Weekly Wrap-Up: The one with a bunch of random stuff
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Happy Friday, y’all! How was your week? It’s been an absolutely gorgeous first week of fall here. Doors and windows have been open, fresh breezes wafting through the house. I love it! The cats love it, too.
It’s hard to believe that October will be here next week. It’s time for pumpkin everything. Are you a fan of pumpkin? I thought I wasn’t, but last year, I got a wild hair (Is that a Southern expression?) to try a pumpkin pie recipe with fresh pumpkin.
Unfortunately, it was too late in the season to find fresh pumpkin, but in searching recipes I discovered something – it’s not pumpkin I don’t like, but the strong spices in a traditional pumpkin pie. I made a pie without all those spices and loved it.
So, in celebration of the first day of October, next week I’m making this delicious-sounding pumpkin crunch cake to take to my sister’s house for dinner. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Monday started off with dental appointments for the whole crew – back-to-back. I hate dental appointment day. Thankfully, it’s only twice a year.
Now that Brianna can drive herself there, it makes sense to split them up again. For our next round of teeth cleanings, Brianna will have her own appointment, Megan and I will go together, and Brian and Josh will go together. After probably 10 years of having to sit through 3-4 dental appointments back-to-back, it’s going to be wonderful to only have to sit there for two!
Brian was off a couple of days this week, so we had a couple of breakfast dates. That was really enjoyable. On Thursday, we wandered around this little antique store because the old windows on their sidewalk caught my eye. I really want an old window as a backdrop for photos.
Anyway, inside they had a school section. I was a little miffed to find the chairs that I distinctly remember sitting on when I was in school in an antique store, but whatever. I discovered this guy:
Isn’t he cool? I’d have been tempted if he hadn’t been $450.
We got back to the local indoor trampoline place this week. We’ve been patiently waiting until all the public and private schools were back in session.
The place is packed when the schools are out and pleasantly deserted when they’re not. It’s so nice to be able to go and hang out with a few friends and practically have the place to ourselves – particularly when they offer an extra half hour of jump time for free for homeschoolers on Wednesdays.
That blasted stink bug was just out of reach.
Thursday, Josh had his second in-car driving lesson as part of the defensive driving class he’s taking. We’re hoping it’s going to net us a nice savings when it comes time to add him to our insurance.
I’ve only got until next Wednesday, September 30, to secure sponsors for my Compassion International kids. I found a sponsor for Toussin, but Pearl and Domingo still need sponsors. It’s only $38 per month and is such a blessing to these kids – and to their sponsors. Our entire family gathers around every time we get a letter from Nathan or Scarleth.
Would you consider sponsoring Pearl or Domingo? Email me for details. If you can’t sponsor, would you please share this post with your family and friends and encourage them to contact me by September 30?
This week, over at About.com, I’m offering tips on how to start homeschooling mid-year and how to write your own unit studies. I wrote my own unit studies exclusively for 2 or 3 years. Other than being a bit time-consuming, it wasn’t that difficult and was actually pretty fun.
One more thing – don’t miss this week’s giveaway of a set of 4 Tabletop Scientist books from Dover. You’re going to love these full-color, beautifully illustrated books full of hands-on science experiments that, for the most part, use items you’ve probably got lying around your house.
And before I close, just because I know it will probably make someone feel better, I’ll confess to telling Megan, my 8th grader, that I’d rather be helping Josh with his algebra than helping her with her 8th grade math. Metric conversions, anyone? Yuck!
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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.
$450!! Oh my goodness, you could get one new for next to nothing. That’s so expensive – although I guess it is because it is old?? I giggled when I read about the antique chairs (gosh, we really must be getting on a bit…..)
Love the cute kitty pictures.
That anatomy guy. Seriously. You’d win like 8 million homeschool mom points if he was in your house. 🙂
Have you ever used or heard of Far Above Rubies? I’d love to hear what you think of it!
The magazine? Some friends used to read it in the early, early days of our homeschooling journey. It was too conservative for my tastes.
No not the magazine! The Curriculum. 🙂 its a Unit Study that has 20 units and many Mini units within it. It covers everything except math and science that has labs.
Never heard of it. Sorry!