Saturday, January 31, 2009

"Ten Kids, No Pets"

We finished our book, and it was cute. It also made me glad that, as many times as I have said I would have ten kids if hubby would let me, I don't have ten kids. I think people that have that many kids run their homes like a well oiled machine, but you have to with that many.

Mom took the names from a baby book and they were named alphabetically and in number order. The first child was a girl and was named with the first A name for girls. The second was a boy and was named with the second B name. You get the picture. And she did that 10 times. And she had a rule for almost everything. One of those rules was that 10 kids was enough, so no pets, hence the name of the book.

And what a cute book. The family moves from a New York City apartment to a farm in New Jersey. It wasn't a working farm, but they had lots of room to roam. And too much time on their hands sometimes. And they all wanted a pet.

Each chapter is from the view of a particular child. And it's their desperate attempt to get a pet. And mom says no to each one. I don't understand it, but I do in a way. You have ten kids, make a new rule. And she eventually does.

I'll let you read what the new rule is and why she makes it. It was a cute, fun read and we all enjoyed it. It made for great dinner conversation and fantastic family time. If you get a chance, read it. Our new book is "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" by C.S. Lewis. We've already read three of the first four Narnia books. We haven't done "The Magician's Nephew" because the big girl is doing it as part of her curriculum for next year. But I may change my mind and read it any way. I'm kind of in the mood for changing the rules. But not for the same reasons as Mrs. Rosso.

Have a great day!

Monday, January 26, 2009

Eeeeewwww!

Things here have been alright. School is good, the kids are good, we're good. Oh yeah, except for all the snotting, coughing, hacking, and other grossness. We have the ickies. And they suck to put it bluntly. We're all so jacked up on Sudafed and Tylenol plus Cold and Cough it isn't funny. And the best part is that hubby has a virus. He has to be on a BRAT diet for two weeks. For those of you that don't know it's plain and almost tasteless.

Bananas
Rice
Applesauce
Toast

You can also add oatmeal and decaf tea. I told him I would make him come chamomile if he wanted. He's about to take me up on it.

I knew something was wrong Wednesday when I was light headed and dizzy. Yes, I'm normally a little dizzy, but this was something different. I didn't realize how dizzy until I got on the road headed for dance class. I had to call hubby to come get us from his parents house. He took the rest of the day off and chauffered us around.

Then the boy fell asleep at the park on Friday. First he yelled at me about his lunch. Then I yelled back because I will not tolerate that behavior regardless of how he feels. Then a little while later, he sat on the blanket next to me, used his jacket as a pillow, covered up with my jacket, and took a nap. What self respecting 8 year old boy falls asleep at the park on a beautiful day with all his friends there? My poor sick boy. And he didn't want to go to dance. Now that was a sick boy.

And the baby was as fussy as she could be on Saturday. Thanks, that's just great. I knew what that meant, too. Fever all around.

The big girl was emotional. She gets that way when she's sick. I knew when she started crying about her pajamas that it was going to be a long weekend. I was right.

I hope your house is well. If not, I have three words for you: Lysol, Lysol, Lysol.

Have a great day!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Just a Quick One

Somehow, someway, hubby and I wake up in the morning and there is at least one child in our bed. Usually, it's the boy or the baby. Mostly, it's the boy and the baby. Our queen size bed gets smaller and smaller as the kids get bigger and bigger. I like to tease hubby that one morning we'll wake up and all the kids in the neighborhood will be in our bed. And, inevitably, he and I will be snuggled in the boy's twin bed (the baby still has a toddler bed; way too small for both of us) while our bed has been invaded and overrun.

This morning we went through the same ritual we always do. Hubby snuck back into the bedroom to give hugs and kisses before he left for work. Usually I'm still asleep, but I can feel him walk into the room and I wake up. He gives which ever kids are in our bed a hug, kiss, and Eskimo. But he always saves Mama for last. I love that part. But the funny part is what the kids who are not in our bed do.

This morning it was the boy and the big girl in their own beds. More room for me, so I'm alright with that. But they heard the back door unlock, which isn't loud to begin with, and you could hear them run from their room to the back door. Hubby heard them too as they whispered screamed down the hall, "Papa, wait, I want a kiss." My heart just swelled.

He is so patient, even when he is late. And he was late this morning. But he wasn't about to leave without his kisses and hugs and Eskimos. He says that's the best part of his day. Sleepy eyes and voices, but not willing to let him leave without a little love.

The baby this morning was snoring, sound asleep, when hubby came in. I whispered, "Papa's leaving" and her eyes and arms were open. She was not letting him leave without her goodbye kisses.

I love my family. I am so happy that we have love in our home. I am happy that when hubby gets home at night, the kids run to the back door. They fight over who gets to unlock the door sometimes. They are so happy to see him. But it works the same way for me when I leave. I love my house of love.

Have a great day!

Friday, January 16, 2009

Another Book Review

We finished My Side of the Mountain, and it was fantastic. It was a great and easy read that kept us all laughing and wondering. We wondered what it would be like to live off the land and try to survive. I am of the opinion that I wouldn't be on the mountain to begin with; it's too far away from the mall.

A boy named Sam Gribley decides that he is tired of living in his cramped 2 bedroom apartment in New York City with his four brothers, four sisters, and his mom and dad. 11 people in a two bedroom would probably make me want to run for the hills, too, now that I think about it. He researched wilderness living at the library and took off one day.

He met a man that lived in a cabin on the mountain. Sam had fish, but was not very good at starting a fire. So the old man taught him. And from that moment, he was good to go. You can't survive without fire.

Sam's father had told stories about a grandfather that had lived on the mountain and still had land. The grandfather had tried to be a farmer, but couldn't make it work. Sam researched at the local library and found the land. Then he went into the mountain and actually found the land. So he created a shelter and lived off Gribley land.

He did fantastic things and had so much knowledge before he went out there. His parents thought he would be back in a couple of days. And he met various visitors. One man he thought was a criminal, but he wasn't. I won't give too much away in case you want to read it.

He spent a year on the mountain, and survived through winter rather well. And he was braver than I would have been. It was an excellent book, and I highly recommend it. It had adventure and humor and was generally well written. We all enjoyed it and were disappointed when it was over. We wanted to keep reading, but alas it was time to move on. Now we are reading Ten Kids, No Pets. I hope it's as good. Right now, it's pretty funny and interesting.

That's my review. I give it **** out of *****. The last star is because the ending could have answered a couple of questions that it left us with. Overall, it was a great family read.

Have a great day!

Saturday, January 10, 2009

A Week in Review

Have you ever watched that show on VH1, Best Week Ever? Occasionally I find myself stopping as I flip thru channels, but I'm not usually on it long enough to actually watch. I was thinking about titling the recap blogs that, except for the fact that some may not be very good weeks. Oh, well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

It has been a good week. We started back to school on Monday. We were going to start next week, but we can actually finish a couple of our curriculums if we started early. So we started early. And the kids did very well.

We started our new science, Geology. When I put the lesson plan together, I realized how lengthy and just a little complicated it may be. But as we are starting to get into it, I don't think it will be that bad. It will just require some buckling down and a little time. We have this great activity that we start next week. You get a bunch of dirt in a pile, as large as you can or want to make it, and observe every week. You check and see how tall, wide, flat, whatever the pile is. And then you talk about erosion and how it affects your dirt pile. Then the discussion is broadened to talk about erosion on Earth. That's hubby's department. I like the fact that it can be a relatively quick activity that they can do together.

The kids were so excited to get back to dance class. The big girl missed hers because public school was supposed to be out. It was the last day of Christmas break, but they used it as a hurricane make up day. I love that. Most people have snow days, we have hurricane days. But the dance teacher went ahead and left it as an off day. So no dance for her. But the baby, and the boy and I all got to dance.

The boy's class started learning their recital dance last night. It is going to be fantastic. The music is a fast paced, square dance type song. But, of course, with Ms. Tiffany it's upbeat and up to date and very catchy. They did the first 32 counts over and over last night and then put it to music. I love my boy. He did so well. He loves to dance and move his body and just lights up when he hears music he can shake his butt to. He gets that from his Mama. And he has a little mini solo at the beginning, pretending he is playing the fiddle and then motioning for the girls to come onstage.

For those of you who know my boy, he loves the stage. He loves to be the center of attention. He loves to be where all the girls can see him. He just cracks me up. He certainly didn't get that from his father. He got a little from me, but not as much as he has. He was so upset that there was another boy in his class last year. He liked him, and they were friends, but when the girls cheered for him at the rehearsal last year, look out. He would have been happier without sharing the stage.

The baby and I have started reading books together. We check out easy readers from the library and do that instead of a reading lesson some days. She likes to shake it up a little. And I am so impressed with her progress. I like that she is seeing that words exist outside of her curriculum. To me, that has been very exciting. To see that understanding dawn in her eyes and know that she is doing something new and wonderful just floors me every time. And she picks out her books. I want her to be engaged and not just going through the motions. I like for her to read them a couple of times to help cement the new words and phrases in her mind.

We always do a little reading comprehension when she is done. I ask her questions about what she has read so I know that she knows what she has just read. That helps with the reading as well. Reading without comprehending isn't reading. Sometimes we talk about the pictures while I ask her questions. So far, she has done very well in that aspect as well. So I'm pretty proud of my little bundle of brains and beauty.

And the big girl is the one that makes my faith in God grow and grow. He sent her to me. He loves me enough to allow me to spend my time with her and be her Mama. She is one of the smartest, funniest, most beautiful people I have ever met. She whips through her work and her brain just amazes me. I'm thinking about boosting her a level in some subjects next year. I very much know that she can handle 7th grade work. And when she smiles she just lights up the room.

She wants to get back to dance so bad. She was disappointed that she didn't have dance. She is champing at the bit to get back to it. She did tell me that she doesn't like the recital so much. She would rather not do it, but she does it. Last year she hurt herself on the trampoline 2 days before rehearsal started. She hurt her neck and upper back. But she went through with it, with a smile. You would never know that she was hurt. I just iced her down and gave her ibuprofen when she asked for it and she pushed through. What a trooper. I told her she was banned from the trampoline the week before rehearsal started. And she was alright with that.

There is our update. I hope that everyone had a great week. We start another one soon, but for now, we're taking a rest.

Have a great day!

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Here We Go Again

We start school tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to it. The kids are except the part where they don't get t play their video games or the Wii as much. But that's the breaks I guess.

We started a new book tonight. We started "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George. We are only three chapters and 25 pages into it, but what a great little book it is turning out to be. We even had a couple of laugh out loud spots. I like those the best. And I always have to take time to show the pictures. The drawings in the book are very good, and kind of remind me of a style long lost.

I ordered "Prince Caspian" as a book on CD from the library. I was first in line, so hopefully in the next couple of days, we'll get it. I really want to do "Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory", but I think that one is going to wait. And I did "Prince Caspian" as a listener so we could do that during the day or in the van. Our other book is for dinner time, and hubby has to be there to hear it, too.

We had a little swap at the park on Friday. Some of the moms brought stuff they wanted to get rid of, and it was all give away. I got some really great curriculum for when the kids get a little older, but I also got some great books for the kids. They haven't started reading them yet, because they are finishing their library books. I love the fact that they love to read. When you read, so many doors open and so many possibilities can become realities.

When we're done with our book, I'll let you know how it went. Until then, pick up a book and read. Think of your own possibilities.

Have a great day!

Saturday, January 3, 2009

A Quiet Week

It has been quiet around here, and I am thankful for that. We start back to school on Monday, but we needed this break.

New Year's Eve was very nice. We had a party with just the five of us. Hubby and I made finger foods to munch on all night. It's become a traditon with us. When we were younger and had no children, we thought nothing of going out and partying and tying one on. But now, we would rather stay home and celebrate than risk it. We had cream cheese won tons, pork wontons, fried ravioli, seven layer dip (it actually had eight, but oh well), and meatballs. It was all so good. And today is the last day for eating any of it. It's been three days and I'm ready to move on.

We played Wii most of the night. That was fun. We made little mini tournaments with some of the sports. And we watched a little TV. We let the kids stay up and watch the ball drop. Then everybody got a kiss and we had a group hug. It was so fantastic. I hope my kids always want to spend fun times like that with us.

And yesterday was park day. Hubby went, too. He got a little bored. Frankly, for a man, you can only sit and listen to women talk for so long and then it's time to go. He did bring the fishing pole, and at one point had a small contingent of boys following him. That was funny. It was almost like the Pied Piper. He did leave at one point to return some books to the library and go to the hardware store. I think he needed a little manly time, and I don't blame him.

And tonight, we go to some friends that we have not seen in a while. We're going to have a bon fire and a weenie roast. That's going to be fun. It's nice to get together with friends. And their kids and our kids love spending time together. They have two girls, so once again, the boy is outnumbered. But he deals with it very well. The woman that gets him is so lucky. He will understand her so well.

Other than that, we have been very boring. And loving it. So we will enjoy the rest of the weekend, because come Monday, we start it all again. School, dance, co-ops, oh my. But while my kids are napping, I think I'm going to get one, too.

Have a great day!