The Girl is showing all the signs of becoming a tween, just as she is turning 9. She needs deodorant. She's starting to get little zits. And she's become a screaming banshee. No kidding, she hasn't stopped screaming for two days. My nerves are shot. I can't decide if it's autisism-related or hormone-related. Either way, at this rate, all my hair is going to fall out by the end of the week.
Any ideas out there? I tried snuggling up in her loft with her this afternoon, to see if I could find out why she's so angry, but she threw me out. It wasn't pretty, nor was it easy on my ego. Hopefully, she's coming down with the flu or something. Otherwise, I'm going to have to call in sick for the next 10 years.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
So, who's ready for The Big Day? Not me.
Well, we have most of the presents bought, and I did (mostly) make the scented heating pads. I went with orange oil, cloves, white rice, unbleached muslin, and flannel. Now that I don't consider white rice to be Real Food, it wasn't a real sacrifice. I have a present for my mom and dad. I really should get that package off to the in-laws and my neice. Maybe tomorrow... ;)
I'm also ahead on spending every last dime we have or are ever going to get. I changed credit cards in November, so the bill is due two weeks early. Eech. What a disaster. To top it all off, I put some of the presents on PayPal, which emptied out the checking account.
Fortunately, it's The Husband's fault. I can blame the overspending on him. He played the "they won't be young for much longer" card, and since he's the Frugal One, I let him. We'll sort this all out soon. I hope.
The Husband and I are going to take inventory tonight, and see where we are. Mostly, we just have Christmas and birthday presents for the kids. Yay. I'd feel even more self-absorbed if I haven't been buying for strangers as well. Now, I'm starting to think that even though we live comfortably, we really can't afford to help out the poor. It bums me out. I just feel that if we don't, no one else will. Oh well. If I keep this up, I'm going to have to do after-school babysitting to make a few extra bucks. Fortunately, I would rather live on beans and rice than take on any more kids.
The rest of our (totally unnecessary) Christmas preparations don't really require any money. I have cookies in the freezer. I already have pecans for the pie and spiced nuts. The chocolate is bought and unopened. Presents are all tucked away in The Husband's car trunk. (Shhhh!) I have to make a gift basket for my mom's soaps and teas. I also have to powerwash her and my dad's patios for the rest of their presents.
So, I have to get the out-of-town stuff to the post office TOMORROW. Yikes! Better get my butt off the internet, and get BUSY!!!
I'm also ahead on spending every last dime we have or are ever going to get. I changed credit cards in November, so the bill is due two weeks early. Eech. What a disaster. To top it all off, I put some of the presents on PayPal, which emptied out the checking account.
Fortunately, it's The Husband's fault. I can blame the overspending on him. He played the "they won't be young for much longer" card, and since he's the Frugal One, I let him. We'll sort this all out soon. I hope.
The Husband and I are going to take inventory tonight, and see where we are. Mostly, we just have Christmas and birthday presents for the kids. Yay. I'd feel even more self-absorbed if I haven't been buying for strangers as well. Now, I'm starting to think that even though we live comfortably, we really can't afford to help out the poor. It bums me out. I just feel that if we don't, no one else will. Oh well. If I keep this up, I'm going to have to do after-school babysitting to make a few extra bucks. Fortunately, I would rather live on beans and rice than take on any more kids.
The rest of our (totally unnecessary) Christmas preparations don't really require any money. I have cookies in the freezer. I already have pecans for the pie and spiced nuts. The chocolate is bought and unopened. Presents are all tucked away in The Husband's car trunk. (Shhhh!) I have to make a gift basket for my mom's soaps and teas. I also have to powerwash her and my dad's patios for the rest of their presents.
So, I have to get the out-of-town stuff to the post office TOMORROW. Yikes! Better get my butt off the internet, and get BUSY!!!
Scrounging for content...
Seems I can't get my own blogging done, so in the interest of posterity, I'm stealing this one from my comments on other people's blogs... I'm pretty sure that isn't plagarism...
As I see it, you have two routes to Christmas sanity:
1. Organize incredibly early. This includes making up the mailing list/labels October 15, getting out the menorah December 1 -- that sort of thing. Put 'em on the calendar and do 'em. This is surgical, antiseptic, and deadly effective.
2. Put as much off until after Christmas as possible. We go the beach on Christmas Eve and use the pictures for our "New Year's Cards". We have a sort of brunch on Christmas day -- fruit salad, ham, biscuits, pie, whatever's still in the house. Dammit, Christmas STARTS on the 25th and goes for TWELVE days!
Hints for those overloaded by Magical Christmas Expectations, trying to get it all done:
Isn't this the reason we had kids? One can make latkes, another can make cookies, the middle ones would LOVE to decorate the tree for you. ;) Add a couple of poinsettias, and you're done.
I have sort of the opposite of your problem right now. Every two days or so, The Boy remembers something he wants done. "Mom, where is the mistletoe?" "Mom, when can we put up the outside lights?" "Yayyyy!! Only three days until we put up the tree!!" (I always hold firm: NO tree until after The Husband's birthday!)
On the other hand, The Boy and I have no idea what Aunt Julie wants for Christmas... I think I've decided on: http://www.make-stuff.com/formulas/heating_pad.html
Oh, and if you put a few Christmas sprinkles in Rice Crispie treats, everyone just goes wild. Or throw a some mini M&M's on top of a pan of (box mix) brownies. Voila!
Throw out the Women's Day magazine, and get a grip. :)
As I see it, you have two routes to Christmas sanity:
1. Organize incredibly early. This includes making up the mailing list/labels October 15, getting out the menorah December 1 -- that sort of thing. Put 'em on the calendar and do 'em. This is surgical, antiseptic, and deadly effective.
2. Put as much off until after Christmas as possible. We go the beach on Christmas Eve and use the pictures for our "New Year's Cards". We have a sort of brunch on Christmas day -- fruit salad, ham, biscuits, pie, whatever's still in the house. Dammit, Christmas STARTS on the 25th and goes for TWELVE days!
Hints for those overloaded by Magical Christmas Expectations, trying to get it all done:
Isn't this the reason we had kids? One can make latkes, another can make cookies, the middle ones would LOVE to decorate the tree for you. ;) Add a couple of poinsettias, and you're done.
I have sort of the opposite of your problem right now. Every two days or so, The Boy remembers something he wants done. "Mom, where is the mistletoe?" "Mom, when can we put up the outside lights?" "Yayyyy!! Only three days until we put up the tree!!" (I always hold firm: NO tree until after The Husband's birthday!)
On the other hand, The Boy and I have no idea what Aunt Julie wants for Christmas... I think I've decided on: http://www.make-stuff.com/formulas/heating_pad.html
Oh, and if you put a few Christmas sprinkles in Rice Crispie treats, everyone just goes wild. Or throw a some mini M&M's on top of a pan of (box mix) brownies. Voila!
Throw out the Women's Day magazine, and get a grip. :)
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
The Minoans in 8 minutes or less...
Is it just me, or is there an inverse relationship between the time used to set up a lesson and the time that it holds a child's attention? (It's sort of like cooking chinese food -- 2 hours of chopping, 30 minutes of cooking, 5 minutes of eating.)
We covered the Minoans' invention of fresco mural painting in ancient Crete in our giant book of ancient history. I set up some plaster, and we painted it half-dry with water color paints to look like the Minoans -- lots of fish and dolphins, etc. The paint soaked into the damp plaster, and it was pretty cool.
It also took all of 8 minutes start to finish. "You're done already?!" "Yes. Can I go now?" Aaaagh!
We covered the Minoans' invention of fresco mural painting in ancient Crete in our giant book of ancient history. I set up some plaster, and we painted it half-dry with water color paints to look like the Minoans -- lots of fish and dolphins, etc. The paint soaked into the damp plaster, and it was pretty cool.
It also took all of 8 minutes start to finish. "You're done already?!" "Yes. Can I go now?" Aaaagh!
Monday, November 17, 2008
Aww... What a cute sweater...
I've had so many, many good ideas for blog entries in the last few weeks, but alas, no time! (At least, no time without kids hanging over my shoulder asking, "What's that mean?")
Sweater pictures, as promised. No, it's not too small for The Girl now that it's finished. It's actually too big still. I had subconsciously thought that it'd take a year to finish it, so I made it a little big.
The real issue is that it's really pretty, and she refuses to wear it. Oh yes. I've tried, and she just shucks it off like it's hideous and nasty.
Pretty hideous, huh? ;)
Thursday, November 6, 2008
visiting the evil kingdom...
This morning, for the first time in probably six months, I saw the Today Show. That, in itself, isn't so bad, but I just couldn't believe what I was missing in the Consumer World. You know -- the life of gourmet, single-cup coffee makers and "The Happiest Place in the World", aka Toys-R-Us. I had no idea how much consumerism that I had missed over the past few months, but it only took 10 minutes to get me hooked again: the creeping lust for slick kitchen appliances, the discontent with the lushness of my eyelashes, the dread of being less hip than Al Roker or the Obamas. Good Lord! What if I've missed some great new CD that was released today? What will I do if my dog isn't as trendy as the dog that the president-elect (and the Today Show) picks for Malia and Sasha?! The Joneses are getting away from me, and I didn't even know it!!!
I took a deep breath, clicked it off, and went to take a shower -- with cheap shampoo, in my slightly soap-scummy shower, with the door that I realigned myself (perfectly!) last month. I dried myself on a slightly shabby towel that my husband washed, fluffed and folded for me. I dressed in last summer's clothes and headed to my kitchen with the worn, out-of-date flooring. I had a piece of toast made from bread that I made yesterday from organic whole wheat, along with a cup of 8 O'Clock coffee, made by my my husband. I kissed The Husband good-bye and settled down to teaching my kids to print legibly and add correctly. We made a mobile of "The Gifts of the Nile" and basked in the morning sun in the back yard.
I think I'll leave the TV off for a while...
I took a deep breath, clicked it off, and went to take a shower -- with cheap shampoo, in my slightly soap-scummy shower, with the door that I realigned myself (perfectly!) last month. I dried myself on a slightly shabby towel that my husband washed, fluffed and folded for me. I dressed in last summer's clothes and headed to my kitchen with the worn, out-of-date flooring. I had a piece of toast made from bread that I made yesterday from organic whole wheat, along with a cup of 8 O'Clock coffee, made by my my husband. I kissed The Husband good-bye and settled down to teaching my kids to print legibly and add correctly. We made a mobile of "The Gifts of the Nile" and basked in the morning sun in the back yard.
I think I'll leave the TV off for a while...
Monday, November 3, 2008
mellowing out a little and sneaking out during school hours
Well, The Husband took me to a party Saturday, where I could have -- wait for it -- worn a costume! We went dressed as party poopers because he didn't tell me. LOL! Can't win this year!!
After (yet another!) pep talk from Suburban Correspondent, I've decided to take a small step back from this homeschool venture and mellow out a little. I'm trying to fit too much into too little time and not having enough fun. We've just started on motion, force, work, etc. I've decided to use the text book only as a compass to show me where I'm going. We're having fun with it. We make cartoons every day, showing the cat demonstrating the principals of physics: "The cat pushes the cup toward the edge of the table: force. Friction pushes back: opposing force. Gravity pulls it to the floor: force. The forces change the motion of the cup: work." Whee!
The Boy is doing more in less time, which is also good, since he had been spending the entire math hour working on his stuff. "We" do math for an hour, but he doesn't need to.
Today, we actually went to Target after lunch, so I could get some sidewalk chalk. Why? The Husband's Obama logo on the driveway was washed away in the rain, so I got some chalk and put it back on for him. I'm his hero now!
The cutest thing happens when I go out during school hours -- I catch other moms with school-age kids peeking at me out of the corner of their eye. "Is she a homeschooler or is she on vacation here? Do I know her? Ooh. I wonder if she has a double-pan balance scale I can borrow..." Oh wait, that last one was me. ;) I have got to get out more!
After (yet another!) pep talk from Suburban Correspondent, I've decided to take a small step back from this homeschool venture and mellow out a little. I'm trying to fit too much into too little time and not having enough fun. We've just started on motion, force, work, etc. I've decided to use the text book only as a compass to show me where I'm going. We're having fun with it. We make cartoons every day, showing the cat demonstrating the principals of physics: "The cat pushes the cup toward the edge of the table: force. Friction pushes back: opposing force. Gravity pulls it to the floor: force. The forces change the motion of the cup: work." Whee!
The Boy is doing more in less time, which is also good, since he had been spending the entire math hour working on his stuff. "We" do math for an hour, but he doesn't need to.
Today, we actually went to Target after lunch, so I could get some sidewalk chalk. Why? The Husband's Obama logo on the driveway was washed away in the rain, so I got some chalk and put it back on for him. I'm his hero now!
The cutest thing happens when I go out during school hours -- I catch other moms with school-age kids peeking at me out of the corner of their eye. "Is she a homeschooler or is she on vacation here? Do I know her? Ooh. I wonder if she has a double-pan balance scale I can borrow..." Oh wait, that last one was me. ;) I have got to get out more!
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