Wednesday, January 14, 2009
A Few Pictures
Here are just a few photos from Christmas. Two of the photos I took for our Christmas card and one of each of the boys with their BIG Christmas gifts. More photos to come later.
Goal Check In and Other Thoughts
So, this last weeks goal was to get my old camera software off the computer and the new camera software installed. I mentioned this in passing to My Honey last week. I know this does not sound like much of a goal to some of you but I am pretty much computer illiterate. It is all I can do to find a program let alone do anything with it. This past Saturday I decided to get crackin' and get it done. I sat down at my computer and began looking in the obvious place, under "All Programs." It wasn't there. I took the opportunity to get rid of a few other old programs and software that we no longer use but the one I was really looking for was clearly missing. Of course, My Honey had left on a business trip by this time so I was unable to ask him for help. I continued to search for the missing program for about 3 days and then gave up. On Tuesday, my good friend Michelle asked me how my goal was coming along and I shared with her that I was unable to find the program in my computer. Our conversation spurred me on to try once again. I returned to my computer last night and spent a bit more time searching, but to no avail. I then decided that I would access the program via my desk top and see if there was some way to remove the program that way. I returned to my desk top only to find............
DRUM ROLL, PLEASE..............................................................
.........My Honey must have already removed said program some time last week!!!
It was no longer on my desk top! I had been searching and searching and practically pulling my hair out in frustration over being unable to find that program only to find it wasn't there to find! My Honey was just being helpful, and knowing that I am not exactly a computer whiz, he took care of it for me. I just wish he had told me. It would have saved me quite a bit of frustration. Note to self: Look in the most obvious place first!
I have now downloaded my new software. That was easy, as it is just a matter of following the prompts. I now need to learn how to use it and get my first photos downloaded. I will try to do that within the next few days.
This Week's Goal- This week my goal is to inventory both my inside and outside freezer so that I can better prepare for making meals each night. I will also throw out any old items and pull older, usable items to the front and put newer items in the back. One of my long term goals is to follow weekly meal plans! I have started this in the past but it is so easy to get sidetracked with all the sports schedules and family happenings. Because of this, our family goes out to dinner far too often and it needs to stop. Not only is it not good for us, it costs way too much. Since the beginning of the year, I have been doing really well getting my meals planned and on the table at a decent hour. I know that getting my freezers inventoried will help me immensely.
On the home school front things have been going pretty well. I am having a few struggles with Muffin Man who seems to be resisting regarding the learning of certain things. He grasps concepts quite quickly when he wants to but if he isn't in the mood, God help me! I was laying in bed thinking about this the other night and I realized that he is only six. I did not start Little Man in Kindergarten until he was six. I started Muffin Man at barely 5 and I think his maturity is coming in to play. I am backing off a few concepts that he seems particularly confused with and back tracking a bit to the basics. I think he is ready in some ways and not ready in others. I want him to learn but I also want him to enjoy learning. If it is becoming a struggle, he will just give up. The last few days since I made this decision have been much better. We are focusing on word families and just getting addition and subtraction facts down cold.
As an aside, we are doing a little germ/bacteria growth experiment this week. Both the boys have colds and I am constantly telling them to wash their hands. Today I pulled out a few disposable petri dishes and some agar and we set up to get a real true picture of the germs that we otherwise cannot see. I swabbed the boys hands and teeth and then let them swab a few places around the house. (The remote control, a door knob, the computer key board, etc) We will have to wait a few days to see the results. I did this once before with Little Man but Muffin Man was really little at the time and even Little Man has limited memory of it. I will be sure to post pictures for you. Blech.
So, that is about it for now. I will try to get a few pictures posted in the next few days. Until then, Carpe Diem.
DRUM ROLL, PLEASE..............................................................
.........My Honey must have already removed said program some time last week!!!
It was no longer on my desk top! I had been searching and searching and practically pulling my hair out in frustration over being unable to find that program only to find it wasn't there to find! My Honey was just being helpful, and knowing that I am not exactly a computer whiz, he took care of it for me. I just wish he had told me. It would have saved me quite a bit of frustration. Note to self: Look in the most obvious place first!
I have now downloaded my new software. That was easy, as it is just a matter of following the prompts. I now need to learn how to use it and get my first photos downloaded. I will try to do that within the next few days.
This Week's Goal- This week my goal is to inventory both my inside and outside freezer so that I can better prepare for making meals each night. I will also throw out any old items and pull older, usable items to the front and put newer items in the back. One of my long term goals is to follow weekly meal plans! I have started this in the past but it is so easy to get sidetracked with all the sports schedules and family happenings. Because of this, our family goes out to dinner far too often and it needs to stop. Not only is it not good for us, it costs way too much. Since the beginning of the year, I have been doing really well getting my meals planned and on the table at a decent hour. I know that getting my freezers inventoried will help me immensely.
On the home school front things have been going pretty well. I am having a few struggles with Muffin Man who seems to be resisting regarding the learning of certain things. He grasps concepts quite quickly when he wants to but if he isn't in the mood, God help me! I was laying in bed thinking about this the other night and I realized that he is only six. I did not start Little Man in Kindergarten until he was six. I started Muffin Man at barely 5 and I think his maturity is coming in to play. I am backing off a few concepts that he seems particularly confused with and back tracking a bit to the basics. I think he is ready in some ways and not ready in others. I want him to learn but I also want him to enjoy learning. If it is becoming a struggle, he will just give up. The last few days since I made this decision have been much better. We are focusing on word families and just getting addition and subtraction facts down cold.
As an aside, we are doing a little germ/bacteria growth experiment this week. Both the boys have colds and I am constantly telling them to wash their hands. Today I pulled out a few disposable petri dishes and some agar and we set up to get a real true picture of the germs that we otherwise cannot see. I swabbed the boys hands and teeth and then let them swab a few places around the house. (The remote control, a door knob, the computer key board, etc) We will have to wait a few days to see the results. I did this once before with Little Man but Muffin Man was really little at the time and even Little Man has limited memory of it. I will be sure to post pictures for you. Blech.
So, that is about it for now. I will try to get a few pictures posted in the next few days. Until then, Carpe Diem.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
A Merry Christmas After All and Other Ramblings
So, despite all the Anti Christmas I was feeling a week before Christmas, our family ended up having a wonderful Christmas!! We finally did get the shelves and pictures back in place and although I did not put out all the usual decorations, we had many Christmas cards from friends and family that filled those shelves beautifully. We managed to get quite a few of our favorite traditions completed, including making Christmas goodies and having a birthday party for Jesus on Christmas Eve. Even though I felt like everything wasn't as it should be, the boys were happy as ever and enjoyed every moment of the season. God love them!
Christmas morning went off without a hitch, even though My Honey and I were both sick as dogs. My parents came up to our house for the morning. I baked a breakfast casserole for everyone and we just enjoyed being together and opening gifts. This year I had hidden the boys big gifts and created a treasure hunt that the boys had to use to find them. After all the smaller gifts were opened and they thought that was it, I mentioned that there might just be one more gift for each of them. I told them to look in the tree. They found the first clue and the hunt began. The hunt took them throughout our home and backyard and then eventually down to my mom's house. They had a great time following the clues and it was really fun watching them as they worked together to figure them out. We finally made it into my dad's machine shop where they found their gifts. Muffin Man got the new bicycle he wanted. He just recently learned to ride his old bike without training wheels and really needed a larger bike. He looked like a clown on his old bike, it was so small. Little Man received his first gun. His dad is a gun enthusiast and loves to go out to the shooting range to shoot targets. He has been wanting to give Little Man a gun for a while and take him out with him but we just did not feel he was ready yet. This past year he has really matured and we felt it was time. Little Man was beside himself with glee!!! He could not have been happier. He and My Honey went out to the range the very next day and he did really well.
For those of you who are aghast that we would buy our son a gun, allow me to put your mind at rest. We have a gun safe where our guns are safely stored and the boys have NO IDEA how to open that safe nor will they until they are adults. The only time my son will be able to use, touch, or even look at his gun will be when My Honey is present and involved.
Back to Christmas morning. after all the hullabaloo was over, we spent the rest of the day just resting and watching the boys play with all their toys. As I mentioned earlier, both My Honey and I were sick. I was beginning to develop a killer sinus infection and My Honey ended up with Bronchitis. We both ended up at urgent care that weekend and were put on antibiotics. So, based on how we were feeling, we really did nothing for the rest of the day which seemed to be fine with everyone. All in all it was a very low key, enjoyable day.
New Years eve at our house has traditionally been not much different than any other night. Maybe we rent a movie and make some popcorn, but we rarely even manage to stay up till midnight. This New Year's, my good friend Michelle invited us over to spend the evening with them. They too, usually have a very low key, early night for New Year's but we both decided this was the year for a change. We made some snacks and finger foods, bought hats and noise poppers, ordered pizza, and spent the evening playing Wii and visiting. All the kids had a BLAST and would have happily stayed up all night but the four of us adults were struggling to stay awake. We did manage it though and we went out front at the stroke of midnight and, I'm sure, woke up quite a few people who had gone to bed early. LOL. The kids were a riot with their horns and poppers. They just had a ball. It is really nice, now that the boys are a bit older and we can do stuff like that. We really had a GREAT time. Thanks Michelle, for inviting us over. Next year is at my house!
So, all in all, the holidays were really great. I guess the lesson I learned is that I needn't run myself ragged for our family to have a good Christmas. I always try to get so much accomplished and I do so much for the boys. And while I love doing all those things, it usually means there are many other things that I don't get done. This year was different. There were many things I usually do that I didn't do this year but there were other things that usually don't get done that this year I did get accomplished! But regardless of what I was doing or not doing or how crazy I felt, my boys were happy and enjoying themselves. And in the end, isn't that what matters?
This past Monday our household returned to normal. School is back in session and we have spent the last two days getting back into the swing of things. It is so hard to get back on track after a break. But back on track we are. Thankfully the first two days back were full of many hands on activities that helped make getting back into the routine, fun. The boys were both really good and there were no complaints. We just picked right back up where we had left off and things are going smoothly.
Now, just a quick note about my Wednesday goal setting. Last week I said my goal was to get all our photos off the computer. Well, I did get that accomplished and then when I was finished with that, I was so motivated that I pulled out ALL my loose photos from the last how many years, and I organized them all by year. What a job!! It took me pretty much the entire week, but I feel so accomplished!!! It was a killer job because it meant sitting on the floor for long periods of time sorting through boxes, and my back was killing me. BUT, I had so much fun! The boys spent much of the time with me, looking at all the pictures and laughing about how they looked when they were younger. I now feel really motivated to get caught up on my scrap booking. I also feel relieved knowing that all my photos are in one place and safe.
Now that I have all the old photos off my computer, I need to get my old camera program removed from the computer and download the new camera software so that I can get some new pictures posted here. That is my goal for this week.
Christmas morning went off without a hitch, even though My Honey and I were both sick as dogs. My parents came up to our house for the morning. I baked a breakfast casserole for everyone and we just enjoyed being together and opening gifts. This year I had hidden the boys big gifts and created a treasure hunt that the boys had to use to find them. After all the smaller gifts were opened and they thought that was it, I mentioned that there might just be one more gift for each of them. I told them to look in the tree. They found the first clue and the hunt began. The hunt took them throughout our home and backyard and then eventually down to my mom's house. They had a great time following the clues and it was really fun watching them as they worked together to figure them out. We finally made it into my dad's machine shop where they found their gifts. Muffin Man got the new bicycle he wanted. He just recently learned to ride his old bike without training wheels and really needed a larger bike. He looked like a clown on his old bike, it was so small. Little Man received his first gun. His dad is a gun enthusiast and loves to go out to the shooting range to shoot targets. He has been wanting to give Little Man a gun for a while and take him out with him but we just did not feel he was ready yet. This past year he has really matured and we felt it was time. Little Man was beside himself with glee!!! He could not have been happier. He and My Honey went out to the range the very next day and he did really well.
For those of you who are aghast that we would buy our son a gun, allow me to put your mind at rest. We have a gun safe where our guns are safely stored and the boys have NO IDEA how to open that safe nor will they until they are adults. The only time my son will be able to use, touch, or even look at his gun will be when My Honey is present and involved.
Back to Christmas morning. after all the hullabaloo was over, we spent the rest of the day just resting and watching the boys play with all their toys. As I mentioned earlier, both My Honey and I were sick. I was beginning to develop a killer sinus infection and My Honey ended up with Bronchitis. We both ended up at urgent care that weekend and were put on antibiotics. So, based on how we were feeling, we really did nothing for the rest of the day which seemed to be fine with everyone. All in all it was a very low key, enjoyable day.
New Years eve at our house has traditionally been not much different than any other night. Maybe we rent a movie and make some popcorn, but we rarely even manage to stay up till midnight. This New Year's, my good friend Michelle invited us over to spend the evening with them. They too, usually have a very low key, early night for New Year's but we both decided this was the year for a change. We made some snacks and finger foods, bought hats and noise poppers, ordered pizza, and spent the evening playing Wii and visiting. All the kids had a BLAST and would have happily stayed up all night but the four of us adults were struggling to stay awake. We did manage it though and we went out front at the stroke of midnight and, I'm sure, woke up quite a few people who had gone to bed early. LOL. The kids were a riot with their horns and poppers. They just had a ball. It is really nice, now that the boys are a bit older and we can do stuff like that. We really had a GREAT time. Thanks Michelle, for inviting us over. Next year is at my house!
So, all in all, the holidays were really great. I guess the lesson I learned is that I needn't run myself ragged for our family to have a good Christmas. I always try to get so much accomplished and I do so much for the boys. And while I love doing all those things, it usually means there are many other things that I don't get done. This year was different. There were many things I usually do that I didn't do this year but there were other things that usually don't get done that this year I did get accomplished! But regardless of what I was doing or not doing or how crazy I felt, my boys were happy and enjoying themselves. And in the end, isn't that what matters?
This past Monday our household returned to normal. School is back in session and we have spent the last two days getting back into the swing of things. It is so hard to get back on track after a break. But back on track we are. Thankfully the first two days back were full of many hands on activities that helped make getting back into the routine, fun. The boys were both really good and there were no complaints. We just picked right back up where we had left off and things are going smoothly.
Now, just a quick note about my Wednesday goal setting. Last week I said my goal was to get all our photos off the computer. Well, I did get that accomplished and then when I was finished with that, I was so motivated that I pulled out ALL my loose photos from the last how many years, and I organized them all by year. What a job!! It took me pretty much the entire week, but I feel so accomplished!!! It was a killer job because it meant sitting on the floor for long periods of time sorting through boxes, and my back was killing me. BUT, I had so much fun! The boys spent much of the time with me, looking at all the pictures and laughing about how they looked when they were younger. I now feel really motivated to get caught up on my scrap booking. I also feel relieved knowing that all my photos are in one place and safe.
Now that I have all the old photos off my computer, I need to get my old camera program removed from the computer and download the new camera software so that I can get some new pictures posted here. That is my goal for this week.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Baby Rolly-Pollie's, Oh My!
It all started back in October when our family went on vacation in California. While visiting My Honey's parent's home, the boys spent time doing one of their favorite things to do at Grama and Grampa's house. They search for rolly pollie's, also known as pill bugs, sow bugs, etc. We always called them pill bugs when I was growing up but somehow they have come to be known as rolly pollie's in our household. But I digress. Rolly pollie's are not to be found in the Mohave Desert of Arizona, so the boys are quite thrilled with them when we visit California. Normally they are able to find quite a few but, during this trip, they seemed to be sparse. Little Man gave up after a short search but Muffin Man continued on his quest. He ended up with six of the little critters and promptly informed me that he planned to bring them home with him. Being that our visit with Grama and Grampa was the start of our vacation, and the idea of lugging around bugs that would most likely die did not appeal to me, I tried to persuade him to let them go. He was quite persistent, and knowing how passionate he is about bugs, I finally relented. I made a trip to the local Target to pick up a few things I needed and while there I searched for some sort of a small bug box. Apparently bug boxes are a seasonal item and there were none to be had. I ended up buying a plastic travel soap box which was small and had air holes already drilled into it. Perfect!
That night at the hotel I spent a bit of time on My Honey's laptop researching rolly polly bugs, what they eat and how to keep them as pets. It turns out that rolly pollie's need high humidity. That would explain their absence in Arizona. The website informed me that if I put a bit of soil and dead leaf matter, a damp paper towel, and some potato or apple chunks in with the rolly pollie's, they would be as happy as pigs in manure. I followed the instructions exactly and pretty much forgot about them for the rest of our trip. I was aware that Muffin Man had the container and would occasionally open it and check on his bugs. I also noted that it spent time on the floor of the car, upside down, for at least a portion of the trip. But somehow, despite substandard care, all 6 little critters made it home to Arizona safe and sound.
Once home, I transferred them to a larger plastic container made of transparent plastic. I gave them a few small, flat rocks to hide under and some fresh soil. They have been sitting by the kitchen window ever since. I occasionally throw in a new piece of potato or spritz the dirt to keep it moist and Muffin Man occasionally spends time looking at them but other than that, they are pretty much ignored. Their home has transformed itself into a mini terrarium, as at least two of the potato pieces have sprouted. The roots have taken over the soil, creating perfect places for the rolly pollie's to hide and tunnel.
A few weeks back I spent a bit of time searching through the soil and roots to see how many of the little critters were still alive. I was amazed to find that all six were still active and seemed to be thriving. This evening, while spritzing the soil, I moved one of the rocks and discovered a teeny, tiny, baby, rolly polly!! It was small enough to fit on the head of a pin and almost transparent. I was so amazed. I spent a few more moments looking through the container and sure enough, there are at least a couple babies in there. I cannot wait to show Muffin Man tomorrow morning. I know he will be thrilled. I am excited to see how long we can keep these little guys alive and to discover how quickly they grow and reproduce. As shown by past posts here on my blog, we love to study the life cycle's of insects and here we find ourselves with yet another study and it wasn't even planned. How awesome is that?
So, anyway, I just had to share. I thought it was really cool that our little rolly pollie's have reproduced. How very cool it is to see all of God's creatures, great and small, as they live out their lives. How awesome it is to be able to study the things that we find most interesting. In Muffin Man's case, it is insects. My budding entomologist. How happy I am that I relented and allowed him to bring them home with us from California. Even the smallest and oddest of situations become huge opportunities for learning.
That night at the hotel I spent a bit of time on My Honey's laptop researching rolly polly bugs, what they eat and how to keep them as pets. It turns out that rolly pollie's need high humidity. That would explain their absence in Arizona. The website informed me that if I put a bit of soil and dead leaf matter, a damp paper towel, and some potato or apple chunks in with the rolly pollie's, they would be as happy as pigs in manure. I followed the instructions exactly and pretty much forgot about them for the rest of our trip. I was aware that Muffin Man had the container and would occasionally open it and check on his bugs. I also noted that it spent time on the floor of the car, upside down, for at least a portion of the trip. But somehow, despite substandard care, all 6 little critters made it home to Arizona safe and sound.
Once home, I transferred them to a larger plastic container made of transparent plastic. I gave them a few small, flat rocks to hide under and some fresh soil. They have been sitting by the kitchen window ever since. I occasionally throw in a new piece of potato or spritz the dirt to keep it moist and Muffin Man occasionally spends time looking at them but other than that, they are pretty much ignored. Their home has transformed itself into a mini terrarium, as at least two of the potato pieces have sprouted. The roots have taken over the soil, creating perfect places for the rolly pollie's to hide and tunnel.
A few weeks back I spent a bit of time searching through the soil and roots to see how many of the little critters were still alive. I was amazed to find that all six were still active and seemed to be thriving. This evening, while spritzing the soil, I moved one of the rocks and discovered a teeny, tiny, baby, rolly polly!! It was small enough to fit on the head of a pin and almost transparent. I was so amazed. I spent a few more moments looking through the container and sure enough, there are at least a couple babies in there. I cannot wait to show Muffin Man tomorrow morning. I know he will be thrilled. I am excited to see how long we can keep these little guys alive and to discover how quickly they grow and reproduce. As shown by past posts here on my blog, we love to study the life cycle's of insects and here we find ourselves with yet another study and it wasn't even planned. How awesome is that?
So, anyway, I just had to share. I thought it was really cool that our little rolly pollie's have reproduced. How very cool it is to see all of God's creatures, great and small, as they live out their lives. How awesome it is to be able to study the things that we find most interesting. In Muffin Man's case, it is insects. My budding entomologist. How happy I am that I relented and allowed him to bring them home with us from California. Even the smallest and oddest of situations become huge opportunities for learning.
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