later that spring

Make a Smilebox photobook

Letterboxing

Sadly our second letterboxing adventure ended without a stamp, the same way as our first (sorry, Kiler Family!) At least this time we had the comfort of knowing we had indeed found it. After following the clues, unscrambling the code, and discovering velcro strips in the spot where a treasure should be, Grace and her Gaga were a bit downcast. 

But we did end up at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point- and decided that we must plan a field trip there soon.

So much to tell

Shawn got a job (yes, again!) he found out just as we were leaving to celebrate our 12th anniversary, he starts at NettSolutions next week... I am working part-time in a Starbucks with an ocean view near Laguna Beach...

We celebrated both girls birthdays... photos coming soon! G is doing a lot with the homeschool group and working on charting her learning achievements... J is learning baby sign language and fingerplays- she loves music.

We hope to move by my birthday and I am developing an idea to take my love of writing, social net-working, public speaking and homeschooling to a new level by next fall.

We are busy Bellah bees! I have updated both girls pictorial blogs A Joy A Day & Everybody Needs a Little Grace.

Friday before the parkday...

i was doing the dishes while g made muffins & j played

Blogger G

Grace wanted her own blog so we created a private "by invitation only" one on Xanga (because they have so many templates, and that is part of the appeal for her!!) - she will dictate her posts mostly right now, but I am hoping it will become a place to explore the wonderful world of words.

I'd love to give her prompts, but the social aspect is already providing that - click here. We'll see where it goes from here...

Life goes on...

Today Grace wowed me with her astounding mathematical skills. I surprised her with a strawberry and a coconut cookie (and a Slush from Boba Smoothie -I love their Thai Milk Tea with Boba!) and she remembered that there was a third flavor. She said next time I should get 2 of each for myself, her, and her daddy. I asked how many that would be total. She walked herself through the solution- "2 for daddy, plus 2 for mommy, plus 2 for me is 6 of the coconut ... 2 strawberry for mommy, 2 for ... is 6 more, 2 for mommy ... of the green tea ... is 6 more..."

I prompted her with "...and 6 times 3 is...?" she looked at me quizzically. "There are 3 of us, each getting 6 cookies." I said. She just matter of factly said 18. Then she asked me how much they were. I replied, "4 for a dollar." She then solved that on her own in the most amusing way- to me anyway- it just reminded me that we all solve problems a little differently. She said "18 takeaway 4 is.... [squirm, murmur, wiggle].... 14," she held up a little finger, "that's 1 dollar, 14 takeaway 4 is.... [squirm, murmur, wiggle].... 10, that's 2 dollars," up went finger #2 and after counting up to $4 she matter of factly stated, "that leaves 2 cookies, which would be.... [squirm, murmur, wiggle] .... $4.50 for us all to try 2 of each flavor."

I almost popped with pride. I had no idea she could solve a word problem using all 4 mathematical processes that she is studying, all in her head.

I've been thinking her homeschooling has been light this year- but it's just because I'm not doing it, and her daddy takes a different approach. His method is working and it actually balances what I did in Kindergarten by being a bit more math and science based. Maybe we should alternate every year! I do feel that we have very successfully trasitioned to him being primarily responsible for her learning. By successful I mean- I don't hate that he isn't doing it my way! And of course, more importantly, Grace is loving learning again.

And he's doing all this while taking care of a quite demanding 9 month old- what an amazing man I ran off and eloped with almost 12 years ago. Our life together this far has been such a varied adventure.

October updates

Our field trip out to Julian was a fun-filled family day- G really enjoyed herself, and Joy was very content the whole time. "Miss Gina" and "Rowdy Ryan" added a theatrical flair to the hands on activities the kids participated in- sluicing, sifting, panning for gold and stones; candle dipping, farm animal feeding and care, game playing, cider pressing and hay riding. Pictures to come as soon as I find the cord...

We were all covered in dust and so was our lunch!! I wore Joy in the sling for the first half of the day and nursed her freely amongst the happy homeschooling group we were with. Grace re-connected with a few friends but mostly enjoyed the experience with her daddy, sister and me.

My district manager called Friday, saying that I sufficiently impressed the DM I interviewed with and that they would be promoting me to ASM in 2 weeks- 2 months, depending on the needs of the stores in the district. I am so eager to find out where I will be and start settling into a bit of a regular routine. Although I do hope to get through the RMT training program as quickly as possible and get my own store in 6-8 months. We'll see what the universe has in store for me.

Shawn is still waiting to hear from WebVisible... he is very interested in this job. We pretty much ignored his birthday, poor guy. Things have just been rough and just like on my birthday it seemed better to just sorta get through it... sad, I know.

Joy is 9 months old today- boy is she getting big! Eating like a lumberjack and crawling all over the place. She loves her mama so much, and I wince every time she reaches for me as I crawl from the bed at 3:30 in the morning to go to work. I am just grateful that she has had this time with her daddy.

Grace's homeschool enrichment academy is having an open house on Sunday- I am excited to see what they have been learning, she had been enjoying it quite a bit and I am impressed with what I see her doing so far. She is in Spanish, guitar, wind ensemble, hip hop and tap- quite the little Rennaisance girl!!

g is my little mermaid
Tiffany

Grace's 1st Grade Experience, etc

So far this year we have done a lot of in the moment, review, reading and math practice. She is still only 6 years old I keep reminding myself! She is enrolled in an enrichment program on Thursdays where she learns Spanish through play, guitar, clarinet, hip hop and tap. The kids bring a lunch and move between classes in the dance studio where the program is held. She loves it so far and is really learning a lot- she drew and labelled her guitar, made up her own song, tried out a flute, trumpet and recorder before settling on the clarinet and she is making friends!

I really want to get Joy in a baby signing class and both the girls in swim programs (Joy in a Mommy & Me so I can get in the water some too!) but I have been working 40 hours a week at Starbucks. I open the store at 4:30am 4 days a week and work a mid-shift on Saturdays. I got transferred to Fashion Island and have an interview planned for the end of the month for Assistant Manager... but... well I don't really want to get promoted! I want to cut back to 20 hours and be with my kids more!! Shawn has also been putting in a LOT of hours at OC Nissan and working really hard, doing well; making ok $, but it just isn't worth the hours if I still have to work towards management to provide that stable base.

Soooo... he talked them into allowing him to work less hours and we will see what happens- this week certainly went better. I was able to get more than 3-4 hours of sleep a day unlike the previous few weeks. Joy was sleeping well until we started this crazy schedule now she wakes up every couple of hours to nurse and she is teething so she can be quite a handful when you are barely conscious and trying to listen to a 6 year old with no front teeth sounding out letters.

Grace has been such a tremendous help, so thoughtful and considerate- making me sandwiches or warming me leftovers when I get home from work, so I can feed the baby. She often watches over Joy so I can do chores or even rest for a bit. I really like the little girl she is becoming. She has quite the fashion sense and she loves to design clothes for herself and Joy- maybe in the spring we'll put together a unit study around fashion design.

Life is back on TV. I like that.

Barefoot in the Park

We finally made it back to the park today! It was a lovely afternoon, and Shawn decided to come too. The baby was happy to hang out in my lap and I snapped the following with my phone

Best of Both Worlds

Today's hot topic- Miley Cyrus' Vanity Fair photo shoot; here's an AP New Story link which quotes carefully crafted comments from publicists who are doing their jobs well, in creating these curiousity quenching headlines for their clients. As the parent of a soaking sponge of a 6 year old, I am seeing Miley's appeal seeping into my own set of circumstances.

Miley and the character she plays on TV are poised between two worlds, both the girl and her sitcom caricature innocently unfolding with mature confidence and an easy going smile. She balances out the Cyrus family name's blips on the radar of fame- her explosion countering (and reviving) her one-hit wonder dad, Billy's achy breaky 60 seconds. Young Ms Cyrus' stance, in this sensationalized situation is respectable, the fact that it is happening- completely expectable. She is getting older and the fans keep getting younger, because there are always new recruits to the army of Hannabees, a Disney "attraction" aimed at a specific demographic. G is on the youngest side of the fanbase of an aging act. In my role as mommy I am pulled to monitor and (attempt to) control the influence of G's exposure.

Watching an aspect of Miley's entrance into adulthood on the great stage of fame, I connect with her- I empathize with the vulnerability that she shows in the offending portrait. As an occasional reader of Vanity Fair, I am drawn to the story and I find myself siding with VF's desire to capture and portray Miley's moment of perfect balance- between adolescence and adulthood. Balance and the best of both worlds is what we all seek as we experience the life that happens while pursuing happiness. I want to see what Annie Liebowitz saw through her lens and digitally depicted. In my role as woman I am drawn to run out and get this magazine as soon as it hits the stands (consumer that I am) and read all about it!

As so many of us do I also get to balance my two worlds- currently that means being a socially productive worker and a fun fabulous family mommy. I am looking forward to an adventure with my daughter as we go to the library to gawk at and peruse the glossy pages together (sharing her exposure, but not shielding her from it!) AND I get to feel like a responsible adult for saving a little room in the landfills (and my-working-girl-self a few dollars). I guess I'll have to buy something useful and necessary that is advertised on the pages of Vanity Fair to balance it all out, so all the publicists involved in the photo spread that is focused on Miley Cyrus' bare back will be happy. I do feel a bit manipulated by this whole circus and all the media's "reporting" (read: "advertising") ...

I do get the best of both worlds.

Turn on your speakers if you are viewing my blogsite directly a balanced selection of the progression of Miley's sensational singing should be playing now. Country with dad, Disney's Hannah and the song I felt she was way too sexy performing on AI Gives Back a couple weeks ago. (here's a link to that playlist, current music has been changed!)

Still no Joy!

Went to the Dr again today- for fluid check and non-stress test (I feel like a car!) - she's active and has plenty of amniotic swimming room! Joy is positioned perfectly other than being up high and snug as a bug!

Grace woke up with the sniffles and a crackly little cough, but she was a brave trooper for the visit to OC- twice a week is taking it's toll on us! Last night we finished her first chapter book, a Disney Fairy book she got from her cousins for her birthday- Rani in the Mermaid Lagoon, and so she used the Barnes & Noble gift card that she got over a year ago (thank you Grandma Bernie!) to get another one, which she of course wants to start tonight!

She wants to do a theme study on Charlie and Lola; homeschoolshare has one with lapbook suggestions on I Will Not Ever Eat a Tomato, so I requested the book from the library- plus we'll also use the two we have- I've Won, No I've Won, No I've Won and I Really Must Color Now, a crafty and fun Charlie & Lola activity book I've been saving since I discovered it at a book fair last year. I hope to get going with it very soon after Joy is born so that we'll start establishing a good rhythm.

Yesterday we picked up a cute crib set- (Classic Pooh theme) from a friendly Freecycler whose son apparently never took to his crib! It is just what Joy's room needed to give it a sweet nursery feel. It has a bumper, headboard pad, ruffled skirt and an adorable wall hanging height chart- so it's perfect with the cute pink gingham sheet, a snuggly pink swaddler, all her clothes (hung smallest to largest, warmest to coolest) in the closet, the changing table fully converted back from it's bookcase status in Grace's room, shelves now stocked with onesies and jammies, sheets and blankets- oh yeah, I still need to get some diapers!!

Boy talk about baby on the brain...

Grace is 6 AND she lost a tooth!

Such busy-ness to report on (were I a reporter) in the lives of the intrepid Bellah family. We had a magical holiday filled with loving family visits, motherly moments of wonder and lots of yarn on my part! More on that later...

A hectic holiday, a burgeoning belly and constant clutter have kept me from the computer, but I am slowly regaining sanity and order. Grace's birthday week was filled with fun and capped off by a frivolous fairy party and (finally!) the loss of her first tooth last night- so yet another fairy visited our happy home...

I also update the VMC homepage for the month of January- we'll see when Joy decides to make her entrance and if I can actually participate in my own social blogging project!

Grace

Yesterday I had a Dr's appointment in OC and I went by myself- I also got to use a gift card I've had for almost a year to get some maternity jeans, and new shoes (crocs, again- but this time they are the Mary Jane style- and black so they'll go with anything!). After I stopped by my parents apartment and had a wonderful visit, including a walk through downtown San Clemente to my favorite deli in the whole wide world, Billy's. We enjoyed our sandwiches on the chilly patio and walked back to a warm cozy apartment, where with the flick of a switch a warm fire welcomed us!

When I got home and gave Grace the treats that her Papa sent for her she called to say thank you and ended up chatting for almost half an hour! She found a nice spot...


Or so she thought, as she laid across the stairs, Ford decided to jump over her and he's no little pup anymore, so one of his huge paws scraped her...


She proudly showed me the art lesson she had done with her Daddy. This first one shows her attempt at drawing Scooby Doo from memory on the top, then with a little help from Daddy on the bottom left and a third try by herself on the bottom right...



This one they did together..



And lastly she did this one all by herself...



She is now working on Shaggy...



Here is what Shawn used to teach her, his before and afters...



We are doing a lapbook on the Scooby Doo theme unit- I should have photos of it up in the next week or so...

Advent Treasure Hunt

On December 1st G started an Advent Treasure Hunt, which I customized to our style from this site. It's been a lot of fun- a few moments of frivolity amongst the frenzy! (I also enjoyed reading another interesting blog about the Advent season)

I have been stressed by packing and the disarray my house is in as we prepare to move (still don't know where!) and my 2 little bits of control and organization during the day have become this Advent activity and my current obsession with setting up the Virtual Moms Club.

I keep stealing just a few moments when a box is packed or a chore is done to pop online and do something else virtual. I realized that it is partially because I can organize, sort, rearrange, express myself and decorate to my hearts content and there is no mess! No clutter accumulates when you are playing with little widgets, bits of code and themed templates. Everything has it's nice little bordered box or mini module. Even music and family photos easily integrate into my virtual world. Moving is easy in cyberspace, click here... drag there... an voila it's gorgeous and simple to search for anything you need.

Here's a few photos from the past few days... (oh and you MUST try today's recipe, sent to my by Mel- BBQ cups!)

The cover of Advent Treasure Hunt folder, where we keep the "scrolls" she finds each day (many are printouts from the above site).


below is the calendar countdown; we paste a black & white symbol of the days activity to mark our progress. Day One was the story of the Angel Gabriel visiting Mary (I also presented her the Christmas Treasury, a book we purchased a couple years ago, but never got to in the past couple of Christmases. This year we plan on reading a story or poem & singing a song from it nightly. It's really getting us in the Christmas spirit- who needs decorations?)


Last night she got the clue "Where Joy will close her eyes, and we will sing her lullabies." She went to Joy's crib and found her handbell set in it's *new* bag, complete with a custom cut felt for silencing the bells as she set them down and the music pages securely tucked in- it's an old picnic bag that I found while packing- you can sort of see it in the background.


Shawn converted the sheet music (which he downloaded from the internet) to a similar style of the colored dot music pages that came with the handbells. The song for the day (the Treasure Hunt daily printout) was Joy to the World. We had fun trying to sing it together while she played the handbells!


Finally, I just liked these - they represent a typical day in our world- Grace wearing only my moms sweater building a lego bridge to "candy world" under the arch of "fantasy fort" ...



...and her faithful, loyal and tolerant friend, Prince Tiger.

Baby it's cold outside!

It's beginning to feel a bit chilly in these parts!! Grace learned a new vocabulary word yesterday that is quite fitting- frost. It is from the book we are reading, Groucho's Eyebrows, a chilling tale of a white kitty who gets lost in snow and is found only because of his "funny looking" black eyebrows, which stand our against the whiteness.

I'm trying to create a lapbook for this unit- I found a Teacher's Activity Guide online, and many of the activities could be displayed in lapbook format. For some reason my creative juices just aren't flowing though.

Probably all the stress and impending doom. Ok, not doom- moving back to OC will be fine, it's just that I really do love Temecula. It will be nice to be near family, and surrounded by so many options for life-based learning- not to mention nearer Shawn's work.

On another topic- Grace has had a very slightly loose tooth for a bit now, and then this morning she told me another was loose- this one is on the bottom and her adult teeth are already growing in behind it. It is VERY loose, it may even come out today.

Fall at the Learning Barefoot Kindergarten

Just a few of the highlights from our first two months of homeschool. Enjoy!

Make a slide show, scrapbook or ecard

Look what Grace learned how to do today...

Grace wanted to go for a walk, and it is a cloudy day so she decided to put on warmer shoes. A few minutes later she came running over with one Dora shoe on, squealing "look what I did!!", all by her little lonesome she figured out how to tie her shoes. She's been practicing for half an hour now, so that when Joy is born, she'll be able to do it for me since she'll know how. She also just informed me that she knows how to spell "boy" now- she just remembered it for no reason, apparently.

Comet's Nine Lives

We finished the Cat Lapbook! We did this in connection with our unit study on Comet's Nine Lives, and we are both very pleased with the result. I realized half way through that I needed to help her more than I expected. At first it felt like I was "doing her work for her" but then I noticed how much more interested she was when I was and I considered that I am showing her an example of how to lapbook in these first few units, not "keeping a record" of what she has done. It is something we will refer back to and read which reinforces and provides an "anchor" to all the many things we did with this delightful book.

Grace's first (non-family) sleepover!

Although her cousins have spent the night several times, this is the first time we have had a friend sleepover. Ava is one of the first friends Grace made when we moved to Temecula. Ava is about 10 months older than her, but they have always been into the same kind of playing- anything pretend or dramatic.

Their evening was filled with theatrical performances and scene setting ("this is my house, and yours is the living room- let's pretend my mom died and we are friends, but you are a dog and I am a cat")- and they utilized almost every little nook & cranny of the house (especially the hall closet, which houses Grace's "fort"). I found many little examples of their creativity, using the new block set we got at a garage sale, markers, stamps to make "tickets" to their show, and Ava shared her youtube channel with us- inspiring Grace to want to start one of her own.

We ordered Pizza Hut, Shawn made home-made rootbeer, they all made homemade ice cream, and I helped them make lots of lovely, scented soaps in the shape of fall leaves, flowers, shells and starfish. Then they enjoyed rootbeer float "soup". They started to watch different DVDs several times, but didn't finish any of them! They were off and playing before the "conflict" even came on screen (I overheard Ava ask Grace if she knew what the conflict part of a movie was, and Grace said it's the part where something happens- I didn't know she knew that!)

I read to them from Starbright Meditations for Children while Shawn moved the spare TV into Grace's room and they fell asleep watching Cinderella 3. They were zonked by midnight, and I was out by 12:30. Shawn stayed up and made a batch of beer in case there was middle of the night waking, but there wasn't.

They were up at 8:45 or so and enjoyed Fruit Loops, more ice cream, and leftover pizza for breakfast (it reminded me of my days in the dorm!) and now they are gathering kittens for some pretend game where they sell stuff and the kittens are their customers.

Click here to see the Photoshow.