What We've Been Doing

Last week was a bust. I managed to do maybe 2 days worth of school. The rest of it I flopped on. Last week was about sewing, clothes, material, did a field trip to a sewing store so we could feel different samples of cloth, and I attempted to make a colonial style skirt for Hannah and me. Well, a seamstress I am not. Somehow the skirt is higher on the sides than the front and back and the elastic waist looks terrible. I've not returned to the project.

This week we are doing cooking. Already we've tried doing some cast iron cooking. The boys made a rice casserole last week in it and let's just say it didn't come out as tasty as I was hoping. We made up for it by making a dutch baby (puff pancake) for breakfast the next day. I think this week will be a little easier though. We are working on some grammerical stuff to, like synonyms, antonyms and homonyms. We did some haiku poems. Had to share this with you. It's about diaper wipes. Maybe you can guess what Jesse has been learning to do?

Reach in Dispenser
If you could hear what I smell
Swoosh, fresh baby butt

They will also be learning about table setting and some nursery rhymes this week too. Ugh. I've been listening to some of those songs on bussongs.com. Not for the faint of heart. We all commented on how they sounded like amped up versions of Barney songs. But, it's for history's sake, so we'll listen.

As for daily life, last week was kinda rough. While I have long suspected it and was not surprised when the therapists suggested Simeon was autistic (not Asperger's) it was still a shock to hear it become reality. I know that there has been a suggestion of the correlation between vaccinations and autism. I read through some old emails last night and found that 5 days after he had gotten his 9 month vaccinations is when he spiked a fever of 104.5 for a week straight, and after that, it seemed he had lost a lot of his abilities. Does a mother ever stop feeling guilt? Should I have gotten him the vaccines? Was there more I could have done earlier to help him? How do you not feel sadness for what will seem like a life long struggle for him...but he's always smiley and happy?

So, anyway, that was the main thing that set me back last week.

Family Reading
Erma Bombeck Aunt Erma's How to Cope in 12 Days
Abigail Adams: Girl of Colonial Days

Isaac and Jesse
Adam Lost books

Hannah
Barbie

Simeon
Thomas the Tank Engine (same three books he always checks out)

Curtis
C.S. Lewis The Four Loves (hmm...seems to be more classically minded than his wife) :)