Life so far with 5

So far so good. I'm still almost holding my breath waiting for the other shoe to drop. Jason has been very well behaved, needs only mild reminders about getting his schoolwork done, and has been easy going about the craziness here. I'm just a little worried that it's going too well and he's holding too much in to put a brave face on and that's not healthy. I've set up an initial counseling session for him in two weeks (soonest we could get in). I know he's missing his friends and we don't have tons of friends up here either, especially not with teenagers. All of those have moved away which is a bummer for both Christopher and Jason. He still has some contact with his other friends via MySpace and email so I'm hoping that it's enough to keep him from totally feeling cut-off but not so much that the bad influences stick around. Maybe if he's not there, they'll move on and he'll see he's better off without them. I can only hope.
Otherwise, it's just been crazy busy around here. Jason is doing Kuk Sool Won and bowling the other boys and is bugging me to go to the beach. So hard to fit more stuff in and still leave time for schoolwork tho. I told him we'd try for this weekend and if not, would make a point of going over spring break. He went to our gym this morning and Christopher ended up going with him to learn how to lift weights. He hates being so scrawny and even tho we keep telling him not to stress over it, I think having a "little" brother who is so much bigger than him kind of rankles him a bit. So he'll go with Jason and the two of them will get some big guy time. They also want to go swimming in the pool afterwards. I told them it was fine so long as they were together. Man, that was hard to do. I know they are both good swimmers and they are old enough to do this but still, there's always that niggling voice in the back of my head that wants to be overprotective.
In other news, last Thursday we were at Park Day when Jonathan comes running over to tell me there is a poisonous snake there and I needed to come see it. Now I was pretty darn sure there was no poisonous snake around but I went to go check to see what kind of snake it was. Amazingly enough, it was a San Francisco Garter Snake which while not poisonous is endangered so that was really cool. Even more cool was the fact that I knew what kind of snake it was. Thank You Zoo Class! LOL

The big excitement for this week has been my dryer decided to stop heating. This is the same dryer that we've already paid for twice due to various other repairs. When the guy came out and told us it would $450 to fix it this time I reluctantly okayed it but when Mark heard he said absolutely not, we are getting a new set. He's done spending money on it. On the one hand, I agree that it's nuts that we have put so much into it in such a short period of time especially since all the repairs have been weird things that should never need replacing (drum, belts, springs, seals, and now heating element) but on the other hand, this is the first repair in a couple of years and everything else with it is fine. But despite my reservations we ended up going for it and buying a new front loader set from Costco that can be stacked so we don't lose any space. I'm a little concerned since the reviews are mixed with usually only about 75% good and willing to recommend it to people. At least we got it at Costco so if it's really awful we can take it back after doing some more research and find something better. We wanted to do it now tho before the sales tax hike takes effect and while there was a price discount at Costco. Here's hoping this works tho cause I sure do a lot of laundry here.

104:31 Deadly Desire by Keri Arthur

Newest in the Riley Jensen series. Picked it up on Monday night and finished this afternoon. As usual with this series, I couldn't put it down. Riley's powers aren't growing at an insane rate but they are growing as is her relationship with Quinn. It's nice to see that they've finally come to terms but can it survive her newest case?

Lots of fun and I definitely recommend the series if you like the romance/urban fantasy genre. This one has it all happening.

Page count: 352p/8690p ytd

104:30 Rumble Fish by S.E. Hinton

Jason picked this book out for his reading time so I made sure to read it too. I always like The Outsiders but for some reason never picked up anything else by her. Rusty-James idolizes his big brother "The Motorcycle Boy" for what he seems but without understanding who he is. He tries to be tough, getting in fights, drinking, and eventually getting kicked out of school but somehow, he still never manages to live up to the Motorcycle Boy.

A definite coming of age story in which the protagonist never reaches his goal but rather ends up simply fading out and forgetting his past as much as possible because he can't understand what the goal ever was. I'm glad I had a chance to read it and I hope the message rings loud and clear to Jason.

Page count: 135p/8338p ytd

104:29 Witchling by Yasmine Galenorn

The first in the Sisters of the Moon series about a trio of sisters who are half-human/half-fey. They are currently on assignment to Earth from the Otherworld (where the fairy and other magical races live). Unfortunately due to their dual nature, their powers are unpredictable which is bad when you are talking about a witch, a werecat, and a vampire. Now there's a danger that threatens both Earth and the Otherworld and they are the only ones who can stand up to it.

Fun urban fantasy tale, well woven, good universe(s), sex, and flawed characters with a sense of humor. I'm looking forward to getting the rest of the series.

Page Count: 276p/8203p ytd

Homeschooling with 5, Day 1 report

Was having problems with my computer and especially uploading pictures (or why the goat farm trip entry which was started on Sunday didn't actually get up until this morning) so sorry I haven't been updating properly our newest adventure.Things went really, really well yesterday and it's just helping to reinforce the decision that this was a good move. Jason is fitting in so well, polite and helpful, and doing everything he can to make the best of the situation. We talked a lot on Sunday about how school works here and my basic philosophies about things (family and school mostly). I dropped Matthew off with Jonathan and Nico at therapy so I could take Jason out to Starbucks for some one-on-one time with no little kids present so we could continue to talk. He's been wanting to make sure that what we do here will transfer back to his old school. It will and I assured him of that but I wanted to also be honest that the odds were not good for him going back to the situation he just left. We talked a little about some of his reasons for why he was acting out and he's sounding like he'll go to counseling and give it a shot which I think would be good for him. Something I need to look into getting started soon.


Since it was Monday, that means KSW here, especially since the boys are testing for their Red Stripes on Friday night. I gave Jason the option of trying the class for a week and seeing if he liked it.
He got some private time with one of the instructors and when I stopped by a few minutes before class ended, I saw them sitting on the floor talking and he was smiling and laughing. After class I asked how he liked it and he said he wanted to keep doing it. It was nice to hear him affirm that he knows he's going to be here a while so wants to have some fun activities to do while he's here. As I said, he's been proving to be remarkable about adapting to the situation and trying to make the best of it. So we've got him set up on our account and his uniform is ordered. The nicest thing was I picked up a new schedule which I hadn't done in months to find out that they now have family classes M-Th at 5:30p. This means on Tuesdays when Christopher is at his acting class from 5:15-6:15p just a mile from KSW, the rest of the big boys can go there rather than get dragged along with me to do the grocery shopping. Much nicer for everyone that way.

Today we have bowling. Not sure I'll be able to sign him up for the league but if nothing else, I'll rent him a lane next to the league bowlers so he can play and get a chance to hang out. He's also expressed an interest in surf camp which of course led Christopher to thinking it was cool (cause everything is soooo much cooler when your friend's think of it rather than mom suggests it *eye roll*). I looked into it and it's going to be a stretch to do it for spring break but I told both boys that I would be happy to sign them both up for one in summer. I think it'll be great for them!

Day at the goat farm (lots of pics)

Mark's former co-worker called us a few weeks ago to see if we would be interested in joining her and her son on a field trip to a goat farm. Of course, we said yes. :)
They currently have about 200 kids born with approximately another 200 due soon. We visited the pen with the moms who had already given birth.

All of those zoo classes for Nico really paid off as he was so gentle and used his "animal visitor" petting techniques.

Normally the kids are left with their moms for the first week to get the colostrum but are then separated and fed with goat formula so the farm can get the milk to use for other purposes. Not sure how old this one was that had been frolicking in the field and then came to pay us a visit.
This little guy had just been born this morning and we were allowed to visit him and his mom.
Here's Nico petting mom.
And one of the slightly older kids was trying to see if he could get some extra food out of someone's fingers.

I wasn't able to get over to see Matthew and Jonathan give goat milking a try so no pictures of that. Nico stood on the stool and didn't quite get the whole concept tho.
On the other hand, Jason did a great job.
We got to visit the kitchens where they make the cheese and of course, health and safety regulations require us to cover our hair...
The kids were all invited to help decorate a wheel of cheese with edible flowers. Here you can see Matthew with it...
While Jonathan looks on.
It was passed around the table for everyone to enjoy at the end. I didn't even get near it until it was more than half way gone.
It was a really fun day. Christopher wasn't with us as he was at a friend's house but the rest of us got to do several things we had never done before and had a great time. Afterward we bought some goat cheese and visited a local shop for some of their delicious bread that the goat farm uses to serve the cheese and then headed over to our favorite seafood place on the pier for lunch before coming home and getting out the Rock Band/Guitar Hero.

Gee, sounds like a typical day around here. :)

104:28 Cooking with Ergot by Luisa Prieto

Paranormal romance with the twist for me that it was m/m but written by a friend so I had to read it. Dominic is a witch whose finds his chosen who happens to be a seventh son of a seventh son who doesn't believe in magic and is part of a line of witch hunters. Unfortunately for both of them, his cousin does believe and is an active witch hunter.

Nice plot, story moved quickly and I'd be another 20% along without realizing it. Blaise, the stuffed tiger familiar, and the recipes were particularly nice touches. In short, I enjoyed it immensely.

Page count: 200p/7927p (I'm approximating since it's an ebook that I read on the Kindle which doesn't provide page counts)

5 Boys, Day 1

We picked up Jason today. It was hard to do in terms of knowing how much pain it was causing everyone but made easier by the fact that the pain was temnpered by the relief that he would be out of harm's way. It's daunting in so many ways because this is someone else's child that I've been entrusted with, not just my own. I'll be praying hard constantly that we are up for this and all will be well.

The day has gone well otherwise. Jason is quiet and subdued which is the better of the two scenarios we figured we'd be facing. I know what a shock it's been for him since it came without warning (btdt, unfortunately) but we are trying hard to make sure he knows that he can still have contact with his family and that we love him and want this to be as gentle on him as possible. I think the next week or two will give us a better indication of how things will go once the shock wears off a bit. I think he'll be okay in the long run since this will be the first time in many years that he's had a clean slate with school and people around him. I pray that he takes advantage of it and I'm very thankful for those there today that told him how much they wished someone had done this for them when they started down the wrong path. That really touched me and helped me further believe in what we are doing. I'm also thankful for all the support from my own family and friends and all their prayers for Jason. You all mean the world to me.

104:27 All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris

Sookie goes with the Louisiana contingent of vampires to the big vampire convention in Rhodes. Amidst plots against the Queen of Louisiana, many others are plotting against the vampires as a whole and it's up to Sookie to help sort out what is going on and protect those she loves. The big question for Sookie is who exactly is that?

More political in the vampire world than previous books and less romance. That angle seems to be fading a bit tho it's still there, it's not all hot and heavy like it was in the first couple of books with Bill. A fun series and I'm looking forward to the next book coming out in paperback.

Page Count: 342p/7727p ytd

It's a boy!

I got the phone call from Mona tonight and she has asked us to come down and take Jason in. He's become too much for anyone down there to handle because he simply knows how to play them too well to get what he wants. His cousin has gotten him in with a bad crowd (she does drugs herself so it's not like she would know what a good crowd looks like) and he is staying out late, not letting anyone know where he is, and flunking most of his classes. She's been told that summer school is mandatory and very likely he would have to repeat 9th grade. The last straw was when he came home drunk after his cousin had given him alcohol.

So now we are getting him to get him out of a bad situation. I know it's going to be rough because this is a totally different environment than what he's had with a lot less freedom than he's used to and a lot more rules and structure. I am praying tho that with those rules and structure, in a safe, loving, nurturing, and stable environment that he will eventually become the man I know he can be.

Please pray that we can help him to realize his own potential. This is one of my other boys and I can't stand the thought of losing him.

I am NOT getting sick!

I don't have time to get sick so I'm really hoping this is the time change catching up with me but I woke up this morning with a nasty headache, stuffy nose, and still exhausted. The headache never went away and painkillers only dulled it for short periods of time. The stuffy nose didn't stick around but decided to move south and my lungs have been a little tight instead. I was so tired I ended up staying in my pjs all day and teaching school that way...when I wasn't napping in bed, that is. No bowling, no acting, no shopping. I'm heading back to bed since I actually feel like I might be able to go back to sleep. I just really hope I wake up feeling better because Nico has his zoo class tomorrow and I would hate for him to miss it because mom doesn't feel good.

104:26 Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris

More vamp politics and less romance in this one. The language continues to be better so I'm not gagging as I read the first half. Sookie has finally learned a few hard truths and spilled the beans on her little secret. Continues to be a fun little series. I think it was trying to take itself more seriously in this book and the last and it just doesn't quite work for me for some reason but it will be interesting to see how it continues.

Page count: 324p/7385p ytd

Tired

The time change always kicks my butt even when I try to prepare for it weeks in advance. Of course this time, with how crazy things have been around here, that didn't happen and it's been awful. I think it's hitting the kids as well. Nico was in rare form today, all day, and the other kids were all having problems focusing. And to make it even more fun, it's pitch dark when I wake up which is not happy making.

Tell me again why we do this? And especially with only 4 months of standard time before going back to it????

104:25 Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris

The 5th book in the Sookie Stackhouse series. She's getting courted by lots of suitors now but someone is hunting down the shifters and thinks she might be one of them due to her associations. Eric is back and so is Bill, both vying for her attention. With so many hot men to choose from, whatever will she do? Best thing, duck for cover and try to stay out of the line of fire.

Definitely having more fun with this series now. It's bubblegum reading, total fluff but fun for all that and a nice rest from some of the more demanding things I'm reading right now.

Page count: 295p/7061p ytd

I win!!!!

That's what Nicholas told me today. I called him Nick and he told me "No, I not Nick, I Niklah Davih". I asked do you want to be called Nicholas or Nick or Nico and he told me Nicholas with a big grin. I asked him if he liked his name and he told me he did. I told him that was good because I liked his name too and thought he was the cutest, sweetest, most wonderful Nicholas in the world. When I said this, he stood up, threw his fist up in the air and shouted "YES, I WIN!!!" and then fell down laughing.

He cracks me up but you know what, he's right. He did win. He won a very special place in my heart the second I knew he was coming and he secures it every day with his smile, his hugs, his kisses, and that little voice that says "I love you mommy".

104:24 Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris

I'm glad I decided to stick it out. With Bill no longer being her main guy, the awkward language was gone and it was much easier to just get involved with the story. The story was fun and it will be interesting to see how things progress after all the developments in this book. Good thing I have the next couple so I can find out. *grin*

Page Count: 291p/6766p ytd

104:23 Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card

This book starts between chapters 14 and 15 of Ender's Game but has events in it from the Shadow series as well. It basically covers the period of Ender's trip to the colony (now named Shakespeare) and what he found there and then his trip to another colony as he starts his search for the right time and place to reveal what he's found. We also find out what happened to the last stolen child of Bean and Petra.

Not a bad book but it's continued the current trend that the Shadow series started which was the downhill spiral of the series. Ender's Game was an outstanding book filled with interpersonal relationships and the psychology of the game. In the Speaker series (at least the first two books before it got totally weird), we had the psychology of the different species learning to interact with each other along with the personal psychological stuff going on. Ender's Shadow had that but the recent books have lost that and what is there has been more forced and less substantive turning these books from the more heavy-hitting sci-fi they were to more of a bubblegum book. Still fun, just not as filling.

Page count: 377p/6475p ytd

104:22 1984 by George Orwell

Um, wow...Talk about a riveting but terrifying book. I can see how he got his ideas and have to admit that there have been times in the recent past when things felt eerily close to trying to go down that road but unlike that book, I'm hopeful that the human race won't allow things to ever get to that point where it could continue in that type of oligarchy. Please God!

Page count: 268p/6098p ytd

Also, this was the first book I read on the Kindle. It took me about a week to do while reading other things so I can honestly say, it didn't slow me down at all. The screen and epaper and eink are very easy on the eyes. I read for several hours over the weekend with no more eye strain than if I'd been reading a regular book. The whole thing doesn't totally disappear like I'm used to with paper books but it's close and I'm sure it won't be long before it does. I've already got 60 other books already downloaded on it and am currently going through all the ones I have downloaded to my computer to figure out which ones to move over according to my reading lists. My only complaint is I can't figure out where my .pdf files are that I downloaded to it and getting to the internet isn't quite as easy as they make it out and I'm still trying to navigate that part of it better but otherwise for a reading device, it's excellent. Not sure it's actually going to end up replacing my Palm but my wallet, Kindle, and Palm all fit very nicely in my small purse for a quick pick up and go so I'm not complaining. I'd never be able to read this much, this easily on a Palm.

104:21 Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

A fantastic adventure to share with your children. Darker than the Disney version (go figure) and expressing much more recrimination of the children for their heartlessness but also heaped upon the mother for her continued hope and allowing the children to walk over her. But still, a fanciful tale, wonderfully told to excite the imagination of children everywhere through the ages, both the ones that are physically still children but also those of us who refuse to fully grow up and keep a piece of Neverland in our hearts.

Page Count: 155p/5830p ytd