Mind blowing math

This morning, L and were sitting at the table as she ate and went through my mail. Because that 6-year-old has no sense of privacy. She found a paper with coupons and wanted to know what all the numbers on them added up to.

She would do well at couponing.

I found a paper and showed her how to add 20 + 20 + 10 in a column, adding the last column of 0s, then the first column with the small numbers she knew. This new discovery was so fun, she wanted to continue. I wrote out a similar problem and she did it perfectly. She started writing out her own problems, but the numbers in her first column got too big, so I showed her a number line to add 6 + 6 + 6.

And she understood the concept right away.

She wrote out a bigger problem and did it all by herself.

Then another.

To challenge her (as the whole 3 number, 2-column addition and number line had been just soooooo easy) I showed her that the last column didn't have to be just 0s. I put small numbers in there, and it barely fazed her. She whipped right through several like 21 + 16 + 62, laughing when she figured out the answer was 99.

All of this took approximately 7 minutes. And it only took that long because I had to drag Mr. at Home away from his desk to witness the math miracle.

In her kindergarten curriculum, they're working on 3 + 3.

At the dining room table, she's about to take over the family budget.

Bell Training

One issue we had early on with Cindy Jae was potty-training.

Frankly, it reminded me of potty-training my youngest. I was frustrated and she didn't care.

We tried lots of things and eventually one of the other trainers mentioned bell training. Sounded simple, just attach some jingle bells to the doorknob and ring them every time you take the puppy out. At some point, she'll make the connection and start ringing the bells on her own whenever she needs to go out and take care of business. I wasn't sure how to keep her from *eating* the bells since she tried out her teeth on everything she could reach, but I figured it was worth a try.

So I bought some jingle bells, sewed them on a ribbon, and hung them on the gate. Within just a time or two, she got it. Wow! What a smart puppy! She'd trot over to the bells and sit waiting expectantly for me to come and take her out.

What she was *supposed* to learn was, "If I ring these bells, I go outside and go potty."

What she *actually* learned was, "If I ring these bells, I go outside!!!"

After a day or two of constant ringing, I took the bells away. I was not taking that dog outside 10 times an hour and I couldn't bring her around to my way of thinking.

As Cindy Jae has grown, we've moved her downstairs where there's more room and she has access to the front door. I hung the bells back up and she's mostly got the real reason she's supposed to ring the bells. Now that's she's more mature, she doesn't get bored so easily and go looking for trouble.

Well, not as much.

She still tries to eat the sofa pillows and will grab whatever she can reach, but she knows that it's wrong and when caught, will put herself in her crate. Goofy dog.

Cindy Jae at the Zoo

Cindy Jae is finally starting to mature and settle down.

A bit.

We had a long group training session on Saturday and we confirmed that she is the most high-energy, stubborn puppy among them. BUT she also did much better than I expected. By the end, she was down-right compliant - listening and following commands with just a reminder or two. So I decided that more long training days were in order.

To that end, I checked the weather and found it was supposed to be a cloudy and cool kind of morning, but the warmest day this week. Which is perfect weather to enjoy an outside adventure without having to fight crowds, so off to the zoo we went - L, Cindy Jae, and I. After all, where can you encounter so many different sights, sounds, and smells in one place that's fun to visit?

The zoo people let us in without trouble and we went off in search of the new baby koala. Cindy Jae got lots of attention, but mostly from zoo personnel since there weren't many visitors and they were kind enough to stay back.

We went to the reptile house and aquarium where there were lots of different floor surfaces and temperatures in addition to all the sounds, sights, and smellss. Cindy Jae did very well, even when I had her sit-stay and went to the end of the leash to take her picture in front of the big tank.

We rode the tram across the river to the botanical garden. L loves riding the tram.

Whereas Cindy Jae was a bit more cautious.

Even in February, there were some beautiful flowers blooming in the gardens.

And look! Another sit-stay!

Back at the zoo, we visited with the flamingos. I was so proud of her for not barking or carrying on at any of the animals. I mean, she's not *supposed* to bark or carry on, but you never know with a high-strung puppy.

Just before we left, Cindy Jae had settled in so well that we decided to do one more photo op near a family of lion statues by the entrance. And we had another successful sit-stay!

And another!

And then we got really ambitious. This was the moment I was proudest of my little Cindy Jae. She did the much hated down-stay! And she stayed! Down! In front of a huge lion statue! While I went to the end of the leash to take pictures!

Now that's what I call a highly successful day!

February can go away now

At the end of January, I got sick.

Diagnosis: Sinus infection.

1 round of augmentin. I feel better.

10 days later, augmentin is gone and the sick is back. Worse. Much worse.

4 pills of biaxin later, I decide that the horrendous allergy outbreak is due to the antibiotic and so I stop it. The sick and the hives both die down.

Then the sick is back. Even worse.

It took until almost 11 today to feel okay enough to drag myself out of bed and to the doctor.

I love this doctor. He gave me three prescriptions, including the strongest antibiotic on the market, and a steroid shot.

I have officially rejoined the land of the living. Praise. the. Lord. Because life doesn't stop even when mommy's sick.

Since starting the meds at lunchtime, I have taken the little one shopping for some warm weather clothing, let the dog and the little one play outside in the beautiful warm sunshine, swept, mopped, did lots of laundry, took the little one to dance, played catch with the big one, took them both to dinner, then took the big one to softball evaluations (so they can set the teams evenly) and took the dog with us, came home to more laundry, and now I can finally sit and rest. Tomorrow is housecleaning and and planning to have our new pastor and his family over for lunch after church Sunday. Saturday is a pancake breakfast, a puppy training session, and maybe gumbo at a friend's house.

Next week is getting ready for a trip down to Florida for the guide dog school's annual fundraiser. It's a big walkathon and there will be lots to see and do. We get to tour the school where Cindy Jae is from and where she will go for her training. We get to play with the puppies that are there. We can even do a blindfold walk with a fully trained guide dog. It'll be so good to see what Cindy Jae will be able to do if she succeeds. A bit of motivation to keep things in perspective the next time she wakes me up at 4:30am because she puked in her crate.

AND we'll get to see my aunt who lives in FL.

All I can say is this medicine had better work!

Things that are making me happy

1. Lemon Lavender candle from The Yankee Candle Co. - Because the dog spent Sunday morning puking. Lots of it. Until she finally heaved up a 10" piece of rope that had mysteriously gone missing a couple of weeks ago. After all that, I needed something to lift my spirits (and mask the various unpleasant smells) and the candle performed beautifully.

BTW, all 3 missing pieces of rope are now accounted for and I am amazed at the power of the labrador physiology. After all, could *you* send two pieces of rope - one an astounding 10" long - completely through *your* digestive and excretory systems? I didn't THINK so!

And yes, Mr. at Home bought for me the largest Lemon Lavender candle they sell. I love my wonderful husband!

2. The Miss Julia books by Ann B. Ross. - Because they are well-written, lighthearted, and make me laugh because I can just hear some of the older women I've known saying exactly the phrases that come out of Miss Julia's mouth. Whether or not you know what "step-ins" are, you would love these books.

3. My library card - Because after carrying a large fine for a long time (forgot about a couple of movies), I finally "got it out of hock" and can use it again. I've got 3 books checked out and 3 more waiting for me. My evenings are booked for the foreseeable future.

(Get it? booked? Cause I'll be reading books? I crack myself up.)

4. A new couch - Because Mr. at Home has "been cured of buying cheap futons" as he said and we actually found a couch we could both agree on. That was in our price range (because it was the deeply discounted floor sample). That is now sitting in our loft. It has the chaise end I wanted and the dissassembles-into-small-pieces-that-can-be-easily-carried-upstairs factor that Mr. at Home insisted on. Heck, he brought it home in our minivan. It is very comfy and we really like it.

5. The Olympics start Friday!! - Because I love to watch the winter games. We got Cool Runnings to tide us over until the real action starts and I think it's now K's favorite movie.

For the next 4 weeks, I'm going to be parked on that new couch with a book or the remote flipping between Olympic events while bathed in the scent of lemon lavender. Yep, it's a hard life I lead, but you're welcome to come join me anytime.

It snowed!

Well, it's white anyway. I think it's mostly sleet, but it looks pretty.

My parents came into town for a visit and arrived on Friday, just ahead of the impending "TRIPLE THREAT!!" We picked up K from school (which she still loves by the way) and headed over to Wal-Mart to join the masses picking up essentials for the "TRIPLE THREAT!!" Essentials like redbox movies and red velvet cake mix and cinnamon rolls and that new bar thing that goes in the dryer in lieu of dryer sheets (it seems to work well). We stood in a really long line and headed home to hunker down for a couple of days because of the "TRIPLE THREAT!!".

I think the "TRIPLE THREAT!!" referred to snow, sleet, and freezing rain. I could be wrong.

Friday afternoon, the frozen stuff started falling from the sky. By the time I took Cindy Jae out for her last walk, the world was glittery white and the dog was so. very. excited. It took me awhile to make her remember that we were out there for one specific reason and could she please get it over with so I could go to bed?

Saturday morning, the white was even thicker. The girls bundled up and they went out with Grandma to play in the icy snow. I grabbed the good camera and the dog and we went out to get some pictures.

I started playing with the color and lighting effects on the photos.

I love this shot of Grandma.

L was a difficult subject as she didn't stand still long enough to get a good shot.

I got an excellent shot of K.

We didn't stay out too long, choosing instead to spend most of our day like this.

Games, snacks, movies, and reading all with the comfort of warm blankets and hot tea. That's my idea of how to spend a snow day.

Lessons from Public School

Many people have asked how K's transition to public school has been going.

My answer? Very well indeed.

K is fitting in nicely with her new class. She's learning to play the recorder and draw cartoon people. She's found one really good friend, done some group projects, and impressed her teacher. She makes her own lunch and lays out her clothes the night before. She sets her own alarm and gets herself up and ready in the morning. She takes pride in her work and in her class t-shirt that she made sure she had in time for this week's class picture.

There are three important lessons she's learned since starting public school that are very important and more difficult to learn any other way.

1. Not everyone looks the same. Homeschooling tends to be a bit...homogeneous. There are a few "families of color" in the groups and activities we did, but they were the exception. After her first day, K said that she didn't realize there were so many kids "with dark skin". In her school, only about 17% of the kids are white. School has been a cultural experience for her, but she hasn't made any color distinctions since that first eye-opening day. It's a good thing for her.

2. You can't make exceptions when you're dealing with large groups, even when it isn't fair. K's school is big on "AR" (Advanced Reading). It's a program where books are rated according to reading level and you can take short tests about them for credit. The AR tests are taken on the computer and it took K over a week to get her login from the district so she could go online and take the tests. This was a problem because each student has a goal to get so many points from AR tests and the students who didn't reach their goal had "silent lunch" and "silent recess" until they reached their goal (Never fear, they still met the NC requirement for daily physical activity by walking as they read). Even though K couldn't take any AR tests because she had no login, she still got silent lunch and recess. It wasn't fair, but it was easier to make every student abide by the rule regardless of circumstances. It didn't hurt her; it motivated her, so that when she did get a login, she broke a school record by meeting her goal (and then some) in 24 hours.

3. A few bad apples can ruin things for everyone. Even if just a couple of kids are misbehaving, the whole class will lose privileges. You can be doing everything right. You can be the best, the brightest, the smartest, the quietest, the most obedient, the most helpful. And you can still get stuck writing a paper about why your class lost so many points in music class because the others wouldn't stop talking. All you can do is take responsibility for your own behavior. And feel smugly superior that at least it wasn't *you* who made the whole class get in trouble :-)

All three are important life lessons.

Life isn't fair and the sooner you learn that, the easier your life will be. You have to learn to function in groups and you have to learn that you don't always have control over what happens even if it affects you.