what day is it now (besides the day of interminable grading)?

[lunabee34]

1. Emma wanted to watch The Shining because she recently read the book, so she and Josh are doing that now; I am sticking around until it gets scary, but man, if those opening credits are any indication, it's going to be a long time. Emma and I burst out laughing when the title of the movie and the actors' names started appearing. "It's like a powerpoint, Mom!" she cried, and the music is ludicrous. Wow, have movie conventions changed over time. I do remember it getting really scary eventually, though. LOL

2.

Monday
Celery Stalks at Midnight: Draw a picture of Chester covered in trash. What trick does Howie play on Chester and Harold?

Tuesday
CSaM: Draw Toby and Pete in their capes? What do you think has happened to Toby and Pete?

Wednesday
CSaM: Draw a picture of the carrot cake pounced on by Chester.

Thursday
CSaM: Draw a picture of Howie and the artichoke heart. (This yielded an A+ drawing of an artichoke; I was impressed.) What was your favorite part of this book?

Friday
We finished CSaM with much giggling; we did not do any writing or drawing because Fiona's teacher set them the project to write and illustrate a story about an adventure they take together. I was really impressed with Fiona's story. She wanted to write about her going with her teacher to the desert to live. She looked up pictures of desert animals and drew pictures of them looking at each animal and then of their house at the end.

I think homeschooling is officially done now. Josh went up to the school and turned in all the physical work she's been doing here at home plus Fiona's library books, and I think that's it.

On our nature walk, Fiona spotted a small pothole in the road that is perfectly heart-shaped.

3. Josh went to the butcher this week. We knew he'd have to stand in line for awhile, but he got there at 8:45 and stood in line for 3 hours (which is because they are doing social distancing yay, but OMG). Fortunately it was a beautiful day, and he just stood in line and read and came home with about 1.5-2 months worth of meat.

4. Emma is being a teenager to the max. She shaved a line in each eyebrow. It looks deeply stupid, and she is slightly butthurt that we think so. *dies laughing*

5. I ordered a couple of necklaces from OiShiny, and they are so beautiful! Jack does such excellent work. I can't stop looking at them. I'm presenting at a virtual conference our institution is doing for people in our school who were unable to attend cancelled conferences this year, and I'm going to wear one of them and be beautiful. :) If anyone wants a beautiful piece of jewelry, you can't go wrong on this site.

Comments

[ghostgum]

Ah, sorry, I am just a random person here from my network page, but point number four just has me in hysterics. What an actual delight. :DDDD

[lunabee34]

Hello, random person!

:)

She is such a good kid. This is like the height of hijinks for her. That and dressing up her skeleton in different outfits and updating his Insta page. LOL

[ghostgum]

I read it aloud to my SO, and we are both in firm agreement that we'll be ecstatic if this is the kind of way our kiddo deals with being a teen, haha (she is... a very lovely but very tricky kid even at a young age, so we're not holding our breaths)!

Oh my god, the skeleton with an Insta. Beautiful.

Sorry for the intrusion, anyway, this just made my morning over here. :)

[lunabee34]

No intrusion! I post because I'm hoping people will wander over and talk. :)

I have been super lucky with my oldest. She is just abnormally amazing. LOL

But my youngest? She is also a great kid, but I am envisioning great acts of rebellion and terrible dramatics in her future. They are so so different from one another. There's 10.5 years between them, and it's been fascinating charting what is the same and what is different.

[ghostgum]

I'm literally hoping we can avoid things like... I don't know, arson or something... with mine. My SO and I say things like this (privately) like we're joking, but we're also not really joking. Let's just say, she's such a darling when she wants to be, but she's also the kid about whom random grannies at the playground will come over to me and say sympathetic things like "mine was a monster at that age too, but they turned out okay as adults, you'll be alright", which is always vaguely mortifying?

[lunabee34]

I feel ya.

When she was in pre-k, my six-year old got in trouble for hitting other kids to the point where I was seriously concerned she was going to get kicked out of the program.

*headdesk*

And then she just quit getting in trouble for no discernible reason. LOL

[ghostgum]

Well, mine is five, so this gives me hope, hahaha. Back when we were still trying to use the local school, mine spent almost all her time in their pre-school playgroup sitting in time-out or having stop signs waved in her face. It was garbage for everyone involved.

...I think I'm just feeling slightly manic without all our usual activities and stuff to get us out of the house for --well, so long now, you know all about that yourself lol. But now my husband is suddenly at home with us too, from last Friday, and he's not as used to the chaos as I am, and I can just... see how unhinged things are about to get in this small house.

[lunabee34]

It really was just like a switch flipped for her. She was not very responsive to discipline. She'd come home with a note that she'd hit someone or we'd go up to the school for a conference, and we'd dutifully take away TV time and dessert and other privileges, and it was like it rolled right off her like water on a duck's back. She'd just cheerfully go, "I'm off to my room to be by myself and no one will play with me." *headdesk* But then one day she just decided she didn't want to get in trouble anymore, and now she doesn't. She also is a lot more responsive now to our disciplinary efforts (taking away privileges etc) than she was before. IDK why or what is going on there. Brain development is weird.

And she's always been a good kid overall. Even when she was punching kids at school, she was basically good at home.

*hugs*

I know everybody at home all the time can get really frustrating. Good luck to y'all.

[archersangel]

a vertical lines or a horizontal ones?

[lunabee34]

A single vertical line in each.

[timespirt]

Here is someone else having the same problem trying to remember what day it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH4TVYT1OYQ

It's sometimes how I feel these days...LOL

[lunabee34]

Ha!

That was cute. Thanks for linking. :)

[timespirt]

Thought you might enjoy...LOL


"HUGS"

[jackandahat]

Oh bless, #4. To be fair I think you're doing teenager wrong if your mum thinks you're cool.

And thank you for the shout out! I'm glad you like them.

[lunabee34]

OMG, I do! They are so pretty. Your photos on the site are very good, but they just can't capture how pretty the stones are in person. And your amazing wire work! It's so intricate.

[spikedluv]

I stay away from movies like The Shining! o_O

Wow, artichokes are kinda hard! Will you continue to do something similar to keep Fiona occupied even though homeschooling is over?

I'm so lucky that I haven't had to stand in line even to get inside a store because we live in the boonies. I've read horror stories, and book aside, that couldn't have been a fun wait.

LOL at Emma's eyebrows!

Yay for pretty new necklaces to show off!

[lunabee34]

We are definitely going to continue reading books together. We have a few workbooks that we are going to do sometimes. And we'll continue to do these online math and literacy sites as long as she has access to them. Not sure how long that access will last. I do wonder what the effects of 6 months of no real formal education is going to be on her and other kids her age.

[spikedluv]

It is definitely going to be an adjustment when the kids go back to school. And the adults go back to work. Even me, who doesn't work out, but who has a schedule of sorts (mainly to keep myself sane). We're creating a new normal, and going back to the normal-normal is going to be weird.

[lunabee34]

I completely agree with this.

I can already tell that even if it becomes totally safe to go to stores and restaurants and hang out with friends again that I am going to have a lot of anxiety about it and might choose not to do those things or struggle to do them.

[spikedluv]

My mom has said the same thing! That when this is over, she's gonna be afraid to leave the house.

[independence1776]

I went through a Stephen King stage when I was about Emma's age, but I never wanted to watch any of the movies. Funnily enough, Mom was worried I was too young to read them… until Dad reminded her that I was old enough to go to the theater and watch one by myself.

Three hours?! Wow. I don't think I would have had the patience to do that, so kudos to him.

[lunabee34]

I went through a huge King phase in my teens, too. I didn't watch any of the movies until I got to college though. I just get so scared of stuff LOL although that is changing a little now that I'm older.

I am so grateful that he does all the shopping and necessary errands. We are lucky to have him.

[amejisuto]

I liked the 1997 made for TV movie of The Shining better than the Stanley Kubrick one, it was still scary but less gory. The acting is much better, IMO.

Are y'all going to be able to keep Fiona entertained without homeschooling? I wish you luck. At least you have your nature walks!

I feel for Josh and his legs, standing for that long! I've never been able to do that!

At least Emma's eyebrows will grow back in! LOL.

I love gemstone jewelry! Yay for you treating yourself!

[lunabee34]

That was the one with the dude from Wings, right? I remember liking that it did the evil topiary; the Kubrick doesn't even attempt to do anything with the topiary.

IDK about keeping Fiona entertained. We're about three weeks ahead of schedule for summer. I think we'll keep reading and doing some stuff but not stress about it.

[amejisuto]

That's the one. The topiary thing freaked me the hell out. It was pretty well done for 1997. LOL.

Good luck with keeping the kiddo entertained. The books you're having her read and draw for will help. Hopefully it'll be safe for some things to open up soon and you'll be able to go somewhere interesting.

[lunabee34]

I remember really liking it too although I don't really have much of a memory of the actual thing itself. I was a huge huge Wings fan at the time. LOL

[amejisuto]

I remember it pretty well, it focused more on Jack's metal spiral I think. That and the hotel went boom at the end, It made for a very satisfying three part mini-series.

[lunabee34]

That's the original ending in the book; Emma was really disappointed that he freezes to death rather than the hotel going boom. LOL

[princessofgeeks]

ALL THE HUGS

Maybe we can talk soon on the phone.

[lunabee34]

Yes!

Let me know when is good. Maybe later in the week? I've still got some grading to do and grade to turn in.

[nyctanthes]

Did the shining get scarier?

And lol to your Emma reaction. They are so deeply serious, and yet it is hard to take them seriously a lot of the time. :p

Though I felt some pain, my own eyebrows once being luxurious but after my second kid not so much.

[lunabee34]

It did! It's interesting. When I was younger, the supernatural aspects of the story scared me (the lady in the tub, the little girls, the flashes of gore). Now, the horror of hurting people you love, of losing identity, and the creeping dread of the hotel are very disturbing. I wasn't ever scared, but watching him deteriorate and try to hurt his family is really upsetting.

My eyebrows are extra and Emma has inherited them. LOL

[nyctanthes]

And Shelley Duvall does such a good job of portraying the confusion and helplessness (and anger) of Wendy. I really enjoy her work. It's so not like anyone else of that time.

[lunabee34]

I don't think I've seen her in anything else. *checks IMDB* I have seen Annie Hall, but that was more than 15 years ago, and I don't remember much about it besides thinking Diane Keaton was smoking hot. LOL

[corvidology]

I love the eyebrows! :D When I think back on my teen years... yeah, what a time to be alive! :D

[lunabee34]

OMG, I know. I would have lost my mind. She is handling this pretty well all things considered.