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Im thinking about heading back to my original blog Keepers At Home. I would keep this one for homeschooling updates and info and the other for all my wild ramblings. LOL. I really like blogspot. It is easy to use and I have the templates figured out over there. Here I am having the worst time figuring stuff out. Im going to try it out and see what happens. In the meantime, I will be slugging away at learning HTML which I cant seem to grasp. If I ever learn it I will move back here. Probably. For now check her weekly for updates on homeschooling and check the other blog for everything else. Ok?

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This is the news I woke up to this morning on my google news page. I was shocked and saddened. While he got on my nerves my kids really liked him and so did my dad.

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thats what Im doing tonight. We spent part of the day working on the house and Im exhausted. Hubby asked pizza or chinese? I said, woohoo, chinese. LOL. We still have so much to accomplish this weekend so we will be working hard.

We went to the library yesterday and filled up two milk crates. I have to go through and find the books for school and seperate them from the books for "fun" reading. Karly has discovered a love for drawing so she is allowed to pick out a drawing book. Of course Kelsie wanted one also so I found one about how to draw bears using squares. Its cute and she loves it. We have square bears all over the house right now.

Well thats it for now. Maybe some more later.

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Why is my three year old running around in pajama shorts and a t-shirt 10 sizes to big? Because I cant find his clothes. I dont know where they are. Im my quest to rid my home of clutter I might have decluttered my little boys wardrobe. I am sizing the kids closets down and I think I sized him down to nothing. I ran to Walmart yesterday and found a few shorts and shirts on sale so he is ok for now. I just wish I knew where his clothes were.

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Not sure what to blog about, just knew I wanted to write. Im going to join a homeschool group. Its a group with an optional co-op. At first I was not going to join because I did not want the co-op, but then I found out it was optional. Im looking forward to it. They have parties, playdays once a month, fieldtrips, and a moms support group. Im going to the mom's monthly meeting next week with some people I bowl with. Im looking forward to seeing what it is all about.

We have been spending entirely too much time sitting at the table and doing school. I wanted school to be a fun learning experience, now it just seems rather tedious. I know Im sticking with the Well Trained Mind method, I just have to figure out how to make it more experience and less doing. Ya know? Of course it does not help that math worksheets that should take my daughter thirty minutes tops, take her almost 1.5 hours because she refuses to follow directions and because she ends up staring off into space.

Im having a blast with the preschoolers though. We worked through the letter A last week and this week we are on B. We are counting and sorting and reading. My three year old drew an A for the skeptical inlaws this weekend without being prompted. When I asked him what letter it was he said A like my name. His name is Adrian. It was a proud mamma moment. Of course then Kelsie my 6 year old told my MIL that she could not read. NICE. Of course I got a lecture about how she should be reading. Yes, the child can read. She reads to me all the time. She is just a bit L-A-Z-Y and did not want to be bothered reading what grandma had for her to read. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR...

I have been major on edge this past week and not sure why. I think it has to do with the fact that Im waiting for Mr. Wonderful to be able to finish painting our two front rooms so I can rearrage everything. We also have to rip up carpet in there. We will be painting the concrete as a temporary measure. Next year we want to add laminate flooring throughout the house. 3 cats + 5 kids = NO CARPETING LOL

Im reading On Becoming Babywise and the second book for pre toddlers though I cant remember the name of it off the bat. I dont agree with everything he says, but Im finding a lot of useful information. I know. Let the tomato throwing commence. My 7 month old has not been sleeping through the night too well and its really hard on hubby. I have been scheduling him a little better, not strict scheduling and if you read the books Dr. Ezzo is against strict scheduling, but just trying to have regular feeding times and such. He has slept great and if possible had a better disposition. He has a great disposition already so a better one is just awesome. Im looking at the library lately for more of his books. I used to think he was a quack, but thats because I was listening to others opinions of him. Now that I have read him I think he has a lot of knowledge.

Anyway, enough ramblings. Im trying to get to bed by 11 this week and get up by 7. I have always been a night owl so this is weird for me, but as I get older I notice that I need more of a schedule myself. LOL

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my awesome new computer. I might not seem very excited but I am. My exclamation points dont work on my brand new keyboard and this is going to be a huge problem. I love exclamation points. My super hubby put this together for me because he loves me...and because he wants his computer back. LOL. Im very excited because he set up a printer on this computer. Im not sure how a homeschool mom can survive without a printer. I have a ton of sights bookmarked that I cant wait to print out. Im also going to learn html for my new computer so I can fix this place up a little. Make it mine. Ya know? Well Im still installing stuff on my computer and its going to log me off in a minute so I better sign off. Hope you all had a wonderful Lord's day.

Oh yeah and Im still getting used to this new keyboard so if my typing looks a little weird every now and then..HAVE MERCY....

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I live in a fairly big town area wise. It could easily take an hour to get from one side to the other. Downtown is about 2 miles away from some of the worst sections in town. Everyone who lives here knows there are just certain places you dont go after dark. I have had police officers tell me they are nervous driving through these areas of town. 

When they announced up scale condos in this area natives of the town laughed out loud. We pretty much figured the only people moving into those condos were out of towners who had no clue. Sure its close to downtown, but our downtown really does not offer a whole lot. Its more of a professional downtown. Lots of office buildings. Your commute would be a breeze but is it really worth taking your life into your own hands?

The other day hubby drove by a bill board advertising these condos. One of the catch me phrases? "Urban Excitement". Yes, that is a great description for drug deals, drive by shootings, and police sirens 24/7.

Just thought I would share the new lingo.

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Joy- The two books I ordered are here. Anecotes For Girls -Harvey Newcomb and How To Be A Lady - Harvey Newcomb.

A little bit of jealousy- my cousin's little girl's birthday falls the day before my little girl who is the same age. His little girl gets a birthday party every year. My kids only get one on "milestone" birthdays (1,5,10,13,16,18..) Well there was the invite to the other little girl's party. I thought for sure she'd "stolen" the birthday weekend and I was going to be a little put out. But behold they are having thier birthday party later in the month.. WOOHOO!

Fear. Dread. - A jury summons. Quick turn it over. Whose it for? ME!! What Im a stay at home homeschooling mommy!! I cant go for jury duty. AHHHHHHHHH!! I dont have to. On the exempt list is a full time non employed parent who has custody of any child under 6. Hey I have three of those! WHOOHOO!!

And that is the emotions evoked from my mailbox!

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Im wrestling with whether to keep blogging. I am thinking about taking a break until the fall. There just seems to be so much going on...and to be honest Im not happy with the way this blog is going. Im thinking about starting all over. If anyone is even still reading, because I hardly ever have time or even the desire to update. Sometimes I get all excited and go on a blogging tangent and then I will miss a few days and not even miss it, ya know? For now I will try to blog once a week and see how that goes. Check in on Friday, because I think that will be my blogging day. Of course I may only be talking to myself right now, who knows... LOL.

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Well hubby is still working on my computer. It means Im without internet a lot but it should be done soon. I miss blogging, but hey, Im getting a lot done around the house.

Im off next week with my mom and the kids to see some relatives in Alabama. I will miss hubby so much that Im really not looking forward to the trip.

I am going Saturday morning to my first ever homeschool used book sale. Im so excited. I have decided Im only taking a set amount of money so that I dont over spend. :)

Well just wanted to update and let you all know why I have not been on lately. Im hoping when I get back from Alabama I will have my very own computer! YAY!

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Well I did it! I lost 5.8 pounds this week, despite being sicker that I have been in a very long time. I am praising the Lord I can tell you because it was only by his grace. I went in just praying I had not gained any weight. Prepared to be excited over numbers that stayed the same from last week. Im excited!

Here is a website I have poured over this week. I absolutly love it. Its  called Five A Day and it is chocked full of amazing information!! Check it out!

Two things I did this week was drink more water and if I had a soda it was a diet root beer or Diet Dr. Pepper or a Crystal Light. Mostly I drank water though. And I ate smaller portions. For instance Sunday night I had one taco and sat back and waited to see if I really wanted another. Nope. Usually I would have two tacos on my plate and then I would eat two tacos.

Any body else making a healthy life style change?

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Ok this does not seem appropriate for a church but we are actually having a weight loss challenge at church and calling it this! LOL. We met for the first time on Monday and will meet every Monday for the next three months. I set my goal weight loss for 30 pounds for this first round. I know it sounds unrealistic 10 pounds a month, but usually I loose the first 10 the first week just flushing out my system with water, so its really only 20 pounds in 3 months. Believe me the math makes sense to me. ;) We will be fellowshiping, encouraging, reading scripture, memorizing scripture, exchanging tips and recipes and excercising. I think it will be fun. We are dividing up into teams and the team with the biggest percentage of loss will be awarded a prize at the end of three months. Also the person with the biggest loss will be given a big prize.

I will keep you updated on progress and also be providing links to helpful information Im finding about weight loss and healthy living. I believe we are to be good stewards of the bodies and I have decided to do that! So.... here goes.

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Well our week of training so far consisted of one day. We have come to some new insights and decisions about schooling and scheduling. I really want to blog about all the stuff from this week, but alas after an 8 hour round trip today Im exhausted. There was a last minute decision that I would go with my mom to pick up my cousins in West Florida today and Im wiped out. :) We leave on Friday afternoon to go to Atlanta for Memorial day weekend. I will try to sign on for a few minutes tomorrow and Friday, but if you dont see anything please check back Tuesday. You guys have been so encouraging over the last few days with emails and comments. Im loving being back to blogging and meeting some new people. Please dont give up on me! LOL

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Ok so I cant seem to homeschool and keep the house clean and train the children in their responsibilities.... the solution? Spend this week training them. This will accomplish keeping the house at least company ready and helping them to learn to keep thier own homes one day (or help thier wives).

Today I took two children at a time and walked them through all thier daily chores. Here are the daily chores:

Playroom/library:

Dust with feather duster - Kelsie

Pick up - Mommy, Adrian, and Tamara

Febreeze - Karly

Bedroom:

Make Bed - All

Pick Up  - All

Dust w/feather duster- Kelsie

Febreeze - Karly

Kitchen:

Dishes - Karly/Tamara

Wipe Counters/Appliances - Kelsie

Sweep - Kelsie

Spot Mop - Karly

Living Room/Dining Room:

Dust w/feather duster - Kelsie

Pickup - Mommy, Tamara, and Adrian

Vaccuum - Karly

Febreeze - Karly

Bathrooms:

Swish Toilet - Kelsie

Wipe sink/counters - Karly

Sweep - Kelsie

Spot Mop - Karly

This week I will work closely with them every day, next week I will be nearby to assist as needed, the week after its up to them to do thier jobs, do it well, and finish on time. I will spend 30m of morning chore time picking up, straightening up, and general puttering with Adrian and Tamara. Then I will spend 30m on preschool with Tamara while the girls finish up thier chores.

Im excited about this schedule. They did well this morning following me and learning. This afternoon we will hit the weekly areas. I need to go and take care of baby so I will blog more about weekly chores later on. TaTa!

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Hmmm... will I forever be a day behind? LOL

In the finances department I am proud to say we just used our tax return to pay off a HUGE chunk of credit card debt that we have had since we were first married. We still owe a pretty penny on it but praise the Lord it should be paid off within a year. Our car should also be paid off in the next 6 months or so and we will be essentially debt free (minus the house). Im looking forward to having a little extra money to do some home improvement projects that really really need to be done. Such as replacing our floors and adding a fence so the kids can play outside. Im trying to learn the art of spending less money at the grocery store. I am trying to make my menus Sunday afternoon using the grocery pages and any worthwhile coupons. We also shop at Sam's Warehouse once every three to four months.

I will use Fridays to map out our "Get Out Of Debt" plan, starting with lowering our food budget and other frugal things. Let me know your tips to save money at the grocery store, please. :)

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Thursdays will be devoted to what Im doing to be a keeper at home. This will include decorating, organizing, decluttering, cooking, sewing.... you get the picture. I am going to open up a place to store pics because Im already out of room on here and would rather not delete the pics of my kids. So as I go I will take pictures and provide a link if you would like to see them.

I plan on working on the playroom/library first. Im going to declutter, organize and paint. I will provide before and after pictures for your enjoyment! LOL

My first plan of attack is to declutter books, movies and toys. In short we have TOO MANY! I tried a box method at Christmas, which I think will work but I have to stay on top of it. And I think we have too many boxes, so I will be pairing down. Im almost tempted to do a box per kid and that child would be responsible for keeping up his/her box. Something to contemplate? Does it sound like it would work? As of right now we have a box per toy... I think we have like 12 boxes. *rolling eyes* of course the toys never stay in their respected boxes. I will let you know how it goes. I will spend 15-30 minutes in there everyday from now until next Thursday taking pictures along the way. I am a woman on a mission!

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Hmmm... as a busy mom who just started homeschooling I have truly been out of the loop in the blogging world. Somehow until my latest issue of TOS came in the mail I was missing the controversy. Today I had the opportunity to read through some stuff. I found myself reading a blog entry for one of the homeschool carnivals that talked about dealing with strong willed children. In it a reference (teeny tiny reference) was made about inflicting pain (spanking) on a child. Of course being curious (or nosey whatever!) I followed some links and came across some blogs that were just tearing HSB and TOS apart. It was ridiculous. Why is we are supposed to be "tolerant" and "accepting" of every one who does not agree with our views but our views are not accepted or tolerated? This to me is a sure sign of immaturity. If you cant take criticism then dont criticize. Simple. For thier part I have to say I have not seen HSB or TOS lash out at those involved in the immature boycott. If the shoe were on the other foot and HSB and TOS were calling for a boycott of people who dont spank or who have a different lifestyle you can bet your bippy there would be a HUGE flame was. YUCK.
Oh well, I will go back to enjoying my children...and I just want to let everyone know Im teaching my children a life of love and grace and mercy, but Im also teaching them to take a stand for the Biblical view of marriage, family, womanhood, manhood, the church, salvation. They are not being raised to be tolerant of ungodliness. Its possible to love the sinner and hate the sin and I want my kids to HATE sin!

PS I want to say before I start a huge controversy, if you dont spank I dont care. I dont judge you. You raise your children how you see fit and I will raise mine how I see fit! :)

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Im actually trying to pare down my blog reading. Easier said than done, especially when I find new ones every day that I just LOVE! This new one will be at the top of my list though and will not be cut out. It is so beautiful and inspirational. I have already decided to redo my bedroom in "granny chic". This is a lovely lady in the Lord and Im having a blast exploring her blog. Its The Sparrow's Nest and I encourage everyone to pop over and visit!

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Ok so around the new year I made a promise to myself I would blog every day about different areas of my life... to hold myself accountable and to glean wisdom from anyone who would share! :) See my post here all about it. Well things happened and I kinda slacked off. These past few weeks/months my blogging has been random to say the least. Well I am missing it so... Immmm baaaaack! I know I know hold the applause! LOL Anyways I just wanted to let everyone to know Im trying to pick up the schedule from the new year. I have added a few more things to my plate as well. Im coordinating VBS this year (looking for veteren advice since its my very first year!) and hubby and I will be leading a LIFE group starting this summer. I am going to try to take 15m every night though and sit down and blog.

Well thats enough rambling. I am going to type up some thoughts from my long neglected A Woman's Call To Prayer by Elizabeth George. I think I will do it in a new post though, because this one is getting too long!

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I am a political junkie. I admit. Throughout the day my sweet hubby will email me links to one article or another and we will banter back and forth about them. I love to browse news sights as well. I dont/wont blog to much about the goings on in the political world because I want my blog to be encouraging, light and non offensive. But when I read the article referenced below I knew I had to say something.

Here is one more reason why I hold President Bush and his family in such high respect. Whether I always agree with him or not I will always respect him. Read about how he reacted to the barbs thrown his way at Mrs. King's funeral (or political rally) here. And while I am at it, Boo to former President Jimmy Carter for acting out.