Walking with the Dinosaurs

Well, tonight we got to go to an awesome production of "Walking with the Dinosaurs" at the Gwinnett Arena. It was AWESOME!!! The dinosaurs looked so lifelike...the way they moved and the roars they made. There was a narrator that explained about the different eras and how it affected the dinos. I was originally worried that Bradley would be scared by the size of the dinos, but Rachel was more scared than he was. She has such a creative imagination that it works overtime sometimes, and she had psyched herself out about the dinos. But, once she saw them and realized that the small ones were actually moving because there were people inside them and the large ones had a person in a car-like contraption underneath them, she wasn't scared at all. Bradley loved it too, only he didn't like the loud roars that the dinos would emit every once in awhile. The whole show was so cool, so exciting, so well-done, that it didn't even feel like it was as long as it was...about an hour and a half with an intermission. Of course, Trent was a precious angel, as always, and didn't make a peep. He enjoyed his paci and snoozed in my lap...what an easy-going baby! We had such a good time and I'm so glad we got to go! We don't frequent Gwinnett too often and noticed that we were the minority at the arena. On the way home, we were driving down Sugarloaf Parkway and Rachel said, "Mommy, I saw a Genie!!!" She was so excited and Nick and I just chuckled and agreed with her even though what she had actually seen was an Arab man with a huge turban on his head walking on the sidewalk. I thought that was hilarious...but definitely a sign of the diversity of Gwinnett county!

Flip Flop

We are on day 2 of operation: Flip Flop. Otherwise known as: let's swap the kid's rooms. We had a couple of reasons for doing it. One, the bunkbeds were already in the larger room (Rachel's) and we thought it would be silly to move them to the smaller room (Bradley's). Also, we have been trying to decide when to move Trent's crib out of our bedroom. I certainly don't mind having him in our room, but he's so stinkin' easy, that he doesn't even need me that much during the night. That sweet boy will sleep lots and awaken only once to nurse for a few minutes and then he's back to sleep again. He makes everything so easy! So, we were thinking about going ahead and putting the crib in Bradley's new room (the boy's room) and just setting up the pack-n-play in our room for daytime naps. That way, Rach and Brad can still play in the boy's room during the day if they want and Trent won't be disturbed. Anyway, in the process of moving things, we have also decided to PURGE toys and de-clutter and throw away some things. So, while it's liberating, it's also a huge task! But, we're actually having fun!! (We're also having a garage sale on Saturday to see if we can sell any of the stuff...if not, it's off to Goodwill!) The next step is flip-flopping the closets. THEN, we can start on the painting! We're going to re-paint the boy's room in a khaki color with a denim blue accent wall and use all the adorable cowboy decorations that were cousin Carter's old things. Rachel has picked a new look for her room too...mostly pinks with some orange (it's actually quite cute) and she's wavering between a floral mural or a horse painted on her wall. I don't mind either one...as long as I can get something good to copy. So, we'll be painting all of her furniture as well as her walls! Anyway, I'll get some pics of the new digs soon, so I can share our progress as we go. I'm not sure exactly how long it will take to finish it all!!

Guess who loves his paci?

Well, as though Trent could be any more laidback, easy-going and just plain content...he just made things even easier. He has decided (at 5 1/2 months) that he likes his pacifier now. Fine with me!!! I love it that he goes along with whatever...pacifier-sure; sleep-okay; swing-sounds good; play on the floor-whatever; jump in my jumparoo-yippee!! I just didn't know that babies like this existed. Rachel and Bradley were not difficult babies at all, but they certainly weren't as laidback as their baby brother. Of course, Nick and I are even more relaxed this time, so that may have more to do with it. Anyway, we sure do love our sweet Trent-y poo!!! And, I think he looks adorable with his paci!!! (as long as he wants to use it!) :)

Rach-y

Rachel will finally start going to her homeschool group, Learning Grove, this Tuesday. She actually missed the first day last week when Bradley had the flu. A couple of weeks ago, we went to a kick-off and met her new teacher, Ms. Christina, who seems very sweet. The class meets every Tuesday from 8:30-12:30 for 7 months. And, they study a different continent each month. There are 8 kids in her class, and only 3 girls. She was really excited about starting there a couple of weeks ago. But, since we've thoroughly confused her about where, what and how she'll be doing school, she didn't realize that we missed the first day or that she gets to go this coming week. I can't wait to see how she likes it this week and hear all about the first continent they study! I took the picture above for a "passport" that we have to send in for their travel purposes. :)

Finally feelin' better!

my boys

Bradley wanted a picture with his dinosaurs

The flu stinks and was NO fun, but I think we're finally over it! My precious Bradley was the main victim with all the horrible symptoms. He had a high fever of 103.7 and felt really bad...especially on Monday. But, each day he felt a little better although going outside for a little while still really wears him out. We were prescribed Tamiflu, but that stuff was nasty and made the kids puke. So, I didn't make them take it. The side effects weren't worth the supposed benefits of lessening flu-like symptoms. Rachel has had a milder case with a low grade fever and a headache. Both kids have had a cough, but have been eating and drinking fine, so I think their little bodies are fighting it off just fine. It was tough having to watch them not feel very well and we're looking forward to a flu-free week next week!!

"Sweet cheeks"

Trent's got 'em on both ends!

We are so thankful for our precious baby boy! He gets sweeter every day and is just a lovey-squishy-smiley-happy-precious boy!!!! I love my Trenty-poo!!

Homeschooling

We have officially started homeschooling. We have a loose guideline for how our day will go, and we adjust as needed EVERY day. We try to be dressed and upstairs no later than 9am. Bradley usually starts playing and Trent gets put in his exersaucer. Rachel and I start working as quickly as possible. We usually start with the calendar first and go over the month, day, year, day of the week, season and weather. Then we practice our days of the week song, as this is something Rachel has been singing incorrectly since last year. Next, Rachel has some handwriting practice by writing her first and last name with correct upper and lower case. We usually try to do our Reading lesson next, which takes about 10 minutes, but sometimes we go ahead and do some math or language arts. We also read a couple of library books. Some days we do a health lesson and/or extra crafts. I have had to learn that it's okay when our day doesn't go exactly as planned and that I cannot be as structured as a normal school classroom. We are enjoying this learning time and will share more as we continue to tweak things.