Books and things.

I've downloaded a couple of audio books from our state's digital library.  I'm very excited to be able to do that.  If you are in Kentucky, the site is here.  You'll have to have a library card with a PIN number.  I set my PIN up at my library a long time ago so that I could put books on hold or renew them online.  If you are in another state or another country, ask your local library or do a search for virtual libraries or digital libraries.  I've also been reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, through Daily Lit.   They email a small section to me each day.  It seems like I've been reading it for a long, long time.  I guess it's been about 3 weeks?  Anyway, I'm about ready to give up and rent the movie!  I have collected a couple of good quotes from it though.  Here are my 2 favorites so far.

The first one is about marriage and made me smile:
"Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance. If the dispositions of the parties are ever so well known to each other or ever so similar beforehand, it does not advance their felicity in the least. They always continue to grow sufficiently unlike afterwards to have their share of vexation; and it is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life." 

The second was on how to deal with 2 friends who do not like each other or don't get along.  It's very good advice, I think.

"Nothing remained therefore to be done, but to think well of them both, to defend the conduct of each, and throw into the account of accident or mistake whatever could not be otherwise explained."

The library didn't have the movie today or I would've gotten it.  So for now, I'll keep reading it.

Shh!

My youngest son and I are doing "All About Spelling" for his spelling curriculum.  We just started it this week.  Even though he reads large books (he's reading Deltora Quest right now), he reads slowly and needs to work on sounding out the big words somewhat.  So I started him at the very beginning to make sure that all the gaps get closed in as we go.  So anyway, on the letter tiles, there is a section with ways to spell the sh sound, which can be spelled ti, ci, si and sh.   He was fascinated by this because he hadn't realized there were so many ways to spell this one sound.  Then last night, he wanted to read his book and my daughter wouldn't be quiet (a complete role reversal from the usual) and so he got index cards and wrote "ci" on one, "si" on one, "ti" on one and "sh" on one, and would hold one up when she'd talk to tell her to "shh".  She keep talking and talking and talking and finally, when she wasn't looking, I took one of the cards and wrote "I keel you!"  (from Achmed the dead terrorist comedy routine) and the next time she talked, he held that one up to much hilarious laughter. 

3 days!

I've done my exercise and house cleaning routines for 3 days!  Yay me!  It feels good to have my routines back.  I don't know why I quit them and then have such a hard time starting back.  It's crazy.  Like I said yesterday, the kids aren't doing as well with the new routines and no freebies.  It's been taking them to 4, 5, 6 or even 7 p.m. to finish but that's with a lot of whining breaks.  It's not really that much work, it's just getting used to having to do it again.  We've all been slacking off lately, after I started that job and then mom being in the hospital and the stomach flu and the ice storm, we just all stressed out and couldn't get ourselves in gear.  Hopefully, now we're back and we can stay the course until May.  Summer sounds really good right now, doesn't it?

Remember what I said the other day?

That part about the kids working well independently?  Well, forget that.  We did an inventory today and found that a couple of people (who shall remain nameless!) have been slacking on their math.  They've been using all freebies for math, which is not the way the freebies were intended.  The new lists don't have any freebies on them, so everyone has to do everything, everyday.   Can you hear the whining and crying from where you are?  If not, can I come visit you?

What I'm doing today.

I've been thinking about my Homeschool Stuff blog and trying to decide how to organize it better and I've decided to just make a new one for my homeschool links. I've got a couple of entries done this morning. Here's the link, Homeschool-Links. I'm going to try and do one page for each subject area. I'll do math or science next.

Also, I'm trying to get started back on my routines. I made new lists for everyone including myself and told the kids that if I don't do my list, they don't have to do school that day. (Of course they know they'll have to make it up later, but they don't care.) So that means that I'll be doing my housework and exercise routines in the morning each day. Hopefully.

Lesson plans link.

K12 Core Lesson Plans from Utah Education Network  This has got a lot of good lessons print and use.

Well so much for not working.

I got called in to type one report at the local hospital.  The other employees there didn't answer their phones and this was a stat report that needed to be done right away so the patient could be transferred.  I hope this isn't a real regular thing although the boss said she'd make it "worth my while" if I came in.  Interesting anyway. 

A Saturday in which I don't have to work.

Woohoo!  I may work anyway because I'd like to pad out my paycheck a bit, but I don't HAVE to.  It's a huge difference.  I've got to go some time today and pick up my teen who has been on 2 consecutive "sleepovers" and probably hasn't slept since Thursday.  Other than that, I really have no plans.  I might clean the house.  I might go shopping.  I might just read a book.