well, summer in Chicago is spent and gone by the wayside making room for the return to school daze of September. Yet, not once did I check back here with details of our exploits or adventures. my apologies.
In truth there weren't many exploits or adventures. Without a car and in the heat we did not go many places or do many things. Throughout the days of June and July we went to the park, the library, and the nature preseves we could reach by foot. And, in the evenings after Scott came home we roamed a little farther but mostly the two of them went bike riding or walked around the block.
Amber HATED the new gymnastics teacher and a few of the fellow students who were down right mean to her. It was a disaster but the money was spent so I insisted she keep trying. Even though she was a trooper and kept going I did not enjoy watching her begin to dislike the sport so I finally relented and let her bail on the last two classes.
Near the end of July I had dental surgery and I am just now days away from full recovery. 7 weeks on liquid/soft food diet with the reward of a 20 lbs weightloss. While that is fantastic I still do not enjoy mushy food. I am so stoked to finally be able to eat grains again and have been perfecting my risotto.
School started a few weeks ago and we've already battled the first set of cold bugs. Yea! for airbourne, I really think it was the major factor in our speedy recovery. This minor illness prevented Amber from being in school the day of the controversial presidental speech. And, although her school did show the speech they limited it to grades 3 and up so she would have had to view it at home with me anyway... But, still I'm kinda irked that her absence could be ASSumed as a protest on my part.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
I feel the summer rolling into Chicago full of swimming, cook-outs, camp-outs, lazy days, fun days, and sweltering muggy heat days. days that make you thank goodness for AC :)
I've got plans for us this summer. Amber will revert to an evolved form of our old homeschool patterns, schedules, and routines. Except, I have a feeling that my role this summer will more resemble that of her social secretary, ha. Lately, I've been wondering just when do parents but out of playdates schedules and let our kids arrange their own social life? The summer gymnastics class is only $30 so I am fairly sure I can find a way to swing that. A week with beans instead of meat should suffice. There's a week long intensive day camp at the Animal Shelter for $75 that I heartedly wish I could swing but, in reality hinges on a hope and a prayer along with a pool membership and lessons.
Her HS schedule will involve printing practise, every day art or craft, and she prefers the routine of worksheets over the discussion of math and science. So, I thhink I am going to try to add some practical with gardening and cooking. I've let her have free reign with her chapter books and books on tape all school year but, over the summer I'm going to introduce reading lists. And, really try to encourage more active discussion about the stories. Maybe, since she really enjoys worksheets maybe I will make a form sheet for her to use to review or report on each title. If nothing else, that will provide fodder for disscusion. For her extra-curriculars, we'll be doing the 'passport to adventure' on the free days, going to the festivals and fairs with my p's, and of course, having playdates. A LOT of this stuff will be around town on foot or using public transportation. We have the PACE bus system and the NW Metra Line.
For me, it's all about improving my health. Even tho, our budget calls for me to cancel my gym membership I know can be active anywhere. Because now, my body is no longer revolting and I feel so much stronger this spring. I am actually looking forward to the added exercise that not having a car induces you to walk everywhere. Plus, I am really hoping to get a bike for my bday. It is seriously the only thing I want, except for maybe a flight south to see my whit. I am finally covered by the state insurance so I am going to get some if not all of my dental work done. And, I will finally fill out the paperwork needed to complete my last class in the fall to receive my library science certificate from COD in the winter.
For Scott, well, I have no desire to make S's summer plans nor would he want me to. I am pretty sure he doesn't wish to do anything different than he does right now. Except for seeking relief from the heat and setting the AC at 50 something degrees... brrr! However, I am planning at least 3 family campouts and I know and will need constant reminding that even if he grumbles the entire time (sigh) he will take from the experience mostly happy memories of stoking a fire and being with his family.
I am terribly excited about these campouts! We camped a lot when I was young and now I know why my family did it so often. It's is the cheapest vacation EVER. And, many camp sites have loads of extra amentities for not much more than the same cheap rate of more rustic sites. We are going to do some back to basics at Blackwell, a coushy stay at the TS, and then one more maybe out west near Starved Rock later in the summer. I am still vetting details for the last campout and pulling some strings. My p's have a pop-up camper we can borrow, but my car has no trailer hitch, and I am waiting for Scott's vaca time slot to be approved. What I would like to do is do a week long vaca with a scenic drive and a few days days camping either at one lovely palce or a few nice ones along the way.
We also have the 3 storms of chaos aka my family's 3 annual summer cookouts. Memorable Memorial Day is fast approaching this Sunday, then there is my Beautiful Bday on the Solstice, and the bombs of the 4th. Please note, all of these events involve larger and larger quantities of wine consumption as the years progress and therby, making each event more and more exciting, ha!
What are you and/or your family planning this summer?
I've got plans for us this summer. Amber will revert to an evolved form of our old homeschool patterns, schedules, and routines. Except, I have a feeling that my role this summer will more resemble that of her social secretary, ha. Lately, I've been wondering just when do parents but out of playdates schedules and let our kids arrange their own social life? The summer gymnastics class is only $30 so I am fairly sure I can find a way to swing that. A week with beans instead of meat should suffice. There's a week long intensive day camp at the Animal Shelter for $75 that I heartedly wish I could swing but, in reality hinges on a hope and a prayer along with a pool membership and lessons.
Her HS schedule will involve printing practise, every day art or craft, and she prefers the routine of worksheets over the discussion of math and science. So, I thhink I am going to try to add some practical with gardening and cooking. I've let her have free reign with her chapter books and books on tape all school year but, over the summer I'm going to introduce reading lists. And, really try to encourage more active discussion about the stories. Maybe, since she really enjoys worksheets maybe I will make a form sheet for her to use to review or report on each title. If nothing else, that will provide fodder for disscusion. For her extra-curriculars, we'll be doing the 'passport to adventure' on the free days, going to the festivals and fairs with my p's, and of course, having playdates. A LOT of this stuff will be around town on foot or using public transportation. We have the PACE bus system and the NW Metra Line.
For me, it's all about improving my health. Even tho, our budget calls for me to cancel my gym membership I know can be active anywhere. Because now, my body is no longer revolting and I feel so much stronger this spring. I am actually looking forward to the added exercise that not having a car induces you to walk everywhere. Plus, I am really hoping to get a bike for my bday. It is seriously the only thing I want, except for maybe a flight south to see my whit. I am finally covered by the state insurance so I am going to get some if not all of my dental work done. And, I will finally fill out the paperwork needed to complete my last class in the fall to receive my library science certificate from COD in the winter.
For Scott, well, I have no desire to make S's summer plans nor would he want me to. I am pretty sure he doesn't wish to do anything different than he does right now. Except for seeking relief from the heat and setting the AC at 50 something degrees... brrr! However, I am planning at least 3 family campouts and I know and will need constant reminding that even if he grumbles the entire time (sigh) he will take from the experience mostly happy memories of stoking a fire and being with his family.
I am terribly excited about these campouts! We camped a lot when I was young and now I know why my family did it so often. It's is the cheapest vacation EVER. And, many camp sites have loads of extra amentities for not much more than the same cheap rate of more rustic sites. We are going to do some back to basics at Blackwell, a coushy stay at the TS, and then one more maybe out west near Starved Rock later in the summer. I am still vetting details for the last campout and pulling some strings. My p's have a pop-up camper we can borrow, but my car has no trailer hitch, and I am waiting for Scott's vaca time slot to be approved. What I would like to do is do a week long vaca with a scenic drive and a few days days camping either at one lovely palce or a few nice ones along the way.
We also have the 3 storms of chaos aka my family's 3 annual summer cookouts. Memorable Memorial Day is fast approaching this Sunday, then there is my Beautiful Bday on the Solstice, and the bombs of the 4th. Please note, all of these events involve larger and larger quantities of wine consumption as the years progress and therby, making each event more and more exciting, ha!
What are you and/or your family planning this summer?
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Every Day can be Earth Day.
think about the simplicity of the idea. even small steps to reduce, reuse, and recycle by everyone can lead to a much better future for our Earth. go plant a tree, pick up litter, unplug your appliances, walk instead of drive, something, anything...
Friday, April 17, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
should I or shouldn't I?
I'm considering making the plunge and switching from LiveJournal to Blogger. There are still many LJs I will continue to read and of course, there's the Face Book fans to keep up with...
This blog will be geared for distant relatives and friends to keep up with the McDuffee-Dotson family adventures. I will be post dating quite a few entries and also plan to attempt some weblog scrapbooking, so check the archives if I forget to remind you of something new that is also something old.
My nine year anniversary is in 2 weeks and I created a lil photo album thingy on photobucket. I was inspired by the ease of it and now I am planning on putting together a collage of me and scott photos as my gift to him. Not sure if it will be created electronically or on paper. My dilema comes from having both print and digital photos of that time. I wonder if I should print the digital or scan the print. Maybe, I should do both, what do you think?
This blog will be geared for distant relatives and friends to keep up with the McDuffee-Dotson family adventures. I will be post dating quite a few entries and also plan to attempt some weblog scrapbooking, so check the archives if I forget to remind you of something new that is also something old.
My nine year anniversary is in 2 weeks and I created a lil photo album thingy on photobucket. I was inspired by the ease of it and now I am planning on putting together a collage of me and scott photos as my gift to him. Not sure if it will be created electronically or on paper. My dilema comes from having both print and digital photos of that time. I wonder if I should print the digital or scan the print. Maybe, I should do both, what do you think?
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