here they are.....

A picture of the boys at the Acupuncture Open House. They had Martial Arts demo, art display, tribal instruments from different countries, food, needles, message, and more.

Ki got Ear Points and a massage. I just got a massage.

The boys sent me their intended class plans for school. for a few months. We'll try it till our winter break and see if adjustments need to be made. Unless of course it REALLY doesn't work and we need to adjust sooner. I am hoping they will self adjust. Ki is usually good at self-adjusting.

Connor's List:

3600 seconds of math statistics and probability a day
- www.khanacedemy.com
- TopShelf Statitstics (Book *click here to see)

- Possibly, Standard Deviants supplement and brushing up on Alg if needed

read "Lord of the Rings" before next year

1 chapter of science a week (*until finished with the Chemistry Course, but I think it takes 2 weeks to do a good job on a chapter. I'll let him try 1 a week and see how long it takes to change his mind.)

learn Japanese for 2700 seconds a day - with Gavin. (program TBA)

Computer Illustration class at Allan Hancock College 8 hours a week(inc lab)

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GAVIN'S LIST:

2 chapters 3rd edition calculus and analytical...geometry (Brian's College Book)
*Supplemented with the following if needed:
-google
-khan
-dad
-Standard Deviants, other online or library sources as/if needed

30 minutes Japanese a day
-unless it has chapters on the program.
-May use flash cards and google

*We have not chosen our program yet. and I will suggest 45 minutes, but 30 may work. He'll be working with Connor.

Drawing livestream it from about 6 to 10+ pm Tuesday Wednesday and maybe Friday
(*he needs to show me he can have his morning work done by 9Am without reminders and with getting up on his own before I will permit computer drawing until 10PM)

Read one book of "LOTR" by end of Sept

Computer illustration at AHC

(he will be finishing up Chemistry, too)

___________________________________

KI'S List of "EVIL SCHOOL"- as he put it

-math 1 Khan video and 30 min of work a day *(I will ask him to follow a course, in order)

-read 3 pages a day in LOTR

-get to 3 pull up in a row (*he also makes sure he rides his bike a few times a week)

-register for acting class at Pismo- * not sure what the dates/times will be for that.

-you were going to give me science. *He will be doing Apologia General Science CD-Rom. I will have him look up extra experiments (that are more fun that theirs- which are boring) and videos.

*And I have him cook a couple meals a week as part of his school- since he wants to be a chef. but he usually asks to, so it's not really like making him.

College Classes start on Aug 23 (for G&C). I suggested C watch some Pre-Cal vids on Khan before he starts in his book (Sept 6)

Ki likes to ease into school, so I will leave that up to him. I will tell him he needs ti figure out what he needs to do to ease into school, becuase we will be starting 'full day' on Sept 6. he is good at making his own plans for stuff like that.

Let's give a hand to the Deviants!

The boys froze water.

in balloons.

and latex gloves.

For the purpose of THROWING them and watching them shatter.(and drinking the not-yet-frozen-water out of them)
They watched the water bubbles move inside them and looked the air bubbles inside, too

I have some Chemistry DVDs from Netflix. They are the Standard Deviants ones. I have the boys watching them this week, as kind of an overview before we get back into the DVD course. I was watching them watch them and listening to Gavin who is re-explaining pretty much everything, with more detail and more examples. So, I wonder why I even bother teaching him. This is how it has been his whole life. He always seems to already know what I get ready to teach him. I think he should be my co-teacher for this course. (we are using Apologia High School Chemistry DVD Course)
I just need a place to list all my planned experiments all together. to make it easy for me to gather everything we need. These are pretty much the NON-DVD Experiments (demonstrations). just for me to remember.
Make Black Snakes (fireworks):http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryhowtoguide/a/blacksnakes.htm

Magnetic breakfast Cereal Sulfur & Iron mix
Vinegar & Egg thing

NI3 explosion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt9xCq0Dq9ohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L436Rx42jXg

Burning Money (combustion) http://chemistry.about.com/od/demonstrationsexperiments/ss/burnmoney.htm
Jam Jar Pulse Jet Engine: (just because it's fun)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AePLpM5SnqE&feature=related
Experiments/Demos downloaded from: http://www.nclark.net/ChemicalReactions
Burn Ice Cubes: http://chemistry.about.com/od/funfireprojects/a/iceonfire.htmMake Hot Ice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC-KOYQsIvU
Simple Colored Flames: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nfii6r-ul-cMore Chemicals to use: http://chemistry.about.com/od/analyticalchemistry/a/flametest.htm
I need to find someone to go in with for buying these chemicals!!
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Truth Is....

My Imaginary Friend, Julianna, over at SURVIVING BOYS does this entry sometimes.Truth Is... Thursday
So, I thought I would do my own. But you should really go read hers.
after you read mine, of course
TRUTH IS.....I like that my boys make smoke bombs in the morning.
TRUTH IS....as much as I love that Ki and Connor are enjoying theater and Ki has found a niche; I will be glad when this play is over.
TRUTH IS...I secretly hope to stay in California and not go back to Ohio.
TRUTH IS...that last one isn't a secret. I think everyone knows it by now.
TRUTH IS...I love playing games and was so glad to interrupt school today because my LOONEY LAB GAMES order arrived in the mail today!! I could play games all day every day.
TRUTH IS...aside from family, gaming is the only plus I see going back to Ohio. And new friends. But gaming is really up there on the list.
TRUTH IS...As much as I love homeschooling/unschooling, I'm slightly nervous about college. Hoping I did a good enough job teaching them how to learn.
TRUTH IS...I am really bad at this 'truth is' game.


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Ninjas, Urine, and Smoke Bombs!

(reposting for TEACH ME TUESDAY)
But the day had a yummy start!French Toast (with a touch of vanilla) made using thick slices of Cinnamon Swirl bread!I am avoiding milk right now, so I just had a slice of Cinnamon Swirl Bread and tea.
I sent the boys a link for Chemistry Class:


And had them look at some online coverage of the big earthquake in Japan.(CLICK HERE for News on the Quake)
I have found that I can assign the boys t read up on current news,then they can tell me about it. It seems to kill multiple birds with 1 stone.wow, that sounds bad. poor birds.[1] reading current news is good for the boys[2] having to tell it back to someone is a good practice. (it can be work for them to get the facts straight when retelling stuff sometimes)[3] I get to know about current events w/o having to take the time away from my Netflix or Online Mahjong... Umm, I Mean...HOUSEWORK.. to read it myself.I will call this a Lazy Mom tip.

At the end of Yesterday Gavin announced "It was a good and bad day today. Bad because I didn't really do anything. And good because it's nice to have a day of doing nothing sometimes. And it's good to know I will be doing things the next day."
~or something like that~
So I decided I should plan "things to do" for today (the next day)
I planned a Creative Writing Hour (or however long it ended up being).I got out the Mad Scientist University game and the Nanofictionary game.NanoFictionary is a crd game of story telling. The Main Card Types are [1]Problem ("a food explosion")[2] Setting ("in an underwater submarine")[3] Characters ("the sentient broccoli" or maybe "The Incognito Starship Captain"[4]Resolution (They spent 6 weeks in the Hospital")
ABOVE: problem: Interdimensional porthole is closing /Character: Pizza Delivery Guy
ABOVE: Setting - Up In The SkyResolution- Duct Tape Saved the Day Again!
The Mad Scientist University game is similar to the above, but also like Apples to Apples.This game as 2 decks of cards. (like ApplesToApples)A small deck with cards that tell what to do with the cards from the larger deck.On Your Turn, YOU are the Mad Scientist Teacher at MSU. You hand out Unstable Element Cards to your students. Then You flip a card from the "INSANE ASSIGNMENTS". They red thee assignment and have too use their Unstable Element to accomplish the assignment. On each Students turn, they tell a story of how they used their element to to the assignment.
[ABOVE- "Write Your Name on the Moon..use "Rubber Chickens"]
BUT for Creative Writing, I just had the cards on the table for them to use how ever many they wanted and they could combine decks- to give them ideas for their stories. OR if they had an idea in their head they didn't have to use cards. The cards were there as tools to help them if they needed them. They could hand-pick cards or chose random cards. Didn't matter to me.
I told them they had 5 minutes to read over their cards/gather ideas. Then they were to write.While I went to the grocery store. I wanted 1 page from each boy. G&C decided to write a Cooperative Story. They each took turns writing a sentence or 2 of the story. They enjoyed writing their story together! They Wrote out a Ninja Assassin and Scurvy. ~and I bet if I ASSIGNED "Cooperative Writing", they'd NOT like it and complain.~


I had a few dice for if they got stuck . Like "Should I have my character to THIS or THAT?".."Should I should This Problem or That Problem?"- they could roll the dice to make their decision. Ki needs a little help with he has too many choices and doing what the Dice Say is easier than letting mom make the final decisions.

No One used the Dice. and C&G didn't even use cards.

{Lunch & Ninja Training}
AND FINALLY it was time for Chemistry!I had a lot planned for today.Ki didn't do all of it with us. He chose to do some of his 'busy seatwork worksheets' during some of the more advanced math parts of the chemistry lesson.
Basically, Ki just did the Experiment with us. He did a worksheet on Extinct Animals.
I started to teach today's Chemistry lesson to the boys, but the ore I talked, the more confused i became. I felt like I was speaking a completely alien language and could not tell if I was being understood- since I could not understand myself.So I set the laptop between Gavin and Connor and had them read it on their own and take notes.Then they got to the On Your Own questions.Gavin said; "And we will pretend to be scientist working in a lab. In a lab, co-workers work together on problems. You don't say to your co-worker; "No Cheating and Looking at my work!"- You share information to help each other.... unlike what they teach in schools."It was funny. . . I guess you had to be there.
Science Experiment Today: How does adding Sodium Bicarbonate to smoke bombs affect the speed of their burning?(Or, Does adding baking soda make smoke bombs burn more slowly?)
Gavin made 2 small batches of Smoke Bombs.Both made with the same amounts, except one had Sodium Bicarbonate added.The Website said to add Sodium Bicarbonate to help control the rate of burn.So we are testing how it affects the rate of burn.We used our knowledge we gained about what happens to Sodium Bicarbonate when heated.It turns into Sodium Carbonate and releases water & CO2.
So it would seem that when the Smoke Bomb burns, the baking soda releases H2O and CO2- that would really slow it down.
*******Test Results:The Smoke Bomb with the added Baking Soda burnt QUICKER. A LOT quicker!The Non-Baking Soda took 27:03 seconds to burn.The Baking Soda one took 6:92 seconds to burn.Gavin's only guess was that it may have something to do with the Baking Soda one not releasing smoke. But it was NOT the result our information had predicted.So there will be more tests and research.
(TO SEE FIRST DAY'S SMOKE BOMB PICS & VIDS: CLICK HERE)





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DOUBLE ENTRY!

Entry #1 food (#2 is school)Panera has done something that will totally ruin their business.
I LOVE Pecan Sweet Rolls. I don;t get them often, but talk about a very special treat!
I went into Panera for lunch today.
OH and there was this chick that looked EXACTLY like Angela on BONES!! Do you thing Angela from Bones lives in the California Central Coast area?
Oh.. Panera.. bad move.. sorry for the sidetrack (but I LOVE that show)
So I go into Panera and am eyeing the Pecan Sweet Roll and wondering about getting one next week when we go to Panera for Chemistry Testing.
See, I take the boys to Panera for Science Tests. EVERYTHING is better with cocoa and a pastry- even chemistry tests! And brains need glucose!
So I am mentally drooling over the Pecan Roll (yes, I am back to the real Panera story) and see they have put CALORIES on all their signs.
750 (approx. I was in shock, so the number may be off by 25 calories either way)SHOCK.
SO- thanks to Panera's new Marketing Plan (to post exactly how evil their food really is for us)I will never ever EVER buy a Pecan Sweet Roll from then.750 Calories??I think I need to start counting calories in Joules. I think 1 Calorie is like 4.19 Joules or something like that.
So, I'll round that number... DOWN750 Calories would be...(looking for my calculator)
179 Joules
See, they need to list JOULES not Calories.
Oh, wait.. the type of calorie used in Joule conversion is equal to 1,000 of our calories.
never mind
no more Pecan Sweet Rolls for me(well, maybe just 1 more... for Chemistry Test Day... I'll 8 bike miles, which only burns like 300 Calories, but, whatever)
Entry #2 (school)

I think I want to start each day with a couple gamesThis Week :SET & Volcano
Gavin and Connor are doing GREAT on their math! They worked hard last week.I'm going to have them work hard this week, too.This is one of our "quasi unschool" thingsYes I give them assignments sometimes and track their progress (an online math course)They choose their course and sometimes switch in the middle. They choose whatever lesson they want in their chosen course.See, we had a talk about unschool and radical unschool. they all 3 told me they do not want to do radical unschool. They want to have me hold them to what they need to do for their goals (which is engineering and computer programming for the older 2- so I make sure they are working on the math and sciences they need.
Part of reaching their goal is to have 4 different sciences in high school.Ki wants to be a pastor or chef or actor so he sits in on science lessons but can opt out of the advanced stuff (which usually means math).He likes science lessonsesp ones that involve making smoke bombs or reenacting crime scenes.He often asks what we get to learn in science "this week".
Ki and I decided to really focus on Bible reading for Lent. I'm aiming 3-5 chapters a day.Ki is reading a chapter in Proverbs and then he reads a chapter or 2 elsewhere.
It's great now that all 3 boys read.Yes, I know, they are 14-17but Gavin and Ki were late readers(5th grade)Gavin took off right away, but Ki still took a couple years to warm up to it. It's just been a year since he has really been reading well AND liking it.
Gavin has been reading Current Events.He seems to really be enjoying it. he starts with a current event (like Japan) and then after he reads about it, he researches things that go with it (like earthquakes and nuclear power plants)THEN he tells me EVERYTHING!!
I remember 'teaching' my mom all the new things I learned in Science class that day at school.I loved teaching other people the new things I learned! and teaching others helped me REALLY learn it thoroughly!



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Day#3

I need to make a list real quick, so bear with me a second.

• Bible Reading
• Creative Writing
• ninja training
• chemistry
• Life of Fred
• Volcano
• Strawberries

there. all done.

I need to make pizza crust tomorrow, too.

we have 2 more Almost-Frogs. 1 is closer to FROG than the others. We debated naming it Sarah. Sarah gave Ki the 2 adult frogs ad asked to have 1 of baby frogs named after her. He had 21 tadpoles that made it. I told Kari that I'd name one of the next frogs after her.

We decided to name the next frog after both Sarah and Kari. The next frog will be named SKARI.

All the boys seemed sleepy today.

Connor, my early bird, slept till after 10AM!

I taught a chemistry lesson. It was just taking notes today. No Smoke Bombs. No Math.

Then I set Ki up for a little Culinary Arts Class- making roses from Gumdrops. Thanks to MakingFlower's Blog. Connor and gavin wanted to eat gumdrops. I told them they had to make a flower first.

Connor's --->

Ki's. he put a little yellow in the middle for pollen. -->

Gavin's Rose -->


Some More of Ki's Flowers:


**********************************************************

The boys made Taco Buffet tonight. My fingers smell like onions. I need some lemon soap.I sauteed some onions and bell peppers.

SPEAKING of Bell Peppers... I was looking at the radish sprouts today and we have 4 clumps of tomato seeds. I transfered a few. Apparently there were a couple cherry tomatoes in the soil. the tomatoes are sprouting right out if the shriveled tomatoes!

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30IN30

I was tired & headachey most the day.I did not have the brain power to 'pull together an outfit'I wanted to lounge.I wanted to go for a bike ride later.I grabbed 'workoutable' clothes.tank topsshorts.exercise leggings.It was a bit chilly in the morning so I grabbed a shirt/jacket off the top shelf in my closet.and my favorite shoes.and a different pair of earrings for today.





(More Chemistry Class/School in the next post. I think)
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Day 2 Calories & Earrings

I'm gonna make you WAIT for the 30IN30 report and read our small school report first:
The boys did a quick round of Ninja training. 15 push-ups15 sit ups15 Step Hops15 Ninja Squats
I did 12 Criss Crosses, too.
They went to read.this month is 1 chapter in Proverbs, then aything else in the Bible to m ake 30 minutes total time.Ki told me that he read about:Jesus Line Age.
me: [ponders a moment] "Oh, his lineage{linny-ij}!"Ki: "ya. that."Me: "in Matthew?"Ki: "Yes. They traced him back REALLY far!"
Then we had Chemistry Class.Ki had the option to opt out today and do worksheets. (which he likes. I find fun ones for when Chemistry is too advanced. (too math-y)He said He likes Chemistry and he'd do it with us.He did the temperature conversions without a single complaint and no confusion!
We also talked about calories...and Calories.It takes 1 Food calorie to equal 1,000 [chemistry] calories.so that apple you ate today was about 80,000 calorie!
The rest was independent stuff. Online Math. Online Research. (Lybia, and caffeine in green tea VS Coke)Play Practice.************************************
OK. I may not make 30 days. I may not make it 20 days.I am on day 2. And day 1 was kind of a coincidence. I got dressed and thought to myself; "I really should do that 30 day wear -different-things challenge- and this would make a good start."
DAY #2: and all this thinking about clothes and how I have to change them make sure things match-- has be in a brain meltdown already. I missed the exit to drop off the boys, then was SURE I was picking up their friend (not dropping them off) and almost called G to tell her we'd belate to play practice cause I missed my exit- and *I* am not taking them there today!. And I didn't even know what exit I got off on when I had to all their friend's mom. Then I almost went NORTH to go home. (instead of south). and I decided NOT to exercise yet because I don;t want to change twice.
BUT HERE IT IS:
Today I worse an Old Navy Outfit that me friends helped me pick out awhile back.and very flat sandals.(and jeans)
I used my BIG ROLLER looking hairbrush while blow drying my hair today.Makes my hair lay nicely, but makes it look really thin. and I deleted a few pictures somehow- so you miss out on that.
And Today's earring. Pretty and green, but maybe not BRIGHT & CHEERY enough for the shirt.

My 30IN30 Challenge and Day explained HERE (click)

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Smokin' Hot Fun!

Monday's School features Smoke Bombs!
Well, first we did the experiment that was in the actual Chemistry Chapter.(Apologia High School Chemistry CD Rom)
ThermometerBeakerWaterIceAlcohol Burner
First, filled the beakers 3/4 with ice, then added water.Stirred 5 minutes.Took the temp.It should be 0.0 Celsius.Most thermometers are off up to 2 degrees.They recorded their thermometers for sake of calibration.
Then they lit the burner and recorded temps every minute(of the ice water)They marked time/temp of when all the ice had melted.

I thought we had 3 glass beakers, but I only found 2, so Ki used a jar.
it cracked at about 37 Celsius.WATER MESS all over the table as the bottom fell out.

*NOTE TO SELF- BUY MORE GLASS BEAKERS
And I thought I had 3 of the lab thermometers. Only found 2. Gavin used Ki's instant-read meat thermometer.
Which was pretty accurate. Gavin took his water to boiling.

*note to self: buy another lab thermometer.
They seemed to enjoy this in an educational capacity. Tracking the movement on the thermometer. Watching for changes.Dealing with faulty equipment. Marking their charts.
***************************
Next came the even they have been waiting for since we started Chem class.SMOKE BOMBS! click: How To Video
2 parts sugar3 parts Potassium Nitrate KNO3KNO3 is sold as Salt Peter/stump remover, but we had trouble finding itso we ordered straight KNO3 online.

just heat & stir those two in a skillet until it looks like light creamy peanut butter.

pour into glops on foil. (my boys did 1 big glop, then broke it apart)
cool.
take outside.
Light.
(and stand back)Next time we should add sodium bicarbonate to make it burn a little more slowly here is a small part of this big mess.

The Fire Breathing (click for how to video) didn't work too well.It was mostly a mess. We used the bunsen burners. Next time we need a NOT windy day and a stick with fire.but we had a couple good tries.
and this was thee messiest still. the boys covered in cornstarch, cornstarch all over the back porch.
THREE Big Messes in ONE day! how much more fun can there be?
and then there was math and reading. but that's boring blog material.Here is what Ki wrote about writing in his writing journal:
Writing is LAME and should be illegal because it is LAME. It is mucho boring and LAME so we should not have to learn something that is illegal and LAME. Wait, i have to shoop my whoop....BLAAAAAAHHHHH.....Ok. back to LAME writing i shouldgo to jail because it is illegal.
I guess I'm in BIG trouble. (so VOTE for my blog)


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Test FAIL!

Yesterday (Fri/Dec31)was to be a milestone day! Ki was to take his very first PANERA TEST!
Being the Quasi-Unschoolers that we are, we really don't do/take tests. But when the boys get about high school they have tests with their chosen Sciences. This is Ki's first Science with Testing. It is Chemistry. They all wanted Chemistry, though I think Ki is changing his mind as he is seeing MORE math and less "blowing things up with chemicals"
I had to change the Chemistry Lessons for Ki. The program we are using is Apologia and is a High School book. Ki is just not ready for the math. So I start the lesson with terms, experiments, videos, and notes with all 3 boys. Then Ki goes off to his desk in his room and has file folders with worksheets. He does what he wants from those while I teach Chemistry Math to his brothers.
Before this, when he sat with the whole time, he had meltdowns. Melting into a puddle of limp noodles and tears. But this new way works well. His brothers are actually bored with the 1st half of class (so far... because it is chapter 1- wait until we get a few chapters into it!)- so the math keeps them into it.Ki actually likes worksheets and does well with them. I don't use worksheets to teach, but they are good for review and Ki is the type of kid that needs plenty of review.
I wanted to just BE DONE with chapter 2 before we start J-Term. For some reason (holiday rush? Skit rehearsals? Brian's Surgery? my birthday?) we never got to the last section of Ch1 or the test. So we finished those this week.
SO, we gather calculators, notecards with formulas, pencils, papers, etc... Ki searches HIGH & LOW for his notebook all morning and finally finds it....
We get to Panera. The Bagels, cookies, hot drinks are all ordered. We sit down.I open my Orange Folder that contained the tests.They were not there. They must have slipped out at the house or something. All that work to get everything ready, everyone out the door, waited in line, had a cashier that had to go through the order 4 times and then still mess up my Peppermint Hot Cocoa (but I got it free)... ALL TO NOT HAVE THE TESTS!

He had his notebook though, so I took a picture of him and am pretending it is Ki taking his FIRST Panera Science Test!
On the drive home, Gavin (17) ask what kinds of questions are on the test. he asks because Chapter was was the BASICS which he already knew.I'm driving. driving takes up 98% of my brain function, so I rattle off something that I thought I remembered.
"Something about a farmer finding a chunk of gold. They tell you the mass and volume and ask you to find the density."Gavin:"Gold has a density of 19.3 grams/cm³."Connor: " .. and Uranium is 19.1!"
Me: (sighing in my head):" Well, they give the volume and you have to find the mass- or the other way."
Gavin: "O.K. - - - And diamonds have a density of 3.5" (I think that is what he said it was)
While taking the test, Ki calls me over. It goes something like this:
Ki: "mom, gold has a density of 19.3, right?"Me: "yes, why?" (the test gives the density of gold for this problem)Ki:"Well, it has 2 items that look like god and I need to find the density to determine which really is gold. I got 19.327. Would that be gold still or something else because it's not 19.3?"
Ki refuses to use cm³ or cc. He crosses them out on his tests and writes in "mL"

Well, all the tests are now done. I guess I should go grade them.
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I have never been interested in Reading Through the Bible in a Year. Not in the 30+ years of being a Christian. It just never struck me as something I should do. Brian got me a new Bible for my birthday. It is a chronological Bible. It actually goes pretty much 'in regular order' until Psalms. But then it's all over the place. Verses out of 3-5 different books per page sometimes.

I was getting ready to start reading it today (Sat Jan1) and I decided to try reading thought from start to end; and hopefully in a year. So, we'll see how that goes. According to my math, if I read 4 pages a day that'll leave a buffer for missed days. click for My Reading Log

Gavin found a $20 while looking for the Wisemen in the laundry room. I knew I should have done laundry today. (The Wisemen brought Chocolate covered gingerbread men today!)



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