Oh Candy Cane, O Candy Cane

I organized a recent trip to Logan's Candy Cane making Store in Ontario for our Homeschool Group.  It was so fun!  We saw the candy canes made from start to finish, got to eat hot pieces of candy cane and they were just great, real people.  I am not one for big cheesy symbolism as many do with candy canes.  But in his candy cane making presentation he did the stripes for the blood of Christ and the white for his purity and the J for Jesus along with the history of Candy canes as candy invented to keep the kids quiet during the big Christmas pageant at the cathedral.  He was just so fun and honest about his faith and love for the process of making this traditional Christmas Candy that it made it beautiful.  I guess the cheesiness can be broken by being transparent.  I gotta remember that.  Watch the video for yourself here and read an articlehere and here .  Aggie is writing the process out for schooling today...ah unschooling!

Fall Fun

Fall is a fun time to be a kindergartner-or maybe a kindergarten teacher! There are so many fun themes to teach on and since we are homeschoolers-so many fun field trips. We have gone on sooo many but these two were really fun and Fall picturesque.

We went to Tanaka Farms pumpkin patch and I love the big black wheelbarrows you get to take through the patch. We all got the perfect pumpkin and are going to carve them tomorrow night at our annual pumpkin party while sporting out tye dyed jack-o-lantern tees from Family Fun.

We also went to an educational farm called Centennial Farms on the OC Fair grounds. They had all the traditional animals, crops and red barns. We saw a cow get milked and pet chicks. It was GREAT!

I hope you are getting out there in the community this season. As much as the short days and change of weather bring on my seasonal sadness, I do love the outings and colors and walks of autumn. Having a 5 and 1 year old are a fun time to be a mommy. I will cherish these memories forever.

I know...where have I been?

I really hate that my blog has said "I have so much to do!" since August 16th! It is just that with homeschooling a 5year old and taking care of a 1 year old I have little time to sit like an adult at the computer. And what time I do have I am working...for River Springs. I barely get my personal email checked or glance at facebook. But, I love blogging and reading so here I am.

We have been up to so much fun stuff with homeschooling! I figured it out and we are doing like 8 field trips a month! And with regular outings we are out in the community alot. We have gone to Disneyland with cousins, gone to football game fore Adam's cousin at which Agatha was invited on the field to cheer with the cheerleaders (so cute), Legoland with the Foors (we sorted over 1000 legos and graphed them by color and type for a follow up to that one-whew!), a Family village festival on cultures, the San Bernandino Museum with the Foors, the Huntington Library/Art Galleries/Gardens with the Speirs, a pumpkin patch trip with The Grove Homeschool Group, the Riverside Museum for dissecting owl pellet and making clay scat (poop-yes it was fake) of types of animals, Riley's Farm for apples and colonial farm life tour with The Grove group again, the Chinese Moon Festival and Chinese Food (the pic), and on and on. We are having so much fun.

Aggie is really learning to read and write and I am so proud. She reads to Gwyn all the time and Gwyn can't get enough of books. Aggie is doing great things at Gymnastics and did a flip on the uneven bars that even I was impressed by! She is so curious and really becoming a lifelong self lead learner which is a big objective with me for homeschooling. She and Adam especially dive into subjects with such fervor and have done projects on pee and volcanoes and other fun ideas.

Gwyn loves Farm animals and says more sounds than words at this point. She is a non verbal communicator and has no problem getting what she needs with grunts and facial expressions! She starting using the sign for thank you and it is so cute. She is kinda potty training and is so proud when she is successful. She has starting smiling like this picture when we say "say cheese" and is really becoming a little person. I love to watch her bouncy little trot as she pokes curiously around the house. She is very meticulous about art and already draws her version of the family and dogs (which she loves).

Life is good-but I am really trying to find a balance. I have so many hats at this point. I know I should get rid of one-but which? I like each one in its own way. I just wish I was slower. I wish I had more time-but don't we all?

Boating with Dad

We went boating down San Diego way with my Dad today. He has owned his boat for almost two years and this is the first I have been on it! With babies and the drive to Chula Vista is has been a chore to get there. But is was a wonderful day once it came.

Though Gwyn hatted the drive there and really hated the lifejacket we had some wonderful moments. We swam in the ocean (Adam said I would be the cool mom who jumped in when I compained about the freezing water and that it would mess my hair-I had a homeschool mom meeting afterward really), sunned on the front deck (Gwyn was annoyed that she could not roam free), had a picnic lunch and cruised the harbor with the sea breeze in our hair (or knotting your hair-take your pick).

It was nice to spend time with my dad in his element-I miss him.

Plus, my baby brother (almost 21 so not so baby anymore) came down to boot. He and my dad are peas in a pod (in a good way), so it made for a fun day.

My favorite moment was when my baby fell asleep sitting up against me and my normally wiggly five year old snuggled in for a 10 minute cuddle while we cruised the harbor. The boys were distracted with driving the big toy-I mean boat. The wind was wipping. The sea mist off the back was misting my face. The engine was roaring so I didn't have to talk to anyone. It was such a peaceful mommy moment. All I had to do was hold them close and kiss my girls heads.

Easter has begun

Steve and Karen came over to watch LOST last night (frustrating episode for me-how many questions can my brain hold before it explodes?) and I was rushing around getting the last of my Easter decorations in place-3 days before Easter! The leap year and moon have made this a VERY early Easter and it won't happen again for 152 years! It definitely feels weird and rushed for a girl who loves holidays, homeschools and is married to a arts pastor. But, here we are!

Aggie had her Easter parade at preschool and we spent the whole morning doing room mom stuff at the school. She is so cute-her costume has "an egg on the front so it can hatch and a chick on the back that came out of the egg" I was informed. I love her mind.
Gwyn in teething or sick-I can't figure-but, she has had a fever for 3 days and this was her take on all the festivities.

We went to Eggstravaganza at the library with a homeschooling buddy. Aggie is so charismatic that all the librarians know her by name now! They did crafts, dyed eggs and ate cupcakes. Then Aggie read THREE readers with me while Gwyn played...and earned a reading certificate from the librarians. She was so proud and so am I-she is on the cusp of real, independent reading and we both feel the excitement!

St Pat's at the McIntyre's

We had a wonderful St. Patrick's Day with yummy Irish food (Adam made bangers and mash Sunday and I had a Ruben-cornbeef and cabbage-sandwich at Kilarney's on Monday) and lots of homeschooling about the story of St. Patrick (Agatha wrote a wonderful 3 sentence story about how he loved GOD, told people about God's love and used the shamrock to tell about God's 3 parts-I was impressed!). She finally can spell her last name on her own too-fitting with the holiday (McIntyre...Irish...just in case you didn't follow my rabbit trail). We spent the evening with the Reid family eating almost all green food, 4pt. (wieght watchers reference) cupcakes and letting the girls play. It was lovely. I am ordering Adam a kilt with the McIntyre tartan and next year he can wear it-that would make it REALLY lovely! :)

We had some homeschool friends over for graphing Lucky Charms marshmellos and it was great to see Agatha work in a group setting instead of just with me.
And went to Killarneys to see these awesome Irish dancers. Aggie of course wants to be one. I thought about it cause of the heritage point, but they announced that the costumes cost 300-5000 bucks! Shot that one down. I thought of Annie as I watched and hoped she danced a jig this holiday. We are going to see the Osbornes and Risingers next week! Ahhh...vacation. If Adam and I can just get there with all we have to do before Easter!

I love St Patrick's Day

I am so glad I married an Irishman cause now I can more justly claim St. Patrick's day. I even want to get Adam a kilt! I decorate with shamrocks everywhere (Aggie can recite the St. Patrick Shamrock metaphor of one God with three parts...and does so everywhere with anyone!), have children's books galore, do homeschool with Lucky Charms and know all the lore. I am kind of a holiday nut! If you want a email list of some fun kids activities-let me know and I will forward my composition for my homeschool families. But if you live in Riverside come on down to Kilarney's. Adam I went there for great date night tonight (both girls went successfully to my Mom's abode for the first time!). It was so fun and festive and they are having a Irish festival all day on Monday. It starts at 11 with Irish dancers and goes into the night. I hope to see you there...here is the poster.

Adam and I had so much fun giggling and flirting across the table. I love that we can still do that. Isn't he cute? I felt like we were young and free again-for three hours at least!

What to do in the rain...

We in Riverside quickly run out of ideas for rainy day activities because we usually have only three or so (not really, but close). We have been trying to get to Disneyland for a week and it keeps raining, so for our Monday Family Day (or Sabbath) we went to the mostly indoor Santa Ana Discovery Science Center today. It was Awesome! I have been, but not for years and not with my family. It was "homeschool days" so the place was crawing with big families and baby carriers. We explored the great exhibits for about 6 hours and learned about gravity, fossils, geodes, hurricanes, clouds, waves, earthquakes, tooth care, green screens (we found a green chair and green legos that made our heads disapear on the TV screen-it was cool), air pressure and pulleys. Aggie and Adam layed on a bed of nails, Gwyn let a beach ball go on a air balance and she even crawled through a tunnel for the first time. It was a wonderful day! We became members so if you want to visit in the next year, give us a call. I love it when we have to get creative with the outings-we always find new, fun things. And my favorite is when Adam says, "Thanks Mom for bringing us here." I feel loved and appreciated. Homeschooling can be so fun-I am so glad that is what my kid does on a school day...

Family update...life keeps of rolling by

I have been caught up with life and work, so here is a family update for all the fam out there...

Gwyn is eating fingerfood now...she never wants our help anymore. She crawls all over the house and is the cutest thing ever. We have even left her with my Mom at our house for a couple two hour dates. It is amazing how fast you can get in and out of the car with no baby!

We started homeschooling after the holiday break and whenever we do piano Gwyn crawls under the bench and puts her head against the piano...another musician on our hands? She loves rhythm.

We had dinner at Taco Station with Mark, Angie and Nolan Lamberth. It was so nice to catch up with such sincere friends. And only Nolan could entice Agatha into a cowgirl dress up instead of a princess-but it is still pink!

We went to the snow in Running Springs with the Foors. I love Emily. No one else would pay admission with me just to be a part of the fun when really we each went down the slope only 3 times and spent the rest of the time nursing, rocking and appeasing our infants who where not excited about the cold, wet snow that reflected bright light in their eyes. Ahhh, infancy!

Aggie had a blast riding with Haley and Noah. I miss the five families-with out of town moves and starting school our old tradition of Snow Day has been reduced to two instead of five.

Adam taking his turn with Gwyn so I could hit the slopes. We took her down twice. She was not impressed.

I threw Holly Rodrigo a baby shower. She is due on Feb 22 and looks amazing. She has gained the perfect amount-of course- and is glowing. We "went green" and played games like "change the cloth diaper" and "think of 10 ways to go green with baby". We even ate off our compostable "paper" products made from corn and sugar cane. It was fun and I got to catch up with old friends like Keri Quesada who came with her 3 week old baby and wore zip up jeans...at three weeks. Can we say WEIGHT LOSS ENVY?

We had dinner with the Reids...who we love and whose daughters are clones of ours. Can you even find Aggie in this picture? Bryan and Cristi are so laid back-the girls made a sleeping bag clubhouse in their master bedroom walk in closet all night. I love them!

Aggie had her ballet/tap/gymnastics show day at The Little Gym. She is doing so well. But, more than anything I noticed her empathy. She was so concerned about any kids who got hurt or were too shy and ran to their parents. So much so that when I caught her eye I had to redirect her to do the steps again. I love how much she cares.

Katie and Hannah came with a flower for Aggie. They made her day. She adores the Boone girls, so do I. Thanks Stacey. We got you on email, when is the blog coming?

Lots of friends and family playdates and visits in the last couple weeks. I got my hair cut...I had work meetings on my own (Adam took Gwyn)...the garage still has no door or window...the christmas lights are down this year (thanks Scott Ellis)...I finished the old set of Learning Records and now have another set to write...life keeps on rolling by...

I love christmas traditions...

I have so many traditions for Christmas sometimes I overwhelm myself trying to squeeze them all in. Luckily as I have gotten more mature I have realized it can still be a tradition if you miss a year now and then-but they are all so fun and festive. I love holidays-birthdays, anniversaries, valentine's, st Patrick's, you name it...but Christmas takes the cake. Here are some of my favorite traditions we have been doing around the McIntyre household:

Attending a performance of The Nutcracker Ballet. Last year we went to Riverside Ballet, this year to one for kids at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. We went with the Foors, which is always fun since they are our best friends. The girls were all fancy and so well behaved. My favorite is the Sugar Plum Fairy because of her skirt and the fact that I wish I were a ballerina or at least a dancer. I am kinda dance challenged-though I try, and I took ballet as a girl. When I was four that was what I was going to be when I grew up. I just found out that Adam does not enjoy this tradition of mine-maybe I need to save my pennies and take him to a real fancy performance. My Grandma Jo always took me to those swanky ones so I guess I can see the magic that he can't.

Making Cookies and Fudge. This is an old photo-but it tells you how good my fudge is. (Not to brag-but I will). I make butter horns which are equally as fabulous and an secret family recipe from the McIntyre side-seriously I couldn't have the recipe until we were married and then I had to go over and actually make them with my mother in law (so don't even ask for the recipe). I am looking for my own famous cookie as these are both hand me downs, but haven't found the perfect one, so I make a different one each year.

Watching the Balboa Boat Parade. This one is something I grew up in as I am from Orange County as a kid. We love it! We bundle up, go down for dinner at the Fun Zone, ride the ferry over to the island, walk the row of fancy houses all decorated with parties going on (it always seems funny that we common folk are staring in the open sliders at older white rich people in black slacks and red sweaters having foofy holiday parties...). Then we find a spot on the concrete edge of the sidewalk and watch the decorated boats go by with their sound systems blaring holiday music. We bring coco and a blanket and have a blast. Other people have not always seen the magic, but this year we brought the Reids. And they saw the magic. We love them!

Seeing Christmas Lights on Houses...esp. the Chino Lights. Adam is a fiend for Christmas lights. He is very opinionated, and likes white on our house-all facing the same direction. Aaron Foor thought it was me that made him do lights with such passion-but no it is ALL him. We have a great metallurgy Nativity that was custom made for us by Carl Wolnisty on the lawn. It is very nice, but we are thinking of going to LED next year now that they are less expensive and easier to find. I just love the twinkly lights. It is so festive and fun. Some years we drive around Riverside with coco in the car and others we get out to Chino to walk the streets of the neighborhood. Not this year, but some years.

Decorating the house with our tree and collection of Nativities. We started out buying one a year, but we have had 10 Christmases and have about 30 nativities, so I think we buy more than the quota. We have them from all genres now and even have a few from other countries, I love them. I don't decorate with any other symbols of the season really, but that with some garland on the doorways make the house look so festive. We put it all up the day after Thanksgiving so we can enjoy it for the entire month.

Attending the Mission Inn Festival of Lights. We love downtown Riverside so this is a given. It is crazy crowed, but it is fun to be a part of it all. It just kicks off the season. They even have fireworks and Santa counts down to the lighting. There was a slight delay this year and the producer in me was fretting the transition and downtime-but it was perfect as always.

Going caroling. We don't always get to this one-but I grew up with it. Jon and Kathy are throwing a party and I am so excited. My family would always carol at a convalescent home and give care packages or go to shut ins. We did this at a family reunion a few years ago and it was such a beautiful thing to sing and see their faces light up. I should start that here.

Celebrating Advent and Counting Down to Christmas. I grew up in a Presbyterian church and my grandparents are Methodist so the advent wreath was big growing up. It is so nice to snuggle up and read a Christmas story and talk about the ways we can love Jesus more and help people more at Christmas time. And I LOVE the whole countdown thing-the anticipation is one of the best parts of the holiday for me. We have a candy filled advent cupboard that has a daily devotional with it, a felt scene nativity and (my favorite) and stocking line with little stocking stuffers each day for the kids. It has been good this year for Agatha with her number recognition 1-30 that we have been working on in homeschool.

Sending out Christmas cards. I love to get them and read about the year and see pictures. It is such a nice way to keep in touch with people throughout life that have stayed dear to my heart if not in my daily life. I sent 160 this year and could have send 200 if it wasn't so expensive! In a time of email and Internet it almost seems so novel and quaint to send something through the mail and get them in the mailbox. Adam thinks it is fun and participates, but really doesn't care...whenever I am laboring over the list of sendees he always says "Cut them-it's fine-it doesn't matter...boys!

Giving to others in need. We try to do this over the whole year, but this time of year just seems to stand out. There are so may opportunities from Operation Christmas Child through Aggie's preschool, Angel Tree (kids of people in jail) at church, toy drives, etc. But my favorite are the years we have had a family in our lives or people that we have given to specifically. One year when I was a preteen my parents gave everything from dishes, a dining room table, a tree, presents, Christmas dinner, to a bed to a family new to the country. We went over to deliver it and played with the kids all night. It was an amazing Christmas memory. We also spend a portion of our Christmas budget on something like goats in Haiti as our present to extended family and friends. We like to go through World Vision-kinda like Heifer International. My extended family started that one and we don't buy for each other-just for charity. It is such a better use of money and who really needs more stuff or another candle?

Christmas Shopping. On that note I do love to give gifts...it is my love language. I shop all online though. I did one jaunt at Target this year and I was bushed! I love shopping in my PJs during nap and having the box delivered. I have 6 boxes in my front room right now...waiting for wrapping. We wanted to buy Chicco bags (mini canvas bags that fit in a purse or diaper bag) for all the wrapping of presents this year to reduce waste-but that is added cost and we just couldn't do it. Green is expensive sometimes! You do what you can.

Santa's lap. My kids know that Santa is not real (and hopefully I have coached them well enough to not spoil the secret for yours), but we do teach on the magic of Christmas. We talk about the gift of Jesus and the legend around the real St Nicholas. We talk about how Santa is a symbol and a fun way to use our imaginations to celebrate all that. Aggie puts on the Santa hat and we all stuff each other's stockings and eat the cookies and carrots. We pretend Santa things for fun and wink afterward. It is fun. Everywhere we go there have been Santas and she has sat on three laps with minimal line waiting. Though, her first Santa this year was a Nordstrom Santa and after that all other's pale in comparison. The second one got "Is that beard real?" He said "Ho, ho, it itches like it is..."

Christmas at Disneyland. Oh the lights-nobody does lights like Disney. And the castle is amazing. I love the fake snow. The parade could use a reboot, but it is still magical. We went with the Reids this year and saw the reindeer in Sants's village, took Gwyn on Dumbo for the first time and had a wonderful day with the girls.

New Christmas Dresses. My mom used to make them for us at Christmas and Easter, but I waited in Black Friday lines for 45 minutes for these matching Mandarian beauties-does that count? Aren't they cute? Aggie sang a spontaneous Silent Night at our Staff Christmas party this night. She loves to perform!

Happy Birthday Jesus Party. We always got the kids together to celebrate Jesus' birthday with cupcakes, crafts, games and a story time. We didn't this year. I miss my friends!

SO I am sure there are others, but these are what stand out. I LOVE Christmas traditions...got any good ones?