Witch's Brew, Flying Bats and a Batty Halloween Countdown

We've been really getting into the Halloween spirit around here lately. We started things off with a little Witch's Brew. It's basically green punch with a gummy worm garnish. It was delicious, but I drank too much of it and it gave me a belly-ache.

Next thing I know, we have flying bats in the dining room...


Spiderwebs in the school room...


And one very batty-Halloween Countdown...

Happy Halloween Y'all!

Wordless Wednesday: a $3 easel and some art supplies...

Hair cuts

Friday night we were at the Overton football game with some church friends and Michael noticed that Robert's hair looked funny. He looked at me and said "Did we PAY for that haircut?" "Yeah", I said casually and resumed my conversation with my friend. He quickly replied, "Paula, seriously, have you SEEN Robert's hair?" "Uh, I guess not", I said. Michael calls Robert over and much to my horror, I notice that the front ~2 inches are missing from the front of his head. It was like hair, no hair, hair. Huh. How did that happen? How did I miss that?

So the convo goes something like this:

Me: "Robert, did you cut your hair?"
Robert: "Yes" (in a cool, calm, matter of fact voice)
Me: "When?"
Robert: "Today?"
Me: "When today? and "where were you?"
Robert: "this afternoon in the school room"
Me: "Why would you do that?"
Robert: "It was too long and it needed a trim"
Me: "And you thought you were qualified to do that?"
Robert: "yes and I think it looks better now"
Me: "REALLY?... well, it doesn't... you look like a goober."
Robert: "oh, am I in trouble?"
Me: "no, but you are going to need a haircut tomorrow"
Robert: "cool. Can dad buzz it?"

Now I have to say that I have never had the boys' hair buzzed. I like the little boy scissor cut... but I sucked it up and said okay to this request. After the game friday night, we came home with tired kiddos, so a daddy haircut was slated for Saturday afternoon.

And so the "big boy haircut" begins...

Seriously, Robert, what were you thinking?

Daddy working his hair cutting magic

Starting to look better already.

Whew! That boy had a lot of hair!

And you know if big brother gets a haircut, then little brother needs one too! Oh, boy! The second one grows up so much faster than the first!

Andrew's big haircut too...

he held his breath most of the time... he does not like hair in his mouth.

Daddy giving Andrew a trim.

Thanks Daddy for giving these boys haircuts! They look great and the price was awesome!

Wordless Wednesday

4 Things I learned while teaching my kids today...

1. Baby elephants sometimes suck their trunks like a baby human sometimes suck their thumbs.

2. Bears sometimes get cavities from eating too much honey. (who would want to take a bear to the dentist?)

3. A camel can drink 30 gallons of water in 13 minutes.

4. The capybara is the world's largest rodent and can weigh 110 pounds.

Thanks to our awesome science curriculum from Answers in Genesis!

Andrew and the case of the missing glasses...

Today was filled with drama. Seriously, from 8:30AM, there was drama. "He pushed the button on the microwave and wouldn't let me cook my own breakfast" to "I can't get my socks out of my drawer" to "I can't find my glasses". It's not like any of these things were a big deal, but from the shouting, the crying, the whining, the slouching, the throwing oneself into the floor, it became a big deal. The biggest deal today was Andrew's missing glasses. All morning, we were on the lookout for them. The house is actually clean, so there weren't many places they could be. We looked and looked with no luck. I knew we were heading out to Shelby Farms to meet some friends around 10 and I'd hoped to get some school done before we went. That's what I get for having a plan, right?!?! UGH!

Robert and I paired up with Andrew and set out to search for his missing glasses. We looked everywhere we could think of. I wasn't home last night when they came in for dinner and baths and bed (I was at a meeting), so I couldn't vouch for whether or not he'd brought them in. We looked under the trampoline (we found a dead mouse there.... likely our cat, Timmy killed him, but no glasses), we looked on the swingset and the big swing, in the shower, in his bed; we literally looked everywhere.

The time came when I REALLY needed to get some school done with Robert and I was DONE looking for the missing specs. Andrew threw himself on the ground and cried b/c we "wouldn't help" him and we "didn't care". I just had to walk away at that point. I later explained that I do, indeed, care and I did help, but it was wasting my school day and we had things to do and he was holding me up.

Well, he didn't find them before we had to go to the park, so off we went without them. We were at Shelby Farms for a little over 3 hours. We had a great time with our friends. When our dustballs- err- I mean kids came home they were so covered in dirt, that I sent them straight to the shower. When they got out, Andrew was sent to keep searching for the missing glasses, and Robert and I hit the school room to get some work done. 3 hours later, we've covered article adjectives, solving for the unknown and practiced spelling words and our Bible verse, but Andrew still hasn't found his glasses.

I told him I didn't care anymore. He needed new ones anyway and daddy would be home soon and he could deal with it, but the glasses drama consumed my day. I made something crafty... my halloween sign for the fireplace. It put me in my happy place.

Michael came home and could tell I was overwhelmed. We chatted and he set off to find Andrew's glasses. Literally 5 minutes later, he came in with glasses in hand. I seriously think I'm married to a superhero! For the record, they were under the 2 seater swing on the swingset on the ground. The grass is high there and none of us saw them, but daddy came home and saved the day!

I hope tomorrow is better and has less drama. Here's a pic of my crafty Halloween sign that helped take my mind off of all the dramatic crying, whining and missing glasses. I think it turned out pretty stinkin' cute.



And here is what my Superhero husband looks like at the end of a long day. Even superheroes get worn out sometimes...

Funny things my kids said today...

Tonight the boys were in the shower and I was putting things away in the school room. I heard this conversation between Robert (7) and Andrew (5):

Robert: "Andrew, guess what I heard on the radio one time?"
Andrew: "What?"
Robert: "I heard that Barack Obama's mama was a llama"
Andrew: "Seiously???"
Robert: "Yeah, wouldn't that be funny if the President of the United States had a llama for a mama?"
Andrew: "That's crazy!"


After dinner, I asked Andrew (5) to take the clothes out of the washer and to put them in a laundry basket. This is a chore I give him on a pretty regular basis. This is one chore he can do all by himself and let's face it, he's the shortest, so he doesn't have to bend down to get the clothes. As Andrew is pushing that basket down the hallway, he says: "I really need to teach Robert how to take the clothes out of the dryer!" Why do it yourself when you can teach someone else to do it, right? A boy after my own heart!

I despise laundry!

Really, I hate laundry! I would clean all 3 bathrooms daily if I never had to wash, fold, hang and put away laundry. But it must be done. I keep telling myself that "sometimes we have to do what we don't want to do". I'm on my 6th load today. That is probably why I hate it so much. I put it off until it's piled up. I do feel a sense of accomplishment knowing the hampers look like this though.



Laundry, you met your match today and as much as I don't want to, I'm planning on seeing you everyday this week (just in smaller amounts).

If I'd had this blog a month ago, I would have told you about LFR!

Lake Forest Ranch is an amazing camp in the middle of a pine forest in Central Mississippi. It's a christian camp that sees a couple thousand kids each summer for summer camp and they have various retreats throughout the year. Every Labor Day weekend, they host a Family Escape Retreat. This was our first year to go and we loved it! We hope to make it a family tradition and to go back year after year!

We had a blast climbing up the tree to do the giant swing and the zip line. We went horseback riding, paddle boating, tubing behind the ski boat and fishing. We enjoyed family activities and games, family worship and Bible Studies. It was a great weekend to connect as a family.

Here's a few pics of our trip ... enjoy!

Adoption.

Well, long story short. We are adopting. Zoe is our daughter in South Korea. We are wanting her home NOW, but we are trusting that God will deliver her safely into our arms in His perfect timing. We love her and can't wait until she joins this sticky family.

If you want to view our blog about the details of Zoe's adoption, you can find it at Bringing Home Baby Sloan

Here's a picture of our little Korean cutie! We sent her the outfit and the bow in August.

Candy Corn Cuties

I whipped up these Candy Corn cuties yesterday.



And used them to make this wall hanging. I love decorating for fall!

There's No School Like Homeschool

Okay, don't jump to conclusions that I wear denim jumpers, have hair down past my booty or that I don't like my kids socializing with traditionally-schooled kids. We educate our children at home - GASP!!!! Actually, this is our first year and we absolutely love it so far. Robert is in the first grade and after 2 years in private school (Jr.K and K), I see all the benefits of being able to customize his curriculum to his ability. Robert is very advanced academically, so I am providing him a pretty rigorous curriculum this year and he is soaking it up as fast as I can give it to him. We like the flexibility. Some days we spend several hours straight in the school room and some days we break it up. I like that we can get our work done and go out to a museum or the zoo or to the park to play with friends. It seems to be a really good fit for our family so far. Andrew is in Pre-K and he goes to preschool 3 days a week from 9:30 to 2:30. I do a little "homeschool" with him on the days that he is home. He plays with playdough, practices reading and writing, counting, matching shapes and colors and working puzzles. He thinks he's the lucky one because he gets to "go to school" and "homeschool". I'm sure the homeschool purists will be over to stone me later for farming my son out to a part-time preschool.

"Are you going to homeschool your kids forever?" is a question I get asked a lot. Here's the deal-i-o: I enjoy home-educating our kids. I have committed to one year. At the end of that year, we will decide what is best for our kids and go from there. Isn't that really what all parents want for their kids, what is best for them? Is that the same for every child and every family? Absolutely not! Bottom line is I've been afforded this wonderful opportunity to stay home with my kids and teach them instead of having to get a job outside the home (likely teaching other peoples' bratty children). I get to teach them about Jesus and about following Him. I get to instill the values that our family holds so dear and I get to spend my day getting STICKY with glue, playdough, paint or some science experiement that we've whipped up! It's definitely a lot different than we thought it would be, but we all love it!

FAQ: Yes, we get dressed for school (sometimes I allow pajama day, but they have to earn it). Yes, we have a start time. (end times are variable) Yes, I give tests. Yes, I have lesson plans and I keep a record book although it cracks me up to have one child listed on my template. Yes, I send them outside for recess and take them to the gym for P.E. (when's the last time your school kid got to swim for P.E. class?). Yes, homeschool is legal. Yes, I am using an umbrella school (so technically, we are registered with the state as attending a private christian school). Yes, I hand-picked our entire curriculum. No, every homeschool family does NOT do it just like us - and that's okay. Yes, they are socialized; my kids play sports, take music lessons, go on field trips, meet friends for a playdate and go to chess club. (and lots more!) They have friends (and honestly most of them are not homeschoolers- shhhh, don't tell the homeschool purists).

We're normal. We like to wear modern clothing. I wear make up and jewelry. We are just one sticky family who happens to actually like love one another and it is a joy (and a lot of work) to educate them at home. I take education very seriously and I have high standards for my kids' education. As a sweet mama friend once said to me: "Why would you think that anyone else would have YOUR kids best interest at heart more than YOU?". And with that, I'll leave you with a few pics of our school year so far.

Here we go!

Okay, since starting Zoe's adoption blog, I've had so much fun with it, I've decided to start a blog about our lives. This will be a place to share what's on my heart and mind, funny things my kids say and do, pictures of our life together and just randomness that is floating aroung in my head.

We are Michael and Paula, parents to Robert (age 7), Andrew (age 5) and Zoe (11 months and still waiting to come home to us from South Korea). Life together with our growing family is exciting and an adventure - we love it!

We decided to name this blog "Sticky Sloans" because we know that no matter what comes our way, we will always stick together. We are a close family who loves life, loves Jesus and loves each other.