i'm learning so much!

Jason nearly fainted when I told him this the other day. I think he was shocked to hear that 1. I don't know everything, 2. I forget a lot of things, and 3. his schoolwork is interesting to me. Last week our school schedule was thrown off because of illness and holidays so we spent some time playing catch up. We did a few projects, read a few books and the best project: a timeline! I've always wanted to integrate the history that I've learned with the Bible so since Jason is studying the ancient world we did just that. He's been helping me with my Bible studies this year, together we've read through Joshua, Judges, Ruth and now we're in 1 Samuel. In school he's read through a kid's Bible and together we've read through Genesis and now we're in Exodus. So this kid has also been studying ancient Egypt, Greece and now Rome. So last week we made a huge timeline and wrote in all the major events from creation to Jesus. I love the pictures that he drew: a few pyramids, the ark, a Trojan horse, Alexander fighting the elephants in India, Odysseus vs. the Cyclops, a very muscular Samson, Romulus and Remus and their wolf-mother and some heirogylphics. Ever since we've put it up on the wall we've used it as a reference, added to it and totally enjoyed it. I don't know who likes school more, me or Jason!

On another note, here's Cameron at four o'clock in the afternoon. Some days are rough!

sickies win

Look at this sweet face. Now imagine that this cutie has had a two-pack-a-day habit for the last 30 years. Yeah, that's the sound of RSV. Sweet little Hayden caught her brother and sister's cold from last week. We thought she would fight it off but Monday night she developed a cough and on Tuesday morning I knew I should take her in to the doctor. Just as I suspected the snot test showed RSV (that's the roto virus... I'm sure there's more to the roto part, but I don't want to look it up). Since it's a viral strain there's nothing to do to treat it except make her comfortable. She sleeps in a room with a humidifier and I sacrificially take super long showers so she can breathe in the steamy air (I know, I'm a saint...). Now why in the world did we have to give Cameron nebulizer treatments when she had RSV? I think it was a cruel trick... making us pin down Cameron who remarkably, has the strength of 10 men. I think I may have blogged about it- I can't believe that I've been at it for so long! Anyway, Hayden is a trooper. She is handling this illness very well and it's quite nice to have an excuse to hold her a little more often.

valentine's day

I know, it's a little late. But, several of you have been over to Darren's blog and noticed the clue for Jason posted there so I thought i would explain. Every year on Valentine's Day Darren makes some sort of scavenger hunt for the kids. This year was fun as always. Since it was a Saturday we started the hunt as soon as Jason got up in the morning. We had him get dressed (warmly) and sent him to the mailbox for his first clue. The clue was in an envelope addressed to Jason. Inside was a message that he had to decode.

The clue sent him over to the table where we had been working on a puzzle. He found the next clue taped underneath the table.

This clue sent him to the coldest place n the house, 4 degrees to be exact. Inside the freezer he found the next clue which sent him to a secret place above the kitchen and below the roof.

Cool, right? Jason loves going up in the attic. The next clue sent him to dad's blog and wouldn't you know it, the kid can log on and find it himself! Many of you saw that the clue read: a new Mii. Jason immediately knew to turn on the Wii and look for a new character that had been made overnight. Both kids instantly spotted the newbie, a large man named "pantry". Jason's Valentine's Day prize, a new Lego set, was indeed hiding in the pantry!

Next, it was Cameron's turn. Darren used his amazing art talent to draw picture clues for her. She started out skeptically, but soon grew excited.

Her favorite picture by far was the one of her jumping on her trampoline. Surprisingly, the toughest picture for her to figure out was the table and chairs! Cameron made her way from clue to clue until finally she found her prize, a new princess doll, in the pack n play.



It was a very fun morning and the kids enjoyed their scavenger hunts very much. I hope Darren's prepared for the years to come... 3 kids require lots of clues and creativity!

do this project now!

A few days ago I had the kids make a map of their heart. I drew a big heart and then asked them to draw or write down all the things that were in their heart. Cameron, of course, scribbled some beautiful scribbles. Jason cracked me up. Inside his heart were things like Mario Kart, Legos, trains and books. The only family member he wrote in there was Hayden and I'm glad he included Jesus too. But the one that got me: FRUIT! What?!

li'l sickies go on a field trip

I know, I know, you're questioning my judgment in taking the kiddos out today. That's ok, I question myself constantly. But today was one of those days when I just knew staying indoors would create monsters out of my children so I opted to go out. We had a field trip scheduled for today and I didn't want to miss it on account of a little snot.

We've been spending the last 2 days (or 3?) in "legoland". "Legoland" is the condition of our living room floor when we dump out all of Jason's legos, sort them into color groups then attempt to build all of his sets. You may be asking, "gee, Jen, why don't you just keep the sets together in Ziplocs bags?" That would be too simple, friends. And it would not be very fun for a certain young man who likes to build his own creations. A few days ago he asked me why he didn't get more Lego sets for Christmas (he got one set). I told him that it was discouraging to his dad and me when we walk by his room and see all the legos all over the floor, in the laundry, the car and all sorts of other places. Why should we get more legos when you don't care for the ones you already have? That set the wheels in motion for Lego project '09. He recruited me to help him sort 6 drawers of Legos (yeah, 6!). Strangely, I enjoyed this project because organizing things makes me happy. So far we've built the airport, airplane, recycling truck, 2 houses, a cargo truck, ambulance and police helicopter. We still have several small vehicles to build, but progress is being made. I've promised to buy him a bookshelf to display this collection (and to help contain his book addiction) when we finish. To be honest, I'm kind of having fun building with Legos. One of the great benefits of having kids is playing with their toys!

Ok, so on to the field trip. We went to the post office in Atascadero today. It was a very informative tour. The best piece of advice I came away with: pack with care! If your package can withstand being tossed into a tub 8 times then it will survive the US mail! Otherwise, use "fragile" stickers. I took a picture of the kids looking at the truck. I didn't post pictures of inside the building for fear of the Fed knocking at my door. Oh, Jason's the kid in the navy blue hooded sweatshirt (that kid loves a hood... his hair is always messed up!).

little sickies

I don't know if that's a word, my spell check says it's not. But that's what we have today, little sickies. Cameron is the worst off, she's got a fabulous river of snot running down her face and sad watery eyes, and a pathetic phlegmy cough. (Hey, how come spell check let me have "phlegmy" but not "sickie"?) Jason's got the watery eyes, cough and the amazing ability to keep his runny nose contained by sniffing like a mad man... no time to blow his nose. I'm pretty convinced that the cure for the common cold is baked goods so I made a batch of muffins and I think I'll make some cookies this afternoon. I also have plans to wipe down the entire house with Lysol wipes and continue to wash my hands at a rate that will quickly turn my hands to dry, chapped replicas of their former selves. Hayden's fine by the way, she and I will stick together in this epic battle between sickies and healthies!

park day

I thought it would be nice to take advantage of our 70 degree winter weather and go to the park today. Tomorrow we're supposed to get rain (hmmm... we'll see how significant it is). We packed a lunch and picked up Darren from church. Check out the big gaping hole in Jason's mouth. I did that. Sunday he bit into a cheeseburger and jostled his loose tooth to the point of agony so I stepped up and took care of it for him. It was disgusting! MOM-- STOP READING HERE! I could actually feel the tooth's roots rip from the gums and then it bled all over the bathroom counter. Poor kid, he gurgled and spit forever trying to get all the blood out of his mouth. OK MOM, YOU CAN CONTINUE AGAIN. You may be wondering why his dad didn't take care of this... I'll let him leave a comment. I can't believe I have the stronger stomach for this sort of thing! Cam had an interesting day today. She was painting, decided to rub her eye and ended up with green paint in her eye. I tried my best to wipe it out but the best solution was real tears. She was doing her fake cry during this whole incident but as soon as I announced that I'd need to get eyedrops the huge crocodile tears started to flow. I bet she doesn't even know what eyedrops are, it just sounded awful to her. And Hayden, just another day in the life of easy-going Hayden. Her smiles are becoming more frequent and intentional. She lights up for the kids and makes me and Darren work harder for a smile.