10 weeks

You may have wondered by the title what this post would be about. Well -- surprise! I am expecting! I went back and read my other posts on announcing a pregnancy and it was as if I was reading my thoughts this time around.

With the evolution of pinterest I have found loads of ideas and one of them was a blog pregnancy journal. I forwarded that idea to friends who were expecting and in the back of my mind kept thinking maybe I would have another chance to document my journey in that way. I find most of my pregnancies the same but I never did start writing about it until later on. And so begins our journey...

How far along? 10 weeks! (note -- I meant to post this two weeks ago so an update will be soon)

Due Date: According to my pregnancy calendar wheel I am due December 4th give or take a day or two.

Weight gain: Unfortunately over this long winter, or maybe because I am inching ever nearer to 40, I gained 10 pounds before getting pregnant which means I am starting off the heaviest I have ever been. Yes, I know, I am still small. I haven't weighed myself since pregnant.

Maternity clothes? Not yet but getting closer. Wearing one size up at this point. And only a select few shirts fit.

Symptoms: Nauseous all day. Most intense the first few weeks after we found out. I never throw-up though and eating small amounts helps. Although, I feel like I am constantly eating. I also feel SO hungry all the time and my stomach has even been growling before bed. I like food, but having to eat before bed is too much. I did find a great website that gave me ideas on how to curb the nausea and have been using magnesium oil which is quite amazing at making me feel good and with energy again. It also should take stop any leg cramping.

Movement: None yet, too soon!

Food cravings: Beets and the yummy refrigerated kosher dill pickles. I also really like the cereal called Product 19. It tastes like iron I guess but my sister and I have always enjoyed it as a snack. I especially like it when pregnant but I can't find it anywhere. Usually it is McDonalds hamburgers (bad!) so I am thankful that isn't the case this time!

Food aversions:  The smell of onions and surprisingly chocolate chips, which is probably a good thing.

Have you started to show yet: Yes, although I had a bump before I was pregnant. Just can't suck it in now. The questions have started on when I am due and at the answer the questioning eyes. Yes, I pop out early.

Belly Button in or out? I actually have my normal one again! Typically my sagging skin makes it disappear into a crater. :)-

Wedding Rings On or Off?  On

Medical Information:  I haven't been to the doctor yet. I try to go as late as I possibly can. So maybe in a few weeks.

Spring

After an extremely long winter it seemed that spring would never arrive. But it did! Albeit behind by a few weeks judging by my Forsythia first blooming now but oh the sight of green grass and budding trees. The sound of the spring peepers in the water alongside roads and daffodils poking out in our fields. And the intoxicating fresh smell filling my nostrils. Simply amazing! And how much more we appreciate the beauty when it was gone for so long.

TOS Crew - Literacy Soft App Review

The hard thing about reviewing an app is that I download it and let the kids run with it. That is the case with LiteracySoft's:  Phonics and Reading with McGuffey. The nice thing about this app is that there is an instructor that explains exactly what to do.

How The Program Works

I had Missy Blue Eyes walk me through how she uses this Phonics and Reading App.

She began by opening the program on my iPhone and we also have it on our iPod so that Seppy could use it at the same time. You can have up to 10 users on the app. Right from the start it tells them to select their name from the box (that they originally setup) and then what button to begin the program.

There are various portions to each lesson. Here are some of them:

You read a sentence such as "See the frog on a log?" You can move your finger along the words and it reads them as you say them. But leading up to it it began with a word or two that the sentence contains until she knew them and then it went on to the complete sentence. There was also a picture to correlate with what was being read.

Another part of the lesson is spelling a word. About 6 -8 letters come up and it asked you to spell a word such as "dog". Missy then dragged the letters down to the spaces provided which in this lesson were in a semi truck. When the word was complete the truck drove away. Missy said there are all different vehicles to carry the letters away.

There was another portion that gave a list of three words out of maybe 8 that continued to rotate through and Missy chose the one that was spoken.

In another lesson when introducing the long letter e (with line over) there was a picture to represent it as the sound was pronounced. It was e is for eagle. The instructor then explained that the e was always long and gave words such as see.

Missy took a quiz where it tested if they knew what letter made a certain sound. It asked to touch the letter that "makes this sound -- lll" and she pressed l. It then congratulates them on a job well done.

There are 53 lessons and the child works at their own pace and my children like to repeat lessons they have completed.

What I Liked

From watching Missy go through portions of various lessons I liked the instructor. It was clearly explained what to do which is why she never had to come and ask me for help. Other apps they use someone has to read the instructions for them so with this they really enjoyed being able to do something on their own. This program is very encouraging always saying things like "You got it!" or "Excellent!" or "Looks like you know your letter sounds". It was fun and kept their attention. The graphics were not overwhelming, just simple and well-done. Seppy was especially excited after he was able to put letters together to spell his own words. I love to see that excitement in learning!

Details

You can try Phonics and Reading With McGuffey on your PC for an unlimited time. The first 10 lessons are free and if you like the program, register for $19.99 to unlock the complete collection of lessons.

We used the app which you can purchase for $19.99 from the iTunes store. 

TOS Crew - Homeschool in the Woods Review

I really enjoy crafts and would do so much more if I had the time. Lapbooks have always appealed to me as they seem similar to scrapbooking and I like how they document in a fun way what you have been studying. And while I thought we might enjoy it I always thought it seemed too time consuming. Homeschool In the Woods creates kits to make lapbooks and I had the chance to try one.

You may be familiar with Homeschool in the Woods, especially if you have ever created a history timeline as they have beautiful drawings of figures to use. We reviewed the Hands-On History Lap-Pak: The 20th Century in America in a downloadable format that contained everything we needed to make a complete Lap Book

How It Worked for Our Family

I was excited to try something we had never done before and learning about our own country is probably one of our favorite things in history. And while I typically like to expand on a program by adding in more books this time we used the program as is and it was meaty enough on it's own. Although for reading time I did have the kids select books from American history.

There are 22 projects giving a brief overview of American during this time in history. You can either print everything out at one time, and that might be a good idea for an organized family but for me it worked better to print as needed. I did print out the entire history text which is either in a booklet form to keep with your lapbook, which looks really nice, or in full size pages to put in a binder. Then I went project by project printing as needed. That way I knew I wouldn't loose them. And that is the beauty of a downloadable file, you always have the pages you need right at your fingertips.

And while I had planned on using this intensively day by day to get through it life circumstances changed that. And in the end it became more of a once a week project. We read through the lesson text and then the kids could easily work on coloring and putting together the corresponding project pieces. The suggestion is then to put the finished piece in a plastic bag until the end when you assemble the lapbook. This is a fun way to learn and will be something we can continue to do once a week. And having everything basically done for you it isn't near as time-consuming as I had originally thought.

The recommended ages for this is grades 3 - 8. And while you can incorporate your younger children the text might be a little more than they are interested in.

Assembly of the timeline of Disasters.


Completed project

My Opinion

Upon opening the file I was immediately impressed with how well put together this program was. It was clearly laid out with instructions detailing exactly what needed to be printed out and on what color paper or cardstock. It had buttons to click on for each file so you didn't have to search for them. The files that needed to be printed on a backside of a page were already flipped upside down for you and ready to print. And while I typically do not like having to print everything out this was not bad and you can do it a project at a time as I did. It also had pictures to reference to see that you were completing the project as instructed.

There are supplies like a colored folder, glitter, colored printer paper, etc. to purchase to create the lapbook and I suggest you gather those right away so you have them as needed.

I love the high-quality artwork of each project. And they all have dimension to make them more appealing to the eye.

Details

The 20th Century in America lap-pak (recommended for grades 3 - 8)  is available in:
- Download Version - $21.95 or
- CD Version - $22.95

Click to read more reviews of this and other lap-paks from Homeschool In the Woods.

Zippy Update -- 18 - 20 Months

I began this post at 18 months (first two paragraphs) but now of course we are at 20 months. Ahh!

Zippy is no longer a baby! He is a walking, talking little boy. He was just sitting on my lap and grabbed hold of my hair with his hand and began rubbing it through his fingers -- something I realized he hadn't done in quite awhile. That used to be a source of comfort to aid in sleeping. He is sleepy now but it reminded me of the book by Karen Kingsbury Let Me Hold You Longer (a tear-jerker to be sure!) You never know when something will happen for the last time.{sigh}

I was trying to think of the words that Zippy knows but really, he can say any word we ask him to. He is even speaking in short sentences already. Totally amazes me as I don't recall the rest of the children doing that at 18 months! Even in looking back at what George could say I first wrote his list when he was 2 years and it wasn't this extensive.

Okay so now at 20 months -- Zippy is talking even more! You may have seen my video of him repeating Ephesians 6:1. So fun! He does say many words but also does speak with a lot of jibberish mixed in. And I wondered if he comprehends all of the words he says or if he only repeats them. But in testing that out it seems that indeed he does understand. A few words he says regularly are:

all his siblings names (I wish I could write them out but he says them too clearly)
Ink-in = Lincoln the dog
football (every ball is a football)
ice seem = ice cream
hep me! = help me!
fly topper (he wants his brothers to fly their remote helicopters all the time!)
go ouside
up
down
pay = play
seepy = sleepy
eat
cheese
peeko = pickle
ink = drink
chews = shoes
beh-we = belly (he really loves to find his belly, and everyone else's too)
I yah you = I love you often said in a whisper -- too sweet!
Ready...Set...Go!
9...8...4...hike!

Zippy isn't overly thrilled with food and is more of a grazer. He is particular about some things. For instance last night I cut up a chicken breast and he wouldn't touch it. But I let him take a bite of mine and he loved it and then realized he could eat his pieces too. He LOVES cheese! Anytime he is hungry that is what he asks for. He started eating cold cereal with milk (not the best breakfast but it works when rushed and we don't eat the sugar loaded ones). He also would rather sit on a stool at the counter or on a chair at the table when given a choice, just like the rest of the kids.

He loves his siblings!

Pete is still his go-to but probably because we assigned Pete as his partner and second because he has been doing more babysitting when I run other kids to various events. He can't tell Pete and Re-Pete apart yet and calls them whatever name he chooses. Since all of the other kids could tell them apart early on Re-Pete thought it might have something to do with the fact that Zippy can talk earlier and say the names earlier than the face recognition. We'll see. I am sure he'll get it at some point, which would be nice because they are always telling him their real name. "No, I'm ____".

"Pee-be-boo" with Re-Pete

Zippy wants to be outside every chance he can get! Even if everyone else is inside if it looks nice out to him he puts his boots on (wrong feet), once in awhile finds a jacket, and stands at the door or goes to get "hep" and calls "go ou-side!"

He was beginning to annoy his older brothers as when I'd say no he went to them to beg. :)- He might be a handful this summer as he likes to wander off and not stay with the gang.

He is at the stage of making messes.

 I wasn't quick enough to get a clear shot but I love this goofy grin! But he looks like such a little boy, oh my.

Zippy sleeps great! He still has his moments when he wakes crying and nothing soothes him (except coming in our bed) but they are few and far between. He also is taking 1 1/2 - 2 hour naps every afternoon without waking as often in between.

His hair has come in a little more to the point that people would ask if I gave him a haircut; probably because is it thicker on top and shorter on the sides with the perfect hairline in back. John gets a kick out of his hair blowing in the wind outside as he thinks it looks like a hairpiece.



Zippy is still quite the Mama's boy. He gets especially irritated when John and I hug for too long and will start to whimper and try to break us apart. If he gets in the middle all is well again.

As for size -- well, he is wearing 18 month clothes for the most part. One piece outfits and some shirts he'll wear 24 months though. I have't measured him lately. I suppose I should but I believe he was 26 pounds in the last month or so when the boys put him on the scale.

Time is flying but we enjoy our little guy so much!

TOS Crew - Progeny Press Review

As long as we have been homeschooling I have been a fan of literature-based learning. As the children have gotten older and more advanced in their reading I have turned to study guides to see what they are comprehending. Progeny Press is a great company for that. Progeny Press creates study guides for great literature examining it from a Christian perspective. 

I chose the study guide for The Eagle of the Ninth for George and we used the instant download.

How It Worked for Our Family

The study guide does not come with the book but that isn't a problem as we were able to check it out from the library. Initially George began reading The Eagle of the Ninth but he was struggling through the first chapter having a hard time comprehending it. (There are quite a few words even I didn't know the meaning of!) I did have him use the study guide to help and that did give him a better grasp of what was happening. I began reading it as well and could see that it was maybe a bit over his reading level. But we did like the study guide itself.

The study guide was an easy download and the files are adobe pdf. This is an interactive study guide and included an answer key. What was very nice about this guide was George could fill in his multiple choice answers and type out the essay portion right on the computer and then would save the file with his answers. No writing involved, a big plus as far as he is concerned and I was happy to not have another thing to print out. Being interactive it also would jump to a specific chapter when clicking on it in the table of contents rather than having to scroll through.

I was very happy with the content of the study guide. It causes you to really analyze what you have read. It also includes vocabulary words you may not have known, which in this book was a lot! It includes grammar and writing techniques. The portion called "Dig Deeper" gives you food for thought taking a part of the story and coming at it from a biblical perspective. For instance, in talking about how British tribes react in anger the study guide gives bible verses to look up to see what God's Word has to say about anger.

While the book may be difficult I found the study guide to be very beneficial. And in looking at all of the guides available from Progeny Press I know I will be utilizing them more often.

Details

The Eagle of the Ninth study guide is available from Progeny Press for $16.99 for CD or instant download and $18.99 for printed booklet. This does not include the book. The recommended level for this one is 7 - 9th grade.

Progeny Press has a vast selection of study guides from lower elementary, all the way through high school each varying in price. You are able to purchase many of the books needed from them as well.

Click to read more reviews on some of the other study guides Progeny Press has to offer. 

Zippy learning Ephesians 6:1

Zippy is talking like crazy (completely amazes us!) and will repeat any word we say. George has been trying to teach him the first bible verse each of the children have learned -- Ephesians 6:1. Yesterday he sat and recorded him using my phone while Zippy watched himself talk. He got a bit distracted at the end by George's "owie" and then ends by wanting to watch the "baby", what he always calls himself when he sees his picture. I have a feeling it won't be long before he can say the verse without any help. Even today already he will fill in the blanks when we start the verse. (You may want to pause the music at the bottom of my blog).