Atley's Journal

Atley ate cream of wheat cereal and dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she ate two bites of Whole 30 Chili with meat, peppers, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and tomato sauce.  She ate whole wheat dinner roll, and tropical fruit.   These first two pictures are left over from yesterday afternoon.  This is frequently what it looks like when Miles wakes up from his nap!!  Sometimes Miles wakes up before Cal, but not yesterday.  Cal is on the left and Svea's head on the right.  Nora is actually there too in front of Avilene; just well hidden!  So, all 6 six kids are in the picture.  :)  Second picture;  Avi was using Atley for a "foot rest" and I was curious what they were doing.  "Playing Frozen" - Avi is "Kristof" and Atley is "Sven the Reindeer."  Haha. Next picture:  Alexa was playing music from the "Polar Express" and these two were running back and forth across the room this morning.  If you look closely at Nora ...

Atley ate two servings of whole wheat waffle and ate fruit salad for breakfast.  For lunch she ate half of ground turkey, bites of whole wheat tortillas, no sweet potato, and ate half of cherries.   Warning # 1 : If a farting story is too crude then skip this paragraph!   Warning # 2!   You'll miss a good story if you skip this!!  Yesterday afternoon Atley did a very loud and boisterous toot!  Svea said, "Awww...Ewww...that was Gary!"  Avi said, "No, that was Atley!" Svea said, "Trust me!  That was Gary!!"  LOL!!  (I certainly hope Atley took that as a compliment!) First picture:  I had to run couple of errands this morning and when I returned Lauralea was reading about weather to the children.  And when you get to "Science with Lauralea" below you see why she chose a "weather book."  :) "Science with Lauralea."  Last week I wrote we were going to be doing some "Cooking" this week. However, we talked about it and...

Atley ate two servings of French toast and two servings of strawberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate a bite of chicken, ate brown rice, broccoli, and ate pineapple.    As you all know I love the conversations the three big girls have at meal time.  And Svea frequently chimes in with a tidbit now and then.  Again, I was just trying to keep up with the quotes and not who was speaking!!  They were finishing this sentence: "We can't go to the North Pole because:..." "We can't see the presents!" "Because Santa is busy." "Because it's gonna be too chilly." "Because it's too far away." "Because the reminder might bite you." "Because by the time you get to the North Pole Christmas will be over." First picture:  Atley and Nora were working on this activity first thing this morning.  (I actually got this for Christmas for my Program.  Haha.)  It's kind of a fun balancing activity and of course I had to...

Atley ate whole wheat toast and ate grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate pork roast, ate whole wheat cinnamon raisin English muffin, ate beets, and applesauce.   I was changing Cal's diaper and I asked Atley if she'd please smell Miles to see if he was poopy too.  She's always willing to help with that.  She sniffed and said, "Nope, not poopy.  He just smells like the Hansen family."  LOL!!  Oh man, I lost it.  I laughed and laughed and laughed.  Needless to say, Atley was pretty proud of herself for getting me to laugh like that.    Hey I just want to mention something that I'm working on with the 3 oldest girls.  During Story Time, music time, sign language, etc., I'm having them sit until it's over.  Sometimes it's short and sometimes longer.  I know they'll be required to sit for periods of time in Kindergarten, but it totally depends on the teacher and how it's set up.   Here are a couple pieces of Art A...

Atley ate corn chex cereal and two servings of peaches for breakfast.  She was thrilled that I found corn chex instead of whole wheat chex this time!!  :)  For lunch she ate ground beef, toasted whole wheat sandwich thin, no tomatoes, no avocado, and ate mandarin oranges.  First picture;  The girls getting set up to do some Art work this morning.  Getting lots of supplies out and ready to go!  Second picture:  Atley is working on the finishing touches of her "lady bug." Nice job of working hard Atley!!  You even have the correct coloring for us to recognize your lady bug.  Well done. Nora was making a "surprise" for Atley's Birthday and she instructed Atley to close her eyes before coming to the couch to see the big surprise!  Atley was totally cooperating with Nora's instructions.  Good job of playing with your friends Atley.  Next picture:  Atley is laying on the mattress in her Lion suit patiently (maybe) waiting f...

Atley ate oatmeal and two servings of dried cranberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate tilapia, whole wheat elbow noodles, ate one green bean, and ate applesauce.     The three big girls were having a discussion about what a "minute means."  And a little more about what a "second means."  We all use the words "minute or second" in phrases a lot!!  Especially; "Wait a minute!!" "Wait a second!!"  They were talking fast and furious (sometimes at the same time) and I didn't have time to write down the person speaking, but here are a few of the quotes!! "Well my Mom doesn't count to one for a minute!" "Well my Mom says one minute is one second." "You need to count to one." "Well my Mom showed me what a minute means, but I don't know what it means." "A minute means one." "No! That is not what a minute means." "A second means you have to count to one." "...

Atley ate two servings of blueberry bagel and ate peaches for breakfast.  For lunch she ate a a couple bites of hamburger & sausage pizza with meats, peppers, pineapple, olives, mushrooms, and tomato sauce.  She ate whole wheat pizza crust we serve on the side, and ate bites of pineapple on the side too.   This first picture is leftover from yesterday afternoon when Atley put on the "Grandmother" mask and Avi put on the "Woodsman" mask.  Atley said, "Avi is the Dad and I'm the Grandma. Nice to meet you DaDa." Haha.  Avi didn't care much because she was busy pointing out some of Atley's hair that was poking out the eye hole of the mask.  Haha.   So today was "Science with Lauralea" and the theme was "Fire."  Today was observation only; nothing to touch and nothing to eat!!  And (most disappointing of all) nothing to take home!!  Next week is "Cooking with Lauralea" so I bet there will be something to take home!!...

Atley ate whole wheat toast and two servings of grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate two servings of pork roast, ate whole wheat tortilla, ate carrots, and three servings of fruit salad.   Yesterday afternoon when Andy picked up Svea for gymnastics the kids were at the window waiting to wave bye.  As the truck went on by Nora said, "They didn't even stop!!"  Atley said, "Maybe they couldn't hit the brakes very well!!"  Hahaha.  First picture;  The kids were right back to the art table first thing this morning.  Atley was the last one here, but she headed right back to the table too!!  Second picture;  The three big girls were playing at the Doll Houses.  They shut off the light so "the baby can sleep." Then they were sitting like you see in the picture;  "Now what are you guys playing?"  One word answer; "Delivery."  Atley was the delivery person and handing supplies over the top.  Haha.  Very interestin...

Atley ate two servings of whole wheat English muffin and ate dried plums for breakfast.  For lunch she ate chicken, most of brown rice, no stir fry vegetables, and ate mandarin oranges.   This first picture is from yesterday afternoon.  Svea and Nora pretending to nap.  Atley NEVER does the napping, but she's always the self-designated person to fetch blankets, pillows, dress-up clothes, stuffed animals and anything soft she can find.  Following picture;  Same story, except Atley is just out of the picture.  Miles has joined them and is partially laying on sister Nora.  Once again Atley has supplied all the "softness" you see in this picture!! Next picture:  Atley and Callahan were the first ones here and She had the wolf mask and Cal had the hard hat.  Atley said, "Hey Cal!! How about you be the construction guy and I'll be the big bad wolf!?!"  Haha. I'm not familiar with that version of the story!!  But I liked how the progr...

Atley ate cheerios and banana for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ground beef, two servings of whole wheat pita bread ("Can I have it toasted and buttered?" - for second serving - ha), no avocado, ate olives, and fruit cocktail.   First picture:  Atley waved bye to Mom at the window and immediately went to look through the Art Supplies.  She found some had been replenished and some new ones added.  She got excited and worked hard at Art for much of the morning.  This piece is a drawing of a "fire truck" she said.  Do you like Fire Trucks?  "Yes." Why?  "Because they have a siren."  :)  On the right side of her paper (from our perspective) is a long-legged fireman.  :) Next picture:  These three girls (Avi goes to Gymnastics Camp on Mondays) were working on art; drawing, coloring and doing stickers this mooning.  This little story is not about Atley, but she was at the table listening to all of it.  Svea had a marke...

Atley ate brown rice and raisins for breakfast.  For lunch she ate two servings of salmon, ate whole wheat dinner roll, two servings of riced cauliflower, and ate mangoes.  Meal conversation: Atley said, "My Mom told me Lexi's favorite day is Valentine's Day."  Why?  "Because Lexi loves loves!"  :) First picture;  Atley did lots of drawing today and it's always fun to listen to them explain their work to me.  I never judge their work as "good" or "bad." At this age it's all about the process and I would not be a good art critic anyhow!  Haha.  (My art work closely resembles their's.)  In this piece she was talking about a man looking at a tree and the tree had "Plums on it."  :)  Following picture:  Nora using her telescope to scrutinize Atley's and Avi's activities.  Haha.    Next picture:  Atley was working hard to "make it dark" in the igloo for Avi.  You can see Avi's hand at the bottom of t...

Atley ate two servings of whole wheat English muffin and ate mandarin oranges for breakfast.  For lunch she ate ground beef, two servings of whole wheat elbow noodles covered with two servings of applesauce, and she ate her peas.  Yesterday at Snack time Atley randomly said; "Some people are spirit."  Avilene said, "Yes like God, Jesus, and Mary."  Nora said, "I already know that."  LOL!!   Yes of course you do Nora.  Then they were talking about penguins and Nora said they were at the "North Pole."  Atley said, "No, they're at the bottom of the earth."  (Which is basically true, but not directly at the South Pole.)  Avi said, "Is it a different Santa at the South Pole!"  Great question Avi!!   Science with Lauralea today!  Subject was "Air."  We did about 5 different experiments and as usual the kids enjoyed it a lot.  Atley said, "Is there something we can take home!?"  They love it when that is part ...

Atley ate three servings of French toast and ate two servings of strawberries for breakfast.  For lunch she ate a large serving of hearty paleo stew with meat, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes.  She ate two servings of saltines and ate tropical fruit.    This first picture is left over from yesterday afternoon.  We got a New Year's Picture and greeting from Avi and Svea's family and that's what the girls are studying here.  Avi, of course, is filling them in on all the details!!  She was especially eager to point out "Melvin" the cat.  Haha!!  This morning when Atley arrived she said, "I got my own Nelson picture!"  Haha.   Following picture:  Atley and Avi are using the writing tablets which are battery-powered and erase as soon as you push the button.  The old ones wore out and I just got these and apparently there is a bit of an upgrade because they made "rainbow" pictures. ...

Atley ate waffles and ate grapes for breakfast.  For lunch she ate two servings of chicken, ate whole wheat tortilla, corn, and three servings of baked cinnamon apples.   Breakfast conversation;  Atley told Nora and Avi she was gonna make them "special presents."  Avi wanted to know when she could expect these "special presents" to arrive.  Haha.  Atley said, "I'm gonna bring them tomorrow."  Avi said, "Well...make them cool!!"  Haha!!  Lunch conversation:  Avilene said, "I got my tonsils out."  Atley said, "Tonsils are your back teeth."  LOL.  That made me roar.  Then Nora and Avi were arguing about replacing teeth that left your mouth.  :)  Nora said, "You can glue them back in!" Avi said, "No you can't!!"  By this time they were yelling and pointing their fingers at each other.  Nora said, "Yes you can!!  My Dad said so!!"  (They think the "My Dad said so" or "My Mom said...