Happy Tuesday.  We had a nice, quiet weekend with the usual running around, church, etc.  Monday we got back into our groove with some school work, reading, etc.  Today the kids and dogs have had spring fever. It's supposed to rain the next couple of days so we got our work done as quickly as possible and then stayed outdoors a lot to enjoy the sunshine and 69 degree weather. 


That's it for now. I've been running around fixing dinner, cleaning up, etc. (Wes and Tom left for a basketball game so I pitched in to help Wes with the dishes since it's his night).  Now I'm looking forward to some well-deserved down time.


Saturday's workout:  Ellen Barrett Burn and Firm Pilates (mostly standing pilates work with light weights); 1 mile dog walk


Monday's workout:  10 Minute Solution Ultimate Boot Camp, Lower Body; Ellen Barrett Self Bikini Ready Fast (awful name but great weight and pilates abs workout); 1 mile dog walk


Today's workout:  10 Minute Solution Belly, Butt and Thigh Blasters, Lower Body Makeover (lower body cardio with a band); Mel Be Totally Fit:  Warmup, Cardio, and Yoga Stretch.

Today was homeschool co-op day.  I tend to get up early and do about 30 minutes of exercise so I can go have coffee and study while the kids get ready for c-op and then I come home and we do final prep and leave.  Well, lo and behold, Wes was up and showered and ready to leave by 7:20.  He's so not a morning person and finally admitted he wanted to go with me~he was sure he'd get something good out of it, lol.  He did.  I went to Panera Bread with him for coffee and had a free espresso drink on my rewards card that he used for a hot chocolate.  It was nice to have him with me.


At co-op things always go by so quickly but I'm just glad to hang out with the other moms and have the kids see friends and learn something.  My favorite class right now is the teen book club as we have great snacks while discussing The Hobbit.  Today one of the snacks was homemade bread~the wheat had even been freshly ground.  Yummmmmm.....


This afternoon I took advantage of the sunshine to walk Tucker and then came home to fix the Friday night special:  pizza and salad.  We had Canadian Bacon pizza, Bacon Cheeseburger pizza, and Pepperoni and Sausage pizza.  


It's not supposed to rain AT ALL this weekend so I'm looking forward to the mid 50 temps, walking the dog, and catching up on some things I've put off (going through some things to discard,etc.).  I pray your weekend is filled with blessings.


Today's workout:  The Firm Wave, Rock Solid Cardio; 1 mile dog walk

Rainy day here but we've had fun in the McElroy house.  Here's a quick "list" of some things that have gone on today.


1.  Wes and I took Penny to the groomer to get her claws clipped.  Yes, she kvetched a lot and yes, it's the best $5 I've ever spent not to deal with the old gal, lol.


2.  Wes spent the day doing some writing and a lot of grammar, plus Astronomy.  Maddie worked on Life Science and pre-Algebra and Ty on grammar and math.


3.  It was big chore day so the kids did their dusting and bathroom cleaning.


4.  I ran an errand to pick up the dogs flea meds (since it's been 50-65 this January they definitely need it) and get some groceries at Walmart.


5. Maddie and Tyler walked Tucker in between rain showers.


6.  All three kids got a remote controlled motorcycle out and spent half an hour TORMENTING Tucker with it, lol. He ran around chasing it and barking at it~hilarious.


7.  Maddie, Wes, and I spent a lot of time doing laundry. Great rainy day project, right?


That's all the excitement you can probably stand to read about, LOL.  But all those little things add up to a life lived in the Presence of God that is more meaningful than all of the "big" events.  


Oh, and I wanted to share a bit of my philosophy of education here.  I wrote it quickly into an email to another homeschooling mom and decided to save it.

Totally agree with you that it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that the world's goals are correct and their method of education is correct.  I actually disagree with both.  I want my children to know God and to make him known to others.  I want them to be able to communicate well, so they can share that love.  I want them to understand history and see how it's HIS story.  I want them to be able to understand the whys of mathematics and pursue them to the point they need to so they can fulfill whatever ministry or career God places in their hearts.  I want them to see how the world works because knowledge of scientific principles reveals the Creator and they can use that with others as well. All these goals have to drive our education of our children but it's hard because it's so counter-cultural.  

It's so easy to fall into the trap of letting everyone else DO our parenting.  Schools say to memorize, do things way to early, be "tolerant", etc.  That's why friendships like ours are so important~to remind us to follow the one who saved us, gave his life for us, and knows what makes our children tick. After all, He made them and is crazy about them!!

My philosophy doesn't have to be yours~it shouldn't be.  But I encourage you to think about what's important to you and take the steps to make the life and education of your child YOURS.  And above all, enjoy the process.  That's where the memories are made.

Today's workout:  Erin O'Brien's Kristi Yamaguchi Power Workout. 

Tom wanted to visit some shut ins so he took Maddie and Tyler to piano.  It was lovely having the day off!  Wes and I went to McDonald's and had some tea/soda together and then I walked Tucker. It was sunny and 67, unbelievably nice.


Other than that, we spent most of the day doing some good sweeping as Tucker and Penny seem to be shedding more~must be the warm January weather, lol~and then did mostly Science work today.  


Today's workout:  Lower impact cardio day.  Kimberly Spreen's Cardio Camp and Fast Cheetah workouts.

During our first co-op last Friday, Tyler had his Astronomy class. They made Martian rovers out of graham crackers, cake icing, cookies, and candy. Here was Tyler ready to eat his.  I was glad I didn't have to supervise those kids hyped on sugar the rest of the day!  My next two classes were with Wes and Maddie's group. They are taking a cool art class and a book club where they read and discuss The Hobbit, complete with snacks appropriate to the chapters.


The weekend was nice but then Monday and today were busy.  Yesterday Tom and I had an hour and a half meeting in conjunction with the All Things New course he took in the fall~the one he did all the work for.  I was nervous for sure!  We left for Atlanta in the pouring rain/storms and the kids and I did Bible Study on the way down and read from various Astronomy mags and History mags and discussed things. (Thanks a TON for the History magazines, Dad, they came in handy!).  It was a sneaky and fun way to get school in.  After a nice lunch (roast beef and veggies, yum) at my inlaws home Tom and I took off. The kids spent the afternoon playing cards with Big Daddy (what they call my FIL) and Tom and I were grilled with tough questions.  But the Lord was there and it was actually fun.  One of the pastors interviewing us told Tom he had a strong advocate in me and I'm praising the Lord for helping me to get that across to them.


We got on I-75 after a quick stop at our denominational bookstore only to find out that a oil tanker had overturned on the road and blocked several lanes.  We made a detour and came home a round about way via I-20 and Villa Rica.  I'm amazed that Atlantans can deal with that traffic all the time.  We flew in and Tom went to a meeting at church while I got Wes to Scouts and stopped by Sam's Club.  I was one happy woman when I got home last night!!


Wes had an ortho appointment today at 10 am so I was looking forward to getting up and getting going but was pondering how to get a workout in since I skipped yesterday.  Well, I woke up at 5:20 and couldn't get back to sleep so got up at 6 and exercised.  By now I'm a very tired puppy so staying up to see the Kentucky-Georgia basketball game isn't looking good.


The kids spent the day on science, grammar and writing.  One of the kids took Wes' last Bingle (a red velvet type Twinkie that he loves) and no one confessed so he wrote an Ode to My Missing Bingle and it was HYSTERICAL.  


Oh and it also looks like Wes might be getting his braces off in April~stay tuned for details.


Friday's workout:  Denise Austin Quick Burn Cardio Cardio and Weights; Dog Walk


Saturday's workout:  Ellen Barrett Fat Burning Pilates; Dog Walk


Sunday~Rest Day(dog walk around the block)


Monday~Another Rest Day


Today~Keeping Fit Strength; Dog Walk


What I'm reading;  The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne(you can get TONS of classics free for the Kindle); A.W. Tozer's The Pursuit of God (wanna be challenged to take your faith to another level?  Read Tozer~it's free for the Kindle an will cause you to examine your inner life!)

Mommy time, Mommy time!  Tonight I get some Mommy time.  It's the smallest things that make me happy.  Tonight Tom, Wes, and Tyler have passes to go see the Shorter Hawks Men's Basketball team play.  They are super excited.  Shorter is ranked number 1 in the NAIA polls and are undefeated. They're playing the team ranked number 4. And we're blessed to have a church member who works in the Athletic Department.


I am not going because Maddie is babysitting for her favorite two girls and boy down the street and I always stick close by in case of a problem. Well, she's babysitting for the Shorter Coach and his wife, lol. They are fabulous, wonderful Christian people and we're blessed to know them.  Maddie just hopes all the success he's had with the Shorter program doesn't mean some bigger school snags him and takes her babysitting gig with sweet children away!!


Today we spent time on Astronomy, particularly Mars.  Ty's studying it for his Astronomy co-op class tomorrow and the older two always sit in. They add a lot to the discussion (particularly Wes, who is into Astronomy big time) and they learn from it as well.  We finished up the school work we wanted to get done this week and did our big day of cleaning (bathrooms, mopping, dusting, etc).  It feels good to be facing the weekend with all of that done. 


I also have dinner in the crock pot~two crock pots, lol. Where would I be without them?  Thank you Lord for the simple things in life~like my crock pot that freed me up to walk for a mile with Tucker.


Today's workout:  HIIT/Interval day.  I did two 20 minute Firm Express workouts.  I also indulged in 5 minutes of yoga, concentrating on the neck and shoulders.  And, of course, the walk with the Tucker Man. ;)

Wednesday, Wednesday. Busy day as usual. I also had a UMW dinner last night so didn't get a chance to write then.


This week Wes is trying a different routine. He spent the day Tuesday on Astronomy research, reading and writing. Today he spent the day doing the same with Biology and Spelling/Grammar. Tomorrow he's going to work all day on Algebra.  I like that the kids can decide on things like that.  If you get on a roll why do you have to stop after a pre-set time and go to a new subject?  Anyway, he said it made the day go by quickly and was a nice change of pace.


Maddie, my girl I thought would never memorize her multiplication tables, is LOVING pre-Algebra this year.  Who knew all I had to do was throw in a few "x" and "y" variables to make math fun, lol?


And Tyler has not had much interest in math either.  I've avoided using Saxon math with him because of all the repetition and drill. The other two HATED it. Well, we found a book at a Thrift store and since I don't have other kids who would use the text behind him I just let him do the problems right in the hardback text.  Lo and behold, he LOVES it.


Which is one of the reasons I homeschool:  flexibility to use what works with each child.  And the joy of seeing their faces when the "get" it.


Yesterday's workout:  The Firm Time Crunch Cardio, 2 sections (40 minutes):  Fat Burning Blasts (4 Limb cardio with higher impact bursts throughout); and a Cardio Dance Segment; 5 minutes of yoga; quick 5 minute walk with Tucker in between rain showers.


Today's workout: Firm Hard Core Fusion (60 minute weight and cardio intervals); longer walk with Tucker.