A World without walls
everyday life while homeschooling overseas
Peter's first rock climb!! :) Yet another outing to the Children's Museum! This is by far our favorite place. We're even on first name basis with many of the workers (especially the cute girl who was doing the rock climbing today)! The kids have free rein of the place because I know they can't leave without me, and the workers love the kids, so I just wander around keeping my eye on them without intruding too much. :) Today being Saturday, Devin got to come with us, too! That was nice. We met some friends there and spent a few fun hours playing and chatting. The kids got to do their favorites (rock climbing and air simulator) and got out some energy. Yesterday being the Sabbath, it was our first church day of the New Year. I am helping out in the primary for a few weeks--I'm teaching Andrew's class. Man. What a class. Next week, I'm going to bring Benadryl-laced brownies! HA!! It's a class of 5 Andrew's! Whew! They're VERY energetic and full of answers and stories and tangents. It's like teaching an EXTREMELY intelligent nursery class! Love it! We had a great time, though, and I only got through the first 2 pages of my lesson (sounds like a lot, but it was accidentally printed in large print...he he he...) and we did some artsy-crafty things--we made crowns to remind them that they are children of God, and little badges to remember that Heavenly Father trusts them to Choose the Right because they are His children. They felt all proud walking into Singing Time wearing their cool crowns and badges!! :) As I sat down at the piano (I'm also substitute piano player...) I realized that PETER was there, too! OH MY GOODNESS!! He's in primary! My little baby is no longer in nursery! I don't have ANY nursery kids any more! It sort of made me feel super old. He was so cute, though! He was a little rowdy...ok, maybe a LOT rowdy, but quite frankly, so were ALL of the kids!!! But he tried to raise his hand and he participated, too! Wow. It was just so strange to realize that we've moved out of the nursery stage. I didn't even see that one coming. I'll have to think about this one for awhile...
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We are blessed to be able to have a weekly art class via Skype with my mom! The kids love it and have done all kinds of fun things! Here is a sampling of what we've done for our first semester! Sparkling Squares Who knew that some contact paper, some glitter, and some sequins could make such a fun project?? Spin Art This was a big hit! Pin the plate inside of a shallow box, drop paint on, spin--and look at the cool result!! Robots Cute little robots made out of lots of 'junk'! The kids had a great time 'inventing' their robots and were so proud of their finished product! :) Papier Mache I never knew that papier mache was so easy! Whip up some flour and water until it's glue, dip your paper in and wrap up your balloon like a mummy! Claire hated it--she doesn't like to touch anything remotely 'dirty'--but the boys thought it was the coolest thing ever! Coin Rubbings Papier Mache Part Duex The finishing touches to our papier mache project. Thankfully, we didn't make mini pinatas--they're piggy banks! :) Paper Weaving We made holiday placemats by weaving paper and covering it up with contact paper! Very cool. We love art time with Grandma and can't wait for the next semester to start! :)
New Year's. That day that marks the beginning of a new year. It's time for everyone to write down a whole list of well-meaning goals that you just know isn't going to happen.... But at least you try for a week or two. Anyway, this really isn't about my personal goals (which, I admit, I do have). We had one of the most eventful New Year's Eve days that I think we've ever had! We started off the day with Devin making smoothies at Claire's request. After Claire had her smoothie, she told me her throat and face felt scratchy--like it does when she has nuts. Unfortunately, I told her she was just imagining things and she should drink some water and eat an apple, and she'd be fine. Then, the kids sat down to watch a movie and Claire told me she was feeling really sick and itchy. Again, being the good mom that I am, I told her just to lie still and she'll feel better. Well, she didn't. Within an hour, she had a SERIOUS reaction (we still don't know to what) and looked like she had eaten an almond (luckily it wasn't as serious as when she eats cashews, but still...), so I gave her a dose of Benadryl. It didn't do anything. I gave her another one and called Devin at the embassy. I left Josh in charge of the kids (my housekeeper was on the way, but I couldn't wait--besides, he's 10 and is pretty responsible) and zoomed off to the embassy with a very puffy Claire. I dropped her off to Devin so he could take her to the Health Unit while I tried to find somewhere to park. By the time I got in, Claire was worse (she had HUGE raised hives covering her whole body--especially her face and neck!!!) and the nurses had called motorpool for a ride and the emergency room to tell us we were coming. The nurse came with us with a huge bag full of emergency things (like oxygen and stuff) and we took off in the big armored SUV for the hospital. When we got to the hospital, even the doctors/nurses there made the 'oh my goodness' face for a split second before they put on their 'it's all ok and you'll be fine' face that they're supposed to always have on! Wow. They checked her over, gave her some shots, and within minutes of the shots the swelling went down and she looked almost totally normal (other than being pretty pale and puffy around the eyes still--from crying, of course)! She got a prescription for a week's worth of allergy meds. We had a fun time trying to find them, too. Most pharmacies said they didn't have it and it was hard to find. Silly. But, she's ok now, and you'd never know we were sitting in the emergency room all morning!! I don't like allergic reactions. Especially when I don't know what it was that caused it! No one had any nuts. We think MAYBE she had a reaction to the orange peel that Devin put into the smoothie--and the only reason we think this is because orange/grapefruit peel gives me an allergic reaction when I touch it. The oils make my face/mouth/tongue go totally numb. That's all we can think of. Total mystery. The doctors didn't know, either. Scary. Now, though, I know that when Claire says she's starting to feel scratchy, I do something about it. Yikes. After Claire's exciting trip to the hospital, we headed back to the embassy. One of Devin's co-workers owns a bird, and that bird laid eggs and they actually hatched! So, the guy had a whole bunch of birds and asked if we wanted some! Yes! So, we picked up the birds to take home with us. Everyone loves the little critters--that still have no name yet... I wanted to call them Alfred and Hitchcock: The Birds...but my kids didn't get it, so they're still nameless. 7 kids reading in bed: Bliss! After we picked up the birds, Claire and I went to the mall for some grocery shopping and to try to find the meds. It's always funny to go grocery shopping with Claire. She likes to stand in the candy aisle, holding her wallet, and trying to decide how much candy she can get with whatever allowance she has left. Ha! We finally got home and I was so beat... The kids and I were supposed to have gone to the Children's Museum since it was Monday (cleaning day), but the morning rush to the hospital sort of shot that. I started to make our New Year's Eve dinner, when Devin came home early! Hooray! They closed the embassy early, which was very nice of them. So, Devin took the kids to the Children's Museum while I made dinner! I made all the traditional things for New Year's Eve: Ham, black eyed peas, green beans, rolls, ice cream... We had some friends over for dinner and enjoyed some great times eating, playing, and watching movies! :) Then, three of my friend's boys (she has 4--and her husband is in Iraq right now) stayed the night with us! So, we had all 7 kids sleeping in one room! Woohoo!! Good times. The kids were all asleep by about 11pm, and we were too tired to try to stay up, so we all brought in the New Year by sleeping. Ha! So, happy New Year, everyone! I hope 2013 brings lots of fun and excitement and experiences that you'll never forget (in a good way)! |
Who Am I?
As a Stay At Home Mom of 4 wonderful children, I have the amazing opportunity not only to home school them, but to do so in many different places! I am married to the most amazingly wonderful (and handsome) man in the whole world! Together, we seek out, every day, that Joy in the Journey that makes life exciting! Archives
November 2020
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Emily's books
by Dan Brown
I like that the plot twists and turns a lot...and it makes you think. However, I don't appreciate Dan Brown's endings in his books. I find the endings incongruent with the rest of his stories--why make it a romance for the last chapter...
by Shannon Hale
I loved this book. I'm a sucker for fairy tales/fantasy. This was so well written! I can't wait to read all the rest of her books!
by Shannon Hale
I'm reading this one again. I liked it the first time I read it. I'm still liking it for the second time around. I like all of Shannon Hales' books.
**Still lots of fun the second time around! I do like this book for a comfortable...
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