Tiles and Dryers, and Boo, Oh My!

I just love this shot of Boo taken by Deo this past June. His eyes are so intense, yet so full of innocence. Who knew that just a few hours after this picture was taken he'd end up with a horrible bruise that is STILL not completely gone!

A few weeks ago, our dishwasher had a nice leak and the water started coming up through the laminate flooring that my husband laid himself not even 5 years ago. By the time I had returned from a church activity, I had no floor. Well, that's not totally accurate. I have a floor. It's concrete. Fashionable, yet not desirable to me. Perhaps it could be if it weren't for the paint splatters and missing quarter-rounds...

So we've been looking for tile and by some miracle, found one that we liked. Funny thing, it looks very similar to the color of the concrete, minus the paint splatters. We had a quote done and quickly decided that this would be a do-it-yourself job. Nice how I say, "we decided". More precise, I decided that this would be a "he-does-it himself, with the help of Foo" job. Did I mention how much I love my husband??

On Friday, we came home to a dryers full of clothes that seemed to be very close to igniting. The drum was no longer spinning and being 8 years old, we (again, I) decided, time for a new dryer. Off I went on the hunt, coming home with nothing. DH went out, found a great deal and brought it home. Did I mention how much I love my husband??

Also on Friday, we received the new tires that were sorely needed on Mark's car. He was able to tell me the color of the steel showing through the tread. This made me quite nervous and therefore, tires were a top priority. Did I mention how much I love my husband??

After the convention, the tiles, the dryer, and the tires, this is turning out to be a very expensive month!

Boo is officially weaned. I am sad. I miss our time together. I am trying to start a new snuggle time with him by reading to him before bed. He really doesn't listen very long before he starts flipping through the pages and going on to the next book. He is saying all kinds of things now such as GO! Banks! (as in "Jane and Michael Banks for Mary Poppins). He also says, Poppins which at any time could mean puppy, poopie or poppins.

My favorite new word is not a word at all. It is a sound he makes. When we are reading his Thomas books, he yells out "Choo choo!' in a very deep and strong little man voice! But then we see a kitty and I say to him, "Look Brendan! Can you say 'Meow'?" He says in his highest pitch sweetest little boy voice... "OWWWM". Of course my first thought is that he is dyslexic. I'm not a worry wart, much. It is very cute and I wish I had a camcorder to capture this. But I suppose writing about it will help me to remember just as well.

The girls will be testing for their 2nd degrees this next weekend. Fish and Foo are growing like weeds. Beautiful weeds.

And me, we'll I'm doing more running. If you don't see much from me on this blog, you can keep up with me on my running blog.

Business wise, we had the pleasure of being interviewed for a local online information site. You can read the interview here!

For now I must close as Boo has found my coffee (decaf) and decided to drink it. Crazy kid!

Life is Good!

It really is! We are winding down the summer here, getting ready for school and trying to reconfigure our schedule so that we balance school, work, and play into our daily lives.

Mark and I had the opportunity to attend the THSC's convention yesterday. In all of my years of homeschooling, I have avoided these types of events for fear that I would buy too much, question everything I am doing, totally confuse myself, and leave feeling like I was a terrible homeschooler and I would never figure things out.

I am glad I waited 10 years to finally go. I can see that my predictions would have been true if I had gone as a new homeschooler. While it could be quite overwhelming to homeschoolers that really don't know which curriculum they would like to use, for those who have a list compiled and know exactly what they want to purchase, the vendor hall can be quite a fun experience!

I had a list of three vendors I needed to purchase certain items from. Math U See, Classical Academic Press, and Memoria Press. I also knew that there would be several booths that I would want to visit such as Dave Ramsey's booth, the driver's ed programs, and a few others.

Initially, when we walked into the vendor hall, it was a tad overwhelming. I am not big on going into crowds, but I have learned to face this fear on more than one occasion. The opportunity to save money on shipping is a TOP reason to overcome a few thousand people getting in my path.

We decided that we would go ahead and purchase what we came for first and then stroll around the booths and see what else was there.

This was Mark's first real event as a homeschooling dad. I've been to a few smaller conferences and lots of support group meetings, but he has not had that experience. I figured this would be a nice way to get his feet wet. After all, he will be a huge part of homeschooling now that he is working from home!

Our first stop was to the Math U See booth. 170.00 later for two math courses for two children, we moved onto the Classical Academic Press booth. Mark was trying to not hyperventilate as he saw how much the math was costing for just 2 children. (we have 2 more that will be using math as well!) He doesn't usually get to see how much or what I choose because he has not had the time to be involved in this process of "planning" every year.

On to the Latin program at Classical Academic Press. I know that many, many folks love Latina Christiana. I am difficult. I can't stand it. I find it dry, boring, and not very informative. I want to know "Why?" we do things. Memorizing just for the sake of memorizing or because the student is in the "memorizing" age does not appease my sense of learning. I want my children to learn, not memorize. And if I find it boring, dry, and unmotivating, then won't my children. Therefore, when I had heard about Latin for Children on Melissa's blog, (sorry I can't find the actual post about this, Melissa if you are reading and have it, I'll be happy to link directly to it), I knew I had to check it out. I have been eyeing this set for about 6 months now. Finally, it was in my hands along with an informal logic course and a couple of history readers. Erin Davis was there and happily signed the reader that she helped to write for my son. Foo was ecstatic when he saw it. I knew he would be! Lem will begin Latin for Children I this year while Foo and Bean will finish up Henle.

I penned another check for 140.00 but before I did, I sent Mark away so as not to cause him permanent damage. I tell myself, "it's cheaper than private school, it's cheaper than private school!" Honestly, it really isn't anymore expensive than our previous programs and I feel it will be a better fit for our family.

I then headed over to the Memoria Press table and inquired about the Henle Guide for Latin for units 3 - 5. The poor woman didn't know about them and Memoria had not sent her with them. I pointed them out in the catalog and she confirmed that she definitely did not have to have them, but tried to sell me a logic course instead. Giggling inside, I politely refused and headed away. We tried their logic last year. While it is a very comprehensive course, I think the stuffing I made without water one year wasn't as dry as their logic course. I thought of how Bean would probably be upset that she had to do that course and her brother was going to get the "fun" looking one. Revenge is always sweet upon teens!! Don't get me wrong here. I do like many of the items that Memoria puts out. I loved Andrew Campbell's book and I use it in my planning with much success. I do think that a classical education can be both well-rounded and delightful. Dry texts are not delightful to me nor to my children. My Charlotte Mason influence always trumps everything else.

Having made our purchases, we strolled around. I saw a few ladies I had not seen for a very long time and it was so nice to reconnect with them if only for a moment. Then the highlight of my afternoon was seeing my sweet little Godbaby, Anna, and her parents. We visited for awhile and somehow got taken into a demonstration on Algebra. Little did I know, this was going to change everything. VideoText Interactive was presenting their product and I was intrigued. Me. The one who failed miserably in Algebra. The one who fears the A word. Intrigued. Curious. Even a bit excited! Mr. Tom Clark, the author of the program was so passionate, so articulate, and so eager to teach algebra to the world. I won't go into all of the program details, but I will say this. I returned Math U See. That's right. I returned it. I bought the first module of this program and will try it out for the next 30 days. I am so excited about this program. Did I just say that? Me, excited about that which I used to fear?? OK... this guy could be up for Sainthood!

We have used Math U See for years. I love this program. But I must admit, I wasn't quite convinced that the upper level maths were as comprehensive as what might be needed. And being the math scholar that I only dream about being, I couldn't really tell. Mr. Clark believes that Math U See is a wonderful program, especially for the younger, elementary years. But after that, MUS does not explain "Why?" anymore. It becomes more textbook like and more, "you do it this way, because...well because you do." Mr. Clark's program answers the why. He asks the why. He encourages the why. I like that.
I hope to have an update on VideoText Interactive within the next month after we've had more time to work with it and try it out. I am only surprised that I had not heard about this program before now. It has received excellent reviews from many sources, and yet, I have never heard of them.

One more mention about math, I stopped by the Teaching Textbook booth and was shocked. Sure the DVD looks cool and Bean was convinced that it would be much more fun than MUS. But if she had seen the actual textbook that came with that DVD she might have passed out on the spot. The book itself had to weigh at least 5 pound, maybe more. And it was paperback! There were 130 lessons for Algebra 2. 130!!!! I asked the man behind the table how a student would approach 130 lessons. His answer, get this...."I don't know". What? Yes, that was his answer. Well, sir... good luck with that!

We did purchase another find that was just way to neat to pass up. Drive Through America History! What fun! We've watched some of the DVDs and they are very fun. I don't know how comprehensive a history program it will be, but I didn't buy it for that. I thought they'd make a nice family viewing experience and so far, they have. We bought them all. America history, as well as Greece, Roman, East/West, and Turkish Delight. It is put out by Focus on the Family, so I feel safe that it won't have anything objectionable in it.

All in all the convention was fun. We did not go to any of the workshops, but perhaps next year we will.

I have more to post about other goings on, but I shall make a separate post for those.

Happy Day!

Boo got a haircut!

I was after Mark to get Boo's haircut for about the past 3 weeks. He was looking quite shaggy and I was beginning to look for Scooby trailing behind him.

Now that his locks are shorter, he looks so grown up. I can't believe how fast his babyhood has gone.

I think he is officially weaned. I am sad about that, but I know it was time. We are having to avoid cuddle time because he stills looks for it. I hope that he forgets about "that" soon so that I can enjoy snuggling with him before he's too big for that.

He did let me hold him while standing before bedtime tonight. We rocked for a few minutes to a beautiful Celtic program on PBS. He loves music and this was no exception. I think he was feeling his Irish side.

We are having fun around the house these last few weeks of summer. Foo has been buried in the entire Harry Potter series. I think I saw him last two weeks ago. I never thought I would resent my children reading, but I am! He is reading constantly and is finally almost finished with the last book. Me, well, I am on Book 1, chapter 2... It sits in the stack by my bed of many waiting to be read. Maybe one day, when I am finished holding babies and playing games with Fish or braiding Lem's hair, maybe then I'll have time for Harry.

Announcing...

The newest member of our "family"...

"Shu Shooorge!"





Picture Boo in his Yellow Hat around October 31st!

What is it that they say about time?

It flies, especially when your children are growing and everyone is having fun. And I agree it does. Whether it is seen by the fact that I haven't posted to this blog in a week,


or that I haven't seen my goddaughter in 18 months,



or that my neighbors for the past 8 years are moving away...



Time flies and it seems as though we never have enough of it to spend with those we cherish...

Thumone lotht their firtht toof!

And the tooth fairy even came!

(I have to admit, I almost titled this post, A Fish looses his tooth, just for those weird google searches I seem to get!)

Just for today

Just for today, I am not going to complain. I am going to look around and thank God for every blessing and every challenge that He gives me. I am going to offer every discomfort, inconvenience, or misunderstanding up to Him.

How can I complain when I look into the eyes of a woman who cried all through Mass last night because her son is leaving for Iraq as an Army infantryman. As I tried to get my 5 year old to "behave" in Mass, I finally relaxed and just thanked God that he was there to make a ruckus. I wondered if the woman behind me was longing for those days with her son...

How can I complain when I have a friend who just received news that her cancer has returned. I can put an ice pack on my most serious health issue. We never know what will happen tomorrow, but today, I have my health, my children have theirs, and we can pray for those friends of ours that are struggling with health problems.

So, if you talk to me today, or anyday for that matter, and I seem to be ungrateful, please remind me of how blessed I am...

Better than good news!

Hans is CANCER FREE! Can we all say ALLELUIA!!!!!!!! Read the update here.

How does she do it?

Say what you will about Harry Potter. That boy can get my kids to read!

Bean got the last book in her hands at lunch time yesterday. She worked for 4 hours at the Tae Kwon Do school, and still managed to read the almost 800 page book last night.

My son, Foo has read the first three books in four days!

I now have proof that they CAN get something read if they really want to!

400th Post

This post marks my 400th. Not sure what that means, but I thought, WOW, aside from nursing and changing diapers, I've been consistent with something enough to say I've done it HUNDREDS of times!!

My posting has been sporadic at best lately. We've been so busy around these parts. We are busy planning for school, training for marathons, and going full throttle with our ventures.

I couldn't let the latest Fishism pass without telling you all about it.

Ever since last October, Fish has developed a sense of fear, something I thought he'd never have. He's afraid of movie theaters, museum classes, and in general trying anything new.

We've made some progress with this and he was able to attend the movies last week with his big brother and Daddy. He was too scared to see Ratatouille, but was quite content to sit through Fantastic Four. (not mom's choice, but boys will be boys!)

Yesterday, we had the wonderful pleasure of attending a birthday party of a dear friend. There was singing, dancing, and games to be enjoyed. Fish would not partake of any of the singing or the dancing and was doing the backstroke on the games.

I encouraged him to just watch and see if he might want to try to Pin the Tail on the Donkey. He wasn't convinced, but he agreed to watch. Within minutes he was very excited to take HIS turn at being blindfolded and turned and finally let loose to get to the business of pinning.

He didn't quite make it to the donkey, but he was very close. I was proud that he tried something that was scary for him.

Best of all, my little boy, who is truly ALL BOY in every sense of the word, displayed his gentlemanly, heroic self when several of the other guests we having trouble opening their treats. He took it upon himself to go around the table and assist each one who needed it. At one point, he came to me (I was oblivious to what he was doing) and started tapping me trying to get my attention. I became a bit short with him and reminded him that he was interrupting me. He insisted that I come with him. I complied, all the while wondering what could possibly be so wrong that he had to come pull me to the table.

Once we were at the table, he began pointing at a little girl. I asked him what was wrong. He continued to just point, but with much insistence. Finally he said, "she can't eat!" This poor child could not open her treats and Joseph could not open them either. I was so proud in that moment. My little "devil" was such an angel.

Honestly, we've always known about his gentle, sensitive side, we just haven't had the opportunity to see it very much. I suspect as he matures, we will see more of this side of him.

I took the time to tell him how very proud I was of him. How his kindness and compassion were so wonderful. He glowed! I hate to admit this, but Fish does get more than his share of stern looks and firm tones. He is definitely a strong-willed person, and I try to remember that this will be a good thing some day! This moment at the party proved the point. If he hadn't been so insistent with me coming to the table, that little girl might not have enjoyed her treats.

Once we were home, I bragged about what he did to his daddy, who was very proud as well. Fish glowed once again! What a beautiful face he has...

When we asked him what his favorite part of the party was he answered...

"When we played PUT THE TAIL BACK ON THE GOAT!" I hope I never forget these memories.

The Torch has been passed

Once upon a time, a little Foo played with some trains. He kept them so well. His Daddy made him a train table and he would play for hours with Thomas and his friends. We would build the wooden track and make "choo choo" noises. It was the best of times. Then along came a Fish.



Fish loved his trains! He loved them so much he would take them out to the bird bath to make sure they got clean. He was sure they could swim. When he played, the track was merely debris and the trains loved to be tossed around the room. How differently my two sons played with their trains. The chips of paint that came off of these trains were our first indicator that Fish was NOT Foo. Poor Foo's beautiful wooden trains were now chipped and worn. But we knew they were loved.



Now, my little Boo has picked up the torch and has officially passed from babyhood to toddlerdom. (if you enlarge this picture of him, you can see his lips saying, "Choo choo!") I don't know when or how it happened. But it has. I wonder what he has in store for these little trains.

Shine III

For those of you who like to keep up with our Shine family retreats, you can experience our last one through a series of pictorials on our Shine blog.

Am I stuck in time?

I was talking this morning about how I've never had to attend a jury summons because I've always had a young child at home that exempted me from my obligation. I joked about how I've had a child under 10 in my home for a LOOONG time! Then I realized, I have!!

I am not complaining. I feel so blessed. But sometimes, I have days where I feel as though I am doing the same things over and over with little result. I know that this is not true. But some days it does "feel" like that. Thank goodness I've learned to not always go by how I feel. (Notice I said "not always". I'm far from perfect, LOL)

Cindy has a wonderful post concerning the other end of the spectrum. It really gave me pause to think about how each of us are on our own journey, and how we may each cross one another's path for a time, but ultimately, we will all meet Christ, face to face and standing by ourselves. Our spouses won't be there, our children won't be there, our best friends and family won't be there.

Am I ready to meet Him as I am today? Just me. Not what I've done, not what I want to do. Not who I do it for? Just me. Just my heart. Just my love for Him.

Supposedly summer is the time of year that we slow down and enjoy the warm weather, the more relaxed schedule, and plan for the fall.

Someone lied! I've been so busy lately that I haven't had a moment to blog. I am going through withdrawal!

I did want to post a picture of Boo after his little spill off of a kid's table the night of Bean's birthday.

He is looking much better now, but I had to share this pitiful face!

Before the fall...



After...

How to win a husband's heart...

Some may say it's through a good meal, but then you'd eat my cooking.

Some would say it's through complete obedience, but then you'd meet me.

This is how I won my husband's heart this week...

his new toy!

As I write this, he is upstairs happily vacumming away. And let me just say, this vacuum is awesome!

Arguing with the Almighty

Last night, Mark and I watched Bruce Almighty in attempts to get ourselves prepped for Evan Almighty. I can not recommend Bruce Almighty for family viewing, not even really for "appropriate" viewing because of a few scenes that are less than noble coupled with a few choice curse words, but nevertheless, this movie makes me laugh out loud!

I have seen this movie several times and I still find it so funny! I love how the main character, Bruce, played by Jim Carrey, constantly and consistently talks to God, argues with God, whines at God, mopes to God, etc. I find it strangely familiar!

In one of my favorite scenes. Bruce is driving somewhere fast, asking God to show him a sign. Begging Him to tell him what to do. Of course, God, in His wonderful sense of humor, places many signs, obstacles, and bumps in Bruce's path, but Bruce doesn't see them because he is too consumed with yelling at God to show him a sign!!

I must admit that I have acted similarly myself on many occasions. I love how God still embraces us when we act so silly! Does He look down at us and giggle? I must offer Him many opportunities for a good belly laugh.

She's Sweet 16!

This week has been so full of joy and happiness as we have come together for our 3rd annual Shine Retreat! What made this one even more special? The blessing of our daughter's 16th birthday!

We were so blessed to be able to have many of her friends, all wonderful and truly amazing examples of Christian lives. We did miss those who weren't able to be with us, but know that they were there in spirit!

You can read a wonderful account of the event here on Mickey Miss' blog. I would try to write my own, but hey, I'm on vacation and my brain is not in "think" mode! So I'll hijack hers!

A huge highlight this past week was the visit from some of our cousins from Michigan. It always so hard to say goodbye and can't wait until the next time we see one another. And now that I know that they sometimes read this blog, I get to say HI GUYS!!!!!!!!!



Let's see if they can figure out how to comment...

Now on the subject of 16 year olds, I must say, it has been a true joy to raise one. Bean is such a wonderful person, such a thoughtful, caring, and loving soul. Her family and friends adore her. She is definitely a 16 year old girl, complete with mood swings, but she holds herself to a very high standard and usually lives up to that standard.

Being her mother, I try to find the times to tell her how much she means to me. But, I usually fail. I know we all remember how hard it was to talk with our parents when we were teens. But I assure you, it is just as hard, if not harder to talk with your teen when you are the parent. They feel we don't understand them, and we only wish they could understand us.

I know she reads my blog, so taking advantage of this moment, I hope you will indulge this mom and let me tell my sweet little girl a few things.




Bean, you are awesome. You are beautiful. Beautiful to look at and beautiful inside. You inspire me to be a better person, a better mother. I am sorry that I don't say thank you for all of those things you do that I don't seem to recognize. They do not go unnoticed, just unmentioned.

I know that sometimes, well, ok, a lot of times, your parent's rules don't make a whole lot of sense, but believe this. These rules are one way that we tell you we love you. We love you enough to be nosy. We love you enough to be embarrassing and ask questions that might make you cringe. We love you enough to say "no". We love you enough to say, "you must".

Perhaps one day, God will bless you with children and then some of what we done might make more sense. Maybe it won't.

Do not go to bed tonight without knowing this. YOU ARE LOVED! You are so loved! Each day we pray that we are doing the right things for you, the things that God wants us to do for you. Each day, you make us proud. You make us smile. You make us deeply grateful to have a daughter like you!

As you grow into young adulthood, never forget that we are always here for you. We are always a safe place, even when you are afraid that we won't understand. Know that we will NEVER abandon you. We will ALWAYS support you. We will FOREVER love you.

You are our living angel.

Happy Birthday, Bean!

More about the Sweetest 16 Luau you've ever seen when we are back from vacation.

For now, a preview...

Busy, Busy, Week!

(this is a picture of Nyokki. His hair finally grew and he needed a hair cut, so Lem took a before shot)


This week has been a blur! This was Mark's first "official" week home, although he did go into the clinic a couple of hours here and there to try and tie up a few loose ends.

The business is growing at a nice pace, which is a relief since we've thrown all caution, (and some may argue, common sense), to the wind and left the world of working for others. We are officially self-employed and I have a few sleepless nights to prove it!!

The week started off with a bang with Boo having a seizure. Thankfully, he responded well to the fever reducing medicines and didn't have any more.




This was also testing week at Tae Kwon Do which is always busy. Fish tested yesterday and earned his BLACK BELT in Karate Kubs! WOO HOO!! Go Fish!! He is so very proud of himself and we are very proud of him as well. It seems like it was just a few months ago that he started this journey. But it has been almost two years. He will likely move up to the regular TKD program in the late fall, depending upon his ability to handle the class length and the physical demand required for the more complex forms. I am not in any rush to have him move on. He is so happy where he is.






Today Lem and I ran a race. She hung in there for the whole duration in spite of the heat and humidity. You can read more about that on my running blog.

We are on the final count down to SHINE III! I can't wait! This week will prove to be even busier than the last, so I am not sure if I'll be posting much. I promise to take lots of pictures and post them as soon as I can!

The Fishism of the week was this. Fish has been working on getting his chores done each day. If mom and dad think he did his best work, he gets a quarter. On Tuesday, he earned one and ran downstairs crying, "Look Daddy! I've got toppins!" Can you guess what we have been watching??

We knew it was coming...

We just didn't know when. All of my sons seem to have seizures with fevers, even fevers that aren't very high. We've been waiting to see if Boo developed them as well. This morning at 2:30 am, when I couldn't figure out why I was laying there wide awake, the seizure reared its ugly head.

Boo is fine, Mom and Dad a bit shaken, but all in all we did pretty well. No mommy screaming "CALL 911!!" No extreme freaking out, just alot of silent praying and holding of the little one. This was followed up by a 4am showing of Elmo in Grouchland which always makes Boo happy!

Why this picture you ask? Because it makes me smile! How about you?