Great School Books....

Before switching to Tapestry of Grace, we had used a literature based curriculum. We LOVE great, living books. We have shelves of living historical fiction. Tapestry uses lots of great books...but most of them are not fictionalized accounts. I missed the reading from our other curriculum, and added a few of our favorites in here and there.

Slowly I've come to realize that we DO have lots of GREAT books with Tapestry of Grace....most of them, however, are biographies or non-fiction....still living books...
I often hear others say TOG is not for young children...and I understand the thought. However, one of the strengths that I've come to cherish in TOG is the really GOOD picture books that they recommend for young children. This week we read two that illustrate my point.

"The Butterfly" by Patricia Polacco, is a true story set during WW2 in France. It follows the adventures of a young girl who discovers her mother is part of the resistance and hiding a Jewish family in her basement. In this book we follow the escape attempt of the Sevrine and her family and are even told about the life-long friendship that Monique and Sevrine enjoyed.

Another great non-fiction Children's book is "Passage to Freedom:The Sugihara Story", by Ken Mochizuki. This story is told from the perspective of 5 year old Hirokio Sugihara. Hirokio tells the story of how his father saved the lives of 10,000 Jews while he was serving as a Japanese diplomat in Lithuania in 1940. It's an amazing story. Night after night his father sat hand-writing visas for people who were trying to escape the Nazis - against the express orders of his own government. I would like to read more on this incident.

Anyway, I've been amazed at the wonderful, accurate, engaging PICTURE books Marcia has found for the younger children. Both of these books were in my local library. Of course, I want to BUY them both now. ::snort::

I CONFESS

In my search for sleep at a "decent hour", I've taken to watching The Waltons. What a GREAT show! Though I could swear I remember that they had a large family? What happened? It shrunk. ::snort::

I'm really enjoying watching these episodes. I'm thinking I may need to buy a season or two to balance off the boys' Hogan Heroes craze.

FRIDAY

~Disclaimer...I found the ticker last night doing a google search and I have no CLUE what Phen Forum is...so don't take it as an endorsement. LOL

~Today could be summed up concisely (though you know I won't LOL): Speech and Produce Co-op in the am, and Trailer shopping in the pm. There, that's the reader's digest version.

~For those who like to read.....Mike has been spending his dreaming time over yonder making plans to buy a road whale. He asked me to go gather some information and they've been closed when I went by. I decided to gather his info today. Have you ever dealt with car type salesman or mechanics as a female? Some of them can be a bit condescending. I went in. I told them the exact trailer I wanted. They asked what I drove. I told them. They laughed. I told them that I was sure it could haul a trailer. They continued to laugh. One even said, "Little lady, why don't you let us show you a smaller trailer?" LITTLE LADY????

OK...so I was tired, cold and missing Mike by this point....and I answered "Oh - will 9 children, 2 adults and a dog fit in the smaller one?" ::snort::

They showed me another one with bunks that was lighter. I asked them if there was a way we could check these numbers before I decided on the one they showed me because we REALLY want the other one. Deep sighs, smirks and such from men. I felt like saying "Don't mess with me! NEVER mess with a deployed spouse, buddy! I fixed a SINK yesterday!!!" But I smiled. In fact I was charming. I knew what was coming. ::snort:: One man went out to check the van because they were SURE "the little lady" was a tad bit confused (chuckle, smirk) and didn't have a v-10 engine in her van. I KEPT telling the salesman - we bought the biggest we could with an eye to hauling a trailer. He got out his Ford book. "Is it an Arrowstar?"

" NO - it's an EXTENDED 350...it's not a mini-van."

"Hmm...Expedition?"

"No, you'll find it under the trucks."

The other man came in....it's an E-350 XLT, Super - Extended.....

"Maam, is your van a 7 or 8 passenger van?" (I had told them this earlier ::snort::).

"It's a 15 passenger van."

" Maam, that has a v-10 engine, that will haul trailer!"

" Um...yeah!"::sigh::

They talked numbers with me. They talked extra features with me. I told them I'd want to leave it on the lot until Mike was home to DRIVE it somewhere. They told me they'd deliver it to my home....why would I need a boat like that in my yard???? Well it COULD be useful when the girls are home, come to think of it..... They told me they could defer payments until Mike is home. The man asked for my credit number. I have no clue and will need to figure that one out. The salesman then said he wouldn't feel right selling me anything (not that I was buying today anyway) until FORD told me how much the van can pull because um....well you know...Mike's gone and he didn't want me to buy the wrong thing. Fair enough. I got out the manual and asked him if these weren't the numbers he needed. He wanted me to go to FORD. I did. They sent me to another office. That man said they don't give computer printouts....and said, "Don't you have a manual?"

BUT he looked at numbers and vin numbers...and um helped me shut the hood on the van (long story). He highlighted the numbers in the book that I had shown the salesman earlier - so now I can go back with the manual and show him that those ARE the numbers. I still have to figure all the numbers Mike - so I'm not sure if you want to get the one you spotted online or look for another, but I'll send you those numbers.

I ran to Sam's to buy milk. Came home, ate, and will now go watch Tarzan 2.

I went to take a photo and the camera is doing the Flashing F thing again. No rhyme or reason....to why it does this and to why it works when it does.

Thursday.....

This week has sped by and since Friday is always busy....whew! A few more weeks like this and March will be here.

We did school.

I got TWO work outs in today. A 40 minute Step into Fitness and a 30 minute walk....

I fixed the sink - I think.

We ran the boys to their Thursday ministry.

We met some friends at the park. We were visiting and watching children go down the big slide at the park. Yvonne, Adrienne and Tricia were at the park too. We watched....Cobe, Caeden, Zander, Nolan, Stacia....WHAT STACIA? Yep - she climbed to the top of the big slide and went down...and loved it. I was terrified she was going to pop over the side before I reached her. And....when I was pushing her in the swing, she slid under the chain....I guess I can add two sprints to my workout. ::snort::

I wrote the newsletter for Produce co-op. I went searching blogs for produce recipes...ya'll have disappointed me. ::snort:: C'mon, see if you can post lots of great and HEALTHY produce recipes before next Thursday, Ok?

We had a pasta extravaganza for dinner. Got my grains in...well 1 serving anyway. I did get 6 servings of produce in...had hoped to get 7 and begin working towards that 10 - 12 mark. At this point I may have to settle for 2 C salads at lunch and dinner and a fruit breakfast...because I continue to be nauseating stuffed!

I have decided to go ahead and attend the Weight Management class at the base (as of today anyway). It's 6 weeks. I figure even if I don't agree with everything the nutritional info is always good to hear....and the weekly class may help me to keep eating breakfast as I know Debbie wrote that down as a goal...eat MORE FOOD! ::snort:: I've stayed away from Weight Watchers etc because I don't have the TIME to go to a weekly meeting...but this has a short time period and if I find I can work it in...maybe I can look for something else when I'm done....and if it is as hectic as I expect, "it's only for 6 weeks"....and it's FREE. And Debbie is a R. D. or some such thing....and she likes omegas, whole grains and produce. LOL

Stacia's View of Parenting

First you Kiss Em...

Then you Swing Em...

PLUMBING UPDATE

Ok, I confess. I'm gullible. I thought Jodi was serious about the Duct Tape. I tried it and it didn't help at all. ::snort:: In my defense, we recently moved from Alaska where there are yearly stories of hunters/hikers taping themselves together after bear attacks. Duct tape can fix ANYTHING - except, evidently MY SINK!

However, the project is done and seems to be holding. I took it all apart and found the compression ring. The two pipes had come disconnected. I put the compression ring back in, tightened it as tight as I could, and then put Duct Tape on a small crack further down that I noticed while fixing the top section. All in all it saved $60. I've been to nervous to put things back under the sink...but it seems to be holding.

I have a sweet husband who called me long-distance and talked me through each step of the project!

Birthdays

How can I turn 43 and say I'm 44? It's my upbringing and it's given Mike no ends of headaches, because he doesn't like aging two years at once. LOL

In the Philippines (at least the barios we lived in in Southern Mindanao) you are "runnning" your age. On your first birthday you ARE one year old but it IS the start of your second year....and when asked you either say "2" or "running 2" - which means you are living or running your second year....and since the "running" is assumed...it's often shortened so when someone would say, "how old is your one year old?" Instead of running 2, you'd simply answer, "2."

I AM 43 - but this IS the start of my 44th year.... The trouble comes when I forget - as I usually do until about November (Mike's birthday) - and think I'm the bigger number. Mike is faithful to correct me everytime he hears me give out the wrong age. LOL

Also in the PI - on your birthday YOU throw the party in celebration and thankfulness of YOUR life - your friends come to your home but you give them gifts and you handle the expense etc. A bit less self centered than what I've observed in America...but I'm learning the American ways. ::snort::

They also often wake you in the a.m. singing outside your window.