It's a Small, Blog World After All

Today is Sunday and I have not disappeared. Here's what I've been up to...sorry, no pics to make it pretty.

I made ham, cheesecake and a card to take to my dad's Congrats-On-The-New-Job family dinner earlier this evening. We also took the kids to a big parking lot so they could drive their RC cars.

Yesterday we (I say "we" because Brian hogged the new vacuum) cleaned up and then entertained company all afternoon. Kori's grandparents were visiting and they arrived with belated Easter gifts for all.

On Friday, I won a book at Enjoy The Journey! (Scroll down to Friday's post) I am very excited about this!! It was also on Friday that I figured out I read Lindsey's other blog, Finding Contentment In The Suburbs. It's a small, blog world after all. Hm. That's catchy.

Stay tuned this week....I have lots to tell you about. Tonight, however, I am going to curl up on the couch with some blueberry cheesecake and watch The Queen with the director's commentary on. After the cheesecake is gone, I am still going to sit there and knit while I watch. I'm sure such a Sunday evening activity will drive away all of the too-serious-way-too-grown-up-making-me-sullen thoughts that I find myself having. After all, if I'm not numb and sleepy after 4 hours of commentary on The Queen, I don't think anything will help.

(Thx, Cristina....fixed the link...)

Yesterday Started Badly

I was going to post a picture, but decided against that. The dog decided to take advantage of a quiet house and she emptied the garbage yesterday morning. Not only did she knock over a tied bag of garbage - which was in the garbage pail - but she lay down, stuck her head inside and proceeded to dig out the garbage in the bottom of the bag. Bad dog.

Yesterday was supposed to be our Library Day, but Brian's work schedule changed making car-logistics challenging. We just stayed home. We got to some of our new books. Raiden was happy to start his new printing book. We got through half a page and stopped. We also did some Science brainstorming and started a homemade stick-book to collect our ideas in. Raiden helped to paint the cover - a safer task for the reluctant writer, yet still utilizing those fine motor skills...sometimes I'm just so clever - and Kori will do some writing in it today. Pics to follow upon completion. Both kids caught up on some math pages. We're also finishing up some Silver Birch books together.

Today we'll head out to the Library and we'll do some errands as well. I need to add in some school work or we'll lose our momentum. So, although brief and undecorated with pictures or links, I am taking my leave this morning. I will point you over to Doc's - button in the side bar - for some interesting reading.

Just before I go though....at a homeschooling message board I frequent, the question of Creation vs. Evolution was raised earlier this week. And then suddenly, I bump into further references to the same thing over at Doc's. Silly me, I follow a few links and crash into a mountain of reading. I've bookmarked it. I expect I'll be reading it over the next little bit. I've always had my own beliefs (Christian believing in evolution; there...I said it nearly outloud) but I've generally kept my mouth shut in most conversations. It's funny how with just a click of the mouse, I ran into a whole pile of reading that supports what I've been thinking. I'm so easily amused.

Conference Purchases

I always stress about being able to buy what I want for the kids. I want to get something they'll both like (economical) that's easy to use (practical) and that we're all interested in (relevant). Now, the tough part is knowing what I want. There are so many choices. So, I try to do my homework before going. I keep an eye out for deals while I'm there. And I spend the majority of the day just looking before buying. Here's what I got on the weekend:

The Ultimate Lap Book Handbook We often get stuck in just reading and answering questions, verbal or written, with the odd activity sheet thrown in. Boring. This book offers an artistic creation that the kids can be proud to show off. It instructs you to collect information about your topic of study in little bits and then how to put it all together when you're done. The process encourages art and writing and creativity from the kids - things that are sometimes left behind when Mom is concerned about covering the 'facts'. $33 from Cyndy Regeling herself, the author. I added her Lapbook Ladies link to the sidebar.

Handwriting Without Tears Printing Power Raiden has asked to learn to print 'fast'. He doesn't write a lot of things down because he doesn't like to. His hand gets tired when he does find something to write about because he doesn't do it on a regular basis. His brain works much faster than his fine motor skills but I think we've finally reached a point where he's ready to sit down and work away at his printing. In small bits. That's why I like these books.

There's lots of white space so it doesn't feel like there's too much 'work' to do. In this particular book, there's a nice balance between letter formation practice and printing words and sentences. There is a focus on uniform size and learning to write on smaller lines. Both things that Rai is looking for right now. $9.50 from TLC

The Awesome Adventurous Boys' Daily Journal Being a bit of a reluctant writer that has recently expressed his willingness to try some new writing activities, I picked up this little gem for Raiden. It is a very simple little compendium of creative writing starts...perfect for journaling. One of my seminars spoke to the benefits of encouraging pulling ideas out of your head and getting them down on paper. It made a lot of sense (maybe I'll summarize later in a future entry).

The booklet is organized in a very structured way: Months are broken into 4 weeks with four Journal Start Ideas in each week. I'm not that structured with the kids, so we'll just see how Rai wants to use it. It's a very simple way to alleviate the '...but I'm trying to think of an idea...' whining. And there isn't the roadblock of me suggesting ideas to him. I told him the story of the booklet: it's written by Cyndy Regeling's three sons. He seems to really like that idea. For peace and 160 creative ideas I didn't have to come up with, $6.

Complete EnglishSmart 4 This I picked up for Kori. It was my deal of the day. A couple of weeks ago, I happened to be discussing workbook style curriculum with a homeschooling mom I had just met. I checked out the MathSmart and EnglishSmart books she uses with her kids. She buys them at Scholar's Choice or Chapters Bookstores for $16+ dollars. I thought they would be something Kori would really like. I kept my eye out at the conference. I found a lot of MathSmart books, but didn't really want another math resource for Kori right now. She's really liking her Saxon stuff. At the very end of the day, I found this EnglishSmart 4 tucked away at a vendor table. The price said $9.95 and I thought 'Deal!' I waffled on and off because I'd probably choose the EnglishSmart 3 if I had a choice. But this vendor didn't have '3' so I closed my eyes, cringed and said I'd buy the book. "Five dollars," the lady said to me. Sold.

I should let you know that I have mentally chastised myself for underestimating Kori...again. She is a perfectionist and I tend to choose materials that I know she won't have trouble with. We opened EnglishSmart yesterday and she'll be just fine. As soon as she gets used to the style of it. But she's excited and willing, and that's 80% of the battle.

Timeline of Ancient History This is something I've had my eye out for since last year when I bought Story Of The World: Volume One. I've looked at making my own timeline with the kids and I haven't been very successful. A few false starts and we gave up. So, I now have a timeline I can fill in as we go through our book....I just have to find 10 feet of empty, kid-level wall space. $23 (!!) from TLC .

And that's it. Nothing too earth shattering. I left out the lunch I bought at the grocery store next to the church where the conference was, but I didn't take a picture of that.

Busy, Busy, Busy

I don't think I've ever worked so hard in my life. And I've had two babies...one of whom was stuck. Friday afternoon and late into the night I worked packing up my parent's shop. They had an automotive franchise. About 10 of us spent whatever time we could packing up 5 bays, the office, the computers, the parts, the equipment, everything - including all the bolted down things. We had about 24 hours to get it all off the property. Head office politics were heavily responsible. It's not the first shop they've yanked out from under the people who run them. There are class action law suits pending in both the States and Canada. I've never seen my parents so exhausted. It will take a couple of days to see what they are going to do. Perhaps they'll just help my brother set up the business to run on his own.

After working all afternoon Friday, I took a break for dinner and bedtime with my family. I returned to the shop to work some more and the sad part of things started. People were getting tired. My brother was at the hospital after almost slicing his finger off when moving one of the hoists. The wait at Emerg was taking too long, so we called our family doctor/neighbour who came into town and patched my brother up. While the patching up was taking place, my sister dropped a filing cabinet off of the dolly onto her foot. She was forced to calling her new husband in to help. He'd already been there for 12 hours and had just left to have a couple of beer with some friends. So poor sister with three damaged toes, was delegated into driving around her husband until his blood alcohol was back within legal limits. Later on in the evening, we discover that my mom had badly broken a toe earlier in the day. We didn't notice because first, she didn't say anything and second because she was keeping the business running while the rest of us were dismantling the place. There were a few other minor incidents. Just after midnight, we called off the work and left the rest for the morning. By 10am Saturday, the place was empty.

I grabbed four hours of sleep and then I was off for my Home Schooling Conference an hour out of town. It was a great day and I'm so glad I offered to drive up anyone who wanted a ride. It was nice to have company. The conference was great. The key-note speaker was awfully disappointing, in my opinion. I had two awesome seminars given by Cyndy Regeling (scroll down), some great shopping, a nice lunch and more than enough time to touch, feel read, discuss, compare and criticise all the wonderful resources the vendors brought with them.

Saturday night I slept like the dead.

This is what we did on Sunday:




It was great fun and a lovely change of pace. We even went for ice cream after. It was very Mary Poppinish. It didn't occur to me until later that night that my kids had never been kite-flying before. Raiden kept telling us that it was the best day ever.

Hopefully the muscle pain in my arms (and legs...and back, neck, feet and hands) will clear up shortly and I can share the treasures I brought home from the conference. Have a good week, all.

A Short Ramble

Just a quick note this morning.

Tomorrow is my conference so today was supposed to be my tidy-up and get-ready-to-go day. Three of us will be travelling together. I have to pick up my friend at 6:15. AM. That's in the morning. Last time I was up and out at that hour, it was February. I wonder if tomorrow will be as dark as it was then.

My mom called last night with some fairly earth shattering work related news. So I'm mashing as much of the tidy-up and get-ready-to-go into this morning. The kids and I will pack a lunch and a movie and then head over to 'the shop' so I can help mom and dad.

Usually as the weekend approaches, we're winding down. This weekend, I'm ramping up for a busy couple of days. Hopefully when I check in again, I'll be highly motivated and encouraged and reaffirmed with our homeschooling journey. At the very least, I should have some pretty new books to use!

Hope everyone has a great weekend and enjoys some nice weather.

Ask, And You Shall Receive

I'm off to a homeschooling conference this weekend. I'm very excited. I've even saved my birthday money for 2 months and 10 days so I can spend it all at the vendor fair. Oh, and gas to get there. And lunch. But I digress.

As many homeschooling moms do, I've been thinking about resources and materials for our continued homeschooling. I'd say 'for next year', but we tend to bumble our way through our homeschooling career in fits and spurts, taking time off here and there leaving me stressed enough to tell the kids 'That's it! We're doing school work through the summer!'. I'm looking forward to spending a good amount of time at the conference's vendor fair, touching and feeling and reading before buying. It scares me to buy something sight unseen.

The kids have been gravitating toward more sit-down work. So I've been thinking about this 'Handwriting Without Tears' I've heard about. I happened to mention the program to my sister, an Occupational Therapist, after hearing that many OTs have used it successfully with their clients. Well, if she's not carting around the whole entire program in a lovely canvas 'Handwriting Without Tears' tote bag.

So, today I'm going to leisurely meander my way through the materials without having to sling a plastic bag of catalogues on my elbow while using my other elbow to protect myself from the eager homeschooling parents who are trying to read over my shoulder while a pleasant sales-oriented vendor is trying to extol the virtues of the particular resource I am manhandling before having to dash off to my next seminar.

I might even drink tea while doing so.

I Missed You Yesterday

Yesterday was Tuesday. There was less snow, but it certainly wasn't gone.

Yesterday I made muffins. I made Banana Oatmeal muffins and Banana muffins with some sugar stuck to the top. I made Apple Chunk muffins and Apple Oatmeal muffins. The kids put together some of Brian's favorite Sugar 'n Spice muffins that we had to bake in mini-muffin tins because they're quicker than I was with the dishes. We made Blueberry muffins. We were going to make Raisin Bran muffins and Bran Muffins Disguised as Something Raiden Will Eat, but we ran out of steam.

I dumped bran into all the muffins we did make. The kids were skeptical. They lost all composure and called me crazy when I made Banana muffins with bran and mayo. They're good, really. Rai ate one. The sugar we stuck to the top helps you get over the 'but it's got mayo in it!' hump.

Then I froze the muffins. Individually. My Save-The-World-From-Excess-Packaging tendencies were terribly offended. The whole point to this exercise was to have a somewhat healthy, high fibre option available for Raiden at a moment's notice. Kidney problems are exasperated by constipation and we're trying to not have kidney problems. Its just one thing in a collection of proactive habits to make sure we have established.

Now, if I was a savvy blogger, I'd have pretty pictures of our muffin making. I have to admit, I did think of it. But then there was the back-up of dishes and the salt spill and the blueberry emergency.

This is all I've got. Muffins wrapped in foil, labeled by Kori, stacked in the deep freeze.

Yup, It's Monday.

We woke up this morning to Brian's work phone. Co-Worker won't be coming in today. In an office of 3, that's something you want to know about in the morning. Brian checks the weather from the window. He mentions something about it having snowed.


Now, the weather around here lately had been odd. Flurries have been happening for the last couple of weeks. Flurries kinda mixed in at times with rain. It's wet and muddy. You could call it a cold Spring. I pay no attention to his comment and begin thinking about how long I can stay in bed without feeling guilty.


Brian calls from the shower. Normally, I don't bother him in the shower. I figure there must be a towel shortage or some other laundry emergency. Nope, the power's out. Happy Monday to us. Since I'm up now, I figure I'll go make tea and get started on the day. I pass the front door on the way to the kitchen and nearly fall over.

It seems when Brian says 'it snowed', he means 'let's go sledding'.


I nix the tea idea and go outside to clear off the car. After all, the poor guy had to shower in the dark. There's a lot of snow. And it's heavy.

The poor little birds are crying. Their tree is in sorry shape for the Springtime mating rituals we've been watching recently.

There's a foot and a half of snow at the front of the car because apparently, it's also slippery snow and it has slid off the car to pile there. I dig out the licence plate.

My husband hands me the dog who is overjoyed to see snow again. It's still snowing quite heavily. And it's wet. My hair is soaking. I'm in my pyjamas. And then he takes a picture.






Can Monday get any better than this??! Yes, those are my pink pyjama pants. Flannel is sexy. Really.

In other news, Rai is good. We had a good day at CHEO. We have determined it is only his left kidney that is effected by some sort of blockage. Noone seems to be able to find it, but they suspect it's still there. So we're going to stop his antibiotics and see what happens. Either the blockage has happened in the past and has done it's damage and then cleared itself and we won't see any further problems (unlikely) or he'll have another 'episode' which we will do our best to catch on ultrasound. I am looking forward to getting the poor kid off his meds which are causing every side effect in the book. Hopefully I can get him cleaned out before any more problems crop up.

Off To See The Wizard

Raiden and I are off to CHEO tomorrow.

It's our second trip for some diagnostic testing. It's really bittersweet. We've been before, so the anticipation is less. The specialist's very confident, almost-absolute certainty about Rai's kidney problem has dwindled into a guess about a condition that might be masked by something else.

I am grateful that we are close enough to have easy access to the best doctors. I know everyone there is as fast and gentle as humanly possible. We're definitely in good hands. Heck, we've got our own personal Child Life Specialist at our disposal for the day. It's the Chateau Laurier of hospital experiences.

I guess I'm just having a hard time getting my head in the game. My inner cheerleader is not raring to go this time. Rai's resigned to go, but not happy about it. The idea of getting rid of his stomach pain is not holding any water with him. He's tired of the effects of his antibiotics.

Anyway, onward and upward. I'm turning the PC off for the day as I'm not really into this game today either. I wish it would stop raining and snowing. I'm off to make a busy day for us. I'll check back in sometime this weekend. Over and out.

Helicopters in the Sidebar

Just a quick note today as Wednesdays are my 'out' day. Errands and Library.

This means I try to accomplish some things in the morning. 'Having the house and it's inhabitants looking presentable and some school work done' would be nice - it's the goal. However, I usually only accomplish 'Everybody dressed, books collected and Brian's lunch ready' by the time we have to leave. It's always nice to strive for something.

Today I'm striving for an added perk. Since an award for 'Best Homeschooling Blog' didn't seem to be in order, I decided to shoot for 'Meanest Mom' by removing screen privileges from the children. I'll let you know how it goes.

You may notice the little addition to the sidebar. What a fancy little feature we can now use to further clutter our blogs!! Add a bunch of video, why not! I figured I'd try it out and see how it works. I should put a plug in for the videos. Brian has been learning to fly little helicopters. I think I'm supposed to call them RC Heli's or something more manly than what usually pops out of my mouth. He's made a few videos of his fights and posted them on You Tube. It seems he's also proven that it is possible to fly throughout the winter, contrary to popular opinion. Not knowing what other videos I would get from the search engine, and not wanting to be suddenly surprised with questionable content, I decided to just enter Bri's user name into the search box of videos that will be displayed.

That's all folks. I'm off to become even more popular by dragging the girl-child from her bed. Then I will jump-start our day and make up for our slovenliness of yesterday with a double dose of chores and schoolwork...ok, hopefully we will get to our reading. And apparently I have to rescue Raiden's baby RC helicopter from behind the school shelf. Yes, not only does he play hockey in the house, he flies helicopters in here too. With so much to do, I wonder why they're upset I turned the screens off??

Family Movie Night

One Friday night, not too long ago, we rented a movie and had Family Movie Night. It was all going along swimmingly until near the end of the movie when the popcorn ran out. For some reason, I can't even remember which movie we watched.

Last Vestiges of Toddlerhood....or The Backyardigans

These are the Backyardigans.

They are daytime tv viewing for little kids.

They are colourful, musical and adventurous.

And my kids like to watch them.

Ok, I like the Backyardigans. And so does Brian!

If I could figure out how to post a music player on this silly blog, I'd give you a sampling of the music. But today, that seems a little technically impossible. So you'll just have to take my word for it.

The whole idea, is that the little cartoon-y creatures have great imaginations. They play together in their backyard and have amazing adventures. Pablo - the little blue penguinish guy - is a little anxious and has regular panic attacks. The purple kangaroo guy - Austin - doesn't say much unless it's very important. He may, for example, point out a hazard along the path with a well timed, "Quicksand, bad!" I find Uniqua, the pink...um, character?...a little bossy.

The greatest thing ever is the music in this program. There is every genre you can think of: jazz, blues, swing, classical, rock, country, dance, disco, hip-hop. Sometimes they take popular tunes and put words to them. Sometimes it's an original creation. Whatever the form, the lyrics tend to be fabulously put together. They're funny, unexpected and not always in the childish form you might expect from a preschooler show aimed at an audience 2 - 6 years old.

So, in my quest for Backyardigan multi-media resources, I found a site at Treehouse that gives you a lyric sheet to print. I love, love, love that the genre is printed with the relevant details of the song (composer, lyrics written by, etc.). Now the kids have to believe me when I tell them that the song, "Into The Thick Of It" is actually in the style of a Gilbert & Sullivan production. They've told me that they 'hate' opera...but now I have introduced some niggling doubt into their minds. Look at me go.

Otherwise, I just love that the kids are still finding little bits of pure enjoyment in totally kid-like fashion. There is so much that they are convinced that they have outgrown or are too old for. They are noticing more grown-up things and striving to understand more mature humour. It's great, really, I'm enjoying that they are more independent. You know, they can cart their clothes to the laundry and they can feed themselves if they're hungry. But it's also great to be reminded that they're just kids...and that they can unabashedly march around the house pretending to be a blue penguin and his pink friend-of-unknown-origin, belting out pseudo-show tunes without a second thought. That's why I like the Backyardigans.

Good Friday

I'm on borrowed time this morning. Math, SOTW and German are calling. Well, at least they're calling me. One kidlet is called by her cartooning and the other kidlet is replaying last night's Ottawa vs. Pittsburgh game in the kitchen with his mini-sticks.

However, there is a good story brewing. I've got to tell you about the Easter Egg Hunt sometime. I hadn't thought how significant my childhood Easter egg hunt was until I realized that it might not happen this year. You have to understand...the Easter Egg Hunt is an institution. We used to go to church with my parents when I was a kid. Then we just went at Christmas and Easter. Then not really at all. But there was always the Easter Egg Hunt. What is life without 4+ athletically strong and growing bodies crashing around a small living room at top speed, no holds barred, trying to get the most chocolate eggs?? The more I think of this, the more of an issue not having a hunt this year is going to be.

In other news, be careful what you wish for. I know this. I once asked for focus and direction in my life and Kori happened. But get this: Doc has left a button! I admit, I'm a little excited. I added it to my sidebar...but not so high up that my star-struck-ed-ness is too in-your-face. I never got the 'star-struck' thing. I never had boy-band posters hanging in my room. I never wrote fan letters. I do find Doc a little special, though. So for that reason, I'll try out the button for a while and see how it goes.

We're off for some socializing this afternoon. Not sure how that happened. We're not really the socializing kind. But this time, the kids were invited and the host is Brian's co-worker. So we figured we'll go and have a drink. I'm having one for Doc - just because she's a good sport.

4 Day Weekend

Doc was here. Is there a button for that? I feel a little special. Really, can I get a button? A small blinky...anything?

Brian has 4 days off. We're all ready for Easter. Today and Friday I'm going to do my best to get some schoolwork done with the kids. We're in a groove and I don't want to lose it.

So, a couple of school days, trying to get something done with the 32 year old around to distract me. I'm always torn. I love his distractions. But I want to try to stick to a bit of the schedule. I'll figure it out, I'm sure. And then a couple of family days. Big Easter dinner at my parent's on Saturday. I don't suppose I'll be able to convince anyone to go to church with me, so I'll probably skip that too. The Story of Easter is on the schedule. Just thought you should know...in case you thought I was raising heathen brats.

I'm shooting for heathen brats who know their bible stories.

Now, where's my button?

Intro to Poetry 101

I used to be quite the English student. I liked to read the intellectual pursuits. I searched out the difficult bits. No Coles Notes for this girl. At least, not until I had read a selection and had convinced myself I had picked out all the juicy, tricky, hidden bits and pieces. I used to wow my teachers with talented bits of creative writing. And then I'm not so sure what happened. Well, I suppose high school Enriched English happened. That was a misnomer. It was more like Double The Workload English. So I suppose the downward spiral started there. The creative writing petered out. The literary selections at my bedside turned into college texts and handwritten workout schedules. Then when I entered the real world, my reading material consisted of Policy and Procedures manuals, a rotating stack of teenagers' resumes to review and pool schedules on Excel spreadsheets. In years since then, occasionally the odd intellectual pursuit falls into my lap. I enjoyed The Life of Pi and the delicious way it tumbled around in my head for a long time afterwards. I am enjoying that my kids ask for stories by authors the like of Pierre Burton and C.S. Lewis. It's nice to see depth again.

I like to see the book selections for the Ontario Library Association's Silver Birch Awards. The kids have been involved with this program for a few years now. It's a perfect opportunity to see some new materials - some that we would not have been drawn to on our own - that are usually well written, stimulating and enjoyable.

For a number of months, I have flirted with the idea of poetry. Mainly due to the beautiful bits and pieces I see Karen taunt me with. And, as usual, I need God to throw a train wreck in my path before I sit up and notice a good idea. This time, the train wreck was in the form of Raiden, bringing home this book:

There's some really great poetry in there! The kids just ate it up. They each picked a favorite selection. They are practicing reading it. Outloud. They asked me to read from it. After they had already sat through me reading the whole thing to them. We had to look up a picture of the author. We had to listen to a podcast of her talking about the writing of the book. Because we had to hear what her voice sounded like.

And then this happened:

That is Kori reading to Raiden from Science Verse a witty and intriguing collection of poetry (and for you lovers of great and correct poetry, please remember that it's meant to be funny) about everything science. It just sort of jumped off the shelf at me while I was looking for something 'literary' in the 811.6s See what I mean? My path is strewn with train wrecks that the more alert, observant person would probably contrive to create on their own with less hassle and amazement...again, things I am known for. O, if you do happen to get your hands on Science Verse, make sure it's got the CD that goes with it. There's a little pocket inside the back cover. Jon and Lane, the authors, do a bang-up job of presenting the poems...and a few extra hilarious bits.

So, with very little trouble, I'd like to announce our official introduction to poetry. The kids are engaged. I'm motivated. Noone is complaining. And the kids are reading. Sometimes outloud. Who knew?

Well, This Is Interesting....

I was enjoying my daily read over at Doc's and she drew my attention over to The Homeschool Blog Awards.

There is an extensive list of blogs being nominated for the various awards. And due to Doc's candid overview, I now know what I'm doing for the Easter weekend.

My first inclination is to stand by on the sidelines and observe the entire process. Then, if I am suitably impressed, I may choose to participate next year. Or not. I'm famous for my good intentions.

Anyway, if you happen to form your own enlightening impression of this little slice of the Blogging World, make sure you pop back over here and let me know your thoughts.

The Creation and the Carnage

A Bit About My Weekend.

It is so nice to see the weather taking a turn toward Spring.

My Provider-Problem-Solver-Rescuer-From-Bugs-and-Noises-Who-Doesn't-Back-Down-In-The-Face-Of-Constant-Female-Persuasion was a Man With A Mission this weekend. The front and back yards are tidied and ready for the nice weather. The BBQ is still away as I had seen mention of a brief lapse-to-snow in the weather later this week while reading the Weather Network. Our taxes are done and filed. I am feeling happy and loved. We capped off the weekend by sitting through a long, convoluted chick-flick that ended weakly. The kind of movie that you say, "oh, this should pick up soon...any minute now...surely just after this part we'll see some action...". Surprisingly, it never did and even more surprisingly, Brian did not complain or fall asleep. Now, if that's not a genuine reflection of his love, I don't know what is.

Friday evening we took the kids to see the Science Fair projects at the Mall. We took some pics so we can talk about them later. We've been talking about the Scientific Method and they were pretty impressed to be able to pick out the various steps we'd been discussing in most of the projects displayed. They were also pleased to see the models and experiments. I was surprised to see the kind of things they were each drawn to. It was fun to watch them.

The kids had their library program on Saturday. Brian and I had the hour to ourselves. That's still a novelty for me. We spent the remainder of the day at home working away at various things. I made cupcakes for my sister's birthday breakfast on Sunday. The kids lay around, played hockey in the house, read, drew, watched too much TV. Rai fell asleep watching the hockey game.

Sunday morning we took the cupcakes out to the farm and we ate breakfast in mom's semi-finished kitchen. Most of the cabinetry is in. There is still much discussion to be had before the counter top is ordered. It seems my parents have given up on those tiny squares of counter top samples and have moved on to Korean Saki stoneware jars. There is a Saki jar in a red tone that matches the wood ceiling and floor. There is another in a cream tone that matches the finish on the cabinets. I am staying out of any further discussion.

I'm getting excited about the Conference coming up. For the first time in my homeschooling conference career, I'll be attending with some people I know. Registration is mailed out today and I can spend the next couple of weeks filling up my car with other excited ladies. We're all really looking forward to the vendor fair.

On tap for this week: Schoolwork, schoolwork, schoolwork. We have lots of reading to do. We are going to keep on our enjoyable math schedule (4 days a week and we squeak in 4 - 6 lessons in that time). I'm going to try for a daily read in our Story Of The World. We've been hanging on to this Volume One for far too long. Kori's April project is to have her book ready for binding. I'm sure that will be a blog in itself by the time it's finished. I need to find Raiden a project because his current pursuit of Mini-Sticks-In-The-Kitchen is getting really, really, really old.