Weekly Homeschool Journal

In my life this week:

I had promised the kids a few weeks ago that we would build a campfire soon. They were aching to put the vegan marshmallows we ordered to good use. Everything from kid activities to Daddy working late to rain to just being tired prevented us from following through. Finally, Friday night I declared we would definitely do it, and nothing was going to stand in the way.

Except then Daddy had to work late and then go to the grocery store. I wasn't going to tell them "no" again. It's not really my thing to build a fire, so I moved a few branches from the big stack we'd prepared a couple of weeks ago and set this puny stack ablaze. They tried the best they could to roast their veggie dogs.

And then Daddy came home and went a little overboard. (FYI: it looks scarier/a little more reckless than it actually was; I promise.)

But then it simmered down to the perfect size for roasting. I made a comment to my 6 year old son that he was making the worst faces (because of the fire's heat) in every picture I took.

So this was his answer.

The most fun probably came from putting the fire out. They ran back and forth to the house, refilling their squirt guns so many times. And the two boys quite enjoyed doing something else to help put out the fire that I can't even mention. You can probably guess.

In Our Homeschool This Week:
The boys are making their way through their Arkansas activity booklets that Googie (my Mom) had picked up for free. They enjoyed the little facts and stumping me with ones such as "State Nut: Pecan" and "State Flower: Apple Blossom." I realized I was completely ignorant about Arkansas. As a Missouri-raised girl, I CAN tell you that Missouri's state tree is the dogwood, and the state bird is the blue bird. I think the walnut is something, too.

This is an activity my 6 year old completed at homeschool co-op recently. I particularly liked this project because real twigs were taped to the back of these posterboard leaf cut-outs. They used watercolors and glitter glue to make realistic leaf veins.

I thought it was cute when I saw Piggie sitting on Tornado's Flying Creature Science Workbook as he worked on his lesson.

Home Stuff This Week:

Ryan has gotten 3/4 of our new bedroom furniture put together! Our room is lookin' good.

Places We're Going and People We're Seeing:

I forgot to mention last week that Ryan had a great time with his brother in Champaign, Illinois. They went to a basketball game (actually the boys' first practice), football game, and girls' volleyball game all in one day. They are true Illini fans. I think they loved spending time on the campus, complete with tail-gating, on such a perfect fall day.

Pregnancy This Week:

Last month, I had to undergo a special ultrasound because my baby's heart was skipping beats occasionally. The pattern was very obvious and scary. His heart on the ultrasound looked normal, but the doctor said I could probably expect it to be irregular for the rest of my pregnancy. And that hopefully it would eventually correct itself after birth as it does in 80% of cases. Well, this week at my monthly appointment, it was completely strong and normal. It was a relief, and I pray that everything continues to go well. About 11 more weeks to go!

Extracurricular This Week:
Sissy and Dash were requested to dress up like characters from the Bible this week at Awanas. Sis wore their horse costume, and Dash was a wise man. I forgot to photograph him with his shiny bowl of gold gemstones.

We went to our library's party this week in costume. (That's all of their costumes you get to see for now.) The kids decorated these masks.

Kid Quotes This Week:

*I get very tired of telling my kids, "Get in the car. It's TIME TO GO." - and THEN, they choose to put their shoes on, declare they're hungry, tell me they're not even dressed yet, etc.

This morning, I knew my 6 year old was completely dressed because he'd taken the dogs out first thing. But after their usual 5 minute, etc. warnings of our imminent departure, when I finally said, "Get in the car; let's go!" he races upstairs to change. I was so frustrated as he was calling down, "I can't find any pants." I said, "Wear the ones you have on!" He refused to wear his green sweat pants to walk his sister into her preschool classroom. Okay, yes, they have elastic at the bottom, but they're not bad. I think they're cute.

When we were finally in the car, on our way, I was giving them all a lecture about LISTENING TO ME when I give directions, that when I say, "It's time to go," that does NOT mean it's time to change clothes; it means GO!!! "Do you understand?!" My son held up his hands in complete frustration, angst, and drama, "I like to look good!" as in "Okay, Mom?!" He was totally serious. I burst out laughing, which he didn't appreciate.

It was the same voice he used awhile back when his behavior was so awful in the car - he was making such bad choices, it prompted me to ask, "Who ARE you?!" His dramatic answer with a anguished face: "I'm your SON!"

*This is just so I can remember how much I love it when they're so excited and expressive:

My 4 year old said this earlier today to her brother, "You HAVE to come see this. It's marvelous!" You know what was "marvelous"? Ryan and I had simply lifted our mattress off the bed frame.

And today when I asked her and Dash to go outside and let the air out of the blow-up pool, she said in a loud, squealy voice as she ran out the door, "This is going to be GOOD!"

The Homeschool Mother's Journal

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