Our Homeschool Experiment

I call this our homeschool "experiment", because Tobin does not HAVE to start kindergarten until this coming fall. I figure that gives me a couple months to see if homeschooling works for us. Honestly, the idea of me being in charge of what my child learns scares me. Am I really cut out for this? I have done a lot of research, and we have enjoyed the last three months of education. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

 

 

 

We received our curriculum for My Father's World Kindergarten the first week of January, and we were so excited, we started kindergarten the very next week!

 

 

My little man turned 5 in February, and he is so excited to learn how to read.

 

 

He has grown up A LOT in the last year and a half!

 

 

Of course little brother is learning along the way too. He wouldn't want to be left out of course, but the best part is watching big brother go out of his way to include him. Usually, I teach Tobin, then he turns around and teaches Jonah. So sweet.

 

 

 

What better place to start than with the days of Creation?

Tobin loved coloring, cutting out, and glueing these numbers all by himself.

(the "O" at the end is Tobin's addition=our planet.)

 

 

 

Christine Lewis Photography - Family Photos 2012 Scrapbooked

 

So life with two active little men, and a husband working A LOT has left little time for scrapbooking in the last 6 months. Christine Lewis of Christine Lewis Photography took such amazing photos of our family last month, that it inspired me to find time..... *blogging paused to put shark costume on four year old and take floss away from two year old*.....

   I was also inspired to not be so detailed and spend so much time on each page. Lastly, I was inspired to make them look like sunshine by our awesome outfits:).  I'm not going to take the time to tell you what scrapbook stuff I used. If you want to know, I will tell you where I got each scrapbook element/paper. Just want to share my beautiful family, and the fact that Christine Lewis is awesome.... and you will be seeing at least one of these photos on this year's Christmas card if you are on my exclusive mailing list (aka  - I have had your mailing address since our wedding 8 years ago, or I can hand it to you before Christmas day). Do you live in the Chattanooga area and need family photos for Christmas card/christmas presents? Christine Lewis is the one to contact! www.christinelewisphotography.com

Adding "Love" Facts to Christine Lewis Photography

So I saw this idea on Pinterest.... and loved it! I immediately thought of several Christine Lewis Photography fave photos with big open spaces that were perfect for adding personal "Love" facts for each year of my childrens' lives. My plans are to make them into posters for the boys' playroom and also print them for their baby books. Now this isn't really a scrapbook: it's just adding layers of texts on a photo in photoshop (though spacing and blending take time for sure).

I'm sure I didn't remember everything my boys love or loved, but it sure was  fun going through memory lane. It reminded me how important it is to write things down as they happen. Jonah isn't even two yet, and I had a hard time thinking of what he was like when he first turned one!

If you are a customer of Christine Lewis photography (http://www.christinelewisphotography.com/) and would like what your child loves written on a particular photo, just let me know! She is amazing at capturing the "love" in your child's eyes, and her style is perfect for adding the words that go with it!

Speedy Hot Wheels Party Scrapbooked!

I just did three pages in 1 hour! That's really good for me. Ironically, I did my fastest scrap with Tobin's Hot Wheels 3rd birthday pictures. I was in a serious need for a good mood boost, and Tobin's 4th birthday is right around the corner. These pages were simple, fun, and boosted my confidence in preparing for his next birthday bash.

I included the jpgs for the posters I made for the party and his invite too. Time to get designing a 4 year old's superhero party now!

kits used: "Fast Times" by Dreams fulfilled

"Let's Go Racing Boys" by Okie Toothfairy (seriously? what a weird name)

Hilton Head Vacation- FINALLY!

Remember me? Yeah, I still scrapbook. Here is 20 pages to prove it! We went on vacation to Hilton Head Beach back in August, so I made it my goal to have it scrapbooked by the end of September.... then the goal was by the end of October... than FINALLY I reached the goal of having it finished before Thanksgiving! Considering I never scrapbooked last years vacation completely, this is a good thing!

So think nice warm thoughts...wish I was one of those families that hit the beach during the holidays:).

Kits used:
Aloha- Oopsy Daisy
Beach Party- MScraps Collab
Happy Summer- Digital Crea
Beach Dreamin- Designs by Jen
Low Tide Wonders- Holley Berry Designs
By the Sea- Rumki Designs
Retro Island- Leldee Designs
Seashell, Sunshine, and Waves- Designs by Jen Yurko
Summer Memories- Designs by Lilian C
Sunny Day - 2am designs
Wish you were here- digichick
Fisherman of Dreams- Choubinette

Christine Lewis Photography Scrapbooked- Jonah's Smash Cake Pics

I love this picture! Jonah happily waiting for cake.

I had no idea Jonah was capable of eating an entire cake and making such a huge mess! He was happy and hilarious eating his little heart out. Christine Lewis once again outdid herself, though sugar high Jonah was all smiles. She did have some trouble staying still when laughing since he was sucking icing off his toes! He did reach a sugar comma stage there at the end where he just stared into space. The hardest part for me was cleaning him and the highchair in the middle of the park after he was done. We also gave several runners a good laugh. For some reason, a baby smashing a cake in the middle of the path is not something you see every day:).

I used several kits:
    Fiesta by TwinMom Scraps
   American Boy by Scrappy Cocoa
   Boom Boom Pow by Sweet Shoppe Designs
  Birthday Card by Chelle's Creation

Jonah's Baby Book:7, 10, and 11 months old

  Yay! I've scrapbooked all the months of Jonah's first year now. All that is left is his birthday! I tried using different styles from traditional to modern, though there is always a lot of blue:).

  7 months old scrapbook pages are more traditional/American style. Whenever there is red in the picture, I end up using patriotic kits. The main kits I used for this are:

       Boyish Adventures by Ramona the Pest (yes, that is her site name)

         Let Freedom Ring by Amy Stoffell

      Adventures for Boys (Alpha)- Jennys Scrap Place

  I already scrapbooked 8 and 9 months since Christine Lewis took professional pictures of him. Check out previous posts for those. I actually didn't use much blue in those pages. :)

  10 months old: I found this kit called "Soooo Fresh" that just shouted "Jonah and sunshine." It has much more of a modern/fresh and bright feel to it. The kit is from Shabby Pickle (I just love that name).

11 months old: The pictures I took were purposefully blue and with Blues Clues, to make the invite for Jonah's "Red, White, and Blue's Clues" birthday party. The style is once again Americana, but not as traditional. More "kiddie" I guess.

Okay, maybe they are pretty traditional.

kit's used:

                 Let Freedom Ring by Amy Stoffell

                Star Spangle Glory by Cupcake Sprinkles

                Independence alpha by Studio Ellie

                Hit the Road alpha by Wild Dandelions

                Bad to the Bone by Dream Big Designs