Cobra Stings

Cobra would allow us to continue our current medical coverage (minus dental) for $1,048.33 a month. We're guessing unemployment (if we get it, some think they don't give it to students) might be $900 a month.
How optional is medical insurance?

Laid Off . . .

over the phone!
There was another batch of lay-offs at Cory's work yesterday. He missed a bus and showed up an hour late to work yesterday, after the usual daytime officegroup had gone. He didn't hear anything about lay-offs then, but he stumbled across something that had "lay off" under his name, putting him on his guard. Thinking quickly, he printed off a phone list, so he would have the correct name spelling of any co-workers he might use as references, and forwarded a useful e-mail to an email acount he'll have access to outside of work.
They called him on his cell-phone this morning while he was at school to officially inform him.

I'm actually pretty cheerful about this. Why? Well, let me list some ways:
he'll have more time to focus on his school work, allowing him to master important material and raise his GPA
he may have more time to rest and to spend with the family, which will make everyone happy
he might be able to catch my back a little more so I have time to do my school work (beginning Monday)
there's a job fair at school today, anyway
we'll get our income tax return soon, so as long as he gets a new job for right after he graduates, we shouldn't get into too much trouble, even if we use-up our savings and have to fall back on an emergency credit card
he'll have extra time and incentive to hunt for a really cool job (can we say rocket scientist?)

A Livable Life

"How do I know he loves me?"

Cory shopped around online to find an attractive basket to hang on the wall near our computer (where we pay bills) to hold the bills in waiting. He also found an attractive magnet grocery pad that I've hung on the fridge. He may be able to help with the shopping as long as I have an active, up-to-date list. I think he's getting really good at guessing what I will think will look good, while still being functional.

The hope is that streamlining my life will make it more . . . well, livable. I will not live through last fall again. No time to exercise, not enough time to sleep, too much time sick, not enough down time by myself or with my family. Something has to give. I refuse to let it be my art school (I'll send my kids brick-and-mortar first, I will!), yet we're both unwilling to give up the children's virtual schooling, so we talked it out for an hour and came up with a few ideas to try before shipping the kids to the brick-and-mortar school two blocks away (if it wasn't for all the neighborhood halfway houses, it would be really easy to let Kaith walk himself to school by himself).

The dishwasher comes next week!

Froggy Phonics; Art Activity

Every end of unit (fifth lesson) in Kindergarten Phonics has an optional review activity. Up until recently I had been skipping them with hardly a glance. Last week, though, the activity was too good to pass up. There were about 8-10 sheets of paper, each with a letter or digraph (two letters that make one sound, like sh, ch, th, wh, etc.). These were to be taped to the floor. Then there were about a dozen slips of paper, with one word per slip. Kaith and I took turns, each reading a word, then jumping on the papers to spell it out. I don't know when the last time was he was so excited about phonics! The next unit finished with a Bingo game, which he enjoyed as well, but is looking forward to another episode of "Froggy Phonics" later this week, which will challenge his skills acquired this week--ending words with the trigraph tch or the digraph ck. Maybe this time I'll do it before Sterling wakes up. He was so determined to rip those papers off the floor.

We also pulled another activity out of Art for the Very Young. I got out the Crayola washable fingerpaints and a few washable toys. The children were instructed to dip the ends of the toys in the paints, then make lines on their paper, which could be straight, wavy, zigzag, etc. Trevor enthusiastically went through a large quantity of paper as he experimented with the physical properties of his available tools. Miriam, however, stayed with it the longest. I think Kaith had long left the table when she placed the finishing touches on her first piece. I have great hopes that she will make a charming artistic companion for me, once she matures a little more. Ah, working side-by-side with various mediums, subtly inspiring each other . . .

Trevor's Prayer

While Trevor was dodging Sharing Time yesterday, Sister H. consoled me by saying that any Sunbeam (well, now he's CTR 5) who can say an independent prayer is going to be fine. This morning he said an adorable one:

"Dear Heavenly Father, we thank thee that it's going to be summer, but please bless it to be Christmas again. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

Post-Christmas Construction

The children got lots of building toys for Christmas, which they have been using. Cory had a week of unpaid, forced, leave from work, which he spent very industriously. First he took out a dead heater and put fresh wallboard in a deteriorating problem spot. Next he took down a very old light fixture. The wiring was no longer effective, and only one lightbulb would reliably turn on--not adequate in a 20' long room. He replaced it with THREE dome lights, evenly spaced down the length of the room. The effect is much fresher, and more elegant. Oh, yeah . . . it gives off a LOT more light. Then he turned to project 3 (or 4, if you count clearing out the filing cabinet). There was a small "dead" space in our house we've been transforming into a tv/living nook. We "extended" a wall and painted for the tv area, but seating has been very eclectic and inefficient. Cory has been building an approx. 7' long built-in window seat, hinged for storage, with lower back support, and comfort curves for the legs. It's all done except for cutting the memory foam (already purchased) and upholstering. Too bad he starts school Monday. We could have finished with just a few more hours. Oh! By the way, this is Cory's idea of a "sloppy" construction project.
Moi? Well, Carter, I heard you were sick, so you might like that I included an online photo: I finished the drawing of you dressed like Indiana Jones. Not fine art, but not too bad, either.
Poor Kaith, I've had him do some phonics through the break. I really hope to make the Spring cut-off to move up to 1st Grade Phonics. He's doing quite well, though. He's pretty confident with the digraphs sh and th, and just met wh.
Sterling has practiced walking, daily. He can get halfway across a room, now.