Dr. Jekyll and Miss Hyde

Hello, all.  So glad you decided to stop by for a minute today!  I have an extra special treat prepared just for you….

Science!

Without a doubt, the monkeys’ favorite school subject here at Arrow Academy is science.  Ty and Lucy really seem to enjoy learning about the world around them.  In case you’re out of the loop, we’ve been studying human anatomy and physiology this school year.  We’ve covered everything from cells to smells and hearts to f……  well, I guess I won’t go there.

Anyway, last month our science lessons focused on the immune and lymphatic systems.  We learned all about pathogens and diseases and how our wonderful Creator designed our bodies with a powerful army of defenders to protect us from germs.  Ty and Lucy both found the study of white blood cells to be particularly interesting.

To help the monkeys better understand the microscopic world of germs around them, I decided to order some petri dishes and attempt to grow bacterial colonies.

After discussing options of where to collect bacteria, the monkeys and I decided to take some samples from human and dog mouths.

I don’t know why Lucy found the idea of swabbing to be so repulsive.  She was even weirded out by the idea of me swabbing her teeth.

We took four samples in all:  one from Lucy, one from Ty, one from our Chihuahua, Coco, and one from our Jack Russell, Dee Dee.  Then Ty carefully spread the samples onto the sterile agar plates.  In lieu of an incubator, we placed our dishes on top of the freezer where the temperature was a balmy 80 degrees.  Then we waited.

What do y’all think we found a couple of days later?

Nasties!  That’s what.

Ew, Yuck, and Gross!

Nothing like finding out your kids’ mouths are just as nasty as your dogs’ mouths.  (Note to self:  add Listerine to the shopping list.)

As you can see, there might have been some error in collecting Ty’s sample.  Although his dish was just as gross as the others, it was definitely much different in nature.

I think the monkeys thoroughly enjoyed their little science experiment.  I do hope this hands-on experience will help them retain some of the information we talked about. 

It’s one thing to read about germs and grossies in a textbook, but to grow them yourself and see them with your own two eyes is a different story.  If nothing else, maybe this experiment will inspire the monkeys to be a little more meticulous when it comes to teeth brushing!

Lindsey

Snow Day–Part II

Can y’all believe we had not one, but two snow days last week??  Well, technically, I guess the first one was more of a sleet day, but on day two we had really for real snow!

My monkeys had just as much fun playing in the snow as they did in the ice the day before.

Lucy especially enjoyed all the white fluff.  She was less than one year old the last time we had any significant snow, and she has been dying to make a snow angel for years.  At last her wish came true!

She left tiny snow angels scattered all around our yard.

Of course the monkeys had to build a snowman.   Actually, Ty did most of the work himself.  Lucy had a hard time getting the snow to stick together, so she quickly lost interest.

Have you ever seen anyone give a snowman a haircut??

Leave it to Ty, the creative genius, to use grapes for eyes and buttons.  Oops!  Looks like this snowman lost an eye before I snapped the picture.

The Tool Man entertained himself by capturing all the fun on camera with his drone.

You know that no snow day would be complete without a good natured snowball fight.  Even I, the serious, sensible mom, hurled a snowball or two.  Although, I quickly surrendered after I caught one with my teeth!  I mean it.  I literally caught a snowball in my mouth.  (If you’re wondering, the Tool Man is the one who threw it at me.)

Lucy discovered that, in a pinch, a garbage can lid makes a pretty good sled.

If you’re wondering where Tacy was during all this snowy fun, she was warm and toasty in her crib enjoying a long winter nap.  Hmmm.  Sounds like a great way to pass the afternoon if you ask me!

Lindsey

Snow Day

Gotta love Louisiana!  It’s probably the only place on earth where an eighth of an inch of slushy precipitation shuts down commerce, sends drivers headed for the ditches, and leaves school children home, running wild and free.  Such was the scene in our corner of the world this week.

Personally, I hate this wintry weather.  Give me 90 degrees any day!  But my monkeys couldn’t have been more excited about the slush and flurries.  They eagerly watched the weather, running back and forth between windows to see whether there was more accumulation in the front yard or the back.  Imagine their delight when the kids woke Tuesday morning to see the ground covered in a thin, crunchy layer of snow.  (Actually, it was really just sleet, but, honestly, as long as it was white and frozen, the monkeys really didn’t care about the particulars.)

As soon as they had gobbled down their breakfasts, the monkeys donned their warmest camouflage coveralls (‘cause that’s the way we roll here in Louisiana) and headed outside with the Tool Man for some redneck fun.

Before my crew could decide what to do first, cousin Taylor came over with a sled that her dad made. 

Pop quiz time!  How do rednecks pull homemade sleds?  Behind four-wheelers and golf carts, of course.  And they always let their Chihuahuas ride shotgun!

Without a doubt, Lucy was the biggest fan of the sled.  When her Uncle Brian finally tired of dragging her behind the four-wheeler, Taylor stepped in and became her mule!

It was only a matter of time before the Tool Man’s redneck ingenuity took over and made the connection between snow skiing and water skiing.

Have you ever seen anything more ridiculous in all your life?!  Frozen water skiing!  Surely this will be an Olympic sport before long, and the official uniform shall be camouflage and rubber boots.

Ty was a natural at the sport, skiing with ease behind our golf cart.  Then the Tool man decided to give it a go.  First, he tried it behind the four-wheeler, but he kept losing his momentum every time the machine shifted gears.

He finally found his groove behind the golf cart.  I still can’t believe he trusted me to be his driver!  (Yes, I drove the cart and took these pictures at the same time.  I’m quite talented like that.)

With all of the activity, the kids worked up quite an appetite.  Luckily, they found some of nature’s popsicles hanging in the woods.

Even Tacy Mae enjoyed the cold, crisp air, wrapped snug as a bug riding with me on the golf cart.  She cried when when we finally took her back inside.

So, I guess that was our snow day for the next 3-4 years.  It certainly was full of excitement.  I know the monkeys will never forget the fun they had slipping and sliding in our icy winter wonderland. Y’all stay warm!

Lindsey

Tacy Tales

Remember way back when, during Tacy’s first year, I used to give a monthly update on her growth and development?  Well, I’ve been thinking about that recently and realized that over the last 4-5 months, there’s a lot of fun stuff going on with her that I’d like to jot down.

I’ve been keeping a rough list of Tacy’s milestones and funny antics, but I know that with the passage of time I’ll forget some of the details.  I thought I might share a few Tacy tales with y’all today.  This way I can come back and read them whenever I want.

(Please forgive me if my writing seems kind of random and haphazard today.  I really had trouble deciding on the best way to organize all this information.  I hope I don’t confuse y’all too much as I jump between topics.)

I’ll start with Tacy’s language.  Tacy has been really busy adding new words to her vocabulary over the past few months.  Now she goes to the pantry door and says, “hungry,” when she wants a snack.  When she hears our geese and chickens honking and clucking she says, “Gee,” and, “bock bock.”  And Tacy has a nickname for her three special blankies that she loves so much – “Buddy”  We never go anywhere without at least one Buddy.

During her 13th month, Tacy mastered saying and waving, “Bye bye.”  She used the term to mean, “Good night,” “I’m ready to go,” and, my personal favorite, “Go away!”  Ha ha.  Gotta love that brutal honesty!

Tacy is not only talking these days, she’s singing too.  Old McDonald.  She loves to watch an animated version of the tune on my iPad and sing along, “I-E-I-E-I-E.”  She watches it again and again and again…

In addition to oral language Tacy has learned to sign few words.  She signs, “All done,” when she is finished eating and, “More please,” when she’s still hungry.

More interesting than what Tacy is saying is what Tacy is refusing to say.  She absolutely refuses to call our chihuahua Coco by her name.  Tacy always calls her, “Dee Dee,” which is our other dog’s name.  Without fail, every time I ask Tacy to say, “Coco,” she happily responds with, “Dee Dee.”  I’m pretty sure it’s a game to her now.  Tacy also refuses to say, “Lucy.”  She insists on calling big sister, “Ty Ty.”  I think it’s a matter of over generalizing.  To Tacy all dogs are Dee Dee and all children are Ty Ty.

I’ve really enjoyed watching Tacy as she learns about the world around her.  It’s fun to see her picking up on things like how to use a hairbrush, hug a baby doll, use an iPhone, and put on shoes.  Boy does she love shoes!  One thing Tacy is not interested in, though, is television.  You read that correctly.  She has absolutely zero interest in TV.

Since learning to walk, Tacy has proven to be quite the little billy goat. She climbs onto and into everything she can get her big toe on – coffee table, stairs, step stools, drawers, pantry shelves, boxes – you name it!  Her favorite place to climb is at our breakfast room table, a.k.a. school table.  She loves scaling the chairs and trying to get the big kids’ school books and supplies.  She wants so much to be a big kid!

Perhaps the most significant development Tacy has made over the past four months has been her discovery of self and free will.  It was like a light bulb came on for her at 15 months.  She suddenly became aware that she had free will and could choose whether to obey or not.

A few examples:

• Tacy could choose to eat her dinner, or spit it out and pitch a fit.
• She could choose to stop climbing the stairs when told to stop, or race to the top instead.
• She could choose to hand me an open marker, or frantically scribble on the chair.

In any case, when Tacy does choose to obey, she’ll more than likely stick her bottom lip out as far as it will go, duck her chin, and look up at us with the most pitiful eyes you’ll ever see.  On the other hand, when Tacy is forced to obey, her favorite response is to lie face down on the floor and cry.

One last thing I’ll mention today.  Tacy has been working diligently learning to use a spoon.  She’s gotten really good at it too.  Almost every morning last week she fed herself yogurt and applesauce for breakfast, which was a tremendous help to me, because it freed my hands up to help Ty and Lucy get started on school.

Wow!  My little baby is growing so fast.  Whenever I see a photo of Tacy from just 3 or 4 months ago, I’m amazed at how much she has changed.  I’m so thankful for her life and her health!  And I’m thankful for the opportunity to stay home with her everyday and enjoy all these precious moments.  They do fly by so fast.

Lindsey

Staying Warm

Hey, y’all!  What did ya’ think about the outcome of Groundhog’s Day?  I know I was bummed about it.  Not that I believe a furry little rodent controls the weather (is a groundhog a rodent??), but it sure would have been a nice to have him on my side.  I hate winter!!!  I’ve been anticipating spring since December 26.  It happens that way every year for me.  I go straight from thinking, “Merry Christmas,” to, “Is is spring yet?”  I’m sick of winter coats, short days, cold weather, barren trees, and brown grass.  I need green!!!  (I also need to be able to kick my children out of the house for a while so they can burn off some energy.)
Luckily, I live in Louisiana, where, within a week’s time, we usually experience temperatures ranging from 28 to 68 degrees.  Thank goodness for those “68” days.  I try to enjoy them as much as possible.  On the cold days, I pass the time by dreaming about what I’m going to do when spring does arrive:  plant tomatoes & squash, raise some more chicks, spruce up the flowerbeds, shop for Easter dresses, take annual spring pictures of the monkeys, set up the pool, cook on the deck… I can’t wait!
Yesterday was a particularly cold one.  I’m pretty sure the mercury didn’t make it past 35 degrees.  Brrrrr!  The best way I know to stay warm on days like that is to cook up a big ol’ pot of soup.  A steamy bowl of delicious soup always does the trick, warming me up from the inside out.
I don’t know about y’all, but sometimes I get in a soup rut, bouncing back and forth between staples:  taco soup and potato soup.  But last week we feasted on a new recipe I found on Pinterest. It was so yummy and very easy to prepare, so I thought I’d be neighborly and pass the recipe link on to y’all.

It’s called 20 Minute Italian, Turkey, Bean, & Spinach Soup, and it was pinned from rachelcooks.com.
Now don’t let the the “S” word in the name scare you off.  The spinach becomes so soft and tender and soaks up the flavors of the broth.  It’s just delicious!  And if you are feeding hard-headed people who refuse to try spinach, well, they can just eat around it, because there’s not really all that much spinach in the pot.
Without a doubt, the best part about this recipe has to be the “20 Minute” part.  I am all about simple suppers lately, and this dish fits the bill.  The only actual cooking involved is browning some onion.  How hard is that?
So next time you’re feeling chilled to the bone, why don’t you try out this new recipe?  Then kick back in front of the fire and think warm, happy, spring thoughts.  It’ll be here before we know it.
Lindsey

Lessons Learned

Even though I usually assume the role of teacher around here my kids still manage to teach me some things every now and then.  I thought it might be fun to jot down a few of the lessons I’ve learned from my monkeys over the years.  I’m sure most of you parents out there will be able to relate these.

1.  Privacy in the bathroom is a thing to be valued.  I’m pretty sure that I won’t ever have another private moment in the bathroom, at least not for the next 18 years anyway.  My kids can be outside ripping and romping, having a good time, but the second I sneak off to the bathroom, they magically appear right there by my side.  But let’s be fair.  The monkeys usually have very important reasons for interrupting like: “He looked at me.” or “Can I have a popsicle?”

2.  Always keep tidy closets.  My kids have taught me that no part of your home is off limits to guests.  Don’t ever think that when you are getting ready for company that you can just toss the mess into a closet and close the door.  Oh no, no, no, no.  For some reason or another, my kids always end up taking visitors into closets, or the laundry room, or even the attic, and all my dirty little secrets are revealed. 

3.  It’s impossible to watch TV while kids are awake.  You just can’t do it.  The Tool Man and I don’t even attempt it anymore.  The reason is two-fold.  First, you can’t even hear it thunder when three kids are having fun in a house.  My monkeys have one volume – LOUD – which makes it virtually impossible to follow a dialogue on television.

The second reason is this: I’ve realized that focusing on my kids is a lot more important than focusing on the television.  The monkeys won’t be little for long, and I don’t want to waste my time with them staring at a TV screen.

(And as if 2 reasons aren’t enough, a viable third would be that most programming on television isn’t fitting for children OR adults to watch.  Just saying….)

4.  Learn to like coffee.  ‘Nuff said.

5.  If you want quiet time, wake up before everyone else.  For most of my life I loved sleeping late, but having kids changed that for me.  I finally realized that if I want to do anything that requires coherent thought processes (e.g. blogging, sewing, reading the Bible), I must do it before the kids are awake.  People are always asking me how I have time to do this or that.  My answer is this:  I do it before dawn.

6.  You can forget talking on the phone when kids are around.  I don’t know what it is, but whenever I’m on the phone the noise level in my house escalates to that of Tiger Stadium during an LSU-Bama game. Quite often I find myself standing in the middle of my driveway, trying to get far enough away from my children in order to hear the person on the other end of the line.  (By the way, that doesn’t work.  The monkeys follow me out there too.)  I ran across this graphic on Pinterest that pretty much sums up my thoughts:

7.  They really do grow up too fast.  I admit, when it’s 2:00 in the morning and you are up for the third time that night nursing a baby, you think kids can’t grow up fast enough.  But Ty is 10 years old now, and it seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital.  Try as one might to hang on to those precious years, they slip right through your fingers. It’s a lesson I’ve really tried to take to heart the third time around.  I find myself laying aside the broom and the laundry basket more often in order to hold onto my baby a while longer.  Tacy won’t be little forever.  But the dust bunnies?  Well, we all know they aren’t going anywhere.

8.  Having two kids is exponentially more difficult than having just one.  Anyone with more than one kid can tell you that having a second child doesn’t simply double the trouble.  It multiplies it by about a gazillion!  The whole sibling dynamic creates challenges I never knew existed.  No longer are you just trying to raise one child to adulthood, you are now trying to get two people to grow up together without killing each other.  Two people with unique personalities, temperaments, likes, and dislikes.  I can only imagine how throwing a third child into this equation will shake things up in the years to come.

9. You will never go ANYWHERE with kids without feeling like you are moving.  It doesn’t matter if we are going to the grocery store or to church or to Disney World, we haul half of the house with us when we go.  Diapers, snacks, medicine, drinks, blankets, iPads, stuffed animals, car seats,  wet wipes, extra clothes, coats, books, crayons…. I could go on for hours.  The point is, we no longer just hop in the car and go.  We pack first.

10. You can have a tidy house or a tidy car, but not both.  If all the stuff from #9 above is still in the car, then the house is relatively neat.  But if you ever get all of that gear out of the car again, then your house is a disaster zone.

Well, what do you think?  Any of these things strike a chord with you parents?  The main lesson I’ve learned over the years is that there is always something new to learn.  I can only imagine what other lessons my monkeys have in store for me. There’s never a dull moment with kids, that’s for sure.

Lindsey

Back to the Grind

Confession time.

As you may have figured out, I have had ZERO interest in blogging lately.  I don’t know what’s the matter with me.  I can’t stand the thought of sitting down in front of the computer, I haven’t been taking many pictures to share, and I have no ideas for what to blog about (other than school, of course).  I’ve actually had the thought to stop blogging all together, but I can’t do that.  Blogging is the only scrapbooking/journaling that I do, and I love going back through the years of posts (has it really been years??) and reading about my monkeys.  My how those kids have changed!  Believe it or not, Lucy was only a couple of months old when I started this blog.

So, anyway, I’ve managed to drag myself to my computer to share a little with y’all today.  Please pardon my apathy.  Hopefully, I’ll get my gusto back soon!

Things have finally settled back into a routine around here since the holidays.  I am so proud of my monkeys.  They have been super, terrific students since we resumed school.  I guess they really benefited from the Christmas break.  I know I did!  The monkeys have been finishing their schoolwork in record time each day (with little to no complaints, might I add).  Lucy has even been begging to do school on Saturdays.  Say what?!

Maybe the monkeys’ enthusiasm for school has something to do with my own renewed energy.  Yep, I admit, by the time November rolled around I was doing just enough to “get by.”  Since Christmas, I have been trying to step up my academic game.

One thing that my kids really seem to benefit from, not to mention enjoy tremendously, is having a weekly theme.  It means a little more prep work for me, but it’s totally worth it to see the kids excited about their school day.

One of our themes this month was celebrating the 100th day of school.  Woo hoo!  100 days!  We are well over the proverbial hump now!  Pinterest was a huge source of ideas for 100 day activities.  (Ever wonder how we survived before Pinterest?)

Lucy made this awesome 100 Day Crown complete with 100 stickers.

Then the monkeys made 100 Day Hash by mixing up 10 pieces each of 10 different candies, cereals, etc.  Lucy was definitely the Gordon Ramsay of the kitchen this day.  Thankfully, Ty was good-natured about her tyrannical attitude and just tried to stay out of her way.

Poor Lucy.  She was under the impression that the 100th day of school equaled the last day of school.  Not quite, sweet girl.  Eighty more school days to go!

Last week in history we studied Aesop, so I decided to do an entire week of activities based on his fables.  It was a simple theme to carry out, since the animals in his stories lend themselves to so many activities.

After reading the Tortoise and the Hare we had a discussion about homonyms, antonyms, and synonyms.  Lucy put together these opposite pairs puzzles, while Ty worked on writing some confusing sentences using different pairs of homonyms.

Then we managed to work in a little animal science with a discussion about the world’s fastest and slowest animals and a comparison between mammals and reptiles.

We also read the Lion and the Mouse.  While Ty worked on correcting grammar mistakes and identifying literary elements in the fable, Lucy honed her fine motor skills by making this fun lion craft.

For the familiar story of the Ant and the Grasshopper, Lucy and I discussed the four seasons, and Ty re-wrote the fable in comic book form. 

Later, Lucy cranked out some anthill artwork using her fingerprints.  This activity tied in perfectly with our science lesson for the week on the integumentary system, as it gave her the opportunity to examine  her fingerprints.

Finally, a quick look at history before I let you go…

We are over half-way through our textbook now, and our timeline board is beginning to fill up.  We are really having to squeeze our figures closer together so we don’t run out of room in the end.  Lucy says our figures look like they are holding hands.

Lately our history lessons have been focusing on the fall of Judah to the Babylonians.  I was able to find a great movie on Netflix entitled The Book of Daniel.  It was a wonderful supplement to our lessons, and the kids really enjoyed the movie.

We also talked some about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego.  One thing we discussed during this lesson was that these were their Babylonian names.  Their original Hebrew names were different and had special meanings.  We then talked about the meanings of our own names, and the kids created artwork to go along with our discussion.

Ty, short for Tymothy, means “honoring God.”  He chose to work with sidewalk chalk.  Of course, he had to include an Angry Bird in his work.

Lucy, meaning “light,” went the more traditional route with paper and markers.  She was thrilled when I explained to her that we named her Lucy to remind her that Jesus is the Light of the World.

We also talked at length about Nebuchadnezzar II.  Quite a character that “Mr. Nezzar.”  After our studies, the kids did a little hands-on activity by building their own interpretation of his Hanging Gardens of Babylon using wooden blocks and other small items.  I think they did a great job!  Very creative, as always.

I really hope these two will keep up the positive attitudes for the rest of the school year.  It makes my job so much easier when the monkeys are eager to learn.  And I am going to do my best to keep up my vigor too.  Truthfully, I think the monkeys are like mirrors, reflecting the enthusiasm they see in me, so maybe I can set a good example for them.  No more just “getting by.”

Lindsey