Corn Maze

running to the pumpkin patch

inside the hay maze

playing checkers next to the picnic area

practicing his lasso skills

inside the maze (about half of the kids)

Most of the group!

At the beginning of the month, our homeschool group took a trip to a corn maze. We spent the entire afternoon there and pretty much had the place to ourselves. Another mom and I got seperated from the group, but managed to find our way out (the maze was huge!) while the other half of our group (which included Blake) needed to have the staff come and "rescue" them. We waited for about 40 minutes before they emerged! Then it was on to the petting barn where they got to milk a pretend cow, feed some corn to chickens, pigs and sheep and also pet a very adorable and soft bunny. After the barn, we took a hayride around the maze and then they got to pick a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch. It was a great afternoon and we were all exhausted by the time we got home!

*Jacob is absent from the pictures b/c he was having a great one-on-one weekend with Grandma and Poppa!

Bags of Apples

In our house, we have lots of conversations around what is healthy food to eat and what is not. This isn't to say that my kids don't eat junk food, but we really strive for balance. I hope that as my kids grow, they will begin to appreciate where their food comes from (and I don't mean the supermarket!) and how it makes them feel after they eat it. With that being said, Blake and I got into a conversation about Halloween and how I think it is great to have healthy treats versus candy. A little while later, Blake asked if we could go to the store and get two bags of apples. When I asked him why, he said "so we can pass them out at Halloween!". I am not going to lie...this made me very proud!

Bug, Bug, Stinkbug

I love how the boys take ordinary, traditional games and spin them into their own little creations. Just this afternoon, they were playing "bug, bug, stinkbug". It is the same as duck, duck, goose, but instead of the "goose" chasing the person, the stinkbug does! I thought it was very clever!

Middle Child Syndrome

Jacob suffers from classic middle child syndrome. As hard as we try to make things fair, he always feels like he is getting the short end of the stick. Thankfully, he has an older brother who is very understanding, so when we need to make things a little lopsided for Jacob's benefit, he doesn't balk about it too much. However, things still are never quite perfect enough for Jacob. The other day, we were coming home from the Nature Preserve and Jacob says to me "wouldn't it be great if there was no Blake or no Parker and just a Jakeybug!" I had to laugh. I suppose he was feeling especially left out that morning (not sure why). We will see what adding a new baby does to the dynamic. Peter and Jacob have a special outing planned this weekend. They are attending a Panthers-Saints game. Jacob has been begging to go since we moved here and when Peter got tickets through work, Jakey got first dibs on going. I am hoping this throws things back into balance with him...for now ;)

MIA

It seems this pregnancy has finally caught up with me. I have been suffering from nausea (all.day.long) and fatigue, which means no blogging lately. I am hoping this passes by the second trimester....this is the first pregnancy in which I have been so nauseated. Until then, you all with have to be patient with me!

Working on a big project

We are currently working on a big project that should take the next 9 months to complete ;) You guessed it, Blumie number 4 is on the way, expected to arrive around June 10th. For those who are wondering: yes this was planned (although secretly!), we will NOT be finding out the sex (hoping for a girl this go around, but expecting another boy), and we will be having another home waterbirth as well. This will be our last offspring so I am going to try and enjoy this pregnancy as much as possible. I know all to well how quickly this time will go by. So far, I am feeling pretty well considering the first trimester can be the worst.

And on another note, I have, yet again, lots of pics in need of uploading. The rest of the week is going to be a busy one for us, so hopefully I can get them up over the weekend. Now I am off to rest while I can :)

How Sweet

I was in the kitchen cooking and I looked over to see what Parker was doing and I couldn't resist grabbing the camera to capture the moment. I loved how he got all cozy with Baby Bear and his blankie before opening the book!

Indian Corn Craft

It seems fall as arrived right on time. We picked up some indian corn from the store and began to remove the kernels in prep for a craft to come (pics of that will be posted...don't want to spoil the surprise!) Even Daddy got in on the process, but no pictures of that. Hope everyone's fall is off to a great start! I absolutely love this time of year!

Creek Day

This was probably our last romp in the creek for the year. The weather is finally starting to cool off and it is just a little too chilly to play in the water. Of course, we still will have free time to romp in the woods. The kids and I really do love it and seem to need it. For those of you haven't read it already, I highly recommend checking out the book Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv. It shows the importance of children's need to have unstructed play time in nature and how our society needs to place a greater stress on time in nature (soo true!).

Beeswax Art

Kayak and paddles

King snake in grass

The boys love creating stuff with their beeswax. It is a little difficult to work with in the beginning, but it holds shapes a lot better than playdough, plus it is less messy and smells wonderful!

Whitewater Festival

We attended a festival at the Whitewater Center a few weekends ago. The weather was gorgeous and there were a ton of people there. They had a nice section for the kids with an enormous slide, face painting and crafts. The boys really enjoyed watching all the rafters and kayakers. They were pretty bummed when they found out they weren't old enough to participate. Of course, now they use everything as paddles and pretend to kayak down rapids. Lucky enough for Blake, once he is 8, he can start taking classes there for kayaking. He is pretty excited about that.

Jakey

Who needs a bed

Yet another place we find Parker sleeping when we come upstairs for the night. This one just doesn't look that comfy though. Notice the nightime snack next to his "pillow"!

Potty Learning Update

Parker has made progress with learning to use the potty. He has successfully pooped on the potty several times and is now wearing a diaper only at nap and bedtime. His favorite thing to do is to pee in the woods! We were at the creek and he had to go so he picked a tree and let loose. A little while later a couple was walking their dog and it peed on a tree. Parker then said "look, that dog peed on a tree like me!"

Ready for some football

The brainwashing started early in this house. This was football opening weekend. The boys were gearing up for the game and getting ready to eat "guy food". Help me!

Let's talk Boogers

Yesterday, we were driving in the car and Parker kept saying "I have a booger, I need a tissue". So I would grab a tissue and pass it back to him. After the third time of him asking for a tissue, Jacob says "Oh, just eat it." Ewww. And yes, Jacob is our booger eater. Thankfully, Parker was just as grossed out as we were and said "No way". Kids can be so gross.

Future Architect?

We all know how much Blake loves building things. He always said that when he grew up, he wanted to draw houses like his Daddy. So yesterday, we read the story of Mother Holle and then he was to draw a house from the letter H. He was working very intently and creating quite a bit of detail (like a stone pathway) when he stops and looks at me and says "I thought about putting a floor plan on the page, but then I figured you just wanted the letter H, right".

Bits of Summer

Watermelon slices the size of your head

Turning your fingertips and face red.

A sunflower garden outside the kitchen window
Making lunch without clothes
Fresh made pumpkin muffins devoured before lunch

The summer flew by, as it always seems to. We just finished our first week of HOMESCHOOLING (yes, that does say homeschool). Blake is loving it, as am I and so far, things are going really well. One of our most sacred activities in our weekly rhythm is our days at the creek. His eyes lit up when he realized we still will be able to have "creek day" even though the school year has begun!

And for those of you interested enough to keep reading, we are using a Waldorf-inspired curriculum. In as few words as possible, this is an education style that teaches the child through their head, heart and hands. It is a very gentle and holistic method of teaching, meeting the child where they are developmentally as opposed to pushing them into academics too soon. We absolutely love it!