Posted in Life in General
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Everything is ok...now....but last week was pretty harsh. We all got hit with a nasty chest cold. It was so horrible and it had the whole crew laid up for days on end. I even made a trip to my OB's to make sure I didn't have pneumonia. Luckily, it was just a sinus infection. The coughing, though...my goodness...it was horrible. My whole belly hurt from it. The only relief I got was putting Vick's Vapo Rub on my chest and sucking on Hall's Cough Drops. I'm pleased to say that now we are all better. A little bit of coughing here and there, but at least we have energy. Pregnancy is chugging along. I'm 36weeks and 2 days today! It could be anytime and we are hoping for next week. Only after Chirstmas shopping is done!  School is chugging along, too. While we were sick we read as much as possible and only did "sheet" work a few times, here and there. Gotta love homeschooling, though, b/c no one is behind! Our Co-op is having a Christmas Lunch and Play this Friday. Both of the older kids have their roles in the play and B's KG class is singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". My parents are coming and it should be a really nice time. That's about it. This week is rolling and before we know it we'll be at the weekend again. Honestly, it can not come soon enough. M's rotation is up on late Friday/early Saturday and I can't wait to have him home. If "Dude" comes on Saturday it would be cool b/c then he and his Papa would share a birthday!  Till my next entry, I bid you a happy, safe, healthy and productive week!! |
Posted in Life in General
Co-op on Friday was great and I can't wait to go back again. The kids did really well adjusting and I know that they will grow to love it as much as they did their old co-op in GA. M is in the 3rd-5th grade classes. How sobering to see "Middle Schoolers" on the schedule sheet. I guess I have to realize that my big boy is THAT, a big boy! O is in the 1-2nd grade classes and there are a few girls in there that I know she will forge great friendships with. Same for M & B, really. But, there's something special about girlfriends! B's Kindergarten class is great, too. It's a repeat of what they did last year but I did choose to hold him in that grade again due to his maturity level and I am comforted that there are other 6 year old children in his classes. Next year he will be better equipped to enter the 1st-2nd classes. How many days until Friday?  Last week we just kept on trucking through lessons. We are now entering the abyss of fractions and decimals. Not to mention drilling multiplication and division like mad. We're also cracking down on spelling and vocabulary. I've seen a marked improvement in those two, as well. This week B is working with those Dolch word lists and will for the remainder of the year. On Thursday O had her very first Girl Scout meeting, too. They did a great craft for fall and also made bracelets (using those Italian Charms) for their moms. I helped another little girl so that the one O made for me was a surprise. It's already wrapped and waiting to be given to me on Christmas morning. We'll have another meeting week after next!! Hopefully some more girls will join by hearing about our troop at co-op! Time will tell. Here's a (cell phone cam) pic of the craft:  For this craft you need: 1 roll of toilet paper 1 paper towel roll (empty, just the cardboard part) fiber fill fat square of fall design fabric leaves and twigs hot glue gun paint (optional) First you lay the fat square design side down. Then you put the toilet paper in the center. Next you pack fiber fill around the roll. After this is done you bring the edges of the fabric into the toilet paper roll and while you are holding them in the tube portion you smoosh in the empty paper towl holder trying to secure the fabric enough so that you can glue it for more reinforcement. Once it's glued and there are no open spaces you can tear the paper towel holder along it's seams to make it appear like a stem/vine. At this point you can paint what will be the stem/vine (we did not do this but will on the next one we make) and once it's dry you can glue your leaves and twigs around where ever you like. When it's all done you will have a beautiful fall centerpiece!! (hope those directions make sense) This weekend was rather busy, as well. On Satruday we had a wedding to attend. What was nice was that it wasn't just for adults and the kids were able to enjoy the reception. Lucky for us the time change allowed us to gain and hour and boy did my hips need that hour of rest! Yesterday we went to church. M left with my mom and was asked again to be an alter boy. The last time he did it he had said that he didn't want to do it anymore but yesterday changed his mind. I think it's a great honor but I wanted to make sure that he was doing it of his own free will. I talked to him about it again and he said he would like to do it. I think what made the difference is that the priest actually ASKED him this time instead of my mom telling M to go do it. So, I think he's going to continue to do it. Then yesterday at 4pm-7pm we had a costume/halloween party for the kids at our church. It was VERY fun and the kids all had a blast. We had munchies, drinks, pizza, games, crafts and a story time, too. The 3 hours went by way too fast but judging how quickly the kids fell asleep last night, it wore them out! The girls who worked on this party are very interested in doing stuff like this for the kids. They have already taken on Bible Study and Folk Dancing and now Parties! I helped as much as I could and did the crafts and story time. They made a lollipop ghost puppet and decorated cookies. My mom helped me a lot by baking the cookies and getting the icings ready. It meant a lot...to me AND all the kids! The ultimate goal is to try and do a monthly Kids Night Out. I'm really glad these things are taking place, though. Ok, that's a long enough of an update!! |
Posted in Life in General
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These two days were spent doing arithmatic and writing. No frills! Just plain ole mathmatics drills, spelling, grammar, sentance/paragraph structure and handwriting. The kids worked well and without any opposition. I think they finally realize that homeschooling is the way to go. Yay for positive realizations!
However, in the wee hours of Friday the thirteenth we were struck with a storm that will be forever known as the "Surprise Storm of Friday the 13th" here in Buffalo, NY. I woke up in the middle of the night to no power, to see the accumulating snow and quickly called Michael to tell him about it. As quickly as I called, I hung up because the lightening and thunder was so monsterous that I felt unsafe on my cell phone. We both couldn't believe that we were getting snow at this time in the autumn. It just was very strange. I covered the kids with extra blankets, lit a candle in the bathroom and comforted the kids regarding the lightening and thunder. I snuggled up in bed, called the dogs up next to me and fell back asleep.
We awoke around 7:00am and I quickly got the kids some sweatshirts and socks. I went by the stove and remembered that it was an old gas stove that would work without electricity. So, I made some hot oatmeal for all of us figuring that we would need something to keep warm. After eating the kids completed their school work that was left over from the previous day. Two hours later we saw my dad snowblowing the driveway and the kids begged to go play in the white stuff. I bundled them up, got them gloves and hats and off they went. Shortly thereafter my mom came upstairs and we lamented about the storm and not having any power. When she came up she was happy that we were staying warm. I had cooked some more on the stovetop (prepared ground sirloin for Shepards Pie) and made some cookies in the oven. After the kids played my mom and dad took O to the store to see if they could find anywhere that had hot coffee. Upon their arrival home they told us how the storm had caused so much damage. There were trees down, power lines down and it was almost war-zone like. The culprit was a very heavy, very wet snow on trees that still had leaves on them and high winds. My mom said that people were taking stuff off the shelves at the grocery store as if it were a matter of life and death.
Around 1:30pm, my mom, myself and B headed down the road to check on my grandparents (mom's parents). They were all right and keeping warm by bundling up. They'd already starting bailing water out of their sumpump as my grandfather was very worried that the basement would flood (this would later be a problem for MANY Buffalonians without power). We left their house in search of gasoline for my mom's car, to no avail. And, it was downright scary on the roads. Tree limbs were fallen as well as power lines (as described by mom earlier). People looked lost and there was an eerieness to the area. Friday the 13th, right?
We got home and ate lunch. I was going stir crazy and needed to get out to search for gas, too. I had heard from my best friend that a local gas station was open, so off I went. Michael was due home the next day and if I had no gas to pick him up from the airport, there he would be stuck. I bundled up, got my boots on and took off. First I went to the gas station that I knew was open. However, when I got there I saw some craziness due to incompenant drives and cars that aren't made to be in slush-snow and on a hill. I decided to go around to the other gas station that I saw open on my way there (I should've just waited when I first saw it and I don't know why i didn't). The way I went could have proven disasterous because I turned down a street that was very clogged with limbs and branches. Dare I even mention the number of downed powerlines. It was very scary and I prayed that I would make it. Thank God, I did. I got to the Sunoco and waited. One whole hour later I got to the pump and proceeded to start pumping. The card reader told me to "See Attendant" and when I did he glummly said, "I'm all out!" I don't think I understood him and said, "Excuse me?" and he reiterated, "I'm all out of gas!" I'd waited an hour and they were all out. And, I was on E(mpty) and scared and I had to pee.
With that I proceeded up to yet another gas station. I waited for 5 minutes and decided not to wait anymore and went to the Tops gas station. I somehow got in a line that was six cars deep. The urge to pee was great but I wasn't about to lose my great place in line. Finally, I made it and pumped my gas. I was lucky enough to use my bonus points and paid fourty cents less, too, but I digress...
When I left the gas station I knew I wouldn't make it home without going to the bathroom first. I saw that my favorite family-owned dollar store (Dollar Galaxy) was open so I quickly parked the truck and ran in to pleed for use of their private bathroom. Luckily - 1) the were open and 2) they have compassion for pregnant ladies because they let me use their facility. To repay them I spent $10 in there, too. I got some candles and other things that I'd be able to use (like decorations and kitchen accessories).
What would have really been perfect would have been if the Tim Horton's drive thru line that I was waiting in for a few minutes yielded some splendid black elixir. However, people were waiting in vain. They would pull up to the order box, hear the recorded greeting, talk for a minute giving their order and then pull up when they were not answered. We could not see that they weren't getting their orders fullfilled. All we whom were waiting could see was them pull forward as if they were getting their order. It wasn't until a man came up to each waiting vehicle to break the news. Really, it didn't matter....I had a tankfull of gas, decorations, candles and new kitchen towels!
I got home 2.5 hours after I set off. My parents decided that they would go off in search of gas at that time. They had M with them and quickly came back because the lines grew bigger and bigger. I went downstairs to see what they were doing upon their arrival and saw my mom's cell phone plugged into the wall.
"Why is that glowing? How is that glowing?"
"I don't know?"
And two seconds later my mom flipped on her kitchen light. POWER. We had power back!! HALLELUJA! When we turned the TV on we found out that in addition to hundreds of thousdands of residents being without power that we were not to drink the water without boiling. With that I was off again to find some bottled water. Being pregnant I didn't want to take any chances with that. We lucked out and found some at Aldi. I got six twelve packs and felt relieved that we would be ok for a few days. When we got home I got the kids ready for bed and thus ended our day. We lucked out, BIGTIME! We got our power back, stayed warm and even got gas on this crazy day. Bigtime. We lucked out! But, what a welcome home this was for our family... *giggles*
We'd see devastion and scarring around us as we ventured out in the following days. We'd hear stories; everyone has a story to tell. We'd learn that people died. We'd see news reports about the devastation. And...we'll see, hear, learn and talk about this storm for a long time. The trees will be a constant reminder, too. The poor sad and scarred trees. Buffalonians are made out of some tough grit, though, and we'll overcome this disaster. |
Posted in Life in General
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While it is the day of rest we still found ways to keep busy. At 11:30am the kids had Bible Study. Since this class is in it's beginning stages they are just learning about the Creation Story. Our priest was graveside today so the young ladies that are working with him were in charge. They talked about what they learned last week and colored a mini-book about it. I was thrilled that B actually colored!
After that they had folk dancing practice. What a joy to watch. The kids all wore their Macedonian dancing shoes and you can tell that they love it. I can't wait to see them perform this holiday season at the Chirstmas Dance.
I talked to another mom and the 'teachers' more about organizing a "Kids' Night Out". I figure if I have 3-4 others whom are interested in helping me out, that it will take flight. I need to contact the board of the church to see how things can progress and develop.
We were supposed to go out to our friends' house for a dinner playdate at 5pm but just before we were to turn on to their street my friend called me to tell me that her 8 year old son was currently grounded (for calling her an idiot while she was prodding him to get his homework done). I found it unfair that my 8 year old son would have no buddy to play with so we did not go there. We were all bummed out but it gave me a chance to talk to the kids about choices, the words we use, the tone we use and respect. They took the opportunity to tell me that they were glad they were homeschooled b/c they didn't have homework. To quote M:
"I'm glad I don't have homework. I just do my work at the table and then I can go ride my bike and play and stuff."
Ain't that the truth, son, ain't that the truth! |