Since I'm sure I won't be updating any other time this week, here's wishing everyone a great Thanksgiving.  Here's a look at our thanksgiving project this year, our Thankfulness tree:

Each leaf is one thing we are thankful for.  The tree is surrounded by bible verses about giving thanks to God, which was their copy work last week :)  We didn't do this every day, but the kids understand more now that we've been given SO much, and it all is provided by God.

And now, off to my cleaning & filing.  I'm supposed to be thankful for that too

Visit www.homeschoolblogger.com/threelittleladies for more wrap ups. 

From the Heart: I thoroughly enjoyed having a couple of days off from work this week.  Since I've been doing so many 7-3 shifts, my body is used to waking at 4:30 or 5:00.  I decided to take a Tylenol PM one night to see if it would help me to sleep in a bit.  It was  to  in until 8:00 the next morning!  Since dh's  was yesterday, we invited his family over for some cake.  While talking with my sis-in-law, I mentioned that I would be unable to have  with my family since I have to work the day of the family dinner.  She invited us to her house on  day.    On the Homefront: I'm getting geared up for the season.  I know I will have to do well with managing my time to make sure that the get wrapped, that the homemade gifts get done, etc.  I plan to enjoy the season though.  I refuse to let myself get  or  over getting things done for . While dd headed out to a church activity on Saturday morning, I turned on some  music and wrapped a few gifts.    In the School Room: Since I had a couple of days off work this week, we did a girls' group on Wednesday afternoon.  Each girl brought something to be used in making trail mix.  I poured each item into a separate bowl.  Next, the girls could come along with a baggie and fill it with the items of their own choosing.  They seemed to enjoy putting together their own trail mix.   Since I don't know my schedule for December, I don't know if we will be able to plan any girls' groups for next month.  Because of that, dd and I bought several different Christmas mugs so each girl could take a mug home with her today. If we do have a meeting next month, we'll have to try to come up with something different.   While purchasing mugs, I decided to get for me that has a  on it.  I love snowmen, and I like that I can continue using it even after Christmas because it isn't a mug.       On the work front: One day, an elderly lady came in by ambulance.  When she realized where she was, she yelled, "OH!  You can't keep me here!  I have an appointment to get a permanent in my hair tomorrow!"    Another time, I had a patient walk in my office.  I said, "What are we doing for you today?"  The patient replied, "I'm here to get goosed," then handed me the paperwork with prep instructions.  He was there for a colonoscopy.    Starting in December, our work days will be 8 hours long instead of 7-1/2 hours long.    In the Kitchen: On Monday, I worked all day then came home and made a double batch of Cincinnati chili.  By double batch, I mean I used 2 packages of the spice mix for it.  This means I had to use 12 c. of water, 3 pounds of ground beef, and 2 cans of tomato paste.  It sure took a while, especially when I had to puree all of it in the blender.  Once finished, I put meal-sized portions in freezer bags so that we will have several meals saved back for later use.    On Wednesday, since we were having the girls' group, I wanted to do something quick and easy for supper, so I made taco soup in the crock pot.   Thursday morning, I assisted dd while she made a chocolate sheet cake for dh's  .  This is his favorite cake, so he was quite pleased when he walked in and saw it on the kitchen counter.      Refreshing my spirit: I continue to struggle in this area because I am so terribly tired when I get home in the afternoon.  Now that I am back in the admissions department (as opposed to ER), it is hard to read anything at lunch because it is always so noisy on the floor.    In the Literary Scene: I am still reading Passionate Housewives Desperate for God.  This book is a great read, even if I am working outside the home.  It has given me much food for thought.  (Thanks Bobbi, for telling us about the great deal on this book through Vision Forum.)    for stopping by!  I hope you return soon. May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you.

We're officially on Thanksgiving break!!    *insert gleeful dancing here*  I wasn't very focused this week on what I was doing.....honestly I was daydreaming far more than I should have about what I'll be able to get caught up on over our break.  Still, I managed to do official Tot School four days this week, with a very, very light 5th day.  So light I probably shouldn't even count it.....and yet I will.

Monday:

• ABC-123 page
• File folder game: Falling Leaves
• extra time with speech homework

Tuesday:

• File Folder Game:  Harvest Patterns
• Ladybug stickers on letter L page
• Classifying/sequencing:  Little to Large

Pictures from Tuesday:

"I did it!!" is what he's saying here.  This is the first time Peanut has been able to do an ABABA sequencing exercise and not have a problem with it.  He topped that stunt farther down the file folder by doing an AABBAA sequence!  We were all sooo excited!!

Little to Large.  These are from a pool noodle, they'll make great star paint stamps when we get to the letter S!!  Can't remember whose blog I swiped this from.  Whoever you are, I thank you.   Oh, and he's also letting all of you out there in blog-land how many stars he counted.

Little Ladybugs on the Letter L.

Wednesday:

• ABC-123 page
• Lacing blocks onto a shoestring (He finally figured out how to do this!)
• Apples: Little to Large

Pictures from Wednesday:

See the steely determination as he figures out how to get that little string through the hole. 

Sequencing apples, little to large.

Thursday:

• Handwriting Without Tears page
• Little Hands to Heaven page -- Letter review
• Make a Ladybug craft

Pictures from Thursday:

Friday:

• Played with play-doh
• Went to the river front park with cousins & got to visit with Aunt & Uncle we don't get to see very often......okay that was really mommy :)  Peanut played with his cousins.

Really, this was a great week for Peanut, and I didn't even realize it.  He was able to sequence from little to big, string the blocks onto string, and complete patterns he hadn't been able to do before.  Three things he's not accomplished before now.  I guess that's a nice perk of blogging all of these things.  With the business of this week, these accomplishments didn't stick out to me before.  What a nice way to begin our vacation.

Also this week, our little Peanut turned the big 0-5!  When did my baby boy get so old?  We celebrated with the necessary balloons:

Presents:

And his very favorite birthday cake:

Constitution = 17 printed pages to run the entire country.

"Health Care" bill = 2,074 (unread) printed pages to ruin - eh hemmm - run 1/6 of our economy.   

What's wrong w/this picture?

2 c. water
3 TB. liquid Castile Soap
20-30 drops of Tea Tree Oil

~Mix well in a spray bottle. 
~Squirt on everything from baby's bottom to the cutting board!

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

The intended purpose is to " improve the well-being, health, and development of children by enabling the establishment and expansion of high quality programs providing voluntary home visitation for families with young children and families expecting children."

"Health and safety inspectors are to be given unprecedented access to family homes to ensure that parents are protecting their children from household accidents.

New guidance drawn up at the request of the Department of Health urges councils and other public sector bodies to “collect data” on properties where children are thought to be at “greatest risk of unintentional injury”.

Council staff will then be tasked with overseeing the installation of safety devices in homes, including smoke alarms, stair gates, hot water temperature restrictors, oven guards and window and door locks.

The draft guidance by a committee at the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) has been criticised as intrusive and further evidence of the “creeping nanny state”.

Where are the safety devices for the "creeping nanny" who keeps sticking her nose into our personal lives?

Why homeschoolers support this bill or President Obama is beyond my understanding.

-Spunky

Cross-posted, with permission, from SpunkyHomeSchool

School has been going pretty good this year.  Right now I'm behind on grading papers, but tonight or tomorrow night I'll get caught up with that.  I'm almost done making assignments until Thanksgiving break.  I'm going to have the kids do school on Monday and somewhat on Tuesday.  It will be more of "holiday school".  We'll be shopping for food items, reading Thanksgiving books and watching holiday movies, but it will also be a catch-up day for my high schoolers if they need it, and they probably will.