RosieMD

Beautiful Farmer's Market Find

2011-05-06T01:01:00.023-04:00

Despite, the rather poor quality Iphone pictures, are these not the coolest looking bean pods?! I happened to go to the farmer's market yesterday as I was in the area for work. My boy loves to go there so we stopped in. I was just commenting to a friend that I have never seen fresh beans in our local grocery stores other than green beans. I saw these beauties out of the corner of my eye and had to buy some.

These beans are cranberry beans. I have seen dried cranberry beans at a fruit market downtown, but have never tried them. I have never shelled beans before, but these were much easier to open than I had expected.

Each pod had between 4-6 beautiful speckled beans in them.

I shelled all of the beans, added them to a small pot and covered with water. I added a bit of olive oil, chopped garlic and about 2 ounces of chopped bacon. I brought it to a boil and then simmered for about 30 minutes. The beans lost quite a bit of their beautiful color. I am wondering if I let them boil too long. That's not really the reason I don't have a picture of the finished product. It may also be that I ate most of the beans myself ;) They were absolutely delicious. I would even venture to say the tastiest beans I have ever had. I saved about 9 of the shelled beans to see if they will grow in the garden. I sure hope so since I am wishing I had picked up more than the 3/4 of a pound that I purchased!

Northern Lights

2011-04-21T17:23:00.005-04:00

Today while working on astronomy, a lesson about the earth's layers turned into a conversation about the earth's magnetosphere which turned into a conversation about the Northern Lights. Homeschooling is just like that ;) Below is a video we found an amazing video of the Northern Lights taken in April of 2010 in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Garden Update

2011-04-19T17:05:00.005-04:00

My fellow farmers and I have been diligently working in our garden this year. I have gardened off and on since my oldest was born, but have begun to take more of an interest in it recently.

We buried our pumpkin in the garden when it started to rot as compost. That pumpkin lasted from September through after New Year's, by the way! We were quite surprised to see that some of the seeds from the rotten pumpkin had sprouted and we now have a pumpkin plant. The flowers are huge and beautiful!

We planted 3 packs of Bush Blue Lake green beans back in February and have harvested about 5 dinner servings worth of green beans so far. My little one loves green beans. Unfortunately, she mostly loves the canned variety, but we're working on getting her to enjoy the fresh, too!

The cucumbers have been really tasty. Chase was willing to try them, but did not like them :( So far, I have been the only one to eat them!

We are growing cucumbers, yellow summer squash, Tom Thumb zucchini, yellow pear tomatoes, grape tomatoes, Homestead tomatoes, green cabbage, purple cabbage, green beans, corn, broccoli, and some other tomato varieties as well as a variety of peppers.

The broccoli is pretty much done at this point. We may get a few florets off of the last plant left. We harvested the broccoli twice. Not too successful. We have harvested a whopping 2 yellow pear tomaotes, 1 grape tomato and 2 cherry tomatoes. We lost a few big, no name tomatoes to blossom end rot so far and several yellow squash to the same problem. We've harvested about 6 cucumbers, 4 yellow squash, 2 cubannelle peppers, a few jalpenos and 1 poblano pepper so far.

We love our garden!

Another Book About the Great Depression

2011-04-19T17:02:00.003-04:00

We read another great book about the Great Depression in school today. "The Babe and I" is written by David Adler and is about the bond between a boy and his father as they work to provide for their family during a difficult time and the nation's love of baseball at the time.

The Great Depression

2011-04-15T09:37:00.005-04:00

We've been learning about the Great Depression in our school this week. We checked out some great books from our local library that we really enjoyed.

"Leah's Pony" written by Elizabeth Friedrich is a heartwarming tale of a little girl and her pony during the Great Depression. Chase says it is a must read for anyone learning about the Dust Bowl and the hard times of the Great Depression.

"The Gardener" by Sarah Stewart is another precious book that takes place during the Great Depression. It is the story of a young girl who is sent from her on the farm to live with her uncle in the city when her parents are affected by the financial turmoil of the Great Depression.

Even if you aren't learning about the Great Depression, these are great books to add to your children's library.

The Face of Sheer Surprise...

2010-01-13T14:29:00.002-05:00

What I've Learned This Week

2009-10-09T15:26:00.002-04:00

1.) Having a chronically ill loved one really sucks.

2.) Teaching long division to an 8 year old who has no interest in learning long division will make you want to pull every last hair out of your head. But when said child FINALLY gets long division, you will feel like you just climbed Mount Everest. At least temporarly.

3.) When your garden has finally started to actually produce beautiful, big ears of corn, which your non-veggie loving husband and children will acutally eat, don't get too excited. When it is just about ready to be picked, the neighborhood hoodlums, rather deer, will come and trample your garden and eat... EVERY. LAST. EAR.

Precious Letter

2009-09-16T20:38:00.003-04:00

Gabriella's Keyboarding instructor has had the students doing assignments lately relating to what you want to be when you grow up. The latest assignment required the students to write a letter requesting an interview for a position involving what they want to be when they grow up. I thought Gabriella's letter was precious and had to share it.

Dear Dr Wilson:

Hi, I am writing to you for the position you have. My friend is a doctor and told me about the open position. I have been searching for a position for a month now and would like to interview for resident pediatrician.

I think you should hire me because I would make an unbelievable doctor. I want to work for you because that is my dream. My strengths are working with children. I love working with children and helping people. My education has an A+. I went to school for 12 years.

I have went to school for 12 years. I did a few practice years at Florida Hospital in Orlando. I have been doing practice years with children.

May I please have an interview? I think I would be great for the position. Please contact me at 407-333-0463. Thank you for your time and patience.

Sincerely,

Dr. Gabriella M. D., MD

I pray, Gabriella, that the Lord guide your every step and grant you every desire of your heart. You are a precious gift and, yes, you are "unbelievable"...unbelievably wonderful ;)

Little Ballerina

2009-09-13T09:52:00.006-04:00

Ava has been asking about going to dance classes for some time now. We finally found a studio nearby that seemed like a great fit for what we were looking for. We stopped by and watched a class and were invited to come back for a free trial class.

To say Ava was excited about this oppurtunity is probably an understatement ;)

Shall we say things went a bit sour from that first picture above? It turns out they switched class days and Ava was so bummed!

The good news is, we went back for the new class time and Ava LOVED the class. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera that day! I did go ahead and sign her up for the class so more smiling pictures are on their way ;)

Foggy Morning Conversation

2009-09-08T07:56:00.002-04:00

Ava-"Ooohhhh, it's white out!" followed by squeals and giggles ;)

Ava and Gigi

2009-06-29T14:27:00.002-04:00

Trying to Lighten Things Up

2009-06-13T19:52:00.002-04:00

My sweet and precious little has been having struggles with rectal bleeding since potty training back in September. The pediatrician finally allowed us to get a referral to see a gastroenterologist this week. The gastroenterologist believes all is well but would like to do a colonoscopy on my sweet girl to be sure. It absolutely breaks my heart to see her go through this and I dread the day of the prep as well as the day of the procedure. She had two especially concerning bleeds this week and the pediatrician said if it happened a third time in 24-48 hours, she wanted to admit her to the hospital and just get all the testing done in a more timely manner. I was telling Gabriella and Chase about it and Chase asked me why she would need to go to the hospital.

"So we can get to the bottom of this situation, Chase" I told him.

Chase's response, "Literally!".

I love that boy ;)

Ava is at Work with Me Today

2009-06-10T09:48:00.001-04:00

Pray for me ;)

I Thought it Was Why

2009-06-08T06:57:00.006-04:00

I remember when Gabriella and Chase were the ripe old age of 3 and everyone telling me kids that age love to ask the question why. They did. It did not seem as exaggerated as many people seemed to say it would.

And now I have this beautiful, bright and precious little 2 year old running around. She has quite the vocabulary and is already showing signs of being quite the voracious little reader ;) She frequently requests that I tell her a story, which oftentimes means, just talk to me about everything. Lately I have noticed that these "talks and stories" are laden with the repeated questioning by her of "where".

"Mama, where Chase go?"

"He went to the rodeo with Papa and Daddy."

"Where?"

"The Rodeo?"

"Where?"

"In Kissimmee."

"Where?"

"At the Silver Spurs Arena"

"Where?"

"In Florida"

"Florida! There are lots of thunderstorms in the summertime. In Florida!"

Frustration

2009-06-04T11:33:00.002-04:00

This has been a frustrating week for multiple reasons; including broken and ruined things:

Frustration #1: Paul broke my iphone. The screen is totally shattered and it turns out that At&t does not insure iphones since they are a product of Apple. ***big SIGH***

Frustration #2: Gabriella left the garage freezer open and I had to throw out a bunch of food. A friend on Facebook commented that she knows I treated Gabriella with much grace in regards to the incident. Is telling an 11 year old, sarcastically, that they had to pay for the ruined groceries with their own money considered handling the situtaion gracefully?

Ways to Save the Planet

2009-05-26T11:18:00.003-04:00

How to save the planet #1: Shower Outside.

The BIG Conversation

2009-05-06T21:03:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, Paul decided the day had come that Gabriella should be given "The Talk". You know, the one that people like me totally dread, aka the birds and the bees talk. He insisted that the day had come and he did not mind telling her, but thought it should come from me. He said he would want her to look back and remember me telling her rather than her dad having to tell her because her mom is a chicken ;)

I had bought this set a few months back, but it turns out the books are very not me. The first book in the series of 4 is targeted at the 3-5 age range and I did not even want to read that one with Gabriella, let alone any of the other 3 books. Paul and I prayed and then he called Gabriella to the room and then he left me. All alone. With those books.

I knew she already had a basic understanding about her own body growing up and puberty thanks to her one year in public school last year. But we have never really had any "sex" conversations. I asked her yesterday what she knew. She told me that she knew people had to have sex to have a baby. I asked her where she learned that information and it came from the son of a family I used to work for who is a year younger than G. That made me very unhappy, but we moved on. She told me what she thought that meant which was very vague and involved her telling me you had to get in bed naked. So, I gave her the basics and PRAYED she would not ask me any other questions. Especially nothing personal...

No such luck...

"So, you and Daddy had to have SEX to have Ava?" she asked with a very concerned and grossed out face.

"um, yeah..." I squeakily answered.

"Do you want any other babies" she questioned with even more concern.

I mumbled something about not being sure.

She looked around the room for a few moments and then turned to me and said, "If you do want another baby, I think you should adopt"

Yesterday and Today

2009-03-01T20:43:00.003-05:00

To say that my family life was difficult growing up is probably quite an understatement. My parents fought like the proverbial cat and dog and did not seem to care when little ears were right there listening. Many issues during childhood made me feel terribly insecure and anxious...

My father has never been an easy person to please. Everything was questioned, nothing was ever good enough. The biggest problem with this is that it is still happening today. It extends from the simple things like when I make a meal that is beyond the usual, I hear, "Well, I have had worse" all the way to, "You should have done this long before now" when I had worked my a$$ off and graduated in 2007 just 4 months after having Ava. Several months back, I decided to apply for the nursing program at school because I just did not know what to do next. There were over 500 applicants to the program. The day I received my acceptance letter I felt so proud that I was one of the chosen students out of so many. Never did I hear a word of congratulations from my father. What I did hear was, "forget about that, why can't you go to medical school. You are not getting any younger".

The truth is, I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to be a nurse. I just have struggled with what I should be doing and I chose to apply to the program. It is no wonder that I struggle with such indecisiveness in nearly every predicament that comes my way, even seemingly simple ones. It is diffult to choose where to eat because it might not go well and I will be to blame. How can I make big decisions like what I should do with my life?

I don't want to be like my parents. My life is bound up by anxiety, confusion and chaos. I don't want this for my children. I want to be my kid's greatest cheerleader in life, their support, a boundless source of love. I am so tired of my self worth being measured by my success on unjust scales of other's judgements.

The Tale of a Dirty Dog

2009-02-09T10:06:00.004-05:00

So, the cord that Gigi ate was not from my Rebel. I don't really know what the cord was from, but I digress...

Last week, I put Gigi out on the patio because she was driving my a bit crazy. I let her back in and she was covered in dirt. I don't know what the heck happened to her, but that will be the last time I leave her unattended outside.

GiGi

2009-02-09T07:56:00.003-05:00

I really want to say that I hate my dog, but since that sounds really mean, I will say that I strongly dislike her. Ava has been up this morning since 2:30. The night before, I spent 6 hours in the ER with Chase. Needless to say, I am TIRED!!! My lovely Bischon decided this morning to chew anything she could get her grubby, razor sharp puppy teeth on. This includes the cable for my camera and my glasses. I would post pics for you, but I can't...she ate the camera cable! We should have stuck with having just one dog...Madison!

Words of the Week

2009-01-26T16:51:00.007-05:00

Disappointed- Aren't I a little old to feel like my birthday was a disappointment?

Tired- I really need a good night's rest!

Thankful- My dad's procedure went well this week.

Excited- Taking the kids to Blue Springs on Friday and am hoping there will be lots of manatees to see. I know the kids will enjoy it!

Starbucks- I really, really, really want a mocha frap!

Oxymoronic- I ate a chocolate dipped ice cream cone from McDonald's while reading a Biggest Loser book from the library. I am hoping reading the book is at least a start ;)

New Cell Phone!

2009-01-25T08:13:00.005-05:00

I got my iPhone this past week that Paul bought me for Christmas (he could not find one before Christmas...maybe because he waited until December 23rd, but I digress ;) I plan to use this little piece of technology to help me with my lofty goal of being more organized this year. It is pretty neat, even if I don't know too much about it yet.

The calendar feature allows you to add your events and then set reminders. Two reminders, in fact! Because people like me apparently need all the help that can be mustered up! I entered in my events and set the reminder for 1 day before said events. And 1 hour before, you know, in case I forget the day before reminder.

I will be more organized!
I will be more organized!
I will be more organized!

Publix Shopping Trip 1/20

2009-01-20T16:51:00.005-05:00

I went to Publix today to take advantage of some good deals they have going on. As usually happens to me, the cashier questioned just about every coupon I presented to her. It seems that many of the cashiers at the stores that I frequent seem to think that my coupon savings will be directly debited from their paychecks :( I had two coupons for 1 free jar of Aunt Nellie's veggies which the cashier said I could not use since I did not buy any veggies. The cashier standing next to her waiting to take over gently asked, "what exactly do you think beets are?!".

Before coupons and specials, my total was $103.99. After all of my savings my total was $39.97!!!

FYI-Publix is supposed to accept their coupons even if they are expired, but not manufacturer's coupons. Not sure if most people are aware of that policy. That policy helped me score some great deals today!

Typos and Bad Grammar

2009-01-09T15:16:00.002-05:00

I really can't stand typos, misspelled words and bad grammar. Each of these things stick out like a sore thumb to me. So, I am especially aggravated that TWICE, in just one day, I typed something incorrectly on Facebook. Of course, I don't know how to delete what I already submitted and now I feel like an uneducated dummy!

Horses

2009-01-03T13:48:00.005-05:00

On New Year's Eve, Paul, the kids and I were planning to take a quick trip to the zoo and then run some errands. When we drove by, we saw that the horse were by the fence so we made a pit stop to pet and feed them, especially since Ava loves them so.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day. We would have stayed with the horses longer and forgotten about the zoo, but Gabriella and Chase started arguing and things went downhill quick so we headed out after G attempted body slam her brother. It was fun while it lasted!

Christmas Cookies

2009-01-03T13:41:00.006-05:00

Call it a jovial mood or a moment of madness on my part, I let the three kids make and decorate cookies on Christmas Eve in the morning. Much fun was had by all...of course when it was time to clean up, the kids were too exhausted to possibly lift a finger to assist with that effort!

Resolutions

2009-01-01T06:56:00.002-05:00

For accountability purposes...

1.) Be a better wife and mother (quality time)

2.) lose weight

3.) organization

Here's to a great year!

Small Rant

2008-12-05T06:29:00.002-05:00

I was just watching House of Babies and this couple had a baby girl. She had just had her baby and said, "We will definitely be going for number 3 since we really want a boy". WTH? Does that mean they did not really want the girl they just had??? I recognize that it probably is not the way that it comes across...it really, really annoys me though.

Money

2008-11-14T08:20:00.003-05:00

Finances are pretty tight right now. It is really, really frustrating to me. I recognize that I am being quite selfish. I know that there is a multitude of people who are in far worse positions than us. But, I digress...

I have gotten so many email offers lately with coupons and coupon codes to shop at some of my favorite stores. Just this morning, I have deleted Janie and Jack coupons, Gymboree. Gap, Joanns, and more. I long to use these coupons, but if you have no money, it does not matter how great the coupon is. Why does it hurt sooooo bad to delete these emails? It is taking every bit of willpower or what have you, to not attack my recently deleted emails, retrieve my beloved Janie and Jack email and hightail it to the Mall at Millenia and charge up my CC. Darn you SCPS budget cuts!!!

Encouraging Sign

2008-11-04T06:34:00.002-05:00

I had to make a trip to the Seminole County Health Department yesterday and was encouraged by a sign that I saw hanging on the window. The sign read, "Please feel free to breastfeed your baby wherever you would like". The sign also stated that if you preferred to feed your baby in a private place, that place would be provided for you. As much as I hate spending any amount of time at the health department for reasons that I don't really want to delve into at the moment, I was glad to see a sign that actually encouraged breastfeeding in a public place.

It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

2008-10-31T12:37:00.004-04:00

2008-10-29T14:41:00.015-04:00

We had Chase's Indiana Jones party this past weekend. The kids had tons of fun!

I have never seen any of the movies, but I guess they eat some gross stuff in one of them. I found this really cute spider bread at Publix and had to order it!

We set up a pool with sand and stocked it with all kinds of goodies so the kids could go on an archaeology expedition.

Angela bought a toy whip that makes noise for Chase. Of course, all the kids wanted to play with it, including Ava!

We got an Indiana Jones "cupcake cake" from Walmart that was not only super cute, it was also super yummy!

The kids played so much, even Chase had to sit down for a break!

Happy Birthday Chase-a-roo! We love you!

Photo Shoot with Karen

2008-10-28T10:51:00.003-04:00

I had Ava's pictures done about 2 weeks ago with Karen Q. She has her own business, Captured Hearts Photography
She is a self taught photographer and is sooooo awesome at what she does! I will definitely be using her again!!!

Probably Had to be There

2008-10-24T20:47:00.001-04:00

"Abel is completely deaf now. Isn't that right Abel?"

"woof"

Chase's Top 5

2008-10-24T13:37:00.005-04:00

I can't hardly believe it, but Chase turned 8 this past Sunday. Where has the time gone! He wanted to tell me some of his favorite things...

1.) white cheese pizza
(Norman's or Cici's- he is not too fond of the version I have tried to concoct ;)

2.) Cheeseburgers

(He loves about all of them! His preferred fast food version is Burger King and he really, really likes Cheeseburger in Paradise which we have been to NJ)

3.) Star Wars/Indiana Jones movies and action figures

(as well as the action figures from Halo)

4.) Snakes

(Chase really likes creatures in general)

5.) Sharks

10 Timely Facts!

2008-10-23T22:24:00.005-04:00

"The time will be changing again. I think on Sunday but not sure. Anyhow this is our 10th Homeschool Memoirs so this week it’s going to be about 10 timely facts about you! Write 10 interesting, crazy, weird, fun facts about you! Include facts about you as a woman, a wife, a mommy, a homeschooler, a homekeeper, a taxi-driver, a cook, etc . I only put 10 facts because I didn’t want to overwhelm you, but you’re welcome to do more! I just posted 101 Facts about myself on my blog, which you can take a look at if you should like."

1.) I think I have become what would be referred to as a professional student. I have a BA from UCF and have tons more credits than I would ever need. I still don't know what to do with myself and just applied for the nursing program...but I don't really want to be a nurse...I just don't know what to do!!!!

2.) I have a strange penchant for reusable shopping bags, but rarely remember to actually bring them to the store with me.

3.) I am super indecisive most of the time...I think ;)

4.) I rarely ever order dessert, but I love to pick at Paul's desserts. He likes to buy cookies at the mall and I always steal the M&M's or chocolate chips out of them. He offers to buy me my own, but I don't want my own. He offers to buy me bags of M&M's or chocolate chips, but I don't really like chocolate too much...go figure;)

5.) I hate, hate, hate mayonnaise.

6.) I adore babies!

7.) I love cold weather and despise the heat. This has led to highly unhealthy relationship with the Weather Channel.

8.) I am a complete germophobe. I just bought the largest container of hand sanitizer I have ever seen in my life from Sam's and it made me irrationally happy to purchase it. My 21 month old can clearly say, "hand sanitizer".

9.) I only like funny/stupid or funny/romantic movies. Everything else is much too serious.

10.) I actually enjoy watching shows like the "Suite Life of Zack and Cody", "Hannah Montana" and "That's So Raven". The kids were not home a few weeks ago and I caught myself watching "That's So Raven" all by myself and laughing hysterically the whole time!

He's Cuban?

2008-09-25T08:56:00.002-04:00

Ava just found some fruit picks in the pantry that look like little arrows and dumped them out on the floor to play with them. Chase sat on the floor to play too and put one in his mouth and said, "I'm Cuban!". I said, "you're from Cuba". I had no idea what he was talking about. He looked at me in shock that I did not know who "Cuban" was.

"You know Mom...the guy with arrows on Valentine's Day?!"

Homeschool Memoirs #3 Routines (Running Late!)

2008-09-11T16:38:00.011-04:00

Hmmmm... My title probably shows that I am a bit lacking in routine....or maybe I have not allowed much margin in my life ( I have been thinking a lot about having margin in life this week since it was the subject du jour at church this past weekend).

We don't have too much of a schedule for school. I do try and make sure the kids are up around 8ish. This is not a problem for Chase at all and he is usually up long before 8. It is a problem for Gabriella! I would like for them to eat breakfast and then "get ready for school". If I allow them to dilly dally, it makes it that much harder for them to get on task for the day.

If Paul is home, we often start the school day off with prayer. Shamefully, we pretty much never start off that way when he is not home ;( Both of the kids almost always start out with math and then usually move on to spelling. Reading is always the last "regular" thing we do. Sometimes I let them have a break and they run around the backyard halfway through the morning, but that often backfires and it is hard to get them back to work. History is often saved for later in the day or sometimes nighttime. Again, waiting to do it often means we skip it and play catch up later on.

The main subjects are pretty much always done by lunch time. After lunch, I try to get Ava down for a nap while the kids play quietly. They are not allowed to watch TV, play games etc until after I leave for work on T, W, and TH. The other days, they are not allowed to until after 3ish.

The kids have Keepers/Contenders every other Friday in the afternoons. The other Friday afternoons they are supposed to be doing a science co-op at Rebekkah's house, but we have not actually started that yet. Most other "homeschool" stuff we do outside of the house occurs on Thursdays with SLC.

I do have a strong desire to be more organized and definitely desire to have more margin in life to actually spend quality time with the kids. I will most certainly be reading what everyone else has to say about their routines to try and glean something from it!

The Office

2008-09-04T13:30:00.004-04:00

I am not much of a TV watcher. Back when I was taking A&P in college, I would come home at night and watch Maternity Ward and always looked forward to it. Then one day, it mysteriously disappeared from the schedule. Paul and I do watch Survivor (yes, I think we are about the last ones on the planet to still watch it). That has lost much of it's appeal for me since nearly everyone I like on the shows is voted off. Adding to it's lackluster appeal is that Gabriella and Chase now enjoy watching it too. I know that sounds horribly selfish, but it somehow becomes less enjoyable to watch when you have a 10 and 7 year old asking all kinds of questions about what you think is going to happen now, who is going to win, why did this one lie, and many other questions involving strategy. But, I digress....

There is a show that Paul introduced to me last spring that I absolutely love...The Office.

Paul bought seasons 2 and 3 last year and we watched those together pretty quickly. I started watching season 4 on Hulu (without telling Paul, shhh!) during the day, but they pulled those since the new season is starting and they just released Season 4 on DVD this past Tuesday.

I just saw the commercial for Season 5 this morning and laughed so hard. I called Paul to tell him about it and was hoping he would get the hint to buy me season 4 so I can start watching it before the new season starts. I have been trying to find a link for it online and can't. When I do, I will be sure to post it so I can laugh whenever I want ;)

Little Artist

2008-09-02T13:19:00.010-04:00

In a moment of madness ;) I decided Labor Day would be a great occasion to introduce Ava to painting.

I read in a book that it is a great developmental activity to introduce at this age, so I thought, What the Heck!

She eventually tired of that boring thing we call paper and chose to paint her sister's leg instead ;)

All in all, it was not nearly as messy as you think it would be to let a 19 month old paint in the kitchen. There was stray paint here and there and she did paint her hands as you can see.

And here is a pic of my little artist's masterpiece. Magnificent!

Homeschool Agenda

2008-08-28T19:42:00.013-04:00

This week's Homeschool Memoirs theme is Homeschool Agendas. I find it fascinating to learn about what other people are using to homeschool their children. Maybe it is just my curiositity, my father wrongly claims it is called being nosey, call it what you will, but I love finding out about curriculum!

Right now, I am using lots of different stuff for the kids;

Sonlight 2-Intro to World History for Reading and History for both kids (advanced readers for G and regular for C)

Wordly Wise 2nd Edition Book (book 5 for G and Book 2 for C)

A Reason for Spelling (Level E for G and Level B for C)

SOS math (Gabriella)

Abeka arithmetic (Chase)

Explode the Code (Chase)

Handwriting without Tears (Chase)

First Language Lessons (Chase)

Grammar Ace and Schoolhouse Rock (supposed to be for G, but Chase, and Ava especially, love Schoolhouse Rock!)

My favorite item that we are using so far is a book that is used with Sonlight called Windows on the World.

Windows on the World is a beautiful book that contains information about featured countries and the people that live there. The neatest thing about Windows is that each 2 page layout of the specific area lists things that we can thank God for that are occurring in those places and it also lists what we can pray about. I can't stop looking at this book myself!

The Bible verse that keeps coming up to me through some tough times lately is Pslam 30:11

"You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, "

Tropical Storm Fay

2008-08-27T10:41:00.003-04:00

Tropical Storm Fay brought us tons of rain last week. After being cooped up in the house, we decided to join Paul outside when he had to change one of the tires on the van in the pouring rain. I put on Ava's very cute raincoat and we headed outside. The expedition did not last long since Paul gave up on the tire change ;)

My Girl

2008-08-26T13:25:00.003-04:00

I am so proud of my girl. We had a field trip to Bruster's today. There were quite a few children and many of them were closer to preschool age. Gabriella was such a help to the younger children. One little guy was new to the group and a little shy, so G helped him out and had him stay with her in line to assist in the ice cream making. At the end of the trip, another little guy was crying that he wanted more ice cream, but each child was only allowed one sample. Of her very own accord, she went over and offered him her only sample. The momma was quite impressed and came and told me about it. What a sweet and thoughtful girl!

Schoolhouse Rock

2008-08-18T13:06:00.003-04:00

I never watched Schoolhouse Rock growing up...I think it preceeded my time ;) I bought the Schoolhouse RockDVD set off of Homeschool Classifieds for the kids since it goes along with Gabriella's grammar curriculum. I have been showing some of the clips to the kids on YouTube to help them learn some of the stuff until we get the set in the mail. The one who seems to really enjoy those wonderful classic clips is AVA! She wants me to continually play it for her, lol! Today, I taught Chase about nouns so I showed him the noun song and Ava could not get enough of it!

It Worked!

2008-08-12T18:56:00.003-04:00

Did you see the last post? It worked, I made a signature! I was looking at someone else's blog and they posted some info on making a signature. I checked it out myself and messed around on the site and made one. As if I have nothing better to do, lol!

Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3

2008-08-12T18:56:00.001-04:00

Teaching at Co-op

2008-08-09T10:47:00.007-04:00

Chase belongs to a group called the Seminole Learning Community. It is a group of families who homeschool their children. They go on field trips and have co-op classes etc. I don't just want to be a user of the system and have been considering teaching a class. The problem is, I don't like to teach. I enjoy teaching my children and all, of course, but I really don't like having to talk in front of a room of people, even if they are little people ;) I was taking a gander around the Internet trying to find something that would be fun to teach. Since hurricane season is beginning to heat up, I thought the kids might enjoy learning about them. I don't want to get too technical as I will definitely lose the majority of the kids who are part of SLC as I am sure none of them are desiring to be hurricane experts at this time in their lives ;) I found this book and thought it might be fun to use.

I also found a little lesson plan on homeschoolshare.com that gives you different ideas to teach the material and some ideas for a lapbook. Now, I just have to work up the nerve to actually do this ;)

Sleeping Through the Night or Not...

2008-07-30T12:34:00.003-04:00

As I had unfortunately suspected, blogging about Ava sleeping through the night was sadly premature. My 3 nights of bliss are but a mere memory now. Ava has returned to her habit of waking up frequently to nurse. Oh well, she will sleep through the night soon enough...or so I have been told ;)

Ava Can Count?!

2008-07-30T12:24:00.003-04:00

Today, Ava brought me a slew of cap erasers- Gabriella wanted them when we are in Staples because they were scented. I started to count them with Ava and was putting them in a little row on the floor. I had gotten up to 2 when Ava picked up the next and said, "3" and then picked up another and said, "4". Paul was sitting at the computer and we both were shocked and laughed. I guess we distracted her as she started laughing and throwing the ersaers around :)

Finally, at 17 months...

2008-06-24T09:11:00.004-04:00

Ava has never slept through the night...ever...until now!!! I am slightly reluctant to get too excited about this latest development, but am hopeful that it will continue! She slept Sunday night from 10:30 until about 7:45. Last night, she fell asleep at 9:30. I nursed her at 6:15 this morning since I had to leave early to be with my mom at the hospital. I hope this sleeping better trend continues. I have waited, as patiently as possible, for her to sleep through the night for 17 months! Woohoo!!!

Ava and Petsmart

2008-04-22T21:38:00.003-04:00

We brought the kids and Madison to Petsmart this evening. They were having a special Pet Birthday celebration with pictures, games, contests......and dog treats (you may know where I am going with this already...). Gabriella saw a table where they were sampling a certain brand of dog treats and she picked one up for Madison and gave it to her. When Madison took it, it broke into pieces. Ava promptly took a piece and I told her not to eat because it was for Maddie. She turned and walked away all the while shoving the treat into her own mouth. I did not know whether I should laugh, cry or vomit, lol!

You Thought You Were Having a Bad Day, lol!

2008-04-22T09:12:00.003-04:00

A New Baby!

2008-04-21T13:02:00.003-04:00

Bill and his girlfriend, Automese, had their baby Friday night. She weighed 6lbs 14 oz (a whole 2lbs smaller than Ava when she was born!) and her name is Aryanna Elizabeth. I am always hoping that my sister will have a baby as I really want to be an aunt. Since Paul and Bill are brothers, that technically makes me an aunt now! Too bad they live in Mass and I don't really know Bill's girlfriend at all. I only have seen her 3 times or so and then they all moved out of Florida. At least I get to go do some baby shopping this week for Aryanna! We are hoping to go up to Mass this summer to meet Paul's new niece. He seemed pretty excited Friday night...I think my babylove may have rubbed off a teeny bit on him ;)

Here are some pics, too...we all think she looks just like her mom...my sister said she looks like a mini-me of Automese!

It's Called a Diaper!

2008-04-21T12:57:00.002-04:00

Paul asked me yesterday if I thought Ava had a big bottom. I laughed and told him no, I did not think she did. Apparently, the day before, Ava had on some black pants on that made Paul feel that she had a lot of junk in her trunk, lol! I tried to patiently explain to Paul that Ava was wearing a cloth diaper and that they tend to be a bit cumbersome under clothes. I guess I should not be too concerned with his comments. Being that he has some sad crazy things in the past. Back before Gabriella was born, he asked me if it were possible for us to have an African American baby. For those that don't know us both, Paul and I are about as white as they come, lol!

Chase

2008-04-04T21:16:00.003-04:00

I have been trying to get caught up on my pictures. I have been having a hard time actually uploading them to my computer so I have been taking my memory card to Sam's and having the pics put on a CD. Here is one I really like of Chase.

Saving Money

2008-04-04T21:09:00.003-04:00

The GRE did not go as well as I had hoped, so we will move on for now to things that actually make me happy, lol!

I went to Albertson's yesterday to pick up some TP that was on sale as well as some hamburger buns. The TP was on sale for $1 for a 4 roll pack. AND, I had a $1.00 off coupon...actually 8 of them! So, I purchased 8-4 packs and a pack of hamburger buns for less than $2. WOOHOO!

Thought for the day...

2008-03-19T15:46:00.000-04:00

I got this in one of my emails today:

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY................ Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning, Satan shudders & says...'Oh no....she's awake!!

Chase-isms!

2008-03-14T09:28:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, Chase, Ava my mom and I went to Target. They had a great sale on Nature Valley granola bars and, of course, I had some great coupons, lol! My mom is completely uninterested in my sales and coupons :) so she went over to the garden center to check out the plants. After I gathered all of my stuff, I headed over to check out. I started to feel so shaky and faint in line that I was certain I was going to pass out. I then realized I didn't even have my wallet on me...it was in my mom's purse. I asked the cashier to please suspend my transaction I would return in a few moments with my wallet.

As we headed back to the garden center I told Chase I was not feeling well and I was concerned that I might pass out. His response, "I hope I can get you into the cart!"

In case anyone is wondering, I never passed out, so Chase's assistance was not needed, lol!

The Dog Ate My Homework!

2008-03-13T17:52:00.003-04:00

Really! We got a puppy dog on Saturday, March 1st. Jessica had gone to the Humane Society on Thursday late and called me quite excited. Turns out, a breeder could not sell one of her puppies and decided she could no longer care for her. SHe is a full bred standard poodle and is cream colored. She is 4 months old and is as sweet as can be, albeit a bit mischevious though! She was underweight and we suspect she may have been abused. Whenever we raised our hands around her at all, she would cower down and move away. It is terribly sad that she was mistreated and just dropped off at the Humane Society. It made me really said everytime I thought about it, but my heart kept reminding me that she was meant to be for us.

We named her Madison and we call her Maddie for short sometimes. I printed off a test for school and she actually tried to eat it! I never really thought I could actually use that excuse, lol!

It has been somewhat bittersweet as I really miss my Abbie girl. I am glad that we can give this new sweet girl a great family that really cares about her. She is currently sitting to me eating Chase's sneakers...I think we have our work cut out for us :)

I love you...

2008-03-10T07:54:00.002-04:00

I meant to post this back on Valentine's Day, but kept forgetting. As some of you know, I don't like coffee, but I love Starbucks frapuccinos. They are quite pricey, not to mention they lack any real nutrition, so I do try to keep my fraps to a mininum! I don't know how this obsession came about, but I so look forward to the days when I do allow myself to purchase one. For Valentine's Day this year, Paul gave me a nice card and inside the card was the telltale little envelope of a Starbucks gift card...WOOHOO! It is a liitle trifold card and the Starbucks card sits inside of that. Anyhow, I opened up the trifold and inside it read, "I love you more than you love Starbucks". I thought that was just so sweet.

Mickey's Merry Christmas Party 12/20/07

2008-01-31T19:40:00.000-05:00

Hannah Montana

2008-01-31T13:47:00.000-05:00

After much hard work, begging, pleading, and searching, my sister was able to obtain much coveted tickets to the sold-out within minutes, Hannah Montana concert this past Tuesday night. Gabriella was ecstatic to say the very least!

The Jonas Brothers were originally scheduled as the opening act, but they changed that at the last minute. Supposedly the Jonas Brothers are getting ready to start a tour of their own. The group Everlife perfromed in their stead and Gabriella said she enjoyed their music. The big bonus; at least Everlife is a Christian band so no concerns over questionable lyrics!

Of course, my father had to voice his opinion on the matter of Gabriella attending a concert. He complained that Gabriella is only 9 and he did not attend his first concert until he was 16. Yes, now would be an appropriate time to break out your violins ;) As we all are well aware, my father is not happy unless he is able to find fault and complain about something;)

Finally A Crib for Ava!

2008-01-24T13:44:00.000-05:00

Paul finally put up Ava's crib on Monday. It only took a year ;) I am actually very pround of him as several pieces of hardware were missing and he was able to make it work...and safely at that ;) I have been watching a bedding set at Target that I wanted for her. It was originally $89.99 and was on sale for $55 and change. That still seemed like a lot to spend so I just kept checking back. Today I went in and they had it down to $38 (WOOHOO!!). I was able to get the set, two extra blankets, an extra sheet and one of those little lovey blankies for $76.

CVS Shopping...

2008-01-21T14:28:00.000-05:00

I have never really cared too much for CVS. Once in a while, I look through their weekly ad, but that is the extent of it. On Saturday, Ava fell asleep nursing in my lap and instead of waking her up, I stayed at the computer and looked at some money saving blogs. Apparently, CVS has some really great sales and you get money back in the form of certificates for buying certain items. I looked at their ad yesterday and they had soyjoy bars on sale for $1 each that are normally $1.29 each. For every 4 bars that are purchased, you receive $4 back on ECB to use on your next purchase. This deal can be repeated a total of 5 times. So, you purchase 20 soyjoy bars for $20 and you get a coupon for $20 on your next purchase. Well, to make the deal even better, I had a coupon for $3 off of $15 which brought my total down to $17. On top of that, I had 2 manufacturer's coupons for $3 off the purchase of 10 bars. So I got 20 soyjoy bars for $11 that would normally have cost me $26 AND I walked away with a $20 coupon for next time! This could get slightly addicting, lol!

12 Month Check Up!

2008-01-15T06:26:00.000-05:00

Ava had her 12 month check up yesterday. She weighs 23.3lbs and is 31 inches long! Wow! Her head is in the 95%, her height is above the 95% and her weight is in the 75%. She was so good for her appointment! They did her PPD at the begining of the appointment and she watched the nurse do it, but did not cry. At the end of her appointment, she got the next dose of IPV and she made a pouty face but never cried for that one either! Such a brave little lady!
Ava has two more teeth begining to poke their way through up top. Her first two teeth were the bottom center which she got around 6 months and she got her top two around 9 months. She seems to be on an every 3 month schedule of getting new teeth :)

Out of the Mouth of Chase ;)

2008-01-10T07:11:00.000-05:00

Chase says some of the funniest things. What makes these things even funnier is that he doesn't try to be funny and is usually being serious. He was picking his nose the other day (sorry, Chase!) and he told me he was digging for gold but was only finding green. We all had a good laugh out of that one.

Last week while we were in TN, 11 month old Ava was playing on the floor and Chase walked in and asked, "Ava, what are you doing?". Paul was in the room too and proceeded to aske Chase what Ava was doing. Chase responded, "Idon't know. That's why I asked her."

Ava's Newest Trick!

2007-12-13T15:20:00.000-05:00

Ava can drink out of a straw now! I went to Starbucks to get a mocha frap while Chase was in speech this afternoon (I know I have a Starbucks problem!). I also got a cup of water so I could give some to Ava. What I usually do is put my finger on one end of the straw and then let her drink the water out of the other end. I let her hold the whole cup today and she actually drank the water through the straw! Oh my goodness...what a big girl!

Snow, At Last!

2007-11-30T10:56:00.000-05:00

The kids finally got to see snow on Monday the 19th! We were up in NJ and I saw on the news that some schools were closed due to snow. So we piled into the car and Ivette drove us to Morristown, NJ so the kids could experience this thing called snow at last. They were so excited! Gabriella and Chase made a snowball right away and threw them at eachother. Gabriella made a mini snowman and Chase did the snow angel thing. When asked what he thought about the snow, Chase said it was just what he imagined it to be :)

Abbie Girl

2007-10-29T09:59:00.000-04:00

I have not posted in quite some time. While we were away in New Jersey, my beloved poodle passed away. I know it might seem silly to some, but it was just too heart wrenching to write about her. I was hoping that posting this might be cathartic in nature, but it is still really hard.

Abbie had been having health issues for several months. On August 1st, she had an ultrasound that confirmed she had a cancerous tumor in her bladder and the cancer had spread to her liver. We already had reservations to leave for NJ on August 6th. Angela had told me to make sure I said my goodbyes before leaving. I did, but not expecting anything to happen while we were gone. She got very, very sick on the 19th and could not even stand on her own. My mother and sister brought her in Saturday morning and had to have her put to sleep. We arrived back in Florida early Sunday morning.

I cried the whole way home. I was so distraught that I was not home to be with her. Angela says Abbie got so sick at the end that she really believes she had no idea who was or was not there. It still is very hard. We buried her in the backyard Monday morning. My mother, sister, Chase, Ava, Louie and I were there. That evening, Paul, the kids and I said our goodbyes outside.

I still miss her terribly. She was a great little puppy girl and I really loved her very much. I still think I can here her walking down the hall or see her in the window when I come home. I miss her "knocking" on my door early in the morning and crying to sleep in my bed with me. I miss her incessant barking for my food when I sit down to eat and her crazy howling cry when she thought I went walking without her.

Abbie had more personality than most people I know ;) She will forever hold a very special place in my heart.

Sleepovers...

2007-07-27T15:34:00.001-04:00

Gabriella went to her first "sleepover" last night. The Lafortunes invited her to spend the night and we decided to let her go. For those of you who know me well, I am super laid back in many respects but can also be ferociously overprotective at the same time. I know, strange mix, lol! It is 3:30 and she is still not back and I am missing her lots! I talked to her on the phone a few hours ago and she immediately started asking if the girls could spend the night at our house tonight. I take it she must be having lots of fun with them...ya think, lol!?

New Pics...bath time fun!

2007-07-26T22:08:00.000-04:00

Here are some new pics from last night. Since I am not supposed to be carrying Ava, my Mom gave her a bath for me. She took Ava and put her in her Bumbo seat in the shower. It was so cute so I decided to take some pictures. Ava loved it!

Finally had the surgery!

2007-07-26T21:57:00.000-04:00

I finally went ahead and had the "fissure" surgery yesterday. I was soooo nervous but, am thusfar, very glad I had it done. I am quite sore but still feel better than I did before the procedure. I am not supposed to be doing any lifting...and according to my dr. that includes Ava. Of course my father is watching me like a hawk to make sure I am not carrying her!

In some other news, Chase seemed pretty quiet and kind of sad this evening. We kept asking him what was wrong and he just said he was tired. Come to find out, he saw Jurassic Park 3 today and he was concerned that dinosaurs might come back to life. Apparently, Julia and Hannah told him that scientists have dinosaur DNA that they will use to make that happen. We reassured him that all is well and he does not need to worry about dinosaurs. Poor guy! He seemed to perk up quite a bit after that, lol!

Solid Foods

2007-07-22T20:53:00.000-04:00

We are still trying solid foods here and there and Ava still does not seem all that interested. I really am not worried about it all and just offer every few days. I baked up a sweet potato today for her and let her try it. She did seem to like it more than the avocado or butternut squash. I think we will continue to keep offering her veggies every few days and then moving on to fruit!

Ava's 6 month check up!

2007-07-19T07:57:00.000-04:00

Ava had her 6 month check up on Monday. She weighs 18lbs 3 oz and is 27 and a half inches long! That puts her in the 90% for weight and above the 97% for height.
Kerry said not to worry about her not wanting food right now and there is no need to push it. Breastmilk is the most important thing for her and solids are mostly just for practice. She sure is interested in watching us eat though! She loves to drink water out of our glasses too!

Ava's First Try at Foods!

2007-07-18T15:07:00.000-04:00

We tried Ava on some solids for the first time this past Thursday the 12th of July. She opened her mouth for the spoon but seemed pretty indifferent to the avocado. We gave her a few baby spoonfulls and then she really did not seem too interested in having anymore. I tried with avocado again on Sunday and it seemed to be the same thing. I also tried some butternut squash yestereday and got a similar response. Except, this time she did the whole yuck face and shook her head, lol!

Teeth!!!

2007-07-12T14:07:00.000-04:00

Well, it looks like somebody is cutting some new teeth! I know it is quite silly but I have been really sad about it. It is just a reminder of how fast she is growing! She is not really letting me look at her bottom gums...but it feels like there are two coming in at once. What a fussy she has been since Sunday though! Poor baby must be uncomfy with those toofers coming in.