We interrrupt this blog...

I'm sorry I can't do a typical "100th Post" today but I am experiencing computer problems. I have been in contact with technical support and expect to receive the needed part within a few days--it was still under warranty :). My eldest is kindly letting me borrow her computer for a few minutes to post this but she needs it for her schoolwork so I don't want to stay on it long.

Hopefully, I'll be back in business soon and can post "100 Things About Me" to celebrate my 100th post--this post doesnt' count, ok?

Later Days!
Kelly

Leprechaun Cake

Tonight, K. helped me in the kitchen. It was sort of a last minute idea, but I figured she'd like to help make a special dessert. We looked through recipes for something I thought I had all the ingredients for and decided on a special brownie recipe that had semi-sweet chocolate chips added to it (anything with more than one form of chocolate HAS to be good, right?).

We began to pull the ingredients out of the pantry and K. began to measure and pour them into the mixing bowl. Our first setback was when I discovered that we didn't have enough sugar left in my canister. No worries, I'll just add what I keep in the sugar bowl...still not enough?!? We even tried crushing sugar cubes that I keep for my tea...those little stinkers are pretty hard! Finally, deep in the pantry, I found a shaker of blue sugar that I must have used for some cake at some point in history. Fine...that'll work.

Our next setback to making brownies came when I discovered that the can of baking cocoa that I was certain I had...had disappeared! Now, that's a tough one to overcome when making brownies. K. and I had to come up with Plan B. We didn't want to throw out what we had already put in the bowl...but we also didn't know what to make with it. What happened next was inspired. We forged ahead with the brownie recipe...we added the eggs...and...suddenly the batter was green! Blue sugar + eggs=green batter. We threw in the chocolate chips and even added some vanilla pudding for good measure. K. and I mixed everything together, poured it into a cake pan and put it in the oven, all the while hoping that what came out would be edible.

As it turns out...it was quite good. Even N., who is a notoriously picky eater, loved it!

Later Days!
Kelly

What's Cookin'?

Tonight M. was my sous chef (or was I his sous chef?). He loves to be part of whatever is going on and was delighted for his busy work to be mom-approved, as opposed to the many things he does that cause mom to interfere.

We made a chicken pot pie (yum) and an oreo dessert (double yum). He is a master of stirring, pouring, and especially....licking! The astute observer will notice that a wardrobe change was necessary.

Everyone in the family agreed that dinner was a success :).

Later Days!
Kelly

Post-Tea update...

Never has a tea been approached with such fear and dread as the one I attended this morning. It goes without saying that I love spending time with the ladies from church and I also love eating good food BUT I am very uncomfortable speaking in front of a roomful of people. I am pleased to report that I didn't faint or otherwise become incapacitated during the tea :). I am, however, glad that it is over and that I will most likely never be asked to speak again--LOL!

Later Days!
Kelly

P.S.Grandparents...M. enjoyed the b-day party at the park this morning. If I am able to get photos from someone else who attended I'll post them.

T(ea) minus 11.5 hours

If you know me in real life, you know that I talk...a lot. That is, in small groups or one-on-one. NOT in public settings where people are looking at me. All of that will change tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I am supposed to be "interviewed" at a Ladies' Tea given by our church. Apparently, the ladies of the church want to get to know the pastor's wife a bit better, though I keep telling them that I'm not that interesting.

Pray that I survive the stress and at least get a good blog entry out of it! Tune in tomorrow for an update :).

Later Days!
Kelly

Thursday

Update on K: Making some progress. Had a good night but threw up first thing this morning after a coughing fit. We're hopeful that she's on the mend.

Today's photo shows M. busily scooping uncooked rice out of one bowl with various sizes of measuring cups and spoons and dumping it into another. Not only does this activity give him practice in dexterity, but it also keeps him busy for a few minutes so I can get something done :). It also gives him practice in using the dustbuster to clean up the mess on the floor when he's done. See, homeschooling does prepare children for real life!

Later Days!
Kelly

It's me again....

Hi, my name is Kelly and I am an occasional blogger. I guess you can tell we had too much fun with all the grandparents and it's taking me some time to recover! We had a terrific time with all four of them here and I think they enjoyed it, too :).

I'd like to be able to say that things are getting back to normal this week, but it just wouldn't be true. Some aspects have been normal...for example, we did go to the library today and we've resumed our normal homeschool schedule. The atypical part is where I have a social life!

Last night, I enjoyed a Krispy Kreme run with my friend, Mandy (from A Day in the Life of the Padgetts). We stayed out entirely too late talking about everything under the sun. Tonight, Hubby and I went out to dinner with our friends Rick and Yvonne. After house arrest while the kids were sick, it's been very nice to be part of society again :).

Speaking of sick...it seems that our 7 yo, K., is unwell again...judging by the mess Hubby and I just had to clean up :(. We attacked it as a team, swooping in with towels and carpet cleaner, sticking clothes and towels in the washer, comforting the sick, and ushering her into a nice, warm shower to clean herself up.

We pray that this is short-lived and doesn't sweep through the household like the last plague.

Later Days!
Kelly

Grandparent Invasion!

We are blessed to have all four grandparents here for the weekend! We're enjoying having them here...visiting...going to the State Museum...spoiling the kids :). Tomorrow's plans MAY include going to the State House. It's great that we can enjoy spending time with family AND taking school field trips :)! There are so many interesting things to do around here & we're having fun finding them.

I'll try to update tomorrow but no promises...we'll be staying busy!

Later Days!
Kelly

Projects

Today I attempted to add some fun stuff to our homeschool day by allowing/forcing the kids to do a couple of projects.

One was a Mammoth Excavation Kit that I ordered months ago but hadn't found the time to bring out.

Elder son, N., is interested in prehistoric creatures so I thought he'd enjoy a little "hands on" experience. Turns out I seriously overestimated the appeal of excavating pieces of a plastic mammoth out of a block of ice :). Several of us took turns syringing warm water over the block for what seemed like hours before using tweezers to pick out the pieces. Long after our enthusiasm had waned, the mammoth was fully excavated and N. assembled the skeleton.

Our other attempt at hands on today was making butter from heavy cream. Most of you probably did this early in your educational career (more of you than have excavated mammoths, for instance). You pour heavy whipping cream in a jar and shake, long after the novelty of shaking has worn off. You end up with a lovely lump of butter and sore arms :).

I guess it's evident that we're not very project-oriented in our homeschool. My kids seem to prefer getting the required stuff done and using their free time for projects of their own design. While it's nice to change things up every now and then, I'll think we'll stick with what works for us (and causes Mom much less cleanup).

Later Days!
Kelly

All is right with the world....

It's Tuesday and yes, we DID get to go to the library! Life is good :). The kids were thrilled to get new books, the library was thrilled that we had some small fines to pay, and I'm just thrilled to be out of the house!

Once home, I threw together a quick lunch and the crew settled in with plates and books. We may not have the best table manners, but we love to read. I'm so thankful that all four kids love books. It is a wonderful feeling to see them pursuing their personal interests as well as their school topics--truly, if you teach a child to read they can learn anything.

Later Days!
Kelly

Back in the saddle....

We're trying to get back into our homeschool routine after a week of sickness. Sure, we did a few assignments while the kids were not-well-enough to be active but well-enough-to-be-bored BUT that's very different from a full-fledged school day.

In today's photo, you can see K. working on her math worksheet. She's doing some subtracting with borrowing and is using a number line as a visual aid. I simply printed off a number line and put it in a page protector so she can use a dry erase marker, wipe it off, and use it again for the next problem. Ultimately, of course, she won't be using a number line every time she needs to subtract, but using different types of manipulatives when practicing a skill appeals to her visual and tactile sides. Obviously, working with a dry erase marker appeals to M.'s visual and tactile sides, too!

In the background of K. and M.'s math work is a model of Rome. That's not really part of anyone's schoolwork today but M. found our fold-out book of facts and illustrations of Rome and E. set it up on the table for him. The kids have been studying it in a casual manner as they pass by--hmmmm...I might "quiz" them over lunch and see if they're retaining anything. I think frozen pizza and facts about Rome go together nicely, don't you?

Later Days!
Kelly

Keys, please.

So. If you've talked to me at all or read my blog or corresponded with me on Facebook, you know we've been battling sickness for a week and a half at our house. Having been homebound with four sick children during this time, I've developed a wild and dangerous look in my eye (just ask my husband).

Last night, the kids all felt pretty good at the same time for the first time since the plague began. This led us, foolishly as it turns out, to believe it would be a good idea to load everybody up in the MotherShip and go thru a drive-thru somewhere to pick up supper. Well, the first part was easy. We successfully loaded everyone in the van. We quickly discovered that we were locked out of the house with nary a key among the three key-carrying family members. Remember...all four children had been sick for over a week; they now had to sit in the van, in the dark, hungry, waiting (and complaining) while Dad and Mom tried to redeem the evening.

After several attempts at the three different doors and the accessible windows, we determined that we needed to call a locksmith so as not to damage property that doesn't actually belong to us (we rent). Fortuitously, I had my cell phone in my pocket (the only cell phone present among the three cell phone-carrying family members) so we called a friend who looked up locksmiths in the phone book for us. Immediately after placing the second round of calls to friend and locksmith (first locksmith didn't answer so we had to call friend again), my cell phone's battery went dead. Forty-five minutes and $70 dollars later, we were back in the house.

You might think we would be deterred from our original mission. No, we would not be defeated. We gathered ALL house keys and cell phones and successfully did our fast food run.

Many thanks to our friend L. who, though understandably finding our situation humorous, found locksmith numbers for us AND even sent her husband (who had not even been home yet) over to check on us and offer his mad housebreaking skilz (and also to mock us--Thanks R). She knew how absurd the situation was because she, too, has been housebound with her own two sick children for several days; she knew that getting out of the house was a Big Event. Being the good friend she is, she even suggested we two go out for lunch today since our husbands would be home and could handle the kids. Since having a 3 1/2 hour talk (and lunch) today, I think the wild look is finally gone from my eye. Though the waitress now has a wild look since we out-stayed her at the restaurant!

Later Days!
Kelly

P.S. Today, we had two more keys made and safely stowed in case (when) this kind of thing happens again.

From the mouths of babes...

I don't have much to report regarding the plague on my house, but I thought I'd relate something cute M. said tonight. While hubby went to church, the patients...I mean, kids...and I watched "Jon & Kate plus 8." That show certainly puts any struggles I have with four children into proper perspective.

This episode showed their family sitting around a fire bowl in their backyard, making and eating s'mores (which are made of graham crackers, topped with chocolate and toasted marshmallows). M. apparently remembered when we made these, toasting the marshmallows in our fireplace (featured in a previous post). Seeing them being eaten on tv prompted M. to ask for a "firecracker!" Get it...Fire-cracker?

Well, I think it's obvious that I need more sleep :o).

Later Days!
Kelly

And now for something completely different....

Thank you for your patience with my whining over the last couple of days while the family has been sick. Suffice it to say, whining has NOT repelled the germs of doom; rather, it seems to have attracted even more bacteria, a whine-resistant strain, that has invaded the bodies of the previously well.

***That's my way of saying that now I'm not feeling so great, either.***

We're going to try ignoring the sickness, blog-wise, and see if it goes away :).

Therefore, you now see before you a photo of my two boys, ages 12 & 3, equally enamored with a felt board. Little M., being so taken with the felts at the library every Tuesday, got a couple of felt story sets for Christmas (people of the world & dinosaurs). Each set came with a background-board. Today, I taped the two boards together at the top and rigged a piece of cardboard at the bottom to easel-fy it so that it would stand on the table. ***Don't feel inferior if you didn't know the word "easel-fy"--many people don't*** This simple act didn't cost anything, made it easier to play with, and turned it into a "new" toy as far as my kids were concerned. Now, my boys are doing crazy things with dinosaurs and people and I'm getting a little bit of peace== Priceless!

Later Days!
Kelly

More from the sick ward....

We're still muddling through with the little patients at our small teaching hospital :). Extensive use of Lysol and bleach wipes are sure to stop this bug in its tracks, right? Right? Oh, I must not forget the extensive use of Tylenol Cold & Cough, Motrin, Vick's Vaporub, etc. Thus, the above whiteboard with names, meds, and times of dosing on it. Hey, the head nurse gets a bit bleary-eyed in the wee hours and might overdose someone if she doesn't write these things down.

I hope everyone has a terrific Lord's Day today. Be grateful is you are able to attend services--there are many around the world who cannot and wish they could.

Later Days!
Kelly

P.S. We're supposed to get some "Winter Weather" this evening/night! I'd love to see some snow coming down :).