Following Foundations 8/14/09 August 14, 2009

As the sun sets on our second week of school, I’m left pondering a statement made by my daughter: “If Walmart goes away, mommy will be a widow.” Selah. Pause and meditate.

EG (5 yrs old):

Here’s a short summary of this week’s work: We were in week 2 of Sonlight’s Core K. We read about ancient Egyptians and how they lived and what they wore. In science, we talked about the causes of weather and the water cycle. Our read-aloud was still The Boxcar Children, which we will finish next week. In her reading, she’s working on two-syllable words. In math, she worked on how to determine “how many more or less” of something. Her handwriting was just a review of letter formation and a few small words. I couldn’t find her handwriting sheet today, so I had to make her one myself.

This week EG memorized 2 Corinthians 12:9, which says “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” She also memorized question 68 which asks “What are the reasons attached to the fourth commandment?”

Swim lessons went okay this week. On Tuesday she put her whole face in the water. Of course, she was motivated by the fact that her little brother showed her up. See below for more info on that. I don’t think she has made much progress so far during this session of swim lessons. Part of the problem is due to the fact that they’ve had three different teachers for the past four lessons. Each new instructor has no idea what each child has already accomplished, so they don’t know how to push them to a new level. I talked to one of the “higher ups” at the Y about it. We’re hoping next month will be more consistent. Many of their instructors are part-time workers that are either in high school or college.

EG also started soccer practice this week. I think her coach has stepped things up a notch since she’s now in U6. He had them juggling the ball with their knees and trying to hit it with their heads. I’m glad she didn’t walk away with a bloody nose.

AZ (3 yrs old):

The Z-man worked on an L page for his alphabet notebook this week. His two L pictures on his poster were ‘lava’ and ‘lightning’. He didn’t do so well in Explode the Code. I don’t think he’s ready. He can’t really hear the sounds at the beginning of words. I think I’m just going to continue with his poster and his alphabet notebook for a while. This will help him learn his letter sounds really well. I may let him try ETC every once in a while to see if there’s been any improvement.

This week the Z-man was suppose to memorize Psalm 56:3, which says “When I am afraid I will trust in you”. It turns out he already knew it from the Steve Green CD’s. So then we started on Psalm 121. Well, he already knew the first two verses of Psalm 121 because he’s heard his sister recite it so many times. So I guess we’ll start on verse 3 next week. This is why I have them do verses and catechisms at the table together during breakfast. It cuts the workload on down the line!

Tuesday was a great day at swim lessons for the Z-man. He put his whole head under water and came up smiling! He put his sister to shame! I had told them before swim lessons that we would wait until Thursday to have slushies for being brave. (The slushie fund is going to go the way of  ‘cash for clunkers’ if we don’t scale back!) But after he dunked his head, I caved and we went to Sonic.

The Z-man got a little bug house and a butterfly net a couple of months ago for his birthday. We have had the most fun catching bugs. This week we caught a grasshopper on the front porch. This was our first bug that pooped in the bug house. (I tried to use it as an object lesson for Operation Potty Training. Didn’t work. Can you see how desperate I am in this area?) Anyways, I’m telling about the grasshopper for this reason: The next day I hear the Z-man say “I found grasshopper!” I found him sitting in the living room with Anna Comstock’s 900 page Handbook of Nature Study pointing at a black and white drawing of a grasshopper.

SA (15 months):

Can you believe that his sister just called him the ‘evil rat’?! Apparently he’s always “ruining” their things. Ahhh, the joys of having a little brother. The Z-man just passed him in the hallway and said ” ‘cuse me, evil rat!” A little bit of manners mixed with some name calling. I told them not to call him that. They asked if they could call him “evil mouse” instead. Sigh.

Me:

I feel as though I’ve crossed a hurdle this week in my guitar playing. I guess the drudgery of playing through the diatonic chords of six different keys as a daily exercise finally paid off.  Something just clicked this week, and now, all of sudden, in addition to the keys of G and D, I can now play reasonably well in the keys of A and C. This has opened many doors to me in way of songs that I can play. I’m ecstatic to say the least! I’m thankful that the Lord has helped me perservere during the difficult times and has brought me to this point. I still have a ways to go….just one step at a time!

Following Foundations 8/7/09 August 8, 2009

Well, this was our first week of school! We celebrated our first day by taking pictures on the front porch and by going out for lunch. The week went really well, and I was pleased with how well everything flowed. Although, I did discover on the first day that Little Man needs to be napping while I read to the other two. Fortunately, he’s still taking two naps a day!

EG and AZ both started swim lessons this week. They both did well and jumped off the side of the pool. The instructor finally had to dunk EG all the way under the water. She was only getting her chin wet.  Her brother was doing the same thing but never got dunked. Maybe they go easy on the three year olds.

We attempted a nature walk this week, and I think it went okay. My biggest difficulty is trying to find an appropriate and safe place to go. I finally decided on an area in our neighborhood near a ditch with some flowing water. The kids had a good time looking around, but I was having a hard time finding something for their bug house. Eventually, I spied some cicada skins hanging on some trees. We collected three of them and saw many more higher in the trees. After we got back home, I found a neat video online about the life cycle of the cicada. They thought it was really neat to watch the cicadas molt and were very excited to tell Daddy all about it when he got home.

EG (5 yrs old):

The big kindergartener! She was very excited. She kept asking me if she was big enough for science. She said “Maybe just a little science?!” Well, Sonlight’s Science K has been her favorite this week. We sat in the laundry room with a flashlight and a globe and talked about night and day. We talked about the seasons and solar eclipses. The experiments this week were about air, and she and the Z-man had a great time doing them together. I included a picture of them doing an “air race”.

In Sonlight’s Core K, we started The Boxcar Children as our read-aloud, and we read about dinosaurs and the first people in history. I had to do a good bit of filtering of this information due to the fact that the Usborne Internet-Linked Children’s Encyclopedia is a secular book. The internet links in the encyclopedia were very good, however, and we particularly enjoyed looking at the pictures of cave paintings at Lascaux, France.

For reading and phonics, EG officially started on compound words in The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading and Explode the Code Book 4.  I say “officially” because she has been reading these words for a while now, but this is the first time we’ve looked at them as part of a lesson. She started Sonlight’s Readers 2, which begin with The Beginner’s Bible. She read five days worth in The Beginner’s Bible in two days, so we had to supplement with other stuff the rest of the week. This week she also began Singapore’s Earlybird Math B and A Reason for Handwriting Book A. The “seatwork”, which consists of math, handwriting and Explode the Code, went very quickly this week. I learned last year that if her brother is doing preschool at the table at the same time, she is more interested in what he is doing. Something that should take 15 minutes would take 45 minutes. So, this week I made the Z-man wait until she finished her seatwork before he started his preschool. This arrangement worked quite well. Of course, sometimes he was just sitting at the end of the table because he wanted to “wait his turn”.

This week she memorized Luke 12:15 which says “And he said to them ‘Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness. For one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.’” Also, she has made it through question 67 of the Baptist Catechism, which asks “What is forbidden in the fourth commandment?”

AZ (3 yrs old):

The Z-man was so excited about starting Explode the Code this week. He did well this week, but it’s still too early to tell if it will be too difficult for him. He finished his Kumon Tracing book this week and started some preschool workbooks by Rod & Staff. He also started Sonlight’s p3/4 program this week. We read Eloise Wilkin Stories,  Hans Christian Anderson’s Fairy Tales, and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom…..repeatedly. His sister enjoyed the books as much as he did. AZ has gotten so much better at sitting still and listening to books. He even sat through a couple chapters of The Boxcar Children this week.

AZ also has been working on his memory verses. This week he completed Proverbs 1:7, which says “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” He has also started working on the Baptist Catechism. He knows the first question, “Who is the first and best of beings?”, and he almost has the second question, “What is the chief end of man?”

I should have mentioned this last week, but the Z-man has made a great improvement in another area in his life. He has always been my picky eater. He eats only a handful of different things, and vegetables don’t happen to be one of them. A while back I expressed my concern to his doctor about his horrible eating habits. The doc said to just keep offering and then hopefully (and that is the keyword here) one day he would decide he liked his food. I can’t tell you how many countless times I have served green beans to this child. He has never eaten a green bean in his life.  And then….one day…….he says “Oh, I like green beans. I do” It was like the ending of the Dr. Seuss classic. And he ate his green beans, and he has eaten them two or three times since then. There is hope!!

SA (15 months):

The Little Man is still toddling along. He can take a few more steps before wiping out. He has really taken to books this week. Curious George and the Bunny has been a big hit. I taught him how to cover his eyes when he sees the picture of George covering his eyes. He can almost do the sign for ‘book’.

Me:

Well, I think it’s pretty obvious that I’ve had a busy week. I’m looped, stooped, and twisted alley-oop, and I’d really like to just pass out under a coconut tree. Chicka chicka boom boom. Nevertheless, life goes on and I have to keep moving. I had a good guitar lesson this week. I do okay playing songs in the key of D or G, but I need some major work in the other keys. So, one of my assignments for next time is to practice “Amazing Grace” in different keys. It will also be beneficial for me to practice transposing in my head.

Following Foundations July 2009 August 2, 2009

I’m starting to get some heat about not having a report up for over a month. So, I guess I’d better get the lead out and start writing! At my last update, bleach was clinging to my nostrils, and I was preparing for a trip up north. Well, the bleach is still there, but the trip was a success. We went to Michigan the first week in July with some dear friends and had a blast! We celebrated the 4th of July with a small 30 minute parade (those are the best kind) and some great fireworks over the Grand River. We flew kites at the Grand Haven beach and the kids rolled in the sand…then splashed in the 55 degree water, then rolled in the sand….. (Let’s just say that after I removed the Z-man’s sand-caked clothes, he was just as sandy without them!) The beach really was great, even though the water was a tad chilly and I had to wear a jacket over my swimsuit. Below are a few pictures of our time in Michigan.

After we left Michigan we drove to Kentucky to visit the Creation Museum. On the way, I was trying to finish the book Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World. As I finished up reading about how we are to abstain from every form of evil, we pull into the Triple XXX Family Restaurant in West Lafayette, Indiana. I was assured repeatedly that it was featured on the Food Network and that I wasn’t succumbing to the seduction of a fallen world by eating a burger there. Turns out that it’s named after Triple XXX Root Beer. The burgers were good, the root beer was good, and the kids thought they were pretty cool sitting on the bar stools.

The Creation Museum was awesome! The exhibits were very well done, and the content was great! God is truly a magnificent creator! We definitely plan to go back if we are able. Answers in Genesis is doing a great work for the Lord!

The third week of July was soccer camp for EG and the Z-man. Between the two of them, it lasted three hours each morning of that week. The first day was just short of disaster. Well, it was disaster for the Z-man. He screamed and clung to my leg the entire time. At the end of the day, his sister was deemed “slushie-worthy” and he was not. Let’s just say he made a big turnaround on the second day and for the rest of the week. The Little Man was just perfect the whole week. I set him up in the Radio Flyer and filled his bib with goldfish. When he wasn’t eating fishies, he played in the dirt. By the end of the week I was sick of sunscreen. I was constantly spraying a kid or rubbing sunscreen on a face. I couldn’t ever remember which kid I lathered up last, so sometimes I think they got two doses quite close together! Overall, I would say the week was a success.

The last week of July EG had vacation bible school every evening. She started crying when I dropped her off the first night. I decided to make a hasty departure because I knew it wouldn’t improve as long as I was there. Well, I did the right thing. She quickly made a new friend and she had a blast the rest of the week.

On Thursday of this week we checked out the new dinosaur exhibit at the NC Museum of Life and Science. It was really cool, and the kids were particularly excited because they’ve been on a dinosaur high ever since the Creation Museum. They also had a fossil dig where they could dig for real fossils.

So that sums up the month of July. Before I move on to the individual updates, I’ll insert a freebie here:

AZ: “What’s that?”

Daddy: “It’s a hoe. I’m using it to break up this dirt.”

AZ: “When I get big, I can use that thing!”

EG: “And when I get big, I can walk outside and say ‘So, how’s it going?”

EG (5 yrs old):

All three kids had checkups with the doctor this week, and EG did outstanding. She had to get those dreaded kindergarten shots. I just knew we would have to pull her out of a corner. Well, we talked about it a good bit beforehand. I reminded her that her friend gets four allergy shots every week and she doesn’t even cry. That it is okay to cry after the shots if she needs to, but there was no need for wiggin’ out before they even start. Well, she was the poster child for “slushie-brave”! She smiled through the first two shots. After the third shot, I could tell she was trying hard not to cry, but then the wails came. The nurse then informed us that the last shot burned. I was so proud of her!

AZ (3 yrs old):

Operation Potty Training is still in progress with the Z-man. Great improvements were made this week with the introduction of the Potty Watch. He now gets to the potty on time 90 percent of the time. Although I had to explain to him that the potty watch doesn’t handle the poopies. We’re having a little….ok, a LOT of trouble in that area.

The Z-man made much progress in the pool during our vacation. The last time he was in a pool he was afraid to let go. By the end of our vacation he was going all over the pool with his floaties and he was jumping off the side faster than you could catch him. I decided to sign him up for swimming lessons with his sister. They both start next week.

He also did great at his 3-yr old checkup this week. He went by himself with the nurse to have his vision tested. He didn’t cry when he got his finger pricked and he was proud of it!

SA ( 15 months old):

Little Man is starting to walk. He can go about 5 feet before he wipes out. He still prefers crawling at lightning speed, and for those times when he feels the need to look a little more grown up, he walks on his knees and grins. I think he’ll make fast progress now. He wants to keep up with his siblings. I took the picture below tonight. It amazes me that they can all three play together so well.

At his checkup, Little Man finally made it back in the double digits on the weight charts. He was in the 20th percentile weighing in at a mere 22 pounds. He got two shots and cried like…..well…a baby! You can’t blame the little guy. He can’t manage a slushie yet!

Me:

See all of the above!  In the middle of all this, I’m still plugging away on the guitar and making slow steady progress. We officially start school next week, so I’ve spent some time making some last minute preparations. I still don’t feel like all my ducks are in a row, but they probably never will be! Quack, Quack!

Following Foundations 6/26/09 June 27, 2009

This has been a long, tiring week, and I’m glad it’s just about over. It’s vacation time again. We leave towards the end of next week and will be gone the following week. We’re heading up to Michigan to visit Grandma, and we’re taking some dear friends with us. On the way back we’re stopping by the Creation Museum. Yea!!! I’m so excited about this trip. I’m looking forward to the beach (Lake Michigan), some cooler weather, and the world’s largest musical fountain.  I’ll post the highlights of our trip in 2 or 3 weeks.

EG (5 yrs):
EG finished her first session of swimming lessons this week with a splash! She was very brave this week—slushy brave, as we call it. I’m sure Sonic appreciated our business twice this week. She’s skipping lessons in July and will resume in August. We’re hoping to get some pool time on our vacation so she can get some extra practice. We’re hoping maybe her brother picked up something from the sidelines as well. He says he’s ready to jump in.

We finished reading Uncle Wiggly this week and reread all the Peter Rabbit tales by Beatrix Potter. She completed “Goldilocks & the Three Bears” from Literature Pockets: Folk Tales and Fairy Tales. In reading, she’s still going through the Abeka readers. Her current book is Pinocchio. She only has a few pages left, so we’ll probably finish it tomorrow.

She completed memorizing question 65 of the Baptist Catechism which says “Which day of the seven has God appointed to be the weekly Sabbath?”, and began working on question 66, which says “How is the Sabbath to be sanctified?” She completed memorizing Psalm 32:5 and is now working on James 5:16 which says “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”

AZ (3 yrs):

Operation Potty Training: Sigh.

The Z-man completed a J page for his alphabet notebook. His two J words on his poster were Jupiter and jockey (pretty good, huh?!) He completed memorizing 1 Chronicles 16:34 which says “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!” He spent the rest of the week peeing on the floor and on the couch–twice.

SA (14 months):

Little man woke up on the wrong side of the crib a couple days this week. He even cried through breakfast. Oh, he ate well….he’s all about some breakfast…..but he managed to cry at the same time. He likes to walk while holding a hand. It won’t be long now. He’s so ready to keep up with his siblings.

Me:

I cleaned this week. And then I cleaned some more…..and some more. I moved the couch. Ewww. I moved my big chair. Ewww some more. I vaccuumed–3 times. I would have steam cleaned, but I did that last week. Correction. The dog got sick on Tuesday. I did steam clean part of the living room. I dusted. I mopped. I bleached and then I bleached some more.  I cut loose with some baking powder on part of the kitchen floor. I spilled an entire cup of coffee on the bathroom floor during Operation Potty Training. I mopped the bathroom floor. I did a load of laundry every day. I cleaned out the laundry room (note: at some point, “dust” can rightly be called “dirt”–and this was the case in the laundry room.) I moved the dryer. Major ewww. I cleaned one cushion of the couch. Three hours later I cleaned another cushion of the couch (see AZ section above). I swished toilets, cleaned sinks and scrubbed the tub. I was up by 7 AM or earlier every morning and went to bed at midnight or later. I prayed….a lot. I went to the grocery store…with all three kids. Not such a good idea. I bought Sonic slushies–twice. I got my driver’s license renewed. My friend and I helped our kids make fireworks shirts for our upcoming trip. I fixed supper every night. I played the Uncle Wiggly Game and Sum Swamp with the kids. I lost every game…the Z-man won every game. I practiced the guitar–four times. That is not good, but I couldn’t manage to peel myself off the floor to do it anymore than that.I am exhausted and all I smell is bleach. It’s stuck in my nostrils.

Following Foundations 6/19/09 June 20, 2009

We started our week with a birthday party for EG and AZ at the NC Museum of Life and Science.  I don’t think the Z-man quite understood that the party was for him too until he started opening the gifts. We had it in the Lepidoptera Lab above the Butterfly House. However, there weren’t any lepidopterans in our party room,  but only some walking sticks, tadpoles and hissing cockroaches. One walking stick wanted to join the party and escaped from his cage. He was ordered back in his tank by museum staff before the festivities began. EG thought he just wanted some cake.

The cake was a big 12×18  box of crayons made by my friend Susan. It was so cute! The Z-man was so ready to blow his candles out. He was VERY serious about it! After gifts and cake, we all piled into the butterfly house. The butterflies were very active  that day. The star attraction was a beautiful birdwing butterfly (second butterfly picture below). It wouldn’t be still long enough for a good picture. We all had a great time and our guests were able to enjoy the museum.

EG (5 yrs old):

EG received many fun gifts at her party: Shrinky Dinks, Sum Swamp, dress for her and her baby doll, butterfly crafts & My Little Pony. It was Daddy’s idea to give her an old-fashioned nightgown. (She’s very prissy and she loves nightgowns.) I searched around online until I found exactly what I was looking for–a Little House on the Prairie nightgown and night cap with a matching outfit for her baby doll. I emailed the lady her measurements, and she hemmed it with a double hem so it will fit her now and later. It is so cute. She has slept in it every night. She even wears the night cap that came with it. It just cracks me up!

Her brother received a bug house and a butterfly net. They managed to catch a firefly one night this week. The firefly spent the night in the bug house on the night stand in their room. The next morning she prances into our room in her prairie nightgown and night cap, carrying the bug house. She then proceeds to climb in our bed and observe the prisoner. Sigh. “Do you really have to do that in MY bed?!”

Swimming lessons were a little better this week than last. She didn’t get a slushie until after her Thursday lesson. She wasn’t brave enough on Tuesday. The Z-man was sure to point that out to her: “You not get slushie. You not brave. You not jump. You said ‘No’. You not get slushie.” If they hadn’t been strapped in their car seats, she probably would have smacked him. Oh well, it almost served her right after what she said to him at breakfast that day. More about that in the AZ section.

She completed a pocket for “The Gingerbread Man” in her Literature Pockets: Folktales and Fairy Tales.  She worked on memorizing question 65 of the Baptist Catechism which says “Which day of the seven has God appointed to be the weekly Sabbath?” She also worked on memorizing Psalm 32:5 which says “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.”

A friend loaned us the Uncle Wiggily Game to go along with the Uncle Wiggily book we are reading. We were able to play once this week, and the kids loved it. We were excited to finally see a picture of a skeezick and a pipsisewah on the game board! Those “bad chaps” are mentioned every once in a while in the stories, but the only thing we know about them is that they want to nibble Uncle Wiggily’s ears.

AZ (3 yrs old):

Happy Birthday to the Z-man this week! He thinks he can conquer the world now that he’s 3 years old. When I told him this week that he was still too little to open the van door, he said “I not little. I bigger! I three!” I thought some punches were going to be thrown at breakfast on his birthday. For some reason, his sister thought he was supposed to grow a foot overnight and sprout a new head or something. She told him in a very sassy, hands-on-the-hips tone “You can’t be three. You don’t look three. If you’re gonna be three, you better look three!” Oh, that fired him up! “You stop saying that!!! I are three!! Monny, (aka Mommy) she say I not three! WAAAAHHHH!!”

AZ also received some fun gifts at his party: tools, puzzles, a sticker book (his sister is upset that I won’t make him share his sticker book with her), a Playmobil racecar, a Tonka truck, and the already mentioned butterfly net and bug house. We gave him the Busy Bible activity book. Now that he’s three, he will be sitting with us through our church worship service. We started last Sunday. He didn’t do too bad, but he’s much more high maintenance than his sister was at that age.

There is still nothing new to report on Operation Potty Training. Absolutely nothing. Actually I’m thinking that I should be the one eating the M&M’s. Afterall, I’m the one who is solely responsible for getting him to the potty.

The picture below is curtesy of my friend Audrey. It’s nice, isn’t it?

SA (13 months):

Little man is starting to do some cruising. It won’t be much longer and he’ll be walking. I’m sorry to report that the only picture I took of Little Man all week was of him passed out in his car seat on the way home from the party. He was wore out. The other picture I had to swipe from my friend Tony’s facebook page. (Hope you don’t mind, Tony!)

Me:

Last friday I went to the Mom’s Coffee Connection at a nearby church. The topic was meal planning. Oh, how I needed this! I could probably stand a few sessions of meal planning instruction. Well, I did very well this week. The lady had made a suggestion that she found in a cookbook of using themes to plan a menu. The themes were Comfort Food, Italian, Mexican, Seafood/Meatless, Pizza Night, Grill Night and Family Traditions. I still have the last two themes left for this weekend. Also, my husband had just bought 10 pounds of ground beef from Sam’s Club. I made an extra meatloaf for the freezer. I prepared patties for 3 meals + leftovers of Salisbury steak and froze them. I made at least 3 meals worth + leftovers of spaghetti sauce. And I still have two pounds left in the freezer that I haven’t touched. I also cleaned out the pantry today and took stock of what I have.  Go me!

Following Foundations 5/01/09 May 2, 2009

Well, it’s been two weeks since our last report, so I’m feeling a little rusty in the writing department.  So here goes…. Last week we visited family in Mississippi and had a great time. After putzing around on Tuesday, we headed to the Jackson Zoo on Wednesday (gotta make use of our zoo membership, you know). The elephants got very close, the flamingos were friendly, and the lemonade was expensive. A good time was had by all.

On Thursday we headed to the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science (gotta make use of our science museum membership, you know). AZ got to pet a snake. The museum lady had given the “two-finger” petting rule, so he had his two fingers ready while he waited in line. He kept losing his “two-finger” position while he waited, so Daddy had to keep helping him get it back. EG didn’t even hesitate to pass on the snake-petting. (One night on the way home she had a meltdown over a mosquito in the van, if that tells you anything. It took her a half hour to recover). The museum was very nice. Most of it was “taxidermified” (maybe that’s typical of natural science museums), but it was very well done. Although there was this one shelf that I guess was just the “dead animal” shelf. I didn’t quite get the point of that one. Everything was belly-up and not gussied up. Hmmm. The fossil/dinosaur room was quite nice. They also had a nice outdoor trail.

That night we headed to a catfish house for supper. This is always a non-negotiable event for me when we go to MS. I’m a catfish snob. (I’m also a sweet tea snob. Whenever we travel north of West Virginia, if I’m fortunate enough to find a place that has iced tea, I always ask if it is brewed. When you’re not in “iced tea” country anymore, you never know when they’re just gonna mix a powder in some water and call it a “refreshing summer-time beverage”. They just don’t know any better, so you really have to be careful about things like that. I’ve had some of my husband’s family ask me about sun tea. Sun tea? Not one person I’ve ever known in the South has the patience to wait hours for a pitcher of tea. I mean, who wants to drink water?) That was a rabbit trail. Back to the catfish. Catfish are raised in Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana. Along with not drinking mixed tea, I make it a rule to not eat catfish unless I’m in one of those three states. In MS we have “catfish houses” that specialize in fried catfish. The one we went to that night only serves catfish and chicken. Sides include pickled onions, hush puppies, cole slaw, some sort of greens (turnips, I think), french fries, corn bread, and last, but certainly not least, fried dill pickles. And sweet tea.

On Friday, we spent the day with my grandmother. She doesn’t get out much, so a trip to Cracker Barrel and Walgreens was a real treat for her. Later that day I went and bought a new guitar. More about this later in the “me” section. (Big smile ) We went out to eat that night with my dad (I wonder why I always gain 5 pounds when I go home to MS? Hmmm?), and then finished out the night tinkering with my new guitar (another big smile ).

On saturday we went to a crawfish boil (they also had fried catfish for people (like me) who have an aversion to eating anything that has an alias that includes the word “bug”.) My hubby got a crawfish-eating lesson from my dad. There was also plenty of good banana pudding. I’m also a banana pudding snob.  But I digress…..

Saturday afternoon was party time!! SA is now one year old, so we had his first birthday party with our family! We had it at the city park, which is my old stomping ground. At first he was traumatized by his own little birthday cake. Daddy had to hold him while he ate his cake. We all left the park a little sticky.

We finished out our visit on Sunday by going to church, putzing around some more, and more eating out. I wonder why I gain….oh, wait a minute….I’ve already asked that.

So that was our trip to Mississippi. Beautiful weather, low drama, great trip.

We traveled back on Monday of this week. Thursday was a play day with some friends. So, this week we crammed five days of school into three. I think we got something accomplished. I think. Oh, and just so you know, all of the pictures below are still from our trip. I used up all of my batteries last week.

EG (4 yrs old):

We completed week 33 of Sonlight’s p4/5. Lots of fun stories. We’re still loving Uncle Wiggily, and Milly Molly Mandy just gives her this giddy smile. We’re winding down in Explode the Code book 3 and A Reason for Handwriting K. I think she’s ready for a workbook break. We didn’t do any crafty stuff this week, although she told me she wants to do a lapbook on birds.

She memorized two catechism questions this week, “What are the reasons added to the second commandment?” and “Which is the third commandment?”. She already knew half of the second one starting out, and they both had short answers. She also finished memorizing Proverbs 21:2, which says “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart.” and Proverbs 27:2, which says “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.” I think she has memorization in the bag.

I have this little keyboard that she is always asking to play. She wants me to sing while she “plays”. She wants to do her “piano lesson” like I have my guitar lesson. Well, I went to the music store last night and bought her Bastien’s Piano for the Young Beginner Primer A and the theory workbook that goes with it. I’m not really sure which piano series I’d like for her to use, but I thought I could swing 11 bucks for these two books regardless. I gave her her first piano lesson today at her insistence. The first page in the book is about sitting correctly at the piano. We stacked up some phone books, but she still need another few inches to be at just the right height. Daddy’s Systematic Theology book gave her the extra boost to make it just right! Now I just hope the keyboard doesn’t go on the blink. I just bought a new guitar, you know (big smile ).

AZ (2 yrs old):

Well, even the Z-man did some school this week. We completed a D page for his alphabet notebook. No pictures. Sorry. I cut out a little strip of D’s that he was supposed to  trace over to glue on his D page. He got so excited because it looked like his sister’s handwriting stuff. He played with dominoes (one of his D words) this week. He has one page left in his “walla” book (Kumon Easy Maze book with the Koala on the cover). He’s still working on memorizing Isaiah 30:15 which says “In quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”

We really need to put the potty training thing in high gear. I think he needs some sort of external motivation.  At the same time, I need an alarm that goes off every hour to remind me to take him to the bathroom. Pullups are expensive. Really, having him just wear underwear would probably be the best thing for his motivation. He does get upset when he wets the living room floor. Of course, I get upset, too. The only time he doesn’t care is when he’s playing starfall. Once, I found him standing in a puddle while he was playing starfall. He was oblivious.

And here is an AZ freebie for the week:

“Daddy, does that taste like crawberries or verms?” (that’s “worms” for those who need a translation)

SA (1 yr old):

Happy Birthday!! Wow. Where has this year gone? They grow up way too fast. He went for his checkup on thursday and weighed in at a mere 19 lbs 2 oz. This is my first kid where I couldn’t legally turn the car seat around on their 1st birthday. The doctor said he’s very healthy and easy to tote around. I usually take all three kids to doctor appointments. It’s usually not that big of deal and they usually behave well. So, the nurse comes in and I strip the baby down to his diaper so he can be weighed. We’re walking down the hall and she stops at the scale. The kind that you stand on. She says, “Can he stand on the scale?”. Uhhh. The first thing out of my mouth before I even thought about it was “This appointment is for the baby”, and I had this look on my face that my friends know all too well.  And then a split second later, I thought “the baby is the one with no clothes on. She has to know the appointment is for him.” I don’t know if she thought I was rude or if I was an idiot. It just seemed like a completely absurd question to me. I mean, I know many 12 month olds can walk, but do they actually stand still on a scale? Anyways, she then said something about some 1 year old’s being able to stand on a scale. The kid just started pulling up (easily) 2 days before!! (Ten minutes after we arrived home from our trip, I turn around and he’s pulled up on his feet. I guess he was tired of sitting in the car for 13 hours.) As I was filling out the questionnaire about my child’s development, I contemplated writing “My child can’t stand on a scale at 12 months. Should I be concerned?” Our doctor explained that the nurses had a meeting a few weeks ago because some parents complained about their 1 yr olds being put on the “baby” scale. So now they’re giving parents the option. Good grief. (It reminded me of the time I went to a restaurant with my daughter when she was 3 months old and the hostess gave her a pack of crayons.) Outside the lab, there was a woman there with her 12 month old son. He looked huge next to SA. I heard her talking about some of the words that her son says. SA just babbles and sniffs at me (kinda like a puppy….it’s quite funny). I told SA he’d better get his act together. Then I thought better of it….they just grow up too fast. I’ll happily tote my babbling, sniffing, 19 lb 1 yr old around while I still have the opportunity. It won’t be long and he’ll be peeing on my living room floor.

Me:

Woohoo! I bought a new guitar! I got a Martin DCX1E. My dad helped me pick it out. Well, actually I had already been looking before and it was the guitar that I really liked. My dad just checked it out for me and confirmed my choice. It has a nice, warm sound and it’s simple and beautiful and most importantly, I could afford it. We had Guitar Center do a price check at Mississippi Music and, as a result, we got $70 off the price. I bought the most 2-yr old resistant case they had and I got a strap for it. Not that I can play with a strap yet. But anyways…. My plan is to have some 10’s put on it tomorrow. It came with 11’s, and they’re a little tough on my fingers. I was all ready to show it off to my guitar teacher yesterday, but he was sick and had to cancel my lesson. He mentioned that he wants to videotape us playing one of the duets at the end of my Mel Bay book. Hmmm. I hope he has an “edit” feature. I’d probably do best with a hidden camera!! I bought the 2nd Mel Bay book last week (when you’re spending several hundred on a guitar, what’s another $20?) This book comes with a CD of the songs in the book. I popped that puppy in the CD player and about had a coronary. And that was just the review lessons. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.

I read a couple books while on vacation. Well, I finished one I had already started and then read another one. I finished Parenting in the Pew by Robbie Castleman and read I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist by Frank Turek and Norman Geisler. I really enjoyed reading the latter book, except for Norman Geisler’s soteriology (branch of theology that deals with salvation). Let’s just say that I won’t be reading any systematic theology from Geisler.

And just to kinda round out the edges on this report….. I scrubbed some of those hidden places in my kitchen today. I need to work off that extra five pounds I mysteriously gained last week.

Following Foundations 4/17/09 April 18, 2009

I have noticed a pattern with our cars. Well, that is if you can statistically call two incidents a pattern. Last August, my husband wrecked the car. It was only by the grace of God that he wasn’t killed. He hydroplaned on the interstate, went across four lanes of traffic, slammed the rear end of the car into the concrete barrier at about 50 mph, and then went back across four lanes of traffic and stopped in the ditch. He was never hit by another car and walked away from it with only some soreness for a few days. Well, the car was totalled, or as my son says, “Daddy broke the car.” I included a picture for effect. Well, what happened right after we got the insurance money? The van blows a head gasket. Bye, bye insurance money. Praise the Lord that we were able to get another car (Buick Century Wagon) for next to nothing. Now that was a true blessing, but it’s not the point I’m trying to make at the moment. My point is that one wrecked car payed for repairs on another one. Well, this week, I got stuck at the museum with the kids. The car wouldn’t start, and we couldn’t even jump it. We were 30 minutes from home. We had AAA tow the car to our mechanic. We weren’t sure at the time if it was the battery or not, but we weren’t in the best circumstances to be figuring out things with three kids in the car. Well, it turned out that it was just the battery. In and of itself, that is a good thing. However, a 34 mile towing fee, plus a mechanic checking things out and replacing the battery made for a very expensive battery. But never fear! Why was I not in the van anyway? Well, the van was on that day in the body shop being fixed after someone rear-ended me a month ago. A man from our church owns a body shop and he was able to fix it for much less than what we got from the insurance company. And now you see how this works. We now had the extra money to pay for the expensive battery in the car. It’s probably not how I would have had things work, but the Lord knows what He’s doing. And we even came out a couple hundred in the black!

EG (4 yrs):

We finished week 32 of Sonlight’s p4/5. I can’t believe we only have four weeks left! We started Why do Tigers Have Stripes? this week. She loves these Usborne books. This one is in the same series as What’s Under the Sea?, which we read earlier this year. It was a big hit, too. In her reading, she finished Father Bear Comes Home, Put Me in the Zoo and The Cat in the Hat. She’s zipping right along! She completed a lapbook on butterflies this week (from Homeschoolshare.com). Last week was our first week doing a lapbook, and I had little clue as to what I was doing. This week we did a lapbook with an extension. Look at us go! We’re moving up in the lapbooking world (grin)! I included several pictures. We memorized 1 John 1.9 this week which says “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We also started Proverbs 21.2 which says “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.” We memorized question 57 of the Baptist Catechism which asks “What is forbidden in the second commandment?”

She got her hair cut this week. I was only planning on having my own hair cut. As I was leaving the house, she decided that her hair was just “a little too long” and she wanted to go, too.

AZ (2 yrs):

This week AZ worked on the letter C and completed a C page for his alphabet notebook. When he wasn’t working on the letter C, playing Starfall, or sleeping, he was usually butting heads with me. We so need a vacation.  Guess what? We’re taking one next week!  Today he took an extra-long afternoon nap. His sister kept wanting to wake him up so they could play together (doesn’t that sound sweet?….we do have some of these moments). Not a chance, Honey! That boy is going to sleep until he wakes up! I need some peace and quiet. I’m sure I’ve probably been chanting in my sleep “Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Children….” Uggh. AZ did finally get Psalm 1.6 memorized well enough for us to progress. We’re now working on Isaiah 30.15 which says “In quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” Now that’s a verse I need to be chanting to myself!

In one of his better moments this week, he told me that I’d better not run with my coffee. Only walk. And then he pointed at me and said “You ‘member that!”

SA (11 months):

Well, the baby had his first Easter. He eyed the chocolate in his siblings baskets and wondered why he wasn’t considered old enough for his own chocolate bunny. Did he really need another sippy cup? Aren’t there 45 of them in the kitchen cabinet? He started the morning with a bad attitude about his Easter outfit, but eventually decided to make the best of it. He thought it was curious that during the Easter egg hunt, his parents were wearing fleece pullovers (aka “woobies” in our family) and his sister was wearing a sweater, all the while he was sitting in the prickly grass in a pair of shorts. Keeping his left leg raised for 45 minutes was all he could muster in the form of a protest. After all, it’s hard not to smile when you get to chew on plastic.

Me:

Let’s see. I quoted Ephesians 6:1 repeatedly to my 2 year old. I got my hair cut (it was desperately needed). I had a guitar lesson. I’m still not done with my first Mel Bay book. I have three tunes to work on. It’s all those darn eighth notes that are slowing me down! I’ll probably just pass out into a lifeless heap on the floor when I see sixteenth notes. Some things just hurt my brain. I do have every intention of going guitar shopping next week if I have an opportunity. I want to upgrade from my pawnshop-find from 10 years ago.

There won’t be a Following Foundations report for next week since we’ll be on vacation. I’ll hit the highlights with the report for the week following. Happy vacation to me!

Following Foundations 4/10/09 April 11, 2009

This was the week of appointments: orthopedic and dental. AZ had to have his hips xrayed…..again. He was born with hip dysplasia and had to wear a pavlik harness for the first 6 weeks of his life. I included a picture of him in his brace. We liked to dress him up like a hockey goalie when he was a baby. He was indifferent, but it did make us smile in a rather trying situation. Those weeks seemed to last an eternity, but looking back, it was a short ordeal. (Our daughter was also born with hip dysplasia, although it wasn’t as severe as AZ’s. She had to wear a different kind of brace (Rhino Cruiser Hip Abduction Brace) for 2 months when she was sleeping. I threw in a picture of her as well for those who are curious about the world of hip dsyplasia.) The hardest part was the technical difficulties that came with not being allowed to take the brace off. He only got sponge-baths. And, being a boy…well, he did what baby boys do and soaked the thing a few times (along with the wall, window, me, his head, etc). Let’s just say, the brace wasn’t white anymore by the time he got it off. And yes, I did what I had to do. I febreezed a newborn. Is that legal? He lived and he smelled okay for church. Anyways, jump back to the present. Since he’s been out of the brace, he’s had more xrays. He had one a year ago and there was still “something” in the “slightly” abnormal range. So, he had to go back this week for another xray. Well, the doctor still wouldn’t release him. He has to go back in two years. I’m not even sure what’s wrong. He said a couple “minor” things that would very likely be corrected with growth, and that he couldn’t “possibly imagine that he would have to have surgery to fix his hips” and not to worry. I probably should have been more persistent in my questions. The doctor probably thought I wouldn’t understand. Oh well…I truly believe he is the best “hip” doctor at Duke, so I’m not complaining! God has been good to us. I wonder sometimes if the Lord allowed our daughter to have mild hip dysplasia just so we would be prepared and not freak out when our baby boy got strapped up in this contraption. I know everything will be fine.

We left the children’s hospital with handfuls of Spongebob, Dora and Hanna Montana stickers and made our way to the NC Museum of Life and Science, which was close by. Yes, the picture on the butterfly bench was the best pic I got that day. I don’t know why they’re squinting because it wasn’t even sunny. We pitter-pattered around the museum for about 3 hours and then went to lunch with Daddy. The next day EG and AZ had dental appointments. They did perfect. I think the staff was probably taking votes after we left on whether or not I had drugged them. I couldn’t have asked for it to go any better. They even got xrays of AZ’s front teeth. He sat so still like a little man! He’s always been good at the dentist. This was his third visit. I can’t say the same for my daughter. A year ago she screamed through her entire appointment. I’m sure other anxious kids in the waiting room thought their worst fears were about to come true.

EG (4 yrs):

This week we completed week 31 of Sonlight’s p4/5. How to Dig a Hole to the Other Side of the World was a big hit. She was familiar with The Magic School Bus volcano episode, so she recognized some of the stuff in this book. We looked up videos of volcanoes and geysers online. (Don’t you just love the internet? It’s so useful at times!) We also started Uncle Wiggily’s Story Book, which is part of the updated p4/5 core. I had planned on having us read this book over the summer, but since it’s 250 pages long, I felt that we needed to start it now. We LOVED the two stories we read out of this book. The style of writing reminds me somewhat of Beatrix Potter in that it’s written for children, but it’s not written “down” for children. It’s great children’s literature, in my opinion.

For math she worked in her Kumon book and did some “color-by-number” and “dot-to-dot”. We practiced counting by 2’s.

In her reading, she finished Little Bear this week. I happened to also have Father Bear Comes Home from a recent used book sale, so she’s almost done with that one, too. So, I guess we’re taking a little detour off of our Sonlight Readers 1 schedule to do the Little Bear thing. She’s loving it.

We memorized Proverbs 28:13, which says “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he  who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” We memorized question 56 of the Baptist Catechism,  which asks what is required in the Second Commandment.

She completed her first lapbook this week (remember she was jealous of her brother’s alphabet notebook). I happened to come upon a free lapbook based on the book The Apple Pie Tree, which I just so happened to have checked out from the library last week. What a coincidence!! She loved it. She would have done the entire thing in one sitting if I had let her. Her magnum opus was the copywork. I had envisoned her doing maybe one line per day. Well, she insisted on doing the whole thing…..on Saturday. I have a few pictures below.

On thursday she got taken out by another teammate on her U5 rugby soccer team during a game. She fell apart and didn’t put herself back together until well over a half hour later. One of her close buddies on the team was all set on defending her: “Who pushed you down?! She got pushed down!!” The whole time she was screaming, I think he was looking to “settle the score”. I don’t think she was really hurt that bad, but she milked it for all it was worth. That cow was definitely dry 45 minutes later.

AZ (2 yrs):

Well, we weren’t “fit-free” this week, but there was improvement over last week. He worked on the letter “B” this week. We completed a page for his alphabet notebook (see pics below). It was so funny. He was sitting on the couch with Daddy showing him his notebook, and he was using his finger to trace the sandpaper “B”. He starts instructing Daddy and says “This is how do it. Start at top and go down. Then lift your finger!! Go back and go towards Mommy!” (Note to self: don’t stand on his left side when he’s writing a “B”.) Of course, he had to point out how he used a “gue kick” (glue stick) on everything. I didn’t expect him to do so well tracing “B’s” with a crayon, but I was surprised at how careful he was. We continued to work on Psalm 1:6 this week. I had said last week that I thought he would only need this week to finish it. Well, he needs another week.

The potty training is slowing progressing. It’s still pretty much an issue of getting him there at the right time. We have one of those potty seats that you put on the toilet so he won’t fall in. However, he prefers to use the little potty on the floor, so the potty seat doesn’t really get used. Well, he discovered a use for it. I heard him in the bathroom singing “I going crazy! I going crazy!” I went to check things out. He was sitting on the little potty with the cushion part of the potty seat on his head. I briefly considered painting it with olive leaves and giving the kid a toga! I’m the one going crazy!

SA (11 months):

Well, the baby now has to be strapped in his high chair. The problem is that he’s Mr. Nosey Britches. He has to see everything that’s going on. This week I turned around to see him STANDING UP in his high chair. He just had one hand on the back of the chair and he was checking out what was happening in the living room. Oh, and if some of you are wondering if SA escaped hip dysplasia….yes, he did. He had an ultrasound at 2 weeks of age and got an A-OK!

Me:

Well, I’m almost crud-free! Woohoo! I’m feeling pretty good, though. I’ve been doing some online shopping for school lately. I bought some art books for next year for kindergarten. I got Evan-Moor’s How to Teach Art to Children and the art primers that Veritas Press recommends. I already have Drawing with Children, although I’m very intimidated about it. I’m going to think about this book long and hard over the summer so I will be prepared to use it come August. I do not plan to or even want to finish these books next year. We’re just going to go slow, dabble here and there, and try to learn some basics.

I also bought Tapestry of Grace Year 1 and preordered Year 2. This is not for next year, of course, but since Lampstand Press is going in the all-digital direction with Tapestry of Grace, I wanted to make sure I got a print copy while they were still available. I figured that if for some reason, TOG doesn’t work out, I should be able to resell the print copies very easily. The digital versions can’t be resold. I’m very excited about our upcoming school year.We’ll be doing two Sonlight cores, p3/4 and core K. I’m restraining myself from ordering them now because I really want to wait until August to start them, and I know I would be tempted to do otherwise if I had them already. I’m waiting until at least after the homeschool conference in May.

This was supposed to be the section about me, and here I am talking about stuff for my kids! Oh well, this was my week!  I’ll  try to have a more exciting life next week. Really, I will!!

Happy Easter to everyone!!

Following Foundations 4/3/2009 April 4, 2009

Well, I am happy to report that our household is mostly well! [Cough! Cough!] (I said mostly.) Now, if the warm weather would just come and stay awhile, maybe we can be done with the crud.

We finally made it back to the library this week. I learned–again–that I need to go the library with a list of book suggestions in hand. EG and AZ occupied themselves on the computers, but SA was a major fussy bucket when he was in his stroller. I had to carry him around, and, as a result, I could only browse the books on the top shelf. When I put him on the floor, he would do his own browsing on the bottom shelf.  We didn’t leave with a ton of books. AZ had a two-year old fit in the library which led to a hasty departure. We picked up lunch afterwards and took it to the park. One of those spur of the moment things. AZ had another two-year old fit upon leaving the park. You know, the ones where they roll around on the ground. As a matter of fact, it’s been “fit central” at our house this week! Fun, Fun. At supper that night, he was sorta confessing to Daddy about how he “cried at library”, but how he didn’t “cry at park” (I did say “sorta” confessed). I corrected him that he did cry at the park and reminded him of his fit. He shook his head in disbelief and started quickly saying “Dat not happen! Dat not happen!” Right.

EG (Age 4):

This week we completed week 30 of Sonlight’s p4/5. We read a chapter of Milly Molly Mandy this week. She absolutely adores this book. At suppertime, she was able to narrate the story back to Daddy with a little direction from me. I wonder sometimes how much she understands from this book. It’s not that the vocabulary is very difficult, it’s just different…..probably because it was written 80 years ago! But I see that she understands and remembers quite a bit. She’s still plugging away in Explode the Code Book 3. I included a picture of some of her work this week. Since we  finished our math book last week, she worked some with the pattern blocks this week. She was proud of her alligator. We also practiced counting to 100 by 1’s and 10’s. We’ve started learning how to count by 2’s. In her reading this week, she read Green Eggs and Ham and started Little Bear. I was hoping to put Little Bear off until next week, so I tried to slip in a Bob Book today instead. Didn’t work. She was on to me. She’s been waiting on Little Bear for a long time now and she wasn’t about to wait until Monday to get started! She did great on her memorization this week. We memorized Proverbs 28.26 which says “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.” We also memorized question 55 of the Baptist Catechism which asks “Which is the second commandment?”. The answer is Exodus 20.4-6. She already knew verse 4 from our Foundation Verses. I did not expect her to get this whole passage in a week’s time, but she really surprised me. No soccer again this week. Rained out. She does have a game scheduled for tomorrow.

Daddy had to burst her bubble this week. He always covers her up with her blanket after she falls asleep. She asked him why when she wakes up in the morning is her blanket on her and not just her sheet. After hearing about what he does, she said “Oh, I thought it was magic!” She has had quite the active imagination this week. Here’s a conversation that just happened tonight:

EG: When I grow up I’m going to be a girl astronaut with a purple astronaut suit. That’s my wish.

AZ: Daddy, I need tell you sometin. Do you got go to dore morrow?

Daddy: I’m not sure yet. We’ll see.

EG: Well, I know that the day after tomorrow you have to go to the store because you have to get me the purple astronaut suit.

Daddy: I thought that wasn’t until you grew up?

EG: Well, it is. And when I get old enough, I’ll put it on, climb into a rocket, and blast off into space!

AZ (Age 2):

In between having screaming fits, he worked hard on the Letter “A” this week. My main goal this time through the alphabet is for him to recognize the lowercase letters. He knows most of the uppercase letters and most of the sounds (thank you, Starfall!). We also started an alphabet notebook this week. I am not a crafty person. If I do anything hands-on and creative, I have to think long and hard about it. However, I have been intrigued with the idea of lapbooks. I feel sure that at least my daughter would love them, and I could see them being great learning tools. So, I wanted to get my feet wet a little. I decided to do this free alphabet notebook from homeschoolshare.com. It’s not technically a lapbook, but it uses the same crafty principles. Well, our “A” page was very successful. He absolutely loved it! He sorted big “A’s” and little “a’s” in the buckets several times. I let him use chalk to decorate his little book, and he did great tracing over the letters. (Oh, and Margaret, if you happen to read this, please note the little apple brad that is holding the apples together. Grin.) Of course, my daughter took twice as long to do her stuff because she kept peeking over his shoulder. She asked me in a very disappointed way, “Did I do an alphabet notebook when I was two?[Sniff. Sniff.]” (We’ll post pictures of her first lapbook when we complete it next week.) AZ also worked on memorizing Psalm 1:6 this week, which says “The Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish”. He needs another week, but he’s doing great. He also watched some Magic School Bus this week. Once, while standing in the kitchen, he exclaimed “Baking soda! Aaaaaaahhh!” Must have been the “Ready, Set, Dough” episode. Potty training is going about the same, except that my timing has been a little off this week. We’ll get there.

SA (age 11 months):

What can I say about the baby? He did some geography, called out for pizza, and was, at times, quite goofy!

Me:

[Cough! Cough!] Excuse me. I had a good guitar lesson this week. I still haven’t finished my Mel Bay book, but as I have mentioned before, the last few pages are kinda hard. So, I’ll be done when I’m done! My teacher helped me with Chris Tomlin’s “Jesus Messiah”. I’m comfortable with the chords now. I think I just need to gussy it up a little. I made shrimp scampi for supper last night. AZ wanted to help, so I let him put the dinner rolls on the cookie sheet. I turned around and he had one up to his mouth. I said “Don’t put that in your mouth!” He said “I just lickin’ it!” Oh, well that’s different! Anyone want to come to my house for dinner?

Following Foundations 3/27/09 March 28, 2009

Reader, beware! The most exciting three words you will read in this report are “nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae”. It that doesn’t interest you, then it’s probably best if you just look at the pictures.

EG (4 yrs old):

This week we completed week 29 of Sonlight’s p4/5.  One of the nursery rhymes we read this week was “Sulky Sue”. A couple of times she would sulk and I would ask “Now you aren’t going to be a Sulky Sue, are you?” She would just crack up. We also added Jerry Pinkney’s Aesop’s Fables, which I bought a couple years ago because I thought the illustrations were wonderful. She finished the first half of Singapore’s Earlybird Math Program this week. I already have the next book, but we’re waiting until August to start it in Kindergarten. We plan to fiddle around with color-by-number, dot-to-dot, and pattern blocks until then. She read The Best Trick in its entirety this week, even though it was scheduled to be read over 3 weeks. We memorized Proverbs 24.24-25, which says “Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.” We also learned question 54 of the Baptist Catechism, which asks “What are we especially taught by these words “before Me” in the first commandment?” This completes the questions on the first commandment. Overall, it was a fairly light week of school and that was a good thing considering the sickness we battled with this week. EG was the healthiest of the three children, although she had two evenings of high fever (103°) that completely wiped her out. Some ibuprofen and she was as good as new. The only other symptom was a headache. Not sure what this was.  I’ve included a couple of her drawings to liven up this post a little. She drew these using Usborne’s I Can Draw People, which I bought for 50 cents at the book sale last week. Oh, and in case you’re wondering about how soccer is going….four out of five of her games have been rained out.

AZ (2 yrs old):

This week we were on letter Z, our animal was…..wait for it…..a zebra, our shape was still a trapezoid, and 9 was our number. His school this week didn’t get anymore exciting than that. The poor baby continued to be sick (and is still sick). He would start coughing and we would tell him “cover your mouth when you cough”. He then covered his mouth, continued to cough and said “it not working!” Then to add to his misery, both eyes started draining on Wednesday and started turning red. And of course, when I was the most paranoid about a potential pink eye epidemic, all three of them decided they were going to play together……in a tent….in a small tent……with AZ coughing all over them and the baby accidentally drinking out of AZ’s sippy cup. I thought “why don’t you three just lick each other’s eyeballs and get this over with!” Well, I took him to the doctor on friday and the doc said that he doesn’t have pink eye (yippee!), but most likely the pathogen “nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae” (aka ’super crud’ ) is causing all his trouble….and to top it all off, his ear is infected, too. We got an antibiotic. In the meantime, I’m trying to get over the psychosomatic itching in my eyes. One good thing about going to the doctor was we got to have lunch with Daddy at Cracker Barrel. Although, I’m sure by the time we left, nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae was probably all over that little peg game they have on the table.

SA (11 months):

SA was still sick this week. He set a record in the snot department, but I’m humble enough not to boast about it. Although, I only had to wipe his nose a couple times tonight. So, he is on the road to recovery (that is until nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae rears its ugly little head. I should really try to be more optimistic.) Now onto something more positive. We had to lower his crib this week. The boy can pull up on his feet now! He’s only done it a handful of times, but you never know when he’ll decide to climb out of the crib. Another change is that he used to cry every time I left the room. Well, now he just follows me around. I do prefer this to the crying, but when I’m doing the potty training thing with AZ, he just has to be right in the middle of things. And since our bathroom is the size of a matchbox, this is not working so well. Once this week he was also right under my feet in the kitchen. His sister was standing there and says “He’s going to try to eat that! It’s a good thing it’s stuck to the floor!” Right. I guess that could be the silver lining of the dark cloud that is my kitchen floor. Now where’s my mop?

Me:

I dispensed ibuprofen and wiped noses every day this week. Two of the more uplifting things that happened were my husband bought me four Cadbury Cream Eggs (I have already eaten two of them….EG saw them lying on the counter and she said “Momma, what’s that?” I said, “Something Daddy bought for Mommy. Now go play, honey.”  I don’t share cupcakes and I don’t share Cadbury Cream Eggs. Yes, I know I should repent. Maybe after Easter.) and I received my new Sonlight catalog in the mail! Yay!!