Thursday, January 12, 2012

Snow and Math...not a match made in heaven

Today it snowed all day and I loved it!  I had no where to go, no where to go tomorrow either, so let it snow! It was also the first time in a long time that I wasn't immediately faced with the thoughts of "Are there going to be a snow delay or school closing? If so, who will watch the kids? Do I need to juggle someone to watch the kiddo?"  I love that I did not have to juggle or worry about that. I know I can be home if they have a delay or a closing! Yay for being a stay-at-home Mom, even if it seems I'm never home. :)  K did pray at the supper table for a snow delay or closing.

Now on the other hand, Math...the current thorn in my side!  Mr. J has always been good at math, always loved it. He is still good at math, but for some reason he has decided he doesn't want to do math without being so slow!  I let him get behind before Christmas, my major mistake.  Now he has 6 lessons he needs to do before tomorrow night to be on schedule. He's on schedule with everything else!  He gets no TV, no Wii, no playing with the neighbor kids, nothing until his Math is caught up....and it's still like pulling teeth to get him to work on his math.

UGH! Friday is a light homeschool day for us. The schedule is built that way, which I appreciate. So tomorrow is going to be very heavy on Math...and hopefully by the end of the day, he will be caught up.  If not, I might just have to buy a wig because I will have pulled my hair out!!!

Monday, January 9, 2012

A New Week...

Today was the first real day we did homeschooling since the holidays.  Big sister went back to school last Thursday and we used those days to finish up some stuff we didn't finish before the holidays, so today we started our new week.  With the new week, Teacher Mom decided to try a few things new as well...

1) We started with a "task list" for the homeschooling day.  I have a schedule I use that came with the materials, that's what keeps us "on schedule", but I have seen that J loves to check off lists. He gets that from his mommy! So together we created a list, and then he decided the order in which we checked the items off.  He knows he can not play until his list is checked off.

2) I added 15 minutes of independent reading to the schedule.  Now this was the best part of the day! Mr. I-Hate-Independent-Reading sit down on the couch with his book, I set a timer, and the timer went off and he kept reading.  He was actively reading, not playing, not goofing off, so I turned the timer off and just let him read.  He read for 30 minutes!  He said he liked the book and is already planning to read it again "at bedtime".  Hopefully, I can get him to enjoy reading! If I achieve that, this entire year will be well spent.  Not that it's not well spent just from spending the time with him.

So, we'll see how he does the rest of the week with these 2 new features to our homeschooling day.

As for me, I weighed myself today, while I refuse to publish numbers...I set the first goal on 12-31 and not only had met it today but had passed it.  I refuse to weigh myself too often, so today was the first time I had checked it since then.  So I have set a new goal, and once I make that one, will set another one, and so on with my weight.

I have also finished 4 books...I kinda knew the goal of reading 52 books in 2012 would be way too easy for me if I started reading again, but I set it because I wasn't reading at all, so this would get me going again.  Hubby and I also had a coupons/shopping trip late Friday night, and we saved over $80 with our coupons.  I have to keep myself in check here, because I can easily see myself turning OCD with the coupons.  But I will say, J made us all laugh Saturday night when David was looking for something in the freezer and I said "oh we are out", and J pipes up with "But we have a coupon for them!".  *smiles*  He has became my little helper, cutting out coupons almost every evening as he watches TV.

Unfortunately, my desk is starting to look like..."my desk" again.  It's NO WHERE near the mess it was, but I can see piles starting to creep back so I will be putting an end to that today!  Otherwise, the office is still not organized/cleaned/sorted/decluttered.  Joy is suppose to come tomorrow so hopefully we will knock that out.  

On other notes...I have to add this in, because it is INSANE!  For some reason, K and I got onto watching "Dance Moms". If you haven't seen this show, I'm not sure if I should say "check it out" or "RUN when it comes on"...it's like a train wreck!  You continue watching not because it's good or you want to see what happens next, but because the parenting is so terrible that you keep watching.  The moms who push their children to compete in these dance competitions...OMG they need the 2X4 attitude adjustment! There is at least one girl who is going to end up with a serious injury! The doctor was on camera telling Mom she shouldn't compete that weekend....and yet there she was!  I swear TV shows like this and "SuperNanny" makes me think you should have to take a test or something to become a parent.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

E-100 Challenge - Thoughts on today's reading

So let's see, this year I have finished 2 books already.  But I must say I need to find a better time to read than 1-4am, because I'm seriously lacking sleep these days.  But I can't help it, the authors grab my attention and won't let go!  Someday I hope I can write and someone will say that about my work, but then that would require me to get my novel ideas out of my head and onto "paper". 

I also accepted the E-100 Challenge that our church is doing.  This is reading the essential 100 Bible passages as determined and outlined by someone.  I'm not sure who, but it's a program our church found and are doing together. Last year, they did the 15 for 15, which was suppose to be 15 minutes of reading the bible every day for 15 weeks, and read through the entire bible.  Unfortunately, some days took more than 15 minutes and it was an every day thing and I guess I'm just not necessarily good at an "everyday" thing.  The E-100 is designed to read 5 days a week, so I'm going to attempt to commit to that.  It's good to be back in the bible. I found with my life, I have an easy time praying, easy time talking to the kids about biblical topics as they come up with them, and I have always been willing to discuss biblical topics with friends or even strangers if they initiate the topic, but I find I have a hard time just sitting down with a bible and reading most times. I try to follow along in the bible during Sunday worships, but to just pick up the bible and read...not so much. 

So today, I read about Adam & Eve eating of the forbidden food. Did you notice how fast Adam was to pass the blame? Seriously, the first words out of his mouth is "it's her fault". Then next is Eve "the snake made me do it".  I guess that proves that it's not a learned behavior but ingrained human behavior to blame someone else. Why can't people just accept responsibility for their actions and not immediately have to blame someone else? Is it so hard to say "hey I screwed up. I'm sorry. Can we talk about this and figure out a way to fix it?" Wouldn't that make for a better society?  Oh don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I haven't blamed others or passed the buck in my life. We all have...after all, it's inherited from Adam/Eve as our human nature.  But I'm left wondering, how would the bible and the history of our world be different had Adam and Eve said "Yes, Father, I disobeyed your rules." Or better yet, what would it be like had Eve stood up to the snake and said "God said we can eat and enjoy EVERYTHING else in the garden, why would I risk that just for one bite of a fruit that might taste nasty?"

Hmmm that thought sends my mind off in so many different directions...don't husbands and wives make that choice? I can talk with a co-worker, have lunch in the break room at the same table, but why risk a good thing in my marriage to cross a line?  A child just getting to the age of independence...I can tell my mom/dad I'm going to a friend's house and instead go to that party they told me I wasn't allowed to go, but why risk the trust they have in me now?  A person handling money or supplies at work...I can ring it in that the distracted mom with the screaming toddler gave me a $10 instead of a $20 and pocket the other $10. She's so distracted she would never notice (been there!), but why risk the job I have for an extra $10?

Hmmm, food for thought...What risks am I talking with my life and choices and is it worth the price?