Boat Race! Woo hoo Abi, Aaron & Marky!

Abi Aaron and Marky won 2nd place in a home made boat race! First prize got $100 bucks so the kids were kind of bummed as they had already spent that money in their minds at the Game Stop. Justin took them over there anyways and bought them a new game for the Wii. Mark and the kids built the boat and painted it. They were in first place until the last 10 seconds when a lady in a cardboard boat overtook them.

They also won the People's Choice Award - might have had something to do with the fact that we had the most supporters there - everyone from the marina!

The first boat that sunk was awarded 4 hamburgers!

Boat School Busy Soccer, Field Trips etc.

We have been busy with school, soccer and church. We haven't managed to do any sailing as yet but the weather is not conducive at any rate. Still we have the rains or hot still days without wind. Never mind, we are doing a lot of book work, soccer and, our favourite, field trips!

Aaron is progressing with Year 3 maths, learning multiplication and division up to 500 and order of calculations. We have also been working on interpreting data, graphs, tables lists and 4 step calculations. He is still working through the Guinness World Records reading workbook, which he thoroughly enjoys. He has wiped me out of Pokemon cards completely (my rewards for reading). A friend of ours gave us a box of books and Aaron read 12 books last week in his own time, this was partly because he had no game time because he hadn't done his spelling homework. He has completed 7 lessons of Latin (Prima Latina) and is getting better about completing the lessons exercises BEFORE the due date. We don't rush Latin.

Abigail is plodding on with Year 5 maths and doing great. Her lessons up until last week were basically a review of Year 4 and now they are introducing new concepts. This week was positive and negative integers, absolute value, opposite numbers plotting coordinates on graphs, sequences, etc. She has moved away from reading the Church's, "We Believe" books because she is doing it at Church on Sundays so, at home she is working through "Reading for Understanding Grades 5 & 6" books. I had a total melt down this month because her father said she needed something more than that. My melt down was basically because I felt the same way but also, felt ill equipped to handle the next phase. Long story short, I figured if I used the Reading Book as springboard to report writing with the help of her Writing Skills book then we can make English more challenging. So, with that in mind, I have started giving her an extended report on whatever Thursday's lessons are to be written out in 3-5 paragraphs, 100-200 words to be done by Monday and she really loves to write so happily accepted this! Now we are all happy. So far she has done a report on Marie Cure, and Beethoven (which was more of an oral report since we listened to his music on You Tube but we have just started this phase). She naturally writes stories and did a report after our trip to the Museum this week of her own volition so I am not sure why I panic about this stuff!

For history, we read the Horrible Histories, "Vicious Vikings" and they made a books about Vikings, complete with drawings, maps and runes! Actually they didn't want to do the books at first but once they saw some of the stuff you could do online, they became inspired! There books are so awesome. I almost wish they were in school to display them!

We have also started doing a daily reading. The Catholic Church has a reading from the old testament and the new testament everyday and we have just incorporated that into our school day. I like to start our days with that. Usually Abi will read one and Aaron the other and then we discuss or reflect and that can make for some interesting conversations! Aaron seems to get the meaning of scripture actually and it is really weird to me because I still don't sometimes :)

We had to go to Aaron's doctor in Jacksonville on Wednesday so we went for an early appointment and then spent the day at the MOSH! The Museum of Science and History totally rocks. We have always loved that place. This time there was an exhibit about Sea Monsters (dinosaurs) and we watched a National Geographic video in the planetarium. It was so cool and little scary as it looked almost 3D. We attended the Science show and since we were the only people there that day we got a really cool interactive show. Science is not my strong subject so I was really glad they got to see some explosions with hydrogen and learn about ac/dc and watch and join in the Tesla machine tricks? Not sure how is worked still, but there were bolts of electricity flying about the room. It was super cool. My kids never volunteer for these things so because it was just us, they actually did get involved but only once the guy doing the show guaranteed them that they wouldn't be shocked. Then we got to pet Daisy May, their resident opossum and see all the owls etc. They had the Disgusting Digestion exhibit which was gross and yet fascinating with actually human organs on display!

We took off for the afternoon at a state park earlier this month. The weather was so nice, hot but not too hot and it was absolutely beautiful. We must have hiked 4 or 5 miles. We dipped our toes in the spring to cool off (see pic). One of the nice things about this park is it is contained by a fence all the way around the perimeter so the kids could roam ahead of their old mum with the broken back and I didn't have to worry about them too much. I could hear them in any case but there are no vagabonds around this place. Some of the other sites we have been to have poor souls living out in the woods!

Soccer has begun practices and fortuitously they have the same coach even though they are in separate age categories. Because their coach is coaching both teams we have one practice to attend for both kids which has been 3 times a week so far. They are called the Ducks and the Ducklings. LOL

Abi is starting Girl Scouts next Thursday! We are so excited. Truthfully I am way more excited than she is because I know all the songs and all the fun she will have. We discussed the fact that we will be moving in a few months and the costs involved and decided it was worth it. Her troop, 252, will only have white golf shirts and sashes for their uniform to be worn with khakis or jeans. Abi will get to help with a pumpkin patch, a food drive and possibly the Christmas float before we go!

We are going on another field trip next Friday to St Augustine! We are really looking forward to it. We have exhausted all there is to do in St Augustine or so we thought, but this is a new place for us, the oldest church in the USA!

We have had a hard lesson in forgiveness this week as our neighbor's grandson cut up all of Abi and Aaron's plants that they were replanting with some shears. He did it out of spite because Aaron had told them they were going to move the plants. Anyway, he is 8 yrs old and comes from troubled home but is quite spoiled, rarely disciplined. Abi was reduced to tears after that and we had a heart to heart about forgiveness and about how it really only hurts us when we hold grudges. She didn't like what I said about forgiving him. I did add that she could do it in her own time but not to let it take too long and to ask God to help her to forgive because usually that is the only way we can do it. Tomy Alex Chackalackal puts it much more eloquently when he said,
"Our unforgiving attitudes are obstacles in attaining blessings from God. Forgiveness
brings into our lives fresh, clear and sparkling grace of holiness and hope. Staying in a state of revenge is not only offensive and disrespectful but also is a sinful condition that prevents us from reaching God. The bitterness of anger and grudge are the worst enemies of personal and spiritual growth. In a world where movies, video games and the digital media are giving undue credits to wars,violence and revenge, God wants us to be forgiving souls. In the Bible we read, "Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord
forgave you. (Colossians 3:13)Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord. How many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy seven times. (Matthew 18:21-22)For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins,
your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matthew 6:14-16) Do not
judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. (Luke 6:37) Jesus Christ gave us the finest example of forgiveness when He prayed in His dying hours for His killers:
“Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they
are doing.’ And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.” (Luke
23:34)

I Confess

Before I can be confirmed Catholic, I have to go to confession. I am a little nervous. I have made confessions before - to God in private but not to a priest! These days they are a little more laid back about it than what we have seen in the films. You can still use the old style, box/cubicle thing with a divider or you can just sit in a comfy chair face to face in a small room with the priest. I am not sure I want to be face to face but on the other hand...I am sure my priest will know me on the other side of the divider because it is a small church and he will recognize me immmediately! Apparently I can make my first confession at another church, that part really doesn't matter as long as I do it. Many parishoners do go outside of their church to confess to other priests they don't have to see every Sunday. There is a confession prayer that is to be recited first and then you spill the beans. I know that I need to be succint because my priest is Indian and he really is busy so I am trying to prepare a speech of sorts in my mind so far I have only gotten so far as...."Father forgive me for I have sinned, blank nothing...." I hope it won't always be this awkward.

I wondered if I should confess all my sins since this is my first time but, thankfully, no I don't have to go that far. Just whatever is between me and God right now. Much prayerful preparation for confession is involved in asking the Holy Spirit to point out sins we may not even be aware of. As a guideline I downloaded an app to help me (yay technology) with this and it breaks down the 10 commandments to help see if you've crossed a line anywhere. God's name in vain is one commandement that is constantly being broken by society. I happily quit that a few months ago.

I know that a priest will not only give you penance of prayer but also counsel in some cases, i.e., if you are having trouble with forgiveness, then the priest may give you something to do regarding apologising to someone for your involvement. If that doesn't work, on your next confession, he may give you other possible solutions to your problems. I think that priests have to learn about counselling to some degree. Never really thought of it before now but I suppose they are kind of like free psychologists. Slightly scarier psychologists perhaps.

Catholics believe that we should confess our sins regularly, they require it at least once a year. They recommend it at least once a week, prior to communion. It makes sense to not have anything weighing on your heart before receiving communion. Your sins are forgiven by God through the priest - I used to think the priest was the forgiver but not so.

My hubby thinks Father Ignatius must be looking at everyone at the parish picnic or breakfast and in his mind thinking .... "you cheated on him ....and you stole from her....and you really fancy his wife..."etc. lol, I hope not, but it got me thinking, how depressing listening to everyone's sins, it must be really difficult for the priests. I love our priest, he is different, being from India, but he is filled with the love of God and I guess that is how he copes. (there are lots of bad priests in the media now i know but not all of them are like that). I am just glad my "first confession" in the catholic church is with Fr Ingatious. He is a very kind and humble person but you never quite know if he likes you or not.

The Roller Rink

So, we joined another homeschool group in cyberspace. They are a Catholic group from JAX and we wanted to meet them in person. Friday night, we met them at a "Back to School" skate night!

First of all, I like that the group is so big, there were at least 20 families there and, because they are Catholic, there were a load of kiddos! How wonderful. I have a sneaky suspision that these guys will have better luck at getting the "group discounts" thing that us homeschoolers are always trying to get for our field trips!

For Abi and Aaron this was a first time. It was like they were learning to walk all over again! I'm there encouraging them, "come on, you can do it, just get to me!" I can't really remember any words of advice from when I learned unfortunately. They were not nearly as good humoured about it at first. We had taken Aaron's bud Riley (also 8 yrs old) with us and you could say that I was outnumbered. It was also Riley's first time skating. So, 3 kiddos, 1 mom to help each of them. Naturally they were nowhere close to one another (probably a good thing from a safety point of view). But whilst I'm helping 1 the other 2 are struggling. Red faced and sweaty Aaron said/shouted to me, "What are you doing?! While you were with Abi, Riley is over there doing the splits and I have fallen about a hundred times!" It was sooooooo funny but I didn't laugh. He was so mad. I calmly explained that I am 1 and they are 3 and I cannot be everywhere at once. Riley approached me after a while when I was helping Aaron, "Do you know that I was on the floor for 49 seconds over there! Where were you?" Again I gave my spiel about 1 mom, 3 kids etc. Abi fell down every single time she saw me with the camera. I had to sneak pics and vids of her. They were all soooooo mad from 5-6pm. Aaron had even taken off his skates and tossed them across the snack bar area! But then, from 6-7pm they were having a blast! Falling down and laughing and getting up and going again. Each one of them thanked me for taking them because it was the most fun they had ever had. What a roller coaster of emotions.

It is funny how well they did when I couldn't be with them. I noticed that if I wasn't there to help, they managed much better! Moral of the story, leave them alone until they are happier and then join in!:)

Roller skating is a lot like life, sometimes it sucks, sometimes it is a blast, sometimes you laugh and sometimes you cry, you fall down, you get back up. Aaron told me later that he had prayed to God after his tantrum at the snack bar. That is how he was able to go around again. He managed 2 times around in 2 hours, the first time around he crawled half of it. Bless him. Abi started to get the hang of it but she is so tall she has further to fall and has a very swollen and bruised knee today (which she keeps saying is bust open, hardly) but it does look sore. Riley was like the kid that we all remember at the rink who runs more than skates. He was like a windmill... arms flailing. He didn't glide and swoosh, more of a clackety clack around the rink. So funny, so entertaining. What a wonderful time. I loved hearing Footloose and some of the other classics. Unfortunately I didn't get to skate because I am old and have a bad back now. But I would have loved to.


We didn't get to chit chat much with the other homeschoolers because they were all going through their own little hell and chaos but they were all smiling and offered help where they could. Hope to meet them again but not on wheels!:)

Good is Good

Every moment is a gift from God,
Every smile, laugh song or piece of joy is a gift also,
Cherish them, that is why we are here.
We reap what we sow,
Sow love, love and more love.

Look at everything,
Miss nothing,
The past is no more do not look there,
The future is unknown do not look there,
Now is the moment.

Every face is from the Creator,
Every soul desires and longs for love,
Share the love.

If not to cherish or love, be grateful in it,
Prasie the Lord,
Give thanks often
and ask for more love.

Too hot for school and kittens are evil!

Wow, it is too hot! We have spent this week muddling through as much work as we can for school but mostly we just lay about and read books in this heat.

Aaron is still stuggling through with his times tables and Abi is rebelling against her Church books this week. All the more reason she needs it in my opinion.

On top of the usual spelling and boatschool that we do we have been taking care of Justin who has cat scratch fever. It is more than just a song. It is an awful bacterial illness. Most people have a bit of a headache and low fever with it for a few days and then swollen lymph nodes for a few months. It would seem that Justin is not "most" people. He is the 1-5% that have a severe reaction. He got some antibiotics from the doctor which are helping finally but is still full of fever and ache. Thankfully his fever broke after more than a week. I was so worried as he was often spiking up to the 104 mark and higher. Now he is back down to around 100 on average, keeping it below 103 with Tylenol. He is an awful patient. Not nearly as compliant as the kids. Bless him, he feels rotten. I have never seen him look so poorly. His lymph nodes in his right armpit and rt inner elbow (it was his right hand that was bitten by a kitten) are extremely swollen and sore. It didn't help when the nurse put a blood pressure cuff on that arm and squeezed it. He also has an inner ear infection which is completely unrelated that we are supposed to be putting antibiotic drops in 3 to 4 times a day. Well, we did that once. He swears I put too much in and now can't face it again.

I think he is on the mend but apparently it will be 4 to 6 months before his lymph nodes are back to normal. Poor man. The kids were quite sweet helping with fresh cold cloths for Daddy when his fever was so high.

I am supposed to be confirmed in the Church end of October. I am really excited about it. The process of becoming Catholic has been really great. You don't just "join up" - they have a Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) that is quite involved. There's much delving into the scripture and much discussion. I have thoroughly enjoyed it. There are many things that I was completely wrong about regarding Catholic beliefs. I had no idea that most of my beliefs were Catholic, so for me it really sort of a coming home. We have met some wonderful new friends at the church and it certainly makes living here much nicer! Typical as we are nearly ready to go.

We got the corian countertops we ordered for Yebo today. They are blueish. Looking forward to moving aboard soon!

July 21, 2011 boatschooling

Abi and Aaron have plodded on with little prompting from me this week to get their work done. Aaron did a Latin lesson, started a new Reading Comp book (Guiness World Records) which he loves, read books, practiced cursive writing, completed 5 maths lessons, used the computer for looking up rainforest spiders, a history lesson and spelling sentences and test as well as a maths test (times tables). Abi did 10 math lessons, her new "We Believe" Grade 6 books (given to us by the church) in place of reading comprehension which she finshed last week, a history lesson, read numberous novels, spelling sentences and test.

I started giving them Pokemon cards as a reward for reading books about a year ago. Aaron still needs this motivation and so was happy to earn 4 cards this week! I think he has gotten the reading bug finally. Abigail read several books as well, so also got pokemon cards but I just gave her a few (she reads too many books for me to keep up with her in cards). I would have thought she had grown out of them by now but apparently not. I think she uses them as bargaining power over her brother. They ususally wake up in the morning and read for an hour before they jump out of bed. It is nice and allows me a chance to grab a coffee.

Our Horrible Histories books arrived and we love them! I glanced through them and found myself unable to put them down. They are so much fun to read. Abi read, "Bloody Scotland" from start to finish in about an hour. I saw Aaron reading, "Cut Throat Celts". I read, "Loathsome Londoners". We still have plenty more, 16 in total plus 3 science books, which should keep them entertained for a couple of weeks I hope.

For part of their lessons, I usually give them the watered down kid's version from Sunday's lesson at church. This week there was an activity for them to do! They had to draw a garden and then stick cut outs of weeds on it that were labelled with a personal problem they had. Each weed was to respresent something that might interefere with their relationship with God, a sin or something of that nature. The idea is to notice the weeds in your own garden before picking others. Over the course of the week they can remove weeds if they feel they've improved or add weeds if they discover more. Naturally my little angels couldn't think of a single weed they might have! After some thinking Aaron came up with, "not studying my times tables" halleluha! He never thought of another one. Abi can tend to me our "little miss perfect" in her mind so I had to help her along. Aaron suggested "shouting" for one of her weeds. He was also just trying to help. She eventually wrote that one down but refused to put anymore in her garden as it would make it ugly. I suggested "talking back" to which she responded indignantly, "I don't talk back". Hmmmm. My weed, okay one of many I probably have but the only one I shared with them was, ashamedly, cursing, to which they both agreed whole heartedly. Little toe rags.

Independently, Abi has begun sewing. I say independently because I don't sew. I actually despise it so therefore am keeping out of it so as not to spoil her fun. She buys material at Goodwill in the form of big girl clothes and cuts it up to make new clothes. Since Walmart quit carrying bolts of fabric there is but one fabric shop locally and it has very little on offer for a very dear price. She got one brand new $35 blouse for $2 at Goodwill! This is her own little venture and she spends all of her own money on it. I am quite proud of her. She has made several tops, hair bands, skirts, gloves, socks etc for herself and clothing for her brother's stuffed animals - the Meerkat that now wears a tie is my favourite. All of her clothes have her "label" in them that she has made. At this point she is sewing by hand. I have a sewing machine that my optomistic husband once bought me. She can have it as far as I am concerned when she is ready.

I survived the Harry Potter Movie!

We survived the midnight Harry Potter Movie, I even stayed awake - nearly dozed off a time or two but pushed through.

Initially there was some sort of problem with the film. The trailers were upside down, then they were righted but split in the middle. People started to get angry. There were 2 theatres showing Harry Potter. Someone announced that the movie was melting in the other theatre. Abi began to cry and stated that this was the worst night of her life! I thought there may be a mob developing and I knew Abi would be at the front. I tried to keep her calm and make her see the funny side to no avail, this was a catastrophe in the makings. People really started to grumble and, as I listened for the gunshots, nothing came so presumably they got the other theatre's movie spliced and up and running. Ours never came through with surround sound but they sorted our split screen out and it was no longer upside down so we could handle it. It was rather quiet without surround sound so if you were careful not to chew your popcorn too loudly you could hear the movie. The grumbling eventually came to a rest and you could have heard a pin drop it was that silent, everyone was so focussed on the movie.

It was good, really good. Afterwards, I overheard some pre-teen girls in the restroom say that they had brought their wands but should have brought their "real" wands. If only they had, they might have been able to sort all of the confusion out I guess was their thinking. I had to laugh. They were dead serious.

Outside the theatres there was a blood bus asking for donations. We saw a man stumble out who had just donated. He was completely drunk, falling down drunk. I wonder who will get his blood? Poor soul.

We got home and got to bed around 3.30am! Abi and Aaron were shattered the next day but I think we made a good memory that night. They will always remember the time Mom and Dad took them to a "midnight" movie! I am thinking this means they could make "midnight mass" at Christmas?

Harry Potter geeks and more homeschool.

We are going to the midnight showing of Harry Potter tonight! Abi has been counting down the hours since we booked our tickets on Sunday. She is so excited. Like not normal excited. She cannot eat. She's had butterflies in her stomach all week. She isn't going to the bathroom either. It is not natural. She even covers her ears and hums if someone mentions the movie is tonight. I think she is slightly autistic. She made Harry Potter posters on Tuesday.

Aaron is excited as well, but not to the nth degree like his big sister. Justin started us out on the Harry Potter madness years ago so he is excited. I am looking forward to it but shall probably fall asleep as it is midnight to 2am or something ridiculous like that. I haven't been up at midnight in years. I usually don't even make New Year's.

So, being the concerned mother that I am, I have given Abi a lot of school work this week - to take her mind off of things, snicker snicker. She completed 10 lessons in Year 4 math as I have decided not to bump her ahead to Year 5 early. What's the rush I thought? Plus she is starting to get sloppy and make mistakes in her arrogance. Best to keep her humble me thinks. We finally pulled out the Latin books and DVD. She is not sure why she was reluctant to do the next lesson because it turned out to be soooooo easy peasy. She is more than halfway through the Latina Christiana book. She finished her Reading Comprehension book earlier this week so we are stuck for English/Literacy. I've ordered 16 Horrible Histories books so we'll be delving into those soon.

Aaron got through 5 online maths lessons this week. I've found multiplication games on the computer for him to play as well. Hopefully some of it will be memorized before long. He finished his Reading Comprehension book today which he's been working through since January. He has been working on his weekly spelling words and sentences. He even did some in cursive. He enjoys writing in cursive and does a very good job of it, much better than I ever did at his age.

We haven't been able to go out on the sailboat. It is either much too hot or much to wet. Heavy rains every day which make for humid temperatures even when it isn't raining. They don't seem that bothered about the sailing though which is a bit of a worry. I got this boat for us to use, for them to sail. I hope they become more enthusiastic about it once we take her out eventually. I just hope we don't have anything go wrong on their first trip, like engine failure and we get stuck out in the heat or rain. That could really put them off. Unfortunately we don't have a bimini over the cockpit. Neither one of the ones we have for other boats will fit it properly. So we are going to be rather exposed to the elements. But we won't let that stop us. arrrgggh. Summer school sailing ..... maybe next week will be better weather.

Boat School

This morning Aaron got up and went straight to his Reading Comprehension. That out of the way, we contemplated going for a walk. It was too hot already at 9.30am. Instead, we got out all the lego - normally he'll play in the cockpit with lego but I felt sorry for him in that heat so he took it all inside the boat and lego were all over the salon floor. Abigail woke up a around 10am and got straight to helping Aaron with lego building.

Aaron had breakfast, yoghurt and orangic cereal. Then he made his bunk (without being reminded to!) Later he did some maths online.

Abigail did her maths and Reading comprehension whilst I went to the post office and the shops this afternoon. I love that! I never said a word to her about getting on with it! She is not an early bird so therefore didn't even start until after lunch. She first woke up, fed the monster in her belly and then built lego spaceships with her brother until she was awake enough to do "boatschool". Unfortunately most of her math work was wrong. I haven't told her yet. But, I think she was just in a hurry or something because when I looked at last week's work she had done everything right. She was in a hurry to go play outside me thinks. Neither one of them started their spelling assignments but that is fine. It is only Monday and I won't panic that it won't get done by Friday because I have seen from these past 2-3 weeks that they do get through all of the work if I just let them do it in their own time. I did however feel the need to mention that it is a new week and therefore new spelling words!

I am watching the weather for a good window to take them out on their sailboat. We have gone from bush fires to daily monsoons! It is quite the wrong time for nice winds I suppose but we only need a little bit to get this one going. She is a lovely 1970 Pacemaker, 22' , perfect for them to learn on and for me to have a refresher course. I am not planning to be the "captain" or anything like it. I want them to feel this is their boat and give them the freedom to sail her as they wish. It would never do to teach them on passage because usually we just want to get where we are going and not go around in circles! Add to that the fact that Yebo is quite a bit larger than their sail boat and it just isn't a good one for them to learn on.
We really need to check her bilges with all this rain we have had. I can see her on the opposite dock and she doesn't look low on her waterlines. I don't have an automatic bilge pump for her well, unless you count the kids!

Welcome to the Catholic Church!

Yesterday I went through the Rite of Welcoming at St Monica's Church. It was really cool. Father Ignatius called me up to the front of the church, I stated my name and my intention in the church, "to receive full communion with the Catholic Church". I didn't mess it up! Then Father, Karen (RCIA) and my sponser, Tracy made crosses on my forehead. Next Tracy alone made the sign of Christ over my ears, eyes, lips, shoulders, heart, feet and entire body. It was such a lovely ceremony. I believe it is from St Patrick's breastplate of armour in Christ prayer - I am not entirely sure. Then Tracy put a wooden cross around my neck which I am to wear until confirmation in a few months time. I was given a Bible which was blessed by Father Ignatius. I left before the Eucharist behind Karen and behind the "Book of the Gospels" in front of the entire church. The entire church was part of the ceremony and had speaking parts as to encourage me in my journey. I felt as though I was getting married again. Then Karen and I went to the Hall to "break open the word" and study the reading for the day. It was so fitting for me yesterday as it was from the book of Matthew and about having eyes and ears to hear Jesus's messages and parables. I felt wonderful. Tracy gave the kids a lift home and I went on to the praying alone and together group - which is part of the catechumenate I have to go through before communion. It is a really wonderful group that has deepened my prayer life.

Later I came home and told Justin all about it. Ever the supportive hubby, he had offerred to be there for me but I thought he would just feel uncomfortable and I would probably have been more nervous. So, I told him all that happened. It was sort of a strange day as it was also the anniversary of my sister's death. Now I will always have a nice memory for that date as well.

My ever sensitve hubby knows I can be a bit wierd on that day. In fact the night before I was sick - not sure if I was really sick, or if it was just nerves or emotions running me down. But anyway, we made an impromptu decision yesterday afternoon - quite a special thing for J - to go to take the kids to movies. We had a lovely time watching Transformers. We ate chocolate covered nuts and raisins and popcorn. It was really nice.

My Dad once said to me that time doesn't really heal our hurts, we just get used to living with the pain of loss and I think that he is right. It has been 24 years since my sister died and I can still feel that paing of heartache sometimes stabbing me as though it was yesterday. I felt selfish this year with my worries because Justin has only just lost his father, only 1 month ago. His grief is still very much present but he is learning to live with it. What else can we do? I wonder if my father-n-law has met my sister? I am sure we see those we love again in heaven but do we get to meet the loved ones of our loved ones that we have never met? I like to think that they have met anyway. It makes me smile to think of that.

It is funny how I need to write. I feel like I am coming out of a cacoon. I once had no trouble bearing all on our website but now, I am in hiding. Yes it is ironic as I am on the world wide web hiding. But I am hiding from my website and all the people that I know are over there reading it. I cannot write to an audience because that taints what I have to say. I discovered that that was exactly what had happened. Also, I suppose a bit of writer's block? I just had nothing to say because we were no longer "sailing" and "cruising" and living this so called wonderful life that we had carved out for ourselves. So, what the heck does that mean? Did we stop living our lives for 4 years whilst living on smaller boats fixing up the next boat for our adventure? Yes, in a nutshell. Well, I did.

I have really struggled these past 4 years. Constantly battling to gain balance between living life in the present and waiting for life to begin in the next phase of our "adventure". I somehow lost myself. I also found myself. Because I now realise that all we truly have is right this minute. My father says, "if you don't like something, change it" which is not easy advice. Even if it is something you want to change, you cannot be so selfish. Choices made as a husband and wife and choices made as a family, are something all must consider. I have learned a lot about myself during these difficult times. Sharing a 28ft boat with 2 kids, hubby and a cat has brought out the worst in me for sure at times. I am not a saint. I have definitely moaned about our situation. My husband and children can attest to that. But I have also learned that I can do it, I can just do it happily or begrudgingly. The only thing we have in our grasp of control is our own self, our own happiness. I have wondered if I was being cheated out of my wants. But, I don't think so. What I really want is to not "want" anything. But just to be me and to be happy and to give love and happiness to others. I have realised that I do like a few things that bring me great comfort. They are...happy kids, happy husband, music, great food, nice scents and health, oh and running water!

Whenever I visit family or friends I find I get the "grass is greener" syndrome. I wonder what it would be like to have that house and the kids off at school and just be normal. It isn't that I really want it but I do think that it is probably easier from a mental stand point. Someone once blogged that living aboard is like a full time job. Yep, I have to agree with that. But perhaps a house is the same with its maintenance and day to day running and what not. I find that I long for a few more articles of clothing or shoes to choose from and then I come home and realise all I need fits in my rubbermaid box and I am content. Simplifying the outter self should theoretically simplify the inner self. However, that old needs vs wants fight starts all over again. Putting the theory to practice is an ongoing process. In order to simplify our lives, things have gotten quite complicated here at this marina and boatyard. We are now the king and queen of several aquired dinghies, 2 boats, 5 sheds, 2 vehicles (1 of which died some time ago) etc.

After a recent sobering, saddening, heart breaking loss in our family, we have come back to a get r done attitude. I think my husband was probably going through something these past 4 years that I will never understand. His battle to keep motivated, pacify the wife, deal with sugar spikes, make the money etc. was his own battle. He glimpsed into my little hell from time to time (homeschooling in a tiny boat, drunks and hookers as neighbors) and I glimpsed into his. It feels as though now, at this time, we are together again, all in the same boat working toward that final destination. I have decided that it is part of my DNA the, the desire to have a house. I am woman, I must nest and it is part of his DNA to seek adventure, he is man, he must hunt. So, once I have a floating home again on Yebo and we are out sailing we should both be very happy for it! I am planning to steer a course to the UK after a stint in the Caribbean. Because one other thing I have learned is how much I miss family and feel the need to be closer to them. I wish we could all be on 1 continent but that is never going to happen.

Faith and School

I had to rehearse this morning for the Rite of Welcoming into the Catholic church. This Sunday I make the big leap. It is funny how I have ended up here but completely right for me. I am really happy. I still have a few months before I am totally accepted into the church and can partake of communion or Eucharist. I have arranged for the kids to be with me but not left alone to freak out in their pew when I go up to the front. They will sit with Tracy, the head of the CCF and my sponser. She is great. Hopefully, I will remember the 2 lines I have to say to the priest and not do anything stupid.

We read the rest of Tom's Midnight Garden today, that took about an hour and half of our morning. I gave spelling tests and both of them passed this week so therefore have won an hour of game time. Yesterday I spent some time going over Abi's math work, grading some of it as well. She is having such an easy time of it that I went ahead and tested her for the year, which she scored very well on. We will jump ahead to year 5 work. I probably should have done this a few months ago but it really isn't a bad thing for her to have done extra repetition in the stuff she is learning. It just solidifies it more for her I think. Aaron finished year 2 maths, for which I tested him and he passed with flying colours. He has now begun Year 3 maths and so far has enjoyed completing his lessons interactively online. I will have to print out some lessons however to be able to present something to the school board if they should ask (but they probably never will).

They have both gotten on with their math and reading assignments in their own time lately. They know what needs doing and just do it. It is rather wonderful not having to hound them to do it. They may not do it first thing but they get to it. They take breaks when they need to and still get it done. It has made for a much more harmonious school day! I wish I would have trusted them to do that ages ago.

Aaron has spent a considerable amount of time drawing up his new Pokemon over the last few days. Abigail helped him arrange his pictures in a new folder he bought especially for them. She also reorganised his Pokemon cards in another new folder (I bought him a new one as his old one broke and it really wasn't his fault). She loves to organise things and Aaron loves to get help! It is nice to see them working together on things. She made up some little cards for his card file of his new Pokemon as well which he is very happy about.

Happy 4th of July

4th of July I still had the kids do their schoolwork. They are only 1/3 American anyway so I figure it was fair. After they finished maths and reading we joined in the marina bbq. Abi and Aaron had a water bomb fight with the other kids. Then we came home, chilled out and watched the fireworks from the boat - didn't even have to leave the dock, convenient.

Today, Aaron and I went for a walk in the sweltering heat. We need the exercise but I think that 10.30am is definitely not the best time to go for a walk in the July. We will try to go earlier in the morning or perhaps in the evenings. We talked about weather, birds and some mushrooms we spotted. We came home cooled off in the a.c. and he proceeded to start his lesson in Reading Comprehension book (unprompted by me). He finished his maths year 2 so I will give him his test online later today. He read some of his Pokemon magazines. We have been reviewing multiplication tables over the weekend and I quizzed him on some more during breakfast today. I think he has a few more learned by heart. This morning he created a new Pokemon and illustrated it. He had to ask me or Abi how to spell a lot of words so that he could describe his newly created Pokemon dragon, Fang. Funny how he makes sure to spell his Pokemon descriptions correctly but could care less about the words I give him for the week.

Abigail read all morning. She is already through the dozens of books we got at Goodwill last week and asking to go again. I may take them this afternoon. Then she started creating comic sketches about a little bird character. She is calling it, "Birdie". She has illustrated and written them out beautifully. They are really cute and funny. She is now taking ideas from Aaron and I for sketches. I am leaving her to get on with her work at her own pace, as long as she covers 2 lessons of math and 1 lesson of Reading Comprehension I'm happy.

I have the Sunday lesson from church as they didn't go this past week. Too tired from Aaron being up late with one of his migraines. I will go over that with them sometime today or another day this week. Depending on if they come up for air from their studies. They are just very happy and content with what they are doing now and I don't like to interrupt that.

We read some more of Tom's Midnight Garden over the weekend. It is such a wonderful book and we are all in suspense. It is great modern children's literature as compared to, say, for example, Lizzy Macquire rubbish. You have to be careful what you read these days because everyone thinks they can write children's books and sure, they may be able to write, but that doesn't make it worth reading or worth bearing the grammatical errors, my personal petpeave.

I found a great deal on a history resource this morning on ebay. It is the DK Eyewitness History of the World cd rom which, together with shipping, cost me on $4.30! Woo hoo. I love getting a good deal. I still haven't been able to find the Horrible Histories books for a reasonable rate but now there is no rush. Once we finish our Calvert History of the World book we can use the DK cds for a bit plus the BBC history website. History resources are covered for the forseeable future I feel but I would still like those Horrible History books. They just look as though they would be quite entertaining.

Spelling Blues but Reading Day rocks!

After a bit of breakfast we went to the thrift shop (our local library). We always go there instead of the library now because paperbacks are 50 cents! This beats late fees at our local library and the selection is much better. Also, our local librarians really dislike children so it is a really unpleasant library indeed. We bought several reading books for under $10 plus a top for Abi and a giant Union Jack to fly on Yebo for when we eventually go to the UK by boat! Hoorah!

I was happy to find some books I can use for teaching, the Dorling Kindersley, Physics and Chemistry Visual Dictionaires as well as a DK Birds around the World Identification book. I found a couple of rather boring looking geography and history books tucked away and shoved to the back of one shelf upside down. Apparently Abigail had found them before me and decided they didn't look interesting so hid them from me! The cheek of it! However, I had to agree with her that they looked incredibly boring. So, I will try to get some of the Horrible Histories books when I can find them on Ebay.

We came home and had lunch. Abigail helped me make turkey sandwiches which is a very big deal because just a few weeks ago she didn't and wouldn't help me with making lunch and I really needed her to because of having put my back out.

For the next 6 hours they read their new books! Aaron is still enjoying Garfield and Pokemon comics and Abigail is reading something she found to be a follow up on a series she was already familiar with, "The Tail of Emily Windsnap". I read 2 chapters of, "The Mutiny on Board the HMS Bounty" aloud to them. They actually went on the replica HMS Bounty 5 years ago but they don't remember it. It made a big impression on me at the time and I think this book will be enjoyable for all of us. This one is by William Bligh - I read one before for myself that was no an autobiography and it didn't paint Bligh as particularly nice. It will be interesting to see how Bligh's own book tells the same story. The truth will probably be somewhere in the middle of these two books. The one I will read aloud to the kids is one of the Great Illustrated Classics and abridged I think. I can't remember all the other books they chose but I think there was a Captain Underpants and an RL Stine. They love choosing their books and I know they'll read them if they like them. I just have to weed out any innapropriate ones before we check out. Today there was 1 Lizzy Macguire book (I just don't like her because of the focus on vanity and the books are poorly written) and one book Aaron found about a criminal vampire that is trying to survive and curses a lot - it looks good but not for the kiddies.

I got them each a new folder, Goodwill had a brightly colored gheko folder that Aaron liked and Abigail got a colourful hearts folder. Amazingly, for a boy who doesn't like to write... he has just spent a good 2 hours writing and filling up his folder with information about dinosaurs that he has drawn, studied, traced, researched and written about, together with maps and charts from different periods in history! All on his own volition, I love it when that happens. Writing his spelling sentences was like torture to him last night but today he happily writes out an entire report basically on dinosaurs and what he knows of them. I once considered unschooling which I soon decided couldn't work for us. We do have days that we call "unschool days" whereby there is no book learning but I myself and both of my kiddos need and want more structure to our lives than a full on radical unschool method would allow. It is at times like these that I wonder now, would he be able to write that report on dinos if I hadn't tortured him with spelling?

Spelling tests were not so good today. They both handed in their spelling words, together with their stories they had written using their spelling words. But there were mispellings on paper and during the oral test I give them so no game time today. They usually do poorly when they have been away from it for a while so I half expected it. Next week, they will study more and do great but today I am the meano mom.

Math and Reading Skills books haven't been touched yet today but I told them that they could do them tomorrow (Saturday) as long as they did them before any weekend game time began. Sometimes you have to go with the flow and I have enjoyed the peace and quiet this afternoon. Ahhh, reading days rock. Latin I am confident we will get to next week!

A Much Smoother Day

Woke up this morning and we had running water, electricity, ac going and all was normal and as it should be on the boat. I like when that happens!

Aaron and I cooked breafast together - eggs and bacon (cooking lessons). Abi began her work early today and was done by lunch time. She managed 2 lessons of math (yay). It was a lot of word problems and such. Then English - reading skills book, 1 lesson. She finished reading Harry Potter and started another novel, The London Eye, a mystery for kids. Aaron did 1 math lesson (lots of multiplication and division revision), 1 reading skills lesson and they both covered 2 chapters of history with me just reading the history book aloud.

Our history book, A Child's History of the World, is such a great read. Today we learned about the first printed book in Europe and that sparked a lot of talk imagining what life would be like without books, newspapers, magazines. We also read about Christopher Columbus and I learned a bit more about him than I knew before.

I let them off Latin for today as we chatted about history for quite a while. It seemed too much to fit in more book work. Aaron is reading National Geographic Kid's Almanac 2012 this afternoon. He is sad because Ashton went home and is no longer at his Papa's next door. He says he can't even be bother to splash in the puddles outside now (it is raining). Woe is me. I still need him to get his spelling sentences done for Friday test tomorrow.

No Water on the Boat, arrrrggghhhh

Today we woke up to no water on the boat - plenty of water outside the boat but no "running" water in the boat. Rather frustrating as this has been a problem off and on for a few weeks. So, instead of the usual routine of school we had to make other plans.

After I had a good melt down in true tantrum style, throwing the coffee container into the sink (it is plastic but it broke when I put it in the sink with a little force, oops and more to clean up now). I am at my wits end here with 4 years of waiting to be on our big boat and have space to swing a cat, I got Aaron to help me with the dishes. We toted them up the dock to a faucet/tap in our wagon and washed everything there. There was also no water last night on the boat so we hadn't got those dishes done from dinner, and there was quite a pile of em. We came back to discover that Abi's clothing that was left on the floor after her shower yesterday morning, was coated in something rather curry smelling. Apparently the curried chillies we brought back from England without having a single drop leak in our baggage decided to leak out of our fridge and onto her clothes which were on the floor outside the fridge. Turns out, Abi had actually put the curried chillies in the fridge on their side, big mistake. And why her clothes were there instead of in the laundry, only Abi knows. Those curried chillis will leak at the best of times. I hand washed and soaked her clothes (favourite things from England) then handwashed and soaked my shirt I was wearing when I cleaned her things because it also got curry on it.

Eventually the kids got their breakfast around 10.30am. Aaron was in a hurry today so that he could go play with Ashton. He got through his Math, Reading Skills and some spelling but once again we didn't do History since it seemed cruel to make him after all his help with dishes this morning had delayed our day.

Abi started her work after lunch and eventually got done around 5pm. She mangaged 2 lessons of math - hoorah! I don't know how she would keep up with 11 subjects in the UK. Reading skills and spelling work she also got through.

Tomorrow we will do Latin and History - I am probably being a bit ambitious but we have to catch up a bit.

This evening it is storming and we need to go to the stuff mart as we seem to be out of everything plus we need something for dinner. Justin replaced the water pump around 2.30 this afternoon. I got to have a shower so can now actually be seen in public and bettter get moving. I am starving. There wasn't enough bread or mayo for mom to have lunch so I have just had 3 coffees. I wish we could go out to eat as it is already so late.

Hoping tomorrow goes more smoothly than today.

Protest Tuesday

Already the protests and it is only Tuesday!

Got up this morning 8.00am and had breakfast, cereal with yoghurt. Then we got to school stuff around 9am -9.30. Aaron got through his math work with a little help from me. He never studies his multiplication table and it shows so I've challenged him to make a real effort as some of the harder ones aren't yet memorized. He whizzed through Reading Skills today as there were no sentences for him to write out and that pleased him! Halfway through however, his buddy Ashton came knocking on the boat to play. Ashton attends public school and is out for summer now, which could pose a problem for our schooling through summer me thinks! With ants in his pants, Aaron finished up his Reading Skills/Comp book and quickly read through his spelling list and promised to be home by 5 to make a start on spelling words- it isn't due till Friday- so I let him go. He has spent his afternoon fishing, trading cards and riding bikes with Ashton and another boy - I get updates when he comes in to grab a cold drink and he is off again. There aren't ususally kids around that much during the school months except for Ashton and even then he only comes to the marina for a couple of hours after school. He and Aaron would ususally play then but we would also be finished with our work by that time. I am sure Ashton will be knocking on our boat at 7am as he is spending the night with his Papa in the boat slip next to us.

Abigail spent her morning on my laptop following a website that teaches how to draw. She must have drawn a dozen animals - they are actually pretty good and she tells me that they were fairly easy to do. She also went on a couple of astronomy websites (her favourite subject at this time). Then she did a bit of her Reading Skills/Comp book and finally, with a lot of procrastinating and whinging, she moved on to math. Ughh, I don't know if she is going to be able to do 2 pages a day. I would like her to but maybe it is too much for her. She is good at math but it really irritates her. She has to use her brain a lot more than is required of her in English, Reading, Spelling or art. She knows the stuff but has a hard time concentrating sometimes and other times none at all, very wierd. I guess we will just have to see how we go. Tonight i'll see if she will help me make the chicken & pasta and salad as it's her turn on galley duties anyway, although that normally consists of just setting and clearing the table as well as drying the dishes for me.

This afternoon Abi and I are just chilling out in the boat trying to keep cool. She is reading Harry Potter ...again and I am looking up homeschool in the UK information as well as what year 5 and 6 math have in store for Abi.

We were supposed to do history today but Abi did astronomy so I let her off the hook and Aaron took off to play with his mates so I guess it's History tomorrow?

It is already after 4 o'clock. I have no idea where the day goes.

Back to School Work

Abi read National Geographic and Harry Potter this morning of her own volition. We sat down and did some math work together. I managed to grade some of the work she'd completed a couple of weeks ago and all looked good. I am encouraging her to do 1-2 worksheets a day to get up to year 5 sooner. If she keeps it up she can start Year 5 in about 1 month. We should have already started it a few months ago. She is working on her drawing skills now, also on her own volition. However, some of it is on her body! She drew a lovely flower down her leg and a heart on her arm. Thankfully, she has moved on to her sketch book. Next is IT skills and then her reading skills/comprehension which I don't anticipate her doing until this evening.

Aaron started his day with Lego and Ninjago activities and is now working through his Reading Skills book. He dislikes it because it takes him a long time to write answers to the comprehension questions. English is not his cup of tea. Math he whizzed through this morning and has 4 more lessons to complete year 2. He spent an hour on the computer which is a big thrill and treat for him.

The two of them created some Lego videos a few weeks ago. Today we uploaded them onto YouTube - they feel professional now!

Yesterday we went to church and I have no idea what they are getting out of that but I think they must be getting something good. I certainly am. They definitely enjoy the breakfast after church there is no question about that. Yes, I bribed them to go in the beginning and now it has become a routine. The breakfast is only $3 per person and the money goes to help others so I don't mind.

Last night Abi helped fold and put away laundry, set the dinner table and make a salad for dinner. Aaron helped clear up for movie night. We watched Red Riding Hood and it was quite good.

I am thinking Abi should start French or Spanish once we complete the Latin book. French would help her in the UK should she go to school there.

Aaron is planning to go on the computer today and learn about bats.

I am happy that the book learning is back because then we have something to show for our efforts. We had about a 2-3 week break with all the recent news from the family and travelling. I want them to do a bit of Latin later this week each as well.

On the boat - The Danish Carpenter is here today to give an estimate for woodwork on Yebo! I am thrilled!

Are they getting enough "school"?

Today the kids are schooling themselves really. They are devouring the new 2012 edition of National Geographic's Kid's Almanac. They have read and re-read the 2011 edition so this was a hit with them as well. Aaron has been busy with his Ninjago building and as well as Lego. Abigail read Harry Potter this morning.

I suppose they have had a lesson in emotions this week what with saying goodbye to their Oupa on Tuesday in England and today to our five stray cats we had to take to the Humane Society. Some things just aren't in a text book. There is certainly no mention of faith in US schools. This has been a week of prayer for me and I have encouraged them to do the same. There has also been a lesson in family and the value of family and importance of family relationships. We may not have discussed these matters formally but I know they felt it keenly when we had to leave their cousins, auntie, uncle and oumie in England.

During their week in England they built a myriad of contraptions with lego, jumped on a trampoline everyday, played at a couple of playgrounds, fed the ducks at a lake, tried new foods and spent valuable time with their family. Culturally they enjoyed tossing American differences in pronunciation back at their cousins, yoghurt, yawgurt, tomato, tomahto, crisps, chips, dollars, pounds, etc. Aaron took a wee interest in the wildlife there, noticing the different birds. Magpies which reminded him of mockingbirds he noticed first, later he noticed that there were no turles in the lakes (too cold). All of it just learning on the go.

Since our return on Thursday Abigail has taken out the maps and been studying the UK a bit as well as Europe.

This week we will get back to bookwork, maths, highly important to mom and the only time I feel as though they are actually getting enough school!