Transportation Museum on Sept 5th

This is another "retropost" until I get caught up.  lol  This was another great field trip to go with our Mailing May/trains study.  We visited the North Carolina Transportatin Museum for their homeschool days.  This is one of our state historic sites - which we love!!!  (And we've visited all of them with our "NC History Group"!)  We were joined by 3 families for a beautiful, fun and full day! 

We began in the morning by being split into 6 groups.  We rotated through various stations learning about cars, riding on a turntable, learning the difference between diesel, electric and steam engines, hearing about rail transportation, air transportation and also about dug-out canoes.  Each station had a different interpreter to share information with us.  We also had worksheets which the children could complete as they learned things at the various stations.

This is our group riding on the turntable.  You can see the roundhouse behind us.

 

Listening to an interpreter inside the roundhouse - which was huge!  This roundhouse was part of the "Spencer Shops" which was the site for many train repairs during the early 1900s. 

Learning about how dug-out canoes were made (fire) and then getting inside of it.  (Isaiah even brought some of the soot home with him - on his white shirt of course.  lol) 

My two beautiful girls.  Eliana likes to walk around as much as she can - and explore wherever she can.  Rebecca is great about helping to keep up with our little curious one. 

We then had an hour for a picnic lunch before boarding the train for a ride around the site.  Daniel and I sat in the very back - in a row that was all by itself and at least 15 feet from the rest of the rows.  Not sure why those 2 seats were there and at first he was not buying it.  They were the last seats though and it was fun.  He even took some pictures from the window of the train.  Here's a photo we took of ourselves. 

After our ride, we explored the very large museum.  It's all part of an old roundhouse that was used to repair trains in the early 1900s.  It's an amazing building! 

There was even a mail car like the one in our story, Mailing May.

We didn't get any rain until our ride home for which we were very thankful. 

As I reflect on this day, I'm reminded of how much for which I have to give thanks.  I'm also reminded that it isn't just in the times of blessing that I am called to be thankful. 

I'm thankful that I'm able to go on fun trips like this with my family - and also for friends that can go with us!  I'm thankful that God has blessed us with good health and a flexible schedule.  I'm thankful for the opportunity to learn in a fun and hands-on way and to make great memories.

Thank you God!

Blessings,

Leslie

Praise and a few short notes

We've had a busy couple of weeks and more that I want to share.

Our computer is fixed - yeah Roger!!!  I'm so glad he knows so much about computers and can fix things when they aren't working!  :-)

We had a wonderful time at the beach last week.  The weather was perfect and we were able to spend some time with friends.  We also met some other homeschoolers while we were there which was fun.  I have pictures to post - hopefully soon.

I still want to post about a couple of field trips - one to the Transportation Museum and another to a local nature center.  I'm thankful for the opportunity to go on field trips.  I think it's a great way to have a hands-on learning experience.

We celebrated a birthday this week.  Joshua is 9 years old.  Halfway to manhood.  How can that be?!  My sweet baby boy.  I remember the day he joined us so very well.  I'll write more about him and what a precious gift he is and has been to our family.  I'll share some pictures too!

I thought I'd share one story though about Eliana on Joshua's birthday - this is the praise.  One of our birthday traditions has been to allow the birthday child to pick where we'll eat.  Joshua picked Golden Corral - great pick for everyone!  As we were leaving, Roger was packing some food for Eliana.  I told him I thought she would do well there, but he brought some baby food just in case.  She had feeding therapy earlier in the day and did great there!  She ate a graham cracker by herself.  Self-feeding is NOT a skill she has learned or is even remotely good at doing.  Both her OT and I were thrilled!

Anyway, back to dinner.  I walked around and selected a few things I thought she could/would eat.  Not a great variety - but we're still learning, here.  This is what I put on her plate. 

*Mac 'n cheese

*Peas

*Spaghetti (this is a new favorite and one of her first "real" meals)

*Green beans

*Pears (not to keen on these)

*Banana pudding

*Ice cream

She ate her whole dinner from the buffet line!!!  In fact, she did MUCH better than Daniel did in terms of variety (not that this is a huge accomplishment, lol).  Way to go Eliana!  I think we may be turning the corner soon in her eating and I'm very excited.  Just a year ago, we were feeding her through a tube and just trying to get her to learn to take a bottle orally. 

Thank you God for teaching me patience, for teaching me to go slowly, for showing me that a different path can also be a good one filled with blessings.

We have a busy week-end planned with sports (soccer - twice & football) and a birthday party.  Will write more when I'm able to.  I hope you each have a blessed week-end!

Love,

Leslie

Reminders

So many things are reminders - but maybe it's really that I just haven't forgotten.  This "should" be an exciting time - when I'd be counting down the days.  It's less than a month until my "due" date that isn't any more.  I think about it every day.  It's one of those things though that feels so alone. 

It's not really "proper" to talk about it, is it?  It is certainly a subject that makes many people uncomfortable.  I remember one of my children being told not to mention it after my first miscarriage.  Yet, so many have experienced it.  Why does it feel so lonely?

I received something in the mail this week.  A note from a company congratulating me on my upcoming birth.  A guide to labor and the hospital.  The promise of a gift when I got there.  It made me cry.

Sometimes I feel like such a drag even mentioning that its still hard.  I feel like I should have gotten over it by now.  It can make me feel like I have no faith, that I'm weak or untrusting.  (I know I am weak and I'm continually trying to trust.)  I know that in the grand scheme of life that this is small compared to so many other things.  I also know that God cares about all of the details of our life .   

I've been talking about it with God.  Just yesterday at our field trip, one sweet friend came up to me and asked me about the approaching date.  I was honestly surprised and touched that she remembered.  I shared with her that it was hard and that it often felt really lonely.  She gave me a small gift to show me that she was thinking of me.  What a gift of God's love this sweet friend's remembrance was to me.  I had cried out to Him and He heard me. 

I'm not sure why I'm posting this.  I'd love your prayers.  Sometimes, my heart just hurts.  I keep telling myself to be happy with the children that I do have.  It's not that though.   I'm very happy with the children that I have.  I just feel like I could love more.  I know that I'm blessed - beyond what I ever could have expected.   

I'm still grieving this loss, this child.  I so want to hold and love this little one.  I know that the approach of the due date will just bring sad feelings.  It is something else to learn from, to lean on God and to hope in Him.

Reminders.  I know that God is good.  I know that He loves me.  I know that our little one is safe in His arms.  I know that no matter what happens, God has a plan for my life.  I remind myself of these truths often - maybe someone reading needs a reminder too.  It is easy to listen to the lies and whispers from the enemy.  I am seeking to hear God.  God is a voice of truth - of hope - of love.  He loves you - cares about you and every detail of your life.

Love,

Leslie

Post Office Field Trip - Sept 4th

I'm dating this a few days early to try to squeeze in a couple of posts before writing about what we are currently up to.  On Sept 4th, we went on a field trip with our FIAR (Five in a Row) group.  It was a great tie-in with our study of Mailing May.  (The story is about a little girl that is mailed to visit her grandmother.  It is a true story too!)

The childen wrote letters and were able to hand cancel them before they were posted.  We toured the back and learned about the postal system, how things are handled and delivered, looked at the inside of a mail truck and talked with a postman.  It was a fun morning all the way around.  Here are a few photos of our day.

Afterwards, we visited a nearby park to picnic and play.  It was a beautiful day and a fun way to spend time with friends.  :-)

Blessings,

Leslie

Mailing May & Trains

We've been vacationing and I thought I'd be able to post some things while we were gone.  We didn't have internet though - so I'm playing catch up again.  :-)  More on our vacation once the pics are uploaded. 

We are doing a two week study of Mailing May and trains .  So far, it is a lot of fun!  As the mom, it's wonderful for me as I have 4 students studying similar or overlapping subjects.  That doesn't happen often and I'm enjoying it!

We started the week last Monday.  I made a small display  - books on trains and related topics, a train whistle, train videos, train drawing lesson, conductor's cap and toy trains.  I did this to excite them and also to gather resources.  They loved it.  (This is not something that I typically do - it was just easier to pull off since I was more focused on one direction this week instead of many). 

Here are some of the things we've enjoyed so far.  Mailing May is based on a true story set in the early 1900s so we've learned some about that time period as well as Daniel Boone (mentioned in the story).  Rebecca has been doing some research and writing above and beyond what the boys are doing.

Daniel liked painting shapes and then making them into a train.  He has also loved watching Thomas the Tank Engine. 

We learned about quilts and patterns, the post office, Idaho, Daniel Boone and more.

Another highlight was making a train out of boxes and furniture and then just pretending.  Sometimes it really is the simple things that bring great  pleasure.

We've been using the lapbook templates at Homeschoolshare to add a visual dimension to our lessons.  At the end of study we had 2 field trips planned!  I love field trips!

The first field trip was to the Post Office with our FIAR group.  We learned some of the history of the post office and the younger children wrote and then hand cancelled their letter.  Afterwards, we went to a local park to play.  It was fun to see friends - both new ones and old ones as well as learning more about the Post Office.

Our second field trip was to the North Carolina Transportation Museum.  This is one of our state's Historic Sites.  These are wonderful!  We visited ALL of them with our NC history group.  I was excited to be returning.  We did hands-on activities in addition to riding a train and a turntable and seeing an actual mail car (like in the story). 

This was the part I was hoping to do before our vacation - upload pics from the field trips.  Well, we are having computer problems (I'm on a laptop and can't get to our photos).  I'm also having cell phone problems and am wondering what is going on with me and electronics!  lol  I'll post pics when Roger is home and able to fix the computer - he is great with them and I know very little beyond just using it. 

In the midst of all of this, Eliana has learned to "sign" train.  It's not the official sign - but the pulling of the whistle that most of us recognize.  Can you see it in the last picture?  Isn't she a cutie?!

That's all for now.

Blessings,

Leslie

Driver's Ed

So, how do you feel when you see a car like this?

Probably a variety of emotions if you are like me.

But, how do you feel when it is your child in that car?!

In North Carolina a student is required to take Driver's Ed before getting a learner's permit.   Parents aren't allowed to teach the course so we elected to go with a private driving school for this class.  The actual class was a 30 hour class (5 hours per day for 6 days) in addition to 6 hours of driving time.

Christopher took this class along with a couple of friends and seemed to enjoy it.  He wasn't able to do the driving part early on due to failing the "vision test".  He had just gotten a new prescription for his contacts and once we got those filled he did pass the eye test.  This was his first experience with the DMV - not too bad either.

On his last day of driving as we were headed to the school it started to sprinkle, then pour.  I knew what Christopher was thinking - "Oh, no".  I was thinking it too.  I also thought that this was probably a good opportunity for him to practice under less than ideal conditions - though maybe not for 2 hours when you are just learning.

In any event, he did just fine!  I think  he'll be a good driver.  He has a lot of common sense and is pretty level-headed.  He has commented that he isn't worried so much about driving as he is about the other drivers out there.  That is the difficulty, isn't it?

We are waiting now for some paperwork from the state (because we homeschool) and then we can go to the DMV to get his learner's permit.  Wow!  Driving.  My baby is growing up.

Blessings,

Leslie

August in review #3 - therapies, special needs

 We had a full schedule of therapies.  We met with our speech therapist and case worker to discuss options for Eliana.  I'm considering using a program called Boardmaker or Overboard to enhance her communication skills.  It's basically using picture cards to communicate words and ideas that can't yet be spoken.  This would be in addition to using signs as well as verbal communication.  If anyone has feedback, I would love to hear it!

Physical therapy continues to be a struggle.  Eliana needs to work on strengthening her muscles to be able to walk better.  She is walking more and more - which is exciting.  She walks though with a wide gait and somewhat stiff legs - cute, but not the best for her long-term. 

Although when we met with her ped this week, she was pleased with her walk as she thought she needed the stability of a wider gait.  Hmmm...  I am thinking she will figure it out eventually - and probably with a little work from her therapist.  She is doing well in terms of her health and growth.  She is still on the traditional growth curve (ped seems pleased and a little surprised by this).  She is about 10th percentile for weight (21 pounds 6 ounces) and 25th percentile for height (31 inches).  This is for the standard growth chart which is very surprising.  For those that don't know, children with Down syndrome are typically smaller and even have their own growth chart. 

One note on a success this week in terms of Daniel's sensory issues.  When we were at the park, he came up to me crying because someone had poured sand on his head and down his back.  The sand had gone down his shirt and a little into his pants.  I was not surprised that he was upset.  I talked with him calmly and just brushed it all off.  He stopped crying and then went off to play.  This was a wonderful step for him!!!  At times something like this would just make him melt and getting over it would take a looooong time.  So, another YIPPEE for Daniel!

Here's the funny part of that story.  I asked him later what had happened.  I was curious since I hadn't seen it.  He told me that some boys were following him and following him before the sand was dumped.  I asked him why they were following him (wondering if it was a game) and he said with a funny little smile, "Because they like me".  I'm love that he sees no malice - just someone that likes him.

As an added part of our work with Daniel, his therapist thinks that he may benefit from speech therapy as well.  Eliana's therapist evaluated him briefly and informally and agreed.  His ability to sustain breaths and his vocal quality were some of the issues.  She also thought he might need to be seen by an ENT to assess if he has problems with his tonsils and adenoids (he sounds a little nasally).  He has never been checked for his as he has never had an ear infection which would have led to an examination.  I'm thankful to have an ENT that I trust.   I'm also thankful to have a great speech therapist on our team as well.  I will admit that I'm not thrilled about adding more therapy to our week, but very thankful that it can be done in our home.  I'm obviously thankful that we can get Daniel the help that he needs and we hope this will be a short term need.

I attended a special needs conference locally and found help and encouragment in most of the information there.  Some of it was also overwhelming and felt like a firehose of information - things I "should do".  I know that it's easy for all moms to feel guilt about the things that they should be doing or wish that they were doing.  For me, having a special needs child has added even more to that plate.  I wonder if she will somehow fall behind or not get something because of my failures.  I know that this is a common feeling from talking with other moms.  It's something I work to hand over to God.  I know I can't do it all.  I can only try my best and leave the rest to Him.  Easier said than done at some times.  

Lastly, I was able to attend a Mom's night out with our local Down syndrome group.  It was fun and I'm grateful to my family for working it out so I could go.  It was nice to be with other moms and ask questions, talk, share and laugh.  It helps to learn from others and I'm thankful to have this support.

Wow, this is world in which I never thought I'd be a part.  We've done therapies in the past, but just short-term for speech.  I'm so thankful to live in a place where we have access to so many resources to help our special little people.  I'm also very thankful to have special little people in my life!  It is a blessing!  Truly it is!

Blessings,

Leslie

August in review #2 (homeschool related)

Still trying to catch up so I'll just post some of the highlights of our month.  Sounds easy enough, huh? 

We are starting everything up with school again.  I hosted our first Mom's meeting for our Five in a Row homeschool group.  Our topic was on organizers and planners.  It was fun to hear what others are doing and have done.  I enjoy gleaning ideas and making them work for our family.  Last year, I had a massive planner - everything that I thought I might need for the year.  LOL

This year, I'm trying to keep a little more simple.  Of course, even with being simple, it still isn't finished.  I have started making the pages though and hope to have it done soon!  I'm ready for a bound book instead of loose pages everywhere!

I had a second meeting on that same Sunday for a swap.  I organized a Preschool Activity Bag Swap using the ideas from this book.  It was a wonderful way to run the swap.  We ended up with 28 bags to swap!!!  What a lot of bags.  I pondered the easiest way to get this done and thankfully with the help of many, it worked out beautifully.  Daniel is thrilled to have a huge lot of new "activities".  I know that one day they will be fun for Eliana too!

We continued our 3 week study of the Olympics.  We have been using lapbook resources that we purchased from Live and Learn Press  It's been a great resource.  We have supplemented a LOT of time watching the games which has been interesting and fun.  Eliana very much gets into the spirit of the games as she loves to clap (one of her favorite things to do). 

We ended our study with another round of "Family Olympics".  Christopher had missed out on the birthday party with games and was interested in doing it.  We invited friends over for round 2 and had a blast.  We began with a torch relay.  The games were a little more physical this time around.  We had hurdles, long jump and javelin as our "triatholon".  We also had gymnastics (balance beam) and discus.

 

And a new event - synchronized balance beam. 

We finished the evening with a really yummy meal!  I'll share it with you as you may want to try it at home.  You can find the recipes here. 

Shish Kebabs over Yellow Rice

Asian Salad

Fresh fruit

I love this site (menus4moms) as it has menu plans and recipes for each week.  There are years worth of archives and it is FREE!  Did I mention that I love this site?!  If you haven't been over there - go try it out!

One of our back to school traditions is getting new school supplies.  This is typically a part of our first day of school.  Well, this year, we came back from the beach late Sun night and started on Mon morning.  Not enough time for me to pull it together.  So it got postponed for weeks.  Rebecca very sweetly reminded me of it - and finally I gathered all the things I'd bought and surprised them with some goodies.

They received things like their new math books.  LOL  Isaiah was excited to be moving up to a new level.  They also got some new art supplies, handwriting books, a calculator and new books.  I put in a few silly little things that were a huge hit - wikki stix and a white board.  I received several sweet notes on that white board that night.  I should have bought one for each of them instead of one to share. 

(Excuse the shadow - still learning with my camera.  LOL)  Daniel was so excited about his new handwriting "dough" and letter cards that he wanted to start handwriting right away.  No problem! 

Blessings,

Leslie

August - in review - part 1 (family and friends)

Too many things to catch up on, so I'm going to try to lump some together.  ;-)

I had a birthday this month - don't ask how old - I'm not telling.  ;-)  I really don't like getting older.  I know it's better than the alternative, I just don't want to get "old".  Being diagnosed with osteoarthritis a few years ago didn't help with that.  I thought I'd have a few more decades before getting something like that.  One doctor told me that he wasn't surprised at all - that it made sense given the difficulties of my pregnancies.  It was still worth it though - every single one of those precious children!!!

My birthday was made sweet by family and friends.  Rebecca made me breakfast in bed - accompanied by cards that she and the boys had made.  I love this sweet and thoughtful gesture from ALL of my children. 

Later in the morning, a precious friend also named Rebecca, gave both Catherine and I the gift of a pedicure.  We were surprised to find a beautiful gift basket of chocolates waiting for us when we arrived.  Did I also mention that she stayed at my house and watched all of our children?  (Minus the oldest who was in Drivers Ed)  It was relaxing and pampering to have this time out. 

I received a gift that was something I've been wanting - a new camera!  Mine died a few months ago.  Christopher's has gone missing.  So we've been down to one camera - Rebecca's - and it's been hard for me.  Roger and his parents gave me this wonderful gift and I'm loving it!!!  It has a huge screen on the back and lots of neat features.  Did I mention that I love it?!  :D  Hopefully I'll get better about posting more on here. 

I was treated to 2 desserts - chocolate cake and banana pudding.  Rebecca made them both and we all thought they were delicious. 

The following week, while Roger was out of town, we headed to Virginia to visit with friends.  We had a great time and one of the neat things we did was to tour a cave.  I love caves!  I've always been interested in them.  Our family visited Mammoth Caves about 5 years ago and since then I've been hooked.  These were beautiful and interesting.  Christopher took lots of photos for me so my hands were free to help little people.  Here are a few highlights.

We also had fun just playing and being with our friends.  We still wish they lived right next door though!  That's probably enough for now.  More later on schooling and a few other August happenings. 

Blessings,

Leslie

 

What is Eliana up to?

Our little cutie pie is a busy, busy girl!  She continues to delight all of us!  I don't know that I can say often enough what an incredible delight she is to our family!  I'm so very thankful that God chose to bless us with Eliana!

Eliana is enjoying exploring.  She is able to find more to get into as she has learned to walk and climb.  There are many more things in her field of vision - and grasp!  She loves to copy, which is really quite fun!  She likes to try to open the door - standing on her little tippy toes.  Thankfully she isn't even close to being able to turn the knob.  I'm not looking forward to mastery of that skill!

She is walking more and more!  She is once again "on the scale" developmentally for her age in terms of physical development.  I know that this has little to do with me and am thankful for all that she has been able to learn.  I'm thankful for a great group of therapists working with her as well.

Part of her exploring has been making new messes. 

 She is also signing more and more!  She is adding more and more each week.  We have been watching Baby Signing Times - and she LOVES it.  She has learned to ask for it by signing baby.  She cries/whimpers when it is over too.  It is neat to see her trying to imitate the signs as she is watching them.

Here are some of the signs that she knows.

*More               *Milk                 *Eat                      *All Done

*Music            *Baby               *Shoes                 *Head

*Knees           *Toes               *Ball                     *Sleep

*Diaper          *Mommy           *Daddy                *Please

She also likes to sign to songs.  I think that music is going to be a great avenue for teaching Eliana.  She likes signing to "Twinkle Twinkle", "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes", "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Pat-a-cake" , "If You're Happy and you Know it" and "B-I-N-G-O"

 One more cute picture.

Blessings,

Leslie