Funny Schooling Moment

As almost every parent experiences...none of their children learn the same.   True in our house.

Eli could care less about any academics most of the time.  He'd rather be outside building something.

Today while were were doing math, he wrote a number correctly but couldn't name it...a very common occurrence for him.

"Eli what number did you just write.?"

Eli: "I don't know."

Me: " Eli try and figure it out."

 Usually he will count in his head and then he can name it.  I didn't want to tell him the answer because just then I was thinking that maybe the harder he has to work he will eventually just realize he should remember it.  (One of many theories I have had over time as to how I can encourage him to remember names of things.)

Eli: "That is how I try to figure it out.  I just say "don't know."

 (Confirmation...it is a whole lot easier to say "Don't know" since mom will just tell me the answer.)

Joys of Semptember

Some joyful moments from our home this month of September...

• Eli had to come inside to eat dinner before he could play with our backyard neighbor, 4 year old Ruby.  While eating Eli says "I told Ruby Red I would meet her at 3:30 to play."  (It was 6:00 p.m.)  He was eating really fast too and says, "I am trying to respect Ruby, so I am eating fast so I can play with her."
• Kyrie has been joyfully greeting Kyle when he comes home.  She reaches out her arms or calls (screams) for him.  Once she gets in his arms she lays her head on his chest and rests for a few moments.  Very precious. 
• Prema's interactions with Duke the dog and Kyrie are quite comical if you know Prema.   She is often telling the dog to be quiet when she is the only person making noise.   She greets Kyrie and Duke each day and says good night to them as if she has not seen them in ages or will not see them again.  She repeats the expressive greetings and goodbyes over and over again each moment in hopes of them reciprocating the zealous expression.  Both just stand there and stare at her.  
• Isaac is excited to teach Eli how to read. Eli has a long way to go but Isaac is his biggest cheerleader.   At lunch today he says "Eli if you LOVE to read as much as I do, then you will want read while you eat breakfast and lunch.  The tricky part is that you gotta know where your food is at all times so that you can keep your eyes on the book."
• Eli sounding out words and tickled with laughter at his accomplishments when he does it himself.  
• Eli says "I am cold" after a shower.  We tell him then he needs to dry off.  He says "I am but I can't find my eyebrows to dry" (in all seriousness). 
• Duke catching the frisbee in mid-air.  The dog's skills are quite impressive and exciting to watch.  Yesterday we started to try and teach him to go through our legs.  We have another trick up our sleeves.  
• Kyrie jumping in her Johnny Jump up is so joyous.  She has figured out how to jump and get great momentum and then lift her feet and swing all around.  She loves to do this while watching us chase Duke and she squeals in excitement.  
• Duke frolicking in the cool weather.  We have had some great Fall weather days and Duke can't get enough of the nice temps.  He rolls around in the grass with sticks in his mouth a lot now.  
• Isaac understanding puns and jokes.  He understands a lot of them now. 
• Isaac racing Grandpa, Dad and Uncle Sam in the pool.  Regardless of the odds against him with his short stature, his drive and determination to win exceeds anyone I've witnessed.  
• Kyrie loving the sounds she makes when she crawls up to the piano and plays the keys. 

Cullum World Series

The Cullum World Series happens every year with Isaac and Eli. This time it was the Red Sox and the Rays. It was a 7 game series.  It was a battle too.  It was a fun family activity.

written by Isaac

The DUKE of Cullum Manor

Surprise....

We got a dog!

Our kids have been asking for a dog for about 1 year. When they began to ask we told them they needed to buy the dog and pay for all of it's needs for 1 year. We researched the possible costs and came up with $1500 needed to purchase the dog, feed the dog, purchase toys and other dog items and visit the vet for 1 year. After saving money gifted to the children from past birthdays and Christmas and additional change jar savings the children had $800.

 In early spring our backyard neighbors offered us a yellow lab for free. The puppy was extremely cute and we almost said yes, until we realized based on the time in our life we were only saying yes because he was free. This dog would have taken a lot of work since we would need to work on potty training and crate training.

 A few weeks ago we were again offered a free dog. This time a 9 mo old Australian Shepherd already crate trained and potty trained, neutered, and immunized. We researched the breed and felt this dog fit our family perfectly, except the hair shedding.

Duke (aka The Duke of Cullum Manor, Dukie McDukerson, Dukie dog) has been an awesome addition to the family. We made the right choice. Since he is already crate and potty trained we have been able to start focusing on obedience training and trick training. Aussies are a very very smart breed and that is evident with Duke. We have hired an in home dog trainer to help us train Duke to be obedient and help get him ready to be a service dog for Prema. After just 2 training sessions, Duke is learning very fast.

Aussies are very loyal to 1 person in the family. Kyle is Duke's person, hence most of the day while Kyle is gone Duke lounges in various places waiting for Kyle to come home. Once Kyle arrives, the playful adolescent comes to life until bed time.

We are super glad we had the kids save the amount of money we did. Dog training, dog supplies and food are not cheap!

A Suprise Is Coming

Today the boys were sitting at the table with us this morning as Kyle and I were planning out the day. We shared with them that A SURPRISE is going to happen. Eli got upset...he dislikes surprises very much, just like me. He can't stand the wait. He spoils the surprise for others. Eli started asking lots of questions to try and figure it out. "Is it a person?" "Is it going to walk here or is someone going to go and get it?" "Is it our friends coming to sleep over night?" They are going to be very surprised. I can't wait to see their reaction.

Crazy Months

Life has been extremely crazy lately, with planned and unplanned events. Today was the first day I could say that I hope to get back into a routine since February.

 In February Kyrie and I took a trip to Wisconsin for a week to visit my parents.

 In March the whole family drove up to Wisconsin to see my parents and help them move out of their house. It was quite a trip. Eli broke his leg falling out of a tree at a rest stop in Kentucky on the way up. Isaac had a jaw infection and Kyrie started with bronchitis. Hence our time there was filled with doctor appointments as well as many days of doctor appointments after our return home.

Three of our kids had birthdays all within a few weeks in March and April. Sandy, Kyle's mom, planned wonderful celebrations for all 3 kids. She went all out on her planning for Eli's birthday. See my sister in law Amber's post for some great photos and details. Amber and Sam's son Bennett also had a birthday celebration tucked in between Prema and Isaac's.

The night of Eli's birthday party, David (Kyle's dad) was returning a bike to our house and happened to walk in on our house flooding. The water line from the ice maker detached from its fitting and thus water was over majority of our bottom floor. This wouldn't be such a big deal except for the fact that Kyle had spent about 3 months laying all of the hardwood floor in the house less than a year ago. A few days after the water was dried off the surface the floor began to buckle in some areas. Now we are just waiting to see how much we have to fix once all the moisture is gone. Our home repair/ finish house list became longer instead of shortening so that was a bit overwhelming, but we do realize that home repairs are really never ending.

 Kyle has been very busy at work and I have been busy with planning a Classical Conversations practicum.

February through April Isaac was on his first participation on a real baseball team. Sadly The Rockers team (his imaginary team for years) is no longer playing month long seasons in the back yard. Isaac LOVED his experience with his RED SOX baseball team. We enjoyed watching him love playing. It was our first time learning to juggle the baseball commitment with other family life. Grandma and Grandpa Cullum were a HUGE help in getting him to games and practices at times when it was either impossible or a tight time crunch for us.

We are now looking forward to some down time this summer. 

Loving Kyrie

The oldest 3 are still so in love with having Kyrie here. They are so enamoured with her that it is often we have to tell them to leave her alone. We don't have a camera that works and I don't have time for daily/ weekly posts so uploading some video will have to do for the time.



I have a video of Prema with Kyrie but it is taking too long to upload.