Reformed Yankees

We are NOT Yankees fans here. Never have been.  At least, not when it comes to baseball.  And as of late, not when it comes to history either.

We took a break from school last week and made a trip to Pennsylvania.  We nearly had to cancel due to a vehicle trapped inside of a broken garage door, but in the end we escaped from the garage and made the drive.

About halfway between home and my parents' house is a little town called Gettysburg which achieved great fame in 1863. 

As the boys are interested in

battles and weaponry

of all kinds, I thought we'd make a stop there at the museum.

Good call, Mom.

They were thrilled to have their picture taken with President Lincoln outside of the museum...

...which brings me back to the Yankees reference. 

Growing up north of the Mason-Dixon line, our study of American history certainly had a Yankee bent to it.  I was a Yankee to the core

(again, NOT in reference to baseball!).

I suppose my allegiance probably started to sway when we gave our oldest son the middle name Jackson after Stonewall.

And it isn't living in a Southern state that has caused me to come around to the Rebel way of thinking...just understanding that the war wasn't about slavery as is so commonly taught.

Someone commented recently when we were visiting the Manassas battlefield that in the North it is taught that the war was over slavery and in the South it is taught that the war was about states' rights.  Good point.

And since I'm on the side of states' rights 

- after all, it's in the Constitution! -

I guess that makes me a Southerner, a true Virginian.  And not a big fan of Lincoln who seemingly trampled on the Constitution when he sent troops to invade the Confederate states.

So I let them have their picture next to Mr. Lincoln, but they may change their tune about it in a few years when we start studying American history and they get the Rebel version of history.

Wookies

This post has nothing to do with big, hairy

creatures from Star Wars. 

Or towns across the pond. 

Or video games.

Just freshly baked, chocolate chip wookies.  Miss Cupcake is really enjoying them! And since they're egg-free, she can have as many "wookies" as she...er, Mom...wants.

Just hoping she doesn't turn into a Cookie Monster like her brother!

PS - They're pretty yummy for being egg- and milk-free!

School Days

It may seem funny that our school doesn't start until 1:30pm.  That's getting close to the time when many kids are waiting for the final bell to ring.  And everytime I walk into a store in the morning hours with all three kids in tow, I just wait for someone to ask me if there's no school today.

Thankfully, that hasn't happened yet this year.  Surprising, given how tall my second grader is getting to be.  I'm not so sure they would buy the fact that my four year old isn't old enough for school yet either since he's a pretty big boy too.

But afternoon school is working well for us this year.  With an almost-two-year-old who gets into everything (ie...grabs pencils, scissors, etc) and doesn't take a morning nap anymore, doing school in the morning is a challenge I'm not taking on right now.

Her afternoon naps give us about two or three hours of good, solid school time.  And the only interruptions I have to deal with are snack-time and the phone.  I'm learning to ignore the phone if I know it's not going to be a quick call.  And as far as snack-time goes, well, some days I can hardly wait for three o'clock to roll around!   

Yes, my children stand on kitchen chairs.  No, he's not pretending to be the teacher.  He's just threatening to eat all of my Twix before I can hide it from him.

 

Don't worry - we do get down to business eventually.

 

And to be honest, I am learning so much, right along with them.  What a joy it is to learn together!

Manassas Battlefield

Sunday could hardly have been a more perfect fall day, so after church, lunch and afternoon naps, we surprised the kids with a trip to the Manassas Battlefield.

Right now, the boys are very much interested in anything having to do with guns, knives or weapons of any kind.  A surprise trip to the National Rifle Association gun museum last summer was a big hit, so we expected that this would be too.

We couldn't have been more right!

(Ok, I'll admit that this was completely NOT my idea, but thankfully, as a cooperative partner in this parenting business, I got to share in the credit and received equal thanks.)

Here Boo-Boo takes a peek in the business end of a cannon.

Mr. Blue-Eyes poses while his brother climbs on the war relics like a jungle gym.

 

A pose with the statue of Stonewall Jackson is, of course, necessary since one of our sons bears his name.

 

And lastly, a picture of the Stone House nearby to remind my husband of his promise to buy me the perfect stone house at the base of the mountain if it ever wears a For Sale sign.