Gone Glamping

While we are on the topic of parties, we might as well just get all the way caught up. The last one in our strand of birthdays is Rhiannon. By time her birthday came and went I was so happy that Little Man's birthday is separated by a little bit of time. Though we did go simple on this one...in terms of work and effort.



When discussing the theme, I will give you one guess on what my 6 year old girl came up with. If you guessed Frozen...well obvs! When I pointed out to her that the last 5 parties we had gone to were the same. exact. thing. She was willing to change it up a bit. Oh how I appreciate my daughters willingness to change it up a bit.

After lots of thought, the girly girl came to me with the idea of Glamping "you know, like glamour camping mom...it's camping but for girls like me". Up until this point, I was under the illusion she was turning 6 but apparently some time in the past year she jumped to 16. The girl growing up makes me so sad but the theme, yeah, I was thrilled.

Since things had have been non-stop and this was the third birthday in 4 months, I was uber thankful for Target's awesome decor. I made a few garlands and pom balls but for the most part, I was able to get the look we wanted and still have it mostly store bought. Thank you Target!!!

Food was basic, with pigs in a blanket and lots of sweets. And cake of course. The girl decided that I needed to make her cake with a Nutella butter cream. It was actually pretty yummy. I may have to do that again.

Since we had so much time to kill with it being a sleepover, we had more activities than I usually do. First, I decided an anxiety attack was in order so we did a craft...with paint and glitter. I deserve an award or to be admitted, not sure which.

Next up were a couple minute to win it games.

Then s'mores. On a vintage couch because Hello! It's glamping!

We laid out a bunch of tumbling mats, covered them with sheets and called it a giant bed. Boom! Glamping party done!

Pixie and Pirate Party

Once again, I am super delayed in posting a birthday party. I don't know how that always happens.

I am really excited to share this party with you. It's possibly my favorite to date.

Rhiannon wanted a Tinkerbell party. I tried to convince her that we should throw in something more boyish since she has lots of friends who are boys. She didn't budge. Until I started the invites. At that point it became a Pixie and Pirate party. So. Much. Fun.

For Pixie centerpieces, we went woodsy. Pretty flowers in mason jars are always a win. Luckily her party was right after a big wind that knocked over a tree in our back yard. Ya, you read that right, a tree fell. But hey, check out those cute wood blocks!

The pirate center pieces were not so much my jam. But we had fun creating with "pirate" items. I came so close to using Rum bottles but decided it would be innappropriate haha.

Food was a simple Pasta Bar. That was a hit. Cheap, easy and tasty.

The dessert table. Fab. I impressed myself. Really I just got lucky and I was able to pull off what was in my head but it turned out so well. I don't think I will ever pay someone to do dessert again. Until maybe the next party when I'm scared ill fail at replicating what I did here.

The party was simple and fun. 

Oh and it wouldn't be one of our parties without a photo booth, so of course we had to do that. :)

Let's Talk Little Lady

Today she is five. She won't always be. In the not so distant future she will be all grown up.

In this moment she wants to talk to me about everything. She might not always want to.

Right now her favorite topics are princesses and ponies. They won't always be.

Eventually my little girl will grow up. She will outgrow the things she currently loves.

In the now, she knows she is beautiful. She has no interest in boys. She is too innocent to see the evil and scary things of this world. That won't always be the scenario. (Hopefully she will always know she is beautiful). 

Eventually, as these things change, I want to be the one to lift her up. I want to be the one teaching her. I want to point her toward God and what He says and away from what the world says. If I am not present today, that may not be an option tomorrow.

It is so easy to get caught up in our days. To shush a talkative child. To tell them to wait a minute...and forget to return to the conversation. Sometimes a child's topics seem so trivial to an adult. 

What we do with our children now is shaping and training them for the future. 

When the little things of their day are confirmed to be small by the reactions and tones of our voice, they may not share about tomorrow.

When their biggest secrets are shared because we didn't hold them as sacred, they may not tell us the next one.

The conversations and relationship I am building with my daughter (and my sons for that matter) today are a stepping stone to the relationship we will have for the rest of her life.

If we want our children to be open to communicate with us as they age, we need to start now. When they speak, we need to give our full attention. Turn off the computer and put down the phone.

Snuggle up in their beds and talk about their days, their dreams, their wishes, their secrets. Talk about everything.

Over the years our conversations will drastically change but they will still exist. 

Today she is five but she won't always be.

HomeSchool Week: School Photos

Today we are wrapping up HomeSchool Week with our school photos. I have had a lot of fun sharing with you and even more fun with the e-mailed questions and conversations that the posts have inspired.

To look back at what was shared, click these links:

What she is Learning

Our Schedule

A Sneak Peek at our Classroom

Now onto the pictures.

The idea behind her pictures came from her love of reading. I thought it would be fun to have a librarian inspired shoot for her school photos this year. So we headed to our library and did just that. Here are some of our favorites:

I am torn on which one should be used as her official Kindergarten picture. What do you think? Help me chose by commenting your favorite photo.

HomeSchool Week: A Peek in our Classroom

I daydream of a class room with chalkboard walls, a dozen globes and vintage educational posters. Right now, that Is not a part of our reality.

We don't have a room dedicated to school. We don't have spare rooms right now. In a few years we will be in a new home with extra space...if we don't have any surprise adoptions ;)

Right now we are blessed to have a bedroom that is bigger than anyone would ever need. We use half of it as our offices and home school room.

This is Rhiannon's portion of the room. On her desk we have any textbooks or activity books we are currently using, her chalk board and white board and her globe.

In her drawers you can find her paper, crayons, pencils and anything else an average kindergartner would need (except her scissors of course. Those are required to be in a locked cabinet...foster parent problem haha)

Hanging on her wall she has her alphabet pennant banner we made last year and clipboards to show of her good work. Soon enough we will have my chalkboard up, we are just trying to find the right place.



In my section of the room, I have my desk which is loaded with everything from invoices and orders to foster and home school paper work. This is my main hub. I blog here, I manage our home here,I teach from here.

On the desk you will always find my bibles, home school calendar, chrome book, the cute little props and most likely a mess that has exploded out of my creative mind moving to fast for its own good.

Choosing Joy Scripture from Thorns of Grace

In the drawers, lots and lots of paper work and handbooks and records. It's a chaotic mess that only I can navigate.

The white drawers next to me, all of our activity books and craft supplies.  We also have learning games and stuff like that in there. It's my type Z personality trying to be a Type A.

Hanging on the walls: a reminder board, another calendar (because the day planner, phone and google calendar aren't enough) and daily or weekly to do list.


This is our space. It's not perfect but we love it.

Where do you spend most of your days?

HomeSchool Week: Our Schedule

One of the biggest perks of homeschooling has got to be the ability to make your own schedule. From the time you wake up and do school to the days you take vacation, it is all up to you.

This year we went with a traditional school year vs. year round scheduling. We added in a few vacation weeks and played around with holiday breaks. Any vacations we decide to take that are not on our calendar, we will simply bring school along with us and make it a little more fun while still educating.

Our school year will look something like this:

First Day of School was September 3rd.

In School: Sept 3rd - October 11th

Mini Vacation: October 14th- Oct 18th (yep, baby girl gets a week off for her birthday. Spoiled)

In School: October 21st-November 22th

Thanksgiving Break: November 25th - November 30th

In School: December 1st - December 15th

Christmas Break: December 16th-January 3rd

In School: January 6th- February 28th

Mini Break: March 1st-March 6th

In School: March 10th-April 20th

Easter Break: April 21st- May 3rd

In School: May 5th-June 10th

Our weekly Schedule changes a little bit from time to time Most weeks we do school at home on Monday Wednesday and Friday with classes at Integrity on Tuesdays and Art Co-Op on Thursday. On occasions where we have field trips or holidays during the week, we will do that days work on Thursdays.

Our at home school days start anywhere from 8:30am - 10:30am depending on wake up time and fussy babies. Curriculum has been broken up based on the number of days in our school year and how units or topics in the books flow together. Most days go something like this:

• Begin with prayer and a devotion.
• 1-2 letters in Handwriting without tears. 
• Start with workbook then play with manipulatives and finish by writing on whiteboard or chalk
• Units are broken up into 5-15 sections. We do anywhere from 2-4 sections a day with the activities that go along with them.
• Start with text book plans and hands on work, finish with activity book
• Play with pattern blocks or base 10s for 10-20 minutes
• 3-5 pages from Explode the Code books
• Read from books we have brought home from the library
• 1 page of geography and any mapping activities that go with it.
• A portion of homework for History and Science

Depending on holidays and fun things happening around us we will also throw in little crafts, cooking or other fun stuff.

It is enough work to keep us busy but not enough that it is not doable in a day. We have fun together and Rhiannon is not only being educated but she is being trained up in the Word and learning to love to learn...tongue twister. 

HomeSchool Week: What She is Learning

Ahhh...curriculum.

Choosing what your child will learn and how they will learn it is such a challenge.

Research. A lot.

Sit down and do practice lessons with your kids. Figure out their learning style. And your teaching style for that matter.

Look at the teachers guides. Not just the books. Do you need them? Are the workbooks self explanatory? Do the teaching guides give you enough guidance? Enough structure? Too much structure? Can you incorporate your own lessons and activities? Do you want to?

It can all be so overwhelming. We have so many resources and options these days. Maybe too much.

Last year, we used SonLight for Preschool. We loved it but Rhiannon is still very easily distracted and had a hard time focusing on ALL the reading. Once she is reading on her own and can sit for longer we will likely go back to SonLight with some added manipulitives, as she is a very hands on learner.

This year, I wasn't sold on any one curriculum. We loved the math is some but the English was lacking. Some had the perfect amounts of reading but we didn't like the choices of books. Then their were perfect curriculums but they were too pricey and we still needed to add in manipulatives.

I was feeling defeated when hubby stepped in and suggested I put together our own curriculum with pieces from different ones. He's a genius I tell you, why isn't he educating our kids? Sheesh.

So here is what we went with:


Bible: 

• Leading Little Ones to God: A Child's Book of Bible Teachings

English:

• Reading/Phonics- 
• Explode the Code 3 book series
• Get Ready for the Code, Get Set for the Code and Go for the Code
• Bi-monthly library trips for reading books
• Spelling and Penmanship-
• Handwriting without Tears 
• Book, Wood letter pieces and molding clay

Math:

• Singapore Math
• Textbooks and Activity books
• Pattern Block Set
• Magnetic Base Ten Set

Social Studies:

• History
• Rhiannon is enrolled in a History class at a Satellite school
• Geography
• Beginning Geography Activity book
• Maps and Globe

Science:

• Rhiannon is enrolled in a Science class at a Satellite School

Physical Education:

• Ballet
• Fun activities at home

Art:  

• We are part of a co-op who will alternate homes and art projects

Our Mission Field

We are foster parents.

We started fostering while we already had two small children at home.

Children who don't quite understand and whose innocence we still needed to protect.

When we accepted our first placement (you know him as little man) we decided to share a little bit with our kids about foster care. Only enough that they would understand that the child they knew as their brother could one day leave our home. We worked and prayed hard to find the right words. The words that would inform but not rob them of innocence.

Not knowing what our cases would look like, we simply told the kids that the babies who came to stay with us had another mommy and daddy who couldn't take care of them right now. That we didn't know their situation yet but they might be sick or have to go away for a little while. If they got better and were able to take care of the baby, the baby would go home. If the mommy and daddy stayed sick or in another place then the baby would stay with us forever.

Talon who is still only two, had no clue what we were talking about. Rhiannon who is 4, seemed to understand quite well. She is proud to be a foster family. She informs people often that Little Man is our foster baby but he is still her brother right now. When she grows up she wants only one baby to come from her belly and the rest will be foster babies. She wants to love and help the babies and their mommies. 

She got it. We were good. We thought.

Then this week as we talked about the new baby coming soon, As we shared our joy of baby Corbin, a look of fear washed over her. She looked at me and stated sadly "and if you and daddy get sick, he will go live with another family".

My heart broke. While trying to protect her we put fear in her little heart. We had explain a little bit more about Little Mans family. We spared as much detail as we could.  It was still more than we wanted to say.

The truth is, we live in a broken world. We live in a world full of scary and not so nice things. Things no child should have to try to understand. 

We speak often about how our home is a mission field. By being foster parents we are reaching out to a broken world starting right within our own walls. This is the first time our lives have really had the effect of it all. It was rough.

As I sat saddened by the fact that my four year old had to hear of some of these things, my heart ached. It ached even more thinking of how my one year old has had to live through them. He had to witness them first hand. 

Our baby who is only one has lived and seen more of this broken world than many adults. He didn't have parents who were protecting his innocence. 

But he does now. 

Our children need to be protected. They need to be allowed to believe in a world that is better. 

They also need to understand that we live in a broken world. A world that needs Jesus. That they are the light that can shine for Him. 

I just wish it could start later than four years old.

My girl knows The Lord though. She knows that she loves Him and He loves her. She wants to serve Him. She already desires to mother orphans. To follow His will. 

Foster care is tough but it has built us up. It has helped us grow. To serve. To love. It has molded and shaped all of us. 

It has done this by breaking us first. We have to surrender daily. We have to seek The Lord regularly. He have to be ready to hear from Him and trust in Him to help us answer even the tough questions. 

The Princess

Boys, Boys everywhere... my oldest, Rhiannon has begun to notice that she may just be the only girl forever. A few doctors appointments ago when my OB asked if I knew what I was having Rhiannon chimed in and said "mommy can't make sisters, it's a boy". While, I thought she would be upset, this girl is thrilled to be welcoming another brother.

At  times, being the only girl is tough for her. Oh man, does it come with it's perks. Girls days are spent shopping and pedicures. We get to have makeovers and dress up time, just the two of us. She is the princess of the house.

To top it all off, she is the only girl on my side of the family as well. She has got it made. Her recent obsession is the fact that Auntie, my soon to be sister in law, is getting married soon. Wedding planning is in full force and Rhiannon is loving being all up in the mix of it.

Kelly, my amazing sis to be, went above and beyond to include her and make her feel special while asking her to be the flower girl.

We all met up at Starbucks for Frappacinnos, one of Rhiannon's favorite things in the world to do. We hung out and chatted over coffee.

After the drinks were gone, Kelly surprised Rhi with this adorable card she found on Etsy, as well of flowers, asking her to be the flower girl in the wedding.

Of course Rhiannon said yes. She was beyond excited and is taking her role very seriously. She talks about it almost every day, making sure she has it all figured out. She is sure to attend every wedding related thing, such as bridesmaid dress shopping. Girl, has a ton of input on how to make aunties wedding perfect. She really is a little princess.

Paint Party

If you "like" us on Facebook, you heard me say a few days ago that I totally spaced on posting my daughters birthday party. Not Little Man's 80's party I showed you yesterday. No, this party happened in October. Talk about a blogger fail.

Anyhow, here it is...

For months in advance, Rhiannon asked over and over for a painting party. Paint and toddlers. Scary thought right? I thought so too. What made the idea worse is that all of Rhi's friends have siblings. Younger siblings. I wanted to cry. I wanted my baby girl to be happy but I didn't want baby footprints painted on my floor indefinitely. What was a crazy paint fearing mama to do?

We ended up having two parties. The first party, just Rhi and her very closest friends. No families allowed. Just the girls. The second party was for our family to have desserts with the birthday girl. This eliminated my fright of toddlers and paint covered floors but still gave my girl the party she was dreaming up.

For the main party with her friends, we stuck with a typical art party theme with a touch of princess. The epitome of who our little girl is.

For favors each girl got an apron inspired by her favorite Disney princess, plus some art supplies. The favors were where our newest hot product originated. So much fun.

Food and desserts were all based around painting. From "paint brush" rice krispies to "art pallet" cupcakes. The girls were all in seventh heaven with their little sugar highs. I always forget to get pictures of food.

Entertainment was simple. The girls painted canvases, coloring sheets and did some swirl art. Face painting was a fun little perk on the side.

Every girl left there so excited with their art projects, aprons and leftover sugar. Rhiannon was once again beyond blessed by her sweet little friends. The day couldn't have been any better.

**Linking up at Sugar and Dots for What I Whipped Up Wednesday
And Chase the Star for Keep Calm and Link Up*

Ariel's Grotto Girls

A few weeks ago a friend invited us to her little girls 5th birthday at Ariel's Grotto. I debated the cost of the restaurant vs. the fun I knew we had for quite a while 5 minutes. After our annual pass discount, our total would be coming up to over $60. I am cheap. The two things don't line up. But being a mommy that loves my daughter far more than money the decision seemed pretty simple. Rhiannon is obsessed with princesses and all things Disney really.

I told her right away what was going to happen. I think she died a little. She informed me that she wanted to wear the blue Ariel dress, not her princessy one but the "kiss de girl" dress as she says it. I bought a pattern from Sew Sweet Patterns, then altered and added to the pattern a bit to make a dress that made her swoon.

We brought Rhiannon's adorable friend a dress made from the same pattern. Not knowing the girly was obsessed with birds, Rhi chose what turned out to be the perfect fabric.

We got to Ariel's grotto and was immediately greeted by Ariel. Once seated we were brought a bread basket with butter, pesto and the most amazing seafood salad.

A few minutes later they brought out an antipasto tower. One tier of fruit and fruit jello. Another with prosciutto, delicious cheese and and olives, and a tossed salad with a yummy mango dressing.For the main course my girl got cheese seashells with grapes and I had tri-tip, mashed potatoes and grilled veggies. Delicious!

Then dessert. Oh the dessert. Fudge cakes. Cupcakes. Fresh fruit. Everything you can think of. It was amazing.

Through-out our entrees and desserts, numerous princesses came and seen the girls. The birthday girl and Rhiannon would smile and occasionally gasp as their favorites came out and chatted. They snapped pictures and had an amazing time.

Ariel's Grotto was just perfect. The girls had a magical lunch that I know neither of them will forget. All and all, worth every penny.