Happy Love

Happy Lover's Day. May you share your love with those close to you.

These images are from a light painting expedition with my brothers down at the beach. Great fun!

'Potters' Wheel, Part One

This post was originally written in the fall but not posted. Since pottery was such great fun for us, I decided to turn our time into a few posts for ya'all. Here is Part One.

Have I shared with you how I temporarily lost my eldest to Harry Potter? Well, in a couple of short months he blew through the series and was completely hooked. He isn't a creepy warlock kid, he's just a boy who will stay up very late at night reading. He sneaks under the covers after 'lights out' with a flashlight to continue a chapter or more. His offenses could be much worse, I am aware.

That said, we had a potter's class in the fall and he was tickled as all get out about the "Potter's'" wheel connection. I am certain the sensation of throwing on a wheel would have appealed to him regardless of his HP preoccupation but it made for fun puns along the way.

And so, as I was saying, we've been working with pottery a bit. Our interest was heightened when we visited Portland and the kids spent two good days playing pottery in the backyard. Hours of hand forming, reminded us of how simple and rewarding clay, water and paint brush can be.

When we returned and settled into our school routine, the art for the semester was an easy pick. We had private lessons at a local ceramic studio. Throwing on the wheel and creating a bowl from a chunk of clay provided hands on learning at it's finest.

It was interesting how the task translated to each child a little differently and each bowl was perfectly unique as it came to it's desired form.

Next up: clay forming at home

Perpetual Calendar

I love this perpetual calendar! What a great way to capture the main events of the day. I try to record a daily journal and track what was big for that day; something funny someone said, an amazing life changing epiphany, or just something notable. Truthfully I can't stick with it. This may just be the streamlined approach I need.

So creatively simple and what a great gift idea. You can use postcards. pictures or anything that might be special for your recipient. There are so many possibilities.

Images and more DIY details from Design Sponge.
Found via The Violet Hours.

A Book, A Movie and An Ah-Ha Moment

The leading reason I selected our core curriculum is due to the superb literature woven into the program. I highly subscribe to the philosophy that we write what we read. And just like with any other influence in our lives, the better the literature, the better the lesson.

Transforming our reluctant reader
So, each of my charming students (both kids, that is) have readers that graduate with difficulty throughout the year. The story selections are phenomenal. Anna began the year as a reluctant reader. She would declare her disdain for the written word and protest at the suggestion of reading. While it had been her mantra for quite some time, she had a subtle change of heart as our school year settled in. Nothing was forced, it was simply offered. Her reading selections that were part of her curricula were interesting to her. She had been stuck reading books that bored her. The basic stories that were previously provided for her skill level were of no interest. There was not enough plot or any interesting description.

Finally she was given some great historical fiction that drew her right in at her level and she hasn't looked back. Not once have we had to debate about her readers. She happily picks them up and often reads ahead. And it's because of the depth of literature offered.

Reading together
In addition to the individual readers, our program has a history read aloud we do together in the evenings. David usually takes over with this and I often find all three snuggled together intently listening for the next page.

One recent read aloud was the missionary story of Gladys Aylward. She was a determined woman who passionately felt her calling was to serve in China. Her story is a moving testimony of the impact one person can have when their heart has a calling. I don't mind sharing that I caught my dear sweet, but very strong and manly husband crack his voice at the conclusion of the story. He was so moved by her perseverance in seemingly hopeless circumstances.

Can the movie possibly be as good as the book?
The Inn of Six Happinesses is a movie staring Ingrid Bergman that is loosely based on this story. Saturday night, we lit a fire and snuggled in to watch the flick. Too many times to count someone disappointingly declared "this did not happen" and wondered how there could be so many inconsistencies with the written story (starting with the title --"There are EIGHT happinesses!")?! As with most Hollywood depictions of great literature, the story was greatly modified and lost some things along the way.

The Ah-Ha Moment
It was certainly worth it to see our read aloud on the screen in spite of the departure from the original story. I was tickled as all get out that a lesson I have been sharing over and over was finally realized. Movies are never as good as the book. And they saw this first hand. It was beyond their reasoning that the movie didn't accurately depict Gladys's story as it left out so many of the details that truly exhibit her determination and passion.

I think it's safe to say movies - when inspired from a book - have been dethroned in our home. A good read is always better!

Bonus feature
P.S. Incidentally there was a quote from the movie that spoke to me as I was sitting with my fresh new notebook on New Year's Day, planning our 2011. Advice was given to Gladys that "A life that is planned is closed. It can be endured but not lived." I put down my pen and snuggled in a bit tighter. Hollywood or not, I like that.

Image and more about Gladys here.

Archiving Christmas [Photo] Cards

There was a time, long ago, when I thought I wanted to be a scrapbooker. I'm crafty and I love all the supplies, but really I think it was more drawn to the archival aspect of the craft. My luke-warm commitment can most certainly be linked to my lack of patience for the detail that yields just one page. My visions far surpass my results. I peter out before I complete my grand plan. Not surprisingly, I have plenty of albums started but not too many completed.

My Christmas Album however, is a mark of pride. Not because the pages within it are awe inspiring but because it is filled with Christmas cards from our friends and family since the beginning of our marriage and theirs. Our 'peeps' shared the highlights of their lives and as we flip through the pages we go back to some of those forgotten moments.

Each year I start with our family photo card and letter and thoughtfully group together the photo cards we receive into a set of following pages.

It was a small enough project for me to accomplish in one sitting, and now, ten years later I truly appreciate the time I took to put those cards into the album. My style has changed significantly but that is part of the charm. Recording it, as it is 'now'.

When we are raising a family, building a career or just getting by, we don't often stop and cherish the moments. But over time, when we look back, we recall how much things have changed or how some of the most important things have remained the same. Pulling the album out each year and remembering the folks we have shared a season or more with helps make our micro world a little more macro.

As our family grew and the album reached it's capacity, so did my scrapbooking. Instead of adding a second volume to the collection, I now capture all our photos, hole punch them and add them to a ring--with our photo and letter leading the pack. It's the best I can do these days and while it may not have all the extra borders or stickers or labels, it is a doable means for me to still archive photos that we can bring out over the holidays and remember....

The simplicity and pureness of this level of archiving speaks to me and where I am now-a-days. I'm glad I did more when I had the time, but I'm just as happy with these too. The intent and results are the same. If you have made the effort to send us a photo card over the years, chances are good you are in our pages and we think of you each holiday.

Cheers and Happy New Year!

Best Ever Pumpkin Soup

My sister-in-law brought the most delicious pumpkin soup for an appetizer at Thanksgiving. It's perfectly creamy and not too much pumpkin. The thyme and sherry are the little savory somethings that make you go hmmmmmm.

I have been serving it any chance I can muster since I got my hands on the recipe. It was fabulous in a warmer at our Cookie Exchange, and would be great at any New Year's Bash. I have had enough requests for the recipe so I must pass it on. I can assure you this will warm us throughout winter. Please enjoy.

Best Ever Pumpkin Soup
1 T butter
1 cup chopped onion
1 can (15 oz) 100% pure pumpkin
2 cups chicken broth
1 t each thyme and salt
2 small bay leaves
1 cup light cream
¼ cup dry sherry (optional)
Garnish: chopped chives

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add onion and sauté over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until translucent. Stir in pumpkin, broth, thyme, salt and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes to develop flavors. Remove from heat. Remove bay leaves. Cover and refrigerate.

To Serve: Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Add cream and sherry. Cook, stirring often, until hot. Ladle into small serving cups and garnish with chives.

Note: I double the recipe and use a combination of heavy cream (yep!) and rice drink (about 3 cups heavy cream and 1 cup rice drink). There is plenty of room to adapt this recipe to your desired consistency.

Light Touring

Our score cards for our 'notable' houses on the traditional light tour. We are going with a five star rating system for the big kids and smiley faces for the little one. It will be interesting to compare notes over the years. Some of these folks really do it up right!

Cookie Exchange, Winter Solstice and Advent

I hope you are all enjoying the festive season. We certainly are wrapped up (pun intended) in Advent. It's been great fun weaving in big seasonal activities with the simpler things we do to prepare for Christmas. I love keeping the kids on their toes and their interest peaked. They never know what the door will open for them each morning. Receiving treats is balanced with a whole lot of giving. Remembering the reason for the season and keeping it dear to us is so very special.

Party Invitations

We are hosting a cookie exchange for the kiddos and an Open House for the adults in celebration of Winter Solstice (did we get it all in with one party or what?). It's an intimate low key affair. No bake offs here. As an added bonus, preparing for the party has lended at least four advent activities (making the invitations, baking the cookies, decorating the cookies and the party itself).

If all goes well, we'll make it an annual tradition. You know how I love a good tradition!

DIY Travel Pillow Cases

We hit the road in late September and had a fabulous time with a (new to us) pop up camper. I had surprises and treats revealed throughout our initiation trip. My most favorite? Our camper cases.

Nothing says 'home sweet home' (literally) like a set of family pillow cases.

P.S. You should know I can't draw worth beans. It's truly pathetic. These are traced, using a light box and a drawing Adrienne made for me to work from. I KNOW they are stick figures, but sketching is not my strong suite and I like her style. Besides, I made a new friend in the light box.

Grateful for...Reposts...

I am so not in fall mode, and nowhere near readying myself for Thanksgiving. The heatwave blazing through So Cal may be to blame. Or the incessant illness that is slowly invading our home, one.at.a.time and allowing me to really hone my caretaker game. No matter the reason, I need to get with the season.

I took a look back at last year's "Grateful For..." posts and I think it is just the thing to prepare my heart and mind for this holiday season. I'm going to read them backwards this year to really stir things up (read: living on the edge).

You can see my month's worth of posts here.

Photo credit: Most photos are mine, but I borrowed a few from here, here, here, and here.

Changing Eduction Paradigms

Making the rounds. An interesting view that may challenge conventional paradigms. What do you think?

Math: Wrap Ups

We are always looking for ways to practice and develop our math facts. Card games are a big win since playing doesn't feel like drilling. Time in the car can be the most perfect opportunity to practice and challenge addition, subtraction, fractions and even beginning multiplication.

Enter, Basic Math Wrap Ups.

(Side bar: Before you read on and hit the panic button, let me share that this post almost didn't go up when I saw my boy's nails in these photos. Holy black claws, Batman! Who is his mother anyway?! You must know he doesn't live in a complete state of filth. We just returned from the kids' first session on a potter's wheel. Evidently, we brought a little clay home with us--and he is overdo for a nail trim. Another post, for another time. For now, stick with me and please focus on math, not the nails. Much obliged.)

As I was saying, the plastic keys function with a long string that you use to wrap up as you select the correct answer for the operation.

4 + 7 = 11

6 + 9 = 15

And so on

Once you have finished the key, turn it over. If your string path is correct you will will have properly matched the lines and not see anything.

If you have an incorrect answer, your string pattern will differ from the raised lines that are the answer key. (If this description doesn't wow you and you want to see an animated instruction video, click here.)

* For a kinesthetic learner, the hands on manipulation is great.

* For a competitive child, there are plenty of ways to increase the challenge and add a time to your drilling. Setting a goal of how many correct keys can be completed before picking up your brother, for instance, is a common practice in our car.

* For a reluctant mathematician, these are a good way to build confidence and skill.

Wrap ups are fantastically simple and portable and come in a variety of other subjects such as Spanish, vocabulary, and even music theory. These self paced tools are a pretty good fit for most any student.

You can purchase these handy keys from a variety of places, like Amazon,with several options (packs or individually sold, etc.). But to let you in on a little secret, I almost always prefer Rainbow Resources when they have what I'm looking for. The pricing is hard to beat!

And for the record, I (foolishly) don't have any contact with the companies of the products I mention or, dare I say, endorse. Perhaps I should review my options a little better since I am pretty selective about what I share with you all. But for now, it's just free marketing for them. (Read: I need a plan!)

This Week's Menu

Tri Tip Kabobs
Corn saute
Herbed brown rice
Greens and mushrooms with lemon vinaigrette

Pasta alla Gianni (Pasta and cauliflower)
Prosciutto and melon

Chicken curry with potatoes and carrots
Green beans with lemon

Tuscan farro and bean soup (via Jora)
Crusty fresh bread

Taco salad

Homemade pizza night

Image via Hip Hostess

Serendipity

Serendipity: an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident

And that's exactly how I would summarize our recent road trip adventure.

So many treasured serendipitous moments.

954 images
2,664 miles
11 days
5 amazingly bonded adventurers

This Week's Menu

(photo by: Romulo Yanes)

Roasted chicken
Last hurrah summer panzanella (Smitten Kitchen and Ina Garten)
Roasted red potatoes

Baked cod with artichokes, tomatoes, capers and wine
Herbed brown rice
Spinach saute

Shrimp Fajitas (Next time I'll use chicken and try Steph's slow cooker recipe)
Spanish rice
Black beans and lime

Slow cooked beef stroganoff
Garofalo pasta
Brussel sprouts with lemon

Mini sliders
Sweet potato fries
Greens and Goddess

Tostada Thursday!

By the way, did you see these fun weekly menus from Ollibird?
(via My Favorite Things)

Re-Entry Weekend Noshing

Slowly re-entering from a fantastic trip up the coast of California, five days in Portland, and back. We are nursing a sick little helper, unpacking and cleaning out. Projects galore.

In the midst of it, while trying to savior our serendipitous life on the road, you can find us noshing on a little bit of this and that.

These stuffed peppadrops are a perfect blend of sweet and salty:
* TJ's peri-peri peppadrops (pickled piquante peppers)
* Chevre with herbs

Simple, easy and a little delight.

Camping Encouragement From the Archives

I came across an old post from summer I never shared with you lovelies. Since we have hit the road again in search of nature turning seasons on us, I find this post quite suitable.

We made it back from our week of tent camping and boating and what an adventure we had! A few basic notables for me:

Sleeping in a tent (on an air mattress, of course) is much nicer than I remember it to be. Even if you have 'weather' and it rains, being out in the fresh air and waking to chirping birds is a great way to start most any day. I love the connection to my most basic surroundings; the things I would certainly miss if I was typically huddled in a trailer, RV or cabin.

Cutting a deal with the husband upfront to be on breakfast detail and have coffee brewed and served was a very wise move on my part. He's a little hardier in the elements and doesn't mind getting going on the cups of joe, so who am I to stop him?

Planning your food out makes all the difference. I had all our meals planned, to the day. Grilled chicken, hobo meals, and even tacos are pretty easy camp food. Since we had to live out of a cooler, we had our freshest meals at the beginning and by the end of the trip succumbed to the crowd favorite (except me) of chili dogs. Marinating, even kabobing, and freezing ahead of time gave us a good variety of flavorful food.

We are booked for the same trip next year, but I will be in a camper. The experience was great and my kids loved it with no notice of the wind. Not one complaint from them. I, on the other hand, feel best if I can escape the elements a bit each day. I love boating and being out all day but I need to take a break from the sun, or wind or rain or whatever the weather serves up and reboot.

I'd like the record to show that I will always advocate a family trip of this nature (Pun intended!). It brings your tribe together and gives your kids a wonderful appreciation for what is simple and basic. If I can endure this with three kids, a throbbing sinus infection, too many snake sightings for me and unseasonable wind, then you can too!

Get out there!

Post script: I echo Marta's recent Q&A on camping here. Great tips!

Table in a Bag: A Family Staple

It may be way too early to think about Christmas, but I have to share one of my favorite gifts to give. The wooden Table in a Bag is a must for every family. I can't think of anyone (unless they are hermits) who wouldn't love this table.

We use ours at the beach, concerts, camping, sporting events and even simple picnics. It's great for the obvious noshing but it also helps pass the time when we NEED a good cribbage or chess game.

Simply rolled up and tucked in a handy bag, this sweet little number can be slung over your shoulder as you saunter down for a lovely sunset at the beach with wine and cheese or ....

You can find one for yourself or your favorite person on your list here, here, here, or here.

Photo from Table In A Bag

Year of Plenty

Want to get lost in a blog for awhile? Check out Year of Plenty. There are countless posts and links to pertinent discussions about our food, how it is produced, the effects of it, and the insatiable cycle of consumption.

Year of Plenty started as a chronicle of a Spokane family's journey to consume everything local, used, homegrown or homemade for one year. From that experience came a movement they are passionately sharing. Stay tuned for details on their book deal!

I love this beautiful description of their journey:

"We find ourselves in the midst of boundaries

between food and land, home and farm, faith and environment

and hopefully this blog offers some meaningful crossings

of those boundaries. "

We may be completely biased since these lovely folks are our extended family. But truly I am so refreshed by their perspective and resources. Wander over and see for yourself.

Photo from Year of Plenty

Birthday Travels

This weekend is the husband's birthday. Last year I threw a surprise party AT OUR HOUSE. It was a success if you count that it truly was a surprise and he had no idea about the party. On the other hand, it just about killed me. I can't keep those kinds of secrets from D. Plus getting this place in order without him knowing why I had become so incredibly crazed was something I only want to experience once.

This year there will be far less fanfare, sort of.

We are hitting the road on his birthday for a two week adventure up the coast of California into Oregon -- because we can! (Plus one in the homeschool column.) I can't think of a better way to follow up a surprise birthday bash with all your favorite people than hopping in the car before sunrise with your wife, three kids and thirteen year old lab to drive and drive and drive some more. Can you?!

Last Christmas I picked up this great travel book from Anthropologie for my adventure man. I knew D would love to hit the road in a camper one day and I thought this book was charmingly inspiring for our sentiments. At the time we didn't have any plans to acquire such a treat. We just like traveling and I planned to use the book to chronicle our family trips.

Fast forward almost a year later and we have ourselves a sweet little pop up camper. It's a little brady bunch on the inside and we LOVE it. When searching for a super deal we had planned to redo some things and make a camper our sweet little home away from home. I anticipated sewing curtains and reupholstering, at a minimum. But we got lucky. The ole cliche "they just don't make them like they used to" is so true. Our little gem doesn't need a thing. It has been crafted well and meticulously maintained. A few dishes and throw blankets for cozy times and it's home for us.

And so the birthday boy gets a big treat this year. We are going big and serendipitously living on the road (we have a semi-loose plan of our travels to Portland and back). I have some posts lined up for you during my absence and may pop in here or there from the road (catch the pun?). Wish us happy travels and maybe even say a prayer for us that we stay safe and far away from poison oak and hungry bears.

This Week's Menu

Bittman's Plum Chicken Salad
Baked Potato Bar

Turkey Taco Tuesday
Carrots

Chicken Verde Enchiladas
Corn Cakes
Salad with Pepitas and Cilantro Dressing

Broccoli and Mushroom Pesto Pasta
Fresh Loaf

Pizza Friday!

Photo via here

Will Spell For Food

Sometimes we need a little kinesthetic spelling around these parts. The kids were dragging a bit one morning this week so we opted for a snack time spelling game. Wow, who knew spelling numbers and ordinals could be so much fun! (wink, wink)

Spelling the numbers 4, 40, 44, 14 or the ordinals 4th or 40th (and so on) can be tricky. When do we drop the 'y'? Why do some of the words have a 'u' and others don't? And then what about 'for' or 'fore'? When you are working for a peanut butter pretzels the stakes are high.

Putting our pencils down and using our Banagram letters (talk about multi purpose game pieces), my star students spell the word for the number I write on the white board.

A little side note: Competition in our house is discouraged. Our big kids are so close in age and have complimentary skill sets, that if allowed them to freely compete we might have smack downs on a regular basis. And then the little guy is such an underdog there is no hope of him ever really winning much of a match against his siblings. So, we don't compete with each other, we stretch ourselves and encourage each other. (And we practice that lesson daily.)

Our game is not a race. Everybody 'wins' and everybody gets fed when the word is spelled correctly. Extra credit is awarded to the player who can tell me which letter combinations make the specified sound.

The added challenge is that these aren't even our weekly spelling words. These are just words that sometimes creep in and give us pause. This is a fun portable game that can be used for so many different spelling options.

Pancetta and Chevre Stuffed Peppers

We recently were in contention for the coveted trophy at the annual Badminton Party. Yes, that's right, badminton. Shuttlecocks soaring, D and I made it to the semifinals. I blame our loss on the transition from regular birdies to the lighted shuttlecocks. The velocity was completely different and we had no transitional preparation (although neither did the winning team, but who cares about them?!). Plus, the white lights surrounding the court provided great ambiance but horrible visibility. I am sure that birdie was aimed at me every serve in the final round. Clearly I was the weak link on our team.

Anyway, it was a very fun wrap up to our summer and we love this gathering with friends. I brought one of my favorite appetizers of this summer; pancetta and chevre stuffed peppers. Served cool or at room temperature, these sweet little nibbles hit the spot.

Here is the super simple recipe.

Pancetta and Chevre Stuffed Peppers
1 bag petite peppers (I get mine at Costco)
1 package diced pancetta (Trader Joes)
1 log chevre
10-20 leaves of basil
1 small to medium onion
EVOO

Remove pepper stems and clean. Toss with EVOO and bake at 375 degrees for 30-45 minutes. (This cooking time varies on how many peppers you are cooking and how soft you like them. I prefer a very slight crunch to mine. You decide how you favor yours.) Cool.

Dice onion and saute with EVOO until slightly translucent (about 3 minutes). Add diced pancetta and brown. Remove and cool.

In a bowl, mix goat cheese, chopped basil and cooled onions and pancetta. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and a splash of EVOO. This is a loose ratio. Add enough pancetta and onion with the basil to the chevre to give you a treat in every bite. Once mixture is combined to your liking, stuff the cooled peppers. Chill. Serve cool or at room temperature.

This Week's Menu

Photo credit

Getting back into the swing of things, here's this week's menu. We have sports most nights when I would normally be putting dinner together. Our meals will need to be prepped before our practices or be working out their goodness in a slow cooker. This is the season of our lives, nothing glamorous but good hearty food.

Panko Crusted Chicken
Scalloped Potatoes
Corn
Green Salad

Chimichangas
Broccoli Slaw

Chicken Noodle Soup
Crescent Rolls

Spaghetti Carbonara with Peas

Chili, Chips and Cheese
Cornbread
Wedge Salad

The Strata of Our Schooling

School is in session. So far, so good even though I know there will be difficult days. I am so thankful for the enthusiasm and eagerness that Christopher and Anna greet me with each morning. It's not a sure thing that what you want and pray for your kids can be met in practice. For now we are in sync and I am filled with gratitude.

Photo from a recent trek to one of our favorite local hiking trails.

The Foundational Layers
We are easing into our flow and slowly layering in new lessons. I like to call it the strata of our schooling. We start with the fundamentals; reading, writing and arithmetic. Introduce the subject, obtain a grasp of how it works each day and then let it settle. Our primary curriculum is Sonlight and Excel Math. The literature-based approach to learning history and science helps enhance our core reading and writing, even if we are studying supplemental topics. We are building our foundation.

Subsequent Layering
And so, we add in science and history, also through Sonlight, and let it settle.

Then we proceed adding a writing workshop, layering in Meet the Masters, and a periodic trip outside for the day with a program like Earthroots Field School. We have sports to add in and some really great field trips as well.

We have not had any problem filling our dance card. In fact, I echo what a seasoned homeschooling mom recently shared with me.

Homeschooling is not about choosing great things for your kids.
It's about choosing the things that are truly exceptional.

Programming and Socialization
There are so many options for fun, good programming. We don't even give the socialization piece any energy. It is not a problem at all (Heather wrote a great piece here.). Our challenge has been more a matter of determining what is outstanding among the many choices offered. Maintaining focus when there is a super cool program available is much more typical than not finding enough good options.

Plan and Scheduling
Part of what is keeping me grounded is the plan and schedule. Working the plan and chipping away at it. We look back and realize, wow, we covered a lot--even on just this first week. Building our program is a fine art in calendar management and planning in order to make it all work. But it's doable and sustainable, layer by layer.

Support
The other piece that is critical for me and my composition (read: incessant researcher) is a good support network. D is my #1 support. He partners in the teaching an itty bitty bit but more importantly for me, he has my back. He covers me with the kids and gives me room to find the best programs (for us).

I have also latched on to some wise homeschooling mamas who have been there and done that. They offer wisdom and comfort not found in a lesson plan or book.

I also seek like-minded folks who offer camaraderie and support on the philosophical level. We stepped out on this journey when no one close to us was homeschooling. It has been wonderful to meet and bond with great families. Their curricula may be different and their family intention may not be ours but the commitment is shared.

And then there is my posse. My girls keeping it real and giving me outlets that have absolutely nothing to do with schooling. My monthly dinners with Jora, my creative outlet (and so much more) in Michelle, and my regular grounding and belly laughing with Adrienne are just a few that keep me going.

The balance is key for me.

Post script: If you are familiar with our crew then you may be panicking with not a single mention of my little helper, Parker. He's here and he's a helper. He has preschool three mornings a week, which is great for him. He has a blast. And then he's home with us the other two days. He adds another layer for us and we work as a group to find our rhythm. He is watching and learning how to learn too.