Sizing Things Up

Tyler is three years old!  I can't believe it's been three years already.  It seems like not that long ago that he was keeping me up at night, nursing and cuddling.  Well, not everything changes...he still cuddles with me every chance he gets.

So, we went to the doctor today for his check up.  I'm going to fill out some paperwork and contact the school district to see about getting an IEP and an evaluation for speech.  Other than that, though, everything looks good!  He's a healthy and happy little guy.  Well, the doctor didn't know he was happy because he cried and fought the whole time we were there - cheered up as soon as he got to put his jacket back on!

I don't know about you, but I always enjoy looking at how much my kids have grown over the year since their last check up and comparing their heights and weights to each other.  Tyler's stats are always entertaining. 

Here are pictures of Jace and Gracie when they were two years old. 

 "Why two?" you ask, since I'm telling you about Tyler's three year old check up.

Well, both Jace and Gracie were taller and heavier at two years old than Tyler is at three!

Tyler was the biggest at birth (9 lbs 8 ozs, compared to Jace's 7 lbs 12 ozs and Gracie's 8 lbs 11 ozs) but the littlest ever since.  And he's has always had very short legs compared to his very long torso.  As an example he's just getting into 2T pants but has been in 4T shirts for several months. 

Tyler: at 2 years old - 23 pounds 8 ounces, 33 inches

at 3 years old - 30 pounds, 37 inches 

Gracie: at 2 years old - 32 pounds, 32 3/4 inches

at 3 years old - 35 pounds, 41.5 inches

(Yes, you read that right...Gracie grew 9 inches in one year!)

Jace: at 2 years old - 31 pounds, 35 inches

at 3 years old - ??

at 4 years old - 41 pounds 12 ounces, 42 inches

(See?  Even the first born gets forgotten once in a while!)

So, there's the latest measurements on Tyler and how he compares with his Amazon siblings! 

How Long is Really Long?

Several months ago I read a comment on facebook where a friend of a friend mentioned that she'd been married "a long, LONG time."  I was curious how long she'd been married, so I asked.  Six years.  That's all.  In my mind that didn't seem like a long, LONG time. 

Scott came home from work a week or so ago and told me how someone asked how long we'd been married.  He told them we'd just celebrated our tenth anniversary.  Their comment?  "Wow.  Good for you guys.  Isn't that a long time for submariners*?"  Really?

I've heard the same thing all of you have, about 50% of marriages ending in divorce.  And I know people who have gotten divorced.  But is marriage really in such trouble that single digit anniversaries should enjoy extra emphasis on their length?  Is being in the military such a strain that a decade deserves a 'wow'?  Maybe.

Don't get me wrong.  I do think being married for six or ten years deserves a little pat on the back and some celebration.  I think every anniversary is special and wonderful.  I love marriage and being married.  On the other hand, though, why can't we celebrate it without making it seem like we've done something noteworthy by staying married.  It's not like we held really still while getting a shot.  We're talking about marriage! 

It should probably also be noted that I have some pretty incredible examples of marriage to look to.

For starters, there are our parents.  My Mom and Dad celebrated their 40th anniversary in April.


Mom and Dad Foote (my parents)

 In December Scott's Mom and Stepdad will have been married for 31 years.

Mom and Dad Nourse (Scott's parents)


And just days ago, we wished Mom and Dad Gebel a happy 30th anniversary.

Mom and Dad Gebel (Scott's parents)

Now, none of their marriages have been "perfect," whatever that means.  But, they've all withstood the test of time.  Obviously there was one marriage that didn't.  Scott's Mom and Dad divorced after a few years, but both have succeeded in their second marriages...beating the statistical odds. 

And our grandparents have really set the bar high.  Grandma and Grandpa Fladie will celebrate 51 years just after ringing in the new year. 

Grandma and Grandpa Fladie (Scott's grandparents-Stepmom's side)

My Dad's parents around 46 years when my grandmother passed away.  This picture is from their 40th anniversary party! 

Grandma and Grandpa Foote (my grandparents-Dad's side)

Grandma and Grandpa Gebel were married for more than 40 years when Grandpa passed. 

Grandma and Grandpa Gebel (Scott's grandparents-Dad's side)

Grandpa Goff passed away somewhere near 50 years of marriage to Grandma Goff.

Grandma and Grandpa Goff (Scott's grandparent's-Mom's side)

And my Mom's parents were married for 65 years when Grandma Kral passed away.

Grandma and Grandpa Kral (my grandparents-mom's side)

Without knowing any of these people, you know that they fought sometimes and other times were completely in sync with each other.  Each of these seven marriages, along with many others I know, are examples of long marriages, marriages that really deserve a wow!

Now, at our wedding we did that little thing where all the married couples danced and the couple who was married the longest was left last on the dance floor and asked to give advice to the newlyweds.  Grandma and Grandpa Kral were the ones who supplied us with some great advice, "Keep on kissing and you'll be married for hundreds of years, like us."

Scott and I

So, in the grand scheme of hundreds of years, how long is long?  And how does one have a marriage that lasts for a long, LONG time?

These are great questions...and I'm no expert (after all ten years is barely a drop in the bucket when there are hundreds of years to go) but in the next few weeks I'm going to look at a few key things I think make marriages good, healthy, happy, and long lasting.  Hopefully you'll tune back in to see if you agree. 

Until then...just keep kissing...



*After considering this comment for a while, it occurs to me that the guy who said it may not have been commenting on marriage as much as originally thought.  On a submarine there are around 160 guys.  Probably a third of them are single and many of the married ones are pretty young, meaning that they haven't likely been married all that long.  I would estimate that only 15 or 20 guys on any one sub even have the potential of being married for double digits.  In that light, perhaps we have been married a long time in the world of submariners.

Gebel Family Homeschool Mission Statement

So, I mentioned a few days ago that I had decided one of my early steps in planning next year's homeschool would be to create a mission statement. I first read idea in an article written by Brenda (her personal site) at Curriculum Choice. Thankfully she gave me permission to add or delete from her list of suggested topics. And I did just that. I wrote it the night that Scott was out fixing things long after bed time. He got a chance to read it today and commented. And here's the final result:


Gebel Family Homeschool Mission Statement

I. School’s duration
a. We’re agreeing to one year of homeschooling. Mama will be focusing on Jace and Gracie, but admits that Tyler will probably learn something in the process.
b. Our Family School will begin in late summer/early fall (depending more on when Mama feels settled after moving than anything else). We’d like to flow into a relaxed year round schooling experience, being able to take breaks (or loosen our schedule) when Dada has leave or family visits.


II. Extracurriculars
a. If Tyler still needs some one on one regarding speech, we’ll do our best to incorporate that into our homeschool. It would be great for that to be an in-home process again, but if we need to take him someplace we can do that as well.
b. Jace and Gracie will be allowed to choose one thing to join to begin with. Depending on finances and life we may allow more later on, but we’ll start with one.
c. We’ll find a support group or co-op that jives with our style of schooling.


III. What we’ll teach
a. Our academic goals will be based around the Core Knowledge Sequence. We’ll start with Kindergarten and 2nd grade ideas but will likely overlap with 1st grade and 3rd grade ideals as well.
b. We hope to teach practical skills as well as academic knowledge. Things like sewing, cooking, and woodworking will be included with various units.
c. Fitness and health are also important topics that the Gebel Family Homeschool will enjoy learning about and engaging in.
d. Responsibility and independence will be high on the list of traits we’ll encourage during our schooling and the rest of our lives as well.


IV. How we’ll teach
a. Mama will be the primary teacher. However, if friends or family have any talents we can tap into…we will.
b. Mama plans to use mostly unit studies, working as many subjects (writing, reading, art, music, math, history) into one theme (butterflies, presidents, dinosaurs) as possible. Some will be purchased curriculum but most will be homemade, integrating the things from III on the outline.
c. Mama plans to do lots of hands-on activities and go-sees.
d. We’ll utilize the library, the internet, our game closet, anything and everything we can to learn, learn, learn!
e. Jace and Gracie will both have opportunities to “teach” the other.


V. Money matters
a. Since we’re not purchasing a particular curriculum it’s hard to say how much we’ll spend on homeschooling. We hope to use the library for most of our books and our pretty well stocked art closet for crafts and activities. There will, however, be items that need to be purchased. At this point I’m budgeting $20 a month for materials.
b. As often as we can, day trips and activities will be free. We may invest in yearly passes, though, to the zoo or a museum or some other really cool place to learn!
c. Extracurriculars will need to be less than $30 a month.
d. $100 a year is set aside for Mama’s continuing education.
e. Money may be set aside for babysitting as well, unless some sort of sitting exchange can be found.


VI. Continuing education
a. To begin mama’s continuing education, she’s investing in a few books that she’s previewed and learned a lot from.
b. Mama is attending an online expo this year and hopes to attend a conference or convention at some point over the next year, especially if it looks like we’ll be keeping our Family Homeschool open for another year.
c. Mama will continue to read books and blogs on the subject of homeschooling. She’ll also write frequent posts on her own blog sharing and learning what works for us and what doesn’t.


VII. Record Keeping
a. We have binders for progress reports and select art work/projects/awards already. We’ll continue to pull out things we really want to keep for looking back on.
b. Goals will be assessed in a free style “how are we doing” write up each six months, in November and May.


VIII. Tid bits
a. Mama will take time to herself.
i. This may be as simple as an hour of quiet on the weekend where the kids have to be in their rooms, outside, or watching a movie so she can write, take a bath, or sip wine.
ii. She will also take time away from the house and the kids. Massages will be had!
b. Tyler will be allowed to wander to and fro, but will also have a set of toys that are specifically for homeschooling times. He may get to join in art projects.

So, what do you think? Are you ready to put your family goals in print?

Will They Learn Enough?

Scott (and others) had three main points he wanted to discuss in depth when the subject of homeschooling became something I wouldn't let him shrug off. He wanted to be sure they wouldn't turn out weird. He was worried I might go crazy. And he wanted to know how we'd be assured that they were actually learning what I was teaching.

I laughed at the first point. They're all a little odd in their own right already, but there's not a thing wrong with that. Everyone has quirks. Where they are educated doesn't say much about how eccentric they'll be in adulthood. And we'll keep them involved with other kids so they won't be sheltered and only exposed to me all day, every day. Now that would be scary, and not only for them. I might just go crazy if i were sheltered and only exposed to my three adorable, wonderful monkeys all day, every day. But since that won't be the case...maybe we'll all grow and learn, and not lose our marbles in the process. One can hope.

Now the third item was something that I wondered about too. I know there are two ways to keep progress in check in Washington, giving the kids a standardized achievement test or having their academic skills evaluated by someone certified in the field of education. That's according to the Washington Homeschool Organization. I get what that means, but I still don't know what that looks like. If the same person assesses the kids progress year after year then they'll see what academic growth has occurred. However, I don't know how they gage that the first year, but I'm guessing they'll simply be compared to others their age.

OK. So...what's that mean for me? Do I need to keep detailed records of everything we do? Do I need to assign grades to work? Do I need to have a portfolio of their lap books and art work and whatever else? In black and white...what do I need to do to assure the state that my kids are learning enough of the right stuff? This had become my biggest concern. Even so, I still wasn't super stressed about it. I figured once I got to Washington I'd connect with others and hear how they go about record keeping and academic evaluation.

Then, last night, I read something that took even the little weight from these questions, off my shoulders. Here's an excerpt from The Homeschooling Handbook, by Mary Griffith:

Consider, though, the matter of physical health: How do you tell when your kids are sick if you're not a doctor? It's easy to recognize a healthy kid, and most parents have little trouble determining when their kids are sick. At some point, parents may need professional help for a a diagnosis and treatment, but noticing that there is a problem in the first place is not something most of us have trouble with.
The matter of learning is pretty much the same. It's obvious when kids are learning, and it's a rare parent indeed who cannot tell whether kids are learning as they should be.

I read this and a big ol' light went on! Why, of course, I know when my kids aren't feeling well. And, better yet, I know when they are and aren't learning. I know when they're interested and how they show that they're not getting anything out of whatever is going on. Who can't read that glazed over look? In fact, our interest in how and what our monkeys are learning is the very reason we're going to be homeschooling.

Cool, huh? Nothing to worry about at all. Later in the chapter homeschooling parents give examples of how they keep records and why. I found something middle of the road that I think will work for us and tucked it into our mission statement (still a work in progress, but coming along!).

Another reassuring thing regarding learning...Jace read me a book in Spanish on the way home from school today. He doesn't know Spanish and I haven't spoken it in a decade, but it seems that he did OK, I guess. Why did he read me a book in Spanish? Well, he has a plan to be a commando or special forces agent, something in the military elite. He figures he'll probably end up in Iraq or someplace and need to talk to the enemy in their own language so that he can trick them and, therefore, he'll need to know a lot of different languages. He decided to get a book in Spanish from the library today so that he could start practicing.

Are you worried they won't learn enough?

Numbers and Letters

It seems that numbers and letters are a pretty important thing to learn. They're right up there with colors and shapes I think. Seriously, though, I'm finding out that there are more letters and numbers that I should know about...even though I've been out of school a few years now.

Sometime soon I'm going to make an appointment with my doctor to learn all my vital numbers. I don't know my blood pressure or my cholesteral level. I'll do a little research to find out what they should be at my age so once I learn those numbers they'll mean something.

It's a good thing I know my ABCs so I can get my eyes checked also. It's been about 6 years since I last did that. Actually, Gracie got to identify shapes for her eye test this year. I think that was harder, though. They weren't simple shapes. They had a boat and stars...very tricky.

On top of all this, I've spent half of the last six years breastfeeding and now I'm done. I've gone up and down in size, having been pregnant three times and losing weight here and there, and I am six years older too. I need to figure out my newest bra size! If only a simple blood test could give me that answer. I'd even pee on something! But, alas, it looks like I'll be trying on some new undergarments and adjusting straps. Nothing I currently own fits well and I just read that bras should not be uncomfortable to wear!

So, I guess I'll send the kids off to school in a couple days. And I'll start my own lessons...all about me!

Detail Oriented

For my parents' 60th birthdays I've decided to make a photo book of the kids. I'll include not only pictures of their smiling faces, but also of the number 60 represented different ways. We started the product yesterday with puzzle pieces, polly pockets, bear faces, and hot wheels all set out as a six and a zero. Gracie and I put the first three together while Jace was working with his cars. After we'd completed three 60's I went to see how far he'd gotten.

He was almost done, according to his directions. He's sat down with paper and pencil first and had drawn out little cars on the paper so he'd have a pattern to follow. He explained, "I didn't know how to do it on the floor so I drew some directions first." I was partially surprised, partially proud and completely entertained! He's pays such attention sometimes and wanted to get it right!

The project continues...

The Final Four?

I just made some cupcakes...I know, you're jealous! When I was putting liners in the pans I was hit with a burning question: What happens to the final two liners? The package I last purchased was 50 count. My cupcake tins, and I think all cupcake tins, have 12 each. The cake mix, or for those of you more established bakers...the recipe, makes 24 servings. Why 50 little paper liners? I'd already made one batch of cupcakes or muffins, so, in just a moment I would be left with two lonely liners.

Should I throw them out? Keep them? Hope I remember them with the next batch? Worry that I won't find them until I clean my cupboards out...someday?

Wait a minute...there's nothing to worry about. I ended up with four extra liners. Cool beans! A little extra for my money. And four pretty pastel papers are definitely worth saving until my next tasty treat. Just think, after my next two batches I'll be left with six liners! It gets better and better. Perhaps by the time I use the exact number of liners someone will have started packaging them in multiples of twelve.

Weights and Measures

Jace is learning about measuring things at school. He brings home at least one worksheet each week on the subject. "How Many Paw Prints Are You?" "Your Hand is How Many Cubes Long?" "Measure These Items in Pennies." It seems anything can be used to see how long, how tall, or how big. And it's reasonable...because we all use what we know to measure what needs measuring.

Today the kids and I went to the zoo and I got chicken fingers and french fries for lunch. They weren't too greasy and tasted quite good. I'd gotten one of those little condiment cups with ketchup in it. After filling it the third time (I'm a slow learner) I just took the tray up and pumped ketchup directly onto it. I didn't want to know how much ketchup I was really comsuming, which would have been obvious if I kept going little cup by little cup.

On the way home we stopped at the grocery store for a few things. I overheard a guy talking about how his significant other determines his love for her. "Oh, she doesn't care how many things it takes...she's got a dollar amount in mind that I have to reach in candy, flowers, and other crap. If I don't spend enough, she'll start questioning my love." I felt bad for the guy...what a way to assess his feelings. By the way, happy Valentine's Day to you.

Another standard unit of measurement, that I really should address, is the chicken box. I don't even remember what I was telling my then roomie, Cathy, about. But at some point in college I was relating a story to her and mentioned that something was "two chicken boxes" worth. It didn't even occur to me that she wouldn't know what I was talking about because in my family, this was the box used for holding hand-me-down clothes, old toys, and everything else that probably needed to be gotten rid of but couldn't be parted with yet. My family took care of the chicken for the church's annual chicken BBQ which came in these very sturdy boxes that, once cleaned up, were ideal for storage. Now you know. Feel free to start using this any time...it's about yay big.

Other common units you may want to incorporate into daily use: bigger than a breadbox, up to here (hold hand accordingly), a fortnight, baby-poop yellow, a New York minute, mean like a jelly bean, and, in the spirit of the day, longer than the song of a Whippoorwill.