S-Girl is 4!!!

My little S-Girl turned 4 this week.   A very big deal for her because it meant she gets to chew gum!

This is her gift from D-man - 2 pieces of gum.  She also got a little gumball machine from A-Girl and a pack of watermelon Trident from L-Girl.  This little rite of passage is a big deal at our house!

When our budget allows, we let the kids pick a special place for lunch or dinner.  We had set aside extra money this month because we have 3 birthdays this month.  So, we told her she could pick anyplace she wanted for dinner....and she chose....

Yup....McDonalds!  I guess it has kind of backfired on us that we use McDonalds for special occasions....usually it is just for road trips because that is the only time we let the kids get Happy Meals.

I just realized as I uploaded this picture that Rainman, D-man, A-man and L-Girl are back at the drink machines!

Anyway, she got to play at the PlayPlacy and get her birthday Happy Meal....

We came home and had our birthday cake...

She wanted chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.  She also wanted a pink snake - because she really liked the cake I made for A-man's birthday....which I just realized I never did a post about...so I will show you that later.  But, instead of finding a pink snake,  I made her flowers made out of Starbursts and leaves made out of fruit slices....if you look closely in the center, I made her a tiny little Starburst snake.  She was disappointed because she wanted a "real" snake like A-man got!

I think this is the best picture I have ever gotten of blowing out candles...

She opened the rest of her gifts and cards...always fun to get a little cash from Gramma and Grandpa!

Rainman and I...and by that I mean....me.....got her this little pink cash register - because she is constantly playing store or restaurant.

Now that we have it, the little beeping noise it makes as the groceries are purchased is.... a little annoying...you would think as a mother of six I would know better...but she LOVES it....so I will adjust.

All in all, it was a good day together.  I lost my charger for my video camera so, of course, my video camera was dead, so no video of her birthday which bums me out - but hopefully by our next April birthday I will have found it!!! Wish me luck!

I just had to look at this one again!!!  Love that little wish-making face!!!

Civil Engineers Rock!

My Dad,  told us when D-man was very young, that he had an "engineering" mind.  Apparently he was right, because D-man entered a contest called "What Do Civil Engineers Do?".  It was a contest for 6, 7, and 8th graders throughout the entire state of Georgia.  He wrote an 800 word essay.  And guess what?  He won Honorable Mention...aka 3rd place in the 7th grade division.  He was invited to attend a banquet to receive his award.

Here he is being presented with his award by the president of the American of Society of Civil Engineers of Georgia (the lady) and the Civil Engineer in charge of the contest.

My wonderful friend, Debbie offered to babysit the 5 other kids so Rainman (who had the day off) and I could attend the banquet with D-man.  It was great.  They even behaved well enough for her to offer to do it again so Rainman and I can have an occasional date!  Woot...woot!!!

Here is the picture of our salad and dessert (really yummy carrot cake)...

I neglected to take a picture of the main course for a few reasons - one is that Rainman and D-man were making fun of me for taking pictures of the food and the next is that by the time the main course arrived we had been joined at our table by other engineers and the program had started - so I was equal parts embarrassed to take a picture of my meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans and I was distracted....so just use your imagination here - picture a huge portion of meatloaf with mushroom gravy, a cafeteria style scoop of mashed potatoes (they were real though) and green beans.  It was good - just too much of it.

Here are my 2 handsome nerds!

And here I am with my (all of a sudden) almost a man!

The program was actually quite interesting - as is Civil Engineering - itself.  D-man and I learned quite a bit about it through his writing the paper and my proofing it for him.  The presentation was from Engineers Without Borders - similar to the more famous Doctors Without Borders.  They go in and help countries with roads that wash away from monsoon type rains. When the roads wash away, people no longer have access to food or physicians because they can't get there.  They also help with coming up with ways to supply clean, non-parasite infected water for villages.  They are also working on coming up with designs and sanitary "helps" for refugee camps around the world.  It was really interesting.  Really. 

The engineers themselves could not have been nicer.  They seemed geniunely interested in D-man and his paper. They were encouraging him to continue with his interest in Civil Engineering and a few offered to be a type of mentor for him and encouraged him to contact them after the banquet.  The word "nerd" was thrown around numerous times....in a good way.  We even met a retired engineer that worked in the 1960's exclusive with NASA on the moon launch when there was nothing but fruit trees all around.

I sat next to a former president of the ASCE, who was fun, but a little distracting as he had a lot of side comments to share with me - sometimes relating to the subject and sometimes not.  He seemed to have the stereotypical attitude about homeschooling and in some sly and some not so sly ways - encouraged us to stop having our children live in a bubble and let them experience the "real" world.  I think he and I would have had an interesting conversation, if there hadn't been a program to pay attention to. 

I could have told him all the "real" places in the world, including international spots, where our family has been and lived.  I could have told him how we have been able to give our kids an individualized education that speaks to their strengths...but also gives them a safe place to figure out the stuff that doesn't always come easily (I could have used this approach for learning Algebra myself).  I could have told him, for instance, that our approach to education allowed my son to write a paper about Civil Engineering, AND actually win a prize, AND meet actual engineers that will offer to mentor him should he decide to pursue this line of work.  I could have told him that the kids are on sports teams and are very good.  I could have told him that my kids are also learning lifeskills, like laundry, how to prepare meals, how to entertain and take care of little people, in addition to their reading, writing and arithmetic.  

Okay, I will get off my high-horse about homeschooling misconceptions!  Sorry.

D-man was the only winner who wore a shirt and tie.  Something I was proud of because he looked very handsome and grown up.  One of the engineers came up to him and told him he was impressed too.  He said that, even though the culture is getting more casual and laid back, and it is perfectly acceptable to NOT wear a suit and tie, that if you see someone in a shirt and tie next to someone who is not wearing a shirt and tie - the shirt and tie guy still wins.  

One thing I realized that I need to add to our lifeskills homeschooling lists - is what to do with all the silverware at one of these things and table etiquette - just in case there are more awards banquets in our future.  D-man kept leaning over and asking me what fork was for what dish and where to put them when he was done.  I think I gave him the right answers most of the time, but I am a little rusty myself on fancy stuff - so I will have to research it before I teach that class!

So, thank you ASCE for a wonderful lunch and for the award for my boy.  We had a great time.

And really, Civil Engineering is Everywhere!  Check it out!

It's Brag Day!!!

Okay, my sister, Kandiland, is doing a Linky....gotta tell ya, I am not at all sure what it is - but I am trying it anyway!

I am going to move from youngest to oldest - since the oldest usually gets to go first.

She is 19 months old and just a chucklehead.  I mean that literally - she will just look at you, smile and then just start with this cute little chuckle.  It usually means that she is up to no good or has some plan that she wants you to let her get away with - but you can't help but laugh along with her!!!  She is afraid of going over speed bumps in her stroller - but she will climb almost anything and fling herself from piece of furniture to piece of furniture without so much as a whimper!

Then there is this one...

She is almost 4.  She is a sweetheart, who tries to act like a princess.  Actually she and I had a famous (in our family) argument when she was about 2 years old about this very issue - it went something like this:

Me:  "You are not a princess!"
Her:  "I am too a pwincess!"
Me:  "You are not a princess!  I am not raising any of my girls to be princesses!"
Her:  "I am TOO a pwincess!"
Me:  "We aren't going to argue about this....but you are NOT a princess!"
Her:  "I am a pwincess!  I am."

Pause to let a little time pass...

Her:  "I am too a pwincess!"

That argument aside, she doesn't like to get in trouble and, other than the above argument, if you raise your voice to her (and I mean, not even a real yell - just a stern tone) - her eyes get all big and blinkie, and, if she can, she will go hide.  She absolutely hates it if she hurts someone or makes them cry.

Then we have this little man:

He is 6.  Actually this picture kind of sums him up.  His mouth is always open - and, by the way, isn't it a huge mouth?!?  He is really, really funny.  He tries really, really dangerous things.  He is really, really curious.  He is a really, really big sweetheart.  He loves to snuggle with me and is very good about keeping tabs on just whose turn it is to be with me on the couch.  He likes fairness.  He loves babies.  He makes me laugh on a daily basis.

Moving along...

This little sweetheart is almost 9.  I picked this picture for a reason.  She is very pretty and very photogenic....but every now and then - she gets a little wild...and by wild, I mean, crazy and she just tears around the house being goofy and crazy and usually can't control her hysterical giggling.  This picture, to me, looks like she is getting ready for one of those kinds of moments!  She has a contagious laugh.  We call her our little kitty because she likes to snuggle so much.  This is the one the little man above has to keep an eye on when he is trying to make sure mom doles out fair snuggle time on the couch - she will sneak in if there is ever a moment and just roll herself up into a little ball and let out a little purr....okay, she doesn't really purr - but it is close!  She is always planning.....something.  She is a really fast runner and is one of those people who can just survey a situation in a room quickly and accurately....and use it to her advantage.  This seems like a really good skill to have as an adult.  We will see if I am right.

My oldest daughter...

She is almost 11.  She is very creative and crafty, like my mom.  She is always thinking of new projects to start....sometimes (okay, many times) before she has finished the last one.  She is a little mother-hen to my kids and any kids that cross her path.  She is quietly funny....if that makes sense....she doesn't make all the jokes that some of the other kids do, but when she does, she makes sure they are funny!  She likes to be good at things and (like me), doesn't really want to try things she may not be really good at!  She likes to spend time with me....I am hoping this phase lasts for a while.  She is able to just sit quietly with me, whether it be reading, crocheting, or other busy hand work...she will just "be" with me.  She rubs my head when I have a headache....I guess she is a mother-hen to me too!

My oldest....

He just turned 13.  He is turning into a man in front of my eyes.  It is scary.  Although every now and then, he plops down on the couch next to me to snuggle and doesn't have an ulterior motive.  Really!!!  He is really funny.  He uses his humor to get out of trouble sometimes....I hope this ends up being a good quality in his life.  He loves babies and just told me he is ready for us to have another teeny, tiny, baby in the house again. (You and me both, brother!) Rainman calls him my shadow, because when he has things to tell me, he will just follow me around the house from task to task and talk my ear off.  I don't complain because I am afraid one of these days, he will decide he doesn't really want me to know so much.  He is very smart...like his daddy.  He seems to be sensitive to the needs of the underdogs in society...I hope this quality sticks with him. 

Okay, that is it.  My kids in a nutshell.  Being a mother of six...I had to look over this post a few times to make sure I doled out the love and bragging equally before I posted it....hope I did okay!

I just noticed that I sit on the couch a lot and we move babies!!!