All the Little Grubbs

reunited (and it feels so good)

daddy, Foster, gratitude, Jonah, Katie, memories, Parker, Theodore, vacation July 23, 2013 1 Comment

Yesterday Chris went back to work at his “real” job. That’s what we call Daddy’s civilian job. After he returned from 190 ish days out of the country, we desperately needed that time to adjust to being a family again.

Deployments effect everyone in the family differently. Each of the kids, Chris and I are all getting used to being together again. If your family has never gone through a long separation you could have the false impression that when you are together again it’s all celebration and fun. Most of the time though, the emotions are fluctuating and range from elation to confusion to frustration to joy.

What I feel, what my kids feel more than anything is relief and security. A family is meant to be together, separation for any reason feels chaotic and insecure.

I don’t have nearly enough pictures taken to chronicle the past month’s fun. I haven’t been grabbing my camera as often, or blogging. Hopefully, now that we are getting back to “normal” I’ll be able to spend time on those things.

war camp 2013

field trip, Foster, history July 23, 2013 1 Comment

Foster had the opportunity to attend a week long day camp last week where he learned all about the French and Indian war.

His favorite parts of the week were the battles that took place on the teacher’s property with water balloons, getting to watch The Last of the Mohicans with daddy and the field trip to Fort Loudon on Saturday.

Parker turns 4

Parker July 23, 2013 Leave a comment

finally home

Family, military July 15, 2013 Comments: 3

a little boy’s sacrifice

daddy, military, Theodore June 12, 2013 Comments: 3

Theodore came to me late tonight. He was upset, crying. He looked at me with those big, blue eyes full of tears and said “Daddy didn’t get to see my last baseball game.”

I held him and we talked.

“Why did he have to go?” he asked me and I told him in a way he could understand.

He told me he understood. He said that he knew that Daddy was helping the Air Force to protect us.

“That’s important,” he said “because somebody has to protect us.”

saying yes for 50 bucks or less

Foster, parenting, unschooling June 8, 2013 Leave a comment

I have a really bad habit of saying no to my kids.

Let me explain.

Yesterday, we went to a fairly large public park in Knoxville. We were meeting a friend and her son and decided we would start at the playground and then move up to a splash pad later.

Foster had been there previously and knew there was a pier on a lake not far away. He had hung out with some other boys a few days before and really wanted to go check out the pier again.

I told him that was fine. I just let him know that if we weren’t at the playground when he got back, we would be at the splash pad up the hill.

He trotted off happily.

I could have handled that differently. I could have demanded that he stay with us, where I could see him, at this playground for small children.

Instead, he came up to the splash pad about 30 minutes later and told me he had helped some guy start his jet ski and watched some other guys fishing but “they didn’t catch anything.”

That yes didn’t cost me a penny. But it meant the world to him. He went, alone, without a cell phone, and made it back alive.

Last night, a neighbor kid was over playing and it started to storm while we were outside burning some tree limbs and playing.

Foster asked to get the umbrellas we have. You know what I said? No.

I bought those at the dollar store for less than 10 bucks and I said NO.

Sometimes I am such an idiot. Imagine if I had said yes? If I had just let them have the umbrellas, there is no telling what they could have experienced or learned, what they could have created or even if they would have broken them and learned from that.

So from now on, I am going to try and say YES.

Well, as long as the thing they want to use or play with is worth less than 50 bucks.

reading out loud

homeschooling, parenting, reading, Theodore June 7, 2013 Comments: 4

My 5 year old has just finished up Kindergarten. If he was in public school he would probably be starting to read.

3 years ago I had 6 year old who finished up Kindergarten and couldn’t read. Although I had pushed him more, sitting down with excruciatingly boring phonics curriculum that made me want to jab myself in the eye with a pencil. Foster was (is) such a flexible, kind child that he humored me and was only occasionally driven to tears.

Foster and I soldiered on and finished that whole stinking phonics curriculum by the end of 1st grade.
He was starting to read at 6 but still out loud and slowly. I was really starting to worry. What was wrong with this kid? (Poor first child.)

Then, the spring after Foster turned 7 he took off. He started reading everything that wasn’t nailed down. At 8, I had to order a grade level above for his readers. Now at 9, he’s reading at a 5th grade (or above) level. He reads constantly. As in, I think he just finished almost 150 Hardy Boys books from our local library. He stays up reading until 2 am sometimes.

Katie, my second, had a little less pressure from me, but pressure just the same. Being a much more sensitive child, the amount of tears and wailing caused us to do less in the book and only make it through about half. Now she is 7 and guess what? She is starting to take-off. She’s reading chapter books in her bed. Staying up with her flashlight to read all about Ramona and Beezus, Judy Moody and other little girl favorites.

So with Theodore the third, I did pick up the book a couple of weeks before Kindergarten was over. I felt like I should. We sat down 2 or 3 times and tried to get through a page. He didn’t cry. He was compliant, he just didn’t get it.

A few days ago, Theodore was on the couch looking at a Star Wars book I had gotten him. He looked over at me and said “Look Mommy, I can read this.”

I was in shock. I couldn’t believe he was about to just read something to me. Then he looked at his book. First the left page, then the right, tracking the words with his eyes and being completely silent. He looked up with the best, big dimpled smile and said “See, that’s how you read Mommy! You look at the book and be real quiet.”

This morning, Theodore told his 3 year old brother Parker, “I can’t read those words out loud. I can only read them quite.”

So if you ask Theodore if he’s reading yet, he’ll be sure to tell you he is.

And one day, he’ll be telling the truth.

Theodore the graduate

homeschooling, Theodore June 1, 2013 Comments: 2

Theodore hit another milestone yesterday. He graduated from Kindergarten. The coordinators of the graduation asked us to send in some things that our little graduates had accomplished this school year and my response was kind of lame. I basically sent in that he’s been learning Kindergarten stuff and that he loves playing baseball. To be honest, Theodore’s past year has been full of changing and growing, way too much to sum up in a 30 second snippet as he received his diploma.

Theodore’s Kindergarten year has looked the way I wish more little boys and girls year could look, he’s spent most of his time just playing, just being five.

Yes we talked a little about letter sounds, did some handwriting practice and started writing numbers and adding. We also got dirty in the backyard, watched cartoons and played games. We spent lots of time with friends and fights with siblings. Theodore learned (is still learning) to be kind and patient, rather than lose his temper so quickly. He spent hours building Lego’s and chasing his big brother down the street. He did not receive one report card, grade or “progress report”. Yet, I know he has progressed.

Theodore’s Kindergarten year has also included something that I am thankful not ALL little boys and girls must face. He has spent the majority of it without his daddy. That boy and his daddy are very close. They have a special connection that Theodore really doesn’t have with anyone else. They understand each other. So having Chris deployed for the past 6 months has also been part of his Kindergarten experience, one that probably “grew” him more than any other.