Last Wednesday morning, we woke up bright and early, fought the Baltimore rush-hour traffic, and arrived on time (barely) to register Zachary as an Outpatient at the University of Maryland Hospital. We took him up to his doctor's office and then back behind her office they have a hospital room set up just for testing.

Zachary was the only patient being tested. We watched Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone during his test. After she inserted the tube thingy through a needle, she started taking blood samples every 15 minutes, injecting insulin at first and an amino acid for the 2nd hour. Zachary did okay for the insulin. After she gave him a sugary snack to raise his blood sugar he got really hot (which is normal). He wanted to pull his clothes off. She came back in and laughed. This was the first time she ever had somebody remove their clothing. He did have a blanket to put over his underwear.

We found out there are two types of growth hormone in our body. The type that goes through the liver before going to the bones IS low in Zachary. They have to find out if the pituitary isn't secreting it or if something in the liver is stopping it.

When it was over, Zachary ate a huge slice of cheese pizza in the hospital food court.

Zachary had a hard week. We also realized his vision isn't what it should be so we took him to the Walmart Optical and sure enough, he's near-sighted. His glasses should come in some time this week. He's not very happy about having to wear glasses. He thinks he'll look like a nerd. Steve and I helped him pick out a nice-looking pair. Ashton wanted him to get "Chris Sligh" looking glasses. We strongly discouraged this.

(I asked Ashton why he puts his thumb up in all of his pictures. He thinks it's funny to do that and to have what he calls "beaver teeth." Yes, the kid is a nut!!)

Since we are doing a Narnia study, we get to make some Narnian recipes. Our first one to make was Turkish Delight. So, being the good homeschooling mom I am, I first read the recipe to make sure we had the needed ingredients. I decide to skip the orange or mint flavoring since it said "optional" and to skip the crushed nuts.

The first thing the boys noticed after we had started cooking is that you CAN add orange or mint flavoring. They also wanted to know where the nuts were. I explained that it said "optional" for the flavoring and that nuts are always optional. They had a different opinion (especially since the word "optional" was not by the nuts) and I made a quick trip to the local grocery store.

I had no idea it takes this stuff so long to gel and then so long to harden. We let it set overnight in a pan to gel. Today we cut it up and rolled it in sugar. The recipe said to place it on a wire rack to dry. Did they try this recipe first? It eventually FALLS through the wire rack.

Supposedly, by noon tomorrow it should be hard and ready to eat. We started Friday afternoon.

We went ahead and tried it even though it isn't hard yet. Guess what it tastes like? It tastes like minty/citrusy Jello with crushed peanuts in it. Zachary was thoroughly disgusted. Ashton thought it was okay. Steve and I thought it was "interesting" but we do not know why Edmund (in the book) liked it so much. I think I would have asked for chocolate.

Zachary had his Pediatric Cardiologist appointment today since he had a borderline irregular EKG. The first thing they did was take another EKG. After listening to Zachary's heart, feeling his pulse, and reading the EKG the doctor concluded that there is absolutely nothing to worry about. That is a relief. He also looked surprised that his Endocrinologist said there can be a connection between cardiac problems and growth issues. But, once he heard who the Endo is, he looked impressed that we are using her and had only good things to say.

What is different on Zachary's EKG? Let me see if I can figure out how to say this. The electric "current" that goes from the top chamber to the bottom chamber to signal the heart to beat (I think I'm getting this right) is supposed to take something like .140 milliseconds. His only takes .085 milliseconds. So, he has fast electricity? or something like that. But, since nothing else is "off" on his EKG it's nothing to be concerned about.

We finally made it back to The National Zoo on Friday. Of course we HAD to see the Panda Bears.  Why is it that it always seems to be naptime at the zoo?

The Sloth Bear wanted to see Ashton and Zachary.

He brought his ball down to the window so that he could watch them and continue what he was doing at the same time. He is a bear who knows how to multi-task!!

Here's an unusual specimen in his natural habitat.

Zachary insisted his legs were tired and he just had to sit down on every bench we passed.

No, Steve is not really sitting on Zachary's head. He's just pretending.

I've noticed that  there are a lot of mixed feelings about Spelling Power. It seems that families who have used it either love it or hate it. I think if I had used it exactly as spelled out in the book (no pun intended) we would be one of the families who hate this program.

When I first started using it, another mother homeschooling a child with Asperger's Syndrome let me know how she had adapted it for her son. I jumped right into the program using it with her adaptations and adding a couple of my own. Here's what we do:

• I read the words outloud putting them into a sentence as necessary.
• They spell the words outloud while I write it as they spell it.
• Once they miss 3 words or complete the list, we stop for the day.
• If they missed words, they follow the steps listed in the book for studying misspelled words.
• I do not make them write the rule for the list. This would be torture.
• I do not make them put the word into a sentence and write the sentence (more torture).
• Instead of choosing a multisensory activity from the section of activities I simply have them spell the words they missed into my cell phone.
• The steps of studying (minus the sentence) require them to actually write the word by hand one time (not torture).

Although we've skipped most of the actual writing, the boys have managed to get to Level H when they pre-tested this year. Ashton started this program at Level A when he was 8. I think Zachary started Level A at age 7. Our method may not be "kosher" but it works for us and I wanted to share it.

Yes, I'm still in my jammies, haven't showered, am wearing glasses, etc. Isn't this the typical homeschooler uniform? Ashton has really become interested in videos and video editing so I let him do this. They always crack up while I'm killing a bug/spider but they never offer to do it themselves. Hmm...

I think the funniest part is when he changes it to slow motion. The ending credits are also pretty amusing (if you appreciate middle school boy humor). He also did something to make it look like an old home movie. He thought it would be more like a horror movie.

We found out yesterday that Zachary's labs came out mostly normal. His vitamin D levels are minimally low, so he has to start taking 1000 IUs of Vitamin D per day. Thankfully, he's my child who swallows pills very easily.

Since, the tests came out normal, he has to have a longer growth hormone test. Why? Because evidently growth hormone levels tend to fluctuate and there's definitely something going on to stump his growth.

I mentioned to the doctor that his EKG was borderline abnormal and asked if heart defects can be associated with growth problems. She said there absolutely can be a connection. I'm supposed to schedule his 1-3 hr. lab for after he sees the Cardiologist so that he can communicate with the Endocrinologist before we do the labwork.

(Sigh). Having children sure is difficult, a blessing, but...difficult. I am glad we're in an area with really good medical facilities. The Endocrinologist is a professor of Endocrinology at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. The Cardiologist is a Johns Hopkins Cardiologist. I haven't checked out his credentials yet, I guess I'd better go Google.

We've almost completed our first week of the school year and it's going really well. One thing that has helped is the new chore chart. Now, before you are impressed with my great organizational skills, I guess I should admit that it wasn't my idea. Steve made up a chore chart for the boys using Microsoft Excel. We gave them a raise in their allowance, but their chores are now connected to it. One of the items on their daily lists is "do my schoolwork without complaining."

The boys are also working much more independently than they did last year. We started using Writing Strands 3 which lets them know in the first assignment that they are older now and should be able to try to do the assignment without the help of their parent. They are doing their writing without my help because the book told them to!

We are trying out The Life of Fred math program. It's very basic. You just get a book, one book. The student is supposed to read a chapter, follow the directions, and check their answers. This book even reminds them that they are no longer babies and can write their problems on paper. Guess what my boys are doing? They are writing out their math problems in spiral notebooks and doing most of it without my help. The books use a lot of boy humor which my boys appreciate.

The boys have even admitted that Further Up and Further In isn't so bad. Doing Bible studies based on what is happening in the Narnia chapter for the day has really helped the boys to be able to discuss the chapter. I think this is the first year I haven't had to pull discussion out of them.

The best thing about homeschooling? It gives them more time to just be brothers.

Here's a photo that shows how tiny our 10yo boy really is. I actually caught him taking a nap this afternoon. He will occasionally fall asleep during the afternoons because of his Tourette's medication. The alternative? Having him sound like a kitty cat coughing up a hair ball, every few seconds, 24/7. Can't be good for his throat.

By the way, the boys obviously have the date and time messed up on the digital camera. This photo was taken today, not almost a year ago as displayed on the photo.

Yesterday, the day I've been dreading for a month finally came. I had to have an endoscopy performed since I've taken Prilosec for a good 5 years. This is what happens when you get a new doctor. They ask you questions and start sending you for tests and procedures!!

I did tell the nurse (when asked about previous surgeries) "I've had 2 jaw surg....I mean I've had 2 C-sections and ONE jaw surgery." She found that quite amusing and reminded me when she had to ask if I was wearing dentures that I DID have two jaw surgeries, afterall, so I might need dentures at an early age.

Well, it really wasn't so bad. Many people at church told me I would be so drugged up I wouldn't care. They were right!! I did have two polyps in my stomach that he removed. He said that tends to happen from taking Prilosec for so long.

I do remember walking through the waiting room afterwards and watching a lady giggle at me. When we were in the parking lot I was walking sort of funny, so Steve held my hand. For some reason I kept trying to walk to the right when the car was to the left.

Steve drove to Chick-Fil-A afterwards to get me an Oreo cookie milkshake. I went home and slept for six hours (which is exactly what the nurses told Steve to expect) and then thought I was good for the day.

I offered to make pizza for supper and then I was suddenly very tired. Steve made the pizza and we all watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail fast-forwarding through the Castle of Anthrax because we want the boys to remain innocent as long as possible. The boys thought it was hilarious!!

After the movie, I went back to bed thinking I'd take a nap. I woke up at 11 when Steve came to bed and then slept until 8AM. Today I think I'm back to normal. But, I'm not allowed to drive for a couple more hours (or make important decisions, sign important documents).

So, I probably should have blogged about this procedure when I came home yesterday. That would have REALLY been interesting.

I have been tagged by Arby which is a good thing since I've been having trouble thinking of things to blog about lately.

The rules:

• Put a link to the person who tagged you.
• Mention the rules on your blog.
• Tell 6 quirky things about yourself.
• Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them.
• Leave each of them a comment letting them know they've been tagged.

Hmm, 6 quirky things about me...

1. I forget to buy new clothes for myself. Steve has actually purchased a dress for me, brought it home, and it fit perfectly. His comment to me "Dear, you NEED more clothes"

2. I am unfamiliar with the popular music from my teenage years because I didn't listen to the radio. I spent more time practicing classical music on the piano. I even turned down a date with a guy I wanted to date in college because I HAD to practice. When Steve came along in Grad School, there was no way I was going to turn him down so that I could practice;-)

3. I like to put my feet on the dashboard when riding in the car. This aggravates Steve, but at least I try to only do it when I'm wearing flip flops so that I can remove them (avoiding getting the dash dirty.) It took me two years after knee surgery to be able to do this again.

4. I would rather watch old, classic movies than most new movies. I like Doris Day, Cary Grant, old MGM musicals, Rogers and Hammerstein musicals, Alfred Hitchcock.

5. I can memorize a script and act in front of an audience without much fear, but I will be scared almost speechless if asked to say something on the spot in front of a group of people. In fact, I could probably count the times I spoke up in a college class on one hand. I think I only volunteered to say something one time, lol. I did the same thing in Grad school until I took Seminar in Analysis. I LOVED that class. I HAD to speak up when nobody else knew the answer because it was so obvious to me what the correct answer was and it just bugged me. I probably should have majored in Music Theory.

6. I LOVE Tinkerbell. I'm 40 years old and I wear t-shirts with TB on them. I even have long-sleeved ones for the Winter. I wasn't going to buy the denim jacket with a huge Tink on the back, but Steve really thought I should. People at church are starting to tell me "I saw something with Tinkerbell on it the other day and I thought about you."

Okay, now I need to tag 6 people. I'm going to tag Steve because he has never been tagged. He's my dh and I really would love to see what he thinks is quirky about himself. He hasn't blogged since July and needs something to blog about. I'm also going to tag higginszoo, ourlittleschoolroom, jagsfan, MrsIncredible (who will be so thrilled since her last blog was another tag, lol), and Sisterchicksteph.

Now I'm off to let them know they've been tagged.

Tonight, during our home Bible study, somebody was having difficulty remembering whether it was John the Baptist or John the Beloved who had been beheaded. Steve  told her "John the Baptist is the one who was beheaded. John the Beloved is the one who laid his head on Jesus...but it was still attached!!"

We finally took Zachary to a Pediatric Endocrinologist at the University of  Maryland. He is 4 feet 2.3 inches. After the doctor reviewed his growth charts and labs from FL, she said we do need to get new bloodwork and a new bone age scan. She'll decide after she gets those results whether or not to do the long blood test monitoring his growth hormone for an entire day. He is in the 3rd percentile for both weight and height. The only reason it is a problem is because he always followed the 50th percentile line until he was 5 years old and his growth suddenly slowed down.

Both boys had to have EKGs. Why do EKGs on perfectly healthy boys? The American Cardiology Association decided that all children who have been diagnosed with ADHD and take medications need EKGs. It took much longer signing them in, registering them into the hospital's system than it did to do the actual EKGs.

Ashton's came out normal. Zachary's came out borderline abnormal (and he's the child who does NOT take stimulants because of his Tourettes.) Today I made an appointment with a Johns Hopkins Pediatric Cardiologist. Our regular pediatrician reassured me that it's most likely nothing to worry about, but we need to check it out just in case.  You always know it's going to be important when the pediatrician calls you personally!!

Zachary may be tiny, but he still has a very big voice with an opinion to match it. We were at Wal-mart tonight and a preschool girl was screaming her head off at the check-out because she didn't get her way about something. As her mother was heading towards the door with her, Zachary said (very loudly) "Now THAT's a spoiled child!!"  We had to laugh, so did the employee and another lady in line. I very quickly reminded Zachary that you never know WHAT a preschooler is going to do and that many of them will throw fits at times. Ugh!!  We think he's going to be a deacon in a Southern Baptist church someday!!

Some things you say to your pediatrician or his employees may make them suspicious as to which parent may have passed on the AD(H)D gene.

• Calling them to ask them when your kids' ADHD appointments are because you lost the appointment cards.
• Calling to ask the same question as above because you accidently deleted your entire schedule from your cell phone.
• Calling to find out if samples of ADHD meds are ready and not being able to remember which child the samples are for.
• When the office worker asks "Now is this for Ashton or Zachary?" admitting to them "Oh, I get them mixed up too. . .all the time!!!"
• You really should NEVER inform the pediatrician that your husband is the organized one in the family. He may smirk and look as if he is very politely trying not to laugh.
• If you get confused easily and lose your track of thought while there is a lot of chaos, you should NEVER schedule both ADHD appointments for the same day (unless you bring duct tape to use on the child who is waiting his turn).

The day has finally arrived. Yes, I've joined the "Welcome to 40" club!! I guess it's not so painful, I do not feel too much older than I did yesterday when I was still in my 30s.

Last night I went to Adult Choir practice. I knew there would be a cake because Steve likes to have a cake once a month to celebrate all of the birthdays for that month. I didn't know there would be black balloons, streamers, and a HUGE photo of me taped to the whiteboard announcing my age. But, considering there were only 2 other people younger than me, I wasn't too upset.

The boys wanted me to open my present from them in the choir room. They managed to get me a Wii Fit. Sneaky Steve sat in the chair (at home) filming my attempt at the hula hoop. Revenge will be sweet!!

I'm not sure why they think it is so funny. I was doing it correctly!! Now if he had filmed my attempt at doing the Yoga stance called the "tree" THAT would have been funny.

Sometimes I envy those who can just choose a curriculum, buy the appropriate grade level for their kids, and know that it's actually going to work for them. That's just not going to happen in the Poole household so here's what I have figured out for this year.

Further Up and Further In One year unit study based around Narnia books. I am really excited about using this. The boys aren't, but they are NEVER excited about school. So, I decided if they aren't going to get excited about anything I would choose I might as well do something I would enjoy. I think they will enjoy this, they just will never admit it. It includes English, Reading, History, Science, Art, Health, Bible all centered around the 7 Narnia books.

Math-U-See continue where we're at.

Spelling Power I use this in a revised way that works really well for the boys.

Handwriting Without Tears: Can-Do Cursive This actually looks like it will have enough Grammar in it to not bother adding grammar (I'm taking a relaxed approach to grammar until High School). It also teaches some Greek Roots which will help their vocabulary. My goals for cursive writing are that they can read it well when they see it and sign their names. I also think cursive helps with Ashton's dysgraphic style of writing. It forces him to place his lower-case letters that go below the line in the correct place.

Writing Strands 3 Steve is going to take over teaching writing this year. Why? Because I can't take it anymore!!  I really do not want to be the Top Story on Fox News, so it's time to turn writing over to somebody else. We have figured out that I'll type the assignment and e-mail it to both boys and Steve. The boys will then do the assignment and e-mail Steve for him to critique. He'll e-mail back corrections. This will take a LOT of pressure off of me. We tried it this Spring and it worked quite well.

Bill Nye the Science Guy's Big Blast of Science We're going to go through this just to add a little more science to our Narnia study which seems to only include notebooking plants and animals. This book has tons of experiments and seems to teach a lot of General Science. I may check out some Bill Nye DVDs from the library and add those in.

So, that's it. It will be hard the first week. They are very resistant to change and the Unit Study will be different for them. I plan to be like a Drill Sergeant the first week until they realize I'm not kidding, we're taking our schoolwork seriously. Works every year!! I can be mean, I CAN!! REALLY!! (Yes, I'm giving myself a pep talk.)

Steve discovered Kabooki Canons several years ago. They are used for shooting confetti and can be quite exciting to use in your 4th of July Musical if you are a Minister of Music. When he first used them in Florida, he had a group of grade-school boys shoot them off. He gave them careful instructions, explained how he would cue them to shoot, etc. All went well.

So, now that we're in MD, Steve had to have our new church purchase Kabooki Canons so that he can continue the exciting use of flying confetti. He recruited a 12yo boy and Zachary (10yo) to do the shooting.

When it was time, both boys were ready and watching Steve. He cued Zachary and nothing happened. Zachary was having trouble getting the canon to shoot so he missed his cue. This confused the other boy, so he also missed his first cue. Zachary, determined to make it work on his second cue, forgot to aim into the air, aiming directly at Steve. Steve said he felt all this confetti brushing by his neck very quickly and was left with confetti on his shoulders and head.

Zachary aimed the next ones at Steve (not on purpose). It was amusing to watch Steve frantically trying to motion to Zachary to aim upwards, dodge the confetti, and direct the choir all at the same time.

Zachary's last canon appeared to be aimed at the choir. I couldn't help ducking a little bit and holding my choir folder up. Thankfully, he missed the choir. After the song was over, the other boy realized he still had a loaded canon left and went ahead and used it.

Poor Zachary, he had no idea he had been shooting his Dad. He really didn't mean to. I'm not sure that a Salute to The Armed Forces is supposed to be comical, but it was this 4th of July.

That IS the question. Are we doing anything fun today? No. The boys are getting over being sick with colds and sore throats and now Steve has caught their bug. It is almost noon and Zachary is whiny because the internet connection isn't working well on the main computer. Steve has gone back to bed after a mostly sleepless night and I'm sitting here trying to think of something interesting to blog about.

Sherbert the cat thinks it's a perfectly wonderful day. The weather is nice, the windows are open and he can hear the birds. He would really like to go outside and CATCH the birds, but...such is the life of an indoor cat.

So, what to do with the rest of the day? The pool is open. I'm trying to decide if I should take two boys who are getting over colds to swim in chilly water or not. A shower would probably be a good idea, lol. Maybe I can get the boys to watch Disneys original The Love Bug with me later after I convince them that watching an old Disney movie is a FUN family activity, not torture.

Yes, I'm bored.  I do have a swollen gland in my neck but I'm taking Echinacea and Zicam (zinc nasal gel). I really do not want to get sick also.

So, if you have read my blog, you must be pretty bored also.

We were discussing Zachary's growth problems recently and I joked that maybe he's a dwarf (since he likes movies with dwarfs). When he became somewhat serious about this discussion that was supposed to be light-hearted I reassured him that if he WAS a dwarf (and we let him know the proper term is "little person") we would have known when he was born. He said "Of course you would because I would have had a beard!!" We try really hard not to laugh at our kids when they aren't intending to be funny, but this is one time I just could NOT hold it in.