Archives for 2012
Professor B Math {Crew Review}
Great News from Our Recent EEG Study with MUSC {Epilepsy Awareness}
Earlier this month, Emmalee and I went to MUSC for a four day Video EEG study to see if she showed signs of Rolandic Epilepsy or Epilepsy in general or if she had outgrown it. It was a long week for both of us but in the end we discovered that Emmalee is officially seizure-free! I am so very thankful for this blessing in our lives. We have been assured her brain is perfect and working great, with beautiful waves. According to her doctor she is an extremely smart little girl, but I already knew that!!
This doesn’t mean we are done with Epilepsy in our lives. Laycie still has to take medication to keep hers in control. Emmalee must be careful of stress and traumatic accidents that could trigger Epilepsy in her again, as once you have Epilepsy it can easily be triggered unexpectedly at any time. It does mean I can relax and not be overly cautious with her as she grows though.
I am, as always, thankful to God for answering this prayer in our lives and allowing my daughter to continue her life normally. We are currently going through genetic testing to see if there is a trait that is carrying through since we have spent 5 generations dealing with this disorder. Though we haven’t been able to pinpoint anything as of yet, we are hoping with the new seizure panel that is being developed, that we will be able to locate something. I will update as we find out more.
Cleaning House by Kay Wills Wyma {Blogging For Books Review}
Then this is the book for you!! Kay Wills Wyma wrote Cleaning House: A Mom’s 12-month Experiment to Rid Her Home of Youth Entitlement after realizing one day that she was failing to teach her children to appreciate the finer things in life and instead to expect them. The dawning of this revelation came the day her teenage son informed her he wanted a Porshe for his 16th birthday. She came to realize he had no clue what a car like that cost or how hard one had to work to achieve owning something in that price range, so she set out to change her children’s ideals of the world, one challenge at a time.
Kay began by providing her children a jar filled with 31 one dollar bills and a task that had to be completed every day. If the task wasn’t completed and properly, as she saw fit, the child would lose a dollar for that day. At the end of the month, whatever was left in the jar was able to be spent as the child wished and hopefully they would learn a valuable skill over the course of the month as they worked to keep every dollar the jar held.
She began this experiment with the simple tasks of making the bed and picking up their rooms every day. Each month they had to continue with the already learned tasks and learn to do new ones on top of them, from how to cook and clean the kitchen, to laundry and cleaning the bathroom including the toilet and bathtub. Each child had a different day of the week to complete some tasks while other tasks were required to be done daily. Every time a task was not completed, the child lost a dollar.
Mom (Kay) was no exception to this. She created her own jar and participated in the challenge herself. Yes, she did occasionally lose a dollar as her family worked through the challenges showing her children that even she was not perfect in completing tasks as she was asked.
What did her family learn? Valuable skills through the year that would last them a lifetime. Kay now knows she can send her children out into the world and they can survive with clean laundry, a clean home and do simple daily things for themselves.
Want to make changes like this in your family? The first step to understanding Kay’s logic is to buy her book, Cleaning House, and read it from beginning to end. Then implement her strategies to fit your family so that when the day comes for your children to leave the nest, they are equipped with lessons they will never forget.
You can find Kay Wills Wyma’s Cleaning House: A Mom’s 12-Month Experiment to Rid Her Home of Youth Entitlement for $14.99 in your local bookstore or online at Amazon.com. You can read a Sneak Peek of this book at WalterBrook Multnomah.
Jamie Carie’s Forgotten Castles Collection {Propeller Review}
Hardback for $22.42
or
Kindle for $9.28
The Forgotten Castles Collection has quickly become one of my favorite book sets from Jamie Carie. I love her writing style, the plot, thought and process the books take on. The characters are amazing and Jamie draws the reader in with her magnificent descriptions and storyline.
The Guardian Duke is the first book of the series. In it the reader is introduced to Gabriel, the Duke of St. Easton, a kind-hearted gentleman who is going through a strange hardship of his own. Gabriel is asked to take guardianship of the beautiful, Lady Alexandria Featherstone, whose treasure-seeking parents have disappeared after their most recent adventure. Upset at this request, Alexandria takes off on an adventure of her own, to find her lost parents, leaving Gabriel to follow her across England and Ireland only to lose sight of her at the end.
You can find The Guardian Duke and The Forgiven Duke online through Amazon.com or in your local bookstores.
A Propeller Review:
Creation Illustrated {Crew Review}
This magazine was an exciting addition for our homeschooling. My children greatly enjoyed browsing the photos and discussing the images inside. I personally read through the articles and shared them by reading aloud throughout the review time period. Each magazine provided insight into different aspects of God’s creations and gave thought from His viewpoint on these animals and places. My children also enjoyed having these wonderful magazines on hand to go through as they wanted to.
One Year, Four Issues: $19.95
Two Years, Eight Issues: $37.95
Three Years, Twelve Issues: $53.95
Gift subscriptions are also available through the Creation Illustrated website:
*Disclaimer – This subscription of four Creation Illustrated Magazine was provided to me by Creation Illustrated and The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Review Crew for free in exchange for my honest opinions in a blog review.