Getting the manners down pat, now let's work on that tact

#2 is having a hard birthday week. He received his gift a few weeks ago (a target for shooting his .22) when Dan came out to shoot. On Monday his birthday came with a special dinner but not special enough. He really wanted real mashed potatoes and I was dead-dog tired and he got instant. And he had to make his dessert. I had all the ingredients but he had to put them together. Essentially, it was really anti-climatic.

We have all had those kind of birthdays. Haven't we? Maybe it was too early for him.

He just got a card from Grammie. It contained a check. The policy in the house is before you spend the moolah, write the thank you note. (To my mother and sister-I am trying to do better-trying.) The card arrived, the note was written.

Apparently, he is a little bitter at his anti-climatic birthday.

The text of the note was something like this:

Dear Grammie,

Thank you for the birthday card and money.

It was the only birthday card I received this year and

it was three days late.

ouch.

sorry mom.

I pulled him aside and told him he was being disrespectful. He should be thankful he was remembered at all.

and I called Grandma to remind her to call him for his birthday.

(Grammie is my mom-Grandma is DH's mom.)

UPDATE: Yesterday, #2 ran this out to the mailbox and everything. He was not budging. This morning I heard the door slam and see a winded #2. He ran out to the mailbox to retrieve his letter. He is rewriting it.

WOOOHOOOO!

It is box day!

Our new Sonlight curriculum arrived today!

2 cores equals lots of new books!

Yeahhh!

You Know It Is Going to be One of Those Days when...

your dear husband asks the 4 year old (while you are making breakfast and getting ready for scripture study): Please put the stool away.

Her response: I don't listen to boys.

Free is good

Today I was given 2 panels of a sliding glass door. We made 2 cold frames for the kitchen garden this afternoon. The big boys were assigned the task, told to get out the power tools, and given the advice of "measure twice, cut once."

#1 ignored the counsel of his mother. He had to re-do his cold frame. He growled the whole afternoon because of the injustice of life in having to do a job correctly.

#2 did his just fine. He measured twice and cut once.

The cold frames aren't in their final place yet. We will do that tomorrow. We were losing our light and we want to evaluate how to tilt the boxes about 10 degrees for more solar gain.

I planted the garlic today and got the hoops up on the kitchen garden for winter/early spring gardening. I have to buy the plastic for the hoops tomorrow.

One day....

One day my elder sons will remember the fact that their younger siblings are just as smart as they are and therefore are just as precocious and curious as they are (were).

One day my elder sons will remember to put away their school supplies.

One day my elder sons will remember to put away their electronic games and equipment.

Until that day comes they will continue to find their Rock Band 2 drumsticks sharpened by their younger sister with their own pencil sharpener.

One day will eventually come. Right?

Let the whining begin....

Can you hear it? I sure do!

Full school started again today. It is 3:05 and now chores are being started. #1 mentioned last week (or the week before) that he might want to go to high school. I am not sure about him going because of his huge lapses in judgement but I told him if he wanted to go we would pray about it and we have to get ready. He is ahead in most subjects except writing. He is doing a lot of writing from now on. Do you hear the whining? ah, the complaining is just phenomenal.

I researching and trying to add organizational skills and study skills to their curriculum too.

Now they are doing:
Sonlight history
EIW writing
Teaching Textbooks math (Algebra 1)
Wordly Wise
Copywork
US History (NCCS)(starting next week)
Occupational Therapies (auditory processing)
Art (starts tomorrow!)
Scripture study
Fix-It (grammar)

thinking about adding in geography, and it is thin in science for now. They keep reading all the science books I buy so I guess I will have to hide the next batch when they come. (I know that may not make sense but these kids read things then I hear "Mom! I already read all of this. I know all of this." Try teaching an outlined course to hear that everyday. And when I quiz them, they do know all of it. sheesh.)

Day 4 of the Flu

on Friday (Halloween Eve) all 6 of them were flat d.o.w.n. on the couches. All the energy they had was for watching TV. Needless to say Halloween was cancelled this year. I wasn't too terribly sad about that. And I must say, it was incredibly unusual to have all 6 of them in one room together and no one was arguing. I really did enjoy that day. I am not happy they were sick but at least no one had energy to argue.

DH, #2, #3, #5, #6 are still running fevers. #1 returned to seminary this morning to find that out of 19 kids in his class only 8 were there-all the others were out sick. We did do a full day of school yesterday to much whining, complaining and they finally won with their piles of used kleenex piled high on their desks. But really the real clincher of cancelling school today was #6. She is a Klingon. It is darn near impossible teaching grammar with someone climbing on you whining, "Mommmmmyyyyyy. Juice. Mommmmyyy. cough. cough"

Just math, reading and writing today. There are lots of educational videos are around we can watch (I raided the library on Saturday.) Other schools cancel when more than 50% of the students are sick, right?

Another note-those of you that have gotten this illness, I was talking with Nona over the weekend and Jon's doc says the cough for this one lasts 5-6 weeks. Doesn't that just make your day? (dripping with sarcasm)