June 2011

I seriously need to get my internet back up and running at home. I miss putting my tidbits on here. A few highlights for this year... Jessica and Kaitlyn spent Spring Break with us in Teague. They tie dyed the entire week. Their fingers were rainbow colored. The school year finished on a good note. I was more ready than the students for a break this year. Kody and I went to Austin and San Antonio for our Summer Fun. We finally got to see Shamu. Kody has waited his entire life. We actually saw the show twice. Hopefully, I will post pics, soon. Now, we are staying in Houston. Dr. Cheryl Hinds is going to work on Kody's scoliosis this summer. She's also going to try and work on my back and leg - leftover junk from the accident. I've been researching and I might have to have the metal taken out of my leg. My leg keeps swelling and it is still painful. I am not able to walk long distances, jump, jog, or kneel. On the other hand, I am continuing to ride my bike. I have decided to buy the Trek Lexa S Road Bike. I should get it in approximately one month. My first bike ride for the year will be July 4th in Conroe for Bridgewood Farms. This is a really great Dayhab for Special People. Check them out. http://web.bridgewoodfarms.org/ Well, I know this is short and sweet and a little on the boring side but I just wanted to get a few of the things written down before I do like last year and forget it all. Toodles!

Kody's Basketball Tournaments

This was so much fun.
This was Kody's first year to play in Mexia.
Kody is on the Centex Team.
Their scrimmage and tournament were held at Baylor in Waco.
Coach Shine is Awesome! Kody loves him.

Where Did 2010 Go?

So much happened this year and nothing got posted to this blog. I guess I got a little side tracked with Facebook. I will have to work a little backwards if I'm going to record what happened in 2010. Because it was important. I guess I spent more of my time living it instead of writing about it. This was a big year.

Last March we went to Great Wolf Lodge - loved, loved, that place. Will get those pics up, soon. Kody received a silver in Special Olympic Basketball. Kody received 4th place in Special Olympics at State for the 100 meter dash and his team received a gold in the 400 meter Relay.

I started biking and biked all over Texas and Oklahoma. My farthest ride was in Waco. I biked almost 70 miles. We vacationed at my sister's in Oklahoma during the summer. I taught summer child craft classes.

We started the new school year in my new classroom. I have a full LifeSkills room with bathroom, changing room, and full kitchen with a washer and dryer. I also got a Smart Board. I made these awesome palm trees for my reading center.

I learned how to make homemade soap. So, now I've better get busy and start posting some of these activities before the New Year! Yikes!!!

Homestead Heritage

Heritage Craft Fair
Elm Mott, TX (Near Waco)
www.homesteadheritage.com
www.sustainlife.org

2nd Snow in Texas - February 23, 2010

Snow in Teague

2-11-2010

Child - Butterfly

A child is like a butterfly

in the wind.

Some can fly higher than

others.

But each one flies

the best it can.

Why compare one against

the other?

Each one is different.

Each one is special.

Each one is beautiful.

~ Author Unknown

Snowflake - We used this as a Science Project for the Weather Unit

Crystal Snowflake

What You Need:

1 wide mouth jar
3 white pipe cleaners per snowflake
boiling water
borax (look in the laundry aisle for 20 Mule Team Borax Laundry Booster)
pencil or pen
String

Twist the 3 pipe cleaners together in the center to make a 6-sided figure (picture an X with a line through the middle). Trim as needed so that the snowflake will fit easily into the mouth of the jar. Fill the jar 3/4 full with boiling water. Add 3 tablespoons of Borax for every cup of water that is used. Stir until completely dissolved. It is ok if some of the Borax settles in the bottom of the jar. Tie the string to one of the ends of the snowflake and the other end of the string to the pencil. Dip the snowflake into the water making sure that the string is long enough to completely cover it with water. Rest the pencil across the top of the jar. Check to see that the snowflake floats freely not touching the sides or bottom of the jar. Let the jar rest, undisturbed overnight (at least 8 hrs). The result is a snowflake covered in shiny crystals!

Important: Adult supervision is needed when using boiling water and Borax. Please keep the Borax out of children's reach.

2009 in a Nut Shell

2009 Christmas Gifts

Christmas Ornaments

Texas/Melted Snowman - Made from hot glue, blue beads for the eyes, orange pipe cleaner for the nose and red beads for the mouth, hat and flag are laminated paper. First place a piece blue yarn on a piece of parchment paper. Squeeze a whole bunch of hot glue on top, leaving enough yarn for the hanger. Place the beads, pipe cleaner, hat and flag in the hot glue.

Snowman Ball Ornament - Made with a white, glass ball ornament, orange clay for the nose, red fuzz balls and pipecleaner for the ear muffs and red felt for the scarf.

Christmas Gifts -

Dirty Santa/Stealing Santa/White Elephant/Chinese/ Yankee Swap

Santa's Underwear - Get a pair of XL men's underwear, tie the legs off with ribbon, stuff with candy and other things. Tie off and place the following poem on it.

I looked for a stocking,
But could not find a spare.
So, I ended up stuffing
Santa's plaid (red, green, Christmas) underwear!

Reindeer Poop - Make a baggie of Cocoa Puff Cookies (See Kayla's Kitchen for recipe).

Attach the following poem...

I woke up with such a scare when I heard Santa call...

"Now dash away, dash away, dash away all!

I ran to the lawn and in the snowy white drifts,...

those nasty reindeer had left "little gifts".

I got an old shovel and started to scoop

neat little piles of "reindeer poop".

But to throw them away, seemed such a waste,

So I saved them, thinking ~ you might like a taste!

As I finished my task, which took quite awhile,

Old Santa passed by and he sheepishly smiled.

And I heard him exclaim as he rose in the sky

"Well, they're not potty trained, but at least they can fly!"

Bag of Coal - Fill a bag with charcoal and place the following poem on it.

I heard you have been naughty not nice,

And Santa even checked his list twice.

So all the way from the cold North Pole

all you're getting is a bag of coal.


Small Christmas Gifts

Potato Soup Mix

In a baggie - Combine 1 T. dried onion flakes, 1/8 tsp. dillweed, 1 T. Knorr Herb & Garlic Mix, 1/2 tsp. salt, pinch of pepper, 5 1/2 T potato flakes.

In another baggie - Add some soda crackers.

Make the following tag...

Cream of Potato Soup Mix

1 1/4 C. water

1 T. butter

Place Cream of potato soup mix from a bag in a mug. In a small saucepan over medium heat, place water and butter. Mix well and bring to a boil. Pour heated butter mixture over ingredients in mug. Mix well, cover and let sit for 5 minutes. If desired, top with shredded Cheddar cheese, sour cream, or soda crackers. Enjoy!

Other Gifts

Magnetic Paper Dolls - Glue the child's name and paper dolls onto a magnetic dry erase board using puzzle glue. Laminate the clothes and stick magnets on the back.

Fleece Cape - Use Simplicity Pattern 3981

Differentiated Learning

Love this Clip. Hannah has made up a song and dance to study for her anatomy test. She gets sent out of class during the test because her teacher thinks she is cheating when she starts to dance in her seat.

Web Pages / Sites for kids

These are some of the websites that I have found and used as a teacher and parent. If you find a link that does not work please notify me so I can fix it. Thanks.

www.kids-cooking-activities.com (Recipes, How-to Videos, Pic Recipes for non-readers, & much more)

http://www.kids.gov/ (Kids portal for the U.S. government)

http://www.getalife.tx.gov/ (Site for Jr. High Students to think big when planning their future)

http://www.ipl.org/youth (Internet Public Library)

http://www.seussville.com/ (Dr. Suess games and more)

http://www.legoclub.com/ (Lego Website)

http://www.northpole.com/ (All kinds of Christmas games, books, Santa tracker, recipes, etc.)

http://www.multiplication.com/ (Tons of multiplication facts games)

http://www.funbrain.com/ (educational games)

http://www.funranch.com/ (games)

http://funschool.kaboose.com/ (games)

http://www.spellingcity.com/ (Spelling activities)

http://wordle.net/ (cute scrapbooking signs)

http://prongo.com/games (kid games)

http://http//www.nick.com/ (Nickelodeon Website)

http://www.chuckecheese.com/ (Chuck E. Cheese Website)

http://www.ohioart.com/etch/virtual_popup.jsp (Etch a Sketch)

http://www.mathplayground.com/games.html (Math games)

http://www.tvokids.com/ (Kid Games)

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/kids/index.html (games)

http://www.esc12.net/faces/ (Faces Curriculum)

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/ (Coloring pages, Games, Activities & more)

http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/ (Algebra & Geometry Games)

http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/ (All types of graph making)

http://www.hardin.k12.ky.us/res_techn/countyjeopardygames.htm (lots of jeopardy games)

http://allaboutfrogs.org/froglnd.shtml (Website about Frogs)

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson177.shtml (Science Experiments)

http://crafts.kaboose.com/gifts/classic-crafts.html (crafts)

http://www.worksheetuniverse.com/ (Preschool - 1st Grade Printable Worksheets)

http://family.go.com/video/food/ (Disney How to Cook Videos)

http://www.mathfactcafe.com/ (Build your own printable math worksheets)

http://education.jlab.org/vocabhangman/index.html (Science Vocabulary Hangman)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/games/ (Games)

http://www.primarygames.com/fractions/4a.htm (Pizza Party Fraction Game)

http://www.math-drills.com/ (Printable Math Worksheets)

http://www.smartalecbooks.com/ (Favorite Place to order homeschool books. They are extremely friendly, accurate, and prompt)

My Ride

Make a Smilebox postcard

Before & After

It's amazing what doctors can do these days. The bottom x-ray shows my broken and crushed tibia plateau. The top x-ray shows the plate and pins. I'm not allowed to put any weight on the leg for 4 months. The doctor put a bone graph (from the crushed bone and synthetic bone) where the bone was crushed to get the bone to grow. In the end my bone should grow and fill in the space.

Most of my pain has finally gone away. I am able to hop around and drive the wheel chair in my house. I'm getting pretty good at maneuvering. I won't be going anywhere for a long time. It's hard to get in and out of my house due to the steps. Also, the pain meds keep me drowsy so I sleep 50% of the day. A positive is that I'm losing weight. The meds keep me where I'm never hungry. Also, when the nurse comes to see my staples - that makes me nauseous - so, I don't feel like eating afterwards. Smiles!

I will try and keep everyone updated. Thanks for the cards, gifts, phone calls, and prayers! God is totally in control. With His healing powers, it won't be long 'till I am up and going again!

Car Accident 2-20-2009

So, what happened?

I was going home from work on Friday, February 20, 2009 at 4:15 pm. I was on Highway 84 (a two-way, two lane hwy) between Mexia and Teague. Tasha and the missionaries were coming over for dinner. Chicken fried steaks were lying on my counter thawing. I had just set my cruise control to 70 (the posted speed limit). Before I realized what was going on - there was a truck stopped trying to make a left turn. I don't believe he had his blinker on but he says otherwise. Anyway, I was up on him before I realized he was stopped. I slammed on the breaks and swerved to the right trying to steer into a pasture. I remember saying, "God, please help me."

Luckily, there was a nurse or may I say an angel on the scene. She immediately jumped in my back seat to hold my head straight. She talked to me, comforted me, and tried to keep my mind off the pain. I was covered in glass shards. My knees were pinned by the dashboard. My left foot and hand were throbbing. It took the emergency people about 20-25 minutes to arrive on the scene. They had to pry my door open and cut my dashboard to get me out. I prayed that I would be awake and aware of everything the entire time (I was). I joked with the emergency people - they asked me what personals did I need them to take from the car - I replied the papers in the backseat but they needed to be graded before they returned them because report cards were due. They put me on a stretcher and got me on an IV. One of the paramedics asked if I had ever flown. I said on a plane. They then life-flighted me to Waco because they thought my foot/ankle was severely broken. When we got to Waco the paramedic asked how was the flight. I said, "Sorry". She asked why. I said my first time on a helicopter and all I could do was stare at the ceiling. I had a neck brace on and couldn't even look out the window. She smiled. They said they wished all their patients were as happy and positive as I was. I said, "Did you see my car." They responded yes. I said "I'm blessed that only my leg is hurting."

The tip of my tibia that holds my knee cap broke off. I will have reconstructive surgery on Tuesday, March 3, 2009.

All I really have to say is that LIFE IS GOOD AND GOD IS GREAT!!!

I made this sign at http://www.wordle.net/ .

Visit this site and have some fun.

The Globetrotter's in Dallas, TX on Jan. 31, 2009

We left our house at 8:30 am. We drove around and went site seeing. We found a McDonald's in the shape of a Happy Meal Box and we had to stop for lunch. Then we headed off to the American Airlines Center. The pics don't do the Globetrotter's justice. The boys laughed and laughed. We had a great time. We all got t-shirts and Kody got a basketball. We were going to get it signed but the lines were too long and they were only signing autographs for a certain amount of time. After the game I took them to Chuck E. Cheese. They played games for hours. We didn't get home till almost 9:00pm.

The Allred's

What a beautiful day. This week has been hard. I was sick the majority of it. I went to the doctor on Thursday to find out I had two ear infections, a sinus infection, and strep throat. So, you can imagine the week.

Today, I was going to take Kody up to the church for a service project. They were meeting at the church and then driving to Coolidge to help a member move some stuff in a trailer. However, I overslept. I decided I wanted Kody to help so I made him get up and get dressed. I knew we had missed the meeting time so we drove out to Coolidge. By the time we got there everyone was finished and had already gone home.

We met President Allred at the church. He invited us to his place. We had so much fun just talking and hanging out with him and his wife, Bonnie. Kody helped feed the cows. Kody and I rode in the back of his truck while he drove us around his land. Pres. Allred showed us how to find mole tunnels and put poison in them. The tunnels cause the ground to become unstable (when his cows walk over them they can fall and get injured). He made it look so easy. He just dropped this metal pole in the ground - so it seemed. He asked if anyone wanted to help. I said yes, but when I dropped the pole it went no where!

Pres. Allred set a can on a fallen tree limb so Kody could use it as a target. Kody hit it on his 3rd try. He was so excited. Eventually, Kody shot the can off the branch. He was smiling ear to ear. Kody had a great day! And so did Mom!!!

Life is Good, God is Great!

What a day!?!?!! I've had prayers answered today that I want to share with everyone.

1. In an earlier blog, I wrote about my uncle that has been bed-ridden. This week he has returned to his former work. He is now working part-time as an Engineer, once again! Go, Parks! We are so proud of you!!!

2. I found out that one of my friends that has been struggling with cancer, Hodgkins Lymphoma, is now cancer free!!! She has endured chemo, a stem-cell transplant, and so much more. She recently found out that she had contracted GVH disease, a disease where the donor's white blood cells believed her own body was foreign and began attacking it. She lost a lot of weight (including muscle tone) and got a severe rash. However, this was a miraculous disease, it ATE up all the Cancer. She is now cancer free. Wendy, you have been an inspiration to many of us! You Go Girl!!!

3. My life-long friend has suffered through heartache that I have never experienced and I'm not sure I would have been able to handle. She has endured 2 miscarriages to 2 pregnancies that she has hoped, wished, and longed for. Today, I found out that she is 7 weeks pregnant. She had her first ultra-sound today. The heartbeat was strong. The baby is in a good, safe position. I told her I know that prayer works and MIRACLES DO HAPPEN. I just witnessed three. I have prayed every night for almost 2 years for my uncle and Wendy's health. I have prayed that she would again have a baby. I never gave up. God works in his own time and gives us what we need when we need it. Come September, Leslie will be holding her healthy, little baby. I know because prayer works, God listens, and miracles happen!!!

On top of all this I've been sick, out of school for two days. I went to the doctor this morning. I had 2 ear infections, 1 sinus infection, and strep throat. Got a shot at 10:00 am and felt almost perfect by 2:00 pm. Penicillin is a Miracle Drug!!!

The Mom Song