My lefty learns to tie her shoes!!

Most kids learn to tie their shoes in K or 1st grade. Maddie has been home schooled her whole life so never really went through some of the traditional things that you would do in public school like learning to tie her own shoes. That may sound horrible to some of you, and maybe it is???? I don't know, I just never really worried about it. I figured when she wanted to learn to tie her shoes she would learn.

Today was the day. She came to me at bedtime and said "Mama I am ready to learn to tie my shoes. Can we try?" Sure I said "go grab a shoe." I showed her a time or two. She tried and failed. Then it hit me that I needed to reverse some of it because she is a lefty. I reversed the way I did the bunny ears, showed her, and within a few tries she had tied her shoe. Woo hoo Maddie!!

She was soooo proud she wanted to show everyone. She started with daddy and failed. Pressure?? Maybe?? She then came back for a few more lessons and before bed was pretty confident that she was indeed able to tie her shoes.

Tomorrow I know she will get up and ask to practice again. Why?? Because she is ready and she wants to know how. She wants to prove to the world that she can indeed tie her shoe!!

What can I say?? This is another proud home school moment.

Some of you may ask WHY?? You may think that she is two years late in tying her shoes. I on the other hand look at it as though she learned in less than 45 minutes because she was ready, wanted to, and is excited about it. That kind of learning makes my day. Learning because she wants to. I call that a huge success!! Way to go Maddie!! So proud of you.

Somehow, I just knew that my girl would know how to tie those shoes before heading off to HARVARD, YALE or OXFORD. When Maddie wants to do something or learn something watch out world!!

The Dress

I had to laugh last night. I bought a Sun Dress Cover up for Six Flags. I knew it was going to be 100 degrees and I wanted to be comfortable. I really didn't care what I looked like. ( I mean let's face it very few people look good when they are sweating to death at Six Flags.)

Moving on.. When I got home I tried it on for John and the team.

John was very careful in what he said. (It looks comfortable and airy, It has really bright colors. I knew he hated it.. Oh well!)

Next up my pre-teen Makenna. She just gave me that look..you know the one..UGG.. 2 Down, 3 to go.

Jack came in and immediately pulled the dress lower over my knees.. Hysterical.. Always my protective mama's boy. Heaven forbid I show a little to much knee at Six Flags. I am a mother after all.

Carson then came in and his question alone told me that it was not on his approval list. The question: "Are you going to wear that??"

Last came my baby girl Maddie. She saw me in the dress and immediately said.. "Oh mama it is beautiful!! A dress, A dress I love it. I have looked in your closet and you have none. I am so happy you now have a pretty dress to wear." So sweet.

I think what I love about how Maddie approached me wearing the dress is that it wasn't about what I looked like in it. It was about the dress, the color, the newness, and the fact that I finally owned one. That in and of itself was special right?? To a seven year old it was.

Wouldn't it be great if we could view everything like that? Something for me to think about.





The girls and I in our dresses at Six Flags. Possibly the first time that the three of us were in a dress together.

PREPARING FOR THE STORM

Last night we had a BIG STORM here in Georgia. The kids decided to crash downstairs while waiting it out. It was fun to watch them get ready for it. The boys simply chose a blanket and the dogs. Highly prepared would accurately describe the two girls. Interesting the differences.

My worrier Makenna prepped and ready for the big storm. She was lying down with an umbrella for extra shelter. She had the necessities, blanket, pillow, honey bunny, bottle of water and a book.
Carson the Dog Whisperer.Both dogs were so upset at the beginning of the storm. He sat petting them and telling them everything would be ok.
Jack snuggled under the blankets. Tired and really just wanting to go to bed.
Maddie gathered the important stuff.. Math cards, Quiddler and Yahtzee.
Maddie with every "friend" she could possibly bring downstairs.

Math Madness

My husband John wants me to take a break from curriculum and just focus on math for a month with the kids. Today we kicked off what I am calling MATH MADNESS. Quite certain I will be mad by the end of the month dealing with all of them but we are going to give it a shot. I explained to the kids what we were going to be doing. Then I told them they had 10 minutes and we would get started. When I came out of the office they were in the parlor dressed in costumes.

They were so excited to INTRODUCE themselves.

Jack.. aka THE SUBTRACTION SAMURAI
Maddie... aka MADEMOISELLE MULTIPLICATION
Makenna.. aka THE ADDITION MAGICIAN
Carson...aka MR. SOLO DIVISION

Love, love, love their excitement and creativity. Now if they will just get this excited about learning all their facts!!

A 6 year olds "reasoning" ????

Maddie with her first Build A Bear

Maddie went to a Build A Bear Birthday Party this weekend. She absolutely loves her bear!! She has a Birthday coming up so was explaining to me why if she heads to Build A Bear with some of her money she will not need to spend $5 on the plastic heart they stuff in the bear. Here Goes:

Reasons the Bear does not need a $5 plastic heart:

A. It is a STUFFED BEAR!! (Telling me, as she whispers in her bears ear, an apology)

B. There is an invisible FREE heart that you don't see.

C. When she gives the bear a hug, she transfers real love to the invisible heart, therefore giving the bear REAL love.

D. Fashion is more important than that fake plastic heart. Don't you think mom? The money would be better spent on a new outfit or some bows. That just makes more sense. Right??

I did it myself

Maddie with the presents that she wrapped for her friend Olivia's party.

Tonight I came downstairs to find that Maddie had wrapped presents for her friends Birthday Party on Saturday. Snowflake paper and blue painters tape were just two of the highlights. All I could do was laugh and smile.

I called her over to ask about the wrapping job and she said "Do you like it? I did it all by myself" How sweet. She then went on to explain that she originally was going for a bag, and none were big enough. Then she looked at the wrapping paper and most of it was Christmas. The snowflake paper, well it matched the blue tape that she had found so obviously it was the perfect choice.

At the end she looked at me a little worried. I think she was afraid I was going to re-wrap the gifts. Instead I asked her if she would like to tie the two together with ribbon and make a card for her friend. "That will make it perfect mom! Livie will love it". Yes Maddie, I think she will, and most likely her mom will have the same smile on her face that I had when I saw the packages.

The Big Talk

No pictures to go with this one. Tonight Makenna and I watched the 96 version of Jane Eyre. She has read the book and really wanted to go see the NEW 2011 version with my mom and I. At the time, I wasn't sure it was kid friendly so I didn't let her go. After watching the movie I quizzed her again about the book, figured she could handle it and thought I would order the two of us an older version off of Netflix. I thought it could be one of our first mother/daughter type older movies. Something to remember. Little did I know!!

Part way through we paused the movie. I thought I would check in, make sure she didn't have any questions etc etc. We ended up in a huge discussion because of the little "ward girl" he is taking care of. One thing led to another and the next thing I know we are having "THE TALK".

Come to find out she had been reading my PARENTING MAGAZINES for the last 6 months and all the information was in there?? What?? Seriously?? I have never screened my parenting magazines for that kind of information. Where is the SAFETY WARNING??

In the end I think the "talk" went pretty well. She basically said that at her age,11, she thought it was kind of creepy, a little scary and she really didn't want any more detailed information than what she had already read.

I told her we could talk more when she was ready, I let her know that there were lots of people she could talk to about it.. Daddy, Grandma's, Aunts. She laughed at the whole daddy thing and said "PLEASE!! He about had a heart attack when he saw me reading the American Girls Guide to Dating. How would he react to this??"

I had to laugh at her reaction to talking to daddy. I am not sure, but maybe I would have felt the same way talking to my dad at age 11. On second thought I am sure I would have. Times haven't changed that much!!

Spring is here!!

The Greeneteam ready for their first water fight of the season.

Love this shot of the kids in action!! Looks like a scene from a movie.

An inexpensive and fun treat.



I believe Spring has officially arrived in Georgia!! Today we are at a gorgeous 78 degrees! Smiling kids in swimsuits, water gun fights, and ice cream cones with sprinkles!! The Greeneteam is living the life today! Happy Spring!!

Early Valentines

I LOVE YOU MOM

YOU ARE THE BEST MOM IN THE WORLD

HAPPY VALENTINES

Tonight when I got up from a nap I found this email from my sweet Makenna. She had also done almost all of the laundry and was working with her little sister on handwriting. I love my girl. She is sweet, helpful, smart and tries so very hard to please and do things that she knows will help me. Her early Valentines was just what I needed tonight.

I needed to be reminded that it is the month of LOVE. I needed to be reminded that even though life right now is extremely tough and we are under a lot of pressure as a family that the one thing we always have here at the Greene house is plenty of LOVE. Thank you sweet girl for reminding me!!

Escaping Snowmageddon day 4

SNOWMAGEDDON!!!

Kenna and Carson smiling after a crash landing!! Thankfully no one was injured!!
My beautiful snow bunnies .. Ms. Maddie and my girl Makenna

The Greeneteam attempting to hit the hills with cardboard and our pool float.

Jack with the snowboard..Looks like he is ready for the slopes in Aspen!!

That was totally wicked!! Boys having a blast with our neighbor.
Fun with the kids in the neighborhood!!

Carson coming down the drive!!
My boy bear.. a natural for the slopes!!

Midnight Snowball Fight

Carson aims a snowball at his dad during our Midnight Snowball fight.


Maddie Having a great time in the snow!




















John enjoying his hot chocolate.






Tonight we were playing Quiddler waiting for the snow to come. Snow that had been promised all weekend. We had looked several times outside and there was nothing. Then,the next time we looked it was really snowing hard. The kids watched and were so excited to see it coming down fast. They kept talking about how they could not wait to go outside and play in it tomorrow. As I sat there watching them get so excited I thought why wait until tomorrow morning?? I got up and whispered my idea in my husbands ear. He said "seriously?"

We finished the card game and just before the kids were heading up to bed I said "you guys can head to bed OR you can get your coats and hats on and get ready for a midnight snowball fight." Shrieking and joy filled the air. They took off as fast as possible to find coats, hats, mittens, shoes boots etc. By about midnight we were ready for our first Family Midnight Snowball Fight.

We had such a great time playing outside. It seemed so quiet and so magical. The kids tried making snowballs, rolled down the hills, made snow angels and ran after one another. Fun!! I came in a little early and made hot chocolate and baked some freezer cookies. When everyone came inside we all sat around the table and talked about how great it was to play in the snow at midnight. When the kids headed off to bed they thanked me and said they were the luckiest kids in Georgia!! Making memories with my family is one of my favorite things to do. Tonight was one of those nights.

Mini Man Snack Bar!!

Do your kids ever complain that things aren't fair?? Mine do it all the time and this week was no exception. Last night my girls were talking about how fun the AHG lock in was going to be. Games, Crafts, Pizza, a midnight Sundae bar, and tons of snacks and popcorn. Across the table sat my boys getting more and more upset every time the girls would mention another fun thing. "What are we going to do?" they said. I joked with them that we would be cleaning the garage and scrubbing toilets. They seriously almost started to cry.

I was kidding of course about the toilets...seriously toilets on a Friday night?? I had fun planned for them all along. They got a trip to the QT for dinner. Now I know that may not seem like a treat to you or I , but to twin 9 year old boys going to the QT for a hot dog or taquito and getting to pick out a slushy is like winning the jackpot.

When they got home, I had a Mini Man Snack Bar set up with 2 Powerade's!! (see photo) You can call it what you want.. I chose mini man snack bar because my boys are always saying that they are little men.

My idea was to take a large tray and line it with coffee filters. My bowls so to speak. I did not have to dirty up a ton of dishes and the filters are small enough that I could put out a variety of sweets and treats just like the girls were going to be getting at their lock in. I told my boys that when the treats were gone their snacking was done for the night. They loved it !!

What I love about it..

*No Dishes
* I can recycle the filters by just shaking them out.
*Limits the amount of snacks the boys can eat.
*Keeps little man hands out of my full bags of snacks. I prefer using smaller containers for kids and then refilling if necessary. You just never know where their hands have been.

It is now 9:00 the boys are content with snacks, drinks, movies, and the Wii. The girls I am sure are having a blast. What does that mean for this mama of four? It means that, for tonight in our little world, life seems fair.

Catching up.. Wow what a month!!

So it has been almost a month since I have done a post. Where did it go and what did I do??

We took off for Thanksgiving and went to HOUSTON.. Let me just say what a trip. At some point I would love to catch up and do some posts on all that we saw.. The Ocean, New Orleans, and Sea World. It was truly a GREAT vacation.

We were home for a just a few days and I got the news that my Grandfather William Steward Crookshanks passed away. He was 96.. What a life he led. I was so very lucky to have him as a Grandpa. I left last week for WVA to attend his memorial and just got back in town early in the week.

This week has been a blur.. Trying to get the house back in order, getting the kids to their classes and activities.. CRAZY!! So happy today is FRIDAY!! :)

Going to try to do my December posts about FUN activities for kids. December is one of my favorite months as it is filled with lots of TRADITIONAL ACTIVITIES.

Looking forward to sharing with you some of our favorite things!!

Pumpkin Faces...

My boy Carson LOVES fall.. He loves farms, pumpkins, hayrides, animals, and overall being outside with nature. If you give this boy a pumkin to carve and clean he lights up. He loves it!!

When he was done carving his pumpkin this year I said "So make me some pumpkin faces". Normally, at such a silly idea he would argue with me, however he did it with no problem.

You can see from the look on his face that when he is doing something he LOVES he is all about fun and loving life!!

Jack and The Jack O Lantern!!

Every year the kids and I carve pumpkins. It is always fun to see what the kids want to do. I love seeing their expressions and hearing what they think of the insides of the pumpkin.

My favorite every year has to be JACK.. He likes the pumpkin patch, likes Trick or Treating, Loves to eat the candy, but HATES to carve the STINKY pumpkins!! It is hysterical to watch him clean his pumpkin out. He can't stand the smell, hates to touch the squishy insides, and is overall disgusted with the entire process. He does it because he likes the end result.. a Jack O Lantern of his own.

He has improved a little over the years. This year he got pretty far along in the process. I always think when we start out is this going to be the year that Jack is ok cleaning and carving his pumpkin?? Then it begins and it is just another stinky, smelly, squishy pumpkin!! It reminds me of watching The Great Pumpkin every year with Charlie Brown.. You are so hopeful that Charlie Brown is going to have fun and be accepted, but in the end he always gets rocks!!

Jack flicking off the seed of the pumpkin!!
This is soooo gross!!
So squishy.. do I really have to do this??
The smell is killing me!!
Jack with his Jack O Lantern!! This is how he prefers pumpkins!!

"I've got the Music in me".. Funny story

Tonight Maddie sang me her latest song called

"THE SUMMER"

I was telling her how good it was and that I thought she was going to be a great singer one day. Then I told her that I was quite certain that she got her TALENT from me.

(Kidding of course but I love to tease her).. She then said.."No mama I don't think I got my talent from you" (SMART GIRL), and I said,

"Then where do you think you got it??" She said,

"I AM STARTING A WHOLE NEW GENERATION OF TALENT."

After laughing my butt off, I tried then to convince her that she had indeed gotten her talent from me by singing several made up crazy songs.

(In one I was rapper mama, another Super Country Mama... Basically awful.)

She, shockingly, was still not buying that she got her talent from me.

Suddenly, the song "I've Got the Music in Me" popped into my head and I thought this will do it. She will have to think that I have given her some kind of musical talent. Yeah right!!

I said, "Let me think a minute," and then I started singing

"I've got the Music in Me, I've got the Music in me."

She began laughing, and laughing, and laughing some more.

I said, "What? You don't like my song???" She then replied,

"That is not good mama..not good at all."

This is when I told her it was a real song..

She did not believe me!!

You-Tube videos to the rescue.. Boom, Bam, Voila!! Proof that it is a song and with a video of the singer Kiki Dee to boot!! Gotta love You Tube!!

She started watching it and said,

"See mama she has a beat and you, well you don't."

She then danced and danced to the real..

I've got the Music in me from 1975!!

I truly believe Ms. Maddie Mae has the music in her. One day years from now I hope that she will laugh at this story and realize that from the beginning, even as a baby, her mama always believed that she heard things in music. I also hope she will realize that her real singing talent was never from her mama, but given to her as a gift from God.

The Missing Eyebrow!!

Here is a picture of my girl Makenna with a mostly missing eyebrow!! Funny but NOT!!

Ok.. So I had to blog about my girl Makenna !! I was away this week for a relaxing trip to Ohio with my sisters.. When I returned, John and the kids picked me up at the airport. Within minutes I hear all kinds of stories.. I mean seriously all kinds of stories.. One was how they had gone to dinner at the QT to get slushies and Hot dogs because the kitchen was such a disaster. Another was how they watched TONS of T.V and did hardly any school. The kicker though was when Carson said "Did you hear about Makenna losing an eyebrow?" .. I mean seriously?? Is this something one should expect to hear?? I think my husband was about to run off the road.. My kids just couldn't keep their mouths shut about all the MISADVENTURES they had while I was away!!

The backstory: Makenna decided her eyebrows were too bushy and trimmed them with manicure scissors!! CRAZY, I know but if you are familiar with Makenna not so CRAZY!! She is my little RAMONA.. She marches to the beat of a different drum, she colors outside the lines when it comes to creativity and personality. Gotta love her!!

On a positive note my mother is here visiting and said that she may not have noticed the EYEBROW damage because her bangs are so long.. She had a good laugh of course when she saw them but perhaps the local girl at Walmart or even her friends will not even take notice of Makenna's latest adventure!!

As for future trips for me???? I look at it like this.. I came home to a mostly clean house, a mowed lawn and 4 kids that were alive!! Good enough!! Thanks Baby John for giving me a break, and letting me recharge my batteries.

The eyebrow adventure may have done me in before I went on vacation.... but after my relaxing getaway it was just another day of LIVING THE LIFE!!

The Many faces of Maddie

ANGEL MADDIE
CUTE MADDIE
SILLY MADDIE
GOOFY MADDIE
CHEESY MADDIE
MOODY MADDIE

Today was a busy day..We had two Birthday parties to attend. Then when I got home Johns meeting was running way, way, longer than I had expected. That combined with the long day had me in a bit of a mood. So tonight when I sat down to look at my pics I had to laugh at my girl Maddie. She is a character to say the least. Lucky for me most of the time this little character keeps me laughing. Enjoy The Many Faces of Maddie!!