Planning our Family Vacation: Texas or Bust!

Last week we decided to take a vacation! Since we haven't left the friendly confines of our little Metroplex for 2 years, it was definitely time to go somewhere.  So, we spent a few days researching and discussing where to go. 

Originally, we were completely on board with another trip to Hawaii.  But the realization that we STILL couldn't climb Diamond Head because our little ones can't do the stairs, and we STILL couldn't do the underwater fish adventure because our little ones are too short, and we STILL have to pay the exorbitant fees for the little ones, made us realize that maybe we were better off taking a trip to a more three-kids-friendly place.  (Although, Waikiki really is kid friendly!)

Next, we decided that maybe we should go all-in on a kid adventure this year.  So we looked into Walt Disney World.  It soon became apparent that a family of 5 with little ones is at a complete disadvantage in the magical world of Disney.  For starters, we don't fit on rides very well.  And there's also the fact that we don't fit into hotel rooms very well.  And then there's the fact that taking a family of 5 to Disney World and doing it right (I'm not into a dinky trip at a stinky resort) costs about the same as a trip to Hawaii.  So we decided that maybe Disney World should wait until our kids can actually recognize Disney characters--seriously, our boys probably don't know anyone outside of Mickey or Minnie.

Then we decided that maybe we should take an "easier" trip with our little gang.  Maybe we should stay IN Texas and enjoy our beautiful state.  So, because it is always fun and reliable, we did our little pilgrimage to the San Antonio Riverwalk.  And we're very glad we did.  There are so many things to do when you venture into the Texas Hill Country: shopping at the outlets along I-35; the Alamo; IMAX at the Alamo; Sea World; Six Flags; Missions baseball; San Antonio missions tour; shopping in Fredericksburg; Schlitterbauhn; Natural Caverns tour;  Boat rides down the river; tubing down the Brazos; the Zoo; the train ride at the zoo; western town tours, etc. Of course, we only did a few of the activities on this list, but the kids had some fun experiences, mommy did some shopping, and daddy spent afternoons reading books.  We actually had a trip that resembled a real vacation.

That said, vacationing with the 3 Amigos was easier said than done.  By night #1 it occurred to us that taking the kids might have been a mistake.  By night #2, we were already planning our adults-only vacation away from the kids for our next trip.  By night #3, we were exhausted.  So on each of the rest of the nights, we had a mandatory pajama party in our hotel suite that started around 6:30 pm.  (Thank goodness for bedtime, right?)  And somehow, we survived and lived to tell the stories.  Stay tuned for more tales from the Hill Country.

Derailed Plans and Forever Stamps

 

No, I haven't been hospitalized, institutionalized, comatose, or imprisoned for the last month.  And no, I'm not expecting baby #4!  I've just been busy.  Thus, I haven't written in awhile.

I'm not really sure why I've been so busy, but little things just keep coming up.  Take for example, my litigation meeting on Monday.  Usually, we get everything sorted out in time so that I can skip our group lunch and leave around noon (I love leaving early so that I can catch a quick lunch date with Mr. Wonderful).  This week, however, the meeting went on and on and on and on.  By the time I left the meeting, I was well behind rush hour traffic and was too close to falling asleep to be able to go birthday shopping for my almost 4 year old's birthday.   My plans for this week were complete derailed (and yes, the pun is appropriate).

The long Monday resulted in a change of plans on Tuesday where homeschooling turned into a Mommy-Son date and shopping trip.  That trip was fun, but altogether unsuccessful since train decorations are extremely hard to find--even Thomas decorations were yucky or overpriced.  Seriously, who pays $20 plus the cost of helium for a Thomas balloon?!  So after some planning and plotting, Boy Wonder and I decided that we would create our own train tracks at home so that Mr. T could have a train day party for his 4th birthday.  Thus, our Wednesday agenda went from birthday partying to decorating and preparing for a party (all which I wanted to do on Monday!).

Boy Wonder was so excited about homemade paint-tape tracks that he offered to do the tracks himself this morning while I worked out.  This sounded like a great creative project for him, and honestly, less for me to do.  So I said got for it!

Later, when I walked into our large entry space to check out the tracks I noticed that Boy Wonder had done more than just put painter's tape on the floor.  He proudly pointed out the fact that he had found these cool flags to add to his tracks.  As he grinned, I stared in horror at the many dollars worth of stamps that he had stuck to my tile floor and walls.  Forever stamps with the American flag were all over the place!  Instead of appreciating his creativity, I'm pretty sure I shrieked and said a word that belongs on the "bad word list."  In hind site, I should have taken a picture of his masterpiece, but at the time all I could do was focus on salvaging as many flags as I could.

Thus has been my life lately.  I clean up messes daily.  I deal with crying daily.  I accidentally fall asleep before I finish my to-do list sometimes.  But in the midst of all the madness that is life with preschoolers, I still manage to find time to party with and enjoy them.  Sometimes I just forget to blog it.

Homeschooling is a Lot Like Law School

This week marks Week 11 of homeschooling (we did take off for Spring Break). Starting in January seemed like a fabulous idea at the time.  It was my chance to see if homeschooling would work before I became bound to an entire school year.  Why I chose to start an entire year's worth of kindergarten in January still confuses me. 

In theory, having a pre-done and pre-planned curriculum at my fingertips was genius.  But starting it mid year has been tricky.  The lessons that coordinated with Columbus Day landed around President's Day and Christmas showed up in math a few weeks ago.  Thus, I've had to rearrange some of the literature and enrichment and social studies projects.  And although I've got nicely scheduled lessons for math and phonics, in reality we're on Phonics week 12 and Math week 21.  So if you look at my pre-done lessons for week 11, in reality, we're only actually doing the Bible verse for that week. 

I've been told that my inability to follow pre-done lesson plans is because I'm an out-of-the-box thinker who doesn't like to be confined to a rigid set of rules.  (I mean, isn't one of the benefits of homeschooling to have a little freedom and to get away from the institutionalized norms?)  But the truth of the matter is that law school did this to me.  In law school, each student gets a syllabus and usually a schedule at the beginning of the semester to use as a guide for what they should be studying outside of class.  Typically, the lectures for each class coordinate with this schedule.  And then, at the end of the semester, each student is responsible for all the material included in the syllabus and schedule and they are tested accordingly--one test for the entire semester.  Thus, there's a lot of personal responsibility to get to the end of the syllabus, but little accountability along the way.  So some students cram an entire semester's worth of material into a few days before the exam.  And other students systematically work through the material on an individual or group basis throughout the semester.  It's the perfect preparation for handling a real case load.

Homeschooling is a lot like that.  Mom (or Dad) gets the material and/or the lesson plan guide and then creates a way to get to the end.  For us, it means that I find ways to push 5 days of work into 3 longer days each week; the other 2 days we do fun activities. And then I try to optimize those 5 days be pushing up the difficulty notch each week so as to not bore Boy Wonder (who, like his Daddy, hates meaningless repetition).   My goal is to get to the end of the 32 week lesson plan book, having covered all the objectives designed for the curriculum and having a child who has retained all that we've covered. 

At some point, I might have the guts to create my own objectives and develop my own "curriculum" combining different books and authors.  But for now, I like having the syllabus-like lesson planner to use as my guide for the year.  And I love finding new ways to explore the materials with Boy Wonder.  So yes, I would do it again and buy the pre-done lesson plans.  And although it is confusing, I really don't regret starting in January.

I'm sure that in time I will have to adjust my methods.  The law school approach might not always work.  But for everybody who thinks that mom wasted 4 years studying the law just to stay home with children and homeschool, just know that this was probably the best preparation I could have had for homeschooling! Law school is a lot like homeschooling.

Ancient Med Mal

 

After studying multiple chapters of The Story of the World that involved ancient leaders who were brutal and ruthless rulers over their people, today we studied Hammurabi.  Unlike, many of his predecessors, Hammurabi held his people to a more "civilized" system of justice.  He actually developed laws that were applicable to everyone.  For better or worse, these somtimes brutal laws attempted to promote a standard of goodness among the people.

As a part of our lesson, I was instructed to ask Boy Wonder how he felt about some of Hammurabi's Code.  The goal was for him to decide if the rules were just and fair. The first few rules were simple and obviously reasonable rules, such as: "If someone cuts down a tree on someone else's land, he will pay for it."  The further we got down the list, however, the rules became a little more drastic. 

I couldn't help but laugh when Boy Wonder informed me that the rule "If a doctor operates on a patient and the patient dies, the doctor's hand will be cut off," was a fair rule.  I suppose the fact that Mommy is a medical malpractice lawyer who is regularly involved in lawsuits where things go drastically wrong with patient care has somehow rubbed off.  But because I'm not quite as vicious as some might believe, I explained to Boy Wonder that it wouldn't be appropriate to cut off a doctor's hand just because his patient dies.  This led to a wonderful discussion over medical liability, which Boy Wonder grasped better than many adults I know.

Yes, sometimes patients die after surgery and the surgeon did the best he could and the best that could be expected of him to do. Sometimes patients just have bad outcomes that could not be prevented.

But, as Hammurabi so clearly understood, sometimes doctors do fail their patients.  Many bad outcomes are preventable.  And if a patient gets injured or dies because a doctor provides really awful care, then the doctor should reimburse the patient for the pain, suffering, and cost of the injury.   That's why injured patients file lawsuits.  They seek recovery for the wrong that was committed to them by the physician (or whoever) who messed up.  This is both reasonable and logical for a patient who has endured suffering at the hands of someone who should have done better.  In many cases, a patient has to sue in order to cover the cost of medical bills, time away from work, childcare, etc.  A lawsuit is not something that they're excited about.  Too often, patients won't be able to eat or pay their bills without it.

It's funny how so many people don't get the medical malpractice concept.  I mean, if I'm a painter and walk in your house and spill paint everywhere, you have every right to seek reimbursement from me for the damage I cause.  Everyone who provides a service to someone else should be held to this standard.  Their is no I-went-to-medical-school exemption.  We are all expected to do our best in a good and reasonable way all the time. 

Hammurabi was extreme with many of his laws.  But he got one thing right.  It's a theme that is repeated throughout the code: If you do something to wrong another, you should do what it takes to restore that person to their original place or reimburse them for your wrongdoing.  It's such a simple concept that even my 5 year old gets it!

Safe Ziploc Omelets

Without college football games to entertain us this spring, my family has needed a new "hobby" for our Saturday entertainment.  So, for the past few weekends we have been picking a new "food" to prepare at home and eat as a family.  Now I know this may sound a little dumb and uneventful, but for non-risk takers like Mr. Wonderful and I, trying new dishes at our house is a BIG deal.  And it's an even bigger deal when we are the one who do the cooking. 

This weekend, we decided that we wanted to do breakfast for supper and we wanted to perfect the art of the omelet.  We had heard great things about cooking omelets in plastic baggies and boiling them over the stove, camping style.  But after googling bag-made omelets, we decided that we should take Ziploc's advice and not use their baggies for off-labeled use.  (Apparently, the bags are not meant to be boiled. In doing so, carcinogens can be released into the foods that are being cooked.)  Instead, we referred to Ziploc's recipes for steamed omelets.

Ziplock has these microwave-friendly bags that are intended to be used for steaming foods.  According to Ziploc, these bags are perfect for making omelets.  So we decided to try them out.  Turns out they were so good, we might be eating omelets regularly!  Plus, it took approximately 5 minutes to make 2 omelets.  Yep, 5 minutes!!!

To make Ziploc's Fast Omelets (I changed their recipe a little--no way am I adding mushrooms!) here are the following steps:

1. Start with a Ziploc's Zip'n Steam Bag (a package of 10 should cost less than $3).
2. Crack open 2-3 eggs and dump the contents into the bag.  Throw shell away. 
3. Add a little butter.  I don't really measure, so I just put 1-3 tbs in the bag.
4. Add a pinch of salt and sprinkles of pepper.
5. Add cheese.  We used shredded, Mexican mix.
6. Add whatever extras you want: I prefer chopped onions, green peppers, tomatoes, and bacon.  Mr. Wonderful just wanted diced ham (you can buy pre-cooked diced ham for omelets in the meat section of the grocery store). 
7. Get the air out of the bag and seal the bag.
8. Stick in the microwave with the marked side up--the bag will tell you what side goes up. 
9. Cook for 2 1/2-3 minutes.
10. You should have a beautiful omelet ready to serve. 

Yes, I know.  I'm not the right person to share recipes since I don't measure and just cook to taste.   That said, I don't think you can mess these omelets up.  On a night when you want a dinner ready in a matter of minutes, this is a perfect go-to option!  Can I get a "Yeah!" for family night?!

My Spring Song

Yesterday officially marked the beginning of spring this year, and our weather was pretty much perfect.  For some reason, spring always makes me want to sing.  And this week, I've been singing Rising Sun by All Sons and Daughters.  This song is too good not to share.

Praise Him all you sinners
Sing oh sing you weary
Oh praise Him all you children of God
We lift high His glory
Shown throughout our stories
We praise Him as the children of God

Our great redeemer
Glorious Savior
Your name is higher than the rising sun
Light of the morning
You shine forever
Your name is higher than the rising sun
Your name is higher than the rising sun

Praise His name forever
Speak it loud and clear now
Oh praise Him all you children of God

Our great redeemer
Glorious Savior
Your name is higher than the rising sun
Light of the morning
You shine forever
Your name is higher than the rising sun
Your name is higher than the rising sun

Hallelujah
Name above all
Simply to speak Your name is praise
Hallelujah
Now and always
Forever we lift Your name in praise
Hallelujah
Our God, You reign
Simply to speak Your name is praise

Our great redeemer
Glorious Savior
Your name is higher than the rising sun
Light of the morning
You shine forever
Your name is higher than the rising sun
Your name is higher than the rising sun
Your name is higher than the rising sun

Hallelujah name above all
Hallelujah name above all
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

How a Three Year Old Eats a Donut

After his dreaded orthopedic follow-up appointment this week, I promised Tornado Man that I would take him wherever he wanted to go for breakfast.  Unfortunately, he wasn't even remotely interested in Einstein Bros. Bagel or Starbuck's (at this age, his older brother had been brainwashed into believing that Starbuck's made the best donuts in the world).  Instead, my little guy was very adamant that he wanted to go to Dunkin' Donuts.

So, we went to Dunkin' Donuts where he ordered his all-time favorite donut: the chocolate frosted donut.  And about 5 minutes after he sat down he had "finished" his donut.  And this is what was left:

I'm thinking next time I might as well buy the little guy a Hershey bar and then I can get my latte from wherever I want!

The Battle for the Bismarck

Last Sunday was eventful.  Hopefully, tomorrow won't be quite as exciting.  It all started when the boys got into a battle over The Bismarck, their model ship replica of the German battleship that was bombed, scuttled, and sunk during WWII. I wasn't really paying attention to the argument.  But when I heard the screams, I knew that something had happened.

Somehow, little brother's finger got smashed in a bedroom door.  I'm pretty sure it was an accident.  But it was a gross and bloody mess.  At first, I hoped that we could run the finger under some water to make it feel better.  But when I performed my orthopedic nursing assessment, I was pretty sure that we needed medical intervention as soon as possible.  That's how Mr. T ended up making his 2nd trip to the emergency room. 

Thank goodness for Lidocaine.  It's amazing what a person can endure once that stuff kicks in.  Our sweet three year old survived a nail bed manipulation and steri strip application with that stuff.  He ended up with a broken finger, but we have hope that the nail will survive and life will go on.  It appears that he managed to evade surgery as well.  At least now we've made friends with our local ER doctor and a nice orthopedic surgeon.  Somehow, I doubt that we've seen the last of these guys.

I really hadn't planned on spending a few days of our Spring Break sitting in doctor's offices and waiting rooms.  But this is parenting: always expect the unexpected.  I really never expected that the boys' war games would get physical.  I guess the British aren't the only ones to suffer at the hands of the Bismarck.

Just a note: Because I'm a nurse who has taken care of my share of wounds, it occurred to me that I ought to take a picture of the injured finger (although I'm not going to share it online). This photo turned out to be very useful for subsequent treating physicians who wanted to see the initial injury.  So when in doubt, DO take those bloody photos!

The Other Children

On occasion, I hear other moms say "Oh, I could never homeschool. What would I do with my other children?" At one time, this was a concern of mine as well.  I mean, I can barely squeak out a few hours to do actual work (for money), and that's when my oldest is playing around the house and actually interacting with the little ones. For the life of me, I couldn't imagine trying to keep the little ones busy while I did school with my responsible, oldest child.  What could the other two get into during our school hours?  They get into plenty when I'm not preoccupied.

Turns out, I was worried for nothing.  The little ones are happy to be right in the middle of our lessons.  And if we need time away from the little ones, Baby G will contentedly sit in her crib listening to music (she can see our homeschool room from her crib).  Mr. T (aka Tornado Man, aka boy #2) is happy to sit at the table with us practicing his fine motor skills with a trace book. Or he'll paint a picture while standing at the easel.  Or he'll watch educational movies and documentaries in the media room.  Or, sometimes he sits and listens to our lessons too.  Regardless, he's just happy to have his own school project to do.

 I've discovered that learning is contagious.  My two little ones actually want to do school with us in the mornings.  Although I have no intention of putting a 15 mo old and a 3 yr old on a formal curriculum, they are pleased when I give them something to do.  I think they've noticed that big brother is accomplishing tasks and is getting positive praise from Mommy and Daddy for all his hard work.  Why wouldn't the other two kids want this as well?  Plus, school looks fun.  It's not this ambiguous place that my son leaves every afternoon.  They are a part of it--and it seems fun!

I can see why homeschooling does not work for everyone. Not everyone has a carefree, adventurous spirit when it comes to learning.  And if mommy doesn't love to learn, why would anyone else?  But if the only thing holding a mommy back is her other children, I'd tell her to go on a 2 week trial and see how things work.  In spite of my own fears, my other children are perfectly content, happy, and are not being deprived by my decision to homeschool at all.  It's amazing how some things are just meant to be.

To Play for Love

We've been putting it off for years.  Just the thought of having to sit in the bleachers enduring wind, rain, and the Texas heat makes my head hurt.  Because once this whole charade starts, it might not end for another 20 years or so.  And the idea of sacrificing 20 years of family life to a sport makes my stomach churn.  That said, I was prepared to go for it this year.  I was prepared to let my oldest son finally sign up for t-ball.

T-ball in Texas has become a ridiculous obsession for parents. Starting at 3 yrs old, little boys are treated like teenagers as they endure multiple nights of practices and games, try-outs and drafts, and all-star games and "world series."  It's both amusing and disgusting at the same time to watch parents turn America's favorite pastime into a career for their toddler.  Why in the world would any parent think their child has college or MLB potential when their child is only 4? 

It occurred to us that our desire to not burn out our son could be to his detriment at some point.  For example, we discovered that because of his birthday, this might be his last spring of eligibility for t-ball.  Thus by making him wait to play ball, we would be forcing him to skip that entire step of baseball.  Upon this discovery, Mr. Wonderful started searching for the least life-invasive little league around.  We agreed that Boy Wonder (who was hitting just fine without a tee at 2 or 3 yrs old) could finally sign up for baseball.  We marked the sign-up on our schedule and planned to commit our Saturdays during March and April to ballgames.

But then something happened. My son discovered a new sport.  Grandma and Grandpa gave him a tennis racket for Christmas and signed him up for tennis lessons at the rec center.  And he fell in love. It's mind-blowing that a 5 year old would be obsessed with such a grown-up-like sport, but Boy Wonder insists that he would rather play tennis than any other sport.  He has assured us that tennis is his game.  He was very adamant that he doesn't need to play baseball.  He informed us that if he needs to, he can always play that sport later!

And Hallelujah!  Our rec center has little kid tennis classes INSIDE the gym during the winter.  Not only that, but we found a coach who decided that both of our boys should get to learn the sport together.  (Who knew that our 3 yr old could volley so well?) I'm not saying that I have a world class doubles team in my house right now who will someday achieve a world ranking.  (I'm not that parent.)  But my boys are getting to enjoy playing a sport together.  We have found a sport that my son can play because he WANTS to.  Ah, "to play for love," such an appropriate definition out of the tennis history books. 

Even Baby G loves tennis lessons.  Today I even caught her placing balls on the face of the racket as if she were going to do drills with the boys.  Who knows, we might have a prodigy yet?