Camp and dance and work. Same stuff. Sorry we're not being that interesting lately, lol.
J's physical therapy is now at the end of its 3rd week and J's knee is feeling pretty good. She has no more pain during dance, but she's still afraid to do any grande plies. She's been good about doing her exercises at home, too.
She's going to try and get those summer reading books done before summer is actually over.
I'm going to try and get to Target and Staples and see if there's any back-to-school sale stuff left. I never made it there in July when I should have went.
I've added more field trips to our fall schedule. I'm so excited to get to places we haven't visited yet. Expect lots of photos in the fall.
J turned 15 last week. She had a big co-ed sleepover at my mom's house. 15 kids. I'm still exhausted, lol.
K starts college classes in 10 days. Damn. She was just 3 years old in her princess dress asking me what preschool would be like.
W has 10 more days of camp. Then we can really start getting ready for the new year. We're changing things up a little this year. He's going to love what's in store.
IHIP is going out this week. I'm using my regular old worldbook format. Keepin' it simple.
Showing posts with label Parties. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Parties. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
4/16-4/22
This weekend (and almost all week), W played with his friend Matt from next door (who turns 10 this week). Nerf gun wars is still the game of choice and thankfully we have a nice backyard to play in. He also went to the playground for hours, playing basketball and manhunt.
Tuesday Wayfinders in Central Park was lots of fun. It was a rainy, muddy adventure, and W loved every second of it. There looked to be about 40 kids - mostly boys between the ages of 9 & 12 (with some older and younger thrown in too). The premise is a sort of game like Capture the Flag. Each were given a foam sword (think: pool noodle) and were told to battle and then die like you mean it, rolling on the ground, writhing. I thought the guides were hysterical.
W went home with one of his best friends and slept over. On Wednesday, they had an awesome Pokemon party at the house. Tons of Pokemon decorations, prizes, goody bags, pinata, etc. The kids wore Pokemon T-shirts, Pokemon was playing on the TV, there was a table with How-To-Draw Pokemon books and tons of paper and colored pencils, and I counted more than 15 kids there. I got there at around 4pm to pick W up and then go to work. I was so impressed at how this mom put together such a cool party so quickly. I have party-planning-phobia and get nauseous even thinking about throwing parties. She inspired me, though. I may have one myself one day.
Academics this week included the new math workbook. Flash Kids 4th (and 5th) grade gives a great review of what W has already done in TT5. The thing I've learned about math is that my kids may have seemed to master a concept, but without continuous practice, it fades a bit. The review workbook ($6.95 - $5.25 after discount) is a great idea for now before we continue onto pre-algebra. He'll be reviewing addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, place value, angles, perimeter, area, decimals, graphing, & inequalities. Then we'll finish up TT5 before the fall and combine that with Flash Kids Grade 5 and he'll do fractions, measurement, percents, exponents, and more advanced versions of the basics (like multiplying with exponents and graphing coordinates).
We also read more of Robin Hood. The original language is difficult (reminiscent of Shakespeare with it's "dost thou art"s), but I decided to stop paraphrasing. I now read it as is - with as much inflection as possible - and W gets it. I asked him what he thought was going on in a certain part and he gave me a great narration, along with his own thoughts on what might happen next. We're also continuing with Joan of Arc. We're almost done with that one. It's not his favorite, but I do try and make the bloody battles really exciting for him, lol. He did a whole page in the Spelling Skills book. As he read me the new words, I noticed he said behind for beyond, cannon for cotton, button for bottom. If I have him slow down and try again, he usually gets it right. He is definitely getting more right than wrong, though. The 2 spelling activities were classifying and answer the questions. This gets W to write out the words which helps him remember how they're spelled.
In the Spectrum Phonics & Word Study book W looked at a picture and circled the word as to what the picture was. Now that sounds simple and I remember similar activities being done in preschool, but again, it was like it was made for him. One of the pictures was of a desk. The 4 words given were: deck, disk, dock, and desk. W tends not to look beyond the first and last letters, so he chose "deck". I told him to look at it again and he caught the mistake. So this is the kind of thing he needs to overcome. I feel it's because he rushes through his reading and skims over words too quickly, and that causes one word to look like something else. Thankfully when he reads books he has to backtrack and correct himself or it won't make sense. The other activity in that book was changed the given word with a new vowel so it makes sense in the sentence. This can get tricky for him, but he got them all correct. I love this book. (The one I have is the OLD version with the pig on the cover - NOT the new one with the light blue cover. The new version has changed the inside contents as well. I just prefer the 1999 version not the 2006 version).
W also read a few pages of Cricket in Times Square. He's taking his time with it, which is ok since it's all about understanding. I'm also thrill about him still loving those Pokemon cards. He reads them constantly. One very popular method of helping a slow reader is by having them read nonsense words. This way they have to use more than just the immediate picture of the word, they have to actually sound it out. Pokemon is full of that and I don't even have to schedule it into our day!
The girls love having the week off. K is more than ready to get to the end of senior year. She has a meeting next week with an advisor at college to create a schedule for the fall. Prom is on K's mind all the time, too. She chose this beautiful dress and MIL offered to pay for the shoes and hair. In lieu of a limo, about 15 of K's friends will take a party bus to the venue. I love that idea. It's huge inside, with a great stereo system, flat-screen TV, refrigerator, and bathroom. Way cooler than a limo. The picture to the left shows what the inside generally looks like. K has also been working and hanging with friends all week. And we joined a gym together! We've been going every other day. I love going with her.
J has been busy with dance and friends all week. I spent some more time planning her summer. Her school requires continuous dancing throughout the summer. She'll certainly be busy all summer. She's starting with a workshop in Manhattan for a week, then Nationals for a week with her team, then the rest of the summer is dance almost every day - in Manhattan. She's so comfortable navigating through Manhattan now. Subways are easy and she revels in the whole atmosphere.
On Tuesday this week J was part of a master class with Ellenore Scott (top 4 in season 6 of SYTYCD). Not many knew about it and only 5 people were in the class. J brought 2 friends and 2 older girls showed up. Later in the day, Ellenore was giving a master class at Broadway Dance Center, which I know was packed, but this earlier class was at a lesser-known studio. I thought it was the luckiest thing ever. So much individual attention and focus.
Happy Easter.
Tuesday Wayfinders in Central Park was lots of fun. It was a rainy, muddy adventure, and W loved every second of it. There looked to be about 40 kids - mostly boys between the ages of 9 & 12 (with some older and younger thrown in too). The premise is a sort of game like Capture the Flag. Each were given a foam sword (think: pool noodle) and were told to battle and then die like you mean it, rolling on the ground, writhing. I thought the guides were hysterical.W went home with one of his best friends and slept over. On Wednesday, they had an awesome Pokemon party at the house. Tons of Pokemon decorations, prizes, goody bags, pinata, etc. The kids wore Pokemon T-shirts, Pokemon was playing on the TV, there was a table with How-To-Draw Pokemon books and tons of paper and colored pencils, and I counted more than 15 kids there. I got there at around 4pm to pick W up and then go to work. I was so impressed at how this mom put together such a cool party so quickly. I have party-planning-phobia and get nauseous even thinking about throwing parties. She inspired me, though. I may have one myself one day.
Academics this week included the new math workbook. Flash Kids 4th (and 5th) grade gives a great review of what W has already done in TT5. The thing I've learned about math is that my kids may have seemed to master a concept, but without continuous practice, it fades a bit. The review workbook ($6.95 - $5.25 after discount) is a great idea for now before we continue onto pre-algebra. He'll be reviewing addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, place value, angles, perimeter, area, decimals, graphing, & inequalities. Then we'll finish up TT5 before the fall and combine that with Flash Kids Grade 5 and he'll do fractions, measurement, percents, exponents, and more advanced versions of the basics (like multiplying with exponents and graphing coordinates).
We also read more of Robin Hood. The original language is difficult (reminiscent of Shakespeare with it's "dost thou art"s), but I decided to stop paraphrasing. I now read it as is - with as much inflection as possible - and W gets it. I asked him what he thought was going on in a certain part and he gave me a great narration, along with his own thoughts on what might happen next. We're also continuing with Joan of Arc. We're almost done with that one. It's not his favorite, but I do try and make the bloody battles really exciting for him, lol. He did a whole page in the Spelling Skills book. As he read me the new words, I noticed he said behind for beyond, cannon for cotton, button for bottom. If I have him slow down and try again, he usually gets it right. He is definitely getting more right than wrong, though. The 2 spelling activities were classifying and answer the questions. This gets W to write out the words which helps him remember how they're spelled.
In the Spectrum Phonics & Word Study book W looked at a picture and circled the word as to what the picture was. Now that sounds simple and I remember similar activities being done in preschool, but again, it was like it was made for him. One of the pictures was of a desk. The 4 words given were: deck, disk, dock, and desk. W tends not to look beyond the first and last letters, so he chose "deck". I told him to look at it again and he caught the mistake. So this is the kind of thing he needs to overcome. I feel it's because he rushes through his reading and skims over words too quickly, and that causes one word to look like something else. Thankfully when he reads books he has to backtrack and correct himself or it won't make sense. The other activity in that book was changed the given word with a new vowel so it makes sense in the sentence. This can get tricky for him, but he got them all correct. I love this book. (The one I have is the OLD version with the pig on the cover - NOT the new one with the light blue cover. The new version has changed the inside contents as well. I just prefer the 1999 version not the 2006 version).
W also read a few pages of Cricket in Times Square. He's taking his time with it, which is ok since it's all about understanding. I'm also thrill about him still loving those Pokemon cards. He reads them constantly. One very popular method of helping a slow reader is by having them read nonsense words. This way they have to use more than just the immediate picture of the word, they have to actually sound it out. Pokemon is full of that and I don't even have to schedule it into our day!
J has been busy with dance and friends all week. I spent some more time planning her summer. Her school requires continuous dancing throughout the summer. She'll certainly be busy all summer. She's starting with a workshop in Manhattan for a week, then Nationals for a week with her team, then the rest of the summer is dance almost every day - in Manhattan. She's so comfortable navigating through Manhattan now. Subways are easy and she revels in the whole atmosphere.
On Tuesday this week J was part of a master class with Ellenore Scott (top 4 in season 6 of SYTYCD). Not many knew about it and only 5 people were in the class. J brought 2 friends and 2 older girls showed up. Later in the day, Ellenore was giving a master class at Broadway Dance Center, which I know was packed, but this earlier class was at a lesser-known studio. I thought it was the luckiest thing ever. So much individual attention and focus.
Happy Easter.
Saturday, February 05, 2011
Weekly Recap
This week W and I read a few chapters each from: Pagoo, Seabird, An Island Story, A Child's History of the World, A Cricket in Times Square, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood ($0.99 on the Nook!), & Joan of Arc. W is half-way through the 4th grade Spelling Skills book, still loving the proofreading sections. He also did dictionary skills, analogies, and definitions. Math was money (decimals) word problems and subtraction (regrouping/borrowing) with 4 digit numbers. Copywork was from a few different poems.
He spent time with his friend next-door, went to Cub Scouts, and got a "new" Game Boy Advance SP (old school, lol) with a few games. He's made lots of drawings and videos with his Flip. He's training one of the parrots and creating flying machines with his Legos. He spent $5 on 3 new mini Nerf guns that he already modded to shoot faster and farther. We watched a few scary movies together and he decided his new favorite shows are Dog, The Bounty Hunter and Man vs Wild.
J's new school (spring) term began so all her classes have a "2" in front of them now. School is still awesome, she says. Today J and her friend S were the paid entertainment at a 10-year-old's birthday party. They taught dance moves and basic choreography for an hour and made $30 each. Now J is at another birthday party (as a guest this time, lol) and having a sleepover. Last night I met her at school (with my mom and sister) to see the Senior Dance Showcase. It was amazing, as I knew it would be. In junior year there, the dancers do a "Junior Project" where they choreograph their own numbers with all original movements and based on a certain theme or idea. Several of those were performed as well - the kids originally performed these last spring. The talent these kids have is mind-blowing. Then we walked around the Lincoln Center area and had dinner at Ollie's Noodle House. So beautiful over there.
K is currently on her senior trip. Paintballing, snow tubing, rollerblading, dance clubbing, swimming, and having a blast with all her friends. She's ready for summer - and college. We should be getting the college letters sometime this month. Eeeeek.
He spent time with his friend next-door, went to Cub Scouts, and got a "new" Game Boy Advance SP (old school, lol) with a few games. He's made lots of drawings and videos with his Flip. He's training one of the parrots and creating flying machines with his Legos. He spent $5 on 3 new mini Nerf guns that he already modded to shoot faster and farther. We watched a few scary movies together and he decided his new favorite shows are Dog, The Bounty Hunter and Man vs Wild.
J's new school (spring) term began so all her classes have a "2" in front of them now. School is still awesome, she says. Today J and her friend S were the paid entertainment at a 10-year-old's birthday party. They taught dance moves and basic choreography for an hour and made $30 each. Now J is at another birthday party (as a guest this time, lol) and having a sleepover. Last night I met her at school (with my mom and sister) to see the Senior Dance Showcase. It was amazing, as I knew it would be. In junior year there, the dancers do a "Junior Project" where they choreograph their own numbers with all original movements and based on a certain theme or idea. Several of those were performed as well - the kids originally performed these last spring. The talent these kids have is mind-blowing. Then we walked around the Lincoln Center area and had dinner at Ollie's Noodle House. So beautiful over there.
K is currently on her senior trip. Paintballing, snow tubing, rollerblading, dance clubbing, swimming, and having a blast with all her friends. She's ready for summer - and college. We should be getting the college letters sometime this month. Eeeeek.
Saturday, September 04, 2010
Labor Day Weekend
W and I have resumed AO Yr2. It's nice to sit with him doing academics again. So far, so good. The first day he went over all the times tables from 1 to 12, just to refresh. He still remembers them all - so yay for Times Tales for being better than I could have imagined. We read some history, geography, & literature and he did a good job narrating. He also read to me (Chanticleer & the Fox). We're doing a few pages of that every day, too. TT5 - we're up to the different types of angles and triangles.
J's freshman dance orientation was the other day. This was to help the kids not be overwhelmed the first day and how to easily navigate the school. J got her locker, lock, and a weekly bulletin (called "the yellow sheet"). The 2nd part of the orientation was all about dance. The dance chairperson brought us into one of the smaller theaters to discuss what to wear, how the schedules work, and what to expect. The kids got another tour of the dance floor and found their lockers. Omg. She starts in 4 days.
She and a friend are spending the weekend at my mom's in Long Island. They'll probably swim in the pool, go shopping, and have a grand ol' time. The rest of us are heading out there on Sunday night after I'm done with work. Monday afternoon, my sister is having a birthday brunch party for her son who turned 10 today. My birthday is Wednesday, it's the first day of school here, and I took off work! It should be a really great day.
K senior picture day was on the 1st and it was so nice. The kids get 3 outfits to wear (a drape, cap & gown, and your own choice). She also got her new schedule and it has almost everything she picked in June. Thankfully she got trig switched to statistics ( I took that in college & got an A so I'm excited about it, too, lol) - everything else is the same.
In other news, we adopted another parrot. This one is a quaker parrot who needed a home. A friend of mine found it in her apartment building's basement (with cage and all) and couldn't bear to leave him there. She has cats so needed to find a home for him - and of course I said yes. We named him Petey and his cage is sitting on top of Lucy's (our black-capped conure we adopted last year). Petey is still really nervous and nippy, but he's coming around.
J's freshman dance orientation was the other day. This was to help the kids not be overwhelmed the first day and how to easily navigate the school. J got her locker, lock, and a weekly bulletin (called "the yellow sheet"). The 2nd part of the orientation was all about dance. The dance chairperson brought us into one of the smaller theaters to discuss what to wear, how the schedules work, and what to expect. The kids got another tour of the dance floor and found their lockers. Omg. She starts in 4 days.
She and a friend are spending the weekend at my mom's in Long Island. They'll probably swim in the pool, go shopping, and have a grand ol' time. The rest of us are heading out there on Sunday night after I'm done with work. Monday afternoon, my sister is having a birthday brunch party for her son who turned 10 today. My birthday is Wednesday, it's the first day of school here, and I took off work! It should be a really great day.
K senior picture day was on the 1st and it was so nice. The kids get 3 outfits to wear (a drape, cap & gown, and your own choice). She also got her new schedule and it has almost everything she picked in June. Thankfully she got trig switched to statistics ( I took that in college & got an A so I'm excited about it, too, lol) - everything else is the same.
In other news, we adopted another parrot. This one is a quaker parrot who needed a home. A friend of mine found it in her apartment building's basement (with cage and all) and couldn't bear to leave him there. She has cats so needed to find a home for him - and of course I said yes. We named him Petey and his cage is sitting on top of Lucy's (our black-capped conure we adopted last year). Petey is still really nervous and nippy, but he's coming around.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Happy Birthday
J turned 14 years old yesterday! What an amazing day. It started the night before when she asked if she could open her present at midnight. We were so excited about her gift that I ran and got it from the car. We got J an Asus netbook (highest rated one on consumer reports). She was almost in tears. I found a netbook to be way better for her than a laptop right now. It does almost all the same things anyway - it's just smaller and doesn't have a disk drive (which doesn't matter, because you can download anything with just a serial number now). She's hardly put it down since. It has a built-in webcam, is surprisingly quick to load, browse, and watch videos, and I've already downloaded a security suite. It's perfect to do schoolwork on with excellent portability and battery life. It's a beautiful matte (no fingerprints!) burgundy color and I threw in a soft case for it. (We gave K the same one - as an early birthday present - since she'll need it when school starts. She was even closer to tears than J was since she's been asking for one for 2 years. The girls were both so happy for each other and spent the next 2 hours - yes til 2am - testing out all the features together). So in case any of you out there have kids who are constantly asking for a laptop, check out a netbook -also knows as a "mini" - instead. :)
So, one of J's best friends put together a little surprise party at her house yesterday afternoon. My job was just to get J there by 1. 6 friends were there - which is pretty good since it came together in less than a week, lol. J was really surprised. The house had purple birthday decorations all over and the kids had pizza, J's favorite snacks, and a Carvel cake.
In the evening, the whole family went out for dinner. My parents and sis and B's aunt (MIL is on vacation) joined us. It was so nice. We did cake and candles there. Mom gave her a CHI hair straightener and a few Capezio leotards for school. I still have to buy a bunch more leotards and tights for school. K needs uniform shirts and pants and I still haven't gotten the back to school supplies yet. School starts in a month. Yikes that went fast. I better get moving with that.
So, one of J's best friends put together a little surprise party at her house yesterday afternoon. My job was just to get J there by 1. 6 friends were there - which is pretty good since it came together in less than a week, lol. J was really surprised. The house had purple birthday decorations all over and the kids had pizza, J's favorite snacks, and a Carvel cake.
In the evening, the whole family went out for dinner. My parents and sis and B's aunt (MIL is on vacation) joined us. It was so nice. We did cake and candles there. Mom gave her a CHI hair straightener and a few Capezio leotards for school. I still have to buy a bunch more leotards and tights for school. K needs uniform shirts and pants and I still haven't gotten the back to school supplies yet. School starts in a month. Yikes that went fast. I better get moving with that.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Super Saturday
W: Cub Scout sleepover at the Hall of Science complete with Bubblemania show and ice cream. (And a great birthday party on Friday for best friend in Brooklyn)
J: A surprise "Alice in Wonderland"-themed birthday party at Jekyll & Hyde's in Manhattan followed by same-themed house party in Queens.
K: A surprise 17th birthday bash on a party bus for best friend.
I'd say it was a fabulous weekend.
J: A surprise "Alice in Wonderland"-themed birthday party at Jekyll & Hyde's in Manhattan followed by same-themed house party in Queens.
K: A surprise 17th birthday bash on a party bus for best friend.
I'd say it was a fabulous weekend.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Sweet Sixteen
K is sixteen years old today. I cannot believe how the time flew by. K celebrated her birthday on Friday. Her "theme" was black-and-white, so that's what everyone wore. K wore RED. Her dress was a gorgeous red satin, with silver rhinestoned strappy heels, and a silver rhinestoned tiara placed within her salon-styled, upswept and curled hair. The invitations were black and white and K tied a small red ribbon through every one. A huge party bus (which was also black and white) met us at the park overlooking the water and Manhattan's skyline. My mom, sis, BIL-to-be, husb, K, and I filled the bus with balloons (black, white, and red), food, and decorations. K and some early show-uppers wrote all over the outside and inside windows. The bus was like a gigantic limo inside. There was a 42" tv, a $10,000 sound system, a bathroom, a strobe light, and a driver who is at your beck and call for 7 hours. K filled 3 iPods with music and her best friend made an awesome photo slideshow with K's baby pics and other photos from the last 3 years - which looked great on the big tv.
Twenty-Eight of K's friends helped her celebrate (my sis and her fiance chaperoned). They drove around Manhattan and the first stop was Times Square. The kids all got out of the bus and ran around the area for about a half-hour. Tourists were taking pics of the bus and the kids, Reggae street drummers banged out an awesome "Happy Birthday", and the kids took tons of pictures.
The next stop was the South Street Seaport. Again the kids got out to wander around (it so pretty there), then congregate back around a beautiful 3-tiered stand of red velvet cupcakes - each with a candle - to sing Happy Birthday to K. My sis made them, along with chocolate-dipped strawberries.
Everyone had a great time. They were back in Queens by 11:30 and all the kids were picked up by midnight.
The rest of K's weekend consisted of 2 sleepovers and going to see New Moon.
At school it's Spirit Week and today is "Clash Day", so K and her friends are wearing footie pajamas with Uggs and t-shirts.
K is also wearing her tiara. :)
Monday, May 04, 2009
Communion
W's First Holy Communion was on Saturday! He looked gorgeous in his suit. The ceremony was nice and they set it up so the parents sat in the rows behind all the children and got to go up and receive with them. The extended families and friends sat behind us. The kids had songs to sing and prayers to say. We took a lot of pictures inside and outside of the church, a few with the Monsignor, and some with the family. A girl in his class wouldn't leave without getting pictures with W. I think she has a bit of a crush on him - W ate it up, lol. After picking up a few more things for his party and J's friend, Samantha, we headed out to my mom's to celebrate. Rain was in the forecast from Friday to Sunday nonstop, but my mom said all she had to do was put a Blessed Mother statue in the front and back windows (facing outward) and it wouldn't rain. And would you believe we had the most gorgeous sunny day?! About 30 people were there. We had lots of food and cake and we hung out til almost midnight. The kids ran around playing manhunt and roasting marshmallows over the fire pit. W changed out of his suit as soon as he could, lol. It was a great party!
Friday, May 01, 2009
Thursday was an easy, relaxing day. J had dance at 4:30, W went to the playground by the dance studio, and then had Communion rehearsal at 7:30. Today B took J and W shopping for some last minute stuff for tomorrow and for pieces of costume to wear in the dance recital (white tees, sweatpants, necktie, etc). I actually went out and got a haircut (I think I go bi-annually). Now I just have to finish up some more grooming for tomorrow. B is going to cook lots of Italian food tonight. J had dance practice at 4:30 and is going to see a show at one of the performing arts high schools. Her whole team is going (6 kids). It's so nice that the studio does all these things together.
Things are changing again at work. My whole department is outsourcing and completely disappearing from our building, so 40 of us will be purely sales from now on. I always did retention, collections, and a few sales for the last 3 years. I think it will be nice to focus on just sales from now on. I'm a little nervous, though.
This will be the last daily academic recap. I'll just do a weekly one from now on.
-----------------------------------------------------
W's academics today
~ Elementary Life Science (McQuerry) Ch. 2, crossword, definitions
~ We read a short bio on Caspar David Friedrich. W studied "The Cross in the Mountains" for about 2 minutes and W created his own interpretation with crayons on drawing paper, then wrote the title and artist underneath in cursive.
~ We went over how to use a dictionary. I never realized how much there is to know when you show someone else.
~ We read 4 pgs of "Little House in the Big Woods".
Things are changing again at work. My whole department is outsourcing and completely disappearing from our building, so 40 of us will be purely sales from now on. I always did retention, collections, and a few sales for the last 3 years. I think it will be nice to focus on just sales from now on. I'm a little nervous, though.
This will be the last daily academic recap. I'll just do a weekly one from now on.
-----------------------------------------------------
W's academics today
~ Elementary Life Science (McQuerry) Ch. 2, crossword, definitions
~ We read a short bio on Caspar David Friedrich. W studied "The Cross in the Mountains" for about 2 minutes and W created his own interpretation with crayons on drawing paper, then wrote the title and artist underneath in cursive.
~ We went over how to use a dictionary. I never realized how much there is to know when you show someone else.
~ We read 4 pgs of "Little House in the Big Woods".
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Random Weekend
W spent much of the weekend at the park - tag, cops & robbers, and basketball are his usual games there. He finally found his skateboard (we left it at my mom's, oops) and he's ready to learn some more moves with that. There are a couple of kids on our block and in the park around his age who skateboard, and I can tell he wants to join in. Other parts of his weekend included the Friday cub scouts, Sunday CCD, and suit shopping for his First Holy Communion in 5 weeks. We're having no luck with that yet. MIL offered to buy it, so we're heading out to one more store this morning.
He decided to make a list of his favorite things to do and keep it out so he can remember to do them, lol. This includes bike riding, skateboarding, gardening, going out to cool places, playing Wii, and cooking. It also includes science stuff (nature walks, readings, experiments, etc), math workbook, reading his books (alone, silently), readalouds like Paddle to the Sea and Aesop's Fables, and copywork. The academic stuff he wants to keep doing in the mornings.
J had dance rehearsal on Friday for a couple of hours and then a sleepover. On Saturday she had 2 birthday parties: one at a restaurant at 2pm, and the other was a house party at 7pm (to midnight!!). And Sunday she was webcamming with her friends all day. She's still figuring out a schedule for herself. I'm curious to see what she does. She has another party this Friday and another competition this weekend as well.
He decided to make a list of his favorite things to do and keep it out so he can remember to do them, lol. This includes bike riding, skateboarding, gardening, going out to cool places, playing Wii, and cooking. It also includes science stuff (nature walks, readings, experiments, etc), math workbook, reading his books (alone, silently), readalouds like Paddle to the Sea and Aesop's Fables, and copywork. The academic stuff he wants to keep doing in the mornings.
J had dance rehearsal on Friday for a couple of hours and then a sleepover. On Saturday she had 2 birthday parties: one at a restaurant at 2pm, and the other was a house party at 7pm (to midnight!!). And Sunday she was webcamming with her friends all day. She's still figuring out a schedule for herself. I'm curious to see what she does. She has another party this Friday and another competition this weekend as well.
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Miquon and Mommy Pride
Ok, so I bit the bullet and bought the Miquon math books for W. He's starting with the blue one. I'm actually very impressed at how it covers math in a different way than we'd always done. He's already jumped from single-digit addition to 4-digits + 4-digits with carrying in only a few days. I like the simplicity of the book's layout and the different colored ink on each page. It just gives it that little bit of flavor to keep things interesting. He's also learned about even and odd numbers. After only a few Miquon pages, he knows so much more than he did before. This week I plan on getting him some manipulatives (Cuisinaire rods, maybe) that are supposed to go well with this program.
J worked on her new dance solo on Friday and it's coming along well. Then she had group tap while I took W to cub scouts. I used the free hour I had to clean out the car since K volunteered B to pick up 4 of her friends the following morning to take them all horseback riding. He didn't mind at all and even dropped the girls home afterwards. Then he drove K to a birthday party at around 12pm. J was already there, having slept over the girl's house the night before. They both said it was really fun. J, her friend (A), and 2 boys put together a band and performed their original song in front of everyone. I called K at just the right time and I got to hear them! It was pretty amazing for a bunch of 11 and 12 y/os. K and J sang a song together too, later on.
Meanwhile, B took W to see Madagascar 2. Everything worked out really well that day. I stayed home and vegged and everyone else was out of the house, getting out of the workers' way. Yeah, they're still here. They're taking their time with the re-wiring. But that part should only take another couple of days. Then the plaster guy comes and fixes all 50-something holes we have in the walls and ceilings. Ugh it looks so bad. There's dust everywhere and ugly garbage bags framed with painters tape over every hole. Eeeww. It's stressful. The apartment is already "cozy" enough without 3 extra men and all our stuff piled into corners. But I know it's going to be all worth it in the end.
B took the kids out to my mom's for the day today. It's better when the men work without us all walking around. But they ended up cancelling today. So, I got to spend the day by myself, cleaning and catching up on a huge pile of laundry. During the week (while the guys are here), the kids and I go downstairs to B's aunt's apartment to get their academics done. That's been a great idea so far. They are both still loving the AmblesideOnline schedule and are eager to get to it most days. It's been fun for me as well.
Oh, remember how W was getting anxious about CCD class because he wasn't confident about reading? Well the teacher told B today that now W is the first to raise his hand to read aloud. I can't believe it. Once again he faced his fear head-on and overcame it. He decided he wanted a lot of extra reading practice all week to get ready. He's amazing. And J came out of her class with a 112% on the huge test they had today. She spent the last 2 days reading and writing out answers to questions, coming to B and me for help, and researching lots of stuff online. She prepared very well for this test on her own without any nagging or threats. She's certainly come a helluva long way since she was in school. She teems with confidence, self-discipline, and so much determination in everything she does. All 3 kids have sent my mommy pride level through the roof lately. :)
J worked on her new dance solo on Friday and it's coming along well. Then she had group tap while I took W to cub scouts. I used the free hour I had to clean out the car since K volunteered B to pick up 4 of her friends the following morning to take them all horseback riding. He didn't mind at all and even dropped the girls home afterwards. Then he drove K to a birthday party at around 12pm. J was already there, having slept over the girl's house the night before. They both said it was really fun. J, her friend (A), and 2 boys put together a band and performed their original song in front of everyone. I called K at just the right time and I got to hear them! It was pretty amazing for a bunch of 11 and 12 y/os. K and J sang a song together too, later on.
Meanwhile, B took W to see Madagascar 2. Everything worked out really well that day. I stayed home and vegged and everyone else was out of the house, getting out of the workers' way. Yeah, they're still here. They're taking their time with the re-wiring. But that part should only take another couple of days. Then the plaster guy comes and fixes all 50-something holes we have in the walls and ceilings. Ugh it looks so bad. There's dust everywhere and ugly garbage bags framed with painters tape over every hole. Eeeww. It's stressful. The apartment is already "cozy" enough without 3 extra men and all our stuff piled into corners. But I know it's going to be all worth it in the end.
B took the kids out to my mom's for the day today. It's better when the men work without us all walking around. But they ended up cancelling today. So, I got to spend the day by myself, cleaning and catching up on a huge pile of laundry. During the week (while the guys are here), the kids and I go downstairs to B's aunt's apartment to get their academics done. That's been a great idea so far. They are both still loving the AmblesideOnline schedule and are eager to get to it most days. It's been fun for me as well.
Oh, remember how W was getting anxious about CCD class because he wasn't confident about reading? Well the teacher told B today that now W is the first to raise his hand to read aloud. I can't believe it. Once again he faced his fear head-on and overcame it. He decided he wanted a lot of extra reading practice all week to get ready. He's amazing. And J came out of her class with a 112% on the huge test they had today. She spent the last 2 days reading and writing out answers to questions, coming to B and me for help, and researching lots of stuff online. She prepared very well for this test on her own without any nagging or threats. She's certainly come a helluva long way since she was in school. She teems with confidence, self-discipline, and so much determination in everything she does. All 3 kids have sent my mommy pride level through the roof lately. :)
Monday, November 03, 2008
Halloween '08
It was such a gorgeous end of the week. On Halloween it was about 60 degrees outside and the kids really enjoyed trick-or-treating. B took W, J, and J's friend around for a little while. In less than an hour everyone's bags were overflowing with candy. W was an evil jester and J was Frankenstein's daughter. J prefers to make her own costumes now, with a couple of bought accessories. W had a cub scouts party early that evening and all of us had another H party to attend that night. We're thinking about going to the big Halloween parade in Greenwich Village next year.
On Saturday, J had dance and spent the rest of the day at a friend's house, K went to a friend's, and W had a birthday party. I worked, B had his 25th high school reunion, and my evening involved collecting all the kids around town from their various activities. I did get to relax a bit at W's party, hanging out there for a couple of hours and having something to eat.
Sunday was B's birthday and we all headed out to my mom's house to celebrate. The workers are still here all day, every day, so getting out of their way was probably very much appreciated. Both my sisters and the kids' cousins were there, we had a great dinner, cake, and just hung out and had fun. We got home after 9pm to see our whole kitchen (dropped) ceiling ripped out - woohoo! They've so far done all the hole-cutting - 3 in every ceiling, more in each wall - and they've been running the cables all week. The kitchen is the last room. Then the "patchers" come. They are going to patch up every wall and ceiling. It's slow-going, but it will be wonderful when it's done.
On Saturday, J had dance and spent the rest of the day at a friend's house, K went to a friend's, and W had a birthday party. I worked, B had his 25th high school reunion, and my evening involved collecting all the kids around town from their various activities. I did get to relax a bit at W's party, hanging out there for a couple of hours and having something to eat.
Sunday was B's birthday and we all headed out to my mom's house to celebrate. The workers are still here all day, every day, so getting out of their way was probably very much appreciated. Both my sisters and the kids' cousins were there, we had a great dinner, cake, and just hung out and had fun. We got home after 9pm to see our whole kitchen (dropped) ceiling ripped out - woohoo! They've so far done all the hole-cutting - 3 in every ceiling, more in each wall - and they've been running the cables all week. The kitchen is the last room. Then the "patchers" come. They are going to patch up every wall and ceiling. It's slow-going, but it will be wonderful when it's done.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
W's first Cub Scout meeting was pretty cool. He liked it so we might do the last few activities for the season and then re-up in September. There were a lot of kids there who seem to be divided by age groups (or school grades). He was nervous not knowing anyone, but fit in the mix well and made a couple of friends already. They're having a year-end parade and party this coming Sunday and a weekend camping trip at the beginning of June. It looks fun and this group is really active, so we'll see how it goes.
J had her final competition of the season this weekend. She did her 3 solos and 1 group number on Saturday and 2 group numbers on Sunday. They didn't do all their groups, as this was an optional competition and there was a girl missing. Again she did so great and was happy to finish out the season on a really high note. There were about 15 studios there. Her scores were:
Jazz Solo: Extreme Gold, Special Award - "Fabulous Faces"
Musical Theater Solo (categorized as "Open" in other comps): Extreme Gold (2nd place overall out of a top 10 - our studio took the top 4 places)
Vocal Solo: Extreme Gold
Small Group, Jazz: Platinum (1st place overall - out of a top 10 - and highest scoring group number of the day, and the XCaliber Award $300, so each child gets $50)
Line, Tap: Platinum
Large Group, Jazz: Extreme Platinum and 1st Place overall
K was at her friend's house all day Saturday and joined us on Sunday morning to cheer J on at the competition's second day. After her 2 groups, I brought J back to the dance studio to have headshots taken. B took W and K to CCD where it was the last day of classes until September. They met us back at the studio at around 1 and we drove out to my sister's house for my nephew's First Communion party. It rained most of the day, but we all had a great time. We got home around 8pm and B and the kids transferred our goldfish and water frog into a larger tank. We had to take the bullfrog tadpole out the other day because he grew some front legs seemingly overnight and now he needs less water and a place to climb out on. The tadpole has been fascinating for the kids (and me). Every day it changes more. We can't wait to see how big of a frog it becomes. Pretty cool entertainment for less than 2 bucks, lol!
J had her final competition of the season this weekend. She did her 3 solos and 1 group number on Saturday and 2 group numbers on Sunday. They didn't do all their groups, as this was an optional competition and there was a girl missing. Again she did so great and was happy to finish out the season on a really high note. There were about 15 studios there. Her scores were:
Jazz Solo: Extreme Gold, Special Award - "Fabulous Faces"
Musical Theater Solo (categorized as "Open" in other comps): Extreme Gold (2nd place overall out of a top 10 - our studio took the top 4 places)
Vocal Solo: Extreme Gold
Small Group, Jazz: Platinum (1st place overall - out of a top 10 - and highest scoring group number of the day, and the XCaliber Award $300, so each child gets $50)
Line, Tap: Platinum
Large Group, Jazz: Extreme Platinum and 1st Place overall
K was at her friend's house all day Saturday and joined us on Sunday morning to cheer J on at the competition's second day. After her 2 groups, I brought J back to the dance studio to have headshots taken. B took W and K to CCD where it was the last day of classes until September. They met us back at the studio at around 1 and we drove out to my sister's house for my nephew's First Communion party. It rained most of the day, but we all had a great time. We got home around 8pm and B and the kids transferred our goldfish and water frog into a larger tank. We had to take the bullfrog tadpole out the other day because he grew some front legs seemingly overnight and now he needs less water and a place to climb out on. The tadpole has been fascinating for the kids (and me). Every day it changes more. We can't wait to see how big of a frog it becomes. Pretty cool entertainment for less than 2 bucks, lol!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
We all went to a friend's birthday party yesterday evening. He and his wife have been 2 of our best friends since the early '90s when we all did community theater together. It was great because it was at a restaurant in walking distance of my house. So we walked there with the kids at around 7pm. They had a huge Italian buffet, kid-friendly DJ, nice dance floor, and there must have been over 30 kids there (and like 25 adults). W started mingling right away, schmoozing with some 10-year-old girls at first, and then ultimately play-wrestling with some boys as the girls didn't really pay him much attention, lol. J found her friend, S, whom she's known since they were both 2. They're also in CCD together on Sundays. K decided to skip the party and go out gallavanting (lol, love that word) with her friends instead. Her friend's mom always drives all the kids home, so that was good. She was home around 11:30pm when we got home.
J had a few hours of dance during the day. They went over a few group numbers and practiced their solos. Since I work evenings and Saturdays I never get to see J's dances until right before we go to competition. A full dress rehearsal is taking place on the Sunday right before their first comp, so yay! I finally get to see everything in a few weeks!
This morning all the kids went to CCD, then W had basketball. K asked to go with them so she could see her brother play. I thought that was really cool. I gave her my camera and she took a few shots for me (that's him in the gray sweatpants in mid-jump). B said he did great today and had a lot of fun. I can see why he likes this more than the baseball he did a couple of years ago. He is constantly moving with basketball - there's no waiting around much. In baseball he waited around for his turn to bat and was bored to tears in the outfield when none of the other kids were big enough to hit a ball anywhere near him.
This week, J and W have been into making home videos of themselves, web-show style. They create characters and perform little skits while recording themselves. It's gotten really funny sometimes. They've also been playing some of their new games like Hyperdash (where they have to run around the living room a lot) and some Gamecube. J rode her new moped around and W rode his Fusion scooter. They painted, Heely'd, rode bikes, cut snowflakes out of paper, danced around the room, cooked, sewed, went on a great hs trip, went to a fun party, played website games, read, watched DVDs, took pictures, and shopped. And just now, J, at 8:30pm on Sunday night, decided to fill her free time poring over a book on Faerie poems, grabbing a notebook, and after a little while presenting me with a beautiful handwritten copy of The Elf Toper by George Darley:
Each twilight-come
At beetle-drum
For nectar he a-hunting goes,
The twisted brine
He stoops for wine,
Or sups it fresh from off the rose.
From night to morn
His amber horn
He fills at every honey-fountain
And draineth up,
Each flowery cup
That brims with balm on mead or mountain.
J had a few hours of dance during the day. They went over a few group numbers and practiced their solos. Since I work evenings and Saturdays I never get to see J's dances until right before we go to competition. A full dress rehearsal is taking place on the Sunday right before their first comp, so yay! I finally get to see everything in a few weeks!
This morning all the kids went to CCD, then W had basketball. K asked to go with them so she could see her brother play. I thought that was really cool. I gave her my camera and she took a few shots for me (that's him in the gray sweatpants in mid-jump). B said he did great today and had a lot of fun. I can see why he likes this more than the baseball he did a couple of years ago. He is constantly moving with basketball - there's no waiting around much. In baseball he waited around for his turn to bat and was bored to tears in the outfield when none of the other kids were big enough to hit a ball anywhere near him. This week, J and W have been into making home videos of themselves, web-show style. They create characters and perform little skits while recording themselves. It's gotten really funny sometimes. They've also been playing some of their new games like Hyperdash (where they have to run around the living room a lot) and some Gamecube. J rode her new moped around and W rode his Fusion scooter. They painted, Heely'd, rode bikes, cut snowflakes out of paper, danced around the room, cooked, sewed, went on a great hs trip, went to a fun party, played website games, read, watched DVDs, took pictures, and shopped. And just now, J, at 8:30pm on Sunday night, decided to fill her free time poring over a book on Faerie poems, grabbing a notebook, and after a little while presenting me with a beautiful handwritten copy of The Elf Toper by George Darley:
Each twilight-come
At beetle-drum
For nectar he a-hunting goes,
The twisted brine
He stoops for wine,
Or sups it fresh from off the rose.
From night to morn
His amber horn
He fills at every honey-fountain
And draineth up,
Each flowery cup
That brims with balm on mead or mountain.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Ahhh, New Year's Eve. A time of new beginnings, new hopes, and new ideas. We're going to a black-and-white-attire masquerade party tonight. It starts at 8pm, but I'm working til 9, so B is leaving the kids there, picking me up, and we'll be back there by 9:30. He made spinach dip inside a round sourdough loaf to bring tonight. This is with the dance company, and it's at the studio, so the kids will be hanging out with lots of friends to bring in the new year.
They are still having a blast with the Gamecube. B ordered some more games for them (they're cheap since Gamecube isn't really sold anymore, woohoo) and they're loving it. The girls and I played Mad Gabs agian today and it was just as funny as the other day. B is out buying those masquerade masks that the kids will decorate when they get home and wear tonight. I'm trying to straighten up a bit and then get ready for work soon. The tree and decorations are coming down tomorrow and then this place will get a good mopping. This was a nice holiday season. I think 2008 will be a fantastic year (8 is my lucky number). 2007 wasn't bad, though. The kids have been happy and healthy, and school and homeschool has been awesome so far.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
They are still having a blast with the Gamecube. B ordered some more games for them (they're cheap since Gamecube isn't really sold anymore, woohoo) and they're loving it. The girls and I played Mad Gabs agian today and it was just as funny as the other day. B is out buying those masquerade masks that the kids will decorate when they get home and wear tonight. I'm trying to straighten up a bit and then get ready for work soon. The tree and decorations are coming down tomorrow and then this place will get a good mopping. This was a nice holiday season. I think 2008 will be a fantastic year (8 is my lucky number). 2007 wasn't bad, though. The kids have been happy and healthy, and school and homeschool has been awesome so far.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
Saturday, November 10, 2007
W did 2 pages of his Sight Words book yesterday. Then he saw his Writing Sentences book on the shelf and said he really wanted to do that book now "because I love that one!". This time he did about 6 pages, writing out tr, cr, dr, and gr words about 3 times each. He did this all on his own and didn't want me to look until he was done so he could surprise me. How cool is that? Then he read me a few more chapters in Dick and Jane and did a whole 16 question science section on Matter on the freeworldu.org website. One the same website, J did a 67 question math section on the distributive, additive/multiplicitive identity of zero/one, and inverse properties of real numbers.
They were in creative mode after that and made their own books out of looseleaf paper tied together with string. Both were filled with drawings (Spongebob characters was the theme, lol), titled, labeled, dedicated, and signed. K went to a friend's house after school and J had ballet barre class at 6:30pm.
Today J had dance from 2:30pm-6:30pm, working on her large group jazz, production tap, and her new solo. After work, B, W, and I drove over to pick her up and I finally got to see some of the new solo. It's awesome, with great moves and tons of attitude. After dance we drove her to her friend's birthday party. She missed most of it since she was at dance, but gets to hang out there until 9:30pm anyway. K was at this same party all afternoon - her best homeschool friend, BR, was there too - and when the party was over K went to BR's house to sleep. We're picking her up tomorrow on the way out to my mom's. My kids love staying busy, that's for sure.
They were in creative mode after that and made their own books out of looseleaf paper tied together with string. Both were filled with drawings (Spongebob characters was the theme, lol), titled, labeled, dedicated, and signed. K went to a friend's house after school and J had ballet barre class at 6:30pm.
Today J had dance from 2:30pm-6:30pm, working on her large group jazz, production tap, and her new solo. After work, B, W, and I drove over to pick her up and I finally got to see some of the new solo. It's awesome, with great moves and tons of attitude. After dance we drove her to her friend's birthday party. She missed most of it since she was at dance, but gets to hang out there until 9:30pm anyway. K was at this same party all afternoon - her best homeschool friend, BR, was there too - and when the party was over K went to BR's house to sleep. We're picking her up tomorrow on the way out to my mom's. My kids love staying busy, that's for sure.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Poppenhusen
Today we went to the Poppenhusen Institute with the homeschool group right here in Queens! It's where a prominent Queens man established a Town Hall, complete with a court, jails, a bank, and the first free Kindergarten in the United States back in the mid 1800s. 
It's a beautiful historic building. The tour included the history of the building, what the first Kindergarten there was like, trying out the jail cells, learning about the Native Americans from the area, and being part of an 1800s Kindergarten class. 
The area was mostly German immigrants and the Kindergarten teacher was Frauline Bertha, wonderfully portrayed by one of the workers there. She told all about how the children dressed, what they learned, and how it was learned. 
The kids learned some sign language and played a few circle games. In the Native American room, the kids got to grind corn, go in the big wigwam, touch all the animal skins, beaver skull, and tortoise shell, and match animal footprints to the animal who made them. 
The jail area (in the building's lower level, of course) was dark and creepy and the kids got to go inside with the cell door closed. 
The group was split into 2 classes - the 8s and overs and the 7s and unders. Afterwards J told me she really loved it and learned a lot. I tagged along with the younger group and was so proud to see these 3-7 y/os paying attention, asking lots of questions, and really "getting it". 
The workers there said we were their first homeschool group and made several comments throughout the tour about how smart these kids were. W raises his hand a lot and always has a good question or comment lately at any place we go. Last year he just liked to raise his hand to get called on and then have nothing to say, lol. This year he has learned to pay attention and really take in what he sees and hears. He tends to charm the pants off people, too. That is a very good quality to have and could work for him, lol.K went to her friend's house after school today and I picked her up after work. I took the younger 2 to the shopping area to get a birthday gift for one of J's friends. We got something from American Eagle Outfitters and a a couple of cutesy things from Claire's. Then we had a nice Japanese lunch. We stopped home quick for J to change, pack, wrap the gift, and then she went to a sleepover birthday party at 5pm with all her dance friends. Gotta love the social lives of homeschoolers!
Monday, October 29, 2007
We went out to the homeschool art class today. The kids continued working on their "reinterpretation of a masterpiece". Last night J (VanGogh's "Rowboats") and W (Monet's "The Bridge") copied these pieces of art into basic shapes on their paper using a grid to prepare for today's class. In the class they worked on the shapes to make them look more like the original artwork. The grid lines were erased as much as possible and then they started to add the colors. J is using acrylics on canvas and W is using oil pastels on watercolor paper. I can't wait to see the end result of these. J's picture is blooming with color and every inch of the canvas is painted. W used a perfect combination of blues, greens, and pinks to capture his version of the Monet. He also used the smudge technique we learned at an art class several months ago.
J had dance Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. She's back up to about 12-18 hours of dance a week. 4 months til the first competition, you know, lol. Her new dance solo is coming along great and her tailor-made costume is already with the seamstress. I haven't seen it, but I know it's a dress and it's royal blue. Saturday evening she went to her friend's birthday party at this posh Japanese restaurant (her favorite food!). I spent almost an hour by myself in Borders bookstore, savoring every second. I got a new educator's discount card and got $80 worth of books for $62. Wheeeeeeeee!
K had a birthday/Halloween party on Saturday night, too. We picked J up at 9pm and K up at 10pm. Sunday morning was CCD - K was assigned to J's class again this week. She helps with their projects, gets their supplies out and ready, and basically acts as teacher's aide. She hung out with some friends at the park in the afternoon and J and W carved scary faces in pumpkins and B roasted up the pumpkin seeds in oil, salt, and garlic. Oh that's so good!
J had dance Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. She's back up to about 12-18 hours of dance a week. 4 months til the first competition, you know, lol. Her new dance solo is coming along great and her tailor-made costume is already with the seamstress. I haven't seen it, but I know it's a dress and it's royal blue. Saturday evening she went to her friend's birthday party at this posh Japanese restaurant (her favorite food!). I spent almost an hour by myself in Borders bookstore, savoring every second. I got a new educator's discount card and got $80 worth of books for $62. Wheeeeeeeee!
K had a birthday/Halloween party on Saturday night, too. We picked J up at 9pm and K up at 10pm. Sunday morning was CCD - K was assigned to J's class again this week. She helps with their projects, gets their supplies out and ready, and basically acts as teacher's aide. She hung out with some friends at the park in the afternoon and J and W carved scary faces in pumpkins and B roasted up the pumpkin seeds in oil, salt, and garlic. Oh that's so good!
Thursday, August 16, 2007
J had another birthday celebration on Sunday with MIL. We all had dinner in our backyard - and cake - and J got some more gifts. MIL got her a whole Puma outfit - pink skirt, sweatpants, t-shirt, and sweatshirt and enough money to have a nice trip to the mall. And I've been reminded daily about how desperately we need to go.
Tuesday night we drove out to my mom's house and had yet another birthday celebration for J. This is just how it goes for us every year with all the kids. We don't have 1 big party where everyone is together at one time. Well, not since they were little. Mom got J an Ashton Drake baby and a Sidekick ID phone. It's a nice phone, so nice in fact, that we bought a Sidekick 3 for K as a starting-high-school present.
Yesterday mom and I took the kids to the beach. One good thing about Long Island is that almost every town on the north shore has a few private beaches on the sound. This means no crowds, close parking, and usually a bathroom and food court right there. It was beautiful. J and W found rocks, shells, and dead crabs, made a few sand castles, and swam. K was happy enough just tanning herself. She did put a toe in the water and deemed it way too cold and sat back down. A bunch of other kids were swimming out to what was a beach version of a scary lake raft, and jumping off of it into the water. I know J and W wanted to go out there too, but were a little nervous as it was way out over their heads. I took pictures of our day there, but on mom's camera - mine was dead.
On the way home we stopped at Target and I spent about $50 replenishing our homeschool supplies. We got notebooks and folders (10/$1), Elmers Glue ($.20 ea), gluesticks, compass, protractor, rulers, looseleaf paper, erasers, pencils, pens, colored pencils, sketch notebooks, construction paper, staples, tape, small pencil sharpeners, and a huge globe (on sale for $10). K picked out some magnetic locker baskets, a pink combination lock, and a bright pink usb flash drive. I love these sales.
Tuesday night we drove out to my mom's house and had yet another birthday celebration for J. This is just how it goes for us every year with all the kids. We don't have 1 big party where everyone is together at one time. Well, not since they were little. Mom got J an Ashton Drake baby and a Sidekick ID phone. It's a nice phone, so nice in fact, that we bought a Sidekick 3 for K as a starting-high-school present.
Yesterday mom and I took the kids to the beach. One good thing about Long Island is that almost every town on the north shore has a few private beaches on the sound. This means no crowds, close parking, and usually a bathroom and food court right there. It was beautiful. J and W found rocks, shells, and dead crabs, made a few sand castles, and swam. K was happy enough just tanning herself. She did put a toe in the water and deemed it way too cold and sat back down. A bunch of other kids were swimming out to what was a beach version of a scary lake raft, and jumping off of it into the water. I know J and W wanted to go out there too, but were a little nervous as it was way out over their heads. I took pictures of our day there, but on mom's camera - mine was dead.
On the way home we stopped at Target and I spent about $50 replenishing our homeschool supplies. We got notebooks and folders (10/$1), Elmers Glue ($.20 ea), gluesticks, compass, protractor, rulers, looseleaf paper, erasers, pencils, pens, colored pencils, sketch notebooks, construction paper, staples, tape, small pencil sharpeners, and a huge globe (on sale for $10). K picked out some magnetic locker baskets, a pink combination lock, and a bright pink usb flash drive. I love these sales.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Saturday while I was at work, B took all the kids to the local pool and the girls finished up the day hanging out with their friends. Sunday we drove out to my mom's house for my grandfather's wake - the kids went in mom's pool and hung out with the neighbor kids all day. Monday was the funeral and a big lunch with lots of family and friends we don't see very often. Tuesday morning was swimming lessons (yes, the kids are definitely drawn to water, lol) and we hung out at home the rest of the day. The kids watched movies, played games, read, and W made this: 
On Wednesday we stayed home so i could try and organize this apartment a little better. I could clean and move stuff around for hours and it still won't look right to me. Sigh. I'm going to try it again on Sunday - and I need to cull old stuff from the basement.
Thursday was J's 11th birthday! The kids had their final day of swimming in the morning (they got cute certificates) and we spent the afternoon in Manhattan at the American Girl Place! We'd gone there 3 years ago for her 8th birthday and she was dying to go again. We picked up her friend, A, and hopped onto the subway. The store was just as great as it was then. J had been scouring the AG website trying to choose a new doll (she has "Nelly" and "Marisol" already - and K's "Felicity", along with a Bitty Baby, Bitty Twins, and "Logan", from the Hopscotch Hill collection I don't think exists anymore). But when we got there, she still spent over an hour deciding, lol. She had it narrowed down to 3 different "Just Like Me" dolls or "Molly" (the 1944 one). She finally settled on the curly-haired "Just Like Me" doll. She also picked out "Coconut" (the white dog) and 1 doll outfit. We watched dolls getting their hair styled in the hair salon, saw lots of girls wearing the same outfits as their dolls, and peeked in at the doll hospital on the mezzanine. I enjoyed the store almost as much as the girls. W liked it too, even though I heard a few huffs and puffs along the way. Here are some pics:
After American Girl Place, we walked through Rockefeller Plaza where they had a huge farmers market going on. Not only were there tons of local fruits and vegetables, but a homemade honey stand (they brought along a an active honey hive), an organic raw cheese/free-range beef stand, and so many other stands I couldn't stay away from. For lunch we all went to a great neighborhood Japanese restaurant. And of course, ice cream birthday cake for J!
Today I took the kids to the New York Hall of Science. We met up with some homeschooling friends and had a good time. We watched a cow's-eye dissection, and the kids enjoyed so many exhibits - from watching amoebas swimming around to making giant bubbles, to arm-wrestling kids from a science center in California (technology is pretty cool these days!). Here are some pics! {W "levitating" at the anti-gravity mirror, the cow's eye dissection, the kids in a rope tangle, the boys putting together a brain puzzle, and W rock climbing} -- btw, I'm totally camera-happy lately:
We had a great week! Swimming, friends, Grandma's, J's birthday, American Girl, Rockefeller Plaza, Japanese restaurant, Hall of Science, J at a sleepover tonight, and K has a birthday party tomorrow!
On Wednesday we stayed home so i could try and organize this apartment a little better. I could clean and move stuff around for hours and it still won't look right to me. Sigh. I'm going to try it again on Sunday - and I need to cull old stuff from the basement.
Thursday was J's 11th birthday! The kids had their final day of swimming in the morning (they got cute certificates) and we spent the afternoon in Manhattan at the American Girl Place! We'd gone there 3 years ago for her 8th birthday and she was dying to go again. We picked up her friend, A, and hopped onto the subway. The store was just as great as it was then. J had been scouring the AG website trying to choose a new doll (she has "Nelly" and "Marisol" already - and K's "Felicity", along with a Bitty Baby, Bitty Twins, and "Logan", from the Hopscotch Hill collection I don't think exists anymore). But when we got there, she still spent over an hour deciding, lol. She had it narrowed down to 3 different "Just Like Me" dolls or "Molly" (the 1944 one). She finally settled on the curly-haired "Just Like Me" doll. She also picked out "Coconut" (the white dog) and 1 doll outfit. We watched dolls getting their hair styled in the hair salon, saw lots of girls wearing the same outfits as their dolls, and peeked in at the doll hospital on the mezzanine. I enjoyed the store almost as much as the girls. W liked it too, even though I heard a few huffs and puffs along the way. Here are some pics:
After American Girl Place, we walked through Rockefeller Plaza where they had a huge farmers market going on. Not only were there tons of local fruits and vegetables, but a homemade honey stand (they brought along a an active honey hive), an organic raw cheese/free-range beef stand, and so many other stands I couldn't stay away from. For lunch we all went to a great neighborhood Japanese restaurant. And of course, ice cream birthday cake for J!
Today I took the kids to the New York Hall of Science. We met up with some homeschooling friends and had a good time. We watched a cow's-eye dissection, and the kids enjoyed so many exhibits - from watching amoebas swimming around to making giant bubbles, to arm-wrestling kids from a science center in California (technology is pretty cool these days!). Here are some pics! {W "levitating" at the anti-gravity mirror, the cow's eye dissection, the kids in a rope tangle, the boys putting together a brain puzzle, and W rock climbing} -- btw, I'm totally camera-happy lately:
We had a great week! Swimming, friends, Grandma's, J's birthday, American Girl, Rockefeller Plaza, Japanese restaurant, Hall of Science, J at a sleepover tonight, and K has a birthday party tomorrow!
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