How can summer be over so quickly?!

My kids were way to excited to start school.  They love routines, friends, and learning.  I wasn't so sure if I were ready for them to end our summer fun, but if they are happy, I guess I'm okay too.  What makes it easier this year is the fact that Gillian will be with me, and we are both over the moon about all of the things we are going to learn this year, as well as the time we are going to share together.

I started Gillian on her schedule the same day as her brothers started their school.  Some of her private classes won't start till next week, but I wanted to set a good routine for Gillian right in the beginning.  I love teaching her Albanian, conversing about Medieval Ages, dissecting sentences, figuring out math problems, learning about cells and genetics, and of course discussing and writing about classics.  But to be honest with you, my favorite time of Gillian's schedule is her free time when she writes poetry, short stories, and little inspirations of the moment.

Gillian’s Subjects for 2014-2015:

·       Music - Piano (Level 4)

·       Vocal - Chorus (Level 4)

·       Honors Math (Algebra)

·       Science (Life Science, Earth Science, Physical Science, Chemistry)

·       Honors History and Geography (Early Medieval to Renaissance)

·       Honors English (Vocabulary – Greek, Latin, Anglo-Saxon roots, Literary Critique, Writing Strategies, Grammar, Reading Comprehension)

·       Honors Literature – Classics Analysis

·       PE –Running (3 miles two times a week), Swimming, Dance Aerobics

·       Art – Art History, Exploration of different artistic styles

·       Electives:

§  Sewing

§  Cooking

§  Albanian (Foreign Language)

§  Story Writing/Poetry

Here are two of Gillian's latest compositions which she wrote in matter of minutes:

          Dawn

The sun yawns. Time for another big day. The morning is black and quiet. Not even the birds are awake; the silence is so deep you could cut it with a knife. Mist rolls over the lake, creeping, silent, and mysterious. It curls into tendrils of fog, wafting over this cold desolate land. Then........... light? How can this be? The mist uncurls its angry fingers, hissing and spitting as it slithers back into the far reaches of the world. The light continues to expand. At first it is only a pink tinge on the horizon. But then, like a wondrous rainbow, red appears, then a brilliant gold, purple, golden orange, smooth suave silver, and a magenta to take ones breath away. They collide and mix, spinning and frothing over the world, there is too much to take in! Colors and light burn away the darkness, scorching it until it is no more. Warmth fills the earth. Golden, buttery, warmth.  The sun smiles, spreading its long arms, it encircles the world, and the day begins.  

Untitled

The moon set sail 

to glide overhead.

The silent forest

had gone to bed. 

Tiny crickets chirped

sad songs, gliding together 

over glittering ponds.

A spider's victim

broke through his bonds,

and dwarves in the mountains

used iron tongs.

The elves in the valley

danced through the night,

while werewolves and dragons

looked for a bite.

The moon set sail

to glide overhead.

The silent forest

has gone to bed.

 

Charlton was the most excited child going to school this year; he even let me gel his hair - something he doesn't usually approve of.  Having been my partner in art these past two years, he didn't feel scared or lost; he actually looked the part of owning the place.  When I spoke to his teacher after school was out on the first day, she told me everyone wanted to be Charlton's friend; he was always smiling and happy.  My older boys continue to ride bikes, but Charlton didn't feel comfortable enough to accompany them.  He does have early release, so that's okay.  I love taking and picking him up, and chatting with him all the way home.

 

 

Here are some fun art work that Charlton accomplished during his first week:

Our school mascot - the eagle

Gillian jumping on the trampoline with Charlton

This was Charlton's favorite project - drawing himself after "NO, David" illustrations.

Because he comes home early, and Gillian is still doing her school work, Charlton spends a good time chilling by himself.  I haven't started on a routine for him yes since I'm still working on Gillian's, but a few things he does on his own are making creations with playdough, playing chess on the computer, reading with me, writing his letters, listening to books on tape, and just relaxing.  When Gillian is done, he is in heaven  'cause she is all his!

 

Being the first week of school, we have had a lot of time working and having fun together, reading, cooking,running, building with legos, and many other family activities.  However, we are still championing for summer days and summer swim, so that's where you would find us most of the afternoons by ourselves or with friends - at the swimming pool.

 

 

This is my latest picture being pregnant at 37 weeks - Saturday, August 30th.  I did a lot of swimming this week, and messaging with jets in the hot tub.  My body should be completely relaxed for this baby to come out and meet her family soon!

Charlton turns 5!!

Charlton had a wonderful time for his birthday.  He kept counting the days till his birthday, and getting his brothers excited about it by asking them to show his birthday date on the calendar.  This sweet boy of mine is way too adorable, and none of us unfortunately can say no to him.

We started his birthday by eating a special birthday breakfast, and then letting him open his birthday gifts from his family.  Elijah was working from home, so having dad home made his day.  Each child had chosen something that they thought Charlton would like, and of course he did like them all.  My heart was touched when James, among the other gifts he had chosen for him, gave Charlton his own Ninja Turtle that was given to him for his birthday.  I love it when my children give of their own accord, especially something that is valuable to them.

 

Elijah said that we should take a picture of Charlton with all of his siblings, this little girl inside me included.  Elijah and I are so blessed to have these amazing children as our own.  We can't wait to see #5 entering this family, and we are looking forward to how she is going to fit in this already incredibly fantastic dynamic.

After food and gifts, we took off to Charlton's favorite spot to play with his siblings, the Zoo.  We started by having Mami Lili take Charlton and James up the lift, and let them have a stunning look of all the animals in the Zoo from above.  While waiting for them, Gillian became a bit concerned about them taking so long, and she started wondering if they had fallen in one of the animal habitats.  I told her that if they had, it wouldn't be the kids suffering out there, but the animal.  Mami Lili would fight fiercely for her darling grandchildren.

When Mami Lili's group returned, we looked at some awesome birds, baboons, and of course had to check back with the tiger to see if he had escaped Mami Lili's protective instincts.  We had a good laugh at that.  The tiger was okay by the way; his languorous attitude had saved him ;)

After checking out most of the animals, I let Charlton and his siblings ride every ride they wanted, with breaks of cotton candy in between.  For lunch time, we went out to eat hot dogs and ice cream.  Charlton loved how his birthday celebration was going so far.

Gillian riding on the eagle, a common symbol between Albania and America. In fact, the word Shqiperi means the land of eagles.

This year is family birthday celebration, but since Charlton was turning a special 5, I told him we could have over a couple of friends as playdates (I'm never good with following rules!).  Jefferson and James took over entertaining the boys, and I worked on the cupcakes and got some pizza.  It was very low key celebration, but Charlton thought it was the best!

Five best attributes we love about Charlton:

1. He has the sweetest smile and eyes; just looking at them makes us happy.
2. He has an amazing memory; if you told him something he will never forget it.
3. He loves his siblings, and although he is much younger than them, he can hold his own.  He has a special connection with each of his brothers and sister.
4. He has a versatile personality; he loves for me to read to him for hours and he will stay calm and very attentive the whole time.  He also loves playing by himself, or doing any arts and crafts that he fancies at the moment.  On the other hand, he enjoys playing with his siblings tremendously, will rise up to the challenge of his older brothers (that's how he learned how to swim; forget paid private lessons), and his imagination makes him a strong leader with his peers.
5. He cracks us up on a daily basis with his funny personality and precise way of thinking:

• He loves playing with my mother in her computer, and when she doesn't let him he either makes a pouty face or pretends crying.  She totally knows he is throwing a subtle fit and shouldn't give in, but he's got her around his finger.  When he did the same thing to me, I completely ignored him of course, and after crying for a few minutes he pulls his head out of the pillow to see where I was.  When he noticed that I was still there, he said: "Why aren't you loving me?  I've been crying  for a while."  I couldn't stop laughing, and I was very close to giving in as well.  Almost.
• When I took him to school on the first day, we passed by this lady who was greeting each student saying" Welcome back!" Charlton stopped, looked at the lady, and then said: "I'm new in this school.  I've been here before but not as a student.  I'm in kindergarten now."  The lady was speechless.
• When he went back to church on Sunday, after his birthday, he went straight to Primary President and said: "I'm five now; what class do I move in to?"  When the Primary President told him that they stay in the same class till the end of the year, Charlton said: "I'm too big for that class.  They are all babies."  The funny thing is he is the youngest in that class!
• Yesterday when we went to the swimming pool, he was showing off his diving skills.  At one point, he said: "Mom, look at me.  I am a man."  Well, that got my attention really quickly.  I said "What do you mean?"  Charlton with a very yearning face answered:"Jefferson told me if I dive in the deep end, I get to be a man.  And James told me that if I swam from one end of the deep end to the other, I get to be the highest ranking of the man.  I did both mom.  Look at me." Oh my darling Charlton.  You are such a gem!

Happy Birthday, beautiful boy of ours!

Four days left of just Charlton and me

My older kids had four more days till school was out.  I was very excited about having them home with me, but a bit sad that these were going to be my last days with just Charlton and me.  This past year has been full of ups and downs for me, and my family.  However, Charlton being home made a big difference in how motivated I was to enjoy and make each day memorable for all of us.  His unconditional love, his understanding and patience, and his desire to learn new things kept me happy.  I'm grateful for this past year during which Charlton and I have enjoyed each other in countless ways.  I'll always cherish our fun art days, awesome field trips, long and enjoyable reading time, numerous board games, library hour, and our fun little dates to the ice cream parlor.  I've loved this year so much, and I will forever remember our one on one time.

This Fall Charlton is starting Kindergarten, and although it's half day, he will have a little sister competing for time and attention when he gets home.  So, I decided that these last four days will have to be extra special, and even though my mother would be with us, my little Charlton would definitely know that he was the center of attention.

On Monday, the three of us took off and headed to the Lawrence Hall of Science, a hands-on science museum where kids learned by experimenting, building, and playing.  The museum was almost empty, so Charlton, mom and I went to every single exhibit and tried our hands on building colossal wood towers, learning about gravity, digging for various insect skeletons, having fun with magnets and textures, and exploring Jupiter's moons.  When I got tired and out of breath, we sat outside in the museum's garden and had lunch enjoying the cool breeze that came from the ocean below.  It was a stupendous day!

On Tuesday, after I came back from my doctor appointment, Charlton and I went to the library and explored many books.  We checked out books about art, nature, science, history, and a bunch of story books.  We played with puzzles, puppet stories, and looked for books to buy in the sale area.  We found a lot of great treasures.  At home, after lunch, he and I read some Magic Tree House books, and then did some school.  He's so excited to learn how to read on his own! Charlton did some coloring, while I took a nap, and then we went and had some ice cream before picking up Gillian from school. It was a very pleasant day, relaxing and with special moments for both of us.

On Wednesday, Charlton had expressed a desire to visit his favorite museum, California Academy of Science, and show his grandmother his favorite things.  It was so fun seeing Charlton lead us to what he was interested, and of course the first thing we went to see was the show in the Planetarium - From Stardust to Skeletons- how we are all made of materials that float around in the Universe, and from which stars are made of.  We absolutely loved the explanation of the creation of stars, planets and our bodies.  I just can't fathom how scientists don't connect the dots and realize the hand of a Supreme Creator.  Did you know that the planetarium in this museum is the largest all-digital dome in the world?!  The universe looks very real in this state of the art planetarium.

After the planetarium, we took my mom to the rainforest portion of the museum, with all of its four layers of plants, trees, animals, birds, and its very top of butterfly habitat.  From all the way up we went all the way down to explore the marina life of our oceans from beautiful corals to scary electric eels.  This was my mother's favorite part.

The newest exhibit in the museum was called Skulls, and of course as a fan of the TV show Bones, I was way excited to visit and explore this part of the museum.  There were hundred of skulls from various kinds of animals and that was interesting.  But my favorite part was watching a fast motion movie on how beetles clean animal skulls in record time.  It was creepy, especially when you thought your skull might someday be cleaned in a similar way, but the science behind it is fascinating.  There are so many great fields of study out there, such as forensic anthropology, that I wish I had the time to study.  The study of planets and the universe captivates me as well, but earthly life is short and I guess I have to wait till I get to heaven.

When we explored all we wanted and more that this museum had to offer, and after several stops at the museum shop as well as cafeteria, we headed out to the art museum across the street.  Of course, Charlton couldn't wait to show his grandmother his favorite sculptures that he liked to play, and the dome building with its oculus cut in the roof of the chamber, through which you could observe the sky and its changing colors. The viewer's perception of the sky colors is altered and effected by the L.E.D. lights inside the cylindrical chamber.

We said goodby to the museums, enjoyed the beautiful flora on our way to our car, and then promised to come back soon.  Charlton declared our spending time together as the"best day ever."

On Thursday, Charlton and I made brownies and brought pizza and cookies at the older boys' classrooms.  It was the end of the school year party, and we were looking forward to celebrating it.  I split my time between Jefferson's and James's class party, and we enjoyed the activities that both teachers had planned.  However, I loved one activity that James's teacher had planned for them - learning about autographs.  Being their art teacher and photographer, they all have a close relationship with me.  So, when their teacher finished explaining about autographs, they all set out to get some.  After they got autographs from their teacher first, they all flocked to me.  But neither their teacher nor I were the true celebrities; Charlton was.  As soon as they found out that he could sign his name and write a few words, they all surrounded him and demanded his autograph.  Charlton sat down on the floor and all the kids sat by him waiting patiently to get him to sign their notebook.  It was hilarious, and very sweet.  This boy of mine has true charm! What a great way to finish the school year!

2013-2014 school year is OVER! YEAH! I love Summer!