A warning I think I'll heed

Because I really don't want to know what lies behind my son's bedroom door. The sign was actually written by his little sister.

At least she caught her own spelling mistake -- thank you, All About Spelling!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! 

My Favorite SOTW Chapter

So much has happened lately, I don't even know where to start. We've had such highs and lows lately that I am emotionally and physically spent, but instead of going through all that right now I'm going to move on to some administrative business and then share one of my favorite things in all of homeschooling.

First, I really hope you're reading this in email or reader format, because I'm feeling a little naked right now. Apparently 4 years is a little long too hang onto a blog design. I have been planning to do a blog makeover for over two years, but it never makes it far enough up my to-do list. Until now, that is. My blog has been stripped of all it's loveliness because the person who designed my blog has closed down her account that hosted all my graphics and pictures. So pardon the mess and be patient with me as I figure out what to do. Or just subscribe. : )

Now for the good stuff! Today in our history studies we covered my favorite The Story of the World chapter. It is Chapter 26 in the second volume: France and England at War. Why is it my favorite? Because it's the perfect excuse to watch one of my favorite movies, Henry V. Kenneth Branaugh and that musical score? Sold! 

So to further indulge myself, I'll share the scenes I watched with the kids today, along with some passages from the chapter. Oh, bummer -- if you can't see the Youtube videos in whatever format you're reading this in, you'll have to click over to my poor, naked blog.

So Charles the VI sent a message back rejecting Henry's claims [to lands in France]. His son, the heir to the French throne, sent Henry a rude insult along with his father's message. He packaged up several tennis balls and told Henry, "You're just acting like a child. Stop running around threatening France, and go play some tennis instead to burn off all that extra energy."

Best comeback ever.

The French army cut off Henry's retreat and met his ragged band of soldiers at a field called Agincourt. Henry was outnumbered, but he had no choice. He had to fight, even though his soldiers were tired, cold, hungry afraid, and outnumbered.

Best motivational speech ever.

The Battle of Agincourt , which was fought in 1415, was a turning point in the Hundred Years' War. Henry went on to take control of a large part of France. And the French king, Charles VI, gave Henry his daughter, Katherine, as his wife.

Best response to this scene ever? My son, of course: "Why doesn't he just ask her to marry him?" :)

{I love history!}

I guess . . .

You've probably heard the Midwest is getting hammered with snow today -- not quite like the storm that hit the east a few weeks ago, but still a good amount of snow. We had a good wave come through this morning, and we're supposed to get more tonight. I love it when we get snowed in and life stands still for a bit. I have a big case of the lazies going on today.

Anyway, I was talking to my sister on the phone today and also sent an email to my aunt and told them both it looked like we had about 4-5 inches out there. Then, talking with Marc, he says, "No way, we have about 8 inches." 

You know how they say opposites attract? I guess it's true, and this is one area where we are so different. I can't guess or estimate a measurement to save my life. 

I can't tell you how far away anything is, while Marc can say, "Oh, that's about 50 feet." 

He'll describe one of Anna's track races as, "When she got to 600 meters . . ."  and it takes me several seconds to mentally compute, "Okay, a 400 is one lap around the track, the 200 starts over there, so that must be where he's talking about . . ." 

A couple of nights ago, he and Ryne weighed themselves, something they hadn't done any time recently. Marc predicted both their weights almost to the ounce. He can accurately guess how tall someone is. He can tell you without looking at a road sign or his iphone how many miles and how many hours it will take to drive somewhere hours away. 

I can't do any of that. I can't even make an educated guess. Oh, and those games where you have to guess how many gum balls are in a jar? My answers are never even in the ballpark. 

Isn't it funny how God makes us all so different?

How about you? Can you guesstimate? 

Can you tell I have a bad case of the lazies today? : )



P.S. Look at the cool patterns the snow made on our picnic table that we should have put away in October.