comments

I am so sorry but I accidentally deleted some comments left on here. And they were very nice ones, too! I meant to publish them but can't find them so I think I clicked on the wrong button. :( Just so you know, it was an accident and not intentional at all.


The problem has been solved. Apparently it was a blogger error and not a user error.

My Family

Last Saturday, we had a photo shoot by my friend, lidija Fremeau, of LAF Lines Photography. lidija is a very talented and creative photographer. I love seeing what she catches on film! Here are a few favorites from our morning.

Ahh, books

I truly do love books. When I saw this new blog design, I just knew it was for me. It gave me that same feeling that I get when I step into a book store - I just want to sit and soak it in. I want to have a big pile of books next to me and no clock. You can ask those who have gone with me to a book store - I tend to forget that there is such a thing as time. Or that some people don't like to spend hours in a bookstore.

We recently had a garage sale here and I set out about 3 or 4 boxes of books. I know we don't have space to keep all the books that I bring home but boy, I wish it was less painful to let them go. My dream is to someday have a room that has about 3 times as many bookshelves as I do right now. And I bet even then, I'll have to go through and get rid of some. Or maybe open up a used bookstore of my own. :)

The Natural

Brendan pitched for the first time this last Sunday. He's been talking to the coach (his dad) about it for a few weeks and practicing in his spare time and the coach decided to give him an inning to see how he did. He did great! He was able to get three outs with the first three batters and only pitched two balls.

Decisions, decisions

I wish decisions came easier to me. I wish I could just look at the facts and make a choice and not look back. I realize that sometimes I will make the wrong decision. I know that's inevitable. I just wish I wasn't plagued by self-doubt immediately after making a decision.

We finished our school year about 2 weeks ago. I had made some decisions for our curriculum for next fall. (I think I love this time of year, by the way. I love being close to finishing up one year of school and getting a break and playing outside and having lots of time to read and finding new things to use for the next year that will make it even better than this year.) There were still one thing I wasn't sure about - what math to use for Tori next year. She'll be entering third grade. She's made a lot of progress this year in many areas. She aced almost all her spelling tests. She's picking up books, regular chapter books, and reading them on her own. And laughing out loud to herself, which makes me smile every single time. But math is still not her strong suit.

So I researched some curriculums and looked up samples on-line and looked at their diagnostic tests to see where she'd place. According to these tests, she needs to do 2nd grade math. This took awhile for me to accept. If I'm homeschooling my children and my daughter is a grade behind in math, doesn't that mean I'm failing? Some of you might see it that way. I think I would be failing if I moved her to 3rd grade math when she still hadn't grasped some 2nd grade concepts. It is more important to me that she understands the basics of math before moving on.

Once I accepted the idea that she would be working on 2nd grade math, then I had to decide what math curriculum to get. We had been using Math-U-See. It was good for 1st grade for her but last year I noticed that Tori was becoming dependent on using the blocks. It also wasn't enough review. She was forgetting addition after working on subtraction. I was looking at Saxon Math, A Beka, Horizons, Christian Light, . . . there are so many choices out there! I looked at some sample lessons and was drawn to Christian Light. It's a workbook format - no writing out the problems. (Hmm, I should look into this for Brendan - that might take care of a lot of grumbling!) It uses a step-by-step spiral approach, which means a new lesson is introduced, with some practice problems and then review problems. There isn't much teacher preparation required - very important to me. It's moderately priced.

As I was looking at it, I realized that it might be the kind of thing where Tori could work on it this summer. Maybe she could start their 2nd grade math now and work through the summer. We might be able to skip some lessons or combine a couple even. I talk to Tori about it and she likes the idea of having a little workbook to work on this summer. It sounds like a plan!

I go to order it . . . and become paralyzed. I don't know, maybe I should pick a different math program. Maybe I should just get the workbook from Sam's Club for this summer and work with her myself and then just move on to 3rd grade. Maybe I should just give her the summer off and work on flash cards and do 2nd grade math this fall. On a whim, I google "Best math curriculum for homeschoolers" and find a website article called "Choosing a homeschool math curriculum". This article was written with me in mind, there is just no other explanation for it.

One of the first sentences I read said that as long as the curriculum was of decent quality, the teacher was more important than the book. Hmph. So, it's up to me. Not to make sure I choose the right one, but to use whatever I choose in a way that works for us and that makes sense to Tori. Well, I can do that. And that is one of the reasons I love homeschooling. I love the freedom to try new things, to create our own schedule, to find what works for us. The books are ordered and we'll be starting our math summer school session as soon as they arrive.

Trying to catch up

I know, it's been forever. I'm still here, though! Here are some pictures of a few things that have been going on. And this was only one weekend!

My nephew, Barrett, was dedicated.

Grandma Judy sewed up the hole in Owen's blankie. It was getting kind of scary letting him sleep with something that could easily get wrapped around his neck!

Brendan had his 10th birthday. I can't quite believe my oldest is 10. I refuse to think about how many years he has left at home. Not even going there.

And my brother became a college graduate! I'm on the left and my sister is on the right.

Lots to write about house stuff, homeschool stuff, and some good books I've read but that will have to wait for another post.

The Dr Dilemma part 2

Late last night, around 11:45, Rachel woke up crying and said her mouth hurt. Oh, good. Then this morning, Owen woke up with a fever.

But since we had just been to see the dr yesterday, I didn't panic because I realized that they both have a virus and their bodies are trying to fight it off. So they were given a lot of liquids and plenty of rest.

I am thankful for their doctor. He never pushes medication, he never seems alarmed about anything and he always seems to recognize whatever is going on with my kids. I have thought about switching different times because he's 25 minutes away and my doctor (who is a family dr and would see the kids) is literally 5 blocks away. Maybe when they're older we'll switch. For now, even though I do get frustrated with the 2-3 hour chunk of time that a dr's visit consumes, it's worth it for the peace of mind.

Rachel does not seem to have it as bad as Owen did. Here's hoping they're both on the mend!

The Dr Dilemma

I used to be one of those moms who called the dr at the first sign of a fever. After 4 kids, I've learned a few things and now try to wait as long as possible before calling. Friday night, we were eating dinner and Owen started crying, saying his tongue hurt. We told him to stick it out and could see a little bump at the end of it. Oh, the poor thing had a canker sore. I tried to get him to drink milk and eat rice - anything bland that wouldn't irritate it. Of course, the pineapple was what looked good to him but certainly did not feel good.

Saturday was more of the same, except lots more crying. We were starting to lose our patience. Yes, we understood it hurt but what can we do? Saturday night, I had him stick out his tongue again and saw several canker sores on the underside. Yikes, that looks bad. Maybe this is more serious than I thought. I looked it up on-line and found out that gargling with hydrogen peroxide and water is a good cure but since toddlers don't necessarily have the correct gargling skills, you can also dab it on with a q-tip, followed by some milk of magnesia. We did that on Sunday and it seemed to be working.

Then this morning, I looked again and saw a bunch more on the sides of his tongue towards the back. This was kind of freaking me out so I called the dr's office. Apparently, sores on the tongue could mean lots of different things so I took him in. They ran a strep test, which came back negative. They took his fever and he did have a low fever. The dr explained that he had a viral infection similar to hand, foot and mouth disease but instead of a rash, he had sores on his tongue - which had some fancy name that I didn't quite catch. He told me it would probably last for a few days, it might get worse, and I could give him benadryl mixed with maalox for the mouth pain if necessary.

Tonight, I looked at his tongue before he went to bed. It looks like it's completely cleared up. I am not joking. I just have this feeling that if I wouldn't have gone to the dr's today, it'd be worse tonight. I know that's completely illogical but isn't that the way it seems to go? And I know it's good we got it checked out and it was reassuring to hear that it's just a virus but I keep thinking, "If I would have waited one more day, there would have been no reason to call." Maybe by the time they're all grown, I'll know when to wait and when to call.

Getting ready for summer fun

In May 2001, we bought a small metal swingset for Brendan. He was 1 and not able to do much on it but we knew he'd grow into it. We loved the looks of the wooden swingsets but the prices were a bit steep. This small one would work for now and we thought we would get something nicer in a few years or build one ourselves.


Fast-forward 8 years: it's now May 2009 and we have 4 kids. The old, metal swing set is falling apart and is now getting to be dangerous. We tear it down but aren't sure about buying a new one because we're trying to sell our house. We know we don't want another metal one and we'd hate to sell right after putting up a nice, wooden one. We make good use of a school playground close by and ride there often on our bikes.


The next year: May 2010 and our house hasn't sold. We decide it's time to make this house a better fit for us and get more use out of our backyard. Rachel and Owen are 3 and handle themselves quite well on swingsets. They can do the rock climbing wall and go down the slide and love to be pushed on the swings. Not even baby swings anymore, just regular swings. We see a swing set on sale at Toys R Us that is a good price and has the features we want.



It took a couple of Saturdays (and parts of some other days) but boy, was it worth it. Just look at these faces!





And there isn't a picture but my face is smiling, too. :) I love being able to send them out to play in our enclosed backyard and watching them from our kitchen window.

Calm, cool and collected

. . . does not often describe me. I so admire the moms I see who speak calmly and who never seem to lose their cool. I want to be like that. I have made an effort but all too often, I let my emotions take control and I end up carrying on in a ridiculous manner, usually about something that wasn't even important.

I recently read something on another blog that I think I need to re-read often.

"If a child has done wrong, a child needs talking to; BUT, NO parent ought to talk to a child while that parent is unable to talk in a natural tone of voice, and with carefully measured words. . . .If a parent is tempted to speak rapidly, multiply words, or show an excited state of feeling, the parents first duty is to gain entire self-control." From Lou Priolo's book, The Heart of Anger.

Wow. Just wow. I cannot even begin to count how many times a day I show an excited state of feeling when I talk to my kids and it's usually not a good feeling. I get frustrated very easily and don't take the time to get control before I speak. And one of the things that upsets me the most with Brendan is how quickly he gets upset. Oh, boy.

Another funny thing - I have this book. I just haven't read it yet. And I've had it for four years.

It's time to do some serious reading and praying. And hope it's not too late to be a better example to some young ones in my home.