Monday, June 30, 2008

Just how much weight can you lose with the wiifit

plus Weight Watchers?

9 lbs in about a month.

Nice, huh?

I have never had a weight problem in my life so imagine my surprise when I suddenly gained 30 pounds in less than two years. It was shocking how quickly it went on. I was also unable to shake it, largely because I was unable to focus on the problem.

I don't know what changed in me but suddenly the desire was there. Really there. The inner motivation. The desire to stuff whatever in my mouth that wasnt tied down was gone. I've never been a binge eater before in my life and I didnt really recognise that's what I was doing when I did it.

I really hope that the rest of my weight will come off as easily as this first 9. I feel pretty sure it will. I have no feeling of deprivation what so ever. Today I enjoyed both beer and chocolate!

I can't wait to wear my favorite skirts again. Maybe I'll even get in them before summer is over.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

SCOOOOOORE

Core 5- $349 on ebay.


Now, we are going to church.

its the Last Chance mass. You know, your last chance to squeeze it in or you have to go to confession.

Friday, June 27, 2008

In Keeping With The Theme

The theme being There is No Theme, I have decided to post about my weight loss.

Its slow going. But its going.

For the first time in about 9 months...maybe more, Im below a certain threshold. This is excellent news. If I try to focus on the 7 or so pounds I have lost (through Weight Watchers and wiifit) maybe I'll forget how far I have to go.

If I could drop ten pounds I'd be happy. if I could drop fifteen I'd be ecstatic. 20 would be flat out orgasmic.

I've always had a healthy relationship with food and I have never had a weight problem. So this is new territory for me. Any time I have had to lose weight before it has been due to a new baby arriving! This time its entirely due to brownies and ice cream and eating like a pig.

What is great news is I have kicked the binge habit. Depression and sloth fueled the piggy phase and now that they are both gone (thankyou Jesus, for the sunshine and warm weather!) I am having no problem whatsoever losing at the slow but steady pace of a pound or so a week.

Hopefully next winter wont mess me up.

After 3 kids I know I'll never be bikini fit again. I have stretch marks like plow furrows. But there is no reason for frumpery.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Homeschool Planning

Im going to use this place to organize my thoughts and plans for the coming year.

We are plowing ahead in our study of US History currently. We have about 9 weeks left of Sonlight's Core 4. We are roaring through the '20s and we are about to become Depressed.

Our main text for the current time frame is Joy Hakim's History of Us, which has supplanted Landmark curently because Landmark (formerly fabulous) got sort of dull. Not sure why. Lack of detail mainly. Hakim gave us a chapter on jazz, baseball, and Hubble.

Sometimes more is more.


Next year is a challenge. Core 5 as written is a protestant missionary nightmare, Im afraid. Since Im both more secular in my focus and also a catholic its got to be changed, at least a little. The first change we'll make is to drop the 100 Gateway Cities book. We'll replace that with DK's Children Just Like Me. We will add Material World. Another resource we probably wont be using is the Unreached People DVD. I find it slightly irritating that Sapporo, Japan (home to a once thriving catholic population) is featured in the film. More than that, Im not interested in conversion, especially. If that means Im a bad christian so be it. I dont pray for conversion of people to my faith. Nor will my kids.

The meat of core 5 are the wonderful readers. Of all the years, Core 5 offers the most enjoyable selection of readers. Though my son typically dislikes the SL readers I don't think he will object to core 5. The read alouds are also excellent. Very excited about them!

The spine of Core 5 is the EHE- Eastern Hemisphere Explorer used with World Book's computer encyclopedia. To get the most of this I need to buy it new AND I'd need a brand new SL IG as well- those three resources alone would run me about $150. its been redone this year and improved. But unfortunately it sounds like its still not too great. People complain about the workload but for me, its the style of the work. Read the Encyclopedia and then answer the questions in the EHE.

I don't think that sounds particularly interesting. Nor is it feasible with 2 kids.

So we are going another route. I believe I will be purchasing core 5 used, from ebay, almost complete. If I can manage to get the core for about 375ish (its around 600 new) and I add Trailguides with most of the key resources AND I add my logic and visual perception stuff AND an art card game AND a math program for Calum and Easy Grammar and a few other things, I'll still be paying less than I would for Core 5 new with the EHE. As a bonus, I have a ten percent off coupon for ebay right now. The other stuff comes from Rainbow Resource.

Next year Calum will continue with Singapore Math 3A and B. We'll see how it goes. Long division is the stumbling block I foresee. Al will do Teaching Textbooks 5 at double time- 2 lessons a day. When he finishes, we'll buy TT6. He is currently on lesson 38 and there are a total of 114 lessons in TT5. Its going well and I love the program. He says its stupid but there is actually very little objection (relatively) when it comes to him actualy doing it. If TT 4 came out I would probably buy it for Calum now. TT is NOT challenging, but its comprehensive and frankly, math between 3rd and 6th grade is all review preparing you for the eventual jump to algebra. Hopefully by 7th grade my boys will be ready for pre algebra. They should do algebra in 8th grade.

Both boys will do Easy Grammar. Calum will start Just Write and Al will continue it.

Spelling is up in the air. Im using Sequential Spelling now. I like it. It is easy and cheap. Calum used Spellingtime.com this year but I am balking at the price now. It was free the first year, 28$ last year and is up to 35 or so now. Im looking seriously at All About Spelling or Spelling Power. AAS is Orton Gillingham based which sounds good. And Spelling Power is a one time 50$ lay out.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

I feel I should be posting something here...

Random Thoughts for today

Kid 1 is at camp all week. Its so easy when he is not here in some ways. However, he is a more rewarding child in many ways than his siblings because when you take him places he absorbs the information and is excited by it. He can engage on a level they can not or will not. I took kids 2 and 3 to our local living history museum yesterday and was much disappointed in the level of engagement from them. Its not about their ages, either. Because ds1 was always able to absorb and retain info from a very early age. But more than that, his level of interest in novel ideas has always been much much higher.

Kid 2 is a smart kid. Possibly smarter than kid 1. But he is simply not as interested in thinking about things or analyzing them. He is interested in pitching next year, making basketball goals, scoring in soccer and watching any sport that comes on the TV.

Kid 3 fell today. When she got up she was very shaken and not herself. She is 3 and she fell for no reason I can see. She fell on her back which is odd. When she got up she was not breathing right and her cry was not normal. She sounded terrified. A couple of times in her sleep or when waking she has done something weird where she shakes a bit. Im needlessly concerned, no doubt, but the word seizure is blinking though my brain. Unfortunately she fell out of my sight and the first I knew of the fall was hearing the very stilted, odd cry. Then picking her up she was shaking. No marks or bruises. Not her normal response to pain which is a lusty loud cry which is easily stopped. This was a trembling child, gasping.

Im thinking of calling the doctor. That's how weird it was.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Predictable

I have a friend that I see once in awhile- her kid is only 5 so our kids do not mesh well. Or at all, in fact. They hate each other.

Anyway, yesterday we went to their pool ostensibly so we could talk about a book we all read. I knew it wouldnt go well. I knew because the kids didnt want to go in the first place. I knew because whenever we see them it goes poorly. Really Im not sure why she ever invites me anywhere.

The only surprise was that instead of the Usual Suspect acting up, it was the second child. The good child. Can I get a giant WTF? Yeah.

So I left the pool after an hour or so because my middle child is screaming "I HATE YOU" and trying to drown me. I was trying to get him out of the mood he was in my tossing him in the pool- which normally kids enjoy, but apparently this one does NOT when he is already pissed off.

He was rudely demanding to leave and I had NO IDEA why.

Turns out that some older kids he had been playing ball with had made fun of him when the ball rolled into the Ladies room and he just went in and got it.

So a few things I have to say about this:

1. I hate kids. My own included, but most certainly not exclusively.

2. Im done with the humility lessons, God, let's move on to something less public. I got the message. I suck. I am not nor will I ever be Mother of the Year. OK ALREADY. JESUS! (That's an ejaculation not a swear.)

3. I HATE my children's birthdays. Every year I become depressed and irritable at their birthdays. Who knows why. Its a firm step in the right direction- just 7 and 10 more years respectively til they can move out and I can mourn their childhoods and regret all the time wasted or misspent like any proper parent would.

Monday, June 09, 2008

A few random things

Im not much of a blogger and Im ok with that.

Just a short list of things going on around here....and a random thought or two.

1. Im covered in poison ivy. Or poison something. We cant find any poison ivy. None of us are able to identify poison oak or sumac. I have a failry virulent systemic allergic reaction happening with most of the rash on my belly and thighs. Its nothing like the heinous pics you can google. Its just aggravating and itchy. I have a scrip for prednisone but dont want to go there. Apparently it can make you grumpy. My family cant take that level of irritibility.

2. My kids are really predictable. This is both a blessing and a curse. For instance, I know when they will have trouble. I know when they'll act up. BUT I also know that I can go to the pool and Brenna won't do anything weird or crazy if I look away. This post brought to you by my neighbor's child who terrified us all yesterday by leaning way over for a good look at the deep end (having managed to evade her mother and get all the way to the other side of the pool) then pooped in the baby pool.

3. I cleaned the carpet last month and it now looks grody. I mean just nasty. Apparently I need a new steam cleaner because my bissell failed to extract the water it spat onto the rug. And whatever residual chemicals are on there are attracting dirt galore.

4. I signed up for Weight watchers. between that and my wiiworkouts I have lost 4 pounds. weeee! 20 to go! No idea how I got so fat, but it is disturbing. I'd settle for losing 15 pounds if it means I can wear my skirts.

5. My muscles are very very weak! Im ashamed. At some point I may eschew the wii and join a gym. Don't fucking laugh. I know! I don't even own gym shoes. A girl can change!