It's been quiet around here . . .

You may (or may not) have noticed that it's been quieter around this blog than it usually is and, if you have noticed, you would be right. There isn't anything wrong or "going on" it's just, quite simply, that our new choice for homeschool is totally, 100% working me to death.  I mentioned last week some things about it and, well, it just keeps going.  Pretty much I'm prepping to teach a Kindergarten class and a 1st grade class every single day but I only have one student in each class.  I'm reading lesson plans, printing worksheets, tearing out workbook pages, printing tests, finding craft supplies, making sure we meet our weekly PE requirements, finding art supplies and more.  So most of my evenings are now filled with figuring out tomorrows lessons - not writing for my blog.  Just last night, as I was attempting to print this weeks lessons I had to fix the printer once due to a problem with the ink cartridges and then, 10 minutes later, a paper jam which then caused the whole machine to cease up.  Today I'll be making a phone call to see if Canon can help me fix it.  It's a requirement for school because I need the printer, copier and scanner -I have to scan in documents to send to their teachers as specific assignments that are graded which both boys have multiple assignments due this week.

I spent time last week reworking their schedule so our Fridays would be "free" - "Free" is a relative term because I did this so we have a day to catch up if needed.  Catch up on school work for sure.  But also for me to catch up as, right, the only three things I do every day besides school work is laundry, cook meals, and make sure the kitchen is half way clean.  Otherwise there is nothing - there is no time in the day. 

So, this is not a pity party or anything else - it's life right now.  I'm still hoping that in the weeks to come it will level out but for now, this blog might be quieter.  :-)

Family Fun - Taking down the Pool

Last weekend it was time to take down the pool!  I figured the boys would have a little fun with it but I didn't realize how much fun they would have despite it being only about 60 degrees during the day. 

 They started by helping me unhook the pump/filter and watching the water pour out of the pool.  Watching is never as fun though so it wasn't long before they were in the pool.

 And eventually the shirts came off, the shoes came off, and they were running and splashing in the water. 

 There were my attempts of "hey boys, stand together and smile for me" . . .sure, whatever you say mom.  HA!

Once they had frozen their patooties off, they came inside to take a nice warm bath.  I walked into the bathroom and saw this!  Needless to say, I walked right back out and got my camera HA! 

We have loved our little pool but it was on its last leg with a hole somewhere in the ring.  We couldn't fill it as full as normal because of that ring and the boys are much taller than they were a year ago.  So, this pool is gone and we'll put up a bigger one next spring.  The boys love the water and a pool is such a great thing to have the yard during the summer.  :-)

Weekly Menu

So, Last week I said I was going to prepare a months week of menus - which I did.  I also said I was going to prepare the grocery lists for each menu - which I 1/2 did.  Then I said I was going to shop for what we used based on sales - which I kinda did :-)  It ended up being a lot more work than I anticipated plus last week I kept getting confused on what I needed based on my list and what was on other lists (for example - "I'm sure I needed cabbage but why isn't it on the list? Oh that's right, it's for another week."  I took advantage this week of the "10 for $10 and get the 11th item free" sale to pick up things we use all the time like frozen waffles, garlic bread, green beans and juice.  My freezer is full; my pantry is getting re-stocked; the cupboards are full of our standard stuff.  I'm hopeful that the next two weeks of shopping will be smaller and just require a few basics :-)

This past week I made an effort to not go to the store.  It meant that on Friday I had to improvise on things we had run out of.  For example, Darryl's sandwiches were made out of leftover yeast rolls from Thursday nights dinner because we were out of bread; I made tacos using a  pork loin I had in the freezer since I had no more ground beef; for lunch I had veggies and dip and fruit because I was, again, out of bread for a grilled cheese.  BUT I didn't go to the store once since shopping last week!  It saves us SOOO much money when I don't make quick runs to the store to pick up "one" thing and come home with 20 things HA! 

Here's the plan for the coming week:

Saturday - It will just be Darryl and the boys as I'll be gone all day at a concert.  So they will have spaghetti and breadsticks.  It's simple to cook, clean up and every one loves it.

Sunday - Roasted Pork Loin, Sweet Potatoes, Mac and Cheese, and Crescent Rolls.  Then for dinner will have Meatball Soup and Sandwiches

Monday - Lasagna, Green Beans and Garlic Bread

Tuesday - Chicken Fried Steak, Mashed Potatoes, gravy, corn and biscuits

Wednesday - Ham and Cheese Quiche, and Muffins

Thursday - Brown Sugar Pork Loin, Fried Rice, Applesauce, and Biscuits

Friday - We are camping!  Whoo Whoo!!

Teaching Tuesdays - We made it through the first week.

Week one is done.  That's all.  Lets keep it real.  Week one was hard.  Between teaching both boys, prep, computer problems with the program and pulling my hair out (really  . .almost) I spent anywhere from 5-8 hours a day doing school.  That is not what I anticipated.  I understand it is the first week but wow.  On the first day I spent about 5 hours sitting in a chair talking and teaching one boy at a time. By the time Wednesday rolled around (day 2 . .) I mowed the grass and faced the underground bees (I can run fast HA!) just to get away from all things related to school.  Here's hoping week two goes better. 

Of course, we took some awesome first second day pictures:

Such cute kids!

So, you might be wondering where I'm at with Connections Academy after our first week so even after a tough first week here's some truth:

1) I know it is only week one.
2) The boys have things they like and things they don't like.
3) I've changed my strategy and spent several hours on Saturday prepping for the week by reading through every lesson, using post-it tabs to mark daily assignments in books, copy, pasted, and printed the "Learning Coach" (that's me!) lesson guides so I don't need to use the IPAD constantly to ready what I'm doing AND I highlighted what is important for me to emphasis.  I tore out workbook pages and prepped vocab words and sight words.
4) I'm hopeful that as the weeks progress I will be able to have both boys working on schoolwork at once to free up time for play, getting outside to exercise, and time for me to actually get something done (for real!)

The boys also had their first week in Tae Kwon Do at our homeschool co-op this past Friday which counts toward their PE time.  I didn't get any great photos this first week but hopefully next week the boys will be more relaxed and will be more "into it". 



What's coming up?  We still have AWANA to add to our schedule this week, weekly Library trips which start today, and some upcoming field trips. Not to mention that they start Gymnastics next Monday too.  I've finding that our schedule is much busier this year which is keeping me on my toes!

Make-It Monday - Misc Musings

I'm not one to always click on posts/links that people put on Facebook to various articles and blog posts but periodically one catches my attention like this one I'm featuring here today. See, in our house, my husband is the one who plays - trains, video games, make believe.  I'm the one who makes sure everything is taken care of and everyone is where they need to be.  Sometimes I feel guilty because I'm don't equal all of those perfect moms out there who do it all - you know those ones you see on Facebook or through Pinterest . .. . then I'll talk to a friend and we laugh at our real laughs :-)  No, I/we don't feet this article completely in any form or fashion but there are bits and pieces that speak to me.

The article can be found at We Don't Chew Glass.  I debated posting this because it is not a Christian Blog (as is evident in one word on the header) but the good outweighs the bad in this one so my apologies ahead of time.

Ultimately, my kids tell me I'm awesome, love to hang with me, and come to me first when they are hurting.  They think I'm funny and will always come to me with questions or wants (umm . . needs HA) even if their dad is sitting in the same room as them and I'm taking a shower HA!.  I'm thankful that my husband is creative . . . imaginative . .. he teaches the boys how to play outside the box.  Where, I'm an "inside the box" type of girl.  We make a great team and balance each other well - our kids are happy and that's really the most important thing of all. 

Weekly Menu

This was our first week back to school so I didn't do much except school.  BUT one thing I did do was follow the advice of some pinterest post I actually read about planning menus and saving money.  So, I'm trying something slightly new this month.  I planned the entire month of menus (which I've kinda done in the past with my rotating month menu) but I also created all of the grocery lists for each week.  I can be more focused on buying what is on sale or that I have coupons for to save money.  Like many people, we have some weeks where there is more flex money than others so I'm trying to plan ahead for those weeks when funds are tighter (for example the vast majority of our bills are due the first two weeks of the month verses the last two weeks so my grocery budget is much tighter those first two weeks).  I promise to keep you updated on this new adventure and see if it really works.

Here's the plan for the next week

Saturday - I have Pizza on the menu but Josh has been begging to go to the Chinese restaurant. At the writing of this, I'm not sure what we will do yet.

Sunday - Grammys Swiss Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Carrots and Yeast Rolls.  The weather is cooling off so I'm looking forward to this wonderful meals once again!  Today is also the first Sunday of football so, for dinner we'll have Chili Mac.

Monday - Our schedule gets a little busy!  Today is the first day of gymnastics AND I have choir practice.  We will be crossing paths so I just have nuggets and fries on the menu

Tuesday - Asian Beef w/white rice, Store bought egg rolls and Mac and Cheese (Ok, this is for Nate - who is expanding his taste buds but is still pretty set on what he likes)

Wednesday - AWANA starts tonight which means quick and easy dinners are best since we need to eat and leave.  I love breakfast on Wednesday.  So, Amish Breakfast Casserole, Fruit, and Waffles and Sausage - that way everyone of us gets something we love HA! 

Thursday - Lemon BBQ Meatloaves, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans and Yeast Rolls YUM!!

Friday - Tacos, of course :-)

Family Time - A Camping Vacation

A just over a week ago we had the opportunity to go camping again but this time we went for four days, which is the longest we have ever camped. We were traveling further away so I wanted to give us an extra day to actually enjoy the area and not feel rushed to get pack.  It was awesome.  I wish we could camp for four days every time :-)  This time we went to a little campground called "Betsie River Campground" on the recommendation of a friend.  It is near Frankfort MI.  Now, to keep it real, when we first pulled in Darryl and I were both like, ummm really?  What's so special about this place?  Once we got our pop-up set up (we ran into some obstacles getting it level due to unlevel ground) and figured out the campground we enjoyed it and we WOULD go back again.  Really, it isn't all about the campground - it is about the area and the area was fabulous.

 Once we set up and ate dinner, we went exploring into the adorable town of Frankfort.  What we discovered was out of this world - they have a public beach on Lake Michigan that is unlike anything I've ever seen.  It has a boardwalk that takes you to the pier so you can walk all the way to the water without walking in the sand (what is the hardest part of the beach? Walking in the sand!).  There are benches and a huge length of beach.  Not to mention the incredible sunset we got to see. 

 The boys loved the beach and the water.  There were some pretty decent waves - this is the first time they have really gotten to play in the waves.

 Love this shot - so much fun :-)

 We had perfect weather - the sunshine, and waves just made for a perfect evening.

 Before we left, we walked out on the pier.  The boys wanted to go to the light house but the waves were crashing up over the narrow walkway and we just didn't feel like, this year, it was the best thing.  I would be the one jumping in the lake since I can swim ;-) and well, I didn't feel like rescuing anyone!

We didn't get back to the campsite until just about dusk and then enjoyed a nice campfire.

 We got up on Sunday morning and relaxed for a bit - it was raining and cold so we headed to town for lunch.  There was an A and W restaurant that we thought would be fun. . .. 45 minutes later we finally got our not very good burgers, flat root beer and cold fries.  For real.  From there we headed out to Sleeping Bear Dunes.  The photo above is the 1st stop on the scenic drive.  It was just about 3 weeks prior that this are was hit by a good size tornado.  The number of trees that were down and the size of the ones taken down were amazing. 

 Checking out the scenery at one of the overlook stops. 

 This was at the top of the of the really high dune and the wind was out of this world.  It literally just about blew the boys off their feet. 

 My boys!

We ended the trip by stopping at another little beach before heading into Glen Arbor.  Now, Glen Arbor took the brunt of the Tornado.  Wow.  A lot of destruction.  From there, we headed back to the camp ground and had dinner (it was in the crock pot ready to eat!).  That night, the weather took a turn.  I had moments when I honestly thought the Pop-up was going over the wind was so strong.  We didn't get a ton of rain but, wow, the winds were like nothing I've heard/seen in a very long time.

 So, what do you do when it is cold, windy and rainy?  Do all sorts of fun things with balloons.  The boys had begged to do water balloons on this camping trip but, well, it was way too cold.  They, along with Darryl, spent well over an hour on Monday morning do all sorts of fun things with the balloons. We laughed a lot.

 We did finally emerge and headed to town for lunch.  After lunch, while driving through town, we saw these deer up on a ridge behind a house (a beautiful house which was for sale and I would have bought in a moment!).  We had fun watching them for quite awhile.

 We then went to the Betsie River Lighthouse.  The waves were intense.  The photos don't do them justice.  We walked along the beach for a bit and just enjoyed God's power!

 Can you tell by the trees how strong the wind is blowing???

 We toured the light house, even climbing to the top (yikes!  Not for the faint of heart!) before getting the boys photo by it.  They love light houses and want to travel to as many as possible.  We bought a poster with all of the Michigan Lighthouses and hope to get their photo by as many as possible!

 We headed back to town where we got Coffee, Fudge, Ice Cream and more!  Then went to a really awesome playground where the boys played "Pirates" with Darryl for awhile. 

We ended at another park where the boys played on the See Saws - which they haven't gotten to do before (at least not with us).  Once done, we headed back to the campground where Darryl got an amazing fire going (it was a little chilly out!) and we roasted Brats, Hot Dogs and Marshmallows.  The boys rode their bikes around, played in the little park at the campground and just hung out with us.

It was really a great camping trip!  We are still planning to go once more at the end of September - probably to our favorite campground, Muskegon State Park.  Hard to believe the camping season is winding down!