Mom first then teacher...

"If you don't do as I asked now, it is willful disobedience. I am your mother and discipline will be administered. I am not just your teacher. I have told you to do this in your math and you continue to not do it. It now is clear, you know how to do it, but have chosen to not do these steps because you don't want to do it. You get to redo it correctly and from this moment on, if you skip these steps....."
this is my Monday. I didn't yell, I didn't scream, I was calm looking into the eyes of my child who made me a mother.
All the other kids on the block are out of school for some reason or another...perhaps a hang nail of administration? The work ethic of learning is a fight this morning. The memory of 4 hour school days goes out the window.
I am so glad I prayed this morning, and that this too will pass.
So how is your Monday?

Twump!

Archery? This is so not me! The local home school group I belong to sent out a reminder for FREE archery classes. My keen eye picked up on FREE rather quick. I was very wary, very, very wary. I figured there were strings. I was wrong! I was very wrong. Fantastic!
Years and years ago, my hubby, Tony had done archery with what is called a compound bow. This is olympic style bows. Tony even got in on the fun.


First Shawn explain safety and the know hows of archery. The kids were glued to his words. This blew me away. The really listened. I think they were just as blown away mom was letting them use weapons!
The rules are lean and they mean business. Whistles are to be listened to and heeded!! How nice to have someone else work with listening skills!! ha ha
Eric of course excelled. He is such an athlete. He is left handed but wanted to do this right handed. I have no idea why, but he did excellent.

Abby was so serious...her little belly hitting against the bow! tee hee...she actually won a prize for most hits. They spin a color wheel for where they should aim...yellow, red, blue, black or white! This is not just for bulls-eyes! Anna was a bit hard to get a picture of, her being left handed and against the wall. She had the most obscure hit, the lights! ha ha...she was a bit frustrated, but got into the spirit of it.
Gabriel LOVED it! His elbow was raw, til Dad pulled his leather protector thingee (I'm sure it has nifty keen-o name) up his arm. His grouping of the arrows was fantastic. Tony told me that was a good thing. I smiled and enjoyed how much they were enjoying it!
We got home about 5:30ish...it is an hour and half class. Waiting for the kids to play was one of the neighborhood kids. The were so excited to tell him about their archery class, with bows and real arrows!
Content mom!

interupt this blog for a chance to win

As some of you know we are trudging, okay trudge is not the right word...because it is fun. Rosetta Stone for Spanish. I want to learn sign language and Punjabi. Spanish is first! Buuut...that being typed, I am trying to win products from Rosetta Stone, so I am posting this ad:


Surround your family with language. By taking them there!

Travel to Paris, Madrid and Barcelona with Homeschoolers from all over the United States. Join Rosetta Stone Homeschool, Heart of the Matter and Fusefly on the inaugural Homeschool Language Learning and Networking Trip August 2-11, 2010. Become immersed in new lands, explore history, culture, art and community. And truly speak to the world. For more details visit www.RosettaStone.com/Homeschool/LanguageLearningTrip.

Hurry, registration for the trip ends February 15, 2010.

For your chance to win a Rosetta Stone language product, please visit Heart of the Matter. Entries are being accepted until February 1st.

I don't mind...go enter...if I don't win, I would love someone I know win! :)

Christine and her kids over at Coffee, Tea and Me had a nifty pencil trick she showed on Wednesday last week. She said she would come back the next day and show us how it was done? A week later, no answer...lol...so we tried it today...complete failure. This trick looks so easy and then your hands get in the way!

The answer to the puzzle was FINALLY shown by Christine sloooooooooow motion...and Anna and I both got it...hilarious. I think her J and my Gman are so much the same...
Eric well, he is my teen and just makes me smile!

Then Anna watched Abby do it, but not on film so a sequel was asked for...

Okay Mom the recipe for cake balls:
1 cake mix
1 frosting tub
1 package of bark(we prefer chocolate)

Cook cake mix in 13x9 as directed.
Cool 45 minutes

pop out of pan into bowl and crumble

Then add the frosting to the crumbled cake....it is gooey and yummy now! We used a butter cake this time with German Chocolate Coconut Pecan Frosting...and oh man they are marvelous!

Next, spoon drop onto wax paper...it helps to have 4 kids or Grandchildren over to do this part!

After they make all the drops, they roll them to make smooth balls. Roll in palm of hand. I like to put them in fridge now for at least a few hours...we all get to eat one or two naked cake balls at this time! ha ha
At this time, I forgot to keep taking pics, so you just melt the bark..I do it in the microwave and use a fork so the chocolate drips off back into the small bowl. I do 1/3 of chocolate at a time. It works for me! One of the ladies who turned me onto it has a Red Velvet one Here you can view how she did it!

JUMP!

An apartment with a pool or a house with a yard for a trampoline? This is one of the big questions we posed to kids before moving to California. Gabriel, Abby and Anna wanted a pool, Eric was firm for a yard and trampoline. We had a trampoline in New Mexico. It swallowed our little tiny yard. They would go on it..but not much. It was a smaller one.
A few months after arriving in Cali, we made the big purchase for a HUGE trampoline! It was the smartest purchase. Yeah, we have had a trip to emergency room for a sprained ankle.
I have 4 kids that play and play hard. Emergency trips are part of the bargain.
I took a few pics for you to enjoy...I laughed so hard after we uploaded the pics!
Here's Gman, who was all alone, just jumping and playing with the ball! I had video's him earlier beating the snot out of the same ball!

Abby has really been enjoying the trampoline...she gets some air! She does this slam on her back and a crunch sit up that pulls her back up. She does it over and over and over...til my tummy hurts!
The horizontal just cracks me up!

Eric is just cool. He gets so high, that I admit I get nervous. I love him here upside down!oh, and Anna does jump, but since she is so much lighter than everyone, she is the one that gets bounced out of control...so she likes hula hoop! Gotta love those new shoes...the girl loves her shoes...we went to get church shoes and she got some heels and these..she will try EVERY shoe on in the store and oh she knows what she likes.
We had so much rain the last few days, but it comes with a wicked wind that once that rain stops it dries fast! They rush to get on to play the numerous games they have invented!
Glad Eric stuck to his guns, this was the better deal!

Storm is Coming!

... A VERY WET AND WINDY WEEK AHEAD FOR NORTHERN CALIFORNIA...

A VERY STRONG JET STREAM IS MAKING ITS WAY ACROSS THE PACIFIC AND WILL RESULT IN WET AND WINDY WEATHER ACROSS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. PERIODS OF SIGNIFICANT PRECIPITATION ARE EXPECTED TO OCCUR INTO THE BEGINNING OF NEXT WEEK.

WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO BE HEAVY AT TIMES THIS TONIGHT AND MONDAY WITH THIS FIRST SYSTEM. THIS STORM WILL BRING SIGNIFICANT RAIN TO THE VALLEY AND HEAVY SNOW TO THE MOUNTAINS. MODERATE TO STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL CONTINUE THIS EVENING AND ON MONDAY.

The front page of the paper warned us to get it all cleaned and ready. This is new to us, and apparently the January (2008) the storm took out the electricity for a few days and was a mess. This is supposed to be of the same caliber.

Eric was up on the roof cleaning out the gutters...see that smile? This kid loves to work and be on the roof is a big thing!

He would throw the gunk...which is compost really and stinks off onto the ground and then run a hose to clean them all out. Our gutters are so clean! The water will rush right out and down the street!
The younger brother; Gabriel still is on the ground, and had a super attitude as he went around and scooped up the gunk Eric was tossing to ground. G-man was rather proud that he figured out to put the dust pan onto the garbage bin.


Even Tony got into cleaning it all up! The bushes needed to be cut back also. He is up there in his good clothers...*sigh*
Meanwhile, the girls were cleaning their room. Anna is under the bed and the treasures they found!
I went for a walk! lol,

Oh yes we can! We are oozing back into homeschool this week. I painted the other part of the kitchenette yesterday. (where my puter and fridge reside)
Today, we did just Math. Eric tucked into his corner with headphones finishing the last few lessons in pre-algebra Teaching Textbooks! The youngest 3 and me began our Math-U-See adventure. I can only say, "wow!" They got it. I have spent 3 months trying to explain area. Did I say explain. I hounded, drew pictures, screamed and yelled and area was a word, a concept out of their reach.
One day with Math-U-See and Gabriel says, oh that is area! ONE DAY!! Dear sweet Anna took a bit longer, she had to grasp the stacking and she has to have order with colors...I showed her to use different colors for the numbers and you could visible see her relax. It clicked. Abby smiled the whole time, as we whipped thru all of chapter one in one day!