Yeah for Fridays!
A gal from our church has started coming to the gym in the mornings. She is in Suzy's Boot Camp and new to the whole workout routine. I shared with her that none of us want to get out of bed and come to the gym each morning but always glad we did. I thought of that this morning as I lay in bed listening to my alarm go off at the ungodly time of 4:35am. Not wanting to be a hypocrite I got up and went in the gym. She wasn't there. Darn, I could have slept in.
So far, I have lost thirteen pounds. My pants and shirt sleeves are loose and I am starting to feel really encouraged. Just thirty seven more pounds to go. sigh...
We had co-op today with our friends. We are making four dioramas of the Four Alls. The Four Alls represent the four levels of people groups during the Middle Ages. Today we worked on a diorama depicting a peasant scene. The kids got into it with clay people, dry grass for hay stacks, cardboard wagons and hovels. I am glad we did it with them.
Tonight all the kids go to the Imes for the weekend. Todd and I are attending the Awana Conference in Spokane tomorrow with a few other leaders from our church. It is a four hour trip to Spokane so we have to leave at 4am and won't get home until 8pm. It will be a long but informative day of learning and encouragement. I was kind of hoping Cheryl could take the kids right after co-op, then Todd and I could have gone off on a date maybe even seen the new movie Courageous. But she can't pick them up til 8pm.Oh well.
The days are getting shorter and the nights are getting colder. I started a fire today in the wood stove to knock the chill out of the house. It warmed up to the mid-80s this afternoon, making it a beautiful day.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Strike Three
Todd's turn to have the flu. Ugh! I am locking Bonnie and Bryce in a sterile room for the next week. This flu zaps all your strength and talk about monster headaches, even my eyeballs hurt with this one. Todd is complaining of the same effects. Today he is going back to school, but I know he would love another day home to rest. After taking care of me on Friday and then being out sick yesterday, he needs to get back to work.
Shortly, after typing this entry, Bryce began to complain about his stomach. I sent him back to bed although I am not convinced he is sick. He is moving around pretty good this afternoon; nevertheless, he has been sentenced to bed rest. (Note - Brian was just going over in language the use of semi-colons and how they are used. As I was typing this last sentence the semicolon rules were running through my head. At least I know THAT sentence is punctuated properly.)
Other stuff -
Today was not a great day. I really wanted a do over, if you know what I mean. With sickness in the house, we feel a little off balanced. We started off fine, then Bryce announced his stomach was upset and was sent a way. When it was time for Bonnie and Brian to start their work, I ran into some opposition with Brian. He just didn't want to do anything that required work. - Wake up to reality boy. - I had just got in the mail the movie Camelot for us to watch. Not the Richard Burton one but the Broadway production with Richard Harris. We had just read about King Arthur and I thought it would be fun to see. The kids were asking to watch it and I decided why not. The morning was spent watching the movie and everyone enjoyed it. After lunch, however, it was serious, get-down-to-work time. Brian finally got through working with ratios and proportions. Bonnie made a hundred percent on her Algebra test. Science today was an experiment which failed miserably. We blame it on faulty equipment. (Our thermometer would not go down in temperature when it cooled.) The real crux of our science lesson was learning how to complete a lab report. Apologia sets a high standard when it comes to lab reports. Bonnie immediately embraced the challenge while Brian about had a heart attack. The boy was just not having a good day and it won't get any better until he realizes that school takes work. We did manage to get through punctuation rules without too much fuss.
The school day is done. Thank Goodness! The battle isn't over, though. Once I can get Brian to face the challenges before him and accept them then we can shout VICTORY!
Shortly, after typing this entry, Bryce began to complain about his stomach. I sent him back to bed although I am not convinced he is sick. He is moving around pretty good this afternoon; nevertheless, he has been sentenced to bed rest. (Note - Brian was just going over in language the use of semi-colons and how they are used. As I was typing this last sentence the semicolon rules were running through my head. At least I know THAT sentence is punctuated properly.)
Other stuff -
Today was not a great day. I really wanted a do over, if you know what I mean. With sickness in the house, we feel a little off balanced. We started off fine, then Bryce announced his stomach was upset and was sent a way. When it was time for Bonnie and Brian to start their work, I ran into some opposition with Brian. He just didn't want to do anything that required work. - Wake up to reality boy. - I had just got in the mail the movie Camelot for us to watch. Not the Richard Burton one but the Broadway production with Richard Harris. We had just read about King Arthur and I thought it would be fun to see. The kids were asking to watch it and I decided why not. The morning was spent watching the movie and everyone enjoyed it. After lunch, however, it was serious, get-down-to-work time. Brian finally got through working with ratios and proportions. Bonnie made a hundred percent on her Algebra test. Science today was an experiment which failed miserably. We blame it on faulty equipment. (Our thermometer would not go down in temperature when it cooled.) The real crux of our science lesson was learning how to complete a lab report. Apologia sets a high standard when it comes to lab reports. Bonnie immediately embraced the challenge while Brian about had a heart attack. The boy was just not having a good day and it won't get any better until he realizes that school takes work. We did manage to get through punctuation rules without too much fuss.
The school day is done. Thank Goodness! The battle isn't over, though. Once I can get Brian to face the challenges before him and accept them then we can shout VICTORY!
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Stomach Bug Strikes Again
Well, the stomach bug has struck again. This time it's me. Yep, Thursday night after dinner all of a sudden I wasn't feeling too well. Bedtime I was feeling pretty queasy. After watching Brian retch his guts out for eight hours on Tuesday, I had no desire to go through all of that agony, so I willed myself NOT to throw up. All night I tossed and turned but I made it through the night without retching once. Maybe that was a good thing, maybe not, because here it is Saturday night and I am still not well. Maybe if I had given in to the nausea then I might be over this by now.
Todd took the day off Friday to stay home with the kids and monitor the kid's school work. He read to them their history reading and made sure everything got done. Of course, we had to cancel our co-op with our friends so no dioramas were made on Friday. I am afraid I don't know how to totally relax and turn the reins over to someone else, so I did manage to come down around lunch and help Bryce out with some of his work.
This weekend is Autumn Leaf Festival so the kids and I managed to walk over to see the parade. The fresh air and the little walk was good for me but I was ready for nap when it was all over. I am able to do some things today but still not up to par yet.
Hopefully I will be back up to full speed by tomorrow. It is too nice outside to be sick.
Todd took the day off Friday to stay home with the kids and monitor the kid's school work. He read to them their history reading and made sure everything got done. Of course, we had to cancel our co-op with our friends so no dioramas were made on Friday. I am afraid I don't know how to totally relax and turn the reins over to someone else, so I did manage to come down around lunch and help Bryce out with some of his work.
This weekend is Autumn Leaf Festival so the kids and I managed to walk over to see the parade. The fresh air and the little walk was good for me but I was ready for nap when it was all over. I am able to do some things today but still not up to par yet.
Hopefully I will be back up to full speed by tomorrow. It is too nice outside to be sick.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Yesterday was Brian's birthday. He is now 12 years old. Just one more year and we will have two teenagers in the house. Wow! Talk about panic attack! Am I ready to equip these two young people? Am I doing everything possible to prepare them for higher education, jobs, careers, families????
Wow...how did I get off on that tangent? Oh yeah, it was Brian's birthday. Tuesday when he was sick, Brian informed me that he did not want to have a cake. I figured by Wednesday he would be feeling better and his sweet tooth would be operating again. Sure enough, Wednesday morning Brian informed me that he wanted doughnuts to celebrate his birthday. With fifteen minutes before breakfast was to be served, we hopped in the car and ran up to Safeway to grab a dozen. Other than the doughnuts there was nothing else planned for his birthday. We ordered Brian's birthday present off e-bay but it still hasn't arrived. Brian had one thing on his list - Lego's Titanium Command Rig. The problem is that no one carries it anymore, not even the Lego store. We found a gal in North Carolina who had a new one and bought it from her but it may not show up til next week.
Today, everyone went to the dentist for their six month check up. Thankfully, we had no cavities. Although Bonnie has to have one of her sealants redone. What a blessing to hear that their teeth are fine.
So now it is time to get ready for Friday. The kids are to make a diorama of an Arabian marketplace and I have done nothing prep for it. I'll just figure it out in the morning.
Wow...how did I get off on that tangent? Oh yeah, it was Brian's birthday. Tuesday when he was sick, Brian informed me that he did not want to have a cake. I figured by Wednesday he would be feeling better and his sweet tooth would be operating again. Sure enough, Wednesday morning Brian informed me that he wanted doughnuts to celebrate his birthday. With fifteen minutes before breakfast was to be served, we hopped in the car and ran up to Safeway to grab a dozen. Other than the doughnuts there was nothing else planned for his birthday. We ordered Brian's birthday present off e-bay but it still hasn't arrived. Brian had one thing on his list - Lego's Titanium Command Rig. The problem is that no one carries it anymore, not even the Lego store. We found a gal in North Carolina who had a new one and bought it from her but it may not show up til next week.
Today, everyone went to the dentist for their six month check up. Thankfully, we had no cavities. Although Bonnie has to have one of her sealants redone. What a blessing to hear that their teeth are fine.
So now it is time to get ready for Friday. The kids are to make a diorama of an Arabian marketplace and I have done nothing prep for it. I'll just figure it out in the morning.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Why is it that when one of your kids is sick, all of a sudden you feel sick as well? Sympathetic illness?
Brian is sick. He has been in and out of the bathroom all morning long. Poor guy. I hate it when the kids are sick. Of course, wouldn't you know, during his brief moments of feeling decent, he came downstairs and grabbed his math book to work on. Yep, that's Brian. Of all of his subjects, math is the one he likes to do the most.
Bryce and I had a good science lesson today while Bonnie worked on her math and language. Once Bryce is done, Bonnie and I need to sit down with her science. She has completed her reading, listened to all the lectures, and now has to complete the study guide. Then we will work on studying for her science test.
Group work today is working on a paper about Justinian I, emporer of the Byzantine Empire and the one who had all the Roman laws written down in a usable form. Many of the laws that our judicial system uses today came from Justinian's Code of Laws.
Once school is done it will be time to head over to the garden. My tomatoes are starting to come in. Yesterday I can 3 quarts of tomatoes and 2 quarts of salsa. Hopefully our nice weather will hold out for all of my tomatoes to ripen. I have 29 plants and need lots more tomatoes. Once my tomatoes are dealt with then we need to start working on apple pies. My dear mother in law dropped off two boxes of apples yesterday so I should get a few pies out of them.
Busy day. I really hope I am just feeling sympathetic stomach turnings and not really sick.
Brian is sick. He has been in and out of the bathroom all morning long. Poor guy. I hate it when the kids are sick. Of course, wouldn't you know, during his brief moments of feeling decent, he came downstairs and grabbed his math book to work on. Yep, that's Brian. Of all of his subjects, math is the one he likes to do the most.
Bryce and I had a good science lesson today while Bonnie worked on her math and language. Once Bryce is done, Bonnie and I need to sit down with her science. She has completed her reading, listened to all the lectures, and now has to complete the study guide. Then we will work on studying for her science test.
Group work today is working on a paper about Justinian I, emporer of the Byzantine Empire and the one who had all the Roman laws written down in a usable form. Many of the laws that our judicial system uses today came from Justinian's Code of Laws.
Once school is done it will be time to head over to the garden. My tomatoes are starting to come in. Yesterday I can 3 quarts of tomatoes and 2 quarts of salsa. Hopefully our nice weather will hold out for all of my tomatoes to ripen. I have 29 plants and need lots more tomatoes. Once my tomatoes are dealt with then we need to start working on apple pies. My dear mother in law dropped off two boxes of apples yesterday so I should get a few pies out of them.
Busy day. I really hope I am just feeling sympathetic stomach turnings and not really sick.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Thoughts By the Fire
It seems so surreal, but I am sitting outside by the campfire vegging in the darkness with the netbook. Our school week is over. There are many things I need to work on over the weekend to make our next school week better. I really need to sit down and write down all the pages of history to read. We are reading from about four different books and I need to coordinate them all. One of the books centers on the history of the British Islands, Our Island Story, another centers on the history of Christianity and the church, Church History in Plain Language, then there is the book on key men during this time, Famous Men of the Middle Ages, and finally an overall look at the key events, Story of the World. They all talk about the same men and same events just from different vantage points. Yes,...I really need to coordinate it all better.
Today was test day. All three children had test in either math, language, or both. Bryce took his first test in math. I have never tested him before but have used his chapter reviews to assess how he is doing. He got an A. Brian scored Bs. In math he made two careless mistakes, that he shouldn't have made. He definitely knows what he is doing. Bonnie scored much better than I expected in Language. Language is her most challenging subject. We are a math and science family.
After lunch, we had our first co-op with another home school family from our church. We made a salt map of Medieval Europe. A salt map is a map that has been drawn out on cardboard. You then fill in the landmasses with homemade play doh. Carve in the rivers and lakes. Build up the mountain ranges. Finally, let it dry. Once dry, paint and label the map. It is a great way to do geography. While you are at it you can discuss geographic terms like isthmus, straits, peninsulas, etc. Next week we will make a diorama of an Arabian market place. The kids drew out the map from looking at a printed map and as we filled in each area we talked about what country it was, the people, and events that took place their. Our friends who joined us are not studying the same time frame as we are, but they thought it would be fun to get together and do projects with us. I would like to eventually get something bigger going and invite more families to join us. This is a good start, though.
Nothing special on tap for this weekend. Now that I think about it, tomorrow is the flea market in Cashmere. Hmmm...I really want to check that out. I will have to drag the boys with me since Todd will be speaking at a men's prayer breakfast. It's the Crush Festival in town so nothing to entice us to stay here. The Crush Festival is a wine festival. You know, it is time for the grape harvest and for you to jump barefoot into the wine press and crush the grapes. Ok...it is really a day of wine tasting. For thirty dollars you get a glass and can sample wines from about twenty different distilleries. Now that I think about it, it might be quite amusing to sit downtown and watch all the wine tasters meander around. I bet by dinner time they might have made their way through all the booths and could put on quite a show. lol
Ahh...my fire is down to embers. Time to close up shop and head in to snuggle with my honey.
Goodnight All!
Today was test day. All three children had test in either math, language, or both. Bryce took his first test in math. I have never tested him before but have used his chapter reviews to assess how he is doing. He got an A. Brian scored Bs. In math he made two careless mistakes, that he shouldn't have made. He definitely knows what he is doing. Bonnie scored much better than I expected in Language. Language is her most challenging subject. We are a math and science family.
After lunch, we had our first co-op with another home school family from our church. We made a salt map of Medieval Europe. A salt map is a map that has been drawn out on cardboard. You then fill in the landmasses with homemade play doh. Carve in the rivers and lakes. Build up the mountain ranges. Finally, let it dry. Once dry, paint and label the map. It is a great way to do geography. While you are at it you can discuss geographic terms like isthmus, straits, peninsulas, etc. Next week we will make a diorama of an Arabian market place. The kids drew out the map from looking at a printed map and as we filled in each area we talked about what country it was, the people, and events that took place their. Our friends who joined us are not studying the same time frame as we are, but they thought it would be fun to get together and do projects with us. I would like to eventually get something bigger going and invite more families to join us. This is a good start, though.
Nothing special on tap for this weekend. Now that I think about it, tomorrow is the flea market in Cashmere. Hmmm...I really want to check that out. I will have to drag the boys with me since Todd will be speaking at a men's prayer breakfast. It's the Crush Festival in town so nothing to entice us to stay here. The Crush Festival is a wine festival. You know, it is time for the grape harvest and for you to jump barefoot into the wine press and crush the grapes. Ok...it is really a day of wine tasting. For thirty dollars you get a glass and can sample wines from about twenty different distilleries. Now that I think about it, it might be quite amusing to sit downtown and watch all the wine tasters meander around. I bet by dinner time they might have made their way through all the booths and could put on quite a show. lol
Ahh...my fire is down to embers. Time to close up shop and head in to snuggle with my honey.
Goodnight All!
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