Morning update

Today started much happier than the day before! Let's hope it continues...
My husband is here, arriving sometime around midnight. He's sleeping on the oh-so-comfy couch beside me. I'm sure he's exhausted from his trip and the stress of this. What were the odds that those 6 days he was scheduled to be gone, I'd go pre-eclamptic anyway? We talked about it, planned for it, but it seemed quite odd that it should happen at exactly that window of time. I'm happy to have him home, although I wish he could've enjoyed the full length of the trip.

Yesterday the nurse labeled me "mild" pre-eclampsia. If you are going to have anything, "mild" is a good title to have! "Severe" is a pretty lousy title to have, and that is what I entered the hospital with for little Z when we were 29 weeks along. So, trust me...this is better. The nurse did say that I am being watched carefully because mild pre-e only goes in one direction: worse. I think everyone is fully expecting the "severe" title to land on my head at some point, but the "when" is missing. For now, I feel pretty dog-gone good, all things considering. I am allowed to get up on my feet for activity 3 times per day, 15-20mins each time. I can walk myself to the bathroom (always a great luxury) - although the nurse has to help me unstrap from various monitors and such. I have a laptop with internet access. And my room is actually quite nice! It's a labor & delivery private room with tv, couch, chairs, & refrigerator. If it weren't for poking and prodding, I'd think I was at a hotel!

So that's the news as of 8am. Of course, it can always change in the blink of an eye, hour by hour. And for anyone wondering...this is most certainly our last child, because 2 out of 3 pre-eclamptic pregnancies is quite enough for me! We'd always imagined ourselves with 4 kids, but I think 3 is what God is gifting us with:)

Greetings from the hospital!

My one-handed typing ability & internet connection time is limited, so overlook my poor writing. I am in the hospital until the drs decide that the baby needs to be born. It is pre-eclampsia, but in it's earlier stages - although it came on rather suddenly. Last Friday's tests were normal, but Tues proved higher bp, protein in urine, & swelling of extremeties with rapid weight gain. These things are always a whirlwind adventure, lots of ups and downs. It is hard to update when info changes suddenly & drs make new decisions. Example: this a.m., dr comes in almost ready to perform the c-sec based upon signs that baby was in distress. I'm taken off all food/liquid, given an iv, and prepped for the worst. Two hrs later, baby checks out fine. Five hours later and I'm enjoying a large lunch with soda pop:) The next dr decides we're ok (but need to be cautiously monitored) - for now I can eat, shower, & take 3 walks about the room per day. I am on bp meds, which is helping to lower my bp. Tonight or tomorrow could be another time of things taking a nose-dive, so it really is something we take hour by hour. Baby is 3o weeks 3 days gestation. The ultrasound tech guestimates she is 3lbs 4oz. Thank you all for the well wishes & prayers & offers of help - I am truly blessed to have such friends! I've passed along the offers of help to my dad & brother, who are taking care of the girls, & I've encouraged them to call upon you if they need anything. My husband is ending his trip early and should arrive in MI late tonight - he also knows where to find you, lol.

going to the hospital

Just a quick note...won't be blogging for a little while. I am going to the hospital for pre-eclampsia. I might end up coming back home on bedrest, but probably not. Prayers are appreciated! I feel very upbeat and positive that things are going to turn out A-OK. We are in God's hands and God is GOOD!

Attitude differences...

One day, I told my husband that the 6yo was given an Open-Book Spelling Test. She had the teacher's guide with all the words before her. She got most of the spelling words WRONG, LOL. His response was something like this -

We're talking about Z. She'll finish anything, but doesn't care if it's right. Whereas A. wants all the answers to be perfect but doesn't care to finish.

And that is sooo true!! I really think Attitude has a lot to do with Learning Styles. In fact, I think it may have more of an impact - at least for my kids, it does. It really affects how I need to teach them.

The 8yo's math was a good example. She already knows how to subtract with simple renaming (regrouping, borrowing, whatever). But now she is learning what to do when you try to rename from the tens, but the tens group is too small (a number like 706 on top, and 459 on the bottom). She has to rename twice in the tens group (it becomes a 10, and then it becomes a 9). As soon as she saw this on her page, it was instant terror, instant "I can't do this", instant "I can't learn this!" I knew she could do it: she learns math concepts very quickly, and she is really good with place value. She is slow to calculate, but she is quick with concepts. But she refused to even listen to an explanation. Well...it took a lot of pep-talking, and a few breaks (we took a snack break and a walk to the mailbox break). We used blocks, we worked step-by-step. As suspected, she did pick it up instantly, as soon as I could get her to stop fussing and pay attention. She still doesn't think she understands it, but every step was done correctly, every answer right. We ended up splitting the lesson in half and will do the other half today.

During the initial freak-out yesterday, the 6yo grabs her sister's math work and says "can I do it instead?" LOL. I'm sure if I'd agreed, she wouldv'e had every problem answered, but with a hodge-podge of different numbers thrown together for looks. And I'm sure she would've been quite proud of herself for doing 3rd gr math, even if the answers were wrong;)

Information about Pre-eclampsia

I came across this article on my search the other day, and thought it was a very well-rounded read:

Diagnosis and Management of Pre-eclampsia

It seems to cover everything - from gestational high blood pressure to severe pre-eclampsia, and all the things in between. It talks about different types of treatment, depending on severity. Of course, severe pre-eclampsia ultimately leads to delivery of the baby, the only real known treatment.

There is also Pre-eclampsia.org, which has Information and Forums. In the Forums, there is a section called Ask the Experts, which are questioned answered by medical doctors. Ask the Experienced has moms that have experienced pre-eclampsia firsthand, and have become self-taught experts on the subject. Their knowledge is very in-depth.

Weekly Review

This was an interesting week...

School on M-W, and an all-day Bible verses study-a-thon in prep for the last day of AWANA. My 8yo finished all of Discovery 8, start to finish, which had to have been about 16 verses, plus other activities. She passed her book with flying colors! The 6yo also passed her book - she had 3 things to memorize plus activities.

Thurs - Bring Your Kid to Work Day. The 8yo spent the day with her dad and I heard it was a very productive and fun day. I had a dr appt, then took the 6yo out to McDs for lunch, and we played some video games together (her idea of a "special day")

Fri - kids opted to clean their room instead of doing schoolwork. Daddy managed this, while I took a trip out, running errands.

The dr appt
I brought my blood pressure cuff to the dr appt, and they decided that my cuff (with the high blood pressure readings) may actually be accurate, whereas they had been using a larger cuff, giving me lower bp readings. Using my cuff, this put me in the hypertensive 140/90 category, eek! To make sure that this isn't pre-eclampsia rearing its ugly head, I had to do a 24 hour urine test, and another blood test. I have another appt on Tues, to double check bp & all that. So far, I feel fine - no headaches. Tomorrow is the 30 week point.

Academics
The 8yo did subtracting with renaming in Math. Spelling words covered CVC + ing and CVCe + ing words. She finished 2nd gr English, and will begin 3rd gr English next week. She also completed 3 assignments in Reading. She is finally out of the Bible verses section in her Familiar Quotations copywork.

The 6yo took 2 math tests to finish off her 1st gr Math. She finished her 1st gr Reading books & workbook. She did a lot of matching rhyming words this week in English/Phonics, and some alphabetizing. She completed 3 Handwriting assignments. Spelling words were "-one" words, and some CVCe +ed words. I never did test her on those words...guess I'll do that Monday!

Recipes

I cleaned out my purse this morning and found a hodge podge of recipes I'd written down from various magazines. You know when you're sitting there in the doctor's office waiting room, and you find a yummy recipe in one of the magazines? I'll post my finds here, so that way I don't loose them, and the rough copy can be tossed.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Ingredients:
1 c butter, melted
2 c. graham cracker crumbs
2 c. confectioners sugar
1 c & 4 TBSP Peanut Butter, divided
1 ½ c chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Mix butter, crumbs, sugar, & 1 c peanut butter
2. Press in ungreased 9 x 13 in pan
3. Microwave chocolate chips w/ 4 TBSP peanut butter on high 1 minute. Stir. Microwave 30 secs, stir. Repeat until smooth.
4. Spread over crust. Refrigerate 1 hour & cut into bars. Store in the fridge.

Truffles

Ingredients:
2 ½ pkg (20 squares) Baker’s semi sweet chocolate, divided
1 pkg 8 oz cream cheese softened

Directions:
1. Melt ½ chocolate
2. Mix with cream cheese
3. Form balls (shape into 36 balls)
4. Refrigerate
5. Melt rest of chocolate
6. Dip truffles in chocolate with a fork.
7. Decorate (roll in chopped peanuts, or sprinkles, or powdered sugar, or unsweetened cocoa powder, instead of dipping in chocolate). Refrigerate 1 hour.

This last one is just a bunch of ingredients, I'm assuming they get tossed together somehow. It looked tasty, anyway...

Snack Mix?
Peanut Butter, honey, granola, peanuts, and popcorn pieces.
I think this sort of makes a snack mix or granola mix of some sort.

The Week Ahead...

29 weeks of pregnancy, as of yesterday. It was the anniversary marker for when I had the severe pre-eclampsia with my last pregnancy. So far, I'm feeling pretty good (no pounding headache or stabbing stomach pains).

This week is the LAST WEEK to pass sections for AWANA. We have some catching up to do!! We will spend most of our focus Mon-Tues-Wed on learning verses and completing sections.

The 8yo has 7 sections to pass if she wants to finish her book. Four-five of these sections involve memory verses. Another section involves finding a missionary and asking them questions (so we need to find a missionary in the next 3 days! LOL) Another section involves drawing a picture in the dark, and then drawing the same picture in the light. A few more sections involve researching Bible verses and answering questions.

The 6yo has 3 things to memorize: the AWANA song, a list of rules about being kind to others, and a Bible verse. We also need to find a missionary and give them money (any takers? LOL). I also need a photograph of said missionary. I think she has a coloring page to complete, and then I think that is it.

Library books are due from 2 libraries, so need to make some library trips.

Bring your kid to work day is this Thursday. The 8yo will be going to work with her daddy. I have a dr appt with my tag-along 6yo. I'll make the day special for her: it'll be just a Mommy and Me day.

This week, we worked on the 8yo's Work Ethic, LOL. I've come to the realization that - yes, learning can be fun - but, only if you are willing to put work into it. Ballet dancers love dancing because they put the work into it in order to get those results. Professional ball players, same thing. Scientists, hair dressers, you name it...you have to be willing to put the work into it. Our "love of learning" has been lacking. Lapbooks meet with groans, hands-on manipulatives meet with cries of protest, creative endeavors relating to areas of learning all fail miserably. Why? Because we aren't willing to work. It is an important lesson for us both to learn!

3rd grade:
The amount of work was increased this week. I expected full math pages to be completed. I expected her to do her own writing (instead of narrating to me what I would write for her, and prompting her through it, while gnashing my teeth). On Monday, school lasted from 9am-6pm. We only did basics. She burst into tears many times, and we had many heart-to-heart talks. Tuesday, the kids did school with Daddy while I had my dr appt. School was finished by the time I got home. (I should mention that Daddy is Magic, and inspires a good deal of hard work and good behavior). Wednesday, school lasted from 10-2, with breaks in between, and had a minimum of tears - things are definitely getting better. Thursday, my attentions were torn between prep for co-op, and schooling kids, so it was a disjointed day. However, my 8yo produced a rather nice writing assignment on giraffes. The writing assignment was given on Monday and went through its various stages of editing to reach the final product on Thursday. I should post a photo (but not now, since I'm short on time!)

1st grade:
My 6yo is just 5 stories away from finishing her 1st grade readers. She is also just a week away from finishing her 1st grade math. She has this "math is easy" attitude right now, because she says if she can count then she can do math. And she claims that she can count to 1000 (I haven't tested this knowledge, LOL). I always feel a bit of trepidation when she finishes a grade level, because the next grade level is always such a big step up. But so far, she always seems to rise to the challenge. It's totally a work ethic thing. Now, if I give her something to clean, on the other hand...LOL.

Today was our Last Co-op of the Year. Tonight is our Annual Co-op Night, where we can show off our projects from our co-op classes. The kids are excited about showing Grandpa and Uncle what they've been up to.

Weekly Review

Science: see the photo of our stained science books? Red cabbage juice was spilt everywhere. Experiment was to see what happens when acids and bases mix. History: finished reading about the Black Death. Read about Henry 5th, the 100 Year War between England & France, and Joan of Arc.

3rd grader:

Sigh. Bad attitudes abound and are getting worse. Workmanship is poor. Sometimes I end up doing the handwriting for her, or cutting out problems, or looking the other way. I realize it is now time to crack the whip a bit (figuratively, guys! I'm not really standing here with a whip. Although...hmmm...) I think I am going to officially start "grading" her work. She can be quite an auditory, social learner, but is very good at making this into a "I can't do it, will you do it?" project, rather than an education that she is responsible for. I realize she is only 8.5 and that is how 98% of all 8.5 yos are. And I understand they do not like to work. However, I think my expectations have been too low, and I think she needs to be working anyway (since 98% of all 8.5yos are being forced to do work against their will).

Math: Thousands and Ten Thousands (place value, ordering). Reading: contractions, ei, ey, eigh (ay sound), -tion, and the usual comprehension questions for her stories. Handwriting/Quotations: completed 4 of these this week. Spelling: in all of my dr appts this week, I forgot to finish spelling (ea and oa words?). English: write a research report. This is going poorly. It is our last chapter in 2nd gr English. She chose "guinea pig" as her project, which is what she chooses every time. Her descriptions are always "cute and furry". That is about the extent of her project. I've decided that I will no longer allow her to choose her own topics. We will go to the library next week and I will pick out an animal for her to read and write about.

1st grader:

Math: Telling Time (half hour, hour, 5 minutes, passing of time) and Calendar. Reading: read about a boy planting a tree in the city for his grandmother, and about Josiah and the lost book of the law. English/Phonics: o making the "au" sound as in lost. Handwriting: completed 4 pages this week. Spelling: forgot to do a final test, so we'll have to do that next week (-tch, lonely vowel e, ou as in pout).

Science freebies on the web

I found these gems on the Internet last night (thanks to The Well Trained Mind message boards).

Continuing the Chemistry theme, here is a free Periodic Table of Elements lapbook:
http://www.homeschoolshare.com/periodic_table.php

They recommend using a book called Fizz, Bubble, and Flash, but I also think that the Elements with Style book would make a good resource for this project.

I also found this FREE year long elementary Life Science curriculum, written sort of in a comic book style. This curriculum is packed full of stuff! Other sciences are available for purchase, but this one is free:
http://www.eequalsmcq.com/Thank%20you%20for%20downloading%20Life%20Science.htm

I saved all of these files to my computer, but am not sure when we'll use them. After we've explored Chemistry for awhile, I'd like to move along to Physics.

weekly checkup

My every-2weeks checkup has been bumped up to weekly, yikes!! We are quickly approaching the point when my pregnancy crash-landed last time around (pre-eclampsia & emergency c-section at 29 weeks). I'm up 5 lbs in the past 2 weeks, which the dr doesn't like. But otherwise, all looked good. This past week, I started drinking 64 oz of water per day & counting calories - both of which, I think, makes a difference in how quickly the weight goes on. Previous to this, I was enjoying myself a little too much! This is such an easy thing to do in pregnancy. Once that first trimester nausea clears, all food is fair game (or fair gain). Using some self restraint, I'm hoping to eek my way past the 29 week point with nothing more than these extra pounds to loose later on. Wish me luck. I'm already drooling over all the things I want to enjoy. Perhaps putting me in solitary confinement with a good book during the Easter Candy Season is a good idea...

After the checkup, we headed over to a friend's house for a day of mocking Twilight, the movie. The kids did an assortment of things, from watch Disney movies, tear apart board games, and play in the snow, all in the span of about 5 minutes before repeating the cycle. This is truly homeschooling's best socialization moments for the kids, and is probably more productive toward gaining friendships then a daily 20 min recess at a government school.

Change of plans!

Winter weather rolled in late last night and dropped 6-8 inches of snow on us Michiganders. We're all grumbling about this, and taking up our picket signs against mother nature. We've had a particularly long and dreary winter this year, and those 40-50 degree days promised us the beginnings of spring. So, with the Winter Storm Warning continuing on until 8pm tonight, I decided to cancel my dentist appt (I'm not *that* devoted to dental work, ya know), and the support meeting was canceled for tonight. Granted, I've heard the snow melts as soon as it hits the roads. But I didn't know that at 8am this morning when I woke up, looked outside, and groaned to see the countryside completely buried mercilessly under a wall of white. Had I been a little braver, a little bolder, and a little less wearied of winter weather, I might've trudged through the layers of my driveway and found the main roads easy to travel.

Tuesday still has it's doctor appt. I may stop by a friend's house afterward for a movie day.

Wednesday should still have my dog's grooming appt. Although I suspect she is in the beginning stages of being in heat (yuck!) It is probably better for me to get her in to the groomers now before we have to wait the long 3 weeks.

Thursday is the day I rescheduled my dentist appt. I may not have a sitter for the kids. I may take them with me and hope that they don't dismantle the dentist office, annoy the receptionist, and fight like cats and dogs.

Friday is still open for a full day of school. Monday (today) is also a full day of school, which we haven't quite finished with (at 3pm).

The Week Ahead

I am officially 27 weeks along today:) For some reason, 27 weeks feels more real than 26 weeks. 27 weeks feels imminent; 26 weeks still felt like there was lots of time left! My 6yo was born at 29 weeks, so I am 2 weeks away from the point when she would've been born. The first half of the week is very busy...here's the plan:

Monday: dentist teeth cleaning appt in the a.m. My husband will work from home & kids will hopefully do their school while I am gone. Then, my husband has a dentist teeth cleaning at 5pm. Hopefully, he gets home by 6:30pm, because then I need to scoot off for our monthly homeschool support meeting (the topic: Favorite Curriculum Night). We also have a Winter Storm Watch (6-10 inches of snow predicted), so all plans are subject to change!

Tuesday: I have my 27 week prenatal checkup with the Glucose blood test (I get to drink that thick syrupy orange pop before the test). In the evening, I am looking at the option of attending a Le Leche League meeting. I haven't decided if I will go yet, but thought it would be a good thing to bring the girls. They haven't been around a lot of babies in the past few years and I think it would be good for them to be around a bunch of babies. Also, I've realized just how much I need to prepare my 6yo for her Big Status Change (from little sis to big sis!) At co-op on Fri, she kept leaving her classes to cling to me, and complaining of headaches and heartburn, LOL.

Wednesday: the dog has a grooming appt. This is a 30 min trip to the groomers (30 mins back), and then another round trip in the afternoon to pick her up. Maybe we'll visit with Grandpa while we're out and about.

Thurs & Fri: low key days, thank goodness! I don't think we have anything planned. We'll probably aim for some good wholesome schoolwork. At some point, I need to ditch the kids and try to do some easter shopping. I hate trying to buy easter basket materials with 2 kids in tow! I'd like it to be a surprise for Sunday morning.

Weekly Review

History: read 2 1/2 chapters from Story of the World 2. Learned about the Turkish invasion of Constantinople, now called Istanbul (and watched the Tiny Toons movie above). Read about the Black Plague. Science: in Chemistry finished Chapter 5, when Acids & Bases meet. Next week we'll need to do an experiment (I have cabbage juice sitting in the fridge).

3rd Grade:
In Math, the 8yo took the 2nd grade review test (addition/subtraction strategies, solving for n), and started Chapter 2 on place value to 1000. In Reading, I can't remember what she read, LOL. For fun, she finished reading Charlotte the Sunflower Fairy. We combined Handwriting with Familiar Quotations this week, to make time for Typing. We found a winner Typing Program (thanks, Robyn!), Disney Typing - she's doing really well and has passed the home row keys. In Spelling, she learned words with -ight and compound words. In English, she finished the chapter on Predicates. She did fine on the Chapter Review, but two days later, when she took the test, had forgotten most of what she learned. But...the last 3 chapters of BJU material is always an introduction to the next grade level, so I know we'll hit this again when we start 3rd gr English in a few weeks. I chose to move on:)

1st Grade:
In Math, the 6yo did the Supplemental Lessons on Repeated Addition (early multiplication) and did really well with this! She started the chapter on telling time today. In Reading, she finished Reader E, and started Reader F (the last reader for 1st gr). She doubled up on some of her lessons because she loves reading and wants to do more (weird, I know...this is not typical child behavior). Today she read a story from Frog & Toad in her book. She did 4 lessons of Handwriting this week, and her writing is improving. In Spelling, she learned words like brag and bragging. She stumbled a bit on the extra g +ing, but we reviewed the Mrs. Short/Mr. Short & the bad cats rule (it's a silly story, but helps us remember the rule). In English/Phonics, she practiced alphabetical order, syllable division, and to be honest - I'm not keeping up with teaching the phonics part of the lessons from the teacher's guide...I give her the workbook and if she has any trouble sounding out the words, I teach her what sounds those letters make. She catches on to this really fast, and seems to need few reminders. As for alphabetizing, she has trouble with this, so I help her out by writing the alphabet, singing the song, etc.