One of the blogs I read, Unschooling Snapshots, had a good strewing post today that I wanted to share with you. Whatcha Strewin'?
I haven't blogged much the past few weeks and that's mainly because I'm still not feeling well. I've had many sinus infections in my life as a result of my bad hay-fever allergies but this time, it is much different. This is just sinus pressure. No congestion, no cough, no sneezing, no runny nose. Just severe pressure in my upper sinuses and even my upper teeth. After a week of that, I called for antibiotics. Four days later, I went to Urgent Care. Two days later, I was seeing my regular dr again. He gave me some pain meds (along with other stuff) and I've kinda been floating along for the last 4 days. So I don't know if I'm actually *doing* better but I am *feeling* better...however, this is my last day of pain meds so we'll see what tomorrow brings. I may be back at my drs office on Friday, begging for a lobotomy again.
Matthew is continuing his leisurely study on presidents. The book we read about John Adams didn't paint him to be a very nice person and talked more about what he did before becoming president than what he actually did in office. I'm not sure if that's the way history remembers him or if that was just this particular author so we'll be looking for another book about him to get a more rounded picture. I'm anxious to move on to Jefferson as I found a good fictional biography of Jefferson as a boy that looks good.
Rose is now reading Jade's before-nap stories to her. It's so sweet to peek in there after I've put the baby down for nap and see them snuggled up in bed, reading quietly together. Being girls (or perhaps just their personalities), they butt heads more often than either does with Matthew. I was initially quite worried that moving Jade into Rose's room would make matters worse but I think it's working well. They seem to have adjusted fine and don't mind sharing the room at all. They even seem to play nicer together but still have their moments so it is especially sweet and heart-warming to me to see Rose reading stories to her little sister.
Linnae is closer to walking. She has the leg strength, just not the confidence yet. But she can crawl up the stairs faster than anyone can catch her, much to my chagrin, and I know it will only be a short time before I will be wishing she was 'just crawling' again. :)
This afternoon, Grammy is taking Matthew and Rose to see Prince Caspian. Tomorrow we have a birthday party and a homeschooling get-together with a Flag Day focus (it was rescheduled from last week due to illness) and on Saturday, Rose and I have a program at the Zoo.
I know it wasn't much to blog about but I wanted to let you know we're still here and hopefully I'll be back to blogging more often soon. In my fuzzy pain med state, you're lucky it was at least coherent. LOL
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Out of the Fog
Sorry I've been out of good posts for a while. Truth is, I'm feeling lousy. For the past 4-5 days, I've had some really strong sinus pressure, resulting in headaches (of which I'm not accustomed) and general extra crabbiness. I have no congestion in my nose or ears or chest - just the pressure that's causing me to think about the pros of lobotomies an awful lot. So, last night when dear sweet Hubby offered to put the baby to bed, I readily accepted (and he always puts the other three down too).
I went to bed much later (the decongestant that didn't help kept me awake) and flipped on the baby monitor as usual. All I heard was static so I switched to the other channel as Jade likes to play with the buttons sometimes. I then heard the familiar noise machine in the background and went to sleep.
Around 5am, I heard Linnae crying. It wasn't a "I mean business" cry but more of a "I want somebody to come in here...I think". You know, one of those cry-for-10-seconds-then-quiet-for-a-minute repeat things. Knock on wood, she's a GREAT sleeper and hasn't ever done this to me before (boy I'm really asking for it, posting this!). So I let her do that for a little while, hoping she'd go back to sleep. No such luck. About 10 minutes later, she really started crying good. Worried that she'd wake the other 3 at 5am (oh doesn't THAT sound fun?), I leapt from my bed and scrambled down the hall. Bleary eyed, I opened her door and saw her raise her sleepy head off the mattress and blink at me like, "What's going on, Mom?" In my half-awake state, I thought that maybe she'd been crying in her sleep. So I picked her up and held her and swayed, trying to get her back to sleep. She was very quiet. After a couple minutes, I tried to lay her back down and she wasn't going to have any of that. So I held her a bit more. Fever? Nope. Diaper? OK. Cold? Nope. Maybe she just had a bad dream.
Then I heard her cry again. Except she was crying down the hall on the monitor. But she was in my arms and I knew for sure that she wasn't crying. As the fog began to lift off of my sleepy brain, I realized that I was listening to a baby...but not mine. And the cry was too young to be any of my other kidlets. It was then that I looked at her monitor and realized it was turned off...Hubby had forgotten to turn it on last night. I was apparently listening to the neighbor's baby, who is, needless to say, an early riser. And I'd woken poor Linnae up for no good reason.
So this evening, I took the opportunity to tell my neighbor about it. She apologized several times but I told her that the only reason I was telling her was not to complain but to make sure she was aware that she might have other neighbors listening in too...and that she might want to be sure to turn it off when the baby's not sleeping (especially if she wants to complain about the neighbors...lol).
I'm sure I'll laugh about this some day but today, in this bleak sinus pain state? Not so much.
I went to bed much later (the decongestant that didn't help kept me awake) and flipped on the baby monitor as usual. All I heard was static so I switched to the other channel as Jade likes to play with the buttons sometimes. I then heard the familiar noise machine in the background and went to sleep.
Around 5am, I heard Linnae crying. It wasn't a "I mean business" cry but more of a "I want somebody to come in here...I think". You know, one of those cry-for-10-seconds-then-quiet-for-a-minute repeat things. Knock on wood, she's a GREAT sleeper and hasn't ever done this to me before (boy I'm really asking for it, posting this!). So I let her do that for a little while, hoping she'd go back to sleep. No such luck. About 10 minutes later, she really started crying good. Worried that she'd wake the other 3 at 5am (oh doesn't THAT sound fun?), I leapt from my bed and scrambled down the hall. Bleary eyed, I opened her door and saw her raise her sleepy head off the mattress and blink at me like, "What's going on, Mom?" In my half-awake state, I thought that maybe she'd been crying in her sleep. So I picked her up and held her and swayed, trying to get her back to sleep. She was very quiet. After a couple minutes, I tried to lay her back down and she wasn't going to have any of that. So I held her a bit more. Fever? Nope. Diaper? OK. Cold? Nope. Maybe she just had a bad dream.
Then I heard her cry again. Except she was crying down the hall on the monitor. But she was in my arms and I knew for sure that she wasn't crying. As the fog began to lift off of my sleepy brain, I realized that I was listening to a baby...but not mine. And the cry was too young to be any of my other kidlets. It was then that I looked at her monitor and realized it was turned off...Hubby had forgotten to turn it on last night. I was apparently listening to the neighbor's baby, who is, needless to say, an early riser. And I'd woken poor Linnae up for no good reason.
So this evening, I took the opportunity to tell my neighbor about it. She apologized several times but I told her that the only reason I was telling her was not to complain but to make sure she was aware that she might have other neighbors listening in too...and that she might want to be sure to turn it off when the baby's not sleeping (especially if she wants to complain about the neighbors...lol).
I'm sure I'll laugh about this some day but today, in this bleak sinus pain state? Not so much.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Weekend Wonders
On Friday night, pizza night, no less, Matthew decided that he wanted to set the table. This is something quite new for us as we usually do buffet style around our house. He was very particular about setting his spot just right. He had the plate centered, the cup at the top right, the folded napkin on the right as well. Then he placed the fork on the napkin and the knife on the left. He looked at me quizzically and asked if that looked right or if the utensils were the other way around. I said, "Though it makes more sense to me the way you've done it, in nice restaurants, they do place the fork on the left and the knife on the right." He emphatically retorted, "Mom! In nice restaurants they wrap them up in the napkins!" I suppose that I might need to take him somewhere "nice" some day so he can see what "nice" is. ;)
On Sunday, 5yo Rose and I went out alone. I needed some blood work done at the hospital and then we went shopping for new bath towels. The hospital took *much* longer than I expected and Rose was very hungry so I told her we could grab a hamburger in between stops, teasing that it was "just because you have really neat parents who do that sort of thing". She said dramatically, "You mean, I have the BEST parents in the whole world!" I grinned at her in the rear-view mirror. She added in a know-it-all voice, "Well, along with Carl and Nancy, of course". This got a full-blown laugh. Carl and Nancy are our neighbors. Their grandkids come over a lot and play with my kids so we've gotten to know them pretty well. Nancy's grandkids are heavily male and she really enjoys getting to talk about girly things with Rose. I think she and her husband probably *are* some of the best parents out there but I find it so funny that Rose thought of them first on her list of "best parents in the world".
For more on table settings, click here.
To see a shining example of why we need more great parents like Carl and Nancy, click here (though I'll warn you that the comments down the page there aren't for kidlet eyes).
On Sunday, 5yo Rose and I went out alone. I needed some blood work done at the hospital and then we went shopping for new bath towels. The hospital took *much* longer than I expected and Rose was very hungry so I told her we could grab a hamburger in between stops, teasing that it was "just because you have really neat parents who do that sort of thing". She said dramatically, "You mean, I have the BEST parents in the whole world!" I grinned at her in the rear-view mirror. She added in a know-it-all voice, "Well, along with Carl and Nancy, of course". This got a full-blown laugh. Carl and Nancy are our neighbors. Their grandkids come over a lot and play with my kids so we've gotten to know them pretty well. Nancy's grandkids are heavily male and she really enjoys getting to talk about girly things with Rose. I think she and her husband probably *are* some of the best parents out there but I find it so funny that Rose thought of them first on her list of "best parents in the world".
For more on table settings, click here.
To see a shining example of why we need more great parents like Carl and Nancy, click here (though I'll warn you that the comments down the page there aren't for kidlet eyes).
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Overheard today
Matthew: Burned brownie bottoms are awesome!!!
Rose (speaking of her stuffed sheep dog): Floss has been sleeping for days and days. I think he might wake up more if he had some sheep to watch. But sometimes he practices with the plastic sheep...but he needs some stuffed sheep, or some Webkinz sheep, if there are any.
Jade: I nee all my tats! ('I need all my cats', referring to her armfuls of stuffed animals, not one of them being an actual cat)
Linnae: ni-ni!
Rose (speaking of her stuffed sheep dog): Floss has been sleeping for days and days. I think he might wake up more if he had some sheep to watch. But sometimes he practices with the plastic sheep...but he needs some stuffed sheep, or some Webkinz sheep, if there are any.
Jade: I nee all my tats! ('I need all my cats', referring to her armfuls of stuffed animals, not one of them being an actual cat)
Linnae: ni-ni!
Awesome article
This article, by one of my favorite writers (and yes, she's a published author - she's best known for her Little House series books about Laura's grandmother and others), will heretofore be referred to as "My absolute favoritist (Rose's word) all-time best read on arguments against homeschooling".
It's so well written. She doesn't attack 'school' but instead gives real answers to those questions that we, as homeschoolers, get soooo very often. Go read it. If you're a homeschooler, you'll shout hip-hip-hooray at the end. If you're not a homeschooler, you will have a new perspective on homeschooling...and, it might just be an even better one than you have now. ;)
It's so well written. She doesn't attack 'school' but instead gives real answers to those questions that we, as homeschoolers, get soooo very often. Go read it. If you're a homeschooler, you'll shout hip-hip-hooray at the end. If you're not a homeschooler, you will have a new perspective on homeschooling...and, it might just be an even better one than you have now. ;)
Monday, June 09, 2008
Monday, Monday...
If the song is now stuck in your head, welcome to my world. And it's not even one I like. :)
We've had a very busy weekend. Saturday morning, Matthew went to a program at the zoo. So I drove him all the way down there and dropped him off (parents weren't invited to stay). His class was about Animal Tracks. They identified tracks and figured out which animal made which track and the instructor brought in some animals for them to look at like a millipede, white ferret, etc. He had a great time. While he was there, Grammy and I went over to the Art and History museums to look around. I wanted to see if there was anything I thought the kids might like there. I found some fascinating things at the History museum's store. A plethora of items (coffee cups, t-shirts, books, pens, etc) with the quote, "Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History". I have since put the book on reserve at the library so I can't say if it's a good read or not but the quote really struck me. I'm no women's libber but I really liked that thought as it could apply to so many things.
I picked up a couple books on the presidents for Matthew, one of which was a series of fictional biographies about Jefferson's childhood. I'm betting my library has more of the series too. At the Art Museum, I picked up a great little book on how to draw cats for Rose, as well as some beautiful detailed butterfly tattoos for the girls.
After picking Matthew up from the Zoo (where we teased him that they'd just throw him in the monkey cage if I was late), we rushed over to Steak N Shake for a quick lunch. We drove all the way home to drop Matthew and Grammy off and I went straight back downtown to see Mamma Mia! at the Fabulous Fox Theater (if you've never been, it's too gorgeous to describe - click on the link to see the pictures). I didn't care for the storyline all that much but it was really fun getting to see how they worked a storyline into all the ABBA songs that I grew up listening to (and still do). I had a really good time. I was originally going to go with a friend but she backed out and I couldn't find anyone to go with me so I took the best date...myself. LOL Who would enjoy it more than me? ME, of course! :) After that, I rushed back home to greet SIL & BIL, who stayed with us Saturday night to catch an early plane to Cancun on Sunday. SIL and I went out for rare treat - kidless time together! The four of us stayed up too late watching youtubes and geeking out on the couches. It was a really great day.
On Sunday, we spent the afternoon with a friend of Hubby's from high school. His wife and I have become good friends and our kids have now as well. We had a great lunch and went to a new indoor playground and just had a great time there all afternoon.
It was a very busy weekend but it was a lot of fun. After the kids got down to bed, I was looking up one of the Abba songs I hadn't thought about in many years and found out that they made the musical into a movie!! It opens next month with Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan. I'm excited to see what Meryl does with the role as I love just about anything she does. :) It'll be fun to see it so close to when I saw the musical so I can compare and contrast the two. Quite fun!
So today I've spent chillin out and tomorrow we have plans with friends and Wednesday we have plans with SILs kids. So it should be a good (but tiring) week. I hope you have a great one too!
We've had a very busy weekend. Saturday morning, Matthew went to a program at the zoo. So I drove him all the way down there and dropped him off (parents weren't invited to stay). His class was about Animal Tracks. They identified tracks and figured out which animal made which track and the instructor brought in some animals for them to look at like a millipede, white ferret, etc. He had a great time. While he was there, Grammy and I went over to the Art and History museums to look around. I wanted to see if there was anything I thought the kids might like there. I found some fascinating things at the History museum's store. A plethora of items (coffee cups, t-shirts, books, pens, etc) with the quote, "Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History". I have since put the book on reserve at the library so I can't say if it's a good read or not but the quote really struck me. I'm no women's libber but I really liked that thought as it could apply to so many things.
I picked up a couple books on the presidents for Matthew, one of which was a series of fictional biographies about Jefferson's childhood. I'm betting my library has more of the series too. At the Art Museum, I picked up a great little book on how to draw cats for Rose, as well as some beautiful detailed butterfly tattoos for the girls.
After picking Matthew up from the Zoo (where we teased him that they'd just throw him in the monkey cage if I was late), we rushed over to Steak N Shake for a quick lunch. We drove all the way home to drop Matthew and Grammy off and I went straight back downtown to see Mamma Mia! at the Fabulous Fox Theater (if you've never been, it's too gorgeous to describe - click on the link to see the pictures). I didn't care for the storyline all that much but it was really fun getting to see how they worked a storyline into all the ABBA songs that I grew up listening to (and still do). I had a really good time. I was originally going to go with a friend but she backed out and I couldn't find anyone to go with me so I took the best date...myself. LOL Who would enjoy it more than me? ME, of course! :) After that, I rushed back home to greet SIL & BIL, who stayed with us Saturday night to catch an early plane to Cancun on Sunday. SIL and I went out for rare treat - kidless time together! The four of us stayed up too late watching youtubes and geeking out on the couches. It was a really great day.
On Sunday, we spent the afternoon with a friend of Hubby's from high school. His wife and I have become good friends and our kids have now as well. We had a great lunch and went to a new indoor playground and just had a great time there all afternoon.
It was a very busy weekend but it was a lot of fun. After the kids got down to bed, I was looking up one of the Abba songs I hadn't thought about in many years and found out that they made the musical into a movie!! It opens next month with Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan. I'm excited to see what Meryl does with the role as I love just about anything she does. :) It'll be fun to see it so close to when I saw the musical so I can compare and contrast the two. Quite fun!
So today I've spent chillin out and tomorrow we have plans with friends and Wednesday we have plans with SILs kids. So it should be a good (but tiring) week. I hope you have a great one too!
Friday, June 06, 2008
Life Lessons
Many times I have been given 'teaching situations' in my life. They come from friends, family, strangers and God. Some are more poignant than others and some are definitely more fun that others as well. Usually, I do *not* see them coming...even after I should certainly know better.
When my online friend, Stacey, blogged about her son doing this, I chuckled:
When this one happened to her 2 week old couch, I grimaced, but still laughed.
And when she posted this, I began to wonder if it wasn't all just a ploy for good blogging.
But when she blogged this, I nearly wet my pants, laughing myself silly. I mean, really...WHO in their right mind would give that kid MORE MARKERS???
Alas, dear sweet Stacey (who makes THE most incredible cakes, btw!), I am no longer amused.
Last week, the older three kids were awake bright and early as usual. Rose (5y) and Jade (3y) have really been enjoying coloring/drawing a lot together lately and this morning was no different. In fact, I'd gone out the night before and bought them a brand new set of *washable* Crayola markers because they were using cheap off brand markers that were in really bad shape. They were having a blast together.
The baby woke and I went upstairs to get her. As is customary, the other three trailed along right behind me, screaming their 'good mornings' at the baby until she shuddered in fear before breaking into a sobbing fit. (Geez...you'd think by now that she'd be used to that morning greeting!) I calmed her down and when I turned around, I found Jade bent over like she was picking something up off the carpet. Just happy that I didn't trip over her and fall in a heap at the bottom of the stairs, I didn't pay much attention to what she was actually doing. I start making my way down the stairs with the older two kids in tow (still trying to out-good-morning the other) and trying to calm the baby. I realize, halfway down the stairs that there are little brown spots on my carpet. Each stair had a brown spot on it. It then slowly dawned on me. I looked back at the top of the stairs just in time to see Jade starting to make the next spot. She had a brown marker in hand and apparently, each step she took, she marked it with the marker. I suppose, one could make a Hansel and Gretel connection out of it but I digress. She was told not to do it and punished accordingly.
Being the super cleaning mom in a household of 6 people, the marks were still there a couple days later. I hadn't looked up on the Crayola website yet how to clean their *washable* markers out of carpet. I probably should have asked Stacey. She might have whispered a warning of my impending doom.
On Sunday morning, I woke to find this. It's not the best picture but you get the gist. If you look closely, you can even see all the small purple dots surrounding the big purple design:
I'm just grateful that some of it went on the rug that needs to be replaced anyway.
Needless to say, I was *not* laughing. I immediately thought of Stacey and how I'd laughed "with" the poor woman.
Crayola.com does have a neat site. They have a huge database to search for getting their products out of other things. You can enter in the specific writing implement (washable markers) and the specific item destroyed (carpet). Then it gives you very specific steps on how to remove their product. My instructions were:
I wonder if they have rights to Capture Spot Remover and rubbing alcohol? If my kids (and Stacey's) are any measure, we should both purchase stock in the companies right now.
I didn't have a sponge but got to work with some cotton balls and rubbing alcohol. It took lots of elbow grease but it did come almost completely out. Rose was thrilled to help me clean up the mess on her floor.
A few hours later, it magically reappeared though it wasn't nearly as distinct a picture as before:
I need to attack it again with the alcohol but I have had 50,483 other messes since Sunday that required more urgent attention. At least the brown marker blended in nicely with our cream carpet with tan specks. Purple just kinda stands out, ya know??
So, I send this out tonight into the blogosphere, begging forgiveness from Stacey for laughing at her marker plight.
These 'teaching situations' never come like I really want them to.
(You can find Stacey's post about *all* of her son's hysterical antics...including MORE, yes MORE marker incidents here. Thanks, Stacey for letting me piggyback on you for a bit. :))
When my online friend, Stacey, blogged about her son doing this, I chuckled:
When this one happened to her 2 week old couch, I grimaced, but still laughed.
And when she posted this, I began to wonder if it wasn't all just a ploy for good blogging.
But when she blogged this, I nearly wet my pants, laughing myself silly. I mean, really...WHO in their right mind would give that kid MORE MARKERS???
Alas, dear sweet Stacey (who makes THE most incredible cakes, btw!), I am no longer amused.
Last week, the older three kids were awake bright and early as usual. Rose (5y) and Jade (3y) have really been enjoying coloring/drawing a lot together lately and this morning was no different. In fact, I'd gone out the night before and bought them a brand new set of *washable* Crayola markers because they were using cheap off brand markers that were in really bad shape. They were having a blast together.
The baby woke and I went upstairs to get her. As is customary, the other three trailed along right behind me, screaming their 'good mornings' at the baby until she shuddered in fear before breaking into a sobbing fit. (Geez...you'd think by now that she'd be used to that morning greeting!) I calmed her down and when I turned around, I found Jade bent over like she was picking something up off the carpet. Just happy that I didn't trip over her and fall in a heap at the bottom of the stairs, I didn't pay much attention to what she was actually doing. I start making my way down the stairs with the older two kids in tow (still trying to out-good-morning the other) and trying to calm the baby. I realize, halfway down the stairs that there are little brown spots on my carpet. Each stair had a brown spot on it. It then slowly dawned on me. I looked back at the top of the stairs just in time to see Jade starting to make the next spot. She had a brown marker in hand and apparently, each step she took, she marked it with the marker. I suppose, one could make a Hansel and Gretel connection out of it but I digress. She was told not to do it and punished accordingly.
Being the super cleaning mom in a household of 6 people, the marks were still there a couple days later. I hadn't looked up on the Crayola website yet how to clean their *washable* markers out of carpet. I probably should have asked Stacey. She might have whispered a warning of my impending doom.
On Sunday morning, I woke to find this. It's not the best picture but you get the gist. If you look closely, you can even see all the small purple dots surrounding the big purple design:
I'm just grateful that some of it went on the rug that needs to be replaced anyway.
Needless to say, I was *not* laughing. I immediately thought of Stacey and how I'd laughed "with" the poor woman.
Crayola.com does have a neat site. They have a huge database to search for getting their products out of other things. You can enter in the specific writing implement (washable markers) and the specific item destroyed (carpet). Then it gives you very specific steps on how to remove their product. My instructions were:
Stain Removal Tips
Dampen a sponge with alcohol and use a blotting motion to absorb the marker stain, changing the sponge as often as needed. Apply upholstery/rug shampoo according to the directions on the container. If stain remains, use Capture spot and soil remover according to the directions on the container.
I wonder if they have rights to Capture Spot Remover and rubbing alcohol? If my kids (and Stacey's) are any measure, we should both purchase stock in the companies right now.
I didn't have a sponge but got to work with some cotton balls and rubbing alcohol. It took lots of elbow grease but it did come almost completely out. Rose was thrilled to help me clean up the mess on her floor.
A few hours later, it magically reappeared though it wasn't nearly as distinct a picture as before:
I need to attack it again with the alcohol but I have had 50,483 other messes since Sunday that required more urgent attention. At least the brown marker blended in nicely with our cream carpet with tan specks. Purple just kinda stands out, ya know??
So, I send this out tonight into the blogosphere, begging forgiveness from Stacey for laughing at her marker plight.
These 'teaching situations' never come like I really want them to.
(You can find Stacey's post about *all* of her son's hysterical antics...including MORE, yes MORE marker incidents here. Thanks, Stacey for letting me piggyback on you for a bit. :))
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Twittering away
I've had a bad week. I'm just not feeling great. It basically hasn't stopped raining since early March and the mold count is through the roof. The red puffy eyes combined with the scratchy deep voice would be enough for anyone to run in fear but combine it with the hot humid stickiness outside and my lovely mood and you've got a real winner here. On the up side, we've still been learning things (on top of "how to avoid Mom this week," that is).
I'm utterly amazed at how well Rose is reading. It seems to have happened overnight. She's even entered the library summer reading program. They have to read so many minutes to get a prize...and she's very focused on filling her sheet. At bedtime, we read her a story and then she reads us one...just because it's silly to read Mom a bedtime story. I really need to get that webcam so you can see it yourself.
Speaking of the library, I went in to get the last Harry Potter book the other day for Matthew and the librarian asked if I wanted to sign him up for the reading program. When I agreed, she asked what "grade" he was in. After a few minutes of a dumb stare while I tried to figure it out, I finally blurted out that he would be going into 2nd grade next year. She stopped dead in her tracks and looked at me. "Second? And he's reading Harry Potter?" (I love these opportunities to further positive opinions of homeschoolers.) "Yes," I replied and smiled, "we're homeschoolers." Then I asked if my daughter could join up too, "she'll be in Kindergarten." (I was proud of myself for thinking so quick on my feet.) "Is she reading on her own yet?" When I again said, "yes", I really suspect she thought I was lying to her. Oh well. The kids are excited...prizes??? for reading??? WHY??? They can't seem to figure out why anyone needed to encourage kids to read...why on earth would a kid NOT want to read? I have no idea.
I said I would update you on Matthew's quest to learn about the Presidents. He told me that he wants to know more about them so he can "answer more questions when we play trivia games". To hear him say it, you'd think we go to trivia nights all the time. The truth of the matter is that we had one with our MOPS group this year and they brought in someone to do a trivia quiz with the kids while we had ours for the adults. Then MIL had one at her church later, that allowed the kids and adults to play together. We also like to play word and trivia games around here sometimes but with the kids ages, it's a little limited at this point. I might need to get Disney Trivial Pursuit soon though. Anyway...presidents. I found a book at the library that wasn't too dry about Washington. We read through it and we've talked about it some the past few days. Tonight he wanted me to read it again because "I still haven't memorized all the stuff about him that I want to yet." If you asked, the first thing he'd tell you is that Washington had false teeth that were made out of human teeth (ick), cows teeth (TRIPLE ICK) and the tusks of elephants (don't. even. I don't know where those tusks have been!?!?). He would also tell you that Washington fought in the French and Indian War and built the White House but was the only president to never live in it (before this week, I couldn't have told you any of that either, sadly). I made a suggestion that we could do a presidential scrapbook so we'd have something to reference and he seemed really interested in that. I also found a movie called "The Crossing" about Washington at the library but I need to preview it as it's not rated and I believe Washington was rumored to be quite the philanderer and my usual kid-friendly-movie-review sites don't have the movie listed.
Jade is speaking a lot better these days too...much bigger words and more clearly. A couple days ago, the two older kids ran outside to play. Jade, finally getting the computer to herself, decided to stay inside and hoard it. She played on Starfall.com (a GREAT early reading site!) for about 45 minutes and loved every second of it.
Linnae is finally pulling herself up to standing. After 14 months of me kicking her feet out from under her, she's persevered and doing it anyway. I knew that Irish name(first name), as well as the Irish blood, would serve her well. :)
We had a good discussion today about discrimination. Matthew was relaying a conversation he had with Hubby a few days ago. Apparently when they went out to get haircuts and lunch last weekend, Matthew was naming off places he'd like to eat. When he mentioned Subway, Hubby said, "Remember Mom said we're not going to give them our business anymore?" At this point, Matthew looked at me and said, "I forget why now though. Why not?" First I told him that we don't usually eat there anyway so I didn't feel it was that big of a stand but I explained about Subway's recent contest and how they're excluding us from participating because we're homeschoolers. Never being one to hide his emotions, he slammed his hand down on the counter and said, through gritted teeth, "Well, I hope that everyone decides to not give them business anymore and they go out of business totally! We should tell all our friends to go to Quizno's." Might be a good time to read Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. :)
Last, but not least...my friend Pattie recently mentioned twitter.com on her blog (yes, even though she was originally Hubby's college friend, I have claimed her now...teehee). I clicked on a link and it's the neatest concept! It's like mini-blogging. In 140 characters or less, you answer the question "what are you doing?" You link up with friends and see what they're doing. I've added it in the sidebar of my browser so it's super easy to add an entry quickly. I'm having some connectivity issues tonight but hope they resolve soon. So if you're on twitter, leave me a comment or email...you might learn even MORE about us. :)
I'm utterly amazed at how well Rose is reading. It seems to have happened overnight. She's even entered the library summer reading program. They have to read so many minutes to get a prize...and she's very focused on filling her sheet. At bedtime, we read her a story and then she reads us one...just because it's silly to read Mom a bedtime story. I really need to get that webcam so you can see it yourself.
Speaking of the library, I went in to get the last Harry Potter book the other day for Matthew and the librarian asked if I wanted to sign him up for the reading program. When I agreed, she asked what "grade" he was in. After a few minutes of a dumb stare while I tried to figure it out, I finally blurted out that he would be going into 2nd grade next year. She stopped dead in her tracks and looked at me. "Second? And he's reading Harry Potter?" (I love these opportunities to further positive opinions of homeschoolers.) "Yes," I replied and smiled, "we're homeschoolers." Then I asked if my daughter could join up too, "she'll be in Kindergarten." (I was proud of myself for thinking so quick on my feet.) "Is she reading on her own yet?" When I again said, "yes", I really suspect she thought I was lying to her. Oh well. The kids are excited...prizes??? for reading??? WHY??? They can't seem to figure out why anyone needed to encourage kids to read...why on earth would a kid NOT want to read? I have no idea.
I said I would update you on Matthew's quest to learn about the Presidents. He told me that he wants to know more about them so he can "answer more questions when we play trivia games". To hear him say it, you'd think we go to trivia nights all the time. The truth of the matter is that we had one with our MOPS group this year and they brought in someone to do a trivia quiz with the kids while we had ours for the adults. Then MIL had one at her church later, that allowed the kids and adults to play together. We also like to play word and trivia games around here sometimes but with the kids ages, it's a little limited at this point. I might need to get Disney Trivial Pursuit soon though. Anyway...presidents. I found a book at the library that wasn't too dry about Washington. We read through it and we've talked about it some the past few days. Tonight he wanted me to read it again because "I still haven't memorized all the stuff about him that I want to yet." If you asked, the first thing he'd tell you is that Washington had false teeth that were made out of human teeth (ick), cows teeth (TRIPLE ICK) and the tusks of elephants (don't. even. I don't know where those tusks have been!?!?). He would also tell you that Washington fought in the French and Indian War and built the White House but was the only president to never live in it (before this week, I couldn't have told you any of that either, sadly). I made a suggestion that we could do a presidential scrapbook so we'd have something to reference and he seemed really interested in that. I also found a movie called "The Crossing" about Washington at the library but I need to preview it as it's not rated and I believe Washington was rumored to be quite the philanderer and my usual kid-friendly-movie-review sites don't have the movie listed.
Jade is speaking a lot better these days too...much bigger words and more clearly. A couple days ago, the two older kids ran outside to play. Jade, finally getting the computer to herself, decided to stay inside and hoard it. She played on Starfall.com (a GREAT early reading site!) for about 45 minutes and loved every second of it.
Linnae is finally pulling herself up to standing. After 14 months of me kicking her feet out from under her, she's persevered and doing it anyway. I knew that Irish name(first name), as well as the Irish blood, would serve her well. :)
We had a good discussion today about discrimination. Matthew was relaying a conversation he had with Hubby a few days ago. Apparently when they went out to get haircuts and lunch last weekend, Matthew was naming off places he'd like to eat. When he mentioned Subway, Hubby said, "Remember Mom said we're not going to give them our business anymore?" At this point, Matthew looked at me and said, "I forget why now though. Why not?" First I told him that we don't usually eat there anyway so I didn't feel it was that big of a stand but I explained about Subway's recent contest and how they're excluding us from participating because we're homeschoolers. Never being one to hide his emotions, he slammed his hand down on the counter and said, through gritted teeth, "Well, I hope that everyone decides to not give them business anymore and they go out of business totally! We should tell all our friends to go to Quizno's." Might be a good time to read Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. :)
Last, but not least...my friend Pattie recently mentioned twitter.com on her blog (yes, even though she was originally Hubby's college friend, I have claimed her now...teehee). I clicked on a link and it's the neatest concept! It's like mini-blogging. In 140 characters or less, you answer the question "what are you doing?" You link up with friends and see what they're doing. I've added it in the sidebar of my browser so it's super easy to add an entry quickly. I'm having some connectivity issues tonight but hope they resolve soon. So if you're on twitter, leave me a comment or email...you might learn even MORE about us. :)
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Learning Life Through Books
Our neighbor has her grandkids over at her house a lot and because of that, my kids have become good friends with them. One of their parents is going through a divorce and the cousins are now temporarily living together. As is so often the case, there are some growing pains going on that we hear about from the kids. After I called the kids in tonight for baths, I went outside to see that all the toys had been brought back inside. One of the boys, A, was out there and he was leaning down on his water gun so that it took me a minute to figure out exactly what he was doing.
"Oh," I said in revelation, "you're getting all the water out of it, eh?"
He said, "Yeah. I'm mad at J because he put the water in here wrong and he takes my toys and yesterday, when I wanted a Popsicle, he said it was his brother, C's, and I'd have to ask C for one...but then said he was going to tell C to say no anyway when I asked him."
"Wow," I agreed, "that doesn't sound very nice."
Later, at dinner, Matthew brought up the fact that A and J weren't speaking because they were mad at each other. And he sounded like he was empathizing with A and mad at J himself. He said, seemingly frustrated, "I can't wait until their small school break is over so I can talk to J about it!" I talked to him for a few minutes about not being mad at someone just because your friend is mad at them. It's ok to empathize with him but I felt he should think twice before he decided to also be mad at J, because he's friends with J too. He interrupted me with, "Mom, you know in my Harry Potter books..."
Thinking what I'd said went straight in one ear and other the other, I said, "mmm?"
He continued, "Well, Hermione and Ron get mad at each other a lot. They don't speak to each other for a long time."
I said, "Oh?"
"But Harry gets them together and fixes it for them," he said, giving me the thumbs-up signal and a wink.
"Ohhhh....so you're going to be Harry for A and J?"
"Yep," he said, "I'm gonna make them talk to each other again! That's why I can't wait for their school break to be over."
~Better than *any* book report I could have ever received, he not only followed the storyline (a minor storyline, at that) but he figured out what the author was really trying to say and applied it to his own life. I think Joanne Rowling would be quite pleased too.~
"Oh," I said in revelation, "you're getting all the water out of it, eh?"
He said, "Yeah. I'm mad at J because he put the water in here wrong and he takes my toys and yesterday, when I wanted a Popsicle, he said it was his brother, C's, and I'd have to ask C for one...but then said he was going to tell C to say no anyway when I asked him."
"Wow," I agreed, "that doesn't sound very nice."
Later, at dinner, Matthew brought up the fact that A and J weren't speaking because they were mad at each other. And he sounded like he was empathizing with A and mad at J himself. He said, seemingly frustrated, "I can't wait until their small school break is over so I can talk to J about it!" I talked to him for a few minutes about not being mad at someone just because your friend is mad at them. It's ok to empathize with him but I felt he should think twice before he decided to also be mad at J, because he's friends with J too. He interrupted me with, "Mom, you know in my Harry Potter books..."
Thinking what I'd said went straight in one ear and other the other, I said, "mmm?"
He continued, "Well, Hermione and Ron get mad at each other a lot. They don't speak to each other for a long time."
I said, "Oh?"
"But Harry gets them together and fixes it for them," he said, giving me the thumbs-up signal and a wink.
"Ohhhh....so you're going to be Harry for A and J?"
"Yep," he said, "I'm gonna make them talk to each other again! That's why I can't wait for their school break to be over."
~Better than *any* book report I could have ever received, he not only followed the storyline (a minor storyline, at that) but he figured out what the author was really trying to say and applied it to his own life. I think Joanne Rowling would be quite pleased too.~
Friday, May 30, 2008
It's HERE!
Yes, I'm typing to you from my new laptop!!! WOW, this is FUN! And I even checked out Webkinz already. It's amazing how much faster this machine is - the Wheel of Wow would spin for a full 5 minutes on my old desktop...now I see that it's supposed to actually spin for all of like 15 seconds. I hope when I wipe and reload the desktop, that it will run faster for the kiddos.
I do miss my big ergonomic keyboard but I will remedy that soon. Maybe a trip to Best Buy is in order this weekend. ;) The other problem is that I need a desk area. The kids will have my old desktop setup but I need a desk for my docking station and monitor, etc. So at the moment, I'm just trying to figure out how to have three desks on the main floor without looking like an office building. ;) Hubby has his roll-top mail desk and the kids have my old desk (that doesn't have room for my new computer stuff). So I need a desk, a space to put it, a chair, a monitor (for either me or the kids), keyboard and mouse. It seems really silly to have three desks but it is necessary. And because the kids are so young, I need to have their computer where I can monitor their online sites (yeah, that's a little un-unschoolish of me but you know I'm not a radical) so I can't very well put it in one of their rooms. So for now, we'll just look officey. If anyone has any great ideas (ahem...Jean2!), please...I'm all ears!
I didn't opt to install MS Office. I just couldn't justify the expense when there's a *free* look-alike that supposedly works just as well, if not better, than MS Office (and you all know what a
My only problem now is which new toy to play with first?? GPS...laptop...GPS...laptop...decisions, decisions.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Zoo
I find myself thinking, "My next blog post will probably be from my new computer" a lot these days. For the last few days, it's been sitting in Kentucky...in customs. As Jen so eloquently put it, "Customs? In Kentucky? I didn't know they had declared themselves an independent country!" I hadn't been notified either, Jen. However, it seems the laptop shipped directly from China to Kentucky. While that seems like a very odd flight to me (and since Hubby's shipped from China to Alaska a few months ago), I have never tried to understand postal routes so I'll just leave it to the experts to figure out. But this morning, I see that it's "out for delivery", which sounds very promising. I'll be sure to take pictures. :) I feel like a 5yr old on Christmas morning.
The weatherman lied. He gave us that beautiful forecast for Memorial Day weekend and it didn't turn out nearly that nice. As usual, Memorial Day was hot and sticky. Very sticky. But it wasn't as bad as it has been in years past so that's something. However, just to show that Spring wasn't over yet, she decided to give us really fierce thunderstorms all night long and give us a high of around 60 the next day. It was very unexpected but, in my opinion, nice. ;) So we got our BBQ and roasted marshmallows and we even got to complain about the heat...a bit. And I even got to see Indy whip the bad guys into shape.
I blogged a while back about geocaching and my new GPS (my birthday gift from Hubby). Very long story short, the Magellan GPS just wasn't up to snuff. There were issues with the order, the price and the 'items included', as well as the item itself having many issues and the final straw...the software wouldn't load on Hubbys new souped-up laptop (or my ancient one). So, after returning that, I used the extra birthday money I got from other family members and upgraded to a Garmin 60cx. It's a breeze. Batteries fit, my ancient PC had no troubles installing the hardware or software, and the functions on the unit just seem more intuitive to me. I'm really happy I switched. Now to find some freebie maps for it...teeheehee. I'm psyched to get back to geocaching again. :)
Several of you have asked me about the recent Subway issue, knowing we're homeschoolers. I have to bring up this point alone. As homeschoolers, we eat 3 meals a day at home. We do not spend money on school/work lunches every day. So we have a bigger variety to choose from when we do eat out, I would imagine, than non-homeschooled families. Our family doesn't frequent Subway very much at all anyway simply because I can build the same sandwich for pennies comparatively (and more healthy as well, utilizing veggies from my garden and non pre-packaged meats). However, I do believe that homeschoolers frequent Subway more often than non-homeschoolers simply because our lifestyle doesn't demand that we eat 'on campus'. I believe it's a very bad move for Subway and in our house, we'll continue business as usual, making our sandwiches at home. I'm just glad that my 5 and 7 year olds can probably spell the words, 'United States' and 'basket' better than the Subway PR people can. 'Nuff said.
The high yesterday was 68F, I believe. Today is supposed to be 78. Such is life in Missouri. So the kids and I ran to the zoo yesterday. One, most people wait to do the zoo on really hot days (I have no idea why either!?!). And Two, some schools are still going for maybe another week. So we went. It was a very nice day and we really enjoyed it as it was our first trip of the year. Usually we go much more in the spring but it's just been too wet. Some pictures of the day...
First the kids wanted to check out the new amphibian exhibit. We saw a metamorphosis area where tadpoles were turning into frogs. Very cool. The woman running the exhibit started by talking down to my kids but was quickly corrected when Matthew started telling *her* more about the chytrid fungus than she was supposed to be teaching that day. I was quite surprised myself at all the information spewing forth from him especially since I've never heard of it. He said that he'd read an article about it in a magazine a while back. Hmmm...
Jade was quite proud of herself that she touched this boa in the Children's Zoo
Here are some more pictures from the zoo:
Jade's baby elephant (also named Jade) sure has grown since this time last year!
Next...wait. just. a. second. There's a KNOCK. at my door. Maybe it's the worlds only May Santa Claus?? Gotta Run.
The weatherman lied. He gave us that beautiful forecast for Memorial Day weekend and it didn't turn out nearly that nice. As usual, Memorial Day was hot and sticky. Very sticky. But it wasn't as bad as it has been in years past so that's something. However, just to show that Spring wasn't over yet, she decided to give us really fierce thunderstorms all night long and give us a high of around 60 the next day. It was very unexpected but, in my opinion, nice. ;) So we got our BBQ and roasted marshmallows and we even got to complain about the heat...a bit. And I even got to see Indy whip the bad guys into shape.
I blogged a while back about geocaching and my new GPS (my birthday gift from Hubby). Very long story short, the Magellan GPS just wasn't up to snuff. There were issues with the order, the price and the 'items included', as well as the item itself having many issues and the final straw...the software wouldn't load on Hubbys new souped-up laptop (or my ancient one). So, after returning that, I used the extra birthday money I got from other family members and upgraded to a Garmin 60cx. It's a breeze. Batteries fit, my ancient PC had no troubles installing the hardware or software, and the functions on the unit just seem more intuitive to me. I'm really happy I switched. Now to find some freebie maps for it...teeheehee. I'm psyched to get back to geocaching again. :)
Several of you have asked me about the recent Subway issue, knowing we're homeschoolers. I have to bring up this point alone. As homeschoolers, we eat 3 meals a day at home. We do not spend money on school/work lunches every day. So we have a bigger variety to choose from when we do eat out, I would imagine, than non-homeschooled families. Our family doesn't frequent Subway very much at all anyway simply because I can build the same sandwich for pennies comparatively (and more healthy as well, utilizing veggies from my garden and non pre-packaged meats). However, I do believe that homeschoolers frequent Subway more often than non-homeschoolers simply because our lifestyle doesn't demand that we eat 'on campus'. I believe it's a very bad move for Subway and in our house, we'll continue business as usual, making our sandwiches at home. I'm just glad that my 5 and 7 year olds can probably spell the words, 'United States' and 'basket' better than the Subway PR people can. 'Nuff said.
The high yesterday was 68F, I believe. Today is supposed to be 78. Such is life in Missouri. So the kids and I ran to the zoo yesterday. One, most people wait to do the zoo on really hot days (I have no idea why either!?!). And Two, some schools are still going for maybe another week. So we went. It was a very nice day and we really enjoyed it as it was our first trip of the year. Usually we go much more in the spring but it's just been too wet. Some pictures of the day...
First the kids wanted to check out the new amphibian exhibit. We saw a metamorphosis area where tadpoles were turning into frogs. Very cool. The woman running the exhibit started by talking down to my kids but was quickly corrected when Matthew started telling *her* more about the chytrid fungus than she was supposed to be teaching that day. I was quite surprised myself at all the information spewing forth from him especially since I've never heard of it. He said that he'd read an article about it in a magazine a while back. Hmmm...
Jade was quite proud of herself that she touched this boa in the Children's Zoo
Here are some more pictures from the zoo:
Jade's baby elephant (also named Jade) sure has grown since this time last year!
Next...wait. just. a. second. There's a KNOCK. at my door. Maybe it's the worlds only May Santa Claus?? Gotta Run.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
BBQ leftovers
Review of last week's menu:
Breakfast for Dinner was a huge hit, as was the tomato soup (as always).
The kids really liked the Tuna Helper so I might look up some tuna casserole recipes to try out (I really hate buying packaged foods if I can help it).
The "Chicken and Carrots and Onions" - can you believe I've improved upon a great mogul of my childhood?? While my mom spent a couple hours over the electric skillet making fried chicken every Sunday afternoon (and worrying that it was burning), I decided that it was just too much trouble. So I've never really made fried chicken for my husband in 14+ years. I think I attempted it once but that experience not only confirmed the trickiness of making it but also brought to attention the MESS involved. But a few months ago, we had dinner at my MILs house. She made fried chicken too. It wasn't nearly as greasy as my moms (sorry, Mom), and she wasn't stressed about the issue at all. I asked her what she did differently. Here's what she does...
Heat oven to 425, wash and flour chicken pieces. Place a stick of butter on jelly roll pan lined with aluminum foil and let it melt. When butter is melted, place chicken pieces on pan. After 30 minutes, turn chicken pieces. After 30 more minutes, it's done. And it's pretty much *THAT* foolproof. I've done that a couple times and wow, it's easy, not much mess and fast (in the regard that it requires little of me and leaves me room to concentrate on sides).
So, I decided to try to incorporate my mom's awesome "chicken and carrots and onions" recipe with this other method of fried chicken. I did everything the same but at the 30 minute mark when I turned the chicken over, I added cut up carrots (I leave them in circles about 1/4 inch thick) and onions. Moms recipe called for yellow onions but I was out so instead, I reached for a leek. If you've never had a leek before, it is very much like a green onion in taste (it just requires a bit more cleaning). So after I turned the chicken, I placed the carrots and leeks (also cut up in pieces about the same size as the carrots) on top. I started to worry that I put the onions on too soon when some started browning but decided I was stuck at that point. I'm so glad I didn't mess with it! Sometimes (albeit rarely), the worst mistakes have the best outcomes!
It was SUCH a delicious dish! I really LOVED the leeks in there as opposed to the yellow onions my mom always used. And I loved the less greasy, no fuss chicken. The only thing to improve on next time is maybe find a way to still steam the carrots a tad - they were a bit dry. Maybe I can put some aluminum foil on top for a few minutes with a splash of water underneath. Regardless, we loved it and it was devoured quickly. :)
So, the menu for this week (of course I'm late again!)...
Monday - I BBQd pork steaks, turkey hot dogs and turkey sausages (akin to brats). Made potato salad, deviled eggs, waldorf salad, baked beans, corn on the cob [too early for good ones though :(], roasted marshmallows and pound cake with strawberries and blueberries for dessert. YUM!!
Tuesday - leftovers
Wednesday - pork stirfry, rice, potstickers
Thursday - Honey Chicken Legs, salad, green beans
Friday - spaghetti & meatballs, bread, salad
Friday, May 23, 2008
Happy Memorial Day weekend to my US friends!
I know I have a couple Aussies who read my blog so I'll wish them a nice weekend too. :)
But here in the States, it's Memorial Day weekend. Most people have Monday off in observance of the holiday to remember those Americans who have died in military service for our country.
What sticks out in my mind the most about this holiday in the past is that it's miserably hot. Growing up, it seemed that our family tradition was a pork steak BBQ followed by a good blockbuster movie in a cold theater...and maybe some ice cream too. I never could understand the people who went camping in weather so incredibly hot and sticky (of course, I naturally prefer cold weather to hot). I definitely preferred the cold dark movie theater. I have fond memories of spending Memorial Day weekend entranced with Star Wars episodes, Deep Impact, The Mummy, Twister, Spider-Man, Back Draft, Indiana Jones movies...in fact, many Lucas & Spielberg films. Some were obviously better than others but I have very fond memories of them.
Many church services remember our veterans in some way on Sunday morning services. Many families have BBQs this weekend at some point. This is the 'official' beginning of summer as schools will be ending this week or next (for most schools) and all of our public swimming pools will open this weekend. So many kids will be splashing around and doing belly flops and cannonballs. It's also a big camping weekend. There will be local parades and events to honor all of our vets as well. Many families will frequent Home Depot or Lowes in order to get their landscaping fixed up for the summer. Float trips are also a big hit on this weekend...lazing around in a canoe as the river takes you miles downstream (except for those party bums who bring loads of 12-packs) is just a great way to beat the heat.
St. Louis events:
*May 21 - June 15, Shakespeare Festival
*May 23 - 26, Rib America Festival
*May 24, Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing Celebration
*May 24, Memorial Day Ceremony
*May 26, First Annual Southside Rib Cookoff and Barbeque
*May 26, 36th Annual Gypsy Caravan
Gypsy Caravan?? Annual?? Hmmm...
This weekend, as with most of our Spring weather this year, is surprising us. The high is forecast to be 77F tomorrow and 87F Sunday and Monday. Not too shabby. I would prefer something in the 60's myself but it could be a lot worse.
This weekend, we have a birthday party for our niece. Hubby has been busy as a beaver since last weekend working on totally disassembling our master bath shower and re-caulking everything. Apparently the people who built it didn't do a great job and that's why it's been a nightmare for me to clean...and combined with recent leakage around the seals, he decided to pretty much start from scratch. I only wish I'd taken pictures for you. So he's close to being done now but he'll finish that project up this weekend, if not before. Grammy's coming over for BBQ on Monday afternoon and I'm sure Hubby has mowing on his list of weekend to-do's, as well as some landscaping.
And who knows? Maybe I'll even get to catch the new Indiana Jones flick.
However you spend it, I hope you have a great weekend!
But here in the States, it's Memorial Day weekend. Most people have Monday off in observance of the holiday to remember those Americans who have died in military service for our country.
What sticks out in my mind the most about this holiday in the past is that it's miserably hot. Growing up, it seemed that our family tradition was a pork steak BBQ followed by a good blockbuster movie in a cold theater...and maybe some ice cream too. I never could understand the people who went camping in weather so incredibly hot and sticky (of course, I naturally prefer cold weather to hot). I definitely preferred the cold dark movie theater. I have fond memories of spending Memorial Day weekend entranced with Star Wars episodes, Deep Impact, The Mummy, Twister, Spider-Man, Back Draft, Indiana Jones movies...in fact, many Lucas & Spielberg films. Some were obviously better than others but I have very fond memories of them.
Many church services remember our veterans in some way on Sunday morning services. Many families have BBQs this weekend at some point. This is the 'official' beginning of summer as schools will be ending this week or next (for most schools) and all of our public swimming pools will open this weekend. So many kids will be splashing around and doing belly flops and cannonballs. It's also a big camping weekend. There will be local parades and events to honor all of our vets as well. Many families will frequent Home Depot or Lowes in order to get their landscaping fixed up for the summer. Float trips are also a big hit on this weekend...lazing around in a canoe as the river takes you miles downstream (except for those party bums who bring loads of 12-packs) is just a great way to beat the heat.
St. Louis events:
*May 21 - June 15, Shakespeare Festival
*May 23 - 26, Rib America Festival
*May 24, Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing Celebration
*May 24, Memorial Day Ceremony
*May 26, First Annual Southside Rib Cookoff and Barbeque
*May 26, 36th Annual Gypsy Caravan
Gypsy Caravan?? Annual?? Hmmm...
This weekend, as with most of our Spring weather this year, is surprising us. The high is forecast to be 77F tomorrow and 87F Sunday and Monday. Not too shabby. I would prefer something in the 60's myself but it could be a lot worse.
This weekend, we have a birthday party for our niece. Hubby has been busy as a beaver since last weekend working on totally disassembling our master bath shower and re-caulking everything. Apparently the people who built it didn't do a great job and that's why it's been a nightmare for me to clean...and combined with recent leakage around the seals, he decided to pretty much start from scratch. I only wish I'd taken pictures for you. So he's close to being done now but he'll finish that project up this weekend, if not before. Grammy's coming over for BBQ on Monday afternoon and I'm sure Hubby has mowing on his list of weekend to-do's, as well as some landscaping.
And who knows? Maybe I'll even get to catch the new Indiana Jones flick.
However you spend it, I hope you have a great weekend!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
I'm late...
but I need to start doing this so I'm just going to jump in today.
This week's menu is quite unusual for me but I've been feeling pretty non-imaginative since I'm still getting over being sick. I bought a lot of convenience meals for Grammy last weekend so she'd have it easy watching the kids and she didn't end up using them. So since I'm not feeling great, we're using them up. I typically do NOT use this much pre-packaged stuff, though it's been a nice break to have an easy week.
Monday - Pizza Night (made our own with store-bought crusts)
Tuesday - Breakfast for Dinner! Pancakes, eggs/egg beaters, turkey bacon, oranges
Wednesday - Rachel Ray's Quick Creamy Tomato Soup & Soup Toppers, fruit variety
Thursday - Tuna Helper (I have a MOPS meeting & dinner so this is fast for me to cook before hand), corn, tomatoes, waldorf salad
Friday - Chicken and Carrots and Onions (below), applesauce, edamame, pudding
On weekends, we usually do leftover buffets and occasionally eat out so I don't typically *plan* meals for the weekends. But there's always something around here I could throw together pretty quick if needed.
Chicken and Carrots and Onions
This recipe was one of *the* favorite meals of my family when we were growing up. I didn't learn to appreciate it until I was old enough to start eating onions. ;) Basically you make fried chicken. Towards the end, you add sliced carrots and onions to the pan and let them get nice and golden (or darker) brown. During the last minute of cooking, you add a little water to the lid and dump that in the pan and cover and let it all steam (to soften the carrots a bit). It doesn't sound like much but it's the epitome of comfort food to me now. ;)
This week's menu is quite unusual for me but I've been feeling pretty non-imaginative since I'm still getting over being sick. I bought a lot of convenience meals for Grammy last weekend so she'd have it easy watching the kids and she didn't end up using them. So since I'm not feeling great, we're using them up. I typically do NOT use this much pre-packaged stuff, though it's been a nice break to have an easy week.
Monday - Pizza Night (made our own with store-bought crusts)
Tuesday - Breakfast for Dinner! Pancakes, eggs/egg beaters, turkey bacon, oranges
Wednesday - Rachel Ray's Quick Creamy Tomato Soup & Soup Toppers, fruit variety
Thursday - Tuna Helper (I have a MOPS meeting & dinner so this is fast for me to cook before hand), corn, tomatoes, waldorf salad
Friday - Chicken and Carrots and Onions (below), applesauce, edamame, pudding
On weekends, we usually do leftover buffets and occasionally eat out so I don't typically *plan* meals for the weekends. But there's always something around here I could throw together pretty quick if needed.
Chicken and Carrots and Onions
This recipe was one of *the* favorite meals of my family when we were growing up. I didn't learn to appreciate it until I was old enough to start eating onions. ;) Basically you make fried chicken. Towards the end, you add sliced carrots and onions to the pan and let them get nice and golden (or darker) brown. During the last minute of cooking, you add a little water to the lid and dump that in the pan and cover and let it all steam (to soften the carrots a bit). It doesn't sound like much but it's the epitome of comfort food to me now. ;)
Monday, May 19, 2008
Rain, reading and...laptops?
Our cold is *still* hanging around. Lovely. Mine went into sinusitis with a cough that has left my lungs and stomach sore and tired....let's not even start on the whole trying-to-sleep-with-this-cough rant. Let's just say that we're all sick so I haven't felt like blogging or doing much of anything for that matter.
But I'll give a quick run-down of news worthy items for you.
1. I ordered my new laptop last night!!!!! After much much MUCH deliberation, I went with a Thinkpad T61P, for those of you who are interested. I was debating between that and several others for a few weeks when I came up with a good idea. I have been itching to play Oblivion since it came out 2 years ago and I wasn't sure if I'd like the glossy but high-color screens that are so popular today or if I wanted the matte non-glare but not so high-color screens that Lenovo has. So dear sweet Hubby bought Oblivion for me to try on his Thinkpad. I was hooked. I just LOVE LOVE LOVE the mouse nubbie on Lenovo's laptops and the screen was bright enough to satisfy me. I think, in the long run, the glare on the glossy screens would have driven me to so something really evil. ;) I'm not a heavy gamer at all but I did absolutely love Morrowind and I'm excited to play its successor. It's Hubby's fault. We spent our very first New Year as a married couple haunched over our Windows 95 playing Myst. My brothers liked Traveler and D&D but it was Hubby who finally hooked me on games.
2. Rose is READING!! And I'm not talking about 3 letter words. She's reading words like "everyone" and "prancing". She's reading VERY well. When did this happen? I'm not sure. As unschoolers, you know I don't have a set curriculum. So how do the kids learn? I answer questions. Hubby reads to them...a lot. She plays with Starfall.com when she feels like it. She has a few toy/gadgets that talk about word sounds. When she has asked me in the past what a word is, I will sound out the letters slowly as I say "ssss tt arrrr tt". She has been working on writing so much lately. She writes very phonetically but she's doing it and correct spelling will come with more reading. I'm already seeing a vast improvement in her spelling. We're all so very proud of her and it's so great to see her self confidence grow!
3. Matthew has been a little unsure of what to do with himself lately. I see him wandering around seemingly bored quite a lot these last few weeks. It was never a statement of "I'm bored" but just his demeanor that told me. I think a lot of it has to do with the constant rain we've had this season. He's always anxious to ride his bike but the allergies have been bad and within an hour, he's inside practically crying over incredibly itchy eyes. I understand that! So yesterday I talked to him about his seeming out of sorts and he agreed with me. I asked him if there was something he'd like to focus on studying about. Being mostly a science guy in the past, he surprised me with answering (after a minute of thought), "Presidents". Immediately my stomach started churning while I thought of boring dry 'history' but I kept my game face on. "Would you like to start with the first one and work your way forward or start with the current one or someone else?" He said he'd like to start in the front and work his way chronologically. OK. Guess I need to head to the library...see what I can find online. Wonder where I can get Schoolhouse Rocks episodes? :) So that you can get a picture of how they learn without curriculum, I'll try to remember to blog the details.
4. Jade is loving the new room arrangement. Sleeping with her sister and being a 'big girl' is definitely a new high for her. But it's hard to tell with her...she's always been a very happy person. Even as a baby, she was always all smiles. If she wasn't crying (for a very good reason), she was smiling. It's still very much the same way with her. Even though she's in the "terrible threes", it's barely noticeable due to her overwhelming always-sunny disposition.
5. Linnae is not such a happy baby. At almost 14 months, she is still the baby of the family and waits for everyone else to do things for her. She wants to stand up but decides to cry and hope that someone else decides to come over and stand her up instead. If you stand her up, she's as happy as a clam for a while...until she wants to sit down again and then proceeds to cry until someone puts her down or she gives up and falls. It's hard being the baby (I know because I was one too).
I should have some pictures up soon and I hope to catch Rose reading on video so I can post that too!
But I'll give a quick run-down of news worthy items for you.
1. I ordered my new laptop last night!!!!! After much much MUCH deliberation, I went with a Thinkpad T61P, for those of you who are interested. I was debating between that and several others for a few weeks when I came up with a good idea. I have been itching to play Oblivion since it came out 2 years ago and I wasn't sure if I'd like the glossy but high-color screens that are so popular today or if I wanted the matte non-glare but not so high-color screens that Lenovo has. So dear sweet Hubby bought Oblivion for me to try on his Thinkpad. I was hooked. I just LOVE LOVE LOVE the mouse nubbie on Lenovo's laptops and the screen was bright enough to satisfy me. I think, in the long run, the glare on the glossy screens would have driven me to so something really evil. ;) I'm not a heavy gamer at all but I did absolutely love Morrowind and I'm excited to play its successor. It's Hubby's fault. We spent our very first New Year as a married couple haunched over our Windows 95 playing Myst. My brothers liked Traveler and D&D but it was Hubby who finally hooked me on games.
2. Rose is READING!! And I'm not talking about 3 letter words. She's reading words like "everyone" and "prancing". She's reading VERY well. When did this happen? I'm not sure. As unschoolers, you know I don't have a set curriculum. So how do the kids learn? I answer questions. Hubby reads to them...a lot. She plays with Starfall.com when she feels like it. She has a few toy/gadgets that talk about word sounds. When she has asked me in the past what a word is, I will sound out the letters slowly as I say "ssss tt arrrr tt". She has been working on writing so much lately. She writes very phonetically but she's doing it and correct spelling will come with more reading. I'm already seeing a vast improvement in her spelling. We're all so very proud of her and it's so great to see her self confidence grow!
3. Matthew has been a little unsure of what to do with himself lately. I see him wandering around seemingly bored quite a lot these last few weeks. It was never a statement of "I'm bored" but just his demeanor that told me. I think a lot of it has to do with the constant rain we've had this season. He's always anxious to ride his bike but the allergies have been bad and within an hour, he's inside practically crying over incredibly itchy eyes. I understand that! So yesterday I talked to him about his seeming out of sorts and he agreed with me. I asked him if there was something he'd like to focus on studying about. Being mostly a science guy in the past, he surprised me with answering (after a minute of thought), "Presidents". Immediately my stomach started churning while I thought of boring dry 'history' but I kept my game face on. "Would you like to start with the first one and work your way forward or start with the current one or someone else?" He said he'd like to start in the front and work his way chronologically. OK. Guess I need to head to the library...see what I can find online. Wonder where I can get Schoolhouse Rocks episodes? :) So that you can get a picture of how they learn without curriculum, I'll try to remember to blog the details.
4. Jade is loving the new room arrangement. Sleeping with her sister and being a 'big girl' is definitely a new high for her. But it's hard to tell with her...she's always been a very happy person. Even as a baby, she was always all smiles. If she wasn't crying (for a very good reason), she was smiling. It's still very much the same way with her. Even though she's in the "terrible threes", it's barely noticeable due to her overwhelming always-sunny disposition.
5. Linnae is not such a happy baby. At almost 14 months, she is still the baby of the family and waits for everyone else to do things for her. She wants to stand up but decides to cry and hope that someone else decides to come over and stand her up instead. If you stand her up, she's as happy as a clam for a while...until she wants to sit down again and then proceeds to cry until someone puts her down or she gives up and falls. It's hard being the baby (I know because I was one too).
I should have some pictures up soon and I hope to catch Rose reading on video so I can post that too!
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Road Trip!
We've all been sick with a nasty cold this week. And it started last weekend with a combination of allergies from us being out and enjoying the dry yet cool weather. So we've not had a lot of energy and there hasn't been too much to blog about.
But we have big plans for this weekend. Hubby's grandmother is getting a great Mother's Day surprise! Hubby, Linnae and I are going to surprise her with a visit. Other members of our extended family are also traveling up there to surprise her and I think it'll be a great weekend. But it's a very long trip. About 10 hours or more each way, when all is said and done. And forcing my older 3 to sit in a car all day, then spend a day visiting family and "being quiet", only to ask them to sit in a car all day the following day...well, that seems almost inhumane to me. Nana has met the other three and they'll be much happier at home with Grammy watching them for me. Nana hasn't met Linnae...plus she's the hardest to care for because of her young age so we'll be taking her with us. She travels well and will probably sleep most of the weekend away. Send prayers for a safe trip and extra stamina for Grammy. ;)
I'm sure we'll have some exciting stories to share on Monday. Until then, have a great weekend yourself!
But we have big plans for this weekend. Hubby's grandmother is getting a great Mother's Day surprise! Hubby, Linnae and I are going to surprise her with a visit. Other members of our extended family are also traveling up there to surprise her and I think it'll be a great weekend. But it's a very long trip. About 10 hours or more each way, when all is said and done. And forcing my older 3 to sit in a car all day, then spend a day visiting family and "being quiet", only to ask them to sit in a car all day the following day...well, that seems almost inhumane to me. Nana has met the other three and they'll be much happier at home with Grammy watching them for me. Nana hasn't met Linnae...plus she's the hardest to care for because of her young age so we'll be taking her with us. She travels well and will probably sleep most of the weekend away. Send prayers for a safe trip and extra stamina for Grammy. ;)
I'm sure we'll have some exciting stories to share on Monday. Until then, have a great weekend yourself!
Friday, May 02, 2008
Tag...you're it!
OK, here's the deal...you plug in your answers to the questions in Google Images and then choose a picture, since a picture does speak a thousand words. ;)
1. Your age at your next birthday:
2. Place I would like to travel:
3. Favorite Place: (Mt. Zion Nat'l Park in Utah, where we honeymooned)
4. Favorite Object:
5. Favorite Food:
and
6. Favorite Animal:
7. My Nickname:
8. State I was born in:
9. Bad Habit I have:
10. Favorite color:
Consider yourself tagged. :)
1. Your age at your next birthday:
2. Place I would like to travel:
3. Favorite Place: (Mt. Zion Nat'l Park in Utah, where we honeymooned)
4. Favorite Object:
5. Favorite Food:
and
6. Favorite Animal:
7. My Nickname:
8. State I was born in:
9. Bad Habit I have:
10. Favorite color:
Consider yourself tagged. :)
Thursday, May 01, 2008
What we really did for Earth Day
So nobody commented on our Earth Day excursions. In reality, maybe I was pmsing a bit when I wrote that. ;) But we did actually have the exterminator out that day to spray for ants outside. I have never had a bug guy out to my house. You might say that even though the gov't says it's safe, I'm a skeptic and I'd rather not have all that stuff around the house. However...
Every spring, we get ants in here for a few weeks while it's quite wet in March/April. This year has been flood city. We're just drowning here in the midwest. It makes me sad that we can't send it all out to my brother in CA, whose favorite hiking grounds have gone up in flames this week. I'm not sure of the source of this photo or I'd leave a link but I think pictures really do speak 1,000 words or more.
Anyway, so we're flooded out here...and apparently so are the ants. They've come to my home for refuge (I mean, come on...I have 4 kids under the age of 8. I obviously have lots of cheerios and crumbs all over my floors! It's ant heaven!). I was willing to work with them for a while and then they just took over in a major way. Usually when it starts drying out each spring, they leave. But not this year. So we called Ant Man. Bless his soul, they were gone almost immediately...I certainly didn't expect THAT quick of a response. But I'm glad. I have one trail left open and I put down some Terro stuff and they are soooo happy to have it. [evil mode] All my little worker monkeys are doing my bidding...and they will have very bad tummy aches tonight! mwahhhaaaaahaaaahaaaaaa... [end evil mode] But even doing such evil things to the little pests, we did learn a lot about ants. Ant Man told us many interesting things about them. Did you know that when they sense a sick ant, they will grab him and drag him away from the colony to die alone? It sounds cruel but it makes sense. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" I suppose it's similar in thought to leper colonies of ancient times. But, true to form, a couple days after Ant Man came, we did find our driveway lined with piles of dead ants.
However, we did do our part for Mother Earth as well on Earth Day. Hubby and the kids did a lot of dividing and transplanting our larger plants outside. They moved a lot of plants to the front garden to weed out the back. And on our trip to the Botanical Gardens last week, I did get some herbs to grow and potted those as well. So all in all, maybe we evened out?? ;)
This afternoon, we're headed to a super big annual used book fair. MECCA for homeschoolers!! :) I guess tomorrow's post will be about our finds. :)
Every spring, we get ants in here for a few weeks while it's quite wet in March/April. This year has been flood city. We're just drowning here in the midwest. It makes me sad that we can't send it all out to my brother in CA, whose favorite hiking grounds have gone up in flames this week. I'm not sure of the source of this photo or I'd leave a link but I think pictures really do speak 1,000 words or more.
Anyway, so we're flooded out here...and apparently so are the ants. They've come to my home for refuge (I mean, come on...I have 4 kids under the age of 8. I obviously have lots of cheerios and crumbs all over my floors! It's ant heaven!). I was willing to work with them for a while and then they just took over in a major way. Usually when it starts drying out each spring, they leave. But not this year. So we called Ant Man. Bless his soul, they were gone almost immediately...I certainly didn't expect THAT quick of a response. But I'm glad. I have one trail left open and I put down some Terro stuff and they are soooo happy to have it. [evil mode] All my little worker monkeys are doing my bidding...and they will have very bad tummy aches tonight! mwahhhaaaaahaaaahaaaaaa... [end evil mode] But even doing such evil things to the little pests, we did learn a lot about ants. Ant Man told us many interesting things about them. Did you know that when they sense a sick ant, they will grab him and drag him away from the colony to die alone? It sounds cruel but it makes sense. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" I suppose it's similar in thought to leper colonies of ancient times. But, true to form, a couple days after Ant Man came, we did find our driveway lined with piles of dead ants.
However, we did do our part for Mother Earth as well on Earth Day. Hubby and the kids did a lot of dividing and transplanting our larger plants outside. They moved a lot of plants to the front garden to weed out the back. And on our trip to the Botanical Gardens last week, I did get some herbs to grow and potted those as well. So all in all, maybe we evened out?? ;)
This afternoon, we're headed to a super big annual used book fair. MECCA for homeschoolers!! :) I guess tomorrow's post will be about our finds. :)
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Life Lessons via Looney Tunes??
Along our learning life pathways, we meet many many resources to learn from. Strangers, teachers, friends, relatives, pets, cartoons. Cartoons you ask? Yes even cartoons. I think I touched on this a few days ago but where was your first experience with classical music? The Bugs Bunny Show, I'd wager. I bet you can all hum that tune they played in the episode where Bugs is massaging Elmer Fudd's head. Admit it - even now it's in your head. ;)
Someone blogged a few days ago about how downhill Sesame Street has gone since its hayday back in the 70's. If you don't have young kids now (or haven't watched it since you were a kid), turn it on today. It's jibberish...twaddle...yuck. Nothing like the wonderful things I was taught there. I learned my letters and phonics and numbers and counting of course. But I also learned about people who were different than me. I learned some Spanish and sign language. I saw my first physically and mentally disabled people there...and learned that they were pretty much just like me but had some different obstacles to overcome than I did. I saw real friendships like Bert and Ernie and Snuffy and Big Bird. They hurt each others feelings and said things they shouldn't and then they forgave each other and had a better relationship for it. *Those* were real friends. ;)
Now, Sesame Street has gotten too politically correct. Did you know Cookie Monster doesn't even eat cookies anymore?? Sad but true... Cookie Monster Crumbles To A Healthy Diet.
And don't forget Looney Tunes! Yep, Looney Tunes.
"Everything I Learned, I did not Learn in Kindergarten...I learned from the Looney Tunes" by JustJen. A *great* list there!!
So keep your eyes peeled...you never know WHERE you'll be learning from next. ;)
Someone blogged a few days ago about how downhill Sesame Street has gone since its hayday back in the 70's. If you don't have young kids now (or haven't watched it since you were a kid), turn it on today. It's jibberish...twaddle...yuck. Nothing like the wonderful things I was taught there. I learned my letters and phonics and numbers and counting of course. But I also learned about people who were different than me. I learned some Spanish and sign language. I saw my first physically and mentally disabled people there...and learned that they were pretty much just like me but had some different obstacles to overcome than I did. I saw real friendships like Bert and Ernie and Snuffy and Big Bird. They hurt each others feelings and said things they shouldn't and then they forgave each other and had a better relationship for it. *Those* were real friends. ;)
Now, Sesame Street has gotten too politically correct. Did you know Cookie Monster doesn't even eat cookies anymore?? Sad but true... Cookie Monster Crumbles To A Healthy Diet.
And don't forget Looney Tunes! Yep, Looney Tunes.
"Everything I Learned, I did not Learn in Kindergarten...I learned from the Looney Tunes" by JustJen. A *great* list there!!
So keep your eyes peeled...you never know WHERE you'll be learning from next. ;)
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Manners and Cache
Would somebody, ANYBODY, explain to me why people don't say, "excuse me" to my kids when they're standing in the middle of the aisle? Instead, the offended party stands there silent with her cart, waiting for me to notice her. When I finally do notice her, she gives me one of those smiles that says, "I'm smiling but on the inside I'm thinking I want to yell at your kids to MOVE IT". This happens ALL THE TIME. It frustrates me to no end. I want to look at the adult and say in a condescending voice, "Say, 'excuse me please' and they'll move". But I don't. I'm not the kind of person who can say that but boy do I WANT to. It happened to us three times in Walmart today and we were literally in there for less than 10 minutes. Do they not see the holes on either side of my kids heads and realize that they must be EARS? Arrrrgh. OK...guess that's a pet peeve of mine. ;) Do me a favor, ok? Next time you're in the store and someone's kids are in your way, PLEASE look the kids in the eyes and say, "Excuse me, hun". Just for me. Try it. Maybe we'll start something where kids are treated like they have ears and brains. :)
Onto other things...
The kidlets and I went on our first geocache today! It was based on Harry Potter and since Matthew is reading through the series, it was a really great one for our group. We were supposed to meet a friend today but he got sick and since the kids were disappointed, we decided to do this instead. So I plugged in the coordinates into my new spiffy GPS and we found our way there. Its location was in a local park that we know fairly well and it was pretty easy to find.
"Which direction now, Mom?"
Harry Potter Cache
You've heard of the game show Cash Cab, right? Well here are the CacheKids inspecting their treasure.
In most caches you'll find a logbook where you sign your name and date and leave comments. Then in the container you'll find all sorts of odds and ends. You take a treasure and leave one in return for the next person. There were Happy Meal toys, small stuffed animals, stickers, toy cars, etc. My kids picked out a spider ring (Matthew), a princess tiara (Rose) and a die (as in the singular form of the word dice) (Jade). We left two magic rings and a key chain that Hubby brought back from Vegas that had "Treasure Hunters" printed on it. I thought it was especially appropriate. I guess I'll have to start a box for keeping trinkets specifically for geocaching.
Though it was ccccccold (Jade's complaint) and muddy (Rose's complaint) and in the woods with bugs (Matthew's complaint) and I worried about copperheads the whole time (my complaint), we did have fun...and Linnae didn't complain once...not even when I was carrying her and my big camera and my GPS and cell phone and car keys (not that I'm complaining but it will be much easier when she starts walking!). But in spite of our minor complaints, we did have fun and are looking forward to the next hunt.
Onto other things...
The kidlets and I went on our first geocache today! It was based on Harry Potter and since Matthew is reading through the series, it was a really great one for our group. We were supposed to meet a friend today but he got sick and since the kids were disappointed, we decided to do this instead. So I plugged in the coordinates into my new spiffy GPS and we found our way there. Its location was in a local park that we know fairly well and it was pretty easy to find.
"Which direction now, Mom?"
Harry Potter Cache
You've heard of the game show Cash Cab, right? Well here are the CacheKids inspecting their treasure.
In most caches you'll find a logbook where you sign your name and date and leave comments. Then in the container you'll find all sorts of odds and ends. You take a treasure and leave one in return for the next person. There were Happy Meal toys, small stuffed animals, stickers, toy cars, etc. My kids picked out a spider ring (Matthew), a princess tiara (Rose) and a die (as in the singular form of the word dice) (Jade). We left two magic rings and a key chain that Hubby brought back from Vegas that had "Treasure Hunters" printed on it. I thought it was especially appropriate. I guess I'll have to start a box for keeping trinkets specifically for geocaching.
Though it was ccccccold (Jade's complaint) and muddy (Rose's complaint) and in the woods with bugs (Matthew's complaint) and I worried about copperheads the whole time (my complaint), we did have fun...and Linnae didn't complain once...not even when I was carrying her and my big camera and my GPS and cell phone and car keys (not that I'm complaining but it will be much easier when she starts walking!). But in spite of our minor complaints, we did have fun and are looking forward to the next hunt.
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