I've been hesistant in changing blog sources because I like this template from homeschool blog, but I find it's harder for me to add friends since this one only allows homeschool bloggers and not others. I'm sure there's a way with doing html but that would require getting my ds to help out all the time. Plus being able to do other things as well easily.  So I'm changing to this blog Karies slice of heaven  that I've also been using all along the way, but it will be my main blog now.

Karie

Yesterday was Tues, but we ended up letting it be two days worth of stuff to do. Because of the Labor Day weekend, the library was closed so we couldn't do our normal library stuff on Mon.  So Tues morning I get up and find that all the kids are still sleeping including ds R. I need him up to keep an eye on dd S while we take dh to work. So I ge him up then I head downstairs. I, later on, ask dh if he's taking his conference call here at home, or at work. He's taking it at home. I don't generally mind, but it just means that we start our day later since I still have to take him to work, the come home and try and get started.  I'm hoping on the days I don't have the car that we can try and start around 8:30 instead of 9. I find there is a difference of when we start.

So around 8:00 dd N and I take dh to work. Dd S has come down for her chocolate milk and has gone back to sleep. So we are off. After we have dropped him off, I call ds R to have him wake up dd S but she's already awake. Good.

Once we arrive at home, I tell the kids we'll start our morning at 9. After the devotional is over with it's time for a shower for me and the kids to get the books ready.  Around 11:00 we head to the library only to find the parking lot full. I was not expecting this. I figured with public school being on that it would be less crowded. NOT!  So we finally found a spot, after having a few stand offs with some people who apparently had no idea they were holding up traffic. We headed to the library and proceeded with our normal routine. However, our favorite librarian was there today so I was kind of trying to catch up on things with her. Most of the librarians are very nice, but this one goes the extra mile by actually being willing to chat with you and being interested in your life. The others are polite, but that's about it. Oh well, that's fine.

We then get our books and get ready to leave. I tell the kids that this is the last time we head to the 3 separate locations for lunch. The next time we do library we will just be sticking to McD's. They seem fine with that. Ds R decides that since it will be his last time, that he wants a 12 inche sub instead of just 6. So I give in and do so. Lots of sandwich. lol

We arrive home and it is now the Tues routine.  After eating lunch, dd N reminds me that both older kids need showers since they have their church classes that evening. Oh yeah. Dd N is now 12 and in young women's, so looks like the whole family will be going Tues evenings now.  The reason dd S and I go is because I have a sign language class I teach. It's only basics but it's fun.

Pretty soon it's time to get dh from work so we all pile into the car. The road construction in downtown is finally starting to show signs of being done.  I know the roads really needed it after last winter, but it's still nice to be able to drive our regular route again. We pick up dh and then head home.  Once home I get dinner fixed and then we head to church. Seems a lot of people are running late due to fall schedules happening once again. I don't mind this time of yr, but so not looking forward to more snow. We had soo much snow last yr (record 99 inches in our town) that I just don't want anymore for awhile.

My signing class was a bit noisy due to one of the sisters needs the couch to sit on so this means we have to stay in the foyer.  There were 3 brethren who were chatting, but since one of the sisters is hearing sensitive we asked them to move down the hallway. I think next week we'll go to the other foyer since no one hardly ever goes there. I felt bad making these brothers move.

Finally it's time to head home. Need to get the kids to bed so that ds R can get up for seminary. We'll see how his first morning goes. Last yr he was up and at them, but after a few weeks it was hard to get him up. He is a morning person, but not always wanting to get up for seminary.  So kids are in bed and quiet time for dh and I.

Karie

Kariesplace

Because we had a 3 day long weekend, I didn't blog on Mon so I'm somewhat behind in my blogging.  I'll see what I can do to remember the weekend.

Fri was another lazy day at home. Didn't need the car and we didn't do structured school. I keep telling dd N that even though I'm not giving out assignments, that doesn't mean we're not learning.  One day she'll get it. :)  Well like I said, most of  Fri was just being home. I did do some cleaning and putting away of things.  Did laundry and dishes(again). The girls did really good playing together with the occassional wanting to play with ds R.

Around 5:30 dh came home and rested for a bit.  I had visiting teaching to do that night so I prepared dinner for the family, then my companion came to get me.  We were traveling a bit this time, and with dh on call he might need the car so my companion offered to drive. Thank goodness. We arrived at our sisters house, but it took several wrong turns to get there. We had a nice visit then looking at the clock, we realized we needed to get home.  Once home, I found the girls and dh playing dominoes. Dh was doing ok so I felt good we left when we did. Proceeded to put the kids to bed and the rest of the evening was ours.

Sat was spent home again.  With dh on call we just don't plan on being anywhere or doing anything.  The morning was spent being lazy and waiting for everyone to wake up. Finally was able to get the family up and going. The morning was again spent being lazy. I figure come Wed it'll be back to getting up early due to seminary.  So I guess we all just wanted to relax.  We did receive a phone call from dd S's primary teacher about their trip to the zoo that morning. I told her that dd S had already gone to the zoo last Mon for dd N's birthday. Told her to have fun and we'd see them on Sun.

For me the day was spent cleaning up the house(once again), washing bedding. It had been waaay too long (pew) and needed it.  Especially ds R's since he's a teen. So I strip the beds and take them to the wash. I then mention to dh that as soon as he's done in the shower, I will start the laundry.  I then go about doing some other chores and watching the girls. They are outside on the swingset mostly being good. They keep wanting brother to come out and play, and sometimes I make him.  He does good to go out when he's supposed to mostly. lol

Later on dh approached me about going to the store to purchase some milk and other items. But due to main street and a few others downtown being closed for the Harley Davidson(yes motorcycle)party I had to go a different route. No biggie since I had been that way before. Took all 3 kids since I needed to have the calm company of ds if I were to go the wrong route. I didn't, but it's always nice to have him along when I have dd S.  When we arrive we found dd S's teacher there with her dd. They were doing their weekly shopping. We chatted for a bit then went our separate ways.  We arrived home to find dh not doing much. Spent the rest of the evening getting ready for Sun.  Helped dd S with her talk for primary. She talked about temples and we what do in them. She did really good.  Bedtime for kids.

Sunday was our normal get ready for church. Headed out around 11:40 since dh had his weekly meeting to attend. Once we arrived, I set about getting the ward bulletin(program) copied so we'd have it for church.  Sacrament meeting was regular stuff.  Today dd N was going into young women's(organization for the youth ages 12-up to hear stuff about their age group and how to handle life at this age).  So she was excited. (sorry the information link wasn't working on this one.).  The adult class 18- up met in the chapel(main meeting room) for all the classes. Dd S had her talk to give, so once church was almost over I snuck out and went to listen to dd. She was a bit nervous but once we got the talk out, she did great.  2 moms commented on how a 4yr could already read without help. We just grinned.

Arrived home and had dinner. We were all hungry.  We spent the rest of the evening just relaxing. Guess we're gearing up for a busy week this coming week lol. 

Mon was Labor Day, but due to dh being on call we couldn't plan anything or go anywhere. I had wanted to invite some friends earlier on in the month, or go to friend's home, but couldn't. At least the kids were good and played nice most of the day.  Did clean up around the house especially in the kitchen. Things were getting kind of sticky. Dh decided that evening that we needed to do something fun for that day. So we all piled into the car and got gas, then picked up chicken and accessories for dinner. Got home and watched Pirates of the Caribean(sp?) with dinner. It was a bit slow to start, but after it got started it was pretty good. Dd S was a bit hesistant and after a bit wanted to play some computer games, so I got her started on those while we watched more of the show. 

After a bit she wanted to come in and play some games while we watched. She eventually joined us for the ending of the movie. It was mostly silly with a few scary parts, but overall a good movie. Then it was time for the kids to head to bed. School starts for public schoolers so we'll have the library to ourselves tomorrow finally.  Now quiet time for dh and I. Ahhh!

Karie

Kariesplace  

Thurs was a pretty boring day, the kind of day I like after having several in row of going here and there.  I was considering doing school, but by the time dh left for work, it just wasn't worth it. Our morning started out with dh getting up at 7 and needing to use this computer to do some work.  So I got up and started to relax on the couch nearby.  After a few min I realized that my stomach was growling so into the kitchen I went to get me some homemade bread and chocolate milk.  Sat down in the school room  near dh and ate my breakfast. By 7:30 I was done so I just sat back and relaxed and doozed.  Waking only for a bit every once in awhile. By 8:15 I realized that none of the kids were up so off I went to wake the bunch.

Ds was the easiest since all I had to tell him was it was after 8 and he decided he needed to get up. Dd S had woken up earlier in the morning with one of dh's phone calls from work and came in to cuddle. Dd N was still in bed and a bit harder to wake.  She always is. I'm thinking next Sun evening I'm going to have all the kids head to bed a bit earlier since all the public school kids will be starting Tues.  Eventually dd N woke and started stretching in bed so I headed to my room to wake dd S up. After a couple of min of giving her small cuddles I suggested she might be interested in some chocolate milk. Boy the grin on her face lol. By this time ds R was up and headed downstairs. Dd N was up as well. So we all headed down the stairs. Dh was still doing work stuff so I told the kids to be quiet and the girls watched some pbs shows.  Ds R went online and I went back to the couch to snooze a bit.

By 10 am dh was ready to head to work.  By this time the girls were up and playing upstairs so I gathered them together to say bye to daddy.  Then I said my goodbyes and walked him to the door.  I then told the kids that we would have our devotional in a few min. They pleaded to have me wait until 10:30. Well what's 30 min more. So I said fine.

After the devotional, it was almost close to lunch time. Did a bit of cleaning up, but not much. Had ds R work on our homeschool groups website. The calendar hasn't been working so I had him fix it.  I told him I wanted what we had the last time. So he reinstalled the last calendar that had been there.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with me getting laundry settled and the dishes getting washed. We actually had run out of big plates that were usable and on Wed I had the kids using paper plates. Normally we run out of cups but not this time.

Later in the afternoon I had the kids go outside for a bit. They had been inside all morning mostly being good, but I felt they needed some fresh air. The weather lately has been somewhat eratic meaning in the morning somewhat chilly and by mid to late afternoon it's been in the high 80's.  So in the mornings we've been sticking one of our square  fans into the window facing outward so the air inside gets blown outside. Then we've had a fan between the dining room and school room blowing in and the door in the frontroom open so the cooler air outside gets blown in.  It makes more sense if you saw how our house was laid out.

Pretty soon the kids are wanting back inside so I said fine.  I kept waiting for dh to come home somewhat early since he had worked many more hours since coming home yesterday. But he ended up coming home regular hours.  But he must have been busy because I had emailed him several things yesterday and had gotten no response. One of the emails was askind dh if we could have the free pool our friends were giving away. They are moving and trying to get rid of as much stuff as possible before the move. I had told my friend that dh was very busy, and that if she didn't hear back from me by 9pm to give to the next person. She apparently knows I really want it because she's willing to give me this weekend to get a chance to ask. Also,her move date went from this Wed to another week due to the other house not being ready yet.  So hopefully dh will have a more settled day tomorrow (or today) and I can approach him again.

Well, as I'm looking at the title of my post, I'm chuckling because apparently some things must have happened. lol So anyway, dh comes home just as I'm getting dinner settled. He greets everyone then heads upstairs to rest for awhile. The kids and I eat dinner alone, which is mostly have we do it lately. I then remind the kids that in a bit I will be doing some visiting teaching with my companion that evening so ds R and dd N need to watch dd S while I'm gone.

My companion comes a bit after our scheduled time. She ran into snags downtown. There's a biker party going on this weekend and most of downtown(which is relatively small) is closed to 4 wheel traffic. Glad I don't need the car the rest of the week. So anyway my friend and I go out and visit with one of our sisters. We arrive home a bit later than I said, but that seems to be the norm when I go out visiting.

I get the kids all settled and watching a video. Then prayer time and bedtime. This night dd S is having a hard time getting to sleep.  Must be the warm evening we are having. Well, after several times of dd N coming down to say dd S wants me, ds R decides to have a talk with dd S and she settles. I surely appreciate ds R.

Eventually bedtime comes. So ready.

Karie

Kariesplace

Yesterday we had the car so we could go to park day.  And this particular park day was being considered a sad goodbye to some friends of ours.  So let me start at the beginning.

Took dh to work early which meant I got home early.  However, our little city is hosting a Harley Davidson weekend so the streets were littered with bikes, cops cars and party places.  It was fun driving home. As I arrived home I see ds R coming outside with dd S still asleep.  He said he thought I wanted him to make sure she woke up somewhat early so she would sleep that night. I told him thanks for being thoughtful, but she could sleep a bit more. 

As I'm getting ready for the morning, I tell ds R that we'll start out morning around 9:30 since dd N came in late last night and I'm going to let her sleep until 9.  So eventually we start our moning. I tell all the kids that after the devotional is over and I shower, we're headed to Walmart to pick up some things.  I was going to also bake some cookies when we got back, but looking at the time I realized we wouldn't have time to do that and eat lunch, so I bought some packages of cookies to take with us. We wanted to take a treat for everyone so we could have a goodbye celebration for our friends.

Once we get home, I have the kids get their lunch, then the girls and I head out to the park. Once we get there we discover there are already 6 moms there. This is great!  Normally in the past we've had 3 to 5 moms show up. Lots of these are some new moms that just recently joined the group. We let the kids play and we just chat with some interruptions from the kids. We then decide we need to get some photos of the kids and the family.  So off and on some of us moms are up and about getting some photos of some of the kids.

When it was time to go home, we had all the kids that wanted to, sit down by the playground and pose for some pictures. We wanted to have this memory. I think if they are able to come next Wed, I will  try and get one of their family.  We will miss them. 

As I'm heading home, I'm seeing that I will just arrive at home in time to pick up ds R and head to dh's work to pick him up.  So at 4pm I call from my cell phone telling him where I am. I then call ds R to let him know dad might call.  Funny, just as we arrive and head to the door, dh calls. He's ready so we get ourselves ready and head out the door again, this time with ds R.  As we're picking him up he tells us he has a call to make when he gets home and some work to do.

We get home, he heads to his work station and I start making dinner. The kids go play for a bit until I call them. After dinner they play some more.  Dd S wants to go outside and play so I convince dd N to go out and play with chalk.  They both go out but eventually want me out with them. So we all head out.  While out there, I'm trying to get dd S to get some energy out so she will sleep tonight.  She pretty much just says she doesn't want to do much other than the chalk.  She does agree after we're done with the chalk to go for a ride around the block on bikes.  So we do that and then inside.

It's now close to 9 pm and time to get kids ready for bed. Dd S does pretty good but still doesn't really want to go. Eventually after several hugs and kisses she's down.  I also manage to get the other two to bed.  At this time dh is still doing work stuff.  He says he might be there for a bit. However, as I'm done online I ask if he's going to be up all night. He makes a few phone calls and finds he is able to head to bed.  So dh and me time.

Karie

Kariesplace

Tues evening was dd N's first activity in the young women's and boy was she excited.  Let's start from the beginning of the day first.

Woke up with ds R already on the computer since 5:30. That used to be normal, but lately he's been sleeping in so I guess he's growing up as well.  Not sure I like that. I like having him be up early so I don't have to.  OH well, got to deal with life.  So anyway, I'm online doing my journal and realize that time has gone by and I need to get off so dh can have on for a bit before work. He comes down, has breakfast and then leaves for work.

Later that morning we're having our devotional and getting started for the day. I tell the kids that one of our homeschool moms is having a FREE garage sale and I'm going to try and go if I can find a ride.  I do so after the devotional, I go up and shower.  Eventually my friend shows and dd N and I go.  Ds R and dd S stay home. I'm learning you just don't take a 4 yr to garage sales.  So we get there and 90% of the stuff is gone and it's only 11am. We're told a few min later that a family of 6 kids showed up at 9am in a van and just loaded the van up with whatever they could carry. So most of the good stuff was gone. I did manage to find a couple of small items, but nothing exciting. Did visit with another friend while there. Eventually I realized we needed to get home, and besides we would see these friends at park day on Wed.

Arrived home and found ds R and dd N outside waiting for us.  Dd S was pretty good girl, so that's good. We all had lunch, then since both older kids were going to be leaving that evening for their church activities, I encouraged them both to play with youngest dd since she wouldn't see them until either tomorrow(Wed) or that evening at bedtime. 

Did some housework and other stuff. Eventually it was time to get the kids ready to leave. Had ds R shower while dd N played for a bit. Then encouraged ds R to eat since they wouldn't be eating on their activity.  After a bit we heard the doorbell ring. All puzzled looks since it wasn't time for anyone to be picked up yet.  Turns out ds R's ride was there early.  The father of one of ds R's friends was picking him up, but the friend forgot to call ds. Oh well, guess that's normal. So ds R leaves a bit early but that's ok.

Now it's 5 pm and dd N needs to get ready. She's really excited about this activity. After she's showered and such, she's ready to go. Her ride ended up being about 15 min late, but they have the same car situation that we do, only one car so she had to pic up her dh, then drop him off with her kids before coming to get dd N. So they left around 5:45 for the evening.  Just before she showed up, dh drove up in the driveway and a few seconds later dd N's ride came.

Once they were gone, it was just dd S, dh and I. We went inside to dd S could greet daddy. I did a couple of quick chores and then watched the two of them build with legos for a bit.  That last 20 to 30 min and then dd wanted to go upstairs and play tent. That's a game where they tie her sheets up to the top bunk bed and have a tent covering the bottom bed.  But unfortunately, their room was a bit messy and dh wouldn't be able to move anywhere so I suggested a walk.  Eventually dh even said let's go for a walk, so all 3 of us went. The chat was uneventful until we walked up the driveway and saw our neighbor coming home from work. Chatted with her for 20 or so min then she excused herself to go eat and relax. Dh and I walked into the backyard after I mentioned there was an animal hole in the backyard. So we went to inspect it.  We then inspected our dry garden and watered it more.

Eventually dh went inside for dinner and I encouraged dd S to draw with chalk.  So we did that for awhile until it got dark. Then inside for a snack and video. Eventually ds R arrived home from his activity. He said it was ok, but nothing exciting. Oh well, that's how things have been with him lately.  Guess he's going through a boring phase in life. He did chat and tell me all the things the guys have been doing lately and I'm glad he hasn't been invited to any of their hangouts. Apparently they have been getting into things and got caught by the police. Luckily they didn't get arrested but were warned about their naughty behavior. But apparently the parents were notified and so all the boys have been given punishment of some kind or another.

So now we're sitting on the couch waiting on dd N when the phone rings. It's her asking us if she can stay a bit longer. Dh answers and says yes.  So around 9pm it's time to put dd S to bed. So I get her ready and then head downstairs. She's getting really easy now to put to bed since I don't have to sit in her room and wait till she falls asleep. I just give he a hug and kiss and then leave. Now she has no one to play with or talk to so she gives in to sleep.

Eventually ds R heads to bed as well. He says he will try and stay awake until dd N gets home. So while he's reading and listening to his music, I head to the computer and surf around. Finally 10:15 arrives and I mention to dh I might want to call. Just then a van pulls up and it's them. She heads out of the van and runs towards me. I brace myself because she's coming full force. lol I give her a hug and thank for adul leaders for giving her a ride. We chat for a bit then say goodbyes. She chats with me for a bit longer before heading to bed exhausted. More info tomorrow. So now all 3 kids are in bed and quiet time for dh and I.

Karie

Kariesplace  

Yesterday was a good day. It was oldest dd N's 12 birthday, which in our faith is a big deal.  She now gets to go to young women's.  This means she's growing up and learning how to slowly become an adult.  She's excited now, but up until about a month ago, was very nervous.  Now she's excited. 

Well, let me start from Sunday evening activity. Just before bedtime we decorted the house a bit. Dh blew up balloons and I put streamers up.  I wasn't in the best of moods to do this, but I knew it needed to be done for her. After that we went to bed.

Mon morning I'm up early trying to get my journal done before anyone else wakes up. Dh has the day off to spend with us as a family. Around 7am dd S wakes up and is excited to see all the decorations. "Mommy," she says, " it's sisters birthday and she's 12!"  "It sure is", I tell her.  She gets her morning chocolate milk and goes back to sleep.

A bit later dh wakes up and I end up having to wake up ds R so he can get her flyer done. I tried doing it the night before but jus wasn't getting it right.  So anyway, ds R finally gets up and gets working on the flyer. Dh does his usual morning conference call, then gets up to fix dd N's french toast she requested.  I go up and proceed to wake up dd N for her day.  This morning doesn't take too long since as soon as I said "it's your birthday" she popped up out of bed lol. Got up pretty promptly and headed downstairs.

Pretty soon dh had breakfast ready and so we ate. We then had our devotional to which dd N was in charge of getting it started.  She wanted to surprise her daddy by stating she would be saying the prayer. Now I know you're thinking, she's 12 and saying a prayer shouldn't be all that big of a deal. But it has been with her since she doesn't like to say much in public even with family. So this was nice.

After the devotional we proceeded to get ready for the morning.  I went up and showered while the kids got their books and videos ready.  Then we all headed to the library. Dh wanted to go along so he could get some errands done, so he dropped us off and headed out. As we entered and were getting our books put away, we bumped into one of our church friends.  It was one of the young women leaders and she wished dd N happy birthday.  Dd N just beamed. lol

Then we continued with the rest of our library stuff. As we're getting our stuff ready to check out, I remember to call dh that we're ready. He's on his way as he does a couple more things.  Once we're finished we head downstairs to find dh there and checking out some books.  Dh then tells me we're not headed home, we'll just get some lunch and proceed with our day.  So we head to McD's for lunch, then to the zoo. We decide to check out parts of the zoo that we haven't seen in awhile.  We check out the giraffe's and see that the zoo workers are letting some people feed the animals. We all chuckle at the looks of EW coming from the children who are feeding the giraffe's.  My kids are not interested in doing this, just watching. We then head off to look at other animals. Even though we've just been to the zoo last April, we still had fun. We saw the polar bear doing some interesting moves and a brown grizzly bear sticking his butt at me and peeing. GROSS!  What a time to pick to watch the animal. Dh thought that was funny.

Close to closing time we head to the train area. Both girls wanted to ride it and the merry go round. So we head in that direction.  Dh decides to join us. Usually in the past when we've had the stroller, dh has stayed behind. But lately since we don't have it he joins us. That's been nice for us as a family. So dh joins us but since ds R decides to sit opposite the girls, dh has no place to sit so him and I sit in the next area.  As we're riding, both girls are sticking their heads out just slightly do dh gets some good photos. After the train ride, dd S decides she wants to ride the merry go round so dd N decides she wants to as well. This means that either dh or ds has to go with dd S. I can't due to ear problems which when I go round and around I get major dizzy. So ds R decides to be nice and go with dd S. We got some cute photos. Then the ride is over and we decide to head to miniature golf. We were, at first, going to eat dinner and then do the golf, but since most of us aren't quite ready for dinner, we opt to golf. Thank goodness because later on it cooled off greatly.

So we're at miniature golf and having fun. This place is a new one and it has water at every stand. At first I'm thinking that's dumb. But then dh realizes that the water is only 1 ft deep. Ok that's fine.  So at this time I'm doing much better than I normally do.  We're all having fun and such. Then we're done with the game and head to the car for dinner. Dh reads us the scores and I can't believe what he has just told us.  I BEAT EVERYONE! I've NEVER gotten first place with golf.  I even beat dh which I NEVER do! I told the kids and dh that I wanted to keep that score card lol.

So now we head to dinner to our favorite buffet place, New China. We occassionally try other buffet places, but this one has our most favorite foods. And we must have gotten dd S very hungry because her normal eating is 2 to 3 small pieces of chicken and some french fries. Tonight she has eaten about 8 piece of chicken. She did very well. After we eat, we head outside and like I said earlier, it has cooled down considerably. BURR!

We arrive home and get the cake ready for singing.  Then present time. She has received many craft and painting things. This should be fun. She's also gotten a hoola hoop and candy and some jewelry. Nice stuff and she's happy. We then eat cake. Prayer time then settling by watching a video for the evening. Put kids to bed and thankfully dd S is very tired. After a bit I'm headed to bed. I find myself falling asleep before dh gets up there. He was downloading the pictures online. I was just too tired for any cuddling.  I'll make up for it Tues evening. :)

Karie

Kariesplace

Fri was a normal day except we didn't do any formal school work. Ds R needed to get his report done so after our devotional, he got started right away.  While I showered the girls played nicely.  Nothing too exciting happened.

Sat was the start of the busy day. I got up and showered somewhat early, at least for a Sat. I was going to be going out with my df D to do some shopping for our annual block party. So I got the girls up around 8 so that they would have time to wake up before mom left for the morning. A bit after 9 she pulled up in the driveway and I left. We headed to the Dollar store first. Actually found lots of things.  I even got a few things for dd S for school.  We then headed for Target to see what was there.  Not a whole lot more, but I did manage to find a few more things there, again for dd S.  Found a set of plastic cups that dh might like so I called to ask him. They were out and about searching for dd S's cake.

Arrived home knowing that they were gone. Kind of a weird feeling having the house to myself for a bit. After 30 min they arrived home having found a cake for dd N and ordered it from Sam's Club.  We then got dd S showered and ready for her first birthday party.  It was a princess and balerina party so she was dressed as a princess. She was so excited and a bit nervous. There were only 5 girls invited, but several had a few siblings which were there also so it meant lots of kids.

We arrived at the party right on time and just in front of another guest.  They had treasure chests for the girls to decorate while they waited on the other guests so that's what dd S did for a bit. She did a great job.  Once all the guests showed up, we then went into the family room to learn some dance steps from a young man who was learning dance. He did a great job, but I think after 30 min of just quiet dance steps and not really knowing some of the people, dd S started looking bored.  So thankfully they moved on to cake and ice cream.

After the cake and ice cream they opened gifts and boy the confusion at one point.  Thing did eventually settle down.  Once the gifts were done they did a pinata'. They had the kids line up smallest to tallest(with birthday girl in the front, of course). Each child was allowed one swing and the older siblings were also allowed in.  Lots of good hits, but no one even cracked the pinata'. So they let the kids line up one more time and this time they were allowed 3 hits. Dd S cracked it good on her 3rd hit which spilt some candy. The mom then popped it open the rest of the way. I dove in to help dd S because she was over whelmed with all the kids around her. Even some of the older kids gave her some candy.

Once that was over with we needed to head home.  One of dh's co-workers was having a party at her home that afternoon so we needed to get going for that.  Dd S and I arrived at home around 2:30 and after a brief explanation of what happened, headed upstairs to get ready. We left shortly after arriving at the party around 3.  It was slow going at first. A lot of sun in the backyard so we did the best we could to find shade. Dh grabbed our chairs and we found some spots to sit. After the introductions were made, we all just kind of sat around. After a bit the hostess invited the girls to join her dd and another girl playing her room with dolls. Dh joined them for a bit so that dd S wouldn't feel too over whelmed considering she'd already been to one noisy event. 

After a bit of chatting and mostly listening to the other guests chat, dh finally came back outside to join us. We again just sat around chatting. I had dh get our drinks since it was getting really warm.  Eventually they started serving small refreshments while we were chatting. Yummy stuff. Eventually some of the kids wanted to go swimming, so my girls also wanted to go. I had ds R go in with Dd S since she still needed assistance. She was only in the water for about 20 min before she wanted out. She told me ds R wasn't holding her the right way and so she was tired.

Eventually we needed to get dd N out since most of the kids were already out and we were waiting on dinner.  Then dinner was served and it was good. The rest of the evening was just more chatter and since the other guests were drinking alcoholic drinks they were starting to get a bit giggly and silly, although not too bad.  Finally around 8:30pm we all started gathering our chairs and such to head home.  Said our thank you's and goodbyes to the hostess and left. Dd S was singing away the whole way home. I kept hoping she would fall asleep, but I think overall she's past that stage.

Sun morning came and it was time to get started on church preparations.  Dh and ds also had some hometeaching to do.  Finally time to head to church. Overall nothing too exciting except we did have a family who did a special music number and they did great. After church we were invited to attend a seminary meeting on this coming new yr for seminary. I wasn't able to attend last yrs due to my last calling, but apparently not much else had changed from last yr. So afterwards we left for home. Had dinner and the girls then played for awhile. Dh and ds R had another home teaching to do. 

Finally it was time to put kids to bed and have quiet time to ourselves.  I had forgotten, however, that we still needed to decorate the house. So dh started blowing up balloons and I started putting up decorations. I was going to do a flyer, but just wasn't in the mood so ended up doing decorations. We then headed to bed.  Tomorrow will be a long but good day.

Karie

Kariesplace

not really sure what to title this one, so I'll just let it go for now by helping start my sentence.  Yesterday dh did his conference call from home. No biggie since it was over around 8.  Had just enough time to wake up oldest dd N with the help of youngest dd S. As we were waking her dh whistled up that he was leaving so that got dd N up without me having to wait.

Started our morning routine(after breakfast)with the devotional and then decided to shower. Ds R was going to be working on his eagle report getting it situtated so he can show it to his scout master.  So all morning he was getting it presentable.  The girls were playing nicely with their toys and with ds doing his stuff, I just got lazy and we did no school or at least no structured school.  Ds R was still doing some and the girls were using their imaginations so we did learn something.

Around lunchtime we stopped what we were doing and ate. I called my friend, who would be taking me to a meeting that night, to make sure she was still on. Then had lunch and let the girls go outside and play. trying to get all of dd S's wiggles out so she'll sleep again at night like she did last night. After a bit I had ds R take a break and go outside as well. Pretty soon they were running around the house again.

Eventually I remembered that I needed to do laundry and so I had the kids sort through their stuff and help take baskets downstairs.  Got it started and then the dishes. Eventually dh arrived home and I got dinner ready. Nothing fancy like last night. Last night I made my newest creation but unfortunately didn't get it done in time before dh had to leave for a meeting so tonight I had made something a bit simpler for dh.  We had warmed up ham with side dish leftovers. Nothing fancy but the kids love it. The dish I made yesterday is rolled biscuits in a can flattened out and small pieces of cooked chicken with cheese was put in the middle after smashing it out. Then  cook for 9 min or until it's just a golden brown. Yummy when eaten warm. Ds loved them.

Around 6:30 went upstairs to let dh know I was leaving with my friend. He told me the kids and himself were probably going to go to Sam's Club and to write a list. I did, and then left. We arrived pretty early but Iike doing that versus getting there right on time and having nowhere to sit.  The meeting was good, but a bit long. They had a brother who teaches seminary and public school who wrote a book on the presidents of the U.S. come speak to us. The theme of our meeting was "going back to school". The sisters who were in charge had asked for school photos of long ago for a project they were working on so I emailed mine in. What they did with them was stick  them on a board, and see if we could figure out who everyone was. Pretty interesting.

Then we had "lunchtime" served in the "cafeteria" before classes started. I didn't read the card well that they handed out or I wouldn't have eaten dinner. They were serving dinner there and it looked yummy but I was stuffed from dinner already. I did manage to swallow some fruit cocktail but that was all.  We were then assigned which classes to go to, but the 2 sisters I was sitting with decided to "skip" those classes so I joined them. We just chatted then around 8:30 decided to head home. Dh was probably going nuts with the kids or at least with dd S. I called to let them know I was heading home

Once home I found dd S playing fishy with one of her sewing toys. After I said hi to everyone and talked a bit about the nights events, we had prayer and then got the kids ready for bed. I retold dd S that again I would do all the things we normally did for bedtime and then sit in the hallway while she went to bed. This night she didn't seem to want to sleep, so after about 10 min I told her I was going downstairs and would see her in the morning. She eventually fell asleep but it was after 10 because I put dd N to bed around 10 and dd S was still awake. But at least she had stayed in her room so that was good.

Now quiet time for dh and I.

Karie

Kariesplace  

This morning when I got up was normal. Did my blogging and then woke up ds R so he could be awake when dh and I left to take dh to work. Well, dh comes down once showered and dressed and informs me he's going to take his 7:45 call at home. No problem since usually those only take 10 to 15 min. This call took 45 min so we didn't leave at the regular time. Around 8 I decide to wake up dd N since dh is still in the middle of his call. I have been leaving both girls at home with ds R since dd N is usually hard to wake up and in the process I usually end up waking dd S. Thankfully this morning dd N was easy to wake up since all I had to say to her was "do you want to come with while I take dad to work". She immediately sat up lol.

Once dd N came down I told her to watch a bit of cartoon while we waited for dh to finish. We ended up not leaving until 8:45 which meant I didn't get home until almost 9(stopped for some stamps). That meant we didn't start school until 10. Basically it was a domino affect.  Our devotionals started at 10, we ended at 10:40, I showered and ended at 11:00 and we needed to do some birthday shopping for dd S' friends party for this Sat, so around 11:15 we all piled into the car having done no school work. Got the gift and headed home with the kids commenting about being hungry.  They convinced mom(didn't need much convincing lol) to stop off at McD's for french fries and drinks. Then home and had a bit more lunch.

Around 1:15 the girls and I left for the park leaving instructions for ds R to finish his eagle report and get it presentable.  We arrived at the park and found 2 other new moms plus a regular mom there already. We ended up with 6 or 7 moms at the park.  The regular mom is moving the end of Aug and will be missed.  They are moving to AZ.  It was really nice to meet some of the new moms who have recently joined the group. I think it's interesting how over 4yrs ago my family and I joined the group as a young family with kids ages 10 ds, 7 dd, and 5 month dd.  The group was newly formed a yr or two earlier so young families which is what we needed. Now 6yrs later and 4 yrs later for us, my family has grown age wise(and physical wise with ds and dd N getting waaaay tall) and a new batch of moms with young children coming in. Amazing how life does that. So we get a fresh brew of younguns.

Just before leaving the park I call ds R to see how his report is. He complains that I didn't have my phone turned on, but I did. Unfortunately, my phone only vibrates and unless I'm holding it, I won't know it's ringing. I asked him what the issues was and he said he needed me to stop off at the store to pick up a new binder. I asked him why since we already had 4 or 5 from when we first started homeschooling and weren't using those anymore. He said he couldn't get the top paper out of the front so he could add his eagle report.  I told him I would help him once I got home.

We arrived home and I immediately was able to take most of the papers out.  The only one left was the one in the spine which he eventually managed to get out at bedtime.  In the meantime, the girls are playing while we wait to pick up dh from work.  Eventually we do and head home. Dh has a church meeting at 6:30 so I'm hoping the dinner plans I have make it in time. Unfortunately they don't and dh ends up having cereal instead. I feel bad since he was tired and hungry.  Next time I will plan some of the dinner ahead of time should he have this meeting again. 

After dinner dh left for his meeting and the kids and I went outside. I was trying to wear out dd S so she would go to sleep easy this night.  I had ds R and dd N outside having her run around the house, literally, 40 or 50 times. Then they ran and climbed around the swingset.  Ds R and dd N did a great job.  Dh came home a bit later and was watching the kids play for a bit then headed inside. Still tired but feeling a bit better.  I watered the garden which consists of beans, tomatoes, some now wilted lettuce and some tired looking squash which finally produced one squash. I'm hoping it will continue to do well since it's still growing.  Last yr we had one or two but they rotted before it was time to pick. We've had luck this yr with beans, lettuce and finally tomatoes.  Overall considering that we planted the garden about a month and a half late, we did pretty good.

Bedtime came and go ready. I sat dd S down to explain to her that tonight I was going to do all the same stuff with her, brush her teeth, potty, read, listen to her pray, but then after I tucked her in I was going to head out in the hallway and sit instead of cuddling with her. Dh and I have decided that she's definitely way old enough to go to sleep on her own. With how her bed is situated, she's able to look up through her head board and see me sitting there. Thankfully she was tired from all the running and feel to sleep pretty good. Eventually the older 2 went to bed as well.

Quiet time for dh and I.

Karie

Kariesplace

Well, just like the title says, just another Tues. The only thing different was dh took a call from home before he left at 8:30.  Then he was gone to work. Ds R didn't get up for a bit, so I finally woke up him around 7:30.  Dd S woke up around the same time so she had her drink and then cuddled back to sleep again. Dd N slept until 8 when I woke her.  She's a hard one to wake up. I'm thinking once we start back full time for school stuff that she's going to go to bed a bit earlier. We'll see what happens.

So Tues we start our day at 9, the ds R decides that instead of math, he's going to work on his eagle report.  Since that's something I've been after him for a bit to do, I agreed.  So with instructions to the girls I head upstairs to shower. Once I'm done, I see the girls are doing well. Ds R is having a hard time figuring out something on his report.  He's not sure how much further to go on a particular part so he's switched to another part, the photos of his project. I kid him that he really didn't do much. But he tells me he's emailed his scout master and is awaiting a reply. I told him that woudn't come until tonight since his scout master works.  Pretty much he got what he could get done(not a whole lot) and then helped watch dd S while dd N and I worked on her math. She's doing well and is finally getting some of her math.  I'm hoping that by the time we start full time she will be able to do 2 lessons a week on Wed and Thurs.

Lunch time comes and dd S wants to play. I tell her that after everyone has their lunch she can get either brother or sister to go out side. Eventually I get all 3 kids outside playing. They don't seem to be doing much outside but talking. That's not what is going to get dd S to sleep well tonight.  She needs to be running around playing. Guess we'll have to see about that later today.

Later in the afternoon I realize I need to get some chores done, but not feeling up to it. Thankfully, I listened to the spirit that kept at me and finally got up. Both bathrooms were looking(and smelling) pretty bad and needed some help. Normally when dd S takes a bath I clean it, but lately she's been wanting showers so I can't do it then.  So I got them done, and then folded and put away clothes. 2 major things. Also baked some cookies for dd N to take to her last Faith in God class. Luckily she did because no one else had brought any.  She was thrilled that she had.

Dh arrived home around 5:30 and relaxed with the girls for a bit while they watched their show. Got dinner going and eaten.  Slowly got the kids ready to head to our various classes at church. Ds had scouts, dd N had her Faith in God, dh had a meeting with another brother and dd S and I had our signing class. So all were busy. We left to get there around 6:40. Arrived just in time. All the kids scampered off while dd S and I sat on the couch to wait for our ladies to come. Eventually they arrived.

The class went ok, but lots of interruptions. We do our class on the couch in the foyer since one of the ladies needs a couch like chair to sit on so anytime someone walked in (which seemed like a lot) we got interrupted.  We did manage to review for her the abc's, color and a few other signs. She's really a sweet sister, just very forgetful. But overall we had fun. Although dd S was very wiggly and didn't want to sit still. Kept wanting to bug mommy by whispering in my ear or climbing on my chair. Guess that was because she didn't get enough of the wiggles out during the day. Thankfully we did get a bit done so that was good.

While we were at the church, ds was seen talking with his scout master about what he needs to do. YES!  I'm even willing to forgo his math today if he will JUST GET IT DONE!  His scout master was smiling at me(I had sent him an email telling him I'm glad he was also on ds R case) and talking with ds. He's 97% done with the report.

Finally it was time to head home, but dd S was being a straight up stinker and not minding. She finally settled once we got home(which meant a long drive). Said prayers then read a bit then prayers for the girls and bedtime. Dd S was just not ready so we ended up spending 30 min trying to get her to sleep. She just wasn't tired.  Finally got her out and went downstairs only to have dd N tell me she's ready. Finally all the kids in bed. SIGH!  Quiet time.

Karie

Kariesplace

Well the title somewhat explains our day on Mon. Lately, on the days I take the car, we've been leaving dd S home with ds R because it's easier not to wake her then to wake her and have her grumpy the rest of the day.  It started about 2 months ago when were watching a friends' son for a few nights and we realized that we didn't have room in the car for him as well.  So we decided to leave both boys home and since dd S was still sleeping, we'd leave her home to sleep as well.  Then one morning dd N had had a rough night with an ear infection so I let her sleep in while I took dh to work. It has kind of gone from there.

So most mornings, now, when I need the car, dh and I just go by ourselves.  It's kind of a 15 to 20 min ride with no interruptions should we decide to chat or whatever.  It was nice yesterday since I was curious about a co-worker of dh.  He told me all about her and what her job was. Thankfully I've never been jealous of his co-workers because most of them have been female.  And most have been very nice when being introduced to me.

Once I dropped him off at work, I headed home in silence. I was somewhat tempted to turn on the country station since my kids aren't really thrilled with that stuff, but it felt so good to have quiet in the car that I just left it off.  It was nice to have some time to myself to just think and relax. Don't get me wrong, I dearly love my children and the thought of sending them to a public building for strangers to mold and teach just scares the bajeebes out of me, (if there's such a word).  In my more niave days I did and now see the difference of what I'm doing versus what they did.  I will say my oldest and I were lucky in that he was truly taught good things.  However, my dd N when in early childhood had a teacher who was full of herself and treated me with disrespect.  So even though there are times when I want to send my kids packing out the door, it would only be for them to sit on the porch and cool off while I cool off and think.   I believe most of my homeschool friends would agree and understand.

Well, once I got home and walked into the door, I was greeted by my ds R while at his computer. Looked at the couch and no dd S. Very surprised at this. However, as I continued my entrance into the school room there was my oldest dd N at the computer. Apparently she had woken up and come down just as we were headed down the road. She likes to go with dh and I while I take him to work, but lately it's been too hard to wake her and I don't want to disturb dd S while she's sleeping, so it's just been easier to let her sleep and just go.  So finding her awake AND finding out she had woken up at 7:30 was a surprise.  She was upset at first but later glad since she was able to have computer time with out dd S bugging her. Now she knows how I feel during the day lol.

A few min after I greeted dd N, dd S arrived from upstairs with a smile.  She grabbed her chocolate milk and we cuddled on the couch for her to drink it.  Then took her into the frontroom where her and dd N watched a bit of Curious George and Clifford. Yes, dd N is almost 12, but this is a time for her and her sister to relax together and have what they're watching be a good clean show. Not many of those on anymore, even on PBS.

After a bit we got our morning started with a devotional.  About half way through, the phone rings. It's my Relief Society Pres calling me. I had made 2 phone calls earlier that morning about my companion needing a ride home that afternoon after getting a procedure done. I had explained that I was able to take her, but due to the time she needed to be brought home, I would be unable. So we chatted for a min then continued on with our morning. After a bit, I explained to my girls what I would be doing that morning for a bit.  I was hoping I could just go and pick my friend up on my own, but of course dd N wanted to accompany me. After a morning of her throwing fit after fit on other things and then throwing a crying fit as I'm trying to leave, I finally caved and told her she could come. But she wasn't going to get her normal lunch for that day. She agreed. So I picked up my friend and her ds and dropped them off at the hospital.

Got back home and continued with our morning ritual of getting ready for the library. We actually left around the time I wanted to. Not sure how that happened, but very glad.

Once there my ds R and dd S went off to find adventure and books while dd N and I returned the books and videos. Once we got upstairs, dd S and ds R came up to me and informed me that one of dd S's friends from art class was in the library and said hi. She coudn't remember the name, but knew the face. So after a bit I went in and saw who it was.  I had seen her a few times, but coudn't remember her name either. So after re-introducing ourselves we chatted for a bit. Very nice mom and it will be nice for dd S to have a familiar face when she walks into her class in a few weeks.

Once we were done at the library, we headed to pick up lunch and then home. I reminded dd N that she wasn't allowed to get her normal lunch and she remembered.  She was ok with it and that was good.  We then headed home for the afternoon.  After lunch I tried to get ds R to continue working on his Eagle project, but he said he was too tired and promised that tomorrow(Tues)after his math that he would, so I'm holding him to his promise. He's soooo close to finishing it, that it's driving me and several of his church leaders bonkers. His scout master has told him that until he finishes it, he will refuse to shake his hand. I told ds I need to email him and tell him good for you. lol

Eventually it was time to pick up dh from work. As he got into the car, he let out a big sigh. I asked him if he was ok. He said big problems that he might be getting involved with later on that night, but for now was out of it.  So we headed home for the afternoon.

Once home the girls realized their show "Cyberchase" was on so they headed to the frontroom to watch. Then they had dinner and headed out to play on the swingset. I needed dd S to get out and get some exercise since Sunday night putting her to bed took 45 min compared to 15 min. lately.  I highly encouraged the 2 girls to go out and even made ds R head out for a bit. He needs the excercise since he spendds most of his time in front of the comuter.

Well as the evening progressed, dh was getting calls from work. So it looked like family home evening wouldn't happen. Around the time that it was starting to get dark outside, I had the girls come in and asked dh if he was clear for a bit. He was so we all headed into the frontroom for a quick FHE. I asked dh if dd S could help read. So she was able to read the first paragraph. I think she was happy when she finished. Lots of words and mostly ones she could read, but lots of reading. It just meant that the rest of the lesson she was quietly playing with some puzzles while the rest of us read.

Right afterwards dh gets another call so we timed that well. The rest of the evening was dh off and on calls. Bedtime came and kids mostly cooperated. Dd S just doesn't like bedtime. She wants to be going and going. I've told her many times that her body can only do so much then it needs to rest.  She eventually settles.  One thing that becomes part of dd S's routine is saying goodnight to daddy with a a hug. He was busy this night, but promised to come up later and give one. True to his word he came up and listened while dd S was reading to me. Then hugs came.  Another nightly routine we do is prayers with the girls. Ds R tells me he does it on his own, so I don't push him. But the girls need some encourgement.  As we knelt down to begin, I told dd N that a prayer isnt' a memorized talk, it's words that come from your heart. I tell her this because she's afraid of what to say so she's always asking me to help. Well this night she said 99% of the prayer on her own. Boy was she excited. lol Even dd S wanted to do her own so we were doing well. Dd N was so excited she was beaming. Hopefully this will help in saying prayers at other times.

The rest of the evening was dh occassionally getting calls but mostly quiet. Finally our time of the evening.

Karie

Kariesplace

Not much exciting happened over the weekend, just regular stuff.  Fri was just another Fri with dd N doing extra well on her math. She actually managed to do the whole lesson instead of just one sheet. Ds R, however, has been having some issues with his. I'm hoping we can figure something out since we spent almost $200 on his math curriculum. He likes this curriculum, but just having problems remembering all the steps to a particular problem.

After math I had dd N finish up her Faith in God book so she could hand it in Sun.  Then we had lunch and played afterward.  Ds R helped me out with my website a bit. I've been trying to update it, but hard to do when ds R doesn't feel like doing it. That's the main reason I was so hesistant at the beginning to have him do it.  Anyway, I ended outside a lot during the afternoon, which was fine. But every once in awhile I needed assistance watching dd S while I did chores. Neither older sibling was wanting to help much. I finally got them to assist after chiding them.

That evening my neighbor, Dawn, who is in charge of the block party was supposed to call and we'd walk down to the alderman's house to hand in the official request for the block party. She never called but as we walked/rode bikes around the block I could see their lights out and the car was gone. So I figured they were gone for the evening.

Sat morning came and dh reminded me to shower somewhat early so I could be ready to go shopping with Dawn for the kids' gifts.  So I did, but she didn't call at the designed time so I just went about my business of watching dd S outside. Eventually she did call to let me know they didn't get home until after 9 the night before. After some chatting we decided to try next Sat morning for the shopping and if she got done with her errands that morning we'd go over to the Alderman's. She called and we went. He wasn't home, but we had a nice chat about churches and other stuff.

Eventually walked back home in time to go out for lunch. Yes, my favorite thing to do on Sat so I don't have to cook or have a messy kitchen.  As we were finishing lunch dd N's thong broke so I had to assit her to the car.  So we decided to head back to the house since she needed shoes to do grocery shopping.  We headed back to Walmart and found some cute ones for her then headed to the grocery store.  Dh was headed toward a very bad backache and was considering just heading home after Walmart. I think it was because dd S was following him all over and due to his back bother him, it was annoying him.  So after some discussion I said I would do the shopping after we dropped dh off at home. Of course dh decides that as long as dd S doesn't hover around him, he'll be fine.

After the shopping we head home to relax. The girls head outside to play for the remainder of the evening.  Then time to get ready for church and bedtime. Dd S is not thrilled but gives in eventually with the thought of chocolate milk. lol

Sunday was normal stuff. We get ready for church and head out.  Church was regular stuff. But I enjoy being there. I love the spirit that I get when attending and the friendships I have.  After meetings, dd N walks in with dd S telling me she's had her interivew with bishop since she's turning 12 soon. Ok, I didn't think that would happen until later or after she turned 12. Oh well, she did good.  We then handed in her Faith in God pamplet to the primary president and probably next Sun she will be acknowledged by the bishop that she has accomplished it.  She will now be in young women's in 2 weeks. I think she's excited, but very nervous.

We head home and eat dinner. Dh and ds R have hometeaching to do so they head off. The girls and I are just doing our stuff. I do end up calling my friend who didn't show up at church. She tells me she had a family outing she was invited to(her family is not members) and she felt she needed to attend. I agree, but I hope it doesn't happen often on Sun.  Dh arrived home around the time that she calls back.  He's not happy with her, but I can't turn my back on her.  I could go on, but I won't. She basically called me back to ask if I could help her get a ride to the hospital to get a procedure done in regards to her kidney stones.  She's been told not to drive afterwards so why take a car in the first place. I'm going to try and arrange to have someone else pick her up since the time she has asked is the time I have been leaving to pick up dh from work. I'm hoping her visiting teacher will be able to.

The rest of the evening is me keeping dd S occupied since dd N is busy watching her show and ds R is doing his computer stuff.  Putting her to bed was a long evening since she really hadn't done much. After 45 min of using various unsucessful ways, she finally settled to sleep. Dh wondered where I was.  Then bedtime.

Karie

Kariesplace

I have to admit that even though the kids aren't perfect in their school work, they are cooperating and doing well now. Ds R is still struggling with some math concepts so I need to figure out what to do with that.  He's doing Teaching Textbooks and supposedly it's the best out there so far, but apparently it also teaches a new concept every lesson and he's still trying to figure out the main stuff.  So not sure what to do. I realize that not everyone can do math well(me included in that one) but I know that dh wants ds R to know this stuff. So ds R and I are going to have to come up with something.

So yesterday we get ourselves started around 9am. I had wanted to start our devotional around 8:30, but dh had to do some work at home which meant I couldn't do some of the before school stuff when I wanted. Well we finally started and our devotional went pretty smoothly and ended after 35 min rather than the 45 to 60 min it generally takes.  Our devotionals can be pretty hectic at times depending on what is happening in announcements or just life in general. But because there's not much happening this week that part went by quickly thus the rest of the devotional did too.

I then showered while the kids went to work without much ado. Once I came down, dd N was ready to start her stuff.  Ds R had the rest of his math lesson done from yesterday so I decided to check it real quick. What a mistake that was since dd N wanted to do her math right then.  Right away most of his math was wrong. After speaking(and some yelling, unfortunately,) it turns out that ds R isn't completely reading the instructions on each problem there fore not getting them right. I told him to redo the whole lesson and then I would recheck it. In the meantime my dd's are wanting my attention and I'm not being real attentive since I'm frustrated with ds R. Finally I let him go and start helping dd N with her math. She's doing good and starting to get the idea of what we're doing, but still wants me to help with every problem. Thankfully dd S is busy with some shapes she's playing with next to me so that's good.

After their math is done I have them each write a letter to grandma(my mom).  She lives in Ut and we don't see her often, but they have seen her enough recently to know who she is and get to know her a bit. So I've started trying to have them write to her every other week. It hasn't gone well since the last time we actually wrote to her was in May. It's now Aug.  The summer just was too busy and I kept forgetting. So I'm hoping now with us getting school schedule started that the letter writing will happen much more often.  The girls did well, but ds R was not sure what to write. Now being the teenager that he is, he just didnt' want to write. I let him know that even though he thinks the things he is doing is boring(regardless of what it is) grandma wants to know and is interested.  So after making this VERY clear to him that he was going to write her a letter, he did finish it. Not quite how I would have liked it to be, BUT he did do it. I told him thanks.

After lunch I told the kids that we needed to tear down the boxes that the swingset came in.  They were huge and blocking most of the garage when the car was in there. So we all go out to tackle this job. Turns out that only ds R and I were able to handle this task, so I sent the 2 girls out to play on the swingset. At least that way they were outside getting excerise and not just inside watching tv.  We did good.

Afterwards, we got laundry going.  Desperate need of that. Thankfully the kids are doing better with this.  Ds also wanted to talk about his computer business that he's really trying to figure out how to start. I think he's a bit scared to actually do something, but has lots of ideas on what he wants to do. He wants to provide blogs/ journals, forums, games and even websites to people.  He's very good at this, but I told him he needs to do some surveys on some of this groups to find out what people want most before starting anything.  Then work on that. We'll see what happens.

I'm in the kitchen trying to figure out what to fix. I had in mind something different but both kids convinced me that spaghetti was what we wanted. So I caved in and did so.  Hoping maybe Fri I will just do what I had planned.  Dh came home and the kids attacked him.  He seemed glad to be home today.  After greeting everyone he eventually went into the frontroom and dd S wanted to snuggle with him.  Of course she really didn't snuggle she ended up trying to check out his face features with her binoculars. I finally rescued him and had her come to the table for dinner.

After dinner we headed outside to goof off and play.  The girls ended up playing with the balls and goofing around on the swingset. A couple of times I had ds R come out and get exercise.  He spends too much time online.  Thankfully he stayed out for more than 30 min playing with dd S and she was thrilled. Eventually it was time to head inside.  The temps are not as warm lately so I was even wearing a sweater. So after a quick bike around the block we came inside.  Dd N wanted to watch the olympics but dd S didn't, so I sent dd N upstairs with strict instructions NOT to goof off since the tv was in my room. Dd S watched her videos with her snacks. Eventually bedtime happened and it was almost an hr earlier than last night. That meant dh and I were able to head to bed just after 10. We needed that. We watched some of the olympics with the gymnastics and the American team won gold and silver with the Chinese winning bronze.  Nice to see.

Karie

Kariesplace

Ok, so the title is a bit goofy, but I couldn't think of anything else and I didn't want another boring one lol. Besides, it's pretty much what happened on Wed.  We woke up to a wet driveway, so it made me wonder if I should take the care or not since the only reason I would have need it is for going to the park. If it has rained or will rain more, there's no sense going to the park.  So I quickly turned on the computers and then check the weather radar. Some spots but not clear enough to see if it's headed our way and when. So I just decided to go ahead and take the car.

I take dh to work and head home.  We're a bit on the late side, but since ds R no longer has to do the library stuff, it doesn't matter if I get home by 8:30 or a bit after.  I arrive home around 8:30 to see ds R holding youngest dd S with still a sleepy face. ahh  I roll the window down and say "hi" to her. She smiles.  I park the car and come in.  She gives me a wonderful good morning hug and then wants to watch Clifford. Off she goes. I head up to wake up dd N who lately has been having a hard time getting up. I told her the other day that come Sept she's going to bed much earlier so I don't this problem.  Especially if I'm going to be wanting to start at 8:30 most morning(when I don't have the car).

Once everyone is up, we start the devotional. It gets a bit crazy but we manage. Then everyone gets busy with their morning school stuff. I'm actually able to shower without any interruptions.  Once I get out I see that the girls are actually reading and ds R is mostly doing his math. He seems to be struggling with a concept, but doesn't want any help. If it continues I may have to ask someone because he's not finishing his math lessons.  And when he does, he leaves those questions blank which mean about 40 to 50% of the lesson is wrong.

Once I come downstairs I have dd S continue reading and start helping dd N with her math. She's using big brother's first math book and slowly gaining confidence.  Still gets a bit frustrated, but that's nothing new. After a bit, dd S wants to do her work book with us so she gets it and then demands mom pay attention to her only. After a few words to her of being nice, we continue with our lessons. I think dd N and I would have gotten more math done if I hadn't had to keep concentrating on dd S. It seemed she was in the mood to goof and and play which is fine since she's only 4.  But dd N is almost 12 and needs to get her school work done.  Hopefully today (Thurs) we can do better. Still trying to juggle things and figure out a schedule.

Lunchtime comes and everyone is happy.  They're doing their best with school work, but are always glad for the end.  I start looking at the map for directions to the park we're headed to.  It looks pretty easy just 2 turns and it's on a street I'm somewhat familiar with.  So it comes time to head out and we start driving. It's a bit farther than I thought, but not bad.  Then I reach the top of a hill and realize the street stops due to construction.  Oh wonderful.  So I find a place to turn around and we head back telling dd N that if the other route is also closed, we'll just have to wait till next park day. She's understanding but not happy.  We head home and check the other route.  Not knowing the exact spot the construction is at, we see that the other route will also work, so I think. So we head back into the car and off we go only to find out that this is the street that matched the other one at the same mark at the construction site. I'm not sure I just made sense, but essentially this was the cross road that we saw from the first direction. So I'm trying to tell the girls we'll call ds R and see what else there is. We park into a parking lot and ask ds for some help. Not working, so we head home. By this time it's only giving us an hr at the park maybe, so I'm not sure we'll go even if we do find a route.  Once home I see there is another way, but by the time we get there we'll only have 45 min and then head home. Just not feeling up to driving another route and this one I'm not familiar with.  So I tell dd N that it's just not working. She's disappointed, but takes it well.

The rest of the afternoon is cleaning up some garbage mess that's been in bags next to our back door since last May possibly. It's grass clippings that the city won't take. So, after talking with neighbors, I decide to shovel some of the clippings in regular garbage. This may not be the best way, but I figure I pay enough taxes on this stuff that they're going to take it. 

Now it's time to pick up dh. As we arrive home dh sees that one whole bag is gone.  He's a bit skeptical, but I assure him the clippings are mingled in between garbage. So he's ok. I think fix dinner and get ready to leave shortly. I have visiting teaching to do and dh has a meeting at the house. This means that ds R and dd N are watching dd S for a short while.  They all do very well. After I get back home I see the kids outside in the drizzling rain trying to catch rain. At least they're being good for dad. Dh's meeting soon ends and we end up outside showing the guys our new swingset in the backyard. The guys are impressed with the work. They then leave and I head in to eat dinner. Dh comes in shortly to warm up his dinner. A bit later the kids are asking if they can watch a short movie(1 hr 15 min) before bedtime. I tell them sure.  This means I get to the computer a bit sooner since dd S is also watching.

After a bit dd S is getting a bit bored. I think she just needs mom to cuddle with. We watch the end of the movie, but it's definitely getting late.  Bedtime routine again and dd S goes to bed without too much problem. She still hates going to sleep, but the tiredness over comes her. Finally a quiet evening.

Karie

Kariesplace

or at least trying.  I told the kids on Mon that on Tues we would be doing school work for the morning starting on Tues.  They were agreeable. So once I got them up and going, we started. The devotional went well, but once I went to hit the showers they all started arguing.  Amazing how everything can fall apart even with simple instructions or having a stubborn 4 yr who wants to play lol.

So I'm in the shower with instructions to get school stuff done. Within 5 min of hopping in ds R comes in with crying dd S. Come to find out she's bugging him while he's trying to do his work. After several more interruptions I finally got them all settled. Of course my shower wasn't as quiet as planned, but hey things never seem to be as you want them. So after I get out and dressed I check on the kids. The girls are sitting on the couch with dd N reading to dd S. I check on ds R and he's just finishing his journal. Not sure why it took so long but at least he's doing it.  Got the girls to stop reading so we could introduce dd N to her new math book for the yr. It's the first book that ds R used when we first started Saxon. She's excited.  I get dd S to start using her workbook while I get dd N understanding her stuff. A bit of a rough start, but that's to be expected at first.  Dd N likes her new math book but quickly gets frustrated(which is normal for her) and I tell her to just sit and take a break.  She finally settles and does well.  Ds R does only half his math lesson, but he did get interrupted and did listen to another math lesson just for review.

Lunch time comes and they are happy. We did pretty good considering. Hoping Wed will be even better.  The rest of the day is just getting housework done. The dishes are almost caught up. Some of the rooms are a bit cluttered. I have ds R send his Eagle report to his dad so it can hopefully continue.

The rest of the afternoon is spent with ds R outside with dd S getting her to play on the new swingset and run around the house, literally. He's having her do all kinds of silly things and she's having a blast.  He gets her running and puffing which is good. It means nighttime is usually a quieter time because she's tired.

Evening time comes and dh is home. I get dinner ready and kids fed. Dh is too tired to eat so he just rests. 6:30 comes and him and ds R are out the door for youth activities. The girls and I are on our own for 2 hrs. I go outside and eat my dinner while the girls are playing. I love my patio furniture. So nice to eat outside and have a place to put my stuff.  The girls are busy playing and I'm relaxing.  While eating I'm waiting for my baby brother to call me. I'm trying to convince him to convince his wife that they need to get a laptop computer. He wants one but apparently she's not being cooperative.  In the meantime of waiting for his call, the girls and I go for a walk/bike ride. Dd S has a new bike with training wheels and now that she knows how to use them I like to go around the block to get her energy out.

Around 8:15 we head inside. I get the girls settled on snacks and a video. My brother finally calls and we chat.  Turns out he tells me there is a computer at work he can use to receive email.  So probably sometime this week, he's going to go to the library and set up an acct so he can receive emails. I'm excited since it's hard for me to use the phone with my girls always needing my attention when on calls. Once I hang up,  dd N tells me that dh and ds R are back from church. No problem. So we say prayer and get ready for bed. It's been a good day.

Karie

Kariesplace

Mon was just like any other Mon. Drove dh to work while the kids stayed home. Ds R watches them and since I couldn't wake up dd N I just let her sleep. We left about 10 min earlier than we normally do so I was able to arrive home earlier than normal. Dd S was just waking up when I arrived.  Woke up dd N who was still snoozing. I'm guessing I'm going to have to put the kids to bed much earlier. I've been very lax this summer, but now that we're starting up again, it's been hard getting them up. Even ds R has been sleeping in and he's my early bird who wakes at 5:30 and 6 most mornings. Seminary is going to be very interesting if getting him up at 7 and 8 are hard.

The rest of the morning were the normal stuff. Devotional, getting books ready and then leaving. We actually left on time, or at least the time I want to leave, so that was nice.  As we were going about or normal routine, ds R came up and told me friends from church were here.  Yep, one of the newer families was there bringing back and taking home books. We exchanged greetings and she went about her business.

Eventually we found all that we wanted and were headed home. Picked up our lunch and came home. The girls were excited the evening because they were going to help our neighbor friend and me pass out the flyers for the block party. I told them it wouldn't be until that evening so go play.  Both girls played for a bit, then I had ds R watch dd S while I took dd N to Walmart.  We were out of a few things and they were needed. Plus dd S's thongs got broken by me (long story) so I needed to replace them.

Arrived back hom and hung out outside for a bit.  Eventually headed out to pick up dh from work.  Came home and just hung out again.  Just not much happening.  After a bit it was time to head out with my friend to pass out the flyers. The girls were excited, although it turns out they just wanted to come and watch while I passed them out and then eventually my friend's boys did the rest.  We ended up chatting with several neighbors(to be expected) and after starting out at 6:45 we arrived back home around 8:15.  Dh was still upstairs snoozing but heard the girls come in chattering.

I had the girls watch a video while drinking their nightly chocolate milk. Then getting ready for bed.  Pretty much same ole' same ole'.  But sometimes the regular routine is nice to get back to.

Karie

Kariesplace

Well, it's been a busy week and here it is Fri already. Wow how the time flies. Dh and Ds R have been busy on the swingset all week each night trying to get it ready for our friends when they come Sat afternoon. So it's Fri morning and since dh and ds R didn't get home until 11:30, (dd N wanted to stay up until they got home.) I let them all asleep in until 9:30.  Thurs  evening I let dd N stay up and when it was finally time to go to bed she was struggling. Guess all the excitement of staying up.  So we end up not having a devotional due to the time and I just didn't want to.  So the kids were told that as long as they behaved we would just relax for the day.  They were thrilled.

I did ask ds R to adjust the WAH website since there was a few things that were wrong. This is our local homeschool's website.  We took over the website over a yr ago since the owner of the group needed a break from all the computer time it took.  It really isn't that hard, but there are times when things need to be updated and ds R just isn't in the mood. A real learning experience for him.  So while him and I did that, the girls went out on the new swings and had fun. Dh and ds R put up the swings for the girls yesterday so they would at least have that to play on.

That evening dh came home and snoozed a bit. He was tired from the night before of being out so late even though most evenings we're up that late anyway.  I think it's from all the physical labor of creating the swingset.  They are both physically tired each morning.  So around 6:30 dh and ds R head out to do more on the swingset.  It's really looking good. They finish up what they are going to do around 9:00. Dh and is tired and so it ds R.  Eventually put the kids to bed around 9:30. They all seem a bit tired.

Sat morning comes and dd S wakes me up around 7.  I was planning on sleeping in but dd S decides we're not. So downstairs we head to get her some chocolate milk.  She does eventually fall back to sleep which is good.  So I get online for a bit while we wait for a decent hour to start on the swingset. Ds R comes down to go online and get breakfast.  Around 8:30 they head out to start on quiet stuff until 9 am.  This is the morning that they HAVE to have it finished so they want a head start. Around 8:45 dd S wakes up and we cuddle. Then we go out just for a min so she can see what the guys are up to. They are now assembling the slide. Dd S is very excited. This is her favorite thing to do.  After a few min I tell her we need to wake up dd N so they can be together while mom showers.  I need to run errands to get makings for our dinner with our friends. We're just having sandwiches, but we need extra stuff since they have 6 kids age 10 to 2yr.

Just before we head up to wake dd N, dh asks dd S to test the slide.  We wanted to see if it was too close to the garage.  I thought at first it was, but after watching dd S go down, I realized it was fine.  After getting dd N up, the 2 girls go downstairs to watch cartoons while I shower.   We then head out to buy fruit and other items.  We end up at 2 stores since the first store didn't have everything I need.  After our shopping spree we head outside to see how the guys are doing. They have 90% of the swingset done.  We then proceed to clean out the pool. It has scum at the bottom of the pool. YUCK!  So we hose it down and also use wash rags to clean. Finally the pool is done so we add water.

Finally it's around lunchtime so I tell the girls to eat. Our friends aren't supposed to be here until 1:30 or so.  The girls are way excited to have them come and try out the new swingset.  Finally around 1:30 the guys are done and the girls are excited!  They try it out a couple of times and are just thrilled.  Dh then asks me to help out with the patio table we purchased a few weeks ago. So we spread out a blanket to put the table on. It's assembled in 30 min. Not bad compared to 7 days, most evenings, with the swingset.  So we are now settled.   The girls are now impatiently awaiting our friends.  I tell dh I'm going ot call and make sure all is well.  He says to just be patient, they'll be here soon. I'm just not comfortable, so once he heads to the shower, I call. They are glad that I did since they forgot to bring our number and forgot our address. So I give them the info. and we hang up.

Around 2:30 they call to say they are a bit lost and could we assist them. Thankfully dh is out of the shower and can assist. I'm no good in that kind of thing. So after a few min they arrive and the girls are thrilled. They can't wait until the kids see the swingset.  So we head to the back yard and their kids go nuts.  So the rest of the afternoon is spent outside with grownups standing/sitting around chatting while the kids run around having fun. Eventually the kids decide they want the pool so most of the kids (ds R is excluded in this part lol) get their suits on and head out to play in the pool. 

After about 2 hrs the skies are looking pretty cloudy. Then we start to feel the rain so we all head in and the kids change.   I choose to let the kids watch a video since we really don't have many things for them to play with.  Also gave them all ice pops while watching.  Eventually we decide it's dinner time since they are still wanting to eat.   So we start making sandwiches and get everyone ready to eat. Just as we're finishing the rain stops and the sun it out.  So we kick all the kids out to play for a bit more before they have to head home.  They are all tired at this point since our friends kids had just been to the zoo that morning. They will sleep good tonight.

So we say bye and settle for the rest of the evening.  The air is getting chilly so we stay inside the rest of the night.  Eventually bedtime comes so we get the kids ready for bed. They are all exhausted.

Sunday comes and our normal getting ready morning. However, after church we're having our first linger longer were we get to know members more and have snack foods available.  It was ok, but noisy. Some parents let their kids run wild and end up knocking into you or your food.  Dh mentioned that they were going a bit too much overboard getting out tables and chairs. He felt they should just have 2 or 3 long tables to put the food on and then everyone just stand. I, myself, felt we should at least have chairs since there are some people who need to sit. But oh well, it was nice, but so glad to leave. 

Once home, I decided that dinner sounded good. Especially since I didn't eat much there on purpose.  Once home I needed to take care of the flyer for the block party in Sept.  I don't know if I mentioned it earlier or not, but every year our block has a block party to get reaquainted before winter settles in. This yr the lady who did it last yr asked our family to assist. So once we got home I made copies of the flyer I made and waited for her to call back. She eventually did, but decided that she still needed to fix dinner and eat so we arranged for Mon evening to do so. That works.

The rest of the evening was spent relaxing, playing and watching Extreme Home Maker.  Eventually it was bedtime so got the kids ready for bed. Then time for dh and I.

Karie

Kariesplace  

Today I have 2 days to report on. Dh took Thurs off, so I slept in and didn't have time to do journal for Wed.

Wed morning comes and I can't wake up dd N, so once again dh and I head for work just on our own. Ds R watches the girls.  Arrive home and wake up dd N for the day.  Today is park day and she loves going to the park.  We were going to do our normal day of school, but dh asked a favor if we could reorganize the wood for the swingset, so we'll just do the devotional and let the kids loose on the wood. I get my shower, then straighten up my frontroom. I have my visiting teachers coming. 

My company comes and we chat for a bit. They then give me my lesson and they head home. I'm glad my new visiting teachers are nice. Well, I knew they were, but the one sister has always been a bit aloof, but is coming around. I visit teach her mom.

After they left, dd N and I head up to the store to pick up her pottery from her party.  There's construction that slows us down just  a bit, but soon we're back on the road.  Pick up pottery and 2 min later we're headed back home.  Eat lunch and then get ready for the park.  We're all just gettng there so that's good.  I give out the pottery to the girls that attended.  They all tell dd N that they had a good time.  Their host was a very nice young man who joked a lot with them.

Time runs fast and soon it's time to head home.  Call Ds R to let him know we're headed home. Arrive at home and start cleaning out the car. Dh has asked me to do this since he's helping take the youth down to do baptisms on Thurs. At one point I stop and call dh about picking him up.  He's not ready yet, so back outside I go with instructions to the kids and coming out and getting me.  I continue with cleaning out the car. Soon dd N comes out stating dh is ready. So off we go to get him.

We get home and I prepare dinner.  While I'm doing this, dh and ds are out working on the swingset. It's looking good. I announce that dinner is ready when they are. Dh lets ds eat quickly and then head back out. The girls are anxious to watch again as well. So after dinner we head out. While out there, I pull the car out and proceed to continue cleaning.   The girls offer off and on help.  Eventually the car is clean so it gets put back.

Dh and ds R make good progress on the swingset. While they continue with it, I take the girls on a bike ride around the block. They seem wanting to do something.  Eventually its time to head in for the evening. I settle dd S down and get a video on. Eventually bedtime.

Thurs morning arrives and we're all sleeping in to a degree. I slept in an hr later.  Got up due to dd S wanting her morning chocolate milk. Came downstairs to get it. Dh also has his morning conference call even though he's off today.  So he's taking his call while I snuggle with dd S. She eventually falls back to sleep and I and dh have a quiet morning.

Finally time to get the kids up (9am) so I start waking up dd S to help me wake the others up. Ds R was just getting up when we came upstairs. Dd N had a bit of a harder time waking but eventually did.  After a bit all the kids were up and eating breakfast. Around 9:30 dh and ds R were outside building once again on the swingset. They now have the 2 towers and are now attaching the pole that has the swings on it. Both girls are anxious to try them out.

Time sure flies past because soon it's time to get lunch. Dh is taking us out. We then do some errands and head home. Dh and ds R are getting ready to head out to do baptisms for the dead with the other youth.  They head out around 4 and leave the girls and I home alone.  That's ok, we end up taking a bike ride, swinging and drawing with chalk.  Eventually it's time to head in and settle. The guys won't be home until 11pm or after, but I need to put dd S to bed on time, regardless. I let dd N stay up to wait.  They get home around 11:20pm. Time for bed.

Karie

Kariesplace

Today we started back to doing half day school work. We did mostly good.  Little bit of trouble with dd N not wanting to do all that I asked, but ds R and dd S did so that balanced it out.  I told them I just wanted school work till noon, then they would be on their own.

So yesterday the kids slept later than normal, although not too late.  But as I was typing online I turn towards the doorway to see ds R holding dd S with tears in her eyes. Apparently she was calling for me but I didn't hear. Luckily ds R did and brought her down. We then cuddled. Pretty soon it was time to wake up dd N so she would have time to watch something before we started our morning.  Proceeded to get dd N up and then downstairs. We eventually started out morning and things went pretty well.

After lunch I had asked ds R to work on his Eagle Report for 1 hr.  He did ok, but not sure exactly what he was doing. He said editing so I said fine. We all spent most of the afternoon just relaxing.  It was too hot and muggy outside to do anything, and the girls didn't want to go in the pool. Funny how that would be something I would have wanted to do on a day like this. Oh well, they seem to want friends over before doing that. Well, this Sat they will. Some friends who live in Madison are coming to visit after visiting the zoo. Hopefully the weather will be nice.

Later on close to early evening I'm in the kitchen when I see dh pull in the driveway early.  I'm guessing he wants to get an early start on the swingset. He comes in, greets everyone, then heads upstairs to rest for a bit. Pretty soon dinner is ready so we eat. I then head outside with dd S so she can play. Dd N eventually comes out as well. I then see dh at the kitchen window. He comes out soon and starts on the swingset again. Ds R comes out to help. The girls and I sit on our new patio chairs to watch. The mosquitoes are bad, but not too bad, at least not for me. I see dh and ds swatting a lot. They are at the swingset for 2 hrs and accomplish quite a bit. They managed to get one of the towers built. It looks good. As we're out building 2 of our neighbors come out to see what we're doing. They're impressed and wish us well.

Eventually late evening falls and it's time to head in. Besides, now the mosquitoes are really bad, even for me. We watch a video, then prayer, then another video with the girls drinking their nightly chocolate milk.  Bedtime not too bad, I'm just tired so everything they do I get cranky at. Thankfully dd S goes to bed pretty good. About 15 min later dd N decides she's tired so off to bed she goes.  Quiet time once again for dh and I. :)

Karie

Kariesplace