Life, My beautiful child, nature, Weather

TGIF…

May 9, 2009 Karen Leave a comment

Fridays used to be a huge deal for me.

Start of the weekend, school’s out, work is finished.

Now…not so much.† I work from home so I am pretty much available 24/7, Kei is homeschooled, the weekend is just the weekend.

But Friday was beautiful!† It has been so rainy and yucky here.† I am so tired of soggy ground, dashing everywhere with something over our heads, wet everything!

Kei made the most of the day.

First, she planted a garden.† Ok Ok I realized afterwards you can’t plant anything in a container that doesn’t drain!† I am going to fix that.† I am new at this “Country Girl” stuff ok?

Then she found what we thought was a lizard but on further research decided was a salamander.† Regardless, she loved it.† She kept it about 30 minutes and then started feeling bad and released it.

Then, she played in the sprinkler. Well she played in 3 sprinklers because she couldn’t make up her mind which one was best!

Then it was time for a little rest.

She spent the rest of the day reading and running around.

Then she insisted on making dinner “all by herself”.† She bakes quite often and is very careful but her dinner was going to involve chopping….lots of chopping.† She begged and promised to be careful so I agreed.† She made me sit outside where I was listening for the sound of fingers being cut off but all went well.† It was a delicious dinner and she was so proud of herself!

We had vegetable stir fry, leftover pasta salad and for desert…Grape and Banana Kabob with whipped cream.

Ahhh…my little chef.

Happy weekend,

K/K

Field Trip, HomeSchool, Learning all the time, Life, nature

Great Day to Be Alive!

May 6, 2009 Karen 1 Comment

Country Girl [Picture by Esther Crawford]

We had a terrific day.† My friend Karen invited us over for lunch and a play day for the kids.† Kei and I had never been to her house before.

Esther picked us up and our 1st stop was the library.† We went to Madison and they have the greatest library.† It was full of “Swine Flu Misplaced Public School Kids” and when we got there Ben came up and said, loudly, “I don’t feel good <cough> <cough>”† He really didn’t feel well but it was a little funny too.

Then we continued on our journey with directions from Ms. Nuvi.†† Even though she and I disagreed a couple of times, she got us there safely.

Karen’s house and land was awesome.† She had a yummy lunch for us.† Pasta salad, bean salad, [which Kei loved and got the recipe for] sandwiches with all the fixins’, chips, Pistachio Salad.† All very good!

Then us moms went out to the front porch to swing and talk and the kids proceeded to play games which sounded very much like someone was murdering them all.† Great fun!

Karen, Esther, Kei, Chan and I went to the pasture and had a BALL!

She has goats…..

and a little calf…

and chickens and the cutest little guineas and a big ‘ole Rooster!

Kei was in heaven!

The cute little calf tried to eat my jeans!† We couldn’t figure out what he was doing.† He started with Karen, then started licking Esther and then me!† My jeans were wet with calf spit!† But my toenails looked GOOD!

As the day wound down, Kei and Chan took their books and went to read under a big tree.† It was right about the time the school bus came by and neither Esther or I could resist such a perfect photo op.

This is why I homeschool.

We gathered up tired kids, lost shoes, lost books, wet clothes and headed home.

A perfectly lovely day.

Thank you Karen,

Kei and I have now decided, we are country girls trapped in the city!

Hugs,

K/K

HomeSchool, Life

Happy Birthday To Me!!!!

April 30, 2009 Karen 1 Comment

Yes, today was my birthday.† Kei was much more excited than I was.

She started the day by singing and dancing a “Birthday Song and Dance Routine” that she has been practicing for days.† Then she wanted me to open my gifts.† It was the sweetest card and 2 candles and a TOE RING!† I had a toe ring I wore for 15 years and I lost it and was so upset.† She knew how much I wanted one so she found me a really cool silver toe ring.† Then my daddy came over with my birthday card.† This was my first birthday without Mom so it was a sad morning for me.

My great boss got me a yummy gift from Omaha Steaks which included the chocolate cake below.† Kei was in heaven!

Then we went to Esther’s for a play day.† The kids had a blast.† They played for awhile in Esther’s new camper!† I loved it in there.† I wanted to punt out the kids and lay on the bed and read.

Us moms [and Bobby] sat around the table and laughed and talked!† I love my HS moms! [and Bobby ;)]† They got me a birthday cake and I had to pretend that I was blowing out the candles.† It was too funny!

Before we left we had to take the usual kids picture.

Then I got to see my brother and sister in law and Seth and Katherine.

All in all, a lovely birthday.

Hugs,

Holidays, HomeSchool, Learning all the time, Life, My beautiful child

I Could….

April 27, 2009 Karen 2 Comments

I could send her to school,

And from 8:00-3:00 have no clue…

How many times she laughed,

How many times she learned,

How many times she questioned,

How many times she understood,

How many times she wanted more information,

How many times she bounced in her chair from excitement,

How many times she was proud of something she did.

I could send her to school and she could get her exercise and sunshine,

In 20 minute doses, ifÖshe had on the right shoes, and no one misbehaved and everyone was quiet.

I could send her to school

And let her eat the processed high fat, low nutrition fare they feed millions of children a day,

if she had enough time to eat and didn’t talk too loud and if no one grabbed her food.

OrÖ..

I could homeschool her.

Hugs,

Life, nature

Sundays…

April 26, 2009 Karen 1 Comment

Another beautiful day.† I woke up feeling kinda blah, not really sure why.† Some of it has to do with our very dear friends who are moving I think.

It carried over into church and my eyes kept leaking during the songs.† By the end of the service I felt better but still not my normal “glass half full, everythings gonna be fine” self.

I worry about my job, I worry about money. I worry about Kei and that I will have to put her back in PS.† But I know God will provide, he always seems to.

After church Eddie and Heather took us to eat at this country cafe.† It was delicious food.† Then we went to Daddy’s.† He had spent the morning at the “Dog Days” Flea Market and was just getting home.

His yard looked great! Daddy’s roses are so beautiful.† Momma always loved roses.

rose

The kids played in the sunshine and I learned the difference in a carpenter bee and a bumble bee.

kei-seth

Now we are home, and Kei is outside working on her Super Secret Clubhouse with some neighborhood kids.

And I am still feeling kinda down…kinda melancholy…..kinda blue….

Hugs,

K/K

Life, My beautiful child, Weather

Beautiful Saturdays…

April 25, 2009 Karen 2 Comments

It was so pretty outside today.

Kei and I got up early and went to some garage sales.† We got some good deals!† I got 2 great books, The Reader’s Digest Children’s World Atlas and The Giant Book of Questions and Answers for 50 cents!

Then Kei hit pay dirt and got an almost brand new Groovy doll, sleeping bag, bed and chair for $3 total!† Kei loves garage sales, me, not so much. I like the sales, I just hate finding them.† If they were all lined up together I would like them more.

Then we went to Cade’s baseball game.† Cade and Kei are like brother and sister.† Kei is NOT† a sports girl.† I tried to give her a crash course in baseball 101 [since I spent every minute of my growing up years at the ball park] but she still was a little confused.† Of course so was Jerri, Cade’s mom.† I was cracking up at both of them.† They are so silly.

They we came home and Kei worked in her flower garden.† Kei loves nature, Kei also loves mud.† Where there is mud, there is Kei.

mud Now Kei is out playing with the neighborhood kids.† There are tons of them running around.† That is one thing I love about living here, there are always kids to play with.† Last night when I grilled the pork tenderloin, I threw some smoked sausages on the grill.† So all I have to do for dinner is cook some onions and green peppers. Yummy!

Happy Saturday…

Hugs,

K/K

Field Trip, HomeSchool, Weather

Brrr It’s Cold INSIDE!!!

April 24, 2009 Karen Leave a comment

It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day today.† Warm breezes blowing, birds chirping, butterflies flitting around.

The smell of freshly mowed grass in the air.

And what did my darling girl want to do? Go ice skating, where it is cold and wet and brrrr.

Our home school group goes ice skating twice a month.† Kei loves it.† She has gotten to be pretty decent in a short amount of time.

It wasn’t so bad.† Regina was there and I got to talk to Tara, a homeschool mom that I haven’t ever talked to much.† She was great and gave me some great ideas for curriculum for next year.

But still…ICE SKATING?

kei-ice-skate Happy Weekend,

Hugs,

Field Trip, Holidays, HomeSchool, Learning all the time, Life, nature, Science, Theatre, Weather

Earth Day 2009

April 23, 2009 Karen 1 Comment

What a beautiful world we live in.

We celebrated Earth Day by going on a Wild Flower Hike and picnic with our homeschool group.†† On the way we passed a school bus and felt very sorry for the kids who were going to be stuck inside on this wonderful day.

We arrived at the spot with little problem, thanks to Esther’s directions, Gina’s ability to read said directions and Bobby’s manly driving!

It was a little cool and overcast but we set off.† It was a great place to hike and a stream that the kids, of course, had to try out.† I think these kids would jump in water if they had to chip the ice away first!

There was exploring,

exploring

there was splashing, there was worm races, there was a simple ceremony for poor dead Lacey who raced a good race,

lacey-the-worms-funeral1

there was laughing, there was friendship and there was learning!

kei-brit

What better way to celebrate Earth Day!

Hugs,

K/K

Field Trip, Holidays, HomeSchool, Learning all the time, Life, nature, Science, Theatre, Weather

Field Day, Puppet Shows, Jump Rope, Play Days and Easter oh my…..

April 21, 2009 Karen 1 Comment

Since my computer has been out of commission I am going to squeeze the last 3 weeks into one post.† We spent a portion of the time in our downstairs bathroom hiding from tornadoes.† My poor umbrella that I just bought did not survive.

Our homeschool Field Day was awesome thanks to Heather!† The kids all had such fun.† We had around 107 people there. I love how homeschooling just keeps growing and growing!

One of my dearest friends Ali, got Kei a puppet theater and several puppets and she has been playing with them so much and I have been an unwilling audience for 100 shows!!

k-puppet

We finally had a warm day and Kei wanted to jump rope.† She loves to be outside.† April is so crazy here. It can be 70 degrees one day and 35 the next!

021

Esther had a bunch of us to her house for a play day.† Kei would move to Esther’s if she could.† We both had a blast!† I laughed so much.† Besides being smart and full of great ideas HS moms are also hilarious!

We went to church on Easter and then to Daddy’s for lunch and an Easter Egg Hunt.† It was our 1st Easter without Momma.† I missed her so much.

All in all, a lovely 3 weeks.

Hugs,

K/K

Life

Back to the Stone Ages…

April 20, 2009 Karen Leave a comment

20 days without my computer!† This has been a long 3 weeks.

It is amazing to me how much I rely on the computer.† Not just for my work and K’s homeschooling but for everything!!

Addresses, phone numbers, movie times, the weather, my news, recipes.† I use it to answer those daunting questions: “Who is she?? you know…that actor in that movie…”, “how many M&M’s are in a pack?”..”how old is Miley Cyrus now”, you know…all those important questions.

It has been really hard.† The first few days I sat at my chair and looked all sad…..

I apparentely had a motherboard meltdown.† It was unfixable so I had to order a new computer.† So I have this new, pretty, fast computer but no passwords!† I can’t get on anything.† And yes I try to use the same passwords but some require 8 letters; some of which must be:† 1 capital, 2 numbers and a partridge in a pear tree!

This has been so frustrating and I still don’t have it back exactly like I want.† You get used to things a certain way and then…they are all out of whack.

But I am sure I will get used to it, at least I am reconnected to MY world.

HomeSchool Girls

TGIF…

Great Day to Be Alive!

Happy Birthday To Me!!!!

I Could….

Sundays…

Beautiful Saturdays…

Brrr It’s Cold INSIDE!!!

Earth Day 2009

Field Day, Puppet Shows, Jump Rope, Play Days and Easter oh my…..

Back to the Stone Ages…

A Mother, a Daughter and a Dog….