Grasshopper Days

Grasshopper Days

For today, Monday, September 24, 2012.

Outside my window...  the sunrises and sunsets have been spectacular lately, due to smoke in the air from fires to the east of us. Yesterday...

I am hearing...  listening to youtube clips of Henrik Chaim Goldschimdt with the Royal Danish Orchestra (Marcello's Adagio) and playing Gabriel's Oboe with the Faroe Islands Philharmonic - absolutely beautiful.  And one of my personal favorites - the LA Guitar Quartet playing Pachelbel's Loose Canon - amazing music, and FUN :D

I am pondering...  tales too ticklish to tell... in other words, things I probably shouldn't throw out to the larger blogosphere, but are weighing on my mind.

I am praying...  still praying for my friend Bruce, my mom's knee, and general family stuff.

I am thankful...  for the blessing of an intact family.  (Want to simplify your life?  Marry before having children, and then stay married.  Just a little tip.  And your parents?  Who stayed married?  You should thank them, for not ruining complicating your life.)

I am wearing...  oh boy.  Capri jeans and a blue t-shirt.  Amazing, I know.

I am going...  to crank out some sewing... MUST.

I am reading...  Island of the Blue Dolphins, Call it Courage, and Torches of Joy with the boys.  Their favorite?  Torches of Joy - the true story of how God's Word came to the Dani people of New Guinea.  Missionaries I've known since I was young worked very near these missionaries, so in many ways the story seemed familiar.

I am hoping...  to be in a more normal routine of schoolwork for the next few weeks!  We've been juggling our schedule to accommodate several appointments and activities, which is great - definitely one of the bennies of homeschooling - but it's time to get in the groove.

In the kitchen...  I'm so thankful to have a very full freezer, and lots to choose from.  Maybe stroganoff for tonight, if I haven't let the mushrooms go too long in the fridge...

In the learning rooms...  Wyatt has a biology experiment brewing in the downstairs bathroom (which has no windows) - four jars of pond water with different "food" sources are fermenting and awaiting his inspection with the microscope, Tate is adjusting to the more rigorous science course he's doing, and Gunnar is just perking along fine :D

Around the house...  I finally got things cleaned up (I kind of let everything go over the summer, when we were outside so much) and scattered some fall decorations around.  I like to put lots of family pictures out (more than I already have) coming up on Thanksgiving because that's what I'm thankful for :D

The Mother Load...  I must not let Christmas sneak up on me!  Must get going early on gifts!  I enjoy it more when I'm not under pressure, and I want to enjoy giving gifts :D  And we have six birthdays between now and Christmas, besides, though I'm not sure all of the guests of honor are going to attend their own parties, so it may only be four.

Noticing that...  it's just so hard to be thirteen, sometimes.

Something fun to share...  more bunny pics coming soon, but in the mean time...

Podger is shedding his summer coat and has two, matching, lighter-colored dot on his ears.

Weird-cute.

I reminded the boys to give the adult bunnies regular attention (and not be totally distracted with the little ones) or they'd get ornery.  No problem :D

One of my favorite things... music.

A Bible verse...  2 Peter 1:3
His divine power had given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.

Everything we need.

A few plans for the rest of the week...  school, school, and school.  May or may not go to "Back to School Night" at Wyatt's HS.  And the benefit would be...?  Choir rehearsals start in two weeks, so I'm enjoying my evenings at home :D

A peek into my world...  I'd better get these before the &@%# deer do.

Young Men

They are changing, right before my eyes.  Muscles popping out all over.  Hairy legs.  Deeper voices.  Needing to shave that upper lip.  New interests replacing old ones.  Taking responsibility for themselves.  (Have not had to 'encourage' Wyatt to get up for school even once yet :D )

They are putting stretch-marks on my mommy-heart as they spread their wings.  Some of their projects drive me a bit crazy, like the Maverick - Moving Armored Vehicle - (previously referred to as the War Wagon) they're building in the driveway.  Other interests I'm more enthused about.  So when they asked if they could bid on an item donated by a friend of mine in a fund-raising auction last July, I said Sure.  And they won.

You've heard of bi-vocational pastors, right?  (If not, that's a pastor who supports himself with another job.)  My friend Gerald is more than bi-vocational.  He's a pastor, a choir director, a librarian... and an award-winning marksman, who donated a one-hour shooting lesson, intended for one person...

which he graciously extended to a two-person, two-hour bonanza of careful, detailed instruction and

BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG.

The boys - Wyatt and Tate - were in proverbial Hog Heaven.

Though they've shot rifles many times with Grandpa Grasshopper, this was their first exposure to hand guns, and they loved it.

That colored gun may look like a toy, but it's a laser - for practicing aim and holding steady while pulling the trigger (not as easy as you might think.)

Then they moved up to a .22 pistol.

And there were more.  Many more.  All handled respectfully and with great care taken not to mix up the ammo.

They couldn't wait to get their hands on the Big Kahuna (I think a Smith and Wesson .44?) - the boys aren't here to correct me.  My young men are off all weekend on a SAREX - a Search and Rescue training Exercise - yay, CAP :D

They started off with some lighter loads, but when they moved up to the heavier loads they realized how much it can kick.  Which is why Gerald wisely loaded just one bullet at a time.  (No misfires with the gun pointed up.)

And it wasn't all BANG-BANG-BANG.  They worked on proper form.

And learned to load and unload safely.

And blasted bowling pins and metal "plates" to their hearts' content.

And came home happy and all in one piece.

I love it.



On a side note, if you noticed that Tate is wearing his ear protection "wrong", it's because he can flip his HA on and off quickly.  On, to hear instruction, and off to let the earmold function as an earplug.  Interestingly, he just took the CI off and didn't need to protect any hearing in his left ear (since there isn't any) but wore the ear muff because he could feel the pressure against his ear drum.

His hearing devices (both) will not amplify sounds to dangerous levels, so theoretically he could leave them both in and on, and probably will while hunting - since actual gunshots are few and far between, and it's rather important to hear environmental noises!  But we try to protect the hearing he has left - especially at the shooting range, where the noise is constant.

Little House on the... ?

1.  Our neighbor is mowing his lawn - no problem.

2.  The washer is in that stage where it sounds like a jet engine, spooling up for take-off -  I can handle that.

3.  Someone in the neighborhood is banging something metal... what?

4.  The city is apparently working on a major arterial, just two blocks over, and has diverted traffic onto our quiet, neighborhood street - fabulous (not).

5.  Public Works is replacing a culvert across the edge of our property, necessitating digging up our driveway, one entire side of our yard, part of the neighbor's yard, and a section of the street.  Hello heavy equipment, dump trucks, jack hammers, workers with loud radios (communication, not music), and vehicles that incessantly BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP whenever they're backing up.  Or just left idling in reverse, for reasons I cannot, for-the-love-of-all-that-is-good-and-holy-please-make-that-sound-stop, explain.

Just another quiet, peaceful day of homeschooling.

Someone Help Me...

This makes sense, how?

TLAPD - Arrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Make Cap'n Slappy and Ol' Chumbucket proud.

Read all about it HERE.

Translate your words to pirate-speak HERE.

Translate your whole blog or website HERE.

Tuesday Brain Dump

1.  I should be over in the school room, figuring out how to rearrange tomorrow, but my brain is mush.  Apparently two consecutive 5:30am wake-ups are all it takes ;D

The good news is that the boys really liked the baked oatmeal (Monday), and we probably missed the worst of the Seattle morning traffic (today).  Also, we saw an awesome, neon-red sunrise, compliments of the fires in Eastern Washington.  Bad news for you - I have no pictures.  Photography while driving is outside my skill set.  Also, I packed so many books along there was no room for the camera in my bag.

2.  We were down at Children's Hospital for another round of follow-up appointments for Tate and his CI.  Children's graciously scheduled all three appointments in one day, and I had this wild idea that we would get a lot of schooling done between appointments, but that was not to be.  Because for all their wonderfulness in other areas, the staff are doing something that really ticks me off - hoarding the beepers.  We had a 9am, a 10:30 am, and a 1pm appointment, none of which are particularly long, meaning wait-time in between.  That's worth it, to eliminate trips to Seattle, right?  Especially when we could take our handy-dandy beeper and escape the insanity of the waiting room for the cafeteria or courtyard, and knock off some school work in a quiet environment, right?

Wrong.

No beeper means no leaving the waiting room, on the off chance your doctor can fit you in sooner (and you can go home!)  And the waiting room serves several clinics, including ours - Audiology.  And let me clue you in here, deaf and hard of hearing kids are LOUD.  Their world may be silent, but they are not!  Tate was the same way when he was younger.  He couldn't hear how loud he was being.  I'm sympathetic, really.  But give me the &(%&* beeper, and let us out of the fun house, okay?  Arrrgh.

3.  But back to the appointments...  saw the Auditory Skills evaluator first, and no surprises there.  Tate is awesome.  Still has difficulty distinguishing sounds like K vs T in isolation, but totally gets it in context.

His audiologist did some booth testing and tweaked his map.  He has one program he's sort of "saving" to use while hunting (does not suppress non-speech-noises he may wish to hear), and after she explained IDR (input dynamic range - which relates to the range of decibels the CI is picking up) he asked her to increase the IDR on that program only, which was a brilliant request.  It's complicated to understand (and it's hard to explain what you don't understand well!) but I think having a narrower IDR helps with speech comprehension by eliminating (or reducing) a lot of extraneous, non-speech noise.  Increasing the IDR in a program not intended primarily for speech-recognition may help him hear quiet environmental noises, like the footsteps of a deer in the brush.

She also tested his hearing of SIN (speech in noise, y'know ;D) and basically told us what we already know.  Unlike normally hearing people who can make out what a speaker is saying, even if the background noise is close to the volume of the speech, Tate has trouble discerning the speaker's words, even when the speaker is close to 15 dbs louder than the background noise.  This is typical with HoH folks, and these results are from testing him with the CI only (the HA may improve this slightly), but it IS what it IS.  It's not something likely to improve with more practice, as he's done with speech recognition.  (All his other test scores continue to improve.)

Again, this was no surprise.  What it means is that if/when Tate re-enters public school (as Wyatt is doing now) we'll definitely start the ball rolling early to get an FM in place again.  As well, Tate needs to advocate for himself in difficult listening situations.  He HATES to draw attention to himself in that way and doesn't want people to see him as needy.  I continue to encourage him that that kind of self-advocacy is NOT weakness, and people (normal people!) will respect him for it.  I'll remind him of how it went at Basic Encampment (Civil Air Patrol) - he did great and they treated him wonderfully.

4.  Moving on...  in other news, Gunnar did all his independent work while I was gone - yay Gunnar!  And Wyatt thought he'd done all of his, but missed a worksheet I'd left.  Finished that up this afternoon, so - yay Wyatt :D  I just got my ultra-secret password and account number so I can go online and check how he's doing at school  So far, A's, so -yay Wyatt, again.

5.  And, tomorrow will be boggled as well, but not boggled as badly.  Tate has been telling me his glasses aren't cutting it any more.  I'm underwhelmed with the strip-mall eye doctor that prescribed them in the first place, though maybe he's fine and Tate's eyes have just changed all ready.  At any rate, I called to get an appointment with a better doc... who was booked until DECEMBER.  Really?!  Or maybe it was just the really rude receptionist.  I mentioned that we're flexible homeschoolers and would come at the drop of a hat for a cancellation, but she offered no hope.

Then Tate's frames broke.  He claims he has no idea how that happened.  Really???  You have no idea how the glasses on your face got broken?  Kind of reminds me of this.  At any rate, the need is now urgent, and frankly, I'd like to see him with working glasses before the hunting trip in November, y'know?  So I called back, Monday morning.

Maybe they fired the rude receptionist because the cheery voice I talked to was clearly not from the same species.  Why yes she would work him in ASAP, and oh look they just had a cancellation this very week and would we like it?  (Meanwhile I'm thinking, Please-don't-say-Tuesday-please-not-on-Tuesday.)  It's Wednesday morning at 9am.  Perfect.

You know why I love first-thing-in-the-morning appointments?  They haven't had time to get behind schedule yet - take it from someone who used to schedule for an OB-GYN.  Your best bet is first thing in the morning, or right after lunch, but don't tell them I told you ;D

6.  The bunnies.  Still adorable, but I think their cuteness has peaked.  Now they're just getting bigger. However, still, you know what I hear from the boys?  He's so fluffy, I'm gonna DIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEE!  If you haven't seen the movie Despicable Me that will make no sense whatsoever.

7.  So, my living room is still not decorated with fall goodies, but - you know - hearing and vision kind of take precedence over other things.  Even my beloved pumpkin spice candles ;D

Grasshopper Days

Grasshopper Days

For today, September 17, 2012

Outside my window...  have I mentioned that this is my favorite time of year?  We are having a glorious Indian Summer.  Can I call it that?  Since it is, officially, still summer?  Beautiful mid-70's days, and cool, crisp nights.  Leaves turning beautiful colors all around :D

I am hearing...  a quiet house, early in the morning.

I am thinking...  how glad I'll be when the election is over.  Tired of the hype.  Tired of the propaganda.  And tired of the yard signs everywhere.  What if they don't announce the winner until all the signs are taken down?  Wouldn't that be nice?!

I am praying...  for friends joyfully expecting their fifth child to just possibly find larger living quarters (while I love their wonderful and cozy treehouse, I can't imagine how seven people can manage there!), for my mom's continued healing (knee replacement), and especially right now for a family friend - a window-washer - who had a bad fall on Monday.

This is him, working.  Like Spider-man.

This is NOT where he fell from.

I saw him yesterday and he is in a world of pain.

If you would, pray for my friend, Bruce.

Thanks.

I am thankful...  Kerry has so much work, lately!  Tate and Gunnar are off to a strong start with homeschool.  Wyatt is doing well, balancing homeschool and his high school classes.  What I really love is that I don't have to light a fire under him in the morning.  He is up at 6:30 and on his bike (with this good weather, or off to the bus other days) by 7:15.

I am creating...  can't tell.  Two weeks until October birthdays (my sister, brother, and SIL).

I am going...  to enjoy the sunshine, today!

I am reading...  have made no progress this week, but also starting a Tim Keller book on marriage (can't remember the title), for Sunday school class.

I am learning...  some new recipes.  Made blackberry brownies yesterday and YUM!

I am looking forward to...  a quiet-ish weekend coming up.

In the kitchen...  I bet I'm not the only one that was "gifted" with a zucchini the size of a watermelon, and I think I'll try making a zucchini lasagna tonight.  Think the boys will notice?

In the learning rooms...  Tate is cruising through the first chapters of Basic College Mathematics, since they're a lot of review.  He's doing well with his Apologia General Science, and his assorted language work.  We're loving Sonlight's Eastern Hemisphere core, and moving from the Pacific Islands to Australia this week.  I have just a bit of stuff to supplement with ;D  Gunnar is midway through Saxon 6/5 and doing fine with area, exponents, and converting units of measure.  He LOVES Apologia Zoology (third year), and also does fine with his language work.  Wyatt is using a BJU World History that's going fine so far (first time to use their curriculum).  And he's launched into Apologia Biology... so far so good.  I think he's enjoying The Fallacy Detective, and is also reading and summarizing Reasonable Faith, by Jay Wile.

Around the house...  I had hoped to begin a bit of fall decorating this weekend, but it didn't happen.  I did, however, get the last box of five pumpkin spice jar candles at Walmart ;D  Thank you, Gunnar, for getting down on your hands and knees and digging to the back of the bottom shelf and looking behind the mulled cider (close, but no cigar), for the win!

The Mother Load...  crazy, I know, but with birthdays approaching all the gifts I want to MAKE are weighing heavily on my mind.  Little by little...

Noticing...  how much I appreciate it when people pull their thoughts together in a coherent way before speaking.  A kind, well-intended woman in my Sunday school class likes to contribute to the discussion, but I can't make heads or tails of what the point is she's trying to make.

Something fun to share...  guess what the boys have been up to, lately?  Post coming...

One of my favorite things...  guess who looks so much like Gunnar?!?!

A Bible verse...  today's sermon was good, but I'm actually still thinking of last week's.  Very rarely have I heard a whole sermon from one verse, but this was a great one.  The audio and sermon notes aren't up yet (I'll try to remember to come back and link, but if you're interested, feel free to remind me in a few days!).  Pastor Bert is preaching from Hebrews, and came to this verse in chapter 10:

By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.  

I had the baby with me last weekend, and didn't take any notes, so I'm looking forward to reviewing them when they're posted.  I can't remember clearly enough what he said versus what I heard, but it was very encouraging to those of us concerned about raising our kids in what feels at times like a very hostile and godless culture.

A few plans for the rest of the week...  hoping to stay home tomorrow (!) as Tate and I will be heading to Seattle on Tuesday for a round of appointments.  All is well, they're just part of the follow up for his CI.  Children's was kind enough to schedule all three on the same day, but it will be a long-ish day.  We'll be back in plenty of time for CAP, much to Tate's relief.  I'm going to a fundraiser/candle party Wednesday (friends getting an assistance dog for their diabetic son) - looking forward to spending time with her :D  Then Wyatt, Tate, and Kerry are all going on a SAREX this weekend, so Gunnar and I will be... ???  Have to think of something ;D

A peek into my world...

Looking forward to views like this, from last year, in my backyard.

Homeschool Science

What?  It's sunny out, and I thought I was done for the day!

I can't believe you're making me write up the experiment.

Do I really have to write up every single one?

And why are you calling me a predator?

Mom, this is so dorky.

My prey is in there?

Um, I don't eat paper.

Oh!  I'm an M&M predator!

Alrighty, then.

Only thirty seconds?

Maybe mom isn't quite so dorky after all.

And I even found some of the camouflaged (green) ones.

*Sigh*

Grasshopper Days

Grasshopper Days

For today, September 11, 2012
Outside my window...  a perfect fall day - sunny and cool, leaves beginning to turn colors... and the city public works department delivering Occupational Education right to my doorstep as they dig up an old storm sewer in our yard.  There are some days I envy Tate's ability to "turn off his ears" ;D
I am hearing...  heavy equipment and crows, neither very pleasant.
I am thinking...  it was lovely to have Naomi for the weekend, and lovely to send her back home and get back to our 'normal' life... as normal as things ever get around here, anyway!
I am praying...  for my mom to continue healing, for the boys to continue well in their schooling (the year is off to a very good start :D), and for Kerry to balance the work we're oh-so-thankful for with family life.
I am thankful...  for a good report from our friend at church regarding his cancer, for the aforementioned good start to the school year, and for the bright, beautiful, sunny day.
I am wearing...  blue crop pants, white t-shirt, socks, faux-crocs... ever the fashionista. NOT.
I am creating...  a new daily rhythm for us, with Wyatt gone for part of the morning.
I am going...   to pick him up, shortly, after I get Gunnar going on his science journaling.
I am reading...  Women Helping Women, slowly.  Not as much time for recreational reading of my own, as we're spending a lot of time reading together with Sonlight Eastern Hemisphere curriculum.  (And that's fine :D)
I am learning...  gathering new breakfast options.  Calling baked oatmeal "a cookie you eat with a spoon" made it so much more appealing to the boys.  And the chocolate chips didn't hurt either ;D
I am looking forward to...  the change of seasons - watching the leaves turn colors, the days getting shorter, taking walks in the cooler afternoons, and - oh be still my heart - pumpkin spice candles.  Not yet, but soon!
In the kitchen...  boys have CAP tonight, so we'll have a bigger lunch today and a snacky, left-over dinner.  Amazingly, I combined several days' leftovers into a casserole last night and Wyatt and Tate LOVED it - will miracles never cease ;D  And there are leftovers of that, but not much!
In the learning rooms...  it feels really different this year with Wyatt gone for the first part of the day.  He leaves the house about 7:10, and Tate, Gunnar and I get going by 7:30.  I'm LOVING how productive the mornings are!  It's just after 9:30 and we're done with our language, math, and Tate's science.  We'll start on our history work shortly, and Gunnar can finish his science (with my help) while Tate is gone this afternoon (practicing shooting with Grandpa, as hunting season is just around the corner).  I'll need to duck out and pick up Wyatt in about a half hour, but he mostly works independently, with just a bit of direction from me.
Around the house...  the boys and I did a bit of tidying after we returned Naomi to her parents, but it's kind of bare at the moment.  Looking forward to sprinkling some fall decor around :D
The Mother Load...  I'm gently getting (us AND me) into the new routine, and we're still adding school subjects.  We had less of a "rolling start" this year than usual, but haven't begun any art or journaling, and I have yet to load our new keyboarding program and figure out how it works.  We'll get there :D  I'm anxious to get going on some sewing projects as I figure out what blocks of free time I can carve out of our new schedule.
Noticing that...  the boys still like my help, but are capable of doing much of their school work on their own.  Amazing to see them growing and maturing.  If they were girls I'd say they were blossoming like flowers, but boys?  Maybe they're growing into strong and vibrant trees?  Well, young men, anyway!
Something I want to remember for later...  how Tate (a little) and Gunnar (to a greater extent) have adopted phrases and figures of speech from the Redwall books they've been enjoying.  Like Gunnar saying, I wouldn't fancy getting soaked by that muddy water, or something like that.
Something fun to share...  must get more pics of the baby bunnies.  They are hopping all over the hutch, sampling pellets (food), and drinking - sometimes two at a time - from the water bottle.  I love to see them thriving.
A favorite quote for today...  Miss Manners trusts that she can count on you to teach your child that, contrary to current popular belief, the great moral quality of honesty does not require blurting out everything you know all the time.  I love Judith Martin.
A few plans for the rest of the week...  Tate goes shooting today, then he and Wyatt to CAP.  We'll be schooling (officially) Monday to Thursday, and using Friday as a catch-up day.  Wyatt and Tate also have a handgun shooting lesson (which they won at an auction!) on Friday afternoon.  They'll be volunteering at the flight museum on Saturday and may get to go flying again.
A peek into my world...

I found myself in need of another alarm clock, to remind me to go get Wyatt from school.

I get involved in studying with the other boys and suddenly get a jolt of What time is it?!

It's only a matter of time before I forget, so I set an alarm for 10:30 am in the school room.

He's a big boy, for heaven's sake, and not going to panic if I'm not there the moment he gets out of class.  But he has a lot of schoolwork and I don't want to lose time by keeping him waiting.

And... off I go :D