Day 9

Today, we hung out with DaVinci again, and enjoyed some "deep thoughts". We also practiced the activities from the chapter we are on in "How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci". Taylor practiced his note-taking skills by taking notes on El Cid and Charlemagne, as I read about them from a very aged Myths and Legends book. We completed the notes by looking in two other sources for a more "historical" account. He earned 3 "knows" with the completed page of notes. I helped him decide what notes to record to complete the pages this time, but with level 2 he will begin to buy help like this and he will be able to "cash in" on any slips of knowledge included in the notes pages. We have also decided to call the experience points "knows". We completed another day of the Ten Terrific Weeks program, and played on the websites that were assigned to it. We also added 10 dates to our timelines (the one on the wall and the one in our notebook) and we began looking for pictures to hang on the wall timeline. We also (simply from wandering through our resources) learned a great deal about religion in the middle ages and the changes that it went through. And, we studied Martin Luther on a PBS site. That led us back to our History Encyclopedia and timeline to research and record him. Then, we studied some archeological discoveries about the middle ages from the about.com Medieval History newsletter. I have been saving these emails for about 5 months, so I have about 12 more to use in this part of the game, and they have newsletters on many topics. They often lead to great sites and current news articles. We finished up the day by reading more our fiction book, "Midnight Magic", which is getting exciting.
A change to the game comes as we have reached a point in three specific "subjects" that makes us feel the need to include them in the daily requirements for every place on the game, so we will now be including the activities we've been doing for them in the game as well. (This is the reason that this game is meant to be customizable. It is also why I try to keep the rules flexible. It is easy to add tasks, rules, fees, abilities, etc. as he "levels up".) He is going to level up with the next web report most likely, so I have agreed to add them in after level one. The subjects are math (prealgebra), music, and spanish. There are still going to be days that focus on them individually, but we enjoy them and are far enough into them to really gain from daily study. At first he will simply earn "knows" (our new name for experience points) for completing a topic of study (or for specific tasks like practicing, worksheets, and assignments.)

At the end of the day, Taylor completed his webreport, worth 12 knows, and 98 Knollars. With the 3 knows earned by taking the notes, he is only 10 knows away from level 2, and perilous changes. He paid his fees and bravely moved on.

I don't know why, I just can't leave it alone...

And....

look, I cooked....

I finally gave up on the jar of pasta sauce routine (and the frozen pizza gimmick) and cooked. I did cook a few times since we moved, but mostly we have been eating sandwiches and salads and frozen food (that I deemed acceptable, though not choice). So I made a very bad for you peanut butter and jelly cheesecake. This is something that Trent and I used to "diet" before. We used to make it with cool whip and splenda (how stupid of us). It is basically a 1/2 cup of sugar, a package of cream cheese, and a big (probably 3/4 cup) scoop of pnut butter, mixed and spread in a pie crust. (In the past I made the crust myself with organic graham flour, but I bought this one, which increased the sugar content.) I topped it with Polaner (just the fruit) strawberry jelly and sliced strawberries. I am pretty sure that this will lead to weight gain, but, oh well. Speaking of which, I have lost 80 lbs now, and have only 20 to go. I didn't set out to loose 100 because it was some nice number, by the way. I gained 100 lbs in 4 years and now I have been losing weight for two. As soon as my ankle heals, now that we have sidewalks in our neighborhood, I will be running (well, at least walking, but I prefer to run) again. I love a treadmill, but the babies don't, so I have learned to like outside runs again. Anywho, back to the food. I also tossed together a pasta dish for dinner. I just heated frozen broccoli, and snow peas in boiling water,(drained it) then, added cooked whole wheat pasta and a touch of olive oil, with some diced onion and garlic and sun dried tomatoes. Then, I threw in some shredded parmesan cheese. It was pretty good. I also, for the babies made some standard chocolate chip cookies; the only exception is that I used a little less sugar than the recipe called for and organic whole wheat flour. I had to hide them, though because Jewel and Trevor think that they can eat them all day. That's what's cooking at the Lawhon place, for now. Also, just an funny little aside, I started some seeds and used the displaced grass plugs like "hairplugs" for the front of the yard. I don't know if it will work, but I'll be sure to let you know if you can laugh at my attempt to transplant grass.

just a tidbit

Just thought I'd catch up on a few of the "normal" happenings around here. Trevor has been having a little battle with his poop, it kept coming out in his pants and he refused to use the toilet. But, now (3 weeks later) he seems to have conquered it. And, he conquered wearing clothes in a big way; last night he insisted on sleeping in a zipped up hoody with a polo shirt under it (and only underwear on). He told me, "No blanket Mom, put it away. My jacket will keep me cozy." He does occasionally still run around with only underwear on, but he insists on wearing at least underwear and puts clothes on if he wants to go outside. So, lessons learned. Jewel learned to pick up toys with her toes, and that is super-cute. She also has decided that the brothers get to go and do more than she, and I don't think she'll stand for it anymore. She tried to sneak away in Big Daddy's truck last time they left and was very vocal about it. She even yelled "Bubba" when we got inside just to make sure they really left. But, she has become so fond of Hogan that she is easily appeased. Oh, and our 5th anniversary came and went, it was actually 4 days before Trevor's 3rd birthday, but, I doubt I mentioned it. We don't really remember it (ever, either of us) until someone sends us a card. This year it was Aunt Dawn who reminded us. We do still celebrate the first day we met in a "dating" state of mind (we had become friends over the previous year or so with no romantic notions). Trent showed up with flowers for me, and within a week moved in, and wouldn't go home again. That was the day after Mother's Day 7 1/2 years ago. We remember that anniversary every year and do something "special" for it; but, our "marriage" was just that, signing some papers. Our wedding was really fun and we're glad we had it, but it was really for everyone else, we could have lasted with or without it. At our wedding, after we completed the "ceremony", Taylor called out over the crowd, "Wait, everyone, I have something to say." I don't remember exactly what he said, but it was something about how happy he was that we get to be a "whole family" now. It made everyone cry. Now how did I get on that... Oh, so I also took advantage of Taylor being away yesterday and planted some of my seeds. But, naturally (or I should say, as usual), it is a month and a half later than I intended to plant, and it is likely a wasted attempt. But, some of the organic lettuce and greens that I chose should do fine. Taylor and I will be logging information about what does the best, where we planted it and why we chose that spot, and anything else we deem useful. He is relating it to the Camelot section of our school game because "peasants and serfs grew food for the villages", and how can I argue with that. So, I will be awarding points for various parts of the "experiment". We aren't going into a full on science project type experiment, but we will discuss what it would take to do that (just in case he really wants to.) For now, I have some seeds germinating in papertowels for Trevor and Jewel to see, and hopefully we can plant them next week. And, some that I put in the ground on the side of the house. We got a great rain, so that may help. My ankle is healing slowly (and painfully) and Trent is working a lot again right now. The planting on the farm has begun. We have finally gotten the babies back to the sleeping on time, that is always the hardest thing to get back on track. But, now bedtime goes smoothly, which makes life in general (in our house) run smoothly. Having more space is definitely helping us with the day to day cleaning and "chores". I doubt the kids notice, but they have a much more difficult time "destroying the house". And, I am sure that most couples raising kids feel this way, but we (Trent and me) joke about being "one brain" or a "well oiled baby raising machine". We just (most of the time) know what the other is trying to accomplish and how it fits in with our "vision" for our family, so getting things done goes smoothly. It wasn't always like this, but as we have become so focused on a few "important" things and all the "white noise" is gone from our lives, life is just, i don't know, more obvious and manageable. Basically what I'm trying to say is that we are very happy and doing great, thanks for caring. So, that's it, my mindless babbling will now cease. And the time at which it will cease is now.

A little from the weekend....

The domesticated werewolf enjoys crosswords. How did he get that out from under the bed?