Picture Update

she loves to talk on the phone (or at least pretend to)

Berry Picking

Today, while I was adding to our compost pile, which is close to a blackberry bush, I decided to go on a hunt for more berries. It seems as though every time I dump something in the compost there are more berries and we eat them as we pick them. Eating one berry at a time gets old since our family loves fruit so much, so, Courtney, K, and I set out on a search for more berries. We didn't have to go very far into the woods next to our house to spot ripe blackberries. They were everywhere. It reminded me of when I was a kid and I used to pick berries in the summer. Before we started picking, we went inside and grabbed one of Baby L's oversized empty yogurt containers to hold the berries.

As we ventured through the woods, we came across a lot of bushes and we almost filled an entire container. We probably would have if K wouldn't have been steadily eating them as Courtney and I picked them. Did I mention he likes fruit? As we ventured through the woods, much to my surprise we came across a blueberry tree too. YEAH!!! We now have fresh organic blueberries at my disposal. And to think, not even a couple of hours earlier Courtney was asking me to buy blackberries at the grocery store. Picking them in your backyard is not only cheaper, but it's a lot more fun and creates wonderful memories.

*I would have taken pictures, but my camera was hiding in the couch and I didn't find it until much later.

Garden

We officially have a garden. Or does something have to actually be growing before you call it a garden? Courtney, K, and I spent a couple of hours creating our 4x8 garden the other day. We planted corn, okra, tomatoes, squash, and watermelon. As I told a friend about it and what we did, she said I could have planted more seeds in the rows, but to be honest, there aren't really that many vegetables that I would like to have in abundance in my house. Plus, I'm not really sure how my "garden" is going to turn out. I'll post pics as (and if) things start to grow. Everything is growing!!! YEAH!!! I'm already thinking about what we're going to plant next.

Am I really becoming a homesteader?

The Big 3-0!!

It's official, I've hit the 30 club. We celebrated on my birthday, Monday morning, with breakfast in bed (but I ate in the kitchen) and the a cake. To show off their math skills, the girls put the numbers 19, 8, and three individual candles to mark 30. (19+8+3 = 30). After the morning celebration, we did some schoolwork and did a Memorial Day lapbook (I forgot to do it last week). After school, we lounged around for a little while and then went to a friend's and ate crawfish. It was good and the crawfish were HUGE!!!!

All in all, it was good day and a wonderful birthday!

Spelling/Phonics

Today, as we were driving home from church, Courtney asked if we could go to the M*A*L*L today? That was all she said. She didn't have a previous conversation with Victoria. I told her, "not today" and she politely said,"O.K."

It wasn't but a few seconds later that K asked, "Can we go to the mall today?" I was baffled. I turned to Courtney and asked her if she had been talking about going to Victoria and she hadn't. So, I asked K why he asked me that and he said because Courtney asked.

I was amazed that my 4 year old knew what Courtney had spelled. He's reading a little, but only on his terms. Maybe we should start spelling around the house more so he'll learn spelling and reading quicker.

You Know You're a Homeschool Mom When...

I found this on a website and thought it was very appropiate and had to share.... How many can you relate to?

You Know You're A Homeschool Mom When...

*When a child busts a lip, and after seeing she's okay, you round up some Scotch tape to capture some blood and look at it under the microscope. - check
*You find dead animals and actually consider saving them to dissect later. - check
*Your children never, ever leave the "why?" stage. - so far
*You look at every room in your home to try and imagine how to squeeze in another bookshelf. - check
*You turn your china cabinet into book shelves. - don't have one or it would
*When your teenager decides to take one community college course, and comes home and asks you why the teacher wrote "At" on his paper. (A+)
*You ask for, and get, a copier instead of a diamond tennis bracelet for your wedding anniversary or Christmas. - check - got one this past Christmas
*Your kids think reading history is best accomplished while lying on the floor with their head resting on the side of their patient dog. - or upside down on the couch
*Your husband can walk in at the end of a long day and tell how the science experiment went just by looking at the house. - we usually do them when he's home
*You never have to drive your child's forgotten lunch to school.
*Your child will never suffer the embarrassment of group showers after PE. - but have to be reminded to take showers
*The only debate about the school lunch program is whose turn it is to cook. - only because they don' t want to clean
*You never have to face the dilemma of whether to take your child's side or the teacher's side in a dispute at school. - Teacher is usually right!
*If your child gets drugs at school, it's probably Tylenol. - or Ibuprofen
*Your neighbors think you are insane. - yeaI live next to a public educator
*Your kids learn new vocabulary from their extensive collection of "Calvin & Hobbes" books.
*Your formal dining room now has a computer, copy machine, and many book shelves and there are educational posters and maps all over the walls.
*You have meal worms growing in a container....on purpose. - check
*If you get caught talking to yourself, you can claim you're having a PTA meeting.
*Talking out loud to yourself is a parent/teacher conference.
*You take off for a teacher in-service day because the principal needs clean underwear.
*You can't make it through a movie without pointing out the historical inaccuracies. - LOL
*You step on math manipulatives on your pre-dawn stumble to the bathroom. - we don' t get up before dawn and we're still done before 1 p.m.
*The teacher gets to kiss the principal in the faculty lounge and no one gossips.
*Your honor student can actually read the bumper sticker that you put on your car.
*If your child claims that the dog ate his homework, you can ask the dog.
*Someday your children will consider you to be a miracle-working expert and will turn to you for advice.
*Your kids refer to the neighbor kids as "government school inmates." - LOL
*You can't make it through the grocery produce department without asking your preschooler the name and color of every vegetable.
*You can't put your produce in your cart without asking your older student to estimate its
weight and verify its accuracy. - or amount per ounce... even though it's on the pricing sticker, they still have to figure it out
*You live in a one-house schoolroom

A New Friend

While K was playing outside, he found one of the hundreds of lizards that live right outside our doors. He asked me to catch it. I did. It peed on me. That's the first time I've ever been peed on by a lizard, but I'm sure it won't be the last.

L didn't seem to mind the lizard. She actually tried to pet it and give it a kiss.

Despite his asking to keep the lizard, we let him go so he could go back home.