Not looking at it or even sitting down in front of it. We've had a productive couple of weeks in school but this weekend I decided to ignore the computer.
We enjoyed the beautiful cool weather. We weeded and mowed and played in the sand box. We kicked the ball around and took "wok uh woks" (Adam's term for walks). We observed lovely copper praying manti and millipeds. We had church at home and learned about Jacob's ladder. We even had pancakes (a huge, huge, huge treat in this normally gluten free house)! Oh, do I love my family. There is nothing next to Jesus, more wonderful and amazing than simply being with them!
So no more than this for a post and no comments to other bloggy friends. I'll post some of our photos another time....
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
My Oldest Turns 7!
Oh, how could it be that I've blinked my eyes and my precious, tiny, bald firstborn has blessed our lives for 7 years already! I couldn't believe it as I watched him romp and play excitedly with the friends at his party....
He arrived 4 weeks early, scaring the daylights out of me (and I'm sure dh also, although he stayed strong to keep me stronger). But thankfully, he was healthy and the most beautiful thing I had ever seen (to date, anyway)! I remember worrying that his feet were blue - they whisked him away from me over to examine him since he was early - but realized it was the leftover ink from his footprints. When they finally let me hold him (what an eternity that felt like), I couldn't take my eyes off of him!
It's always such work to coordinate a day like this. But it is so worth it when we hear him say, "That was the funnest birthday party ever Mommy!"
He arrived 4 weeks early, scaring the daylights out of me (and I'm sure dh also, although he stayed strong to keep me stronger). But thankfully, he was healthy and the most beautiful thing I had ever seen (to date, anyway)! I remember worrying that his feet were blue - they whisked him away from me over to examine him since he was early - but realized it was the leftover ink from his footprints. When they finally let me hold him (what an eternity that felt like), I couldn't take my eyes off of him!I never expected this boy to look like me since his daddy has more dominant Romanian genes. But we have found over these years that he doesn't only look just.like.me but he acts just.like.me as well! Sometimes this is wonderful for me, since I find myself understanding him better than anyone else. And other times, it frustrates me to see him making the same mistakes I have made! He often cries when something is too hard for him or can't put his thoughts into words.
He amazes me in so many ways.....
- his curiosity is insatiable - his favorite question right now is "How did it?"
- he loves to figure out how things work (Legos, rc cars, ANYTHING his daddy is doing)
- he wants everyone else to be involved in every aspect of his life - he wants to be with others
- he cannot resist the urge to tell others the 'right' way to do things (much to Reagan's dismay!)
- he loves to help others - "Look Mommy, I loaded the laundry for you!" (nevermind that he didn't notice the diaper that somehow got in the basket!)
- he loves, loves, loves to read
- his energy is non-stop - so typical boy
- he is always hungry - I am so thankful that he is not a picky eater
- he LOVES babies
- he is sensitive and caring
- he is growing too, too, too fast!
We took him to a gymnastics gym for his party. He and his friends had so much fun running/jumping/bouncing around (even though he was running a fever when we got there) that we barely made it home with him awake. He wanted a Transformers theme - although he's never seen the movie or the cartoon. So, although I told myself I wouldn't, I made him an Autobot cake myself (after he saw this one and had to have it). Strangely enough, he received a tons of LEGO sets (perfect!) but not a single transformer! He was so excited to share this fun with his friends and he was so thankful for the gifts he received!
Dh and I let him open our gift earlier - an RC truck. I love that he's getting old enough for big boy toys that he can use with his daddy! He'll use this every time they go to the air field (dh flies model airplanes). We also got him a gift card to B&N - I was glad that he enjoyed choosing the books on his own and doing the math to figure out which ones he could afford with it. I was also pleased with his choices!
It's always such work to coordinate a day like this. But it is so worth it when we hear him say, "That was the funnest birthday party ever Mommy!"Now if I could just figure out how to keep him from continuing to grow up....
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Introducing.... a new bloggy friend!
I'm excited to welcome to the bloggy world a good friend and neighbor of mine!
We met online through No Greater Joy ministries and found out that we have many similar interests in addition to child-training. She and her dh have 5 wonderful kids (3 of them delivered at home) and she does an amazing job in her role as helpmeet and mother! I look to her as she plans and cooks whole, nutritious meals (full of raw milk, coconut oil, fermented foods, whole grains, homegrown veggies and other Nourishing Traditions types food). She is also a wonderful encourager to me as she works one year ahead of me in homeschooling 3 of her oldest children. She does not let fear keep her from letting her children learn and grow - she let's her boys try to be men and her girl to keep up with the boys while still being a lady. I love how laid back she is and how her love for her family literally shines from within her! I can tell that this is because she loves the Lord first and teaches her children by example.She is a woman of good repute and godly character and I have been glad to get to know her over these few years. I know that our meeting was not by chance but a part of God's work! I hope that those who know me will join me in welcoming her to our fun and encouraging bloggin' network (only, that is, if you can get past the HUGE yellow dog at the front door! ;-0)!
Monday, September 8, 2008
Week 5 (T1) 2008
This was a tough one just due to my own lack of motivation. Don't really know why, but I didn't have the perseverance that I needed to push through this week's busyness and get school done as well. Don't get me wrong - we got a lot done. But I just don't feel like the week was complete.
First, Labor Day was a wash. I hadn't planned anything for this day but can't quite figure out how to tell my hs software that. So it thinks we just didn't get the lessons for Monday in! I'll have to find out how to adjust that since we will be adjusting things in the future as well. We read a little in the am and went to a great picnic in the afternoon. It was hosted by old friends. We thought is strange as we left as we realized that we feel soooo much more comfortable with the family of this friend (she has a large, large family who were all there) than we do amongst our own church family. Hmmm...
Tuesday was completely nuts! We were all dead-tired from the late picnic and slept in an hour. The cleaning lady woke me up and I spent the next hour just picking up (so SHE could clean up - you know how that goes! LOL!) and trying to get the kids awake and fed before the speech therapist arrived for Adam. By the time they both left, I had to get lunch ready and no one had gotten ANY lessons done! I think I managed to teach Jefferson grammar, math, and spelling and Reagan got her phonics lesson. Reading didn't happen since I had so many errands to run in prep for Jefferson's party.
Wednesday worked but only slowly. We did manage to get some very good reading time in for history and plan the mosaic that they were suppose to do on Friday. Jefferson is finished with his CCC phonics lessons and I have forgotten to order the next book! So we'll just skip that for a couple weeks, I guess. He's good at it, but I can tell that it's not his favorite. I think that we'll take the extra time (*hahahahehehe* Did I just say extra time? As if!) to start a few minutes of cursive practice each day since our Veritas Bible Primer Book 1 has arrived. I think that Reagan's math lesson got skipped! I had much food planning to do to get ready for our first day of homeschool co-op on Thursday.
Thursday was as tiring as I knew it would be with the co-op. It runs from 10:30am til 2:30 and I have to have everyone's lunches ready the night before if I'm going to get any lessons done in the morning. Even so, I was already tired (thanks to Sarah Palin's late speech Wednesday night) and we barely got out the door with all our stuff. Jefferson finished SWB. Reagan did get her phonics lesson this morning - we are working on short i and more penmanship. I know that she can blend and even sound out short words but need to continue emphasizing these basics for a while longer. Co-op was lots of fun for the kids and even I was as tired out by it as I can get. I will be assisting the teacher in the nursery/pre-k/K room, so I'll be with 3 of my 4 kids.
Friday I tried to get through the lessons that were planned but small details related to Jefferson's birthday kept getting in the way and I finally gave up. I was also very cranky. :-/ I think that days like these are why I have planned to school year round - I don't want to start yelling at the kids just because it HAS to get done. So we didn't - the mosaic will wait until next week. Jefferson played with his Legos (gift from his Nana), we read a bit and I worked on food lists/prep for the party. I also had the kids help me with some extra chores since we weren't doing lessons. The head cold that started Wedns for me is finally getting better....maybe that's what pulled me down this week?
Next week will be a better week I hope. I do feel like we are in a groove and I know that a break is coming soon. I can't actually believe that we have been at this for 5 weeks already - it's feels normal again! We will be skipping Tuesday so that Jefferson can go with dh to hear McCain/Palin speak at F&M University. Dave bought him a McCain booklet to give him some more info and we will be learning more about other presidents over the next couple of months. We just want him to have an awareness of this part of our country's democratic process as it happens!
First, Labor Day was a wash. I hadn't planned anything for this day but can't quite figure out how to tell my hs software that. So it thinks we just didn't get the lessons for Monday in! I'll have to find out how to adjust that since we will be adjusting things in the future as well. We read a little in the am and went to a great picnic in the afternoon. It was hosted by old friends. We thought is strange as we left as we realized that we feel soooo much more comfortable with the family of this friend (she has a large, large family who were all there) than we do amongst our own church family. Hmmm...
Tuesday was completely nuts! We were all dead-tired from the late picnic and slept in an hour. The cleaning lady woke me up and I spent the next hour just picking up (so SHE could clean up - you know how that goes! LOL!) and trying to get the kids awake and fed before the speech therapist arrived for Adam. By the time they both left, I had to get lunch ready and no one had gotten ANY lessons done! I think I managed to teach Jefferson grammar, math, and spelling and Reagan got her phonics lesson. Reading didn't happen since I had so many errands to run in prep for Jefferson's party.
Wednesday worked but only slowly. We did manage to get some very good reading time in for history and plan the mosaic that they were suppose to do on Friday. Jefferson is finished with his CCC phonics lessons and I have forgotten to order the next book! So we'll just skip that for a couple weeks, I guess. He's good at it, but I can tell that it's not his favorite. I think that we'll take the extra time (*hahahahehehe* Did I just say extra time? As if!) to start a few minutes of cursive practice each day since our Veritas Bible Primer Book 1 has arrived. I think that Reagan's math lesson got skipped! I had much food planning to do to get ready for our first day of homeschool co-op on Thursday.
Thursday was as tiring as I knew it would be with the co-op. It runs from 10:30am til 2:30 and I have to have everyone's lunches ready the night before if I'm going to get any lessons done in the morning. Even so, I was already tired (thanks to Sarah Palin's late speech Wednesday night) and we barely got out the door with all our stuff. Jefferson finished SWB. Reagan did get her phonics lesson this morning - we are working on short i and more penmanship. I know that she can blend and even sound out short words but need to continue emphasizing these basics for a while longer. Co-op was lots of fun for the kids and even I was as tired out by it as I can get. I will be assisting the teacher in the nursery/pre-k/K room, so I'll be with 3 of my 4 kids.
Friday I tried to get through the lessons that were planned but small details related to Jefferson's birthday kept getting in the way and I finally gave up. I was also very cranky. :-/ I think that days like these are why I have planned to school year round - I don't want to start yelling at the kids just because it HAS to get done. So we didn't - the mosaic will wait until next week. Jefferson played with his Legos (gift from his Nana), we read a bit and I worked on food lists/prep for the party. I also had the kids help me with some extra chores since we weren't doing lessons. The head cold that started Wedns for me is finally getting better....maybe that's what pulled me down this week?
Next week will be a better week I hope. I do feel like we are in a groove and I know that a break is coming soon. I can't actually believe that we have been at this for 5 weeks already - it's feels normal again! We will be skipping Tuesday so that Jefferson can go with dh to hear McCain/Palin speak at F&M University. Dave bought him a McCain booklet to give him some more info and we will be learning more about other presidents over the next couple of months. We just want him to have an awareness of this part of our country's democratic process as it happens!
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Adam's Favorite Song
This is the song that Adam (2.5 yo ds) asks me for first when I rock him before bed. He calls it 'Sssss 'n psssss' for "Grace and Peace." I just LOVE the music of Fernando Ortega - it is beautiful and a blessing of talent from the Lord! Check out his website for more.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
SOTW2 Copywork Printouts
I can't stand having to come up with something last minute for Jefferson to use for copywork for history. And when I do come up with something, I don't like to have to hand write it on the whiteboard or paper anyway. Who has time for that? So I've typed up and printed out his history copywork for each chapter of SOTW2 - Medieval Times. Here is the link, for anyone wanting some easy copywork printouts for this book!Now, if I could just get those Astronomy lessons dealt with....we're still putzing around with the plant lapbook!
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