Costumes Fit for Pirates!

Several weeks ago, I was offered the opportunity to review a Snow White costume from HalloweenCostumes.com.  At first, I was going to decline, but then I thought of our upcoming trip to Walt Disney World, and all the little girls you see waltzing around the parks in their princess attire.  I’ve never even considered having my kids dress up in the parks, and I knew there was no way I could get Gracie in a Snow White costume – she’s just not the flowery, princess type.

But, then it struck me --- my kids are quite taken with Pirates!  I inquired about the possibility of reviewing some pirate costumes instead, and was thrilled to receive both the Kids’ Elizabeth Swann Pirate Costume and the Kids’ Jack Sparrow Costume.  Gracie and Ian were both excited and couldn’t wait to wear their costumes to Walt Disney World!

Upon arrival, I realized that these costumes are the exact ones that you could buy at Wal-mart, Target, or wherever you generally shop for Halloween costumes.  When I pulled them out of the package, they were pretty wrinkled.  I wanted them to look nice for a day at Disney, so I ironed them. As I was doing so, I thought “gee, I bet the real pirates didn’t iron their clothes!” so, in hindsight, maybe I should have left them wrinkled.  I don’t know!

 The Elizabeth Swann costume comes with the peasant-style top with attached vest and shoulder sash, brown cropped pants, pirate hat, and boot tops.  Because my Gracie is so skinny, the  boot tops wouldn’t stay up on her legs.  We figured that, in the Florida heat, she probably wouldn’t want them anyway, so it wasn’t a big deal.  However, we realized, upon arrival in Florida, that I had forgotten to pack the hat.  In all honesty, I wasn’t very impressed with the hat that came with the costume anyway – it was very misshapen and was difficult to work with to get it to look just right.  So, on our first day at the Magic Kingdom, we made a quick stop in the store beside Pirates of the Caribbean to pick up a hat for Gracie.

  The Jack Sparrow costume includes the vest with shirt front and sleeves, bandana w/attached beaded braids, and brown cropped pants. The hat and boot tops sold separately.  Ian was not entirely thrilled with the bandana and braids (he said they made his face itchy!), so we bought him a hat too.  Some of the time he wore it along with the bandana, other times we removed the bandana and he just wore the hat.  We had ordered Ian the child’s size small costume (for ages 4-6).  The pants that came with it were way too large around the waist, so we had to take them in a good bit so that they would stay up on him; and he’s not particularly thin (very average, I’d say).

The kids had a blast walking around the Walt Disney World Resort in these  costumes.  We had several people comment on the “adorable pirates”, which made them smile!  Again, this was our first experience dressing up at Disney – but we had so much fun that I’d definitely consider doing it again. 

Here are some more pictures of my pirates:

 

All in all, I’d say we had a great experience with HalloweenCostumes.com.  They package arrived very quickly and we all had fun with the costumes.  Even though we aren’t big Halloween people around here, I know they’ll want to pull them out again later this year and do some trick-or-treating in them. 

In addition to the two costumes mentioned above, HalloweenCostumes.com offers a full line of Pirate costumes for the entire family!  Be sure to check them out – you may want to order a few for your next Disney vacation!

NOTE: I received the costumes mentioned above at no charge, in exchange for my posting about them on my blog.  All opinions expressed herein are entirely my own. 

So Many Milestones

Over the past few months, it seems like we’ve had our fair share of “milestone moments” here in our family.  Man, if I stop to really think about all this, it makes me want to sit and cry! 

Not only did my “baby” start school this year (thank goodness we homeschool because I could NOT bear to send this precious little guy off to school!), but he also played soccer for the first time.  He lost his first two teeth.  Among other things, he’s enjoying learning to read.  In a few weeks, we’ll celebrate the 6th anniversary of Ian’s Adoption Day.  Wow – where does the time go?

Speaking of time . . .

This past Sunday was the 11th anniversary of Gracie’s Adoption Day!  I remember laying eyes on her for the very first time – she was SO tiny!  Now, here we are, 11 years later, and she’s becoming a young lady.  Not only is she growing and changing, but she’s doing seventh grade work (successfully) and, in addition to taking both piano and violin lessons, she also secured a spot playing first violin in the Central PA Homeschool Orchestra.  I don’t mean to be one of those bragging parents, but I am proud of her! Just a few years ago, she was so shy that we couldn’t get her to talk to people (even people she knew!)

And as for Ashley, well I almost can’t believe all the milestones we’re experiencing with this girl!  I’m trying to adjust to the fact that she’s a senior and preparing to graduate.  She’s such a great young adult – I really enjoy spending time with her and she’s so helpful around the house!  She’s been doing a lot of traveling on her own these days.  And last week, we got her senior pictures taken (hard to believe).  Yesterday, she got her drivers license (man, that was a long time coming and a testimony to our very busy lives!)  In just a few short weeks, we’ll be celebrating her 18th birthday.  The only thing she asked for was that she and I could go and spend a night in Lancaster at a certain hotel, eat a nice supper somewhere, and shop the outlets – so that’s the plan!

Treasure every moment with your kids!
Trust me, they grow up WAY too fast!

That’s my advice to my youngest brother and his wife.  They just recently experienced a major milestone in their lives as well --- they returned home from Korea with their first child, and they’re now a family of 3!  Adoption has kinda come full-circle in our family now; and I’m so proud!

Field Trip Saturday

As was previously posted on my blog, we didn’t get to go away for the weekend as originally planned.  Staying home, though, did have its positive elements, as we had some local excitement here yesterday morning (and without it I wouldn’t have been inspired to write this poem).  Anyway, since we stayed home in PA for the weekend, we decided to make the most of it and go on a road trip yesterday.  It was actually my parents’ idea; so we all loaded up in the  van and set out . . .

Our first stop was in the quaint town of Wellsboro, PA. We stopped at a grocery store for some picnic food.  I wish I would have had all day just to spend browsing the shops in this neat town.  We’ll have to go back sometime.  I was impressed with their streetlights – they’re gas!

And they were all decorated so nicely for fall.

From there, we went to the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon.  I’ve lived in PA all my life, and I honestly don’t believe I’ve ever seen it.  My parents find that extremely hard to believe, but I usually have a pretty good memory about our trips (think: Disney!)  Anyway, talk about breathtaking!

After the Grand Canyon, my parents wanted to take us to Elk County.  On the way, we stopped to see the Austin Dam.

  

Our next stop was Benezette, PA to see the Elk.  Apparently, many years ago, elk were brought into the area. They’ve since multiplied and they are EVERYWHERE – literally right in peoples’ yards, etc.  Apparently, though, we picked the day to visit that EVERYONE ELSE in a 5-state area chose as well.  The town was PACKED with people.  It was getting dark, so my pictures didn’t turn out too great; but at least you can see that we saw some elk.

 

Here are my favorite pictures (my “treasures”) from our day away:

Our Homeschool Goals for 2011-12

The Homeschool Crew is back in full swing, so it’s time to resume our Blog Cruise.  The Blog Cruise is a bi-weekly meme, where members of the Crew share their answers to homeschool questions, thoughts on homeschool-related topics, or personal experiences with homeschooling.

We’re got a great line-up of topics for this year. I’m looking forward to participating.  You’ll be able to see the full list of links for the Blog Cruise on the Crew’s blog.

This week’s question is:

What are your homeschool-related goals for the year?

This year, my oldest daughter, Ashley, is a senior!  I’m not sure where the time and years have gone, but our main goal for the year is getting her through to graduation!  Actually, we probably could have graduated her (credit-wise) last year; but there was still so much that she wanted to learn.  So, we picked more curriculum and here we are.  That’s one of the neat things about homeschooling.  In fact, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if she doesn’t do a class or two yet next year (college isn’t in her plans at the moment).

Gracie is in 7th grade this year.  Again, I’m not sure how that happened (except that, in our defense, she did start kindergarten right after her 4th birthday).  One of our goals where her school year is concerned is to become more active with our science studies – in the past, we’ve definitely learned science (reading books, studying nature and birds, etc.) – but this year I want to get more serious with the textbook!

She has added orchestra to her already busy music  schedule of piano and violin lessons; and she got first violin (which is quite an accomplishment for a 2nd year violin student, but will require quite a bit of practice too!) In any case, music is definitely an area where she excels.  I’ve been reading Educating the Wholehearted Child by Clay & Sally Clarkson – and a personal goal of mine is to learn not to be so uptight with my schedule.  Some things are more important than the texbooks, and I need to learn to relax.

Speaking of learning to relax . . . Ian is doing kindergarten this year!  He’s SO different from my girls.  While I thought I had exactly what we needed to do school with him this year, I quickly learned that sitting him at the table or a desk with some workbooks doesn’t really work. In so many other ways, he’s taught me to be a different kind of mom; and schooling is apparently no different.  I’m definitely learning to lighten up a bit; and I’m learning to teach him through games and hands-on sources.  He’s such an absorbent sponge – it’s so fun watching him soaking up things!

A personal goal for me is to start getting up earlier (I’ve been having some sleep issues since my friend Sue passed away, and I really want to overcome  them!) and get a few hours of work done before the kids get up so that I can focus more clearly on school (without being distracted  by e-mails, etc.)  Setting work hours and actually sticking with them is a goal I have every year and have not been successful at accomplishing!  I’m determined though!

What are your  goals for this school year (or year in general)?  I’d love to hear them.  Please share by leaving me a comment.

One year ago today . . .

I’m loving how Facebook will occasionally tell me what I posted “on this day in 2010”.  I find that neat.  It’s a fun way to trigger memories.  I noticed that today’s memory said this:

On the agenda for today . . . Jamestown Settlement. The girls have separate tours this morning at 10:30, then we do a group tour at 1. Ashley wants to hook up with a friend this afternoon. Looks like it'll be a beautiful day. :)

Last year at this time, the kids, my mom, and I were hanging out in the Historic Triangle of Virginia, taking part in the Homeschool Days events at Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown.  Eventually, I hope to write an article about it for TOS; but it hasn’t actually been scheduled yet. 

In any case, this got me to thinking that a year ago TOMORROW will mark the anniversary of Ian breaking his leg!  Of course, we didn’t know it was broken until the Monday later (after several days of carrying him around because he refused to bear weight on it).  Remember that bright red cast he chose?

A morning board? What’s that?!

Last week, one of my Crew mates posted about a morning board that she created for her homeschool. I had never heard of a “morning board” but I was intrigued, so I checked it out.  Now, I’m beginning to think that I must be living under a rock (or working too much) or something; because this seems like something all the cool homeschoolers are doing these days, and I was totally missing out!

I followed the links on Marie’s blog and found some great resources.  I had to create one of these things for Ian.  Why?  Because the kid is obsessed with knowing what day it is.  And, what better way to tell him than to show him, right?

So, I grabbed a black foam board at Target (the choices were black and white and white is just so . . . white!)  My printer(s) were both not working properly, so I ordered a new one.  It came the other day.  I gave the new printer and my old laminator a run for their money, let me tell you!  I also grabbed a pack of clear hooks at Target; and used some keychain rings we had purchased for another project instead of the more-simple-to-open-and-close rings that were suggested (hey, we homeschoolers know how to adapt, right?!) 

I found the most inspiration at Mama Jenn’s site, but also downloaded some freebies from  Confessions of a Homeschooler and got some links at 1+1+1+1.  I’m pretty pleased with how the board turned out:

I ran out of hooks and laminating sheets – so I’ve got shape cards (already laminated) and character trait cards (that need laminated) that will be added to the lower left hand corner:

Do you use something like this in your homeschool?  If so, I’d love to hear about it!

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, the crazy boy who will be using it looks like this:

Sometimes I wonder about him! LOL

Ian’s Kindergarten year . . .

Times . . . they are a’changin’ . . . and this precious little  boy that I still call my baby is growing up.  In April, he turned 5.  Now he’s got his first loose tooth.  And, he’s been begging me every day for weeks to start school.  Bless his heart! 

I kept putting off looking over his stuff and coming up with a workable schedule – after all, I’ve got a senior and a 7th grader, their stuff had to come first, right?  The other day, though, I finally had time to put some thoughts to paper regarding Ian’s school year.  And now we’re ready to dive in and get started.  His enthusiasm is contagious – I just hope it lasts all year!

With the exception of Bible, all of the other items we’re using this year are  things that I’ve received over the past few years while working with the Homeschool Crew.  What a blessing!

Bible ~ Kindergarten Learning About God from Positive Action for Christ

Math ~  Mathematical Reasoning Level A from The Critical Thinking Co. and enVision Math from Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley (this second book is a 1st grade curriculum – so I’m not sure how we’ll schedule the  two – either simultaneously, or one first, then the other – we’ll see . . . )

Reading ~ All About Reading Level Pre-1 and Readers from Academic Success for All Learners (again, I’m not sure how we’ll actually schedule the two things, but since we have them both, I want to make use of  them)

Writing ~ Write Shop Primary A

Other ~ we’ll work on some life-skills type things as well.  And, if this year is anything like our past school years, we’ll add in more great products that the Crew receives to review!  We’ve got lots of educational games and computer games that I’m sure he’ll be making use of.  And, I may pull out All About Spelling a little later in the year.

Now, it seems that we’re all ready to start school.  How about you?

It’s time!

Has anyone in your house been counting the days?

While we won’t be heading out to the movies today (both Gracie and Ian are sick), we’ll definitely be getting there ASAP!  How about YOU?!

Lightning as a topiary!

We might have missed the Flower & Garden Festival, but we were excited to see that some of our favorites were still being featured.  Ian was beyond thrilled with the Toy Story and Cars characters!

At Home in the Wednesday Hodgepodge ~ Vol. 23

1. What are your plans for Easter Day/weekend?

We don’t have much planned beyond church in the morning and spending the afternoon with my parents.  We bought a few Easter “goodies” yesterday, but really didn’t go overboard at all.

2. Besides Jesus, what one person from The Bible would you most like to meet and why?

Having just recently watched the DVD Magdalena, I’m thinking it would be neat to meet Mary Magdalene, or any of the ladies who followed Christ’s ministry here on earth.  I’d love to hear their thoughts on things – having seen it all firsthand.

3. What is one modern day convenience you didn't have as a child that was easy to live without?

Probably computers.  I do remember our first computer – it was a Texas Instruments.  It was basically only good for playing games – and very simplistic games at that.  But, I remember the day of having to research things in encyclopedias; and, I must confess, I rather miss that in some ways. 

4. Are you more right brained or left brained? If you don't know what that means there is an interesting little quiz here.

Well, I’m left-handed, so I thought that meant I was right-brained.  But, according to the test, I’m 57% left-brained and 43% right-brained.  I’m not sure I totally agree with the test, though, only for the fact that I don’t find much difference between two of the choices (“some” and “occasionally”) and I felt that some of the questions were worded strangely.  Oh well.

5. What is something you intended to do today but didn't? Why?

It’s still morning, so I don’t know!  Hopefully I’ll get everything accomplished that I need to!

6. Cadbury Creme Eggs or Reeses peanut butter?

I’d probably pick Reese’s P.B. though I would kinda like to try a Cadbury Cream Egg again – it’s been YEARS since I’ve had one.

7. Who was your favorite cartoon character when you were a child?

I have to confess – I was never a cartoon fan.  I do remember watching the Smurfs on Saturday mornings, on occasion, but I can’t say I was really a fan.  I was more into shows that were “real-life”, like Mr. Rodgers.  LOL

8. Insert your own random thought here.

My baby boy is 5 years old today!  I’m not sure where the time has gone.  I cannot imagine what our lives would be like without him!  I’m praising God for choosing this little boy for us, from 1/2 way around the world!