The Twinge.

This week was the first of three Back To School Nights for The Gang.  The Boss and I went to Li'l Empress' kindergarten class, sat in her little chair, wrote her a love note, and learned all about the exciting things she'll get to do this year. I couldn't help but feel The Twinge as I sat there, remembering all the years I got to teach kindergarten to the older kids. Sigh.

I really loved home-schooling in the early years - watching my kids blossom as their confidence and love for learning took root. I know that the public school setting is the best choice for our girl. The services and therapies that are available to her in that setting are invaluable toward setting her on the best path possible for developing a love for learning and meeting her needs in light of her hearing loss.

I know all that, yet I still feel a teensy bit of mourning that I have to share that place in Li'l Empress' first experience with school and learning with her teacher. I am terribly grateful for this teacher - she is so in love with her kids, you can just see it. She has a true teacher's heart. I know that Li'l Empress will bloom under her care and teaching. And our hearing and speech support team is amazing. I can't wait to see what progress they make together. But I still feel The Twinge.

After our kindergarten session, we headed upstairs to the 5th grade class for Baby BlueEyes' session. Already, I can tell that this kid is going to have a phenomenal year. His teacher is so keen on getting to know each kid as unique and respected individuals. In fact, she had each parent fill out a little survey asking us particular questions about our student's strengths, weaknesses, fears, skills, hobbies and so on. She talked a lot about personal responsibility, giving the kids a voice and letting them learn in their own creative ways. And get this! She's known in the building for NOT giving a lot of homework and for NOT giving standard end of the unit tests!

As she was talking, I felt The Twinge again. Sheesh, I've never home-schooled for 5th grade but all the excitement that she was sharing and the creative ideas that she has for helping kids really know the material were just getting me all tingly. I don't even really WANT to home-school, let alone home-school for 5th grade, which requires a much higher level of math than I would ever feel comfortable doing, let alone teaching. But there it was. The Twinge.

I should be well familiar with The Twinge by now.... As I was telling a friend the other day, I seriously spend much of August every.single.year. questioning the plans that The Boss and I have previously agreed upon (usually around March or April during my "yearly evaluation" of the coming year) regarding The Gang's educational plans for the coming school year. Seriously. The Twinge almost ruins my August almost every year.  If we didn't have a ton of family birthdays, a pool, and a bottomless iced tea jug, it WOULD ruin my August. (Yes, it really IS that easy to redeem my summer. I'm a simple gal, what can I say?)

But then I came home. All The Gang members were already settling in to bed, backpacks were lined up neatly in the laundry room and lunchboxes were stacked on the counter. Laundry was humming along. Dr. D was overseeing the night-time routine from the couch and the house was hunkering down for a quiet night. I started my To Do list for Friday - big yard sale on the agenda, followed by laundry and dinner planning.

And The Twinge was gone. Just like that.

The peace of knowing that this year's plan is the right plan for us blankets The Twinge once again, settling any twitching and twinging with its weight. Its rightness.

Until about March. When I begin the examining and observing and analyzing of educational plans for The Gang all over again. And then? Well, then The Boss starts The Twitch. But that's a whole different post, isn't it?

Respect The Wiring - Part 2

If you missed Part 1 of this "Respect The Wiring" series, go to yesterday's post and catch up.

So. I left off telling you what changes we've seen in Dr. D over these last two years.
And how that surprised us as we saw it unfolding.
I'm looking back on it now, seeing the hand of God
over these last two or three years, as we have learned
to step away from our pre-conceived ideas
of who and what he was and let God
lead us toward who Dr. D was becoming... 

It's not that he was necessarily (and still isn't) craving the spotlight or grabbing attention in an obnoxious or showy way. He's not really a show-off. But when he had something funny cross his mind and he shared it, he was learning that the rush of making folks laugh was really a great feeling. I have to admit, this was a tough stage for me. I am HUGE on manners, respect, and appropriate behavior in public. (Probably, as I'm looking back on it all, too concerned about it sometimes. I'm trying to work on that!) I would get so frustrated when he'd tell me how he made his whole English class crack up or how his Social Studies teacher was laughing too hard to correct his interruption to the lesson.

I knew in the back of my mind that the timing issues of his humor and wit were largely a maturity issue but I was still worried that he'd be labeled a troublemaker or class cut-up. Frankly, (and I'm not telling tales that Dr. D hasn't already dealt with) it's a big part of why we brought him home to do cyber-school. I thought he could have a safe place to mature through some of the appropriate time-and-place issues of his obviously natural gift of wit.  Believe me, we had plenty of other good reasons to bring him home these past two years, but this was one that I prayed over more than the others. For example, we also knew that schooling at home would enable him to pursue his grand passion for sports and still have the time to just "be" that his temperament seems to need.

Over these past two years of cyber schooling, I have had more laughs with Dr. D than I ever remember having before. He is one seriously funny kid. And I'm so proud of the times that he's learned to temper his tongue and aim his humor at being truly funny, without hurting anyone in the process. He has grown tremendously in his sensitivity and compassion and empathy for others while he was home. He's also learned some great time management skills as he's juggled a busy football or track season with a really crushing load and pace of work his school perpetually put on his plate. (That, my friends, is another whole story. If you have questions about cyber school, I'm happy to share my experiences. Contact me privately!) 

But we've also had some really tough times - times we held the reins too tightly. Times that he really struggled with submitting to his situation here at home. Struggled with submitting to the "student" job description and all it entailed. It was in these tough times that I began to struggle in my heart and mind with the state of his heart. I found myself fearing another whole type of predator than the ones I worried about when he was a really tender, trusting little guy.

At this point, I must say that I think every mother has one or two particular areas of concern with the individual temperaments of her children. If she is being brutally honest with herself and God, it's been my experience that each mom has something that really drives her to her knees on behalf of a particular child. For me, in this season of Dr. D's life, it was his walk with Christ.

As I said, I saw some great growth in his two years at home in his time management, work ethic, and  comedic timing and sensitivities. But I think that, because he is so different than me in so many areas (except that extrovert thing and maybe the quick, sardonic wit), I had a harder time understanding his process and trusting that it was actually going somewhere good, somewhere eternal. Some days, I really wondered if he would take the faith in which we'd raised him as his own. I was really seeking the Lord regularly and trying to find that balance of letting go and holding tightly. It is a delicate balance, is it not?

It's at this season, when I was battle-weary (from battling myself, the Lord and my son's individual process) that I heard "Respect the Wiring" whispered in my ear that rainy and cold Saturday morning. And, excusing the pun, it's like a light bulb went off when I finally stopped and asked the Lord to explain why it kept ringing in my mind over and over.

My job as Dr. D's momma is to raise him in the ways of the Lord, introduce him to the Savior, give him the support and resources needed to follow the Lord, and let him DO it. But the key was in the LETTING him (and HIM) do it. In his process. In his timing (and the Lord's but surely not mine!). In his way. I needed to Respect the Wiring.

See, when we were trying to key in on his needs in his early childhood for positive role models, we were respecting the wiring that God put in his little heart and mind. Even then, God was wiring him to need to be looking up to someone, following someone worth following.  And when he started getting crazy-rabid-nuts about the Eagles, he was acting out of a need to belong to something bigger than himself. When he was seeking out loud, thrash, scream-o metal music, he was expressing the stuff inside of him. When he started delving into rap music, he was connecting with others' stories and finding a way to tell his own. When he chose rappers who are paraphrasing The Word in all they sing, he was filling his heart and mind with eternal principles and trying to live them out and express them in a way that felt relevant to him.

So, while we were doing some things really well to respect his wiring, I was being reminded gently and clearly that those very things could be the things that would be and, in fact were, leading him to a faith all his own. All my worry and fear was borne out of my lack of trusting. My lack of respect for his wiring. Somewhere in there, I had seriously gotten my wires crossed.

Come back one more time, when I wrap up

this big word picture God has been walking me through!

Respect The Wiring - Part 1

I love home improvement shows. I love watching folks take charge of their own dreams for their home and make them come alive. I really love learning about new ideas and styles and trends. And I especially love watching folks learn "on the job." On one particular cold and drippy Saturday, I was snuggled up with my coffee watching a show about a family who was kind of stuck in their ability to proceed with an unfinished project. They had plateau'd seriously with any forward movement because of finances and lack of expertise. That lack of expertise just so happened to be in an area of home improvement that scares me every.single.time. The Boss has to mess with it: ELECTRICAL and WIRING.

The contractor/host of the show was giving the home-owner a very basic and simple lesson on re-wiring. I sat, cringing, and expecting someone to get zapped.  And when it happened, I jumped. When he was sure the home-owner wasn't seriously hurt or too freaked out to continue, the host went on to explain the concept of crossing lines, stripping lines, checking for live wires, and so on. But all I heard over and over in my mind was "Respect the wiring."  I don't even know, now, if the host said it or if I'd heard it along the way somewhere in our many, many home improvement journeys. But I just kept going back to "Respect the wiring."

You see, this has been a hard year in parenting for me. I've made a lot of mistakes. I've lost my cool more times than I care to count. I've butted heads with my kids, I've steam-rolled them some times. Other times, I've felt steam-rolled by them. It's been hard to flex and change and grow with the stages they are experiencing and let growth and independence come appropriately and safely. Safely is a big thing for me, I'm learning about myself. I am not a risk taker, and I prefer that my kids not take risks that put them in harms' way. I happen to like them in one piece, bones intact and faces arranged as adorably as God made them. Crazy, I know.

But I digress.

I think the reason that "Respect the wiring" spoke to me continually over the following days was really that the Lord was trying to give me a concrete illustration for some parenting dilemmas I was feeling angst over. When I sat and thought about it and asked the Lord to really show me what He wanted me to see, I felt like He gave me a great example in the life of my precious Dr. D.

Bear with me, as I try to flesh it out for you.

My sweet, clever, exuberant Dr. D is something of a surprise to me in these last few years. As a little one, he was a total home-body, preferring the company of his family over almost any other persons. He attached strongly and intensely to the men in his life. He really, really looked to these men for connection and identity. Now, as a Momma, I was more than happy that the majority of the men in his life were family: The Boss, his grandfathers, his uncles, a couple friends, and so on. But as I thought and prayed over him, I recognized that that trait could also spell big trouble for a vulnerable and seeking young boy. So I prayed. And I guarded. And I prayed. And frankly, I fought regular battles with fear. You know what I'm talkin' about if you are a parent. 

We intentionally chose not to fall prey to those (very real and unfortunately all-too-possible) fears, and instead surrounded him with good role models. As he grew and became more and more interested in sports, we intentionally sought out godly sports figures to learn about. We keyed in to his love of music and although we couldn't necessarily fall in love with his preferred styles, we researched. The Boss checked lyrics and sometimes even back-stories on bands. We allowed him to pursue his interests in teams like our beloved Eagles, purchase music from groups like Disciple, As I Lay Dying, and so on. Recently, his tastes have turned to Christian rap. I have to admit, I do enjoy listening to some of it with him. Thanks to LeCrae, Pettidee, and Tedashi, my son is bouncing around the house singing the Gospel. Even if it's a hard driving beat and in urban lingo, you can't really fault that, now can you?

Anyway, he's definitely been growing and changing and we've tried really hard to keep up with it all these last few years. And we noticed as we kept going out of our own comfort zone with him in these specific ways, he was getting really comfortable in his own skin. I've said before that he is probably the LEAST self-conscious teen I've ever known. He was growing into his own man in many ways. But he was also becoming more extroverted. He was still witty, but was figuring out the power that his wit had over a crowd. This was the surprise for us.  If you had told me when he was 2 that my almost shy and home-lovin' little boy would end up being the life of the party at 13, I would have totally laughed you out of the room. Really. Ask any of our friends who have known him since he was a baby. Sweet, mischievous, silly, but NOT an extrovert. We're still a little surprised, and it's been several years now that he's been coming into himself like this!

Come on back tomorrow for the part 2 of this parenting tale....

Rainy Day Fun

Yesterday, I was wracking my brain to find some suitable entertainment for Li'l E that didn't involve hours of mind-numbing television viewing. I really needed to try to tame the wild beast that has become my dumping ground closet over these past two years of learning to live with five kids. And I remembered the tents! Many, many moons ago, when it was just me, Shaggy, and Dr. D wiling away our days, we used to have little tent picnics on rainy days in the kitchen.

So . . . I got out one of our play tents and set it up in her brother's room. She played Tea Party with her HoHo monkey and two Kai Lans as her special guests.  While she was chatting happily with her little friends upstairs, I had the big brothers set up her other play tent in the kitchen for a special little lunch date.

  She was delighted!

Dr. D is such a good sport.

They eat lunch together almost every day

and it's so great to see how much she looks forward

to their funny faces and silly noises together.

The best news is that I was able to purge two years' worth of the kids' papers and projects that I had totally de-prioritized. You know, while I was struggling to maintain some semblance of sanity focused on keeping the household running.  And I filled a big shopping bag with clothes that I haven't worn in those same two years. Lady Bug is excited, she inherited some of my "funky" socks that she now fits into.

I was on a roll, what with a happily occupied three year old and successful purging of my closet, so I organized all the toiletries, took inventory of what we need, and even cleaned out my dresser drawers. I even put some of The Boss's laundry away. I almost never put his laundry away anymore cuz once I open those drawers I feel unnaturally compelled to straighten them up. But then they NEVER stay that way so I have just stopped putting it away. Problem solved.  I also stored away (in all that extra space!) a couple Christmas presents that I bought early (I'm still in shock over that. "that I bought EARLY!"  I never buy early!).

Including this little treasure.  Shhh, don't tell Li'l E what she's getting. But it came last weekend and I'm not sure JUST HOW I am going to keep this one a secret. I mean, HOW CUTE IS THIS DOLL?!

I had a ball on our dark, dreary, cloudy, rainy Thursday.  And judging from how hard Li'l E slept during her nap time, she did too. What more could a mom ask for?!

Sunday Snapshot

I'm here. I'm still here. I am glad to say that I am no longer buried beneath the piles of summer clothing and pool paraphernalia that needed to go into storage. Nor am I stepping over the mounds of laundry waiting to be finished from the fall/winter clothes bins that needed to be washed. And washed. And washed. And the folding?! OY! All that folding!!!!

The good news is that it's done. Another season change-over done and only a few necessities have been added to the shopping list. Mainly shoes. What is it with shoes? I mean, why must all four of the older kids need new shoes (and multiple pairs at that!) all at the same time? Can we please space out the growth spurts once in a while? I'm just sayin' . . . .  The bad news? Well, as soon as all the capris and shorts and flip flops got boxed up and stored neatly in the basement, the temps zoomed right back up. To "Mom, it's so hot out side I think I'm dying" temps.  Yeah, I know. It happens to me every. stinkin'. fall.

It's been two weeks since I blogged at ya.... Really, I can hardly believe it. I'm easing back into things with a pictoral stroll through the last two weeks of  The Gang's life. Just a fun little Sunday Snapshot, brought to you courtesy of the lovely Stefanie over at Ni Hao Ya'll.  Link up and join the party, won't you?

Dr. D discovered a new "perk" to home-schooling.

Behold his little study cubby.

Complete with a fleecy Eagles blanket on cold mornings! 

The Boss splurged on this lovely bouquet

of orange roses to celebrate our

TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY!

 LadyBug and I transformed two dreadful

Halloween costumes into a lovely, ladylike

noble-woman's gown for her field trip

to the local Renaissance Faire.

And of course, Li'l Empress had to get in on the

prettifications. She even tried to learn a proper curtsy.

You know, just in case the Queen walked by.

And most exciting of all the events of the past two weeks???

The Boss and I got to enjoy a long, lingering, quiet, and romantic dinner for two at the local fondue restaurant.

There are no pictures of the auspicious event.

We were too busy snuggling in our corner booth and smooching between visits from our waiter.

To join in on the Sunday Snapshot fun,

head over to Ni Hao Ya'll and link up.

But don't forget to leave me a comment

if you want me to visit you :)

It's only fair, you know.

By the Numbers

Here's my Tuesday,
by the numbers so far...

(in no particular order!)

Times Li'l Empress yelled, "NO!" in her sleep?  4 by 4:47 a.m.

Minutes snuggling Li'l Empress in bed while kids start their day?  12

Arguments mediated for middle siblings?  3 before 8 a.m.

Spankings Li'l Empress received for hitting or pinching the diva kitty?  3 (so far. . .)

Time-in's received by Li'l Empress for talking back to me and/or yelling at her brothers?  3


Loads of laundry washed, dried and waiting to be folded?  3

Emails sent to encourage our favorite teachers?  13

Tests proctored for Dr. D's benchmark programs?  2

Cups of oats in today's double batch of cookies?  6

Cups of butter in today's double batch of cookies? 2!

Gifts ordered on-line? 2

Menus planned for the coming month?  11

Taxi mom runs by the end of the day?  5


Naps The Boss has taken today? 3

Minutes alone in the shower, singing along to Lady Antebellum? 12 blissful minutes. Count 'em. 12.

Tulips bloomed and swaying in the breeze?  6 (That's a two-fold yield over last year's blooms!)

Gerbera daisies blooming just outside my front door?  1

Seeing that happy little flower makes

the whole day brighter, doesn't it?!

It IS A Big Deal

Last week, we got the privilege of watching Shaggy be inducted to the National Honor Society. Because he attends a cyber-charter school, the dinner and ceremony were held in the "great hall" of a local university. It was a wonderful evening to get away and spend some time focused just on him, talking about his future plans, laughing together, and then seeing him honored.

In the days leading up to the event, I was figuring out logistics for getting the three of us to the dinner, finding someone to take care of the littlest three, and arranging rides for Dr. D to and from track practice. Shaggy kept insisting that it was really not that big a deal. That, if it was too much effort and craziness to get all the things in place, he'd be fine with us skipping the event. Yeah. Like THAT would ever happen.  We spent a lot of time trying to convince him that the NHS IS a very big deal. That it's a wonderful organization, that it's a nation-wide recognition of his years of hard work and dedication to academic excellence. He wasn't getting us. He also hates recognition for things that he thinks he "should just be doing anyway." He doesn't like spotlight, and he's really not crazy about effusive praise or congratulatory accolades.  I'm hoping it's because he's humble and not because he doesn't feel as if he deserves it. . . I'm still figuring that one out.

Anyway, the leadership of the school asked the parents to send a recent picture and write a short letter of congratulations to their student, following a bit of a format they provided.  As the 12 letters were being read that night, I was struck by three major themes in almost every one. These letters noted strong family connection, faith communities, and high expectations. I mean, in the words used were things like, "promises fulfilled" and "dreams achieved" and "goals met." I was struck by how many of those letters called out destinies and promises in their children. By how many of these kids stretched to reach for the high bars set by their parents and are now setting their own higher bars of excellence. The letters were lovely words of pride for things already accomplished and gentle expectations of things still to come. By the end of the evening, I think Shaggy had a really good idea that this really IS a big deal.

I was so proud to watch him interacting with the teachers and students he met that night. These are people with whom he interacts via cyber classes regularly, but he seems to have no problems connecting with them in person. And when it came time for pictures, he didn't balk at all.  (Remember, he hates spotlight.) In fact, while we were standing there, I got a very sweet little squeeze. In front of other people!  And that, my friends IS A VERY BIG DEAL to this Momma!

Congratulations, Shaggy. We are very proud of you.

And very excited to see you continue to grow in excellence

in your academics, your leadership,

and in the plans God has for your future!

And why, oh why, did no one in the house tell me

that this sweater makes me look pregnant

when its closed down the front?!

Wordless Wednesday

When you are a home-schooler,
every day can be Crazy Hat Day!

For more Wordless Wednesday fun,
head over to 5 Minutes for Mom.
Just don't enter that contest.

Kid Friendly Food

My kids hate when The Boss travels out of town for business. When we lived in South-Central PA, he was gone sometimes 3 or 4 nights a week from September to December or early January. It was open-enrollment season in the Human Resources department in which he worked, and his supervision and training was required at the various sites across the country that were owned by his company. I confess, I hated it too.

As we were still building our family and homeschooling in those years, I had to find ways to lighten the load on myself while I was alone with the three, and then four, little gangsters. And I had to find ways to make the long days and nights fun for us all. Like any self-respecting mom, I played with my food! I offered funky sandwiches, breakfast for dinner, and various assortments of frozen foods not normally approved for dinners with the whole Gang. Along the way, we discovered a couple of family favorites. This one is from one of those old church cookbooks, when I was once frantically searching the pantry for something, anything (!) that I could make without hoofing all four kids to the grocery store in the dinner rush. My kids would cheer and high-five each other when I announced this menu, as if I was preparing the coolest feast possible. What they didn't know (and please, don't tell my secret!) is that I loved it because it is so easy and inexpensive. They love it because it's simply delicious - and I made it sound like so much fun. And now, we all love it so much, we even share it with The Boss! And now, I have to quadruple the recipe for the HOOVER members of the Gang.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich Pie

• 1 egg
• 3/4 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 1 c. milk
• 1 c. shredded cheese (any flavor you prefer)
  

In a small mixing bowl, combine egg, flour, salt, pepper, and half of the milk. Whisk or beat until smooth. Add remaining milk and beat till well-blended. Stir in 1/2 of the cheese. Pour into a well-sprayed 8" pie plate. Bake at 425 for 30 minutes. Sprinkle remaining cheese over top and bake until melted and just starting to brown - about 2-4 minutes.

Variations to add in any combination that sound yummy:

• thinly sliced deli meat of your choice
• chopped pepperoni or cooked sausage
• cooked and finely chopped hot dogs
• cooked ground beef or ground turkey
• finely chopped onions, peppers, or mushrooms
• 1/2 tsp. garlic or other Italian or Mexican seasonings
• top with salsa, ketchup, mustard, or sour cream to taste

It's a fun dish to make with the kids, and can actually be a really healthy alternative to the pre-fried, frozen things like chicken nuggets, dino bites, and so on. Not that none of those ever appeared on our table . . . But after two or three dinners like that with 4 little ones 6 and under, I quickly got to the point where I couldn't look another bowl of fake mac n' cheese in the eye for weeks! Or at least till the next trip of The Boss's.

Do you have a special treat or meal that you offer to get you through nights like that? Something that you fall back on that is cheap and easy and feels like a real treat to the rest of your gang? I won't tell your secrets, I promise! And if you make this one, let me know what you think!

100%!!!

I'm not a home-schooler who likes formal tests, especially not in Kindergarten! But this week, Baby Blue Eyes has been finalizing some review of basic math facts, early phonics sounds of short letter a, and what we call "good student skills" (basically sitting at the table or island, doing what Teacher Mommy asks when she asks, and trying our very best). Surprisingly, the "good student skills" have been the hardest for BBE to get down pat. The transition from occasionally playing with workbooks and playing school to honest-to-goodness real daily (almost!) lessons and learning things that don't come easily the first time he tried has proven to be more challenging than I would have guessed for him. I am realistic enough to know that some of this was my consistency (or distinct lack thereof!) with the amount of time and regularity with which we schooled. And that some of it was volunteer work I do and the incredibly busy pace that each week seemed to push upon us all - making it just too easy to push lessons off for "just today. . ." too many weeks in a row. "After all, it's just Kindergarten, right?!") Ugh.

But I also recognized early in October that some of this difficulty in taking lessons seriously was his maturity. He's a young 6. In our loud, crazy, busy house, he has had 6 years of enjoying playtime, arts, music, and craft time pretty much all day long. Expecting him to hop into his chair with his pencil, eraser and pocket protectors at the ready was and is completely unrealistic. It's almost as if I forgot that "good student skills" are learned. Like math facts must be learned by regular practice. Like the individual sounds of the letters must be said and sung and repeated over and over and over . . . So I backed way off, purchased some fun and colorful workbooks that were below his academic level and we practiced holding our pencils. We practiced the "top to bottom" and "left to right" motions of writing. We did letters and numbers on our MagnaDoodle. We practiced saying "Okay, Mommy" when Teacher Mommy requests another page of practice. We read silly books and we played computer phonics and math games.

Then I re-introduced our Hooked on Phonics & Math tapes, flashcards, and workbooks. While I was down for the count a week or so ago with the flu, BBE had his first spelling test: he scored a perfect 100% on his "-at" words. It was on his MagnaDoodle, so I didn't get a picture of it. In the same week, he read his first story and quickly progressed to his second. How priceless is the giggle of pride and the shining eyes of joy at his new achievement! And today, my boy scored another 100% - this time on his first Level 1 math test (+0 and +1's). He's beyond ready for the next level of both his phonics and his math - and now I'm ready too! We have some new workbooks to supplement the fun and we are ready to go, first thing Monday morning! In the meantime, enjoy with me the picture of his "star, please!" and the 100% at the top of the page . . . .

Back On Line!

It's been a frustrating day or two around here: my computer was down for the count, after periodic episodes of freezing followed by error messages that effectively booted me off my own system. I couldn't complete a survey I was being paid to complete, The Boss couldn't load Shaggy's new MP3 stuff. I couldn't even reference my resources to prepare my mini-teaching at MOMS' Group and had to "wing it" with no notes. That's really my own fault, I shouldn't have tried so hard all Monday afternoon (between the letter J and math facts games) to trouble shoot the computer problem. Rather, I should have sat down and done my notes the old fashioned way: with paper and pen! I did get a good start on re-vamping and starting a new homeschool approach with Baby Blue Eyes, but that was all derailed by one very long phone call and a bad head cold.

Tuesday after the MOMS' Group crowd left and I cleaned up the kitchen and got lunch going for Shaggy (home on a 1/2 day) and Baby Blue Eyes, I called Dell for some tech support. No exaggeration, I was on the phone with them for 4 hours and 6 minutes. Most of that time was spent initiating and monitoring the diagnostic tests as directed by my new friend, Jersohn, since we couldn't get the Internet connection to unfreeze. Finally, after about 3 hours, he took over by remote and played with thing for a while. The good news is that it's not a hardware problem. The rest of what he said it might be just sounded like Charlie Brown's teacher to me, after 4 hours on speaker phone, basically stuck in one chair: "waht, wah, waht, wah, waht wah . . . ." Something about internet safety software interfering with the transfer of information and the sharing of data. So The Boss came home, ate a hearty meal of leftovers and dug in to cleaning up and disabling the "waht wah." By then, I was about comatose on the couch, trying to stop the burning in my eyes, the humming waht wah's in my ear and the pounding in my head. I vaguely remember channel surfing, a baseball game, and a fleeting concern over Baby Blue Eye's slight fever and cough. The rest of the night was a blur.

Today, I'm reclaiming my territory! Losing two days to that kind of busy-ness really put a crimp in my plans, but I'm gonna keep rolling. I dragged BBE to an early weigh-in, dinner is prepped, and I ran to Curves when Shaggy came home (again with the 1/2 day, although I have no idea why they have it!). Now I need to power through the mail, "Backpack Wednesday" school papers, Bible study homework and and some Homeroom Mom duties. I also need to find a good recipe for salt-dough for Shaggy's home ec project and get BBE on some homeschooling, even if he is a little sick. At some point, I really need to finish the fall clothes change-out and make lists of who needs what. I probably ought to consider making a list. And cutting the list into two or three days.

But first I need a shower. And a big lunch. A really good one - I worked out hard and I'm starving now. Plus, today is my "cheat day," cuz I weighed in this morning. I lost 3.4 lbs. And I have no idea how. Especially since much of Monday and Tuesday was spent in this desk chair, fiddling around with Restore Systems and msconfigs, while eating one of Shaggy's gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. But I'm up and running again - back on-line. With my computer and now the rest of my week, too!

Another First Day of School

Baby Blue Eyes and I began the exciting journey of home-schooling Kindergarten today! Over the past week, I'd been testing his skills with a few computer games and other tools I've used for the other gang members and discovered that he wasn't quite confident enough in his letter or number identification to begin an all-out phonics and math curriculum. So yesterday, while picking up tons of school supplies for the rest of the gang, I allowed him to pick out some "pre-K" level reading readiness and math readiness workbooks. I'm particularly partial to the Fisher Price Little People workbooks - I used them for the three older kids with great success in my pre-K and K curriculum; and I love the lingering sense of innocence and childhood that Little People embodies. We still have a ton of the toys out and almost all of the videos that came with the sets - and occasionally Baby Blue Eyes will sit and watch them when there's a toddler visiting our home.

So anyway, I specifically stocked up on a bunch of pre-K materials to give him opportunities to build his confidence and to work on his "good study skills" from the ground up. We also stocked up on Winnie The Pooh pre-K work books. (I checked, and am happy to report that Tigger makes quite a few appearances in these books - yippee, hooray!) At home, I pulled out a couple books on tape from when LadyBug home-schooled. I set him up today at the kitchen island, with his books and pencils and crayons and turned on some light classical music on behind us. I told him, "This is just our first day, so let's take it slow and get used to working together like this, okay buddy?" With a big grin, he said, "Yeah, SURE, Mommy!" and off we ran! He whipped through 19 pages of matching, patterning, and picking out what didn't belong. He succinctly described exactly why a pear does not belong with a basketball, a golf ball and a tennis ball. He connected dots and worked maze paths and kept smiling and asking for more. Finally, I got interrupted by another mom I'm helping for our school's upcoming Basket Auction. When she left, he was still asking for more. It was so darn cute, I couldn't refuse. So we sat down and made a binder cover for his "Home School Book," complete with his name and a cute puppy picture on the front. He watched me make a couple progress/tracking charts. Then, I had him listen to a story on tape till the rest of the gang got home for snack time.

Finally, he dragged all his stuff back out to show off to Shaggy, Dr. Doolittle and LadyBug. In their own way they all congratulated him on his first day. But I have to say, the most exciting thing he has to report about his first day of school is the treat that Aunt L'il Sis brought him: "A First Day (vanilla) Frosty!" Between the 1 1/2 hours of undivided Mommy time and the creamy, sweet treat from his aunt, Baby Blue Eyes is LIVIN' LARGE in the Gang House :) All in all, a very satisfying day for both of us, wouldn't you say?!