Pumpkins And Costumes

This past Saturday, Grandma and Grandpa M. and Paul arrived with pumpkins and Kori's costume. Kori did her own carving this year and is quite proud of the results. Raiden stuck both hands inside of his pumkin - holding scoops chopstick style - which is great progress. I still don't think he's actually touched pumpkin guts, though.

Kori's costume, an Egyptian mummy/Cleopatra, turned out really nicely. Paul put a lot of work into it and trekked around to more than one theatre supply place in Toronto to do so. Kori is pretty happy with it. Raiden is a 'Karate Guy'. That's it. Just 'A Karate Guy'. No embellishment...actually, come to think of it...this picture is a fairly accurate representation of my kids' personalities...

How Do I Feel? Let Me Count The Ways...

In a previous blog I mentioned that I had felt a bit of mother-guilt relief after I discovered Raiden could read 6th grade sight words. This evening I ran into an old acquaintance. She's a teacher and a previous employee of mine in my past life. We used to be kinda chummy until I began homeschooling. Of course we caught up quickly: she's teaching 7/8 at a local school; my kids are 4th and 2nd grade; still homeschooling. In the midst of the chit-chat, she opens up ds' backpack and checks out the things he brought to do. He's packed a few books and she asks him if he can read these books. He says yes and she is somewhat impressed. Wouldn't it be nice if her grade 8 kids could read those books, she remarks.

So, how do we feel about this...

First, I'm a little put out that she was so forward to go into a backpack that wasn't hers. Second, I was relieved that I could set aside her unsaid assumption that my kids weren't going to do very well without a 'real' teacher. Third, I was happy that Rai spoke up for himself. And fourth, I'm still disappointed that her opinion of homeschooling is such that I am only delaying my children's entrance into the system. Fifth, I am feeling confused as to why I feel the need to impress/explain to/justify my choices to this woman.

More Sleep/Less Sleep

Raiden decided today that he is the type of person that needs less sleep. It's true. He can go to bed at midnight and still be up and functioning at 7am the next morning. Rai still likes his bedtime stories. He gets very upset if we dont' get a few chapters of some sort of chapter book in before we turn out the light.

Kori made it very clear that she recognizes that she needs more sleep. She also needs wake-up time in the morning. She also prefers to have up to an hour of quiet time bofroe light's out at night. She reads, knits, draws, journals. Not to label, but she is a high-needs individual.

So, it looks like we're going to try an 8:30pm lights out for a while. And we're going to try an 8am start to our day. 8's not so bad if I get to bed between 10 and 11. I sound so spoiled. I'm such a whimp.

More of the Grand Design later on...for now...it's off to the pool for swimming lessons!

A Quick Check In

Some points and highlights from today so far....nothing earth-shattering....

Went to visit Grandpa out at the house today to see how the kitchen demolition is going. I think we'll go out on Sunday with masks and gloves to help get the lathe and plaster off the walls....not to mention the various layers of wallpaper and drywall. There's no insulation, I noticed. Crazy!

Stopped and let the kids run rampant through the grocery store on the way home. lol No, really I went and collected a few items while they looked at toys. Kori seems to think staring wantingly at the 'Cuddle Chimp' for extended periods of time will get me to buy it for her.

I just discovered Limewire. This might be a problem.

Tom Cochrane is releasing a new album on Hallowe'en. On it he has done a cover of 'Spirit In The Sky'. I used to love that song. I'll probably love his version of it as well, since I'm not opposed to Tom Cochrane.

The kids are getting along wonderfully lately (<--happy dance..couldn't find a 'knock on wood' smilie). They are even helping each other out and being considerate.

Brian is still sick. I have watched him suffer enough so I went and collected some special teas for him today. I drink this stuff when I have a cold. One cup every four hours and your head stays clear, your throat is soothed...and you have to pee like a racehorse...frequently. But even that would be better than this 'close to death' state that Bri is walking around in. The rest of us have sore throats and even Kori is starting to get a sniffle. So I think I will share some of Rai's Cold-FX around.

K, cold meds, lunch and then we hit the calender.

A Long, Uphill, Bumpy Ride Over The Hump This Week

Wow. Is this week ever dragging. It feels like we've been slugging through mud, uphill and someone keeps moving the darn hill! It's been cold and dingy out. The kids are playing outside if I send them. It seems I have begun to hibernate early this year. Brian has caught a terrible cold. I wish he would let me put him on ColdFX...or echinacea...or that nice Cold/Flu tea that mom gets us. But no, he'll battle it out...and of course, he has absolutaly no time off in the forseeable future.

We've had two different recipes of crock-pot cider the last two days. Makes the house smell nice instead of like old-stuffy-carpet. And the kids like it. They heard me read the recipe we tried today (maple syrup, allspice, cloves, cinnamon, orange juice concentrate, cider) and then they actually tried it and had seconds. Did you know that cloves are expensive?!? Almost $7 for one of the weeny shaker bottles!! And I was thinking of doing Cloved Orange Pomanders at Christmastime...


Rai's Hallowe'en party was awesome - he says. I managed to drop him off and return only to help clean up. He's having a good time at Beavers and I don't need to be there. Progress!! I forgot the camera so I don't have a pic of him in his 'Karate Guy' uniform. One of the mom's commented as he went in, "That's a pretty fancy belt for a kiddy Hallowe'en Party". I cringed as I knew someone was going to say something. I know nothing about the Martial Arts (other than Ninjitsu rolls cause my brother to break collar bones in turn causing mom to yank all her offspring out of that 'violent silliness'). I was tying his belt when we were getting ready to go knowing for certain that I was doing it wrong and probably breaking 14 Cardinal Rules of Katate Uniform Respect. Oh well...he loves his costume and didn't ruin it...it is all white, you know.

Rai's finishing up his last week of meds. We finally received our Clinic Appointment: November 21. I need to dash over to the hospital and get his films from the ultrasound. We are in big trouble if we don't bring them. When the lady called to book the appointment with me, she told me about them twice. Then, we received confirmation by mail and it's in there too. Twice. Highlighted. In Pink. Twice. Apparently we are going to see how Rai does without his meds for a couple of weeks. We will monitor him through weekly urinalysis at the hospital lab, watching for rising levels of infection. I spoke briefly with Dr.W who mentioned he had seen the ultrasound results. Rai's left kidney seems to be the culprit. There seems to be a couple of different problems with it. Suddenly the abdominal pains and the urine infections make sense.

We are looking froward to a homeschooler's day at the Museum this Friday. Hopefully I will remember to pick up local postcards while I am out. We also are hoping to check out the new park at Blockhouse Island with friends after our program.

And the last thing I will share tonight....I am just about ready to throw the towel in. Everything takes so long to accomplish here at home. I can't keep up with anything. Every time I start something, someone else needs me to do something for them. I am too scatterbrained to get back to whatever it was that I was doing in the first place. A simple 'pick up the house' (declutter) took me two and a half hours last week. I insisted the kids helped. Once I am able to get everyone on the same page (stuff put away, ready for the day, fed & watered) we are all too frustrated to hit the books. Stuff piles up and I avoid it. Case in point: still haven't filled out October's calendar. I am so scattered right now I'm avoiding the phone. So, instead of jumping off a bridge...I fear I will have to make lists. And charts. And I'm going to have to really try to stick to a schedule. Oh joy. Oh bliss. We've been talking about doing what needs to be done first and then enjoying free time so we don't feel rushed. Excellent in principle, not so successful in practice. Over the summer I read Sidetracked Home Executives. Amusing. Practical. Good ideas. Now I'm going to have to do it.

That's a good idea. I think the kids and I will sit down and do it together tomorrow. IT being a daily/weekly schedule of stuff-to-do-after-breakfast-before-dad-gets-home-for-lunch-and-before-anyone-leaves-the-house-or-uses-the-electronics. I'm even thinking of getting Bri to lock out the PC until he gets home for lunch. Isn't that what husbands are for? To help with accountability?

As always, lovely chatting with you and catching up. Cross your fingers for us on the 21st.