Misc Ramblings – Page 16 – a hippie with a minivan

Spring walk…

One of my favourite things about unschooling is the freedom…

After nearly 2 weeks of rainy and cloudy days the sun has come out and we are all feeling the great effects of fresh air and sunshine. These are not the days to be in the house or stuck in a building…

After lunch, we headed out to some trails not too far from our house. As soon as we got far enough to no longer see the car, I took Wilhelmina off my back and let her follow us… she was so determined to follow her brothers and discover all that there was to discover…

She walked and walked….

She ended up walking nearly 2 km before she finally just sat down and refused to move and as I was about to put her back on my back Xavier offered to carry her the rest of the way… I adjusted the ERGO for him and she had a big smile as she realized that she was going to tagging along with her big brother…

It’s these little moments that erase the harder parts of being a parent…

15 months

As of yesterday, Wilhelmina is now 15 months old.

That seems like such an arbitrary number but it amazing to see her change and grow.

She runs to the window and screams out “daddy!” when simon comes home…

She stands at the top of the stairs and calls ” guys!” when her brothers are downstairs…

She gives the biggest and most meaningful hugs…

She walks around with her stuffed cat and meows…

She says yes and no and runs to the bathroom when she needs to go on the potty…

She puts shoes on and drapes her coat around her shoulders to go outside…

I could go on and on…

This stage never ceases to amaze me.

smiles…

Thanks you so much for sharing what makes you smile…

Each comment did the same for me.

I let a new plugin on my blog select the winner….

greenteacher:

oooohhh! it is so beautiful! It would be an honor to have that piece on our dining room table 🙂 what makes me smile the most these days is when the kids do something completely new, like sing almost every word from a song they have known since they were born, but used to only know bits and pieces of. It never ceases to amaze me how much they change in such little time! (as you already know)

Congrats!! I can’t wait to get the table runner to you!!

1000 posts and a giveaway!!

Just one month shy of my 6 year anniversary of starting this blog…

This, is my 1000th post.

It might not be that much compared to others, as it shows that I don’t post every day, but it also shows that there has been a lot of time and a lot of myself invested here.

When I started out… these were my kids…

(Xavier ~ 2.5y and Colin ~ 7 months)

and now… a thousand posts later…

I am mom to these amazing kids…

We, as a family, have all grown with this blog.

In a thousand posts I have shared the good and the bad, my worries, my joys, my hopes and dreams. I’ve gotten advice, given advice, worked through problems and ranted. It has been a both a place to share and an outlet. I have shared two unassisted pregnancies and births and many adventures. I have shared recipes and crafts and my favourite things…

I want to thank you all for reading and taking part…

To show my gratitude and to mark this occasion I am giving away this hand made by me mini-quilt/table runner made with many of my favourite fabrics…

(I am going to leave this open for the weekend and pick a winner at the beginning of next week)

To participate… tell me what makes you smile…

Dungeons & Dragons

Xavier’s interest in Dungeons and Dragons was sparked a few years ago…

(From March 2009)

He found Simon’s old Monster Manual and started looking at it and memorizing all of the monsters and creatures. We bought him the new edition and we started to realize that he could read when he could name all of the monsters and tell us details about them that he could only know through reading. It was D&D that led him to reading at the level he can read now , playing D&D based games on the computer and reading the Monster Manuals and other related books. (to those who don’t understand how unschooling can work and how kids can learn to read by themselves… this is a prime example)

His interest soon went into the original role playing game (RPG) and both boys along with Simon started on their adventure.

(June 2009)

Last month Khéna joined in the adventure and to our surprise, his attention span can at times can outlast that of his brothers…

If you know how D&D works, it is not a fast paced game. Each move is calculated and thought out. There is adventure, imagination, strategy a need for patience.

Simon has been journaling their adventure here on a Blog called Kaleth’s Journal

This blog, in the form of a character journal, is a quickly-written summary of the D&D 4e campaign (in a customized version of the Forgotten Realms) I started with my two sons in 2009, and which my 3rd son joined in 2011. It’s compiled for their future enjoyment. Simon (35 years old) is the DM and plays a level 3 human wizard; Xavier (8 years old) plays a level 3 dragonborn fighter; Colin (6 years old) plays a level 3 eladrin ranger; Khéna (4 years old) plays a level 1 eladrin swordmage.

With the family growing and time with Simon is somewhat limited, Playing D&D is a great way for the boys to connect and I love hearing their adventures as they play…

Anyone else a D&D fan?