The cleaning up and cleaning out fever has struck early this year.  Usually it doesn't hit me until after Christmas, but I've been busy the last couple of days.  I've cleaned out the small file cabinet beside my desk -- the top drawer, full of homeschooling stuff, has probably not been cleaned out since we began homeschooling! -- and the file cabinet in my desk.  The motor on my shredder is probably almost burned up...or is that out??  I've got all that done, though, and now I'm working on reorganizing my school notebook.  Fun stuff! Yes, I know that I'm weird. 

Of course, that same cleaning frenzy hasn't hit with regards to housework.  My in-laws are coming over tomorrow and I serioulsy hope they leave the white gloves at home.  Maybe I'll let the kids draw pictures in the dust on the ledge in the living room and we'll tell the in-laws it's an art project!  lol

Why are the in-laws coming over on Sunday, you might ask?  Well, tomorrow is my baby boy's birthday.  Yep, Josh is going to be 7.  I can't believe how fast the years have flown.  I can remember my seventh birthday and here my boy is turning 7.  He's growing up way to fast for me.  I spent some time with him today while Brian and Brianna were out doing some Christmas shopping.  We bribed Megan with some popcorn and Noggin while we played cards (I taught Josh to shuffle) and talked...or chatted, as Josh called it.  Then, we played video games (he taught me how to play Star Wars).  After I spent some time with Josh, I spent some time with Megan.  We colored and watched TV...stuff I'm good at.  lol

I've spent the rest of the day cleaning up and reorganizing at my desk.  I did stop to fix supper.  It was a new recipe.  It was a Campbell's soup recipe that I saw in a magazine.  It was supposed to be low-fat, but I fattened it up a bit...as if I needed to do that.  It was pretty good.  I also put together a dessert for tomorrow that I haven't made in years.  It's called Strawberry Pretzel Salad.  It's really delicious, but I combined two steps that I thought wouldn't be a big deal.  Apparently it was, in fact, a big deal because the Jell-O isn't jelling and the top layer is like water.  It's in the fridge now and I'm seriously hoping that it improves before tomorrow.  *sigh*

I'll be making cupcakes tomorrow for Josh's birthday party on Monday.  The theme has changed about ten times, but he finally settled on NASCAR.  I bought some cupcakes, some sugar decorations and a NASCAR trophy candle.  I'm going to ice half the cupcakes black and the other half white and arrange them like a checkered flag.  I've never made any of the kids' birthday cakes, so this is new territory for me.  However, with our newly out of debt status, we're being VERY frugal...and we've already conceded to spending more on the birthday party itself than we originally intended.  I think the cupcakes will be cute, though.  I'm feeling confident.  lol

I guess I'd better get back to organizing and game-making.  ;-)

I couldn't stand it anymore!  Neither the kids nor I have felt like "doing school" since Thanksgiving.  I have been saying for two weeks now that next year I'm going to try to work our schedule so that we can take off the week after Thanksgiving and the entire month of December.  Yesterday, my heart really wasn't in it and neither were the kids.  So, I told them that if they could sit through the last five chapters (short chapters) of the book we were reading, plus the other two books we needed to finish and if they could finish up whatever seatwork that needed to be done, we would make yesterday our last day of school until after Christmas.  They were all for it.  So, we worked like crazy yesterday and now we're off.  I think we'll start back on January 2 rather than the following Monday, so that will really only make us a couple of days off schedule for ending school in mid-May, rather than a week off.  It sounds worth it to me!

I spent most of the afternoon yesterday cleaning the basement -- our playroom/office.  I did "Mom-cleaning" -- you know, the kind of cleaning that involves lots of trash bags!  I told Brian I think I'm going to make the kids start signing out their toys so that I know who's responsible for picking up what!  lol

I hope to spend time today or tomorrow working on our new math and reading "centers."  They aren't going to be as elaborate as our writing center.  They'll be portable.  I finally found some plastic storage boxes with lids that will fit in the cabinets under my china hutch and I've already got them filled with our math and reading supplies -- manipulatives, books, games, etc.  I'm going to look over some materials that a friend sent me and some things I found on the Internet and see if there is anything else I want to include and I'm thinking of making some "mini-offices" for each center -- or, at least, the math one.  This  same friend also sent me a great link for some reading games.  I've already printed off the materials to make two of the games and they'll be included in the reading center.  I'll be sure to post about our new centers once I get them put together.

Now, for my big decision for today -- go get my grocery shopping done now and have it out of the way or go have fun with my new centers and do the shopping later tonight??  Since I have all I need for supper tonight, I know what I'm leaning toward.  ;-)  Not to mention the fact that I could go alone if I wait until Brian gets home.  :-D

"There's no such thing as Santa Claus," five-year-old Megan replied yesterday when I told her we were going to have Santa pictures made.  Now, I know that everyone doesn't do Santa, or even Christmas for that matter.  However, Brian and I have always enjoyed the fun of playing Santa.  This year, I really just wanted to tell Josh and Megan the truth and be done with it.  Brianna already knows and it would just make my life easier not to have to sit around until they fall asleep Christmas Eve so that we can play Santa, then, get up early with them to see what he brought.  Plus, this fat guy in a red suit is getting all the credit for the best gifts!  However, Brian balked.  "She's just five years old!" he said.  "Are you going to ruin her childhood?" 

Okay, I really don't think telling her the truth about Santa is going to "ruin" her childhood, but the guilt trip worked and I decided we'd keep the fun going for at least another year.  Then, yesterday, Megan comes out with this "no such thing as Santa" comment.  Now, I've always said that I would not lie to my kids if they asked me, point-blank, about Santa, but I do always try to find out what they believe before I shoot down their childhood dreams.  (Yeah, now he's got me doing the "ruin their childhood" line of thinking!)  So, I asked her who she thought brought all the gifts.  The parents.  Did someone tell you there's no Santa?  Nope.  I just figured it out.

She's sounding really sure of herself and it will make my life easier if she knows, so I just said, "Well, there's no fooling you, is there?  You're just one smart cookie."  She just grinned.  So, then, I called Josh upstairs and asked him if he believed there was a Santa.  Yep!  (This was said with complete conviction.)  Megan pipes up and says, "There's no such thing as Santa Claus!"  Sheesh!  This kid's starting to sound like a broken record!

"Hey, leave him alone, " I say.  "He can still believe in Santa if he wants to."  (Did you see the way that I cleverly validated both of them without lying?? *grin*)

So, we went to get Santa pictures.  He asks the standard "what would you like for Christmas" question.  Brianna tells him she thinks she has everything she needs.  (Yeah, right!  Think I should hold her to her answer to Santa??)  Josh tells him what he wants and Megan, very eagerly, tells him what she wants.  Later, I asked her to tell Dad what she told me earlier about Santa Claus.  Nope!  She doesn't want to.  "Did you change your mind?"  Yep.

So, folks, apparently...Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

"I don't know yet."  That was my answer to Brian's 12:30 pm question, "How is school going?"  Yep, we got a late start -- again! -- today.  However, we weren't just sitting around doing nothing prior to starting school either.  I got up and read my Bible, prayed and walked.  Then, I got the kids up (Megan was already up) and got them started on their chores while I folded a huge load of laundry, got another in the dryer and another in the washer.  I got lunch in the oven, got supper in the crock pot, and (my personal favorite -- not!) cleaned up dog puke. 

We got started with school around 1:00 and it was a very productive day.  We began with a Keys for Kids devotion for Bible.  It also had a journal page for today's lesson.  I really like those.  I just use them as extra discussion with the kids.  Then, we went to the couch to read.  The kids have decided that they really like reading right after our Bible lesson rather than going right into seatwork.  Hey, it works for me!  We read two chapters from Soft Rain, the book we're reading about the Trail of Tears.  Then, we read two books about Johnny Appleseed for our unit on tall tales.  The kids really seemed to enjoy those.

After reading, I gave Josh and Megan a break while I took Brianna downstairs and went over the new writing center with her.  Wow!  There's really a lot of stuff in the new center and she was probably on information overload.  I'm thinking, half-seriously, of taking one of the pictures of the writing center and drawing lines to the different parts with explanations -- you know, like the billing companies do when they come out with a new billing sheet.  I seriously may work on that tonight because I know how Brianna is and she often doesn't ask questions like she should.  I really want her to be familiar with all aspects of the writing center so that it's as effective as possible.

Today, she chose to write a persuasive paper on "why I should be allowed to have my own puppy."  Yeah, good luck with that kid!  lol  She did the pre-writing and the rough draft today.  Tomorrow she'll work on the revision.  This is all with the "writer's workshop" notebook that I posted about in my writing center post.  She also corrected a sheet that she obviously did not understand at all when she did it last week.  I explained it to her and she did a fabulous job on it.  I also gave her the list of spelling words (she was not impressed) and she is going to study those. She forgot to do them earlier.  I think she did a lot in the writing center today and I'm very impressed.

While Brianna was working in the writing center, Josh and Megan were doing their math.  They worked on that while I got bread in the bread machine for supper tonight.  Then, we worked on letter/letter sound recognition and building words with Scrabble tiles.  We also played a new game called "Word Draw."  I alternated between Josh and Megan showing them word cards.  If they got the word right, they got to keep it.  If they got it wrong, I mixed it back into the pile.  The one with the most words at the end won.  I wasn't surprised that Megan won, but I was surprised at how well Josh did.  He knows more words than he lets on.  You're supposed to put a few "sorry" cards in there.  If they draw a sorry card they have to put all their cards back.  However, I anticipated that being a source of frustration and didn't do it.  I may do it later on to add more challenge, but for now we'll just use the words.

Josh and Megan finished their school day by reading aloud to me from their homemade books.  Brianna came to me for help during this time and read from a book she's reading on the Trail of Tears while she waited for me.  After I answered her questions and she finished what she was working on, I gave her her math assignment.  She's working on that.  She still has to study her spelling words, read her Bible and do her 30 minutes of personal reading, but those just have to be done before bedtime, not necessarily right now.

I was very pleased with all we got done today.  I'm going to be carefully monitoring the writing center to make sure it's not proving to be too much, but I have to confess to being very pleased with all Brianna accomplished today.

Now, I need to go get some rice made to go with our Easy Cheesy Chicken and bread for supper tonight.  Yum!  We're going to eat before Josh and Brian (and probably Megan) leave for Cub Scouts tonight.  That's a bit early for us, but that's okay.  I've been smelling that chicken all day and I'm about ready to eat!  lol

I have revamped our writing center.  I have noticed Brianna being less and less motivated and choosing all the easy stuff.  So, I knew it was time for a change.  I still wanted Brianna to have freedom to choose her activities, but I wanted to encourage her to choose meatier stuff from time to time.  So, the first thing I came up with was the "stop light."  Things in the "green" group should be done on a daily or almost-daily basis.  Things in the "yellow" group should be done a couple of times a week and things in the "red" group, which are more complicated/time consuming, should be done at least once a week.  I coupled that with a points system to give Brianna some choice and me some say-so.  She has to earn three points a day.  The green group items are worth one point each, yellows are worth two and reds are worth three.  So, if she chooses to stick with easy things, she has to make three choices, or she can do one moderate and one easy or just one "hard" project.  I also created a sheet for her to fill out showing what she's done each day.  By the end of the week, she has to have chosen at least two moderate and one more difficult/time consuming project.  In addition, there is room to fill in what she read in her daily Bible reading, and a reminder to do her AWANA memory work and her daily free choice reading on the check sheet.

Thanks to my friend, Susan, I got some great printable for our new writing center from a website featuring mini-offices.  I bought a tri-fold presentation board and drew a stop light on it.  I got some library card pockets at a local teacher supply store -- and was thrilled to find a pack with red, yellow and green pockets!  I pasted these on the stop light and filled them with 3X5 cards listing the various activities.  I also colored the top of each index card with the appropriate color.  Then, I pasted on some of the printables that I got from the mini-office website.  I also linked from there to a fantastic resource for setting up a writer's workshop notebook, which I spent most of today setting up.

Our new writing center features:  the writer's workshop notebook, dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedias, books for copywork, a poetry workbook, a story journal (where Brianna can write her own stories), writing worksheets, Daily Grams and Easy Grammar worksheets, a notebook for practicing cursive writing, various types of paper, a booklet that I downloaded on writing a great book report, and Brianna's spelling box.

The spelling box is our new tool for better spelling.  I'm still working out the details on it, but we're going to have weekly spelling words again that will either be from Spelling Power or from Brianna's own writing (with ideas I got from this website).  It's a 3X5 file box with alphabet tabs.  Each week I'll give Brianna around ten spelling words.  I'm going to write the word on the lined side.  On the blank side, Brianna can write the word in big, colorful letters and, if she chooses, illustrate it in a way that will help her remember the word.  We learned that this works well for her after reading Right-Brained Children in a Left-Brained World.  I'm going to write spelling activities from Spelling Power on 3X5 card that I will place in the front of the box.  She can choose which activities she wants to do each day.  Once she has correctly spelled the word, it will go into the appropriate alphabet tab slot, thus creating her own personal spelling dictionary.

I think I've covered everything that is in our new and improved writing center.  I hope the ideas that we're using will be a help to someone else.  Here's a picture of the new center:

You know those things that are funny when they're happening to someone else?  Or even to you...later, much later?  You know, things like "toilet paper stew" being stirred in the toilet with your favorite hairbrush?  Well, here's your chuckle for the day (and, Mary, your payback for me finding your toilet paper stew so terribly amusing)...

Yesterday, after a trip to the dentist, I stopped and bought Agent Blue.  That's the new stuff from Listerine for kids.  They swish it around in their mouths for 30 seconds, spit it out, then, brush their teeth till all the blue stuff is gone.  Well, today, on the way home from a play date, I told Josh that when we got home he was to go inside and brush his teeth really good because it was his and Dad's turn to go to the dentist.  When we got home, he went to brush his teeth and I went to the bathroom (yeah, maybe TMI, but it's relevent to the story).

A minute or so later, Brian got home and in just a second I heard him yelling at Brianna to get me.  Well, I'm in the bathroom yelling that I'm in the bathroom.  Since I was, at this point, aware that some sort of chaos had errupted in the approximately two minutes that I was in the bathroom, I quickly wrapped up in there and came out, asking what in the world was going on.  The answer?  "Josh spilled that blue crap that you bought yesterday all over the place!"  (See? Just as Adam did to Eve, suddenly it's all my fault.)  So, I go downstairs to investigate, thinking that it surely can't be that bad.

Well, it can.  The first drops of blue are on the bottom step coming from my room.  That is followed by a large blue puddle in the dining room floor and a trail of big blue dots all the way down the stairs, all the way down the hall to the downstairs bathroom where there is another large blue puddle.  Josh is standing in the middle of his room with blue all over his shirt, his pants and his socks.

How could this blue bottle have exploded all over the house, you may be wondering?  Well, apparently, Josh dropped the bottle in the bathroom and it burst on one side.  Rather than tossing it in the sink and letting it pour out and down the sink to its heart's content, he brought it upstairs, looking for help!  Argh!!! 

So, I pulled out the steam vac and started working on the hall.  I still don't know how to put the stair attachment on, though, so I sprayed some carpet cleaner on the stairs until Brian could get back home from the dentist and take care of that.  Then, I went and got the mop to get up the mess in the dining room.  I ran a sinkful of hot water and stuck the mop down into it.  It's one of those sponge mops with a roller on it to wring the water out.  I pushed the handle to wring the water and the whole mop head fell off into the water!  Yep, the mop chose today to completely break.  It was at that point that I decided that I had to blog about this because I knew it would be extremely funny to someone else.  lol

Other than that, the day was rather uneventful.  We met some good friends at McDonald's for a play date on their playground.  Other than being invaded by two bus loads full of school kids, it was a good time.  It's always nice to spend time talking with friends...even when you have to yell to hear each other.  ;-)

Yesterday the girls and I had dental appointments.  Then, we came home, got Brian and went to a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese.  Of course, that's always fun for the kids.  From there we went to Josh's Cub Scout meeting.  That was really cool!  Josh got his Wolf badge, which was a big deal.  Then, they brought out the special guest -- a taxidermist!  He specialized in birds.  He brought three that he'd already done...and an extra to show how he "skins out" a bird.  That was cool!  And, not nearly as gross as I thought it would be.  It was bascially like taking a sweater off, turning it inside out as you go.  Very intersting.

I have typed this whole blog with Brian, Megan and Josh in the room talking to each other and me so I'm not quite sure what it says.  Hopefully it's coherent.  I give up trying to think about it anymore, though!  lol

It quit raining here long enough for the guys to come over and work on our deck long enough to wake me up.  How's that for frustrating?  I woke up around 8:40 and thought, "Ahh...peace and quiet.  I can sleep in a bit today." Then, around 9:15 or so, I heard voices, followed shortly by banging and sawing.  I did go back to sleep and didn't get up until 10:30, but it wasn't the quiet, peaceful sleep of earlier in the morning. 

I got up, showered and woke the kids so that we could all get some things done around the house.  The kids did their chores -- straightening their rooms, feeding the pets, vacuuming and such.  I worked on laundry, unloading and reloading the dishwasher and fixing lunch.  The kids had corn dogs and mac-n-cheese.  I had leftovers.  Guess what??  After lunch it started raining and the guys who were working the deck left!  Like I said, just long enough to ruin my good sleeping in day.  lol

The kids and I did another Keys for Kids devotion for Bible.  Brianna wrote a paper on what it would have been like to live when Laura Ingalls lived.  Then, she read her Bible and did some memory work from AWANA.  (As an aside, now I know why all those Baptist folks have always told me that their kids don't need any more memory work apart from their AWANA stuff...dang, that's a lot of memory work!!)  While she did that, Megan and Josh played a couple of bingo games to practice letter recogntion/sounds (we're reinforcing those as part of our reading instruction) and sight words.  We also played an auditory memory game and they both read their homemade books to me.  They finished their seatwork with math.  Josh was very excited to note that he only has four more lessons in the Horizons K book.  I didn't tell him that he'd already be out of it if the 1st grade books I ordered over two weeks ago would hurry up and get here!

We all went to the living room to read.  We read Roughing It on the Oregon Trail and A Pioneer ABC before reading one chapter in Little House on the Prairie.  Can I let you in on a secret?  I'm thinking of skipping a couple of chapters so that we can finish it tomorrow.  I really don't want to be reading it over Thanksgiving break considering what our schedule already looks like that week and each chapter is basically a little story in itself, so I don't think we'd miss anything that would make the book confusing.  Ah, the guilt of a homeschool mom.  ;-)

On another note, I haven't done any spelling instruction with Brianna in a couple of years.  It just became a total source of frustration for both of us.  She would remember the words long enough to spell them correctly for the test, but I would never see that translated in her writing -- typical of dyslexic kids.  Now, though, I really want to pick it back up.  Her spelling is atrocious.  I'm thinking of creating a "spelling box" for her.  Bascially, she'll be learning five to ten words a week that I will choose from Spelling Power, which I already own, and frequently misspelled words from her own writing.  As she learns the words, they'll go into a 3X5 card box (with letter tabs) in alphabetical order, creating her own personal dictionary.  In the front of the box will be study tips from Spelling Power and from Right-Brained Children in a Left-Brained World.  Brianna will have the freedom to choose which study activities she wants to complete each day, so she'll have a bit of freedom and independence within our spelling "program."  I don't plan to implement this until after the first of the year, since we only have three weeks between Thanksgiving break and Christmas break -- and I'm sure they'll already be really busy weeks.  I'll let you know how it goes.

On a related note, Josh now easily recognizes the number words one through five after using the tips I read in Right-Brained Children in a Left-Brained World.  I couldn't be more pleased.  We're going to move on to six through ten after Thanksgiving break.

Josh and Megan had their music class peformance today.  They really did well...all the kids did.  I only taped the performances that Josh and Megan were in, but I really should have taped the whole thing because all the classes did really cute songs.  I video taped it, of course, so Brian could see it since he couldn't come.  My dad came, so Josh and Meg got a kick out of Granddaddy seeing their performance.  I guess we should have warned the kids about the little old people.  There was one lady who kept yelling things like, "I want to go home!" and "I don't get it!".  I found it amusing, but it probably unnerved the kids a bit.

Here's a picture of Josh getting ready for his group to perform:

And here is one of Megan...

After it was over, my dad came to CiCi's with us for lunch.  One of my friends whose two younger daughters are in music showed up, too, so the kids and I really enjoyed that.  After lunch, I took Brianna to her art class before going to the mall with Josh and Megan.  They like to play on the indoor playground there.  I read while they played until it was time to go get Brianna.

I managed to squeeze in a short nap when we came home.  I took Josh and Megan to AWANA tonight, but Brian took Brianna to see Pirates of the Carribean II.  They've both been waiting anxiously to see it and it's at the dollar theater now.  After I dropped the younger two off at church, I took my book and went to Applebee's...alone.  :-D  I had the most delicious nachos (Nachos Nuevos...yum!) for supper (their appetizers are half-price from 3:00-7:00 p.m. and it was more than enough for one person).  Then, I treated myself to my favorite thing on their menu...a Maple Butter Blondie.  Oh, yum!!  That is the best dessert ever!

Oh, tonight was "crazy hair day" at AWANA, so Josh wore this black wig that is, well, crazy-looking.  Four kids were picked to come up front to be voted on by applause for best crazy hair.  Josh was one of the four!  He didn't win, but he sure was cute.  I tried to take some pictures, but they turned out too dark to post.  :-(

Sleep!  I need sleep!  I drank way too many Cokes at Mom's Night Out last night and could not go to sleep once I got home.  I had a wonderful time.  We had a great turnout and it's the first time so many people have stayed so late (1:00 a.m.), but I didn't fall asleep until somewhere around 4:00 a.m.  Brian woke me up at 6:30 when someone at work called him on his cell phone.  Megan came and got in bed with me at about 7:20.  And, the guys showed up to work on the deck at 8:15.  They were putting the roof on today which involved sawing off part of the rafters above the deck and lots and lots of hammering.  I tossed and turned until about 9:30, dozing occasionally, before I finally gave up and got up.

I read my Bible, took the dog out and got some laundry going before I began to wake Josh and Megan (how can kids sleep through anything???  Brianna must be becoming a young adult, because she couldn't sleep through it either!  lol).  The kids got started on their chore charts while I got brunch in the oven, supper in the crock pot, a load of clothes out of the dryer and another in.

We started school about 12:30 with Bible and prayer.  Brianna did some copywork and wrote a letter to a friend while I worked with Josh and Megan on reading instruction.  They also did their copywork while Brianna read her Bible and worked on some of her AWANA memory work.  Josh and Megan also did their math work.  I've been really impressed with how well they're doing -- especially Josh -- on math. 

We all went to the living room to read -- most of the really noisy work was done on the deck.  Josh really enjoyed watching they guys put the roof on while I read.  ;-)  I read two chapters of Little House on the Praire and one of the sweetest little books I've ever read.  It's called Least of All by Carol Purdy.  It's about a little girl on a Virginia farm in the 1800's who learns to read the family Bible by herself.  I highly recommend it.  The kids were asking me why I was crying.  lol  I told them I wasn't crying, it was just a sweet story.

After we read, Brianna did her math and I got some bread in the bread machine to go with the chicken in the crock pot.  After Brian got home, Brianna and I left for her American Heritage Girls meeting.  We stopped on the way to look for a white shirt for Megan to wear for her and Josh's music class performance at the nursing home tomorrow.  We found a really cute shirt and also the cutest little red sweater that I couldn't resist (for Megan).  Even Brian thought it was cute and we all know guys could care less about things like that.  lol

Brianna had the best time at her AHG meeting.  They're working on their horsemanship badge.  One of the girls in their troop has horses, so she and her mom brought two of their horses today and showed the girls how to brush them, clean their hooves, bridle and saddle them.  The kids loved it!

When we got home the house smelled so good!  We had Easy Cheesy Chicken, broccoli cheddar rice (with the gravy from the chicken poured over it, steamed broccoli and carrots and the new bread recipe -- pseudo sourdough bread.  It was delicious!  A very yummy, comfort food type supper.  I think I'm going to go make a bowl of rice pudding when I get off the computer.  Yum!

As I mentioned, tomorrow is the younger two kids' music performance at the nursing home.  You can say a little prayer for them if you're so inclined.  I think Josh is somewhat excited, but Megan is a little nervous.  I'm dreading it -- the pressure of making sure they're there on time and dressed properly.  Ugh!  I'll be glad when it's over, but I can't wait to see them.

You know, I'm really getting tired of starting my blog, "today we..."  Isn't there a more catchy way to start things out?  I'm not sure.

We have some sorry watch dogs around here.  I seriously thought that our outside dog would tear apart anyone who got too close to the fence.  He bristles up and acts the part.  Apparently not.  We've had some guys here the last two days working on our deck.  Brian's parents are giving us an early Christmas present while the weather is still nice enough to get the work done.  They're paying to have our deck enclosed, something Brian's been wanting for a long time.  The guys have done some other work for us, too, and know Brian's parents well, so it's not as if we need protection from them, but, good grief, shouldn't these two bottomless pit canines be good for something??  By the time I got home yesterday from music and art, Jake was more inclined to lick Jack to death than to growl at him.

This morning, I heard a car door shut outside around 8:15 and kind of groaned to myself because I knew the hammering would wake me up.  Well, I finally decided that I must not have heard anything because Jake never barked.  Then, I heard the men, Jack and Mark, talking in the backyard.  Still, no barking.  And, Penny, our inside dog, was laying in the bed with me.  She never even raised her head.  Pitiful, worthless dogs, they are.  ;-)

I did manage to sleep better than I thought I would with the work going on and I got up around 10:30.  I showered, started a load of laundry and got the kids started on their chores before starting brunch.  I made corn dogs and mac-n-cheese for the kids and have leftover macaroni and bacon casserole, myself.

We started school about 12:30 with a Keys for Kids devotion and the front of a Bible Study Guide for All Ages worksheet.  Then, I sent Brianna down to the writing center to do some copywork, a thank you letter and something else of her choice.  Meanwhile, I played sight word bingo with Josh and Megan, then, a memory game that Josh pitched a fit about.  Then, I was going to have them alternate copywork and reading for one-on-one time.  Little did I know that war was about to be declared.  I wrote a sentence using the 'at' word family that we've been working on forever.  It said, "A bat with a hat sat by a fat cat on a mat."  I asked Josh to read it for me.  This went from "I can't read" to him standing in a corner in something like zero to sixty.  It was ridiculous!!  I finally had to send him to my room because I couldn't hear Megan read the book.  The bad thing is, she almost gave me grief over the same sentence when I asked her to read it.  What's with these kids??  They know these words.  We've gone over and over them.  What changes when they're put together on paper in sentence form????  If you know, please let me in on the secret.

We finally progressed to math.  Josh is so ready for Horizons Math 1, we're just waiting on the workbooks to arrive.  I ordered them last week.  Megan is about ten lessons behind Josh in the K book and I plan to let her finish the entire book.  She needs the slower pace.  Brianna also come upstairs and started her math.  Josh and Megan did their music homework and practiced the songs they'll be doing for the nursing home next Wednesday.

We went down to the living room and did some reading -- over the sound of hammers.  It actually wasn't too bad.  We read two chapters in Little House on the Prairie.  If we don't keep up that pace, we'll be finishing it the week of Thanksgiving when we're supposed to be off.  It's not bad, though, because the kids have finally gotten into it and seem to enjoy it.  We looked at the pictures in Frontier Life.  That's all I checked it out for.  Then, we read a chapter in Pioneer Days before going to the kitchen to make pioneer spoon bread.  It was okay, but it looked like it should be a little sweet tasting.  I knew it wouldn't be.  There was no sugar in it.  Still, it looked like it should taste sweet, so it kind of messed with your taste buds when it wasn't.  Brianna sprinkled sugar on hers and that was actually really good.

I left shortly after that to take Josh for a hair cut.  He actually wanted me to let him get his head shaved.  Not!!  I let the guy cut it with a clipper on 3 (whatever that means!!  They know, so that's what counts.  lol).  That's as much as I was willing to give.  Josh loved it, though.  He said he wants to go back there every time he needs a hair cut.  Thank goodness, because we've had a really hard time trying to find someone he likes.  A friend of mine used to cut it, but her work schedule makes it nearly impossible to get with her now.

Today was one of those days that started out good and went steadily down hill.  Josh came and got in bed with me this morning a little before 10:00.  I was already awake thanks to an early morning phone call (recorded message) from someone running for office.  Grrr!  When I got up, Josh asked if he could play video games for awhile.  I told him he could, then, when I got out of the shower, I told him he'd have to quit in a little while and check his chore chart.

I went downstairs and was surprised to find both girls still asleep.  They were beginning to stir around by the time I finished reading my Bible, though.  As I was putting some clothes in the washer, Josh surprised me by coming downstairs, voluntarily, and checking his chore chart.  He then proceeded to do everything on his chart without complaint.  He had an awesome attitude about everything and I was very happy to allow him to play some more video games when he finished.

Megan also surprised me today.  I mentioned to her that she needed to clean her room (which looked like a tornado had come through).  She snapped at me that she was working on the other stuff on her chore chart.  I told her that there was no reason to be so ugly, that I was just reminding her about it.  In less than a minute, she came to me, on her own, and apologized very sincerly for speaking so hatefully to me.

I fixed us some pizza for lunch and I read my email while I ate.  We began school with our Bible lesson and things basically went downhill from there.  Josh pitched a HUGE fit about doing the number word cards (even though I could tell it was helping).  Megan started to say something to him and he got made and threw his pencil across the table at her.  He almost hit her in the eye.  Um, yeah, he got a spanking, stood in the corner AND lost his video games for that.

I can't really say specifically what went wrong the rest of the day...just that Megan and Josh were both difficult and whenever I let the kids have a break, they were just rowdy and unruly.  Maybe it was the non-stop rain outside today.

I had soup in the crock pot and bread in the bread machine for supper since tonight was Brianna's AHG meeting.  Megan asked to go to the meeting, but I told her no.  I took my book and didn't even go inside.  I just needed a few minutes of peace and quiet.  I was feeling a bit better after the meeting and went in to talk to some of the other moms.  It was still raining and I was telling them how glad I was to have soup in the crock pot and bread in the bread machine.  Well, wouldn't you know it?  Sometimes my bread machine is a bit tempermental (or maybe it's the recipe that's tempermental) and I have to check it during the knead cycle to make sure there is enough flour.  I didn't do that today because I was trying to get our read-alouds finished before time to leave for Brianna's meeting.  Apparently there wasn't enough flour because the bread was a total flop.

So, I decided to throw together some cornbread.  Well, I managed to knock over the cornmeal and milk mixture and I burned the bottom of the cornbread.  Ugh!  I think I just need to go to bed and try again tomorrow.

Today was a fairly productive first Monday of the month.  I didn't exercise this morning, but I did read my Bible and pray.  I, then, got lunch (I guess that should be "brunch") going since it was almost 11:00 by this time.  I fixed macaroni and bacon casserole -- well, actually I fixed three of them.  See, the recipe is a box of macaroni and cheese , fixed according to package directions, 1/3 cup sour cream, 7 or 8 slices of cooked bacon (crumbled) and a can of diced tomatoes.  You mix all the ingredients, top with shredded cheese and bake for 30 minutes.  However, Brianna doesn't like the tomatoes and Megan doesn't like the bacon (I'm thinking she may have been switched at birth!  lol).  So, I make a little dish for Brianna with no tomatoes and a little dish for Megan with no bacon and a big dish for Josh and I, since we like it just the way it's made.  It was quite yummy, too, btw.  ;-)

While the casserole was in the oven, I got tonight's supper in the crock pot -- chicken and dumplings.  Yum!  I'm trying something different tonight.  Instead of using refrigerated biscuits for the dumplings, I'm using dough from my bread machine. 

While I was getting lunch ready, Brianna came upstairs looking terrible.  Her nose has been a bit stopped up for a few days.  She was also coughing.  I asked her if she wanted some medicine.  She really must have been feeling bad because she said yes.  The only thing I had to give her was Benadryl, which really spaces both of us out.  So, she wound up laying on the couch most of the day.  She read some and listened to me read and she was feeling well enough to help me with our hands on project today, but I didn't make her do any seatwork.  I remember how miserable I felt a couple of weeks ago and how sleepy the Benadryl made me.

We read a Keys for Kids devotional for our Bible lesson.  Then, Josh and Megan played a game from Sing, Spell, Read and Write, did some copywork, some rhyming practice and some reading.  They followed that with their music homework and memory work from Cub Scouts and AWANA.  I had to laugh at Megan when I was asking Josh what Webelos stood for.  He needed a prompt to remember it, but Megan didn't!  She piped up and said it.  Then, she giggled and said that she should be a Cub Scout, too.  I couldn't help but think about what her AWANA leader said about her recall ability.  We haven't gone over this Cub Scout stuff in at least two weeks.

After we finished all of that, I started an experiment with Josh.  I made some "flashcards" for him of the number words.  I put each on a 3X5 card with the word printed in large, colored letters (a different color for each number word) and the number in black.  I told him to make a picture of it in his mind like I did with Brianna and the word "circumnavigate" (which she still remembers, btw).  We only did two today (it had already been a long day, academically for him and he was getting resistant), but so far so good.  I can show him a card with just the word and he remembers what number goes with it.  That was my goal.

After that, we did quite a bit of reading.  I read some of the commentary from our TruthQuest guide, then,  The Bobbin Girl which, though it was an easy reader, turned out to be a rather long book.  We also read some of Pioneer Days, which we followed by doing the first hands-on thing we've done in awhile -- making Johnny Cakes.  They were actually pretty tasty -- especially with syrup.  To me, they were basically pancakes made with cornmeal instead of flour.  While the kids were snacking on their Johnny Cakes, I finished our school day by reading a chapter from Little House on the Prairie.

Josh, Megan and Brian are now on their way to Cub Scouts with promises to bring back hot doughnuts from Krispy Kreme when they come home.  Yum!!  (As if I need them!)  I think Josh will be able to pass off the last two steps to earn his Bobcat badge tonight.  We missed last week and they did some huge ceremony for the boys that earned their badge.  I hate those Josh missed it, but I really enjoyed carving pumpkins together -- and I honestly don't think that he cares that he missed it.  He is proud that he's passed off all the steps to earn his badge, though.  I thought for awhile that he was going to want to quit Cub Scouts, but he seemed excited to go tonight.  Hopefully he'll enjoy it.  I think it's good for him and Brian to have that time together with other dads and boys.  Maybe next year when Megan is in AHG with Brianna, she won't feel the need to tag along to Cub Scouts anymore.  lol

Btw, Maria, if you're reading this, you've inspired me.  I've started working on my book again.  If I ever finish it and get published, I owe you a spot in the dedication.  ;-)  Hope you're feeling better.

When the kids and I got home from doing our grocery shopping at Walmart yesterday, Brian was already home.  He announced that he was going to build a campfire for the kids, with the added bonus of getting rid of some of the HUGE pile of wood in our yard where we cut a tree down months ago.  I posted about that fiasco, so if you remember that post, you remember how long ago that's been.  A friend of a friend was supposed to come get all that wood, but we've finally given up on that ever happening.

So, while I got supper ready, Brian started on the fire, with three eager helpers.  After we ate, Brianna begged me to go back out to the store to get marshmallows for roasting.  Well, you can't very well have a campfire without marshmallows, now can you?  So, she and I went back out to the store.  When we returned, we all sat around the campfire in our camp chairs, roasting marshmallows, making s'mores and singing silly campfire songs.  And that, my friends, is what memories are made of.  My kids have the coolest dad in the world...and I've got a pretty awesome husband.  ;-)

You are invited to an Usborne Books eShow to explore the world of Usborne Books.  A child's interest in reading and learning is stimulated by the lavish illustrations and informative content.  There are over 1300 bright, colorful and fun titles covering activities, puzzles and a wide range of subjects for children of all ages.

Usborne Books - the books kids love to read!

Hosted by: Kris

Place: www.ubah.com/HOS72050
When: Today thru 11/12/2006 11:59:00 PM

Everyone is welcome, so invite a friend.

It's a rewarding experience when a child opens a book and discovers the magic of reading.

You know, I usually post my whole "this is what we did from the time we got up till the time we went to bed" blog, but I'm not going to do that today (probably since we didn't do much since it was art and music class day!  lol).  Tonight I'm going to post funny kid stories and kid brags.  ;-)

The funny ones...

Last week, we had one awful night where Josh and Megan got up, I know, fifteen times.  I'm not talking about during the night, but just getting up not wanting to go to sleep at bedtime.  I was SO frustrated.  They've always been hard to get to stay in bed, but this night it was just insane! 

The next night, I was tucking Megan in and I asked her what we could do about it, not really expecting an answer.  She said, "I know!  You could give us one spanking for each time we get out of bed.  If we get up one time, we would get one spanking.  Two times would be two spankings..."  I knew she meant "swats" instead of "spanking" and I thought it was a great idea!  I mean, I don't really like spanking the kids and that's why I didn't want to threaten that for getting out of bed.  However, I could handle this plan because then, if they got up once for the hug/kiss/drink routine, they could get a reminder swat without me having to carry out the threat of a full-fledged spanking, but I didn't see it progressing past three or four swats if they continued to get out of bed (since I'd be pretty serious with the swats by the third time!).

So, I said, "That's a great idea!"  Well, Megan immediately changed her tune..."No, it's not.  It's not a good idea.  I shouldn't have told you!"  lol  Every night since then she's gone to bed mad because I remind her and Josh of the new rule.  And, every night she says, "I should have never told you that!"  It doesn't help any that I laugh when she says that...but it's been great because they have stayed in bed every night since then.

Well, last night, I heard her just crying at the top of her lungs.  So, Brian went to check on her.  I was rolling in the floor laughing when I heard her (and it wasn't hard to hear because she was yelling!)..."I hate that stupid rule!  I never should have told you that!"  She was crying because she was so mad that she couldn't get out of bed because of the rule she made up.  I couldn't help but feel a teeny bit sorry for her...and I also couldn't help laughing!  Especially when Brian came upstairs.  He had gone to check on her because he was already on his way downstairs.  He was going to the kitchen to fix a bowl of cereal to snack on.  He was seriously mad when he came back up (like, slamming the door mad!).  I was laughing (at Megan) and asked him if Megan was crying over the rule.  He said, "Yes, and while I was dealing with her, Brianna got the last of the milk!"  I couldn't help but laugh at him, too, for being mad about the milk and not being able to see the humor in the situation.  A typical moment in the life of my family.  Maybe I'm the crazy one!  lol

Then, this afternoon, I called my friend Kandi, who is Josh's AWANA leader.  Brianna and Megan have both already earned their books and shirts, but Josh still hasn't.  I called to find out if there was something I needed to be helping him with at home.  There was a booklet that he brought home (who knows where it is now!) that he was supposed to be working on, but Kandi said she knew he had it all except a couple of things he needed to tell her tonight -- the club motto, a scripture verse and the pledge to the flag.  She said if he would do those for her, she'd give him his book and vest.

Well, I knew he already knew the verse and the pledge, so I told him we needed to work on the motto.  He didn't want to.  He didn't want a vest.  All he wants is to go and hang out with his friends.  Well, he was making me mad because he was being so stubborn.  I mean, what's the point of going to AWANA if you're not going to do what the club is designed for? 

He was being so stubborn about it in the van on the way to church tonight that I told him if he wasn't going to do what he was supposed to be doing at AWANA there was no point in him going and he could just go with me and Dad.  (This is our "adopted" Wednesday night church since the church we've been going to doesn't have anything on Wednesday nights.  So, probably shamefully, Brian and I go and run errands while the kids are at AWANA.  They love it because their best friends are in their classes and we love it because we get some much-needed couple time.)  I told Josh that if he didn't come out tonight with a vest and a book that next week he'd have to go with me and Dad.  I then threw out the clincher -- "and tonight we're going to Lowe's!"  The kids *hate* Lowe's! 

Well, I walked into the gym tonight and immediately saw Josh...in his vest!  He ran over to show me his vest and book (and was VERY proud of himself!  He really loves to do stuff like that, he's just bull-headed).  Kandi said that Josh grabbed her by the arm before she even got in the door, said, "I've got to tell you something," and just starting rattling off the motto and verse.  I was laughing and when I told her why he was so anxious to get it done, I thought she was going to die laughing...especially when I told her the part about Lowe's!  lol

Okay, now to brag...

When I went to get Megan from her class, her teacher said that Megan had caught up the first four weeks...all tonight!  She said that I could work with her at home on the lessons/memory verses up to where the class is now and that they would help her in class, too.  (We missed the first several weeks of AWANA.)  She went on to say how Megan just hears something once or twice and remembers it.  She said she couldn't believe Megan's "incredible recall ability."  I wasn't surprised because I know how Megan is and how quickly she learns things, but it was a proud mommy moment for someone else to brag on her that way.

Oh, and speaking of proud mommy moments, Kandi was also really impressed with Josh tonight. We usually slip out a bit before the meeting is over so that we can go eat (we never have time to eat before church).  Tonight, though, Kandi made sure that Josh got recognized for passing off six steps in one night to get his vest and book.  She was really proud of him and he was really proud of himself.  So was I!  The funny thing is, when he's feeling proud like that (or happy) and doesn't want anyone to know it, he'll stick his tongue in his cheek, trying not to smile.  I saw him doing that tonight, so I did it back to him.  He just got this huge grin and said, "Mo-om."  I love when a kid can take some good-natured teasing and laugh at himself.

I'm so proud of my guys.  I seriously am sitting here with a big grin on my face just talking about them.  I thank God for blessing me with such an awesome family.

Yes, I know Halloween has become something of a controversial holiday among Christians, but we do celebrate it.  We don't celebrate it to the extent that many do and I don't get into decorating for it.  Our celebration is limited to dressing up for trick-or-treating (tell my kids they can't have a bucket full of free candy??  You must be joking!  lol) and carving pumpkins.  We try to steer clear of scary costumes, though I did let Brianna be Dracula two years in the same costume that won me a couple of costume contests when I was her age.  I'll have to post pictures of the kids in their costumes later this week.  Above is a picture, in the dark with candles inside, of the pumpkins that the kids designed and carved.  Here is a picture of them with the lights on:

Josh did the one on the left.  Megan's is in the middle and Brianna's is the one on the end.  I thought they turned out really cute.

Today didn't go as smoothly, school-wise, as yesterday.  Of course, I'm not surprised.  As I mentioned, we start out strong and go downhill, for some reason.  It was still a good day, though.  We got a lot accomplished.  I did get very frustrated with Josh and Megan's attitudes a time or two.

We started with Bible.  Then, Brianna worked on encyclopdia skills.  She looked up John Deere, about whom we've been learning, and then wrote a paper on what she read about him.  While she was doing that, Josh, Megan and I worked on reading instruction.  They each dictated another homemade book (Josh's wasn't about Star Wars this time!!  Yay!!).  After they illustrated their books, they took turns reading them to me and doing their copywork.  We did some review on letter/letter sounds and we played a game to strengthen their auditory memory.  They actually enjoyed that.  We would go around a circle adding things to our "suitcase" that we were carrying to visit our "aunt."  All of us would say, "I went to Kalamazoo to visit my aunt.  In my suitcase I packed..." Then each person would have to say what everybody before them said, in order, and add their own thing to the suitcase.  We kept going until someone couldn't remember what was in the suitcase.

Btw, I was very impressed yesterday with how well they're doing with rhyming.  In the book I'm now using as the basis for reading instruction, Reading Rescue, the author says that you have to teach kids how to rhyme.  I've been amazed to find that to be true...and that the kids are learning.

We wound up with everyone doing math at the same time again today. Ugh!  We've got to quit doing that!  It went okay, though.  After math, we resumed reading Little House on the Prairie, which we put aside a month or so ago.  We also read about John Deere and a couple of books about tractors (which, I found out, he did not actually invent -- he invented the steel plow.  The joys of homeschooling -- I actually learn things!  lol).

We finished the day with Josh and Megan's music homework.  Now, I've just looked at the clock and realized that if I don't want to be out late tonight trick-or-treating or be starving while we're out early, I'd better go get supper ready!

You know, I often read about people having terrible "first days back" after taking several days off.  It seems that we very often have really great first days back and then they go down hill.  Why can't we seem to keep our momentum going?  Today was another really good, really productive first day back after having taken last week off.  In addition to things going really well school-wise, I am finally feeling much better after having been sick for almost two full weeks.

Brian was off today, but he and his dad went to play golf.  It was a beautiful day for it.  I got up just as Brian was leaving and went downstairs to walk.  Megan and Josh were up by the time I got out of the shower after walking.  They weren't awake good yet, though, so they laid on my bed while I read my Bible and prayed.

They weren't too happy when I told them that there would be no TV or video games until they'd done everything on their chore charts, but I got really aggravated to see what a sloppy job the kids did cleaning up their rooms last night.  So, they did their chores while I made my bed, dried my hair and got supper in the crock pot for tonight.

We got school started at 11:30 which you know, if you read my blog regularly, is very early for us.  We opened with prayer, then, had our Bible lesson.  Then, Brianna worked in the writing center (figuratively speaking -- it was cold in the basement, so she brought all the stuff upstairs.  We're getting a heater for the basement this payday!).  While she did that, Josh and Megan did copywork and reading instruction.

It worked out that everyone did math at the same time today.  I try to avoid that because it's generally the one subject with which everyone needs one-on-one time.  That's why I like to stagger it.  We managed to do okay, though.  Brian called while we were working on math and said that he and his dad were almost finished golfing.  We were going to meet them and Brian's mom for lunch.  So, we finished math and the introdcution for our next history unit (Pioneers) before everyone had to get ready to go.

We met Brian and his parents at an Asian buffet place.  It was pretty good -- and served as supper and lunch since we didn't eat until 2:00.  (And the chicken that was in the crock pot for tomorrow night.)  After we ate, we went shopping with them for a bit.  The kids talked Mamaw and Poppa out of a few things at the thrift store and the Dollar Tree.  One great find was a Darth Vader mask.  Brianna and Megan both got Halloween costumes a few weeks ago, but we couldn't find the one Josh wanted (a storm trooper) in his size.  In the process of searching, he decided that he'd rather have a new Star Wars video game instead and he'd just wear his Cub Scout uniform or the Spiderman costume from last year for trick-or-treating.  Well, the mask at the thrift store was just $2 and we have a black cape that my mom made for me years ago (I won several costume contests as Count Dracula that year).  So, now Josh can wear black pants and a black shirt and have a really decent makeshift Darth Vader costume.  (And I'll have to remember the story so that, years from now, I'll be able to explain why there are pictures of Brianna and Megan with store-bought costumes while Josh has a homemade one!  lol)

When we got home, we decided to carve the pumpkins that Brian's parents brought a couple of weeks ago.  They rent one of their fields to a guy who uses it to grow pumpkins each year, so they always bring each of the kids a pumpkin.  Unfortunately, the pumpkins were starting to mold, but we carved them anyway.  We figured either way we're going to throw them out after tomorrow.  This is the first year that the kids have actually done most of the scraping and designing themselves.  We usually do the elaborate designs.  The kids pick them out and Brian and I do the actual carving.  This year, I gave them each a Sharpie marker and they drew their designs on the pumpkins.  Brianna did hers completely on her own.  Brian did the carving for Josh and Megan.   They turned out really cute.  I'll try to post some pictures once I download them to the computer.

I'm back.  I'll blame my recent status of MIA on being sick.  We've been really busy, too.  However, there have been a few times that I've been on-line and have had time to post on my blog, but just haven't felt like it.  You know I'm sick when I don't feel like blogging!  lol

I lost my voice completely last Thursday.  I actually didn't feel too bad that day, I just sounded pitiful.    I thought I was almost over this a day or so ago, then, the last couple of days I've felt really rotten again.  Today was just what I needed.  We took the whole week off of school, but today was the first day all week that we didn't have to be somewhere.  I determined last night that I wasn't getting out of bed until I was tired of being in it!  The weather was very cooperative with that plan -- it has rained all day.  Pefect sleeping weather!  With three kids in the house, I didn't actually get to stay in bed until I was tired of being there.  I did stay there until noon, though.  Isn't that shameful?  Truthfully, it didn't feel shameful.  It felt like just the ticket to get over this cold or sinus infection or whatever it is.  I got up long enough to get lunch fixed (comfort food all the way -- grilled cheese sandwich and loaded potato soup.  Yum!).  Then, I moved to the couch for the day.  I alternated between reading and sleeping while the kids watched TV, colored and played video games.  I love that they're all at the age to be somewhat self-sufficient at times like this.  I honestly feel better right now than I have in almost two weeks.

Our homeschool group had our Around the World Day last week.  Here are some pictures, one of our display and one of Brianna in Kenyan dress:

We had a great time!  The turnout was awesome!  We had 12 countries represented and several grandparents families from our group came out just to visit and see what Around the World Day is like.  If ever there are doubting relatives, ATWD is the perfect thing to invite them to.  All the kids had very neat-looking, well-organized displays.  It was as much fun looking at everyone else's displays as it was putting our own together.

The really neat thing about our display is that everything on our table actually came from Kenya.  My father-in-law visited Kenya several years ago, so he loaned us pictures and artifacts for our table (as well as the dress that Brianna wore).  

We were also blessed by a total stranger!  A few weeks ago, one of the ladies on the Flat Traveler group posted that she and her daughter were going on a mission trip to Kenya and were willing to take a couple of flats.  I emailed her as soon as I saw it, telling her about ATWD and the fact that Kenya was the country we had chosen.  The lady wrote back and said that she already had arranged to take other flats, but that if I'd send her our address, she'd send us some souvenirs.  I emailed back with our address, thanked her and asked her daughter's name so that we could be praying for them.

That's been the highlight of our last couple of weeks.  We've enjoyed the time off this week.  I'm excited about getting back to our American history studies.  The study of Kenya was a nice break from that.  You know that you've had enough time off when you're excited about getting back to business. 

I've been a little under the weather the last couple of days.  I think it came from sleeping with the window open Sunday night.  It felt great at the time, but I woke up yesterday with a sore throat that progressed to general aches and just not feeling up to par.  I took a nap yesterday and today which is something I never do.  I've been feeling a bit better since I took some medicine and a nap today, so hopefully it won't progess into a full-fledged cold.

We did manage to get some of the basics (Bible, some reading and writing and math for everyone) in today, as well as getting some things done for our group's Around the World Day that is coming up on Friday.  I wasn't sure we were going to make it to Brianna's AHG meeting, but we did.

I was talking with some moms during the meeting.  One of them asked me what we used for curriculum.  Remember a few months ago when I said I was going to quit being embarrassed by that question?  lol  Well, I did answer that we used very little and she wasn't appalled by that.  *smile*  We had a nice discussion about schoolwork, getting out of the public school mindset and getting over feeling like you aren't doing enough.  I think the discussion was very validating for both of us.  I told her that it's taken me a long time to get to the place where I see learning taking place outside of our seatwork time and where I can see the value in the more relaxed approach we've been taking. 

I also mentioned to this mom how validating I've found the AAP's recent article on the importance of unstructured free time for kids.  It's only been in recent months that I've seen the importance and the benefit of unstructured play time for my kids.  Sometimes they amaze me with what they'll play or do when just given time to be kids.

It's the same thing with the writing center.  Even though it's nothing elaborate, I'm frequently impressed with what Brianna chooses to do with her writing center time when I don't tell her what to do.  I think just having the freedom to put her own thoughts on paper, whatever they may be, is very inspiring to her.

I was just telling another friend a couple of days ago that I'm finally in the place in our homeschooling journey where I'm not too concerned about what others are doing in their homeschools.  Not that I don't pick up a good idea or take away a good tip from time to time when talking with another homeschool mom, but I'm confident enough in what we're doing that I don't need to replicate someone else's home to validate my own.  It's a good place to be and I thank God for guiding me to this place of peace and balance.