Our Nifty Notebook

Links I Like: Favorite Books

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 06:14:00 +0000

The other day there was an ant in my shower. That got me thinking about a book I remember my Mom reading to me. Then I got to thinking of other books that I enjoyed as a kid.
So, here's my Favorite Books Link List

Henry's Awful Mistake by Robert Quakenbush

See the ant by his foot? This is the book that I thought of when I saw the ant in my shower. About the book:

Henry the Duck sure gets himself into some sticky situations! Just when he thinks dinner is almost ready, he spots an ant in the house.
Children and parents alike will love following disaster-prone Henry through his adventures in cooking, cleverly written and illustrated by Robert Quackenbush.

But No Elephants by Jerry Smath

Grandma Tildy lived all alone, until a salesman stopped by to sell her a pet. She welcomed a canary bird into her home, but made it very clear that she wanted NO ELEPHANTS!

The Clown Arounds Go On Vacation by Joanna Cole

The Clown-Around family has some misadventures on its way to visit Uncle Waldo.

Corduroy by Dan Freeman

Ok, everyone knows this story! It's a classic.

Cassie's Magic Flowers by Nan Roloff

I honestly can't remember what this book was about. In fact, I could only remember "calico". I had to do a search and look based on that. I'm surprised I found it. I just remember the illustrations, but can't remember the story. I'm sure my sister does.

Magic Growing Powder by Janet Quin-Harkin

Again, unsure of the whole story, but I remember something about growing powder. LOL!

Strawberry Shortcake and the Crazy Baking Contest by Nell Miller

Oh that Purple Pieman was bad!

I also remember my 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Lemke reading to us after recess each day. She read chapter books. My most favorite book ever was one she read.

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Has anyone NOT read this book? If so, go get it at your library right now. I read it to Abby and she loved it too.

Did You Carry The Flag Today, Charley? by Rebecca Caudill

All the children in the Appalachian Mountains know that the highest honor at Little School is being chosen to "carry the flag" and lead the line to the school bus. It's the award given each day to the child who has been most helpful. When Charley Cornett begins school no one expects him to win the award. Charley's not exactly the helpful type, he's more the curious type. Then one special day, a day full of rocks and snakes and books, Charley surprises his family and the entire school!

There are so many more books I am thinking of, but can't figure out the title. I will have to go in my Mom's basement and dig them up.

What were some of your favorite books as a child?

Wordless Wednesday: Christmas Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 06:00:00 +0000

For more Wordless Wednesday posts, head to:

Go Graham Go
Mom Spotted
Mama to 4 Blessings
Two of a Kind Working on a Full House

***papers and embellishments no longer available, but were from Thaty Borges

Merry Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 19:04:00 +0000

The other day, I told Abby to decorate this package for Christmas:

I love that she made a manger scene, complete with wise men bringing gifts (right), shepherds(left) and many animals (sheep, horse and a cow). And of course, baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

Christmas is all about Jesus and I am pleased that even after Abby's Christmas list got longer and longer and her excitement for presents grew, she choose to draw Jesus' birth.

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Countdown to Christmas: December 14 - 20

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 06:50:00 +0000

December 1-6, December 7-13

December 14

Christmas Lights Drive

Unfortunately, Abby was sick on the 14th and didn't want to go out for a drive. We didn't do much of anything that day.

December 15

Hershey's Kiss

Abby said it was really good :)

December 16

Crush candy canes for peppermint bark

Every year, we make peppermint bark. Abby enjoys using a mallet to break up the candy canes.

December 17

Read Christmas books by the fireplace

Abby decided on playing a game of Chutes and Ladders instead. I enjoyed some Oreos too.

December 18

Wrap Dad's Christmas presents

I knew Dave would be home from work later than usual, so this gave us some time to wrap his presents. She also helped me wrap some gifts for our family Christmas parties this weekend.

December 19

Make a Christmas craft

We never did get around to making our craft.

December 20

Read The Snow Globe Family and make a snow globe

I found the idea to make a snow globe with a clear plastic plate from Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational. I had trouble finding one that didn't have a logo right in the middle of it. I finally saw the graham cracker crust pies and the clear lid was perfect and I liked how big it was.

While I had in mind for Abby to make a snowman family, she decided she needed a My Little Pony snow globe. The sloppy hot glue is my fault, it cooled too quickly and I was making a mess. Here you can't see it, but there is white and silver glitter and snowflakes at the bottom of the "snow globe".

Oh and The Snow Globe Family book is adorable!

To participate, head to Sugarplum Creations!

Wordless Wednesday: So Much for Finding the Perfect Tree Skirt

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 05:19:00 +0000

Apparently, it's the perfect blanket for our cat Uma!

For more Wordless Wednesday posts, head to:

Go Graham Go
Mom Spotted
Mama to 4 Blessings
Two of a Kind Working on a Full House

Countdown to Chirstmas December 7-13

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 06:21:00 +0000

For December 1-6, click here.

December 7

Play board games by the fireplace

Abby loves to turn the fireplace on in the winter and she loves board games. Her and Dave set up a village together each year by the fireplace.

December 8

Purina Farms Pet-acular Holiday Bazaar

This was fun. People could bring their dogs to the event. It is so funny how some people look just like their dogs! There were also some adorable cats up for adoption.

December 9

Hershey's Kiss

December 10

Read Christmas Tree! and make paper strip trees

I saw this craft on Pinterest from whatever. I got out some old scrapbook paper and started cutting. Abby arranged the strips and then put a star sticker on top and Christmas light stickers on the tree. She kind of ran out of room at the top. Oops!

December 11

Reese's PB Cup

I had planned for us to make peppermint bark, but I had forgotten to buy the chocolate. So I threw in a PB cup. :)

December 12

Make playdough snow

Actually, Abby decided she didn't want to do this. Since Dave was going into work late and would be gone late, we decided to do some Christmas shopping. We had Taco Bell and then drove around looking at Christmas lights.

This one was my favorite!

Whenever Abby and I are alone, she wants us to do "special" things. She picked for us to soak our feet. We put on Chocolate Ice Cream foot scrub and then Buttercream Frosting Body Butter.

December 13

Mom's Birthday, go to dinner with Mom & Dad

Well, that WAS the plan. Abby woke up sick with a runny, stuffy nose and sneezing. She was miserable all day. She didn't want to go out to dinner. Dave ran out to get cold medicine and Chinese take out for us. It was yummy! He had also brought home two delicious desserts from Whole Foods, a fruit tart and cookie cupcake. The fruit tart was so good! The cookie cupcake, not so much.

I took a picture of her while Dave was singing me Happy Birthday. Poor thing!

Hopefully, she will wake up all better tomorrow. She usually recovers quickly when she is sick, so I'm hoping for the best. Dave and I get to go on a date Saturday for my birthday. We are going to see Life of Pi. My brother in-law did the water effects for the movie! His name is even in the credits, supposedly the credits are like 10 minutes though. LOL!

Head over to Sugarplum Creations to link up!

Wordless Wednesday: Christmas Pic

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 05:36:00 +0000

For more Wordless Wednesday posts, head to:

Go Graham Go
Mom Spotted
Mama to 4 Blessings
Two of a Kind Working on a Full House

Countdown to Christmas: December 1-6

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 04:21:00 +0000

Long time, no see! I'm unsure of the future of this blog, but I love the Christmas season and I always enjoy Liz's Countdown to Christmas. This year, when I pulled out our advent countdown, Abby was so excited. She said, "Is it already filled, Mom?" Um, no it wasn't. So, I got to work. Luckily, I saved a file on excel with ideas from last year.

Here's our countdown:

December 1

Silver Dollar City Old Time Christmas

We left Thursday, November 29th for Branson. This was our first time visiting Branson during the Christmas season. We went to Silver Dollar City on Friday for their Old Time Christmas. It was awesome! The weather was perfect. The rest of my family met us on Saturday at Silver Dollar City. The weather was still gorgeous, but it was way more crowded. We all enjoyed ourselves though.

December 2

Special surprise from Dad

I knew we'd be on our way home from Branson, so I thought a little surprise from Dad would be fun. Dave and I picked up a cute Rudolph toy at Target. I had it hid in the suitcase and we gave it to her when we left the hotel. She loved it.

December 3

New Christmas book

I picked up The Night Before Christmas at Kohl's. It was only $5 and I had a 30% off coupon. :) I was out that evening, so Dave read it to Abby. They liked it.

December 4

Hershey's Kiss

Just for fun, I throw in a Hershey's Kiss or mini Reese's PB Cup every now and then.

December 5

Christmas book and craft with Matthew & Andy

I knew my nephew's would be over that day, so I planned accordingly. We read Mouse's First Christmas and then made foam angels from a craft kit bought on clearance last year. (in the book, one of the things Mouse discovers is an angel)

For some reason, the pics of Abby and my younger sister were blurry. The camera focused on the tree and not them. This one of the boys is cute!

December 6

Read The Twelve Days of Christmas and do a word search

Abby and I both like the illustrations in this version of The Twelve Days of Christmas. She is getting good at seek & find puzzles, so this was fun.

I have some fun stuff planned for this coming week, so stay tuned for days 7-13.

Be sure to visit Sugarplum Creations for the Countdown to Christmas link up.

Oh and I have no idea why the margins are messed up here. Whenever I move the mouse, the margins keep changing!

Well That Stinks

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 02:51:00 +0000

So needless to say, I'm pretty disappointed. I'm also very scared for our country's future. However, I am going to have to remind myself of this:

That's really all I can do. We are a great nation and hopefully we can prevail.

Tonight I'm Going to Party Like It's 1999

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Remember that song? Good times! Well, today is a huge day that I have been waiting 4 years for.

Abby and I are going to go vote this morning and then hang out with my sisters and nephews. Tonight, we are going to party like it's 1999! We are hoping for a Romney landslide, but are prepared to be up all night. It's going to be like a New Year's Eve party. We've got party pizzas, chili dip, mozzarella sticks, elephant shaped sugar cookies and more.

It's going to be an awesome night!

I know I'm way behind in my posts. Things are pretty busy here. I honestly don't know if I'll even come back to blogging. We'll see how the next few weeks go.

Ok, now get out and VOTE!

Links I Like: Pumpkins

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 04:19:00 +0000

Have you been to Sam's Club? They have huge pumpkins for less than $9 each. We bought one a few weeks ago and put it out by the porch.

Apparently deer REALLY like pumpkins. There was only 1 seed left inside that pumpkin! I was so bummed. It was a great looking pumpkin.

Last year, I coated our pumpkins with petroleum jelly to help them last longer. It keeps in the moisture. Well, it must work to keep deer away too, because they didn't eat them. I will have to see if it works this year, after I buy another pumpkin. (update, I bought another pumpkin a last weekend and put petroleum jelly on it. It's still sitting outside untouched)

Ok, here are some better looking pumpkins:

I like pumpkin candies just as much as candy corn! These Pumpkin Candy Cookies from Jamie Cooks It Up look so tasty.

Oreo Pumpkins from Oopsey Daisy

Jack-O-Lantern Cups from Creative Connections for Kids

Chocolate Covered Pumpkin Pretzels by Make.Bake.Celebrate

Here's a few pumpkin related lessons:

Montessori-Inspired Pumpkin Unit by Living Montessori Now

Pumpkin Fun Preschool Pack from 1+1+1=1.

Pumpkin Poke Addition Facts from Currclick.

I searched and searched for a chart of different pumpkin and squash varieties. That was hard to find. I did find a few links.

Goebel Farms Pumpkin & Squash Varieties

Squash Varieties

Pumpkin Varieties

Have you been to the pumpkin patch yet? I'm hoping we make it there this weekend. The weather is supposed to be decent, so we'll see.

Wordless Wednesday: The Butterfly House

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 15:01:00 +0000

I've been so busy that I haven't been able to work on our homeschool posts, but I did want to share some pictures from the Butterfly House a few weeks ago. They are having an Owls and Orchids event. Check out the owl butterfly:

For more Wordless Wednesday posts, head to:

Go Graham Go
Mom Spotted
Mama to 4 Blessings
Two of a Kind Working on a Full House

Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 03:10:00 +0000

For more Wordless Wednesday posts, head to:

Go Graham Go
Mom Spotted
Mama to 4 Blessings
Two of a Kind Working on a Full House

**papers and elements- Autumn Rainbow 1 and Autumn Rainbow 2 by Mikki Designs**

Links I Like: Candy Corn

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 05:00:00 +0000

I haven't done one of these posts for months! I just looked back and the last one was July. That sure doesn't seem that long ago, but somehow it's October. How did that happen?

Anyway, I am excited about Fall and looking forward to Halloween. One of my favorite things about Halloween is CANDY CORN. It is so cute and so festive. I did a Candy Corn post in 2009, 2010 and 2011, so here's one for 2012!

Candy Corn Place Value from Blessed Beyond a Doubt, featured on Free Homeschool Deals

Candy Corn Footprints by Juggling With Kids

Candy Corn Wreath from Travis and Kristina Gollaher

Candy Corn Pudding by Kathie Cooks

Candy Corn Corn made by LizzieJane Baby

Halloween Trifle from Blue Bonnets & Brownies

Halloween Sweet & Salty Bites from Simply Made...with Love

Those pretzel bites look so good and so easy to make. I think I know what I'm bringing to my sister's Halloween party ;)

Wordless Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 05:00:00 +0000

For more Wordless Wednesday posts, head to:

Go Graham Go
Mom Spotted
Mama to 4 Blessings
Two of a Kind Working on a Full House

Homeschool Weekly Review: September 17- 28

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 05:30:00 +0000

We only had 3 days of school before vacation the week before last and 4 days this past week. So, I'm combining them into one update.

Math

Abby moved from Life of Fred Butterflies to Life of Fred Cats. She completed up to lesson 3 this past week. These lessons included: Kingie’s Brothers, States that Begin with the Letter M, ∞, Saying Thank You, Virgil’s Aeneid, History of Pizza, How to Set a Table, Ursa Major (Big Bear), Commutative, Asterism, Vowels, Cardinality of a Set, Loud Talkers, Hiring Freeze, One Quarter, Numerals vs. Numbers and Counting by Threes.

Social Studies

In Heritage Studies, Abby worked on lesson 14: Mountains and Deserts and lesson 15: Down to the Sea. We discussed transportation that the settlers would have used, the Rocky Mountains and did a notebook page using a bar graph to answer questions. We also used to globe to learn about the equator and hemispheres.

Science

Abby finished lesson 4: Aquatic Herps in Apologia Swimming Creatures. She added a sea turtle and sea snake to her ocean box.

She also labeled sea turtles and did a Herps minibook in the Junior Notebook.

Then she started lesson 5: Primeval Reptiles. This is an interesting chapter. I don't remember learning about this. I'm sure my sister will chime in to let me know if I'm wrong ;) Anyway, we discussed the nothosaurs, mosasaurs, ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs.

One thing I found very interesting was where the rhyme, "she sells sea shells by the sea shore" came from. In 1810 a girl named Mary and her brother used to collect shells and fossils to sell to help support her family. Mary was the first to discover bones of a "sea monster", now called an ichtyosaurus and another set of bones now called the plesiosaurus. Mary became famous and people started that rhyme about her.

How fascinating!!

Language Arts

Abby continued with Language Lessons for the Very Young, completing lessons 37-43. This is her least favorite subject. It's mostly copywork and it makes her completely insane.

Handwriting

Abby is working on uppercase cursive. She learned A, O, D, C, E, Q, I, J, N, M, W, H, K and X.

FIAR

Abby also did a Five In A Row selection: A Pair of Red Clogs. I will share that in another post. She loved the book though!

Misc.

For the month of September, Abby has been taking gymnastic lessons. She absolutely loves it. I just found out that the class time is changing and we will no longer be able to make it. She is going to be so upset. I haven't had the heart to tell her yet. LOL! I'm going to call and see if there are any other times available.

Today we are going to The Magic House for a homeschool event. It's only $3 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. and is only for homeschoolers! We love these events.

Branson Family Vacation, Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 06:30:00 +0000

Part 1

Saturday morning, after breakfast we all went to Branson Landing. The kids enjoyed Bass Pro Shops and we walked along the landing. Holly and my nephews made Build A Bears, but Abby had decided on the Barbie doll the night before so she didn't make one. She didn't really like any of the bears available right now anyway.

We were going to go to Mazzio's for a pizza dinner, but after driving and driving, we realized it wasn't there anymore. It must have been destroyed in the tornado that hit Branson earlier this year. (I looked it up when I got home and sure enough, that whole plaza was leveled) We ended up at Dairy Queen again. Back at the hotel, Abby and Dave went swimming, while I did some laundry.

Sunday morning, was breakfast and then back to Silver Dollar City. We got our tickets at AAA, so they are 2 days for less than the price of 1 day at the gate. This is a great deal! Sunday's weather was gorgeous. First, the 3 of us went on a tour of the Marvel Cave inside Silver Dollar City. We did this last year, as well. Caves are so awesome. I'd love to see more. All of the 700+ steps did do a number on my knees and calves though. After meeting up with the rest of the family, it was time for rides!

Abby rode 2 more new rides: The Mighty Galleon

Abby loved this ride. It's always been one of my favorites as well.

and Thunderation (here's a video)

We were so proud of Abby for riding Thunderation. She didn't want to all day, but then she finally decided to ride. She was nervous, but did really well. If it wasn't for that dark tunnel, I think she would have liked it a lot better. We celebrated with some funnel cake afterwards :)

I also had a proud moment for myself. I rode front row on Wildfire, with my eyes open the whole time! It's such a beautiful view and I have to say it is way less scary with your eyes open. Who would have thought?

Before leaving the park, we decided to upgrade to the season pass so we could come back for Silver Dollar City's Christmas festival. I haven't been since I was a kid, but I remember it fondly.

Monday was check out day. We had the hotel's breakfast and then went to the Grand Village Shops. These shops are cute and I love the Christmas stores. We then headed home and I slept almost the entire way.

So our 5th Annual Branson Family Vacation was fun. We are already looking forward to visiting Branson again for the Christmas Festival. It's a good thing that is a few months away, as we'll need to start buying some warm clothes! LOL!

**papers & elements from Winsor Digi-Designs Autumn Rainbow**

Branson Family Vacation: Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 05:00:00 +0000

We left last Thursday morning for Branson. Yes, that was the same morning that I had returned home at 3:00 a.m. after taking Uma to the vet for swallowing a needle. After my few hours of sleep, we left for Branson with my family. Luckily, Uma was perfectly fine, besides needing antibiotics twice a day. My cousin very nicely agreed to come give her the meds, so we could go on vacation.

The 10 of us (my Mom, Dad, sister Holly, sister Heather, her 2 boys, her husband, as well as the 3 of us) met in Springfield, MO for a late lunch at Cheddar's. We've never been before and we will not go back. The waitress was not very nice and the food was cold and tasteless. It was my Mom's birthday, so luckily she enjoyed her food. The rest of us, not so much.

Upon arriving in Branson, we first stopped at the Tanger Outlet for the kids to go to the Disney Store. They didn't have much there, but Abby bought a Minnie Mouse plush. After checking in at the Comfort Inn Branson Meadows, the kids and Dads went down to the pool. They look forward to swimming all year. We went out for Dairy Queen for dinner and stopped by the Imax to pick up some fudge for my Mom's birthday.

Friday morning, we ate the free breakfast at the hotel. It was decent. They had scrambled eggs, biscuits, sausage, donuts, yogurt, fruit, bagels, toast, cereal and waffle makers. The eggs were actually good. They weren't slimy like some hotel breakfasts can be.

Next up was Silver Dollar City. We love Silver Dollar City. To me it is so nice and calm there. The people are nice, the park is clean and I feel very safe. The weather was a bit warm at times, but we couldn't complain. Abby rode a new ride this year-- The American Plunge.

It's a log flume ride that ends in a 5 story slide. Abby was laughing the whole time, but says she didn't like it. She didn't like getting wet and says she didn't like the plunge at the end. I ended up paying the $3 for us to stand in the dryer. LOL! It was more like a heater and not a dryer, so $3 wasted. Oh well.

We all had a great time riding rides at Silver Dollar City on Friday. The park closed at 6 p.m. and we headed to Montana Mike's. I love Montana Mike's and I look forward to going to Branson every year for their nachos. YUMMY!

After dinner, Abby wanted to go to the WM to buy a Barbie The Princess & The Popstar doll. She had watched the movie about 100 times and HAD to have the doll.

This is a freaky doll. Her head twists to turn from the Princess to the Popstar. CREEPY! Also, she is supposed to sing 2 songs, but she sings a part of one song twice, just with a different word on the second time. It's like she's still in demo mode, but she's not. Abby loves her though. LOL!

This post is getting long, so I'll do Part 2 tomorrow.

**paper and elements are from Winsor Digi-Designs Autumn Rainbow Kit**

Wordless Wednesday: Uma's Recovery

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 04:18:00 +0000

This is Uma the day after her little surgery. You can read the full story here. She is all better now, we just have to wait for her fur to grow back :)

Oh and here's the needle they gave back to me:

I still can't believe she swallowed a needle!

For more Wordless Wednesday posts, head to:

Go Graham Go
Mom Spotted
Mama to 4 Blessings
Two of a Kind Working on a Full House

FIAR: The Glorious Flight

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 05:00:00 +0000

We are doing a Five in a Row every other week. This past week was The Glorious Flight.

Abby wasn't that into this book, but as usual she loved the lessons and activities that went with it.

Monday

We read the book and talked about Louis Bleriot's family. Abby put the story disc on our map on the English Channel. She then did Homeschool Share's Across The English Channel minibook.

Tuesday

Abby was not interested in reading the book again, so we discussed what she remembered about the book and looked at the pictures. She then did the Homeschool Share Flight Timeline.

Wednesday

We talked about descriptive writing and onomatopoeias. Abby made the cover for her notebook:

Thursday

We discussed Roman numerals and Abby did the Homeschool Share Roman Numerals flap page.

She then worked on the vocabulary lift the flap book from Homeschool Share.

Friday

We watched the flight:

Then Abby labeled an airplane.

Next week, Abby will do: A Pair of Red Clogs.

Uma's Emergency Vet Visit

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 06:09:00 +0000

It is 1:00 in the morning. I am about to leave to go pick up Uma from the vet. She will be fine, but here's the story:

About 10:30, I noticed Uma coughing, like something was stuck in her throat. I didn't think much of it at first, as she is known to eat anything, even dust bunnies (not that we have those).

She kept forcibly coughing and I noticed she had coughed up some blood. I took her into the emergency vet. While there, Uma acted completely fine. She was even purring, when I was petting her. She was standing on my shoulders, as she usually does.

When the vet tech came in to get her vitals, I felt something strange on her neck. I pointed it out to the tech and realized that I thought she must have something stuck in her throat!

The doctor came in, agreed with me and took her for x-rays. The x-ray confirmed that yes, there was something in her esophagus...a SEWING NEEDLE!

Seriously, what the heck?! Why would she eat a sewing needle?!?!

I said to do whatever it takes to get it out and do it quickly. I was told it would take about 4-5 hours for blood work, anesthesia, endoscopic surgery and recovery. I decided to come home and wait.

When I got home, I was crying to Dave about how I can't believe I left a sewing needle out and how upset I was. The doctor called and I immediately thought the worst.

Surprisingly, he said Uma was all fine! Once they got her under, they were able to get a better look and got it out with a simple incision, no endoscopy needed. She will just need to be on antibiotics for a few days.

I am going to leave to get her in about 10 minutes, but I had to share how thankful I am that she is ok. I prayed so hard about her.

Miss Uma (or Miss Beauty Queen as the vet tech called her):

Update: It's 2:45 a.m. and I'm back home with Uma. She looks great. They shaved her neck, made a small incision and pulled it out. Oh and they gave me the needle, with thread still attached as a souvenir.

She will need antibiotics twice a day, but that's the extent of it. We are so lucky it wasn't worse!

Wordless Wednesday: Grant's Farm Field Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 04:22:00 +0000

For more Wordless Wednesday posts, head to:

Go Graham Go
Mom Spotted
Mama to 4 Blessings
Two of a Kind Working on a Full House

Homeschool Review: September 10 - 14

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 05:00:00 +0000

How has 7 weeks gone by so fast? Last week sure was busy, but fun.

Last week, we also did FIAR: The Glorious Flight. I'll do a separate post on that.

Math

Abby continued with Life of Fred, lessons 13, 14, 15 and 16. The topics included: if tomorrow is Wednesday, what was yesterday, history of a baker's dozen, 4-2=2, 9-1=8, 0=0, spines of a book, 1/10th of $100, cardinal numbers, sets, million, billion, trillion, quadrillion, quintillion and whole numbers.

Life of Fred is still a favorite here.

Social Studies

Abby and I are both happy that for now, we have moved past wars and fighting. In Heritage Studies, Abby did lesson 12: Physical Maps. We discussed physical features of a map, doing a map activity in the book.

Next, was lesson 13: Forests & Plains. Abby learned that the land from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi river was called the Great Forest. And from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains was prairie land. She did a notebook page:

She learned that the settlers called this land the Great American Desert, because they thought nothing but grass would grow. We discussed the groups on Indians that first lived on the prairie: Pawnee, Sioux, Kiowa, Caddo, Crow and Comanche. This lead to a discussion on treaties and how they were not always honored.

We then discussed what animals were found on the prairie: bison, deer, prairie dogs, etc. This was actually great timing, as we went to Grant's Farm on Friday and saw so many prairie animals.

Science

In Apologia Swimming Creatures, Abby continued Lesson 4. We talked about loggerhead, green sea and leatherback turtles. Abby and I were both amazed that leatherback turtles can be 9 foot long and 6 foot wide! We did the Try This! experiment and drew leatherback turtle outside on the driveway. So cool!

We then learned about Australian flatbacks, hawksbill, olive ridley, kemps ridley and black turtles. Next was sea snakes. Vocabulary included: ovoviviparious, antivenin, neurotoxin and hemotoxin. Abby colored the sea snake page in the Junior Notebook:

Abby learned about aquatic amphibians, discussing estivation, tadpoles, salamanders, Surinam toads and African dwarf frogs.

Language Arts

In Language Lessons for The Very Young, Abby did lessons 32, 33, 34, 35 and 36. These were putting the days of the week in order and months of the year copywork.

Handwriting

We spent last week reviewing lowercase cursive. One of the activities was to use puff paint to write in cursive. I did mine first and then it was Abby's turn.

Unfortunately, it was really hard for her. Squeezing the paint at the right pressure made the whole activity difficult for her. She gave up quickly and I don't blame her.

Misc.

Tuesday, Abby went to the doctor. She had a little cold the week before and it went away. She woke up with a minor fever and not feeling good again, so I called to take her in. She had a sinus infection and was given antibiotics. She was able to get her flu shot too, so that's good.

On Thursday, Abby went to gymnastics class. She still loves it! She was so worn out after that hour. She has learned so much already.

Friday, Heather and her boys went with us to Grant's Farm. The weather was just perfect. It was in the 60's and cloudy. It was actually a bit chilly at times. However, the animals loved the weather and we saw more animals then we've ever seen in all of the times we've been there. Oh and in one of the ponds was a Pekin duck. Abby and I both immediately thought of Ping! I still need to put the picture collage together, so I'll post that later.

Abby and my sister Heather had a girls lunch together on Saturday. They both had so much fun.

Now we will be getting ready for our trip to Branson that comes up soon. We need to get Silver Dollar City tickets and recheck our clothing situation. It's hard to say if it will be in the 60's or in the 80's when we go, so we have to have some of everything. LOL!

Homeschool Review: September 3 - September 7

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 05:00:00 +0000

Math

Abby continued Life of Fred Butterflies, working on lesson 8-12. These lessons covered: ordinal numbers, 4+5=9, 2+7+9, counting to 35 cents in nickels, 7-4=3, counting the stars in Orion's sword, half past six=6:30, light years, Andromeda Galaxy, thousand, million, billion, trillion, perpendicular lines, right angles, dozen, a.m. and p.m., orthogonality and syncope.

It is always funny to type what the Life Of Fred lessons are, since they are so different than usual math. Abby is just loving the books!

Social Studies

In Heritage Studies, Abby finished lesson 9. She then did lesson 10: Give Honor, about how when people are dissatisfied with their government, they respond in different ways. Also about how the French revolutionists wore red caps, red scarves and red ribbons to symbolize their ideas. She also learned about France's National Anthem. We did a notebook page about National Anthems of several countries. I looked them up on Youtube for us to hear each country's anthem.

Next up, was lesson 11: After the Revolution. We discussed how America decided not to participate in the French Revolution, as America was still so young. We also learned how Napoleon Bonaparte became the leader of the French government.

Abby's notebook page was to mark each statement as happening in America, France or both:

Science

Abby continued lesson 3 in Apologia Swimming Creatures. She added the seal, sea lion and walrus to her ocean box:

We then started lesson 4 about aquatic herps. Vocabulary included: ectothermic, vertebrates, oviparous, viviparous, brumation, testudines, carapace, plastron and scutes. This lesson is about sea snakes and sea turtles. We learned how sea turtles lay their eggs and how they instinctively know to come back to the same spot to lay their eggs. Also how the temperature of the sand determines whether the eggs hatch to be males or females. Abby and I were both fascinated by this.

Language Arts

Abby worked on Language Lessons for the Very Young, lessons 29, 30 and 31. These were copywork, reading and narration, and capitalizing days of the week.

Handwriting

Abby's cursive is going so well. We have finished the lowercase letters, but I am spending lots of time reviewing them. We reviewed: n, m, v, x, y, z, i, t, u, w, e, l, b, h, k, r, s, f, p and j.

My handwriting is in black, Abby's in red.

Misc.

Monday was Labor Day and we had BBQ at my Mom and Dad's house. It was yummy! We did do some schoolwork on Monday. Dave was off of work, so Abby enjoyed showing him her work.

Abby also started a homeschool gymnastics class nearby. She loves it. It's a bit more expensive than the one we used to go to, but she didn't like that teacher. At least now she likes the teacher and is having a great time. This class is also a full hour, which is nice.

I had a podiatrist appointment on Friday. My feet have hurt for years, but I recently tried to get new shoes at New Balance. The people there were really nice, fit my foot with an arch support and I was out of the store with new shoes, arch support and $170 out of my bank account. LOL!

I wore them the next day to Purina Day and by the time I got home my feet hurt so bad. I have never had that much foot pain. I wanted to cut my legs off, they hurt from my toes to my knees. The next day, I couldn't even put the shoe on, it hurt so bad. I returned the shoes without a problem, luckily. Then I made an appointment with the podiatrist.

Anyway, I found out that I had high arches. This I knew, but I didn't know that they were really high! Too high for any on the shelf support. I also have plantar fasciitis. I had heard of this, but my foot pain originated in the ball of my foot mostly. I thought plantar fasciitis was only in the heel. The doctor informed me that since the tissue runs from the heel to the toes, many people get pain in the ball of the foot.

He suggested custom arch supports and decent shoes. I have been wearing Brooks, so I will stick with them. I just need to check with my insurance if I've met my deductible yet. If so, the insurance will cover them at 90%. That would be nice. If not, it will cost me $350. However, it will be worth it! They will last for years, the doctor said.

I'll let you know what I find out. Has anyone had custom orthotics made? Did it make all the difference in the world? I sure hope it will!

Wordless Wednesday: Mushrooms

noreply@blogger.com (Jenny) — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 04:18:00 +0000

These are huge. The biggest one is the size of a large dinner plate! I've never seen them this big. Have you?

For more Wordless Wednesday, head to:

Go Graham Go
Mom Spotted
Mama to 4 Blessings
Two of a Kind Working on a Full House

The homeschooler in me, had to identify this mushroom. As best as I can tell, it is a Amanita Bisporiga. Otherwise known as: The Angel of Death. Nice! We obviously didn't touch it or eat it, but it's one of the deadliest poisons in nature. Good to know.