Tired boy

Last Friday the kids were tired from going to the park on Thursday. They all finished their work quickly Thursday morning so they could go. Between school, play, mosquitoes, allergies, baths and chores, it must have taken alot out of them. Friday, Dd#2 and I fought all day, Ds#4 wanted to cuddle all day (ouch, honey, you're laying on your baby brother), Dd#1 complained of being tired, and Ds#3 didn't complain...he just couldn't quite make it through school. He fell asleep in his desk laying on his spelling book.

Medieval Torture Apparatus

I got my Medieval Torture Apparatus in the mail and put it on right away. I'm amazed at the difference it's made. I still have a lot of difficulty getting around (reduced mobility, it takes a big effort to walk and stand), but I'm not in pain all the time like I was. THANK YOU, JESUS!


Here are the answers to some of the questions I've been getting :

• If this thing were made of black leather straps rather than white elastic, it would look like a weird pregnancy S&M thing.
• No, I won't embarrass Dave by taking my picture in it and posting it on my blog -- even OVER my clothes! (My husband would be mortified.)
• The cheapest place I found it was Amazon for $71 + $10 s&h.
• Thank you Laura, my midwife, and Janis, her nurse for recommending it. I've had this condition for the last 4 pregnancies (it just got worse with each one) and they are the first to diagnose anything more than "pregnancy hurts."
• After having it on for 5 hours the first day, I sat for several hours. I braced myself for the effort and pain of having to stand. I exerted the tremendous effort to stand and steadied myself for the wave of pain and the following wave of nausea from the pain that was to follow. Standing was an effort...but no pain. I was just ... standing. I was AMAZED and THRILLED!! No pain, no nausea -- just effort.
• It takes a few hours of having it on in the morning before I notice a difference.
• It has reduced the constant sensation of needing to go to the bathroom. I only have that sensation when I really need to go.

$100 + difficulty getting it on + absurdity of the contraption = a small price to pay for this much pain reduction.

Matt Kelty defense, continued

This is the 2nd video that I recommended to my mom. Amy inspired me by posting a hilarious youtube video on her blog. I wasn't sure how to do it before now. This video is 2 minutes 46 seconds.

Kelty defense

My mom just called me and was interested in finding more information about Matt Kelty's defense of himself. There are 2 videos that I highly recommended to her (this one is 5 minutes 17 seconds). The other way to get information is to log onto http://www.mattkelty.com and sign up to get the e-mail newsletter (there's a link on the left-hand side bar and another in the middle of the page). It has new videos of Matt's position on things, as they become available, plus other information.

Things that go bump in the night

Ds#4 pulled out his first tooth last night (after lights out, I must add). Dave's comment was "your baby isn't a baby anymore" -- he just wanted to rub it in... he does look seriously cute with that little hole in his mouth.

Dd#2 was soooo excited about it all, that she ran upstairs after racing down with the boys to show us, and went catapulting into Ds#4's lower bunk. In the dark, she missed the pillow and hit the corner of the corner post -- with her head. Now, Dd#2 crying after bedtime hours due to being rowdy/naughty is not at all unusual. As a matter of fact, it's a common occurance. As many times as we've disciplined her, reminded her, rewarded good behavior -- she's just going to be one of those kids. Unfortunately, her body is the big looser in all these disobedience senarios. Dave and I are convinced that God scheduled a VERY competant guardian angel for her from the beginning knowing that this angel would get a promotion for a hard life-time of work. We're not even sure HOW the angel keeps her alive - but VERY thankful that God is stronger than even this girl's desire for thrills. It took from 9:20 to 12:30am to help her feel better so that she could go to sleep. We comforted her for 3 hours with examples of what could have happened to her that would have been so much worse than what happened.

P.S. Dave was quite appauled that I even wanted to take her picture like this and even more shocked that she let me! He was abstaining from memorializing this painful moment in time.

I love a parade

Really, I'm not all that crazy about parades, but it's a good song. Dave and the kids marched in a parade this weekend in support of Matt Kelty. Dave's been working on an e-mail newsletter to send to people who are interested in finding more about Matt's campaign (click on the "Newsletter" on the left-side bar). The YouTube videos are pretty cool, too. I'm always thrilled when other people are as impressed with my husband as I am! (and I just sit on the side watching & waving and trying to get my camera to work so I can blog about it).

What do you need for a homeschool schoolroom?

A place to write - this can be a kitchen table, a kids play table or a desk. It is really preferable that this place "fits" the child -meaning that the chair isn't too big to fit in so that the child's legs dangle in the air -also meaning that the child isn't croching their back to get their body over the paper because the space is too small for them.
A place for books - I find that my teacher books take up as much, if not more, room than the kids books. A book shelf, multiple magazine racks, a desk that opens for books are all helpful tools. I've even known people who used rolling carts to keep their books on so that they're accessible while they're doing school, but out of the way when they're not. I've heard of families that store each child's books in bookbags in the closet. You still have to find a place for parent books.
A place for supplies - this is something that every homeschool mom I know battles for and salivates over. My craft supplies are always overflowing the space I have for them no matter how organized I attempt to be. I buy my kids each a pencil box to store their supplies. Some are more responsible with their own supplies than others.
Wall space - THIS IS NOT NECCESSARY and yet oh, so desirable. Wall space is great for a time line, posters or to display a child's work. This is also something that homeschool moms dream of at night.
Good lighting - a well placed lamp can take care of this. We've tried overhead spotlights (too much shadows over the paper they're working on, florescent (made me feel like I was in an institution rather than my home) and have settled on lamps.

My children do the majority of their school on the couch or on the floor. I try to insist on them writing at a table and they find ways to write neater while laying on the floor. It doesn't take a dedicated space (although for some families that is ideal), but really utilizing the space you have with your school needs in mind.

One of my favorite questions was "What does your ideal schoolroom look like?" Dreaming is so much fun!!!!!!