My Life Monday

Okay, I realize it is TUESDAY, but I just found this today! I liked the question and I wanted to answer it. So, just pretend it is Monday! This comes from another blog - Rachelle's. I don't actually know this person. I just read a blog my sister sent and then that led me to this blog and well... you get the picture. Anyway, apparently, each Monday this very nice person posts a question for you to answer on your blog. Last week's topic was:

My parents named me Kari because...

My Tusie Karen suggested it. Oh, Tusie means Aunt in Romanian in case you were wondering. My dad's family called their aunts - Tusie. We have kept it going down the line. So, my mom was looking for a name and my aunt said, "How about Kari?" My mom loved it because my aunts on my dad's side were Karen and Kathy. My aunt on my mom's side was Carolyn. My mom is named Lynn. So, my name is Kari Lynn. It sorta includes Karen, Kathy, Carolyn and Lynn all in one name. I think one of my kids should name their baby girl, Kalynn. That would include my name - Kari, my mom's name - Lynn and my mother-in-law's name Kathryn all in one name. Not that they are going to ASK me what to name their baby girl anytime soon, but I can think about my not even a blip on the screen grandchildren if I want to!

The topic the week before was:

The Story of How I Met My Spouse

I met Tim in my freshman year of highschool. My very best friend pointed him out to me on the schoolbus. She was saying she was thinking she would like to go to homecoming with
"that guy" and what did I think of him. Well, I didn't think much of anything, I am sorry to say. Not at that particular moment, anyway. Then all of a sudden... out of nowhere... I became interested in who he was. We all sorta sat near each other on the bus and you could sorta hear other's conversations. I heard him talking to another girl one afternoon. They lived in the same apartment complex. He was telling her he lived in "101 Hillstone Road". She said, "What?" and he repeated, "101 Hillstone Road". Now, to back up, I had NEVER really dated a boy. I was incredibly shy. I did NOTHING on my own and I was not OUTGOING in any way, shape or form. Anyone who knew me would have said I was very shy. So, what happened next I can only say was because that was the way God wanted it to be. My friend and I walked to the little grocery store down the road. We had to pass by the apartment complex that Tim lived it. I found myself drawn to turn down the road instead of just going to the store like our normal daily routine. Before I knew it, I was standing in front of 101 Hillstone Road. I did not have a plan and really had no idea why the heck I was there. Poof! I walked up and rang the doorbell. Tim answered the door. I don't think he had any idea who I was or why I was there. I, for the life of me, cannot remember what I said to him. I do remember we ended up sitting on the stoop and talked for some time. That day turned into days and those days turned into months and those months have turned into years.

He loves his Grandma!

Caution: Unsocialized Homeschoolers...

The teens from our group all purchased matching t-shirts. The caption on the shirt says:

CAUTION

UNSOCIALIZED

HOMESCHOOLER

You just gotta love it! These shirts came from Homeschool Mania. I wish I had taken a better close up of all of them, but this will have to do!

Back from the Florida FPEA Convention...

I just wanted to check in since I am back from the convention. Wow! What a busy, crazy trip! The weekend started off a little rough. Timmy's car decided to break earlier this week. His dad(who just happens to be a mechanic) began troubleshooting it on Wednesday night. He was able to fix one of the problems, but needed more time, different tools, etc. Thursday afternoon, he was stalling again. He took it down to his dad to look at. We had a family dinner planned for Tim's sister, Jessica. It was her birthday. Are you still with me??? Tim worked on Timmy's car for awhile on Thursday night, but was not convinced it was stable enough to drive 2 hours. That does not make for a happy TEENAGER! He pouted and tried to get me to give him my car, etc. We were not going to bend on this. He would just have to ride with me and that was it. After a lot of whining, he agreed. So, this was not how I really wanted to start my weekend. Friday morning, Timmy came in and said he was riding over with another mom because they were going 3 hours earlier than I was. FINE! We finally headed out ourselves and made it there around noon. There was only one speaker I wanted to see that afternoon, so we ate lunch and headed to the vendor hall! I love the vendor hall! It doesn't matter that I really know what I am going to use for school. I still love the vendor hall! It is lively and full of things to look at. We started out at one end and it only took my mom a matter of minutes to find something she HAD to buy for one of my kids! She loves to come and Christmas shop. She buys those things that you can only find at conventions. The seminar that we went to was on Lapbooking by Tobin's Lab. I figured it would be fun to take the little girls in there to put together a lapbook. I really liked the speaker - Tammy Duby - and was fairly convinced I might just let Savannah pick some science topics and make a lapbook for each. We went back to the vendor hall and I purchased the things I knew I was going to use. Things sell out quick and I didn't want to have to order them and wait. So, I grabbed them while they were still there. We left the convention hotel and went to check in at our hotel. Then it was off to Cracker Barrel. It was a long day and I was ready to sleep. We got up the next morning and we ran over for a seminar on science. It was not that great, but I guess it had some good points. We did go to a seminar in the afternoon that I really did enjoy. The speaker was Cynthia Ulrich Tobias. I am even thinking I may get the book to read. I managed to finish all my shopping and spend way too much money. I keep reminding myself it is way cheaper than private school tuition! How can I put a price on teaching my little girl? I think the kids had a great time. Tim II had tons of friends there to to hang around with. Savannah had her cousin and her really great friend to play and swim with! I will post more about my fun purchases later on. I am sure I have more to say about the trip, but my brain is a little tired from it all!

Do you have any idea how many gel crystals are in a single diaper???

I can tell you it is A LOT!!! Why do I know this, you ask??? You see, I double diaper Sebastian for bedtime. That means that I take a diaper and tear a part of the covering off of the front, then I put a second diaper on top of that. I used to do this with Timmy too. It is the ONLY way they stay dry all night. Last night, I put him to bed in a one piece type jumper thingy - real technical term. Not his regular short bottom and top jammies. This morning, he thought it sounded like a grand idea to wiggle out of that outfit. He took his diapers off and proceeded to THROW the gel crystals EVERYWHERE! How lovely! He looked petrified when Savannah got me to come in their room. I seriously wonder what his little mind was thinking! I guess only he knows. These are the days I will look back on and laugh when I am older. I keep reminding myself it is such a short, short time.

Brownie Awards Ceremony

Last week we had our annual brownie awards ceremony. It was supposed to be at Miss Susie's clubhouse, but had to be changed at the very last minute. Miss Debbie was gracious enough to let us all pile into her house on a minute's notice. Our girls earned 6 try-its this past year. They each picked one out to work on. I was a brownie when I was little. I remember I liked it a lot, but I really think Savannah has a much better group of girls than I did. When I was in it, just about all the little girls in my class were in it. It was a bigger and less personal group. Our girls met each other when they were just 3 or 4 years old. The older girls in the top picture are our helpers! They did an awesome job of guiding the girls this year! They are all such good friends. We love our brownie troop!

I knew that son of mine was good...

He brought his momma a chocolate shake from work! Is that a good child or what??? He didn't just get ME one... he got his dad one and he shared one with his little sister! Did you know that Chick-Fil-A has shakes now? Yep! It is new! AND... he waited to tell me there are 900 calories in each shake until I was halfway through it! He will make a good husband someday!

Our Winter Promise Order arrived...

We got our Amazon box on Friday and our Winter Promise box on Saturday! I love, love, love getting boxes! I have been looking at the books here and there and I am really liking what I see. I have to run up to the library to get the first of the reading books. I so hope we enjoy this program!

Have you ever missed somebody so much that it takes your breathe away?

I have... I really couldn't sleep last night and kept telling myself that I couldn't get out of that bed to go type on my blog. So, I just laid there with all these things running through my head. You see... I miss Debi at some point everyday, but over time I have come to realize that there are certain times that I seem to miss her even more. Those are the times when I feel like I can hardly breathe. The month of May just happens to be one of those "times". Why May??? Well, because May means so many different things to me. They were things that Debi completely understood and we would talk about over and over and would it be too much to say over one more time?

1. May is the end of the school year. You are tired and you just want every last stinking workbook page to be filled in and you want to put it away and never look at it again.
2. May is when you open the new catalogs and look for new school ideas. I just got new curriculum in the mail and would love so much to talk to Debi about it. May is when the convention is coming and you plan a mom's weekend away. Is there anything better than a weekend with your friend that includes shopping for new books?
3. May is when you start thinking that your June anniversary is just around the corner. Mine is June 9th and Debi's was June 15th. You talk about what sweet little ideas you can come up with to share with your husband.
4. May is when you finalize summer vacation plans. You share emails and websites with endless possibilities for travel.
5. May has Mother's Day and Debi was one of a very short list of mothers that you actually aspire to be like.

Those are just a few of the reasons that May is a time where I find myself lost a little more than usual. I am not sad, exactly, just missing her terribly. I said something to my mom last week that made the both of us laugh. We were talking about planning our trip to Williamsburg. She asked me something and my first thought was that Debi would have known the answer to that question. Before I even had time to catch my thought - I blurted out, "I just would like to have one phone call a month up to heaven to ask Debi all the questions I need answers to!" My mom just laughed at me! Okay, I realize that is not sane, but is certainly would be nice! You know what though... I found myself talking to a friend about how Debi had something to do with "Fruit and Spirit" on her kitchen wall. I could see the words, but I didn't actually have the whole verse in my head. I have never been very good at memorizing Bible verses. It is just not one of my better skills. Anyway, my new box of curriculum comes in the mail. One of the books is for Bible study. I open it up and the page it turns to is Fruit of the Spirit. There it was! Like it was just bumping me on the head!

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Galatians 5:22, 23

I guess God is listening even when I don't think He is and I think Debi is with me even when I don't feel like she is. I guess there is probably always going to be this feeling every May and then there are the other times throughout the year. It is just as plain and as simple as I miss my friend...

Magic Eraser... Have you tried one of these?

Awhile back somebody mentioned a Magic Eraser on my homeschool board. They were all raving about how wonderful these things were. It is truly amazing the influence a message board can have on me because... you guessed it... on my next trip to Target, I - indeed- did purchase a Magic Eraser. Well, to be really truthful, I purchased the Target knock off of a Magic Eraser because anyone who knows me knows that I am way too cheap to pay full price for a name brand unless I absolutely have to. I don't remember when I used this little invention the first time. I just remembered I thought it worked pretty good. Then, just today, I remembered I had that box up there in the pantry. I pulled one of those little gems out and I went to cleaning. I cleaned doors, light switch plates, my foot after foot of white chair rail, baseboards, etc. This little Magic thing cleaned up pencil, syrup, crayons, sticky fingerprints (all courtesy of Sebastian), dog grime (yes, I know - YUCK), dirt, black marks from who knows what and the list goes on. All in under 20 minutes! Granted, I do not have a huge house, but still... My mother also told me just last week that these things work great on blinds. Who knew??? Oh and as a caution, I heard it does bad things to car paint. I have a recoated bathtub that I was told to treat the way I would treat car paint, so no Magic Eraser on that tub! If you are influenced as easily as I am by the written word, you should RUN out to Target or Walmart or I guess a grocery store (even if you will pay more money for absolutely no good reason) and buy a Magic Eraser or its knock off cousin that goes by the name of "Clean Up Eraser". I am so glad I could enlighten your cleaning life... if somebody has got to do it... it may as well be me!

Brothers and Sisters should share, right?

Sounds like a reasonable request, right? Well, to give you a glimpse into the lives of a 7 year old and a 1 year old and sharing... Tonight, after our walk, I made Sebastian and I some popcorn. Savannah was out playing with her friends. Sebastian and I pretty much finished all the popcorn. There was a small amount left in his little "baby" bowl. Savannah came in and asked if she could have that little bit of popcorn. I said, "sure." To give you a picture, Sebastian is sitting on the left side of the couch and I am in the middle. Savannah takes his bowl and sits down on the right side of the couch. He jumps down off the couch and runs right over to take his bowl back - fussing all the way! Now, I know this little boy does not want to eat this popcorn... he just does not want sissy to eat it either. I tell Savannah I will make her some more popcorn or she may have a little snack cake. She decides she would like a nutty buddy and shows me that is what she taking. So, who do you think jumps down off the couch and RUNS to her with his mouth chomping like a little fishy??? Yep, baby brother. Please, oh please, sissy... I need a bite! Do you think sissy is going to share with him after he was mean to her??? Heck no! He then tries to KISS her! He is saying, "Mom, mom, mom...'' Big open sloppy kiss to sissy... she is not budging! Ahhh... such sibling love... NOT!

I ordered from Winter Promise today...

I still didn't get a catalog and I just could not wait any longer! What was that I said about needing to have patience? Well, let's just say that went right out the window. Now I will be looking for my box from Winter Promise and Amazon! I love getting packages in the mail! Honestly, is there a person out there that doesn't love getting packages in the mail??? You all realize I just created another reason for me to be looking for that darn mailman every second of every day for at least the next week? Oh, why or why can't they just apparate (you know APPARATE from Harry Potter?) the darn books here? That's right, I know, because I am supposed to be learning to do that whole patience thing better. I think I got the reason now... but I don't like it! Not one bit!

No catalog - no letters... UGH!!!

We are going into our 8th year of homeschooling. I have NEVER needed a catalog before. I have always either bought my materials at convention or used through the mail. This year, however, I am waiting on a catalog. The Winter Promise Catalog. I usually don't begin school till the end of July or beginning of August, but I am thinking we will begin our American history study as soon as we can get the materials. My reasoning for this is that we may be going to Williamsburg in the fall. So, I thought it would be great to study up till that time in history and then end with the trip there. I CAN'T begin if I can't get the catalog and order! I am also waiting for some more approval to change deed restrictions on our land letters to come in that mailbox. NOPE! If my neighbors were watching me, they would certainly wonder why the heck this crazy woman is so interested in her mailbox. I guess there is always the mail that will come tomorrow! (I hope!)

We are going back... to St. John USVI...

Last year Tim and I went to St. John for our 15 year wedding anniversary. At the time, we said it was a luxery that we wouldn't be able to do again for some time. Well... it is as amazing luxury, but thanks to a discount airline and some frugal accomodation shopping... it is a luxury that we can make come true at least one more time. I was struggling with the decision to not plan a larger family vacation and go off with just the two of us. It basically comes down to the fact that Sebastian is too young to do much vacationing with, Tim II pretty much has his own agenda, and Savannah would be happy spending time fishing with her dad. This made us decide that just for one more year we would not plan a family vacation and spoil ourselves a bit. Hmmm... in my best vacation dreams... I will be able to figure out how to take the kids and us back next summer for a graduation celebration for Tim II. But... that is thinking a little too far down the line! We will probably take the kids to SC to visit. They love seeing their cousins and that has always been one of their biggest requests. My mom and I are also thinking about taking Savannah and Sebastian to Williamsburg in the fall. Can you tell I love planning and thinking about travel options! For now, we have this one trip booked and just a couple months to go! I am already checking the calendar daily!

Lisa Whelchel (you know... Blair from The Facts of Life) thoughts on raising teenagers...

A few years back, during one of my endless evenings of looking for interesting stuff to read on the web, I came across something about Lisa Whelchel homeschooling her children. She was taking a family RV trip across the US and writing what we now know as a blog. Well, since I was a huge Facts of Life fan, my interest was already peaked. Then add to it that she was homeschooling and traveling. Before I knew it... I had found her website. She would update it pretty regularly and include pictures of where they had just visited and what her children were up to. Somehow I grew to "know" her and her family through this. Her family RV trip ended and she continued to "blog" once a week. I guess I have spent part of my Mondays reading her newest post for quite awhile now. This week, her post was about raising teenagers. Lisa Whelchel's Journal
It sorta touched my heart a bit. It made me think back to some turbulent times with Timmy. Most people that know us well, know that he was a pretty easy going kid. Then all of a sudden when he was about 12 years old, he turned into a sort of for lack of a better word - monster! He made me nuts! Absolutely, positively NUTS! I spent a whole lot of time trying to understand where my sweet boy had gone. I had spent almost 10 years having him as my only. He was a pretty easy kid to raise. I guess it wasn't really a blink of an eye, but it seemed as if it was... he was a crabby kid. We spent 5th and 6th grade beginning our homeschooling adventure and I thought we enjoyed our time together. Then in 7th grade... we tolerated each other. By 8th grade... the battle lines had been drawn. I even put him back in school after Christmas break of 8th grade. Well, I should say that Tim decided his wife was going to end up in a padded cell if he didn't get Timmy away from me for awhile. So, off he went to that miserable junior high school. I remember driving past the school that January and being relieved that I wasn't having to fight with him all day long. He only stayed there for 3 months or so before we took him back out. I knew he didn't belong there, but my sanity needed a break. Things got a little better, but I would say 13 years old was about as bad as 12 years old. Then my sister-in-law Debi passed away. When we were at her house for her memorial service, her brother told me what a good boy Timmy was. He told me Timmy was so worried if I would ever be okay. When we came home, Timmy was different. I got my sweet boy back. He helped me with Savannah when I wasn't sure how I would cope. Then when I got pregnant with Sebastian a couple months later, he was there to help again. I am one of those really sick pregnant woman. Timmy cooked and cleaned and played with Savannah. He was the most unbelievable help. When I went to have Sebastian, he was right there with us. He stayed and watched the monitor all day. When I had Sebastian late that night, Tim took Savannah home to bed, but Timmy stayed. He held his little brother with so much pride. The thing is that if I had been asked about raising teenagers just a couple years ago, I would have cringed. Now, I can tell you that most days I really like who he is. He is a kind and decent person. Granted... I do wish he would clean up that mess he calls a room, but overall I like who he is! I look forward to talking with him and hearing about all his friends. It reminds me of when he was little and he was my only. I guess all these ramblings are in case somebody is out there reading and struggling with their teenager. My road had its bumps along the way, but now it is getting better and better. I can only imagine what a great man he is going to be!

A fun afternoon with a great friend...

Last week most of our planned activities ended. Savannah didn't have co-op on Thursday. We decided to call her friend and see if she could come over to play for the afternoon. They went swimming, played with dolls, painted their faces like clowns and then they decided to paint a banner. I bought this big roll of paper for a science project a long time ago. Boy has it come in handy for a lot more things since. They finger painted and hand painted and toe painted and foot painted! I think it was a great way to spend an afternoon!

This is what happens when Daddy watches the baby...

You see... Tim has been taking Sebastian over to his parents on weekend to give me a little bit of "alone" time. I love the idea and I guess I don't even really mind what happens when they are having daddy and baby time. It sure does make for some cute pictures!

School at our house...

I frequent a homeschooling message board. Many times people will ask for posts showing what their homeschool room looks like. I have sat and drooled over some really nice rooms. I have read about lots of people using their dining rooms for school. We have a 4 bedroom house. We use one of the bedrooms for a computer/office room. It is home to our home computer, my work computer, and a scrapbooking table. Along with lots of toys and clutter. We do some school in there. Especially if I am working at my work computer. Then Savannah sits behind me at the scrapbooking table. I have to say that we don't do that much school in there as a whole, though. We do school wherever I happen to be in the house. This morning that included the bathroom - I was fixing my hair, brushing my teeth, etc. Did you notice even the DOG has to come with everywhere??? Then we moved to the kitchen - dining room, so I could empty the dishwasher. Then finally we ended up on the porch swing to finish up her reading. So, I guess our whole house is a school room. We have been known to do school on my bed if I am folding laundry or on the living room couch if we want to be comfy. I needed to take a reality check on this because you see I fell in love with a house plan in South Carolina. It is a full 1000 square feet bigger than my current house. It has a sort of loft area upstairs that I kept saying would make a perfect school room. I think it would make a perfect scrapping/craft area and it has a great amount of space for bookshelves, etc. It has an awesome walk in closet to store lots of supplies in. The truth is as much as I would love the storage space, I sincerely doubt that we would every actually do school up in that area. So, I can remind myself that I have a nice Florida home and some really great spaces to do school in. If I do happen to get that larger South Carolina home, I will be happy, but I will try to remember how much learning we got done in our first homeschooling home.

What is on my curriculum list for next year...

It is the time of year where homeschoolers begin to read catalog after catalog, read reviews, search websites, etc. It is time to plan for next year! These are the things on my tentative list for next year. Of course, we all know the disclaimer that any or all of these choices are subject to change at any time!

Math Bob Jones Grade 3
This will be our third year using Bob Jones Math. She loves it, I love it... enough said!

Phonics Explode the Code Books 7 and 8
We have worked through all of the Explode the Code series and will be finishing up with the last two books. I don't think we will move into the Beyond the Code after this. I don't know that Savannah loves this series, but it does the job it needs to do.

Handwriting Handwriting Without Tears Cursive
This was my first homeschool convention purchase. I was so impressed that I bought the entire set. She does love this and finishes the book way too fast. I think I will need to buy two workbooks or improvise something to keep her practicing all year.

History and Bible Winter Promise American Story 1
This program I am still undecided about. In theory, I love it! I love books. I love storybooks. I want to teach with real books, but sometimes my life gets in the way. I seem to start out with good intentions and then never quite get the reading in. So, I am pondering and praying on this selection. It is broken into two parts. One is history and Bible all laid out for you. It uses a few books for a sort of spine and then adds in real books that are scheduled for you. The second part of this is a Language Arts package. It has readers that coincide with the History part. Then it has workbooks like Explode the Code and Wordly Wise. I am thinking I would just purchase the History/Bible. I don't really need a schedule for Explode the Code and I am not sure if I would use Wordly Wise or not. I also would not be using the spelling program they plan for.

Science Apologia Zoology 1
I really like this series. We did the Astronomy this past year. I wish we had done it a little more in depth, but again... that life thing... My friend is supposed to be teaching with this book at co-op this year. So, if all goes as planned... we will do the reading and notebooking at home. Then the projects will be done at co-op.

Reading Pathway Readers Grade 3
We started using Pathway Readers this year. I admit that I am a curriculum junkie and I had bought the 1st and 2nd grade set quite some time ago. I never really took them off the shelf. Savannah is what I call a 1st/2nd grader. If we were to go by her actual calendar age - she would have been in 1st grade this year. She misses the cutoff by 1 month. I say she is in between because she is on level with reading, but ahead in just about everything else. Yet, another very good reason to homeschool. She began the year reading at a beginning 1st grade level. I had tried many things, but nothing seemed to spark her to read. I happened to show her these readers. She sat down and read like 43 pages of the first one all at once. HELLO! Where did that come from? She went on to finish all of the first grade ones by Christmastime. If you are not familiar with these readers... they are about Amish families. They are not colorful, exciting, or any other grand word you want to insert here. However, many of my friends have told me their kids are in love with these books too. We just finished the 1st book of 2nd grade. I expect we will finish the 2nd grade set by fall. I asked her if she wanted to continue with these next year or do the Winter Promise readers. She hasn't decided yet. I need to keep thinking on this one as well. Pathway Readers also have vocabulary/comprehension workbooks that go along with them. So, we could use them for vocab. Still not clear decision here.

Spelling Spelling Power
This will be her first year of formal spelling. I purchased this program for Timmy a LONG time ago. I think he was in 5th grade. It worked well for him, so I plan to use it for her. It is a basic - no nonsense approach to spelling.

The rest of the stuff will just fall into place I guess. I am a big believer that life teaches you science, history, logic, etc. We have not been really big on formal study for anything other than math and reading and she has done really well. I do think it is time to add in a little more structure, though. I am going to be teaching ART at our co-op this year. This means I get to look all over the vendor hall for interesting and enticing art curriculum and ideas. I am really excited about this. I taught science this last year and had so much fun. I would have said I didn't like science before I taught this year. I know I love art, so it should be even more fun.

Our homeschool convention is coming soon...

My thoughts for this morning are about the homeschool convention
that is coming up. We have one of the LARGEST and BEST in the country. I had originally thought I wouldn't be going this year. I basically knew what I would be using for school, so why would I go to the convention? Well, to my very pleasant surprise, my sister-in-law - Karen told me she wanted to go this year. You see... I had asked her to go with me since she started teaching Keith and Debi's kids. I really missed having Debi to go with me and not that Karen replaces Debi, but it is really nice to have somebody to buddy up with. No offense to my mom, who graciously started going with me after Debi passed away. I love going with my mom too. It will just be SO MUCH FUN to go with Karen too! To make things even better... my niece will be coming to go with Savannah. They are just 6 weeks apart in age and such good friends. My hope for those two is that they will have the special friendship that Debi and I had. I hope they will always have a special place in their hearts for each other! Even though we live so far apart, I think they have gotten that friendship off to a great start. And if we end up moving there eventually... that will be so wonderful for the two of them. They should have lots of fun at the big pool and doing all the stuff the hotel offers. Then at the end of one of the days, I hope to go to Ghiradelli's for ice cream! If you have not had a sundae from one of their stores... you have not really lived! They have the best ice cream and if I am not mistaken they have a new dark chocolate sundae. I was thinking we could do that one night and then maybe another fun place the other night. Hmmm... something to plan... those are magic words for a person who loves to plan! Oh and then they are staying for a few more days when we get back from the convention... MORE THINGS TO PLAN!!!

I told you I would give you a glimpse into life at our house...

Well, today, had its interesting moments. It is laundry day around here. Sebastian has managed to go through all of his shorts and tops. The only thing I had left were short overalls. I have stopped putting these on him because he STRIPS everytime I put him in one. But, desperate times call for desperate measures. I put him down for his nap around 1pm. I could still hear him playing at 2pm. I walked around to the outside of his window to peak in on him. Sure enough... he is standing there BUTT NAKED! Okay, I head back into the house. Yes, yes, I am a peeping tom! I soon realize he has peed all over his bed. I do not want to take him out of his bed because he will run away and then I will have to catch his naked butt. So, I take the sheet off from side to side. I am planning to put a diaper on him, but I want to remake the bed and lay him down. I am thinking he already peed, he will not go again. WHERE DID I GET THIS REASONING??? HELLO!!! OF COURSE HE IS GOING TO PEE AGAIN! And all over the clean bedding! AHHHHH!!! So, I start all over! I will repeat this to myself again and again - Do not put that child to bed with short overalls on... do not put that child to bed with short overalls on!

A good friend...

I mentioned a friend named, Vickie, in my last post. That got me to thinking about her. I met her last fall. I have sorta felt that I wasn't as nice as I could have been to her. You see I met her about the same time that Savannah got 13 stitches in her chin and Sebastian threw up for a week straight. To say I was tired and stressed, would be such an understatement. She came by the house a couple of times and I was so scattered that I didn't think too much about inviting her in to visit or anything else. Well, over the last year, she has been such a good friend. She takes Savannah home after co-op, so she can play and jump on the trampolene. She is super kind to my son, who as just about moved in with her! She gave me a ton of toys and clothes for Sebastian. Then just this past weekend she invited some of us homeschoolers over for a sort of end of the year party. She told me it was fine to bring Sebastian. Now, those of you have seen Sebastian in action, will appreciate this. He is into EVERYTHING! She was so understanding and just great. I had a really nice time just talking with the moms and Sebastian wandered around investigating everything. The teens helped with him as well as the younger kids. Anyway, I hope you read this Vickie! Thanks for being my friend!

Last week in review...

Gosh, I couldn't believe I hadn't posted anything since prom pictures. Last week was REALLY busy. It was our last scout meeting, last co-op meeting, and then end of co-op show. I am really struggling to remember what we were doing all the time, but I know I was busy. I guess it was just work and school and house stuff. I am wondering if I am getting senile. I should be able to remember last week, right? When in doubt, I refer to my digital camera. What was so important for me to take pictures of? That should refresh my memory! Aha! I have pictures of our last co-op class. Tim was able to come with us for the very first time. He brought 4 different snakes for my kids to see. Wow! They were so excited. The teens were pretty excited too.

These are pictures from a class we did awhile back. The kids used sharpies and rubbing alcohol to make "tie dye" t-shirts. It was an experiment in what happens to different kind of molecules when you mix certain ones together. In this case, the ink molecules spread out.







Thursday was a bit crazy. I had an afternoon meeting at work. I rushed out of there to rush home to pick up one husband, drop off one baby, and dash up to our co-op church for the end of the year show. A wonderful friend, Vickie, took Savannah up there for me, so she would not be late. We made it just in time. The kids put on a nice show and I think both me and Tim really enjoyed it. I was even pleasantly surprised to see that Tim II had showed up with his friends to watch the little ones perform. You know I don't think I would have done that when I was a teenager. Just one more reason I am happy I homeschool. My kids may fight, but when it comes down to it... they are a lot closer to each other because they are always together. They would have missed that had they been in school all this time. Granted the teens just wanted to visit with each other as well! Anyway, those were the main highlights of the week.