Beautiful Compliment

Since becoming Catholic last year, I have felt strongly pulled to the more traditional practices of the Church. One of those being the wearing of a mantilla as a reminder that God is over us. I find it helps me to stay focused on the Liturgy as well as reminding me of God's presence (as if the great big Tabernacle doesn't ;)). One day a few weeks ago, as I'm entering the Church, the greater stopped me and told me "when you put your mantilla on, you look just like the Blessed Mother. You're beautiful." It was the first response I've had regarding the mantilla and it was one of the most touching things I've ever been told. It brought tears to my eyes.

One less tush

To wipe that is!  Velcro boy can wipe his own tush!  I started teaching him a couple months ago and he caught on quickly.  He does such a good job that I don't need to follow up with him.  It's soooo nice not to be called everytime they go to the bathroom.  2 down, 1 to go :) (Though I think it'll be a while for the last one).

Visit to the doc...

So...I went to the eye doctor today.  It would seem that I need glasses (again).  I've been getting headaches the past few months, so I started wearing my old prescription again off and on.  And of course they were worse when I read a lot, and what homeschooler doesn't read a lot?!?It has helped a great deal, but I was still getting headaches.  So I finally broke down and made the appointment.  Turns out the old script was for farsightedness.  I'm now nearsighted!  With a bit of an astigmatism thrown in for good measure.  So they wrote a new script and I picked out new frames.  They'll be available for pick-up on Wednesday.

Love this vacuum!

I can't believe I'm saying that I love a vacuum cleaner, but I do! The old one finally died, part of it melted while I was using it (boy did it stink!), so we had to get a new one. Off to Target I go. I finally decide on a Hoover deluxe Elite rewind. Regularly $120, on sale $89. It was more than the other model I was looking at, but it also has a lifetime HEPA filter which go for ~$25 each year. So, I figured it was worth it! It works GREAT!!! I couldn't get over the amount of dirt/lint it pulled out of the carpets the first time I used it, and I had just vacuumed a few days before with the old machine. It's still pulls a ton of stuff out of the the carpets every time. The carpets feel so clean, the clean you get after a steam cleaning, they almost feel new!

The boys love it too. They both want to use it every time I pull it out. Velcro Boy even asks daily if I need to vacuum.

The Professor (it's even his favorite color!)


Velcro Boy

Our week off, updates, etc

We took last week off, actually the week before - I guess I'm running a bit behind :), and I got a few things done around here. I've been falling a bit behind lately. Velcro boy's toddler bed was busting at it's seems, literally, so we decided to separate the bunk beds and set him up in his own "big boy" bed. We got the mattress, comforter, etc (I already had sheets) and got to work. We redid the room, came out quite nice I must say. After a couple days of making it myself, Velcro Boy has learned how to make his bed all by himself!!!! (Less work for me :) !)

I also did some decluttering and deep cleaning in the master bedroom. We didn't get rid of much, I try to keep up with it as we go, but we did clear out some space in hubby's closet and dresser.

Last Advent we purchased a new Nativity set. Hubby had the idea of getting one with lots of pieces that I could paint. Of course, he knows that I love to paint figurines, so I was all for the idea. To give him credit, he has offered to paint an inconspicuous piece, but I flatly turned him down. It's something I enjoy doing and I don't get to spend much time on hobbies anymore. This covers it for quite a long time to come :) So, while we were on break, I painted the baby Jesus figure. I think it came out fairly well.

Before...

After...

Not too bad. One down, 18 more to go... I'm going to try to get the Holy Family done by Advent. Wish me luck :)

I also got a much needed haircut! I had her go shorter this time. It's up to about my shoulders now.

Of course, knowing me, some time was spent in the kitchen. I made another batch of colby cheese crackers. They're almost gone now, so I need to make more soon. I also took a crack at making graham crackers. Given the rapidity with which they disappeared I would say they were quite good. They really were, and the kids LOVED them! I need to make another batch soon too. The boys have been bugging me about making bagels lately. I've been putting it off since it's a fair amount of work, and I already have enough to do. And I don't need the caloric temptation hanging around.

School is going well. The professor was giving me such a hard time about his spelling (turns out he was bored), so we went through the rest of the 2nd grade book and he knew all the material! We only needed to review one set of sounds. He nailed those, so we've moved on to the 3rd grade book. The work is harder and much more on par with were he is. He's also in the 3rd grade grammar book. We're onto a quick subtraction review in math. We took a while on the addition review because he managed not to learn his math facts last year. We drilled on those for a while and did some review work and I think he's on top of the problem. He still doesn't have them all down cold, but he's getting better and now knows when to count (fingers). We covered Reptiles, herbivores, carnivores and herbivores so far in science, now we're on to the skeletal and muscular systems. We'll spend quite some time on these areas. We're wrapping up our study of North America this week and then we move on to South America.

Velcro Boy (and Doodlebug) are working on the unit for letter "I". Velcro boy surprised me the other day. We were reading and he recognized several letters we haven't covered yet! I was amazed. He's also getting better in his number recognition lately.

And...someone can open doors now! Bet you can't guess who! He can turn the knobs and push the door open into a room, but can't turn and pull the door open (yet). I'm sure it won't be long.