Is It Naptime Yet

Language Experience is the method I’m using to teach Lilah to read and write. ( We’re just in the reading phase right now.)
My friend Beth was once a teacher, now she’s very against public schooling. Her two daughters have been homeschooled for about  five years. The oldest being 15 the youngest being 10 or 11. I love her daughters and they are wonderful people.

Anyhow- here is the process, thus far, for  teaching Lilah to read.

– We write a story together each week. (She tells us what to write down.)
– We read that story throughout the week and the other ones when she wants.
– After at least a week of reading it we put the story on strips of paper. They’re first by sentence. The child   puts the sentences in order. (We do this with some stories but not all of them since we write a new one each week.)
– After feeling comfortable you then cut the sentences into individual words, or what I did the first time was into two to three words per piece. They put those in order.
– Then cut into individual words to be put in order.
– After they’re in individual words they can also serve as flash cards. Some words will be above the child’s ability to read so when she is stumped I say. “This words is …. What is this word?” and we move on.

These are pictures of Lilah with the second story we’ve put into words strips. I had it in the sentences and right away she asked for them to be cut up in individual words.
This was the first time she put it together.

She put it in order correctly the first time.

She seems to enjoy reading her stories but is sometimes reluctant to put the words in order. I’m going to bring her binder with us so we can have it on hand for practicing during this trip.

I don’t know if it’s because we’ve started doing this, or just because we’re focused on reading more but I see her reading things out loud more often. “Back to Menu” “Tom Thumb is small” “The girl jumped” are phrases she’s read around the house from shows, books, and the computer.

We also read a verse in the Book of Mormon each night. I have her read the words she knows and I read and she repeats the other words. She’s also learned a lot by us doing that together each night.

With being away from my house so often I feel like I’m back in my college days. It’s always a mess and even if I “catch up” in one room, there’s always another mess waiting. I think it’s starting to take a small toll on me and my desire to clean. As in I only do the bare necessity. Dishes when we need something to eat off of, laundry when we need something to wear. Life is busy and when I’m home I’m lazy.

Monday was the dentist.
Tuesday I was home and I did cleaning in my kitchen and other areas.
Wednesday I had the reading/writing class I’m doing with Lilah with my friend Beth. I think I’ll have to write more about it later because I’ve only vaguely talked about it in my blog.
After the class I came home, made cookies and went to a local park for the unschooling group.
The girls had tons of fun, a post to come later with pictures.

Thursday I hung out at home for the morning. Doing more of the bare minimum house work or maybe I was reading blogs to avoid housework. The days become so blurry. That afternoon I went to my sister Kristi’s house to watch her kids while she had some doctor appointments.

Friday we went to Nancy Skinner’s house, a woman in our ward, for some water fun. She and her husband had a huge inflatable water slide for their grandchildren and she invited some of the moms to bring our kids over and have fun. My girls didn’t do the slide, but once the trampoline was free from bigger kids they jumped on that. Nancy had a sprinkler underneath it to keep it wet and the girls had fun bouncing each other.
I was home for the rest of the day washing laundry and doing other random things.

Today we had family pictures. We went to the JC Penny portrait studio at the Galleria Mall and really liked the photographer. In the past we’ve gone to the Penny’s at the Boulevard Mall, right after Jon’s gotten off of work, but the last two years portraits just weren’t very good. (Our original photographer went out on her own and it was just too expensive for us.) As long as this photographer stays there or an equally qualified one does the portraits I think we’ll continue to use Penny’s. We’re spending a high amount for the CD so we’ll have the rights and will be able to print out whatever portraits we want, and you want, possibly for a small fee if you want more than one ’cause this CD cost us a lot, but there won’t be any regrets that we didn’t buy a copy of this or that pose. Jon’s also a sucker for originals and I am just hoping we can find a nice but cheap place to print out the photo’s.

Now I just need to go over my church lesson before Jon and Eden come home from their date. She wanted to go to the Library, but her nap went to long, so she asked to go to the Springs Preserve, but it was also a little late, so he took her to the temple, ’cause she’s been asking to go. I think it’s funny that he took her to the temple to walk the grounds for their date. I guess it shows his support for the girls decisions. ( I love you honey.)

Update: Now that’s it’s past midnight I’m finally getting around to posting this and I still have to finish going over my lesson. I’m just not feeling it this week so hopefully it goes well tomorrow, I mean today.

I guess it’s time for bed.

I’ve decided Trader Joe’s is one of the friendliest stores I’ve been to. The employees are friendly but so are the customers. I think shopping there you know you’re apart of a small group of people, that’s growing mind you, who try to be more aware of how the eat and what they consume or use, so people are just a little more friendly to each other. (Kinda like camping this weekend. People at the surrounding campsites were so nice because we were all there enjoying life and it was easier to be nice for some reason. Though my BIL, Brien, said people are friendly because they don’t want you to steal their stuff, but the hikers we encountered were also friendly. 😉 )

Today I went to Trader Joe’s for a short trip and my cashier was so nice, which they all have been. I was shopping for my friend Sam also and asked for two separate transactions. He said sure and said how nice it was that I was getting things for my friend. He even gave me a ton of stickers to give to the girls when I asked. Then in the parking lot my shopping cart got away from me and it started rolling down hill at a high speed. I didn’t notice right away and I had to chase it so it wouldn’t hit the car it was aiming for. I caught it about 4 feet away, luckily there were no cars in the parking spots it rolled through, I would have felt so bad had I not noticed it missing soon enough. As I was taking it back a gentleman commented on it getting away from me and he finish taking it to the cart return area for me. I said thank you and went home happy knowing I had nearly caused and prevented a disaster, but also because of the friendliness I had encountered.

I really like Trader Joe’s. It’s just a happy place to go to.

So this is my long journal post about the day to day of the last couple weeks.

Last week, as in Thursday July 31, 2008 I spent all day sewing. I was making an apron for a friend. I’ll post pictures once I get the pocket on. When Jon asked Lilah what she did all day she said “Mommy sewed for a serious long time.”
I just get into projects and like to finish them.

Friday I went over to help my MIL. They’re trying to get the house fixed up and have found a very nice handyman. She’s also trying to downsize, and they have a lot. I would take more of their books, except we have no where to put any and I’m not going to add another bookcase to my house. It’s already overrun with books. I think we need a bigger house, which ain’t happening anytime soon,  or we need to get rid of books we have.  The neighborhood kids called our house a library for crying out loud, which makes Jon proud I’m sure.
It was a pretty progressive day and I just hope my MIL can continue to let go. They’re very big pack rats and in some ways it’s good, other ways it just gets in the way of living more comfortably.
That night Jon and I saw “The Dark Knight.” I enjoyed it, I love Christian Bale, but it was also a little long for me.

Saturday Jon went on a field trip with the girls to his work. They visited his new office, mostly to see if he left his thumb drive, something he can’t live without, and to visit the Natural History building there.  They have different exhibits and some animals. After that they went to his parents to install the computer for his mom.

I stayed home on Saturday. I was asked on Thursday to give the lesson for Sunday but was so busy that Saturday was the first opportunity I got. I also cleaned the house while the others were gone.

Sunday was church day.

Monday I went back over to my in-laws. I had forgotten my blueberries there and figured I could try to help my MIL more. With all the changes she wasn’t up to making any decisions on getting rid of stuff, so we mostly talked about different things and I encouraged to to get rid of certain stuff.  I went shopping for her and the girls stayed with my in-laws. My MIL told me later that even though we didn’t clean or get anything done she still enjoyed having the girls there and the time she spent talking with them, rocking with them, and listening to them lifted her spirit.

Tuesday the girls had swimming lessons. I’m not sure what else we did that day.

Wednesday I went to Henderson. We visited my sister Carolyn’s work, went to Target, had lunch with Anna, and stopped at the park for the unschooling group. We had cloud coverage while at the park, so it made it a little more bearable and it rained lightly for a short period of time. Then it got hot as the sun came out again and it was time for Eden’s nap, so we left.

Thursday we had a birthday party in the morning. I had a headache that afternoon, which I rarely get so I’m a baby anytime I have a headache that lasts, so I didn’t get much done.
That night I went back to Target and Mervyn’s to check out clearances for Lilah’s cloths next summer. Neither store had very much and I realized that girl clothing is twice as much as toddler. If only she could stay a 5T. I was also looking for clothes for family pictures. I found what I was looking for for the girls, but I it still doesn’t go with the shirt I planned for me, so I may need to find a cute navy blue shirt, cause my regular blue just looks dingy, even though it’s not dingy, just regular, next to the navy blue of their shirts.

I also got an antenna for our TV. It helped bring in the stations that are digital, except NBC. I guess once everything goes digital we won’t get NBC. Since the Olympics officially start tonight we’re using regular analog TV signal, but after that it’s back to digital.

Today I dyed my hair back to it’s regular darkness. I tried to over a month ago, but I was worried and didn’t leave the dye in long enough. Now I have lovely dark hair to contrast my fair skin. Hopefully it works and keeps the highlights dark.

Now I should go clean the many areas of my house that are bothering me including the dishes.

See the following. (I promise it’s not usually this bad, but it gets this bad when I’m lazy.)

The girls closet. Those clothes were at one time in the box that they’re covering, though it has looked like this for a while.

We ordered sleeping bags from Amazon. Jon’s planning on making a solar over with the boxes so I can’t get rid of them.

Our shred pile. That trashcan is full of papers to be shredded.

A corner in the front room. which holds my sewing machine, the apron I’m working, stuff from Jon’s old office, but it’s supposedly toxic form mold that the building held, the pizza box is holding paper his parents gave us, then random papers I don’t know what to do with.

My, it looks organized but really isn’t, hall closet.

Lets see what gets done.

Lilah’s been obsessed with Jack, Andrea and Brien’s dog. We’re going to be camping with them later this month and since it’s on the horizon, still far away, but close enough that all she can think about is Andrea, Brien, Ely, camping, and Jack.

Case in point. She wrote this letter to Jack last week.

She wrote this letter to Andrea and Brien the same day. Well I wrote it but she dictated it to me.

She drew this picture for Andrea and Brien while at Grandma Blake’s on Friday.

That’s Andrea and Brien in the upper right corner.  She’s writing “It’s Lilah” on all of them.

She drew this picture during sacrament on Sunday.

She drew these Monday.

Before Lilah added the spots Eden told her “That’s a cute mouse Lilah.”

She also had me write a letter to her friend Britta about how Jack is so nice to kids and she should meet Jack. I didn’t get a copy of that one though.

I’m enjoying her art and her willingness to start writing letters and words. I’m happy she’s writing any letters and trying to write new words.

This is pencil.

Yeah, I guess we need to work with sounding out words, but I’m happy she tried, and I was sleeping so she wasn’t able to ask me.

It was a hint to Eden that she needed to find the pencil so she could find the pictures Lilah had drawn for her while she had taken her nap.

I’m loving her new love of drawing and writing.
(Did you notice the dog, even in a picture for her sister.)

We’ll be having a baby… no, but your TV signal will be going digital and so you need to get your converter box otherwise you may lose your signal. (Cue blank TV set.)

I’m sure we’ve all seen the adds about TV going digital. Jon ordered our $40 coupon, for our $60 converter box and we bought ours last night.
I’m torn between liking digital and enjoying the regular old signals, but really I don’t get why we have to go digital? It’s either there or it’s not, which is really annoying.

I’d rather have somewhat fuzzy channels that are always there, than clear channels that might be there most of the time.

We already have to spend another $20 for an antenna. We don’t get NBC with just the converter box so we’re gonna see if the HDTV antenna helps with that problem and helps with receiving the channels a little more reliably. PBS and ABC were in and out last night also.

It’s funny because our TV was free, won at a work party, and now we have to spend $40 to continue to use it, $80 if we didn’t get the coupon.

There are some cool features with the digital, but I really don’t think the change is necessary.

If we’re too cheap to buy cable or satellite TV, why do we care if it comes in clearly or not?

I know while growing up we all had things we secretly wanted to be, do, or be recognized for. I had several things and in a way I would still love to accomplish some of them, if only I knew how or maybe if I put a lot of time and effort into them. For the most part I’m happy just dreaming about them and maybe someday I’ll accomplish one.

I’d like to share some of my secret wishes for talents I wish I had.

When I was little I wanted to be the voice to a major character in a Disney cartoon. Of course when I was little I wanted to be Ariel in The Little Mermaid, or Bell in Beauty and the Beast. I knew every line and hoped that one day my voice would somehow be discovered.
I continue to dream this, though I know singing is not something I’d want to do, but talking, I could do that and how awesome would it be to be in like a Pixar film, and I’d be happy with just two lines.

Becoming a wonderful writer is next on my list of my secret talents that I want to develop. Now I’m still young and I have a lot of life to live, but writing something unique and interesting or making the norm interesting is hard for me or I only get the creative bug every once in a while. I love a few blogs where the writers can make anything funny or elegant.
I’d be happy just being a really good blog writer, but I would also love to write a book.

I’m sure most writers would love to be featured on Oprah’s book list and if I were to publish that would be an honor. Now I’m not some big Oprah fan. I don’t even watch her, but to be on her book list would mean millions of dollars in free publicity, probably after spending a nice sum to be noticed. I’ve wanted to write non-fiction, fiction, a memoir or even a book about dealing with skin cancer and collecting stories of how it’s affected different people. Things that I find interesting, but wonder if I could make them interesting to others.

Next on my list is becoming a great public or motivational speaker. This wasn’t something I wanted when I was younger, but it goes hand in hand with wanting public approval on a grand scale, like writing a best seller. At one time I wanted to be a great singer, which I still do to some degree, but that’s kinda morphed into wanting to be a great public speaker. I really enjoy teaching adults and speaking in sacrament. I just have to have a good topic to speak on so I can speak for a long period of time. I don’t have any training outside of what I’ve learned at church and I wouldn’t want to be one of those phony public speakers, but a genuine one without all the gimmicks. I just need to become an expert in something.

I’ve always wanted to dance but I have very poor rhythm so it will probably never happen, but like my friend Elizabeth I love watching dance shows and wish I could be even half as talented as those performers.

A great cake decorator, baker, or candy maker. I feel I lack some of the natural creative talent, I’m good at mimicking but not always coming up with ideas. Plus all the time it would take to practice and all the weight those around me and myself would gain as I practiced.

Lastly a great criminal psychologist. I minored in criminal justice because it’s fascinating to me, though I don’t know if I could stomach being a criminal psychologist in the serial murder or sexual abuse way, though that’s the most fascinating at the same time.

It’s funny because I know I could accomplish many of these goals to some degree, but I’m not sure how to take them to the next level and I doubt my creative talent immensely. Which Jon says creativity in all in your head. If you think you are creative you can be creative. If you think you aren’t then you’re not.

Sewing is one of the few things I feel I’m somewhat good at, but then I read my Sew News magazine and realize how little I know and understand. I feel I could get really good at it if I had the time and space for all the right materials and became proficient in the lingo.

Jon sent me a link to this video on Ira Glass from This American Life air on getting through the suck. It’s about how everyone has bad periods where they’re learning and the finished product is still not as good as they want it and they know they can do better.

I feel as though the finished project isn’t what I want, but I’m not sure how to get it better because I have little confidence in my abilities.

I hope to get through the suck someday and tap one of these hidden desires/ potentials.

What’s something you’ve always wanted to do/ become?

Yesterday was a shopping day.

Tuesday night I went through the adds to see what was still on sale, at least for that night and what would be going on sale for Wednesday.
I did a quick trip to the store across the street form us that night, one I rarely travel to because overall it is a lot more expensive than Smith’s or Food-4-Less. I got the meat I wanted plus some pizzas that were on sale. Yes Andrea, I still buy frozen pizzas instead of making our own.

Wednesday I ventured to Food 4 Less because they had a lot of great produce sales, and since Jon’s back’s been out of commission he hasn’t been doing our produce shopping at Sunflower Market on his way home.

In an effort to save on gas, I went to a Food 4 Less that is down the street from us. When we first moved here it was so gross that I only went there once or twice. Since then they have really cleaned up their act, at this particular store because I’ve been to two very nice Food 4 Less’, and it has been a nicer shopping experience, except the weird lay out of the store and one other major factor.

They have horrible fruit flies.

Not like one or two here or there, but swarms of flies wherever you go. I pass my hand over the piles of fruit to choose one and anywhere from 5 to 30 flies are disturbed and this was with every produce pile, at least the ones I wanted.

It was really gross and once again another reminder why I do not go that particular store.

I will just travel my 2.6 miles when I need to go to Food 4 Less rather than go only 1.2 down the road to just a really gross store.

We are crazy grocery shoppers.

We buy certain nonperishable foods and other supplies at Food 4 less.
Dairy and meat at Smith’s, or Albertson’s if there is a sale.
Bread and other more natural foods at Trader Joe’s.
Produce at Sunflower Market and soon to be brown rice ’cause the rice you get there just taste and smells better than the Kroger brand we normally buy.

Of course there are exceptions when we don’t have time but we’re kinda strange about our shopping.

A while back Jon found a website that automatically tracks your spending from your credit card and checking accounts.

It allows you to state a budget and categorizes what you’ve spent into the budget.

So the point being it keeps track of your budget for you. No entering receipts into a spread sheet, no guessing what you have left since you haven’t entered receipts into the spread sheet.

So all you have to do is log on and see where you are that month in spending and see what’s left.

Of course it only works if you do things electronically, and since we do it’s perfect for us.