So many thoughts.

I went to a homeschool meeting tonight with a guest speaker,  Joyce Herzog.  We had a wonderful discussion about learning styles and education and now my head is so full of thoughts, I feel kind of overwhelmed.  Kind of like a food for thought buffet where I over-indulged, big time.  Now I just need to sort them all out and decide if what I learned tonight is going to change the way we homeschool.  I think it probably will.

In other news, I went to the doctor about my foot that's been bothering me since the state fair and it was diagnosed as tendonitis.  I got what the doctor's office called a "soft cast" which really looks like an ace bandage but feels different and I can't take it off or get it wet for 2 weeks.  My daughter calls it a tiny, invisible cast. 

Multitasking boy.

He's exercising outside, walking laps around the yard, carrying a sword and reading a book.

18 years ago today.

I became a mom.  I've been trying to think all day of just the right thing to say about what a great kid he is and how this experience of being a mom has been life-changing, but I just can't find adequate words to express it.

My first baby is grown up now.

Happy Birthday Son.

One way

 to maybe get in our schoolwork is to do some things on the weekend.  So, we had woodworking class today.  Hey, whatever works, right?  We're trying to make an outdoor chair.  We actually my husband and the kids, got the chair about halfway done today.  :-)   It's from the Knock Off Wood site but I can't post a picture of it because I'm at home right now and our internet's too slow.  :-(

It's about that time.

It's about time for us to sit down as a family and evaluate our school year, what's working and what's not.  I know that we're not getting as much time to do things as I had originally hoped.  The kids do not want to start doing schooly things while I am gone and have been spending a ton of time reading and working on their own various projects.  They have been a little bit better at it this week since I told them that I wanted them to be at least halfway done when I got home.  My oldest is teaching himself programming with Python and told me only half jokingly, that he was "too busy learning to do school".   Anyway, we need to try and work things out so that we at least get most things done ...  

A couple more pictures.

This is the wedding cake from the wedding I went to the other night.  My cousin, who is an R.N., not a professional baker, baked this cake and decorated it.  It has a fountain in it!

The sunset from that same night, orange and pink, just like the wedding colors.  You know how I love taking sunset pictures. 

The latest sewing project.

I can't share any pictures when I'm at home because our internet service at home is too slow.  So I'm doing this while waiting for some work to be transmitted.  Here's the latest stuffed animal my daughter designed and made.  

Reading.

We went to town today to run some errands and my youngest wasn't interested in several of the stores we went in so he was walking through the stores reading a book while my daughter and I shopped.  Three different people asked me how I got him to enjoy reading.  I didn't know what to say.  Later, I asked my kids how I got them to like reading and they said that I read to them but didn't make them read.  I also bring home interesting books from the library all the time and I used to model reading to them.  Since my Dad passed away in January, I've went from reading several books a week, to almost not reading at all. I've only read a few books in all those months.  I'm not sure why, but I just haven't been able to read very much.  What I have read has been nonfiction, books on being gluten free mostly..  I still check a bunch of books out of the library every week, but they are all things I think the kids would be interested in.   :-/