What We Did... (March 2015)

Learning and Play:

That plush dinosaur has been Elizabeth's favorite possession since she picked it out at Barnes and Noble, over all the super soft unicorns and dragons and such.  It's name is "Dinosaur."  Liv is looking at Lizi's dinosaur book and playing on the Kindle.

The girls playing with some of Elizabeth's dinosaurs in my windowsill.

Trusten reading about geography

I'm likely taking an exam here.  William took the picture.

Ingredients and supplies for an experiment.  That's not contact solution; it's just the bottle.

 The youngest three playing while I am getting my cranial-sacral therapy for my TMJD while William sits outside the playroom and watches them and reads on his iPad.

Research Studies:

 

As a member of the Personal Genome Project, I was invited to participate in an unpaid study done by Harvard University, exclusively among members of PGP in which differences in human areolas are being studied for fertility, breastfeeding and infant weight gain, and breast disease. It has been entitled "Circles in Evolution."   I was mailed the packet, after I enrolled, and I had to measure my breasts, areolas, and nipples, and answer a lot of questions online also about the number of births, length of breastfeeding, history of breast disease or lack thereof, and so on.  It was optional to take pictures of my breasts with labels affixed, and I chose to participate.

William and I both participated in a paid research study at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, in which anxiety in adolescence is being studied.  This was a three-part study with homework included. Part 1 and 3 took place on campus, and we had to answer questionnaires, answer questions that were recorded, and watch a presentation.  William also had to take part in a stress test involving breathing for two minutes through a coffee stirrer.  He had to do that weekly at home, also, between visits, and part 2 only involved him filling out a questionnaire online.

I really look forward to receiving the results to both these studies after they're completed.  

Bird-watching:

 Hermit thrush (Catharus guttatus)

 Northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

 

 Dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis)

Nathan's favorite, an American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)

Fun and Adventure:

 My babies and I!  I was trying to get Elizabeth to lie down above my head and look at the phone, but she kept kissing my head, instead.

Copy-catting big sister. ;-)

 My sweet girl at the window again

 This was taken with my iPhone in the dark.  We were on the UofA campus in Fayetteville after attending a percussion recital so that I could write one of my two essays for my music appreciation course.

Food:

 Homemade, whole-grain chocolate-chip cookies (with gluten added)

 Homemade buttermints

A Greek pasta dish that wasn't to our liking.  If only I'd have left out two ingredients, maybe...

 Yogurt and fruit breakfast

Until next time...

What We Did...(February 2015)

This month William finished another course via Minecraft Homeschool, "Castles and Cannons."  He scored a 96%.  The course covered the medieval European period, discussing castles, knights, and so forth.  He went through the lessons, took the quizzes, and built the required structures with details that proved he understood the lessons and the architecture, furniture, weapons, etc. of that time in Europe. 

There was also snow play:

And bird-watching:

 Male northern cardinals

Female northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

Hot chocolate drinking (with Elyon marshmallows):

Reading about mushrooms and other fungi:

Picture I shared before in my last mushroom post.  Awesome books!

Spinach-dip eating:

Only Elizabeth helped me eat the dip.  I got the recipe from my mother, and I made the stuff numerous times before I got sick of it.

Going places:

Liv will be a good momma one day.  She's got some of her ponies there, too, as horses are still her favorite thing.

Until next time...

What We Did...(January 2015)

Boys' Doing School

Trusten was working on his geography on my laptop.  He doesn't like geography much, but he aced learning all the states in the U.S., where they're located, and their capitals.  He is now working through reading an atlas book that covers both the U.S. (including facts about different regions and the states) and the world.  

Meanwhile, William was relaxing unorthodoxly on the chair while reading who-knows-what on his iPad Mini.  He was probably working on schooling me on something new. ;-)


Analyzing Ice

They busted up some ice while waiting for me to come out for our walk.  

William saved this piece, though.  It was a rounded piece of ice that I can't recall from where he obtained, but he wanted to show us the different layers and give a lecture about it all.  ;-)

Then he approved it for his siblings to stomp.  

There was something significant about this bark, but I honestly don't remember what it was or what I am photographing here.  Maybe just a hollowed-out log???



One of Our Walks

Reminded me of a Chinese lantern blowing in the wind. 

Another Walk When We All Went Out

I posted about all the mushrooms in my post on early fall to early winter mushrooms.

These lovely red stems may be the starts of blackberry vines, as I've noticed some blackberry vines being red in the winter. 

That looks like a likely home for some wild animal. 

 

I'm not sure of the species, but I love the appearance of the above red fungus.

These—what I believe are dried daisy fleabane—were so captivating to me.  I loved the way the swayed in the breeze and shone as gold in the brilliant sunlight.

My best guest is that the above feather belonged to a downy woodpecker.

This picture does not give the above specimen justice.  I believe it's some sort of lichen, and it looked so interesting in the sunshine.   My Love pointed this out to me.

I've had this post saved but not quite finished for a month or so.  I should be able to really catch up soon, since I finished school for the semester for myself, the boys are nearly finished with their schoolwork.  I have some important home projects to finish, though, as well.

Until next time...