MrsBeorn's Xanga

New Blog Addy

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:07:15 GMT

http://kiersten.wordpress.com/

I'm continuing to blog over on WordPress. Please come visit me over there!

Following Rachel's lead

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:37:42 GMT

If I were a shoe, I'd be Mary Janes
If I were a city, I'd be Manhattan, KS
If I were a season, I'd be Fall
If I were a car, I’d be a VW bug
If I were a vegetable, I’d be a potato
If I were a fruit, I’d be someone else
If I were a color, I’d be pink
If I were furniture, I’d be a loveseat
If I were a country, I’d be Germany
If I were a beverage, I'd be coffee
If I were clothing, I'd be a hand knit wool sweater
If I were weather, I'd be a crisp Fall day
If I were a dessert, I’d be cheesecake
If I were a plant, I’d be honeysuckle

Fly on the Wall Report

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 13:41:18 GMT

Day two of crashing on the loveseat included watching The Prince of Egypt with Ellie, again with her thorough and intensive commentary/questioning. It was interesting to see her making the connections between what she was seeing and what she has heard read to her, preached to her, and spoken of with her. I could tell she was working through the this is a movie, so it's not real, but yet this is real thing. Brain cells were bursting left and right.

Ellie: Why is he mad?

Mom: That's Pharoah, honey, the King of Egypt. He's angry because God wants to rescue the Hebrews.

Ellie: WHAT ARE ALL THOSE?

Mom: Frogs, bugs, and other things God sent to judge the Egyptians. Those are the plagues.

Ellie: Gross.

Mom: Yes.

Ellie: What are they doing?

Mom: That's the first Passover. They're smearing the blood of a lamb on their doorposts so that God will see it and spare them when he comes for the next plague.

Ellie: Why is he sad?

Mom: Because his son is dead. Remember the blood on the doorway? If the house didn't obey God's instructions, the firstborn son in each house died. God is rescuing his people.

Ellie: Why are they happy?

Mom: Because they're leaving Egypt. God rescued them and is taking them to the land he promised them.

Ellie: There's a lake in the way.

Mom: That's the Red Sea. Wait and see what God does next.

Ellie: WHAT ARE THEY DOING?

Mom: That's Pharoah and his armies. Pharoah is so angry at God and the Hebrews that he wants to kill them all. He thinks they're trapped against the Red Sea.

Ellie: Woah.

Mom: See? God is making a way for them to pass...he's protecting his people.

Ellie: Woah.

Ellie: NOW WHAT?

Mom: Well, the Egyptians chased them into the Red Sea and God is making the water crash back on them so they can't hurt his people.

Ellie: That's a GREAT idea!

Fly on the Wall Report

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:37:32 GMT

I'm sick again...yuckko. Yesterday I woke up with a fever and Andy recommended that I sack out on the loveseat all day and watch Jane Austen movies, and maybe knit a little if I felt up to it. He is going to make an excellent husband someday.

Anyway, at one point I took him up on his offer to put in a movie for me (don't ask me why I can't start a movie myself...I'm incompetent) and I got to watch Pride & Prejudice (the good version ). Ellie joined me for quite a bit of it and asked a lot of questions about who people were and what they were doing. She got very interested once Lizzy was touring Pemberley.

Ellie: What's that??!

Mom: Mr. Darcy's house.

Ellie. Wow. That's big.

Ellie: Who's that?

Mom: Mr. Bingley.

Ellie: He's very happy.

Mom: Yes, he usually is.

Ellie: Why is he happy?

Mom: He's just a cheerful person.

Ellie: Who's that?

Mom: Miss Bingley. She's Mr. Bingley's sister.

Ellie: Is she bad? She looks cranky.

Mom: She's not a very nice person.

Ellie: Cranky is bad. Who is that?

Mom: Mr. Darcy.

Ellie: He's manly.

I think she's pretty much got the gist of the story, don't you?

The Tan-Ram-Man

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 22:07:38 GMT

Thanks for all the cheers for Ellie! She read her book today!

Jonathan was in charge of photographing the occaision.

We are all so proud of her!

And Katie is pleased as punch that she is on her last lesson of Saxon 3 math today...she starts using the textbook and writing out all her own problems tomorrow!

Celebratory apple pie!

Red Letter Day

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 21:55:16 GMT

Tomorrow is going to be a big day in the Brandt household. Anticipation is high and plans are being set. When we realized what day it was going to be, every single person got excited. Jonathan is going to take pictures. I expect that all of those family members who are not directly involved will be excused from school for a few minutes while the momentous occasion happens.

And what, you may ask, is the subject of all this delicious anticipation? Ellie will be reading her first book aloud. She's got her sight words down pat, she's sounding out words whenever she sees them, and tomorrow is the day when we come to the Phonics lesson in which she reads Pan and the Mad Man. As far as literature goes, it's a bit of a yawner, but still, that's not the point. Our last little one will cross the bridge tomorrow from "not reading books" to "reading books." It is very exciting!

We will probably celebrate by making apple pie. And after a few readings, I will celebrate never having to hear that story again.

Some things are just not fair

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 20:05:04 GMT

In my not-so-humble opinion, exercising should be like a word document. You should be able to save your progress at any point and return to it, at your convenience, to progress further. In such a document, words and paragraphs do not disappear as time passes, forcing you to cover the same ground again when you come back to write more.

The older 3 and I went out jogging again today for the first time in weeks. Ouch.

Inside the mind of Mr. Darcy

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 14:34:32 GMT

I've heard that there are many spin-offs of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I've been a bit ooky about reading any of them, though, knowing that Miss Austen's genuis is unique and being fearful of what authors might do to my beloved fictional friends, but the above series was recommended to me by several fellow Austen-lovers, and so I've been reading through them as time and the library allow. They are written very well and I'm enjoying them very much. They contain Mr. Darcy's story during the Pride & Prejudice timeline, told from his perspective. Some minor characters from P&P are brought to the front in these, and some new characters emerge. The second novel was a little goofy in the plot, but the first was wonderful, and the third is quite good so far. It is obvious that the author loves the original story as much as do Austen's most devoted fans.

Fly on the Wall Report

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 03:01:01 GMT

This morning, the children made pancakes and bacon for breakfast for us as a Valentine's Day treat. It was yummy and very kind, and they had a great time cooking. They even cleaned up! The following was overheard during breakfast.

Andy: The greatest thing in the world is waking up to the smell of bacon. I love that smell. They should make a candle out of that.

Mom: A bacon-scented candle?

Andy: Yes. And also one called "Subway." And one called "Mom."

Graffiti

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 21:27:18 GMT

This is what happens when the lack of dusting as a high priority meets a 4 year old who is infatuated with her new ability to read and spell: