This crazy thing called life

Today Ashlyn wanted to do school work even though they didn't have to, so we worked some more on Ashlyn's reading. Her new words today were "Sad, dad bad had. Dad is sad." The look on her face when she finished made me feel happier than I could explain. Later, after supper we drove through culvers to get ice cream for the girls and took it to Riverview park. The girls finished their ice cream and we played. Andi even (somewhat) got over her fear of walking on the bridge. She even ran once, but then wonderful big sister Ashlyn (after seeing her dad do the same thing) shook the bridge and Andi became a bit hysterical. The girls also got to see a bat before we left. Something I got to see that the girls didn't yet was an ant shed its' wings. I'm hoping they'll get to see one if I take them out tomorrow.

My little girl is reading

During reading today, I got out hop on pop, which we havn't read in ages. Ashlyn recently learned the word "up", so I figured that book would be perfect for her. We spent hardly anytime at all before she was reading the first page on her own. "Up, pup, pup is up." When she got to the word "is", she spent some extra time trying to sound it out, but figured it out without any help other than "what sound does the letter 'i" make, and what sound does the letter 's' make and "now say it faster. " On to the next page. "Pup cup, pup in cup" and the next page "Cup, pup, cup on pup." We are so proud of her! I did all I could to keep from jumping out of my chair. After we finished with that, the girls and I went to the laundry mat. The girls thought this was an amazing trip! I guess it goes to show that it really doesn't take a lot to please a toddler.

The Royal Family of Target

Today was very productive and relaxing all in one! The girls sat at the table to do their school work, wrote a story and cleaned out the hamsters' cages. They are doing very well on their spanish, and I can't wait until next semester when I take my spanish class so I can teach them even more! They are also doing very well on their math. My favorite part of today though would definitely be writing their story, and watching Ashlyn illustrate it. Before I share the story, I have a few other pictures to share!

Vegan Sugar Cookies (yes, Andi needed to make a snow man).

Ashlyn telling daddy where the water is and where the United States is

The girls doing their worksheets

AND NOW...
I present to you, The Royal Family of Target!

Once upon a time in the city of Target, lived the royal Festival family. There was King Andy, Queen Hannah-Tannah, Prince Andrew and Princess Mary Mary.

One day, the Festival family all went to the store to get oatmeal, cereal, chicken nuggets, pizza and a camera for the king and another for the queen.

Then they went to the zoo. They saw a zebra, elephant and a monkey.

Then they had triangle taffy. Then, they all rode the horses. But then, Prince Andrew's horse was too big and broke the chain and ran away.

Prince Andrew jumped off the horse and landed on his belly and said, "Ouch." Princess Mary Mary put on her magic crown and took Prince Andrew's owies away.


Then they went back home and went to sleep to dream about their day.
And they all lived happily ever after

-the end

Roll with it baby

Our plans to go to the orchards were canceled when I realized that they don't start doing hay rides or let you pick your own apples until September 6th so we decided to do the orchards another weekend, and go rollerskating this weekend. Andrew and Ashlyn got rollerblades and Andi just tried the skates and I...well, I just didn't skate.

This was the first time the girls have ever been rollerskating and the first time they've ever seen a skating rink so they were pretty excited. The rink had a really neat set up and plenty to do for the ones who couldn't or didn't want to skate.
The girls' dad took Ashlyn first and although she obviously struggled being her first time on skates, she really impressed us, and I think if we had the rink to ourselves to work with her she would have gotten it down just fine.

Andi tried next, but she didn't make it far.

After that Andi tried a scooter. The didn't last long either.

They played a little bit on a ramp and slide they had in the middle, until Ashlyn decided to ride the scooter around while Andrew skated and I took Andi to play some games.

I've decided rather than having Ashlyn's birthday party in columbia we're going to have it here at the skating rink and let her have some other kids at the party hopefully! It will probably be full of boys since that's all we know! lol

Great day. =)

So this is what support feels like!

This past winter Ashlyn started getting very lonely and in need of friendship after we stopped babysitting for the little boy I had been watching for nearly a year, and the neighor kids moved away. I also began feeling alone and in need of someone other than my husband that shared some common ground with me. At this particular time, I happened to come across someone who was in the same situation as I was; her oldest son was lonely, and she was needing some support. We got together right away and met up at the children's musuem. It was so nice! However, after school started again we had a hard time coming up with a good time for both of us to meet up. Well, today we finally got together again at Riverview Park to let the kids play and have a picnic. She invited another mom to bring her homeschooled children as well. The kids had a great time and it was so nice feeling that sense of support again. Now, I suppose the word support probably has lost some of its' meaning, but the kind of support I seek is a feeling of 100% understanding and respect for my views that aren't commonly shared in our culture. Today the girls were very excited to learn they were with four other homeschoolers because they too need a feeling of support now and then. Ashlyn is starting to learn about common ground with people, and I think that will help her a little in understanding more about friendships in general. The girls enjoyed it and are looking forward to playing with the boys again. As for now, we are watching a movie before bedtime, and then in the morning it's off to the orchards. :)

Andy had a meeting today so the girls and I decided to make vegan snickerdoodles. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous since I havn't much luck with the few vegan cookies i've attempted to make in the past, but I thought it'd be fun to try either way especially since I had never made snickerdoodles before, and the girls had never tried them before. We made the cookies, and to my surprise they were really good so I thought I'd post the recipe. I didn't follow the recipe exactly the way it said, but I'll try to be as accurate as possible in my directions:



YOU'LL NEED:

1 cup vegan margarine1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar 1 tsp vanilla4 tbsp soy milk whipped with 2 tbsp cornstarch3 cups unbleached white flour1/2 tsp salt1 tsp baking powder1 tsp tapioca starch or cornstarch2 tbsp cinnamon4 tbsp granulated white sugar1 tbsp cocoa powder

DIRECTIONS:
Cream margarine and sugar then add vanilla and soy milk/cornstarch mixture. In a smaller bowl mix flour, salt, baking powder and cornstarch then pour in the larger bowl with the wet ingrediants. In a seperate smaller dish, mix cinnamon, sugar and cocoa powder together. Roll dough into balls then roll each ball in the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Place on ungreased cookie sheet then press each ball flat with the bottom of a glass. Bake at 300 degrees for 12-14 minutes. They will seem like they are not done, but trust me, they will harden! Let cool and enjoy!

I'm so happy these turned out so well, but I'm also very excited to try it again to see how much I can perfect them and to try some other cookie recipes too. :D My husband is very picky and my biggest critic when it comes to vegan food and he approves, so I'm quite confident these are good for non-vegans as well! :)

Over all, today has been a great day. The girls got to help make the cookies, do dishes and cook supper. Yes...they are toddlers...they think this is a wonderful opportunity. =)

Nature Walk

With money tight for the next two weeks and summer coming to an end we're trying to make the most of our time right now. Today we wanted something we could do with the girls that we didn't have to pay to be able to do and that could also serve as some form of educational purpose for the girls as well. After some discussion we decided on Big Falls Park about 10 miles from us which has trails to walk along, rocks to climb, some beaches, and of course waterfalls. We took the girls to walk the trails and see the waterfalls. When we got there, we had Ashlyn listen for the water and lead us there by following the sound. She found the water in no time. We climbed around on the rocks for a while before heading back on the trails and on our way back up we saw a toad. We tried to catch it, but we were too slow. It was really nice being close to nature just the four of us.

There are times like today when I am reminded of Ashlyn's wealth of knowledge that seems to continue to grow on a daily basis. She has such a strong desire to learn which I hope will never end. Andi's curiosity is growing rapidly as well, and I believe will continue to grow as long as she sees her sister questioning how and why things work the way they do. They both have their own interests and styles of learning, but share the same overall goal: to discover and to learn.

At this point in the game we are introducing them to everything possible so they can decide for themselves what their strengths and weaknesses are, and what their greatest interests are. It's important that we have a balance of family activitives and shared experiences, and opportunities for the girls to be their own unique self.

Although we havn't officially started the school year yet, so far the girls are loving the school activities we've done, and say they can't wait until we get her classroom finished. I want them to understand that learning is not limited to sitting in a desk, nose burried in a book and so far I think Ashlyn in particular is really beginning to comprehend this idea, and I think it has made her appreciate homeschooling even more. This weekend we'll be going on a picnic with some other homeschoolers, and going to the orchards to pick apples, go on a hay ride, and run through a maze. Ashlyn's excited to know other homeschoolers and is looking forward to meeting more! It's been a great day, and we look forward to many more great days to come. =)

First Post

I have finally decided if everybody else is doing it, I guess I should too! So here I am with my own .blogspot.com address to write about journey as a mother, a wife and a student all while homeschooling our two daughters! This will be our first official year with our oldest who will be starting kindergarten this september so I'm anxious to see how it turns out. I have no doubt in my mind it will be a wonderful experience, but I am expecting things to possibly go differently than what I have planned and I am ready for any set backs that may come my way. I'm hoping this blog will help keep people posted and give a better understanding of what is important in my family. =) I look forward to writing!