Sister is TWO!

Sister, formerly known as Baby Girl has turned two! It happened almost two weeks ago. Somehow this has made a big change in her attitude. She KNOWS she is TWO! She is still my sweet Girlfriend, but there is an obvious change, in her nap habits, in her opinions, and her challenges. She is learning to use the "potty chair" as well. She knows that is HERS!

I have posted these blogs BACKWARDS in terms of chronological order. But at least I am getting caught up.

Anyway, I really just wanted to post some pictures of her party!!

Enjoy!

Backyard Campout!

Last weekend Grandpa Steve, my son Matt, TDH. Jomo, Handsome, Hunky, and H & H's dad camped out in our backyard. We have two pine trees, so the setting appeared authentic! Matt brought his portable fire pit and guitar, along with his tent, camp stove, lanterns, etc. Grandpa set up our tent, bbq, cooler for food, lounge chairs, etc. The rules were: 1.NO GIRLS! 2.You cannot go inside the house except to use the bathroom! 3.Have fun! They cooked outside...Friday night's dinner, Saturday's breakfast and lunch. They made s'mores in the firepit, counted stars, looked for bugs, and sang silly camp songs. They set up the "pool" for Saturday and played games as well as on the gym set. The let their hair down, so to speak, and their imaginations go wild!

It was a good male bonding time! They all want to know when they can do it again...including the adults! The only thing missing, according to Handsome, was fishing! Maybe next time...we have an urban fishing pond not far from here...

Meanwhile, Sister and I (not Baby Girl, any more, remember! She is TWO!) went out to eat and then to visit some of my friends in the nursing home where I used to work. The elder ladies really love to see little ones. She was so good and fascinated by their walkers and wheelchairs...and of course, the facility dog, Freckles! Mom had a day trip out of town for her work, but returned in the late evening. Sister had retired to bed, but I stayed up to try my had at WII games. I tried that test where they give you a WII age based on strength, stamina, etc. and I gained one year on my actual age! Yeah!

Then Mom, Sister, and I went out to breakfast (I stayed all night with them) and yard sale-ing...how much more girl-bonding could you get?

Butterflies and Bean Blossoms!

We have butterflies! It happened yesterday while we were away! Our chrysalises birthed their butterflies! Three at first, and then two last night! 100% success!
Handsome and I named them, Flappy (he likes to stretch his wings! Nappy (he appears sleepy and moves little), Zappy (he flits from one side to the other of the habitat), Pretty (he has the most color) and Witty (escaped at least once!) I said "he" for each one, because Handsome thinks they are. We did not get into any discussions about that yet...the company tries to send a variety, but no guarantees of gender! They do tell you what to do if they lay eggs while in the habitat!

This has been an exciting adventure. They came to us as fuzzy, bumpy little caterpillars and in just a day or two, moved up to the top of the container and hung upside down to become chrysalises. Only a bit more than a week and they are beautiful butterflies! They sat on my finger and Handsome's too. And one got out twice or two got out once...not sure! But they flew back unto my finger and then off into the habitat without further ado! I would like to release them by this weekend, but Handsome wants to keep them inside. They will only live 2 to 4 weeks either way. We are feeding them according to the instructions and they seem to be happy.

It is a wonderful experience to watch the metamorphosis of these splendid creatures! They are a symbol of hope, change, and beauty. God is good!

I have no picture right now, but we have bean blossoms in our garden also. What a joy to care for Creation!

Things are looking UP!

Look Up! Advice that I have frequently given out myself. It is always better to look up and trust in God. Sometimes, I look up and have the tendency to see clouds rather than the splendor of God. I guess that makes me a human being. Some of the things I enjoy about living in Arizona are the sunsets and the cloud formations created by the weather. I try to remind myself on days when the "clouds" of discouragement, fear, or anxiety try to manifest across my vision, that the "upside" of a cloud is marvelous. I have flown through many clouds in airplanes, total blankness, fog...(and I have walked through many in my paths in life), but I also had the wonderful experience of flying OVER a cloud and witnessing its magnificence. I called it the "upside" of a cloud. It was billowy and gorgeous in ways I had not observed from beneath. I thought it must be a beautiful day below. The pilot came on the speaker and announced that we would be descending into the clouds and that there was rain and stormy weather beneath us, so be prepared if this was your destination. It was mine. And he was right. From the ground, I never would have thought those clouds were beautiful. But from above, they were awesome!

It reminds me keep in mind that there is always a higher perspective. God has a different view quite often than our gloomy sight. I shall try to remember that lesson.

Handsome's situation is looking up as well. He had his eyes examined and it was discovered that he needs reading glasses...well, prescription lenses that he only needs when reading or doing close-up work. That may well have been an issue with the learning to read difficulties. There are many letters that resemble other letters, especially a, o, e, etc. I am hoping that this will help his confidence and ability to read.

Baby Girl is two now. And she knows it. What it is about being two that is different is a mystery, but it seems to exist! She suddenly does not need as much nap time, can "explore" more "efficiently", and has "mastered" the ability to climb. She has also discovered her verbal skills, which, actually, are quite developed and cute. However, she has also discovered the girlish scream of excitement and of demand! This has landed her in "time out" several times already this week! But she is still so cute! She sits in a "huff", but she sits. Then she looks so cute and says "I wanna get up!" It is hard to make her stay the two minutes, but I know if I give in now, there will be a price to pay later. As soon as she hears the timer go off, she says "Up now?" and takes off at my nod. I call her "Girlfriend" now, but I shall use her new family nickname of "Sister" for this blog from now on. "Baby Girl" doesn't quite fit any more. She did, after all, have an official birthday party.

Well, our butterfly babies arrived last Friday. The caterpillars have already cocooned and are becoming chrystiles (I know I didn't spell that right...will change it later...). Anyway, we can't touch them until they are all formed. Then we move them into the habitat we have prepared. Handsome is totally excited that we are "growing" butterflies. He wants to know how long we can keep them once they are birthed. We have to take everything one step at a time. We have another few days before we can move them. Then about a week to ten days before they birth. From there, we shall see what is best for them. It is exciting to watch this transformation in progress!

And I guess, we each in our own way, are a continuing work in progress. A handiwork of God. And as that, we must remember to LOOK UP! I will post pictures soon!

Can Anyone Out There Help??

Like I said before, originally this blog was to focus on homeschooling and CF issues. It has come to represent many aspects of my life. But today, we shall return to the original intent.

Can anyone out there help me get Handsome to read on the level he should? It seems that when it comes to reading, his brain does not retain properly. He seemed to be doing pretty well when I introduced long vowels. He seemed to "get it". But suddenly ALL the vowels turned long and now he reads every word as if it has a long vowel sound. We go over the rules daily. He seems to understand them. Until I put actual words on the paper for him to read. I have researched special needs programs, and had my sis send me some curriculum from CA. I admit, I have not had time to thoroughly study it...he was doing so much better when it arrived. But using what I have studied, along with various techniques gained from other books and studies, seems to only be temporary fixes. It concerns me that all his friends, even younger ones, can read MUCH better than he! Any ideas? I have tried the reward system...again temporary success...and some techniques to assist with common reading difficulties...but???

His parents think it is more focus-related. His CF meds are on the minimal side right now, so that should be better not worse. Yet this week...I am not sure we accomplished anything. I am feeling really discouraged and that perhaps I am not a good teacher at all. He is doing fine, even well, in math and loves science. Is this normal? He seems to not really care that much if he reads or not. He goes through spurts where he wants to play all the word games and computer programs and read books together for several days in a row, and then he just looses all interest and doesn't even want to try. This makes me think that he finds it so hard to concentrate that he gives up. I am not sure!

I made up a game with lots of action with words where the adults have different outcomes and have to do silly things to earn their spaces. He played it once with me, and once with his parents, Grandpa and me, and once with some neighbor kids. He won all three times and seemed to like the game a lot. But right now, he doesn't want to play it. Forcing him to would create even further disdain for the game. It reviews the rules, has "rebel" word attacks (words that don't follow rules,,,like friend, love, you, etc...) and towers of dominoes to knock down. Has elements of recognizing the shape and color and number words necessary for his math and science lessons.

I am trying to be fun and creative. I spend a lot of hours studying different approaches to teaching reading, and a lot of time on the computer and at the library. Most weekends find me spending at least half of my available time working on this. IT IS FRUSTRATING!!! I looked into the Sylvan learning programs but not only are they expensive, but they focus around rewards, which seems to only be temporary. Handsome has been known to be able to read an entire book in a week, by repetition and daily reading, only to forget most of the words after a week of not reading that specific book. So, it seems he is memorizing the words temporarily and then forgetting them after he reads for his parents. Does anyone know if this is a behavioral/focus issue or indicative of a serious learning problem?

He seems to be understanding math just fine, although he recently started writing some of his two-digit numbers backwards again. I feel like such a failure. I have never been so challenged! I spend so much energy on this! I have taught many children to read, and some adults as well. But I am a failure at my own grandson's schooling. HELP????

Bugs, Insects, and Creepy Crawly things!

It's a good thing I had a son of my own before I took on these grandsons! MY son brought home things like lizards, bugs, and an albino rat he named Princess. I hope it is not TOO unlady-like of me to admit that I liked Princess. She had a personality. If she liked you, she let you know with cuddles and squeaky quiet noises. If she didn't like you she had her way of showing that as well, though I shall spare you all the details. Let's just say if you were not liked...you knew it! Unless, of course, you refused to touch her at all. Who knew rats had personaliies?!

In our current study of science, the topic is insects...focusing on the winged insects and winged bugs. They are not necessarily the same. And, we found out, everything dubbed a "bug" by common folk like myself, may not even be a bug OR an insect...just a creepy crawly thing...or a crawly thing, not so creepy, depending on one's perspective on such creatures! I am sure they all have perfectly good names, scientifically at least, but I am not that much into bug-like names.

Anyway, today's assignment and experiment required our capturing an insect. We took it a step further and caught three. One common housefly. One small bee. And one larger fly (not as big as a horsefly, though...not sure exactly what it was. He shall be referred to as the Big Fly for the purposes of this blog.) In catching these insects, with the help of a butterfly net, we also got a wonderful specimen, albeit...dead....of a baby fly. He was caught in the top of the net. He must have had a heart attack or something, as his final pose was with wings aloft, spread in flight...as if he just stopped in motion. It is quite a nice specimen, although we did not mean to take out any baby flies!

The experiments were like this: Put the insect into a container where they still have air and then into the refrigerator. These cold-blooded creatures gave the boys a first-hand show of death and resurrection! Just in time for Easter! Ha! Anyway, we found also that the bee took longer to revive than the flies. Not sure if it is because he was slightly larger than the fly, or because he is a bee. We shall have to research that. That is what we get for doing more than the original assignment!

The next activity was called the "Lazurus Experiment". We took the Big Fly out while he was still groggy enough not to fly away, and "drowned" him in some water. The warmth of the water awakened him quite rapidly and he put up a good fight. Eventually, though, he succumbed to the water. The book said they could stay submerged for up to four minutes, but I was content with just one. He then lay on the paper towel, looking very dead. Then we put the salt on him as instructed in the book. Then we blew it off. In minutes (not seconds...unless it was like, 59) he began to revive. He moved very slowly with his antannae first, and then his legs, and finally, his wings. He had been through so much with us, that I coaxed him out of his jar and onto my finger. He did not fly away. I place him on the back of a patio chair, although he wanted to stay on my finger. He sat there for quite awhile, but eventually flew off. I can imagine the stories he will be telling back in his fly home and community tonight!

We still have the bee and the other fly. Handsome wants to make the fly his pet. He fed it something sticky before I left. I did not ask what. Somethings are best left to the boys. The bee will probably die. I thought about trying to save it, but it has struggled so much because the boys put it in the refrigerator and out about six times! I think he may as well move on! Ha!

We also caught a red wasp. At least that is what it looked like. It escaped the net before we could get the container in position. I would have liked to examine it to see exactly what it was. Lucky for him!

We have ordered butterfly larvae and it should be arriving soon. We do have the habitat all ready and waiting. These actually CAN be pets I hear. Wow! Thankfully, neither boy caught a butterfly today.

I brought the net home with me. It is mine. Lucky insects! I think I really like Science after all! Who knew!?

I Can Be Creative...for now!

Last year I made Easter baskets for my daughters, including my daughter-in-law, my grandchildren (those under the age of 7) and a few other people. This year, I got consumed making my granddaughter a quilt for her second birthday, which we will celebrate this weekend. This is a tradition I began a few years back...on their second birthday, they get a handmade quilt from Grandma. Baby Girl is getting pillows as well. On their third, they get a homemade book called "Stories From Grandma's Heart" which is a complilation of stories I have written for children in my life over the years. The younger ones have more stories as they have the newer ones also.

I love doing things for my family and friends. All of my grandchildren (except for Mr. Boo who isn't yet two) have quilts. Their moms have saved them for them. Everyone over three has a book. But I am finding it more difficult to maneuver my fingers over the quilt pieces, especially for the hand-stitched parts. I hope I can continue my traditions.

I should go to bed and get more sleep! But, instead I lay awake creating more stories and designing quilts in my head. Sheesh!!!

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!

How Fragile Life Can Be!

It actually happened on Friday. Good Friday. The call came about 4:00 PM. PRAY! There had been an accident at my son's work...involving him! He actually was the lucky one, compared to his partner. Some sort of electrical malfunction had caused his partner to get shocked and literally catch on fire. My son was only a few feet away and had to extinguish the flames...with his own hands! He enhaled a lot of smoke and some heat. Since he is an asthmatic, that was a serious situation, along with the burns on his hands.

But on Saturday, his response was that they were all counting their blessings! They had survived! Even the burn victim is going to make it! He is in a lot of pain, but he should make a full recovery...eventually...

My son was able to attend the family Easter celebration. He is still not fully recovered from the enhaled smoke nor the burned hands. But he is grateful for his life and family. He is thankful that his friend, partner and boss, is going to make it.

It is incredible how fragile life is. Somebody dies every minute...somewhere. Some suffer through terrible diseases. Some leave for their daily routines of life, never to return home. It only takes one ill-timed turn, one wrong decision, being at the wrong place and the wrong time, one moment of someone's wrath...and it is eternity! Life as we know it here is done...It only takes one little spark to end or at least change a life!

More Easter Pix...

Laughter of Children!

Happy Easter! Thank God we live in the desert! It rained on our "parade" but the end result was simply a delay rather than a cancellatation. We had planned a big dinner with 22 people---10 children and 12 adults for Saturday so the whole family could be here. Some had other-side of the family plans for today. So, we spent the last few weeks cleaning the yard, doing things that take some real motivation to actually do. Grandpa Steve fixed the baby swing for Mr. Boo and Baby Girl, and put new sand in the sandbox. We cleaned out the playhouse and the fort and dusted the slide and rest of the playground. We planted colorful flowers and fed the garden. Then we tackled the inside of the house. Cleaning carpets and counters that usually settle for a "Lick and promise". We even had the dogs groomed. THEN IT RAINED!!!

At first I thought we would have to move the whole "parade" to my daughter's house, as she has more inside room for the kids. But, because the desert was so dry, the ground soaked it all up quickly. The rain left no puddles and even the playground dried rapidly. The sandbox had been covered! So, we moved the picnic tables inside to eat and then let the kids outside for the egg hunt. Baby Girl and Mr. Boo loved their new swing and had to learn the beginning of the lesson of taking turns. The squeals of delight from their mouths made the day for me. They had gales of laughter as Grandpa Steve and moms and I took turns pushing the swing!

All the other children raced through the yard discovering eggs and different toys. The trampoline was also a hit! One extended family girl, (the only other girl) picked herself a ripe tomato from the garden. They chased each other and then got Easter goodies to enjoy, such as bubbles, etc.

Today we will gather for lunch at my daughter's house. Her sister (Mr. Boo's mom) and hubby and Mr. Boo (boo hoo for me) have to leave from there to return to CA.

It has already been a fantastic Easter with all my family here. And I thank God for all of them! I thank Him for Easter and the Resurrection and all the other miracles of every day life!

The Joys of Challenges!

I started this blog to write about homeschooling and Cystic Fibrosis challenges. Little did I realize that CF creates its own set of homeschooling challenges. Handsome is becoming a student with a desire to learn. But, like most of us, does not find every topic appealing nor easily learned. My brain used to be challenged by Science and Math. Handsome's bent is science and math. Mine, obviously, is reading and writing and the creative endeavors. Not to imply that he isn't creative, for he is very much so. Just not in the same genres as I am.

He has struggled to learn to read. I didn't pick up on the struggle as early as I should have because it did not manifest in kindergarten curriculum. Learning the letters and sounds, etc. and small words did not reveal any learning difficulties. However, first grade is another story... I blamed myself for being a poor teacher.

As I accessed the CF info online, I discovered that due to meds and treatment schedules, etc, learning difficulties of one nature or another is very very common in CF kids. Then I realized that I, myself, have difficulty focusing when I am on the totality of meds for extreme allergies. On those days, I feel drained as having to force myself to focus on one task at time takes its toll. Some of my meds are also steroid based...and no fun. I imagine that Handsome has to begin each day with these types of meds, that it is difficult to focus. He must put forth much effort just to stay focused, and it is not his fault. I cannot make this become an excuse, but I certainly can understand the struggle.

There is more to this picture, though, than just the CF. Handsome is creative in his own way...much like some famous inventors and scientist were. For example, in the middle of reading...learning about, say, rules for vowels, etc. Handsome will be triggered by a given word, to lapse into questions regarding science experiments (what would happen if...? AND maybe we could build a ...OR wouldn't it be cool if we exploded some soda in the volcano?...) OR physics...(Do you think if we balanced all those bricks on one end of that board, and put some bags of sand on the other end, that...???) or off into a world of designing garages on the side of his worksheets, etc.

I read where Woodrow Wilson did not master the alphabet until he was nine and was not considered a "reader" until the age of eleven. His parents focused instead on teaching him what he was interested in...politics and ethics.

Einstein, Edison, and Newton all did not fit into the average schooling situations and required homeschooling. Newton could not relate to the math taught in his day...I wonder why? His brain was wired to discover something no one else could master before him. Edison was labeled "addled" (the word of his day for "mentally challenged") and his mother told he could not learn. Guess he fooled them!

I'm not saying that Handsome is a budding genius. And I am not saying that we don't have legitimate struggles to contend with. My sis has helped by sending curruiculum from the California Public schools system from which she retired as a Masters Degreed Special Ed teacher and resource specialist. Now when I get the time to retrain myself...

I am saying that in spite of the challenges, in spite of the meds and the allergies and the distractions and labels...we shall overcome! Handsome will be reading well one day soon...and then a lot more school will seem easier. My sis did say another encouraging thing...that first grade is the hardest because you know basically nothing except the alphabet and numbers. Much of what is learned later is developed in first grade.
And then I wonder---I showed Handsome the first grade reader I learned to read from. Dick, Jane and Baby Sally. See Spot run. Run, Spot, run! He laughed. I told him how lucky he is to have books on monster cars, sports, and animals to learn from. And then I realized how "lame" those Dick, Jane, and Sally books look compared to today's curruiculum. And my generation has a better rating of success than many college grads of this current world. Are we pushing too hard? Are we trying to rush our kids into reading and learning when they would still rather play? I and most of my peers can read WELL. We can use a computer and actually WRITE stories and reports without all kinds of abbreviations...and yes we can also SPELL! And to think, we learned it all from Dick, Jane and Sally!