Life on Planet Caddick

Yep, it's become my job to taunt my friends with a Christmas Countdown this year. 61 days guys!! So close - how are y'all doing in preparing? My husband & son are the decorators. I'm a scrooge - I wouldn't even put up a tree if given the choice. But I'm not, so I do. What I do love is buying stuff for my boys and seeing them love what they've unwrapped. So far each boy has one present stashed away in the house (quit looking Erik - and no Zach doesn't know where it is either! Jeez - men!). I have several good ideas this year for each of them. Sometimes I'm not sneaky enough to pull them off. But I think I should be able to this year. Fingers crossed!! They always say I'm too hard to buy for so I'm putting my list right here in black and white. A new coffee pot (one that makes a pot or a single cup), an apron (because when I cook I end up wearing what I'm making), and an iPhone 6 plus. See only three little things! =) Yep, my needs ar...

We've been plugging along fairly well in our school year. Once we made the science change things have been going pretty smoothly. We've chucked the Sonlight reading schedule. Not the books - just the order. I know it seems rather weird to be reading stuff out of order, but so far it's been working out just fine. Our current read is Operation Yes which is about a school of military kids (Air Force even!) who have parents that deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan. A subject close to our hearts here. This actually ties to the history we're reading about (the Persian Empire). It's easy for him to see that even though the names of players change - things in that region of the world have been pretty much the same for thousands of years. So I'm good with letting him pick our reading schedule. I'm pretty sure he's been playing me for a fool in math for a long time now. He lets little slips happen where I know he understands, then tries to back pedal. Um, the gigs up s...

This year has flown by. I can't believe it's already October. It's been an interesting last few weeks though. Two weeks ago I had to have an emergency appendectomy. My very first surgery ever. Crazy that I've made it this long and still had all my parts! You know everyone wants one of these sexy hats =) What struck me as weird was that the way they show it in the movies is how it really happens. You are counting down and the next thing you know you're awake and they are asking you your name, doctors name, date, etc. I always thought that crap was fake. Since it's October it's also one of my favorite times of the year - Pumpkin Spice Time (yes, it's capitalized around here)! So I had  to try my hand at some pumpkin spice soap. I used pumpkin ale (which we thought would taste good, but doesn't) instead of water in my newly developed recipe. I had to let it sit out for a couple days to go flat first. It always looks gross when your s...

We finally took a vacation! We spent about a week at our second favorite Disney location - Hilton Head Island, SC. We need to do that more often - it's only a few hours away. Sheesh - we don't think things through too much sometimes, now do we? We arrived and settled in to our villa. They have updated them since the last time we went. Nice floors and calming sea colors on the walls. Day 1 - Time for some tie dye t-shirt making. One of the things we must do when are there! Never fear - you will see how the shirt came out - he's already worn it three times since we made it! Day 2 - A break in the rain! We did make some Gyoataku shirts (all three of us!). Zach made two because he didn't like the way the first one came out. Oh my Mr. Perfection Man. The worst part of this project was touching the dead fish. Yuck! Since we had a break in the rain we did swim for a few hours too. This last picture is the outside of o...

The other day we were discussing a book we are reading that takes place in ancient Egypt. One of the questions posed was "Why didn't Egyptians travel abroad at night?" Good question but 'abroad' is not a word we, in this house, use that often. Maybe we're not that cultured. Maybe we just say 'overseas' but usually we say where someone is actually going - Iceland, Iraq, Honduras, Afghanistan. Whatever. But I had to know if the Zachster knew what it meant. Me - "Do you know what abroad means?" Zach - "That's a lady, isn't it?" Moving on...with face firmly planted in palm.

We've had many critters invading our space the last few weeks. First we had this gross frog - You know, at least he was out in the yard.  Not attached to the window like this creeper - But nothing freaked me out more than Mothra. I discovered Mothra last night, hanging out on the same window. Of course I had to get a picture without getting too close and I made sure I got one from the outside and one from the inside. This morning, Mothra was still hanging out in the exact same spot. He didn't wander off to where the other creatures of the night go when daylight erupts. Weird. So, in my great insect knowledge I decide he must be dead. Right? I mean why else would you show your ugly face in the daytime when you are a supposed to be hiding from the blinding light of the sun? Continuing to use my vast array of insect skills, I decided Mothra must go to the ground. I don't want the bazillions of ants (another pest problem that's been terrible this year...

Yep, we're already at it. Changing stuff. Honestly, I saw this one coming though. As in the same science that we didn't use last year because it sucked the love of his favorite subject right out of him. Here I was, trying to save a buck - hoping he would find it more interesting and engaging this year. No. Not even the slightest bit engaging. When your child who has the strongest dislike for History does extra to avoid doing the science you know it's time to give up the dream of saving that buck. While we are waiting on our new program to arrive I'll be looking for videos and labs that we can start tying in to what we will be studying. He chose a doozy - Environmental Science. Hope I'm up for that task! =)