Pictorial Tuesday (Cuz I'm Never Very Good at Wordless Wednesdays)

I always think, 'I should take a picture for those Wordless Wednesday posts people are always doing.' But then I think, 'When have I ever been wordless?!' So here is a Pictorial Tuesday, kinda has a ring to it, right?

Want to see all the hard work we are doing today in school? All the massive hours of time spent learning, and soaking up and expanding our brains? 

Yup. You guessed it. She is reading. Has been since 830 am (we're going on 5 hours now.) But you know how sometimes a book just grabs you and you can't put it down? It just seemed wrong to rip the book from her eager reading hands and say 'Do you math, pick up your Latin!' There will be other days. Today, we enjoy the lazy rain soaked dreary day and read. 

(Note: She finished up The Battle of the Labyrinth this morning and is now reading The Last Olympian.)

Penny Lane & School Update

I meant to post these pictures of our new family member awhile back when she joined our family in July. The little one saw her at church in a giveaway box of kittens and wept, wailed and sobbed to bring her home. Okay, not that bad but she convinced her pushover dad that its 'the only thing' she wanted for her August birthday. (Likely story. lol) These are pics from August. When we got her around July 1st she was a small wisp of a thing, barely 5 weeks old.

Now she is 4 1/2 month old, 7 1/2 lbs fatty. Today we found her stuffed in the Halloween candy bucket. We attempted to 'rescue' her only to have her jump back in. She likes it apparently.

School is progressing with minimal hiccups. Always changing, never ceasing. The teen is taking college classes. Not so much enjoying them (after all, they're not art classes) but enduring none-the-less. The little one is keeping caught up on schoolwork, amidst much strife sometimes. But then I take her to the library and she brings home a pile and I mean a huge PILE of books to read and she's content. How to make English and Mathematics studying as fun as reading is a battle I haven't conquered yet. We're still enjoying Sonlight Core 5. Some of the books are not to our liking and take forever to read. I should be more flexible and let them go but haven't done so, so far.

The teen is starting once again to study for the ACT testing. I picked up a few grammar books at the library to help. English is her strong suit but it doesn't hurt to brush up.
Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
Writing in 15 Minutes a Day
Great books for refreshing your memory of grammar as well as writing skills. I really need to find some great books to help her with the math studying. We have an ACT book but I would like to see some 'fun' math learning math books to help her know everything she needs to know. She won't be taking the written portion of the ACT until she retests in February. December's test will just be the standard.

It's time to start figuring out how to apply for scholarships for the teen. Next year will be full time college (I can't believe she will graduate this year!) With DH being in a new job, any help we can get towards the college fees will be wonderful. I would rather not saddle the teen with debt right out of college, kwim? Also been talking to a financial adviser about saving for college for the small one. We're so behind on that eight ball. Why didn't my mom/dad ever tell me life would be hard? I distinctly do NOT remember any such conversation. I do, however, remember them laughing at me and saying 'just wait until you have kids'. They weren't kidding!

Weekly Snippets & Facebook

Just wanted to let anyone know who cares about reading my blurbles, this blog is on Facebook now (I will still continue to post here.) If you're lazy like me and like all your eggs in one basket so you don't have to hop around to other places, you can join my networked blogs thingie (over in the left column) and then when I post new posts here, a little link will pop up on Facebook for ya. Just in case you're a kindred lazy spirit, like me. Just sayin'...

Snippets of our week:
1. I need to expect the unexpected more. I get to planning all we need to get done in a week, fretting that we won't finish it all and then things happen. Like this week, 2 kids sick, one by Thursday, the other by Friday. The teen didn't do homeschool after Wed, the little one didn't on Friday. Trying not to panic about all we didn't get done. Go with the flow is my new supposed mantra.
2. My Bachelorette Living is off to a rocky start. I need to make a plan. The problem is she knows so much already because we already cook, clean, and sew some. Need to mix it up and make interesting, and have supplies or whatever on hand. Trying to think of how we can also mix in some volunteering or donating things (like helping cook at a homeless shelter, or learning to knit or sew and donating to the local pregnant teens home, etc...) Planning ahead can sometimes be a bonus. Imagine that!
3. We've switched from using a boring 1980's textbook series on Government to watching videos on Government, after the teen flunked the chapter test, twice. She's taking notes, planning 2 reports and a field trip for the semester. She is already retaining more in the few days watching videos than she did the first 2 weeks out of a book.
4. After reading Martinzoo's blog, I went hopping over to Craigslist to find a fish tank and stand. Might pick up one this week. I wanna grow tadpoles with the kids. Of course now the teen informs me she hates frogs, has a phobia because a little kid in New Mexico chased her around with a frog while they were there on Mission Trip. Dramatic child I have. *sigh* That's like when DH told me we couldn't name one of our children Elizabeth, because a little girl named Elizabeth used to chase him around the block in 2nd grade. *eyeroll*
5. I've been refreshing my brain on Algebra 2. The teen and I sit down every day for 2 hours and do a whole lesson. Every problem, I do with her. It's as much a learning time for me as for her.
6. The teen had her 3rd week of college classes and actually fit in her homeschool work as well. I think we're progressing.
7. The little one has done very well with division. Previous weeks were touch and go, many meltdowns. This week it seemed to flow.
8. This week was a little too like my previous years of homeschooling, ie: textbooks, math drills, etc... I'm supposed to be working my way toward unschooling, not the other way around. Be flexible, is my 2nd new mantra.
9. The little one has been begging all week to bake sweets. I've been nixing the idea, and have lost weight all week instead of gaining like I do every other week she bakes. Now WHY did I buy her all that baking stuff for her birthday? I really didn't think it through.

10. Both the new kitten and the dog have decided on their costumes for Halloween (via the little one.) So glad they're both girls (the jury might still be out on the kitten though...) The little one asked me if there was a way to count dressing up the kitten & dog and grooming them, as a homeschool subject. *sigh*

Homeschooling On Vacation

Not to say that our homeschool is uninteresting and I have nothing to post, but its been the same-ole same-ole lately. January and February is always full of catching up. Although I've tried to be very good in keeping up with school paperwork, I start scrambling to reorganize us. I don't want to be caught in May/June with my pants down so to speak. I don't know if I'm just destined to be disorganized or if its a curse. I've tried having certain notebooks/folders, certain places to put paperwork, certain rituals and habits. We don't stick with a one. I'm blaming it on the holidays. Between Thanskgiving and Christmas, we get schooling done but we're a wreck. Nothing is every organized. How to change this, I have no clue.

We went on vacation the beginning of January (with my parents, SIL & her kids) which didn't help my organizing problem one whit. But we did have a lovely time. Some schooling was definitely included. It went down like this (and for those who can't see how a vacation can count as school, watch...)

ENGLISH: Word games played out loud on several long car rides. Mad libs on the plane.

READING: Many books were read, magazines. Watched Neverending Story and found the book at the thrift store to read too!


SCIENCE: Visiting Kennedy Space Center 5 hours. Visiting the ocean; gathering shells, identifying them, finding crabs, stingray and fish on the beach. Visiting Orlando Science Center for 4 hours.

HISTORY/GEO: Visiting Epcot Countries & cultures all day (plus Epcot's greenhouse & fish farm)




ART: Making posters for the marathoners (DH & my dad ran it). Making sandcastles at the beach. Drawing at the house.



PE: Walking in Ikea's 300,000 sq ft facility for 3 hours, walking at Disneyworld and Universal, Epcot parks 3 days all day, Swimming in the pool and the ocean, Walking on the pier in St. John's Pass, Running from the seagulls trying to eat out ice cream.




I'm spending my evenings these days, catching up on paperwork so I can quit pulling my hairs out... Maybe I'll just pull the gray ones. I'll be dreaming of the beach while I'm doing it though...

Halloween Costumes

We spent a bit of time yesterday working on finishing touches for costumes.(counting it as art of course.) I had purchased a renaissance costume for $1 at a garage sale during the summer. It just needed jewelry and a hat. We looked up what a hat should look like (not sure why they had those weird fabric strips on the sides in renaissance days but...) The teen made the hat using the sewing machine, probably the only purple fabric I own and some gold ribbon. I think it's cute! I worked on a necklace, and the little one made a ring to match.

The teen's costume is harder to explain. lol She was deciding between going as a green M&M or going as something she calls a 'Raver'. The dictionary defines it as 'a participant in a rave dancing party.' I remember DH attending a Rave party down in Hollywood when I was 7 months pregnant with the teen. He went with a military buddy and I think I stayed up all night worrying about them being down in Hollywood. Wondering what trouble they might get into! lol So it must be her father's fault that she is now a 'raver'.

P.S. I don't know what is up with the teen's pose. She's a dork. lol I'll take more pics tonight when its spooky and dark out and the teen has her glowsticks on.

Tableau Thursday

Tableau: A still image, a frozen moment or "a photograph."

This week's pics are all about Halloween. We decorated/carved our pumpkins and Clemie the pup has a costume for her first Halloween! She's a punkin! Yes, we spoil our animals.

Tableau Thursday

Tableau: A still image, a frozen moment or "a photograph."

1. Dog receiving a bath, whether she wants it or not.
2. Teen is building a house of cardboard so little dd wanted to make one too.
3. DD working on her time table wrap-ups.
4. Interloper found under my art table shoved into the box. (notice how its bulging? She's fat!)
5. The teen working diligently on her English, wearing the same shirt she seems to have on everytime I take her picture.

Tableau Thursday

Tableau: A still image, a frozen moment or "a photograph."

Today's break time activities.
1 - Learning 'Do-Re-Me'
2 - Playing Sandwich w/dog
3 - Tired out pooch