What do you do?

The question I kid asked a lot these days. What do I do now that the kids are in school?




The first week, I would walk upstairs make a bed, fold laundry then come back down to the kitchen stand there for 5 minutes- thinking " what next?"
I could think of a hundred things to be doing when I was teaching 4th grade Math, but here I was alone in my house at 10 am on a Tuesday and my mind was going blank.

* Exercise :
Not as much as I could/should. But I have managed to do 30 minutes of exercise on a semi-regular basis.  If it warms up outside, I plan on spending more time walking or riding. However it is Michigan and this might not happen before the kids get out of school.

* House stuff- meal planning/cleaning
I am a little surprised myself that the house is not spotless.  I think for me it comes down to motivation. Just because I have the time doesn't mean I will use it to clean.  Yes right now the house stays tidier and getting dinner on the table is less stressful.
 Free time for me is just that, free and I am using it.  Which of course leads me to guilt, the favorite companion of many women. I choose to let it go and not rule my life.  A pinned recipe, a read book,  a like on Facebook, a cup of tea all these things might happen today before I scrub a floor and I will not let it ruin my day with guilt.

*Bible Reading
This sounds spiritual but right now it is practical.  In January Nathan and I entered a 90 day Bible Reading plan. Reading an average of 15 chapters a day. This is a lot easier if I don't have to teach 5 subjects to two kids. I might have fallen behind if I was still homeschooling.

*A little lonely.
 I miss having the kids around.
I have not took a test to determine  if I am an introvert or and Extrovert.
 I can be alone, I do enjoy my own space and my own time. I can be happy reading a book on  a bench or comfy chair for an hour, I like solace.  But I have a limit, at some point I need to have other people around me.  I am guessing I lean on the extrovert side, everything is more fun if you have someone with you -Shopping, eating, traveling etc..  When the kids were at home all the time I was trying to carve out my alone time, now they are gone I am trying to carve out my people time.  Made a little more difficult by the fact a majority of my people time was with other homeschoolers. I can't ask those moms over for Coffee they are teaching their kids.


This season has been given to me and I want to be purposeful in how I spend my days.
Somedays it is easy to exercise, practice Spanish, clean, study the Bible all by 2:45.
Other days 2:45 rolls around ( the time I have to leave to pick up the kids from school) and the greatest accomplishment was getting my teeth brushed. It is life- right?

 I am thankful, blessed and try not to take for granted the life I have been given.

Five for Friday

For my cousin's kids birthdays they made this duct tape Olaf pinata.
In theory it is less dangerous because you hit it while it is stationary and not swinging around.
 I don't think the parents could have guessed that they had made an impenetrable fortress, a veritable stronghold that guarded the treasures inside.  You could say it was genius if the goal was to tire kids out by them playing a hundred rounds of beat the pinata.
Adult intervention was eventually needed and Olaf was cracked and  the kids received their goodies. 

I have been on a french/Paris kick lately that was started off by Julia Child's book " My time in France" She makes France sound like the best place on earth.
My time in France ( 1 and half days) as a young teenage girl: I got lost, people were rude, and I didn't even get a really good chance to taste the best of french cuisine. Yet I still found it a lot of fun and intriguing and would love to go back to. One of my favorite movie quotes. "Paris is always a good idea" Audrey Hepburn- Sabrina
This particular book had fun illustrations/insights as the author describes her first time in France and a subsequent trip with her husband. I read it while sitting at the library.  It made me want to learn French and explore the quaint country side. And like most things about France it made me hungry.
I read it during the first week the kids were enrolled in school. I read the whole book in one setting. I didn't even need to check it out. 

Roller skating was my main recreation as a young child.
  Our local rink has "homeschool" skate days due the large homeschooling community. The kids have picked it up and I am glad it something we can all do together.
 We were able to join this  homeschool skate day because the kids had a half day at school.  We don't want to lose our connection with our homeschool friends and enjoy the opportunities to hang out with them. 

Aunt Dee playing tabletop Foosball with Elliot.
Aunt Dee, recovering from chemo, came down with Uncle David to visit us. They took us out to San Chez in downtown Grand Rapids.  Tapas are always more fun when shared with others and we had a great time. 

Downtown Grand Haven hosted and event where store owners would put living statues in their store fronts.  

Our favorites -Addams Family, Popeye, Cruella De vil.. 

living dolls from outypants on Vimeo.

Throw Back Thursday

Throw Back Thursday

March 2009


http://hongkongsweeney.blogspot.com/2009/03/first-days.html

A link to one of my very first blog post.

What I really liked about reading this old post, was the tidbits that my old mind would have never remembered. I am glad I started blogging once we relocated.
 I did not remember the instance of Elliot waking up at 4 in the morning and being frustrated that Jane wouldn't play the board game "Trouble" with him.  I find this amusing for the cute story it is and that it could be the same conversation today..

Also included in this TBT
 a video.
During our trip to Bangkok we left our GoPro camera in the taxi.  The camera has no view finder/no back screen to view photos. But two buttons and settings for photo or video. We also kept ours in its waterproof casing. Not a typical point and shoot, so knowing if it is on or even if it is taking a picture or photo might not be that easy to determine for a first time user.
 When we got our camera back (thankfully we kept the number of our taxi) We found this video the taxi driver ended up shooting.
 I don't speak Thai, which I am guessing is what is being spoken in this video.  It might be offensive or have bad language. If anyone can translate that would be great.  At one point you can hear him say in English. Who are you?

lost camera bangkok from outypants on Vimeo.

New Year Happenings

新年快樂

Xin Nian Kuai Le

Year of the Ram

Although I have been quiet in my blogging. the Sweeney family has been very active. The biggest change happened when we put the kids in school. 

This was during "Spirit Week" Jane is part of  the largest class in the school there are 29 6th graders. 

 Jane attended Tri-Unity for the four year old program in 2007. She is back row third from the right.
I was told her class has always been large, she has quite a few classmates from pre-school that still attend.

Elliot has 11 students in his 4th grade class.  Before he arrived there were only three boys.
Mandy, the one in the suspenders, has been my friend for 14 years.  The decision to enroll Elliot was helped by the fact he has known his teacher and her family his whole life.  Mandy said they had been praying for another boy to join the class. 

Reading month- Pajama day.. The kids read a picture book to their classmates. Elliot picked "Little Critter"

Our 2014 school year got off to a slow start and I felt we never really got into a good routine this year. Jane seemed bored and Elliot was frustrated. I was worried that their academics were suffering.
 I was impressed with the staff and the atmosphere of Tri-Unity and felt it was a door God was opening for us to enroll the kids.
Academically the kids are doing pretty well, which has brought me much relief. We can see where they need improvement but homeschooling hasn't been a complete flop in the academic department. 
 Elliot loves recess.
 Jane's teacher has nothing but praise for her.
Recently both kids got picked to recite special memorized speeches/verses in front of the school. 

Elliot and his recorder.  When he brought it home from music class he announced he was done with playing piano. I replied a recorder isn't a real instrument and piano lessons will continue.   I am glad he is being taught the recorder.  I do prefer to listen to him practice piano as it is much more forgiving on the ears when a wrong note is played. 

Elliot's binder for the first couple of months was this vintage trapper keeper. We found it a thrift store last year for .50c. 
 I guess it was too vintage, the plastic rings eventually broke. 

Other happenings.

Jane and dad spent a day on the slopes. 

Last year we had one of the snowiest winters ever recorded. This year we have had one of the coldest. The schools shut down one day because the temperature was -25. 
 I am hoping this doesn't mean next year we will have one of the coldest and snowiest winters ever. 

 Our American Heritage Girls troop, had a skate night at the Byron Fun Spot. 
  At the rink they have this fun photo opportunity.  
That is Nathan in that shot. I agree with that statement.  

What Christmas is all about..

 Christmas morning at the Sweeneys.

The kids come into our room and ask the question, when can they open gifts? 

I tell them to go look for their stockings. The night before I hid them, giving the parents an extra 15 minutes of sleep. 

 If you have not started this tradition at your house you might want to begin. Especially if you are parents of kids who get up at 4 am. 

Mom and dad eventually wake up, pour ourselves some hot tea, sit down with the kids and begin the gift giving.  It is not my top priority every Christmas to make sure my kids get the same number of gifts.  However I do tend to give them similar types and usually that evens everything out. 

As it was getting to the end of the opening of the presents, more of them appeared to have Jane's name on them than Elliot. 

  A week prior I had did a quick overview of the gifts and I remember thinking that it was good, so I was surprised that I missed it.  

   

The reality is we don't need gifts. We are"rich" Americans who have a house with heat, running water, plenty of food, we own cars, you get the picture. Compared to a majority of the world we don't need anything. Celebrating Jesus' birthday does not require spending any money or spending any extra time to give something to someone else. 

 It is possible we have had this conversation on many occasions with our kids and that is why Elliot decided not to speak up.

 I kept waiting for him to say something, possibly even get upset. If he was bothered, he kept quiet. The things Jane was opening were smaller items, odds and ends, girl stuff. 

He might have said something if she had got an iphone 6 or something.  

I will not be buying my kids smart phones anytime soon.

  He admitted later he had been thinking she was getting more presents.

The last one under the tree is finally opened and it appears that everything is done. 

I am debating, do I say something to Elliot? Slip him five bucks and apologize or  do I let it go, since he will be getting more presents in a week from my family anyway?

Then I remembered the box in the basement.

 I had put it in the basement because it was heavy and had lots of pieces of in it. Pieces I was planning on separating into two or three boxes to wrap up and put under the tree.
 Back in November my friend offered to sell me a large lot of toys second hand. It was a set Elliot had actually seen at their house and wanted.

 I got really excited when I remembered the box and any guilt (justified or not) that was setting in,vanished as I ran down the stairs to retrieve it.

There you have the picture. Elliot opening an unwrapped, not even a taped box.  Inside it contained a large assortment of Imaginext pieces.

This stock photo is an example of Imaginext stuff.
I think I was so happy to see him get it, I turned the camera off shortly afterwards and never snapped a photo of him playing with them.

Every year I try to make our Christmas season less about stuff and more about people and Christ.  If I am feeling stressed and worried about buying gifts and meeting peoples expectations than I would prefer to not celebrate at all.  

 I appreciate the Charlie Brown Christmas Special because it is one of the few Christmas specials that mention Jesus. It is a great reminder that no matter how crazy or commercial an American Christmas can become, it cannot change the true meaning. 
John 3:16

Lego League

This year the kids were part of First Lego League. 
From the website: FLL introduces young people ages 9-14 to the fun of science and Technology. 
This the technology a Lego Mindstorm

 This years theme " How can you help someone learn"   
The kids decided on 'we want to help people learn about the laws of motion,using roller coasters.'
This is where I give all the credit to their coach, had it been me I would have strongly suggested we do something more simple. I wouldn't have gone as far as to actually choose something for them, but I would have narrowed their choices. 
  The coach, however was true to the "FLL spirit" and let the kids make decisions and for the most part run the show.  It was great!
 One of the first tasks was to come up with a name for their team, originally they came up with "too cool for school" it was one kid's idea at being funny about them all being homeschooled. I thought it was hilarious, but after submitting the idea we were told unless the team was really going to be top rate from the start, it might come across a bit pretentious and not be received well. 
 They decided upon The Motion Marvels. 
They had to learn programming to make the mindstorm perform tasks. If the kids couldn't figure out how to make the robot do something, it didn't do it. The person helping with the programming side - I call the robot coach, was also true to the FLL guidelines and did not tell the kids outright what to do. He could have showed them how to run all the programs and made the robot complete all the missions, but he let them problem solve and see if they could figure it out. If they couldn't explain how the robot did the task and actually program it themselves, then it didn't happen. 
The kids had to do research, perform a skit, and answer questions from judges. They aren't just scored and judged on robot performance. So a team could possibly advance and not have the best robot. The competition goes all the way up to World Level.  We were partially sponsored by the high school level team who served as mentors and judges.  Smart kids who know robotics. These kids  -as their tag line suggest- Our next engineers
 will likely enter science/technology based careers. 

At first I only signed up Elliot to be on the team, Jane wasn't interested. Once I saw how many young boys were on the team, I thought they could use some more mature influences and suggested she join. It worked out well since one of her friends was currently part of the team and was the only girl. 

One of the fun aspects of this team was the use of Minecraft.  Their coach runs a Minecraft homeschool site, that uses the computer game in learning.  Part of their research was creating a virtual roller coaster in Minecraft. They were then able to have kids test it out and see if they could learn the laws of physics.  It was well thought out and I think was effective. The kids talked to a guy whose job is to design/test roller coasters. Jane thought his job sounded so fascinating she said she could see herself doing that when she got older. 

 Elliot would have liked it to been more about just playing with Lego.  He did overall enjoy being on the team and he said he would consider joining again. Sometimes that is as enthusiastic as he gets, 
 Jane enjoyed the dancing and music that played while they would wait for the judging. It was fun to see all the kids run out and do the YMCA, line dance or belt out "What does the Fox Say." 
She had a major part in the skit and she answered the judges questions with confidence. 
It is ideally a progressive team event.  There were teams that were well established and had worked together for years. 
It was a overall a  great experience. 

The Motion Marvels- everyone loved their creeper hats. 
This was at a practice meet. It was a lot smaller and everyone got a trophy. A great confidence booster for a rookie team. 

This is them running their robot. It had to be able to do different task on the table. Strict rules on when you could touch the robot and how you ran it. The coach was not allowed inside the pit. 

The skit: Elliot and a another kid are pretending to visit Disney World to ride roller coasters to learn about motion.  He didn't want to wear Mickey Mouse ears so he chose a pirate hat. Not sure what Pirate it is based on since it was bought second-hand but it has a Disney store tag on the inside. 
Jane was a teacher. 
 Elliot has actual Mickey Mouse ears from our trip to Orlando years ago. We didn't realize until after we got them embroidered they were too big. I actually thought when I heard they were doing a bit on Disney,  'great he can wear those ears and they might actually fit.' He had other thoughts.

 

How time flies.  Jane was four and Elliot was a month shy of turning three. 

In-between time, all the kids dancing. 
Our team did not advance but had fun anyway. 
Not everyone can get a trophy here, but everyone got a participation medal. 

Maybe a trophy next year.. 

lego league from outypants on Vimeo.