The girls just love it here. From the bars to the tumble track, they have a ball.

Coming soon: picture of the actual gym at renaissance gymnastics.

Because I’m pregnant, I was craving a grinder. Because I was craving a grinder, we went to the Roman Deli. Because we went there, it’s true I’m afraid, we took too long to make it to the open gym…which I suppose is ok – we do get a better deal elsewhere.

By the time we got home, everyone was cranky and I took a nap. A very long nap. I think.

Then I gorged myself on cookie dough and taught the Pumpkin about the origins of agriculture and how that created villages and cities, etc. etc.

You know what would make this post better? A video…but I can’t figure out how to embedd one, so here’s a link to what we’re covering in history this month: http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/kids/people-places-kids/iraq-mesopotamia-kids/. And a picture, so this isn’t the most boring post ever created.

This is the worst quality picture ever, but the books are gold. Absolute gold…if you’re teaching evolution, which I haven’t decided yet. So, I skipped the first half of both books and started with hunter/gatherers, aka nomads.

P.S. Don’t ever go to the library and ask for books on nomads. I got Romanian gypsies the first time.

In other news, these links are hilarious:

• The Bitter Homeschooler’s Wish List
• No Thank You, We Don’t Believe in Socialization!
• How to pronounce things hilariously

As for exercise…hello! I’m pregnant and exhausted all the time. But seriously, I started the “21 Day Mommy Blogger Weight Loss Challenge” in which my friend Jen over at mommablogsalot.com is also participating. It’s not actually about weight loss, since that’s frowned upon during pregnancy, but about improving overall health. (For more info about exercising during pregnancy, I recommend this pamphlet: “Pregnancy and Sport : guidelines for the the Australian sporting industry“)

So far, I’m failing miserably. I think. It’s a point based contest, so let’s calculate some points and see.

• I eat at least 5 times a day (pregnant!), so that’s 20 pts right there. I honestly don’t think I got any veggies today. Actually, there was lettuce, onions, and pickles on my grinder. I’ll break out the carrots in a sec too. As for protein, I guess I could have done better. Here comes the hummus with the carrots!
• I haven’t kept track of my water consumption….but let’s assume I drank 10 cups today, which is reasonable considering my insatiable thirst.
• I get full points for sleeping too. Oh boy, do I sleep a lot!
•  I’m going to do an hour of exercise, even though I think just walking around today was exhausting. I’m going to wait for the kids to go to sleep though…which is right around the time Vampire Diaries comes on…OH NO! I better do it now then
• I didn’t lose any points for Coffee, Soda, Sweets (does cookie dough count?), Fast food, Skipped breakfast, or Refined carbs.
• I got all the bonus points for food journaling (I need to add in these carrots and hummus) and exercising (when I finish writing this).

Total: 99 (I did subtract points for the cookie dough). I guess that’s not a total failure!

My goals are to get back on the exercise bandwagon, and continue eating healthy. I took pre-measurements and pictures, but those will be private, since I’m a pregnant manatee and not expecting to drop any inches in my waistline ::wink, wink::. You can join me in the “21 Day Mommy Blogger Weight Loss Challenge” here. The program is created by Dustin Maher from dustinmaherfitness.com and includes meal plans, recipes, ebooks, and workout videos.

That’s it for the day!
xoxo
monkE

The good news is that I love os5. The bad news is that I lost all my contacts. Fortunately, that was the only thing stored locally. God help me if google ever crashes!

In other news, schooling the pumpkin is going amazingly well. If you’re interested, I’ll do a post on our curriculum. It’s a hodgepodge to finish out this year, but it’s working so well.

Next week, we’ll start a science unit on seals. I might segway into the arctic from there. The best part is the dangerous field trip I have planned to go see seals at the beach.

Not much else is happening in my life now. This pregnancy has me exhausted most of the time, which means mommy gets snuggle time on the couch a lot. I can’t complain about that.

I’ll keep posting day in the life pictures when we fall back into our routine. Going grocery shopping mid week threw me off and then I missed all the supermarket sales. Bah.

Xoxo
Me

Workbooks for extra credit.

1. Paint existing bookcase white and get cute boxes (about $10 each) to store toys.

2. Slipper Chairs - diy instructions at the link. ($20 each)

3. Black and White Striped Rug – paint it from a remnant. ($15)

4. Floor cushions - sew it yourself ($20 each)

5. Table – I expect Dad to make this, along with the rolling storage underneath!

6. Colorful curtains to hide laundry area.

7. Fun Art – Print cool images at home and use a frame from a 2nd hand store. An over-sized Scrabble tile would be simple to make and look tres chic! A gallery wall isn’t complete without an artwork display frame ($15) – for all those art projects that mysteriously multiply.

Yum!