Who knew corn could do that?

Thursday afternoon Auntie Karen took the kids to the Pumpkin Patch. While they were in the corn maze Naomi picked up an ear of corn and it sliced her finger open. It was bleeding a lot and dripping all over the ground. Since they were in the middle of the maze, all Karen had was a tissue that she tied around Naomi's finger with a corn husk. Thank goodness Karen is a nurse!

When they got out of the maze she put band aids on it. Later that evening when I took the band aids off it started bleeding bad again. So I bandaged it up again.

Well by Friday afternoon it was still bleeding. I called Karen and she suggested I take Naomi into the doctor. The doctor said it was a big cut. Not deep because it is at an angle. And since it is her pointer finger every time she tries to use it, she puts pressure on it and the bleeding starts.


They didn't want to do stitches so they decided on steri-strips.

TaeKwonDo

This semester at Home School Alternative the boys started Tae Kwon Do. They had their second class on Friday. They really like it! Their instructor is a girl and she is black belt. Here are some of their moves.

Monkey PJ's

The other night Brandi and Nene blessed us by bringing us dinner. It was this yummy Mexican chicken made with salsa, corn and black beans. Then you top it with chips, sour cream and salsa!
Before they went home Nene put on her pajamas and the girls were happy to discover they both had monkey Pj's-even though Naomi decided to wear cupcake shirt instead of her monkey shirt.

Darrick's Friend

Darrick sent me these pictures of a "friend" he saw the other day. I did not realize their back legs were like that!

Tom and Hennie's House

I can honestly say that our church, First Christian Reformed Church of Everett, has some of the kindest and most caring people I have ever met. They have really taken the kids and I under their wings over the past two months. Here are some things they have done:

• One guy has volunteered to mow our lawn the entire time Darrick is gone.
• Another man bought and installed a new battery in Darrick's van.
• Sent me multiple cards in the mail letting me know that they are praying for our family.
• Donated card making supplies to us so the kids could make cards for Darrick.
• Baked us bread and muffins.
• Invited us over for dinner.
• Taken my kids to the park.
• Let my kids spend the night.
• Brought the boys to Cadet outings.
• Watching the kids so I can attend a Women's Bible Study.

It is more then I could hope for. I feel so loved and supported. That doesn't mean that I don't have bad days when I feel like I can't do it alone one more day, but they are truly helping me through this time.

Well today another couple, Tom and Hennie, invited the kids and I over for the afternoon. I had planned an insect scavenger hunt to go along with our science unit. We have had beautiful weather this week so it was a great time to go. They live on a beautiful piece of land, where we could explore and discover. Hennie is a teacher too so she was teaching the kids all kinds of things about bugs, ponds, trees and plants.

Jacob's is holding a Piggyback plant that she taught them about.

After our walk in the forest we headed to their garden. She let the kids pick, wash and eat their own carrots out of her garden.

They had a big swing in a tree that the kids had a blast on.

After our time outside we came in and she prepared a snack for the kids while I enjoyed a cup of hot tea and relaxed. She kept the kids busy all afternoon while Tom entertained me with stories of their vacations to Hawaii. They invited us to stay for dinner, so we did and had such a nice time. Tom is a hunter and has many of his "prizes" displayed around the house. The kids found it very interesting but their favorite was the bear skin rug.

Yes it is a real bear that Tom got. He gave them a lesson on taxidermy which Micah found very interesting.

You know that is one thing I love about teaching my kids. There are so many cool things out their to teach them. Just find what people love and they are usually willing to teach you and tell you all about it. It is those impromptu lessons that I find so valuable.

The kids helped Hennie pick grapes off their vines for dessert and then we were on our way back home. It was such a great afternoon!

Chemicals...Good or Bad?

Once again, as Naomi's hair is growing out it becomes a weekly battle to comb through it and style it. She does not like me to comb it, which I need to do at least once a week to keep it from getting matted, tangled and dread locked.

We have so far kept her hair pretty natural. But I had had enough. I was either going to shave it all off or come up with a new plan.

I do not like the idea of putting chemicals on her scalp at 4 years old to straighten it. Through my research I have learned that Naomi has the most difficult hair type-Kinky and Coarse . So I opted for Just for Me brand Texture Softener.


It claims to soften the natural hair texture and not straighten it. This is how it works:

So we gave it a try yesterday and it is wonderful! I was able to put in little braids with clips and she got so many compliments today.

So I don't really like the idea of using chemicals on her-that is the bad. But the good is that it is one less stressful thing to have on my plate right now, which makes it very good!

Making Jam

Last Saturday my kids all had play dates which was so nice because it gave me some time to myself. The boys were at the Timmermans and Naomi was hanging out with Miss Debbie.

Debbie gave me all the stuff I needed to make Raspberry Rhubarb Jam, so all I had to do was make it. I have never made jam before. This recipe is for Freezer Jam so it stays good for awhile.

First I needed to slice up the rhubarb.

Then mix the sliced and chopped rhubarb, raspberries and a lot of sugar together and let it sit in the fridge overnight.

Then in the morning I pureed it in the blender because I wanted to take some of the chunks out.

Then it simmered on the stove for 15 minutes. When the simmering is complete add raspberry jello.

Then pour it into jars, let it cool and store in freezer!

D is for Dog

The other day when I picked up Naomi from Preschool she came out looking so cute! They learned the letter D so all the kids were looking like dogs-it was so cute!

Ants, Insects and Bugs...Oh my!

Here are some fun projects we have done while working on our Insect unit in Science.

To learn the 3 body parts of an insect, we made very large ants. The kids picked their own paper for each section of their ant and then we glued them together and labeled them. The first one on the left is Micah's, Jacob's is in the middle and Naomi's is the last one on the right.

The boys were wondering what the difference, if any, was between an insect and a bug. So after learning they are different and why, I made this game. We had a big pile of pictures that were facing picture side down. When it was their turn, the kids chose a picture from the pile and then had to determine which heading to put it under. It was a lot of fun!

Venn Diagram

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between a butterfly and a moth? We did and so today we found out. We made a Venn Diagram to help us organize our information. A Venn Diagram is when you draw two circles that overlap a bit in the middle and then you label them. Ours were labeled "Butterfly", "Both" and "Moth". Then you list things and put them in the correct circle. The boys liked it. Then they each drew pictures showing the butterfly and moth and pointed out their differences.

Active Math

The other day, the sun was shining and the kids were extra wiggly so I thought of a way to get outside and still do math.

I took our sidewalk chalk and wrote the numbers 1 to 100 on the driveway.

Then I got the flashcards. Addition for Jacob and multiplication for Micah.

The first thing I had Jake do was hop and call out all the even numbers and Micah did the odds.

Then I would show them a flashcard and they would have to run and stand on the number that was the answer to the problem.

Jake found the right number and was pretty excited!

It was such a fun way for them to practice their math facts and it got their wiggles out so we could go back in the classroom and do some reading!

Funny Picture

The other day the boys put the ant farm on the buffet next to the frogs. A little while later I walked by and noticed that some of the frogs had gathered at the edge and were staring. motionless at the ants. They saw dinner but didn't know how to get it!

Homegrown and Homemade

Since it is now Fall and the temperature is dropping, some of the plants in our garden are starting to die but some of the plants are still producing. Like our yellow squash! We were able to pick three medium sized ones.

This is the first time I ever made up my own receipe. I cooked some onion and garlic in olive oil, then added some chicken. I then added the yellow squash, sugar snap peas and broccoli. I stirred in a little of Panda Express Orange Chicken Sauce and let it all simmer.

While that cooked I baked my homemade french bread that I made earlier in the day.

The kids surprised me. They LOVED it and ate everything, there was nothing left over. They said it was the best meal I ever made and that I should make it every Monday night!

Happy Birthday to you...

...How old are you now?

"Good Night Nomi Girl"

The boys new trick