Catching Up With Fun From Last Week

A trip to Imagine Children's Museum In Everett:

Art class in town:



Playing with bubbles on a sunny day:

and planting pumpkin and sunflower seeds:

Parenting Is Not For The Faint Of Heart.

Just one month after my 7 year old son's elbow has healed from a roller skating fracture, he comes running up the porch steps crying with a bloody mouth. He is surrounded by an emergency response team of kids all telling me at once what happened. Apparently, he was trying to pop a wheelie on his scooter and hit his mouth on the metal handle bar - ouch!

I manage to get my son inside and close the front door before my Jack Russell Terrier escaped into the nooks & crannies of our neighborhood. I sit my son down on a nearby overstuffed chair and grab a wet wash cloth, trying to comfort him and assess the damage. He has his fingers to his mouth and is shaking uncontrollably and is wailing in both fear and pain.

I get the sense that someone is watching us beyond my 3 year old and 5 year old who are asking over and over again what happened. I look to my left and see the ER team of kids with their noses pressed to glass of the front door, struggling to see what's happening inside our home. Finally, I get a look inside my son's mouth to see that he has lost the top 1/4 of his permanent bottom tooth. Chipped it right off.

Yes, parenting is not for the faint of heart.

Cut to today - we just returned from the dentist where my son had an x-ray and all looked well with the tooth's structure. He did indeed chip off the top and lost some enamel. Our dentist suggested just smoothing it out for now, until the rest of his teeth have a chance to grow in and cosmetically fixing it later, perhaps even after braces some day.

On the bright side, my son was very happy that he did not have to have a shot in order to have a filling. He has also admitted, however, there was a part of him that really wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to finally have a real gold tooth. Since when is my child into bling??!!

Ah, yes...parenting is not for the faint of heart! :-)

Easter Egg Garden

My 3, 5 and 7 year old had a great time today breaking in our new set of gel watercolor sticks when they created this colorful Easter Egg Garden. Each egg is about 10 inches tall and they are taped to our playroom wall. All that is missing is some grass and a bunny or two...who knows maybe it's a work in progress. Stay tuned!

Off To A Happy Start!

Today was the first day of homeschooling all three kiddos since pulling my daughter out of public school kindergarten. It couldn't have been more inspiring! The kids wrote in their journals, read poems, stories and books, played educational games together, visited some math websites and sorted and classified some of their favorite toys. It was all child led by their individual interest and it warmed my heart to see the three of them working so well together throughout the morning and early afternoon.

Everything about this decision feels so right. Part of me wishes, I had made this decision sooner, but the other part knows that things unfold as they do for a reason. Either way, I am just thankful for this day.

After such a focused morning and some lunch, we decided it was time for play and headed off to our favorite playground in the Madison neighborhood of Seattle. We enjoyed some hot cocoa and goodies at a local cafe and then it was off for some serious play!

Thinking About My Girl

I'm thinking about my girl on her last day of public school kindergarten today.

After today, she will join her brothers in their homeschooling adventures!

But first, a surprise visit to Portland, OR for the weekend, where there just happens to be a LEGO convention happening. We will stay at our usual digs - The Marriott Residence Inn on the River Walk. Can't beat that place with their wonderful daily breakfast buffet and dogs allowed policy. Should be a fun way to kick off having the whole family on the same homeschooling page!

Yay!