Keep Your Head Above Water

I know...it's too early to think about Christmas! But some of you readers out there actually **shop** for your presents this early!! (I know, it's shocking but it's true!)

Soooo...I've been polling the girls about what they might want for the joyous event. So far, this is what I've got. I will be sure to update this as I get more information, and I'll try to add pictures or hyperlinks as I can.

I just love K12's History lessons!! This week we were studying about the life of Julius Caesar (pictured in the chariot above with his fictitious assistant "Milo"). We've learned about how he rose to power (Genevieve really doesn't like him...she seems to agree with the Roman Senate that he had too much power!). Then we learned about how the Senate tried to put Caesar in an impossible situation by asking him to return to Rome without his army. We learned that Caesar decided to cross the Rubicon with his army, a decision that he couldn't take back. Today we learned about Caesar crushing some resistance in Asia Minor, and his famous comment on the battle "Veni, Vidi, Vici... I came, I saw, I conquered."

What I really love is how much Genevieve gets out of her lessons. Yesterday night she went into the living room to get her blanket. When she came back she was excited. "Mommy, guess what happened when I got my blanket?! First, I had to cross the Tiber River. Then I went through the Alps! I had to fight off a bunch of pirates on the Nile and then I finally crossed the Rubicon!" I couldn't help but smile. I mean, after all, how many 2nd graders know where the Tiber and Rubicon rivers are?!"

There are days when it is **really** rough to get through school, but it really helps me to know that Genevieve is getting so much out her lessons! Though I am very nervous about the prospect of teaching 2 kids at once in the near future, I'm also really excited! Seeing how much Genevieve loves K12 encourages me that Autumn will hopefully do just as well.

It's Friday again...a very special school day here at the Knotts household. We start out with a breakfast of cinnamon rolls to celebrate the fact that we finished all of our academic work for the week. Then after a few health lessons (usually videos) we head out for PE. This is the most anticipated part of the week, since PE is either a trip to Jumpin Beans (a warehouse with inflatable jump toys) or a trip to the YMCA pool. Then if we've got the time, we head over to the library to pick out new books for the week (if we run out of time, then we do it on Saturday). I guess now it makes a whole lot of sense why Genevieve really doesn't want to go back to Goshen. ;)

Yes, it's true...our little man has finally turned the big ONE!! It's amazing, really to think of how much the little guy has done in one year and how much is still left to come. From crawling to walking to feeding himself and saying simple words like "Mama, Dada, and Bubub" our little dude has kept both us and himself busy.

In typical toddler style, Benjamin started out his day by eating a quick breakfast and then spending the rest of the day either pulling things down off of the computer desk and bookshelves, or following me around and fussing at me that I wasn't holding him. Then he had a nice, entertaining lunch of macaroni and cheese (note to self...he can reach **all** of the surfaces on the computer desk now!!) followed very rapidly by a bath! After a little bit of time with his sisters and his Daddy, the little guy needed a little nap, so he crashed out.
Refreshed and revitalized, he was all set to learn about presents. Although a little hesitant at first, he quickly caught on that a) even though **every other time** he's tried to do it he's gotten in trouble, somehow **today** it's ok to rip paper...curious and b) the cool things hiding under the paper were for HIM! By the time he got to his last present, Bubbers was definitely in the swing of things!


After fully examining all of his presents, it was time for the cake. As you can see, he had absolutely NO problem understanding this element of the birthday party!! 15 minutes of pure chocolate tactile bliss was followed immediately by...oh yes, another bath (and of course, his new bath toys!! Another short period of anarchy which some people (most of whom have NO children!) call play time and then it was time to settle down to bed with his Glo-E bear.



Judging by the amount of giggles and laughs I heard today, I'd say Benjamin had a really fantastic birthday. He may even have had as much fun as we did watching him. :)

It’s that time again… Yes, this week marks two very important dates in the Knotts household. Wednesday is the beginning of the school year for Genevieve, and Friday is Benjamin’s birthday.

In a lot of ways, it’s really hard to believe that a) Benji Bubber has been a part of our life for a whole year and b) Genevieve and I managed to make it through an entire school year without either of us needing major psychological counseling (yet at least). What’s even more amazing to me is that Genevieve actually wanted to be home schooled again this year. And here I thought I hadn’t done such a good job last year. Of course, her CRCT scores from last year were a good reassurance that I hadn’t completely ruined the child. And needless to say, K12’s awesome curriculum is almost fool proof. Still, there were a lot of adjustments required from everyone last year, and I am hopeful that this year will go smoother. Genevieve is excited…excited about a new year of History (her favorite!)…excited about beginning Japanese (we’re adding that to our curriculum)…but NOT excited about Math and Spelling (phew….okay, so she **is** a normal kid after all)

To say that this past year with Benjamin has been breath taking would be an understatement!! The first year of birth is just so exciting with milestone after milestone. Oh yeah, you got the sleepless nights and the stinky diapers, but they are more than balanced out by the first smiles, first laughs, learning to crawl and then walk. Am I exhausted? You bet. Would I have given up this last year? Not on your life! What’s even cooler to me is to watch the girls interact with Benjamin. It is just so awesome how much they love him, even when he annoys the dickens out of them (“No Bubbers…no, no…not my Pokemon cards!”).

It’s amazing to me how much they love their little Bubber man…and how much he loves them! Even though there are times when I am absolutely and utterly exhausted and worn out, I’m really excited about this next year.

"In two on one sparring, you learn to make every move count. You become very efficient..." Benton Starks 6th Dan WTA.

You know, that is so true about life in general. Why is it that when we feel like we have all the time in the world we tend to flit it away? But when it really comes down to it...when you've got two people kicking and punching at you...or when you have more children than you than have hands, life becomes more efficient.