Homeschool Mother's Weekly Wrap-Up Journal: Blessings and Prayers

In My Life This Week ...
We finally chose white rock for the outside of the house. The house will have rock on three sides. The first company we ordered from delivered the wrong rock color when we placed our order. We specified NO yellow or orange rock and that is exactly what we received. My husband checked the load before they dumped it. He sent the truck load back and we used a different company for our next order.

Here is a photo of what we thought about using ... I am so glad that we didn't finalize this decision. This rock looked extremely orange when wet and that was not the look we wanted for our home. I think we might have been tired of looking at rock at this point.

Our electricity went out last night and luckily all the food in the freezer and refrigerator was safe and still edible. I was trying to organize bookshelves and files in the dark using a flashlight because I was wired.

The weather was beautiful this week. We had temperatures that ranged between 70-75 degrees if not higher. I swear I saw my car thermometer reach 80 degrees, but I might be mistaken. We are staying warm and enjoying the warm temperatures. I hope that my friends and family in New York are keeping their toes and noses toasty.  

In Our Homeschool This Week ...
This has been an off week for us. School subjects were limited to review products since my daughter was sick (her request). We are still loving Song School Spanish and A+ Tutorsoft Math! We spent the week practicing math skills and learning all aspects of this online math curriculum. Our Lonestar Learning subscription to an awesome problem solving program called "Target the Question" began on Thursday. Alyssa did a whole week's worth of problems already. She can't wait to try next week's problems! We have already been blessed with so many amazing products to review this year. I look forward to an incredible Schoolhouse Review Crew year! I can't wait to post my reviews on these products so please check back at the end of February and beginning of March to hear about some wonderful products.

We will begin art lessons next month. I can't remember the last time we did art class which stinks because my creative daughter LOVES art. So, we have been running around town searching for and gathering art materials from several different stores in preparation to begin our art class in February. We finally found spackling paste and a putty knife at Home Depot!

I pulled out our see and solve manipulative kit from Lakeshore Learning so that Alyssa could practice her single digit addition and subtraction math facts. I believe it is important to continue practicing math facts even if they are mastered. She had other plans and caught my attention when she asked me to solve 25+25. I grabbed my camera because I never expected her practice double digit addition. I did overhear her counting by 5's but I was preoccupied with laundry soap ... it was dripping down the counter. Check out her face as she waits for my response to the question. I responded incorrectly just so I could hear her explanation of how to solve the problem.

Helpful Homeschool Tips or Advice To Share ...
Keep it simple stupid (KISS)! I would be in so much trouble if Alyssa saw me type the word "stupid." We don't like to say that word in our home, but this week that phrase is all I am hearing! Please understand that I am not calling you stupid ... this is directed towards myself. I need to remind myself to KISS every single day - even if it makes my hubby jealous. Hee Hee!

Places We're Going or People We are Seeing ...
This week we traveled into town several times visiting the pediatrician and pharmacist. Alyssa woke up Thursday morning having breathing difficulties. She was out of sorts and seemed dazed and confused. We waited for the doctor's office to call us back and then we drove to the pharmacist to get an allergy inhaler. They gave us nose drops - it was the same meds just a different container. We decided to give them a try. Alyssa immediately threw up after using them. We called the pharmacist and requested the inhaler.  

Alyssa and I stopped by to see the progress on the house. The back porch is looking more complete now. We ate lunch with Jeff and Papa Kenny at Granny D's - a great restaurant with home style cooking and gigantic portions. Alyssa wouldn't eat much at all. I always order the egg and pancake plate. The pancake is the size of a large dinner plate ... and no - I can't finish it. I barely put a dent in it.

She also woke up Friday morning at 3:00 and couldn't breath AGAIN. I made an appointment for her that day. Our daughter was diagnosed with strep and started an antibiotic. She was still not eating or drinking much. Alyssa slept the day away on Friday. Her temperature reached 102.8 that night. We finally got the temperature back to normal on Saturday. She is finally eating food and drinking water.

My daughter had a long conversation with Donna (county commissioner). We sat and talked for several hours during her office hours at the library - just visiting since no one was visiting that day. Alyssa also saw her friend, Pam, at the library and gave her a special Christmas gift. We hadn't seen her in months. She travels around the world and visits her husband in Russia. Alyssa was giddy when she saw her walk in the building.

Our out-of-town plans this week were canceled. We had plans to go to Kerrville, but we didn't want family members to catch strep so we decided to play it safe and stay home. We found out great grandma was sick too so we are waiting until next Sunday to visit them.

Questions and Thoughts I Have ... 

How do I organized Playdough sets? You know ... the ones similar to this. My daughter has accumulated many sets as gifts over the past two years. I currently have most of them stored in tubs. They are so bulky and take up a lot of space but she enjoys using them during her free time. I also love seeing just how creative she can be while exploring the materials.

Thoughts ... so many thoughts running through my head. Last night I couldn't sleep because I had a list of a bazillion things I wanted to do.

My Favorite Thing This Week Was ...

Finding several awesome free Kindle e-books! I love checking Marcy's post titled, "Free Kindle Books for Kids" at Ben and Me. She also has a list of "Kindle Freebies Weekly" that I also frequently check for updates. I also spent a considerable amount of time researching educational iPad apps. Kindle e-books and iPad apps are definitely on my list of favorite items this week.

Alyssa's Favorite Thing This Week Was ...
She was allowed to watch many DVD's this week ... more than usual since she was so sick. Thankfully, she requested her Magic School Bus Complete DVD Series over and over again so at least she was learning different science concepts. This was a last minute Christmas gift that I purchased for her when it was on sale. In fact, I hear that the complete set is currently on sale for 37.99 with FREE shipping. That doesn't beat the deal I found during the holidays, but it is a great price so I would snatch it up soon. It will most likely be available for a limited time. My daughter LOVES the shows! The other night was movie date night with my hubby; she chose the Magic School Bus DVD set to watch in her bedroom as we watched our movie. This is the only date night we are currently having but it helps.

Things I'm Working On ...
I am working on menu planning this month. I made a list our favorite meals in hopes to create a weekly menu soon. Check out my Pinterest Menu Planning Board. Do you have any menu planning pins I should check out? If so leave me your Pinterest url in the comment section so I can visit your boards. My goal would be to eventually have meals planned out for the month. Unfortunately, I noticed that our meals are extremely fattening and this HAS TO change. Yep ... there's my word for the year popping up again! I have been researching healthy meals in hopes to slowly CHANGE our eating habits. I pray that we can get back on track eating the way we used to before packing and the move.

I'm Cooking ...
The aroma of cinnamon apple scents filled the apartment as the Apple Dumplings baked in the oven. I found a simple Apple Dumpling recipe at AllRecipes.com with minimal prep using only a few ingredients. I cut the recipe in half and made a special treat for the family. I used too much sugar by accident. This was truly delicious and a definite recipe keeper! Oh man ... I just realized this recipe calls for soda pop (Mountain Dew ... of all sodas). We haven't ever given Alyssa a can of soda, but I guess she had a few sips in her dessert last night! My husband plans on making the recipe at the fire station for his buddies.

Unfortunately, we ate out A LOT this week because we were running errands and going to doctor appointments. The late nights watching over Alyssa exhausted me - I didn't get much sleep this week because I was constantly worrying over my daughter. I wasn't up to cooking each and every night. Thankfully, my amazing husband stepped up to the plate and grilled several times which eliminated hours in the kitchen.

"Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7 HCSB)

I made bacon yesterday so I heard and smelled bacon sizzling in the pan. I used a couple pieces of bacon to make Alyssa an egg scramble. I am not sure what I will do with all of the leftovers yet. I think I might crumble a piece on my dinner salad tonight. We don't usually eat a lot of bacon so this will be a nice change.

I'm Grateful For ...
My husband's willingness to help with cooking and household chores. I have an absolutely amazing husband! I love him so much!

I am extremely grateful to our real estate agent friend, Valerie, who sold our house and held an unexpected contest this year. We won $500 in gift cards for sending the most referrals her way! At first, we weren't aware that a contest existed. We kept sending people her way because we were so happy with how fast she sold our house and her professionalism. She surprised us one day saying that she was holding a contest and we were in the lead. She never did tell us what the prize would be but we searched high and low for friends selling their homes. You can imagine my shock and excitement when I found that we were going to receive a $500 gift card. Guess what we are getting for school???? You'll have to keep reading to find out.

I'm Praying For ...
I pray that my daughter will recover quickly and her health will be restored. I pray that her newly found allergy symptoms would go away ... I pray that she won't suffer as much or at all. I pray that her strep disappears and that the coughing stops.

I worry for my husband as he works late hours on the house. I pray for his safety as he works on our house alone in the dark. I know that God is watching over him as he works.

We're Still Memorizing ...
Romans 5:8 and Romans 10:9. Visit my Pinterest board to see beautiful scripture posters creating by a fellow crew member (Marcy author of Ben and Me). We didn't spend as much time as we should have memorizing scripture verses this week because of allergy symptoms and the fact that she caught strep, but I am sure we'll catch up quickly after Alyssa starts feeling better. You can read about our scripture memorizing challenge here. We will add new Bible verses to our list tomorrow!

I Have My Eye On ...
A black mini iPad 32 GB is at the top of our list! I know for sure we'll be purchasing one before Valentine's Day because our phone store is having a sale and offering $100 off. What iPad apps do you recommend? I can't wait to share my recommendations with you all soon!

Photo, Video, Link, or Quote ...
I was looking through this year's Christmas photos and I came across this silly photo that I wanted to share with you. I absolutely LOVE this shot! Alyssa saved up her money and shopped at Dollar Tree for a gift for her father. She told me she found the "perfect" gift for him. Please understand ... these two joke around with each other ALL the time. She didn't purchase the "You've Been Naughty Coal" as a mean spirited gift it was more like a prank. She laughed so hard after seeing his reaction to one of her gifts. Then, a couple minutes later she told me how bad she felt. She said she should have bought him a different gift because he works so hard for us. I reminded her that she bought the gift as a joke and that he knows how she truly feels about him.

What did you do this week? 

I will link this post up at iHomeschool Network's Homeschool Mother's Journal.