My house has been transformed.
Yesterday, with Red’s help, we got all our Christmas decorating done. Everybody, ‘cept me, went outside to turn our house into the tacky house next door with so many lights that we’ve already blown the circuit breaker twice! But this is my dh’s thing, so I’ll let him work that out.
I stayed inside and put up the tree with, you got it, tons of lights. Hey! I like a lotta lights on a Christmas tree. And it sure did turn out pretty.
We’d already had turkey three times at this point, so for dinner we headed out to our favorite Mom and Pop pizza joint. It was time for pizza. The turkey will keep.
Then we all went to the new James Bond movie, Quantum Solace. At first I was so worried. The very first car chase scene got on my nerves in a major way; speedy camera […]
Original post by Robin
GB’s swim coach wanted to have a fun day for the kids before we head off to the YMCA championships next weekend. And I think she pulled it off spectacularly!
The first game they played was a relay. Each lane had ten kids in it, five on each end of the pool. They had to take turns swimming to the opposite end of the pool and simultaneously blowing on a balloon to get it to the next kid and keep the relay going. The winning team was the first to have all of their kids on each end of the pool swim one length.
The second game was an over-the-head / under-the-legs relay with a rubber ball while IN THE WATER! The funny part of this game was when the kids had to push the ball under the water to pass it through their legs to the kid behind them. The ball […]
Original post by Robin
…… You’ve GOT to do this!
Just North of where we are staying is a beautiful area of the Outer Banks called Swan Beach and Carova Beach (Carova got it’s name because it is SO close to the border of Carolina and Virgina). These beaches have the most secluded, beautiful vacation homes I’ve ever seen.
We decided to go on one of the wild horse tours that are available in these remote beach areas. We used Bob’s Wild Horse Adventure Tours and our guide was Byron. He did a great job and we really felt like we got very personal attention.
The wild horses are believed to be decendents of Spanish Mustangs from the 16th century explorers. For centuries they’ve roamed the Outer Banks feasting on the native vegetation and providing locals with stock for farming. However, with developement, the horses became threatened. Most of the herd was moved into the four-wheel-drive area […]
Original post by Robin
I will admit that I had never heard of Mexican sugar skulls until my friend called and asked if GB and I wanted to come over and make some.
It sounded intriguing, so we went.
What a blast!
This is what About.com has to say about our activity:
November first begins the Dia de los Muertos (also known as “Day of the Dead”) festivities with All Saints Day in which the deceased children are honored and remembered. November second All Souls Day is for the remembrance of the adult dead. Dia de los Muertos combines these days to celebrate the the deceased and enjoy their memories. Dia de los Muertos is not at all scary, spooky or somber.
The most popular “Dia de los Muertos” ofrenda is Sugar Skulls. Sugar skulls are a traditional folk art from Central and Southern Mexico used to celebrate Day of the Dead. Mounds of colorful sugar skulls are […]
Original post by Robin
Election day at the Martinzoo began with voting. I was expecting lines out the door, but much to my surprise, we were in and out in less than ten minutes. Clearly, they were expecting huge lines and so they had a well-oiled machine that flowed beautifully.
Once we reached home we began preparation for this evening’s festivities. My good buddy in Texas, Dana, had some great ideas on her blog that I decided to borrow….LOL!
Here, GB cuts out a pop-up White House complete with little Obama and McCain figures.
Now he’s gluing the White House to the grass/sky sheet.
Isn’t that cool looking? We think McCain looks very dapper and Obama looks very approachable.
This was the command center at the Martinzoo tonight. We have the electoral college map that we colored as states were called. And we have a chart that we filled in with the electoral votes.
It is 10:00 p.m. EST, and […]
Original post by Robin
30 miles per gallon
Created by The Car Connection
That’s not too bad for me! I’ll take it.
Hmmmm….. Mid-sized sedan……. I guess I’m like my husband’s Civic…..
Hahahaha!
Original post by Robin
Opie, Andy Griffith, and the Fonz are back! This IS a political video created by Ron Howard, but it’s worth a look for the nostalgia factor. There is a very short ad at the beginning of this version, but it’s the only one I could figure out how to embed.
var flashObject = new FlashObject(”http://www.youtube.com/v/1sib4l9wu4I”,”fm_1sib4l9wu4I”,”425″,”350″,”6″,”",”",”",”",”");
flashObject.write(”fo_targ_1sib4l9wu4I259773296″);
Original post by paradisefound
My extremely good friend, Carol, who lives in Florida, where this is more apt, sent this funny to me today. And since this is a homeschool education blog, I thought I’d pass it along so we can all get a chuckle!
Fifty Years of Math (1957 - 2008)
Last week I purchased a burger at Burger King for $1.58. The counter
girl took my $2 and I was digging for my change when I pulled 8 cents
from my pocket and gave it to her. She stood there, holding the nickel
and 3 pennies, while looking at the screen on her register. I sensed
her discomfort and tried to tell her to just give me two quarters, but
she hailed the manager for help. While he tried to explain the
transaction to her, she stood there and cried. Why do I tell you this?
Because of the evolution in teaching math since the 1950’s:
1. Teaching Math In 1950’s
A logger […]
Original post by Robin
Soccer season started this week. All three boys are playing this season, which makes for interesting schedule management (especially for Theodore who practices gymnastics 4 days (12 hours) a week). Anyway, Ward Cleaver coaches two of the teams and he tries to get first pick of jersey colors when they are distributed. Last season, both of his teams had blue shirts. The teams chose “Blue Dragons” and “Blue Lightning” for their team names.
This season, Ward Cleaver asked Alvin what they would name the team if they got blue again. He said “Aleve!” I realized he was talking about the pain reliever, and I had this brainstorm. They should call the team Viagra! It opens up a whole new meaning for chants from the sideline like “Keep it up!” and “Go for the goal!”
Original post by Not June Cleaver
My sweet hubby had to go back to work this week. This was the first time in our married life that he took a solid two weeks off from work. Well, two weeks for fun: he’s had to take time off to take care of me when I gave birth or had various surgeries. But this time it was all fun. And we had the best vacation ever. And my husband probably enjoyed it the most, which is a good thing. Because he works so hard every day, and I get to stay at home and homeschool GB, which I am so grateful for.
So, I wanted to lighten my dh’s mood each day when he got home by bringing one of the funnier aspects of our cruise into his dull, dreary day. I learned how to fold those cute little towel animals and I left one on his bed for […]
Original post by Robin
GB is now old enough that he understood that Aquagirl and Jabem both brought friends on the cruise. The whole time we were gone he kept making statements to the effect, “I feel so guilty, because MY friends would love this…..” It doesn’t matter to him that Gymbabe and J paid their own way. He just wanted his friends to come on this amazing adventure.
So when we got back it was imperative that GB get to have his friends spend the night at our house. My dh and I are very like-minded. We think that if you keep kids busy, they won’t argue and whine during parties and sleep-overs. So we told GB that he could invite his twin friends, OC and WC. But we were gonna keep those boys busy. Because GB and OC are such good friends, sometimes poor WC gets left out. I feel bad about that […]
Original post by Robin
Well, it’s Tuesday, August 19th………….. And we’ve been back since REALLY late on Saturday night……..try 1:45 am. Ok, technically that’s Sunday morning, but you knew what I meant. We had a rough car ride back from Florida, so we spent ALL of Sunday vegetating. Is there such a thing as “ship lag”? Well, if there isn’t, there should be. Because we all felt it. In fact, when I went to bed on Saturday night (Sunday morning), I could swear that the bed was slightly rocking me to sleep, just like on the ship. I loved it.
Yesterday was Monday, and we spent all morning and afternoon getting Jabem ready to go back to college. His other room mates moved in at the beginning of August, but Jabem had to wait until yesterday because of the cruise. Awww! Poor baby! We were supposed to move all his stuff in to the house […]
Original post by Robin
This week I have not been posting much because we have been getting ready for our BIG vacation. We are taking the whole family on a cruise to the Western Caribbean. I’m extremely excited, but at this point a tiny bit frazzled. I’m sure I’m gonna forget something.
While on board my dh and I will celebrate 25 wonderful years of married life! And since my college-aged kids, their friends, my parents, my brother, his wife, and his kids, AND my aunt and uncle are all going along, we should have plenty of babysitters so that we can have some couple time.
We’ll be seeing some Maya ruins, going cave tubing, horseback riding, snorkeling, beach bumming, and of course, shopping! I can’t wait to see the shows on board the ship and watch GB play on the enormous water slide. My daughter is 21 now, and of legal drinking age, so this […]
Original post by Robin
Look at our swing set. Do you notice what I noticed this afternoon?
It’s one of my sunflowers!! Right there on the top of the swing set!
I just have this hilarious vision of a squirrel running through my yard with a sunflower clenched between his teeth, climbing the swing set, and perching on the tip-top to enjoy his treasure.
Original post by Robin
GB was having a good old time at the pool today. Little did he know that his mom was secretly photographing his daring escapades….. nyea, nyea, nyea!
He got some good height on this one!
A little fuzzy because I’m way across the deck of the pool. But I had to stay incognito. You know how bad his around a camera.
It sure was a good day to be at the pool. Man! It was so hot. It was 96 degrees when I came home from brunch today. So hot that even *I* got in the pool. You know it’s hot when I risk having to blow dry my hair twice in one day!
Original post by Robin
Geez, it takes a meme to get me off my fat ass and writing again. BORING.
My buddy Meg at Get In, Hang On posted a meme that I thought was interesting, so I tagged myself (per her instructions).
The fine print:
Name 5 places you’ve lived. Be as specific or generic as you like.
List 5 memories associated with each of those places.
Tag 5 others.
Like Meg, I’m not going to tag anyone. Tag yourself and let me know if you do it.
I’m a bullet kind of gal, so here’s my list. These are the first five places I lived.
Fort Riley, Kansas (age 2 (second home, but the first home I remember))
– Duplex house (the family next door had 9 kids, we had 6 – can you imagine?!)
– Kid next door stealing the streamers from my tricycle handles
– Helicopters landing and taking off
– My dad coming home from work and sitting in […]
Original post by Not June Cleaver
One of the funnest aspects of being in a homeschool group, for me, is the sense of camaraderie amongst the moms. We really have a good time together. Every month we get together on the first Monday of the month, sans kids, and go rock wall climbing. My husband, and probably many of my family and friends, are highly amused by this. Mostly, they are amused because I have spent my life avoiding sports and physical exertion.
But it’s weird. I feel a lot of acceptance from these ladies. We are all doing something that is really fun, but way outside of our comfort zone. I come home with strange bruises, but exhilarated by what I’ve done that night. I’ve probably progressed more slowly than the other ladies for several reasons. First, I’m the oldest one at 44 years of age. Second, I have to be careful about not overdoing because […]
Original post by Robin
My nine year old, Alvin, is sitting on our bed watching some program on Discovery or some other normal cable station. I’m in the bathroom getting ready for bed.
Alvin: Mom, what’s herbies?
Mom: Huh?
Alvin: There’s a doctor on TV talking about herbies.
Mom: It’s a virus. There are all sorts of drugs advertised on TV.
Up next, erectile dysfunction. (pun intended)
Oooh I can’t wait to see what sort of search hits I’ll get now.
Original post by Not June Cleaver
Two years of sporadic posting about dumb stuff. Who knew I could keep it up this long?! And I’ve had almost 34,000 hits. Amazing.
A few weeks ago, some blogs I read were posting funny searches that lead people to their blog. I decided in honor of my blogiversary I would do the same.
What was june cleavers husbands name
Ward
Wepinds.com
I’m assuming this is an 7 year old kid trying to find weapons. At least, that’s how my 7 year old spells it.
Odds of pregnancy while nursing and on pill
100% and his name is Theodore
June cleaver (dirty pics)
Ewwwwww!
How do i stop my internal clocks
You can’t. Stop searching.
Homeschooling boys who can’t sit still in a regular classroom
They can’t sit still at home either.
Are homeschoolers weird
Depends on how weird their parents are. Are you weird? Were you homeschooled? Did you […]
Original post by Not June Cleaver
Happily, boredom is a rare occurrence around here, but if I find myself wondering what to do with the kids, I’ll head on over to An Unpink Life to check through the list of 150+ Ideas for Summer.
If you’re feeling like organizing a neighborhood (or family) fun day, you might want to stop by my Great Solutions blog to read this post.
Book lovers will want to note that Jen Robinson is giving away five copies of The Adoration of Jenna Fox. You have until June 24 to enter.
When it gets to hot to head outside, get crafty with these little dolls. I’m usually not big on crafts from kits (I prefer crafts from recycled or found items myself), but these little ladies just tickle me.
And while saving money might not sound like fun step on over to my friend Teri’s blog, Family Money, where you’ll appreciate the common […]
Original post by paradisefound
Got this from Dangit Ange!
Rules:You can only use one word and it’s not as easy as you might think. Now copy and change the answers to suit you and pass it on. It’s really hard to only use one word answers.
Here’s mine:
1. Where is your cell phone? desk
2. Where is your significant other? couch
3. Your hair? long
4. Your mother? Arkansas
5. Your father? Realtor
6. Your favorite thing? Jesus
7. Your dream last night? dream?
8. Your dream/goal? heaven
9. The room you’re in? schoolroom
10. Your fear? puke
11. Where do you want to be in 6 years? here?
12. Where were you last night? home
13. What you’re not? well-rested
14. Muffins? strawberry
15. One of your wish list items? wishlist???
16. Where you grew up? everywhere
17. The last thing you did? print
18. What are you wearing? jeans
19. Your TV? dvd
20. Your pet? none
21. Your computer? laptop
22 Your life? full
23. Your mood? scatterbrained
24. Missing someone? yes
25. Your car? van
26. Something […]
Original post by razorbackmama
Roller skating was really fun. I hadn’t been skating in a while, so I didn’t do that good at first. But after while I did better. Allie did really well. Usually Mom has to help her, but Allison was skatin’ away tonight! Emma ended up not showing, but Grace did! She got there a little late, but at least she got there. She’s really good at skating, and beat me in our race. We skated for a long time, and both did the Limbo. (Sadly, neither of us won.) It was fun though. Near the end, Mom had me try on her skates. They’re new, and this was their first time being used. They were really loose! When I first stood up after putting them on, I fell! (By the way, I only fell twice, once in the Limbo, and then) They glide soooo much easier then my old ones. […]
Original post by taekwondochick
Later today I’m going roller skating! Not out doors, it’s been raining almost all week, and is still raining (and lightinging and thundering) right now. It’s going to be indoors, and it’s for a Girl Scout thing. It’s only ten dollars, for a whole family or troop. I don’t know if any of my friends from GS are going, (That’s Grace, Katie, and Erika) but Allie’s friend Emma L. is going. (And Allie, of course!) They’ve talked on the phone or seen each other almost every day this week. (Actually, Allie mostly listens.) But anyway, I’ll write about it tonight or tomorrow, whenever I get to it.
Original post by taekwondochick
This is my fiftieth post!!! I’ve been blogging since December, and have finally gotten this far.
Yesterday my friend Carlee came over to hang out. We don’t get to see each other much during the school year, because she’s not home schooled. But since school is out, we see each other a lot more. They’re going down to Alabama for a week though, starting Thursday. So anyway, we jumped on the trampoline, played Wii(since she doesn’t have one), gave Allie a makeover (since she doesn’t have a sister to do stuff like that to) watched Simpsons, played Cat’s Cradle, ate dinner, and did some spin art (hers was partly glow in the dark!) Then she had to leave. But it was pretty fun.
This morning we had pancakes for breakfast. (I know, I know, you probably don’t want to know every single detail in my life. This is funny though) Allie […]
Original post by taekwondochick
Tonight is one of the teen group activities. It’ll be the first one I’ve been to, and I’m pretty excited about it. There was a meeting yesterday, but I didn’t go because of Allie’s party. Austin and Brandon aren’t going to be there tonight, so I won’t really know anyone there. I mean, I met them at the meeting last month, but I don’t really know them. Another thing is, I’ve never done Dance Dance Revolution! I’m going to watch everyone else go, to try and figure it out a little better and stuff, before go. I don’t want to make a fool of myself. Either way, it should be fun. I’ll have to tell about it tomorrow, since it’s not over till ten, which is my bedtime. Later!
Original post by taekwondochick
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