Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Looking back...
I've been looking back at some of the photos from Autumn 2003 and thought I would take the time to post a few of them here. It's fun thinking back to what was going on in our lives this time a year ago. The photos below are from Fall 2003.
Saturday, September 25, 2004
This time last year...
About this time last year, this is what the house looked like. The carpenters were just putting the roof on the second floor. :-) I remember thinking, "This house is going to be the best house in the whole wide world."
And it is.
Friday, September 24, 2004
Stream of Consciousness Whilst I Eat a Brownie
Houdin just brought me a brownie. It's hot. He dropped the fork on the floor when he handed it to me.
Bohemian is playing "Show the Way" on his guitar. He hasn't played for a while. Sounds sweet.
The Baby is playing with spoons and pots from the kitchen.
The brownie is still hot.
Monet is giggling. Something that Houdin says makes him laugh.
Bohemian grouted the tub tonight. We cleaned and buffed, cleaned and buffed, cleaned and buffed.
I hear a lot of clinking forks. But the brownie is still hot.
Today was a quiet day. The radiator blew in the Jeep a few days ago, and Bohemian spent the day trying to fix the water pump, which went out after the radiator was replaced.
Someone's whistling.
We're out of milk.
The birds are quiet.
The dogs aren't.
The neighbor brought the new puppy over, after he made a voyage to their house. This is unlike him. I looked up training techniques to keep him on our property.
The Baby's crying.
The brownie is still hot.
The kids are playing Connect Four. It's not the real Connect Four, but a rip-off sold by Wal*Mart.
We're supposed to take a walk with Jane Goodall on Monday. I hope the van is fixed by then, or we'll have to miss it. That would be a bummer.
The brownie is only warm now.
Bohemian is asking for a glass of water. That's because we're out of milk.
This brownie would be really good with icing. I think I'll have another when I'm done with this, but put icing on it.
I wonder if anyone gave The Baby a brownie. I should go check.
I only have one bite of brownie left, and some crumbs.
The Baby is yelling, "GO!" and Bohemian is yelling, "WHERE?"
Houdin is quoting Bill Cosby.
The brownie is gone.
Bohemian is playing "Show the Way" on his guitar. He hasn't played for a while. Sounds sweet.
The Baby is playing with spoons and pots from the kitchen.
The brownie is still hot.
Monet is giggling. Something that Houdin says makes him laugh.
Bohemian grouted the tub tonight. We cleaned and buffed, cleaned and buffed, cleaned and buffed.
I hear a lot of clinking forks. But the brownie is still hot.
Today was a quiet day. The radiator blew in the Jeep a few days ago, and Bohemian spent the day trying to fix the water pump, which went out after the radiator was replaced.
Someone's whistling.
We're out of milk.
The birds are quiet.
The dogs aren't.
The neighbor brought the new puppy over, after he made a voyage to their house. This is unlike him. I looked up training techniques to keep him on our property.
The Baby's crying.
The brownie is still hot.
The kids are playing Connect Four. It's not the real Connect Four, but a rip-off sold by Wal*Mart.
We're supposed to take a walk with Jane Goodall on Monday. I hope the van is fixed by then, or we'll have to miss it. That would be a bummer.
The brownie is only warm now.
Bohemian is asking for a glass of water. That's because we're out of milk.
This brownie would be really good with icing. I think I'll have another when I'm done with this, but put icing on it.
I wonder if anyone gave The Baby a brownie. I should go check.
I only have one bite of brownie left, and some crumbs.
The Baby is yelling, "GO!" and Bohemian is yelling, "WHERE?"
Houdin is quoting Bill Cosby.
The brownie is gone.
Timelines
This looks like an awesome resource. When I climb out of debt, I want this. Of course, I'll be, what, 65? As Pierce Pettis said, "When Garth Brooks recorded 'You Move Me,' we were able to go from renting to owning a house. We started out with nothing! Now we owe thousands and thousands of dollars!"
Welcome to Great Folding Carts.com!!!
Welcome to Great Folding Carts.com!!!
I'm not sure what I'd use this for, but I saw it on another homeschooler's blog. If you click on the "free sticker" button, there's a sticker that says "no school like home." Kinda cute. :-)
I'm not sure what I'd use this for, but I saw it on another homeschooler's blog. If you click on the "free sticker" button, there's a sticker that says "no school like home." Kinda cute. :-)
People over 35 Should Be Dead
I don't know the orignal author of this, but found myself nodding my head over it, so I thought I'd pass it on.
People over 35 should be dead.
Here's why ...
According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 40's,50's, 60's, or even maybe the early 70's probably shouldn't have survived.
Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paint.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets
and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets.(Not to mention the risks we took hitchhiking.)
As children, we would ride in cars with no seatbelts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.
We ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and no one actually died from this.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then rode down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the street lights came on. No one was able to reach us all day.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, video tape movies, surround sound, personal cell phones, personal computers, or Internet chat rooms. We had friends! We went outside and found them.
We played dodge ball, and sometimes, the ball would really hurt.
We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones and teeth, and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. They were accidents. No one was to blame but us. Remember accidents?
We had fights and punched each other and got black and blue and learned to get over it.
We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and ate worms, and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes, nor did the worms live inside us forever.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home and knocked on the door, or rang the bell or just walked in and talked to them.
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment.
Some students weren't as smart as others, so they failed a grade and were held back to repeat the same grade.
Tests were not adjusted for any reason.
Our actions were our own.Consequences were expected.
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law. Imagine that!
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem solvers and inventors, ever.
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.
People over 35 should be dead.
Here's why ...
According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 40's,50's, 60's, or even maybe the early 70's probably shouldn't have survived.
Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paint.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets
and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets.(Not to mention the risks we took hitchhiking.)
As children, we would ride in cars with no seatbelts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.
We ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and no one actually died from this.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then rode down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the street lights came on. No one was able to reach us all day.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, video tape movies, surround sound, personal cell phones, personal computers, or Internet chat rooms. We had friends! We went outside and found them.
We played dodge ball, and sometimes, the ball would really hurt.
We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones and teeth, and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. They were accidents. No one was to blame but us. Remember accidents?
We had fights and punched each other and got black and blue and learned to get over it.
We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and ate worms, and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes, nor did the worms live inside us forever.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home and knocked on the door, or rang the bell or just walked in and talked to them.
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment.
Some students weren't as smart as others, so they failed a grade and were held back to repeat the same grade.
Tests were not adjusted for any reason.
Our actions were our own.Consequences were expected.
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law. Imagine that!
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem solvers and inventors, ever.
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.
Manners for a Guinea Pig
Yesterday, we started working on using good manners. The system works very simply: good manners all day, no instigating arguments with siblings, obedience to Mom and Dad. For every infraction, you get a point. The person with the least points gets to sleep with a guinea pig in their room. Yesterday, Bard and Sweetheart tied, so they both got to keep guinea pigs in their rooms. :-) The scoreboard has been cleared and we start over, working on manners for two days, and then the winner will get the guinea pig in their room. Since we have three guinea pigs, this should work out well. If they all tie, we'll bring in a rabbit. :-)
Bard's Activities
Bard has been an ENORMOUS help with the Open House preparations. She has been organizing, cleaning and doing laundry. So far, she has cleaned the kids' bathroom, Sweetheart's room, the computer room, the family room, and her own room.
Today, she was called away to do chores at a neighbor's house--scrubbing floors and cupboards. This will help to earn her money for her trip to China.
Thank you so much, Bard! You're a blessing!
Today, she was called away to do chores at a neighbor's house--scrubbing floors and cupboards. This will help to earn her money for her trip to China.
Thank you so much, Bard! You're a blessing!
Writing Practice
Monet has been enjoying e-mail correspondence with his grandma, which has been great for his writing practice as well as his computer skills.
Sweetheart has been working on drawing princesses. Fantastic practice for hand-eye coordination, shapes, and writing readiness. The princesses have oval faces, triangle bodies, lines for hair, and zig-zags for crowns. :-)
Sweetheart has been working on drawing princesses. Fantastic practice for hand-eye coordination, shapes, and writing readiness. The princesses have oval faces, triangle bodies, lines for hair, and zig-zags for crowns. :-)
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Radio Programming
We had a great discussion last night about radios and television. It was initiated by the fact that Grandpa bought each of the kids a small radio and headphones, which immediately became a problem. None of them could hear us, which made it impossible to follow our instructions. Also, Monet, at nine years old, has no idea what kind of garbage is rampant on radio and so doesn't know what to avoid.
Bohemian decided to sit down and discuss the issue. We talked about our television viewing, how we're selective about what we view because once you put garbage into your head, it's very difficult to get back out. The garbage can be in the form of unpleasant images, scary scenes, sexual images, or what seems as benign as materialistic commercials. This is why we don't have network television. Our TV is a receiver for DVDs only, and those are selected by us as a family to enhance our imaginations, inspire us, or educate us.
In the same way, we don't just play the radio. There is so much on the radio that's unfit for adult ears, let alone children. But, again, the materialistic bent of commercial broadcasting is just that, commercial.
To prove our point, we threw out a few random words which also happened to be keywords for local radio commercials. All it took was for me to say, "I met my husband," and they could finish, "on E-Harmony dot com!" Or I could say the word "gimmicks" and they could sing the jingle for the local car dealership.
This, children, is the point of radio programming. To program the minds of those who listen. To create in you a need you never knew you had, and then make you restless enough to sell you something to meet your need. Radio and television programming is designed to unsettle us, to make us selfish, to tell us that we're not good enough, pretty enough, smart enough, clean enough and to convince us that we need more more MORE!
It's important to make wise decisions about what you put into your head. Some things, no matter how benign they may seem, will never come back out.
Bohemian decided to sit down and discuss the issue. We talked about our television viewing, how we're selective about what we view because once you put garbage into your head, it's very difficult to get back out. The garbage can be in the form of unpleasant images, scary scenes, sexual images, or what seems as benign as materialistic commercials. This is why we don't have network television. Our TV is a receiver for DVDs only, and those are selected by us as a family to enhance our imaginations, inspire us, or educate us.
In the same way, we don't just play the radio. There is so much on the radio that's unfit for adult ears, let alone children. But, again, the materialistic bent of commercial broadcasting is just that, commercial.
To prove our point, we threw out a few random words which also happened to be keywords for local radio commercials. All it took was for me to say, "I met my husband," and they could finish, "on E-Harmony dot com!" Or I could say the word "gimmicks" and they could sing the jingle for the local car dealership.
This, children, is the point of radio programming. To program the minds of those who listen. To create in you a need you never knew you had, and then make you restless enough to sell you something to meet your need. Radio and television programming is designed to unsettle us, to make us selfish, to tell us that we're not good enough, pretty enough, smart enough, clean enough and to convince us that we need more more MORE!
It's important to make wise decisions about what you put into your head. Some things, no matter how benign they may seem, will never come back out.
This Magic Moment
Last night, we watched a movie about illusion called The Mysteries of Magic, The Impossible Made Possible. It featured the history of illusion, especially as it related to people producing ghosts and conjuring up "spirits." It was very enlightening to see how far people would go to make a person believe something.
One of the illusions involved reflections in glass. It was an illusion called "Pepper's Ghost," where people would enter this old house, received all sorts of sensory deprivation, drink "poison" (which was actually some type of narcotic to make them more open to the trick), and then be lead to the edge of death where they would see a beautiful girl turn into a skeleton, right before their eyes.
After the video was over, Bohemian jumped up and said, "We can do one of those! We can do one of those magic tricks!" So he sent all of the kids from the room, except for Bard, and then he arranged us thus: Bard sat on a stool on one side of the room, just behind the french door. I sat on the other side of the room on a stool where I couldn't be seen but facing the french door. The room was completely dark, and we each held a flashlight. When both of our flashlights were on, Bard could be seen through the french door's window, and my reflection could be seen ON the window. Thus, we could line up our faces so that we would be in exactly the same place. Then, Bard turned her flashligh on and I turned mine off. When Bohemian would count "three," Bard would turn her flashlight off, and I would turn mine on. Her image would then disappear, and mine would appear exactly where she had been!
We called the other three kids down and showed them the illusion. They were amazed! It was as if Bard were disappearing and I were appearing in her place! The other kids had great fun with it, Monet figuring the mechanics of the trick out right away and putting it to other uses. He was able to make himself disappear and immediately started talking about all of the possibilities for the trick. Bohemian explained that it was through a trick like this that David Copperfield made the Statue of Liberty disappear.
This magic moment went right along with our discussion on light and darkness, in more ways than one!
One of the illusions involved reflections in glass. It was an illusion called "Pepper's Ghost," where people would enter this old house, received all sorts of sensory deprivation, drink "poison" (which was actually some type of narcotic to make them more open to the trick), and then be lead to the edge of death where they would see a beautiful girl turn into a skeleton, right before their eyes.
After the video was over, Bohemian jumped up and said, "We can do one of those! We can do one of those magic tricks!" So he sent all of the kids from the room, except for Bard, and then he arranged us thus: Bard sat on a stool on one side of the room, just behind the french door. I sat on the other side of the room on a stool where I couldn't be seen but facing the french door. The room was completely dark, and we each held a flashlight. When both of our flashlights were on, Bard could be seen through the french door's window, and my reflection could be seen ON the window. Thus, we could line up our faces so that we would be in exactly the same place. Then, Bard turned her flashligh on and I turned mine off. When Bohemian would count "three," Bard would turn her flashlight off, and I would turn mine on. Her image would then disappear, and mine would appear exactly where she had been!
We called the other three kids down and showed them the illusion. They were amazed! It was as if Bard were disappearing and I were appearing in her place! The other kids had great fun with it, Monet figuring the mechanics of the trick out right away and putting it to other uses. He was able to make himself disappear and immediately started talking about all of the possibilities for the trick. Bohemian explained that it was through a trick like this that David Copperfield made the Statue of Liberty disappear.
This magic moment went right along with our discussion on light and darkness, in more ways than one!
Sunday, September 19, 2004
Getting back to it...
Sometimes, when I wake up in the morning, I feel like I didn't sleep at all. It's all just a long continuation, day after day of the same thing. It's just one day, just longer. :-)
Saturday, September 18, 2004
Off to see Pierce Pettis
We're heading out to Kidron tonight to see Pierce Pettis at the KidronFolk Music Festival. I'm very excited and can't wait to meet some new people! I plan to take some invitations to our open house/jam session so that we can hand them out to any musicians we might meet.
We've spent today sanding and finishing the kitchen cabinets. I hope to post a pic later! They look much nicer, and we distressed them just a bit more than we had before. We have an 8' island in the center of the kitchen with a maple butcherblock top, and we hope to get that finished tomorrow, painted with a coat of buttermilk milkpaint, and then lexington green milkpaint, sand, distress, hand-rub, then finish. We should be able to get it done tomorrow. It will be so awesome to finish before our family gathering.
I called to have the piano tuned, and there's hope that it should be tuned within the next two weeks. Bohemian was going to try to do it, but with all of the work he has to do to finish the house before the gathering, I said it would be best to leave it to someone else.
We put the hardware on all of the french doors. It was so awesome to open the french doors off of the schoolroom onto the side porch. It opened the whole room up SOOO much! I hope to hange a hook on the side porch for our three budgies to enjoy the weather when it's warm, yet still be able to hear them "talk" to each other from inside.
There's a parrot looking for a new home on FreeCycle. I submitted a request, and I really hope they choose us. What a wonderful thing it would be to find a healthy parrot for a pet!
Off to get ready for the festival!
We've spent today sanding and finishing the kitchen cabinets. I hope to post a pic later! They look much nicer, and we distressed them just a bit more than we had before. We have an 8' island in the center of the kitchen with a maple butcherblock top, and we hope to get that finished tomorrow, painted with a coat of buttermilk milkpaint, and then lexington green milkpaint, sand, distress, hand-rub, then finish. We should be able to get it done tomorrow. It will be so awesome to finish before our family gathering.
I called to have the piano tuned, and there's hope that it should be tuned within the next two weeks. Bohemian was going to try to do it, but with all of the work he has to do to finish the house before the gathering, I said it would be best to leave it to someone else.
We put the hardware on all of the french doors. It was so awesome to open the french doors off of the schoolroom onto the side porch. It opened the whole room up SOOO much! I hope to hange a hook on the side porch for our three budgies to enjoy the weather when it's warm, yet still be able to hear them "talk" to each other from inside.
There's a parrot looking for a new home on FreeCycle. I submitted a request, and I really hope they choose us. What a wonderful thing it would be to find a healthy parrot for a pet!
Off to get ready for the festival!
A Man for All Seasons
I'm writing this post backwards...from tonight to Monday.
Tonight, we watched the DVD A Man For All Season about the life of Sir Thomas More during the reign of King Henry VIII. We discussed Sir Thomas' obedience to God over obedience to a king. We discussed the scripture, "What does it profit a man if he gains the world but loses his own soul?" as was mentioned by Sir Thomas to Richard Rich. We talked briefly about the Pilgrims and their leaving England to worship as they saw necessary as opposed to being ruled by a church that was ruled by a king.
On Thursday, Edison, Monet and Sweetheart had art appreciation where they learned about Seurat and practiced a bit of their own pointilism. They found that sometimes art takes much, much patience. Photos of the art class are here.
We also spent time at The Hartville Marketplace where Edison spent some time talking to a magician friend of his. Bard and her friend Kat wandered around looking at things they wanted to buy but couldn't afford. Bard and Kat had spent the morning babysitting, but Bard is saving money for her trip to China in 2005.
When we got back to Kat's house, my dad called to say that Poochie (who almost has a name now) was missing and had been gone all day. He had followed us to feed the chickens and apparently never went home.
On Thursday afternoon, the kids and I shopped Goodwill for some new (to us) clothes. Bard carefully chose her things based on the sales and prices as well as the styles. We'd had a great conversation about What Not to Wear, about how cruel the "fashion gurus" are and how hurtful it must be for some contestants to know that their friends thought so poorly of their clothing choices. We discussed how much more important it is to be kind than to be fashion-conscious, but that you could still be fashion conscious without breaking the bank. She stayed with this theme during her shopping trip. I hope to go back to this particular Goodwill earlier in the day, as it was a really nice one, but so much of the stuff was picked over. Still, a tag that said Old Navy or GAP was about 200% more expensive than one that said Faded Glory or Cherokee. Brand consciousness, even at Goodwill. Afterwards, Bard and Houdin went to the grocery with a list and a cash card and came out with all that was on the list.
Thursday evening, we had dinner with our friends, S and B and their kids. We were there when B came home from work, and S took him aside to talk to him for a minute. When they came out, S informed us that she had just taken a pregnancy test and are now expecting #4! How exciting! They've chosen a name already...Seth Joshua Louis.
After dinner, Bard, Kat, S and I went to another friend's home for a PartyLite party. I feel guilty buying...but I do love their stuff. While I was there, Bohemian called to say that Poochie was home, safe and sound. My friend Jen's mother offered Bard a job cleaning house once a month, to help with her China tour.
I made my case to Bohemian that we should stay at S and B's overnight, since Bohemian had taken Friday as a vacation day. It was dark, rainy, and we had driven into town seperately. Bohemian wanted to drive home...so we left our Jeep and drove the van. On the hour-and-a-half-long drive home from S and B's, the alternator in our van failed and we spent an hour in a Wal*Mart parking lot at 2:00 AM, walking a dog we're dogsitting (yes, that makes five) and watching the live bat that was frequenting the Hallowe'en display, ironically! After brainstorming for a solution to get us the 45 minute trip back home and coming up with nothing better, we finally purchased a battery, and we were able to get back home.
On Wednesday, we drove to Toledo to pick up Bard from her visit to Chicago. We had lunch at Tony Packo's--fried pickles, a chili sunday, hot dogs and chicken paprikas. While there, Edison (who has decided to change his name to Houdin, so will henceforth be known as such) saw a picture of David Copperfield along with his signed hot dog bun. At Tony Packo's, celebrities sign hot dog buns which are then encased in acrylic and hung on the walls. There are hot dog buns signed by President Clinton, several of the Kennedys, and many famous musicians. Apparently, Tony Packo's was made famous not only by Burt Reynolds dining there, but also by Jamie Farr mentioning Packo's on M*A*S*H.
After lunch, we went to a park in Toledo called Pearson Metropark. The Baby got to play with her cousin while Sweetheart made friends. Bard stuck close by my side, hugging me and being so glad to be home after her almost-two-week adventure in Chicago nannying for her aunt. I missed her so much, and now she's gone again for the weekend, scrapbooking with Kat, and then to choir in the morning and then a hayride for the choir with Ash in the evening on Saturday. We'll pick her up on Sunday...and I will be very glad.
The Baby at Pearson Park
All of the kids at Pearson Park
Wednesday night, we all went for a nightwalk up to Aden's Hill where we talked about the constellations, pointed out the summer triangle, asked who could see The Milky Way (we all could) and saw that The Big Dipper was low on the horizon but could still be used to point to Polaris. We could see Pleides and Casseopia (I'm probably spelling all of these wrong), and then it was time to head for home, because it was getting cold. Now the kids are asking for night hikes every night. :-) Bard kept talking about how good it was to be back home, out of the light pollution of the city, and how she knew she could just never live in the city...it was the country for her. :-) She was anxious to hug her siblings, listen to their stories, and just be home again. What wonderful things she learned while away!
On Monday, the kids had choir, and I had to pick up a phone from a freecycle offer (did I write this already?). While in the car, Houdin told me all about the books he's been reading--he's been working his way through all of the condensed classics. He told me about Journey to the Center of the Earth, which was his favorite, and explained why Little Women was not his favorite (Beth dies, and there was nothing they could do about it).
Tomorrow, we hope to finish the kitchen cabinets, and then, maybe, go to the Kidron Folk Festival to see Pierce Pettis.
Another late night. It's off to bed...
Tonight, we watched the DVD A Man For All Season about the life of Sir Thomas More during the reign of King Henry VIII. We discussed Sir Thomas' obedience to God over obedience to a king. We discussed the scripture, "What does it profit a man if he gains the world but loses his own soul?" as was mentioned by Sir Thomas to Richard Rich. We talked briefly about the Pilgrims and their leaving England to worship as they saw necessary as opposed to being ruled by a church that was ruled by a king.
On Thursday, Edison, Monet and Sweetheart had art appreciation where they learned about Seurat and practiced a bit of their own pointilism. They found that sometimes art takes much, much patience. Photos of the art class are here.
We also spent time at The Hartville Marketplace where Edison spent some time talking to a magician friend of his. Bard and her friend Kat wandered around looking at things they wanted to buy but couldn't afford. Bard and Kat had spent the morning babysitting, but Bard is saving money for her trip to China in 2005.
When we got back to Kat's house, my dad called to say that Poochie (who almost has a name now) was missing and had been gone all day. He had followed us to feed the chickens and apparently never went home.
On Thursday afternoon, the kids and I shopped Goodwill for some new (to us) clothes. Bard carefully chose her things based on the sales and prices as well as the styles. We'd had a great conversation about What Not to Wear, about how cruel the "fashion gurus" are and how hurtful it must be for some contestants to know that their friends thought so poorly of their clothing choices. We discussed how much more important it is to be kind than to be fashion-conscious, but that you could still be fashion conscious without breaking the bank. She stayed with this theme during her shopping trip. I hope to go back to this particular Goodwill earlier in the day, as it was a really nice one, but so much of the stuff was picked over. Still, a tag that said Old Navy or GAP was about 200% more expensive than one that said Faded Glory or Cherokee. Brand consciousness, even at Goodwill. Afterwards, Bard and Houdin went to the grocery with a list and a cash card and came out with all that was on the list.
Thursday evening, we had dinner with our friends, S and B and their kids. We were there when B came home from work, and S took him aside to talk to him for a minute. When they came out, S informed us that she had just taken a pregnancy test and are now expecting #4! How exciting! They've chosen a name already...Seth Joshua Louis.
After dinner, Bard, Kat, S and I went to another friend's home for a PartyLite party. I feel guilty buying...but I do love their stuff. While I was there, Bohemian called to say that Poochie was home, safe and sound. My friend Jen's mother offered Bard a job cleaning house once a month, to help with her China tour.
I made my case to Bohemian that we should stay at S and B's overnight, since Bohemian had taken Friday as a vacation day. It was dark, rainy, and we had driven into town seperately. Bohemian wanted to drive home...so we left our Jeep and drove the van. On the hour-and-a-half-long drive home from S and B's, the alternator in our van failed and we spent an hour in a Wal*Mart parking lot at 2:00 AM, walking a dog we're dogsitting (yes, that makes five) and watching the live bat that was frequenting the Hallowe'en display, ironically! After brainstorming for a solution to get us the 45 minute trip back home and coming up with nothing better, we finally purchased a battery, and we were able to get back home.
On Wednesday, we drove to Toledo to pick up Bard from her visit to Chicago. We had lunch at Tony Packo's--fried pickles, a chili sunday, hot dogs and chicken paprikas. While there, Edison (who has decided to change his name to Houdin, so will henceforth be known as such) saw a picture of David Copperfield along with his signed hot dog bun. At Tony Packo's, celebrities sign hot dog buns which are then encased in acrylic and hung on the walls. There are hot dog buns signed by President Clinton, several of the Kennedys, and many famous musicians. Apparently, Tony Packo's was made famous not only by Burt Reynolds dining there, but also by Jamie Farr mentioning Packo's on M*A*S*H.
After lunch, we went to a park in Toledo called Pearson Metropark. The Baby got to play with her cousin while Sweetheart made friends. Bard stuck close by my side, hugging me and being so glad to be home after her almost-two-week adventure in Chicago nannying for her aunt. I missed her so much, and now she's gone again for the weekend, scrapbooking with Kat, and then to choir in the morning and then a hayride for the choir with Ash in the evening on Saturday. We'll pick her up on Sunday...and I will be very glad.
The Baby at Pearson Park
All of the kids at Pearson Park
Wednesday night, we all went for a nightwalk up to Aden's Hill where we talked about the constellations, pointed out the summer triangle, asked who could see The Milky Way (we all could) and saw that The Big Dipper was low on the horizon but could still be used to point to Polaris. We could see Pleides and Casseopia (I'm probably spelling all of these wrong), and then it was time to head for home, because it was getting cold. Now the kids are asking for night hikes every night. :-) Bard kept talking about how good it was to be back home, out of the light pollution of the city, and how she knew she could just never live in the city...it was the country for her. :-) She was anxious to hug her siblings, listen to their stories, and just be home again. What wonderful things she learned while away!
On Monday, the kids had choir, and I had to pick up a phone from a freecycle offer (did I write this already?). While in the car, Houdin told me all about the books he's been reading--he's been working his way through all of the condensed classics. He told me about Journey to the Center of the Earth, which was his favorite, and explained why Little Women was not his favorite (Beth dies, and there was nothing they could do about it).
Tomorrow, we hope to finish the kitchen cabinets, and then, maybe, go to the Kidron Folk Festival to see Pierce Pettis.
Another late night. It's off to bed...
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Government, handwriting, etc.
Since we're working on the KONOS unit study for obedience, we spent this morning talking about government and how important it is to pray for those who are in authority over us. The scripture verses that we read from The Message were very interesting. I'll post them later.
We also worked on handwriting. Edison chose a poem to copy and I'll work with him more closely on his handwriting one-on-one later. One of the problems I have with the handwriting is that the do it perfectly during their lessons, and then when it's time to actually write, just in "real life," they slip back into their sloppy handwriting patterns. We use Getty-Dubay, and someone mentioned on one of my e-mail lists that there is a software company that provides fonts for Getty-Dubay so that you can type out the verse or practice writing instead of handwriting it. I think I'll invest in this.
The kids are taking a few-minute break for me to blog and regroup. I can't believe how quickly the day has gone by! We'll go back to our study, where I think we'll break from KONOS for a bit and move on to the Flat Stanley project.
We also worked on handwriting. Edison chose a poem to copy and I'll work with him more closely on his handwriting one-on-one later. One of the problems I have with the handwriting is that the do it perfectly during their lessons, and then when it's time to actually write, just in "real life," they slip back into their sloppy handwriting patterns. We use Getty-Dubay, and someone mentioned on one of my e-mail lists that there is a software company that provides fonts for Getty-Dubay so that you can type out the verse or practice writing instead of handwriting it. I think I'll invest in this.
The kids are taking a few-minute break for me to blog and regroup. I can't believe how quickly the day has gone by! We'll go back to our study, where I think we'll break from KONOS for a bit and move on to the Flat Stanley project.
FLAT STANLEY PROJECT
FLAT STANLEY PROJECT
The Flat Stanley project was listed on one of the e-mail lists to which I belong. I had heard about it before and thought it was a great idea, but I didn't look further into it. After reading through the description of the project, checking the participant list and seeing that there are other homeschoolers, I shared the idea with Monet by telling the following story:
"Once upon a time, there was a boy named Monet. He was just sitting at the table, quietly doing his homeschooling project, when the chalkboard came crashing down on top of him, squashing him as flat as a sheet of paper. His mother was alarmed, but Monet wasn't bothered at all! In fact, he was a wee bit excited! 'Mom!' he cried, 'now I can go anywhere in the world...in an envelope!'"
Monet was really excited about this idea. We came up with a few variations, such as provide our Flat Monet with pockets and a backpack. Edison got in on the game, too, and thought it would be cool to send a dollar along with his Flat Edison so that it could be converted to whatever country's money Flat Edison happened to visit.
Monet wants to send his Flat Monet to a cousin in Chicago. Edison would like to send his around the world. His idea was to do a "round robin" type of thing where he sends his Flat Edison along to someone and then they send it along to someone else when they're done. We'd have to figure out how we'd get him back!
We signed up on the Flat Stanley website and hope to get approval soon so we can begin participating!
The Flat Stanley project was listed on one of the e-mail lists to which I belong. I had heard about it before and thought it was a great idea, but I didn't look further into it. After reading through the description of the project, checking the participant list and seeing that there are other homeschoolers, I shared the idea with Monet by telling the following story:
"Once upon a time, there was a boy named Monet. He was just sitting at the table, quietly doing his homeschooling project, when the chalkboard came crashing down on top of him, squashing him as flat as a sheet of paper. His mother was alarmed, but Monet wasn't bothered at all! In fact, he was a wee bit excited! 'Mom!' he cried, 'now I can go anywhere in the world...in an envelope!'"
Monet was really excited about this idea. We came up with a few variations, such as provide our Flat Monet with pockets and a backpack. Edison got in on the game, too, and thought it would be cool to send a dollar along with his Flat Edison so that it could be converted to whatever country's money Flat Edison happened to visit.
Monet wants to send his Flat Monet to a cousin in Chicago. Edison would like to send his around the world. His idea was to do a "round robin" type of thing where he sends his Flat Edison along to someone and then they send it along to someone else when they're done. We'd have to figure out how we'd get him back!
We signed up on the Flat Stanley website and hope to get approval soon so we can begin participating!
Subscribe to:
You might like these posts, too.
