A Field Trip to the Art Museum

Our co-op class has been studying art and music during the month of January. Today we met up with a few other homeschool families to explore the newly-renovated Columbus Museum of Art. My sister Reenie and niece Ava also joined us. Amazingly, admission is free on Sundays! We were very impressed with the art galleries and especially with all of the hands-on activities for the children. We had a wonderful time!

Check out Ray's awesome Chihuly hat!

This piece got our vote for "weirdest, but very awesome" artwork:

(I'm sorry I didn't get a good shot of the name of the piece or the artist. This is made out of some kind of plastic and real hair. It looked SO real!)

We participated in an art challenge by putting together a 4x4 piece puzzle of an art piece. In this shot Reenie is looking at the original artwork and trying to figure out the puzzle.

We had the most fun in the interactive children's area.

A magnetic face made by Ray:

Adam, the living sculpture -

I'm embarrassed to admit that I've lived in Columbus all my life and this was only my second visit to the museum. We had so much fun today that we're considering purchasing a family membership.

As part of our art studies, we've really enjoyed reading the "Katie" books by James Mayhew. They are all about a little girl named Katie who visits the art museum with her grandmother. She climbs in and out of the pictures and interacts with the people in them. The paintings in the stories are all famous paintings. We have read them over and over again and have had great conversations about some of the world's best and most famous paintings. They are fun stories! I highly recommend them.

More about our recent art masterpieces later this week....

A Few of My Favorite Things

Just for fun today... a few of my favorite things. I hope this doesn't make me seem materialistic. Obviously my heart belongs to God and to my family. I live a fairly simple life. I was just thinking about some of the simple, everyday things that make me happy or make life easier.

First of all, of course, the elixir of life... Diet Coke. It's my biggest vice at this point and I am trying to wean myself off of it. But I love it.



And, here's a better look at my new boots! As I said, they just make me smile.



My friend Susan got me these awesome warm socks!

Almost everyone who comes into my house comments on our wire line in the school room. It's from Ikea. We display our best schoolwork and artwork on it. At Christmas we hang all of our cards.

A housekeeping splurge that I can no longer do without -

My sisters, mom, and I all got these cool cups from Meijer. They're hard plastic, BPA free. They just make you feel like you're drinking from a take-out cup, which for some reason we all love.

And then there's my backyard Mary statue. I had seen one just like it in our neighborhood and could never find one to buy. A few years ago Jon worked with my sister-in-law Nancy to get one from Michigan. It's perfect and I love looking out my kitchen window and seeing it. Mary's pretty cold today, covered in a blanket of snow. I'm hoping to plant a garden around her this summer.

My other great love is books. Amazon.com is a very dangerous site for me. I love reading all kinds of books --- novels, nonfiction, homeschool, parenting, children's books, inspirational,... so little time, so many books!

So, what are your favorite things? Post a comment and share!

"Sophisticated" Palates?

After a few days of general "punkiness" around here, we're all feeling much better. However, now we're socked in with a snow storm. We've been catching up on some school work and house work.

Last night I tried a new recipe and cooked a very yummy turkey and spinach lasagna. It was delicious! Both boys looked at it and declared it "disgusting." Getting them to eat just a few bites was like engaging in a war of wills. Tonight I made scalloped potatoes and ham. Again, quite tasty. Again, absolute war! They declared their disgust as soon as they came to the table. They were a united front in their disdain.

What is this? My boys have always been good eaters. They like a variety of foods. I've never been one to cook multiple meals to please everyone. I refuse to become a short-order cook. Apparently we've entered a new phase. Their palates have become resistant to my cooking.

Ray would eat mac and cheese at every meal if I let him. Adam is always thrilled with peanut butter and jelly. Why is it that they would prefer cereal, chicken nuggets, or grilled cheese to a good home-cooked meal?

I'm not sure how to handle the fact that these little people who eat snow, snot, and crumbs off the floor turn up their noses at my cooking!

Nothing can truly prepare a woman for the vocation of motherhood. It requires daily herculean feats of endurance, humility, and cleverness.

Tomorrow.... leftovers from the fridge, PB+J, whatever! I'm going out with friends! Yahoo!

The Gray Haze of January

Here in Columbus the months of January and February always seem to be draped in a gray haze. Literally. It's just gray here. It's not hard for my mind and heart to begin to match the climate. Thankfully, so far, it's not too bad. I've been happy about getting some projects done around here and getting into some more intense (and fun) schoolwork with the boys. It's nice to have time at home without so many activities.

However, it seems that the gray haze always carries with it lots of cruddy germs. It seems that everyone we know has been sick and now it's our turn I guess. We've had a round of basic colds, but yesterday the boys started running low grade fevers and feeling punky. After taking some cold medicine last night, Adam was wired and basically stayed up until 2:00am. Of course Ray was up at 5:00am as usual. We laid low today... took long baths, read books, played games, watched TV. This afternoon all three of us fell asleep for THREE AND A HALF HOURS! So, we'll see how the sleeping goes tonight. My head has begun to hurt and I'm achy. So I guess it's my turn. Please pray that none of this develops into full-blown illness AND that Jon doesn't get it. Tax season is here and he has lots and lots of work to do. For now he'll sleep on the futon in the office, drink lots of OJ, and try to stay healthy.

Fortunately, I was able to accomplish a big chore today.... packing up the Christmas stuff and storing it under the basement steps. It had been thrown into the basement storeroom and was driving me crazy. I conquered that battle and began sorting and organizing a bunch of other basement-dwelling detritus, mostly art supplies. So, even though we have taken a few sick days from school, some things are getting done. Hopefully we'll be back to our learning routine tomorrow.

For now I'm trying to take it all in stride and accept this illness-imposed "retreat." Every once in a while God slows us down so we can know His presence and hear His voice. He reminds me of the folly of so much of my busy-ness. He holds me close and lets me know that it's ok to just stop, sleep, rest, and be loved.

Take some vitamin C today and try to stay healthy. If you live somewhere sunny, soak some up for me!

Fabulous Friday Night Out!

Last night I got to "run away" for a fun evening out with two of my favorite people... my mom and my dear friend Karen. We had a great time! We went out to dinner --- NO KIDS MENU! --- and truly enjoyed talking and laughing... and drinking cocktails and eating delicious food.

Then, things got really girly when we ducked into a store next to the restaurant. (I wouldn't let them take me home until after the boys were in bed!) We had a fabulous time trying on some "killer heels" and doing our best Heidi Klum impressions. We're really just lucky no one broke an ankle! Aren't the black socks so chic? When I tried to explain that I needed the silver pair for my job, another shopper looked intrigued... but then my mom ratted me out as a homeschool mom. I guess I'll stick with the fuzzy slippers.

However, I did make a rather exciting footwear purchase.

Although you can't really appreciate their exquisite beauty and wild quirkiness in this cell phone picture, these are my FABULOUS new peacock feather rain boots! Yep, size 10. I spotted them from across the store and HAD to have them. So, if you see me wearing them even when it isn't rainy or muddy or snowy, just know that they make me happy. Yes, I know they are wild and weird looking. But I love them! A girl just has to make a statement with her feet!

Thank God for Friday nights out with Fabulous Friends and Fantastic Footwear!

Our Resident Engineer

We've got a "train man" in this house. Ever since he discovered Thomas the Tank Engine, when he was about 17 months old, Ray has been crazy about trains. We've spent hours and hours learning about trains, reading about trains, playing with toy trains, drawing trains, building various track set-ups, watching videos about trains, visiting train displays, riding on real trains, talking about trains..... trains, trains, trains. I never knew (or wanted to know) so much about trains. He loves them. He dressed up as Thomas the Train for THREE Halloweens and had THREE Thomas/train themed birthday parties. He wants to be an engineer.

I am very happy that Ray has such a strong interest in something. It wears on me though. So, I was more than thrilled when Jon volunteered to take him to a big train show that came to our convention center last weekend. They had a wonderful time.... as evidenced by the 20+ pictures Jon took of Ray looking at trains. Ray can stand for hours just studying model railroad layouts and trains.

I wish I had my camera when they pulled into the driveway and Ray hopped out of the car with a big blue bag. The look of pride and excitement on his face was priceless. My first remark - to Jon - "What did you do?" Apparently Ray took his Christmas/birthday money to the train show so that he could buy a "souvenir." With Ray's $30.00 and $25.00 from Jon, they purchased Ray's first ELECTRIC train. We've moved from wooden Thomas trains to plastic Geo Trax to a real "model" train. And, according to Ray, this is just the beginning of his collection.

Jon and Ray spent the evening setting up the tracks and learning how to run the train.After Ray went to bed, Jon stayed up coloring the signs and "tinkering" with the set. I think he's as excited as Ray.

And for the past several days all I've heard from Ray is "When are we going to get more parts for my model train?" and "We need to buy a board and some chicken wire and build a giant layout." I think this really needs to be a father/son hobby. I've made a point of not touching the train and showing no aptitude or understanding of how it works. I think we may soon need to seek out a "train mentor" for this young enthusiast. Any recommendations? Are there clubs out there for kids? For now I am providing a corner in the living room and secretly plotting a way to move the giant train collection to a shed or something. Come on over if you[re up for an afternoon of railroad adventures!

It's January and...

... we're back to Ordinary Time.
... we finally took down the Christmas decorations.
... it's cold and snowy here in Central Ohio.
... tax season has officially begun. (We'll see less and less of CPA Daddy.)
... exciting holiday parties, activities, and visitors are done and gone.
... we're buckling down with some serious (but fun) school work.
... we've started new "CHORE CHARTS."
... Mommy's been on a cleaning and de-cluttering frenzy.

One of our favorite school activities we're working on this month is "MAGNETISM." My dad's wife made us some AWESOME magnet kits and folders. We've been playing and experimenting and learning every day. Thanks Mary!

Our homeschool group gathered for a very fun Epiphany party. The boys loved running around in a big gym, participating in group games, and bowling. We are so blessed to have so many wonderful families to share this homeschool adventure with us.

And I've got one "funny" from Adam to report. At dinner last night he cheerfully suggested, "After dinner let's all have some stones!" ????? What ????? It took me a minute.... before I remembered the yummy chocolate chip SCONES we had made for snack that morning. We each had a good laugh and a yummy scone for dessert.