Laughing 14

From the famous mouth of our youngest….

(Not wanting to look up the word “city” in the dictionary, he proclaims that he already knows the definition!)  “City – A city is a place that has lots of fancy clothes and has lots of stores, has airplanes, has a lot of bridges, and it has alot and alot of TOYS!”

The dictionary’s version:  “city – a large important center of population and business activity”

I would say he’s pretty close, wouldn’t you? 🙂

Grandbaby Love Goo

Walking through the living room, I look down and right there they were!  Perfect little footprints on the floor.  Details of every toe visible and stopping me in my tracks.

What a joy and unexpected blessing to see this artful picture, a little piece of my grandson who recently stood there barefooted and full of some sort of “goo” that remained behind!

He is the sweetest little man and I am so blessed to have this special time with him.

While Mom settles into her new job, I have the privilege of caring for him for a few months.  He has the sweetest disposition and just makes us laugh constantly!

The way he holds a camera or cell phone up to his face and says “Cheeeeeeeeeeeeze” just makes me melt with happiness!  His little frustrations and expressions of personality often force a giggle from all who are near.  He drives his little car throughout the living room, but when bumping into various things, he just screams out of frustration and throws out little “hmphs!” and sighs.  Is this a sign of future “road rage” to come?! haha

I love the way he wakes up in the mornings, all smiles and ready to snuggle.  He carries on conversations that would convince anyone he knows at least ten different foreign languages.  Laughing and using his arms for emphasis, he spurts out tales of grand significance!

I wish I could have kept this footprint forever!  If it were up to me, I would have pulled up the plank and framed it on my wall.

I love this little man!

Laughing 13

Eldest Son:  “Is O.C.D. like O.M.G.?”

Youngest Son:  (He has hazel eyes.) (Said while filling out a child i.d. kit…)  “Do I put “multicolored“?

I haven’t posted any of these in a while, but if you’d like to see more of my silly kids’ quotes, click “Kids Quotes” on the tag cloud or “Humor” on the category cloud in the sidebar.  Who needs a baby book?  This is what blogs are for 🙂

Happy 13th Day of School!

Yes, it is already Day #13 here.  We start early in order to take the month of December off…it makes for a much more enjoyable holiday season!

It is already our 6th year of homeschooling too.  Wow!  I can hardly believe we’ve been doing it for six years!

There have definately been “ups” and “downs” along the way, however some of the bumps are smoothing out as I figure out what works best for us and adapt.

We’ve tried various curriculum and even virtual schooling, but finally settled on these for this year:

Bible – “Who is God?  And Can I Really Know Him?”, Volume 1 of the “What We Believe” series written by John Hay and David Webb.  I’ve tried various short bible studies and devotional books with the boys.  We’ve also taken time to learn the books of the bible and just read bible stories, however the main goal in doing any of this is that they would grasp the concept of having a personal relationship with the Lord.  My prayer is that they would not only have “head knowledge”, but mostly “heart knowledge” of the Lord, His grace-filled ways, and the purpose for their lives.  Learning to see the world through a biblical viewpoint, rather than a worldly view, is something I was not taught at a young age.  Hopefully doing this for my boys will save them many self-inflicted trials and point them toward service to others and to God.

Lesson #1 and #2 have been very engaging so far.  The boys seem to grasp what the book is teaching very well.  It is written in plain, everyday language and includes activities and stories to which they can relate.  On top of that, they keep a notebook for recording vocabulary words, insightful opinions and expressions about different topics, and memorize scripture each week.  It was very encouraging once this past week to see my youngest have his first “A-Ha!” moment about satan and God.  I am praying that God would use the material in this book and in our schooling to reach his heart in such a way that I have not been able to explain.  So far, so good!

Art –  We’ll be doing various artsy type things.  One book I found at a thrift store is “Exploring Textures in Watercolor” by Joye Moon.  I will be painting right alongside the boys as we work our way through this book…..sort of a “perk” for me to be learning too, instead of just teaching!

Texas History – We are using “The Story of Texas” by Harcourt Brace along with “Discover Texas”, a CD based history program.  Also included in the plan are adding two smaller unit studies on Cowboys and Indians.  Each of the boys will be making a list of all the places we study in Texas.  Towards the end of the school year, they will be able to choose one place on the list to visit in person.  “Hands-on” makes the best learning!

This is a class easily combined for both grade levels.  I think public schoolers in Texas usually do it in 4th grade, so in comparison, one of mine will be a year early and the other a year later than their peers.  It saves me aLOT of time to be able to combine a few subjects.  I just adjust the assignments and activities as needed for each grade level.

Language Arts – Grammar          “Easy Grammar” by Easy Grammar Systems, Scottsdale, Arizona   We tested this last year and found it to truly be “easy”, yet still challenging.  I love the way it teaches prepositions first so that the other parts of speech are more easily recognizable.  Once you mark out the prepositional phrases first, it is easy to spot the subject and verb.  Also, although both boys are doing separate grade levels in this curriculum, the chapters are arranged similarly so I can usually teach both at the same time.

Language Arts – Writing    This subject, I understand, is a common sore spot in every homeschooler’s plan.  Even public school students and parents struggle with writing, mainly because they don’t do enough of it!  (my opinion)  Kids, especially elementary age kids, just. don’t. want. to. write!  We’ve had many struggles with it.  Although I love to write, trying to teach my boys to do it has been pretty difficult.  Til this year, what we’ve tried to do did not have organization or depth.  Now, we are trying a new curriculum shared by my friend that seems to be just what we needed.  It will teach writing concepts at a self-paced/mastery plan and the same concepts will be used to build upon all the way through high school.  Consistency in a long term plan seems the way to go in order for writing skills to be developed.  It is the “Institute of Excellence in Writing” program.

Language Arts – Spelling     Last year, we used a spelling program that had lots of activities and colorful pages.  It also seemed a bit expensive when paired with other homeschooling expenses we had.  This year, I found a year’s list of grade appropriate spelling words online and decided to use it for free 🙂  The word list came from K12Reader.com.  I simply printed the year’s lists of words, placed them in a folder, and then taped daily instructions on the front for spelling activities.  Each day, the boys grab their folder, complete that day’s exercises, and by the end of the week are prepared for the graded test.  Daily activities include reading the words to me, circling any unfamiliar words, writing the words, writing sentences with the words, using a dictionary to write definitions of words I preselect for vocabulary, and then taking a practice test.  So far, this has been a no-nonsense, no cost path to greater spelling!  Yay for free!!

Language Arts – Reading      I use LOTS of different materials to encourage reading success.  One area of concentration this year is comprehension.  Using an old Scott, Foresman reader, “Wheels and Rockets”, the boys are required to read certain stories and then answer the comprehension questions in complete sentences.  We are working on changing a question into a complete statement and then answering the question.  For example:  “Why did the chicken cross the road?”  Answer:  “The chicken crossed the road because. it needed to get to the other side.”  Rather than simply write “to get to the other side”, the boys are equating their answers to complete thoughts and proper speech.  I also frequently require them to record the page number of where they found the answer by each question.  This helps force them to look back at the story for correct information.  Sometimes they do well, other times they confuse parts of the story, but we always talk through the answers and why something else might have been a better choice.

We do lots of silent reading as well.  They are required to read silently for a certain amount of time.  Sometimes I assign the material to read.  Sometimes they get to choose. Sometimes they choose at the library.  Sometimes I let them choose from a preselected group of books I put together before the school year started.  I try to have a variety of reading levels, books and magazines for them…anything to keep their interest!

Language Arts – Handwriting    I know, I know! This is a “lost Art” for many now a days.  Call me “old school” if you want, but I still believe there is value in legible handwriting!  Chances are that neither of my boys will be doctors, so I just assume that their boss will want to be able to read what they are writing, despite the Keyboard Age.  To challenge them more, we also work on cursive writing!  Doing cursive has actually made writing more exciting for them.  They take greater pride in their assignments when forming the nicely slanted letters.  This year, I’m not using any particular curriculum…..just notebook paper, starting with the ABC’s and moving towards mastery in connecting letters and words.

Science – “Exploring Creation with Zoology 2:  Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day” by Jeannie K. Fulbright   After years of using her curriculum, I cannot imagine going to anything different!  Thankfully, she has written even High School level science curriculum that we can look forward to.  So far, we’ve completed Astronomy, Anatomy, and Zoology 1: Flying Creatures.  She also sells spiral bound notebooks that accompany the study and I highly recommend them.  They are interesting, creative, and provide the perfect place to record the course’s observations and for use in note taking.

Math – Teaching Textbooks   This is a computerized math program that we started last year.  It is a little behind the advanced curriculum we were using previously, however, it’s animated and fun for the boys to learn.  It teaches, reinforces, quizzes, and challenges.  It. even. GRADES!  (Woo hoooooo!  Oh how I loathe grading assignments, lol!)  Anyway, I told the boys they could work at their pace (at least completing one grade level per year), but also can work ahead in order to stay challenged.  We actually skipped a grade level for the youngest because the placement test he took showed he had already mastered 3rd grade concepts before this 3rd grade year had started.  They love it!  I love it!  It’s a “win-win” math program that will take them well through any high school math requirements!

Music – This year we will be participating in a co-op music class. It will be taught by a very dear friend whom we have known for many years.  (Hiiiiiiiiii Kariiiiiiiiii!)  I’m so excited and know that outside the public school setting, she will be free to encourage the boys to use their talents for the Lord!  This is going to be GREAT 🙂

Study Skills – One of the things I have learned in homeschooling is that kids do not naturally know how to study!  Discovering this has changed alot in our daily plan.  Now, we learn about strategies for memorizing information.  We engage in conversation to spark the sharing of ideas and higher level thinking.  They use “Brain Pop”, an online program for learning new things and practicing test taking as well as multiple choice answering, etc.   We do crosswords, map studies, dictionary work, and even play thought provoking games like chess and scrabble.  I just usually try to have some type of study skill building activity each week to encourage them toward self-controlled, well-prepared, study habits.

Physical Education – Although somewhat lacking in our plan right now, I know we will be active.  We do sports like soccer and basketball.  We also do Wii fit and other indoor activities.  Probably not what we SHOULD be doing, but I will continue to look for opportunities for physical activity and act upon them.  Now that we are also working on the farm, they should get lots of exercise! (and me 🙂

Other Co-op classes/activities – We will be meeting weekly with a dear group of friends who all homeschool.  At last count, there were at least 40 kids participating, probably more.  This will allow us the opportunity for more socialization as well as participating in group type classes.  Co-op subjects we will be participating in are:  Astronomy, Music, Citizenship, and US States.

We are also joining the local 4-H club this year.  Archery will be our main project but we look forward to learning more about raising animals as well as participating in other projects and community service events.

Hmmmmm…..have I covered it all?  It sounds like alot.  Ok, actually it is, but thus is the challenge in homeschooling:  attempting to expose our kids to the best education in order for them to be well-rounded, responsible individuals.  I also believe homeschooling affords the greater opportunity to share Jesus with them in every area of life as well.  If they can see Jesus in a math problem, then they are more likely to include Him in their thoughts and actions as they grow up.  They will have a biblical worldview, as our bible curriculum calls it, and know the need and blessing for serving others.

Each year, God seems to equip me with what we will need to make schooling successful, and for that, I am so thankful!  To God be the glory, from me and for my sons who will hopefully one day surrender their all to Him.

  Just out of bed on the first day of school and he writes this message on the board.

  Now, if I could just convince them that starting back to school doesn’t HAVE to be bad, lol!

Dog Days of Summer

 

Cutting Hay with a Weedeater

Welllllllll!  Hello again!!!

Yes, it’s me……the girl who faithfully, unfaithfully always but rarely ever keeps on the planned path!

What happened to the days when I used to write a list, stick by the list, and ever-so-purposefully stay committed to a daily schedule?

What has happened to me?!  All of the sudden, I find myself hardly even making it through my morning cup of coffee?!  I start something but can’t seem to get to the end of it.  I’m failing at my goal of reading through the bible this year.  I hardly ever write on this dusty blog anymore.  I stopped counting carbs.  I. even. almost. paid. the. car. payment. late. last. month! {gasp!}

This is not me!  I am the “i” dotter, the “t” crosser, the list maker, the oh-so-organized one.  I look for things to accomplish and pursue them.  I don’t live spontaneously……at least until now.

Could this be a mid-life crisis?!  Could I actually be turning over a new “leaf”, or rather bending the corner edge of it?

Maybe I’ve just fallen off the proverbial “deep end”.  I’m one stick short of ……. something.  I’ve got a “loose screw”.  Somebody took it to the country, and duct taped it to the front door of our new little “paradise”.

Our “paradise” is truly a “paradise”, too…..with capital QUOTATION MARKS!

We are mooo-vin to the country, y’all.

Since the day we married 26+ years ago, the hubby and I have had a dream of owning land in the country.  We have always wanted our kids to experience the freedom of running through a field, seeing stars at night, smelling fresh air and even, well…..the wonderful scent of cow poop!

We always wanted it, but life didn’t make that happen until now.

Signing the papers this past week, we can now call our own piece of “heaven-on-earth” ours!

It has a huge pond!  Ok, well, it will be huge when it starts raining again.

It has a beautiful hay field!  Ok, well yes, it’s covered in about a million and one grasshoppers at the moment.

It has a barn!  Uh hum…….ok, PARTS of the barn are falling off right now, but we can and will fix that!

It has a house!…..a big, beautiful two story house……..I mean a modest but cute three bedroom, two bath house….ok, I’ll just spit it out as it is……a basically one room/one bathroom cabin.

Yes, we……all FOUR of us, plan to LIVE in that cabin for who knows how long until we can figure out a way to add on.

Lord help us.

Have we lost our MINDS?!

I go from excitement to times needing a time machine to take us back to one day before we signed the papers.  I LOVE the land … not so fond of the house!

We may have to do as I recently read and cut hay with a weedeater.  It was an article about some people who call themselves a bit “off their rocker”.  They went on to explain how having no hay equipment, they proceeded to cut their 10 acre field of hay with a weedeater.  They hand raked the cut hay and then tossed it into a truck bed.  Once at the barn, they loaded it onto a tarp that was raised to the hay loft in the barn for storage.  Admittedly, they called themselves “crazy”! ( …and that may be just what we are too!?)

The “far and future” is full of plans and dreams.  The “here and now” looks a little grim.

Thankfully, our first full weekend of demolition included the help of some great friends.  We also took time to play and enjoy what we could.  Lord help us…..we are determined to be happy in our little “paradise” 🙂

Slow and Steady Wins

The end of Week #3’s Two Carb-less Days found us smiling this morning as we stepped on the scales 🙂

We are using Wii Fit Plus to gauge our progress.  Here’s the “low” down:

Me – Lost another 1.8 lbs and now in the “Normal” range for my weight and height! Total lost so far: 3.6 lbs

Eldest Son – Gained .2 lbs but he worked out quite a bit this week so it could be muscle gain or even differences in fluids.  He has moved from “Overweight” to “At Risk of Being Overweight”!  Total loss:  4.4 lbs

Youngest Son – Lost another .9 lbs this week.  He is now under 100 lbs for the first time in probably a couple of years! Total loss:  3.12 lbs

This week, the vacancy of carbs wasn’t quite as noticeable.  We have diligently searched for varieties of foods — especially things that will satisfy our snack cravings.  Can you imagine just how excited we were to discover that pork skins are CARB FREE?!!  It’s not nacho cheese Doritos, but hey, it was GOOD!

So, we remain encouraged.  It’s getting easier.  The boys don’t complain as much, and we are all gravitating to more water, more vegetables, and less bread and sugar. 

Holding onto hopes that I’ll soon have a Barbie figure and He-man arms……

Nah!

My Genius Grandbaby

“A genius is someone embodying exceptional intellectual ability, creativity, or originality, typically to a degree that is associated with the achievement of unprecedented insight.”  (Wikipedia)

Son (spelling so as to not alert the little one of our plans):  “Mom, when are we leaving to go S-W-I-M-M-I-N-G?”

Two Year Old Grandbaby’s immediate response: “Gwamaw!  I wanna go SWIMMING!”

Scaling Down

It is Day #3, Week #2 of our attempts at weight loss.  I am trying a new plan based upon an article I recently read.  It said that if you go at least 48 consecutive hours with no/almost none carbs, then it will spur a metabolic boost that will help lose weight later in the week.

The first week I tried this, all went well until Day #3 when I made a mad dash for the donut shop, effectively undoing the progress I had made.

This second week, however, I am more focused.  I made a concious effort to buy extra no carb foods so that I could experience some variety.  Based upon our weigh-in this week, I also implemented this same strategy for both of the boys.  We are all slightly overweight….not much, but slightly.  Having to go without carbs for two days has really been an eye opening experience.  We have all seen just exactly how awful our carb intake has been. “You don’t miss it, until you no longer have it”, right?!  Well, we definately missed the carbs, but at the same time are gaining a knowledge of what is healthy and what is not.

I’ve done a considerable amount of research over the last few days.  My question was, after the two days are done, then just how many carbs (and calories) are healthy for each one of us?  Thankfully, I now have a plan to monitor for myself and the boys during the rest of the week.  I will attempt to stay at 1200 calories/180 carbs per day.  Both of the boys will be at 1970 calories/295 carbs per day. 

Preliminary results are good!  Our weights this morning revealed a 1.5 lb loss for me, 3.3 lb loss for the youngest son, and 4.6 lb loss for the eldest son.  I’m so grateful that they were able to see results, and that their “suffering” paid off!  Ok, they really didn’t SUFFER……I just realize that finally they have experienced hunger pains for the first time in forever.  Prior to this plan, they basically wanted to eat every five minutes, it seemed.  I would justify giving additional snacks because they are “growing, energetic boys”.  However, what I realize now is that they were consuming too many calories and carbs. 

We’ve never had trouble with them eating vegetables…..it’s not that they wouldn’t eat a well balanced meal.  It is just that they also wanted two helpings of meat, Texas garlic toast, sugary cereal (for breakfast AND snacks), popcorn melting in butter, ice cream, and what WAS the occasional Dr Pepper was now a “3-4 times a week Dr Pepper”.  Add that to too many hours playing video games and being stuck in the house too long and we begin to see the effects of an unhealthy lifestyle.

I don’t want a weight issue to be with them into adulthood.  I want to claim a healthy body for myself as well.  So, this is the plan, at least for now and it’s working 🙂

One interesting thing to note is that normally my weight starts small(er) in the mornings and then fluctuates 1-2 pounds within the day, ending at a higher weight in the evenings.  This is typical, I think, for most people.  However, weighing in after lunch actually showed me 1/2 lb LESS than what I weighed this morning!  Hmmmm……maybe the metabolic boost thing is working?  (despite having 3 muffins, a piece of bread, and caramel rice cakes today)

Lastly, I wanted to share one very, very low carb treat we’ve found this week.  It’s refreshing, cold, and creamy so it’s likely to stay on the weekly menu for a while!

Orange Creamsicle Dream Dessert Drink

8 oz diet orange soda

2 tbsp heavy whipping cream

1 cup of ice cubes

Mix it all in a blender and enjoy!  It makes one serving, so just add what you need to multiply according to the number of people you will be serving.  The drink’s texture is a little bit weird as the cream does not mix with the ice like most sugar laden smoothies.  However, we ate the chunks with a spoon and then when the ice broke down enough to liquify, it became a really cold wonderful creamsicle drink!

We’re having pork chops tonight…..AND summer squash……AND mashed potatoes!  I only get 1/2 a cup of potatoes so you can bet I will be slowly enjoying every bite!

Nutrition Info:  103.5 Calories, 11.1 g Fat, 0.8 g Carbohydrates, 0.6g Protein

Swallow Saved

As I recently wrote about, we have been babysitting a family of swallows.  If you’ve followed this blog lately, you already know that one was killed by ants, and two were swallowed by a snake.  Thankfully one naturally matured to fly from our make-shift nest.  The last of the five babies, however, just needed some extra care.

As the days went on, it became obvious of an injury to one of its’ wings…perhaps after it fell the long way from the nest to our front porch?  Day after day we watched the parent birds fly in with meals, and then stall in a nearby area flapping their wings and calling to the baby.  O ver and over they would repeat this process encouraging the little one to join the flightful paradise.

The baby would call back, jump up to the highest point of the crate and then jump, only to land on the ground unable to achieve the goal.  It would stretch its’ wings; first the right one….all the way out, then the left one….only from the elbow to the shoulder.  Yes, we knew it was much more this bird needed than we could provide.

Even its’ sibling bird would come back to the crate, snuggling up to the injured bird as if to provide the personal love and attention it might need to fly.

Rogers Wildlife Rehabilitation Center welcomed the baby bird.  The owner said it had a broken wrist but would most likely heal.  She swiftly wrapped its’ wing with such precision and exactness, we knew it was in good hands. 

 

When we first arrived there, we noticed how busy the facility was.  It is spring, and as you can imagine, they were just filled with birds needing help.  One look on the worker’s faces said it all.

Secondly, we were asked to make a donation to the center.  With so many birds to take care of, and no regular funding other than from the public, I would imagine there is a constant need for financial help.  Feeding and caring for what must be hundreds, if not a thousand or so birds has got to take alot of people, food, water, and supplies.  We hope to return with a donation, and continue looking for ways to help.  If you would like to help, please consider making a donation through their website here. 

We were also invited to walk around the facility.  There we found some amazing winged creatures that seemed very grateful for the care they were getting.

We think of our feathered friend often, wondering if he’s feeling ok and how his wing is healing.  It’s been a great experience for the boys.  This is what makes homeschooling fun!