And so it goes

Wow, does time fly! We've been doing some schoolwork - actually, according to the lesson plans I wrote up for September, we're still on schedule. But, my hope of doing schoolwork 3 days a week just hasn't happened, yet. I guess we're taking it slow and easy...Good thing we're just in Pre-K, huh?
Here are some pictures of our last couple of weeks:

My girl modeling our much needed find from a consignment shop - a new-to-us (and in perfect condition) bike helmet. I hated her other one, as the straps were a mess and I couldn't adjust it properly. So happy that she'll be safe on her scooter and hopefully soon, her bike. Weather is slowly improving so that we should be able to play outside more, soon.

Also, at the consignment shop - a much coveted Hungry Hungry Hippos game. Even hubby and I have enjoyed playing it with her!

Isabella grabbed my camera and went around taking pictures. Josie is always a willing model.

 Nemo isn't all that fond of the camera, but does love "her" couch. If she can be there, shoot away!

 Ah, and the rocking horse - in the kitchen, of course. Where do you keep yours?

 What photo portfolio is complete without a ceiling vent shot?

And back to the rocking horse - with stickers galore.

As you may have heard, Central Texas had some major wildfires. The closest one to us was in Bastrop - about 45 minutes away.  Between the houses, in the photo below, you can see the smoke on the first big day of it.  Following days, our sky was very hazy and you could smell the smoke through-out the house for a good couple of days. It's unfortunate that the two worst days of the smoke were the only two days we had cool enough weather to open windows.  We've since gone back to heat, along with some very high humidity now, too. Is summer ever going to end? (I never thought I would say those words!)

A fun school project - B is for Bumblebee!

Our dog, Josie, loves to lay in the sun like this - doesn't she look like some poor dead abandoned dog in some heartbreaking story? Well, she was a rescue dog from just that situation - a beach in Puerto Rico where dogs are routinely abandoned to die. As sorry as Josie would like you to feel for her - she was actually rescued the day she was abandoned. A rescue worker, there to bring other dogs to foster homes and then onto the US, saw her being left. Very sad, but at least our girl wasn't left to fend for herself on the beach.  But, if you let her, she'll make you feel she went through so much on that beach....

By the way - never leave your camera near a husband alone. You get shot of leg/foot and tv,

 sleeping kitties,

 and more tv (to credit the show - ABC's Happy Endings)

And, to follow in her Daddy's footsteps, Izzy got a shot of PBS's Sid the Science Kid. I'm so proud...

Lately, my little girl has started playing with all of her baby dolls.  She is such a sweet little Mommy.  One day, she found a way to get all of those babies ready for a stroll through the house:

 then left them all behind to go play by herself in the playroom.  I can't blame her. There are days I want a little escape, myself.

mmmmmmm........The Pioneer Woman's Mac & Cheese. I admit, I HAD to make it after watching her new show on Food Network. If you haven't seen it yet - you should check it out! I've even introduced my sister-in-law in central Washington to it and she's hooked, after never even having heard of The Pioneer Woman (Good thing she crossed over to the PW side, or I might have to disown her!).  If you're tempted, grab the recipe here. It's wonderful!! 

 More schoolwork pictures - clothespin clipping - matching numbers. Isabella LOVED this!  We'll be doing this type of task more often.

Glueing shapes together to make a person.

 Letter matching - putting a creative spin on it. Each line was its own color.  :)

Making a Caterpillar out of a "C." All of our crafts out of letters, so far, have been so much fun!

Okay - evidence that my husband and kiddo aren't the only ones taking weird pictures...this one - well, maybe I should see if anyone can figure out what this is! Any guesses - please feel free to comment :)

 And, finally, my last picture. If you've skimmed this far, I commend you. I am not overly creative in my words, today (well, it's actually 10:35 at night, after a very long, very busy day. but I'm determined to get back into posting more regularly. I really want to post at least a couple of pictures each time we hold school).  Anyway - this was very cute, I thought - it's the Tree of Knowledge (or the Tree of Good and Evil, if you prefer). Isabella made it in Children's Church (it's called KREW at our church). The light green pipe cleaner is the serpent - can you see its eyes?. The base is just a cup from a cardboard egg container.  All of the kids seemed to really enjoy this craft. 

Well, I suppose I better sign off. Tomorrow, I have to be up early to make a work call and work through some things. Then, we leave early for our second session of the Pre-K Math and Science Club Isabella is participating in with 5 of our little 4/5 year old friends. Last week went so well - everyone had fun, and the two mommies teaching did a great job. We're really looking forward to tomorrow (maybe I'll take a picture or two). Then, another friend's birthday party. I think more work and Costco have to also be fit into the day.  Sometime this week, October's curriculum from http://www.preschoolpalace.org/ is supposed to be ready.  When I sit down to print, and then write out our October lesson plan, I will photo-document the whole process and blog it. Just in case anyone is interested in seeing how I am doing our lesson plans.

'Til Later!

Busy Couple of Days

Yesterday, I made brownies and all day simmering spaghetti sauce.  Of course, there are certain things you HAVE to do when you make brownies - like lick the spoon!  :)
The recipe I've used the last 2 times I made brownies I LOVE!  Find it at http://www.positivelysplendid.com/2010/05/sweet-treat-for-your-weekend.html

 After I got the sauce simmering and pictures taken, I meant to write a blog post about kids not liking certain meals.  See - I always swore I would NEVER make a separate meal for my kids. What I make is what we eat - it's not always going to be their favorite.  It's not always MY favorite. But, you eat what's made for you!  But, Isabella hates spaghetti so much, I failed in my resolve, and I do make her something separate.  It's not actually making a separate meal - I either heat up a leftover, or make a sandwich for her.  Yesterday, she asked for hamburger and rice, which we had leftover in the fridge. So I planned to heat that up for her. I ran out of time to write a blog post before we had dinner. So, I heated the leftovers for her, and plated my food. As I started eating, Isabella came over and asked for a piece of hamburger out of my spaghetti. so I let her have a piece.  Then, she wanted some noodles with some hamburger. So I got some on the fork for her.  Then, she asked for her own dish of spaghetti....WHAT?  Woohoo!!  And, as you can tell below, she certainly got into her dinner....

 After dinner, I looked at my dining room table, and just shook my head. It's such a disaster.  And I was at a loss what to do to get organized. Most of it is school paperwork, but there was a mix of other junk...I mean, stuff...piled up there, too.  So, I decided that was going to be my project for today. 

This little table is my teacher table (or, rather a little used tv tray) for when we do school.  such a tiny area to keep my daily paperwork, books to read, etc. organized.  After I took this photo, I headed into my  husband's office, dug through some bins in the closet, and finally found our office supplies bin. AND found everything I was hoping to find - file folders, page protectors, divider pages, and folder inserts for 3 ring binders.  I was ready for today, by the time I went to bed!

 I worked all day..repurposed a basket that used to hold miscellaneous workbooks for preschool work, craft books, devotional books, and put our library books, and books we own, that we're using for school reading in it.  Moved it to be right next to the glider rocker I sit in to teach. Ahhhhh....it feels so good to have them in that basket, right at my fingertips, instead of stacked on the coffee table across the room!

 A friend no longer needed her scrapbook case, so had given it to me. Mine is broken and ready for the dump.  But, I haven't moved scrapbooking stuff in it, yet.  Instead, I have now decided to put workbooks, my files of worksheets, and miscellaneous little books and supplies in it for school.  All neat and tidy!

 I didn't want to take up space in our book basket with our devotional books, but want them close at hand, so I can decide each day which book to use.  So, I stacked them on top of the tv, since that's next to my book basket and chair. I think it's a practical, and yet not ugly, way to display and use them!

 Now, after organizing my September lesson plans and the worksheets that go with each days' work into a big 3 ring binder, this is how my teaching table looks!  LOVELY!

 I think I mentioned in an earlier post that I'm using the curriculum posted on Preschool Palace. I printed out all of September's days, crossed out things we won't do (meant for a classroom with more than 1 kiddo), added notes of additional work we will do, and labeled each day (some days, we'll use more than one of Preschool Palace's days) with a Letter and number.

 Then, I labeled the file inserts A-F (because that's all I had).  The worksheets that match up with each day are bundled together and labeled to match the day, and filed in the correct letter file.  Should make each day so easy - just grab that packet out at the start, and we're ready to get on with the day!

The front and back pockets hold the items that are too large for the file inserts.

And now - look how clean my table looks!!  Just our wooden napkin basket and my Bible study materials, along with the (crooked) table runner and candle.  YAY!  How long can I keep it looking this good?  It is certainly a peaceful feeling to have one area looking so nice and uncluttered......

 As opposed to the playroom. This is what I found after spending all day on the dining room table disaster and organizing school paperwork.  I just turned and walked away.

'Til Later!

Oh, the first tiny sign of an interest....

My sweet girl has really broken my gender stereotypes.  I just assumed, as a girl, reading and writing and coloring would be the natural firsts in her schooling.  But, she has a hard time coloring for long. And, while she knows ALL her uppercase letters and almost all her lowercase letters along with their sounds, actually making words out of those letters has been of little interest.  She can write the shorter nickname we often call her for her name, but has had no interest in practicing writing letters, let alone write them in combinations to make words.  Sounding words out when I'm reading?  Puh...leaze!  Just get on with the story!!  (She LOVES to be read to.)  So, imagine my (hidden) beaming face last night! 
Well, let me back up a bit. We've been working on less of a fight; a tantrum filled misery; a tear-filled (not always by the child) test of patience bedtime routine-and with success, a much-desired reward at the end of 30 days of easier bedtimes (not perfect, but oh, so much better).  Part of this has been Mommy not listening to "just one more story" after the limit of nighttime reading has been met.  I haven't given into that, but even still...tantrums galore with the "no more story," even after calmly explaining to her she heard me say the story count for the night, and telling me she understood before I even started to read.  Now, instead of fighting over it, after stories are read, Mommy lays down and closes her eyes because she's so tired.  But, if Princess isn't tired, yet, she can look at as many books by herself as she'd like.  This has been great!  After 5 or 6, she's ready to lie down and sleep. 
Okay- so last night, when she was looking at a picture book of animals, I heard her say "A..A....A....Alligator....wait. Cuh...Cuh..Cuh...Crocodile."  See - she saw the picture of the large scary reptile, assumed it was an alligator, but when she saw the word under the animal, she saw it started with a c, not an a.  !!!!!!  BREAK-THROUGH???

Maybe to other people, this isn't as exciting as it was to me, but WOOHOO!!!!  I was THRILLED! 
(but, didn't want to spoil the illusion that Mommy is sleeping, so couldn't say anything to her directly.  Plus, didn't want her to feel embarrassed for whatever reason this would make her embarrassed...I'm the last person to try to explain a 4-1/2 year old girl's emotions!!)
No, I don't expect her to just sit down and start whipping through novels.  But, hearing her notice the word wasn't the one she was saying....Ahhh.....what a great feeling!

Today, got back into some schoolwork.  We did some songs, which my star pupil is LOVING!  So cute!  She's never been as into singing as other kids her age, but she's loving these cute little songs we're singing at the start of our schoolwork.  A weather one, a calendar one, and today, a couple about the color red. 
Then, a little "A" craft, thanks to Preschool Palace:

After coloring one little picture in a mini book on Red (it has all of 3 pictures, but, like I said above, coloring is not high on my girl's favorite things to do), I handed her a little minibook of Numbers.  Part of each page, there is a section to trace the number of that page.  since she does NOT like tracing letters, I thought this book would be a few days' progress.  but, apparently, tracing numbers is totally different from tracing letters, and she did all 10 pages!  WOW!!

Oh, and I should add, thank you to tlsbooks.com for this numbers book.  It was a wonderful activity for our school day.

After the numbers book, a little cutting practice and some letter matching (lowercase) on a worksheet, we finished up with 3 library books, Princess's choice (I love that she picked and loves 2 classics):

After schoolwork, a quick lunch, and my girl has disappeared into her playroom.  I am sitting here, lusting after some more watermelon.  The previous 2 trips to Costco, they didn't have whole watermelon, so I was able to leave my addiction to that melon behind....or so I thought.  Yesterday - they were BACK!  So, without a second thought, I got one.  This plate of melon you see in the picture:  My second helping after eating a chicken sandwich.  Dare I mention that I had a 3rd helping after I took the picture and inhaled the 2nd?  I already admitted to wanting more....mmmmm......watermelon......

Okay...my waterlogged self is going to get busy with laundry, or cleaning floors, or some kind of activity....then maybe reward my hard work (cough, cough...okay, not so hard) with more watermelon....

'Til Later!

I'm very excited to see this:

This movie looks so good - even before I read about this movie on this blog:  http://www.itakejoy.com/giveaway-calling-all-moms-families-and-homeschooling-leaders-to-help-with-dolphin-tale/, I was intrigued, just by the trailer.  Now that I know more about it, and the goal to let Hollywood know this type of movie is desired, I'm even more excited to go see it.  A wholesome, TRUE family-values type of movie I can take my daughter to?  Hmm...reckons (do I really  mean harkens?  guess I should not use wordsof which  I'm not 100% of the proper meaning) back to when I was a kid and my parents never had to worry about what they were taking us to see. 
Now, I am no prude. And, I am a strong Christian, but I go see many types of movies.  But...I'm an adult.  As a parent, I do feel strongly that it is MY job to protect what my daughter sees - to keep things appropriate for her age, not for what the world thinks is okay for her.  She needs to be a child for as long as possible, innocent and happy and as worry free as possible.  If I can actually take her to a movie without fearing what she'll be exposed to, I'd be thrilled :)
Please read the link, and go see the movie - on the requested day if possible, to send a message!  If I remember, I'll try to write up what I thought of the movie, after seeing it.

'Til Later!

They won't all be golden...

Well, since we didn't get to do any school last Friday, since my girl came down with her little bug, I had great intentions to pick things back up, today. But, first, we had to run out in the morning. We're going to participate in a homeschool group Bible memory verse club - W.O.W., which stands for Warriors of Wisdom. Last Friday was the first meeting - getting t-shirts, meeting all the other kids, doing a craft and, oh yes, getting our list of verses.  Well, we had to miss that, too, of course.  So we went to the leader's house, today, to meet her and her kids, and to get our things from her.  It was nice - got a good little get-to-know-you visit and Isabella immediately ran upstairs with the lady's daughter (who is a few years older) and youngest son (who is 30 days younger than my girl). We didn't stay long. And when we got home and settled, we went right into school work. And I realized that we are similar in our need to do tasks first thing before any distractions.  Neither of us was truly into it. The Pledge of Allegiance, Lord's Prayer, a worksheet, several short books, and we were done!  I felt we really didn't do anything that was truly learning. But we went through the motions, and that has merit too, right?  Gets us into a habit?  Right?  I knew going in there'd be days like this, so I'm not truly beating myself up.  It's more that I'm thinking "why did I waste that time?" 

Then, we had a few mini melt-downs, and work crept in so I had to push my girl into the playroom for a while to entertain herself.  I did make up for that by playing a few rounds of Hello, Kitty Bingo with her.  That was actually quite fun. It was just given to her from her aunt, last night, and for the first time, I saw her grasping the total concept of a game, and didn't try to manipulate anything so that she had things go her way (ie: cheat).  It was fascinating to just sit and watch her look at her cards, and see if the right picture was under the letter rolled.  What a grown-up girl she is getting to be.

Feeling like our simple preschool work was a little too much for us, today; listening and dealing with attitude and meltdowns; watching her play a game the right way all the way through and accepting loss as well as win...all of this made me a little nostalgic for the sleep-deprived but much simpler time in our lives with our girl.  And, since I had no photos to add to this post (and I feel strongly that pictures need to be part of almost all my posts, but I've failed that the last couple), here's a little "blast from the past" photo....from exactly 4 years ago today (give or take one or two days...so, yes, not truly "exactly"):

'Til Later!

Plans are Made for Breaking, Right?

Well, today was supposed to be day 2 of our official preschool work. But, baby girl went to bed, last night, stuffy nosed, with a bit of a cough. The stuffy nose was upsettign her so much, and I couldn't figure out how to help her, really.  It made me feel so inadequate as a Mommy. But, with just 2 wake ups for a little comfort before I went to bed, and one at 4:00 am, it really was an easier night than I expected.  Unfortunately, she woke with a bit of a fever.  Not enough to call the doctor, but enought hat I knew we had to lay low.  Her voice sounds so weak...poor thing.  But, her energy level, though quieter, was still pretty healthy all day.  In spite of that, I decided to not do school, today. Ah, well. We're not in any competition or race. Next week is a quieter week in general, so we'll maybe do a little more, throughout.

So, a question for fellow homeschoolers...when you were making your decision to homeschool, or maybe when you were having to defend your decision, or maybe you still do this - Did you make little lists in your head of things that a person experiences in regular school that he or she won't necessarily experience in homeschool, and you can't think of a time in grown-up life where that experience from regular school ever presented itself again?  (Okay, was that a confusing question?)  I do, at times.  I guess because I think through things I don't want my girl to miss out on....and I think of the things I hope she never has to go through.
This is today's thought.  When, once you're finished with school and are in the working world, do you ever have to sit or stand on the sidelines, hoping you won't be picked last for a team? 
It's not something I have thought of for many years, really, but that thought popped in my head, today, and I remember all the times, in elementary school PE, waiting and waiting to be picked for kickball teams.  I wore glasses, and I'm sure I was quite awkward and dorky.  Being picked close to last, if not last, was a fact of my young life.  And it was AWFUL!!  So, then I asked myself, once I was grown and out on my own in the working world, did I ever have to experience that again?
The answer was - NO!  BUT....I also realized that I probably held myself back from trying new things, because I figured no one would think I was good enough.  For a couple of seasons, I was the "coach" of our co-ed softball team at work. Not because I played, but because I could keep score, and make a line up.  And, the players wanted a team, but no one wanted to coach. So I did it.  But, with my love of baseball, no one understood why I wouldn't play, too.  I always just figured I wasn't good enough, though I never, ever tried.  If I hadn't been one of those kids who was always picked last (or close to) for sports in elementary school, would I have been so reluctant to play softball?  I wonder.....
So, I'm thinking (hoping) one thing my girl may not have to experience, if we're able to homeschool all the years of school, is the constant humiliation and tearing down of any self confidence that comes with being picked last. 
Of course, I think she's amazing, and just can't picture her being one of the dorky, picked last kids.  But, still....the idea of that not even being a possibility, because of our choice to homeschool, gives me a little sense of relief for her.

'Til Later!

A to Z of me....

I saw this on the blog C.R.A.F.T., today, and thought (while my sweet girl is watching Blues Clues - it's  "Joe" one, not "Steve," so I really don't care to watch it with her.....) how fun!  Okay - the first question isn't fun, as I have to reveal my true age...but I will.  I don't feel it, so I'm not really upset about it.  I just don't normally offer it up, you know?  Okay, so here goes....

A.  Age - 47 (gulp, I'm 20 years older than the C.R.A.F.T. blogger, whose real name I don't know...I'm sorry about that...but I could be your mama.  ugh...what was I saying about not feeling my age?)

B.  Bed Size - Queen

C.  Chore you hate - dishes...it was my first real chore as a kid, and I've NEVER learned to not hate it...

D.  Dogs - 2...Josie and Nemo

E.  Essential start to your day - Breakfast, for sure.  I'd eat in bed before opening my eyes, if that was a possibility.  Husband and Daughter are neither that way....both have to be up a while before food sounds good.  I just don't get that.  Oh, and coffee.  Must must must have my coffee with its miniscule splash of milk.

F.  Favorite color - RED!!

G.  Gold or silver - both...I can't pick.  It depends on the actual piece of jewelry

H.  Height - 5'5"

I.  Instruments you play - piano (but not well)

J.  Job title - Mom, Wife, Housecleaner (my own, and I really do clean houses...twice a month regularly for a couple, and then whenever referred for one time cleans for move out/move in/house listing), Loan Processor (a new part time job...just working on my first ones, now...so we'll see how it goes)

K.  Kids - one, our dear sweet princess.  Would've liked more, but it just wasn't meant to be. 

L.  Live - Austin, TX (well, just south of Austin in a fast growing former country town, now suburb.  for over 3 years, already...formerly from Seattle, WA area)

M.  Maiden Name - Francis

N.  Nicknames - My dad, while I was growing up, called me Fritz.  Hubby has a few silly ones that I won't share.  Not embarrassing or should be censored.  They're just his names for me, and I dont' feel like publishing them. 

O.   Overnight hospital stays - when I was 6, when my tonsils were removed, but I don't really remember that.  And then for 2 nights when our daughter was born. Even though I didn't actually give birth, we were given our own hospital room and since her birthmom opted to not have her room with her until the required 48 hours before she was legally ours was up, we had her with us - okay, if we hadn't, I'm sure the hospital wouldn't have given us our own room...haha!  I guess they aren't a hotel, right?)

P.  Pet Peeve - well, I hate it when people don't show common courtesy or manners, such as holding a door open (especially when you are coming in a building right behind them, they see you, and they let the door close so it practically hits you) or say thank you.  I KNOW I could list other pet peeves, but I'm not in a complaining mood, so I'll be kind.

Q.  Quotes - "It is what it is."  I don't know who first said that, and I know some people get tired of it, but it's gotten me through frustrations and irritations.

R.  Righty or lefty - Righty, but...haha!!  I, too, consider myself left footed (see C.R.A.F.T. blog to see her "R")

S.  Siblings - 2 younger brothers.

T.  Time you wake up - if left to no alarm and my own body waking me up, 7:30....on hubby's workdays, 5:30.

U.  University attended - Pacific Lutheran University (but only for a year...then I went to work for 20 years at one company and was educated on the job)

V.  Vegetables you dislike - I love most, but will NOT touch Brussels Sprouts.  I know everyone says they taste different roasted, but my experience of being forced to eat them boiled growing up....I will never know the roasted ones' taste.

W.  What makes you run late - my own refusal to ever admit things take longer to accomplish than I allow while budgeting my time.  Would love to blame anyone but me, but almost always, it's myself.

X.  X-rays you've had - my thumb when I split it open and broke it in a heavy safe drawer at work; on my ankle when I had a stupid minor accident at work (just lightly sprained it); on my calf when I pulled a tendon while playing with our then-puppy. that one came close to needing surgery.  Whew, didn't have to happen.  and  yes - all my x-ray needs were from stupid, careless accidents or just dumb luck....

Y.  Yummy food - oh, boy....I love food...so...well, our local grocery chain has marinated chicken thighs or breasts (or beef or pork). Usually we get the fajitas.  But, we just bought the BBQ chicken thighs to try, and hubby made that for dinner, tonight.  YUM!!  I love Thai food, sushi, some Indian food, Teriyaki (which we cannot find - at least not decent - here in TX...in Seattle, every strip mall had Teriyaki restaurants.  kinda like Tex-Mex here); Pho, especially on cold days, so needless to say, I haven't had Pho in a long, long time.  Well, I could keep listing.  I just love to try different types of food!!

Z.  Zoo animal favorites - the lions have to be my favorite (though getting a whole show of a male/female getting....uh....."friendly"......twice in one showing.....made me a little leary of spending too much time at their exhibit at the Austin Zoo, especially with my 4-1/2 year old with me...and why else would I be at the zoo, if she wasn't with me?)

Okay - That's 26 items about me....bored, yet?  :)  If you, too want to do this, I'd love to see your answers.  and I know the writer at C.R.A.F.T. would, too, so make sure you go to her post and leave a message in her comments, linking her up to your blog/answers!!

'Til Later!

First official day....

Our first official day of At-Home Preschool is done.  Now, I must be honest - we've done "school days" before, complete with the pledge of allegiance and a Bible reading.  But, since the first day of public school here was yesterday, I decided to get us back into our learning time by making it OUR first day of school, too.  I thought I had way too many things on our calendar, after I did lesson planning for yesterday and this coming Friday (we have a busy week, so am easing us into schooling by just planning for the two days we're home all day).  But, we did all but a couple of little things.  My plan was to fill any empty time the middle three days with those things we didn't accomplish. But I've been plagued with a sinus headache for a few days, and today, at least, I just don't feel like doing anything.  Worse comes to worse, we just add those things to Friday, and either accomplish them along with Friday's already planned lessons, or just shift things into next week.  I haven't sat down to write out lesson plans beyond Friday, yet, anyway.

Here are some pictures of our first day:

 The pledge of allegiance picture just brings a tear to my eye....

She looks so big....4-1/2 still sounds so young, but 5, which is still 4 months away, sounds so much older. Gulp.  My baby girl is just NOT a baby at all....

'Til Later!