Crazy week!

We are winding down a very busy week. As I mentioned before, the Emancipation Proclamation came to The Henry Ford Museum. It was a crazy event...people stood in line for as long as 8 hours to see this document - just an amazing outpouring of community around this incredible piece of history, over 21,000 people came to see it!

Following two 20 hour shifts we jumped right into the prep for my daughters first dance recital. Dress rehearsal, then 2 performances. She loved it, but she is definitely feeling it now. This morning she slept until 10:30 am! She loved dressing up in a costume and stage makeup, forgot most of her steps, and is so proud of her flowers which have a honored place on her dresser next to her bed.

Beyond that I have been working on a T-shirt quilt for a friend. The squares are cut, interfacing applied to add stability to the material and now begins the process of deciding the final layout of the shirts and the sewing. I'm enjoying the process very much and cant wait to complete it so I can give it to the family it's destined for. Even Jewel cat is enjoying the project, especially when the scraps make the most comfy impromptu kitty bed ever!



Hmmm...I'm still very tired and haing trouble putting coherent sentences together. Hope you are all well! :)

Emancipation Proclamation

We are heading into a very exciting week...starting tonight the ORIGINAL copy of the Emancipation Proclamation will be put on display in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn MI. The museum will run it's normal business hours until 5pm, then reopen at 6pm. At 7pm the document will be unveiled and for 36 hours straight guests will have the opportunity to view it and the rest of the museum for free. For many people it will be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see this incredible document. It has only been out of the National Archives twice before, so this is a very unique opportunity.
For me, it is also a unique opportunity. The museum has never been open for 36 hours straight so this has been an interesting staffing situation. Not bad at all, just different. :) Thankfully we have a very flexible staff who love these kinds of "off-hours" projects and they jumped at the chance to be able to say they worked at 4am! lol I love my team.
If you have the chance to stop by, I hope you will. It will be well worth it!
http://www.thehenryford.org/events/emancipationProclamation.aspx

Summer vacation looms

We are just a few days away from the start of Summer Vacation! Big Djust finished Kindergarten (graduation was yesterday in fact!) and today is the last full day of class. Two half days and then off until September! I am so proud of all that he has accomplished over the year and seeing him excited about school and learning just warms my heart.

I've given myself a project, that is to continue working with him over the summer to reinforce and build on the things he learned this year. I plan to focus on reading skills but he already has a pretty sharp mind about math and like all kids a natural curiosity about science.
No, I don't plan on taking away his summer vacation, but I don't want him to lose all of the skills that are so new. So I've been poking around online for resources that could help me. Big attends public school, but I've found the most resources and collaborative info on homeschool websites, particularly SecularHomeschools.com The message boards have been full of great links, info and other tidbits from parents who are homeschooling. Since I work full time and unlike my hubby dont have summers off, I'm trying to find ways to take some of these programs and links and modify them for our needs. The nice thing about homeschooling is the overall sense of "go at your pace" that will work for the summer.
I also want to work with Lil A, who will be entering Preschool in the fall. I'm not going to go crazy with her knowledge of all the letter and their sounds, but would like to work on some of them so she has a base knowledge to start with. Beyond that I plan to keep it simple, projects that encourage hands-on work (cutting, pasting, creativity), and lots of stories to develop her skills in sitting still to listen. And of course exposure to new things, museums, music, zoos, all the fun stuff that preschoolers absorb like a sponge.
Doesn't this sound like an amazing plan? Don't I sound like an awesome Mommy??? Well, this is great except that I have one small conflict in the mix. I work full time. So my grand plans will be great but I won't be there for lots of them. My darling husband, who teaches high school and loves summer vacation as much as any kid, will have to handle most of the "field trips" and I think I can do some work in the evenings when I get home. He's usually game for most things, and I think that if we coordinate what we want to accomplish over the summer it should all work out, but in all of the posts I've read so far, I haven't found anything related to how working parents juggle "homeschooling". It feels a little like unchartered territory, but I can't possibly be the only person doing this.
Am I over thinking this? Quite possibly actually. I have a bad habit of doing that and I fully admit that. But if anyone has suggestions, please let me know! I'm all ears! :)
And if anyone has suggestions of fun activities for kids I'd love to hear those too! I'm the crafty/baking/etc parent in the family, hubby is the go-to-the-movies/fishing parent.

HOT & not feeling very productive!

I thought that this weekend I would have a chance to get a few things checked off the never diminishing "to-do" list. Somewhere someone in charge of productivity is rolling around laughing histerically. I'm just feeling a bit deflated.

It has been hot. Yesterday was in the 90's. I officially shut down at 90 degrees, especially when it comes with humidity (which it always does in Michigan). My work schedule has been a little topsy turvy and I closed Thursday and Friday, which meant I wasn't home until nearly 2am. What museum do you know that has shifts like that? None? You'd be right. The museum closed at 5 but we have an IMAX and my department handles the operation of the theatre. I can't complain about the work, the staff were great and the guests were fun (you can't help having some fun with a group of Red-hatters who dress like pirates to see a movie right? I know, awesome!). But I am not a night owl so I have really been feeling the lack of sleep. Friday I was still a mommy who needed to get up and get Big D ready for kindergarten and Lil A fed & dressed. She and I had a great day together...I have to say that the best part of working a night shift is spending time with her (and Big too when he isn't in school.). But I was soooo tired. So Saturday and Sunday were sleep-in days for me, thankfully hubby was kind enough to get up with them. Both days I slept till 10am. yawn!

But we did have some fun this weekend, even if we haven't been very productive. We took a trip to a Recreational Area not too far away (nice thing about Michigan, you are always close to a lake or pond or river). Hubby was hoping to catch a trout or two from the stocked pond there. He caught a 20" rainbow trout the night before and was hoping for luck 2 days in a row. The little beach was still pretty full when we got there (around 7pm) and I took the kids down to the water to wade a bit. Next time I need to bring their suits. Then we went to the other side reserved for fishing. Long story short, no fish, but the kids dipped their toes in the water and took turns pulling out minnows for hubby to add to the hook.

Today I was determined to check out a few yard sales. I'm such a visual learner plus I was secretly hoping to find some little treasure trove, maybe some vintage goodies. I took Lil with me so the boys could have some peace and she was such a trooper. We only went to a couple, but we found a purple cone hat for dressing as a princess and a 3 wheeled Barbie scooter for a grand total of $5.50. Now she can scoot with her brother and I don't have to worry that it will tip over as she rides. I also found some fabric that I'm hoping will become some softies if I can find a simple pattern, maybe an owl or something with an easy shape. $2.00 there, not bad!

So now I'm back to housework, trying to clear up some of the toys and other random messes in just about every corner of the house. But when I feel tired I can stop for some fresh squeezed lemonade...delish! :) How has your weekend been? Productive, lazy? Whatever it was I hope you enjoyed it! :)