Halloween!!

Halloween is one of my boys' favorite "holidays". I don't know where they get it from, but my guess is that their love for candy is inherited.

We started the festivities with pumpkin decorating. Elijah is grossed out by many things, among which are pumpkin guts, so this year he opted out of carving a pumpkin and simply painted his pumpkin. He had his pumpkin painted to his liking before I even had my camera out.

My goof-ball and his pumpkin.

Tove is much more deliberate and takes his time. For him, the process is enjoyable.

Tove designing his pumpkin.

Dad helped with the carving.
No day is quite complete without using a drill.

Tove added the details with paint.

Cris painted his pumpkin Minecraft style. He broke out into giggles of enthusiasm several times while he was painting it.

Minecraft pumpkin.

I cleaned the seeds from Toviel's pumpkin and then we roasted them and ate them all. Delicious!

Nom! Nom!

Before we went Trick-or-Treating, we watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" and had an appetizer of "Scaries". This cracked us up when we saw them at the store, so we got one pack to share.

Scaries!!!

It was a very cold evening. I sort of wanted to take the boys Trick-or-Treating because I love to walk, but I sort of didn't want to take them because it was so cold and there is a lot of just standing around when you are going door-to-door. So I was a bit disappointed and a bit relieved when Cris said he would take them.
They were gone longer than I expected and came back to drop Toviel off. Then Cris and Elijah went out for Round Two, while Toviel and I sorted through and drooled over his candy.
Upon their return Elijah sorted through his candy and picked the candy he was keeping and the candy he was giving to the Sugar Sprites. We ended up with a huge bowl of candy to give to the Sugar Sprites.

Do you know the legend of the Sugar Sprites? In a nutshell, the Sugar Sprites are itty-bitty sprites who live in gardens and feed off the nectar of flowers. In the fall and winter, their food supply runs out and sometimes they do not make it through the winter. But many years ago they heard about how human children collect huge amounts of candy the eve before All Saints Day, so they started to come to the homes of children early in the morning on All Saints Day in search of leftover or discarded candy. They would often find enough sugar to see them through the winter. Now, many children leave bowls or bags of candies out for the Sugar Sprites to take. In return, the Sugar Sprites bring them little tokens of their thankfulness for the provisions they receive from these generous children.
Our boys take part in this custom, and leave a big bowl of candy with a note for the Sugar Sprites.
This year, Toviel wrote the note:

We left a huge bowl of candies for them:

 In return the Sugar Sprites left them each a couple of Transformer toys and $5 each!! They are so sweet!

Gifts from the Sugar Sprites!

Sadly, though, even though the note from the Sugar Sprites states that the candy will last them the whole winter, the reality is that it will probably only last a week or two and probably get eaten by just one Sugar Sprite.

I May Have Gotten A Speeding Ticket Today - But I Don't Care

Today was supposed to be different. Or maybe it wasn't. Either way, I was expecting it to be different.

Cris was going to stay home because the wind was so strong (it blew over a stop sign in front of his eyes!) that he was unable to accomplish the task he had set up for the day, and there was no other work on the table. Then, he found some work to go do alone. He usually does when there is nothing to do. So he was going to work for a few hours and come home early. Boo-yah!! We were looking forward to him being home for part of the day!

Everything was going along smoothly, when a phone call interrupted it all. First, I assure you (SPOILER ALERT!) that everyone is okay. No one is dead, or near death, or unconcious anymore.

Back to the story. Cris phones me. His voice is a little shakey. He says, "I need you to do me a favor. I need you to gather up the boys very quickly and come and get me. I need your help. I drilled a hole in my hand. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa......." His voice trailed off with this very weak groan. I hung up the phone, and, I must admit, for the first time, I experienced helpful adrenaline. Normally, if I get an adrenaline rush it leaves me feeling shakey and weak, which seems so contradictory to it's intended purpose. But perhaps that happens when there is a threat, followed by an immediate remedy of the situation - like a coyote darting in front of the car, narrowly missing connecting with the bumper, and then speeding off back into the bush.

I started barking out orders to the boys. "Get your shoes on. Straight to the car. Daddy's hurt." If I didn't know my boys, I'd think they had been trained by military. They were very quick, very calm, very serious, but not in a freaking out sort of way. We were screaching out of the driveway in the same minute that Cris had called. I had a clear head. I didn't forget my keys (obviously...because I was driving the car), I didn't forget my wallet or my bag...I had it all together. The 3 of us worked together like an efficient, effortless machine.

I had this great idea to put on my hazard lights as I was speeding through traffic, weaving in and out, driving 120 km/hr through the city. I don't even do 120 km/hr on the highway! With the wind, the car sounded like it was going to break apart. But I didn't care. Some people were kind enough to move out of the way for me, and for that I am very thankful. Then I started to feel like I was going to break down. I started envisioning him, laying in the parking lot, with a pool of blood all around him and chunks of flesh on the ground, in immense pain. I had hoped he called 9-1-1. I asked the boys to pray for him. I started praying "Please send someone to help him. Please send someone to help him. Please send someone to help him. Please send someone to help him." I realized I was shouting this out over and over, but I could not stop even though I tried. Okay...so maybe I was overreacting. But if you've ever seen "Slumber Party Massacre", you KNOW how much damage a drill can do!!!

We arrived to the site in record time. Now what? Where was he? I went inside the building, and all I saw was a large staircase going up, and a large staircase going down. I started cursing whoever designed this building so poorly. Where is reception. It should be right THERE, where the stairs were. Stupid design. I take my curse back now though. I ran back outside and saw the top of Cris' truck. As I was sprinting towards it, he got out of the front seat. My eyes searched for a bandaged hand. I was shaking, but so relieved to see him walking and not screaming in pain.
Then I found out he had drilled a hole through his index finger, not his palm, like I was envisioning. The drill went in and almost through to the other side. I was shaking, and Cris held me, trying to calm me down. That's backwards. Isn't that funny how it usually works that way, though?

We didn't even end up going to emergency at the hospital. The drill bit was narrow, he did not want stitches. He just needed me to come get him because he was going into shock.
What had happened was that he drilled a hole through his finger and immediately stopped and put pressure on it. He knew he couldn't keep working, so he started packing up his tools. He was taking them out to his truck when he started to feel nauseous. He didn't think he could drive. So he called to ask me to come pick him up. His thinking was that he needed to get some antibiotics and start on them right away. And that was it. But he couldn't explain that to me on the phone, because while he was talking to me, he passed out!! His injuries from passing out are almost more bothersome than the hole made by the drill. He banged his head and nose on rock or concrete, leaving him with a massive headache and probably a contusion. When he woke up, he was confused and then remembered what had happened and tried to call me again. Our home call display tells me there was 5 minutes between phone calls.

Anyways, it turns out that God did send someone to help him. It was me. And he was okay. He is on antibiotics, still recovering from some shock, but he isn't complaining about any pain. And to be frank, I'm not going to ask him again because he is REALLY annoyed with me asking him "Are you okay?" Okay...I can't promise I'm not going to ask him again, but I'm trying really hard not to.

A few hours later he was at home resting, when he got a call from one of our tenants because there was water leaking from the kitchen ceiling. Awesome. (That's a sarcastic one.) I tried to go with him, but he insisted I only drive him back to his truck and then go back home. The boys were supposed to go to their club this evening, so I was going to take them. We didn't go because on the way back home I realized how stressed I was when a minivan cut me off and I started to cry. So I decided not to stress out about getting the boys to their club, especially because they would have to arrive late. Anyways, Cris ended up fixing the leak in one evening, still in slight shock from earlier in the day, and just has to go back to do ceiling / drywall repair, which is really not important in this story.

I can still feel the elevated cortisol in my blood. I'm sure my arteries got a little harder today...

And right now, my boys are playing a game on the iPad together. One is dressed in cozy long-sleeved pj's with long bottoms and socks, and the other one is totally naked except for his eyeglasses. And Cris is smiling. I'm so glad he's smiling.

Breakfast of Champions

This weeks breakfasts have been rather weird.

Typically, I include my kids in the decision-making process of meals and snacks. This is just a fancy of way of saying that I always say, "What do you want to eat?" to my kids whenever they say they are hungry.
Elijah is a little weird when it comes to food. (I wonder if it's genetic?)

This week, he chose some unconventional breakfasts:

Potstickers and basmati rice

Sweet and sour chicken and basmati rice

Breaded wild Alaskan Polluck

He also had several dozen prawns for breakfast one day last week.
I know it's better than him eating the processed crap that I love to eat (cereal, Eggos, toast topped with copious amounts of cinnamon and sugar), but it sure is a lot more work!

Pro-D Day!!

I gave us a Pro-D Day today!

I took the boys to Miquelon Lake Provincial Park and we ended up at the Day Use area at the lake. And we were the only ones there....we had a huge playground and an entire beach to ourselves.

This is how I spent the majority of my day:

The boys got to play on a massive playground and beach, and I got to read some of a book I am finding very helpful in shaping my ideas and educational philosophy. It's called "Your Child's Strengths" written by Jennifer Fox, and I recommend that every parent read this book whether you homeschool or not. I am only a quarter of the way through the book, but so far it has put into words exactly how I feel about education and childhood but have been unable to express and thus unable to put into practice. I picked up this book at The Salvation Army Thrift Store of all places (one of my favorite places to shop).

Here's to professional development! It was the perfect day for it.

Experiments & Experiences

I love asking my kids "what do you think will happen" questions. I am usually met with, "Um...maybe it will EXPLODE!" or "I think it will catch on FIRE!"

Anyways, we are learning about acids and bases with the good ol' red cabbage indicator. This experiment was a big hit.

We started with our liquids and identified which ones were sour and which ones were not by tasting all of them (and Oh My Goodness - I had no idea that alka seltzer was sooooo bitter and disgusting)....

...and added red cabbage juice...

...and observed the changes!

They both identified the acids, the bases and the neutrals.

We also observed chemical changes at the end of the formal experiment, when acids and bases were mixed together, and to the delight of my children, there was an EXPLOSION of bubbles.

We went through two entire boxes of baking soda, about a litre of lemon juice, and probably 2 litres of vinegar. It took a long time for them to tire of this one, even though we've done this a zillion times! Something about the added color made it so much more cool!

On another note, we went to HLSA's (Home-based Learning Society of Alberta) "Not Back To School Picnic" at a park. I don't know why, but I was fully expecting to be welcomed with warmth and to meet several other moms and their 8 and 6 year old boys. That didn't happen, but I did meet another mom, who was equally as overwhelmed as I, and we hit it off pretty well. And wouldn't you know it - she is an ex-pastor's wife (not an ex-wife...but her husband is an ex-pastor, just like mine) and their story and experience is identical to ours. IDENTICAL. I should start a support group, because this is, like, the 4th or 5th family we've randomly met with the same experience. And yet, I'm the only one who seems to be bitter. Just like that alka seltzer. Bleah.

Chem 001

Well, since it's September I guess it's time to get back into the swing of things.

I have quit my dayhome and am pleased to say that now I get to focus on my own kids and be a "real" homeschooling family!!
It was such a hard decision to close my dayhome, but since doing so I have felt less irritable and more patient with my own kids, something that has been lacking for a few years. Although I miss my dayhome kids dearly, I know it was the right decision for my boys, for my husband and for my own health.

So....here we are.


Our schedule is so full and yet I feel as though it has too many gaps.
We are working on History (now we are done the ancient world and are excitedly moving on to the Middle Ages), Science, Math, Phonics, Grammar, Writing, Penmanship, Reading, Art Study, and Vocabulary (learning Greek and Latin roots).
I still need to add in Spelling and Nature Study, and I also am looking for ways to introduce something Music-y. I taught Toviel a bit about playing the keyboard - the correct fingering and the finger numbers, as well as how to find C and Middle C. He is keen on learning how to play the piano but I know I have to keep it relaxed. Elijah isn't keen on doing anything except playing strategic games. I swear he could play games and create strategies all day, every day, for the rest of his life.

I have been lucky enough to find that both Elijah and Toviel love science, probably because it's so hands-on and, well....science is fascinating!!! We started at the beginning...with atoms and molecules.

We used mini marshmallows and toothpicks to create models of molecules:

Tove, building a molecule with no rules.

Elijah built a molecule with no rules, and another one with rules (ie: it can attach to X number of other molecules) then  he diagrammed it.

Then, once they were done, they ate their molecules - one atom at a time. Yum! Who knew molecular chemistry was so delish?!?!

And when we finished up our lesson, I enjoyed some ice cream molecules!

It's All Greek to Me

Hmmm....

I sort of forgot that I had a blog the past couple of months! But then I remembered again....

We have been studying the Ancients lately and we are currently learning about the Greeks. My sons know more about the Ancient Greek gods than I do. This is, in part, because they recall the information I teach them better than I do, and Elijah is reading some things on his own - behind my back - without me knowing. How dare he!

The other day I dressed them up in old Greek clothing. Okay, so it wasn't actually old Greek clothing. It was pillowcases, t-shirts, and scraps of fabric.

Here Elijah is acting all philosophical and thoughtful, since that what the Greeks did - right? They thought and discussed things a lot! Toviel is showing me how angry he is that I told him to act all "thinky". Apparently he is at that stage where he "doesn't want to be told what to do." I totally understand him, because I am also at that stage.

Then - the fighting began...

Cris made them armor out of cardboard (and this isn't even half of the stuff he made them). This is what happens when work is slow and the man of the house can't stand to not be fixing something or creating something. We are fairly certain that the Ancient Greeks did not use axes, but this is a throwback from some other ancient civilization that we have already studied (can't remember which as they all seem to blend in a little) and the boys really think axes are cool.
At least they are wearing head protection.


Then I made them do their school work on "wax" tablets, like the Ancient Greeks:

Although it's not actually wax. If you must know, it's shortening that had been sitting in the fridge. It's the best I could do.

They tell me their favorite subject is history, which is amazing because it was the most dry and boring thing for me in school. Thank God for a curriculum to guide me.

I think I hear the clashing of cardboard axes on cardboard sheilds, along with Zeus' thunderbolt and something about a golden apple. And it is sounding like an intervention of a parental unit is needed. Duty calls....