End of the month tag - September!!!

What books and/or magazines did I read this month? I took a month off of reading books and just read magazines..a LOT of magazines :) All kinds of artsy fartsy and scrapbooking/ crafty magazines as well as womens/ Fall magazines!! A running magazine too....I've picked up the last of the Twilight books in the last few days too and have decided to finally finish it!! It's been a year but I WILL finally finish it!!! After watching the movie last year I was so disgusted that I put the book away and didn't finish it! But now I think I am ready to finish it!!!

What movies, television shows, plays, etc. did I watch this month? "Sunshine Cleaning". "Knowing". "Crossing Over". All of them were really good movies!!!

What fun things did I do with my family and/or friends? Geocaching!!! Our new hobby! An overnight scrapbooking retreat with Val and friends :) Mudbog race watching at Rimbey - we went to watch Tamie!!! Camping out in the front yard!!! The outdoor pool, splashpark, playgrounds, lake...in fact it was a continuation of our Summer!!!

What gifts did I give and/ or receive? BOB (sorry can't tell you what that is but the initials stand for something hahahaha) I also got Season 5 of Greys Anatomy on dvd. I gave a few gifts too but prefer to keep those to myself as I don't like to go on about what I give....I was involved in something very special that is happening though that I am a little proud of :)

What special or unusual purchases did I make? I spent enough at Stupidstore to get my free crockpot which I HEART!!!! I also got a free dvd player there!!!

What illnesses or health concerns did I have? Horrible ear ache and sore throat/ painful glands/ lymph nodes in my neck.

What were my accomplishments this month? I attended my very first board meeting as a director!!! OMG that sounds so important hahahahaha!!! I took part in my second online workshop by Kara Haupt - 'Fall in Love'. I taught my first class at the homeschool club at the library - my first class in YEARS!!! It's been a LONG time! I used to teach classes and workshops all the time but I haven't done that in YEARS!!!

What were my disappointments this month? private and personal stuff. My friend Lori's aneurysm - I'm so sad about that - it isn't so much of a disappointment as a deep sadness.

Anything else noteworthy to include? I had expected September to be slower and quieter than the Summer - once the children went back to school I thought we would get into a nice quiet routine. That didn't happen! The hot weather continued, and with it so did our busy lifestyle. We made the most of the good weather and were outside at the lake, the pool, the splashpark......the playgrounds!!! We have really enjoyed the long Summer and the gorgeous weather!!!

Typical homeschool day.....

Typical day at our house...this is what our table looks like during the day ;) books, pens..usually some kind of math manipulative will be out - something to count with - either the Math-u-see pieces or buttons or little pompoms...something the kids can use to count with!!! The floor will often be covered with bits of paper from cutting out....the table will end up covered in glue or paint from a craft - we normally do school work in the mornings and crafts in the afternoon and we spend time outside at several points in the day - almost always being outside around the time the older kids are due home on the school bus.

I make dinner in the morning while the 'schoolwork' is being done.....

I feel weird calling it 'schoolwork'...but I guess thats the easiest thing to call it.......

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs....

Before we go and see the movie we have read the book and worked through some lesson plans on the book 'Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs'. Because it is such an easy reader, I let Abigail read it to Sam on the bed this morning. Abigail is a wonderful reader and reads with wonderful expression - Sam loves to listen to her read to him, and so it was enjoyable for all of us!!

The last photograph shows Sams picture of 'Chewandswallow' and he has started to write a sentence underneath. I asked him if he wanted help with any words and he asked me to write a sentence for him to copy :)

We have a few projects still to work through on this book but will probably make it to the movie in the next few days :) We are all going to go and see it :)

Tag....

Outside my window...there are blue skies - a beautiful crisp Fall morning.

I am thinking...I need to get up and in the shower. I want to go for a walk and get outside. I wish Lloyd would cancel his hair appointments so we could go to the pumpkin festival up at Smoky Lake. He doesn't know this.

I am thankful for.......the warm sunshine yesterday - sitting on the deck with my coffee, watching the breeze in the trees. Appreciating my home, living where we do - the peace and quiet - the privacy - my new deck and the sun trap that it is!!

From the kitchen.......I'm still loving my new crockpot and how much easier life is with it! Chicken chasseur yesterday! Now Fall is here I am also cooking a lot more and appreciating my new kitchen!! Made a yummy rhubarb crumble on Wednesday and made more of the extra crumbe that I keep in the freezer - so I can just pull out the rhubarb, pull out a bag of the crumble topping and throw it together - ta-da!! We are doing a lot of baking and we bought more zucchini because Abigail LOVED Hanks muffins so much!!!Tonight is Joannes recipe for hash brown casserole though :) a family favourite :)

I am wearing...jeans....grey long sleeved Tommy top....black socks...

I am creating.....soooo many things - I have my own craft room now and plenty of projects going on in there. I always have projects happening with the children too. The colder the weather gets the busier I get with my crafts!

I am going.......to the Dominican Republic in a months time!!!

I am reading.......research papers, documents, bylaws,

I am hoping......my friend in the UofA recovers from her Aneurysm fully.

I am hearing...Abigail and Samuel eating their breakfast and chatting...

Around the house......rooms are being painted....the new electric pole will be put in soon at the rear of our property...that will make a HUGE difference to us!!! The dog run has been moved and the dogs have an inside run now for the winter with access to an outside run and its right next door to Charlie so she will have company all Winter.

One of my favorite things...my geocaching app on my iphone.

A few plans for the weekend: We don't really have plans this weekend because the last few weekends have been FULL of plans (that did or didn't happen but still, they were kind of crazy busy or we didn't see each other or whatever). So this weekend we agreed not to make plans that would keep us apart. Depending on the weather we may do our Fall family walk - or we may head up to Smoky Lake. We may just stay home and relax - or head to West Ed. Or bowling!! No idea!!! But we are doing family things!! Together!!

Next stop - Greys Anatomy!!!!

Abigail and Sam are practicing for roles on Greys Anatomy.....or future jobs as surgeons at least ;) We bought this game of Operation this week - it was one of my favourites as a child and so we snapped it up when we saw it - but BOY has it changed since I owned it!!! You no longer get the cards with it - it talks instead and tells you what to fish out next!!! So weird!!! Why do they change things????

Learning the recorder....

Susannah has been teaching Abigail to play the recorder. Abigail can now play 'Ode To Joy', 'Hot Cross Buns' and a couple of other tunes ......

I love that Abigail is enjoying this new skill - I just wish it wasn't quite so OFTEN!!!!! I know they say practice makes perfect but STILL!!!! ;)

Walk to Remember...

www.globaltvedmonton.com/video/index.html?releasePID=g3CZ7YcMx_gXpb50HRglMiaekcJKukS6

Tomorrow is the second annual 'Walk to Remember'. A walk for families who have lost a baby through miscarriage, stillbirth or sudden infant death syndrome. You can hear more about this walk at the above link or read about it on the website below. I have several friends attending the walk and will be hoping the sun shines down for them!!!

www.walktoremember.ca/

If you or someone you love has been affected by baby loss, and are in the Sherwood Park or Edmonton area, you may find the following website useful:

www.members.shaw.ca/heartsbabyloss/