deuteronomy 6

Underwater Robotics

2012-01-17T17:03:00.000-08:00

Normally this is a dad-tivity, but since the big man is out of town working, it's Mom City.... Underwater Robotics. The kids totally LOVE it and I *think* they are learning something. Even if they aren't poised to become robotic engineers - they are having a blast!

I've learned that there is a substantial difference between mom teaching and dad teaching - and this is dad teaching all the way! One team is supposed to design a poster about their design process, decision making, and design. It's pretty funny watching homeschool middle schoolers wrestle with the whole "poster" thing, since it's not a staple in homeschool academics like it is /elsewhere/. So far in that group - talking and some drawing. I believe my daughter has begun an anthem singing session. No poster yet, though. They d all work well together and are very encouraging of each other. So much for lacking social skills!

Separate from them is a team who is actually building the robot (or the float bag design), but other than playing with white board markers and discussing mascots, I haven't seen them do much. That group is all boys. At least some of the girls (in the -go figure - poster group) are worried about doing the right thing and are attempting to do some work. LOL!! The boys have disassembled the robot about 4 times, each. Hysterical!

And me, the parent, I'm sitting on the sidelines. In this sweet dad-tivity parents aren't allowed to help. The kids are supposed to come up with ideas, apply them, and execute. No moms making posters. No dads designing, building, painting, and then handing over a robot. From the competitions I've seen, not every team runs like this (or their kids are REALLY detail oriented LOL) but I love it. Sink or swim (yup underwater pun intended) it's the kids. And they love it!!

Sunday Sickie

2012-01-15T11:20:00.000-08:00

Today I am home from church with a Sickie. Thankfully, it's not major and he's not as bad as either DH and I were when we had it. Our version of the "blah" was major congestion, headache, fever, and feeling completely hit by a truck. Nice little boy just doesn't feel well. He's taking some cold meds, drinking lots of fluids, and spending time with my iPhone. So he's sick, but happy. LOL

I, on the other hand, am not very happy. The Broncos lost. The Saints lost. College football season is over and the BCS championship game was terrible. I only have two more football weekends.

I may have a seasonal effectiveness disorder.

Football season is ending.

And the Tour doesn't start until July.

And we got rid of cable.

So. I'll enjoy the couch time today. And next weekend.... And then one more.

And then I'll probably blog more, because I'll be substantially less distracted.

And my kids will be happy because I might let them use the tv again.

Until july anyway.

2012-01-04T07:30:00.000-08:00

Today in science we covered the water cycle. I told the kids I wanted them to include a drawing o it in their daily notes. When I finished cleaning up the kitchen and came into the school room I found this:

Book a Week in 2012

2012-01-02T18:40:00.000-08:00

So I am working on my list for the Book a Week in 2012. Some of these are ones I've read before, but I figure if it's been more than a year, I've forgotten everything in it anyway. Being forty is tough! I'm trying to shop off of my bookshelves and reduce the number of "wow that looks great, I will buy it, and then never read it" books. You know what I mean! I'm trying to break down my list so I can see what I'm in for. Here's what I have so far:

Family
The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie O'Martian
Experiencing God Around the Kitchen Table by Marilyn Blackaby
Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham
Shepherding a Childs Heart by Ted Tripp
The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson
5 Conversations You Must Have with Your Daughter by Vicki Courtney

For Homeschooling
The One Minute Teacher by Spence Johnson
Who Moved My Cheese? by Spence Johnson

Faith
A Woman's Call to Prayer by Elizabeth George
The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer
Living by the Book by Howard Hendricks
Counterfeit Gods by Timothy Keller
Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper
Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus by Ann Spangler
A Woman's Walk with God by Elizabeth George
Breaking the Worry Habit... Forever by Elizabeth George
The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges
One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voscamp

Fitness
The Courage to Start by John Bingham

Fun
23 Days in July by John Wilcockson
Harry Potter Books 2-7

Food
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

I don't have them in any order, and since I'm a serial reader I will likely read more than one at a time. I also have a few audio books that I'll be adding to the list. I'm sure I will also find some at the library that I'll want to add on, too. Hopefully I will work in a sidebar to compile the list and then add a few reviews, too.

Tonight - I'll begin ... I think "The Courage to Start" and "5 Conversations" will lead off 2012 for me!

Best Weekend, EVER!!

2011-12-18T19:13:00.000-08:00

I just had the very best weekend, ever!!

Friday - Quick trip to the next town over for WW...lunch and bowl with friends ... then Big and I head out of town for a GIRLS WEEKEND. We went out for dinner at a swanky burger joint (we are junior foodies, so it was a special trip), shopped at Target and Charmg Charlies, and had a blast. We checked into our hotel, stayed up way too late, and laughed a lot.

Saturday - Got up early, ate some yums at the hotel, and headed to run our 5K. We killed it! We both ran great despite the torturous hills and finished strong. Man, we laughed a lot at the end of that race! After the race I took a quick shower at the hotel, and we headed out to shop. It was so fun. After a long shopping day and lunch at Big's favorite place we headed home.

Pooped, we got home and I started preps for Sunday. We had our children's Christmas service at church today so I had cupcakes, soup, and costumes to make last night. After getting everything done, I think I feel into bed!

This morning - kids service, time in prayer, a great run with my dog, a nap, and a nice time out chilling with a friend. Not in order mind you, bu all done none-the-less.

A great weekend.

Memories forever.

Even more to write on later.

Lots more.

It was awesome.

I am so very blessed.

Image created with Snapseed

2011-12-14T09:57:00.000-08:00

Hi, I'm new here....

2011-12-11T18:52:00.001-08:00

Ok, maybe not "new" in the first-time-ever sense, nut "new" in the haven't-been-here- in-forever sense! Why return, you ask? Well, my DH is a traveler, and he actually really likes to read my blog! My one reader! YAY!! So, with his entertainment in mind, I'll hopefully be writing more. (Or at least more consistently!)

With every other hiatus I've done a big catch up report, and this one is no different. It's Christmas time and the fam and I are LOVING it. I finally got the advent stuff on auto pilot, so we are enjoying that. This year we are using the Jesse Tree devotional from A Holy Experience. It's really great. I also rigged up fun little stuff for the kids each day in their advent boxes and they are loving it. Today was "bake chocolate chip cookies" which Little did on his own. I was using the mixer so he went 'old school' and had to mix it by hand. FLASHBACK!! After baking cookies we rode around and looked at Christmas lights, then came home for some taco soup. It was a great night!

This afternoon I asserted my mom-ness and drug everyone out for an afternoon run. Big and I are running a 5K on Saturday, so we did our Monday milage today. It was COLD but fun. DH ran with us and Little relished his last week of scooter-dom before he starts the Couch to 5K next week. I don't think he's going to love it - but it will be good for him and hopefully will calm him before school in the mornings. I am helping a friend start the program so Little will be a great training buddy for her. While we were out looking at lights on our cool down walk we met a neighbor with a dog just like Boots. Their puppy was actually WAY more spastic, so that we pretty funny. It was a fun afternoon!

Tomorrow we start back to school after a week off. We went to visit friends last week out of town and had an absolute blast. We ate out, played, relaxed, laughed, prayed, and just had an amazing time. It was so refreshing and encouraging. I can't wait to see our friends again soon. I'm not really looking forward to getting back in the swing, but such is life. We will likely school 4 days this week and then take a break on Friday. Big and I will be headed out of town and I'm sure it'll be hard for us to get focused (you know, with packing and getting ready to SHOP! In a real city!!). I really love homeschooling and the flexibility, and we will be enjoying that flexibility over the holidays!

Well, it's time for me to grab a shower and get to bed. I used to be a slacker when it comes to bedtime, but lately I've been pretty good. A friend and I challenged each other to going nap-free and so far I've done it. I did have a couple of days in the last month when I napped - but it was that or a serious crash. So, with the no nap zone in place I'm much better about not staying up late. I do need my sleep, so I have to be more responsible with my bed time. Add school in tomorrow and I've got to be on my game. :-) So, a hot shower and an early bedtime for me. Sounds like a perfect plan!

Robotics

2011-11-15T08:51:00.000-08:00

Last night at scouts we had an AWESOME time doing Lego Robotics. A dear friend of our family's is an engineer at the local university, so he and his son graciously came and taught the boys about robotics. His son actually did his Eagle Scout project on teaching math and science through Lego Robotics - so he was the BOMB at helping the guys. I really appreciate their coming to help the boys. The kids had a blast and I heard about ten of them telling each other what kind of engineer they would be in college. It was great. (In case you were wondering, Big was being an amazonian warrior princess....)

2011-10-12T13:57:00.000-07:00

This is how life should be viewed!

We skipped school today and headed out to kayak. It was awesome. I've decided recently that we need to enjoy being homeschoolers more, and we are all loving that decision!!

Today...

2011-10-11T08:14:00.000-07:00

...is Little's 9th birthday.

I can't believe it!

He's the best little boy in the world and I am so glad God let me be his mom!

Since his gift is hysterical comments - here are a few from his birthday:

About gifts... Number Four on his list, "A statue in my honor. (That's a joke, Mom. I wanted to see if you read the list)."

About growing... "Tomorrow when I get up I am going to look at the ground. I do this every year. Every year the ground is farther away. I grow the entire year in one day. It's awesome."

And on my workout this morning... "Mom, can you only do 4 miles so it goes really fast?" I felt like a stud! I love this kid.

Today's birthday celebration is steeped in sugar and fat. Homemade caramel cake for breakfast. Candy corn cake and pizza with buddies for lunch. And this is no joke - his chosen meal for dinner - Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon. Seriously. I think maybe my Weight Watchers cooking has gotten to the boy. He needs some bacon, sugar, and fat I guess! I think his father is secretly very, very proud of him for this. Thank goodness weigh in is not until Friday. :-)

2011-10-06T06:17:00.000-07:00

Sometimes getting the checklist done is all about the motivation. ;-)

2011-10-03T07:20:00.001-07:00

Saturday I took the kids for a little road trip, which as usual, included a trip to Sam's Club. The nearest Sam's is about an hour and fifteen minutes, so it's not somewhere I go very often. I love to shop at Sam's, and when I go I like to stock up on fresh produce, frozen fruit, precooked bacon, cheeses, and meat. When I get home I pull out the vacuum sealer and get working. Here's the before:

With the lettuce I chop it all up, clean it, salad spin it, and then seal it into jars. Then, I have my salad ready to go for the week. It's awesome!! I can chop an apple, drop on some grilled chiken, throw on a few craisins and viola! Dinner! I also try to seal as much of the fruit as I can because it makes the berries last so much longer than unsealed. I can keep strawberries a week sealed, as opposed to a couple of days otherwise. If you try this - dont wash any of the fruit before you seal it. It makes it rot and gets it all nasty in the jars. The least amount of moisture the better. This trip I didnt have any meat, so we just sealed lettuce, blueberries, and strawberries. For 20 minutes of work for me (and my friend who helped), my healthier vittles are ready for the week. No excuses for not eating healthy now!

Here's the after:

2011-09-30T07:37:00.000-07:00

I bought myself an adult scooter...

That's no Hoover Round!! I really wanted Roller Blades, but the kids and DH thought it was nuts. I think there were comments about copays, and collarbones, and other unkind things. So I used my allowance and bought an adult Razor scooter. It's awesome!! The handlebar was a little shorter than the kids, so Big graciously swapped with me and the extra 2 inches is a big help. I've been riding a little every day with the kids and we are having so much fun. The workout is unreal. It's like Jillian lunges times about a million. The riding leg is the one that KILLS when your riding, so Im learning to swap up feet. I'm not terrible, but I am so not a 9 or 10 year old on It either! It's hilarious to watch my neighbors shaking their heads at the nutty 41 year old mom screaming down the hills with the kids. According to the kids I'm much better at scootering than DH, but he also has a lot more hassle to deal with if he has an accident and has to explain that he wiped out on a scooter going down a hill with his kids. If you need a fun workout and want to impress your kids - go with a Razor pro. It's a blast!!!

2011-09-29T08:01:00.000-07:00

I love Fage yogurt. LOVE it. I used to be a Chiobani person, but after a trip to a friend's I've been converted. The only bad part - my local store only carries strawberry, and usually only the 2%. There is only a one point difference between the fat free and 2% - but some days I need that point! I love that the Fage separates the fruit glob from the yogurt, since some days I am not wanting that much glob. Chiobani has way too much glob for me. If you haven't tried Fage, or for that matter Greek yogurt, do it. It's awesome!

2011-09-29T07:18:00.000-07:00

LONG DIVISION...with remainders. Love it!! We are trying hard to remember the steps...not carry down before we subtract...and draw on the white board less and do math more. Too funny. Go 4th grade!!

2011-09-28T18:20:00.000-07:00

I totally love making fun lunches for my kids. I figure since they are homeschooled, they can have some fun that other kids don't get. Right now they are on a Phineas and Ferb kick, so I found a great idea for these sandwiches online. They were a HUGE hit!! DH seemed a little disappointed that he didn't get one. LOL!!

The Ultimate Energy Bar Formula

2011-09-22T08:09:00.001-07:00

I know I've been on a food kick here lately, but a friend shared this recipe with me and I had to repost it here so I'd have it for posterity!

THE ULTIMATE ENERGY BAR FORMULA

I love that it's a formula and not a recipe. It looks like I can make it very WW friendly, and healthy, and whole foods. LOVE IT. I can't wait to try it next week!

Five Points of Yum

2011-09-21T08:16:00.000-07:00

I just had to share one of my absolute favorite Weight Watchers snacks that I make. I LOVE this and eat it a few times a week. I will say, if you make it, measure and track! This is an easy one to have generous eyes with, so get out the measuring spoons and a scale!

Here are the ingredients:

I toast one of the Sara Lee muffins for 2 points.

Spread one tablespoon of the whipped PB between the two halves of the muffin. That's 2 points too.

Top with 7 grams of mini chocolate chips. If you want, you can use one half of a tablespoon - but measuring in grams gets you more chocolate for the same cost. ;-) The chips are one point!

If you assemble it quickly, the chocolate and PB melt together. DELICIOUS!!!!

Yay!!

2011-09-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

It's fall. That meand two things to me - football and Pumpkin Spice Lattes! As I still rocking the Weight Watchers deal, I am not willing to spend my hard earned points on lattes, even ones with skim milk. The syrup they put in at Starbucks is a lot of points, and I am cheap so I have only had half of a small this year. But, I love them!!

So, have come up with a compromise. (And I love iced coffee, so this is iced, but you could go hot too...)

Keurig Pumpkin Spice k-cup, with 1 tablespoon of the natural creamer with only cream and sugar, and one half to one packet of truvia. It's pumkpiny. It's smooth. It's a little sweet. And, it's only one point. Happiness!!!

Ha ha ha ha ha.....

2011-09-16T10:06:00.000-07:00

The other day I was talking with a friend about all the wonderful aspects of homeschooling. Honestly, there are WAY too many to list. I am a Kool Aid drinker and love my life!!

But sometimes, homeschooling is hard.

And the days are long.

And I had one of those yesterday, which is hysterically ironic considering the phone call the day before. God is really funny sometimes!

Let me say, teaching a wiggly eight year old boy double digit on double digit multiplication is pretty challenging. Place value is hard some days.

But we got through it and he totally "got" it, it's just a hard concept. It took a while. We approached the idea a couple of different ways. We had to do lots of practice problems. No one was wasting time or lazing around. It was just a long, hard day.

So, there you have it. Irony in action.

And more multilication today!!

Lots...

2011-09-15T08:49:00.000-07:00

...to think and blog about. The weather is cool and gray today. The kids and I LOVE days like this, but they do bring out a quiet, reflective tone for me. They also make me want to nap and eat soup. I think today I can pull off the soup!

This week has been a busy, fun week. Monday was school, sports, and scouts. Little went to a friend's on Monday, we so skipped a bunch of schoolwork. Big and I went shopping and out for lunch. It was a blast. Scouts went pretty well. I stress out a lot about being a good scout leader. This year we have a bunch of new boys so I am really excited. As Webelos we also get to do a lot more cool things, so that's pretty neat too. I am still praying for a dad to step up and lead, but until then, I'll be doing my best.

Tuesday we caught up on some stuff. I honestly can't remember what else we did. I know I was insanely busy, though.

Wednesday was NUTS. We volunteer each year in the annual pre-first-home-football-game town clean up. It was our third year participating this year, and let me say, a 9 and 10 year old clean up a LOT faster than a 6 and 7 year old! We cleaned up more than twice the area this year than last year. After we cleaned up and we headed to the base for me to get an updated military id. It's about a 45 minute drive so the kids knocked out most of their schoolwork in the car. After I got my id (which I will add that I weighed 25 pounds LESS than my id said I did!) we did some grocery shopping on base. Completing the get-what's-cheap-at-the-commissary run, we headed off to... the dreaded JEAN SHOPPING.

I hate shopping. And I hate shopping for jeans for a tween even more. There are some NASTY things out there. Nasty. So, after trying on about 15 pairs of pants we managed to pick up two pairs of standard boot cut jeans. In regular, which shocked me. Big is by no means anything thicker than a bean pole, but the slims were so fitted. Ick. She seems to be happy with them as she's sporting them now!

On our trip I picked up a few Bento making supplies. I found a couple of CUTE animal lunch boxes at Old Navy, and next door at TJ Maxx I found some CUTE cookie cutters of mini people and some bear shaped silicone cupcake liners. Very adorable. I am so excited to use them!!

OK, back to the report...

Piano... then bible study... which I thought was canceled so we left when we got there since no one else was there... then froyo....then neighbors animal sitting duties....then home. FINALLY. I was pooped. We ate some YUMMY leftover spaghetti and meatballs for dinner than chilled. Big and I worked on her doll house. It was really fun. We are going to do this every day! (OK, I hope every day. We'll see!). After the kids headed to bed the beloved DH and I watched some tv. We love watching TOP SHOT together... sadly Jake is still on the show, though he did totally KILL the challenge. Then, a little more pet sitting and finally off to bed. I say again, Wednesday was NUTS.

Now, on to today... We have schoolwork to complete. It should be pretty straight forward once we get past the intro to double digit on double digit multiplication for Little. Ouch. I think his brain is smoking. I love Horizons but they can KILL you with all the practice problems on a new concept. Yikes. Add to that it's getting more critical that Little write really neatly to keep his work straight and it's a challenge for him.

So, my blogging for today is done. A little one needs my help! I am putting on my mom super-math-hero cape and getting to work! I'll finish the update tomorrow!

Bootsie

2011-09-12T06:35:00.001-07:00

I think I've only posted one or two pictures of Boots. She's the cutest thing. She is the happiest puppy I've ever met. We have no idea what kind of dog she is - but I think her back legs are bunny rabbit. She bounds around the house. It's hysterical. She's about 7 months old and will still chew anything in sight. She turns into a sleeping lap dog at 9 p.m., and ADORES my DH. She is shameless in her love for him. I am not thrilled with two dogs, but I cannot imagine how quiet it would be here without her. She totally rocks and I am so glad we have her.

(Oh, and I have to add... It was nearly impossible to get a good photo of this dog!! SHE NEVER STOPS MOVING!)

9.11

2011-09-11T19:44:00.000-07:00

I was at a meeting tonight and one of the ladies asked what the date was... The other lady and I laughed at her. "Really?", we asked and rolled our eyes at her.

It's 9/11. And I'm not taking part of the ten year memorial fervor. I won't remember today.

I remember every day.

I remember when I pray for my friend's husband.

I remember when my husband leaves for work.

I remember every day when I teach my kids to love the Lord and to not be ashamed of the gospel.

I want to live without fear.

I want to share Jesus with others.

I don't want to live in a PC nation where Christ is hidden so we "can all just get a long".

I want to live my life, each precious day that the Lord has given to me, to love and to serve Him.

Without reservation.

So I remember every day. And I am thankful for today. And thankful that I live in a country where today I can worship and speak freely. Where I can teach my kids as I see fit. I am thankful to the heroes who have protected these rights. I am thankful for the protection of firemen, policemen, soldiers, sailors, and airmen. I'm really thankful.

So today, I'm not remembering...because I remember every day.

Today I am lingering at tuck-in time. I'm praying more for our soldiers. I'm celebrating today as my friend's daughter's birthday. It's a new day for me. One to serve the Lord with fervor.

Awesomeness

2011-09-10T12:36:00.000-07:00

I know, it's not a word, but today is filled with awesomeness.

First, I had a great walk in beautiful weather.

Then I came home to my sweet kids snuggled down watching Saturday cartoons. Ok, it's a cheat. They can watch pre approved cartoons on Netflix - so everyone's happy.

I made them some delicious (looking) banana pancakes from skinnytaste.com which they devoured. By them DH was up and he and the kids were all hanging out laughing about Phineas and Ferb. I love hearing them all laughing and hanging out.

With breakfast delivered I took a quick shower and headed to Weight Watchers. It was a GREAT weigh in and I made it to 60 pounds lost!! I am super excited.

After weigh in I went to eat my weekly donuts with my WW bud. They were delicious beyond words.

After that, a trip to Walmart, alone. It was fun to wander and read labels in an effort to try some new foods this week without annoying my kids. I'm working n a little craft project, and I got most of what I needed.

On my way home DH called and wanted to take me out for lunch - so bonus!! We met up for salad and a cup of chili and it was fun. We caught part of our team's game while eating, and other than the fact they are losing, its been a great day!!

So now I am resting. I think I may nap. I'm listening to the game. The weather is perfect and my sliding door is full open. The kids are reading. The dogs are asleep. DH is prepping a sermon.

I think this is the best normal, everyday kind of Saturday, ever.

Poor Big

2011-09-07T19:16:00.000-07:00

The poor girl. Some days are just hard!

Big's foot has been bothering her off and on for about two weeks. It'll flare up where it hurts her arch, or heel, and she will end up limping around until it passes. I thought it might be a muscle pull, or shoes, so we've watched it and hoped it went away.

Well, it hasn't and as much as I am a mean mom, I cannot stand to see my babies hurting. Today I called the doctor's office and after piano lessons we headed to the pediatrician.

Let me say here, our pediatrician ROCKS. He's just fabulous and totally down to earth and I just love him. We go through the normal weight, temp, etc stuff and the nurse comes back... Apparently Big needed to get a couple of shots. She had some last year, but needed two more. So, with a sore foot and a chit to head for an X-ray - she gets two shots. Big ones. The sore ones.

Well, the X-ray was quick and we headed back to the docs office. He looked at it, and thankfully, nothing is broken. He suggested, if you can believe this, using common sense! (I totally laughed and made jokes about it, which he appreciated.) If it hurts - stop and rest. If it doesn't hurt - be active and have fun. See why I love him. And if it doesn't clear up in a couple of weeks, we will start heading toward specialists for some more information, but most likely it's growing pains. As a kid who hurt the entire time I was growing up, I am very sympathetic.

So tonight, the day kicked in. We are also listening to Amos Fortune, Free Man - which is awesome - but my tired, sore tenderhearted little girl just melted. Poor girl. A long day. Shots and pain. Growing pains. And a sweet compassionate heart. It's a lot for one day. So tonight, it's bible time, prayers, hugs and snuggled, and a good nights rest. Some days a just hard. Man, I love this little girl.

I'm Letting Go

2011-09-06T12:23:00.000-07:00

It's hard for me. I am a little, tiny, sliver bit of a control freak.

OK, I'm a control freak.

Having kids has helped me a lot. I don't care what clothes they wear as long as they are clean and modest. I also stress appropriate now that they are older. When they were little I was the mom who let her kids wear fun pajamas all day long. When you are a four year old boy, some days you have to be Dash.

But now, not so much. My kids are great. They are mostly obedient, kind to each other and others, and are really fun to be around. They do their schoolwork with minimal complaint. They practice their piano with a tiny bit more complaint, but they do it daily. They are amazingly helpful around the house. They inspire me to relax and let go a little....

...which brings me to today.

I'm letting go.

I'm letting the kids decorate for fall.

This may seem like no small feat, especially for someone who rarely decorates for anything. My house, well, it's usually clean and very lived in. But I LOVE fall. Having grown up in New England, fall is the best season. Cool, crisp, apples, leaves, football... It's all awesome. So I decorate for fall. When the weather here in the south finally breaks, I pull out the big box. It has Pilgrims and Indians, pumpkins, leaf garland, and wrought iron. It's pretty minimal, but it makes me happy. Despite the heat here, I get to pretend its really fall!

And this year, the kids begged to decorate. They came in from playing with MUD to do it. That's high motivation in my house since my kids LOVE mud. So at the offer of, "Decorators here! We do great work for zero dollars and zero cents!", I couldn't refuse.

I turned over the big box. I gave up control. And as I did I realized that these kids, these nice little people I live with, they are growing up.

And when I started getting all misty eyed the Big one holds up a ship-looking candle holder and asks, "Can I please have this for thornbeaks? It's a perfect Viking ship!" Shes still my cool ten year old girl! I'll enjoy the decorators and put my feet up with they serve me. What a blessing.

I'm Makng It!!

2011-09-02T08:29:00.000-07:00

Today was a "long walk" Friday. It felt really, really, really long. My legs felt like bricks before I even started. I've been fighting soreness for a few days and I was worried about getting through the distance today. I did it, though, and it was pretty fun. I walked 12 miles and I ended up doing OK on time. I think I'll actually make my goals for the half marathon next month. I am really excited about it! Right now my legs are feeling a little leaden, but overall I am in good shape. No blisters, toes are fine (so far), and no "other" issues.

The kids are knocking out their schoolwork, and then later today we are going swimming. I think after all that exercise we are headed out for frozen yogurt later, too. The thought of yogurt kept me pushing through the last 3 laps. Lol! One of my sweet neighbor-lady friends stopped me and was asking how far I was walking. I shared with her and she was complimenting me on my weight loss. I told her thanks then threatened her with a hug (I was 6' of walking stink at that point!) which she declined. We had a good laugh and it inspired to finish strong. I have great neighbors!

Today, then, will be rest and recovery. Tomorrow's walk is 4 miles. Hopefully I won't be sore. Today we will listen more to our audio book (Sign of the Beaver - it's awesome!!!), we will swim, we will wait for Daddy to come home for the weekend, and I will nap! A big nap, I hope!!

Road Trip

2011-08-30T19:53:00.000-07:00

Today the kids and I went for a mini road trip. I really wanted to get a workout skort, so we drove to Target. Well, that's no small undertaking here. LOL. Unfortunately, we didn't get a skort, but we did have a great time. The kids did their work in the car so we didn't waste too much time. We ate out lunch, did some shopping, and had a great day. Some days, you just need to enjoy being a homeschooler and go on a field trip!

Oh, and totally got a nice anti-homeschool comment at the resturaunt. The guy prepping my food asked the kids why they weren't in school. I laughingly relied that "we don't go to school". Then I clarified that we homeschool. He gave the eye roll and told me is cousin homeschools. I smiled said, "It's great! my kids get to do twice the work in the same time and answer ro me. Gotta love it!" he laughed a little and in the end, I think he softened a little before I left. :-)

Broken

2011-08-28T19:51:00.000-07:00

Its a running joke that when my DH leaves on a trip something will break. It almost always does. Last trip my car started acting up...this trip... the dvr. This one is particularly funny since it happened on Day One of the trip! Looks like we are moving closer to getting rid of satellite! Yay!

Some other classic break downs when he was traveling - a/c (a couple of times on this one), oven, dishwasher, computers, Internet, printers, and lots of other random things. It's pretty funny now that we've been doing this so long. When I was a young mom it totally stressed me out, and now, whatever! I'm fairly capable of handling emergencies, and as I get older I'm finding that broken stuff usually isn't an emergency anyway. And, worst case scenario we have great neighbors, a wonderful, loving church family and friends I can call for help.

So this week, lots of reading; maybe some scrapbooking; working on the dollhouse; and maybe trying to watch The Closer online. ;-) I think it's going to be a great week!

Saturday

2011-08-27T16:00:00.000-07:00

My Saturdays have a serious rhythm now. I love it! I get up early on Saturday and meet up with a friend or two for a walk. As a group we do either 4 or 6 miles, depending on how far we went Friday. Most weeks I'll add on a little bit - like today where I did 8 total. It's a lot of fun to change things up and actually walk with other people!

(Yup, that's 8 two days in a row...long story...basically I got thinking last night that I couldn't have been THAT fast and I must have miscounted my laps...so I did it again today...and I was right yesterday...lol!!!)

After the walk I take a shower and head to my WW meeting. Barring anything super unusual I stay for the meeting. I love our meetings, our group, and our leader and it's so helpful for me to attend.

Upon leaving the meeting my WW buddy and I head out for donuts. YES, donuts, the great thing about WW is that no food is "offlimts" so we 2 donuts each. Once a week. Thtats one my huge "splurges" for the week, but after walking nearly 4 1/2 hours in the last two days alone, I have no guilt. Track it and move on!

My belly happy with donuts, it's time to grocery shop. I am usually super motivated after the meeting, so it's a great time to go. I get stocked up on fruit and whole wheat bread, and I'm ready to start the week!

By now it's time to head home, put up the groceries and very likely, take a nap! 5:30 wake ups every day of the week are brutal, so I'm a napper!

Then...it's family time and hanging out. We usually clean up to prep for Sunday and a day of rest. I like to cook extra Saturday night so we'll have leftovers Sunday. Often we'll have a game night or work on a project as a family. Lately, it's been frozen yogut runs after dinner! Now that I've typed that, I'm having a sudden craving.... Maybe tonight will be frozen yogurt and dollhouse time...

That's my Saturday, and I love it. I love routine, and normal, and rhythm. What about you? What's your saturday like?

Friday Afternoon

2011-08-26T14:22:00.001-07:00

It's very mellow and quiet here this afternoon. School is done for the week, expect for a bible memory quiz tomorrow for all of us. We did everything on the list this week! It feels really good. I am so, so happy to be back with My Father's World. SO happy. I love the bible work and the history is just right for us. I am not totally loving the sciene, but i think it will grow on me. The other choices we've made for the year sem to be fitting the kids really well. I will say that the end of Horizons 5 math is a LOT of fractions! Wow.

This morning I had a sitter come while I did my long walk for the week, which went really well. I have my race in about 6 weeks so the milage is really picking up. I like being able to hang with DH on Saturday so having an awesome homeschool girl come over early on Friday is a great compromise. I pay her well for the horrid hours and she gets her work done while the kids are sleeping. Last week was 10 miles, today 8 and next week 12! Today was really smooth and i pushed it pretty fast, so I was then exhausted this afternoon. The kids finished up their work while I took a nap. It's so cool having older kids. In the afternoons I rest (or more honestly, nap!) and the kids do their piano and any extraneous school work that's left over. Today it worked out really well and now we're all lounging and waking up. I love it.

So that's my Friday... Walking...school....a few errands...a nap...and loving the quiet, restful Friday afternoon at my house.

Funny Comments

2011-08-25T17:43:00.000-07:00

I thought as my kids got older that the "funny things kids say" list would get shorter. Not yet.

Yesterday I was taking the kids to piano and I was asking them about the new little girl who takes lessons after them.

Big replied, "She's a cute little girl. I like her."

Then Little paused. A long pause. Then, "She has the same glimmer of energy in her eye that I have. I like her a lot."

Classic.

Needless to say their piano teacher and I had a huge laugh over that, though she did agree about the energy part!

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

2011-08-23T19:24:00.000-07:00

No huge vacations here. Nothing extraordinary. Just a summer of hard work. Reality. Taking myself and my health seriously. I couldn't do it without the worlds best husband. And kids. And friends. I just could not. But with those, and Gods grace, I have been working on it. And it's working. I started Weight Watchers in April. A few weeks ago I got his...

50 pounds down. I am working toward 55 this weekend. I am HOPING for 55 this weekend!! I'm at the point now where I get the "How did you do it?", questions a lot. So here's the secret.... There is none. I'm doing WW for the eating side of it. I could not love it more. I'll post later on my love - but suffice it to say that it hasn't been easy, but it has been doable.

And there has been A LOT of this...

"Do you work out?" Yes. A lot. For me anyway!

"4 miles every morning. More on weekends." Most poeple wince at that. I know I would have six months ago. I have missed 3 days since I started. Sickness and travel precluded "the walk" on those days. Last Friday I walked 10. I am doing a half marathon in about 6 weeks. I will be ready. I hope... LOL. I'm on my second set of shoes since starting. It feels really, really great.

There has also been a lot of this...

Google "salad in a jar". It's amazing. I eat a lot of saald. And fruit. I eat a LOT of fruit. I love fruit. Strawberries,peaches, raspberries, cherries... Tons of them. Often ON the salad. And there is some junk - donuts on Saturdays - an occasional cupcake - Zaxbys on Mondays.

So that's been my secret. Diet and exercise. That's not the secret, really. It's my family and friends. They are the secret. :-)

2011-08-21T19:25:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago our state homeschool convention had Voddie Baucham featured as the keynote speaker. He was awesome. The absolute most impacting session (for me!) he had was on "Why I Believe the Bible". I recently found him making the same presentation on SermonAudio.Com.

If you have a half an hour - please listen to this sermon and read along the transcript. Its absolutely amazing. I think this one will be a monthly listen for me. My kids are getting to the age of questions - really hard questions that I need to be prepared to answer. Life altering, "how do we know the bible is true" questions - and this message as encouraged me and helped me to talk with them about the authenticity of the bible and other hard things. It's apologetics 101 and I am sure it will encourage you!!

2011-08-20T19:33:00.000-07:00

I have to share a quick tip that is making m life SO MUCh easier...

ZAXBYS

Do you have one nearby? Aside from the most delicious chicken fingers, which are surprisingly points friendly, they have a great Kids Eat Free Night. So now, on Monday nights the kids and I head to Zaxbys. For less than $6 all 3 of us get to eat dinner! For each adult meal you ca get two kids meals free, so even when DH is in town he and I can split an adult meal and we all eat for less than $8. I also LOVE Zaxbys and after school, sports and scouts in one day - it's awesome to not have to cook. Since we don't eat out at other times, I don't mind one fast food meal a week.

So thats my tip. Save money - and yourself. Find a great kids eat free night near you!

2011-08-16T08:31:00.000-07:00

The following post was written 8 Aug...

I am having a fantastic day. Right now it is 7:46 and I am about 45,000 feet above the earth flying with my kids up to see my husband. He's been in training in another state and we are going for a visit. We are all really excited!

This afternoon was a little sad as we said good-bye to our friends who came to visit for the weekend. We will be heading to their house in September, but the kids are SO close that it's always hard to say good-bye. Kids aside, I really miss my friend! We had a great time talking, visiting, laughing and just enjoying all being together again. I think all the kids are EXHAUSTED. Our normal bedtime is about 9, and I don't think my kids have been asleep before 10:30 in a few days. I am praying that Big doesn't get sick, but if she does, I'm sure she will agree that it was well worth it. I'm really pooped too, but it was worth it!

With our friends in town we went out for lunch today with their old, and our current, beloved piano teacher. She is amazing. She is an awesome godly woman whom we all just ADORE. It was so fun to see the kids just swoon over her and all giver her hugs and love. She's the best. In addition to being a wonderful mentor, she is an AMAZING piano teacher. Lunch was a real blessing!!

THEN, when you don't think the day be cam sweeter, I ran into an old friend in the airport (an airport that's almost 3 hours from where I live!)! It was so weird. He totally recognized me and we got to have a laugh and catch up for a little while. He is a pilot friend from the "old days" and it was so fun talking. He's now an Air Station Commanding Officer - which is no doubt well deserved. He's a great guy and it was a lot of fun running into him. I asked that he pass on to everyone that I am thin and having a blast in rural America. He laughed and assured me he'd pass it on. I'll be praying for him and all all the other awesome air crews out there standing guard and saving lives (or as the world's best OPS Officer used to say "out doing the king's business"). What a neat blessing!

So here I am - watching the sun set on the top of a cloudy sky... thinking about old, old, old friends and not-so-old but very dear, sweet friends... enjoying time with my kids and making memories... looking forward to seeing my beloved...and feeling very, very grateful.

SO SUPER EXCITED!!!

2011-08-05T14:05:00.000-07:00

I am so super excited for this weekend. Tomorrow, Lord willing and my back not hurting, I have an eight mile walk planned. It should be H.O.T. so I am planning on starting super early. Later in the day we'll be having company - and I am so excited. I am actually on a cleaning break right now. Just a couple beds to make and vacuuming. A LOT of vacuuming!

Our friends should be here for a cookout tomorrow. Then, after dinner we hope to head out to another friend's house for watermelon picking. YUM!!! Church and more fun will ensue on Sunday.

AND... all of this with DH home!! YAY!!

Now, I just need to pull myself up from my chair, deal with the suffocating heat (and that fact that I am too cheap to lower the A/C upstairs during the day!) and finish strong. Laundry... Beds... Vacuum...

Then collapse downstairs where the A/C is actually running strong!!

2011-08-04T11:47:00.000-07:00

What we do when Daddy is out of town! Mine is the huge automatic Nerf gun. Lots of fun!!

A View from Our School

2011-08-02T09:00:00.002-07:00

James notebooks...

Adverbs with Schoolhouse Rock....

2011-08-01T19:46:00.000-07:00

So we are a WHOLE week into our new school year. And how is it going?? You want the whole deal??

As expected Day One was a nightmare. It always is. The kids think I am totally joking about neat handwriting, getting everything done within a reasonable amount of time, and other mundane details. LOL. Day One is always more habit training than academic and this year was absolutely no exception. I am so glad that my Beloved was home to act as an enforcer!

Then, on to Day Two.... It was awesome! And, thankfully it has continued to be awesome. I think that having done this for going on 6 years we are actually getting the hang of it. LOL. We are getting school done quickly and we are really having a great time with our days. I have made a few changes to our days and they are really paying off. DH and I want out focus this year to be relationships. Yes, academics are important - but this year is about tying heart strings tighter as we enter the hormonal world of adolescence. The changes we are making are toward that end - more fun, more bonding, more learning *together*. So here's what we've changed - in no particular order...

Change One - We get up really early. I know, it's lame, but it's working. I get my workout in and the kids get part of piano, their chores, and now part of their Language Arts done. We then eat breakfast together and start in on our work. It's been great so far! I love being done before lunch and this is really helping toward that end.

Change Two - Language Arts... We are still using CLE and I still love it. The kids tolerate it. :-) Now I work with the kids orally on their new sections. It makes it move faster and since CLE is totally spiral they will review the material about 20 more times by the end of the book. The new system has removed the tedious and I think the kids are enjoying it more now.

Change Three - MFW. I am totally loving it and so glad to be back with them. We are loving the workload, and it's a perfect fit for our family. I am a little nervous about memorizing James - but it will be so good for all of us. I am so excited that we will be able to do the first two rotations with them before Big hits Ninth Grade!

Change Four - One of each subject. Not 2. Not 3. I know - I've been a big fan of many approaches to cover all the bases. Not anymore (at least not this year!). We will do one. One bible (MFW). One science (MFW). One. And we will do it as published and it will be enough.

Change Five - I will try and be as creative as possible to make things more fun in school. No less rigorous, just more fun. More creative. So far it's working. Games. Challenges. Contests. I am trying to TEACH more. I know - it sounds so obvious but as they get older it's hard to balance my desire fostering independent learning without expecting them to learn it all on their own. It's easy with voracious readers and I want to avoid that. I am a teacher and I want that to be a priority to me this year.

Change Six - I will be more consistent with checking work. It's so much easier to catch trends . I have always checked my kids work, but I am trying really hard to keep it as fresh as possible for them. So - when a subject is done I check it and we go over it. Right away. No delays!

So that's it. Subtle changes. More relationship. I am praying that we really enjoy the journey this year! So far so good!

2011-07-25T09:40:00.000-07:00

Today is the day!!!

Back to school 2011!!

I love homeschooling. We are planning on two weeks of school, then a week off. Love it!!

So today ... Up early. Chores. Piano. Breakfast.

And a full day of school. It feels good to be back. A fourth and fifth grader. Wow.

2011-07-22T16:23:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update to prove I am alive! Lol! It continues t be a crazy busy, but incredibly fun, summer. This past week the kids and I were able to meet up with some old friends. It was great! We met at a local water park type place - but this place is decidedly more 1950s than 2011. They have a couple of small slides, a beach, a floating dock with a semi-high dive and other fun things. It's very quaint and we had a great time. The kids swam and built sandcastles and my dear friend and I got to catch up. It was wonderful! I'm so thankful for our time together.

The next day (Wednesday) we were supposed to travel to California, but it did not work out. It was an incredibly tight travel schedule which resulted in our not staying over a Sunday. No Sunday - no reasonably priced rental car - especially in California. Since we're technically between jobs neither my DH nor I could justify the outrageous charge go the car. So, we are enjoying a staycation. It's been great so far. Yesterday was a family day trip with lunch out and shopping. Today my Beloved mowed the lawn and finished some major construction in our bathroom remodel. Tomorrow is a long workout for me and then a family bike ride to the local yogurt shop. Since we didn't make the trip we had the kids make a list of things they wanted to do at home - so we have some sword fighting, swimming, and board games to get to! the kids are so cool and resilient, they didn't mind the change too much. Hopefully we will make our next scheduled trip!

That's our week so far. We've also kicked up school a bit, too. Math, reading, writing, and language arts are steaming along. I did a trial change on language arts, but the kids are ambivalent about it - so back to CLE we go next week. I thought they'd like a little more interaction, a little less workbook, but they honestly don't care. I think CLE is so thorough that unless they were begging to change I figure we'd continue with CLE. I love CLE, but I really wanted to kids to have a little input since language arts is their least favorite subject. Well, trial complete! CLE wins. Lol! Next week, depending on my Beloved's schedule we will start up week one of MFW. I am so super excited. I will do my best to take pictures!

I'm off to heat up some dinner. With DH home we ate a nice sit down lunch - so it's easy street for me tonight! Have a great weekend!

Sunday Night

2011-07-17T19:16:00.000-07:00

Wow, for resting for so long today I am exhausted!! LOL!! Big wasn't feeling well at all today so she and I spent the day lounging and watching Food Network. We caught up in the Food Network Star (which is not as great as it has been in years past) as well as episodes we've tivo'd of Extreme Chef. We also watched the World Cup, which was a bummer. Big slept off and on and I took a short nap this morning. She woke me up at around 5:20 not feeling well so she was understandably tired. Poor kid. It looked like she might be feeling a little better as she headed to bed. I hope so!! It's not a little after 9 and I'm ready for bed, too. Apparently I am not great at lounging all day!

At the very last minute last week I caught August sneaking up on me, and ordered all our final school supplies. I made out order Tuesday and got everything in by Friday. I've made some MAJOR changes from what I was planning (MAJOR!) but when I was ordering the Veritas Press stuff I just didn't have a peace about it. It was so God. I even had my credit card data in there and was ready to hit BUY". I did a little more research, assessed our goals, prayed about it, sought wise counsel, prayed more, got my beloved's OK, and made a decision. I am really excited about the year. We'll be starting a week from Monday (unless our big CA trip is delayed) with our full schedule. Here's what I have planned:

History / Bible / Science - My Father's World Explorers to 1850
LA / Reading - CLE
Math - Horizons
Writing - IEW

I plan on doing MFW as published and I am thrilled about it. I feel such relief about the decision - especially in science and bible. We'll be memorizing James this year so I'm dropping CLE bible in favor of the MFW bible. I'm really feeling convicted that I don't want to redouble efforts in any area (like 2 FULL bible curriculum) and drag our days on forever. The longer I homeschool the more I see that picking one solid curriculum and doing it consistently and thoroughly is so much more useful than almost anything else. So MFW it is! Yes, the kids will get "bible" other places (AWANA, family devotions, Bright Lights, etc.) but we'll do ONE for school. One science. One history. My goal is to follow the schedule for notebooking, time lines, and everything else to really get all the richness out of the program. I am super excited!! I can't wait to start!!

2011-07-07T06:46:00.000-07:00

I am so amazingly excited about so many things in my life right now! We've had some challenging transitions lately (jobs, friends moving, sickness in loved ones close to us) and some changes are on the horizon. Honestly, I just could not be more excited!

First, we've done some traveling and we are home on a break. We have three or four more trips *this summer* but I am looking forward to each one. It's going to be great - a trip in each direction, friends and family to see, and places I've never been before. I'm looking forward to it and to the adventure. Normally I deal with the travel - but this summer I'm excited! God is so good! Our recent trip up North was awesome and I'll have pictures to post soon.

My totally awesome DH is headed for a job transition this summer and while I'm not excited about him traveling a lot, I am looking forward to him enjoying his work. He's a trooper and has enjoyed his military time, but I think his old job is looking interesting to him again. He's so great I just what him to be happy. I think he's going to enjoy training and while he'll miss us, I fully expect he's going to work out like a maniac and see lots of man movies when he's gone. We will go see him (one of the trips mentioned above!) and the kids and I are already planning our activities!

This past spring I went through a major crisis of confidence with an impending middle schooler to teach, but with the panic of homeschooling a fifth grader (!!!) passed, I'm looking forward to the fall and starting our schooling up full swing. I am SUPER excited about our curriculum for the fall! I think tonight I may order some more of it! I have bible, math, language arts, and reading already (CLE and Horizon), but need to order history and science. As usual I'll fool around with schedules and all that jazz all year long - but I am excited and ready to start.

One of the things I am MOST excited about is that this Friday I'll be hosting a bible study for the "young ladies" in our church. Our church is essentially a home church and we don't do Sunday school. I LOVE that about our church and I LOVE that the dads are all real leaders in their homes. It's awesome. But, as the kids are getting a little older we (the parents) wanted to do something to encourage their walks with the Lord as a group. So... I'll be hosting a Bright Lights group. I've been praying and getting organized and I am so thrilled. We will have 4 girls from almost 9 to 11. They are the nicest group of young ladies and I can't wait to grow in my walk with Christ alongside them. After the big trip to the American Girls restaurant we've invited the dolls to come for tea time after the meeting. Needless to say we are all super excited. I hope to have some pictures of this too!

While I won't go into excruciating detail, other really neat stuff is working out for me, too. I've been working on some *really* serious personal goals and they are coming along awesomely. I am so thrilled. I will save these for a post of their own, but suffice it to say it is just fabulous. :-)

I have many, many more blessing I can share, but I think I'll save some for later. As I watch the kids splashing in the pool playing together I can't help but be blessed! God is so amazing. I know so many are facing such unbelievable burdens right now. My heart is heavy for my friends in troubling times (and there are many). I will be praying fervently and faithfully for them. But today I am rejoicing in His providence and blessing. Today I am *overwhelmed* with thanks to God for all He has done for me. Today I am so, so grateful that I cannot keep it in.

2011-07-06T06:44:00.000-07:00

Oh gracious have I been busy here! My coolest nephew graduated from high school this past weekend, so the kids and I flew to New York the middle of last week to celebrate with him and his family. The ceremony was great, the party was a blast, and it was a special time for all of us. Little is struggling with the idea of his cousin (and well deserved "favorite" big kid) moving away to college. He told me during the ceremony, on the verge of tears, that "everything is changing now that R is all grown up...". R is an amazing young man and I know he's going to do great in college. I assured Little that we will visit R often and he seems to me more ok with R leaving every day. Since we spend so much time in this town we also hit a couple of other graduation parties and went to mass to celebrate the priest's last services here. It's been an emotional few days!

We also were able to spend a little time with my brother and his family, and my parents before heading to New York. It's so hard to live so far away from everyone. I enjoyed the time with my parents. It's very precious time now as they aren't in the best of health. Mom's awareness is really slipping. Its so sad and scary. Dad is doing ok, but he's slowing down so much. It really stinks to see your parents really age.

Today we had an awesome field trip to a nearby diamond mine. It was so much fun. We have wanted to go for years and today we finally made it! We smashed rocks, mined diamonds, and all came home smelly and exhausted. My sister and I were in tears laughing over having paid to do hard labor in a mine in the hot sun. It was hysterical. Later this week we are headed to a glass blowing class, we are going to eat at a real food truck (we loved the Food Truck Race on Food Network last year - so this is a cool novelty for us - a real gourmet food truck!), and some other fun stuff.

So - lots more fun before we head home. Big is already exhausted so we will slow down in our fun inputs to pace ourselves better. To be honest, my kids are going to need a vacation to recover from all of the activity!!

Poolside

2011-06-18T14:30:00.000-07:00

Today has been a GREAT day. I am currently sitting poolside fiddling around with my computer watching my kids swimming. Some days I love to swim - other days I want to sit on the side and let the kids go to town while I read a book or surf the net. Today is a surfing day! I was actually trying to figure out how to import my Word of Promise cds into my DoubleTwist play list so I can listen to them when I go for walks. After 20 frustrating minutes I've decided on 1 of 2 routes: tech support (a.k.a. DH) or itunes on the desktop. Either way it's easier than trying to do it on this laptop! I asked DH last night if he could help me, "in the event that either DoubleTwist or itunes start to drive me mad." Apparently we're there! To be truthful - apple already had me there (my ipod stopped working so I need to get it reset, as well as sync up my ipad after cleaning out all the duplicate files I have in itunes) - my android just caught up!

Tonight I am sure exited to be celebrating DH's birthday. His real birthday was earlier in the week but with everything going on we decided to go out tonight. I will be leaving the pool in 10 minutes to get the kids cleaned up and dropped at a friend's house. From there we'll be going out to dinner. I know it's at least me and DH, but we may have another friend with us. A good friend of ours is moving into assisted living a couple of hours away in 2 weeks and we'd really like to spend some time with him before he moves. DH is at his place now helping him move some things. I hope he can come!

Tomorrow is our monthly potluck at church so I am super happy about that. I love 3rd Sunday!! We have the service then after everyone stays for food and fellowship. It's awesome. This month our theme is grilling - so DH is making the burgers and dogs. The kids absolutely love having time to play with their church friends - not to mention all the food! It's awesome and we can't wait! It's my favorite Sunday of the month!

So that's the general recap for the weekend. Some relaxing. Some friends. Worhsip and fellowship. And at some point - getting some files onto my phone! LOL!

2011-06-15T06:20:00.000-07:00

I know everyone has their "summer" things to do, and for our family tightening up routines and chores is one of the things we do in summer. With the extra time off from school and lots of motivation to get things done ("the pool"!) it's a great time for training. In an effort to tighten up our schedule, yesterday I made the kids new chore "necklaces". I printed out the lists on a 5x7 paper and then laminated it. I added a ribbon on the bottom so the kids could carry their list with them and actually be able to read the list while wearing it. We have a dry erase marker in the kitchen that the kids use when they are ready to mark off the list. I am thinking that we may switch to a wet erase marker, but we'll see.

Here is a necklace:

And the back, where I can make notes and let the kids know what's on the schedule for the day:

The kids are excited about the system and I think it'll help them to know exactly what the expectations are for them. I know having a moving target of what needs to be done can be really frustrating. Now, they know exactly what needs to be done and with the exception of piano, how long each item takes is up to them. I'll let you know in a week how it works!!

2011-06-14T07:36:00.001-07:00

It's been a BUSY, fabulous few days around here. It was Big's tenth birthday yesterday. We had a blast taking a family trip to a somewhat-nearby amusement/water park. The kids and DH rode every ride, swam, splashed, and rode some more rides. I'm not a ride person so I did a whole lot of laughing at their ride faces, walking, and carrying stuff. It was a blast. Big tried so many new things and rides I never would have imagined her riding - it was awesome to see her grow and challenge herself.

After the water park Big picked out a nice restaurant for dinner. We had a delicious dinner and drove home. Needless to day we are all exhausted this morning. I slept a little later than usual, then got up to work out. I DID NOT want to, but I did it. The kids slept in until I woke them for camp at 8:30. I think they would have slept a lot later if possible. I think today will be a relaxed day - a little camp, math, piano and a trip to the pool. I doubt I'll swim, as I think I'm swimmed-out!

The kids were asking if we could hit a more local water park sometime soon, but despite our fun I don't think we will. Honestly, I was so shocked and put off by all the immodesty that I don't think I can do it again. It was appalling to see what people were wearing (or rather not wearing). I was just saddened by what teen girls were advertising and how little study respect their bodies and themselves. I was also shocked at what adults felt were appropriate things to wear - or to dress their little girls in. It was really, really sad to me. The complete lack of modesty in behavior was as shocking as the clothes. The boys weren't much better - and the whole "shocking of drooping pants and showing off your underwear is just ridiculous and offensive. I know I live in a bubble, but I my heart just breaks for these kids and their need for Jesus.

As we enjoy recovery day there are about 3 loads of laundry that I unload from my car this morning. So, I'm off to wash, dry, fold and put away. I also need to hit the grocery store... And I think today is a nap day... Maybe!

Off to recover!

2011-06-12T20:32:00.001-07:00

She is 10. In light of "10" here are ten words to describe Big...

Kind
Prayerful
Determined
Sweet-natured
Adventurous
Thoughtful
Creative
Sensitive
Unique
Independent (in a great way!)

I praise God today for the best 10 years, ever. [Yes, that includes the almost 9 with Little. Being a mom is such a blessing!!!!] Thank you, Lord.

2011-06-09T07:45:00.000-07:00

Hits and Misses

This week was the start of summer camp season, and we have had some hits and misses. Our big miss was a local Engineering with Kinnex class. It was terrible. The class was super boring, the kids were ill mannered and the teacher was totally unprepared (and made no attempt to try to control the class at all). She also forgot to bring the Kinnex, so instead she had the kids play with preschool blocks. It was a total waste of time. I need to call today and cancel the kids for the rest of the class. Thankfully, this was the free class.

The HUGE hit for the summer camp has been the Veritas Press Online Summer Camp. The teacher is great, they are having a blast, and the kids are learning a ton. We are generally pretty low tech here with the kids and we work hard to limit their "screen time". I rarely let them online sine we don't have filters yet. Also, since their is no need they don't have cell phones or text regularly or anything. The class is great for them because they are learning a TON of technology in a cool, fun way. They are loving it. The class is very interactive and I'm so impressed I am prayerfully considering signing Big up for the full interactive history class for the school year. Its very pricey (considering my normal school spending) but I think it might be a really great thing for her. We were going to do the self paced class, but honestly, this is such a great thing we may upgrade!

Those are our hits and misses so far. I'm very happy that the paid class is great and the free one was lame! I guess it's a case of "you get what you pay for". So, off to consider and pray about the fall and ANOTHER change to the fall program! LOL!

2011-06-06T20:15:00.000-07:00

This guy is a GENIUS.

2011-06-06T11:01:00.001-07:00

Today I don't feel like writing about homeschooling books, so I'll do that soon. I just love talking about homeschooling so much that I want to do my book recommendations justice!

Alas, summer is here in full bloom. We homeschool year round, so in the mornings we hit math and geography, along with our daily piano practice. This morning when we were done we met up with some friends at the pool. It was great! The kids got to play and I got some time to talk and chill with a friend (normally I swim, but since I'm still on the mend from the worlds-worst-sinus-infection, I sat and talked. It was very good for me!

As I sit and type, the kids are starting our new writing program - the Institute for Excellence in Writing Student Intensive. So far the kids seem to like it (you know - all 15 minutes into it!). I thought it would be easier to start it over the summer than to add one more new thing this fall, so we are having afternoon writing time. Summer has so many easy motivating activities ("finish your math and we will go swimming") that I like to get some of the harder stuff started and the habits built over the summer. I'm hoping writing goes well.

After more playing and a little more piano the kids and I will be off to pick up some friends for Kinnex engineering class. It's our first class so I am anxious to see how well it's run. I hope it's a great class as the kids are really excited about it. Worst cast we will have fun with our friends!

Tomorrow, if we didn't already have enough going on, we start our online summer camp! I think that's going to be a blast. Then, more swimming, more fun and more friends. Later in the month we will add in travel, airplanes and birthday parties! To me summer is busy and full - and I absolutely love it. I love the long days, the tired and smelly kids, the pool laundry. I just think its great. By the end of the summer we will be sick of traveling, sick of the pool and ready to rest. Until then - it's full speed ahead for fun and exhaustion!

2011-06-05T14:26:00.001-07:00

I was spending some time reading on the Internet while my kids were swimming today, and I came across an interesting blog hop. It's all about homeschooling, so if you're not a nut and homeschool, you may want to skip this post!

Here are the points I'm to share:

Who: Share about who you homeschool. Their ages, grades, and a little about their personalities.
I have 2 kids who I call here in blog-land "Big" and "Little". Big is almost 10 and just finished 4th grade. She's very smart, athletic and very sweet. She's my sensitive kid, though she's tough as nails when it comes to long distance running! Little is 8 and he just finished 3rd grade. He's hysterically funny, sharp and silly. He's all boy, though he's vey sensitive to his sister. He's my sprinter - and fast as lightening.

What: What do you use in your homeschool. Curricula, games, educational shows etc.
We are a family of Christians and as parents my husband and I feel the most important thinking our kids can learn is to love the Lord and share the gospel. To do this they need to be really great communicators - both in written and spoken word. They also need to be able to read, process differing arguments and viewpoints and communicate with clarity. Keeping with that we take education seriously.
For curriculum we use a mix of stuff. I love Christian Light Education for it's balance of thoroughness and efficiency. We use their language arts, reading and bible. The bible we finish in one semester, so we go the Kay Arthur studies for the second semester. For math I'm a hard core Horizon Math user. The kids are doing great in it, its extremely thorough and their testing retention has been ridiculous. For Latin this year I think we will use Latin for Children. Last year we did Getting Started with Latin and it was great, and we are ready to move up this year. History will be an online self paced class - something totally new this year. The kids and I are so excited to start it! We will be using the Explorers to 1850 self paced class with Veritas Press. We will supplement with Sonlight reading lists and the supplemental package from VP, so it should be really full. Lastly, I think tonight I've decided on science... NOEO Biology 2 for the first semester. If we love it - we will move on to Chem 2. Oh, almost forgot writing... Another new one to the list - Institute for Excellence in Writing Student Writing Intensive. Last year Little used one of their courses and liked it, so we are going to try it! So that's it! Wow, looks like a full year when it's on paper!

When: What time of day, how many days a week, yearly schedules.
We school year round, though the summers are pretty light for us. Right now we are on summer schedule and we do math, geography and piano. Next week DH will be working so I plan on starting the writing curriculum. Also this summer the kids are doing the Veritas Press online summer camp, and that starts this week, as well as a Kinnex engineering class that I just found locally.
During the school year we school 5 days a week with one light day due to bible study and piano lessons. We start around 8:30 and go until we're done. We rarely school past 2.

Where: What parts of your home do you use for school time. Please post pictures of where you school, and of your organization(shelves, boxes, etc.)
I will try and find pictures - but we have a small school room. Basically it's a room with a table and bookshelves. Lol. We are pretty nomadic and move all over the house. I'm not opposed to schooling at the library, the bagel shop or anywhere else. We travel a lot so the kids are pretty flexible about where we do our schoolwork.

Why: Tell us all why you homeschool, and what led you to it.
We originally home schooled because the kids were academically too far ahead to reasonably start school in a classroom. Big read at 4 and well by the time she would have started K. Little was reading Stuart Little before he would have started K. So, we started to help them academically. Now we homeschool because we love it. We love how we can share the Word with them all the time. We love how Christ permeates all we do. W love the travel and the relationships with family we have due to our schedule. We love the bond that Big and Little share. I honestly can't imagine our family living another lifestyle.

How: Share what styles of homeschooling you incorporate, your daily schedule, and your favorite homeschooling books.
I'd say we're classical-ish and Charlotte Mason-y. I love them both and steal parts from both schools of thought.

Hmmm.... Favorite books..... that is a whole 'nother post! Lol! See, like the chicken and the egg - there's the homeschooler and the book junkie... So I am a book junkie and I'll have to post my list later. Until then, that's a little about me and our homeschooling!

2011-06-02T07:39:00.001-07:00

About two months ago we adopted a little girl into our family. She's a dog. W don't know what kind of dog, but our vet is guessing that she'll end up around 20 pounds at the most. Whatever she is, she is undeniably the CUTEST little thing. Her name is Boots. We call her "Bootsie". She's a puppy - so by definition she's a spaz, occasionally wets the floor (though she is doing really well on that)' and chews things. This morning we found a spot where she had done a little damage to her play area fence. She's a mess!

Big is beyond the moon. She's been doing a great job of taking her out, walking her and cleaning up after her. She loves this little puppy. We joke that we didn't adopted Boots, she adopted Big!

One of the best things about Boots is how she's affected our other dog, Red. Red is excessively submissive, so for years my DH hasn't been able to pet Red in the house or she would wet the floor. It's been a major annoyance for him. Well, within a week of Boots getting here Red was cured. Apparently Red just needed something to dominate, and Boots fits the bill perfectly. Red adopted Boots as her own puppy and they are happy as clams. It's awesome. She licks her, plays with her, and even carries h around occasionally. Now, every night at 9 Boots sits on DH and sleeps until he goes to bed. Booots is shameless in her love fror his lap. It's a riot.

Red is cured, Big is thrilled, Boots is happy and we all love the new puppy!

2011-06-01T13:38:00.001-07:00

I have the best husband in the universe. In addition to being totally hot, he's kind, thoughtful and really giving. He is also an amazing dad. Wile taking a break from working two jobs, he had some down time. During this time he gave me lots of time off (a rare treat for a homescholing mom with a husband who works two jobs!), remodeled most of our master bathroom, and worked out like a fiend. He rocks.

During this break my DH also managed to take both kids on special overnight trips to see their grandparents. Little went first and LOVED his trip. There was flying and fishing and general man-ness. He arrived home 36 hours after leaving in the same clothes - dirty and very happy. When the boys were gone Big and I hung out, went out to eat and enjoyed girl time. Yesterday Big went on her trip. She was a little more nervous, but in the end had a blast. Little had a whole weekend of activities planned for us while the other half of our team was gone. We swam, we took care of chickens, we went to the movies, we swam more, we stayed up late. It was great. I was feeling really sick for a good part of our night, but he was a trooper. He played a little x-box and cared for the dogs while I napped, then I recovered and we had more fun.

I think one of the best parts of the time I had with Little was listening to all his funny comments. Some were also pure sweetness...

Before DH and Big left, Little gave Big a hug hug and told her, "I'm going to miss you, [Big]. I love you." Boy, do I cherish their friendship.

"Mom, when I get married I want her to be just like you." And before I got too swelled a head he added, "Because you make great meatballs."

And at the pool today, "Mom, I really miss [Big]. Its just not as fun to swim without you or Daddy or Big." (I was out with a super sore throat.)

So yeah, I have the best DH in the world. As I listen to my heavy-breathing, completely exhausted girl sleeping next to me I smile. I'm so grateful for the sweet memories and funny comments my boy made when we got to hang out. I love the time I had talking with my precious girl and hanging out with her when the boys were gone. As a mom there is nothing nicer than having everyone home together, but I am also looking forward to the next round of Daddy Adventures. Because, when your DH is the best in the universe, the adventures rock!

2011-05-30T16:24:00.001-07:00

Back to blogging! Ok, I will admit it... I love to blog. I like having a record of the fun things my kids say and do during the week. I know that in a few years I will laugh at the school issues that I stress over today. I love the pictures and the memories. So I am back. Back to blogging!

What spurned this return? We have had an amazing week and I don't ever want to forget it! The week started with us dog sitting for dear friends who are moving soon. We are so sad they are leaving but so happy for how the Lord is working in their lives. Next week is the final week, so we are hoping to squeeze in a birthday party for Big with her friends before they go.

Big grew up too much this week. Yesterday she went with her friends to. A movie! I gave her money and her friends picked her up and off she went. They saw Kung Fun Panda 2 and she declared, "It was the best movie ever!" My friend, the chaperone, said she covered her eyes a bit (I think the 3d is not her thing!) but apparently being big and having a purse and paying for yourself makes up for being scared!

While Big was away Little had "the best play date ever" with a scout buddy. It's great to see the kids growing up and enjoying their friends. They had a great time playing with Boots, eating Jamba bars and playing Portal. I am loving Scouts and the kids in our group rock. It's going to be a fun summer with these guys!

We rejoined the gym this week for the summer session, so it's been a week of rock climbing and swimming. My sister and her kids have always done summer triathlons, so we're stealing their idea and working on our one. The kids are working on swimming a mile or more each, so every trip they do 3 and a half laps each. Every ten visits they'll hit a mile! We're also working on some Webelos fitness badges, so we're running, biking, and doing lots of push ups and sit ups, too. (As I sit at the pool and type I am watching another scout dad doing laps with his son. Very sweet!) It's working great for wearing the kids out and they are really enjoying it. Big is killer on the long distances, Little is a sprinter. We'll see how 6 weeks of training affects them!

As a family we've decided to take on a new sport - tennis. We've been playing a few days a week and we are all loving it. The kids are getting better really fast and I think they'll be great doubles partners soon. Occasionally DH and I get to play, but mostly it's family time. I used to LOVE tennis, so its a blast gutting back into it.

So that's it! Im back to blogging. I'm really excited. With a full summer ahead and loads of memories to record I am so thrilled! Life is good!