Post-Op

Hello Readers!  I wanted to just quickly post to let you know that S's oral surgery went well today.  She has a lot of discomfort and pain afterwards, but she's been a real trooper today.  I'm so impressed with her.  She's doing a good job resting up per doctor's orders.

Some Updates & Stuff

First of all, I have to share with you a cute homeschooling story because I've waited two days for an opportunity to blog it and finally, here I am.

For our 7-year-olds, who are just in the beginnings of learning to read, we do a "Word of the Day" most days.  These are service/sight words that come from the Dolch word lists.  The other day, our word was: at.

When we introduce the word of the day, I try to get them to sound it out (some of them are hard to sound out like "the" and are better memorized) and then we play a rhyming game with the word before having them each create a complete sentence (verbally) using the word.

So on the at-day, they listed off some obvious rhyming words: hat, mat, cat, rat... and then I gave them some clues for a few more.

First Win

Just wanted to give a shout out to our son, H, and his flag-football team.  They had their first win of the season and what an exciting game it was!!  They were looking great and really working together as a team.  It was so fun to be a spectator.

This is only game three, so there is a lot of season left to play.  I continue to hope and pray the team does well and stays safe out there on the field.

Z has been helping at practice and he and the coach's son cracked heads the other day and unfortunately, while Z walked away with a gash on his eyelid, the other boy had a mild concussion.  So who says flag-football isn't dangerous?!  I'm praying for fast healing for the other kid; the team needs him back out there!

Go Team!!

Scheduled P.T.

Still in a good amount of pain (if any amount is "good"), but I scheduled my first Physical Therapy appointment.  They can't see me until April 12th.  I was really sort of hoping by that point, my back wouldn't need their help!!  I can hardly imagine having this pain pretty much continually till then.

Thanks to God for Tylenol.  That's all I have to rely on right now -- that and Him.  Some muscle relaxers for night time, too, I guess.  But they're not helping me at all during the day.  That's when I need my back most.

Prayers for healing are appreciated mucho.

Wacky Wednesday

Z and I got up early to get him down to the orthodontist appointment this morning.  As we turned out of our street onto the main road through our neighborhood, Z suddenly said, "I don't remember the last time I stepped in gum."

I asked, "What made you think about that?"

He said, "My shoes."

Healthier Options: Denny's and IHOP

I have never been a big Denny's or IHOP fan, except that here (and maybe everywhere), they feature Kids Eat Free times or days and the kids like those places, so we do find ourselves there from time to time.  In the past week, we found ourselves at each place once.

Kiss of Silence

For the first time in a long time, between shuttling kids around to various activities today, C and I found ourselves in our home by ourselves for a brief moment.  It was strange and wonderful all at once.  We shared a single kiss to commemorate the moment.

Tooth-y

Just putting a little request out there for prayers for two of our kids who have some teeth stuff coming up this month.

Field Trip: Petroglyph National Monument

Sunday afternoon, the weather was just so perfect (sunny, high-50s and no wind), I was desperate to get outside and do something new and fun.  C had a whole plan to do some baking (bagels and banana muffins), so I offered to take some of the kids (who wanted to go) to burn some energy so he could focus on the baking.  Three of our kids went (S, Z and J) and our three oldest nieces came along.  The seven of us (including me) visited the Petroglyph National Monument right here in Albuquerque for the first time.

High School Homeschool Help

I'm always searching for ways to better educate our kids -- new books, new materials, new techniques, new resources and most of all, new, inexpensive ways to make what we do even more exciting for them.

Saturday Morning

Oh, how I love Saturday mornings.

All the running around during the week makes me savor the quiet in our house early on Saturdays even more.  Bliss!

The kids are still asleep.  My tired, hard-working husband is still asleep.  Even our dog is still asleep.  All that I can hear right now is the hum of the computer and the clickity-clack of my fingers on the keyboard.

As I pause to inhale the sweetness of this moment, even my fingers grow quiet........

The silence is short-lived though.  I hear my husband walking towards the bathroom overhead, which means others will, too, be waking soon.

Oh, but those few moments of quiet were like a piece of heaven!

On the Run

Busy days this week!  Lots of running.  For example...

Monday:

• Went to the glasses store to get boys' glasses adjusted.
• Went to the gas station to donate an arm and a leg in trade for fuel.
• Went to the bank and set up bank accounts for all the kids (finally).
• Went to Staples to get more toner for my printer.
• Went to three stores till we found work boots for S.

Giraffe Stuff

Yes, I love giraffe stuff.  I used to say I wanted a pet giraffe.  Now, I can hardly keep up with the kids and there aren't enough trees in NM to keep a giraffe satisfied.  So I don't think so.  But I do like visiting them at the zoo.

Anyway, most people who know me well, know that I've been collecting giraffe stuff for most of my life.  Sadly, since we arrived in NM, I have not been able to display my collection for lack of a good space to set it up in our home here.  But I still acquire a giraffe or two per year that get added to the closet full of boxes storing the ones I have -- waiting for that glorious day when they can be displayed in all their spotted splendor.

One such person (who knows about my love for giraffes) sent me this link and I had to share it here because these are so fun!!  I want these for my collection.  Ha!  Check them out.

Breakfast Note

Good morning.  I just finished my breakfast and I was so deeply satisfied with it that I was compelled to write about it no matter how many grimaces this post might yield.

Post Office Faux Pas

Oh my, dear Post Office:  After doing a nice complimentary write-up about you during the holidays, this is how you repay me?