Jonathan Interview Age 8

Jonathan Age 8

1. What is something mom always says to you?
No

2. What makes mom happy?
Me

3. What makes mom sad?
Teasing

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
She makes weird faces.

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Don't know.

6. How old is your mom?
35

7. How tall is your mom?
5'8

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Clean the house.

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Watches Hoarders

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Video games

11. What is your mom really good at?
Making us happy.

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Making us sad.

13. What does your mom do for a job?
Watch a baby.

14.What is your mom's favorite food?
Whatever dad cooks.

15.What makes you proud of your mom?
The hard work she does for us.

16. If your mom were a character, who would she be?
Michael Jackson

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Watch Hoarders

18. How are you and your mom the same?
We have the same face.

19. How are you and your mom different?
My fart is stinkier than hers.

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
She says it every day like a maniac.

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
He has the mind of brainiac.

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
The Drunken Cook

23. How old was your Mom when you were born?
27

Alissa Interview Age 11

I need to dig through the archives and find this interview from years back to compare. Here is her answers for today:

Alissa Age 11

1. What is something mom always says to you?
Here's a secret, guess what?...I love you!!

2. What makes mom happy?
Honestly I don't know it depends. But I think rubbing her shoulders does.

3. What makes mom sad?
When I'm sad.

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
By being silly. She's always silly.

5. What was your mom like as a child?
No idea.

6. How old is your mom?
35?

7. How tall is your mom?
5'4

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
I actually don't know.

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Throw wild parties *Giggle*

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Uhh probably my brother and I.

11. What is your mom really good at?
Cooking and cleaning.

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Hmmm...I'd have to pick one.

13. What does your mom do for a job?
Baby-sitting

14.What is your mom's favorite food?
Fancy chocolates

15.What makes you proud of your mom?
I just think she's amazing.

16. If your mom were a character, who would she be?
Uhhh...Super Cleaner Woman

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Umm occasional restaurant or movie.

18. How are you and your mom the same?
We both have the same emotional track. Sort of.

19. How are you and your mom different?
I have more control over my tears. Right now.

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
That's actually a tough one. I don't know how I just know.

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
I think she thinks he'll protect the house forever, also she loves him a lot.

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Uhh...I have no idea.

23. How old was your Mom when you were born?
21

The Davis Academy of Excellence and Creativity...Take 1

    Here it is. Day 1 having a 4th grader and 1st-2nd-3rdish grader. I can't really say which grade Jonathan would be because he is studying at all different levels. But I digress. Just finished our first day and I thought I would share Jonathan's first journal entry:

    This is it. The reason I home school, the reason we have sacrificed so much for me to be able to stay at home and raise our children. Love. 

    I have to admit I went into this school year with a little trepidation. I mean, when I started this home school journey Alissa had already completed kinder and first grade through the public school system. Her first day as a home schooler she was reading and writing and had a solid foundation of math under her belt. Piece of cake!! How can you screw up a second grader anyway?! I had it in the bag.  This year is a bit different.. Alissa is in 4th grade and learning things that I have long since forgotten. I am guiding Jonathan along his journey to become a strong reader. This is actual work. I started to feel the responsibility weighing heavily on my shoulders - I can't screw this up!!! 

    And then today happened. The kids woke up excited and energized - ready to learn. After a long day of cleaning and organizing yesterday I was fully prepared. We sat down together as a family (me with coffee in hand) and cracked open the bible to read from Genesis 1:1-5 .."In the beginning..." and so began our day.

    Today we learned our first Greek root word "Biblos" and I watched with wonder as it really "clicked" how other words derived from biblos.. when Alissa read the word "Bibliophobia" and jumped out of her seat (literally) saying "Mom!!!! Phobia is fear... fear of BOOKS!" and she laughed hysterically. She got it. She understood.. and in that moment I had a deeper understanding as well of why we are on this journey together. Not just the joy of learning.. it's not always a joy trust me. But the joy of being together. The joy of witnessing your child's brain making connections.. and their excitement that follows. 

    Before this sounds too romantic, let me also tell you of our struggles. I asked Alissa to complete a pre-test for grammar that I had prepared and I walked off to assist Jonathan with his grammar work. When I glanced at Alissa sitting at the table I noticed tears streaming down her face. Oh boy, what have I done?! I walked to the table and asked Alissa what was wrong. She looked at me with a face that broke my heart and said, "Mom, I just don't understand this." My sweet Alissa thought she should already know all of the material she was being tested for - I tried to explain to her that it was a pretest and that it was for me to know what we needed to work on this year - and then I stopped. I took her test away, gave her a big hug and apologized. The kids aren't the only ones who got a lesson today. I sat down with Alissa and we began her first assignment together. We hugged some more and I promised her I wouldn't use pretests anymore. We would just dive right in instead. 

    Jonathan, being a very left-brain kinda guy, wanted to know our schedule and was constantly watching the clock to be sure we adhered to it. Here it is: 

9:00 - Bible/Journal

9:20 - Vocabulary 

9:35 - Spelling 

9:50 - English

10:05 - Math/Snack

11:05 - History 

11:20 - Reading

11:45 - Science 

12:10 - Lunch

1:00 - American Sign Language/Greek

1:30 - Art/Music

2:00 - Dismissed

    If it were up to Alissa and myself, we would probably not stick to this schedule. Good thing we have Jonathan keeping us on task. 

    We ended the day singing "What's Up" by 4-Non-Blondes. Why? Well...why not? It was fun. All of that trepidation has faded away. It's now 2:30 and I am feeling good about all of this. About the adventures we will have, the memories we will make, the time we will be able to spend together. Is it all lollipops and roses? Absolutely not. Are there days I will wish I could give them a kiss and a hug and place them in the capable hands of another teacher? Absolutely. But our good days will outweigh our bad.. and on those days when I have to lock myself in my room and cry (ya it'll probably happen), I will come back to the table because I know that no matter how hard this journey can be - in the end my kids are worth it. In the end they will grow up too fast, as kids tend to do - and I will have these memories for a lifetime. And so will they. 

Tomorrow is Day 2.. 

Wish me luck. 

Interviews With The Kidlets Unedited

Interview with Jonathan 8/1/2013

1. What is something mom always says to you?
I love you very much.

2. What makes mom happy?
Cuddling and loving.

3. What makes mom sad?
Us going somewhere without her.

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Tickling me.

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Being creative and nice.

6. How old is your mom?
33

7. How tall is your mom?
5' 8"

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Love us.

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Weird things.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Pizza

11. What is your mom really good at?
Kayaking

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Stretching.

13. What does your mom do for a job?
Helps the pizza place.

14.What is your mom's favorite food?
Vinegar drinks and steak.

15.What makes you proud of your mom?
Working at the pizza place.

16. If your mom were a Cartoon character, who would she be?
Supermom! Supermom! Supermom! She eats salami.

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Swim

18. How are you and your mom the same?
Mmm...eyes.

19. How are you and your mom different?
Mmm...uhh..you're old.

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
She always says it every every every day.

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
With us.

Same questions for Alissa: 

1. What is something mom always says to you?
I love you.

2. What makes mom happy?
To spend time together.

3. What makes mom sad?
When she really wants to do something and someone is really irritating.

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Tickling and jokes.

5. What was your mom like as a child?
I'm guessing like us.

6. How old is your mom?
33

7. How tall is your mom?
5' 4"

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Spend time with us.

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
? Mysterious things.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Us.

11. What is your mom really good at?
Making dinner and cleaning the toilet.

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Coping with my brother.

13. What does your mom do for a job?
She helps a pizza place.

14.What is your mom's favorite food?
Steak and vinegar drinks.

15.What makes you proud of your mom?
Everything.

16. If your mom were a Cartoon character, who would she be?
Supergirl I mean Supermom.

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Well every day we are together. Lots of things.

18. How are you and your mom the same?
In DNA.

19. How are you and your mom different?
Well, age.

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
She's always saying it.

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Anywhere we are.

My Inspiration.

I won't apologize this time for not updating this thing.. there has been good reason. Is it because I have had nothing to say? Not even close. There has simply been too much happening that is too personal to share on an open forum like this one. But a couple days ago something happened and it has been heavy on my mind to write about it. "It" being more or less everything that has been swirling in my mind and in my heart. So here goes..

This may be harder than I thought... I sit here and I know what I want to say but unsure how best to write it coherently. This is about my daughter.

Fast forward a few weeks.. ya I let that top part simmer for that long. Going to attempt to finish.

A few weeks ago we went to Bullwinkle's Family Fun.. cool place I hadn't been there before. While we were there Alissa saw the rope walk and insisted she needed to do it. I took one look and thought to myself, "I couldn't do that and I'm 32." If you haven't seen it before.. you basically do an obstacle course way up high strapped into a harness in case you fall so you don't break your neck. Not my idea of fun but she really wanted to do it. So we checked and she made the height requirement (barely) so we strapped her safety harness on and away she went. As I watched my little girl up there I was a bit nervous.. and then she got 3/4 of the way and was about to hit a new obstacle and she froze. From below I saw the fear in her eyes and she started to cry. She was alone up there and facing two more obstacles before it was over. She looked down at me.. and said, "Momma I can't do it." .. and my reply? "You have to... there is no other way down." And that's when I saw it.. that's when it all became so clear. My frightened little girl took a deep breathe, wiped her eyes, and she took another step.. and then another. And she made it. And I knew beyond a doubt that no matter what life threw her way.. she would take a deep breathe, wipe her eyes.. and always take that step. I have never been more proud or more in awe of my child and her strength. Here I am the teacher.. and she was teaching me..showing me. That she would be okay. And I sat at home with my head in my hands remembering not too long before standing in my mom's kitchen and thinking.."Momma I can't do it." And now, thanks to my incredibly brave, unique, and amazing daughter..I have chosen to follow her example. I am going to put one foot in front of the other. I have to.. there is no other way.

I love you Alissa.

We will do this together baby.. one step at a time.

Critters, Heaven cost $1, Tater Capers, Birthday Dreams

 Couple weeks ago the kids had their Tuesday outdoor school with Daddy..and they came home with two of these beauties. Fire-bellied newts. So we set up a 10-gallon aquarium and made them nice and cozy. The kids enjoyed researching the new critters and feeding them worms caught in the garden. So far they remain nameless..

 Yesterday we went off to the Green Bridge Pumpkin Patch... it was awesome! All pumpkins are $1 - and on our budget that translated into PUMPKIN HEAVEN! The kiddos always like to get giant pumpkins.. and at this place it was no problemo. See the pumpkins in the cart? Ya those bad boys came home with us. Jonathan was the one who picked a tiny pumpkin because that's just how he rolls. We skipped the hay rides and other activities because you had to pay.. but no one was complaining.

 Alissa got in trouble for this - she looks to old. Okokok I didn't really get her in trouble but sheez that girl needs to slow down.

 And my little ham. What else can I say? Love that boy.

 And here my friends is the reason we can have giant insanely heavy pumpkins..Meet "the muscle". I couldn't budge those things.

 After the pumpkin patch we headed to grandma's house to harvest her potatoes! The kids thought that was just the greatest thing ever.

Showing off the loot! Alissa looks a little ragged.. it was a long day! Hahaha... We took these guys inside as well as an assortment of other goodies from grandmas garden. Jonathan scrubbed everything clean and Alissa made garlic mashed potatoes. They were fantastic!

On a completely unrelated but insanely cool topic.. it is finalized - We are going to Disney World in February with the in laws. Disney WORLD! Even cooler? First day there is my birthday. And all this for a girl (me) who has never been very far from the west coast. Excited? Serious understatement. Can I just hibernate until February? ? ?

Oh..and in case you were wondering... Home school? Ya it's the best decision I ever made. More on that another time.

Field trips, flags, co-ops, scouts, muffins.. ETC ETC ETC

 Our first "official" home school field trip was to Oregon Gardens for HOME SCHOOL DAY!

 First thing we did was ride the tour bus and see the whole garden.

 Forgot a coat for Miss Cuteness here.. so bought an adult sweater (kid dress) and she was good to go. Yay for gift shops!

 We went to the field of flags (this was a week before the gardens but I'm too lazy to switch them around hehe). Very powerful.. opened up some deep and interesting conversations with the kids about 9/11 and terrorism..military and flags.. lots and lots. Very special time.

 First home school co-op get together was fun! Art project was fun fun! All about symmetry.
 Girl scouts has begun! Brownies that is. It's going to be an adventure this year!!

And of course my first ever college football game. It. Was. Awesome. Beth and I had a blast. And it helps that the Ducks won.. won being a slight understatement.

SOOO much more has happened.. been so busy trying to find a rhythm with home school and life. Wondering how I ever managed to drop the kids off at school somewhere and miss all that time together. I really enjoy them.. enjoy teaching them and watching them learn. Today Alissa made applesauce muffins. She followed the recipe exactly. And for the first time I just stood back and watched. I kept my mouth shut when she put too little of this or too much of that.. I praised her efforts.. I walked her through how to safely put them in the oven and set her timer.. and then I marveled at the look of accomplishment and pride on her face when it was all done. She did it. All by herself. And I was there to see it. Feeling so thankful right now that we are on this road. Together. I love my kids so much.

Until next time.