Bippity Boppity Boo

Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love with girl. Girl magically becomes a princess. Boy marries girl. They live happily ever after.

The stuff of childhood dreams and simplistic romance defined.

Shawn took the family to Cinderella the Musical at our local ampitheater Wednesday night. But it wasn't what was on stage that held my attention, it was the audience. I'd never seen so many crowns and light blue rayon ball gowns on small children in my life. It looked like everyone had dressed up their little girls but us.


Waiting for the bathroom was like being in some sort of royal twilight zone, surrounded by fawning princesses on every side.

"Oh, your dress is so pretty."

"Thanks. I like your crown."

"Your shoes are so sparkly."

"Look! Her wand lights up!"

Now, GooseyGirl is into all this romance just as much as the next girl but she'd NEVER admit it. She gets queasy when characters fall in love and she swears that it is the kissing she can't stand. We had fun teasing her on the way to the play about the amount of kissing we suspected there might be on stage. She was moaning and groaning over that prospect while saying over and over, "I HATE kissing!"

The musical began and the ugly stepsisters took the stage. They were played perfectly by two men in drag. One was rail thin with a huge curly blonde wig. The other was rotund with black curly ribbon bedecked pony tails. They were wonderful comic foils but I was pretty sure my kidlets hadn't realized they were not women.

Soon the Fairy Godmother did the whole abracadabra thing and Cinderella was at the ball dressed to kill with her eye on her man. The romantic tension was building and I noticed GooseyGirl had started squirming uncomfortably in her chair. She had her legs balled up under her dress and her breathing was fast.

Then it happened.

The kiss.



Suddenly a loud group moan of, "Eewwwwwwww", came up from the all girls around us with GooseyGirl's voice in the lead. It seems she wasn't the only one who could do without all the lip action.

That's when BirdMan started singing his rhyme, "Cinderelly, Cinderelly, you're so smelly". Which was a huge hit with all the wanna be prince charmings around us.

Towards the end of the play the Ugly Stepsisters were trying on the glass slipper and grunting to get their little tootsies into the shoe. GooseyGirl leaned over to me and said, "Momma, they're so funny! They sound like men."

I whispered in her ear, "Honey, they ARE men."

She gasped out loud and clamped her hands over her mouth, then dissolved into giggles. "Oh, Momma, they must be so embarrassed!", she exclaimed.

Enriching their lives through art? Check!


buzz words: homeschool, homeschooling, home education, home educator, triplets, cinderella

Looking through BirdMan's eyes.

I love our homeschool math program, Math U See (they way they spell the curriculum makes me twitch involuntarily, however). The kids get really excited about Math and it is fun to see the light bulb go off over their heads. GooseyGirl told me her favorite part of math is doing word problems!?!

Yes, she is related to me... I have blood records to prove it.

Today, though, I had an argument with BirdMan about his word problems. He was adamant that his answer was correct. I double, triple, quadruple checked the teacher's manual. No doubt about it, his answer was wrong... or was it?

Here's the question. See what you think.

The three blind mice and the seven dwarves walked through the fresh snow. How many feet were making tracks? (Be careful- this is a three step problem.)

Okay. What is the answer?

The teacher's manual said the answer was 26.

BirdMan swore the answer was 20. He fought and fought with me over this.


Can you see the small detail that makes all the difference? The detail that would seem overly obvious to a child but difficult for an adult brain?



Here's a clue:
Count the feet "making tracks".



Don't you love that? I had to look at the problem through kiddo eyes before I could see how right BirdMan was! He got an A+ in math today and taught me something about my limited world view all at the same time.


Question of the day:
GooseyGirl: "Is Apollo (our bird) right-winged or left-winged?"










Tags: homeschool, home school, math curriculum, homeschool curriculum, home school curriculum, homeschooling, home education, home educators, birds, parrots, pet supplies.

Meet Flopper

RocketMan had a big weekend.

Not just big... HUGE.

GINORMOUS!!

A COLOSSAL weekend for RocketMan.

In addition to eating candy which made his tongue blue- and we all know how cool THAT is.

He caught a 22" catfish!

And he caught it with his 2' pee-wee Snoopy pole!

This was one seriously large fish. Look down at your leg. Look from your knee to your foot. That is how long and how fat this pregnant catfish was! He caught it at the little private pond down the street and couldn't be prouder.





Quote of the weekend:
GooseyGirl (in an 80's Valley Girl accent): "Momma, the Romans were UN-BE-LIEVABLE! I mean they even made concrete! Amazing!"

Update on FrankenDad

Update on Shawn's dog bite recovery:
The plastic surgeon's office called and said he was too "tired" to keep his appointment with Shawn today.

Yes, we're getting a new plastic surgeon.

Preferably one that is wide awake. Appointment is Monday morning because we all know plastic surgeons don't do weekends. Hmmm.... maybe if we just go hang out at the golf course we could find one. "Help! Help! Is there a plastics guy in the clubhouse?"

One of my friends told me her daughter got bit and then developed internal parasites. We'll be watching Shawn closely for any foaming of the mouth.

FrankenDad

Shawn got bit by a 70 pound dog last night. He had stopped by his cousin's house and went up to the fence when the dog leaped up and bit his face. He has three stitches in his lip and two in his nose. There is also a patch on his nose they couldn't stitch up because the dog took the skin completely off. He's feeling okay but the stitches were painful and the tetanus shot wasn't fun either. We do know the dog is up to date on his shots so Shawn won't need anything other than anti-biotics.

We are headed to a plastic surgeon this afternoon to see what needs to be done.

The kids think dad's stitches are just fascinating and are following him around the house gulping down every morsel of the attack's details that Shawn can spare. What color was the dog? How big were his teeth? Were you scared? What was the dog's name? Did you ride in an ambulance? Did they give you a shot? How big was the needle?

I think Shawn is going to need a valium just to deal with the kidlet's questions!

Last night I made some changes to both this site and the Fisherville Academy site. Take a look around. You can now subscribe to this Fisherville Academy blog via e-mail. Scroll down and sign up below! The wit and humor will resume once we finish putting the duct tape on Shawn's face to hold all the bits together. (That is what the best plastic surgeon's use, right? I wonder if the surgeon would throw in a tummy tuck for me? Like one of those buy one get one free deals. Every girl's gotta have a dream, 'ya know.)

Seriously, though, Shawn's doing pretty good and we'll know more after the surgeon's appointment this afternoon. In the mean time he's on the couch watching Lost in Space through a pain killer haze which, I believe, is exactly the way the director meant for it to be watched.

Welcome to Second Grade!

Technically yesterday was our first day but to celebrate we ditched school and went swimming instead. BirdMan got his cast off and we had to go splash around in water to celebrate, right? Ahhhhh.... what fun.

Today was our first real school day and we started the Fisherville Academy Book Club. Basically we are reading a chapter book out loud together, taking turns with each chapter. Then we talk about the characters and other aspects of the book and do an activity. Today's activity comprised of making a map of our classroom.

One of the characters in the book is a little boy who enjoys teasing girls and tying to gross them out. This is a foreign concept to my kids because GooseyGirl is just as into examining the latest road kill as the boys are. You can't gross the girl out. She can hook her own worm onto the pole when we go fishing, for goodness sake!

The boy in the story decided to stick his pencil up his nose and gently swing it back and forth while staring at the girl in the frilly pink dress sitting next to him. This character also refers to himself as "The Beast" and is mortified that he can't read but doesn't want anyone to know that little secret about his abilities.

I asked my little book club about the motivations of this character.

"Why do you think Richard puts a pencil in his nose?", I asked and sat back to wait for the revelations about the main character's lack of self esteem to come pouring from their little mouths.

"Oh, I know!", says RocketMan with all the self confidence in the world, "To erase his memory."

*snort*

Not now, Momma, I'm doin' my research.

A long time ago I found these clipboards at Walmart that open up and have storage inside for writing stuff. I decided to put some paper, pencils and a little notebook in each for my kidlets to entertain themselves on our errands. I also wrote their names, address and phone number so that when they would use them they would inevitably talk about their address and phone. In no time they had it "rememborized" as they call it. (I love their little faux words.)

On one of our forays into the real world, I noticed that Birdman was very intent and quiet in the back of the van. He had out a library book and his notebook. I said, "Honey? What are you doing?"

"Not now, Momma, I'm doin' my research", he replied.

Not wanting to disturb the forward momentum of the science frontiers being formed in the backseat, I stayed quiet. He was back there working the entire trip, to the store and back.

Later, after we got home, I snuck back to his notebook and looked in to see what he was up too. Here's a scan of what I found. I LOVE the fact that he references his technical drawing in the text. Tee Hee!

In case you can't read it, it says:
a Huming Bird flaps its wings by using its muscles and by flaping its wings 25 times a second it lays an egg as small as a corter and a huming birds beak is long as 1 inch as you kan see below there is a picture below of a humingbird.

Second Grade starts TOMORROW!!

Little known fact about lefties

RocketMan was sort of an unknown in utero. We were told he had signs of a chromosomal disorder. The doctors recommended getting an amniocentesis. They warned us that the chromosomal disorder would kill him before he turned one and would give him severe physical and mental disabilities. Of course, I wanted nothing to do with an amino. There were two other people in there for goodness sakes!

Well, they were wrong. Luke was not born with a chromosomal disorder. After birth we were told he had excess fluid in the left hemisphere of his brain. The doctors said it might hydrocephalus and that he may need a shunt in his brain. Then they said he might have high level autistic tendencies.

What ended up happening was a ton of therapy from 9 months to 3 years old. He got speech, physical and occupational therapy until he turned 3 years old. He still has a few quirks but I'm convinced that early intervention gave me another boy with a brighter future.

He still has some speech issues that are very minor. For example, the hard K sound and the TH sound is difficult for him. Oh, and he's a leftie.


Here's the conversation I overheard in the bathroom as BirdMan and RocketMan are drying off from their showers and combing their hair while buck naked in front of the mirror.

RocketMan: "Could you give me that comb?"

BirdMan: "Yeah. Here 'ya go."

RocketMan: "Van Que"

BirdMan: "What? Van Que? You're supposed to say Thank You not Van Que. "

RocketMan: "Well that's how some people say it."

BirdMan: "Who?"

RocketMan (with all the authority in the world): "Left handed people"

BirdMan (incredulous): "What?"

RocketMan: "Left handed people say Van Que"

BirdMan: "No they don't"

RocketMan (getting upset now): "Yes they do. You just don't know."

BirdMan: "They don't say Van Que."

RocketMan (angry now): "Yes they do and since I'm the only person in the family who is left handed, then I should know. It is true. Pinkie Promise. Lefties say Van Que."

Birdman wrinkles up his nose in disbelief. However, you can tell that RocketMan's logical argument seems to have hit a nerve and BirdMan is now rethinking everything he knows about lefties.

Headlines

RocketMan lost his front tooth! Net fairy cash gain.. $2.25

GooseyGirl left the tooth fairy a diamond with RocketMan's tooth. She wrote a note to alert the Tooth Fairy, or "TF" as she refers to her, that she should take the diamond with her. GooseyGirl's note also asked the fairy to leave a message describing what she thought about the diamond.

GooseyGirl whispered to me, "Don't worry, Mommy. It isn't a REAL diamond." I was so relieved. I thought she'd taken one from that pile of random loose diamonds we keep in the drawer. :)

However, since the tooth fairy couldn't fit the diamond through the keyhole in the front door, she ended up dropping it on her way out. GooseyGirl thought that perhaps one of the cats scared the fairy. Oh, and no note was left from "TF". I think it was just so late that "TF" wanted to leave the cash and scurry off to bed. "TF"'s got a day job, after all.




BirdMan and GooseyGirl each caught a large mouth bass in the neighborhood fishing pond. GooseyGirl's was a foot long! Lilly, our dog, loves to go fishing and barks with delight at every cast, every catch, every splash, every worm and every bobber. Between the kids screaming and the dog barking, I'm guessing the neighbor who owns the pond thinks we are a VERY loud family.

Yogi, our kitty, continues to gets plenty of lovin'. We're still not sure if he appreciates it, though. It is a wonder that he still knows how to walk. He gets carried everywhere he goes and with that belly, my kids are bench pressing some serious weight.

Mommy, what should we name him?

Meet Mr. Kitty the cat




and Snowy the snow leopard



and Miss Lamby the... um... well, lamb.




Notice a pattern yet?

I just love the "inventive" names they give the critters around them. The frog they found in the creek? His name was Hopper. The butterfly we raised from a caterpillar? Her name was flutter.

The innocence that is reflected in these names gives my heart a little smile every time I encounter them.

I recently had the opportunity to name a cute little carolina wren who sings on the deck outside my bedroom window every morning.
I enjoy watching him and my kids asked me what his name was. I decided James was a good name in reference to the Carolina singer, James Taylor. My kidlets thought that name was completely uncreative and extremely lame. In their eyes it was yet another example of how weird and out of touch I am.

A few minutes later a tufted titmouse landed on the deck with James. (Yes, there is actually a bird with the unfortunate common name of titmouse.)

GooseyGirl saw the bird land and squealed, "Look Mommy, a titmouse! What should we name him?"

Her little brow furrowed as she summoned up all of her seven year old creativity for the task of naming our new bird friend.

"I know", she said, "Let's call him Titty!"

I'm REALLY hoping she forgets about it before we have company over and she decides to introduce them to Titty the Titmouse.


*** while searching for a jpeg of a tufted titmouse on google I came across this HILARIOUS picture- don't click if you are easily offended- you've been warned! Bwah ha ha ha ha!!
http://anekdota.dyndns.org/jotd24/att-0282/01-TitMouse.jpg

Fisherville Academy Website

I get a bunch of questions about our curriculum and our approach to homeschooling. I've put together a website to help answer those questions. I've got information on our approach and links to sources for our books.

Fisherville Academy Website

Bath Time

There are certain chores of motherhood that I don't mind like laundry, cooking and crafts. There are other chores that I hate and have hated from the beginning. The worst? Giving my children a bath.

I'm not sure exactly why this aspect of care is so unappealing to me. It might be because RocketMan used to scream bloody murder the ENTIRE time you bathed him. We're talking top of the lungs, beet-red-screaming-agony. He has Sensory Integration Dysfunction and did not like having drops of water touch his skin. The feeling of fingers rubbing his head with shampoo sent him over the edge.

When my kids were little my Aunt Betty would come over once a week and give all three babies a bath. She was such a blessing. We used to call her "The Bath Lady" and I'd shout with joy every Tuesday when she arrived at my doorstep.

She could focus on one little body at a time and she would coo over them while she was soaping them up. When she left I would nuzzle their little heads, drink in the Johnson & Johnson scent of cleanliness and say a little prayer of thanksgiving that I wasn't the one who had to scrub them clean.

She bathed them for the first two years of life. I am forever grateful that she did that for me and now I'm just as glad that they can finally wash themselves. That is, until BirdMan's broken foot incident. Now I have to somehow saran wrap his leg and hang it out of the tub to keep it dry while I get to his curly locks without breaking my own back.

It would be so much easier to do it the redneck way. Just throw them outside during a rain storm and don't let them in until they are soaked!

That's the picture you see of my three in the rain, washing the redneck way, before BirdMan broke his foot. When I suggested that they go outside in the rain and get drenched, they looked at me like I'd finally lost my mind. They kept saying, "Are you crazy? You want us to go out in the rain?", and then their eyes started to twinkle, "We can? Really? Pinkie promise?"


They decided to get on their bathing suits on and their goggles. Then they danced in the rain and splashed in the mud. They were remarkably clean when they came back inside and I think a few memories were made as well.

Redneck bath time? Check!

It was the growth plate...

If you missed the post this morning, you haven't heard about our eventful weekend.
Well, BirdMan's growth plate on his right foot is fractured. The orthapedist doesn't think he will need a screw put in but they are going to do more x-rays in two weeks to determine that.

He got a red cast and the doctor said, "No boating, no swimming, no sweating."
Which means... no camping. We were supposed to go camping this weekend and Shawn was REALLY looking forward to it. As in... looking forward to it for the past 7 years. DH is still trying to process that camping is now out. I got Shawn to say, "Well, we'll think about it." That is as far as he let his brain go down that path. He needs a little more time to adjust to the idea.

BirdMan's Owie

My kidlets went to a neighbor's house over the weekend and got hurt on the trampoline.

We are headed to the pediatric orthapedist this afternoon. They think BirdMan may have fractured a growth plate in his foot. He is in pain and won't put weight on the foot. I'm supposed to take his xray with us to his appointment since the urgent care center that we went to yesterday wouldn't have a radiologist read it until tomorrow.

I'm not sure what they'll do but hopefully they can take some of his pain away.

Brother and sister are helping him get up and down the stairs. They are fetching his furry blankie and his Mr. Kitty when he asks. Both are quite worried about their brother.

Think of BirdMan this afternoon and I'll post later what the doctor says.

The first caller wins!

RocketMan gets literally giddy when we talk about numbers. He adores math and perks up whenever numbers enter a conversation. He also likes maps. His two favorite books are the Rand McNally atlas and a book of world flags.

I know what you are thinking, but I have checked the hospital blood records. He is, indeed, related to me.

Yesterday on the way home we were listening to the Library's radio station and they had a prize to give away.

The DJ said, "The first person to call with the answer to this trivia question will win the prize. Okay, here's the question. What is the name of the African city where the Blue Nile and the White Nile meet? Need a clue? It is the capital of Sudan."

From the back seat RocketMan's little voice pipes up....
"Khartoum!"

I tried to call the prize line for the radio station but between trying to drive and dial, I couldn't remember the phone number so I didn't get through (I should have asked RocketMan). Some other chick won but I'm quite sure she wasn't 7 years old!

RocketMan's big news for today is that he is going to the doctor to get the wart on his foot frozen off. Believe it or not, in this modern age, the preferred method of treatment for a wart on the foot is duct tape. Yep, duct tape and no, our pediatrician isn't "Tim the Toolman Taylor". He does have a medical degree.

The instructions are to cover the foot wart with duct tape for 12 weeks. The duct tape should smother the disgusting stuff inside the wart that is making it prosper. In fact, our pediatrician won't even take an appointment for a wart until you've completed the duct tape methodology.

Unfortunately, it is twelve weeks later and RocketMan still has the wart on the bottom of his foot. It has gotten bigger and more painful. The duct tape method did, however, work on GooseyGirl. Aren't you glad you know about this icky skeletons in our proverbial closet?

Anyway, RocketMan has told this little tidbit of grossness to everyone he has met in the past three days using as many descriptive details as possible. You should have seen the librarian's face. And they say homeschoolers aren't socialized!

Young Love

Ahh, young love...

The stares full of longing.
The soft nudges.
The head-bobbing.
The regurgitation.

Apparently, Apollo, our new baby parrot, is in love with me.

How do I know?

When I touch him he brings up his lunch for me to feast upon.

At first I mistook his advances as a sickness. With all the men I've dated in the past, barfing has never been a good sign. However, in the bird world, it has much more romantic connotations. I just hope he doesn't expect me to reciprocate.

I suppose it is akin to a poodle humping my leg or a cat dropping a half dead mouse at my feet in the middle of the living room. (ahem, hypothetically speaking of course. Well, if you must know, I seem to attract a certain "advances" from the Animal Kingdom.) I'm so glad humans prefer flowers, chocolates and insipid poetry.

Keep your eye out for me. I'm the one with the barfing, diaper-clad parrot on her shoulder.

*sigh* How in the world did I get here? This was supposed to be BirdMan's bird.

School's out!

School's out for summer! We wrapped up First Grade last week and decided to have a celebratory dinner at the local Japanese restaurant. Of course, the cooking show is just as impressive as the meal and since the kids have been to the restaurant before, there shouldn't be any misunderstandings like last time.

You see, the first time we took the kidlets to Shogun, the Japanese restaurant, we neglected to fully prepare them for the theatrics that goes along with the meal. We did tell them about safety issues involved with the huge piece of burning hot metal within arm reach of their chair. We had even warned them that the chef would be juggling knives. Those two facts alone had induced a tiny bit of fear and trepidation with this new dining experience. I noticed they were a bit leery as the chef approached our table.

He was very friendly and smiled broadly at the kids asking them their names and confirming their orders. He turned on the overhead fan and the show was set to start. RocketMan watched as the chef picked up what looked like a ketchup bottle. It was red with a pointy cap. What else would a young boy think besides ketchup? He certainly wouldn't think it was flammable.

The chef poured out the "ketchup" onto the hot grill and lit it. An enormous fireball erupted at our table. RocketMan, sure that something had gone horribly wrong with the ketchup, dove under his chair. He was certain that death was upon him. After coaxing him out and assuring him that massive fireballs weren't going to appear again, he gladly sat and watched the rest of the cooking show from under my arm.

BirdMan, meanwhile, was in his element. He is our politician. He's never met a stranger and adores talking to everyone. Our chef was a captive audience and BirdMan took advantage of the situation. He started asking the chef about Japan. We had just finished a book that was set in Japan so he was interested in the culture and language of the country. It turns out the chef was from South America. However, he was willing to tell BirdMan what he knew and teach him some Japanese phrases.

The two of them really hit it off. BirdMan was yakking away with our chef about the book we'd just read and about Mount Fuji. The chef asked him questions and provided the answers if BirdMan didn't know about some element of Japanese culture. After a while they seemed to run out of conversational fodder and a large pregnant silence fell over the table as the chef continued to work.

I could tell BirdMan was searching for something further to discuss with our chef and I watched as his eyes sparkled when he hit upon his idea. He looked up at our South American Japanese chef and asked, "Have you always wanted to be... a Japanese person?"

I felt like I'd been knocked backwards.

The chef politely smiled and told him that he didn't want to be Japanese, he just liked to cook their food.

I told BirdMan that it was time to be quiet and to let the chef work. (Note to self: Work on discretion with BirdMan).

Thankfully last week's trip to Shogun was uneventful. Our chef was very nice to the kids and even let them throw an egg into his hat. GooseyGirl completely missed the mark and the egg ended up splattering the floor behind the him. But then we have always known that baseball isn't going to be her sport.

Fisherville Academy is out for the summer. Second grade starts in August!

Parrot Supplies Suprise

There are the standard things that you need when you get a bird that are completly expected. A cage, seeds and toys, for instance. Then there are the completely unexpected bird accessories, like panty liners.

Yesterday I stood in the Target aisle of feminine products looking at the dozens of styles, trying to figure out which brand would best suit my parrot, Apollo. Would he like the extra soft? The long and tapered? The scented or unscented. Decisions, decisions.

All those embarrassing commercials I've seen over the years didn't help me make up my mind. Birdy hygiene needs are rarely covered in the magazine ads or TV spots. Exactly how do you pick out the right panty liner for a parrot and, moreover, why does the bird need one, you ask?

It is for his diaper.

I can see the magazine spread now...
A lovely rainbow colored jump suit made of stretch nylon with ample room for his supple wings. The suit gives him freedom and comfort along with peace of mind for his humans. The attached stylish leash provides safety from unwanted flight while the poop pouch absorbs waste and keeps your shoulder free from unwanted debris.

Now that would make interesting ad copy.

Aside from the biting that Apollo engages in when we strap on his suit, he seems to enjoy his walks outside and his car trips to the post office. The suit has a little pouch that hangs below the business end and the panty liners catch the business. It doesn't bind him and is quite soft. He has gone for walks and bike rides so far but seems to enjoy the bicycle over the big wheel.

Apollo has enjoyed meeting some of our neighbors but doesn't seem to like the neighbor's Great Dane, Caesar. Which goes to prove that Greek Gods and Roman Emperors weren't destined to be friends. We all know that too much ego all in one place never works out.

They also make the suits in theme fabric for Halloween. The suit comes with a little witches hat and a cape. I don't think Apollo would go for the cape. The Easter suit comes with bunny ears. Seriously though, what self respecting bird would actually wear bunny ears with his diaper. I mean, get real.

Summer Shave

Lilly got shaved.
Bwhahahahaha!!!!!!

As I was taking this picture someone was driving through the neighborhood and came to a full stop. They stuck their head out the window and asked, "Excuse me, what kind of dog is that?"

My answer? (Come on, you know it. You can see it coming.)

Yep...

"An embarassed one."

No Wake Zone

We took the kidlets out on the boat yesterday. It was a beautiful sunny day and the lake was packed with people. One of Shawn's co-workers recently gave him an inter tube that seats two. It is bright red with the stars and stripes covering the front and twin eagles in the back. It is HUGE! The kids have so much fun riding together. They chat with each other the whole time. I love watching them grin from ear to ear as they ride side by side.

Since the tube only seats two, that leaves one child on the boat as the lookout. Their job is to watch their siblings and report all hand signals to the driver.

Thumbs up= Speed Up.
Thumbs Down= Slow down.
Hand slicing throat= Stop.
Arms, Legs pointing in different directions= Man overboard!


We had just put the boat in the water and were getting everything setup. Right around the dock there is a no wake zone marked by some buoys so that the waves coming off all those boats don't overwhelm the people trying to get their boats in and out of the water. The law is you aren't allowed to go fast enough to cause a wake or wave from your boat. On busy weekends the water cops are out to make sure everyone obeys the zone. We put GooseyGirl and Birdman in the tube and started towing them gently out of the no wake zone.

There was a boat of adults watching all of this right next to us. They were smiling at our little spectacle of kiddos in matching life vests sitting in a massive bright red inter tube adorned with patriotic motifs. They waved at the kids and seemed tickled to watch our giddy children. RocketMan was in the boat ready to interpret any incoming hand signals. He's on the job and darn serious about it too.

Suddenly, the first signal came in from BirdMan. It was the "Thumbs Up".

RocketMan quickly assesses the meaning and knows that BirdMan is requesting the boat to go faster. RocketMan turns around to see how far we are from the buoys that designate the no wake zone. We still have a good distance to cover before Shawn can get going fast. RocketMan knows he must relay this information.

RocketMan cups his hands around his mouth so that he can be sure his shouts will carry all the way back to BirdMan, "We have to wait until we're passed the BOOBIES".

"Umm, sweetie, the word is BUOYS", I said.

"Oh", RocketMan replied as he goes back to his lookout post, completely unaware of the boat beside us that is now busting out with laughter.

I think we made their day.

Happy Hanukkah!

You've heard of Christmas in July? Well, it is Hanukkah in June!

Yesterday during our history lesson, the Romans destroyed the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem which then scattered the Jews all over the world. As I explained that it was only recently that Jerusalem came back under Jewish control, I had one of those Star Trek space/time continuum moments. It really boggles my mind and makes me feel very, very small when I consider that an event from 70 AD reverberates and effects today's history and conflicts.

After we talked about the Jewish faith we made paper dreidels and played the dreidel game. Then we made Latkes (Jewish potato pancakes) for dinner. YUM! Shawn called on his way home from work and RocketMan picked up the phone.

"Hi, son. What are you doing?", Shawn asks.

"Oh, we're being Jewish", RocketMan replies nonchalantly.

I can almost hear Shawn's brows wrinkle through the phone lines.

Last night during dinner we were bringing Shawn up to date on what we've been doing in our history lessons. GooseyGirl and RocketMan were telling him how the Jews scattered after the Romans destroyed the Jewish temple... "You know, Dad, they scattered like when you blow on a dandelion and the seeds go everywhere". I was so proud of how much history they were taking in and how well they could explain what we've been studying.

Just when I was ready to pat myself on the back, BirdMan looks at me and says, "Momma, will my baby fangs fall out someday?"

I had to laugh! The tooth fairy has been a regular visitor here lately and apparently has become a bigger factor in our lives than I'd realized! Apparently only two thirds of my kids were paying attention during history. The other 33% was contemplating how much money he could earn from the teeth he has left to cash in.

Did you know?

Did you know?

A green bird walking on green carpet is hard to see but not hard to step on.

He's fine. My heart rate isn't.

Quote of the day

After returning from my 5 days at the Quilt Retreat, Nick batted his eyes at me and said, "Mommy, I'm glad you're home because I couldn't live without you."

My love quotient overflows!

Quilt Retreat

Well, I'm back from a long weekend at my internet quilt group's retreat. This was the third year of our group getting together. I had a wonderful time but I'll be recovering from the lack of sleep for a few more days!

For the last year, women from all over the country have been working on a quilt top for me. I did the center square and everyone else added a block to the quilt. It was a huge secret all year long. I finally got to see it at the retreat and I'm humbled by the talent of the women who worked on my quilt. What a work of art!

We did school-light today but will be more in the swing of things tomorrow.

Quilty Vacation

About five years ago I decided I would learn to quilt. It quickly became more than a hobby. Through quilting I'm able to express my love for others and touch a future generation. One of the unexpected benefits was the opportunity to meet some really wonderful women.

After deciding to learn quilting I joined an online message board that went belly up about 2 years ago. Since then many of the women from that old group formed a new online quilty community.

Every summer for the past three years we've had a retreat in the middle of the country. Today is the first day of the retreat and I'll be driving five hours to hang out with my internet friends. Many of those women I've never met but I talk to every day. It will be so much fun putting names with faces and sewing my fingers off for the next four days.

One of the projects we are doing as a group is making "Love Covers" for the St. Louis Children's Hospital. The picture you see is the one I did. It is a crib size quilt that I backed in fleece. It is super snuggly and my kidlets all agreed that it would make a sick child feel better.

Needless to say, Fisherville Academy is on vacation until next week! Check back with us then.

Birdie Beauty Shop Day

"Mom, I'm so glad we got a bird.", RocketMan said with is big brown lovey eyes.

Yep, it is official. Apollo has us wrapped around his little feathered wing tips.

This explains why I was standing in the plumbing aisle of Home Depot for an hour on Saturday. Did you see us? I was the woman with the three children trying to explain to the dumbfounded plumbing department employee how many pieces of PVC I needed, and which sizes I needed him to cut. Let's see... 10 four inch pieces, 8 six inch pieces, 4 two inch pieces, etc.

Finally he said, "Mamm, what exactly are we making with all these little pieces you are having me cut?"

"Oh, a parrot playground", I replied with wavering confidence.

The plumbing man smiled at me with vague concern about my mental stability as my kids swirled around him. Finally he loaded up all the myriad of connectors I needed and sent us on our way with two extra 10 foot PVC pipes "just in case". I gave one to RocketMan to carry and one to BirdMan to carry.

That was a mistake.

"BOYS! Those are NOT lances!", I said in my stern mommy voice as they galloped through the lumber aisle.

They stopped trying to spear each other and instead held them up as high in the air as they could. Ten feet of half inch PVC pipe is very, very bendy. All three were non-stop giggles as the other customers were taking great care to steer as far away from my little traveling acrobats as possible.

Once we got home we put together Apollo's big birdie playground that now sits in the schoolroom. That's the picture you see. The new playground has perches and two toy hangers. We wrapped the sections of PVC in twine so the bird could get a good grip with his feet. Apollo seems to really enjoy all the things to chew on and hang on!

While we were out, we had also stopped by Walmart to buy a kitty litter pan for our bird. Why a kitty litter pan? Well, using the PVC, we built a perch stand with a toy holder. The contraption sits inside the litter pan and we can carry Apollo from room to room without worrying about the back end of the bird depositing any presents on the carpet. And since the perch is made from PVC and the kitty pan is plastic, it is very easy to clean. Those two facts gave me an idea.

Conures are real water babies and Apollo tries to leap into any water he sees, including his water bowl. He then shakes his feathers like a dog and water goes EVERYWHERE! Cleaning a bird shouldn't mean cleaning all the kitchen counters, kitchen floor and kitchen cabinets at the same time. That's when I thought, hey... I need a shower... and Apollo likes showers.... hmmmmmm.

I'm happy to say that Apollo's Kitty Litter Pan Perch fits perfectly on the bench in our shower stall! He chirped and squawked and spread out his wings while I sprayed water into the air and let it fall down on his body. He shook to his heart's delight while I finished washing my hair. He kept tilting his head and looking at me intently. I don't think he recognized me without clothes and a wet head. However, the strange looking naked woman with the familiar voice didn't seem to traumatize him too much. (I did keep one eye open in case he decided to fly to me and land with those strong hooked toes onto a miscellaneous body part.)

After I towelled off, I turned on the hair dryer and blow dried his feathers. He seemed to really like that.

Birdie Beauty Shop Day... Check!

Discombobulated

One of the biggest lessons of motherhood is that whenever you hear sudden utter silence... start running. The opposite also applies, whenever you hear sudden uproarious peals of laughter... start running.

During lessons yesterday we read a book about a pigeon flying through Rome. The pigeon gets hit by a soccer ball and becomes "discombobulated". My kidlets thought this word was HILARIOUS and continued to repeat it over and over throughout the morning.

Later that afternoon, I was cleaning out the toy room and found two Sit n' Spins under a pile of dress up clothes behind the couch. The kids haven't played with these things in over a year and it was a reminder to me that I need to weed out some of the toys they don't touch anymore.

Of course, trying to clean and weed a playroom while the children are awake is like pushing chain. You don't get very far and frustration is all you achieve. I gave up and retreated to my sewing room where the mess is all mine. GooseyGirl came in and asked if she could get Apollo, our new Green Cheeked Conure, out of his cage. I gave her permission and she skipped away.

A few minutes later I heard the aforementioned peals of laughter coming from the playroom.

I started running.

There was GooseyGirl with Apollo on her head while she sat on the Sit n' Spin going round and round like mad. RocketMan and BirdMan were belly laughing saying, "Look Mom, Apollo is discombobulated!"

It wasn't exactly the vocabulary lesson I had in mind.

I stopped her immediately but I'm thinking Apollo should have pooped in her hair. That would have been a better punishment then anything I could have dished out.

Apollo is okay but I'm sure he prefers a perch that isn't reminiscent of the teacup ride at Disney world. I hope this bird is patient with us. We're gonna need it!

What I learned in First Grade.

On the homeschool email loop I belong to there is an extended conversation with a woman whose children are academically advanced. They attend public school and aren't being challenged. She has asked to have them moved into a higher grade and the school has refused.

Now she is contemplating homeschooling her kids for a year so that she can re-enter them into the school system next year. Her hope is that her children will be tested and subsequently re-entered in a higher grade. Most of the people on the loop are telling her that it won't make a difference. Our school system places students based on their birthday not their academic level.

This conversation came about at an interesting time for me and my first graders. RocketMan just started his new math book this week. He has a natural aptitude for math and I've allowed him to move ahead at his own pace as long as he demonstrates mastery. The math book he just started is the fourth grade book. BirdMan just started the third grade book. Meanwhile, GooseyGirl is in the regular math book for her grade.

One of my aunts, a former public school teacher, has told me that I won't ever be able to enroll them in regular school because they'd be too far ahead and would be bored. She is very encouraging and doesn't mean that comment to sound negative but others have said it to me in a negative way.

Could I be ruining my children by allowing them to advance at their own pace? Wouldn't it be worse to force them to function in a classroom far below their ability and interests? Wouldn't that quickly squelch their love for learning? Moreover, do I even have any control over how quickly they grasp ideas and facts?!?

A woman on the email loop responded with anger to the message. She said, "Let your kids be KIDS. Why make them advance one or two grades above their age group? Why force them to interact with other kids that are older, bigger, stronger? Keep them in the same class with their peers and enrich their academic life after school."

Her response really struck me. She perceives the problem to be a pushy parent who is forcing the child to move faster then others. She must think the Pushy Parent is standing over her kids in a strict academic environment, forcing them to learn just to boost her own ego.

I can tell you that isn't the case in my home. At times I feel like I'm pulling them back trying to keep them from going too far. I have to remind myself to believe in them and let them flourish. GooseyGirl is reading Black Beauty right now on her own. It is listed as 7th grade book. BirdMan just finished The Twenty-One Balloons and RocketMan just started it. That book is also listed as a 7th grade book.

I suppose the email loop made me think today how truly grateful I am that homeschooling is legal in this country. I'm just as thankful for the opportunity to watch my children flourish and see the light twinkle in their eyes when it "clicks". Of course, I can't see into the future very far, but right now I just can't imagine any other path for my kids.

As we wrap up first grade and I order our books for second grade, I think I needed this sort of reality check. What we are doing is working right now. It might not work forever but I can't worry about that right now. I have to spend my time honoring where my kids are at now and meeting them there.

Ya' know? I think I've learned a ton from first grade this year and I know my kidlets have too.

Apollo's First Mission

We have 20 foot ceilings in our family room. Normally that little trivia fact is quite unimportant... unless you are a parrot.

When we picked up our new conure from the breeder she had clipped Apollo's wings. This was crucial so that we could keep our little birdie safe while we had him out of his cage to play with him. He enjoys sitting on our shoulders or the tops of our heads.

Saturday, Shawn and BirdMan took off for the fishing pond down the street while RocketMan and GooseyGirl stayed with me to finish their dinner. Once they were done, we got Apollo out of his cage to give him some scritches.

He promptly took off flying into the family room, bounced off the plate glass window and ricocheted into the large grapevine wreath hanging at the top of the room.

That was when I realized the breeder hadn't cut all the flight feathers.

Apollo was quite impressed with his new freedom. Here he was at the top of this great new perch with lots of fun things to chew and climb on, while his humans put on a great show, down below jumping and shouting and calling his name.

GooseyGirl, my drama queen, started crying, "Mommy, how are we going get him? I love him and I don't want to loose him! Will he ever come back? Oh, what are we going to do?"

I turned to RocketMan and said, "Go to the pond and tell Daddy that we need him to come home and get the big ladder so we can rescue Apollo. Tell him to hurry!" RocketMan quickly headed to fetch Dad.

I attempted to entice Apollo down by holding up every yummy birdie treat we could find. Apollo wasn't impressed. He really liked breaking off all the little grapevine bits from the wreath and happily watched them float to the ground.

How in the world was I going to get this bird down before he ingested the fake little plastic berries on that wreath or took off again trying to bust through the plate glass window to the freedom beyond?

Well, I shot him down with a bazooka. To be more precise, an air bazooka.

Now, before you go reporting me to the ASPA, know that an air bazooka is a toy that shoots out a harmless ball of air up to 20 feet away. My plan was to ruffle his feathers a bit with a small blast of air and startle him to coming down to earth.

Luckily, the Airzooka has a scope on it.

I carefully aimed it at my very expensive rain forest creature and let fly a blast of air.

I missed but managed to hit the ribbon decorating the bottom of the wreath and a cloud of dust wafted through the air. Who knew an Airzooka was an effective dusting tool for hard to reach places?

After a few more attempts and compensations for the inaccurate scope, I had a direct hit! Granted it was only a small puff of air to my little bird friend but it was enough to talk him into fleeing his new lofty home and landing on my head. Minutes later he was safely locked in his cage while I searched my bird books on how to clip wings.

After GooseyGirl and I read up on wing clipping and dried her tears, we locked Apollo in the bathroom and clipped his flight feathers. It worked! Apollo is now grounded which is safer for all involved.

Things had just settled down in the house when Shawn came back in with BirdMan and RocketMan from the fishing pond. I lost it.

"Where have you been? Why didn't you come back when RocketMan told you the bird was loose?", I screeched.

Dumbfounded, Shawn replied, "RocketMan came to the pond but he picked up his pole and started fishing. Did you say Apollo got loose?"

I turned to RocketMan. "Didn't you tell Daddy to come home and get the ladder because Apollo was loose in the house?"

"Um.... well, um...., I told him but I don't think he heard me", RocketMan replied.

"Why don't you think he heard you?", I asked.

"Um... well, um..., I don't think he heard me because I was far away from him", RocketMan said.

(Note to self: Must work on communication skills with RocketMan.)

Bird is now safe and sound. He slept soundly the night after his first mission but seems no worse for wear.

The Eagle Has Landed!

Apollo, our new Green Cheeked Conure, has arrived! We got up very early this morning to meet the breeder and pick up our new feathered friend. He is busy exploring his new home and playing with his toys.

The kids turned on Dragon Tales to watch while they ate dinner and Apollo got very still and quiet. It appears he is a cartoon fan!

Meanwhile, GooseyGirl woke up with an earache, RocketMan woke up with an ashma attack and BirdMan's tummy hurts. It is pouring outside and we are about to load up to get to the doctor. What a way to start our weekend, eh?

Arms x3

Yesterday on Yahoo there was a photo of a Chinese baby born with three arms. The kids walked in when I was looking at this photo and became glued to the screen.

"Why does he have three arms?", GooseyGirl asked.

"Does he have more bones in his body because he has that extra arm?", BirdMan asked.

I thought this was a great opportunity to talk about those with special needs. I wanted to impress upon them that just because someone might look different, it doesn't mean they are different inside. I wanted to guide them towards compassion.

"WOW, it would be COOL to have three arms!", RocketMan exclaimed.

"Er...cool? How's that?", I asked.

"Well, you could ride your bike and hold a book to read at the same time!", RocketMan answered.

Suddenly GooseyGirl squeals, "Oh, yeah! You could do a cannonball in the pool and be able to hold your nose AND your legs!"

I was going for compassion and winded up at envy instead.

I do have to hand it to GooseyGirl. She may have girly girl tendencies but sometimes it is obvious she is surrounded by boys! Have I mentioned her unique burping abilities? Ahhhh... things to make a mother proud.