Me:
William:
Going Solo by Roald Dahl (finished 7/6)
Carry on Mr Bowditch, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham (finished 7/21)
Little Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers by Ralph Moody (finished 7/26)
The Fighting Ground by Avi (finished 7/27)
With William:
Me:
William:
With William:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (finished 6/25)
Me:
William:
Animals of the Desert by Stephen Savage (finished 5/2)
His Majesty, Queen Hatshepsut by Dorothy Sharp Carter (finished 5/2)
The Three Princes: A Tale from the Middle East by Eric Kimmel (finished 5/2)
Rhinos for Lunch and Elephants for Supper: A Masai Tale by Tololwa Mollel (finished 5/2)
Old Testament Days: An Activity Guide by Nancy Sanders (finished 5/2)
The Dragon’s Tale and Other Tales of the Chinese Zodiac by Demi (finished 5/2)
Temple Cat by Andrew Clements (finished 5/2)
Misoso: Once Upon a Time Tales from Africa by Verna Aardema (finished 5/2)
Rimonah of the Flashing Sword: a North African Tale by Eric Kimmel (finished 5/2)
Tut, Tut by John Scieskza (finished 5/6)
A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson (finished 5/6)
With William:
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (finished 5/15)
Me:
William:
One Grain of Rice by Demi (finished 4/4)
With William:
Me:
William:
Ancient Egyptians and Their Neighbors: An Activity Guide by Marian Broida (finished 3/1)
The Story About Ping by Margaret Flack (finished 3/1)
Exploration into India by Anita Ganeri (finished 3/2)
Arabian Nights: Three Tales by Deborah Lattimore (finished 3/3)
Dance, Sing, Remember: A Celebration of Jewish Holidays by Leslie Kimmelman (finished 3/3)
Magic Tree House Research Guide #3: Mummies and Pyramids by Mary Pope Osbourne and Will Osbourne (finished 3/4)
Once a Mouse by Marcia Brown (finished 3/4)
Zomo the Rabbit: a Trickster Tale from West Africa by Gerald McDermott (finished 3/7)
Ms. Frizzle’s Adventures: Ancient Egypt by Joanna Cole (finished 3/8)
Look Who Lives In: The Desert by Alan Baker (finished 3/21)
Gilgamesh the King by Ludmila Zeman (finished 3/23)
The Last Quest of Gilgamesh by Ludmila Zeman (finished 3/23)
The Revenge of Ishtar by Ludmila Zeman (finished 3/23)
Look What Came From Egypt by Miles Harvey (finished 3/23)
Anansi the Spider: a Tale from the Ashanti by Gerald McDermott (finished 3/27)
The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack (finished 3/27)
The Tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves by Eric Kimmel (finished 3/27)
Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arleene Mosel (finished 3/27)
Growing Up in Ancient China by Ken Teague (finished 3/28)
Too Much Talk by Angela Shelf Medearis (finished 3/28)
Tutenkhamen’s Gift by Robert Sabuda (finished 3/28)
Hatshepsut, His Majesty, Herself by Catherine Andronik (finished 3/28)
With William:
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (finished 3/26)
Me:
Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card (finished 2/18)
William:
Mik’s Mammoth by Roy Gerrard (finished 2/2)
Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien (finished 2/2)
It’s Disgusting—and We Ate It! by James Solheim (finished 2/3)
How People First Lived by William Jasperson (finished 2/6)
Animals of the Bible by Dorothy Lathrop (finished 2/6)
Beyond the Valley of Thorns by Patrick Carman (finished 2/7)
Mummies Made in Egypt by Aliki (finished 2/7)
A Apple Pie by Kate Greenaway (finished 2/7)
Cat Mummies by Kelly Trumble (finished 2/7)
The Golden Sandal (A Middle Eastern Cinderella Story) by Rebecca Hickox (finished 2/7)
I Am the Mummy Heb-Nefert by Eve Bunting (finished 2/18)
Ben and Me by Robert Lawson (finished 2/18)
Magic Tree House: Mummies in the Morning by Mary Pope Osbourne (finished 2/18)
Egyptian Gods and Goddesses by Henry Barker (finished 2/18)
Croco’nile by Roy Gerrard (finished 2/18)
Cry of the Benu Bird by C. Shana Gregor (finished 2/18)
Egyptian Myths by Jacqueline Morley (finished 2/18)
Seeker of Knowledge: The Man Who Deciphered Egyptian Hieroglyphs by James Rumford (finished 2/18)
Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card (finished 2/22)
The Aesop for Children by Milo Winter (finished 2/25)
With William:
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling (finished 2/10)
–William and I have had a decent week. We’re getting lots of school done every day. Usually more than a day’s worth, which is necessary since we’re behind. I feel more sane when we are gaining ground instead of losing. I’ve also been taking the laptop to gymnastics and working there. Chipping away at my inbox three hours at a time, while not fun, gives me hope that maybe in a couple months I won’t have a backlog and can just work on whatever is current. Current is good. Behind is bad. So, in short, this week was good because I got closer to, not farther from, caught up in school and work.
–30 Day Shred. Once this week. First time in a loooong time. Ouch. Like…seriously. I have got to do that more consistently.
–We’re in a pretty good groove, and it feels good. Hoping not to rock the boat anytime soon.
–William’s gymnastics season wraps up in a couple week. He won’t be able to compete at state because of the Sabbath. He threw his back handspring for the first time in competition–actually for the first time on the end of a routine, ever, anywhere–this past weekend at the Alamo meet. The whole family except Allen and David came to watch and cheer him on. It was pretty cool. They may never see him compete again, and that will be fine with me. But I’m so thankful that Mom and Pap made it happen at least once. It really meant a lot to him. William also got 3 1/2 circles for the first time at a meet. He took 3rd in rings and pommel horse. He was a bit disappointed with some of his scores, but he wasn’t as clean as he usually is. I thought it was still a hugely successful meet, and I’m really looking forward to the next one. I hope he can end the season on a high note.
–We are not moving this year. I’m not sure how I feel about that except that I feel better just having decided. And I feel better with my family accepting it and not pressuring me one way or another.
–I’m not sure about gymnastics next year. Money money money, you know? I want William to keep training, but seriously? It’s expensive, and I’m not rich. And I feel like at this level, there’s a lot I could do myself if someone would just let me use their gym. I just need to find a schlocky enough gym that they’ll let me run his workouts and not be all insurance paranoid. The gym in East Texas charges about half of what we pay now, and said he could come in whenever he wants. I need to find something like that down here.
–Weight loss. Not. Grr. I have tracked four days this week though, so? Hope? Not yet, but maybe hope that someday there will be hope.
–Shirlene left my house cleaner than when she came. Awesome.
Me:
The Misadventures of Maude March by Audrey Couloumbis (finished 1/29)
William:
The Misadventures of Maude March by Audrey Couloumbis (finished 1/29)
Casting the Gods Adrift: a Tale of Ancient Egypt by Geraldine McCaughrean (finished 1/29)
The Dark Hills Divide by Patrick Carman (finished 1/29)
Archaeologists Dig For Clues by Kate Duke (finished 1/29)
Bill and Pete Go Down the Nile by Tomie dePaola (finished 1/29)
LEGO Star Wars: the Visual Dictionary by Simon Beecroft and Jeremy Beckett (finished 1/29)
One Small Blue Bead by Byrd Baylor and Ronald Himler (finished 1/29)
The First Dog by Jan Brett (finished 1/29)
The Magic School Bus Shows and Tells: a Book About Archaeology by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen (finished 1/29)
The Adventures of Tintin, Vol. 6 by Herge (finished 1/29)
The Adventures of Tintin, Vol. 1 by Herge (finished 1/29)
The Nile River by Alan Fowler (finished 1/30)
With William:
I’m tired of the deep, soul-searching posts.
Yesterday was Tuesday, I think? I worked on catching up on journals all day yesterday in 15 minute bursts. Today I need to finish the journals and move on to something more substantial. I think if I work consistently though, I won’t get that behind anymore.
William earned a night off of conditioning last night with his excellent pommel horse routine. No pause between the scissors! He’s never done that, but he’s getting it now. I’ve offered to pay him an extra dollar for each day that he does 100 circles on the mushroom. I know he can get multiple circles if he will just put in the reps. We have the mushroom now, at no small cost, so I hope he will take me up on it.
We are so ridiculously behind on school again. I’m also behind on work again. And my weight loss is going phbbbtt, like a balloon with a pinhole in it.
The weather is cooling off. I wore a sweatshirt yesterday. It might have gotten below freezing last night. It was in the 30s for sure.
I like making the list the focus and the time I spend on it. Keeping things bite-sized works for me. I know if I can consistently work, the results will come.
I think I want some of these balance-y things that they use on Biggest Loser.
I’m ready for some Jillian in my life again. It’s on the list, I’ll get to it.
Me:
Heart and Soul by Maeve Binchy (finished 11/24)
William:
Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson (finished 11/22)
