Week of April 1, 2013

We are getting to a more interest-led season in our homeschool, but there are some things that I just can't let go of, like...

Math  --- HELP!

Our first year of homeschooling, we struggled to find a math program that was a good fit for Allie.  Finally, after trying many, many programs, we found Math U See, which she doesn't hate and she seems to learn a lot from and retain a lot.  She has only a couple of chapters left in Zeta and then she starts Pre-algebra.  I will be honest, I was not math-y in school.  I opted to take The History of Mathematics to fulfill my math requirement in college.  I never took Calculus or Trigonometry in high school.  As Allie advances in math, I may be of very little help.  I may not be able to explain why she got something wrong.  She could take a class at the community college, but I am not ready to send my 13 year old into a college classroom with college students just yet--maybe in a couple of years.  So, I am looking at Teaching Textbooks, Saxon Teacher and ALEKS.  Allie's reviewed all of them on-line and prefers Teaching Textbooks, but I hear a lot of students do not do well on the SAT after using Teaching Textbooks, but they did just do a huge upgrade...so maybe they addressed that?  Any advice or suggestions would be very much appreciated!

Spanish & Latin

I set goals.  They reach them.  Every week.  It takes a couple of hours max.

Writing

I have asked the girls to make a Presentation (using Google Docs) on the Candy Chemistry they begged for and got for Valentine's Day.  They are still working on it as they have not yet finished the Candy Chemistry kit.  It will be a few more weeks of work.

L-R Every morning, the first thing the girls do when they get up is check out 7 Cool Homeschoolers to see  the latest video!  They made gummy candy in Candy Chemistry this week.  We did lots and lots of art journaling--now that we got the hang of it--the girls are doing it independently when they get inspired as well as with me.  We wore blue on April 2 for World Autism Day -- we have several friends that are on the spectrum.  Piper blew a lot of stuff up on Minecraft this week.  Crazy Kid.  We babysat for Dakota--my parents boxer this week, she has no idea she is a big dog, she thinks she is a lap dog.  Crazy Pup.

What We Are Watching

~ CNN Student News - I saw this on Susan's blog and decided to try it.  We have begun to get in the habit of watching while we eat breakfast and then we discuss.  The girls are really enjoying it.

~ The Men Who Made America-- We are all learning so much--and when I say all I mean Jason & I, too--we may have been to Rockefeller Center and Vanderbilt's summer home in Newport and Carnegie Hall and Teddy Roosevelt's house, but we had no idea who these men were and all they did!!  We all watch it together at night and then discuss it over dinner the next night in preparation for that night's episode.

~ Skylark - a movie based on the novel by Patricia MacLachlan - I read the girls this series (which begins with Sarah Plain & Tall back when Allie was in second grade) and we watched the movie for Sarah Plain & Tall, but I was not aware there was a movie for Skylark until we were at the BIG library this week--I had to get it, I just love this time period!

~ Maid in Manhattan - Jason had a NJ Tree Experts meeting this week and the girls and I went out for fro-yo for dinner (I kept it all healthy--Eurotart and fruit and almonds!) and then came home and watched this J Lo chick flick.  We liked it.

Favorite Apps & Websites

The girls figured out how to race each other in Grand Prix Multiplication,
it's just a review and helps them keep their skills sharp--but they play it all.the.time without me asking

~ Mathplayground - Sugar, Sugar and Snail Bob and Grand Prix Multiplication

~ Minecraft

~ Google docs - instead of PowerPoint, we use Presentation, because it's free and we can work on it from any computer--at home, at the library, etc.

What We Are Creating

We are really getting into Art Journaling, now that I figured out what it is and how to do it--I am a little slow on these things.  It's not just copying someone else's page, it's making it your own.  Duh.  Anyway, now that we figured it out, we love it and are finding ourselves drawn to art journal more and more.

now that I got the hang of personalizing pages...we are art journaling fools I tell ya!

The girls also learned about the properties of gelatin in the Organic Chemistry chapter of their Candy Chemistry kit.  To illustrate the properties of gelatin, they made gummy candies.

What We Are Reading

The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Allie)
Boys are Dogs (Piper)
Candymakers by Wendy Mass (Piper)
Never Change by Elizabeth Berg (Theresa)
Water Witches by Chris Bohjalian (Jason)
Julie by Catherine Marshall (Allie) - we finished watching the Christy series (so disappointed it's not very long) so Allie decided to read the books, our library didn't have Christy, so she started with Julie and put a hold on Christy

Homemaking

I bought a rosemary plant and instead of planting it in the usual spot where it always seems to get buried in snow when we shovel--I bought a pretty pot and put it in my dining room window.  I have a dream of it scenting the air, but I think it's going to take me going over and rubbing my hand over the leaves to get the scent.  I love the scent of fresh rosemary, don't you?

I also planted my windowsill garden.  I haven't done this in years, but decided to do it again.

Our garden is ready to seed and we will be planting greens this weekend!  We don't get a lot of sun in our yard (trying to get the hubster to take down some trees, so far he is not budging) so all we can plant are greens.  But I am happy with that.

kept my fro-yo all healthy this week and probably enjoyed it more than when I make it all chocolate-y
wheat berries--a new fave!
green smoothies to replace the craft brew a few nights a week

Parenting

There was an issue with one of the girls' friends this week.  I had to finally put my foot down.  I didn't want to do it, but it was building for a while.  I feel bad for all the girls, but this girl's mom and I have very different ideas about raising kids.

Marriage

I went shopping last weekend for an Easter outfit for myself.  Ugh.  I have been eating healthy, but snacking a lot more than I should and justifying it that my snacks are "healthy".  Also, Jason and I indulge in a craft beer 3-4 nights a week.  This week, I made a commitment to snack less and only on grapefruit and air-popped popcorn, drink more water and cut the craft beer to only on weekends.  Jason and I replaced our craft beer a few times with green smoothies.  He also went for a walk with me one evening and a bike ride another :)

Family

babka, girls, sticky buns & Gangnam lives on--did I mention we are crazy?

We had a great Easter.  My parents and brother and sister-in-law and niece came over.  We dyed eggs, we did the mentos and diet soda geyser, we did the Harlem Shake--because we are crazy like to have fun!  And fun we had.  It was a celebration.  The homeschool neighbor dad joined us (the girls were with their mom) and was crazy fun right along with us!  Jason made my grandpa's babka, actually he has now incorporated my great-grandmother's recipe and my grandpa's recipe--I really think that having these family traditions makes holidays even more special and I am glad that my girls are being raised to appreciate them.  My brother didn't make horseradish (horseradish is another Polish tradition handed down from father to son) because he had just closed on his house at the beach, with a beautiful inground pool in the backyard...but that's ok, we will just plan on making ourselves nuisances hanging out there all summer so he can make it up to us ;-)

family, friends, food, fun...and traditions make holidays more special!

We made Jason's mom's sticky buns - she made them for every holiday and they are delicious.

Another tradition that maybe I could do without...Jason is Scottish and we have a bottle of single malt Scotch that was made by his clan.  For some reason, when my brother is around, they always decide to open Jason's clan's Scotch and drink a glass ... and toast Jason's ancestors... and the fine men that made a fine scotch and Jesus and just about anything else they can come up with... it's interesting.  Neither of them ordinarily drink scotch or any hard liquor for that matter...so it's very interesting.   That center photo in the collage is my brother swirling his scotch and talking about the proper way to drink Jason's clan's scotch.  Just keepin' it real.

Linking with Mary at Homegrown Learns for Collage Friday

The New Year's Party

I don't remember how it started, or even when it started.  It started as these things do.  Many of our friends don't like to go out or travel on New Year's Eve because of all the drinking and driving {apparently} going on.  So, we invited some neighbors over for New Year's Eve.  We told the adults to bring a snack-y-appetizer-y thing to share and we told the kids to bring sleeping bags.  Each year these parties have grown, this year we are adding more friends to the fun and I can't wait!

There was a time in my life when I tried to make everything all picture-perfect, magazine-worthy and just caused myself a lot of stress and back ache.  Now, I keep things simple.  In fact, I have chosen "Simple" as my word for 2013.  Since all the guests bring snacky food to share and I make platters of cookies for New Year's Eve when I bake for Christmas and then freeze the already assembled platters...I keep my prep simple.  We don't serve dinner.  This is more like a cocktail party.  This year I bought some hummus, some pita chips, some veggies; cheese and crackers and some fancy olives from the olive bar; and because I was in the mood, Ruffles Ridges chips and french onion dip (I think those ridges just hold up better in dip, don't you?).  A few bottles of wine, a couple cases of good beer, some vodka and cranberry juice--so festive! and a few bottles of champagne...and some sparkling cider, juice boxes and water bottles for the kids...and that is about it.

We usually start the shindig around 7pm, but some of our friends have already said that they go to bed early and would leave early, so we told them to come around 5pm.  I am kind of excited for that, too.  I am excited to entertain in groups.  Obviously, these are all our friends and I love and know them all well, but knowing I will have quality time with everyone seems really cool going into it.

The adults hang out upstairs, either chatting in the living room or playing games in the dining room.  The kids take over the basement, playing in the play room or watching a movie or playing Wii.  I will set up bowls of chips, pretzels, dip and popcorn downstairs.  Maybe some cheese and crackers and raw veggies, too and a cooler of juice boxes and water bottles.  The kids range in age from 8-15, so they are fairly self-sufficient and the older ones usually keep the younger ones in line, if necessary.

Most of the adults stay until midnight and we do the countdown for the ball to drop, then we take the kids outside and have them make some noise.  Usually the adults come back in and we may spend a few more HOURS talking before everyone leaves.  Thankfully, Jason is an early riser and usually has our house all cleaned up by the time I wake up on New Year's Day.

At some point before midnight, we help the little ones set up sleeping bags all over our family room floor...some of them crash...others wait for the ball to drop...many spend the night.  I make french toast in the morning...easy peasy, a few loaves of bread, some egg, milk and orange juice...and then their parents pick them up!

It's become a tradition that we look forward to every year!

Peace and Joy and Family

Cartier, Manhattan

I just wanted to get through this Christmas, because I knew it was going to be difficult without my uncle.  But in the end, it was a beautiful celebration of family and good friends.  There was peace and joy, love and laughter, happiness and merriment, gratitude and just plain old fun.  We attended the Candlelight Service at church as a family, which always puts me in a good mood and then headed to my parents' house to eat seven fish in Sicilian tradition.  We opened gifts and enjoyed each other's company.  On Christmas morning, Jason made us our traditional holiday breakfast of sticky buns, we opened the gifts that Santa brought and then headed out to see a re-enactment of George Washington crossing the Delaware, then we thought we would go to my father-in-law's but he and my brother-in-law had other plans, so we will see them soon and celebrate with them then.

Merry Christmas

Instead of sending Christmas cards this year,

our family made a donation

to

Hurricane Sandy Relief.

We wish you peace, love and happiness

on Christmas

and

the whole year through!

Love,

Jason, Theresa

Allie & Piper

Finding the Christmas Spirit

I love Christmas.  Normally, I gather ideas for gifts, crafts, cookie recipes all year long.  I try to get my shopping done before Thanksgiving so that the girls and I can spend the month of December baking and crafting.  We usually get tickets to see The Nutcracker or Radio City Christmas Spectacular or A Christmas Carol.  Jason combs cookbooks and websites for interesting recipes for his big annual Christmas Day dinner.

This is a house in our neighborhood.  They have been decorating it like this for 30 years.  People come from all over to see it.  They don't charge anything.  This weekend they are hosting an open house with Santa and Mrs. Claus, hot chocolate and candy canes and they are asking that if anyone wants to donate, they bring food for the local food bank.

But, this year is different.

I am struggling to find the Christmas spirit.

I love that our neighbor does this.  That he gets such joy from it.  That he opens his home to strangers to bring them joy.  That reminds me of the spirit of Christmas.

Here are some things that I have been doing and they have been putting me in the Christmas spirit...

* Watch a Christmas movie.  The classics, It's a Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street are always great for reminding us about what the season really means: pulling together, giving more than we expect to receive and in so doing, we get so much more back; love; kindness.  Of course, A Charlie Brown Christmas Special,  with that little pathetic tree reminds us that everyone deserves love and kindness; Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer reminds us that we all have gifts.  If you can find them, The Small One and/or Nester, the Long-Eared Donkey are my two favorites, about the donkey that brought Mary to Bethlehem.  We watched Christmas Angel with Della Reese a few nights ago, it's a new movie, but it was great for putting me in the Christmas spirit!

* Bake some cookies or make fudge.  I have been pinning recipes all year, you can find them here.  Or maybe you can make a nice dessert to bring to a party you are attending.  Part of the joy for me is giving, I love anticipating everyone enjoying the plates of cookies and fudge we bring with us where ever we go or are invited this time of year.

* Get your craft on.  Crafting around the holidays is one of my very favorite things to do.  I love to give and receive homemade gifts.  I started a Pinterest board for Christmas crafts and Homemade Gift ideas a while ago.

All of these dolls move.  It's like watching an old-fashioned window in NYC, before they started making it over-the-top, when they kept it to simple and classic scenes of Christmas cheer.

* Plan a New Year's Eve party.  We started doing this a few years ago, mostly with very local friends since most people we know don't like to be out and about on New Year's Eve.  I almost bagged the party this year, but Jason convinced me to carry on and we have actually invited even more friends this year -- and they said yes!!  Looking forward to spending some time with friends, planning what food we will serve, drinks we will make, entertainment for the kids - is putting me in a happy place.

* Go shopping.  Yes, I am usually done before December.  But there always has to be at least one special gift that I can't wait to give--this year, I needed to go back out to get it, because I had not found it yet.  I know Christmas is not about gifts, but finding special things for those you love ignites a spark in our soul and it reminds us of the gift given to us all those years ago...

* Go to church.  Our church has Blue Christmas fellowship, Lessons & Carols and other services throughout this weekend and next week.  My favorite tradition at our church is at the end of Christmas Eve worship when the lights are turned down and we all light candles and sing "Silent Night" I always cry.  It just really brings that message home--Jesus is the reason for the season!

* Pray.  Get down on your knees and spend time with God.  Tell him what is on your heart ask him to lead and guide you through this time.

These elves are hard at work in our neighbors' attic.

* Make something for the homeless.  If you live near a city or an area where you have some homeless people, make little gift bags.  It can be something as simple as brown lunch sacks with an apple and a juice box inside.

* Play some Christmas music.  I normally keep the house quiet, as a mom I relish any minute of silence I can get; but Jason is the type of person who has music on from the time he wakes up til he goes to sleep...he's been playing lots of Christmas music lately from our own collection and Pandora and it really does put me more in the Christmas spirit.

* Change it up.  If you suffered a loss this year, maybe the idea of doing the same things you have always done to celebrate Christmas is more than you can bear.  Our family has decided not to host the big family dinner on Christmas Day and instead we have some other plans.

Mrs. Claus and Santa are preparing the reindeer for the long flight ahead.

I love the magic of Christmas.

**If you see a revolving door and there is no one waiting to use it, channel your inner Elf and run around and around and around.  The other day, we had to stop at Jason's surgeon's office to pick up some paperwork and there was a revolving door.  We had just watched Elf the night before and the girls and I saw it as our opportunity to run around and around and around in the revolving door.  Jason stood by, looking annoyed and embarrassed, until the girls and I flung ourselves into the lobby of the surgeon's office and I apologized to the security guard, who chuckled and said, "Elf is classic!  Merry Christmas!"  That made my day!

Halloween Costume Review

There has been a lot of talk about Halloween in our house lately.  Allie wants to make her own costume and has been sewing a practice version since this is her own creation and she doesn't have a pattern.

We ordered Piper's costume from Costume Super Center.com.  They have HUNDREDS of adorable costumes and it took Piper quite a while to narrow it down to just one!

Piper chose the Rodeo Cowgirl Costume.

We were VERY impressed with how quickly the costume arrived!

I must say, I was VERY pleased with the quality.  This is not your party-store quality costume (which we have had in the past).  The fabric and embellishments on this costume are much better quality than the costumes I've seen at chain retail stores and party stores.

The attention to detail really makes this costume pop!

Piper loves the sparkly sequins and I love that it's not overkill and garish!

If you are interested in learning more about cowgirls and helping your little cowgirl be authentic check out this book.

Piper loves all of the little details of this costume...

the little hat, the hair ties, the wristlets, the sequins and fringe.

I like that the whole thing cost less than $30!

Piper has Ugg-type brown boots.

But she would really like brown cowboy boots...I don't see spending money on brown boots when she already has a fairly new pair that fit.

Fiscal responsibility or spending money for a few hours of trick or treating?

I was not financially compensated for this review.
The thoughts and opinions expressed herein are my own honest assessment of CostumeSuperCenter.com.

Easter Weekend

We enjoyed a family-filled Easter Weekend.

We celebrated Easter & my mom's birthday with my brother, sister-in-law, niece, Grandma and parents.

On Sunday morning, after church, my parents came over for brunch.

Then we drove to my Uncle's home to celebrate Easter with my Aunt & Uncle.

My Uncle treated us to a fabulous cheese assortment.  He could have stopped at the cheese and I would have been happy.  I love cheese!

 My Uncle's LCD TV didn't fit into his wall unit, so he had the TV spot made into a nice bar :)

Since, I was a child, my Uncle has always created elaborate quiz-filled Easter egg hunts,

with riddles and clues and puzzles to solve to get to the next clue.

This year we put a new spin on it and the girls created a game:

Are You Smarter Than Allie and Piper?

The girls created categories, wrote the questions and quizzed the adults!

Then, the adults gave the girls "hot" and "cold" clues to find their Easter gifts.

I really enjoy being with my aunt and uncle.

We have always been close.

When I was little, I would spend weeks every summer at my grandmother's house and my aunt and uncle would take off from work and take me to Manhattan and historic sites and other cool places.

My mom is pretty cool, too ;-)

(So is my dad, but we didn't get any pictures of him!)

Jason took pictures of his dinner and I decided to include them.
Lamb with braised vegetables.
Mashed potatoes, turnips and pears.
Steamed asparagus.

After dinner, Jason, the girls and I went for a walk around my Uncle's neighborhood...
and we took photos.  Because that is what we do.  We love it. We do it where ever we go.  We don't care if we look weird standing under trees and straddling paths...we love to take photos.
You may just see us in your bed of begonias one day!

We had a wonderful Easter and we hope you did as well!

{Homeschool} Mother's Day

They woke me up.

With my cereal and coffee

 and a special handmade flower

 on a tray :)

My girls are girlie girls.

They are very into pedicures.

They treated me to a {homemade} pedicure :)

Then they told me

that we could go anywhere I wanted to

and do anything I wanted to...

Hmmmmm.....

What is a mom to do?

The movies? Nah, we can't talk & be silly.

The beach? Nah, too cold here in New Jersey.

The lake? Nah, too far away.

I decided I wanted to take our new camera for a spin...

in one of our favorite places...

NEW YORK CITY.

We live less than an hour from Manhattan, so it was the perfect choice!

A asked if we could take our dog, Ollie.

Since we weren't planning to be indoors on such a gorgeous day, 

we told her that she could if she was responsible for him.

We couldn't manage cameras, gear and a dog leash.

A agreed and she did a FABULOUS job!

Jason & I BOTH made a big point of telling her what a fantastic job she did with Ollie!

We went through Chinatown,

I love the street vendors :)

Then, we went through Little Italy.

I am very picky about Italian food.

No one makes gravy like my Nauna.

BUT~ if you ever get the chance,

go to a little restaurant in Little Italy,

make sure it has a little courtyard in back, 

surrounded by brick and shrubs,

with little lights hanging around.

Go just before twilight

and share a bottle of wine with someone.

It's an experience everyone should have at least once in their life.

I eat salad

every single day.

I love salad.

It's my favorite food.

A quick consult of Chowhound

found that chop't is rumored to be the best

place for salads in the city.

So, we headed to the one in Union Square...

There was an Asian festival going on,

it tied in well with our unit on Ancient China.

Couldn't have planned it better...God works in mysterious ways ;-)

I really didn't get a good picture of chop't.

Then we passed Washington Square Park

We cruised up Park Avenue

To our final destination:

Central Park.

We discovered our love of Central Park

a few years ago when Dr. JJ came out.

Dr. JJ and I went to high school together,

so she had lived here and had gone to all of the tourist-y places.

She just wanted to feel the energy of the city.

We had no agenda.

It was an absolutely amazing day and bonded my family & Dr. JJ for LIFE!

Central Park is a treasure.

Jason & I always talk about how,

if the city were being developed today,

it is such PRIME real estate, we doubt they would leave it as a park.

Yet, it is, in my mind, the absolute heart of the city.

Where else can you see this:

and just a few yards away this:

wondering what that is?

lol.

It's a bunch of 50somethings roller-disco-ing.

With this dude selling CDs.

Jason loved this guy and spent a while talking to him.

I asked to take his photo.

Since it was my day, and we did what I wanted,

I wanted to sit and watch these 50somethings roller-disco

and

of course (do you know me?) sing along.

It's not every day

that I get to sing

"Upside Down You're Turning Me"

and 

"I Will Survive"

C'mon, c'mon, you know you want to...

"At first I was afraid...

I was petrified...

Kept thinkin' I could never live

without you by my side..."

After eating our delicious salads, we were off...

Jason had thought he'd found his peeps.

The other photo junkies...

then he realized they were taking pictures of robins.

New Yorkers, gah!

We almost lost P in jungle...

I love how you are walking around

in what could be a nature sanctuary,

and then you look up and see

THIS

This is what I love about the hubs,

he notices things like hawk's nests...

We were joking that Ollie now thinks that every time

we leave the house,

we go to Central Park.

 See that doggie smile?

Ollie had a great day.

He said it could only have been made better if Miss Lucy were there too ;-)

The Alice in Wonderland statue:

I had a fab day in the park with my girlie girls and the hubster.

Then, I decided that I wanted to go to a bakery recommended by Jessica at Teachable Moments.

It seems Jess's family is always recommending the bakeries! lol

This place does not use refined sugar,

most of their stuff is gluten free and vegan (dairy & egg free)

 but you would NOT know.

I know these aren't great pics,

but I took them for Jess & Lilah.

I got an A-may-zing coffee-caramel donut,

Jason got a biscuit with jelly

and A got a cupcake.

P was already eating her awesome cookie sandwich!

It was a great day.
Nice to know I am appreciated by the fam!