Thanksgiving is over :(

It has been a hectic few weeks.  Between Mr. B's virus that lasted for 9 days.  Yes, you read that correctly, 9 days.  Then gearing up for Thanksgiving.  We hosted this year.  Then a nice relaxing week-end of decluttering.  OK, that wasn't relaxing but it was revitalizing for me.  After all that I am ready for jumping back into routine.

Thanksgiving was spent at our home with my father-in-law, step-mother-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, great-grandpa, a couple of uncles, and an aunt.  A good time was had by all.  Everyone loved the food I prepared (which is always nice) and I had the perfect amount of leftovers.  As I told the family, the secret ingredient was butter.

The kids had a swim meet on the 20th.  My mother-in-law and step-father-in-law came to see the kids swim.  I warned them ahead of time that both kids had Hebrew School Sleepovers the night before, and Mister B was just getting over that long illness and this may not be their best performance.  Let's just say, it wasn't.  Although, Little Miss did manage to shave 2 seconds off her backstroke time-Yay, Little Miss M! 

This week we are getting back into the school groove.  A definite homeschooling perk is that Mister B did not fall behind during his illness.  On top of getting back into the swing of things our contractor started the remodel of our bathroom.  Lots of banging and demolition going on.  Plus, the discovery of some rotting wood from a leaky gutter that has since been fixed.  Also, the discovery of a suspected leaky pipe for the roof vent.  The last discovery yesterday was the discovery of the electric box of what was probably a light fixture.  No caps on the wire, no plate over the box.  Just tape and wires shoved into the box.  We are probably lucky the house has not burned down.

Essex County Enviromental Center

Today we headed out to the Essex County Environmental Center for a class about the Lenni Lenape.  Overall, the kids had a good time but there were moments where they thought it was boring.  As Little Miss said to me "The instructor is no Douglas."  Now, the instructor we had today did a fine job.  There is just something about Douglas at Pyramid Mountain that makes him awesome.   Mister B and Little Miss M got to try their hand at grinding corn, creating fire, and making clay pinch pots.

Trying out Blue Spruce needles as hand sanitizer.  It works.

Little Miss getting a piece of spice bush.  You can make tea with it.

We got to excavate some artifacts.

Getting ready to see fire being made.

The instructor made it look easy.

Mr. B gave it a try.  He concluded that this is harder then it looks.

Little Miss grinding corn. From her body language I would say this is not scintillating work.

Mr. B trying an alternative way to create fire.

Swim Meet

Little Miss M had her first competition meet on the Winter Swim Team today.  Mister B would have been there, too, except he is still recovering from that virus.  She was very excited and had a great time.

On the way to the meet.

Here is a little video of her swimming freestyle.

The glow of a swim well done.

Friday

Mister B is still ill.  I took him in for a strep test yesterday, even though I was quite confident that it was not strep I decided better safe than sorry.   I paid my copay to hear what I already knew.  It is a virus and it has to run it's course. 

Usually I find that a trip to the doctor will cure anything 10 minutes after you leave but not this time.  All day today his fever was between 99 and 100.  Around 4:00 it spiked back up. I am cautiously optimistic that this is the last hurrah and tomorrow he will be fine.

Thank you to All Veterans

A heartfelt Thank You to the Veterans who have put their lives on the line to defend the freedoms that I enjoy every day.

Wednesday

Mister B is still sick.  Whatever he has is viral in nature as the fever spikes and decreases throughout the day.  So far, it has been a traditional lower during the day and higher at night kind of fever.  His throat is not bothering him as much but I keep giving him a teaspoon of raw honey a few times a day. 

Much to his disappointment Mister B had to miss Discussion Group today.  Little Miss M enjoyed the group discussion a lot today.  She was a bit more vocal than usual and that is probably because her brother was not in attendance.  All the kids enjoyed the movie and they all had a lot to say about the symbolism and the cinematography and music used to create mood and tell the story.

A November Update

November has started.  So far, it has been a good month.  Last week, lesson progressed smoothly.  No railing against the universe and how mean I am to make them learn stuff.

Last Wednesday in Philosophy the kids continued their discussion on the purpose of education. They came to the conclusion that education is supposed to set you free.  The group has been busy designing a school.  They are learning that it is not as easy as it sounds.  Besides expanding the mind there are practical considerations.  One girl said students should be allowed to determine how long the classes would be.  Little Miss countered with "What if the students decide class should be one minute?"  I think they all have a better understanding of how blessed they are to have parents who are giving them the gift of homeschooling.

This week they have Discussion Group.  We are watching High Noon.  I watched it with Little Miss M this morning (Mister B is feeling under the weather-low grade fever.  He and I will watch it tomorrow).  I had never seen the movie before.  It is really pretty good.  I am not usually one for Westerns.  Seeing the movie in the context of the McCarthy era and is it or is it not a reflection of the times made it a little more interesting for me.  I am actually looking forward to watching it again tomorrow.