New Blog ~Homeschooling

I went and started another blog..... this will only be my 3rd one. This one is for our new adventure in homeschooling.  The link is below the Great White. :o)   There will be a link on the side bar of my sewing blog too along with the link to my camping blog.  Can you tell I love to document my life?! 

http://blueoceansharksschool.blogspot.com/

WIP Wednesday (my life in progress)

(Catherine and Jeff)

My cousin got married Sunday evening.  It wasn't just any wedding for our family, it was what people were calling a miracle.  My cousin is 50 years old and this is her first marriage,  the man she married is her first boyfriend.  Can you imagine going 50 years and not having dated, or having a boyfriend or being kissed?  The family is so happy for her and she is so happy I can't even tell you. He is a great guy and perfect for her.   I had to make her a special quilt for her big day.  Her favorite colors are not mine, so the quilt I made was not easy to make.  I had to keep making myself work on it.  I haven't put boarders on it yet, but I do plan to add two boarders.  Below are signatures happening on the quilt top at the wedding.

The picture below is my Shell Family. Me, my dad, my mom and my brother at the wedding. 

The morning after the wedding, Monday, my little man had to have surgery on this ear.  They took a muscle graft  from behind his ear and replaced his eardrum with it.  (his spider bite wound is healing nicely)

(Before surgery with Mr. Gecko)

And we are now 98% sure that I am gong to homeschool my little man. I still have questions, but I still have a lot of people I plan to talk to.  I still don't know exactly which curriculum to use, but we're working on that too.  I am trying to figure out how to organize the area where we'll be doing most of the school work. (the kitchen table)  And I am thinking of starting a blog to document our adventure we are getting ready to take.  I want to name our little school... like 'Jonah's Academy' or 'Shark School'. I want to make it fun for him.  Can you help me come up with a cute name for our new school?  His name is Jonah of course and he LOVES sharks, sea creatures, and prehistoric animals.  I'd love organizing tips too.

Below, we are measuring Geico, his gecko.  A little homeschooling happening. :o)  He is 7 inches long.

An Update

First, I want to thank all of you for your kind words.  I've made some sweet stitching blog friends over the years and I felt like I got a big hug from you all the other day.

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Second,  I wanted to update you so you aren't out there worried about me.   We are doing well.   My son and I are still healing very well.  Everyday we are getting better.  My car is still running, yeah!  We do not have A/C yet, but our neighbor let us borrow their window units.  So we have a window unit upstairs and one downstairs.  It was 100 degrees outside today and a cool 81 degrees inside. :o)  I am happy with that!

Today while my son was at his tutoring session I finished my block #5 from HocusPocusVille. :o)   I just needed to stitch so bad.   It is my therapy and I hadn't stitched in days.  It felt good.

I took my little guy to the park yesterday.  This is so him...... climbing a tree, wearing his Indiana Jones hat.

I did manage to read another chapter and 1/2 of Immunology.  But today at the doctors office I started reading this book.      So,  I just wanted you let you know that we are doing better. 

Hugs to you all!!

The Longest Post Ever (for me)

This post is mostly what I've been worrying or thinking about this last week. No sewing happening here the last week, just a lot of craziness~ good and bad.  I am throwing in some photos I've taken this week also... they might not go with what I am writing about but just go with it.  :o)

(Rusty, our 1958 Deluxe Bus at the VW car show)

They say things happen is threes.... and it seems to happen that way.  Our a/c broke about 3 or 4 weeks ago (it is still not working), my car broke down about 3 weeks ago, then this week the vacuum cleaner broke (we really need a vacuum with 3 dogs).  Now on a good note ~ Friday the belt for the vacuum came in the mail and my husband fixed it. 'Yes' for vacuuming again.   I was without a car for 3 weeks, but my husband got something working on it and it running again, not good, but I made it to the grocery store and back! I'm happy with that.  We'll get another car someday, but for now we can not afford it.  We just have to keep plugging  along and keep putting band-aid after band-aid on it until we can afford to get another vehicle. 

(my little guy and his shark on the steering wheel)

Our a/c is still not working and the way it looks now I don't know if it will be working this Summer.  We've had pretty nice days so far , but come tomorrow we are supposed to get into the high 90's. :(    I am not looking forward to it.   So there are my three things.  All in a row... broke.  At least one has been 'all the way' fixed, and one is 'sort of' fixed.

( my sweet girl at the VW car show.... getting a drink out of the cooler from the back of Rusty)

The other thing that is on my mind is school. This semester I am only taking one class, Immunology.  I do think the teacher is off her rocker.  We had to read 14 chapters in two weeks.  No one finished the assignment and this week she has added 5 more chapters to read.   I'm not sure I can do this, but I keep plugging along once again.  It is too late to withdrawal with a refund so I guess I just need to keep going and do the best I can do.  I do have 12 out of 19 read so far.   And let me just say that it is not an 'easy read'.  Oh no no no.  This is immunology we're talking about.

(my two guys in the front of Rusty.... leaving the VW car show)

The biggest thing that happened this week..... were spider bites.  I won't go into too much detail because it is not pretty.  Last Friday, June 9 , I got bit by something on my stomach.  I had been pulling weeds in the driveway that day.  The bite site only grew and hurt. With everyday it was looking a lot worst and hurting really bad.  By Wednesday I finally let a doctor look at it and they made me have it lanced open to drain the nastiness that was underneath my skin.  I have not felt this much pain since child birth.

(crazy VW girls... Lisa with baby Cora, Dawnn and me)

I am now on a 14 day round of antibiotics. One that will treat Lime, just in case.  I have a hole in my belly that is still draining nastiness. But I am getting better everyday.  That isn't the end of the awful story. Thursday, June 14th, we noticed a hug red circle on the back of my son's leg.  We thought "bee sting".  He said he didn't remember getting stung.  By that night our son could hardly walk and had a fever of 101. Everyday his bite site got bigger and worst. By Sunday we ended up taking up to 'KidMed'.

(caught my little guy reading)

An evil Nurse Practitioner (she is a whole other story and who I will be writing 'KidMed' about)  ended up cutting open his leg and letting the infection drain out.  This was one of the most painful, awful, and horrible experienced I've ever had to live through.  And I wasn't the one getting my leg cut open. My sweet son is now on 2 different antibiotics and his wound is draining like crazy.  With bandage changing three time a day.    * He has surgery on his ear next Monday*

(my Black Eyed Susans. My friend gave me these because I couldn't grow my own)

I'm sorry for all the gore in my post.  It has just been a crazy couple of weeks.  They say God only gives you as much as you can handle.  I don't believe that.  I didn't handle this well. If only one person had looked at my cross eyed, I would have gone over the deep end.  If it weren't for some of my friends and my husband I would have gone over the deep end  last Friday.  I couldn't get through a sentence without busting out into tears.

(a Cicada coming out of his shell on the tree in our yard)

Also on my mind is homeschooling.  I've been throwing the homeschooling idea around in my head for about 6 months.  Not that I don't like the public school, I just don't think it is for my son.  My daughter did great in public school.  My son.... not so much.  I think he needs more of a 'one on one' teaching.  I went to the VA home schooling conference the first weekend in June and I am still confused and worrying about it.   If any of you homeschoolers out there have any advise... please, I'd love to hear it.   I am the type of person who is scared to ask for help or for anything really.  So what if I need help, but them I am scared to ask for it?   What if I don't teach him all he needs to know? What he we drive each other crazy?  What curriculum do I use?  My husband and I are trying to figure out if he is a visual , auditory, or kinesthetic learner.  I think he is a little of all three.  Can this be? 

(the snake in our yard today)

So this is a pretty long post. Probably the longest I've ever written.  I have a lot going on and a lot on my mind.   And I know everyone has a lot going on.  I just needed to put mine out there.  Maybe to air my head out.  Or maybe to see if anyone had any advice for me. 

WIP Wednesday

Remember the teacher's gift I was working on?     I finished it!  :o)    My son drew the picture on a piece of paper, then I traced it on a white piece of fabric using a light box.  He told me what colors to stitching it all in.  I tried to tell him that earth worms do not live in apples and I should stitch the worm green so he could be an inch worm.  He wanted no part in that.  He said he wanted the worm pink.  So we have a pink earth worm living in an apple. :o)   He also said that the red crayon was a number 1 because she is a number 1 teacher. 

I didn't think to take a cute picture of the pillow.  This morning my son was leaving for school and taking the teacher's gift with him.  So I grabbed a quick (not so good) photo.   PS. Mrs. Goodman's (the teacher) favorite color is blue.

Here is progress on block #5 of HocusPocusVille.  I've had lots of time to stitch in doctor office waiting rooms, gymnastic waiting rooms and tutoring waiting rooms.  So I get a good 3 hours of stitching time in a week while waiting for children.

I would read and study for my Immunology class, but it is usually too loud with people coming in and out all the time.  I need complete quite with I'm reading.   Here is a glimpse of what I am learning.... doesn't that look like a 3 year old drew it, at the bottom??

And look at the  'Quilt a Long' I found over at 'Cut to Pieces'.  A Super Mario Brothers QAL.   I may  just join in, we'll see after she posts the supply list.  With crazy things going on , like school, I may not have time.  But both of my kiddies are into games, so I bet one of them would love this quilt.

WIP Wednesday

Lots of projects in the works... none finished yet.     Progress on my HocusPocusVille block #5.....

Progress on my cousin's siggy quilt for her wedding.....

And progress on the 'end of the year' teacher gift...... it will be a pillow by popular demand. (my son's drawing, stitched up by me)

Happy stitching peeps!