Just a few things that have gone on. Not much, but there is some exciting news. Exciting for us anyway, which for most people wouldn't be that exciting.
It was costume week at dance class. All the kids got to bring their costumes home and they are so excited. I am too truth be told. This is my favorite time of year with dance class. The baby's is a real ballet cotume. Tight beaded bodice and big fluffy tutu. She is so beautiful. She's always beautiful, but you know what I mean. The boy's costume is denim overalls, a red checkered shirt (think table cloth), and a white hat with a red brim. He is absolutely adorable. The big girl's is pretty funky. It's like school uniform gone punk almost. It's red, black, and white and way cool. We had to get these really cool Converse like shoes that she's been wanting for the costume. She just can't wear them out in public until after recital. Right now she can only wear them at practice and recital. I can't post pics yet, but look for them after the 6th of June.
Park day was rather interesting last week and this week. I'm not real sure I can sum it up quickly, but I'll try. A county employee came to talk to us moms at the park last Friday. He asked that we keep the scooters off the equipment (the park was made for wheelchair accesibility) and off the soft material under the equipment. Not a problem, we can do that. Today a park ranger said they could only ride on the sidewalks around the park, not the sidewalks in the park, in the play area. Huh? Ok, but we were told we could, any paved surface. Apparently not, per the park ranger. Thank you very much.
We had the best time at our last JAM lat week. We had an incredible water slide, slip n slides, sno cones, water balloons, and water bombs. We had an area roped off so they could throw the water balloons in the marked areas only. It still took a little while to pick up the pieces, but we got it done. My kids and one of our volunteer's kids were on the water slide from about noon until 8 that evening. They had to take about a thirty minute break when the rest of the kids got there, but they stayed on it until it was almost dark. The baby was so tired she cried all the way home. I asked if she was tired and she sobbed, "Yess!" I just let her cry. They all slept so good, and so did hubby and I. We rode as much as we could. It was 18' tall, had a curve at the bottom and a landing pool. We want one at home.
And, now for the really exciting news: Yesterday was our last day of school. Whoooooo! We are done for a while. We are taking a break until after recital and then back again for a little bit, then another break before we start again for real. We are all in need of a break. It feels good already to know that we don't have to push or rush or anything like that. I can lay around a little longer in the morning, eat more bon bons. Insert laughter here. I have a couple of exciting things planned for next year, but that's not until September. I am not even going to think about it until next week. We all know what a glutton I am. I'll have half of next year planned by August.
That's our news for now. Oh, the batteries for the camera are dead, so they are being charged to get a picture of the baby's first lost tooth. I'll post when I have a chance.
I would like to take a minute to say how much I love and appreciate my homeschool moms. They are the best support system in the world. I thank God for each and every one of them.
Have a great day!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Tooth Fairy
She's coming to visit tonight. The baby lost her first tooth. She didn't even know it was loose. She came up to talk to me and there was her little toothless spot. She was a little freaked by the blood, but handled it pretty well. I'll post a picture tomorrow.
Have a great night.
Have a great night.
Almost Done
This is our last week of school. I cannot believe it. We have done very good work this year and I am very proud of my kids. Here's a quick list of the things we have done and some things we have learned.
The baby learned to read. That was one of the coolest things I have ever done. I thought it was absolutely amazing to hear her start to read. She sat with me yesterday and read a book with me. Every time we do that, I am more and more amazed at her progress. Now that she can read, we reinforce that this summer with summer reading camp at the library. She loves seeing words and reading them to us. It doesn't matter if it's a sign, label, headline, book, whatever. As long as it has words, she's reading.
Flexibility, flexibility, flexibility. That is the key for us. It is so much more important to be able to adjust to our crazy schedule. We were so busy at one point, but we just rolled with it. If there is a ton of questions, if the kids showed me they could do the assignment, then they don't have to do them all. Sticking to what the curriculum says to do is not always the best thing to do. Be flexible for each child so that they can learn. That is the most important thing.
I can overschedule us. So many people want so many things. We have the opportunity to participate in three different co-ops in the upcoming year. We will not be. I am really hoping that we can participate in two of them. But again, with dance and school, I have to make sure that our schedule is at the point that we can handle it, and not do all of our schooling in the car. There is also JAM and the big girl will be in youth. So add two more activities. We may have to school on (shudder) Friday.
Friends are very important. Not just for the kids, but for me, too. It feels so good to have someone to turn to. Play dates are not just for the kids. If you are telling yourself that, you are very mistaken. We all need to have someone that can sympathize and empathize.
Field trips rule. We took three field trips this year and loved them. We got to spend time with our friends and fellow homeschoolers. We went places we probably wouldn't have gone without them. We got to learn about and see things that we probably wouldn't have without home schooling.
The last thing I have learned is that I am blessed. I have always known this, but it really hits home for me since we started home schooling. I get to watch my kids learn and grow every day. It has made me a better parent and made my kids see a whole new way of life. God has touched our lives and Jesus stays with us at all times. I can even teach my kids with a biblical viewpoint and bring Him into all aspects of our lives.
Our year is almost over, but not the learning. Learning goes well beyond our school years. Learning takes place every second of every day. I am blessed enough to get to see it and be part of it.
Have a great day!
The baby learned to read. That was one of the coolest things I have ever done. I thought it was absolutely amazing to hear her start to read. She sat with me yesterday and read a book with me. Every time we do that, I am more and more amazed at her progress. Now that she can read, we reinforce that this summer with summer reading camp at the library. She loves seeing words and reading them to us. It doesn't matter if it's a sign, label, headline, book, whatever. As long as it has words, she's reading.
Flexibility, flexibility, flexibility. That is the key for us. It is so much more important to be able to adjust to our crazy schedule. We were so busy at one point, but we just rolled with it. If there is a ton of questions, if the kids showed me they could do the assignment, then they don't have to do them all. Sticking to what the curriculum says to do is not always the best thing to do. Be flexible for each child so that they can learn. That is the most important thing.
I can overschedule us. So many people want so many things. We have the opportunity to participate in three different co-ops in the upcoming year. We will not be. I am really hoping that we can participate in two of them. But again, with dance and school, I have to make sure that our schedule is at the point that we can handle it, and not do all of our schooling in the car. There is also JAM and the big girl will be in youth. So add two more activities. We may have to school on (shudder) Friday.
Friends are very important. Not just for the kids, but for me, too. It feels so good to have someone to turn to. Play dates are not just for the kids. If you are telling yourself that, you are very mistaken. We all need to have someone that can sympathize and empathize.
Field trips rule. We took three field trips this year and loved them. We got to spend time with our friends and fellow homeschoolers. We went places we probably wouldn't have gone without them. We got to learn about and see things that we probably wouldn't have without home schooling.
The last thing I have learned is that I am blessed. I have always known this, but it really hits home for me since we started home schooling. I get to watch my kids learn and grow every day. It has made me a better parent and made my kids see a whole new way of life. God has touched our lives and Jesus stays with us at all times. I can even teach my kids with a biblical viewpoint and bring Him into all aspects of our lives.
Our year is almost over, but not the learning. Learning goes well beyond our school years. Learning takes place every second of every day. I am blessed enough to get to see it and be part of it.
Have a great day!
Monday, May 4, 2009
Ice Cream Cake
This is the cake that I made hubby for his birthday. It is so good. Thank you D for the recipe.
10 Oreos, crushed
1/2 cup milk
1 3.9 oz pkg of instant pudding
1 12 oz container or larger Cool Whip
12 ice cream sandwiches
Combine milk and pudding with whisk. Fold in half of Cool Whip and all of the cookies. Arrange 6 sandwiches. Place filling on top of ice cream sanwiches. Place remaining sandwiches on top of filling. Frost with remaining Cool Whip. Decorate then freeze for at least 30 minutes.
It was so stinking good. Here's the best part: you can do anything you want with this recipe. There are so many flavors of pudding and ice cream sandwiches. You could mix and match different ones and come up with some really great combinations. Klondike Bars would work. I would worry about the chocolate coating melting, so don't leave it out too long. Maybe a layer of wax paper would help.
You can decorate with anything. You could use chocolate chips, or peanut butter chips, or butterscotch, or any number of flavors of chips they have out now. You could use fresh berries like strawberries or blueberries or raspberries. There is flavored Cool Whip. There's another layer of flavor.
Here's a couple of hints and tips:
10 Oreos, crushed
1/2 cup milk
1 3.9 oz pkg of instant pudding
1 12 oz container or larger Cool Whip
12 ice cream sandwiches
Combine milk and pudding with whisk. Fold in half of Cool Whip and all of the cookies. Arrange 6 sandwiches. Place filling on top of ice cream sanwiches. Place remaining sandwiches on top of filling. Frost with remaining Cool Whip. Decorate then freeze for at least 30 minutes.
It was so stinking good. Here's the best part: you can do anything you want with this recipe. There are so many flavors of pudding and ice cream sandwiches. You could mix and match different ones and come up with some really great combinations. Klondike Bars would work. I would worry about the chocolate coating melting, so don't leave it out too long. Maybe a layer of wax paper would help.
You can decorate with anything. You could use chocolate chips, or peanut butter chips, or butterscotch, or any number of flavors of chips they have out now. You could use fresh berries like strawberries or blueberries or raspberries. There is flavored Cool Whip. There's another layer of flavor.
Here's a couple of hints and tips:
- The pudding will be extra thick because you only used a quarter of the milk. Just work with it. It gets better after you fold the cool Whip in.
- If you use a larger container of Cool Whip than the recipe calls for, don't use half of it for the filling. A third would be more than plenty.
- Adjust the recipe to what you need. We used 8 sandwiches on top and bottom, and the recipe was fine. I did get a larger Cool Whip, but I used a lot for the filling. But adjust it to fit a larger crowd if you need to.
We will definitely be having this again. Next time, I'm experimenting.
Have a great day!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Garden, Part 2
The top one is our potato plants that have sprung up. The middle is the squash. It's sitting on top of the planter we built. And the last one is our tomatoes. The top two I took yesterday and the bottom one today. We are so happy. I started some garlic oil to help make a spray to keep the bugs away. We have been seeing lady bugs, so that makes us feel pretty good.
The kids have been hand pollenating the flowers. Hubby read about a technique using QTips. We haven't seen any bees yet, which always worries us. All the pesticides have shortened the lives of bees. And without them, we don't eat or have trees or anything else that grows. Sorry, went off topic again.
This has beena fun project for our family. The kids have helped plant, weed, water, feed, load, turn, pull, and whatever else is involved in growing a garden. Next to go in is strawberries, and corn. It may be too late for corn, but we're going to do it any way. My mouth is just watering thinking about all the good food growing in my yard.
Have a great day!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Garden Pictures
These are the ones hubby took last week. Wait till you see the update!
Have a great day!
The Garden Project
Hubby has the kids gardening. It has been so much fun for them. The fruits of their labor have done very well. We have yucky soil, so hubby is using containers. We have tomatoes and squash that the kids have planted. We also have potatoes, garlic, and something we're not quite sure of.
The tomatoes and squash are flourishing. Hubby and I spent part of last Sunday working to put together a home made plant stand. We used two wooden pallets and rearranged them. We pulled every other board and turned it to brace against the board we left below it. Then we put them back to back and connected them with a couple of left over poeces of wood we had hanging around. We put the pots with the squash on top of the connecting boards. And the slats we reattached are like steps for the squash to grow on as the plant starts to vine. We need to do another one, but hubby has to get two more pallets. There is a furniture store downtown that has a whole stack for free. Hubby is going to stop by and pick the two best they have. He might have to get four more.
We have the potatoes and garlic coming up in a seperate container. There used to be a tree farm behind us. It has been very windy here for the last two or three months and the containers blow over and through our fence. They are fantastic! We have alternated the filling of those with soil, hay, and horse poop. then we just keep it watered and stuff started growing. We planted organic potato scraps with eyes and some organic garlic that had sprouted before I got to use it. It has completely taken over. Who knew you could grow potatoes in Florida in April and May? Now I need to look up when to pick them.
We moved the compost pile as well. The one we had just was not big enough, specially when we started doing organic produce. We get so much and eat so much that we had more compost than soil. So we cleared out part of what used to be the garden and expanded. It is so good to have some room. Hubby still needs to put up the shade for it, because It gets none. We would have to water it all day to keep it moist. That is not happening. Hubby got a load of horse poop today to put in it and get it really going. Put lots of good stuff in the compost pile. His brother's boss has several horses and doesn't mind if we cart off some of the good stuff.
We have started taking a new supplement. It is whole foods based and has been amazing for us. We don't take nearly as many supplements as we used to because we don't have to. It gives us our fruits, veggies, and grains that we aren't getting. Even as much produce as we eat, we still don't get what we're supposed to every day. They call it whole foods in a capsule. We have two of the kids on it. The kids get theirs for free. I believe in it so much, I have become a distributor. So if anyone needs a good boost for your body, mind, immune system, and such, ask me about Juice Plus.
School is almost over. I cannot believe it. We had a little snafu in our schedule last week, so we did last week's science this week, and this week's science next week. You get the idea. But we have a week long review of our geology book that we used. The kids are dreading it, but they have done really well with a middle school curriculum. I didn't realize it was as advanced as it was until I started planning lessons. But the kids loved it. I did, too.
We won't finish our history curriculum, but we can pick up where we left off. I also have the second and third year it, so we can just start where we need to. We also won't finish the kids curriculum for math. We are going to take a break until after recital, then do a month or so of two day weeks. Then take another big break and start for real in September. I love the flexibility. There is nothing better.
That's all I have to report for now. Hubby's birthday is tomorrow, and I will post the quick easy recipe to make a home made ice cream cake that is yummy, yummy, yummy. My friend D does them all the time for her kids. Look for the post.
Have a great day!
The tomatoes and squash are flourishing. Hubby and I spent part of last Sunday working to put together a home made plant stand. We used two wooden pallets and rearranged them. We pulled every other board and turned it to brace against the board we left below it. Then we put them back to back and connected them with a couple of left over poeces of wood we had hanging around. We put the pots with the squash on top of the connecting boards. And the slats we reattached are like steps for the squash to grow on as the plant starts to vine. We need to do another one, but hubby has to get two more pallets. There is a furniture store downtown that has a whole stack for free. Hubby is going to stop by and pick the two best they have. He might have to get four more.
We have the potatoes and garlic coming up in a seperate container. There used to be a tree farm behind us. It has been very windy here for the last two or three months and the containers blow over and through our fence. They are fantastic! We have alternated the filling of those with soil, hay, and horse poop. then we just keep it watered and stuff started growing. We planted organic potato scraps with eyes and some organic garlic that had sprouted before I got to use it. It has completely taken over. Who knew you could grow potatoes in Florida in April and May? Now I need to look up when to pick them.
We moved the compost pile as well. The one we had just was not big enough, specially when we started doing organic produce. We get so much and eat so much that we had more compost than soil. So we cleared out part of what used to be the garden and expanded. It is so good to have some room. Hubby still needs to put up the shade for it, because It gets none. We would have to water it all day to keep it moist. That is not happening. Hubby got a load of horse poop today to put in it and get it really going. Put lots of good stuff in the compost pile. His brother's boss has several horses and doesn't mind if we cart off some of the good stuff.
We have started taking a new supplement. It is whole foods based and has been amazing for us. We don't take nearly as many supplements as we used to because we don't have to. It gives us our fruits, veggies, and grains that we aren't getting. Even as much produce as we eat, we still don't get what we're supposed to every day. They call it whole foods in a capsule. We have two of the kids on it. The kids get theirs for free. I believe in it so much, I have become a distributor. So if anyone needs a good boost for your body, mind, immune system, and such, ask me about Juice Plus.
School is almost over. I cannot believe it. We had a little snafu in our schedule last week, so we did last week's science this week, and this week's science next week. You get the idea. But we have a week long review of our geology book that we used. The kids are dreading it, but they have done really well with a middle school curriculum. I didn't realize it was as advanced as it was until I started planning lessons. But the kids loved it. I did, too.
We won't finish our history curriculum, but we can pick up where we left off. I also have the second and third year it, so we can just start where we need to. We also won't finish the kids curriculum for math. We are going to take a break until after recital, then do a month or so of two day weeks. Then take another big break and start for real in September. I love the flexibility. There is nothing better.
That's all I have to report for now. Hubby's birthday is tomorrow, and I will post the quick easy recipe to make a home made ice cream cake that is yummy, yummy, yummy. My friend D does them all the time for her kids. Look for the post.
Have a great day!
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