The Big Girl Skirt

And here is the big girl matching skirt to the American Girl one I made last week.

It came out pretty well despite some bad measurement instructions in the pattern. Now I have an idea how to fix it, and hopefully I will have some time soon to try again.

Even so, Katie loves it, and it fits.

School Days

We are starting our school year in a week, and I figured it was time for a post with our lesson plans for the coming year. I always love reading what others have planned, since sometimes they have such good suggestions.

We are going to continue with the school schedule of working several weeks, and then taking designated other weeks off. It will be a little more difficult this year, since we will be going to our local homeschool co-op on Fridays, but I think the kids are going to look at Fridays more as fun, than school.


MATH
Planned for only 3 days a week in August, and then 4 days a week after Labor Day. We are trying something new this year. I am going to start with Singapore 1B which at the beginning should be pretty easy for Katie, but then we will also be doing the Word Problems, and the Intensive Practice. Math has always been a struggle. She likes the geometry, measurement, time, etc. Strongly dislikes the calculation and facts. Hopefully this will go a little better.

SPELLING

We will continue to use Houghton Mifflin's Spelling and Vocabulary, but move up to Grade 2. It has been very easy for Katie to do on her own, and then I quiz her on the spellings throughout the week. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

READING

We are trying something new this year with Learning Language Arts Through Literature the Red Level.

It looks like it will be lots of fun, and I am modifying by skipping the handwriting that they use, as well as doing the spelling words (very easy), while adding our own spelling program. I just wanted to try something a little more concrete now that she can read many books on her own.

PHONICS

We will continue to use MCP Phonics level B, which we started this summer. With the schedule I have, we will finish that book in early January, and then go back to reinforce with Explode the Code 4 through 6. The explode the code books seem to really lock-in everything she learns through MCP, and it is something she can do on her own most of the time, and even in the car.

LANGUAGE

I didn't like last year's choice of Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind, so this year we are opting for Voyages in English to add to the LLATL. It is only a small book, and shouldn't take us much more than half the year to finish. Plus it only cost me $3 at the Home School Store, so could I really resist the trial at such a cheap price?

WRITING
Handwriting will continue with Scott Foresman's D'Nealian. We are going to continue practicing the manuscript for at least the first half of the year, and then possibly start cursive the second.

SCIENCE
Another new trial will be EasyClassical's Earth Science, which uses a variety of books to cover the various topics of weather, geology, and astronomy. They give a list of books to choose from based on the age of your child, and what you want to cover.
I chose to use for the Geology/ Weather unit:
Janice VanCleave's Earth Science for Every Kid
Learning About Weather - an Evan-Moore Teacher book
The Geography Book - by Caroline Arnold
The Usborne First Encyclopedia of Our World
2 of these I already owned, and then 2 I had to buy through ebay or amazon.

For the Astronomy unit:
Exploring Creation with Astronomy - an Apologia book, which I will do some serious editing on.
Exploring Space - an Evan-Moore Teacher book
The Glow - in - the - Dark Night Sky Book - by Clint Hatchett
The Usborne First Encyclopedia of Space
3 I owned previously, and I bought the Apologia book.

I like the way each week is laid out for you into a two day schedule, with pages for the books for that week, and questions below. Along with teacher information for parts laid out in a friendly manner. They also give you a library book list and shopping list for the following week when necessary, so you can plan a week ahead. Looks like fun!

We are also going to use some of the lessons from R.E.A.L. science that go along with the topics.

HISTORY
We are going to continue using Story of the World, moving on to Volume 2. Along with the activity book, and the library books for each week, it works well for us.

ART
We are going to test out Artistic Pursuits Volume 2. It should go along with our history, and it looks like it had some good projects in it.

Worthy of Blogging

We were having dinner I believe the other night, and Katie was being her usual self. Highly talkative, lots of questions. It seems that 6 year old girls, or at least my 6 year old girl, cannot resist talking.

So she was questioning us about something, and eventually I told her "Curiosity killed the cat".

Of course, instead of being quiet, she thought for a moment, and asked, "Who's The Cat?"

Good question.

Welcome Back

We have been most busy over here in Texas. We are finally all moved into our new house, and most of the boxes have been unpacked. Still a few more, and lots of pictures and things to hang. But altogether we are settling into our new home.

I took a few pictures of the kids rooms, that have been painted and decorated, but my camera settings must be off, since they are really grainy. So you'll have to wait on those.

But I did manage to finish a project I started Wednesday night. It only took about 4 hours total for a first time effort, and I think the next one will go considerably faster. But take a look at the cute skirt I fashioned for Princess.

Katie dressed her and did her hair this morning, and she looks quite beautiful.

Sunday Exercise

Does wrestling a 3 1/2 year old throughout the entire 8:30 mass count as an hours worth of exercise for the week?

If so, I think I am set.

Land of the Prehistoric Insects

My husband says we live in the land of the prehistoric insects, and I think he may be right.

You know how they have those children's toys that are rubber or plastic bugs and the bugs are huge and you laugh and think they are disgusting. Literally that is what this crazy place has.

3 to 4 inch roaches

Big fat Junebugs

And yesterday, on our way out to lunch, we saw a 3 to 4 foot snake lying dead as we left the apartment complex. HUGE, THICK, MONSTROUS looking thing.

And then of course there are the sugar ants, the fire ants, the lovebugs, the spiders, the wasps, the hornets, and the flies.

I don't remember so many bugs living here, but maybe I just didn't remember a different life. After living in Ohio for 2 years, virtually bug free, I am amazed and astounded that these creatures seriously don't take over the world and get rid of us humans.

Hard to Read

I know the lower post is hard to read, and I did try to space out my paragraphs, but for some unknown reason Blogger hates me. Add that to the rest of the things going wrong.

Our Soon-to-Be New Home

Hopefully, if all goes as planned, this will be our new home in 16 days.

I say hopefully, because things have not gone as planned for us lately.

Let's begin with the lovely company of Citibank that will be hearing from me in a letter very soon. I called them a week prior to our Ohio house closing to have them send a payoff amount to the title company. They told me that they were working on it. I called back or emailed every day after, with the response of they were working on it.

The Monday before closing, I called once more, to hear them tell me that they couldn't fax it to the title company because Citibank only faxes to 1-800 or 1-866 numbers. They could fax it to the local Citibank branch that is 5 minutes away, but they couldn't do it that day since the bank would be closing at 4 and it was 3:15 and the fax would take 1 to 4 hours.

I called back Tuesday morning, the day before closing, and get another woman on the phone, who tells me I have to call a touchtone system to request the payoff amount be sent. I tell her that I have been dealing with this nonsense for a week now, and I want her to do it, since tomorrow would be our closing and I wanted to make sure it got done. She says she can't do it, and I have to use the touchtone system. I tell her fine and get transferred to the touchtone system.

After pressing 1 over and over and over again, making my way through the automatic system, I finally get a voice recording stating that Citibank WILL NOT fax to a 1-800 number. OKAY!! Then why hadn't anyone ever faxed the payoff last week, and why did the woman yesterday tell me it could ONLY go to a 1-800 number, and that is why it hadn't been done???????

I typed in the regular number for the title company to see if it would work, and the recorded voice told me the same story of it would take 1 to 4 hours to be processed. Then 30 seconds later, I kid you not, the title company lady that I had been working with calls to say she just received the payoff info.

Because of the delays by Citibank, I had to overnight the signed and notarized papers to the title company, which cost me $40. And we almost didn't close as scheduled on the house, which would have cost us more money.

They will be receiving a lovely letter with my receipts for overnight postage, and a complaint. Well, two complaints actually. They also charged us $25 to fax a one page document. Obviously, no fax costs $25 to send for 1 page, and the fact that they made me fight them for a full week, is not worth the $25 they charged.

Okay, I think I am done ranting. I feel moderately better now.

More pictures will come in 3 weeks or so of the inside of the house above.

First Love

Nicholas has been watching Signing Time lately. For those of you who don't know, there are two children in the shows, named Leah and Alex.

Nicholas: "Isn't Leah pretty, mama?"

Me: "Yes, Leah is very pretty."

Nicholas: "I like Leah mama"

It is the innocence of moments like these, that make me love him more and more each day.

The Picture of Cuteness

How cute is she??

Katie smashed her knee into her mouth last night, thanks to mommy tickling her foot. So this morning we went to the dentist, where she got her first taste of laughing glass and numbing medicine, and they pulled the two top teeth that were barely hanging on. She is now very excited that the tooth fairy has double duty. Plus the dentist put them in a tiny pink treasure chest to put under her pillow.

Beach Party

We were lucky enough to be able to attend a birthday party this Saturday down in Galveston. What a perfect day for the beach!!

The weather was mostly cloudy and the temperature was in the mid-70's. PERFECT!!

The kids had a great time collecting shells (We came home with at least several hundred), playing in the sand, and jumping in the water. Even Nicholas loved splashing around in the water, and now that his tubes have fallen out, we didn't have to worry about him getting water in his ears.

For the rest of May, we are reading about the ocean, fish, and all things sea related. The best part was that we went to the huge library book sale before heading to the party, so we now have two field guides, a child's and adult's, to identify shells and sea life.

And on the topic of fish, we have two new house friends.

Meet Sweetie

And Cutie.

And this is what young children do when they want to be creative and they feel their fish need friends. Nicholas aptly named the brown one he colored later, Brownie.

ABSENT

I am here.
I promise.
I may seem absent, but am not absent-minded.

Yet.

Life is crazy and busy, but I promise pictures and news are coming soon!

Aren't They Cute

These 13 little cuties were at the bottom of the stairs as we left the apartment the other day. Mike ran up to get some bread and we fed them a good size meal, while watching them run and tumble over each other to get to the food. They were just wary enough to not come to close, and mom and dad duck were close by keeping an eye.

We have seen several groups of babies in the past couple weeks, and it is unbelievable how big they have gotten. These guys are already 3 times the size we last saw them. I guess all the bread and other goodies makes you grow extra fast.

Accomplishment

This puzzle took us only about 3 to 4 hours to finish. It was the Usborne Wild Animals puzzle with 360 pieces. I would say out of the 360, Katie probably did a good 100 pieces on her own.

Not bad for a few hours work.

My Life Revolves Around Poop

I have a cute adorable son, who let me say right away, I love dearly. But he is now 3 and a half, and it is time to be potty trained and diaper free.

He has been very successful lately. The weekend was spent with not one single accident. Everything made it into the potty 100%.

Then yesterday he had one accident in the afternoon, and when we went to the park for a picnic dinner, he managed to poop and pee through the only 2 pairs of underwear I had, and both pairs of shorts.

Today had been perfect. We had gone to the library, and then driving to pick up dad for lunch, he declared he had to poop. He actually went into work with Mike and went to the bathroom and was still dry. We came home and more poop on the potty. YAY Nicholas I am thinking blindly to myself. Maybe we will be able to get that fish soon after all. Then while I am talking to a delightfully funny friend on the telephone about house stuff, I come out to find that it not only stinks like poop in the apartment, but that my 3 year old is standing in the bathroom with a pair of poop filled underwear on the floor, poop on his foot, poop on the bathroom rug, and poop pasted to his butt. Disgusting!!! I hold my nose and want to vomit.

Why does it have to be so difficult a concept? Go to the bathroom, drop your drawers and poop into the potty. Better for all concerned.

Can I also add that I had to kill my first monster 2 inch roach since moving back to the lovely state of Texas? He managed to fly in the apartment door with us as we were coming home from lunch and errands. ICK!! DOUBLE ICK!!

Poop and big nasty bug killing. This is my life!

Yippee!!

We have a contract! Hopefully all goes well.

TV Time

While living in this apartment we are watching a lot more TV than usual, and this includes mommy.

You who have read this blog before know what a fan of Dancing with the Stars I am. I absolutely loved Kristi's jive on Tuesday, and then laughed at the group number at the end. Katie, Nicholas, and I sat here Wednesday morning and watched the group number twice more on the computer. They loved it just as much, and afterwards, the kids practiced their ballroom dancing all day.

Then tonight I finally got a new episode of Grey's Anatomy to watch. My brother and husband bought me seasons 1 to 3 for Christmas, and I have since watched and rewatched them in order, so many times that I could tell you everything about them. They make me laugh, they make me cry, they give my brain a time to just relax. And during the writer's strike I thought about how the plot could continue to my satisfaction. What I would most like to see happen. What did my brilliant mind come up with? Well tonight they aired it on TV. Meredith going to a psychiatrist. In my mind she went with Derek, but that is to come I have a feeling. How is that for predictions? Anyway, while the episode wasn't one of my favorites, (I still love the episodes in season 1) it did make me smile in the way that only Grey's Anatomy can.

Sweetie

Twas the name of Nicholas' pet that he owned for all of 5 hours today. I meant to take a picture, but before I could, Sweetie was gone. Nicholas was very fond of Sweetie, and named her himself. He talked about her all afternoon, and how he wanted to show her to his teacher (whoever that might be). He told me how he was going to let Sweetie sleep in my bed tonight since she was scared of the dark.

But alas, Sweetie is no more. No. Sweetie didn't come to some tragic demise, she merely escaped the bug catcher that she was living in this afternoon. You see, Sweetie was a lovebug. One of those annoying but harmless bugs you usually see flying around Texas at certain times of the year in pairs (hence the name lovebug). And Nicholas did love her.

It made me think. Would a goldfish be a big enough reward to finish this potty training business up??

A Beautiful Day

Yesterday was gorgeous!! And by gorgeous I mean crisp and cool in the morning with no humidity and by afternoon, sunny and mildly cool. The kind of day that you want to spend outside. And so we did eventually.

In the morning we went to Home Depot for the kids workshop. I have long wanted to take the kids or at least Katie to these workshops they hold the first Saturday of each month, but it always seems that we have other things going on, or that by the time I remember it is already done. So yesterday morning we went around 9:30, in shorts and sweatshirts, and Katie made a castle, while Nicholas and I made him a toolbox. Thankfully, our project only required a dollop of glue and 8 nails being hammered. So I put it together and started all the nails, and Nicholas thoroughly enjoyed hammering them the rest of the way. They both also got their Home Depot Aprons, and a pin for their completed projects to go on their apron. Since then they have sported their aprons off and on and Nicholas has enjoyed loading his toolbox with Daddy's real tools, and toting them around.

We then ran a few errands and had lunch, and then Katie and I got ready to go see Swan Lake. Her ballet school has a company that puts on several productions a year, and a wonderful friend of ours had season tickets that she was unable to use. So for free we sat third row center and watched the beautiful ballet.

Tip for any other mother ever planning to take her child to the ballet: Make sure you read the story to your child before going, since the ballet doesn't resemble the Barbie version in the slightest even though you have the same basic storyline. And since Katie hasn't seen that video or heard the story in a long time, I had to keep explaining parts.

But in all it was gorgeous, and the woman who played Odette/Odile was positively birdlike. And I assume that is a compliment when you are trying to dance like a swan.

Then after coming home and watching the kids bounce off the walls, we decided to head to one of our favorite parks, Clear Lake Park. The kids ran like crazy, climbing, jumping, sliding, swinging. We tried to feed the ducks, but not wanting a horde of seagulls to come bother all the other people at the park, we walked down the pier to look for some friends to feed. We found no ducks out there, but we did find this intriguing sign, that I don't remember ever being there before.

We did eventually find a trio of ducks, but with the wind of the day, and the waves that were crashing in, we weren't able to really get the bread out to them very well, and they weren't willing to get too close.

What We Do To Keep Busy

Create these little cuties.

The story behind this project is that every year I manage to misplace one of the Christmas presents that I buy Katie. Last year it was a Christmas Barbie that turned up 3 months later. This year it was a How to Make Flower Fairies book that turned up on moving day behind a desk. So once we moved into our apartment and purchased some glue, we created this little friend. We have another one in progress that still needs hair. But they are absolutely adorable, and Katie loves picking out their petal "clothes".