Did I mention that it was going to be a long week??

When Bean broke her arm last week, I knew we were in for it.  She is not the most patient patient.  she is whiney, crabby, and generally hard to deal with.  She broke her right arm so she is basically helpless,too.  But beyond that she WILL NOT SIT STILL. 

She cries bc she can't do cartwheels.  Okay, that's not exactly true-we won't let her do them.  She can do one armed cartwheels but we have forbidden her to do them.  We also had to forbid her to jump off the couch, jump off the fifth from the bottom step, jump on a trampoline, play soccer, and just about everything else she is crying to do.  ugh  kill me now if she has to have a cast for the next six weeks.

I love her but oh my goodness I am done with a six year old in a cast.  

yeah, that doesn't win me any mothering awards but it's the truth!

Homemade Christmas

Every few years my family does a Homemade Christmas.  We really love it and usually start planning for it more than six months in advance! 

This year was no exception.  This was one of the best Christmases that I can remember.  It was low-key and focused on relationships and not on what gift was given/received.  Instead the gifts represented the person giving them and showed their love to the person receiving them.  Can it get any better than that?  I don't think so.

Our girls made some yummy food, played the piano, and wrote poems/letters as their gifts.  I can't wait to see what they come up with next year!

It's a little different this year

We always give the kids pajamas for their Christmas Eve presents.  Always.  It's a fun tradition that they look forward to.

This year I just wasn't feeling it.  The Christmas spirit was eluding me so I took the girls with me when I went shopping for their jammies.  They picked them out-there was no surprise, no special moment of me choosing just the right thing for each of my kids.  Nope, there was a tired and lazy momma letting the kids pick their own jammies.

And guess what?

They loved them just as much as if I had spent lots of time choosing them.  ;-) 

That's not the only thing we did differently this year. 

We didn't buy presents for them either.  we bought a few stocking stuffers at the Dollar Tree but nothing else.  We did give them $25 but that's it.  It was simple and sweet. 

They loved that too! 

Here's to simple Christmases that focus on family and not on things.

Gearing up for Christmas

It's no secret that I wait until the last minute to buy Christmas presents.  But there are several reasons that I do that. 

1.  I HATE shopping.  Seriously hate it. 

2.  I CAN NOT KEEP A SECRET.  It is so bad that I will buy it and then tell the person all about it.  I have always been that way, just ask my sister!

So, I waited until twelve days before Christmas to buy presents.  I don't think I will wrap them, though! lol

What a long week

**I am post dating this to keep up the right dating for the book I am printing of my blog! bear with me, please?  ;-)

Sunday night my older two girls and I went to a Christmas play.  It was a play written and directed by a student in our homeschool group.  It was great!  He did a super job and I am so glad we went.

However, while we were at the play enjoying ourselves Steven was at home with the younger three kiddos.  He texted me and complained about the DRAMA that was going on at home.  No surprise there!

We finally got home and what did I find?  Bean sitting in the chair crying.  Her arm was propped up and she was very upset.

Evidently she and Peanut had been wrestling and Peanut(10) pulled her off the couch by her feet.  Bean(6) landed with her arm down and behind her.  Screaming like a banshee commenced along with much wailing and gnashing of teeth.

By the time I got home her elbow was swollen and she was in quite a bit of pain.  I tried to move it, yeah not smart but I always do it, and she almost threw up.  Not a good sign.

The minor emergency was closed, however, and so we had to wait until morning to have her seen.

She and I were up early Monday morning to get to the meo by 8 and were there for two hours.  :(  By the time we left Bean had a half cast on and an appointment to see the doc again next week.

Her arm is broken up by her elbow but it was too swollen to see clearly or to cast it.  So not cool.

Here are some pics:

She was crying bc she thought it would hurt. 

She's crying bc it DID hurt.  :(

The nurse & I made her laugh after the tears.

She is not admiring it-it was throbbing. 

We finally got out of there with the cast, a sling, an appointment, and a warning that it would probably get worse before it got better.  It did.  She cried for almost three days.  Hopefully next week we will know more and they can put her in a full cast so it's better protected.

TOS Review Barchowsky Fluent Handwriting App-Letters Make Words

Who doesn't love technology?  It can used for so many things- to make life fun or it can be used for educational purposes.

But, there are times and Apps that combine both!  Can you hear the celebration going on over at our house?

I was fortunate to be chosen to be on the App Crew as part of The TOS Crew and our very first app review is for Barchowsky Fluent Handwriting App Letters Make Words.  You can find more about this cool app here.  This is an app for the ipad and can be purchased right now for $2.99.  Isn't that a great price?

I'll give you just a bit of info here until you head on over and check it out for yourself.

Learn and teach handwriting with phonics, an app designed by a Handwriting Specialist and an Early Childhood Specialist. The purpose of Letters Make Words is to help beginning writers develop good handwriting habits for all academic and adult needs, and to learn basic phonemes.

 The first screens offer suggestions of how to use Letters Make Words. Then letters are presented. The user can select any letter. Each one comprises a complete unit of instruction for that letter, a warmup pattern, the letter and a word to trace and to sound out. When a letter has a different sound depending on its usage in words, choose from either of two words. The next screen has three words to sound out with a silly sentence for the child to write on paper.

That's just a bit about it from the app store.  Now, here's what we thought about it.

Three of my children used this app and three of them loved it!  The 12yo needs extra help with handwriting due to eye teaming problems, the 10yo needs to practice on letter formation more, and the 6yo just needs more practice with writing.  Each one needed something different from this app and they all got what they needed.

They would sit down with my ipad and start it up-I didn't even have to ask them to do it they would ask to do it.  It did take a bit to get used to how to make it work but it wasn't too big of a learning curve.  It was extremely easy to download and it started right up without any hoops to jump through. The only thing we did have a problem with was the sound.  We didn't realize there was supposed to be a voice guiding the student through the steps until we re-read the start up page. lol  It's always a good idea to read directions!  We plugged in some earphones and it was like a brand new app.

My 12yo has been doing italics for handwriting but the 10 yo has been doing classic cursive and I was surprised at how easily both of them were able to implement this app.  It did not detract from their individual courses of study for handwriting.  That's a bonus when you have several kids using it. 


Here are some screen shots from the app:













If you are even the slightest bit curious about this app I highly suggest you head on over to check it out.  This is a great way for kids to practice handwriting that they won't whine about!

If you want to see what other Crew members thought of this app, head on over to The Crew Blog and check them out. 



**I was given a copy of Letters Make Words through The TOS Crew in exchange for my honest review.