The Classical Circus

Our Daily Rhythm

2012-01-24T12:36:00.000-07:00

I recently blogged a list of what we are doing in school this semester, and I've had questions about how we accomplish our work, so I thought I'd give blogging about the rhythm of our days a shot.

I have a schedule, complete with times. It looks like this:

5:00-7:30: My morning stuff (Bible study, exercise, completing two thoughts in a row,etc.)
7:30-8:00: Family Bible study
8:00-8:30: Boys dressed and fed
8:30-10:30: Read alouds (Sonlight, science, US History)
10:30-11:30: Math
11:30-12:00: Grammar
12:00-1:00: Lunch and Quiet Time
1:00-2:00: Spelling, Phonics, Writing, Literature Discussion
2:00-2:30: Latin
2:30-3:00: Greek
3:00-3:30: Logic

This is our basic daily schedule. So far, the only problem I've had with this schedule is trying to get 6 people to follow it. However, it does give me a framework to follow so I don't sit staring at the books and the boys and decide to take a nap because I don't know what to do.

Luke & Ezekiel are fairly independent. They do math, Latin, Greek, and some of their writing on their own. I'm more of a discussion facilitator with them now. Jacob is pretty independent, too, but I do directly teach him more than I do his two older brothers. Micah and Nicholas have some things they do on their own as well. However, lest you think they all sit down and work diligently on this independent work, I spend a lot of time saying "Get to work." or "Stop talking...whispering is still talking." or "Don't play with the dog." or "What-in-the-world-are-you-doing-will-you-just-get-to-work-before-I-lose-my-mind!".

A good day typically looks like this:

7:30-8:00: Family Bible study (this is led by Craig)

8:00-8:45: Say goodbye to Craig for the day, have the boys get dressed and eat.

8:45-10:15: Read alouds in the living room (the boys usually do puzzles, draw, or work on single player logic games during this time, or play with our 6 month old puppy Jed).

10:15-10:30: When I'm done reading, I send the boys down to the schoolroom start on math (older 3) or independent work (younger 2). I take a few minutes to recover from reading. (This is where issues start to crop up with the schedule)

10:30-11:45: I go down to the schoolroom and give Jacob his math lesson (he watches the DIVE cd before I go over his lesson). Luke, Ezekiel, Jacob, and Micah all take piano, so about this time I start sending them upstairs to practice (some have to practice after lunch). Then I pull Micah or Nicholas over to my desk and go through their work with them. I do math, logic, and phonics with Nicholas, and math, writing, and logic with Micah. I can usually go until 11:45 before my patience is low, so about that time I go upstairs to make lunch.

12:00-1:15: Lunch and quiet time. The boys take their lunch to the playroom and play quietly or watch a video (on decent days they take their lunch outside).

1:15-4:30: I give a spelling test to Luke, Ezekiel, and Jacob, and we do a sentence from A Sentence a Day, followed by a lesson from our reading comprehension workbook. Then we all look at the art from the Art Page a Day calendar.
I go over writing and grammar with Jacob.
I go over writing, literature discussion, and logic with Luke & Ezekiel.
I finish up with the younger two boys (whatever work is leftover from before lunch).

On Tuesdays, the boys are gone to an all day enrichment program, and on Thursday we cut it short because we have gymnastics and piano lessons in the afternoon, followed by Judo. We have Judo on Monday as well, so we can't really run late. It usually takes us until 4:30 to finish up, so it is a long day, but because of our outside activities, it has to be that way right now.

Like I said, this is an example of a good day. At some point, I'll post an example of a bad day (yesterday was a bad day--we were still schooling at 8:45. P.M.).

Hand Sanitizer?

2012-01-24T05:31:00.000-07:00

Our before dinner family ritual is to stand in a circle, hold hands, and pray. Anytime you get five boys together in a circle, there is bound to be some silliness which requires a bit of correction. There are normally reminders to be quiet, reminders that we are talking to a Holy God, reminders to not squeeze each other's hands.

Sunday night, Craig said something everyone was shocked at.

"Nick, get your finger out of your nose and hold your brother's hand."

(I don't think Luke, the lucky brother next to Nick's formerly busy hand, was very thankful for that bit of correction)

Spring, 2012

2012-01-14T17:01:00.002-07:00

This year, the boys are in 7th, 6th, 4th, 2nd, and Kindergarten. It's a juggling act, for sure. Last semester was not good. My plans were too ambitious, and we lost two mornings a week to swim lessons for 5 weeks right in the middle of the fall semester. The lessons were very needed and well worth the time, but it was really difficult to salvage the afternoon for book work. We never found our groove. I reevaluated and reworked our plans the week before Christmas break.

Luke (7th):

Saxon Algebra 1 (with DIVE)
Singapore Mental Math Levels 5-6
Patty Paper Geometry
Rod & Staff English 7
Mosdos Silver
Sequential Spelling for Adults
Daily Warm Ups: Reading, Grade 6
Sentence a Day
Latin Alive 1
Elementary Greek (finish 1, move to 2)
Fallacy Detective
Orbiting with Logic
Writing With Skill
Classical Writing Older Beginners

Ezekiel (6th)

Saxon 8/7 (with DIVE)
Singapore Mental Math Levels 5-6
Patty Paper Geometry
Rod & Staff English 6
Mosdos Silver
Sequential Spelling for Adults
Daily Warm Ups: Reading, Grade 6
Sentence a Day
Latin Alive 1
Elementary Greek (finish 1, move to 2)
Fallacy Detective
Orbiting with Logic
Writing With Skill
Classical Writing Older Beginners

Jacob (4th)

Saxon 6/5 (with DIVE)
Singapore Mental Math Levels 2-3
Patty Paper Geometry
Rod & Staff English 4
Sequential Spelling for Adults
Daily Warm Ups: Reading, Grade 6
Sentence a Day
Sonlight Grade 4-5 Readers
Visual Latin
Getting Started with Latin
Logic Countdown
Writing With Ease 4
Imitations in Writing (Aesop)

Micah (2nd)

Saxon 3
Singapore Mental Math Level 1
Kumon My Book of Telling Time
Rod & Staff English 2
Sonlight Grade 3 Readers
Evan-Moor Spell & Write 2
TV Teacher Handwriting
Evan-Moor Beginning Geography
Primary Analogies
Writing With Ease 2
Click N Kids Spelling

Nicholas (K)

Saxon 1
Kumon My Book of Easy Telling Time
Kumon My Book of Number Games (finish 1-70, move to 1-150)
Sonlight Grade 1 Readers
FlashKids The Complete Book of Sight Words (I teach the phonics behind the words)
Plaid Phonics A
Phonics Pathways
A Reason for Handwriting K (finish, move to TV Teacher Handwriting)
Can You Find Me? Grade K
K5learning.com
Click N Read Looney Tunes Phonics

Together

Sonlight Core G (finish, move to H)
Map Trek
The Story of Science (Aristotle, Newton, and Einstein)
Milestones in Science
The Complete Book of US History
The American Story
Linguistic Development Through Poetry Memorization
Art a Day 2012 Calendar

Believe it or not, this is working out very well. The only thing I'm debating is Rod & Staff English for Luke & Ezekiel--I love the program, but it might make more sense to go with Harvey's, since it's recommended for Classical Writing, and I could keep them together.

It's hard work; I'm teaching from 8:30 until 4:30 on Wednesday and Friday. Due to outside activities (academic enrichment program, Judo, piano, and gymnastics), we have to finish by 3:30 on Monday, the boys are gone on Tuesday, and we only have Thursday mornings at home.

School Room Redo

2012-01-07T20:20:00.001-07:00

Shortly before we began our school year, I realized that the room we've been using for school was designed 6 years ago when I had only 2 official students in early elementary (I've got links to two sets previous setups in the sidebar). I'd made minor changes as boys were added to our school, but we had really outgrown the community table, and I didn't have nearly enough bookshelves. I added the single bookshelf before the school year started, then the individual desks and chairs for my birthday. For Christmas, I received money I put towards the two bookshelves behind my desk. I moved the table we had been using to the playroom, and I moved the full size couch to the playroom and moved the loveseat from the playroom into the school room. The room is so much more functional now, and we all are enjoying the new space.

This is from my desk, looking toward the door. The closet to the right of the bookcase holds books for another year and crafting supplies. The door to the left leads to the playroom & stairs. The door on the other wall is a closet that we've turned into a library. The loveseat for reading, and my treadmill.

This is taken standing by the closet. I'd like to paint my desk black--maybe this summer. I'd also like to repaint the room green. The stools in front of my desk are for when I'm teaching the boys one on one (or one on two).

This is taken from the treadmill. Each boy now has his own desk and chair.

This is inside the cabinet by the whiteboard. It holds the boys' daily binders and the textbooks they use daily.

The computer cart.

From the whiteboard.

Present and Intentional in 2012

2012-01-03T07:29:00.001-07:00

It's a new year, and like many others I am pondering how to attack it. I keep having two thoughts in my head. This year I want to be present, and I want to be intentional.

2011 was hard. We left our church home of 14 years, and it was very, very painful. Friends were lost, as was stability. We visited 21 churches, but have found a new church home. It's not where I thought we would end up, but I have absolutely no doubt that it is where God wants us.

I was also diagnosed with Autoimmune Hepatitis. 2011 was a continuation of doctor appointments, labwork, and medicine trials and changes. I'm feeling much better, but I still think that something is being missed. Because of this, I'll be taking my whole family on a gluten free trial, with a start date of February 1. I'm sure I'll be blogging more about that as the time comes.

Those two things caused me to check out of 2011. I went through the motions, but I was not present. I was not intentional. I was not a lot of things, but those two words sum it up.

Therefore, in 2012:

I want to be present and intentional with the Lord.

I want to be present and intentional with Craig.

I want to be present and intentional with Luke, Ezekiel, Jacob, Micah, and Nicholas.

I want to be present and intentional with my health.

I also want to read more, study more, and blog more.

Quoteables: The First Half of April 2011

2011-04-06T17:06:00.021-06:00

During family Bible study this morning, Cr asked "What kind of people do we find in a righteous nation?". After a pregnant pause, Z answered "Conservatives."

I opened the pantry door and found M rummaging around in the dark for a snack. He tool one look at me and said "What? I'm getting over my fear of the dark!".

"You know how that author said boys are naughty? That's offensive!" -M

‎"Hey Dad--How 'bout you play a round of Tanks [a WiiPlay game] to celebrate today. It only comes once a year." -Z

Decathlon: The art of decking a 10 year old boy -Z (during Logic)

"I just did the 'medium job' (that's pass gassing, Mom)." -M

L just walked through the living room flailing his arms. When I looked at him with an eyebrow raised, he told me "I'm just checking to see how hard I can hit a robber in the chin."

"Mom, next time I'm in the pantry with the lights out, can you just leave me in there, please?" -M

After Cr led the boys in some jumping jacks to wake them up before morning Bible Study, M fell face first on the couch and proclaimed "I'm certainly conscious now!".

I read the boys our poetry assignment for the day, and it ended with the poem "Robert of Lincoln" by William Cullen Bryant. When I finished Z exclaimed "Something is wrong with these people!".

Me: "M, can you do me a favor?"

M: "I can try."

Me: "Can you stay 7 forever?"

M: "I'm not sure I can......but I will always be your son."

L had a field trip at his enrichment program yesterday, and he bought an 8 pack of small coke bottles. He drank one, gave two to friends, and brought the remaining five bottles home so he and his brothers could have them today. They drank them at lunch. They aren't used to that much caffeine in the middle of the school day.

Me: "L, I hope you weren't this annoying yesterday at school after you drank a coke."

L (proudly): "Nope! I wasn't nearly this annoying."

J: "Mom, L said I'm ugly."

Me: "That's not true."

L: "Yeah, I know."

J: "I'm handsome. I'm a handsome prince."

M: "Mom, can you please get the next book on my school list so I can read it as soon as possible?"

Me: "I'm so glad you like to read the books, M."

M: "And I'm so thankful you give them to me."

Spanish for Children

2010-11-15T15:21:00.007-07:00

I love Classical Academic Press. We've used Latin for Children A, Song School Latin, and Greek Alphabet Code Cracker, and I've been really impressed with the quality of these products. When I was given the opportunity to review Spanish for Children Primer A, I was thrilled.

I received the Basic Bundle, which includes Primer A, Answer Key, Tin Bot, and the DVD & Chant CD set. This set did not disappoint, and I cannot recommend it enough. For starters, the quality of the books is wonderful, and the covers are bright and eye catching. They make me want to pick them up and open them.

The layout of the Primer is very straightforward. There are 32 chapters, so it will take about 1 school year to get through. The text is written to the student and doesn't require a lot of time to teach (though it is recommend that the teacher learn along with the student). Each chapter begins with a memory page, and this is followed by a grammar page. These two pages include all the teaching for the student. Following the lesson are two worksheets, and each chapter ends with a quiz. Five of the 32 chapters are review chapters, and they follow a different format.

This program is recommended for grades 3-6. I decided to have L work through it, and it takes him 20-30 minutes a day. On day 1, I have him watch the DVD and study the memory page. On day 2, he studies the grammar page. On days 3 and 4, he completes the worksheets, and on day 5 he takes the quiz. I have him listen to the chant CD daily. The DVD lessons are well done, the chant CD is catchy, and the worksheets do a great job of reinforcing the lesson without being busy work.

Tin Bot is what Classical Academic Press calls a Spliced Story. It is an English story with Spanish words spliced in. Each Spanish word is numbered, and at the bottom of every page is a translation of the word in case the student has trouble figuring it out from context. While the vocabulary is tied to Spanish for Children, it can be used independently of the program as well.

Another reason to love Classical Academic Press? Headventureland. This is a free website that has stories, online flashcards, coloring pages, and videos that correspond to their Latin, Greek, and Spanish products.

Sigh S-I-G-H Sigh

2010-08-31T06:44:00.002-06:00

Mom: "Knitting."

L: "Speaking of knitting..."

Mom: "We're not speaking of knitting. We're doing spelling. Write the word."

L: "I did."

Mom: "No, you didn't."

L (checking paper): "Uh, what was the word again?"

Persuasion

2010-08-16T06:48:00.002-06:00

After some major horseplay and wrestling in the bounce house my parents rented:

M (on his way back outside after taking a short break): "I'm not going to wrestle anymore....unless someone convinces me to."

That's Mr. M&M to You

2010-08-11T06:04:00.004-06:00

We ate at Culver's last night. For dessert, N chose chocolate custard with M&Ms.

N (pointing to an M&M in his bowl): "Know what I call this one, Mom?"

Mom: "What?"

N: "I call him Mr. M&M."

Mom: "Oh."

N (trying to get the M&M on his spoon): "Come here, Mr. M&M."

He successfully got the M&M on his spoon, but it fell off without him noticing. He realized as he was finishing up the custard on his spoon that he hadn't eaten the M&M.

N (looking puzzled as he begins a search for the M&M): "Hey! Where'dya go Mr. M&M?!?!"

Catching Up (again)

2010-08-05T06:52:00.003-06:00

Z: "There's an abundance of spiders in the basement this year."

The boys were outside, and there M started crying. J had pushed him, so Cr brought J inside, and we found out he pushed M because M had hit him with the bat.

Mom: "Did you hit J with the bat?"

M: "Not the metal one."

J: "And he was going to hit me with a stick."

Mom: "M?"

M: "But I didn't."

Mom: "Did you think better of it?"

M: "No..."

Z cut and bruised his lip, and it looked pretty ugly. I wasn't around when it happened.

Mom: "What were you doing when you hurt your lip?"

Z: "Tripping."

M discovered his first tooth was loose at the end of June. It was very, very loose. He was waiting very impatiently for it to come out. At one point he was madder than a wet hen about it, and proclaimed loudly to me "But I've been waiting for this my whole life!!!!". He pulled it out shortly thereafter.

The Indian in the Cupboard

2010-08-05T06:46:00.001-06:00

The Indian in the Cupboard was the first chapter book I ever read aloud to my older 2 boys. They were 4 and 3 at the time. My first grade teacher read this book aloud to the class and I loved it. It's one of my favorite childhood memories, which is why I chose it to read to my guys. Added to my first grade memories are memories of me reading to them while they picked up their room. I was sure they weren't listening.

Yesterday I picked up a stack of audio books at the library. The older two were looking them over, and they both said "The Indian in the Cupboard! I love this story!"

I was shocked, and said "You remember the story?!?". I quizzed them a bit on it, and they both do remember it.

I was floored. It was encouraging to me though, because we started a consistent family read aloud time 4 years ago, which means my younger three boys were 4, 3, & 1 when we started. I now have hope that they might remember some of the stories we read when they were younger.

Good Morning

2010-08-02T10:54:00.003-06:00

J (greeting N for the first time this morning): "You're up!"

N (looking confused): "I know that."

Apple, Grape, and Beer?

2010-08-02T08:28:00.002-06:00

I ended up with juice boxes that were leftover from a Judo tournament, so I let each boy have one at dinner last night. M (who has developed a wonderful compulsion to read any print he sees), read the ingredients to himself. We knew this because all of the sudden he exclaimed excitedly:

"This has apple, grape, and BEER!"

These were 100% juice juice boxes, so I was pretty sure he was wrong. I think he was a bit disappointed when we informed him that it only contained apple, grape, and pear juices.

Updated School Room Pictures

2010-07-28T08:55:00.016-06:00

Our school room is an L-shaped room. This is the view from the door. You can see a portion of my desk, my copier/scanner/printer, my treadmill, the guinea pig cage, and the couch. Above the treadmill is a wall pocket chart that I use for current memory work lists.

This is the view from the couch. Once again, my desk, the school supply/craft closet, and the school cabinet. That's the backside of my printer, and I keep our pencils and pencil sharpener there, along with a box of kleenex.

This is the view from the wall with the treadmill and my desk. Obviously, that's our work table and the whiteboard. This is where most of our work is done, though each boy now has a desk in their rooms and the older boys will sometimes take their work upstairs. Above the whiteboard, I've got maps and educational posters hung by clothespins on a thin rope, so it's easy to change them out. On one wall is the couch and a computer stand, on the other wall are the boys' crates and a stack of drawers. The larger drawer set is currently holding our Sonlight readers & read alouds, and smaller drawer set on the top holds crayons, colored pencils, and markers.

This is the school cabinet, and it contains all of our books for the current year, along with general reference books (Kingfisher encyclopedias, dictionary & thesaurus, etc.). On top are all of our math manipulatives.

This is inside the school supply/craft closet. All of the school books that are for another year are stored in here (loosely arranged by subject), along with extra supplies (paper, page protectors, etc.), my laminator, and paper cutter. The shelves are made from neat idea cubes. Eventually I'd like to install real shelves in here, but we've had these neat idea cubes for years (they were once used as a rabbit cage when we had 3 house rabbits) and they work well enough. There is another 3 drawer set in here that holds extra school supplies (pencils, glue, and other stuff I can't help but stock up on at the back to school sales). Tucked on one side is a bookshelf that holds paper left from when I had time to scrapbook (the rest of my craft/scrapbooking supplies are on the top shelf in this closet), and puzzles, catalogs, and a few educational toys for N & M.

This is the boys' computer table (though the desktop died recently, so it just holds their two laptops and gives me a place to put books when I'm teaching).

Each boy also has a crate. Last year they all had quite a few individual books, and these crates were used with hanging folders so they could easily transport their books. This year, though, most of their work is contained in their binders or they're sharing books, so I flipped the crates on their side so each boy has a place to store their few individual books and their binders. These also hold their Help! tags. Each boy has a laminated card that says "Help!" with a clip on it. When they have a question, instead of interrupting while I'm working with someone else, they are supposed to bring the tag and either clip it on me or place it on my desk, and when I have a minute I answer their question. They know to keep working on whatever they can until I am able to help them.

Monkey Math

2010-04-30T09:57:00.004-06:00

M is a hungry boy, and he eats a lot of fruit. He really likes bananas. He has this habit of bringing me a banana so I can cut it in half, which is fine. However, he eats the top half first, and then immediately comes back and eats the second half. Today I asked him why he always had me cut his banana in half.

I'll spare you the circuitous route he took to giving me his answer, as it can be summed up with his final sentence:

". . . because I can't eat a whole one."

He didn't mean he couldn't eat a whole banana in an uncut state, he meant he could not eat an entire banana.

But he can eat two halves. Of the same banana. Back to back.

N-isms

2010-04-12T06:50:00.002-06:00

In the van last night:

J: (talking to N)

N: "Be quiet. I'm focused."

An Unexpected Reaction

2010-04-07T07:48:00.001-06:00

You know you're a homeschooler when you mention to your 10 and 9 year old sons you ordered Learning Latin Through Mythology....

and they jump up and down and cheer.

Flashback

2010-03-22T06:20:00.002-06:00

Cr reminded me the other day that when L was a toddler, we asked him what his favorite kind of cheese was.

L's response: "Piece of."

School Plans for 2010/2011

2010-03-19T16:53:00.009-06:00

Eventually, I will update the sidebar. Until then, here are our plans for next school year.

A few of the big changes:

The older 4 boys are going to attend a one day a week enrichment program that will provide hands on art, science, technology, and a few other things.
We're taking a year off from Rod & Staff English in order to really focus on writing, but plan to move back to Rod & Staff for the 2011/2012 year.
We're also doing 2 years of Sonlight (6 & 7--a two year overview of World History). My hope is that L and Z will be ready to begin Omnibus in 2012/2013.

6th:

Spelling: Sequential Spelling
Vocabulary: Dynamic Literacy
Grammar: Easy Grammar 6, Daily Grams, Better Sentence Structure Through Diagraming
Literature: Sonlight 6 Readers, Figuratively Speaking
Writing: Writing Strands, WTM writing, Exploring Poetry
Math: Life of Fred Pre-Algebra w/Biology (finish), Saxon 8/7, Daily Word Problems 6
History: Sonlight 6
Geography: Sonlight 6
Latin: Continue Latin Prep
Spanish: Continue Getting Started With Spanish, possibly move into So You Really Want to Learn Spanish
Logic: Blast Off With Logic books, Critical Thinking Book 1 & Book 2

5th:

Spelling: Sequential Spelling
Vocabulary: Dynamic Literacy
Grammar: Easy Grammar 5, Daily Grams, Better Sentence Structure Through Diagraming
Literature: Sonlight 6 Readers, Figuratively Speaking
Writing: Writing Strands, WTM writing, Exploring Poetry
Math: Life of Fred Decimals & Percents (finish), Saxon 7/6, Daily Word Problems 5
History: Sonlight 6
Geography: Sonlight 6
Latin: Continue Getting Started With Latin, move into Latin Prep
Spanish: Getting Started With Spanish
Logic: Mind Benders, Red Herrings, Building Thinking Skills

3rd:

Spelling: Sequential Spelling
Vocabulary: Dynamic Literacy
Grammar: Easy Grammar 3, Daily Grams, Better Sentence Structure Through Diagraming
Literature: Various books I have on hand
Writing: WWE 3, Writing Strands
Math: Saxon 5/4, Daily Word Problems 3
History: Sonlight 6 w/Story of the World 1 & 2 Activity Guides
Geography: Sonlight 6, The Complete Book of Maps & Geography
Latin: Continue with Minimus & Getting Started with Latin
Logic: Mind Benders, Building Thinking Skills

1st/2nd (maybe I should call it grade 1 1/2?):

Spelling: Plaid Phonics B
Grammar: Easy Grammar 2
Literature: books I have on hand
Writing: WWE, penmanship instruction, possibly Writing Strands
Math: Saxon 3, finish Daily Word Problems 1 and start 2
History: Sonlight 6 w/Story of the World 1 & 2 Activity Guides
Geography: Sonlight 6
Latin: Finish Song School Latin, move into Minimus
Logic: Mind Benders, Building Thinking Skills

Spelling: Plaid Phonics A
Phonics: Phonics Pathways, move into Sonlight 1 Readers
Writing: A Reason for Handwriting K
Math: Saxon 1
History: Sonlight 6 w/Story of the World 1 & 2 Activity Guides
Geography: Sonlight 6
Science: Be Amazing Blast of Color
Logic: Building Thinking Skills

Also, we'll continue with Judo & piano, and Cr is teaching the older three trumpet and Visual Basic, and he's teaching us all Greek.

Graphite: RIP

2010-03-19T11:17:00.003-06:00

L's hamster, Graphite, died last night. As anyone who has read this blog before knows, small critter death is not terribly uncommon here at the Academy, and while we are sad and tears are often shed when they die, it's also recognized as a normal part of life.

J (he's convinced he's going to be a doctor): "I wonder what his bones look like."

Daddy: "Should we cut him open and see?"

J: "Yeah!"

L: "Uh...I'd appreciate it if you didn't do that."

About 10 minutes later.....

Z (the philosophical one): "I wonder what happens to hamsters when they die?"

J: "Dad says they harden."

M-isms

2010-03-11T18:01:00.004-07:00

The four older boys have joined a Public Speaking chapter. It's a Christian organization. They are supposed to write persuasive speeches this time. M still has to write his, and I decided to try and help him come up with a topic.

Mom: "M, what do you want to convince people they need to do?"

M: "I don't know."

Mom: "What's your favorite thing to do?"
M: "Drink."

Mom: "Drink?"

M: "Yes. I want to convince people to drink."

I decided to try again later.

____

M: "Mom?"

Mom: "What?"

M (proudly): "Did you know that sometimes I can sit still for a whole 2 minutes?"

(I think this is a gross over-estimation on his part)

Mathematics

2010-03-01T20:16:00.004-07:00

Mom: "I got 10 pounds of guinea pig pellets."

L: "Wow....10 pounds?!"

J: "They must be heavy."

J: "Can we watch Lord of the Rings?"

Mom: "No...way too long."

J: "How long is it?"

Mom: "3 hours."

Z: "12 if you watch all three. 12 hours of paradise."

Funny Boys

2010-01-13T17:45:00.004-07:00

The boys and I started our day by running 7 errands. These included Target, Sears, Borders, and the eye doctor.

N made them interesting by proclaiming (loudly) "I am Gandolf!!!". I finally got him to quiet down when I told him the Orcs would hear him.

It was beautiful weather this afternoon, so I let them play outside. Nick came in and initiated the following conversation:

N: "(indecipherable) Legos (indecipherable) little guys (indecipherable). Is that ok?"

Mommy: "What?"

N: "I said (indecipherable) Legos (indecipherable) little guys (indecipherable). Is that ok?"

Mommy: "I don't understand."

N (getting frustrated): "Do you want me to say it louder?"

Mommy: "I hear you, but"

N (interrupting, yelling): "I said (indecipherable) Legos (indecipherable) little guys (indecipherable)!!!! Is that ok?!!!!"

Mommy (taking a guess): "No, no computer."

N walks off.

About an hour later, M comes down stairs and informs me he's marrying M (a little girl from church) if J is marrying A (another little girl from church).

And a few minutes ago, M came upstairs to refill J's water bottle. While filling it, he informed me that J said he could be a prince if M would fill his bottle for him. Someone's learned to work playtime to his advantage.

Brotherly Love

2009-12-19T15:51:00.001-07:00

M (bounding down the stairs): "Mom!! J was just really nice to me!!!"
Mom: "Oh, yeah?"
M: "Yeah! He let me use his toothbrush since I couldn't find mine! Wasn't that nice?!?"
Mom: (trying not to laugh)
J (acting all big brother-ish): "Yeah, I did. But just cause we couldn't fine his."

(They both notice me trying not to laugh, decide I'm the crazy one, and walk away)

M (walking away, talking to J): "Well, it was nice of you, you know."
J: "Yeah, I know."

A Couple of M-isms

2009-12-03T10:40:00.002-07:00

M came up to me on Tuesday with a huge smile.

M: "Mommy, I've been saving something for you!"
Me: "Oh, yeah? What's that?"
M (digging in his pocket): "It's really special!"

He then presented me with a wad of white dog fur. Gotta love him.

__________

As he was walking through the living room yesterday:

Me: "Hey, M, got any hugs?"
M (with a smile): "Yep!"
[starts coming to me]
M (changes from a smile to an untrusting grin): "But you certainly better not ask if I've got any kisses!"

Faith Like a Child

2009-11-20T12:23:00.002-07:00

N was looking for a dark place to shine the View Master projector. It was mid-day and sunny, so I told him to go in the pantry and shut the door.

N: "There's no room."
Mommy: "Yes, there is. It's the only place dark enough."
N: "But there's not enough room for M."
Mommy: "Yes, there is. There's plenty of room."
N: "No, there's no room for me and M."
Mommy: "Yes, there is."

This continued on for at least 5 minutes. Finally, N believed me.

N: "There's enough room in the pantry?"
Mommy: "Yes."
N: "Okay."

Happy that he finally believed me, I turned back to my computer to continue working. I looked up to find him standing in front of the refrigerator, with the door wide open, his projector inside, trying to climb in.

Just a slight misunderstanding.

He was thrilled when I pointed to the walk-in pantry and told him that was the pantry and told him he was actually trying to climb in the fridge.

When telling this story to Cr, he pointed out that N was demonstrating "faith like a child". N must have thought I was crazy, but I'm his Mom and he was willing to trust me fully and try to fit in the fridge. Very sweet, but very humbling as well. Do I trust my Heavenly Father that much? I'd like to think so, but makes me wonder, just the same.

Some Assembly Required

2009-10-27T14:45:00.001-06:00

Z (who is supposed to be doing his math): "What if they sold puppies in boxes at the store, and didn't give you a receipt, and when you got home you opened the box and there was only a part of a puppy with a note that said 'other parts sold separately?'"

Reign of Terror

2009-10-22T10:23:00.004-06:00

M & N have been slowly slipping into habits of disobedience because I've been ignoring small infringments and not dealing with things as I should. They are under a "Reign of Terror" this week. This basically means that all disobedience is dealt with immediately--no matter how small. We've had to do this periodically with all the boys, and the scary sounding name is from when L was little and we had to crack down on him, but I cannot remember exactly why we call it that. Regardless, the over-the-top name serves as a good reminder to both the boys and myself that we can't be lazy and that we have to do what is right.

M came up to me this morning and said:

"Mommy, I've been working really hard this week to keep that disobedience away from me."

And you know what? He has. He's trying hard to obey and have self-control (and for anyone who knows M knows how hard this is). This week has been much more peaceful and enjoyable for all of us. It's funny how doing the hard things makes life so much easier.

Click, Clack, Moo

2009-10-14T10:47:00.003-06:00

J: "I've been thinking about a cow that types."
Cr: "What does he do?"
J: "Well, he works at [company Cr used to work for] in the department where they type letters to their Grandmothers."
Cr: "Really?"
J: "Yes, he was supposed to be in cow security, because he has horns, but since he can type they moved him and now he has to type emails to his Grandmas all day."

(As far as I know, he's never read or seen Click, Clack, Moo. Why he was daydreaming about typing cows will remain a mystery)

Temptation

2009-10-07T12:47:00.002-06:00

I was making lunch for the boys, and they talked me into giving them a homemade granola bar (normally reserved for breakfast) with their lunch.

Mommy: "Okay...who all wants a granola bar?"
L, Z, M, N: "Me!!!"
J: "Not me."
Mommy: "Are you sure, J? I don't mind."
J: "Yes, I had two earlier for breakfast."
Mommy: "So did everyone else."
J: "Okay.....you temptate-ed me, Mom."

Noise Maker

2009-10-01T11:17:00.001-06:00

I handed M a new shirt this morning.

M: "Mom. Mom. Mom. Hey, Mom. What's this say?"
Me: "Noise Maker."
M (laughing) : "Hey, that's me! I'm a noise maker."
Me: "Yep."
M: "I like to talk. I talk a lot. I was born to talk. I was born talking."
Me: "Yep."
M (running off) : "Hey! N! Come here! Look at my shirt! It says 'Noise Maker'. I was born to talk. I like to talk. I talk a lot....(and on, and on...)"

I think the shirt fits him.

Rock A Bye Baby

2009-09-25T11:53:00.002-06:00

N (rocking a stuffed animals): "Rock a bye baby..."
Z: "Are you rocking the animals?"
N (smiles): "And I have pretend coffee makers."
Z: "Are you sure you need coffee, N?"
N: "Yes, I need it to keep me awake."

I guess he has been paying attention.

Re-Starting

2009-09-21T12:40:00.003-06:00

This is an attempt at resurrecting this blog. I just spent a few minutes looking for an old post, and remembered that I started blogging because my memory is faulty, and all those fun & cute things I want to remember will be forgotten.

So, to get this up to speed:

N is potty trained.

J has lost his 2 bottom teeth. He never had a toothless smile, though, because his adult teeth had in fully for a few months before his baby teeth fell out. He really liked his "shark teeth".

Oh, I cut all of N's curls off. They're on day 4 of growing back out.

Hmmm...that's all I can think of right now, but I have to start somewhere. I'm going to attempt to post once a week, but hope to post more often. I'll also update the sidebar to show current information.

Z-isms

2009-09-07T13:48:00.001-06:00

To Cr: "Do you ever get stuck in an analogy like that?"

After coming in from outside: "It's sweltering out there!"

Opinion of a nectarine: "It's about three-fourths as good as a peach."

Carrots

2009-08-02T20:05:00.000-06:00

L was watching me peel a carrot.

He looked at me and said: "Are you supposed to be doing that?"

I replied: "I don't have to, but the outside is kind of yucky looking. Is that okay with you?"

He answered: "Yes, that's fine. I just wanted to make sure you weren't doing anything...[insert decent length pause here]...wrong."

Now I'm Really In Trouble

2009-07-29T15:22:00.002-06:00

As if I didn't have enough trouble resisting N's cuteness, he has added something that should be illegal.

When he wants something, he looks at me, opens his big blue eyes, and says "Pwetty Pwease, Mommy?".

I must be strong.

Obama-Man Can!

2009-06-02T13:38:00.002-06:00

Overheard (verb)

2009-05-08T05:38:00.001-06:00

L to N: "N, come back! Don't you want me to read you the dictionary some more?!?"

Delicious!

2009-04-19T13:15:00.001-06:00

Z: "Well, I'd rather die by being devoured by a tiger than die from old age."

Sheesh

2009-03-14T11:26:00.001-06:00

M: "Stupid is a really bad word. We shouldn't say it. I didn't actually say stupid, I just said it's a bad word. And because stupid is a bad word, we can't say it. But I didn't say stupid, I just said it's a bad word. Sheesh means you have a bad attitude."

Nonsensical Question of the Day

2009-01-15T10:30:00.003-07:00

Asked during a Math Assessment:

J: "Do I have to do the math part?"

An Annoying Commercial That Didn't Lie

2009-01-11T17:30:00.002-07:00

Do you guys remember the Hooked on Phonics commercals that ended with the "Hooked on Phonics worked for me!"?

Those annoyed me.

But I found a good deal on Hooked on Phonics at Walmart (the K and 1st grade set) and it looked like something M would like, so being the good Mom I am I set my hangups aside and bought it.

He does like it.

We started the program last week and he's reading (with effort and concentration) three letter words.

I can see great improvement in his skills in just 1 week. And it's completely removed the frustration factor for me (as much as I love reading, I do not love teaching reading), because the nice lady on the CD tells him what to read. When he starts losing focus, we just turn the nice lady off and put the book away, and restart the nice lady at the same place the next day.

I also bought Hooked on Phonics Master Reader for J, and am so impressed with the skills it's teaching J I'm going to have L and Z go through it (the lessons are all computer based and then the child reads a short story aloud) to cement some skills (like dividing words into syllables).

So there's my piece of humble pie. Hooked on Phonics works for me!

Ch-Ch-Changes

2009-01-11T17:01:00.003-07:00

I know, it comes as a big surprise that things are changing around here. This fall was very unproductive when it came to school. For every interruption, there is a 1-2 day period on either side where there are things to do to get ready for or unwind from an interruption. Then it takes 3-5 days to convince the boys that we do, indeed, need to do some schooling around here. The interruptions are worthwhile (seeing family and celebrating holidays), but they are interruptions nonetheless. In August & September we lost a week each, in November we lost a week, and in December we lost two weeks. That's 5 weeks lost, plus the prep & decompression time and then the getting into routine time. Add to this 12 Fridays we lost to a co-op (again, it was worthwhile, but those are days lost). That's another 2 weeks we lost. We never really did gain momentum.

So we're behind.

This means the Loop has been tossed out the window, and we're schooling for as long as it takes every day (so far it's been 4-5 hours) and doing any catch-up on Saturdays. The boys understand and are willing students (you know it's been an easy fall when boys who are 9 and under agree and are willing to work harder). But we'll finish all I want to finish for the year by the end of May, we'll do testing in June, and July we'll start fresh.

We're set to start a new history rotation for the 09-10 school year and L will be making the transition from grammar stage to logic stage. After a few days of panic, I think I now have a good idea of where we're headed and how to get there (and how I need to help Z, J, M, and N get ready for the transition when it's their time). Of course, I still need to re-read The Well-Trained Mind, but I'm kind of holding out for the revised version that's coming out next month. I have the original 1999 version, and a lot of recommendations have changed since then (I know the basic principles will be the same, but I still think I'll wait).

I'm dropping Classical Writing. I loved it when I was able to do it with L, but it's just too teacher and time intensive. I've got L, Z, and J working through Writing With Ease Level 1, and plan to switch L and Z to Imitations in Writing's Aesop's Fables next month. I also plan to add in Imitations in Writing's Poetry Primer in the next few months and work through it slowly.

I really need to update the curriculum in my sidebar, because a lot has changed. I'm tired and busy, but I feel confident and happy now that I've got a plan.

Sigh.

2009-01-09T10:29:00.002-07:00

After changing N's diaper, I picked him up to carry him down the stairs.

Me (giving him a hug): "You're getting big. You're growing up too fast."
N: "Yes. I are."

(I know. I need to potty train him. Soon. I will soon.)

We're Still Here

2009-01-07T07:35:00.003-07:00

I know, I need to blog. The boys are as funny and entertaining as ever, but they are also keeping me busier than ever.

Since I've blogged, N has turned 3, my parents visited for Thanksgiving, and Christmas has come and gone. All were fabulous events, but I haven't had time to sit down and write about them.

Oh, do I look different? My Christmas present was a new laptop. It's red and fast. In my youth, when I thought of red and fast I thought of a Corvette. Now in my not-so-youth, I'm probably more pleased with a red and fast computer than I would be with a Corvette. Don't get me wrong, a Corvette would be fun, but it's just not practical.

Anyway, I just wanted to let my 5 faithful readers know that we're still alive.

Judo Joy

2008-12-22T15:35:00.002-07:00

After not looking forward to Judo all day, I overheard the following conversation:

Z: "L, it's probably just going to be a games and randori practice" (randori is practice fighting)
L: "Really?!? Cool. Is that just because it's close to Christmas?"
Z: "Probably."
L: "I love around Christmas time"
Z: "Yeah."
L: "Christmas joy."
M (breaking into song): "Joy to the world....the Lord is come...."

Do You Like Being Homeschooled?

2008-11-11T05:27:00.002-07:00

Thanks to a homeschooling message board I visit, I asked each boy this question out of earshot of the others yesterday.

Me: Do you like being homeschooled?
L: Yeah!
Me: Why?
L: Because if I was in school I wouldn't get to play with my brothers all day. And I'd be away from home.

Me: Do you like being homeschooled?
Z: Yeah, because [a friend at Judo] has to go to school and he told me about it and it sounded bad and kids spit on him. And because I think it's a little bit fun and they [the schools] are doing a bad job teaching.

Me: Do you like being homeschooled?
J: Yes, because you're the nicest teacher. And I'd miss you.

Me: Do you like being homeschooled?
M: No. I mean yes.
Me: Why?
M: Because it's fun. You have math to do....and.....(he ran off)

Me: Do you like being homeschooled?
N: I don't wanna go to preschool [at co-op]. I want cake.

What's for Breakfast?

2008-10-30T08:09:00.003-06:00

I returned from running weekly errands at about 8 am. I unloaded all the bags from the van, and M started rummaging.

M: "What's for breakfast?"
Mommy: "Pickled pigs feet and fried lizard."
M: "Oh." (long pause) "Have we ever had that before?"
Z: "I think she's kidding. She better be kidding."

Dinner, Anyone?

2008-10-29T06:02:00.003-06:00

Last week I made chili for dinner. It's not a favorite, and I know that, but I like it and it's inexpensive and filling so I continue to make it periodically. This last time I made it I asked who liked it and Z, J, & M all raised their hands.

L said: "It's not as bad as it usually is."

Two nights ago, as I was kneading the pizza dough, L walks through the kitchen.

L: "What's for dinner?"
Mom: "Pizza."
L: "Have you started doing something different? Because it's not as bad as it used to be."

I need to explain to him someday that his wife might not be as accepting of his compliments as I am.

Negotiations

2008-10-08T14:41:00.004-06:00

The boys have a snack at 3:00 everyday. It's predictable, it's about halfway between lunch and dinner, it works well with our activities. It keeps them from asking for food all day long.

M (at 2:40): "Can we have snack?"
Mommy: "In twenty minutes."
M: "Oh. How about 3 minutes..."
Mommy (interrupting him): "No, at 3:00"
M: "...uh, 2 minutes, because then it would be zero minutes faster and I'm hungry and I don't like twenty minutes and I don't want to wait and it's not fair."

I had to laugh at his reasoning. Being four must be fun. He actually thought that might persuade me.

The Media

2008-10-06T12:24:00.002-06:00

Want a scary example of media bias? Go read this post by Jenn over at White Trash Mama, watch the video, and follow her instructions.

Overwhelming majority, eh?

Theology With a Four Year Old

2008-10-03T09:52:00.003-06:00

M: "Did God make everyone?"
Mommy: "Yes, God made everyone."
M: "But not the bad guys, right?"
Mommy: "God made everyone."
M: "Even the bad guys that put him on the cross?"
Mommy: "Yes, God made everyone."
M: "What'd he do that for?!?!"
Mommy: (pause while I try to figure out how to explain the origin of evil to a 4 year old)
M: "Hmph. Guess we'll have to wait and ask God about that."

The Baby Is Getting Smart

2008-10-03T06:36:00.006-06:00

N saw an old picture of L, Z, J, & M.

N (excitedly): "Hey! There's my guys! (tone switches from excited to confuzzled) Hey!! Where's N?!?!?"

__________

N really likes chocolate milk. I indulge him and put just a pinch of chocolate milk mix in his milk. Sometimes the pinch is actually just a granule or two of the mix. This worked well for the past year or so, ever since he started asking for chocolate milk. He's started to catch on, though, and this scenario is starting to become more common.

N: "Chocolate milk, Mom."
Mommy: pours milk
N: "No shake, Mom."
Mommy: puts a pinch of chocolate milk mix in the milk
N: "No shake, Mom. Thanks, Mom."

Then he holds his cup up over his head and looks quizzically up through the bottom of the cup. If he can see the chocolate milk mix sinking to the bottom (he can't see the chocolate sinking if I shake it) he gives me a grin. If not, he furrows his brow and walks off.

The Loop, Part Two

2008-09-24T15:20:00.005-06:00

I've updated and refined our Loop schedule. The basic idea is working out really well (we've done more History chapters already this year than we did all of last year), but I needed to fix a few glitches.

We start each day with Memory Work review and Special Topics (right now we're learning the Presidents and as we approach the election we'll study that some). We're also going to try Spelling Power again, and I'll alternate giving L & Z spelling tests (L will get a test on Monday & Wednesday, Z will get a test on Tuesday & Thursday--the days they don't get a test they'll copy their spelling rules). This is also the time I go over any letter formations for copywork or give any dictation (this isn't everyday).

The above takes about 1/2 an hour. We still school from 9:00-12:00, so we start in on the Loop on 9:30, and work until 12:00 and then we stop for the day. The next day we pick up where we left off. I've found we hit all the subjects 3-4 times per week. Right now we're in a co-op, so we don't do any regular school on Fridays, so we're hitting everything 3-4 times per week going through the Loop only four days a week.

The other tweak I needed to make to the Loop was assigning specific independent work to each day. The boys still have quiet time from 12:30-1:30, and they work on any unfinished work from the morning and their assigned independent work during this time.

Smarty Pants

2008-09-09T11:05:00.004-06:00

The very first lesson in Rod and Staff English is a lesson on how to treat your textbook. During the review lesson today, one of the questions was "How should you treat your English textbook?"

Z's answer?

"Horribly.............(insert the beginnings of Mommy irritation here & a pleased smirk from Z)......well."

Check This Out

2008-09-01T06:53:00.007-06:00

New Covenant Journal

Some of you guys might recognize one of the authors (some of you might recognize more than one). Even if you don't recognize any of them, it's a great publication that will make you think.

The link should work now.

Mum's The Word

2008-08-29T17:23:00.003-06:00

Grandma & Grandpa L arrived today for a week long visit.

Grandpa L is on the front porch playing some sort of game with Z & J. It involves some bean bag chairs and throwing them at each other.

I heard an unusual noise, and went to go check to make sure everything was okay and nothing was broken. As I approached the front window, I heard Z say (sternly):

"Hmmmm. Let's not talk about it. We'll just pretend it never happened. Don't talk about it again."

I still haven't figured out what "it" he was referring to.

Our Monday Adventure

2008-08-29T14:51:00.002-06:00

The Predicament:

I had to call Cr to come home to let me and L, Z, & J out of the school room because the doorknob wouldn't work. Where were M & N, you might ask? Why, they were locked in the playroom.

The way our basement is set up is there is a playroom (with a door that leads upstairs) and a hallway (with a bathroom) that leads to the schoolroom.

I always lock a hook and eye at the top of the basement stairway door to make sure the boys don't go upstairs when I'm working in the schoolroom with their brothers. If they are being noisy, I shut the schoolroom door. The little guys were being noisy.

However, the schoolroom doorknob had come halfway loose, so it no longer engaged the latch to let the door open. I tried getting the screws out all the way to take the knob off, but I couldn't.

To top it off, my 2nd cup of coffee had left me in need of a potty.

The Release:

Cr thought he'd come home, jiggle the handle a bit, and let us out. Ha! He slipped me a screwdriver under the door and I took the handle off. Something on the inside of the doorknob had broken completely off and he had to use a hammer and screwdriver to get the latch to loosen and let us out.

When I called him he had a hard time understanding me because I was laughing so hard (at one point he said "are you laughing or crying?"). But really, when I took the boys downstairs for the start of a new school week, it never dawned on me that we'd get locked in there. The little ones were entertaining me by sliding their fingers under the door and saying toddler/preschooler-ish stuff. The older 3 had watched a history thing on China that morning and it had a bit of the history of Kung Fu in it. They were plotting ways to use their Kung Fu to get the door down.

Unfortunately, the only tools I had in the room were paperclips and pencils and a spoon. MacGyver I am not. We could've gone outside through the basement window, but that would've meant braving a spider-infested window well, and if I had been brave enough to do that I would have had to get the screen out first (our screens are nearly impossible to remove without a screwdriver).

What a way to start the week!

Another Tribute to His Southern Heritage

2008-08-29T14:45:00.002-06:00

J (buckling in the van after Judo): "Hey, Mom! Did you know I have several teck-a-neeks and abilities?"

(notice the word "techniques" is drawn out into 3 syllables)

Of Course.

2008-08-29T14:42:00.002-06:00

Last night L walked through the room as I was checking his Challenging Word Problems.

L: "Did I get them right?"
Mommy: "Yep. Good job."
L: "Ha! I thought I did. It's been so long since I've done it that I thought I would be smarter now. I mean, I think I was about 8 and a half last time I did them."

(he just turned 9 at the end of July)

Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk

2008-08-22T12:46:00.002-06:00

I hurt my ankle/foot again.

I was promoted to brown belt in Judo last night. I was thrown approximately 20 times for this promotion (for those who haven't read previous promotion posts, the reward for a new belt color is being thrown by everyone in the class). I spent 2.5 hours throwing, being thrown, and grappling.

Then I came home, slipped in spilled milk, and twisted my ankle/foot. Ouch.

Just For Entertainment

2008-08-22T10:24:00.002-06:00

We've been watching the Olympics. The first time the boys saw diving, J asked "Why are they jumping into the pool in their underwear?!?!"
____________________

We've had a virus running through the house. On Friday M told us he felt "2 inches better". On Sunday he told me he felt "3 inches better".

____________________

While at my parents' house, it looked like M cut his hair. When I asked him if he cut his hair, he said "It just fell off".

____________________

Also while at my parents' house:

Daddy (to N): "You're fancy. How'd you get so fancy?"
N: "Jesus."

These 2 are from December:
____________________

During a Preschool lesson:

Mommy: Okay, M, circle the picture that is the same.
M: Both of them?
Mommy: No, just the first one.
M: Doh!
____________________

While I was working on getting lessons ready today, J was being loud. I called him into the school room and told him to quiet down. "Yes ma'am," he said, and ran back down the hall to the playroom. I overheard him say to M "I can still play M! It's not time for my school. I was just being noxios (Mommy translation: Obnoxious)".

Old Schoolhouse Magazine Giveaway

2008-08-11T14:55:00.002-06:00

Jenn over at Classless and Lovin' It is hosting a giveaway for a subscription to the digital version of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Go and read her blog, but don't enter the contest. I'd like to win. Thanks.

What's In a Name? Part Two

2008-07-28T20:37:00.002-06:00

This conversation occurred a few hours after Part One.

Mommy (to M): "What's your name?"
M: "A lot of names I made up."
Mommy: "Well, what are they?"
M: "I can't remember."

What's In a Name?

2008-07-28T12:58:00.002-06:00

M: "Mommy! L keeps calling me things I don't like!"
Mommy (thinking these must be offensive names): "Like what?"
M: "Curious George and Peanut and M!"
(M is his given name and the other 2 are standard nicknames)
Mommy: "Well, what should he call you?"
M (highly annoyed): "Super Sonic and Batman and all the other stuff I made up!"

Our Family Read Alouds for 2007-2008

2008-07-25T13:33:00.004-06:00

I'm cleaning up the side bar and this is the only place I have our Family Read Alouds listed, so I'm turning it into a post. The only book on this list that I would not recommend is this version of Don Quixote. It left out a lot of details (which I understand, you have to do), but we didn't find it to be an engaging retelling at all.

Also, in an effort to be more deliberate about studying God's word as a family Cr began reading aloud from John every night and then we discussed the passage together.

L's 9th Birthday

2008-07-24T08:42:00.004-06:00

L turned 9 on Wednesday. He wanted an apple pie for his birthday, but when he decided to invite a family from church over to help him celebrate his day I decided to make mini cupcakes (or pupcakes as M calls them) just in case 1 apple pie wasn't enough for 12 people.

He had a Star Wars theme, in honor of the only present he really wanted, Lego Star Wars for the Wii. Actually, he really wanted Rock Band for the Wii, but that was a bit out of our price range.

He requested a simple breakfast of Quaker Chewy Granola Bars, McDonald's for lunch (Cr came home and ate with us), and Little Ceasar's Pizza for dinner. Our friends came over to celebrate and we had a wonderful evening getting to know them better while all of the kids played.

He spent the day with his brothers having a Star Wars movie marathon (I think they watched 3 total). His day ended playing Lego Star Wars on the Wii. He also received 2 Lego Star Wars kits, a cap rifle & pistol, a bow and arrow (one to pretend with-not a real one), a pair of handcuffs (again, pretend-while I was willing to get him a real beginner bow and arrow, I would not get him a pair of real handcuffs. Ever.), and a backyard baseball set (now he won't have to come in and try to talk me into giving him plates for bases).

And yes, in the picture of L blowing out the candles, you can see one of our toilets in the background. Nice, huh?

J's 6th Birthday

2008-07-24T08:36:00.007-06:00

J turned 6 at the end of June. He requested a Kung Fu Panda Bear theme (he refused to leave the "bear" off the end). To celebrate his day he decided to take us all to the theater to see Kung Fu Panda which was a really cute movie that we all enjoyed.

He requested a Slip N Slide and a Water Sprinkler for his birthday. He received both, but it was too cold to use them on his birthday. It was cloudy, somewhat rainy, and the high was only in the 60s.

He also received a Kung Fu Panda bear stuffed animal and book, a gamecube Hobbit game, a watering can, a watch and a rebound net for baseball.

For his birthday breakfast he picked overnight apple french toast, he enjoyed his chicken nuggets from McDonald's for lunch, and for dinner he requested grilled hamburgers.

I look forward to watching him spread his wings more this year (even though he's growing up way too fast). He's such a sweet, funny little boy.

Maybe, Just Maybe

2008-07-18T09:21:00.002-06:00

Okay, so maybe, just maybe there is a small bit of truth when my Mom tells me I don't actually have a baby anymore.

Last night Cr was sitting on the floor, wrestling with the dogs and boys. N walked up to him, sat down right in front of him with his legs sticking and said:

"Daddy? Can I talk you fora minute? I hurt my leg."

Hrmph. Seems he's going to grow up whether I approve or not.

Further Proof I Still Have a Baby

2008-07-14T11:18:00.002-06:00

Me (to N): What's your name?
N (sweetly): Baby

When Life Gives You Lemons

2008-07-14T10:54:00.003-06:00

Two weeks ago we went to a buffet for dinner. The boys had coupons to get in free, thanks to the library summer reading program.

All of the sudden, M was overcome with a question. This boy is passionate, and the more passionate he is about what he's saying the louder he becomes. And the more repetative he becomes until he gets an answer or confirmation that he's been heard. And he still pronounces "L" as "W".

M (talking in a very loud voice): "Hey!! Does my Dad have a wot of women?!?!"

I was drinking water and was trying not to laugh so I couldn't swallow to answer his question. Cr couldn't understand what he was trying to say. So M repeated this question probably 10 times before I could answer that yes, indeed, his Dad had a lot of lemonade.

Fleas!

2008-07-04T06:03:00.002-06:00

Cr & I noticed that Maggie and Chewy were scratching a lot. We realized they had fleas, most likely picked up while being boarded at the end of May. I decided to give them a bath with flea shampoo yesterday, thinking I'd finish quickly and be able to move on to the other chores I had planned for the day.

I was wrong.

I bathed them, but while bathing Chewy I realized how bad the fleas were. They are American Eskimo dogs, and have really thick fur, and I came to the conclusion the only hope I had to actually get the shampoo down to their skin would be to shave them.

I started with the first bath at about 9:15, and decided to shave them by 9:45. I finished shaving Chewy at 12:30. I figured I'd have lunch, then shave Maggie and be done by 2:30 or so, and have some time to get other things done. It turns out, however, that Maggie's coat is much finer and softer than Chewy's, which means I couldn't shave it down with a guard on the clippers. In addition to looking like she has the mange now, it also took my until 4:00 to finish, and then I had to give each another bath in the flea shampoo.

The only bright spot I could think of while I was working on them yesterday was "At least the boys don't have head lice".

Stinky Baby

2008-07-02T19:10:00.004-06:00

All of the boys need a bath. They are sticky and icky and well...kind of stinky.

N climbed up in my lap, and I was kissing on him.

Me: You're my stinky baby.
N: Das right, Mom, das right.

My Mom likes to point out I don't have a baby anymore, but I'm still claiming him as my baby and he agrees with me. Just the other day I was carrying him up to bed for his nap and he told me "I you baby, Mom. I you baby". Who am I to argue with that bit of cuteness?

Leave It to M

2008-06-30T08:52:00.003-06:00

On Friday, M wanted to drink some water out of one of the little medicine dosing cups that is including with children's liquid medicine. I gave him one and he took it into the bathroom to get some water. I heard a bunch of slurping and sucking, finally got annoyed and told him that was enough water and to bring me the cup.

He emerged with his mouth looking like this. Evidentially all of the sucking and slurping I heard was him creating suction to stick the cup around his lips. He's been walking around all weekend with a self-given hickey. I've been fighting the urge (sometimes successfully, sometimes not) to refer to him as "hickey-lips".

Words Again

2008-06-24T08:55:00.002-06:00

J: "Is is bad to say dumbbucket?"
Me: "Well, it's not kind..."
Z: "What about duncebucket?"
L: "What does dunce mean?"
Z: "I don't know. But I just said it."

Recurring Conversation

2008-06-12T07:17:00.003-06:00

I've had a variation of this conversation at various times with the older 4 boys over the past few years. Most recently it was with J when he felt the need to touch an empty bullet casing to his lips (the bullet casing was from a Memorial Day service).

Concerned Boy: "Mom? If I [lick, touch, eat] [whatever the item in question] what'll happen?"
Me: "Probably nothing"
Concerned Boy: "Would it kill me?"
Me: "Probably not. Why?"
Concerned Boy: "Because I just did."

Explain this to me--if an alarm bell goes off in the boy's head after he does this thing why does he not have the same alarm bell go off before he does it?

The Love of a Two Year Old

2008-06-10T08:43:00.003-06:00

Last night after dinner, Cr went out the back door to turn off the sprinklers. He then went through the gate to put the trash at the curb and pull the van in the garage. He re-entered the house through the garage door after being outside for only a handful of minutes.

When Cr came through the door, N's face lit up like a Christmas tree and he started exclaiming "Daddy's home!!!". Thrilled, he ran across the room and gave Cr a hug like he'd been gone all day, or even days.

That boy loves his Daddy.

School Plans for the Remainder of 2008

2008-06-09T06:38:00.004-06:00

Even though our new school year doesn't start until August 1 (our school year runs from August 1-July 31), we're going to start our new books next week. At the beginning of May we dropped our regular work and spent the time preparing L for the standardized test he has to take (he starts today) and drilling math facts with L and Z. They did some Latin and Greek review, and some spelling, reading, handwriting, and logic, but most of this was independent and I'm ready to get back into a school groove. L is 4th grade, Z is 3rd grade, J is 1st grade, and M is K4/K5ish (he turns 5 in January, but is eager to do school). Here are our plans (which are always subject to change):

Math:
L: Saxon 6/5, Singapore Challenging Word Problems 3
Z: Saxon 5/4, Singapore Challenging Word Problems 2
J: Saxon 2, Singapore Challenging Word Problems 1
M: Kumon workbooks, start Saxon 1 when he's ready

Latin:
L & Z: finish Latin for Children A, start Latin for Children B
J & M: Song School Latin

Language Arts:
L: Classical Writing Aesop (possibly changing to Poetry for Beginners after Christmas), Rod & Staff English 3
Z: Classical Writing Aesop, Rod & Staff English 3
J: Explode the Code 4 and up (I don't know how far we'll need to go)
M: Phonics Pathways, finish Explode the Code Primer A (he'll either continue with Primers B & C or begin with Book 1 depending on when the blending switch flips)

Greek:
L, Z, J, & M: Greek Alphabet Code Cracker, Song School Greek

Spelling:
L: finish Spelling Workout C, start D
Z: finish Spelling Workout B, start C
J: Spelling Workout B (when I don't think he needs Explode the Code anymore)

Copywork & Dictation:
L, Z, & J will either use good sentences/passages from their reading or selections from The Harp and Laurel Wreath. M will continue to work on letter formation (Kumon workbooks). I'll use StartWrite to create copywork pages for all of them.

History:
We'll finish up Story of the World 3 (I'm aiming to be done by Christmas) and start Story of the World 4.

Geography:
We're going to study the US States until Christmas, and then I plan on studying World Geography. We'll also use Legends and Leagues for a general introduction to maps and globes.

Memory Work:
We'll memorize poetry from The Harp and Laurel Wreath (I'd like to have us memorize at least 6), the US States, and the Presidents this year.

Science:
L & Z: Science Detectives Beginnings

Assigned Reading:
This year I plan on having L, Z, and myself all read the same books and discuss them. I've got 4 books picked so far: Andersen's Fairy Tales (we'll start with this one), Tanglewood Tales, A Wonder Book, and Tales from Shakespeare.

J will continue with the various Easy Readers and Beginning Reader books we have. Once he's reading well I'll come up with a plan for his reading.

Logic:
I've got a few resources to choose from here: Mind Benders Beginning Books 1 & 2, Primary Analogies Book 1, and Critical Thinking Activities for K-3 & 4-6. L, Z, & J find the logic activities to be fun, so I'll include 1 or 2 worksheets with their independent work.

Music:
We'll continue listening to selections from How to Introduce your Child to Classical Music in 52 Easy Lessons. L, Z, & J will continue with piano lessons.

I think this covers it all. I'll update the sidebar with links soon. It looks like a lot, but we won't do everything everyday and I still plan to finish our lessons by noon, with an hour of independent work or reading in the afternoon.

Life After Vacation

2008-06-03T10:35:00.004-06:00

We're back from vacation. We spent last week in Wisconsin with Cr's parents and siblings and their families (there were 28 of us total). We rented some cabins on a lake to help celebrate Cr's parents' anniversary. It was a good time, even though the weather was cool and damp with an insane amount of mosquitoes and ticks. The boys got to fish (didn't catch anything), go out in a canoe, reconnect with cousins, toast marshmallows over the campfire, and Z ate 32 cookies over the 5 days. He's the only one that counted, but his brothers couldn't have been that far behind. Add to that the cases of soda they drank and I figure they'll finally crash after the sugar high sometime this week.

I really need to update our curriculum on the sidebar. I think I've got it all picked out for the 08/09 school year, and much of it is here. Cr will be giving L his state required standardized test next week and we'll start back up after that's out of the way. Our new year doesn't officially begin until August 1st, but we're going to get a head start on the new books. I also need to spend some time really training M & N (and reminding J) how to behave during school hours, so I'll use this summer to work on their behavior.

Sixty Years

2008-05-26T06:10:00.002-06:00

Cr and I are both blessed with parents who haven't divorced. Cr's parents are celebrating 60 years of marriage today. Happy Anniversary Grandma & Grandpa L!

You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!

2008-05-06T15:53:00.003-06:00

We often call J "Ralphie" (to which he responds "Don't call me Ralphie!"). We call him Ralphie because he looks an awful lot like Ralphie from the movie "A Christmas Story". You need to be familiar with the movie to understand this post, so if you haven't seen it you might as well stop reading and go watch the movie.

On Sunday, Cr was in the backyard planting strawberries, the boys were playing, and I was downstairs in the schoolroom working. J entered the room crying with his hand cupped over his eye.

My wonderful Ralphie-look-alike nearly shot his eye out with a Nerf dart gun. Once I stopped laughing (after I checked to make sure J wasn't blind), I had to explain to the poor boy why I was laughing at his misfortune.

The Loop

2008-04-23T07:17:00.005-06:00

We're trying something new here at the Academy. Instead of following a routine/schedule, we're following The Loop (I had been calling it a flow chart, but Cr pointed out that it's a loop).

We have been fighting two problems with our schedule this year. The first is that it is easy for me to get caught up teaching L and Z and missing more days than I'd like with J and M. The second major problem has been the difficulty of getting back to school after lunch. By the time they'd had their quiet time and started to play, it was difficult to reengage their brains for more learning.

I read a few articles by Joyce Swann. She has 10 children, and all who are old enough have earned their Master's degrees by the age of 16. Her school hours were from 8:30-11:30 every day (they school year round, as do we). Once her children finished one subject, they went on to the next. This left the rest of their days free to pursue their interests. While my goals aren't to accelerate the boys' educations to this degree, it did get me thinking. If she can school for 3 hours in the morning and have well-educated children, surely I can come up with a plan.

The plan is The Loop. I will start at the top of the list and move through in the order listed from 9:00 to 12:00. For example, I'll start with Latin and if I only get through Language Arts with J by 12:00, the next day I'll start with Language Arts with M at 9:00 and keep going down the list until noon, and if we finish History before noon I'll start back at the top with Latin and so on. J & M will only be required in the school room for their specific lessons, but L & Z will be required to be in the school room working the entire time because they have plenty of independent work they can do. We have lunch from 12-12:30, and then they all have quiet time on their beds until 1:30, where they can finish up independent work or read/look at books.

While we haven't been following The Loop, the past 2 weeks we have been following the 9:00-12:00 school hours and quiet time from 12:30-1:30 where they've done independent work. Our days have been much more peaceful, and I'm hopeful we've hit on a solution for this upcoming year.

Heh, Heh, Heh.

2008-04-14T06:50:00.003-06:00

During one of our family Wii sports sessions, Cr made another good shot on one of the games.

Cr: "Heh, heh, heh."
(a few moments of silence)
Z: "Heh, heh, heh."
(small pause)
Z: "I'm trying to be like Dad. Only I don't have the voice. Or the vocabulary."

Parental Disclaimer

2008-04-14T06:43:00.003-06:00

We were able to purchase a Wii (for those of you who have never heard it said, it's pronounced "we") several weeks ago. We have really enjoyed playing it together.

M has a blast with it. However, he calls it "the weed". So if a very excitable little boy ever comes up to you asking you if you want to "do the weed", or proclaiming with passion that his Mommy and Daddy "do the weed" every night, or that he himself loves "the weed", before you call the authorities to report that he and his family are into illegal drugs, find out if he's talking about the new video game system.

Huh?

2008-04-11T09:20:00.003-06:00

For those who don't watch American Idol, or who simply missed this, here it is. Yes, this was sung on national TV (twice, actually, but the first night they changed Jesus to Shepherd). I don't know the how, the why, or the who behind it but it happened, and I like it so much I'm posting it here.

Dinnertime Discussion

2008-03-26T05:27:00.000-06:00

Last night at dinner, we were discussing letting the boys build something out of the scrap woodpile over the summer. The boys, of course, think this is a spectacular idea. As they were trying to persuade us to allow them to do this, L informed us:

"We might have little brains, but we have big ideas!"

Weapons, Revisted.

2008-03-12T13:30:00.004-06:00

We're having a warm spell this week. The boys are out back participating Jedi training. I once again had to explain that we shouldn't actually hit our brothers with our lightsabers and plastic bats and whatever else we've turned into a weapon for this very serious training.

They cannot fathom my reasoning. Even after M, J, M, and then J came in crying after being swacked (the last time J came in he was holding his glasses frame and L was following him with the lens). L asked if I could think of a safe way for them to hit each other.

At least they haven't found the aluminum bat yet.

I Did It!

2008-03-03T14:59:00.002-07:00

Twice so far.

Did what?

Ran 3.1 miles. That's a 5K. Of course, my time was slow. Some of you could probably walk it faster than I ran it. But the point here is that I ran it. The first time was on Saturday and the second time was this morning.

I still don't think I'm a runner, but I've got to do something so I'll stick with running until I run a real 5K this Spring sometime and then I'll decide if I want to do another.

Now I'm going to work on my time and just work on it getting easier. I'm thinking of starting this training program. It's nice to have something tell me what to do.

It Really Shouldn't Be This Hard

2008-02-25T10:31:00.003-07:00

Written on the board: A predicate nominative renames the subject.

The question on the Latin worksheet: A ________ ________ renames the subject.

Z: "I don't know the answer."
Mommy: "Look at the board."
Z (looks at the board): "A who what?"
Mommy: "No. Read what is on the board."
Z (studies the board): "I don't know."
Mommy: "Read the sentence on your paper and read the board."
Z (studies me): "You look frustrated."
At this point I should get some sort of award for not yelling "Yes, I am frustrated!! We just spent 20 minutes talking about this. The exact same sentence is written on the board with the answer you need, for Pete's sake!!!! Apply yourself!
Mommy: "You cannot get out of your chair until you get the right answer."
Z (looks at his paper and then the board): "Uh, is it predicate nominative?"

Odds and Ends

2008-02-20T12:36:00.004-07:00

L & Z tested for their orange belts and I tested for my green belt in Judo this past Saturday. We all 3 passed, and the reward was the throwing promotion ceremony. I think there were close to 40 people in the class, which equals almost 40 falls. The first picture is of our Sensei throwing me, the second is of our Sensei throwing Z, and the third is of M throwing L. J was in class, too, and got to throw each of us. The boys really enjoyed throwing me, but probably not quite as much as I enjoyed throwing them.

____________________________

Yesterday L was cleaning up some play money. All of the sudden I saw a lightbulb go off in his head.

L: Mom, this sure is a lot of dollars.
Mom: Yep, it is.
L: Has anyone ever tried to pay for stuff using dollars like this?
Mom: Yes, and they are in jail now.
L (complete shock): Really? They'd put you in jail just for trying to pay for stuff with pretend dollars?!?

I'm glad we nipped that one in the bud before he started a counterfitting business in between his studies.

____________________________

I was in the school room getting ready for the day. M & N were the only ones awake and they were down the hall in the playroom. N came wandering in muttering "M....trouble.....M.....trouble".

Smart boy, that N.

____________________________

N is often referred to as "The Baby". I know he's over 2, but he's still "The Baby". The other day he was going through the dirty laundry. He'd pick up one of L's shirt and say "L....shirt", something of Z's and say "Z's", and so on. When he got to one of his shirt he said "The Baby's.....The Baby's".

____________________________

We're plugging along with school. We did start with an 11 week co-op. We meet once a week for 3 hours. L & Z are in Art and PE together, L is in a Geography Club, Z is in a Games/Chess Club, J is in PE, Spanish, Weather, and State History, and M is in Preschool. N has been in preschool for 2 hours with M and he's had a blast, but he's usually in the nursery. They're meeting new people and are enjoying the break from our normal school routine.

I think that's all I've been saving up. We had the flu come through and lost about 2 weeks, but I think we're all on the upswing now.

Use the Force

2008-02-13T09:58:00.003-07:00

Mommy: M, why are you going upstairs? L is still sleeping.
M (holding a toy Darth Vader): I need to get a guy with a blue lightsaber. I need Wuke Kywalker.
Mommy (thinking if I can get M to say Luke Skywalker correctly we won't have to go to speech therapy in the future): Who?
M: Wuke Kywalker.
Mommy: No, I think you need L-L-L-L-Luke S-S-S-S-Skywalker.
M (using extreme concentration): Yeah, L-L-Wuke S-S-S-S-kywalker.
Mommy (happy that he at least said "S"): Ok, just be quiet so you don't wake up L.

M goes upstairs, comes back after about 10 minutes looking sad.

Mommy: What's wrong?
M (smiling proudly at the effort he's about to exert) : I can't find S-S-S-Wuke.

*sigh* At least he tried.

Servanthood

2008-02-08T17:07:00.000-07:00

When you're on your hands and knees scrubbing stains out of the carpet in the playroom, and you're becoming quite certain that you're raising a houseful of pigs instead of boys, and one of them looks at you and says "Wow, Mom, you look like a servant when you do that" and the others pipe up and join in and they get involved in a conversation about how they are so glad you aren't a servant.....

it's good if they can run.

Quickly.

Mom! Come Quick!

2008-01-31T09:51:00.001-07:00

I sent the boys down to the basement in preparation for the start of school.

L (running upstairs to the kitchen): "Mom! Come quick! There's something I need to show you!"
Mommy: "What?"
L: "It's hard to explain! You know that thing? That Dad is going to use for his garden plants? Chewy's in there, and he's shaking!"
Mommy (taking time to grab the camera): "Uh-oh."

Yes, Chewy, the dog who makes up for his lack of intelligence with a sweet disposition, had fallen into the basement window well. After a couple of humiliating pictures, I opened the window and he hopped out and ran upstairs. I let him back outside, where he was joyfully reunited with Maggie. He didn't appear to suffer any wounds, other than his pride.

Happy 4th Birthday, M!

2008-01-29T08:07:00.000-07:00

M decided he wanted this pirate cake for his birthday. It looks easy enough, right? I should have read all the reviews before I started. I had the cake baked by 6 yesterday morning and was feeling good about the day to come. I started decorating the cake about 8:30 or so. By 10, I realized it was going to be a lost cause. I'd already lost 1 layer completely, another layer was in shambles, and the remaining 2 layers were crumbling before my eyes. The boys thought this shipwreck was great, because they got to eat cake twice in one day. L did try to talk me into setting it on fire, but I declined.

I thought for a few minutes about how to make a more stable cake, loaded the boys in the van and ran to the grocery store to get more cake mix and icing ingredients.

This is what I came up with. It's a bit tall (looked more like an ocean liner to me), but M was happy and the other boys liked it as well. I finished just in time to get everyone and everything cleaned up before Judo (ugh-much different than what I had planned for the day).

Four is a pretty big age around here. M had his first official Judo class yesterday and did pretty well. He's been begging, practicing, and watching for months and he was excited. At church, M will no longer be allowed in the nursery, so he'll have to sit quietly for the church service. And he moves from the 2 & 3 year old Sunday School class to the 4-1st grade class, which includes going to Wednesday night activities. He's very excited.

Here are the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. We celebrated M's birthday by going to McDonald's for dinner (his brothers tried to talk him into Chuck E. Cheese but Cr & I nixed that). We came home, had cake, and M opened his presents. He received a Thomas the Train bed set for his toddler bed, a Pirate Ship, a Leap Frog Word Launch game, a walking Dinosaur (although it's not Trample, it's a Spinosaurus or something), and a Bike-Just-His-Size. He's quite happy.

Lobbyist

2008-01-27T06:05:00.000-07:00

Last night, Cr came up with the perfect career for M.

Lobbyist.

M is passionate, persistent, and loud (I don't know if this one is a requirement for a lobbyist, but I'm sure it might be helpful at times).

Case in point:

After dinner, M decided we needed to have dessert. He request for ice cream went something like this:

M: Can we have dessert?
Mommy: I'm not sure. You guys didn't eat very well.
M: How about ice cream? We have ice cream.
Mommy: I don't know.
M (standing in his chair, jumping with each request): Dessert! Dessert! Dessert!
(I go over and ask Cr what he thinks about ice cream. He likes the idea.)
M: Ice Cream! Ice Cream! Ice Cream!
Mommy: Why do you want ice cream, M?
M: Because it's Yummy! Can we have dessert?
(Notice, he never strays from his original request)
Mommy: Yes, you can have ice cream.
(Cheering from all the boys)

So, he was successful with his lobbying. He must've realized that, because about an hour after they finished their ice cream, he came up to me again, with a big smile.

M: Mommy? Can we have ice cream tomorrow?
Mommy: I don't know.
M: How 'bout yes?

*sigh*

Genetics at Work?

2008-01-25T13:17:00.000-07:00

J was working in his Explode the Code book yesterday. He was doing an exercise where he is supposed to write the word describing the picture.

The picture was a picture of a bathroom.

He wrote "Baf" (it was supposed to be "tub").

I guess one doesn't actually need to be born in the South to spell like they were born there.

Keeping It Real

2008-01-22T07:28:00.001-07:00

Back in October, I mentioned I wanted to run a 5K. Not too long after that, I caught a cold and could not run. Then the holidays hit in full force, and I decided to go back to doing exercise videos or walking on the treadmill until after the first of the year. I began Cool Running's Couch to 5K program on the 8th and I began week 3 today. March 4th should be the final week. We'll see if I make it this time!

Summed Up

2008-01-21T07:17:00.000-07:00

About the Packers Loss:

Z: "I'm not wearing a Packers Jersey again. Until next season."

Cr: "Well, what can you do. You live with Favre, you die with Favre."

It's a sad day here. I hope this means that Favre will be back next year, that they'll get most of his young team back, and they'll win the Superbowl next year and then Favre can retire.

Until then, I hope the Giants play as well against the CheatingPatriots and keep them from winning it all. I can't make myself root for the Giants, though. The pain is still too fresh.

Dinnertime Conversation

2008-01-18T06:42:00.000-07:00

The funny:

J (looking slightly pensive): I'm glad I only have to get married once. I don't like kissing people.

The sweet:

M: When I grow up I'm going to go anywhere I want to!! (a short pause and a big smile) with Dad!!!