The Brame Family Happenings

it's summer!!!

School was officially over by 11:45am yesterday! This Mom is one excited lady. The kids have been given one week to do as they please. They can stay up late, wake up late, watch TV 24/7. (Within reason because I still want some help on yard work when it's nice next week). After that I get to have them on a schedule so we can work AND have lots of fun!

 

I am so proud of all of their hard work this year. Kindergarten was tough on Nolan. Not academically, but being away from home/me was pretty rough on him for most of the school year. He kept it together nicely at school and then turned into a monster at home. But, we survived. He has turned into an amazing reader, got high marks and wonderful comments from his teacher and I'm looking forward to developing his confidence and love of reading this summer. (I promise that I did not let him regularly wear superhero costumes to school! It was costume day!)

 

My little diva Megan has turned into a little bookworm. She also got amazing grades and made some great friendships. At the beginning of the year, I tell my kids that if they reach their AR (Accelerated Reading) goal--if you aren't familiar with AR, they read a book and take a test on it for points. books start at .5 points and go up based on difficulty--I will take them to Chuck E Cheese at the end of the year. They get to choose their own goal as long as it's challenging. Megan set her sights on a goal of 200 AR points for the year. (she got 173 points last year) yeah...she finished with 518. She got in trouble many a nights for reading way past her bedtime...and the following morning when she wouldn't get out of bed and would make us late! She wore a 'fancy dress' to school for the last day, but by the appearance of her hair...she played really hard ;)

 

My sweet Olivia was always the first one out of bed each morning and I could always count on her to be helpful with helping pack lunches, tying shoes, taking the dog out, etc. She also got amazing grades, learned the Viola, along with continuing piano lessons and is excited to start middle school next year. She also is quite the reader and her goal this year was to get more points than anyone in her class. She went above and beyond and earned 802 points. The most points earned in her school. Ever. I am not looking forward to having a middle schooler again, but if anybody can do it with grace, it is Olivia!

(and of course I forgot to get a picture of the rest of my kids, so I'll do another post with some pictures of all of them)

 

Kennedy is my surprise child. Not in the same way that Addelyn was a surprise, lol. Kennedy is so stinking smart! She has always kept a low profile when it comes to her intelligence. She hasn't wanted to stand out, but I think has realized that grades are important in high school. She has maintained A's throughout the entire year....final report card to still be determined ;) She took French this year and was in advanced math and english classes. She also completed a full year of early morning seminary. That girl got up at 4:30am 5 days a week (well, maybe not 5 days a week....) to get completely ready for school before leaving at 6am. She's also currently taking drivers ed, so consider this your fair warning.

 

Addelyn finished three year old preschool at Fiddlesticks with teacher Giselle.. Pretty much the best preschool ever. It's a co-op preschool, so I was lucky enough to get to work in her classroom twice a month and get to know the other mom's. I felt bad not being as social as they were and Addelyn and I missed some of the field trips because of this. But we did a couple of play dates and hope to do some this summer, since she will have most of the same kids in 4 year old preschool next year with teacher Bobbi!! She is probably my unluckiest child though because she's home with me all day long by herself. That should be good, except that I work from home so she has to entertain herself a lot. I'm all for developing her imagination...not so much for the mess of 'developing her imagination'. I am loosely following a program to teach her to read. I'm hoping that that energy that currently destroys my house can be focused into reading a book! She is excited to have her siblings home with her all day!

 

Hayden graduated Western Washington University on June 10th with her Bachelors in Communication Science and Disorders. (I think that's what it's called--she wants to be a Speech Pathologist). She will have to get her masters in order to be a Speech Pathologist, but she's looking forward to taking a year off and working while she regroups from her last 15  years of school. We are proud of her for graduating debt free from school and excited to have her home for the summer before her move to Portland.  She is a great big sister and the kids are happy to have her around---so am I! They want her attention more than mine ;)

 

Another school year is behind us and a wonderful summer in front of us. All of my chicks are in the nest for a short while and that makes this Mama one happy girl!

 

Baby is 4.

yes, I still call her Baby. That's what happens when you are the littlest caboose. Our last pride and joy. Our little bookend. Today, my baby becomes a big girl. She has started correcting me when I slip up and refer to her as Baby. 'I'm a big girl, remember?' Um, no...excuse me, I did not! 

She has been, for the last several months, a very precocious threenager. In case you don't have one of these in your own home, let me define that for you:

pre·co·cious

prəˈkōSHəs/

adjective

(of a child) having developed certain abilities or proclivities at an earlier age than usual.

 

Threenager

Three year old child spouting attitude like a spoiled teenage.

 

Seriously, the girl is smart. I have been teaching her to read. I don't know if you have ever taught somebody with the attention span of a flea to read, but it's not always the most fun. I promise that I am not torturing her. 15 minutes a day. That's it. The first few lessons were 'new and fun'  and she zipped through them flawlessly in 8 minutes. Then she decided that they were boring and she purposefully was saying wrong words until she could tell that I was exasperated. And then she'd let out a big dramatic fiiiiiine!! and continue flawlessly. 

 

And the attitude! Good grief. This girl goes from sweet and loving (do you know who the best cooker is? Mom!) to demonic in seconds. (I won't! I hate doing that!)  But the end is in sight. The last few days have been near bliss with her. I had a doctor once tell me that right before kids have a big developmental milestone, they regress. I'm hoping that that was what that stage was and now we'll be floating along for a while!

 

I do have to say though, that even though she was our surprise baby, after we were 'done', she has been well worth every second. She is definitely doted on and in turn dotes on us. I absolutely cannot imagine our lives without her in them. Her mostly cheery disposition brings us such joy and even her dramatic mood swings make us laugh sometimes.

 

She insists on saying every prayer. Every single one. So most times we have two prayers--one from her and one from the person whose night it actually is.

 

She insists that we play with her...but she's in charge of what everyone says. And don't even think about getting it wrong.

 

She loves loves loves to sing. Kennedy has warped her with Panic! at the Disco and Twenty One Pilots. She knows them by heart and is happy to preform. She also loves to sing primary songs, Taylor Swift, Josh Grobin, anything from the movie Sing, Justin Timberlake. She's pretty well rounded :) 

 

She has an affinity for Hayden. I love that they have kept their special bond even though Hayden has been away at college for the last 3 years. When Hayden is home, Addelyn is attached to her hip and insists that Hayden sleep with her. In her twin bed, haha! 

 

She loves her brother and other sisters fiercely also. If one of them is in trouble, it upsets her. (Don't be mad at Nolan! He's my best friend!~tearfully)

 

She loves her daddy. Not quite as much as Olivia loved him (ha!), but daddy is definitely #1.  Mom comes in all over the board depending on what kind of day we are having, but Dad is always the best. 

 

She's a great eater--probably one of my best as far as diversity of foods she eats. She loves to watch TV (the babysitter when Mom works) but will trade that for one on one time in a heartbeat! 

 

She can get herself dressed, brush her teeth and make a PB&J sandwich. Seriously, she's more ready for college than some 18 year olds :)

 

She really is an amazing human being and I cannot believe that it has already been four years since she took our world by storm.

 

I love you, Baby! I am excited to watch you grow into the person I see you becoming, but please don't feel like you need to get there too fast. I want to enjoy every single day with you!  Happy Birthday, Big Girl!

 

 

New Year, New Adventures

Something that I have always wanted to do is to home school my kids. And before you call me crazy, let's please remember that we are all our own kind of crazy. If you went back to work after having kids, I think that YOU are crazy, because after nearly 20 years of parenting I still hate leaving my kids. And I'm not judging you based on going back to work or saying that you enjoy leaving your kids, I'm just trying to point out that what is crazy to one is not the same kind of crazy to another.

I have waited a long time to get to the point that I am at. My youngest is 3 1/2. I almost get a minimum amount of sleep each night to function at almost full capacity. That's saying quite a bit after 6 kids. I have always said that the first day that all of my kids were in school all day (and here we have full day kindergarten) that I would sit and read all day long and eat oreos and drink soda without having to share with anybody. The problem is that I never thought much past that first day. Obviously, I wouldn't do that everyday, so what would I do? I already work part time from home, and I have no desire to work more hours. So after I get that job done uninterrupted, I honestly don't know what I would do with myself. My desires, my 'hobby', is raising my kids.

I want to start off by saying that 1)I have loved all of my kids teachers. The decision to home school has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of teachers that my kids have had. and 2)My kids function beautifully at school.  My problem lies before and after school. My kids go to an out of district school, so I have to take them to/from school. We spend 2 hours a day in the car doing drop offs and pickups. Then when we get home, my kids are tired and crabby. And they have homework. Sometimes lots. When you have 4 school age kids at home that need help with homework, it takes a good part of the evening. And then putting in sports (ever had 4 kids on 5 different soccer teams??? Good Times.) and piano lessons. I seriously feel like I don't see my kids or the times that I do see them is not enjoyable, it usually involves me harping after them to get ready to leave somewhere. And my kids are definitely NOT over scheduled, we just have a lot of kids:) So to be home by myself all day and then not see my kids in the evening doesn't sound appealing at all.  But this isn't about me, it truly is what I think will be best for my kids. My kids are smart. They want to do more than what is given at school. They want harder spelling words, they want to move faster than their classes are in any given (most) subjects. I want to open up more knowledge to my kids than they are currently being exposed to. I want them learning a foreign language (or two or three) while they are young and little sponges. I want more hands on, especially for Nolan.  I don't want my kids having 12 weeks off every summer just to spend the first month back at school reviewing what was lost (not necessarily my kids because we do activities in the summer to promote learning) but the class as a whole. I want my kids to have an individualized approach to their education. I want my kids to be raised by Brian and me, not 'the village'. I have seen what goes on in the village and don't want my kids partaking of that mess before I have prepared them. And there is no way to prepare your kids for the Village by the time they are 5.  I want my kids to be prepared for life. What goes on in middle school and high school is not life. Life is knowing how to prepare meals, do laundry, cleaning, balancing a checkbook, getting along with others through respect and compassion. I want them to have an academic advantage for college. Because face it. We are middle class white Americans. Aside from academics or being one of the chosen few for a sports scholarship, my kids won't be getting scholarships to attend college. And we have 5 more kids to help through college. So I want it to be important that their math answers are correct, and that if they want to be challenged, they have that option. (those are just two things that we have faced recently).

But what do I worry about? I worry about giving them enough socialization. Really, that's all. Swim, piano, all that stuff will be done during the day when other kids will be at school. They have friends, so I'll just have to work extra hard to make sure they keep up those friendships. I also worry about my kids driving me batty with fighting. Being around each other all the time is sure to drive them nuts.

Am I worried about my ability to teach them? Absolutely not. We live in the day of the internet...and especially Pinterest. I have found a ton of home school sites and helps. I love that I can mix a lego curriculum in there to make learning fun.  I want my kids to know that learning is fun and knowledge is a powerful resource to have. Did you know that Rosetta Stone makes a homeschooling foreign language series? Studies have shown that it's easier for children to pick up a foreign language than an adult. The thought of my middle schooler or elementary student being fluent in another language is not only appealing, but gives them a competitive edge with future employers. I want my kids to have that competitive edge when applying for college and employment without making them do hours and hours of work after they have already been in school all day. I want to teach my children HOW to learn instead of just giving them subjects. Does that make sense? (I think that I read 'Hooray for Diffendoofer Day' too many times :))

And the reality of Home Schooling is that you don't do school 6 hours a day. With individualized instruction, you can cut that time down significantly. That would give me more time to enjoy my kids while they weren't tired after being gone all day, it would let us do piano lessons (and other music lessons) during the day to free up time in the evening for family time. 

So, that's where we are at right now. I reserve the right to change my mind when I start factoring in my own sanity :)

(and just an FYI, I'm on my 4th day of no soda!)

I'm back and super excited! 2017 is going to be a year of big changes in our home. (oooh...the suspense!) I want to be able to look back at the end of the year and see what we accomplished!

2.5 10am & 2.6 Dinner

I have to cheat a bit on this one. Yesterday at 10am I was in church, so I saved both pictures for today. And today you get a treat because you get bonus pictures!

Assignment: 10am.

Every morning I try to make a to-do list. I am so much more productive when I do so and then when Brian says 'What did you do today' I can actually remember! Here is what my to-do list looked like at 10am:

 

 

And here's why:

my second assignment: Dinner

Tonight we decided to go on a family walk before dinner. We usually eat pretty early, but wanted to take advantage of it still being light outside. So away we went.  When we got home, I knew that we needed to have a dinner that could be put together in 15 minutes or less. So what's the old standby for a quick dinner??? Spaghetti!

On our menu: whole grain rotini noodles, spaghetti sauce, green beans, corn, rolls and spinach salad with apples and mandarin oranges. yum-my.

Did I mention the little bit of "cheese" we had for dinner?

The salad was so scrumptious, and I have a ton of spinach in my fridge, so I think that I may end up making salads for lunch the next several days.

Here was our pre-dinner entertainment.

I can just see Nolan saying 'why don't I get to ride a bike, guys?'

*just a side note. I did get a picture of Kennedy tonight, but it was not a very good picture, so she asked me to delete it. I didn't of course, I may need it for future manipulation, but I told her I wouldn't post it on the blog...today.

2.4 Take a picture of a stranger

oohhh...this was hard for me. I kind of have a moral issue with it only in the sense that I wouldn't want a stranger taking a picture of me and posting it on their blog, just for the purpose of getting a picture with a stranger. Plus, I didn't see any interesting strangers today:)

So, I have decided to post about the 'stranger' in my life. My husband. Between work and his church calling and my church calling, sometimes I feel like we are strangers passing in the night. Though, if I had to have any strangers in my life, I wouldn't choose anyone other than him:)

                                                            Putting Kylers corsage on for Hayden

                                              Up to his elbows in pumpkin guts

                                                            taking the kiddos trick or treating

 

I love you, stranger!

 

 

2.3 Hands

Today, my assignment was 'hands'. This assignment fell into place nicely. It was such a beautiful day out. A little chilly, but very sunny. The girls were playing outside and were holding hands and I knew that that was what I needed to capture. This very moment that they are getting along. Like most sisters, they do squabble, 27 months is a big difference when you are 3 and 6. But my wish for them, as they grow, is that they maintain their friendship and closeness through their teen years. That they make it through the fighting over boys, makeup, friends, clothes and know that their relationship will play such an important part for the rest of their lives.  

2.2 Words

Today's picture of the day is 'Words'. So I have kept this in my thoughts all day long. I have a quote on my wall that says 'Because when you stop and look around, this life is pretty amazing'. ya ya ya..yada yada yada. I do feel that way, but I see that all the time and I was waiting for some pow! to hit me today.

I took the three youngest to Costco today. They were well behaved. Nolan gave his cute overly cheesy grin to every old person around who all went gaga over him. We had a good time, not in a rush at all. It was really nice. On the way home, Nolan was sleeping and the girls were sitting in the third row talking and coloring in their new colorbooks. And darn it! I felt like my sister...getting mushy over something so dumb. My eyes teared up at the big girl conversations that they were having. No more Olivia asking Megan questions to that require yes/no answers. Really indepth conversations...you know, about coloring and what kind of pet they want.

And then I picked kids up from school, I got to the school really early because my option was to take a sleeping baby out of his carseat (he's in a big boy carseat now) just to have to put him back in in 40 minutes and have him not get a decent nap or get to the school early, let him nap, put a LeapFrog movie on for the girls and read my book. I went with the latter. Well, during this waiting time, Kennedy walked right in front of our car on her way to recess and didn't notice us. I got to watch her play with her friends and remember back to when I was in fourth grade and remember what that was like.

Hayden didn't come home right after school today. She was supposed to have her first day of tutoring an elementary school student. The teacher that was supposed to provide the curriculum wasn't their today so she only met the student and his parents. Which required several texts between us coordinating me coming to get her. But just that she's old enough and responsible enough to tutor an elementary student makes me sad and proud all at the same time.

After we got home, Nolan was dying to be outside. The girls didn't want him on the trampoline with them because he's too little, so I took him on a walk. Like a walk walk. No stroller. He just wanted the freedom to walk/run. As I came to the corner I saw a 'yield' sign. I immediately thought about my 'assignment' today. But last year my word was 'pause', so that I would remember to slow down and enjoy my kids. And I did...and still am.

I think that I was just looking too hard. Seeing everything I feel is important, but not finding what word or words I wanted. Then tonight, after I put Megan to bed for the umteenth time cause she really wants to 'nuggle', I sat back down with my book. I'm reading My Sisters Keeper' by Jodi Piccoult. Within a few pages I read

They outgrow us so much faster than we outgrow them.

That's it. I look at my nearly 15 year old daughter who is starting college next year. While she has to do the first two years at home, I will be sending her to college in two 1/2 years. I'm not ready. How do you live everyday with a child and then all of the sudden all you can do is talk to them on the phone or text?

How do you have a baby that needs you for everything and all of the sudden is so independent, cries to play outside, runs when he barely learned to walk, climbs, has an overly goofy, purposeful grin?

And then there's the three that are in between.  Somedays I hardly can contain myself that these kids are outgrowing me. And then there's somedays that I can't wait till it's bedtime. So those are my words for the day..... They outgrow us so much faster than we outgrow them.

{My picture is not from today, but it's rare to actually get a picture of all of my kids...so this is it!}

2.1 Your View Today

I am participating in a photo a day challenge, my first ever! The sole purpose is for me to get back into the habit of blogging.

Today's inspiration was 'Your View Today'. I decided to take a picture of a view that I have been enjoying for the last (almost) 14 months, but am ready to STOP enjoying. It's the double edged sword. Love my baby and that time with him but good grief, he's almost 14 months old.  I have to
laugh at myself because I was going to quit after a month, and then two, and then three, and so on. I really only relaxed about it when he was around 10 months old, thinking I may as well enjoy the last couple of months...and here we are. I'm trying hard to stop, but he talks me into it all the time!

So, my view today is my sweet little Nolan (discreetly) nursing.

 

Okay, It's the end of January and I have blogged a big fat zero in almost two months. aye aye aye! I am going to attempt to do a 'photo a day challenge' in order to get back into the swing of things.
And can I say how downright awful it is that I haven't blogged? I have had two kids have birthdays--one of them being a first birthday, a sister who announced the genders of her babies and tons of other stuff that has happened. I need to get back into the mindset that this is my journaling and to remember how much I love to go back and look at pictures and read the stories from the years past. I need to make it a priority instead of a 'to-do'.
Okay, keep checking back on me and hopefully I will have followed through!