My own Handwriting

Guess what I did today?!  I made my own font! What fun!  Go to http://www.yourfonts.com. It is super easy! You just print out a grid with all of the letters on it, fill it out, scan it, and download your new font IN YOUR OWN HANDWRITING! I am super excited about being able to type in my scrapbooks with my own handwriting. And let's face it...it's just fun to see a product of "you" when using Microsoft Word. Kind of like when you walk by a mirror, it's hard not to look-  You'll never use another font! {Well, at least if no one else is looking!}

My Head Hurts

I went to a homeschooling conference today. Odd isn't it? (I don't homeschool nor could I if I wanted to since my kids are only 1, 2, and 3!) Anyway, in my very OCD need for planning, I attended a homeschooling conference to do some research on schooling options for Anna in another year and a half! Because I am a conference addict (just went to Hearts at Home a few weeks ago), of course I had a great time! Ah...I just love getting a tote bag, filling it up with kleenex (you always cry at conferences), pens (several- in case you run out of ink), yummy snacks, info on all the workshops you are about to attend, and a brand new notebook- ready for all the information you are about to take in. Sick, isn't it? I know, but what can I say- is there anything better? 

This conference was a  little different for me. Very good and very informative but also very heavy for a newcomer. Usually, I go to as many workshops as I can because my perfectionism drive is so huge that I must at least attempt to conquer every possible issue that could possibly be affecting my life or in the life of someone I love. Today, however, I committed the unthinkable conference addict sin- I skipped a workshop! I had the opportunity (the room was beckoning me) but I just couldn't do it. My head was too full, swimming in a sea of possible curriculums, various philosophies, statistics, and dare I say it...phonics (my most fearsome thing to conquer if I choose to homeschool).  My head still hurts, though I have gotten a little relief from journaling about it. Lucky for my husband that he had a guys' night scheduled and hasn't been home to "hear all about it"- though I already told him that he has a date in the car tomorrow as we do errands and gets the privilege of listening and nodding at all the appropriate moments.

Things I learned: 

- My curriculum style is F-U-N- if it's not fun, I don't want to look at it (this must be my problem with phonics!)

- I need some structure and direction if I'm going to teach. I like my hand held, especially in new things.

- Colleges actually love getting applications from homeschoolers because of their reputation as great students who love learning.

- One of the easiest ways to identify if someone has dyslexia is to see if they can speak Pig Latin- isn't that awesome!? Do you know what I want to do now? I really want to ask everyone I know to speak Pig Latin just to see. 

- All children are kinestetic learners (learn by moving and doing & feeling/touching) until age 3-5 at which point the girls' can change. The boys, however,  won't change their learning style until at least the age of 7.  This means it is a good thing I have girls. I would much rather deal with lots of girly squeeling than 7 + years of wiggly boys. Unfortunately for Ryan, I think he would appreciate the rough-housing and a little less talking. 

- Whenever you need to discipline, bring God's Word into the matter. Ie. if you are dealing with disobedience, talk about what God's Word says about it.

- And last but not least, First E Free is the most confusing church to navigate around in ever! This may also have contributed to my head hurting.

Overall a great day! Thanks to my hubby who suprised me this afternoon by taking half a day off so I could stay all day! He's just awesome. 

Are you wondering if I am going to be a homeschooler? The jury is still out. We'll see what the Big Man has to say about it. But for now, I enjoyed impersonating one for the day. 

Botanical Gardens with the Aunts!

If J.J. Abrams told me to drink Kool-Aid...I just might.

J.J. Abrams, creator of Alias, has made another tv show with a cult following- LOST.  We were big fans of Alias and LOST is no different. We began watching season 1 on DVD in October and finished all 4 seasons in a matter of two months! Sadly, I even had dreams about the characters because LOST had become so much of a staple in our household. Season 5 began in January so our obsession could continue.  Because everyone that watches LOST is a fanatic (there is no where in between), we began talking to a few friends about the show. They ended up inviting themselves over to watch an episode...and that is how it all began. Now, every week, six of us gather to have dinner together, play LOST trivia (complete with prizes), and watch the new episode. Last night we invited the "Others" and had a LOST costume party.   Twelve of us crammed in our living room for all you can eat nachos, a Sawyer's Nicknames quiz, Costume contest, and of course, watching LOST. Everyone had a good time and are ready for more. Maybe our group of six will regularly turn into a group of 12- see what I mean...obsessive! Here are some photos of our party. They won't mean much to you if you don't watch LOST, but here they are anyway. 

I was the airplane that crashes on the island, complete with the airline logo, wings, and plane windows with the charactes faces peeking out.

Sara as Olivia Goodspeed (Ben's teacher, minus the rifle)

Anna and Dan as Charlotte and Daniel Faraday (he even had the leather journal to go with it!)

Group shot. (From top left) Ali as Charlie, Joe as Tom, Ryan as Hurley, Dan as Daniel, Sara as Olivia and Allen as Richard. (From bottom left) Mark as the "random red shirt guy" who always gets killed off, Aubrey as Rousseau, Anna as Charlotte, Beth as Juliet, and Bradley as Charlie (complete with sugar heroine)

Allen as Richard- with eyeliner of course!

Friends since they were babies, Joe and Ryan as Tom and Hurley

a bookmark I made with my Cricut as a prize for a Hurley Quiz with Hurley's face and lotto numbers

Phase I Cleanup

This whole thing has been traumatic for Ryan. Here he is hitting himself with a child's toy anticipating cleanup...



So apparently there is a code for cleaning up waste. Only those who have the privilege of waste management can be enlightened. So sorry to leave you out. If you'd like to be informed, you are more than welcome to come over and join in. Then...you can be in the secret club. See...we even have uniforms.


Trying to make Ryan feel better...



And Phase I Cleanup Begins!

Stay tuned...Phase II coming shortly!

What I am calling the Sewage Flood of 09...

More background: Three weeks ago we had most of the stuff in our basement in one huge but nice neat pile at one end of our basement. Being the messy/want-to-be neat freak that I am, I decided we must organize our storage area. SO...I made Ryan help me divide everything by category. Once everything was divided by category, we were going to organize each category into storage bins, number them, and write down everything in them on an index card. That way if we needed something, we just look at the index card in that category and find which number box it is located in, making retrieval a breeze. Nice thought, huh? So being the excellent finisher of projects that I am (HA! HA!) instead of one nice neat pile of things on the OPPOSITE end of the basement where the sewer water came in...we had about 10 piles spread out ALL OVERthe basement separated into...you guessed it....categories. Now, not to be too hard on myself - we actually did get about 10 bins actually organized and put away but we still had a lot left. So when the water came....it hit us in categories! Anyway, just thought I'd share that optimistic little fact there just in case you were desperately wanting some more depressing Irwin news!

Here is the basement filling up with water- hard to tell where the water is- wish I used a ruler but...oh wait, the ruler was stuck in my craft supplies on the other side of the basement already submerged!

ick!

Guess what I got to do last night? Ryan and I had some real bonding time. At 11 pm, we discovered our pipes in the basement were backed up and sewer water was coming into our laundry room area. There was about 2 or so inches of standing sewage water. 20 minutes later...Ryan comes to get me in bed to tell me to get up we must go salvage things in the basement. The sewar water was pouring in by that point. So there we are standing in rising sewer water trying to rescue our photos, memorabilia, clothes, etc. while the nasty water continued to creep its way into all of the corners of the basement. By morning our whole basement was covered 2-5 inches deep in utter yuckiness. Good news? A guy came out and fixed it, making all the water go away! Bad news? The water went away but not the sewage...so now the cleanup begins! Normally, I try for some humor when I am blogging about something like this. Maybe I should wait awhile. Humor currently escapes me. Oh, and by the way, I forgot to mention that I am sick.