MommyLawyer

I'm Learning Something New

2012-01-22T15:23:00.000-05:00

I've been wanting to work with yarn for a long time. I was torn between crocheting and knitting. After doing some research, I decided I wanted to learn to knit.

It seems as though knitting uses less yarn and there are so many things you can make. But then...

I settled on crochet for a number of reasons:

My grandmother crocheted. My grandmother passed away a little over a week ago after an extended illness. Granted, I started teaching myself about a month ago, but I'm glad this was my choice; I suppose I think of it as a bit of a legacy. She tried teaching me when I was around 10 or so, but all she taught me was the initial chain. Nonetheless, I chose crochet. Grandmother = Reason 1.

Needles. In crochet, you only use one. This may not be a selling point for many, but it was for me. Needles: 1 = Reason 2.

One can crochet a variety of cute, pretty, and functional things with crochet. Reason 3.

Finally, while at a large chain craft store, I had knitting needles and yarn in my basket and ideas in my head. I strolled over to the knitting/crocheting books. I thumbed through a few "how to" knit books, but it looked so complicated: cast on, knit, purl, cast off; if you mess up, you need thread, yarn needles, and a crochet hook; etc., etc. Not to mention, the books for knitting patterns were far outnumbered by the number of crochet books; and I liked the crochet creations better. Reason 4 is based on books - books I have yet to buy, and given the wealth of information online, I may never buy.

So, thanks to several well-made instructional videos found online, I've learned some simple stitches. I've made a blanket (4' X 5 1/2', weighing almost 6 pounds), a few headbands, and I've started another blanket.

Oh; I learned this weekend, while doing the physics lessons with the kids, that crochet is French for hook. See? I'm even learning about crochet while doing science! ;)

At the end of 2011, the year I (almost) read a book a week [I missed my goal by 2 books], I decided that in 2012, I would rediscover my crafty side. That said, I tend to burn out on crafts quickly. Every 5 years or so, I cross stitch. I'm not a sampler kind of person; instead, I choose a HUGE project, work on it diligently for 6 months, get it framed, then I don't touch DMC thread for years. What I'm saying is, I don't know how long my craftiness will last, but for now...

Fun this Fall

2011-11-30T23:19:00.001-05:00

Angry Pirates

Leaf Shoes

Making Leaf Shoes for Tricky

Umbrella Tree

Gingerbread Toffee Chocolate Cake from Dec 2011 Southern Living

Photo Shoot - this is our Christmas Card picture

Weekly (hmmm) Report: October 6 through October 30 - Weeks 10, 11, 12, 13

2011-11-04T11:37:00.001-04:00

Okay...so, it's been a while. I knew this would happen. I get involved with other things (like reading 1,000 page books [World Without End by Ken Follett]) and I neglect my blog (and Facebook, too). However, just a few weeks have gone by rather than the one year hiatus I took a while back.

The kids have been busy - playing some, learning a lot, reading like mad, and immersing themselves in music. Will has really blossomed - in his piano playing, reading, and singing. (His voice teacher LOVES his vibrato!) Casey is reading everything she can get her hands on, and Tricky is learning to read (she wants to be able to read to Chaucer).

Last weekend we went to visit family in Louisiana. I had hoped to take the kids by Vicksburg, Mississippi - since we just studied the Civil War Battle of Vicksburg - however, the weather had other plans for us. [Traipsing around a national park battlefield in the cold rain is not my idea of fun, so we skipped Vicksburg.] We did get to go to the Louisiana Book Festival in Baton Rouge! So. Much. FUN!!! There were booksellers, authors, publishers - storytelling, children's writing workshops... All in front of the Louisiana Capital - which we went into and went to the lookout at the top. One of the exhibits was called What do you GEEK? If you wrote "I geek _________" on a wall, they gave you a t-shirt, bookmarks, backpacks, etc. I said that I geek homonyms. I do...

All of my life, well since I was about 10, I've been wanting to keep a list of homonyms - so I finally started. (Yes, I'm realizing one of my life's dreams... I tend to dream BIG!) My list is kept in a spiral notebook and is in alphabetical order, mostly to avoid homonym repeats. The kids have been constantly giving suggestions; Tricky's are some of the best: "Mommy, how about cookie and cookie?" "No, Trick, that's the same word with the same meaning." My recent additions (because this is something I tend to obsess over and have scraps of paper everywhere with list possibilities) are: grease - Greece; tacks - tax; pedal - petal. Yes, I give an allowance for colloquial pronunciations; I do have some (but not many) proper nouns; and I have various self-imposed restrictions, such as I can't research homonyms, they must come naturally.

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks. Enjoy!

Chaucer participating in the voice lesson warm-up.

Decorating cookies (otherwise known as Making a HUGE Mess)

Hard tack. Part of our Civil War study...so they could see what the soldiers subsisted on. It was actually pretty good with the chicken soup I served with it.

A Physics experiment: inertia

Weekly Report: September 29 - October 2, 2011 (Week 9)

2011-10-07T00:21:00.007-04:00

I missed my Week 8 update. In short, the highlight of that week was the Lowe's Build & Grow project - a firetruck. Not only did Lowe's let kids build free firetrucks, but our Lowe's had Safety Day as well. The kids got to climb in an ambulance and a firetruck, see two K-9 deputies (one used for catching and subduing suspects and the other used for tracking), and have their fingerprints taken and handed over to me for safekeeping. The store was also having a scavenger hunt for safety items to be used around the home. The kids had a GREAT time!

As for Week 9, we spent much of the week working on a project. Our homeschool group had a Geography Fair this past Monday night - and our family's location of choice was India. We borrowed Indian clothing, I made Chicken Tikka Masala, and we played music on the iPod from Lagaan (a FABULOUS movie, by the way).

Each project's presenter spoke for a few moments about the country they chose. When it came to Casey, Will, and Tricky... well... it was interesting. For example, when Casey was telling a little about Gandhi, Will piped up and told everyone, "He was in JAIL!" Yes, that is what my sweet 6 year old son learned about Gandhi - he was incarcerated. My son seemed scandalized - I spent quite some time afterward explaining to Will why Gandhi had been imprisoned.

We've started working on a lot of memorization - a. lot. This is an area where I've slacked off the last couple of years...and I think I'm making up for it. We've got all sorts of things going: prayers, Bible verses, poetry, things in other languages (Spanish and Latin).

Tuesday was the Feast of St. Francis. The kids made St. Francis figures at church on Sunday - except for Chaucer. I made him an Elmo. He REALLY likes Elmo. In fact, people know of how much he loves Elmo, they've started giving him various Elmo goodies - books, coloring books, toys. And, he's very proud of his new Elmo jammies!

A Happy Marriage

2011-09-27T22:22:00.003-04:00

"Do you have a happy marriage?" A divorcing client recently asked me this question. It's not the first time a client in that situation has asked me if my marriage is a good one and, if so, how do I do it. I answer with a "Yes" and usually follow it up with "It takes work to make a happy marriage - work from both spouses."

The answer I would like to give is more involved...

A good marriage takes work. That work begins before a couple marries. I've seen people who dated six weeks before exchanging vows have a marriage that lasts decades. I've seen people who date for ten years before their wedding yet divorce within the first year after their nuptials. While being with someone a set amount of time before getting married may have some influence on the length of a marriage, I completely believe that the expectations the couple has for their marriage has more of an impact.

Before my husband and I married, we were required to attend Pre-Cana - a marriage course/counseling a couple is required to attend before getting married in a Catholic Church. What a wonderful experience that was! While Pre-Cana may mean several sessions privately with a priest or deacon or a weekend retreat led by clergy with other couples planning to get married, our Pre-Cana was a series of weekly sessions led by a couple in our church who had been married for some 20 years. Our priest would talk with us on occasion about our progress through the Pre-Cana course. I recall meeting with our mentor couple - discussing our plans for a family, parenting styles, finances, future employment, our expectations from one another. It was a slow, time-consuming process [that is said with fondness, not complaint] that forced us to contemplate things that would happen in our marriage - and prepare us for the way we would handle the unexpected. While Pre-Cana cannot coach a couple into knowing every pitfall that might creep up during a lifelong marriage, it does give a couple the knowledge that there will be good times and bad times, and you've got to work through it all...together.

Another thing Pre-Cana taught us is that our marriage is a marriage of three - me, my husband, and God. Personally, I think it's hard to expect a marriage to work if God is not part of "the deal." I have been to country club weddings, hotel ballroom weddings, waterfall weddings - and I always have a bit of an empty feeling. Sometimes there is an invocation and God is mentioned, but there is a lack of the holy, sacramental nature of the ceremony without the church setting. Without the presence of God, even from the outset, I think the parties to the marriage are going to have to work even harder still than those with a marriage where God is part of that marriage of three.

So, while I know not every couple getting married has the benefit of Pre-Cana, I do believe every couple should take advantage of religious pre-marital counseling.

It's unfortunate that women (and sometimes even the men) get caught up in the wedding ceremony. This is NOT the premarriage work I discussed above. Couples (and/or their parents) spend thousands, if not multiples of thousands, of dollars for one day. Let me say that again. ONE. DAY. Many of those same couples do not take the time to look beyond that day - or to look beyond that day together. Months spent buying flowers, trying on dresses, picking colors, registering for gifts, interviewing photographers, and tasting cakes; however, planning for their futures - the highs and lows, the stops and starts - never enters into their minds. News flash: The size of the wedding and the money spent do not relate to the length of the marriage!

I have many more opinions on the matter, but time and my unwillingness to sit at my computer any longer today, are drawing this little diatribe of mine to a close. So, I'll end with this...

Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. -Matthew 19:6

Weekly Report: September 15-19, 2011 (Week 7)

2011-09-22T23:50:00.004-04:00

We had a family outing on Saturday afternoon. We decided to go on a hike, so we drove to Brasstown Bald, the highest point in Georgia. We arrived just as the US Forest personnel were leaving for the day. On top of the mountain, the shop was closing and the flag was coming down. My children asked why the flag had to be taken down, so I gave them a mini-lesson on American flag etiquette. A few things popped to mind: don't fly flag during rainstorms, don't fly flag at night unless lit by spotlights, don't let flag touch the ground, fold the flag a certain way, etc. The Forestry workers asked the kids if they wanted to help, so they gladly, proudly joined in the flag folding.

Casey, as part of First Language Lessons Level 4, memorized Afternoon on a Hill by Edna St. Vincent Millay. Will, as part of FLL Level 2, memorized The Goops. I'm glad they are back to memorizing poetry and Bible verses - it's been a while.

Our nanny picked up my camera one day this past week and took this picture of Chaucer's hands. It's just so sweet, I had to post it!

I decided to throw in a picture of Casey at karate. I had my camera in the car when I took the kids to karate on Tuesday, so I brought it in. I got some great shots, but this was my favorite.

Not a complete recap, but just enough...

On (My) Writing

2011-09-19T23:00:00.008-04:00

Nothing warms my heart more than seeing a look of understanding flash across my children's faces when they truly get something. I can almost see the cartoon lightbulb clicking on over their little heads.

Recently, I had my own "a-ha!" moment. I have finally begun to truly define my strengths and weaknesses. I read blogs where women describe their home schools, their days, their lives with beautiful, flowing prose and possessing a command of descriptive language I wish I could master. My discovery about myself is that I write in more concrete, black and white terms. My forte is legalese. On a daily basis - well, on a workday daily basis, I bandy about such phraseology as, "The parties having come on for hearing and the Plaintiff having been represented by counsel and the Defendant having acted pro se, and the Court having heard and considered the evidence presented thereto, finds and concludes as follows," or, "Please see a copy of Exhibit A which is attached hereto and incorporated as if fully set forth herein". You know, lofty language drilled into me by three years of law school, three years of writing for judges, and six years of private practice. And, no, I didn't copy that stuff out of a book; it oozes from my fingertips at least three days a week.

So, as much as I wish I could flourish adjectives about as if they were rose petals donning my nook on the internet (hey, that wasn't too bad for a Black's Law Dictionary junkie), I will settle for my lackluster but (hopefully) grammatically correct entries.

Weekly Report: September 8-11, 2011 (Week 6)

2011-09-15T07:42:00.006-04:00

Busy week, both academically and socially... We're making progress through our subjects, albeit, not quite on the schedule I created last spring. Life takes over and we have to stray from the plan. However, the reason I make the plan is to guide me and help gauge just how far off course I'm getting. So far, I'm only a few days off the mark. (That's why I've built in a lot of slow weeks to use as catch up days or to give us a break if we're on track - usually more of the former than the latter.)

On Friday, we went to the park and met up with our homeschool group. It was pleasant to spend a couple of hours talking to the other moms while our kids played, screamed, and ate watermelon. Chaucer ate A LOT of watermelon!

On Saturday morning, Richard took the kids to L0we's to build a police car. We discovered the Bui1d & Grow activities last spring. My children have made more wooden contraptions than we have room for, but they enjoy building something they can play with - and I like it because it's FREE! I didn't go on this excursion because the homeschool group was hosting an introduction to homeschool "how to" seminar for the community. I was on hand to help explain the law, but it was thoroughly covered by a couple of moms who have been homeschooling for many years. Four moms were there wanting to learn about homeschooling. Exciting! Sunday, we opened our digital microscope. I snagged this from Amaz0n a few weeks ago for $15 (including Prime shipping)! We looked at everything from a dead spider to money to Chaucer's belly button.

Speaking of Chaucer, he started sleeping in his own (well, shared with his brother) bedroom this week! My little boy is sleeping in his bottom bunk bed - and is staying ALL NIGHT!!! (Even though I cosleep with my babies from the time they are born, they have all been out of my bedroom well before they turn 2!)

On Monday, I didn't go to work (I have a seminar in Atlanta this weekend). I wanted to make it a special day. After starting school early and working through breakfast, I surprised the kids by loading them up and taking them to the park. The kids did their various Language Arts subjects for well over an hour, we had a snack, then played for an hour. It was so much fun - and we were the ONLY ONES there!!! The weather was perfect for homeschooling in the park - I'm surprised there weren't other mommies there, especially ones with babies and toddlers!

Our week concluded with Casey, Will, and Tricky's performance at a county fair. They sang "So Long, Farewell" from "The Sound of Music." The hours of singing in the car and rehearsing in the kitchen and living room showed!

Curiosities

2011-09-12T22:23:00.001-04:00

My four year old, Tricky, asked a question this evening: Who do you like better, Guy Fawkes or Justin Bieber?

[What?!]

Weekly Report: September 1 - 4, 2011 (Week 5)

2011-09-05T11:28:00.006-04:00

For Labor Day weekend, we decided to be "one with nature" and go camping! We drove up the Blue Ridge Parkway to Mt. Pisgah, North Carolina, on Friday.

Upon our arrival, there were only few tent sites available - and those, only for one night. There were several RV sites available for 3 nights, but we would have to put our tent on the pavement (ouch!). We drove around, searching out the tent sites. We came upon the first couple we knew were available, but weren't impressed with what those sites had to offer, so we kept driving. As we rounded corner after corner, the sites the Ranger marked as open had just been taken. By the time we revisited those first two tent sites, they had been snagged, too! So, we opted for an RV site - yes, we'd have to pop the tent on pavement, but at least we wouldn't have to move after the first night.

You know, having the tent on the pavement wasn't too bad... At least Richard and I had an air mattress! (No, our children weren't deprived... they had plenty of padding beneath their sleeping bags - and Casey even CHOSE to sleep without the padding!

Our first night there, Richard made a dinner that was nothing short of amazing! Using sausage, carrots, potatoes, onion, broth, and seasoning, he created a heavenly meal for us. Everyone LOVED it! (I even ate my carrots and potatoes... I usually loathe and despise vegetables, but these were great!)

On Saturday morning, hiked up Frying Pan Trail with a group led by a Ranger. The children were very inquisitive and chatty and, between the Ranger's discussion and my children's questions, we learned a lot about the various flowering plants and trees on the trail.

Saturday evening, after having hot dogs, baked beans, and Richard's cast-iron-dutch-oven cornbread (FABULOUS!), we (unfortunately) attended a Campfire Conversation headed by possibly the most incompetent Ranger I've ever encountered. Not only could she not get her campfire started (despite having dry wood, dry leaves, newspaper, several kitchen lighters, a box of matches, and an audience member's lighter), but she was positively the worst ghost story teller I've ever heard. We can't even get qualified storytellers out of our government! Because Chaucer started shining flashlights in people's faces and due to his being an especially unruly toddler when forced to sit still and listen to bad storytelling, the children and I left. (Richard left out of disgust, I believe, after the Ranger couldn't start her fire.) Despite their cries of the unfairness and injustice wrought upon them by their parents, the kids enjoyed the replacement entertainment: s'mores by our own ROARING campfire.

Sunday, we traveled up the Parkway to Mount Mitchell. Stopping at several sites along the way - including a few overlooks and the Folk Arts Center - our stay at Mitchell was brief. We had planned to have a picnic lunch, but it started raining as we pulled into the parking lot. We ran up to the top, snapped a few photos, then walked briskly down to our car where we ate our lunch in the cramped confines of our Highlander. On the way back to Pisgah, we stopped at Craggy Gardens so I could stamp my Park Passbook in the visitor's center. Guess who I should see as I'm walking in? None other than my "favorite" Ranger who can't start a fire!

Raining the entire trip back to Pisgah, Richard and I decided that we shouldn't stay another night. We had a few educational moments during that drive back - explaining to the children how flash floods work [despite a very impassioned argument by Will who said that God sent the rainbow promising not to flood the earth again - and my explanation that the rainbow doesn't mean God can't flood a mountain].

After making another wonderfully filling dinner, this time of chicken breast cooked in sweet tea and a mixture of tomato sauce and spices, we packed up our things and headed home.

Our weekend was full of camping, the outdoors, games, nature studies, and various interludes of my reading about spies of the Civil War and Isaac Newton. I love homeschooling!

Weekly Report: August 25-28, 2011 (Week 4)

2011-08-31T11:00:00.002-04:00

Free play at the college

Homeschool group picnic
Dentist
C0stc0

That's what we did for week 4! Well, that and some school. We got our hours in, but with all of the running around, I don't feel as though we accomplished much - short of some math, spelling, grammar, reading. We did our Civil War and Physics lessons, but they were a bit lackluster this weekend, if only due to the fact that we didn't have time for the activity/experiment. So, I'm planning on reviewing those lessons in Week 5.

We did, however, have fun at two of the activities. (The dentist visit was helpful, but not exactly fun; and I think the kids are over going to C0stc0 with me, but we must eat!) The play was The Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood. It was cute, interactive, and the kids had a blast. We took a friend with us and all of the kids, even Chaucer, enjoyed the entertainment - and my kids always have to put their 2 cents in (thank goodness it was "interactive," so responses from the audience were welcomed).

The homeschool group picnic was fabulous, too! We saw some friends we've made in the past few months and made new friends, too! I'm so looking forward to all of the activities and gatherings planned for the school year. (And to all the homeschooling nay-sayers who criticize homeschooled children for lack of socialization: there are over 75 kids in this group!) So excited!

Contentment...

2011-08-30T11:26:00.002-04:00

I sat on my driveway yesterday evening, with my youngest on my lap, my husband by my side, and my other children surrounding me, as we watched hummingbirds fly around the trees, dip down to sip from the feeder, then gently land on a limb. I am so happy, so blessed, and so fulfilled.

If there was ever a moment I wish I could have captured on film it would be that one... Not photographing the five or so hummingbirds as they flitted about, but my family - our faces, our love, our commitment, our contentment.

In that moment, there were no worries...only pure joy!

Just wondering...

2011-08-28T09:28:00.004-04:00

* Why do television shows, movies, and the like say "GSW" for gun shot wound. It actually takes longer to say the abbreviation. Think about it: jee-ess-du-bul-yoo (okay, don't shoot me over my pitiful phonetic spelling; just roll with my point) versus gun shot wound. See? (This is truly a distraction for me when viewing a show.) By the way, I understand that writing it is shorter, but saying it is not.

* Why do people post on their Facebook statuses the fact that they are on some remote beach somewhere, completely shut off from their homes? Yes, generally the people we are friends with on Facebook are (or should be) our true friends. However, as my husband is quick to point out, your friend may have just moved a troubled [Read: criminal history] juvenile into their home. Said juvenile may be reading over your friend's shoulder, committing your name and the fact that you just posted you are on a cruise ship parting the seas toward the Bahamas to memory. The same juvenile may later hop on the internet and find out where you live (it's not a difficult thing to do, right?) and may, with his or her similarly situated juvenile (delinquent) friends, pay your empty home a visit. After all, if you can afford a cruise to the Bahamas and have a house which will be empty for 7 days, 6 nights, you probably have some hockable goods in your home. That said, wait until you're back from vacation to tell us all about it, 'kay?

* How can I train my toddler to fall on his knees instead of his face? I know it is not unusual to have a toddler with a forehead bruise from time to time - I've had three previous toddlers. However, the current toddler is particularly prone to using his head as a buffer between the rest of his body and the ground he is barreling toward. I just need suggestions, short of his wearing a hockey mask full-time.

The Enforcer

2011-08-27T22:46:00.003-04:00

I've recently gone through a Renaissance of my own making - I've changed the way I discipline...to an extent. I'm trying to be more creative with the punishments I dole out. I've never been one for the hot sauce/liquid soap on the tongue approach. Further, our lifestyle simply doesnt lend itself to punishments such as taking away television (we don't watch TV) or grounding from playing with friends (we want to preserve the few friendships our kids have, not to mention when you have several children around the same age, those children ARE friends).

Here are a couple of the new punishments I've recently tried:

* My oldest child called one of her siblings a name. As her punishment, I had her look up that name in the dictionary. For that particular word, there were three definitions. After each definition, I asked Casey if her sibling was [insert definition here]. Then I had Casey write the definitions and, twenty-five times, had her write "My sister is not a ___________."

* The children have started glaring and/or staring at each other and making the staree whine to me that they are being stared at. (Ugh! I really hate this one.) So, yesterday when this occurred, I had the two children involved sit on the sofa and stare at each other for 20 minutes - no talking, no complaining - just staring. They HATED it!

* My biggest misbehavior pet peeve is when the children argue in our vehicle when I'm driving. I used to give them a warning or two, then pull off the road. Lately, I've begun, without prior warning, to find a parking lot to park in and we sit and wait until the argument is over. I say nothing. They get the hint quickly.

* Putting dirty laundry away is a challenge for one of the kids. Earlier this week, instead of getting onto him about it, I had Will pick up his dirty clothes. He then had to walk with each article of clothing, to the washing machine, back to his closet, put the dirty article in the hamper, take it out, then walk to the washing machine again. He did it 10 times per article of clothing not picked up.

I haven't yet figured out what to do about the wrestling around on the floor which usually results in someone receiving some minor injury. I have told them that if they roll around on the floor not to complain if they get hurt (unless, of course, someone is bleeding or broken). That solution isn't working well.

Now, maybe they'll start to heed my warnings or, better yet, will do things the first time they are told!

SOTW & Netflix: Updated Movie List

2011-08-23T23:13:00.004-04:00

I have updated my SOTW & Netflix Movie List. Movie List here. Please note that if I have a movie marked as being available on Watch Instantly, it may not be so now. I had that experience 5 days after I began working on this list - 2 of the movies I wanted to watch had been available when I made the list, but when it was time to watch them, neither was available!

I hope this helps!

I have a disclaimer (of sorts) on the first page, which I will reprint here:

* This list does not have the blessing of the author of SOTW nor the owners of Netflix. It is my own original creation using the resources provided to or purchased by me.

* I have not seen all of the movies listed herein. I simply culled the books and the website to find movies compatible with many of the topics covered. I do not claim to know the content of the movies I've listed.

* I have tried to list the MPAA ratings for the movies, if the same was provided. Please be aware that what the MPAA declares may be appropriate for children (i.e., with G or PG ratings) may not be appropriate for your family. There are some movies listed here that are rated R. I have listed the documentaries either as "doc" or "NR" (not rated as shown on the Netflix site). Also, some of the older movies listed may be rated NR. A "not rated" rating does not necessarily mean that it is appropriate for children. ANI means animated.

* Rely on your own discretion, not mine!

Weekly Report: August 18-21, 2011 (Week 3)

2011-08-23T22:20:00.003-04:00

Our third week of the new school year has brought an exciting change: Tricky has decided to take Karate with her brother and sister! This was a happy revelation - I've been "working on" Tricky off and on for many months now, but gave up several weeks ago. I wanted her to take Karate for several reasons including the fact that it wouldn't cost us any more per month and it would give her some structured physical eduction. On her first night, I could tell that she has been watching her siblings for a year - and she had a BLAST!

We didn't get as much done this weekend as I had hoped. I had to go to court on Thursday - yes, I occasionally visit the courtrooms of the circuit in which I practice. I've been going in far more frequently than I had in the past. Going to court has given me more confidence in myself and my abilities; I credit my recent appearances with giving me the courage to take to the stage with my children and perform. No, one doesn't have much to do with the other, except that for a woman previously cloaked in the veil of severe stage fright, I have found a calm place I can tap into and bring that calm to the surface. Fear abates, butterflies subside, and I can handle people watching me, expecting from me, criticizing me, applauding me. (And it's a bit of a rush, too!)

We started the Civil War study in earnest. I love it! The kids were surprised and entertained at my attempts to let them know the various theories of what a rebel yell sounded like. We performed a few physics experiments with states of water. Casey complained about math while Will begged for more and Tricky asked, expectantly, when she will start ("At the beginning of September"). We didn't cover as much Spanish as I had hoped, but we plugged through our Language Arts subjects.

I was able to point out a painful truth about public school versus home school. On Friday, a little girl who lives a few doors away came over at 1:00. She is home schooled, too, by the way. I was starting lunch and invited her to stay. After we ate, I let the kids run through the house - and as they did so, they were screaming at the tops of their lungs. (No, this doesn't bother me; I wasn't allowed to have friends over and scream, and since it was a bit too warm for the kids to play outside, I didn't mind.) At 2:00, I asked them to stop and take notice. Knowing that, at times, these children wonder about the "mysteries" of public school (you know, the whole grass-is-greener mentality), I said to the kids, "You know, public school has started again. Do you think the public school kids are running around their houses screaming and playing? Or, do you think they are sitting at their desks, doing work, waiting for 3:00 when they can finally go home for the day?" I think I made my point! :)

Well, onward to week 4!

Weekly Report: August 11-14, 2011 (Week 2)

2011-08-15T23:46:00.003-04:00

We had a good weekend. We're starting to settle into our routine. Although I don't get a lot of down time on the weekends, I am quite productive - with the possible exception of getting the laundry done (or, um, started). My husband needed khakis, Tricky had no jammy pants, and Casey complained that she had no outfits that matched. So, laundry aside, things are happening at our house!

We continued the Modern Era of History by discussing Livingstone and Stanley. I have a post here on my blog with a link to a list of Netflix movies. I began updating that list and adding SOTW 4 movies a week ago. I had a Livingstone movie on my list that was available on "Watch Instantly." Well, by the time we were ready to watch the movie on Saturday, guess what? No longer on "Watch Instantly." Nice. Oh well...

I had a few battles with the children - all of them - over the course of the weekend. Most of the battles involved getting school work done in a timely fashion. I'm trying something new - no breaks between chunks of work if the kids dilly dally while doing their work.

The children and I took an impromptu, unplanned field trip to a courthouse in Homer, Georgia. While researching the Civil War, I learned that the Banks County Courthouse was built from 1860 to 1863 using slave labor. For a spur-of-the-moment trip, I'm happy I could find something to tie in our trip to something we'll be studying in the VERY near future.

The children are enjoying Spanish almost as much as History. Even Chaucer is getting in on the action - he now says "Hola" instead of "Hi!"

Good week!

Weekly Report: August 4 - 7, 2011 (Week 1)

2011-08-12T15:14:00.005-04:00

Our school year is off to a fabulous start (other than first-day toddler training)! To celebrate our first day, once we finished, we went to McDonald's for ice cream!

Before I get into the nitty-gritty of our week, you may notice that the dates for our school week run Thursday through Sunday. I work three days a week so my (poor) children have school the other four days. Oh! They do an hour or so of extras on the days they are with their nanny. (They do get breaks, trust me!)

We all love History - our breakfast table subject - and we've started with Story of the World 4 this year. I have modified the material covered to expand the time we will be studying the Civil War (or the War Between the States as some of my friends are apt to say) and World War II. I've decided that we'll skip things like the Vietnam War and the couple of decades between the collapse of Communism in Europe and 9/11. The kids always enjoy the projects that go along with any given lesson - and this week's project was no exception. We made Enfield cartridges and compared the time to load an Enfield rifle versus loading a Brown Bess. Richard, our resident gun enthusiast, was more than happy to help make cartridges made of flour, wax paper, and tin foil, then load them into paper towel rolls!

Our other breakfast table subject (History gets 2 days, Science gets 2 days) is Elemental Science - Physics for the Grammar Stage. We explored states of matter with three experiments! Richard has been enlisted to help us do our projects this year and he seemed to enjoy lending a hand.

Now that Casey is in fourth grade, she is using Saxon 5/4. What a blessing! A year ago, thinking of what this year would be like with 3 kids doing different levels of math, I was struggling with the idea that school was going to take us 9 hours a day simply because of all the time spent on various maths. However, I bought the Saxon Dive CD and Casey has a more self-guided approach to math this year. Of course, I check over her work and pop over to make sure she's understanding the concepts taught.

Will's favorite subject is math, but he's not thrilled with Language Arts. I had used Rod & Staff materials for Grammar, Phonics, Spelling, and Writing with Casey, but I'm changing things up a bit for both Will and Casey. Spelling and Phonics is still courtesy of R&S, however, I'm test driving Writing with Ease and First Language Lessons. So far, I like both, but I'm concerned that FLL isn't as "hard core" as Rod & Staff for Grammar. Surprisingly enough, Casey said that she misses the work she did in the R&S Grammar books. ("WHAT?!?")

Tricky is learning how to read. I used "Teaching Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" with her older siblings, but I'm using "The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading" with the Trick. She needs some additional attention to the sounds letters make and the first 26+ lessons of OPGTR do a wonderful job of it.

In addition to learning to read, Tricky will start Kindergarten Math (Saxon) at the beginning of September. She asks daily if she can start it, but I'm holding off until I get into the groove [I can't deny that Madonna - not the Blessed Mother - popped into my head as soon as I typed that] with everything else to introduce Math to Tricky.

I took Latin off our plate not far into last school year. I've replaced Latin with Spanish this year. So far the kids love it. I may spend 2 or 3 years on Spanish then tackle Latin again. There was just too much of a learning curve for me with Latin and, given my schedule and the fact I have NO TIME to learn Latin right now, I opted for a language I'm more comfortable with. We are using "Learning Spanish with Grace" - a Spanish program developed by a Catholic mom. I'm looking forward to taking the kids to a Spanish Mass once we learn more vocabulary and prayers.

Well, I'm off to work on organizing all of our materials and making a plan for our weeks to be spent on the Civil War. Good luck to everyone starting the new school year!

What about the toddler?

2011-08-04T12:50:00.003-04:00

I have (as have legions of other homeschooling mommies) been asked, "What do you do with your toddler while you are homeschooling your other children?" I could give some lofty, intellectual answer that shows exactly how wonderful a mother-teacher-multitasker I am. I could say, I bounce him on my knee as we are studying Victorian Britain or he watches patiently as the kids are doing Spanish. Reality is this - during our first day of homeschool, Chaucer (19 months old):

Played in the dog's water
Put the dog's food in the dog's water
Colored on Casey's worksheets
Scribbled on a white bookshelf
Knocked a picture off the wall
Used Fisher Pri€e Little People to destroy the living room

The FIRST DAY!

Really... A YEAR?!

2011-08-04T00:50:00.002-04:00

Well, almost a year...

I went away, but now I'm back. I decided to take a break right after that post in August 2010. Between work, school, kids, life - something had to give, so I stopped blogging. I hope to keep up with it, if anything, so that I can better chronicle my children's educations. I make a year-end portfolio for the older three and, sadly, a nice detail of what we did was missing - because I stopped blogging.

We're starting a new school year tomorrow and I'm beside-myself-excited! The kids, on the other hand ... not so much. Let me rephrase: Casey and Will are none too thrilled; Tricky, is quite excited since she has her own collection of school books. I hope the newness and curiosity sticks with the Trick for a while.

I'll update the sidebars with our books for this year, the kids' ages and interests, and (with any luck) some more up-to-date photos! My little weeds have grown quite a bit in the past year!

A New School Year

2010-08-26T20:50:00.005-04:00

Our school year has gotten off to an AMAZING start! (I can only hope our entire year goes so well!) I think the thing that is helping the most is my fabulous planner. I make my own in Excel; because our homeschooling schedule is not traditional (we school Thursday through Sunday), I started making my own a couple of years ago. Also included in my planner are tentative schedules for Casey and Will and my plan for history (SOTW 3 and "From Sea to Shining Sea"). So far, the hours I spend planning everything out are paying off!

We started this school year on July 30. Casey is in third grade, Will is in first, Tricky is in PreK 3/4, and Chaucer is... well, he's everywhere.

Chemistry is the science choice for the YEAR - a whole year on one subject, help me. We started off with an experiment - making ice cream. I remember making ice cream in my high school chemistry class using milk, salt, and a baby jar. The high school ice cream experiment was a flavorless (save for all the salt) disaster. Homeschool ice cream, on the other hand, was SOOOO very good (especially considering it was 97 degrees that day).
Chemistry is brought to Gratia Plena Academia by Elemental Science.

History has been fun, too! We're using Story of the World 3 and From Sea to Shining Sea - along with 10 weeks of the American Revolution for Kids - for the spines. I also have a TON for independent reading for Casey (and a few for Will, too). This weekend we're discussing King James I, Guy Fawkes, Jamestown, Pocahontas, and John Smith. I've planned some great field trips this year - hopefully we'll even make it to Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Roanoke Island before this school year is over!

Will was initially very excited about all of his school books - he has a significantly higher number of workbooks for first grade than he did last year. Notice, I said "was... excited." Reality set in quickly - he now realizes with all those new workbooks comes more work!

Tricky is excited to be working along side her brother and sister - but also enjoying the freedom she has to go play after working for a short while.

Chaucer is (as I said before) everywhere - crawling, standing, grabbing, squealing, eating, and playing. I love it!

As for extracurriculars, Casey and Will are both taking piano, voice lessons, and karate. Fun!

SOTW & Nettflix

2010-07-30T00:59:00.007-04:00

THIS LIST WAS UPDATED AND A LINK CAN BE FOUND ON MY 8/22/2011 POST.

I decided to make a list of movies compatible with Story of the World. So far, I've only made lists for Volumes 1 through 3. This isn't a list of every movie/documentary out there. Instead, I tried to focus on options that are available to Watch Instantly (as I'm TERRIBLE about remembering to put movies on my queue in time for us to watch them when we're studying a particular topic). Unfortunately, most of what I have listed are not available in the Watch Instantly format.

On the chart, I've listed the title of the movie/documentary; the corresponding SOTW book and chapter; a code to denote whether it is a documentary or, if not, then a MPAA rating; and whether the movie is available on Watch Instantly.

I hope this list is of use or value to someone!

LIST LINK

Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-28T15:27:00.003-04:00

iPad Apps for Homeschoolers

2010-07-26T23:08:00.003-04:00

I've been searching online for an article like this and, having been disappointed with what I've found thus far, decided to write my own.

[Disclaimer: I am not putting educational apps here; that's a post for another day. I am merely attempting to detail some apps I use (or in theory could use) to make homeschooling a bit easier.]

[Another disclaimer: I did not receive any compensation or offers from any developer of these apps; I just think they're useful and thought I would share!]

Netflix
Cost: FREE (with subscription to Netflix)
We LOVE Netflix! And I love it even more now that it's conveniently located by app on my iPad. I can't begin to count the number of documentaries and movies we've watched to supplement subjects we've covered! Netflix is definitely a must-have app!

Atomic Web Browser
Cost: FREE for lite version; $1.99 for full version
Safari is okay, but this is a superior iPad web browser. One important difference between this browser and Safari is that in a window with multiple columns, you can actually see all of the columns with AWB. (There are a couple of legal research sites I use where this is of particular importance for me.) With the lite version, one can have 4 (I think) web tabs open, but the full version allows more. The full version also allows you to open the browser to the last page or session you had open or to a home page you specify. Think of AWB as the Firefox of iPad browsers. [And at $1.99, the full version is worth buying!] By the way, I had to contact the developer to ask a technical question about the app. I got a response in about 10 minutes and my question was answered!

Mint.com
Cost: FREE
This app helps you keep your finances in check. The iPad version only lets you know your account balances and your budget info. You have to manage your information on the mint.com website. On the website, you can load up your bank accounts, credit card accounts, etc. You can also set up budgets and mint.com will automatically categorize your spending - although, you may need to do some manual tweeking. The only drawback I've found so far is that I have to manually update my account balances. And don't worry, it is secure - you can read all about the security on the website. Okay, this may not be DIRECTLY related to homeschooling - but if you set up a homeschooling budget, it may curb the need to buy EVERY bit of curriculum out there!

iDo - Notepad
Cost: FREE
Okay, I haven't used this extensively, yet ... However, I can see some practical uses especially with making To Do lists - since the app provides you with the ability to prioritize. The app also has a calendar function.

My Library
Cost: $4.99
This is one of my absolute favorites. I have it on my iPad just as a reference - where I REALLY use it is on my iPhone. My Library gives you the ability to scan the ISBN numbers on your books (okay, you may have to get an additional app, Red Laser [I believe] to have the scanning ability, but it is SO worth it). Once the number is recognized, you'll have the title, author, and genre - many books also have a picture of the cover and a brief description of the book. I love having this app - I've catalogued most of the homeschooling books I have in our school room. It's saved me from making a couple of duplicate purchases!

Craft Finder
Cost: FREE
Sponsored by Disney's Family Fun magazine, you can search for crafts to do with the kids (searching can be performed by age group, time you have for the craft, and/or occasion for the craft).

Wikipanion
Cost: FREE
I prefer the layout of this to the Wikipedia app. This app provides access to Wikipedia complete with the same information you would find at Wikipedia, they layout is just a bit easier to read, the information on each entry easier to sort through, and the searching a bit more user friendly.

Documents2
Cost: FREE
Allows you to view your Google docs or create new documents in text document, spreadsheet, sound, or paint format. Fabulous... and free!

So, this hasn't by any stretch of the imagination been an exhaustive list (or even an exhaustive review), but I hope it gives you a bit of an idea of the tools available for use for the iPad homeschooler!

Our Day at Home

2010-07-23T23:28:00.000-04:00

The kids and I stayed at home today. The first day I haven't gone somewhere in at least 2 weeks. It was nice - and we got so much accomplished!

For starters, we got quite a bit of school done (yes, we go year-round at our house - we only school 4 days per week during the "school year" so, I have to go all year long). I also did A LOT of laundry today - WOOT!

Baby food was a priority for the day as well... making it, that is. Until Chaucer, I never made baby food (outside of mashing up some bananas, that is). I decided this time I wanted to try my hand at the fine art of pureeing. [For all my hard work stocking food for this child, he is resistant to eating. I put a bite in, he holds his mouth open... for several minutes, until it drools out of his mouth. But that's another story for another blog post.] I made acorn squash, sweet potatoes, and pears. (Pretty good for a self-professing vegetable hater like myself!)

I also made... COOKIES. HUGE chocolate chip cookies. [Thanks, Michele, for the cookbook, the baking emulsion, and filling me in on the joys of King Arthur flour!] How huge? Each cookie consists of 1/4 cup cookie dough.

And, by the way, they're delicious!

Baby Stuff - Gear and Wear

2010-07-17T00:57:00.005-04:00

Wow! It's been a while since I've blogged! I've been meaning to pop online and write a blog on this topic for a while. The reason for my delay? I had to put pictures on my computer, but before I could do that, I had to archive the old stuff. And now that those tasks are done...

I have tried all sorts of carriers and slings, but I decided I wanted to try something new this go-around. I researched and researched, and found myself with my heart set on getting a mei-tai carrier. A mei-tai carrier (pronounced "may tie" I believe) was, traditionally, a Chinese carrier made of a square of cloth with straps coming off each corner. The modern version features padded straps and reversible sides (for two fashionable views). The baby can be worn on the front, side, or back, and is AWESOME for wearing a breastfeeding baby! If you're interested in how the mei-tai carrier works, there are many "how to" videos on YouTube.

There are some great makers of mei-tai carriers out there, but I settled on Dittany Baby. Dittany Baby stocks a number of baby items - from sling carriers to nursing covers! I found a beautiful mei-tai carrier in the fabric pattern Enchanted.

The baby and I LOVE this carrier. It's very easy on the back and shoulders - I've worn him for hours without pain. The trick is to wear the shoulder straps on the balls of your shoulders. Because there are no buckles or plastic attachments, this type of carrier is tied on. Naturally, knots adjust and become tighter with weight and time, so some adjustment (in the form of retying) may be necessary. However, it's very easy to retie.

While I was perusing the Dittany Baby site, I also found Skid Pants. Maybe you've heard of Baby Legs? Essentially Skid Pants are the same thing... leggings for babies and children. For babies, simply put the baby in a onesie then slide each legging on a leg. Too cute!

Thanks, Dittany Baby, for beautiful, quality baby items!

2010-05-25T12:19:00.001-04:00

Mommy Pants

2010-05-20T18:28:00.002-04:00

I recently came to the realization that I have different wardrobe selections depending on what is going on in my life. I suppose this follows for most, but I thought I would share my revelation nonetheless.

Richard and I went to a function on a Thursday night where other attorneys and judges were in attendance. The function began at 6:00 p.m., so many of these attorneys and judges had just left the office (or the courtroom). I, however, had been with the children all day and didn't feel the need to escape my "at home/weekend" wardrobe. Of course, I wore clean clothes, but I had already put my 3-day work week behind me and didn't feel the need to don dress pants or a suit. Once Richard and I arrived, I felt a bit out of place. My colleagues, or the better part of them, were wearing black or navy blue suits. Not me! I had on a decent pull-over blouse (I try not to even wear clothes that button up if I've been breastfeeding during the day) and my mommy pants (these particular pants were pink). No one said anything to me, but I did hear a woman commenting on an attorney's guest's interesting skirt and felt sure that she would soon turn her points of criticism to my pants.

Obviously, I can't say that I don't care - I mean, I'm blogging about it, for crying out loud! But I am secure in my excuse. I had been happily attending my sweet ones all day until the moment came for me to leave them with their Nonnie and re-enter the world of my legal profession.

However, instead of dressing the part... I proudly wore my mommy pants!

What We've Been Up To...

2010-05-03T11:48:00.008-04:00

It seems as thought we've been on the go for the past several weekends - not to mention all of the ground we've covered in school. Where to begin?

A few weeks ago, we went on our first camping trip of the year. Yes, the wee one went, too - and loved it! Despite the temp dropping to 45 degrees that night, the kids and I stayed cozy in our tent, sandwiched between two down comforters. I didn't even wear socks! Richard wanted to test the warmth of his mummy bag beneath the stars.

Three weekends ago, we drove out to Louisiana to enjoy the wedding of Richard's cousin. During our stay, we visited Starr Homeplace - the family's home was built by the owner's father over the course of 30 years. It was a beautiful home. There was also a barn, a music house, some out buildings (an outhouse, a store), a garden, and two ponds. They were having a hammer in - blacksmiths showing their trade. We had a wonderful time!

Two weekends ago, we went with another family to the Georgia Renaissance Festival. I would say it was an appropriate field trip given our study over the course of this school year of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Appropriate since they have a smattering of things from both the Renaissance AND the Middle Ages. It also seems, given the costumes we saw, that anything old (pirates, antebellum era) or mythical (fairies, hobbits) also belonged. Oh! And shame on you if you didn't bring your worst British accent!

Last weekend, the baby and I started an infant massage class. We've both enjoyed it - and best of all, it's FREE! Free and fun are always a good combination.

On Saturday of this weekend, our family braved the Atlanta traffic to visit the High Museum of Art's Allure of the Automobile exhibit. I'm not into cars by any stretch of the imagination, but I thought this exhibit was fabulous! Among the several cars shown was Clark Gable's 1935 Duesenberg. The car looked like butter. No, really.

In addition to our fun outside the home, we've enjoyed ourselves at home, too. We've begun our Rocks and Minerals study - and during our discussion of dirt and sediments, we sampled a dirt cake. (School is always better when you can make a lesson out of something sweet to eat!) We've also started a Nature Study (using Anna Comstock's book) and put on our gardening gloves to make a wildflower bed and grow some herbs.

I've been busy purchasing books and planning for the next school year - and still trying to figure out where to put all of these new books!

Wordless Wednesday 3 31 2010

2010-03-31T06:50:00.002-04:00

Fashion Friday - First Time, Potentially Last Time

2010-03-27T00:25:00.002-04:00

I am unabashedly swiping this idea from another blog - the idea of Fashion Friday. [By the way, I used the word "unabashedly." I thought I was using it correctly, but - being the perfectionist I can be at times - decided to look it online up just to make sure. The first definition pulled up, "...in an unabashed manner." Uhhh... Didn't that website's mommy (or English teacher) ever tell it not to define a word with the same word?] Getting back on track... I doubt that this will become a regular entry for me as I'm not "into" fashion so much as I am "into" being comfortable - and oft times, fashion is sacrificed for comfort. Also, I don't buy clothes for myself very often - I've got four rapidly growing children, so their clothing needs take priority. Nonetheless, here I am, awake at 12:30 a.m. because I'm wondering if my husband and two of my children are freezing to death on the Appalachian Trail - on Blood Mountain (nice name especially considering my worries), so I'll participate in Fashion Friday.

In my neck of the woods, it's consignment sale season and two are going on within minutes of my house. Although I did find a few cute little numbers for the kids, I found even more clothes which were stained, faded, missing buttons, or were WAY overpriced. Here's a hint when you're consigning items: See what the same or similar items are going for on Ebay - not what the seller is selling the item for, but what people are actually paying for the item. I saw the ugliest, faded, stained dress priced at $8. Hello? I wouldn't buy that dress for $8 brand-spanking new - and I'd be surprised if someone pays $4 for it when the prices are discounted tomorrow[today?] afternoon at the half-price sale! (I should have taken a picture of it. Oh well, another Kodak moment lost, I suppose.)

I also went shopping with my mother (and a 3 year old and a 3 month old) to find something to wear for Easter and to a wedding the following weekend. I would love to have a new dress, but I am breastfeeding, therefore dresses are out. So is anything made of a silky, satiny sort of material - one drop of milk and I'll be spotty for the day (there's no way of hiding a liquid spill on shiny material, so I'm not risking it). Button-up blouses are also out - I would have to wear it untucked, not to mention that it's hard to be discreet when you're unbuttoning a blouse. (Granted, I've done it, do it, and will do it in the future; however, for a wedding and Mass on the most important holy day of the year, I'll pass on the under-the-receiving-blanket strip show witnessed only by my nursing baby... and anyone who catches a glimpse of me struggling with a button blouse and said blanket.) After searching for a while (well, 30 minutes, but shopping with the obstacles I had today wasn't as fun as it could be so the 30 minutes seemed VERY long), I settled on a skirt and blouse [sans buttons]. I think my mom liked the skirt better than I did, but her excitement for it convinced me I wore it well, so I got it. The ensemble wasn't cheap, but fortunately, it was on sale and... [drumroll, please] mom had her store card and a coupon for an extra 20% off. I got a SWEET deal on my Easter/wedding outfit.

Lucky for me, I have the perfect pair of pink crocs to go with my new outfit. [I am kidding. Seriously.]

Wordless Wednesday 3/24/2010

2010-03-24T12:53:00.001-04:00

Something new...

Wordless Wednesday 16 March 2010

2010-03-16T11:28:00.001-04:00

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-09T22:04:00.003-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-03T13:59:00.005-05:00

It snowed for 12 hours yesterday!

The Woes of Clean Clothes!

2010-03-02T13:14:00.003-05:00

Now that the baby is here, I'm struggling to keep up with the laundry. I'm failing miserably. I remember a time when I could see the bottom of any given laundry basket in the house. Those days have come and gone.

I feel as though I have to do laundry every day. If I "take a day off," I pay for it later. I try to do at least a load a day - and several loads on Fridays and Saturdays. I also do the easy loads (linens) on the days I work - "easy" because they are easy to gather, easy to sort, easy to wash and dry, easy to fold and put away.... easy. I also do one load of baby laundry on one of the days I work.

Essentially, the laundry breaks down like this (keep in mind, we don't have a front-loading or extra large capacity washer):
2 loads of baby laundry (with some kid stuff mixed in)
4 loads of kid laundry
4 loads of adult laundry
3 loads of towels
2 loads of sheets, blankets, table linens

... per week. And that's a normal week. However, out of the ordinary events occur cause more laundry; events such as catastrophic spills, basement flooding, snow adventure clothes, etc.

See? There's a reason I don't use cloth diapers... the only thing that would be clean would be the diapers!

Recently, I started a thread on a board where I post occasionally. I asked the moms there how many loads of laundry they wash in a week - and with that, I wanted to know the number of people in their household and what kind of washer they have. I was astonished by several of the responses... not because they wash vast amounts of clothing, but in fact, quite the opposite. Two moms with families of 4 posted that they only do 3-4 loads per week. PER WEEK?! How??? Another mom, with a family of 5, posted that she does THREE loads of laundry a week. WHAT?! Some of these low-load moms said that their families re-wear clothes - or they only wash clothes if they are "dirty." Hello? In my (not so) humble opinion, if someone wears something on their body for 6 - 8 hours or longer, it's dirty. With the exception of jammies. Actually, I would probably have to add one more load to the kid count if they didn't wear their jammies two nights in a row (something I started once the baby joined us).

I don't know... maybe it's because I have a couple of accident-prone-messy-eater children; maybe it's because I have a seven year old daughter who likes to wear a different outfit every day; maybe it's because I like my clothes to feel fresh and, well, clean. We do reuse towels - we each use 2 towels a week. [That's another thing - some of the moms posting said that each person in their house only gets one towel a week. Ick. Maybe it's a bit more humid here than where that mom lives - I can't imagine the mildew smell coming from a bath towel after using it every day for a week. For that matter, I also can't imagine the mildew smell my hair would have!] Sheets are (supposed to be) changed every other week. Table linens are changed weekly. With that, there is no way we could have a mere 4-5 loads per week.

I've also gotten smart and realize that my children can help with this daunting task. For now, all they have to do is put away their clothes. Beside the washer and dryer, I have a plastic 4-drawer cart - one drawer per kid. Whenever I wash their clothes, I fold them and place them into each child's particular drawer. Every day they check their drawer and put away any clothes that have accumulated. Before too long, I'll start the older two folding their clothes... maybe I'll teach them that today! (Who says education should only come from books?!)

Our 4-day week switch...

2010-02-28T22:33:00.004-05:00

My maternity leave ended 3 weeks ago. I was sad to leave my children - and cried over leaving my little man, but my co-workers and boss received me with open arms and told me how much I had been missed. The kids have a new nanny and they absolutely adore her! However, the nanny's other part-time job and my part-time job schedules didn't mesh perfectly, so we were able to make some changes. So, beginning tomorrow, the homeschooling schedule will be Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I'll go to the office Monday through Wednesday. I'm so happy the nanny and I were able to work out a schedule and I can keep my four-day weekends!

During my maternity leave, I took Will and Tricky out of their preschool/daycare, knowing that once the baby was born, all of the children would be cared for by one person on my work days. I had to purchase some books for Tricky and some additional materials for Will. [By the way, did you know Rainbow Resource has bargain books now?!]

I've started an Art History study with the kids. So far we've learned about Botticelli and Leonardo DaVinci. (Unfortunately, we missed the DaVinci exhibit at the museum.) I think I'm learning as much as the children. For example, I knew DaVinci was an amazing artist and inventor, too. He was also a scientist, botanist, anatomist, musician, mathematician, and from what I've read, handsome, too. A Renaissance man in the Renaissance - they don't make 'em like that anymore!

I've started will on Explode the Code 1. He actually enjoys the worksheets immensely! (His big sister HATED Explode the Code!) Hopefully, he'll continue to enjoy it... hey! I can dream, can't I?

Tricky is hard at work learning to spell her name, singing our Address song (a tune I made up so that the kids can learn our address and phone number... I made it up when Casey was 2), learning the letters and sounds, and (as she likes to say) tracing the lines. The Rod & Staff books I bought are wonderful - and Tricky loves doing work with her big sister and brother!

Casey and Will are also progressing nicely with their piano and voice lessons. Recently, they participated in the National Federation of Music Clubs festival. Casey sang The Lord is Good to Me and Sing, and played two pieces on the piano; while Will sang Mickey Mouse March and Take Me Out to the Ballgame. Both received Superior ratings for their performances!

As for Chaucer... he's smiling and cooing (or saying "good" if you ask Richard). He also discovered his hands a few days ago! I'm sure finding his hands is "good" if you ask him!

Milk Alternatives

2010-02-15T00:25:00.006-05:00

I have discovered, during the course of breastfeeding my babies, that they don't appreciate my love of cow's milk. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE milk - the thick, creamy, 4% milk fat (i.e., whole) milk. I love it in my cereal, I love it with meals, I love it with cookies. I love it in a 12 ounce glass, 34 degrees Fahrenheit, on a hot day or a freezing day. I love the stuff - you get my point!

I usually notice by my baby's second week of life that dairy is going to be an issue for a while. The baby starts passing a lot of gas, then starts crying, screaming, straining while passing that gas. Some people would call it colic. I recognize it as a milk intolerance - from what I understand, a baby's intestines aren't mature enough to process certain proteins found in dairy products until the baby is about 4 months old.

With my oldest child, I gave up milk for 4 months. I tried lactose-free milk (not realizing at the time that this intolerance had nothing to do with lactose). Lactose-free milk was a horrible substitute - not only did it not solve the problem, but milk with the milk sugars removed and other sugars added is not tasty to a whole-milk addict such as myself.

With my oldest son, I had to give up milk again. Again, for 4 months. I tried goat's milk. I kept having visions of that scene in "Monsters, Inc." where the Abominable Snowman tells Sully and Mike that he has fresh yak's milk - and it's not too bad after you pick the hairs out. Needless to say, I couldn't drink the stuff.

When Tricky was breastfeeding, I didn't try any substitutes. I gave up milk for 3 1/2 months and slowly reintroduced it into my diet.

I've again given up milk for Chaucer. However, I had to find a substitute. I tried soy milk, but his fitful gassiness didn't disappear. [I read that, while some mothers can substitute soy, there are babies with an intolerance to the soy proteins.] A friend suggested I try almond milk.

THAT'S IT!!! The original is fabulous! A slight almond taste (very slight), no aftertaste, thick (albeit, not quite as thick as whole milk), fewer calories, great in cereal or with a meal. The vanilla flavor is tasty, too, but only with certain things... I drink it with cookies or put it in my oatmeal.

Yes, almond milk... a viable substitute for a milkaholic.

The only problem... Starbucks doesn't have it. I have discovered that a white chocolate mocha with soy isn't too bad!

EDITED TO ADD: Fortunately, none of my children have milk/dairy allergies. For my kids, this milk intolerance seems to last only for the first 3-4 months of life, just long enough for their intestines to mature enough to properly digest the milk enzymes.

A Day Inside

2010-02-04T19:33:00.007-05:00

After hearing my children argue, fuss, whine, and fight over practically everything, I decided to make some fun for them.

S'mores in a Bag: A Failure
The first thing we tried was S'mores in a bag. A recipe I found in a magazine received in the mail a couple of days ago, it offered a substitute for that favorite campfire treat. In short, you put some graham cracker crumbs, marshmallow creme, and chocolate chips in a resealable sandwich bag; knead to mix; and eat. But that isn't exactly what happened. The marshmallow creme stuck to the inside of the bag while most of the crumbs and chocolate chips went to the bottom. Lesson learned? S'mores in a bag = mess.

Inside S'mores: A Success Story
So, after discovering the folly of that particular recipe, I decided to try my own concoction. Take half of a graham cracker, spread on a tablespoon-size dollop of marshmallow creme, and top with a generous sprinkling of chocolate chips.

Living Room Obstacle Course: Friendly Competition
Once the kids were hyped up on sugar, I thought they needed some way to burn off that new-found energy, but it was sleeting and raining outside. What to do? An obstacle course! One-at-a-time, the children had to don a pair of my shoes, pick up a small ball, crawl over a chair (while wearing the shoes and carrying the ball - wearing the shoes while climbing the chair proved to be quite a challenge for them),

move beads from one side of a toy to the other, jump in a hula hoop, crawl under the coffee table,

jump in another hula hoop, put a blanket on their head, and throw the ball in a potty chair (it has never been used, by the way).

I timed them, then they tried to beat each others' times and better their own time. It was quite fun for them.
Casey: 58 seconds, her best time
Will: 1 min. 8 sec., his best time
Tricky: 2 min. 5 sec., her best time

Obstacle Course for Me: More Difficult than Expected
So... I tried it! It went pretty well at first - I mean, the shoes were mine, so that wasn't a problem. No, the problem was the coffee table. I had to crawl commando-style and I thought my hips were going to get stuck and my husband would come home to find me trapped under the coffee table. I managed to shimmy out only to miss the potty 5 times before the ball finally went in (Tricky got it in on her first try).
Me: 1 min. 10 sec, not bad

[No pictures of my foray into the obstacle course, thank goodness!]

Becket Gets Wet!

2010-01-15T14:06:00.003-05:00

Becket will be baptized on Sunday morning. I'm excited! There is also a certain level of relief I feel knowing my child will have the grace of God.

Part of our homeschooling this week has been spent focusing on Becket's baptism, the other children's baptisms, and what it means to us, as Catholics, to be baptized. Fortunately, several months ago, I received a set of children's books for review from the Catholic Company.

The set is called "It's in the Bag!" In the bag (a very cute little canvas bag) are seven books, each focusing on one of the seven sacraments. What I love about these books is that they aren't given plain titles such as "Baptism" or "Marriage." They're given very cute, even witty titles:

Noah Gets Wet! A Story Celebrating Baptism
John's Special Sunday! A Story Celebrating Holy Communion
Betty Says, "I'm Sorry!" A Story Celebrating Reconciliation
Cousin Kim's Big Day! A Story Celebrating Confirmation
Nana and Papa's Special Promise: A Story Celebrating Matrimony
The Boy's Special Dinner Guest! A Story Celebrating Holy Orders
Grandpa Gets Oily! A Story Celebrating Anointing of the Sick

All of the books were written by Doug Brummel and illustrated by Jennifer Brummel & the Brummel Kids. The books can be purchased for either gender - you can get the Three Sisters or the Three Brothers; I received a mix of both.

Also in the bag is a Go Fish! card game featuring the Sacraments and a prayer card.

I love this set - as do the children! And, we're all looking forward to Becket getting wet on Sunday!

This is why my house is a wreck...

2010-01-13T16:07:00.004-05:00

Song for a Fifth Child

Mother, oh mother, come shake out your cloth!

Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,

Hang out the washing and butter the bread,

Sew on a button and make up a bed.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?

She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking!

Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue

(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due

(Pat- a- cake, darling and peek, peekaboo).

The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew

And out in the yard and there’s a hullabaloo

But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.

Look! Aren’t his eyes the most wonderful hue?

(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

Oh, cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,

But children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.

I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

What's in YOUR bag?

2010-01-09T17:23:00.006-05:00

We're venturing out as a family of 6 tomorrow. (Actually, we've already taken 2 trips as a family of 6 already, but both were to the pediatrician's office.) I've spent the better part of the last hour making sure my diaper bag has the things I probably shouldn't be without. So, I decided that I would post the items in my diaper bag. [A little useless information never hurt anyone, right?]

Here we go...

Contents of My Diaper Bag

[First of all, let me begin by stating that all of my diaper bags - I suppose I'm up to 4 or 5 by now - are backpacks. Backpacks allow me to stash everything on my back, Sherpa-style, and have my hands and arms free to wrangle children while not whapping them in the head with a shoulder-strap-style diaper bag.]

Black leather backpack
Weight: 10.6 lbs when loaded with the following contents:

* 3 Size 4 diapers for Tricky (we decided to wait until she's used to Chaucer before potty training)
* 5 newborn diapers
* diaper holder (the small floral bag in the picture)
* Kirkland wipes (love these wipes; love the packaging even more)
* changing pad
* dirty diaper duck (contains a roll of bags for stinky ds)
* Benadryl (that's for me, if I spontaneously break out into hives, which happens)
* snacks (2 fruit strips and 3 bags of gummies; you never know)
* 1 bottle of water
* ziplock bag with extra clothes for the baby: sleeper, onesie, socks, blanket) can put the dirties back in the ziplock bag. Nice, neat.
* small black bag: hand sanitizer, Lansinoh cream, Carmex, infant Tylenol, Boudreaux's Butt Paste, spray on first aid antiseptic, and bandaids
* gum
* pen
* notepad
* iPhone
* mp3 player
* wallet
* keys

Wordless Wednesday: Milk Drunk

2010-01-06T16:11:00.002-05:00

2009-12-29T11:09:00.003-05:00

December 29 - The Feast of St. Thomas Becket

Intercessory Prayer to St. Thomas Beckett
O God, for the sake of whose Church
the glorious Bishop Thomas fell by the sword of ungodly men:
grant, we beseech Thee, that all who implore his aid,
may obtain the good fruit of his petition.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Who livest and reignest with Thee
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, forever and ever.
Amen.

I got a baby for Christmas!

2009-12-25T22:28:00.005-05:00

Despite my fears of going into labor over Christmas Eve...

Richard and I were wrapping Christmas presents, when the mild contractions I'd been having off and on all day suddenly became more intense. It was about 1 a.m.

At 2 a.m., I decided to go to bed, but couldn't sleep through the contractions, so I started timing them. I called my midwife at 3:30 and told her THIS TIME I was 100% I was in labor (I'd called her with 3 bouts of false labor in the two weeks prior).

Richard and I woke the kids at 4:00 so they could see Santa had paid them a visit and play with their toys before being shuttled off to Nonnie's house. My midwives showed up around 4:30.

I had the birth experience I had hoped for, but not exactly according to plan. I didn't have a water birth - I utilized my tub for pain management (getting in and out a few times), but at one point I fell asleep during contractions. Because I felt the tub was slowing my progress, I got out.

After roughly 11 hours of labor and 45 minutes of pushing, I gave birth in my bed to our son, Thomas Becket. He weighs 8 lbs. 2 oz. (a big baby for me considering my others only weighed around 6 1/2 lbs) and 20 1/2 inches long. He has brown-black hair and looks a lot like my youngest daughter when she was born.

Speaking of the kids - we waited until they came home to tell them that they had a new baby brother! I wanted them to see him for themselves!!

By the way, I feel absolutely FABULOUS! Sore and tired, but fabulous!!!

EVICTION NOTICE

2009-12-22T09:20:00.003-05:00

This was posted on one of my pregnancy message boards I frequent. It's cute, funny - and hitting close to home at this point! :)

Dear Baby Boy/Girl:

I love you dearly, but it's time to go. I no longer want to be your mobile home. I understand that the lease agreement covered 40 weeks, but there have been some issues that have not been resolved.

First, there has been structural damage done to the exterior siding of your home, and I'm sure there will be some inside as well once you vacate and we are able to inspect the property.

Second, since you moved in, there have been constant plumbing problems, to include frequent leaks and sewage back ups.

The neighbors tell me that your midnight parties keep them up, and sometimes they notice strange sounds and foul odors around your home. I also understand that you have been kicking and hitting some of the furniture that was provided to you at no extra cost.

There is a hearing scheduled with the judge on Tuesday to determine when the enforcement of this eviction will occur. I strongly urge you to vacate the property voluntarily BEFORE the official eviction date, otherwise the authorities WILL come in and remove you by force.

Thank you for understanding!

Love,

Mommy

iPhone, Baby

2009-12-08T13:33:00.004-05:00

Well, I'm 37 weeks today... that means FULL TERM!!! Woo-hoo!

With the thought in mind that I might go into labor sometime in the near future, I decided to check out iPhone apps I might be able to use now, during labor, and once the baby comes.

Counting Baby Kicks
Not that this has really been an issue for me (since this baby is the most active one I've experienced during pregnancy), I did find a baby kick counter app. The Pregnancy Kick Counter by Ethan Productions is a FREE app and very easy to use. Essentially, once loaded to your phone, you touch the screen (on the touch button provided) and for one hour, timer provided, you count the number of kicks. Each time you feel a kick, you touch the screen and a number appears in the silhouette pregnant belly of the pink woman on your phone's screen. If you reach 11 kicks in an hour, a message stating "Your baby has reached the amount of movements required within an hour."

What to Expect
Another FREE app, What to Expect (based on the widely known pregnancy book by the same name) provides countdown, gestational age, and baby size (compared to various fruits - my baby is the size of a watermelon this week) based on your estimated due date. By clicking on the Week by Week option, you can get information about your body and your baby for the week of your pregnancy. The Photo Booth option allows for storage of your pregnant body progression in pictures.

Contraction Timers
I downloaded three contraction timing apps. The first two, Labor and Contraction Timer by Michael Kale and Stage 1 by Arboretum Software, are both FREE. Both help time the duration of and period between labor contractions and both are easy to use. However, for $0.99 I purchased Contraction Master. Not only can you easily start the timer (by simply pressing the "Start" on your screen) and stop the timer (again, a simple touch of your phone screen), but the program will tell you the duration and the frequency of your contractions. The program also keeps a History of your contractions which you can then email from your phone. I'm DEFINITELY looking forward to utilizing this app (sooner rather than later, I hope).

Breastfeeding
Breastfeed is another FREE app I put on my phone. This app provides breastfeeding information including Early Breastfeeding Management from birth to 48 hours and 48 hours to 2 weeks. There is also a menu for Breastfeeding Information including Medications and Frequently Asked Questions (topics include pumping, latch difficulty, supplements, weight loss, and more). Many of the topics provide internet links instead of information within the program, but it's a handy iPhone reference tool, nonetheless.

My FAVORITE App
Total Baby by Andesigns is the best app I've found for baby management - and I haven't even had the chance to use all of the fabulous features... yet. Total Baby will keep up with information for up to 6 (I believe) children. I've already added info for Casey, Will, and Tricky - as much information as I could remember/find. For each child entered, you will get their age (including years, months, and days) and time until their next birthday. You can also enter milestones - milestones you select and once selected, along with the date the milestone occurred, it will give you a list and how old the child was when the milestone was reached. Doctor visits, growth, vaccines, and allergy information can also be input for each child. And from the main screen of the program, you can easily scroll through to select a child. Oh! Adding a picture of each child is also a feature!

The features I haven't yet explored are the Diapers, Feedings, Baths, and Sleeping timers. In the first few weeks, I am very meticulous to track diapers and feedings. I want to make sure my baby is eating often enough and is creating enough output to let me know that the feedings are going well. [One minor drawback to breastfeeding is that you don't know exactly how many ounces baby is getting each feeding, but tracking wet and dirty diapers helps to know if baby is getting enough to eat.]

The Diapers feature allows you to track wet and "BM" diapers. For wet diapers, it will record the date and time; you can also input a description and note whether the diaper leaked. For dirty or (as the program calls them) BM diapers, not only can you note the same information as wet diapers, but you can also tell what kind of dirty was made - whether it be firm, meconium, seedy, soft, etc. and you can also choose a color (gross, but sometimes necessary). The main screen of the Diapers feature will hold a history of diapers changed.

The Feedings feature allows you to time the length of the feeding, detail whether you used the left or right breast, choose the type of hold used (clutch, cradle, cross, lying down, or saddle holds), and type notes for the particular feeding. From the main screen of the Feedings feature, a history will be kept of the feedings.

Sleeping and Bathing can also be tracked in similar fashion.

For $4.99, I purchased Total Baby - A LOT cheaper than the Itzbeen timer I've been eyeing (retail $20-$25) and Total Baby provides so many more features, with information I can store for much longer!

I hope this list and review has been helpful! And, one day, I hope to review Sympto, a FREE iPhone app to track sympto-thermal or Natural Family Planning methods of birth control.

A Most Exclusive School

2009-12-03T11:34:00.003-05:00

I was just commenting on another blog about a home school being exclusive. Really, just think about it... there are private schools out there that are in such demand that the second the parents get a positive pregnancy test result, they're signing up on the waiting list!

Well, I guess Gratia Plena Academia is pretty exclusive, too - as are most home schools. Although, mine isn't as exclusive as it was a few years ago. As of right now, I have 3 students and one on the waiting list!

[Guess I'd better go ahead and make a onesie sporting our homeschool's logo.]

Nesting in Overdrive!

2009-11-30T21:12:00.000-05:00

I've almost accomplished everything on my pre-baby TO DO LIST. One of those things was wrapping Christmas presents (I actually have a pile of birthday presents I'll wrap tonight, with any luck). Although, we won't put our tree up for a while, the presents are done.

I also had my husband keep the kids occupied over the weekend while I cleared out several bags full of old, broken, not used toys.

I've cleaned out closets, vacuumed every nook and cranny in the house, dusted things I haven't dusted in a while (like ceiling fan blades). I've rearranged the china cabinet, the cleaning supplies cabinet, and the under sink cabinets.

I spent two hours over the weekend cleaning up in the basement.

I still need to go through the pantry and the medicine cabinet and throw out the expired goods.

Why? Baby won't need food, china, or the basement for a while... I'm cleaning up my nest for the newest hatchling. We're getting close!

Weekly Report for Our Week Ending 11/23/09

2009-11-23T11:00:00.002-05:00

Wow! I've really neglecting my blog lately... it's been 3 weeks since I last posted! Between work, homeschooling, cleaning at home (read: MAJOR NESTING going on), parties, and other activities, blogging hasn't been a priority. (I'm sorry little blog.) At least I'm here right now!

We have been schooling as much as possible, given the upcoming holidays and the time we'll take off from school once the baby is here. Casey is FLYING through Saxon Math 2 - it seems as though the lessons are dotted with a lot of review, so some days we double up on lessons. Today, we'll be baking a pound cake - part math, part home economics, and part stocking up on food to freeze so we can eat (and I don't have to cook) once the baby comes.

For science, the kids are learning about dinosaurs. I thought it would be a nice, short unit to cover - and we'll get to go on a field trip or two to Fernbank! I love Fernbank! Today, we discussed meat-eating versus plant-eating dinosaurs. Even Tricky can spot a plant eater in a crowd of ravenous carnivorous dinos!

Will's reading is coming along nicely. Instead of going straight through 100 Easy Lessons, I've also tried to interject some Bob Books. He doesn't get as frustrated with this process as Casey did, thank goodness! However, Will doesn't enjoy writing or coloring or drawing. On occasion he'll draw a picture - recently, he drew one of my with the baby in my tummy. I cried - his artistic expression, at least as far as drawing pictures goes, is so rare, it usually brings tears; this picture was especially sweet.

So, that's a bit about school... On other fronts...

The baby has been trying to push its way out - via my left side. OUCH! Everything is coming along - including my stockpiling of home birth supplies. Tomorrow marks 5 weeks until my due date. Just think.... we'll be a family of 6 in a month!

I can hardly believe that Thanksgiving will be this Thursday! I decided to keep it easy this year and order our food from Honey Baked Ham. Did you know they have sides and desserts - things other than just turkeys and hams? I'm so excited! And given what I'll spend at HBH, I probably would have spent the same amount of money on food and ingredients for cooking at home PLUS a lot more time and energy (and this girl is getting tired early and often these days)!

I hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Oh! And don't forget Black Friday - one of my favorite days of the year! [And, yes, I'll be out there with the rest of the deal-seekers before dawn on Friday!!!]

Our (Homemade) Countdown...

2009-11-02T21:07:00.004-05:00

When homeschooling, anything can present itself as an opportunity for teaching... including the expected arrival of a baby.

The children have learned quite a bit - about fetal development, the birth process, baby care, etc. They are also eagerly awaiting the birth of their sibling (although they won't be at home when it happens). I've been getting a number of questions as to exactly when the baby will make his or her grand appearance. So, to help fan the fires of anticipation, the children and I made a paper chain to count down the days until the due date... complete with holidays and birthdays of our family included.

Just before bed each night, we'll rip off the day's date until the baby comes or (oh, please, no) we run out!

Two months from today...

2009-10-29T19:23:00.003-04:00

Our newest family member is due. I've always gone early with the other kids, so I'm hoping for an early arrival this time as well. So, just think... in (possibly) less than 2 months, I'll have a family of 6! (Does that mean we will be automatically charged an 18% gratuity on the rare occasions we go out to eat? Hmmm.)

We're all VERY excited! Especially Tricky! She's constantly talking about "her baby," asking if she can kiss the baby (via my tummy), wanting to know if she can put the pants on the baby once baby is here. She loves to tell people that the baby will be named Princess Leia if a girl and Luke Skywalker of a boy (yes, my almost 3 year old is a HUGE Star Wars fan).

Dates and plans are falling into place... for the children's birthday parties, for holiday celebrations, and even baby showers. This woman who has NEVER had a baby shower will have 2 this time - and I'm so excited!

I've even compiled, ordered, and received most of my home birth supplies. My midwife has a kit which I purchased from In His Hands. I purchased my birthing tub from Your Water Birth (I've linked directly to the tub I purchased). [Note to self: Richard and I need to inflate the tub within the next couple of days to make sure it isn't defective!]

"What other supplies might I need?" you may ask. Cookie sheet, heating pad, flashlight, crock pot, olive oil, birthing ball, tennis balls, pool noodle, 2 sets of sheets, zip lock bags, chapstick, snacks, paper towels, Gatorade, etc. Quite an interesting assortment of things, in my opinion.

So...two more months and, fortunately, my planning and organizing skills are starting to kick into auto-pilot. Good thing since I've forgotten more than my fair share of things in the past few weeks.

Baby Names...

2009-10-25T16:04:00.003-04:00

So, can you guess what names we're considering for our baby? (If you know, you'd better not post! And I know who knows!)

Hint: They are saints!

The boy name (both first and middle) Saint who lived 12th century England. Here's another hint:

Edited to add one more hint on the boy name: Think...Canterbury Tales!

The girl name (first name) is from a Saint who lived in 5th and 6th century France.
Edited to add one more hint: Her prayers spared Paris an attack by Attila and the Huns.
Here's another hint:

The Light at the End of the Tunnel?

2009-10-06T23:22:00.002-04:00

We've made it to the last trimester - the slow, sleepless trimester filled with so many things to accomplish! I'm getting there.

Before baby arrives, I've got to:
* Host 3 kids' birthday parties - yes, all of my children were born in November or December
* Launder the gender-neutral baby clothes, blankets, car seat covers - along with a few select items which are gender-specific
* Finish ordering and gathering my birth supplies - I've placed one order, but I need my birthing tub and must add some household items such as olive oil, crock pot, and cookie sheet (I'm I baking or birthing?)
* Tag clothes for an upcoming consignment sale - a task I loathe, but will be happy I did if I have a good payout!

And the BIG task - getting the house spotless for baby! The need to clean has been coming and going (depending on how tired and/or motivated I am), but I know the burst of energy to thrust me into major cleaning mode is on its way.

I've also decided that I might actually try to (do what those fabulous expectant super-moms do and) cook and freeze several meals for my family before baby's arrival. It's a thought, a dream, a goal... I hope it will become a reality.

Yes, things to do and only 12 (or so) weeks to go!

Seeing Baby #4

2009-09-19T19:41:00.003-04:00

We drove a little over an hour away from our home to catch a glimpse of our newest family member! Richard, the kids and I met my parents at the 3D ultrasound facility.

After filling out some paperwork, then having my belly squirted with gel, we caught our first glimpses of our little one. Baby had its hand (and later, its feet) close to its face most of the time, but we were able to get some good shots. We're a bit disappointed with the video - it's not as clear as the pictures - but the pictures are great!

Best of all, we told the tech we didn't want to know the gender and... the tech didn't let us down. Baby's secret is still SAFE!

I can't stop staring at the pictures!!! What a thrilling experience!

Awakenings...

2009-09-17T03:41:00.003-04:00

It's 3:45 a.m. and I'm awake. I'm happy I'm awake, in a sense. If I weren't blessed with this pregnancy, in all likelihood, I would be asleep; so, please don't take this post as a complaint, but merely a chronicle of an experience I want to share.

I'm not sleeping because...
...of the pain in my side,
...the frequent during-the-night restroom treks,
...the cramp in my leg,
...the three-point turn around I go through to shift from one side to the other when I'm uncomfortable,
...the baby shifting around - I suppose baby gets uncomfortable, too,
...I can't get the pillows "just right"

But I also think of the good things about being awake...
...blogging and Facebook when few I know are also online (actually, it's kind of lonely)
...knowing that in a few months I'll be awake during the night feeding my little one and this is just the warm up,
...hearing the voice of my little boy talking in his sleep (sweet),
...peeking in on my children and giving them little kisses and watching them wiggle around when I do so,
...balancing my checkbook - wait - maybe not so good!

Tricky Sings Her Favorite Song

2009-09-09T21:09:00.002-04:00

The Chain by Ingrid Michaelson

New Website: Rosary.com

2009-09-01T20:14:00.004-04:00

A new website was launched a couple of weeks ago. Rosary.com. From a HUGE selection of rosaries, books and chaplets, to rosary resources - how to pray the rosary, mysteries of the rosary, and the history of the rosary - this website is a wonderful resource for all things... well, rosary!

Check out the new site!
Powered by the Catholic Company.

Weekly Report: Week Ending August 27, 2009

2009-08-28T12:34:00.005-04:00

Well, in all honesty, we didn't have a very productive week - from the planned homeschool realm. However, it was fun as far as the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants perspective.

As you (may or may not) know, our homeschooling week begins on Friday and goes through Monday. Sometimes, because Daddy is home on Saturday and Sunday, we can get off course. So, it was one of THOSE weeks.

Friday was good... We started discussing the Moon, did all of our Language Arts and Math work, started our Chapter for Catholicism for the week, and got a lot of work done. As I've blogged before, Saxon 2 isn't wowing me this year so far, so Casey is working between 3 and 6 (yes, 6) lessons per day. It's so much review right now and she worked and reviewed all summer the things she learned from Saxon 1 last year. On Friday, I also discovered the juggling required in teaching more than one child at a time. I had Casey doing her independent work, then got Will going on a color, cut and paste activity, while I worked with Tricky on shapes, colors, and counting. Whew! I must admit, I was quite proud of myself when they were all working quietly for about 20 minutes!!! I had a few moments to organize part of the school room.

Saturday is when the "plan" started to crumble. After attending a co-worker's baby shower, Richard and the children picked me up. As we were heading home, Richard and I discussed how pleasant the weather was. First we thought of just going on a hike, but then decided we couldn't pass up the opportunity to go camping. We wound up on top of a mountain in a state park and had a blast! Grilling hot dogs, toasting marshmallows, making s'mores, air mattress not holding air, pain for the expectant mommy, so the expectant mommy read a book until 4:00 in the morning until she was able to go to sleep sitting up in camping chair. A BLAST! (Sarcasm inserted here.)

I did take the opportunity to discuss the stars and Moon, begin our SOTW2 chapter on Islam (even using my iPhone to show the kids a few videos of Muslims in prayer).

We did manage to make an edible oasis, begin our 28-day Moon observation, start Music Matters for Tricky and Will, and throw in some piano and performance classes. All in all, not a complete loss!

Feast of St. Monica

2009-08-27T11:49:00.002-04:00

St. Monica was married by arrangement to Patricius, a pagan official, who was violent tempered. His mother lived with them and was equally difficult, which proved a constant challenge to St. Monica. She had three children; Augustine, Navigius, and Perpetua. Through her patience and prayers, she was able to convert her husband and his mother to the Catholic faith. He died a year later. Perpetua and Navigius entered the religious life. St. Augustine was much more difficult, as she had to pray for him for 17 years. One priest consoled her by saying, "It is not possible that the son of so many tears should perish." This thought, coupled with a vision that she had received strengthened her. St. Augustine was baptized in 387. St. Monica died later that same year.

Exemplary Mother of the great Augustine, you perseveringly pursued your wayward son not with wild threats but with prayerful cries to heaven.
Intercede for all mothers in our day so that they may learn to draw their children to God. Teach them how to remain close to their children, even the prodigal sons and daughters who have sadly gone astray. Amen.

Tim Loves Tink

2009-08-26T11:39:00.006-04:00

In a small town I frequently pass through, there is a bridge - the bridge is for trains to pass over the little road it covers. It's quite convenient if the train is coming through the town; one can simply go on this little road, go under the train, and not get stopped by the traffic waiting on the main road. (It's amazing to me that more people haven't figured out this trick... oh, well.)

Until recently, I have always noticed someone had painted on one side of the bridge Tim LOVES (with a heart instead of the word) Tink. When I say I have always noticed, I mean I've noticed this since I was a child... my grandparents lived in this particular town as I was growing up. My research has borne out some interesting information about Tim and Tink... seems as though this profession of love has been occurring since the 1960s. There are theories that Tim was a student at a local college and he dated a girl named Tina (nicknamed, Tink). Or something like that.

Well, from time to time, the city would paint the bridge - and paint over the love note. Always, I mean ALWAYS, within a couple of days of the bridge being repainted, guess what would reappear? You got it! Tim Loves Tink.

But something strange happened recently. The city painted the bridge... yet again... and someone spray painted (in yellow spraypaint this time) Tim Loves Tink on the overpass. It only lasted for a couple of days. The city painted over it again! Then, the city, in its infinite wisdom went a step further. Can you guess what the city did?

Instead of fighting it, the city honored their local lovebirds!

Ahh... this IS the stuff small town legends are made of!

Eating History

2009-08-24T13:30:00.004-04:00

Studying history CAN be fun! As part of our Story of the World 2 lesson on Islam, we made an oasis - the edible kind.

Yes, not only can history be fun - it can be eaten, too!!!

You've Asked How I Did It...

2009-08-18T22:31:00.002-04:00

I've been asked how I made my school t-shirts, so I thought I would post my (not too detailed) instructions.

ITEMS NEEDED:

computer
ink jet printer
iron-on labels
iron
pillowcase
ironing board
articles to be decorated
software allowing images to be reversed

1. What do you want to create?
For me, it was a logo for our family's home school. Since our school is named Gratia Plena Academia (Full of Grace Academy - the "full of grace" coming from the Rosary), I wanted a picture of Mary and the infant Jesus. I searched online and after viewing hundreds of pictures, found one I liked. Fortunately, it was already round, so I didn't have to make it round - round was my personal preference.

Next, I saved the image to my computer and opened it in Adobe PhotoShop - I have version 6. I added text above and below the picture - I just sort of fumble around in PhotoShop until it looks like what I want it to look like; I don't profess to know what I'm doing. Let's just say I hit the Undo button a lot and save every time I get something I want.

Finally, there is a reverse image option in PhotoShop. This is the ESSENTIAL step to creating an iron on. If you don't reverse the image before you print it to your transfer paper, it WILL be reversed on your finished product. (Which isn't a problem if you're narcissistic and stare at yourself in a mirror while you're wearing your newly created shirt, but it will be hard for everyone else to read it.) So, reverse the image, then save. After I saved my image in PhotoShop, I then open it in Microsoft Word. I can maximize the number of iron-ons on an 8 1/2 X 11 transfer sheet in Word - again, I'm not yet prolific in PhotoShop, but Word I know.

2. What do you want to put your logo on?
I prefer white t-shirts and white tote bags. My most recent project is my third foray into the world of iron-ons and I'm still playing it safe by using what I've used in the past. White. You can purchase dark colors iron-ons, but I've never tried it. I'm keeping it simple, for now.

I made t-shirts for all three of my children, my husband, and myself, along with 2 tote bags. The logo on the tote bag is much larger than the t-shirt image. I just used Word to paste my image on a blank page, then right clicked on the image to pull up a menu and selected the option to change the image size. I was happy that the image resolution was good after the enlargement, but you should be aware that if you make the image too large, the distortion may be too great to make a good iron-on.

For my tote bags, I just used one 8 1/2 X 11 transfer sheet per logo. However, for the t-shirts, my logo size was much smaller, so I was able to print all 5 logos on one transfer sheet.

When you're ready to print, put a blank sheet into your printer and print a test page. You want to make sure that, if your image is in color, that your color ink is working. You also want to make sure that the image you print is a mirror image of what you want your finished product to look like. Once you're satisfied with the test, put in the iron-on paper (making sure you have it in the printer to print on the proper side) and print.

3. How do you iron it on?
The transfer sheets come with (very) detailed instructions. The pillowcase mentioned above in the items needed comes into play here. Just follow the directions with the iron-ons - there are before, during and aftercare instructions.

Well that's how I did it! I need to go now - and find more things to plaster with my school's logo!

Starting Off in Style

2009-08-17T00:09:00.003-04:00

Well, I've been at it again... I made iron-ons for t-shirts and tote bags with our home school logo! Of course, I had to photograph a couple, tastefully displayed with a variety of books the kids will use this year.

Homeschooling Tricky

2009-08-14T18:54:00.004-04:00

I made letters from water bottle tops, laminated circles with letters written in to spell out words with an accompanying picture, and set Tricky to work.

This is a better look at what I've done:

This is Tricky in action:

Housekeeping

2009-08-14T08:13:00.003-04:00

This morning, I asked the kids to make their beds. I really only expect my 6 and 4 year olds to perform this task. So, imagine my surprise when I saw this - my little Tricky (2 years old) made her bed [by herself]!!!

REVIEW: The Heavens Proclaim

2009-08-12T14:12:00.003-04:00

The Heavens Proclaim: Astronomy and the Vatican, edited by Guy Consolmagno, S.J.

I've been given the opportunity by The Catholic Company to review The Heavens Proclaim.

I was so excited to see this book on the reviewer list - our family has been studying Astronomy for the past couple of months and was looking forward to integrating this book into our study. This is a beautiful book loaded with color pictures and information - both about astronomy and the Vatican Observatory. It has been a useful book to refer to, especially when reconciling the Big Bang Theory with Divine Creation, which the book covers (at least on the surface) in 9 pages.

For me, there were a few disappointments with the book, however. While there is a table of contents, there is no index, which would have come in handy on several occasions. The quality of the photos is not what I would have hoped. Finally, this is a book about the Vatican Observatory, however, many of the heavenly bodies photographed were taken by other observatories or by the Hubble telescope. For such a beautiful and powerful observatory, I had hoped for more pictures from the Vatican Observatory.

I would, despite my disappointments, recommend the book for anyone (especially Catholics) looking for biblical references and the Christian perspective on space study.

St. Clare of Assisi

2009-08-12T06:54:00.003-04:00

One of the first followers of Saint Francis of Assisi, she founded the Order of Poor Ladies, a monastic religious order for women in the Franciscan tradition. Following her death, the order she founded was renamed in her honor as the Order of Saint Clare, commonly referred to today as the Poor Clares.

Graciously hear us, O God of our salvation: that, like as we do rejoice in the festival of blessed Clare thy holy Virgin; so we may learn to follow her in all godly and devout affections. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Half-way!

2009-08-11T14:15:00.005-04:00

We're half the way there! 20 weeks today. I so enjoy my pregnancies, but I have noticed that the eventual tiredness that sets in gets earlier with each subsequent baby.

According to my midwife, all seems well so far. The little one is lying sideways (which is fine at this point), the heartbeat is good (148 bpm for all of you old-wives-tale enthusiasts), and I'm well. Staying hydrated is particularly important during pregnancy and has been a bit troublesome for me, so each morning, I'm setting 4 bottles of water aside and trying to consume each by certain points during my day.

The children are excited - especially Tricky. She pokes my belly button and proudly proclaims to anyone who will listen that "Mommy has a baby in zere." And my sweet little boy is pining for a brother. A few nights ago, he was upset because he's the only one who sleeps in his room.

There are things to be done for baby before baby's arrival - but not too much. There are no clothes to buy, no cribs to set up, no registries to begin, and nothing to be borrowed. However, there are names to be found, birth kits and birthing tubs to purchase, and a ton of things to launder. We've got time, though, right? 18-20 more weeks if all goes well. Of course, in those 18-20 weeks I've got to get the kids halfway through their school year, find Halloween costumes, plan birthday parties, and buy Christmas presents. Hmmm.... 18-20 weeks doesn't sound so far away after all!

Weekly Report: Our Week Ending 8/10/09

2009-08-10T13:39:00.003-04:00

Phew! We made it! Another week down and many, many more to go.

I've blogged before about Casey's loathe to do Rod & Staff English, but, bless her heart, she does it with very little complaint. Today, I gave her three choices of what to do first: English, Cursive (which she loves), and the Prince and the Pauper chapter (which she enjoys, also). She chose English "to get it over with." I just had to smile - and give her a hug while telling her how proud I am of her.

Nothing too exciting happened this week - other than Casey saying good-bye to her Camp Mega friends (the kids she went from daycare through preK with; and with whom she spent my working days this summer). She was sad that she was leaving until I reminded her that her friends are returning to their schools, too.

Will is progressing with his reading. He BEGS for his reading lesson every day!

In the coming weeks, I'll be working out our extra-curriculars. Casey has had a 3-week hiatus from piano lessons - lessons will start back on August 17. Will is starting piano the same day - so excited! I'm also looking into a P.E. for Homeschoolers class and a dancing and singing performance group for Casey. She may also be starting Brownies at the end of this month.

So, see why I said phew? This month is going to put my scheduling skills to the test, for sure!

At Our House, We DON'T Do Organic...

2009-08-08T09:00:00.002-04:00

Richard and I have done a bit of research on the topic and, given our research and the outrageous cost of buying organic, we decided to live with the added hormones and pesticides.

However, after reading this article (click on the link in "this") I completely believe we've made the right decision.

While Reading "Alice in Wonderland"...

2009-08-07T22:57:00.003-04:00

I came across this passage:

"Good-bye, feet!" (for when she looked down at her feet, they seemed to be almost out of sight, they were getting so far off). "Oh, my poor little feet, I wonder who will put on your shoes and stockings for you now, dears? I'm sure I shan't be able! I shall be a great deal too far off to trouble myself about you: you must manage the best way you can -- but I must be kind to them," thought Alice, "or perhaps they wo'n't walk the way I want to go!"

I feel your pain Alice! I miss seeing my feet, too!

Curriculum Try Outs!

2009-08-07T15:44:00.002-04:00

We've been using some of our new curriculum for several weeks now - and some sources we just started using today. I thought I would give a brief review of what we've been using so far.

Saxon Math 2
Casey just started this one today. I'm a bit disappointed with it after just one lesson. I realize it is important for her to review what she's already learned, but after doing lesson one then flipping through the book, it appears that she won't be learning much that is new. Math is already a tedious subject for both of us; I feel as though I'm looking down the barrel at 131 remaining lessons of review that may prove to be extremely boring for both of us. On the bright side, I do like the Saxon 2 Meeting Book, so there's something to look forward to, I suppose.

Rod & Staff English 2
I love it. Casey hates it. She hates it so much that she wants to do it before Phonics (which has always been the last thing we do). I think it's all of the writing she's not fond of. She didn't complain too much today, but there have been times that I've feared tears. Fortunately, she's never shed a tear about doing home school work, but I think we've come close with English. I like the layout of the book - although I (in all honesty) get tired of the repeated references that "God made the sentence to ____________." It's a very bland, colorless book - even the cover of the book is brown, but I like the detail and constant review of concepts held within. Casey will just have to suffer.

Rod & Staff Phonics 2
Casey's next least favorite subject, but I like it because she can work independently on this while I work with Will on his reading. Each lesson has two worksheets to be completed - very picture-intensive and relatively self-explanatory. While I have the teacher's manual, I rarely use it.

Rod & Staff Spelling 2
I made the switch from Seton Spelling (used last year) to R&S. I'm glad I did. The teacher's book is a fabulous reference for ideas to engage the child with the words for each lesson. There are exercises, drills and practice tests to do before the week's spelling test is administered. Seton was pretty and I do miss the full-color religious artwork, but R&S is far more practical for the purpose of teaching spelling.

Faith & Life - Jesus Our Life (for Grade 2)
Again, another switch from Seton and another switch I'm glad to have made. While a bit more costly than the Seton Religious Education series, each year of Faith & Life provides a Teacher's Manual (loaded with discussion points, prayer suggestions, answer keys, quizzes and tests, and teacher-only insight to the material), a Student Book and an Activity Book. Casey loves the Activity Book and tends to work beyond a given day's lesson. I do our religion lesson while we're eating lunch - all of the children are attentive during meal times, so Will and Tricky also participate in the discussion of the material. We're all very happy with learning more about Catholicism.

New American Cursive
I researched over a dozen cursive instruction guides and I chose the NAC method. I like the overall simplicity of most of the letters - for example, the capital cursive F looks like an F rather than being virtually identical to the capital cursive T (something that caused me great frustration as a child). Casey is exciting to be learning a new way to write - pretty, curly writing.

Story of the World 2
We're doing SOTW again this year, but I'm using this along with another history book for the same time period, that being the Middle Ages and the Reformation. Being Catholic, I wanted to be careful about the onesidedness (that being a slant toward the Protestant side) I've seen in a lot of history texts including SOTW2. So, I chose...

Story of the Middle Ages by Christine Miller
SOMA, while perhaps being a bit better suited for the Logic Stage learner, provides the information I feel is missing from SOTW2. The focus is more on the history on the British Isles (where most of the meatier happenings of the Middle Ages took place, IMHO) than on the worldwide range of SOTW2. The children have enjoyed the narrative of SOMA, especially the stories of the saints. Both sources used together are providing the history that I want to teach the kids.

Classic Worktexts
So far, Casey has read Little Women and The Prince and the Pauper. Each worktext conodenses and subdivides each classic into ten chapters. With each chapter there is a vocabulary list (with definitions and use examples), a picture, a page of reading, multiple choice questions, and a page of puzzles and exercises for the vocabulary learned.

Chicken Mummy

2009-07-24T08:09:00.003-04:00

A picture of Pharaoh Gamehen I. I just realized I never posted a picture of her. Here she is in all of her mummified glory:

Just prior to wrapping-

Wrapped-

By the way, her resting place, for now, is atop a bookshelf in our school room.

Travel - Snacks

2009-07-21T21:34:00.005-04:00

We are going on a road trip soon. I'm excited about it! As an only child, I never got to play games with, watch movies with, or constantly harass and irritate another small person sitting next to me. My children, however, have that opportunity - and I love it!

I've decided to be a bit more organized about our travel time. I'm always quite prepared for our eventual arrival wherever we are vacationing, but this time I've taken planning to the next level: the road trip portion. And since I'm doing so much prep, I thought I would share!

I have prepacked snacks this time. Instead of constantly reaching behind me and groping in a snack bag for water, chips, dried fruit, milk every time one of the kids whimpers for something, I made snack boxes for them. Two separate snacks, three of each - a drink, something big, and something small. I picked up the boxes on clearance at the local WM and decorated them with stickers. I also wrote on the outside what is contained within, just for my own sanity.

By the way, my dear husband walked in the kitchen as I was taking pictures of the snacks. He wanted to laugh at me - instead, he took a couple of pictures of his own and posted them on Facebook. I had to remind him that "Love is patient, love is kind..." Love doesn't ridicule its wife publicly on Facebook!

Great week!

2009-07-20T18:39:00.005-04:00

I was on the lite side of homeschooling this weekend, so Richard filled in.

At first, Casey wasn't happy about her "substitute" teacher and made it known. I reminded her that Daddy is just as much her teacher as I am. She and Will both enjoyed what Richard taught them: computers - input and output, how calculators work, and (best of all) he taught them how to add and subtract using an abacus! [Casey mentioned that now she doesn't have to know her addition and subtraction facts as she can just use an abacus. I quickly squelched that notion!]

Richard also invited us outside to play a game of croquet! (Not to gloat, but I won!)

Casey and I worked on math flashcards, studied St. Augustine of Canterbury, and worked on memorizing At the Sea Side by Robert Louis Stevenson. Will and I are still working our way through 100 Easy Lessons. Tricky is... well, Tricky.

Standardized Tests

2009-07-19T13:23:00.003-04:00

I recently began researching standardized tests as Casey will be taking one during the 2010-2011 school year. Georgia requires homeschoolers to take a standardized test every three years beginning at the end of third grade, although the State does not require that those results be submitted to public school authorities. “Students in home study programs shall be subject to an appropriate nationally standardized testing program administered in consultation with a person trained in the administration and interpretation of norm reference tests to evaluate their educational progress at least every three years beginning at the end of the third grade and records of such tests and scores shall be retained but shall not be required to be submitted to public educational authorities.” O.C.G.A. § 20-2-690 (c)(7).

Georgia third graders in public school take the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). Knowing what I’ve heard and read about the CRCT, I know that I do not want my children to take that particular standardized test, nor do they have to. I just don’t feel as though my third-grader needs to be tested on, and thus forcing me to teach outside of my planned course of study, Frederick Douglass-civil rights, Susan B. Anthony-women's rights, Mary McLeod Bethune-education, Franklin D. Roosevelt- New Deal and World War II, Eleanor Roosevelt-United Nations and human rights, Thurgood Marshall-civil rights, Lyndon B. Johnson-Great Society and voting rights, and Cesar Chavez-workers' rights. [Topics on the Social Studies portion of a recent CRCT.] Fortunately, Georgia does not dictate which standardized test a homeschooler must take, just that it must be a national standardized test.

I was, however, a bit stunned at the volume of standardized tests available to a homeschooling parent of a third grader. So, to do my part to possibly help another parent make an informed decision about which test to give, I have compiled the following information, listed alphabetically, from various online resources. A list of testing suppliers can be found here. NOTE: This is by no means a comprehensive list, but merely a list of the tests I’ve considered.

California Achievement Test, 5th edition (CAT/5)
Grades: K-12
Administration: Parents administer the test at home and send it back to be scored. You have two weeks after receiving the test to administer and return it for scoring. Scoring takes 3 to 8 weeks.
Subjects tested: Reading, spelling, language mechanics and expression, mathematics, study skills, science and social studies.
Format: A timed test with five test formats available, descriptions of which can be found here.
Results: Results are printed to include national percentiles, scale scores, grade equivalents, stanine results, and other data. You must request percentile scoring and /or stanine results or you will only receive raw scores and grade equivalents.
Other: One comment I read while researching the CAT is that it is popular among Christian schools and home schools because it contains more traditional values than other standardized tests. Also available are the CAT (original) and the CAT/6 (the 6th edition) - I have not researched the differences between these and the CAT/5.

Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS)
Grades: 1-12
Subjects tested: reading, language arts, spelling, math, science, social studies and reference skills.
Results: You receive a professional critique with the scores.

Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS)
Grades: K-12 (grades 2 and below are tested orally)
Administration: 4-year baccalaureate degree in any field required for administrator. From the ITBS official website: “Test materials for use with home-schooled students can be obtained through the public school district where the student resides or through the AEA that encompasses the student's residence. Arrangements might be made for such students to test at the local school when students of that district take their tests. If the district has a home-school assistance center, arrangements for testing might be made with that center.”
Subjects tested: K-2: Vocabulary, Word Analysis, Reading Comprehension, Listening, Language, Mathematics, Social Studies, Science, Sources of Information. Grades 3-8: Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension, Spelling, Capitalization, Punctuation, Usage and Expression, Math Concepts and Estimation, Math Problem Solving and Data Interpretation, Math Computation, Social Studies, Maps and Diagrams, Reference Materials, Word Analysis, Listening.
Results: Raw Scores, Percent Correct, Grade Equivalent, Developmental Standard Score, and Percentile Rank.
Other: For more information about the ITBS, go to the official website here.

Personalized Achievement Summary System (PASS)
Grades: 3-8
Administration: Parents administer the test at home and return the test for scoring and analysis. Test should be given twice per year, with at least 6 months between testing recommended. You have four weeks after receiving the test to administer and return it for scoring.
Subjects tested: Reading, language, and mathematics.
Format: Untimed test.
Other: This test was developed specifically for homeschoolers. Additional information can be found here.

Stanford Achievement Test (SAT)
[Not to be confused with the Scholastic Aptitude Test - SAT - for college]
Grades: K-12
Administration: Administrator must have a baccalaureate degree in any field plus other requirements, and the test publisher has strict guidelines which must be followed when testing a relative.
Subjects tested: Reading, math, language, spelling, listening, science and social studies. The exact subjects covered in a test will depend on the child’s grade level.
Format: A timed test with multiple choice, short answer, and extended answer questions.
Results: Scores given are in relation to other students. There is also an explain of how your child did in each area and suggestions for improvement.

Limitations

2009-07-15T14:32:00.003-04:00

It's time I set some boundaries for myself. Life is taking over, but I've been ignoring parts of it. Unfortunately, I haven't been as diligent with my housekeeping as I would like. I've also been spending far too much time online. I have goals that I set for myself months ago, that I haven't met yet. I feel as though everything is whirling by and I'm standing on the edge watching it happen.

I think if I write about it here, it will force me to be more diligent. I'm very sentimental and read my old blog posts on occasion. Not to mention, this entry will be visible for a few days, at least. So here is what I hope to accomplish:

BASEMENT
Our basement is in desperate need of attention. I'm going to spend 5 minutes per day cleaning up and reorganizing. By the end of August, I want to take donations to the local thrift stores. By the end of September, I would like Richard to take all the junk that I can't donate to the dump. (I refuse to have a yard sale - too much work for too little return.)

VACUUMING
I just got a new vacuum. I had been using a shop vac or hand held vacuums throughout the house. I need to use my vacuum weekly - or at least in accordance with my Motivated Moms calendar.

MOTIVATED MOMS CALENDAR
Ah, the next logical step... I need to abide by the chores on my MMC. When I do, our house looks fantastic, but I've been slacking quite a bit lately.

PICTURES
I am almost a year behind in getting pictures printed. For the past several days I've been uploading them to a site to get prints, but it's very slow going. Nonetheless, it's getting done. I hope to be finished with that portion of my pictures project by tomorrow. But that's not the only pictures project I have. I also need to assemble and order a photo book online - to be used for Casey's first grade yearbook. Finally, I need to make a photo collage (in a multi-picture frame) of Tricky. She's almost 3 and there is but one photo of her in the hallway - and that will not do! I hope to have the last two picture projects finished by the first week in August.

WII FIT
I got a Wii Fit for my birthday last week. It's so fun! Now, I actually need to use it. Goal: 20 minutes per day.

ONLINE TIME
Richard and I discussed this about two weeks ago - we need to get off of our computers some! We've decided that every evening from 6:00 to 9:00 and every Saturday are blackout times: no going online. The exceptions being if either of us has some work-related emergency we must tend to, if we are looking for a family activity/outing, or if the online activity is directly related to something we are doing for home school - otherwise, nothing. This one is going to be difficult, but necessary.

So, those are some of the many goals I need to accomplish. I have others, but I'm not to the point where I want to share every facet of my life online. Some are things I need to work on daily, others are merely tasks I need to just do and get over with. Sometimes it's hard not to procrastinate, but it's time to stop!

I want to call this a Weekly Report...

2009-07-13T21:12:00.002-04:00

I want to call this a Weekly Report, but since it's early July, I may wait until August to start doing official Weekly Reports. (The other idea I'm debating is whether or not to post my Weekly Reports on Fridays like everyone else, or do them at the true end of our school week - Monday.)

We had a great weekend! We're still a bit light on the curriculum as I haven't started Math (other than some review work), Catholicism, or Art as of yet. Those will pop in in August. Even with those subjects absent, we had a busy school week. I think the highlight of this weekend, besides a brief hike we took on Saturday, including a brief jaunt on the AT (Appalachian Trail), was our study of King Arthur (both the legend and the myth) and our read-aloud companion The Sto ry of King Arthur and His Knights.

For science, we discussed stars - types and life cycles. It was cloudy every night this weekend so we weren't able to break out our telescope.

Will is doing well with 100 Easy Lessons. I'd been somewhat sporadic up to this point, but he's with it and excited! I gave him four Bob Books to take to bed tonight. I'm so happy! I have yet another child who is embracing reading! Will is also learning some basics about the piano because he'll be starting lessons next month - another exciting development for my little guy.

Our First Field Trip of the New School Year

2009-07-12T05:41:00.004-04:00

We went to Fernbank Natural History Museum last weekend.

We saw the usual displays of sea shells, dinosaurs, and the interactive science exhibit.

There was a temporary exhibit showing dinosaur movement. It think it was meant to prove how everything you see in a Hollywood depiction of dinosaurs is completely inaccurate (i.e., there is no way a Tyrannosaurus could run as fast as shown in the Jurassic Park movies).

Fernbank has also recently started small nature trail walks on the Natural History grounds. While there have always been public trails open at the Fernbank Science Museum, the Natural History Museum has only been conducting guided walks for two weeks. After coating ourselves with Off, my family and another family of four set off with two guides as we explored the woods behind the NHM. We learned about poison ivy (I had no idea that every part of poison ivy contains the oils that can cause the familiar itchy rash - the leaves, the stems, and even the roots) and tulip poplars, where Fernbank got its name, and how the museum staff are working to make the trails accessible to the public at large. Despite a couple of mosquito bites, the mini-hike was my favorite part of our excursion.

"Why are you doing THAT?"

2009-07-07T11:00:00.003-04:00

Throughout my few years of parenting, I've been asked a question several times about a variety of different things regarding my parenting/pregnancy/mothering decisions. "Why are you doing THAT?" So, here are some of my answers...

Breastfeeding
I have nursed all of my children and plan on doing so with the next. I breastfed because of the many benefits: bonding, best for baby, immunity transfer, cuts down on likelihood of ear infections (3 kids, 1 short ear infection - not bad), facial and oral structure development, intelligence, some weight loss after having baby... But, in all honesty, my biggest reason is that I'm lazy (don't laugh). I value my sleep and what little time I have after homeschooling, child-rearing, housekeeping, and working. I don't want to spend what precious time I have left sterilizing bottles, boiling water for formula, etc. So I breastfeed - easier for me, good for baby. I'll keep doing it.

Cosleeping
For the same BIG reason I breastfeed, I cosleep - I don't have to wake up during the night to prep a bottle, thus I get sleep. We start from the time a baby is born until about 12 months old. When there is a baby in my bed, I instantly wake up at the slightest noise from the baby - I instinctively, subconsciously know when my baby is hungry, sick, or just needs me. And, please, don't lecture me about my decision. I've heard about the studies, the reports, the criticism - but it has worked for three of my children (all three of whom I can proudly exclaim now sleep in their own beds every night, all night - can you say the same thing?).

Three children and one more on the way (and who knows what the future holds)
Yes, I have three children. Yes, I'm expecting a fourth. No, by God's grace, this won't be the last. Yes, I'm Catholic. Yes, I know what causes "it." No, it's none of your business so stop asking me. And don't look so shocked!

Finding out
We're waiting until the baby is born. When I've said I want to be surprised, I've been told that it's a surprise when you find out at 20 weeks, too. Well, sort of - but not the same kind of surprise; you still have 20 weeks to get ready, to think of names, to decorate rooms, to alter your idea of what your future would have been with a baby of the opposite gender. A father of 12 children once told me that he and his wife never "peeked at their presents." I like that idea - this baby is my Christmas present, a baby I've prayed and waited patiently for. I can wait until late-December when my baby arrives for Richard to tell me if it's a boy or girl while holding our sweet newborn in his arms. Besides, since we cosleep, there will be no room to decorate - only the time it takes to go down to the basement and bring up all the tubs of newborn girl or boy clothes.

Homebirth
We have decided to have this baby at home. It wasn't a difficult decision to come to. After three childbirth experiences, I decided the time was right to abandon the hospital and opt for the comfort of my own home. With all three of my hospital birth experiences, I felt as though I had to fight with either my doctor or the hospital staff about something. I don't want that again. I want the calm, comfort, and peace that my home can afford me. I want to be able to play my piano, sing along with my music, go to my refrigerator for some juice, and roam in my own hallway until the time comes for me to slip into my birthing tub (hopefully) set up in my living room. I am not planning on having my children present - I want grandchildren one day - but they will be welcome to meet their new sibling as soon as my husband, my midwife, and I feel as though the baby is ready.
People I know have expressed concerns such as, "What if something goes wrong?" Well, for one, I'm not freebirthing (i.e., having an unassisted childbirth). My midwife with years of experience will be on hand with an assistant. She is armed with an arsenal of weapons to counteract anything that could go wrong and if something goes beyond her control, I'll be rushed to a hospital. That was my initial response when I heard that question. Now, my response is... I'm pregnant. I'm not sick. Hospitals are for sick people. However, should something happen that is outside the realm of the usual things that can happen to one while having a baby, the hospital is close. I'm not worried - as a matter of fact, I'm more worried about what the baby and/or I could pick up at a hospital than anything potentially going wrong at home.

That said, I still vaccinate, I don't buy much that is organic [a lot of organic foods just don't appeal to me to the extent I feel as though I have to pay double for them - besides, I like a little bovine growth hormone now and then] and my children do consume refined sugars, but that's me. By posting the above, I don't mean to belittle anyone or their parenting choices (with the possible exception of any comment to me about the size of my family - so don't go there), but just to state this is what we do and why we do it.

REVIEW: Fascinating Creatures by Frances England

2009-07-05T21:35:00.002-04:00

Casey and I walked over to her art teacher's home last week to pick up her spring artwork portfolio. During our visit, Ms. Jan gave Casey a CD. The CD is a compilation of children's songs written and performed by Frances England. It seems as though Ms. England is a former student of Ms. Jan's. Ms. Jan enjoyed the CD, but since she doesn't have children, she thought she would give the CD to a child who would listen to it often.

In my usual fashion, Casey had to remind me we had the CD a few days later. I popped it in the CD player and was amazed at what I heard. Catchy, child-friendly music, that I was genuinely enjoying as well. Even better, Richard listened to it tonight - I turned it on for "cleaning music" for the kids - and he liked the music as well!

Fun and upbeat, refreshing without being too perky, England's lovely voice and acoustic guitar combine to perform original children's songs that kid will love and parents won't mind (and will probably wind up singing along to like I did) playing in the car or the house.

Check out Frances England's website here.
For a great video sample of one of the songs, Tricycle, from the Fascinating Creatures album, go here.

I'm excited to hear Family Tree by Frances England, released two years after Fascinating Creatures.

By the way, I hope Ms. Jan is proud of Frances England - the album art on Fascinating Creatures was created by her former student!

Ramping Up Our Schedule

2009-06-26T13:45:00.006-04:00

Each week I'm adding a little bit more to our workload knowing we'll be taking time off at the beginning of 2010.

This week I added our corresponding Read Alouds to history. I started reading Beowulf a few days ago. The kids are enjoying it. While, much to my husband's chagrin, it is not the Seamus Heaney translation - a truly fabulous translation, I might add - it is a condensed, more child-friendly version with beautiful illustrations. I've been reading at mealtime - now, there's a way to experience the destructive powers of Grendel, his mother, and Beowulf... while eating!

We're also adding memorization back into our plans. This week (and maybe next week, too - it takes my four year old a bit longer to memorize than my six year old and Tricky's trying to learn it, too) we are commiting Christina Rossetti's How Many Seconds to memory.

Also, since we're studying astronomy, our new telescope (Orion SkyQuest XT8 Dobsonian reflecting telescope) is coming in quite handy. We've seen Saturn, its rings, and its moon, Titan; a globular cluster (M13), and the two stars at the curve of the handle in the Big Dipper (with my naked eye, I can only make out one star). Hopefully we can go out tonight, if we get a break in the clouds, to stargaze some more!

Living a Beautiful Life

2009-06-24T19:58:00.007-04:00

When I was about 15 years old, I discovered a lovely magazine called Victoria. It was everything I wanted my adult life to look like - beautiful dresses, lace everywhere, rose bushes in flower gardens, white furniture.

Alas, that is far from what my adult life is like. For one, I'm a practicing attorney. That, in and of itself, somehow seems to brush some of the soft focus from my form. I don't litigate, but I work for a litigator and I'm married to a litigator; and being in the midst of that world, I fear, makes me a bit more harsh than I would otherwise be.

My home is not covered in lace. Well, actually, my dresser is, but that lace is covered because my dresser is my clutter spot - the area that cleaning gurus such as FlyLady warn me I need to spend 5 minutes decluttering each day, or something to that effect.

I also don't have white furniture in every room. I have cherry - I love cherry now that I've grown up. White furniture is still something of an object of beauty for me. It's so clean, if it's kept that way. My daughters' furniture is white - and, for now, barely nicked. As a matter of fact, their room is probably the closest thing to my teenage-version of the ideal adult setting for me than anything else in my home.

I don't have time for gardening - and I'm also coming to realize that I may not even have the desire. I would LOVE to have beautiful gardens and clip blossoms to place around my cherry furniture laden home, but it takes time and patience - two things on which I'm quite short.

But there are beautiful things in my life. I have beautiful children and another on the way. I'm so thankful for them and I am making a conscious effort to thank God for them each day. I have a wonderful, supportive, hard-working, loving husband - someone who loves me and respects me and who has real conversations with me, beyond the normal "what did you do to day" banter some married couples share.

I have a home filled with things that, as an adult, I find beautiful. My cherry furniture and large mirrors with touches of floral patterns throughout my home. And I have a piano - the piano that my grandparents purchased and my mother learned to play - I have it tuned every year, and should have it tuned every 6 months, but it's mine and it brings me much joy.

Earlier, I mentioned my job. I'm actually quite happy at my job. While I do miss being with my children full-time, I am fortunate in the fact that I can work part-time as a lawyer - with very little stress. Being an attorney is not what I ever imagined myself doing (until I was about 25), but here I am! I'm not career-driven by any stretch of the imagination. I just do my work to the best of my ability, I enjoy the company of my coworkers, and then I come home...

To the beautiful life I have been blessed with!

A Letter to My Wardrobe

2009-06-22T08:13:00.001-04:00

Dear Beloved Clothes:

I put you away last night. It will be a while before I see your beautiful colors and fabrics again. You will have a long, lonely summer, fall, and winter (and maybe spring) down in the basement, but I'll pull you out as soon as I possibly can - believe me.

That said, I must tell you my fear. Please don't worry, but there is a chance I may not be able to wear some of you again. It's happened before (three times before), so I feel it's only fair to warn you. I'm sure many of you will come back, but some of you may not. Either your waist line (and mine) just won't give as much as before or you may become a victim of the Fashion Police. Either way, if you don't make it back to the closet, know that you were once loved and I'll try to find you a good home.

Until then, I'll be basking in the comfort of below-the-belly waist bands, somewhat tent-like blouses, and flowing dresses.

Hopefully, I'll see you next year, regular clothes!

Love,
~Angela.

"Mommy, Don't I Look Silly?"

2009-06-21T15:53:00.002-04:00

Those were Tricky's words when I was reaching to get her out of the car once we were at church this morning. Yes, she looked very silly. Why? During our drive, she had managed to get into my diaper bag, into my lipstick pouch, and smear 5 various pink and brown shades on her face (and dress, incidentally).

Well, kid, we made it this far!

2009-06-18T13:26:00.002-04:00

Second trimester, baby! We've come this far... just 28 (or maybe one or two less if you're kind to your little mommy) more weeks to go. I've already started feeling you twist, shake and spin. You must be having a blast in there!

Your brother and sisters are very excited about meeting you - wanting to know if you're a boy or a girl - but I keep reminding them that you're our Christmas present and we're not having a peek! I don't want to ruin this surprise.

Puppet Workshop

2009-06-15T12:25:00.004-04:00

Our local library had a Puppet Workshop this morning. [Finally, an activity I could take the kids to on one of my days off - usually, they're scheduled on the days I work.] We had SO MUCH FUN!

A man from the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta brought all kinds of puppets (shadow, hand, string, rod) from around the world - including a couple he'd made himself. After his hilarious puppet presentation, we then made our own puppets. We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

Goodbye First Grade!

2009-06-12T09:01:00.002-04:00

Casey (finally) finished first grade last weekend. Math was our hold up, but we finished. I think we're both relieved.

Now we're moving on to second grade. I was hoping to take it easy this summer, but because I'll be taking off some time in January once the baby arrives, we're going to do a full curriculum. So much for Summer Break, eh?

Not only will Casey be starting her second grade year this summer, but Will is beginning Kindergarten at home. Each will be doing their own language arts and math work, but together, we'll be continuing with our religious studies and studying the Middle Ages, astronomy, weather, and various other earth science subjects, and P.E. I'm sure I've left out something.

For now, we're off to the park! It's only 69 degrees at the moment and I think I'll take advantage of the relatively cool temp to let the kids play outside.

Email

2009-06-03T10:52:00.003-04:00

I used to like email, but now I dread it.

* I get too many emails every day - well, I only get around 20, which is probably nothing to some of you, but it's a lot for me. Actually, let me rephrase that... I get 20 on my main email address. My email address linked to Facebook gets about 90 a day - due to my FB activity. My inner-office email gets 40 or so a day, but that's because our IT guy took off the filters and now I get advertisements for certain products I don't want, need or otherwise require. I also have a couple of email addresses I never even bother to check any longer.

* Many of the emails I receive at my main email address I don't want. I get emails from various Bar Associations, which in turn causes me to get email from other law-related outlets (attorneys running for office, continuing legal education courses, law book publishers). I get emails from online companies I've ordered from or have requested catalogs from.

* I have developed the terrible habit of reading emails I need to respond to, but then forgetting to respond. Oh the guilt I feel when I realize that I haven't responded!

*I don't delete enough emails. I'm afraid I'll need it later on. Stupid, I know.

* I have too many email addresses. I can't/don't check them all. Well, actually, I only have 5, but that's about 4 too many. But, I need one for junk, one for FB notices, one for work, one for homeschool stuff (which is actually one I don't really check any longer), and my main email address.

So, I've started unsubscribing to things. Unsubscribing to newsfeeds I no longer care about. Unsubscribing to the sales advertisements and legal publications. Unsubscribing to groups. Unsubscribing to Facebook notifications. I'm trying to simplify. No, it's nothing huge, but every little bit helps!

Another Precious Little One

2009-06-02T11:37:00.006-04:00

A few days ago, I put a new widget on my blog. If you scroll down a bit, and look to the right, beneath Tricky's photo, you'll see it...

We're expecting our fourth child and we're so very excited. Richard and I took the kids on a hike Sunday afternoon. About halfway around the lake trail we were hiking, we found a lovely dock, overlooking the lake, away from the myriad of others hiking or fishing, and we told the children that around Christmastime, we will have a new baby. Wanting to know if it is a boy or girl, what we would name the baby, and if they could see the baby, it was obvious the children were excited about having a new sibling. I'm so happy that I can help give them such an amazing gift - the gift of someone else to grow up with and to love.

Each day I'm thankful for my swelling belly, waking during the night, and even the bouts of nausea. I'm grateful that I've been given this most precious of gifts. Given my experience six months ago, I'm honored that God has smiled upon me yet again.

My midwife came to my home yesterday. I believe the kids thought her purpose for visiting was so they could entertain her, which I let them do for a few minutes. Soon, however, it was time to get to work on writing up my medical history - even detailing the pregnancies and deliveries of each of my children. My finger was pricked and we learned my hemoglobin is lower than what my midwife would like to see - so I'll be eating sunflower seeds, making tea sweetened with molasses, and cooking in my (new) cast iron skillet. My midwife does house calls because it is good for her to become familiar with the place where the baby will be born! [I'll post about my decision to home birth another day.]

The best part of the visit was the anticipation of hearing the baby's heartbeat. Casey was with me as the midwife gelled up the doppler and rolled it around on my belly. She said that it may be too early to hear anything, then... I heard it! I heard my baby! That most precious of sounds... the sound I never heard last year. The sound I gleefully explained to my daughter was the heartbeat of her littlest brother or sister.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You for Your goodness and generosity in giving this child to us.
In Your mercy please watch over this child within my womb.
Please let my child develop in a normal and healthy way.
Send forth your Spirit, O Lord, and anoint my precious little one with Your grace and Peace.
Amen.

UP

2009-05-30T20:28:00.001-04:00

We saw UP today. Pixar has done it again. Absolutely joyous movie to watch - especially in 3D. I was crying 20 minutes into the movie.

The Faith Database

2009-05-18T15:45:00.002-04:00

I received the Faith Database CD a few months ago... and I LOVE IT!

What an amazing resource chock full of a huge variety of Catholic material - several Bible translations, artwork, Papal encyclicals, writings by Chesterton, early church documents, the catechism, and much, much more.

Of course, with this much information, the search function is an asset. You can search the entire database or narrow your searches by selecting various criteria.

But my very favorite feature? The Apologetics Test. I love tests!

While the database is very easy to use, a helpful tutorial is included.

A wonderful resource for students, teachers, religious, and laymen alike, I highly recommend spending the $40 for the Faith Database available at The Catholic Company.

Human Anatomy Study Ends.... Frog-style

2009-05-11T08:59:00.003-04:00

We finally finished our Human Anatomy study... by dissecting a frog.

For WEEKS (months, even), we've been slowly going through the systems of the human body. With the exception of the reproductive system - Richard and I felt Casey was a bit too young to tackle that one, but she may be popping up with questions before too long - we studied, played games, conducted experiments, and deconstructed our 3-D anatomy guy.

On Saturday, after reviewing the various systems during breakfast, we cleared off the table, and dissected a frog. Despite the complaints of the smell (and the fact that we had every window open and fans twirling), the frog was photographed, cut, and studied inside and out.

Our frog came with a booklet, but I found the following web-based worksheets quite helpful: external anatomy, digestive system, and brain & legs.

What a great way to round out our human body study!

World Barista Championships

2009-04-21T21:53:00.004-04:00

Richard and I took the kids to the World Barista Championships in Atlanta on Sunday afternoon. [Can I count something as a field trip if the kids have absolutely NO interest, but Richard and I are having a blast? LOL]

This was an almost spur-of-the-moment activity. I read about it online on Saturday and mentioned it to Richard, jokingly saying that it sounded interesting. I had no IDEA such a competition even existed! So we went the next day.

A HUGE coffee seller, roaster, supplier, etc. convention was going on in connection with the WBC. To get into the convention one had to pay a "nominal" fee of $125 ... per person. Not for us. The WBC was free! We made it to the final round - the top 5 baristas from around the world (champions in their own country - 52 countries represented) making and explaining 4 coffee drinks in 15 minutes. It was a bit hard to hear and kind of strange to see - there were to big screens, but it was almost easier just to watch the competitor in the flesh rather than on the screens. It was fascinating though. I think part of the judging hinged on the barista's explaining his or her concoction, the process in developing and making it, and the flavors one was to experience - and the accuracy of that flavor description.

There were 4 tasting judges and I also believe there were 2 other people judging technique, but I'm not sure. There was also one guy who drank the remnants of the judge's drinks! Think about it - 5 competitors, 4 drinks each, and 4 samples of each drink... that's (calculating here) 80 half-consumed coffees and backwash. Ick!

Other than that, it was fun to watch. And... best of all... there were FREE espressos and cappuccinos - the kind of cappuccinos with fancy hearts made from the froth!

Oh! The winner? Gwilym Davies of the UK.

And, of course, since we were in Atlanta, we dropped by IKEA for 3 hours or so.

Wordless Wednesday - boo boo knees

2009-04-21T21:48:00.004-04:00

Wordless Wednesday

2009-04-15T09:11:00.002-04:00

Decluttering is Strangely Liberating!

2009-04-13T11:09:00.002-04:00

I inadvertently began decluttering this morning. It started in our school room which has become nothing short of a book and paper depository. I found stacks of paper I'd forgotten existed, but once I discovered them, I happily threw out most of it! Then, I started going through the bookshelves, taking unnecessary items from notebooks.

Soon thereafter, I was called away by one of the children to my bedroom. Well, I couldn't leave before cleaning out my jewelry box. It is the kind that has lingerie drawers, but since I have a small supply of lingerie which is rarely, if ever, worn, I use most of those drawers for stuff - pictures, children's drawings, NFP charts, receipts, and random papers. Twenty minutes after I started, I had a clean jewelry box and a full trashcan! I'm so proud of me!

Now, to clean out the kitchen clutter drawer, my desk drawers, and finish the school room. Considering we're stuck inside for the day, decluttering has become quite a fun project!

Year-End Portfolio

2009-04-08T22:26:00.004-04:00

I've stumbled upon something ELSE I feel as though (as a good homeschooling, record-keeping, organizing freak of a mommy) I should do: a year-end portfolio.

I don't remember how I happened upon this gem of a homeschooling task, but once I learned of it, I researched it to death. Some states REQUIRE this - as in you have to submit certain documents in a portfolio at the end of every school year. I just like the idea of it because I can consolidate the highlights of our academic year in one place.

Now, I KNOW you're just DYING to know what is in mine [I hate that you can't express sarcasm in print without resorting to emoticons, but please know that last little ditty is dripping with sarcasm]. I have all of this crammed in a 1" three-ring binder with clear pockets on the outside. Soon discovering the folly of my early portfolio organization - and realizing how quickly it will become disorganized if little hands come upon it - I recognize that a 1" binder won't cut it. I'm hoping 2 inches will contain the important documents of Casey's first year of home school.

So, contained within this already overflowing binder are the following items:

TAB 1: Summary, Calendar, Schedule
SUMMARY - A brief summation of the progress Casey made in each of the subjects studied and some detail of specifics studied with the subjects - Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, History, Art, Music, Other Activities, and Extra Topics of Study Pursued (mainly the off-topic lapbooks we made).
CALENDAR - A calendar of our academic year, color-coded to show regular school days, field trips, and performances.
SCHEDULE - A couple of pages from my lesson plans showing our schedule.

TAB 2: CURRICULUM
A chart detailing the texts and additional books used in each subject we covered, along with another (extremely brief) summary of the topics of each subject. The form I used a modified version of a form found here.

TAB 3: ACTIVITIES
A list and brief description of the activities Casey was involved in - similar to the summary detailed above.

TAB 4: MEMORIZATION
I'll either put a list of the things Casey memorized here OR I'll print the poems (etc.). I haven't decided - probably the poems she memorized so we can look back one day, instead of looking it up.

TAB 5: FIELD TRIP LOG
I created an Excel spreadsheet with columns for date, place, location, and summary of what we saw. I had to pull out my calendars to remember everything.

TAB 6: HOME SCHOOL BLOG
I printed out all of my Weekly Reports and any other entries I made regarding Casey's education. I even printed a few Wordless Wednesday entries. I like these because they go into more detail about our trips and studies, and they also provide photos (which is something I wanted to put into my portfolio anyway, so this was a convenient way of accomplishing that).

TAB 7: WORK AND ARTWORK SAMPLES
In this tab I put a couple of spelling tests, a math assessment along with a couple of worksheets, two science activity sheets, one copy work assignment, one original writing (narrated to me and recorded by me), a couple of history worksheets, and artwork (one each using marker, crayons, pencil, and watercolor). Part of my doing this portfolio is to cut down on the amount of stuff I'm holding onto - I'm trying to move on from my pack-rat ways. Besides, if I kept everything, I'd have a huge tub for each year for each child; by the time they graduate high school, there would be 36 tubs! No way! That said, I'm keeping her history notebook in addition to the portfolio.

TAB 8: READING LOG
Yet another Excel document I created a while back, I've put this in the portfolio as well.

There are a few other things I'll add: reading and math assessments I'll give Casey in a few weeks; sheet protectors to put lapbooks in; something else that I can't remember right now. Then once the portfolio is finished - the finishing touch being a cover sheet Casey can make for the binder - I'll get rid of a lot of the other work that we don't need to keep.

So... is that enough stuff? See why I need at least 2-inches of binder space?

EDITED: During a review of the law in my state regarding homeschooling, I read that the homeschooling parent must write an annual progress report and retain it for three years. The portfolio and its contents should suffice.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-04-07T22:23:00.002-04:00