The long overdue update

So, Ingram School has Wi-Fi now... I guess that means I should update this blog since I don't have to worry about how much data usage that will take!
It's been quite a year here at Ingram School.  We have been super busy working our way through Kindergarten, 1st Grade, and 2nd grade while trying to figure out how to distract a toddler all at the same time.  As we hit Spring Fever and turn the corner toward the end of the year, here are some things I have learned:
1.  Toddlers do not remain distracted when it is time for Science or Social Studies.
2.  Begin your day with chores or they'll never get done.
3.  Begin your school time with instrument practice or it will cause tears in the afternoon (that is, if you ever get to it)
4.  School goes a lot smoother if you work with one child at a time, mostly because it takes at least one other kid to keep aforementioned toddler distracted for you.
5.  Sometimes Science means going outside and just looking at what lesson Mother Nature is providing that day!
6.  Some days are just about surviving, especially Mondays.

I do feel like the kids have learned a lot this year, but some days I question what they've actually absorbed into their brains!  On a day-to-day basis I don't always feel like a stellar educator, but when I look at the big picture and see how hard they work and how far they've come, I realize that they truly have learned a lot.  Rachel, Ford, and Ruby are all avid readers and, honestly, that will take them further in life than anything else I could ever hope for.  We make weekly trips to the library, but probably go through the drop-off drive-through at least 4 times a week to return the books they've finished.  Baxter loves to hear stories and it is so cute to hear Ruby read to him.  She is so proud to be his big sister!
Here is where each kid stands in his/her schoolwork:
1.  Rachel-- multiplying double digit numbers, learning many literary terms, learned a lot about the Civil War, Westward Expansion, and now Civil Rights, completely fascinated with the human body and how it works, has two Science units left (simple machine and insects) which should both be fun, avid violinist, loves ballet, super excited to be playing soccer this season, and already ready for art classes in the fall.  Oh, and is now responsible for our six chickens.
2.  Ford--subtracting with regrouping, loves any chapter books he can find, knows all about Lewis and Clark and the American Revolution, getting ready to learn about the states of matter and animal habitats, has learned many songs on the ukulele this year, still loves soccer, and has lots of new art work hanging in our play room.
3.  Ruby--working hard on her subtraction, reads (and tries to comprehend) chapter books, loves learning about the Presidents and Native Americans, completely aced all things Science and Social Studies related because she had already heard the material twice!, loves ballet, has really enjoyed playing soccer with the big kids, and really improved her art work this year.
4.  Baxter--can almost spell his name, knows most of his colors and lots of the alphabet, wants to play in the sand box as much as possible, knows how to identify tractors based on color, can count to 5 most of the time, thought he might start using the potty, but changed his mind, wants to play soccer with the big kids.

We are going to start Keyboarding tomorrow and see how that goes.  All the kids want to learn to type because they have MANY stories that they have written and want "published".  We have about 8 more math lessons for each kids, two more Secrets of Droon books to read, two more Science units for each kid, and then Ingram School will close for the summer.  It's been a long, fun, hard, tiring, exciting, crazy year!!!

First Day of School!

Three months later...

So, I have a million excuses for not blogging but none of them matter, so let's just fast forward.  It's 6 AM and I was up very late last night, but for a few minutes I am by myself with a cup of coffee, so here's the condensed version of the last three months:
April:  inspector came and said our house passed the final inspection on the first go, we hightailed it into moving mode and got our kids, our stuff, and ourselves to the country!  Took a little break from school work so we could get settled.  Rachel and Ford took training wheels off their bikes and never looked back!
May:  planted a garden for Mother's Day, Allen screened in the back porch and added a deck, driveway was passable so people began venturing out here.  Science units finished up with the solar system for Rachel and plants for Ford.  Girls had their first ballet recital and loved it.  Pool opened and swim team started.  Baxter moved to a big boy bed.
June:  Ford turned SIX!  He had an awesome day with Popsicles at swim team in the morning, Zaxby's for lunch at Allen's school (he's teaching summer school), and then a party at the pool with all of his buddies.  On Father's Day, Allen built a tree house for Ford for his birthday.  Rachel finished 1st grade and Ford is so.stinking.close to finishing Kindergarten (just two math lessons left!).  Three big kids swam in the first two swim meets and are so proud of themselves!!  Baxter is so happy out in the country and loves to roam all over (while pumping one arm back and forth :). Ruby has decided to do Pre-K work in the summer so she can start Kindsrgarten in the Fall...she's already halfway through the Primer math and able to read almost two boxes of Bob books.

It's been incredibly amazing to be out in our own space and see so much science and nature up close. When life gets stressful inside, we put on shoes and hike down the driveway and suddenly everyone's happy.  I look forward to making so many awesome memories in this house and on this land.  Fall is my favorite time of year and I am highly anticipating watching the beautiful sunsets and seeing the vast amounts of stars while sitting around a campfire.  Life is great and we have so much to be thankful for (even when the laundry is piled up and the floors are a mess!).

Wrapping things up

We are at that horribly frustrating, yet incredibly exciting point in construction where we could be moving into our new house any time now.  The weather has not been on our side, but now that it's Spring, we're hoping Mother Nature will be kind enough to provide sunshine for the people installing our septic system (super essential!) and pouring out concrete for our back porch and carport (super helpful!).  In anticipation of moving, I have been trying to pack things up a little at a time and I am now down to the bare necessities which includes school work!  We finished up our Fairy Tale and Tall Tale units, our unit on the Revolutionary War, and we have just three more days in our current math units.  Last fall I bought some workbooks for the kids that have reading/writing, math, problem solving, and following directions activities.  I think next week we'll just stick to the workbooks and throw in some Easter art activities.  I have run out of energy to be too terribly entertaining and most of our toys are packed up, so here's hoping for lots of sunny days and excellent recess weather in the next two weeks!  Then we can get down to business after Spring Break!!

Hard to keep up with...

Doesn't he look so sweet and innocent??!?!  That smile...makes me forget what a handful he's become!!

Even sitting in his drawer chair and playing quietly, I think he's thinking about what his next move will be!

We have been having school time in a basement for almost 8 months.  It has been a hard to place to do school work!  It has its perks such as: not being in sight of the TV, not being near the kitchen--two things that easily distract my children--and having plenty of space for school work, art work, Legos, etc.  Lately, though, it's become extremely difficult to get work done and have any sort of concentration (I call it Distraction School!).  Baxter has discovered every nook, cranny, and sharp object in addition to climbing the stairs.  Ford figured out how to climb to the top of the poles holding up the house. Ruby uses the poles to practice twirling without getting dizzy in preparation for her Roller Derby career.  Rachel has found all kinds of National Geographics and books from the 70's...she's getting an interesting individualized education to say the least! 

So.....I moved it all upstairs!  The only toys  left in the basement (besides the poles) are the Legos and the play kitchen.  I'm going to lose my mind if one more person asks for a snack at 8:15 or to watch shows every ten minutes, but at least I'm not chasing Baxter out of the "workshop" or off the stairs or worrying about how many little Lego hats he's swallowed.  Our time here is less than the Pilgrims had to endure on the Mayflower (66 days I learned yesterday), so I can do this but holy guacamole I can't wait to be in our baby-proofed, kid-friendly, belongs-to-us house!!!

Snow Days? No way!

February seems to have taken the role of "in like a lion" this year, so let's hope March will start becoming lamb-like!  This is crunch time for our house, so the weather has not been helpful to getting people in and out of the land to get work done!  However, Allen has been fortunate enough to be able to work at the house on the snow days where students didn't have to go to school.  Now we have three painted bedrooms plus most of the rest of the house painted.  I think we're down to bathrooms, closets, and the dining room left.  Our kids have been dying to play in the snow all winter and were so glad to be able to sled last week.  However, I was also able to get lots of school work done with them despite the snow days that other schools had.  I explained to the kids that we could take a few days off at Spring Break or finish before summer if we kept on working!  They were more than willing to trade in a couple hours of reading, writing, and arithmetic to be able to play outside more when the weather becomes nice!  We are all on pins and needles waiting for the day that we can move into our new house and we can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel now.  It's nice to know that snow didn't wipe out our Spring Break when we will be hopefully filling up the house with out things and getting a lot more time to play outdoors.

In other news

Brief run down of school over the last few weeks (since I've been neglectful to blog about it!)

Handwriting:

Ruby has one more capital letter to go (J).

Ford has finished all lower case letters and is working on sentences.

Rachel is half-way through her Kick-Start Cursive book and loves it!

Language Arts:

Ruby has started the Bob pre-reader books.

Ford is reading up a storm and is learning about Folk Tales.

Rachel is looking at Fairy Tales from different countries.

Math:

Ruby can repeat all the math concepts everyone else is learning...

Ford can add 9 to any single digit number.

Rachel can round, estimate, and add thousands, ten-thousands, and hundred-thousands.

Science:

Ruby and Ford are basically meterologists after learning about Weather and the Seasons.

Rachel can tell you all about matter and is properties plus how to measure length and volume.

Social Studies:

Ruby has been reading about Native Americans.

Ford is starting a unit on Columbus and the beginning of America.

Rachel is moving from the colonization of America to the Revolutionary War.

Enrichment:

Everyone is taking art classes when there is not snow on the ground.

The girls have begun preparing for the ballet recital in May.

Rachel is moving along very well in violin.

Ford is ready to start soccer!

House:

All the trim is up, final painting should be done in the next few days, then floor, then electrical/plumbing/HVAC final...trying to go as quickly as possible despite the weather!

"Everything popular is wrong..."

I recently read that quote by Oscar Wilde.  Albert Einstein is the one who said, "What is right is not always popular and what is popular is not always right."  I like what Wilde says and I completely agree with Einstein, but I think I'd change both of those quotes a little.  My take is that what is popular is usually what is easiest.  Or maybe, popularity comes from what is convenient.  Everybody is aware of the fact that we live in a world  where convenience sells.  The next latest gadget becomes popular because it makes something happen faster.  Or it means you have to do less work.  I always get this other quote a little wrong, but my Dad had a quote that said something like, "Fast, cheap, or good...you can only pick two."  This is a lot of rambling to get to a point that's been rolling around in my head...
Homeschooling is not ever going to be the most popular option because it's not easy, it's not cheap, and it's not convenient (for most people).  When you put hardwork into something, you appreciate the outcome so much more.  I prefer homemade bread to storebought bread and part of it is because I know how much work I put into it and I also know exactly what ingredients are in it.  I prefer homemade school because I know how much work my kids (and I) are putting in every day and what knowledge is being poured into their brains.
I don't feel the need any more to defend our decision to homeschool, but any time I'm looking up curriculum or school ideas, I always come across a blog or a discussion where people are still arguing over the merits of homeschooling.  I think the bottom line is, some people will never think homeschooling is a good idea because they don't want to put in the work to follow through with it.  I completely agree that not everyone was cut out to homeschool, but I do feel that every single parent who is willing to put in the effort is capable of providing an education for his/her children.
My thoughts are completely unorganized here (mostly due to lack of sleep and limited time to type before I forget what I was going to say), but the bottom line is, every time I see people defending their choice to homeschool, I want to write to them and say, "Hey, it's your life!  Who cares what other people are telling you!!!"  A good parent wants what is best for his/her child and if you feel you are being a good parent by homeschooling your kid, then do it.  I promise people are always going to find something wrong with your choices whether it be the kind of car you drive, the neighborhood you live in, or the school you send your kids to every day.  Once people realize you are not changing your mind to homeschool, they will move on and find something else to criticize.  A lot of times, though, they are questioning and critical because they can not fathom the idea of A) spending that much time "trapped" in a house with their kids (the snow days have proven that!!) or B) putting so much time and energy into creating the curriculum and making decisions about what their children should be learning.  Public education is a right in our country but that does not mean we have to use it.  I'm smart enough to know that I have the right to bear arms, but I don't really think anyone wants me carrying around a gun.  I'm also smart enough to know that I can provide the same or better education at home that my children can receive for "free" in a public school or for "not-so-free" in a private school.  Guess what?!?!  It won't be the first or last time that I'm not popular!

The Evolution of Sleep

First month...can't discuss it or no one would have children...good news is you don't really remember what you did that month even though you were awake 23 hours a day!

Second month...routines begin to establish...nursing mothers are excited that kids sleep for 2 hours at a time!  Formula-fed babies seem to hit this stage of, "Hey!  I can sleep all night!"  I'll never get it...

Third month...baby can move...routines interrupted...no schedule

Fourth month...baby can roll over...will sleep beautifully until he or she remembers how much fun it is to roll over...solid food supposedly helps baby sleep longer but rolling over trumps that!

Fifth month...rolling over helps baby get self back to sleep and Moms start remembering where they put clothes other than sweat pants

Sixth month...baby should be able to sleep 8-10 hours with no problem...word of warning--your kid won't ever like doing what he/she "should" do...luckily naps are more predictable during the day

Seventh month...baby figures out sitting up in the crib means he or she can scream louder for you in the middle of the night, especially if teeth are coming (don't worry, teeth take their sweet little time)

Eighth month...can't remember, I'm usually pregnant again by this point

Ninth month...guess who wants to practice crawling in the crib at midnight?!?!

Tenth month...the best month of sleep you might ever have!  Two naps a day, 8 hours at night, I love 10 months old!!!

Eleventh month...screw it, they can pull up and try walking at midnight, circling the crib regularly, oh and some kids think this is a great time to try crawling out of the crib!

Twelfth month... Big month...babies say things like, "Hey!  I don't have to nap in the mornings any more!" And then sleep more at night.  Then they miss their morning nap, so they fall asleep at 11:30, don't take an afternoon nap, fall asleep during dinner until you pick them up and then stay up until 10 pm.

Thirteenth month...wean the kid completely and you've got no Hail Mary at 2 AM when the baby just.won't.sleep!!!  But after three nights or so, they get it.  They start realizing that you mean it that you won't them to sleep ALL NIGHT in THEIR OWN BED.  For me, this is when they start to get it. Okay, Mama, I'll take one good nap during the day and I'll try my best to sleep through the night, all night, in my bed.

Second year...kid figures it out, parents wake up to see if kid is still breathing because there's something wrong with a silent night, oh, and if there are other kids in the house, they wake up the not-so-much-a-baby

Fourth/Fifth year...naps disappear, coffee becomes more important in the afternoons

Teenagers...can't prepare myself for this other than to know that it will be really weird to be the one waking THEM up!!!  Payback's Hell...

So much to say

There's a lot going on in our world right now and I just have not had time to sit down and get my thoughts organized enough to blog.  Every day I think about things I want to mention in the blog and then I just don't get it out down.  Let's see if I can remember, in no particular order, what I've been meaning to write...

1.  2014 resolutions...I wanted to pay off debt and run 13 miles.  Debt is sort of paid off...building a house has made it necessary to use a credit card for building materials and such but we paid off what we already had in debt and hope to be back to zero when we settle up with construction loan (hopefully soon!).  I ran 13 miles on Thanksgiving Day at the beach and it was great!  Unfortunately after that I stopped running and are my way through December!  So...

2.  2015 resolutions...Weight, Water, and Wealth.  Between the last little bit of baby weight and the weight I put on over the holidays I have about 20-30 pounds to lose.  I am keeping track of how much water I drink with an app on my phone because I have been really bad about hydrating myself.  I want to spend less and save more so I'm going to try the Today Show challenge of saving $1 the first week, $2 the second week and so on until the 52nd week of the year. I think I'm going to try it a little differently but with the same amount of money.

3.  BAXTER IS ONE!!!  My sweet baby boy is one year old, can walk, is totally weaned to whole milk, has 6 (almost 8) teeth, and can get anywhere he wants to go (so ready for a one story house!!!). He weighed in at 20 pounds and had five shots at his check up.  We had a great day on his birthday going to a children's museum and eating Mellow Mushroom-his favorite!  He also got to have a scoop of vanilla ice cream with whipped cream for his birthday cake and he loved it!  Such a happy, adventurous guy!!

4.  School and schedules--we're slowly getting back into our groove, ballet is back, violin starts back this week, and art starts back in 2 weeks.  In school it's time for Social Studies.  Rachel is learning about the Maya, Inca, and Aztec civilizations and Ford is studying Native Americans.  These units will not win be any mother or teacher awards but they're getting some background knowledge!  Everyone is reading Aesop's Fables.  Ford has started addition facts.  Rachel is adding three numbers in columns.  Ruby is almost through the alphabet and ready for her first handwriting book.

I'm sure there are typos and there's more to say but I just spilled my coffee and Baxter isn't interested in entertaining himself, so there's your update!

Christmas 2014

Merry Christmas!!!  It's been a great, stressful, wonderful, crazy, ridiculous, awesome Christmas!  The kids did an awesome job in our church Christmas pageant last night and then had an exciting morning of opening presents.  There were a few glitches along the way, like forgetting to put out cookies and milk until after the kids went to bed (Santa still got to eat them, don't worry!) and the fact that everyone got new boots for the country except for Ruby whose boots plummeted into the Atlantic Ocean when Prancer sneezed (luckily he's sending a new pair in the mail tomorrow!).  The best part of Christmas is watching the kids enjoy so many fun new things and actually behave and get along (for now!).  We keep saying things like, "Next year when we're in the new house..." And even though that line is overused, I'll say it again...Next year when we're in the new house for Christmas, things will hopefully be a little less stressful and a little less harried but that is also part of what comes with Christmas no matter what.

And, with Ford's Emmet jacket, I feel the need to state for the record, I'd rather listen to "Let it Go" any day over "Everything is Awesome"...boys need to stop complaining about music from Frozen!!!

Closed for Winter Break!

i can't believe we made it to the last day of school for 2014!!!  With all the anticipation in the air, the kids have been CRAZY!!!  That is a truth no matter what kind of school your kids attend!  Everyone did a great job with our Science unit on the human body.  Ford and Rachel have been doing great with our new spelling system.  Ruby is anxious to have more school work and Baxter and I are both anxious to be in our own school house, not a basement!  Speaking of the house...the framing is finished, the tar paper is on the roof, we even have a carport!  Next is all the rough-in stuff like electrical, plumbing, and HVAC.  All but two windows are in and they'll go in Monday along with the three doors (front, back, and carport.  It's really looking and feeling like a house now.  It was a little surreal to drive down the driveway yesterday and come out of the woods to an actual house!!  We haven't been out there much because of the mud, and when we do go out we go through Ms. Kathie's field, bit yesterday it was dry enough to go the whole driveway and it was awesome to see the house at the break in the woods!  Hopefully the weather will cooperate to get the porches, stairs, and chimney completed soon.  It's amazing to see it all come together in such a short long time :)

A torn frenulum and no pacifier

One week ago I lost Baxter's pacifier.  He only had one and I kept saying if he (okay, if I) lost it, we'd be done with the pacifier.  Maybe it had something to do with unpacking from our Thanksgiving beach trip, or the fact that we were driving a strange car truck since the Suburban broke down, or maybe it was just a lack of sleep that causes me to misplace the doggone thing, but the pacifier was gone.  I checked the diaper bag a million times.  I checked the truck a hundred times.  I did not go back to the library (the last place I remember him having it) because let's face it, a pacifier that's been on the floor of the public library that long might as well be thrown in the trash!  So, here we are a week later and my sweet little 11 month old who busted his mouth and tore his upper lip frenulum yesterday hasn't cared one bit that his pacifier's gone.  This was the easiest pacifier transition I've ever known.  So glad to be done with that!!!
I guess now I should catch you up on school...
It's Science time and we are knee deep into the study of the human body.  Ruby and Ford are learning all about their five senses. Rachel has learmed about the skeletal system, muscular system, and circulatory system...next we go to the digestive system and nervous system.  Next week we'll all talk about taking care of our bodies (sleep, eating healthy, exercise and such).
Ford will be starting addition this week.  Rachel is adding three digit numbers and rounding to the hundreds place.  She will be adding money in a couple of days.
Everyone is finishing up poetry this week.  Next week we'll write some Christmas poems.  We've been talking about alliteration, personification, similes, and speakers.
Rachel is getting close to cursive, Ford is almost finished with lower case letters, and Ruby is about ready for a handwriting book.
Ford has been reading Clifford books which focus on certain letter sounds and combinations.  Rachel has almost finished all of the American Girl books.  Ruby is getting antsy to read, so I think in January we'll start the pre-reading Bob books.
We have been doing lots of Christmas crafts and hope to build gingerbread houses this Friday.  We've also been reading Christmas stories every day.
Some days are great, some days are hard, and every day is exhausting, but I do feel like we're learning a lot (myself included!).

A Step in the Right Direction

Baxter finally took a step today...ONE step!  It was so exhausting that he fell asleep eating his dinner...

Today on the Land

Following Allen down the driveway...he's on a tractor, the rest of us are in the Suburban.  He had to rent a tractor to fill in the trench for the water line and smooth out the driveway so all the subs can start coming down our driveway instead of through Ms Kathie's field!

Ford watches as Allen tries to lift a huge rock with the tractor!

Ruby LOVES playing in the mud!!!  Rachel was too busy weaving grass and leaves together to be in a picture.

We walked up to Ms Kathie's because she texted to say she has fresh banana bread for us :)...took this picture from her yard.  You can see our port-a-john and some of the block for our foundation in the distance.

10 months old

I love 10 month olds...I know Baxter has made school a challenge for us but when he is able to do what he wants to do, it is so fun to watch and giggle.  He is just about to cross the bridge over into Toddlerville where kids can walk but he's smart enough to know that right now crawling is faster!  I love watching his face when he figures out something new.  He giggles and squeals and is so doggone cute!!  He has figured out how to climb up onto Ruby's bed (the lower bunk) and loves to play there.  He has even come up with several ways to get back down including sliding through the space at the end between the footboard and mattress!!  This 10 month old is smart!  People love to say, "just wait until he's walking, then you'll have your hands full..."   Come on, people!  Are you kidding me?!?!  I may have mentioned this before but I can't wait for him to be up off the floor away from all the tempting things the other kids have dropped. Plus, do you know how much easier it is to hold a small child's hand and let them walk into a store, library, etc instead of carrying a baby, a diaper bag, and a pile of books or several bags of groceries!!!  Not to mention, it is so much  easier than keeping everyone in the car while I get out the stroller and/or put it back in!!  Baxter is amazing and is so fun right now.  I love this innocence before time outs start and taking things away is necessary or tantrums are thrown.  I can stop his crying with a pacifier still (usually) and don't have to exit stage left quickly because of bad behavior.  It won't be long before the "real" discipline starts and everything won't be so cute and sweet.  Believe me, I've had my hands FULL with Ruby, so I know what this guy will be capable of.  Just like Ruby, he's smart and fearless and that is asking for Toddler Trouble!  So, I want to soak up this sweet time with him because my goodness he is so sweet!!!!  Even when he jumps (!) from one of their little chairs to the other one!!  I really wonder some days if we shouldn't enroll all four of them in acrobat school and join the circus, but I digress...

The Wizard of Oz Part 2

Ruby thinks that every movie has a sequel.  She hasn't actually seen The Wizard of Oz, but she loves the pictures she's seen of Dorothy and Toto and I've told her what I can remember of the story.  Today, she found a green stone and I heard her saying something about the Emerald City.  When I asked her what she was doing, she went on to tell me her elaborate story of The Wizard of Oz Part 2.  Basically, the Wizard had given Dorothy this green stone and whenever she holds it up she is able to see a green door through it.  Then she can just walk through the door back to the Emerald City and get as many emeralds as she wants.  I don't think Ruby will have any trouble with creative writing!!

Turkey Time!

Ruby has been learning fun songs in her preschool book like "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly..." and "Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush".  She is working on the letter L this week and circles and squares.  We read a different Thanksgiving book together every day, too.

Ford is learning to subtract!  He'll finally finish up the Primer math book in the next few days and start Alpha.  He is working his way through lower case letters and starting to write sentences.  He has read about one-fourth of the books in the last box of Bob books.  He has really gotten good at reading!!  He finished up Australia today and will travel to Antarctica tomorrow to finish up the continents.  He has started poetry with Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes which are just a review because he learned them all last year with Rachel.

Rachel starts learning about money tomorrow...she is so excited!  She has been working on punctuation, specifically quotation marks.  She learned about Passover yesterday and Hanukkah today...on to Jesus and Christianity tomorrow, then Islam next week.  She continues to read a million different books at one time...October Ogre...Thanksgiving on Thursday...Kit Saves the Day...poems by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  She has also started a poetry unit but is looking more at what the poem is about, plus some figurative language.

We made a turkey poster and each day Rachel, Ford, and Ruby have been making a feather to add to the poster on which they write something they are thankful for. So far we've had Grandpa, food, the beach, ballet, our house, the library, Thanksgiving, and our family.  I'm sure we'll have a lot more turkey activities in the next couple of weeks and then we will enjoy our vacation!!

Today's Ingram Facts and Statistics

1.  Water is flowing at the new house (well, house site!)...now the mason can make mortar to build the foundation!
2.  I ran 10 miles today...first time I've done that since before I got pregnant with Bax!
3.  Three weeks till Thanksgiving, 53 days till Christmas, that means 42 days until Ruby turns 4!!!!
4.  Baxter is 10 months old today!!!  I can't believe he'll be a year old in two months and it will be 2015!
5.  Rachel has mastered 2 digit addition which involves carrying the one...good thing because she's getting closer and closer to 2 digits herself!  I can't believe she'll be seven in January!
6.  The number of the day for Ford is 5, but it could change at any minute.  Yea, he's five years old, but he's also got five different costumes that he rotates through every.single.day!

Baxter's First Halloween 🎃

Baxter started his Halloween tricks by climbing to the top of the basement stairs.  

Olivia let him borrow her Robin costume which worked perfectly with Ford and Ruby.  Rachel is Merida from Brave.

We went to the Hollifields for pizza and playtime then took the kids uptown to the "Boo Bash".  Lots of stores downtown had candy for them to trick or treat.  It was awesome to be able to walk around and not get in and out of the car or fight traffic.  Baxter loved the music and seeing all the costumes and especially holding his plastic Jack-O-Lantern to collect candy that he couldn't eat (I think that's he dropped it three times!).  

You'll notice he's missing from the final picture.  He fell asleep on our way back home. The big kids wanted to trick or treat in Mom's neighborhood but Bax didn't make it!