Mystery No More

Friday, May 20, 2011. On the dry erase calendar hanging on the wall in the kitchen, this day was labeled "Mystery Trip." "Mystery Trip," Jacob read out loud. "What's a mystery trip?" I explained to him how we were going on a surprise road trip. We were going to get up, get ready, get in the car and go somewhere. "Where are we going?" he asked. "I can't tell you." I replied. "It's a surprise. Where would you like to go?" Jacob thought about it for a couple minutes then announced he would like to go to a new playground or a park. I told him we'd just have to wait and see.

While a playground or a park would be fun, I knew this little mystery trip would be waaaaaay better than that. We were going to a concert. Not just any concert. An Imagination Movers concert.

Jacob has always loved the Movers. He loves to watch the show on the Disney Channel and he loves listening and dancing to the Movers' music even more. Heath and I took him to a Movers concert when he was three. He had a great time and talked about it for weeks afterwards, but I think it took him a while to realize that he was watching the real LIVE movers on stage. That the same four guys who he watched on TV and listened to on his radio were singing right in front of him.

This year, when he found out The Movers were going on tour again, Jacob begged to go. Actually, he talked about it like he WAS going. Then, Disney aired a concert special that got him (and his little sister) even more pumped about it. As excited as he was, Heath and I kept telling him we weren't sure if we could go this time. And we weren't. Finally, after a great deal of discussion, one night after the kids were in bed, we sat down at the computer and searched for available tickets. They were hard to find. The Imagination Movers have developed quite the following of preschoolers...and their parents. When we found four open seats for a concert in the upstate, we acted quickly.

Jacob and Annabelle had no clue. They had been watching the recorded concert special for months and I think Jacob had come to terms with the fact that he would only be watching the concert in our living room on our TV. So, when we reached our mystery destination, he....was.... thrilled.

"MOMMY!!!" he shouted. "THAT SIGN JUST SAID IMAGINATION MOVERS TONIGHT!!!!" He read the sign in front of the auditorium as we drove by looking for a parking space. He couldn't believe it. We told him we were going to the concert. He was in in shock. This news was just too good to be true. As soon as we parked the car, he ripped off his car seat straps and couldn't get out fast enough.

Jacob and Annabelle had a blast. I know it's hard to see them in the dark videos, but they both danced in the aisle throughout the entire concert. Jacob got a high-five from D.C of Choo-Choo Soul and from Mover Dave. Annabelle also received a five from Dave and a pat on the back about which she smiled and said (over and over) "Mover Dave pat me!"

I don't think they could have had a better day. It was so much fun. And seeing their expressions when they found out we were going to the concert was absolutely priceless. I couldn't be happier about our decision to buy those tickets and make that drive. I love those two adorable, funny, crazy, dancing, amazing kids of mine. :)

Family Circus

Heath was chasing Jacob. Jacob was chasing Annabelle. Annabelle was running as fast as her little legs would carry her from the back of Lowe's all the way to the front of the store. I was yelling, "DON'T CHASE HER!! SHE'LL ONLY RUN FARTHER AND FASTER IF YOU CHASE HER!!!!!" Oh well. Too late. I jogged to the front of the store with the rest of my crew. I got there just after the collision. According to Heath, Jacob tackled his little sister at the front entrance. Annabelle was giggling with delight. Jacob was sporting a new busted lip, compliments of the giggling two year old when her head bumped his face during the tackle. What a nice little family trip to Lowe's. At least we provided entertainment for the other shoppers.

These days a family trip to anywhere seems to turn into a circus. Even on their best behavior, Jacob and Annabelle are live wires. The world is their playground. Literally. No matter where they go, they will find something to play with, play on, or play around. Give her any running room at all, and Annabelle takes off like she's in the Olympics.

With these two little energizer bunnies, I've been loving the beautiful weather we've had lately. We've spent a great deal of time playing outside in the sunshine...and burning energy. Lots and lots of energy.


One of the kids' favorite things to do is have a picnic, even if we're only in the backyard. They love picnics. They eat a little, play a lot, eat a little more, play a lot more...until the food is gone and we're all tired and ready for a nap. Good times.

Annabelle likes to climb trees. I am confident, she'll make it to the top one day soon.

Jacob might be on a soccer team, but lately, he's taken a heavy interest in T-ball. He can hit the ball across the yard now.


Thank you, God, for this beautiful weather. "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

Easter 2011 (continued)

Several weeks ago, I read a magazine article about how to dye eggs naturally. "That's interesting," I thought. the more I read, the more I was intrigued. I wanted to give it a try. So I did.

An extra trip to the grocery store was in order. I guess many people might have all the ingredients on hand to make these all-natural egg dyes. I did not. And I can tell you, if you don't have the necessary ingredients already, dying eggs the natural way ends up being quite a bit more expensive. But, still, I wanted to try it.

So, for this year's Easter eggs, we used turmeric to make yellow dye; blackberries for lavender; pomegranate juice for red; and spinach to make a green dye. I bought some other things for other colors, but quickly found out I wouldn't have the time (or the patience) to make ALL those different colors.

The process took a lot more time and effort (and was considerably more messy) than opening up a package of PAAS, but it was fun. Although my husband might speak otherwise.


The results? Well, our results weren't great, but I'd still try it again.
The turmeric worked out the best, turning our eggs a bright yellow in no time.


The blackberries worked fairly well for lavender. Notice the cracked eggs. Any egg dyed by Annabelle came out cracked. She threw them into the containers with such force, I 'm surprised they weren't smashed to pieces. She was really excited about this whole egg dying thing.

Now. The pomegranate juice. I expected a beautiful, vibrant red. What we ended up with was -- to use Annabelle's favorite word -- a "yucky" brown.


The spinach turned out to be a dud. Our eggs came out not green, but just as white as they were when we put them into the container.

My little experiment may not have been 100 percent successful, but we still had fun. Maybe we'll try again next year with a few different ingredients. I know of at least two we won't be using -- spinach and pomegranate juice.

I bought a set of resurrection eggs this year -- something I've wanted to do for a while. The kids loved them. I don't know that we used them quite the way they were intended, but we had fun. The Easter story was told...numerous times...and the eggs were opened and reopened again and again.


And since I haven't posted this picture yet, here you go...the 2011 visit with the Easter Bunny. Jacob ran right up to him. Annabelle wasn't running. She was a little hesitant, but Jacob managed to coax her over. She didn't really seem scared, just unsure.

The kids are way cuter than the Easter Bunny. Wouldn't you agree?

Just Mommy and Me

Mommy took me shopping a couple weeks ago. Just me. Not my brother. I love my brother and all, but he likes to aggravate me...a lot...all the time. He takes toys away from me and yells at me when I put his Legos in my mouth. He makes me share my fruit snacks with him, but he won't share with me. That's ok though. He may be bigger than me, but I know how to fight. I'm pretty good at hitting and if he really makes me mad, I bite him. But, I have to be careful about fighting. If Mommy or Daddy sees or finds out, I get in trouble. I have to go to time out. Or sometimes get a spankin'. Getting a spankin' is yucky. Time out is yucky too. If I don't like something, I tell Mommy, "Dats yucky."

So I was happy to go shopping with Mommy. Mommy was excited about it too. She likes to shop. First we went to Lifeway. I got out of the stroller and pulled all the VeggieTales watches off the rack and played with them on the floor. Then I saw a box full of stuffed animals. I took out almost every animal and arranged them on a bench so they could watch a movie. Mommy tried to get me to sit in my stroller, but...NO WAY. I don't like strollers. Would you want to be strapped in a seat being wheeled around a store when you could be running around pulling things off shelves and playing chase? Yeah, I didn't think so. Mommy didn't look too happy. She kept putting me in the stroller, but nothing can hold me down. I can get out of those silly stroller straps in about five seconds. Flat. She said she didn't want me terrorizing the store, so she held me and pushed the empty stroller. I squirmed and yelled the whole time to make her (and everyone else in the store) aware of my discontentment. Mommy bought a few things, then, we were quickly "outta there."

Next we went to the mall. Mommy wanted me to get in the stroller again. Ugh. Won't she ever learn? I DON'T LIKE STROLLERS!! But, I obliged and made her happy for a little while anyway. While she pushed me in the stroller, I kicked my shoes off...repeatedly. I am a good kicker. You should see how far I can kick off a pair of Crocs. It was so much fun watching those little pink shoes fly across the store. It was even more fun watching Mommy run after them. But...I got in trouble. I guess Mommy didn't think it was funny. She put my shoes in the bottom of the stroller. I had to let her know I was upset, so I took off my stroller straps and lunged forward, my feet dragging along the floor. People kept telling Mommy I was about to fall out of the stroller. She said, "I know" and kept right on pushing.

While Mommy tried on clothes, I crawled around on the fitting room floor peeking under the doors where other ladies were trying on clothes. I was meeting new people and saying "hey" to them. I guess Mommy didn't like me doing that either. She gave me some fruit snacks and told me to sit down and not move.

When I'm sitting in the stroller, I like to touch everything as we stroll by -- the dresses, shirts, jewelry on tables, pretty much anything within my reach. One time, I grabbed the bottom of a dress hanging on a big rack. I wouldn't let go. Mommy pulled the stroller backwards and the whole rack fell over. Mommy yelled, "Oh my goodness!" just in time for a lady to turn around and see the rack about to fall on top of her. She caught it with her arm and it took one more person to get the rack back up. Can you believe I did that? That rack was really heavy. Boy, I was proud of that little incident. Mommy wasn't so proud.

By the time we got back to the car, Mommy was exhausted. She looked rough. I don't know why she was so tired. Maybe it was because she didn't eat any fruit snacks in the fitting room like I did. I was having a great time. I wanted to do more shopping, but Mommy drove straight home instead. Oh well. I was actually ready to play with my brother anyway. Mommy says it might be a long time before she takes me shopping again. I guess that's ok. At least I won't have to get in my stroller!

Boy Genius

Headed to the End of the Year Celebration

Last August, if someone would have asked me if Jacob was going to be able to memorize all the facts involved with Classical Conversations, my honest answer would have been , "No way." I thought it was great that he would get so much exposure to history, math, science, fine arts, etc... If he could actually memorize all the facts, great; but, if not, I would be fine with that too. I didn't know what to expect. I quickly discovered that any expectations I may (or may not) have had would be completely blown out of the water. I guess I was selling my four year old short. Jacob has done incredibly well this year and I couldn't be more pleased with CC.

At the end of March, he recited the entire sixth chapter of Ephesians to the CC director and earned the title of Bible Memory Master. I am so proud of him!! I wasn't in the room when he did this, but was told he did a fantastic job and didn't make one single mistake. He has really worked hard this year; although, I'm not sure he would call it"work." To him, reviewing his memory work is fun. He still begs to do it. I thought maybe after the first couple weeks of school, the newness would wear off and he wouldn't think it was so much fun anymore. Nope. He loves it even more today because we have so much more material to cover. The boy is a marvel.

Last night, he received a certificate for completing Foundations Cycle 2 of Classical Conversations. He will begin cycle 3 in the fall. He also received a certificate and a pin for achieving Bible Memory Master. He recited the verses during the awards program and received a standing ovation. Yeah, I admit it. I was proud. I still am. I'm also amazed every time I hear him recite those verses. How does he do that?

Even though he's through with CC for now, he isn't through with school. We'll continue to have regular homeschool days until the end of this month. This week, Jacob is learning to tell time. He is beginning to understand hours and minutes and is becoming more familiar with the clock itself. Fun.

He still reads all the time. He can't get enough of it. He absolutely loves books. In the afternoons, while Annabelle takes a nap, Jacob has rest time. Sometimes he sleeps. Sometimes he doesn't. The other day I told him, "Jacob, you can play a game on your Leapster during rest time if you'd like to." He replied, "No thanks. I think I just want to read my Bible." And sure enough, that's what he did. He came out of his room a while later and said, "Mommy, I read the WHOLE Old Testament and I started on the New Testament, but it was really A LOT of words." Before you start to doubt my story (I mean, really...the WHOLE Old Testament?) I should tell you about his Bible. It's a preschool Bible with illustrated Bible stories. Each story is usually no more than a couple short paragraphs. So, yes, he did actually read the WHOLE Old Testament. :)

Jacob also is a puzzle whiz. He enjoys puzzles and especially likes his United States puzzle. It's one of those giant floor puzzles. He's done it so many times, it only takes him a matter of seconds to complete it. Yet, he still does it over and over and over again. The pieces are shaped like the states, and he is becoming quite familiar with each of them. At the dinner table one night he held up a bite of his food and said, "Hey, look! This looks like Nevodio!" I looked at the piece of food on his fork (I don't remember what he was eating) and said, "Nevodio? What is Nevodio?" He answered, " Nevodio. The state, like on my United States puzzle." I looked a little harder at the food. It was shaped like Nevada. "Do you mean Nevada?" I asked. "Yeah," he said. "It looks like Nevada!" He may not remember all the correct names of the states, but he sure knows their shapes!