Sunday Snapshots

   I hope that your Sunday was relaxing and enjoyable. We had spent morning at Girly Monkey's soccer game, and then came home and did some painting with the Monkeys. Then I found out that I have finally caught the bug that the rest of my family got over already. So I am sick! Not very fun when I'm so far along with my pregnancy. But my wonderful husband picked up a treat tonight!
Don't forget Money-Wise Mondays tomorrow!

Little Monkey occupying himself with
my phone while waiting for the soccer
to be over

Girly Monkey chasing after the ball.

Hug time

Funky Monkey leading the girls in after game hand-shake.

Painting pumpkins with water color pencils

Girly Monkey's take on pumkin

Funky Monkey's pumpkin

Little Monkey trying his water color pencil skills.

Daddy's great treat - he brought us all Chinese food take-out so I wouldn't have to cook tonight
and have time to get better!

Harvest nostalgia.

Pumpkin patch 2011

Harvest colors

   As days get shorter and weather gets colder and more wet, I look forward to the fall season. I love the colors of autumn, the fresh apples and pears and pumpkins. I look forward to comfort food in my kitchen, like warm root vegetable stew, pumpkin pie, or warm apple crumble. Everyone starts walking around with pumpkin-spiced coffees and hot chocolates. I love that the dreary days make my home feel like a little sanctuary, protecting me from cold and rain. I get sentimental with Thanksgiving approaching, and picking best pumpkins at the pumpkin patch. Monkeys get excited over what costumes they will wear for Trick or Treating this year. I get excited about carving the pumpkins and decorating our house. Most of all I look forward to Girly Monkey's birthday and spending time with family.
   I can understand why this season is almost never one of the favorites with people, but I get a bit nostalgic about it.

There are not enough .......

Ahhh .. the care-free summer days!

   .........hours in a day.

  How many people are heard saying that in a week. I felt that way this whole week for sure. For some reason the hours and days started escaping me and my to do list started multiplying. Every one step I made forward made me realize that I was running 2 steps behind. It might be that being 31 weeks pregnant causes my head to be a little preoccupied with all the things that still have to be done before Monkey In-Waiting arrives. I keep on making "to finish before Monkey In-Waiting gets here" and "still need to get it" lists but nothing gets checked off of them. Or maybe it's that the newness of school work has worn off, and no matter how entertaining or fun I make the lessons Monkeys will do anything not to work on them. Or maybe it's Girly Monkey's birthday in few more days that's distracting all of them. Or maybe it's just that everyone is still getting over being sick. Funky Monkey has got a runny nose now and Daddy Monkey has been really sick this week, Little Monkey and Girly Monkey are still coughing. It's only me that has not got sick .... yet! I am just exhausted from tending to everyone's sickly needs.

It's poetic!

 As part of our homeschool curriculum, I have decided that we will study Poetry. Why do I think that poetry is needed in lessons for 9, 5, and 3 year old? It's because I think that poetry has more to offer to students than mere words. It provides opportunity for examining words as conveyors of not only meaning but also feelings. Poetry gives the kids an opportunity to practice their memory and learn to express themselves in few words. It can also help them in grammar by teaching rhyming, poetic terms like oxymoron or onomatopoeia, or metaphors, composition, and word use. Poetry can help kids paint verbal imagery with words. Poetry is ....... well, poetic.
   Teaching poetry to kids doesn't have to be a chore, even if you are not particularly fond of poetry. At younger age, Nursery Rhymes are a perfect introduction to poetry. Rhymes like Humpty Dumpty, Jack be Nimble, or Hickory, Dickory, Dock, or songs like Baa, Baa Black Sheep, or Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star are fun for even the youngest of children to memorize.

You loose sleep over what???? part 2

Enjoying a walk together

Yesterday, I wrote about the most common question people ask us when they find out that our family homeschools. Today I would like to write a little about the second most common question we get asked. This time it has nothing to do with our family homeschooling, but it has everything about the size of our family. I started hearing it from people when I was pregnant with Little Monkey, but it only happened occasionally. Now that I am pregnant with my fourth child I hear it more often, and Daddy hears it all the time, "What were you thinking having another one?" That's right, it seems that a lot of people are almost offended by us having four kids. I am not talking here about genuine concerns form close relatives about how we are planning to support our family. I am talking about acquaintances, coworkers, and even total strangers feeling the need to let us know that we have crossed some sort of a line by having four kids.
   Not all remarks and questions are offensive and rude, like an elderly couple in a grocery store mentioning that our kids will never "run out" of playmates, or a friend saying that we are working on "starting our own sport team". These are cute and I don't necessarily take offense to them. But some questions from people that hardly know us can be downright inappropriate. When Daddy has had some people ask him if he has not got "fixed" yet, or if he knows what "causes that" I just cringe. When has it become OK to inquire about intimate details of married couple's life. When has asking about the status of your private parts become an acceptable topic for conversation in any other place than drunken frat house? When has it become everyone's business what choices a married pair make as to how many kids they will have?

You loose sleep over what???? part 1

Girly Monkey helping her little friend in dance class

   People are often very curious about the way we do things and we get many questions from many different people. There are 2 questions that people ask us most often. The first question that we get asked a lot is about homeschooling. Now, I know what you're thinking! You're probably assume that we get asked about the logistics of homeschooling, or where we get our curriculum from, or how we handle math and science, but you're wrong to assume that. The question that we're asked the most is "What about socializing your kids?" For some reason most people assume that homeschooling your kids means having them locked away from all contact with other people. I am not the only homeschooling parent (and yes, us homeschooling parents do talk amongst each other and exchange information) that has come across this. Others have reported everyone from close relatives to strangers in the store being concerned over homeschool kids not having enough "social time". Many non-homeschooling people assume that the main reason for sending kids to school is to be with other kids. Wait a minute ... I thought that the whole idea of sending your kids to school was so that they could get education.

Money-Wise Monday! - Cold and flu season tips

Funky Monkey back from hospital

   Having two sick kids this week reminded me that it's cold and flu season again. As soon as the school year has started and all their activities are beginning, they bring nasty bugs home. My kids are not only good at receiving cold and flu germs but are excellent at passing them around too. So, usually by the end of one week most of the family is sick, and sometimes other people like friends and relatives. The question is how to deal with the flu and cold bugs before you need a trip to the doctor's office and before you need to administer any medication?
   I have learned the need to tend to sick kids before it escalates in 2006. Funky Monkey got a nasty bug and became sick out of nowhere. It started when we were driving somewhere and all of a sudden he started throwing up. Fever came soon after and Funky Monkey was really sick. Over the next few days he spent most of his day in a bed feeling miserable. I administered fever reducing medication and little bits of food and drink that he would accept. Unfortunately, on the third day, at night, he became lethargic, his eyes became sunken in and he didn't look good overall. At this point he was refusing any liquids and not urinating at all.

Sunday Snapshots!

   I hope that everyone had a great Sunday. We got a chance to visit grandma and Gramps today and went to pick up some groceries. Here are some Sunday Snapshots for your enjoyment. Don't forget, tomorrow is Money-Wise Monday.

Playing with Grandma and Gramps' iPad

My Monkeys are too active to sit still for very long. 

Learning to shop

Even shopping can be fun

Little Monkey is still sick today

Girly Monkey is making him feel better. 

Grandma gave us her famous salad
and we had it for supper!

Yum!

Monkeys loved Grandma's salad.

Even Little Monkey felt better and ate some.

Only 10 weeks left to go ... maybe!

7 months pregnant
with Funky Monkey

   This week marked 10 weeks away from my due date. This means that I have gone through three quarters of this pregnancy and that there is only one quarter left, at the most. Truth be told, I really don't expect this baby to wait until last week of November to arrive. Maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part. This pregnancy has been by far the most difficult one yet. I always tell everyone that being pregnant in my 30's is much harder than it was in my 20's. When I was pregnant with Funky Monkey I was only 24. To tell you the truth I didn't even really notice I was pregnant. I mean my baby bump got bigger, but I didn't feel any different. I read about heartburn, and nausea, and swollen feet in all the baby books but I never experienced any of it. It did help that I didn't have any kids to run after yet so I had lots of time to nap and pamper myself. Funky Monkey arrived on his due date but I would have been fine carrying him a little longer if not for the excitement of meeting him.

7 months pregnant
with Girly Monkey

   With each pregnancy it became more difficult and harder on my body. Girly Monkey's pregnancy was just a little harder than Funky Monkey's pregnancy. Morning sickness lasted a bit longer, and I got breathless a little earlier in the pregnancy. It was harder also because
Girly Monkey decided to stay in a little past her due date. Once I got to Little Monkey, though, I really started feeling it. I had bad heartburn, my feet got swollen all the time, and Little Monkey was bruising the inside of my ribs. I was really ready for him to come out. He must have listened too because he arrived almost 2 weeks early. The funniest thing is that all three Monkeys made their appearance into this world weighing almost the same amount. As a matter of fact they were all within 2 oz of each other. Funky Monkey was 8lbs7oz, Girly Monkey was 8lbs6oz, and Little Monkey was 8lbs5oz. So it might be that they receive an eviction notice from my body once they get to just over 8lbs. Well, if this trend continues, Monkey In-Waiting should be 8lbs5oz. I am putting that out there as my official prediction for his weight. And I am also guessing that he will arrive at

Something about Fear!

Me on the first day of school

"So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyses needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."

Franklin D. Roosevelt

   I have been thinking a lot about fear and being afraid lately. A little bit of fear is very helpful; it makes us aware of dangers, it makes us look twice. A lot of fear cripples us; it stops us from pursuing things, stops us from experiencing things. Fear can be a tool to take us further or it could be a wall that stops us from going anywhere. 

   I am by nature a fraidy cat. I worry about things that might not even happen in my life-time. I fear new situations, new people, new experiences. But I am also a very driven person and I often have to face my fears to get what I want accomplished.

M is for Midwife!

WARNING: This post contains graphic descriptions of birth and medical procedures!

Home visit from a midwife a day after delivering
Little Monkey

   Yesterday we had a Midwife appointment. Everything looked good with Monkey In-Waiting. His heartbeat was 140 beats per minute, my belly measured at 30 weeks, my weight hasn't gone up any in 9 weeks (since I started a little heavier the recommendation was for me to try to only gain 10 to 15 pounds, and I am at 10). We talked about my Gestational Diabetes, coping, labor, birth plans, kids .... Have I mention how much I love having a midwife, or should I say midwives. Well, I do love having them!
   When I was pregnant with Funky Monkey I had a general practitioner take care of me during pregnancy and deliver Funky Monkey. Let's just say that this experience had me wanting a bit more. It really bugged me that she was always focusing on my weight gain and not my health. At every visit I heard how miserable I am going to be weighing that much ( I gained 40 lbs by the end of the pregnancy). The truth was that I was eating the same as before and exercising, it's just that my body needed to gain that much. In the next pregnancies I always end up at the same number on my scale by the end of pregnancy so I am convinced that my body just needs to get to that number whether I start lower or higher. But all she could see was my number on the scale. And that did nothing for my self esteem.

Money-Wise Mondays! - Castile Soap

   Today I would like to review a product that saves our family a lot of money. About 5 years ago I have stumbled, purely by accident, onto castile soap. I have been looking for more natural altarnatives to drugstore soaps for a while and I came upon few websites recommending castile soap. At this point I had no clue as to what castile soap was but I set out on a mission to find out. After searching in our local natural health stores I came upon Dr. Bronner's Organic Pure Castile Liquid Soap . I bought it that day and went home to do more research. It looked like just plain ol' liquid soap, but what was it really? I have long since stopped trusting the word "natural" on the package, because most companies will use it nilly-willy to sell their product, even if it's not really "natural". But after a bit more research I found out that castile soaps are made by mixing organic oils with alkali (potassium hydroxide) which reacts with oil to form soap. There are no waste products of this binding, and soaps are natural and chemical free. I was intrigued! One thing I also found out that castile soap is very concentrated and should be diluted with water for most uses on the body.
   So fast forward to today, and our family uses it for many applications.

Sunday Snapshots!

   I hope everyone had a great weekend. Here are some shots from Funky Monkey's belated Birthday present. We gave him a Bird Encounter experience because he loves birds so much. Enjoy these and don't forget to check out Money-Wise Mondays!

This is one crazy schedule!

Girly Monkey ready
to dance

   This week marked the beginning of our crazy fall schedule in almost full force. I knew it was coming and I was trying to get ready for it. I already covered my school schedule, and it's very demanding. It's so demanding that if we fall behind we have to catch up on the weekends. But throw into the mix two dance classes for Girly Monkey, three for Funky Monkey, one soccer practice for each and one game each and you have one full schedule, and that doesn't even include a dance class for little Monkey that will start next week.

Funky Monkey helping with
his sister's soccer game

   Every day of the week there is an activity with the exception of Mondays.Tuesday- Girly Monkey has ballet class and Little Monkey has dance class, Wednesday- Funky Monkey has a Ballet class and soccer practice, Thursday- Girly Monkey has soccer practice, Friday- Funky Monkey has Modern dance class. Saturday is the craziest of all, with Funky Monkey having Ballet practice that ends the same time as his soccer game begins and they are about 45 minutes apart from each other. So he has to miss last 10 minutes of his Ballet and have me rush him to his game (since Daddy is the coach he has to be there for the beginning of the game and can't help me) which he misses half of..

Ode to a sister!

My sister and I

   Sisters are great! And I am not just saying that because I have one or I am one. For a girl to have a sister is to have a confidante, a friend, an understanding soul, and someone who can tell you when you're wrong. Sisters share more than just blood connection. To be a sister to another woman is a privilege that many take for granted.

   When we found out that Monkey In-Waiting is going to be a boy I felt a bit of sadness. I do love my boys with all my heart, but I felt sadness for Girly Monkey because she will never have a sister. See, the thing is that we ever only wanted four kids, so after Monkey In-Waiting is born we are done having more kids. This means that there will never be another girl in this house until my boys start bringing their girlfriends and later wives into our house. This means that my daughter will miss out on having a sister just like I did.

On my wedding day

   There are many women who grew up with brothers, or didn't have a great relationship with their sisters that can't see what the big deal about sisters really is. I am not saying that having brothers or really close friends is bad, I am just stating that it's not the same as having a close bond with a sister.