BWa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha

I am wolf den leader.
I have 17 wolf cubs.

That's 17 second graders!

Thankfully, I have an incredible assistant den leader and 15 sets of the most wonderful parents in the scouting community.

And I have 17 great little wolf cubs who make it all worth it.

But I can't be happy with that. Nooooooooo

Guess what I may be doing come February.

There's a large chance that I won't be a den leader anymore. I'm looking into being Cubmaster.

Yeah.

Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha (wipes tears)

Time and Math

So we've made it through the first quarter of the school year and I thought I'd post a little about what's bugging me so far.

First of all, I'm not happy with my schedule. Things are just too busy for me. Mondays are science classes and tutoring. (And soon, Boy Scouts) Tuesdays are speech at school and then tutoring another child after school. Wednesday is two hours of OT and another hour of tutoring. Thursdays are speech at school and the PE for the boys. Fridays, thank heaven, are free. Saturdays are scouts, sports, and whatever else comes up.
I wish I could drop all the tutoring but two of the afternoon are family/close friend obligations. Science classes, PE, scouts, and sports all benefit the boys so I feel a need to continue those. Speech and OT are non-negotiable.
Then add in seasonal sports practices, parties, social events, play practice, camp outs, family obligations, and my hospital board position.
But I guess we'd be running around as much or more if the boys were in school and I worked. So i should not complain.
Still.....I'm homebody at heart.

As far as school goes, everything is unchanged with the exception of my oldest math program. I had planned to use Lial's math program and Jacob's Algebra.
But I hate the Lial's Basic College Math book. Really hate it. Words can not express the loathing I feel towards this book.
So he's using Dolicani pre-algebra now and both of us enjoy it. I went ahead and bought the Algebra 1 and 2 texts and TE's. Surprisingly enough, I used that same Algebra 1 text when I was in 8th grade.

Hmm...... I had a great text book. Looking at it now, I see the level of math required and that it is a very intensive program. I had the Teacher of the Year for SC as my instructor. I worked with her as an adult, so I know she is serious about math education and is an excellent instructor.

However, even with a great teacher and a great textbook....I really struggled through algebra 1 and subsequently every other math with the exception of geometry.
I want better for my sons. I want them to understand math. I want them to feel confident in their abilities.
I want them to be better than me.

Which is going to be hard when I'm teaching out of the same books that I barely squeaked through as a student. (In my household a "C" was unacceptable. In high school, I got 5 "C's" and "B" one quarter and I seriously considered running away. I cried all day, scared to death to go home. So when I say "squeaked" I mean I got a "B" or "C" for the year.)

Thankfully, I have four incredibly math minded boys, the TE's, a lot more math experience, and ZD to encourage me. (And the fact that ZD uses all that complicated math on a daily basis.)

"I always thought my math teachers were smart," he told me when the package of books arrived. "It turns out they just had all the answers."

Well, at least it's over.

I voted yesterday without having to wait at all. In fact, when I walked in, ever poll worker looked up expectantly. One even asked, "Did you bring the crowd with you?"
I had not.

I'm glad it's over even though I'm not happy with the results. Oddly enough, I'm not depressed like I was after Pres. Clinton's election. I guess I'm better prepared.
And maybe I'm curious to see what happens when you give people exactly what they asked for.
In my head, I liken it to my grandmother who was finally annoyed to frustration by my repeated requests to eat the apples from our tree, even though they weren't ripe.

"Go ahead, child. Eat all the little green apples that you'd like."

I hope our country fares better than I did.

Whatever you call it

I was thinking about our pet names for each other and all the lovey-dovey things that get said around here.
ZD and I are very verbal about our love for the boys and each other. So are both sides of our family.

I call the boys, "Monkeys." It started when I would sing "Four little monkeys jumping on the bed."

ZD calls the boys "Pumpkin" or "Pudding." Both names are endearing to me because his father called him Pudding and my father called me Pumpkin.

Zd calls me "Hun" which is short for Honey and not an implication that I am a 5th century barbarian.

I call him "Love." Which suits him because I know he'll always love me and there nothing I can do to mess that up.

But most touching to us was Andrew's 5th word ever...."bo-bas." When he couldn't say much else, he would call for Mama, Dada, and bo-bas.

Which Horror Movie Could You Survive Your Result: Hero You'd Scare Michael, Jason and Freddie. Your confidence and lethal abilities are matched only by your wits.Your favorite movie is probably Silent Rage!
Sidekick
Comic Relief
Clueless Supporting Character
Man/Woman at gas station
Which Horror Movie Could You Survive Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

That's why ZD married me. Not only do I know how to triangulate with a map, a compass and straight edge, but I'm also fairly competent at handling the big guns. As a bonus, I'm not the slowest runner.

Aspergers and the "new thing"

My middle sons are as different as night and day but they both have the same diagnoses. Aspergers syndrome, Sensory Processing disorder, Dyspraxia. A serious of words that describe what makes them act the way they do. But does little to explain who they are.

This year, the two middle boys are in Scouts. Matthew is returning to the program. He was a Tiger and Wolf cub. Andrew is starting out as a Wolf.

Both approached as they usually do. Matthew is quiet and reflective. He waits in the background to figure everything out. He is reluctant to just jump into conversations or activities. But by the end of the event, he had made friends with two of his den and could tell me their names. And he pointed out that these particular Webleos had the Wildlife Conservation patch that he has been coveting since his oldest brother was a Tiger Cub. (It's a patch with a panda on it. Matthew loves all things with pandas on it.) And as a bonus, the other Webelos viewed his quiet nature as a sign of maturity. Instead of seeming stand-offish, the thought he was cool. Plus he was wearing the new tan uniform with the vents and shoulder pockets....adding to his coolness level.

Andrew, on the other hand, never meets a stranger. He is constantly moving and can talk to anyone about anything. I'm his den leader, so he feels very comfortable. Plus about most of the den is just a wiggly and talkative as he is.
Really.
All of them are bouncing around, touching each other, and talking non-stop. So he just fits right in. Wow....a whole den full of Andrew's. I'm going to be totally grey haired by May.

Army Brat

Asked by Andrew at his first Cub Scout pack meeting after participating in a flag ceremony.
"Sir, do I have salute the higher rank Cub Scouts?"

It took the Cub Master, who is retired Army, a second to process the question. When he finally "got" what Andrew was asking, he did his best to stifle his laughter before informing the new Wolf cub that he did not have to salute the Bears and Webelos.

Good-bye Goldie

Your little owner is very sad that you have passed. He really liked you even though you were the meanest hamster in existence. He fed you every day and tried to pet you...as you tried to chew his finger off. But he never got angry. He thought it was his fault instead of your bad personality.

You were fun to watch. You loved your wheel and the hamster ball. And you were great at climbing the tubes. You never, ever escaped or tired to. That is a big plus for hamsters. You were also a very good mother. Your son and two daughters are very good pets.

And most importantly, you did bring smiles to a little boy who doesn't smile nearly enough. So rest in peace little Goldie. I hope you like your place in our little hamster cemetery.

Stop the ride....I'm ready to get off.

So Andrew still has his staples in his head. It's the talk of the elementary school gang. At least 3 children that I do not know, have stopped by just to see Andrew's staples. ZD and I have gotten quite a giggle over the reaction.

Speaking of ZD...he's on crutches for at least the next 4 to 6 weeks. He fell and messed up his knee. He goes back to the Ortho this week, but they've already scheduled surgery for this Friday.
Tonight he'll have an MRI which means that I have to get the boys to football practice and team pictures. And I'll have to miss both the Scout Committee meeting and Mother's Night Out.
(sigh)

And let's not mention the mountain of laundry that I need to do.


Aw shoot....and team uniforms that have to be washed and ready by 5:20.
Wonderful.
I have to find them first.

Something new

Picture this....I'm sitting on the floor reading the newspaper at the end of the evening. ZD is sitting nearby and telling me about his day. Dinner has been eaten and the kitchen is clean.
The boys are outside playing in the last bit of light of the day. They and the neighbor children have been playing with the marshmallow shooters, playing basketball, and riding bikes.

Suddenly, the door opens and my oldest staggers in carrying his 7-year-old brother who is crying with a terrified tone....blood is dripping down his face.

Yeah....that's how I responded too.

After we determined the injury and got the bleeding down to a manageable level, we turn our concern to the neighbor child that was also hurt.
I threw Andrew in the van and headed down to the circle to find my neighbor and her daughter in the street. We checkout each other's children and determined that they both needed to go to the ER.
Andrew with a deep gash in his head. Her daughter with hunk of lip hanging and bleeding.

So we headed to the children's ER. I've had numerous trips to this ER. The boys have been there for croup, stitches, high fevers, sprains, and a swallowed steel ball. But the neighbor didn't even know that we had a pediatric ER in the area. She was quite thankful for the level of care and that they were so quick to begin treatment.

The doctors joked about the two parts of the accident coming in together. And all were touched by the children's concern for each other. (Andrew kept asking how neighbor girl was doing. Neighbor girl kept asking about Andrew.)

The evening ended with stitches for the neighbor girl but thankfully no damaged teeth. Andrew left with 3 staples in his head.

Staples....that is something new. The first boy to get staples.

What we did for labor day Weekend.

We all went down to Grandma's farm to visit with ZD's family. BIL took the older boys fishing. BIL caught 1 fish. J &M caught 5. (Guess what we ate for dinner.)
Everyone hopped on the gator that was loaded with more than it was ever meant to carry, and rode out to fallow table garden.

Where the boys (ZD and BIL included) dug up a couple of rocks.

Yep, a couple of very big rocks. Very big goethite rocks to be exact. The boys have brought home many of these rocks over the past years. But these are by far the biggest that they've ever found.
Each weighs about 700 pounds. So they are still sitting in that excavated hole until ZD and his brother figure out how to get them out. I'm sure it will involved a tractor and possibly a wench.

BIL also found this (Look very carefully below.)
I took this picture will standing at the rock digging site. That is a paper wasp next that is about the size of two basketballs. If you squint you might make out the hole at the lower left side above the point. That was left by the rock that BIL threw.
The boys learned that wasps are not at all appreciative of goethite rocks that are flung into their home.

The digging was interrupted by this little bit of weather. It blew up all of sudden and lasted for the rest of the day. I was glad that it didn't turn into very serious weather but thankful that the tractor and wench portion of the rock excavation was rained out. (There's the fishing pond right in front of that small group of trees. Look how green everything is due to all the rains we've been having.)

So what did you do for Labor Day?

I have to buy new glasses

But not for me. My old ones are doing just fine.

Not for Matthew. His are old and worn out. They look terrible. But he found out today that he will be out of glasses for at least 2 months. His vision is doing great after his third eye surgery. (He's up to 20/25 without glasses. He started out at 20/80 when he was 4.) His alignment is off a little though but is actually better without the glasses.

Nope, the new glasses are for the baby. (I know he's 5 but he is my "baby.") Two weeks ago, I noticed that his eye were crossing. I tried not to freak out and scheduled an appointment with the ophthalmologist.
Today we found out that Sam is crossing his eyes because the boy is pretty far sighted. Holey Moley! I just checked his prescription and he's +5.00 and +4.50!
I can't read without my glasses and I'm only +2.50 and +2.75.

Poor guy. No wonder he has been having a hard time catching a ball. He couldn't see the stinking thing. I hope that this will be the quick fix that the doctor thinks it will be. I hope he can avoid all the interventions that his older brother has had to go through. (patching, various prescriptions and three surgeries.)

We go tomorrow to pick out the new frames and order lenses. He's not as cooperative and responsible as his older brother who started glasses at age 4. I'll have to get the super extended warranty.
Fun, fun, fun.

Palin!!!!

I'm doing my happy dance. If I was ever Governor/VP candidate, I would want to be Sarah Palin.
Way to go, girl!
Edited to add: Even with all the recent announcements.... I want to be the kind of mother/wife/leader/person that she seems to be.
I hope that if I am ever in her circumstances....that I could show the grace to my boys that she has to her daughter.

My Poll

Ok, I asked for opinions and then decided to just do what I wanted after all. Hee, hee, hee.

I'm leaving my knitting blog intact. I did add the link over there.
<----------------------------------------- and thanks to Blogger's new blog roll widget, you can see if I've updated and click over to see my pretty new socks if you want to. And if you're not interested, you won't be bored by the sock knitting tutorials that I'll be posting soon.

Cool.

And the non-homeschool folks won't get offended about me ranting about the local school system like this: one of the highschoolers that I tutor (my extra son) missed two days of school, with a doctor's excuse. His science teacher sent him home with the lab sheets from his missed class and told him to "just google it and write up the information." Thankfully, I had the materials for the lab and we did the experiment at my house so he could actually learn the material.
Insane!
If the lab took all of 10 minutes to complete. I'm sure he could have done it quickly while the kids were doing busywork, before school, after school, or during lunch time or homeroom. It would not have taken a huge sacrifice of time on the teacher's part.

And for the homeschool moms, the one thing the highschool student said that he wished he had more practice in before high school..... writing. He is overwhelmed with the amount of writing that he has to do. So get those kids writing!

We've reached that point.

You know, that point that all homeschool mom's dread....

Oldest boy, 7th grader, walks in the room and says, "Inverted sentences sound like Yoda. 'Great is the power of God.' So the predicate adjective comes first in an inverted sentence?"

I was washing dishes at that very moment so I just kind of noncommittally agreed with him. I think I may need to start my own grammar lessons.

Yep, we're at that point....if not dangerously close to it.

We'll never see the sun again

It's been a week of cloudy days. I don't mean lightly cloudy. It is dark outside!
I am not a "dark" person. I love the sunlight. I like bright lights. That's why I bought a west facing house with tons of windows on the east and west sides of the house.
Great big windows with only valances and blinds for privacy. And I open the blinds every morning.

But for the past week, it's been nothing but clouds. And Fay hasn't even really gotten here yet. We're due for more clouds and rain thought Sunday and maybe beyond that. I can't even cut the grass since it doesn't dry out enough for the electric lawn mower. By Sunday, we might not be able to see the house.

At least I don't have to water the grass or the driveway.
Yes...I'm supposed to water the driveway. It helps with the curing.

I'm ready to go to bed. All this darkness makes me sleepy.
BTW, I'm updating my knitting blog. I have a few of my summer socks up with only 3 more pairs to go. Check the link over on the left.

The upcoming week

I just want to get all this out there so I can remember what teh heck I am doing this week.
Sunday: Clean house, prepare lessons, prepare class lessons, wash clothes, prep ZD's uniforms, and tutor one of the 9th grade twins.

Monday: homeschool the minions, teach science classes from 12:30 to 4 pm.

Tuesday: Speech therapy, homeschool minions, get door measured by a trained tape measuring guy, more tutoring, 3 boys have football practice.

Wednesday: homeschool minions, tutor twin A, tutor twin B, clean house.

Thursday: Speech therapy, homeschool minions, clean house, go knit.

Friday: Homeschool minions. Woo hoo....a veritable holiday.

Question of the day

Why do people who are enrolling their kids in school ask homeschoolers if they are making the right decision?

Each year, I wonder about this. It happens in homschoooling communities across the world and the Internet.
Why do this on a homeschool community? That's like going to a breastfeeding community and asking if you should stop breastfeeding and switch to formula. Or going to a cloth diapering community and asking about Huggies.
Or....going to a teachers' online community and asking if you should homeschool.

I understand self-doubt. I'm full of it myself some days. But when I visit a homeschool support group, I expect people to encourage me to homeschool.
I don't expect them to tell me that sending them to public or private school is OK.

And yes, I'm not fond of public school. If I thought it was the best option for my kids...I would send them. But I don't so I don't.
I don't belittle any parents' educational decision. Each parent is charged with making the best decisions for their own children. Wow, what a responsibility!
It was hard enough to decide what I wanted to do with my own children. I sure don't want the task of choosing for others.

But if you ask me for my opinion... I would say that homeschooling is better. For us.

The question

For the past week, there have been contractors here replacing our cracked up driveway. They know we are homeschoolers. It's kind of hard to miss since all four boys file out of the house onto the porch any time a piece of new machinery starts up. One day we had a Bobcat, a front loader, a dump truck, and a cement mixer.
Cement mixers are definite boy magnets.

So the boys have watched all this work going on. They've also helped by turning on and off hoses and moving various small items. And they've asked lots of questions.

In the process of getting a new driveway, we've discussed how concrete was used since Roman times; how it cures instead of dries, exothermic reactions versus endothermic reactions, hydraulics, how the screw inside the mixer worked like the screw in our ice maker, and a myriad of other topics.

Each afternoon, and by the time the novelty of the concrete work had worn off and all school work was finished, it would be time for the school kids to appear and they'd all play Yug-gi-oh, bocce ball, lawn darts, or football, or they'd ride bikes, scooters, and skateboards.
Most days there are about 10 kids playing in the area in front of my house or on my front porch.
Which makes yesterday's conversation with the contractors so funny.

The owner says to me, "You really can tell that your boys are smart. I mean, just listening to their conversation and the things that they ask. They must get a lot from homeschooling."
You homeschool parents know what's coming next don't you. What always comes next in these conversations. I expect the question, but it still surprises me every time.

He went on, "I don't how they are doing social wise. I mean, do they get time to be with other kids?"

For a moment I wondered what he thought all those kids were doing in my yard. Or if he the 15 additional children came to my house for science lessons on Monday while he was tearing up the driveway.

I assured him that the boys have plenty of interaction with the public. That they play football, soccer, basketball, and two seasons of baseball. That my oldest is in a drama production and they all attend PE classes, field trips, and bi monthly activities. Plus play dates, parties, and family visits.
In fact, I have to limit the social opportunities.

Then I had to laugh. Sure they're smart but are they socialized?

Why do we always get that question...especially when said children are in the middle of a spirited bocce ball game with half a dozen other kids.
How much more socialized do they need to be?

Ha, ha, ha, ha....where's the straight jacket?

I'm slowly going insane and all my stuff is falling apart.

Here's a list of things that have had to be replaced, removed, repaired so far this year:

Refrigerator supply line (repaired)
Kitchen sink cabinet (replaced)
Kitchen faucet (replaced)
Kitchen floor (replaced)
Dishwasher (replaced)
Giant pine tree (removed)
Bradford Pear tree (removed)
Driveway (in process of replacing)
Stump from the Bradford Pear Tree (removed)
ZD's car (repaired)
My van (oil leak repaired)
My van (another oil leak repaired)
My van (body damage caused by a lady that hit me)
oldest boy's teeth (new braces)
TV in the living room (bought a new one)
Lawnmower (bought an electric one)
storm door handles (replaced)
and newest on the list....Front door (thought we could repair but we'll have to replace it.)

It's ok really. I have hated that door for almost 10 years. I don't mind getting a new door at all. However, I do mind that the Lowe's people have to come over and measure the door before they can order the one I want. Like I can't tell that I need the 32" door versus the 36" door.

But the new door is all picked out. I'll still have to paint the thing which will set off a whole chain reaction of painting/replacing. (New door will need new light fixtures, numbers, and shutters. I'll never match the old door color....not that I really want to.)

So what color should we paint?