I Have No Clever Title to Put Here!

I've been SO bad about updating this blog! I guess it's because we've been in a weird mode of school lately. We're still doing enough sit-down work that I feel like Reilly and Declan are being educated, but it's been a whole lot more unschooling-type lessons lately.



For example, last Monday I found out my dad was in the hospital with pneumonia and, through a series of events in his life, he had nobody to be up there with him. So I packed up The Kids, some crayons and paper, some movies and my laptop, and we went up there to be with him. I figured that the lesson that they were learning is how to serve and minister to people, even when it's not "convenient" or "fun". (By the way, I could not have been more proud of how well they acted while we were there!) A week before that, we had to take Holly to the vet in the morning, so I packed up some worksheets for Reilly to do while we were waiting.



Yesterday, I decided to take The Kids to the Veterans Day Parade here in town. I'm so glad that we went! (I realized that I really love parades.) Plus, it was so emotional for me to see all these older gentlemen and ladies in their uniforms or their VFW hats going by. It really got me to thinking about my grandfather, who served in WW2 and being thankful for all the men and women who choose to join the military. The Kids really loved seeing all the bands and the old cars, waving their flags and cheering. It was a great way to spend the morning!



Today was just a typical day, really. Since we're so close to Thanksgiving, I'v been reading a book called Eating the Plates: A Guide to Pilgrim Manners and Food which is a really fun book. They also made a Thankful Turkey which I took pictures of but I can't find the cord to get the pics on the computer right now, so I'll post them later. We pulled out the "Feed the Pilgrim & Indian" game today and used it to review addition facts (Reilly) and practice letter recognition (Deco). Who would have thought when I made that game two years ago that it would still bring The Kids so much pleasure? Amazing! I think it's the best idea I've had yet for school!



My job is going really well. I love the company I'm working for and the people I work with are really fun. God is really blessing us in that it's not been a hard transition so far! Since I don't go in until 5:00, I still have all day with The Kids and, thus far, haven't had any trouble getting things done around here. The only down side is that, as an employee, I can have free coffee from the deli if I bring in my own cup (or pay 25 cents for an employee cup!) and it's really good coffee!! So I drink at least one cup per shift, sometimes two, which means I don't really feel like going to bed when I get home at 10:30...which explains why I'm up writing a post right now...and bouncing off the walls!



OK, goodnight! I'll try and post those pictures tomorrow because they're really cute!

Frustrated...

...yes. Again.
And feeling completely inadequate for this job of homeschooling.
*sigh*

Aaahhh, How They Grow!!

I didn't realize that turtles grew so fast! And to think, we've only had Skipperdee for a week and a half!

I mean, look at him! He's as big as my hand now! At this rate, he's going to outgrow the tank in a month!

OK, not really. The Original Skipperdee actually died the day before yesterday. (Only, we didn't realize that he had died until yesterday. Ew.) I think that he pretty much starved to death because we hadn't seen him eat since we got him. It's probably safe to say that being sent through the mail probably didn't do him much good.
The funny thing is that Reilly wasn't really sad that he died. We had warned her that it might happen because we've known that he wasn't eating, so I think that that prepared her somewhat. Add that to the fact that all he did was lay around on the rock in the water, showing about as much personality as...well...a turtle that's not eating, and I don't think she really got too attached to him.
So, this is a new turtle that is actually going by several names now. Skipperdee Two, Dozer, The Deez - Reilly says she's going to change its name every day! She (the turtle) is much bigger, much more active, has already shown that she can eat like a horse, and, thankfully, was purchased here in town so there's more ready access to knowledgeable people...and to an actual store where she can be returned if she begins to go downhill!