Photo Fun

We've had lots of fun around here the last few weeks so I thought I'd share some photos of whats been going on!

The boys love to help with my flower garden.  They know to pick the "dead" flowers and are very serious with their given task.

 So, Josh was taking a bath one night and I walked in, walked back out and got the camera, came back and got some fun photos.  This one makes me laugh out loud every single time.

Nate just being silly.  I like this photo because he still looks like a "toddler" . . .even though he is totally 100% little boy!

So, I attempted to take some photos of the boys recently and the photos above show you that I was not successful HA!  Squinty eyes and funny smiles is all I could get!

 We have a sunflower.  It's huge.  Yes, that's Nate standing next to it.  Ironically we didn't plant this group this year but last year the boys played with a big sunflower head that came off one our plants and it ended up sitting in that spot for a bit.  Obviously it dropped some seeds!

 One of the many roads that the boys built.  In the rain.

 The boys love playing instruments and creating a band. 

They also love playing games on the Ipads before bed :-) 

We had excitement at our house recently - they worked on our road.  Needless to say, we sat on the front porch and watched for quite awhile. 

Dinner time!  I've been informed that we can have tacos every single night for dinner because they love them.

Cakes and Cup Cakes

A few weeks ago, Josh saw a cookbook in the checkout lane at the grocery store and wanted to buy it. It was all about cakes, cupcakes and other fun cake things (Like cake pops).

He read it from cover to cover, then "read" it to Nate.  They proceeded to read it every night after they were supposed to be in bed (hahaha) and Josh carried it everywhere.  He even took it to Pizza Hut when we went and showed the waitress!  Then . . .he left it outside on accident and it rained.  Hard.  I had to go buy a new one it rained so hard.  (yes, it was ruined HA!)  The boys each picked out a cake they wanted to make and this is what we made:

 Nate picked a race car cake.  My fingers were black from the food coloring to make the racetrack and we ran out of regular M and M's so we had to use some peanut M and M's but all in all it turned out well. 

Josh picked out these rainbow frosted cupcakes.  Yes, that is a full rainbow of frosting - each layer a different color.  It was quite the task to get that frosting on there especially since what I used wasn't nearly as thick as the book showed!  The funny thing?  Josh never ate one of these because he said he doesn't really like frosting.  He ate the M and M off the top of one and took a bite out of one cupcake but that was it! 

We had fun though.  It was a family activity and I will admit that the reason it got done is because Darryl offered great ideas along the way otherwise I would have given up !  I will also admit that I am glad the boys forgot about the cook book for now . . .making those two desserts made me realize that I don't really want to decorate cakes :-)

Homeschool Happenings - Why I Quit the Co-Op

We are gearing up for the start of Kindergarten in just a matter of days (ok, like 14ish).  The boys are counting down the "sleeps", they keep asking me to start NOW when they see me doing prep work, they get excited as the last few things come in the mail and they got to go school supply shopping on Saturday.

Part of my planning process this summer was to do a lot of praying about participating in the homeschool co-op group that we've been part of the past few years including me being on the board.  Ultimatly, I made the decision to resign and pull the boys out.  While there are benefits to being part of a homeschool group but I've found that when you homeschool you often get pressure to make sure your kids are "socialized" or "well-rounded".  Guess what?  I've decided to let go of that pressure so here's a short list of why I quite the co-op:

1.  We are not morning people.  Going to co-op requires us to be up, dressed, fed, and have smiles on our faces as we head out the door by 8:00 on a Friday morning.  It's not easy, trust me.  I'm not awake, the boys are draggin', and we struggle to get in the door still smiling!

2.  The variety of classes is very small.  As I looked at the class offerings for the "Kinders", where both boys would be this year, I noticed that they would be teaching the same curriculum that I am using with them.  Now, I know that repetition is always good but considering the fact they would be doing the same worksheets, singing the same songs, and doing the same activities, I decided that to have to actually do #1 above for repetition, well, it just wasn't worth it.

3. I am not a gun-totin', homesteadin', live off the land, die-hard republican.  Ok, ok, yes, I'm doing exactly what I don't like, I'm stereotyping HA!  But in reality I had started to notice a political under current within the homeschool group and spoke up several times as a board member to say that we shouldn't do something because it made us "political".  I am not the stereotypical homeschooler - instead I'm a teacher - one with two degrees in education - that just wants to teach my kids.  And yes, I feed my kids processed food and drink Soda.  :-)

4. Most of the "big" homeschool bloggers I follow and enjoy do not attend a co-op.  That was my realization that it is not a requirement.  Your kids will survive :-)

5. As a board member, I ran into a few very important issues to me that were not be listened too.  One involved screening adults for the safety of our kids.  I finally realized that I really didn't have a voice on the board and didn't like that nor did I feel comfortable with a few decisions that were made concerning those screening areas.  That is what finally made me step away.

6.  My kids will be well-rounded and socialized.  First, they attend church on Sunday.  They shake hands (and sometimes hide haha), go to junior church, run around the gym with the other kids of all ages during fellowship time and then attend Sunday School with a fabulous teacher.  This fall they will be attending AWANA - Cubbies and Sparks - which means they will be playing games, learning verses, and hearing Bible truths while hanging with friends from church and other kids that come from the neighborhood.  In just a few weeks the boys will play soccer again with kids they do not know.  They already have learned about how to deal with a bully have the spring season.  Add to those activities that they have kids that come to the house every day, have met a few neighborhood kids (even if they are strange . . .it is the nature of our town), and will be doing other activities this fall/winter like swimming lessons, bowling lessons (hopefully) and other fun stuff I can find.


So, as you can see, there are plenty of good reasons for us to Quite the Co-op.  I'm not against the Co-Op at all and we may go back in a few years when the boys are older and there are some different options for them as far as classes or we may do other things like homeschool activities at local Museums or the Zoo.  We'll just wait and see!

Things My Kids Say . .. Kinda

Apparently my kids have been quiet this week because I don't have any fun and crazy things to say. 

The boys and Darryl have been playing games and building houses out of Lincoln Logs - anything they can do sitting at the table.  Those boys love having their dad home right now! They've also been busy building roads using the scrap wood in the garage - even building a racetrack at one point.  Speaking of race tracks my boys have decided they love NASCAR.  Seriously.  I  never thought I would hear, "Lets watch the races today" in our house but, well, we hear that often.  They also love Monster Trucks, Dirt Bikes and Motorcycles.  Yes, they are boys. 

They are also counting down days until we go camping AND until we start school so their is lots of excitement in our house right now! Not to mention counting down days until their birthdays and Christmas.  And it was "decided" today that they both want to be Pirates again . . the same ones they were last year.  Now, I know, that this tends to change a few times before Halloween but for now, it appears we already have their costumes on hand - I just need to make sure they still fit :-)

So, my kids may be "quiet" but they sure do have a lot to say!

Planner, Planning, Plans . . ..

I had planned to finally get back into full time blogging this week but, as I mentioned before, I got hit with the stomach flu Sunday evening so my well laid plans did not happen!  I do plan on getting back into my daily blogging again and already have the next 3 weeks planned out. 

A couple of years ago, I jumped on the Erin Condren planner bandwagon and ordered my first planner.  I will admit that I did not use it - I ended up picking up something different half way through the year.  I then ordered a different planner last year but again, it just wasn't perfect.  Well, last December I got sucked in again and ordered my Erin Condren planner.  I decided that this time I WOULD make it work for me.  It has taken almost 6 months but I am not using it to fully plan my week.  I don't have lists laying around nor am I typing out a to do list every day but rather, I plan my week, write it down and cross it off.

 Here's a snapshot of my week-at-a-glance.  On Sunday, I take time to write down everything I want to get done during the week.  I do have a master to do list that I keep (it's the paper shown above laying on the planner) and that paper holds my "brain".  I take basic weekly things like laundry, grocery shopping and budgeting and fit those in first then I add things from my list.  For example, this month, I'm focusing on deep cleaning the dining room so each day I list a task to do in the dining room or I'm trying to work on scrapbooking so I list one thing I want to get done each day.  I also, at the bottom of each page, list the main course for dinner (so I know if I need to prep something for dinner) as well as the blog topic for the day.

 This also allows me to list appointments on a given day AND make notes about the day (notice the big "SICK" on Monday!

As I work through the week the list actually gets smaller until I get to Friday where the main item is "finish tasks from the week".  I know that I will never get through everything on every day so Friday gives me time to catch up.

I also use the sides to make notes - songs to sing, Christmas gift ideas, or something funny someone says.  

Yes, I take my planner just about everywhere with me.  It fits in my purse or in my Sunday-go-to-church bag so I always have it handy for planning. 

Weekly Menu - The one where we will go camping!

So, last week did not go completely as planned!  Last Saturday we met my niece-in-law for brunch, which was fabulous!  Then, we came home and I worked for about 5-6 hours on cleaning out our camper, going through our camping stuff and repacking everything nice and neat.  By the time I was done, the last thing I wanted to do was cook anything so we went and grabbed some dinner.  Sunday evening as we were praying with the boys I felt the awful wave of sickness came over me and even prayed that I was not getting the flu.  Well, guess what, within an hour I was taking a Zophran to curb the nausea YUCK!  I was sick all day Monday but, thankfully it was a true 24 hour bug and by Monday late afternoon was slowly feeling human again.  Dinner ended up being whatever I could put together from the fridge.  Tuesday I still wasn't feeling great but I made stuffed shells, left over from a previous week's menu . . .and then on Wednesday I ended up with a Worship Committee Meeting at church so we all ate left overs again. HA!

This coming weekend we have a long awaited camping trip to look forward to also and we cannot wait! 

Saturday - BBQ Chicken Pizza and frozen pizza for the kids.

Sunday - Chicken Fried Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, corn and Rolls

Monday - My parents will be here for dinner so .  .I haven't decided what to cook yet.  :-)

Tuesday -Steak Fingers and gravy, Lemon Orzo Salad w/asparagus and tomatoes and rolls

Wednesday - Sausage Gravy and Biscuits, Fried Eggs and Fruit Salad

Thursday - We will be going out - my guess is Smashburger - since Darryl needs to go into town to the hospital to get x-rays again before his next doctor's appointment.

Friday - CAMPING!  I'll be sharing about camping in upcoming posts :-)

Things my kids say

* Every night before bed, we all pray together.  Josh almost always prays, "Dear Jesus, I love you AMEN".  Nate likes to pray silently so he sticks his head under his pillow and prays.  When he is done, he says, "Amen".  Lately, though, once he is done, he whispers in my ear, "Mom, I said Praise to God and prayed for Daddy's back"  I think it is so awesome!!!

*Josh told me that he hurt his head at Papa and Nana's.  He said his fingernail was ridiculously long and he just sharped his head.   Ok, it doesn't sound as funny written down but when he was telling the story, it was funny.


* Somehow, at lunch the other day, the boys started talking about the fact that they were old.  Nate piped up and said, "Well, Papa is REALLY old."  Josh continued on with his conversation for a bit and then, again, Nate said, "Well, Papa and Nana are old."  Josh said, "At least they can still run around!"  Then Nate laughed and said, "Nana can't run at all!!!!" hahahahahaha 

* Recently Josh was talking to Nana and told her that they wouldn't be coming over so much any more because they are getting older.  Yes, he is a little excited about turning 6 before too much longer!

* A few weeks ago my parents brought over a pop up camper for us (a long awaited, God-given, answered to prayer!).  Josh and Nate had already seen it since it arrived at my parents house while they were staying there.  We pulled up beside my parents and Josh told Papa, "I already mom all about how to open the camper so you don't have to show her anything.'  My dad told him that there were some little things he needed to still show me.  Josh told him, "No, I told her all of those things too."  (And you know what, when we put it up - he remember most of it!)