NYC

I will write more about our NYC trip later. Right now I just want to share some pictures.

Corn Maze

I almost forgot that when we first got here we went on our very first corn maze.

Enjoy.

Updates Galore

Well I have lots of pictures and lots to tell about......

First the move.....

It is going much better than the last time I posted about it. I am gettig to know the area...the good and the bad. The traffic is bad but then not as bad as our previous home. The rain is not as bad as I thought. It has actually been very nice fall weather. I had missed the trees and all their beautiful colors. This was something I loved about living in the North East. I am glad the North West has it too.

And did you know the mall actually has a library in it!!?? You can go to the mall and hang out at the library! That is awesome. The other great thing is that right outside the library area is the chess area. They have a huge chess board and lots of really great competition. Middle Peep is in heaven. We have been told any time the mall is open you can find people playing chess. What a great city!!!!! The parks are abundant and full of wonderful play equipment.

I would have liked to stay in this area but the houses are so expensive that we had to go north. The great news is that we found a house.....FINALLY!! It is a new constructure with a lot of upgrades and still less than what we were finding in the desireable neighborhoods. It is close to a YMCA that we want to join. I think we will be happy there. The views are really nice too.
And the house we are selling is under contract as well!!!! Everything is working out perfectly.

What we enjoyed this past week:

Cougar Mountain Zoological Park

We went to this zoo park. It was small and intimiate but still better than our last zoo. We arrived in time to see and hear the Tiger Lecture. There are 2 baby tigers that the zoo is taking care of. They are brothers and one is white while the other is the normal orange with stripes. These are some very friendly tigers. Baby Peep as usual was running around and the striped tiger started running back and forth in his cage and pouncing the cage walls after him. It was very cute. He was just like a big kitten...albeit a big dangerous kitten. The boys had a blast with these tigers. The white tiger keep pouncing on his brother while he was distracted with the boys. It was funny.


Pacific Science Center

On Sunday, since we were done looking for houses (YIPPEEE) we went to this science center. WHAT A PLACE!!!!! This is a must membership. It satisfied all the peeps' needs. One likes the dinosaurs, the other likes the funky physics experiments, and the other liked the insects and other animals you could touch. Mama and Papa Peep liked that everything worked and the entrance fee for the whole family was low. Papa Peep's company subsidizes most of the cost which makes it very very affordable.

Haunted House

After we found a place to eat (yummy burgers and fries) we headed south to this nifty place. Again the corporate discount made it possible. We went through the VERY scary haunted house and then let the kids get on some rides. The whole time the kids were incredulous that we were there. They have been great troopers through the whole "move saga". They have endured endless hours of driving, seeing houses, talking about houses and most of all stressed parents. They deserved the nice break.

Halloween!!!!!!

We had a blast!!!!

Another quiz

Take the Quiz here!

:: E L I N O R ::
You are Elinor Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility! You are practical, circumspect, and discreet. Though you are tremendously sensible and allow your head to rule, you have a deep, emotional side that few people often see.

Reporting from the Soggy Pacific NorthWest

Boy, they were not kidding when they said it rains here. Yesterday was the only completely dry day we have had since getting here. The children are not too happy about that. I am trying to find indoor space for them to run around in. The peeps especially need to burn off lots of energy.

My temporary move things arrived and of course my clothes and one box of books are no where to be found. This box had the LL stuff in it as well as CW Poetry and some fun Knex stuff I never have time for. The LL readers were in another box but the Student and Teacher's manuals are in the missing box. We will make do. I have a Warriner's writing book we are now using.

Since we took so much time off, we have had a slow start. I feel like the old time cars that you had to whine up to get started. I have not cranked their brains enough because they keep stalling. Today Middle Peep could not think of any English derivative for nauta. He stared blankly for at least 10 minutes. He is usually quite impressive in this area. He has an extensive vocabulary. Today however he was completely stumped. I informed Papa Peep that video games are completely off until further notice. He has turned their brains to mush.

We have been house hunting as well in our spare time. I have yet to find a neighborhood I like. All the cities out here are very different from what I am use to. I find in my old age I am getting kind of set in my ways where I use to be very fly by the seat of my pants. I am trying to loosen up on my way of thinking but we lived in the South for 7 years and have done most of my real parenting there that we are so accustomed to having things a certain way. The culture is very different here. There are many many things I like. This area is truly more diverse where the South is not. The South is also very rigid in thinking where this state is more open. There are stout environmentalist here who go above and beyond your average Southerner. This is a great thing but they are against the big shopping malls I have grown accustomed too. This also means prices are much higher because everything is organic, locally grown and environmentally friendly. I love it, but it will take some getting use to as I mentioned earlier.

This area is also pretty small compared to the sprawling suburbs I have grown use to. I really must stop comparing everything to our previous location. In our hunt for the perfect neighborhood I have to reevaluate my priorities. This could take a while folks.......

My Daemon!

LEONIDAS! I love it.

I love these books!!!

Thanks to Rupert we have enjoyed this series by Philip Pullman. Now you can too.

ENRIQUE!!!!

I am having an Enrique moment so bare with me.

More Wild Animals!

Today we found this little dude hanging out at our trash can. It freaked oldest peep out and the boys were fascinated, but only baby peep had the courage to pick it up.

No idea where this child gets it from. Neither Papa Peep nor I like animals of any kind. Baby Peep is quite the opposite.

MATH WOES!!!!!

I don't usually visit the high school boards usually on WTM. I think I need to start making it part of my routine. I need Algebra help and quick.

I am very good at math, always have been. I usually worked on the previous night's homework in class while the teacher explained the lesson. I never liked Math but it came to me easily. Oldest Peep is another story. She has never liked it and I doubt she ever will. We started off with MUS and that was a disaster. We then moved to Miquon/Singapore and quickly dropped Miquon. Singapore was the perfect fit for her until Primary 4. I think it was 4b where she started hating math again and questioning her skills. We finished 4b and started on 5a when I realized she was just not getting it. We did the key to Fractions, Key to Decimals, and Key to Measurements just for a fun break. She did well with those. In the mean time I searched for something that would help her. We went with Saxon 76. That was good at the very beginning. Very soon she discovered it bored her to tears. We switched to Lial's and it has been happily ever after since then.

Enter Chapter 6!!!!

This chapter has shattered her complete confidence again. We have taken now 2 weeks to do this one chapter. Every time I pull out the books the flood gates open and the pleading begins. I just don't know what to do. I've looked at the video based ones because I think taking me out of the equation will be a good thing. I just don't get how she learns Math. The problem is I don't like how the others teach Math. In my opinion they over complicate things. I think Lial's BCM is a good text. It explains things clearly. They have enough problems for her to work on so that the concepts sink in, but she doesn't want to put in the work. I think it is time for another "Pep" talk.

Who will pep talk me!?!

Baby Peep's Animal Quiz

Oh My!!!

You're a Weasel!

Cunning and conniving, the only thing darker than your motives is your
reputation. People shy away from you, consider you slimy, and warn their children not
to make friends with people like you. A rare few have even threatened to skin you
alive. The good news is that you're clever enough to keep away from others for the most
part. You are most popular when screeching.


Take the Animal Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

I love these quizzes!!!!!

You're a Horse!

Versatile, powerful, and true, you have quite a reputation for hard
work and a certain unbridled spirit. Many look up to you as an example of what
people can really become, though somewhere deep down, you admit to feeling a little
bit broken. You hate racing, but are still exceptionally good at it. Beware broken
legs, dog food, and glue. If your name is Ed, you do a surprising amount of
talking.


Take the Animal Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Bubba the Wild Turtle

So we got up early *HA* to get some yard work done. Papa Peep got out the weed whacker and we set forth. Baby Peep found his toy one and changed the batteries. He was so cute but I did not get the camera out yet. Then as Baby Peep was "cutting" the weeds too, he found the above turtle under one of our logs. I have no idea how it got there as we really do not have any creeks near us. The kids observed it for a while, named it Bubba and then left it alone. If he is lost, I hope he finds his way home soon.

Comfort Food

I have to add this here! Today on the WTM board someone asked what was a comfort food for you. Well for me it is.......

Rice in all forms! Fried rice with some kind of meat. Brown rice, white rice......preferable long grain..but RICE. I will eat it when I feel sick and all maladies are gone. I will eat it when there is nothing else to eat and I will be happy for rice. I will eat it when I need a late night snack. (There is always a made pot of rice in my house.) I will eat it with white spanish cheese crumbled on top. I will eat it with a fried egg on top. Not green! And NEVER with butter! YUCK! I eat it with my soup. I can eat it at every meal but always with dinner. I will eat it just to get to the bottom of the pot where the hard crunchy treasure can be found!

RICE!!!!!!

7th Grade Schedule

Middle Peep's Schedule

AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

The start date was wrong. He starts October 8th!!!! AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

That is NOT enough time. I want to go home to NY before I head west. Not fair! Not fair! Not fair!!!!! Yes, I am having a tantrum! I need more time....more time, please!!!!!

Motivation

Since we heard of the news this week, my motivation to school has waned considerably. I don't want to teach another lesson in our school room. I want to be in a new house, in a new city, with all our stuff. This is just silly because as much as I have to do here, I still have to teach these peeps. I don't want to get further behind. We took way more time off this summer than I wanted. The peeps were having so much fun with friends I just could not bare to drag them away and back indoors to study Latin. We have always schooled year round but every year I find it harder and harder to do. Now that we are going to a new city, this summer I bet will be filled with exploring. I will miss the fall and spring of the South. It makes for really lovely weather. I have been checking out the blogs of other homeschoolers who live in the Northwest and it will be a change. But an exciting change. Today we got an official start date that gives me some breathing room. I can't get comfortable in that idea or I will slack.

Back to the homeschooling.....so I come down the stairs finally to see what my peeps have been doing all morning and this is the scene I find:

Oldest Peep is at our table working on her Homer, BY HERSELF!

Then Middle Peep shows me what Oldest Peep helped him with. He wrote better for her than for me! And he did a good job spelling...only one error.

Later I found her doing this. She was reading the lesson to her brothers.

I just love these peeps!!!!!!

Back to the moving.......

If you know me well, you know that I am not a person who stresses. And if you know Papa Peep you know he stresses enough for the both of us. Well we have had some sort of Freaky Friday thing happen. I am very stressed and worried and he is a calm, cool, and collected cucumber. I tell you I do not like it. Not at all!!!!

Now the peeps are unwinding after a long day's work.

They are watching some mindless Disney Channel show. They deserve it.

Hotdogs

Well after reading this article I think we are off hotdogs for a very very long time. Click here.

Testing!