Whew! Week One Down

Well, after Mom #2 hacked into my blog, I guess someone else thought it would be a good idea too because someone else left nasty porno spam comments on every single post.   I've been going through and deleting it all for the past few days, so that's kept me pretty busy.  If you see something amiss, please let me know. 

But . . . on to the good stuff. 

I hadn't planned on spilling the beans about ME going back to school just yet, as this is Baby Boy's glory week.  Mom #2 is one of those people who is simply incapable of keeping any kind of secret, LOL, bless her heart.  ;-)  I will say this though, my brain is not as young and rubbery and remembery as it used to be.  Of that I am SURE!

Baby Boy had a good first week.  Actually a great first week, I think. 

Getting used to other instructors besides me has been an interesting challenge for him.  He's had to ask a few questions and even email one of his professors.  I am very happy that he isn't afraid to ask for clarification when he is unsure of anything.  I think my greatest fear was that he'd sit in the classroom in a fog of unfamiliarity and not have the gonads to speak up when he's in trouble.  Fortunately, that hasn't been the case.

Of course, I feel I've raised an outspoken and self confident young man, but you never really know how you've done until the rest of the world gets a crack at him.   I've impressed upon him the importance of staying on top of things.  He doesn't want to get behind.  I think the biggest change so far has been homework.  In our homeschool, I assign work that can be done throughout the day and there really wasn't much homework per say as it was all done at home, I guess.  Now he is only in class a couple of days a week and he has to schedule himself the appropriate amount of at home time to get things done in a timely manner.  Time management and resisting the urge to procrastinate are going to be intensely learned lessons this semester, I think. 

He does seem to be taking things seriously, but not too seriously, which is exactly where I think he should be at this point.  In fact, I might want to try to learn that bit of adolescent ambivalence myself. 


Have a great week!



Until next time . . .

Happy Sad Mom Day

Baby Boy went to New College Student Orientation yesterday.

He completed his paperwork and received his student ID and parking pass (OMG!)  without any help from me.  I was just a sparkly accessory for his left elbow.  He handled himself like such a capable young man.  I was so . . .  

. . . Impressed . . .

. . . And sad . . .

. . . And inspired . . .

. . . And nostalgic . . .

. . . And amazed . . .

. . . And wistful.  


As you can see, I'm having mixed emotions . . . but the bottom line is that I'm so happy for him right now.  A whole new season of his life is opening up right before our eyes.  I just never imagined it would be such an emotional experience for the entire family.  It's not just his success; it really feels like our success. 


Homeschooling rocks!  All.  Day.  Long. 



Until next time . . .

Semester Summary

In case you were wondering, yes, I did survive Christmas.

I definitely think I'll plan a more low-key holiday next year, as I was so spazzed out that I could barely enjoy myself.  Mom #2 really wanted lots of family around this Christmas, so I guess we'll have to manage a way to take turns so we can both enjoy our holidays.  I'm taking suggestions if anyone has a workable solution.  Maybe one of my New Year's Resolutions will be to be more laid-back in general  so that I don't obsess over house cleaning when people come to visit.  After all, it's mostly family and they all know and love us whether the house is spotless or not.

Of course, I've come to that conclusion only after putting Baby Boy and Mom #2 through high-holy-heck in the house cleaning department. Hindsight, you know. 


I hope everyone has and continues to have a wonderful holiday.  Ours was lovely and frankly, I'm glad it's over.  Kind of like a roller coaster ride . . . the anticipation is delicious, the experience is dramatic, and the after glow is oh-so-delightful.  *HAPPY * SIGH*


On the homeschool front, I guess it's time to wrap up the first semester and label our hits and misses . . . so without further ado . . .

• Composition - We completed all the lessons in SWI-C.  I'm glad we finished it.  I did consider throwing it out a few times, but I'm also attempting to teach character here and we know that the entire world won't be structured to our liking once we hit the big time.  All in all, I think we learned a lot from it.  It really got us looking at writing from a different angle.  It certainly is a different style of writing.  Baby Boy and I had sort of fallen into the routine of simply writing book reports and lecture summaries, but this taught us to think outside the box a little bit and write from different angles and viewpoints.  My only concern is the extreme rigidity and formulaic approach.  Like any homeschool Mom, I tweaked it to fit our needs, but the setup can be a bit too structured for us loosey-goosey homeschooling types.  Another concern is that I personally think it's very expensive and I don't really know if I'd recommend it to a friend new, but I purchased it used at a substantial discount.  It's definitely worth it from that standpoint.  I think we'll label this one a moderate hit on sale and a miss at full price.     

•  Vocabulary - We managed to get through the first half of Vocabulary Cartoons 2 book, approximately 150 words.  As a matter of fact, I gave Baby Boy a comprehensive quiz covering all of the words we've covered so far this year and he made a 100%!  What we really do is try to incorporate the words we learn into our every day speech, although you can't tell from the simpleton talk on this blog, LOL.  This helps to solidify what we've learned and take the knowledge from being only abstract in nature to more concrete.  We'd already had success with Vocabulary Cartoons: SAT Word Power last year, so this was a no brainer for us this year.  This is definitely a big hit. 

• Literature -  We have thoroughly enjoyed our literature selections so far this year:  Frankenstein, The War of the Worlds, and our most recent The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.   After years of the obligatory American Lit and British Lit, it has been fun to branch out and do a little something free and fluid on our own.  I've never read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde before myself, but had lots of ideas about how the book would actually be since it's such a classic story.  It was fun to read the actual text firsthand instead of relying on popular culture for the plot.  Baby Boy also enjoyed it too.  I think he may have enjoyed this book over Frankenstein, which was hard to beat.  Neither of us really enjoyed reading The War of the Worlds, but listening to the 1938 radio broadcast and watching two versions of the movie, I can say we definitely made the best of that one.  I think this idea of reading classic sci-fi and fantasy has been a great big hit.   

• Pre-Calculus -  I heart Teaching Textbooks.  That's all I have to say.  I know there is talk amongst those on certain homeschool message boards that it is not as rigorous as other math texts.  I don't know about too many other texts as we began homeschooling Baby Boy his last year of elementary school, reviewed a little with workbooks during an abbreviated middle school and jumped right into high school math.  I guess he can be labeled a "mathy" kid.  Our first attempt at higher level mathematics was Saxon Math with DIVE cds, as it was recommended to me by everyone as the gold standard, but it simply wasn't a good fit for us.  We switched to Teaching Textbooks at pre-algebra and have never looked back.  Pre-calculus has been the most challenging subject we've had to tackle thus far, but having the detailed video explanations for each and every problem has really been beneficial.  Baby Boy has consistently placed better than grade-level on standardized testing and also tested solidly into collegiate level math on the COMPASS just a few weeks ago.  That's good enough proof for me and I've long since gotten over concerning myself with what others think anyway, so as you can imagine, another enthusiastic hit is among us.  
  

• Chemistry -  As you know, we've outsourced this subject this year, but that hasn't stopped me from developing opinions on it, LOL, because that's just the kinda gal I am.  If you've been reading for a while, you know this is our second attempt at chemistry.  Last year was a big-ole-bust.  Historically we've used Apologia high school science courses because they are extremely user friendly and many online retailers have supply packs for them at reasonable costs.  We've had great success with biology, marine biology and advanced biology/human anatomy (Can you tell we like biology?), however the chemistry was a huge struggle for some reason.  Baby Boy and I both read the textbook and couldn't seem to make heads or tails of it and ended up ditching it about 1/4 way through the year anticipating he'd just eventually take it at community college.  Our new textbook, Chemistry Matters, from Singapore Math, has been a transformational improvement.  Even though I am not the primary instructor for this particular class, when I do have to assist either with Baby Boy's homework, lab presentation, or grading during co-op time, everything makes so much more sense to me.  Also, this may not matter to some people, but the text is lavishly illustrated with lots of color and holds the interest of even the most non-sciencey Mom (and student).  Baby Boy has also commented on how much better he likes it at well, so I'm going to rate this one another hit.  Additionally, adding in The Teaching Company's chemistry DVDs have been invaluable.  Mr. Cardulla is both entertaining and enthusiastic about chemistry, something I thought was virtually impossible.  These have been well-worth the expense and receive a whole-hearted thumbs up from both Baby Boy and myself.  Consider chemistry to be a double hit.   

All of the extra-curricular activities are still big hits except for homeschool bowling.  That will have to be put on the back burner for now because the time won't work for us any longer.  It will directly conflict with Baby Boy's community college schedule beginning next month.  Teen participation has really been dwindling anyway, which makes me feel even more guilty about letting it go, but something really has to give.  We're going to attempt to keep everything else going.  More intensive black belt training (IS there such a thing?) will also begin next month, so the spring and summer should really be hopping around here.  

Baby Boy will be taking Freshman Composition and math at community college and will continue with his chemistry co-op next semester, so the frequency and depth of our weekly monthly wrap-ups may diminish, but I'm going to try to find a way to keep them up.  I like putting our work down in a tangible way so I'm going to have to get creative about how to keep the rhythm flowing.  I'll figure something out.  I'm not sure what yet, but something.

This has been a loooooonnnnnnggggg post.  If you read it all, thanks.  If not, I completely understand, it's just something that simply had to be done for my sanity's sake.

We'll return to our regularly scheduled silliness . . . soon . . . you know . . . when I get around to it.  ;-)  

Until next time . . .

It's Reportin' Time

Let's see, we've been so busy around here with life and such but school always gets done in one way or another. I just haven't taken the time to sit down and put fingers to keys to get it documented.

Today I'm going to do just that . . . so here's what Baby Boy has been up to:

• Composition - We're still moving steadily along with SWI-C. We just completed lesson 7 of 15, so I guess that means we're officially not quite but just about halfway through. We just covered note taking and study skills, which are essential for any young person who intends to make his move into college courses in a few weeks. I'm wanting to finish up this entire program by Christmas break, so we really need to pick up the pace. A lot of the lessons don't really take the entire week, but I guess I've been kind of lazy implementing them. Sometimes it has gotten pushed to the back burner, and although I love my son, I'll admit that initiative in schoolwork isn't one of his glowing attributes.
  

• Vocabulary - Still loving it. We finished up section 6. I've been making up the quizzes using this website instead of using the reviews from the book. I find them to be more challenging and also more in line with how the SAT presents questions. It takes a little time to get them together, but time is all we homeschooling Moms have. Right? ;-)

• Literature - We FINALLY finished War of the Worlds! For a short book, it sure was a long read. I'm not sure who it was that said the movie is better than the book, but it certainly is the truth. That book was so dry and boring that Baby Boy and I have just barely been limping through a chapter here and there. I thought we'd never get finished. Seriously, H.G. Wells spent about one hundred pages describing the narrator's walk from here to there. He got there, OK! Let it go. Next week we are going to listen to the Orson Welles radio broadcast that scared everyone silly in 1938 and probably watch both the 1953 and 2005 movie versions of the book. Of course, writing assignments will be involved. It can't be all fun and games. ;-)
  

• Shakespeare - Baby Boy's group has decided to re-vamp and re-perform The Comedy of Errors. Baby Boy will be doing some behind the scenes assistance as well as playing the part of Duke Solinus. For those of you who've been reading for a while, they performed this play about a year and a half ago, but the director is feeling a little overwhelmed with other projects, so she wants to revisit it instead of starting a new play from scratch. There are several new students and most of the former students have chosen different parts than they originally played, so I think it will have a new flavor and energy from the last time. I guess only time will tell.
  

• Pre-Caluculus - We just wrapped up chapter 3 on rational functions. Baby Boy has gotten very good at using the graphing calculator. I sit and nod and smile during all the lessons and thank goodness for the detailed video explanations. My specialty is checkbook math. Once they passed over that, well . . . I became quite useless in the whole mathematics equations, LOL. Next chapter up is Exponential and Logarithmic Functions. Anyone wanna trade lives with me for a few weeks?

• Chemistry - Well Baby Boy came home from class extra excited because they melted magnesium this week. I'm not sure what magnesium is or why he had so much fun melting it, but I do know I had to send additional funds for a different high powered butane burner because the alcohol burner that was provided at the beginning of the year didn't get hot enough for all the stuff they plan to burn, liquefy and evaporate for the rest of the year. They just finished up a chapter on "The Mole" and I think I understand what a mole is now after listening to the Teaching Company DVD explaining it to me. Thank goodness for Mr. Cardulla or I'd be in the dark about everything going on in chemistry class. I'm also pleased to announce that Baby Boy made a 95.5% (isn't that a 96%) on his first 6 weeks review. I definitely think I made the right decision to outsource this class. I'm sure that would have never happened with me in charge!

• Extra-Curricular - Baby Boy invited his friend-that's-a-girl-but-isn't-his-girlfriend to our bowling group this month. I got to meet her Mom and the two younger siblings. They all seem very nice. I don't have any photos, because I couldn't seem to get them very discreetly. Next time I'm just going to pop out from behind the ball return and scream "SAY CHEESE" when everyone least expects it. Baby Boy is also plugging along in tae kwon do . . . still going strong with the brown belt. I wonder how long it takes before he gets to test for his black belt. He's supposed to be finding out for me, but so far he hasn't, so I guess we may never know. Also, the boys were having so much fun with Ultimate Frisbee that we are meeting twice a month instead of once a month. We had to move it to an earlier time slot because, since the time change, it gets dark so early. Baby Boy has a light-up Ultimate Disc, so sometimes they play in the dark, but I don't like sitting out there being mosquito bait, so I like when they finish before dark.
  

I think that's it. Well, actually that's only about the half of it, but this is a super-long post already, so let's just say that's it for now, LOL.


I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend. We have beautiful weather here so I'm going to try to get outside and enjoy it a bit.


Until next time . . .

What's Going On . . .

I didn't want to let Friday get past me again without a homeschool update . . . so here goes:

• Composition - Baby Boy has been writing stories in the three paragraph model showing introduction and rising action, climax, and then resolution and moral. He wrote a very interesting story this week about a couple of velociraptors. He's still working on editing it, and will type it over the weekend. I'm going to try to get it posted here next week so y'all can read it.
  

• Vocabulary - We learned several new words this week and Baby Boy did great on his quiz. Another quiz is scheduled for next week, so I'm keeping him on his toes. Have I mentioned how much I love the Vocabulary Cartoons books? They are great for casually increasing your vocabulary. I've even gotten some insight on words I thought I already knew, and that's always interesting.
  

• Literature - We finished reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. It was really good. Not as scary as I remember from when I was in high school and Baby Boy didn't think it was scary at all. It does have lots of twists, turns, tangents and sub-plots and that's really what makes this book such an interesting read. We also watched the version of the Frankenstein movie that has Robert De Niro as the Monster. The movie did hold pretty true to the book up until the last 30 to 45 minutes, when the movie maker took some obvious artistic licence, but it was still very good. It isn't a super-scary horror movie, much to my delight and Baby Boy's chagrin. It does have a few extremely graphic scenes and earned it's "R" rating honestly. Next week we'll be doing some analyzing and comparing and contrasting before moving on to our next novel, which will be H. G. Well's The War of the Worlds.
  

• Pre-Calculus - We're working polynomial functions, specifically graphing quadratic equations and rewriting them in and from various forms. All I can say about this subject is that it has gotten very hard very fast. Actually, Baby Boy is fully capable of doing the work, but it takes a lot more time and concentration then he is used to investing in his math work. He is used to just glancing at the lesson and calling it a day, but this requires him to actually slow down and study. So . . . I've slowed down the lessons a bit and I'm interspersing them with algebra 1 and 2 worksheets to make sure his algebra foundation is strong as he continues with the pre-calculus. Also, we'll be taking the SAT pretty soon and I don't want him to forget anything, so it's a win-win for me. He doesn't think it is for him, but he'll thank me one day. Not necessarily soon . . .but one day. I guarantee.

• Chemistry - I finally got the 411 on what's going on in the chemistry co-op. So far they've learned about kinetic particle theory, measurement techniques, purification and separation, and element compounds and mixtures - which included a "trial by fire" introduction to the Periodic Table. Coming up this week they'll be studying atomic structure and there is a lab scheduled which includes burning magnesium. That's a courageous lady running the show over there. That's all I have to say. Well that and THANK YOU, because I never ever could.
  

If you've read this far, thanks for tuning in. If not, I certainly understand. It's one of those things in life that simply must be done. I mean, if you don't give yourself and your kid a virtual report card via a public blog . . . how can you be a homeschooler? ;-)


Have a great weekend, everyone!


Until next time . . .

Fantastic Friday Already? Oh My!

Wow! This has been a whirlwind of a week!

I now have a totally new level of respect for you ladies (and possibly a few gentlemen . . . I’m not sure) who work and homeschool and keep a clean house and provide healthy meals and some how manage to maintain a grip on your sanity. My sanity is waning, but I think I’m managing the rest of it all ok. Of course, that’s just my personal opinion. You may have to ask Baby Boy and Mom #2 for the official decision on that, LOL.

The first couple of weeks of school have been exciting, challenging and productive. I can’t imagine a better group of adjectives to describe our learning time together, so I am completely exhausted yet satisfied.

Baby Boy is at Shakespeare rehearsal right now, or I’d ask for some more detail on his studies, but I know this blog has been a little slow lately, so I’m going to go ahead and attempt to post our weekly report without him. Wish me luck!

• English Comp seems to be going very well. I think we both like having the DVD teacher and I’m learning a little bit of structure along with Baby Boy. Right now it’s just paragraphs and taking notes from paragraphs and rewriting them in you own words without plagiarizing, but that’s a very important skill, so I’m happy to revisit it.

• We’re learning lots of great words in vocabulary. Baby Boy aced his first quiz!

• We’re a little more than halfway through Frankenstein. It’s so good. I read it in high school, but that was a looooonnnnngggggg time ago and I’d forgotten what a good story it is. I’ve also picked out a version on DVD that appears to stay pretty true to the book so hopefully we’ll be finished in time to report on that in the next week or so. I don’t really do scary movies, so Baby Boy may have to report that directly to y’all.

• Shakespeare Club is going very well. The students are doing some community outreach by performing free shows of The Two Gentlemen of Verona at the public library. Lots of practice, practice, practice which is nice, but hopefully they’ll move on to some different works in the next few weeks.

• The Pre-Calculus has been mostly review of algebra 2 at this point. I’m sure new stuff is on the horizon, but I’m in no hurry. I’m not a Mathy Mom at all. In fact, I’m the kind of Mom who is glad that her son is good enough at math to be able to do most of it on his own and has enough sense not to ask me for any assistance when he gets stuck. Big shout out to Mom #2 on the math assistance!

• The Chemistry appears to be going very well. I am soooooooo happy that we found this co-op! Baby Boy has someone who can really break all the stuff down to him in words he can understand, and apparently they do the coolest labs every single week. They’ve just been melting and blowing up one thing after another. It’s way more than I could have ever provided him with. It’s such an inspiration! Baby Boy comes home every week super-duper excited and that’s the way it should be!

That’s about all I have to report for this week. I apologize that it’s so general. I’m really trying to get used to having so much going on. Mom #2 had to let someone go from our little home business last week, so both Baby Boy and I have been picking up the slack there, plus I am still working the job that I recently picked up and we’re determined to keep Baby Boy doing his studies at regular intervals. So . . . needless to say we’re busy. Lots of life skills and time management lessons going on, LOL.

I know there are some of you who read this blog as a glimpse into the future for when you begin homeschooling high school teenage boys . . . so I’ll try to be more specific with the next update.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Until next time . . .

The Learning Low-Down

Although I'm often on a tangent of some kind, this is, of course, a homeschooling blog. So now that we've all endured a hideously hot summer (some of us are still enduring it . . . but I've complained enough about the weather in the past few months), let's get back down to the business of learning.

First of all let me say in advance, if something appears to be missing, it probably is. If it seems to be too much, it probably is. We like to utilize a lot of textbooks, living books, DVDs, CDs and good old fashioned discussions here at Two Moms' Homeschool. We aren't married to any specific style of learning or educational path. In fact, we have a "do whatever the heck works" philosophy of learning.

We also have been flirting heavily with the the idea of community college. We have confidence issues. We have transportation issues. We have issues with one of the Moms craving Higher Education when the son should be, but really isn't. We have a lot of issues. I'll have to really get them all out one day, but today can't quite be that day. I have a feeling this post may be long enough.

So . . . after three full paragraphs of disclaimers . . . on to the show. I'm describing all the stuff over there <--- in the sidebar, in case you hadn't figured that out for yourselves, but we're a smart group, so I'm sure you did.

• Composition - We are attempting to actually use the SWI writing curriculum this year. We have a love/hate relationship with writing right now. I love to write even though I'm not very good at it. Baby Boy hates to write, even though he is pretty good at it. We're attempting to define some actual rules and parameters before I send him off to the big world of college. I've heard good things about this method from some, not so good things from others. Everything gets a 6 week trial period around here, so stay tuned.
  

• Vocabulary - We literally loved Vocabulary Cartoons SAT Word Power last year, so we're going to continue with Vocabulary Cartoons II SAT Word Power this year. It's a quick fun and easy way to expand and enrich your vocabulary. We usually spend about 5 minutes going over 2 words a day in the mornings and then try to make sentences out of the words throughout the week. It's lots of fun. This is the one thing that I know works, for sure.
  

• Literature - We'll be indulging in some classic sci-fi and fantasy this year in the literature department. We're starting off the year with an oldie but goodie, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

• Shakespeare - As many of you know, Baby Boy has been in two Shakespeare productions in the past couple of years. Both times we have found ourselves pleasantly surprised at how much we've enjoyed reading aloud, analyzing, and (him) performing Shakespeare's works. This year, we've gone ahead and full-on committed to a Shakespeare group where they will read and discuss plays and sonnets throughout the year and will undoubtedly perform a chosen play next spring.
  

• Pre-Calculus - This year Baby Boy will embark on that subject that no one in this house dare say aloud, but only in hushed whispers . . . pre-calculus. No one in the Two Moms' family has ever successfully achieved higher math skills, so if any of you are good at math, please email me your exact physical location. Have graphing calculator, will travel. ;-) I'm pretty good with basic math, but as parents I think it's important to know our limitations. Pre-calculus would definitely be one of those limitations.

• Chemistry - If you've read here for a while, you may remember my tried and failed attempts to teach chemistry to Baby Boy. Finally I am able to accept defeat in this area, not necessarily gracefully, but with a humble heart. When you are an artistic language arts soul, there are certain subject you just weren't meant to master. For me, chemistry is that subject. BUT where there's a will, there's a way. Here's our way: Baby Boy has been playing Ultimate Frisbee for going on three years now and I sit and pretend chat with a lot of the other homeschool Moms there about a little bit of this and a little bit of that and mostly a lot of nothing. Well, do you know what one of those nothing conversations turned up? The young man who Baby Boy gets along with BEST OF ALL on the whole team's Mom has a PhD in chemistry. AND she's actually excited to have Baby Boy over to teach him in a delicious (read free) co-op situation this year. She's just the nicest lady ever and I'm oh so grateful. She's using a Singapore text with supplemental DVDs from The Teaching Company. We are so there! And she is ready to jump in with a full on chemistry lab, I mean on the first day, she's already giving them a blow torch. So wise, yet so foolish. Teen boys, you know.
  

• Economics and American Government - We're going to make this a year long project which will include lots of current events, newspaper reading, documentaries, Hollywood movies, with a dash of textbooks and educational DVDs. I expect a lot of lively discussion, which is what our family is known for.
  

If you've read this far, thanks. If not, I certainly understand. This is one of those things I have to do at least at the beginning of the learning season. This will be the bones of our structured learning, although we fully support a living and learning lifestyle around here and strive to make every moment one to remember.


Happy Learning!




Until next time . . .

With a Song (and a scalpel) in His Heart

I know some of you were pretty grossed out by the eye dissection photos, so I tried to put a warning in the title this time. If the warning was lost on you and you find yourself to be the squeamish type, this is your last chance:

GET OUT NOW!

I hope y'all don't find these dissection photo essays boring. This is a (supposed to be) a homeschooling blog, and I am raising a future surgeon after all . . . so it's a formality that simply must be done.

Let me say again, in advance, all intelligence is courtesy of Baby Boy. Proof positive that you don't have to be smarter than your children to teach them . . . otherwise everyone over here would be in big trouble.

He labeled the points of interest on each photograph. It looked pretty good on my computer, but once I uploaded them, I noticed how small the text is. Since going back to redo them simply will not be happening today, you can always click on any photo to see a larger more detailed version.


So . . . without further ado . . . The Cow Heart Dissection.

Intact Cow Heart in Baby Boy's Hands

View of Open Main Ventricles of the Heart

Bisected Heart

Open Pulmonary Trunk

So, there ya go.

In other news, we are all doing well here.

We had a super busy week, but since it's Friday, we aren't even going to worry our pretty little heads about it anymore. My Mom had to go out of town for the weekend to a funeral and I sent her with my Dad, so I'm off duty as the nurse de jour this weekend. We're all so excited about having the house to ourselves for a couple of days (although we love Mom and she's more than welcome to stay as long as she wants )

Baby Boy's taking next week off from school work, so you can probably hear him bouncing off the walls from wherever you are. I have some work to do that will keep me very busy, but hopefully we'll have a little time for some interesting, educational and exciting field trips. We'll see!


I hope you all had a great week and have a wonderful weekend coming up!


Until next time . . .

Do You See What I See? A Photo Essay.

Our tools of the trade.

I didn't find this particular beef at my local super market.

Almost 16 . . . and he still can't wink!

Separating the cornea from the sclera.
This cow's eyeball was tough! That's my scrapbooking X-Acto knife! Craft day will never be the same!

The cornea.

The iris and pupil.

Eye lens removed from socket with the vitreous humor surround.

The lens with the vitreous humor removed.

Eye ball flipped inside out to reveal the tapetum, which is a portion of the eye that human beings do not have. This is what makes animal's eyes glow in the dark (or when you try to photograph them) and allows them to be able to see in low-light situations.

Getting down to an entirely different kind of work.
Please pass the bleach!!!

I see a wonderful weekend up ahead. I hope you all see the same!


P. S. All of the above knowledge is courtesy of Baby Boy. I'm just glad that, with the assistance of extremely strong contact lenses, I can still see.

Until next time . . .

How About A Weekly Report? It's Been A While!

School has been a mix of book lessons and life lessons this week. Our book lessons included the following:

• Literature: We've just completed "The Red Badge of Courage," by Stephen Crane. Hated it! But I didn't tell Baby Boy that; instead, I showed him the beauty of Stephen Crane's ability to use hundreds of words to overly describe something that could be all said and done in a brief pamphlet. Anyway, we're done with that book and will be starting Earnest Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea" next week. I actually like that book, so perhaps next week's report will be more uplifting, LOL.

• Algebra II: We completed a chapter on 3rd and 4Th degree equations. I don't really know what that means, so you'll have to ask Baby Boy. Next week he'll begin a chapter on multi variable 2Nd degree equations. I don't know what those are either. Math is an area where I provide scratch paper, pencils, and the phone number to the local homework helpline, if you know what I mean, LOL.
  

• U.S. History: We have recently completed a long study of the life of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln as well as an in-depth look at the nuances of the Civil War. I don't think I was much of a history buff before this, but after all the extra reading and movie watching we've done on the Civil War, I think Baby Boy, Mom #2 and I are all much more informed than we started out. What an interesting, turbulent and complex time in our nation's history. We just started the book, "Dragon's Gate," which is the story of an Asian American's experience working on the Transcontinental Railroad. It's extremely eye-opening. Often, when studying American History, you find much text fixated on the white verses black racial issues, but my family has had our eyes opened to a lot of other ethnic groups and their struggles for equality as well. Of course, there is still much to learn.
  

• Human Anatomy: We are right smack in the middle of studying the Central Nervous System. We are slowing down and spending extra time detailing the anatomy of the brain since Baby Boy is having such a great time. As an added bonus, my Sister discovered she had a little eye twitch and her doctor recommended she have a dye-contrast MRI of her brain to make sure she didn't have any problems. We got extra-special permission to go to her procedure with her and even watch the contrast material snake it's way through the brain. It was very exciting! I hope her brain is OK. ;-) We sure had fun looking at it from the inside out. Due to privacy issues, I won't show pictures of her brain, but I just can't resist posting a photo of her in her darling hospital-issued ensemble.

Look, they have ugly shorts to go with the ugly gown!

Where's my Xanax???!!!!!

That'll show her who's boss!


I'm sure you already know how the rest of our week went, so no need to rehash the past.


I'm looking forward to a relaxing, uneventful (PLEASE!) weekend. Hope you all have a great one too.



Until next time . . .

Our Weekly Report & Updated Moving News

Baby Boy and I had a fairly uneventful week at school. We did a little bit of school during Christmas week and New Years week to keep our brains sharp, but nothing too strenuous. I'm going to try to smash the whole three weeks into this one weekly report, since I've been neglecting to do them lately. I know it bores people to death to give blow by blow details of our school days, so I really am going to try to keep it short and sweet this time. Wish me luck:

• Language Arts: Read and discussed two new short stories, Nathaniel Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown and Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher. Both were good, but very creepy. If you're into dark literature, read these. Also continuing with our SAT prep in Vocabulary Cartoons.
  

• Algebra II: We completed two chapters. One on 2nd degree equations and another on radical equations. They were both extremely difficult and challenged both Baby Boy and myself. I think we have it all figured out, but not entirely certain.
  

• Human Anatomy: We completed a chapter on muscle histology and physiology. Now I know more about the who what where and why of the alleged muscles in my body than I ever really cared to know. Baby Boy finds it all fascinating and amazing, this is the one course he works on passionately without any urging from me. Joy!
  

• American History: We are studying the unrest in the United States right before the Civil War. We are also reading a book on the Dred Scott Case and the fallout from that period in American history and how it still affects us today. You can take a peek at the book over there in my sidebar, if you like.
  

• Logic and Critical Thinking: We have gone from discussing specific fallacies in logic to tackling the danger of assumptions. This is interesting conversation, I assure you.
  

• Extra-Curriculars: Baby Boy is doing famously in tae kwon do snatching up another belt, but I don't have a lot of photos because someone (and she knows who she is) bought me non-refundable and non-transferable tickets to see The Nutcracker on the same day as the belt testing. Also Baby Boy is signed up for the Winter League of Texas Ultimate! Frisbee, so look for more adventures in that. Bowling has been sort of a bust as the last two months were canceled due to lack of participants. We may find we have to let that one go . . . but then again . . . maybe we won't.

That's all for school news . . . in other news . . . We are moving into our new house next Friday!!! I'm so excited, but also overwhelmed. Starting tomorrow we will be meticulously packing all of our worldly possessions so they will be ready for the movers to come and pick up first thing Friday Morning. Please wish us luck. I despise packing and moving and cleaning and all things that come with that whole territory; however, I am so excited about our new bigger place with a delicious yard with a nice tall privacy fence. If we can just get past the packing and moving and cleaning and cleaning again and the unpacking and settling in . . . I know it will all be worth it. ;-)


So I'm not sure how much I'll be on next week. Probably more than I should be, because I can already tell that I'll be needing a break, LOL.


Take care and I hope everyone had a fantabulous week and will have an even more spectacular weekend!



Until next time . . .

The Weekly Report . . .

I'm going to try to keep it short and sweet this week:

• In Algebra 2, we completed the chapter on Roots and Irrational Numbers. We're going to review a little more next week, because Baby Boy found himself a little confused on some of the methods.
  

• In Literature, we read and analyzed the short story Unlighted Lamps, by Sherwood Anderson. I've read better stories, I'll leave it at that, but we got through it. Thankfully it's a short story, LOL.

• In Human Anatomy, we're getting started on a chapter completely about the skin and bones, specifically the integumentary and skeletal systems. Right now we're on the skin part . . . next week we'll get to the bones part. We Looked at some skin samples under the microscope (I took your advice, Holly, and had Baby Boy to more clearly label the slide sketches - very nice):

Skin Cells Without Hair Follicles

Body Hair Shaft

Body Hair Follicle Bulb

• In American History, we've finished up discussing the American Revolution and closely examined both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. Baby Boy is working on memorizing the Preamble to the Constitution as well as the Bill of Rights. I had to do it when I was in high school, it won't hurt him. We also completed our additional reading from Black Heroes of the American Revolution to get a little more insight on African Americans who's stories are often left out of our regular history texts. Very enlightening.
  

All of our extra curricular activities are going smoothly.



In response to the emails regarding my yucky wisdom tooth situation, thank you so much for your well wishes, prayers and other general words of support. I'm not having it out until next Friday, but my antibiotics have really taken the pressure off my tooth and sinus cavity, the darvocet is working hard on controlling the pain, and the ibuprofen is taking most of the pounding out of that throbbing feeling in my ear that was driving me so insane. It's a complicated cocktail, but we do what we have to do.

Right now I'm practicing saying nice things and not thinking about that date rape drug they give you under the pretense of calming you down. Hopefully that will keep me from offending the staff at the dentist's office while I'm under the influence. I don't really care, but this is for Mom #2's sake as she has to answer for all of my weirdness. They are actually very nice people, I just have an acute fear and anxiety of dentists. The proof is in my dental records, I assure you.


That's all! I guess I couldn't keep it short, but I hope it's somewhat sweet, LOL.


Have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!




Until next time . . .

This week . . .

. . . was great! Fun, busy, and productive . . . everything life should be for a homeschooling family.

I'm so glad to have made up for our lack of getting anything done last week. So without further ado . . . let's get on down to the weekly report:

• In Literature, Baby Boy and I read and analyzed the short story, The Open Boat, by Stephen Crane. I'd actually never read it before, so this made for interesting discussion between Baby Boy and myself. An interesting tidbit is that this story is actually a fictionalized account of a shipwreck that Stephen Crane himself actually lived though. Of course we're still doing our SAT prep vocabulary, and Baby Boy is doing excellent in that regard.
  

• In Algebra 2, we finished up a chapter on Powers and Exponents. Luckily Baby Boy is pretty good in math, so we haven't had any major problems yet, but I'll reserve judgment until further notice. The problem is the instructor when it comes to anything mathematical. All I can say is that I studied Sociology in college. 'Nuff said. I do words . . . not calculations.

• In Human Anatomy, which Baby Boy is loving, by the way, we studied Epithelium Tissues which makes up the linings of our organs and glands. Our Human Anatomy kit came with some very interesting slides that Baby Boy more than enjoyed looking at under the microscope. He made some drawings of what he saw so that I could share them with you today:

Human Stomach Lining

Human Skin

Human Lung

And

Human Salivary Gland

• In American History, we are discussing the time in America's past when the new locals are experiencing extreme dissatisfaction over the British controlling them from afar. They are beginning to support a movement to succeed as British colonies and become their own independent nation. This was the beginning of the American Revolution.

• In Logic and Critical Thinking, we learned how to spot a genetic fallacy, which is a false argument attacking the speaker's origination of thought rather than the actual validity of the argument.

• And finally, we did have a little time to get some art in this week. If you can remember, last year we worked with charcoals and pastels imitating some of the great artists of our past. This year, I hope to work mostly with watercolors and put our own personal spin on whatever projects we decide to take on. Because my niece's school was out for some reason today, she spent the day with us and was able to participate in our art lesson. We decided to do a Fall Leaf Sampler, in honor of the beautiful autumn weather we're having. Of course, we don't really do autumn in Texas, so we looked at some photos online to see what real fall leaves look like . . . but don't be fooled . . . not everyone in my class is all too concerned with realism in their art. I'll just say . . . some of us have a flair for the abstract, LOL.
  

Fall Leaf Samplers

By Baby Boy

By Baby Niece

And

By Mom #1

I guess I'm going to have to learn to let go and get a little more creative like the kids, LOL.


Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope all you other homeschooling families and friends in general had a productive week.

Until next time . . .

The Old Switcheroo

Hopefully all of you had a wonderful week. Ours was fast and furious, which is why I haven't been posting too much lately. It sometimes seems like just taking the time to sit and focus and organize my thoughts enough to get them down would take too much time out of my day. Or I could possibly just be a little too lazy to do it. Either way, I should probably stop acting like it's a strange phenomenon and just admit that I only update my blog once a week or so. Apparently, that's just how it's going to be, LOL.


Anywho . . . in homeschool news . . . during the past couple of weeks, we have made a few curriculum changes. I always use the first 6 to 8 week period sort of like an introductory or auditioning type period. This is the time period when we decide what is working and what is not and allow both Baby Boy and myself to give our honest-to-goodness feelings about what we are using and how we are using it so that we can make decisions that will need to stick for the rest of the school year. We have lots of hit, and a couple of misses. An itemized list below:

• The first change is that I simply cannot do Sonlight anymore. Not. one. more. day. I know. Shocking! If you follow any of the homeschool forums and yahoo loops that I am in, then you know that I researched the heck out of that curriculum choice and was simply over the moon wanting to introduce it into our program here. It just hasn't worked for us. First of all, I must say, it's an excellent program, meticulously planned, and through beyond all reason, but not for this family. Let me explain why, in case our misstep may be able to prevent any heartache or mismatched purchases for anyone else out there.

• It takes forever. I imagine if you can read super fast, this would not be the case; however, if you are a slower and more deliberate reader, the chapters and chapters assigned can take all day long. Baby Boy falls into the latter category and I'm not an advocate for home schooling taking all day long, especially since we also have a full math and science program we are trying to get done as well. For those of you unfamiliar, Sonlight includes literature as well as history.

• It sucked every single drop of joy out of reading for us. I LOVE to read. I could read all day long and all night strong, but Baby Boy is a "take it or leave it" kind of reader. It has to be incredibly interesting and be about very specific subjects to hold his attention. He is, however, dedicated to getting an excellent education and will plug along even if he isn't particularly enjoying the selection, usually without complaint. I just got tired of watching him be miserable. It's not necessary to be tortured to learn. I could just send him to public school for that. (I'm not talking about your class, if you're reading this, Jason. I'm positive you're one of the great public school teachers) We found ourselves just checking our reading off of our list of things to do instead of reading because we were enjoying the story. Not a good thing.

• I didn't anticipate this beforehand, but it turns our that neither Baby Boy nor I like reading a few chapters out of 3 or 4 books a day. We would rather read one book all the way through and then start up on another book. We are apparently too simple-minded for this form of learning. During our discussions regarding the literature selections, we found ourselves confusing the stories' characters, locations, and themes. We had to make a cheat sheet to keep them all straight. This led to much frustration and confusion.

• It doesn't contain nearly enough literature analysis for my taste. It is full of the regulation R&R (read and regurgitate) questions. Usually at the very beginning and very end of a reading selection, it will ask you if the book contained round or flat characters and inquire about the theme and conflict. This is not enough, in my opinion. I'm an actively involved homeschool parent. I already know my son is doing the work. I don't need to ask him a bunch of "what did so and so say" or "what did so and so do when such and such happened" type questions. I felt the majority of the questions are really surface level and a waste of time. I'm looking for more critical thinking questions. Luckily I'm familiar with the WTM method of literature analysis even though we aren't classical homeschoolers. Also, sometimes the answers didn't match up exactly to what the question was asking. Baby Boy and I found this frustrating.

• Although I did already know I was dealing with a religious curriculum, and was prepared to secularize it, I found it a little over the top. It seems geared to an extremely narrow and specific religious group rather than to all Christians as a whole. I don't knock them for that, it is what it is. It just seemed like I found myself cutting out more than I was leaving in. What's the point of keeping something that you just aren't really getting good use of?

• I do want to say that the curriculum is not a total disaster. It has some very interesting reading selections. Lots of things I would not have thought of on my own. I did and still do benefit daily from the book list and reading schedule, especially for the History of US books, which Baby Boy and I are continuing to use in our American History program. It was not the right fit for our family, but please, don't let my negative experience deter you from trying it if that's what may work for you.

• In case you are wondering what I have replaced my Sonlight with, we are using various literature books that I'm pulling from various literature lists easily available online. We are focusing on American Literature this year, as we are studying American History as well. I have also acquired a copy of the LLATL Gold Book. It has a "just the facts" approach to literature analysis that I like and we are using a little bit of this to add to my homemade literature curriculum. Strange but true, LOL. Nothing comes into this house and gets used "as-is." It simply does not happen.

• As I'm sure you have already guessed. I had to give up Chemistry. I'm most disappointed in this decision and did not come by it lightly. It was after much prayer and contemplation that I simply decided that I am not adequate enough in this subject to provide Baby Boy with the instruction he needs. Somehow, back in the old days, they would let you get a high school diploma and even a college degree without stepping foot into a chemistry lab. Now . . . not so much. Baby Boy simply needs more adequate leadership in this area, and I don't want to handicap him in this subject. He's too good of a student, person, and learner to be short changed. We have decided to out-source this class to the local community college. We're too late this year, but he will be taking it next year. I can't talk about community college too much, because it brings on tears, cold chills, and dry heaves. I believe this may be the last year that I get to teach Baby Boy anything at home. Next year, I think he's planning on taking all classes at the community college. Can you say NNNOOOOOOOO!!!! That's what I want to say. They grow up so fast. Let me try to stay on topic. It's hard. This is the first time, ever, in all the years we've been homeschooling that I have felt that there has been something I cannot teach. It's disappointing, to say the least, but I also do think that every person needs to be fully aware of when they have reached their limits. It doesn't do me or Baby Boy any good for me to be prideful and keep this going. He is the one who would suffer later in life, not me. So that's that.

• On a much happier note, we love the sciences in this house and have replaced chemistry with human anatomy. Baby Boy is excellent at all of that biology vocabulary and loves to dissect things and he knows all about everything, so this is basically just a fun course for him. He's breezed through the first few modules of the book and saves this subject for last every day so he can linger over it and possibly do a little extra in it. WHAT?! Who's kid is that, you say? It's mine! When we received the box with the dissection specimens in it (YUCK!) I refused to look and just the thought made me want to . . . uhmm . . . regurgitate, but Baby Boy and Mom #2 were both so excited they could barely sleep. Needless to say. Dissections happen outside as in NOT IN MY HOUSE and Mom #2 will be supervising them. I'm just not into dissecting.

• Everything else is going well. I'm not going to give a detailed overview of each subject, because this post has already gotten very long winded. I'm sorry. I really just needed to come to grips with my thought process and this is the only way I can just get it out in the open. I'll probably be re-reading this post myself in a couple of days . . .just to make sure I don't need to check into the psych ward, LOL. If you've read this far, thanks.

Oh, and just in case you thought it was all business and no fun. I would like to let you know that something extremely miraculous happened in our home this week!

The Baby sat up all by herself! Well I don't know if you can really call it sitting up, because she's sort of resting on her big baby belly, but, as far as I'm concerned, it's a developmental milestone and it DOES COUNT.

SEE!

If I don't get anything else posted between now and then, don't forget to set your clocks back Saturday night before going to bed (THANK GOODNESS!) and if you haven't already, don't forget to vote on November 4th. It's a monumental election this year, and no matter who you chose to vote for, please let your voice be heard.

Oh, Yeah! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Until next time . . .

Whew! Another Week Down.

I hope everyone's week has been productive and stress free.


In homeschool news:

• We just finished up our literature book, Stink Alley, which was a humorous look at the life of a little separatist girl who is a religious refugee from England living in Holland in the early 1600's. She is a little on the mischievous side, but does have a good heart and struggles with the strict religious rules that her the man responsible for her has put on her. It's lighthearted considering the subject matter and interesting enough to hold a teenage boy's attention. 'Nough said, LOL.

• We've completed another chapter in Algebra 2, and although Baby Boy didn't do quite as well on the quiz as he did on chapter one, I still think he's doing strong work in this subject. We are still doing a majority of review, but at the same time, kicking it up a notch and adding more complex equations into the mix. Baby Boy seems to be handling it with grace and it may be the best subject of the year, but I didn't really say that, because I don't want to jinx him. ;-)

• We've finished up book 1 and have moved into book 2 of our History of US series. We still enjoy reading these books and because the chapters are short and sweet, it leaves plenty of time for spirited discussion between Baby Boy and me. Who knew American History could be so interesting? It certainly beats the boring dry textbooks I had growing up. We are also finishing up our additional history reader, Black Indians. It has some additional fascinating details that are often left out of traditional history texts, even the History of US, which I admit is a little more inclusive than most.

• Baby Boy is really getting into his driver's education course. I'm the one who needs to get back to the basics on this one. I guess when you do something almost every single day, over a period of years (we won't discuss how many), you forget the details of exactly how it's done, you just do it form force of habit. Well I'm getting back to the nitty gritty of driving now-a-days. We have discussed precisely when you turn on your headlights, exactly how far to park from the curb, and exactly how far behind the vehicle in front of you is considered a safe distance. Mom #2 needs to sit in on the tailgating portion of class, but you didn't hear that from me, LOL.
  

• Last but not least, we are plugging along in Chemistry. Oh, Lordy, this stuff is tough. Baby Boy and I had to take a day off from it to let some of the information soak in before hitting that book again. As a matter of fact, this weekend I have scheduled myself an appointment with Mom #2 to sit down and read this together so that between the two of us, we can try to learn as much as Baby Boy already seems to know. He asked me for some help earlier today and I looked at him like a deer in headlights . . . can you say "no comprendo," LOL. Seriously, I'm in over my head. I may have to get some money together to outsource this class. I may not be that smart, but I have enough sense to know when I'm in over my head. I've reached out to a couple of other homeschooling moms via the internet, and they have been of great assistance and have assured me that it gets better. Let's hope, for all of our sake, this is true.
  

Of course it wasn't all work and no play. We don't let a week go by where we don't include hands-on activities to go with our studies. Of course Chemistry is usually the source of our inspiration.


This week, in preparation for many more labs to come, we calibrated our thermometer.

We started out in good spirits. . .

. . . then we had to take a fussy baby break . . .

. . . and then another fussy baby break (dig that funky eye wear, LOL) . . .

. . . and finally got back down to business.

Send good thoughts for the dear grandbaby, she has nasty allergies already, and she does. not. like. it.


I hope you all had a great week and a relaxing weekend!



Until next time . . .

Our Week in Review and Other Miscelaneous Stuff

Well I know you are all probably thinking how tacky it is to celebrate your blog anniversary and then promptly stop posting, but allergies have been blowing in like gangbusters and just getting the basics done was all I seemed to have the energy for. I noticed on lots of other blogs they are celebrating the fall festivals and what-have-you, but it's still too hot to attend any outdoor events around here. It's still in the high 90's with no relief in sight, so I assure you, we've been inside. The only thing Ike has done for us is blow in lots of debris so that breathing clear clean air is no longer something we can take for granted. Oh, well.


Despite all that, school went very good this week. Baby Boy is working just as hard as ever:

• We finished our first literature book, Cameron Townsend. It's a true story about a man who dedicates his life to having the New Testament of the Bible translated into every language. We usually don't do a lot of religious reading, but I thought this book was important because it showed how one person can make a difference in the world if he puts his mind to it and it also is an incredible story of determination and perseverance. Those are the kind of qualities that will take you far no matter what religious preference you are, even if you have no religious preference at all.
  

• We completed the first chapter and test of our algebra 2 curriculum. It was mostly review from algebra 1. Baby Boy did excellent, only missing one question. I'm so glad to see that even though we took a year off between algebra 1 and 2 to do geometry, he hasn't forgotten everything. Frankly, I was extremely worried about that.

• We are loving our History of US series for U. S. history, although we did ditch our first reader, Peace Child. I don't know what to say about this book, except neither of us liked it. I know I'm not supposed to model to Baby Boy that it's all right to quit something when it gets unpleasant, but I was just. plain. done. with this book. It has some pretty graphic descriptions of ritualistic killings and cannibalism, which didn't really bother Baby Boy or myself too much, to be honest, but may disturb more sensitive readers. The writing style is just not pleasant and very hard to keep up with. I don't recommend it at all.
  

• Chemistry is by far Baby Boy's favorite subject. My head is swimming with conversion methods and factors as we convert liquid and regular (I don't know what word to use, ask Baby Boy) units from our measuring system to the metric system. Baby Boy really has a knack for it. Shoot! I have to go online and use a conversion calculator to check his work. So sad when the student is so much smarter than the teacher. We also did a lab experiment on volume, mass and density. I have some photos . . . see . . .

Baby Boy doing some handy dandy calculations while simultaneously destroying my kitchen.

The finished project: Layering maple syrup, water, and vegetable oil . . . oh my!

• By far the most interesting subject is driver's education. We aren't using a set curriculum, just going it alone with a little help from some online tools provided by the Department of Public Safety. I gotta tell you, I've been driving for a while, and I really didn't know there were so many rules! I usually just try to stay away from cops, but now I'm learning all over again how it's really supposed to be done, LOL.
  

Our new bible ;-)

And that's all in school related news.


In other news, we had a small little dinner celebration because these two people . . .


. . . our daughter and her significant other-boyfriend-common law husband-baby's daddy-or whatever have finally started getting their act together and starting to really (as in not lying about) put some money together to put a deposit on their very own apartment. Mom #2 and I are both excited and nervous for them, but it's always best for parents to be in their own space with their own children. Especially since their current living arrangements usually have them separated from the baby for various reasons.


Let's all hope, pray, chant, send good vibes, or whatever your personal preference is that this really happens for these kids. For all of our sake.


Speaking of the baby, she has gotten so big! She eats like nobody's business. I'll close out with a picture of her, why not, who doesn't love baby pictures? We were wearing our matching green ensembles that day, because we love each other so very very much, LOL.

I think that's all I have to say about this past week. I'll try not to let it get away from me for so long for next time, but as you know, no promises. ;-)


I hope everyone had a great week as well, and a wonderful relaxing weekend planned!


Until next time . . .