New Bulletin Board

Have a Blessed Week Everyone!

Chippewa Valley Chess Tournament

After a busy day at school I picked the boys and Alex up, dropped Alex and Ethan at the house, Ben changed into clothes since it was Pajama Day at school and then we headed to Clinton Twp. for the 3rd Annual Chippewa Valley Chess Tournament. This was the second year Ben participated and Fox's first tournament. They did well but did not place. It was a very long day.

Friday Fill-In and the like.

1. My blueprint for success includes taking it one day at a time.

2. An ‘organic’ Mango Tango sucker was the last candy I ate.

3. The best facial moisturizer I've ever used is anything by L’Oreal or Lancôme.
4. Screaming & throwing a fit can be good therapy (but it doesn’t make you very popular).

5. I'd like to tell you about my amazing trip to Europe but I haven’t been there yet.

6. The ability to improvise is my strongest characteristic (guess it’s from all of that dance training).

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to taking Fox and Ben to compete in the 3rd Annual Chippewa Valley Schools Chess Tournament, tomorrow my plans include seeing the NBHS production of ‘Nit Wits’ and Sunday, I want to rejoice and relax!

*Hey Lisa! My fill-ins are different because I am pulling them from the archives!

A couple quick updates too: first, I have a job interview today! This is the first face to face interview I have had in many years. I am a little nervous but excited for the possibilities. Also, when I asked Ethan how things went at school yesterday he replied with a happy "good!" His friend Jesse was back in class after being out sick for some time, he passed the next level of Rocket Math on his first try which was a definate confidence builder, and he was excited about finishing his 'fish project' in Art. So, things are looking up for him, Amen. Thank you everyone for your support and encouragement during this transition, it is truly priceless!

T.G.I.F.

Just life...

Monday, March 23, 2009
Didn’t see Alex this morning which isn’t unusual since Rob does the bus run for me on Monday; I probably won’t see her much this week since ‘Nit Wits’ is in the final throws of dress and tech rehearsals. Ah, the theater…. The boys got up and got themselves dressed, Fox did his shower, Ben was last night, and Ethan washed up before the meet yesterday. Checked everyone’s backpacks, sent notes to teachers about pick-ups this week, doled out hugs, kisses and well wishes; Rob took them down to the bus on his way out to work. Crunched across the frosty grass to let the chickens out to free range and give them the food scraps. Came back in, made a cup of instant (minus French Vanilla creamer…boo), did my Weekend Update blog post, some bill paying, put on my New Orleans Blues Party CD and got down to business writing TV on DVD entries. About 11:20 I went out and brought the chickens in, gathered 2 eggs, then went for a brisk (in temp. & pace) 20 minute walk around the trails, came in and did 10 minutes of intense yoga concentrating on loosening up my hips which have been very tight again lately. Spent about 2 minutes in corpse pose then jumped in the shower, got dressed then had some homemade cabbage soup. Went up to North Branch, dropped my papers off at the school administration office for substituting, hit the library for a spell then picked the boys up for school and headed right down to Rochester. Fox and Ben stayed at the library to play on the computer and read while Ethan and I did gymnastics. Alex had tech rehearsal after school and got her own ride home, she was already in bed by the time we made it back at nearly 10pm.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Ben was already up before I was. Put Alex on the bus, gave Fox and Ethan a little extra sleep time but then gave the wake-up call about 7:20am got them fed and backpacks in order, fed the chickens (no ranging today, but gathered 4 eggs), got them on the bus then followed it up to Lake Pleasant and headed over to Grosse Pointe to clean for my mom. Cleaned, then did a brisk (temp. & pace again) 20 minute walk around the neighborhood with her poodle, Brulée, then did 10 minutes of core pilates before heading back home, stopping on the way at the grocery store, gas station, and bank. Ethan has been a concern for me. Yesterday and today he cried that he did not want to go to school, I think he is still feeling under the weather but he is very overwhelmed with the work load and long day. My prayer today was that something cool/special/exciting would happen to put the spring back in his step. Oddly I thought Fox would be the one with the toughest time adjusting but he is doing fine. Ethan I figured would love having buddies around since he’s so friendly and outgoing but he is the one wanting to be back home. Of course he really doesn’t want to work at home, just play on the Wii all day! This is partly where our problems began. Boys got home and we had spaghetti dinner, they played some video games then Ben and I headed off to our last Michigan History class. Fox got his homework packet done and practiced the trumpet. Alex had dress rehearsal again but was home before we were. When we returned I sat down and did some reading with Ethan then he took a bath and I wrestled everybody to bed.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Did the high school bus run, woke the boys, Fox showered while Ben jumped in the tub. Quick breakfast of homemade banana muffins. Made cold lunches since hot lunch selections were rejected. Fed the chickens, gathered 4 eggs, and consoled Ethan again because he cried he didn’t want to go to school. We even went into our prayer closet (literally the bedroom closet) and took a moment to cast our cares and claim our strength in the Lord. He seemed to calm down. Backpack check. Loaded up and headed down to the bus stop for the second run. Discovered my back tire was flat AGAIN, slowly made my way to the church to do some work, stopping on the way at a gas station to fill the tire. Worked at the church and got my new bulletin board started, which looks TOO CUTE if I do say so myself. When I came out to the car to leave the tire was flat AGAIN. Put the donut on and decided I should go by Kan Rock and see if they had a used tire to put on since I had to go down to Rochester tonight and didn’t want a blow-out. PTL they did have one. Got back home and instead of walking today in the misty, nasty rain I took a 30 minute power nap instead. Woke up, got my coaching clothes on, had some cabbage soup, got some food together to bring to the boys to eat on the way down to Rochester, then went to pick them up from school. On the way down everyone ate and shared about their day and I quizzed Ethan and Ben on their spelling words. Fox read us his new “novel” he started writing today. Ethan told me again he didn’t want to go to school and that he couldn’t stop crying. I asked if the teacher knew about him crying and he said no, he did it quietly, nobody really knew. I was impressed that he knew most of his spelling words and he said he finally reached his goal on Rocket Math so he can go to the next level. I put a call in to Mrs. Hosner the principal earlier this morning asking her to check on Ethan and see if she can find out more about why he’s having troubles. I saw her when I picked them up and she told me she got the message but didn’t have a moment to delve into it today but will tomorrow. Fox and Ben stayed at the Rochester library and did homework and played on the computer. Ethan had a good practice and my practice with Super Mites went really well too. Picked the other two back up and headed straight home. Alex was home from rehearsals when we returned but went to bed shortly after. Heading for some shut eye myself and looking forward to not having to go anywhere tomorrow.

Weekend Update

Sunday morning Ethan and I headed down to Lake Orion to watch the Junior Team compete Level 4 at the State Meet hosted by Gymnastics Training Center of Rochester Hills. What a marvelous facility the Lake Orion High School Field House is. It was a perfect set-up for the meet. This time we were not scheduled to work on the floor and mostly watched from the spectator area which was above the gym floor making it much easier to see all the events. We did sneak down during one practice round so Ethan could say hi to the team. As a fund raiser they were selling “Shout Outs” for $1 so we did a “Shout Out to the GTC Junior Team. Ethan Parton says Rock On and Coach Brandon is the best!” Loving it!
Weekly Walk #6: As we took a quickie walk on the property we went past Benjamin’s latest project, a putt-putt golf course. He started drawing out the idea Saturday night and then worked on it all Sunday morning. Needs to come up with a better hole; a frosting container was suggested. I also gazed adoringly at the huge pile of brush that was gathered during Saturday yard work. Rob got the boys started on picking up the debris and sticks while he filled up the tires on the lawn mower and moved it to the back part of the garage so I can get the recycling area organized. I actually ended up painting in Alex’s room (another project that has long gone by the wayside) instead of working outside with them. Then I took Ben up to the elementary for soccer practice. Alex somehow skated on the whole yard work deal. She went up to the school for the theatre workday and was supposed to work when she got back but things pretty much puttered out by then. Hmmm. Anyway, along our walk Rob wrestled with some old wire that had been in the back for a while but was finally freed and easy to see since everything was dead, so we pulled that out to an open spot to come back for later. Tried to take some more MySpace type pictures with Rob but just kept getting the back of his head and not me; got a few good smooches trying though. (wink) The lower section of the collage is Fox’s terrarium-aquarium project he worked on. I found a section of moss while we were walking that topped it off well, don’t you think?

Happy Monday!

Overview...

Monday, March 16, 2009
No high school bus run due to Chicken Pox. Woke the boys a little late, Ben jumped in for a shower while the other two yawned away and got dressed. Made the boys scrambled eggs and sausage, got all their notes and papers ready, made a lunch for Fox who opted out of the hot lunch selections, did a backpack check, loaded everyone in the car and missed the bus. I thought I heard the sound of the bus when we were getting in the car. Came back up to the house, called in sick for Alex, brushed my teeth, grabbed my purse, and ran the boys up to school. Stopped by the North Branch library to jump on the computer and do a blog post and check email since my computer at home is still being weird then stopped by the doctor’s office about bringing Alex in so she can get an excused slip for school and get her assignments. Returned home to some very angry chickens that I totally forgot about feeding; got them fed, 3 eggs today. Thank you ladies! Washed dishes and got the kitchen back together while listening to Kitaro “Spiritual Garden”. Rob even made a comment how clean the house was when he got home last Friday. Yes, clutter and chaos are no longer welcome here, slowly but surely it is on the way out! Called the orthodontist to change Alex’s appointment. Wrote a few entries and got some distributor codes inputted. Putzed around with laundry and trying to get the chickens back in the pen after free ranging. Doctor’s office called I can bring Alex up at 9am tomorrow. Went up to get the boys, had to send Fox back into the building two times because he forgot his trumpet and then his backpack! By the time we got over to Elm Creek, Ethan and Ben were waiting in the office for me. As we were getting in the car I realized I forgot to grab Ethan’s gymnastics outfit, we were going to go straight down to Rochester and the boys were gonna hang at the library again but since we had to go back home Fox decided he’d rather stay so that meant Ben had to also because I wasn’t going to leave him at the library alone. We got two new games from Gamefly in the mail that day so it wasn’t such a bad trade off. Grabbed a quick snack at the house, Ethan changed and we headed out. Stopped by the Rochester library and jumped on the computer to check email and take care of a few things online, and made it to GTC by 6:05pm. Practice went pretty well, afterward we ran into Meijer and grabbed some breakfasty stuff and a few items to fill out dinners. Got home about 10pm. Ethan hit the hay and I watched “The Bucket List” while folding laundry.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Strawberries and toast or cereal for breakfast. Today was Fox’s shower morning. Got the boys on the bus, came back up to the house, woke up Alex, took care of the chickens (I got 5 eggs total today but not all in the am), grabbed a quick cup of coffee, brushed my teeth and went up to the doctor’s office. Alex had to wait in the car until they called her then she snuck in with a hoodie pulled over her face like some kinda gansta. I asked her if I could take a pox picture for posterity but was met with a high pitched ‘No.’ Got that over with, ran the note by the school and popped in to make a plea for Alex with Mr. Sorenson to let her keep her role in ‘Nit Wits’ that is going up for performance next week. He said he’d have to see if he could find someone to replace her. She is crushed, we’re hoping no one can fill her shoes and she can step back in by the weekend. Hit the NB library and got a couple more movies then back home. Alex watched ‘Eagle Eye’ and played some Guitar Hero. I did some writing work for children’s church and a little work online but it was so beautiful outside I just kept going out and walking around the property assessing all that needs to be done in the gardens and yard. Took a few pictures then messed around with those. Cleaned a little, looked at some magazines, hiked to the back of the property again, walked down to get the mail and meet the boys off the bus. Everyone had a good report. Ben is loving getting grades and reported he got two As, a B, and a B+. Fox had high marks on his reading comprehensive tests and told us about some things he learned today about Cuba and dictatorship. Ethan didn’t have much to say about the day. Ben had Michigan History in the evening; next week will be our last class.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Cereal or Cream of Wheat today! Got everybody on the bus, took care of chickens, did a few things on the computer then headed over to the church to work. On the way I stopped by the ortho to make a payment, and dropped off Fox’s band books to St. Paul School. Afterward I ran up to North Branch to get Alex’s assignments from the high school then picked the boys up from their schools. Ran into Ethan’s classroom to make sure he was bringing everything home. His desk is a mess, he is really struggling with the spelling they are working on, they are way past where we were at home. He is getting the hang of the Rocket Math timed tests (+/-). Writing is still very immature and labored. I stopped by the house to give Alex her work and for everyone to grab a quick bite. Ethan said he had a headache and didn’t feel good. He felt warm and the thermometer confirmed a slight fever. Called into the gym, no gymnastics tonight. The boys watched a couple shows then Fox practiced and did some reading, I quizzed Ben on his Six Times Tables, he needs to work up his speed on multiplication facts. He did some reading also. Ethan and I looked at his homework packet together then he jumped in the tub to cool off. Ben is also struggling with his spelling, we were doing Explode-the-Code book 3 which was still only 5 letter words, they are currently working on compound words in his class. Fox seems to be right on target with what he’s working on, no troubles; just trying to remembering to turn in, bring home, or get signed things. Let the chickens free range for a while today, Ben gathered 3 eggs after school.

Thursday, March 19, 2009
Ben and Fox did quick morning baths then had some bananas and peanut butter. Ethan woke up with a fever still. Even though I hate to have him miss school I decided to err on the side of caution and keep him home. He is a little overwhelmed with the work load. I am feeling I did him and Ben a disservice not keeping them in last year. It was probably a good thing they are in for this last trimester so I know what we should work on over the summer to have them feel more comfortable with the material for the next grade. I knew they were getting behind but I didn’t realize how much. Of course, part of homeschooling is so that kids can progress at a different pace but our pace was always ahead not behind. I don’t like knowing they are delayed in achieving what they are more than capable of. Alex is done “postulating” so I am going to let her sneak up to rehearsal for a short time. He didn’t have anyone to take over her part so she’s still in! But first she is working on her AP English assignments, cleaning the bathroom, and organizing CDs. Brought the chickens in from ranging and checked the coop thinking there wouldn’t be anything but there were 4 eggs! Ethan still had a fever after napping (101.1). Said he felt fine though. Ben brought some work home for him, we looked at it together and I helped him with the directions. It took less than an hour for it to be completed. When Fox and Ben got home from school, we had something to eat, Fox practiced and I quizzed Ben on his spelling words (he got all his 6 facts correct on the quiz!) then when Alex got back from practice I took them over to Meijer to get some fish for an aqua-terra habitat they are making. Fox’s class made these in groups last trimester and have been measuring and recording how the environment is holding up. Fox was inspired to create his own. He also got to choose two of the habitats made in class to write a comparison paper about. He said he picked two really different set ups to discuss. Got back just in time for bedtime.

Friday, March 20, 2009
Ethan was home with fever again. Alex home also. I took care of some things in town then worked on getting the house cleaned up.

Friday Fill-In

1. Once I was young & carefree.

2. Alex is so glad to be over being sick.

3. Today at work I decided to give myself the day off.

4. What's life all about?

5. If I make a mistake I hope I can correct it before it’s too late.

6. When I woke up this morning, I thought … I hope Ethan’s fever is gone!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching some “I, Spy” episodes, tomorrow my plans include family yard work day and Sunday, I want to check out the boys’ State Meet!

Morning Message

Monday morning Ethan took a few minutes to play with the magnetic letters I had out by the end of the metal bookshelf because I was working on Ben's spelling words with him. I knew he was creating something there but didn't notice what he wrote until I got back from taking them up to school. Here's how his 7 year-old mind breaks down the world. Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!

Tuesday Time Capsule

As my oldest lies suffereing from chicken pox I am led to post from a journal

that she used to dictate to me when she was six years old.

Saturday, September 19, 1998

I started choir this week. It was really fun, we sang a Hercules song. Yesterday Dad and I started reading a Samantha book, she’s an American Girl Doll. Today we went to the Angels Exhibit. We saw a coffin and each thing in the museum had a symbol of something. One was a wreath it meant victory and when it was on a coffin it meant victory over death. I would want that on mine cause that means you go up to God or Heaven, cause they’re both the same thing. And I have a guardian angel, I think it’s Great Gramma Parton. Everyone does have one. We also went to the Detroit Festival of the Arts across from the museum. I got my face painted, we saw part of a puppet show, and the coolest part was this tent by the Metropolitan Children’s Museum. They had parts from a raccoon, squirrel, opossum, fox and deer that you had to measure, and then you got to stamp footprints of each animal. Also they gave out Safari hats. I made a clay tile with a peacock too.

(almost every time she journaled she would include a poem and some type of prayer.)
Guardian Angels
Guardian Angels mean that they’re guarding us every second
They’re always by you even if they’re not watching.
Guardian Angeles mean a lot to us.
They could be our grandma or something like that,
They’re very important to us.
You never treat your guardian angel bad.
Angels could be in stories, pictures and maybe even in programs,
But they’re always what you believe in them.
Angels are flying around. Guardian angels mostly, with helpers.
They can circle around you all the time,
They hopefully give us hope and a future for the world.
I have to talk to my guardian angel now,
See you later angelater!

PRAY OF THE DAY: God helps us do everything. He made all of us so we could move and when you pray you feels God’s heart in you. In every bow or curtsey you take means love to everyone. And a smile means friendship too.

Alex is very upset because she may loose her role in the spring play that is set for performance next Thursday-Saturday. We're hoping the director will not find the right replacement and still let her keep her role even though she can not make rehearsals this week. Please join us in sending good karma into this situation!

Weekly Walk #5

This week after church Ethan and I met up with Rob and Ben over at the Water Tower Park off I-24 in Lapeer. It was beautiful, sunny, warm day and the joint was jumpin’! Baseball teams were practicing; people were playing tennis, having some lunch, kids had fun on the playscape and people of all ages hit the trail on foot, by bike, or scooter. But yet it didn’t feel crowded a bit. We noticed a lot of dead fish around, the big guys were carp which can be very invasive and predatorial. Rob’s theory was the DNR probably killed them off so other types of fish can be brought in. Ironic, because in Italy guys would pay big money to catch carp and here we don’t think much of them at all. The geese were out making a major honk of the day and a couple ducks hid among the rushes. The boys had a ball being imaginative with the pampas grass, using it to represent noble status, as paint brushes, swords and other kooky stuff. Rob and Ethan had to skip a few stones of course.

Benjamin took the shot of Rob and I as you can see by our faces not knowing if he knew how to work the camera. I asked him to try and get the water tower in the background and he certainly did that!

The kids are always taking these MySpace pictures of themselves with things in the background so I thought I’d try it, as you can see bottom right. I did about four shots and this one was actually kinda cool. It’s really all hit and miss.

I am getting a sort of zen experience from taking pictures on our walks. I take many more than I post as one would expect. It’s really fun to go through and put them together as a collage, it’s sort of like scrapbooking to me. I like seeing the walk in a collection instead of just individual shots and also how the colors of the various shots blend together. Oooo. Aaahh.

While we were walking Alex was home in bed healing from her pox and Fox was hanging out with a boy from band class who also plays trumpet and agreed to help him get caught up. They live very close to us. One of Derek’s brother’s was on Ben’s soccer team before and his other brother is in the 2nd grade same as Ethan. They also have one sister but she is the youngest in the family. When I went to pick Fox up after our walk and met the mom and the other boys, she invited Ben and Ethan to stay and play for a while so they stayed for a few more hours until supper. Nice boys. Good times.

Adam, Fox, Derek, and Luke

Saturday Summary

We survived our first week of public school without complication. For me it was a strange week being on my own, something I longed for. I had a series of unfortunate events concerning my writing work and basically ended up with nothing accomplished in that department. I won't give you all the gory details but the last straw was when the computer at the church "ate" my file I was working from on my flashdrive. I did get some rooms organized around the house and made a serious dent in the laundry. I also had some things to take care of at the church and it was pleasant to do errands without dragging anyone with me. As I have heard and seen what the boys are experiencing and working on at school I have come to the conclusion that I would like to attempt to have the "best of both worlds" in regards to their schooling. While I feel there are beneficial elements to public schooling I also know there are some educational experiences they are not able to avail the students of, so I am hoping to work in tandem with the schools to have a little of both options. More details to follow in a future post.

Ethan: Is having a little difficulty getting the bring home, take back to school, give to the teacher, give to mom, folder senario. He forgets to give her things or bring things home but we're working on it and he's trying to remember. This is a good skill-remembering! He has a new appreciation for reading, which he was very reluctant to do before. He is being pushed a little in math but is able to do the work, just needs to be more conciencious. He does well sitting in his chair and doing his work (he would never sit on his butt at home and was always tiping the chair and up on his feet) and has not been disruptive. While reading his books to me last night he made a comment "I am happy to be in school." So I guess that sums up his take.

Benjamin: I bumped into Ben's teacher this morning and had a minute to touch base with her. Ben's speech challenges are still a factor and he is not being able to sound out his spelling words so we talked about having him looked at by the speech therapist again. He was in the program for several years during preschool and made great improvements. Although he loves to read his comprehension isn't as strong as it should be which could also be tied to the speech. Classroom behavior is top-notch and he is eager to learn. Math is going fine but his handwriting is very immature which I already knew. In fact we had been working on Handwriting-Without-Tears this year to correct the sloppy writing but he is still just trying to go too fast.

Fox: By Friday, he made a comment that even though it's only been a week he feels like he's been doing school for ever, meaning he's already down with the routine. I believe his score on the STAR Vocabulary test put him at a 12th grade reading level. Math is right where he should be. He has been getting some kudos in Chess/Checker time having beaten the "second best player" in there. Mr. Winther has agreed to let him compete in the Chatfield Chess Challenge which Ben will be doing as well. There does seem to be a lot of down time during the day but overall he is enjoying the experience. Although one comment he made this week says alot - "80% of what kids learn in school has nothing to do with academics."

Alexandra: This week Juniors did the ACT, Work Skills, and MME tests. Then she got Friday off. And we have just realized that she has Chicken Pox! Unfortunately she left this morning to go to Midland for a Forensics competition, she said she felt fine and wasn't itching, the dots she showed us seemed more like an allergic reaction or maybe some bug bites. But after more research and talking with the pharmacist we're more informed. I have loaded the medicine cabinet with Benadryl, Tylenol, topical itching cream and Oatmeal bath for when she returns!

Although I still have work to do with them on papers they are sent home with the week overall has been more peaceful and the boys do seem happier.

Friday Fill-In

Photo of Alexandra and her friend Jason in one of the school hallways.

1. Snow has been minimal this week.
2. I'm looking forward to getting my garden back in shape.
3. Mint Chocolate Chip is the best ice cream ever!
4. One of my favorite old tv shows is That Girl.
5. I'm done with second guesses.
6. The most enjoyable thing around the spring is seeing the bulbs pop up and then flower.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to chill-axing, tomorrow my plans include a whole lot of possibility at present, and Sunday, I want to hike and sleep!

Robyn adds some FLAIR to her Blog!

Coming Soon!

Time Capsule

As I was cleaning up some files on my computer I came across my journals and thought it might be interesting to post some entries of the children's early educational experiences mixed with their current ones. This first one is from 1998 and Alexandra would have been six years old and Fox had just turned one.

12 September 98

While Alex and Rob are out having their “Daddy-Daughter Day” at the Outdoor Fair in Imlay City, I thought I’d steal a moment for an update. Last month we had a psychologist friend of my mother’s run a few standardized tests on Alex to get some base-line information on her skill levels. She scored in the Very Superior and High Average range on everything. Her lowest scores were in Numerical Operations, Math Reasoning and Spelling but she was still above average for her age. Her best score was in Humanities and Reading Comprehension, both near a 5th grade level. I’m starting to concentrate slightly more on Math without being too pushy. When she’s ready she’ll be a little math wizard, she just needs a project to apply it to, and with us moving to this new property there will be plenty of projects! She has just recently taken initiative to write words on her own and I’m confident spelling will be steadily improving.

She is now on her sixth chapter book! I bought a series through mail-order of the Baby-sitters Club Little Sister books and Alex absolutely adores them. She couldn’t wait for the next shipment. She had finished the last of the first four books and two days later new ones were here! She always reads on our way down to practice, dance or art class.

We went and checked out the Mt. Clemens Railroad Museum and learned more about Thomas Edison. And we’ve started reading biographies about Henry Ford. Next month I’d like to go to the Henry Ford Museum as a field trip. Last week we visited the Robot Zoo at Cranbrook and investigated their new Nature Place. Fox had as much fun as Alex seeing all the animal replicates.

Our study of Mexico has brought on an interest in learning Spanish and we’ve been listening to tapes and playing Spanish ‘Go Fish’ in addition to reading books and viewing videos about Mexico and its celebrations. This year we are going to celebrate the Day of the Dead and make some authentic crafts. We also learned about Spanish artist, Diego Rivera and next weekend when we go to the DIA for the ‘Angels of the Vatican’ exhibit we’re going to see the mural he painted there and some other Mexican artifacts.

Wednesday on my Own

This morning when I peeked out the door to get a weather check before taking Alex down to the bus I noticed this crazy bright moon out over the garage, grabbed the camera that was on some strange setting and took a quick pic, the result was this cool effect. When I set it up normally the shot wasn't nearly so intriguing. So, how am I doing, home alone all day long? It's different, I'm easing into it, did some rearranging, a little writing, some napping, a relaxing bath. Chickens are now my chore in the morning after I put the boys on the bus, as a walk toward the coop I always call out "hello, girls. how's all the ladies today?" and I always thank them for the eggs, is that kooky? I've gotten two eggs a day! Fox wasn't bringing in any lately. I don't think he was thanking them.

The boys are doing well, of course, Ethan came home and graced us with the ageless, "Chinese, Japanese, dirty knees, look at these!" last night at dinner. For crying out loud, kids still do that one, that's as old as dirt! Talk about comedy that stands the test of time. Fox has also been given a crash course on the rumor mill but doesn't seem to get to concerned with it. It's really just a fascinating phenomena. I told him when he runs for Class President he can run on the platform to "End Gossip!" we had a few good laugh about that senario.

As you can see on my side bar I am registered for Script Frenzy 2009. I think I'm going to work on a stage play but I really don't know the topic yet. Any suggestions?

First Day Report

Fox's Take: It was impressive, there were different subjects where I was behind or ahead. Like I am ahead in English but way behind in band. I especially like band and playing chess during Free Time. Math was right on my level with mixed numbers and graphs, it was kind of easy but not super easy. Recess was a bummer because they wouldn't let us use the swings because of mud.

Ben's Thoughts: Today's special was gym, we played mat ball, you kick the ball when a guy throws it and if they catch it you're out and you try to get to three mats then home, like baseball. Other guys can throw the ball and tag you out. It's very much like baseball. We did a test for our 3, 4, and 5 multiplications tables, I finished just in the nick of time. I did over 400 pages of reading for reading month after school at the library today. We talked about our pets, recess was good.

Ethan's Report: We did math, reading and gym. In gym we played mat ball like Ben did and had to do some silly chipmunk exercise tape. I hated it! Everybody kept calling me the new guy and Jesse protected me out on the playground during recess. Tomorrow we do library for our special!

Off They Go!

One last hug....

Here comes the bus....

And off they go!

They all wanted to ride the bus home after school too today so we will have to take off right from there to get down to Rochester for gymnastics, they won't even get off the bus until 4:45pm and Ethan's practice starts at 5:45pm so we'll probably be late. Normally I will get them from school on Rochester nights. I will post all of their reports tomorrow.....stay tuned.

Weekly Walk #4

For this week's walk we motored down Kings Mill Road to the public state land. This time it was just Robert and I so we could go at a little quicker pace and also have some time to conversate without little ears listening. It was a very brown afternoon and when we started there was a light misty rain.

It was very quiet and peaceful, the rain actually made the world feel reigned in and smaller somehow, like a hug from nature. No one else was on the trails so we had the place all to ourselves other than the few squirrels that were scurrying about. Some interesting finds were a small casing from some kind of seed pod or nut, an odd bubbling coming out from some ice sheets at various points along the path, a cute little evergreen type ground cover I had never noticed before, and a bunch of marble pieces that we found under the huge party tree. We also noticed a lot of trash by the boat launch which prompted us to make a mental note about bringing some trash bags and the boys down there with us next time to do some good samaritan duty.

By the time we were heading back to the car it was a steady down-pouring of rain and getting colder. My dogs were starting to hurt since I didn't wear the right kind of socks and they were rubbing on my feet something terrible so I wanted to conclude the walk before blisters started. If we had dressed better we could have hiked on for many more hours. So far we've walked in a snow storm, muddy muck, and now rain, all to make the adventure more interesting. After we got back to the house we both changed then loaded the kids up to go out the the New China Buffet for a late lunch in honor of our anniversary.

Until next time....

T.G.I.F.

With all the school stuff on my mind I totally forgot about Friday Fill-Ins so here's my own.

1) Today was our last homeschool co-op and I feel fine about it.
2) Alex is having fun at Hope College for Model U.N. and I am glad about that.
3) Just signed Ethan up for baseball and his games will be on Tuesday/Friday so we won't have to mess with the gymnastics schedule so we are feeling very blessed about that.
4) Rob, myself and all the kids (even the teenager) will be home this weekend, first time in forever!

5) Ben is looking forward to playing spring soccer.

6) I've been feeling better than I have in a long time.
7) And for the weekend, tonight, I'm chill-axing with the family, tomorrow my plans include our weekly walk & celebrating our 17th anniversary, and Sunday I look forward to washing the children's feet at church, and later going out to eat with my husband and kids.

Why God Made Moms

Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions:

Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
1. We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's mom like me.

What kind of little girl was your mom?
1. My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.

What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What's the difference between moms and dads?
1. Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller and stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friends.
4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your mom perfect?
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my mom smarter, then she would know it was my sister who did it not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

Final Project for Intro Art 3D

This is Alex's final project for her Intro Art 3D Class. I must admit it is one of the most inspired projects she has created in some time. Really she hasn't worked this hard on anything art related since we'd been involved with 4-H. Lately my husband and I have been having many issues with Alex regarding a lack of appropriate administration and organization of school assignments thereby resulting in unacceptable progress reports. I realized that part of her failing in this area is definately my fault. Although I oversaw her education for many years at home, once she went into school I did not keep track of her and help set good habits in terms of making sure teachers had indeed received her work and given her credit for it, or guiding her in developing beneficial study habits. She was pretty much left to fend for herself and although she is a very intelligent girl overall, knowing how to study and organize for some people are traits that need to be aquired and then exercised regularly. But honestly at the point where she chose to enter public school I think she had had enough of working with Mom if you know what I mean. She was just done receiving from me and ready to branch out on her own. Perhaps now we both see the forest for the trees and can begin to work in tandem once again. For those of you who have teenagers sometimes you just have to be grateful that they still take time to have a conversation with you because in their hormone-raged minds we don't know squat. As it gets closer to college visits and applying to schools Alex is acknowledging the impending doom of the low GPA. Hers has not been moving in the right direction as the trimesters chug along and admits that it is essentially her own responsibility to ammend it. Thankfully there is still time for redemption and I am hopeful as I begin this adventure with the boys I can also become a better public school parent for Alexandra as well. Just because they are no longer schooling at home doesn't mean my work is done, just shifted. That has been my lesson to learn. Peace to all!

All Systems Are Go!

We headed out on the cold and blustery day yesterday to turn in our school enrollment forms. We were greeted warmly at the Ruth Fox Upper Elementary School by the principal, secretary and counselor to take a tour and meet the ladies slated to be Fox's 6th grade teachers. A lot of information was provided and Fox took all in without much show of emotion. We met the band teachers Mr. & Mrs. Eahart which was very ecouraging and exciting for Fox to know he will be able to have band every day instead of only two days a week which will help him progress at a faster pace with his trumpet. When we got to his classroom to meet Mrs. Mitchell and Mrs. Murphy they were very energetic and upbeat and I like them immediately. Mrs. Wood thought this would be a good environment for Fox because they are a very organized teaching team and help the kids keep track of assignments in their planners which also provided a constant link of communication between parents, students, and teachers. Hoping that there was someone in the class that Fox would already know I was of course looking for boys. Suddenly a young lady called my name and ran up to the classroom door. "Julia! Is this your class!" She nodded, smiling ear to ear. "This is my neighbor Julia," I told the teachers as I hugged her. How cool is that, now Fox will have someone to help him with the initial unloading and loading of the bus and finding his classroom in all that before and after school busyness. I know when I was a kid at school that was some of the most anixous of times, trying to get all your stuff together and not miss the bus. Even though Fox doesn't know Julia well, I thought it was another confirmation that the fates are working with us through this transition.

Next we went back over to the Elm Creek Elementary School. Mrs. Hosner the principal had already given us a tour last week and figured out which classes Ben and Ethan would be in. Both boys have a buddy in their class that they already know from church and baseball. Mrs. Montgomery is the teacher Ethan was assigned to when I had him in school for 3 days in 2007 but then freaked out and pulled him out again. I wasn't ready then to seriously take the plunge, but I am now. It was as if the fates were telling me to finish what I started. Awesome. She is a very strict teacher but the bottom line is academically, she gets results and I've been told prior to this that she is top-notch when it comes to reading, which Ethan tends to be reluctant at. When we came to Mrs. Bodnar's room she took one look at me and said "I know you!" Indeed she did, since we attended the United Methodist Church in town together before we made the move the Faith Christian Family Church. My only concern with Benny was that we hadn't started working on cursive writing yet and I know they usually introduce that in 3rd grade, but Mrs. Bodnar explained they had just started working on it so he really wouldn't be behind at all.

The new facility is absolutely wonderful and I'll post some more photos of the building another time. So, everything is in place and next Monday at 8am they will get on the bus and head off to school. I am getting more excited as the day draws nearer and feel the load lightening as each moment passes. It is truely a blessing to have a school district that is so welcoming to homeschoolers, whether bringing them in, taking them out, or just having them come to the school for certain subjects or specials. The bottom line is they are there to help provide a safe and encouraging educational enviroment for the children of our community and I whole heartedly commend them for all their efforts.

Ecuador

Rob made it back from his trip to South America without complications thankfully and was successful in completing the machine upgrade. Although he is a) not much of a photographer in general and b) oblivious to the photographic implications of blogging, he did find a moment to take a few snaps for me.

These first few are from his hotel window. Quito is at a pretty high elevation and is surrounded by volcanos but it is hard to see them through the clouds. When he first arrived everyone warned him about not eating too much and not over extending himself physically because of the altitude but he said he really did not have any problems acclimating.

This is Juan's yard and house who owns the shop Rob was working at. He was a very gracious host and is most proud of his city and country. In fact an invitation was extended to Rob and myself to come back and visit so he could show us the sites more.

Another shot of Juan's backyard and then the nighttime lights in Quito.

As I said he's not much of a photog. Juan tried to take Rob to the Equator park but unfortunately they arrived as the guard was locking up for the night so they did not get to see the monument that sits on the equator so we'll have to see that on our trip together.

Rob said there was a great juxtiposition throughout the area, from incredible high rises to grossly povertous areas. But because his host was so proud of his town he did not feel right taking pictures of the desolate scenes.