Monkeys Running loose in my house!!

 

I've decided to call my kids Monkey, Little Monkey and you guessed it... Crazy monkey!! All they do I climb, climb, climb ALL day long.

I have a VERY open pantry that, to my kids, looks like a very welcoming climbing wall!! They are always hungry and always climbing to get snacks, or candy or just get away from little brother (Little Monkey). As seen in photo, I'm sure you can imagine why the bottom shelves are bare!! I cant keep them down from anything, even the brand new furniture.


Just this morning my 16 month old climbed on the couch to get the remote and turned on the TV and the Xbox because he wanted to watch something. Stop!!!! Rewind!!! Did I miss something? Did he skip a few months or years? He's not supposed to be doing that yet.  He's very electronic savvy and its kind of intimidating. But climbing is his favorite, since its his newest learned talent.

I can't keep him off the kitchen table. He loves to push the dining chairs around the kitchen and climb up to get things off the counter. Last week I found him almost 4 feet off the ground standing on a book shelf. That one definitely topped the 'Scary Moments' list!

Crazy Monkey, the middle child, did the same thing when she was about 20 months old. I walked in the room to find her sitting on the edge of the shelf 4 feet up facing the wall. My heart stopped for a moment and I was beyond relieved that she didn't topple over. She was literally on the edge!!!

There is a silver lining in all of this though... because in the dead of winter when its -20 outside, theres no better jungle gym for my kids than in the comfort of our home.  I cringe every time I see them off the floor, but I also remember that they are kids and that what they do. I cant stand over them forever. 

EmbarK12 Comprehensive Homeshooling Program.

I am excited to announce that I have been chosen to be an

official reviewer of EmbarK^12!  A homeschool program. 

 

I entered a contest through the MOPS INTERNATIONAL Facebook webpage and my entry was chosen! I am so excited for this opportunity to further teach and prepare my children for what tomorrow may bring!!

My 4 year old is almost finished with her first year of preschool. She has had so much fun this year. She loves her teachers and her classmates. I love that she is learning to interact with others and that she gets to get out of the house daily.  Unfortunately, its not all happy butterflies and colorful rainbows!! She picks up the bad habits too.... and I know lots of kids do. But, this whole new attitude she has needs a one-way-bus-ticket-out-of-town!
 
This opportunity just might be that bus ticket!! My husband would like for us to keep her in school next year and homeschool all the kids together later in the day. I'm ok with that. This gives me the opportunity to teach all of my children the things I want them to know, in a comfortable environment and still let them have enough outside-the-home social interaction. 

Maybe it will help her attitude, maybe not. Maybe it will change our minds about public schools, maybe not.... who knows. I may have a lot of preparing to do, but I'm excited for this opportunity.

 

As an EmbarK¹² reviewer, I will:

 

·         Post on K¹² Facebook pages (K¹² national and Building Blocks of Learning) reviewing the product showing the progress I see in my child making

·         Add a story on K¹²’s What’s Your Story page

·         Complete an interview with a K¹² writer for an article on the K¹² blog and MOPS newsletter entry

·         Become a landing page feature in emails for K¹² and MOPS

 

 

 

To receive updates and check our progress please follow my blog and check back often. Also, don't forget to check out the other links above to find out more information and to see my posts.

 

If you haven't connected with your local MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) group yet, I would highly recommend it. This year is coming quickly to an end, but I'm sure next school year will arrive just as quickly. It is a great time to fellowship with other mamas and have some stress free, kid free time!!

www.mops.org

 

Early Morning Sunrise

I never thought of myself as a morning person. I hate waking up if its not naturally but when you have little ones running around, you don't have much of a choice if you want to sleep in.

I've worked plenty of Coffee Shop jobs that required me to be at work at 4:45 or 6:00am.... and I could do that no problem (of course my last coffee shop job ended when I was 9 months pregnant with my first).  Even then I still wasn't a morning person.

It seems like as the days go by, I find it easier to get up earlier every day.  My 4 year old is up before the sun daily. She's always been that way (probably because she was up with me in my belly when I was getting ready for work at that darn coffee shop). Lucky for me, getting her up for school won't be a problem... for now!!  But for her, it doesn't matter if she goes to bed at 7pm or 11pm, she will usually be up by 6:30.  I have recently discovered that I love this!!! Yep, that's right, I love that my daughter wakes up early. It doesn't bother me anymore. Why, you ask??? Because...

We have discovered watching the sunrise together!!!!!

And I absolutely cherish those quiet moments we have together before the rest of the house wakes up! We sit down together in front of the living room window with the shades drawn up just enough to see and we watch the sun rise. We talk about the colors we see as they change. We watch the clouds move across the sky. It is an absolutely wonderful and magical moment.

 

 

Now I make sure my coffee pot is set and I look forward to the moment she rolls out of bed and tiptoes through the house. I look forward to opening my eyes as she tiptoes into my room quiet as a mouse. I look forward to our special sunrise mornings together.