Workbox System

Okay, so I did jump on the Workbox System bandwagon.  Ds3 has been using it this week.  Here are my thoughts on the system so far.

1. 1.  It is pretty easy to set up, although buy more velcro then you think you will need.  Just sayin’.
2. 2.  You can set this up without the book, but the book has lots of pics and reasons behind the whole system.  Also little ideas that make a big impact.  Otherwise it’s really geared toward beginning homeschoolers.
3. 3.  One of those ideas is putting everything the child will need for the assignment in the box…including pencils.  This was like one of those "Ah Hah” moments for me.  I can’t tell you how much time we have wasted looking for supplies for school work.  I even went out and bought a ton of pencils so each box that needed one would have one. 
4. 4.  Ds3 seems to really like it and ds4 wants to do it, too.  I’m kinda doing a trial run right now but will definitely implement it for both children when we start our new school year.

So, all in all I am on board with this system.  Sue Patrick is one smart lady. :)

Awards Scandal!

Like so many other people who let the glory of winning an award go to their head, I am sad to report it has happened to me as well. :(  Mimi and Winnie have officially filed charges against me to have my World’s Best Cat Mom award revoked.  The following images were leaked to the press…I am a goner!

Yes, it’s true, I…I…gave the cats a BATH!  (This is going to incriminate me even more, but don’t they look like bobble heads or something?  Big old heads and little skinny bodies?)

Anyway, I had applied a new flea/tick/mosquito killer to the cats and it left an awful stinky oily spot on their necks.  Of course they made it worse by rolling around in the dirt!  So, in order to clean them up and rid them of flea dander, I gave them their first baths.  Mimi was first, we figured she’s small and would be easy to handle.  Of course, imagine this happening in a tiny bathroom with my 3 boys looking on. Yeah.

She fought and fought hard!  Meowed like we were killing her!  But she really enjoyed when it was over and we wrapped her in a towel and rubbed her dry.

Next was Winnie, who is a huge cat and doesn’t like to be handled too much anyway.  He did super!  He didn’t like it at first, but then he just laid down and let us do our thing.  He did not want to be wrapped in the towel, preferring to dry himself.

I have never seen so much licking in my life!  They were both exhausted afterwards.  Mimi retreated to her favorite napping spot and Winnie cuddled up with me to watch Biggest Loser.  They both are so soft now!  Even my dh commented, “Guess I can’t call them stinkin’ cats now.”  So, if asked to, I will relinquish my award, but I stand by my actions!

Earth Day Activities

Today we did a few Earth Day crafts and discussed ways to help our planet.  Ds4 had a lot of fun with this, although he didn’t really grasp a lot of it.  He did understand about not polluting our water and air, “Because the fishes need to breathe.”  How cute is that!  :)

First we made a Mr. Raindrop.  I had no idea he would like this so much!  He has been walking around and playing with this all morning.  Btw, all ideas came from Kidssoup.

Here he is coloring the raindrop shape.  Next we painted it with  glue and sprinkled it with glitter.  I pasted it onto some cardboard to make it more sturdy (a great opportunity to illustrate reusing!)

Add some googly eyes and it comes alive!

We made an earth sun catcher next.  You simply draw a circle on the non-sticky side of a sheet of contact paper (one of my favorite homeschooling supplies!) and outline some land areas.  Peel back the contact cover and place ripped pieces of tissue paper to represent the land and water.  Cover it with another sheet of contact and voila!

Isn't’ it pretty?

Finally we cut out pictures from magazines of all the items you can recycle and sorted them onto the correct page of the kidssoup recycling booklet.

My ds2 is so darn clever, he added the top of a bleach bottle picture to the top of the booklet on the plastic page.  Cute!  My ds4 put a picture of a dog on the paper page, “Because a dog brings you the paper.”  :)

We will go on a nature walk later today and make a trip to the recycling center as well.  Happy Earth Day everyone!

Cats On Tuesday: Strange Bedfellows

My kitties seem to pick the strangest places to hang out and take their naps!  That’s Mimi in the basket and my trash can (it’s the one by my computer…mostly paper thank goodness!) and then there is Winnie, sitting in the bird bath, looking like it’s perfectly normal to do so. :)  For more cat fun head over to Gattina’s.  Happy COT everyone!

I’d Like To Thank The A-Cat-Amy…

Ydiana at Great Minds Think Alike has been awarded the World’s Best Cat Mom and kindly passed it along to me!  Thanks Ydiana, I love visiting your blog and reading about your kitties’ adventures. :)

Jumping On The Bandwagon

If you homeschool and blog, you have heard about Sue Patrick’s Workbox System.  It seems like it is the latest and greatest in the world of homeschooling.  I have been resisting joining in on the fun…we are almost done with this year’s school and I just really don’t feel like starting some whole new system (no matter how wonderful it looks lol.)  It’s been hard holding back…so many people just love it, and a lot of people have adapted it to their needs (smaller family, larger family, etc.)  Well, resist I did until this morning…I showed the boys about the system and they practically turned cartwheels about it.  Why??  “It looks like we would be organized!”  “I would get more work done.”  “Here are some boxes for you, Mom!”  All these quotes from my 8 and 4yo!  I’m still on the fence a bit, but ds4 is all ready to go…

He gathered a bunch of plastic boxes I bought for organizing their Lego collection and started putting books in them…his own version of the workbox system lol.  Well, if they are that interested in it…

Cats On Tuesday: Go Fly A Kite

My boys found kites in their Easter baskets this year.  The cats went wild when we flew them!

Mimi chased ds4 all over the yard, grabbing at his kite’s tail.

Oh boy, catching kites is so much harder than catching frogs!

I’ve got the tail!  Winnie, please help!

I’m on it!  But froggies taste better for sure!

For more kitty fun head over to Gattina’s.  Happy Tuesday Cat Lovers!

Easter Blessings…

came in many forms for us this year. :)  We had a wonderful day full of family and fun.  The weather  held off and we were able to enjoy a gorgeous day outdoors.  The boys found kites in their baskets this year and we had just enough wind to enjoy them.

We had a wonderful dinner with the family at my parent’s home.  Unfortunately my camera battery died, but I did get a few pics.

My ds4 and my niece’s ds.  They both love playing with cars. :)

My brother got all the boys some planes to play with…my ds3 had a knack for landing his on the roof.

My niece’s twin boys.  They are adorable!

  Got one pic of the egg hunt!  My niece is supposed to send me copies of her pics, so I may have more to share later.

Easter Preparations…

have finally begun at my home.  Can you say “procrastinate?”  How about “wait ‘till the last minute?”  Either one will do. :)

Here is the little catch-all by my front door.  Cute little ceramic bunny egg holder!  Those are my cute little nieces in the frames.

The fireplace and mantle.  Since hurricane Ivan took our chimney it’s not a working fireplace anymore, but still a good place to decorate.  My ds4 placed the empty Easter baskets around.  I made up a little basket of Easter themed books for him to enjoy.

Close up!

My kitchen table.  Love those roses, they were a bday gift from my parents.

We did one Easter craft today…got the idea from The Crafty Crow.  They are egg sun catchers. 

Cute, huh?  We will probably do a few more crafts tomorrow, and color eggs on Saturday.  Kind of a laid-back Easter this year…the year of the Lazy Mom lol.

Ow…But In A Good Way

I have been exercising faithfully for over a month now.  Haven’t lost a lick of weight (apparently you have to exercise and cut back on eating …geesh!) but I can definitely tell that I have more stamina, endurance and strength.  I had my checkup with my asthma doctor and even scored a whole point higher on my breathing test!  He said I didn’t need to see him again for a whole year…almost unheard of in his office lol.  Anyway, what I have been doing is following Fit tv.  And I buck all the advice and trends and exercise in the evening.  That’s right…no early- morning–get-up-before-the-kids-and-get-it-over-with for me.  It’s not that I’m not a morning person…I do get up before the kids.  I just don’t have the stamina to exercise that early.  I can do it, it just feels awful to me.  So I quit.  But now I do my workouts at 6pm and it feels great to me.  I have the energy to get through them and don’t feel wiped out afterward.  Funny I know, but for me that’s the way it is.

I have been following Cathe Friedrich.  She is tough!  I have to modify a lot, but I do get through her workouts.  I don’t know how she does it, but she can put a barbell with 40 pounds on it on her shoulders and do lunges and squats.  YIKES.  Me, I hold 3lb and sometimes 5lb hand weights.  Yesterday she did an all upper body workout called a pyramid, where you start out with light weights for 12 reps, medium weights for 8 and heavy weights for 8.  Then you work your way back down the pyramid.  Did you know you have muscles in your armpits?  I know now lol!  Ow!  But I love it.  It feels great to know my muscles are there.  This afternoon is the core workout…not my favorite, but she makes it interesting enough that I will trudge through.  :)

Cats On Tuesday: Do You See What I See?

What is Mimi peeking at?

It certainly has Mimi excited!

Could it be this fellow?  Silly little squirrel knocked down one of my bird feeders and was enjoying breakfast right there in front of Mimi.  Oh, how she wanted to join him!  But I don’t think seeds were on her menu. :)

For more cat fun, join in at Gattina’s.  Happy Tuesday Cat Lovers!

Truly A Happy Birthday: Part 3 The Dinner

Okay, the final installment of the trilogy of bday posts lol.  Part one is here, our morning at the beach, part two is here, our afternoon at the park.  We headed home for a quick rest and to get prettied up for a dinner out with my parents.

My mom and dad waiting for us outside the restaurant.  It was a buffet I had never been to before…mostly Chinese but lots of other yummy stuff as well.

Ds4 listening to the bday card dh gave me.  I love those new cards that talk and or sing!

Ds1 and his girlfriend.   What could be so funny?

Maybe this. ;0

Even with such an age difference (ds1 is 19, ds4 is 4) my boys still all have great relationships.

My mom and ds4.

We all had a great time and I had a wonderful day…no cooking, cleaning or schooling.  Just special time with my wonderful family.  Happy Birthday to me. :)