We’ve had a lot of fun..and some learning around here! Be prepared for picture overload..again!
Declan and Ziah have been working on Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel and doing a lapbook from HOAC that goes with it.
Even though Noah is no longer homeschooled a good amount of his work comes home with him ( I didn’t miss this for certain):
We decided to melt down some old broken crayons last week:
Brock and Caleb came over to play and they did some big ole muffin tin ones. Here’s Brock and Taejan arranging the crayon bits:
Coloring fun:
Ziah helped Daddy fix the leaking shower…well it’s almost fixed..turns out we need a whole new shower/tub unit..Bath Fitter is coming next week!
Isn’t that hole in my wall pretty? Hey at least I get to repaint and redecorate!
Fun Boxes for the week!
While Daddy was working on the plumbing ,Taejan and I put together a new bookcase:
We got […]
Original post by justakrazymom
Today we loaded the kids up after Noah was off to school and I was back from the gym and headed to the Amelia Park Children’s Museum. ( FYI they need more signs telling you exactly where it is!). This is their new location and they have a lot more exhibits they are trying to get sponsored…but overall it was a great fun few hours!!
Declan was the oldest kid in the place by far, but that didn’t really matter since he was VERY happy to play in the kid powered area.. air guns with soft balls, a ball vacuum and a huge sphere that dumped them all on ya after it gets full..what more can an almost 7 year old want?
The guns:
Ziah..on the floor is one of the vacums!
Taejan made some friends.. he loved it that the place was filled with kids HIS size..lol
Declan, Ziah and Eric getting a load […]
Original post by justakrazymom
The other day we decided to head down to Yankee Candle’s Flagship store. We try togo every year and I like to go before it gets crowded with holiday shopper’s! Noah was at school so as soon as the kids were ready we took off!
The kids dipped candles to use for Christmas gifts:
The kids saw, but would not talk to Santa of course. It was a fun and productive day!
Then Saturday Noah was off with his Youth Group on an Extreme Adventure. So we piled in the van again and headed to the Holyoke Children’s Museum. We had a blast!
(note to parents.. make certain newly potty trained kids go potty BEFORE they play in the water..LOL..hence Taejan change of clothing soon):
Taejan says “I drummer man”
Now he’s the climber man!
Original post by justakrazymom
I haven’t posted pictures of what we’ve been up too in a few so while I have 5 minutes I thought I would!
Let’s see.. well the kids “Fun Boxes” as they call them have become a huge hit around here. They can only have them after breakfast once they are dressed and only for about 30 minutes so they aren’t getting tired of them at all.. I also change them over about every 4 days and the kids have begun swapping things sometimes..LOL
This is them Monday getting their fresh “new” boxes!Yeah Declan didn’t get dressed yet but that’s ok..this time!
And playing the various games that are in their boxes:
Declan and Ziah have taken to doing History at night now.. this works well as some nights Taejan is already in bed. We are loving Story of the World vol 1 with History Odyessy! Even when Taejan is awake it’s easy to […]
Original post by justakrazymom
Today we deemed the day FUN SCHOOL day… so we, of course, had lots of fun!!
Declan and I put up the new World map to go along with our Geography and Social Studies study.
Then I introduced the kids to their new caddy’s.. to say they loved them would be an understatement!( I added a Geo board to Declan’s last night)
Then Declan and I did the 3 R’s
then we broke out our new favorite rainy day game..Cranium Hullabaloo DVD Animal Adventure game!
A little craft time.. the kids made Stuffed monster friends.. they were given to us by Robin ( came from Oriental Trading). Taejan’s only had one piece of fleece so it was not round..but he didn’t care!
Ziah and Taejan opted to not use the faces, where Taejan decided to use it ALL!
We hurried up outside before it started to rain:
We came in as the rain started and it was time […]
Original post by justakrazymom
Hope everyone is having a fine Monday! Thus far we certainly are…it’s library day so Eric took all 3 wee ones there, to the Post office, the park and walmart.. and mommy got some much needed stuff done!
Since Noah is now back in public school I’ve been shifting the Academy around to reflect the fact we have all wee ones learning here now..fist step was creating these little caddy’s for the kids:
There is one for each with a variety of items depending on their age and likes. These are for them to use pretty much whenever they want and especailly to keep them happy while they may be done with their current lesson but I may be working with another kiddo. I plan to rotate out the items in here as needed and I also have a small envelope on the side where the kids can store the reward coupons […]
Original post by justakrazymom
We’ve had a great week so far..the best in a long time. The stress is all but gone that had been lingering over the house..it is so much more pleasant being mom now..lol
Noah still hasn’t started school..but he does tomorrow.. he’s all signed up and ready..just has to show up for 7:20 tomorrow.. yawn.. I am not ready for that part..cus if he has to get up at 6 so do I and I can bet ya the little ones will be up too..oh well though right?
So on to the fun stuff around here!
Monday was a cold rainy icky kinda day, so the kids played some board games:
and Taejan was NOT feeling well at all..must bee from the weekend full of different parties! He was so “sick” he fell asleep in Eric’s arms… he hasn’t done that in forever!
Once he was put to bed Ziah and Declan made rain sticks […]
Original post by justakrazymom
We’ve been pretty busy around here.. so busy I actually have very few pictures to share from the last week +!
Here’s some from a quick trip to the park.. The kids wanted to cardboard slide down the hill.. it didn’t work too great though:
So they took the cardboard to the real slides..and man did Declan FLY!
Taejan too!
Ziah preferred just playing:
Here’s some proof we actually do school:
Ziah practicing her name on her new small whiteboard:
Both Declan and Ziah doing some work:
Wednesday we headed to the local Airport to watch the WWII Bombers land.. Taejan especially was enthralled!
in between landing’s we hung out with Owen,Lila ,Daisy and Robin.
Taejan loved it..he was so dang cute the whole time!!
Original post by justakrazymom
We had a fairly normal week, schooling,dance,karate,acrobatics..but not soccer.. Miss Ziah just hates it, says it’s boring, so we dropped it.
Ah..schooling..let’s see..we did all the normal stuff, and I want to share Declan’s newest love..Draw,Write,Now. We have 3 of the books and intend to buy them all as we need them. They are the perfect fit for him! I even bought the journal’s for him so all his work is together! Right now he’s studying Native American’s, so we are using that book.. here’s a sample of his”lesson”:
Noah did all the usual bookwork..and then he learned how to install replacement windows! Last Saturday Robin and Tom and the kids came over and Tom and Eric put in 2 windows (Declan’s room) then we bought 2 more and Noah and Eric did those ( our room).. 4 down..9 to go!
He’s also been spending almost every Friday with my mom, making things, […]
Original post by justakrazymom
We had a fairly normal week, schooling,dance,karate,acrobatics..but not soccer.. Miss Ziah just hates it, says it’s boring, so we dropped it.
Ah..schooling..let’s see..we did all the normal stuff, and I want to share Declan’s newest love..Draw,Write,Now. We have 3 of the books and intend to buy them all as we need them. They are the perfect fit for him! I even bought the journal’s for him so all his work is together! Right now he’s studying Native American’s, so we are using that book.. here’s a sample of his”lesson”:
Noah did all the usual bookwork..and then he learned how to install replacement windows! Last Saturday Robin and Tom and the kids came over and Tom and Eric put in 2 windows (Declan’s room) then we bought 2 more and Noah and Eric did those ( our room).. 4 down..9 to go!
He’s also been spending almost every Friday with my mom, making things, […]
Original post by justakrazymom
Yesterday was a hot, muggy, icky kinda day. Since Noah had plans out of town all day we decided to load the other 3 up and head over to Albany to the NY State Museum.
Since we got there at lunch time we headed upstairs to Subway then the Carousel.. only Taejan wanted to ride so him and I went. ( later we all went and I got motion sick from riding one of the ones that turns the opposite direction as the carousel..man never again!)
Random picture of the kids exploring.. Declan’s reading level made this a whole new trip for him even though we’ve been a few times.. he loved reading all the descriptions!
The Longhouse.. I hate how dark the picture is.. it’s really an awesome exhibit..in fact inside there is a narrative running and I really want to be able to go sit and listen to it!
Have I mentioned […]
Original post by justakrazymom
Wow..to say this week flew by would be an understatement..I can hardly believe it’s Friday already! We’ve had a really good week overall!
Monday Declan decided to try Acrobatics at the studio..and loved it.. Ziah started her Tap/Jazz combo and loved it!
Tuesday Noah got his blue belt in Karate! Yeppie!!
Thursday was the start of Ballet for Ziah and Declan had Karate.
In between that stuff we’ve done a lot!
Here’s the 3 little ones doing their seat work the other day:
not sure if it’s the upcoming full moon or what but Declan and Ziah have gotten along exceptionally well.. here he is helping her with her work:
I’ve been working my way through a few John Deere puzzles.. here’s Declan and than Ziah helping..both are extremely good..even at puzzles over 1000 pieces!
Ziah is back into playdough !
Noah made us some yummy peanut butter cookies!
Here’s Sir Taejan reading on his sister’s new area rug ( […]
Original post by justakrazymom
Well today was the Sharing Roots festival and Terpsichore had a bunch of dances so , of course, we went! We dropped Noah off at his Nutcracker tryouts and off we went!
Everything for kids was FREE…. they had a BLAST:
The Bouncy House.. Which the kids went on at leaast 10 times..not even kidding!
Face Painting:
Sandart:
Necklace making:( also suncatcher painting not pictured but they each made 2)
We ran into Sensei Sabrina:
And got to watch lots of”our girls” dancing:
Ziah and Taejan especially love it!
Ziah watching with Gramma:
Nah got done with his audition and joined us.. for the first time in 8 season’s he’s NOT a party child or Fritz…whaaa… he just got tooo big over the last year ( only an inch to go and he’s taller than me) so he’s going to be a mouse!
Then Ziah and I left the festival and walked down to her Auditions..here she is all ready:
I am […]
Original post by justakrazymom
Well we had a busy but fun week. The weather here has been just amazing..and boy have the kids been enjoying it! We’ve gotten lots of “real schooling” in, mostly first thing in the morning and a few “night school” sessions with Declan. Noah joined a new youth group and even after one night I can tell he’s going to thrive there! Ziah had her first soccer game, and we had a birthday party for my niece! Karate we gone to and lots of fun was had through the week!
Here’s Noah doing his Algebra 1.. we are using Teaching Textbooks this year after 2 years with MUS for him. We liked MUS but TT Is a much better fit for Noah. It’s a pricey program for sure, but I am so very glad we went with it!
Here’s Declan doing his learning at one of our “night school” sessions:
Noah cooked the […]
Original post by justakrazymom
Well let’s see.. we’ve had some busy busy days!!
The other day we happened upon Intex 42inch deep x15 foot around metal frame pools for 75% off… needless to say I dipped into our “family fun” money and we bought it! Here’s the kids, and Eric as it was filling!(mind you it was not a very warm day and the water is ICE cold..but they don’t much care!)
all filled and swimming in the ice cold water..LOL
Saturday Jadziah started soccer..she was loving it and did so well.. her first game is this coming Saturday!
Then yesterday was our big extended family party… we, as always, had a great time!
Playing:
swimming:
Enjoying family!
we had such a good time that when we were invited back by cousin Mary we couldn’t say no..so today we went up and :
Played:
Swam:(that’s cousin Mary in the back)
and had fun!
but of course none of that happened today until we had celebrated a […]
Original post by justakrazymom
Well he did it..Noah turned 14.. I am still in a slight state of shock that I have a 14 year old! Here he is the minute he turned 14 ( 5:05pm) after a round of golf with Eric and right before his dinner out with us and the grandmother’s!
Eric myself and the 3 littles spent the afternoon at a local fair..might..but nope..LOL
Here’s the pretty lily pads at the pond that was in the yard we parked in:
In the small petting zoo:
Ziah did the pony ride ( no one else wanted to):
one of the “vendors” was about protecting the water shed so we got to learn hands on about it..it was great!
While we were eating they let a flock of homing pigeons go..it was cool.. now Declan wants to learn all about them..
We have a 1 ride/1 game rule at the fairs.. of course we tend to only allow games […]
Original post by justakrazymom
Well after a trial run around the neighborhood we decided to hit the bike trail once Eric left for work!
Here’s the happy munchkins.. they couldn’t wait to get moving!
2.5 miles later we saw Whitney’s across the street ( well the almost highway) and braved crossing and played and had our snack there!
after a good play time Declan and I walked our bikes back to the bike trail and started back. On the way he wanted to know about this sign..
Which is a memorial for Sgt. 1st class Daniel Petithory who’s sister I worked with for years.
After talking about who he was and how I knew Dan, we pressed on.. we stopped at our usual stop when we go with Robin and the kids ( nope..no messy shoes this time Robin..lol) and the kids looked for caterpillars . We didn’t find any but that’s ok, Robin gave us 2 yesterday anyway!
Well […]
Original post by justakrazymom
June and July have been busy months as seen in my last update post. But the greatest adventure of the summer happened in the middle of July when our family had the wonderful fortune to take a trip to California.
My grandmother wanted to be able to take us all (her three children, their children and children’s children) on a vacation to a beloved spot in the Northern California mountains, a place where she and her family had vacationed many times. So after much planning by my grandmother and my uncle and others, off we went! First the 13 of us from the East Coast (my family, my brother’s family, and my parents) flew together to Oakland, CA. We stayed at a motel near my grandmother’s home for a couple of days, enjoying some sight-seeing in the area including a trip to the beautiful Muir Woods.
We drove through San Francisco to […]
Original post by Christine
After a much-too-long break from blogging - unintentional, mostly, because we’ve been crazy-summer-busy, but also partly due to my own feelings about my lack of anything good to say - I’m going to try, yet again, to get back to this blog. I guess I’ll start with just a general recap of where we’ve been and what we’ve been up to.
Swim team: All three older kids signed up for the swim team at our pool and have just last week finished up. They have come so far in their swimming this summer. They started out the season as basically beginner swimmers. Ellie now can swim across the pool with only a few stops, can jump off the diving board, go down the slide, and didn’t once cry or get upset about finishing last or almost last in her heats (she was going through quite a phase of not liking to […]
Original post by Christine
Yesterday we headed back to the beach..it was far from a perfect day, but my Mother In Law cleared her day to come with us and since she has such little time to spend with the kids like that, we went anyway!
2hours and 10 minutes after we left we were at Sherwood Island State Park.. were we find out the beach was closed..ugh. We had already paid to park so we decided to eat and see what happens. About an hour after we got there they opened the beach back up and we had a blast..until another storm came in and the beach was closed and we headed for home!
Noah and Declan making a ..well not exactly sure what..lol
Ziah:
Declan:
Taejan:
Declan chasing the sea gulls:
Noah being a typical teen:
as you can see the weather was iffy.. it went from cold and windy, to hot and muggy and then back to cold and […]
Original post by justakrazymom
Well yesterday when impending local weather interrupted our plans with friends I decided I did NOT want to be stuck inside at home.. so we loaded up the van, the kids and headed south..destination unknown!
We ended up on the CT coast a gorgeous Sherwood Island State Park! None of my kids have ever been to the Ocean so this was great for all!We also discovered that Declan belongs at the Ocean.. man he was in his glory..bashing waves, riding waves, swimming..it was a joy to see “Mr Grumpy” so happy!
They still didn’t realize we had taken them to the Ocean here:
First sight of it:
it really is gorgeous..I am not a beach person at all and even I enjoyed myself…although we do need some beach chairs..LOL
the little’s were a little unsure about all this:
not Declan though.. he loves when the wakes from passing boats stir up “big waves” at the lake […]
Original post by justakrazymom
Well today was a HOT one.. after a morning at the park for Declan and Taejan and a day with her awesome Godmother for Miss Ziah..we decided to have some waterslide fun!
There me with Taejan and Declan.. You can almost tell I got like 8 inches cut off my hair last week..lol
Miss Jadziah’s new pink and black cleats came today.. I can not believe how dang cute they are. So here she is sporting all her gear ( minus the team shirt we won’t get for awhile) and her NEW shorter hair.. courtesy of Little girl meets round brush meets scissors..sigh..so while this MUCH shorter hairdo was NOT planned..she looks freakin adorable if ya ask me!
showing off her Soccer Moves!
watch out soccer world..cus Ziah is about to rock it..LOL
Original post by justakrazymom
We took the kids to Florida today.. well Florida Mass that is.
Savoy Mountain State Forest, North Pond to be more precise. We’ve never been and wanted something different to do.. well this was perfect!
We arrived, paid our $5 parking fee ( well worth it to help with the upkeep IMO) drove around the campsites..decided we are going to camp there next weekend if Eric’s overtime schedule allows it, then headed to the Pond.
What a gorgeous place.. I again feel so blessed to live in such gorgeous surroundings!
there is a nice little beach and roped off swim area.. it has a pretty quick drop though..so the kids had to stay fairly close to shore..
I found Ziahs extra pair of floaties.so she was happy..and we had their noodles…
Declan is getting so good at swimming.. I mean leaps and bounds..once he gets his confidence there will be no stopping him:
Ziah was Coollllddddd
Ziah got […]
Original post by justakrazymom
Last night was Live on the Lake.. we didn’t go at all last year because Taejan was just too antsy..well I felt brave last night and took all 4 kids myself! Noah soon took off with his friends..but myself and the 3 littles had a great time!
The view on the walk over..Ziah loved how the water “sparkled”
we got there about 15 minutes before the music started, the place was packed but we still got great place for our blanket. Pizza is only $1 a slice so we got that, cotton candy and the drinks I brought from home and settled in!
The boys danced and had a blast..even made some new friends:
Ziah, being the Diva she is.. well she sun bathed..lol
They managed to listen to the music for a good hour..I was impressed.. then we moved on.
We headed for ice cream then the beach! After the ice cream the kids went […]
Original post by justakrazymom
Today was one of those perfect weather, happy kids, everything goes well kinda days!
We spent the morning at our favorite park with Robin and the kids. I love this park as we are always the only ones there..gotta love that. 2.5 hours of no fighting, everyone having fun and adult conversation..it was perfect. Plus Taejan got to hold Daisy twice..he was so happy! ( I got to hold her too..she’s the sweetest thing!!) . We came home, had lunch then headed back outside! Daddy had done some yard work while we were gone AND had a surprise for Taejan:
His very first 2 wheeler! This was Noah’s at 4 so it’s been around awhile..but a fresh pair of training wheels and we had the happiest almost 3 year old around!
and he’s OFF:
here’s his pathetic “I can’t peddle it” face…
once he learned it didn’t go backwards like his tractor he was all […]
Original post by justakrazymom
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