Raspberry smoothies...mmmmm

Oh wait, that was supposed to be a blog title not a Twitter post. But we just got back from the farm with a basket of ripe raspberries and then blended them up with the handful of blackberries we had leftover from Friday, some raspberry sorbet, and milk. Yummmm. It would've been better if the vanilla ice cream that I had thought was in the freezer was still there but somebody appears to have eaten it all. At least we had the sorbet.

So, let's see.... what's new? Friday we dropped the ball, of course, and didn't get school done before the park. We did get the living room semi-straightened though and that was my big priority for the day. At the park we went on a huge blackberry adventure and everyone came back with full bellies and half-full containers of fresh, ripe berries. We had forgotten to bring a container with us so we had to borrow one, but this week I'm going to bring a huge one. On the latter half of that trail, there were so many berries that were not quite ready yet. Oh man, there's going to be a berry bonanza this week. I have lots of recipes in mind to make so maybe I should bring two huge containers and make sure everyone has a full stomach so we don't eat too much of the loot.

The weekend was spent converting the computer/school room (which had turned into a loose paper and craft supply junk yard) into The Purple Palace... aka the Cassia/guest room.

We're going to move all her stuff in there now, but it will house MIL while she's here in September and then it will be all for the Spoiled Little Princess after that. I think it's unfair and sexist that she gets her own room simply because she is a girl while the other three have to share, but DH says it's just because I'm jealous that I never had a Purple Palace when I was a kid. ;) He thinks the boys will dig living barrack style and she would be miserable trying to find room for her Barbies amidst the LEGOs and trucks. I agree, but think she should have to do it anyway for character's sake. She already thinks she's a princess - why should we have to prove it to her too?? I at least think the kids should be split two and two with C&C in one room and Grey and Blobby in the other because I think that the age difference is more important than the gender difference. I mean, how is Cameron going to feel in five years at age 12(!) having to share with a 5 and 7 year old? Wouldn't he be more comfortable with someone closer to his own age? But regardless, this is how we're doing it and that was how the weekend was spent. We're also going to cover an entire wall with bookshelves so the room will also be The Library. LOL, I think we just need a bigger house. Six bedrooms anyone??

Monday I actually had a really productive morning and got the kitchen cleaned, everyone showered and dressed, and school started all before noon. It wasn't until about 1:00 that the contractions/aches & pains started in and told me it was time to give it a rest. That's a big improvement from most days where I can barely get started before my body is telling me to shut it down. Weekends (where I basically just hand everything over to DH) are a good thing.

For school, I started Cameron out with math to do independently while I finished up the kitchen. He was finishing up the last two pages of the review section, which was word problems, so I left him to read them and work them out on his own. He actually did really well, except for the Singaporian names, lol. It was also nice to be doing something else and just calling over help when needed instead of sitting there impatiently breathing down his neck waiting for his brain to come around to the right conclusion. It reminded me of the way we did math about a year ago and I think it works much better that way.

Next we did phonics. Cassia went first and read a couple small stories with short vowel CVC words. She did pretty well and was having more success than usual in sounding things out and actually coming up with the right word. We only did half the lesson though because it was a pretty big struggle. I am proud of how well she is doing though. Cameron started the second to last lesson in the book and did fantastically with the huge words in it. Well, he did ok with the huge words but did fantastically with the other medium sized words which used to look huge to him, lol. He's really gained a lot of confidence in reading and has actually taken to reading books to Cassia every now and then. I love that. :)

We didn't have time for anything else though before gymnastics because Cassia's phonics took a lot longer than I anticipated. At the gym, Cassia was the only one who showed up for class! It was great because they really got to focus on her form, which is my one big criticism of her current coach. She tends to look away a lot and doesn't really seem to care if they do it right. Granted, the kids are only 4 - 6, but I'd still like to see them learn to do it the correct way. Today though, Cassia got lots of extra help in making her legs straight when she does those funny little half cartwheels, keeping her shoulders straight while she walks sideways down the balance beam, and keeping her arms flexed while she swung with an "earring hold" on the rings. She also had extra time to do some of the things she wanted to do just for fun like little performances on the high beam, lol. It was so cute. She did lots of tip-toes and "beautiful ballet arms" and DiDi even showed her how to do a little pirouette on the beam. In fact, she did a Cassia version of pretty much everything she saw on the beam in the Olympics, lol. I don't think she's ever had a better time in class. Cameron did great in class too, but by that time I was too busy chasing Greyson around in circles to watch too closely.

On the way home from the gym we stopped at our local farm for the first time in waaayyyy too long. Mmmmm, the bounty. I had a really hard time stopping myself at 6 lbs of produce and a single basket of berries... but that was all the cash I had! And then it was home for raspberry smoothies and blogging or cartoons, depending on who you are. Well, Greyson tried to go for the cartoon option but only lasted about 3 minutes before he crashed over the arm of the couch. I am actually surprised he made it that long. He usually falls asleep either during gymnastics or on the way home, lol. And now it's time for me to start dinner. Talk at ya later. :)