for our Five In A Row unit studies. It was called Another Celebrated Dancing Bear. Here are some pictures of our wrap-up project.