Year 6, September 13th-16th, 2021: Staying Home All Week - Or Not

 Well, we had a very hardcore bookwork type Monday. Yeah! But I'm still really behind on getting the blog caught up. I've got a smattering of things done on various entries, but nothing is totally complete for the last week or so. But I'll do what I can with today's entry and have to go back and try again tomorrow afternoon. There's just not enough time to enjoy all these field trips AND write about it! Lol! But this week, we only have ONE major field trip, so perhaps we can get caught up. Everybody did stay on task. Justin got his science experiments done, with a bit of help from Jared, which freed me up to catch up with Keturah's assignments this evening. I've had no phone calls or emails related to IAHE, so that's also a blessing in disguise and has allowed me to keep up at home. But I still have a few more things to finish before bedtime that need to be done ASAP before tomorrow. Justin has a doctor's appointment in person so I need to look up stuff for that and I need to pay quarterly taxes. 

Nothing else too special, but that's the whole point. I'm moved on from the emotionally draining weekend and into the normal week of get as much stuff done as I can. And maybe I'll rest at some point, but I probably won't. At least I had a chiropractor appointment today and I can tell I'm going to be sore tomorrow because I was very tight and there were a lot of hot spots to cover. Ouch! At least on all my muscle knots. I nearly fell asleep on the roller bed table again. Which means an earlier bedtime perhaps. But I first have to take care of these other things. No fun. But adulthood. Sigh.

You can just replace the "me" with those who are around me and you get the idea.

And it was still out of stock this morning at 10:30am. You could only find a "used" one for $20. They are still on michaelwsmith.com for $10 though.

So, follow that logic, eh?

Found on Twitter. Best buds, still.

About 45 years ago. Time flies!

Speaking of time flying,......Justin, 12 years ago, when he was just 4 yrs old! That dimple and strawberry blonde hair!

Awww, that's cool that they were in New Hampshire!

#1 BEST SELLER

#1 BEST SELLER, too.

Not sure why Abishai would say that, but no, honey, we have no room in the safe for Legos.

Who says you can't have a high school chemistry lab in your kitchen? Woot! Woot! AND he got another 90% on his closed book science test. He needs to stop complaining about his science book. Sure it's a little bit more slow going, but in the end, he learns the material with the open book study guide and then aces the closed book test. Good grief, son, you're fine. You're self teaching chemistry. Not many can do that. I'm very happy right now. Keep going.

Tuesday was a little less academic and a lot more dealing with who is sick and what am I doing next? Justin woke up with a headache and Keturah was coughing with a runny nose by the end of the day. Justin also felt feverish, but he wouldn't take his temperature. He actually had a regular doctor's visit today and they didn't take his temperature there either, nor did we ask them to. He managed to do some school work, play some video games, laid down a lot, and I'm about to send him to bed early. I don't know what I should do about ASL class in the morning. Part of me says to leave Keturah home because she is actually snotty, and just take Justin, but what if the other parents look at me weird because I'm not being cautious enough because of Covid? Any number of Justin's symptoms could be a Covid symptoms. But Jared's nose has been drippy because of allergies, and we are having a huge drop in pressure because of a huge thunderstorm tonight, so it's all weather related, too. So who knows what to call it. I don't know if we have a policy for sickness. I'll have to text the person in charge in the morning after I see how everyone feels.

Justin's doctor appointment went fine. We switched his ADHD medication to a different stimulant one that hopefully won't affect his appetite one as much. And because of the migraine, his doctor gave us a prescription for the same medication I have, just in a smaller dose. which is perfect. Justin said he quit trying other medications because they wouldn't do anything. The doctor knew to just ask me directly if I suffered from migraines and as soon as I said yes, he asked me what I was on and that's when he prescribed the same medication. I like our PCP. And amazingly, he didn't ask about the Covid shot today. I was a bit surprised actually. Justin did have two others he did "need" and I okay'd because they were the 2nd in a a series we had already started. His blood pressure was perfect and his pulse was perfect. He just didn't feel well today. So, who knows. Maybe it will blow over like this storm, just in a few hours or overnight. Maybe we just all need to rest.

Bwahahahahaha

So, what's the big deal? Why is Biden's "patience running thin" with the American people if 75% of the American people already have at least 1 dosage of the Covid vaccine? Why the threat of telling companies of more than 100 employees that they have to enforce their employees to get the shot or face fines from OSHA? Which, by the way, is illegal. There is no legal precedent for that. The one case that is being used for that had to do with a legal case that started at the local level that went up to the Supreme Court. It didn't stem from a national law or executive order or a violation of a national code of law. So, Biden, stay out of it. And as I've said so before, the Constitutional States, that anything that is not specified in the Constitution as being a federal power, belongs to the states to decide. So Biden cannot just walk around waving his hands declaring this or that any more than Trump did. It has to go through the proper channels. Stop panicking everyone.

Check out Dr. Jay Wile's response here. He asked if he could use my post about Justin and doing Chemistry in the kitchen (instead of needing a co op) on his homepage! Woot! Woot! I said absolutely! And edit it however you need to!

Well, this happened. I won 4 tickets to the RED CARPET PREMIERE of Courageous Legacy at the the Ark Encounter in Kentcuky the first week of October! 4 tickets! Now, who do I take? Well, first I need to watch the first Courageous movie. Lol, it's sometimes hard to get into the "cheesy" Christian movies, but honestly, these aren't your typical "cheesy" movies. These are real Hollywood films that make it to the box office and do alright. It's the real deal! But the premiere is on a Tuesday night, a Rooted night for Jared, so to convince him to got to a crowded night will be interesting. But yes, I WON 4 tickets! Now, that's 4 tickets out of an auditorium of 2,500 and some people are paying for seats, and some paid a good deal for a reception with the actors and such, but I guess it's a huge theater screen and it's the RED CARPET and the actors will be in the audience and all the things. How cool! I'm stoked for a new experience!

The burden shouldn't be on teachers to be teaching right and wrong, but on parents at home to be doing it. Teachers should be focusing on academics, not teaching about morals. Morals should start from at home. But they can't start from home because of statistics like these. When women went to work, kids were left by themselves at home. They got bored. They started getting into trouble. Teen pregnancy rose. But that was only the start. Now a whole generation has turned over. They think it was ok for their moms to be single, so it's ok if they end up single. So they don't get married. They move in together, no permanent commitment is made. The cycle continues. And the rise of things like CRT is only adding fuel to the fire. It's all one gigantic mess. We all need Jesus. Nothing is true or black or white or makes sense without Jesus and the Bible. The world is one big ball of spaghetti without Him. And some days, most days, I can't follow along except to say, all of this is wrong, and I know it in my heart, and there is absolute truth, black and white, and here, read this, and read it for yourself. I can't articulate it to you. But others can.

VAERs is the voluntary reporting system adverse reactions for all vaccines. These numbers are significant. I only know that because I listen to a podcast that compares them to other vaccines. And in that podcast, they were saying other vaccines were pulled way before deaths hit even close to those numbers. So even when you consider that both sides have flaws in their reporting systems and do or don't include other considerations in the deaths of this people, these numbers are significant. You can't just ignore them.

Yup, I've retweeted our governor's words a few times recently. He's willing to stand up for us. And surprisingly, our mayor hasn't put any of the mandates back on us yet. And Indiana does have a spike in Covid cases. And I don't doubt that. Just in my personal social circles, I've had quite a few who have caught the Delta variant and have been hospitalized, with or without the vaccine.

Abishai stayed quiet during my IAHE Rep Mtg on Zoom and wanted to show me what he had built. He made a transport vehicle out of the helicopter and some other pieces. He wanted me to take some pics form all the angles.

Abishai took this photo, see his little finger up there in the right hand corner?

"Get just the extra gun, Mom." Ok, I did.

He said some other little kid made this symbol in the pic in the Lego magazine and he wanted to as well. He had no idea it was a peace sign, lol. He thought it was just a number 2.

Well, I had no idea that so many people would like my post about homeschool co ops and doing high school chemistry lab in the kitchen at home by yourself but over 200 people did! Wowzers! Granted the group is over 10,000 people, but still, I hope it encouraged a lot of people today. Justin has no clue I posted this either. I'll have to check back to Dr. Wile's page to see how he edited it. In hindsight, because we used a 95% proof alcohol in this lamp burner, it might have changed the experiment slightly and the process might have caused Justin's headache today. The lamp did ask for a certain kind of alcohol and I didn't go back and make sure it was right and just trusted that Jared knew what it meant. We think Justin had the lamp on too high and burnt the bottom of the beaker though. Which is kind of a bummer because it's only the second time we've used that beaker. Oh well. We can easily replace it. It's not as easy to replace the whole kit or the alcohol burner. But doesn't Justin look the part of a high school scientist and should be on the cover of a textbook? Lol!

Well, Keturah was still very sick Wednesday morning, so I texted the organizer of our ASL class and told her our story and she said it was probably best if we all stayed home. I agreed. And I had every intention of working hard this afternoon but I was tired and my green couch was very inviting so I sat my backside down and nearly nodded off. I scrolled and scrolled for an hour and it was only a phone call that got me off the couch and it's been a whirlwind since. And I sort of promised Jared an earlier bedtime, so now I feel rushed. I did take it slow after lunch and tried to breathe a little and that was probably not the greatest idea either. I got out some fall decorations with Abishai to keep him occupied while Keturah started her work and Justin was finishing his. It was an overcast day so it just kind of felt like fall, although it was 75 degrees outside. I should have gone outside because it wasn't as muggy as I thought. But I don't have much to do outside. And the neighbors were fixing their back gate and fence in the corner and I didn't want to be out there and be awkward. Abishai went out there and "shopped" through Mr. Floyd and came home with a bunch of new toys. Actually, I think they were toys that belonged to Marco and Mario when they were kids, so back in the 80's or 90's, and one of them still worked when we put new batteries in it! The other ones didn't because the battery terminals were kind of yucky. Justin called them "vintage." Hey now, buster, Mama's not quite vintage yet. 

Poor buddy, I wish I had more time to just sit and play. I don't. I guess that's why I tried to not be on my phone before screen time this afternoon and tried to engage with him during "recess." He actually called it that. He said, "Let's do it like they do in school, Mom, where they have recess after lunch!" I guess he's been watching some TV shows on his tablet that show what a public school day is like. I could fuss and try to counteract that but I know it's not a hill I'm going to die on. The others never cared and they understood when they were older. Our schedule is all over the place anyway and I don't say things like "we do this because in real school they do it" so whatever, no biggie. In my head, yes, I've kind of labeled it as lunch and recess so I can have a lunch break like if I had one in a work day. It helps get the wiggles out and I can catch up on emails. That's my mental break, too. So, I guess I did have a bit more time with him today. AND he insisted on finishing his reading book today when he realized he went over on his pages and had only 3 pages left. INITIATIVE like they learned in Sunday School this week. Yes! So I didn't make him do his last written paper and he'll do that instead of more reading tomorrow. Compromise. 

What can't be compromised anymore is our nutrition. Good grief, I have failed. I've gotten so lazy that I've become like a mom we used to joke with who wouldn't cook any meals during the week when her husband was out of town. It's bad. Kids had who knows what for breakfast and leftover pizza for lunch and dinner today. No veggies. Maybe a piece of fruit somewhere in there. And I just ate a fig almond "cake" for dinner and two pieces of cheese. Jared went out to eat with the Bible study guys because one of the guys is going away for 5 months for work and they couldn't do it tomorrow night. Plus he was gone last night, so there was no point in making a nice meal and eating leftovers tomorrow night when we were all home. We had leftovers on Monday night because we had way too many leftovers containers in the fridge. And last week, we had like 4 meals with Gary and Leah. Yeah, I need to quit that. I need to have a real game plan for food. With more fruits and veggies. That don't come in a misfits box. Possibly frozen. Or a can. I don't know. Some plan. We'll see. Put that on the list of things to solve someday. Right after I solve another mystery letter about a financial aid application from 9 months ago. Yes, again, same one. Same problem. And do I have time to call them tomorrow? Nope. Could I have tried to call them at 3pm? Yup. Did I? Nope. Grr.

We had a severe thunderstorm go through last night and it created quite the lightning show, as well as a lot of rain, and the power flickered, causing the internet to go out for a few minutes. Fun times!

Jared put a video on Twitter but I can't download them from there, so I tried to take a screenshot.

Apparently Abishai got a hold of my phone this morning and took a dozen or so photos before I woke up enough to realize what he was doing. I didn't discover this until 8pm this evening when I went to load them up here. I called him in from another room, "Abishai! What did you do with my phone! What are these!" And all he could do was giggle with a big grin on his face. I will not post the photo of me snoozing. Nope.

Dude, you can't put your finger over the lens, lol.

He's not that bad at taking photos and thankfully, he only took one at a time this time.

Little guy was humming songs we listened to on Sunday while watching the first service, so I played them from the volunteer app on my phone and he danced to them, too. Then they got stuck in our heads all day. Not a bad thing to have happen.

Definitely always a great homeschool meme! Because then there's an instant connection and you start talking a mile a minute. Lol.

Abishai's clay dragonfly from the bug class at Southeastway Park finally dried out fully. We are basic artists. As in, I did most of the work, and that's ok.

Little man sailed through his first first grade reader! I don't have the lesson plans anymore, so I don't know which pages line up exactly with what parts of the workbooks so if we come to a new special sound I just stop and teach it then and there. And if there's been several new ones, I just introduce a new chart or something. I'm sure we are going at a pretty good pace, probably too quick in the reader, so we'll be through them all before the end of the school year no problem. He's still sounding out the words but he's recognizing some things quicker and quicker, so I'm not worried at all. He sees the sight words and knows those. And he asks if something is a special sound or not. I trust good old Abeka and the others learned to read through it so once we get through the readers, I know we've got our base to work with. After that, well, I never remember what I did with any of them, so we'll decide when we get there. For now, we keep on trucking.

Abishai Reading First Grade Reader "Fun With Pets"

A bit of leftover rain on the spider webs outside.

Little big dude can now get started on the swing AND pump his legs back and forth and get HIGHER all by himself. The days of pushing him on the swing are quickly coming to an end. Super sad face for Daddy and me.

Missy has a head cold, not the Covid, a head cold. She slept until 12:30pm. Yup. I let her. Now, I just hope she falls asleep tonight. She did get her homework done. I didn't get to check it because it was way past teacher's teaching time, but we'll go over it first thing tomorrow.

Lots of nose blowing (we use toilet paper as kleenix because it's just as soft and costs a ton less and you use less) and lots of coughing. Plus, she said her head feels like "it's being squeezed into oblivion." She said that no less than 3 times today.

Abishai went "shopping" at Mr. Floyd's house (the neighbor's) and came back with new toys so he took the initiative (like they learned in Sunday School) and got out the batteries and the screwdriver to try to put new batteries into the helicopter all by himself. Actually, this kid has always had the initiative. It's the others and Daddy that need more initiative.

Phooey, the venue where the Michael W. Smith concert will be that I have front row seats to is requiring vaccine validation with ID or a negative test. I'm so not happy but I did expect this to happen. They were the last venue I know of to even open their venue to live performances and Kentucky as a whole has been behind TN and IN in opening up. Looks like I'm getting tested within 72 hrs of that concert. And I'll just be praying that I'm not sick or a carrier or something. I'll be so mad if I am. Front row seats! But hey, I had that extra special concert in July, so I can't complain too loudly. My friend already had the vaccine because of her work, so she doesn't have to worry about it. I can always give the tickets to her and she can take a friend or whatever. At the end of the day, well, whatever, I'm sure I can get front row again. Maybe. Or I don't. At this point, I've had these tickets bought for two years now so the novelty has totally worn off. I've seen him in concert, what, twice now, while waiting for this concert to come around? And the name has changed and the concept has changed and the set list has changed. It's pretty much a whole different thing. So, whatever. I've had front row before. I've met the man many times. I talk to several people on his team here and there. It's all good. I still don't want to be on a testing database, but whatever. It's better than the taking the jab. And I even wrote a post in the fan group to just play nice, get along, and don't complain to Michael or the team. It's not them, it's the venues and the overall touring group or whatever. Leave the MWS team out of it. Vaccine, take the test, sell your tix, don't go, whatever, but don't complain. And that includes myself. Make your decision and stick with that decision. I will take the test because I did see this coming and had already made the decision a couple of months ago. And yes, I had already though through "what if I am positive?" and had my big cry then. So that's why I'm calm now. Sigh. Whatever. It's stupid but whatever. I can't fight all the fights. I'm too tired for that.

Thursday was an interesting day. I was going to get Abishai's schoolwork done and then Justin and I were going to meet up with Kelli and Kya right after lunch to hang out. Well, I got a couple of IAHE phone calls that I thought were going to be 5 minute phone calls that ended up being more like 15-20 minute phone calls so it put me behind a bit. Eek! But we did finally make it out to Brew 52 in New Pal about 2 pm. Abishai did his homework just fine thankfully. I did not have time, again, to go over Keturah's homework, so she got screentime, again, so who knows where we actually ended the week for both her and Justin. She's still fighting that cold and if she's still hacking away tomorrow, I'll have to leave her at home while we go on the field trip to the Indiana Historical Society. At least at this point, I've gotten more used to this concept of not every kid is going to go with me on every field trip and sometimes I'm going to show up with less kids and money will be "wasted." As long as I still show up and I haven't prevented a whole other family from coming, it should be ok. Sickness happens. With Covid stuff, and now regular flus and colds, it's just what it is. It just wish she would cover her cough. 

Anyway, Brew 52 is a very cute coffee shop with expensive drinks and sandwhiches, soups, salads, cookies, etc., but my white chocolate raspberry mocha, 20oz, made with almond milk was worth every penny. Awesome hangout spot for New Pal kids after school and plenty of space and modern and clean and all the things that the Mocha Nut has plus more actually. And, for me, within the same driving time. I was pretty impressed. Justin had gotten permission to share a root beer float with Kya because she has never had one. They made the mistake of sitting on the same side of the booth but facing us and Kelli and I sat in a different booth, several booths down and Kelli was facing them, and I was facing away, and Kelli kept looking at Justin and grinning. Poor Justin. I tell ya, this is going way different than it did with Benaiah. And I'm enjoying it more. Poor Justin, though, is a bit stuck though. They are still officially friends and hanging out. But we, moms, are loving having this extra time hanging out and chaperoning. That's the advantage of having kids who can't drive and being some distance from each other and requiring them to be chaperoned at all times. 

Anywho, yeah, I get to hang out with my new BFF a lot. And I mean, a lot, alot. Let's see. I saw her last Friday for park day, last Saturday for the Pow Wow, today for coffee and we'll see them tomorrow because they signed up for the same field trip again, lol. Who knows, they might even ask if Justin's available to do something with them on Saturday (hint: I'm writing this on Sunday, and yes, they did. Justin went with them to the lake and spend the afternoon on their boat, he had a blast!). And so we've gotten to quickly know each other, which has been awesome. There's still a lot of our stories we don't know yet. I need to write down a few questions so I can piece together some things, but we'll get there. And sometimes, there's no time for serious talk because, well, Abishai, for one. But Kelli is an honest person and she's not afraid to just say things like, "I have to say, are you ok? I can't read your facial expressions right now." Which is totally cool with me. I want to hear that! That means she cares enough to pay attention! And then I can learn and adjust, too. Because yes, I bet, my facial expressions are similar to Justin's in that I'm "lost" out there somewhere, because sometimes, I am. I lose focus in a conversation. Especially if I'm tired or I'm unsure what to say, and that can be with anyone, including Jared or a good friend, it doesn't matter. So I absolutely love it! Tell me more! Or ask me how I'm feeling if you can't "read me." Don't guess. And don't criticize. Because then I can be open and say, yes, I'm exhausted. I'm ready to go. And then she loves to just offer a solution. Or she asks if she has bulldozed the situation and I'm like, nope. Sometimes I need someone to take the reins for a minute, especially in the chaos. Oh, and when we've been in the chaos of a field trip, she's told me to speak up or she'll take my lead, but reminds me to be clear, or whatever. She's like a gentle mama. I've said it before and I'll say it again, like a mentor mom, but not just a mentor mom. Not too much older than me that that's all she is to me. And we agree on those controversial topics so we can "preach to the choir" and/or not say anything at all and just huff and puff about what we've heard and thoroughly understand about current events. She's the extrovert, I'm the introvert. She's the rule breaker, I'm the rule follower. We are definitely having fun together.

But we are going to have to slow down on our meet ups because Justin needs a job, and we need to hit the books harder, and I need to refill my introverted side. The kids don't want to text or call yet, which is wise, and that's one reason for all the meet ups. But next week, I really, really have to get back in the grove of regular schoolwork. We have no field trips and no really odd days.

I finished up my day by going over to a soon to be homeschooler's house who doesn't live far from me and actually attends our church. She had lots of great questions and has already done a ton of research because her kids have some special needs and it's time to pull them. When the best school in the state with the most funding cannot and will not accommodate your child even with the best teachers, you know the system at large is messed up. Parents with special learners make the best homeschool parents because they already know what works and what doesn't work with their children. They've already tried a million things at home on the side to try and help their kids learn. You just point them in the direction of the Special Learners' team and Facebook group so they can specific questions about curriculum that will help for this or that diagnosis and away they go. They already know that their kids will be going at their own pace and will master one thing at a time and will only make it so far. Their expectations for their kids are so different. They already know how to think outside the box. It's so awesome. It's also one of the top 3 reasons I think I people homeschool: the public or private school cannot or will not or are not providing my child with the accommodations necessary in order for them to learn. Even with the "no child left behind" and all these individual education plan's and special reading groups or math helps or whatever, there's still only so much a teacher with a class of 30 students and a school with a limited amount of resource teachers can do. But put a loving mom and/or dad into the mix, and the possibilities are endless. We talked for nearly 3 hrs. The kids and dad were out selling Boy Scout popcorn, so it was a great time for the mom and I. But this is going to go really well for this family. The mom is really, really going to love the freedom this brings. It will be tough at times, but no tougher than it has been. She's a very smart woman and she will get it done! And it seems like her husband is supportive of this endeavor. And that's what makes the late nights and busy schedules worth it for me. I'm just the bridge from the families to the right information. I don't solve their every problem. I don't give them the answer to everything. I just point them in the right direction of the information. They still have to do the hard work of researching, learning, and deciding what is best. But I get to say, "You're going to love this! You can do this! Yes, I think this part is going to work out well for you. Why don't you try this!" And one of my favorites, "You are NOT alone! Many, many, many have been in your situation before. Many have said the same thing. You WILL do right by your children (or grandchildren). You are NOT going to fail them. You are NOT going to hurt them. You've got this." I forget to pray with the ones that are Christian, but that's ok. We all got this. And all of us can pray for the rest of those kids that are "left behind" as well as those administrators and teachers. It will always break my heart, especially the more and more I know of what's going on behind closed doors. I pass kids in the hallways at church and I want to scream and shout and cry and tell my friends to pull them all out right now. But I can't. All I can do is pray for them all as I pass them. I pray that someone else will speak into their lives and open their hearts. It's not my job, just like it's not my job to get through to my sister. Someone else has to. But I will be there after that breakthrough happens. I'm not the evangelist, I'm the discipler. Amen.

We might be going through a heat wave during the day but at least some of the overnights have been much cooler!

That's about where I fall in all of this right now. And with Keturah being sick and coughing everywhere, I want her to stay home because I don't know which virus she has and I don't want her near me, because I don't want to have any kind of virus because I have too much to do to be any kind of sick right now. And I hate rearranging plans. So, I might even have her wear a mask on Sunday if she can't keep her cough covered with her arm. You would think at her age she could do that, but she won't. And oh yes, it's real. I know many people who have been in the hospital on the bring of death with it. Flu is real. And it can lead to pnemonia, which killed my Dad 10 years ago this weekend. Every disease can cause death in the right set of circumstances. We take risks just breathing. But everything can also be manipulated by Satan using people as his puppets, including the government. And I definitely believe that in this case, too. So, I don't do everything that the a fallible government says. Because the government and healthcare should not be intertwined. And the founding fathers knew that they themselves were sinful and that the leaders of tomorrow would be sinful. They purposefully kept government small with very little actual power. We've made it into this giant and now we see the consequences. If only the rest of the world understood history like this, but they can't because they grew up in government funded and run schools which kept out this kind of thinking.

The MWS team are headed to Hawaii for their long awaited trip with 100's of "Friends" that was postponed due to Covid. Yeah! I'm so glad for them! I can't wait to see everyone's photos and videos! I'm not jealous because I wouldn't have wanted to go through all the government hoops to get there. It was appropriate that I had pulled this Flexi clip off the wall to wear today. Aloha! Enjoy!

The End