Homeschooling and crickets

Remy is almost two. At least she'll be two in July. And she's beginning to need more structure in her day. That's where my having been a teacher of two-year-olds comes in handy, not to mention homeschooling five kiddos all the way through high school!

I'm rather excited about homeschooling again. For this summer, though, we're just going to start establishing more routines. Right now, we have a movie in the morning when she wants to cuddle, then nap time, then whatever she wants to do in the afternoon. Sometimes that means playing with her Veggie Tales toys, or her shape sorter, or her peg board, or reading a book. I try to play with her so that she has some interaction in her play.

But for now, I think I'll direct her play a bit more. Like today I gave her a whole bunch of almonds and some scoops and boxes and let her scoop and dump from one box to the other until she was tired of it. And she kept eating the almonds, too, which is okay by me since she's a somewhat picky eater.

It got me all keyed up to start "doing" homeschool, but I need to slow it down and not go overboard. I tend to jump in with both feet instead of feeling the temperature one toe at a time. Moderation in everything, I always say. (I don't believe it, I just say it!)

Heard in the family:

Annie and Sarah (2 years old)

"So we found a "pet" cricket earlier today, and Sarah is delighted. She watched it jump around for awhile and then said, "I take it my fwoggie to da swimmin' poo!" So we all cracked up and tried to convince her it's called a cricket, not a froggie. So tonight she happened upon the cricket again, and came squealing into the living room, shouting, "I FOUND IT DA CRICK!" :D"

Did you ever wonder what the differences among crickets, grasshoppers, locusts and katydids are? I wondered, so I researched it and here are the main differences:

Characteristic	Grasshoppers & Locusts	Crickets & Katydids
Antennae	short	long
Auditory Organs	on the abdomen	on the forelegs
Stridulation	rubbing the hind leg against the forewing	rubbing forewings together
Ovipositors	short	long, extended
Activity	diurnal	nocturnal
Feeding Habits	herbivorous	predatory, omnivorous, or herbivorous

Now aren't you glad you know this?

Bird's eye view

I'm out of makeup. Both my foundation and my blush have run out, and I can't go to the store until tomorrow. }(

I don't know why I wear makeup during the week anyway, since it's usually just Remy and me. I guess it just makes me feel better about myself. Which is weird, because makeup is a kind of mask, I think. It brightens my face, enhances my eyes, and makes my lips dewy.

[New dwarves: Dewy, Scrawny, Sleezy, Beauty, Crabby, Bitchy and Nursey. Their wives, I suspect.]

I have five little finches in a cage and they chirp and sing all day long. I love it. One of them is a brave little fellow and will almost sit on my hand. But not quite. (He got out once, and he was really easy to catch. I don't think that would have been the case with any of the others.) I love to hear them sing. It inspires me to live each moment with joy in my heart, for they sing rain or shine.

We had a hummer at our feeder last night. First one of the season. I hope we have a lot more! I need to change the syrup in their feeder today.

But right now I have more important things to do! My birds need fresh water!

Baby's almost here, and I have a lot still to do.

Liam is due on June 6th, but he's at nearly eight pounds now. Bri says her cervix is neither effaced nor dilated, so she could easily go three more weeks. I'm so excited about this baby! You'd think that at grandchild eleven, the excitement would have worn off by now, but it never does. (I think if we hadn't done something to prevent it, I would have happily gone on having babies until menopause!) As it is, I have five kids and Liam makes eleven grands. Only our oldest is unmarried and has no children. He'd love for that to be different, though, so who knows?

I'm making big sister (almost 2 years old) Remy a Waldorf doll and all the necessaries so she'll have her own baby when she has to contend with mommy's new baby. She does love babies so!

I've gotten Bri and sling, a carseat canopy, and a diaper bag thus far, and have made a delightful blanket for Liam. So now I'm focusing on Remy. She'll have the new doll, some diapers, a diaper bag, some burp cloths, a sling, and a blanket or two. And only three weeks to make them! Ah, well, it is a labor of love.

On a sadder note, my oldest daughter informs me that her soldier/chaplain husband has been assigned to Ft. Knox in Kentucky, so they'll be leaving in a little over a month. I'm going to miss her and her four kiddos, not to mention her husband. They are wonderful people and always so hospitable. They'll be gone at least two years. So I have to suck it up and be happy for the adventure that they will have being army brats! At least I know that we'll go visit them, and I love Kentucky. (All those horses!)

As far as inspiration goes, it was hard to be inspired today, because my fibromyalgia is acting up. But I appreciated the breeze that blew in my window and cooled off my  Texas home today. It makes me think of a commercial I see every now and then that starts out, "The wind is a billowing, arrogant bully..."

But it inspires me because of the sounds I can hear and the aromas I can smell as it sings its wandering song to me. So I close my eyes and bask in its caresses...