Problem Solving...

I try to let my girls figure things out for themselves rather than jumping in to "fix things" too quickly.  So, last weekend when my niece threw a hula hoop in the air and it got caught in a tree, we watched for a while before helping them out.

If you look closely at this picture, you can see the hula hoop fairly high in the tree.  The girls are staring at it and having a lively discussion about how to get it out.



At one point, they decided to put O(5) on my niece's shoulders (she's 8), and then put E(2) on O's shoulders.  It didn't work.


It was so much fun to watch them and to hear their ideas and watch them work.  Eventually, their Grandpa helped them out.  Fun times!

Anyone from Egypt???

Since O(5) REALLY enjoyed studying Egypt at her Montessori preschool, and we'll be spending quite a while studying ancient Egypt in homeschool, I'd LOVE to have a cultural exchange partner from Egypt.  Is anyone interested?  If so, you could join a group of 4 participants to send 3 packages or you could just exchange with us.  Please email me at chasingcheerioscultureexchange@gmail.com if you are interested.  Thank you!!!

An Elliott Update

Thank you for all of the emails over the past couple of months asking how Elliott is doing following his surgery to remove a brain tumor.  I realized that I really should write a post about this since so many of your have expressed concern and kindness for him and our family during this incredibly difficult time. 

It has been a little more than 2 months since Elliott's craniotomy and about 3 and a half months since his initial diagnosis.  To be perfectly honest, when I think back on the last 3 and half months, it's almost like it didn't really happen...like it was all just a very bad dream with a (hopefully) happy ending.  I still have trouble wrapping my mind around the fact that this truly happened to our family and that we survived it and are thriving. 

It's hard to believe that he went from this on April 20 (this was right before his stitches were removed)


to this on May 27...it's unbelievable really.





We found out at his 6 week post surgery appt with the neurosurgeon that there is a 15% chance that his tumor (benign) will grow back.  That percentage actually seems quite high to me, so I am trying to focus on the 85% chance that it will not grow back.  If it grows back, he may have to have radiation or a more radical tumor removal surgery.  I'm not sure how you can get much more radical than the craniotomy that he already had, and the thought of that is both terrifying and overwhelming.   He will have to have MRIs every year which is better (I guess) than the every 6 months that we were expecting.   I am sure that the last couple of months before the next MRI are going to be very difficult as we wait to find out if the tumor is growing back. 

The girls have handled the situation very well, but they (especially O) have had a very difficult time separating from me since we returned from our week away during the surgery.  It was very difficult to drop her off at school for the last few weeks, and she recently freaked out when I tried to leave her backstage at her dance recital.  This surprised me a lot since it was her 3rd recital, and she has been in 3 ballets, and she has never, ever had a problem with me leaving her before.  We have had Vacation Bible School at our church this week, and I have been a teacher for the kindergarten class.  When my mom asked O(5) what the best part of Bible School was, she said "the best part is that mama doesn't drop me off.  She stays and is a teacher and doesn't leave me."   I really hope that we haven't damaged her for life by being away from her during Elliott's surgery.  Hopefully, she just needs time and lots of mama and daddy time before being comfortable with us leaving her again.

Thank you again to everyone for your thoughts, prayers, and kind words that have supported us through all of this. 

Chasing Cheerios Cultural Exchange Update!!!

Thanks to everyone who is participating in the ongoing Cultural Exchange!  I've formed 39 groups so far!  There's been a great response from so many countries...it's very exciting!  I still have LOTS of Americans who are waiting for international groups, so I'd love to have more international (non-American) participants.  Thanks!

If you're not sure what I'm talking about, read more about the Chasing Cheerios Cultural Exchange here.

Naked Eggs Science Experiment

The girls, Elliott, and I had fun conducting a Naked Egg Science Experiment in the weeks following his brain surgery.

First, we put 2 raw eggs in 2 cups of vinegar (1 for each girl).  The girls were excited to see that the eggs were immediately covered in thousands of teeny, tiny bubbles.






After a day or so, the shell mostly disintegrated, and we rubbed the rest of it off.  The girls loved carefully holding their naked eggs!



We put each egg back into the cups and added water and food coloring.  E(2) chose red food coloring and O(5) chose black.  Elliott went into a detailed explanation of osmosis, etc., and they seemed to get it to a certain extent.


The girls were interested to see how the eggs grew when they were in the water.






We put the eggs in cooking oil, and there was no change (we should have used corn syrup).  Then we drained the oil and left the eggs in the cups.  The eggs deflated after we left them in the cups.

Our Graduate

We are so proud of our sweet O(5) who graduated from Montessori Preschool 2 weeks ago!  She made a commencement speech in front of more than 100 people, and she did an amazing job!  We are hoping to start 1st grade homeschool soon, but we have been very busy with dance lessons, swimming lessons, baby showers, and now Vacation Bible School so far this summer.  Fun times!

Customized Wooden Dolls...A Review!

Amaria from Amaria's Paper Works sent us these gorgeous wooden "paper" dolls to review shortly before we found out about Elliott's brain tumor.  So, the review was put on hold, and I'm finally getting to it!

We love these customized paper dolls!  She used pictures of the girls to make the dolls.  My favorite thing about these dolls (and the thing that makes them different from other dolls that we've reviewed) is that they are mounted on a wooden backing!  They are very sturdy and well-made.

I also love the packaging!  Here is the front...  It includes a picture of the paper (wooden) doll and a biography of the child which makes a very special keepsake.

Here is the back of the package... 





Here is a description of the dolls from Amaria's shop...

"The magnetic dress-up dolls from Amaria's PaperWork are designed to be played with. They are mounted on 1/8" craft wood with a magnetic sheet sandwiched between the layers and finished with varnish. Both the dolls and their clothes are printed from my own original artwork. The clothes are laminated for strength and durability and attach to the doll with magnetic dots."



Another thing that I LOVE about these paper dolls is that they have multi-cultural clothing!  Amaria sent us outfits that corresponded with the countries that we've studied (or will study) through our cultural exchange!



The outfits are laminated and attach to the dolls with a magnet.



These paper dolls are a great addition to our cultural studies, and I plan to set them up with their various multi-cultural costumes in the geography/culture section of our new school room!  Thank you to Amaria for sharing these wonderful dolls with us!

More of What We Eat

Since several of you asked me to post more pics of what we eat, I decided to do that today.  I've been so busy with O's graduation, doctor appts, planning for Bible School, planning for a baby shower we are hosting, work, swimming lessons, gardening, working on O's yearbook, recital rehearsal, and the dance recital, that I haven't had time to write any posts in a while (I usually write several at once and then just post one a day).  Posting food pics is easy and fast!

This was a fast breakfast on Friday.  They had fresh cherries (E barely ate hers), walnuts, bananas, and watermelon.  They also had organic milk to drink and yogurt drinks.



This was supper one day last week.  The girls had their first ever fish sticks, and they LOVED them.  It's not something we'll have often, but it did make for a quick and easy meat.   They had sugar snap peas, carrots cooked with olive oil, dill, and garlic, fish sticks, cauliflower with cheese, and kiwi with frozen strawberries.



This was lunch (I think) one day last week.  They had cucumbers and tomatoes, frozen fruit (mangoes, blueberries, and strawberries), macaroni and cheese (their first instant mac and cheese...Annie's...they loved it and I added in a couple of spoonfuls of organic Greek yogurt to make it healthier), chicken, and ketchup for dipping.

Pure Joy

An impromptu ballet recital on the deck...does it get any better than this?  I don't think so :)

Reading, Painting, and Loving It!

The girls and I really enjoyed a "homeschool" activity last week....I read to them from a book about Vikings while they painted with their liquid watercolors.  It was so wonderful and peaceful, and we all learned a lot!  This is how I am envisioning us spending much of our school day...the girls painting or coloring while I read to them from our vast selection of books...love it!

When E(2) asked O(5) what she was painting, she said "it's from my imagination."





E said that she was painting a bird (and she was wearing her "old time" dress...another perk of homeschooling...they can wear pjs or dress-up clothes all day if they want to).