Small Successes

Here are my small successes for the week:

1- Not particularly small, but I must brag a little bit...SIL and I got together and made 60 Runzas, 30 Calzones, 36 Banana Muffins, 1 Apple Pie, Homemade Ice Cream, and some cookies from the leftover pie dough...in one afternoon! We are planning on getting together again tomorrow to do some more bulk cooking to keep the harvest crew happy and full.

2 - I have done school EVERY WEEKDAY without taking a day off since we started school on the 8th. The real test comes tomorrow, when our exchange student has the day off from school, but still needs to be in town several times during the day (homecoming parade in the early afternoon, volleyball game in the late afternoon, and possibly the homecoming football game) and then has to be in town several times on Saturday (an away softball game, then home to get ready for homecoming, then to an aunt's house for hair, and then I am not sure if her date will be picking her up and bringing her home or not!)

3- This is the third week in a row that I have actually planned out a menu...and although it doesn't always work out quite as planned, it is less stressful to have an idea of what to make and (for the most part) have the ingredients in the house!

More small successes at Faith and Family LIVE!

Quick Takes Friday

I am starting to wonder if the fact that I spend 10 minutes trying to log into blogger means that I should blog less, or if it means that my computer can't seem to remember that I have a blog...

So, on to the Quick Takes!

1.
Eva is SIX...and I am still in shock. Her party was a success, although I didn't have the house as clean as I would have liked. Since I picked up a cold three days before (that I'm still fighting...) had one day where I just didn't feel well enough to do much, one day of leader training for girl scouts, and my parents showed up two hours early for the party, I guess it was what it was. Eva had a great time, and we had 18 guests (a small party for this family!) I found out that three pounds of steak and 1 1/2 pounds of chicken is just the right amount of meat kabobs for that many, but that I over cooked on the vegetable front. My mom was teasing me about the amount of food I was preparing, but most of it was gone by the end of the party.

2.
We took a family vacation to the black hills over Labor day weekend, and FIL even gave hubby the time off to come with us...so it was me, hubby, the girls, our exchange student, MIL, and her exchange student. We rented a cabin that could sleep up to 12 (it would be a tight squeeze with 12 people) and had a really good time. Our first stop was for lunch in Alliance, NE with a quick stop to show the exchange students Carhenge.


3.
Next up on our trip was Storybook Village, a free attraction in Rapid City. The little girls had a great time, and the exchange students were very nice about spending a couple of hours in a park with over sized storybook toys and displays. Eva and Charlotte had a great time on the train ride (the engine was a riding lawnmower covered with wood to make it look like a train) which was the only charge in the place ($1 per ride). Grandma had a great time in the gift shop. Then we took the big kids to the mall (both forgot to pack something for the trip) but the first thing they both bought were cowboy hats!

4.
Mount Rushmore was next. Both Eva and Charlotte completed the Junior Ranger program...Charlotte's was pretty simple, but Eva was old enough for a much harder book, so she had to find out a lot more information. We stayed for the night show, which includes a movie, and is very patriotic. The exchange students thought this was a little strange, as at home, they do not sing the national anthem (unless it is at a national football game!)

5.


Next day we took a tour of part of the Wind Cave at Wind Cave National Park. We left Grandma and Charlotte above ground for the 450 stair cave tour, and they talked to everyone who came into the vending area, and bought out yet another gift shop (Storybook Island, Mount Rushmore AND Wind Cave). Eva did a great job on the tour, and it is just a very interesting place.

6.
Later that day, after taking the big kids out for dinner at a German restaurant (which was dubbed pretty good, but not authentic...they had a good laugh about Wiener Schnitzel being on the menu, because it is from Vienna, not Germany. Honestly, my mom always told me that it was called Wiener Schnitzel because it is made from veal, but our Austrian exchange student assures me that it is usually made from pork, and the name comes from it's origins in Vienna.) we went to Crazy Horse Memorial to watch the night time laser show. It was also very interesting, but a little strange. Both very almost angry about how native Americans have been treated, but also very patriotic (flag waving, God Bless the USA, etc.) I had a good laugh that the first sponsor of the laser show was US Smokeless Tobacco.

7.
On our way home, we stopped at Evan's Plunge, which was fun, if a little bit pricey (okay, it was by far our most expensive stop of the trip!) The little girls had a great time, and both even went down the big water slide (with a parent, of course!) We probably spent close to 2 hours playing in the pools, and afterwards we were all tired and ready to get home. Our absolute last stop of the trip was at McDonalds. The exchange students, who think of McDonalds and America as going together have been here close to a month, and had not been in a McDonald's yet. They wanted to stop at one for lunch in Rapid City, but we never could find our way back to the one we saw. So, we made a special stop for dinner on the way home. Our exchange student was excited to find out that ketchup was free. I told her that Americans would not put up with being charged for ketchup at McDonalds!

Now we are happily back home, and trying to get in the swing of the new school year. I keep thinking that at some point I may spend a little more time at home doing housework, but between homeschooling and running around after our exchange student, I fear that I am going to be away from home most of the year!

More quick takes at Conversion Dairy!

Small Successes

Well, it's been awhile since I participated in the weekly small successes at Faith and Family LIVE! So, here are my successes for the week:

1. We started school yesterday, even though we haven't had a day spent completely at home in more than two weeks (I am hopeful that Friday will remain free, except for picking up our exchange student after her softball games). We got through all of Charlotte's preschool for the day, Eva watched her Math U See DVD, we read one chapter out of King of the Golden City (I was hoping to do 4 or 5 chapters per day over the course of a five day week, but that is not going to be happening) She also did a page of phonics, a page of handwriting, and did some math games to reinforce her first lesson.

2. We started Catechism classes at church last night, and I survived. I'll be teaching a 3rd and 4th grade combination class, and being the meanest of the teachers, they have reading assignments for the year. I helped get most of the kids registered, wrote out lists for the teachers of their registered students, never got my copies made because the DRE (otherwise known as my MIL) didn't remember to unlock the parish center so that people could get in there for copies or classrooms. We had 15 minutes with our classes, and then we had birthday cake for Mary. It was exhausting, but a success.

3. I would love to put some cleaning task here as a success, but since I still have streamers and balloons hanging in the living room from Eva's birthday party 11 days ago, there has not been much in the way of cleaning going on around here...but I have been keeping up on the dishes (not that we've had many, since I haven't been home to cook much) and the laundry isn't too backed up (I think I only have two loads that I need to do today!) so I'll call that success number 3 this week.

More small successes at Faith and Family LIVE!

Quick Takes Friday

1-
Eva has started a countdown to her birthday (or more importantly, her birthday party, which will be this Sunday) and I am in complete denial that my baby girl is turning SIX! She also had her loose tooth pulled by the dentist this week (since the adult tooth had broken through behind it). I am not ready for her to grow up so fast...there's something about loosing baby teeth that just makes me wonder how she got so big so fast.

2-
I have to admit that I've started a countdown of sorts until Charlotte's 4th birthday...not because I am anxious for her to grow up (although if her birthday reduced the amount of whining, I wouldn't complain!) but I AM anxious to move her to a booster seat and put away carseats. Moving from car to car will be so much easier when I tell the girls to grab their booster seats and get in another car. Moving a carseat sucks...

3-
Our exchange student has a date tonight (okay, I think that the boy called it "hanging out", but the hanging out will be at the movie theatre in town, so being old fashioned I call it a date. Actually, I am kinda wondering if "hanging out" involves the guy expecting the girl to pay her own way...Since I haven't ever "hung out", and haven't been on a "date" in more than 11 years (not that hubby and I don't go on dates...but it really doesn't matter who pays for the date because it all comes out of the same paycheck!) I feel a little out of touch. I thought it was hilarious...I didn't see the exchange student all day yesterday (she gets on the bus around 7 am, stayed in town for sports practice and a club meeting, and was picked up after I went to Bible Study), so when I got home at close to 11 pm, she came to talk to me to get permission for her date. Well, I told her it was fine, worked out the details (call when you are ready to be picked up...he's going to meet her after sports practice...movie at the movie theatre okay, movie at his house...no way!) So, after she went down to bed, hubby told me that he had already given her permission to go...but she wanted MY permission.

4-
I really should be doing a major cleaning of the house today, but I'm feeling kind of yucky (darn public school germs!) Tomorrow I have an 8 hour training meeting for Girl Scout leaders, and it is in a town almost 2 hours away...then Sunday is Eva's birthday party at our house...then the usual weekly stuff...and then MIL and I are taking the exchange students and my girls to South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore over the holiday weekend. I'm excited about the cabin we rented, and it should be fun. I wish hubby could come, but I think they will start cutting silage about then (silage is wet corn cut, stalks and all, that is fermented and fed to the cows, for those of you who aren't rural dwellers.)

5-
I put in my first interlibrary loan request at the library in town. I asked for 8 books for Charlotte's first week of preschool...I didn't mention to the librarian that it was 1 weeks worth of stuff yet. I was amazed at how nice the librarian here has been about interlibrary loan...in our old town, I requested one book through interlibrary loan during the four years we lived there, and I got a huge lecture from the head of the library about how much interlibrary loan costs...all I asked for was a book about VBACs, which the local library didn't have...with the lecture I got, you would've thought they spend hundreds of dollars on postage for that one book.

6-
I think we may have oversocialized one of our cats. Twinkle is still a little afraid of people (other than hubby), but Tigger starts meowing, purring, and winding around your ankles as soon as you step outside as long as he is out of the shop. We are still keeping the cats in there at night until they are big enough to defend themselves. When I took Bubba to the vet for his yearly checkup and shots, I got distemper shots for the cats, and hubby got to give them the shots. They are still a little too young to get fixed, so they will get rabies shots when we take them in for their surgeries.

7-
SIL laughed at me the other day...I was planning Eva's birthday party on the way to the dentist, and asked Eva what she would like to have to eat at her party, and she replied with "steak and strawberries". I told her that we could do steak, but I wasn't sure about the strawberries, because it isn't really strawberry season anymore, so they might be expensive or more difficult to find...then we determined that strawberry flavored cake was okay. SIL laughed at the fact that I told Eva that steak was fine but strawberries were too expensive, when the rest of the world would probably say the exact opposite. I pointed out that I have a couple different cows' worth of meat in my freezer, including plenty of steak...but yeah, I'll admit that it's weird.

More quick takes at conversion diary!

The Versatile Blogger Award

Well, Christine at Christine's Contemplations nominated me for this award, so I am just now getting around to posting this (it's been a busy couple of days!)

So being nominated, I must do the following:

Thank the person who nominated me.

Thank you Christine for the nomination. Christine and I were very close friends in high school, being a big chunk of the female low brass contingent. She even lived with me and my mom one summer, and we worked together as waitresses at a restaurant, where she broke more plates than I did, but also probably made better tips, since she has always been extremely friendly and outgoing.

Christine is now a mom and a step-mom...and not the wicked kind, either ;)

She has an adorable 1 year old daughter and one on the way, and actually looks cute while pregnant (I'm just a LITTLE jealous of that!)

I must post 7 things about myself:

Not that I don't do that already, pretty much weekly, but I'll try to stick to just me rather than my hubby and kids...

1- I love to read...not in the normal I like to pick up a novel and read when I have spare time. More like, I feel compelled to read everything that I see (I used to even read the really long user agreements for computer things...now that I have very hyper kids, I just skim them like a normal person).

2- I am left-handed, which means that hubby thinks I do things the "left-handed" way, which I like to refer to as the "correct" way...since his dad and his brother are also lefties, I think that he just needs to learn to be normal, like us.

3- I am very bad at math, unless you can turn a problem into something with dollar signs. I guess I just need the problems to be applicable to my life, and money works as a good motivator. I also don't seem to understand math problems in the same way as my right handed daughter, so I am hoping to learn a lot using Math-U-See with Eva this year.

4- I really wish I had some impressive talent...maybe being a great writer, or a great seamstress, or a great knitter, or a great scrapbooker...but basically, I am a jack of all trades, master of none.

5- I have been blogging for a little more than 4 years, and I think that I have about 4 readers who are not related to me...and maybe another 4 readers that are related. I have to admit, my blog is mostly a dumping ground for my random thoughts, so it's not really surprising.

6- I am a planner...I married into a farm family...this is not a good combination. However, I have managed to come to terms with never being able to plan an event in advance in the last 11 years. My mother, however, has not really come to terms with that yet. She asked me again today (for at least the 3rd or 4th time) if I had come up with a plan for Eva's birthday, and I had to tell her no...I mean, her birthday is still 8 days away! Am I really supposed to have a plan already? On the other hand, for things that don't involve my hubby or in-laws, I plan WAY too much (probably just to get the planning out of my system.) In my google documents right now, I have the following planning lists: Little Saints preschool list, preschool syllabus, physical education, science syllabus, 1st grade homeschooling stuff for Eva, History Syllabus, 1st grade Syllabus...not to mention shopping lists, lists I am currently done with, and completely miscellaneous lists.

7- I'm an extrovert who would usually rather stay home. I do get energized being around people, but I am also a little bit shy, so don't really like going out into groups of people. I think maybe that just makes me weird...but I guess it is one of very many reasons.

I must nominate 5 other bloggers:

If I only knew 5 other bloggers...

But I definitely would like to nominate the other Christine over at Good Company.

Quick Takes Friday

1-
Our exchange student started school yesterday, and seemed a little unimpressed. I guess several of the kids in her math class were mean to her, one of her classes doesn't start until next Wednesday, and another class she only has one other student and the teacher in the classroom with her (the other students are participating by TV from other area high schools.

2-
In the "I forgot to mention it last week in Quick Takes" department (probably because it was something I put all over Facebook), we have a second bottle calf. FIL took the exchange students to a livestock auction, and bought a bottle calf ("It looked like a good deal for a good calf" is his explanation, but I am suspicious that it really was so that both girls could have a calf...) for us. Hubby thought his dad said it was a "he", so originally the calf got named Duke-Duke (from Veggie Tales Duke and the Pie War), but then BIL checked when he dropped it off at our house, and it is a girl (which is apparently what FIL said to hubby, but it got all confused) so, her name is now Daisy Duke...so we've got Flower and Daisy now, and are going through a 50 lb bag of milk replacer (I like to call it calf formula) in about 2 weeks now. Good thing I can just charge it to FIL at the feed store!

3-
Since our Austrian exchange student has never seen (and never heard of before coming here) The Sound of Music we have the DVD from netflix and we plan to watch it tonight with the kids...she also took the soundtrack tape that hubby found (yes, I apparently still have a cassette tape soundtrack to The Sound of Music) and listened to it last night while she worked on homework. I think she was relieved that it wasn't terrible. She said she liked "My Favorite Things" and "16 going on 17".


4-
Update on Eva's tooth...one week later, and it still hasn't fallen out...but we can see the tooth starting to come in behind it...so, how long does it normally take for a tooth to fall out, and at what point does she need a tooth pulled? I know that I had to have 4 baby teeth pulled by my dentist, and BIL had a couple that had to be pulled too...so any advice on what to do?

5-
Charlotte, after getting her hair cut professionally, decided that she wanted it shorter, so she found some scissors at grandma's house, and took matters into her own hands. So, I had to take her to hubby's Aunt, who was able to help out by repairing MOST of the damage (though the self cut bangs are going to need some time to grow out...so here are some before and after pictures.



6-
The girls have been driving me crazy at bedtime again recently. Two nights ago, when hubby went in to tell the girls to knock it off and go to sleep, he opened the door to find them STANDING ON THEIR DRESSER...I still don't know why. Last night, however, I had a great success. The girls were thrashing around, kicking the walls, running around their room, talking and fighting, so when I went in (after hubby gave a warning) Eva was out of bed, so I took her out of the room, gave her a spanking and put her in the corner with the instruction that she was not to move or talk. I set the kitchen timer for 10 minutes. About 2 minutes into this punishment, Charlotte freaked out, started sobbing saying "I need Eva!!!", I gave her a spanking as well (for coming out of her room twice in the first two minutes, tucked her into bed, told her to stop and go to sleep, and that she could go to sleep without Eva. I pointed out that they weren't sleeping and they were both in trouble, and told her if she kept up with the crying and fussing, I would ban trips to Grandma's house for the weekend. She settled down, Eva (who was crying quietly in the corner) got done with her 10 minutes. I gave her a kiss and a hug, told her she needed to go to sleep, and both girls did! We didn't have to do any more reminders, yelling or punishments. There were a couple of minutes of whispering when Eva went back to bed, but they went to sleep! Yeah!

7-
I have been working a lot on getting Charlotte's preschool stuff ready to go. Yesterday, I went over to MILs house, and made a bunch of copies (probably around 200 from the pattern packet for Little Saints Preschool Program), MIL didn't realize that she had already used her spare black toner cartridge, and I used it up without realizing it (I mean, don't copiers usually say "toner low" at all times?) Well, her printer/fax/copier is too smart to trick. We tried putting in a cyan cartridge to get a fax to print (because FIL was very upset about not being able to get his fax) but the dumb...err....to smart for us printer KNEW it wasn't a black cartridge and wouldn't print. So, MIL had to drive up to the nearest big town (an hour drive) to get a new one...never mind that I am taking the exchange students up there tomorrow to do some school shopping...there is NO WAY to get a fax to print on a color cartridge if you run out of black toner. Of course, it will let a color item print in black and white if a color cartridge is out. When I confessed to hubby about just how many copies I had made (I figured while I was making copies, I might as well make all that I could!) he told me that I should have gone to get the cartridge instead...I would've volunteered, but both girls really needed some rest time.

More quick takes over at Conversion Diary!

Quick Takes Friday

1-

Our exchange student has arrived, and she is starting to settle in, I think. We have her registered for classes, have figured out how to plug in her computer stuff, and she has spent many an hour playing with the girls. She has expressed interest in seeing me teach (homeschooling does not appear to be common in Austria) and I am sure she will before the end of the year. The one thing that everyone seems to think of when she says she is from Austria is "The Sound of Music", which she has never seen. I think it will be moving to the front of our netflix cue so that she can see it before school starts. I'm having a hard time explaining why EVERYONE knows and likes The Sound of Music.

2-

We had a great time at the Midwest Catholic Family Conference. My favorite part was that Charlotte was old enough to go to the kid's classes. Last year she was VERY squirmy during the adult sessions, and this year I heard them in peace. We stopped in Hayes, KS the first night and stayed at the Ramada there...I don't know that I'd recommend the rooms, but they do have a really nice pool with a waterslide. Once I bribed Eva to go down the slide, she had a lot of fun. It was also nice that we dragged hubby's sister along. I even coerced her to go to the young adult singles social event.

3-

In the "I haven't been home much" category...last week, we moved the above mentioned sister out of her apartment in the city. She and I went up to pack on Monday. Tuesday hubby and his brother brought up a trailer, helped load it up, drove it home, and unloaded it in a storage unit. Wednesday, SIL had an interview, and I was running around with the girls getting errands done, taking Eva to Girl Scouts and packing. Thursday we left for the conference. Got back late Sunday night. Monday, met our exchange student (who had to be picked up by MIL, since we were in Wichita when she got here) and got her registered for school. Tuesday took MIL to her doctor's appointment in the city, then picked up her exchange student at the airport. Thursday, a trip into town in the morning, and my bible study in the evening. I am hoping to stay home a little more often soon.

4-

I still have plenty of planning to do for the upcoming school year, but I have laid out a school calendar for my girls. We will be starting the week of Labor Day and we will finish the last week of June. That's 40 weeks with at least two week long breaks, and I am sure we will have some long weekends in there, too. As for the local school calendar, it appears that they have no school very often. In the month of December, they have the first friday off school (actually, they have a teacher inservice EVERY first Friday...I told hubby that I need a teacher inservice once a month, a day with no students all day long...) and then they have the last two weeks (minus one day, but then the break goes 4 days into January as well). So, I think that they are in school less than out of school.

5-
Hubby has written his first article over at the Rural Republic. It's on subsidiarity, and it only took him a good month to research and write (he's such a perfectionist...) I think he makes some really great points, so go check it out: Subsidiarity in Rural America

6-

My bible study group had a Charismatic prayer night last night. I was teasing hubby that I would be as late getting home as I was when MIL and I picked up her exchange student at the airport (got home at 1 am), but in reality, I got home early...just after midnight. I have to admit, I am not particularly charismatic in my prayer life, but I participated...and I think that is pretty good. One thing that came to me during our prayer was the story of Mary and Martha, and I was thinking about how this was a Mary moment (and not one I am particularly comfortable with, to be honest) and I had this sudden urge to go find the story in the Bible. When I borrowed someone's Bible to look it up, I of course ended up having to flip around looking for it (I still don't know which Gospel it is in) but my eyes fell on this passage, and it really hit home with me...and when I continued on looking for Mary and Martha, I found the same story in another gospel, and decided maybe it was what I was supposed to see:

And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon." But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." And he answered, "It is not fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs taht fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered her "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly. Matthew 15:21-28

7-

Eva woke me up this morning with the news that she has a loose tooth. I told her she wasn't allowed to have a loose tooth yet, and that she'd better stop growing. After patiently explaining to me that she did have a loose tooth, and that it is normal at her age (a friend of hers that is 3 or 4 years older than her told her so...) she explained that it was only one, and it would take awhile before she lost all her baby teeth and got all her adult teeth. I have to admit that I am not ready for my baby to loose her baby teeth.

More quick takes this week over at Betty Beguiles!

Quick Takes Friday- Fair Edition

Here is my very late in the day quick takes...it has been a long one at the county fair.

1-
Hubby got the girls up at 6:30 this morning. After getting them all dressed up in their western wear, Eva and hubby took our bottle calf "Flower" to get shots (because some family members were giving their calves shots today) and into the fair. Eva showed Flower in the bucket calf class, with one little girl and her calf "Lucky" (who when asked what something cool about her calf was said "she's lucky to be alive...that's it.") and another little boy with another little calf. They were all very cute, and all got blue ribbons and a halter as a prize for showing. Here's a picture of Eva talking with the judge.

2-
I entered 20 items in the foods category...a decorated cake, 2 pies, 2 unfrosted cake layers, 5 cookies, 1 quick bread, 1 yeast bread, 1 candy, 1 cookie tray and 6 canned goods. I got at least one blue ribbon, but no best of show this year. The girls entered some crafts and photos and the "decorate a vegetable" contest, but alas, the cucumber horse and cucumber princess did not place.

3-
After a long day at the fairgrounds, I wasn't really relishing the idea of going to the outdoor community barbecue and talent show, so I talked most of the family into going to an air conditioned restaurant instead. Very good plan...way more relaxing than sitting on the grass in the heat and swatting mosquitoes.

4-
I had to bake all my entries at MIL's house, because our oven door doesn't stay closed during cooking (it pops open, so doesn't hold in heat) and I really didn't want to hear what the judge would have to say about things I baked in it...so MIL didn't start on any entries for foods until first thing this morning. She made dinner rolls and cinnamon rolls, which made it into fair, but she also made pie dough and pie filling, and then went to get out her pie plates...and remembered that all of them perished in a cabinet shelf collapse a few months ago...so no pies from her.

5-
Tomorrow we have the fair parade in the morning, then have a tradition of eating lunch at hubby's great uncle's house (he lives on main street, so we have a good parade watching spot there...) and eating our pies leftover from food judging, but this year because MIL didn't make any pies, I am not sure we will really have enough to go around. That's okay, though, because other than pecan or cream pies, I really am not a fan (even though I bake several every year).

6-
MIL bought the girls new western wear for the fair, of course (grandma will use any excuse to shop for them!) and they both have very cute new pink boots...not to mention several western shirts and cowgirl jeans. I think they make Eva look way too grown up!

7-
Speaking of the new boots, both girls have sores on their legs from their boots rubbing all day today. I didn't even think about it, until they showed me at bedtime. A couple of princess Tiana bandaids did wonders for them...but we've decreed that no boots be worn tomorrow, since it may well be another full day at the fair.

More quick takes at Conversion Diary!

Eva's School Books - or Stop ME Before I Buy Any More Curricula for this Child!

I remember when hubby and I decided to enroll Eva in Seton for her Kindergarten years (we did two) that one of the reasons was because I could spend a million dollars trying to come up with the perfect curriculum for her, and still leave gaps in her education.

Well, it turns out that since I wasn't 100% satisfied with all that Seton had to offer (not saying they are bad, or anything...) I found their Math program hard for me to teach (I needed more instruction on how to explain basic math) I did not care for the Science book...the experiments were okay, but too much work for me and too scattered for me...and finally, the music CD that was included for Eva's music class made her cry (it made me want to cry, too...I am not so crazy about the philosophy of some children's music that insists on including kids who sing off key on the CD because some kids at home can't carry a tune in a bucket...)

Back to the million dollars - I didn't spend quite that much, but I am sure I overbought for first grade. I really need to learn that I can always buy more (and I'm not guaranteeing that I won't end up buying more...I have this problem with books!)

So, here is Eva's school stuff. At a later date, I will do the same with Charlotte's preschool stuff...but as I am not sure I am done buying yet, it may be a couple of weeks!

Religion:
Seton Religion 1 for Young Catholics ($.50 at homeschool used book table)
Great Adventure Kids Pack ($22.45 Barnes & Noble)
You Can Understand the Bible -Peter Kreeft ($17.96 at local bookstore...for Mom, of course)

Phonics:
Seton Phonics 1 for Young Catholics part 1 and 2 ($30 Seton)

Handwriting:
K-3 Handwriting Book ($6.88 Sam's Club)
Draw Write Now Books 1, 2, 4, and 5 ($24 CathSwap)

Reading:
Reading-Thinking Skills Level A by Continental Press ($7 Seton...also bought level B for $1 at used book table)
Reading for Comprehension Level A by Continental Press ($9.45 Amazon)

Map Skills:
Maps Charts and Graphs Level A by MCP ($7.65 Sacred Heart Books and Gifts)

Math:
Math U See Alpha teacher's pack and student pack ($55 MathUSee Swap)
Skip Counting and Addition Songs ($7.50 MathUSee Swap)
Math U See Blocks ($27 CathSwap)

Science:
Harcourt Science 2 - used in grades 1 and 2 by Kolbe Academy ($18.35 CathSwap)
Harcourt Science 2 workbook ($12.20 Amazon)

Spanish:
Berlitz Kids Spanish materials (101 basic words sticker book, 101 animals sticker book, the five crayons, a visit to grandma, the missing cat) still using from last year
Usborne Farmyard Tales First Spanish Word Book - still using from last year
I can Learn Spanish CD and coloring book, La Isla Fantastica (an Usborne First Bilingual Reader), LinguaFun tape and card game ($16 CathSwap)
El Mejor Libro de Palabras de Richard Scarry ($11.47 at local bookstore)

Physical Education:
Homeschool Family Fitness (I bought this last year, but didn't really use it...the plan is to use it this year!)

Homemaking:
Lessons in Responsibility for Girls - still using from last year

and finally...

History:
Connecting with History Volume 1 ($30 St. George Books and Gifts)
King of the Golden City ($16.10 Sacred Heart Books and Gifts)
Blackline Maps of World History CD-ROM ($24.95 Rainbow Resource)
New Catholic Picture Bible ($6 CathSwap)
The Genesis of It All - Luci Shaw ($3.64 new hardcover Amazon)
Noah's Ark - Peter Spier (PBS)
Tut's Mommy Lost and Found - Judy Donnelly (PBS)
Usborne Time Travelers - Pharoahs and Pyramids; Rome and Romans ($14 CathSwap)
What's Your Angle, Pythagorus? - Julie Ellis ($.25 homeschool used book table)
Old Testament Days:An Activity Guide ($10 CathSwap)
Classical Kids:An Activity Guide ($10 CathSwap)
Archaeologists Dig for Clues - Kate Duke (PBS)
The Great Pyramid - Elizabeth Mann ($8.95 BN)
Famous Figures of Ancient Times ($13.57 Amazon)
The Librarian Who Measured the Earth ($12.23 Amazon)
Alexander the Great - Jane Bingham (out of print, but I gave my credit card info to the Usborne book rep at the homeschool conference, who said she could get it for me...I haven't heard anything to the contrary, so I am still hopeful!)
Tales from the Old Testament CD - Jim Weiss ($10.95 BN)
Gilgamesh the King; Revenge of Ishtar; Last Quest of Gilgamesh - Ludmilla Zeman ($18/set CathSwap)
Egyptian Treasures: Mummies and Myths CD - Jim Weiss ($10.17 Amazon)
Jewish Holiday Stories CD - Jim Weiss ($13.45 Sacred Heart)
Exodus - Brian Wildsmith ($14.95 Rainbow Resource)
The Egyptian Cinderella - Shirley Climo (PBS)
The Story of Queen Esther - Jenny Koralek ($11.90 Amazon)
Greek Myths CD - Jim Weiss ($11.06 BN)
Favorite Greek Myths - Bob Blaisdell ($1.70 Sacred Heart)
The Story of Hercules - Bob Blaisdell ($.85 Sacred Heart)
Aesop's Fables Coloring Book ($3.25 Rainbow Resource)
The Trojan Horse: How the Greeks Won the War - Emily Little (PBS)
Julius Caesar and the Story of Rome CD - Jim Weiss ($14.95 St. George)
Lysis Goes to the Play - Caroline Snedeker ($7.60 Sacred Heart)

and the one book that I haven't gotten yet, but plan to get in a little under a week at the Midwest Catholic Family Conference:
A Triumph for Flavius - Caroline Snedeker ($10.15 Sacred Heart)

Yeah, I may need therapy...

Quick Takes Friday

Wow...I just noticed that it has been over a month since I last posted.

So, here's my quick takes from the last month.

1-
I survived three weeks of swim lessons. I managed to register the girls later than I had intended, so they ended up in different sessions, which meant that I got to sit in the hot and humid indoor pool for an hour a day for 12 days. Eva got demoted to level 1 (which is where she needed to be, but they were all full, so I put her in level 2) and in the end, both girls will be repeating their current levels again next year. They both came close to passing, but had a few skills they still couldn't or wouldn't do by the end of the lessons.

2-
We visited my parents in the mountains for the 4th of July. Actually, it was a pretty strange trip. Hubby was going to stay home (because his dad had freaked out over wanting three weekends off during the summer), so the girls and I left right after swim lessons. I got about 10 miles out of town, when hubby called to tell me that if I wanted to come get him, his dad had just told him that he could go with us. So, it was much nicer having him along, rather than travelling by myself with the girls.

3-
I went to the Rocky Mountain Catholic Home Educator's Conference, which was awesome. I got to see Danielle Bean speak her keynote "8 Things Happy Homeschoolers Know" and her session on homeschool burnout. I also got to meet quite a few nice women there. I have to admit, I am a little jealous of those women who have other Catholic homeschoolers within a reasonable distance. I also got most of what I still needed for Eva's school next year (I have placed my Amazon order as well) and I am only in search of 1 more book (hopefully!) as the Usborne book consultant there was going to find an out of print book for me. The last book I should be able to get at the Midwest Catholic Family Conference.

4-
My SIL came over and helped me to create a play room in the "junk room" (a small, windowless room off of the mudroom) since the girls did not like to go down to the basement to play. I guess I should be flattered that they want to be near me. It is nice to have all the rest of the "stuff" out of there...although I was not so happy to find a few things that have been nibbled by mice...I am still in denial about the little rodents being in my house, and am contemplating bringing the cats "Tigger" and "Twinkle" into the house.

5-
Stopping here because SIL is back today to help me start priming the walls and epoxying the floor in our guest (soon to be exchange student's) room. Our exchange student will be arriving while we are in Wichita for the Midwest Catholic Family Conference...so I'll have to figure out who will pick her up for us!

More quick takes at Conversion Diary!

Small successes

Wow...things are getting busy around here. I just worked on getting the kids activities on my calendar last night, and I don't think I'm going to be home much this summer. I'll either be in the car, waiting on the kids, or traveling out of town. I need to figure out something that I can work on during my waiting times.

Here are my small successes for this week:

1-
Our bottle calf Flower has been with us for over a week, and she is doing just fine! She now has no trouble sucking on her bottle, and gets done with it very quickly...then she sucks on the bars of her pen for quite a while after she eats. The kittens are also doing well, and getting a little more used to people.

2-
Signed the girls up for swim lessons...unfortunately, I hesitated when I first called to make sure the time would work for our schedule. It took several more days of trying to call (I only seem to remember when the pool is closed!), but yesterday I stopped by the pool during our trip to town (we signed up for summer reading program, got books, dropped Eva off at Girl Scouts, went to the general store for home improvement supplies, went to the pool, played at the park, went to the post office, went grocery shopping, get a Sunday paper, and then picked up Eva from Girl Scouts) and it turns out all the level 1 classes were full. Eva failed level one last summer, so I had to choose between a platform class (where they stand on a platform and learn how to blow bubbles, etc) or level 2 (where they learn arm strokes and leg strokes for crawl and backstroke). So, Charlotte is in the platform class in the first time slot, then Eva is in the level 2 class in the second time slot. I need to take her to the pool a few times before lessons start to work on getting her used to having her face in the water (which is the main reason she didn't pass level 1 last year.)

3-
Eva and I had eye appointments this morning. I am still as blind as ever, but will have new glasses in a week or two. Eva is a little far sided right now, but no glasses needed, as the doctor thinks that she will eventually be nearsighted like everyone else in the family.

In the big successes department, hubby has gotten up shower walls in our upstairs bathroom! First, he had to chip off a gazillion tiles from the walls (about two feet high, all the way around. Then he had to patch, spackle and prime. Then I got to paint the bathroom (he helped with some of the edging over the lights and bathtub...I'm just a little too short for those). Then the walls went up, and silicone sealant went on. Tonight he is planning on caulking the bathtub and installing the faucet, knobs, and hand-held shower. He also got curtains up in our bedroom. Next on the list (after a few more small items in the bathroom) is either the exchange student's room or the junk room...depending on whether or not the window guy will be cutting a hole in the wall of the junk room to make it a usable bedroom space.

More small successes at Faith and Family LIVE!

Quick Takes Friday

1-
Some time this morning hubby is bringing home a bottle calf from the feedlot. Since MIL still has a cast on, we decided that it would probably be better if we take care of it. Well, better for MIL anyway...I'm not so sure about the calf.

2-
Remember Bitey and Scratchy? Well, both cats have since disappeared. At one point hubby found a possum in our shop (where the cats lived) and then he put away the water and leftover cat food so as not to attract more wildlife. Then, he noticed the good mouser at the feedlot had a couple of kittens with her, so he kit-napped them. They are currently being held hostage in our carpetless room in the basement while we try to get them used to people. I'm still thinking that this isn't the greatest idea ever, since neither hubby or I are cat people. But, I guess we do need something to help with mice, because I still haven't seen a snake here, and when I do, I'll be moving out until I calm down (could be weeks...)

3-
When I mow the yard (which is WAY too big for me to keep up on. I talked to the aunt who lived here, and she just did it all in one shot, and when her kids were little, she just had them play outside while she mowed. I'm a little more paranoid than that, so the kids have to be inside while the mower is running...so max, I can do about 2 hours at a shot...which is about 1/3 of what we have...) I have plenty of time to think of strange thoughts...but one that I think of most often is "what if there is a snake somewhere out here, and it doesn't get out of the way of the mower, and it bites me, and the kids are inside resting, and I don't have my cell phone..." Okay, so I do paranoia REALLY well.

4-
My mom is now retired...my mom is now on Facebook...this is a bad combination. Another bad combination is her and her telephone, because she is calling A LOT! I am hoping she finds some hobbies pretty soon, because every time she calls, the girls go nuts and start doing annoying and dangerous things.

5-
Charlotte now says at least a couple of times a week "I wish we could have TWO baby brothers!!" Usually in public, so I feel as though I need to tell people that no, I am not pregnant. Particularly since right after I had Charlotte, one man at church asked me when I was finally going to have that baby...to which I had to say "I did, she's over there".

6-
Eva is very much enjoying Girl Scouts. After the confusion with the first meeting when the troop leader didn't show up, I was pretty worried...but she had her meeting this week, and it was for 2 hours! I thought the meetings were only going to be an hour, but I guess that will be the school year schedule. Although, I have to admit, I found it strange that the troop leader was gone again (she had to work), but at least the regional coordinator came down to run it!

7-
I just found out that swim lessons in town are coming up this month. I think I may need to stop by the pool soon and sign the girls up...particularly Eva, who is still a little afraid of the water. Charlotte, on the other hand, needs to be a little MORE afraid of the water!

More quick takes at Conversion Diary

Small Successes

Well, I have actually accomplished quite a few things this week, but here are the small successes at the top of my list.

1-
Helped MIL and SIL plant half of our second community garden plot. I had no IDEA how big an area FIL plowed up...it doesn't look that big when I drive by, but we planted 17 tomato plants (the leftover plant is going in a topsy turvy planter that I bought for Eva) 12 sweet peppers, 5 hills of spaghetti squash, and four rows of beans. In the other half we are eventually going to plant summer squash, butternut squash, maybe some more beans and maybe some more sweet corn (we have a partial field planted). In our first garden that we planted a few weeks ago, we have rhubarb, strawberries, cucumbers, and pumpkins. We also planted a new strawberry patch at our house (the aunt who lived here before us had a great patch, but got sick of dealing with it, so planted a bunch of irises to kill off the strawberries...)

2-
CLEANED OFF MY COMPUTER DESK!!! Okay, I have to admit that there are a few items on it, but for several weeks I've had a stack of Eva's first grade curriculum (over a foot high) several personal books, pens, pencils, notes with random phone numbers, mugs (just one per day, I only have two big cups for my morning tea...) AND I had a TV tray set up next to the desk filled with overflow stuff. That's a lot of junk cluttering up the walkway between our kitchen and living room (where our desk lives.) I moved my cookbooks off of my "office bookshelf" onto our new china hutch, and put Eva's curriculum on the shelf that used to have my cookbooks. So, right now I only have an ipod shuffle (need to charge that one...), my mug, the book I am currently reading, a notepad I am typing from, Eva's science text and workbook, and my Sidetracked Home Executives card file (that has been ignored more often than used recently.)

3-
Planned the first quarter of Science for Eva (which is why her books are still on the desk...I'm hoping to knock out at least quarter 2 today!) I even have a list of materials I need to gather, materials listed for each week, and a bright highlighted reminder the week before we are supposed to observe the growth and change of mealworms (YUCK!!!) I even googled to find out where to buy mealworms, and it appears that pet stores may be a good place to find them. Now I just have to figure out if there is a pet store within an hour or so of our town that has mealworms in stock. There's part of me that is contemplating taking Eva for a week long visit to her (now retired) biology teacher grandma so that I don't have to deal with mealworms...but maybe I should just suck it up, rather than drive 6 hours round trip to avoid them.

More small successes at Faith and Family LIVE!

Small Successes

Well, I have been struggling this week with the ambition to do anything...other than obsess over what curriculum to buy to use next year with Eva. Last weekend hubby had Saturday off, so we borrowed a horse trailer and went to visit my mom, who just retired from teaching. We took off her hands a china hutch, a leather chair and ottoman, a tea chest, a wine fridge, a four drawer file cabinet, and a lot of miscellaneous stuff...of course that was a MAJOR success, but thought I'd add it in here.

On to the small successes (all from today, YEAH!)

1-
I changed the girl's sheets. I have been meaning to get to them all week, but this morning I finally did it (I will admit it got done because Charlotte had a small accident in them...but it's still done!)

2-
I loaded the dishwasher, took the trash to the burning barrel (which I hardly ever do), and packed up three books from paperback swap, got my registration form for the Rocky Mountain Catholic Home Educators Conference ready, and took them all to the mailbox, instead of waiting for hubby to get home and making him do it. (My old habits of having my own personal mailman are a bit hard to break, so I'm proud that I did it myself!)

3-
I CLEANED OUT OUR WALK IN CLOSET!!!! Yeah! Okay, this one counts as a major success, too. We have this giant closet in our bedroom, and it just kinda got stuffed with a lot of miscellaneous stuff during our move, so I sorted through the heap of clothes from our vacation to Hawaii, found about 16 sizes of little girl swimsuits, our camera(yeah!), the disk drive for hubby's netbook, my mending pile, a giveaway pile, and about 6 suitcases in various stages of unpacking. I also found my summer clothes, and given the temperature in our house today, I don't think it was a moment too soon!

Bonus Success-
I cleaned our fairly disgusting toilet this morning, which is always a success. I've been trying to clean it weekly, but I'm pretty sure it had been at least two weeks. Today I opened my new flushable wipes from Method (I bought them at Target) and I think I am in love! Previously, I had been using Watkins flushable cleaning wipes, and they worked okay, but I usually needed to use 3 of them to clean the toilet. ONE Method wipe cleaned the WHOLE toilet (started at the top, and worked my way to the rim. They are very thick, and worked wonderfully. Now, I know that flushable wipes aren't necessarily that great for one's plumbing (or septic system, though they do say they are septic safe) but I am just loving them.

More small successes at Faith and Family LIVE!

Quick Takes Friday

1-
How my week has gone: Saturday, started painting bedroom with help from MIL...ran out of paint. Went to Mass, then to the nearest Home Depot (to get more paint) and had supper out with hubby and kids. Sunday, found out early that FIL had taken MIL into the emergency room with an injured ankle. Went to MILs house to clean up and make a Mother's Day lunch for MIL (ironically, it was both daughters-in-law who did the cooking and cleaning...) spent the whole day there working on the house because MIL broke a bone in her foot, and needed to see an orthopedic surgeon to see if it needed surgery. Monday, finished painting bedroom by myself, did a bunch of loads of laundry and tried to get the house clean. Tuesday, drove MIL to orthopedic surgeon's office, did shopping for end of the year "picnic" for religious education classes (MIL is DRE). Wednesday, attempted to clean house more...removed tape and moved bedroom furniture...then went into town with MIL to help cook a roaster full of sloppy joes and another roaster full of beans, while packaging thank you gifts for catechists, setting up church basement and running the Bible story pictionary game. Thursday finally did get house clean, hosted my Bible study. Today, more laundry...very tired...

2-
Got in the mail today: Math U See blocks off of CathSwap (it was supposed to be a full set, but is 9 or 10 blocks short...don't know if I should bother to tell the seller or not. I am sure it was an honest mistake.) Spanish language stuff off CathSwap (CD with booklet, card game, tape, and bilingual book) and a book from Paperbackswap that I've been looking forward to reading.

3-
Next week is looking busy, too...Saturday night hubby's cousin is having her high school graduation party. Sunday is graduation. Monday is piano lessons. Tuesday the girls and I are taking MIL to her doctor's appointment in the city and hubby has a Knights of Columbus meeting in our old town. Wednesday seems free so far, thank goodness. Thursday is the first Girl Scouts meeting, followed by a parents meeting to decide on days and frequency of meetings.

4-
When the Girl Scout's regional coordinator called to see if Eva could make it to a meeting on Thursday, it was kind of a funny conversation. She had Eva's registration form in front of her, and she told me that they would meet right after school got out. Now, on her registration form, it says she is homeschooled. So, I told her (a little sheepishly) that I did not know what time school got out. So, since she was sitting with the local Girl Scout leader, she was able to tell me that they get out at 3:22 (seriously...who comes up with a school release time of 3:22??) Then, the regional woman told me that there would be a parents meeting after the girls met, starting at 5 pm. She said that they would pick up the girls at school and walk them over to the meeting place. I asked her what time they would arrive at the meeting place, and she told me that I didn't need to be there until 5, and that they would pick up the girls at school. So, I'm pretty sure that she is thinking I must be an idiot because I have no idea what time my kid gets out of school, and don't seem to be getting the concept that they will pick up the girls at school and walk them to the meeting...and I'm coming to the realization that she hasn't yet noticed that under school I wrote "Homeschooled". So, I told her that I homeschool Eva, so I needed to know what time to drop her off at the meeting location, since she wouldn't be at school to pick up. So, I'll be dropping her off at 3:40 on Thursday and then finding something for Charlotte and I to do while we wait on the parents meeting.

5-
The girls must be very tired from our crazy week. Charlotte slept 30 minutes past the required quiet time mark, and Eva is still asleep, and it's almost and hour past when she could come out. They've missed a lot of naps this week, and the only time I think they slept was on the day when we had to be out the door right after quiet time...and that day, neither one fell asleep until about 30 minutes before we had to leave.

6-
We've exchanged e-mails now with our Austrian exchange student. She sent us several questions, which I had fun answering...the one that cracked me up had to do with whether Americans eat McDonalds and KFC every day (she said she knew it probably wasn't true, but it is what many Austrian kids think). I had no idea that KFC was that global...the McDonalds part didn't surprise me.

7-
Next on our home improvement list is either: a cheap DIY remodel of our upstairs bathroom (we need to demo some tile, repaint, put in a shower surround and shower head, and replace an overhead light) OR clean out what I lovingly refer to as "the room of despair" (the upstairs bedroom with no window where we stored many of our possessions before we moved in the house that is now home to everything without a home such as my paperback swap books, furniture for the unfinished guest room, tacky drapes (& drapery rods and other 1960's items we have removed and/or replaced), filing cabinet covered with to be filed items, toys, canning supplies, and other things that have not surfaced since the move. Hubby is voting for the room of despair (not entirely because it would mostly involve me doing the work) and I am voting for the bathroom (because it is so very very ugly and I would like a normal shower). I think we may take a few days off before we get started on either of those projects, though.

More quick takes at Conversion Diary.

Quick Takes Friday

1-
Charlotte has recently been going through the "I don't like you/that" phase. She mutters about not liking me if I won't let her have gummy snacks for breakfast, she yells it at her sister, at her toys, etc. The other night there was some sort of horrible dispute coming from the girl's room, and when I went in to find out the problem, Charlotte's explanation was "My monkey was in my snowman's face, and I don't like that!" (while crying of course...) It makes more sense if you know that my girls each have 4 buddies (stuffed animals) that they sleep with. I'm not really sure how we ended up with 4, but it does come in handy if one has been puked on and is in the washer...Anyway, Charlotte's buddies are: Monkey (a curious George doll that belonged to my brother when we were kids) Snowman (a stuffed snowman) Kitty (a periwinkle from Blue's Clues doll) and Turtle (I'm not really sure if it is supposed to be a turtle or a ladybug, but turtle it is...) Eva has Big Monkey and Little Monkey (both curious George dolls), Magenta (from Blue's Clues) and Puppy (a white stuffed dog with purple ears and heart shaped spots.) Apparently some nights, even the buddies can't get along.

2-
After meeting our new baby Godson, the girls have decided that they are both hoping for a baby brother. Now, this wouldn't be quite as funny to me, but for the last several YEARS every time one of my Bible Study friends would have a baby (and that was pretty frequently...given that right now is the first time in the 4 years I've been involved that someone in the group is not pregnant...at least that I am aware of!) when the girls would see the new baby at church, without fail, the new mom would say to my girls "Do you want a baby brother or sister" after the girls admired the baby, to which they would both laugh and say "No!"

3-
The girls and I went to a Girl Scout recruitment meeting last night. I didn't tell Eva what it was until we got there, because I just wasn't sure that the one poster that I saw at the post office was correct, or if anyone would show up...but there were a whole bunch of girls there. They had dinner, sopapillas, snow cones, jump ropes, hula hoops, stamps, friendship bracelet making, and made duct tape roses (the only thing Eva didn't do was the roses). It looks like there will finally be a younger girl scout troop in town, hopefully even a Daisies group. I went ahead and registered Eva, so hopefully I'll hear before too long!

4-
Why, oh why can I never move to a house without a massive rhubarb patch??? Yesterday MIL came over with the strawberry plants we had bought (and then she bought some more because they were on clearance) and we went to plant them. Decided it would be way easier with a rototiller...found out MILs rototiller isn't working (after she hauled it over to my house!) dug it up by hand with hubby while BIL and FIL tried to fix the rototiller. Then we all had lunch and hubby helped me plant the 50 or so strawberry plants before he went back to work. Anyway, during this whole process, MIL helped me harvest some of my rhubarb...I have a huge pile on my counter. If I were feeling more ambitious, I'd go get the camera, probably have to change the batteries, find the cord to the computer, take a picture, upload it to the computer and post it here...unfortunately, I am not feeling that ambitious. So, since I didn't get to it yesterday, I REALLY need to clean, chop up and freeze all that rhubarb (except for enough for a rhubarb crisp for dessert tonight...yum!)

5-
I am hosting my Bible Study group this coming Thursday, it's Mother's Day this Sunday...and I really, really, REALLY want to start painting my bedroom (okay, not start, just do the whole thing.) I don't know what hubby's reaction to this plan would be (I have a feeling it won't be good...) but I've been wanting to paint our room since we bought our first house, I've just never gotten around to it (and of course, this is house #3...) I have the paint, I just need to pull nails and screws, take down the ugly drapery rods, and move all the furniture around...which is probably about the worst part.

6-
The trip for our Goddaughter's First Holy Communion and our Godson's baptism was great...but did make me wish that the state of Nebraska was significantly smaller. The girls had a great time with their second cousins, I had a great time hanging out, and it was awesome to be there for the First Communion and Baptism. I'm glad it all worked out and hubby's Uncle was willing to feed the cows for him.

7-
It looks like we are about done with the stomach flu (YEAH!!!) Although hubby has been complaining about not feeling well. Even though he's kind of a whiny baby when he is sick...he at least is old enough to get to the bathroom and not throw up all over the house (unlike certain little girls who have moved steam cleaning up on my to do list!)

More quick takes at Conversion Diary!

Small Successes

1-
I have survived two bouts of the stomach flu...Charlotte starting last week, and getting better by the time we left town on Friday evening, and then Eva who got sick shortly after getting back home on Sunday night. I also survived the immense amount of laundry that comes with the stomach flu.

2-
We finallly made some decisions about homeschooling next year. Since we are not going with Seton again, that means I have to pick and choose EVERYTHING. But hubby and I set a budget, and I've been trying to find things at CathSwap or ebay, and trying to find the lowest new price on books that I don't think I'll be able to get used.

3-
Through all of this, I have stayed fairly well caught up on the dishes. I have a few items on the counter that couldn't fit into a load, but I'm feeling pretty good about the fact that I am not at the point where I have to wash plates by hand before we can eat a meal.

More small successes at Faith and Family LIFE!

Quick Takes Friday

1-
The car is cleaned out, the bags are packed, the saxophone we are delivering is in the car. We have hotel rooms, maps to (almost) everywhere we will be going, and Charlotte seems to be doing a little better today.

2-
Things I still need or want to do before we leave: reassemble car seats (had to wash the disgustingly sticky cover on Charlotte's!), unload and reload dishwasher, finish up Kindergarten with Eva (just testing on Math and Religion, and all her grades will be completed!), fold three loads of laundry, put away all laundry, make beds, drop off dog at MILs house and mooch lunch (so I don't have to dirty my kitchen), require a nap from the girls (since we'll get to our hotel tonight around midnight!), and possibly mow more of our yard. Then all I'll need to do is wait for hubby to get done with work, and then we can get going!

3-
Moved up on the cleaning list (when we get home, of course!) steam cleaning the carpet in the girl's bedroom, the office end of the kitchen and the living room...all areas affected by Charlotte's current illness. I might as well do the carpet in the bathroom while I'm at it, and I'll definitely need to do a major cleaning of the toilet inside and out.

4-
Because I am a dork (or at least, that is hubby's thought on the matter) I have set up a spreadsheet to track home school curricula that I am interested in looking at this summer at the regional Catholic homeschooling conference. I've decided on what we will be using for Phonics (because Eva loves Seton's phonics program), Science (because I found a great deal on the CathSwap yahoo group on a secular text suggested by Kolbe academy), P.E and homemaking (because I already bought the books!) I'm totally undecided on what to do for history/geography, spelling/English/handwriting, art and religion. I have a pretty good idea what I am going to do for math and Spanish.

5-
In the adjusting to farm life department, I have figured out how to plan dinner (or supper, if I was a proper farm wife...since dinner is lunch here, and I just end up plain confused!) Here's my new rule: I will delay serving the evening meal until 7:30 if hubby is still working. At 7:30, the girls and I eat whether or not hubby is home. If hubby is home earlier, I will serve dinner earlier, but that's not been an issue the last few weeks. In fact, yesterday he told me at about 5:30 that he should be home by 6:30, so I planned dinner for about 7 (he's never home when he says he will be) so naturally, his dad needed some help with something, and the girls and I started eating at 7:30 without him.

6-
We've had LeapFrog Math Circus out from netflix for over a week now...who knew the girls would like it so much!?! So, they are now watching it for the last time before we stick it back in the mail on our way out of town. I got Charlotte the LeapFrog Talking Letter Factory for Easter (because I make use of the DVD player to get Eva's schoolwork completed...Charlotte can choose a VeggieTales or other short and educational video after she is finished with her "class") I may have to look into getting more LeapFrog videos, because even though they make me want to poke my eyes out, they are very popular with the girls.

7-
Speaking of things that make me want to poke my eyes out...I have a bunch of papers sitting on my desk that I really need to get done, and soon...but I'd rather poke my eyes out. I have a 401K and a PERA (Public Employee's Retirement Association) account that I left with my last (and only) career-type job (which I left in 2002...) Late last year, I opened up and IRA, and I need to get both the 401K and the PERA account transferred into it. I doubt the two have much more than $500 combined, and the sheer amount of paperwork to get them transferred makes me stabby. But, since the account addresses have to match, I either need to get it all taken care of before our PO Box in town comes due (because we don't plan on renewing it) OR, I'll have to change addresses with all three companies involved, then wait for the addresses to be the same again and THEN fill out all the papers...Maybe I should be working on that now, rather than complaining about it...but complaining is definitely more fun!

More quick takes over at Conversion Diary!

Small Successes

My small successes this week:

1-
I have not lost my mind or my temper with Charlotte being sick. She's thrown up twice, two nights in a row (first night on her bed, her wall, and the floor in two rooms...second night on her dad...at least it wasn't me!) Her temperature reached a high of 104.6 last night at about midnight. She's back down to 101 this morning...but I am really hoping she gets better really soon, as we are supposed to drive out to Iowa for our Godchildren's first communion and baptism this weekend.

2-
I made 120 meatballs and a meatloaf this week, put 4 meals of meatballs in the freezer, served meatballs once and meatloaf once, and sent the leftover meatloaf home with MIL so that she could feed FIL who has been planting and spending most of his time in his tractor (when something is not broken down, that is!) I now have two lasagnas, two bags of taco meat and four bags of meatballs for those days when I just can't handle making a meal. My kitchen hasn't completely recovered yet...

3-
I broke down and agreed to purchase a riding mower...since we no longer have a mower, and with 2.2 acres, it's too much to mow with a normal mower (and hubby got rid of his hand-me-down 20 year old mower before the move). My original plan was to borrow MIL's mower. Also, I used the new mower...which is the first time in my 30 years of life that I have EVER used a mower of any kind...you see, I was raised that mowing was a men's job (of course, I was also raised that laundry was a man's job, and my dad did mine in college until I got married, so no commentary on traditional gender roles!) Of course, farmers seem to think that women should do the mowing, at least occasionally (such as planting season, when you don't see them for 14 hours a day...and that's if you are lucky and they come home early...) Now, if I can just find the time to go out and mow for several hours, I might be able to get part of the yard that hubby wants mowed before we leave done.

More small successes at Faith and Family LIVE!

Quick Takes Friday - my 400th post

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Not really surprisingly, since I do my quick takes far more often than I blog about anything else, today's quick takes happens to be my 400th post. I started this blog while I was pregnant with Charlotte, so I would guess it's been close to 4 years since I first started....so I average 100 posts a year.

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As mentioned below, hubby and I have been contemplating what to do for Eva's school next year. Well, we have come to some decisions for next year. We won't be sending her into the public school, but we also are not going to re-enroll with Seton. When Eva and I were doing school the other day, we ran into some frustrations with her math lesson. As much as I love a lot about Seton, my pet peeve about it is that they don't provide much in the way of information for me so that I can teach the subjects to Eva. That's really not a problem for me in any subject but Math. I am really terrible at Math, which people don't expect because I have a college degree in Accounting...let me let you in on a secret...Accountants love calculators! So, when I started looking into other math programs (some of which are pretty pricey) I looked at the price of 1st grade enrollment ($490) and then added up all the books that would come with enrollment that I might use, which totaled $103.25. So, I am going to be picking and choosing from curriculum this year. So, anybody have any great recommendations?

3-
We have been cleared to host an exchange student next year. The exchange company is still waiting on some paperwork from the high school, but our exchange student was accepted by the school board, and we passed our background check and reference check. Our exchange student will be coming from Vienna, Austria, so it should be a big change of scenery for her. MIL also has an exchange student coming...he's from Germany and is the little brother of her last exchange student. Now we just have to get the basement guest room livable!

4-
Countdown to our trip to see our godkids...T minus 7 days! Our goddaughter will receive her First Holy Communion on Saturday, and we'll gain a godson on Sunday. We are so excited to see them (and the whole family!) but are not particularly looking forward to the long drive/short weekend part of it!

5-
I've been trying to get my housework under control, but in our move, I doubled the amount of house to clean, and lost about 50 percent of my household help (hubby just doesn't have the time to help that he used to...) so, first I tried getting back into the whole FlyLady thing, and that didn't work very well, so I decided to try the Sidetracked Home Executives file card system. As of now, I have all my cleaning cards done, and they are filed and ready to go...the question is, will I get them done today? Only time will tell (and yes, I know I'd get more cleaning done if I were on the computer less...but it's my only tie to the outside world!)

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MIL was teasing me the other day that I'll have trouble homeschooling Charlotte because she won't be interested in anything unless it was princess related. My immediate response was that we could just do a bunch of unit studies involving princesses, but then, in my researching curricula yesterday I found some nursery school resources from Angelicum Academy: in Art - Cinderella shapes, in literature - the Red (Blue and Yellow) Fairy Book(s), and in Language Arts - Snow White pre writing skills.

7-
For Easter, we got the girls the Dogma Dogs CD (thanks for the recommendation, Whimsy!) and it is a little too catchy, if you know what I mean. I find myself wandering around several days after listening to the CD in the car singing the songs to myself. I have to admit (though hubby thinks I'm a dork because of this) I really like the song "21 Ecumenical Counsels", but the whole CD is pretty fun!

More quick takes at Conversion Diary!