Biology Lesson

Rachel and I will be learning all about animals in the next few months of Science.  Luckily, we have an expert joining us for the lessons on offspring.

(Actual conversation...)
Ruby:  Mama, Taylor Swift is a Mom (while she's looking at a picture of her).
Me:  No, Ruby, she's not a Mom.
Ruby:  Yes, she is!
Me:  What makes you think that?
Ruby:  I can see her ribs.
Me:  What?
Ruby:  She's got big ribs.  I can see them.
Me:  So, having big ribs makes you a Mom?
Ruby:  Yep.

Winter Break!

The first half of homeschooling Kindergarten is over!  We ended our "semester" today with a subtraction test, the final page of the 1st grade handwriting book, writing a Christmas story (in which Santa's countdown machine broke), and a totem pole to represent our family.  Rachel has really learned a lot since our official start in August.  I know there are things we need to go back and review (like addition facts and lowercase r), but I'm proud of us for making it this far!!  I hope we can keep up the momentum once Baxter is here and Allen goes back to work and we have to start schooling in our new normal.  She can be very focused when she wants to be and very distracted, too, so it will be a challenge!  My goal for myself is to stay on top of the planning and come up with more engaging activities for Ruby and Ford while Rachel really needs to concentrate!
Now bring on the season of holiday cheer!  We are ready for our Christmas Eve service, Sana's visit, and a new year with a new baby.  I'll keep you posted on Baxter's arrival, but other than that, I doubt there will be much blogging over the next two weeks!
Merry Christmas!  Happy Holidays!  Season's Greetings!

Finals week

It is finals week at Ingram School as in:
-final Daisy meeting
-final story time
-final tennis lesson
-final violin lesson
-final appt when I'll need childcare
-final week I'm going to say, "Banjo is going to tell Santa if you don't listen!"

Some of these things (plus more) will start back up in January, but it will be nice to take a little break. Allen has a half day on Friday and then he's on break until the 2nd (depending on when a little baby makes his appearance!).  It will be so nice to go to my appointment next Monday without worrying how the kids will act or if Ruby will have an accident that someone will have to clean up.  The kids are excited about Papa time and, of course, Santa Claus!  Next week will be a little wild but this is such a great time for them to get new toys, new books, and new activities that they can use when Baxter gets here.  At my appointment yesterday Barbara didn't seem to think that Baxter was in any hurry to get here.  Things are definitely progressing, but I am 37 weeks, after all!  Ruby also had an appointment yesterday for her 3 year old check up.  She was so independent and wanted to go by herself with Nurse Sarah to have her height, weight, and blood pressure checked.  She even peed in a cup (the first Ingram child ever to do that on the first try at the office!).  When I filled out her 3year-old questionnaire I was amazed at the fact that I could answer "yes" to every single question except one (uses scissors correctly...I had to put sometimes because she doesn't often get scissors!!).  I think, thought that when you're the third child you've picked up on all the things your brother and sister can do.  It's nice to have a pediatrician, too, who knows your child well enough to know that she really can do all of the things it was asking!  So, I guess that was Ruby's final and she aced it!  Now, we just wait for Baxtie Bax Bax to come and then we'll be going to the office more regularly!

We are really gearing up our Christmas preparations around the house now that Ruby's birthday has passed.  Today the kids cut wreaths out of green construction paper (no, Ruby didn't get to cut!), used red dot dots to put berries on them and then colored a bow.  We practiced our songs for Christmas Eve and talked about the parts they will most likely be playing in the play.  Rachel has one Native American group left to talk about either tomorrow or Thursday, subtraction to finish up, and a Christmas story to write and then Ingram school will officially be on break until January 6 (also depending on when Baxter shows up!).

It's nice to have everything bought, wrapped, and labeled.  Just gotta do some baking this weekend and put my feet up.  Then I'm along for the ride of Christmas-New Year-Baby delivery :)

What I need to be learning/remembering...

Rachel has learned about the Native Americans, subtraction, and magnetism.
 Ford is a triangle pro and is into spelling words with magnets on the refrigerator.
Ruby has been working hard in a princess book she got fr her birthday with stickers and mazes and fun activities as well as coloring lots of art work she got for her birthday.
Baxter is learning how to breathe on hs own.
Now it's my turn to re-learn and remember what I need to be doing to get ready for a newborn.  I also am going to have to teach myself some new things.  Here's the list I came up with today of things I haven't put any energy any to thinking about yet, but better get on it!:
-keeping track of eating, peeing, and pooping...they ask you at every check up how often they do all three and in the past I've actually kept track in a notebook so that I had my answers ready!
-using cloth diapers (!). I think my plan is to use the generously loaned out cloth diapers during the day at home and stick to disposables at night and while we're out.  Probably should start thinking about a system for keeping those suckers clean!  This is wher Baxter's excellent godmother, Amanda, is going to have to give me some lessons!
-how to schedule homeschooling, art classes, tennis, violin, soccer, and, oh, each, a NEWBORN!  Good thing I've got the bucket car seat already installed for Baxtie (Ruby's latest nickname) to ride around in and two nursing covers!
-Keeping the house clean so that somebody will buy it, and packing up and moving if it sells...what a great problem to be faced with at this point!
-having patience
-getting my running legs back!!!  I just can't even wait for blisters and salty shirts and layering up on Saturday mornings!  My body has taken a beating this time around, so I think the return to running will be slow, but I'll get there!!  Gotta get that iPod ready to go!!

My bag is packed, the car seat is in, we have cute Baby Boy candy, Christmas shopping tat had to be done without kids around is finished.  Ready or not Baxter ought to be here peeing and pooping and crying and sleeping and cuddling and cooing in 3 weeks or so!  I can't believe it's finally here!!

Advent in Ingram School

Our kids know about Advent.  We have an advent "wreath" made of pottery and we are lighting a candle each Sunday.  We have an Advent calendar that Allen and I made together for Ford's first Christmas on which the kids take turns putting a different symbol of Christmas each day.  We also have an Advent calendar on the computer that Baba sends every year that has something new to do or look at every day.  Advent is about waiting and about being patient and that is such a hard thing for small children.  It is probably one of the best lessons I can teach them in school, but it is so hard.  We're talking about people who don't like to wait ten seconds for somebody else to climb into the car!       This is the third Advent season that I have been pregnant and it's a lesson in waiting for myself.  The kids are learning to be patient to open presents and decorate a tree (we wait to decorate until after Ruby's birthday on the 14th).  I am learning to be patient with my body.  Each pregnancy the aches and pains get a little more difficult, but each time I remember how they completely go away!  I have a hard time breathing, but I know that will be gone when Baxter is out.  I have a hard time walking, rolling over in bed, putting on shoes, but that, too will all be gone in a month or less!  I have a hard time waiting to meet this precious little boy and sharing him with his brother and sisters and father, but I know that there are many reasons for him to stay in and grow.  Most of all, though, I have a hard time waiting to see what our life will be like with our family complete.  Allen and I were pretty certain Ruby would be our last baby, but something just kept nagging us to try for a little brother for Ford.  It is unreal that this is actually going to happen.  I can't say 100% that Baxter will be the final Ingram baby, but we really have been given more than we could ever have dreamed of.  I spend so much of my time picturing our life in five years when we have hopefully sold this house and built our homestead in the country, when our kids can go exploring in the woods by themselves and I have the energy to make homemade bread and applesauce again.  When Allen can find a job that he loves and maybe even be able to do it from home.  Most of all, I think about being together, eating meals together, learning together, traveling together, and marching to our own beat together.  I think the hardest part of waiting is figuring out how to do these things together now with what we have and even though I want Baxter to be here so I can get my energy back and put more effort into this family and our school and our lives, I am willing to wait because what is four weeks in the grand scheme of things?  The kids will remember this season when we waited for Baxter and I think, like Christmas, the anticipation is just as fun as the actual event.  I hope Baxter is everything they want in a brother, a best friend, and more.  I know he will be our precious gift this year and a healthy baby is all I need.  He will definitely be worth waiting for!

12 things of school

1.  School went great today with everyone doing their work at the same time.  That plan might bomb tomorrow, but it worked today!
2.  Ford and Rachel both used excellent handwriting skills to answer the same questions.
3.  Rachel did her subtraction with no help today...a genius!
4.  Ford can tell you that a triangle has three points, three lines, and three angles.  He can almost spell triangle!
5.  I love reading Christmas stories!  Today was Madeline's Christmas.
6.  Rachel learned that whena magnet pulls on something, we use the word attract.  She took her magnetic fishing pole all over te house to see where it would stick, I mean attract.  Apparently, the entire back door is metal!
7.  We checked out a gazillion books on Native Americans at the library today so that we can dive in tomorrow (or maybe Thursday).
8.  Ruby did several number puzzles today and lots of ballet!
9.  Our craft was to cut out green Christmas trees, yellow stars, and brown trunks.  Rachel and Ford did their own cutting.  Everybody pasted the three items together and then used watercolor pencils to decorate.
10.  We went to story time today and heard Mr. Jason's stories about dragons.  It's nice to go hear Mr. Jason again every now and then.
11.  Rachel practiced her violin beautifully today despite the fact that it is seriously out of tune!
12.  Tomorrow will be alittle crazy because Baxter and I have a check up in the morning.  I think this is the last "just measuring" visit and then next week I go once a week and check what's happening inside.  Hold tight, Bax Bax, I need you to make it four weeks from tomorrow!!

3 weeks of school and 35 weeks of baby

I always think things don't work out as I've planned them, but when I look back, they seem to work out despite what I might have planned.  When Allen and I decided to have a fourth child, we wanted to not have another holiday baby, but it might just work out well that Baxter comes over the winter break since Allen doesn't have any more sick days and the kids will have lots of new toys to play with while I feed the baby.  I am holding out hope that we make it all the way to January 1 before we head to the hospital, but there is no way to plan or control that!!
As far as school goes, we have 3 weeks (15 days!) until Winter Break (I'm not calling it Christmas break because so much more than that one day will be happening during that time!).  Ford is going to work on triangles, reviewing his writing, doing activities in a Rudolph book, and making Christmas crafts.  Rachel is going to keep reading, working on subtraction, practicing her handwriting, learning about magnetism and Native Americans, and reading and writing Christmas stories.  Ruby has a Minnie Mouse Christmas activity book that she loves.  She colored all of the pictures in it today already with the peach crayon.  Maybe tomorrow we can try a different color on top of that ?  I'm trying to make a simple craft every day except Wednesdays (we have a craft at story time) to practice cutting and pasting.  Today we made stockings out of red and white construction paper and put them up on the wall.  Ford colored orange stripes on his, Rachel put a flower and polka-dots, and Ruby colored a Christmas tree (at least one person is in the Christmas spirit!).
We had a pretty good morning getting back into the swing of things, but our afternoon was kind of lousy.  No one wanted to listen or make good choices.  I think they were a little wound up about going to the town Christmas parade tonight (candy!!) and because our elf on the shelf, Banjo, is here!  Yesterday all they wanted to do was show Banjo that they are well behaved and how much they've grown since last year.  Today I told them that Banjo just might go on back to the North Pole and stay because he wasn't seeing anything good.  I need to make a better effort to follow up with consequences when they don't listen or we're all going to go insane!!  I think a week of junk food, TV, and beach time totally threw us off kilter, but it's time to buckle down and get back to what our normal life looks like so that we'll all be happier.  Then Baxter will be here and we'll figure out a new normal!