Just Checking In...

I hate it that I have such a hard time keeping up with my writing and updating for my blog.  Bad, bad ME!!  It's no wonder my poor son can't keep focused on ANYTHING!  A lot of that, I'm sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt, came from me!  Well...and then there is his Daddy, too!  Poor kid NEVER had a chance! 

But just look at him in these photos...you can just SEE his personality, right??  Or is it just me??  I must say, this boy has REALLY grown into an exceptional young man!  He's come a LONG way.  We still have a LONG way to go...but we will get there...eventually....together.   We are SO very proud of him.  It is just unbelievable that he will be turning 10 years old in just a couple months.  They just grow up way to fast.  I have yet to find that sure fire way to slow them down...unfortunately. 

Monday this week, after dropping Arlee off at work, we headed over to Chick-fil-a for lunch...and guess who was able to join us...

After lunch, the boys and I headed to The Dollar Tree and Micheal's for some things we needed for our upcoming homeschool Valentine's Party.  We are all very excited about it!  There will be friends there we haven't seen in a long, long time...we are looking forward to connecting with them again, and getting caught up!  There will also be families there we have never met before...so we are happy for the chance to make new friends!  Each of the kids has to have about 90 cards to exchange...they've been working very hard on getting them all ready!  They will be playing games, doing a craft, eating snacks, and just having a great time together with a group of some truly magnificent families!  It is just so heartwarming!

Tuesday, Arlee babysat for a friend for the first time...and she LOVED it!  I'm telling you this girl is just a natural when it comes to little kids!  I can see her...some way, some how...teaching in her future!  Teaching ART, probably!  She is now very excited because her friend is very talented at sewing...so Arlee talked with her, and bartered her babysitting for some sewing lessons!  Arlee can't wait to get started!  Not only will she get some know how on the sewing, but also getting to hang out with her friend as well!  I'm very impressed with my beautiful daughter...that she is able to trade her skills for things that she needs/wants.  And is very willing to work for them.  She definitely makes her Mama proud!

Tuesday evening there was an event at a local library called Love Stinks...I signed up Arlee & Frost for it...and a few of their homeschool friends were able to go as well.  I can not even describe how much these two just love getting the chance to hang out with their friends.  They are all so very special to them.  On the agenda for the even was making black duct taped roses.  {I've been trying to upload a picture of them, but for some reason either my computer or this site is not cooperating with me...so I guess I'll have to show you at a later time.}  I love them!!  They are "planted" in my pen/pencil holder on my desk so I can see them everyday!

What a blessing my family is!!

Our Friday...

After worry & taking care of Arlee the night before, I woke yesterday morning asking Danny what time it was.  I thought I was going to be late to pick her up from her sleepover!!  But then I remembered, Oh yeah...she's HOME...in bed!  And the poor girl had been laying there for awhile waiting for someone to walk down the hall so they could help her get out of bed!  It's still hard for her to raise herself up with her broken collar bone.  Danny helped her, and she headed for the bathroom, got dizzy, called for help, and then went DOWN!  Crying and worrying about what was going on with her, she just sat for awhile until it passed.  Then she was fine...no more dizzy spells.  We're guessing she probably just got up too quickly off her bed.

I had to run back over to her Girl Scout Leader's house to drop off some paperwork, and Liam ended up leaving his shoes their yesterday as well.  So I asked if Arlee wanted to go along with me.  She did, of course, especially since it was early enough that the majority of the troop was still there at the sleepover!  We got there, and Arlee was bombarded with cards from the girls there!  It was just so sweet!  I was getting tears in my eyes by the show of kindness and caring from these friends of Arlee!  She appreciated it so much as well!

We visited for a bit, then had to go drop off Arlee's scripts at Kroger.  While we waited for those to be filled, we ran over to Speedway so I could get a cappuccino and she got a chocolate milk.  They have butterscotch flavored cappuccino there...and I *LOVE* it LOTS!!  Since we were both pretty hungry, we decided to treat ourselves to some other Speedway treats, as well!  After finishing eating, we picked Frost up from a friend's house since they live nearby.  We were only able to visit for a minute, before we had to go pick up Arlee's script and head home.  Arlee was already feeling pretty tired.

Once we got home, Arlee decided she needed one of her Tylenol 3's since she was feeling pain in her shoulder.  She called her boyfriend, then another friend, and by then was VERY tired and groggy...but she just couldn't get too comfortable and plus her room was just so bright she couldn't get to sleep.  We tried to arrange her blankets better, to cover her eyes, and she finally was able to fall asleep.

I was ready for a nap myself, but worked on lunch for everyone.  Frosty, thru a deal we had made, was outside weed eating our back yard.  We have a piece of yard enclosed by a chain link fence.  It's where the dogs stay.  Danny has to cut it with a push mower, but ours quit working back in the Spring...and we haven't been able to get a replacement one yet...so it has NOT been cut all summer long!  And it has gotten LOOOONG!!  So, for Frost to have his friend over, AND be able to play Xbox while he's here, he needed to cut it all!  And he did!  This was also the FIRST time he had ever weed eated {should that be "weed ate"??} at all!  We are so very proud of him for working so hard!  Danny even thru in an extra $5 for his good job!

When lunch was finished, I woke Arlee up.  You could easily tell that she really wasn't ready to wake yet, but one of her best friend's was having a get together that evening that she truly wanted to go to.  It was another sleepover, but Arlee knew she wouldn't be able to spend the night, but still wanted to hang out for a bit with the other girls.  She then found out how tough it is to get ready to go somewhere ONE HANDED!  And this girl is NOT one to ask for help!  She has always been so very independent...this is going to be tough for her!  She never wants to trouble anyone.  I've been telling her that this may be a life lesson that she really needed to learn...the ability to ask for help when you need it! 

We headed over to our friend's house.  I got to see a mom I haven't seen in such a long time...which was WONDERFUL!  Then got to sit with a friend and talk for a couple hours...again...WONDERFUL!  It didn't take long for Arlee to just get really, really tired.  So we headed home...with Frosty's friend along with us! 

When we got home, Frosty was sleeping on the couch...guess he wore himself out doing all that weed eating!  Poor guy!  So his friend played YuGiOh with Zach instead while he waited for Frosty to finish his nap!

Arlee went to relax for a bit while talking to her boyfriend on the phone.  I went to check on her, and she said she was hungry.  So we got her sitting up, and I made her some food.  We got her TV set up so she could watch some shows while she ate.  She said the pain was starting back a bit, plus I thought since she was going to bed, we went ahead and gave her another Tylenol to help her sleep that night.  While she waited for it to kick in, she came out and sat in the recliner in the living room with the rest of us.

It was another busy day...but such a good day.  Visiting with friends always adds something special!  We've learned that Arlee REALLY needs to take it easy...she is learning that she REALLY needs to learn to ask for help...and that we could probably get Frosty to do about anything if we bribe him with getting some screen time back!  :) 

Whew...What a Day!

Wow...yesterday...gee whiz!!

We started off our day behind...I remembered about Arlee's Writing Club at about 10:20am...it starts at 10:30am!  So we rushed to get ready...and we hurried over to drop her off.  Got her there around 11am.  On our way back home, we stopped by The Family Dollar to pick up a couple things we've been needing around the house.  Then home to fold some laundry, get the boys dressed for the day, and check my messages before leaving again to go pick Arlee up.

She had a great time, as usual, at Writing Club.  When she arrived, they were all excited that she had made it!  Arlee listened to the writings of the others, then she was able to read a piece of her own.  One of the ladies, she tells me, told her, "Wow.  I can REALLY see that."  What a great compliment for a writer!  She even left with a bag of cherry tomatoes for us to snack on in the car!

Home again, but not for long!  Enough time to change my clothes, Arlee to pack up for a sleepover, and Frosty to grab his Scout stuff and bag up some tadpoles for a friend!  We headed up to meet up with a fellow homeschooling mom who wanted tadpoles Frosty and the other kids had gotten out of our pool, and I picked up some homeschooling magazines from her.  I was very much looking forward to an evening of reading with a yummy cup of coffee!  Yeah...best laid plans!  Ha Ha.

We were all absolutely STARVING by this time...and with NO time to make anything we could have brought "on the go", and actually with NOthing we could have used to bring "on the go".  "REALLY need to hit up the grocery store soon!}  So we decided to stop in at McD's.  All the kids got McChickens, I had a McDouble...we all had parfaits and large orange drinks...and we left with our food for $15.32!!  Not too bad for five of us! 

Next we hit up Aldi really quick to pick up some snacks for Arlee's sleepover with her fellow Girl Scouts.  Then we headed over to her troop's leader's house.  She has twin boys that get along well with my two younger boys...so they played together.  We tried our best to keep the girls focused...we tried to have a meeting to talk about a project we are working on...but it was pretty much a lost cause for the most part!  They were VERY anxious to just hang out and have some fun together down in the basement!

I had to leave about 2 1/2 hours into it...Frosty had a Boy Scout outing that evening.  We picked up a friend on the way to a Firehouse for some first aid training.  We were there when Danny was trying to get a hold of me.  Thankfully he was able to call Arlee's boyfriend, Zach's, phone because mine had ZERO service out where we were.  He let me know that Arlee had gotten hurt really bad, and needed us to come check on her.  The boys were almost done, I know Zach was wanting to come with us to check on Arlee since she was hurt.  So once they were done...we sent Frosty with one of our friends to be dropped off at another friends house.  Then headed to my in-laws to drop off our younger two boys as well.

When we arrived at the sleepover, Arlee was sitting up, but still in a lot of pain.  She had attempted to do a cartwheel for the first time, and...well...it just didn't go over well for her.  Somehow she fell right on her shoulder.  She said she heard a loud CRACK when she landed.  She laid on the ground for awhile.  Her leader, my friend, took such good care of her.  Staying with her, talking with her, trying to keep her mind off the pain.  Her friends talked with her and was there for her as well.  I'm so very thankful for ALL of them!

While Zach {Arlee's boyfriend} was at the Firehouse, he had asked the EMTs what would they do if they were treating someone who had broken their collar bone.  They wrapped HIM up how they would do that...and allowed him to keep the sheet and such.  And he put it on her when we got there.  She said it did help a lot since it made it so she couldn't move her arm as easily with it on.

We stopped in at Urgent Care first...when we arrived, Arlee said she heard a big POP in her shoulder, and the pain started in again.  Not sure what that was.  I don't know if she could have popped her shoulder out of place, maybe, before when she fell...and then somehow it popped itself back into place??  I'm not sure.  We were talking about it when she got her Xrays done...we were kinda hoping at that point that that would be all it was.  But when the ER doctor came in after looking at her Xrays...he confirmed it was definitely broken.

A nurse came in and put a sling on Arlee...let her know she would have to wear it for about 4 to 6 weeks.  We also received a couple pain med scripts.  They gave her a couple Tylenol 3's for her pain while we were there.  On the way home, I believe the combination that the hospital visit was over, she then knew for sure what was wrong, and having her Dad and boyfriend there to make her laugh got her in this giggling fit that lasted almost the whole way back to my in-law's house to pick up the boys!  But then while we were updating them on what was going on with Arlee...she about fell asleep laying on Zach's shoulder.  She was ready to crash.  Poor girl.

We dropped Zach off at home...then headed home ourselves.  Arlee pretty much went right to bed.  I put the boys to bed.  Then Danny & I wasn't far behind them.  Yeah...WOW...what a day!!

~*~ Happy August ~*~

Wow...August??  Really??  Already??  How the time flies these days!  Can summer really be winding down already??  Is it really time to get serious about thinking "back to school"??  Only 146 more days until Christmas!!  Gee whiz!

So here we are at the beginning of a brand new month.  I know I've shared before how much I enjoy this small window each month where it seems you can "start over" or "begin again"...whichever you need at the time.  The month laying before you is brand new, a clean slate, and totally unwritten {well, other than in my calendar where there is actually already a lot written in August!}.  I like having this illusion.  I know some people are very good at "beginning" right where they are...not me.  For some reason, it just helps me to start at 1...like the 1st of the month, 1st of the week, or 1st of the year.  I know...I'm weird like that!  And strange thinking comes right along with it!

So what am I beginning this month??  Another round of a Biggest Loser Competition!  It "officially" starts next Friday evening for the group, but I went ahead and weighed myself this morning...and it was NOT pleasant!!  I have gained back all but like 8 lbs from the last round of the competition.  Very, very disheartening.  Obviously, it's all my own doing...but still.  I really miss the days of long ago when I could eat anything and everything I wanted and remain in that slender state of being.  Four children, and a couple decades later...that is just a dream!  At this point...I'm really learning, but am NOT happy about it...I really, really, REALLY have to work at it!  And THAT is tough!!

With where I am at, as of this morning, my overall weight loss goal would be 60lbs. That would put me back where I was when Danny & I got married, which I was VERY happy at that weight.  But, by gosh...that just looks like such a big number sitting there staring at me...and I've been trying to lose these same 60lbs for YEARS now.  I know it's possible, and that I can do it...the hard part is to convince my willpower and motivation to jump on board with me! 

It's That Time Again...

I guess it's about time for my typical post about, "Wow...it's been quite some time since I last posted."  It always seems to happen.  As much as I enjoy updating my blog...it does end up getting shoved to the back burner when life gets hectic.  Then, next thing I know, it's been months and months since I last wrote.  Seems way to overwhelming to even try and think about how to get "caught up" because there is just always too much stuff going on to really cover it all.  So I guess the best route to take would be just beginning again from right here...right now. 

Under $100 Food Grocery Trip

So after being inspired by The Peaceful Mom's blog with her $100 weekly menus...

http://thepeacefulmom.com/category/menus/

...thought I would give it a whirl myself for my family! :)

I will set it up like she did hers....Breakfasts, lunches, and dinners grouped together...and " * " means we already had ingredients on hand at home.

Breakfasts...

yogurt*, bananas, scrambled eggs*
French Toast* w/homemade maple flavored syrup*, add strawberries
Pancakes w/homemade maple flavored syrup, add bananas {x2 mornings}
Cheese toast, orange slices*
McMom Sandwiches*

Lunches...

Homemade pizza*, whole corn*, grapes
Mac-n-cheese, plums
PB & J sandwiches, apple slices
Tuna Sandwiches, plums.
Lunch meat sandwiches, peaches
Apple Sandwiches, cucumber slices* w/ ranch dressing*

Dinners...

BLT Sandwiches*, pasta*, coleslaw, cantalope
Meatloaf, green beans*, mashed potatoes, baked apples
Beans & Cornbread
Tacos {only needed to get 3lbs meat}
BBQ Crock-pot Chicken, corn on cob, cole slaw
Pizza Pasta {already has pasta, sauce, cheese}, green beans, strawberries

****

We spent $17 a Meijer on some fruit. Oh, and we splurged a little and got Arlee some Girl Scout Cookie Lip Balm...I think that was included in the price. :)

$54 at Aldi's. We were in there, and out of there in right at 10 mins...yep, Danny was timing me!! We got JUST what I had on my list...no more! :)

$21.91 at WalMart on food products....I think you could tell that we were getting pretty hungry by the time we got here!! I got some Atkin's bars, low carb ice cream bars, Danny picked up some Ben & Jerry's for himself, and some Choco Tacos for the kids! :)

Comes to a total of.... almost $93 for the week. :) {this is JUST for food}

The Homeschool Mother's Journal ~ 3/10

In my life this week...Very emotional this week hearing all of the devastating stories from the storms that hit last Friday. They were so close to home. One of Danny's uncle's place was in the path of one of the tornadoes...they are fine though! Although, a friend of theirs just a couple doors down did end up passing away because of injuries from the tornado.

Our family's thoughts are with all the families affected by this damaging storm.

In our homeschool this week...

Went really well! I'm happy with how the week went! We were kinda busy this week, but was still at home quite a bit! Which is a good thing!

It was a little touch and go there on Monday with Zachary with his sentences, but Tuesday he wrote them out perfectly and all on his own for me! And he had this HUGE smile on his face when I told him how wonderfully awesome he did! SUCCESS!!! :)

Arlee was working on a report to turn in for a contest, but ended up getting sick the week it was due and was unable to turn it in. She had worked REALLY hard on it...and did go ahead and finish it. {I will be posting it here over the weekend...because I think it was really good, and more than just us should see it!} It was about the Doolittle Raid. I was really happy with all the research and time she put into this paper! She worked on it, on and off, for about 2 months or so. We started it all off by watching "Pearl Harbor"...the one with Ben Affleck. She also had a bunch of books and other documentary dvds to watch as well about Pearl Harbor and The Doolittle Raid. I really enjoyed learning things along with her because she would share with me the things she thought were interesting.

Once she finished her Doolittle paper, we moved on to her next topic...the Holocaust. First off we watched the movie, "The Devil's Arithmetic"...we made it just part of our "school day" by popping some popcorn, and all piling in front of the TV. It really hit her hard. She was crying during the movie...she REALLY felt it. I've been hearing info coming from her for the past few days as she has begun reading thru the books I had picked up for her from the library about the Holocaust.

Frost has done well this week! Last Friday night we found a Salamander outside my in-laws house...the very next day he was looking things up online...all on his own...one how to care for it! What to feed it, how it's habitat should be set up...LOVED IT!! I told him that he should work on a project about Salamanders...but we didn't get to it this week! Would still love to do that with him...with all the boys actually!

For Zach and Liam, I've been really looking into the Ohio State Standards booklets I have to make sure we are covering things.

I think we have a good routine going...well, at least the start of one! You have no idea how happy I am for that!! It's been a LONG time in the making!

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share...

I am inspired by...Frosty has been working REALLY hard on his Merit Badge stuff for Boy Scouts this week!! I'm totally counting these as part of his "learning lessons"!! He worked for 2 hours yesterday cleaning up our yard...yeah, it was THAT bad....plus we've been working on cleaning out our attic, little by little, all part of his Family Life Merit Badge! I'm most proud of him because of for the most part, HE has taken the initiative to start working on what he needs to get done! That is HUGE for him!! One day, he got up before any of the rest of us, and hopped on my computer and was doing some work on one of them! He has REALLY impressed me this week!

Places we're going and people we're seeing...

Saturday... COOKIE BOOTH!! Our amazing Girl Scouts sold 112 boxes at their booth this morning! WAY TO GO GIRLS!! PLUS, because of the tornadoes which ripped thru our county the day before...they collected donations to help those families. I was able to call and donate $150 to Red Cross on their behalf. SO VERY PROUD of those girls!

Sunday... Stayed home for the entire day!! Yippee!!!!

Monday...Boy Scout's Leader/Parents Meeting, Danny was able to go along with me! We got him all registered...he's looking forward to going to Summer Camp with Frosty, and maybe even getting more involved in the troop!

Tuesday...Met a good friend, who turns out to also be the leader of our older Homeschool Girl Scout Troop. She took me to Starbucks...YUM! And we did LOTS of great planning for our troop! REALLY looking forward to whats coming!

Wednesday...Zachary had his piano lessons. Today his teacher filled out his completion certificate and wrote him a little encouraging note at the back of his finished book...and she already had his new books ready to go!! He is VERY excited to be moving ahead with his lessons...as are we! He's been doing such a great job!

Thursday...Arlee went to her Writing Club...said she read one of her stories she wrote for school, which was very sad, and got teared up while reading it, and almost got one of the other ladies attending to cry as well. Shared with them all about the Honorable Mention she received from sending in her poem to a contest thru a Cincinnati newspaper...one of the ladies gave Arlee info on another poem contest that she could enter! :)

Took the boys over to McD's for a Playtime @ the Playland homeschool outing I had set up. There were 4 families including us...ALL BOYS!! Frosty, after about 30 to 45 mins, stepped out of his box and talked with the other 13 year old boy there! They ended up hanging out out in the main part of McD's playing cards! Looked like they were having a great time!

Picked Arlee up and headed home for a couple hours before leaving for another library program right uptown. Took Arlee & Frosty to this one. They made Popcap Art! What fun! And FREE!! Gotta LOVE that!!!

Got my library card updated and such...which I've needed to do for quite some time! Got Arlee & Frost their own cards, too! They were both REALLY excited, and both checked out a few things! :) Now I have to keep up with 4 cards...hmmmm...what exactly was I thinking?? :)

Also picked up our new glasses!! Four out of 6 of us needed them!

Friday...Took Frost to a friend's house to spend the night. Our wonderful friend will will taking him to his Merit Badge Class Saturday morning! Which we are VERY grateful for!! Danny & I went grocery shopping together...counts as a "date night", right?? :)

My favorite thing this week was...This was technically last week, but wanted to share...Arlee winning an Honorable Mention from a writing contest she entered! She got 2 notebooks and 2 pens. She is very excited, and very proud of herself...and we are quite proud of her as well!

What's working...So I think I have found a good set up for organizing lessons. Right to the left of my desk, I have a small shelving unit. On the top shelf, I have this file holder/divider thingy. I have 4 manilla files for the 4 days that we do school each week. I will go in over the weekend, print out any papers that we need for that week...mostly it's just for Zach and Frost.

Then on each day, all I have to do is grab the folder for that day and all I need it right inside. If we don't finish something, I just move it to the next day's folder. If we complete it, it goes right back into the folder. {I will be putting together binders to hold all their papers soon.}

On the front of the folder is a paper clip so I can attach a "schedule" paper...I use that to write down what we have done. At the beginning of this week, I began to start keeping scores of their worksheets, projects, "classes". I just move that over to the next days file folder at the end of the day so it will be ready to go.

It's very simple...I know...and I think that is exactly why it is working for me!

Under the divider thingys...there is a slot that Arlee can use to "turn in work" if she needs me to look it over.

Things I'm working on...Trying so hard to finish up a scarf that I've been working on for way too long! It's one for my niece, and I'm sure she's thinking that I have just forgotten to finish it up! It's been crazy trying to find the time to sit and knit for the past few weeks. Which is sad because I love it so.

I'm reading..."Green Angel" by Alice Hoffman and "Family Feasts for $75 a Week" by Mary Ostyn.

A photo to share...

Sorry, it's a little blurry...but you can definitely see that proud smile he has! :)

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http://www.thehomeschoolchick.com/about-the-homeschool-mothers-journal/

http://www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/

The Peaceful Mom Blog...

I stumbled upon a link to a blog from a friend on Pinterest...it is called "The Peaceful Mom". What really caught my eye was the name of a new series that she is starting..."Living on Less than 28,000 a Year"...I *HAD* to find out more! Here is the link to part 1...as of today, there are 5 parts to this series so far...

http://thepeacefulmom.com/2012/02/20/new-series-living-on-less-than-28000-a-year-2/

While reading thru the series...I found that she also post about less than $100 weekly menus. THIS I was interested in as well! I'm hoping to use it for inspiration this week as I'm making our our family's weekly menu to see if I can trip up our grocery budget a little!

http://thepeacefulmom.com/category/menus/

On top of that, I found that she has a FREE ebook as well called, "Save More, Clip Less"! Whoo Hoo! I'm lovin' this site! Here is the info on that...

http://thepeacefulmom.com/2011/08/19/free-e-book-save-more-clip-less/

If you choose to check it out...ENJOY!! Hope you do...as much as I have been so far!

From Monday...

Didn't get a chance to post this on Monday.


Struggled with Zachary today. Yesterday I sat right next to him to do his 4 sentences using 4 of his spelling words. It took him FOREVER to come up with his sentences, and he kept getting frustrated because I kept correcting him on his handwriting. Today I let him just do it all on his own. He came up with his sentences fairly easily, but he forgot to space between his words. So I made him do them over. Again he didn't space...so again, he did them over. By the end, he wrote these sentences at least 5 times before spacing between the words all the way thru. It was tough, but we got thru it!


Frost...

Math....3 min multiplication math drill, 5 Khan Academy videos.

Spelling/Handwriting...Practice worksheet with writing spelling words, 4 sentences using 4 spelling words.

Scouts 101: Chemistry Merit Badge requirement, did a tasting experiment with onions.

Zach...

Math...3 min addition math drill, Expanded Notion worksheet

Spelling/Handwriting...Practice worksheet with writing spelling words, 4 sentences using 4 spelling words, Spelling City online.

Our Sunday...

We slept in pretty late today. While about 1/2 the kids were still sleeping, I got started on making some homemade syrups...a maple flavored one, and strawberry. Zach doesn't like the strawberry syrup, so I have to make the maple flavored one for him. We also had some from scratch chocolate chip pancakes! OOOOh, it was YUMMY! Not exactly what I should have been eating...not since I'm trying to win the Biggest Loser Competition!! BUT...wow...I just could not resist!!

Speaking of the Biggest Loser Competition...I've lost about 10 lbs since starting. I know I could have done better, but I got sick there for a week, and now just can't seem to keep motivated. This week...will definitely do better this week. {I think I've told myself that every week so far!}

By the time we were able to get started on school lessons today, we didn't have much time to get a lot in. Didn't get to Liam at all today.

Arlee finished up the Doolittle Raid, and I will post that as soon as I can get it to look right on my blog here. She did a really good job with it, I think. And I can't wait to share it! We popped some popcorn, and settled down to watched "The Devil's Arithmetic" today to launch her into her next report...the Holocaust.

After our movie, I did some work on our poor living room. It was still piled with things from our attic. This whole "cleaning out the attic" idea has really turned into quite the job! I'm trying so hard to keep my eye on the prize though...how nice it will feel once it's all done! :)


***
Lessons for today...

Arlee...

Foreign Language ~ Japanese, exam

History ~ Completed "Doolittle Raid" report. Watched "The Devil's Arithmetic"

Frost...

Math ~ 3 min multiplication math drills worksheet, 3 videos on Khan Academy, Greatest Common Factor worksheet

Spelling/Handwriting ~ Wrote spelling words 2x printed, and 1x in cursive tracing them. Wrote 4 sentences with 4 spelling words.

Scouts 101 ~ Worked on Collections Merit Badge Packet, mostly, but did do a little work in Chemistry and Family Life Merit Badge Packets as well.

History ~ Watched The Devil's Arithmetic.

Zach...

Math ~ 3 min addition math drills worksheet, x2 worksheet, expanded form worksheet

Spelling/Handwriting ~ Wrote spelling words 2x printed. Wrote 4 sentences with 5 spelling words. Spelling City, online.

History ~ Watched The Devil's Arithmetic.