I will be there! No kids, though. (Secret cheering here :lol:) Bummed we won't be able to meet, hjffkj :grouphug:

Almost 1:30 and I've done diddly except eat and workout and discuss dd's research paper with her :lol: Better get moving...

Today during my training session I squatted holding 35 lb :D And then I also did 30 min on the elliptical. Didn't really want to, but forced myself.

My current ninth grader: Math---precalc using AoPS book, Intro to Number Theory (AoPS class) (1.0 and 0.5 credits) Science---chemistry using Chang and loosely following Dr. Tang's syllabus (my first two degrees are in chemistry) History--- ancient world history using TC History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective plus a zillion library books English---Honors English 2 from Blue Tent Online Foreign Language---Arabic 1 from The Potter's School Elective---AP Human Geography planned and taught by me She'll receive another credit for Arabic after a four-week immersion session this summer. I'm not sure which year to put that under, as she will have two university Arabic classes as a sophomore. Extracurriculars: ballet (8.5 hours class weekly plus performances), Science Olympiad team

This whole week will be warm, in the 50s :) Way too wet to garden, but I can dream and plan! --gym training at 11 --school w dd: history, APHG, math, chem --daily things --Monday-specific tasks --plan meals for week --one email --mail receipt for reimbursement --create a form for reviewing APHG models --check seeds left from last year --list of needed seeds --continue research for next year Enjoy the day :party:

Yesterday dd and I spent money to eat out while we were away for the state Science Olympiad competition----$6 for bfast sandwiches on the way, $10 for lunch, $11 for dinner. We packed drinks, fruit, and snacks.

Dh and I went to the gym this afternoon. I did 20 min bike, 20 min elliptical, and then some free weights and push-ups (30 :D) for another 15 min or so. I am so tired right now :lol: Dinner with extended family here tonight. I will enjoy the time and the wine :)

She rocked it :D We had very low expectations this year as a ninth grade in Division C, hoping for maybe one medal in the 8th-10th place range. But she pulled out a 3rd in Astronomy and a 5th in Geologic Mapping. She walked out of those events laughing and shaking her head over how difficult the tests were! She said Division B (with the same state event supervisors/test writers) was a piece of cake compared to Division C. (I am so glad I didn't listen to other people who thought I should keep her on the Division B team :D) The rest of the team did well. I think next year we'll have a very strong team at states. There are a couple current eighth graders who would be very good additions to the high school team. Now I have a break as coach until the fall :)

Oh my goodness :grouphug: hjffkj and family :grouphug: Massive brag time: yesterday dd placed 3rd in Astronomy and 5th in Geologic Mapping (geology plus topo and other maps) in the state Science Olympiad competition. As a ninth grader! :party: She was sooooo surprised! I am so proud of how hard she worked...and the fact that she did 95% of the preparation on her own :D We have family coming for dinner tonight as the out-of-town sister is in the area :) I have to make lasagnas (meat, veggie). The house needs a very quick once-over including the floors. Dh and I want to go to the gym while the sauce is cooking (dd will be here to stir every so often). I should also plan out the week, including meals, grocery shopping list, and my weekly to-do list.

At the state Science Olympiad competition today! Dd looks sooooo tiny and young compared to these senior boys :eek:

Alcumus is adaptive. Every problem has a level of difficulty, up to 25. If he should get a problem wrong, the next problem (for that topic) will be at a lower level of difficulty. He'll keep answering questions until he passes (green on the progress bar) and then masters (blue on the progress bar) the topic. It might be four problems, it might be 20 problems----it just depends on the level of difficulty. He should just answer! Everyone answers incorrectly! We learn through our mistakes :) (make sure he reads through the solutions!)

My day will be a bit off the norm :) --just Science Olympiad prep for dd --emails to team --triple-check paperwork; pack bag --make muffins for tomorrow --usual daily things --Friday-specific tasks I may go sledding today for exercise. We have an awesome sloping hill in our (long) backyard. Dh took a few runs yesterday while I finished shoveling--he said it was perfect :) Dinner will be nachos w homemade refried beans (out of the freezer).

That shoveling was hard yesterday! My forearms are quite sore, but nothing else is! Yay for the trainer working me hard :D Not sure what I'll do today. No gym this morning as the roads still weren't good that early. I might go sledding this afternoon :) Tomorrow will be a forced rest day. I'll be at the state capital with my Science Olympiad team, cheering on our kids.

On the plus side, the snow is absolutely gorgeous! The trees behind my house are coated with snow :) And it's sunny today! Spring is practically here! :lol:

I just go to the LandsEnd-specific area of the store to do returns. Easy peasy :)

(Dd didn't take that particular class but others.) Which book problems is he doing? The end-of-section problems? The chapter review problems? The challenge problems? Honestly, there is no way he'd be able to every single book problem plus the problem set plus the assigned Alcumus problems! Not if he has anything else to do! When dd took geometry (in seventh grade) she worked her way through the book sections and did those problems, just to check her understanding. Then she worked on the problem set and Alcumus assignment. (Sometimes she'd do all the problems for a certain topic from the book, problem set, and Alcumus, and then she'd move to the next topic. It just depended on how she felt that week.) When she'd get stuck with a doozie of a problem, she'd return to the book and work through review or challenge problems that looked like they could offer a hint for the hard problem. I'd be inclined to let ds stick with the class. He enjoys it and the challenge, right? He'll figure out which and how many problems he needs to do :)

We have such a wonderful library system :party: I read 2-5 library ebooks a week :D

Soooooo tired from shoveling! Dh did it twice and I did it twice. We got more than 8", probably closer to 10". It's absolutely gorgeous :) I just wish the snowblower hadn't stopped working during the last storm! Dh made choc chip cookies. Dd made dinner. Dd and I wrestled w some astrophysics equations she needs to know and manipulate for the Science Olympiad competition on Saturday. I think I deserve a good book now :eek:

Preach it, sister. I miss dirt. I miss green things. Dude, I miss gardening so much I would plant spinach and kale, both things I hate that dh loves, just to play in the dirt.

Looks like my exercise today will be shoveling! The snow is gorgeous, but come on, it's freaking March now.

Excuse me, but WTF? They both need to pull up their Big Person Pants and start acting like adults! What horrible stewards of their gifts (children, time, talent, money)! So sad for those kids :(

If the snow only started at 7am, it's been coming down hard for an hour! We have 1.5 inches already on the deck outside my kitchen window. DH will be working from home today. Everything has been cancelled (my training session, ballet, dh's Chinese class, a fundraiser we were to attend tonight). To do: --shovel for exercise! --school w dd: math, chem, Science Olympiad events --a few emails --some paperwork for Saturday --some research for school next year --read :D

Dd has been taking Arabic this year and loves it, so much so that she asked to attend Concordia Language Villages for their month-long high school credit program this summer. After that, she will most likely start classes at the university. She has been studying from Alif Baa and will move into al-Kitaab http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_7?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=al+kitaab&sprefix=Al+kita%2Caps%2C528 I would love to find something non-textbook-y for reading practice. I looked at all the links from Rosie's thread but am having a difficult time figuring out what would be suitable for a secular high school learner. And maybe suggestions for fun things (comics? games? Arabic-language puzzle books?) I could put into care packages for the summer :) She won't be allowed to have any English-language materials, which will be quite difficult for a girl who loves to read. Thanks :)

There are equal amounts of men and women aged 25-60 at the gym in the early morning. The women are on cardio machines or doing pilates/spinning/cardio kickboxing/yoga, not lifting free weights. I know I didn't lift weights because (1) I didn't know what to do and (2) I was afraid of injuring my shoulder again. I expect that is not uncommon. I am so grateful that we can afford for me to hire the trainer. I am 15 months away from my 50th birthday. I must make fitness a priority in my life so that I can live a strong and healthy life :)

I forgot to add that, in addition to the world history sequence above, dd also studied world geography for a year as an elective. That has helped her so much with subsequent history and social science classes.