Krazy Kuehner Days: Homeschool Mother's Journal

In my life this week....

It has been a whirlwind. I said yes to way too many things. Sunday we had the fair parade, Monday I had 4H Booth Patrol at the fair, Tuesday I actually took the girls to check things out and see Dorothy's red shoes, Wednesday I volunteered to sell popcorn and hot dogs for Special Olympics at the fair and by Thursday the house was a wreck and I was exhausted!!! So I spent Thursday night cleaning the house and that carried into Friday after we dropped Joey off at the airport. We had some friends from our homeschool group over the play then this afternoon. I can officially say....beyond a Shadow of a doubt....I am exhausted!!! But it's not over....the kids and I are selling concessions at tomorrow's softball game.

I am working on our upcoming trip to Philadelphia, Nashville, and St. Louis. We are making plans for all that we will be seeing on our trips to Philly and St. Louis. Nashville we are getting very used too!! But we love it there!!! We are going to take next week off from school, and just work on our Revolutionary War reading. We are going to be going to so many wonderful places in Philly that I don't want to spend much time in the hotel doing "book" work....lol. Our time is pretty short there anyway. Only two days to explore!

Lots of packing to do and arrangements to still be made. I finished hemming the girls new pjs. I have been doing a lot of online garage sale shopping. The girls have lots of "new" clothes. But Caty needs everything hemmed. I also have 2 Hello Kitty dresses to make them. Got them almost done except for the straps. Had enough material to make them each one for their AG dolls.

At med checks this week, we were advised to try Joey on a gluten free diet. It could be causing possible manicky behavior....so we took him gluten free. Spent a ton buying him some convenience snacks because there are times when I just need those. But he loves the gf/df mac and cheese I found at Kroger in the freezer section. Lydia tried it tonight and really likes it too. So we may be buying that more....it is pretty tasty though...lol.

In our homeschool this week....

We started really reading more in depth about the Revolutionary War. This week we talked about the colonies and started practicing the names of the original 13 and watching the Liberty Kids series. Actually this is our 2nd week watching it. The kids really like it!!! We have been using this for our morning break time. They get a half hour of Liberty Kids and a snack at 10 am. And it's something they look forward too.

Lydia finished up her Bird unit study. Today we topped off our unit study by dissecting owl pellets and reading the book on Owls by Gail Gibbons (one of my favorite children's authors!!!). The boys gagged at the thought of tearing apart the pellets, but not the girls. They started ripping into them.

Joey finished his Time 4 Writing Grammar course this week. He did wonderful. He can verbally answer all the questions, he did wonderful. He'll be starting Rod and Staff Grammar after our week off. Brayden is on his second week of Rod and Staff Grammar and really likes it. He finished his Penguins unit, and will be starting a new selection when we start back to school while in Nashville.

All the kids are being reminded about how much work kittens can be. Although....I seem to be doing most of the work. But Brayden is continuing his Purrfect Pals 4H project pack. This week he learned about combing cats and that you should brush their teeth weekly. But they are enjoying snuggling with the kittens.

Caty worked on the Letter P and we finished our Pond theme this week.

What I am cooking....

Not a whole lot this week. Since I have been gone so much, the kids had pizza both from the shop downtown and frozen pizza from Kroger. With Joey going gluten free, on top of dairy free, I have been watching things a lot closer. I have been kicking around putting him on a gluten free diet for a couple weeks. I have noticed tummy troubles, and think it may help him. As for his manicky behaviors....I highly suspect the meds that were introduced in June and gradually raised and in the last 3 weeks he was at a higher dose.

But anyway, I took a box of his GF Enviro Kids cereal that is similar to CocoKrispies and mixed it with melted Enjoy life Choco Chips. I melted them with a bit of coconut oil and honey to make them smooth. I also added some pecan chips. Set it in the fridge to harden....it was like eating a Nestle Crunch Bar!!! Super yummy!!! Too bad Joey doesn't like sweet treats like that. But I enjoyed it and so did the girls.

What I am reading....

Again...nothing new. I am hoping to read a book next week....we'll wait and see...lol.

Places we went and people we saw....

We saw lots of the fair this week....I wouldn't let them ride any of the rides though. I told them we should keep it country fair style. Just like in the 1800s...before amusement rides. Food, farm goods and friends. We went to gymnastics....and of course we saw our friends today....that was fun!!!

Our week in pictures......

Caty and I learned about ponds this week....Here she is working on a mosaic frog.

She used tissue paper pieces, and added beans. When all was dry, we added decoupage glue to give it a glassy look.

Lydia is in Cloverbuds, this was one of her projects with her group.

Joey's photo project in the corner of the fair booth.

The girls and I went and looked at all the veggie entries.
Lydia and her cousin Bryce by the squash.

The girls by the prize pumpkin.

One of our favorite rabbits....

Checking out the goats.

And sheep.

And Dorothy's red shoes. We thought they might have been real, but they were not from the movie. But a local high school production. I was a bit disappointed because it took a lot for me to rearrange to go that day, just to see the shoes. But Lydia loved it anyway!

The new kittens came to live with us last Saturday. They love using the girls castle as a climbing toy.

Caty playing Teach your Monster to Read.

Joey and I are working on the 4H First Aid curriculum. This week we figured how much blood he had...and this is the amount.

Lydia was upset she didn't get to make a turtle...oversight on my part planning. So I included her in making a flowerpot frog.

Lydia and I finished up our study of birds this week...We finished the unit by dissecting owl pellets.

Found several mouse bones and a mouse skull.

Daddy has to be in Arizona for the weekend, so the kids and I are chilling tonight. They heard the ice cream truck, but I preferred to just run them down to our little dairy bar. So we went down and got a treat. Then started watching The Secret World of Arrietty.