Summer Assessment

Even though we officially started school last week, I am still mulling over the end of summer. Probably because it is still a bazillion degrees outside.

My feelings exactly!

My goals for the summer, according to a post I made in May, were:

• clean the house ("clean" is a relative term, but the end of the school year usually means a slide into messiness. So, time to regroup and return the house into some semblance of order). I actually did some of this! The school closet got a re-haul, and other things got a straightening up. Not a stellar job, but an adequate job!
• swim - lots and lots! I started out strong, but then it got so hot and I got so lazy, I kind of stopped. However, I promised myself and the kids we would get a lot more swimming in this week!
• write...something....  Nope. Did not happen. Besides the blog, anyway.
• potty train the Monkey Yeeeeessssss!!!!
• get the Monkey to sleep in his own room. Double YEEEESSSSSS!!!!
• just have fun! ??????

Making the "big boy" bed!

Overall, it all turned out pretty good. The heat is killing us, but hopefully it will all be over in a month or so!

So far, I do not have goals for the Fall. Yet ....

7 Quick Takes vol 3

Okay - it is FRIDAY!!!!! Yea! Thanks to Jennifer Fulwiler at Conversion Diary for hosting this. It really gives me a goal each week!


So, here are seven things tumbling around my head....

1. This was our first week back at school! We survived. What did I learn? One should never start school and one's "visit from Mother Nature" at the same time.

Yeah.....

2. The Monkey.

He is a handful.

Today is a good example. He is exhibiting a high level of crabbiness today. This is the note ArtGuy left me this morning. It has made me laugh all day.

3. August is a great month for saints. I mean, every month has great saints, but August just seems to be filled with many of my favorites. Every day, I feel like I am saying, "Oooo, ooooo, look who is the saint today!"
Aug 4 - St John Vianney
Aug 8 - St Dominic
Aug 9 - St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross/Edith Stein
Aug 11 - St. Clare
Aug 14 - St Maximilian Kolbe
Aug 20 - St. Bernard of Clairvaux
Aug 27 - St. Monica
Aug 28 - St. Augustine
and many more! Not to mention that Aug 15 is the Feast of the Assumption of Mary!

August is an awesome month for saints!


4. August is my birthday month! Whooo hooooo! Par-tee, par-tee!
I love birthdays. The presents, the cake, the..specialness.
I get so excited! I am NOT happy about being another year older, but I do love feeling special!

5. And my birthday brought an extra "gift" this month. I had to go to our local DMV to renew my driver's license...in person! Lucky me!
The good news - all the people that worked there were really all very lovely.
The bad news - it took over two hours, one hour of which was spent in a line outside. With the Monkey.

It was also my first driver's license picture as a fatty. I hate my round face. Blech!

I needed a very large Dr. Pepper when it was all over.

6. This week, along with the beginning of school, we are trying something new. The boys and I are reading through the readings for the upcoming Sunday every day. The first day we just read them out loud. The second day, we reread them, and began discussing what they might have meant historically. The third day, we listened to the psalm. The fourth day I was stuck in line in the DMV. Today we ended by discussing what the readings could mean to us today.
It helps us to "break open the word", and helps the boys gain skills in looking things up in their Bibles.

7. I love reality shows about cooking, interior design, and fashion. They are my guilty pleasure. I think it is because I do none of those things well - cook, decorate, or understand what fashion is or how to wear it!

And now it is time to go put the Monkey down for a nap. Hallelujah!

And Happy Friday!

Beginning School

Today was our first day back at school! Year NINE for our homeschooling venture. Sheesh! Hard to believe!

The Monkey was so excited to begin. He rushed me all morning so we can "go do our special school"! He was thrilled with his new school shelf and items. However, as the day wore on, he got this look like, "This is what school is? I think I am going to go play trains...."

Ah well! He will have good days and rough days, like his brothers. He would do so well in a preschool program, but there is just no money for that.

I have been working hard to get ready for him. It has been a while since I have had preschool at home!

Our calendar. The Monkey was convinced that the days of the week actually read "Some boys give big farts on Sunday." Whatever!

Our button key chain to mark the date

Thanks to Counting Coconuts for all the ideas. It is a site that both inspires me (with its wonderful ideas) and depresses me (because I will never in all my life be that creative). Anyway, I have gotten a lot of ideas from there. Thanks also to my friends Leah and Christy for turning me on to the site!".
The pockets on the calendar are for our "Number of the Day" and "Letter of the Day .That is all we are doing for now. We can add more later, as the Monkey warms up to school.

My season wheel. We will place a clothespin on the correct season.

The I Spy jar

The I Spy Jar

I have wanted to make an I Spy jar for a long time. I was so glad to finally do it! I used a plastic container (that used to hold jelly beans - mmmmmm!), and filled it with bird seed and little items. I plan on changing the items out from time to time. We have all been looking in it!

I wanted to make some felt items for a felt board. I combined that with a desire to work on clothing and seasons and weather to make our Felt Man. He is going to be fun to learn with. The Monkey likes to take Felt Man and play with him already.

Felt Man in his undies, showing his casual clothes

In casual clothes, showing winter clothes

In winter clothes, showing beach wear!

In beach wear, showing rain wear

The rain wear is my personal favorite

Beach accessories!

Ah - fun!

I placed an old small bookshelf in the hallway by our schoolroom. This shelf is now the Monkey's school shelf. I will change items out. That is about the whole plan at the moment!

This week we are starting with a puzzle, wooden ABC/Noah's Ark blocks, counting bears and a sorter tray, paper and stickers. I may change the paper items out this week, and add in a nursery rhyme activity in a day or two.

The other boys slipped right back into school. Really, we are just finishing up what we did not complete last semester. For the most part, it is "old" subjects. Everyone is starting new literature. Romeo gets Roman Myths. Cookie Boy starts on The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, and The Young Adult is devouring Treasure Island!

Happy new school year!

7 Quick Takes - vol 2

Happy Friday, everyone!

Thanks to Jennifer Fulwiler at Conversion Diary, for hosting 7 Quick Takes!

1. This week, in an effort to find something good about this record heat in north Central Texas, we tried dashboard baking some cookies. Some friends yesterday suggested cinnamon rolls. I am SO going to do that. But it is too hot to go to the store right now....

2.  I am kind of bothered by a current fashion. Okay, let's face it. I am bothered by fashion of any kind. I am not, nor ever have been, a fashionable kind of girl. I admire fashion. I love looking at fashions. I wish I could understand fashion.
First, I just have no interest. Second, I have the totally wrong kind of body for any kind of fashion, outside of mumus and really, really big t-shirts and shorts.
And that leads me to the fashion trend that bugs me - short dresses and skirts. Let us first admit that we were in middle school in the eighties when mini-skirts were all the rage. Let us second admit that we did, ourselves, own one or two of said mini-skirts. Let us third proclaim that all pictures featuring this writer in those mini-skirts should be burned, lest the damage anyone's eyesight.
The fashion - short skirts and dresses are "in".
See this example from Wet Seal. 
The problem - very few women have the figure to really pull it off (and this is aside from all modesty issues).
Girls like me - and there are lots of us out there - those of us with big hips, rounded curves, and speed-skating-worthy thighs, should  NOT, under any circumstance, wear such clothing. Short hemlines do nothing for us, except make us look rounder (and not in a curvy way), stockier, and less feminine.
In short (hah hah hah) - it just isn't pretty.

3. Today is/was a First Lego League meeting. I said "is" because I began to write this at 10am this morning. I said "was", because people started coming, and now it is almost 4pm, so the meeting is done and over! Whew! Meeting days are crazy! I love First Lego League. It is an amazing experience for the kids and adults, alike.
If you don't know about:

1. First Lego League - check this out
2. The cool special to air on the ABC network on August 14, check this out!
3. My own FLL team, Storm System, check this out!

4. I need a haircut. I want that haircut to make me look fabulous.

5. How do you pray? Do you have a formal time each day? Do you just fling some "Lord, have mercy's" up to heaven throughout the day? How do you connect and make time?
Some days I manage the daily readings. Some days I mutter throughout the day, looking like some crazy woman  (but I am praying, honest!). Some days I work it in when I wake up and when I get to bed. Some days it is in action, as I bite my tongue, or patiently play cars with the Monkey...again....

6. So, when did life get so complicated? I remember college. Everything seemed so clear-cut, then. I had a job (to study), a goal (to graduate), and a mission. I believed there was "something" for me to do, that God had a plan. Even the early years of our marriage and family seemed like a clear path before my feet.
Prayer was easier then. 
Flash forward 16 years, and I know I still have a job (be a mom), a goal (to raise kids), but my mission and my "something" still eludes me. I guess it is just in the nature of motherhood, especially while mothering young children, than life gets messy. I often feel like I am a snowglobe, and I keep getting shaken up. The snow swirls like a blizzard, and I cannot see my way. But I am searching.

7. MmmmmMMMmmm....I said the word "blizzard" in #6, and now I am thinking Dairy Queen. Ice cream. Yuuuummmmm.....

Dashboard Baking - FINISHED!!!

Aw yeah! It is THAT hot!

This week is brutal weather all over the nation. Here in North Texas, it is about 110 this week. Currently, as of 3pm, it is 107 degrees, according to the Weather Channel. But I am pretty sure that is wrong. What is the temperature on the sun? It is about 10 degrees cooler here.
The hot part of the day goes from 4-6pm here. So, you can imagine...

But

Let's make lemonade out of lemons, shall we????

1:30pm - we arrive home from errands. We pull into our sunny driveway, and roll up all the windows.

2:30 pm - The interior of the van reads 175 degrees. After just an hour.

After one hour of pre-heating.... Scary....

 I had the temp gauge with me on errands, and even with the windows open, when we returned to the car, the interior was 150 degrees.

That is why we do not leave children or animals in vehicles, folks. Check twice!

2:30-2:45 pm - we prepare our food. I chose to use Nestle's take-and-bake cookies, rather than mix it up myself. Because it is that hot.

Cookie Boy adding "Chocolate Chip Lovers" Nestle break-apart cookies!

Looking good!

The Young Adult adds Nestle "Oatmeal Scotchies". I think those are going to be yummers!

Might as well rustle up an egg, too!

 2:45 - We head to the van....

...and then the genius brothers headed right back in to PUT ON SHOES! Duh!

2:45-2:55 - we arrange our food. We placed the cookie sheets on paper and pot holders to protect the dashboard. After only 5 minutes in the car, I touched the pan to move it, and burned my finger!

Um, yeah...looks hot....

The chocolate immediately began to melt.

2:55pm - we finish, close and lock the van.

Cook, baby, cook!

3:20 - We check on our food, after letting it bake for 20-25 minutes. The interior of the van is almost at 175 again (it went down to 160 while we were placing the food inside).

The cookies are spreading quite well. Scary!

The ones in front are more melty than the ones in back.

While not cooked yet, the yolk has clearly "set".

*******************************************

3:40 pm - I went outside to turn the pan around. We want those cookies to bake evenly, now!
You could actually hear the aluminum foil popping.

4:10 - Went out to check. The one small tree in our teeny-tiny backyard was starting to throw shade onto the driveway.

Shade=bad; sun=good. At least, when you want to bake cookies!

So, I pulled the van down the driveway, into the seat, and back into the full heat from the sun.
I had to use pot holders to touch the steering wheel.

Park and bake!

The egg yolk is very set.

The cookies seem to be almost done. You can move the edges. But they are still a little too soft. So, 10 more minutes....

 

And - for the record - it smells FABULOUS in the van!!!!

******************************************************8
4:30pm -

We head back out to check on the progress of our van cookery.

Shoes ON!

 They learned their lesson well. If it is hot enough to bake cookies in a van, it is hot enough to burn your feet on the concrete!

Checking...

The egg was done.

Firm enough to touch (but Cookie Boy kept complaining it was hot!)

 A practically perfect yolk!

The yolk is soft enough to pick up via fork, but firm enough that it does not slide off.

The yolk was fully cooked. Really, it was over-cooked. The outside was kind of rubbery. It was soft inside, but not at all runny. The egg white stayed transparent, but was very hard to the touch!

The cookies were not quite ready. Close - but still a little too soft in the middle.

Almost ready!

5:30pm - the cookies are DONE! The temp gauge stayed between 150-175, and it took a total of 3 hours to get the cookies fully baked.

It smells soooo good!

Shhhh - don't tell. I tried one out. Someone had to make sure they were fit to eat....

They smell amazing.
But we are waiting until after dinner to eat them.

6:30pm - DESSERT!!!!!
The cookies were very, very yummy. They were home-baked soft. The chips were still melty.

Cookie Boy digs in. Stinker! He took the one I wanted!

Blissfully happy!

The Young Adult tries out, and approves, the Oatmeal Scotchies!

Fully baked front

Fully baked back

MmmmmMMmmmmmMMMMMMmmmm!!!!


This was a very successful experiment. While we wish it was not so hot, at least now we have some kind of reward for this miserable weather! And we did not heat up the house to do it!

THE END!

Courting Honor

Last night, we attended our sons' Boy Scout Court of Honor. This has been a bi-annual event, where they pass out merit badges, rank advancement, and special awards in the presence of friends and family.

One reason I love this event is just pure enjoyment. I have a soft spot in my heart for growing boys, and a Court of Honor is just full of the creatures, in all stages of awkward advancement. From "still a boy", to "in the midst of change", all the way to "almost a man", these boys encompass just about every stage of adolescent development. Bless their hearts!

This was Cookie Boy's first Court of Honor, which means it was the first one we attended as parents of TWO Boy Scouts. He received his first rank advancement. We are very proud of him!

A little blurry. They have to kiss Momma when they get their rank advancement!

The Young Adult has been in Boy Scouts two years now (and in Cub Scouts five years before that). He received one....yes, count it - ONE - merit badge last night. The "Reading" merit badge. I think a lot of boys there were surprised there was such a thing as a reading merit badge. I mean, they usually are in things like "Woodworking", "Hiking", "Plumbing", and "Nuclear Science". I think The Young Adult took a little ribbing for his badge.

Yet, I was very proud of him.

This badge represents a lot of things. It represents a whole year in his life. It represents the struggle between a kid who would rather never do a lick of work, and a young man who strives to do great things. It represents many lectures from his parents, on the sacrifice they make so he can be a Scout and what they expect in return. It represents the long and difficult struggle of a teenage boy to overcome his own natural sluggishness.

In two years, he has earned a total of FOUR merit badges. Most of his friends are easily into the double digits at this point. Not that it is a race, nor are we keeping score.

As we tell our oldest son, it is about seeing him develop the ability within himself to work. It is about learning how to take responsibility. It is about being accountable. It is about growing those characteristics he wants to be known for and he wants to have as a man. It is about the opportunity to learn about a wide range of things he may never get to explore again. It is about realizing that when you make a commitment to something (or someone), you "owe" them your best work.

We spent a lot of the past year over this badge. Not that it was very difficult. Rather, we spent time going over the requirements, helping him make a plan, checking up on his work (to realize it was never done), yelling, arguing, pleading, explaining, talking, listening, encouraging - and then - repeat!

We tried the hand's off approach. We tried the Encouraging Facilitator approach. We tried the "You'll-Do-This-If-It-Kills-Me" approach. Nothing seemed to work.

All the way until last week, when I asked him to get his completed materials for this badge, so he could get it all approved, and then The Young Adult could not find much of his work, and blamed me for losing it.

It was a black day in the house. I ate a LOT of chocolate, I tell you.

Well, he did find his papers, eventually, in time to get approval. But he did not tell me. He wanted to surprise me. That HE found HIS work. And HE took care of it all.

That is the really big deal about Boy Scouts. That is why it means so much to make Eagle Scout. Sure, it is all the work involved. Mostly, the work a boy has to do within himself.

So it may only have been one badge last night. But it meant a lot. It meant my 13-year-old son is learning how to handle himself.

He knows honor will not just come to him. He must carefully court honor himself.

(But I will always cheer him on!)

Weather Related

So, any post this week is going to contain weather related topics in it. Why, you ask? Because, it is HOT!

Yesterday's forecast:

At the moment, it is 4:45pm and 106 degrees. And it will be hotter this week. The daily "lows" are not exactly low, are they?
Yikes! The ground around my house has pulled back, kind of like a cake that is a little over-baked.

Trying not to think about our foundation....

We are getting ready for the twice yearly Court of Honor for Boy Scouts. We have had some trouble getting The Young Adult motivated to work on merit badges. He is finally getting some done, but will only be honored for one tonight. Still, I am proud of him. Cookie Boy should get his first rank advancement tonight!

I have been working very hard on getting  ready for the Monkey's first homeschooled preschool. Look for pictures to come!