Panda Academy: Where Teacher is Spelled M-O-M-M-Y
• Thursday, December 17, 2009 - *Update on Julie*
Posted By Foxvalleyfamily
After a tiring, (and somewhat scary) morning -
we decided that Julie needed to be seen sooner
rather than wait for her 4:00 appointment.
I called the nurse to see if there were any cancellations,
but after describing Julie's condition to her -
(lethargic, confused/delirious, and her color was gray-ish)
she thought it would be best if we headed straight to the ER.
Once there it was determined that poor Julie was quite severely dehydrated.
She also was low on potassium, and had the beginnings of a UTI,
so she was given IV fluids, potassium, anti-nausea meds and an IV antibiotic.
We spent 5 hours there, (and our wonderful neighbor graciously watched all 3 of my other kids on just a moment's notice. What a blessing!)
Tonight she is home again, and I wish I could say that she is doing better/resting comfortably, but the truth is she's not out of the woods just yet. She is having bad stomach cramping and is still losing fluids just as fast as we can get them in.
She is supposed to have a 'follow-up' with her own doctor tomorrow.
I fear it may be a repeat of today if we can't stop her vomiting/diarrhea.
Thank you all for your prayers. We really appreciate you lifting her up!
On a positive note - Paul made it safely home from his business trip.
However, he, too, will be seeing the doctor tomorrow -
as he is is pretty positive he has a sinus infection.
Tis' the season....I guess. 
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• Thursday, December 17, 2009 - Traveling woes
Posted By Foxvalleyfamily
I'm starting to get very paranoid for Paul to take business trips anymore.
Typically either something major breaks (dishwasher, toilet, etc.) or we get hit with a wave of sickness.
This week was no exception.
If you could - please keep Julie in your prayers.
She has been hit especially hard this time, and hasn't been able to keep anything down for more that 24 hrs now. On top of that she has some strange rash on her cheeks (It's not 5ths disease - she's already had that when she was younger) We'll be seeing the doctor later this afternoon - to check and see if she is dehydrated.
Thanks for your prayers!
(But the good news is ... Paul comes home tonight!!!) |
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• Wednesday, December 16, 2009 - Modest dresses for a pre-teen - do they exist?
Posted By Foxvalleyfamily
So many people have commented lately on Julie's height.
"She's almost as tall as YOU!" is the usual comment these days. And they're right! 
Julie is is now almost 5'3" and wearing a ladies size 2-4.
The trouble is... all of the dresses we can find look like ladies dresses! 
Julie is still such a kid at heart, (still into dolls/toys, not really into makeup, etc) and she still wants to look like a kid.
We have even tried looking at Goodwill and on Ebay, but even there most of the dresses we are finding are inappropriate. (Spaghetti straps, scooped necklines, etc.)
These are the types of dresses she prefers...
but we just can't find them (at an affordable price) in her size.
(Girl's 16's are too small.)
Does anyone have any recommendations of where to look for clothing for her?
(Or maybe it's time I learned to sew better.  )
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• Monday, December 14, 2009 - Julie's first concert
Posted By Foxvalleyfamily
• Monday, December 14, 2009 - Drum roll.................
Posted By Foxvalleyfamily
I printed out all of the comments
Cut them into strips and put them into a bowl.
Miss Katie had the honor of choosing one....
And the WINNER is........
Congratulations, AMBER !!!!
*And I might add..... DOUBLE congratulations to Amber, as she is going to have her baby THIS WEEK!!!! |
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• Thursday, December 10, 2009 - Out of Rome!
Posted By Foxvalleyfamily
We are done with Rome and have moved on to the Byzantine Empire!
This is the point where I had planned on switching things up a bit from MFW's plans.
We are omitting a few books (Trial and Triumph, Streams of Civilization) and will not be doing the memory work in for the Bible portion, although we will still be doing the Bible readings (and the reading selections from Victor Journey Through the Bible.)
But from here on out - the kids will also be using separate Bible programs.
Joseph really missed doing CLE Bible, and so he is picking up where he left off a year ago, and using CLE 3. (Since it is only 1/2 year program, he will probably move on to level 4 before the year is out.)
He really enjoys all of the puzzles and activities, and more importantly...he is learning a lot.
Julie has started the first part of her 'confirmation' lessons, (the classes she must take to be considered a full 'adult' member of our church,) and so her new Bible study book was given to us by our church.
Julie was given the option to go to the confirmation classes for the public school kids at our church, but we opted to just do the book at home. It's an 'okay' book....Definitely written more for a school setting, and since I don't have a teacher's guide, sometimes figuring out the precise wording they are looking for in the answers isn't the easiest. (And yes, I could buy a TE, but they are $55  )
 Each lesson is about 3-4 pages long, so we just weren't finding enough time for that and all of MFW Bible.
For history, we have moved on to using Story of the World - Volume 2 as our main history spine.
We have also decided not to continue with Streams of Civilization from this point on (since it is written at a high school level - I just felt it was not 'age appropriate.')
Instead we are choosing to use the Christian Liberty Press 6th grade textbook
In addition, we are adding the activity guide and tests to Story of the World- Vol. 2 (SOTW2)
The kids are pretty excited, as they enjoyed the activities in Vol. 1 when we did it a couple of years ago.
(And Joseph is thrilled because the pre-written maps and worksheets means less he will have to write out by hand.) 
Here are some samples from this week
Coloring page of the Hagia Sophia
Mapwork of the Byzantine Empire (before and after Emperor Justinian expanded the borders)
And Julie really liked the paper dolls of Justinian and Theodora
Occasionally we will do one of the MFW recommended notebooking pages
For art - we are using a fun series called " Draw and Write Through History" that gives step-by-step drawing lessons of various events and landmarks from history.
The kids have been working hard on their 'cutaway' drawings of the Roman Colosseum.
We're learning about perspective and shading. (They're about 1/2 finished)
And we're switching things up a bit for Katie, too. She has also enjoyed CLE Bible - and we are slowly leaning towards using CLE for more subjects for her.
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• Wednesday, December 9, 2009 - First snowstorm
Posted By Foxvalleyfamily
It looks like it's going to be a white Christmas after all!
 It was garbage day today, and I had to shovel a path just to go get the can!
Even my clothesline is burried (And can you see my poor sagging trees in the back? They're all bent under the weight of all that snow!)
 (But I thought the snow on the lines was actually kind-of neat!)
The kids had lots of fun playing in it!
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• Friday, December 11, 2009 - Christmas Giveaways!
Posted By Foxvalleyfamily
***BUMPING THIS UP!***
As my Christmas gift to you,
I've decided to host a few giveaways over the next couple of weeks. 
My first giveaway will be for this set of Christmas cookbooks
The winner will be chosen by random drawing - All you have to do to enter is leave a comment with your name, (and make sure you link to a blog or leave an email so that I can contact you in case you win) ;-)
To get your name entered a second time..... link to this giveaway on your own blog, and post one of your favorite Christmas recipes! (Be sure to comment and let me know about the link - so I can add your name a second time.)
Entry deadline is midnight Saturday Dec 12 - Winners will be chosen sometime on Sunday the 13th.
Merry Christmas Everyone!~
Michelle
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• Monday, December 7, 2009 - Our Staycation - part 2
Posted By Foxvalleyfamily
Here are more highlights from our 'staycation.'
We are members of the local Children's museum, so we decided to go see their new exhibit on the human body, thinking it would tie in so nice with our MFW science.
But um.....the exhibit lived up to it's name.
 
The kids learned about bodily functions
 
And anatomy (here's Julie on the 'skin disorders' climbing wall)  
 the kids played a giant Operation game'
Annabelle had her own opinion of the... 'Name that Body Smell'... game.
(I agreed with her opinion!)
We enjoyed other parts of the museum as well.
(And this is the funniest picture of Joseph) He made me promise never to 'retouch' the red eye.
Other 'staycation' events
We (finally) celebrated our "Roman" feast. (Although the food choices listed in MFW did not appeal in the least to any of us - so we decided to make it an 'Italian' feast instead...and had lasagna!)
We also decorated the tree,
And made some treats to give to the neighbors.
It was such a nice relaxing week.
(Which is good because this week....the 'holiday rush' starts.
Programs and concerts and parties.....oh my!) |
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• Friday, December 4, 2009 - Over the river and through the woods....
Posted By Foxvalleyfamily
and a 70 mile drive in the car, and a really bumpy tractor ride to a field.....
all to find a Christmas tree!
In years past we have had an artificial tree, but every once in awhile we get the urge to get a real one. And this year, (mostly because there was no snow yet,) we decided not to just go to the tree-lot on the corner..... We decided to cut our own down!
Unfortunately, there aren't any tree farms locally...hence the 70 mile drive.
Although there was no snow - it was still very cold! (wind chills in the teens and 20's)
Good thing we all bundled up well!
Our transport was ready
 So we grabbed a saw and headed out into the frozen north woods
 It was a fun ride!
Then the search began. Everyone had different opinions on the 'perfect' tree.
  And some of us were quite sad when we didn't get 'our' tree
We hiked, and hiked, and hiked until some of us collapsed ....
(yeah....he was 'exagerating' a bit...so Katie decided to 'motivate' him a little - LOL) Others needed to be carried...
But eventually we found our tree!
 The men got busy with their lumberjack work
 And we all had another wagon ride back to the station
 (some of us were a bit tired after an hour hiking around in the cold....
  Others were happy and excited
 
Our tree was bundled and tied for the long ride home
 
And then came the best part....popcorn, cocoa, and cider in the chalet!
And now...we get to decorate!  |
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