Monthly Archives: October 2010

My Pumpkins

Posted in Family Life by

I usually don’t post on the weekends, but this was just too cute…I had to share.  These are posted in the same order they were taken.  Here’s a little background information on the boys…Asher thinks he’s hilarious..and yes, he is.  He regularly cracks himself up and he likes to mock Robert while he tries to make the boys look at the camera and smile.  JR tries so hard to smile {naturally}.  He smiles and smiles and smiles while we try to get Asher to look at the camera.  Sometimes it can look forced, but I think he did a really great job in these pictures.  :)

  

  

  

  

    

  

Halloween – Family Style

Posted in Family Life by

{Oatmeal Pancakes}

We started the day with these Oatmeal Pancakes courtesy of Smitten Kitchen.  So far, I’ve tried 5 of her recipes and I’m 5 for 5.  These have the golden, crispy texture of a pancake on the outside with the soft, gooey oatmeal texture on the inside.  Asher and I both LOVED them, while JR was indifferent. 

     

                                                       {Carving Pumpkins}

I’m so grateful my husband loves spending time with our children.  He is always so sweet to go along with my crazy designer whims even though he’s a traditionalist at heart.  They loved the idea of carving their ages into the pumpkins and didn’t even miss carving a traditional jack-o-lantern face.  You can see the joy in their faces when Robert handed them their pumpkins.  I plan on taking nicer photos of the boys with their pumpkins tomorrow in daylight (although these capture their immediate joy).

               

Robert also took the time for the boys to show him their Halloween works.  Here’s JR showing him how to piece together the skeletal system.

No Halloween party is complete without something sweet.  We made Boneyard Brownies, which are really fun because everyone can assemble their own skeletons. 

Here’s a collection of photos of what followed…

    

   

Happy Halloween everyone!  I hope you all have a fun and safe holiday.  I can’t wait to hear about it on Monday.  Until then…

Calming Fears

Posted in Family Life by

We had a tornado warning this week.  I didn’t think anything of it…it happens often in Texas, but it had more of an effect on JR than I knew.  Today, as I was buckling him into his car seat, we had this discussion.

JR: What happens to us if there is a tornado?

Me: We are blessed with a strong house made of bricks, one of the strongest kinds you can have.  We are also blessed with a new home that was built well.

JR:  But what will happen to us?

Me:  We’ll go into the bathroom where there is tile and plumbing that makes the walls even more strong and it doesn’t have windows that would break.

JR:  But what will we do?

Me:  We’ll wait in there together and nothing bad will happen to you because dad and I will protect you.  We will get hurt before you, because we will do everything in our power to protect you.

JR:  But if you get hurt, I get hurt.

Me:  ***melt***  I love you, John Robert.  Your are the sweetest boy.

I had to write that down, because I never want to forget it or the way it made me feel.  He is so compassionate and I love that he hurts when other people hurt.  He is such a gift.

Frisco Heritage Museum

Posted in History, Sensorial by

The Frisco Heritage Museum, although small, is a nice place to bring your kids to learn about the cotton ginning process.  Did you know one bale of cotton weighs 500 pounds and is about 1 acre’s worth of production?  One bale can produce…

  • 249 bed sheets
  • 765 dress shirts
  • 1,219 t-shirts
  • 313,600 dollar bills

     

     

{Carding the cotton cleans it and makes the fibers lay side by side.}

{First, the cotton is gathered into a loose sliver and then, it is spun into thread.}

{We saw an old-fashioned loom that was used to weave the cotton into goods.}

{Asher, content in watching JR explore.  He could barely see over the table.} 

The 30 Day Gratitude Challenge

Posted in Family Life by

{I am thankful for…my sons}

We have a lot to be grateful for.  I feel gratitude everyday and I look forward to sharing it with my children this Thanksgiving.  There’s 30 days left until Thanksgiving…can you believe it?!?  I was inspired by fellow WordPress blogger GREY MATTER LIFE who has challenged everyone to express gratitude everyday up until Thanksgiving.  In our house we will be keeping an advent calendar and journal which we will read on Thanksgiving day.  I look forward to sharing our thoughts of gratitude with you along the way.  Kids really do say the darndest things, so it should be fun to hear gratitude from their perspective. 

What will you be doing to celebrate Thanksgiving?

Where does cotton come from?

Posted in Family Life, Science by

{Asher playing in the excess cotton that falls next to the module.}

Two weeks ago we visited “The Farm”.  “The Farm” is a working farm and ranch where Robert grew up and his parents still live.  JR really loves visiting it, because he plays in the dirt and sees big tractors.  Abuelita and Wilo even bought him cowboy boots to wear while we are out there.  This time of year, Uncle Ramiro is harvesting the cotton he planted.  We love visiting during the harvest most of all.

{Rows of cotton before it blooms.}

{Cotton Flower}

{Rows of cotton ready to be harvested.}

   

{Cotton modules ready for pick up.}

Two of my favorite things to teach our boys are:  current influences in our lives & subjects they are excited and interested about.  Cotton farming is both of those things.  I love that we have family in the agriculture business so we can expose our children to farming.  Sometimes we get disconnected from the source of our goods and I’m proud my children know where our cotton goods come from and what wheat is made into.  We can’t wait for Thanksgiving, when we get a tour of the cotton gin Abuelita works at.  It will be fun to see the machinery, the cotton seed and the cotton seed oil.

“This is the funnest day EVER!” ~John Robert

Posted in Healthy Meals by

{yummy}

Remember what I said about a bad day being followed by a fantastic day?  Yesterday and today are yet another good example of my philosophy.  Yesterday – bad, today – good.

We started off the day with a construction site visit of my first project with my own design studio.  The boys were  a m a z i n g.  Really, I’m not exaggerating.  They sat still and ate donuts for 30 minutes while I worked.  It was a true miracle.  :)  To reward them, we had Banana Boats for dessert after lunch.  We love Banana Boats.  We slice them open, fill them with people and simultaneously play and eat.  This time it was marshmallows and chocolate chips, but it can also be done with healthier options like berries, peanut butter or raisins.

Asher loves Banana Boats.  He’s at that perfect imaginative age.

     

     

JR also gets excited for Banana Boats.  Here I am, making him wait while I take photos and he’s saying, “Come on, Mom!”

 

In the end, this is all that is left behind.  Well, this and smiles.  :)  Until next time…

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Posted in Language by

Asher is maturing so fast these days.  He always wants to be involved in everything JR & I do, no matter the skill level required.  He knows no limits.  I’ve started giving him an object box for him to “work on” while JR does his.  I know in Montessori, you give appropriate work for the student’s educational level, but seeing Asher’s smile is worth breaking the rules.  This seems to give him pride and self-confidence like nothing else does.

        

       

{Top Left:  Asher saying baseball while holding the baseball bat, Top Right: Exploring the different objects, Bottom Left:  Cleaning up, Bottom Right:  Asher’s idea of rolling up the mat}

p.s.  The hubby dressed Asher today to support the Dallas Cowboys.  Let’s hope it’ll be good luck and result in a win!

Object Box – HCOP

Posted in Language by

Did you know the “case of the Mondays” spans all ages?  At least it does in my house.  Asher was temperamental and JR didn’t want to do any work.  I tried to stay as optimistic as humanly possible considering it was my Monday too. 

We introduced another Object Box today.  I grouped the letters the way Ms. Nona had at JR’s old preschool, but if I did it again, I would put “H” and “P” in different groups.  JR had a hard time telling them apart; not because how they look, but how they sound. 

I’m impressed with JR’s language skills lately.  He picked up his last object box faster than I had expected and now knows DNIR well.  Hopefully, if I can motivate him, this object box will be a quick success too.  We started off in the school desk…I know this isn’t very Montessori, but sometimes we try anything to keep Asher out of JR’s work.  Even at the higher surface, Ash was still meddling and fussing when he didn’t get his way.  So, it was an early nap for Ash and JR & I moved to the floor.

{JR loves looking through the new objects.}

 

{Tracing the letters and saying the sound.  “O”}

 

{Feeling the Mondays}

 

{“I don’t know where this one goes. I’m done with this!”}

I can’t wait until tomorrow.  With any luck, it will be better than today.   :)  Plus, I’m excited about our “Skeletal System” work we are doing tomorrow.  Should be fun…

 

p.s.  Asher started walking UNASSISTED with the grocery cart Saturday Night.  May be this kid will walk after all.  ;)

Montessori Directs the Life and the Soul

Posted in Background Info by

“Indeed, with my methods, the teacher teaches little and observes much…For this reason I have changed the name of teacher into that of directress.  At first this name provoked many smiles, for everyone asked whom there was for this teacher to direct, since she had no assistants, and since she must leave her little pupils in liberty. But her direction is much more profound and important than that which is commonly understood, for this teacher directs the life and the soul.” ~Maria Montessori