Weekly Preview and Review

This week was mostly about getting ready for the program on Friday night, which turned out GREAT! You can look at some photos and vids on facebook, but I'll give you a quick overview of what each of my kids did. (Not all the vids are up yet, but they will be.)
David - wrote a program in Visual Basic Script and it was displayed on the big screen. He also ran the computer for this part of the program
Emily - danced in a worship dance and played Charlotte Lucas in our Austentatious skit - Pride and Prejudice in 100 Seconds. She also received a special award for reading all 6 of Austen's novels.
James - demonstrated a Lego Robotics concept
Suzy - participated in a cheerleading performance and went on stage to receive a certificate from one of her teachers.

We went to karate twice and are enjoying it more and more. Our homeschool session is going to have some distinct advantages over the regular sessions, but we do have the option of going to the evening class if we need to miss our regular session.

I finished all my work hours by Thursday night, save for 45 minutes which I finished before co-op Friday morning. That took the pressure off on Friday!

The kids and Bob did one coat of paint on the girls' new room - half lilac and half spring green - their choices. Today will see the second coat of paint and maybe the trim?? The boys are deciding on their colors and how that long room will be divided.

David and Emily went home with friends after co-op Friday. (I had intended not to let them and in fact David said no to at least one request, but I'm a sucker for the right plea! lol) So, I just had James and Suzy. I took them out to Taco Bell, and while we were out, James got his hand slammed in the car door. He was pretty stoic about it and doesn't seem to have any lasting effects. I grabbed some snow and stuck it on there right away. (So, there's one advantage of having snow still in April!) THEN, we stopped home before the program to get something that was forgotten and the car keys got locked in the house. A few minutes of panic before I realized that keys to the FRONT door were in my purse which was in the van which was not locked. Whew!

Program went off without a single noticeable hitch! So great! The church sanctuary was packed! Lots of great comments. The table displays were lovely and creative!

Oh, and David was baptized in the Holy Spirit Wednesday night while visiting a friend's youth group! Praise God! He's wanted to go there regularly for a while, but it's kind of far from our house. But maybe I should make the effort, eh?

Sunday - Relax, church - where?
Monday - WORK 4 hrs, Karate, Support Meeting
Tuesday - WORK 4
Wednesday - WORK 4, Transcript workshop, Youth Group/Church?
Thursday - WORK 4, Karate
Friday - WORK 4
Saturday - NO PLANS!!!
Sunday - Relax!, Church

Because of the weather (still cold and we still have snow on the ground!), soccer practices have not started. I know Emily will begin the second week of April and I assume Suzy and James also will, because they have games on April 16. But that gives us a reprieve from the busy schedule that will entail.

So, we are entrenched in the bedroom redesign/changing around project and we need to get a move on!

Have a great week!

Weekly Preview and Review

A Day Late and a Dollar Short

So here this is a day late. Or two, depending on how you are counting. But maybe you're not counting at all!

Actually I had the dollar. But I needed $4 since I was sending David up to the gas station for a gallon of milk. Since I went out TWICE and neither time remembered to get milk. So, I raided the stash of quarters and sent him out into the cold. Fresh air is good for him, right?

Saturday - Baby Shower & Thrift shopping
Sunday - Go to church, SOF planning meeting, and watch Downton Abbey
Monday - WORK 5 hrs, Lessons, Gymnastics
Tuesday - WORK 5, Lessons
Wednesday - WORK 5, Lessons
Thursday - WORK 5, Lessons
Friday - WORK 5, No Lessons, SCRAPBOOKING
Saturday - SCRAPBOOKING!

Everything is all back to normal - no Christmas decorations in my house. The lights are still up on the porch, but that's not my domain. I love getting it back to normal.

Last week I went to Bob's doctor appointment with him. I used to do this regularly, after his accident. But once he was able to drive, I didn't go anymore. Maybe I should though. He never seems to know what the doctor told him. So, this time I went and asked her to give him some dietary guidelines for his high blood pressure. She said, no more than 4000 mg of sodium a day. Try counting that yourself sometime. lol

The kids had art class on Wednesday and after I dropped them off, I hit the Christmas clearance at Rite Aid. Got some LED lights we'd been hoping for and a few other odds and ends. I always look for clearance wrapping paper that doesn't look Christmas-y. I scored a few rolls of that.

Friday was co-op, but my co-teacher (and good friend Darlene) was teaching this week so I didn't have to prepare anything. We are reading Mansfield Park and it is SO MUCH BETTER the second time reading it. I enjoyed it! The girls like reading Austen too, which is so gratifying! We are well underway in planning the Regency Ball.

Saturday, I went to a baby shower for a book club friend. Suzy and Emily went with me and some other friends were there, so that was a nice time. And I didn't eat any cake.

I have not eaten any sweets in a week! That's amazing. And I lost 5 lbs from my high on New Year's Day. ACK - that was a shocker on the scale, seeing the number so high! LOL I still need to lose 20 to get back to my lowest weight. I hope to get back into the exercise routine this week.

I got all my pictures printed out for scrapbooking - the year of 2007 should be all scrapped after this weekend. I am working on powerplanning it right now to make it smooth as silk! Emily is going along as a teen worker - she gets to scrap too and she is over the moon with excitement!

Re-visited a church on Sunday. The kids all like it. I'm not so sure. Bob is probably going to take a while to acclimate wherever we go.

David has made dinner - brats and rice, so I better go eat it! Suzy set the table and picked a veggie. Wonder what it is? And James and Emily get to clean up! LOL

Weekly Preview

Sunday - EASTER!
Monday - Spanish (just 1 class instead of 3), WORK (4 hrs daily)
Tuesday - Lessons, WORK, Keepers
Wednesday - Lessons, WORK, Art class, James Soccer Practice
Thursday - Lessons, WORK, David Dissection class
Friday - Co-op, WORK, Co-op Program
Saturday - Heading to GR to visit family and taking just Emily & James along

Anyone who wants to come see the kids' co-op program is invited to join us Friday night. David will be singing (!) for his Star Wars philosophy class and so will Emily's choir class. The kids' other classes will mostly have displays.

This is the last week before soccer games start. Next Saturday 17th, James and Suzy will both have soccer games. I imagine Suzy will start practice this week, though I don't know when yet.

We took a couple days off last week for Spring Break and we'll have an easy week of lessons this week too, though we will still do lessons.

A new fridge is likely the next major purchase around here. The fridges (we have two) are neither one reliable and Bob's already tried repairing them. He's giving it one last shot.

I got my first paycheck!!! (Monthly pay schedule...)

Took the kids to see Where the Wild Things Are at the free matinee today. I liked it!

David and James have started a "business" reselling electronics on eBay. We shall see how that works out.

Bob has been working 4 days a week again. That's a plus.

Interview report

OK, now that the interview is over, I can breathe. I was really nervous beforehand! I think the interview went well and once I was talking to the interviewer, I relaxed and was able to focus easily on the questions. He complimented me on my cover letter even. :-)

The company provides "linguistic technology services" and I would be working on evaluating how well a certain search engine works. It would be 20 hours a week (M-F) and it's work-at-home via internet. Please pray this works if it's God's plan!

They have more interviews today and Monday, but they want to start (paid) training on the 22nd, so I should hear either way sometime next week. He said they won't leave me hanging. I told him I appreciate that!

I left the kids at co-op under the care of a friend while I came home for the interview and she brought them home for me. (Thank you, Sherri!) She even took James to his science club, even though her OWN son is missing it due to illness.

Now..... to finish the 08-09 SOF yearbook on lulu.com and get it ordered. Then what? A quiet night at home? Do I want to take the kids sledding? Do they even want to go? Bob won't be home til after 7. I don't even have a good movie to watch; can you believe it? Oh, and I have to work out either tonight or sometime tomorrow.

Fantastic Friday & Satisfying Saturday

Homeschool Co-op is held every other Friday and yesterday was the occasion. Since I am one of those in charge, each co-op date brings challenges and joys. I got to walk around and take some photographs during one of the hours and had to work through a couple issues during another hour. Ate lunch with my good friend and chatted with many nice people. Saw some cute babies!

Sent James home with a friend and packed up to head out to Maryann's house for the night. We got there earlier than I had thought we would, even with stopping at a new bread thrift store on the way. Another friend arrived, unexpectedly to me, bringing her sons ages 9&10, making me rather wish James had come along. I try to find him some other activity when we go up there because there is no one for him to play with at her house. Usually.

We watched a movie & some Doctor Who on DVD (Maryann's new obsession), while having yummy food and stimulating conversation. We always solve all of our problems in chatting. LOL The kids had an awesome time together.

Slept in on Saturday then relaxed over coffee and more Doctor Who and a couple other movies and eventually moved on to some lesson planning and curriculum chatting. Such a nice relaxing day.

Bob had to work Friday and Saturday so he wasn't missing us, and James had a great time with his friend, as they went to a couple AWANA events and played together all afternoon.

Came home a little later than we had planned, but with my Spanish lessons and Essay writing class plan done!

Oh, and Bob bought another dryer at work, so maybe this will be the one that does the trick for us. Tomorrow we will find out!

Randomness

Randomness....

There's a redbox in the Kroger store in Imlay City now! YAY! I may just cancel Netflix, although when David heard me say that, he reacted with horror.

Suzy is playing across the street with her friends.
James is trying to figure out a way to fix the hanging basket he broke. (Anyone have an empty hanging basket pot?)
Emily is mowing the yard.
David is upstairs in his room playing with Legos and listening to Black by Ted Dekker. (At least I think that's what he's doing.)
Bob is working on the back porch. He's replacing the floor.
Lisa is procrastinating starting dinner. I think we'll be eating late tonight. lol

I took David to the thrift store to see if I could find him some more shorts. Ended up with another pair of shorts (white! ack!) and a pair of jeans. Got myself a long dress coat, which I have needed for YEARS. YAY! Also a fall coat on half price, 2 church shirts for James, and a smattering of clothes for the girls.

Suzy has been trying very hard lately to be sweeter and obey right away. It's very nice to see. I've been trying to reinforce it as much as possible.

I learned how to enter the soccer players into the online system. I am going to put some in tonight and see how I do. By the way, I am taking over for the current soccer registrar for the region. Right now I am Assistant Registrar and I am on the board, I guess.

Deb and Dar and I met last night and got the co-op schedule into some semblance of order. I've been emailing back and forth with teachers all day, getting their assignments straight. I have a phone call or two to make and I am waiting on several to get back with me. Then the schedule will hopefully be all set.

Suzy is going to have a fancy tea party to celebrate her birthday. I am looking for a place to have it since I don't like having parties at home. I am pretty happy she decided on this instead of a sleepover. Twelve little girls for two hours vs. five or six little girls ALL NIGHT on the living room floor? Yeah. lol

So, I have lots to do instead of blog, so I should get at it! lol

Relaxing Time

Friday was homeschool co-op. I will write about that on Cornerstone.

I went to Maryann's for the night Friday night, taking David and Emily along to hang with her kids. She and I and Erin watched a couple movies Friday night and relaxed with Mexican food and rum and Coke. :-) (Not Erin, she's not yet one-and-twenty.) Movie reviews on Mirkwood. I guess David and Alex and another friend stayed up into the wee hours, playing video games. I turned off Emily and Gabby's TV at about 1am. LATE NIGHT for all the kids.

This morning we watched Someone Like You (Hugh Jackman) which I own and enjoy a lot, but hadn't watched with Maryann yet. Watching movies with my friends is usually a time for conversation and discussion. lol Then we had lunch and chatted. Another friend came by and used Mare's Cricut machine for a couple hours, then she left and another friend came by to pick up her son. A nice relaxing day. I needed that!

Left there about 3pm and stopped by Meijer on the way home to get the week's groceries. I should make up a menu for the week. Heated up pizza rolls for dinner, resulting in everyone's happiness.

There are four loads of laundry waiting to be folded - everyone does their own and puts it away. Chores are done, dishes are being washed, baths and showers are happening. Need everyone to lay out church clothes. I have to finish planning my Sunday School lesson. I have new curriculum which uses lots of hands-on stuff. Not sure how it'll work out, but I'm glad to give it a try! Can't be worse than what I WAS using, I don't think.

No plans tomorrow except to take David to youth group. I was thinking about my story off and on all weekend so I may be writing, since I need to get back to it. It's calling me!

I'm reading a book that's caught my interest - two actually. A Christian romance by Robin Lee Hatcher and Blue Like Jazz, which is another book on post-modern Christianity, to sum it up in 3 words which doesn't do it justice.

Oh yeah, and I wanted to say that it was NICE OUT today and it smelled like spring! I know it's not going to last, but at least it's a tiny break from the unrelenting wind chill and below zero temps we've been experiencing.

Outlaws, Doctors, Barbies

Loving the Robin Hood BBC series! Will be posting more about that on Mirkwood soon. If I don't, call me on it!

David is sick - has had a persistent cough that got much worse yesterday. Today he woke up with laryngitis. I think I'll take him to the doctor tomorrow.

I need to find some paper for my co-op class this Friday. Will call a printer tomorrow and see if they can provide it.

The girls love the MP3 players they got for Christmas, Suzy especially. She uses hers every day! They look like Barbies and they can snap on and off the clothes and hair. Very nice item - I am pleased with it!

PLAY vs. Work

I haven't accomplished a lot this week. We've PLAYED a lot, but not a lot of work got done. Let's see.

Visited family Sunday & Monday - PLAY
Drove home 2-1/2 hours - Work.
Took kids to dentist - Work.
Took David to pick up new glasses - Work.
Supported homeschool group at DQ fundraiser - PLAY.
Played homeschool kickball game - PLAY.
Went to local fair - PLAY.
Read Eclipse and Breaking Dawn - PLAY.
Went grocery shopping - Work.
Set up new cell phone - PLAY.
Looked for campers on craigslist - PLAY.
Looked at one camper, made offer on it, and agreed to purchase - PLAY (sort of!)
Tried to write query letter and was stumped - Work.
Took the kids to the beach - PLAY
Went to co-op registration - registered kids, attended teacher meeting, and connected with friends - some PLAY.
Worked on my LOTR Gift app on facebook - PLAY.

A lot more play than work on that accomplishment list!

The only things I had left over from last week's to-do list were ironing and writing the query letter. Neither is done. :::exhales in frustration:::: I better get that ironing done tonight. I have a couple movies I could watch.

And the query letter....

Manic Monday

The family picnic was awesome!

Whoa, I just had some major deja vu! Yikes. OK, I am apparently doing stream-of-consciousness posting here tonight.

We spent all day Sunday with my family. Will have photos and a report later. Since mostly my family reads this, they were all there and don't need a report! LOL

Monday we hung around my parents' house until nearly noon and then headed home. Got home to unpack the car and head out again for the kids' dental appointments.

No cavities! YAY! One orthodontic referral. One oral surgeon referral. Boo!

Headed over to get David's new glasses - 2 pair! He loves them!

Headed home. By now, we've logged almost 4 hours in the car today, but it's not over.

Had PBJ and pea pods for dinner and then headed out to our homeschool group's fundraiser at DQ - yep Dairy Queen! It was so nice to see so many people there! Then we had a kickball game together at a local park. A nice evening!

Total hours in car: nearly 5!

This is a busy week. The local fair, a night of VBS, beach day, co-op registration, the Jane Austen Book Club. I want to get some work done too. Plus there is BREAKING DAWN to read! lol

Homeschool Program

Saturday night was our homeschool co-op's spring program. I was master of ceremonies - lol, fancy name for holding the mic and introducing each group and making announcements.

We had several children play guitar or piano solos. Two teens were especially impressive!

Other highlights - a student-written version of Homer's Odyssey in 4 minutes - very humorous, yet it got the point across, the cheerleading class did several cheers, the Lego Robotics teacher had students demonstrate what they have done in class all year, karate, choir, a puppet play. Lots of creativity and accomplishments! Way to go, kids and teachers!

My kids participated: David demonstrated his Lego robotics skills, Emily sang in the choir, James did karate. Suzy's classes didn't perform.

We ended it all with a Powerpoint presentation of photos from the year. I also was given a card of appreciation for my service to the group. (Thanks!)

The gym was set up with displays from some of the other classes that didn't lend themselves well to presentations - crochet, jewelrymaking, scientific exploration (big hit!), chemistry, gourmet desserts (yummy!), and lots more!

A great end to a great co-op year!

Next year, I am just a mom instead of organizing the co-op. I'll probably teach.

Grumpy Grumpy Grumpy, But Still Blogging

I was such a grumpy person today. And Friday morning too, to be truthful. I think my family would have chosen a different word. I've got to shake that tomorrow.

We went to Walmart today and I bought a DVD/CD binder - hope it works well. It looks more sturdily constructed than the smaller kind I had before for CD's. We also bought the Veggie Tale - The Wizard of Ha's, which we watched tonight. Cute!

And, I bought something I have longed to purchase for years and years now - the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice on DVD. Ahhhhhh...... I've never wanted to spend the money on it, but even on ebay it goes for a high price all the time, so I've never found a great deal. So, I paid retail for it at Walmart and it will be Worth It. One day this week, Cornerstone Academy will be having Jane Austen Day. heh

We finally had homeschool co-op Friday, after two cancellations (one due to weather and one due to a funeral at the church where we hold co-op). I believe it ran quite smoothly. I posted the kids' schedules over at Cornerstone blog a while back, but for myself - I am free first hour, second hour I sit in the Lego class David is teaching, third hour I am leading a moms discussion group, fourth hour we have a leadership team meeting, and I leave during fifth hour in order to have a little downtime before I have to go to work.

Bob bought a door tonight for our bedroom. That's been a long time coming too! Hopefully he and David can get it installed tout suite.

When we got home from Walmart (with Taco Bell takeout), there was a message on my machine that they'd like me to sub in Sunday School AGAIN tomorrow. This time it is Jamie's class. They called last week too and wanted me to do it for Emily's class, but I said no. If you'll recall, church was cancelled anyway. And the week before, I subbed in Jamie's class too. Am I the only person there is that can sub for Sunday School? Sigh. I DO NOT WANT TO. I do not feel very Sunday-school-ish.

I will be tracking down a high speed internet provider this week. That (and the P&P DVDs) is my splurge from the tax refund. Most of the rest of it will be paying bills.

The kids all loved Taco Bell food, despite much whining and crying beforehand that they hate Taco Bell and wanted McDonald's. TOO BAD KIDS. YOUR VERY GRUMPY MOM LOVES TACO BELL AND IS GETTING THAT. NYAH NYAH

And they love it anyway. @@

Ran into a mom whose kids go to the school I worked at last spring. She says the principal (also teaches 7th/8th) and his wife (teaches 1st) are retiring this year (as was planned) and also the preschool/kindergarten teacher is taking a position at another school. If I don't have some other way for making money soon, I'll probably apply at the school for next year. (And they'd probably hire me, since they offered me a position for this year that I turned down.)

And yes, that means the kids would very likely be in school. I can only keep doing what I've been doing for a limited time.

Yeah, I'm cheerful tonight. If I had more energy, I'd put charming Mr. Darcy in the DVD player right now. But I don't think I can even muster the gumption to wrestle the plastic off the DVD case, so I'll probably just go to bed. Yeah. It's early. For me anyway.