Hooo Boy!

It's HOT. It is Africa hot... Sahara, shortly before the monsoons actually let loose, hot... yep. That hot. Whew.

Today was a great day, aside from the heat. The boys did an hour of math, and stopped then only because I insisted that we STOP. Enough, already! Let's do something else.

We did phonics in the tub with washable crayons on the walls.

We played in the water with the neighbors.

We made wf brownies (which aren't half bad) and a wf shortcake.

Now we need fresh berries. We had to dump the strawberries because they grew incredibly long, thick hair overnight. Seriously, we went to bed and they looked fine. We woke this morning to find 1/2" hair on them! Sticking straight up like pins in a pincushion! Being the good homeschoolers we are, of course, we watched it most of the day before throwing out the berries. It was over 2" long by five this evening. Creepy stuff.

Mr. FedEx man did not come visit me today. So sad. *sniff* But that means he will surely come tomorrow! Yay!

James read most of A Quest in Time, more of Jolly Robin, and perused the new books from the bookstore. His reading is just amazing, and I am tickled beyond words that he loves to read so very much. He's also thoroughly enjoying the lined paper I bought at the curriculum fair, and is begging to learn to plot points on graphs!

John showed me today during phonics that he knows a great deal more than I (once again) gave him credit for knowing. What a smart little guy (some might say "too smart" if he's already capable of outwitting us...) He's reading VC, CVC, VCC words now on his own. It's a brave new world, indeed!

Jacob can pounce. Yessiree, pounce. Like a stealthy, slightly chubby tiger with no regard for the effects of gravity, he lunges and snags like the most revered jungle dweller. I made the mistake of not guarding my wf brownie closely enough and *fwomp* it was gone! Took a while to get the chocolate from all those fat baby crevices, but he thoroughly enjoyed the spoils of his victory. What an introduction to solids, eh?

A few thoughts to share from today's reading:

"Love is not a retreat from the hard things of life but a citadel from which to gain strength to meet the complex problems of a public and private world." ~Robert N. Rodenmayer, author of I John Take Thee Mary, A Book of Christian Marriage

"...they constantly forget, what you must always remember, that they are animals and that whatever their bodies do affects their souls." ~Screwtape, in a letter to his nephew, Wormwood

The quotes are in no way related, just things that caught my attention while I was reading. Homer was left neglected today, but perhaps he and I will get a chance to chat tonight.

And so, can you believe I've actually blogged before midnight? I'm going to round up tomorrow's pages and worksheets, then go hit the blogosphere.

Have a great one!
Dy

PS- Had a bit of a scare there! You cannot use the "back" button from the new "preview" screen (which doesn't open in a new window automatically, I found). Using "back" will take you BACK to the DASHBOARD! *gasp* ACK! But just as an FYI, you can then hit "forward" and it'll bring you back to the writing screen, text intact, blood pressure back down. :-) Thought I'd share.

Wow, a new look!

I guess now is as good a time as any to see changes at Blogger. It's not like I'm accustomed to the "old" look of the "new" pad yet, anyhow. Actually, it's kind of nice. The new layout is easier to navigate. It's cleaner, and does not feel as claustrophobic as the old look did. (The "dashboard" designation is a cute play on the old "control panel" title!)

We had a truly wonderful day. The morning was spent wrestling, playing dragons & knights (guess who gets the "luxury" of being the dragon...), read stories, colored, and played just a wee bit more. I am worn out!

Zorak made brunch for us, then I got to go to the used bookstore in Leonardtown, ALONE. Wow, that was neat. I bought ten books~ two for me, eight for the boys. *sigh* I sure missed them. We'll have to all go back together. (We meant to go together today, but poor John was done-for by noon, when the shop opened.)

Since I was all by my lonesome, I did slip on down to a little cafe/boutique for a big, frothy, iced mocha coffee frappuccino-like concoction! YUM, YUM! Then came home and cleaned/vacuumed the Suburban. I had hoped to shampoo it, but it was too hot and sticky. (Besides, I had my new copy of The Screwtape Letters calling me back inside the house!)

We've had a wonderful supper, and I'm going to wind up this blog while the boys finish the end of their new Jonny Quest video. (HEY- did y'all know that Jonny Quest was homeschooled? How very cool! That also explains a LOT about Race Bannon's role in the show! Now anyone know where Hadji came into the picture?) I'm off to sit on the porch and practice being old with Zorak. Hope you are savoring your Sunday just as much. See you Monday!

Dy

Getting Settled

Ah, yes, this is going to take some getting accustomed to~ new look, new routine. I don't have any virtual pictures hanging on the walls yet, and the sofa is in the middle of the floor... just hop over the back. I'm going to get a cup of coffee. Would you like one? OK, I'll be right back...

***

OK, here ya go. Careful, it's hot.~

Well, it's Friday evening. Today was hot and sticky, but now it's raining and windy. It's wonderful. I have the windows open and the breeze is heavenly. Zorak is over at the neighbor's house, decorating a Care Bare cake for their little girl's 2nd birthday party tomorrow. The boys are sound asleep, and I have just finished updating my control journal, compliments of FLYlady. So now it's time to blog and play!

It seems we have some changes coming up in our actual home at the same time there are changes to our virtual home. I'll probably bore you a bit with hashing them out. (Sorry.)

We have given up on the idea of a school room. I want one very much, but this house isn't conducive to it- the layout, the flow, the lack of appropriate furniture. We had two choices: splurge on furniture for the room now and push back buying a house, or wait on the furniture and once we aren't paying rent, use the $ we'll save with a lower mortgage payment . Plus, if we wait, we'll be able to match the furniture to the room of a more permanent nature. I'm happy with the decision. That entire quadrant of the upstairs has been in limbo for nearly six months now, and it's sucking the energy from the rest of the house. So now, there will be a niche for it. Happy room, happy house, happy Mommy. (Relieved Zorak, who is sick of hearing me ask, "What are we going to do with the school room?")

This decision means that James will be getting his much-coveted room. He has ached for a room of his own since we moved, and was quite upset to find that he still wouldn't be getting one. We'll make the changeover tomorrow. He'll be thrilled to death, and so will John (although at some point John will have to share with Jacob, but he doesn't seem to mind that so much.)

I helped some friends do some housecleaning today. They have offered me the opportunity to do this with them regularly. I would really like to do it, but Zorak and I need to talk some more about it before I can make a certain commitment. It seems every penny we have is earmarked for something or other right now, all of which is wonderful and helping us to achieve our financial goals. However, every time I take money out for a museum membership or new books for the boys, I feel like I'm stealing from the cookie jar. It would be nice to find a happy middle with that.

Rainbow Resources shipped my order (again) yesterday. FedEx takes about 3-4 days to get here, so I'd say on Monday I can start oogling the truck as it cruises through the neighborhood. (Well, I do that anyway, but now I can do it with a purpose! Yippee!)

So, let's see- the rest of the weekend is coming up. I have a few goals:

1. MUST declutter the house. I'm sure we aren't slobs, but evidently when both parents are paper-addicts, the children inherit the gene. There is paper everywhere and I can't get it sorted through! Forget Calgon, I need FLYLady!
2. Schedule next week's lessons. The boys are ready to go bed the neighbors to give them recorder lessons.
3. Make it to church. We haven't been since the whole directory photo, German swimmer's neck fiasco last month... they're going to think we're hiding.
4. Round up the library books and find out what's due when. I went on a reserving binge last month and now have several due dates scattered around the house.
5. Buy a crib for Jacob and a dresser for James. (We currently have three boys sharing one dresser and a closet that is approximately 1/4 the size of a normal closet.
6. Get the upstairs rooms moved and find a new home for all our school room books (which have been living in the third bedroom... although James won't mind having a zillion and two books in his room, honestly, so this one isn't a priority.)
7. Plant the flowers we picked up today.
8. Pay off a few more bills and get a credit report in preparation for applying for a home loan NEXT MONTH! (I can't believe we are so close to actually doing this! That gives me shivvers!)

The fog is beginning to clear now. I'm reading the following (with notes):
Catcher in the Rye (SO not enjoying this, but have taken the notion that I'll plug through it like I did with Anna Karenina and hopefully will be able to glean something from it.)
The Dead Sea Scrolls (I am thoroughly enjoying this- it's a research-based history of the scrolls from the time they were found in the late 40's through current day. So far, it's a very good read.)
Middlemarch (This is good, but it takes some switching gears to get into the mindset to be able to enjoy it. It's under the pillow, b/c it seems best absorbed in the quiet of the evening with a hot cup of coffee and a thick, fluffy blanket.)
Who Killed Homer? (I am going to have to start over with this one. I cannot seem to get through a full page without interruptions. Perhaps I will ask for an unaccompanied trip to a coffee shop for Mother's Day? Just me, Homer, and a BIG cup of coffee! Mmm, heaven awaits!)

Hey- does anyone know how to do underlined with this thing? It doesn't look like normal HTML works. *sigh* More to learn.

Well, that's it for tonight. I am off in search of a file hosting company and a comment utility. In the meantime, you can email me at tbowmommy @ yahoo . com (minus the spaces) if you'd like to leave a note.

Have a wonderful night!
Dy