Thursday Thirteen

I didn't even do this one last week, but here's today's...thirteen things I did today...

1. Got woken up by Mike when he called to say good morning.

2. Sqeezed oranges for juice (there was only enough for me) and had that with my breakfast.

3. Read Katy and the Big Snow with Jake...actually for the second half he sang the story opera-style.

4. Got Jake set up with an art project to draw houses like in the book and glue cottonballs on to represent snow.

5. Did science and history with Jonathan and Madi...science was more on the brain, nerves, and reflexes, and history was Ho Chi Minh and Viet Nam (not to the war yet).

6. Brought the kids to PE in my jammies and didn't get out of the car. (actually just before this I thought Jake was missing and had a mini panic attack until I found him at the fence talking to Daniel).

7. Came home, checked blogs and emails (I had done that earlier too) and took a shower.

8. Picked the kids up, and we all came home for lunch.

9.Talked to my mother on the phone.

10. Talked to Caryn on the phone three times (once to borrow a can of enchilada sauce...sent Jonathan to retrieve it).

11. Talked to OBM on the phone three times and made plans to go letterboxing. (and went letterboxing --and got ice cream from the ice cream truck!!)

12. Watched another Decades DVD on the 50's with Jonathan and Madi "When America was Rocked" about Rock and Roll.

13. Just before letterboxing, Mike came home briefly because he is back in town (hooray!), after letterboxing Mike was back home and he took Madi and Jake to Jake's practice while I made enchiladas (with Caryn's sauce). They should be back soon and then it'll be time to eat.

Train of thought

Sometimes I really wonder if there is something wrong with me because I often can't think of the words I'm trying to say. I rationalize that my brain is just too full, and I hope that is really all that it is. I've joked to Mike that I have "Paula Abdul syndrome" You know how she sounds (like she has no idea what she is talking about), that's how I feel I sound most of the time. Jonathan and Madi and I just studied more about the brain today and we discussed how keeping it active is good for you. We did a very fun activity that I remember from a college class on learning (it was in our science book--God's Design for the Human Body). Take 6 index cards (we used 18--6 each) and write the names of colors in different colored markers (don't use the same color as the color word). We timed each other reading the words and then timed each other again saying the color of each word. It is much easier to read the word than it is to say the color because your brain automatically reads the word (we were just talking about this very thing at the park yesterday). Ahh... the park yesterday where we found out one friend had gotten SHOT (literally) (like a Beebee in the arm) while at her daughter's soccer game, and where we learned the friend from PE who had fallen during basketball broke both of her wrists. What a day! Today, basically everyone who we had plans with called to cancel because of sickness, or broken wrists, or something. I'm tired of sickness, I'm tired of talking about it. I'm tired of the swine flu media, I'm tired...and I'm cranky! You know how sometimes you just feel so good about the human race and you love everyone and it is all so rosy? Well, this is not one of those times for me. You know how you try so hard to teach your kids to keep their commitments (like reading the bookclub book, or dressing as an athlete for sports night at AWANA), and you really try to make a point about "doing it right"...only to get to AWANA for example to find that almost no one is dressed as an athlete...even most of the teachers didn't remember it was sports night. If I were really good, however, I'd be there volunteering and I'd be one of the teachers who remembered, but I'm not really good so I'm going to just be cranky and blog about it. I could go on and on, but no one really wants to hear it (I wouldn't blame you if you haven't read up to this point), if I were a blog-post-deleter I might delete this, but I'm not so I won't.

Daybook

For today Monday April 27th.

Outside my window...the sun is just coming up.

I am thinking...about the book that I still need to finish for our Catholic bookclub--Three to Get Married by Fulton Sheen; our meeting is in a few hours.

I am thankful...that we can go to Tampa tonight and stay with Mike in a hotel, this way we didn't have to say goodbye to him this morning...he's on the road until Thursday.

From the kitchen...we had really good beef stir fry for lunch yesterday with leftover steak and vegetables. Most of the week will be "freezer cleanout".

From the learning rooms...we're going to try our darndest to sneak in some of the curriculum any way we can between two bookclub meetings, babysitting etc... This afternoon on the way to Tampa we will listen to Story of the World and probably watch some 50's DVDs...maybe Happy Days, and then more of the same tomorrow morning on the way home. Jonathan took the Teaching Textbooks pretests last week and it's looking like we're going with Algbra 1 next year...I did buy a pre Algebra work book last night for $4 for some additional practice though. Jake is doing Katy and the Big Snow for FIAR (at his request...he doesn't care that it is spring (read summer) in Florida...we're all about snow this week!!). Jonathan and Madi will discuss St Catherine Laboure at bookclub today, and Madi will discuss Out of the Dust (great book, I highly recommend it) at bookclub on Wednesday.

I created...a photo book of our schoolyear on Sanpfish yesterday (and the pillowcase is FINALLY in the mail!)

I am wearing...jammies still.

I am reading...well, I finished Breaking Dawn on Friday, then jumped right into Fulton Sheen (I'd only gotten it in the mail on Thursday)...I get to start a new book today, I'm not sure what yet.

I am hoping...to never get a speeding ticket again.

I am hearing...Jake ask me when I'll be done on the computer so he can have a turn.

Around the house... Jonathan bought "rock band" for the wii and no one can get Eye of the Tiger out of their heads!

One of my favorite things...Catholic Bookclub [today] (and Mother-Daughter bookclub [Wednesday])

I am going...to have toast and peanut butter for breakfast.

A few plans for the rest of the week...two bookclubs, hotel pool tonight, PE, Theatre, baseball, AWANA, babysitting, park, friends over, probably more stuff that I am forgetting, and lots of schoolwork in the car.

Two picture thoughts...

A Homeschooling Day in the Life

Depending on how you look at it (or who's doing the looking), you could say we had an extremely productive school day (or you could say we did no school at all).

At about 7:45 this morning I called Jonathan and Madi downstairs to watch a DVD about the Korean War (one of those Decades DVDs). During this they prepared and ate breakfast. At 9:00 we met One Blessed Mamma and kids at our Friday hiking/nature spot, Kiwi and her kids later joined us. The kids spent a little more than an hour hiking and exploring (Madi fell in the stream). Then Jonathan banged his head pretty hard on a branch and he was ready to go. We had an adventure hiking out of there as I was worried about Jonathan, Madi was still pretty wet and muddy, and Jake's legs kept getting scratched by prickers (he was sure to let me know it was my fault he wore shorts!!). Jonathan and I saw a gopher tortoise in his home on our way out (Jake and Madi took a different route and missed it).

Once at home, Jonathan took some advil and a shower and felt much better. The rest of us bathed too (you get pretty dirty there!). By that time our little buddy Baby X was getting dropped off. Madi fed him while I got lunch ready. During lunch we continued with the 50s DVD and learned all about Jonas Salk and Polio. Baby X napped for a little while during the movie. Then Jonathan and Madi took him to play outside while they took a load of laundry off the line and out another one on. Jake vacuummed up all of the crumbs and cheerios that he and Baby X had gotten on the kitchen floor. Somewhere around this time I was able to finish my book (Breaking Dawn) and check email. I found out that the deadline for the magazine "for kids by kids" was going to be extended another day or so so my kids could get to work and write articles for it. {I had known today was the deadline and we hadn't done anything about it} I'd considered having them sit this one out, but instead "encouraged them" to get cracking on articles...so Jonathan wrote one about FDR and Madi wrote one about the spring break camp (also "for kids by kids"--the same kids!).

Jake and I read How to Make and Apple Pie and See the World (our last day for that Five in a Row book--I think we did about 8 days actually). The pictures in the book are done with watercolors, so Jake did a watercolor picture of an apple tree. We brought some ocean water home from the beach the other day, and we poured some in a pie pan and set it in the sun to "evaporate the salt from the seawater".

I then brought Baby X to his Mom while Madi packed for a slumber party tonight. On my way out I yelled up the stairs for Jonathan to do some math, but never checked to see if he did or not. At this point there was just barely enough time to squeeze in one more segment of the 50s DVD...Dwight Eisenhower...then off to Theatre. After dropping them off I went to the library to check out another 50s Decades DVD, as well as some episodes of Happy Days, and some books on the 40s and 50s. Now here I am. You make the call was it a productive day of school or no school at all?

Not getting it all done

Any homeschooling mother (and probably any mother) will tell you when you're "doing well" or getting all done in one area, other areas are going to slide. If you're really rolling with school work...your house is probably a mess and vice-versa. I try so hard to keep all of the areas under control, but something always slides. I haven't done wii fit in the better part of a month (nor have I walked the kids to or from theratre), but I am almost done with a book series that must have about 2500 pages, we're hitting the school work pretty hard, the house isn't a pig stye (although when I woke up this morning it was close), we are cranking in the yard, and we've done some really fun things recently that I finally found the time to stick some pictures on here.

We had a great day at the beach (and pool) yesterday with Tiffany and her kids, my parents, and Dot and Paul. I did get a speeding ticket on the way there though. Jonathan was trying to take a picture of it all so I could document it here, but I was pretty "shook up" (ask Tiffany to sing a song about that) about it and was afraid he might haul me off to jail so told him not to. (now I kinda wish I had a picture) The ridiculous part is I didn't even think I was going fast. I wasn't in a rush...not like I'm going to be this morning trying to get Madi to her well-checkup if I don't get my butt off of here and get going.







On Monday night we met our friend Dani (Hi Dani!) and her two beautiful boys down at Downtown Disney for dinner and ice cream. It was the second Monday in a row we had gone down there to meet friends...who's next?




The zoo on Saturday was great...the highlight was feeding the giraffes!!




The "splash park"...



On the animal hospital tour the kids even got to look at Xrays of some of the animals.


In the bathroom they even had samples of animal poop.




The yard...

Daybook

For today Sunday April 19.

Outside my window...it is dark, from the back windows you can look out on our wonderful outdoor living area.

I am thinking...about all of the work we got done this weekend and the spiritual enrichment we got as well-- Mike at the Catholic men's conference on Saturday and me listening to Scott and Kimberly Hahn speak on Friday night.

I am thankful...everything Mike did to make our yard look so much better!

From the kitchen...we had burgers on the grill tonight (outside of course). I don't have an official menu for the week yet, but we've got lots of food (we SAVED $97 at Publix today!!).

From the learning rooms...I can't wait to get back to schooling tomorrow...I hope to get A LOT done because the rest of the week is full of other things (appointments, the beach etc). We got these great DVDs from the library from the History channel about DECADES we watched the 1930s on the way to Jacksonville the other day, we plan to watch the 40s tomorrw (it is overdue) and then we also have the 50s. At the Zoo on Saturday we learned a lot and even got a behind the scenes tour of the Animal Hospital, we saw Xrays and the operating rooms and everything.

I am creating...a nice outdoor living area. I still haven't made that pillowcase that I mentioned last week.

I am wearing...a Tshirt of Mike's and sleeping shorts.

I am reading...still Breaking Dawn.

I am hoping...to get a weeks worth of school work done tomorrow.

I am hearing...Jonathan and Mike talking.

Around the house...it isn't too bad considering we focused all our time on the outside.

One of my favorite things...listening to the kids play...Jake and Madi were playing "dogs" tonight (apparently they had tons of dogs...they might've been dogs themselves I'm not sure) the dogs' names were Danny, Adam, Kris, Alexis, Madelyn, Aaden, Joel, Leah, John, and Kate. {Do any of those names sound familiar?}

I am going...to bed in a minute.

A few plans for the rest of the week...almost too full to think about so I'm just going to concentrate on tomorrow since we have nothing but schoolwork (and hopefully a visit with an old friend and her boys in the evening).

A picture thought...
I'll have more zoo and yard work pictures on here eventually.

A story in pictures...

Yard work

We have frantically been doing yard work with the ultimate goal of having less lawn and more planted areas... and a new patio area. We are headed out of town for a day and a half break and the yard work will continue in full force on Sunday!! Here are some pictures of the work in progress...






These clovers have quickly become my least favorite weed. They have these seed pods and when you pick them they frantically send out hundreds of seeds. They get all over your skin and clothes.

Easter in Pictures

Miraculously when we woke up on Easter morning, the stone was rolled away and Jesus was no longer in the tomb!


Mike's mother sends down money each year to be hidden in three special big eggs for each of the kids. The eggs have their names on them...you can only find your own. This year Jake found his first, then Madi, and finally Jonathan.






In the baskets...Madi got shorts, a shirt, and underwear; Jonathan got 2 pairs of shorts and socks; Jake got two of the Disney cars he collects, jammies, and socks, and they all got some candy, glue, and pencils.




The search for chocolate eggs. Madi found 19, Jonathan found 9, and Jake found 8...what does that tell you about females and chocolate?!





We started our Garden of the Good Shepherd sticker calendar to count the 50 days of Easter...


An Easter egg hunt with friends...






Trading candy after the hunt (we have a Halloween picture of the same kids doing the same thing)...


Spring Break camp...