February 6, 2010

Yesterday was one of those days I had a LOT of errands to run and I had bored kids with me. I just love days like that.

Luckily the people at Les Schwab plan for days like that and installed a TV WITH cable at the other end of the store. I think it was a woman who thought to put it at the other end of the store. Otherwise you'd have a lot of guys standing around watching Elmer hunt for Wabbits and not a lot of work getting done. So the kids watched Phineas and Ferb and only complained about being tired/hungry/bored 27 times. When we left Les Schwab I took the kids over to Burger King and bought them some lunch and let them play in the play area. I really think we need more indoor play areas around here. It usually rains 3/4 of the year and the kids end up inside more than out. And I don't know about your house but at mine we go STIR CRAZY!!
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That reminds me. I finally bit the bullet and bought a yearlong pass to the Hands on Children's Museum. Along with the membership we get huge discounts to almost every other museum we'd ever want to visit.

February 5, 2010

Jack.

Our cutesy little puppy has grown by leaps and bounds.
When we first got him he would fit perfectly on my lap.

Now I fit on his.

February 4, 2010

A few days ago I decided to get the kids swim bags, jackets and other 'stuff' organized as much as I could. So I installed four coat hooks below our cork board and two heavy duty hooks on the wall next to it. Now Devon and Regan have a designated place to hang their swim bags and when I tell everyone to hang up their jackets, they know exactly where to put them.

The cork board is something we started using last year after Michael's arm was crushed at work. He had so many appointments we were getting overwhelmed trying to keep them all organized.

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I was keeping everything in my daily planner but that didn't do Michael any good when a Dr. would call to set up an appointment time. So we set up the cork board with a big calendar and keep everything up to date on it. We also keep a copy of every ones business card so its easy to get numbers and addresses.

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I have another big cork board above my desk that's just for me. I keep reminders, schedules, phone numbers, menu plans and anything else I need help remembering up there.

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January 17, 2010

January 10, 2010

January 7, 2010

I took this picture the other day while the kids and I were at the park. It brought to mind something I've been trying to teach the kids for a long time now.

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We're a team.

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That it doesn't matter who gets credit or who gets the praise. When your buddy's feeling down (please!) don't kick him. Help him up and go on together.

January 6, 2010

The weekend of the 15th & 16th is going to be our next swim meet. It will be Regans first! Now that I've been to a few swim meets with Devon I've picked up a few tips on what to pack. Both for myself and my swimmer. Here's what I've planned so far. If you have any more ideas for me please let me know.

Swimmers Bag-

team suit

practice suit

goggles (2)

swim cap (2)

flip flops

towels (2)

warm up pants/shorts

t-shirt/sweatshirt

water bottle

plastic bag

propel packets

clif bars

Parents Bag-

directions & phone number
sharpie

highlighters

pen

i-pod

book

clipboard

Cooler-

fruit

granola

power bars

string cheese

pretzels/goldfish crackers

trail mix

propel packets

water bottles

sandwiches

January 5, 2010

Over at TheDiaperDiaries there is a carnival going on where everyone lists their top ten iPhone or iTouch apps. Since I just got an iTouch this was right up my alley! So here are the top ten apps I currently use:

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1. Where's Waldo?- this was the first app I actually purchased. It was 2.99 and worth every penny. This is perfect for keeping the kids entertained during long waits.

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2/3.White/Yellow Pages- Ever need a phone number and you aren't home to look it up? Here's your solution! This saves me a lot of time.

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4.MapQuest- I have no problem getting around here in town, but when I need to head into the city this app is amazing! Since I need wi-fi to use it I just pull up the info I need before I leave the house.

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5.Virtual Villagers 3- I just love these little people!

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6/7. Twitter & Facebook- Where would I be without these two apps? I just wish my iTouch had come with a phone so I could post pics to go with some of my updates. A lot of things would probably make more sense.

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8. TMZ- I am really addicted to people magazine but the people app wasn't free. TMZ was though! Some things on TMZ need skipped but overall its ok.

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9. Sudoku- I love sudoku!

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10. Scrabble- I just got this app last night. So far I've played three times and won twice. So I'd say this ones a winner!

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If you have any good app suggestions please leave me a comment letting me know what you like.

January 3, 2010

January 2, 2010

Last Saturday, the day after Christmas, Payton and Ryan decided it would be lots of fun to jump on his bed. And it probably was, too. Until Payton fell off the edge of the bed and smacked her lip on her dresser. Then the fun up and left. In its place was blood, pain and lots of tears. Oh, and blood. A whole trail of it through the house.

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I was in the kitchen when Ryan came storming downstairs yelling that Payton was bleeding 'all over the place.' I took one look at her lip (and really, the picture doesn't do it justice) and knew we were headed for the E.R.

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Living so close to the hospital and being the fast acting parents that we are, Michael and I had Payton at the E.R. about 15 minutes after the accident happened. We got her registered, signed our life away I mean, gave our billing information and settled down for what we were sure would be a short wait.

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NINE HOURS LATER...

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...we were finally given a room in the back and were seen by a Dr. He had her fixed up (she needed four stitches) and discharged in less than an hour. I think he felt bad about how long we had to wait. Seriously, people in the waiting room were getting upset about how long we had been waiting.

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Oh, and on a side note. There was a guy in the waiting room (he was there to be seen. Not waiting for someone else) who ordered a pizza and had it delivered!!

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Payton has done fine with the stitches. She hasn't messed with them at all and has been really good about letting up put a salve on it. The Dr. said her lip will look a lot worse (scar wise) before it looks better but that in a year it will only be a thin line. Sounds good to me.

January 1, 2010

Last month Devon went to her first High School dance. Michael and I had small heart attacks over the fact that she was old enough to go to H.S. dances but once we were sufficiently recovered we went about helping her get ready. I took her shopping for shoes and a dress. Michael bought her mace and taught her some self defence.

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She was originally going to the dance with one of her friends from the swim team but about a week before the dance Dana found out she couldn't go. So Devon asked me if she could go with a boy. A boy!! Can you believe that?! My first reaction was ABSOLUTELY NOT but we talked about it and agreed she could go with him.

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The day of the dance we had Danyelle come over and they both helped each other get ready. I think they spent three or four hours doing make up and hair. Which is funny since Devon had her hair done by Kristy and the only makeup she's allowed to wear is mascara and eyeliner.

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I dropped the girls off around 8:30 and picked them up at 11:30. Devon said she had a great time with Anthony (they danced twice!) and hanging out with her cousins. (Both Mariah and Danyelle were at the dance.) The next dance is in about three weeks. I think its a formal and I know Devon really wants to go. We'll see...

One of our FAVORITE things to do school-wise is SCIENCE!! Our first science day was back in early September but somehow I forgot to write about it. I'm not sure how I managed to miss posting about it. OH WAIT! It may have had something to do with the 632 swim meets we had.

I found a few boxed science kits at Michaels for about 50% off and thought they would be a great way to start out. The first day we did science we studied colors. We learned what the primary colors are and what happens when we mix those colors. The kit included these little white crystals that turned into blobs of colored gel when you put them into the colored water.

A few weeks ago Regan started going to a local tutoring center. The man who started and runs the center is a retired teacher I used to work with. His whole philosophy on teaching is that if you gets kids interested in something there is no limit to what they can learn. I like that!

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So Regan goes down there once a week (for now) and gets a lot of help with her reading. She really likes to read but it has become a big challenge for her. After working with Regan for about an hour, Mr. Freeman noticed that Regan isn't making mental movies. So when she reads she isn't picturing what happens in her mind. She's just reading words. Which is fine when she was reading easy readers with simple lines like 'Pat is a cat.' But now that she is wanting to move into beginner chapter books its causing problems.

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So Michael and I have her go to the Freeman Center once a week, she goes to Juliannas house twice a week for one on one work and her teacher at school is having her work one on one with another teacher three days a week. So basically Regan is surrounded with people who are helping her with her reading. And she's LOVING it!

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Book Review: The Quest To Digest

The Quest To Digest

Written by Mary K. Corcoran

Illustrated by Jef Czekaj

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We read this book this morning as a part of our study of the human body. Everyone (including myself) learned something new with this book! It's written for the 3rd to 5th grade group but it held Regan and Ryans attention from beginning to end.

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The story starts with a little green guy explaining why we need food and proceeds to go through every part of the digestion process. From why we need saliva to why we burp and throw up. The illustrations in this book really helped the younger kids understand what I was reading.

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I found an activity guide to go along with the book that we all just loved! Doing things like measuring out 20 feet so we could see how long our small intestines are and putting bread and water in a ziploc bag and mashing it up to show what chewing does to our food REALLY help to remember the lesson. I would recommend the book and activity guide for kids in grades 1-6 with the younger kids getting a little extra explaining.

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Activity Guide

The time. It's gotten away from me.

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The days have blended together in a whirlwind of schoolwork, trips to the pool, grocery shopping, laundry, cooking, cleaning and millions of little errands. Oh, and a few classes thrown in there for good measure. I'm feeling a little tired.

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I have dozens of blog posts floating around in my mind and hopefully soon I'll have a chance to get a few transferred to the computer.

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Until then, enjoy this little clip.

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Habitats

For science Ryan, Regan and I have been studying habitats. In addition to the Evan-Moor Daily Science worksheets, we are reading as many books as we can find from our local library. Here are the books we have read so far.Savanna Animals: Fun facts and Stuff To Do
Let's Find Rain Forest Animals: Up, Down, Around

Rain Forest Animals

Talking About The Earth: Prairies

Land Habitats

About Habitats: Deserts

True Book: Desert Mammals

Backyard Habitats

Does A Baboon Sleep In A Bed?

The Antarctic Habitat

Animal babies in Ponds And Rivers

We are about halfway through our unit so there may be books added to this list.

Last Friday we got a new puppy from Elissa and her boyfriend Scott. Scott dog, Zelda, is a Great Dane who had 'relations' with a neighborhood hottie. We've been waiting for him since early August and are thrilled that he's finally joined us!
So, he was delivered Friday morning and we (the whole family) have been brain storming a name for him every since. Today we finally settled on naming him Jack. JACK!! The name I love and suggested right away! It was fun listening to the kids' suggestions for names. Regan really wanted to name him Buttercup. Isn't that funny!

So far it seems like Payton has bonded with jack the most. She makes beds for him, reads to him and spends most of her time playing with him. She even helps Michael when its time to take Jack outside to go potty. The only problem she has with him is whenever she is on the floor Jack likes to climb on top of her and just lay there!