Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Some stuff

It's storming and for the third night in a row, I am tired but I cannot fall asleep. Tired but Wired! Kevin and Ethan are in the garage trying to replace the alternator/er (whatever) in his 94 Nissan Altima. It died in the driveway a couple of weeks ago and it was the battery. It died at our post office this afternoon and now it's the alternator. Cars suck a little bit. They are great when they work though! We need this car to last us a little longer, so hopefully it will! Judging by the odd noise in the garage, I'm not so sure. I don't think it's going well!!

Abby had tumbling today and she did awesome. I think her coach would like to backhand her though. Abby is difficult sometimes. I love her, but I can tell her coach doesn't know what to think. Most of you have heard me talk about how she has some struggles with focusing and the like (no idea where it comes from). We will probably eventually maybe have to have her evaluated. I recently had read a study on kids with ADHD and fish oil. It basically said that in a trial of confirmed ADHD children, they were all severely lacking in DHA or omegas. After several months of being on fish oil supplements, more than 50% had seen amazing improvement in behavior, attention and restlessness. Sold. We went out and bought some fish oil caps for kids! I don't want to even say it, but it's been about three weeks and I am really starting to see improvement in Abby. She isn't as impulsive or obsessive as she was and she has been listening so so so much better. It's definately worth continuing!!

Ethan decided last week that he was super over having long hair. So off to get his hair cut we went!! He looks so much younger with it short!! We spent this past weekend in our home town celebrating my aunt and two uncles turning 60. The weather was gorgeous and we had a great time. My kids got to sit on grampa's new motorcycle and Ethan even got to go for a little ride. He was super excited! Here is the picture of all three of them on it...check out Ethan's new do!!

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Olivia is pretty much hilarious all the time. She is talking so well and has such a funny little sense of humor. Her new favorite thing in the whole world is ketchup. She wants it on mostly everything and we have to calmly explain that ketchup doesn't go on cereal. To which she replies, "I need ketchup." ;) I HAD to take a picture of her after lunch the other day. It's all over her face and hands, but none on the white dress!! Score!!

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And we have also started flooring upstairs. The hallway is done and I think we're moving on to Abby's room this weekend. We're having to put new plywood subfloor down because the subfloor under the carpet was pressed particle board. Not good for peel and stick flooring. Even with having to put the plywood down, it's still cheaper than any other flooring we could buy and it's much easier than the downstairs was! Here are a couple of pictures...

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Nice, huh?? Well, I think this concludes my random post for the evening. Kevin and Ethan have successfully replaced the alternator and all seems well with that for now. I am off to bed and hopefully sleep!! Until next time!!

Friday, July 25, 2008

Wollersheim Winery

This is the second time we've been to Wollersheim Winery in Prairie du Sac, WI. It is such a beautiful place and we couldn't have had a better day to enjoy the scenery!! We met my parents there and took them on the tour and tasting. The kids love to tour the old building, fermenting room and cellars. They even get to eat crackers and drink grape juice while the adults taste the wine!!

Wollersheim is one of the cooler wineries I've been to. Not just because of how gorgeous it is and how good the wine tastes, but because of the rich history the vineyard has. I encourage anyone who has an appreciation for wine to visit and take the tour!! Kevin and I love the Prairie Blush. It's a sweet and fruity pink wine and has won several gold medal awards.

Here is a small slideshow of our afternoon there!!!



Be sure to visit their website for more information!!!!

http://www.wollersheim.com

Kevin and I also have a batch of our own wine in the works here at home. We're fairly new to home wine making, but so far it's a lot of fun!!! There are lots of good books that have helped us with this new hobby. There is also a great store not far from us with all the supplies we need! We're working on a summer strawberry blush.

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We had a hard time getting it to ferment at first, but now things are moving along nicely. With in the next couple of weeks (hopefully), we'll be ready to bottle it!! If it's good, we promise to share!!!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Molly's Music for the Week - July 25th

Wow, July 25th. What's up with that madness??? Here's how *I* know summer is winding down - 1) I can hear locusts, that was always something that screamed 'back to school' for me when I was a kid. We would have so much fun finding their shells on the trees by our house. Those were the days! 2) School stuff. Everywhere. School supplies, school clothes, school commercials. 3) The fair!!! My home town hosts the county fair every summer and school starts the week after. I am a carny at heart. I have rarely missed the fair! Corn dogs, lemonade shake ups, Paul's Crazy Ball and the bumper cars. It doesn't get any more summer than that, people!!!

Certain cds also make me think of summer. My music pick for this week is two bands. Well, actually one if you count the lead singer being in both of them. The Postal Service AND Death Cab for Cutie. But let's just start with The Postal Service for this week because I want to. Wiki says, "The Postal Service is an American electronic indie pop band composed of vocalist Ben Gibbard (of Death Cab for Cutie) and producer Jimmy Tamborello." I just say they are awesome.

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The band's name was chosen because of the way they produced its songs. Tamborello wrote and performed instrumental tracks and then sent them to Gibbard, who edited the songs and them back to Tamborello via the United States Postal Service. The actual for real United States Postal Service even got pissed and sent the band a cease and desist (I always thought it was cease and assist...whoops I'm dumb) letter saying that they had the trademark on the postal service part. After some negotiations, the real USPS "gave up" (ha ha, get it??) and let the band use the name in exchange for them doing some promotions and even a concert! Supposedly, the USPS website even sells their cds?? I'm not sure if this is really true, but now I have to check it out!!!

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Their debut album 'Give Up' was released in 2003. If you are also a fan of female singer Rilo Kiley, you will recognize her beautiful voice in a lot of the tracks. 'Such Great Heights' is the most well known song. Even if you've never heard of The Postal Service, you know you've heard this song. Grey's Anatomy plays it on the show all the time. And even an M&M candy commercial sported the song, done over in a way slower way. And it's also in a UPS commercial. And the Garden State movie. Supposedly, plans are in the works for another Postal Service album. Wouldn't that be awesome??? I think it would. So here's some awesome songs from 'Give Up.'

'Such Great Heights'


'The District Sleeps Alone Tonight'


'Clark Gable'


'We Will Become Silhouettes'


'Brand New Colony'


'Natural Anthem'


Wow, I had a hard time NOT including all of the songs on the entire album!!! It's so amazing. Get it. You will love it. Next week, we'll be all over 'Death Cab for Cutie' which is the same singer from 'The Postal Service' only different band members. The sound is a little bit different and a little bit the same. But equally as wonderful!!!!!

It's Getting Close!

I cannot believe it's almost August! I say it every year, but the summer has flown by and once again it's time to start thinking back to school! We're using sonlight again for our curriculum because we loved it so much last year. Thanks to my good friend Jenn who let me borrow her Core 1 program, I was able to cut back on a lot of the costs! Here's a list of what books I will be ordering next week - it's just a peek into the life of a homeschooler!!

Core 1 (already have from Jenn - these are all read alouds)

-Core 1 Instuctors Guide
-Archaeologists Dig For Clues
-From Abeku to Zapotec
-George Muller
-The Great Wall of China
-Missionary Stories with the Millers
-Time Line Figures-1
-Tut's Mummy Lost and Found
-The Usborne Time Traveler
-Peoples of the World
-Charlotte's Web
-Detectives In Togas
-Favorite Poems of Childhood
-Greek Myths for Young Children
-Henry Huggins
-Homer Price
-Little Pear
-Moutain Born
-Mr. Popper's Penguins
-Understood Betsy
-The Year of Miss Agnes
-Usborne World History
-Child's History of the World

Science Core 1 (borrowed from Jenn)

-Science 1 Instructors Guide
-Discover and Do Level 1 DVD for science projects
-The Magic School Bus at the Water Works
-What Makes You Ill?
-What's Inside You?
-Why Do People Eat?
-Science Activities, Volume 1
-First Encyclopedia of Animals (borrowed from Kerry)
-First Guide to the Universe
-Starting Point Science

Still Have to Order.....


Read Alouds

-Peoples of the World
-Follow My Leader
-The Greek News
-Gooney Bird Green
-Mrs. Piggle Wiggle
-The Wheel on the School
-Pasteur's Fight Against Microbes

Horizons Math Programs

-Math K - two workbooks and the instructors guide (Abby)
-Math 3 - two workbooks and the instructors guide (Ethan)

Handwriting Without Tears Programs

-My Printing Book & Teacher's Guide (Abby)
-Printing Power & Teacher's Guide (Ethan)

Other Workbooks

-Explode the Code 4.5.6 - phonics workbooks for Ethan
-Explode the Code 1,2,3 - phonics workbooks for Abby (already have these)
-Wordly Wise A - vocabulary lessons for Ethan
-The Complete Book of Starter Spanish PreK (Abby)
-The Complete Book of Spanish grades 1-3 (Ethan)
-Social Studies grade K & grade 3

Grade 1 Readers for Abby (we already have these)

-Readers 1 Schedule
-The Best Trick
-A Big Ball of String
-The Bravest Dog Ever
-The Cat In the Hat
-A Fly Went By
-Green Eggs and Ham
-I Can Read It - books 1-4
-Little Bear
-One Fish, Two Fish
-Put Me In the Zoo

Grade 2 Int Readers for Ethan

-Readers 2 Int Schedule
-The Chalk Box Kid
-Clara and the Bookwagon
-Cora Frear
-The House on Walenska Street
-Jake Drake Bully Buster
-Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie
-The Last Little Cat
-The Long Way to a New Land
-The Long Way Westward
-The Paint Brush Kid
-Prairie School
-A Question of Yams
-Riding the Pony Express
-The Secret Valley
-Third Grade Detectives #1 and #2
-Third Grade Detectives #4
-Third Grade Detectives #10
-Tippy Lemmey
-Tornado
-Viking Adventure

And finally.........

Leading Little Ones to God - our bible for the year!!


It sounds like a lot and I feel a little overwhelmed, but not as much as last year. I have one year under my belt, so I think this year I will feel a lot more comfortable with the schedule!! We usually start out with what we homeschoolers label "table time." The kids do their workbooks in the morning after breakfast. We break for a snack and they finish up after. They get some free time until lunch and then Olivia goes down for her nap. Then we get started with the read alouds - there are usually a couple. Then the kids do the reading out loud to me and whatever assignment they have to go with that for the day. Then we do the science read aloud and answer the worksheets questions or do the experiment. There's always a cool hands on experiment on Fridays. Then we do more free time!!! On Weds, there will be the group gym class - on Thurs, we usually do our art program from Usborne - on Fri, we'll be writing in our journals.....

So even though the summer has flown by, I am anxious to get back on schedule. The kids are getting there too. We have been doing lots of reading this summer and a few workbook lessons here and there, but nothing too major. And throughout the year, myself and the other homeschool moms have monthly meetings to plan group projects and field trips. Our first group project for August will be based on the Olympic Games!!! Very exciting!

Anyways, that's a little peak into what goes into homeschooling as far as what books are involved!! Hope I didn't bore you to tears!!! We're off to Walmart for some school supplies this afternoon - crayons, paper, binders, rulers, etc. I am hoping to be a bit more organized with the school room this year. My mom is laughing as she's reading this because she knows I am NOT organized. I will post pictures of the room and all of our little 'stations' once I get that tackled!!!! So stay tuned for more school talk!!!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Molly's Music for the Week - July 18th

Switching gears on ya again!! But that's what I do, so you're not suprised. I just got back from our very new and very fabulous Whole Foods AGAIN. I was just there last night with my girls Amanda and Shelly. The best thing about the whole entire store?? The gelato bar!!!!!!! I brought home a pint. Naughty.

So anyways, this week we're going a little bit pop. Jimmy Eat World. Everyone knows who they are, but I still had to blog about them because I love them so much. My kids love them too!!! They've been around awhile and just get better and better. So why the name?? Jim Adkins and drummer Zach Lind (both from Mesa, AZ) grew up together. Friends since Kindergarten, they decided to start a band. The name came from a crayon drawing made by a younger brother of the guitarist. The drawing was of Jimmy shoving the earth into his mouth and had the title 'Jimmy Eat World.' Cool band name I think!

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The first album wasn't a huge success and after being dropped by their label, the band decided to record their next album without one. They all took day jobs in order to save as much as they could for recording sessions. The finished album was called 'Bleed American.'

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After a label bidding war, the band signed with Dreamworks and released the album in July of 2001 in the UK. They reissued the album under the name 'Jimmy Eat World' due to the 911 attacks, fearing the title Bleed American might be misinterpreted. 'The Middle' (as you'll all remember) was a HUGE hit single and played to death!!! Here are a few really great songs from this album.....

The Middle.....


Hear You Me.... beautiful song about losing a loved one


If You Don't, Don't


'Chase This Light' was just released in fall 2007 with the song 'Big Casino' as the single hit. The whole album is so great. I bought it for Kevin's 30th birthday back in February and it's still playing all the time.

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It's so hard to pick favorites from this album because all the songs are just so good!!! We listen to this constantly. But here are a few!!!

Big Casino...


Let It Happen - my kids sing this at the top of their lungs, word for word!!!


Dizzy - song about breaking up!! Best break up song ever!!


And here is my favorite one.... Here It Goes!!


All in all, they're just a great band with a great sound!

Monday, July 14, 2008

Dance!!

If you've been keeping up with Fox's 'So You Think You Can Dance', I'm sure you have your favorites by now!! There have been a few dancers I have not been sad to see get voted off. Not to say that they weren't incredibly talented, but they were just lacking in that certain something. In the past couple of weeks, there has been some amazing choreography. Sometimes I get super irritated if the dance has too much of a theme or 'story.' Come on, just pick some cool music and make it look good! I get that dance tells a story, but sometimes I think this is focused on a little too much. You might disagree.

With that said, there is one that I absolutely loved. It was very themed, but with this one I didn't care. It was to that newly overplayed song 'Bleeding Love.' Seriously, if you listen to the radio that song is on every five minutes at least! It's good, but seriously. Chelsie and Mark (who I really like) danced together to this song - I believe it was Mandy Moore (the choreographer not the singer) that did this one, but don't quote me on it. Basically the story is two people who love each other, but the dude is a work-a-holic. So true for lots of people in this day and age. We have to work so hard to make a living that the people we're working so hard for often feel resentful. Check it...



I loved that one. Another dance I loved was something completely new to me! Bollywood! It's a HUGELY popular Indian cultural dance type. Joshua and Katee performed this and I just thought it was so amazing to watch. The costumes were gorgeous and they did a GREAT job!!!



And Nigel doesn't think Courtney and Gev are the best dancers, but I think they are awesome! Pretty much every dance they've had to do they have nailed. They have nice chemistry and they're fun to watch! That's what it's all about!!!



If you're not watching the show, you're missing out! Wednesday and Thursday nights on Fox!!!!

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Molly's Music for the Week, July 4th

Wow, it's been awhile since I posted! We had a really great week last week with KEvin being off. We went up to Madison to visit Matt & Tricia and I have to make time to post pictures of that once I get a minute. It's been nonstop around here!! I still need to post the blog from Ethan's birthday and I have one in the works for our ten year anniversary too, but there is too much to post and not enought time!! I will work it in soon enough, I promise.

For this week (or should I say last week) is going to be boys again. We had a couple of great ladies the past couple of weeks, but now I think I have to work some Aqualung in here. Actually, Aqualung isn't a band - it's just a guy!

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Matt Hales IS Aqualung. He's best known for the song 'Strange and Beautiful' in the UK as it was used for a 2002 VW commercial. Here in the US, some of you might be more familiar with 'Brighter Than Sunshine' because of it's use in the film 'A lot Like Love.' I think it's been on tv shows quite a bit as well. Matt grew up in a city on the southern coast of England. At the age of 16, he was awarded a scholarship to study music at Winchester and by the ripe age of 17 he had composed his first symphony. Pretty intense right??

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He got involved in a couple of bands, but none of them stayed together for very long. 'Strange and Beautiful' was released in the US and several of the songs have been on popular tv shows. In mid 2007, the track 'Left Behind' was featured on a chrysler commercial gaining them even more popularity. But one of my favorite songs called 'Something to Believe In' was played on the pilot of a great tv show called 'Eli Stone.' Seriously, if you haven't seen that show it's pretty good!!!

The album 'Memory Man' is the newest one and is constantly in my cd player. Not ALL of the songs are as good as some, but it's still one of my faves.

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Here are a few good songs from Aqualung.....

Strange and Beautiful...


Cinderella....


Pressure Suit....


Something To Believe In - SUCH amazing lyrics... just talks about how we all are searching for something to believe in and totally going after the wrong thing to make us happy. It really spoke to me.


Easier to Lie...


Outside...another fave of mine!! Really crappy live video, but it's such a great song I had to add it anyways!!!


I hope you've enjoyed my latest pick!! Hopefully I'll get back to blogging regularly now that things are slowing down a little!!!

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Staycation Day 2

So today could have been better. You'll have to forgive any typing errors....due to the fact that I have had little to eat and a couple of glasses of sangria. I am trying to numb the pain of my stupid tooth. AGAIN. I had to go back this afternoon for what I thought would be a means to an end, but alas it was not. They had to remove the temp filling and reclean everything again. Only this time the novacaine didn't take so well and I felt a lot of stuff. Stuff as in pain. What the novacaine DID do was make my jaw lock up so I couldn't even open my mouth for awhile. Insert panic attack here. NOT COOL!!!! Just when things were starting to feel better!

So they cleaned everything up again and tell me it's off to my regular dentist to have the actual crown put back on. Hoo-flipping-ray. Can't wait. THEN, I got out and the receptionist hands me a piece of paper with another bill. Evidently my insurance won't pay because this dude that MY dentist referred me to isn't in my network. Let's just say, I could have a really nice plasma tv right now. But instead I have this tooth!!! Sick, right??? So somebody messed up and I have to figure out who and how to make them fix it.

So here are the pictures of what went on today that was F-U-N while I was in the seventh layer of H-E-L-L.....Kevin took the kiddos to the park with the water sprinkler here in our neighborhood. Another slideshow for your viewing pleasure....

About Blogging Molly

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I am a mom to three great kids - Ethan is 12, Abby is 9 and Lulu (Olivia) is 5. I've been married to my highschool sweetheart for almost fourteen years. I love to paint, renovate and live for anything DIY. I love music and I love to bake. I also teach dance at a local studio. Thanks for stopping by my blog!!!

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