making dinner, hot chocolate, red balloons and science experiments...

Mac brought this into me Monday morning. It is a waterfall and river. I thought that it was quite clever and adorable. We love Legos.

So the kids will take turns making a dinner every week. They are required to do everything that needs to be done to prepare for a meal. From writing a grocery list (like Mac is doing in the picture), to shopping for the food, to making it. We are doing this mostly to help Mac with his issues with dinner. He makes dinner so miserable because it is usually healthy and he does not like healthy. He whines and complains and it is awful. Hoping this will help him to be a bit more grateful. 

Oak read her first book. I am not sure I am ready to teach her to read, but she sure is ready.

Bryce had been growing out his beard for a few weeks. The longest he has ever gone. Almost everyday he said he was going to shave it, but never did. Then he came home for lunch on Monday and shaved it. He calls it his social experiment. 

This girl was hilarious with the dress ups this week. She kept on calling it dress up day and we were all to dress up. 

I know I have already said this, but this girl is constantly crafting. She saw a hat in a library book and she was determined to make it. 

Mac decided the dinner he was going to make was Taco Bake. 

He did a great job and just needed my help a little bit. 

So proud!

The kids have been spending a lot of their days doing their own thing. I feel this is important for learning. I feel it is good for them to be bored and to find ways to explore their imaginations. A lot of the time it makes me cringe the messes and I have to put that aside a lot even when it is frustrating. This night the kids had taped a straw to an airplane and attached it to a rope. I had to help them with figuring out how to make one side higher than the other. They played together so great for a long time. 

A favorite snack lately. Vanilla greek yogurt, pretzels and little cuties. Then they always end up doing this with their snacks. 

Our homeschool center has been a complete mess since the kids have full access to all of it and they aren't that great at putting things back "where they find it and how they found it". I repeat that phrase numerous times a day. Hopefully it will sink in one day. I finally got it cleaned up and reorganized. 

I was trying to get a picture of Mac wearing shorts when it was 30 degrees outside. I was seriously wondering if this made me a good mom for letting him suffer and learn the consequence or a bad mom for not making him change. Also, at this moment we were walking into the YMCA. I went to Zumba twice this week. I plan on doing it everyweek. I really liked it!

I adore that this girl loves to eat healthy. She asks on a daily basis what she can have that is healthy. We are always talking about why it is important to eat healthy so that we don't get sick when we are older and so that our bodies can feel good when we do fun things. This day she insisted on having a salad with oranges like daddy eats. And isn't she beautiful?!

Another one of her creative hats. Love her!

The kids think it is hilarious when I ask ridiculous questions while playing head bandz.

It has been very cold this week so we have had hot chocolate of Ovaltine a few times. 

That face!

There was a big beautiful rainbow one day and so we hurried out to go and chase it. But by the time we got out it was gone. 

But they still had fun digging in the dirt. 

Oak's birth great grandma sent DQ gift cards for the kids for halloween. So while daddy was out of town we decided to use them for dinner after TKD.

We made parachutes and talked about how they work. 

Mac's best friend turned 7 on Friday so we made him a bag-o-science experiments. It was fun to put together because we did some of the experiments as we were putting together the kits. Also I am a bit anti toys right now and I just couldn't bring myself to let the kids buy a toy for someone. haha!

Playing with the left over balloons after using some for science experiments. 

I also picked up these cool magnets from the dollar tree. The kids had so much fun going around the house finding things they did or didn't stick to. I had them make a list. 

Mac's list.

One afternoon we had hot chocolate and played Uno. It was a fun afternoon snack and activity. 

 I decided to make a learning game out of the balloons. I would throw the balloons to them and they would have to find a word and read it. They loved it!

Mac trying to balance the balloon on his nose. 

I had seen on FB about a new exhibit at the local county museum of local rocks and the admission was free just for the day. The kids thought that would be fun. So when daddy got home from his trip Saturday afternoon we went. The whole museum was actually quite impressive for a small town museum. We really enjoyed it!. 

They had a lot of historical displays. The kids loved that they got put in jail.

Hilrious!

We found this caboose outside the museum. 

I had already made granola and some bread, but Mac wanted banana bread. Once the frozen bananas were thawed I had the kids help me make it. 

We also got around to this experiment that I had been wanting to do all week. 

It was a hit! It was just oil, water, food coloring and alka seltzer to make it bubble. 

And Happy Sabbath. 

Other things:

The weather was really cold this week. And it is supposed to just get colder. 

Hubs went out of town for one night and then ended up being gone for two nights because of the weather. We were grateful that there was one pass back to K Falls that wasn't bad to drive over. 

Mac's behavior was terrible most of the week and he has lost pretty much all privileges. He is doing much better now, but this kid struggles to not be so self centered.