I turn 40 this month.  Hard to believe...I'm NOT THAT OLD!  And yet, this is so much easier for me than turning 30 was, ten years ago.  (Wow, has it REALLY been that long?!?!)

I've been on anti-depressants/anti-anxiety meds for about the last 2 years, and ran out about 2 weeks ago.  My NP had been out on maternity leave, and the new doctor they hired immediately wanted to start taking me off the meds.  I quit going.  When I ran out, I ran out.  Well, I finally decided to call and see if my NP was back, and Hallelujah, she IS!  My kids keep telling me that I NEED my nice pills.  I hate the way I am without them, and I try to keep myself under control, but I feel like a pressure  cooker, always about to blow.  Not a fun feeling!

On the up side, I am getting my lavender corn snake for my birthday, PROVIDED there is a hatchling available.  I've already decided, if it's a girl, her name will be Lily, and for a boy, Prince Caspian.  I plan to decorate the aquarium with castles, etc.  Mosaic's cage is still a natural appearing one, and will continue to stay that way.  I want to get a "waterfall" for his cage, too.  It would look really cute!  Cino's is going to become an island paradise.  I found a neat Tiki hut decoration, and want to get that, along with some other island/deserted area decorations.

One of E's hamsters met an untimely demise yesterday morning.  It was horrible.  Poor thing got out of the cage during the night.  She had a beautiful funeral ceremony, complete with a very heartfelt prayer that E would be comforted in her loss.  E has even added a silk flower to the grave, as a marker, and we will be getting a small grave marker/tombstome in the near future.  That was one well-loved little critter!  And, we have our own regular little pet cemetary going back there!  Kitten, crabs, fish, hamster, the list continues to grow. :(  I hate it, as E and I, especially, grow very attached to our critters.  And yet, as hard as it is, I'm hoping that it will teach her to deal with grief, so that when the time comes and she loses a person close to her, it won't be as devastating as never having lost anything she loved before.  (Not that I'm comparing loss of animal life to loss of human life!  It's just that there is a natural grieving process, and I'd rather she experience a bit of it before losing a close family member.)

Well, it has definitely been a while since I've updated my blog!  And, no, we do NOT have king snakes & milksnakes...YET!

We still have Mosaic, Emily's corn snake.  About 3 months ago, I guess it was, I brought home a ghost corn snake.  His name is Casper-cino, usually called Cino, as in Casper (the friendly ghost) and Cappucino (since I work at Dunkin Donuts now).  I think we're going to add a lavendar corn snake to our collection in the not-too-distant future.

On other fronts, little Hermie died.  Yes, really died.  It was pretty sad; now our only hermit crab is King Crab Kong, aka just Kong.

OH!  The cats!  On April 11, our outside kitty, Rachel, gave birth to 5 little ones just behind our house.  Two weeks later, she was relocating them when E and hubby found one of them and brought her inside.  After that, Rachel wouldn't take her back, so we brought little Cleo in, started bottle feeding her, and made her one of our inside pets.  Oreo, the only other female, met an untimely death; we're not quite sure exactly what happened to her.

E and a friend found Muffin, at 8 weeks, with fishing line wrapped tightly around his back leg and a metal shelf.  I cut the line from the shelf and rushed him to the vet.  His poor little foot was swollen 2-3 times the normal size.  I was so afraid he would lose his foot!  The vets at Banfield cut the line from his foot and gave him back to me with instructions to use hot compresses on his foot.  Fast forward to today...Our little Muffin-man is the snuggliest little guy!  And, yes, we have him inside, too.

Little Chocolate climbed up under my car one Sunday morning, fell out on the road unbeknownst to us, and apparently was run over while trying to find his way back to his Mama.  A few weeks later, at 3 months, hubby said he wished we had Mittens, the last kitten, inside so we could keep him safe.  So, we now have Hazel & Honey, our two shelter cats, the three kittens, and sometimes the kittens' older brothers Midnight & Mr. Mistofolees (from Rachel's first litter) inside.  This, of course, in addition to the 2 dogs, the snakes, the hermit crab, the hamster Katara, and the betta fish Nick (after Nick Jonas).  All this in a 900 sq foot home.  Yup, it's pretty cozy!

We took 2 trips this summer, which is really unusual for us.  We had a family reunion in Jefferson, Texas, in June.  All 7 of us kids were there.  Yup, I come from a rather large family!  It was nice to see everyone, and this time hubby went with me, so the family got to know him a little bit better.  Plus, we celebrated Pop-pop's 80th birthday.  (My dad passed away in 1995, and Mom remarried in 1996.  At first, I had an extremely difficult time with them calling him "Grandpa" to my daughter.  My DAD was Grandpa, NOT DENZIL!  Well, when K started talking, she called him "Pop-pop," and it has stuck to the point that we aren't the only ones who call him that!  And, he's an incredible man, and we love him and are very glad that he & Mom got together.)

K went home with "Grandma & Pop-pop" and stayed for 10 days.  She had a great time, but a week after she came home, we packed up and the girls & I went to Phoenix to see my sister, and for the girls to go to camp.  My sister & her hubby are co-directors of the Florida College summer camp in Arizona, so I had a few days all to myself, "house-sitting" for her.  (There are some GREAT reptile stores in the Phoenix area.  Bead stores, too!)  E had some difficulty with being away from Mommy & Daddy both for so long, but she survived, and is already making plans to go next year and seeing her friends again.

We're planning to start up schooling on Monday.  K will be doing Florida Virtual School for math.  We'll try it out, and see how it goes.  I went to Walmart tonight and got a few school supplies.  I have to ask...is it just me, or is "back to school" shopping nearly as much fun as Christmas? Something about $.20 gluestick packages and $.05 notebooks gets my adrenaline going! lol  Twenty notebooks for a DOLLAR!  Ok, maybe I'm just weird.  But, hey, it's my own personal brand of weird, and I'm ok with that! 

Christmas Eve morning, my ex showed up, with a cop, and took my daughter for a week.  I was terrified and panicking the whole week, but God kept her safe, and she's back home now.

We did have a nice Christmas, despite the fact that Grandma Douglas (my mil) fell and ended up spending half the day in the hospital, instead of at our house.  Praise God, nothing was broken.

On Friday after Christmas, Mosaic shed his skin in one perfect piece.  E and I examined it in great detail, and saw where his eyes and everything were.  Sadly, the next morning, Mosaic escaped his cage.  By Monday, we still hadn't found him, and since we'd had THREE Petco hermit crabs that died shortly after purchase, I took in one receipt and the lastest dead crab, Star.  I talked to the manager, who offered to refund for all 3 crabs.  One was a "plain" crab, only $2.99, and the other 2 were "fancies," which cost $6.99 each.  He refunded all 3 at $6.99.

I considered that money as money already spent, and put another $20 with it and surprised E with another corn snake.  Mosaic was brown and gold, but I didn't see any like that.  I only saw some that were candy-cane style, and gray and black.  The black & gray fascinated me, as the belly looked like piano keys!  However, this little tiny pink candy cane snake, with PINK EYES kept following me back and forth around the cage.  She stayed with me, back and forth, trying so hard to get my attention.  So, when someone came to get the snake out of the cage for me, even though I'd said all along I did NOT want one with pink eyes...yeah, well, NEVER SAY NEVER!  Little Ms. Bindi Sue (named after the famed Ms. Irwin) was a big surprise for E, and is SUCH a sweet, tame little thing!  It's hard to not fall in love with her!

We still were keeping our eyes open for Mosaic, and last night, I suspected one of our dogs had pottied in the house.  I sent K to check, and she yelled for me to come right away!  Both cats were in there, with a curled up SNAKE in between them!  Mosaic is home!  He's so much bigger than Bindi Sue, we've had to put him in a different cage, just to be on the safe side.  Now, to go find another TIGHT FITTING cover to put on the empty aquarium, which is about to become yet another herpitat!

PS.  YES, Mosaic was VERY hungry when we found him!

I went in to check on our 1 remaining crab.  I saw what I consider to be Crabbie's shell, laying on the floor of the crabitat.  I look around, and there's Hermie, back in his signature green & pink swirled shell.  Now we're wondering if he did it on purpose...offed his "buddy," so he could have all the attention!

Mosaic has learned to play peek-a-boo.  He'll lay in his cave, and just stick his head out between the cave and a piece of driftwood.  When he sees one of us looking at him, he pops back into his cave.  Ah, the joy that God's creatures can bring to us!

And the turmoil...my dogs got out last night at a friend's house.  Fortunately, my friend's husband was able to find them and bring them back.  Whew!  I was dreading telling hubby our doggies were missing!

I still have to get my baking done...chocolate chip cookies & brownies, and that's going to be my limit, it appears.  I still have a lot of gifts to wrap, AND the girls' dresses to make!!!

So, time to get off the computer and start helping "Santa" by wrapping gifts.

Ok, yeah, I'm into the Wizard of Oz.

Update on Scooby...Still no movement.  Presumed dead.

Crabbie...I checked on him a few days ago, and he was MOLTING!  Yes, I recognized the signs...He was MOLTING NOT DEAD, so I left him alone.  Checked on him a day or so later, and he was safely in his shell; exoskeleton nearby.  On Friday, I checked on the crabs, and there was Crabbie (or so I thought) in Hermie's usual hiding place!  But then I checked Crabbie's normal hiding spot, and there was a NEKKID CRAB in there!  Yup!  Crabbie smiled up at me, with no shell on!  Hermie stole Crabbie's shell!  We put several different shells around Crabbie, to give him several options.  I never dreamed that his mobile home would be re-posessed, but apparently it was.  Sadly, either he couldn't find another home that was suitable, or else he couldn't afford the payments on a new one.  He enjoyed a few showers, but then, sadly, last night, we discovered him, still shell-less, and not moving at all.  I moved him to an isolation area, and in doing so, discovered Tugger...

Who smelled like dead fish.  We're not sure WHAT has happened to the 3 crabs.  Crabbie may have been a bit old, as the previous owners had him for 2 years, and who knows how old he was when they got him...Still, it was sad.  We'll have a massive funeral for the 3 tomorrow, and I'm going to sanitize the entire crabitat, and pray that Hermie doesn't catch whatever it was that killed the others.  Once I'm sure he's ok, we'll get some more crabbies to put in with him, so he doesn't get too lonely.

As for Mosaic, he's been hiding in a log for about 3 days now.  After his first meal, he knew what to do with a baby pinky!  I put him in with it, turned around, and when I turned back, the mouse was nearly GONE!!!  Then, I made him mad by startling him awake the day after he ate, so he went into his log and refuses to come out. I think I can coax him out later tonight, though, with a nice, thawed little pinky mouse.

E's using a Scholastic's program, and is actually now waking me up in the morning, BEGGING to do schoolwork!  YIPPEE!  She's FINALLY really serious about reading!

K is still stressing over the situation with her father, but he's backed off, so hopefully we don't have to deal with that again for a while.

Our internet is down, so I'm at a friend's house, blogging.  Gonna sign off for now!  More later in the continuing saga of the Douglas Family Household Pets. :)

Tonight I made a trip to the pet store and bought some frozen pinkies.  I thawed one, and then we put Mosaic in the small Kritter Karrier with it.  Poor snake...he wandered around and around, until I finally pushed the  mouse over to him.  YUM!  He immediately started the feeding process, and made short work of the mouse.  Now he has a nice full tummy, is back in his little regular carrier, and should sleep well tonight!

I dug little Tugger out of his hiding hole in the crabitat tonight, to check on him and show him the gorgeous new shells I got for him!  They came from an ebay store "A Hermit Crab Shack."  Some are too tiny, even for him, but they are beautiful!  Pale blue and white, and I'm pretty sure they are all natural colors.  Between those, and my friend Julia buying us a huge bag of hermit crab shells for $3 (normally $3 EACH at a pet store!), our crabbies are pretty set for vacation homes and new homes. 

We've given up on poor little Scooby.  I'm hoping to find another little crab to keep Tugger company, but I'm not quite sure when.  Was turned down for the unemployment, so I'm having to appeal that.  If/when I get that money, life will be a wee bit easier for us, for sure!

We went this afternoon, and E picked out Mosaic.  He's not quite as tame as the pet store corn snakes, but he's settling down some already.  I guess he's figured it out..."Thessssse PEOPLE just will NOT leave me alone!!!!  I may asssssss well let them hold me...at leasssssssssst for now, til I can get away.  And YIKESSSSSSSSS!  What are thessssssssssssssssse huge furry creaturesssssssssss coming to check me out?  Maybe I'm sssssssssssssafe in thesssssssssse handsssssss after all!!!!!

I asked dh tonight just how many crabs are TOO many crabs, and he said he didn't care how many crabs we have.  WOOHOO!  So, he has NOW been introduced to Tugger, and told the sad tale of Scooby.

K has started her own blog.  Should be interesting to see her viewpoint on some of the same things I write about.  (She is SO not into snakes! lol)

Ever have one of those days when you just wish you could go to a spa and have someone pamper you all day long?  Drink ice cold fruity drinks, and have massages, and manicure and pedicure, facial, hair done...Today is one of those days.  The dryer's not working right, and it's literally taking all day for a load of clothes to dry.  I'm hoping that dh's ONE PAIR OF SOCKS that is in there tonight will be dry before he has to go to work tomorrow!  I'm stressing over a situation with my ex-husband and custody and visitation issues, which I won't go into here.  I'm stressing over the money to pay to fight the battle with him, as attorneys and court fees aren't cheap.  I'm stressing because my family seems to be making so many demands on me, and yet not giving back to me.

I know that sounds incredibly selfish in some ways.  All I'm really wanting is some kind words, a hug, an "I'll do that for you...You sit down and rest."  A simple back rub, without having to beg for it and then, if I'm lucky enough to get it, it lasts a whole 2 minutes.

I think I'll go to bed and pretend I'm on a massage table, getting the relaxation massage of a lifetime.  Perhaps that will relax me enough to get to sleep.  And, hopefully, dh won't be yelling TOO loudly in the morning when he can't find his socks!

Speaking of men's socks...Is there a sock monster that goes around to houses on at least a weekly basis, devouring one of each pair of socks in the household?  I believe there must be.  I can buy him 20 pairs of socks, and in 3 weeks, I have a hard time finding a matching pair.  I've decided that for Christmas, I'm going to get him a stocking, and fill it FULL of socks.  Then at least we can make it into January before I have to stay up half the night trying to make SURE he has a matching pair again.

Sorry for the pity party.  Going to try to get some sleep while I can.  My eyes are closing as I type...Tomorrow is another day. 

Well, our homeschooling adventure this year certainly seems to be zoology related, even when we aren't hitting the zoology books!

Poor little Scooby just didn't make it.  We left him in his crabitat for at least a week, just in case he was molting or destressing, but when a couple of little white maggot-type worms came out of him, I figured that was the end of it.  However, still being careful to avoid another Hermie incident, I put him outside in some sand, covered by a soda bottle with the bottom cut out, so that if by some chance he is still alive, we can monitor him for movements.

My dear friend(?!?!?!) Julia made a phone call yesterday to a wholesale reptile dealer in the area.  She explained about us having a 7 year old who dreamed of being Bindi Irwin, and the owner of the company has agreed to sell us a corn snake at HIS rate, rather than pet store rate.  So, the corn snake we had been looking at was on sale for $29.99, and we can get one through this other place for $17.50.  I already have the little temporary Kritter Karrier just about set up for him, and I understand that Santa may be delivering and setting up a stand and other stuff to set up Mosaic's permanent home.  (No, we don't have the snake YET, but either when I get paid this week, or after dh gets paid on Friday, we plan to pick out and pick up "Bindi Sue's" early Christmas gift.  Actually, if time permits, the girls and I will take a trip over and see what's currently available.

So, if nothing else, the girls are learning about reptiles and crustaceans, and tight budgets and smart shopping!

Have you ever seen a baby corn snake up close?  Or let it crawl all over your hand and arm?  Maybe into the armhole of your shirt?  Or down the back of your shirt?  Let it curl its tail around your finger?  Well, I did today.  Afterwards, we went to a local park, where dh was SURE he could catch us a corn snake for free.  He had in mind a BIG corn snake, and I said, Uh, NO.  BABY corn snake!  Well, no luck at the park, and the guy at the pet store recommended we have a place set up before we bring a snake home.

Well, I realized that we still have reptile bark, and we have a tunnel the crabs aren't using, and we have a little Kritter Keeper that would suffice until we can get the 10 gallon aquarium set up with a stand and cover.  Especially since the snake we were looking at is pretty tiny.

Now it's just a matter of time until either we get some extra money to buy it, or hubby catches one in the while.  (I'm leaning towards the pet store one!  Tank raised, it won't be so inclined to try to get away, hopefully!)

I'm tempted to find an email address for Bindi and tell her THANKS A LOT! 

Darling daughter E has still been asking for a snake.  We've looked at pet stores.  She's given up on the idea of a spider.  The tarantulas are just TOOO creepy.  Mama says NOOOOOOOOO SPIDERS!

Mama USED to say NO SPIDERS NO SNAKES.  Then it was NO SPIDERS NO SNAKES NO SKINKS.

Now it's Mama going, even ALONE, to the petstores and looking at things like albino kingsnakes, corn snakes, bearded dragons.  Tonight, it was Mama taking E to the petstore and asking if they could show us the corn snakes.  Then, it was Mama letting the corn snake crawl all over her left arm.  Hmmm...felt soft, and kind of tickly.  Next, Mama was holding the king snake, which crawled up her left arm and around the back of her neck.  There was no screaming.  No freaking out.  We went home, and told Daddy what we had done, and he told E, "Ok, you can have a snake."  Not sure if he was in his right mind at the time.  Personally, I have my doubts.  (This is the same Daddy who knows about Hermie & Crabbie, but has no clue about Tugger & Scooby...)

K is wanting a fish.  Pet store set-ups are kind of expensive, so we went to Walmart and looked at their starter aquariums.  Tonight, after E got her fill of lizards, crabs, and snakes, we looked at fish.  I think we're going beyond cheapie goldfish, and considering some neon tetras or something similar.  No saltwater fish.  (I can hear you all now saying, "YEAH RIGHT SURE!"  But until I learn more about caring for saltwater fish, I'm holding off on them.  I'm not sure I could keep a goldfish alive!  I mean, how do you tell if it's alive, or just doing tricks, like playing dead????  Kind of like CRABS, ya know?!?!?!)

Well, until I have more $$$ coming in, new pets are pretty much on hold for now, anyway.  But that crab with his shell painted to look like a football would surely win over Daddy's heart...

Well, Hermie is still doing well.  We have him in isolation for a few more days, to be on the safe side.  I saw him moving his legs outside of his shell today.  It's almost like he's moving around a bit everyday, just to let me know that he's still alive in there!

Last Saturday, when E & I were looking for new shells at the pet store, we found and fell madly in love with a baby hermit crab.  Now, this was before the rumors of Hermie's untimely demise.  But little Tugger just had to come home with us.  He HAD to!  He was just too cute to leave there!  We knew that he was just too small to put in with Hermie & Crabbie.  Wouldn't want a dead crab now, would we???? So, we put him in a little "critter carrier," complete with his water, food, etc.  We decided on the name Tugger, because "The Rum Tum Tugger is a curious crab!"  Ok, the original says cat, but crab works! Besides he was tugging tugging tugging on my heart strings.

With the research I have done on crabs, it seems that they do better with a playmate.  Again, Tugger is just too small to put in with Hermie or Crabbie.  He's TEENY TINY.

Yesterday, we went to a pet store to see if I could find a divider for the aquarium Crabbie is in, so I could regulate the humidity and temperature for Hermie.  They didn't have a divider the right size, but they DID have, um, another little baby hermit crab, just about the same size as Tugger, and with a shell almost identical.  His name is Scooby.  He's a curious, active little crab.  Hubby hasn't seen Scooby yet.  Or Tugger.  We're trying to find the best way to break it to him.  I've started by mentioning that I can see me with a huge tank, filled with little hermit crabs crawling all over it.  He hasn't vetoed that idea.

I mean, it's not like I'm sneaking in a big animal, say like a cat.  Like a beautiful orange tiger-striped kitty from the animal shelter.   He did tell us we could get E a cat.  She picked the black smoke with hazel eyes.  But the honey colored one in the left-hand corner was calling to me.  Tugging on my heart strings.  (Man, I've just GOT to get those heart strings tied up!!!  They keep getting tugged on!)  And I did point her out to him when he went to meet Hazel.  I just didn't mention that when I was going to pick up Hazel, I was going to bring Honey home, too.  It's a good thing hubby likes cats!  This was back in March/April.

Ok.  I have to admit it.  I'm an animal lover.  If we had the room and money, we would have animals galore.  A pig.  A skunk.  A cheetah.  I draw the line at snakes, skinks, and spiders.  And yet, that ball python did look kind of cute getting a drink of water yesterday.  NO!  NO!  NO SNAKES!  Oh, if only E could meet Bindi Irwin.  I think those two would get along SO well.  And then E could play with BINDI's snakes, and maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't think she needed one of her own!!!

A few months ago, a fellow homeschooling mom gave us 2 crabs.  They were named Crabbie & Pattie, after the Spongebob treat.  Well, Crabbie was fine, but considering that MY name is Pattie, um, I don't THINK so!  Pattie quickly was dubbed "Hermie."

Fast forward to Monday night.  E goes in to check on the crabs, and comes out telling me, "Mommy!  I think Hermie is MOLTING!"  I go in to see.  Hermie is in the same place he has been in for a couple of days now.  Hmm...I reach in to move him, and his body seems to just fall out of his shell!  UGH!  Amid shrieks and wails of sorrow, the decision is made to bury him on Tuesday.  To keep him safe from the cats, I have K empty out a Kleenex box.  I place a few Kleenex back in the box, gently lay him in, and cover him with some more Kleenex.  We place the box in E's room for safety overnight.  I notice that I can't see Hermie's eyes, and it looks like part of his body is missing.  Is it possible that Crabbie killed his roommate?

Tuesday arrives.  E & I pick out the spot for Hermie's final resting place.  I put duct tape over the top of the Kleenex box, to keep the body safe from predators, and we dig the hole about 2 feet deep.  K wrote his name on a concrete block that was already there, and E drew a picture of him, to be painted later.  We buried him, and the girls placed rocks around the grave.  We went to Target and bought a flower to plant by the headstone.

Earlier today, E comes in while I'm showering.  She starts crying that she hadn't held Hermie since he pinched her a few weeks ago.  I assure her that he knew she loved him, and we talked about some of the good times they had, such as when he would crawl into her Polly Pocket pet shop, and act like he belonged there.  She leaves the room, feeling better.

We were wondering how big crabs can get, so I start looking online to see if I can find out.  I start chatting online with an old friend who has had hermit crabs in the past.  Then I start to research crabs and molting.  Between what I'm reading and what she's telling me, we get nervous.  Did we bury him alive????

I mention to hubby that I may have made a tragic mistake.  Next thing you know, the whole family is outside, in the dark.  I'm digging up the hole.  E is kneeling down, checking for the box every few seconds.  She feels the box!  Hubby reaches down and finishes digging out the box with his hands.

We start inside.  The girls say, "Mommy, be careful!  There are holes out here!"  Um, yep.  Just found one!  My right foot, which is attached to my right knee, goes into a big hole, and I hit the ground.  URGH!  That was already my bad knee!  But, Hermie is the important thing right now.

We come in the house, and we start looking for scissors.  TYPICAL!  We can NEVER find that pen/pencil/paper/scissors when we need it!  I settle for a sharp knife.  I start cutting the tape, very carefully.  We peer inside.  YUCK!  That looks like Hermie's body...outside the shell!  But, wait....it only looks like a SHELL of Hermie.  Hmm....This does NOT look like what I put IN the box.

I pick up the shell and look inside.  Um, why am I seeing what looks like a normal, regular Hermie inside the shell???  I hold him carefully, gently, hoping to warm him up enough that he'll come out of the shell.  That is, if he's alive after being buried for over 48 hours.  Still not sure...

We fix up a box with reptile bark, salt water, fresh water, food, part of the exoskeleton, and set it in a safe place to wait and see.  Under my friend's advice, I go to pick him up to breathe on him, to see if he will react.   Um, hmm....Uh, I don't think that's the position I put him in!  I move the cave to reach him better.  HEY!  He's moving his legs!  HERMIE IS ALIVE!!!!!!!

Shouts of joy fill the house!  HERMIE IS ALIVE!  What a wonderful God we serve, who makes such incredible creatures!

And now I have learned...when a hermit crab looks dead...DON'T BURY HIM YET!  He just might still be alive!!!!

Well, K made it back safely from Arizona.   However, I think my sister spoiled her a bit.  She didn't have to do much work out there, and when she came home, she's not quite gotten back in the mode of helping with the housework just yet.  Methinks she will get there quickly if she be wise. 

I may have mentioned this before.  We've been using A Beka for science & history, but I'm starting to steer towards Apologia for science.  I've seen some of the Live N Learn Press samples that go along with the series, and I think I'm just about hooked!  And, I can use the elementary books for both girls at the same time.  If anyone reads this and has any pros/cons on Apologia and/or A Beka, I'd really love to hear them!

Our homeschool groups are having Christmas in July at my house.  I'm going to have to sell my old car, so I can get it out of the carport and get my tree out of the attic.  Yes, my Christmas tree!  I'm going to decorate for the holidays, and we're going to have a gift exchange and everything.  It should be fun!

My 11 year old has been gone for nearly 2 weeks now.  She'll be home on Tuesday!  She flew along with another 11 year old all the way from Tampa to Phoenix to visit my sister and to attend FC summer camp.  I haven't talked to her since camp was over yesterday, but I know she's had a great time!  It's her third year to go out there.

My 7 year old received a cordless headset last night, so I haven't heard a peep out of the tv!  It's great, in some ways, because now she can watch TV while I work, and I don't have to tell her to turn the volume down.  To her, it's a fascinating new toy.

I've started a new job, which I really don't care for too much.  It's called "Special Data Processing," but we don't really process data.  The company sends out sweepstakes notices, and when people call in to enter, we try to get them to buy magazines.  I can sell when it's something I believe in, something I like, to people who want/need the service/merchandise.  I had great sales in Avon.  I did well in insurance customer service/sales.  BUT selling poor, old people magazines subscriptions that they have to pay for with their credit cards...When they don't like giving out their credit card numbers...NOT PLEASANT!  And it's high-pressure, too.  The good points about it are, I get to work from home, and we now have health insurance, even though hubby says the benefits are lousy.  At least the prescription savings are great!  He is on several meds, and they're now only $10 each, instead of anywhere from $10-$50, and one of mine is normally about $80 a month, but now is $10.  SOOO, I'm gonna stick with this for a while longer.  At least it's income, and I can work in my pjs!  

As for schooling, we haven't been doing a lot of that recently.  Of course, with K in AZ, it's kind of hard!  E has been doing Click-N-Read online, and is now starting to sound out and spell out words.  I'm thinking that before, she just wasn't quite ready.  Sure, she could have learned it had we pushed the issue, but this way, she really wants to learn and is doing a good bit of it on her own.  She was so proud of herself the first time she read a little beginning reader!

We've adopted 2 cats from the shelter.  This was done back in March.  Krystal & Rachel, two of our wild outside kitties, have had kittens, which brings our total, including Spooky (who hasn't been seen in 2 months) to a grand whopping 11 cats in our family!  No wonder the poor dogs feel so left out!

I've always heard that the third time is the charm.  So, for the third time, I've signed up with Usborne books as an independent consultant.  This time, I've actually started contacting folks about having book parties!  I WILL be successful this time.  I WILL I WILL I WILL!!!!  I want to be SO successful at it that I can quit this phone job that's driving me batty!

The "double folder" I mentioned in my last post is a lapbook.  I've always just added flaps to the top and bottom of the middle of the folder. This time, I put 2 whole folders together.  They are folded "shutter-style," and I glued the backs of 2 shutters together.  Yeah, it probably doesn't make much sense. (It didn't to me, either, til I actually made one!)  But it comes out really cool!

We finally made it to the theater to see Charlotte's Web today.  Dh had promised the girls he was going to take them to see Eragon, but neither of them was interested.  Because dd age 6 has been really sick the last couple of days, he told her today that he'd take her to see Charlotte's Web.  Considering I just read the book to her, and we're nearly halfway through reading it the second time, I think the movie was a good choice!  And, we all loved it!  It stuck fairly close to the book (surprise, surprise).  And of course the little piggy was adorable!

The only thing I just can't understand is, when a little pig in a movie is supposed to be a MALE, WHY do they keep using an obvious FEMALE for the role?  Has anyone noticed this besides me?  Little "Wilbur" was DEFINITELY a "Wilburina" in at least one of the shots, and Babe was definitely a girl in one of the shots in that movie, as well!

Last night I sat at the table and cut out all the little mini-books & graphics.  This is the first time I've ever made a double folder.  As I was putting it all together, my dd (the one who did not want to work on the lapbook) came in and started looking at it, oohing and ahing, and reading it!  She thought it was REALLY cool!

I've been working on Charlotte & Wilbur today.  I've decided I'm going to start making all the lapbooks I'm having her make.  I'll just print everything twice...full size for her and 1/2 size for me (www.fineprint.com).  I'll make mine up fairly quickly, and then she'll have a real sample to look at while she's working on hers.  (Plus, it's lots of fun for mom, who loves to be hands on!)  My Charlotte & Wilbur one is nearly finished, and it's great!  I'm going to use a red file folder, and design the outside to look like the shape of a barn.  I'll try to post pics as soon as I can.  (We have a digital camera at work, so I'll have to bring my stuff up here to take photos.)  I'll post dd's lapbook, as well, when it's done.

WOW!!!  This project pack is AWESOME!  I never dreamed I'd ever learn so much about the ancient gods & heroes, especially in such a short time!  My 10 year old dd had recently finished up a lapbook on Mesopotamia, and just really wasn't interested too much in going back and doing more on the same general subject, so I did it myself.  It was loads of FUN.  I'm not quite done (I still have 2 or 3 more activities to do/finish) but I had a blast doing it.  There is so much information in such a concise format.  The ladies at Hands of a Child really are awesome at what they do.  I would highly recommend their products to anyone who is looking to do a lapbook and who doesn't want to do all the research, planning, and work themselves.  (Hey, I love doing the research, planning, and work, but I still LOVE their products, too!)

We are using A Beka history & science books this year (fifth grade), and the Hands of a Child project packs fit in great with what we have planned.  In fact, when I was planning out this year's work, I found a project pack for each and every chapter of the books!

Ok.  The doctor's office didn't take long enough for me to complete the lapbook, which has about 20 different activities.  However, just the few that I was able to complete were actually a lot of fun!

Yes, I'm doing this lapbook myself.  My dd did the one on Ancient Mesopotamia a few weeks ago, and really didn't want to do this one herself now.  So, since I've been wanting to do one anyway.....  Then she can put it with hers, and use it as a review later on!

I'm hoping to work on mine some tonight.  Maybe I can even get her to join me at the table and work on her mammal one for a while.  (This, provided we are awake enough after church, of course!)  If not, then tomorrow...But at least I'm starting the lapbook & review!!!