Is It Naptime Yet

I’ve haven’t posted a lot on homeschooling. Lately it’s been kinda crazy. We had Jon home for two weeks in December, then I had one week to get in a groove, which I didn’t, and then I made the costumes the next week. Then I got sick.

So this is the first week, in six weeks, where I was consistently doing something homeschool related for three out of the five days. (My goal is school three days of the week.)

I’ve been feeling kinda in a rut, we do the same things over and over, and I’m wanting to help Lilah more with her spelling, and incorporate math and history or some kind of subject learning, I also wanted Beth to kinda tell me where Lilah is with her reading and what she thinks I need to work on.

So we hopped over to Beth’s house after a strange lunch time at the park. (Lilah was avoiding Eden and I kept losing sight of her or Eden because of it, so I forced her to play with Eden but she decided they should play hide and seek and, in essence, avoid Eden still.)

Beth did a reading evaluation on Lilah and Lilah read, and comprehended most of what she read, up to the fourth grade level and Beth felt she could have pushed her to the fifth.

So we’re doing something right.

Reading was a big hurdle so I feel relieved that Lilah is doing so well, and I feel like I was guiding her not teaching her.

Lilah does read at a fourth grade level, but she does have a problems with figuring words out on her own. She reads so fast that she doesn’t like to slow down and figure out what words are if she doesn’t know them or she glosses over and makes an educated guess, sometimes right, sometimes wrong, something I’ve noticed when we read together.

So our next goal is to look at word structure and talk about them, even on words she knows and stick to lower level reading book until she gets a little more patience and stops to figure words out. She’s not in some rush to move up in books so I think this will be just fine for her.

I’m also needing to work on writing and spelling with her a little more, but this shows me that kids can learn and they can teach themselves. I really feel like I just was helping Lilah learn and she was the one progressing ‘behind my back’ when she would decide to sit down and read books to herself or even to Eden.

She’s one smart cookie and I’m happy to be her mom and mentor.

It’s been 10 days on the road to recovery, well 11 if you count the day I saw the doctor, and I think I’m back to normal.

Hallelujah!

Especially since I was seeing little progress until Wednesday night and had made an appointment Wednesday morning because I felt like I would  be eating just Malt o’ Meal, applesauce, banana, egg, and chicken noodle soup with just a little bit of potatoes forever.  When I didn’t get a stomach ache Wednesday night from my potatoes I canceled the appointment I had for this morning 25 hours in advance, otherwise I would have had to pay the copay had I waited a mere 1 and a half hours longer.

I ate just a half a cup of my favorite cereal this morning, Oatmeal Squares, after my bland Malt O’ Meal and had no tummy ache!

Then today I tried bread and snuck a few peanut butter filled pretzels in. (I checked my Trader Joe peanut butter filled pretzels, that I bought after the recall, are not on the list.)

And I got no stomach ache!

I am so happy.

My first regular meal will be my favorite chicken potpie with rice. I figure it’s kinda soup-ish and I may wait till Sunday to make my mandarin orange chicken, but if tonight goes well there’s no doubt what we’re having tomorrow night for dinner.

I love being on the road to recovery and more than that, at my destination of recovery.

Regular food, here I come!

On Tuesday Lilah’s beloved betta fish Blueberry died.

I went to feed him that morning and noticed he was curled over and though I tried to help him, he couldn’t swim and just stayed on the bottom of the tank, still alive, but not really doing anything. I told Lilah that it looked like Blueberry was dying and she questioned me why I thought it and then of course started  crying and talking about how much she loved Blueberry and how he was such a great fish.

I set out water to change his bowl, in case he was alive, since he was at the bottom of the tank where the food he doesn’t eat gets funky and he hadn’t been eating much lately so there was more than there should have been, though the water in his tank was still clear.

We came home after gymnastics and Blueberry had died.

Due to being busy Wednesday night was when we had Blueberry’s funeral. I said a little prayer since Lilah was too emotional and we each said something we loved about Blueberry.

Eden loved feeding Blueberry.
I loved Blueberry’s personality and how he would swim over to look at you when you talked to him.
Jon loved how Blueberry would look for his finger when he pointed to the food and then eat and his beautiful colors.
Lilah loved feeding and talking to Blueberry. She also loved how he puffed up the day we put a mirror by his tank because he thought there was another male betta fish.

It was nice and then we flushed him.

After flushing Blueberry we finished watching Finding Nemo. The girls had started it earlier that day before Eden’s nap. Lilah kept talking about Blueberry making it to the ocean, and why would someone flush Nemo down the toilet while he was alive?

Blueberry was our first pet and he was a really nice fish, well, as nice as any betta fish comes.

We’ll miss you Blueberry.

April 2, 2008- January 27, 2009

(April 2 is the birthday Lilah gave Blueberry. )

Dear (enter legislator’s name here),

As a born Nevadan and a graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Governor Gibbons proposed budget cuts to the higher education system worries me.

My husband currently is attending UNLV and is studying towards his Masters degree. If the proposed budget cuts go through our future will be greatly diminished in the opportunities that he is able to have in the workplace, for who knows if his program will survive the proposed cuts and if he will be able to graduate in 2011.

I also have two children that I am raising here in Nevada and plan on sending to state universities, if we see ourselves here for that long. Even if we do not live in Nevada long enough to send our two daughters to the universities here, I know preserving Nevada’s higher education system is worth it to whatever students who are fortunate enough, and have the drive,  to attend college here in the future.

Please know that I am willing to pay for higher education as a citizen of Nevada.

Governor Gibbons said “Nevada government should meet the needs of the people; people should not meet the needs of Nevada government.”

That makes no sense because the government and the people are the same, and the needs of the people must be met by the people.

We pay for state services because they are needed, not always personally needed, but as a whole are needed to help our state and the people herein.

The education system is needed to help the future of Nevadans stay bright. Without an educated population the state will eventually shrivel and die. By cutting costs now we will lose teachers and professors and those who are needed to teach our population and they will not come back once the money comes back, they will be lost forever and possibly never replaced.

My husband also works for UNLV and if he loses his job we will be forced to leave our home state and build our future elsewhere and invest in another state’s future.

Governor Gibbons has promised no new taxes, but the proposed 6% income decrease is a tax, and though we do not live paycheck to paycheck and can weather  a 6% decrease many of our teachers cannot, nor should. The state employees who provide the services to the people should not be the only people fighting to keep the services and the only ones “taxed.”

Please know that education is important to Nevadans and that we know now is a time to invest in our future. Please do not support Governor Gibbons proposed cuts and know that the time to tax is now, so we can save our childrens future and the future of Nevada.

Thank you,

Lacey ********

With the recession going on and life as my generation knows it changing, lots of economic turmoil is to be found.

Right now Nevada is facing it’s highest unemployment rate since 1983 at 9.1%, well above the national average of 7.2%.

With unemployment and business being down for downtown, the state of Nevada’s income has plummeted and the state budget has changed dramatically.

The Governor, whom I greatly disagree with, proposed his budget to the legislative earlier this month and the legislative will begin voting and deciding what to do come February.

Governor Gibbons wants to kill education for K-16 because he promised no new taxes, but he’s willing to “tax” state workers by proposing a 6% income decrease. This includes teachers, state employees, college employees, university employees, legislators, and himself, though I could care less for him.

Of course his proposed income decrease would affect us, but also his cut to higher education which would also mean a 50% cut to the higher education system that my husband works for.

Governor Gibbons wants to kill higher education in the state of Nevada.

But I am so thankful for a democracy and that he is not solely in charge of Nevada’s future.

Of course the fact that Jon works and is attending a public university greatly concerns me. Since he’s not yet finished with his master’s, but his program could be cut and he might not finish his masters concerns me. The fact that he may not have a job in a year and a half concerns me, but what mostly concerns me is that the Governor was not willing to step up and say, even though now we are facing a hardship we need to step up and continue to help the government so the government can help you. We need to tax the people, or some of the big businesses who have come here because of our tax breaks and grow up as a state and say yes we want a bright future for our children not, I promised no tax increase so I’m suggesting we do nothing and just kill education. I want our state to be less educated and kill our future.

The state services and education services are not businesses. Cutting costs won’t help us if it kills the opportunities for others.

The following is somewhat harsh speech given by Chancellor Rogers on the State of the System. I encourage all to read it or listen, at least those who live in Nevada, and I encourage all to write to their legislators to tell them we are willing to spend on our children.

The time is difficult and I’m not saying this just because I want my husband to stay employed, I’m saying this because I want my husband to continue his education, and still be allowed that opportunity in this hard time.

I’m saying this because what we need is more support for our education system,  our children’s future, and our future. For without an educated population we will fail and just become buildings in the desert.

This is just a post of a few things that have happened lately.

First off Eden did the cutest thing last night. I had a stomach ache after introducing mashed potatoes to my diet and was telling Jon how my back hurts when I get these stomach aches. Eden overheard and brought me a little pillow from their things because she wanted to help me since I had a sore back. ( I’ve been using another pillow, so she knew pillows help my back.)

Last night Lilah had turned off the TV while I was getting Eden her sandwich. I had been watching some entertainment shows, my guilty pleasure, when I came back in Lilah was sitting on the couch with a Friend magazine opened and wanted it to be quiet so she could hear Heavenly Father read to her.

Lately it seems we haven’t been eating together that often. I eat when I need to so I’m not always at the table for meals. This morning when I sat down with the girls I realized it must have been a while because all they wanted to do was talk, and not eat, a sign that we’ve been separate at meals.

Some of their favorite things to talk about include: black widows and tarantulas and how we should kill them or stay away from them, kids who are mean and what to do when they are mean, why they are mean and why we should not be friends with mean kids, and mommy having another baby, which I’m not, but they would like me to.  I know there are other very redundant conversations, but those are the three that stick out in my mind.

1. I’m thankful for a husband who buys $10 in medicine because they don’t have the one I need and he doesn’t want to go to a third store, but then buys me another $10 in medicine 3 days later because I wasn’t feeling better, or as better, as I wanted. (Did that last part make sense, it’s a pretty awkward sentence there.)
2. A mother-on-law who calls everyday since I told her I had gastritis. It was only Friday that she found out, but she continues to check up on me and the girls daily now.
3. Feeling better, even if it means I start eating things sooner than I should.
4. Rain.
5. Democracy.

My will power to avoid stomachs aches is breaking.

Today is my third day of being on Priolsec, and I was on three days of Pecid AC before that. I should be on the road to recovery, hence why my will power is suffering and my stomach a little also, but not nearly as bad as I was a week ago.

It all started last night at family home evening. My family gets together once a month and delicious foods are brought by all, well by most and they usually all are delicious. Last night there was lasagna, broccoli and cheese casserole, seven layer salad and rolls, my Achilles heel is rolls and King Hawaiian Bread, which I brought myself. Dumb self.

So while everyone else enjoyed yummy food I ate my applesauce, my banana and munched on some crackers that I’ve introduced to my diet. I had chicken noodle soup for lunch, so I was pretty hungry at dinnertime even with all my snacks.

I cracked.

I ate some bread, a roll, and three bites of the broccoli and cheese casserole. Oh, they were all so good and I don’t know if I would say the tummy ache was worth it, but it wasn’t that bad and very bearable for the tasty food I did eat, but it came four hours later at 10 o’ clock pm and I slept on the couch sitting up for part of the night.

Which leads today.

I ate my dutiful applesauce for breakfast, but since I’m out of homemade I had to buy store bought but it’s more tangy and I don’t like to eat as much. I also had a hard boiled egg for breakfast and I’m waiting for my banana’s to ripen a little more. (Sometimes all they have are green banana’s at the store.) I decided to have some bland Malt O’ Meal for lunch and since I started the dishwasher so late the girls would be eating late. Lilah’s been wanting macaroni and cheese so I needed to get the pan clean.

Boxed macaroni and cheese has never looked, or tasted so good. Yes I did eat some, more than I should have, but not a full serving, I think.

I’m hoping it goes over well, though I’m sure to have a slight tummy ache. (Which I did, since I’ve taken a  nap and am now enduring a small stomach ache.)

I just want to eat regular food again so badly and it seems that anything I touch goes into my mouth. I’m not to be trusted, unless it’s candy, that is one thing I’m not willing to risk a stomach ache for.

I’m done with my eating problems. Thanks for reading. I do feel as though I am getting better, hence why my defenses are down. Jon reminds me that even without stomach problems, being on a diet of applesauce and banana’s is not something you can just get off of easily, you have to ease yourself into normal foods. I’m just not very good at easing.

Also my poor friend Sam is still pregnant, she was due Friday and yesterday before Relief Society started I was poking her belly telling Matilda to come out, but she didn’t, though I wouldn’t have wanted her to come out at that very moment, that would have been gross.

I woke up when I heard the doorbell and knock on the screen door then Jon came to ask me if the cousin could come play along with the neighbor girl, but he was studying and didn’t want to be in charge of the cousin had he stayed.

The cousin is a toddler, maybe 2 years old.

I hated telling the older boy, around 9, that the little cousin could not stay, he’s just too little. (And at that particular moment Lilah was playing with some home school cards that I did not want to be bent or played with by the little cousin.)

After telling them no a few different ways the older cousin yelled to get his uncle’s attention, not the father at this point, and eventually drug the young, crying,  toddler away. I hear them yell, “Stop it!” at the toddler a few times and then “Nobody wants to play with you!” and notice by now who I think the father is has joined them in the street to take the young cousin into the  house.

I felt bad for the young toddler,  and the neighbor girl who decided to not stay, but I ain’t no babysitter and that kid would have needed a babysitter.

(Note: I’m not sure who’s idea it was to bring over the toddler, the neighbor girl might have just wanted to bring him over and play with him here because he’s fun, but some adult should have known that he was too young to “play” at the neighbor’s house and should have said no.)

We’re not a big beef eating family. In fact I buy no beef products to make at home, only when we go out do I eat beef, and that’s only if we eat fast food, but we are eating more chicken than I would like, and need to cut back on certain things, like pre-made meals. ( I just love Trader Joe’s  Chicken Pot Pies and Mandarin Orange Chicken, though it’s not like I can eat it right now.)

Anyways, Mark Bittman, a New York Times Columnist and author has been talking about the effects of meat and the meat industry, more specifically in an article called Rethinking the Meat Guzzler and his book Food Matters.

To put the energy-using demand of meat production into easy-to-understand terms, Gidon Eshel, a geophysicist at the Bard Center, and Pamela A. Martin, an assistant professor of geophysics at the University of Chicago, calculated that if Americans were to reduce meat consumption by just 20 percent it would be as if we all switched from a standard sedan – a Camry, say – to the ultra-efficient Prius. Similarly, a study last year by the National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science in Japan estimated that 2.2 pounds of beef is responsible for the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the average European car every 155 miles, and burns enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for nearly 20 days.

This isn’t the only reason to not eat as much beef, and farmed animals, but I’m not going to list them. Go read the article and find out for yourself why  we should eat less meat and in essence help our environment and our own health.