Sweet-Pea's room makeover - Part 2

We haven't finished Sweet-Pea's room yet, but I did manage to get a photo of one section that's done. She's been sleeping in our bedroom the past few nights, so putting her bed back in the room was our first priority! She went from clutter princess & Pooh to clean and neat purples and pinks.

BEFORE:


AFTER:




We still have things to hang on the walls, but you get the idea here. I'm going to be getting rid of a bunch of things out tomorrow as I go through all her toys and books. I'm sure she won't be a happy camper, but we're overdue for a good purging! She had so many toys in her room that she hasn't played with in ages. Nothing is going back in that room until it's been cleaned out and gone through!! Ahh...I love getting rid of clutter, don't you?!?

More photos to come!

BRRrrrrring!!!!! Someone else answer that, PLEASE!?!

The calls keep pouring in about my Dad. They aren't friendly calls asking how things are going, they're calls from the nursing home telling me that he is sick, needs to go to a doctor's appointment, that he fell, or most recently, that he is wandering around the home so much they are thinking of transferring him to another nursing home. Yeah, you read that right...they want to transfer him!

WHAT!?!?! THEY CAN'T DO THAT!!!

First of all, I'm so sick and tired of the phone calls. Part of me wishes I didn't even have a phone right now! We do have caller ID but that doesn't help in this case since I have to answer all calls about my Dad. I have put off friends and family members who have called because I'm just so sick of being on the phone. (Sorry if you're one of them!!) My kids are sick of me being on the phone too and I don't blame them!!!

Yesterday the phone call came after we had such a wonderful morning together. It was Edward's day off from work, and we went to an art museum for a little bit then we went out to eat some breakfast. We got home and were going to finish Sweet-Pea's bedroom when the phone call came. So much for our family day!!!!!!! Edward could immediately sense my frustration and anger as I was speaking to the social worker on the phone. He told me that since my Dad is wandering in the halls so much, he's bothering some of the part time patients. (This nursing home has a hallway dedicated to those who are there for physical therapy only...those who are there only a month or so.) They aren't doing it yet, but they are thinking of transferring him to another home - one that is 40 min. away!!! I know they need our permission to do so, and frankly I'm not even thinking about it, the answer is a flat out NO!

My Dad was moved by the nursing home from the first floor to the second about 3 months ago. They feared that he would walk out the front door if he got close enough to it. Fair enough, I understood, even though he wears one of those alarm bracelets. They moved him to the room at the end of the hallway on the 2nd floor. The part-time PT wing is off of that wing. The nursing station is directly between both wings. There are ALWAYS nurses and nurses aides in the halls. Almost every time we visit my Dad, most of the nurses aides are just sitting around doing not much of anything. I'm not sure how or why they get away with it, but they do. So...my question to the social worker on the phone was..."Why aren't the nurses and aides telling Dad to turn around and go the other way?" They will watch him enter someones room and say nothing! They even said he walks in on the board meetings sometimes and I asked the director of the home why they don't just either shut the door, or tell him he can't be there. It's not that difficult people, my Dad will listen!!

My Dad is not an angry Alzheimer's patient like most often tend to become. He is gentle, loving and frankly he's just looking for someone to talk with most of the time. Even he doesn't talk that much...he's very quiet these days. Sometimes when he wanders, he's just doing it for something to do. I also told them that if their recreation department had more programs for him, they wouldn't have to worry. They should tire him out during the morning hours so in the afternoons he's tired and wants to be in his room and rest. Edward even questioned them and asked if they were talking about the same person. Every time we go, he's sitting somewhere relaxing, is fast asleep in his room, or is watching his TV. He's NEVER wandering when we show up, and we visit him at different times during the day. Go figure! The funny thing is that he is the ONLY person on that floor who is ambulatory (can walk), but even at that, he's not very stable, so he's extremely slow. It's not like he's running all over the place like an uncontrollable child.

We met with the director yesterday and are waiting for her to call me today....yes, another phone call!!!! I need a secretary. By rights, they can't just transfer my Dad. By rights, we can appeal it even if they say they want to. So...for now we just wait. The director said there was a meeting this morning with the nurses, social worker, recreation department etc. and that they would try to work with Dad and figure out a way to keep him there. I was so upset in her office, the tears were flowing. She could see that I was at the end of my rope. I'm the ONLY family who visits Dad, talks to him or is there for him. No one else lives nearby or cares. It's so sad and the burden on us is very heavy.

Please help us by praying for an end to all the stress, burdens and exhaustion. One family can only take so much. We will be starting school in just over 3 weeks, so things need to calm down by then. I do not want the kids education to suffer another minute. We missed enough school this past year. Although Lionel did test well, it still isn't fair to him (or Sweet-Pea) to make them miss school days because of issues with my Dad.

I'll update once I hear from the home. Thanks!

Pepto Bismol or Cotton Candy?

We can't decide...which is it?



Regardless of what you want to call this paint color, it's the new color of Sweet-Pea's bedroom!!! Since next Friday will be her 7th birthday, part of our gift to her was to repaint and decorate her bedroom. Yes, she STILL had up the classic Pooh border from when she was a baby, so it was definitely time to redecorate!!!

Besides the new paint color, I picked out a few other items for her room. She already had a purple carpet (very cool with the pink!) and purple curtains, so those will stay. We put up sixteen 12" mirrors on her wall along with a ballet pole, so she now has her own mini dance studio. She'll love it I'm sure! I also got her a new throw rug with purple/pink princess designs on it, a pretty wooden sign with her name on it, and a couple other ballet items. Tomorrow we should be putting the room back together, so hopefully I'll have photos to post.

Our children's rooms have always been an issue with me. We live in a cape cod style house, so their bedroom walls have those awful sloped ceilings. The side walls are only 4' high, so it makes it difficult to decorate and place furniture. Hopefully tomorrow it'll all fall into place. In the mean time, if you figure out what the paint color really looks like, let me know...we can't decide...but she picked it out, so that's what went on the walls! It's BRIGHT, but very girly!!!

Campfire + Sparklers = Family Fun!!!

On the 4th we had an indoor picnic with family and friends (it was raining), but that's all we were able to do beside play games and chat. We didn't go anywhere this year to see fireworks, and our next door neighbors, who usually put on a great fireworks show, decided not to do their own. So, we ended up having our own family fun in the backyard last night! We set up our outdoor fireplace, gathered a gazillion sparklers, and lots of goodies for making s'mores.

Other than our dog Cody, we all had a wonderful time. He was so nervous being outside, but he managed to huddle under the table near my legs for most of the time where he felt safe...poor guy! We knew that if we left him inside by himself he'd have been even more scared. There were fireworks going off all over the neighborhood, and the noises alone would have sent him into cardiac arrest!! He just needed to be with people who would reassure that he'd be safe.

I actually had more fun taking photos than playing with the sparklers or eating s'mores - although I must say that they bring back wonderful memories of summers spent up at Camp-of-the-Woods in New York! Anyhow...here are a bunch of the photos I was able to take by using a combination of my nightvision and tv modes. I haven't mastered the camera by any stretch of the imagination, but I play around with it enough to get a few good ones now and then.

Here goes:

Our campfire...no it wasn't out of control, it's just a moving photo.


Sweet-Pea and Lionel enjoying s'mores...well, Lionel is. Sweet-Pea is eating a Hershey bar by itself. = )


Sweet-Pea had a BLAST playing with the sparklers! Her dance experience came in handy for some 'moving' photos!


Lionel got in on the fun trying to make interesting designs.


Oh, I almost got the heart shape Sweet-Pea was making! Bummer I didn't wait another second!


Lionel making a circle with 10 lit sparklers - it was VERY bright!!


Sweet-Pea with what looks like the number 43 - how old I'll be this year. ha ha


I think by the time we were done, got the fire out and everything cleaned up (including showers for us all...and the dog) it was midnight! Phew! We had so much fun though, we didn't care what time it was. We already talked about next year. We decided that we're going to invite friends over and have some smashing fireworks of our own. I can't wait!!! Care to join us?

Photo Hunt #117 - Pointed

These birds have pointed beaks...I took these photos at a local museum.
There are literally hundreds of birds on display there.

Happy 4th of July!

Is it too early?

I don't know if it was Sweet-Pea that inspired me, or if getting Lionel's test results got me excited, but I am already thinking about school for the fall. Generally speaking, we like to get an early start in mid to late August, but this year, come August 4th, we're going to strap on our seat belts and get going with our schooling once again! I can't wait!!!!!

Most people would rant and rave at starting so early, but you know what? While you're out there baking in the hot sun and horrible humidity (bleck!), we'll be inside with the a.c. on enjoying our new books and doing fun educational projects. It doesn't sound that bad when put that way does it? August around here is usually the worst month of the year for bugs and humidity...I personally can't stand it. If we start early, then come December, we can take off a few weeks for Christmas! That's a whole lot more fun if you ask me!! So...it looks like we have exactly 33 more days off until school begins, that's it!

We already have the books picked out and our school room has gotten an overhaul...sort of. We rearranged the furniture, but now we I have to clean it up a bit more. I already stripped the walls of our posters and school work from this past year, but I also like to go through our bookshelves before the new school year and purge what we need to get rid of. Homeschoolers tend to 'collect' books and educational supplies more than most people, so it's easy to accumulate too much, especially when you have 2 big IKEA cubby shelves in your school room like we do!!! So...it's off to start sorting through our supplies. Anyone need anything??? I'm hoping to get it clean enough so I can post photos...we'll see how much I get done this week...and I'll keep you posted.

Sweet-Pea, the scientist!

Sweet-Pea must still be in school-mode. She has been bugging me the past few days to do fun science experiments with her. She loves working with color, so anything with food coloring rates right up there!!

Today we did the Rainbow Experiment....it teaches young children all about color. It's a great modern take on the color wheel and it's oh-so-easy to do!

Here's what you do:

Line up 6 clear glasses in a row and fill 3 of them with water (preferably the 1st, 3rd and 5th glasses...ours aren't lined up correctly yet)


Add 6-7 drops of food coloring to each of the 3 glasses. Red in the first one, yellow in the third one and blue in the fifth one. Stir them well and set the spoons aside. Teach your child that these are the 3 primary colors. They will make the other colors in the rainbow by using only these three.


Next pour 1/3 of the red into glass #2, and then 1/3 of the yellow into glass #2. Explain to them that red + yellow = orange


Now pour 1/3 of the yellow into glass #4, and then 1/3 of the blue into glass #4. This time you will explain that yellow + blue = green


You're almost done. Now pour 1/3 of the red into glass #6, and 1/3 of the blue into glass #6. This time you'll tell them how red + blue = purple


Now we did not create indigo like in the rainbow...you can certainly try, but these are the main colors of the color wheel. It's so much fun learning this way. Our little Sweet-Pea learned her color wheel very early all because of simple experiments like this. Try it with your kids, it's fun!

Silly dog...

As I've mentioned over and over...Cody has been such a wonderful addition to our family. He has brought such joy to our hearts and has helped us get through some pretty rough and stressful times. The past day or so he has made us laugh more than once. Just tonight he was being silly with one of his toy balls. He learned to pick it up in his mouth and toss it across the room so it lands in his food bowl. How he taught himself that I'll never know. He was doing it a bit ago and as the ball landed in his dish, he decided to push it aside and have a bite to eat. He just cracks me up!

Here are a few recent photos of him...just because...

Playing outside with the bubbles... he's not quite sure what they are but there's one floating right past his eye!


Hey Cody, give me a smile!


"Plbplblblblblblb!!!!"


Hey that wasn't nice...come on...show everyone how happy you are to see them!!!


"Nope, I'm too shy!"


Please, one little smile for the camera??? I'll give you a treat!


"Oh, OK...since you mentioned a treat...I'll smile for ya! How's this?!?"

The results are in!!!

Since we homeschool, it's often difficult to figure where the kids stand compared to public and private schooled children...educationally speaking. That being said, for the first time in 9 years, we decided to have Lionel tested. This was the best year to test him since next year he will be in high school. I'm excited to start 9th grade with him in the fall, but I wanted to know what areas we'd really need to concentrate on, if any.

So, in May, Lionel took the Stanford test which is a series of tests taken over a period of 3 days. He was able to complete them in 2 days which was great, but it made me nervous that he completed them so quickly...I thought he'd fail. Anyhow...we knew it would be a while before getting the results back, yet we were anxious to see how he did. Well, OK...I was anxious!! As the teacher, I wanted to be sure we were covering the right materials and that all my efforts were not in vain. I know, it sounds pretty selfish. As much as I want to be a good teacher and get my children to learn the material they need to know, I want even more for my children to learn how to grow to be a Godly man and woman. Their Christian character mean more to me than anything!

Well...this past Friday we found the test results in our mailbox. I was very nervous to open it up, but when I did I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised!! Lionel not only tested well...he tested much higher than he should have in many areas. He tested out of high school (PSP - Post High School) in Social Science, and in other fields (reading comprehension, vocabulary, listening, and science) he tested in 11th and 12th grade. Amazing! He wasn't perfect though...he will need to work a bit on his math skills, but generally speaking, he is good at math. He was at lowest, average in a couple classes (math procedures and language mechanics...grammar), but mostly he tested way above his grade level. Praise the Lord!!!

This fall, we obviously will work on grammar (NOT my forte, so that's probably why he didn't test over his grade level in it...like you can't tell from my blog writing! ha ha) and math more than other subjects. Considering the fact that we missed so much school due to my Dad's health issues, I am exceedingly proud of both of our children. They not only have learned the typical subjects taught in school, they learned quite a bit about life and what it means to live for Christ.

I love you Lionel, and am very proud of you!!! I can't wait to see what we accomplish together this fall!

(If you're interested in having your child tested, I highly recommend the Bob Jones testing service. They were very helpful on the phone and rather quick.)

Photo Hunt #116 - Bright

With July 4th coming next weekend, I thought these 'bright' photos were appropriate. They aren't my best photos, but it wasn't easy to even get these shots - it's all about timing!

Friday Faves #25 Candy

Friday Fave #25 - Favorite Candy

Do I HAVE to pick just one? Who doesn't love all sorts of candy!?! If it's made of chocolate, it's GOT to be yummy! Well, OK, even candy not made of chocolate is yummy.

In my opinion, anything with chocolate and peanut butter together is great, but I've always had one absolute favorite candy bar! Check out the photo below...

Can you guess what it is?



It's a 3 Musketeers bar!!!!!! I even love them frozen, ever tried that?!? Yummy! I do have to watch what I eat though, so it's been a while since biting into one of these...but whenever I do, it's pure heaven! What's your favorite?

Guilty as charged!!