Hip Hip Hooray for Field Trip Day!

So one of the advantages of homeschooling is that we can go on field trips wherever we want whenever we want and stay as long as we want. I love going on field trips, sometimes I think I enjoy them more than the kids! And I think we all learn better when we are actually there, seeing and touching what we're learning about. So I decided that we would take a weekly field trip-every Friday. Most of these field trips we go on by ourselves, but sometimes we'll join other homeschooling families for our fun.

Some of the things we've done include: touring the post office, going behind the scenes at the bank, visiting a violin shop and learning how violins are made, caroling & performing a puppet show at nursing homes, visiting a butterfly exhibit, seeing plays, and of course, taking advantage of the zoo, aquarium, and musueums in the area.

In my quest for a new place to go each week, I've made some great finds. Some places are unexpected. I took the kids to a very small art museum that is only about 5 minutes from where I grew up, but I had never been there before. They have windows where you can watch local artists at work, and their art is displayed on the walls.

I also found a great indoor (i.e. winter survival) play place that was fantastic. It's basically a big warehouse space that has several areas sectioned off for different types of activites. All the walls are very low, so I can see from one end of the building to the other which made it easy to let the boys roam while I played with Annie. And they had all kinds of things for the kids to do: a real (old, but real) fire engine that the kids could climb and drive, including gear to wear; an entire area filled with sand and sand toys for the kids to climb in and get their fill of the beach in February; a puppet theatre & puppets; a real ambulance, dentist chair, and exam table for some pretty realistic 'playing doctor'; a dance floor complete with mirror, ballet bar, tap shoes, and music-I had to beg Annie to stay a little longer so I could keep dancing!; play food, grocery carts, cash registers; slides, jungle gyms...the list goes on. I think kids learn so much through play, and there were plenty of wonderful playing opportunities here. There were so many different areas that none of us got bored, and we only left after 4 1/2 hours because we had to get home!

So...take a closer look around where you live. Talk to some friends, check online, look in the paper. Even if you've grown up there, there just may be a few surprises waiting around the corner. And don't be afraid to try something new, I've been having at least as much fun during these 'children's activities' as my kids!

So what are some field trips you've been on (either as a kid or an adult!)?

Love is in the Air...

Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day and a great weekend (hopefully you got a long one!)

We pretty much had a perfect Valentine's Day. Andrew and I actually got to go out on TWO dates, plus hang out with our good friends over the weekend, so I'm feeling spoiled. We didn't plan to go out on Valentine's Day at all, because I hate going out when everything is overcrowded, but Andrew's sweet sister offered to watch the kids and so we decided to go out a day early. We had a really nice dinner and spent some time walking around Borders, which we both love to do!

So, after starting out the holiday early with our date, we had a yummy breakfast together as a family on Thursday morning. Then the kids and I stopped by a church Valentine activity where they enjoyed decorating & eating cookies. I had to pick Andrew up from work, which meant that we all got to have lunch together, another unusual and exciting event!

Then, my awesome brother called and said he wanted to watch our kids for Valentine's Day, and my parents invited us to go out with them, and you just can't refuse an offer like that! So we went to a small, inexpensive restaurant that makes delicious crepes (which wasn't crowded at all!) and then to a MOVIE, which, as I mentioned before, rarely happens. The movie isn't really worth recommending, but we still had a great time. It was really fun to go out and to spend time with my parents who I don't get to see as often as I'd like. Thank you to all our kind family members for helping us to have such a fun time!

We spent our weeked with some good friends in Virginia, who we also don't get to see as often as we'd like. Thanks guys for putting us up, and putting up with us. We love you and had a great time!

In search of a blockbuster...

Our friends gave us a really fun gift for Christmas, a 3 month subscription to Blockbuster.com. I love the convenience of a movie showing up at your doorstep and only needing to drop it in the mailbox when you're done. The only problem is, we don't know what movies to rent. We haven't really seen much of anything since going out to a movie when you have 3 kids seems to us an almost impossible feat, and we don't really know what there is to see since we don't have tv (which equals not seeing any previews). I happen to have a really bad streak with the movies I pick, as my family will not hesitate to tell you, so I'm turning to all of you for help. Any suggestions of great movies that are out on DVD? (I happen to be looking for a great romantic comedy, but since Andrew isn't, we'll take recommendations from pretty much any genre!)

Birth & Babies

I've been on call for the last few weeks for two doula clients, one due the middle of February and one due the end of January. So I wasn't too surprised when the phone rang at 3:30 am on Friday, January 25th. It was my client (due in Feb.) and her water had broken. Contractions hadn't started yet, so she decided to try and get some more rest. I always get a little adrenaline rush when I know someone's in labor, so I finished gathering my things until I could fall back asleep. Luckily, Andrew had already planned to work from home that day, so my biggest worry when I go to a birth (the kids!) was taken care of. (I know, Andrew, your big worry was just beginning...)

I actually didn't end up needing to join my client until 3:30 pm Friday afternoon, but I didn't return home until 9:30 pm Saturday night. Now when I am asked "What is the longest amount of time you've been at a birth?", my answer will be 30 hours (instead of 24). This one was a tough one, and my heart goes out to this amazing couple for how well they handled some difficult circumstances. They now have a beautiful, healthy baby girl.

It took me a few days to get on top of things again, but I was ready to go when exactly one week later, on Friday afternoon, my other client called to tell me she was in labor. This time I left the house at 8:30 pm on Friday night, and returned home at 3:30 am on Saturday (another healthy baby girl!), which was very fortunate because, after a nap from 4-8 am, I got ready to teach my childbirth class which was beginning Saturday morning. I'm afraid I was a little slow with some of the answers I gave in class, but other than that, things went well.

A big, huge thank you to my amazing husband who puts up with this kind of craziness, and to my patient kids for the disapearing acts I sometimes pull. Now, whenever I come back in the house from doing anything, Annie asks, "Mama help baby?"