Caedmonianisms-Funny Sayings of My Three Year Old

We've been spending a little more time in the car lately and Caedmon has been very vocal as we travel.  The other day when my mom and I, Caedmon and Jackson traveled to pick up our beef order Caedmon had two funny sayings.  Now, you must remember that we live in Mississippi.  My mother lives in the country and so do we.  If you drive for any distance in Mississippi you will be in the country...very rural and very nice.  We see horses, cows, donkeys and more;  and when we drive into our local town we even see zebras, bison and water buffalo.  My kids are used to seeing farm animals as we drive around and are used to smelling road kill...the most offensive being the fragrant skunk.  This makes Caedmon's "sayings" even funnier to me.

"What's that smell in my nose?"

"Wait a minute!  I just saw a cow!"

And yesterday, as we were in town he yelled out, "Wait!!  Stop the car!  There's a boat!"  We live 1 mile from a state park with a nice big lake.  We see boats all the time.  Maybe it's that he is just now being able to see out the car window?

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The Blessings of Epi-pens, Ambulances, EMTs and Emergency Rooms

If you saw my earlier post from this week, you know I had a lot planned.  Lots of school work, lots of house work, lots of appointments and lots of kitchen work.  What I hadn't planned on was Caedmon having an anaphylactic reaction Tuesday evening!  We used the epi-pen, drove into town while giving him a breathing treatment and met the ambulance to complete the drive to the hospital.  

When his oxygen level was revealed they stepped up the pace to a code three so we arrived at the hospital in style with lights, sirens and flying through the streets of Tupelo!  We were blessed with wonderful care in the emergency room and Caedmon was quickly stablized and sleeping.  We stayed for a few hours to make sure all was ok and were home in our own beds by 11 o'clock.  Yesterday he was jumping on the trampoline.....steroids give him lots of energy!!

Unfortunately, this is something we are always watching for due to his severe allergies and asthma.  Also unfortunately, he is not our first child to be rushed to the hospital in an ambulance for the same problem. With six of our seven children having asthma and two of them with SEVERE food allergies days like Tuesday are always a possibility even with all the precautions we take.  Thankfully, we carry Epi-pens everywhere we go these days.  Using the Epi-pen bought us a little time on Tuesday night....time that very well could have proved life-saving.  

We are so thankful for the medical advancements for asthma sufferers that have been made in my lifetime.  My children don't have to suffer through long periods of wheezing as I did.  We are thankful for well-trained medical personel who acted quickly and kindly in making sure Caedmon had everything he needed.  It was amazing to us that the doctor thanked US for being kind, patient and well-informed about our child's condition.  Makes us wonder what ER personnel have to deal with on a daily basis.  Even in emergency situations it is important for us to let the love of Christ flow through us.  Others are always watching and every situation is an opportunity to show God's grace.

Caedmon's Birthday #3

Yesterday was Caedmon's third birthday.  I think he was a little worried that there might not be any presents or a cake.

But, then again, I think he may have had a sneaky suspicion that something was up.

For his birthday breakfast he helped me mix up his first ever muffins.  This little guy is allergic to wheat, dairy, egg and much, much more.  We made muffins with a gluten-free flour, rice milk and applesauce to replace the eggs.  He really enjoyed them!

And he loved geting to help cook.  The kitchen can be dangerous for him with so many of his allergic foods constantly being used, so helping to cook was a grand adventure.

When you are the seventh child you most likely have a houseful of toys that have been passed down from your older siblings.  And if your mom is in the midst of the Great Declutter Challenge, getting more toys may not be an option.  Caedmon asked for a flashlight and a ball, so he got THREE flashlights and a little ball.

He also got a cowboy hat and a gun that makes way too much noise for his mother's comfort.

Not only had Caedmon never had muffins, but he had never had a cake, either. Devin made this cake using a gluten-free cake mix, olive oil and applesauce.  It turned out pretty well.

Blowing out the candles

The first bite

And the verdict?  It was good!

Happy birthday to our precious Caedmon!! 

If you are interested in how Caedmon got his name, read here.

Little Boys' School

 Yesterday we had a few extra students in our homeschool.  My oldest daughter, Lauren, had her bi-annual check-up with her pulmonary doctor and we watched her three little ones while she was away.  When I went outside to greet them and get some grandma hugs, I asked grandson Chase, 4,  what we should do.  His response?  "Schoolwork!"  So after lunch and cleanup we proceeded to do just that.

Naps were out for the two year olds.  Usually fighting like cats and dogs, Elisha and Uncle Caedmon were caught peacefully sitting together on the couch looking at books.  Caedmon is a whole 5 months older than Eli.

Chase and I worked on tracing his name for a little while and then I broke out the pattern blocks.  I know we have had these blocks for at least 20 years now....and still use them weekly!  I had Chase sort the blocks by color and then I made a simple picture and had him copy it to the side.  I then placed a few blocks in a row and had him copy.  That was a little more challenging for him.

You can sense his deep concentration. ; )

A pretty flower that he said looked like WalMart.  Does WalMart have a symbol like this?

And while I was working with Chase, Jackson took a break and did this!  Yes, seeing my boys upside down and sideways is not that unusual...even during school time!

Elisha and Caedmon eventually settled on the rug to play with a huge box of Duplos.  I have a rule that the Duplos (or whatever they are playing with) must stay on the rug.  Yeah, right!

Caedmon was caught in a thoughtful moment.

All the little boys moved to the school table.  Jackson was instructing Caedmon in putting together a puzzle (no instruction was needed, but he is the big brother).  Chase was matching patterned four leaf clovers in a file folder game that I printed from a website.

Busily occupied with learning activities

Elisha is putting together a circus puzzle that is over 20 years old!

 

Fun times with the boys!  So grateful to have the opportunity to teach my own little boys and occasionally the grandsons as well.

Wise and Witty Sayings of My Two Little Men

My two little guys can come up with some doozies!!  I have noticed that every time I wear a skirt Caedmon says, "Mom, you're beauful!"  Beautiful in two year old language and then immediately asks me to dance!! Hmmm, what is about about men and women in skirts?

I walked into the kitchen the other day to find Caedmon digging in the sugar bucket.  Yes, bucket!!  I buy in bulk for my big family, remember?  Anyway, he saw me and with his sugar-coated face and hands said, "Look, Mommy!!  It's nummy!!"

It's a plane!

And then on Sunday as we were traveling to church I was talking with Jeff about how my hands were stained from the onions I had been chopping onions all weekend for the dehydrator.  Little ears in the back seat were listening in and a little later Jackson gave me some advice.  "Mom," he said, " I think you need to let Kaelan do more cooking in the kitchen.  You are getting too old for all that chopping and cooking!"  Bless his heart!  He'll be looking out for his old momma for sure one day!

Learning to chop firewood.

Now that's a face that will melt your heart for sure!

I am so very thankful for these future men that God gave me in my 40's!  What a blessing we would have missed out on if we followed the wisdom of the world.  God's ways are always better....even if on some days I feel like Sarah!






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Around Here This Week

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Around here this week there has been lots of cooking.

Around here this week there has been lots of eating.

Around here this week there have lots of diaper changes.

Around here this week there have NOT been lots of naps.

Around here this week there has not been lots of school time.

Around here this week there has been lots of laundry.

Around here this week there have been lots of little boys.

Around here this week there has been lots of toys.

Around here this week there have been lots of olive shoots around our table.

Around here this week there has been three generations worshipping together each evening.

Around here this week there has been lots of "Mom-Mom, look at me!"

Around here this week there has been lots of lap time.

Around here this week the noise level has gone up just a tad.

Around here this week we realize how blessed we are....once again!!

Cowboys and Indians...Elisha, Jackson, Chase and Caedmon

My sons are the Indians.  My grandsons are the cowboys.

Caedmon makes a ferocious Indian!

Cowboy Chase

Sheriff Elisha

Me with all the cowboys and Indians

Ashtyn Claire--at six months she is crawling and starting to pull up

tearing up

Wrapping Up the Week

This has been a good week on many levels.  I was able to sit down with Kaelan on Sunday afternoon to go over her school work from last week and make out lesson plans for the next two weeks.  Yesterday we were able to go over everything from this week and with the exception of our science lesson we are on target.    Aaron is also on target for this week with the exception of those dreaded science lessons.  Hopefully today he can finish up his study guide and be ready to take his test on Monday instead of today. Jackson's new math curriculum came in yesterday and he is eager to get started.  We may go ahead and do several pages this morning as it will mainly be review.  Jordan is studying independently with the exception of history that we do together as a family.  Aside from history and literature, most of his studies are interest led.  Thankful that his interests are sound...economics, photography, writing and homesteading.

We have been able to keep up with our Bible and history studies this week which have included beginning several new books.  We read one chapter of Proverbs each morning and one or two chapters of the Psalms.  It is a joy for me to have my children gather in the den and enjoy reading and learning together.  Kaelan's and Aaron's copywork this week has come from our reading in Call of Duty:  The Sterling Nobility of Robert E. Lee by J. Steven Wilkins.

           -Lee's favorite hymn was How Firm a Foundation (today they will copy all stanzas and last night    we sang it in family worship

           -I would rather see you unlettered and unnoticed, of virtuous in practice as well as theory, than see you the equal in glory to the great Washington.   Henry "Lighthorse Harry" Lee to his sons

          -You cannot be a true man until you learn to obey.  R. E. Lee

          -Obedience to lawful authority is the foundation of manly character.  R. E. Lee

          -Never marry unless you can do so into a family that will enable your children to feel proud of both sides of the house.  R. E. Lee's advice to J. B. Hood

          -"Charity should begin at home."  So says _.  No, charity should have no beginning or ending.   R.E. Lee

          -Fame which does not result from good actions and achievements for the good of the whole people is not to be desired.  Nero had fame.....Who envies him?   R.E. Lee

          -Hold to your purity and virtue.  They will sustain you in every calamity.  R.E. Lee

This week in the kitchen I was able to put several main dishes in the freezer, made and froze several pounds of butter, learned to make cultured sour cream and mozzarella cheese.  My new canner came in  yesterday and I am eager to learn how to can milk and other foods using the pressure canner.  It's a little intimidating to me!

The weather has warmed up considerably (high's in the upper 80's this weekend) so more plants can go outside.  Hopefully the extra table full of plants in my dining room can be put away this weekend. ; )

Kaelan, Aaron and Jackson worked extra hard on school work yesterday so they wouldn't have as much to do today.  They are planning a tent camping trip with their Dad tonight.  They have made lists, hooked the boat up to the truck, got out tents, sleeping bags, fishing poles and flash lights.  I think all they need now is to load up on food and cooking utensils.  All that to only go 1 1/2 miles from home!  We have a wonderful state park with a lake just around the next bend!  Jordan has decided he prefers his own bed now and will be the "man of the house" while the others enjoy sleeping on the hard ground and cooking over an open fire.

Devin has been painting up a storm and is considering selling some of her canvases.  She made a door hanging for our front door with a "C" on it and has painted many canvases with crosses.  Perhaps I can post pictures of her work later.

Caedmon's potty training has been put on hold as he seems to have a stomach bug this week.  Disposable diapers handle THAT much better than the training pants.  ; )

That pretty much sums up our week around here.  What's been going on in your home?

Homeschooling Update

Yes, we are still homeschooling!!  Even though I (we) have been busy with early gardening and milk production the book learning is continuing.   I thought I would give you a run-down of what is going on in the homeschooling arena at Busy Hands Busy Minds.

Together we are studying the War Between the States.  In our group time we begin the day reading a chapter of Proverbs and a chapter from the Psalms.  We review our Latin or Greek root for the week from English from the Roots Up.  I have then been reading through Facts the Historians Leave Out A Confederate Primer by John S. Tilley.  We finish that up today and will begin Walt Whitman's Civil War Poetry and Prose.  We had started Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, but just couldn't stand it.  I decided it was fine if the children just had a small taste of it and knew the history of this fictional story written by Stowe using second and third party sources.  It is said that upon meeting Stowe in 1863, President Lincoln said, " So, this is the woman that wrote the book that caused this war."  We are also reading Two Little Confederates by Thomas Nelson Page and Call of Duty:  The Sterling Nobility of Robert E. Lee by J. Steven Wilkins.  We are using All American History Volume 2 by Celeste W. Rakes as our spine for our history studies and hope to finish up our two year stretch of American history this fall.   The older two boys and I are also studying the rather hefty volume The War Between the States:  America's Uncivil War by John J. Dwyer.  This is a fascinating book and has lots of great quotes that you most likely have not read in any other modern day textbook.  Devin (22) is taking the children through A Young Scholar's Guide to Composers by Melissa E. Craig and Maggie S. Hogan.  She meets with them once a week for this and we are supposed to listen to the music selections throughout the week.

Jordan (18) is studying Biblical Economics by R. C. Sproul, Jr. which he is greatly enjoying.  He has edited several programs for The Homeschool Channel on economics and many of R.C. Sproul's talks as well and finds them very interesting and beneficial.  He is also studying American literature through Learning Language Arts through Literature, doing an algebra review using VideoText and is doing lots of research on homesteading topics.  He is pretty much in charge of our gardening endeavors this year and has started hundreds of plants indoors and out and has built all of our raised beds and some planters by himself.  He is quite the handyman.  In addition to his film editing responsibilities at The Homeschool Channel, he spends a few hours a week taking and editing photos of his own.  He also has a huge stack of homesteading, theology and historical works that he is reading through.

Aaron(14)  is plugging through Apologia's Physical Science.  This has been a stretch for me to prepare and keep up with as most of our science studies have previously been through unit studies as a family.  Aaron feels led to study medicine, so we felt he needed to have a more formal science curriculum.  I am interested in looking at other science curriculum to see if I can find a better fit.  He has recently started VideoText algebra with Jeff and is finishing up Learning Language Arts through Literature (green).  He also using Daily Grams for daily grammar review. He is also using Building Thinking Skills Book 3 and doing some spelling review through Natural Speller.   Typing and Quarter Mile math drills are done on the computer.  He does Spanish independently using PowerGlide.  I hope to move him to Rosetta Stone this next year.  He also greatly enjoys reading through the Ballantyne books of world wide adventure stories and is reading some theological works, historical fiction and biographies.  Practicing piano, drawing, painting, chores,  and editing audio programs for his dad's home business round out his days.

Kaelan (11) is studying plants through Answers in Genesis God's Design for Life series.  Jackson is tagging on this study at times. She started a pressed flower collection and will be doing some identification of plants as well.   She is working through Teaching Textbook 6, typing and Quarter Mile math drills on the computer.  She also likes to email extended family members frequently.  ; )  She keeps up with family members all over the world!  She is studying Learning Language Arts through Literature (purple) with Daily Grams for daily grammar review.  Spelling lists come from Natural Speller and she is also using Building Thinking Skills Book 2.  Kaelan also has a tall stack of books that she is reading from based on our history studies, but usually pulls some old favorites from the bookshelves to read as well.  I think she is now reading Little Women...again!

Jackson(6) is finishing up the primer level of Math U See and will be starting MUS Foundations (the old version) as soon as it comes in.  I decided to put him in the older version because we already have the teacher's edition and I have already gone through it myself, ummm, like three other times and it won't be something that I have to relearn. ; )  We are s l o w l y making our way through Alphaphonics.  Little by little, bit by bit, I am seeing progress.  One of the great advantages of  homeschooling is that we can go as slow or as fast as we need to.  Right now, for this child and his phonics studies it is slow going.  And that is OK!!  He is using the Italic Handwriting Series as have all of my children.  I think I like it much more than any of them do.  Jackson participates in most of our group time and usually enjoys coloring a page from a historical Dover coloring book while he listens in.  I am trying to have some time each week where he is listening to audio books like Charlotte's Web or programs such as Your Story Hour or Jonathan Park.  He is read to daily by either me, Jeff or one or more of his siblings and he "reads" books by himself several times a day.  His favorite right now is  David Macaulay's The Way Things Work.


Two year old Caedmon is now enrolled in Potty Training 101.  He is now 2 1/2 (as of tomorrow) and as the weather is warming and he can now go half dressed without getting too chilled, big sister Devin has declared it TIME!.   We have been putting him on the potty for several months before bath time and he has had some success.  We are now going into full mode with training pants (no pull-ups here).  Diapers are still going on at nap and bedtimes.  Caedmon enjoys books, puzzles and most of the activities in his daily boxes.  Some of my favorite resources for this age come from Lauri and Melissa and Doug.   Some of the activity bags and folders have become too easy for him and I need to reorganize his materials.  He is a genius, I tell you, a genius!

So, that is what is going on in the homeschooling department of Busy Hands Busy Minds.  If things weren't so busy around here I would have linked all these wonderful resources so that you could look at them and purchase from my affiliate links, but my children need more time from me than this blog does.  If you have a question about any resource, please leave me a comment and I will get back to you ASAP.    Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

Simple Things

Last night I had the two little boys at home with me while everyone else went to church.  They watched a little movie while I did some cleaning and talked to my mom on the phone.  After we took our nightly meds and brushed teeth we climbed into my bed to snuggle and read books.  Jackson was so excited!  Now, reading books together is really nothing new, but to be the only ones at home and to be allowed to get in my bed and snuggle together WHILE we are reading is not an everyday occurrence.  This was special.

After I got the boys to stop jumping on the bed we read Good Night, Everyone Good Night by Harriet Ziefert and The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf.  Jackson picked out both books for our evening reading time.  After we finished reading and discussing each book (Ferdinand is a bull in Spain and is picked to go to the bull fights in Madrid--I have actually been to a bull fight in Madrid, so could add lots of information to the background) we set the books aside and tried to go to sleep.  As he has done before, sweet six year old Jackson reached for my hand and laced his fingers through mine.  What a sweet and precious moment!  One I know most likely won't be repeated by him in a few more years.

Today, I am going to slow down a little bit (no big milk production going on today, Michelle) and spend some more time with these little guys.  It won't be long until they are just a big as the older boys and  won't be wanting to snuggle with their old mom in the bed reading picture books.  Today we will make tomorrow's memories.....and I hope they are all good!

My precious little guys!

Caedmon Alexander-2

Thomas Jonathan Jackson-6



For a Child
Fannie Stearns Davis

Your friends shall be the Tall Wind,
The River and the Tree;
The Sun that laughs and marches,
The Swallows and the Sea.

Your prayers shall be the murmur
Of grasses in the rain;
The song of wildwood thrushes
That makes God glad again.

And you shall run and wander,
And you shall dream and sing
Of brave things and bright things
Beyond the swallow's wings.

And you shall envy no man,
Nor hurt your heart with sighs,
For I will keep you simple
That God may make you wise.