Wednesday, February 23, 2011

I sprained my back on Friday. I have spent the last 5 1/2 days unable to move. I have slowly gone from on the floor unable to move and screaming in pain, to unable to get out of bed, to laying on the couch, to slowly making short walks across the house. Today I was able to drive myself to the chiropractor. By the time I got home, I needed to layback down.
My husband and kids have been great. They have REALLY stepped up and taken over many of my responsibilities. I have also been blessed to have great friends here who have been a huge help. One of my good friend came over twice daily, early morning and late at night to massage my back and help with the spasms. Her support and help has been priceless, and I can never repay her. Thank you!
The ward has brought in dinner, and Brady work has been sending home the left overs from training lunch to supplement our meals.
We are very lucky to have so much support and love from those around us.
I am frustrated by the number of things that have had to be put on hold. I do not do well when I am unable to accomplish the things on my list. I can't even sit at my desktop computer and work on vinyl orders. I am in charge of the blue and gold this friday, but have had to hand off all planning and preperation to my committee. I signed up for the gym last week and have not been able to go back. I have bif plans to reorganize my craft/dining room....paint the family room/theater.... plans for life that for now are put on hold. But we have plans for a MAJOR road trip in 2 weeks so I need to take it easy and get better.
Wish me luck.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Have you been here?



My kids are HUGE computer people. Who can blame them? Brady and I live our lifes, both professionally and personally, on the computer. Between our 2 laptops, 2 desktops, iphone and blackberry, we live via the internet in our home.


We are also a TJed family. We are trying hard to control the information they come in contact with, allow them to explore and learn at their own pace and surround them with the classics. For me this doesn't just mean books, though that is a HUGE part of it. We have spent the last 6 months building up a library of classics. Some of our favorites include Legos, blocks, Megaformers, Chess, Yahtzee, and many others. We play SpinUSA, read the Little House series and the Boxcar Children, cook, clean house and play outside.


But one constant remains, the desire to get on the computer. Don't get me wrong, there are some GREAT educational sites out there. The problem has been many are "too boring" or it's too easy for them to get led off to a place that is not so educational. What starts as building a city quickly becomes chasing bad guys around that city and shooting them. (Yes, I have 2 boys)


So yesterday during a meeting with our ES (educational supervisor) she mentioned a site she uses with her kids. Brainpop.com. We quickly looked it up and signed up for a trial membership. I LOVE IT!!!! Our new house rule is if you are on the computer, you are either blogging or on BrainPop. They can learn anything they want. There are cartoon videos for EVERY topic imaginable. Katrina is into health and diet and spent an hour learning about oral hygiene. Tyler spent time studing Benjamin Franklin because he's been reading about him in 39 Clues and Carter, last I checked was watching a movie about "The Twilight Zone" of the ocean. Apparently it's a real thing.  While showing them around the site this morning I even learned some things about JFK that I didn't know. Not only does it have videos but it has quizes, activities, experienments and games to go with each topic. And with each topic is a list of related topics.

I enjoy homeschooling the kids. Everyday brings new challenges, but it is exciting and VERY rewarding. I was afraid it would be a nightmare. That not having several hours away from them everyday would drive me nuts, VERY QUICKLY. But I was wrong. The more time we spend together, the more I learn about them and TJed, the better we all get along and enjoy eachothers company.