I'm glad it's not snow.  There would be an awful lot of white stuff if it was just a tad colder.  I wonder if winter will eventually get here.

I need to plan meals for the coming week.  We've taken to getting groceries at Wal-Mart while one daughter takes art classes.  This is saving us a lot of money.  But, I haven't been that crazy about Wal Mart's beef or produce.

I am now thinking that I will make my week's list ahead of time.  (Ahem, ahem)  Then, I can run to a different grocery store for all of the meat and produce items over the weekend.   We can still do the Wal Mart trip during the week and save money on all of the other items.

I don't see myself getting to the store today, but I can at least make my list.  Did I say it was dark and rainy this afternoon?

Yesterday. I felt a few moments of panic over the fact that we still have so much ground to cover in certain areas of school.   I imagined myself doing school for 10 hours a day.  Whatever it took to make some real forward progress.  The thought quickly passed. 

Some of the slow progress is due to some extra programs I've added  to help with specific problem areas.  One daughter has some specific learning disabilities, and I suspect that dd8 also has dyslexia and ds7 may as well.  We've been given some recommendations as far as programs to help, and we are using those this year.  This involves much more one-on-one time with each of these three kids.  All worth it.  But, sometimes it is hard to appreciate the progress.  It is so daily.

Learning differences or not, I'm wondering if anyone else ever gets these feelings of panic.  I know I can't be the only one.   

If you are on the flip side, and are way ahead of where you thought you'd be, I guess you can tell me that, too!  lol.   

A question for fun.  Feel free to make up your own answers.  Be creative.

So far in the school year, I am:

• a.  So far ahead that I've contacted the local college for assistance in giving my kids enough to keep them challenged.
• b.  A little bit ahead of where I hoped I'd be.  Yeah!
• c.  I'm right where I think I should be.
• d.  I'm within range, but want to pick up the pace a little the second half of the year.
• e.  I can't even see the other side.  I'm paddling every day, but still see the same landmarks.

Today, I'm following the good camper rule - 'Always leave the campsite better than you found it.'  The only difference is that I am applying the rule to my house.  My version has me picking up/putting away/improving one thing every time I pass through a room.

 

The idea of 'just one thing' is do-able for me.  It doesn't feel like much, yet much progress can be seen by the end of the day.  Painless, slow, and steady improvement.

 

We have small group Bible study at our house tonight.  For me, that means having the downstairs company ready and the kids fed by 6:00.  (DS6 has piano lesson at our house from 6-7 before group)  Add having the house clean to the usual demands of school, basic survival house maintenance, and baby care, and I end up frazzled on any given Monday afternnon.  Too often, we don't get school done.  We'll see if 'one thing at a time' allows the house to slowly get ready while I do all of my usual things - minus the frazzle part!

  We welcomed a beautiful new daughter on August 9!  I was scheduled to have a c-section on the 10th.  My water broke on the morning of the 9th, though, so in we went!  For those who remember my previous post, my birthday is on the 10th!  The doctor's schedule decided the schedule date for us.  It was the best option.  But, our little girl didn't want to wait that long, so she managed to get her own birthday anyway!

This baby weighed in at over 8 lbs.  That is big for me, as I am only 4'11''.  Her actual weight on the scale was 7 lbs., 9 oz.  But, all of the nurses kept commenting that she looked bigger than that.  When they weighed her the following morning, she weighed 7 lbs., 15 oz., so they knew the initial weight had been incorrect.  Babies lose weight the first day, not gain!  They realized after the fact that the particular scale in the OR was not working properly.  Other babies who were weighed on that scale had the same issue.  One baby was re-weighed when the nurses questioned the initial weight, and they discovered he weighed a full pound more than the scale had said. 

My other girls were 5 lbs, 3 oz., 7 lbs. 3 oz., and 7 lbs. 2 oz.  My son broke all records at 8 lbs., 14 oz.  He surprised us all.  No wonder he wasn't coming out the natural way!

I'm doing pretty well.  This was my 4th cesarean.  This is the best I've done after having one.  I normally come home and am sick for a week or so.  That didn't happen this time, for which I keep thanking God for.  I'm wondering if it was the pain medications.  Always before, I was on something strong afterward, like Darvocet, or Percocet.  This time they only gave me Tylenol 3 and Motrin.  I'm not sure what made the difference, but - I am so thankful for that.  It made my recovery so much better.

Now, we are just adjusting to having a baby in the house again.  The kids all love their new sister.  They sometimes 'hover' around her, and I have to ask them to give her some space!  They are a big help, though, and it is neat to see them so interested in their new sister.

I got some school days in last week and this week as well.  I'm finding we're not getting to everything, though.  And, the school day is extending much longer than it normally does - with needing to nurse, etc.  I'll have to find some new ways of working around school and baby. 

We didn't get school in yesterday, as my mother-in-law is coming tomorrow, and we worked on the house a bit.  Also, I had been up pretty early with the baby, and so was asleep on my feet most of the day!      That's o.k.  That's exactly why I got in those 14 school days BEFORE we had the baby!  For days like that! 

It will be an adjustment period, but we'll figure things out.  And, I'm sure as my energy returns, things will become a bit easier as well!   

We got back Sunday night from a week's stay in Florida with my Father in law and his wife.  The drive down and back went pretty well.  I checked out many books on CD from the library, and they kept us all entertained coming and going.  We got 'The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe' - as my husband had never read it.  I read the whole series to the kids last year and they love it.  We also got 'Homer Price', 'Caddie Woodlawn', and 'The Silver Chair'.  We had two Boxcar children books as well.  But, the first one we tried had a scratch on the CD, and we never made it to the second book.

 

The weather in Florida was wonderful.  It was in the mid '80's the whole time we were down there.  Where my in-laws live, they have had zero rain since February which is very unusual.  Lots of ponds, etc. were completely dried up.

 

We went swimming at a beach on the gulf side, which was nice.  The waves are very mild there - so the kids can get wet without getting knocked over!  The water was like bath-water.  So nice.  We had always gone down in March, and the water was colder, but this was very nice.

 

The highlight of the week for us was visiting Kennedy Space Center.  If you've not been there in a while, they have REALLY changed things there.  They've added so much, that, for me, it was like visiting a whole new place.  We got there when it opened and stayed until it closed at 6:00, and still didn't see it all.

 

They have a pavillion where astronauts come and talk for a while.  We got to hear astronaut Mark C. Lee talk.  He has flown on 4 space shuttle missions.  Two of my kids got to ask questions into a microphone during Q&A time.  He gave very interesting answers.  My 6yo ds asked what it felt like to launch.  I learned something from his answer.  He said the first two minutes were very bumpy due to the rocket boosters burning fuel in irregular bursts.  He said it feels very 'out of control'.  Then there are two minutes of peaceful, smooth flight once the boosters fall off.  Here's what I didn't know.  Once the shuttle reaches full 'height' - if you will- it actually dips back down toward earth for a bit until it reaches it's orbiting distance.  During that dip they feel the strong g-forces.  I thought that once they were up and the boosters were off, it was smooth sailing.  So that was interesting to hear.

 

My dd9 asked what it was like to sleep.  He talked on that for a bit, too.  He said, for himself, he didn't mind floating when he slept.  But, the one part of him that he couldn't stand floating freely was his feet.  So, he ended up always tucking his feet into a hole to sleep.  The rest of his body could float.  As long as his feet were anchored, he felt fine! 

 

After his talk, we got a picture of the whole family with him, and he shook all the kid's hands.  When we asked the kids later what their favorite part of vacation was, dd8 consistently said, 'shaking hands with the astronaut'.  Later in the day, he was in the gift shop, and autographed a picture of himself floating freely in space with a jet pack on.  He signed it to all 4 kids, and they were pretty excited.

 

On the standard bus tour, they now have a viewing gantry near the launch pads where you can take pretty good pictures.  They've also got a Saturn V rocket on it's side in another new building.  That was impressive to see.  They had some neat things, there, too.  Then, on the bus tour, they took you to a building where they are actually working on the components that will go up to the space station in the next shuttle flight.  There is an observation walkway with glass, so that you can actually watch the people working in their white bunny suits on the various station components. 

 

The kids enjoyed two 3-D Imax movies.  One was narrated by Tom Hanks and was about exploring the moon.  The other was narrated by Tom Cruise, and was all about the international space station.

 

On a lighter side, we were in a shop near cocoa beach buying a hat.  The clerk looked at us all and asked my husband and I - "So, you've got all the grandkids with you today?"  Aaaack!  My husband does have some gray these days, but...really.  I'm almost 6 months pregnant!  I guess I just looked like a grandma with a thick middle!  Ha!   

 

Well, more to come, later.  I'll fill you in on dd9's test results.

 

Have a great day.

I posted some time ago about a documentary we all watched a month or so ago titled "Failure is Not an Option".  They were fascinated, and ever since then, we have been on a 'history of space exploration' tangent.

 

I had put a bunch of library books on hold a day or so ago.  We went to pick them up today.  My kids didn't know what I had chosen.  Some great read-alouds for the Revolutionary War, and some books on the space race.  As soon as they saw the space books, they got very excited.  'The Mercury 7!!!"  "Apollo 13!!!!!"  "Oh, wow!  It's JOHN GLENN!!!"  The librarian gave an amused and surprised look at the kids.

 

We will be going to Florida in the next month to visit my in-laws.  With all the interest in space flight, we thought a detour over to the Kennedy Space Center might be well received!  Two of our kids are particularly excited about this and are telling everyone they see. 

 

We are making a notebook to highlight the important events, and the sequence in which they happened.  I found some great pages on the internet, and graphics, photos, etc.  I also found a Dover coloring book on the history of space exploration which will give a great base for the notebooks. 

 

Last night, they were immersed in a two-page spread (from the Dover book)showing all of the rockets - both Russian and U.S. side by side on a graph-like chart.  It was easy to compare size - some big differences there.  They also were talking about how much 'boost' each rocket had, etc.  I couldn't believe how much time they spent going over that chart.  Needless to say, it's going to go in the notebook!

 

Getting such a good grasp on things now should really help them get so much more out of the trip.  Now, how to enthuse the 4 and 8 year olds?  hmmmm  :-)  My 8 year old dd asked if she could draw flowers on the cover of her space notebook?  :-)  Whatever it takes to make it their own!!

 

Yesterday was the first time I've posted in quite a while.  I haven't even been popping in to look at www.homeschoolblogger.com/last100.php !    That's my favorite way to browse blogs and discover new ones.

 

We've been busy here with various things.  We are still looking for someone to do some learning disability testing for dd9.  I think we have a potential lead for someone who does this.  An extra blessing is that she is a wonderful Christian woman.  It reassures me that she would put our daughter at ease, and that she is truly interested in helping us figure out and understand any issues she would be able to pinpoint.  We're still waiting to connect with her. 

 

Also, dd8 has not grown sufficiently in the last 15 months.  This has been something we've been following for several years now.  The doctor feels we have reached a point where it is time to do some testing to check for growth hormone deficiency.  So now, we have this to figure out as well. 

 

Good news is that none of this dampens the spirits of either girl one little bit.  They have great attitudes about all of it.

 

 

We had a bit of excitement yesterday.  It's a good thing we got started on schoolwork bright and early, because we made an unexpected trip to the emergency room mid-morning.  We have a step down from the kitchen into the family room.  There is a metal strip along the edge of the step, tacking down the flooring.  My 4yo dd managed to fall and hit her head hard on that strip. 

I was down in the basement when it happened, printing off something from the computer.  I heard some scuffling upstairs, followed by my daughter's crying.  Mind you, the sound of a child crying is not an unusual occurence in our house, so I didn't immediately run upstairs.  It was not until dd10 called down, "She's bleeding all over the place!" that I realized this was something beyond the norm.

I ran up and started searching through her hair to find the source of the bleeding and saw a gash in her forehead that was deeper than I knew foreheads could go. 

The kids all raced to get socks and shoes on, and then help dd4 into socks and shoes as well.  She was still wearing her pink flannel nightgown - which we kept on her.  The kids did really well.  DD9 had grabbed paper towels and was holding them on dd4's head when I ran upstairs.  She did such a good job.

The nearest emergency room is only 4 minutes away, which is a comfort.  We got the gash stitched up and all of the kids were so good.  The doctor expected dd4 to cry when he did the cleaning and suturing, but she laid still and didn't move once.  And, although we were there for 2 hours, all of the kids behaved so well.  I was so proud of them all.

Whew!  That was the first time we'd ever had to make such a trip for one of our kids, so I guess that's doing pretty good.  Nevertheless, I hope we won't be repeating the process any time soon!

Today is one of THOSE days!      We have so much we need to work on, and yet I am sluggish and having a hard time just getting started.  I am pregnant, and so that can be a contributing factor.  But, we didn't get school done yesterday and really need to do so today. 

I think I'm going to have lunch, tidy up, and then dig in and START.  Sometimes, just starting is the hardest part.

When I hit this point with housework, I find the best thing I can do is to grab my timer, set it for 15 minutes and work on an area.  Taking a look around the kitchen on certain days can feel overwhelming.  It looks like an impossible job.  But, it is amazing what 15 minutes can do.  I start in one corner, and go from there.  Once I've begun, I usually feel better about having accomplished something, and want to continue. 

Once we've gotten some academic work under our belt for the day, I have a couple of areas in the house needing dire attention.  I'll get out the timer and just begin. 

Here's to overcoming those 'don't feel like it' feelings and 'just doing it'.  Anyone else having a day like this? 

I'll report on how I did with these goals in my next entry!  That ought to motivate me!

Today's entry is about all of the little odds and ends that bump around in my mind during the course of a regular day at home.  That never-resolved mental list of things that need to be remembered and taken care of.  Homeschooling involves much more than schoolwork.  In the background are all of the activities involved in keeping a home.  Those activities play as much of a role in the day of a homeschooler as English and math.

I find myself walking through the upstairs hallway to drop something off in a child's room.  As I pass by, the open door of the kids' bathroom reminds me I really need to spend some time cleaning that toilet and sink!  Today, if possible!  And a ten minute search for a missing notebook reminds me we really need to take the time to re-organize and get books in order once again.  The empty refrigerator reminds me we need to get to the store.  And yet, with all that, I also want to make sure we fit our read-aloud in.  Each child has something special they need focused work on, and - oh, dear, we haven't done our Character Building book in quite a while!

Today is one of those days when I am seeing multiple things that need to be done.  Yes, the bathroom really does need cleaned, and we really do need to go to the store, and we could really benefit from some more time spent on certain school subjects.

I think I might try to write that mental list of unresolved to-do's down on paper.  Then, I can see what needs to be done, and work off the items one a time.   Then, I'll set that fifteen minute timer - Flylady style - and do a little bit at a time.  Her routines are helpful, too.  I want to get back into using them regularly.  It really helps to cut down on the CHAOS.  If you aren't familiar with her, check out her website on my list of links at the left.

In the end, it's a matter of balance.  Something we all have to live with as we strive to train our children well and keep things running smoothly in the home we share.

There are so many times in homeschooling, when lesson opportunities spring up before us - unplanned, unexpected gems that grow up before us - ripe for the picking.  I love it when I can fill in a designated square in our lesson book with something that I didn't plan, but that lit the learning fires in my children.

Saturday night, after a long day, my husband sat down and turned on the television.  He landed on a History Channel program that was just starting.  It was about the history of the U.S. Space Program. Well, it wasn't on for more than a couple of minutes, when we had a group of little people assembled in front of the television, learning of our race with Russia to be the first nation to master space flight.

Now, it isn't often that these unexpected learning opportunites occur in the form of a television program, I'll give you that.  But, this was one of those times for us.  We learned about the challenges that were faced in figuring out how to accomplish each new phase of space program development.  Challenges such as how to build a rocket that worked, how to orbit the earth, how to rendezvous in space, how to calculate the complex math needed to plan a trajectory that would put a craft into lunar orbit. 

For ds6, the highlight was seeing actual footage of a Saturn V rocket lifting off.  He had gotten a toy Saturn V for Christmas, and was thrilled to see the real thing in action.  He enjoys anything about space exploration, so it wasn't a big surprise that he was interested in the program.  But, the rest of the family also found ourselves fascinated to learn about all that went on behind the scenes.

The program lasted two hours, and we allowed the kids to stay up late to finish watching.  If you want to catch the program for yourself, it will be airing again on Tuesday afternoon - on the History Channel.  The program is titled "Failure is Not an Option".  It will be followed by a sequel, titled "Beyond the Moon: Failure is Not an Option 2.  This tracks the program from the end of the Apollo missions, to skylab through the space shuttle program - including the Challenger and Columbia disasters.

Check it out!