Happy Homemaker Monday

Weather: The weather in our neck of the woods has been oddly warm this winter. The poor trees and plants are terribly confused. My kids are confused, too. Cowboy keeps thinking it is spring because the small pear tree has fat buds on it, the flowering quince bush bloomed, and the daffodils are poking their leaves out of the ground. We had a gentle, but chilly rain early in the week, then the next day it was warm enough that the kids wanted to play outside with no coats. The Farmer's Almanac says we will have a huge snowstorm for Valentine's Day, but I'd just as soon skip the snow...

On my reading pile: Loved By Choice by Horner and Nartini (about adoption), Virginia Weddings (a collection of Christian short-story romances...yeah, a little light reading...what can I say??), and Finding Your Purpose as a Mom: How to Build Your Home on Holy Ground by Donna Otto.

Read aloud of the week: Andi's Pony Trouble by Susan K. Marlow. My grandma and grandpa always ask us what we'd like for Christmas for the kids. Usually, we've gotten magazine subscriptions for them, since that is so easy to order, and the kids love to get mail. This year, however, I got a catalog from Library and Educational Services and the prices on books were awesome, so I asked if I filled out the form with books for the kids (of equivalent value as the subscriptions), would they like to get the kids books...They agreed this would be a nice idea, and Firefly was the lucky recipient of a complete set of the Andi books (we reviewed one last year and loved it) that we will be reading aloud for the rest of the month. Yay! And thank you for the books Grandma and Grandpa!! (I got a set of Adventures in Odyssey cds which we listened to in the car tonight...it was an excellent was to spend forty-five minutes.)

On my TV: There's not much time for TV during the day (and we don't have cable anyway), but when I can't get to sleep at night (and have a headache, so I can't read), I have been watching old episodes of NUMB3RS on Netflix. Yeah, I know, it is a bit geeky...but the FBI stuff mixed with the math is actually an interesting combination. I have been thinking that some brilliant homeschooler ought to come up with a math curriculum revolving around those shows. It would be an intriguing way to spark interest in different topics since you learn about new methods and theories in each episode. I am certainly more into math since I started watching them!

On the menu for this week:
     Monday: Baked Chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, and french bread.
     Tuesday: Baked Potato soup and biscuits.
     Wednesday: Spinach salad with chicken, pecans, mandarin oranges, and teryaki-orange-peanut oriental dressing (I know it sounds weird, but it is delicious). Bookmobile is today and friends come for a visit!
     Thursday: Tex offered to make cashew chicken for dinner. Nice.
     Friday: Pizza and a movie. The kids want to rent Mr. Popper's Penguins from Redbox.
     Saturday: Cheeseburgers and fries. Pickles for those who like them (not me).
     Sunday: French dip sandwiches (I cook a prime rib in the crock pot for about six hours with water and bouillion...the meat just shreds apart and the liquid makes a great au jus...we serve it on hoagie rolls topped with mozzarella cheese).

On my To-Do List:
     Housework...constant picking up (not so much fun) and trying to declutter, organize, and reduce problems in certain areas (challenging, but rewarding).
     Taking down Christmas stuff
     Three reviews due this week
     Helping my mom take down her Christmas stuff on Tuesday and she's going to go over how to use my sewing machine with me. Yes, I am admitting that it has been so long since I've used it that I've forgotten what to do. I like to sew by hand, but as I am doing more complex things, I am finding that the speed of a machine would help. I am not one to pass up on making something easier...
     Bookmobile comes Wednesday with a visit from friends of ours, too.
     Botox for my cervical dystonia and migraines on Wednesday...yuck. But it helps.
     Homeschooling...we are trying some new products and doing a bit of "unschooling" this month (exploring interests rather than heavy book work so I can get more done around the house). I will let you know how that works for us later.
     Fix my rocking chair, finish some trim in the bathroom, and start cleaning my closet.

What I am sewing or creating: I have taken an old denim skirt jumper that was too short for my taste and separated the top from the bottom. I am turning the top half into a vest trimmed with lace and new antique buttons, and the skirt part is going onto a modified pair of jeans to make a longer skirt. I will post pictures once it is done. I am also continuing to learn how to crochet. I graduated from making bracelets, necklaces, and bookmarks for the kids to making my first washcloth...it's not perfect, but it's not too bad, either.

Looking around the house: I am appreciating the Christmas decorations one last time before putting them away. I especially will miss the manger scene and how the donkey, sheep, and cows wander around it from time to time.

I am smiling when I see the parlor that is filled with the Toydle fort we recieved as a review item and gave the kids for Christmas...actually, I can't see much of the parlor at all since the fort takes up the whole thing!!

I am admiring the pretty paperwhites our neighbor gave us for Christmas that bloomed just a few days ago. They are a promise of good things to come in just a few months. They also remind us that though the bulbs were small and seemed plain when we got them, in no time at all, with just a bit of sun and water, they grew and became something beautiful...So, too, are we at times...we may feel as if there isn't anything remarkable to what we are doing (as a wife, stay at home mom, etc.), but given the right amount of time, the Living Water, and the Son, we can blossom into something remarkable with a long-lasting influence on many lives (those of our children, grandchildren, neighbors, friends, etc.).

From my camera:

My kitchen Re-do...this is from last month.

My camera is on the fritz so I couldn't take a new picture, but since seeing the wallpaper up makes me smile, I decided to share it with you! It's because I feel like it looks so much better than it did before...more finished and permanent. The "wallpaper" is actally contact paper, and only cost five dollars for one roll. It's truly amazing how cheaply you can improve things in your home using very little money if you are creative.

On my prayer list: My grandmother goes home this week. She had a heart attack just before Christmas and spent the holidays in a convalescent center. I am praying that she will take the time she needs to get well and that she will not try to do too much too soon. My folks will be traveling out to help her soon. My mother-in-law just got out of the hospital, too, from complications following colon removal surgery. A neighbor's son has a detatched retina and will be having surgery. My mom's knee is terribly swollen and troubles her...we're not sure why. My headaches have been worse this last month (my Botox is late due to insurance issues). Bubba and his fiancee are potentially buying a house for him to fix up so they will have it to live in after the wedding...yes, I did say wedding!! ;-)

Bible Verse: "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's." Exodus 20:17

What does this verse mean to me? We listened to an Odyssey episode about envy while driving this afternoon and one of the illustrations it gave was about the grass being greener in your neighbor's yard...what should you do with that? Be jealous? Get spiteful about it? Blame someone? No, it explained that instead of getting envious, you should get busy. Get busy appreciating what you do have, and do what you can to make it the best it can be.

It made me think about this house we are in and how I sometimes don't appreciate it's smallness (is that a word?) Sometimes I am frustrated by it, and perhaps even a bit jealous when I go to visit someone who has a larger house, or one that is better organized, or has more options for expanison (more money, more time). It is easy to get off track and wallow in the self-pity and recriminations (Why did we buy this smallish house? Why can't we seem to get more done?) But lately I've been working on just DOING it...one thing at a time. One day, fix the cabinet pulls, another day move a door, one day straighten our the kitchen shelves, another day organize a closet...every little bit helps, and with each thing we touch and put love and effort into, we find more and more to appreciate about where we are. We find that this small space isn't as small as it seemed yesterday because it has grown with the love that has been put into it. Then comes the day when a tiny voice at my side whispers, "I like this house" and I smile, knowing that I do, too...even if it is a bit on the small side.

Something fun to share: Here's an awesome post from The Inspired Room with lots of links to craft room ideas. I've been having fun exploring them all.

Also, a good collection of Home Management Binder resources from Home: Made. Enjoy!

Blessings,

Heather

This post is linked up with Happy Homemaker Monday .

Getting Organized and Loving It!!

    This post is linked to The Homeschool Mother’s Journal 

over at The Homeschool Chick.

The Weekly Wrap-Up at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers and
Favorite Resource This Week at Learning ALL the Time

Make sure you hop over to see what other homeschool moms did this week!

In my life this week…Boo is finally recovering from being sick. Yay! It has been a long three weeks of him being under the weather. I am feeling better, too. The other kids all seem to be fine, except for Ladybug, who has allergy eyes today, and sniffles. 

Our good friends, Lady L. and her five wonderful kids, came over on Wednesday for a visit and to check out what was new on the Bookmobile. Tex always enjoys recommending books for his friends to read (since he reads so much...maybe he will be a librarian someday?), and he has them hooked on the Percy Jackson series from Rick Riordian. In fact, he received Son of Neptune, the newest book in the second series, from his brilliant mom (me!) for his birthday, finished it in under 24 hours, and then passed it on to me (and I finished it in about two days...being sick is good for catching up on reading). They are fun books, but if you have a problem with your older kids reading fantasy, or about obviously imaginary Greek and Roman "gods," then you should skip them (but you will be missing out on some good laughs!).

Having a nice time with Briar Rose, or Rosie, 

our Shetland-Quarter Horse baby pony.

Yeah, go ahead, laugh if you want. 

It IS an unlikely combination...

But she is adorable, and sweet, too.

In our homeschool this week…The younger group got to read a book about ponds and they drew pictures of what they read about. We watched a video on Egypt together, read a book about the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, made a cartouche necklace, wrote letters to the grandmas and great-grandmas, and started working on Math Mammoth, which we are reviewing. They also played with their Duplo Legos quite a bit, and spent plenty of time playing outside with their bikes, the baby pony, and their new sidewalk chalk and bubbles. 

Tex is loving his new (birthday gift/school) computer and accessories.

Tex finished up the last of his ten lessons of Visual Latin (another review item), set up his new printer, finished putting together his notebook (to keep all his reading records, math charts, worksheets, etc. in), started working on the "Alice 2.2" programming lessons, wrote some thank you notes, caught up on his Exploring Creation with Physical Science experiments, and did plenty of Khan Academy. He LOVES his new laptop. So do I. I hope it is my turn to get a new one next...Oh yeah, and Tex and I read Son of Neptune. Does that count for school?

Bubble time!!

Boo was obviously feeling better because he repeatedly got into trouble by climbing places he should not have been to get things he should not have played with. This morning he climbed to get into our school drawers and got some scissors (blunt primary ones) and cut a pillow cover I had quilted years ago. Sigh. What am I going to do with him????

What’s working for us...Nanny helped us rearrange the boys' room downstairs so that two desks (with two computers on them) fit in it now. A third computer (the netbook) sits on the cedar trunk by the bed with a padded footstool for a chair, so all three of the Amigos can do their online schoolwork at the same time. It is much more efficient and helps me to be able to get and keep them on task more easily. Plus, they finish the online stuff (Mathletics, Reading Eggs, some review items) before lunch so that after lunch we can do our "fun" and "creative" together activities for an hour or so (and we don't even start "school" until ten most days since morning chores take a while, and I am not getting up at the crack of dawn to do them). Thanks for the help, Mom!

Cowboy after eating chocolate ice cream. 

Thank goodness Zote soap works so well!

Thoughts I have…If I could just get "caught up," I think our days would go pretty smoothly and I might start having more fun instead of always feeling behind. I know the "to do list" will never be empty, but if it would just get to fewer than a dozen important items...

Ladybug is always hard at work, even when it is fun work.

She's just a hard worker. What a blessing.

My favorite thing this week was…Watching the kids be so excited over being able to do all their work at one time, and then seeing how Ladybug rose to the occasion and acted as helper whenever I was busy doing kitchen chores, or laundry, or something. Great job, sweetie! You are a gem!!

I am inspired by…Cindy Rushton. I discovered her seminars when we moved here and I was on limited activity (pregnant with Boo). Her peppy and heartfelt talks cheered me up, and I felt like I had a friend in the room with me. She's having a sale this week on her notebooking set, which is great, if you want to find out more about it and don't have many printables of your own already. Her "brain in a binder" is awesome (and it is included in the set that is for sale). She's featured on Homeschool Freebie of the Day today, so head over for a freebie and check out her sale! You can get more freebie audio lectures from Cindy HERE.

 Firefly is ready for church...such a pretty and sweet four-year-old big girl!

My favorite homeschooling resource this week…I had fun exploring links for mini-offices this week, and printed up several things I found links to on this Squidoo lens about mini-offices. The kids have a mini-office hanging on their school area bulletin board now, and have loved referring to it since I posted it. Give a mini-office a try!! I'd love to have you share any links to mini-office posts you may have, or favorite resources for your own, if you have time to  leave a comment. Thanks!

Have a blessed week,

Heather

Homeschool Mother's Journal

In my life this week…crazy weather, a few headaches, several doctor's visits, a pretty day on Friday, fun with the grandparents, a good lunch with Bubba (Mexican food, my favorite), watching the kids play outside, and lots of time on the computer doing classwork.

In our homeschool this week…not much happened educationally speaking. 


Tex had oral surgery for removal of a benign cyst on Monday, and hasn't felt up to doing much of anything all week. Boo had an appointment with the same oral surgeon on Tuesday because he has a mucocele in his mouth which is not going to get better, plus he has had bronchitis (different doctor altogether). Wednesday I went with Bubba to the local base because he needed some shots, and Thursday we prepared for a storm, which thankfully, veered out to sea before reaching us. Friday, was a beautiful day. On Friday, I had Physical Therapy and enjoyed watching the kids play for a while before settling in to work on my classes and a review. 

Basically, the little ones did their computer work a few days, and some good writing and reading work with my mom at her house while I was out with Bubba. Poor Tex has gotten nothing done at all but a little reading (two books for his Reading Challenge) and listening to a few audios (for his Listening Challenge), and that will just have to do.


I made up forms for his Reading Challenge and Listening Challenge, and they are available on my homeschool-for-free website, if you are interested in doing something like this with your kids over the summer.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…Next week should be more calm. Whew. We have a follow up for Tex, as well as an optometry appointment for him. We decided to wait to get Boo's mucocele removed until he's a bit older, and I have PT twice. My friend, Mrs. L. has offered to babysit one day so I can go work on my classes at the library. She may begin homeschooling her daughter this week, and I can't wait to help! 

We also need to go to the library and pick up the kids' prizes from the bookmark contest. Tex, Cowboy, and Firefly all won a prize (Ladybug's was adorable, but she did win first place last year...). The prizes are gift certificates to a local bookstore. The kids can't wait to spend their winnings! Great job, guys and gals! You ALL worked hard and I am so proud of you.

My favorite thing this week was…Sitting on my swing on Friday after the storm had blown all the humidity away, watching the kids running around and playing happily, riding bikes, swinging on swings, chasing the dog, picking dandelions and buttercups, and most of all, laughing. It sure did make me smile and lighten up my day. 

Boo sure does love the Little Tikes police car toy a neighbor donated to us last year. The others push him around in it and he goes, "Woo woo!"  I think they are going to crash, they go so fast, but he doesn't mind. He's just a happy camper. Awesome.

What’s working/not working for us…Still, my grad classes (to renew my teaching licensure to make homeschooling easier in our state). Too much to do, too little time. With doctor's appointments, physical therapy, sick children, shopping, laundry, and schooling, I am not sure which way is up this week. Help.

Homeschooling thoughts I have…You can never underestimate the importance of reading aloud to your children. Look at my left sidebar to see a new button for a new Reading Out Loud linky hosted by Debra@Footprints in the Butter. All you do is post once a week about what you are reading aloud to your kids, let yourself be inspired by what others are reading, and perhaps be motivated to read more (or maybe you will motivate someone else)!

A quote to share…

You may have tangible wealth untold;

Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.

Richer than I you can never be--

I had a mother who read to me.

                           Strickland Gillilan

Blessings,


Heather