Yay Critter and mama25!!!!

Sahamamama- those look awesome! He'd love both of those projects! Critter- this boy thing is still new to me. I am from a family of all girls and some of the things ds considers fun or cool... leave me scratching my head to say the least. Saws, welding equipment?! Ack!!! I'm in for it, huh? :D

I never made it back here yesterday. No school got done yesterday because of the braces hullabaloo. Dd did practice piano in the early afternoon and decided she didn't want to miss a lesson, so we went. She also read all the brochures they gave us at the orthodontist and was informing me of all she was learning from them. Such as "plague. " :) "Mom, you really need to read this one about plague. It sounds bad." Dh and I were cracking up! "I think you mean plaque." teehee :D They told me to keep her home from school today, too , since she's still on soft foods and pain reliever. So I am hoping to do some reading aloud and let her play some math games. She'll probably practice piano, too. Ds wants to do a project today and I am stumped. He's not usually my project kid and I'm not sure what he considers a project.

Popping in really quickly before piano lessons to say dd got her braces on today!!!! I had a private consult with the orthodontist without her there and everything feels much better now. They gave me a bunch of reading material and dh and I decided to go ahead with treatment. She did pretty well with the process and is kind of proud of her braces at the moment. Ok, gotta get to piano, more later!!

I have A Child is Born (the original). I don't think the heat camera shot was inappropriate. I mean when you talk about the mechanics they're going to have an image in their minds that might me more graphic than that! Lol. The chapter on the actual child birth is photographs of an actual birth, not illustrations. I thought it was too graphic for my 7 and 3 year olds who's mama was going to have that happen to her soon, but your girls might be ready for it. Personally, I still find video and photos of live births shocking and I've done it myself 3 times! Edited to fix auto correct.

againstthegrain- :grouphug: I hope you get some rest! Well, I got a ton of cleaning, furniture moving and organizing in the family room/school room done yesterday. Today, not so much. Lots of phone calls in between school lessons. With our little weekend trip, a day off on Sunday and yesterday's cleaning marathon, dd hasn't done much piano practice and she has a lesson tomorrow! So we've sat at the piano together twice today and I hope to again one more time today plus tomorrow morning. She loves piano so its not a chore for her. Its harder for me because the baby has to be awake but strapped into something so he doesn't bang on the keys. Its easier for me to have her practice while I am in a separate room with the baby but I can really see that she does so much better with me directly helping her. Oh, well. We'll figure it out. Ds wants me to touch under each word as I read them in his picture books so he "can get better at words." :001_wub: He is soooooo close to being ready for phonics. Right now I am just letting him play and explore with Leap Frog phonics things and reading/phonics apps. I feel like I'll "just know" when he's really ready. Is that wishful thinking? :001_smile: Can you guys tell I am actually at my desktop for once? :hurray: :laugh: :lol: :seeya: It's this reorganized school room/family room, I'm tellin ya! I can finally let the baby down in here now that all the kid toys that are choking hazards for him are outta here!! Now we can hang out in here! :party:

Good Monday morning! Slow start today after an exhausting weekend. Speaking engagement went well. Dd did awesome. Had a big pancake breakfast at home yesterday and spent the day at a local state park. It was so beautiful and relaxing. The kids got soaked in the river so they all went straight to the tub when we got home and then we made a big Italian dinner. It was nice to relax after such a busy Friday and Saturday but I feel like im still tired and having a hard time getting going. We also started chicken care yesterday for some family members that are on vacation. We enjoyed farm fresh eggs and sausage this morning. :) I'm not going to bother posting a list today since school work is all "do the next thing" in the usual subjects and everything else on the list isn't school related. I might add "mom nap" to the official to do list because I am so tired! (yaaaawwwnnn)

Againstthegrain- that looks like a lot of work! Love the beautiful tree. :)

Super busy day. Heading out of town as soon as dh gets home from work and showers. Friday's list: -1 load laundry (done) -shop at neighborhood garage sales (done) -reading (done) -double spelling lesson -math -games/fine motor activity -prek activity for ds -Liberty's kids episode -shopping for a top for me for our trip (heading out as soon as everyone has used the bathroom! Lol!) -clean and gas car -finish up packing

Oooh! Shopping!! Sales!! :) :) :)

Up super early for us this morning. Babysitting again today and her daddy had to drop her off at 6:30. Her crying at the separation woke up all my kids. Oh, well. I'll darken the house and put on a quiet movie and have everyone rest while the toddlers nap this afternoon. Thursday's list: -1 load laundry -reading -double spelling lesson -math -prek activity -game time -activity time -Liberty's Kids -piano practice -outdoor play -clean bathrooms -pack for weekend trip -dh takes big kids to Lowe's kids build project tonight Thursday's list that will actually get done with an extra 2 yo in the mix: -outdoor play -reading -Liberty's Kids -piano practice Hopefully I can get some of the cleaning and packing done while the kids are out with dh tonight. Have a great day everyone!

Sahamama- Sadly this isn't an official speaking group you could plug in to. A friend of ours was given a presentation assignment for a conference and he needed a lot of young people to fill up spaces within his assignment. (his topic revolved around ages 8-18) However, this opportunity has made me realize that I had speech and debate in public high school and dh (a homeschooler, himself) has a lot of public speaking through some volunteer positions he's taken on in the last 5 or so years. How do you teach public speaking to a homeschooler??? If you come up with an answer before I do, let me know!!!

Thanks for sharing. My 8yo reluctant writer dd will be getting some testing this summer. I will check out those programs you mentioned. Eta: I meant to say I'm so glad that things are looking up for your dd!

Thanks for posting this!

Sounds good!

Againstthegrain- so sorry about tooth trouble. I have to use sensodyne exclusively or I get a shooting pain in my teeth up into my sinuses and down my jaw anytime I have something a little cold. Not even ice cold. Mama25- nice to see you! Glad things are going well. Last night's rehearsal went well. Dd is the youngest presenter at this event and she is stronger than the teenagers. Holds the microphone well, projects, speaks slow enough for everyone to hear what she is saying. I'm so proud. Ok, mom brag over. :) Today, we have a new schedule for piano lessons and I'm afraid it is going interfere with the baby's afternoon nap. Oh well, I'll just do the best I can. Wednesday's list: -1 load laundry (in dryer) -piano practice -reading -double spelling lesson -games for memory (sleeping queens?) -fine motor activity (probably rainbow loom) -play outside in the gorgeous weather -piano lesson -history: I'd like to start Liberty's Kids. It goes with our current time period. -taking the evening off! Not going anywhere and not cooking. There's plenty of leftovers.

Thanks for posting this. All I had to throw out was one big bag of corn, which was surprising since I just stocked up on tons of frozen fruit and vegetables. I really lucked out.

I don't remember ANY movies I saw with my first boyfriend. Must have blocked all those memories out! When dh and I started dating, we lived a 3 hour drive apart. We met halfway once early in our relationship and went to the movies then out to dinner. The waitress was awful. I have a ton of respect for how hard that job is and have a high tolerance for mistakes or slow service but wow, she was flat out insulting us. It was so awkward. Then, we were going to find someplace to have dessert and his car broke down! We sat in a grocery store parking lot for hours waiting for his best friend to come pick him up. There was no fixing the car in the dark. We made the best of it and talked endlessly, getting to know each other. With all the hullabaloo, neither of us remembers what movie we saw! First movie date that was a success was Along Came Polly. We watch it every year as sort of an anniversary. I bury my face in his chest and plug my ears with the sweaty basketball scene every time partly because it is super gross and partly for nostalgia. ;)

Bzymama23- I checked out that link and it looks really cool. What format/platform/whatever you call it do you watch it on? Sahamamama- happy anniversary to you and your dh! Today, our usual outside activities are cancelled but we have rehearsal for our speaking engagement so we still don't get the night off. Tuesday's list: -1 load laundry (washing now) - start slow cooker (check!) - reading -double spelling lesson -Clue for working memory -wildflower coloring book for fine motor -piano practice -poetry tea -early dinner -leave house by 5:45 for rehearsal

Good Monday morning everyone! I was so glad to wave dh off to work this morning!!! I don't usually feel that way, but MAN, he was bugging me all weekend! I just clenched my jaw and kept my nose in a book or took the kids out a few times. My to-do list is a mile long today, yet it feels like a break. I hope I'm not the only one that has felt that way. Monday's list: -2 loads laundry (already started!) -impromptu morning business errands that have deadlines (ahh, the joys of self-employment) -reading -double spelling lesson -1 hour games for working memory -1 hour fine motor activities -science/history reading (I don't have my planner in front of me and I can't remember which. I think we end up with a back to back week of one subject and I don't remember if it was this week or next.) -piano practice -weekly fridge/freezer clean out -phone consult with orthodontist -few phone calls related to weekend travel plans Have a great day!

I voted 3. One is an evening out after dinner. The other 2 are after lunch afternoons out. Those are harder because school work can't spill over into afternoon those days. But we are home in time for dinner and a relaxing evening so it balances out. I'm pretty happy with our current schedule. Those 3 days are not the days I let the kids help with dinner. I just need to get it done. I let them help the other 2 days plus weekends.

I love the things our previous house didn't have. 1. Basement 2. Two bathrooms 3. Quiet country setting with lots off farm animals and wildlife but right on the edge of town. 5 minutes to the gas station, grocery store, dollar store and bank.

I was 11and was in an EF2 tornado. We were at my grandparents house in the country so no sirens. My mom was going to move her car into their garage to avoid hail damage. She opened the sliding glass door and at that moment we saw the tornado coming right for us. She barely got the door pulled closed due to suction or something. We ran down to the basement and watched the trees, patio furniture, swing set, and fence posts fly by from the basement window. My mom did a good job keeping the mood light. I was the oldest of 4 kids there. She joked that we might actually get to see donkeys and pigs flying. :) My grandparents had to get a new roof and new siding. Since then, I've always felt safe in a basement. Our last house didn't have one and neither did any of the neighbors. I was super nervous in tornado warnings and I am so relieved to have a basement again.

Love this thread. :) I love CM method too. Not all of it works for my dd but this thread is a good reminder to keep up with the CM things that do work well for her.

I have been so busy, I haven't had time to post! Yesterday, I deep cleaned a section of the kitchen, did tons of laundry, and started filling up online carts at Amazon, Rainbow Resource, Royal Fireworks Press and maybe one more I'm not remembering right now for this coming school year. We got all dd's school lessons done and a preK activity for ds. Today, we did great with an early start on schoolwork. Dd has hit a point in her math where things are finally clicking and she loves that she knows what she's doing. I finally made it to the store. So glad to check that off the to do list. Unfortunately, in this small town, there is no grocery delivery. :( Dd is working on piano practice now and we have a 2yo cousin over until her daddy gets off work and picks her up. She is a VERY busy girl! At dinner, my big kids asked if they were like her when they were little. Ummm... no. Not even close. People have been telling me for years how low key my kids are. I'm finally starting to believe them. ;) I made a list of one task per day to get control of the house. Yesterday was deep cleaning/organizing anything to do with washing dishes. Today was organize incoming and outgoing mail. I haven't done it yet with the extra little one in the house but I think it will be ideal to work on it after the kids are in bed anyway. Friday's list in case I don't get back here: -Reading finally finish Wizard of Oz -Language Arts Grammaropolis Friday! -Math Mental double digit addition lesson (review) -history finish library books that are due back tomorrow -science finally getting planters done! Nature journals afterwards -piano practice -errands -daily organizing task: install hooks on the back of closet doors for my and dh's next day clothes -family movie night Have a great Friday everyone!