The Week Goes On!

Last night we had dinner and Uncle Matt's house. He is quite the good cook. I told him that had I known how well he can cook, he would have had the opportunity a LOT more when he was growing up in my house! He rolled his eyes! Another thing he is good at!

But, we brought Jomo home with us. Today we are going out to the Air Force Base for an air show. Grandpa has only been to one other, and as far as I can recall, the same is true for me. And mine was not a military show. Should be quite interesting.

I have been planting like crazy. The front yard dons pansies and marigolds in pots as well as the in-ground things of previous years. The daisies are still blooming happily and the roses are all budding in spite of my late pruning. My garden in the back is now sporting well-established tomatoes, a hearty and healthy-looking strawberry plant with green berries on it, a beginning summer squash plant, two seedlings of zucchini, two or three sprouts of peas, some teeny blades of lettuce and cucumbers, and a I think, possibly, a carrot sprout. I am still planting okra and some more berries this weekend. I finally got some big pots. Our ground garden area is very over-grown with weeds and in spite of our treatments and pulling efforts, they remain the victor. Thus, we have resulted to our raised box garden and large pots. This worked well last year also. The squash, cucmbers, and beans (oh, yes, those are sprouting too!) can climb up trellises attached to the side of the box, which is quite large...about 12 ft. by 8 ft or so. I can also put a trellis or a teepee type of support around the large pots as well. I may also send the strawberries up a wire.

Enough about my garden. I am going to a yard sale at my neighbor's house and then get ready for the air show. The pictures are of random crafts or events...just to show off my family and life! And I forgot to mention that Jomo went with us to Pioneeer Village, (another outing but not for homeschool, since he attend public school!) We went on Valentine's day, which happens to be the Statehood Day of Arizona, so we had a lot of characters and history...it was a great time! Ah, such vanity...

We've Been Everywhere!

Well, maybe not everywhere, but we have been touring the city a lot since I have blogged about anything significant. Part of the reason for the lack of blogging is that my computer had decided to take on some male characterisitics...like...having to be asked numerous times to boot up. Having to turn it off and on over and over to get its attention...having it pull up whatever it decided no matter what it was asked to do...failing to take "charge" when it was fully plugged in...etc...

Another reason for the decline of writing is that in spite of allergy injections and lots of meds, I have been struggling with extreme allergy reactions. I saw a NP who just loaded me with more meds...it is all I can do to focus on one task at a time. I am still debating as to which is worse..the allergies or the treatments.

In the meantime, on days when all such things were under control, we have been out exploring. Some of these occurred before my last blog and some after...but all within this year.

We went fishing with Uncle Matt. We all got up before dawn (quite an achievement for my boys) and greeted the fish. They were not very hungry that day, however, and it turned into more of a casting and reeling event. Jomo went also, and that in itself was quite a treat. We had a lot of fun.

Then we went to the Phoenix zoo and saw elephants, tigers, and bears...no..the bear was hybernating! Handomse rode a camel, though. Again,we had a blast!

The most recent trip was to the Arizona Science Center. I had not been there in quite a while and they had all kinds of exhibits I had not seen. They are very kid friendly and had lots of hand-on things to explore. And then we got to visit with some Phoenix Police officers on horseback in the historical area of downtown.

We are studying about gardens. Worms. Dirt. Plants. Today we shall transplant our bean and squash seedlings we nurtured into the big potted garden. Later we may add worms and possibly some ladybugs to the scene. Handsome loves squash and Baby Girl is the Queen of Beans, so that is part of why we selected those veggies. WE had a "mud day" to celebrate what we learned about dirt and soil and mud.

As you can see, my life is not uninteresting. It is challenging however. Trying to teach a first-grader, four-year-old preschooler, and a potty-training toddler at the same time lacks no amount of challenge!

Well, speaking of such, all three are up and at it...watching educational TV, but it is time for "regular" school!

I Must've Done Something Right!

Okay, I believe. There just HAS to be a fairy or angel of some sort with some angel dust of some kind...no, not drugs...real angels...that has or have transformed my grandsons into some wonderful little persons.

Now, don't get me wrong...they have always been wonderful...they're MY flesh and blood...but they have not always been good listeners nor "perfect" little angels. There have been days when I wondered why in the world I took on this challenge. Why did I leave my job with ADULTS and professionals to spend days changing diapers, chasing children, cleaning up messes, etc. WHY???

BUT, I must have done something right, to have my daughter ask me to care for her children, even rear them, so to speak. It IS an honor to be able to guide my grandchildren, to teach them and nurture them. It truly is. I cannot honestly say, though, that I have always thought I was the right person for the job...

And then the angel of mercy appeared...somewhere between last Monday and Tuesday...sometime where no one saw the magic...and what different boys I have! And just in time, because Baby Girl is almost fully-blown in the terrible twos!

We have a sticker chart to earn each day. Never before have the boys accomplished more than three days in a given week of earning all their stickers, yet they have soared to FOUR days this last week...

The angel may have partly been in the form of my sister who gave me great advice regarding homeschooling and attention/focus/distraction problems. It really works! She was a teacher for many years and a special ed teacher and resource specialist as well. Probably knows what she is talking about!

But, I think I must have done something right...in taking her advice...in raising (rearing) my own daughter...in loving my grandchildren...and in believing...

in the magic of love and respect, in God, in education, that all children can learn well, and perhaps, in that angel of mercy who flew in one day...and...

given the grace and space to be "children" and more emphatically "boys", made them truly "perfect".