New Years....an opportunity to make a fresh start. I don't usually have New Years Resolutions because I'm a dismal failure at keeping them. But after Christmas vacation I want to start fresh and new. Creating a new schedule is  just what we need to keep us productive and going till we're done with the year. So I sit and plan. I even wrote it all down. Simple enough on paper.

Monday morning came and I got up 1/2 hour later than planned. No big deal we actually managed.

Tuesday, got up on time and managed to stay close to the schedule. Pretty good!

Wednesday,  got up on time, managed to get a little "creative" with the schedule. Not bad. But in our "creativity", I lost my temper and yelled at the kids. Not pretty.......

Confession time: I get impatient and when I get impatient I often yell. Yes, I'm a yeller and I have come from a long line of yellers. Not a good excuse but I do get it honestly. And I really hate my yelling. But how do I stop?

Yesterday afternoon I dropped off T at his writing class. My friend K was there dropping of her daughter and I asked her how this week was going. She admitted it was just awful at her house. She even told me that yesterday she also yelled and even broke down in tears. That's a really bad day! We started talking about bad attititudes in kids......and moms. Then she told me this: 

When the schedule or our ideal of our children's education becomes so important that when it doesn't go right we sin then it's an idol. Ugggghhhhhh....an idol.

I get that people thinking their houses, cars, bodies, toys and such are idols. But my attempt at organization and educationg the kids an idol???? Wow! But I'm thinking she is onto something here. It's slowly sinking in. How convicting!!!!  I needed that. Anybody else?

I just found this on Simple Pleasures.



1. October _is one of my favorite months. I love the changing of the seasons. As much as I enjoy the care-free feeling of summer, I enjoy that warm and cozy feeling that October can bring. October has so many good memories. October 5, the day we finally were able to take Timothy home from the NICU. It's also my mom's and my birthday month.
2. Black widows_ scare me!
3. Leaves are falling all around, it's ...not yet. They are still clinging to the trees. Once the Santa Ana winds get here, they'll blow right off!
4. My favorite horror movie is Something Wicked This Way Comes_ because _it's not really terribly scarry or gross, but just weird. I remember seeing it at Disney Studios with my uncle who worked there along with all of my cousins.

5.Going to the pumpkin patch  = good memories.
6. It was a dark and stormy night  and we were home all cozy drinking hot chocolate and eating popcorn..
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to enjoying some time with DH, he has been working so hard_____, tomorrow my plans include cleaning the house and dessert night at a neighbors house.  Sunday, I want to  go to church and read and maybe take an afternoon nap!

My computer has been really slow these past few days. I have no idea why, but all of the sudden it's back up to speed. Go figure!

The New Mom's Dessert Night went really well. Almost all of the new moms in our co-op showed up. They seemed to really enjoy the evening.  I had a great time too and my speaking part went well. The other two ladies who spoke did awesome. I think our new moms went away with some great ideas and tools.

I need to type out my favorite homeschooling resouces and send it to them. Maybe I'll post them on here.

I finally decorated the house for fall. Yippeee!!! Now I hope to get to some of the crafts I've been thining about.

I just love Date Night.  We don't get to have them as much as we would like. But when we plan them, I really look forward to them. I had heard so much about Fireproof. I knew I really wanted to see it when it came out. We hardly ever go to the movies, but I thought that we should support such a movie. So I asked my mom to watch the kids, she said yes, and the plan was on.

Fireproof  is very well done. We laughed, cheered and cried. There were moments when the whole audience clapped their hands.  It's inspiring movie about marriage that you just don't ever see on the big screen or TV. I don't want to give too much of it away. But if you liked Facing the Giants, you will love this movie. It's the perfect date night movie for both husband and wives. This is one we will be buying to add to our collection.

Afterwards we walked on over to Starbuckies and enjoyed our pumpkin lattes and just talked about life and marriage. It's been a challenge lately with life. DH's new job has his working so many more hours than the old and he still has yet to make the money he was making before. But we both know that God will get us past this and to tell you the truth, it has made us closer.

If you have not seen Fireproof, plan a date night and go see it. It's very much worth it.

California 

Land of….. 

Beaches that roar with the sound of the breathtaking waves

Forests of the great, huge, stunning redwoods

Mountains that are monstrous and almost reach the sky

Rivers that run briskingly on the side of the mountains

Sunsets that are pleasing to the eye. 

California, land of…

People who work diligantly and people who protect California

God bless California, my great state.

One of my goals this year was to learn how to make my blog to make it more unique to me.  Since I started blogging, I wanted to figure out how to make it "mine" but HTML code simply elluded me. I looked into buying something from a designer, but I really wanted to learn it for myself. I tried and tried again, but felt I was wasting time that could have been better spend with family or neglected chores.

This week, with FIL visiting I have been able to find that time after the kids go to bed. While DH and FIL are bonding over football or politics, I have plenty of time to try my hand at this. I can't tell you how excited I am to take these little steps to make it mine. I have long been wanting a bookshelf to keep track of the books I/we are reading. And I am so happy with my new template with autumn leaves that I was able to do myself. Took me a while....but I did it.

So, if you are thinking of doing it your self, try it! There are very good tutorials out there.

Oh, I know, that doesn't sound like such a fun title. Really, if I had seen such a title a while back, I would have never read the entry.

But I have to tell you how much better I'm feeling. With our insurance changes, I went to see a new doctor who recommended among other things, that I really watch my refined sugar intake. OOOOOooohhh, is it hard! Really hard for the first few days. DH is in on it too. He has started to visit an accuputurist for food allergies. Seems to be helping rather well. But she told him to get off the refined sugar too. So here we are, two sugarholics trying to get rid of our addiction.

By most accounts, we don't eat alot of processed junk. You won't find soda in my fridge. I rarely buy potatoe chips or candy. We eat regular oatmeal for most breakfasts. We have a great garden and I make our own bread. We try to eat healthy so it won't be so bad when we want our sugar. But we sure make up for it with our  ice-cream and homemade baked goods. And I love to make these things too and eat them on a daily basis.

Since I was a teenager, I have always been tired. I had a busy schedule as a teenager. Once I got married and changed to being at home more, I thought I would regain my energy. Wrong. But I have noticed this week that I'm not nearly as tired during the day. Could it be part of giving up sugar? If so, for me, it's a great trade off. I'll have to give it another week to see.

I saw this at  Jen's Blog and thought it looked like fun. 

1. Who is your man?
~My DH was born in Dallas, Texas and was raised all over the South. He is an only child. He is one of the best listeners I know. He loves the Lord.  He is so talented. He can beautifully remodel a kitchen and bathroom from the studs up and then turn around and fix a computer. Then turn around and explain finance and investments. He is a great husband and wonderful father. He is a huge Dallas Cowboys fan. He loves to spend his evenings with the kids either with Tai Kwon Do or Cub Scouts or just hanging out at home.

2. How long have you been together?
~We will be together 17 years this last April and married for 15 this past April.

3. How long dated?
~2 years

4. How old is your man?
~He is 37 years

5. Who eats more?
~I think we eat about the same.

6. Who said “I love you” first?
~He did. I didn't say it right back either.

7. Who is taller?
~Him!  He's 5'11'' and I'm 4'11''

8. Who sings better?
~Me. He is talented but not with music.

9. Who is smarter?
~Depends on the subject

10. Whose temper is worse?
~Mine, he is very even. Good complement.

11. Who does the laundry? 
~Me, but he will help fold and put away.

12. Who takes out the garbage?
~The kids

13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?
~Me

14. Who pays the bills?
~He does, he has it all on the computer

15. Who is better with the computer?
~He is.

16. Who mows the lawn?
~He does, along with DS

17. Who cooks dinner?
~Mostly me, but he will help in pinch. He is a very good cook.

18. Who drives when you are together?
~He does usually, but I will if he is tired.

19. Who pays when you go out?
~He does!

20. Who is most stubborn?
~Me, but he can talk me into almost anything. Almost.

21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong?
Me.

22. Whose parents do you see the most?
~Mine.

23. Who kissed who first?
~He kissed me first

24. Who asked who out?
~He asked me out first.

25. Who proposed?
~He did at a beach with a lighthouse as the full moon was coming up. Very romantic.

26. Who is the most sensitive?
~It depends

27. Who has more friends?
~We both have a lot of friends, but he's my best friend.

28. Who has more siblings?
~I do

29. Who wears the pants in the family?
~He does……;)

30. How did you meet?
~We were set up on a blind date. 

Thanks Jen, that was fun!

Late in August, my mom always took my brother and I to Gemco (remember Gemco? Great store) to pick out our backpacks, notebooks and lunchboxes for the new school year. I remember huge displays of metal lunchboxes. I always picked out Holly Hobbie or Strawberry Shortcake. My backpack was always red and I felt really lucky when I got a Trapper Keeper. Those were the days. I loved my metal lunchboxes, there was no such thing as smooshed sandwiches. And it seems that my school supplies got me through from September to June.

Last year, I bought AG a new backpack from Target. A cute pink one in a camoplage pattern. I filled it with new crayons, markers, pencils and paper. She loved it. The backpack was on sale for $8. What a deal! So I thought. The backpack lasted only two months before it got holes and fell apart. And since we homeschool, she is way lighter on that stuff than she would be if she carried back and forth to school.  The one I got for T was also from Target that I got on sale as well. It's still going well almost 6 years later. Go figure.

I am one of those moms who would rather buy better quality  for a bit more $ and have it last then to go back to the store at Christmastime to replace what I bought just a few months earlier. For two years, I've been eyeing the back packs at Lands End and saved up my money this year. DH also gave me some so that I had enough to get  all backpacks and new lunchboxes. I even bought a set for me for the fieldtrips.  Fun!

I also made my Tapestry of Grace order. As soon as it comes in, we're all set.

For T's birthday, July 1, my MIL sent me $10 to buy cold cereal for the kids. I guess my kids complained enough to her on the phone that I wasn't buying them cold cereal. My kids love cold cereal, but I'm quite thrifty when it comes to groceries and if I don't have a coupon for cold cereal, I won't buy it. Besides the fact that it's not very filling and they are hungry just 1/2 hour after eating. Not good on busy mornings. Anyway, she sent me the money and the kids were thrilled.

I searched the sales to see who had the best deal. Albertsons had Kellogs cereal for $2 each. So off we went and T picked out his five boxes and paid for them himself. He was so happy he even agreed to to share all of his boxes with AG, but nobody else. He knows I'm not a huge fan of cold cereal and also knows that DH is a cold cereal monster! Smart kid.

Well, it only took of month to down those boxes of cereal. I was suprised it took that long. But they were so careful because they wanted it to last longer. They loved this treat and it was a great idea for a gift.

We're back to oatmeal, pancakes and eggs and toast now. I'm trying my hand and homemade yogurt. We all love yogurt but it's become so expensive in the stores. I'll let you know how it turns out.