Countdown Weekend 10 begins!

The first of the 10 weekends begins with a challenge!

We are headed over to some friends house tonight. Thankfully they are some of my crunchy healthy friends! Plus, I already know the menu! A whole wheat pizza, salad (I'm bringing) and fruit for dessert. I'm thinking about 1 slice of pizza, lot's of salad and nibble of fruit! The host family usually doesn't drink wine/beer etc..(health reasons) so that should be easy too!

I've been friends with these ladies for five years now! I can't believe it's been that long! Our kids used to all go to the same school. Two of us have moved on, but we have all remained great friends. We usually get together once a month, but this fall has been super busy!

Side question: Do you like croutons? I don't like them messing up my salad! Yuck! I've had homemade and prepared etc.. I just prefer delectable crunchy veggies! They do taste good by themselves, but it's not a food that tempts me too much.

Ten Weekends!

I'm embarking (wish that meant I was on a plane going somewhere!) on a 10 weekend eat well eating plan! I need to lose 20lbs, well really 27, but who's counting? At 5'1" 7lbs ends up being a fair amount, but for sanity's sake and ease of counting I'm going for 20lbs in 10 weeks.
If anyone wants to join me I'd love the company!!!! Alternately, you could just post encouraging words!

The reason for the 10 weekends: Weekends tend to be sneaky little diet disasters!!! You know what I mean??? You've worked hard all week, and your wonderful friends invite you over, and we are all relaxing and enjoying hanging out! The next thing you know you had a little nibble extra of this and sip or two extra of that! Umhmmm! So, I thought I would focus on getting through 10 weekends eating healthfully with modest portions. I'm a slight health nut and eat pretty well during the week, so it is only the weekends doing me in!

The weekends start on Friday and go through Sunday (duh). So, each Thursday I will try and remember to post something to get the weekend started off right! Maybe I should do a Sunday night recap of how it all went down! That should help with the motivation!

I'll be doing some fitness as well and will post more about that later.

I like to workout, and do it fairly regularly, but lately I need a little more of a plan.

This all sounds fun right now, but it's sure to be a challenge in a few weeks!

Star Wars!!!

We take a homeschool class on Mondays. We have our own curriculum, but they go over alot of important things that each kid needs to know. Multiplication tables, grammar, history and a science experiment. A little art/music apprectiation etc..

Today in Joseph's class they were learning the possessive pronouns. His class is all boys that are 8/9 years old. His teacher was teaching them the nursery song The Three Little Kittens so that they could sing the pronouns to the tune. The boys were all sitting there staring at her, probably not paying too much attention at this point. (I was so tired today, and so were the other mom's that I was half asleep in the back of the room) Joseph raises his hand and half stands out of his seat saying "I have a better idea Mrs. Heath" (at which point I come out of my sleepy haze wondering what he's going to say!) She graciously says "yes, Joseph what is it?" He then sings the possesive pronouns to the Star Wars theme song! She laughed and the boys loved it! Imagine each word going with each note of the theme song: " mine, yours, his, hers ours, yours, theirs, possesiv pronouns!"

September

This month we managed (perhaps!) to settle nicely into our homeschool daily and weekly routines. Although it was still as hot as hades for a good portion of the month, the last few days have been heavenly with the cooler weather! Our moods seem to lift and a feeling of carefree elation comes when we step out and smell the fresh crisp air! Isabelle even put on a long sleeved shirt this morning to honor the new season, and well and to keep her arms warm!

Mondays we rise very early. Dress, eat and head out the door for our long day of homeschool co-op classes. It's a fun day and we look forward to being with so many other families. We have close to an hour for lunch and we usually eat and play outside. It seems that I need to get an ant bite each Monday as well! Arghh! Yesterday, it rained and we could not go out for lunch. It definetly makes a difference, especially as we use a church basement to meet for our classes. No windows and no time outside for lunch is a quite long day!

Tuesdays we spend the day studying at home. I may sign up for a science class at a county science and environmental center that meets one Tuesday a month. It is an amazing local place.

Wednesday mornings we are at home studying and the afternoons the kids have an art class. They are studying art through the ages 102. Each year the class studies different periods in history and the art that was going on at the time. I guess they always start with Egypt. That is what they are doing right now, and that is what they started with last year. I know Egypt is huge historically, but it doesn't interest me all that much! The kids, however, really enjoy it!

Thursdays we study at home and have piano lessons in the afternoon.

Fridays are a mix. We always do work at home, but sometimes there is an enrichment day with our co-op, we may start going to homeschool ice skating day and start planning some play dates as well.

Isabelle is running in a homeschool cross country club and they practice on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. We usually only go to one practice because of the driving. I get a little bonkers with driving so much right now.

I know I need to get my camera back into action and post more frequently! I will try!

How's everyone?

I had a birthday!

Brendon had a littl party for my 40th birthday and he did a great job!

I just came across these pictures from my birthday last month.

Little Britches

You may have read these books, but we only found this series a few months ago.

Each evening at bedtime we read a chapter aloud, and have just completed the very first book.

The Moody family travels from New Hampshire to Colorado in the early 1900's and sets up house on a ranch near Denver. An unknown lung affliction has plauged father and is the catalyst for the the migrating family.

Ralph, the oldest boy in the family, is the author of the series.

There are so many good moral lessons while being simultaneously funny and adventurous! Little Britches is a fantastic read for children, especially boys.

One warning: Cowboys talk the way they do and Ralph retells it exactly with 3 and 4 letter words. However, Ralph's family never spoke in that manner. We simply pointed out the difference and noted we would not be using any of those words.

If you can find a copy I highly recommend this book!

PS: I do not know why the word voting is at the top of this post. I can't see it when I try to edit. Perhaps it was part of the picture.

I need to win a scarf!

Biscuits are never Boring is holding a contest to win this Lilly scarf! Go check it out! I need to win though!

It is hotter than blazes down here in Georgia, and it would be allright with me if it cooled off a little bit! In fact yesterday I changed our electronics rule. Normally we dont' watch tv or have computer time until 5pm. I reversed that yesterday! The only time it's cool enough to go out is in the evening.

First swim meet 2010!

Sunday Memorial Weekend Barbeque

Free scrapbook customized with Smilebox

A Good Day

It started early in the morning with men cooking barbeque at church.

At 3AM Brendon got up and left. Just for fun he got pulled over, but since he was certainly

sober and not speeding they were obliged to let him go. Honestly think

they were a little bored, and it gave them something to do.

We got to church around 10, and Isabelle (in pink dress) and Joseph (in red shirt and cap)

rushed over to visit Dad and rest of the crew.

Then we headed inside for worship. Isabelle said she thinks Pentecost is

definetly one of her favorite Holidays!

It ended with a picnic and the kiddos having a suprise water balloon
attack on the crew!

Swim Team

Isabelle with the green googles.

Joseph gasping for breath

It's that time of year! I love it, except for the actual swim meets! Actually, I love those too up to about 9PM, and after that we just endure. Practice has started last week, so I take my water and snacks and sit by the pool for a couple of hours. It's a hard life, but what can you do?!

13 years!

We were married 13 years ago on a Friday evening! The weather was gorgeous with a nice light breeze blowing. Happy Anniversary to us!

The Easter Family Photo!

Dying Easter Eggs

We began with two dozen white eggs.

We had loads of fun sitting outside dying our eggs and thinking of

creative dye patterns.

A batch of eggs drying in the sun!

A finished product ready for the Easter dinner table decor!

Art Class

The kids attend a really fantastic art studio each Wednesday. They have been going there for a year and a half so far and we certainly hope to continue. They have been taking a class called "Art through the Ages". It is an art history class and this year they have mostly studied ancient history and spent quite some time on Egypt. After the Christmas break they moved along to later centuries. Right now they are studying Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel. They were extra excited to attend class today because they were painting lying on the floor with their art taped to the underside of a table to pretend they were Michelangelo painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. They had to bring their favorite scene to sketch and then begin painting it.

I rarely go into their class as I would just be in the way, and as a homeschool Mom I think it's great for us to all have little corners of time that are all our own. When I sit in the lobby I can hear all the children talking and laughing! It's such a happy place!

Isabelle is laughing here and trying to hide from the camera. They are not used to seeing me at their class!

Joseph's teacher is helping him with his drawing.

Here they are lying on the floor beginning their painting!

Piano Recital

Isabelle and Joseph have been taking piano lessons this year and they had a spring recital this past Saturday. Their teacher uses the Suzuki method. Isabelle does a little sight reading as well since she is older.

Joseph played before Isabelle.

He played a piece called Cuckoo.

Shortly Isabelle followed his performance.

Her piece was Honeybee.

The after recital look!

The past three days

This was beautiful Saturday! We washed the cars and the kids wore their bathing suites.

Washing the cars led to:
THIS

We woke up to rain on Sunday and it rained most of the day.

Then it got even colder, and Brendon drove in snow flurries Monday on the way to work.

The wierdest winter I've ever lived in GA.

Saturday Morning

We have been a little busy, and it's been hard to get on here and post.

Homeschool is chugging along. I'm still deciding what all we will do next year.

We are tired of the hybrid system. I feel like it boxes us in and limits us. There is quite a bit of work to do, so there is no time to add in and they don't like it when I substitue work. We will finish out the school year, but the next year or so we will design our own curriculum. I'm not saying we will never do it again, but not for awhile.

The sun has finally come out! I hope it sticks around and we have some nice weather.

Isabelle and Joseph just finished up their basketball season! They really improved this year.

Piano lessons are coming along. They have their first recital next week!

Easter is around the corner!!!

Joseph told me he would give up vegetables for Lent. Haha! I nixed that idea!

Enjoy this beautiful day!

Dead battery..Change of plans!

The battery is dead! One of the lights was left on and no one did it!

Our morning errands have been waylaid and now we are all doing math!

Homeschool Decisions!

I am slowly, very slowly, coming up with our own homeschool curriculum for next year.

We have enjoyed our one day a week hybrid, but we have learned alot and made other connections. It is possible we may do Classical Conversations one morning and loosly follow them, but I'd rather just join a regular homeschool group. Right now I'm pretty comfortable with where the kids are academically so I'm not concerned with that. We are starting to meet other homeschool families too and will either meet up with them or perhaps join a homeschool co-op for extra activities. I'm still not sure about all of that!

Here is our list so far:

Math: Horizons and Teachting Textbooks

Grammar: We have done Shurley Grammar and they learned ALOT, but are switching to???

Writing: researching I.E.W and Classical Writing or?

Spelling: perhaps Spelling Power

Penmanship: probably A Reason for Handwriting, but maybe something else

Vocabulary: probably Wordly Wise

Geography: don't know yet. We learned 50 states and capitals this year.

We could learn Australia and maybe Western Europe next year. Plus a little map reading book.

History. We like Story of the World but might have to add to it.

PE: play outside!, join a sports team for fun

Science: we read books, watch Nova and we will add Little Professor science kit and star gaze with Isabelle's telescope and learn the constellations

Foreign Language: German Rosetta Stone and Mommy talking

They started with French, but it is simply easier for me to do German.

My German needs a little practice, but it is WAY better than the 15 words I can say in French.

We can learn French together in a few years, but for now we are going with what is easier for me. I know alot of homeschooler do Latin and we may learn some basics, but I'd rather learn something more practical.

Piano will stay the same.

Art will be at the same homeschool art studio. It rocks!

Nature Study: Grow a garden with Daddy!

Reading: the kids read all the time, so we can just include some literature discussions with that.

As you can see, I still have a few decisions to make! It seems like a lot, but we don't do all those things every day. I really like to feel like I'm doing the best thing, but that seems to change up from time to time and I have to re-evaluate.

Winter

I have not been able to load the Christmas photo's. I am still using another camera and am not quite sure how it works. We may have to skip posting Christmas picutres this year!

It has been cold in Georgia and frankly it's getting a bit wearing. We dont' keep that many warm clothes, because we don't need them. It has snowed alot for us, and the kids were wearing gloves that I bought about 15 years ago! I may have to buy a new pair!

However, Isabelle and Joseph really had fun playing in the snow! It's such a novelty for them!

It does make me smile too! It looks like it will be warming up this weekend!

Our backyard

The snowman

I'm Alive!

Barely there, but still breathing!

I will try to put up some Christmas photo's to get started here again!

I was going to start training for the Atlanta Womens 5K this past Monday, but I woke up and could barely walk. I might have to do this one with my daughter!

See you soon!

Texting n' Driving!

The Advent Storybook

We purchased this book several years ago. The story begins on Dec 1st and there is a story for each day up to the 24th. The little bear hears a story from his mother each night about another little bear following the special star. He meets various people and animals on his journey to Bethlehem. This is our 4th year reading it. I opened it to check when it was written and was suprised to find that it was first published in German in 2004 and in English in 2005. It is the type of book that is timeless, so I expected it be written a long time ago. It is for children, but the book is actually quite thoughtful in it's simplicity. Isabelle and Joseph still very much look forward to reading it, and actually so do I. Reading this book seems to have made it's way into becoming a sweet family tradition!

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful for our Thanskgiving Feast last week!

Now, I'm thankful to be working that food off!!

For calm daily life.

For our children!

For our dogs who are so funny!

For the richness of family life.

For all our blessings!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was really lovely! Lot's of family and lot's of food! It was Aunt Becky and Uncle Tony's year to host the meal and so we headed over there for the day. Everyone brought along a dish or two for the feast.

These are some random photo's. Guess what? Brendon snapped all the pictures this holiday!

Uncle Tony and Dad

Mimi and Isabelle holding Lily!

The guys playing rook!

Cousins

Papa with Isabelle and Joseph

All of us ladies looking at photo's!

Tamara, Alison, Teresa

Susan, Isabelle, Becky, Shelley

Babies and Hair!

Isabelle and Mommy!

This cute picture scrolled across my screensaver, and I had to share it!

I also noticed that there was not single gray hair in my head!

(and there's still not!;)

Coffee Break

We have been concentrating on homeschool this past week. Believe me, it takes all our concentration at the moment. We are craving a break in our routine and looking forward to a lighter work load. We will have a week off for the Thanksgiving Holiday!

I'm looking forward to coffee breaks (and suddently I have a craving for tea) and visiting relatives and friends. Just having fun in general!

I wish I could meet all of you for coffee/tea and chit chat!

Thankful Thursday

I'm so blessed to be a wife and mother!

Thank you Brendon for fixing the mirror over the mantle!

I'm thankful for homeschool!

We are thankful for the amazing art class the kids have this year! It's a highlight every week!

We give thanks for our good friends!

Thanks to the chiro/sports rehab who is fixing me up, so I can run, bike and swim again!

There's always thanks given for that hot cup of coffee! Joy!