WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY...

Hi Friends:

After I blogged yesterday morning, the homeschooling and general craziness of the day took over. I am blessed with Annie being here, and she volunteered to take Cameron to school in the morning and to pick him up in the afternoon. That way I could take my pain meds as needed and not have worry about balancing my pain with my ability to drive! Also, on the way home from school yesterday, she stopped and picked up milk and ketchup -- we were dangerously low!!! So, thank you Alice! As always -- I wonder, What would I do without you?

We are having an animal theme week in homeschool in preparation for our trip to the zoo this Saturday! So far this week, we have learned about penguins, leatherback turtles, and pandas. Right now we are watching a really cool DVD with Jane Goodall about "Talking with the Animals!" It is utterly amazing. Right now, they are learning about the rescue dogs used in the search/rescue. Tomorrow we will be learning about giraffes.

So yesterday -- we did our usual homeschooling and chores, and we went to the park for some outside time for walking, skateboarding, climbing trees, and playing with friends. Amber (Molly's friend) came over in the afternoon and stayed for dinner. Annie and I made a lasagna, chicken wings, and cheesy biscuits with ice cream sandwiches for dessert.

At 6:30 last night, Molly, Amber, and Nate went to our church (Gold Coast Christian Church) for Wednesday's youth group. They are doing March Madness -- which is an Olympics' style theme. They earn tickets for things like memorizing verses, bringing their Bibles, wearing their team colors (their team is Brazil and their team color is yellow!). They also do fun types of Olympic-type games which are tied into Biblical principles. Molly and Amber had been practicing all week for a couples' skate and they came in second place. So, that was a big achievement for them.

They had youth group from 6:30-8:30, and the church is only about 5 minutes away from our house -- so that is very convenient! After returning home, Annie and I watched her Terry Hershey DVD, "The Seven Habits of Happy People," while Cameron entertained Isaac with Dragon Ball Z episodes on the netbook. We finished most of the DVD and then did the rest of it after picking up the kids.

By the time I got all the kids to bed last night and made some preparations for today -- helping Cam pack his lunch and get ready for picture day today. We also went over his English work -- he's still reading "The Great Gatsby." I have read it and also have the Cliff's notes for it , so we are going over the main points, characters, and themes each day. We also had to prep Itty Bitty last night as she is being spayed today.

So, I was utterly exhausted by midnight last night when I finally made it to bed. And so no blogging or facebook or e-mails got done last night. Oh well!

This morning came quickly when our alarms went off at 6:30. Annie took Cameron to school this morning. And he was irritable because it was picture day, and his mean, unreasonable I forced him to comb his hair, and look decent. Not that he agreed to wear anything besides a T-shirt -- Oh well!

Isaac insisted on setting his alarm and going with me to the vet to take in Itty Bitty this morning, because "she is my cat!" We had to drop her off between 6-7:30 a.m., and we will pick her up between 3-4:30. Isaac already has his cell phone alarm set to 2:45, so that we can pick up Itty Bitty as soon as possible!

Of course, I dropped the cat off as late as possible, and we got to the vets' at about 7:20. We arrived back at home, and Molly and Nate were still asleep. So, Isaac, Annie, and I went back to be until about 10 a.m. At that point, we got up and had some Sausage McMuffins that Annie kindly brought us from McDonald's. We then did music and science, and we are about to move on to lunch and the rest of our schoolwork before going to pick up Itty Bitty. Molly is not feeling well today. We think she got a bit of the flu from her recent flu shot. She has a headache and a stomach ache. She tried to do school with some meds for her stomach and her head -- but she still wasn't feeling good. So, I had her change back into her PJs and she is lying down in my bed resting and drinking lots of fluids -- with a wastebasket nearby to puke in if necessary! Hopefully, this won't hit anyone else in our family!

So, Isaac and I will finish up our homeschooling, chores, and maybe even make it to the park today. We also need to take care of sickly Molly and our poor little, Itty Bitty Kitty after her surgery. Annie is going to pick up Cameron from school and take him to In 'n Out Burger. I like that she is an additional adult-type-friend for my kids to talk to!

Bill is due home around midnight tonight from Whidbey Island tonight. I have missed him tremendously and can't wait for him to go home. He truly is my BFF:-)

I don't think I'll get back to blogging anymore today...so until tomorrow:-)

Much Love,
Michele