It got better...

This week started off kinda rough.  We all had runny noses or stuffed up noses, thanks to the weather change.  Our sinus' were very confused.  We ended up leaving church early last Sunday because Kristen wasn't feeling too well.  Then Sunday night turned into a long night because Lauren was constipated (I know...TMI, but hey....it's our life and it's real). 

Lauren has suffered from constipation pretty much since birth (she is probably going to kill me when she is older and reads this).  She has been on milk of magnesia since her first visit to the pediatrician.  At her last check-up I talked with the doctor about her constipation.  My theory was that her body has gotten dependent on the milk of mag in order to go to the bathroom.  She agreed and wanted to switch her to Miralax. She didn't think Miralax would mess with her electrolytes (whatever those are) as much and the good news was that our insurance would cover it as a prescription.  I wanted to do a trial run to see if we could get her body going to the bathroom on it's own.  It was going pretty good...not ideal, but at least she was moving things without help.  Then Sunday night came.  After two agonizing hours in the bathroom and many efforts to speed things along, she finally fell asleep on the throne.  Poor girl.  I cried...she cried.  It was just horrible.  She finally went to the bathroom and is now on Miralax daily because that was just so emotionally draining on the both of us.  We are going to try some alternatives to her diet, but I am so glad that is over and I hope it never happens again.

Dallas lovin on Lauren after a rough night.  These two are best buds.

At some point during the bathroom drama Kristen tells me that her "bump" on her tooth is back.  To say I was frustrated would be an understatement.  I'll give you a little background.  Back in August I took Kristen and Lauren in for a cleaning.  Kristen had two cavities, but they were small cavities.  They did an x-ray to see if she was close to loosing these two teeth (they were molars), but she wasn't.  I had two options....I could leave it and see what they did.  If they got worse, filling them could require some sort of sedation.  Or I could go ahead and get them filled and they would be able to do it with very little to no numbing.  I decided to go ahead and get them filled since it would be a while until she lost the teeth.  The dental hygienist said I made the right choice, however I second guess this.  We made the follow up appointment and I took her back to get it filled.  She complained about the tooth afterwards and we ended up going back in to see the dentist two days later.  I thought, as well as the dentist, that her tooth was too high because she just complained it felt weird.  You know how your tooth feels really big and uneven after having it filled.  Well, they filed it down and she said it felt better and off we went.  Then over Labor Day weekend, yep of course it would happen on a holiday weekend, she started complaining about her tooth again and said there was a bump on it.  I didn't know what an abscess looked like or even what it was.  I had heard of them, but never had one. She started running a fever and felt pretty lousy and thankfully someone mentioned abscess to me. After I consulted google (thank you world wide web), I self diagnosed her with an abscess...and I was right.  I called the dentist and we started her on antibiotics.  She was seen first thing Tuesday morning and they took another x-ray, just of that tooth.  It wasn't ready to come out and they didn't want to pull it because the root system on the tooth coming in wasn't developed enough.  They did a root canal, and she did wonderful.  Over the next month she never complained about her tooth hurting, but that bump would come and go.  Then it got really big and I finally called and they said to bring her back in.  They wanted to try to save the tooth and cleaned it out again.  Well, then the bump came back and on Monday we went back in to the dentist to have that tooth pulled.  They numbed her as much as they could, but it still hurt when they pulled it.  I felt so bad for her and so did the dentist.  She did great and thanks to Meme and Papaw, the tooth fairy brought her $10, which she said the tooth fairy signed (not really, someone had written $500 on it and she assumed it was the tooth fairies signature.  I didn't tell her any different because she was so excited). 

She deserved it and guess what she bought with her money....another stuffed animal.

I had to buy Lauren something, so she wanted a little camera and she has been following me around taking pictures like a paparazzi.

So, our week started off a bit rocky, but it got better.  School went a lot better this week. 

We did a couple of projects for science and they actually worked!  We talked about what an eclipse was and recreated it using a flashlight and two balls. 

We also made a pinhole sun viewing box.  Although our sun was hidden behind trees, we did get to see it in the box, we just had to walk out to the road to do it.  I am sure the people driving by were wondering why we were looking into a box.  We are probably now officially known as "that crazy family".

That's our sun...that little bright dot.

The girls went to a Girl Scout campfire (no pictures because I didn't bring my camera). They roasted hot dogs (actually I did the roasting and they were still cold) and made s'mores.  We left before the campfire songs because I had inhaled enough smoke to give me a headache and all I wanted to do was go home and shower.  I know...that was very selfish of me. 

One of the best things that happened this week....

Not this, but I had to include a picture of Dallas and his mischief.  Excuse Lauren in the background on the toilet.  I guess Dallas figured he would entertain her a little since it was going to be a long night.

This is one of the best things that happened this week....

We got itty bitty eggs from our chickens.

Glad It's Over

That's pretty much how I feel about this past week.  I am glad it is over!  For once I was actually happy it was Friday and there would be two days off from school.  Don't get me wrong, it wasn't the worst week we have had, it just wasn't the greatest.

We had the "I don't want to do school" blues this week...myself included.  When Kristen doesn't want to do school it affects us all.  Lauren never wants to do school, but she isn't dramatic about it and will do it even if she doesn't want to.  But when Kristen doesn't want to do school it comes with A LOT of crying.  Sometimes I think things are going great....then the tears appear....for no reason at all.  That's when I do A LOT of mental eye rolling because it makes me feel better.  At one point I thought...Is this how men see women. Are we this emotional for no reason at all.  Surely not. Anyways, it is really frustrating, but we work through it with a lot of breaks, because that's just what we need to do to stay sane.  As a result of her lack of motivation this week, she didn't do good on her math test or spelling test, but we are going to retest when she is ready.  Which brings me to another frustrating topic...the English language.

If I could have I would have thrown our spelling book out of the window, just to make myself feel better.  Of course, I would have went and gotten it and resumed our spelling lesson, but that is how frustrated I was with the words this week and the English language in general.  Kristen has spent a year learning how to sound out words and now they are going to throw in words with letters that take on the sound of other letters, and just to make it more confusing, they are going to also throw in some letters that are just there, but you don't sound them out.  WHAT? I mean, how am I supposed to explain what to do when it doesn't even make sense to me!?!  For instance...gentle.  Kristen spelled it jentl.  Okay, this is actually really how you should spell gentle because it actually makes sense, but nooooo that is not how it's spelled.  City. Kristen spelled it site.  If you sound it out this is what is should be, but again we don't spell it like that.  Said.  Kristen spelled it sed.  Correct...but noooo we don't spell it like that.  I did a lot of non-mental eye rolling when it came to spelling this week because I was just so frustrated.  How could I tell her it was wrong when it actually was done right. Anyways, we are going to approach spelling a little different next week.  I googled (what in the world did I do without the internet?) some fun ways to learn spelling words, and we are going to try that approach this week.  I basically told Kristen she would have to memorize it because the person who came up with the English language obviously didn't know their letter sounds. She responded that they must have not done Kindergarten.  I told her I would have to agree and I am pretty sure they didn't have kindergarten way back then.

Okay, so enough about our crazy language.  I am sure it will come back up in future posts, so you have been forewarned.

Lauren did learn all of her letter sounds this week!  Well, not all in one week because that would be genius, but you get the point. So, YAY...for now...until she starts first grade spelling.

 

We also did a couple science "experiments" this week.  They didn't work.  For the first "experiment" I didn't have a magnifying glass.  Paul told me I could just use my glasses.  Not sure what he's trying to say about my eye sight.  Anyways, we are learning about the sun (I have learned some pretty interesting facts that I must have forgotten from school because Paul already knew them), and one activity had us using a magnifying glass to melt a chocolate bar.

 

 

 

This is as melted as it got.  It felt like I held my glasses for a good ten minutes trying to melt this chocolate bar, but it was probably more like four.  The kids were much more interested in cleaning the leaves off of the deck (can't complain about that) and eating the chocolate bar.  Maybe we will try it again with an actual magnifying glass.

 

 

We also did an "experiment" with a coffee filter and black marker. 

 

 

 

It was supposed to show that the color black contains all the colors of the rainbow, but our black just had black.  The only color it made was black that looked like it had been soaked in water.

 

 

 





Dallas was also feeling a little under the weather this week. 

He is feeling better, but I think he must have a little cold...without the cough. 

I will leave you with this picture of Kristen.  She reminded me so much of myself at her age.  She is cuddling with the pooh bear stuffed animal that I slept with up until I got married.  Well, I actually still slept with it after I got married, but not for long.  I used to tell Paul, "But he just fits so perfectly in my arms while I sleep." I love that bear.

Obedience

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

-Ephesians 6:1

 

 

This was our verse for the week and it sure did come in handy.  God knew we would need this verse.

 

Our week started off a little something like this... 

 

As I was giving Dallas a bath, Kristen came into the bathroom and said she was going to cut Dallas' hair.  I was not alarmed because surely my obedient Kristen wouldn't have real scissors in her hand and even if she did she wouldn't dare think about cutting someone's hair with them. Right? 

 

I had mentioned before Dallas' bath that I was going to give him a haircut, but changed my mind and decided not to do it that day.  I didn't pay Kristen much attention since I was making sure Dallas was squeaky clean, but I let her know that I had changed my mind. I heard Lauren say, "Here, cut my hair."  Then I heard Lauren belly laugh and her little hand came into my field of vision holding her hair in it. I was SHOCKED!  I mean, mouth gaping open SHOCKED!

 

When I turned around and saw Kristen's face I realized she was mouth gaping opened SHOCKED too.  When I asked her why she did it she said she didn't know, and I believe her. If you could have seen her face.  It's pretty funny now...after it all happened. 

 

So, when we sat down to do our bible lesson, our verse was about obeying your parents and we had an example to along with it.  I used that verse all week and I think we all had it memorized by Tuesday.  Now, if only Dallas could memorize it.

 

More school news...

 

 

 

We did complete Unit One in our bible curriculum and also put the finished pictures on our bulletin board. 

 

 

 

We learned all about creation, which was a review for the kids since we also learned about it at the beginning of last year.  It's always good to be reminded of all the things God created so we could enjoy them.

 

 

Kristen worked on her report of Christopher Columbus this week. 

 

 

 

 I actually learned a little something this week.  I had Christopher cruising up to Jamestown on the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria and sitting down eating a Thanksgiving meal with the Indians.  It didn't go down like that.  He actually discovered Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), not Jamestown. He was a Christian and set out to trade with Asia and one thing he had on his ship was bibles.  Way to go Christopher Columbus!  Of course he never made it to Asia, but at least he tried.

 

 

 

She presented her report to Dallas and Lauren, and then to Paul when he got home.  I thought Dallas was all into Christopher Columbus, but then I realized he had gotten a juice box off of the table and was squirting it all over the floor, his pants and socks during Kristen's presentation.  But at least he was quiet.

 



 

 

In other news....Lauren started Girls Scouts this week. 

 

 

 

We missed the first meeting because we were at the beach, but she was super excited about getting to participate in Girl Scouts.  She got to hold the flag during the pledges and cried because everyone was looking at her.  She did have fun and is so proud that she is a Girl Scout.  Kristen got to bring Audrey home.  She is the Koala bear that belongs to her daisy troop.  She has really enjoyed Audrey, but I knew she would since she is a stuffed animal addict.

 

 

 

 Next week we begin week 4 of school.  I'm excited!!

 

 

 

 

 



Crazy Week

Once upon a time there was a piece of wood.....

Our week has been spent reading Pinocchio.  Not the Disney version of Pinocchio, but the crazy story written by Carlo Collodi.  In this version, Pinocchio is not the cheerful little puppet who desires nothing more than to be transformed into a real live boy. Nope...in this version, Pinocchio is a very rotten misbehaved little wooden boy.  Just to give you a clear picture of the real Pinocchio, when Jiminy Cricket (who is really a minor character in the book and is referred to as the "Talking Cricket") scolds Pinocchio for rebelling against his father, Pinocchio bashes his brains out with a hammer.  I have come to the conclusion that the moral of Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio is this: If you behave badly and disobey adults, you will be bound, tortured and killed. Not exactly what I had in mind when we started the book.  I mean, I expected some differences, but not a completely different story all together.



Kristen's writing curriculum has us reading the classics.  It's optional, but I thought if I could get the books from the library why not read them.  Last week we read The Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. It was the most boring book EVER.  We finished it just because I made myself, but we were all completely bored.  So, when Pinocchio was listed for this week I was super excited.  Until I started reading it.  It was nothing like the Disney movie. In fact, I found myself reading it thinking, "Who thinks of these things then decides to put them in a book for children?"  Paul heard a little snippet of it and even commented on how weird it was, so it wasn't just me and my exhaustion. Kristen did say she hoped she didn't have bad dreams about cats getting their paws chewed off.  That's when I decided to not read anymore and check out the Disney movie from the library. A much better story...so thank you Walt Disney for recreating this very disturbing story into something kid friendly.

The kids watching Pinocchio

Luckily, our week was spent doing other things than reading Pinocchio.  Our washing machine was possessed this week and decided to keep filling up with water, even after I turned it off.  Quick thinking Michelle did get the water turned off in record time (and I unplugged it just in case it decided to come back to life), but not before it flooded into the kitchen. There was so much water that when I put my hand down to try to get the water up, it covered the tops of my fingers.  Talk about overwhelming. I cried...well, actually I sobbed and Kristen finally said, "Can't we call someone to help us."  Which made me laugh and cry even more.  The water was at that weird level.  Too little that you couldn't use a bucket, too much that towels seemed pretty useless.  Anyways, we got the water up and Paul fixed the washing machine and I got to rewash every single towel in our house.

Our week of school went good.  I am so happy with my planning.  It makes our weeks so much easier.  Kristen had her first real math test and got them all right.  She didn't do as well with her spelling test, but we are going to do a re-test and see how she does.  I am not too concerned because the word she got wrong is on next weeks helper word list for her reading, so she'll get it.  The other word she got wrong because she capitalized her P.  She does this a lot, so we are working on using lower case p's.

 In her language arts we are talking about proper nouns/names.  In her composition book she had to write down the names of all of the people in her family.  When I went back to check her work she had also drawn a picture of all of us and included God on a cloud praying. 

 

 

Lauren has three more letter sounds to learn and then she is finished with alphabet!  I don't know how long we have been working on the alphabet, but I am so glad we are almost finished. I am so so so very proud of her.

 

 

We ended the week making a craft. I cut out leaf patterns on card stock.  Put red, yellow and orange paint in a gallon bag and let the girls mush the leaves around in it.  Took them out and let them dry.  I did have to do some touch ups.  Then, we went on a branch hunt and found these nice little pliable branches that I am pretty sure are not from a tree so they are probably not branches.  Stuck them in a vase and viola...a pretty little leaf decoration.