10 months old

hard to believe our little guy is 10 months old today, and only a couple months away from his first birthday! time just keeps flying by. i'm trying to think ahead for his birthday, so that it doesn't end up getting lost in the holiday craziness. anyone have any good birthday cake ideas for a one year old boy? i did a drum for levi's one year, and a butterfly for miriam's. maybe i'll haul out those pictures and post them along with whatever i decide to do for sawyer. please comment with ideas or websites with ideas if you know of them--thanks!

raising kids

i recently signed up to receive e-newletters from the Home School Marketplace, and received one this week entitled Kindergarten...or not? written by Ellyn Davis. i have heard her husband, Chris, speak before and have also read their book, I Saw the Angel in the Marble. they have really challenged and caused me to rethink my whole paradigm of "school" -- whether found in the classroom or at home. i found this article quite relevant as Miriam is at that age. one of these days i will try to write more about how we are approaching home education this year.

along similar lines, i also wanted to direct your attention to a broadcast i heard on Family Life Today, featuring the author of a book entitled Raising Kids for True Greatness. the bit that i heard in the car was so good, but i still need to go back and listen to the whole collection online. if it's of interest to you and you have the computer capabilities, you can listen too!

cricket update

we had one good week, but now they seem to be back, though not to the same level as before, so that's good. and, i am getting braver. i have swatted a few myself. and, i have a new strategy -- i am going to leave the one i killed today in our laundry room dead on the floor in plain sight, for all other cricket intruders to see that this, too, will be their fate. (actually, it's still lying there because i am too grossed out to pick it up...i just try not to look at it.)

i love used book sales

i scored this book for 50 cents at a used book sale the other day. matt was so excited--he still remembers his second grade teacher reading these witty poems to his class. our kids asked me every day last week, i think, to read to them from this book. here is my favorite so far:

COLORS

My skin is kind of sort of brownish
Pinkish yellowish white.
My eyes are greyish blueish green,
But I'm told they look orange in the night.
My hair is reddish blondish brown,
But it's silver when it's wet.
And all the colors I am inside
Have not been invented yet.

-Shel Silverstein

crane's

yesterday was another gorgeous late-summer day, much welcomed after a dreary, rainy week. we took advantage of it and headed out for our yearly visit to Crane's Orchard with our friends, john & abbey. the apples and raspberries were ripe for the picking.

old friends

this group of people is very special to me. these are the people (along with their significant others) whom i have grown up with since probably about the time i learned to walk. friday night we reminisced about all of the sunday school classes, slumber parties, sunday night pizza parties, and so many other memories we have shared together over the years. these days we may not see each other all that often, but when we do get together there is a bond between us that runs deep. i have come to treasure these friendships even more lately, realizing how much the history shared between us really means, and how hard it is to come by.

and now, not long after all of us finally live locally again, one of us again hits the road. we will have to put a bit more effort into our reunions now, meeting somewhere between here and Virginia, but i have a feeling we still have many more years ahead of making memories together. all the best to you, steve & sara. we'll miss you guys.

homespun gifts from the heart

in anticipation of a doing a much lower-budget Christmas than usual this year, i recently checked this book out from the library. i am so enjoying it. it is filled with great ideas to get your creative juices flowing. if anyone has any other good resources or ideas for homemade and/or lower-budget ways to do gifts, let me know!

trip to the zoo

matt took the day off yesterday and we headed down to Binder Park Zoo for the day. our trip was well-timed for several reasons: (1) it was an absolutely gorgeous day; (2) the kids and i have been reading a bit about africa these past couple of weeks, and this zoo has an entire area dedicated to providing an african safari-like experience; and (3) there was hardly anyone there seeing as most kids are back in school! (one of the joys of homeschooling!) probably the highlight was getting to feed the giraffes, though levi's favorite "animal" was still the train. :) i had to include the picture of the red panda, too, since that is my personal favorite!

little critters

last week the kids and i visited the local Critter Barn, where Miram and Levi got to observe and interact with lots of different farm animals.

i also took our own little critter out last week to try to get some decent 9 month pictures of him, though we didn't get even one smile--he was way too distracted by all the interesting and yummy looking things around him!

jiminy crickets!

ok, so i am a MAJOR chicken when it comes to certain creepy, crawly things--really, anything that likes to hide from humans, like the ones that usually only come out at night. mice, bats, and cockroaches are at the top of my list...

...and now crickets join them.

it's kind of sad, really. i used to not mind crickets. i have always found the little chirpy sound they make at night soothing.... that is, until they started invading our house. that cute, cozy chirpy sound has been getting a little too close for comfort.

it all started last week when i heard that chirping coming from our front entry. this is understandable, however, since the trim and some of the baseboard around our front door is presently torn off because matt is working on it. we couldn't find it behind the shoes, so i figured it was just living in one of the cracks, and i was ok with that...

...until one night, just before bed, it met me in the middle of the living room floor. apparently he was out for an evening stroll. i think my screams scared him back home, though. seeing a rather large black bug in the middle of the floor was too much of a reminder of the australian cockroaches we used to meet up with on a regular basis.

anyway, i'm not sure if this guy relocated or just invited his friend, but next thing i know i am hearing the cute-turned-evil chirpy sound in my bathroom. and no, it was not outside the window. i sent matt to hunt it down one morning, and he found it behind our cabinet, but before he could capture it, it darted behind the pedestal sink where he couldn't get to it. "well, i'm going to be late for work--i can't deal with it right now," were his parting words. great! how am i supposed to use the bathroom knowing that thing is hiding in there?!

i didn't know where the flipping thing was (nor was i about to go after it alone), so i was learning to live with the occassional chirp, thinking i was conquering my fears. little did i know it was a cricket conspiracy--they are out to get me!!

this morning about did me in. i walked into our laundry room and a cricket FALLS FROM THE CEILING just centimeters in front of me! since when do crickets hang out on the ceiling?! i told you they are after me. you should have heard me scream this time. and then you should have heard matt laugh at me.

i'd had it. this cricket was not geting away this time. in australia we used to zap the cockroaches with this spray that would kill them, since they were too big to swat. the closest thing i saw this morning was my oximagic stain spray. i grabbed it and doused the thing, and just as i thought he was crawling off to die somewhere...

...he transformed into attack-cricket! he came out from where he has been hiding, first with little cricket steps, and then one giant cricket jump--right toward me! apparently my spray had made him delirious or something, but he about gave me a heart attack. i exited the scene as fast as possible (more screams) and sent matt in to try to kill him again (more laughs). and what he discovered was that this had been mr. cricket's final hurrah before his death. he disposed of him neatly (though not reverently).

sorry if you are a cricket-lover. don't worry--there's still plenty of them singing their choruses right outside. but let me assure any more crickets out there that may be reading this--don't step foot in my house again if you know what's good for you.