Breakthrough!

I'm super excited. I finally figured out how to make sure that E understands the concepts she is learning....she has to teach G! This kills two birds with one stone because G sits and tries to be patient while we do E's homework every afternoon. Now she is more involved (she already has done spelling words and I'm surprised at how much she remembers!!) and loves it PLUS I now can see where E may have missed a step and catch it and correct it. By the way, it is THE cutest thing in the world to watch the older sister teaching the younger sister. "It's so fluffy!!" has nothing on this cuteness.

Full Family Fun Day

We were finally able to spend a full Saturday doing just anything our little hearts desired. And, we did. The first thing we did was take the girls to Raleigh to show them the CowParade...well, a portion of it. We had fun finding the cows and taking pictures with them. Eric got some good shots, so I'll have to figure out how to post them, but here are a few I took. The CowParade is a bunch of different cows that artists have painted and stylized. It's a fun little thing and puts are in a public (read "free") forum. We also did a bit of driving around and checking things out. To wrap up the evening, we went to another little town and did their Family Haunted Trail. It was a fun and random day of just doing what we pleased...and it was a welcomed day.

Donating Blood, Confidence Boost

We had a blood drive at church tonight. We had a pretty good turnout. I donated, too, and I enjoy it because it makes me feel good that I can help others out in such a way. What I didn't expect was the confidence boost. Before allowing me to donate, the second lady did a double check on my birthdate...she thought I looked too young and needed to check that I was at least nineteen. Um, yep! But, it was really nice of her to think so!! If you've been sitting on the fence to donate blood, let me encourage you to do so. Service always brings joy and this type of service takes about an hour, but in the end, you help up to three individuals! That's pretty impressive and doesn't require too much of you. There's always a need. Check out your local American Red Cross and go donate today or find out when the next local drive is scheduled. It'll bless your life and the lives of others!

The Biggest Cheater

You want to know who the biggest cheater is in our family? It's not going to be any of your guesses, I just know it. It's Hannah. Yes, our German Shepherd is the biggest cheater in the family. Every time I play hide-n-seek with the girls, she is pointing me out to them and getting overly excited. Does she point them out to me? As Pete the Cat would say, "Goodness no!" I'm not even the best hider. I mean, come on, there are only so many places an adult can squeeze into. Hannah, if you think you need to help, help us find Gianna. She's the best hider and stays SILENT! But then, she also likes to hinder my way when we play tag. Of course, Booga can get overly excited during this game as well and has been known to knock a child over because of his enthusiasm. But still, Hannah is the one who will ALWAYS stand in the way and impede my escape routes. Well, at least she has the best interests of the girls at heart though, right?

Different Learning Styles

I always hear tales of how the oldest child is always more reserved and usually more obedient and wanting to please the parents while the second child is less reserved and has more of a mind of their own. I have no idea how true this is because I think parenting styles change as a parent grows and matures and takes on more responsibilities with additional children. One thing I know for sure: there are no two children exactly alike. Right now I'm amazed at the different things that motivate my children to learn. The older seemed to go step by step in a "logical" or "traditional" order, focused on letters then phonics then reading. The second child thinks things through differently, or perhaps has even already discovered things without me noticing the first steps of learning. She has had zero interest in learning her letters. However, she is now standing behind me writing words, yes, actual words on the marker board. Of course, she doesn't know she is writing words until she says, "Look! What this say?" I'm amazed at the patterns she puts together to form words. Sure, not all of them are words, but she does write a LOT of them that are. I've now realized that I can't sit her down and teach her letter by letter. She prefers the excitement of already writing complete words, and so that is how I will continue to teach her. It's amazing to see the sparkle in her eyes when she discovers that not only has she learned a new letter, but can now write a word...and then she actually remembers those words and will rewrite them day after day. Have I mentioned that I love being a mom? This is an amazing experiement with which I am daily involved. I'm happy.

That Moment

You know those moments that you are just so in love with your spouse that you can hardly contain it? Yeah, I'm having one of those moments. I just really, really love my husband and am so grateful for all of the blessings that have been poured out upon our marriage. He's amazing and I love him.

Dora the Explorer Movie Trailer (with Ariel Winter)

Watch this, You'll appreciate it...especially moms and dads who have survived toddler-dom with Dora as your sidekick.