The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

I just wanted to put a quick post about our Christmas this year...We had such an awesome time...It was a very stress-free holiday this year. We had some friends over Friday night for dinner to hang out & kick off the holiday weekend and it was very nice.

Then on Saturday (Christmas Eve) we went to Dan's mom's and had a really great time. The kids were so excited to see her tree and all of the presents under it ~ They got to open one each right away, then we had our dinner and then the wrapping paper was flying everywhere! Jack, Mary & Bobby came over, too and joined in the fun...I have shared some pics (courtesy of Jack & Mary... ) We also got to watch the movie "Elf" which we never saw - I was cracking up!

Christmas Day was also wonderful; however, I was totally shocked when I went into the kitchen to make my coffee and looked at the clock & it said 7:42am. The shock was because we had already finished openiong EVERYTHING~stockings included! I couldn't believe that all of that work & preparation was all over for another year! But the kids had a great time & loved all of their presents. We went to church and then over to my mom's. We got to visit there with my parents, John, Jimmy & his family & my aunt Gina & her family. We had a really great time there, too.

Monday morning was a different story~Jake & I both woke up with colds! Yuck! I had the whole achy muscle, stuffy head thing going on...we just took it easy all day. Then my aunt Doris & my cousin Sammie brought us dinner & presents. We all hung out and had fun cathing up with each other. Then Danny stayed with the kids & I went to the movies with the girls...It was nice to get out.

Christmas Love...

I received this via e-mail and just wanted to share it with everyone ~ I know Christmas has passed, but most of the ideas and thoughts in this can be carried out through the whole year...

Christmas Love…

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love to my family, I’m just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love to my family, I’m just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love to each person I serve, it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties and sing in the choir’s cantata but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child. Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the relative. Love is kind, though harried and tired. Love doesn’t envy another’s home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love doesn’t yell at the kids to get out of the way, but is thankful they are there to be in the way. Love doesn’t give only to those who are able to give in return, but rejoices in giving to those who can’t.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never fails. Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust, but giving the gift of love will endure…

Quick Bowling Post...

Hello there...Don't have anything great to blog about right at this moment, but I did want to post that the kids did very well at this weeks bowling session...Becky bowled a 79 & a 70 (she even got a strike!) ~ Matthew bowled a 75 and a 70 (he got a spare). They are really getting into this bowling...

I was also proud of Matthew who is really trying to work on his self-control & listening skills. I am tired of feeling like everywhere we go people know his name because I constantly have to say "MATTHEW!" But, on the other hand, I also feel that I am very critical of my children's behavior sometimes, because I am constantly getting comments from people about how well behaved my children are...Sometimes I feel proud (my hard work is paying off!) and sometimes I feel shocked (really? These kids?)

When I wasn't feeling well a few weeks ago I had an appointment with an ENT & brought all three kids with me. I just figured why not? After the initial evaluation by the Dr. he said I had to go downstairs & have a hearing test & "Well, good luck getting that done with the three kids..." I had no idea what this doctor visit would entail, but we ventured downstairts with the skeptical, but nice lady to perform my hearing test. Well, all three kids (even the baby) were quiet and we were able to complete the who hearing test. After we saw the doctor again he asked said this to me: "You homeschool, right? Wow~ I just have to tell you that you have the three most well behaved children I have ever seen. If my kids were here for this they would be bouncing off the walls! Can you come to my house to teach us what you do?"

Oh well, I went off on a tangent. Really just wanted to post about bowling...have a good rest of your weekend!

May I Have A Gallon Of Milk Chocolate?

For those of you who are chocolate lovers, I know you can relate to how cool it was the other day for me when I went to Home Depot to get the new paint for my bedroom! Let me explain ~ I had a million paint chip/swatch cards all over my room to decide which shade of brown I was going to pick. It had to be not too dark, but dark enough to be noticable; coordinate with the colors in the comforter on my bed and also look nice with the wood furniture that we have in our bedroom. Anyway - after days of having these cards taped all over my walls so I could examine them in all differnt angles, daylight, nighttime with the lights on, etc...I found THE color I just had to have! When I looked closer to the color swatch I cracked up because the name of the color was MILK CHOCOLATE. No wonder I picked it! I even thought about the fact that if it looked so good, I may just want to lick my walls!

Anyway, I went to Home Depot to get the paint and I almost cracked up after I ordered it. The guy said, "May I help you?" I said, "Yes, I'll have a gallon of milk chocolate". He said, "Okay" and I proceeded to crack up at myself ordering a gallon of milk chocolate. Now, I DO realize that it was just paint, people, but let me tell you ~ It was still a cool thing to order it.

Last Friday Danny went to the men's Christmas dinner at church & I decided to paint our bedroom - I know I'm crazy, but when I get something in my head I just have to do it! Well, I was a little nervous about painting my room such a bold color, but I really like the way these darker colors look in my friends' homes and decided to go for it. I am very pleased with the final result. Even Danny said "Wow, it looks a lot better than I thought it would" [Thanks Dan.]

Check out my finished product...Now I just have to wait for my new lamps & pictures to come in then it will be totally done!

My Little Angels

This past weekend at church they had the Christmas Program during the Sunday morning service. It was mostly a youth production, but they tried to showcase many of the younger children in it as well, mostly as angels. The younger children (Matthew is one in this category) were all dressed up as angels and came on stage to sing Away in a Manger for the scene where baby Jesus was born...it was very cute!

Becky was the "Main Angel" because she had the only speaking part of the younger children. She came on stage and spoke her lines into the mic like a pro! She had to tell Mary, Joseph and the shephards on separate occassions about the birth of Jesus...Then later in the production, she played the part of a dead girl whom Jesus healed (they were doing a scene about some of the miracles He performed). Then during the scene where Jesus was coming to be crucified she was in the "crowd" - Some were yelling "Crucify!" and some were yelling "No! Please, no!" Becky was one of them...I couldn't believe her acting abilities because she is usually soft spoken and sometime a little shy and to see her on stage in front of the whole church gave me chills! Okay...enough of the proud mother ranting...Here's some pics...

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Yesterday we had a Christmas Party with one of the groups we belong to...We had a lot of fun~The kids did crafts, played and ate~We also all helped in a service project to make 1,000 goodie bags for underprivileged children who will be attending a Christmas Party in their honor this coming Saturday in Philadelphia. It was really nice to be a part of that and to be able to teach our children first hand that as nice as it is to receive presents this holiday season, it is also just as satisfying to give to others...

As part of our homeschooling lessons this week we are participating in a Christmas card exchange with some other families we have become friends with through our other homeschooling group. Each child will make Christmas cards and write in them and then learn how to properly address an envelope and send the cards to each child in the other families. This way they will all be able to receive their "own" cards through the mail this year. The kids love to get their own mail! They ask me every day when I get the mail if there is anything for them!

Tonight I have my Women's Group Christmas Dinner at a local restaurant. It should be a nice time of fun and fellowship out with the ladies! Dan & the kids are planning on having a movie night complete with popcorn and candy!

My Youngest Homeschooler...

I just had to post these pictures of my youngest homeschooler, Jake, who already wants to be one of the big kids...This is our old computer which currently isn't working. (but don't tell Jake) He types away at that keyboard everyday - The other kids say that he's e-mailing my baby niece, Lindsey, who is 1 year old...They all crack me up!

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Today was the first day of our Homeschool Bowling League...we will be going to a local bowling alley every Wednesday...the kids get to bowl 2 games each ~ They even had a nice college student (Tracy) who "coached" them the whole time...She was so nice! The second game Becky bowled a 43 & Matthew bowled a 53. Becky was upset because she really tried to bowl correctly & Matthew just put the ball between his legs & gave it a shove each time & he ended up 10 pts higher both games. I told her not to be discouraged & to be proud that many times she didn't even use the bumpers! We'll see what happens next week.

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What else has been going on in our life:

Last week we had Co-Op & also picture day (which I was in charge of) for school portraits & yearbook pictures (Which I am also in charge of ~ the yearbook, that is). Jake had his first cold-lots of coughing, mucus, etc...he's just getting over it now! Becky slept over my brother's house last week to watch the premier of the American Girl Movie Felicity. She and her aunt Suzanne have been doing a homeschooling elective "class" on the Felicity series of books & they just finished up the last book/lesson in time for the movie. they had a blast hanging out, watching the movie & even discussing what was different from the book to the movie. We went over Dan's parents house on Saturday to visit with them & my father-in law's cousins came with their 2 year old twin boys - That was fun! The boys had a great time running around & playing with Matthew. Danny & I got some Christmas shopping done & on Sunday we had our first snowfall of the season, Dan had to work some OT & my brother John came over for a visit.

I got my MRI results back last night & they were negative. My symptoms have gone away & all is well.

Becky had her horseback riding lessons last night...She did really great! She seems to really enjoy it, too!

This weekend is the Christmas show at our church - Becky has rehearsal Saturday morning from 9-12...We are having a small get-together with some friends from church Sunday afternoon so I am busy preparing for that, too. Of course when we are having company it motivates me to get projects done in our house. I plan on painting our bedroom this week (a very nice chocolate brown color) I can't wait! Dan is in charge of the Men's dinner at our church (which is this Friday evening) - He coordinates all of the food, does the food shopping (he went out with his buddy last night to get most of that done - I'll get the last few things from Sam's Club tomorrow) & he also does a lot of the cooking...I will have to meet him at the church on Friday with the turkeys & the oil, etc...He'll go there right from work so he has time to prepare everything for the dinner at 7:30pm...We also have to put up our christmas tree - We got a fake tree a few years ago - It's nice & all but I miss having a real one...Now I want to have two trees - the fake one in the den (the back of the house) & I'd love to get a small real one for the living room (front of the house) because last year we only had one tree & it didn't look Christmasy when you first came in because there was no tree there. Anyway, I digress...I better not waste my precious few minutes left while Jake is sleeping - I have lots to do...See ya.

Long Overdue Thanksgiving Post...

I wanted to post about our Thanksgiving Celebration, but time
got away from me! So here it is...

We went to Dan's parents' house to celebrate Thanksgiving this year...The food was delicious! We all brought some side dishes to help out, but my mother-in-law did most of the work!

Everyone was there - Even Dan's sister & her family - We were so happy to have them there, including James, their Exchange student from Korea (he kept hiding from when when I was coming around with the camera, but I did manage to get him in one picture).

My kids had so much fun playing with their cousins...we don't get to see them a lot because they live over an hour away & they have a very busy social schedule! Becky also got to see her 2nd cousin Michaela who lives on the same street as my in-laws...This was a big bonus considering that in that family, Becky is the only girl cousin out of 7 kids! (Although Dan's sister is pregnant with their 4th child - maybe it'll be a girl!)

Here are all of the cousins (except Joshua who was asleep)

PS: Jake was a little superstar on his first Thanksgiving ~ He dazzled everyone with his cute baby tricks including: Peek-a-boo, so big, & he also says "Thank You", which sounds kinda like "Da-goo" ~ But still, he's only 10 months old! Everyone was impressed...

What's In My Head?

Just sitting here waiting for the results of my MRI...Most of the dizziness has gone away ~ but if I move my head quickly, when I lie down & when I try to exercise & bend over to touch my toes I feel it...Other than that, though, I feel great! I don't feel that there will be anything seriously wrong, but it will be nice to get the official results for a definitive answer. I guess that this is the one time in your life that you actually want to hear someone say that "Yes, it's confirmed, there is absolutely nothing in your head!" :)

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We are spending Thanksgiving with Danny's family this year (we alternate every other year) and are looking forward to having a very nice time with them...I love Thanksgiving because we always go to one of our mothers' houses, (so I usually only have to bring some side dishes and/or desserts), have a great day visiting with our family & then get sent home with leftovers so I don't even have to cook the next day either! Woo-hoo! :)

This week we are reading a book called Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin this week as one of our read alouds ~ It is in the Five in a Row curriculum that we use as a supplement, so we will be doing some activities from it today ~ If I feel really energetic we might even make the recipe from the back of the book for Grandmother's Famous Cranberry Bread! (We'll see...)

Bowling

Yesterday a local bowling alley had a special Homeschool Day ~ They had FREE bowling & FREE pizza & sodas! It ended up being a great day, even though it didn't start out that way...

We were running about 15 minutes late & didn't know anyone else from any of our local groups we participate in who were planning on attending this event...But I perservered, for the sake of my children, and entered the bowling alley pushing Jake in the stroller & Becky & Matthew on either side of that. (Did I mention that Jake had a stinky diaper which I should've just changed before we went in, but we had already gotten halfway across the parking lot when I remembered that Jake had thrown his bottle across the van while we were driving & I might need it while we were inside so we had to turn all the way around & go back & get it & by this time the kids were like "Mom, we're already late, hurry, hurry...so I forgot about the diaper momentarily until we got inside & I smelled it!?!) Okay, anyway, we get in & the "party" was "all the way at the end & down a few stairs". So I try to be cool like Danny is when he just picks up the stroller with the car seat attached & Jake in it & everything - Well, I'm just not that cool - I must have picked it up in the wrong place, the car seat unclicks halfway, Jake is now sideways but I managed to get him safely down the stairs stroller & all, reclick everything & act as if I have everything all together (PS: All of this is happening & NO ONE notices me~What if I was having a real problem or something!)

Okay~We are now in the Party Zone ~ I almost lost it with the stroller incident but managed to hold back my tears & go to get the kids their bowling shoes ~ which I might add are pretty stylish now with velcro & all, they looked pretty new and everything ~ (compared to the nasty ones we used to have to wear when we were kids!) Matthew was so thrilled~He said he wants a pair of shoes just like them of his very own. (Cute moment ~ making Mom feel like everything she went through so far today was worth it~Good thing we have those moments for encouragement, huh?) I go back to the counter & the lady asks me if I pre-registered (which the flyer never mentioned we had to do & the lady who talked to me on the phone never mentioned either) I said "No" & she says "No problem - No one is on Lane 54 you guys can go there..."

So we proceed (stroller & all) to look for a size 6 bowling ball and can only find an 8 - It'll just have to do...We find a ramp to push the stroller down to the lanes (see I'm not a glutton for punishment - no more of the trying to carry the stroller down stairs for me!), we get to Lane 54 & Voila! Two ladies (who don't even seem to have any homeschoolers with them) are on the lane already - I find a guy who works there & he says "No problem, we'll just add your kids in with them, unless you're uncomfortable with that?" So, they get added & take their first turns - They did okay but I am still stressed out bc when I went up to help each one bowl their turn, I could hear Jake scream bc he couldn't see me (& bc I still hadn't changed his diaper!) (Note: Tears are beginnig to surface again) Then these two "ladies" are nowhere to be found - So we're waiting patiently for them to come back & take their turns so my kids can go again!

In the meantime, pizza is served ~ Matthew is chanting "I want pizza, I want pizza", I still have to figure out how to change poor Jake's diaper, not leave my kids alone & not fumigate the place with a dirty diaper, while everyone is eating their lunch! I managed to get the diaper changed & go get sodas for the kids & as I was doing that I ran into someone we knew from when Becky went to Christian School who is now homeschooling her children! Yay!! I felt a big weight off of my shoulders & then I almost cried tears of joy! (Once the tears are already there & just being held back~they can come for any reason, ya know!) Anyway, God is just so good! He knows just what we need right when we need it! I managed to get all of my stuff & the kids over to our friends' lane & there was an open lane right next to them - The kids were able to have their pizza & soda, bowled two games, Jake fell asleep & Becky got to hang out with her old friend Pattie! It ended up to be a great day after all!!

Happy Birthday Jimmy!

Just wanted to say that my baby brother is turning 32 years old today!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIMMY!

What's Up With This?

Did you ever have something that just baffles your mind? Here's my latest thing...I have been purchasing & using a variety of different laundry detergents lately (partially because of whichever brand is on sale & partially because I am conducting my own personal study on something that I have noticed...)

Exhibit A

Exhibit BAll of the brands I have used over the past two months have similar instruction labels on the bottles ~ I'll rewrite the text for you below as it is blurry in the picture. They all seem to say the following:

For Best Results:

1. Pre-Treat items with tough stains - pour detergent directly onto stains and rub into fabric.

2. Select the proper wash temperature and fabric cycle. Follow the garment label instructions.

3. Fill to line 1 for regular loads. Fill to line 2 for heavily soiled or large loads.

So here's what baffles me about all of this...On the actual cup there are three lines!! Exhibit A above shows the picture of the label - Note the diagram on the label, which clearly shows you where Line 1 & Line 2 are...There is no mention of Line 3!! However, I tried to show you in Exhibit B that there does exist a Line 3 ~ Now, please tell me this ~ If Line 2 is for large loads or heavily-soiled loads - What's the deal with Line 3? Is it for really, extremely heavily-soiled loads? Is it there for people like me who like to take risks? Well, I like to live on the edge and am somewhat of a rebel, so let it be noted that I have been filling my detergent cup to Line 3, despite the fact that there is no mention of Line 3 on any of the instruction labels on any of the detergent bottles I have sampled...Seriously, in all reality, it is probably just that the detergent companies know that we will all fill it to Line 3, even though it's not mentioned because since they only mention Lines 1 & 2, we feel that by filling the cup to Line 3, we will get our laundry that much cleaner & they know that we will therefore use up our detergent that much quicker!

A Few Things I'd Never Thought I'd Say...

Here are a few things that I thought I'd share ~ things that I never dreamed I would hear coming out of my own mouth... (I have decided to keep a list of these things as they happen from now on, so I can remember them & post them at a later date because it's a crack up...)

"Matthew, put down that Giant Kermit, you're scaring your friend!"
(My mother-in-law gave Matthew a huge Kermit doll - it's as big as he is & he loves it, but he was chasing his friend all around the house with it the other day!)

"Becky, finish your meat, you can't have any pudding if you don't eat your meat!"
(Actually Danny said this one - No he wasn't singing a Pink Floyd song, we really were eating meat for dinner & really having pudding for dessert!)

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Today we are picking up one of my friends and her son and going to a local MOPS group meeting. The speaker today is a mother of four who is also a homeschool mom. I am very interested to hear what she has to say...Plus, its a nice break from the kids & I just love getting together with all of the other moms & visiting!

To sleep, perchance to dream...

Ah sleep...that wonderful luxury which simply seems to evade me lately! I just got Jake back to sleep and now I am totally awake! So, here I am blogging at 1:00am...I am always trying to make the best use of my time. Jake is cutting his top two teeth & is not a happy camper! I wish they'd just pop out already (poor little guy). I myself haven't been feeling well lately...I have a stuffiness in my left ear (already went to ENT & he said I have nothing in my ears...) [please hold back your sarcastic comments people~I just quoted Shakespeare for goodness sake!] ; vertigo sometimes with nausea; and some headaches. I am going for an MRI test this Friday to see if there is anything causing this problem. The ENT said that the dizziness should go away on its own within a week or so (but could last for several weeks). So who knows - I am just doing the best I can to endure this - I hate not feeling like myself. Somedays are better than others~Yesterday was good~today, not so good...

On Friday we had a good day and went to our homeschool group's Thanksgiving Feast! What fun! Rebecca dressed up as a pilgrim girl (there were a few others, mostly there were Indians). Everyone brought food and we had time of fellowship, they had a time of worship & we literally had a feast! Matthew had so much fun running around with a bunch of boys he met - I asked him on the ride home if he had fun & he said "Yes!" I proceeded to ask him what he was playing & he said "Mom, it was so much fun ~ We played catch me". Well, that explains why there were a bunch of young boys running all around & trying to catch one another~Got it now~Catch Me~Oh well, as long as they had a good time. Rebecca got to see some of her new friends again & she had a good time as well.

Here are some pics of my little pilgrim girl & the king of Catch Me himself...(sorry the pics are a little blurry~the battery was dying...but you get the idea)

Get Your Motor Running...

Happy Birthday Marines

Happy Birthday Marines.

Today the United States Marine Corps celebrates its 230th birthday.

On November 10, 1775 two battalions of Marines were established by the Continental Congress. They served as security and landing forces aboard Navy ships. Their first landing was made in 1776 when marines captured Fort Nassau in the Bahamas from the British. After the revolution and facing an uncertain future they finally became the United States Marine Corps.

Just a few places Marines have served around the world: Mexico, North Africa, Panama, New Orleans, Harpers Ferry, Cuba, Shanghai, Bellau Wood, Argonne, Nicaragua, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Iwo Jima, Inchon, Chosin Reservoir, Danang, Khe Sanh, Hue City, Grenada, Beirut, Kuwait, Somalia, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

I would like to salute all of the Marines who have served during peace and war. They have all sacrificed a portion of their lives for their Corps and Country. We should always remember those who never made it back home…

Semper Fi…

Happy Friday...

Well, I don't have any inspiring stories this morning ~ I still don't feel totally awake yet! I am just going to go make my coffee right now so maybe that'll help! Anyway, here's a brief post on things going on around here...

We had a "park day" yesterday to try to meet some more girls who homeschool and are around Becky's age. It was a really nice day and about five other families came out and we all had a great time. The kids all played well together and Becky is encouraged about making some new friends ~ Plus, my children all slept (some are still sleeping...) so well last night from being out in the fresh air all day! It's a win/win situation! We're meeting everyone there again in two weeks...

Next week we are going on a field trip to an art museum where the kids will be broken down into age groups and do a hands-on activity...Sounds like a lot of fun...We will also be attending another HS group bowling day to meet even more people in this area who homeschool , as well as attending a "Thanksgiving Feast" celebration next Friday ~ So far there will be 26 adults & 60 children participating in that event.

Well, I am off to make that coffee & hide the Halloween candy before the kids wake up ~ This way, maybe I won't hear Matthew ask for it until at least 9:30am or something! :)

HAPPY FRIDAY & HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!

I'm Back...

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I'm back! I feel like life is just flying by...We've been doing Co-Ops, field trips, play dates & all of our other normal activies. Becky has been taking horseback riding lessons & is enjoying it so far...We had a wedding this past Saturday & Jack & Mary babysat for us - The kids had such an awesome time ~ They got to go to a b;day party for Mary's niece & nephew who live near us - They watched a movie & got to stay up late...Sunday was my baby niece's 1st birthday so we went right from church to her house for a party, then home for a little bit & back to church (I had nursery duty that night).

PS~I'm glad for those of you who got to enjoy the extra hour of sleep this past weekend with daylight savings time & all, but for those of us who have little ones ~ it's not so great...For some reason Jake has been waking up at 5am, taking a bottle & then going back to sleep for a few hours...As if that's not bad enough - sunday morning I was not a happy camper when I woke up & the clock said 4:00am! (I know, technically it was the same physical time, but it still doesn't make it any better seeing 4:00 on my clock!!)

Yesterday was a very busy, but great day...The kids & I left the house at 8am so I could get coffee & drop them off at my friend Jackie's house...They played & baked cookies & cupcakes for our church's Harvest Party last night. Jake & I went up to Paramus for the last time for his exit exam with the helmet place. He had to have final pictures taken & have his head recasted (not fun!), but we got through it & he's all finished with his DOC band therapy! Yay!! Now we just have to get him used to not having the helmet on. (I think it saved him from a few good bumps on his head in the past...)

When Dan got home we went around the neighborhood and got a LOT of candy...Then we went to the Harvest Party at our church...Here's pics of the kiddies...We have a Little Angel, an Army Guy (even though Danny told him a million times he was a Marine, Matthew insisted that he was "An Army Guy" like his little action figures) & a little green dinosaur...

Crazy Lady Breaks Down at PA Turnpike Toll Booth

Yes ~ I am that crazy lady (I know, it's so hard to believe, right?) and no I don't mean that my car broke down!

Let me tell you the story...On Wednesday I went out to PA for the day to visit my friend Michelle and her two beautiful children! It was a lovely fall day - The leaves are starting to turn colors, the weather was gorgeous, no rain in sight! We had a great visit...got to catch up a little, have lunch & the kids had fun playing...We pack ourselves up & head on home. I was reading the directions backwards to get back to the PA Turnpike - Becky & Matthew were in the back seat arguing & hitting each other & screaming - Very distracting - I was trying to follow the signs - "Stay left for PA Turnpike", etc...Well, right as we approached the toll booth area & the kids were still screaming at each other - I was supposed to get over to the right (but is wasn't correctly marked) - I realized this as I was cruising by in the left lane and glanced over to my right and saw the lovely purple toll signs...I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, but figured it was like the GS Parkway where sometimes you go through a regular lane & then there are 2 more toll booths before you get on the highway. NOPE! Not this exit!

So now I'm heading towards home, the kids settle down and fall asleep & I am going over in my head how I will explain to the toll collector what happened, what exit I got on at & hand him my $5 to pay for the toll (which was only $2.25). He had to understand my situation or at least have pity on me, right? I knew the worst case scenario would be that I would have to pay the highest toll on the card but I figured how much could it be - $4 or $5??

Well, the guy proceeded to tell me it was $19.25!! I didn't have that much cash on me nor did i have my checkbook! I was like - Now what do I do? He told me that I have to drive across all of the lanes of traffic, through the orange cones and go over to the Turnpike Building to pay the money! I just looked at him in total shock! I was so furious because this wasn't even my fault! I couldn't believe that this was happening to me - I just wanted to have a day out to visit my friend...Did I say something mean to him? Did I argue my point to him? Nope, I just broke down & started to cry! I proceeded to drive through the orange cones, parked the car, woke up the 3 kids & schlepped them into the building. I had my sunglasses on but could not stop crying! The people were like "Lady, what's the matter! Calm down...it'll be okay" (Personally, I think I really scared them!)

Well, I finally sort of calmed down, told them what happened & they told me that the exit is not properly marked & I have to send in the payment for the toll, but then also gave me a claim report & told me to send that in explaining what exit & how it wasn't marked, etc. and they will refund me the money. We'll see...Anyway, looking back on it now, the whole scene was kind of funny! For those few moments when we first entered the building, I never saw Matthew & Becky be so quiet or stand so still. I think they thought I was going to jail or something!

Anyway, I hope you all have a great weekend - I am going to a Women's Retreat with my friend & two of my sister-in-laws - I can't wait - They're picking me up at 5pm & the kids are looking forward to a special weekend with Daddy...

Part II

Well, I just wanted to elaborate a little bit about the things I mentioned in my last post ~ I basically have been wrestling in my mind with what are the right things for our family such as homeschool or go to school ~ three kids or four kids ~ Things like that & when I had mentioned that I feel that God has given me a peace about things I meant this: Danny & I have chosen to homeschool our kids which is just an awesome opportunity to spend a lot of time with them, to shape their education towards things they are interested in, and to bring them up with our family morals and values. Some days are great - I get to exercise before the kids wake up, take a few minutes of quiet time also, we get through every lesson smoothly, Jake takes a good nap, Matthew keeps his self-control - then all seems right with the world - It makes me feel great! Then there are the other kinds of days where everything seems out of control - Jake is fussy, the phone keeps ringing, Becky complains "I don't want to do school" and Matthew is bouncing off the walls! These are the days where I hear myself in my head "If they were in school I be having a good day" and then start to cry because I am thinking about them actually not being here and being in school all day! Well anyway, here's where the part about the peace comes in...

We all have good days and bad days regardless of what each day consists of in terms of daily tasks - Going to work in an office, staying home with your children, homeschooling, etc. The bottom line is that even though we may have some "bad days", (which aren't really even that bad if I step back for a moment), I am not doubting that the paths we choose for our family are the right ones. The good days far outweigh the "bad" ones and my new peace comes with accepting that every day doesn't have to be "perfect" and I don't have to complete 10 different household projects in one day, plus exercise, get school done, take care of the baby...The latter three are enough...Sometimes because of the type of person I am in terms of always wanting to do a project around the house I put pressure on myself to get these things done when the real reason I am home here in the first place and not in an office somewhere (where I definitely wouldn't be able to work on house projects) is to be a mother! Everything else will get done in time...

I went to a MOPS group yesterday and the Mentor mom was talking about families and how when a husband and wife get married they become their own family and they have to rely on one another to plan out what is best for their own little family. She remarked how there are times in her life now with four grown, married children where she may not always agree with the choices that her children make for "their families" in terms of money matters, how they are raising their children, etc...but she has to respect those choices. She also spoke about handling one issue at a time, like if you are telling your child for the 100th time to get their shoes out of the living room to focus only on that & not add in "and your room is a mess, and you left the tv on, and you need to take better care of your things!" I am going to try that advice starting today to focus only on one thing at a time with the kids and see how that goes...

Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled...

This past Sunday in church, our Pastor gave a sermon regarding "The Spirit Within Us" and the main portion of scripture he referenced was John 14:1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me." He discussed how "Human beings were created to be filled with God's spirit. A person who does not have God's Spirit will not be able to live the life that God created them to live..." What he said really spoke to my heart because I have many people in my life that are close to me who are going through some difficult trials in their lives right now...I pray for them all on a daily basis!

I really feel that no matter what someone is going through, no matter how hard something is to deal with, or how stressful the unknown things of life can be, if you put your faith & trust in God and really know that you are allowing Him to guide your day to day path by His Spirit, then you'll make it through...

Last week I feel that God was speaking to me regarding some things that I had been praying about in my life regarding mothering, schooling and basic household life...I had some different opportunities throughout the week to really self-reflect and I feel a new peace inside about a lot of things...I am too tired tonight to elaborate, this will have to wait for a Part II or something, but I just felt like encouraging you that if you pray faithfully and wait for God to reveal to you what he has planned for your life instead of trying to make things happen on your terms (which I was trying to do a LOT!), you can really have peace, joy and contentment in your life! Try it, you might just be surprised!

Mr. M

My kids think that whenever anyone has a birthday, they have to have a "theme" ~ Last month they were over my brothers house celebrating my dad's b'day & thay asked him "Grandpa, what's your theme?" - My sister-in-law had some Winnie the Pooh stuff left over so his theme was Winnie the Pooh! Then they said that in October is Uncle John's b'day and what was his theme going to be?

Well, my brother John (& Jimmy & I) used to love the Letter People, so the kids decided that that was his "theme". The Letter People was a phonics program that they used in our elementary school growing up & each letter of the alphabet became a character to help children learn the sounds that it makes - Each letter has a song, too & we have it on CD! All of the kids picked their favorite letter and have been practicing for the past few weeks (Matthew doesn't even realize how many hours a day he has been actually "doing school" by listening to these songs)

Last night we celebrated John's birthday & it was complete with performances of many of the favorite letters and even a Mr. B ice cream cake - It was so much fun! I can't wait to see the footage on DVD (no pressure, Jim!)

Anyway, Matthew's favorite letter is Mr. M & I have posted his picture and song below...

MR. M
I'm Mr. M, with a munching mouth

My mouth must munch, munch, munch

My mouth has lunch, lunch, lunch

I munch from morning to midnight,

Midnight to morning, munching mouth,

I'm Mr. M

Meatballs, macaroni, mashed potatoes, I adore

Marshmallows, maple syrup, melon, milk,There's room for more...

For Mr. M with a munching mouth

My mouth must munch, munch, munch,

My mouth has lunch, lunch, lunch,

I munch from morning to midnight,

Midnight to morning, munching mouth, Meet Mr. M

Milkshakes, marmalade, mayonnaise, I adore,

Muffins, mushrooms, and molasses,

More and more and more and more!

I'm Mr. M with a Munching Mouth

My mouth must munch, munch, munch

My mouth has lunch, lunch, lunch

I munch from morning to midnight

Midnight to morning, munching mouth

I'm Mr. M, With a munching mouth

I'm Mr. M ~ MUNCHING MOUTH!

What's Been Going On...

Well, just to update everyone on what's been going on lately...We went on a field trip on Friday to a local Orchard & learned about Apples, picked appled & pumpkins, tasted fresh apple cider, shopped in the market, and socialized with other homeschoolers from the area - We had a great time!

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Yesterday we went to our first Co-op of the year - Our group has them once a month and it is an all-day event! Each month there is a different theme, the parents take turns volunteering to help teach, do crafts, help in nursery, help with snacks, etc...the kids go to their grade's class where they spend the day learning, playing & having a lot of fun! The theme for this month was American Indians ~ The kids got their faces painted, ate corn bread, played games, watched a video and a lot more! Jake was great and slept for a while so I even got to organize all of our family photos from last year in preparation for scrapbooking! Next month is NJ History...

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Today we will be back to a "normal" school day (except for the fact that I have been awake since 3:30am when Jake felt that he had slept enough for a while and wanted to hang out!) Along with the usual mathematics & language work we complete daily, we have been trying out a new curriculum for Early American History by a company called Beautiful Feet Books (www.bfbooks.com) and recently finished reading Leif the Lucky by D'Aulaire & now are going to start the book Columbus by the same authors...Becky & Matthew really enjoyed the other book - The illustrators for these children's books have some pages in color and some are B&W sketches, which I photocopied as per the Teacher's Guide from Beautiful Feet Books and they color their pages while we talk about the story & then get to paste it on colored paper & put it in their school notebooks. This has been working out really well for us (& I actually know where all of the kids schoolwork is in one place!)

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Jake Update: His head is rounding out very nicely & he only has 4-6 more weeks in the helmet! Can't wait to be able to hug him close without getting klunked in the face with the helmet & to be able to kiss his ear or the side of his head for more than 1 hour each day. He sits by himself & gets onto his belly by himself & really wants to crawl! He eats fruits, veggies, meats & yogurts & loves them all! He also enjoys feeding himself the fruit & veggie puffs finger foods by Gerber! What a cutie!

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Last night Becky wanted me to teach her how to cross-stitch so we started with that, she has been practicing her piano lessons, we have been frequenting the local library for different books & videos & will be taking Matthew to story & craft time for preschoolers in the near future ~ (Becky seems to have a real interest in horses so she has been taking out books from the Saddle Club series & reading them each day!) and the kids have been going outside a few times a week to kick around the soccer ball ~ Our homeschool group has a soccer club which meets once a week & we are going to try to make it to that ~ Becky also wants to play basketball through the township so we may head over to the Rec Center today as well to check into the fall/winter sports programs that are going on...

Ha! Mother Does Know Best

Phew ~ Friday's here ~ What a busy week! That said, I'd like to share a quick story of something that happened with my daughter Rebecca. She is 7 going on 37 ~ I really think that she could run the house without me if she needed to (and she thinks so, too!). For the past few weeks in our homeschool we have been going through our lessons each day and phonics and math have been a lot of review (which is absolutely necessary to reinforce the skills she learned last year). Well, Becky has been complaining a lot about "What-Vowels-Consonants-I did this last year!", "I already know this!", etc. Well, I was getting pretty tired of the complaints ~ She was trying my patience, so I decided to give her the first Phonics test last Friday. When she was done she got a 91 (which is still great, of course). But, she was a little bummed out & asked "Why did I get a 91 today and last year I got mostly 100's?". **Just what I wanted, a chance to reinforce to her why she needs to review materials she already learned before!**

Saturday Becky & Matthew spent the day with my family at my brother's house to celebrate my dad's birthday while I stayed home with Jake & got a lot done around the house (I had my dad over for dinner the night before). (Danny was away for the weekend at a Camp Out with the men & boys from our church - He is a Ranger Kids Commander (which is basically our church's version of Boy Scouts). Well, my other brother John drove my kids back home for me & hung around for a visit after they went to bed. He proceeded to tell me things that the kids did throughout the day, funny things they said, etc. Then he told me something that made my week!

He said that Becky was telling him about school and how she had a test and got a lower grade than she thought she would. Then she said, "I guess my mom was right and I do need to review things I already learned". I almost fell off my chair - Becky said I was right about something! (You have to know that Becky thinks she can do my job better than I can - If I tell her to do something one way, she automatically does it a different way). Hearing that she said I was right was a total encouragement to me as a homeschooling mom because sometimes (okay, most of the time) I question if things I try to teach her actually sink in!

Well, I had to share this (even though it was almost a week later than I had wanted to post it!) to hopefully give some encouragement to any of you out there who are newer to homeschooling like I am and may sometimes question or have doubts...Anyway, hope you all have a good weekend and let's pray for the safety of all of the people who are in the path of Hurricane Rita, the people who are stuck in all of that traffic trying to evacuate Texas, for the leadership of the Governors of Texas and Louisana & President Bush, that the oil refineries in Rita's path will not be damaged and that the storm will weaken before it even hits...

Those Wildwood Days...

We went away for a mini-vacation to the beach last weekend with my family - It was so much fun! We go every year the weekend after Labor Day - It is so great because the weather is still awesome & summery, but all of the kids and families are back to school and there aren't a lot of crowds...

Jake went into the ocean for the first time ever ~ He was a little unsure at first, but then he liked it. Matthew really enjoyed jumping the waves & Becky is happiest just sitting on the sand and building her sandcastles! One day we went to see a motorcross race they had right on the beach - It was so cool - Matthew LOVED it! Now he wants his own dirtbike like the little kids that were racing!

Hope you enjoy the pics of our trip...

Becky also wanted me to show a picture of all of the stuffed animals that we won on the boardwalk at the crane games. Between my mom & Danny they won over 30 stuffed animals (and no, they didn't spend their entire life savings doing it~They're just that good!)

Mrs. Clean Was Here!

We're going away for the weekend so we have a friend coming to stay at our house and take care of the dogs for us. So, naturally, I was a maniac yesterday & cleaned the house from top to bottom. Then I when I was finished (and totally exhausted!) last night, I was pondering this...We live here in this house everyday and coexisted with piles of papers and books all around, baskets of laundry to put away in my room and the kids rooms, & the bathtub was way overdue for a good cleaning, to name a few things - Now, we're leaving the house for a few days and It's Spotless - Go Figure! Isn't human nature funny?

The house was also this clean a few years back when we had our house on the market for a while ~ We had wanted to buy some property and move a few hours south of here and build a house, but it obviously was not God's plan for our lives because that was four years ago and we're still here! Anyway, when they would put the house listing in the local papers they would write "Mrs. Clean Lives Here..." (After the house was off the market & had become really cluttered again or we just got busy with life & didn't have time to thoroughly clean the house everyday, etc. Danny would say to me, "Hey, where's Mrs. Clean? When's she coming back?"

I guess when we come back from the shore this weekend, I am going to have to pretend that someone is coming over everyday to keep it this clean because I have to say - I LOVE it this clean! I really do enjoy cleaning & I just have to make it more of a priority to keep the house at this level of clean - The kids are helping out a lot more as I mentioned a few posts back & Matthew has even progressed to attempting to make his bed, so that's a major plus! Yay!

Anyway, have a good weekend & check out my cleanliness...

Friday Progress Report

We're finishing up our first week of this new school year with some curriculum changes and more chores; here's our progress report: We've had a good week! We're back on a more structured routine with starting back to school & it is a good thing! I have printed out "Daily Routine" charts for the kids just to help remind them of things we would like them to do each day - Once they do something it gets checked off in the box for that day. They both love it! I have to say that with a better structure & more "things" required of the kids each (as opposed to our totally relaxed summer schedule), it was a very nice week. The house was cleaner (since Becky is loving this chart thing!) - She's vacuumed, made her bed & kept her room clean every day, & her favorite thing - Setting & clearing the table after each meal - I printed "instruction sheets" of how to properly set the table & how to clear the table (where to put dirty dishes, how to wipe the table with a warm washcloth, etc...) Matthew has a routine chart also & for him I put cute clip art since he can't read yet & it says things like "Get Dressed", "Brush Teeth" & "make bed". He's into doing everything except the making the bed - He has a mental block on it - He doesn't even want to try! But we'll keep working on that...

School-wise things are great so far, although Becky didn't realize that usually the first week or two of school are a review...She will be having a spelling test today & she actually can't wait! Matthew is enjoying his preschool work and all of the read alouds that we are doing. I am doing a much more relaxed school day this year & it feels much better. Of course we are covering the basics each day as far as Math & Language (phonics, spelling, writing) are concerned and then we are doing Bible, social studies, science, art, music, gym/health and everything else all throughout the week...The kids have made ABC Album scrapbooks this week & predecorated the pages with one letter of the alphabet on each page - The plan is for them to record different things we do in school or as a family throughout the year by adding pictures (and short sentences for Becky to write - Matthew can dictate his & I will write them for him). We are also going to make a school notebook today which will have sections for each subject so we can put in the completed work pages and keep an organized record of what each child did this year - I think it will be nice to look back at in years to come!

Well, this was my Friday Progress Report of our first week back at school ~ I am looking forward to the nice long holiday weekend & having Danny home with us! The kids really miss him when he is at work. We have our annual church picnic this weekend which is always a LOT of fun & some other things planned, as well as just a lot of hanging out & relaxing! :)

Wild Wednesday

"Wild Wednesday" is the term that a local gas station uses to get customers in. They offer 6 cents off all gas on Wednesdays only. Well, I don't usually go to this gas station because of its location - it is a high traffic area with not enough traffic signs/signals plus there are a lot of retirement communities in our area, need I say more! (Sorry if I offend anyone in this category...)

Anyway, today I decided to go there since the price of gas is on the rise yet again and I wanted to fill my tank before the holiday weekend. Well, the kids are talking to me all at once & Jake is having a rough day with some "tummy troubles" and voicing his discomfort quite loudly as I pull into the gas station. Therefore, I didn't see the sign that says "DO NOT ENTER". Evidently, this sign is put there only on Wednesdays to control the high volume of cars wanting to get the discounted gasoline. (I felt better after Danny told me that it's not there everyday, because I drive past this place ALL the time & I was questioning my sanity as to why I didn't remember it being there).

So folks, here's where my Wednesday gets really WILD...I pull up to the pump head on to another car (which happens to be at the head of the line of about 10-15 cars all in line for this pump). I was totally oblivious to the fact that they were all waiting in line for gas & I OBVIOUSLY was in the wrong place ~ But at this point, another car has blocked me in from behind (not to mention that the nice attendant at the gas station failed to say anything like, "Hey Lady, you came in the wrong way!" ~ I would have totally backed up & gotten out of there!) No, that would have been too easy...

Well, since our state does not have pump your own gas, this makes it even more interesting because the attendant proceeds to fill my tank & ignore the man who is facing my car. Now he was probably in his late 60's to early 70's (complete with golf shirt and plaid pants) and he gets out of his car and comes up towards my window - "Hey, you can't come in here this way - You're doing it the wrong way" (At this point I felt like I was in the Seinfeld episode with the Soup Nazi - It would have been easier if the attendant had just said to me - "No gas for you!") So anyway, I try to tell the man nicely that you can come into a gas station either way, it just depends on where your gas tank is on your car (I wasn't trying to be sassy, I just didn't see the sign & totally could not comprehend how he didn't understand this concept of how a gas station works). Just then, the lady behind him gets out (She was sporting a beautiful pure white "beehive" hairstyle, I might add) - "I had to go all the way around the block to get in line ~ You can't just pull right in here!"

At this point there was a nice lady across the pump who was smiling (well, actually laughing) at me saying "They're gonna kill you!" Those were very comforting words - Now I am getting a little nervous & trying to plan my escape route in my head so they won't follow me to my house~If they even let me get out of here alive! The plaid pants man comes closer to my window, "You know, there is a sign there that says Do Not Enter" having to prove to me that he is right - So I proceed to tell him - "Listen, sorry, but what can I do at this point anyway? I don't even come to this gas station ever! Would you like to come sit in my car with my three screaming kids for a while!?!" He replied one more time, just to drive the point home "There is a sign over there..." So I just look at him & tell him nicely that I will pray for his anger & that I don't have to listen to him anymore & rolled up my window! (Wow, I'm tough! I sure showed him, huh?) I also want to point out for those of you who don't know me personally, I may be ditzy at times (ie, not seeing a big red sign saying Do Not Enter), but I would never intentionally cut people off at the gas station just to save a few bucks!

Whew! I finally paid for my gas & got out of there in one piece...No more Wild Wednesdays for me!

We Finally Did It!

We finally decorated Jake's helmet last night! Everyone has been asking us for the past few weeks since he got the helmet, "When are you going to decorate it?" "What are you going to put on it?" "Plain white is so boring & medical looking". They actually have a contest for the DOC Band babies 2006 calendar put out by the facility where Jake goes for his helmet therapy. Of course, we will be entering our very own DOC Band cutie into the contest - We'll see if he gets in there...

The top three contenders for the design were:

1. Yellow Paint with black writing: "Caution: I'm under construction"

2. Dirt Bikes

3. Race Cars

Race cars won & here it is:

We have various race car stickers on the back, a thin checkered flag design going around the back & his name in blue stickers on the front. So adorable (if I do say so myself). We are all so used to Jake & his helmet that today when my Baby Niece was here (she's 10 months old), Matthew asked me "Mommy, where's Lindsey's helmet?" as if all children have them. I am glad that it's not a big deal to have this and that Jake doesn't even notice it on his head, he's still sleeping through the night no problem ~ He actually seems to look for the helmet and grab at his head & hair when it is off for cleaning in the evenings...

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I am very much looking forward to this weekend! We are planning on taking a long drive tomorrow with the kids & just getting away for the day ~ Some much needed R&R together as a family should do us all a world of good! I definitely need to get out of the house to clear my head before starting "back to school" on Monday...I just have to pick up a few books from the library and 2 workbooks are scheduled to be delivered Monday as well ~ Then we're all set! The kids are very excited to begin the new "school year" ~ I am very excited to implement my new "Daily Routine" charts and pray that they work to help the kids have some more responsibility with their rooms and the house - I'll keep everyone posted on our progress with that & with school next week - For now, have a great weekend!

Birthday Reflections...

This past weekend was Rebecca's 7th Birthday! We had a lot of fun at her party - We had it at an ice skating rink - My sister-in-law and I were remembering all of the different "themes" that Becky has had over the years so far... This was the first year we didn't have her party at home. I have to say, it was pretty easy to just show up with cupcakes & have someone else do the rest! The kids had a blast on the ice and skated pretty much the whole time! The only casualty was my father-in-law who unfortunately broke his hand when he tried to break his fall! But, aside from that, the whole party was a success!

Now, back to my reflections on Becky's birthday...I can't even believe it! It seems like just yesterday that she was born and I began my journey as a mom...As we were walking into church on Sunday, which is her actual birthday, I was walking behind my family and just watching as Becky & Matthew went in holding hands to their Sunday School class & Danny was carrying Jake in his baby car seat and I had to hold back the tears welling up in my eyes. I was reflecting on how seven years ago that day Rebecca was born and she was the little baby in the car seat. I can only imagine how I will be in 6 more years when she becomes a teenager (not to mention that by that time I will be turning 40!) But anyway, these past seven years as a mom I really have grown and matured on a personal (and spiritual) level. Being in charge of these little people that God has entrusted to my care is a great responsibility that I am thoroughly enjoying...

Sure there are days when I wish I could just pick up and take off somewhere with my husband and not have to worry about getting a babysitter or just sit quietly and scrapbook or cross-stitch (haven't picked that up in seven years), but I wouldn't change these times for anything. I know that as quickly as these past seven years have gone by, so will another seven and we'll be celebrating Jake's 7th birthday. Many things will change in the next seven years as they have over the past seven years; some good and some bad; that's just life. For now, I am excited to start the next school year with the kids & I feel so blessed to be able to stay home with them and homeschool them. I get to see the excitement in their eyes everyday as we do different projects, crafts, or as they discover something new in whatever we are studying.

Anyway...My little blessings are calling me, so I have to run...Enjoy the pics!

Priority Mail and Personal Perspectives

Well, what can I say...My secret is out...This is how I get my errands done in peace everyday ~ I tape their mouths shut!

No, seriously...They actually put these on their own mouths by themselcves and before they did, they said, "Mommy, we're gonna put these on & you take our picture!" They crack me up!

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Last night I went to visit my friend who just had her first child a little over a week ago and brought her a meal to help out...Little baby Olivia weighed in at 7 lbs 12 oz. It was so weird to hold a tiny newborn baby after holding Jake all the time - Besides, Jake came out over 10 pounds so he was never that tiny...It was also nice to visit "babyland" or "the quiet zone" as I affectionately refer to anyone's home that only has one tiny newborn baby in it - It's a wonderful peaceful land to visit once in a while to give me some perspective on the "crazy house" that I affectionately call my home with the 3 children and 2 dogs that reside here! It's just a different level of chaos and everyone's chaos is relative.

To someone who was just a regular married couple living their lives, going to work, going out with friends, & getting a good night's sleep on a regular basis and then adding a brand new baby in there - That can turn a world upside-down! But to someone who has a few children already and has been through many different things with those children (like having one of them fall on their head out of the minivan & have to get a staple put in; respiratory illnesses requiring nebulizer treatments and staying up all night with them and a 105 fever; having your baby wear a helmet; etc.) - The new baby zone is a quiet haven compared to the level of chaos experienced here on a daily basis!

Well, whatever your level of chaos, I hope you are having a good day and remember to take time to enjoy this beautiful weather because in about 4 short months - We'll all be complaining about how cold we are! :)

A Little Brady Trivia...

It's Wednesday...Just want to see if your awake in the middle of this week!

What was the name of the bully that was making fun of Cindy Brady because she had a lisp?

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I've been starting to map out our plans for the new school year...We are planning on starting school on August 29th...This way we should be done by the beginning of May next year...Then maybe we can go on vacation while all of the other children are still in school!

Mmmmmm...

C'mon over...I just finished baking these!

I know what you're thinking~It's the middle of summer, 90+ degrees~ Am I crazy? Have I totally lost my mind? No, it is just that my oven has been broken for the last 8 weeks & we just got it fixed & I just HAD to bake some absolutely yummy treats for my family! These are cinnamon oatmeal whole wheat M&M chocolate chip cookies :)

I thought these would make a great treat for Danny to take to work tomorrow & brighten his day! Also, the kids and I are picking up my Aunt Gina & going thrift shopping tomorrow so these will be a good snack to bring along for the ride...

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HERE'S A JAKE UPDATE: We took him to his first recheck with the therapist at Cranial Technologies today & she showed me the progress that he has made in just one week - His head is actually rounding out already in the back! She had to take the helmet into the back & shave away some more growth space! This is so awesome~it was worth the 1.5 hour drive! We go back weekly for rechecks until he is 7 months old & then every 1-2 weeks depending on his progress.

Hampers, Homeschooling & Helmets: An Update on My Life

Things have been busy around here (as usual) and I just wanted to take a minute
to give an update on what's been going on around here...

HAMPERS:

I have been working on my organization mission and bought a canvas 3-sectioned laundry sorter for our main bathroom. (In the back of the bathroom there is a section that could be used as a handicap shower, but we use the area for storage) I organized shelves back there and have implemented the hamper system to keep the clothes from landing in a pile on the bathroom floor. So far so good - I just need to finish a little bit of organizing with the shelves and that space is done!

HOMESCHOOLING:

I am going to order any last minute books that I still need to get for us to start school in a few weeks. I plan to take time this weekend to start planning out our school year schedule on my calendar/planner. Becky and Matthew will be using ABeka for Language Arts/Phonics/Spelling/Writing and Science; Beautiful Feet Books for a Literature approach to American History; Saxon for Math and Five in a Row to supplement language arts, math, science, social studies & art.

We joined a homeschool support group in our area last year and are really happy with it except that a lot of the people who have children my kids ages live far away. They do a monthly parent-run Co-Op where the kids all get together in age-appropriate classrooms for lessons/crafts/stories/games from 12-4pm. The kids loved it last year and are really looking forward to it this year. They also do field trips throughout the year, as well as Geography & Science Fairs. I will be volunteering this year to work with the group on producing their first homeschool yearbook ~ Anyone have any experience on that topic, please share some advice! Last night I went to a meeting to join another group even closer to our home and they say that they have over 100 families so maybe we will be able to meet some people with little girls my daughter's age who live near us...

HELMETS

Our baby Jake has something called Positional Plagiocephaly (which means his head has flattening in the back on one side) The doctors say that his flattening is moderate, but that when looking at his face they felt he had some asymmetry with his eyes and ears that could worsen if not corrected. Jake was 10 lbs. 3 oz. when he was born and did not have a lot of room to move around in my belly before he was born. He seemed to have a slight flattening at birth & therefore favored that side when sleeping or lying down, thus worsening the flattening effect. Two weeks ago we took him to a facility where they treat this condition via DOC Band Therapy (ie, a helmet). He had a plaster cast made of his head then and this past Monday we took him back to get it fitted and start the therapy. They say he should only have to wear it for three months or so, as long as the desired results are achieved. As a mom, I was so worried about how he would look or what people would say, but then I realized that none of that matters and that we are just so thankful that they have treatment for this and it is not a life threatening circumstance or one needing surgical intervention. And besides, I think that Jake is so cute he even looks cute in his helmet! :)

Wings of Liberty...

He ate and drank the precious words,

His spirit grew robust,

He knew no more that he was poor,

Or that his frame was dust,

He danced along the dingy ways;

And this bequest of wings

Was but a book. What liberty

A loosened spirit brings.

~Emily Dickinson

We have been given the great opportunity to give our children (or ourselves for that matter) the wings of liberty that grow from the ability to read. What have you been reading lately??

Organizing My Life & My Blogs...

I haven't been blogging much lately because I am in the middle of a MAJOR organization project in our home! There are boxes & bins everywhere & tonight is garbage night ~ So I am being ruthless! I just wanted to note that since entering the blogshpere a few months ago...I have recently acquired another blog at www.homeschoolblogger.com/HomeSweetHomeschool ~ I haven't actually posted anything there yet, but I will very soon (probably this weekend). I am still working on setting it all up.

Given the organizational mood I am in right now, I have decided that this blog here will contain various topics in our lives like homeschooling and parenting, but also a lot more content of family happenings, spiritual encouragement/topics and any other fun stuff (like my Brady Bunch Trivia) and my other blog will be predominantly homeschool-related topics...We'll see how this will work out for a while...

Also, if you are visiting my blog, please feel free to leave me a comment so I don't feel alone here :) (Keep up the comments, Mary ~ I love reading them & I still think you need to get a blog of your own ~ You have a lot of good thoughts & pictures to share!!)

Well, my time is not my own again (at least I had a few minutes) ~ I hear Jake waking up from his morning nap...Have to feed the kids lunch & then we're off to the library & post office & then hanging out in the pool - It is so HOT today!

Body by Jake!

Well, this is Jake...

& I am doing my best to get rid of my "Body by Jake"!

(It's a good thing that God makes babies so cute!)

Before I got pregnant with Jake last year ~ I had decided to take control, lose weight and get into better shape. I had lost 20 pounds and was probably 20 pounds away from my goal weight. I tried my best to not gain too much weight during my pregnancy, but come on, it was all down hill after we collected 3 HUGE bags of halloween candy in October & then we went right into Thanksgiving & Christmas (Jake was born at the end of January) ~ I seem to gain like 50 pounds with each pregnancy no matter what I do! Anyway...So far, I have probably lost about 15 pounds of baby weight and plan on losing a total of 35 more pounds...I had my husband take all of my work-out videotapes (I have collected a bunch over the years) and make a schedule for me so I can just look at it each day & not have to think about which one to do that morning. It has been working well so far, I just have to stay motivated & keep the end goal in sight! I have a bunch of clothes for the fall that I am hoping to fit in...

Name That Tune...

A little bit of TV trivia...Can you name this tune and/or the show it was on??

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I think I'll go for a walk outside now...

The summer sun's calling my name...

I hear ya now...I just can't stay inside all day...

I gotta get out, get me some of those rays...

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My New Border...

I just have to say that I am so happy! My sister-in-law Suzanne called me up this morning to see what I was doing & I told her about my organization mission,etc. She proceeds to ask me if I wanted her to come to my house, pick up Becky & Matthew and take them to her house for a few hours and then deliver them back to me later in the afternoon...She asked me if I needed to think about it & did I want to call her back. I said "YES! & please hang up now before you have time to think about what you are offering & change your mind!" She laughed at me - I was serious! :)

Well, in my time with only one little baby in the house (who like a good little boy took a very long morning nap before the basement guy came) ~ I got to fnally put up my border in the foyer (which I have been wanting to do for over a year)! I had re-painted the area and put up all of the shelves & B&W pictures before I got pregnant with Jake and my mother sewed the curtain for me out of the Waverly fabric that matches the border! It feels so good to actually accomplish a task - Now this is one project that can be checked off my list!

Take a look at my handywork...

Here's a close-up of the border...

and here's the curtain & the border...