vroom vroom

it may not be

nascar ready

there's a new toy at chez agnew

and it's bringing lots of smiles

to the faces of my children

a friend

and coworker

of the hubs

gave it to us

apparently

he felt he'd outgrown it

hmmm

i think

some people

never outgrow

zooming around on a go cart

okay, okay

i kinda like it too

but don't tell anyone

No Fail Oatmeal Choc Chip Cookie

i wish i could give credit to whoever

gave me this recipe

for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

because it is my family's absolute favorite cookie

it's easy

it always turns out

and it makes

the oh-so yummiest cookie dough

here's what you'll need

1 c. butter, softened

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. white sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/4 c. flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

3 c. quick oats or rolled oats

1 c. chips (give or take)

preheat oven to 325 degrees

cream butter and sugars

add eggs and vanilla

combine flour, soda and salt and add to wet mix

add oats and chips

bake 12 minutes and cool for 2 on cookie sheet

now eat one before your kids get to them

The randomness of a frazzled mind...

As I get closer to the first day of school I start to get a little panicky thinking about all the stuff I've yet to get done. Then all these random thoughts enter my frazzled brain and I end up hopping down (not completely irrelevant) bunny trails. Know what I'm talking about here??


I have one curriculum book left to order. I don't know why I haven't just ordered it already. Yes I do. It's like, $70, and I keep hoping to find some extra cash floating around.

We have gotten totally away from our school year routine and frankly, I'm dreading coaxing (jackhammering) us back into it. Myself included. Yes, I know we should stick to the same routine throughout the summer, but it's summer.


Our school room bookshelves really need organizing. As in, clear the shelves off and start fresh. I can't decide if making my kids do it is a way to teach them responsibility or just me trying to get out of doing it.

I need to list a ton of stuff on Ebay. But first, I need to organize it, clean it, photograph it, upload the photos to my PC, then list it all.

Did I mention that my 5 year old (5!) washing machine died? As in, "Gee, why is the washer not moving and what is that burning smell?" died.

My prayer life has been so lazy as of late. Part of my lack of routine. I think about the things I need to be praying about, but that's as far as I get. (That was a little more honest than I was planning to get with this post!) Pondering is not prayer.

The Lord is faithful, even when I am not. And His timing is perfect (of course) My brother-in-law, who is a gear head, bought us a used Jetta and retooled it so that it is in great shape. He spent lots of his valuable time and money doing this for us. My mother and father-in-law just drove it out from CO last week. The old (20 year old) Honda that the Jetta is replacing just died a natural death this morning. Thank You Jesus.

People are generous. That new (used) car is actually the second vehicle we've been given. The newly deceased Honda was given to us by my brother when he needed it no longer.

Coffee is good and sometimes necessary. Like when you are woken up half an hour early with a phone call from the hubs who was driving to work when his car died. And he needs you to come and pick him up. And while getting dressed you realize one eye won't open all the way.

Two of my four offspring are suffering with the Flu. In August. Five short days before school starts. And who will get it next? When (not if) will I be struck down? Why do children suffer for 24-48 hours with these bugs and I get sick for a week?

I doubled all my vitamins this morning.

I'm thankful for the Spell Check feature on blogger. Otherwise you would be very embarrassed for me.

Why do I squander so much time sitting at my PC when I have a very long list of things to accomplish? Like feeding my kids some breakfast. And taking a shower.

Isn't 'squander' an awesome word?


Happy Wednesday everyone! (It is Wednesday, right?)

the weirdest stuff you didn't know you needed...

i stumbled across

a new website today

kaboodle

and there i found

tons of stuff

and 

nonsense

that i never knew

even existed

and of course

my second thought 

was to share them

with all of you

fine folks

my first thought was

wow

this stuff 

is pretty weird

and a little

overpriced

but you might want

to grab a pen and paper

just in case

something you see

strikes you as the perfect notion

for that special someone in your life...

heartbeat necklace

i'm not sure what earrings would go with that

ideal for that 80s-inspired

music video

you've always dreamed of making

alien abduction lamp

would be the perfect compliment

to the leg lamp from

that christmas movie

and now

for the truly discriminating

imagine yourself soaking away

 in 

this

stiletto shoe bathtub

need a toilet fixture to match?

swarovksi encrusted toilet

for $20,000

either

(not both)

can be yours

but if you still require

a bit more sparkle in your life

keep reading

'cause it just gets better

swarovksi encrusted mercedes benz

a bedazzled benz

just for you

(if you have to ask how much

then you can't afford it)

happy friday

Big's Favorite Book(s)

I'm linking up with The Homeschool Village today and we were asked to write about our child's favorite book

I have a recalcitrant reader in my 11 year old son. He. Just. Doesn't. Want. To. But last school year I introduced him to The Chronicles of Prydain  by Lloyd Alexander and he didn't come out until he finished all 5 books in the series.

The series follows the adventures of a young assistant pig-keeper who desperately wants to be a hero. There's danger, battles, swordplay, knights etc. And each book has it's own theme until the final book resolves everything. 

There's even a princess...sweet, innocent and a little silly.

The Chronicles of Prydain are based on Welsh mythology and there are even a few biblical allusions throughout. (See if you can find the Noah character!)

Now that Big's read these books he's begging me for something similar...guess I have my work cut out for me!

Just around the bend.....

i am so thankful 

to live in a part of the country where

we get to enjoy four seasons

granted

that fourth season

gets a little long

cold

hard on the heating bill

but now that

summer is dwindling

fading into fall

(and though i think

every season is my favorite

until the next one comes along)

autumn is on the horizon

soon

leaves will fall

hazy afternoons

will turn into

crisp twilights

we'll haul out

those extra layers

of cozy clothing

sweaters

jackets

i just wanted to share

a little bit of autumn with you

Country Living

Paris Vogue

this is what the hubs and i

look like

dancing gaily

through autumn fields of

whatever it is

these two lovlies are tripping through

(just kidding)

Teen Vogue

can't wait to visit our local

pumpkin patch

and pick a peck

Vogue

it'll be here before we know it


what's your favorite season?

Curriculum Review

I have a confession to make:  I'm not a great writing teacher for my kids.  My usual pattern is to give them a topic to write about, tell them to "just go and write something" and then correct the heck out of it for them to rewrite.  I'm not sure this method is actually working to teach the concepts needed for them to become proficient writers.  But frankly, much of the writing curriculum I've come across is unwieldy, unenjoyable, and not very parent-friendly.

So when the folks at Writeguide.com asked me to review their online writing program, my interest was peaked.  I got the chance to look closely at what they offer and read some testimonials written by parents who have used their courses.

Writeguide.com is an online writing course established in 1998 and designed for homeschoolers.  They provide customized comprehensive writing instruction with English teachers who are pro-homeschooling, have years of classroom experience, and are all published writers.  Each course is customized to the starting skill level of your child, with constant feedback and instruction from his or her teacher.

Students can write biographies, memoirs, persuasive essays, book reviews, etc. and then select their own topics to write about.

As a parent with a B.A. in English, I have felt that I should be able to teach my elementary aged kids to write without help.  But this hasn't been the case, mainly because I lack the expertise to know how to give them the best feedback and guidance to develop their writing.  Writeguide.com does what I cannot do by providing an experienced writing teacher who is invested in building and honing each students' proficiency.

Here are a few testimonials from parents.

I cannot express the enthusiasm my 4th and 3rd grade sons get each time they write their consultant Mrs. Lovett.  and how much they enjoy reading what she has written and requested of them.  My sons where absolutely afraid of writing and had know idea how to even start.  Mrs. Lovett has done such a wonderful job walking each of  them through each step of writing a paper.  Now they both can't wait to start their next report


As parents of a home school family educating six children at once we are always looking for good resources that can help out in the areas where we are weak.  One of those areas is writing. We are so glad that we have found the Write guide program.  We have found it to be a professional, prompt and practical program. Professional in that the teachers are more than qualified, prompt in that their response to the assignments sent it is always timely, and practical in that they challenge our children, but do not overwhelm them in the assignments.  Amazingly we are finding that our children are actually enjoying writing. 

We are extremely happy with the quality of help we are receiving. We get prompt thorough replies to emails and a lot of very specific comments and guidance for the writing.
Our writing consultant has worked with us to give the level of guidance required for a ninth grader attempting some complicated writing assignments and goes step by step without overwhelming the student. She usually focuses on improving one aspect of the writing at a time, but is able to guide the student along so that the assignment gets completed also. Overall we are quite pleased with the arrangement.

Probably the best thing about the situation is that my son willingly does the work for Mrs. Hilton. This is something he has never done before. I wouldn't say he enjoys writing now, but he is self motivated to work on the assignments. A worthy start!


Writeguide.com offers both writing and grammar courses.  Each enrolled student is given a personal account for submitting assignments and corresponding with his or her instructor.  The students' parent is also given a private account to correspond with the instructor and is able to view all student-instructor correspondence. According to the course description, each student is introduced to all aspects of the writing process, including generating ideas, prewriting, outlining, research, taking notes, drafting, controlling tone, sentence and paragraph structure, literary and stylistic devices, grammar, punctuation, mechanics, editing, proofreading, and the process of revision.  Writing courses are available in increments of months, the shortest being one month (for those who want to try it without committing to a whole semester or year at once.) 


The grammar course is 3 months long and is comprised of 12 separate lessons.  Writeguide.com describes it thus: The Introduction to Grammar course is designed to teach the basic concepts and terminology of grammar.  It's ideal for two types of students: those who haven't yet had any formal experience studying grammar, and students who might have covered "the basics," but don't really have a thorough understanding of the subject yet.  The course is intended for students who are at least 12 years old.


The bottom line is that Writeguide.com offers comprehensive, personalized writing and grammar instruction for students who need what some parents are unable to provide.  The cost is not cheap (with a one-month course at $75) but bear in mind that you are not buying curricula, but paying for an online class that provides a 1:1 teacher to student ratio.  I think Writeguide.com offers homeschoolers something unique and well worth the price.


If you have used Writeguide.com for your children, please be sure to comment and let us know what you thought of it.

Weddings...Engagements....Anniversaries...

it's monday morning
crisp, cool
 golden outside

and i'm pooped

after a busy, fun
weddingish weekend

our guests have gone
to make the long trip home

my beautiful cousin Alyssa
married
our dear friend Titus
and we all had the joy
of witnessing it all

after my sisters and parents arrived
we invited some friends and family
to celebrate my parents' 56th anniversary

the couple
and the cake
were a little less blurry
in person...

friday night
we all went to the rehearsal picnic
at a local park
and ate
and celebrated

and talked about
another approaching nuptial

that's my nephew jason
with his newly intended, michelle
who are planning a new years' wedding

these are jason's parents
my sister cindy and her hubs, jay
they are (just a little) excited

this is my older sister carol and her hubs, bill

and
yours truly
with my own hubs

poor man...had to work late
and arrived just in time
to snap some photos
pack up
and head home

then
there was the
main event
the reason for which we all gathered
in the first place

the newly hitched
giddy couple
mr. and mrs. martin

brother of the groom
and hubs
who've been friends
since college

the wedding took place
on nathan's birthday
which was bittersweet
for my sister
but special
sentimental

i got to dance
with my dad
which made him nervous
and me happy

here we are
sisters
oldest to youngest

the flower girls
nieces of the groom
sweet
with bare toesies

here we are
again
thinking of our own wedding
all those years ago