Husband, Dad, Mechanical Engineer, Bass
Player ...
Obsessed with all things Engineering.
AMY
Wife, Homeschool Mom, Webmaster ...
Obsessed with all things Political.
RACHAEL
Daughter, Sister, Sophomore ...
Obsessed with all things Geological.
NICHOLAS
Son, Brother, 8 year old ...
Obsessed with all things Historical.
(especially Egyptian!)
Favorite Books/Curriculum
The Well-Trained Mind Singapore Math Greenleaf Guides Apologia Science AIG Science curriculum Story of the World
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Day 304 - Sleepover
Thursday, October 30, 2008
In co-op, we studied Massachusetts in US Geography and the Electoral College in the Election class. After co-op, we brought Thomas & Gracie home with us to go trick or treating and spend the night. Since we live two hours away from their homes, I wasn't sure how it would go. So far, so good!
We also met up with Heather and family at the local nursing home, so that was pretty cool! After filling our candy bags, we picked up a frozen pizza & a pomegranate at Wal-Mart and headed home. (yes, I realize that's a strange combination, but knowing how much candy they would be consuming, I didn't want to turn down a request for healthy food!) While the pizza was baking, the kids got down to the important business of sorting and trading candy. It looked like a pinata had exploded in the middle of my living room floor!
Even though Nick started out as Spiderman, thanks to Deanna's dress-up bin, he quickly turned into Robin and attached himself to the stuffed Batman, dragging it around with him all night long!
The moms & kids are always hanging out together, but this is one of the few events every year where the dad's get to participate. Their competitive spirits came out as the ping pong tournament got underway. Ryan won, but we think it was rigged... he did have the home-court advantage after all!
Today was our 4th Annual Co-op Costume party. This year, it was at Ryan & Deanna's house. Of course, I ended up leaving my purse & camera there, so I'm posting these after the fact. Therefore, I'll post a few per day to get caught up...
Day 297 - The Indianapolis Museum of Art & The Children's Museum
Although we never did find the Monet exhibit, the IMA was enjoyable nonetheless. We only made it to the first two floors which included the American and European collections. Since the museum is free, we plan on returning to see the Asian & African exhibits. Diana & I would have liked to have spent more time there, but the kids were really itching to get to the Haunted House at the Children's Museum. I was impressed, however, at the details that the kids noticed in the paintings. They really studied them more than I had anticipated that they would.
After waiting in line for an eternity, we finally got into the Haunted House. About 5 steps inside, Rachael & Thomas were terrified & begging to leave. Holding on for dear life, they managed to make it all the way through. Unfortunately, with all of their screaming, my ears didn't fare so well!
Rachael & I are leaving bright and early tomorrow morning for her piano lessons and then off to the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Instead of co-op, Diana & I are taking the kids on a field trip. Normally I take Nick with us, but I just don't think he'd enjoy an art museum yet. Instead, he's going to my parents' house for an overnight. He already has his "luggage" packed. He insisted on taking HIS luggage and not a suitcase. :-D
Does anyone know how to train a bamboo plant? Rachael got this bamboo plant about a year ago. It started out with a pretty spiral, but has now grown into a mess of unruly leaves! Do we need to prune the leaves or is this how it's supposed to look?
These are the books that Rachael is currently reading for History. Since she loves non-fiction, she'll usually finish off a book every day or two. We use the Kingfisher History Encyclopedia as our spine, then add various books as supplements. These were all loaned to us by our friend Heather (one of only 3 other people that I know who share the same obsession for books as I do. And yes, they're all homeschoolers!)
For History, Rachael reads two sections from Kingfisher a week. The sections are arranged chronologically. This year she is studying (approximately) the time period between the Fall of Rome & the early American explorers. She then chooses one section to outline. From that outline, she chooses a topic. It can be ANYTHING from that section - One week it may be Aztec jewelry, the next week it may be the religious beliefs of the Celtic people. She then researches the topic and writes at least a one page report.
She's always loved history. It's my hope that by choosing her own topics and writing about them, it will improve her writing skills - the one area where she needs dramatic improvement. She's always been years ahead in reading, math, and science, but spelling and writing are her downfalls. We've tried traditional spelling programs to no avail. We've even skipped the normal "English" curriculum this year, because her usage and vocabulary are great. Hopefully by writing, writing, and more writing, it will finally sink in!
Has anyone read this book? I found it on several reading lists, and it always had good reviews, so I reserved it at the library. I was going to use this as my next read aloud to the kids, but as I skimmed through it, it's boring me to death! Maybe it's just me, but this is the second "Classic" set in the Middle Ages that I've tried to read, but ended up quitting. I figure if it bores me, I can't in good conscience expect the kids to sit through it! The first one that I tried is "A Door in the Wall." It, too, was an award winner. Maybe I'm just not giving these books a chance. If there's something I'm missing, or if you have another novel that is set in the Middle Ages that you could suggest, please let me know!
Brent's realtor came and looked at the house today and wrote up the purchase contract. Meanwhile, Rachael was across the street trying to coax a limping puppy out from underneath a fence. She saw the puppy limping around and followed it to the abandoned house across the street. Every time she tried to reach for it, it would whimper and growl. She spent over an hour sitting next to it and talking to it before Jeff came over and helped her move the fence so that she could retrieve it. The poor thing was filthy and in pain. When we finally got it to the house, Jeff fed it some leftover ham that we had in the fridge. Rachael begged and begged to keep the dog, but Jeff convinced her that it needed medical attention and that if they took it to the animal shelter, someone would definitely adopt it since it was so young and cute. She finally agreed, and the people at the shelter said there were two more puppies probably from the same litter that were turned in from the same area. How someone could abandon these tiny puppies is beyond me! This one, a female, had a dislocated hip and its gums were slashed - presumably from being hit by a car or kicked. Anyway, she got the medical care she needed and I'm sure will find a good home soon. Had we not been moving, I have a feeling Rachael just might have been able to convince Jeff to keep this one!
Since I typically work the polls or at the Republican HQ on Election Day, I decided to head to the Courthouse to vote today. I've always taken the kids with me as a civics lesson. We discuss the importance of voting, the issues, and why we vote the way we do. Rachael is used to this. She's been going to political rallies, watching debates, staying up all night for election tallies, etc. ever since she can remember. However, this is Nick's first foray into my political obsession! He talked with the two elderly gentlemen who were handing out the ballots, he proudly announced (LOUDLY!) that, "I'm voting for John McCain. He's a Democrat!" Oh well, I guess he at least knew "A" candidate and "A" political party - even if the two weren't exactly a match! Maybe the concept of a "secret" ballot might be the next area to discuss!
We had co-op today. They're still studying the New England states in US Geography and we discussed the history of political parties, major and third parties, & party platforms in our Election class. Since Rachael's Taekwon-Do was cancelled, we decided to drive around and look at a few houses that we had seen online. I'm not going to seriously look until we have money in-hand, but these were our top two choices. The first one is smaller (1920 square feet), but it has the wooded setting and character (hard wood floors, large kitchen) that the other lacks. The second one is large (nearly 3000 square feet) and has a basement, but the neighborhood (although very nice) is sort of cookie-cutter... flat with few trees.
Most of today was spent scrubbing, mopping, and polishing, so here's a picture of a beautiful local building. (Trust me, you wouldn't want a picture of me in cleaning mode!) ;-D
My friend, Brent, brought his mom to see the house this evening. He also said that he wants the house! I thought that I would be ecstatic. I've wanted nothing more than to get moved back to a place that's closer to Jeff's work, our church, and our co-op. I guess I always figured it would be in the distant future. We didn't even have our house listed yet! Upon the realization that we'll be gone by Christmas or even sooner, I'm in a panic! I really do love our house. Yes, it's too far away and WAAAY too small, but I love it. It holds so many memories. Rachael was only 2 years old when we moved in. By moving away again, with no house to fall back on, it represents a new chapter in our lives. I really want our next house to be the last one. It's not really the physical act of moving that I'm trying to avoid, but for our entire married lives, we've always been in a temporary state. We've never had any true permanence. When we moved to CA, we didn't anticipate that we'd grow old there. It was too expensive. When we moved to MI, I hated it. I knew we'd never stay. Even when we bought this house, we knew it wasn't permanent - it only had 2 bedrooms. We just wanted something that we could pay cash for and live in while Jeff went back to school. When we moved to our townhouse, it was only to get this house ready to sell. The time has finally come that we can find a permanent house, and it looks like we'll have a very short amount of time to find it. The more that I think about it, the less I want to settle on just "any" house. I'm really considering renting again for awhile so that we'll have time to find that "perfect" house. Of course, no one ever knows that any house will be their last, but it would be nice to at least feel like we can unpack all of those boxes that we've had stored up for the last 15+ years!
Yesterday we went on a search for a gorilla costume. Our co-op is having a costume party in a couple of weeks, and Rachael has decided she wants to go as a gorilla. Unfortunately, the few costumes we did find were cost prohibitive ($100+) which is unacceptable. Since I'm not a seamstress, it looks like we'll have to keep looking or she'll have to find something else. While we were at a local costume store, they had a large "balloon man" that was flapping in the wind. Nick was enthralled!
Heather at http://indianaamsburys.blogspot.com/ tagged me on her blog. I knew some of the things that she wrote, but I learned a few things also.
Here are the rules:
1. Link back to the person that tagged you
2. Share seven weird and/or random facts about yourself.
3. Tag seven more people and link to your blog
4. Let your tagee's know by posting a comment on their blog.
Ok, so seven weird things about myself.
#1 I've worked a lot of places and done a lot of different things, but my most interesting job was working at a cemetery/crematory. I've even been able to assist with a cremation. There are aspects of the cremation, embalming, and decomposition process that no one ever really thinks about. The human body is so fascinating, and the amazement doesn't stop after death.
#2 Jeff & I didn't do the "kiss" at our wedding. Our priest (I was married Catholic) was drunk and forgot to say the obligatory "You may now kiss the bride." I think his mind was preoccupied with one of my bridesmaids! Of course, he's now in jail, but I digress...
#3 My most memorable "vacation" was when I was nearly 8 months pregnant with Rachael and Jeff I decided to have one last getaway before we were parents. We were supposed to drive from our home in San Jose, CA to Las Vegas. We made it as far as the Mojave desert when our head gasket blew... on Christmas Day! We were stranded in the "Twilight-Zone"city of Baker, CA, whose majority of residents must come from the prison there, and whose only claim to fame is that it's the home of the World's Largest Themometer. We ended up staying at the Bun Boy Motel...yes, that is actually the name of it.
#4 I've had two children naturally, yet never had any labor pains.
#5 Jeff & I were born in the same hospital in southern Illinois. His cousins were neighbors and family friends that I had known all of my life. Our paths had crossed numerous times, yet we never met until I was a teenager working at a carhop restaurant with his brother in southern Indiana - almost 3 hrs. away.
#6 My favorite meal would have to be Persian Joojeh kebabs with Saffron Basmati Rice, a Greek salad with lots of feta (or an Olive Garden salad), iced tea to drink, and Gooey Butter Coffee Cake for dessert.
#7 I am an absolute fanatic when it comes to politics. Obsession doesn't quite describe it. I can't just watch a debate once. I have to watch it and the political commentaries at least 2-3 times. I find that I learn new things and pick up on phrasing and nuances that I didn't catch the first time around. I tend to drive my family nuts, and having a DVR to record, pause, and rewind only enables my addiction!
Day 286 - Pumpkin Painting, Finger Weaving, and Friends
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Heather and her girls came over on Friday to paint pumpkins, do some finger weaving, and hang out. We were also going to watch a movie, but apparently our DVD player isn't working - not a good thing since our math curriculum is DVD based!
We also got some good news regarding our house. Brent (an old friend from high school who was looking at our house) has narrowed his selection to two houses; ours being one of them. He seems to be leaning toward ours. Say a prayer that all goes well! Jeff & I are both a little nervous about the timing. With the current economic situation, it sure is tempting to want to stay in a house that is paid for - even if it is too small and too far away from Jeff's work (an hour & a half each way) and our homeschool co-op (2 hours away)! I hate to think about having to find another house and get a mortgage right now - especially since he's in a hurry to move in once he decides. Oh well, I guess we could always rent for awhile until we found something we liked and then hope that the current crisis is over. At least then we wouldn't have the additional stress of trying to sell.
It's actually pretty amazing that we may have sold the house. The housing market is REALLY bad around here and we didn't even have it listed! I just happened to mention to Brent that we would like to move back to Bloomington to get closer to Jeff's work and our co-op, and he mentioned that he was looking for a house. If it does sell, it was totally a God thing! Everyone at our old church has been fervently praying that we get moved back up there. I've been dismissing it for over a year and telling them that the house isn't even on the market yet, but they've been persistent saying that nothing is impossible for God. That said, I'm leaving it up to Him to either get it sold or to have us hold on to it. I'm not stressing about it. I'm not stressing about it. I'm not stressing about it...
Here are pictures of the entryway. We also have a full basement, but I'm not going to take any pictures of it. It's just an old unfinished basement that contains workspace and our laundry/utility room.
Name: Amy Home: Indiana, United States About Me: I am a Homeschool Mom of 2 awesome children. This is my attempt at Project 365 - to chronicle our world through daily photos... See my complete profile
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