Kirsty Loo Hoo....

 

She is a crazy girl!  This is almost a year ago. There are just no other words for this crazy girl!
She just turned 11!  I can't believe that 11 years ago we were waiting for that plane to land and bring this tiny, tiny, TINY little thing into our lives!

Summer school- begins..

We started back up to school today.  We had ALL last week off-- because of a technical break but we had most of the week off before because of sickness (which sadly bled into our technical break).... but even before that we were only at about 60%!  But we finished our "school year" and started our summer school plan today- 3 day a week school.  I am sooo excited! 

We will have two days a week off- with ZERO school (if I see there is a huge struggle in math we will up our math- but we are going to try it this way for right now.)  The kids are excited and I am excited knowing I only have three days a week to plan/ DO! 

Today was the first day of having MF for our full school day.  She has been schooling with us the past couple of weeks, focusing on math-- but she has been doing Bible, spelling and English with us too, but today she entered the land of EVERYTHING THOMPSON ACADEMY has to offer.

She will be schooling with us next year too-- so yeah.  4 kids.  :0) 

A funny story-- of course whenever you are used to teaching your kids things become second nature so I have to stop and explain some things to MF that she is not yet used to doing.  I really need to communicate better because today I told her a very "teachery" thing.  She had done spelling words 3 x each and I asked her to put 3 x each at the top and her name.  I looked at the paper a few minutes later and she had written Mary Mary Mary across the top line.  I laughed and laughed.  I explained what I needed and that I need to remember to explain things better and if she has a question she needs to make sure and ask... It was so funny.

I guess that's all folks!  It was a good day!

aha moment...

I had an aha moment this morning with my kids.

Now hear me out-- I am NOT a dumb person and will not pretend that I will not have to have this aha moment again in the near future but really...

Emily did something and I said to her..."Emily if you do "x" again, I just don't know if I will be responsible for how I react."

and it hit me.  YES, I WILL.

I don't care if she has done it for the 50th time that day.  I don't care if the kids are HELLIONS that day.  I don't care if they have told a thousand lies, lit the house on fire, sold my I phone and racked up thousands of dollars in debt....


I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR MY REACTION TO IT.

Aha moment.

Happenings....

We have been sick. Strep throat.  yuck.

I bought a new rug a couple of weeks ago.. and it is one of my favorite things-- but it is getting dirty.  What to do? What to do? 

My van stopped working LAST Monday (that would be Monday a week ago) and was in the shop all week-- we just got it back on Monday that would be this Monday) and on Wednesday it stopped working-- different problem.  Yes, I know.

Dave has been on a  trial since last Thursday.  Hung Jury.  He had a rough time of and has yet to process all his thoughts-- a girl is dead, an 18 year old is now free (for now) and where is the justice?

My sister in law--whom I don't know at which point I cease calling her my sister in law changed her face book status to unmarried the other day... for some reason out of all this mess- that made me really, really sad.  I am still completely unsure how I am supposed to feel... it is surreal.

I reading Grace for the Good Girl--

 a book that I knew a year ago when I saw the promo video that it would be a book I would read.  I bought it a month after it came out-- in OCTOBER.  I am just now reading it.  It is going to be harsh, but speak truth.  You know that about a book when you put down the introduction four times and it has taken you 5 days to read....

I would like to state again that I am thankful for my FSA-- shame on you Obama for screwing with them....

I am NOT dieting.  I mean there are certain things I am not eating... but certain things that I AM and I need to get back on track.  I have this vision in my head of how I am going to behave (diet and exercise wise)  but it is almost like the saying a writer can't put pen to paper.  When you can't get the words out so a story goes untold... I feel like I can't make the vision I see for myself happen.  Does that make any sense at all???  I want it out of my head and into actions... it is doing NO good in my head.

Dealing with NOT dealing with things and NOT making things better is hard for me.  I like to fix things.  I am a fixer.  Standing back and not fixing.....gives me anxiety.  Lets just say I am dealing with anxiety right now! 

We took the entire week of school off--- (before we knew we were sick- so that worked out well).  We have taken TONS of days off but rarely have the kids had an ENTIRE week of No school.  They were amazed... and I have a feeling they like it a little too much.  So this weekend I am jump starting us a little by starting new chore charts and re arranging the school room and "talking" up our summer plans to hopefully get them excited.  It is working on two of them....

Emily wants to do a sport this summer.  I should be really happy about this-- and glad to have her participate.... but I just feel ugggghhh.  Shame on me.

My IRL friend and blogger Brenda @ The Family Revised had her baby.  I just wanted to mention that....Baby Bee..... 

I have pinned and pinned and pinned lately!  I have plans to work on three of those pin- this weekend and into next week-- I will let you know how that goes. TIRED of pinning awesome crap and never doing it!

I had hoped that putting Emily in drama would decrease the drama at home if she had an outlet-- Yeah I know, it's not working for me.

Matthew has been attempting to watch some eating habits-- of his own volition. It is not enough to make any real change but it is a great step in a good direction! I think some of it is simply a mind set that he is breaking out of and some is because he beginning to understand that his choices are controllable.

4 days left!!!

Alrighty Then!

The Texas Education Code requires that public schools meet 180 days per year; public school students must attend 170 days/year.

I just cut off 10 days from my 180 day year because Texas Education code allows me too-- truly I don't have to actually follow TEC, but as I CHOOSE to follow it and I am a rule follower-- I am totally psyched about this new stipulation!  Obviously the extra 10 days are to allow those who were absent to still meet the required 170 days!  We school all together-- so WE MEET IT!  There are no absentees in my school!

So as of today I have 4 more days of school!!!!!!

I think I am going to take a week off! NO GUILT!

Of course then I just think about what taking a week off will do to my plans for next "years" curriculum and I change my mind about a week off. 

THEN I think why on earth do I feel the need to start August 1?

and the merry- go- round keeps spinning!

SO the big decision is TAKE A WEEK OFF.  I told the kids and they were busting with excitement!  Then I told them we would do school 3 days a wek (minus math which will be 4) until we are through our current curriculum or a stopping point that makes sense. 

They are completely, insanely... excited!

and you know what I am excited too.




           

Sunday Sum Up: Day 156-160 (still playing catch up-- this should have gone out THIS Sunday!)

Monday

we had our busy day with theater AND history....

Emily is doing really well and I really like a lot of the ladies-- I am sure it will get harder as we get closer but thankful that we have 11 more rehearsals until the big day!

I am teaching for the next 5 chapters in history and that will lead us up to World War I...

today I covered Roosevelt, Taft and Wilson and we also studied about the culture of the day: dress, home, jobs, political climate and people like Dwight L. Moody and Fanny Crosby.

We watched a movie called The One and Only Genuine Original Family Band

we also watched An American Tail

when we got home from Amy's the kids did math and Latin.
FULL DAY!

Tuesday:

We slept in a little and then the kids went for a swim (PE right!)  we had lunch and started school after lunch.  I want to say again that I like after lunch school (thank you Brenda!)

We read from Little Women
We did our Bible and review
We started math-- which ended up taking a LONG time!

The kids read

and then I started working on the school room and no other school got done--but I am ready for tomorrow and have my copying done and flashcards ready so I feel good.

Plus I folded a ton of laundry this morning and did two loads of dishes... so lots got done!

Wednesday:

the kids swam early- they got too much sun yesterday. 

We started school with our new spelling exercises.  They went over smashingly (insert sarcasm)

I worked on a money review with the girls and started Matt and Kate writing out their vocab cards...

My morning is so far NOT going as planned as we have veered from our usual things we do and I don't have a handle on how long these added activities will take yet.  But we are pressing on!

I had the girls glue their vocab words/ pictures onto a card for reviewing also.

We watched part of An American Tail again during lunch!

We read Little Women

We did Bible and English.

We also started reading about Frank Lloyd Wright as our newest artist.

We also did logic.

Thursday:

We had theater--- costuming is a lot of work and I am not even doing the majority of the work! 

This is Emily's paper she filled out for theater that I got a picture of.. I find it hilarious that she answered YES to telling the director something! 

After theater we came home and did a little school. 

later that day Kaitlin and I went to the 4H County meeting.  Kate had a lot of fun!

Friday:

We had school-- we did spelling, English, math, Bible, read Little Women and the kids got to swim.

Later that evening we went to the LOCAL 4H meeting--- Kaitlin go elected as a county delegate (which means that she goes to all the district meetings and takes notes and comes back to report to her local meeting) 

This is her doing her "speech" on why she wants to be on the leadership team- (take note of the current president, he sure doesn't look interested!)  :0)  -- we also need to discuss STANCE!  :0)

Here is the entire LaPorte 4 H council for next year-- Sarah Tindall made president!

Sunday Sum Up: Day 131-135 (the unfinished, un- updated week... with no pictures AND it's not even Sunday!!)

Monday:

We went ALL day long.  We left the house at 8:00 and got home at 6:00.  Whewww.  We had theater and history at Amy's.  We are at the Spanish American War (1898)---so excited to  about to hit the 1900's!  Over the next 8 weeks we will work our way to World War II.  So we have loads of presidents, loads of regulations and federal DEPARTMENTS to be set up, a depression, Prohibition, World Exhibitions, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, the Roaring Twenties.. GANGSTA's... TONS of exciting stuff!

Tuesday:

Matt and Emily treated us to McDonald's- their oatmeal is pretty good actually.  We did chores and also worked on starting a few spring cleaning tasks. I have a LONG list.

The kids did math, vocab and read.  

We are finishing up learning about Louise Comfort Tiffany today and will start our new artist tomorrow!

We did physics. 

We also did Bible, English and Emily's Rod and Staff



Wednesday:

We did Bible- I want to say again we love this curriculum!  It digs deep, it is a little much for Emily but it's okay she is still learning every day!


Math

English- 2 lessons

vocab

and  the kids watched the Apple Dumpling Gang


I didn't even finish the update! ;0)  WE did school stuff for two more days that week!