Historic Trees in Your Back Yard!

Thomas and I discovered something very cool today. You can buy seedlings from famous historic trees. There is a nonprofit conservation organization called American Forests, and they produce seedlings you can buy for $39.95.

You can buy a Gettysburg Address Honeylocust, Edgar Allan Poe Hackberry or an Elvis Presley Southern Magnolia. I think we'll pass on a Suicide Live Oak, though. How about a Jimmy Carter Southern Magnolia, George Washington Tulip Poplar or Susan B. Anthony Sycamore?

I think it would be a lot of fun to purchase and grow one of these.

Check them out!

American Forests

Gettysburg

Anyone studying the Civil War, specifically Gettysburg?

We have stumbled upon a fantastic blog that we are reading daily. It's also full of videos of licensed tour guides. It's almost as if we're there! Lots of information, about individuals and battles.

Check it out!

The funny thing is we're not studying the Civil War this year. Well, we are now, but we studied it last year. Thomas found this site on Halloween, as we were watching ghost stories on TV and surfing at the same time. He found a video about ghosts at Gettysburg and did some googling and came upon this site. No ghost stories here--that we've found, just wonderful facts, maps, photos and videos about the war.

I love this blog as much as Thomas does!

The Unfaithful Blogger

I have had just a heck of a time when it comes to blogging. I used to love it, post way too often, about all kinds of things. Now? My mind just turns to mush when I think of blogging.

After Dad's death, I guess I just had a major shift. I haven't gone back to where I was before, I've found a new way of living. And that includes not bloging, apparently. I guess my emotions are still somewhat raw and I don't know that I feel like sharing so much.

That, or we're doing middle school, which is a tad more boring. Our lives aren't boring, I just can't connect with my inner creativity and voice. Perhaps I have nothing to say?

I go through this old blog every once in awhile, remembering things I had forgotten. I am glad the words are here, it's my memory. So I'm going to try real hard to blog again. Once a week at least.


~~~~

Thomas is having a very good school year. Things are going much better for him--and for me, too. He'll be getting braces next month. He's as tall as I am. He's smart, he's clever, he's shy, and he has the most wonderful sense of humor. He can drop a zinger that will have us laughing our heads off. His delivery is amazing.

He's growing up too darned fast.

Countdown to 8th Grade

I am fight, kicking and screaming as I am just not ready to start school. We've had a very busy summer, got a lot of things done, yet I still have a lot of projects to complete. We start September 8th, so I still have a tiny bit of time.

I am looking for volunteer opportunities for Thomas. So far I have not had any luck. In the past, we have volunteered at our local Humane Society. I'm not to keen on going back there. Even though we support them with donations, I personally didn't enjoy sitting on the floor playing with kittens, kittens who would jump out of your hands and be on the very top of the cages--it was nearly impossible to get them down. I also worry about picking up germs and bringing them home to our pets. Thomas is not old enough to volunteer by himself there, so I have to go with him.

I have not found any other volunteer opportunities. We could work at the local seniors' home, but all we would be doing would be passing out afternoon cookies. I suppose that may be okay, but I'd rather do something more. Again, I would have to be with him.

Apparently our town no longer has the Meals on Wheels program. I would have done that in a heartbeat. Our town is full of senior citizens. I would love to find something where Thomas could interact with them. Now that his only grandparent that showed him love and interacted with him is gone, he has a void in his life. No one will ever replace Grandpa Charlie, but maybe we could make a difference in someone's life whose family isn't near. I don't know how to find them.

So I need to get on the phone and start making inquiries.

I plan on taking Thomas to a monthly homeschool swim in a town about 45 minutes from us this year. One local motel will let us pay to swim there, but it is just so gross there that we've only gone once. We could also go to a town 20 minutes from us to swim. I'm thinking a weekly afternoon swim may be a good idea to add to our already too busy schedule.

I have to map out our math, geography and science yet. Everything else is ready to go. So much to do, so little time.

I wish I were a little kid again, as time went soooo slowly and now it goes so fast!

8th Grade School Plans

I used to really enjoy planning out our year. Now? Not so much.

I've got spelling, writing and punctuation mapped out. We'll do a punctuation book half the year and then our grammar book the other half. I need to get the rest put together today and tomorrow.


Here's the plan for this year:

Spectrum Writing Grade 8
I bought Jensen's and Spectrum, and we'll cruise through the Spectrum workbook. We'll finish it up well before the end of the year, and I haven't decided yet if we'll start Jensen's or if I'll just make up writing assignments. I think for my son, the reluctant writer, Spectrum's will be pretty good. It's light, but I think it will get him going. It's better than jumping in with Jensen's Format Writing for now, as I think that would overwhelm Thomas.


Capitalization and Punctuation
A nice little workbook from Rainbow Resource. Straight and to the point. Will finish up in half a year or less, if he wants to push forward. Short little lessons. Nice review on some things, new material for other things.

Analytical Grammar
We started this last year, and will forge on. We're going to do 17 weeks' worth of lessons. Thomas hates this. I think it's an excellent program, though. We won't get to their punctuation part for a year or so, which is why we're doing a little workbook now, as we're pushing writing this year.

Apples Spelling
So my kid can't spell. We've done spelling every single year. He's finally making spelling connections. I think this year we'll have a breakthrough--I'm getting glimpses of it this summer. This is a Christian book, not secular, but well, since we are Christians, I guess it's not a problem. I always like secular materials better, though.

Glencoe Civics
We've read half of this, but need to finish it. Will listen to books from Audible.com once we finish our Civics course. I think we'll listen to Hakim's series again.

Glencoe Geography and Trail Guides
Haven't planned this out yet, may just do the textbook. We've done a lot of the Trail Guides, but we can do the upper grade.

Spanish-Rosetta Stone
Started last year, but need to forge on. We did not finish, but that's the beauty of Rosetta Stone, just keep on going.

Science- Glencoe Physcis
My child has surpassed me by a longshot in the science realm. I actually bought a teacher's edition, workbooks, etc. He's going to teach me a thing or two. Bob will be on hand to answer questions.

Art
Are we supposed to do art? Yikes, I forgot to order something. Thomas has his art classes that he takes, so I may buy the Annotated Mona Lisa. Or not. Or something art history related.

Lightning Literature
Bought this last year, couldn't fit it in. Of course Thomas has read half the books and won't be happy about reading them again, but oh well. I think there are some valuable lessons in the program, and some we'll skip.

Math-
We're about to finish up Lial's Basic College Math. I bought Spectrum Math for supplementation. My child has developed a severe math phobia--and I mean severe. If I mention the word math, he nearly has a meltdown. So we'll finish BCM and do Spectrum for a review. I had hoped to start algebra this year, but that will not be happening.

I will also be putting some health units together. Thomas wants to be a vegan. Thomas still doesn't like vegetables. So we'll work on this, trying new veggies each week, I'll let him cook, etc.

I'm still toying with joining the homeschool group in the big city. They do a lot of social things, and I think at this age, Thomas would greatly benefit from that. Our local homeschoolers are all nice people, but to them, it's all about co-op. I'm just simply not interested in co-op. (It's an all-day thing where moms teach the classes and all moms must volunteer. If we could pay to send our child to select classes, I would consider it. Maybe. It's just not for us.)

Well, back to planning. My new printer arrived and it is HEAVEN. I am just giddy having laser printouts in color.

My Printer Died

Homeschoolers can't survive without a good printer. At least this homeschooling family can't.

In 1995, when I was a court reporter, I spent over $1,000 on a HP LaserJet 4Plus. Lots of money. It printed fast, a whopping 12 pages per minute! lol It was solid, it was good, and it has printed hundreds of thousands of pages.

Monday I sat down to plan school, and when I went to print out my home-made planner pages, I got a service error. I googled the error, and it wasn't pretty. Bob took it apart and there are parts that are fried.

I could have cried. I think I did shed a tear or two. This was one of the last links to my former life, when I worked in the real world, when I actually made money.

I then set out to find a new printer. I had certain wants. I quickly got overwhelmed. In the end, I decided upon (and Bob agreed it was a good choice) a Brother color laser printer.

It arrives Friday, and I cannot wait. It's wireless, too -- how cool is that. May the new printer give me at least half the years and 1/4 of the pages that my old friend did.

Rest in peace, LaserJet 4Plus. Thank you for your service. Welcome, new Brother.

Tooth Fairy and Braces

Thomas is 13 and 10 months. He has two baby teeth left, which he has been desperately trying to pull. He is getting braces. We have the final consult next week. If the teeth are not gone, they'll have to be pulled.

Tonight, one came out. Yay.

I said, "Honey, I have some bad news for you. There is no such thing as the tooth fairy." He rolled his eyes and said, "Moooooooom!" in a 13-year-old-moms-are-so-dumb manner.

I thought it was funny.

~~~

Tonight I was in the back yard enjoying the dogs and watching the fireflies. I called Thomas out and asked him to run around like a little kid and catch them. He rolled his eyes, but he did it for me for a couple minutes.

It made me sad. He has grown up so fast. I just can't believe he'll be 14 in a couple months. Where does time go? Where did my sweet baby, cute toddler, sweet little boy go? He's now a teenager. So little time left, I'm going to enjoy every second that the teen-aged boy allows. ;-)


~~~

I sat down to plan school a bit tonight. We're heavy on Language Arts this year. Thomas has surpassed me in science. Yet, we are going to work through physical science together, and if need be, will consult Bob. I am just having a rough time making myself get it all mapped out. I'm like a kid, "I don't wanna go back to school!"

We start September 8th, as we follow our local school district's schedule. I have four weeks left.

~~~

I gave Thomas a dollar for his tooth. I'm just nice like that. When he gets the last tooth out (if he pulls it, not the dentist!) I'll give him a $20. Just because.

Oh, I'm Baaaad

We had to run to Wal-mart tonight because we were out of milk and cereal. We did our shopping and went to buy the goods. One line was open, so we got in it.

There was one lady in front of us and she was standing there arguing with the teller. I loaded my stuff (way more than milk and cereal, why is that?) to the belt and then tuned in, as the argument continued.

PS Teacher: But these were 9 cents apiece last week.
Clerk: But they're 25 cents now.
PS Teacher: But I work for the school in X town. (A town 20 miles north of us.)
Clerk: They're 25 cents apiece this week,.
PS Teacher: But these are for the school. Because these are for the school, won't you give me credit? These were 9 cents last week.
Clerk: They're 25 cents this week.
PS Teacher: I demand to speak to the manager.

Now by this time, a second clerk had come in to help out poor clerk number one. What was the idiot--er, lady buying? 60 purple file folders.

Idiot: Besides, they're on sale for 9 cents apiece this week at Shopko. Where's the manager?
Clerk: Did you bring Shopko's ad? We can match the price if you have the ad.
Idiot: I didn't bring the ad, but they're on sale for 9 cents apiece this week at Shopko. You can trust me, I teach at X School.

The second clerk runs off to get the manager.

PSTeacher: I just don't understand this, these are for the school and they were on sale last week.

At this point I'm about ready to donate the difference because I wanted to get the hell out of there.

The clerk comes back without the manager.

Clerk 2: The manager said they are 25 cents apiece.
PS Teacher: But I don't understand, they were 9 cents a week last week.

ME (loudly): Well, I guess if you wanted them for 9 cents, you should have come in last week to buy them then.

If looks could kill, I was dead on the spot. She wrote her check, which takes forever at Wal-mart, and walked of super pissed off.

The clerks started laughing when I got up there. Then I said, "Gee, we're homeschoolers, and we use logic. If we want something that is on sale, we buy it when it is on sale. We don't expect favors. However, since we're homeschoolers and I'm buying apples and bananas, could I get a discount for our school lunch program?

They were laughing so hard at me.

I will never understand that "but I'm a teacher" mentality. Give it a rest. Use your brain. If you want something on sale, get yourself in to the store while it is on sale.

Sheesh!

(I am in no way anti-public school teachers. Several are in our family. My son had two wonderful PS teachers. I'm just against the self-serving mentality in the name of teaching.)

August Already?!?!!!

Where has the summer gone?

I am mostly recovered from the surgery.

We've been working on a big project: our back yard. We dug up the grass and weeds in the dog run area, which is about 35x25, and laid 4 ton of river rock. It makes doggie doo-doo cleanup so easy! That was a lot of work, and Bob is now replacing the back door.

All our school books have arrived and are sitting on my kitchen counter waiting for me to get the year planned out. Projects need finished, carpet needs cleaned, laundry room needs deep cleaned, the school room needs organized...and on and on and on.

I need to ask Thomas what fun things he wants to do before the summer is over and try to accommodate him--to a degree.

The older I get, the faster time goes.

Today Was Surgery Day

And I lived through it.

At the moment I'm pain free, a little doped up, a lot tired, and snacking on Sierra Mist and crackers.

It's rough having a same-day surgery when they kind of shove you out the door so quickly. I didn't feel like leaving, I was so tired and my tummy was upset. I threw up when I woke up, and an hour later they had me eating crackers and Sprite. Then she said it was time to go.

She helped me get into the car and when I was set, she handed me a barf bag. She told me that I may get sick from the motion since we had an hour drive home.

We drove from the patient pick-up spot to the exit of the parking lot and I was using that bag. Apparently I threw up for about three minutes, according to Bob. That kind of thing never bothers him--but this time it did. He was green and said that he almost lost it. Poor guy! Thomas said it was gross when I asked him after we got home.

But hey, I was fine after that. Slept all the way home, slept a little when we got home, ate a little, then slept a bit more.

Now I hope (and yes, pray) that my periods will be gone or very light. That's usually the case.

I got pictures of my uterus...should I post them for educational value? lol

I plan on posting our 8th grade plans soon. I keep changing my mind on a couple things. Time's a wastin' and I'd best get it done, get books ordered.

Happy Birthday, Tesla

Since I haven't blogged for so long, many may not know that this gorgeous flower is named Tesla. Bob, the electrical engineer, named him after one of his favorite people: Nikola Tesla.

It's not our dog's birthday, but it is Mr. Tesla's birthday. Has anyone hit Google today? See the top with the electricity? It's a Tesla coil. That would be one very cool homeschool project! Anyway, if you run your mouse over the word Google and click, you'll find lots of links for Nikola Tesla.

Move over, Mr. Edison, make way for Mr. Telsa--the man who got so little credit for all his great work.

Happy Birthday, Nikola Tesla!

8th Grade Reading List

Our 8th grade reading list:

To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
*Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe
Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck
*Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
*The Hiding Place, Corrie ten Boom
*The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck
Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes
Animal Farm, George Orwell
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,Douglas Adams
The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien
My Life in Dog Years, Gary Paulsen * and other Gary Paulsen books
Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Ernest J. Gaines
Dracula, Bram Stoker
*A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking
The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman
Fever 1793, Laurie Anderson
The Outsiders, S.E. Hinton
That Was Then, This is Now S.E. Hinton
Goodnight, Mr. Tom, Michele Magorian
Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson
Julie of the Wolves, Jean Craighead George
*Where the Lilies Bloom, Vera and Bill Cleaver

*already own

Pepin, Wisconsin

Laura Ingalls Wilder's birthplace.

Not the original cabin, this was built in the 70s. This is the site of her home, though. No longer surrounded by Big Woods, but by corn fields. There are still a lot of woods in the area, though.

Update: Frankie

Emotionally: Lots better. I'm still not fully recovered from everything, but I am so in a better place. I still get weepy when I see old men in jeans with black tennis shoes. I cried the other night at our town parade when the WWII vets were driven by. I miss my Dad. Yet, life goes on and so have I. I trudged along like I was walking knee-deep in water, then got a little closer to the shore, and now I'm okay.

Computer: I am not on the computer every day anymore. I have kicked the habit. That was absolutely liberating. Now I'm looking for a good balance. I miss blogging and I miss my blogging friends. I still won't be on the computer every day, but I will every couple of days!

Health: Not so hot. I decided to take a chance and go to a new doctor. She and another quit the clinic that all other doctors belong to so they could start fresh. She had a great reputation and I finally got brave. Had a physical at the beginning of the month.

It was the appointment from hell--but I loved her. For once, a doctor listened to me! From the inception of this blog, I've been bitchin' about periods, pain, PMS, etc. I was always placated by my old doctor. Last time he said, "Why, I thought they were supposed to get better as you got older."

Not my new doc. She jumped on it. She asked me a series of questions and then right then and there did a cervical biopsy. That hurt like holy hell. I screamed out many times. I have cramped ever since. It was benign, thankfully. She also sent me down the hall where I had an ultrasound. I had a great tech who actually told me what she was seeing. She found three fibroids and an ovarian cyst. The cyst burst the next day and it hurt so bad. The tech said there were probably more fibroids that they couldn't see.

Back for blood work, then back to see the doctor. I was referred to an OBGYN. He visits our town every two weeks. I saw him last week. He was fantastic. He couldn't believe with my history (fibroid when I was 28) that I wasn't checked out years ago.

Anyway, he discussed the options. At that point I wanted to have a hysterectomy and be done with the whole bloody mess. He suggested an ablation instead. That's where they burn the lining of the uterus. So I'm going to do that. It's a same-day surgery with a short recovery. It's being set up right now, I need to check back.

I am scared to death of surgery, but I am so hopeful for relief. The pain has been horrible, which is typical with fibroids.

Projects: Right now I am trying to get finished with scanning the family photos. This is such a slow, tedious project. It is highly emotional. I'm getting there. I hope to be done in three weeks. I hope I'm done before surgery is set. This is my main focus right now.

School: I've got 8th grade planned out, just need to tweak. Will post our list soon, order the final books and map out our school year. Waiting on cash, as aside from our mortgage, we are debt free now. Don't know how the surgery will set us back, but we have good insurance. Hoping it's not too bad.

I am thinking of joining the homeschool group in the big city. The local group is made up of lovely women, but aside from one ice skating party this past year, they only do co-op. I am not interested in co-op. The big city does all kinds of things. Thomas needs to be around more kids than his friends, and I think it would be a great opportunity. If we go to the big city every now and again, that means I get to go to Taco Bell, too. lol Or if I'm feeling rich, maybe the Olive Garden! It's all about food for me! With his new desire to read all the time, access to a bookstore more frequently would be nice, too.

Travel: Have to visit my MIL sometime this summer. Also have our fun little weekend planned. By chance, I found out the riverboat ride I booked us for will be free for me because it's my birthday. I haven't spent a birthday with my husband in years. He won't mind because he won't have to get me a present. lol

That's about it.

All caught up. I will start blogging more. I really needed a break. I'm refreshed now.

Update: Bob and the Dogs

Why not lump a husband in with the dogs? He'd appreciate my humor!

Bob: Nothing new. Same old. Still enjoying his job, although he's very, very busy at work at the moment. He's been my rock through everything. We'll be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary this September. I cannot remember life without him. I know I wouldn't have fared as well without him.

Our precious Apollo and Tesla--they adore him. Apollo is definitely his dog. Tesla is definitely Thomas's. Bob and Thomas play fetch with them several times a day, walk them every morning, take them to the beach--sometimes they take me along, too. ;-) The dogs have done more for our family. Lots of good male bonding going on.

Apollo and Tesla took basic obedience. They're border collies, and smart as a whip. They could already do 90% of what was taught in class, and the other 10% was a piece of cake. However, because they're border collies, they wanted no part of paying attention to us: they were busy trying to herd the other doggies in the class. The entire 10 weeks of class was spent teaching them to focus on us during distraction. Let's just say, we have more work to do. They're fine in public, at the beach, in the neighborhood--put them with other dogs? ha! Instant headache for me!

Bob wants to take them through agility and fly ball. I don't, so that will be a boy thing.

The kitties are doing well, too. One is getting really old, and the other is sickly as usual--but loving and happy. They have finally learned to not hiss around the dogs, and they basically get along pretty well. I don't think the cats like the dogs, though. They didn't mind Jerry Lee at all.

Update: Thomas

Thomas has completed the seventh grade. He has grown up so fast this past year it amazes me. He is one inch shorter than I am. It is very strange standing and being able to look him in the eye. He seems so old now. Not that 13 is old, but he is maturing quickly.

At this very moment, he's away at summer camp. The first day he was gone, I missed him fiercely. Now I'm fine, knowing he's having fun. We had a long weekend before dropping him off. I have a surprise for him when I pick him up this weekend. We are going to be very close to the Mississippi, so good old Bob didn't object to me setting up a short riverboat cruise. Bob is staying home with the dogs, so it will just be Thomas and I. I have a few other surprises up my sleeve, and we'll take 1-2 days to get home. I'm taking my camera and will share pictures.

This past year, Thomas has had a fire in him with science. The kid reads and reads and reads science books. We had to drive to the big city an hour away once a week for obedience classes, and we couldn't keep him stocked with books. His dad has completely taken over on this front, thankfully. Right now he's reading something by Stephen Hawking.

School went fairly well. It was a rough year for us as we recuperated from the black cloud that followed us last year.

We took our standardized test at the end of the year. Normally we do a lot of prep with prep workbooks, but this year we just did the test. Thomas did a fantastic job, once again. Lots of post-high school scores. He's a smart kid. As usual, he scored grade level in spelling.

He still hates math. I am just beside myself when it comes to math. Tears, anger, frustration...it was on a daily basis. Maybe I'll take him to a hypnotist and have it ingrained in his brain that he loves math. That's about the only thing we haven't tried yet. (I am joking about that, btw.)

Other than that, he's happy and healthy. He's enjoying his summer break and dreading school starting up again. Go figure, he does so well, he enjoys it once we get going, but he actually prefers summer break. lol

They're Back

Said to the tune of the sweet little girl in the movie Poltergeist!

I've done a bit of tweaking to the old blog here. Like the monkeys? We're not monkeying around, though! We've been busy.

Will give a long overdue update tomorrow!

Frankie =)

March

It's March, it's spring fever time. We're in middle school, not too exciting to blog about.

I think I'm going to take a blog break for awhile.

I'll be back after awhile, when I feel inspiried to write something, anything.

February

Even this poor old snowman is sick of winter.

Heat Wave

We've had a mini heat wave in our neck of the woods. It feels lovely! We were out and about Sunday, it was the high 30s, and none of us wore coats.

Our back yard is a soupy, wet mess today. This is how I found my doggie this afternoon.