It's worse than I thought...

I made a quick stop at the grocery store tonight, after a long chat with a friend at a local coffee shop.  After I found out last week that our favored grocery store is gearing up for "a makeover", I've been dreading going back.  It's worse than I thought.  Not only have they changed around entire sections already, but as they clear a section in order to fill it with something else (with absolutely no attempt at forethought in any of this), they just dump the contents into grocery carts, and then distribute them all over the back of the store.  I had to move seven grocery carts of laundry detergent out of my way just to get some sour cream.  A cart of laundry detergent is heavy.  And unwieldy.



At least there was fresh bananas.

Happy May Day!



I don't believe I will engage in any pole dancing today, (thank goodness for that). but I would love for my inner spirit to feel as light and bright as this picture.  So, instead of listing out what is weighing heavy on my heart, I will write about all that I am grateful for as of late.

One of the highlights of last week was having a couple of homeschool mom friends over for a visit, and then walking back to one of their houses (she lives close by) and looking over some of her curriculum that came up in conversation.  I love looking at curriculum - I have a terrible weakness when it comes to that!  She sent me home with an armload of books to look through.  The next day I sat down with Jordan to look over a copy of Shurley English, Level 4.  (OH MY GOSH!)  Where has this been all my homeschooling life?  Why-oh-why did I not come across this years ago??  I LOVED IT.  Now - would Jordan?  We sat down together with the workbook and the teacher's manual and worked through what a lesson looked like, and then what a whole week would look like.  We discussed the pros and cons, and compared it with other workbooks we were currently using.  Jordan admitted that it looked a little intimidating and asked if we could begin with Level 3, and just work at an accelerated pace.  ??  This very-adult-like conversation I was having with this soon-to-be twelve year-old was just blowing me away.  But shouldn't it be like this when the kids get older?  Shouldn't they have a say in what curriculum they use?  I think so.  Jordan can't wait to start - he asked if we could start it up as soon as he gets home from his visit to Oklahoma next month.  w * o * w

My mom's cousin Carol Ann paid our family a visit this past weekend.  The kids absolutely love her!  We went to church together and had an awesome Vietnamese dinner afterwards.  I'm sad about not getting any photos - sorry Carol Ann!

I also got to have dinner on Friday night with my mom and my three aunties (on my dad's side).  It was such a fun evening - and a rare experience to be able to talk without a thousand kid interruptions.  I can't wait until we do it again in July. (Hint-hint)

I am grateful for the wonderful 2 year-old checkup that Colin had yesterday at the pediatrician's office.  The numbers are staggering, considering the journey we took to get to this day.  We discovered in late September, 2010, when Colin was almost 8 months old, that he was not getting adequate nutrition from breast-feeding.  We had to start formula immediately or else he would have to to hospitalized.

(10/3/10)  8 mo./ 15 lbs. - 3rd % for weight.  He had been on formula for almost two weeks at this point.  His arms and legs felt like toothpicks.

(4/26/12)  2 yr 2mo/ 33 lbs - 85% for weight.  He weighs two pounds less than Owen - who is two years his senior.

Dean says that we need to forget the college fund at this point, and start up a grocery fund instead.  No doubt...


I am grateful for good times on the Poudre River last week... we went two days in a row -the first day with friends, and the second day we went on our own.

We had a good time at our Daisy Scout meeting on Friday - we met with Master Naturalists at the Ross Natural Area for an outdoor class, followed by a trail/creek clean-up project.

Rylan took this one

So we are off to a wonderful start this May - but what a busy month ahead!  We are going to try out a Scratch day in Denver tomorrow, then we return to Denver on Friday evening to meet Sal Khan, the creator of Khan Academy.  Two kiddos will be celebrating birthdays next week, a family trip to Elitches for Homeschool Day, a couple of boy scout campouts, annual academic testing for Jordan, three field trips, Jordan will leave for OKC, the final girl scout meeting/ceremony, karate promotions, and several meetings and appointments in between.  Oh - and Mother's Day.  (how could I forget that?)  So far I only have three precious white spaces left on the May calendar....they are going fast!