This really isn't an "army wife" blog. But I thought I might write a little more about the military after a conversation-via-text with a little sister that left me laughing. I don't talk about it much with people who aren't in the military I guess, so I don't realize what people don't know. I am in my own little world over here (along with thousands of other military families, that is).
So here are just a couple of random thoughts on my personal experience with military life.
I was talking with my husband just this evening. He remembered a little girl about 2, who had just PCSed (moved) to the area and was telling him all about her very best friends and how wonderful they were. He remembered feeling so sad for her that she didn't understand that she was not going to see them any more and would be making new friends. I realized that my children are now at ages that will cause them to see this whole "moving" thing in a very different light. Maybe "unfair" instead of "a new adventure." Not that moving in and of itself is all that uncommon. It's the moving every 2-4 years that sounds hard on kids. And, from what I hear, it is. They hand out pamphlets on helping kids cope. There are hundreds of tips on helping your children keep some stability while being uprooted every few years. As Shawn said, with no friends you remember growing up with, from way back when. I have friends like that, but he doesn't. So, one of the things I resolved to do is have good family traditions we can take wherever we go. The gospel will be wherever we go. And I am personally going to be excited about and love every place we are stationed. Period. There is no "I really don't want to be here." I want my children to see the adventure in it, so I have to see it too.
I used to think the movie At War With the Army was a funny movie. Now there are some parts that make me laugh until I cry. Because they are so authentic. Who knew? Of course, it isn't really the funniest thing when he comes home announcing a very important formation at 0900 and I realize that he'll have to leave the house at 0600--so that the company can make sure everyone is there an hour early, which means that someone will be calling by 0730 to make sure he's there an hour early, so he better leave here by 0600 at the latest to account for traffic and make sure that he's there by 0700 so everyone will be happy. We only live 25 minutes from the base! It's not always that ridiculous. But sometimes it is.
Showing posts with label moving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label moving. Show all posts
Friday, September 12, 2014
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
A Once-lazy housewife turned Neatfreak...for all the wrong reasons :(
Okay this post was written a few days ago...I will update again tonight if it kills me! Well, if it maims me?
Since last I wrote life has been full of...well, life. I shall expound. First, we moved into our house. We like it very much. The one thing I have found that is difficult to deal with (besides the other terrible thing, which will be addressed later) is that we live right off a major road and the noise is unbelievably loud at all times, but especially at night. Part of that is due to the slat-style windows which make these houses more like huts in my opinion but are great for allowing the trade winds to breeze through your entire domain. I have been assured that we will get used to the traffic and eventually be able to sleep. This is encouraging, as I have been contemplating boarding up all my windows. :) Beware, all you who are thinking of coming to visit. Bring earplugs.
But there are good things also. My favorite is having a washer and dryer in my house again. They have been missed terribly. More than an entire kitchen, or yard, or anything else I can think of that I missed. I like having a second bathroom. I like having a yard- even if it is the size of a closet. I like my neighbors, and that my kids can run around on the huge expanse of grass in front of the house. I like the friends they are making here. And I absolutely love living directly across from the church (also the stake center). My ward is great, and I adore the stake choir I am in. (There’s an orchestra yo )
Other events have included buying hundreds and hundreds of dollars of food and supplies to stock fridge, pantry, laundry room, etc; surviving our first tsunami warning (complete with the entire stake center full of people from evacuation areas) and learning about the dynamics of the homeless here (whole nother world); and encountering cockroaches for the first time in Hawaii. In my HOUSE. The new cockroach alarm is my blood curdling scream, shriek, or whooping and hollering “Kill it! ” So far I have seen seven. Four of them were alive (someone must have sprayed before we were here). I am now armed and getting ready for battle. I am reading everything I can get my hands on about roach eradication, and I have Raid, traps, cleaners, and I’m learning tons more. This event has marked a serious change in the way life goes around here. All food is put in the fridge, down to the crackers and cornmeal, unless it is in a sealed, hard container. No dishes are left in the sink overnight. The floors are swept and mopped twice a day, after breakfast and dinner. There is nothing on my counters, and they are sanitized with bleach water morning and night. All pots, pans, silverware, cooking utensils, plates, etc. are in sealed containers. Yes, I hate cockroaches that much. Plus one of the sighted creatures was in my silverware drawer, and I just about gagged. Then I washed everything, and made a note to buy waayyyy more of those new tupperware sets at Costco. It’s been keeping me rather busy.
In other news, the baby has picked climbing the stairs as his entertainment of choice, Demetri started cub scouts again, and we have tried four different times to buy a car. You know, sometimes craigslist can be creepy instead of helpful. And it’s annoying to have long conversations with someone who never intended to actually meet with you and show you their car. We have internet :), and decent reception at our house, unlike in California.
Since last I wrote life has been full of...well, life. I shall expound. First, we moved into our house. We like it very much. The one thing I have found that is difficult to deal with (besides the other terrible thing, which will be addressed later) is that we live right off a major road and the noise is unbelievably loud at all times, but especially at night. Part of that is due to the slat-style windows which make these houses more like huts in my opinion but are great for allowing the trade winds to breeze through your entire domain. I have been assured that we will get used to the traffic and eventually be able to sleep. This is encouraging, as I have been contemplating boarding up all my windows. :) Beware, all you who are thinking of coming to visit. Bring earplugs.
But there are good things also. My favorite is having a washer and dryer in my house again. They have been missed terribly. More than an entire kitchen, or yard, or anything else I can think of that I missed. I like having a second bathroom. I like having a yard- even if it is the size of a closet. I like my neighbors, and that my kids can run around on the huge expanse of grass in front of the house. I like the friends they are making here. And I absolutely love living directly across from the church (also the stake center). My ward is great, and I adore the stake choir I am in. (There’s an orchestra yo )
Other events have included buying hundreds and hundreds of dollars of food and supplies to stock fridge, pantry, laundry room, etc; surviving our first tsunami warning (complete with the entire stake center full of people from evacuation areas) and learning about the dynamics of the homeless here (whole nother world); and encountering cockroaches for the first time in Hawaii. In my HOUSE. The new cockroach alarm is my blood curdling scream, shriek, or whooping and hollering “Kill it! ” So far I have seen seven. Four of them were alive (someone must have sprayed before we were here). I am now armed and getting ready for battle. I am reading everything I can get my hands on about roach eradication, and I have Raid, traps, cleaners, and I’m learning tons more. This event has marked a serious change in the way life goes around here. All food is put in the fridge, down to the crackers and cornmeal, unless it is in a sealed, hard container. No dishes are left in the sink overnight. The floors are swept and mopped twice a day, after breakfast and dinner. There is nothing on my counters, and they are sanitized with bleach water morning and night. All pots, pans, silverware, cooking utensils, plates, etc. are in sealed containers. Yes, I hate cockroaches that much. Plus one of the sighted creatures was in my silverware drawer, and I just about gagged. Then I washed everything, and made a note to buy waayyyy more of those new tupperware sets at Costco. It’s been keeping me rather busy.
In other news, the baby has picked climbing the stairs as his entertainment of choice, Demetri started cub scouts again, and we have tried four different times to buy a car. You know, sometimes craigslist can be creepy instead of helpful. And it’s annoying to have long conversations with someone who never intended to actually meet with you and show you their car. We have internet :), and decent reception at our house, unlike in California.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Sealed Deal
Yesterday was one of those life-changing kinds of days. We signed for the house. It took a long time, and I have a huge “packet” of papers to keep for years to come that I am not even sure I understand. That’s okay. I’m pretty sure Shawn understands most of it.
We get to move in on Friday. All of our belongings will come right around Thanksgiving...and then I will probably have a yard sale. My furnishings don’t really match the new house. At all. The laminate floor is a very dark gray. My light wood things will clash horribly. I’m sure I will get it figured out. I needed an excuse to get a new table anyway, haha.
Apparently my husband loves to run. I guess you never really know everything about someone, especially when they are constantly changing. He’s known at work for his speed, and regularly leaves all his coworkers in the dust. Some people have fun in the strangest ways :).
I drink tea. Well, not really. What I really drink is tisane, since I never use tea leaves, just herbal infusions. I’m drinking a cup now, anticipating having my own house, with my own kitchen things and herbs, so I can drink 3 or 4 cups of tea at night if I want (I make a large pot of it instead of a mug in a microwave). Because sometimes one just isn’t enough.
My children are stoked. They packed everything in their room this morning before breakfast. They tried to pack the car as soon as Shawn got home too. There’s been a lot of jumping up and down for joy today as kids counted down days and hours before we go live in our new house.
Embarrassing moment of the week- so far: I walked up to the house to do the final walk-through, stuck out my hand, and addressed the owner as “Brother” instead of “Mr.” Since the church is across the street and there are several LDS families in the complex he was familiar with the term. He nicely corrected me- “Oh no, I’m not Mormon, but there are several big Mormon families very close.” I stammered an apology...not Mormon, he owns a bar in Waikiki :). Shawn patted me on the back later and told me I don’t get out much. It’s true. The only people I’ve talked to much are the ones at church on Sundays. I think I’ll take up a hobby that forces me out into the community.
We get to move in on Friday. All of our belongings will come right around Thanksgiving...and then I will probably have a yard sale. My furnishings don’t really match the new house. At all. The laminate floor is a very dark gray. My light wood things will clash horribly. I’m sure I will get it figured out. I needed an excuse to get a new table anyway, haha.
Apparently my husband loves to run. I guess you never really know everything about someone, especially when they are constantly changing. He’s known at work for his speed, and regularly leaves all his coworkers in the dust. Some people have fun in the strangest ways :).
I drink tea. Well, not really. What I really drink is tisane, since I never use tea leaves, just herbal infusions. I’m drinking a cup now, anticipating having my own house, with my own kitchen things and herbs, so I can drink 3 or 4 cups of tea at night if I want (I make a large pot of it instead of a mug in a microwave). Because sometimes one just isn’t enough.
My children are stoked. They packed everything in their room this morning before breakfast. They tried to pack the car as soon as Shawn got home too. There’s been a lot of jumping up and down for joy today as kids counted down days and hours before we go live in our new house.
Embarrassing moment of the week- so far: I walked up to the house to do the final walk-through, stuck out my hand, and addressed the owner as “Brother” instead of “Mr.” Since the church is across the street and there are several LDS families in the complex he was familiar with the term. He nicely corrected me- “Oh no, I’m not Mormon, but there are several big Mormon families very close.” I stammered an apology...not Mormon, he owns a bar in Waikiki :). Shawn patted me on the back later and told me I don’t get out much. It’s true. The only people I’ve talked to much are the ones at church on Sundays. I think I’ll take up a hobby that forces me out into the community.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
All Roads Lead to the Ocean
I am posting on my blog, which means I have a computer My laptop is not yet fixed, but I’m sure my husband will get around to it someday. I’m typing from a free computer Shawn obtained at a yard sale (free because they weren’t sure all the parts were there or if it worked). After buying a few cords and erasing all their stuff off of it, he has assured me that it works wonderfully, telling me how wonderful the ergonomic wireless keyboard and mouse are, and how top-of-the-line the computer was when it came out. I’m just glad that though my husband doesn’t fix things around the house very often, he’s very handy with a few pieces of metal and some cords. Second, sometimes yard sales pay off.
And this is several blog posts combined into one.
ALL ROADS LEAD TO THE OCEAN
We are in Hawaii. We’ve been here almost month now. Most of the time, the boys and I have been in the hotel rooms. The other day, Teddy told me how we were moving to Hawaii. It’s been pretty hard to convince him that we’re already here. Guess I should have made a bigger deal about it when we stepped off the plane, but I though they all understood. I was trying to explain what an island is by telling them that we’re surrounded by water. If you follow any of the roads on the island long enough, you’ll get to the ocean. That made me slightly claustrophobic, but I guess any body of land is the same way...it’s just a lot smaller here.
How am I liking Hawaii? I don’t know yet. I haven’t seen much of it. I love the hotel staff :), and the weather is great. The ocean is warm enough that even I will swim in it. The people are nice, and though the traffic is horrible, the people are nice enough to let you in where you need to be anyway. I do not like the restaurant food at the hotel. That’s okay. I can usually manage to eat in the hotel room instead.
I’ve been warned about centipedes and scorpions. Haven’t seen any yet, but I’m sure I will at some point. Cockroaches are supposed to be plentiful, but I haven’t seen any of them yet either. I probably need to get out more. We have, however, seen, caught, fed, and played with lizards. They are everywhere. Little tiny geckos. At least, I think they’re geckos.
HOW TO BUY A HOUSE
I’m still not sure. But we’re working on it. I’ve been on the phone a lot, faxed a lot of papers, signed a lot of papers, hunted for the correct papers, and stayed up nights redesigning “my” kitchen in my head. Still scheduled to close on the 19th.
DAILY LIFE
Every morning the kids do their chores. Which makes housekeeping happy. Our housekeeper says we have very well-behaved little boys who don’t run around the room and scream like a lot of the other children. I think she’s listening outside the door at the wrong times :). And that they are so good to be so helpful.
We have a devotional most days. It consists of a song, prayer, scripture or gospel/life topic, and a short discussion of our plan for the day.
We also try to go to the pool for an hour most days. I know, nothing like the ocean, but it’s what we’ve got close at hand for the moment. Funny, an hour a day and Teddy barely looks caucasian anymore, haha. Okay, a little exaggerated.
I’m practicing more in the crockpot and reading up on education (homeschool mostly) and herbs. I have grand plans but most of them have to wait a little while. We’re planning a vertical garden (Thanks for the suggestion Miguel ) and several other projects for our new home.
And this is several blog posts combined into one.
ALL ROADS LEAD TO THE OCEAN
We are in Hawaii. We’ve been here almost month now. Most of the time, the boys and I have been in the hotel rooms. The other day, Teddy told me how we were moving to Hawaii. It’s been pretty hard to convince him that we’re already here. Guess I should have made a bigger deal about it when we stepped off the plane, but I though they all understood. I was trying to explain what an island is by telling them that we’re surrounded by water. If you follow any of the roads on the island long enough, you’ll get to the ocean. That made me slightly claustrophobic, but I guess any body of land is the same way...it’s just a lot smaller here.
How am I liking Hawaii? I don’t know yet. I haven’t seen much of it. I love the hotel staff :), and the weather is great. The ocean is warm enough that even I will swim in it. The people are nice, and though the traffic is horrible, the people are nice enough to let you in where you need to be anyway. I do not like the restaurant food at the hotel. That’s okay. I can usually manage to eat in the hotel room instead.
I’ve been warned about centipedes and scorpions. Haven’t seen any yet, but I’m sure I will at some point. Cockroaches are supposed to be plentiful, but I haven’t seen any of them yet either. I probably need to get out more. We have, however, seen, caught, fed, and played with lizards. They are everywhere. Little tiny geckos. At least, I think they’re geckos.
HOW TO BUY A HOUSE
I’m still not sure. But we’re working on it. I’ve been on the phone a lot, faxed a lot of papers, signed a lot of papers, hunted for the correct papers, and stayed up nights redesigning “my” kitchen in my head. Still scheduled to close on the 19th.
DAILY LIFE
Every morning the kids do their chores. Which makes housekeeping happy. Our housekeeper says we have very well-behaved little boys who don’t run around the room and scream like a lot of the other children. I think she’s listening outside the door at the wrong times :). And that they are so good to be so helpful.
We have a devotional most days. It consists of a song, prayer, scripture or gospel/life topic, and a short discussion of our plan for the day.
We also try to go to the pool for an hour most days. I know, nothing like the ocean, but it’s what we’ve got close at hand for the moment. Funny, an hour a day and Teddy barely looks caucasian anymore, haha. Okay, a little exaggerated.
I’m practicing more in the crockpot and reading up on education (homeschool mostly) and herbs. I have grand plans but most of them have to wait a little while. We’re planning a vertical garden (Thanks for the suggestion Miguel ) and several other projects for our new home.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Still kickin'...if only barely
Monday and Tuesday the movers came (we ignored Demetri's birthday and decided to celebrate it in Kamiah); Wednesday was spent cleaning and finishing vacating the house. Today has been graduation, paperwork, online trainings, more paperwork, hotel and naps for kids, running back and forth from hotel to post, and finally, ice cream (the kids were so patient today!). Tomorrow depends on what the people in the various offices say- there's one paper in particular that needs to be signed before we can do anything else.
Busy week. I'm just glad to be out of the house and hoping we can get out of here soon. California was fun, but I'm ready to be done. I thought everything was done and we could just leave after graduation. I should know by now and be able to anticipate the extra red tape! (I just get optimistic when he actually has leave papers in his hand.)
Enjoying my baby- though still not comfortable enough with four children to go anywhere with them alone. Shawn's frustrated. Oh well, at least I was willing to have the four children; I don't know about more. I'm savoring the newborn stage that I've missed so much. Xander has three excited big brothers. They love him, hold him, sing to him, play with him, and talk to him in funny voices.
Busy week. I'm just glad to be out of the house and hoping we can get out of here soon. California was fun, but I'm ready to be done. I thought everything was done and we could just leave after graduation. I should know by now and be able to anticipate the extra red tape! (I just get optimistic when he actually has leave papers in his hand.)
Enjoying my baby- though still not comfortable enough with four children to go anywhere with them alone. Shawn's frustrated. Oh well, at least I was willing to have the four children; I don't know about more. I'm savoring the newborn stage that I've missed so much. Xander has three excited big brothers. They love him, hold him, sing to him, play with him, and talk to him in funny voices.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Some weeks I have more to say than others
I'm home...an hour and a half after cub scouts is over. I did stay and talk, mostly about cub scout things. But I was also pulled over on the way home, and sat there for 20 minutes. I know because I was watching the clock. I was also watching the policemen behind me, who waited for a backup car, walked around my car to see if anything else could possibly be wrong aside from my headlight being out, looked in every window, and purposely shined a flashlight in my rear view mirror every time I tried to look at them in it (that was actually kind of hilarious). I'm not sure if there were slow computers or if they were standing out there just talking about good times, but eventually two came back and gave me some sort of a strange citation...a reversible citation? Anyway, I go get it fixed and show up at the police department so they can make sure I did it. Not a problem...different...but much more sensible than just giving people tickets for things they didn't know were wrong with their car. Demetri was terrified...we spent the 20 minutes going over why we weren't going to jail, what exactly was wrong with the car, why that was a problem, whether policemen can pull people over "for fun," how they can tell things from looking up license plates and looking at a driver's license, etc, etc.
On to life. I'm 8 weeks pregnant. I can eat potatoes and ice cream. Rice makes me instantly sick...even the smell. So do eggs, but I love eggs so much that I eat them once in a while anyway, and pay for it the rest of the day. I lay on the couch more than I should, but usually still manage to get dinner on the table and the laundry done. Evenings are the worst, so I'm slowly going back to the crockpot.
Demetri starts his charter school on the 15th, and for the most part he's excited. I'm trying to put together a curriculum (which I have ample time for as I lay on my couch) as well as a halfway organized cub scout plan. I'm learning a lot. I'm very excited about a website called scouttrack.com; it will eliminate soooo much work if we can actually use it!
Shawn and I are both nursery leaders now. It's much easier than an older class because I can walk or sit and because Shawn's so awesome with the little kids. I'm glad he's having fun...I need to take a video camera.
Shawn is going to China for several weeks. And I think I'm going to cook tv dinners the whole time he's gone. Yep, good plan. He helped a lot with the house over his vacation. Maybe not his idea of a vacation...but, well, he is getting paid to go study (and SIGHTSEE) in China, and I get to stay home with the kids, and I really wasn't feeling that well. I'm very grateful that my husband loves me.
Several of my good friends are moving in the next couple of months (or have moved recently), and I'm depressed. Happy for them...but depressed all the same. It's been so hard to explain to the children why they can't visit with their friends anymore. Well, not hard to explain, just hard for them to understand. The hardest to take is Alyissa moving. It's probably rare to be so close to your next door neighbor, but the kids thought of it as a second home, and walked in as they pleased (even though they still got in trouble for that!). Our kids played together almost every day. Mine have been asking me why strange men are in her house (the management people getting it ready to rent again) and if we're going to eat dinner with her family.
I had to go over child abuse prevention with Demetri as a cub scout requirement. One of the warnings was not to accept gifts from adults without your parents' permission. This evening he asked me if a Bear scout could be a child molester. I, being slightly alarmed, replied that it's possible...another scout had given him a "gift"--an origami dragon he'd made. I chuckled and explained that it was okay to accept the gift, and thanks for telling me about it. He might be a tad bit paranoid after that prevention stuff but better safe than sorry, eh.
I've actually been keeping more busy than I'd like to be, but it'll slow down in a few days, and even more as my friends continue to move :(. I went to a friend's house today and she showed us how to make Hungarian pastries. I can't wait for her to translate the recipes and e-mail them to me. They were so yummy, and I even kept them down. Hooray for friends who are great cooks! But mostly, hooray for friends in general :).
On to life. I'm 8 weeks pregnant. I can eat potatoes and ice cream. Rice makes me instantly sick...even the smell. So do eggs, but I love eggs so much that I eat them once in a while anyway, and pay for it the rest of the day. I lay on the couch more than I should, but usually still manage to get dinner on the table and the laundry done. Evenings are the worst, so I'm slowly going back to the crockpot.
Demetri starts his charter school on the 15th, and for the most part he's excited. I'm trying to put together a curriculum (which I have ample time for as I lay on my couch) as well as a halfway organized cub scout plan. I'm learning a lot. I'm very excited about a website called scouttrack.com; it will eliminate soooo much work if we can actually use it!
Shawn and I are both nursery leaders now. It's much easier than an older class because I can walk or sit and because Shawn's so awesome with the little kids. I'm glad he's having fun...I need to take a video camera.
Shawn is going to China for several weeks. And I think I'm going to cook tv dinners the whole time he's gone. Yep, good plan. He helped a lot with the house over his vacation. Maybe not his idea of a vacation...but, well, he is getting paid to go study (and SIGHTSEE) in China, and I get to stay home with the kids, and I really wasn't feeling that well. I'm very grateful that my husband loves me.
Several of my good friends are moving in the next couple of months (or have moved recently), and I'm depressed. Happy for them...but depressed all the same. It's been so hard to explain to the children why they can't visit with their friends anymore. Well, not hard to explain, just hard for them to understand. The hardest to take is Alyissa moving. It's probably rare to be so close to your next door neighbor, but the kids thought of it as a second home, and walked in as they pleased (even though they still got in trouble for that!). Our kids played together almost every day. Mine have been asking me why strange men are in her house (the management people getting it ready to rent again) and if we're going to eat dinner with her family.
I had to go over child abuse prevention with Demetri as a cub scout requirement. One of the warnings was not to accept gifts from adults without your parents' permission. This evening he asked me if a Bear scout could be a child molester. I, being slightly alarmed, replied that it's possible...another scout had given him a "gift"--an origami dragon he'd made. I chuckled and explained that it was okay to accept the gift, and thanks for telling me about it. He might be a tad bit paranoid after that prevention stuff but better safe than sorry, eh.
I've actually been keeping more busy than I'd like to be, but it'll slow down in a few days, and even more as my friends continue to move :(. I went to a friend's house today and she showed us how to make Hungarian pastries. I can't wait for her to translate the recipes and e-mail them to me. They were so yummy, and I even kept them down. Hooray for friends who are great cooks! But mostly, hooray for friends in general :).
Thursday, March 3, 2011
A late night update
Yes, it's late and I know I should be in bed. I just finished my rough draft of the economic and political conditions in Colombia. I'm looking around my house and realizing that three steps forward and two steps back is still progress. I did get a lot of the unpacking and cleaning done but lagged on general upkeep. I'll get there though.
We initiated "closet time" today, inspired by the blog of a TJED homeschooling momma. It's a set time to use any of the learning tools or games in whatever is designated as the "closet." -Doesn't have to be an actual closet. Mine is. Today we drew pictures from a "How to Draw" book...and spent a good hour and a half on it. The attention span of a child isn't so short when they really want to do something! We drew very recognizable renditions of Walle, which are now hanging on our fridge. Shawn was duly impressed :).
I'm looking for more book series' for my 7 yr. old. We're running out of Magic Tree House books. I'm thinking of Encyclopedia Brown, and the Wayside School books. I'll have to hunt around for recommendations. A Thomas Jefferson Education has a good list in the back...I just have to buy it; I used my mom's copy previously.
Oh yeah. We watched While You Were Sleeping today while folding many many batches of laundry, and I once again noticed that it's so fun to watch kids' expressions. It's a sweet little chick flick and my oldest smiled through most of it, laughing, and saying things like "This is my favorite movie!" (Boy, we need to get out more.) He likes things to be happy and feel-good, just like me. He fast forwards parts of Snow White and Pinocchio (as well as several others I'm sure). Love kids; they are just so interesting!
We initiated "closet time" today, inspired by the blog of a TJED homeschooling momma. It's a set time to use any of the learning tools or games in whatever is designated as the "closet." -Doesn't have to be an actual closet. Mine is. Today we drew pictures from a "How to Draw" book...and spent a good hour and a half on it. The attention span of a child isn't so short when they really want to do something! We drew very recognizable renditions of Walle, which are now hanging on our fridge. Shawn was duly impressed :).
I'm looking for more book series' for my 7 yr. old. We're running out of Magic Tree House books. I'm thinking of Encyclopedia Brown, and the Wayside School books. I'll have to hunt around for recommendations. A Thomas Jefferson Education has a good list in the back...I just have to buy it; I used my mom's copy previously.
Oh yeah. We watched While You Were Sleeping today while folding many many batches of laundry, and I once again noticed that it's so fun to watch kids' expressions. It's a sweet little chick flick and my oldest smiled through most of it, laughing, and saying things like "This is my favorite movie!" (Boy, we need to get out more.) He likes things to be happy and feel-good, just like me. He fast forwards parts of Snow White and Pinocchio (as well as several others I'm sure). Love kids; they are just so interesting!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Sometimes I think I'm superwoman...it's okay that I'm not, just don't tell my husband :)
Boxes and batches of laundry and dishes. Glad to have a dishwasher and a washing machine. Sometimes I forget how hard something is (like moving) and think I'm going to have it done in a ridiculously short period of time. Glad to have my things here. Tomorrow I'm going to use a gallon of bleach and maybe I'll bleach the laundry too just for good measure.
But tonight I'm going to bed, just as soon as the advil kicks in. I'm considering whether I want to sand down a wooden bunk bed set and refinish it or throw it out. It's not much of a contest- I've never sanded anything in my life. No, I take that back. You have to sand shrinky-dinks.
Ah well, I have cartoons for kids, all the fixings for sandwiches, and a decent-sized living room to unpack in. I already promised the kids we'd take reading breaks, and they're not likely to forget. We found some Magic Tree House books on tape at the library for our trip in a few weeks. :)
But tonight I'm going to bed, just as soon as the advil kicks in. I'm considering whether I want to sand down a wooden bunk bed set and refinish it or throw it out. It's not much of a contest- I've never sanded anything in my life. No, I take that back. You have to sand shrinky-dinks.
Ah well, I have cartoons for kids, all the fixings for sandwiches, and a decent-sized living room to unpack in. I already promised the kids we'd take reading breaks, and they're not likely to forget. We found some Magic Tree House books on tape at the library for our trip in a few weeks. :)
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