Week in Review 9/7 and 9/14/14

    In my life this week…
The boys were all sick and I was rocking the Kathleen Turner voice.  If there is a respiratory thing going around, Xav gets the croup.  Even Mal was croupy this time.

I keep saying corrective things to the boys, that might be directed right back at myself.  That's certainly somewhat uncomfortable.

    In our homeschool this week...
I'm trying to give Merrick more intentional activities.  My hope is that this accomplishes two things.  He is more involved in "school" with us, thus actively learning, and so we can accomplish more in the morning, possibly taking a short quiet time break in the afternoon when we usually have school.

    In our homeschool co-op this week... 
On the 12th, we missed our first Friday School because of our colds.  Micah went in and taught his class, but I had to take advantage of my sub.

Can you believe I got the hairy eyeball for this back to school pic?

This year, classes include:
Magic School Bus Science for Mal and Xav, Wiggles and Giggles for Merrick.
Flat Stanley for Mal, Little House on the Prairie for Xav, and Round Box for Merrick.
Oceanography for Mal, Mr. Fix-It for Xav, and Nature for Merrick.
We didn't sign up for anything 4th period this year.

Our field trip on the 19th was to a golf course for a tour and driving lesson, followed by a picnic at another Friday School family's home. 

    Merrick...
He's been playing musical beds for a while now; crib, Beepa's bed, the recliner.  Back and forth all night long.

    Xavier...
Xav: "What's a nasty gram?"
Me: "It's a howler for muggles."

Xav had his second (and last) official trail run of the year.

Micah: "Xav, are you looking forward to running?"
Xav: "Yes."
Micah: "Then smile." *pause* *sigh*

PS Excuse his top lip.  Every time he gets a cold, he licks his face raw!

    What we're reading... 
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire   (Don't judge.  It's a long book and they don't get a chapter every night.)

    Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
We had another exciting trip to the library.  Merrick has the best time in the resource room.  Xav loves the iPad.  Mal mostly just reads.  I love how much the boys are all interested in books.

We had two, somewhat related, field trips on the 20th.  There is an old house in town that we've never toured in all the time we've lived here.  Xav said, "Wow.  The Ingalls really did exist!"  Then we crossed the park to the Harvest Festival, where the boys got to get inside a rescue vehicle.  Mal was mad at himself for liking it so much.  He was busy being angry that we missed out on the wagon ride by visiting the old house.

After that we headed off to a Civil War reenactment.  It is the 150th anniversary of the northern-most conflict, the St.Albans Raid.  It was quite fascinating.  We missed the heist and battle, but I think at that point in the day, Mal was getting to the end of his tolerance for busyness and I had forgotten ear muffs so it was just as well.

    Things Dad is working on...
We're getting a set of stairs to the back porch.  I am so spoiled.  He finally took pity on my old self after watching me heft myself on and off the deck for years! 

    This week's reviews...
The Schoolhouse Review Crew's The 7-Minute Life Daily Planner (including mine)
The Schoolhouse Review Crew's Daily Student Logbook

Week in Review 8/24 and 8/31/14

    In our co-op this week...
Our first unofficial Friday School field trip was the fair.  I survived about 5,000 rides on everything from the lazy little train on a flat oval track to the wicked fast arctic blast.  I spent the last third of that ride thinking Xav was going to barf on me and struggling desperately to keep us both in the car!  Thankfully, Xav said he'd never ride that again. We ogled giant pieces of lawn equipment and dreamed a memory of the days when our riding mower worked and Micah didn't have to spend three evenings each week mowing.  Every year we get nagged to go look at all of the campers and RVs.  Saw a wild animal show, played on the playground display conveniently located right next to the first aid trailer, and enjoyed tasty fair fare.

Micah fell asleep in his recliner and the boys had a healthy snack and we all went right to bed. Ten hours at the fair. Zzzzzzzzzzz

I wrote about the first official field trip to The Great Vermont Corn Maze. 

    Merrick...
Nothing like waking up to Merrick singing. Little Einstein's Purple Plane and NSB's vacation Bible school song, a perfect combination.

Before you think that's just too cute, he also had a vicious, screaming tantrum that ended up with him in the tub with his clothes on.   He refused to get undressed, thinking that would show me, so I showed him I didn't mind if he bathed in clothes, diaper and all.  It was bad.  Very, very bad.  And loud.  I'll spare you the video.

    Xavier...
Xav ran an official trail run with his dad.  It was a mile and a half.  He did great.  Dad told him no matter how tired you are, finish strong.

The only entertainment for non-runners.  One giant rock.

     Malachi...
Mal worked hard for two nights to go "right to sleep" in hopes that Daddy will let him rebuild the droid transport. He "cleaned" the living room and his bedroom, gave me nothing but a sunny attitude during school and mentioned several times that he hoped these activities would show dad that he was ready to take responsibility for such a special Lego set. He was allowed to build it.  

    What we're reading... 
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Preschoolers and Peace  

    Around the house... 
I tried to do a lot of mending one day while Micah was out with the boys.  Every now and then, I have a tension or threading issue.  I ended up with a huge nasty mess on about the third project.  I said a lot of strong words to the machine.

    In the yard...
The treehouse has a door.  And a tenant.  Micah has taken a chair up to read on the deck.  I noticed the early maple already turned.

We also had the hottest night of the year in September.  It was 80* in the middle of the night.  Terrible.

    Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
Mal and Xav got real official haircuts this week.  It was Mal's first ever.  He was uncertain at first, but he even let her use clippers.  It all came out OK in the end.  Xav chewed the hairdresser's ear off.  I love all the faces he makes.  He is so expressive.

    Things Dad is working on...
The pumpkin flavored everything insanity has begun.  He started with Green Mountain Pumpkin Spice Coffee.  No one knows where it will all end. 

He took the boys out for a few hours to shop for my birthday, but actually because I just wanted to have some quiet time in my own house to do some sewing and other chores best done when the house is empty.  I heard what Xav thinks of me.
Micah: "Boys, what do you think Mommy likes?"
Xav: "Well, she always goes on about the fabric store." 

    I’m cooking…
No Bake Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies - good flavor, a little sticky.
I also made tomato sauce in the crockpot.  It was incredible.  I thought of it as "rustic."  It made a nice pizza that the kids wouldn't eat.  Micah and I didn't mind having it to ourselves.

And a soft, iced pumpkin cookie.  Kind of nice.  It reminded me of the soft sugar cookies at the grocery store that are a ridiculous $4/dozen.

    This week's reviews...
The Schoolhouse Review Crew's UberSmart Math Facts (including mine)
The Schoolhouse Review Crew's Essential Skills Advantage (including mine)
The Schoolhouse Review Crew's Under Drake's Flag (including mine)

Weeks in Review 8/10 and 8/17/14

    In my life this week…
Ordered our homeschool t shirts from Great Products annual T-shirt sale. $5.99 for regular Ts.  I bought the Lego shirts for each of the boys, the safari T in a size big for Merrick, and I splurged on a V-neck for myself.  I love this sale and I love these shirts, but this year my shirt was a different brand and was larger and a slightly different cut.  It also had one wonky sleeve.  Last year's shirt was much better.

    Xavier...
Xav decided it would be a good idea to pop a laundry soap pod. He got some in his face. After flushing for 10 minutes and consulting with my on-call MIL/nurse, we decided he probably would live. Then he asks this: What if I accidentally forget how much it hurt and do it again?
*Moms. Accidentally forgetting how much it hurt since the dawn of time.*

    Malachi... 
Mal greeted me after church with a huge smile and told me, "I rode the four wheeler, but I didn't have any fun." Then why are you grinning?   

    In the yard... 
Pickings from the garden; peppers, beets, carrots, and corn.

Micah tore out my poor, dead cherry tree.  This winter was just too much for a few of our plants.

    Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
Lee's party - A fun surprise birthday party for one of the Friday School dads.  We went on a nature hike/scavenger hunt, wrapped watermelons with rubberbands until they exploded, ate cake (of course), and the kids found forts in the woods.
Target - After that we stopped off at Target, since we were in NY anyway.  That's how this family parties.

    I’m cooking…
Banana "pancakes."
One banana and two eggs.  I did add some vanilla and pumpkin pie spice.  The whole time I was making them, all I could think was that I was basically feeding my kid a banana omelet.

    We surprised the kids this week by…
We surprised the boys with a trip to the COG Railway and a ride up to the peak of Mount Washington, the highest point in New England.  I'll be writing about that another day.

Completely oblivious about our destination.

We also saw a hot air balloon over the road on the way home.

    A photo, video, link, or quote to share (silly, serious or both!)…
This fish theft.  

    This week's reviews... 
Wizzy Gizmo 
UberSmart Math Facts 
Happy Kids Songs 

Week in Review 8/3/14

    In our homeschool this week…
We used Legos and Schoolhouse Rock videos to introduce multiplication.  The boys have already memorized many of the songs that are more like skip counting; threes, for instance.

We had our last VBS of the summer this week.  The theme was Blast Off to God's Faithfulness.
Day 1, I entertained Merrick at Trish's.  Day 2, I found out he could attend the tot class and I had two quiet hours of reading in the car.  Sadly, Day 3, he was frightened by the use of the word "elevator" during a time machine skit and that was the end of my quiet time in the car for the week.  He did well, he just needed me nearby.  The bigger littles received good reports and made fun projects every day and learned new songs and Bible verses.

Almost got everyone looking in the right direction.

     Merrick...
Merrick has been alternately sleeping in his crib and in Beepa's bed in his room.  Sometimes, I tuck him in one place and find him in the other in the morning.  Next time a grandma visits, they may have to fight him off!

    Xavier...
 I have a tendency to cringe and coil like a spring on the inside any time someone asks, "Are you (insert child's name)'s mother?"  I'm pleasantly surprised when I hear things like I did at this week's VBS.  There was a woman there struggling to walk with a cane.  He asked her about the cane and told  her he was sorry that she couldn't walk well.  She told me he was such a sweetheart and she really appreciated their conversation.

    Malachi...
Mal found his favorite ship in the clearance section at Staples.  He convinced me to buy the last four TEAtanics; one for myself, one for a friend, and one each for him and Xav.

    What we're reading... 
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Yes, this book will take for. ev. er. at the rate we're going.  But it's all good.)

    In the yard... 
The boys would not stop monkeying with the ladder to the lower level of the treehouse.  One day, we had friends over.  Trish and I sat in the house chatting when we heard the kids shouting.  It didn't sound like anyone was hurt or upset, so we just laughed about how much fun they all seemed to be having out there.  Periodically, the shouting would start again.  Eventually, all the kids ran inside and told us they had been trapped in the treehouse when the ladder fell.  The neighbor boy had let them down.  And we laughed and laughed.  Excellent parents.  Many parenting awards coming our way!

Everyone was over to pick blueberries.  We found this little guy and watched him for a bit.

Had a snake in henhouse, too!  I saw it in there a few times, but whenever Micah looked it was nowhere to be found.  Finally, he caught it.  Did he kill it?  No!  He threw it back into the woods.  I've just been waiting for it to reappear, since it knows where a nice cozy home is.  YUCK!

    My favorite thing this week was…
I love Willy Wonka's bottle caps candy.  Well, I like the cherry, orange, and grape.  I LOVE the root beer and cola caps.  Micah bought a box and picked out all of my favorites to give to me.  Yum!

    We surprised the kids this week by…
Micah went to his class reunion.  When he returned from his parent's place, he brought a little four wheeler with him.  Xav had wanted to know why he had taken the van and removed the bench seats.  I told him Dad was bringing something home with him.  He assumed it was a van full of school papers and was very disgusted.

All of the boys can fit in the backseat of a regular car now.  Not that I want to part with my van...

When Micah got home, we sent Xav out to start unloading all of that school work.  Priceless.

Micah also came home bearing gifts from his parents, popcorn and "bread," preserved via suck and seal.

    This week's reviews... 
The Schoolhouse Review Crew's Roman Roads Media  

Week in Review 7/27/14

    Around the house...
The boys and I needed to go somewhere.  I couldn't get off the front porch!  There are two gates, one blocked and one locked.

    In the yard... 
Blue Heron.  Another of my photography experiments.  Taken with my phone through binoculars.
     

    I’m cooking…
Made some of our beets.  Roasted with our own thyme.  I love the candy cane striped beets.  They're so pretty.  I also cooked little pot pies.  I made the crust from scratch which I rarely do.  I'm just not confident about crust.

    A photo, video, link, or quote to share (silly, serious or both!)…
Trish's Etsy shop   https://www.etsy.com/shop/HatsonParade

And I love this shot from Carey Crooker Photography.  This was my old neighborhood.  I've heard that mama bears will babysit or even adopt orphans.  I've been curious about this.

    This week's reviews... 
Schoolhouse Review Crew's Mathletics (including mine) 
Schoolhouse Review Crew's Hewitt Homeschool  (including mine)
Schoolhouse Review Crew's Analytical Grammar 

Week in Review ~ 7/20/14

    In my life this week…
Goodbye to Jenny.
Went to church tonight for a goodbye party for my friend Jenny and her family.  They're moving.  our loss is Texas' gain.  Gonna miss you, Jenny!

Mom's night out.
Trisha and I finally planned an evening to escape.  We ended up bringing Trish's son and another mama friend.  Isaac was happy to play Kindle most of the time.  We headed to a coffee house where I tried an Italian soda.  We talked about school and Jenny leaving and all the other mama-type subjects.  It was terrific.  And it will probably be months before we manage one again.

    In our homeschool this week…
The boys decided to build Lego towers as tall as they are.  They got pretty tipsy near the end, but the done good.  Here are some pictures we took.

    What we're reading... 
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

    In the yard... 
One thing about gardening I don't care for is the weird bugs (caterpillars and others) that live in cauliflower and broccoli.  Yuck.  I'd bring it in and soak it in salt water.  Then when I chopped up the heads, I'd sometimes find a carcass.  One hung onto the broccoli through a saltwater soak and a blanching in boiling water.  I have a tough time with that.

    Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
Date night. 
We were invited to a hitchin' for a man Micah used to work with.  It was a small event, with good company.  After, we left that party, we went to a new wood fired pizza joint.  Micah told me to choose any pizza that looked interesting to me.  I couldn't decide between two.  I asked the waitress, and God love her, she told me to get half and half.  So we had a white pizza with Buffalo chicken and a red pizza that was all Mexican.  We both preferred the chicken, but the Mexican was also good.

We hired Olivia (probably the last time before she comes back from college!) and she brought Jasmine along.  Mal and Xav were so excited.  They couldn't get us out of the house quickly enough.

    Things Dad is working on...
The treehouse, natch!  The walls are up!  Before we raised the walls up, I told Micah we should just set the house up around the base of the tree and tell the boys, "Psych!"

      Something I am ogling or have my eye on…
A new bridge.  Yes.  This one is gone and the only other one into town from this side is down to one lane this week.  Fabulous planning.

     This week's reviews... 
The Schoolhouse Review Crew's review of Apologia's Flourish

Week in Review ~ 7/13/14

Win an iPad from Teacher Created Resources.

(I want to win, too!)

    In my life this week…
Beepa (aka Grandma) Char headed home on Monday.  Tuesday, I took the yahoos to Saratoga Springs (the halfway mark to "back home") to pick up Beepa of the Forest and bring her back home with us.  Thursday, Poppa of the Forest came up to stay a couple days and took Beepa back home on Saturday.

    Merrick...
Joined us at school a few days this week.  He is very distracting generally, so I wasn't sure how it would go.  He kept busy counting pompoms and the punks generally kept on task.  Merrick mostly still naps and at least rests, so I won't have to worry about this too much.  I do want to add some morning school at some point.

    Xavier...
Decided to kick up his pancake cooking a notch.  He looked through a kids' cookbook and found these bunnies.

    Malachi... 
Is getting excited to finally get the treehouse put together.  It won't be long now!

    What we're reading... 
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

I'm reading
Hiking Through 

    In the yard... 
We've kept the chickens in the old enclosed garden so they wouldn't dig up the garden in the raised beds.  Now that that garden is doing well, we let them out.  Until I happened to glance at them while I was mowing.  They were literally leaping into the air and eating my blueberries.  They stripped one entire bush!  Now they're back to "free ranging" in the enclosed area.

Micah got stung while mowing.  I haven't decided if he over-reacted or not.  He burned up a bit of yard and a shrub.   

    Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
The single lane bridge is being replaced.  It's one of two ways we can get to town.  I drove to town one day only to discover the other bridge into town was a single lane for repairs.  I'm not sure who decided to repair both bridges at once, but I didn't think it was the best plan of action.

    My kiddos favorite thing this week was…
Surprise fun day for the boys. Woke them up and loaded them into the car. Drove to Saratoga Springs for lunch at McDonald's. They have a play place. The punks thought that was the surprise.
 

My kids are in there.  Somewhere.

Then Beepa and Poppa of the Forest showed up. Their reactions were priceless. Then they found out we were bringing Grandma home with us. But first, I had one more surprise. We stopped at Railroads on Parade! It was a terrific miniature RR display. I highly recommend it if you are in the Saratoga Springs/ Lake George region of NY.

The displays included four seasons, cities, state fairs, and a 50s setup that included a diner and a drive-in, where High Noon was playing.  The whole place cycled through day and night every fifteen minutes or so.  Every "night" the movie would start and go off when the lights came back on.

We even saw Thomas the Tank Engine.  The folks at ROP have a scavenger hunt list.

I really liked this cross section of a city street.

    This week's reviews... 
Schoolhouse Review Crew's HomeSchoolPiano review 

Week in Review 6/29/14

Happy birthday, America!

    In my life this week…
Merrick is starting to realize letters make words.  
Telling me the letters on the Uno Moo! game.  "U. N. O. Mommy. M. O. O. I. spell mommy!"  He sees a random M on the milk jug and tells me it spells milk.  Now if he could just learn numbers and colors as easily as he has learned letters and sounds. 

Bushnell finally sent me a rebate that I applied for in January.  The time on the phone and digging out receipts and resubmitting forms was probably not worth $30.  Next time I buy a game camera or binoculars, they will be a different brand.  

    In our homeschool co-op this week... 
Picnic at the beach day.

Merrick didn't want to walk through the rain puddles left over from the downpour right before we got there.
 

    What we're reading... 
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Skylark (the sequel to Sarah, Plain and Tall)

I'm reading Hiking Through about Paul Stutzman's hike on the Appalachian Trail.

    Helpful tips or advice to share…
Don't be a jerk.

    Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
Iguanas church VBS closing was Sunday.  Some boys were wiped right out.

After that we ran to Walmart, then home.  To rest.  Zzzzzzzzz...

 
We went to the world's smallest parade.  It probably wasn't really, but it only lasted about 15 minutes.  The boys got the largest treat haul, they've ever had there!  Then we stopped at the tiny library and found a Lego book to be inspired by.

    What Micah is doing...
Still plugging away on the treehouse.  Bit by bit.

Micah got me this fantabulous cupcake for no apparent reason.  Yummo!

He also ran in a race Saturday morning before the parade.  He is too fast and we arrived too late to cheer him on. 

    We rewarded the kids this week by…
We don't often offer rewards, but this week each boy was allowed to choose a movie from the $5 bin.  After all the craziness that is VBS week x 2, they were well behaved and cooperative at both locations.  Mal chose Kung Fu Panda and Xav hemmed and hawed until Dad suggested The Lego Movie, decidedly not a $5 movie.  Now I get to hear that song all the time.  You know the one.  UGH.

    A photo, video, link, or quote to share (silly, serious or both!)…
A science calendar for July.  Yes, I know it's almost over by the time I'm posting this, but you can still use it!