Homeschool Advantage #1

Tailoring your child's learning to their interests:

update 2/22/11

I'm Alive

I'm home.

Yesterday... well... was one of the worst experiences of my life.

What started as a headache suddenly became severe back of the head & neck pain.

I thought they'd poo poo me at the ER but they in fact take that very seriously.

I have the huge bruise on my back, and what feels like a major hangover, to prove it.

All is clear.

The only thing they think might be to blame is the Imitrex, which I took for the first time 30 minutes before the onset of neck pain.

That's the story.

I feel a bit like I've been put through the wringer (physically & emotionally... since having them tell you you might be in the middle of a life threatening brain bleed... well... that was rough).

I mean really REALLY rough.

At ER waiting for CT
Ruling out bleeding in my freaking brain
Awesome


CT clear
Waiting on spinal tap results

Updates... Of All Kinds

#1 I'm reading Blindness by Jose Saramago. Holy intensity, Batman! I've been up until 3 AM reading it most nights this week. It's hard to describe without revealing too much... but... it's intense and somewhat stressful. He does an excellent job of transferring the chaos and stress and horror... and... well... blindness to the reader.


#2 We've been having this crazy false Spring all week. Our couple of feet of snow is now nothing but muddy dirty grass and huge ice rimmed puddles. It feels so real. It is hard to take in the fact that this is merely a blip and winter will return. That is one thing I miss about Asheville... right about now winter really is winding down there.


#3 I got an Imitrex prescription from the Dr for my migraines. We'll see how that goes. I guess the key with the abortive is taking it in time. If this doesn't work I guess the next step is taking blood pressure medicine as a prophylactic. My Dr claims that is the medication of choice for migraines in women my age. I still would like to get an MRI to be sure, though.


#4 Guess whose Middle East song has come in real handy this past week?... aww yeah... we're feeling pretty high on our horse these days since we already knew exactly where Bahrain and Yemen were. Every time we are in the car and the news is on Baby can be sure to start belting out the song once she hears mention of either place.


#5 In case you were wondering... this is the best season on The Bachelor ever. Good God, it is so good.


#6 Speaking of God, remember when I told you I had a really funny Church story? Well, I have a feeling it's going to be even better by the time I get around to telling it. Yesterday a parishioner showed up at my door with a mug filled with guilt. A real mug. Figurative guilt. So stay tuned for that. It really is one of the funniest places I've ever been and if it weren't for the 9:30AM starting time we'd definitely go if only because we laugh so hard all afternoon after we come home. I may not technically believe in God (in a traditional sense) but I do believe in laughing my ass off and Mr F believes in Coffee Hour. So, I figure we are like 85% of the people there. This church deserves a reality TV show.


#7 Last but not least... I am sucked back into Ancestry.com. If you haven't taken advantage of the free 14 day trial (remember to cancel it in time!) I recommend it. I did that a year or so ago. This time I just bought a one month subscription ($20... which seems like a ripoff doesn't it?). Anyway, it's fun. Even if you have a detailed family tree it is exciting to see all of the census documents. I found out my grandmother's (98) great grandfather owned a hardware store in 1860... and let me say... according to the census documents that was a pretty profitable line of work.

It's Valentine's Day, yo!

"I don't think she understands that you are only supposed to give someone ONE valentine.... not like 23." Kid says.

"I understand, but I like to see your face, and your hair, and your body.... so.... I'm making you 100!" Baby replies.

Slow But Steady

It's been about 6 months since we moved in here. We've been slowly tackling each decorating challenge.
Here are some peeks... sadly... nothing is 100% complete... and we have yet to hang ANYTHING on the walls.
Soon.

Master Bedroom BEFORE:



(Please forgive the state of the room... we had literally just moved in!)

Master Bedroom IN PROGRESS:



Remember when I said I was going to recover my headboard?... Well I did... $12 total.

New sitting area curtesy of Ikea. Those are also Ikea curtains.

Remember this vintage chandelier we scored at the antique market.

Things that still need to happen... hang mirror & pictures, get another bedside table, get another chair, place dresser (this is all along the long wall of the room in line with the door). I kind of also want (and when I say kind of... I mean REALLY) an electric fireplace on that wall as well. It is a really big room (by our standards) and right now it's awkwardly filled. So I'm going for a half cozy sitting room vibe.... eventually.

Hallway color and lights BEFORE:
(Let's be clear... those are not our nicknacks... this is pre-move in)
AFTER:
I'll let you in on a little secret... I don't love that hallway chandelier... it was cheap... but it's not 100% my aesthetic. I'm thinking on it. The more craftsman we take this space (see below) the more likely (and when I say likely... I mean... It is going to happen!) that this will be replaced and hung in the guest bedroom instead. I still love the school house lights, though!

Right now we're tackling the not so small task of replacing our interior doors. This was a pretty big investment, but one we think will take the interior of our 60s ranch from blah to TA-DA! How long do you think it will take Mr F?... 1 year?... 2?

From this:

To this:

One down...
Six to go.
And little things...

Like this:

To this:

And this:

To this:

And, yes, eventually we'll switch the actual switch out for a brown one... that's how hardcore we are, peeps.

Can You Believe It?!!!

Straight Up Awesome

I'm Pretty Sure You Didn't Have To Be There....

"When I grow up I might want to study cats." Kid announces this morning while playing with Tiger.

"In particular male and female cats." She adds.

"Especially males because I find their penises extremely interesting." She clarifies.

"In fact, I find all penises extremely interesting." She concludes.

The Mother Load

Things You Missed

And just because blue is her color (and because she deserves a mention too for surviving a day full of honoring her younger sister...ahh the torture!)...

It's Her Birthday, Yo!

The absolute first thing she did this morning was tear off her PJs and put on something a bit more fitting for the occasion...

Last night, after Baby was in bed, Kid and I worked our decorating magic...
We put streamers and balloons all over the house, starting with Baby's doorway and leading all the way to the table.



We bought this monkey cupcake fabric to top our table and some cute reusable plates and cups for the table.

She seemed to enjoy it...

First gift of the day...


And now we're off to see Tangled!

Oh and this is what happens when you let your 4 year old design their own cake...

It wasn't easy to incorporate the requested angel, bride, roses and Kit Kats... but I did it.

Oh, and it's strawberry cake inside... so... high potential for nasty I'm guessing.

First thing she said when she saw it?...

"Where is the teddy bear?"

I'm sorry, folks, but I pretended not to hear the "teddy bear" request the first time round.

I mean... angel, bride, roses, and Kit Kats posed enough of challenge without the bear.

So I said "Oh...I'm sorry... I'll have to put that on your next cake."

Thankfully, she is easily distracted.

Joy Giveaway Part 3

aka.... At Long Last... SUCCESS!

Things have definitely gotten off to a rocky start with this whole project. I have spent more than a little time questioning my mission and whether or not giving $5 away every week is actually going to accomplish it.

We're supposed to be more joyful.

Not annoyed and slightly pissed off.

Which I 100% was after the first giveaway.

And just frustrated after the 2nd.

Well, you know what they say...

Third time is the charm?

I still had another $5 Target card I had purchased when I gave Mariah Carey hers (or tried to). Kid and I had to go to Target today for some b'day goods for Baby anyway, and I thought no time like the present. But, truth be told, after 2 failed Target missions I was feeling pretty leery about it.

We stopped into Famous Footwear, in the same plaza, since my boots are leaking water now. And it was empty.

And I'm figuring... Famous Footwear girl... you make minimum wage. You are nice and friendly... and there is no one here to tell you you can't keep a gift card. Plus Target is next door... and you can definitely spend this. I'm sure you go over to get your snack at break anyway. (Yes all that was said in my head).

And so, after a failed try of boots, I gave it to her. This time NO envelope. Just the card on it's little card stock where I wrote in the amount and on the To/From lines I just wrote "Happy Happy". I asked her if she could keep it, and she said "Yep!". She was really excited and happy. She thanked us several times. I could tell it totally made her day.

So that was great.

Finally a successful transaction!


I'm still one week behind... but I'm taking care of that tonight.

I've got an idea.

Stay tuned.


Oh and while brushing her teeth, Baby leaned her head into the hallway and yelled...

"Tomorrow's my birthday, Yo!"

Nom De Plume

Yesterday the kids sat down to write out some Christmas Thank You notes.

Baby was getting frustrated trying to write out her name (9 letters is a bit much), so I tried to suggest some shortened variations.

"Do you want to try to write your name "Cha Cha" instead?" I offered.

"No! I want to write my name "Peachy 'Panzee"!" Baby said emphatically.

"Okay... but that isn't going to be any easier." I cautioned.

I stand corrected.

Loot

On Thursdays Kid goes to her electives homeschool program. That leaves Baby and I some awkward time to fill in Ann Arbor. With the weather being what it is... we opted to head to the Mall (a newly discovered adventure to Baby after xmas shopping there). We got a smoothie and she played on the indoor play structure.

But the real lure was jewels...

I discovered this Christmas, while searching for gifts for my three teenaged nieces, that Forever 21 was a dress up loving three year old's Mecca. It took her breath away... all of those diamonds in one place. On hooks low enough to reach, no less.

Fabulous jewels, and bobbles, and hair accessories... for practically NO MONEY.

I mean, ridiculously cheap.

Cheaper than children's jewelry from Target.

And

These are REAL.

See...

Long And Short Of It

I'm having another migraine.

This is really starting to affect our quality of life.

The last two days (before the headache) are almost worse than the ensuing head pain (which is incredibly bad).

I just feel like complete shit, physically and emotionally.

Light headed, exhausted, irritable and depressed.

Then it magically lifts and in it's place is a searing, aching, compression in my brain.

Continuous.

And nearly unbearable nausea.

I actually find myself fantasizing about that scene in Grey's Anatomy when Izzy drills into a trapped guys head with a cordless drill.

Really.

And the head pain is actually better than the two days of aura.

So that's kind of saying something.

The headache will last anywhere from 24 to 72 hours.

And this has been happening to me EVERY OTHER WEEK.

Every other freaking week.

For the past 5 months.




The thing I'm thankful for?... that this shit didn't start happening until we moved from Asheville. If this had been going on down there... I'd probably have killed myself.

Or developed a really bad drinking habit.

One or the other.

The Sick Bed

"You do know you can use Kleenexes more than once?" Mrs F says after surveying the scene.

"Oh." replies Kid with a guilty laugh.


But why bother, really, when it makes such a nice fluffy background for this...