Here We Are

Week in review

2012-01-27T09:29:00.000-05:00

We are trying to get into a better routine here. Well, at least I am still *hoping* we can get into a better routine. I am being met with much resistance though from the boy. But this week we've gotten a fair amount of work done. No where near what I had hoped for, but...

Jake's doing pretty decent at getting caught up on his math. He in finally on book 3 of the Key to Geometry. He HATES Geometry. He HATES using the compass. But I wanted him to do a little bit of the work, which is why I didn't order ALL of the Geometry books and just the first 3. If the time comes and he needs or wants (HAHA) more, we can get the rest or find something else. He has no problem with the Algebra, so I shortened his work on that. Basically he just has to do half of the problems on each page. As long as he isn't struggling, we'll continue this way for now. He does make careless mistakes, but when I say "hey fix this answer" he knows exactly what he did wrong as soon as he double checks it.

He is WAY behind on Grammar and his writing. So I need to get him moving there. I know he hates the grammar as well (must be something with G's.. grammar, geometry and geography, he hates 'em all) but seriously it takes 5-10 minutes for each day.

We still haven't started our chemistry. That's my fault though. I still need a few supplies and I've been dragging my feet on getting things in order. We WILL get started on it in Feb. though, I swear! I had expected to do some simple & fun biology work this month. I ordered one of Janice VanCleave's biology books from Paperback swap earlier this month. It, of course, has not shown up yet. I have 1 more day before I can, hopefully, cancel it and order from someone else. I just wanted it to do some simple, quick experiments.

Friday Freebies

2012-01-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

I think I'll do a weekly post of things I find around the web. I've been wasting ~~way too much~~ time on Pinterest lately and finding all kinds of really cool stuff. The age range will vary and I am too lazy to organize these in any way, but I'll try to mention a general age range.

Mrs. Mitchell's Virtual School I haven't looked around this site much yet, but it seems there are links for most grades.

Life Hacker U Free, online university level courses.

Periodic Table Printables of the elements in words or pictures.

Human Body coloring pages From Crayola.

Biology coloring pages Printable pages.

Biographies and activities On a site called Teachers pay Teachers. This is a free download, you just have to make an account.

Famous Musicians Pages For notebooking.

Enjoy!!

Teen Room

2012-01-25T10:29:00.001-05:00

Lapbooking Resources

2012-01-18T15:49:00.004-05:00

I love Pinterest. I swore I would not get sucked into something else, since Facebook is such a time hog. But I said what the hell and joined anyways. I am not on there a ton, but do find some really awesome stuff.

Recently, a lot of lapbooking pins have been popping up. We've never done much along the lapbooking lines, but I wanted to share these resources anyways. So here ya go!

Lewis and Clark- - http://dynamic2moms.webs.com/lewisandclark.htm

Vikings - http://dynamic2moms.webs.com/vikings.htm

Renaissance 1400-1600 - http://dynamic2moms.webs.com/renaissance.htm

Westward Ho! - http://dynamic2moms.webs.com/westwardhooooo.htm

Ancient Civilizations - http://dynamic2moms.webs.com/ancientcivilizations.htm

American Revolution 1775-1783 - http://dynamic2moms.webs.com/americanrevolution.htm

War Between the States 1861-1865 - http://dynamic2moms.webs.com/warbetweenthestates.htm

Enjoy!

100 Things to do in 2012

2012-01-10T12:44:00.004-05:00

This took me a little longer to compile than I thought it would! But it is done, and now I can concentrate in doing as many as possible. :)

1. Blog more
2. Geocache more3. Use the crock pot more often
4. Walk more often
5. Knit & craft more often
6. Go on more field trips/day trips
7. Organize craft stuff
8. Organize kitchen cabinets
9. Learn to bake bread
10. Garden
11. Read more (by visiting my book shelves more often)
12. Visit NYC
13. Play on the big piano in FAO Schwarz
14. Get together with friends on a regular basis
15. Do the local walking tours (from newspaper a year or 2 ago)
16. Walking tour of Philly
17. Visit DC (preferably near apple blossom time)
18. Go to a stargazing event at Antietam
19. Visit the planetarium at least once
20. Go to the Baltimore Aquarium
21. Rewatch Lost :)
22. Knit Jake's Slytherin scarf
23. Facebook less
24. Do more science-y things
25. Go to the beach
26. Eat more local foods
27. Visit more local places (shops, restaurants, historical places, etc)
28. Make my recycled newspaper tree
29. Help Amanda with her craft list
30. Update home décor
31. Buy better sneakers that don't make my feet ache
32. Use my cookbooks more often
33. Use our fire pit
34. Do some non-vandalizing street art, such as http://isaacgracelily.blogspot.com/2011/03/rock-on.html
35. Have a harry Potter party
36. Lose weight (boring I know.. But whatever)
37. Go to a comedy club/show
38. See a play
39. Visit the Hager House
40. Go to the farmer's market more
41. Make a new friend
42. Take a carriage ride
43. Go to a drive-in theater
44. Send a message in a bottle
45. Release a helium-filled balloon with a message in it
46. Visit the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore
47. Go to Brookside Gardens in the Spring or Summer
48. Visit the DC Zoo
49. Go yardsaling
50. Organize photos
51. Hike up to Cunningham Falls
52. Picnic at more MD State Parks
53. Hike on the AT
54. See all the Bridges of Washington County
55. Make a late night run to Krumpe's Donuts
56. Host a Murder Mystery Party
57. Visit a winery
58. Go to maple Syrup making demo at Cunningham Falls
59. Eat Fastnachts
60. Go tubing
61. Play croquet
62. Pick strawberries
63. Watch fireworks
64. Play disc golf
65. Go on a ghost tour (no matter how lame it may be lol)
66. Find a better pizza dough recipe
67. Watch a Quidditch game
68. Learn to cook some Greek foods
69. Visit College Park Aviation Museum (use CertifiKid coupon)
70. Visit State Museum of Pennsylvania (Use Groupon coupon)
71. Take more pictures
72. Organize recipe binders
73. Have a yard sale
74. Buy a new couch
75. Celebrate Christmas in July (just for something different)
76. Wordless Wednesday (on my blog)
77. Menu plan every week
78. Some sort of community service/volunteer work (hopefully not court-ordered hehe)
79. Play a game of pinball at the arcade
80. Go to the Great Frederick Fair this year
81. Eat something deep-fried at above mentioned fair
82. Have a water balloon fight
83. See a movie in 3D (just to confirm that I do in fact hate 3D movies)
84. Buy a new board game
85. Go to a concert
86. Make candy
87. Go putt-putting
88. Get my passport
89. Watch all of John Hughes movies
90. Go on a scavenger hunt
91. Have a swap party
92. Eat at an Indian restaurant
93. Have dessert for supper
94. Grill pizza
95. Visit the Goddard Space c enter
96. Go to Dinosaur Land
97. Visit the Poe Museum and Poe's gravesite
98. Go on a train ride
99. Visit the MD Theater
100. Visit the Rural Heritage Museum

Holiday Happenings

2011-12-26T19:47:00.001-05:00

Been awhile since I've posted and I thought I'd do an update. :)We finally moved! The end of October to be exact. It was a bit rough at first... Amanda is never good about change, so we had about a week before she felt "ok" about living here. She was the one that BEGGED us to sign the lease and then once we moved she wanted to go back to the apartments. (She was like this when we moved into the apartments as well, but I thought it was because we moved from Smithsburg because we HAD to, not WANTED to.) I was very stressed about about various things and that was the icing on the cake. On the plus side of it all, I did lose 10lbs. lol School-wise things are up & down. We started off ok back in Sept. then with the move we kind of slacked off since we were packing and what-not. And since we've been moved & unpacked things haven't restarted yet. The Holidays came up quickly and we were wrapped up in that. We did manage to sneak in a field trip in Nov. We drove to Triangle VA to the Marine Corps Museum. We had a really nice day. There was a LOT to see there.

We've done a bit of baking since early Nov. Cupcakes, pie, coffee cake, and cookies. A LOT of cookies!

Jake also turned 16, so that's why the slice of pie is getting a candle stuck in it. ;)Mid-Dec we attended our homeschool groups Christmas party. We wanted to go since we really aren't "active" in the group much anymore. There aren't many older kids in the group so there just isn't anything going on for my 2. :( But anyways, we went and had a great time. The kids each got a gift from the kids' gift exchange. Jake got a recycled butter box with about 27 tiny wrapped "presents". He had to open each one to find the Gamestop gift card. We had a fun time watching Jake open them. Amanda got a cool Hello Kitty "lunch-box" with 4 Hello Kitty Pez dispensers. I had seen this at AC Moore and told the mom about it. So Amanda was happy about getting that. For the moms gift exchange, anyone participating just brings a gift. we draw numbers and go round choosing or stealing a gift. Whoever gets #1 can go again at the end to steal if they choose. I got #1 (again) this year. My first gift was a bunch of nice ornaments and scented items. It of course was stolen. My 2nd one was a really nice crochet shopping bag. It was stolen. The 3rd time I thought I was picking up some candy or something, but it was a Port City Java gift card, a really cute coin purse and a handmade Golden Snitch ornament. I LOVED it. And I warned everyone if they took it from me I would be stealing it back at the end. So of course, I kept it. :) I had made a really awesome recycled newspaper sparkling tree. I have to make one for myself yet. So hopefully will get that done this week. lol

Amanda and I also made cranberry & popcorn garland for the trees out back. I meant to get this done for the Winter Solstice, but we were a day late. Christmas has come and gone and we had a very nice one this year. Kids got a lot of cool & fun stuff. I guess they were pleased as they both dove into their games and such. lol

Here is sweet little Dwight posing...

Amanda's pile

Jake's loot

Family gifts

Now we just need to figure out what to do for New Year's Eve, besides eating Chinese Food.

Week in review

2011-09-24T10:34:00.000-04:00

Ok so this week was a little better. :) Maybe we'll get back into a routine by, oh Jan or Feb. hehe It is hard enough getting back into a routine after "taking a break for the summer" but after taking a break from sit-down-book-learning for a few years, it is REALLY hard to get back into things.

I had hoped to do some geocaching this past week, but the weather was not all that great for being outside. The temps were low but the humidity was just ridiculous! I felt miserable just going out to get the mail. Our upcoming move (no clue as to where yet, but we are staying in the same town just really need to get out of this apartment!) is looking like it will be Nov or later. We're going to have stay here at least another month. The places we've been looking at just aren't nice on the inside. And while we hate living here, moving into a new shitty place just to get out of another one isn't going to work. So the search continues!

On the school front, here's what we did:

We have everything (or will after I go shopping for the last few items this weekend) for chemistry, so Mon will start on that finally. My Home Science Tools order came in on Thursday right before I had to head out for my weekly MNO. (A bunch of us went to see The Help, great movie! We were all crying, and a group of 8 ladies crying together is quite a scene! We all looked like Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer coming out of the theater. hehe) So anyways, back to chemistry... I should have lots of fun reports next week on our experiments. We're looking forward to getting started.

Math - Jake finished book 1 of the Key to Algebra. He breezes right through most of it and actually went ahead and finished this coming weeks work as well. As for the geometry, he only did the minimal amount he had too. LOL There are 8 books in the set but we only have the first 3. Not sure if I'll have him do them all or not. I just wanted him to have a little bit of geometry, so if we do more it might be next year.

Writing - This weeks lesson was on Parts of Speech. He had to copy out the sentences and label the parts of speech. Not the boys most favorite way to spend his time. LOL But he got through it ok and didn't do too bad.

Grammar - Not much to say here, he finished up his 5 lessons for the week.

Economics - Same here, Chapter 3 read and questions answered. These chapters and questions are usually pretty short, so he gets them finished up quickly.

Art - He finished up his chapter reading, but didn't get the Artist Bio pages started. So he can either do them over the weekend, or first thing Mon.

He also finished up a "small" amount of his geography work. Why he is dragging his feet on this is beyond me. *sigh*

Another thing I wanted to note is the reason I do not mention Amanda in my posts is because she has basically "finished" homeschooling. But she isn't quite ready for taking classes at the community college yet either. So she is actually doing some things at home as well. She needs some math review so we are working on that. But she also wanted other work so she is doing the art lesson along with Jake. Plus she is doing a Shakespeare unit study and some other Language Arts "classes" (vocabulary and writing). And of course reading history books. We have to go digging through the boxes of books I've already packed up because apparently one of her fathers military dictionary type books was packed away by mistake. And she needs it out.

So that's out week. Hopefully I'll have picture to add in next week. :) Of chemistry and hopefully some nice Fall scenes.

Week in review (a few days late)

2011-09-20T15:07:00.001-04:00

Better late than never though, right?

We didn't get a lot done last week. Too much was going on (and not anything fun sadly) and I just let things slide. But some work was completed, so it could have been worse I suppose.

Chemistry is still on hold. I did a group order with some other moms so we could get free shipping from Home Science Tools. (LOVE THAT SITE!!) So the materials will be here Thursday hopefully. Chemistry will then begin next week. :) The getting out of bed thing still needs work.

Here's the list of what was done last week:

Math - He finished up most of his work for his Algebra review. Not so much for Geometry. So he has that to get caught up on this week. It really takes him less than 20 minutes to complete 10 pages. He just hates geometry, so he drags his feet on it.

Writing - He started his lesson for the week, but didn't get it all finished. So he did that all up today.

Grammar - He finished his 5 lessons for this. It really only takes him about 15-20 minutes to do a weeks worth of lessons in this book as well.

Economics - He read chapter 2 and answered the follow-up questions in the guide book.

Art - Last weeks lesson was still just doing some reading. This week we'll be adding in biography History Scribe Artist Biography pages.

He did some more geography work as well. And we didn't get around to adding in any History. Might wait until next week for that.

Week in review

2011-09-10T08:34:00.001-04:00

I'm going to try this again. :) Maybe I can at least do a weekly review throughout the year... that shouldn't be too hard right?

We had our first day "back" on Tuesday. We still need to do some work on Jake getting out of bed when I wake him. I find myself going back every 20 minutes or so and he's gone back to sleep! (But yet on a Saturday morning when he goes with his dad to the game store he either wakes up right away or wakes himself up almost 2 hours earlier than he needs to!!) So yeah, we need to work on that. But all in all, it wasn't too bad of a week. Tuesday was the hardest.

He finished most of the week I had planned, Chemistry I put on hold until next week because I needed a few other items. And I had planned to start working through the Movies as Literature book, but since we are packing to move all the DVD's are boxed up. So we'll pick that up once we get moved and unpacked.

So here is what we did accomplish this week:

Math - for the time being, I am having him work through some Key to... books. So the schedule is for 2 pages of Algebra and 2 pages of Geometry each day. He truly hates Geometry. lol But he got through it just fine and finished everything for the week on Thursday.

Writing - Since his goal is to start writing more, I had this book from last year when I was planning on working through Oak Meadow with him. But we changed our minds. I did keep the writing book to use though. It is The Least You Should Know About English: Writing Skills. I have an older copy, the 8th Edition, of Form B. Forms A, B and C are all the same except for the exercises in each book. So no need to buy all 3.

So Jake will be doing a section or 2 each week. Each chapter is broken into sections, which have explanations and exercises. Then there is also a proofreading exercise and sentence writing. The sections are about 10 pages each. They don't take him long to finish, which is why some weeks he'll be doing 2 sections a week (plus there are a few with just 2-3 pages).

Grammar - He is using the Easy Grammar Ultimate Series Grade 11 book. The Ultimate Series books are just like the Daily Grams, but for grades 9+ (they do still have the Jr/Sr book, but recently came out with these.) Just a page a day, takes about 5 minutes. He'll most likely do all 5 pages on one day just to finish it up quickly for the week.

Economics - I had picked up Whatever Happened to Penny Candy (An Uncle Eric book) at the curriculum fair in the Spring to use this year. Not sure how I feel about the rest of the Uncle Eric books, but this one got a decent review (even from secular homeschoolers). Then he'll also be working through the Bluestocking Guide: Economics book.The schedule is 1 chapter and worksheet per week.

Art - I put together a quick and easy art history lesson plan. Using a few Usborne books I have along with the History Scribe Artist Biography pages. So he will read a section/chapter in the book and do any biography pages we have with artists that were in the time period he is reading.

He also still has some Geography work he is finishing up. Next week will add in Chemistry (The Joy of Chemistry) and Social Studies/History (Critical Thinking in US History)

So that's it for the week. Not a ton, but it was enough. LOL

Waiting on Spring

2011-03-28T08:37:00.003-04:00

March is quietly (& coldly) leaving us soon. The few days of warm temps we had this month seem like they were years away. Its been quite cold and icky, I've debated turning the heat back on. lol We did venture out on one fairly nice day and took the short hike/walk up to the Washington Monument. It was a chilly, breezy day so we didn't stay long.

The closer we get to Summer, the more work it seems the kids have to finish. Of course, they haven't been doing much at all.. which is normal and they have to bust their asses to finish it up before our final review of the year. They've both still been doing a good bit of reading. So they aren't JUST playing on the computer or Xbox. hehe But I've redone their schedules and I am *hoping* they stick to it a little better in April.

We've changed the dates a bit on the boys game days we were doing. It was becoming to much *work* for Jake since 2 of the boys were bickering a lot between them. So instead of every week, we are now hosting it once a month. So with the once a month Family Game Nights at the game store, that should be plenty of non-family game time. Which we've been doing a lot of. Jake won't always play, so mostly it is Amanda, Randy and I. We have all the Settlers of Catan expansions now. (We'll eventually get all the 5-6 player expansion sets so we can have friends join us.) We took a break from Settlers this past weekend though. On Saturday I showed Amanda how to play Uno Rummy Up. I hadn't played it in years. So Sunday, with dad with played that and Life. I think she's getting burned out on Settlers and needed a break (after all, it was usually her wanting to play Settlers so much!)

April brings so many activities I have on the calendar. Whether we'll get to them all, I have no clue but there are a few I *really* want to do. On the 2nd we a bake sale to raise money for our MS Walk team. So I'll help out a bit then, not sure if the kids will. The 9th is an open house at the Earth & Space Science Lab. The 16th is the MS Walk. Amanda and I will be doing this, not sure if I can talk Jake into it yet. And then on the 17th is the Brookside Gardens Earth Day Festival. This is the things I am most looking forward to this month. On the 23rd, there is an Earth Day Festival at Morgans Grove park. Not sure yet if we are doing this. And sometime in April we are hoping to spend a Friday in DC.

Menu Plan Monday

2011-03-28T08:15:00.000-04:00

Quick post with our menu for the week -

Monday - Moussaka, veggies and orzo
Tuesday - Chicken Parm with garlic bread
Wednesday - Pulled BBQ Beef sandwiches (in crock), veggies and rice
Thursday - Creamy chicken and wild rice soup, grilled cheese sandwiches
Friday - Pizza

Stuff....

2011-02-28T08:44:00.000-05:00

Not too much to report here really. Not a lot of book work going on, as usual. hehe The kids have 3 months to get their math work finished. I've made (and re-made) their schedules.. so it is up to them. I'm going to try and push them along this week, as I would rather they just get it finished sooner and not take until the end of May to do so.

Both have been reading a lot more lately. Which is good, as neither read all that much in the past few years. Jake is on a Sci/fi-ish kick, Amanda is opting for non-fiction.

Now that Spring is almost here, we have plans to visit many local places. First up is a trip to Harrisburg to see the National Civil War Museum and the State Museum of Pennsylvania. I had gotten really cheap tickets through Groupon for both. I also picked up some cheap tickets to the Aviation Museum in College Park, MD. So we'll head there one afternoon. And of course, Earth Day is right around the corner, so we plan to visit Brookside Gardens for their Festival. And of course, we can't wait to start Geocaching again.

Amanda wants to visit lots of battlefields again this Spring/Summer so she can get more pictures taken. So we'll try to hit as many as we can before the hot, humid Summer keeps us indoors.

Menu Plan Monday

2011-02-28T08:16:00.000-05:00

Just a quickie post for my menu this week:

Monday: Sausages with onions & peppers, veggies
Tuesday: Swedish meatballs with noodles, broccoli
Wednesday: Baked haddock, mac & cheese, peas
Thursday: Ham & corn chowder
Friday: Chipotle
Saturday: Pizza
Sunday: No clue... lol

Menu Plan Monday

2011-01-24T18:46:00.000-05:00

Meant to get back here before (I know I say that a LOT!). But Here is the menu for the week. I may list a day, but we don't always stick with that. Sometimes I get hungry for one thing and will switch the days around. :)

Monday - Beef sausages, green peppers, onions and mushrooms (cooked in spaghetti sauce) with baked potatoes.
Tuesday - Chicken Alfredo & rice bake (recipe found HERE)
Wednesday - Stuffed green pepper soup (recipe found HERE)
Thursday - Turkey tacos & Spanish rice
Friday - Turkey meatballs and Dijon mashed potatoes

What are you having for supper this week?

New Year's Goals (I don't like resolutions)

2010-12-29T11:35:00.000-05:00

Alright, my goal for 2011 is to blog more. At least checking in once a week. That would be fabulous. And we have to get a routine going once again to get some school work finished. School goals are to finish up the geography unit and science unit by mid-Feb. (Love for it all to be finished by the end of Jan. but I doubt that will happen. The health unit should be finished by the end of Jan. though as they are both almost done with that. I have a large stack of Learning Through History magazines they also need to get through. But that will take the rest of the school year.

We started up a game day with some of the older boys in our homeschool group. It is just 4 boys right now (3 plus Jake) that hang out for 3 hours playing games. The first meeting it was all video games. 2nd meeting was all board games. They played Risk, Lego Creationary, then some Uno. Next week I think I'll have them play board games for a bit, then let them hit the video games for the last hour (as long as Jake's Xbox works that is, might have to find some games for the PS3).

That's about it for now. We've taken a huge unschooling turn, but it is time to get back into a little more "bookwork" once again. So come Jan 3rd, I'll be cracking the whip. (LOL Yeah I've said that many times before!)

Menu Plan Monday

2010-08-09T16:17:00.000-04:00

I missed posting last week, but wanted to post really quickly our menu for the week. It is a "cheap" eating week here. LOL

Monday - Tuna patties (I use a box of cornbread stuffing mix, mayo, relish, and cheddar) with orzo & peas
Tuesday - Chicken of some sort (not sure yet what I will make), rice & veggies
Wednesday - Cheese-steaks and fries
Thursday - Creamy chicken & wild rice soup
Friday - pizza

And one of these days this week I am going to do some baking. I want to use up some apple butter and bake a cake. Then I have some Golden Delicious apples to use, so I am hungry for apple crisp. And I need to get some mini pizza crusts made so the kids can have pizza for lunches.

Menu Plan Monday

2010-07-26T14:19:00.002-04:00

Another thing I want to begin (again) is writing my menu plans on the blog. I am pretty good about making a menu Sunday morning before grocery shopping, and for the most part I stick to it. There are some days I just don't feel like making anything I wanted to on Sunday though. :) I also write things on a day of the week, but don't always make it that day. Depends on time, how hot it might be, etc. So while I'll assign a day here, doesn't mean that we are having it on that night. ;)

Monday - Tuna something or other. (We only like a few fish items, tuna being one. But I have been trying to have a fish dish every week, or at least every 2 weeks.) Haven't quite figured it out yet. Maybe tuna patty melts. And we'll most likely have broccoli and some side with whatever I decide on.

Tuesday - Meatball subs, fries, and corn

Wednesday - Ghoulash (from Bobby Dean) & a veggie of some sort

Thursday - Baked Chicken Penne (from Our Best Bites) & a veggie

Friday - pizza and possible these pizza roll "planets"

Saturday - leftovers or whatever they can find in the fridge and/or cupboards. :)

I'm Back!

2010-07-26T14:06:00.001-04:00

Ok, I am going to give this a try AGAIN! I really do want to be "a blogger", but well I just forget to post sometimes. But I will try harder (I know I say that every time).

So obviously, we are on break from "school" for the summer. Jake finished his math program up late this year (well he got started on it late as well). Amanda did not like the MUS set, so we switched from that to the Key To Algebra. She is *supposed* to be working on it throughout the summer, but hasn't done too much recently. I am trying to get them to do more reading.

As for how the school year went, well it was kinda pathetic. LOL With the move and all I just had a hard time getting into a routine. We've really taken a turn in our homeschooling style, moving towards more unschooling. So our relaxed, eclectic approach has gotten WAY more relaxed. ;) Regardless, I will continue with a math program for both of them. I just can't let that go completely unschoolish. They can work at their pace though.

For the 2010-11 school year though we do have some unfinished things to complete. So these will be a priority come September. The things we need to finish are:

Trail Guide to US Geography needs finished by both
Story of Science needs finished by both
Health unit needs finished by both
Word Roots by Amanda

Then here is a tentative "plan" for other work:
Amanda:
English/Language Arts - Shakespeare study; Literature Through Movies
Math - Finish Key to Algebra books; Consumer Math
Science - Life Science/Chemistry/Physics (her choice)
Social Studies/History/Geography - US Trail Guide to World Geography; You Decide (Bill of Rights).

Jake:
English/Language Arts - Literature Through the Movies; Shakespeare study?
Math - Key to Geometry (books 2 & 3); Key to Measurements (Books 1-4); Key to Metric Measurements (books 1-4)?; Key to Algebra (books 1-10)?
Science - The story of Science: Newton at the Center; Life Science/Chemistry/Physics (his choice); Other Joy Hakim books
Social Studies/History/Geography - US Trail Guide to World Geography; You Decide (Bill of Rights); Civil war
Arts - Computer programming

But they will be able to work at their pace. Trying to make a schedule and stick to it is useless, I'm not that disciplined. LOL So we'll see how things go. :)

I'm a bad girl

2009-10-12T13:18:00.002-04:00

I'm here to publicly admit that I've been bad and have not done something Halloweeny every single day. I'm sorry. I fully intended to.

Awhile back I had gotten some Harry Potter science kits from ebay. They've been moved around and stuck here & there, forgotten mostly. But I wanted to use them up before they were no longer usable. So I had planned on doing those since they were some creepy fun Chemistry things. Well, guess what? The materials were hardened and unusable. :( And I did put together a Halloween themed photo scavenger hunt for the teens in our homeschool group. So I've been doing a little, just not something every day.

And I'd like to share this photo -

All that fur, and he still wants a blanket! ;)

Ok, so on the homeschool front... Again, I've been a bad girl. It's just been SO hard to get into any sort of routine this year. But here are the plans for this week:

Science - Health unit from KidsHealth.org This week we'll do the following units: Sleep; Bones, Muscles and Joints.

Begin study of Darwin & Evolution.

Language Arts - We have a bit of the Greek Myths literature unit from last year to finish. So we'll work on getting that completed this week.

Math - Dig out our brand new Math U See books and crack them open. I'm hoping to get 2-3 lessons finished this week.

Social Studies - Trail Guide to US Geography; Begin unit study on The Rise of Nazi Germany (using out Learning Through History magazine).

Then on Saturday I have our first homeschool review of the school year. We have switched reviewers and will be visiting with another homeschool mom & friend for our review (and getting to talk to another friend that moved to CO via Skype). So this is kinda why I am posting our plans, we NEED to get a move on so i have somethign to show. LOL

Poe & Pumpkin

2009-10-05T14:57:00.002-04:00

So far so good... I've been able to do something Halloween-y every day so far. Although yesterday might be stretching it a bit, but who cares. LOL

Oct 4 - was our homeschool groups's picnic. I usually do a NBTS picnic sometime the end of August or beginning of September, but with the move this year I just didn't get to plan it. So the owner of our homeschool group suggested a picnic where the newer members can join in, plus dads. So it was sort of a combined picnic.

As for what I did Halloween-like yesterday, I ate "poison" brownies one mom brought. We had a lovely day outside with friends and enjoyed the crisp Fall air. And I even ate some candy corn last night. ;)

Oct 5 - Today I took 2 frames I had that I really didn't like the color of and sanded them down and repainted them black. I just used some acrylic craft paint as I didn't want them to look glossy like spray paint looks. I had printed a picture of Egdar Allan Poe in black and white, made a mat and then placed both into one of the frames. Then I added 2 googly eyes. :) It looks pretty cool.

And here is the pumpkin roll recipe I use every year. You can see pictures of one we made last year here: Pumpkin Rolls

Cake:

2/3 Cup Pumpkin (we use the pumpkin pie filling because it has more seasoning to it)

3 eggs

1 Cup sugar

3/4 Cup flour

1tsp each salt, baking soda, and cinnamon

Line cookie sheet with wax paper, spray with Pam. Combine all ingredients, spread evenly on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.

Let cool about 5 minutes or so, then cover with a dish towel, flip cake onto towel & remove cookie sheet and was paper. Sprinkle well with powdered sugar, roll up (in towel) and put in the freezer to cool completely.

Filling:

8oz cream cheese

2 TBS butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 Cup powdered sugar

1 whole tub (8oz) cool whip

Cream together. Unroll cake, sprinkle again with powdered sugar & spread filling over cooled cake. Roll (sprinkle more powdered sugar on the outside of the roll while rolling, to help from tearing) and wrap in foil.

Halloween Updates

2009-10-03T14:14:00.000-04:00

Here are some things we've been doing to prepare for Halloween:

October 1st - we brought out the Halloween decorations. In doing so, I realized how little I have. But we put a few things about and I left the rest for another time. I then started making a list of things we can do for the rest of October. I found some fun crafts, we have a few "spooky" science kits/experiments to do, and of course some baking.

October 2nd - We put the rest of the decorations out. The kids decided to get rid of the cheesy window clings finally. LOL I gather more supplies for some crafts we'll be doing on the coming days. At the store we picked up some mini pumpkins and gourds.

October 3rd - we've been doing some fall baking today. Brownies have been baked and are cooling. Then we'll be icing them and adding fall colored sprinkles. I don't usually ice my brownies, but hey, it is just more chocolate. :D Right now I have 2 loaves of zucchini bread cooking. Then I have to bake 2 loaves of banana bread to take to our homeschoolers picnic tomorrow.

While the brownies were baking, Amanda and spread glue onto the stems of the pumpkins and gourds then added glitter. They look really cute.

October Blog Party!!

2009-10-01T07:09:00.001-04:00

I'll be joining in on the fun and doing something Halloween-y every day in October. Wanna join in? Just visit here:
October Blog Party

I'm Back!

2009-09-12T15:15:00.002-04:00

I can't believe I haven't blogged in so long. (Well ok, I can believe.. I was never that great at blogging regularly.) But I'll try harder. ;)

We've had many things going on since I blogged last. The major event was we moved at the beginning of August. We are now apartment dwellers. hehe That's been quite an adjustment. We were living at my husband's fathers place, we had a small house on his same property that was about 6 feet away from the main house. While it was "our" place, it was way too close. We had planned on moving 3 years ago but then Randy hurt himself at work and was unable to work at all for 2 years. So we were planning to move sometime this fall, then began having major issues with his dad. And we ended up moving before we had wanted to (or I should say before we were planning.) But we are moved and much happier.

Another event was my oldest turning 16 in August! I can't believe I have a 16 yo. She didn't want a big party or anything, but I kind of made her invite her friends over. She had about 10 kids here last weekend. Then girls chatted, played Guitar Hero and walked around the neighborhood a bit. The boys ended up playing a game of Risk. lol They all ate and ate (lots of pizza & cupcakes were consumed!). They all had fun, I had to keep quieting them down some. ;)

But anyways, I have LOTS of updating to do on school-ish stuff. So I'll be working on that this weekend. School started last week, so I hope to post soon about what we're doing weekly. :)

6 Things You Don't Know About Me

2009-05-12T07:35:00.005-04:00

My friend from Greece, Marianna, has tagged me. I'm a little slow lately, lol, but wanted to participate in this MeMe. :)

I've been tagged by her to write 6 unimportant things about me! Like every game, this one has a few rules:

1. Mention the person who tagged you on your blog
2. Use your creativity and write 6 things about you
3. Tag 6 more blog pals
4. Notify them by posting a comment or sending them an e-mail saying the words "you've been tagged!" (or however else you wanna express yourself really:)

Now, let's see...

1) I'm a paper piler. I have stacks of paper, magazines, books, etc. everywhere. It seems when I get rid of one pile of paper clutter, I've made 3 more.

2) I have a hard time reading non-fiction books. Most of them just bore me to death. I've tried reading books others have thought were great, but I usually stop after the first 50 or so pages. Or I do some serious skimming. It really depends on the subject matter. The history and science books the kids and I read/use for school I enjoy.

3) I'm a spend-aholic. I really have to force myself at times to NOT spend money. I prefer shopping online, 'cuz then I don't have to carry my purchases around. LOL

4) I'm very unorganized. LOL (See #1.) But I can usually manage to get it together in time for whatever activity, etc. might come up that I need to be organized for. And on occasion, I will have forgotten something I needed for said activity.

5) I used to love getting on roller coasters, but don't think I can anymore. I'm secretly (not such a secret now though) glad that Jake doesn't like them either so I have an excuse not to ride them. LOL I don't mind little ones, but the fast, upside down & sideways, backwards & forwards, etc ones... I think I'll pass. hehe

6) I am finding it REALLY hard to come up with a 6th thing to tell you about myself that you might not have known before. I'm just such an open book, LOL. Oh ok, there's one. I think I am a boring person! hehe I once mentioned this to a new group of people, on a message board type thing, and one lady emailed me privately and asked me if I was ok. She thought I was going through a serious bout of depression, because I thought I was boring. Well if I was depressed, that statement had me laughing my ass off and would have been enough to clear the fog away. She should have been an online shrink, if she could "diagnose" someone but a freaking comment such as that.

Ok so anyways, I will tag the following:

Kim

Marti

Fairiemom

Wendy

Mel

Debbie

What can I say?

2009-05-05T09:07:00.002-04:00

I just keep forgetting to update here. I'll keep at it, but I really don't think I'm cut out to be a blogger. LOL

So what's been going on with us? April went by really freaking fast! We had a lot of colder, yucky days with a few really nice ones and then a few ridiculously hot ones.

We had 2 Earth Scout meetings, 2 book club meetings and 2 co-op days. They all went well.

With Earth Scouts, I'll be changing the schedule a bit for the summer months. We usually have a hard time getting enough kids there to make the meeting worth it, so we're going to cut back to once a month. And those will be outdoors. So this weeks meeting will be the last indoor meeting until Fall. If the weather is too nasty we'll come up with something else.

Book club is going very well. This weeks meeting, we'll be discussing the 4th Percy Jackson book, The Battle of the Labyrinth. I must say, these books are really good! The 5th book is released today, The Last Olympian. So we are heading to Border's this evening to grab it up. I really wish Amanda would read these, I think she'd enjoy them also. So, with the kids reading the Percy books, we'll be holding a Mythology Bee. This will be on May 15th, not our usual book club day. Some of the kids will either be on vacation or moving, so we bumped it up a few days so they can participate.

Co-op has ended for this school year. May 1st was the last meeting, which the kids and I missed due to some UPS deliveries I needed to be here for. :( I'll miss co-op, but also thankful for the break. I am not sure what we'll do come fall. I might just rejoin for Jake and I, and Amanda can come along if she wishes. Jake really likes it, and so does Amanda... but for her, its just so terrible to have to wake up so early. I think starting at 11am would be a good idea though. LOL Hint hint Marti if you read this. ;)

So we have some fun stuff coming up in May with Earth Scouts and Book club. Plus we'll be continuing with the Geo-Club, once a month.

Today is Cinco de Mayo, so we're having a potluck picnic at the park with friends. I really, really, really hope the weather cooperates with us today!

So that's what's going on in a nutshell (or a nuthouse?) with us lately. :)

Not doing so well at keeping up with the blog

2009-05-04T22:03:00.002-04:00

I was playing around with the background & layout. Not super happy with what I have, but it will work for now. I need to find a good site that has layouts.

Anyways, I'm off to bed now. I'll get on tomorrow morning and post more about what we've been up to. :) Night!!

Week in review

2009-04-04T08:01:00.003-04:00

So I'm trying to get back into the habit of blogging more about our school life. :) So here's what we were doing this past week.

Math - Not as much math work was done as I had hoped, but they both did get a decent amount finished. Amazingly I think Amanda finished more than Jake. She's at the mindset now where the more she does, the sooner she'll be done (thankfully!!).

Geography - Geo-club is going well. We did miss the last meeting though. :( My kids are not super into it, but they do learn (and remember) some interesting things as we go along.

Reading - Jake has jumped ahead and finished reading the first 4 Percy Jackson books. He really got into them more than I thought he would. So I went ahead and ordered The Demigod Files for him also. The 5th book will be out sometime in the beginning of May. But I don't think we'll use that for the Mythology Bee for the book club. We might still read that but not sure if everyone will have it before. We'll have to wait and see.

We had another Earth Scouts meeting this week. We've been working on the Peace and nonviolence principle. So we talked about signs & symbols of peace. I showed the kids the symbols and we talked a little about them. Then one of the boys showed the group a bit about meditation, they did some yoga and got all stretched out. :) For the final activity they each colored in a peace Dove (of Picasso's) and wrote some words on their paper that they think of as peaceful.

After ES was the book group. We only have 7 kids reading the Percy Jackson books, and the group was small this week. 4 kids were there. But we still had a great meeting. It's interesting hearing what the kids think about the books. We did have a bit of an issue though. Some of them have read all through the first 4 books (my son included) and they are getting the books mixed up. Which I had a feeling was going to happen. (Mental note to myself: I need to email the group and have them re-read for next meeting.) So I had to keep them straight on things so they didn't give too much away for those of us who haven't read that far.

And on Friday, we had another co-op meeting. Co-op day is always fun, but as I've said, I come home with a terrible headache. LOL The things we go through for our kids. ;) First class is Wizardology. I have Jake (& Amanda but she just reads something else) in the class. We had a small group this week, just 3 out of 6 boys. So it was MUCH calmer and quieter. lol We actually finished the last 3 lessons in the handbook, which completes the Spring lessons. So now the boys can do the Summer lessons at home and they'll have completed the entire "course" on Wizardology. :) So for our next class, I think we'll view a movie. So I need to find a good one to show.

Then in the 2nd class, Jake had dissection. They did the starfish. That was pretty cool. I'll upload some pictures later. Jake had a medium sized starfish, so you could see things fairly nicely. Lots of digestive yuck. lol Amanda was in photography during 2nd period. Not sure exactly what she did. I know she needs to get some pictures printed up.

And that was our week. We have nothing NOTHING!! planned for next week. But I do need to figure out a day to have some kids over for a going away party for one of Jake & Amanda's friends. His family is moving to Australia soon for 2-3 years. But that's about it. Let's hope the week is a calm and quiet one. :D

Catching Up!!

2009-03-23T09:29:00.006-04:00

I haven't posted anything homeschooling wise here in awhile. This is after all a homeschooling blog, not a Lost blog which it would seem it has become. hehe So here is a bit of what we've been up to recently.

Jake had decided to join the dissection class at co-op. Of course this was after the 3rd class, so I had to get his kit ordered. A group of us went together and placed a large order of various items through the Home Science Tools website. Very cool stuff by the way. I order his dissection kit, complete with tool kit, 7 specimens and dissection guides. Then I also picked up a mini chemistry kit, I think there are about 30 different experiments. Several us then went together to get a bulk discount on owl pellets & cow eyeballs.

Jake and I did one of our owl pellets last week. Very cool! Here are some pics:

We did our eyeballs yesterday with a group of friends. That was still cool, just a tad bit gross. It certainly wasn't as bad as I was expecting though, and I did have fun. (I'm one of the kids that refused dissecting anything in middle school.) Here's a few pics:

The beginning of March went went on a mini vacation. We headed off to Williamsbug, VA for 3 days, staying 2 nights at Great Wolf Lodge. It was great, the kids had a fabulous time at the Lodge and can't wait to go back again. We had some issues with our meals, and Amanda ended up getting sick the last day there (not sure if it was a stomach virus or from the food). So next time we go, we'll certainly be taking more of our own food to make. hehe

Jake and I are still reading the Percy Jackson books, Amanda has decided to not join the group. So she will be reading a series of books on Colonial Williamsburg children. Jake is on Book 3, I'm just getting started on Book 2.

And we're enjoying using the Trail Guide to US Geography and sharing with our group. We have our next meeting this coming Thursday. So here are our plans for the week -

Math: Both kids need to get caught up with their math.

Reading: We'll continue to make time during the day for all 3 of us to be able to read in peace. :) So this means, we'll have a designated reading time.

Geography: We have a bit more to finished by Thursday in our 2nd region for geo-club.

And I'm not sure what else we'll get into. We have some science work in our Story of Science books, plus I think we might do a chemistry experiment or 2. We have some history work to do. I Ave a paper model of the Jamestown Settlement we never got around to doing, so I think we might do this as well.

So that's a bit of what we've been up to. I'll try harder to update more regularly. :D

Lost - The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham

2009-02-26T21:30:00.002-05:00

WOW! This week's episode was fabulous. We are getting more answers every week, which is always a good thing. ;)

So this was a John Locke episode. We find out what he does after leaving the island, how he dies, and what happens once on the plane to try to get back to the island.

So after John turns the wheel, he ends up in Tunisia, the same "drop spot" that Ben ended up when he left the island. John lays in pain for awhile before someone comes and picks up, takes him to a medical station. He passes out from pain, but before he does, he sees someone watching him. A tall, skinny, black man. Matthew Abaddon. When John wakes up, Charles Widmore is beside his bed. He tells John "it's good to see you again" and of course John has no clue who he is. When Widmore tells him, he then asks John how long has it been since John actually met him. John tells him 4 days, and Widmore is amazed at that.

So Widmore goes on to tell John a few things. Widmore says HE used to lead the Others. That Ben wanted him out so he could take over and tricked Widmore into leaving. Widmore says John HAS to get back to the island because a war is coming. The next day Widmore gives John a new id (Jeremy Bentham), money, and a folder of where to find all the O6'ers. He sends John off with Abaddon.

First John goes to see Sayid. He of course wants nothing to do with the island. The he goes to see Walt. He can't bear to ask Walt to come back to the island with him. He tells Abaddon that Walt has been through enough. Walt asks about his dad, John tells his last he heard his dad was on a freighter near the island. He asks Walt why he doesn't seem surprised to see him. Walt tells John he's been having dreams about John. He says "Your on the island in a suit. You are surrounded by people. And they want to hurt you." So from there John heads to CA to see Kate. She tells him no. He sees Hurley, and I think Hurley was starting to listen, until he see Abaddon. Then Hurley freaks out and goes back inside the mental hospital.

John had asked Abaddon to find Helen, he old love. They go to see her, at the graveyard. While getting ready to leave, someone shoots and kills Abaddon. John jumps into the driver seat and speeds off. But he gets into an accident and wakes up in a hospital. Jack's hospital. So of course, Jack is sitting there watching him. He wants to know why John is there. John tries to convince Jack to go back. He goes to leave the room and Locke says "Your father says hi". Jack freaks a bit and says his dad has been dead for 3 years. John tells him he didn't look dead when he told him how to move the island. Jack storms out after telling John to stay away from him and everyone else.

So then we see John in his hotel room, preparing to hang himself. Just as he has the noose around his neck, Ben bursts in. He tells John he is special and the island needs him alive. Ben of course tells John Widmore is evil and a liar. He talks John down. Then they are talking and Ben says John should visit Sun. John says no, Jin is alive and doesn't want her to come back. At this, Ben seemed a little worried. John says he has Jin rings to give to Sun. And he also tells Ben he needs to find a woman in LA, her name is Eloise Hawking. Ben gets really pissed now. And he proceeds to strangle John to death! Yep, Ben talks John out of killing himself, only to do so for him. So Ben wipes down the room, makes it look like John did hang himself, and as he is walking out the door, says "I'll miss you John, I really will."

Now, we are in a room. Cesar the new guy on the plan with the O6ers, is searching a room. This room has a lot of paperwork, etc in. Old magazines about nuclear bombs, files of drawings on time & space. And a shotgun. A woman comes in, Ilana, and says they found a man standing in the water in a suit. No one recognizes him from the plane. We find out it is John, alive and well. The next day he is talking to Ilana, there are some boats on the beach and he asks if they are theirs. She tells him they were there, but one is missing because the pilot took off in one with a woman. (Possibly Sun?) He asks if they have the passenger list, she tells him to talk to Cesar. Then she asks him what he remembers. He says he remembers dying. Then Locke goes to Cesar and tells Cesar he is in a Dharma hatch and that they were one the island doing experiments. Cesar asks John a question. He wants to know why some of the passengers just seemed to "disappear" from the plane. He says he could probably explain but he needs to find his friends first. He asks if the ones on the beach are all of the passengers, he says yes except for the injured. So he shows John the injured. He walks up to one, Cesar asks if he recognizes him? And John says yes, we see the man and it is Ben looking more injured than he was from whatever happened on the pier.

So, we learned some interesting things this week - Ben was obviously jealous of Widmore and wanted him gone. Ben must have thought he knew things that no one else did (such as about Eloise Hawking). Ben was obviously jealous of Locke as well, because he knew things about what was happening on the island that Ben didn't (Jin being alive). We know Walt is still a part of the show. He doesn't know what happened to his dad though.

What we don't know - Who is good, who is bad? Widmore vs Linus. Or are they both bad? Maybe one is just a little less evil? Or, on the other hand.. could Ben actually be "the good guy" in all this just trying to protect the island. If this is true, what did Widmore do that was so terrible the island needs protection from him?

Why did Ben kill John? My theory is Ben knew John had to die. But John could not take his own life. He had to be killed/sacrificed. But I really don't think Ben knew John would come back to life. I think that is why Ben is so crazy, he knows a lot about the island but not everything. And that pisses him off.

What are the roles of these new "losties". I really hope not much. LOL I don't want to get involved with a new group of people. I like my original losties. :)

I think it is funny in a way that the island heals John, twice now! But it seems to only hurt Ben more. His cancer, now his injuries from the plane crash. (He was either asleep or passed out when John saw him after the crash, so we don't know how bad he is hurt.)

OK I think that is all. I'm tired and going to bed now. :)

Lost - 316: More thoughts

2009-02-24T20:33:00.002-05:00

Ok so I re-watched the episode tonight with the kids finally. (They aren't as "in a hurry" to watch them as I am. LOL) And I have a few more thoughts.

I was reading some blogs, and people were thinking "the man" E. Hawking keeps mentioning is Daniel Faraday, her son. I didn't think so at first, but now I am wondering if it isn't. It is possible that Daniel joined Dharma after his mother left the island (she obviously left, but I have no clue on the reason).

Locke in his coffin - I swear he smiles while Jack is changing his shoes. I asked the kids if they saw it too and they agree with me. It is just the slightest twitch of the lips, but he looks like he is smiling.

Ray, Jack's granddad. I had said before that I think he knows more than is letting on. That he KNOWS about the island. In fact, I think he is the one person that knows ALL of the island, Jacob. I really think Ray is Jacob. That's why Jack is so important to the island. That's why Christian and Claire were in the cabin, and why Christian is "speaking" on behalf of Jacob to Locke.

Jin - I didn't catch it before, but at the end of the episode when he jumps out of the Dharma van and points the gun at Jack, Kate and Hurley.. I don't think he recognizes them at all. When Hurley calls his name, he has a very puzzled look on his face. So I am thinking the one left on the island somehow joined up with the Dharma people, and completely forgot about the life before coming to the island. Brainwashed maybe?

Ok, so those are just my thoughts. Wanted to share. :)

A printing we shall go

2009-02-22T16:26:00.003-05:00

hehe I am printing like a mad-woman today. I've been slacking (nothing new there right?) with our Geography work. Our first club/group meeting is this Thursday. So I need to get my arse on the ball. So I am printing out the pages for the first 2 regions: New England States & Mid-Atlantic States. This way, next week I have no excuses and we can get started right into the next region.

So for the upcoming week, here's what we have planned.

Math - The kids will be finished with the Key to Decimals books by the end of the week. (Well *supposed* to be finished anyways.) Then we're going to move into Algebra and I think some beginning Geometry.

Reading - We didn't get to have our last book group. A lot was going on last week, many were sick. So some didn't get the book finished, us included. So we'll be finishing The Lighting Thief up this week also.

Science - I think this week we are just going to watch some Planet Earth DVDs. We also have a lot of the Food Detective shows DVR'ed that I think we'll watch. Just have an easy week science-wise.

History - The kids are bored with what we've been doing (explorers) so I think we might jump into something else. I need to sit down with them and see what they want to do.

And of course, Geography we'll be working on the New England States region for our Geo-club meeting on Thursday.

And thankfully Thursday is the only day we have anything planned out of the house! YAY!! it is supposed to be an icky week weather-wise, so I'm glad we get to stay home most of it. :)

Lost - 316

2009-02-21T15:26:00.002-05:00

So I think we are finally getting somewhere, answer-wise at least not a lot answered but a few things.

This weeks episode was good! So please don't read if you haven't seen it yet and don't want to read any spoilers. :)

The episode starts off with Jack, in a suit, laying on his back, in a jungle! Is it another flashback? Did he return to the island? At first you aren't sure (there is one clue though). You hear yelling, someone calling for Help! The voice sounds familiar, then you hear someone yelling "Jack!". So you know it isn't a flashback, because no one knew his name before. Jack runs, comes to a cliff/waterfall and sees Hurley in a lagoon struggling. Jack dives off the cliff and pulls him to shallow water. He looks around, and sees Kate. They rush to her.

(As to the clue I mentioned, you can tell that it isn't a flashback as Jack's hair is longer.)

Then we jumped back 36 hours. Jack, Sun, Ben, Desmond are all with Ms hawking again. She tells a bit about what Dharma was doing. Desmond gets mad and tells her the message from Daniel, warns Jack not to listen to her and leaves, even thought Hawking told him the island is not done with him yet. She then tells Jack, Sun, and Ben to get on Ajira flight 316 to Guam. She believes this will be the flight that will take them back to the island.

Hawking takes Jack into an office and gives him a letter from Locke. It was his suicide note. She also tells Jack that in order to "recreate" Flight 815 as close as possible, that Locke is taking Christians place. So Jack needs to give Locke something of Christians. Jack rejoins Ben, Sun has left. Then Ben leaves telling Jack he has to see an old friend, some unfinished business to attend.

Jack pays a visit to Ray, his granddad. After some talking, Jack helps unpack his granddad's suitcase (he was running away from the nursing home his lives at) and finds his dad's (Christian's) shoes. So he asks for them. As Jack returns home, with the shoes, he hears someone in his place. It is Kate. She is on his bed, and very upset. He asks what's wrong and she asks him if he wants her to go back to the island with him. He says yes, but asks where Aaron is. Kate tells him if he wants to go back, he can never asks her again anything about Aaron. He agrees.

The next morning, Kate sees the shoes and makes a joke that if he is wearing those on the flight, he might want to reconsider and wear some hiking boots. He tells her when he when to Sydney for his dad, he didn't have any nice shoes. Jack didn't believe Christian was worth the trouble, so instead of buying him shoes to be buried in, he placed an old pair of his own white sneakers on him instead. Kate leaves Jack's place, tells him she'll meet him at the airport. Jack gets a call from Ben. He needs Jack to go to the butcher shop and pick up Locke and bring him to the airport. We see Ben at a phone booth on a pier, and he's been badly beaten up.

Jack goes to the butcher and puts his dad's shoes on Locke and gives him the unopened suicide note back. Then off to the airport. As Jack is talking to the person at the ticket counter, Kate walks bye. Then Sun comes up behind Jack. Next thing you know, Sayid is being led past as well. But he is with a woman. We see her flash a badge and realize Sayid is in handcuffs (taking Kate's place?).

Next we see someone reading a graphic novel/comic book in Spanish. It's Hurley! He somehow found out about the flight. An announcement is made for standby passengers to buy their tickets. Hurley gets upset and runs up saying he bought the 70-some empty seats. The attendant asks him why he would prevent the others from getting a flight. He looks around and just says "They can take the next flight". (He just doesn't want them to die in case this flight is "the one" to take them to the island again.)

So we get on the plane. There is Jack, Kate, Sun, Hurley, and yep! Sayid also. So 5 of the 6 is on the plane. Just before take-off, who comes running on board? Why Ben of course!

The 5 are nervous, after they get into the air Jack sits with Kate. You hear the pilot come on and announce his name. Well guess who?! Its none other than Frank Lapidus. So Jack asks to speak with him. The flight attendant tells Jack the found something of his. The note from Locke. So Frank comes out, and he notices one by one the others. He asks Jack "We aren't going to Guam are we?". :)

As Jack is back in his seat, and he and Ben are talking. Jack tells Ben about the letter and in a rare moment.. Ben does a generous thing. He tells Jack he'll give him his privacy to read the note. He does finally. It says "I wish you would have believed me". Then we see a flash of bright light and Jack wakes up on the island.

After rescuing Hurley and getting to Kate, we hear a vehicle and loud music playing. It's a Dharma VW van. The drivers steps out and points a gun at the 3. Guess who it is? Jin.

Ok.. so some things we have answers for: We know how they get back to is island. We know they all were at least on the flight (minus Aaron). (We don't see Sun, Sayid and Ben on the island yet, so can only wonder if they are also there.) We know that Desmond found Faraday's mom like asked and gave her the message. (Her reply was "I thought that's what I was doing?) We know that Dharma wanted the island because of the magnetic properties (or something weirdly scientific like that) and that they'd been searching for it since the 50's. We also were told by Hawking that the island is & always has been moving. (Just apparently never having time flashes before.)

What we don't know: How did Hurley find out about the flight? (He was carrying a guitar, so possibly Charlie told him?) Where did Sun, Sayid and Ben go? Why was Ben beaten up? Did he try to follow through on his promise to kill Penny? Where is Aaron? Did Kate send him to stay with Sun's daughter and mom? Did she give him away? Or did she give him to Claire's mom? Why is Sayid in handcuffs? Is this maybe because they finally caught up to him for all the assassinations? Why is Jin in a Dharma van, with a Dharma uniform on?

Some other thoughts: I think Jack's granddad, Ray, knows about the island. I think his "escape" from the nursing home was a plan to get Jack there and find the shoes. Maybe Christian "visited" him at some point and told him to get Jack there; I looked on imdb.com and Claire's mom will be in an upcoming episode. So I'm thinking she has Aaron.

Amanda and Avatars

2009-02-19T15:14:00.002-05:00

So, Amanda has a major addiction to the Xbox 360. And her ritual everyday is to modify her avatar. I think her goal is to make it the weirdest, stupidest looking thing EVER!! Anyways, just thought I'd share one of her more recent "looks". I can't even begin to label what style this would fall under.. but here ya go!

This weeks schedule

2009-02-16T07:43:00.003-05:00

I know it seems as if this has become a blog for Lost. LOL But with everyone being sick so much lately, there hasn't been a ton to post school-wise.

So for this week we have to do the following:

Math - Get caught up through at least book 3. Amanda has a lot more to do than Jake does.

Reading - Finish reading The Lighting Thief (Book group on Wed.)

Science - we're going to skip science this week so we can focus on math mainly.

Geography - Finish up Region 1 work in Trail Guide to US Geography notebook.

Then I need to get materials gather for Earth Scouts on Wed. We make peace flags on paper, and this week we are transferring these onto material for a hanging flag. The kids will then be able to use a metal clothes hanger to display their flags on.

Jake has some work to finish up for Wizardology for Friday's co-op. Amanda has some photography homework to do.

Thursday the kids are having some of the homeschool teens over for a game day. I think they'll mainly be playing Rock Band and Guitar Hero.

So we have lots of things to do this week, not much time spent at home, or at least home alone. LOL

Lost - This Place is Death

2009-02-12T15:38:00.003-05:00

Well last night episode was a little more informative than what we normally get (in my opinion anyways). Still left me with a few new questions, but hey at least we are getting some answers.

So Jin was helping the French group (with Rousseau) find the radio tower. I still don't recall Danielle and Jin together much, so not sure if she recognized him or not. We found out where the smoke monster lives, at the Temple. Still not sure why it didn't kill the french guys that went into the site where it lives (they were going after one of their guys that the monster pulled in). Danielle's hubby told her it was a security system, which Ben has said before, but then tried to kill her. So not sure what he wanted her to do that she must have obviously refused.

One of the French group, Nadine, looks very familiar but I can not place her. At first I thought she looked like Charlotte. But I know I have seen her before on this show.

Jin is finally back with Sawyer, Locke and gang. We find out that Charlotte was on the island as a child. And she tells Daniel that a crazy old man told her when she was little to leave the island and never come back. She says that man, she believes, was Daniel. She mentions her and her mom, but nothing about her dad. She was with Dharma.

Locke finds the well (Charlotte told him about it) and goes down. After another flash he is trap underneath in a tunnel, the rest of the gang up above. Christian Shepard appears and tells Locke Ben was not suppose to move the island, Locke was. He is a sacrifice. So Locke, with a broken leg from falling in the well, has to turn the wheel that Ben did. Apparently when Ben turned it, if jumped off track and I am "guessing" that's why the time jumps are happening.

We got to see some of the Six again. Sun, Sayid, Jack, Kate, and Ben are all together. Ben tells Sun Jin is alive and he can show her. Kate grabs Aaron and leaves, Sayid walks off as well. Ben, Sun, and Jack go to a church in LA to meet a woman named Hawking. As they are in the parking lot, Ben gives Sun Jin's wedding ring. And guess who shows up? Desmond. He asks what the 3 are doing there, and and Ben tells him "I guess the same reason you are". Desmond says "You're looking for Daniel Faraday's mother too?" and Ben looked terribly shocked. I don't think he knew that little bit of info.

Inside the church, I am pretty sure Desmond recognizes the lady that he was trying to buy the engagement ring from. She asks Ben why they aren't all there but says that will have to do for now. So I take that to mean, the rest will be there by the time she is ready to send them back (as we saw in previews for next week, all but Sayid).

So my questions are: Why & how did Charlotte and her mother leave? Who is her mother? What exactly happened with the smoke monster and the French guys?

And if you all can, get the TV Guide!! The past few weeks have had some really interesting ready and itty bitty spoilers in it. Walt is coming back. We're going to see more of young Ben before he was evil/deranged. People that are not Dharma or the Others make Ben into what he is now. And at least one of the following theories is true, but I have no idea which: Miles is Marvin Candle's (the Dharma guy) son; Ben is Locke's brother; Charlotte is the grown-up Annie. (I personally wouldn't doubt if ALL 3 were true!) Something about Jack's granddad. Widmore has been on the island for a long time.

Lost - The Little Prince

2009-02-06T14:40:00.002-05:00

I'm home sick today, we had co-op but I just felt miserable when I woke up. And now I am miserable with a cold. (Didn't *think* I was getting sick with a cold this morning though.)

So, anyways... This week went a little slower, but still didn't answer a lot. Here are my thoughts.

What we did find out, not in order they were revealed though:

Ben is behind the lawyers coming to Kate for blood samples from her and Aaron. Is he trying to get Aaron from her or just trying to scare her into going back to the island. I am not sure know, because why else would he tell her he is behind it. I think there is something we don't know yet about Claire and Aaron. I am wondering if the reason the plane crashed is really just to have Aaron there.

Jin is alive. I had a feeling he wasn't "dead". but how does Ben know? If Locke knew, he would have told Sun to get her to go back. But since Locke is working with Ben, maybe he did and she just didn't believe him.

Daniel also suspects that Miles has been on the island before. Which makes me think he was definitely the baby of the Dharma film guy.

Ok so for new questions and things still unanswered -

I still want to know about Walt. Do he not need to come back since the island apparently didn't want him? And what about Sun's baby. Does she have to go back as well, since she wasn't technically on the island as she wasn't born until they left?

The nosebleeds. I still do not think they have anything to do with needing a constant, such as Desmond's time traveling episode.

The French group. As soon as I saw them, I knew it was Danielle's people. And I am wondering if or what will change now that Jin is with them. I am sure he'll figure out something is going on regarding time travel. I just can't recall how much he had to do with Danielle before. But from reading the TV Guide, Jin will be learning to speak English better and interacting with the Losties more. So I am really hoping he finds Sawyer and the gang.

What does Claire's mom have to do with things now? Was she just tossed in there to throw us off? I don't think so.

Anyways, so my heading is pounding and I tired from thinking. :) I'll leave you with this: The Fine Brothers Lost parodies. :) Enjoy!!

Lost Labels

2009-01-29T21:33:00.001-05:00

I saw this site mentioned on another blog and just HAD to share. I think I'm going to have to print some of these up. Lost Labels

Lost. Truly.

2009-01-29T21:11:00.003-05:00

Ok, so we did get some answers last night. Such as:

We know why Richard Alpert was at the hospital where Locke was born. And again why he visited young Locke at his foster home. Locke told him when he was born.

We found out Widmore's connection to the island - he was an Other!

We found out there's apparently always been "others" on the island. But not why.

More questions though:

Is the white haired lady Daniel's mom? Since it appeared that she was in LA with Ben. Is Ellie, the blonde "other" the same person, Daniel's mom? Was Daniel born on the island? Did his mom and Widmore have some sort of falling out while on the island and that is why Widmore left (or was kicked off)? How old is Daniel? Is he another Richard Alpert in that he never ages. The guy Desmond talked to in the Psychics dept. I am curious about. Who is he and what is he doing? He's obviously keeping Faraday's stuff. And how long has it been since Faraday's been there? I can't imagine too long, otherwise they would have tossed his stuff right? And, since Daniel seems to be what they storyline is revolving around lately... is Widmore Daniel's father? Why else would he have funded his research for so long, and paid for the medical care for the girl Daniel messed up.

What is making Charlotte sick? Is it the same thing that Desmond and the boat guy went through? It doesn't seem like it because she's not acting the way they did with jumping from time to time and not knowing anyone.

It seems that anything Daniel, Charlotte, Miles, Sawyer Locke or Juliet are holding onto, they "travel" with in the time flashes. Miles and Charlotte were tied up, and when the white light came, everything disappeared, but they were still tied up. Daniel's kept his bag the entire time. So I am wondering if they held onto Richard or another "other" would they time travel as well?

I don't think Widmore will do anything to Desmond now that he is with Penny again. I think he believes they are safe as long as they are hiding from him. Because then they'll also be hidden from Ben. Which is why he didn't want Desmond looking for Daniel's mom, she's with Ben.

Ugh.. Why does Lost have to be a weekly drama! LOL We can only hope next week will reveal a little more and not leave us with a ton more questions. And I missed seeing the Oceanic 6 this week. It doesn't seem right not getting at least of glimpse of them.

Plans for the week

2009-01-25T21:06:00.002-05:00

We have some assignments to do this week for our book club and co-op. So with our regular work, we'll be keeping quite busy.

I am going to just list by subject. I'm not doing so well with the daily schedules. if something comes up, then we get behind and I feel like a slacker. *sigh* So anyways, here's what will be keeping us busy this:

Math - Both kids have their books and what pages need done by Friday. They've been slacking a bit on this, so this is the week they need to get caught up. By Friday, they'll be finished book 2.

History - We have some more worksheets to finish up for the explorers/Lewis & Clark. Then we'll be starting in with the Pioneers.

Reading - We have the first 11 chapters of The Lighting Thief to read. Plus work in their reading journals for that.

Science - I want to get at least 5 lessons completed by Friday.

The kids both have a research paper on Orca's for our co-op's Wizardology class. So they need to get their data sheets filled out and prepare to get those typed up.

Things I have to do: Get Pioneer pages printed up; Read over the instructions for the Trail Guide to the US manual and get a date schedule for our Geo-Club meeting; Read over the instructions for the Journey North Mystery Class project.

Tuesday both kids have dental check-ups. And then that evening is Game night at the local game store. So we'll be heading there in the evening to meet with some friends. I'm making a big pan of brownies to take along. Mmmm

Blogging Interview

2009-01-23T19:05:00.003-05:00

My Friend Marianna was "interviewed" by her friend, so I want to join in as well. :)

1. Why did you become a blogger? What is it that you like about it? I basically started blogging to tell anyone that wanted to read, about our homeschooling days. Sometimes I post HSing stuff, sometimes just my rambling thoughts. I like blogging because I can say what I want. I don't have to worry about offending anyone, because it is MY blog and if they don't like it, they can close the page. :) Plus it gives me something to look back on later to see what my plans were, etc.

2. Remember a time when you said to yourself "this is too good to be true"? If yes care to share this moment with us? Yep, when my kids were born. It seemed to take awhile before it sunk in that those little people were mine. Now I am reminded a million times a day when I hear one of them yelling "MOM!" LOL

3. Greek people back in the day (like my 75 year old granny) believed in dreams and their symbolic nature (if you see sweets in a dream is a bad thing but if you see eating it, is worse :-) Of course now we do not actually believe in this kind of things but still we talk about our dreams (as most people do). Do you have a dream that you saw and remember vividly? Do you believe it meant something? Can't recall any offhand. But I know there have been times where I would dream something and could have sworn it was real. After asking several people (that were apparently in the dream) about it, they had no clue what I was talking about. hehe

4. If someone were to come to you and say "I can show you a glimpse of your future. For one minute you will be able to see what will happen to you in the future"...would you do it? Would you look and why? No I wouldn't want to look ahead. If I saw something bad, then my time would be filled with dread waiting for it to happen. If something is going to happen, there's nothing I can do about it, and don't want to spend my time worrying over it.

5. Is there anything that you wish you could have done differently with your life so far? If yes, would you change it if you were given the choice? Probably would be to have done better in school. Maybe go to college, not sure about that. I would not want to go back to high school, no way no how! lol

Now here are the rules of the interview-game. I will post them and should anyone wishes to participate and continue this...it would be great!

1. Send me an e-mail or comment saying "interview me"

2. Then 5 questions will be e-mailed to you (questions I choose to ask you :-)

3. Answer them on your blog

4. Do not forget to re-post the rules along with your answers and offer to interview anyone else who e-mails you or comments that they wish to be interviewed!

Dot Dot Dot

2009-01-22T08:13:00.002-05:00

Ok, so I didn't feel like coming up with a title. :D

We've been keeping busy with Math and reading the past few weeks. Finished up George's Secret Key to the Universe, had out last book club meeting for that. We are now beginning the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series with The Lightning Thief. All of the kids seem to be really into it.

We've had 2 back-to-back Earth Scouts meetings as well. Last week was our badge ceremony. And we discussed a bit about the next principle we'll be doing, Peace and Non-violence. So the kids acted out some situations where they had to come up with a peaceful solution. This had them quite rowdy so we moved into doing some yoga. lol

Yesterday's Earth Scout meeting they all made mini books for Peace Journals. Some of them went ahead and wrote/drew in what they do to find peace. Others will fill it out later. I am looking forward to seeing what each kid puts into their journal.

We've had our first SALT Co-op meeting of the semester. I am only teaching one class this time around, but I helped out in the younger kids science class. Then I hang out with the teens that are doing the videos. So I don't get to sit and chat with the moms very much, but at least I can leave most of the thinking and planning to others. hehe

We finished reading the Lewis and Clark book. The kids just weren't into this book. I don't think they got much at all from it. So we'll continue on with something else.

So that's about it. I am looking foward to the weekend. I'll post our schedule for next week sometime soon. :)

Lost Season Premiere

2009-01-22T06:58:00.004-05:00

Ok I know this isn't homeschool related.. but I just felt like posting. :) I seriously need to re-watch last nights 2 new episodes. I was under the impression we'd have answers to many of our burning questions. But I think I have even more questions than answers still!

So first up - Daniel Faraday. WHY is he back in time at the Orchid station. Did he take advantage of the island hopping around, or was he actually there because of his research many, many years before? Who is his mother? I think it is the white haired lady we saw later in the episode (who was also in a Desmond episode awhile back after the hatch was destroyed). Was Daniel born on the island? How can Desmond be Daniels constant? He HAD to have been on the island before because he tells Sawyer "if it didn't happen, it can't happen". And then ends up speaking to Desmond telling him to find his mother.

Kate & Aaron - Who were these lawyer guys working for? I think it is someone Ben sent to scare Kate into wanting to go back to the island. But if you remember Kate had a dream that Clair was there and telling her to never bring the boy back. The Psychic Guy (Charlotte's dad?) was sending Clair to LA for a couple to raise. Was that couple actually Jack and Kate?

Sun - Not sure what is up with her. I would think she'd be blaming Widmore for Jin's "death" as well and Ben and her father. Is she using Widmore to find the island? Is she trying to frame him/set him up for murdering Ben? Why did she come to see Kate, especially when no one went to see her and the baby aside from Hurley?

Locke - Is he dead? I don't think he is. How did he get off the island? If Locke had to die to save the island, why didn't Richard kill him?

Ben - Does he really want to get everyone back to the island? Or does he plan to kill them all? When he arrives at the Hotel in Tunisia after just moving the island (at least I am assuming this) he sees a news report of Sayid where he is burying his wife. How long passed between when Sayid was "rescued" and when Ben found him self in the desert? It would seem almost a year.

Walt - What about him? Does he need to return? It would seem odd that since the Oceanic 6 has to, he should as well. Or was this because the island actually wanted Walt to leave?

Desmond - Why does Daniel tell him he is special? Why doesn't he need to come back to the island? Was he actually meant to crash on the island, unlike the Oceanic plane?

Hurley - is he the only sane person? Why are the dead losties trying so hard to help him? Why all of a sudden does his mom tell him she believes him, when she wouldn't believe it when he told her the numbers were cursed?

Do the Oceanic 6 need to die to get back to the island as well? How do we know they truly weren't dead already on the island, and somehow by going through some weird time warp became alive again to the "outside" world. So in order to set things right, they'd need to die *again* (or for the first time) in the outside world. Which would explain why John was dead in the outside world, but not on the island.

*sigh* too many questions, not enough answers. I can't wait until next week. LOL

Edited to add -

Miles - Is he the baby we see Dharma Doctor (whatever his name is) feeding. I think the reason Widmore hired these 3 "scientists" is because they have a history with the island. They were either born there or grew up there. Miles was not worried about going home, nor was Charlotte.

I'm still alive!

2009-01-21T19:03:00.002-05:00

Can't believe I haven't posted in over 2 weeks. Sorry to all 6 of my readers. LOL I'll try to remember to get on tomorrow and post a *real* post.

:)

Back to school

2009-01-04T15:42:00.002-05:00

Wow.. that break was WAY too short. LOL I've had to look at my planner twice now to be sure it was time to get back to work. *sigh* Wonder if anyone will notice if I take January off too? hehe

Ok all kidding aside, here is what we have going on this week coming:
I am doing something new with math for the month. Sort of a trial period. I am not assigning any certain page or lesson #'s each day, but am leaving it up tot eh kids how much to do every day. But they have to have a certain # finished by Friday evening, or they'll be doing math on Saturday before anything else.

Mon Jan 5: Read Ch 4 in Lewis & Clark book (no we didn't finish this before Christmas); Lesson 4 in Science.

Tues Jan 6: Ch 5 in Lewis & Clark; Lesson 5 in Science.

Wed Jan 7: Earth Scouts & Book club meetings, all afternoon. Earth Scouts we'll be having a badge ceremony and discussing the new principle we'll be working on:

*Peace and Nonviolence*
· Respecting cultural differences, and recognizing commonalities in the
global human family
· Resolving conflict creatively and without the use of violence
· Valuing and practicing cooperation
· Developing inner peace

Our Book group will be discussing the most of the George's Secret Key to the Universe book. We decided to go ahead and finish this off since it has been since before Thanksgiving that we last met for the group. Then we'll discuss a bit about the next book, Percy Jackson. I think the kids will really enjoy these books. I am looking forward to it.

Thurs Jan 8: Ch 6 in history; Lesson 6 in science.

Fri Jan 9: Ch 7 in history; Lesson 7 in science.

They are to have 25 pages finished in Key to Decimals book 1. We'll be finished all 4 books by the end of Feb. Then I am hoping the newest version of the MUS books are out and we'll start Mar with pre-algebra.

Reading - we'll be finished with George's Secret Key to the Universe by Tues for our meeting on Wed. Then we're starting the Percy Jackson series with The Lighting Thief. We'll be doing the first 4 books (a new one is due out in May) and then having a Mythology Bee. I have the materials put out by Disney Media. They look really cool and I think the kids will have a lot of fun.

Goodbye 2008!!

2008-12-31T08:45:00.004-05:00

This year seemed to go by really fast. I dunno, maybe it was because the kids and I were involved in more things this year. We certainly weren't bored! Here is a look back at some of what we've done:

Homeschool co-op: This is an ongoing group that meets the 1st and 3rd Fridays of the month (aside from summer months). We've had so much fun with our co-op. We've done science classes, cooking classes, gym classes, a Wizardology class, the kids have had plenty of time to just hang out and chill, they've made some really funny videos. I've been able to watch all of the kids grow, not just my own. I've watch the babies go from just newborns to toddlers. I really love our group of homeschoolers. The new semester starts in a few weeks. YAY!

Earth Scouts: We got this group up and running in April. We met twice a month on Tuesdays at a local library. We've had some members leave and have gained some new members. So right now our group is staying at about 8 families. We did a lot with the Respect for Nature principle. Some things we did include: made field guides and went on a nature walk along the C&O canal; made bird feeders & nesting bags; made glass lanterns & some of us braved the cold and went on a nighttime stroll around the local park during the Christmas lighting; Trick or Treated for Unicef - the kids raised almost $200!! There were a lot more we've done since April, and it has been a blast facilitating this group.

Parties: Oh so many parties & potlucks!! In April we celebrated Earth Day with a huge potluck. We had a speaker come in from the recycling plant, the kids & parents enjoyed that. Our food spread was to be only earth friendly foods (meaning organic if possible, using the least amount of energy as possible to make it, etc); We had a park potluck for Cinco de Mayo, everyone brought lots of yummy foods; in September, we had our annual "Not Back to School" park picnic. As always TONS of food and great time being spent with each other. Then the year ended with our Geo-lunch international holiday party. There was lots of food, gift exchanges, games, and just some fun hang out time for kids and moms.

Field Trips: In March we had a trip to the local PetCo. My kids have done this before with another group, but they never pass up a chance to hang out in the pet store. It was a crazy day, we had the store totally overwhelmed with kids. The manager was a little crabby due to a misunderstanding on her part. But all in all, the kids had fun so that's what matters; April brought around a trip to a local Martin's grocery store. The kids learned about eating healthy and making good food choices; We also headed out to Philly for a day in April. We went to the Franklin Institute to see the Star Wars traveling exhibit. This was great. We all really enjoyed seeing the actual costumes and props from the movies; June brought a very impromptu field trip to Winchester to the Discovery Museum and Sonic. hehe It all started with a discussion of the Sonic drive-in's, so of course to make it educational, we went to the Discovery Museum which the kids had to themselves for the most part. Half of our group worked in the "apple orchard" business, the other half worked in the "hospital" business. LOL Of course, my kids were in the orchard. No big surprise there, since we live in one. ;) But they had a great time!; We headed back to Philly in October. Again to the Franklin, but this time to see the Pirates exhibit. It was nice, but I was pissed because we couldn't take photos. But the kids still had fun.

Geo-lunches: one of the moms in our group decided to start monthly Geo-lunches. Each month we'd have a different country, everyone would bring a dish from that area and if the kids wanted, they can share something they've learned about the area. We attended a few and had a great time. The kids were bummed we didn't get to them all. They'll be continuing in the new year, but I *think* we'll be doing the US this time around. We ended the year with an International holiday potluck/party

Losses: In June we had Amanda's cat put down. He wasn't very old but had a lot of health issues. I had really put this off for way longer than I should have. I don't think he was suffering, but he was getting worse. And it would have been way more traumatic if she found he died rather than just putting him down. And then if that wasn't enough, either on Halloween day or the day after, something killed her bunny. We are pretty sure it was a fox as we've had one stalking around all summer. But whatever it was, took the bunny. we couldn't even find any trails of fur; And not as sad & upsetting as the pets, but Amanda had her wisdom teeth removed in Sept. She did WAY better than I ever expected. So either she is really tough, or everyone else is wimpy. hehe We had planned to start back with school that week, but that was put on hold. Jake didn't mind one bit. ;)

Fun & Entertainment: I like April sometime I had won tickets from a local radio station to see John Mayer playing at Merriweather Post. So a friend and I headed off one icky day in July. Yep, it was storming something terrible on the day of the concert. We still went, in the rain. And wouldn't you know it, the rain stopped during the last song of the night. Aww, how kind of you monster nature. LOL We also saw a few movies throughout the year. Not as many as I had planned on. But oh well.

Birthdays: Amanda turned 15 in August. She just invites some kids over anymore, they hang out and chat, play Rock Band, etc. This year though they did Henna tattoos. This was fun, but stinky. lol I am glad the evening was nice and they could go out to the patio. Jake turned 13 in November. So know I have teens in the house!! He had some boys over, and of course, they played the Xbox & the Wii all day. lol Parties get easier & less expensive as the kids get older. :D

Work: Randy FINALLY got back to work in July. He was off for 2 years with a work related injury. He likes the job and it seems to be going quite well. So keep your fingers crossed for another raise next month. LOL

That's our year in a nutshell. I am sure I forgot to tell you something really exciting. But I figure this post was extremely long as it is. ;) Have a wonderful and safe New Years!! We'll be staying home as usual. I don't like going out on New Year's Eve anymore. We're ordering Chinese food for dinner tonight. YAY!

Brrrr!

2008-12-22T07:47:00.005-05:00

It is so freakin' cold here right now! Winter certainly has slammed into us hard here in MD. Monday it was almost 70* and now this morning it is a toasty 11* (-7* with wind chill).

I am sick. :( Started feeling bad Thursday evening. It hit me all of a sudden. I was fine all day, then by about 8:30 that night I started with a bad sinusy headache, the major nose drippage. then when I woke up Friday morning, I felt horrible. I was feeling much better yesterday, but I guess being out grocery shopping wasn't the smartest thing to do, but hey ya gotta have food in the house. So this am. I woke up and my throat is on fire, I can't talk but a bit of a squeak (tried talking to the cat because no one else is awake). So I am downing hot tea today. Getting ready to make my 2nd cup here in a second.

Last week started our Christmas/winter break. Monday was our homeschool groups holiday party. After much craziness, we made it there. I had invited my mom to come along, but then she ended up not. So that left us without a ride. So we were bummed about having to miss the party. Then after some emails & phone calls back and forth we had a plan. :) One mom would come pick up 1 of of us (Jake) and another mom would come pick up the other 2 (Amanda and I) because she had 2 seats left as her littlest one was sick. :( So she stayed home with her daddy (and he ended up missing his Christmas party so the rest of the family could have theirs). This is what the holiday season is all about... being with your loved ones, lending a helping hand, and making others happy. So we have several people to thank for helping my kids and I get to our Christmas party: Mindy & Kim for the rides; Jim for giving up his party to stay home with poor little Maggie; Marti, Krista and Pat for their offers of help. I love my group of friends.

So then on Tuesday we had our Earth Scouts meeting & book group scheduled. But the weather was totally the opposite of Monday. It was cold, snowing/raining/sleeting. So I went ahead and canceled. The roads were most likely ok, but I didn't want to take that chance. So the kids and I finally got to decorate the tree. And Amanda and I baked some oatmeal raisin cookies.

The rest of the week we had nothing planned until Friday. Which was our co-op's last day for the Fall semester. We were going to build gingerbread houses, but of course we missed that because I woke up sick. But Marti's oldest dropped off our house before taking her sisters to co-op. So another thanks goes out to Emilee. :)

So I was hoping we could have done the house over the weekend with Randy, but I just didn't feel good enough to. I am hoping maybe this afternoon or at least tomorrow I be feeling better. I have a TON of baking to do also. But I did get the grocery shopping and Christmas shopping finished. Our ham is ordered, Randy will pick it up tomorrow evening. So we'll at least have food, maybe not too many cookies though. But I'll at least get a batch of chocolate chip cookies made. hehe

Updates and plans

2008-12-08T19:15:00.003-05:00

Last week well, school wise. The kids finished up a lot of work. Grammar and math are finished until January, YAY! We have a little history and science to do yet, and well get that finished up this week. Hopefully by Thursday at the latest.

We didn't have an Earth Scouts or book group meeting last week. Our Earth Scouts had planned to go to a local nursing home to sing and spend some time with the residents. We didn't make it because I had some kind of yucky sinusy thing. I had a constant headache for almost a full week, couldn't sleep, and anytime I tried to do something I just felt horribly tired. But all better now.

Friday we had our co-op. Pretty much it was the last session of classes for this semester. So in Wizardology, the boys worked on understanding wizarding codes. Then they each had to write something in code. 2 of the boys wrote out what they wanted for supper, the 3rd used a form of pig Latin to tell me goodbye. LOL Then in science we used baking soda and vinegar to blow up a balloon. Place the baking soda in the clean bottle, vinegar in the balloon. Attached the balloon to the bottle and pour in the vinegar. The reaction of the 2 will puff up the balloon. It was simple and quick. The kids had fun.

Now, for this week, we'll be finishing up Unit 1 in our science book. We didn't get to work on this today any. We have 3 lessons to do, so we'll have this finished by Thursday. For history, we are behind in our Lewis and Clark unit study. But by the end of the week, we'll have at least 5 lessons out of 9 finished. So once we pick back up in January, we'll be finished that within the first week. Then we're moving on to Pioneers.

The kids are having some teens over Friday for a game day. They wanted to do something before Christmas, and I wanted them to do so before we put up our tree. LOL Otherwise, our small living room gets smaller. And I don't want anyone knocking into the tree.

Usborne Books - Huge Holiday Clearance Sale!!

2008-12-08T08:04:00.001-05:00

All books are brand new, used for display only. Most titles can be found here - www.ubah.com/T0639 Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks!

30% off Christmas Titles -
Christmas Snap (cards) 6.29
The Christmas Nutcracker (Ballerina Dreams Series), PB 3.49
That's Not my Reindeer (Touchy-Feely book), HB 6.99
Christmas Eve (Touchy-Feely book), HB 8.39
Christmas (You & Your Child activity book), PB 4.15
Christmas Fun (Preschool Activities), HB 9.09
Christmas Carols, PB 4.85
Christmas Sticker Dolly Dressing, PB 6.29
(2) How to Draw Christmas, PB 6.25
The Nutcracker (Picture Book series), HB 6.99

25% off Regular Titles -
That's Not my Kitten (Touchy-Feely book), HB 5.99
Baby Brother (Look and Say book), HB 5.99
Stories of Dolls & Fairies, HB 7.49
Illustrated Stories for Boys, HB 14.99
Trash and Recycling, PB 3.70
What's Happening to Me? (Girls Edition), PB 5.25
Ted and Friends, PB 7.49
Wizard things to Make and Do, PB 5.25
Growing Up (Facts of Life), PB 5.95
First Encyclopedia of Animals, PB 7.49
First Encyclopedia of Seas & Oceans, PB 7.49
Big Cats (Discovery Series), PB 6.70
Birds (Discovery Series), PB 6.70
Art Ideas, HB 12.70
1001 Things to Spot in Fairyland, HB 7.49
1001 Pirate Things to Spot, HB 7.49
On A Pirate Ship, HB 7.49
Little Read Riding Hood, HB 7.49

50% off Clearance Titles -
Egyptians Kid Kit 4.98
Halloween Activities Kid Kit 6.48
Science Activities, Vol 2, HB 6.48
Life on Earth (Starting Point Science), HB 8.98
Making Models, PB 3.48
Polar Wildlife, PB 3.48

Dec 4 - Fur ball's ball

2008-12-04T21:16:00.002-05:00

Dec 4 - Fur ball's ball
Originally uploaded by jodiplume

Dec 3 - Counting down

2008-12-03T20:00:00.005-05:00

Dec 3 - Counting down
Originally uploaded by jodiplume

Dec 2 - Frosty on a stick

2008-12-03T20:00:00.003-05:00

Dec 2 - Frosty on a stick
Originally uploaded by jodiplume

Dec 1 - Inside looking out

2008-12-03T20:00:00.001-05:00

Dec 1 - Inside looking out
Originally uploaded by jodiplume

December Photo Challenge

2008-12-03T19:32:00.004-05:00

I saw this on another blog and thought it'd be fun to join in. I am a few days late, but better late than never. :)

Pumpkin rolls!!

2008-11-26T20:53:00.003-05:00

Amanda and I made pumpkin rolls today. Mmmmmm! It's really hard knowing these are in the fridge and I can't have them until tomorrow.

Happy 13th Birthday jake!

2008-11-26T20:20:00.005-05:00

Can you believe November is almost gone! Today Jake turned 13. Wow! I now officially have 2 teens in the house. He had his party on the 23rd. Does anyone else think having 6 teenage boys in your house is worse than 6 teenage girls? I do! They are louder, they argue & wrestle, they're just plain obnoxious at times! LOL But they had fun, nothing was broken, no one was hurt. Ok so, that's a lie... apparently my old broom I keep out in the patio was used to whack Jake and it was bent. Jake said he wasn't hurt (must have been numb from being outside in the freezing temps).

He got some gifts cards to Best Buy & Borders and cash. Cash.. the perfect gift, especially for a teenage boy with a terrible game addiction. hehe

Here are some photos from the party and one of him tonight, now that he is officially 13.

Jake, the 13 yo, playing some Xbox.

Jake, the day of the party -

From l-r: Levi & Ben sitting on the couch; Jake, Alex, & Zack -

Jake, Alex & Brian playing on the Wii -

Zack, Alex, Levi, Ben & Amanda -

The cake, a chocolate cake with PB icing (no I didn't make this, it was bought) -

Earth Scouts & Book Club

2008-11-19T07:32:00.003-05:00

We had our dual-meeting yesterday. It went well. I've been wanting to start a book group, so my kids would have a reason to read more. Not that they *should* need a reason to read, other than to read.. but mine do. :( So I decided on "George's Secret Key to the Universe" by Lucy and Stephen Hawking. This book seems to be good for the wide range of ages we have, from 5 to 15.

So anyways, I thought since all the parents mostly were in Earth Scouts, we'd just shorten that meeting by 30 minutes, then tack on the book group at the end. So instead of being at the library for 3 hours to do both, we're there just 2.5 hours. So this only added on an additional 30 minutes. I hope it works out OK.

First we had our Earth Scouts meeting. I wanted to do a little bit about Thanksgiving. So we read a little on the history of, the kids all enjoy having discussions. So they were calling out their thoughts and answering questions about harvesting, what types of food, etc. Then we did a journal activity. Some of the prompts were "Pretend you are a turkey and you need to convince your family why they should eat a different animal on Thanksgiving" or "Why would you NOT want to live in the 1600's". So for the next meeting, the kids can share what they've written. It should be quite entertaining.

Then it started snowing as we were breaking from Earth Scouts into the book club, so the kids were all outside running wild in the tiny bit of snow. he he That gave us mom's a chance to discuss meeting dates and such. So we've decided to change the day of the week hoping to alleviate some stress for some of them because there are too many things going on at once. So we'll give that a try for a month or 2 and see how it works out.

I think our first book club meeting went well. The kids that are into the book a few chapters seem to really enjoy it so far. Yesterday we just did some pre-reading things and discussed vocabulary. We found the first few words in the book since most of us had read through at least the first chapter. We talked about what some of the words meant. We had a discussion on why using an actual dictionary and not the Internet is important. he he So I think this is going to be lots of fun for us all.

Since my kids are older, I sometimes wonder if I talk above the younger kids, so to speak. Not that my kids and I have these super-intense-college-level-mega-serious-all-out-debate/discussions, mind you. he he But I sometimes think maybe the kids are thinking "man, what is this nut job talking about?!". The way they jump into discussions and bring up their own discussions, I think they are getting me just fine. And the cool part is that the other moms were taking part in the discussion too. So this isn't just a group for the kids, I think us moms will have fun as well. :D

This weeks schedule

2008-11-17T19:56:00.003-05:00

Last week went well, we had our first review of the year. I discussed the diploma program a little bit that my reviewer is doing now. Debating whether or not to look into it further for Amanda. She's iffy on it. We went to see Madagascar 2 with my mom. That was a fun movie. Of course not as good as the first, but it was cute. We all laughed our butts off. There were only 5 other people in the theater, so we didn't have to be quiet like usual. :D

So today the kids did their grammar. That's it. LOL I was busy thought, so I let them have it *easy* (cuz they always have it so damn hard any other day right?!). I did a major reorganizing of the pantry. Should have done before and after pics. LOL I need to find a cart to put in there yet for things like the potatoes and onions to live on and also to have a spot for the pencil sharpener, scale, and other various items I keep there. Jake, the smartass that he is, walked back this afternoon and was like "Wow I can see the floor!". Then I decluttered the hutch somewhat. And moved on to the table to declutter. We have one of those L-shaped benches with table (the only thing that would fit in our small kitchen area) and I basically use the table for me. We rarely sit here to eat. The kids use it for school work now and then. But normally there is only enough space for me to sit and sometimes the cat. So anyways, I've cleared this off tremendously! I'm proud of me. :) But I'm tired. So I need a bath and off to bed. But first...

Our schedule for the rest of the week -

Tues Nov 18: 4 pgs DG; 4 pgs math (Starting Key To Percents book 3); Then we have Earth Scouts meeting and our firts book lcub meeting. We're reading "George's Secret Key to the Universe" by Lucy and Stephen Hawking.

Wed Nov 19: 4gs DG; 4 pgs math; Science Lesson 4; History; reading.

Thurs Nov 20: 4pgs DG; 4 pgs math; Science Lesson 4/5; History; reading.

Fri Nov 21: Co-op (I need to come up with something for science yet!)

Then Saturday the 22ND is Jake's birthday party. My *baby* is turning 13 in 9 days. *sniff sniff* I'll have 2 teens in the house next week.

Food is good

2008-11-15T06:36:00.003-05:00

A meme from Frankie.

What’s the last thing you ate? A slice of leftover pizza :)

What’s your favorite cheese? White Vermont Cheddar

What’s your favorite fish? To eat, haddock. To look at, any that are brightly colored and clown fish (Nemo)

What’s your favorite fruit? strawberries or apples

When, if ever, did you start liking olives? I only like them on pizza or in certain dishes. Not sure when I started liking them.

When, if ever, did you start liking beer? Never have, never will. Can't stand the taste or the smell. But I love beer bread!

When, if ever, did you start liking shellfish? no clue

What was the best thing your parent/s used to make? spaghetti, but I think I ate so much as a kid, I can't eat it that often anymore.

What’s the native specialty of your home town? Town of birth: Hagerstown. Hmm nothing really that I can think of.

What’s your comfort food? baked mac n cheese

What’s your favorite type of chocolate? Depends, I love a good plain Hershey bar or Hershey Kisses, Andes Mints, Endangered Species Dark Chocolate Hazelnut (and I am not one to enjoy dark chocolate). I don't usually turn down chocolate. ;)

How do you like your steak? well done

How do you like your burger? well done

How do you like your eggs? dippy or scrambled

How do you like your potatoes? Mashed potatoes I like a little lumpy, baked potatoes I like with sour cream, cheddar and bacon bits

How do you take your coffee? with a little sugar and creamer, prefer hazelnut creamer

How do you take your tea? depends on the tea: Iced, very sweet; hot tea, depends on the type: Mint - with a little sugar and milk; chamomile (and other herbal teas) - with either honey or agave

What’s your favorite mug? My Hershey Kisses mug Amanda bought for me a few years ago, the handle needs fixed though. 2nd favorite is my Scooby Doo mug

What’s your cookie of choice? can't go wrong with a fresh from the oven chocolate chip cookie :)

What’s your ideal breakfast? One someone makes for me?

What’s your ideal sandwich? Turkey, lettuce, mayo and sometimes cheese on wheat

What’s your ideal pizza (topping and base)? Bought would be Pizza Hut pan meat lovers; homemade with all sorts of veggies, pepperoni and bacon bits

What’s your ideal pie (sweet or savory)? Apple

What’s your ideal salad? Baby Spinach with shredded parm, dried cranberries, and Newman's Honey Mustard dressing

What food do you always like to have in the fridge? Milk, eggs, applesauce, cheese

What food do you always like to have in the freezer? chicken

What food do you always like to have in the cupboard? pasta

What spices can you not live without? salt and pepper

What sauces can you not live without? tomato and pesto sauce

Where do you buy most of your food? Martins (branch of Giant)

How often do you go food shopping? Once a week

What’s the most you’ve spent on a single food item? No idea

What’s the most expensive piece of kitchen equipment you own? Refrigerator

What’s the last piece of equipment you bought for your kitchen? Cusinart Blender/Food processor

What piece of kitchen equipment could you not live without? microwave

How many times a week/month do you cook from raw ingredients? Daily usually

What’s the last thing you cooked from raw ingredients? Italian sausage and eggs for supper last night

What’s your favorite thing to make for yourself? brownies

What meats have you eaten besides cow, pig, chicken and turkey? deer, rabbit, squirrel

What’s the last time you ate something that had fallen on the floor? not sure

What’s the last time you ate something you’d picked in the wild? over the summer, I found a berry bush. :)

Place the following cuisines in order of preference (greatest to least) - Italian, sushi, Chinese, French, Indian, Thai: Italian, Chinese, French, Thai, Indian, Sushi

Place the following boozes in order of preference (greatest to least) - Whiskey, tequila, vodka, brandy, gin, rum: hmm I prefer wine. Rum is only used here for daiquiris

Place the following flavors in order of preference (greatest to least) - Garlic, ginger, basil, aniseed, lime: Garlic, basil, lime, ginger, aniseed.

Place the following fruits in order of preference (greatest to least) - cherry, apple, orange, pineapple, watermelon: Apple, cherry, watermelon, orange, pineapple.

Bread and spread: Wheat bread, no spread preference

What’s your fast food restaurant of choice, and what do you usually order? Hmm don't have a favorite place, but KFC is higher than any other. Usually get a m. potatoe bowl. Taco bell - Crunhcwrap supreme

What are three of the best dining-out experiences you’ve had? A restaurant in NH called the Galley Hatch. They have the most awesome clam chowder I've ever tasted in my life; pretty much any time we go to the Cheesecake Factory in Baltimore's Inner Harbor; And when we went to Olive Garden for my 30th (I think?) birthday. I had a lot of family and friends, we all ate and had a great time. The waiters sang Happy Birthday to me and one decided to go off on an operatic tangent. It was hilarious!

What’s your choice of tipple at the end of a long day? I don't need a drink to make me sleepy. I can barely stay up past 9:30am anymore. LOL Just some ice cold water will do.

Favorite cookbook/s? Love my Better Home & Gardens cookbook

Got any favorite food blogs? A Year of CrockPotting

What’s the next thing you’ll eat? Tuna casserole for supper tonight, yum. (Sans peas, though.)

You wanna do what?

2008-11-10T07:34:00.002-05:00

Here is what's on the schedule for this week:

Mon Nov 10: 5pgs DG; 4pgs math; Science finish lesson 3; History Lewis & Clark intro and lesson 1; begin reading "George's Secret Key to the Universe".

Tues Nov 11: 5pgs DG; 4pgs math; Science lesson 4; History Lewis & Clark finish lesson 1 and/or begin lesson 2; read "George's Secret Key to the Universe".

Wed Nov 12: 5pgs DG; 4pgs math; Science finish lesson 4; History Lewis & Clark lesson 2; read "George's Secret Key to the Universe".

Thurs Nov 13: 5pgs DG; 4pgs math; Science lesson 5; History Lewis & Clark finish lesson 2 and/or begin lesson 3; read "George's Secret Key to the Universe".

Fri Nov 14: 5pgs DG; 4pgs math. Then we have our first homeschooling review with my private reviewer at 1pm.

I also have food co-op pickups and the kids want to go see Madagascar 2 this week, plus one of their friends are coming to spend the night on Thursday (I think). By then end of this week, Nov will be halfway gone already! Is the time/days going by faster? It seems so for me anyways.

Weekly review

2008-11-09T19:58:00.005-05:00

Well last week we got all of our math and Grammar finished that was planned. We did some science, not as many lessons as I had wanted. And of course History took a back seat again. We didn't have our Earth Scouts meeting, most of the families were going to miss it, so I didn't want to run the families that live further away out, especially since we just were going to do some reading.

But we did have a great day at co-op on Friday. The boys (my heathen son included) in Wizardology were EXTREMELY hyper this week. But we got through that with no bloodshed. hehe During my break (2nd class session, I don't teach) I got to hang out with Mr. Lincoln. He is a 10 month old on the verge of walking and an extremely busy guy. He kept me on my toes for an hour. :)

Then after lunch, it was Kitchen Chemistry. Again, some of the kids tend to be very hyper and very impatient. This can be nerve wracking when 16-18 kids are yelling at you at once. But we got into the activity, making Lava Lamps!! I think Amanda has some pictures, so I need to get those form her. Here are directions for the Lava Lamps. I highly recommend this, it was a lot of fun. Just be sure the kids DO NOT SHAKE the bottle once the food coloring is in. :)

Materials
- One clean, plastic soda bottle (16 oz. size works well)
- Soda bottle cap
- Vegetable oil (the cheaper the better)
- Food coloring
- An Alka-Seltzer tablet
- Water

* Fill the bottle 3/4 full with vegetable oil.
* Fill the rest of the bottle with water (almost to the top but not overflowing).
* Add about 10 drops of food coloring. Be sure to make the water fairly dark in color. Notice that the food coloring only colors the water and not the oil. Hmmm?
* Divide the Alka-Seltzer tablet into 8 pieces.
* Drop one of the tiny pieces of Alka-Seltzer into the oil and water mixture. Watch what happens. When the bubbling stops, add another chunk of Alka-Seltzer. It’s just like a lava lamp!
* When you have used up all of the Alka-Seltzer and the bubbling has completely stopped, screw on the soda bottle cap. Tip the bottle back and forth and watch the wave appear. The tiny droplets of liquid join together to make one big lava-like blob.

How does it work?
First of all, you confirmed what you already knew... oil and water do not mix. The molecules of water do not like to mix with the molecules of oil. Even if you try to really shake-up the bottle, the oil breaks up into small little drops, but the oil doesn’t mix with the water. Food coloring only mixes with water. That’s why it does not color the oil.

When you poured the water into the soda bottle with the oil, the water sank to the bottom. That’s because water is heavier than oil. Scientists say that the water is more dense than the oil. If oil from a ship spills in the ocean, the oil floats on top of the water.

Here’s the surprising part... The Alka-Seltzer tablet reacted with the water to make tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide gas. These bubbles attached themselves to the blobs of colored water and cause them to float to the surface. When the bubbles popped, the color blobs sank back to the bottom of the bottle. Now that’s a burst of color!

And last but not least, check out the fun video Amanda made of her and some of the kids dancing to Chumbawumba's Tubthumping. Great song to be blaring in a church gym. hehe

I'll get you my pretty...

2008-11-06T21:56:00.002-05:00

And your little dog too!

You Are a Witch (or Warlock)

You are deviously brilliant and a perfect manipulator.

You somehow always end up getting what you want - without anyone knowing you're working behind the scenes.

Crafty and cunning, you can work your way out of any jam.

And it's easy for you to get people to do what you want, whether you're working for good or evil.

Your greatest power: Mind control

Your greatest weakness: Making people your puppets

You play well with: Ghosts

What Kind of Monster Are You?

Things don't always go as planned

2008-11-04T21:15:00.004-05:00

The past 4 "school" days we have not gotten no where near what I wanted to finished. I don't plan a lot, but sheesh.. Thursday was spent redoing Halloween costumes. The kids were going as the Beatles until one other kid told us at the last minute she was going. I was pissed. She could have said so a week before, not the night before. But that aside, Amanda and Katie dressed up as Punk Rockers. Jake kinda wore what he did last year, a version of Leon from Resident Evil. (The girls were wavering back and forth on being zombie punk rockers, or just punk rockers.) Another friend came along as well, then we met up with Ben and Deana at their house. Another family also met us there. So we had a nice group walking around the neighborhood Trick or Treating.

So, for the rest of the week, here is what I HOPE to finish:

Wed Nov 5 - 5 pgs DG; 6 pgs math; Science lesson 3; History intro to Lewis & Clark and lesson 1.

Thurs Nov 6 - 5 pgs DG; 6 pgs math; Science, finish lesson 3 or begin lesson 4; History Lewis & Clark finish lesson 1.

Fri Nov 7 - Co-op.

Then sometime in between there, I have to get my books packed up and ready for 2 vendor events this weekend. One in Hagerstown on Saturday, another on Sunday in Frederick.

And the kids are Uber thrilled to get to go to the Midnight Release for Gears of War 2. This comes out on Nov 7th. It is one of Jake's birthday presents, but I'll be nice and let him have it a bit early. (Even though part of me wants to make him wait until his birthday on the 26th to allow him to play it. Bwahahaha!!) So anyways, I told the kids we can go to this, they can play for an hour.. then they have to get to bed so we can get up for co-op in the am on Friday.

So I'll be beat by Sunday evening.

Another MeMe - Have you ever?

2008-10-31T21:24:00.002-04:00

Have You Ever?

In the spirit of procrastination (articles due? piles of books to read? beds to make? laundry?):

Bold the things you’ve done and will admit to.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (on Rock Band at least)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62 Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounce a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Have you ever? Let me know if you join in, so I can read your answers.

From Paradise Found

Halloween MeMe

2008-10-30T13:23:00.003-04:00

Halloween Meme

Anybody want to do a Halloween Meme??

Here are the questions:

Are you scared of bats?
No, not unless they are flying at me.

When you were a kid, did you go out on Mischief Night?
Umm once or twice.. lol

What is your favorite trick-or-treat candy?
Kit Kats & Almond Joys

Have you ever seen a ghost?
Seen? No. Heard/experience? Yes.

The most memorable costume you ever wore?
My plastic suit & mask that was supposed to make me look like Casper the friendly ghost. Ya know those costumes we used to have in the cardboard boxes with the clear plastic window that you could see the mask through?

Do you carve a happy or a scary face on the pumpkin?
Whatever the kids want. But this year we didn't carve anything. :(

Do you dress up on Halloween?
Not since I was about 14.

Any cooking or baking you do for Halloween?
Not specifically for Halloween, unless we have a bake sale or something.

Have you ever been to The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland or Disneyworld?
No.

Any element of the season you don’t like?
The fact that it is getting colder each year earlier.

What is your favorite scary movie?
Hmm.. don't really have a favorite.

Do you cook the pumpkin seeds from your carved jack-o-lanterns?
No.

Are you intrigued with vampires?
Not really.

Weekly schedule

2008-10-26T20:17:00.002-04:00

Here's what the plan for the upcoming week looks like:

Mon Oct 27: 4pgs Daily Grams; 3pgs Math; Begin Lewis and Clark (didn't get this started last week) - intro and lesson 1; Science - begin lesson 3: Vocab, discuss Roger Bacon, read ch. 3.

Tues Oct 28: 4pgs Daily Grams; 3pgs Math; Lewis and Clark intro and lesson 1 (finish anything leftover from day before); Science - lesson 3 Quest Sheets: Read-Record-Share (pg 6); Tidal Time (pg 7).

Wed Oct 29: 4pgs Daily Grams; 3pgs Math; Lewis and Clark intro and lesson 1 (finish anything leftover from day before); Science - lesson 4 Vocab, discuss Anaxagoras, read ch 4 and Quest Sheet (pg 11).

Thur Oct 30: 2 pgs Daily Grams; 2 pgs math.

Fri Oct 31: 4pgs Daily Grams; 3pgs Math; Science - lesson 4 Read ch 5 and Quest Sheets (pgs 12-15).

Plus we have Trick-or-Treat on Thursday night. AND we still have to do some running to find more items for the kids' costumes. AND I need to get to the store to get Jake a new pair of shoes.

Pay It Forward!

2008-10-25T15:52:00.001-04:00

The delightful Damama is participating in a pay it forward plan. I signed up and now I am paying it forward. Let the fun begin!
Here are the rules: The exchange focuses on doing an act of kindness without expecting anything in return other than that the recipient will, in their turn, pass the kindness along and pay it forward in their own way. This is how it works... I am going to agree to send something fun, inspiring or uplifting to the first 3 blog owners who post a comment on this entry (please leave your email address if I don't all ready have it.).

In turn you will then post about this on your blog, link to me, then send something to the first three people who sign up to play along through your blog. There are no cost restraints, but don't go crazy! The little something you send can be something you made, bought, were given or found. No biggie, just a gift that will make the person smile. Maybe something unique from where you live? And remember that kindness don't have to involve money; there are untold ways to help others every single day, everywhere you go - just look around."

I signed up at Spookiez Spot and will be sending a small gift out to the next three people who sign up and post their own pay it forward :) Be sure to include your email address so I can contact you and a link to your Pay It Forward post!

This week went by quickly

2008-10-24T15:36:00.003-04:00

Even though we didn't do too much (outside of the house), but it just seems like it went fast. We did get a good bit of work done this week though.

Both kids have finished up the first Key to Decimals book. They'll start #2 next week. They've been breezing through the Daily Grams nicely. They want to finish these up so they don't have to work in this book the rest of the year (well for half of it anyways, since they only have the last half of the book to do). But at the pace they are going, they'll be finished about the middle of Nov. We started our Explorers/Lewis & Clark study this week. We read up on some of the explorers in the Americas and did a worksheet on Columbus regarding facts & myths.

And then we started with our Science program. So far I am really liking it. We're using Joy Hakim's Story of Science Aristotle Leads the Way and the Teacher & Student Quest guides. We've read through the first 2 chapters of the book and did the first 2 lessons. The kids are really asking a lot of questions and paying attention. They do like science, so I am hoping this will keep them interested.

We also had another Earth Scouts meeting this week. I was reading on another blog about a group that went on a lantern walk to celebrate the Autumnal Equinox, and I really liked the idea. So we used recycled jars to make out lanterns and we'll be planning a lantern walk soon. The kids really had a fun time of pasting tissue paper on the jars, and they all turned out very nice.

I was told about about called Runemarks by Joanne Harris that sounded good. So I picked it up from the library and then downloaded the audio book from our library as well. We read through the first "book" and my kids really did not like it. They complained every time I would tell them we'd be listening. So I'll just take that back to the library. We're going to start reading George's Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy and Stephen Hawking. Hopefully they'll enjoy this more. If not then too damn bad. LOL

Not too much going on next week aside from a Halloween party and of course Trick-or-Treat night. We need to get to the store this weekend and pick up a few items.

Weekly schedule

2008-10-19T16:48:00.003-04:00

Here's what we have planned for this week:

Mon Oct 20th: 4 lessons Daily Grams; 4 pgs math; Science - (We didn't get started last week on this) Unit 1 Lesson 1 & 2:Preview & Introduction - Start timeline; discuss Epictetus; discuss what B.C. and A.D. mean & why this system may cause problems; discuss C.E and B.C.E.; Vocab; Begin reading ch. 1 & 2; History: Read Explorers books; Internet Scavenger hunt - Columbus The Myth Behind the Man; Reading - begin Runemarks.

Tues Oct 21: 4 lessons Daily Grams; 4 pgs math; Earth Scouts Meeting; Read Runemarks

Wed Oct 22: 4 lessons Daily Grams; 4 pgs math; Science - Continue reading; History - Internet Scavenger hunts ( Louisiana Purchase and Lewis & Clark); Read Runemarks.

Thurs Oct 23: 4 lessons Daily Grams; 4 pgs math; Science - using vocab in workbook, find places on map in textbook; Compare Myths and Science chart; Discuss Persephone; Read Runemarks.

Fri Oct 24: 4 lessons Daily Grams; 4 pgs math; Watch Planet Earth DVD; Read Runemarks.

Week in review (I really need to come up with better titles)

2008-10-19T16:11:00.003-04:00

We had a good week. Lots of activities. Lots of running. Glad its over. :)

Monday was a party for a HSing friends daughter, Kate. She just turned 9, but adores Amanda and another older girl from our group, Rachel. So of course, they were invited. hehe The kids had a great time, even Jake who didn't want to go thinking no boys would be there. They had popcorn, and veggies & dip, and apples, cheese, lots of drinks, and then cake. The girls all had fun playing with beads, tattoos, and colored hair spray.

Tuesday was food co-op pickup day. My mom and I rand to Target to get photos Amanda needed printed for photography class. then I ended up getting at co-op early, so was able to help unload and sort things when the truck arrived. I had only gotten 3 items, and was to get produce as well.. but that truck was late as well and had to get it later. As to the photos, if you didn't know it yet.. on Flickr, you have pictures sent to Target from your account and printed for just 20 cents per 4x6 photo! Amanda's turned out really good. So we spent Tuesday evening putting them in a little photo/scrapbook album she had gotten for her birthday.

Wednesday was photography class. But Amanda woke up feeling bad, she was complaining of a bad headache. So she didn't go. Then later in the day she told me she didn't really want to go back because she doesn't care for the guy teaching. She just gets an uncomfortable feeling about him. She's only "met" him once, but I don't want to not listen to her feelings about people. So, I need to get a post sent to our group that she'll be dropping this class. I am planning on doing something else, I guess starting our own group.

Thursday, we got to stay home finally. But had to do some cleaning as the kids had a friend coming over. He comes every Thursday before co-op. He says this is going to be the day he always comes. LOL

Friday was of course co-op day. It went well. First class, Wizardology, we did some reading. Some of the boys needed to finish their wands. They all were to write spells in Haiku form. So they were shared. Jake made a spell to cook scrambled eggs. Luke did a cleaning spell. Jayme did an attack spell that could also be used to feed yourself (along with wand movements), and Zach made a spell to transform a human into an animal. The spells were quite funny. Kitchen Chemistry we did a thinking experiment from this Blog: Think! We did the Apple one from week 4. The kids had fun. Friday night was Mom's Night Out. 8 of us mom met at Tara's home for an evening of good food and conversation. it was a nice evening. But you can tell all of us were worn out from the summer.. by 9:30 we were all yawning I think. LOL I got home a little before 10:30. At the beginning of summer, we all went to Jessica's and stayed until after 1am! So that's how much the summer has worn us all out. ;)

Saturday we took off early and went to Philly for the day. We wanted to see the Pirates exhibit before it ends on Nov. 2nd. It was ok, not as good as the Star Wars for sure. And I was bit upset because we weren't allowed to take any photos. But we had a nice time regardless. Bore going into the Pirates we walked around the Franklin a bit. My kids have been all through the place, but Amanda's friend Phoebe hadn't. So we went into the Heart area. Jake walked up to the guy doing the heart demo and asked if he could touch the brain he had out. LOL Of course he said go for it, so Jake did. Eeew! Then he was telling Jake more about the brain. I learned some things, such as different parts of your brain store different types of words. Nouns in one section, verbs in another, etc. I truly never knew that. Then he had Jake do an experiment. He put on these goggles that were a bit funky, they were kind of like swirls on the lens instead of clear. So he had Jake touch his nose, then a penny, over and over until he could do it fairly quickly without missing. Then he started moving it until he could do the same. Then while touching nose then penny, back and forth, he told him to remove the goggles. He of coursed then missed the penny. LOL It was cool how your brain would adjust to the different situation of looking through unclear glasses, then having to adjust again once you can see normally again. He had fun.

So today, we are just relaxing. Plus it's my birthday, and I don't feel like doing much at all. But of course, I say this right at supper time and everyone is going to whine about food. *sigh* But in was a good week. We finished up most of our work for the week. I'll post in a few what we have up for this week. I need to get some of the pictures from yesterday as well and upload.

Plans for the upcoming week

2008-10-12T13:53:00.003-04:00

I like to blog about what I have planned for each week. Then when I go back at the end of the week and blog about what we did, I can compare the 2. This way I have a better idea if I am planning too much or little. So anyways..

Mon Oct 13 - 4pgs Word Roots; 3pgs Key To Percents; Afternoon birthday party; Read Explorers book.

Tues Oct 14 - 4pgs Word Roots; 3pgs Key To Percents; Start Lewis & Clark unit study (continue throughout week until first lesson is finished); Food co-op pick-up & other errands.

Wed Oct 15 - 4pgs Word Roots (book is finished); 3pgs Key To Percents; Photography class; Science reading.

Thurs Oct 16 - 4pgs Daily Grams; 3 pgs Key To Percents; Science activities.

Fri Oct 17 - All Day Co-op; MNO

Sat Oct 18 - Day trip to Philly

So we'll see how well it goes. We normally do not do much running, hehe.

Week in review

2008-10-10T19:50:00.004-04:00

This week seemed to go fast! I guess 'cause we kept pretty busy with school things. I am proud of us, because we did our week EVERY single day. :) I'm a slacker at times, so this is a big deal for me.

The kids really do not enjoy Grammar/English/Language Arts (whatever you wanna call it), and I just want to be sure they know something. So they don't have a lot to do this year. Just a book (maybe more later in the school year) of Word Roots and the last half of the Daily Grams Jr/Sr. So since they hate it so much, we do lots of extras each day just so they finish it early. By Wed next week, they'll be finished the Word Roots books. they did 4 pages a day. Then we'll start the Daily Grams. And these literally take less than 5 minutes per day/lesson, so they do another 4 pages of these a day. So that should be finished off by mid Nov. They are happy knowing that they'll be done then with that stuff. And for L. Arts then, we'll just be doing lots of book reading (with some study guides now and then).

And hopefully if they continue with at least 3 lessons/pages per day of the Key To math books, they'll be finished with the Percents books by the end of Nov. as well. then after the Holidays we start with MUS Pre-Algebra.

Amanda missed photography class this week, since she wasn't feeling good. But aside from that, we had no outings planned. So it was a nice calm week. :) Next week is going to be busy thought. Only 1 day we have no where to be. *sigh*

Phlour (flour), Philly & Photos

2008-10-09T20:01:00.005-04:00

Phlour/Flour -- I guess when my kids were littler, I just didn't let them bake with me enough. (I will admit, I didn't bake with them often, because I am not always very patient.) But anyways, when we do bake.. I swear to dog my 15 yo turns into a damn 3 yo again. She can NOT scoop out flour without playing in it. And most times, she has to dust her face with it also. It'd be funnier if she was doing this while baking with someone else. hehe

We are planning a day trip to Philly on the 18th. I've been wanting to go see the Pirates exhibit before it ends in Nov. We basically go just for the special exhibits, which is why we are members. Saves us a bunch. Amanda is a tad upset that we aren't spending the night... but we just don't have the extra money now to do so. I do plan to stay over sometime soon hopefully because we want to visit the Adventure Aquarium in NJ as well. But for now, just a day trip. I think Amanda is inviting a friend along.

And lastly Photos... I am such a slacker when it comes to taking pictures. I always forget when we do cool projects to snap pictures. At co-op I am always so busy teaching, I never get shots of the kids doing their kitchen chemistry experiments. I don't EVER have the camera on me while out and about when something really fucking awesome happens. I need to remind myself to always keep the camera with me. *sigh* And I never get really cool, candid shots of my kids. (Same as mentioned a second ago.. never have the camera at the right times.) Oh well, what can ya do? Bitch about it then move on right. :)

I've come back...

2008-10-08T10:40:00.002-04:00

I think. The other site I was blogging at doesn't seem very active anymore. So I figured I'd just come back over here. I can edit my blogger page easier. Plus the oldest brat can help me over here, I think.

And blogger feels more "grown-up" kinda. Sometimes on other sites I don't feel like I can say what I really want to, because I don't want to offend anyone. I know, they were my personal blog spaces, but I still felt like that. And I don't want to. I want a place where I feel as comfortable as I do in my own home. So in blogger-land, I am pretty much an unknown.. so I can do and say whatever the hell I want. :) Plus I want a space that, for me, is secular.

So anyways, whatever.. I am just talking to myself again. So for now, I shall be here. Right here. On Blogger.

This week...

2007-06-11T07:31:00.000-04:00

Ok, I will admit, I AM a slacker. LOL We didn't do much in finishing up with history or science last week. What we did manage to do was run around town way too much! So.. we WILL finish up this week. ;)

We have a bit more to read from our Weather spotters guide book, then will finish off the kit with building the gauges and such. We have a few lessons to do in our Ancient Greece book, and a little reading yet as well. Then after that, all we have is the Fractions booklet to finish, and into decimals through the summer. I told the kids that once they complete the daily 4 pages of fractions, they'll only need to do 2 pages daily in decimals. Just something to keep their brains *thinking about math* instead of turning to mush. LOL

We are planning to visit some local places. I've been going through my favorites of travel ideas. Here is one I want to hit this month hopefully - Brookside Gardens It has a really nice Butterfly exhibit. We also finally got our GPS unit, so I need to learn that this week so we can start Geocaching! (This is something we want to do a bit of before DH ends up having knee surgery again.)

So this is what our week looks like -
1. Finish the Weather Kid Kit
2. Finish the Ancient Greece unit
3. Learn how to use the GPS unit!!

Monday, Monday

2007-06-04T07:08:00.000-04:00

Ok, so by now we are usually finished with our school "year".. but we ended up a tad behind this time. We have a bit of science and history yet to complete. And both kids are doing some math throughout the summer, just so they don't forget what they've learned this year.

I was hoping that most of our science work would have been finished last week.. but that didn't happen. *sigh* So I am hoping we can get the science and most of our history finished this week. So basically all we'll be doing is math and reading books through the summer.

Public schools are finished Wed. this week. So I'll be watching the girl I babysit every summer again. The kids usually do not want to do any work when she is here.. so we'll have to argue about that for a day or 2. LOL

This week at Homeschool EStore

2007-05-31T08:21:00.000-04:00

The Statue of Liberty History/Literature Unit Study

The weekend & Historic Harper's Ferry

2007-05-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

I haven't gotten anything done the past few days. Saturday was spent cleaning out our horse shoe pits (that we didn't use) and finishing the last bit of cleaning in the patio. The Randy got the brillant idea to rip out these ugly, stinky "trees" in the yard by the pits. There was nothing but thistles and thorn bushes around them. So after about 5 hours, we had his dad's truck piled way over teh cab. But it looks nicer out back now. LOL

We had my brothers & mom and Randy's mom over for cookouts on Sunday. My brothers & mom came earlier for a lunch cookout of burgers & dogs. Then Randy's mom came over about 5ish for steaks. Of course it started to rain while he was grilling, but the storm passed over quickly. We played cards all afternoon & the kids swam.

Monday we didn't do anything. Everyone was too tired. Jake didn't get out of bed until after 11am.

Yesterday we visited the Harper's Ferry Historic National Park. I will have some pictures up later. It was a nice day. Wasn't too crowded or hot. We visited the mueseums, shops and the wax museum. (That place always scared me as a kid. LOL) Amanda said it was a little disturbing. ;) Then we ended with a climb up to Jefferson Rock. We are so out of shape. LOL I wans't sure if Randy would be able to make it. He knee was hurting but he made it up. We didn't go on up to the college campus or the cemetary. So that's one place I can check off our list of local places to visit. :)

As for school work, we have a bit of science & history to finish. Then of course math is ongoing through summer. I think we can knock out most of the science this week.

This week at Homeschool EStore

2007-05-21T21:25:00.000-04:00

Roman Numerals

Almost finished..

2007-05-21T20:57:00.000-04:00

for the year. After 2 weeks of basically getting no work done, we managed to do some today. Both kids have about 1.5 books of Key to Fractions to complete. So they each did 4 pages of that. Then we finally started our Weather Kid Kit. So we are reading the book that comes in it, Weather Spotters Guide, first before building the tools in the kit. We'll have the book finished this week, if all goes as planned. Then we began our last unit study on the Ancients, so we are studying Ancient Greece now. And we also did one of our new maps from Knowledge Quest's Blackline Maps of World History.

Normally about this time we're about finished. So we'll be finishing up just a tad later than usual. Science and History we should be finished with by June 1st. Math we are doing all summer, mainly just the Key To Decimals books. And we'll be trying t get our Charlie and the Chocolate Factory study finished.

-- Updated to add: And I forgot, we also have the D' Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths and Study Guide from TCR we are going to be using. So that will keep us reading some over the summer. This will be our "lunchtime" activity when I make the kids come in out of the pool.

I am thinking though that we might actually continue with some science-y stuff. I have a few Kid Kits I'd like to do: Rocks & Fossils, Young Naturalists, & the Microscope.

And I was very surprised today.. Amanda, my daughter who HATES math, actually sat down and did 4 straight pages without whining, yelling, fighting. And she even finished her brother, and he only did 2 pages before stopping until later in the day. He was the one whining the whole time he sat there (like all of 25 minutes). I really think this has a lot to do with MUS. She learned a lot from us doing Epsilon this year. I am hoping that math will not be a struggle for her anymore. She only need me to explain something one time.. and that's mainly because she didn't read the directions carefully enough. LOL

Lancaster Museum of Art - Nathan Sawaya's Lego Sculptures

2007-05-18T11:45:00.000-04:00

We really enjoyed the exhibit, I just didn't realize the museum was so tiny. :(

Philadelphia, 2007

2007-05-18T11:08:00.000-04:00

Ben at the Franklin Institute.

Amanda and Jake with the Liberty Bell.

Hey George!!

MD Renn Fest, 2006

2007-05-18T11:02:00.000-04:00

We love the tree peoples. :)

Jake trying on some helmets.

Pics from Williamsburg last summer (and one from Jake at Busch Gardens)

2007-05-18T10:53:00.000-04:00

This was on the sky lift thingy. Look how his freckles burst out!

These are outside the visitor center area. The big map is neat.

Amanda and Jake playing "hoops and sticks" and a sort of lawn bowling game. Can't remember if that's what they call it or not.

Probably the closest they'll ever come to sitting at a "school table" other than our kitchen table. LOL They were coloring "wood prints" or something. (Sorry my memory is terrible, I can't remember half the names of things.. I worry a lot about how these kids are learning. Cuz I'm such a brain-dead mom most times. hehe)

More Pics - Animals at Busch Gardens last summer

2007-05-18T10:21:00.001-04:00

Of course we had to take a picture of the bunny for Amanda.

We got to pet this guy. He was pretty neat.

The wolves were so pretty.

As were the eagles.

Misc. Pics - Tulips, chickens, and a hawk

2007-05-18T09:56:00.001-04:00

We see this pretty hawk now and then. In this picture he was actually have dinner. Not sure what he was ripping apart.

Here is the rooster and hen my father-in-law has picked up since winter. Someone gave him the hen (although we don't know where she is. Haven't seen her in a week, so hope she is just nesting & hiding) and the rooster he picked up at a sale.

Pretty tulips.

Geocaching

2007-05-08T08:56:00.000-04:00

Ok so we ordered a GPS unit from Dell (they had a 15% off sale). This is the unit we bought (I am STILL waiting on it to be shipped though), Magellan eXplorist 210 GPS And I have been reading the info at the Geocaching site. And this weekend I think we'll go to Borders and pick up a book or 2. The Dummies books should be just my speed. ;)

So now, I just hope dh's knee heals quickly so he can go exploring with us. I think it'll be fun. There is so much in our area that our kids have never seen.. our fault (dh and I) not the kids. My mom always had us off in the woods & mountains, hiking & camping. (She was a much better parent in this aspect.. but that's a whole other ball wax there. hehe)

So anyways, this is one of our plans for the summer. Funds will be limited.. so we were looking for free/low cost things to do. Romping through the woods is one of them! :)

Our plan for next year: '07 - '08

2007-05-07T08:45:00.000-04:00

Ok here is a "rough draft" of what we'll be doing/using for next year. I am sure I'll be adding/changing this over the summer. :)

Math - MUS Zeta & Pre-Algebra; Key To books (decimals & percents, whatever we didn't finish over the summer)
Lang. Arts - Tales from Shakespeare (Not sure if Jake will want to do this, so he may just do some other book studies) & other books from our book list below
Science - Biology, Physics, and maybe Chemistry - Lots of hands-on stuff (not using any textbooks for these, but will most likely use some of Janice VanCleave's books & of course Usborne)
History - Beautiful Feet's Medieval History & Knowledge Quest's Blackline Maps of World History
Art - Discovering Great Artists and Art History
Might possibly doing some history of music.. not sure yet.

Book List:
A Wrinkle in Time
The Chronicles of Narnia
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
The Great Gatsby
Jane Eyre
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Hobbit
Great American Short Stories
The Old Man and the Sea
Emma
A Tale of Two Cities
The Time Machine
Animal Farm

Not sure how many we'll get through.. but there are on the list of potential reading material.

So that's what I've come up with so far. I will update when needed. LOL

Early morning....

2007-05-04T08:38:00.000-04:00

OK any other day my kids do not crawl out of bed before 9am. Well Jake woke this am at 6:30am!! I was awake (I usually get up between 6-7). But I like to spend the early morning hours alone. I play on the 'net/computer, have my coffee, and enjoy the peacefulness.

We let him use his money left from Christmas & taxes (yes we give the kids a bit to spend from the taxes) and he bought an XBOX 360 Elite package. He still owes us a fair amount, but he has his Spongebob GBA for sale on eBay. So that money goes to pay off his debt. LOL Anyways, he is just so darn excited that he just couldn't wait to wake up. BUT!!! He is on a time limit due to the fact he is too addicted to electronics and won't do anything else. So in other words, he woke early for nothing.. as he isn't allowed on yet.

Then Amanda wakes early also! She woke about 8am. *sigh*

Now they are yelling about spelunking. Calling the cat this. Wanting to change our answering machine message to "Thank you for calling, but I am out spelunking!"

Then they are laughing and telling the cat "Teddy are you a parking ticket? Cuz you got FINE written all over you!"

Lord help me.. I am not sure I'll survive the day! :D

Where does the time go?

2007-05-03T08:19:00.000-04:00

I am getting terrible about posting on my blog. :( But its mainly because I am so boring there is nothing much to post about. hehe Well I am boring but the kids aren't.

We were supposed to have our math book finished last week, but didn't get that far. So we'll be finished by tomorrow. We have 2 tests left, a unit test which will be done today and a final test that they'll take tomorrow. I allow them to be "open book" tests so that they can look back to be sure they are doing a problem correct.

I was going to go on to the next book in MUS (Zeta) but decided not to. If we would have finished back in March like I wanted to then yeah I would. But things happen and we just didn't get as far as quickly as I had planned. So I decided that for the remained of the "school year" and through-out summer we're going to work through some more Key To books. They have about 1.5 books on fractions that they'll be able to finish by the end of this month just about. Then we'll go on to decimals. Amanda of course was not pleased when I told her my plans.. but when I suggested we start another big book instead, she mellowed out. LOL So check back in the fall and see how well things went. LOL

The weather has been fabulous here, not too how not to cool. We've been outside a lot. Yesterday was park day. So several of us met up there. Amanda wasn't feeling so great so for awhile she just sat and was bored. Then she went off to swing with Jake. They ended up with 2 of the other kids making a very nice fort. I didn't have my camera, so didn't get a picture of it. Maybe I should walk up today and see if it is still up. It was very neat how they were making the walls with all the sticks they found. None of the kids really wanted to leave it. LOL

I am so terrible about bringing my camera when we go places. I think I need to attach it to myself permanently.. so I will always be ready to take pictures. :) Amanda has been begging for her own camera. So Dell had a coupon for 15% off so we bought her the Sony Cyber Shot DSC-S700. She really likes it and has been snapping pictures like a maniac. So then of course we had to get Jake something, so he got a new DS Lite and car kit.

So that's about it for what we've been up to. Hope everyone is enjoying the Spring weather! :)

Homeschool Reviews

2007-04-23T12:30:00.000-04:00

Here in MD, homeschoolers must be reviewed twice per school year. You can either go through the Board of Ed (BOE) or a private reviewer/umbrella group. I used to just go through the BOE, only had one "bad" reviewer in 7 years of going to them. (The lady "failed" us and marked our review as unaccepted and that we needed to come back for a 30 day follow-up. That never happened. Apparently this lady was "failing" a lot of people that day.)

But for the last 2 years of going to the BOE, we had the same lady reviewer. I did like her, and enjoyed the reviews.. until.. she started "offering" more and more suggestions. "You should try this"; "Maybe if you used this"; "You should be doing such and such", and so on. So I felt that maybe it was time to go to a private reviewer.

So last year we did. And I don't know WHY I waited so long. It has been SOOO much more enjoyable to go to a fellow homeschooling mom that has/is going through similar issues we do. I used to get stressed big time about BOE reviews. You know, that queasy/butterfly in the stomach feeling when you are going somewhere you DO NOT want to? No more! I don't stress anymore.

Until now! LOL I suppose that since this is our 2ND year of going through our reviewer, we are able to either come in for a review, or mail a review. So with DH's surgery I thought "Sure, I'll type up something and mail it in". Well it was harder than I thought. LOL I have no clue how to write it out. So I muddled through it this morning and finished it up for both kids before the mailman came. And it is off to our reviewer now.

I really hope it is OK. I'm going to be worrying about until I find out what she thinks.

*sigh* I have a terrible headache (not from writing up our review). I believe it is just allergies. I am so happy the weather has warmed up.. but this time of year about kills me. My nose & eyes itch nose stop. Both run faster than our stream out back. But I'll survive. :) Just not sure how much work we'll get done today....

What did I buy today?

2007-04-21T21:33:00.000-04:00

I first was at Target AGAIN! Dh has been trying for the past month almost to get contacts that actually help him see clearly and feel right. Not sure if the contacts were ordered wrong or what.. but he's had I know at least 4 trial pair now. And he is STILL waiting on another, so we go back next week again. (I say we go back, because I love that store! LOL) I told the Dr. today that we need to be put on the payroll since we're there so much. hehe

So anyways, I picked up the kids each a new beach towel. We haven't bought any in years, like probably 8 or so. SO I figured they'd deserve some new ones for when we get the pool opened. I needed a new Pur filter for our sink. Mine is starting to leak every which way. So They have the silver/chrome colored ones marked down to $20. They had gardening gloves for a buck a pair, so I got me and the kids each a pair. I picked up some of the pink Breast Cancer awareness tennis balls for Amanda. They were on sale for $2 for 3. Then I got some snackies (Monster Bars, yum), some Aloe gel for sunburns :( and some bug repellent.

Then we headed over to the home school store. I picked up the Key To books for Decimals & Percents that I needed. I also got the Tales from Shakespeare study guide. I haven't looked it over yet. And I picked up a 2ND copy of the Your Body and How it Works workbook. I have one, and we plan to use it soon.. but I've decided against making copies. With the discount, it was just about $10 and that will save me in the long run from having to make copies and the time spent doing so. Then I picked up some games! I bought 2 more Professor Noggins: The Human Body and Geography of the United States. So I think we'll have to start making more time for games during the day. The kids really seem to retain the info from these card games.. so I really do need to get them out more often. And I picked up a game called Loot. It is a pirate card game and looked fun.

So that was my day. Now I need to sit down and figure out what exactly our "plan" is for next school year. So I know what we have and what I might need yet. LOL I may do that tomorrow. I am off to bed now. I'm whipped from mowing the yard today. hehe

I think Spring is FINALLY Here!!

2007-04-21T07:10:00.000-04:00

Off to shower and get ready to head out for the morning.

Yesterday was such a gorgeous day out. One of my local HS groups has a regular Friday play date. We don't usually go because it is never usually a good day for us to get somewhere. And I think it is usually younger kids that are present. But one mom suggested the park that is about 1/2 mile from our house that we walk to all the time (same place we meet on Wed. with another group). So everyone came out and enjoyed the warmth & sun. There was about 9 moms and a slew of kids. I think everyone had a great time.

It was just so nice to be able to sit outside and not freeze. The wind was blowing and it was a tiny bit chilly at times. And I got sun burnt!! My arms and face. They hurt this am. :( I put aloe on last night, and will again once I shower here in a bit. Amanda's ONE arm and ONE leg got a little burnt. Not sure how she managed to only half face the sun. LOL I am such a bad mom.. I always forget to put sunblock on them. :(

Today is going to be close to 80!! Woo hoo! So we have some errands to run, then I need to mow the yard this afternoon. I enjoy mowing, it gives me quiet time to think or not think. LOL

So the MACHE fair is going on today (and it was yesterday as well) but I am not going to make it there. :( I need to get the next math books (MUS Zeta) but if I can't find them used from someone, I will just have to order and pay shipping. It's not that much, so no worries. And our local Home & School store has a sale during the fair as well. 20% off everything! So once we finish up at Target, I am heading over there. I have my list of things I am looking for. I need a few Key To books and I always pick up some new Professor Noggins games.

So we didn't get too much finished last week with our work, but at least got the math done that I was trying for. And most our of Egypt work completed. We are still reading the one book and will most likely finish reading that over the weekend. Then next week, instead of history we need to get caught up with our Charlie and the Chocolate Factory study. So that May can be the month we begin studying Ancient Greece. We should be able to finish everything up by the end of May aside from Math. That we'll continue with through June (or however long it takes to finish Zeta). I don't expect either to have much trouble with Zeta as they are OK in working with decimals. Be we'll see! :)

Free eBook from Homeschool eStore

2007-04-17T21:33:00.000-04:00

This weeks freebie is Respected American Women Lapbook. Looks great!

Been another long week

2007-04-17T09:01:00.000-04:00

and once again, we've fallen behind in our work. *sigh* Last week was spent running errands, going to appts. and then finishing up with dh's knee surgery on Friday. We are waiting on the dr. to call back today to tell us what all he found. He was planning on snipping the tendon but end up finding what he *thinks* is gout or psuedogout.. as there were LOTS of crystals present. So he needs to be sure and sent them to be checked. They got the report yesterday, but the nurse couldn't tell us what it said until the dr. reviews it.

So he's in pain, but its getting a little better. He is a bit mad that the dr. didn't do more while he was "in there".. as he doesn't want to have to go through this again. hehe No one does, but what can you do.

So today, I want to get some math done if nothing else. I really wanted to have our math book completed by now so that next week we could start the next. But things happen.

Amanda and I will be watching Marie Antoinette today, then I think later the family is going to watch the Blue Man Group DVD we bought a few weeks back. I love those guys, and would LOVE to see them live. I bet that's be an amazing show. I kinda wish our TV was bigger, instead of just 32". LOL

We've had some cruddy weather lately. It's been in the 30's and low 40's for the last week or so. The past 2 days have been horribly windy (up to 40 mph). Today is cold, but not so windy. Hopefully it will break soon and we'll have a little bit of Spring weather.

Homeschool Blog Awards!!

2007-04-09T10:20:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone, head on over to the Homeschool Blog Awards blog and vote for your favorite Blogs!! There are some truly wonderful blogs listed.. the voting is going to be SO hard!!

Homeschool Blog Awards

Wooden tanks..

2007-04-07T20:45:00.000-04:00

Well one tank anyways.

I have been limiting Jake's "gaming" time on the PC and XBOX/PS2/Wii lately. Only letting him on for so much time, then making him find something else to do for awhile. So about 5pm tonight while I am doing dishes and making pizza (I'm a mom who is thankful for Chef Boyardee pizza kits. hehe), he was driving me insane with fighting with his sister. So I pulled out this wooden tank model I had gotten him one birthday. Its been sitting and collecting dust on a shelf, so I figured it was time to dig in. I had him pop out the pieces while I did the dishes and got the pizza dough ready.

Then he helped me top the pizzas (sauce, cheeses, peppers, mushrooms, bacon, pepperonis. So while they were cooking we dug into the model. We had to call dad down for some assistance. We got some put together while the pizza was cooking. Then after we ate, dad quickly disappeared. ;) Well we got stuck again and had to have him come help.. so he just stuck around, "just in case".

The tank is finished finally, we have a few pieces to glue on yet. But its finished. I'll have to post some pictures tomorrow.

Painful my back is. In bed I shall read. Goodnight young padawans! (Sorry I have a thing with trying to sound like Yoda on occasion.)

This week at Homeschool EStore

2007-04-06T08:39:00.000-04:00

This weeks freebie is The Moon by Hands of a Child. Be sure to get your freebie!

Spring break... ?

2007-04-06T07:49:00.000-04:00

We had intended to take a spring break this week (Thursday & Friday) and through Monday but... the temps have seriously dropped here! What is going on!? We have a freeze warning for tonight. Come on, it was 80 on Tuesday!! So I think we'll just finish up our work and wait until it gets warmer again and take a nice break. What good is spring break when you have to stay inside wrapped in blankies?!

But aside from that, things are going well. We are just about finished with our first MUS book. I'll be picking up the next one at the curriculum fair in 3 weeks. Then we'll work our way through that before breaking with math until Fall. I have to update our materials we've been using, as we have completed some things. Our Egypt study ran a little longer, so we are finishing that up this week.

I had picked up a book called "Earth Child 2000" by Kathryn Sheehan and Mary Waidner, Ph. D. at Borders a few weeks ago. The cover states "Earth Science for Young Children Games, Stories, Activities, and Experiments" It is intended for younger ages (Elementary grades) but it is still a really neat book. Everything can be added to for my kids ages, so we're going to start with that next week. I've been writing out a plan/schedule for that as well. And looking up books from the library to add into our learning. Plus whatever books we have at home to go along with each "unit".

As we've been finishing up things, I've been listing them for sale. I am trying hard to clear out my shelves with things we're completely finished with, and also things I've had forever and that I KNOW we aren't going to use. I don't really need to make room for next year's books as I already have just about everything. I just want nicer, more organized shelves. :)

So that's about all that's happening here. We are waiting to hear from Dh's drs. about when he will be having surgery on his knee. It is kind of hard to really plan anything right now, not knowing that date yet. So hopefully they'll get the approval soon from the insurance company.

Appointments & Shopping

2007-03-29T15:24:00.000-04:00

and not a bit of schoolwork. That's all we did today. Randy had an eye appt. this morning, so we all rode along to shop while he was getting his contacts. The eye dr. is in Target. So I made a list really quick before we left. We have a cool book (Mythbusters: Don't Try This at Home) from the guys at Mythbusters and I wanted to get our "Mythbusters Box" ready for when we start reading it. I needed some cheapy measuring cups & spoons for the experiments, so i didn't need to use my cooking ones. I was looking for a cheapy stopwatch, but the cheapest was $10.. and I truly didn't want to spend that on something we won't use often. I also needed some string, so find a nice sized spool of twine that will work nicely. Only thing I wanted but couldn't find were some corks. I know I saw these somewhere before, just can't recall what store. Might have been Bed, Bath and Beyond.

Then the kids each got some new shorts and a few shirts. Then of course during check-out my stupid card wouldn't work. The girl had to call for verifictaion. Then when I spoke to the women at the cc company, she said my card was never activated. Um.. yeah it was! I called as soon as it came. I remember because I was on the phone for about 15 minutes listening to their garbage spiel about the credit insurance junk.. which I declined TWICE!

So.. after that we come back home for lunch, freshening up, and then back out for the kids' dentist appts. They just needed cleanings today. Amanda has a cavity, Jake didn't. Surprised me.. as Amanda is very good about brushing and not eating tons of junk. Jake on the other hand.. I think he'd rather have a tooth pulled than *waste time* brushing.

So that was it for our day. We have Happy Feet we're going to watch tonight. I think I am going to make a Shepard's Pie. Never made one before, so this should be interesting. :)

Our Schedule is going..

2007-03-28T10:49:00.000-04:00

fairly well so far. We aren't getting quite everything finished, but at least we are making progress. I check off what we complete each day. I am also keeping track of our work with the Homeschool Tracker download I had gotten months ago. It is a pretty neat little program. I have just the free/Basic version. If you haven't already, you should check it out.

I had wanted to get an early start today.. but that's not gonna happen. The kids have been up for almost 2 hours now, but neither has even had breakfast yet. Amanda wanted smoothies (yogurt, frozen strawberries and bananas - YUM) again, but I need to clean the blender first. LOL And that'd mean I'd have to do dishes, but I can't do dishes because I am doing laundry. So I have to move the wet laundry from the washer, into the dryer... but I can't do that yet, because I am bloggin!! So she's just gonna have to eat some cereal. ;)

I can just hear Ron from Harry Potter now, "She needs to get her priorities straight" (when Hermione had said they might get hurt .. or was it killed.. or worse, EXPELLED! from Hogwarts. Can't recall which movie it was from, Sorcerer's Stone I belive. I know it wasn't in the book though.) Anyways, I'm rambling now. Better go take care of that laundry.