M+B=E2O2

Halloween monster

I had the most frightening experience last night. 

I have this huge fear of spiders- I mean huge. Last year I tried to conquer them - totally unsuccessfully. 

Late last night I was trimming the stems off  a bouquet  of sunflowers so that they'd live another few days.  I gathered the bunch of stems and took them  outside so that I could add them to my compost pile  in the morning.  When I walked outside I could tell immediately that the winds had turned.  As you all know Southern California is on fire and the East winds (aka Santa Ana's) have been  horrific.

This time of the year we always get  Santa Ana's, it is as much a part of fall as red and orange leaves.  In the 30 or so years that I have lived in this state I have never seen them blow  like they have been blowing.   They are a weird experience to begin with.  You look outside and see the clear blue sky.  You know it is mid October.  You see the trees swaying.  In your mind you expect to walk outside and need a jacket.  It looks cold because it is autumn and by golly it is supposed to be cool- even in a southern California beach town.  However when you walk outside you are hit with a hot, dry wind.  It feels like summer, but windier.  I both love and hate the Santa Ana's.  They stir up all sorts of allergens so even if you don't have allergies - you get a runny nose, but they feel kinda nice too- sort of like a warm hug when you least expect it. 

This time there was no warm, gentle hug.  The winds were more like  a hot slap in the face.  The gusts were strong (gusts were clocked at over 100mph!!!!!). I didn't want to drive anywhere for fear of flying debris.  Whole tree limbs were bouncing down our street. 

Back to my story.

The winds turned late yesterday and  effect was immediate.  That cool ocean wind with speckles of moisture gripping your skin.  It was a welcome relief.  I put the flower stems in a pile of leaves that had gathered themselves on my back patio and walked out to the edge of the grass- just under our wood slat awning.  I breathed in deep and felt a web on my arm.  I tried to brush it off- but I couldn't seem to get it.  I glanced up and, I kid you not, less than 12 inches from my face was the biggest mother fricken spider in the whole world.  Huge.  I swallowed a scream and ran in the house doing that "get this GDMF thing off me" dance- you know the one-even if you don't have the mouth of a sailor I'm sure you've done the dance.  I was gulping screams all through the house brushing every inch of me off.  I looked back outside and saw the monster spinning a new web.  Ben, who had gone to be 5 minutes earlier came to the top of the stairs to see what was wrong.  I made him come down and look at the beast.  He is used to my arachnophobia , but even he was impressed and disgusted with the creature. 

Whenever he tries to mush a spider for me it inevitably gets away.  I reminded him of that as he went for shoes and something to beat it with.  It would likely take nothing less than a baseball bat  to knock that thing senseless.  The homeschooling mom in me wanted him to leave it there so we could go out and look at in in the morning and see what kind of beast it actually was.  But then I knew I'd have to make it go away some how or worse capture it for the boys to have play with study and Homie don't do that. 

He ended up capturing it in an old yogurt container ( a big one not the single serving kind) and then he taped it up - can't be too cautious here- and we put it in the trash which will get picked up today thank God.

I hate spiders. 

Reason 3,572,439

I read the newspaper just about every day.  In yesterdays paper there was a small article about a whale that had washed a shore on a nearby beach.  I didn't think much of it, I assumed it was a California Grey whale, one that is commonly found off the coast since they migrate 2x a year.  I figured I'd rather take the kids to see a live one than a dead one. 

We head out to gymnastics, have a great time there, and head back home for lunch. As the kids are eating I came up to read my email and someone in our local group posted that the whale was a 70 Blue Whale.  Well now that changes things a bit.  I have never seen one, though not for lack of trying.  (Tried for several days when I went to NZ). I still hope to see one live, since they too are spotted off our coast. I told the kids about it and asked if they'd want to take a drive up to see it.  They enthusiastically cheered YES! I explain about the whole deadness of it and warned them that it would likely be stinky (an understatement to say the least!). 

We finished up lunch packed back up into the car and took the  drive up the coast.  There were a number of people there.   

Once we parked the car, we all got out and began the short walk on PCH  to the whale.  It was HUGE.  I mean really HUGE.  The paper stated that it was 70 feet.  Such a site.  I've seen many California Grey's,  I was alway in awe of how graceful they are despite their massive size.  This was just amazing.  Sadly the belly was bloating so it was a bit strange looking.  The size was just so impressive though. 

The stink was even more impressive.  OMG it was awful !  Really bad.   If you've ever smelled rotten dead fish,  times that by 70ft. BLECH.  The kids were funny, plugging their noses and making comments.  But they were pretty impressed. I really didn't want to leave, there is something so sad and majestic about such a massive creature.  As I stood there Evan says to me " Mom, can we go to the pier without the dead whale?" LOL He must have said at least 5 times on the way back home "Mom, I really liked seeing the dead stinky whale" and I suspect I will hear from him over the next lifetime "Mom, remeber when we saw the dead stinky whale?"

I tried to really impress upon them just how amazing and special this was.  How lucky they were to see God's largest mammal in person, even though it was dead.  I told them that most people will go their entire life never seeing what they saw.  It was just amazing. 

So reason 3,572,439 why we love to homeschool.... we get to go on impromptu field trips to see rare sites! 

Here's my video.

Here is a video shot from someone when the tide was much lower and people could go right up to it. Really gives you perspective of the size.

Cast off

Well, Olivia is a cast free little girl again.  She got her cast off on Tuesday-  they even gave it to us to take home.  It went in to the trash by nightfall.  She is doing great, he said that she'd still walk funny for a while and would be a little stiff.  The only trouble she has is with the stairs, she can go up with out a problem but can only manage to come down about half way. 

Yesterday we went to Park day for the first time in WEEKS.  We couldn't go while Livi had her cast on- sand and wood chips and all- so it was great to add that back into our week.  Our group moves it's park day from one park (at the beach) to another (in the foothills)  we do the beach one in summer and the foothills the rest of the year.  We are now in the foothills.  As soon as we get there the kids disappear into the trees, climbing the hills in search of rattlesnakes.  Yes there are really rattlesnakes in the area, however The trails are used often and well- 10 screaming kids should keep them in hiding right?  At one point we heard every kid screaming, then looked up to see all of them materialize from the trees, running, screaming down the hill.  They were just certain that they had heard a rattle.  On of the moms who was up on the trail with them said that what they were really hearing was the grasshoppers jumping and the trees and twigs rustling in the wind.  Anyhow, they spent a good hour climbing up and down the hills, then came and played on the playground for and hour then back to the hills for the last bit.  It was a good return to park day I'd say.  Our group is slowing growing-  it was a really nice group of moms there-  several new faces (for me) and everyone was  very friendly.  This should be a great year. 

Well, the kids all just woke up and I am on their computer.... guess I'll cut this short and hope to add a little more of what I wanted to say later. 

annoying article

Did you all ever read this article?

http://www.projo.com/opinion/contributors/content/SE_EDUCATION_WATCH4_02-04-07_SE47053.9585d7.html

it was in our local paper a while back- probably a long while, I may have even blogged about it... I don't remember.  Anyhow, I just came across it again and it annoyed me just as much the second go around as the first.  I just don't get her line of thinking.  I totally respect folks whose children take the traditional path.  I don't dog them, more power to them and I am glad that they have found what works for them.  I would never tell someone that homeschooling is the end all be all.  It is right for us, it is right for our family.  I would never tell someone that they would be foolish to do otherwise.  It makes my blood boil when someone is so sure they are right.  So sure that there is just one way to educate.  So sure that a reasonable alternative is scoffed at and the mom is essentially told that her idea is foolish.  bah.  Lame woman. 

So much for me being nice huh Jenny?

Family EXPO 2007

We had such a great weekend! This past weekend was the California Homeschool Network"s Family Expo.  When the dates for it were first announced a few months back I told Ben that I really wanted to go and sort of make it a family vacation with benefits.  That is exactly how it turned out. 

We left our home Friday mid morning and arrived in time for lunch.  We picked up our registration stuff and then went to one of the hotel restaurants to feed the kids.   We had decided to take a very relaxed approach to going to the various sessions, not wanting either of us or any of the kids to feel any stress.  In a perfect world I know I would have loved to go to a few sessions right of the bat- but as it was we both opted to hang out with the kids and forgo any sessions.  We were able to check into our room just after lunch so we did that and got our stuff all settled in.  Then we took the kids and went exploring. 

What a fantastic venue!  There was a whole section of the 3rd level that was exclusively for our group.  without a name tag one could not enter.  In this area were classrooms  and the lecture all.  Rooms that didn't have classes held activities for the kids. 

One room was a supervised area that the kids had to be check into and out of and they had to have a wristband if they were left in on their own (kids 3 and willing  and older could be left in there).  This room had art supplies, play dough, toys, blocks, books, a puppet theater, two teepee's, and I'm sure loads of other fun things.  All my kids had a blast playing in there.  The other kid areas were unsupervised so it was up to the parents to decide if their kids could wander through them on their own.  One room  had 10,000 Keva planks- this was Emma's favorite spot.  The structures that these kids were building were AMAZING.  Tall intricate building, full cities, boats, castles- you name it.  I loved peeking in this room to see what was being built!  Another room had tons of computer  and other electronic stuff for the purpose of tearing apart, banging, building, smashing whatever.  Owen spent some time in there doing who knows what with a screwdriver.  There was another room that changed from one day to the next, different activities were in there, Owen made a "game" out of a stick and some small twigs and twine-  not sure what the room was actually about, but it always had kids in there building.  There was another room that had dress up clothes and hands on directed actives- story time, small crafts, etc.  The atrium downstairs was full of large tables and tons of games- chess, etc.

After exploring for a couple hours we went down to the vendor hall and man was that a fun filled place!  So many different curriculum's, so many different subjects, toys, games, crafts- it was fantastic.  We both found this we likes but only purchase one thing that day-  Pre Level one Chemistry.  Ben is super excited to read this with the kids.  It is a really neat book, well laid out and takes topics that kids don't usually see until high school and breaks them down so that a young child can understand it.  It has experiments to support it- most look like ones my kids should be able to do.  Anything over their head and we'll just come back to it later. 

We had dinner back in our room then got into bathing suits and hit the pool.  Actually just me and the 3 big kids, I forgot Olivia's swim diapers so  Ben walked her around while the rest of us played.  It was so much fun- there were sooooo many kids and it was just so neat to know they were all homeschoolers.  After swimming we went back to the room and got ready for bed then went down to the family story time with Jim Weiss.  WOW! what a fantastic story teller!!! If you've never seen him and an opportunity comes up- do what ever you can to go.  He is just fantastic. We ended up buying 6 of his 38 CDs and I suspect we will be getting Story of The World done by him too.  I am waiting on the library copy which I think was read by a woman- but I have vol 3 that he did so I will be able to compare the two and see if I like the series first of all and if I prefer Jim over the other reader (Barbara something).

After the kids crashed out Ben and I sat up and looked over Saturday's schedule and laid out our game plan for the day.  The two big kids had a tennis lesson in the late morning, so I took the kids upstairs to play while Ben went to work out in the gym, then we met at the tennis courts to watch them play.  Owen is ready to take lessons, Emma would rather do something else.  Good to know.  After lunch I left for my first session "The Worry Of Unschooling".  It's not so much that I worry now, but I can see that creeping in as they get older.  It was great to hear success stories and I did gain several little bits of info that I will store away until I need it.

Next Ben went to a Math session and I tried to leave Evan with his brother and sister in the check in kids room.  Olivia was asleep in the sling so I figured I could sneak in another session.  I ended up in a preschool session, it was mellow and I felt like I was able to contribute to it.  Evan only lasted a half hour before the called me so I went to pick him up- and check out all the kids, Emma wanted to go build in the Keva Plank room and Owen wanted to smash take apart computers.  Evan sat with me in the preschool session and also went down the hall to find dad and hung out with him for a bit. 

After our session we went back down to the vendor hall to buy more fun stuff.  Ben said that was his favorite part of the whole trip!  We got two different globes, one is a stuffed one, safe for Olivia, but geographically accurate. The other is more of a tradition globe, but it rests on a stand, it isn't one of spinning kind.  We also found a physical science program that is computer based but has some cool hands on experiments that they can build.  We also got a math program- it is one that several of our homeschooling friends are using, so our hope is that we can encourage the kids to play the multitude of math games included in the series together.  I think that is all we got-  there was a phonics program that looked pretty good, but I'm not forcing any reading (this is a whole different post that I won't get into now) at this point so maybe next year or not.

Saturday night was spent the same as Friday- dinner, pool, story time, bed. We bought swimmies for Livi so we all got to play.  It was great.  Sunday I had one session I wanted to do- Lapbooking.  I took a lot away from that one and look forward to giving it a try this year.  We left Sunday afternoon and listened to Jim Weiss stories the whole way home.  Once home Ben offered to sit with the kids so I could go get a pedicure- he's the best!!! With my newly painted coral tootsies we went over to his parents house for dinner and had a nice night back home with them.

We are both already looking forward to next years Expo- you can bet I"ll be among the first to register again!  It was fantastic to see so many like minded  folks all in one space, the venue was perfect, the talks I made it to were great, the pool was fun, food was fantastic, the kids play opportunities were amazing ing. The only thing I would have liked more of was time to chat with other parents- but that will come as my kids get older or when we can bring the grandparents with us (who don't have to register or pay for the event- it is free for the grandparents). It was also great to see so many friends from home- as well as meet and talk to new folks.

 

Here Goes

I have (I hope) a bit of time to post.  Evan's still asleep though so this may change if he gets up and demands my attention. :-) 

Owen woke with a tummy ache- he is quite dismayed over it- he really wants to goto gymnastics today.  His buddy T was not in class last week, and even though we played at the beach with him yesterday he is very upset at the thought of not seeing him in class today.  Yeah he must be sick!

The lat two weeks Emma, Owen and Evan have been doing Swim Camp (really it is just lessons, but the program calls it "camp").   Owen was a little stressed at the thought of it-  he is definitely Ben's son.  When I first met Ben I used to tease him about how much he worried.  I'd never met someone who worried as much as him.  Now I have!  Owen just worries and worries about things. However with just a slight push, he moves forward and gets through what ever it is that he's worried about.  After minutes in the pool he was so happy to be there!  He told me when he got out that he loved swimming more than even sailing.  Sailing was the previous Sundays worry.  I took him out in a sabot and with in minutes he proclaimed his love of sailing.  Anyhow, back to swimming.  The class is more for fun imo and not one that really pushes the kids to reach the next level.  I knew that going and and am pleased with the ultimate outcome.  Both big kids can swim on their own and Evan was at least not terribly upset by the second week.  He mostly sat on the steps, but by the second week he'd let the pretty instructores take him out.  The big kids teacher is a guy Ben went to school with-  We've know him for years- so it was fun having them in Fred's class.  Yesterday was the last day and on Wednesday Fred told them they'd get to go off the diving boards.  Owen worried all Wednesday night.  When the time came however he  and Emma both marched out to the end of the 1m board and with out hesitation jumped in to Fred.  Emma was sooo proud of herself with each jump!  She has no fears that she voices, adn she is a fish in the water- she LOVES swimming.  After several jumps Owen noticed that there were littler kids than him going off the high dive (3m).  he took a trip up to the top of the ladder and then changed his mind, did another jump off the 1m board and then went straight to the 3m board walked out and jumped.  Very little hesitation!  He wanted to go again, but time was up.  I don't think I could be any more proud of him right now!!  Emma had no desire to do the high dive, and that is fine with me!  I love how much she loves the water and how good she is in it.  Evan came and watched the big kids do their jumps then was sad that he couldn't go back in the water when they were done.  He's so darn stubborn, he actually knows how to swim, but just didn't want to do it unless I was in the water.  So he just refused to do anything cooperative.  *sigh*  Oh well at least he sat on the steps with out fussing.  I am planning on signing them up for the fall class. it is just a couple days a week. 

What else....

Last weekend Ben had a conference in Carlsbad at a very lovely resort.  My parents came out and took charge of all 4 kids and Ben and I went all by our lonesome!! It was heavenly.  We left Friday around 11am and drove straight to a movie theater in Carlsbad. LOL!  We say a 4pm showing of Harry potter and the Order of the Phoenix.  It was AWESOME!  Both the movie itself and the very act of going to a movie!!  I did like the move a lot, I am now reading OOTP again to see what bits were left out.   This brings me to Book Seven- we are counting down the minutes!  Neither of us are gong to any of the book parties or anything, but I will be getting the book first thing Saturday morning, we plan to read it (me out loud to him) as much a s possible Saturday, then Sunday afternoon Ben's mom will be watching the kids to give us a few uninterrupted hours of reading.  Until the book is done, I will not be turning on a computer, TV or opening the newspaper.  I do NOT want this book spoiled for me.  I plan on cherishing every moment.  That means I won't be posting here again for a bit- I know my frequent updates keep you all going, but you'll just have to wait for a while!! LOL!!!  I spent most all day Saturday in the Spa area.  The "treatments'' were waaaaaay out of budget, but you could get a day pass for a reasonable price, so that's what I did.  it was very peaceful.  Next year we plan on taking the kids.  The  resort is super family friendly and I know the kids will have a Blast!!!  There are watersides, a spray park area, beach entry pool with a giant sand box area.  There is a kids club day camp or night camp so we can still have some alone time if we want and the kids room looks FUN.  I'm glad we had this year to ourselves though. 

My garden is Wild.  It is  is crazy wild.  The pumpkins would take over the entire yard if I didn't keep turning the vines back into themselves.  We have at least 10 pumpkins going, one if them is already huge.  We've been eating cucumber almost daily and I don't see and end in sight.  We've had one post of green beans and I just picked another colander full of them- I expect to pick at least 2 more.  Crazy I tell ya.  The tomatoes- OMG the tomatoes.   There are well over 100 of the green suckers on the two plants.  I don't know what I'm going to do with them all.  Salsa anyone?  I make a mean salsa- (ok disclaimer here- I can make it but it is MIL's secret recipe that I uses so she gets the credit there!)   

School.  I can't say that I envy any of you that are "starting" up right now.  The kids are just flying along, learning things at the most unexpected times.  In the car they are always learning things.  A favorite game lately is guessing if I'll turn Left or Right.  My car has a digital compass in the rear view mirror and that is something the kids are always looking at.  They are all really developing a sense of direction- always trying to figure out which way we will be heading next. 

We also cross a bridge often that is near an estuary.  Even Olivia shouts out "estuary" as we cross over.  The two big kids know what it is exactly the other two just know that it is an estuary! 

I've really gotten much more comfortable with our unschooling-ness.  I really feel strongly that my biggest objective in these younger years is to teach them manners, respect, how to behave in the real world and how to get along and play with one another and others they are with.  Any academics learned is a bonus.  It is amazing how often those bonuses happen too!  In chatting recently with my neighbor who has been a teaching for years I was given  more kudos for our methods.  She currently teaches Kindy and said if she could do it her way she'd do much of what I do-  exposure to all the basics(colors,numbers,abcs shapes), lots of reading,  arts, music and physical activity.  Lots of exploration and imaginative play.  No phonics or teaching kids how to read- unless they are asking for it, unless they are ready.  In public schools today kids are expected to read a a much earlier age than in the past.  Most kids, boys especially, are not developmentally ready to do it.  Being a lover of books and reading, I want my kids to love it too.  I did not become a fluid reader until the 3rd grade.  Until that point I struggled a bit,  teacher notes in my report card  make comment on how dismal my reading was.  By 5th grade I was reading Macbeth and Oliver Twist.  I remember both times of my life.  I remember HATING to read.  I don't remember when it "clicked".  I expect it just did at some point.  I see it happening all the time as Owen works his way through words.  He is teaching himself to read slowly.  Words that befuddled him several moths ago he can read with ease now.  If his journey to reading takes as long as mine I will be happy - I want him to have the same love- especially because he loves to hear stories so much. His MP3 player is filled to the brim with stories! any how, bottom line- we're happy in our educational methods at this time!!!

I mentioned sailer a bit ago- we've joined a local yacht club and it has been sooooo great!  We do not have and do not plan on getting a boat anytime soon-  it will be several years at best.  The club is family friendly, well established and has a great youth program.  I know many people there from my childhood, we had a sailboat for years.  The Club has  Friday night dinners, they serve food Fri-Sunday.  Sunday they have free food set out- really good stuff too.  It is a private facility so the kids are in an enclosed safe area.  We bought them life jackets and they are not allowed to go on the docks with out them.  I am looking forward to creating many memories with my family there!

Ok time to head to class- have to drop Owen off at the IL's, he ended up throwing up. 

I'll try to come back soon.  Once the book has been read. 

Ahhh well, what can I say?

We were on vacation.  Never mind the fact that we didn't leave the county but once, and that was just me and the kids for the day.    What a lovely vacation it was though.  I'll spare you the blow by blow, but I will touch on a couple of the highlights. 

Monday we headed south for a visit with the Pixilated Family and Jenny's crew.  What a great time we had.   Socialization was a bit of an issue- oh wait, no it wasn't-  those kids were off and playing right from the get go.  We moms were the ones with the awkward pauses and strained words.  Oh wait- nope, we got along grandly as well.  Socialization a problem for home schooling kids?  Bah!  Really that is such an absurd argument! 

Another of the highlights of the week would have to be the painting of our guest room/kids computer/TV room.  Ben did all the hard work, I just picked out the colors.  I have to say I did a great job! LOL!  So did Ben.  The room looks fabulous in the two tones of brown.  The room has a very cozy comfortable feel to it.  The walls were previously a pale yellow- as is the rest of the house for the most part.  The earthy darker tones just give the room a sense of calm.  He also stained the unfinished pine TV cabinet that is in the room.  It is a darkish walnut now and really looks amazing.  Once we get Emma a bunk bed we'll bring her day bed down here again- (it used to be in this room originally)  and match the stain to the TV stand.  Makes for a very nice room for our friends  and family to stay in methinks.  All that is left to do in the room is hang some schoolish stuff on the walls (maps and the like) and I am going to clear out the closet and put it back together in an ORGANIZED fashion.  I am inspired by Maria's homeschool cupboard (go ahead- just ask Jenny,  I think we both had to pick our jaws up off the floor when she showed us!- Maria- show a picture-  you really are an inspiration!)  I am going to take a leaf out of Maria's book and get this space working for us. It seems to be a magnet for clutter as it is. 

Other than that we really just spent time together.  We had Ben's mom over for dinner on several occasions, she had us over at her house in return.  Ben's bro also made his way over here for dinners and just to hang out.  All in all it was  a great week. 

Oh and me- me me me-  Today marks 14 days- 14 days of spinning.  In a row.  No less that 30 minutes a day.  The average is creeping up to 45 minutes.  Today I rode for an hour.  Next Monday will be 21 days, my goal.  I feel pretty darn good about it. 

Speaking of fitness, I happened across this blog- I'm gonna need to spend a bit of time looking over it- but for any of you looking for a fitness program for kids, it looks like it might be worth checking out.

Oh and Maria- here is the link to the blog that posts menu's every Monday.  And here is the link to Saving Dinner where I got my freezer menus- which by the way have been a big hit and I've decided that the payoff is well worth the 2-4 hours of prep it took.  I still have 5 meals or so in my freezer and so far the ones we've had have been fantastic and even more important- EASY!

Well, much as I'd love to post more of my amazing links and thoughtful prose, I think I'd love to sit on my comfy couch more! This week holds the promise of newly a turned 6 year old boy, park day with fellow homeschooling families, gymnastics fun, maybe a date for Ben and me, and Father"s Day.  I will also get pictures into my computer from our Pixilated play date, my garden ( oh my is it GROWING!!) and anything else of interest that happens to be in the camera. 

Oops I did it again

No I'm not with Lindsey or Britney in rehab!  Just couldn't get on to blog this last week.  So much to blog about too.  Oh well, I'll try to do a recap of this last week.

Over the holiday weekend Ben was on call.  Boy was he ever.  Friday he didn't get home until after 9pm, he left early Saturday morning and again didn't come home until after 9.  Sunday he left by 7 again, but was able to come home by 3ish. Thankfully he had Monday off.  I spent my time alone with the kids doing load after load (after load, after load, after load) of laundry.  I am quite proud to say I not only washed and dried everything on my laundry table in the garage (that easily had 3 ft x 6  ft x 3 ft of clothes) but I folded and put it away- in the drawers and hung up and everything.  (this is a big deal -really)

I'm not remembering what went on Monday-  I know it was a mellow day mostly if not completely spent at home.  I think we bbq'd even.   hmm?  oh well.

Tuesday took Owen to the dentist.  He has a mouthful of great teeth, no cavities.  He will also get to have a visit with the orthodontist after he turns 7 (Emma will have a visit in the next few months).  We likely did something else Tuesday- but well that was almost as long ago as Monday.

We'll just imagine we did lots of interesting things on Wednesday- but realistically I think we stayed home all day. 

Thursday took us back to Dr. B- but this time everyone was healthy (thank goodness!)  I had wanted to talk to him about some sleep issues with Emma.   We'll have a bit of a break in going back to his office-  Owen turns 6 is a few weeks- so he'll get a check up.  Oh well after that we'll have a break!

Friday the kids had gymnastics.  Emma won the handstand contest again.  Coach P told us that she is a totally natural at it and she would win every time , but she gives points to the other kids  so they don't realize that Emma is kicking their  booties LOL! It is not nearly as competitive as it sounds.  It is the  highlight of the class for all the kids.  They all practice doing handstands at the same time and whichever kid does it with the best form gets to run over to her and give her a high five and as they run back to their spot she whacks them with a pool noodle.  They love it.   Every kid gets to come up to her every class, but I think she picks a "winner"  each time or something.  I'm actually not very clear on the whole thing because I spend much of the hour chatting with 2 other homechool moms.  I will say Emma does a great handstand.

We had the IL's over for dinner- another BBQ.  FIL has been in Mexico- deep in the heart of nowhere for the last week so it was great for the kids to see him.   Ben and I watched Garden State after the kids went to bed.  I really liked it- it was slow moving, but sweet.  I really like Zach Braff- I think he is funny as all heck on Scrubs so it was neat to see him in such a different role.  (Cool too that he wrote and directed it).

Today we've been hanging out here at home.  The kids seem to be butting head waaaaay too much, but considering how well they usually get along I really can't complain. But I have been. All day.  *sigh*

I am proud of myself these days.  I have gotten up and gotten on my spin bike every day for 5 days now.  I've pedaled away for no less than 30 min with one 45 min day and today I rode for an hour.  After my spin I have faithfully gotten off the bike and done push ups and Pilates stuff.  I had MIL work with me yesterday on the 3 Pilate exercises I have been doing. The Hundred, the Roll Up and Plank.  It is much harder to do when done right! LOL and I was sore the first couple of days  even with my bad posturing.  My goal right now is to do this for 21 days.  I want it to just be part of my life.  I want it to be beyond a habit, but something that makes me complete. I want to feel as though my day is just not quite right if I don't get up and move.  Once I've done 21 days straight, I want to do it 4-6 days a week.  I also want to add walking back into my days.  Now that we have the double stroller it is sooooo much easier!  Now I just need running shoes- or walking shoes, but my flip flops are just not cutting it. 

Ben is on vacation this next week, so that will mean one of two things.  I'll get to blog often or not at all! LOL. 

Some pictures

Poor Kid

Poor Olivia is sick.  I noticed that she might be getting sick on Sunday at my MIL's house.  We had a yummy BBQ over there with lots of family for Mother's Day.  Monday morning her eyes were glassy and a little poofy, but otherwise she was ok.  Not even very cranky.  I gave her tylonol just in case- she seemed a little warm.  In the wee hours of Tuesday morning however, things changed.  She developed that lovely barking seal cough the means one thing- croup.  Tuesday she was much the same as Monday. Maybe just a bit cranky though.  She seemed  for the most part, ok.  She hasn't been eating much though which makes me think that her throat is sore.  Last night she woke up often, barking and crying.  Poor little thing.  I just got back from the doctor (I LOVE our ped!!!).  He recommended a steroid shot- which we did.  It should bring her some breathing relief.  We go back to see him next week for  Evan's well kid, Olivia's well baby, and Emma's mid year blood work. 

Ben got me a couple of  amazing gifts for Mother's Day.  One I asked for the other I would have never dreamed of asking for.  Both should help me lose weight.  I got part one on Saturday at Costco.  I have myself my very own ipod now! Yay!  I've already put a few books on it (Freakonomics is what I am currently listening to- fascinating book!!) I now need to get music on it that makes me want to move, because gift #2 is a Spin Cycle- It arrives by Fed Ex any time between now and 5pm.  I have totally given up going to the gym, it is too difficult with the kids- plus they got sick every time we went.   The Gym membership will get canceled  and class will be held in my garage from now on.  I am really, really excited about it.   I also recently got a used Phil & Ted's e3 stroller on eBay- in orange, so I can  start walking again with the kids.  It was just too hard with Evan before, he would just start lagging after 1/2 a mile or so.  Now he can ride or walk, Olivia loves it and Emma, Owen and I get a good workout.  We walked about a mile yesterday, then went to a new park across the street from our housing tract.  There I was able to sit and watch the kids, look at the harbor, drink a Caramel light coffee from Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and listen to my ipod.  Does it get any better?  hmm well a non light coffee would have been tastier but it is probably more calories than the 1 mile walk. 

On the walk home Owen and I had on interesting discussion.  Ironically it was about Hitler and the holocaust.  Guess I should have kept Paper Clips a bit longer.    It started because the 3 big kids all did a Hitler-like salute on the corner while we waited for the light to change.  I asked them what they were doing  and they said they were being the Statue of Liberty.  I told them they needed to make it look like they were holding a torch.  I briefly debated telling them about Hitler and his salute, then decided to go with the teachable moment and see where it lead.  Emma and Evan were not interested.  Owen, however, was very much so.  I have a feeling I'm going to have to study up on my history, particularly the history of war.  He loves hearing about battles.  So for the next 15 minutes or so I told him about Hitler and WWII.  I kept it as simple as I could, but honest.  He asked many questions.  "Is Hitler in Hell?" being one. I'll have to tell my dad about Owen's interest in war and history, my dad is very knowledgeable in that department.  I enjoy history, but I can't remember details too well. I think I'll be listening to some history and recording the History channel so I can keep up with my O.

The bike just arrived-  Olivia is napping, I have blogged.  Guess I need to go for a spin!