Sunday Sum Up: Week 22 2013-2014

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This week.. we really needed to hit the books and get some things DONE with.  We were supposed to finish reptiles last week, but alas we have two days of work left.. so we knocked that out!  After we finished it up we planned to move on to our CLOUD unit.  Lots of experiments and videos and computer time, plus a few great books! But it just did not happen this weekend!  So Monday it is!

Monday: Emily and I got math, history, vocab, Latin and she read a lot to get ready for book club. 


Tuesday:  We woke up to our power off and I was supposed to meet my M- I - L (shout out to Vickie)  for lunch and some shopping but didn't want to leave the kids home so we all went-- which meant NOT much school got done!  But once we got home we hit it hard and we were able to get a fair amount done.

Wednesday: Truly I spend the day cleaning and preparing for book club and dealing with errands and some online "stuff"... so besides book club which was wonderful, Emily only got math done, but she did two lessons- plus all the activities for book club, so we managed to touch on: literature, art, science, vocabulary, psychology and film theory!

Thursday: Today we got to go see Miss Nelson is Missing!  After, that I had an appointment with a chiropractor so again it was a light school day.  I told the kids tomorrow all the had to do was make sure their Sonlight reading was caught up and could take a break on all other subjects!  

Friday:  worked on the house, we have a lot of guests coming on Sunday for Easter at our house. I am kind of excited, but also nervous about getting everything done! We also had to check all the levels in the pool and then clean it out one more time. It is not hard, it just takes time...

We played the push-fully-clothed-people into the pool game: of  course she was already wet because Dave had soaked her with the hose.  :0)  That is how we roll here...

After deciding to just get in and enjoy it for a while they attempted to coax Riley in too...

 

The kids even pretended to drown to convince her to get in and help her.. but all she did was chase them around the pool and whine and cry!  She really wanted to help them!!

 

 

 

She really did not want to... when we finally got her in she scrambled up Kate! 

 

 

But finally she got in by herself... she just cant get out!

and here is her "dog" paddling to the side...

Saturday was spent cleaning, straightening and getting ready.  We took a pretty big load of give away to a friends who is having a garage sale as a fundraiser for adoption travel expenses.

Those bags are the left side two deep!  :0)


 We dyed Easter eggs... and hung pictures on my walls!

Um, My One and Only did this for me.  Sweet love.  I like him, he is a keeper (99.9% of the time)

Kate's drawing...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Miss Nelson is Missing... March 2013

We went to Main Street Theater to see a productions of one of my favorite kids books

 

MISS NELSON IS MISSING

 

I loved this story as a kid and even to this day it is one of my favorite ones!  I remember knowing that Miss Viola Swamp WAS Miss Nelson but the day I discovered the GIW (wig box) in her closet.. sealed the truth for me!  I was sitting in the library in elementary school and we had a big round circle, that was like a sunk in living room... with two steps.  I was lying on the bottom step, with the book on the top step and I let out a little shout when I noticed the wig box on the top shelf of the closet!  The librarian, whose name was Mrs. Dunham... learned at me STERNLY!

It was pretty good and pretty funny... they added a lot to the story, which I guess was necessary to make it a worthwhile production... but still bugs me.  There was one part where they mandate that "corporal" punishment is unnecessary and proven by a bunch of studies to be ineffective... but it was really weird because there was lots of "violence" perpetrated by the cast.  There was lots of talk about throwing kids out a window, there was "hitting", a lot of getting in peoples faces menacingly... So it was weird to "advocate" for non violence, but yet show so much of it!


The set was great and they do a fabulous job!  I was impressed with the actors for the most part.  Seating is a little off, there is two huge front sections that see the play straight on, but the two side sections (where we were at), you only saw them from the side, almost the whole play.  I would try to be seated in the middle section if we attend again!  The staff is professional, there were a ton of school buses, picking up and dropping off, but everything went smoothly.

Their next production is Charlotte's Web... which is always a winner in my book!

Read aloud: Miss Nelson is Missing!

Harriet the Spy Book Club....

I Spy.. some girls having fun!!

these were the only black rimmed glasses I could find.. they are like magnifying glasses!  Aren't they fun!  Each of the girls of course got a journal!!!

We had cake and milk (just like Harriet every day at 3:40-- but we had our cake at 2:40)  and we tried egg creams (which is pronounced "Eh crim" and has no egg and no cream!)  and lastly we had TOMATO sandwiches-- of course we had to have tomato sandwiches!!!

We tried some experiments like Harriet's friend Janie-- we didn't end to blow up the whole world-- just make a few explosions!!  First we tried vinegar and baking soda in a zip lock bag!  Worked like a charm after we remembered to add warm water and SHAKE it up!  Next, we did the awesome diet coke and mento experiment.. IT was awesome!

Sunday Sum up: Week 21 2013-2014

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I took NO pictures this week.  It was a crazy, crazy week!  Kate and Matt got the bare minimum done and skipped math two days!  But they are up on their reading so that is good.  We have to catch up on discussion, vocab, time-line and questions this week!!! 

Emily did all her basics except for English... and worked on a paper for amphibians... and started reading about various reptiles...

Emily is reading Harriet the Spy for book club--- FUN!

We are still working on reading Augustine this week and hope to finish it by Friday.

I have such a busy week, plus need to catch up on school stuff, plus need to clean and work on the house before Easter!

I feel like Emily and I are doing a few fun things, but Kate and Matt are not--- but they do not seem bothered.  I guess "after" school they are working on things they enjoy. 

Kate has been painting a lot.  She has also started working on her home work for Teen Pact- She wrote both our state representative and our state senator this week...we have also been praying for them daily.

She also had her last sign class for three weeks (she will start session 3 then).  We are so excited and thankful for these classes-- it is an amazing opportunity to learn and be a part of people who love the deaf ministry!  I know God's timing is in these classes!  She is learning so much!

a very bad picture of her teacher during sign class!

She had 4-H this week, plus as an officer she had to serve bar-b-q in the 4-H tent @ the La Porte Livestock Show and Rodeo-- so we were up there Friday night and Saturday afternoon.




How many 4H officers DOES it take to make a chopped beef sandwich?  :0)

 

Matt and Dave started building Matt a computer last week...

I have no idea about the gloves.... Off to the left hand side is the Truss Bridge Matt built last week too.  I gave him a day off math to work on a more hands on math assignment and he found a design for this and built one!

The kids also spent time working on the pool-- lots of work! and of course there is physical activity and chemistry involved!!!

 

 

We had Keepers of the Faith... the girls finished their tie quilts, made cards and made soup! 

Almost finished 3 badges!

 

 

We also had eye doctor visits this week and got to meet Daddy for lunch at the park...

and Kaitlin needed glasses!!!

 

 

 

 

We had a busy week-- full of ALL types of learning! 

 

5 Things I would tell my 16 year old self...

1. The relationship is a mistake.. Save yourself the heartache.

2. You actually ARE skinny!

3. The "best" friends you have now most likely wont be who you hang with later on-- you might still be friends but they are not who you will "live your life with"

4. Save money. Be wise. Learn all you can about your purchases and the future.

5. There are people outside your circle who DO NOT think or believe what you do. Know what you believe and why, for yourself.


What would you say?

Sweet, but not sassy girls...

Becky and Mary Faith surprised Emily with a special birthday treat.. a girl spa day!  We met at Sweet and Sassy in Pearland and the girls got nails, toes and hair all done! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each girls got a mini pedi, mini manicure and a special up-do!

Emily chose the most beautiful blue for her nail color and a simple up-do for her hair but she ended up allowing the glitter (we werent sure she would go for the glitter at first!)

Both girls turned out pretty, but I am not suprised as they are always beautiful!

We had a wonderful morning and finished with lunch at Olive Garden... what a sweet time with friends!

Menu Plan Monday and some diet changes: March 18-31

Not going to list which day we have what here, just list meals we plan on for the next two weeks:

I am on a chicken kick if you can't tell.  We are trying to eat healthier and although these recipe's do not seem healthy (and aren't in some cases) I am using as many ingredients as possible to make the them in a  "healthier" way while still making it something the kids and Dave will eat.  IT is also about portion control in my own home!  They will eat the things they like in huge portions..
So I plan on simply making enough! 
I am going to sneak a few veggies in here and there. Wish me luck!
 

Chicken Parmesan and a few Parmesan Red Snapper to try! baking both to see if the kids besides Kate will like it!
 

Enchilada Casserole
 (using ground turkey and 2% cheese) and home made enchiladas sauce for the first time!
 

Roast Chicken
 

Ravioli Casserole
 

Tacos

General Tso's Chicken

Chicken and Dumplings

grilled chicken/ couscous

grilled chicken with fettuccine Alfredo
(making this with half Alfredo sauce and half a navy bean Alfredo sauce-- we will see!!!)

sour dough bread paninis w/ soup
quesadillas

Taco Ring

Sausage and Tortellini Soup

Chicken Flautas

and making this Chicken Salad for lunch-

Skinny Chicken Salad :
1 lb. chicken breast (chopped);
 1/2 c. diced red onion;
1/2 c. diced apple;
 2/3 c. grapes, halved;
 1/3 c. dried cranberries;
1/4 c. sliced almonds;
 1/2 c. Greek yogurt;
 1.5 T. lemon juice;
 1/2 tsp. garlic powder;
salt & pepper.

We are in the process of implementing a
few "diet" rules at home:  NEXT 2 WEEKS

*water all week (with treat of soda on the weekend) or unsweetened tea (no artificial sweeteners)

*snacks (making sure it is a serving!)

*having popcorn or chips with salsa for snacks (these are cheap and can be healthier if done right)

*meals planned to allow a set number of carb meal items to be consumed in one day.  (i.e. if you eat pasta you don't have bread, if you have bread you don't have chips.. etc)

* more protein allowance per person

* dessert type snack once a day

* no reward of food

* Wii exercises video OR other exercise video must be done BEFORE other electronics are played

* simply portion control of certain foods.. Yes, we can have pancakes but you will get two pancakes AND eggs instead of pancake being the whole source of the meal

THIS IS ALOT to do and keep track of for 5 people until a really good system is set up and it becomes the norm.. so I am saying I am focusing on this for 2 weeks and we will see how it goes, what worked, what didn't etc.  I know there will be mess ups and I am not going to worry about it.. my motto is basically doing something is better than not doing anything!

We will simply do our best to DO BETTER!



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Week 20: Sunday Sum Up 2013-2014

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(Vickie there is a snake picture if you want to scroll fast!!!)


I obviously missed a lot of weeks of Sum Up.. but I am going to just start again and not try to play catch up!  We did school for 6 weeks after Christmas, had a one week break and now we are finished with our second week.  We wont have another break until Mid April for Teen Pact.

This week we worked hard on science... I am wanting to get through the majority of this curriculum and move ON!  I am moving to smaller mini units for the rest of the school week and through the summer.. I will reevaluate again come fall.

So we finished up amphibians and are getting started on reptiles.

It called for a trip to the zoo!

Emily worked hard on Wordly Wise this week... in fact I found her everywhere except for at the table!

Don't ask me!

We worked on Fractions for math and spoke about acute, obtuse and right angles...

Showed Emily this and she thought it was hilarious!

She is working hard in Latin and is really doing well remembering and recognizing a few derivatives.

We started a read aloud about Augustine this week... and she is moving on in history.


Emily used the computer a lot this past week to play games for Wordly Wise, to learn about amphibians and to work on fractions... IT was time well spent!  I need to utilize what is right in front of me!  It kept her busy AND it is a great tool to help her cements facts!


I gave you a catch up on Matt and Kate here.. and plan to start Summing up together next week!

Livestock Show 2013

Last year we did the Livestock show up big and stayed for the carnival and everything, this year we hit all the free stuff.... ate lunch... did a little more free stuff and left the hot, expensive lines for Blizzards at Dairy Queen.  Yes.  It was a good choice!  I do not know WHY but it was SOOO crowded, I have gone on Spring Break week for years but this was crazy! I had my three, plus two friends and at one point I had Emily's hand and Kate had Alex's hand and we moved through the crowds that way!  Yuck.  So I had said the kids could each choose ONE pay activity to do but by the time we got through everything free and Emily looked like this

 (waiting for the boys to finish driving monster trucks) we opted for Dairy Queen and no lines...

Other than the lines we had a great time!  Emily got to see an ewe named Tuesday who was born on HER birthday!!!  Our friends had never been to the Livestock show before and the first than E mentioned was the smell!  Truth.  It is kindof overwhelming!  We made sure to do and see pretty much everything there was to see!