Weekly Wrap-Up: The One Before Valentine’s Day

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Happy Friday!  It’s time for another Weekly Wrap-Up, where you can share a tip for what worked or ask for suggestions for what didn’t and always focus on what you did accomplish rather than lamenting over what you didn’t.  This week it’s the super-early edition since this afternoon promises to be crazy with people going in all different directions.

It’s been a good, but busy (always!) week at the Weird, Unsocialized household.  Science has been fun for both the younger kids and my high schooler.  Brianna has been doing stuff with an egg.  I wish I’d taken pictures of all the different stages.  First, she soaked it overnight in vinegar to remove the outer shell.  If you’ve done that before, you know how cool it is.

The next night, she soaked it in Karo syrup.  We’d never done that part before.  Very interesting!  It turned into a shriveled up glob.  Today it’s soaking in water.  It’s already puffed back up to normal size and the consistency of the outer layer has gotten more solid.  It’s been a very interesting experiment.

Megan and Josh have been learning about pill bugs (better known as rolly-pollies here in the South).  It was surprisingly easy to find a few to observe, despite the cold.  Unfortunately, they don’t seem to want to unroll and cooperate.  Even so, it’s always more fun to actually observe a critter rather than just read about it.

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We’ve done some more History Pockets in our study of colonial America.  My kids aren’t real crazy about cut and paste activities, but the one we did this week actually seemed to capture their interest a big more.  It was a Mayflower book with the back being a cut-out of the ship and the pages cut in the shape of the hull.

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There was some more grumbling about writing this week, but after the initial – and seemingly mandatory fussing – the assignment went very smoothly.  I keep telling myself that if I just keep pulling them along, they’ll be independent writers some day. 

Last weekend, we drove about an hour and a half from home to pick up an aerobic step I found on Craig’s List.  I know it sounds crazy, but I knew exactly what I wanted – and it retails for $150.  I’d found a few on e-Bay, but they were all around $75 by the time you figured in shipping.  This one was only $10!  Even with gas, it was a great deal.

I was thrilled to find that the step was in like-new shape and, as you can see, it’s already being put to great use:

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Actually, the poor cat has already lost his window seat since I carried it to the basement with my other workout equipment.  He enjoyed it for a day or so, though.

Our trip was not uneventful.  I thank God that He had His hand of protection on us.  We were probably halfway into the trip, driving down a four-lane section of Interstate with an 18-wheeler just ahead of us in the lane to our right and one beside him to his right.  After the rig in the far right passed him, the one nearest us moved into the lane behind the him – clipping the car that he didn’t see right behind the first rig.

The car came straight across all four lanes of traffic just as if it were pulling across from a side road – and right in front of us!  She hit the grassy median and turned a bit before hitting the guard rail.  If Brian hadn’t been paying attention, wondering where the car was since he’d just seen it, no doubt we’d have been in a serious car accident.  We were seconds away from it.

By the time we’d gotten our bearings enough to think about stopping, we were too far down the road to safely do so, but the 18-wheeler stopped and Brianna said the car behind us did, too.  I still regret that we didn’t, but we’re sure the driver was okay, other than being very shaken up and probably banged up and sore.  Her car was just clipped in the back and she just kind of slid into the guardrail.  I’m sure it didn’t do much for her Friday night, but it could have been so much worse.

After that excitement, the highlight for my kids was dinner.  I was within sight of my beloved Chili’s when we spotted something even better to the majority of our crew – a Long John Silver’s and a Taco Bell…together!  Oh, the wonder of it all.  The same restaurant with your choice of tacos or fish.

Yeah, sometimes it doesn’t take much to impress us.

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Kris Bales is a newly-retired homeschool mom and the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest founder (and former owner) of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. Kris and her husband of over 30 years are parents to three amazing homeschool grads. They share their home with three dogs, two cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, and seven birds.

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19 Comments

  1. LOL! I can totally understand how a LJS/Taco Bell can be a wonderful thing. I'm so glad that you and your family avoided that car. How terrifying!

    Thanks, as always, for hosting this link-up!

  2. I'm so glad your family wasn't involved in an accident. Those close-calls are so very scary!

    I remember the egg experiment – that one was pretty cool. Amber will be dissecting the earthworm and the fish this month with a friend who is also taking the class. I'm so happy she has a dissection partner that isn't me!

    Samantha

  3. We have the history pockets too! My kids hate cutting so to avoid the bad attitudes it will bring out lol i do it ahead of time! Keeps the learning going!

    Love the pic of the cat & dog looking out!!

    We had a science lab this week!

  4. I'm so glad your family is ok! That sounds like it was scary! Yay for finding such a good deal on your step!

    I forgot to tell you this, but a few weeks ago I clicked on your link for Homeschooling Through High School and I ended up signing up for the program! Thank you SO much for that link! I did get the 2 free ebooks, and I'm enjoying the lessons as they come.

    Thanks again!

  5. Oh wow – so glad it didn't turn into a serious accident!

    We had a pill bug pet for a couple of weeks. I learned more about pill bugs than I ever wanted to know, but Matthew really enjoyed it and was sad when Mr. Pillbug "escaped" to go back home. (escaped into the garbage when I found out he was dead, lol.)

    Have a wonderful weekend! 🙂

  6. So thankfuly that you guys are safe! Amazing how God's hand of protection is over us even when we don't realize we need it!

  7. rolly-pollies! oh boy 🙂 Yes indeed the Lord was protecting you!

    Thanks again for hosting the weekly wrap. I am always able to find some success, no matter how small.

  8. Glad to hear that you avoided that accident and that everyone is okay.

    I always enjoy reading your weekly wrap-ups.

  9. Lisa,

    I'm glad you found the Homeschooling High School information helpful. I did, too, when I read through it. I could probably stand a refresher course. 😉

  10. That looks just like my cat…always looking for a place to sit!

    We are rejoicing with you at God's hand of protection on you and your family. praise God.
    Kimberly @ joyfulmomma.com

  11. Wow! Near misses like that sure make you appreciate His protection!

    I've never heard of this egg thing before; we may have to do that soon! Enjoy your pillbugs; we're still buried under feet of snow – and my trip to my folks' house today was canceled because we're supposed to get an ice storm this afternoon.

  12. Love your post! Writing is always an issue for my son, but I keep telling myself the same thing- keep pulling them along, and they'll independent writers someday.
    This is my first link to Weekly Wrap-up, and I'm excited for next week already!

  13. Your science experiment sounds interesting! What science is that from? The History Pocket sounds interesting. I am SO glad that you did not get into an accident.

  14. Yikes! So thankful y'all are safe!

    Haven't tried the egg in Karo syrup. I think I'm going to go do that right now. Who says I can't be spontaneous?

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