Holy man holes

So we had one of those nearly once-in-a-lifetime weekends. Alone, sort of. The kids were gone to see their other parents and we were free to do whatever we wanted.

Saturday we both did a little work in the morning and then took the afternoon to go do something we wanted to do together.

It was free museum day, so we downloaded the coupon and headed for the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma. (I know, we are so WILD.)  We had a great time there. Neither of us had ever been, and it really was interesting. The traveling exhibit is D.B. Cooper.  I knew the name and basic story, but the exhibit kind of brought it all to life for us.

We stayed there for quite a long time, it was closing time when we left, and we still hadn't seen everything. I'll definitely be using it for homeschooling.

We parked in the pay lot as close to the entry as possible, or so we thought. Turns out the entry was around the building, but no big deal. It was kind of rainy, but not real bad. Yet.

As we came out it was raining pretty hard.

You might say, "Hey, you're in Washington, the Pacific Northwest. What do you expect?" And you would be right, except that it was a downpour! And I mean violent downpour. The security guard inside allowed people to go out the back door to avoid walking around the building to the parking lot.

We made a run for it to the car, which we were so thankful was parked only three parking spaces from that door we came out, and we were pretty wet.

When Chuck made the turn to go onto Pacific Avenue in downtown Tacoma, a river was rolling down the street. A Hummer was driving toward us in the other lane, and the water was spraying up onto the hood.

We drove further and were about to make a left turn onto 15th, and a man hole was spouting water like a fountain. And it was like that all through downtown.

This is a view of the manhole on Pacific Avenue from our
back window. 

Once we made a couple of stops for some errands the rain let up a bit and we made our way to Anthony's restaurant for dinner.

I chose the Alaskan Langcod with huckleberry sauce. Soooooo good. I even got a dessert, because it's huckleberry time and it only comes once a year. I got the huckleberry cheescake. I love going there this time of year because they always have huckleberries on the menu. I have to do extra walking and double time on the Yoga and Pilates this week, but it was worth it.

Arrr, it's the doughnuts we're after!

Sean and I were planning all week for today's fun activity.

Today was "Talk Like a Pirate Day," and Krispy Kreme was giving away a dozen doughnuts to anyone dressed like a pirate.

We did this last year, and it was great fun. But last year we didn't realize we would get an entire dozen doughnuts. We thought you had to dress up and talk like a pirate to get one doughnut. 

I wanted to get there early today so we could avoid the after-school crowds, and we arrived just in time. Just after we received our boxes of doughnuts a throng of pirates filed in.

We saw some really great costuming, and I think those people must be part of the Renaissance Fair crowd. We also saw a ton of Captain Morgan hats.

Sean was a great sport. We put a striped dinner napkin on his head, and I found a gold necklace he could wear, and then we used Dollar Tree eye patch, earring and knife.

I dressed up too, in a long peasant skirt and used my thick belt and some long necklaces, and a very long scarf tied around my head.

Of course we didn't need 24 doughnuts, so I passed on the second box to my brother.

It's becoming an annual event for us. Thanks Krispy Kreme, for a fun activity! The doughnuts are delish!

Don't spoil your dinner

I've been told more than once that I am like a cat.

I see it. I know what they mean. There are quite a few things about me that are cat-like, but a couple of my characteristics are routines and schedules.

I used to be much more into them than I am now, but I still love a routine.

I have this schedule in my head, and I don't know where it came from, but I need to stick to it in order to feel normal. Breakfast at 9 a.m., lunch at 12:30 or 1, afternoon snack at 4 p.m. and dinner at 6 or 6:30. (Although in the summer the dinner usually happens closer to 7 p.m.)

So when my day gets started late, and breakfast is consumed close to time for lunch, and lunch gets pushed late, to like, almost 3 p.m., and then the afternoon snack which is supposed to be at 4 gets  pushed to, say, 5:30 and then I'm not hungry for dinner at 6, but that's when I'm supposed to eat dinner, I get a little out of sorts.

I hate to not eat the snack, because I really NEED the snack. It's what gets me through 'til dinner. But then I'm not hungry for dinner, and neither is Sean, because he can literally eat a couple of bites of something and not be hungry for hours.

And that is what is happening right now. And now I'm waiting to fix dinner so Sean will eat, but I feel like I need just a little something.

This whole day has been weird. At about noon I just threw in the towel and embraced the fact that this was going to be a throw away day. The only saving grace was Sean's math teacher, who managed to get him through several math operations today, including some algebra and fractions.

First Day of Homeschool 2013-14

It was a drizzly, rainy day. I realized today
that I am operating without an essential garment~
RAIN JACKET. Luckily Sean does have one.

Hydroponics. 

There were microscopes set up, but I never got
the 411 on what was on the petri dish.

Sean had been so happy at the pubic Montessori school. But last school year was really rough. The transition to Upper El was not smooth. It was rough for both of us. And honestly, although it did get somewhat better for Sean after I requested that he be moved to a different classroom, it really didn't get a lot better.
For me, it didn't really get any better.

I won't go into all of it here, I'll just say that Chuck and I decided it would be a better idea to try homeschooling, and Sean's dad agreed it could be a good idea. I have another blog that I began back when Sean was in first grade and we were doing homeschool. So, I've got more information about our homeschool journey there, at montessorielementaryathome.blogspot.com in case you are interested in Montessori, or homeschooling, or following us. I have a list of other blogs on that site that are other homeschooling Montessorians.

Our first official day of homeschool was today, Sept. 6. We've got a Montessori Upper El curriculum we are going to follow, but we are also doing extra activities and field trips. Chuck and I enrolled him in a homeschool program at a YMCA camp. He is signed up for the fall sessions, and today the kids were learning about the water system that recycles waste water on the YMCA site. It was really cool.

I was thinking I would just drop him off, but there was a bit of confusion about whether I could do that, and by the time I knew that I could, Sean was already used to the idea that I was going to be there with him. So I stayed. I'm glad I did for this first session. It was cool to see. It lets me know what he was learning, so now I can spark his interest in going deeper with the study of nitrogen, and water systems, etc.

We hiked a lot today, just getting from one area to the next. I was wet most of the day, but it wasn't cold, so that was a big plus for me.

After the formal instruction on the basics of how the water system is set up, and how it uses nitrogen, we got up close with their compost pile, and then ventured out into the garden to see more of the water system and how it is used. We then went into the garden and were allowed to sample some raspberries, and to look at the pumpkin patch.

Lunch was next, and then some instruction on canoeing and rowing. Sean and a few of the older kids chose to kayak, and it was his first time. He did great, and quickly figured out how to turn and stop and get where he wanted to go. But he was more interested in being along the shore to investigate the sea life.

The instructor today was awesome. He was great at giving information at varying levels for the different ages in our group, and was funny and engaging. It felt like we had ample time to explore and engage with each activity. I was impressed with the program.

Once everyone had a good amount of time in the boats, we put all of the equipment away and headed over to the heated pool for swim time. It was a cloudy, rainy day, but the air was surprisingly warm and kind of humid.

I met a few moms there today, and we've already got another educational outing planned for next week. I think it's going to be a great year for us!

One Direction

Because I now have a soon-to-be-13-year-old stepdaughter, I am inclined to do some things I wouldn't normally do.

When Chuck is working and Lilly is here, we tend to go thrift store shopping, or yard-saling, (is that a word?) and we both enjoy doing that. When both kids are here we either hang out at home, or sometimes we go pick up a cheap pizza and go to a local park to eat it.

This weekend was Sean's weekend to go spend with his dad, so it was just me and Lilly.

On Friday night Lilly wanted to see the new movie about the boy band, One Direction. I wasn't so sure I'd like it, but pleasantly agreed to take her to see it. I've spent enough years raising kids to know they grow up really fast, and it's important to do things they enjoy so you can connect with them and make some good memories. Even if it might not be your first choice of an activity.

We dropped Sean off with his dad then made our way to the theater. We got there too late for the showing we first wanted, but it worked out because we were able to go grab something to eat before the next showing.

I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed the movie. Now, whether those boys are really as nice as they are depicted in the move, I don't know, but if they are they are an amazing group of five teenagers/young adults. They are all fun-loving and normal, and they seem nice. The movie was touching, and there were lots of funny moments.

Lilly said she didn't think she had ever laughed so much during a movie.

The guys seem to genuinely like each other and have a lot of fun together, and they can all sing. I can totally see how a young girl would be crazy about them.

I missed the boy band craze by a few years. I was in the day of Leif Garrett, (I know. I've seen the Where Are They Now) and the Cassidy brothers were THE thing. Shaun was my fav.

Party Time

Sean did a great job helping to prepare for his party. He went with me to choose the plates and napkins. He mowed the lawn, helped me by shaking the rugs in the bathroom, and helped Chuck with a few other outside chores.

It was a great day-- truly enjoyable, and better than I expected it to be.

When we were trying to decide on a theme, I suggested that the kids could make things to take home. We thought of having them make their own creations, but then realized some kids might not be into that and we might have to do something else. Chuck suggested bird houses. We all thought that was a great idea.

I had visions of kids hammering nails and such, but when it came down to it Chuck decided it would be a better idea to prefab the bird houses and have the kids decorate them with foliage from the property. So he and Robert, Chuck's nephew, cut the wood and put the houses together down at the work shed, then brought them up to the house and we set them up on a table outside where the kids could decorate them.

It was a better idea. I don't know if things would have gone as smoothly if we had them following instructions on how to construct the birdhouses.

We had a perfect number of kids, six, including Sean. Sean seemed to be happy the whole time, enjoyed all of the kids, and loved all of his gifts. They had free time to play in the forest, in the tree house, and on the swing set before the party began, and we also had the blow up bouncy obstacle course structure up and going.

Aunt Bennie and Uncle Curtis came, and Rhian, and my grandmother. Bennie surprised Sean with her Cherry Yum Yum for his birthday dessert. I bought a small cake in case others didn't want that dessert, and because it's easier to blow out candles on a cake.

Jennifer brought Aiden and Tala, and it was nice to hang out with her for a while. Shane and Jacob-Joshua came also, and Sean's friends Kyle and Caleb from our old neighborhood got dropped off.

It was a really good day, and Sean is getting to be so grown up and mature. I can't believe he's already 11 years old. I love that boy so much.