Basic Skills

This morning I visited the school where I want Holland to attend next fall. He's been staying at my mom's house for a few days and I took Egypt with me to observe the class. I really liked it. They use a lot of the same curriculum I use; they're a Christian school that's is located very close to me and the instruction seems great. The morning teacher uses the Orton-Gillingham method that I've been looking to get my hands on for Holland. This was the last day of school, so it wasn't really a normal day. But the kids are all very respectful, they stayed on task, the teacher had no distractions from the kids while teaching. The afternoons would be spent doing science projects, art projects, etc. It's four days a week from 9-3.

Oh - and it costs $500 a month. I don't have $500 a month. Pray for a miracle!

So. Holland endured 8 hours of testing. We found out his orthotics could cost $500. He has constant abdominal pain from impacted bowel. His legs hurt everyday from not having orthotics. His hips hurt. And I just got a letter from the psychiatrist we've been working with for four years. He's closing his practice and moving to Vancouver to be the head of some program up there. I have a month to find someone to take his place that we like, that's on our insurance and is reasonably close by.

Whats on the agenda next? I think I'm done with all the depressing, frustrating, unfair events. What good could possibly come out of this?

Orthotics and the Testing

Holland had two more hours of testing this morning and it went well. He got to work with the same guy as last Friday - lots of hands on, memory games, sequencing stuff. I used this time to make a bunch of phone calls to get Holland an appointment for new inserts for his shoes. He has very flat feet (almost no arch) and his ligaments are very weak. Not only is he pidgeon-toed, but with weak ankles, he rotates his foot inward. It's very painful and his legs hurt him every day.

I found out that our new insurance coverage for orthotics is just lousy. Our deductible is $500. The insurance we had last year covered almost all of the orthotic and they only cost about $90. If I was smart (and could predict the future) I would have bought another pair last year so I wouldn't have to pay $425 for these. I chose to go back to the place that did his first pair. (She's also the one that did Egypt's shoe lift for her arthritis - gee, I'm giving her a lot of business!). So I like her and don't feel like using up energy to get the pre-authorization to go somewhere else. My insurance requires a doctor's authorization and the clinic where I was planning to go requires the doctor to set up the appointment. It could take months to get in with these people. It wouldn't matter even if I went to the preferred provider because my deductible is so high. So, now I gotta come up with $425. This means that I won't be able to have any testing for dyslexia done.

I called several places last week to find out about testing. The first place said they do two tests and it will run $800 for both. That includes a report (how generous!) and recommendations for tutoring. So after all that testing is done, I will still have to pay for private tutoring. I heard back from another place today and she at least said they would want all of his testing scores. Then they could get a clearer picture of patterns in learning and then I wouldn't have to pay for duplicate testing. It's so frustrating that the school will not test for dyslexia. They don't consider it a learning disability. And insurance doesn't cover anything like this. How do people afford this? It's obvious I should have been a speech pathologist, a psychologist and learned the Orton-Gillingham method so I wouldn't have to pay anyone to do that.

Four Hours Down, Four To Go

This past week Holland had 2 sessions of testing with two different people. During our initial meeting, the testers asked if there were any motivations that he would need. I said, oh yes. He's motivated by money - it's his 'love language'! I told them about the weekly "yes, mom" contest we'd been doing and said I'd bring in the poker chips and they could give him whatever they felt he earned for the work.

The first test was on Monday and after arriving and sitting down for about 2 minutes, I could tell it wasn't going to go smoothly. He already complained of being too tired and not wanting to be there. I had Egypt with me and just assumed I'd be able to drop him off and run errands with her. Well, he wouldn't even leave the office to walk over to the testing area. He was freaked that I was going to leave him and started to cry. The tester looked at me and mouthed "it's not worth it to continue if he does this." I told her it wouldn't matter if we came back - he'd still feel the same way later. I finally was able to convince him to at least go look at the room where he'd be so he could be familiar with it and ready for when we DID come back to test. He wasn't cooperative, but managed to show some interest in all the cool toys she had in her office. After about 10 minutes, he finally warmed up to the idea and Egypt and I sat at a table for two hours, right outside her office. Big window and all so he could see that I never left. I was totally unprepared to entertain Egypt for two hours. Luckily, she had these cool magnetic shapes that she played with and I let her play a few games on my iPhone.

He finished the testing and earned 5 poker chips. On Friday we went back for two more hours of cognitive testing (Monday was for reading and writing). I had to drop Egypt and Romania at my mom's house because Romania didn't have school that day. Holland was less thrilled about me leaving the testing area, but due to confidentiality reasons, I couldn't sit in the outer office because there were other kids being tested. Holland reluctantly agreed and I sat in the main hallway for almost 2 hours. This testing was more fun for him - matching, sorting, manipulatives, games. It didn't really feel like testing to him, so he had a good time. He earned 6 poker chips today and the tester even showed him how to play poker during their break.

This week he has one more session with each tester. Then we will schedule a meeting to discuss the results. I did talk to the language tester and voiced my concerns over the possible change in disability status. She said that if the paperwork would have crossed their desk without prior approval, they would have red-flagged it. She said they take those labelings very seriously. And the woman that wanted to change his status didn't even have the authority to change it on her own (how was I to know that?). But that's good. At least I know that more than one person involved has to know what's going on before a huge decision like that is made. She did tell me, based on her first session, that he didn't strike her as MR. He has obvious reading and writing deficits and the bipolar adds a huge variable to that ability to learn something. It was hard for her to know if he would have performed better if she had pushed him more. But he gets frustrated so easily when he's forced to do something he's not good at. (aren't we all??!)

I also called a Parent Advocate place this week to find someone to go with me to the IEP meetings. I'm not sure how helpful they're going to be. They aren't allowed to interject their opinion. They are there to take notes and help you voice your opinions and ask for services. I asked the helpline if they would be able to steer me in the right direction for services and she said no. Added to the befuddled mess is the fact that I homeschool and not all of their advocates know much about laws pertaining to homeschooling and IEP's. Great.

New Tests Scheduled

I had a really good meeting yesterday with the special ed people from the district. These are the same people that tested Holland 3 years ago when he was first put on his IEP. They are competent, thorough and mindful of his limitations regarding duration of testing. We have scheduled 4 sessions, each 2 hours. I've got it all figured out how I'm going to motivate him to make it through the hours of testing: poker chips.

My sister started this "yes, mom" contest at her house about a month ago. Every time a kid utters the words "yes, mom" and does what was asked, they get a token put in a jar. I've set up jam jars in my kitchen window and bought poker chips for tokens. Each kid has a different color, so there's no swappin' going on. The first week Romania won. Then Egypt won. The third week, Holland had it in the bag. But after a disastrous day and behavior that would have scared the socks off anyone watching, I removed half of his tokens. I didn't want to to it. I wanted the tokens to reflect the positive behavior and what good things he was doing. But I just couldn't let this go by. As it turned out, Romania and Egypt tied, so I took them out for a quick treat of ice cream at McDonald's. From his reaction, you would have thought that I'd
killed a pet or something. Ice cream made him physically distraught. I thought he was going to throw up and I prayed that he didn't destroy anything while I was gone.

So next week, I'm giving poker chips to the testers so they can reward Holland during the testing. Hopefully he'll rack up a huge number of chips and run away with the win. At some point this all has to get better. The tension in this house makes me want to crawl back in bed everyday. If I didn't have to take Romania to the bus, I probably wouldn't get out of bed every day.

Why Tests Are Bogus

A lot has happened in the past month. Holland finished all his OAKS testing, did all the testing for his IEP re-eval and we got all the results. This is probably why I haven't posted in almost a month. Hard to believe it's been that long since I've had something to say. I actually have lots to say, but just having a hard time saying it.

Someday when the kids are grown and I have no purpose, my purpose is going to be a parent advocate for parents at IEP meetings. I have 3 years of experience with IEP's on the other end: I wrote them for all my deaf students. I sat in on parent meetings and told of the student's progress. I answered questions about goals and test scores. But that didn't prepare me for what happened at my IEP meeting. After cramming what should have been 8 or 9 hour's worth of testing into 6, I went into this meeting hopeful about help I was going to get to help Holland learn to read. I was going to assert myself and straight out ask for what I needed. I'm kind of an oddity to them, I'm sure. I homeschool my kid and he's on an IEP. No one knows who legally is required to help me. The charter school he's enrolled in doesn't have the resources (no on-site resource teacher) and the district says he's not enrolled in one of their schools to help him. Makes you want to scream.

But the fact that I didn't have someone on "my side" sitting with me while the tester told me that my child is no longer considered "learning disabled" and they want to label him "mentally retarded" was something that I couldn't even comprehend. Who would ever think that this incredibly curious, hard-working, industrious kid would ever test as mentally disabled? She started out by telling me that "she believed the test scores to be accurate and valid". It didn't matter that Holland had never met her, she was 30 minutes late to our first meeting, he refused at first to even cooperate and wouldn't work if I wasn't sitting in the room. The second session was spent playing tag. We went to the tester's school and she came to ours. Fourty-five minutes of waiting for her to show up and then she did more testing. The last day we tested, I had all three kids with me. By the end of the session, he was so wiped out that he refused to go on. She had to bribe him with an ice cream gift card. Then she has the nerve to tell me she believed her results were "valid".

The only thing that saved me was hearing my ES remark that the test he was given for this was not the same IQ test he was given 3 years ago. I was so upset, I didn't even catch that. I immediately said I wanted the same test done. We weren't comparing apples to apples. They wanted me to sign something that said I agreed with their results and we would change the IEP accordingly. Guess what? I refused to sign it. I was bawling almost the entire rest of the meeting (which was almost 2 hours). They kept talking like it was a done deal and at one point I remember saying very loudly that he wasn't dumb and I was not going to let them label him as MR. I said that he's already in the system, why does the label need to change. The director said that it more "accurately describes him" to people that would be reading his IEP for services. I said no it didn't. That any IQ test they gave him would not consider any of the amazing science things he does, or what he builds after he takes something apart. He has working memory problems, probably dyslexia (which they don't even test for) and trouble organizing multiple things in his head. All things needed for reading, he struggles with. I do not believe for one second that this is a child who will never learn more than he knows now. He has auditory processing issues that need to be dealt with that they aren't dealing with.

They started talking about programs in the district that would help him. They want him to be in a life skills class. A life skills class would teach how to tie your shoes, or write your name and address. This would not be an environment that would foster his curiosity, let him explore and create, let him discover things. Here at home I push him. I make him write things that he doesn't want to write. These people probably think I am wasting my time teaching him any math beyond simple addition and subtraction, or reading about history or our science. How could I ever consider putting him in a class like this? It would destroy what learning ability he does have because they would have no expectations. Why would they care if he knew about our solar system, or Lewis and Clark or how to skip count by 9's?

I've researched online about parent advocates for IEP meetings. I still haven't figured out how to get one. But I know that no parent should ever feel what I did when I was blindsided in this meeting. I'm still waiting to hear from the special ed department about further testing. I said that I wanted several more tests done before I'd sign anything (and I still don't have to agree with their label). Everything happens at a snail's pace in the world of education. It's very frustrating that this hasn't been figured out and he's in 5th grade. I keep imagining him in 6 or 7 years and feel like time is running out (or it's already too late) to help him. Books I've been reading say 10 or 11 is pretty much the age that a child's brain connections are all made. We had time up until this point to grow those areas and make new connections, but they are wasting time.

By the time he gets the help he needs, he'll be 18. He'll be 18 and won't know how to read.

I hate laundry

I'm totally ignoring it. Is that legal? Are there Laundry Police somewhere that will come crashing into my house with Shout stain remover in squirt guns because I refuse to admit we have a problem? I cannot keep up with it. I need a separate room for it. I actually do have a separate room, but it's not big enough to fold the clean clothes. So the process goes something like this:

Big mess of clothes on the floor. In between getting three kids ready to drive Romania to the bus stop and fixing my face, I dump a load of wash into the machine. I may even decide to take the clean clothes out of the dryer and dump them on my bed.

Come home. Do school. Clean up Holland's experiments, computer cords, chicken coop project (ask my mom about that one), typewriter motor (still playing with this thing), eat lunch, do more school, let Holland loose around the house while I try to spend some one-on-one time with Egypt. Clean up more messes of Holland's. Try to remember we need to eat tonight and thaw some type of meat. Try to contain Holland and tell him we are not in fact done with school. Go pick up Romania. Sit down and ignore the fact that it's 5 and I still don't have dinner figured out.

Walk upstairs to see the giant laundry mess on the hall floor. Put the clean clothes into the dryer. Walk into our room and notice the sky-high pile of clean clothes on the ironing board. These never get put away. I find there are more important things to do than put away clean clothes. I'd rather read a book to my child, or bake some cookies, or look at something with our new loupes for science. I feel guilty and frustrated and tired looking at this pile of clothes. Last weekend, bless him, Super Hero says "My goal is to have all these clothes clean by the end of the weekend." Awww. What a nice, child-like thing to say about laundry. Do men actually think laundry ever gets "done". Like it will somehow end? Sure. If we all are nekkid, then laundry will be done. Of course, it doesn't help that I have three kids who at some point have accidents and I'm changing sheets.

So I will just have to let the Laundry Police storm my house and shame me into finishing the laundry. That's the only way it will get done. There are just too many other things to do. Last week, the school OT came over to do some testing on Holland for his 3 year IEP eval. I know she means well, she only works 2 days a week and her kid (notice it's not plural) is gone all day at school, but she asked if I thought about giving the kids more chores. I tried so hard not to laugh. It's probably a combination of several things: I homeschool, so the kids are actually HOME; I have children, one more than the other two, that has to be moving every second of the day, creating, building, planning, that it's impossible to stay on top of all the clutter from him; and I just don't have the energy to follow through with the chores I DO give them. I've done lists and charts and frankly, I've come to the conclusion that my energy cannot be spent on worrying if my house is perfect. That just means that I can't have much company right now! Life is a season and this season will be over and I will have missed it if I spend all my time cleaning!

Growing up, my mom had a fridge magnet that said "an immaculate house is the sign of a misspent life." Amen!

The Typewriter

I had to show you what we've been up to today. The ever-persistent project guy was at it again. Yesterday he found a book at the library "Building your own Robot". I said, "only you could find a book about that!" He immediately decided he wanted to build something. Of course. But I didn't have time to look through it and there are always too many materials that we don't have. But today after he was done with his schoolwork, he came to me again and asked to build something. I said we could look through the book and decide which project we wanted to do. I really doubted we had many of the supplies that would be required.

Right away we found a project he wanted to do and it seemed I had most of the stuff. I said we would need to get a dowel and some wooden wheels from the craft store, but everything else we had. The directions even said to find an old machine with a motor and take it apart to get the motor. Can you believe I actually had a machine for just that purpose? Months ago a friend from church gave me an old (30 pounder) electric typewriter. I let the kids play with it for awhile but didn't tell them they could take it apart. I'm glad we saved it. Today Holland and I spent over 2 hours taking apart this thing. The first thing we had to do was take the cover off. There were no screws and no visible way of removing the cover. Holland runs to the garage and comes back with a crowbar! We pried the cover off and went to work. We just looked for screws and bolts and started taking them off. Finally, we were able to get the motor off and Holland got all his electrical wires and doo-dads and went to work. Within minutes he had the thing running, spinning cardboard and cooling us off while we ate pancakes for dinner. (My pathetic attempt at dinner. I was busy with the typewriter and that's as good as it got tonight).

He was so excited that we got it off and of course tomorrow I have to produce some wheels and dowels to put the robot together. Here's some pictures of the gutted typewriter and Holland with his trophy motor.

The Key

To save my sanity, several locks have been purchased and installed in our house to prevent Holland from breaking and entering. Don't bother telling me I should just tell him to not go in. It didn't work and with his impulsiveness, it's not worth it to me to keep saying something over and over just to have it ignored. So there are keyed locks on the pantry, my bedroom and finally Romania's bedroom. I mentioned this several times to Super Hero because I was tired of having Holland go into his brother's room when he was at school. I was tired of wallets disappearing, Game Boys going missing and things rearranged. Romania was so excited when he was given his own key and able to lock it and know that his brother and sister couldn't get in without his permission.

It's come in real handy since we've acquired this new mutant frog and tiny fish. In the short span of time that Romania was home, unlocked his door and fed his frog some boxelder bugs, Holland had filled a metal container with water so the frog could bathe. This container is not leak-proof and even though there was a towel underneath it, it still leaked water all over the floor.

But you just can't put it past Holland to try to find some way around the system. Today after Egypt's eye appointment and running one errand, I was getting lunch ready and noticed the microwave was on. I hadn't put anything in and was smelling something. Apparently, the locksmith was making his own key. My guess it was to hack into his brother's room. He had taken clay from our low-fire clay bag and made an impression of a key into the clay and was baking it. I'm sure some day I'll find some humor in his creativeness, but at the time I was irritated that once again he was bucking the system and attempting to violate his brother's space.

I didn't want to encourage this type of behavior so I didn't ask what he was planning to use to actually make the key.

Homeschool Buyers Co-op

The Homeschool Buyer Co-op is a free homeschooling organization for both new and veteran homeschoolers. Co-op membership is free and confidential, and entitles homeschooling families to discounts from hundreds of educational suppliers. The Co-op also sponsors "Group Buys" for curriculum packages that can save homeschooling families lots of money. On the site you'll find lots of free information, such as databases of free curriculum, field trips, and educational contests and scholarships.

This site has been a great resource - I've purchased some deeply discounted curriculum, found out about field trips in our area, looked up information on homeschooling laws for my state. They also provide links to free websites and activities. It's been a great time-saver to have all this information in one place and know that people work so hard to find this for busy homeschool families.

Click here for more information.

Memoirs of a Crazy Mom

This is what my blog should be called. So says my sister. I was just chatting with her and telling her about the rat my 10 year-old just bought. While out on a pet store run with his dad and brother and sister. You wonder how this could be accomplished? Let me tell you - it's kind of complicated.

First, you tell your husband to take Romania to the pet store to pick out a frog and fish from an I.O.U from Christmas. He had a beta and a frog a couple years ago that didn't last very long, so I kept promising him another pair. So yesterday, Super Hero takes him to the local pet store to purchase said frog and fish. Now, this next part is my fault (Super Hero would probably argue that ALL of it is my fault, but whatever). He took all three chillun's with him. And Romania came home with a giant frog (giant as is 4" instead of a tiny water frog to keep the beta company). And he didn't get a beta. He got some fish that cost $4 and I don't even know what kind of fish it is. The frog is called a "Dumpy" frog. But Romania is calling it "Dur" because it was dirty when he saw it. I keep trying to convince him to change the name to Dumpy but he won't do it.

Normally when humans buy pets, they find out what kind of food they need to eat. But Super Hero did not do this. Which is why he needed a second trip to the pet store to find out what to feed the critters. My only involvement was calling the store to find out their hours. I didn't think I should have to get involved with this project. But apparently when dads are left to purchase pets and take kids places, they come home with mutant animals and stowaways. When they got home this afternoon, Egypt and Romania ratted on their brother. And that is such a good intended pun - Holland actually purchased a rat. I do not know where he got money. He actually owes me money for breaking some things. But while Super Hero was helping Romania figure out what type of food he needed, Holland was off buying a rat. When Super Hero figured out what happened, he couldn't get Holland back in the store to return it. So when he got home, naturally it was to become MY problem and I was told I needed to return the rat. I said "thanks, but no thanks". Holland said we couldn't return it because he ripped up the receipt.

And you think I'm buyin' this kid a dog? Think again.

Lewis and Clark and Seaman

This past week, we have been reading about Lewis and Clark and their westward journey. The reference book I have - TruthQuest History - has been a remarkable resource for books. Everything I've checked out from the library has been a hit. I have had to return some of them unread because there are just so many good books that we can't possibly read them all. All the books end up being read aloud due to Holland's reading level, but I've enjoyed everything and have learned a lot too!

The latest books have been about Lewis and Clark's trusty dog, a Newfoundland named Seaman. The first book we read was from the dog's perspective and Holland just loved hearing the tales of adventures from this lovable dog. His favorite was when Seaman jumped in the river to capture squirrels that were migrating the river. It was mighty funny to picture this huge 150 pound dog grabbing these tiny squirrels in his mouth and giving them to his master and then swimming back over and over.

Holland is so excited about the Newfoundland dog, that he had me researching them online. It gets very dangerous to listen to his begging - I even found a breeder in Oregon. But I assured him we were NOT getting a dog. I've been saying that for years. But he went ahead and called gramma and told her we were getting a dog.

I said "the dog would have to live outside. Look - it sheds really bad." Why am I even having this conversation with him? We are NOT getting a dog.

"Lewis paid $20 back in 1803 for this dog, Holland. Today they cost $1200." Again, why am I even saying this? It's not like we're getting a dog.

"They need to be brushed for 20 minutes every day. You don't even brush YOUR teeth everyday!" He assures me he will.

"They have webbed paws, great for swimming. We can take him to the lake!", he says. We are NOT getting a dog. "He'll be a good guard dog!"

We are NOT getting a dog.

Did You Know?

That if Dolley Madison hadn't taken the portrait of George Washington out of the White House before the British burned it in 1814, that we would have nothing from his presidency?

That there are 312 rooms in the White House, but tourists can only visit 7?

That the statue on top of the Capitol building is called "Freedom" and weighs 15,000 pounds?

That the expansion of the Capitol was carried out mainly by slaves?

That Abigail Adams hung her laundry in the unfinished East Room to dry?


I'm loving our TruthQuest History. I love not having to pour through the library catalog to find books that are meaningful and appropriate. And the kids are loving it too!

Now What?

Ever feel like you work so hard at something and that it's just too late? You spend all this time researching, planning, implementing and revising and still, nothing has worked.

Holland is now in the 5th grade. Physically, he's 5th grade. Academically, he's about 1st grade. Do you know how frustrating that is? To not be able to teach him so he can learn something? After feeling like I hit a brick wall when he was in 2nd grade and enrolling him in a special education class through our district, only to pull him out the following year, it feels like I'm on a moving walkway that is going nowhere. I have tried so many different reading programs with him. He's on an IEP that would seem to indicate he would get the help he needs to manage those deficits. It hasn't made one smack of difference. The only assistance he's received is speech and that's shoddy. We'd get better speech services if we paid for it ourselves. But that's not something we can afford right now. I had to cut out Occupational Therapy and his counseling he was receiving because of our reduced income.

His three year evaluation for his IEP is coming up and there are certain tests I want done to determine if he is dyslexic. Guess what? The school district does not test for dyslexia because they don't recognize it as a learning disability. The school district is only required to do testing to determine eligibility for IEP services. The method that I've found online that will help a dyslexic child is very expensive. Holland's struggles match almost exactly to the warning signs listed on the Bright Solutions for Dyslexia website. One of the things that scared me is the emphasis on early intervention. That children who struggle to read and write shouldn't be dismissed as "late bloomers" or that they will outgrow the struggle to decode. If a child doesn't have intervention by 3rd or 4th grade, it will be 4x's harder to overcome those delays.

The charter school we are involved with doesn't have a resource room available. They don't even have an on-site teacher to help with reading or writing issues. Then the school he would attend if we were doing public school says that it's the charter school's responsibility to provide accommodations. So I can't get the district to admit that he's (probably) dyslexic and I can't get the schools to provide any services. See? Brick wall.

Cooking Fool

For some reason today, and maybe it was because I finally finished watching "Julie/Julia" last night, I felt like doing some cooking today. I found a website dedicated to gluten free cooking and was inspired by the recipes. And with Super Hero's big snag the other day of 50 pounds of millet gluten free flour, I felt the need to dispose of some of this flour.

The pizza crust recipe called for 6 different types of flour. And in all craziness, I actually had all 6 kinds. No special trips to the store. Millet flour - check. White rice flour - check. Sweet rice flour - check. Tapioca starch - check. Tapioca flour - check. Almond meal - check. And I even had xanthum gum which any gluten free baker knows you absolutely cannot do without if you're baking something that has no gluten. Gluten is this great binder that is missing in all GF flours. So you need a binder. If you look on the list of ingredients for bread products, most likely there is either xanthum gum or guar gum. Thank goodness for Bob's Red Mill. This tiny bag of about 8 ounces cost me $12. But usually a recipe only calls for a teaspoon, so this bag will last me into the next millenium.

The pizza crust was a success. I even had a piece and it wasn't all bad. It's a taste you have to get used to. But the almond meal gave it a nice nutty flavor. I'm going to bag up a bunch of dry ingredients and have them at the ready whenever Holland feels like eating pizza.

I also ended up making dough for an M&M cookie. He got so excited when he saw the picture. The dough is in the fridge and should be ready tomorrow morning. I find nothing wrong with cookies at 10 a.m.

Super Hero's New Hobby

Since money's been tight, Super Hero has taken to stalking Craigslist. He makes it a point to check every few hours since people add new things all the time. We've come close to snagging several things but people seeking free things are mighty quick. Recently he came home with a piece of wallboard. We actually needed it to fix a hole in Romania's room where the door knob had smashed into the wall. He had to cut a big hole and patch it with a piece about 12" X 12" so it could be attached to studs.

Today before leaving work he checked the freebies section and someone was giving away gluten free flour. Now, if it was a person, I probably wouldn't have wanted this. But there is a new bakery in the Portland area dedicated entirely to gluten-free baking. I checked out their website and it looks delicious! Holland was so excited when he saw baguettes and cookies and pizza crust and pretzels! It's called new cascadia tradtional and they're located fairly close to OMSI. I can't wait to go there and try some of their baked goods.

Need Some New History

I've been scouring blogs and homeschooling sites to find a good history curriculum. No offense to Story of the World, but I'm tired of it. It's too much information scattered all over the place. Sure, it focuses on a specific time period and it seemed to be "creation-centered" in the first two volumes, but by the third installment of "Modern Times", Holland has lost interest. He is unable to read it for himself and I want something that focuses on American History.

I was looking around and found a blog that mentioned a curriculum called TruthQuest History. I went to the website and was reading parent's reviews of the curriculum and how they are using it. It is unlike any curriculum I've found so far. I almost didn't even bother checking it out at Exodus Books. But this one review had me laughing out loud because she was describing her boys and it sounded exactly like Holland! Here's an excerpt of what she had to say about it:
"I will try to give you a peek into our TruthQuest History adventure. I have BOYS that are ALL boy. They are not the kind who sit nicely at a desk and work away quietly at their copywork. No, no, no. These are the kind who crawl behind the furniture as if they were preparing for an ambush while I am reading aloud. They are the kind who can make anything out of paper. I do not jest. My 8-year-old made a working musket out of construction paper, with the ball, rammer, and a little hook place for the rammer. While we do have parameters, don't think that our children sit in 'Circle Time' and listen quietly while I read War and Peace!"

This really piqued my interest because I am constantly (as you know if you faithfully read my blog) intercepting inventions, creations and contraptions. This history curriculum is actually an extensive list of living books pertaining to a specific time period in a specific geographic area. There are no 'lessons', no 'workbook activities' and no 'tests' that are included in the book. The activities that are suggested are called "ThinkWrite" exercises and all you do is READ. What can be more simple than that? I'm so excited about this and really think that this is exactly what Holland needs. We are going to be reading rich, living literature that is God-centered and not elevating man above his right place. I can get on board with that!

Sneaky Cats

I'm going to catch those cats in the act. They've made a huge mess of the cat food. I used to have a huge container of cat food securely in this empty plastic litter box. But then I made laundry soap for my sister for Christmas (like that, huh?!) and I didn't have another container. I found a smaller plastic jug with a lid that had a pour spout. I put what I could in the container, put the container under the sink and the rest of the food in a drawer in the laundry room. There was no way this cat was gonna get this food.

She is not hard of smelling. She found the drawer with the bag of food and was scratching at it. She was able to open the cupboard under my sink and dump the container over and knock the lid off. Tonight I put it in another container with a snap lid. And guess what? She opened the cupboard again, knocked the box out and was scratching at it. I got video, but she never got it open. I was hoping only for viewing purposes that she would get it open so I'd have evidence of the craftiness of this cat. She is so not underfed. She must weigh 10 pounds. I gotta put her on my postage scale and see what she weighs.

Mr. Inventor

Make a Smilebox slideshow

It's just the day after Christmas and it hasn't slowed down Holland. He was out inventing early this morning. My mom came by for breakfast (Egypt invited her) and snapped these pictures of him. I don't even know where he got that hand truck. Do we even own a hand truck? Mom said that she asked what the extension cord was for. He said it was his brake. He tied it to a tree.

Seriously. Discovery Channel hasn't found us yet? Forget balloon boy. Forget the White House crashers. Come find us. We're honest. We're hardworking. We don't try to fool the media. I need a budget for his experiments. He just came downstairs and showed me a boat he made for Egypt's little horses. I gave him a glue gun and some craft sticks for Christmas and he's built a bird house for gramma and now this boat.

Thank You Shriners

I took Egypt to her Shriners appointment last week. Super Hero had the day off (I really need to find another way to say that. He was home, unpaid....). So he stayed home with Holland while I drove up to OHSU. I've been up there so many times, you'd think it would be no big deal. Have you SEEN this place? It's huge. It should have its own zip code. I had directions for where to turn into the parking structure. They are actually not part of OHSU and if you park on their property, big trouble. I missed the parking garage the first time. It didn't even look like it was somewhere you could turn. The garage itself was something to behold. My van isn't long and obnoxious, but I could barely make the turns and there were cars parked alongside the ramp the way up.

But we were on time and filled out some more paperwork and waited with our beeper to be called. Everyone was so nice and after being seen by the pediatric rheumatologist, physical therapist and occupational therapist, they said anytime we need any services to just call! They didn't think she needed another injection at this point and to just watch for any stiffness or sore joints. The physical therapist gave us some pencil grips to help her hold her pencil correctly. And some ideas for exercises at home.

We're so thankful that God has given us access to these services for free until she's an adult.