Random Moments

We have these moments that pass and I think - I should blog this and then I forget maybe sometimes that is for the best. Still some of them came back to me today and I thought I would add them here.

In the car today Ciaran asked me what a building was and I said it was an apartment. I asked if he knew what that meant and he said "Yep April lives in an apartment in Ninja turtles"

At the school table today I shared with the kids that they would need to help Serona out since he will be teaching them for the next few days. Ciaran's eyes grew wide and he said "Really? He's going to let me play alot of video games!"

While trying out voice chatting with a friend who is new to IM she was excited and said this would be perfect with a webcam. I looked around at the scene - the huge mound of laundry on my couch and Ciaran climbing over the couch to the ledge that overhangs our staircase and I thought thank goodness this is not on video!

The dinner discussion about the fact that yes meat in the packages on the grocery store does in fact still come from animals and it does not just appear there magically. Somewhere along the way Ciaran got a bit confused about this.

The first words to Serona from Ciaran each day generally describing his latest progress in video game of choice, currently MonkeyBall. Sigh - could he maybe mention the fact that he read two books today and learned the capital of Vermont?

The laps ran up and and down the stairs to burn off the energy preventing us from focusing or making good choices.

We did have some moments that made me proud today along with those that made me smile and groan

Like Ciaran doing alphabet flashcards with Sirah and creating a game to keep her interested. The image of her sitting on the floor in a circle of flashcards that she got right and the two of them smiling at each other and actually getting along.

The excitement in Rhiannon when she arrived home after a day spent at a friends house and horseback riding. The smile and excited way she described even little details of her day.

Sirah's demanding to do "real school" and working so hard to try to trace her letters right on the little workbook page she choose. The look of satisfaction at a job well done when she was done and had achieved what she set out to do.

Ciaran teaching Sirah how to make a clay pot and her calling him master and him saying "Stop just call me Ciaran"

The little tea party Sirah and her friend had all dressed up as princesses complete with English accents.

The wonderful show Sirah created and performed for me with play silks, dress up and odds and ends around the house.

Rhiannon's final personal narrative about how she came to love horses. The joy of her finishing it and a job well done.

Pulling together a lesson plan about Vermont on the fly. Complete with printed out maps, and images of the state bird, flower, tree and flag for them to glue to their state page. Watching them draw the pictures that represent the things we read about - some mountains, trees, lakes, sap buckets, and covered bridges. Sharing with the kids how many states I have been too and how many they have already been to themselves, much more than many their age.

The contentment I felt when Ciaran asked himself to read first thing this morning and his request to read a second book. The realization at how well he is reading now compared to just a month ago.

Teaching Ciaran numbers that add up to 10 and watching the light bulb go on. There are few moments I treasure as much as watching those light bulb moments.

These are just some of the moments that made up my day today and made me smile. These are the moments I hold on to and am thankful make up my day. Tonight at dinner I realized Rhiannon had been away about 6 hours and it felt long - and then I realized that is less time then she would be at school each day if she went to our local school. It made me so thankful just for the time I have with them each day.

Yes I have 5 loads of laundry to fold and another bunch to do tomorrow. Yes I have chalk all over my carpet right after I vacuumed. Yes I just decorated with world and state maps and a lunar moon model. Yes I got excited when I finished up our history curriculum for last year (yes I am aware it is next October). Yes I crave coffee in the morning when I never did before since college. Yes I started cooking dinner at 7pm tonight after being home all day. Yes I ran out to the store to get toilet paper at 8:30pm because we realized then we would not make it through the night without some. Yes my kids are listening to skip count cd's to fall asleep, competing with my own Pink Floyd to and my husband is downstairs lost in Halo land.

But tonight for just this moment I am going to soak in all those beautiful memories and moments that made up this simple ordinary chilly October day. For it is in those ordinary moments that I find contentment and joy and I remember the reasons we do this to ourselves each day and that yes we really do like it and love one another and the life we have chosen.

Kiss your babies,
Tenniel

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Now playing: Pink Floyd - Us And Them
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Now playing: Pink Floyd - Coming Back To Life
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Now playing: Pink Floyd - Welcome To The Machine
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Now playing: Pink Floyd - The Final Cut
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Now playing: Pink Floyd - The Gunner's Dream
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Now playing: Pink Floyd - Eclipse
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Now playing: Pink Floyd - When The Tigers Broke Free
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Now playing: Pink Floyd - Two Suns In The Sunset
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