The Sound of Music & other musicals.

March 20, 2015 | Stacy

One of the local Christian high schools does an annual musical production. Last year we went to see Annie. There we learned that the school welcomes local homeschoolers to participate to expand the cast as needed. The boys were eager to try-out. And although their parts were small, they enjoyed the experience overall.
Nigel was one of the contestants in the final scene. Stewart was, clearly, a Nazi.
(I admit, I hesitate to share any photos of Stewart by himself on the internet. The last thing I want is some future endeavor in his life foiled because someone mishandles a photo of him and brands him a Nazi.)

I watched the production three times. That is far too many Do-Re-Mi’s. Just sayin.’

The second night of the production John took Marie, Tabitha, and Johanna to Bath, NY to see The Secret Garden at Family Life Network. It seems March is often punctuated by musical theater. It’s a great way to survive winters.

The Sound of Music & other musicals.

March 20, 2015 | Stacy

I watched the production three times. That is far too many Do-Re-Mi’s. Just sayin.’
The second night of the production John took Marie, Tabitha, and Johanna to Bath, NY to see The Secret Garden at Family Life Network. It seems March is often punctuated by musical theater. It’s a great way to survive winters.

Saint Patrick’s Day Shakes

March 17, 2015 | Stacy

Nan brought the goodies for St. Patrick’s Day milkshakes, mint extract and all. Nan also made some soda bread with Johanna and Tabitha. This was, um, lunch. Really. I don’t think we ate anything else.

This is really funny. The boys have been practicing at the Charles Finney school for the upcoming production of The Sound of Music. They’ve made some new friends and reconnected with some formerly homeschooled boys they used to know. One of their new friends often inquires about homeschooling. One day they took the iPod with them to take photos of themselves in the costumes. Nigel decided to mess with their new friend C. and showed him this picture, stating, “This is what it’s like to homeschool.”
C gaped and opined how lucky Nigel is.
Then one of the former homeschooler boys looked over C’s shoulder and said emphatically, “THAT is not what homeschooling is like!”

Busted.

Ice Skating

March 10, 2015 | Stacy

For as long as I can remember, there has been an offering of homeschool ice skating in our area.
I first remember it being offered in Greece on Tuesday mornings. I wasn’t going to drive to Greece.
Then I remember it being offered downtown on Tuesday mornings. I wasn’t going to drive downtown.
This year it was offered about 7 miles from my house.
Okay – while it isn’t the CLOSEST rink to my house, it is pretty close. 😉
So I signed up Marie and Tabitha.

Tabitha was eager; Marie was reluctant.
But by the time the first lesson was over they were both asking if Dad could build a rink in our yard.

There were a few spills that first day.

But before long they were happily gliding.

Within a month I let them doff the helmets.

I did not sign up the boys because our Spanish tutor comes on Tuesday afternoons, and the time away from home for the 1 hour skating is just minutes more than 2 hours. They weren’t comfortable taking that much time away from their school work.

But on the last day they had family open skate. Stewart eagerly jumped at the opportunity. Nigel was a bit more concerned about the time away from his work. I mentioned I could waive English grammar for the day and he jumped into action!

Guess who else put on a pair of skates?

I was fun. I skated about 20 minutes and was relieved that I did not fall. I DID get a NASTY blood blister on my HAND from doing up 5 pair of skates as tightly as I could! LOL.

Just before we left Nigel took a face plant and it was terrible to look at. (If you are his Mama.) But he handled it like a champ.

And both boys would like to do skating next year if we can make it work out!

Master Chef?

January 7, 2015 | Stacy

Taught our Hungry Alligator how to make chicken parmesan. He did a great job.

Friendly competition

December 29, 2014 | Stacy

With no major project slated for the two-week break we took over the holidays (um, the kitchen update left us too broke to take on our pending master bedroom project), we had to come up with other ways to entertain ourselves.
Somewhere along the line we though up Monopoly…
We started our first game ever that first night around 7 PM. Next thing I knew John was excusing himself at 8:15 PM to put Hanny and Katriel to bed. THEN the next thing I knew it was 10:20 PM! For! Real! I decided that we’d have to just end the game at 11 PM, because, well, do I really NEED a because???

Tabby was the first to go out… but she played well against these vultures.

We played multiple times over the course of the second week of vacation. It was mostly fun. Mostly.
How did we manage this with our two too-young-for-Monopoly-girlies?
Well, we tried to do it during Katriel’s naptime. And Johanna would just play dolls near us.

Or… in the case of at least two evening games I know of…

Heh – thanks technology!
But don’t worry. We played LOTS of Princess-friendly games, as well, over our break.
She’s a CandyLand queen!

Disciples’ Construction Company

December 20, 2014 | Stacy

We’ve had different gingerbread-building experiences over the years and have always enjoyed ourselves. This year we went with the at-home-kit plan and had a blast. At $8 a kit (even with Rollback prices) I just purchased 3 sets. I gave resident cheerful-person, Marie, the first box and asked her to pick a partner. All these disciples love one another, but not everyone can work together. Marie lovingly selected the high-spirited 4-year-old, thereby creating just about the best possible building-buddy-sets I could have hoped for…

Stewart and Nigel were a team, and Tabitha and Katriel were a, um, team… (Hard to build from your high chair…)

I lent some hands to Tab, and Daddy lent some hands to Marie. (Hanny proved a rather disinterested builder. She was more into exterior design and taste-testing.)

The boys had a few glitches. (They seemingly do not have the engineer gene.)

What the boys lack in math and science they more than make up for in other areas… like creative design.
They were the first to finish their project.

Marie finished second, sweetly labeling it M & J, although J had very little input.

Tabitha managed to complete hers on her own…and as such, didn’t offer Katriel any frosting credit. 😉

Corning Museum of Glass

November 4, 2014 | Stacy

Almost a two hour drive, including a LooooooG stop for a four-year-old tummy.
Ten people, as Nan and Nene came, too.
A good deal of fun.

Adults were $16, and kids 19 and under are free.
Making glass projects were not free.
Really. Not. Free.
But how could we not?

We learned a lot today. Glass has been around since Nineveh times! Amazing stuff.
And we did a scavenger hunt in the glass history section. It was pretty beautiful, really.
But the demos were our favorite parts.

Nigel was selected from the audience to participate in glass breaking. He said it was fun.
He was given a beautiful glass swan for his participation.

We watched a glass flameworking demo. She made a beautiful fish.

We also watched a fiber optic demo. and a glass blowing demo. I don’t know how I failed to take pictures of that last one. It was fascinating. The artist blew a gorgeous bowl in about 15 minutes.
I was that lady with a 20-month old in a glass museum. When Stewart was a baby I would have been horrified my child was so “busy”. At this stage of the game I was like, “Deal with it people.” 😉

After we ate our packed lunch we headed to the I Make Glass building.

Stewart and Tabitha each made an ornament. ($29 each, plus a total cost of shipping of $18.)

I can’t wait to see them when they arrive later this week. I did not get a good look at either of them.

Marie and Nigel did flamework. Nigel made a bead. Marie made a pendant. I think they both just wanted to work with the flame. I don’t blame them.

Johanna applied stickers all over the outside of a small glass. Then a nice lady sandblasted it.

She was a little perplexed that the stickers were removed.

We left around 3:30 P.M. Johanna wanted to be like the big kids…

And we wanted Katriel to use some big muscles before the long car ride home.

We called in a pizza about half-an-hour out from home.
I remember when a sheet pizza used to last two meals!
They are growing so fast.

Flu shot field trip…

October 20, 2014 | Stacy

Some of my bloggy friends might remember when we had H1N1 in 2009. It was horrible.
H.O.R.R.I.B.L.E.
That was the year that H1N1 strain was a separate immunization

I also had influenza A in 2008.
Just. So. Sick.
Praise God the kids did not have that bout. They had had their shots that year. I, somehow, kept missing the clinics at work and didn’t make it a priority.

Now… I walk over glass to get mine.

I hate all the lies that fly around about the “flu shot”.
I want to shake people who just think it is a stomach bug.
Or people who angrily contend they got the flu from the shot. (Not. Even. Possible.)

If you don’t want it, that’s fine. But don’t demonize those of us who know what it is like to hurry your asthmatic son to Urgent Care as his routine meds make no differences. Or how we remember shaking in bed with rigors and a temperature of 103.6 at 10 weeks pregnant and worry about what that fever is doing to your baby. (She’s fine, by God’s great mercy.) Or what it is like to see your 3-year-old soar past 104 and every medication in your arsenal can’t bring it down. Or watching your limp 7 year old fall languish on the sofa and have repeat visits to the pediatrician until she swabs him and confirms we are part of a pandemic.

Immunizations are not the enemy. The Enemy is the enemy. And he loves to see people bicker and argue. And for sure he likes to see them sick.