Ship Full o' Pirates » Extra-Categorical

Teacher In Service Day – Oh Help!

MotherHen — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 17:21:51 +0000

I’m taking the day “off” today to do some long neglected and way overdue ORGANIZATIONAL stuff. I like being organized but why does getting organized have to hurt so much?

Take the math, please. (barum pum, tshhhh!) Like my rim shot? You should, I played drums in school. (Checking to see if Kim is paying attention.)

Anyway, the math, for just the 3 youngest kids, I am making/have made 4 pages per kid, per day. So the equation looks a little like this:

3 kids times 4 pages per day times a variable number of weeks left in the Summer depending on how I look at it minus another variable number of days each particular kid gets to go to work w/Dad equals about 4 million pieces of paper I have to sort, 3-holepunch and put in logical order in their respective notebooks, and then we have to factor in the distance I can get from this pile of papers if I jump in my Suburban at 12:30 p.m. and head north at 90 miles an hour on 3/4 of a tank of gas (assume a 32 gallon tank when full) and a track record of 15.5 miles to the gallon, because math makes me run away screaming under the best of circumstances, and we’ve already covered the fact that this day is no fun whatsoever.

And NO, the kids cannot help do this! Do you want to see what I look like bald-headed from all the hair pulling that would bring on? Good. Then why even bring it up? OK. I’m glad we got that squared away.

And now you may well ask, “I thought you LURVED that Teaching Textbooks math?” And my answer to you is, yes, yes we do love TT to the max! But there is a familial trait at play here, one that causes math facts to bounce off of our brains like a watermelon dropped from the window of the third floor into a swimming pool filled with jello mixed to four times the proper density, as in “jello jigglers.” Plus, Rachel is not ready for 3rd grade TT yet. Maybe she will be after this nasty Summer-O-Math-Facts-Bootcamp.

BTW~ all I really got online for just now was to look up that math drill site and print off some more pages. Stop distracting me already!

Mother Goose Copywork Last week I found a wonderful site for making your...
Aesop’s Fables Copywork Aesop’s Fables are (some of them) longer than Mother Goose...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Pray for Rain

MotherHen — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 15:25:26 +0000

–Are there any of the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Art not Thou He, O Lord our God? Therefore will we wait upon Thee, for Thou hast made all these things.

Thou visitest the earth and waterest it: Thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God which is full of water. Thou makest it soft with showers; Thou blessest the springs thereof. Thy paths drop fatness. They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness and the little hills rejoice on every side.

We have been made to feel the worth of this blessing by the want of it; and it would be easy for Thee to continue the privation till the heavens over us were brass and the earth under us iron; and the husbandman be ashamed for the wheat, and for the barley, because the harvest of the field is perished, and because joy is withered away from the sons of men.

But, O deal not with us after out desert. Turn not a fruitful land into barrenness. Command Thy rain to descend. Cause Thy grass to grow for the cattle, and herbs for the service of man, and bring forth food out of the earth.

A Prayer for Rain from the book Prayers for the Use of Families by Rev. William Jay.

Available for free in the following locations online and on your phone.

Grateful It hasn’t rained a drop here in months. Today we...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Artists Block?

MotherHen — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 23:45:41 +0000

Funny, I knew it had been a while since I had gotten out my pencils and actually made any effort in my drawing book. I didn’t think it had been 2 years!

The 4 above I drew when John was in the hospital 5 years ago. I drew more but most of them went on the wall in his room. I drew the weasel while John was getting a drain removed or inserted, I can’t remember which. I do remember the stress surrounding the event, and I think it shows in the art. The doctor who preformed the procedure, as he saw me bring my pencils and drawing pad to the waiting area, asked me, “You’re an artist?” After the procedure was all done, and so was the drawing, the same doc said, “Oh, I guess you are!” I thought to myself, “Arrogant snot!” But I just smiled at him. Stress much? The Possum is my favorite of that group.

I vaguely remember drawing these three. If they didn’t have the date on them I wouldn’t have a clue when it was. Jacob says I entered the mushrooms in a contest. Of that I have no recollection. Alzheimer’s much? Starting to wonder.

Anyway, it’s been almost 2 years since I have felt like drawing much. Dunno why, just haven’t. So I bought myself some inspiration.

Today I’m too tired to draw. I’ll just enjoy leafing thru my new book and think about drawing.

A Boring Day It’s so very boring here today. I may take a...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

All Android App Advice Accepted and Appreciated

MotherHen — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 10:23:13 +0000

If I don’t have much to say this week it’s because I’m busy learning my new phone.

Well, that, and catching up on the laundry.

So, everybody, what apps shall I explore? Any and All Android App Advice Accepted and Appreciated.

Amazing alliteration, aye?

Hey, maybe there’s a laundry app. How cool would that be? I’d pay money for that!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

The Days of Our Lives

MotherHen — Tue, 03 May 2011 11:02:32 +0000

This is our brand new, homemade chicken feeder being filled. And all I could think of was…

Like chick starter through the homemade vinegar bottle funnel, these are the days of our lives.

But they are. These chick raising days are some of the (stinkiest) most fun days ever!

I tell you what, I see why everybody says ya gotta raise the nasty Cornish Mutants at least once. It’s bizarre, they grow like nothing I’ve ever seen.

I call them my Cornish piggies. They eat like pigs and they grow like pigs, and they are U.G.L.Y!

We’re gonna eat ‘em anyway. But I think next time we might try another breed of meat bird.

They went after the feed like pigs.

Creepy interior shot.

Homemade Chicken Feeders and Drinkers Do you know that chicken feeders and drinkers (you might...
All our chickens – a list Photos are at the end. I love chickens. Love owning...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

His favorite color is camo

MotherHen — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 11:32:56 +0000

Joe asked me this morning if he could cut his old BDUs into shorts. I said sure and assumed he would bring them and my scissors to me and I would do the job. That’s how it usually goes.

Nope, not this time. This time he showed up next to me wearing this.

And said, “I used my Ka-Bar.”

What a guy!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

New Year, New Plan

MotherHen — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 18:14:00 +0000

You may have already noticed some of the new plan. The big picture is to get my priorities back in line. The first thing is to get a hold on my internet habit. This is hard. I have to stop most stuff or the little bit I cut back to just creeps back into my day and takes over and before you know it I’m bummed out again. So, unless I have met you face to face I’ve unfriended you on facebook. This is so not fun. And unless I gave birth to you or live in your house I have deleted your blog from my reader. I’m also considering unfriending all my fb friends who happen to be men, just b/c of the kinds of things the fellas post on there. It isn’t intended for me anyway, but I click the links and end up wasting my day on…anything and everything. I quit Twitter a few weeks ago, and I honestly don’t even miss it. I hope these other changes go as easily.

So my new motto is…

If I don’t have time to bake bread, teach the kids, clean the bathrooms, read to the kids, inspect their chores, blah, blah, blah; then I certainly don’t have time to look at facebook and blogs.

AND, I won’t be on this blog anymore. I’m considering creating a blog for my face to face friends. Haven’t completely decided yet.

So this is it. It’s been fun, and I’ve enjoyed “meeting” y’all. Bye bye.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Maggie

MotherHen — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 17:00:34 +0000

Her name is Magnum. Maggie to family and friends. Magnum when strangers are about.

The pound (Animal Care Services of San Antonio) had her listed as a 2 year old German Shepherd. I haven’t taken her to my vet yet, so we are content to go with that age estimate for now. Her breed is up for grabs. She sure looks like a Belgian Shepherd, but she’s too big for the breed standard. Anyway, Shepherd mix is good enough for me.

She loves her crate!

She had surgery on Tuesday to get spayed, so we’re just taking things slow while she recovers.

She has already learned that treats flow freely from the sleeves of my sweater. I made her some liver treats a few days ago and put them in the freezer. Turns out she likes them frozen just fine! Very crunchy! And made from real cow’s liver. You know it makes my heart sing to be able to give my dogs treats that are homemade and wholesome. And Maggie thinks I’m WONDERFUL for giving them to her.

She weighs 58 pounds right now. I don’t know what number the vet will give us, but John and I think another 20 or even 30 pounds won’t be too much. She was a stray, and obviously not a successful one since she is so underweight now.

She was only in the pound for a few days. As a matter of fact when we went to the pound on December 1st and adopted her, it was a provisional adoption, pending one more day of waiting for her original owner to claim her. We held our breath the whole time!

Look at that face! And she’s asking to go out! Cool, huh?

Of course the thing about strays (from the pound or otherwise) is that we have no idea how she was cared for or trained in the past. Seems safe to assume that she didn’t have much, if any, training. She’s very alert and curious. Smart too! She’ll sit for me… ok, she’s doing it for a treat, but she does it. She didn’t respond as well to the fellas yet, but I think she will once they have some time to spend with her. She likes the whole family. Doesn’t seem scared or intimidated or aggressive towards any of us. I can see that she has already decided that she out-ranks Rachel (age 7) and Caleb (age 10). I would agree (in doggie terms) since she could easily drag either one of them at the other end of her leash.

Jacob (age 12) drew this picture of Maggie. (above)

Caleb drew this picture of Maggie. (above)

Do you have the Draw 50 Dogs book from Vision Forum? That’s what we use for Art instruction. Very user friendly and teacher easy!

The main reason I wanted to get another dog was for the bark support. Since Trixie died I haven’t had the same sense of security. I NEED THE BARKING! And Maggie has already demonstrated that she can do the job. So her official title is MAGNUM – HEAD OF RANCH SECURITY. (Why, yes we are fans of Hank the Cowdog.)

Now I need to think up a cute title for Blaze, who appears to be in training for the doggie olympics. Her event? Extreme Lap Napping! See? She stuck that landing!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Kim’s Giveaway

MotherHen — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 15:50:57 +0000

Just for fun, use your Eeyore voice to read this post, and heave a big sigh at each period, k?

Kim’s having a giveaway. You won’t be interested in it. I’m pretty sure that I’m the only one who would even want such a gadget. You probably don’t want to visit the site, or comment on Kim’s blog about any of the things they sell. I’m fairly certain that you won’t want to Facebook about it. And it’s not likely at all that you would feel compelled to Tweet it.

Insert Jedi hand wave here.

All the same, go here, and click some of the links.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

A Reading List

MotherHen — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 22:56:58 +0000

According to BBC via Lauren Brownfield, most people will only ever read 6 out of the 100 books listed here. Feel free to copy and paste this list, bolding the titles you’ve read and italicizing the ones from which you’ve merely read selections.

1 Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen

2 The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien

3 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte

4 Harry Potter series – JK Rowling

5 To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee

6 The Bible

7 Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte

8 Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell

9 His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman

10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens

11 Little Women – Louisa M Alcott

12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy

13 Catch 22 – Joseph Heller

14 Complete Works of Shakespeare

15 Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier

16 The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien

17 Birdsong – Sebastian Faulk

18 Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger

19 The Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger

20 Middlemarch – George Eliot

21 Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell

22 The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald

24 War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy

25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams

27 Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky

28 Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck

29 Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll

30 The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame

31 Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy

32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens

33 Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis

34 Emma -Jane Austen

35 Persuasion – Jane Austen

36 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe – CS Lewis

37 The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini

38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis De Bernieres

39 Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden

40 Winnie the Pooh – A.A. Milne

41 Animal Farm – George Orwell

42 The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown

43 One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez

44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving

45 The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins

46 Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery

47 Far From The Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy

48 The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood

49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding

50 Atonement – Ian McEwan

51 Life of Pi – Yann Martel

52 Dune – Frank Herbert

53 Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons

54 Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen

55 A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth

56 The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon

57 A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens

58 Brave New World – Aldous Huxley

59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon

60 Love In The Time Of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez

61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck

62 Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov

63 The Secret History – Donna Tartt

64 The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold

65 Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas

66 On The Road – Jack Kerouac

67 Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy

68 Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding

69 Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie

70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville

71 Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens

72 Dracula – Bram Stoker

73 The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett

74 Notes From A Small Island – Bill Bryson

75 Ulysses – James Joyce

76 The Inferno – Dante

77 Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome

78 Germinal – Emile Zola

79 Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray

80 Possession – AS Byatt

81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens

82 Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell

83 The Color Purple – Alice Walker

84 The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro

85 Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert

86 A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry

87 Charlotte’s Web – E.B. White

88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom

89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

90 The Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton

91 Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad

92 The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery

93 The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks

94 Watership Down – Richard Adams

95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole

96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute

97 The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas

98 Hamlet – William Shakespeare

99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl

100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo

I find it interesting that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Les Miserables are on the same reading list, but whatever.

As you can see from my list, I have wasted a lot of time on some distinctly ”less than worthy” books, and have missed some opportunities, big time.

I snagged this list off of facebook. I love a good reading list. I should start keeping one. I can’t remember half of the titles I’ve read in my life, there have been a lot, and I’ve slept since then. You know my memory, I really could “hide my own Easter Eggs.”

Was it Jess that gave me that wonderfully accurate phrase?

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.