Week in Review - Friday Favorites

By far my favorite moment from this week was going to my ultrasound appointment and getting to see Zoey! I am 31 weeks pregnant tomorrow, so I got some really good pictures of her. She's measuring in the 53rd percentile and weighs approximately 3 pounds, 10 ounces. Getting to see her precious face is so exciting and makes all of the pregnancy hardships seem so much more worthwhile!

Pregnancy-wise, I've gained a little less than 30 pounds. I was hoping to gain only 30 the entire pregnancy, but I have a feeling I'll go over a bit. I have lots of ligament pain and pelvic/hip pain. Lifting my legs is incredibly hard - so simple things like putting on a pair of shorts or climbing the stairs to my porch are very painful. My feet and legs swell really quickly, especially in this heat. I feel like a beached whale sometimes when I'm rolling over in bed or trying to sit up from a laying position! I can also tell a difference in my age and energy level. Being pregnant at 37 is much more exhausting than it was when I was 33 and pregnant with Zeke. 

The kids had a few visitors this week. Rory, my husband's brother who is 12, spent the night Monday night and went with us to Zeke's speech session on Tuesday. We ate lunch at Waffle House (again) and then the boys went fishing when we got home. Liam, my sister's youngest son who is 9, spent the night Thursday night. 

I took Mercie back-to-school clothes shopping when we had my ultrasound. She needed new jeans and shirts and a backpack. She got a nice little haul! I got her three pair of jeans, two of them Ariat and one Wrangler. She also bought three shirts and a hoodie from Cavender's and five t-shirts from Academy. Her backpack came from Academy as well. She's pretty easy to shop for - take her to the Western store! 

Eli worked most of this week and has earned a lot of money this summer. He has saved nearly all he has made. The only splurge he made was buying a ticket to watch the New Orleans Saints play the Bengals in October. He's saving up for a truck! We've also been talking about college a lot lately - he needs to start thinking about and applying for scholarships soon. He's taking the ACT again in October - he made a 28 but wants to get into the 30's. I'm sure he can. I'll be taking him shopping for school clothes in two weeks at my next appointment.

My Amazon purchases this week:

I bought these folders to help organize Zeke's preschool and worksheets in.

I ordered these shorts last week in black and they are so comfortable and fit so well! I bought them in brown and blue, hoping they will last me the rest of the summer months.

I got this Boppy cover for the Boppy I used with Zeke. I used it every day for months, for everything from nursing to tummy time to just laying him in it. His cover was lime green with white polka dots and I wanted something a little more girly for Zoey.

I thought this was such a precious outfit for Zoey!

I needed a new basket for our blankets, and this one is so nice! It's way bigger than I thought!

Lastly, I ordered this diaper caddy for Zoey. 

How was your week? Linking up with:

Blogging From A to Z: Individual Interests

For some reason "I" was a hard letter for me to come up with a topic for! I finally settled on individual interests and I'm going to spend some time reflecting on the different personalities and the main interests of each of my children. 

Eli - 17 years old, Senior

Eli is my oldest son and was homeschooled from preschool until 7th grade. He's been in public school ever since, for better or worse. Eli is extremely bright and always has been. He is a really hard worker, especially when he puts his mind to something. 

He is a starter on the varsity basketball team for the second year. He loves basketball! He decided he wanted to play between his 7th and 8th grade years, so he worked hard all summer. He had never played before and it showed. When he went to tryouts at the beginning of the year, the coach could not believe the difference in Eli's skill level! He made the junior high team for 8th grade, the junior varsity for 9th and 10th, and the varsity for 11th and 12th. He just keeps getting better. His specialty is three-point shots! He shoots everyday, goes to the school gym to shoot and workout, and genuinely loves and understands the game. I love going to watch him play. He even got the All-District First Teams award for last year's season (which means he was selected as one of the best players in our district).

Eli on the left

Shooting and making a 3-pointer

He is planning to go to college next fall but is a bit undecided on what he wants to do. He has seriously considered going into education to become a teacher and basketball coach at a high school, and he would love to move up to coaching college basketball. He has also mulled over going into other majors where he could make more money, like engineering or project management. Whatever he decides, he will work hard to be the best at it - because that is his personality! 

Mercie - 14 years old, Freshman

By now my readers know that Mercie is majorly into horses. You can read her story of how she got into barrel racing here. She basically decided she wanted to barrel race after attending a rodeo in May of 2021. She started taking some riding lessons but then her teacher went to college so she self-taught herself the rest. We bought her a better horse, Lil Bit, last fall and she's been training her to run the barrels. She has learned so much in such a little amount of time. She has entered several rodeos with plans to do several more this year. She has a competitive personality and wants to be number one in all she does, just like Eli.

Rounding the barrel at her first rodeo

She also loves training horses. She has been working with Butterfinger for a little over a year and finally rode him a few weeks ago. He's not ready to run barrels, but she's hoping to train him as well. He's a beautiful and athletic horse, and he's very fast! She loves working with horses so much she has considered becoming a horse trainer when she graduates. She is also seriously looking at vet school for large animals - we need a good, large animal vet around here!

Silas - 12 years old, 7th grader

Silas isn't really into organized sports, but he loves playing football and basketball in the yard with his friends and siblings. His main interest is tractors - he loves getting to drive the tractor to bush hog or disc. He is really great at operating machines, too. He mows our huge yard with a zero-turn lawn mower and can drive a farm truck pulling a gooseneck cow trailer. He loves anything to do with farming and tractors. I have a feeling he will grow up to be a farmer!

Silas working up Mercie's arena area

He is also really interested in riding bulls, although he's only been in one rodeo. There aren't many youth rodeos around here until fall when Little Britches starts. He's planning to do some bull-riding in these rodeos. He loves helping work our cows, too. 

Riding a bull at the rodeo

Titus - 10 years old, 5th grader

Titus loves farming, tractors, and cows just like Silas does, but his main interest right now is Taekwondo. He's been taking lessons since the first of the year and has advanced up to an orange belt already. His teachers are really impressed with him and let me know it! He has class twice a week and looks forward to it! It's been really good for him, too. He has lots of energy and a really hard time being still and focusing (especially in regards to schoolwork), but when it comes to Taekwondo he can put all of his focus into it. When I watch his belt test or catch the tail end of a class, I'm always amazed at the way he is so into it. He's quiet, he's still, he's focused - it made me realize how much he needed the discipline!

Titus has also been interested in riding bulls and rode some at the Rodeo Bible Camp this summer. He also loves anything to do with farming, just like Silas, and is more than eager to help Rod work cows and fix machinery. He is very mechanical-minded when it comes to working on things. He wants to go to welding school when he graduates and be a welder. He may very well do just that!

Taking a look at my kid's interests is really encouraging for me. Their interests vary based on their personalities. It's fun to watch them engaged in the activities that bring them so much joy. I'm so glad they have the time to pursue these interests. I'm also thankful we have the means to encourage these activities and actively be involved in them. 

What are your kids interested in? Link up any Letter I posts this week, and visit the other posts in the link up to say "hi"!

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Week in Review - My Friday Favorites

Taekwondo Belt Test

Titus took a belt test to move up from a yellow belt to an orange belt on Saturday. He did such a great job! I love watching the belt tests and seeing how much progress he has made. He takes taekwondo twice a week and just loves it. 

Swimming

Monday we went swimming at our neighbor's house, who happens to be one of Mercie's best friends. They just go an inground pool this summer, and it was the boys first time to swim in it. They had so much fun even though it was so hot!

Glucose Test

Okay so the actual test wasn't one of my favorite moments from the week. I failed my one-hour test last week so I had to go in this week to do the three-hour test. Four blood draws (one in each arm and one in each hand - ugh) and a 10 ounce 100 grams of glucose later (double yuck) in a three-hour period was not fun! I did pass the test, which is why I am recording it here. Mikaela also came and sat with me during the test to keep me company, and then we went to McAlister's for sandwiches and soup. We also went and bought her scrubs that she needs to start nursing school next month.

New Birkenstocks

I picked up another pair of Birkenstocks (I get a new pair each year). The past three years I've gotten the same style in different colors (mocha, black, and sandcastle) but I picked a whole different style this year. I don't like anything between my toes, but I liked this crossover style and bought them in sandcastle (my favorite color). Too bad my feet swell so much - they're really cute and comfortable until my feet start puffing out the sides like exploding biscuits from a can. 

Summer School

This wouldn't be classified as the boy's favorite from the week, but I'm so glad we've kept a pretty good routine of at least three days a week of summer school. This week Titus worked his first section in the Progeny Press literature study guide for Farmer Boy. He's enjoying reading this book with me. We take turns reading pages and he's really retaining a lot more than he normally does. Silas finished up the sixth chapter in The Last Battle and will begin that section in his literature guide tomorrow. We also did an art lesson from ARTistic Pursuits and they both worked a few lessons in CTCMath. I really like this math program for the boys! It makes things easy for them to understand. 

Amazon Purchases

I figured I'd have a section for my Amazon purchases each week. I don't purchase a ton of stuff, but I do live a long way from the mall and other stores. Ordering what we need is so much easier than making so many trips. 

I bought these shorts because they have an elastic waist band and are loose and flowy. I figured they'd be great to finish off the summer in, and if they fit right I'll order some more colors.

Zeke and Titus love building with the gear set we have, and this is a huge set with 235 parts. It's normally $79, but was a deal today for $36. I snagged it!

I don't normally buy toys except for birthdays and Christmas, but this was another Deal of the Day that I couldn't pass up. It's a STEM building set that I think Zeke will really enjoy. I'm saving it for when we start homeschooling to keep him busy while the older ones are working. It was normally $25 on sale for $16.

I also bought this bathtub for Zoey. I think it will be so much easier for sink baths! My bathtub is huge and hard to lean over, and I have to fill up infant tubs with a pitcher because of the way the faucet it. Bathing her in the kitchen sink will be so much more convenient with this (I'm hoping!). 

We have a birthday party to go to next weekend for a Spiderman loving little boy, so I picked up these puzzles for him - $15.

How was your week? Linking up with:

Mastering Essential Math Skills - TOS Review

 Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

I decided to have my boys do a bit of 'summer school' over our summer break. It's too easy to forget the important math concepts learned during the schoolyear over the summer break. When I was given the chance to review Math Essentials Mastering Essential Math Skills Book 2, I knew it would be the perfect book for Silas to use between his 6th and 7th grade year. I've used the Math Refresher for Adults from Math Essentials, so I knew this would be a thorough workbook.

Math Essentials teaches the math that you need to know in short lessons with built-in review. There are video tutorials available online by "America's Math Teacher" Richard W. Fisher. Each unit and chapter in the workbook have a short video lesson you can watch before completing the workbook page. Since Silas was working on review concepts, he didn't find it necessary to watch any tutorials.

Mastering Essential Math Skills Book 2 is for middle grades and high school. The cover of the book claims "20 Minutes a Day to Success"! There are eight chapters in this workbook that cover the following topics:

1. Whole Numbers
2. Fractions
3. Decimals
4. Percent
5. Geometry
6. Integers
7. Charts and Graphs
8. Word Problems

There is also a Final Review section in the back along with the Answer Key, Glossary, and helpful charts.

Each lesson is designed in the same way. There is a "Speed Drills" portion at the top that cover addition and multiplication facts. Next to this, there is a "Review Exercises" part with four review problems. Below that there is a section called "Helpful Hints" with, well, helpful hints for the concepts being taught! 

The actual lesson has two sample problems and around ten problems. There is a table to record your answers in that really makes checking the answer key a breeze! There is also a word problem at the bottom of each lesson called "Problem Solving."

Within each unit there are several "Review" lessons with twenty problems. I really appreciate the built-in review lessons because it does ensure that your child is working toward mastery. The review lessons can show you at-a-glance if your child is understanding the topic or if he/she needs more practice. 

Silas worked in this workbook several times a week over the review period. He finished the first unit, which is "Whole Numbers." The lessons really did take him twenty minutes or less to complete each day. I am very glad for the math review he is getting by using this workbook. He doesn't mind using it when I ask him to do the next lesson. I did start circling every other problem for him to work since it was mostly review, and if he got them all correct, he didn't have to do the rest on the page.

There isn't a lot of room to work out some of the longer problems if your child writes larger than normal. Silas used smaller handwriting so he could fit the work on the page. Having the table on the side to record answers in really does help with grading each page!

Math Essentials is offering a free, three-month trial to their website mathandalgebra.com to my followers and readers. This is an online math and algebra program that is based on their workbooks and provides printable worksheets as well as online lessons. Just use the code CREW2022 to receive three months of access. I reviewed this program back in 2020 and you can read that by clicking here.

I am pleased with Mastering Essential Math Skills Book 2 for my rising 7th grader. I think it would be a great way to work on those math skills during the summer or to use this as your main math curriculum for the year. Click the banner below to see what other Crew Members thought of Mastering Essential Math Skill Book 2 and Mastering Essential Math Skills, Pre-Algebra Concepts.