Kittens for boys!

Today the "old man" called from work and announced he was taking the rest of the day off and we were heading off to civilization. (Nearest town with some actual stores.) It was the day to buy DS's hermit crabs. That's another post for another day.

We hit Office Max, then I dropped the old man off at Barnes and Noble while Thomas and I hit Hobby Lobby. Trust me, that's a good thing because when the old man isn't around at Hobby Lobby, I have more fun.

We spent an hour at HL and then went back to B&N. We were starving and waiting for old man to finish up and I walked around the bookstore. I came to a table where there were calendars, planners, assignment books, etc., for back to school. There was a mom with two boys, the older appeared to be about Thomas's age.

I watched him grab the perfect planner. "Mom, mom, this is the one I want!" He was so excited. The mom took one look at it and sighed. "Honey," she said, "This kitten is really cute, but I worry the kids at school will tease you over it. Then you won't use it. Then we'll have wasted money yet again. Pick out a different one."

This made me SO sad. Why can't a young man pick a planner out with a cute kitten on the cover? Are boys exempt from enjoying the little critters? Truth be told, I actually completely understood what the mom was saying. She was trying to prevent hurt feelings because she knew the little imps at public school would shred him to pieces over his "girlish" planner.

I was thinking I should go tell her about the joys of homeschooling. Nah, she didn't look the type. I also thought about going up and saying how sad the whole situation was, that he should get the kitten planner if he wanted. I didn't think she'd appreciate that.

Thomas saw the whole thing, too. When we walked out of listening distance he said, "I'm so glad we homeschool, mom, and that you let me buy the cute planner with the puppy and kitten on it."

Yes, boys can like kittens. They can have kitten planners. Thomas won't be teased for his choice. I love the freedom from "socialization" we have homeschooling.

Monday evening

It's been hot again lately. Currently, at 9:25 pm, it is 84 but with humidity, the heat index is 91. Ugh. I'm so happy to report that the latest air conditioner repairman actually fixed the air conditioner. I could just kiss him -- nah, never mind, but I am very thankful.

Thomas is still working hard at swimming lessons. He has grown and improved but he still needs work with his coordination and endurance. He's having a blast, and that's what counts. We'll be done Friday, and I'm very thankful. This second set of swimming lessons has been wonderful for me! I'm the only mom that stays to watch. There are only seven kids in lessons, so two classes. Thomas has 4 in his class. I've been reading, planning school, watching, and zoning during lessons.

I worked on the classroom a little today. It turned into the dump-all room this summer. I'm trying to dig out. Ugh. Of course it doesn't help that I bought a desk and a small table at an elementary school garage sale to add to the mess. Oh, and two hermit crab cages and three -- yes, three 10-gallon aquariums. I'm giving one away, but will keep two. I guess this will be the year for critters. How can I say no for something that costs $1?

I also made the sad realization that we have only one thing completed for our upcoming county fair. Thomas has 14 days to get creating. This is all my fault and I feel really bad about it. Darn it all, I'll blame it on the hot house, the air condtioner not working most the summer, and the fact I went into a weird zone because of it.

I also made the realization we have not done many fun summer things. Why? Because I've been stuck home waiting for air conditioner repairmen -- yeah, the ones that said they'd be there that day and then didn't show. On my kitchen table I have $260 worth of AC bills -- the latest go round, to three different companies. We still need a new evaporator installed and that's going to cost $325. And I've already paid $150 in June for repair. And this is all for a two-year-old air conditioner. UGH. May I count the $100 hotel bill? I think I should because I would have gone insane had I not had *one* night of cool. That's a lot of money to try to stay cool.

It's time for a mad dash to do some fun things. We'll try to enter three-five things for the county fair, I want to take Thomas swimming and to the beach a few times, plus make a voyage to civilization and buy his hermit crabs. Also on the agenda, if he finishes On the Banks of Plum Creek, is a trip to Walnut Grove, Minnesota. That's a lot to do in little time. Oh yeah, I have to finalize our school. Ugh.

Where did the summer go? I know technically it's still July, but it just seems I blink and a week, month or even a year is gone.

But...at least it's cool, 74 degrees in my house. Ah.

This is scary!

I don't drink, honest! Must have been the messy hair that gave me a Barney ID. Thomas, his dad and I have been laughing like crazy over this tonight! You Are Barney

You could have been an intellectual leader... Instead, your whole life is an homage to beer You will be remembered for: your beautiful singing voice and your burps Your life philosophy: "There's nothing like beer to give you that inflated sense of self-esteem."

The Simpsons Personality Test

Great things this week

In hopes of turning my half-empty attitude into a half-full attitude, I've decided to blog about great things from my week.

1) The air conditioner is fixed! Woo hoo, just in time for upper 90s.

2) I was able to turn the oven on and bake something this week.

3) A charity from the Twin Cities had a curbside pickup, so we donated five big black garbage bags of clothes and stuff. Grateful because we have to make an appointment with our one and only local charity, Salvation Army, to drop stuff off and they turn down off-season clothing. Curbside donating is fantastic, and it's a great charity. (Epilepsy Foundation)

4) I was very glad to have signed Thomas up for another go of swimming lessons. He could have officially passed the last round, but the teacher I and both felt he needed more practice to develop endurance. He's enjoying himself, he's getting better and he's having fun. I'm having a blast this time as I am the *only* mom watching!

5) I am grateful for happy snuggles in the morning. I love waking Thomas up by rubbing his back. His first reaction is always a great-big smile. I'm thankful that he doesn't feel too old for this. There's always lots of love, smiles, hugs and giggles in the morning.

6) Got my Rod and Staff English order placed, plus started downloading the Hakim series. I just have to order some science supplies, clean up the schoolroom, and we're ready to rock 'n roll.

7) This one is funny. I'm glad Thomas beat me at air hocky. We have a fantastic air hocky table in our dungeon -- uhm, I mean basement. We play every once in awhile but I always beat Thomas. For the first time ever, he beat me fair and square. Corny, but it made me happy -- he's growing up, gaining skill, getting good.

audible.com -- WOW

For school next year, I decided we needed Joy Hakim's books on CD. We have loved listening to SOTW on CD on car trips short and long and I knew Hakim would be a hit. We have already read a couple of her books, but it's nice to have something to occupy one's mind while in the car.

A few months ago I asked my handy-dandy husband to join audible.com and download the books for me. No problem, he said. We purchased the disks and they sat. They gathered dust. My husband would much rather play Runescape than anything else on the computer.

I have to admit that somewhere along the line I became behind the times. I just recently figured out what an MP3 player is, and all those other "devices". I remember in the '80s people came to me with computer problems -- shees, now I am clueless. Here's a big admission that I shouldn't make: I have never, until today, made a CD on the computer. Not pictures, not books, not music, not back-up, nothing. I use my little hard floppies because I know how to do that.

How stupid is that!!! Well, I decided today was the day to get over my stupid technological phobia and get on with life. I called Thomas down, because he has no computer fear, and we logged on. Went straight to audible.com, bought our membership, and then I got stumped. Thomas got bored and was of no help and he quickly disappeared. I got to a screen that wanted me to pick my device. Well, I have no device, I just want to make CDs. It didn't give me the option I was looking for.

I decided I'd just spent $150, I needed help. I called customer service. I was fearing the worst (or maybe I should say normal). Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong in dreading customer service.

This was, hands down, the best customer service I have ever received. I felt like such a stupid dope not being able to figure out how to do this. The rep never once made me feel stupid. He answered my initial question and then volunteered: Why don't I stay on the phone with you and walk you through the entire process. Well, bust my buffers, I was shocked. We were on the phone for 23 minutes! (My phone shows the time of the call when I hang up.) He walked me through, he showed me shortcuts, he explained all kinds of things such as what to do if I have a computer crash or lose power, how many minutes a CD will hold (77) . He was personable, he laughed at my stupid jokes I made. He was wonderful!

I hung up the phone feeling like an expert. Wow. You just don't get customer service like that and I am elated and felt like sharing it with the whole world. He even emailed me after the phone call, which was a form email, but he added a nice little personal note to it. Audible.com, you rock!

What's even more exciting was hopping in the car with my newly burned CD and finding it actually worked!

I purchased the 12 credit package for $149.50. You get all the credits up front, and I wanted the whole thing on disk to start the year. I got an extra credit for joining. So now I'm off to search for three good books to download besides Joy Hakim's series. By the way, this was a heck of a lot cheaper than buying the disks online.

I love books on CD. We "car school" often and I'm overjoyed that I have added to our collection today!

Tagged again!

Ah, getting tagged is fun. Scooby at The Maples Academy for Girls has tagged me.

What were you doing 10 years ago?

10 years ago I was working full time as a court reporter -- putting my 40 hours in weekly plus working nights and weekends on transcripts. 10 years ago today I had a beautiful baby boy who was nine months old and the joy of my life. 10 years ago today I was heartsick because I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom desperately but my husband was finishing up his degree. I was sick every morning I had to drop him off at daycare.

What were you doing a year ago?

The exact same thing I am doing now. Mom, wife, homeschooler, homemaker, zoo keeper. I'm *very* happy with this career choice.

5 Snacks that you enjoy:

1. Peanut M&Ms
   
2. Air-popped popcorn
   
3. Chocolate milk
   
4. Pretzles -- the frozen kind
   
5. No-bake cookies (I hardly ever make them because I eat them all until I'm sick)
   

5 Songs you know all the words to:

1. Hotel California (my all-time favorite song)
2. Willie Nelson's Stardust CD -- I used to sing every single song along with Willie in my car until my family finally complained enough to get me to stop
3. Dare I admit this one: Kelly Osbourne's Shut Up (Yes, I was one of the five people that bought her CD. I love that song Shut Up and wish someone good would record it.)
4. Bad to the Bone, George Thorogood (I know lots of his songs by heart, he's DH's favorite)
5. Bruce Springsteen, Dancing in the Dark

5 Things you would do if you were a millionaire:

1. Move
2. Adopt two kids
   
3. Build a big house in the country away from neighbors
   
4. Set up a college fund for my son, and then give a small amount for college to nieces and nephews
   
5. Buy new cars for DH and I -- DH gets the truck of his choice and I get a blue Mustang
   

5 bad habits:

1. cigarettes
   
2. overeating
3. napping in the afternoon
   
4. complaining
   
5. cigarettes (this is so bad it gets two spots on the list)
   

5 Things you like doing:

1. Spending time with Thomas
   
2. Homeschooling
   
3. Gardening (when it's not too hot lol)
   
4. Sudokus
   
5. Travelling

5 Things you would never wear again:

1. A bikini
2. Jumpers (I'm not talking denim jumper dresses -- never wore one so I could never wear one again. I'm taking jumper pantsuit things from the 80s)
   
3. Wire bras -- ouch, been poked too many times
   
4. pumps
   
5. pantyhose
   

5 Favorite toys:

1. computer
2. digital camera
3. CD player
   
4. telephone
   
5. caller ID
   

I am tagging:

Wisteria, because she enjoyed being tagged so much the last time!

Anyone else who isn't too busy. I love reading these so hope some people do it!

The Invasion of Invader Zim

We've had an invasion at our house. Thomas started watching TV again this summer and found a cartoon that he fell in love with. Invader Zim. I have watched several episodes with him and I just don't get the attraction, but then I'm not a 1o-year-old boy.

Thomas saved his money and wanted to buy action figures. (Not to be confused with dolls!!!) Sadly, the show is out of production and everything is expensive. So we turned to Ebay, bid on an auction and won. Very expensive dolls -- er, I mean action figures.

It was Christmas in June at this house. Thomas ordered four figures and it took us 27 minutes to open all the plastic packaging, undo all the twist ties and get everything out. I remember fondly the days where things just came in a cardboard box. Sigh.








Thomas has enjoyed his action figures very much, even though they cost him an arm and a leg. Really, what 10-year-old boy wouldn't love a cartoon that names its pop "poop pop" and its candy "poop candy"?

one night of cool

We actually had two nights of cool this week. It was absolutely wonderful. Sadly, today we're back to living in a hot house. I miss home. Home would be either South Dakota or Wyoming. Home the evenings cooled. Home there wasn't humidity.

I have a one-track mind lately. Hot, hot, hot.

Last Friday night it was so cool and nice outside I made the boys go out and play. They played a few games of horse. My nonsports-loving child will actually play basketball with his dad and is even beginning to pass a football with dad, too, although he hates it. He plays because he doesn't want to hurt dad's feelings.

Edited: What a difference a computer makes. On the boys' computer, you can actually see the photo of Thomas and his dad shooting a basket. On my old faithful computer, you can't. I guess I should have snapped the picture when it was lighter out (or learn how to photograph in the dark!)

I'm not the only one...

in a bad mood right now. Misery loves company, right? It makes me feel "less alone" to know that others are cranky right now, too. The first two blogs I read tonight were on this very topic of being in bad moods.

I've been miserable for a couple weeks.

Heat. Freon leak in the air conditioner. No central air.

If momma ain't happy, nobody's happy. Amen to that.

We've had problems with our air conditioner all summer. There's a leak and they can't/haven't/won't (whatever) find/fix it. A week ago Thursday I called, the repairman came out in the evening, added freon and it quit three hours later. He came again Monday to add freon but not look for the leak. It lasted less than three hours. He said he'd be back...he didn't show this week.

Because we are homeschoolers, we happened to have an unopened bag of 10 thermometers. We opened the bag and all are taped to walls in each room now. We've experimented with how to keep rooms cooler. We've determined which room in the house is the coolest -- the master bedroom, thanks to our ash tree. We've also determined that a kitchen that is constantly 89-93 degrees sucks, to put it bluntly.

Some may think I'm being a whiney baby. (My dad, my sister and probably some of my friends.) We did, after all, have two days of heaven on earth yesterday and today with highs in the 70s, but during our last heat wave it was miserable. Living in Minnesota also means living with humidity. High humidity. It means that a kitchen that is 93 degrees is actually over 100 degrees if you factor in the humidity/heat index. Next week we're expecting another heat wave.
Whine, whine, whine.

My plan of action is this: Monday morning I am calling the repairman and demanding a date certain when he is going to tear our unit apart to run the dye tests to find and then fix the leak. If it is not Monday or Tuesday I'll say thanks, hang up, and start calling until I find someone that can come Monday or Tuesday. This thing is getting fixed now.

I don't know a single person in my little town that does not have air conditioning. When we were looking for houses here nine years ago, the thing we found amazing was that even the cheap, run-down $30-40,000 houses had central air. We moved here from western South Dakota. A place that is not humid. A place that we lived 10 years without air conditioning, one year with. It's different here. The air is so thick you can't breathe.

On a brighter note, we were able to be outside today because of the lower temps. We went to a nearby town that was having city-wide garage sales. What a blast we had. My reluctant shopper (Thomas) scored bigtime.

We parked the car and walked blocks and blocks hitting sales. Then we saw a sale in a church. Thomas didn't want to go in, but being the shopper I am, I insisted. Payday. I was looking at the toy section and unearthed a huge box (18-quart roaster box) 3/4 full of legos. We figure there are a few thousand in there, including a Harry Potter set! $15 for the entire box. We guessed it was several hundred dollars worth of legos. And poor Thomas had just been complaining that he didn't have enough legos to build anything really cool. lol Thomas and the neighborhood kids sat in our driveway tonight for hours and built and built and built! Way cool.

Thomas also scored on the pet front. I blogged a long time ago about hermit crabs. Well, this procrastinating mom had not ever purchased the crabs and setup. Well, today we found two hermit crab habitats, complete with toys, dishes, even food. $3. (I'll probably throw the food away) The nice lady even told us where we can get hermit crabs in our area....beats mail-ordering! We'll drive 60 miles to buy some crabs.

We also picked up two 10-gallon aquariums. Every garage sale has these it seems, but we got them for $1 each. (We were promised they don't leak -- lol) One has a lid, the other DH will build a lid for. I think we'll use one for more hermit crabs and I don't know what we'll use the other for -- I guess it depends whether they leak or not. I'm sure Thomas will waste no time figuring that out.

We spent five hours at garage sales today. Got home, ate a late lunch and I completely passed out for an hour. While it was cool today, I think that the heat has drained me so bad that I could barely function.

And back to our air condition woes, one more story. Last Sunday it was so hot here that I turned into a raving mad woman. Much to my husband's dismay (spending too much money) we ended up at our local Holiday Inn for the night. We swam in the pool, enjoyed ~hot~ Godfather's Pizza while basking in the 68-degree room. (Yes, I took a thermometer!) We swam some more, then I made Thomas get out of the pool.

Why? There was a family swimming. They had a very tiny baby in a diaper. Okay, now when Thomas was a baby we took him swimming in a diaper, but that was before we learned of e coli in swimming pools plus it was before the swim diapers were invented. Now that bothered me but not enough to get out of the pool. They also had a son, cute as the dickens, about 4. He was having a blast until he jumped in and bit his lip. He started bleeding profusely. Okay, maybe not profusely but with a mouth injury, the saliva makes it look profuse. So instead of getting the kid OUT of the pool, they sat him on the edge of the pool and used the pool towel. The towel was blood-soaked. He was dripping blood, dangling his feet in the water, and he dropped the towel in the pool THREE times. I had Thomas out of the pool, and I marched straight to the room and called the front desk. They came and made them move the child away from the pool. Then they left. They didn't close the pool, and I don't think that they added any chemicals. Now I know for a fact that they close and treat the local public pools when something like this happens.

What bothered me was we watched people get in the pool until 11. I know the likelihood of the little boy having any bad diseases is probably nil, but it *really* grossed me out. Enough so that I may not visit a motel swimming pool for a long time.

That's about it from the raving mad woman.

Oh, did I mention how hot it's been lately?

Movies

I was just reading Twice Bloomed Wisteria's blog and I got to thinking of movies and how they have touched my life -- for good or bad.

Thought I'd share my favorite and least favorite movies and why.

Favorite movie:

The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio.

No other movie has touched my life more than this movie. If you haven't read the book or seen the movie, it is about a mom of 10 and how she saved her family from "living on the street" by contesting in the 50s and 60s. She won a few major contests and many, many smaller prizes using her wit writing jingles and poetry. She was an amazing woman with her literary skill, but even more amazing was her attitude toward life. Her husband was an alcoholic and drank most of the money. She didn't let it get her down and was upbeat, positive and a true inspiration.

This is one of the rare instances where I actually liked the movie better than the book. I loved the book, but the movie just came to life for me. I have watched this movie more times than I dare admit. The reason this touched my life so deeply is because Evelyn Ryan, the prize winner, was so positive. My mom was so negative. I've been more positive than negative as a mother, but nothing like Evelyn Ryan. I catch myself stopping and thinking before popping things out of my mouth now. I find myself actively looking for the silver lining now. I find myself complaining less about my husband and focusing more on his good qualities now.

I think this will be my favorite movie forever.

Okay, now for my least-favorite movie. I know many people who love this movie, but not me.

Dumb and Dumber.

Why is this my least favorite movie? Because I saw it when I was pregnant with Thomas. There were a *lot* of gross scenes in that movie. It was the only time during my pregnancy when I vomited. I can't even think of that movie without getting upset to my stomach. My husband will watch it whenever it's on TV. Thomas has even watched it. Me? I just hear Jim Carey or Jeff Daniels' voice and I run the other direction.


What is everyone else's best and worst picks?

Tagged...5 Things

I've been tagged by Jo! This is probably a pretty boring list.

5 Things…..

In my fridge:

12-pack of Diet Rite (mine)
12-pack of Diet Coke (DH's)
2 packs of provolone cheese -- on sale couldn't resist
bagels and cream cheese, Thomas's favorite
Thomas's homemade nacho cheese experiment that is about a week old

In my Handbag:

at least 25 grocery lists
at least 25 receipts
three dollar bills and a handful of change, probably mostly pennies
a couple of most towlettes individually packed
two library cards, belonging to me and Thomas

In my Wardrobe:

Several sets of clothes in different sizes. Ahem, sadly I'm wearing the largest size at the moment
A stack of Thomas's baby clothes that I couldn't part with including the outfit we brought him home from the hospital in
Thomas's baby book
a golf club
hidden stocking stuffers/gifts that I find throughout the year (shh, don't tell Thomas)

In my car:

8 noodles we use at the beach
3 folding chairs
2 bags from Wendy's that I need to sneak into the garbage when DH isn't looking
2 watergun toy wrappers from today's dollar store purchase that Thomas left
my cleaning kit...a box of wipes, a packet of Windex wipes and a microcloth for dusting the inside of the car

5 People to tag…..

Becky
Mull-berry
Mother Crone
Samuel
Wisteria

This is just too weird

I was going to blog about swimming lessons tonight. Before going to blogger, I was checking my favorite blogs and also telling my husband why I don't like swimming lessons.

What is weird is Audry blogged almost exactly what I was going to post! Thomas started lessons today and I was excited about visiting with other moms and came home thinking, "I'd rather have a root canal than sit and listen to all that."

We've done private lessons in the past and I think for my sanity we may just do them in the future. Plus Thomas will get all the attention that way and it would be really good for him because he's overwhelmed with all the new strokes he learned today.

Question of the day

Thomas: Mom, I have a question.

Mom: Shoot.
Thomas: (Blushing) Well, uhm, never mind.

Mom: Please, if you have a question, just ask it.

Thomas: Well, it's a dumb question.

Mom: NO question is dumb.

Thomas: Remember that movie we watched where the astronauts peed in their suits?

Mom: (Laughing) Yes.

Thomas: So is that how astronauts do it, they just go when they need to? And how do they, well, you know.

Mom: Good question. I don't know the answer, let's Google it.

Our Answer

Always in the front of a 10-year-old boy's mind: toilet behaviors. lol

Another Meme

Sixty-Two Question Meme
I got this from Those Weird Homeschoolers.

Call me strange, but I love to read these all the way through. It's a fun way to learn about people.

1.How old do you wish you were? 32

2.Where were you when 9/11 happened? I was on the internet at my cleaning group in chat...we used to chat for 5 minutes, then clean for 30 minutes. When I heard I was glued to the TV all day for several days. Thomas was in kindergarten and I was severely depressed missing him so my chat buddies were helping me. My depression skyrocketed that day.

3.What do you do when vending machines steal your money? Nothing, I haven't had money stolen from a vending machine because I hardly ever use them. If it did happen I'd probably say, "Oh sh*t."

4.Do you consider yourself kind? Very.

5. If you had to get a tattoo, where and what would it be? Never, ever, I admire them on some people but I could never do that to my body. Spider veins are bad enough.

6. If you could be fluent in any other language what would it be? Spanish

7. Do you know your neighbors? Sadly, yes. Most are -- never mind, not worth sharing.

8. What do you consider a vacation? One night in a motel would be a vacation. Going to inlaws, no. Going to dad's, yes. A real vacation is getting on a plane and going to a destination of my choice.

9. Do you follow your horoscope? Rarely

10. Would you move for the person you loved? Yes and I have

11. Are you touchy feely? Only with my son, otherwise keep your distance

12. Do you believe that opposites attract? My hubby and I are living proof that they do. He's a right-wing conservative and I'm not.

13. Dream job? Being rich enough to not have to work -- second choice, working in a greenhouse.

14. Favorite channels? Bravo, watch it daily. Movie channels.

15. Favorite place to go on a weekend? What, people go places on weekends? Besides Kmart or the grocery store?

16.Showers or Bath? Shower daily but enjoy long soaks at night in the winter.

17. Do you paint your nails? Who has time!

18.Do you trust people easily? Not at all.

19.What are your phobias? I-25 in Denver.

20.Do you want kids? Well, I wanted a bunch but was blessed with one. Sore subject.

21,Do you keep a handwritten journal? No.

22.Where would you rather be right now? Hmm, South Carolina or Disney World

23.What makes you feel warm and safe? My house.

24. Heavy or light sleep? Either or. Suffer from insomnia but sometimes I am so exhausted my husband can't wake me because I'm snoring. (Did I admit that?)

25.Are you paranoid? What makes you think I'm paranoid? Who told you that? Where did you get that idea???

26. Are you impatient? Sometimes

27. Who can you relate to? Almost anyone. I can get along with almost anyone and find things that I can relate to. There are always things I don't like (especially discipline issues) but I try to find the good in all. Except a very angry male senior citizen that I know, I cannot relate to anything about him nor do I want to.

28. How do you feel about interracial couples? This is a stupid question. I don't think any differently about interracial couples than I do any other couple.

29. Have you been burned by love? No, but I've burned.

30. What’s your life motto? Live and let live.

31. What's your main ringtone on your mobile? I have no idea. I have a different ring tone for everyone who calls me on my cell and there are few that I give my cell number to.

32. What were you doing at midnight last night? Surfing, looking at gardening websites.

33. Who was your last text message from? I don't do text messaging.

34.Whose bed did you sleep in last night? Our bed.

35. What color shirt are you wearing? None. I'm in a nightgown and robe. They're both pastel blue.

36. Most recent movie you watched? The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio. LOVE it.

37. Name five things you have on you at all times? Skin, hair, gray hair, zits, undies. I don't wear jewelry, not even my wedding ring. My wedding ring was my great-grandmas and when I had Thomas my fingers grew and it doesn't fit and I don't want to have it resized because there is an inscription in it. I've always meant to buy another but never gotten around to it.

38. What color are your bed sheets? Two sets, one set is a tie dye type purlpe the other is pastel yellow.

39. How much cash do you have on you right now? ZERO. Spent it all today. I never have cash.

40. What is your favorite part of chicken? I hate chicken but eat chicken breast.

41. What's your favorite town/city? Charleston, South Carolina

42. Who got you to join MySpace? I have never joined

43. What did you have for dinner last night? Spaghetti with meat sauce, garlic bread and a salad.

44. How tall are you barefoot? 5' 5

45. Have you ever smoked crack? No and hell no. I am *very* anti-drug.

46. Do you own a gun? Yes, several.

47. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Very strong coffee with fat-free half and half

48. What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex? I'm damned old for that stuff!

49. Do you have A.D.D.? What was the question again? Possibly.

50. What time did you wake up today? a little before 9

51. Current worry? When will DH sell that junker in the driveway and when will we get finish painting the trim on the house.

52. Current hate? Strong word, but extreme dislike for my neighbor across the street, otherwise known as the angry senior citizen. He's mean to all the kids in the neighborhood, verbally attacked me and I wish he'd just move into a retirement home.

53. Favorite place to be? With Thomas, sometimes with DH too ;-) and always at home.

54. Where would you like to travel? Disneyworld, all over America. I'd like to visit battlefields.

55. Where do you think you'll be in 10 yrs? Don't like to think that far ahead because Thomas will be grown and out of the house. The only thing I know for sure is that if I'm still alive, I'll have completely white hair by then. :(

56. Last thing you ate? a few bites of left over spaghetti

57. What songs do you sing in the shower? I never sing in the shower.

58. Last person that made you laugh? Thomas

59. Worst injury you've ever had? In 3rd grade I fell off the crossbars at school on my face and the right side of my face was swollen so badly it was about double in size. I could only eat with the opposite end of a spoon things like applesauce, cottage cheese for almost two weeks. Couldn't see out of my eye. It was complete misery and the right side of my face is a little higher than the left because of it. The day after this happened was Thanksgiving break and my mother made me travel with the family to visit friends for Turkey day. That was pure hell for me. Worst was stopping on the way at a restuarant where I still remember being gawked at like I was a freak. (Well, I suppose I was a freak.)

60. Does someone have a crush on you? Giggle, yeah, right

61. What is your favorite candy? Peanut M&Ms

62. I can't wait til..? Hmm, tomorrow for a brand-new day.

A Day at the Beach

We had a great day today. We were off to a slow start because once again we stayed up way too late, but when it took off, it was fun.

We went to the beach and swam all afternoon. While in the lake, I saw four children ride up on their bikes unaccompanied by an adult. The four kids ran into the lake like they owned it and promptly started slinging sand and rocks at each other. I took a closer look and recognized two of the four children. These kids never got sand or rocks close enough to anyone else in the water or on the beach, but every adult there sat up and watched them like a hawk.

Thomas and I were in the water and they inched their way toward us. The language I heard from these kids made the hair on my neck stand up, and I'm no stranger to bad language. It just stinks coming from 10-year-olds. The two kids I knew used G-D and F more times than I have in the last ten years. If their mothers knew about this, they would be horrified. Both moms are very devout Christians and don't swear.

As I watched, I thought about the fact that I would want to know if Thomas behaved in this manner while I was not around. (I know kids do things when parents aren't around and that is a part of growing up.) I had to chuckle because Thomas won't say a bad word, let alone spell it for me. (If he's relating a story about one of his friends used bad language.) He does say "sucks" which I hate, but I'll take that any day over a word that rhymes with suck. ;-)

Anyway, as I was watching I just couldn't help but think about the fact that these kids were unsupervised. Call me overprotective, but I don't think kids should be in a lake that does not have a lifeguard without an adult. At age 10. I don't know what age I would feel comfortable with that, but 10 seems to young to me.

One of the kids' moms works for the area Youth Foundation. She tells and teaches people how to raise their kids and provide them with good opportunities. Hmm, I don't think swearing like sailors at age 10 and flinging sand and rocks at each other is exemplary.

Thomas asked if he should go say hi as he knows the boys and I told him NO. The funniest thing about these kids was that one boy finally recognized me and when he did make eye contact with me, the first thing out of his mouth was: "This is boring, let's get out of here NOW." I was laughing about that!

They scurried away and all the adults on the beach laid back down, started reading books, etc.

After the beach we grabbed a bite to eat, came home, showered and relaxed with some movies. Thomas made supper for his dad: grilled cheese sandwiches and Spaghetti-Os. lol

This was the first day we got to the beach this summer! And I thought the same thing I always think when I'm in the water: Why don't we do this more often! So we've made plans to meet friends two times next week.

Now, if only we could come up with a sunblock that isn't greasy. . .

anniversary

My mom died 13 years ago today.

At the time of her death, I was extremely co-dependent on her. Time heals all wounds, and I can say that she has continued to teach me even though she's gone.

I had an awakening period where I was very angry at her. This started a few years ago and lasted a few years. Mom was very similar (minus the alcohol) to Joan Crawford. I am not over-exaggerating here. My sisters and I sat down and discussed Mommy Dearest one day and we all thought we were reading about our mom. It was not startling to us as it was to the rest of the world, it was normal. I think that book was the turning point when the three of us realized there really was something wrong. I was the golden child so didn't receive her wrath nearly as often as my other siblings. However, in my mid-30s I realized how manipulative she was toward me.

I worked for 11 years in my profession. I had a best friend that I stayed in contact with for a few years after I left to raise Thomas. One day Teri and I were talking on the phone and she informed me that during one of my mom's first visits, a time when I took mom to my job and introduced her to people, mom took Teri aside and told her that I needed to be watched over because I was very immature, naive and didn't know how the world worked. She did this on a mother to mother basis because Teri was about 15 years older than I.

I was absolutely horrified when I learned of that. That was the end of the relationship !!! (Trust is a huge issue with me.) The funny thing is I was extremely mature, responsible and I wasn't naive. I did know how the world worked. I worked with hardened criminals every single day. I worked with lawyers every day.

This little episode is just the tip of the iceberg on how mom was a master manipulator. In respect of her memory, I won't share more.

I am finally at a stage where I'm over my sorrow, my anger and my loss. Now I can look back and see some of the happy memories I had with mom. I can look at the bad things in a new light: She was ill. She did the best she could, she loved the only way she knew how, and she lived her life the best that she could under the circumstances. She had many wonderful qualities and I wish she had had the opportunity for therapy because she could have been so much more.

I now look at it like this: Take her good qualities and run with them. Mom would have put Martha Stewart to shame. She could cook, clean, sew and craft amazingly well. Learn from her mistakes: Type A personality, master manipulator, one of the angriest people I have ever known: Do not repeat.

There's a little voice inside my head that talks to me as I am parenting. It always asks a question: WWMD? (What would mom do?) Sometimes, I go with what mom would do such as teaching about how to clean, organize, teach good work ethic. Usually that little voice crops up when I need to do a 180 and the exact opposite of what mom would have done. It crops up when I need to bite my tongue so that Thomas can learn from mistakes. It crops up when Thomas does typical 10-year-old things that mom would have nearly killed for.

She continues to teach, although she'd be surprised at how those lessons are applied.

Mom, I love you anyway. Live and let live.

Homeschool Meme

I haven't had anything to blog about lately, so was glad to find a homeschool meme at the Imperfect Genius blog.

1) What country/region/state do you live in?

Minnesota

2) How long have you been homeschooling? Just getting started, old pro or somewhere in between?

Just starting our third year! Wow, where does time go!

3) Write a little something about your family. Ages? Stages?

One ten-year-old son, starting 5th grade.

4) Share some good homeschooling advice you’ve run across.

My own advice is to follow your heart. We know our kiddos better than anyone else, their learning styles, their likes, their dislikes, and what they need help with. I think if we listen to the little voice inside our head, we know the correct path to take.

5) Tell us something you’re passionate about (besides your family and homeschooling, those are givens!).

I am very passionate about genealogy. Very. It's my thing. Gardening is another passion of mine.

6) If you could take the ultimate field trip, where would you go and why?

The ultimate field trip would be an American history study in an RV visiting all the states. I'd like to see old homes, battlefields, museums, etc. In that field trip, I'd also like to visit my ancestors' towns, homes, places of work. (Many of my ancestors worked in places that are now a part of the national parks. While I would enjoy this, I don't know if my son would or not.

7) What is a resource you can’t do without?

Hands down, the internet.

8) How do you homeschool? Classical, Charlotte Mason, Waldorf, Unschooling, Eclectic?

Frankie method. Okay, eclectic. Actually I should say Thomas method. We homeschool to suit his learning style, which is varied. We unschool in science, we follow a classical outline for our history studies, we follow our own style for everything else.

9) Share a website or two that you visit often - can be your favorite blogger or a curriculum supplier, just any sites you really like.

Doc's blog, bloglines to keep track of the blogs I read, the blogs listed on my sidebar, and yes, I read The Well-Trained Mind's boards on a weekly basis. I'm also in lots of yahoo groups.

10) Tell us about one of your favorite projects/activities/trips you’ve had in the past few months.

Well, in Nov of 2005 we got on an airplane and visited Columbia, South Carolina for a week. My husband was working there and we went with him. We fell in love with South Carolina, hit every museum we could find, a wonderful zoo, toured historic homes, swam and even ate at a Waffle House Restaurant. (We were quite surprised there were more of these than McDonald's.) We also drove to Charleston for a day and toured Ft. Sumter, the South Carolina Aquarium, and an evening walking ghost tour of Chraleston. I must add that we met a good internet homeschool friend and her kids while we were there, and that was the highlight of the trip for me!

11) What is a current/previous homeschooling challenge you’ve faced?

Teaching Thomas speed, focus, concentration.

12) Share an accomplishment, something about you or your children. Come on, brag about it!

Well, I don't draw the line from homeschooling into activities, so I'll share that Thomas has won his Cub Scouts pack's Pinewood Derby two years in a row and also won the District Pinewood Derby two years in a row. Quite a feat, because those derbies are highly competitive. He spent many hours working on his cars and learned a lot.

13) What are you looking forward to over the coming year?

Starting up again in September! Taking an afternoon off here and there to go swimming. Tons of science that we -- Thomas actually helped -- have planned. The breaks that I worked into our schedule. Those wintertime blues really got to me and I planned some good breaks after the new year to help.

14) Name three things you like doing in the summer with your family.

Going to the beach, gardening with Thomas, sneaking off on a hot evening to get a McDonald's ice cream cone. Have to put in a number four here: Little excursions around our area, such as visiting Walnut Grove, MN to play in Plum Creek, or going to the Sioux Falls Zoo for the day, visiting the Jeffers Petroglyphs. I want to get to the Grotto of the Redemption in Iowa this summer, but Thomas doesn't want to go there even though it would be a great reinforcer of our geological studies this year. I think I'll make him go anyway.

15) Have a favorite homeschooling quote? Share it here.

Not a favorite homeschool quote, but a favorite quote I try to live by: Live and let live.

Pretty!

Flowers always make my day, especially when they are unexpected! A great-big thank you to my cousin/best friend for the surprise! The photo doesn't do the arrangement justice.

Too Scared to Sell

I have three boxes of homeschool stuff I need to unload. While I have been buying on Ebay forever, I have never sold and frankly, I'm almost too scared to try. I'm equally scared to sell on the homeschool boards.

Some of the stuff I have I will give to friends, such as flash cards, books that aren't in the best of condition, but I have some stuff that we have outgrown that are worth some money. I would imagine I could make enough to buy all the science supplies I want, plus some.

So why am I so scared?

If I try to sell on Ebay, I know to get a new checking account so that our main account isn't tied up with Paypal. I've heard horror stories about freezing checking accounts and I'd be close to death if that happened. I know how to accurately describe what I have. I'm just a chicken.

I don't know how to do shipping. I'd want to charge a very small fee for shipping and handling -- meaning I'd go out and buy something to ship the books in. I don't know how to do shipping charges, though. Personally, I don't buy near as much on Ebay as I used to because of shipping fees so I'd probably do media mail. I think everything I have qualifies for that.

I'm just a wimp. All I need to do is jump in.

Someone tell me to do it. I don't want to be tripping over boxes for the next month.

Ugh.

Oh what a mess!

The majority of next year's school books arrived at our house. They've been sitting on the kitchen counter for way too long.

I started to clean the school room today. Here's two boxes full of stuff to sell. I ran out of boxes, so the school room looks like this:

Oh what a mess. I find it very hard to get rid of stuff. The stuff in the foreground is 3rd grade completed work that I can't seem to get rid of. Uhm, we just finished 4th grade.

I've been sorting for an hour and now I'm just procrastinating. I want to finish this room today so that I can reclaim my kitchen. For some reason I am just not enjoying this process. I wish we had a room that was larger than 9x9! I wish I had more book cases! I would really like to get another 4-foot table so that Thomas and I each had our own workspace, or else we had a space to house fish tanks, hermit crabs, plants.

I wish for a lot, but none will come true (except maybe another table) and it is time to force myself to complete the task.

We're Crazy!!!!

All this late evening I've been surfing and my husband has been surfing on his computer. Thomas was in bed, fast asleep. We've also been smelling chocolate cake.

So I happen to notice the clock. It reads 12:20. I look to my husband and say:

ME: Honey?
DH: What!
ME: It's 12:20
DH: Yeah, so.
ME: It's my birthday.

He turns and looks at me, and we both are smiling evil grins. Without another word, we both jump out of our seats, run to get Thomas up and out of bed. When he was awake and in the kitchen, we slammed candles on the cake. Didn't have 41, so we made the number 41 with the candles. We lighted them, I made a quick wish, blew them out...and we ate cake.

Thomas has brushed his teeth and is back in bed. DH is getting into bed as I type. I'm sitting here laughing, because doing what we did is exactly the way I like to celebrate things. Crazy, out of order, unexpected.

I have a feeling it is going to be a wonderful day. DH even said he'd take the afternoon off, so we'll have to come up with new plans.

I love being weird!

Growing With Grammar 4 is now available!

Growing With Grammar is a fantastic grammar program. The author, Tamela Davis, started with a third-grade level and has just completed her fourth-grade level.

I have not seen the fourth-grade level, but my son worked through GWG3, so I'm positive that it is as fantastic as 3.

I like to compare GWG to Rod and Staff. Rod and Staff is a great program, although it's time consuming and writing all those sentences out by hand is excruciating. Also it is very religious. Growing With Grammar is to the point and very well laid out. Anyone of any faith or lack thereof can use this program without any hesitation. GWG's coverage is "just the right amount" whereas Rod and Staff tended to go on and on and on. Also, with Rod and Staff, we have to do grammar 4 days a week in order to complete the book in a year. GWG covers the same ground but it can be done fewer times a week and be finished in the year.

I just read on the GWG website that the author is going to write a 1st/2nd grade combo program and will also be working on her 5th grade program, both due out in spring of 2007.

My son was behind on his grammar skills, according to his 3rd grade CAT5 results. We did GWG3 in 4th grade and his English test scores on his 4th grade CAT5 went way up. (Yes, they were above grade level.) That, IMHO, is proof that it is a good program. I really do believe that her program helped give Thomas the boost that he needed.

Growing With Grammar

June 27th

When I was a kid, it was my favorite day of the year. Now it's just another day -- or maybe it's a day when I get sad and miss my mom, who had a gift for making birthdays special.

Another year older. Another year wiser. Another year, more gray hair. I'm getting old. It beats the alternative, though!

Birthdays were always a big deal to me. I make a big deal out of Thomas's birthday as well as my husband's. They don't for me.

This weekend I went to the store and bought a chocolate cake mix and chocolate canned frosting. I told the boys that I will be getting a birthday cake this year. Then I pointed to the mix. DH got the hint and I'm proud to report the cake is cooling. =) (All the dirty dishes were stacked in the sink for me, though. lol)

I'm tired of crappy birthdays and decided I need to take it upon myself to have a great one. So tomorrow shall be a selfish Frankie day. I deserve it, right? ? ?

Thomas and I will go out for breakfast. I have not decided where we will go yet. Truth be told, I love an Egg McMuffin. However, a nice, sit-down breakfast would be nice too. We will then depart for a day of shopping. Ah, in my little town I should say a morning of shopping.

My husband did not buy me a gift this year because I nixed what he was going to get me. (A swing for the back yard.) It isn't enjoyable going in the back yard anymore because the neighbors on our north just hacked down all the privacy shrubs and there's no privacy and the neighbors to the south are always outside with their #$%# poodle that barks incessantly. When I go out to garden, I always check to see if Yappy is outside before I head out.

So I think I'll buy myself a gift, but I don't know what it will be yet. I want a food sealer, but my mom's words keep echoing in my head: Don't buy gifts for the house, buy them for the person. She hated any appliances as gifts because she called it a gift for the house. And she's right. Mom also hated money as a gift because she would use it for groceries. I disagree with her on that, I love getting money as a gift because then I can buy what I want.

Okay, so breakfast out, a morning of shopping, I think that Thomas and I shall go to lunch at a bar. My town has many lakes and there is a bar/restaurant that has been there forever. It was built on the lake. It is a busy place, smoke-filled in the evenings, but great for lunch. The food is greasy but fantastic. I think a pork tenderloin sandwich is in order. We'll go after the busy lunch crowd and look out on the lake. In the winter this place is great because we sit and watch cars driving over the lake. To this day it freaks me out seeing cars driving on the lake. Our town looks very similar to the town in the movie Grumpy Old Men. Ice huts everywhere. In the summer, this restaurant is great because we get to watch all the boats come to the dock and the people come in to eat.

I'm at a loss for what to do in the afternoon. Maybe a movie? Thing is, I don't like sitting through kids movies. We did just go see Over the Hedge and I actually enjoyed that movie. I think the theater is showing the Garfield movie. I know it's showing Click. I wonder if that's appropriate for a 10-year-old! Another idea is to drive to the next down east and go to their motel. They will let you swim for $3 an hour. Maybe that's what we'll do. I just am not in the mood to go to our local swim park because it's loud, noisy, full of kids dropped off for the entire day, and I know for a fact the pool is half bodily fluids.

I'll let my husband surprise me for supper. He's a good cook, or he can take us out, either one. Then we'll have cake.

What a boring birthday, but it will do. Birthday small-town Minnesota style.

I could get together with friends, but everyone wants to go to the water park in the summer and I just don't. Aside from what I already mentioned, I don't hear well and with the water spraying and gushing all over the place, I can't hear to have a conversation there.

41. Definitely middle aged, feeling and showing it, but loving the fact I get smarter and better every year.

A Relaxing Sunday

We had a very relaxing Sunday at our house. Thomas and his dad continued playing games on the computer, played some games and read some books. I putzed around the house all day, finally settling in at the kitchen table with my books, pencil and paper.

Thomas decided he wants to work through How Nature Works first. After studying the book for awhile this afternoon, I find it doesn't provide as much information as I would like on certain topics. That will be easily remedied because we have tons of science books.

We'll start the book out of order doing the plants and fungi chapter. I grabbed my book Simple Nature Experiments with Everyday Materials to plot our game plan. I made a list of things to buy and then hit the internet.

I checked out Edmund Scientific, Carolina Biological, and Home Science Tools. For what I wanted, and the quantities, Home Science Tools was my best bet. I spent an hour perusing their website, putting things in the wish list. I saved the wish list frequently. When I was done, I had a very healthy wish list, healthy enough to make my husband complain.

We ate a nice homemade Mexican meal that my husband prepared and I came back to the computer with credit card in hand. I can't believe it, my wish list was empty! Is that a sign that I should not be ordering all those science supplies? It couldn't be me, I know I kept hitting the save wish list button. Great, now I'll have to start all over.

I will start over. Tomorrow. I'll need to get my list and remember that Sal Soda, the term used in the How Nature Works book, is actually sodium carbonate or good old washing soda. Yes, I admit it took me five minutes to figure out what Sal Soda was. And I guess that doesn't even matter because I can buy that locally.

I did learn that I need to order my iodine solution online because they iodine they sell in pharmacies is alcohol based and may not work with some experiments whereas the iodine sold online is water based.

I swear I'll learn more science than Thomas will.

I've heard of literature-based education, classical education, but has anyone ever put together a science-based education? Thomas loves science, is very good and intuitive with science, and our upcoming school year is going to revolve around science.

And me, the poor mom who always hated science class, will finally love science. (I can hope.)

Bad mom!

I blew it today. Really blew it.

Early this afternoon the computers were forced to be shut off due to a thunderstorm. The boys had to give up Runescape! What a wonderful thing, because we played three games of Blokus in a row. I might add that Thomas won two of the three games. He is really getting good at thinking ahead, seeing his moves, etc.

After the games we decided we needed lunch. As I was preparing lunch, Thomas was putting the game up. Well, I left my tall cup of coffee on the table next to the games and next to my Reader's Digest How it Works series of books, six in all, Rebecca Rupp's Home Learning Year by Year and The Well-Trained Mind. I had been reading the books and trying to decide which to do first before the boys brought Blokus up.

Well, can you see it coming? Tall cup of coffee, over $100 worth of books next to each other?

You guessed it, Thomas knocked over the cup of coffee. Luckily, though, the coffee was only centimeters from the books. I jumped, Thomas jumped, then I yelled. I yelled because as I was bringing over a couple of dish towels, Thomas started cleaning the floor not worrying about the coffee that could get "the precious books."

As I was yelling, Thomas pushed the chair out of the way. In the process, the roller went straight over my toe and cut it. Okay, so mom yells even more. Loudly. (It really did hurt.)

We got the mess cleaned up and I started apologizing profusely. I took Thomas in my arms and I started to cry. What had just happened was an every-day occurrence in my childhood. My mom flew off the handle every single day over stupid things. I told Thomas the story about when I was his age I had planned on spending the night with my friend Julie. My mom and I were eating lunch and I knocked over my glass of milk. My mom started yelling (the same as I had done over the coffee) and then forbade me from spending the night as punishment. I told him how awful I felt because it was an accident. He whispered he felt the same way, he didn't intentionally spill the coffee. I hugged him tighter and said, "I know." As I was hugging him, I kept thinking I'd come unglued if someone treated him the way I had just treated him.

We had a good, long talk about what had taken place. I told him my response was reactionary, that I had not thought about what I was doing at all. I also told him that is what my childhood was like and it is kind of a learned response. We then discussed what learned responses are. I told him how wrong I was, how stupid my actions were, and apologized again for hurting his feelings. Anyway, when all was said and done, he said some precious words to me: "Mom, you're not mean, everybody makes mistakes. Your mom didn't apologize, but you did. You're a good mom." And then I cried some more.

I screw up all the time, I'll readily admit that, but today's was bad. I just hate yelling. I hate it when I do stupid things, especially when they are at the expense of my son. Even with a heart-felt apology, the sting of my yelling will not be forgotten.

Oy.

ew!

I took Thomas to breakfast this morning. We went to McDonald's so he could get hot cakes. Who calls them hot cakes? We always call them pancakes.

Anyway, we took a seat by the pop fountain. We're sitting there eating and this woman runs up to the pop machine, hits the water button and proceeds to wash her hands right there. In the pop fountain. I couldn't believe my eyes. Washing her hands in the pop fountain. Ewwww!

If you know me, you know that I can't keep my mouth shut when an opportunity arises. Thomas was sitting with his back to the fountain, so very loudly I said, "Thomas, quick turn around and look, some idiot is washing her hands in the pop fountain." Of course Thomas, being a 10-year-old boy loudly proclaimed, "Ewwwww, that's sick."

The woman turned and gave me the "you're evil" stare, grabbed some napkins, dried her hands and stormed off.

Just then one of the employees walked by and I got her attention. I told her the disgusting tale and she went over and cleaned the entire fountain.

What would possess someone to wash their hands in the pop fountain when there is a bathroom 15 feet from the machine? Huh? Is she afraid of using soap?

That was just gross.

Whew!

The rumors about the company laying off 70 people were only partially true. They laid off 20. Thankfully my husband made it through. My heart aches for the 20, though.

I was going to make sloppy Joe's for supper tonight. We decided that we needed to celebrate and go out to eat instead. How I wish we had an Olive Garden or a Cracker Barrel in town. We'll have to settle for the local Mexican restaurant. Luckily, the food is good there.

I was supposed to receive a Fed Ex shipment from Amazon today. I was all set to pour over new books tonight. It didn't come, darn it all. At least I can still look forward to its arrival -- plus the Rainbow order. I did get the new Rainbow catalog in yesterday's mail. Sadly, it was raining and a good portion of the catalog was soggy! I put it in front of a fan last night so the pages are dry and stiff. It seems to be thicker than last year's. Even with funky pages, I'll still spend countless hours enjoying the catalog wishing I were rich -- or had $8000 per student like the school district has. lol

Toying with Ideas

I have a lot of ideas I'm toying with in my brain...

1) Actually *starting* summer school.

2) Starting working on our daily chore cards again. Today I did manage to place them out on the counter, but we didn't do the chores. It works SO well when we do them...I just have the summer "don't-cares."

3) Cleaning out my basement. In the winter I always think what a great summer project that would be. Now that it's June, I think it would be a great winter project.

4) Starting Weight Watchers again. I am miserable, but not enough so to get off my butt and do something about it. I've been toying with this one for months. Once I actually start, I do great. It's just starting.

5) Setting up my cheap-o plastic outdoor table and doing school outside, in the shade.

6) Cleaning out the schoolroom. We're awaiting the arrival of lots of new stuff and I have no where to put it once it gets here.

7) Starting our county fair art project. I have everything purchased, a list of what to do...just need to do it. Oh, I guess we did start...Thomas is making a newspaper box with his dad. They started this past weekend. It is really cool to peek out into the garage and see my little baby -- I mean my big 10-year-old cutting wood with the band saw, the hand saw, a jig saw, running a sander, etc.

I have the summertime relaxed-mode feeling and just don't feel like putting effort into anything that isn't fun. Gotta get over that!

hmph!

My husband came home yesterday after work and informed me that there is a rumor floating around, from a very reliable source, that his company will be cutting 70 jobs from three plants this week. We're scared, but they've been doing layoffs since we moved here. Yuck.

My sunroof button broke in my car and so now it doesn't want to close. It's just by pure luck that I quit pushing the button at the right time to make sure it seals. I see a big bill on that.

It is 68 degrees today, has been raining the majority of the day, and humidity is 90 percent. We had the air off all morning but everything in the house is now sticky. Can't catch a break on the electric bill today, will have to turn the air on to control humidity in the house.

And to top off the lovely day I seem to be having, my son and I just arrived home from the library. He decided he wanted to do the library's summer reading program. The director came out to sign him up and Thomas's brain disappeared. He didn't know what grade he had just completed. I tried to make light of it and said we homeschool so we're not into the grade thing. Well, then the form required the school name. Thomas looked up at me in a panic and said, "Mom, how do you spell school?"

Okay, earth, open up and swallow me. This child is not the best speller in the world but he has been writing the word school for years now. And it was right on the form in front of him. Good grief! I joked, "Well, obviously we're not the best homeschoolers around."

On a brighter note, we did get his standardized test scores back and he did extremely well once again -- except for spelling. He scored at grade level in spelling. I think I'll have him write "school" on the white board 100 times this afternoon. Not.

Guess what I bought!

My husband is going to think I have flipped my lid. My son probably won't know what they are -- well, that's an exaggeration, but he's certainly never seen one in my house or on me.

I was shopping on Ebay the other day and I bought myself two

aprons.

Yup, the old-fashioned kind that go over your neck, tie in the back and have pockets. One is a very pretty floral and the other is a solid color. My husband will think that I've stepped back in time and turned into a 1950s kind of gal. He knows me too well and would never even hope that I would become subservient, though. ;-)

Actually, I am just a slob in the kitchen and I am sick of getting my shirts dirty. I thought an apron would be nice when cooking and then doing dishes.

I'll be anxiously awaiting their arrival. Only time will tell whether or not it was a stupid waste of $3 plus $6.95 shipping. lol

Okay, what I bought...

This is what I bought from Amazon:

• 
  
• 1 of: Lewis and Clark for Kids : Their Journey of Discovery with 21 Activities (For Kids series)
• 1 of: Nonfiction Reading Practice Grade 5 (Nonfiction Reading Practice)
• 1 of: How it works: how math works (How It Works)
• 1 of: HTML for the World Wide Web with XHTML and CSS: Visual QuickStart Guide, Fifth Edition
• 1 of: How body works (How It Works)
<>1 of: How it works: how nature works (How It Works)
• 1 of: A Young Person's Guide to Music
• 1 of: How it works: how the universe works (How It Works)
• 1 of: Janice VanCleave's Geometry for Every Kid : Easy Activities that Make Learning Geometry Fun (Science for Every Kid Series)
• 1 of: Mapping the World by Heart Lite 7th Edition
• 1 of: Logic Liftoff
• 1 of: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Geography, Second Edition
• 1 of: The Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia Of World Geography with Complete World Atlas (Geography)
• 1 of: Discovering Great Artists: Hands-On Art for Children in the Styles of the Great Masters (Bright Ideas for Learning)
• 1 of: Leonardo da Vinci for Kids : His Life and Ideas, 21 Activities (For Kids series)

And this is what I bought from Rainbow:
Building Writing Skills Grade 4 & 5 (hoping this is good, taking a chance)
How Science Works
How Things Work
Metric System placemat
Constellations placemat
Notebook Science Fact Book
an organizational skills book
Pentime Cursive Grade 5
Spectrum Test Practice
Step-by-Step Spreadsheet Activities for Excel
SOTW II activity book
SOTW II CD's
Switched on Schoolhouse Science 5

Can you tell my kid likes science?

I will also be using audible.com to download three Hakim volumes onto a CD (If I can figure out how to do that)

We'll be using some of these things this summer but most in the fall. I also have already purchased reading books, Civil War for Kids, tons of Cornerstone of Freedom books, tons of scholastic biographies, etc. I still have to buy Rod and Staff English. We'll be using Lial's BCM for math again. I plan to use it for 5th and 6th grade. Which is why I bought VanCleave's geometry book because my son won't get to geometry this year. We'll work on that this summer. I'm sure it will be light fluff but enough to get his feet wet and cover bases if it's covered on our standardized test. He's already had geometry exposure with Singapore math so I'm not that worried.

We used American Revolution for Kids this year and we really enjoyed that book, so I bought the Civil War last time I was in civilization (i.e. a bookstore) and it's good, too. I'm anxious to see the do DaVinci and Lewis and Clark books.

I'm still not sure how to approach writing. I may just teach him how to outline and go without a program. I don't know. I've got plenty of time to think that through. I could just use Rod and Staff. ???

Garage Sales

This afternoon after lunch I looked around the house and all our hard work from yesterday disappeared. It was really messy again. Now most people would dive in and get it straightened up. Not me. I wanted out, so I grabbed the newspaper, highlighted the garage sales that were going on this afternoon, gave my son $5 and the door we went.

At our first garage sale I spent a whopping .55 for a really nice Grand Canyon book and -- don't laugh -- a cleaning book for me. (I collect cleaning books like some people collect cookbooks.) The woman holding the sale was very nice and friendly and I told her how beautiful her garden was. She had a garden that ran alongside her driveway with gorgeous flowers. I asked if they were Sweet William and she told me no, they were called Pinks. I could have sworn they were Sweet William. In fact, they were identical to what I planted two years ago, which were Sweet William. She said no, she was a master gardener and in fact they were Pinks. Perplexed, the first thing I did when I arrived home was google Sweet William and Pinks only to be relieved to find they are both Dianthus and I wasn't so crazy. Upon further research, I know that she actually had both Pinks and Sweet Williams.

I'm really funny this way, because I feel compelled to know the correct answer to life's little questionable conversations. We were both right. Nonetheless, they were gorgeous.

This same lady had some yellow perennial that she didn't know what it was and she dug one flower up for me. She told me she's giving one to everyone who comments about her flowers because they spread so fast, she wants rid of them, but appreciates compliments on her garden. I planted it in my garden and wished she would have given me three instead of one. I might have my husband drive by her sale and get me another. lol I offered to pay for it, but she said no.

We went to about ten sales total. Nothing to write home about, really, but we did pick up some Scholastic reading books for my son for ten cents apiece. I also got a four-tiered letter stacking tray for 50 cents. I wanted one for our homeschool table and knew they'd be a dime a dozen at sales.

The most fun part of our afternoon romp was what my son decided to purchase. We went to one sale that had a beautiful hibiscus plant for $2.50. He went straight for it. It surprised the proprietors, but not me. I was so very proud as he stood there asking question after question on the proper care of his hibiscus. What kind of sun should it get? Will it die in the winter? He was delighted to find he can bring it indoors and it will continue to grow. "Should I fertilize it?" was his final question. Just a cute moment. The proprietors were so taken with him that they cut the price in half. The man said, "You are such a nice young man that I think you deserve 50% off." Thomas's eyes grew huge and he gleamed.

He's not a "typical" boy. Yes, he loves frogs, toads, bugs and mud. He also has a very gentle and loving spirit that can appreciate flowers. He just makes me smile. He's my flower and it is so much fun watching him bloom.

Catching Up

Thanks for all the comments regarding my last entry. I talked to my dad who stopped me before I even got into the excuses and reassured me that it was not necessary for me to come, that he completely understood, that gas prices were horrible and to get over the guilt trip. Then he said, "It's okay because your sister will be here." lol Okay, so it wasn't completely guilt-free, but I do feel much better about my decision. And bless her little pea-picking heart, my sister is now and has always been dad's favorite so he's happy that she will be there. And that really does make me happy, too. After I got to thinking about it, I have spent nine out of his last 13 birthdays with him, plus I have visited for up to a month each summer for the past eight years. So guilt-trip over.

My birthday is the day after his, so for once I'll be able to spend mine the way I want to.

With summer vacation upon us, we have turned into lazy bums! Our daily chore cards flew out the window, we have been staying up late, getting up late and aside from the house being a pit, we've been having a ball. Thomas and I have been playing games every single day, have been going to the park a lot, have been going for long walks. Thomas has been going on long bike rides with his dad, too. Try as they might, I won't join them on the bike rides. Yes, I have a nice bike. Yes, I have a gel seat. Yes, I have lots of extra padding on my body. But still -- riding a bike hurts! Even though I have all that extra padding, I am still boney and I just won't bear that.

Yesterday we decided to come back into the real world and started working on chores again. We're putzing around the house slowly and getting it back into shape. It is amazing how quickly a house will go to ruins when you don't do very much. We mowed the back of our property where my husband just refuses to mow. The grass was knee-deep. I don't get my husband and I never will, but it looks better now. I told Thomas that he is not done mowing until everything is mowed. My husband always tells him to stop and the shed line. I told Thomas that he is with me 24/7 and with his dad only six hours a day -- who would he rather have mad at him? lol That was a no brainer.

I placed my big school orders earlier this week. Living in the boonies, in a place with no bookstores, I had to use Amazon. What is it with Amazon now? Earlier in the year I placed a $190 order (I think it was that much) and a month later they emailed and said it wouldn't be shipping for a few more weeks. I cancelled the order. This time I ordered $250 worth of books and they are coming in bits and pieces, and one of those pieces isn't supposed to ship until the end of June. That's just not good customer service, IMHO. I also placed a big order with Rainbow Resources. When I was done giving her the order, I asked why I hadn't received a new catalog. I told her that is my homeschooling bible. I read that catalog more than I read any other homeschooling resources, including my Rebecca Rupp books. I was just sure that it came every year in the spring. She told me it is set to ship out mid-June and that it was new, improved and I was going to like it even better. Is that possible? Did they add more secular products? That would get me to like it even better.

While I am a Christian, there are few Christian products I like to use. Christians have differences ranging from night to day, and I'm a liberal Christian, not the mainstream, and I don't like bible passages on every page. My son had requested Switched on Schoolhouse Science again this year, and that one I can handle because it is easy to just skim over the religious parts. Usually a sentence or two, sometimes a paragraph, it's easy to jump down and get to the meat. I would have ordered the secular version of SOS but it was twice the price.

We will start summer school next week. We are going to work on art, spelling, history, math, science and a review of grammar. I suppose we'll do more than that, but that not much. It will be a relaxed pace, much different than our school year, and I'm going to try to get my son to take the initiative on when and how the work gets done. We'll see how that flies. I don't think we'll get far with that. lol

Well, my son just announced, "Hairball on aisle 5." My kitty got sick so I need to go clean it up. Never a dull moment.

A Very Tough Decision

I had to make a very tough decision. I am feeling extremely guilty for my choice.

My dad will turn 80 at the end of the month. Dad lives two days away from me. My tough decision is that I decided not to go "home" for his birthday.

He won't be alone on his birthday, my sister and one or both of her kids will be there. Still, my son and I should be there to help him celebrate because it is such a big deal. I worry that my dad will feel let down. I worry that by not attending, I am teaching my son to not be supportive of family.

On the other hand, every single time I go somewhere it is to visit dad. Period. Okay, we went to South Carolina last November only because my husband was working there and his company paid for my son and I to fly out, for the motel, and for our rental car.

Every year I spend hundreds of dollars getting to Denver and back. Three times in the past eight years we have gone to Indiana with my dad, my sister and her kids. Dad grew up in Indiana and he wanted us to attend his family reunions. Even though we were in dad's car, he paid for gas and motels, I still spent hundreds of dollars on the trips.

I don't mean to sound unappreciated. I loved our trips to Hoosier land very much. I loved meeting family, renewing some relationships, and seeing the country. I loved, even more, the trip down memory lane -- going on a family vacation with dad. It took me back to my childhood. I loved his stories. I loved finding ancestors' graves. I loved researching our genealogy. I also love going to dad's house, cleaning for him. (I am always cleaning for him!)

Now we are a one-income family. I used to be a professional bringing in a nice salary. In fact, I was the sole support of this family while my husband went back to school for his degree. Now I feel it's more important to be mom and teacher. With that, I knew money would be tight. It is, we make due, and have a good life. Nothing extravagant, but our needs are met.

We have some major projects we have to do. We need a new roof. We need some new windows. We need to evaluate our transportation and update. Money, money, money.

Here comes the guilt. I am putting my needs before that of my dad's.

From a different perspective, traveling is difficult for me. In the summer, my right leg swells up terribly. Who knows why. The doctor gave me water pills. It is painful and uncomfortable. It takes two days to drive to dad's. We cannot afford airline tickets. Amtrak is five hours away and due to my leg, I cannot sleep in coach for one night or I wouldn't be able to walk the next day. When we take Amtrak to Denver, I get a room in a sleeper car. I'm a good shopper and it's usually cheap. Not in the summer. Can't afford it now. Last summer I drove us down. My leg was swollen the whole visit. It was a long haul and I was physically exhausted and in pain.

I also have a little phobia. I hate driving into Denver. Really, I hate it. The last three times I've driven in, we've experienced scary situations. Once, I was driving on I-25 and a car entered and almost drove right into me. I couldn't get over because of traffic. I shook violently. It was very close at high speeds. Another time, I was driving down 6th Ave with what I would consider "medium" traffic. Top a hill and right in my lane is a mattress! I had to slam on my brakes and I was barely able to get out of the lane. I have had nightmares over that mattress.

Finally, the worst was our visit last June. Hating driving into Denver as I do, I went a different route. We drove through South Dakota and Wyoming. (Took my son to see my inlaws.) We spent the night at a friend's house in Cheyenne. I got up at 5 am on a Sunday morning thinking the traffic would be next to nothing going into Denver. We were on the road at 5:30 am. What I didn't take into account were drunk drivers on their way home from late-night partying.

Driving on I-25, just past the Wyoming/Colorado border, before 6am, there was very little traffic. It was wonderful. Until I saw the car swerving in my rear view mirror. I slowed way down and got over as far as I could when it passed me. Sadly, the truck in front of me did not. The drunk hit the truck. The truck spun wildly. I slammed on my brakes, watched the truck come to a stop in the median. Thankfully the guy was able to walk and was only "banged" up. I stayed with the man until the Highway Patrol arrived. The drunk driver was never caught.

So anyway, I now have a horrible phobia of driving into Denver. Face it, I live in a town with a population of 10,000 and 3/4 of that is senior citizens. It's slow. Fast paced city driving is not my thing anymore.

Dad had two strokes last October. Thankfully they were mild and he's doing just fine. I needed to get there but I couldn't drive. We took Amtrak because I was able to get a cheap sleeper car. Thomas and I stayed almost three weeks while dad was recovering. Thank goodness for homeschooling, we just packed it up and did school in his living room. But...I couldn't drive.

So here I am. I'm afraid to drive into the city of Denver. My health isn't the greatest which makes long-distance driving miserable. I'm broke and can't fly. My dad will suffer as a result.

I feel like a heel. I also would like a little fun money to do some fun things this summer. If we went to Denver, that fun money is gone forever.

This was a tough choice. I'll probably feel guilty over it until my dying day. Ugh.

Finally

I am happy to report that tonight, at 8:06 pm, we officially finished 4th grade. (We had to finish one leg of the standardized test and did it after supper.)

Whew. Thomas is excited for summer break and bouncing off the walls.

Mom will take a good two weeks (at least) to recover from the school year.

It was a good year.

Mom's opinion on the best thing we did this year: Make a school room. Although we still do a lot at the kitchen table, having it all in one spot was wonderful. The sense of ownership my son felt with the room (he applied the decorations, helped clean and organize) was well worth it.

Thomas thought the best thing we did this school year was our early-November trip to South Carolina. (This comes in as a very close second for me.)

Worst thing this year: ??? Neither Thomas nor I can come up with anything.

Things I'll change for next year: Well, this is a no brainer. With two years under my belt, I know that we will do a few weeks of summer school so that we can take off a few weeks in the spring. Spring and cabin fever hits hard in Minnesota and in February and March, I am climbing the walls.

I can't believe my baby is now a fifth grader. Where does time go!

How did they do it?

I want to know how people survived before central air. I'm dead serious.

This weekend we took down five of our kitchen windows, stripped them down to bare wood, and managed to get a primer coat on. Then we put the windows back on because it is supposed to rain tonight.

In the meanwhile, our air conditioner kept flipping the circuit breaker off and we decided not to run it until having it serviced -- hopefully tomorrow. And it would have been stupid to run it anyway with the windows off.

Of course, as my luck has been running, it was in the 90s here this weekend. Humidity was well above 60.

I am beat. I have a problem with my right ankle and in the heat it swells. I cannot get a shoe on tonight it is so swollen. I am drenched. The house is hotter than outside, even though I went out and bought two fans. Every time I move I sweat like a pig.

Last night to cool off and relax, I sat in front of a fan doing Sudokus. I started feeling cool and so I moved the fan. It was tolerable. Then I checked the thermometer: 92 degrees. In the house.

I am a wimp. I keep the thermometer at 70-72 year round. WHINE!

When we watched the parade this morning, I was so wet from heat/sun that I thought I might pass out. I don't know how much water I drank, but it was quite a bit. I did notice that all the people around me were also sweating, so that made me feel a little less -- well, whiney.

I feel very childish complaining about the heat. I mean, there is are a lot worse things in life to endure. I guess I can fall back on the medical condition: heat-induced edema, I believe the doctor called it. I was told to stay out of the heat. I keep thinking of my mother, at my age, who had to turn her oven on and bake every day in the hot summer heat. I think of my grandparents and ancestors who had to wear more clothes than we do today. Ugh.

Then my thoughts turn back toward my windows. It's supposed to be dry here tomorrow through Friday. So DH will take them back off, we'll finish the frames and put a couple coats of paint on the windows themselves and then have eight more to worry about. I'm hoping for 70ish weather this week so we can get it done. It was so hot we seemed to be working in slow motion this weekend.

On a less whiney note, I wanted to share this. I haven't blogged a lot because I didn't have a lot to talk about in the homeschool realm. I have always tried to keep this pretty much on the topic of homeschooling. Well, that's going to be impossible this summer. So I'm going to blog about life in general, hopefully throwing something homeschool related in here and there through the summer. In fall I'll be back to mostly homeschool stuff again.

My hat is off to whomever invented central air conditioning. Hopefully ours will be up and running tomorrow which in turn will help my ankle/leg get back to its normal size which in turn will make it easier for me to actually walk and get things done in a more timely and less hobbled manner.

Memorial Day

Today my son marched in his very first parade, our town's small Memorial Day parade. He marched with his Cub Scouts pack. I'd share a picture but our camera's batteries died right as my husband was about to snap the photo.

I had many thoughts racing through my head as we arrived at the landing area then watched the parade.

My first thought was this was way too small of a parade. The whole lineup was way too short. Our local military personnel were at the front of the line followed by three cars of VFWs. A troop of Girl Scouts was next, the local Boy Scouts, then the Cub Scouts. The local high school marching band ended the parade. It passed by us in about two minutes. It is too bad the parade was so "small." These people deserve so much more.

My husband and I discussed the fact this was the first time we ever attended the Memorial Day parade. This should be the parade we always attend to show support of our troops and those who fought for us in the past. My husband and I both have fathers who are veterans of World War II. We should know to say thank you and show support. I pledge to attend the parades from here on out.

As I looked at all our young military men and women in their uniforms, I kept uttering the mantra "I can support the troops but not the war" in my head. Over and over I repeated that thought.

Last week a local serviceman was killed in Iraq at a roadside bombing. There was a prayer and moment of silence for him at the flag ceremony following the parade. My heart ached for him, his family and friends.

Lastly, I cannot help but mention how many homeschoolers I saw. There weren't a lot of children at the parade or at the ceremony. Most of them were in scouts. Except for the homeschoolers. I was amazed at the turnout of homeschoolers.

I couldn't help but think about the differences between me and the other homeschoolers. I was there to support my country, the troops, all people who have served in the military, my ancestors who were veterans, and my son. I was not there to support a war. In the back of my mind I kept thinking about the homeschoolers I saw. Many are the type that have signed photos of President Bush displayed in their homes. Yes, I've seen the photos. They are the type that support the war. I am not.

It made me glad to live in a country where we can have differences of opinions, but sad, too. Even though I feel they're wrong, I support their freedom of choice. On the other hand, they are constantly belittling and condemning the liberals. Liberals are not patriotic. Liberals are flag burners. Liberals are evil. Yes, I have heard these comments from fellow homeschoolers. While I am not really a liberal, I am a moderate, I am a liberal in their eyes. I believe in freedom of choice. I just want to say that liberals are not evil, and that yes, liberals can be patriotic. Very patriotic.

Thank you to all our service people, past and present.

Need a free spelling program?

Everyday Spelling by Scott Foresman/Pearson has a new program. Their entire 1st - 8th grade spelling lists are online. There are also practice review tests that are identical to the type found on the CAT5 standardized test! Excellent practice if you need it. Trust me, we need it.

Granted, it is not the entire program. But free graded spelling lists? Free practice tests? Why not!

I still love Sequential Spelling, but I'm really torn. My son is not a good speller. He does really well with Sequential Spelling, but I think that I'm going to give him a spelling list from Everyday spelling every week just for more practice or more variety.