At home with my little people - Homeschool Blogger

Teeth!

Tue, 6 Jan 2009 00:19:00 -0600

This weekend was an eventful one for our youngest who is 5. He lost his first tooth. It was the usual first tooth trauma - 'will it come out on its own or not'. Daddy would tease him and he'd try oh so hard to wiggle that thing out. Finally, Saturday night, he let me give it a go & POP! out it came. We have the unspoken joke of the tooth fairy here. Everyone knows it's Daddy, but everyone plays along. The first tooth is always the big one financial wise & he wasn't disappointed. It gave him something to brag about to all our church folks on Sunday morning. We took pictures, but hubby doesn't have them off the camera yet. I'll maybe post one later....if I remember.

I also have a tooth saga going on. I lost the back of a lower molar last spring & let it go. ( I know...naughty me.) It finally got infected. Initially, I thought I had a sinus infection as my pain was on the upper jaw and ear. I went to my physician who graciously gave me an antibiotic, and though initially that gave me relief, it did not solve the problem. So, to make the long saga a bit shorter, I'm in the process of a root canal. Today was visit 3 of 5. I must say, my dentist, is a gem. His work has been practically painless & he's very conscientious. He's a Christian and quite friendly, so we have great talks whilst I'm his victim, ha, ha, ha. Anyway, the cleaning out is all done and next comes the crown.

Tomorrow, Christmas break is over and we start school again officially. I'm ready & yet not so ready. I've enjoyed our leisurely vacation and don't want to have to hit the 'grindstone', but, the kids are really ready for some structure again so time to move along.

A New Year, A New Start

Fri, 2 Jan 2009 00:53:00 -0600

Well! Has it really been that long? A year and 4 months +?

I almost deleted this blog, but thought with the new year, I'd give it another go. Our family has grown & I must say at the moment, I'm a happy and content mom, wife, gal...etc.

We had a good school year last year. Now I have a 9th grader, a 7th grader & two 2nd graders. They all doing pretty well. We've had a lovely Christmas together. A bit different as our area has had the big snow of 2008 & kept us housebound.

The first day of 2009 has been nice 'n' lazy. So, I'll just leave this entry with a picture of my sister's & my tribe of monkeys.

Actually, this might be a more accurate picture of their character....

Oh yeah, mine are the 2 at the very top & the two on either side of the red head at the trunk.

1 week down

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 22:52:00 -0500

Well, we've made it through our first week. It went quite well. In fact, with the exception of a couple of small hiccups, it probably has been the smoothest first week in the histor of our home schooling. This is good.

My oldest, of his own accord, go up early every day to shower and get a head start on his schoolwork in order to be done at an early hour to 'play'. I'm proud of him. I know he doesn't really like school, so I appreciate that he's learned the value of getting the work done first and quickly to have time on his own.

My little ones are doing great in 1st grade. I was very impressed with the 4 year old today. We had a new page for seatwork which was writing the vowels and numbers 1-5 multiple times on a piece of handwriting paper. The purpose of this really was to give them something to do while I finished doing 'class' time with my 6th grader. My little man just attacked the thing with zest. I guess he hasn't figured out yet that writing is supposed to be boring. lol

Next week, we were supposed to be going camping. But, the forecast is calling for rain, so we're going to stay at home. I'm of the mind to do a couple of school days, but the troops are giving me The Look, so we'll see.

Grandma and Grandpa are coming on Wednesday to visit our local fair and do some canning. I'll be picking up the fruit from the local Farmer's market tomorrow. I think it will be either pears or applesauce. Hmm....maybe a little bit of both.

Also, tomorrow my two oldest boys will be helping out with an Eagle project here at our church. One of the boys in our troop is making a firepit with benches here. This will be really nice for the church. We have a Scout troop and a pack that meet and they'll get good use out of it. I think our youth will too.

Back to School

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 09:10:00 -0500

Well, it's come around again. The summer is waning and it's time to hit the books and starts school. So, today's our first official day. It's been a fast summer....we've been so busy with camp, VBS, visiting grandparents & cousins, and camp. :) Did I mention we went to camp alot this summer?

I'm starting out a bit more organized this year and yet not everything is ready. My curriculum rep. who I consider my friend did an ut oh and ordered 1/2 our books almost a week late. So, the 1st graders and my 6th grader will only be doing 1/2 their subjects for a couple of days til the books get here.

Our start is also kind of a false one as next week we will be going camping with the grandparents. We like to do that in September when everyone else goes back to school and we can miss crowds. The weather is still mild enough, so we'll be near Mt. Rainier next week in a tent. Then back to school the following week.

My oldest has hit the books early this morning (good for him) to get a good start. My youngest is also up early to watch a Wiggles episode on t.v. before officially starting the day. I just heard #2 come out, so I guess I should get the little gal up and get this school day going.

Another birthday

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 13:57:00 -0500

We had another birthday last month. Mr. A turned 11. My folks were visiting from over the mountains, and my brother & sis-in-law from Minnesota. They spent a week camping at the beach and we joined them to celebrate my birthday boy's special day.

Here are some pics.

He found an old rope to play with.

His brothers and sister, & my brother who was visiting.

You can't tell, but there is a hermit crab in that bucket. We took it home, but forgot to feed it....oops!

He wanted a Spiderman cake & I was more then willing to oblige. I baked the cake at home and put it together in my folks' trailer. But, after crafting a nice intricate web, I realized that I forgot Spiderman! Oops.

His aunt (my sister) did, however come trough with a great Spidey game to play.

Could spring really be here?

Mon, 7 May 2007 23:54:00 -0500

Finally.....a true spring day that looks like it may really be here. :)

I live in a wet state & I know a lot of people who don't enjoy rain. I actually don't mind it. I've lived in the midwest where the spring & summer heat is so humid you feel like you're swimming just to walk. I've lived in central CA and have found out that I am definitely NOT a high heat gal. I like the seasons. I wish there was more snow here, but I'll take the rain.

However, this winter has been a doozy for rainfall & odd weather. I have decidedly gotten tired of rain & was thrilled to see the sun today. Our upstairs house acutally got a bit warm in the late afternoon. Yay!

On another note - I've joined a support group called TOPS for weight loss. Since the first of the year, as of tonight, I've shed 9 1/2 lbs. Yay! A couple of people have even noticed a bit of a difference. I can only really tell in that my wrist watch is alot looser. Go figure.

No, I'm not giving up (Daniel's birthday)

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 08:33:00 -0500

No....I won't give up. But, this may become the birthday thread after all. We'll see.

So, on that topic.....my youngest just had a birthday. He turned 4 and I now understand why mamas baby their babies (ha ha ha) Trying very hard not to do that, but it is hard to let go. Always knew with the others there was 1 more, but no more. (sigh)

Anyway, my little man is a Wiggles fan. The Wiggles are a kids music group from Australia. They are very silly, but a lot of fun. They happened to be in our area a couple weeks before the big day, so his big birthday present was the concert.

His Wiggly 'stuff' mom got at the concert.

The 4 Wiggles

We also did some celebrating at home. My sister's family came over, & my little man was happy to celebrate his b-day with the cousins.

Yes, that's supposed to be a Wiggly cake - I know the red is more pink and the blue quite 'sky', but it was the best I could do. Oh, and yes, the cinnamon bits do spell his name. :)

Snow!

Wed, 29 Nov 2006 13:53:00 -0600

Well, this week has been a fun week ouside. Sunday night we had some snow fall - the usual small amount we normally get in December that melts within a day or two. But....Monday evening - it really came down. And, Tuesday morning our placed looked like this:

And, the temp stayed nice and cool, so the snow stayed:

Daddy bought a cheap sled and Miss B got the 1st run:

Then our little guy got in on the action (notice sister's help in the initial push).

I even got on that sled with them for a couple of runs :) I enjoyed reverting back to childhood.

And last evening the big boys had to have a go at it too though I didn't catch them til they were done.

The snow is still with us today and the boys are even now out going down the hill again. All the local shools have been closed for 2 days now, but unfortunately (at least they think), home school didn't close. LOL Another snow storm is supposed to come through tonight as well. But, it is also supposedly bringing a warm front and turning to rain tomorrow afternoon.

I love the snow. I grew up in Alaska, so this is always a treat for me. If it weren't for the driving hazard (we live on a hill), I'd be most happy if it stayed all winter. I told the boys that growing up, there was only 1 time schools were closed in Anchorage for snow. They're eyes popped out as here 1 small snowfall will shut everything down for a day. I explained that up there the towns have lots of snowplows, dirt and studded tires for cars, so it was never a big deal. The one time was a rapid & deep snowfall where the snow went up to an adult's waist and the plows couldn't move it fast enough. Ah - memories - of snowforts, sledding, ice skating, & snowmobiling. Did I mention I love snow?

Dead Sea Scrolls

Fri, 24 Nov 2006 23:46:00 -0600

Today my family had the privilege of going and seeing a small portion of these special artifacts. It was quite fascinating. My parents are here for Thankgiving and they went with us. My oldest boy had some appreciation for them and the history behind them, but the other three...well someday they can at least say to their kids they once saw the Dead Sea Scrolls. Most of the display is the history of Qumran and the people who lived there who must have hidden the scrolls. Very intersting stuff. At the end though, there are actual sections from the scrolls on display. I was a portion of Genesis, Exodus, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Psalm 119 (although it isn't the 119th Psalm in the scrolls). I also saw a portion of a commentary by the Jew in Quran on Hosea as well as a scroll about the End War which was quite interesting. Of course, in that room there is background music playing to enhance the feeling of importance and awe, but I'll say I was sobored enough to be looking at these ancient writings. A couple in our church is also hosting my hubby and I to go to this lecture next week. We are really looking forward to it.

In other news, we had a lovely Thanksgiving. Join my parents and our family was my aunt with 3 exchange college students (2 boys & a girl)she is currently hosting. Two of them are from Japan and one from Malaysia. The 2 boys were gracious enough to go play baseball, basketball, and football with my boys and the gal seemed to have a fun time playing with my daughter. Tomorrow my folks drive back to central WA - I'm praying the weather will be mild. There is a high possibility that it will snow here tonight (unusual this early) and they have a 5th wheel they are hauling.

And now Christmas season is here - yahoo. We are holiday lovers in this home, but purists in that we refuse to start Christmasy stuff until Thanksgiving is over. So now it is here and we can listen to Christmas music with abandon (well almost). :)

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 17:23:00 -0600

Hmmm...could this become a blog whenever a child of mine has a birthday? I certainly hope not. (sigh)

But, here is my newly 6 yr. old at her birthday party.

She had her 1st ever birthday party outside of family. It was a ballerina party and if you look closely at the cake there is a ballerina on it. She was in heaven! She is quite a girly girl and being homeschooled with 3 brothers, doesn't give her alot of chances to do girly things with other girls. It was a delight (and quite hilarious) to watch her open her presents and see girlie stuff after girlie stuff. She has this expression she makes with her hands and face that someday I will capture on camera and embarrass her with when she is older. It came out quite often that day.

Here is another picture of her from this summer - she is a flower lover and Daddy caught her picking some to snif them.

In other family news, Mr. Adam had his 1st band concert last week. He is learning the trombone and is doing a pretty good job at it. He goes up to the local Jr. high 2 mornings a week and everytime he comes out of band, he tells me he wishes it could be every day.

We are still on track with school work. I did get about 3 days behind with the Kindergarteners, but we're hanging in there and they are doing so well. The boys also got report cards last week and aren't doing too shabby.