Friends of Ingram School

While it's summer and we're calm and "relaxed" (ha!) I just want to take a minute to thank all of our friends for being our friends.  There are so many people in our lives who are supportive of our decision to homeschool and are excited for us to officially start this journey.  I can't tell you how many people offer us things to help out or tell us how proud they are of us for doing this.  We also have so many friends who allow us to come to their houses and tear the place up and still invite us back for more (let's face it Ingram School recess can get wild!).  Then add on to that the people who help teach our children and love our children and set good examples for our children and we have an amazing network of people who enrich the lives of our family.  I can gripe and complain and whine and question and wonder about lots of people in my life, but when it comes down to it, I usually say what I need to say, move on, and realize that I truly do appreciate what we have in our lives.  My mother is always willing to provide "Baba School" for Ruby and/or Ford when Rachel has violin lessons.  Lisa is always willing to tailor art classes to what our kids need as well as countless other projects and gifts that she knows will be useful and educational.  Dr. Ed always takes care of our medical needs no matter what time of the day.  Amanda lends books for Rachel to use to practice reading as well as gives numerous lessons on sharing :) and lots of love. Vanessa offers art and Spanish exposure to our children and a place for Ford to practice sharing trains!  Kristin brings Wyatt to play with us on Fridays which has really shown our kids how much they are looking forward to another little Ingram running around.  Liz loves our children unconditionally and always keeps us in the know on what extra-curricular possibilities are out there.  Matthew and Victoria always provide a fun time for our kids and truly top the list when it comes to Most Fun Aunt and Uncle in the World!  This list of people is also a list of people who I know would drop anything they're doing if we needed help or if we had an emergency.  One effect of homeschooling is that our kids don't easily trust adults and to some people that's weird, but I'm pretty glad that they won't walk off with just anybody.  I can truly say that our kids would be willing to go with anybody I've mentioned here (along with Grandpa, too, who I should say would bankroll any project, field trip, or meal Ingram School needs) and they would feel safe and cared for.  I know there are lots of other people who would help us and take care of our kids or do things we ask, but this is our core group of people that I can always count on and for that I am truly grateful.  Allen and I don't like to lean on people or ask for help very often, but when we do it's usually one of these people or their spouses who support us, too.  We couldn't do it without you!

Order up!

Rachel and I officially ordered the Teacher Handbook for Kindergarten as well as the handwriting books for both big kids this morning!  I feel like teacher workdays are on the way :)

Summer Vacation

We have FOR REALSIES been on summer vacation lately.  Our dear friends shared their beach house with us for a week and our kids soaked up the sun, sand, and salt like nobody's business.  We investigated hermit crabs and swam across inlets.  We ate cheeseballs and ice cream.  We rode a ferry and went to the aquarium.  We also watched just how crazy four kids can be together for an entire week with TV, junk food, and fun, fun, fun!!!
This week we've kind of gotten back in to our summer routine including tennis and reading as well as letter tracing and handwriting.  I'm getting excited about Fall coming (since summer just decided to fly on by in July!).  We have two more weeks of hanging out and relaxing, then a few days visiting my brother and sister-in-law and then we return, Allen starts teaching his college classes twice a week and then school starts back for him the last week of August.  I'm thinking we'll start getting back to our Fall school routine when Allen starts going back to work regularly.  I think the kids will understand that Papa is in school, so they are in school, too.  I'm going to order their handwriting books soon as well as a math book for Ford.  I am also very excited about ordering a Kindergarten Teacher's Handbook for the Core Knowledge Series.  I hope it will help me navigate through Kindergarten especially when it comes to Science and Social Studies.  There is an art program that comes with it, but I think we will cover that in the Spring with art classes with Ms. Lisa.
Our house is still on the market and we're thinking it may be time to switch to a more aggressive realtor.  We just need to be out of limbo and move on with whatever our future plans will be.  The baby in my belly is moving and growing.  I felt him move a little bit at the beach, but he loves to move when I sit on Ford's bed (a true sign that these brothers are bonded!!).  I will be 17 weeks on Monday which is crazy!!  I can't believe that in three weeks, I'll be halfway through this pregnancy.  Time just continues to move on and life is fun!  We've had some ups and downs with Ruby and some temper tantrums lately, but she is absolutely 100% daytime potty trained, so I'll take a little fit every now and then to be done with potty training.  She hasn't had a single accident since we got back from the beach (knock on wood) and has been telling me when she needs to go instead of just going when I tell her to.
The girls have new beds and are sharing a "Girls' Room" now.  Ford loves it because he was able to move his train table back into his room (which means we don't see him as much, but he comes out every now and then when he misses us :)  Rachel is zooming through her Bob books and has 9 books left in the whole 3 box series to finish!!  Ford says he wants to start reading now, too, so the Bob books may be in his near future...we'll see.  We have lots of little readers for Rachel to move on to.  It's been so exciting to see her learn to read and be able to read road signs and  things at the grocery store.
Life is good.

What a Difference A Day Makes

Yesterday was a roller coaster around here!  The day started out raining AGAIN!  Allen drove Rachel by the tennis courts to show her that there would be no tennis (she thought it would be possible that there wouldn't be any rain there even though it was raining at our house :).  Ruby insisted on riding, too, so while they were gone, I cuddled with sweet Ford who woke up with a high fever at 5 yesterday morning.  He fell asleep on my bed and I had this weird quiet time at home to get a few things done.  Then when the girls got back with Papa, I had to get ready to go to my first prenatal appointment.  While I was gone, Allen realized that Rachel had a fever, too.  She and Ford fell asleep on our bed and Ruby actually fell asleep on the table eating lunch!  I came home to find everyone asleep at 11:30!!!  Crazy!  So, Allen woke up and went to work and slowly, but surely everyone woke up here.  I had stopped by the library on my way home from my appointment and gotten a few DVDs.  Ford was excited to watch the Thomas one, but then he didn't care about watching anything else.  The girls were excited to watch the Madeline one but didn't like the drama toward the end, so we cut it off.  Then Ford fell asleep again and the girls watched Charlie Brown's Christmas (it was truly Christmas in July around here...you take what you can get at the library!).  Poor Ruby was so bored with all of the laying around so she was not behaving very well.  I tried to do puzzles and things with her while Rachel and Ford rested but it just wasn't the same.  Anyway, after a very long day of doing nothing while it rained outside and a good night's sleep, everyone seems to be doing better today.  There are still lingering fevers, but we were able to get up and do some 4th of July arts and crafts (while it rained outside!) and Ford and Rachel learned how to draw stars (I thought it would be much more difficult for them, but they are pros!).  We even made some track for Thomas and James and read some Fairy books.  Life is getting back to normal.
Oh, and did I mention that Ford is most likely getting a little brother???  Barbara's professional opinion was that either we have a boy or we're going to have a girl with three knees :)  She can't "officially" say it's a boy until the 18-20 week ultrasound, though, so we'll make it official in August!