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!

Outside my window this morning...

Well hello there little miss Iris!  You are five weeks early, BTW.

I am glad to see you though.

My charges while my dad is away.  They have grown about six inches in eight days!

Someone heard me sneaking out to take pictures.
(that window is absolutely filthy isn't it?)

Our first-ever bird's nest.  Jordan spied a robin gathering grass in the backyard yesterday.  I saw him again this morning, and he wasn't even deterred as Abby came over to investigate.  This will be fun to watch over the coming weeks.

Bolting!!  Already?
When you want blooms, you use the term 'flowering'.  When the blooms are undesireable, you use the term 'bolting'.  Rhubarb has the tendency to bolt when the weather gets too warm, and the soil becomes dry and in need of nutrients.  Some plants are also prone to bolting - mine, a 'Valentine' is among them.  If you allow a rhubarb to bolt, the plant will focus more of its energy into the bloom(s), instead of growing nice-sized stalks for harvest.  If you want a good crop, you should remove the flower buds as soon as you see them.  This one appeared just a few days ago and has grown at least a foot in that span of time.  I lopped it off after taking the picture, along with about five others.  Geesh.  It has been hot and dry for the past several weeks - and I've only watered the rhubarb plant as an afterthought.  Oops.  It is also about four years old - it is time to divide it.

Redesigning a perfectly acceptable grocery store? Fail.

So there I was, this past Sunday night, at 8:35pm, getting ready to go grocery shopping.  Ideally I should be getting the weekly shopping trip done on a Saturday afternoon, but lately it's been sliding into the last possible time slot late on a Sunday night.  I shop two places: I first hit Super Target to get all of the canned goods, household-type stuff (t.p., detergent, soap, diapers, etc..), bread and cookies/crackers.  It is much cheaper there.  I categorically refuse to shop at Walmart.  I cannot fathom shopping for food and smelling the yucky smell of tires at the same time.  It just doesn't work for me.  Besides....have you seen the people of Walmart?  :)  Even in our little patch of Heaven here in Colorado there are some scary-assed people who shop there.

Anyways... back to the story.  I realize it's 8:35, and Target closes at 9pm on Sundays.  Stupid Target.  So I grabbed my list, purse and shopping bags and threw a 'good-bye' over my shoulder.  I made inside the Target building at 8:47.  I threw my stuff in the cart and took off.  I never stopped the cart moving.  I was still moving as I chucked this-and-that into the cart.  I entered the lanes at exactly 9pm, with an overflowing cart.  Mind you, a big bulk of the cart was filled with large packages of paper towels, toilet paper and a box of diapers.  I was on fire!  (I have to celebrate the victories...no matter how small).

I then headed down the road to the grocery store.  I put on my headphones (the only reason I love to do the grocery shopping is so that I can get some time to just zone out) and struck out for the far side of the store.  I am a creature of habit.  I walk along the exact same serpentine-style path throughout the store, every time.  A couple of years ago I decided that I should write up my grocery list so that it follows that path.  I went to the store and hung out for about three hours, with clipboard in hand, and as I walked down each aisle, looking L & R, I wrote down every last possible item that I would normally use in day-to-day meal prep.  Each aisle is numbered, and I always enter a particular aisle from a specific direction, and the list for that aisle is in the order I encounter it.  I listed the entire dairy case as I would walk along it in the back of the store, and then broke up the meat department, deli, bakery and produce.

I am sensing some serious eye-rolling going on.  C'mon!   All I can say is that this system shaves an incredible amount of time off of a normal shopping trip.  There is no back-tracking (unless you forgot to put something on the list), and the simple act of working through a list removes any need to strain your brain and actually think.  I am typically 'done' with thinking at about 5pm everyday.  I can't go much beyond that.  I just print off a list when I am ready, I open up the cupboards and look at what we are low on, fill in what I need for any of my recipes for that week's menu and I am good to go.  I also have a list for Target, but it is just broken into categories because it was designed for the older Target.  Now that I do some of the grocery shopping there, I need to tweak it and actually break it out into aisles as well.

So.  Here is my predicament.  I walked back to my usual starting place in the back corner - working along the dairy case, when I notice that there is a small army of temporary workers filling grocery carts with stuff.  Uh-oh.  They were emptying the shelves.  Lots of shelves.  I had to fight off some guy just so I could grab the last gallon of milk.  Dude!  My poor starving children need milk to drink!  As I walked along, swatting away hands so that I could get some butter and yogurt, I stopped and asked a team of two younger guys filling a cart what it was that they were doing.  (Was there some sort of eColi outbreak going on??)  "Oh, well, we are moving stuff around."  Shit.

I gathered up the rest of my groceries and went to the checkout.  I went through a lane with two younger guys (Why choose the guys?  Because they tend to spill the beans more.  They love to bitch about their jobs, so they are the ones to go to when you want the dirt).  Yep.  Just as I feared.  The idiots at corporate, who never set foot in a grocery store themselves because their wives or housekeepers do it, made the decision that our store needed a remodel.  Which means that EVERYTHING will be moving around, over the next several months.  Items will be moved, and then moved again.  Worse yet, the design will be similar to the other stores in town, where the long, parallel aisles are a thing of the past.  Islands, diagonals, intersections... it will be an organizational nightmare.

I have just one question.  WHY WHY WHY do they not ask us - the primary grocery shoppers - what we would like in a store?  Where was the survey?  If we are the ones opening our wallets each and every week, forking over hundreds of dollars for over-priced food - shouldn't we have a say in what the shopping 'environment' should be like?

Here is what I would say:

Don't roll your pallets of food out at 9 o'clock at night.  You are IN MY WAY. 

Please restock the bananas.

Adults should be able to get a free cookie too.

Ban the plastic shopping bags.  Really.

Make the aisles wider.  When I can't get my cart around the three frat boys arguing over how many cans of pork-n-beans to buy, I get massivly irritated.

Same goes for the lovey-dovey twenty-somethings that flock to the store in the late-evening hours to figure out what they are going to make for dinner - they aimlessly wander - arm-in-arm of all things, up and down the aisles.

Please stop shoving candybars in my face in the checkout lane.

You need to put handwipes/sanitizer by the meat case.

I know this seems like a petty little thing, when such serious stuff is happening all over the globe.  But, when in your own little existence the weekly shopping trip is considered your 'sanity saving get-away', it's huge.

Simple Woman's Daybook



Outside my window... Sunny and breezy!  Dean is going to turn on the sprinklers today (unheard of for April) because the grass in the front yard is bone dry...  Hopefully he will get the first mow done as well.

I am thinking... That the signs that the kids are growing up are coming too fast and furious for me to be able to process...  Jordan reached the chapter on growth and development chapter in his science book.  It was time anyway to sit down and talk it out, so Dean, Jordan and I have been having intermittent conversations and Q&A (when the other kids weren't around) for the past couple of days.  It is refreshing to be totally frank and honest, and also disturbing the amount that he already knew thanks to his mom jumping the gun last summer.  Her version of instruction?  "Don't bring home a baby before you're 18".  yep... that about sums up my frustrations with that whole situation.

Moving on... Rylan is getting fiercely independent with her schoolwork - which is causing issues, Owen is able to remind me on a nightly basis that he is ready for his breathing treatment and wants to walk around the library with me and help select his library books.  Colin's vocabulary is blowing me away. I love this age the best. 

I am thankful... For the lovely family weekend we have been having.  Last night Jordan and Rylan slept outside on the trampoline for the first time.  The weather was fairly mild - the kids slept in silk thermals and wore socks and stocking caps.  They said they were pretty warm.  Dean and I joined them for a short time - around 11pm to midnight.  We watched the sky, looking for the meteors that were supposed to put on quite a show.  I think we were a little early.  There were lots of clouds moving across the sky and it sprinkled a little bit.  It was still a very nice time.  Until the next-door neighbor decided that 11:35pm was the most excellent time to do some yard work.  WTF?  I don't get those people...at..all.


From the Learning Rooms... We had an awesome week!

On Monday we did the usual stuff and then wandered over to a small natural area, called Dragonfly's Lair, in a neighborhood area next to ours.

We did an aquatic insect class here about three years ago.  There used to be a large deck that went out over the water where the kids are standing in this picture, but it is gone now.  The city must have removed it...probably a liability thing.  :(

Rylan found a couple of lost and forgotten Easter eggs left over from a neighborhood hunt last week.  There was even candy inside, but she made the good choice not to eat it.

Not much water in the ditch yet, but there were still some interesting things to watch.

Later that afternoon we did some craft time.  This became a fuzzy "C"aterpillar after Owen glued on a jillion pom-poms.

On Tuesday we had a counseling session and karate back-to-back, so the schoolwork suffered a bit.  But we managed to work in a decent math session in the morning.  It is the hardest part of the day - trying to work with three different kids, simultaneously.  Believe me I have fiddled with the schedule every which way, but when all three of them tackle this sort of work best in the early morning, what else can you do?  There are only so many minutes to work with.  So I do my best to keep all three doing different bits independently, while I spread out the one-on-one time.  Owen is able to keep focused for a surprising amount of time - as long as it is like 'play'.  It also helps that he has done this activity sheet once before (weeks ago).

He is using Thinking Kids' Math

Rylan is progressing on to adding up numbers bigger than five.  So I made up a game in that she rolled the die twice.  The first time she put together that certain number of unifix cubes, rolled the die again and added up that number in a different color and attached it to the first set.  Then she added the sets together.  She was completely irritated with me, so it didn't go over so well.  Math has been a struggle for her and I lately...



The rest of the week was spent getting the bulk of the work done each day.  It was one of our most productive weeks yet - which is big for me.  I feel like we are coming out of this hazy cloud of pregnancy/birth/newborn/baby time period that has lasted for the past four years, and now we can make some real strides in digging into cool stuff.  We have a lot of lost time to make up for.  Jordan is reading about Egyptian mythology, Rylan is learning about using a compass, and Owen learned how to use scissors and glue this week, while making his "C".  That child has been the most obstinate when it comes to crafty stuff.  Rylan taught herself...so this is more than I bargained for.

In the kitchen... Dean whipped up cinnamon rolls, scrambled eggs and bacon this morning.  I of course 86'ed the eggs, but it is a joy to just pull up to the computer and have my husband do the cooking - love ya honey!

I am wearing... A nice dark blue sundress that has really been in my closet for way too long.  It's time to refresh my wardrobe.  I'm taking the little kids to church in just a bit - so we all need to look nice.


I am creating... A new email account and all of the headaches that go with that. I have lost the war with spam on my old account.

I am going... To church in a bit, and then to the greenhouse later today.  It is Earthday afterall!!


I am wondering... There are some really crazy theories that eleven year old boys come up with regards to all things pertaining to sexual reproduction. It is hard to keep a straight face at times...

I am reading... Still reading The Brightest Star in the Sky, by Marion Keyes.  I made it about another 20 pages this week.  I was devoted to getting schoolwork done.

I am hoping... For some time in the garden later today.


I am looking forward to... Exploring the plant offerings a the greenhouse.  It has been a long time.  Too long!

I am learning... About Singapore math.  I'm trying to figure out what it is that makes it "Asian Math".  How is "Asian Math" different - and will I really screw up the kids if I make a switch?  I need to spend some time digging around on blogs this afternoon.


I am hearing... Colbie Caillat on Spotify


Around the house... Getting the sprinklers running (and problem solving about where exactly to position the trampoline.

I am pondering... That the testes of little boys don't descend until they are older - like 6 or 7?  I didn't know that.  Dean says it is the male body's way of protecting the testes until there is adequate growth/blood supply to the scrotum to protect them and keep the temperature constant.  Hmm.  Learn something new every day!


One of my favorite things... Watching the kiddos dance to music.

A few plans for the rest of the week... Dinner out with my mom and aunts tomorrow night, a nature walk play date with homeschooling friends midweek, and a Daisy field trip with a Master Naturalist on Friday.

Here is a picture for thought I am sharing...

I set Colin on the trampoline this morning to wake up Jordan and Rylan.  Rylan was about to lose her purple stocking hat.  Colin bounced around, yet had no idea that his older brother and sister were sleeping amongst all those pillows and blankets.  He saw Jordan's blue sleeping bag moving, and just stared and stared.  He finally bounced over and peeked inside the bag, and Jordan made him about jump out of his skin.  Hilarious...

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The parent as the teacher

See how they're both smiling?  They haven't started the lesson yet.  Just wait...

Every homeschooling situation is different.  Every family is different.  And most certainly, every child is different.  In our household, we have lots of different temperaments, levels of maturity and prior experience happening simultaneously.

Jordan:  He is eleven and is on daily meds for ADHD.  He attended public school for K and 1st grade.  He never once questioned the parent/teacher relationship once we started school at home.  He accepted the switch from public to homeschooling without even blinking, and is actually a model student.  It only took me five years to realize that. (once I started working with Rylan).  He hardly ever balks at an assignment - unless it involves any kind of writing.  He even ASKS if he can start his work as soon as possible - but I know this is because the only thing standing between him and playing Minecraft on the computer with his homeschool friends is schoolwork.  Still.  He ASKS to do schoolwork.  ??  When I am done with being dumbfounded by this I'll let you know.  It could be awhile.

Rylan: She is five and easily distractable and exuberant.  Not in a bad way, but it does get in the way of lessons at times.  Rylan loves to read - only she loves to read what SHE wants to read.  Not about whales.  Not about Canadians.  Not about a vegetable garden.  Not about the stars in the sky.  She can count and add things that are all around us, yet when I line up counters on the desktop she shuts down and asks for some candy.  Dramatic sighs.  Eye rolls.  Lots of eye-rubbing and blinking.  The dropping of the pencil...  In her way of thinking, I am *just* mom... I'm not supposed to be teaching her stuff!

Owen: Is four and the most stubborn child on Earth.  Last week we at least accomplished the small feat of using scissors for the first time.  I'm not kidding.  He loves the alphabet and counting, but God help you if you dare put a crayon in his hand and ask him to draw a line across a page.

Some days I just feel like I am not cut out for this and begin to question my sanity.  I have a small freakout that I am ruining my kids' lives by thinking that I can actually do this.  And then it gets better.  We (homeschoolers) all have the occasional blip where we begin to second-guess ourselves.  Seriously... admit it - How many times have you threatened your kids with "Public School" in the past year?  The past month?  With Jordan this threat works great.  You can even see the fear in his eyes.  But with Rylan I would never dare say it to her.  She would respond with "Can I start tomorrow?  Can I get a purple lunchbox and a new backpack?"

We have monthly meetings for our homeschooling group, and I swear it is the dialogue with other moms that keeps me going.  It is so affirming to hear that I am not alone.  My kids aren't nincompoops.  They are just normal kids who would rather play than do schoolwork.  I'm not the only one who has a nonspeller and a nonwriter.  I'm not the only one who has multiple learning styles to contend with.  One thing I can say is that we know our kids.  It is awesome to hear moms run through all of the different strengths and weaknesses of their kids when it comes to learning and being so dedicated to finding something that works.  It may take months to sort out where the problems lies, but by golly we're going to find it!  (Did I just say 'by golly'?)  I think that the general public doesn't realize how much time and research homeschooling parents put in to figuring their kids out.  We study learning styles, modalities, behavioral psychology and a small host of other topics, just so we can give our kids the best of what we can.

I don't quite have a handle on what to do about Rylan.  She is only five.  But a pattern is emerging, and I need to steer her in another direction.  I am 'mom', but it is our job together to see that she knows all of the cursory knowledge that she needs to know to be a well-educated citizen of the world.  It is not my job to make her a specialist at anything - when she is 18, (hopefully more like 20 - I don't want her going to college right away) that is her job.  She decides what direction her life will take from that point on.

Simple Woman's Daybook Entry

Outside my window... Sunny yet cold and windy.  Which means it will be another tough day for our friends and family that live out in Kansas and Oklahoma.  So many tornadoes...

I am thinking... About the people who were on the Titanic.  We've been watching several different shows highlighting the disaster that have been on all last week.  We're saving the James Cameron Nat Geo. special for tonight.  There were a lot of heroes that night one hundred years ago...

I am thankful... That Owen's cardiac appointment went okay last week.  The specialist concurred with Owen's pediatrician that the sound they were hearing is called a Still's Murmur.  Totally benign and nothing to worry about.  Owen was a trooper during the appointment.  He tends to get uncooperative when people fuss over him.

From the Learning Rooms... We had another productive week, due in part to Jordan's persistence in getting all of his work done.  All schoolwork completed = time to play Minecraft.  Rylan's incentive is coming in the form of a sticker star chart.  She picked out a doll (which has been purchased) and she will earn it once she completes 25 full math lessons - which is the one area of study that we struggle with getting completed.

In the kitchen... I cooked all week.  The highlight meal was a blackened chicken penne from the current issue of Taste of Home.  It is even better than the one at Chili's.  Pioneer Woman's Duchess Potatoes were a complete flop for everyone but Owen - he loved them.  I should have reconsidered when the recipe called for 8 egg yolks.  I.  hate.  eggs.  I can't stand anything 'eggy'.  What was I thinking??  It took an hour's worth of effort to make the darn things too...

I am wearing... what else?  pjs.

 

I am creating... Nothing at the moment..

I am going... To Kinko's to laminate some stuff and grocery shopping - preferably before 10 pm tonight.  Last week I did the grocery shopping that late, and ended up having to take an overflowing cart of groceries through the self-check aisle because all of the checkers had been sent home because it was so slow.  It took me twenty minutes.  My ice cream was soup by the time I got home.  Not.  Happy.

I am wondering... How long this warm dry weather is going to last. Even my iris are beginning to form blooms. They don't usually bloom until the beginning of June!

I am reading... Brightest Star in the Sky, by Marian Keyes.  Not sure why, but it is hard to get going on this one...

I am hoping... That getting through the backlog of laundry, the list-making and grocery shopping, the lesson out-lining and subsequent trip to the library and the worksheet preparing won't take me all day today.  But nothing beats the feeling of being prepared for the upcoming week.

I am looking forward to... a meeting with homeschooling friends on Tuesday night, and Jordan's karate sparring and forms tournament on Saturday.

I am learning... Well, I just learned about the Still's Murmur.  It took me this long to remember to look it up.  It makes my head swim a little bit, but it is fascinating to think about how your blood moves through all of those intricate parts.

 

I am hearing...  Abbi's toenails clicking on the floor as she follows Colin around. He has a graham cracker, and he has been teasing her a little bit.

Around the house... Dean finished repairing the gaping hole in the fence yesterday.  We had a loose fence post combined with a panel of pickets that was pulling away.  There has been a gap between fence post and panel for a few years now - but it was getting continually wider.  Luckily, Abbi is fat and lazy and a little bit of a wuss, so we weren't concerned about her getting out.  But as the fence post got looser, it was clear that a big wind would take the whole thing down.  So Dean has spent the last week chipping out the old concrete and removing the fence post and replacing it and replacing some other rotten boards.  It looks nice and secure now.  We have another loose fence post to contend with, so I suppose it is next on the list.

I also need to get out to the garden and get busy.  I am so late in getting the spinach, peas and lettuce in...  The rhubarb is just about reading for picking!?!  Crazy weather this year.  Yep.... global warming is indeed a 'myth'.  (snort)

I am pondering... That the idiots who think global warming is a myth need to be fed to the starving polar bears.

One of my favorite things... Tulips.  They are blooming all over town and are indeed beautiful.  I don't completely hate spring. 

A few plans for the rest of the week... Unfortunately it is not always possible to slate all Dr. appointments to the last week of the month.  Jordan has counseling on Tuesday and all of the kids go to see the dentist on Wednesday.  Jordan's last archery class is on Thursday, and then he has his sparring competition on Saturday.  He is competing in two events: a curriculum form and sparring.  Four different schools are taking part in the competition.  Rylan could have competed too, but she said, 'No way!  Not in front of all of those people!".  Belt testing is one thing - when you get up with your whole class, but I guess competition is different - it is just you.  I don't blame her - I wouldn't want to either!

Here is a picture for thought I am sharing...

A tea party...

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