January Daybook

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...
Still dark; sun is starting to lighten the sky and it promises to be another balmy day with a little light rain, I think.  We're having a very warm, springlike winter this year!

I am thankful...
That my brother's radiation treatment has been going well so far.  Thankful that they seem to be hitting the tumor and nothing else important (or we'd know!) like his brain or brain stem. He's able to walk to treatment from his office every day, and now he can wear the Exterminate Bob hat that I knitted!  He needs lots of prayers to deal with the side effects that are going to get worse over the next few weeks.

From the learning rooms kitchen table...
We're still working on catching up from last semester.  It was working well last week.  I hope we can keep up the momentum.

I'm thinking that I want to start a notebook or file for Meg where she keeps track of all the books she has read.  She doesn't love to read (gasp!), and she's a great starter of books, but not a great finisher of books, so I want her to record the ones she has read and build up a history that she can be proud of.  Have you ever kept track of reading, and how did you do it???

The kids are having fun with the new apps I downloaded the other day on the ipad:  Stack the Countries, Stack the States, and the Periodic Table Shoot-em Up.  Okay, they don't love that last one; it's not very exciting.   I got it because we always get hard questions on the periodic table at Trivia Night and I thought it would be useful for that!

I'd still love some homeschooling app suggestions!


In the kitchen...
We've rotated back around to Week 1 of my 7 weeks of menus and shopping lists.  It has been a real lifesaver, but I need to add a couple more weeks using my brand new Make It Paleo cookbook.  I made brownies from it Sunday and they were to die for!

I am wearing...

Sweats since I just took the dog out for our long morning walk.  Got to get up and shower!

I am knitting...
I'm working on a second Dalek/Tardis hat for Pippo because the first one was too big.  I finished the Dalek (Dr. Who) hat for my brother.  My brother's hat uses just the daleks on the bottom and says "Exterminate Bob" (the tumor), and  and I'm knitting a pair of slippers for an upcoming birthday next week.  Shhhh!

I am going...
To stay home as much as possible to get the millions of things done around the house.  I took a bunch of stuff off the calendar for this week and it felt sooo good!  There's still plenty of required driving that will keep me busy.

I am reading...
 The Touch: A Novella for my book club.  I also have a review book on Kindle that I have to read when I finish it.  The Touch is a light read so far, but it's got me hooked.

I am hoping and praying...
My brother continues to do well with his radiation and that his tumor is completely eradicated.

I am looking forward to...
Working on my knitting and watching Once Upon a Time with the kids this week.  I just discovered it and watched a couple of episodes.  Last night we watched the pilot together.   It's kind of edgy, but entertaining.  More like a Grimm's fairy tale than the whitewashed version we're used to.

I am hearing on my ipod...
I'm planning to start listening to Jimmy Akin's show this week to see what that's like.  Have you listened to it before?

Around the house...
Many projects in the works, including decluttering, lots of knitting, and a medieval princess dress for my Little Princess who is going to a Father-Daughter dance soon.  The dress has been a nightmare from beginning to, well, the middle.  It's not done yet, just cut out; there are plenty more opportunities for nightmares!  I won't even bother with the story of all the mis-steps so far.  I thought it would be a fun thing to do after the Christmas stress was over, but I was wrong.

One of my favorite things...
Quiet knitting time with a movie.

A few plans for the rest of the week...
After-school pickup during rush hour thanks to drama.  Ick.  An orthodontist appointment for new braces, and I hope that's it!

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Way too dark; can't see the details!

Hosted by The Simple Woman's Daybook

7 Quick Takes

---1---

Cool photo of Pip with his new light saber.  The Coolest.  Light. Saber. Ever.  (Or so I keep hearing!)  Meg took this picture of him in the pitch dark basement---along with a hundred others.

---2---

Gus had his Big Day at the vet getting neutered.  Here's what Katie put on FB after reading the paperwork from the vet:

Katie 

‎'Your pet has been surgically altered. He may be wearing an elizabethan collar.' <--- The PC way to say that your dog has been emasculated and is probably wearing the Cone of Shame.

 ·  · Wednesday at 7:51pm · 

Oh my, that kept me laughing for quite a while!  Although when I take him for a walk with that thing on, it feels like I'm the one wearing the cone of shame!  If I'm embarrassed, how does he feel?

---3---

If you're wondering why he's wearing his leash for the photo, it's because we keep the leash on him all the time in the house.  It's awfully handy for catching him when he's done something naughty and is running away!  Or you step on it when you know he's going to jump---on you, on the furniture, or into the dryer.  Yes, the dryer.  He loves to get in there and steal the laundry!  Or if you see the end of it in the hallway and you know he's in the bathroom trash, you can just step on it and give it a jerk.  He gets the correction and he doesn't even know that you're the one who did it!  It's what the trainer told us to do because he has such a strong tendency to be rebellious when we tell him No.  Best tip ever.  

---4---

Meg and I have a big event tonight that we're excited about with the American Heritage Girls.  I'll tell you all about it later, and I hope I'll have some pictures!

---5---

I just went to awaken the kids for school (we're sleeping LATE today!), and I noticed that IT'S SNOWING!!!  That's charming and fun and all, but this same event (see #4) was cancelled due to snow and ice last year.  What are the odds?  This is South Town, after all, under the auspices of the Heat Miser!

---6---

Simply because the Heat Miser can't be viewed in isolation, here is his brother Snow Miser:

Yes, I know it isn't Christmas anymore, but didn't you just love these guys?

---7---

Time for school!  :-)

We've been working hard trying to catch up this week.  It would appear that we're much further behind than I thought, so we're doing several lessons of each subject per day.  Kind of tedious, but it works.

Question for all you homeschoolers:  Have you found any great ipad apps for school?  We have Stack the States and the Singapore Math app, but I'd love to know what else is out there.  There are lots of times when it would be great to have some schoolwork with us when we have to be out.  

(In looking for those links, I found Stack the Countries and Presidents vs. Aliens by the same person, so we'll be trying those!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Join the fun at Jen's for more 7 Quick Takes!

Epiphany Blessing

We did a little home blessing on Epiphany Sunday.  We were woefully unprepared, lacking a Priest or Holy Water, but we did it anyway hoping that our intentions and our prayers would be of benefit anyway.

 Here we have the chalk in front of the nativity, waiting to be blessed.

 The Father of the home doing his part.

The end result which is a little hard to see.  Maybe you can see it better if you enlarge it.  We used the prayers posted at Feast & Feria.