Week of Reflections

Another week has come and gone at the Schroeder House.  I can't believe it is the middle of September already! We are still waiting for the cooler weather to usher in the Fall season, but that hasn't stopped us from enjoying the beautiful outdoors in Georgia and all the lush green landscaping!  Hopefully, though, cooler temperatures will be upon us shortly so we don't have to shower multiple times a day!

This week was a great one, first of all, because Braylei had Monday off from school for Labor Day.  Unfortunately, because Jeremy is doing an in-patient rotation at the hospital this month he still had to work.  It was fun to spend the day at home with the kids and simply enjoy one another.  While Brix was taking her morning nap, Bray and Taysce decided that they wanted to learn how to juggle.  I'm not sure why or where that came from, but nevertheless they asked so we sat down and conducted a "juggling school" session.  I can by no means juggle at all (except for scarves that float, hehe!) but since we had to start from the beginning it really didn't matter.  I worked with them on simply throwing a ball up in the air and catching it.  They were both so diligent in their efforts and worked at it for over 30 minutes.  They were pretty much able to conquer this feat, so we moved on to throwing the ball up with one hand and catching it with the other.  This was about as far as we got, but I'm so proud of my two little circus clowns!  Brix even got in on the action when she woke up!  They had a great time and have been practicing everyday since then!

On Monday night we had Family Home Evening like normal, where we introduced a character building program to our kids that Jeremy and I developed.  Over the past few months we have noticed some behaviors in our kids that we want to help them improve and have been throwing around some different ideas to aid in this task.  We decided that as a family we are going to focus on a different character trait each month that will help all of us become stronger and better individuals as well as solidify our family bond.  Because each of our monthly traits are quite general in nature, we have furthermore decided to focus on an aspect of that particular trait each week of the month so that the task is not so overwhelming for any of us.  With everything going on in the world right now we feel that this is extremely important so that our kids (and us) can  have a positive effect on those we interact with and may come in contact with.  And above all, we hope that this will help our family continue to be an unbreakable unit of strength that each of us can find comfort in and always turn to in a time of need. 

This month the trait we are working on is Attitude and the aspect of this trait that we focused on this past week was "Tone of Voice".  We wanted to encourage each other to always talk to one another in a respectable tone of voice, even if we are upset or angry.  To make this a positive experience, every time we heard one of the kids talking to another person in a calm and respectful manner we gave them a cut-out of a penny and praised them for the positive way in which they were interacting.  Then, they got to put the penny up on their chart that they had made on Monday night.  Throughout the week, they could collect pennies for their chart and at the end of the week they are able to turn them in to us for real pennies to put in their piggy banks.  We decided we wanted to use positive reinforcement with the kids, so we never take away their pennies on their charts or threaten for them to lose them.  This has worked wonders at our house and I have to say that after a week our kids are now much better at communicating and controlling their emotions.  Plus, this has incorporated so many more learning experiences such as counting, the value of coins, tithing, and budgeting.  I am so excited to see how this continues to progress with our family!

Here are a couple of pictures of the kids decorating their charts:

 

On Thursday, Braylei came home from school asking all sorts of questions about planes crashing into things and buildings collapsing.  At first, I couldn't figure out what she was talking about but then I realized that she was asking about the events of September 11.  After talking to her further, I found out that they were learning a couple of patriotic songs to sing the next day for a 9/11 Commemoration at her school and that she had overheard some older students talking about these events.  She was very adamant about finding more out about this topic so after I put Brix down for a nap I sat down with her to do some research.  Luckily, I had bought a child appropriate book from Scholastic a few years ago regarding this subject and so I pulled it out and together we read it.  She was like a sponge sucking the information up and couldn't get enough of it.  For some reason she was very interested in everything that happened so we got on the internet and I found a few kid friendly websites about September 11.  For about an hour and a half we went over all kinds of information and watched a few slideshow tributes.  At one point Tayscen came in and tried to talk during one of the slideshows and Braylei kindly told him that he needed to be reverent and not talk because this was a serious thing.  Then she folded her arms and bowed her head.  

Braylei was so concerned about all the people who lost their lives that day and kept asking me all kinds of questions about what happened to the boys and girls who didn't have a mommy or daddy anymore and the firemen who died trying to save everyone.  I never would have thought that I would have been having this discussion with my 4 year old.  Braylei is so sensitive and in tune with the spirit that it doesn't surprise me that she was so inquisitive, but I had just hoped that she would have been a little bit older.  She kept asking if planes were going to crash into our house and if her Uncle Troy, who is a firefighter, was going to die.  She kept saying that she didn't want anyone to die and wished that we could all be friends and nice to one another.  

I couldn't ask for a better example of the pure love of Christ in my life than my own children.  They are so innocent and the perfect example of what I want to be.  I feel so undeserving to be blessed with such sweet spirits in my home and only hope that I can be the best mom and wife possible.  Life is too short to not make the most of all the opportunities that come our way.  I am so grateful for a wonderful husband that works so hard to provide for our family and is the best father any child could ask for.  I know that I am blessed in so many ways with my family, faith, and friends and hope that I can always give more back to others than I receive.

Here is the rest of our week in pictures:

 

This is Brix's new favorite past time!

Enjoying popcorn and smoothies while watching our Friday Night Family Movie, which featured "The Swan Princess" this week!

Tayscen being an ever helpful big brother!

Birdhouses, Dress-Ups, and Doctors, Oh My!

As I began to write this post I was thinking to myself that not too much happened this week, but as I looked at the pictures I have taken I realized that we did do a lot!  We started off our week helping Braylei and Tayscen make birdhouses for the backyard.  They loved being able to sand, paint, and assemble all the pieces.  Braylei being the perfectionist/artist that she is took about an hour to paint her birdhouse and used every color there was.  Tayscen, on the other hand, used only two colors and was done in a matter of minutes.  Both of their houses turned out beautiful and they had a blast making them.  After Tayscen was done he immediately switched to another activity while he waited for Braylei to finish, which involved decorating Brixlyn with stickers.  Brix was a good sport and sat patiently while Tayscen completed his "living art" masterpiece.

  

 

 

On Tuesday Braylei came home from school not feeling well and was having a horrible time breathing.  It seems like ever since we moved to Georgia, her asthma has gotten worse and she keeps having allergy flair-ups.  I decided to keep her home from school on Wednesday so that she could have a day to rest and to take her to the doctor to get everything checked out.  The doctor gave us a bunch of "fun" asthma gadgets to use with her (boy do I know those well) and put her on a couple of new medications.  She finally seems to be doing better and hopefully these new medications will keep her breathing under control.  She was so sad when she had to miss school and said to me, "But Mom, if I don't go to school I will miss my teacher, Mrs. Flowers, so much!" I tried to ease her pain by letting her stay in her pajamas and watch a couple of movies, though.

Bray trying to enjoy her sick day

Tayscen LOVING Bray's sick day

Tayscen decided this week that he wanted to start spelling words like his big sister and what a GREAT job he has been doing.  He is on a learning bullet train right now!  He would tell me a word he wanted to spell and I would help him sound it out.  Then, he would get the letters and put them where they went.  By the end of the week, he could do this all by himself!  His favorite words to spell right now are mom, dad, bat, pig, and dog.

As usual, the favorite past time at our house is playing dress-up.  This week was no different.  Braylei and Tayscen stayed busy changing outfits from "Richard Simmons" to "Tinkerbell".  And of course, they couldn't leave Brixlyn out!  Braylei also decided that Tayscen needed a make over on Saturday, which included a facial, make-up design session, and manicure/pedicure.  Unfortunately, I realized too late that I didn't have any nailpolish remover, so Tayscen had to go to church today with pink and purple fingers and toes!

 

 

On Friday night, Braylei's school had their first football game and the Pre-K through 3rd graders were the "special guests of honor".  Even though the game didn't start until after the kids bedtime, we decided to attend and enjoy the festivities.  There was a cookout in the quad before the game where the kids got hamburgers, hotdogs, chips, drinks, and cookies.  They were also able to get their faces painted and make posters for the football players.  Before the game started, each child got a special noise maker to use while they lined up down the "Cougar Walk" where all the football players ran by before going onto the field.  Braylei and Taysce loved running around and watching the game.  Braylei was so excited to introduce her little brother to all her friends at school and loved showing her Dad where her classroom and other things on campus are.

 

Saturday was a great day thanks to my wonderful family, both near and far!  Jeremy had to go to work at 5:00 am until lunchtime, but it was awesome to spend my "birthday morning" with my kids!  Since Jeremy wasn't here to make me breakfast, I made my own complete with made from scratch belgian waffles with cool whip and fresh starawberries and turkey bacon.  The waffle recipe was a bit more complex than I realized, having to seperate the eggs and beat the egg whites into soft peaks and the yolks into hard peaks along with 15 more steps, so by the time I got it done and ready my kids decided that they would rather have cereal!  More for me, right?! Brixlyn and I enjoyed everything, though, and while I cleaned up my thoughtful little kids made me a tea party complete with a pinto bean cake.  They sang me Happy Birthday and gave me presents that they made all by themselves.  I couldn't ask for better kids!

   

Once Jeremy got home, we took the kids to a new frozen yogurt place to celebrate my birthday.  There are 10 different flavors that they switch out and that you can eat individually or swirl together to make a new flavor.  Then, they have every topping you can think of.  The best part, though,...it is all self serve and you start with a cup that is the size of a cereal bowl! My kids thought they were in heaven.  It was fun to get to make your own flavor and add as many toppings as you want.  I had half cookies and cream and half triple chocolate.  I went a little overboard on the toppings with cookie dough, chocolate covered waffle pieces, peanut butter cups, M&M's, Andes mints, and brownie bites, but......it was my birthday right?  After yogurt, we walked around the outdoor mall for a bit because the weather was GORGEOUS and then we came home to give Brix a nap.  Jeremy surprised me and got me an iPad for my birthday, which is AWESOME!!  Since taking 3 kids out to eat really is not that enjoyable at their current ages, we opted to feed them and put them to bed, after which we ordered Applebees To Go (with a giftcard we had from Jeremy's graduation) and watched my favorite show of all time (don't laugh!) Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, which I got from Netflix.  It was a great birthday thanks to my wonderful family!  Thank you all again for the well wishes! 

A Glimmer of Our Week

Wow, the weeks seem to be just flying by.  I can't believe that September will be here this week!  We have certainly been keeping busy here at our house.  Jeremy started his Maternal/Child rotation on Monday and is loving it.  He has come home everyday so excited, talking about all the babies he has been able to take care of and interact with.  He hasn't actually been able to deliver any babies yet because there have been no deliveries during his work hours, but he is really looking forward to being able to do so over the next three weeks.  His hours haven't been too bad thus far, but unfortunately because Braylei is now in school the kids go to bed between 6:00 and 6:30 and Jeremy is not home yet.  It has been tough on them to not see their dad during the week, but it has made it all that much sweeter when they saw him this weekend and wouldn't let him out of their sight!

This week Braylei had school pictures.  She was so excited, but she seems to be that way about everything related to school!  Here are a couple of pictures I took of her in her outfit.  She is obsessed with knee socks right now!

On Friday, Braylei got to participate in "Mystery Show and Tell" with her class.  It is a critical thinking activity where every child chooses something from home to bring to class and share, but the catch is that it has to be hidden so no one can see it and each student is required to write three clues about his/her object.  When it is his/her turn, each student reads the clues to the class and then the other students try and guess what the object is.  I am a HUGE fan of this because it incorporates so many different academic skills: reading, writing, analyzing, drawing conclusions, etc.  Braylei decided to take her Belle rag doll from the Disney Store.  She came up with and wrote the clues by herself, which were: 1. It is made out of fabric. 2. It has a head. 3. It is wearing a yellow dress.  It was also Mrs. Flowers, one of her teachers, birthday on Friday.  She spent two hours making a beautiful card for her at home and then insisted on the way to school that we needed to stop and buy her some flowers.  What a thoughtful little girl she is!

Tayscen enjoyed the week going to a couple of different playgroups and doing preschool.  He loves the alphabet right now and can often be heard singing songs about it around the house.  One morning while I was cleaning the kitchen, he was sitting on the couch playing with his magna doodle.  We just started really focusing on writing his letters last week, and all of a sudden he said to me, " Look Mom. I wrote an A."  I turned around and this is what I saw:

I was so impressed! Not only was he not looking at anything or tracing anything, but he had only practiced writing this a few times the week before!  He was so proud of himself and went on to write a letter T, G, O, and W, which are all letters we haven't even practiced writing yet.  It amazes me how much kids learn even when we are not actively teaching them anything or think that they are paying attention.  Working with Tayscen lately has really made me miss teaching preschool and observing the joy kids find in themselves when accomplishing these things.  I am so blessed to be able to teach my own children in my home and partake in these little "miracles" each and every day!

Tayscen was also busy this week building little cities all over the house.  One day, him and I spent over three hours making towers, trains, and castles all over the playroom.  It was so fun to see the creations he would come up with and watch his little face light up as his tower got bigger and bigger.  Of course, once Brix got up from her nap she quickly became our own "King Kong" and knocked most of the towers down, but Tayscen was such a good sport and just built more for her to play with.  They certainly have such a special bond between them.  Here are a few pics of our city:

 

Brix has been busy getting bigger everyday and just makes our lives so much fun! I love to just watch her play and discover.  She has a toy that opens and shuts, which she loves right now.  Jeremy and I watched her play with it for 15 or 20 minutes the other night and she would have kept going if it wasn't her bedtime!  Playing with things that have cause and effect are definitely what keeps her interest.  One of my favorite things about her right now is every time that I put her down in her crib, she lays on her tummy, kicks her legs around, and giggles like it is the best thing in the world.  It is so cute! She also is really into growling and making this exasperated noise that her brother and sister make when they are angry.  Obviously, she is really into mimicking right now too.  She loves to chat your ear off with her babble and has an appetite for everything!  Here are a couple of pics of her just being cute this week:

Brix's other favorite past time right now is reading books.  She can often be found in our den in the middle of a pile of books.  She loves to pull them all off of the shelf and stack them around her.  She definitely fits in with the rest of us!

   

This weekend, since Jeremy had it off, we decided to work on our yard.  We have been busy clearing out some of the woods and today we started building our box for the playground system we are going to put together.  We took a family trip to our local Home Depot and got the supplies we needed, after which we laid Brix down for a nap and got to work.  Braylei and Tayscen were such hard workers and loved being able to play outside all day.  They rode their bikes and drew with chalk, but also helped dig some rocks out of the ground and wet the dirt with the hose.  It ended up raining, or actually pouring, and we all got soaked!  The kids were running around splashing in all of the puddles and poor Jeremy worked so hard tilling the ground.  At least it wasn't too hot! It may not look like much yet, but a lot of work went into it today.  Jeremy worked so hard and we all had so much fun just spending the day together!  Here are a few pics of our progress:

The beginning of our work day

Getting down and dirty

Jeremy showing the kids how it's done

Getting ready to till the ground

 This rock may not look like much, but it is one of many that have become our nemesis. They are all over our yard and really big (once you unearth them) and heavy! 

Bray digging out the rocks

Taysce ready to work

Today's finished product!

And last but not least I just want to leave everyone with a cute story about Braylei.  After she got home from school yesterday, her and Tayscen were playing dress-up (of course).  Tayscen was being the prince and Bray was the princess.  Taysce kept telling Braylei that he would fight the bad guys and dragons for her.  They were running all over and having such a great time.  After a little bit Braylei stopped and told Tayscen that she didn't need a prince anymore.  I asked her why and she said to me, " Because I am a sword fighting princess and I can save myself so I don't need any princes!"  I told Jeremy I was going to record this so that I can remind her of it in about ten years!