Building Memories 2018

Sunday morning Daddy and I woke up before 8 AM and had our coffee, I also had my Belvita breakfast biscuits and a small yogurt for breakfast (part of my diet that I've given myself to try to loose weight by the end of summer). The morning was cool and slightly cloudy but we had a camper to work on. We woke ECJ up around 9 and after he did his morning chores he helped us close the camper back up so that we could work on the roof some more. Daddy and I discussed some options and then left on a hardware store run to pick up some small self tapping screws and some foam board for the roof. After getting back Daddy laid out the foam boards while I woke the girls up (this was near 11 AM ... yup, we missed mass again this week). After the foam was laid out and duct-taped lightly together to stay in pattern we measured the roof and measured a length of roll roof for one side of the camper roof. Several cuts, liquid nails, and the top molding put back on on the one side we had about 1/3 of the roof ready for a seal coat (the seal coat we'll be doing next week or the week after, $55 a gallon!). We took what was left of our roll roof, not enough to finish another third of the camper let alone the whole roof, and set it down on the roof and then weighed it down with some boards. We made a spot in Monday's schedule to include running back to the hardware store and buying more roll roof. The campers helped us with everything and spent a lot of time outside. About 1:30 Daddy and I ate roast beef tortilla rolls with cheddar cheese and the campers each had a sandwich and some fruit, sandwiches varied by camper lol. Around 2 PM ECJ went fishing with a friend, Daddy and I took a quick trip a few miles away to do some light scrapping, and the girls had some fun times watching Goosebumps that they'd borrowed from the library. Daddy and I were back home by 2:30 and we instantly got a load of laundry going and Daddy laid down to relax and watch Blue Bloods on Netflix while I settled in to crochet on my niece's birthday gift (she's getting a blanket from me and knows it already). The girls played some Go Fish and other card games while Pokemon videos played in the background. Supper was at 5 PM (by which time ECJ was home) and consisted of chicken parmesan , garlic bread, and noodles with sauce. Desert was fresh melon, strawberries, and grapes. Since we wake up early in the mornings through the week the girls took either a bath or shower according to preferance, took their meds, had me read more Children Just Like Me, looked at a few picture books we'd borrowed from the library for International week in our reading club, and were in bed by 9:30. ECJ quickly followed and was in bed shortly after 10. Daddy and I were in bed and fast asleep by 11:30 PM. Whew! What a day it seems like it was after writing all of that down!!

On Monday Daddy and I woke up at 5 AM, I started the coffee pot, and opened one of my drinkable Activia yogurts to start my day out... three cups of coffee and a Belvita soft baked chocolate and oat breakfast bar and I was ready to face the day with a smile on my face! I did a bit of cardio with one of my exercise DVDs and then woke ECJ up to do his morning chores. The girls woke up on their own shortly thereafter. Daddy and I ran an errand around 9:30 and then came home to load the truck with what scrap we had (ECJ had taken it apart while we were gone) and ran it to the scrap yard. I stopped at the grocery store on the way home to grab a few things that we were missing for the next couple of night's suppers and also grabbed the campers some lunchables and us adults a fruit platter full of melon and berries. When we were done with the fruits we were able to give what was left to the kids for a nice, healthy snack. I've also taken a liking to these Sparkling Ice waters and settled down to drink one while I did some organizing for the rest of the month for homeschooling. We read some information about Africa, part of a book on tropical rain forests, watched a few YouTube videos on Africa, and then did some math to round the day out. This week we're not doing extra language arts but are simply journaling about what we're learning about Africa. By mid afternoon Daddy decided to take a quick nap (his back and knees hurt and the heat was bothering his lungs), the girls were watching videos about Littlest Pet Shops together, ECJ was playing his new favorite video game, and I decided to take a mental break and play a computer game. The campers all went outside to hang out with friends or play when their friends from public school got home for the day and stayed out until I called them in for supper. We ate chicken wraps and salads. The campers then went back outside to enjoy the weather while I sat next to Daddy watching Blue Bloods on Netflix and crocheting. The campers came in the house in time for meds (around 8:30), had an ice cream sandwich, brushed their teeth, did silent reading, I read aloud from the rain forest book some more, and then the girls went to bed. ECJ followed them pretty quickly and Daddy and I were asleep by 11 PM. ((NO laundry this day!!! YAY!!!)))

Tuesday Noni came over and we went to the beach... just the campers, myself, and Noni. It was a fabulous day! Weather in the mid 80's, nice breeze off of the lake for Noni and I, and very cold lake water for the campers to enjoy! Swimming in the great lakes really isn't warm enough for me until around mid to late August... and even then it's pretty chilly. I personally like inland lakes or pools now that I'm older and dipping my toes into freezing water makes me whimper. ECJ actually got a headache from submerging his head in such cold water repeatedly. Before the beach we'd stopped at Wendy's for lunch, I stayed on course by eating a baked potato and a fruit cup. After the beach we stopped at Wal-Mart for some things that I needed to pick up because it was right on our way home. Noni spoiled Daddy this day with 3 shirts (2 T's and a tank), a pair of jeans, some of his favorite beverage for summer time, and a gift card to Menard's. Daddy was in a great mood the whole day because of this. After Noni left Daddy and I did a bit of scrapping in the next town over and basically came home with nothing ... to many scrappers in a small area competing for too little scrap. We had homemade turkey meat nachos and I added a side of melon slices to my meal because of the small portion of nachos that I'd taken. We were all in bed no later than 11:30 PM and the only "school" that we did was our read aloud, Does it Always Rain in the Rain Forest? , which was part of last week's books that we didn't get to.

Wednesday Daddy and I ran several errands (including going to Menard's) and paid for an outside storage spot for the camper. We then spent the majority of the day outside, all of us, working on the camper getting the roof sealed and ready for camping. It still needs a good cleaning and a coat of sealant on the roof for extra protection ... but it is weather tight right now. Oh, and I still have to repair a few small spots in the canvas. A small tear by the dining table (fixing by sewing it back to the base as it only tore out the thread) and fashioning to extra bits of material for either side of the door because the canvas just doesn't quit reach the door at the moment... but might after a bit of stretching. After hauling the camper to the storage spot Daddy and I went for a trip around town to see if there was any scrap out... we got a few things. Then we came home and picked a friend up to show him the camper and go out to a store that we have here in Michigan (called Meijer's) to pick up some sandwich fixings for supper. We ate sandwiches and a noodle salad before Daddy and I headed back out to pick up some more scrap. Again, we were competing with too many scrappers for too little space and too little scrap... this gets harder every year. We also took a few minutes to look at a newer pop up than what we've been working on that needs a little repair, since we know so many people who want pop up's right now Daddy is thinking about buying it to repair and sell, if the price is right. We got home, passed out meds, did our read aloud, and then pretty much everyone went to bed. Again, we were all asleep by 11:30 PM.

On Thursday Daddy and I woke up at five to have coffee and I ate my breakfast of my Activia drinkable yogurt and my Belvita soft baked chocolate and oat breakfast bar. I then rested a bit and fell back asleep for about two hours while Daddy ran around town again looking for scrap that people had put out in the morning on their way to work. Two nights of scrapping came up with one of our smaller loads that we took back around noon. The campers had finished their chores, eaten breakfast, and done their math lessens all by noon ... as well as helped load the truck. When Daddy and I got back from the scrap yard we had lunch of sandwiches and a veggie tray while the campers made lunch out of tortilla chips with hummus and a veggie tray. Daddy took a quick nap, I updated this blog post and read some emails, and the campers all watched various YouTube tutorials on their subjects of interest (programming, gaming, video making and editing)... Around 3 Daddy and I left to go scrapping in another town, a friend of ours stopped at the house at 4:30 to stay with the campers until we got home, and we tried to finish the week out strong scrap wise.

And so we come to Friday. Nearly the end of the week, one day left and a new week begins, and it's going to be a lovely (if hot) weekend! Daddy and I woke up at 5 AM again, coffee and talking before the day began. I ate my breakfast, considered exercising before the campers got up, discarded that thought and caught another two hours of sleep. When I rolled out of bed everyone else was either up or soon following my example. Campers ate breakfast and did chores, Daddy unloaded and then reloaded (with mine and the campers help) the scrap in and out of the truck, and then Daddy and I left for the scrap yard. While we were gone the campers did their math assignments and then moved on to their favorite escape of play in the house .... ECJ to his new obsession of Skyrim and the girls played with Littlest Pet Shops together. When we got back, after stopping at the bank to deposit some money, Daddy took a nap ... he'd had a migraine brewing since last night and hoped some medicine and rest would set it straight. I decided not to run the vacuum but to play my computer game for a bit since that likely wouldn't bother Daddy's head. The campers went outside to enjoy the weather for awhile and came back in when Daddy and I went to go pick something up around 5 PM or so. Yup, Daddy had found a pop up for the right price for us to fix quickly and resell! No major issues with it and we knocked out the work on it before we even had supper... 

Camper that we sold...

Daddy helping Peanut
wash our camper!

Saturday and Sunday (Father's Day) we cleaned up the pop up we'd just picked up AND sold it within the same day! That was Saturday, the whole family helped to get it power washed, cleaned inside, and sold ... Daddy and I dropped it off to the new owners Saturday evening and pulled our pop up home where we popped it up in preparation for cleaning it Sunday. Daddy's choice, not mine, it's how he wanted to spend his Father's Day. So, after coffee and breakfast on Sunday morning we all went outside and began to put the braces around the camper, get the canvas stretched all the way out, power wash and scrub the entire camper, unzip windows to air it out, clean floors and counters, ... and so much more! With the weather being in the 90's it was a very hot day to be doing such a thing. For supper we had chili dogs, salad, and baked beans. And I'd like to wish a happy father's day to all of the dad's out there!!! We ended the day watching Maleficent since we'd found it while cleaning up the camper! Pop corn for those who wanted it and nice cold melons and strawberries for those of us who preferred that. 

There will be no update next week as we'll be camping with little to no reception. But, look for our update the following week!!

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Breaking the Silence

Monkey

YCJ

Oh my goodness! I haven't blogged in over two months! YIKES! But, life was really busy and threw several curve balls at us. Four birthdays happened ... the biggest one was YCJ turning thirteen last month!!! She didn't really want to turn thirteen as she was scared that somehow becoming a teenager would fundamentally change who she is. She's glad to report that her fears were unfounded as of yet. Our family life is slowing down and we're getting into a very good schedule that works for all of us. Monkey turned 21, SweetPea turned 2, and I turned the age that I am now. 


I'm not going to get into all of the details of the last two months.... It's a long, drawn out story and really I'm not ready to go over all of it with anyone (including myself). But, things are turning out like God planned ... sometimes we may wish that He would include us in that planning progress but of course He does not and we're required to simply trust that He knows what is best. Sometimes letting go of control of your life hurts and is very hard ... but, all the time it is worth it because when He closes a door He always opens a window!

Saturday (June 2nd) we chose to have a quiet day around the house for the most part. Naps were taken by several members of the family, I worked on a blanket for one of my nieces (not showing pictures of that just yet, I will after her birthday), YCJ and Peanut spent a good portion of the afternoon playing a new to us game on the Playstation 3, while ECJ went fishing during the afternoon with a family friend. The majority of my day was spent with my crochet hook and it helped me stay calm like it always has, it is my happy place more days than not... So, I've decided that I must make time to crochet each day. Peanut worked on some of her crafting today before playing video games and spending some time outside with her siblings. YCJ worked on editing and making more videos starring her Littlest Pet Shops using Calico Critters furniture and cabin. ECJ completed all of his chores (except for his evening chores) before heading out for an afternoon and early evening worth of fishing. A soothing, cool (the temperatures stayed in the 70's for the day) Saturday spent at home was just what was called for.

On Sunday we skipped mass due to a torrential downpour and stayed in bed relaxing for a bit. After breakfast Peanut and the Cracker Jacks spent several hours playing video games together without fighting with each other. Around lunch time Daddy and I went out scrapping around our house and followed that up with scrapping down by Grandma and Papa's house. We were gone past supper time and so it was a fend for yourself type of night... with several leftovers, canned goods, and other things in the house we weren't worried that everyone would eat well. After we got home everyone went for an early evening walk and then after a few episodes of Hart of Dixie on Netflix for us parents, and some YouTube videos for the younger kids we all went to bed relatively early.


Monday the adults woke up at 5 AM! Coffee time in the quiet and then back to sleep for a couple of hours for Daddy and I ... I've been sleep walking lately so I'm not resting properly and Daddy's up making sure I'm not going to hurt myself in my sleep. After the campers woke up and ate breakfast Daddy and I went to the Secretary of State for the yearly stickers that cost so much for our vehicles, but we bypassed a three hour long wait by being able to use the kiosk! After that we ran to the bank, stopped at two stores, got gas in the car, paid some bills, and then came home. ECJ stayed home while we ran up to the library to pick up some books for Give Your Child the World book club this summer (this week is International week), some other fun books, and several movies. Lessons were done after lunch... just  math, and history for the day because I began not feeling well. Then ECJ popped in a Spongebob Squarepants Season 2 DVD and the children all snacked on chips while watching it. We went for a walk before and after supper, which was chicken wraps (YUMMY!). Then again it was early to bed after some TV time ... this time we watched Goosebumps The Headless Ghost together as a family before bed. Even though I wasn't feeling well I read a bit of Children Just Like Me before the girls headed off to bed. (Just an aside for those of you with children who like the Goosebump series by R.L. Stine ... there's a video called Awesome Ants that will go well with the Arthropods unit from The Good and The Beautiful science.)

Then came Tuesday, I woke up with a sore throat and drainage happening behind my ears causing my glands to be swollen. YAY! It's never fun when I'm sick... We took apart some scrap and loaded the truck taking the scrap back to the scrap yard. Today we did two loads... I sipped on frozen coke all day long along with some throat lozenges and didn't speak very much. When we finished at the scrap yard we called home, everyone was working on math so Daddy and I decided to run to the car insurance agency and drop off a tow bill from a few weeks ago that we'd sent in the mail but apparently had become lost in transit. While we were in the area we did a little scrapping as well, and this time I DO mean a LITTLE scrapping as there wasn't much out. Since I still wasn't feeling good Daddy stopped on the way home and bought tacos for the campers, I had some noodle soup, and we were pleasantly surprised because YCJ had run the vacuum for us while we were gone. I rested for a bit and then soaked in the tub for a bit, reading the last three chapters of my current bath book. Afterwards I passed out meds to everyone, read a bit of Children Just Like Me for International week for the Give Your Child the World book club. I tucked the girls in bed, told ECJ what time he needed to be in bed, and then went to bed myself by 10 PM or so.

Wednesday I woke up still having a sore throat, drainage from behind my ears, swollen glands, and just for fun I was dizzy as well. I spent the majority of the day staving off being dizzy by moving slowly and not bending from the waist or laying down. Vertigo ... yeah, probably time to call the doctor but I decided to give it another day or two. I helped Daddy unload the back of the truck, watched as ECJ began cutting the lawn, ran to the store with Daddy, and then watched as ECJ put up the lawn equipment. Daddy left to go scrapping, do some gardening at Grandma and Papa's house, and attend a men's group at our favorite church later in the evening. I sat down and played a computer game for awhile and then worked on this blog post to catch it up. After lunch I read some more of Children Just Like Me, pulled up some YouTube videos for the campers to check out how other people live around the world, and then went through some of our curriculum to see what I still need to buy for the fall. Off and on I came back to playing the computer game because laying down or trying to crochet simply wasn't working. The campers worked on their math with very little assistance from me and got chores done without prompting. I folded three loads of laundry this day and washed two. Even when I'm not feeling well I keep moving unless I simply cannot. During the afternoon the girls watched more YouTube and ECJ played some games on the Playstation 3. YCJ helped me make pancakes, eggs, and bacon for supper. Meds were given out around eight. I read more of Children Just Like Me and then sent the girls off to bed by 9:30, which was shortly after Daddy got home. I went to bed soon afterwards hoping to wake up feeling better so that I could avoid the doctor office if at all possible. (To find the book club for the summer that I keep talking about follow this link.)

So, Thursday was kind of interesting... I wasn't feeling dizzy anymore but still wasn't feeling well. We did our lessons and then Daddy and I ran to the scrap yard. That afternoon we loaded up YCJ and Peanut into the truck and went to go pick up a surprise! We bought a used pop-up camper!!!!! Yes, the roof on the camper needs a lot of TLC, but we couldn't beat the price and KNEW that we'd be able to fix the problems. The girls were so excited they were fairly bouncing. We threw a strap over the top of the camper and then stopped by Grandma and Papa's house for about an hour to allow rush hour traffic to thin out a bit. We then surprised them with pizza for supper! This week hasn't done anything to help me with my diet ... didn't loose one single pound even though I didn't eat much because I wasn't feeling well. After supper it was meds, reading, and bedtime for pretty much all of us.

Friday we decided to skip book lessons and do some hands on work with math, logic, and thinking outside of the box. Daddy and I had to go to several different stores to pick up some things that we needed to work on the camper, some mini amount of groceries (I'll go grocery shopping sometime in the next few days), and before all of that we had to work on the camper a bit to get the right measurements for the wood that we needed to fix it. During the time we were out ECJ got a lesson in measuring without supervision when Daddy called him for some measurements on board that we needed, but had forgotten to measure before we left home, he nailed it on the second try! (We're going to be brushing up on fractions using a measuring tape over the weekend lol.) When we got back home everyone pitched in to help work on the front of the camper and, as with any project, things kept going wrong and we had to rethink our next steps several times. This is what happens when you don't have blueprints, except in your own mind, for the project at hand. This is how we usually do projects because this is how it works for our family. Also, a massive amount of tall grass that no one wants to claim responsibility to cut, we cut down. Shortly before dusk we all came in and I made a late supper of white fish and corn. The screw gun/drill got plugged in to recharge for morning, coffee pot was set up for when we open our eyes, showers were taken, laundry was done... ECJ went down to watch a movie with his young lady friend (they're still not labeling each other, but have been talking since about mid October). When he got back he did dishes and took the trash out. I passed out meds, read more of Children Just Like Me, and then sent the girls to bed. ECJ was told what time he needed to be in bed for the night, weekends he gets longer to play video games but we also need him up in the morning for the camper project, and then Daddy and I went to bed ourselves. After a week of waking up at 5 AM I was more than ready to dream about sleeping in! 

Doing an extra Saturday this week!!! Why? Because I thought you'd enjoy seeing more progress on the camper and us working on it together, of course! LOL silly goose! It rained most of the morning and into early afternoon. So, I made a quick trip to the grocery store to pick up fresh veggies, fruits, chips (not on my diet), sparkling water (0 calories), and a few other odds and ends... especially the french fries to go along with our bratwurst and baked beans for supper! By middle afternoon the rain had stopped so we all trooped outside to help Daddy with the camper. We finished fixing the box (the part that lifts up with the roof) and popped up the camper to air it out. We'll finish the roof this weekend and do a good cleaning and some canvas repair next weekend. It's kid and dog approved!!!

Posts You May Have Missed This Week:
Summer Plans


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What This Summer Holds

Okay, so here's the thing... we school year round. September through until the end of August each school year, starting the new school year in September. So, our year looks a bit different than other peoples and that's OK.

Our summer schedule is kind of laid out with three weeks on and one week off of lessons each month (we do much the same in November and December). Usually we do the first three weeks of the month doing lessons and the last week of the month taking a break. This year we're doing a summer reading group using the book Give Your Child the World and each week is a different area of the world, we'll be doing this all summer long with no break weeks and are counting this as our History and Geography for the summer. We'll also be continuing with Exploring Nature with Children as our main Science/Nature spine this summer as well as using The Good and The Beautiful arthropod science unit (two lessons a week). We're going to be playing a few board games to keep the logic side of our brains happy. Those games include: Apples to Apples, Sequence for Kids, Scrabble Junior, Junior Trivia, and Brain Quest Presidents flash cards (to freshen our memories). 

Math will be done five days a week on the weeks we're doing lessons. Language Arts (other than free reading and read a louds) will be done four days a week on the weeks that we're doing lessons. We'll be switching some curriculum come fall so we're just working with what we currently have.

It's already June and that means that we're in our first week on for this month! Two more to go and then a week off ... unless we get really caught up in what we're doing and then we won't take a break week this month.

July is the first three weeks on and the last week off unless family comes to visit from Texas ... then we'll take off whatever week they're going to be up here off.

August is pretty much always the first three weeks on with the last one being off ... and school not starting back in September until after Labor Day. This means we'll either have a four day first week back in September, or we'll take the first week off entirely and hit the books again after that. 

Also in August ECJ will be finally taking his Driver's Education course!

Not a complicated schedule and with pretty much everything being touched on during the summer. ECJ still needs to finish Algebra 2 and Physics this year, YCJ needs to complete her Saxon math book, Peanut is finishing up her Seton math book and getting ready to go into Math You See next year at probably a lower level just so that she can build confidence and adjust to a new program. Next fall YCJ will be doing another round of Saxon but also working through the Life of Fred books that we have until pre-algebra (I still have to buy those and plan on her using them in eighth grade). ECJ will be working through more Life of Fred books, Discovery K12, Easy Peasy, and probably some dual enrollment classes with the college come fall.