Mountain Adventure...Part One

We usually end up having an adventure when we take a trip... but they aren't usually as gross as our recent one.

We left Friday around 1:30...decided to take a slow leisurely drive as to avoid some of the Friday afternoon in October mountain traffic. Our first stop was....eight miles down the road to Calhoun for some lunch! ha ha. Our service was extremely slow though, and we didnt leave there until 3:00pm!!! Oh well...

Our next stop...McKay Used Books in Chattanooga, TN. If you love books you MUST visit this store. We gave each of the kids $20 to spend (this is their souvenir from the weekend) and they each got a TON of books. I was in charge of helping Katie and she got about 30 books with her money. LOVE this book store. We left with a HUGE box of books, so plenty to keep them busy for the rest of our drive.

By this time it was 5:00....and combined with some more traffic and a stop at the pharmacy in Sevierville, we arrived to check in at our "condo-cabin" at 8:30pm. It was a little difficult to find the unit we had rented in the dark. We had to walk past a big construction area with a big drop off and that was a little nerve racking with the kids, but we got in, put our stuff down and investigated. At first the place seemed so nice...gas fireplace, kitchenette, nice big beds, etc. I noticed that it looked like the floor in the bedroom had not been vacuumed. Well, okay...whatever...someone got in a hurry.
We ran back out to pick up some McDonald's for dinner. While the kids were eating and watching tv, I investigated in more detail.
The jacuzzi tub had hair and dirt in it. *ew!*
The toilet had not been cleaned. I could tell! Now, think about that...how can you TELL a toilet hasn't been cleaned?! *double ew!*
I am feeling quite appalled by now...and we investigate what is available in the kitchen.
When we opened one of the cabinets...there was a cinnamon bun sitting on the shelf...open with a bite taken out of it!!!!!
I said to Corey, "This place has NOT been cleaned at ALL!"
So we decide right then, at about 10pm, that we are not going to stay here. I cannot even give my kids a bath. This isn't like we are staying at a friend's house and we are just using their stuff....this is a vacation rental! It should be pristine! We don't know whose hair that is in the bathtub....or who took a bite out of that cinnamon roll....and even if you ARE our friend, I hope you don't have a half eaten roll just sitting in your cabinet! (unless you have a 1-2 year old, then anything goes!)
Well, while we are looking around the place for a phonebook to see if we can find a place to stay...I found a tooth flossing pick in one of the drawers!!! USED! TRIPLE YUCK! This place is just getting worse by the minute.
We knew that we had to get a refund and didn't want any arguments, so I took pictures of every single offense. I wrote a list on the back of the satisfaction survey and sent a detailed email when we finally got to another hotel.
After we left, we remembered that this rental also charged us a $70 CLEANING FEE on top of the rental price. FORGET IT PEOPLE! That is insane!
We were driving out, thinking we might be crazy for leaving a place at 10:30 on a Friday night in Ocotber to find another place to stay, but we did. We actually, in fun, stopped in at the Inn at Christmas Place. I thought for sure they would be booked or insanely expensive. When I walked in, it was like a magical place. It *smelled* like Christmas. It was so cozy, decorated with Christmas trees, a huge log fire burning in an oversized rock fireplace...oh just beautiful. AND they had a room available. AND...it was a little bit expensive...$159. BUT, she said they include a FULL breakfast buffet and have a 24 hour indoor heated swimming pool.
"My husband will be right in!" I said.
I got back in the car and said, "They have a room!"
"How much?"
"$159, but it includes a full breakfast buffet and they have a 24 hour pool."I replied.
"It is nice?" he asked.
I replied in a very kid-excited voice: "It smells like CHRISTMAS!"
"I'll be right back" he said.
What a great husband. We REALLY enjoyed our evening at the Christmas hotel. For one, Katie and Noah LOVED it when we walked in. Katie said,"It's CHRISTMAS!" and started singing "It's Christmas, It's Christmas!"
In about 40 minutes we had unloaded the car, changed into our swimsuits and were taking advantage of the 24 hour pool and hot tub. We were swimming at midnight and the kids were LOVING IT! We were too. We needed the nice relaxing welcome after having such a miserable check-in at the other place.
The room was decorated with Christmas design comforters and pillows, the lobby was just GORGEOUS, and there really was a "smell" of pine, or something like that all through the hallways and in the rooms. We also had a mini-fridge and a kitchenette type area with a sink. The beds were DIVINELY comfortable and the breakfast the next day was great and filling. Biscuits, gravy, eggs, sausage, bacon, all sorts of toast, bagels, pastries, doughnuts, waffles, cereal, juice, fruits, etc. Katie even saw Santa as she got out of the elevator that morning. Santa makes regular appearances here to sing in the evening some days or just visits in the mornings sometimes.
So, the first night started out awful, but ended VERY well, and since this has been so long, I will save the next days for another post. There wasn't a room available for the second night at the Christmas Inn, so we had to move on....

Stay tuned for Mountain Adventure...part two. Highlights of this post will include a pigeon on the balcony and a Classic Carrie spazz attack! Sound fun?!
(BTW, Corey took the camera with him to work today, so I can't upload the pictures yet!)

Honor Roll!

We gave out report cards today and I am proud to say that all three of my students are on Honor Roll this nine weeks!

Did anyone laugh? Shame on you!

Of course my children are on honor roll, you might say, I'm their teacher AND their mom. Well, I am two of the students' mom anyway.

Is it fair that I am their mom and I get to give them an "honor roll" certificate?
That I get to fill in their report card?

Well, if I am honestly trying to do the best thing for my children, then yes it is totally fair.

Why would I give them an "A" when they didn't deserve it? I mean, who is going to see the report card anyway? Who would benefit from their getting an A if they didn't deserve it?

THEY are going to see the report card. That is why it matters to me to record it. They can look at and be proud of their efforts as displayed on the report and on their honor roll certificate.

Why should they NOT receive something signifying that they did their very best and achieved greatly on their work for nine weeks.

Another point..... Won't they just get all "As" all the time since their mom is the teacher?

Who knows? I anticipate that they will learn everything they are supposed to learn this year...and when and if they don't....then we stop and wait until they do, so it is very likely that this year they WILL receive all As on their report card. This is just one huge advantage to homeschooling....we don't go on until they get it. That means success.

Is that unfair to children in a public school classroom where the teacher has to move on even if everyone doesn't get it?
I don't think so. That's why I chose to do it myself. One on one tutoring equals very high chances of Honor Roll.

I don't expect that they will always get everything all the time. They are at an age now where they don't really "do" tests in the traditional way...where they study then do a test for a grade. So, right now we are enjoying the luxury of my being involved with all lessons therefore we keep on until they "get it".

I am VERY proud of them...they are working hard and learning a lot this year! You can see their names posted on our school website (PEACE Academy) to the right. Feel free to leave a comment to congratulate them for their success!

Weather Alert: Frizz Warning!!!!

I was checking out the weather this morning on accuweather.com. I like their website because it gives a 15 day outlook instead of a 10 day like weather.com. I was looking through the forecast and LOOK at one of the indicators they have listed! This is hilarious...Bethany you will ESPECIALLY love this!

http://www.accuweather.com/indices-details.asp?partner=accuweather&traveler=1&zipcode=30103&metric=0&idx=frz

Update and Tag!

Update: Katie apparently has a virus, not an allergy problem. Her fever persisted all day today and when I noticed little white spots on her tonsils I took her on to the doctor. A strep test came back negative (though she has all the symptoms: no snottiness, but bad headache, fever, sore throat) but they sent a culture to see if something turns up in the next couple of days. We stocked up at Walgreen's on the way home...Zicam for me, sore throat lozenges, more ibuprofen and tylenol, ani-viral tissues, and some new coloring pencils to console the sick babes on the way home.
*sigh* So, I guess it is just the waiting game now. One of two things will happen according to the dr: Either it is a virus and will run its course over 48-72 hours, or it will turn out to be strep and we will find out and get something going. The good news is either way we should be well by the weekend!

Now, on to something more fun: A tag!

I can't remember if I have ever been tagged for a meme before, maybe I have, but I did actually try to find some sort of explanation for the word in itself. Apparently there is some historic/sociological definition as it being a word used for things that are passed down from generation to generation but may be mutated or changed...not genetic things, but things like habits, traditions, etc. Another definition I found, pertaining to the world of blogs was this:

meme: an idea, project, statement or even a question that is posted by one blog and responded to by other blogs. ...

I was tagged by Marcy to complete the "one word" meme. I have to answer each question with only one word. Then I get to "tag" 5 more people to do the meme on their blogs. I find it very difficult to even think about having to confine my answers to ONE WORD! AGH! Here goes:

1. Where is your cell phone? bedroom
2. Where is your significant other? asleep
3. Your hair color? brown
4. Your mother? scrapbooker
5. Your father? thinker
6. Your favorite thing? family
7. Your dream last night? unknown
8. Your dream/goal? peace
9. The room you're in? living
10. Your hobby? reading
11. Your fear? all (ha)
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? asleep
13. Where were you last night? home
14. What you're not? daring
15. One of your wish-list items? Quelf
16. Where you grew up? Georgia
17. The last thing you did? typed
18. What are you wearing? pjs
19. Your TV? off
20. Your pet? scaly
21. Your computer? laptop
22. Your mood? stressed
23. Missing someone? yes
24. Your car? Chrysler
25. Something you're not wearing? ballgown
26. Favorite store? Target
27. Your summer? indoors!
28. Love someone? yes
29. Your favorite color? brown
30. When is the last time you laughed? Ha.
31. Last time you cried? Sunday

I'll tag 5 people to continue the game! Good luck!

Amy
PJ
Corey
Emilee
Learning at Home

Just thoughts...

It is allergy season for our house! I have concluded that we must suffer from ragweed allergies because that is what is posted on the weather.com pollen alert for this time of year. Noah is coughing, and Katie started running a fever today.(and didn't EAT lunch!!!)..which is very odd odd. She isn't having coughing or sneezing, so it could be totally unrelated, but who knows? I have a little lump in my throat as well.
I have decided that this bout with allergies has about 2 days to clear out because we have a trip planned (notice the counter over there) and we are going to be well by then.
How will we accomplish this?
Well, currently all our bedding is being washed to rid it of any pollen/allergens that have rubbed off from hair after being outside. We have the kettle out to quickly brew hot green tea and we are stocked up on local honey to add to our tea for a little boost of immunity (not scientifically proven, but has worked for us!). We have a freshly replaced air filter on the air conditioner unit. The front door is closed and will only be opened when necessary.(ha ha) We are not having soccer practice this week (thus avoiding the always freshly cut field of GRASS we practice on). We are drinking lots of water and will get lots of sleep.
Not sure if all of those things are related to avoiding allergy problems, but I am trying to think of everything that I can that MIGHT even help. I very much dislike dealing with a scratchy throat and stuffy nose, but that is nothing compared to dealing with a child with those symptoms...and that is nothing to compared to dealing with a child with those symptoms...AT NIGHT!

I am wondering if we might should invest in an air purifier for our basement classroom for the fall/winter/spring months. any thoughts?

Also, here's another story about Katie. This morning when she woke up she told me: "I had the most pleasant dream."
And I said, "really, about what?"
And she said, "I dreamed my name was Annie."
?!?! It took me a while, but I finally thought of an Annie...the one from an audio book we got from Chick-fil-a..."Dolphins at Daybreak" from the Magic Treehouse Stories.
She also had another interesting dream while camping apparently...she told her Nana that she had a good dream about "talking quietly."
She is unique!

When the world of make-believe fails...

So, I was listening to the kids play with the kitchen playset. They were "cooking" food for each other, typical stuff, etc.
Apparently Katie had made a "jelly-roll" for Noah (first of all, where would she have heard of, experienced a jelly-roll anyway, but that is not the point), and Noah, in typical Noah style, would not give the jelly-roll a single thought and would NOT try it.
Katie was trying to convince him to try the jelly roll, she said, "It is the most wonderful tasty treat in the world!"

Noah just looked at her and replied, "Katie, that is a mabnet." He has trouble saying "magnet" for some reason...and he has a cold.

So matter of fact. She had used a magnet letter as the "jelly roll." I guess he really didn't want to try a jelly roll.

Camping

The kids went camping while we went to Les Mis...here are a few pictures. (Bethany..notice the little bookworm! I can't wait to share Little Women with her!)