Day in pictures

Late start to the morning, as Trevor prefers to build Legos
and Holly has not yet made an appearance.

Trevor begins math while Holly eats breakfast.

Trevor fixes something to eat; Holly checks e-mail.

Mom reads (Pagoo) to Trevor.

We notice two bugs on the window doing I-don't-even-want-to-know-what.
Trevor gets in on the pic.

Meanwhile, Holly's science experiment is growing in the bathroom.
I-don't-even-want-to-know-what this is either.

Trevor tries a new 'do.

We are dogsitting our neighbor's dogs this week.

Trevor takes a break to draw.

Writing about Babur the Tiger.

We might eat dinner standing up, but at least we're eating together!

Trevor yanks his tooth out long before it's ready.

Off to soccer. This is Rush Hour in Stickville, and I'm not complaining.

After dropping everyone off at soccer, I head for the mall.
It's someone's birthday later this week!
I make it back in time to visit with the moms.
I took these pictures as our team still practiced.
None of the old people (that would be me) can see the ball.

A Good Day.

Weekly menu

bratwurst, watermelon
egg salad sandwiches, chips
french onion soup, salad, bread; or ???
YOYO (Mom work)
spaghetti
Holly's birthday!!! (chile rellanos?)
picnic? chicken jerusalem? breakfast?

Lunch (with or for):
smoothies
grilled PB&J
Linda's Marinated Mozzarella
parmesan pesto things
tortilla rollups w/meat, lettuce, tomato, dressing

On the back burner:
cutlets Romano
chicken ala king, rice, strawberries
pork loin
sub sandwiches, chips, fruit
Renita's Funnel Cakes!!!
chicken fajitas
meatloaf
BLTs
pork chops
Rocky Mountain Salad

Multiple choice quiz (choose one)

Kristine has not posted for one entire week because:

a) She has fallen off the face of the earth.

b) She has joined a cult and ditched all forms of technology.

c) She's had a life.

d) Other:____________________________

* * * * *

Will plan to post later today...or tonight...or this week...hopefully....

:)

Jump for joy

Let's see if I have this figured out. I'm hoping that you can click on that and see Holly riding last week on a new (to her) horse.

Book Review - Quiet, Please: Dispatches from a Public Librarian by Scott Douglas

Two words*: Oddly Amusing. As in, oddly, I found this book amusing.

*But you know I'll use more than two words.

While in college, Scott Douglas found a part time job as a library page in Anaheim. He never left.* He writes of his soap-opera experiences with co-workers, nutty patrons, government, and more. His descriptions are embellished with stereotypes--ones I find to be true in our own library as well. For example, how many 20-something, male librarians do you know?**

*He went on to earn his MLIS.

**In addition to our male library director, we have one semi-retired man on our staff of 20. And it's true that all library employees are old. At 40-something, I'm the second youngest employee. However, most of us do read.

Highlighting his sardonic (translation: "geeky library") humor, the text is littered with 200 or so footnotes.* These footnotes were hugely annoying, yet at the same time I found myself drawn to them (in an equally "geeky library" sort of way).**

*Like this.

**Are you following here?

An easy to read 300+ pages, I could pick it up and read for 1-2 minutes at a time, grabbing it again later without losing any train of thought.* I am still surprised by all of the positive reviews at amazon--obviously, there are a lot of geeky library people out there with odd humor. If you're one of them,** you might enjoy this book.

*I need this in my life right now.

**or if you've read this far,

Weekly menu

I made Diann's pita chips last week. They were AWESOME. Mine cooked a little fast and turned a little more brown than I would have liked, so I'll bake them for a few minutes less next time. I was in a hurry and I sprayed them with PAM instead of brushing them with oil. (Sounds gross, I know, but it tasted fine.) And I oversalted them. Although it sounds like they were burned, smelly, salty things, they weren't, and we enjoyed them. The kids prefer the pita halves fried in butter on the stove; I prefer these because they are healthier. We ate them with homemade hummus. Definitely a recipe to make again--thanks, Diann!

* * * * * * * *

scrambled eggs, fruit, bacon, hash brown potatoes
bbq hot dogs, cabbage ramen noodle salad
manicotti, bread, salad
YOYO (Mom work)
on the run/soccer
giant burritos
???


Lunch (with or for):
smoothies
grilled PB&J
Linda's Marinated Mozzarella
parmesan pesto things
tortilla rollups w/meat, lettuce, tomato, dressing

On the back burner:
cutlets Romano
chicken ala king, rice, strawberries
pork loin
sub sandwiches, chips, fruit
Renita's Funnel Cakes!!!
chicken fajitas
meatloaf
pork chops
french onion soup
Rocky Mountain Salad

Kristine? or Robert?

1. On this first day of fall, who's dressed like this?

A. Kristine
B. Robert


2. On this first day of fall, who is thinking that it might finally cool down enough at night to open the windows?

A. Kristine
B. Robert

3. Who do you think sleeps on the window side of the bed?

A. Kristine
B. Robert

The force

Every couple of years, one (or both) of the kids will magnetize a needle and make a compass. As Trevor learned about Henry the Navigator last week, it was his perfect chance.

This activity always thrills me; it's one of the few that we can do over and over, and I'll never tire of it. That needle gets dropped in the water, and...

ZING!!

...it works every time! Funny how that happens. LOL.

We love our church

Wow, we are so blessed by our church, by the incredible fellowship, by our pastor's passion and gift for teaching. Here's a nice article about the church too, even though it's from spring of '07.

We began Revelation two weeks ago, and although we're not a cheering sort of church, I think we cheered. This was a good nudge for our family to commit to Sunday night Bible study too.

:)

WHEEE!

Saturday: We caught up with schoolwork. I crossed Roots and Fruits out of our schedule for now. It still looks great, but I am looking for sanity this year--and at the same time keeping an eye open to next year with things we might use for high school credits.

Sunday: We went to church in the morning, came home for lunch, and went back again for the evening service. That was the day that the gas prices went nuts, and there were noticeably fewer cars out on the road.

Monday: I worked. Robert kept the kids on track with school and took Trevor to art class. Holly snapped pics of deer in our yard. Trevor happily waited for me to do his spelling (isn't that sweet?!), and we worked on it at 9 p.m. Meanwhile, I joined a few friends for an online Bible study, so we practiced our chatting skills before doing the "real thing" in a week or so.


Tuesday: It rained all morning. I worked, secretly hoping that soccer would be canceled. But it wasn't raining there (!), so Rob and the kids came by to pick me up and we went up for soccer practice. On the plus side, everyone had a great time, and I really enjoy chatting with the other moms.

Wednesday: We went over a few things from earlier in the week and sat down for a long school day. It was rather like life exploding. Or at least my dining room.


We are almost up and running at full steam. Holly will add in her writing curriculum next week; Trevor will begin his science, and we'll be all set. They are both adjusting to the new schedules SO WELL, and everything is GOOD!!!!!

Free time writing.

Thursday: Holly had a riding lesson. We grabbed a quick lunch at Wendy's, and bought the kids a few clothes at the big mall in Roanoke. We stopped by the grocery store, and then hit the library.


It's been a whirlwind week, and no one minds that we have a bye night for soccer tomorrow.

Weekly menu

cheeseburgers, ?? (Mom worked)
??
Chicken Caesar Salad, bread
tortellini salad, hummus, Diann's pita chips
manicotti, salad
scrambled eggs, fruit, bacon, potatoes
ham and scalloped potatoes; Rocky Mountain Salad

Lunch (with or for):
smoothies
grilled PB&J
Linda's Marinated Mozzarella
parmesan pesto things
tortilla rollups w/meat, lettuce, tomato, dressing

On the back burner:
tuna, crackers, fruit
cutlets Romano
chicken ala king, rice, strawberries
pork loin
sub sandwiches, chips, fruit
Renita's Funnel Cakes!!!
chicken fajitas
meatloaf

Game night

Last night was great for soccer! The fields are next to a hospital, along the train tracks.

There's always something to look at (as if soccer isn't enough, haha).


Trevor's first-ever soccer game was a kick. (Sorry.) They won 2-0, definitely memorable.

Trev's #23

It turned dark quickly, and you can see the full moon behind the lights.


Holly's pics didn't turn out well, between the (lack of) light and distance. They lost 0-1--but they kept the ball on the other team's side for well over half the game, and they were down three boys from their team--so a great showing overall.

Holly's second from the left. Look at that pink sky!

A bye next week, but the kids are looking forward to playing again SOON.

Quote of the week from Holly

When I was working one day last week, I asked Holly to make the orange jello salad to go along with dinner. Her question for Robert:

"How do I boil water?"

She must have figured it out, because her jello came out perfectly.

Cooking class, anyone?

Added 9/14: Holly wants to be sure it's clear that she does know how to boil water. (I should hope so!) She was really asking if she should boil the water in the microwave or on the stove. :)

In what year do you belong?

You Belong in 1963

You are a free spirit with a huge heart. Love, peace, and happiness rule - oh, and drugs too.

What Year Do You Belong In?


* * * *

BAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I almost fell off my chair from laughing so hard.

Funny, because my first two answers were Brady Bunch and Christie Brinkley--I figured right then that I was doomed to be stuck in the 70s forever.

Book Review - Peach Cobbler Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mystery with Recipes by Joanne Fluke

Some things never change, and that includes this series. Mildly entertaining, mildly annoying....

Hannah continues to wait for either Mike or Norman to propose. She's crazy-jealous over Mike's friendship with Shawna--yet Hannah continues to date Mike and Norman simultaneously, often seated between them both at various public functions, with each of them fawning over her. Shawna opens up a bakery across the street from Hannah's, and within weeks, Shawna is dead. Of course, Hannah discovers the dead body.

Shallow characters and a predictable plot make these fast and easy to read, no concentration required. That has its benefits, believe me. The awful errors within the plot continue to drive me nuts: "...and the freezer in my refrigerator is thirty degrees above zero." Comments like that do not encourage me to try the recipes!

At the end of the book, Mike proposes. And Norman does too. I can only imagine what kind of marriage this would make. But I'll be reading the next book just to see what happens.

Book Review - Homeschooling the Teen Years by Cafi Cohen

Cafi Cohen is a name I've heard in various hsing circles. This book is part of a series, an earlier book of which Robert and I read when we first began considering homeschooling. (The Homeschooling Handbook convinced him.)

I don't know that the time it took to read this was worth what I got out of it. This edition is from 2000, and it's quite dated by hsing standards. Many of its interesting book recommendations (on nature study, and composers, for example) are no longer available. But there were a few hints that I found helpful and am incorporating into Holly's 8th grade this year. It's quite generic, not nearly comprehensive enough to use for high school.

This book doesn't even come close to my favorite resource for homeschooling high school, The Home Scholar:

Lee's terrific!

What's up

Trevor's art class resumed yesterday. I went out for drinks with two other moms. (Okay, the truth is that we drank Coke.)

Trev and I went on a nice walk early this morning. He came downstairs all bundled up, very cute, except that it was about 70 degrees outside!

It rained most of the day, but it stopped in time for soccer practice. I was ready, with my chair, my camera, my jacket (the field cools down quickly!), and I even had Starbucks in an effort to stay awake.

Trevor's coach inspires the team for their upcoming game.

Anna eats the ball. Ouch!

Once again, Holly was up against Pastor Brian.
We were teasing her last week, as it's a little intimidating.
Trevor's sage advice: "Show him NO mercy!"

A good start to the week . . .

Clever Trevor

I introduced the "new" writing curriculum today to Trevor. We went through the first lesson (which was intentionally silly), and his "assignment" was to write a two word sentence. He wrote:

Duck ducked.

He definitely gets credit for being creative. I don't know whether I should be looking forward to this year, or dreading it. LOL.

Weekly menu

YOYO (Dad sick)
spaghetti, salad, bread
Chicken Caesar Salad, bread
YOYO (Mom working)
sausage, red beans and rice, orange jello salad
very veggie guacamole, quesadillas
pancakes, fruit, bacon or sausage

Lunch (with or for):
smoothies
grilled PB&J
Linda's Marinated Mozzarella
parmesan pesto things
tortilla rollups w/meat, lettuce, tomato, dressing

On the back burner:
tuna, crackers, fruit
scalloped potatoes, Rocky Mountain Salad
cutlets Romano
chicken ala king, rice, strawberries
pork loin
sub sandwiches, chips, fruit
Renita's Funnel Cakes!!!
Diann's pita chips
chicken fajitas
meatloaf

First casualty of the school year

The best-laid plans of mice and men
often go awry

Isn't that the truth?

I'm pleased with how our first week went. Most everything was done as scheduled. The new changes that we've introduced so far have gone over very well. We need to revisit Our 24 Family Ways; this is not working for us at night, and we will move it back to early in our school day.

As I was preparing our schedule for the upcoming school week, I glanced through our new Spectrum Writing books. EEEEEEK! WHY is "Updated and Revised" so often synonymous with "Kiss of Death"? I've raved about Spectrum but I must Update and Revise.

Gone are the black and white pages. Gone are the two-page lesson spreads. Gone are wide lines for easy writing. As disappointed as I was, I was thinking, maybe we can still make this work. (Actually I was thinking What in the World Do I Do Now?) And then I saw the story circles, or story wheels, whatever those dumb things are called. I hate those things, and there's no way that "Updated and Revised" will work for us.

At least I have options. I own IEW; I have several of the Logos School Imitation in Writing books, along with IEW's Bible Based Writing Lessons. We're already using Shurley, which includes a writing curriculum. And I have several Writing Strands lesson books. I probably have more; that's just what I can recall off the top of my head.

So it's back to Writing Strands. WHEW. I will have to pick up a higher level book for Holly, but I already have the book for Trev. The first casualty was totally out of the blue, unexpected, but at least it's a minor one.

So far, so good. I can go a little awry.

In my camera

These have been in my camera for the past few days.

It's been very pleasant outside,
and we've been taking walks again in the evenings.


A funky giant mushroom grows out of a tree.

The bugs are out.


But I'm not quite ready for fall yet!

* * *

We met several families after church on Sunday, bbqing and chatting at the park all afternoon.

Trev stuck close to the playground with his friends...

...and found frogs...

...and light sabers, and more.

Casualty from the older kids playing soccer (not one of my kids though).

A dozen of the older kids walked to another nearby park,
played on the nicer soccer field, and hit the creek to escape the heat.

* * *

Tuesday nigth soccer practice weather
was just a little different than last week.

* * *

Trevor spotted this guy on our porch this morning,

hanging out for his breakfast.

Nothing else new around here!

Weekly menu

BLTs, chips, cottage cheese
spaghetti, salad, bread
quiche, blueberry muffins, salad
YOYO (Mom working)
hot dogs, tortellini salad
breakfast: eggs, fried potatoes, fruit, bacon or sausage
blackberry chicken, orange jello salad, vegetable?, noodles

Lunch (with or for):
smoothies
grilled PB&J
Linda's Marinated Mozzarella
parmesan pesto things
tortilla rollups w/meat, lettuce, tomato, dressing

On the back burner:
tuna, crackers, fruit
scalloped potatoes, Rocky Mountain Salad
cutlets Romano
chicken ala king, rice, strawberries
pork loin
taco salad; quesadillas
sub sandwiches, chips, fruit
Renita's Funnel Cakes!!!
Diann's pita chips
chicken fajitas
meatloaf
chicken caesar salad

First Day of School

Yesterday was our first day of school. Here are some of the subjects we covered:

LIFE SKILLS:

TV schedule planning

Online shopping

Conflict avoidance

POP CULTURE:

Junior Mints are no longer just a candy.
(The shirt is going back.)

CULTURAL STUDIES:

Chinese food

ART APPRECIATION:

Waiting patiently in the car while Mom hopped out and took a few pictures.
They failed this subject.

HEALTH:

Toe picking

Nutrition

Communication skills

More toe picking

Social grooming

CAREER EDUCATION:

Fighter pilot training

Definitely a day filled with eye opening, enriching, and sometimes challenging learning opportunities. We're off to a great start!