I can't believe that time has gotten away from me once again.  Sorry it has been so long since I have updated this blog but things have been crazy!!!  LOL

I have been working for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine since August as the assistant to the Senior Graphic Designer.  What a great time it has been!  There is always something new to work on which is terrific since I get bored very easy.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE structure and routine but sometimes that gets boring but with TOS there is lots going on so you have to be flexible.

A friend and I are starting our own business.  We are creating curriculum (lapbooks, literature studies, activity books, etc).  We are soooo exciting about this adventure and opportunity!  Stay tuned to hear more as we get our business off and running!

I am now a consultant for Usborne!  They have some amazing books at great prices!  I have just started so if you are in the area and would like to host a party, please let me know.  If you are not in the area and would like to order something, please let me know that also.  You can visit their site at www.ubah.com and look at some of their terrific deals!

Now, on to the rest of the family -

Brandon is starting select soccer in a couple of weeks.  He is very excited!  He loves soccer and he will be getting some great instruction from one of a coach from England.  We had our parent meeting and met the coaches.  They are all really nice and want the kids to learn but also to enjoy the game and have fun!!  That is a big plus!

Brianna is still going strong with ballet and tap.  She has a recital coming up in May but I am not sure she is looking forward to being on stage in front of all those people.   She is, however, looking forward to the costumes she gets to wear!  She is such a girly girl!  LOL

Rob switched jobs recently.  He is much happier with the schedule since he is home by dinner instead of after the kids are in bed.  The kids and I like this schedule much better, too!

We now have 2 new additions to the family..Sydney and Susie!  They are our new gerbils!  I wasn't sure what I was thinking when I thought it would be a good idea but the kids love them. 

I think that about catches us up on the happenings of our family!  at least for now! 

Be sure to check back soon for an update on our new business!!!

TTFN

Hey everyone!  Do you like TOS products?  Do you like free TOS products?   If you answered yes to one or both of these questions, then we are looking for you! 

We are in need of a few people to review some Schoolhouse Planner Modules.  If this sounds like something you would be interested in, please send an email to sruby@thehomeschoolmagazine.com ASAP!

Time has just flown by once again!   I have been soooo busy and I can't believe it has been a month since I last blogged!  Well here is what has been keeping me and my family busy....

Brianna is now 6 years old and has lost her first tooth....all in one weekend!  This year she had a High School Musical party.  She is completely smitten with these movies and is so cute when she talks about the characters, the clothes they wear and the songs they sing.  She is always singing but now it is usually a song from one of the movies.  She is turning into such a girlie girl with the hair, nails, accessories....she is just too much for me, the low maintenance mom...LOL  

Brandon is going to be my couch potato!  He is getting to where we hardly see him unless he is hungry or can't find something he needs.  Other than that, he is usually in his room watching TV, building Lego creations, just making a mess of his room in general.  I can hardly wait for the teen years....ugh!

Rob has been busy working, working, working!  Hopefully that will be slowing down soon since I have an income now.  He has given up so much of his time for us that I hope this will allow him to slow down a bit and spend some more time at home!  Although, he has purchased a crossbow so I am sure he will be out with his hunting buds every chance he gets! 

I have been busy with some projects with TOS!  I have been having a great time with everything that has been happening with this opportunity.  I am currently assisting the senior graphic designer with various tasks and learning alot!  I have also been working on a marketing class that TOS offered for the month of October.  I was blessed to be a part of this terrific opportunity and hope that something great comes from it.  There are some really great ladies in the class and we are all learning so much from each other.

This is our last week of class which means they will be choosing 3 class participants for marketing positions this coming week!  Oh the stress but I am grateful for all the doors that have been opened for me this year!  I know God has a plan for me but this month he has put that plan in OVERDRIVE!  LOL

Well, I think that brings you up to speed on what has been happening around here.  Check back later as I am hoping to post some pictures soon!

Until next blog......

Since it has been so long, I thought I should give a quick update. 

School has started and we are off to a good start.  The kids are enjoying school this year. Well, Brandon has some complaints but he is still getting all of the work done and with very few errors!  Brianna thinks school is the best thing ever!!  She will sit for hours and do school work without complaint and she LOVES to read!!!

It is time for Co-Op to start again..YIPPEEEE!  I love Co-Op and so do the kids!  We have some wonderful classes planned this year, some wonderful parents teaching those classes and new families joining us this year!   Check us out at www.homeschoolblogger.com/communitycoop.

The end of Summer is drawing near!  I am sad that it is ending but geez it has been a hot and humid summer!!  I am ready for Fall weather!!  We are debating when to take the pool down for the year but with the temps in the upper 80's next week and no rain coming, it is going to be a scorcher!!  I think we will leave it for one more week anyway!  LOL

Brandon has his first soccer game this week and the team is looking really good.  They have been really working hard in their practices; running, playing scrimmages and making sure they understand where they should be in relation to the ball during the game.  This is his 4th year and he is still enjoying it.  Watch out David Beckham!!  LOL

Brianna starts dance classes this week and is extremely excited!  She can be such a girlie girl!  LOL   She is taking ballet and tap and is more interested in the outfits she gets to wear than what the dance moves are...LOL   We are really looking forward to the end of the year recital!

I have a job now....YIPPPEEE!!!   I am once again a working mom but this time I get to stay home with my kids and enjoy time with them as well!  

Rob now has a part time job on the weekends so financially things are looking up...I HOPE!  He is trying a new hobby this year - deer hunting!  He will be heading out with a couple of friends this year to deer hunt so stay tuned for "Stories from the Tree Stand"!  LOL   He has never tried bow hunting before so this will be interesting.  I suggested he "shoot" with a camera but he has chosen the bow.   I am sure there will be some interesting things to come from this.  LOL

OK, that is the update for now!  Time to get some school things ready for tomorrow, get ready for a cook-out with friends and clean the house!  All the fun things Mom's do on the weekend!

Well, it seems like the right time to get the kids in the school routine.  We are going to start with earlier bedtimes, earlier up-and-at-'em time and some fun learning. 

Today I had the kids each pick an animal they would like to know more about.  This weeks picks are alligators and otters.  We ventured to the library (had to return some stuff anyway) and picked out books they felt had some interesting facts on these animal.  I am responsible for searching the internet and library for animal crafts and other things to make learning fun. 

My plan is to spend a 1- 2 weeks on each animal they pick unless the animal requires more or less time.  I will also incorporate some lapbooks here and there as well as some journal writing if we take field trips to see any of the animals.  Stay tuned to this blog channel for our progress and pics on this wild adventure!!

I am also going to start planning our meals a little better since our days are so full of activity and by dinner time I am too beat to try to plan something.  Also to try to save money and trips to the grocery.  So I am going to try to plan out meals monthly, spend on day shopping, one day cooking and freezing and see how that works.  Sounds like a good idea but I am not sure I can get the family to work with me.  We are a spur of the moment family when it comes to meals.  With my hubby working until 9pm it is just me and the kids eating dinner most nights and hubby enjoys the leftovers (if there are any) the next day for lunch.  It might be nice after a long day of activities to just go to the freezer, pull something out and pop it in the oven....ta-dah.....DINNER!!!

Anyhoo, I guess it is about time to decide what is for dinner tonight.  Brandon has his first soccer practice at 9am tomorrow so I will need to get everyone settled early or we will oversleep...LOL

Not sure what to blog about.  The day started out pretty good, we were able to clean and rearrange the kids bedrooms and the kitchen was cleaned really good but that took most of the day!!  Well, that and the kids swimming..LOL 

here is a pic of my goggle monsters.....

The day ended on a sour note, but tomorrow is another day!   The kids and I are going to get things ready for school and maybe take a field trip (somewhere close of course)!  The kids and I need a good adventure to blog about.  I will be sure to take the camera!

Until we blog again..... 

Ok, I can admit it...I am a school supply junkie!  I love to look at the sale ads in the Sunday paper and find all the good deals on pencils, glue, colored pencils, folders, etc, etc, etc....I am such a nerd!!

Anyway, I think we are fully stocked on the essentials for school this year...unless I find another good sale in the next few weeks...LOL

So far I have free gel pens, free dry erase markers, free backpacks, 1 cent glue (for our co-op www.homeschoolblogger.com/communitycoop), 1 cent pencil cases, 10 cent folders, 20 cent folders, 25 cent staplers, 50 cent color pencils, and the list goes on and on.....Can you feel the excitement!?!?!? 

I can hardly wait for curriculum boxes to arrive! 

How many of you are school supply junkies like me?  How many of you are willing to admit it?  LOL

Now my next task is to get our school room cleaned and organized so I can put the beautiful school supplies away (I know, pathetic ain't I...LOL)

Hope everyone is having as much fun with back to school shopping as I am!

and, boy, am I tired!!!   LOL 

Getting up every day at 6am and not going to bed until after 11pm makes for a very tired me!   The good part is the kids made it through camp without any serious injuries and they had LOTS of FUN!!!  They got to be 'crazy scientists' and mix whatever they wanted,  watched a really cool chemistry show, made periscopes and water bugs.   And to top it all off, they are ready to do it again next year!  I am just happy they had a good time, made new friends, learned some really cool science stuff and were safe while having fun!!!

Now, all the work I was planning on doing while the kids were at camp still needs to be done.  I am not used to so much free time each day, so instead of cleaning and organizing my house, I had some fun!  I went to some garage sales, out to lunch with friends and visited the library several times (one of my favorite places in the whole world.  I know, I am such a nerd  LOL)

Tomorrow is the day camp field trip to Splash Moraine but there was no way I was letting my kids do that so we are going to the Troy Aquatic Park with friends instead.  The kids are really looking forward to it since they have been practicing their swimming here at home.  (we had a 13' x 30" pool given to use a few weeks ago).  Now I just have to convince Brandon that just because he can float underwater doesn't mean he is an olympic swimmer!  He gets a little over confident when it comes to some things like that so we will have the water safety talk several times tomorrow before we enter the water park gates!!

Well that is all for now as I need to get everyone ready for a nice quiet night at home and an early bed time! 

AND THE FUN CONTINUES!

Today the kids got to walk in the pond (which I didn't know about so I didn't send appropriate shoes for this occassion), make shrinky dinks and write with 'miserable' ink.  (invisible ink for all you non-chemistry people...LOL)

Good News:  Brianna and Cody made it to the correct class this morning.  Steph and I arrived a little early today so we could get the full story of what caused the mix-up yesterday.  We were not totally surprised by what had happened but we made sure the staff had the correct information about which class our children were signed up for and which one they should be in.  With the issue resolved,  we headed home to spend the rest of the day watching the clock until time to pick them up...LOL 

Actually, Steph and Shawn came over for a bit so Shawn could help Rob with our broken vehicle and Steph and I watched the clock.  LOL   It is difficult to leave your kids somewhere for the entire day when you are so used to having them around.  And I don't want to even entertain the possibility that they could have fun without ME!   LOL

Tomorrow they will be taking another trip to the pond, with the appropriate shoes, erupting the volcano they made yesterday and the older kids will be making spy glasses out of sunglasses (thanks Steph for the heads-up).

Now it is on to packing lunches for tomorrow and bedding down the kids for another fun filled day of day camp! 

Safari Joe spends his days digging up dinosaur bones at the bottom tip of Texas.

Who is this Safari Joe that I speak of?  

None other than my son, Brandon.  Safari Joe is his secret identity he cerated for the Spy Science summer day camp class he is taking at the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery this week.  Blue Jay is his secret agent name (or something like that).  LOL

He is also taking Just Add Water where he will learn about different water ecosystems.  Brandon and his friend Deuce are in the classes together so I can only imagine the spy secrets they will have after this week!  LOL

Brianna is also taking classes at the museum this week; Kids Chemistry and Just Add Water.  Her good friend Cody is in the same classes this week.  Today they made slime and volcanos and they will be erupting the volcanos tomorrow.  Well, that is if they get in the right class tomorrow. 

I am not sure what exactly happened this morning but Cody and Brianna ended up in the Pre-K Chemistry class instead of the 1st grade class they were signed up for.  I am not sure of all the details about what happened or why, but it involved a friend and her son that was in the Pre-K class.  So, tomorrow morning my friend Steph and I will be staying to make sure the kids are in the right class as well as trying to determine what happened today so it doesn't happen again.

After getting up this morning at 6:30am, being at day camp from 8:30a-3:30p, swimming for a couple of hours and going to the local dairy bar for ice cream, you would think my kids would be soooooo tired, right?  Well, not my kids.  My son just went to sleep at 10:00pm so I can only imagine how tomorrow morning will be...LOL

Well, now that kids are asleep, I have to pack lunches for tomorrow and get everything together as we will be leaving the house tomorrow at 7:30am for another fun-filled day!   Here are a couple of pics from today

Well, not a lavish vacation but it was some time away.   Now I am back, ready to continue our summer fun and get the house ready for the new school year!  This will mean alot of cleaning, selling and organizing in the next couple of months!! 

Each July my family goes to Brown County (Nashville) Indiana for some relaxation, shopping and eating...lots of eating! 

If you have never been to Brown County (www.browncounty.com) and you like to shop, this would be a place to put on you list.  They have anything you can imagine; jewelry, blown glass (and you are able to watch the glassblower while they are creating their masterpieces), primitives, leather, toys, food (Kiss the Cook is my favorite), candles, pottery, and just about anything else you could want.   We have been taking a yearly trip for the past 25+ years and each year we look forward to going again.  We stay at the Brown County Inn because of its location (right at the end of the main road in town), the pool and the price!  The kids love the pool and they would stay in there all day if we let them!

The kids favorites places are the toy store, candy stores, ice cream stores and the train that takes you on a tour of town.  Very Cool!

We also like to stop at the Warm Glow Candle Outlet (www.warmglow.com) in Centerville Indiana. They have THE BEST CANDLES EVER!!!!   Their selection is huge, the candles are awesome and they recently built a new, much larger building.  There is a great picture of the building on their website.   I would recommend the store highly if you have an opportunity to go.  If you are not close enough to drive to the outlet, you can go to their website and find a dealer near you. 

Here are some pics of our vacation

Your spending a nice quite Monday afternoon just hanging out in front of the TV and fire trucks pull up across the street.

So what would you do? 

I grabbed the camera and headed across the street to chat with the neighbor.  No way I was going to miss out on a blog opportunity.   LOL

Here's the scoop.  A tree service working a few houses down on the opposite side of the street hit some power lines.  The lines were sizzling and sparking, eventually melting in two.  Some of the lines were stuck in the trees (sizzling and sparking), others were stuck across other wires and some were laying on the ground.  Now when I say sparking and sizzling, I could hear them from our front porch and this happened in the backyard of the house across the street!!!

The power company was notified but after an hour they still hadn't arrived.  The neighbors found a working phone and contacted the power company to see when they were coming to fix the wires.  (this is where it gets interesting)....when the original call was placed to the power company (by the tree service people), it was only for a power outage...nothing was said about the down lines or the dangerous situation that was caused.  The power company suggested that the neighbors contact the local fire dept to check the situation until the power company could get someone dispatched. 

Now, you would think that a single car/truck could come to check the situation, right.  Well not here by golly....we have to go all out.....LOL

We had a police car and three trucks show up!  Boy did that draw a crowd in our usually quiet neighborhood!  

The cable company and power company were working on the lines well after 9pm and were back again this morning.

So here are the pics

Firetruck just across the street 

If you look closely, you can see the lines hanging from the telephone pole behind the house.

Brianna and Elizabeth (neighbor across the street)

My friend Steph was lucky enough to get  a chance to preview this very cool planner and now has the opportunity to raffle off a free planner to one lucky person. 

Please visit her blog (http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/sisterchicksteph), read her review of the planner and then follow the steps to be entered!

Good Luck!!!

Just thought I would add some updated pics of the kids

Walls are not completely done but here are some updated pics of our bathroom remodel project

Above is the linoleum that was put in......looks pretty good but having trouble picking paint color for the walls that will look right with the flooring....  LOL

A little dark but the best I could get of the entire bathroom

YIPPPEEEE!  It is VBS week and we are all having such a spetacular time!  New friends, bible stories, crafts, music, games, and store....how much better could it be!  

Everyone is doing such a great job and we are having so much fun that I really can't believe we only have 2 more days.

This is my first year helping out with VBS and I have assigned as the class leader for the 5 year old group.  Since the theme is Bug Safari, all groups are assigned a 'mascot bug'.  We are the bumblebees...BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ......

I was not really sure what I should expect being a class leader but thought I would it sounded like fun.  
My first task was decorating my room.  That didn't sound too hard.  I had supplies/resources provided and was told what room I would be using, so off I went.  3 days later, with the help of my kids and hubby, the room was finished.  I am rather proud of how it turned out and will have some pics tomorrow.  (the ones I have didn't come out very well  :O( )
Next task, Monday morning when VBS begins.   I have 3 adult helpers in my room and I am grateful they are there!  It would be extemely difficult to herd a group of 5 year olds alone evn with my soccerball whistle!!!  We started out Monday with 29 kids.  Tuesday we had 34 and today 35.  We are excited that they are all there and after 3 hours with that many kids, the adults are exhausted!  LOL

I will be taking my camera tomorrow and trying to get some pics of my kids and the room so I can post them for all to see.

More tomorrow including pics!!

Well it has been awhile since I have blogged so let me fill y'all in on what is happening in our neck of the woods.

School is winding down and the burn-out has set in for both me and Brandon.  We should be completely finished with all of our lessons by the end of next week.  And let me tell you there will be some celebration.  This has been a fun but trying year and we will both be glad when it is over.  :O)

Awana has ended for the year except for the cook-out Wednesday.  The awards night was lots of fun! The kids both got their awards for finishing their books and Brianna will be moving to Sparks next year! 

Co-op also ended for the summer but we still have summer activities planned.  Not sure how many we will be attending due to the horrific gas prices but we will do our best.  The last official day of co-op was the Science Fair.  How fun was that!!!!  All of the kids did a great  job on their projects and had lots of information to share.  Brandon did his project on color and got  2nd place in the 3rd-6th grade group.  Brianna did hers on butterfiles and got 3rd place in K-2nd grade group.  We are already planning for next year!!

Brianna has discovered High School Musical.  She has watched it so many times that she sings all the songs.  Brandon has only watched is a few times and he knows most of the songs too but Bri takes it to a whole new level.   He favorite character is of course Sharpay, the rich snobby girl, hence the diva-tude!!!    Bri now has the Sharpay shades that say I Love Troy,  wears pink and anything shiny as often as possible and talks non stop about the show. 
How did this all start......Well, I like musicals and the high school in town was doing HIgh School Musical so I talked Rob and the kids into going with me.   It snowballed from there...  LOL

Vacation Bible School starts in June and I have volunteered to help with the preschoolers....I am not sure what I am in for but they told me I get a whistle....what more could I ask for..LOL

The kids were approved for scholarships and will be attending the summer camp at the Boonshoft Museum this summer.  They are very excited!!  I am hoping the learn alot and, most of all, have fun!!

Rob's birthday is this coming Sunday.  He will be the big 40!!  We are having friends over for a cook-out.

I will try to load out camera program today so I can post pics of the kids, the science fair, awana awards night and whatever else I can take a picture of....

I cannot believe it has been over a month since I last blogged!  There has been so much happening that I completely lose track of time and even what day it is!!  LOL

Let me see if I can sum up the last month...

Our bathroom project is going well  We now have walls, a floor and the linoleum is down!  We are just over 2 months into this project and we are now able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I will post the lastest pics when I can get our other computer to work so I can download the pics from my camera.

We now have a membership to the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery (www.boonshoftmuseum.org) so we will be spending lots of time there this year!  The kids LOVE to go there and it is good for Moms to have a break every now and then.   My friend Steph and I have applied for summer camp scholarships for our kids to attend the summer camp at the museum in July.  Please pray that we are awarded the scholarships!  The programs look very exciting and educational and the kids would get alot from it.
The program the older boys will be attending is Soccer Bots and Spy Science.  In Soccer Bots they will be building robots out of Legos and then having them play a game of soccer with other 'bots.  Too Cool!!  The Spy Science class looks really awesome!  They will be learning about various ways to spy.  Hang on...maybe that isn't such a good thing!!  LOL  
The younger kids will be doing chemistry where they will be mixing concoctions that fizz, pop and glow and a class on water to explore what can be found in water from different ecosystems.  Too Fun!!  Wish Moms could take classes like this...LOL

Brandon has 12 weeks of school left.  I can't believe how fast it went!  We have had some really great times with homeschool this year!  The co-op starting, the field trips, play dates with friends, etc.  We have also had some really hard times but hoping next year will be a little easier.

Brianna will be starting kindergarten next year!  My baby is growing up!!  I can't believe she is almost 6 years old....seems like only yesterday....................well, maybe not yesterday but you know what I am getting at   LOL  I have all of her papers ready for the mail and she is super excited to be starting 'school like bubby'.    Hope she has a better attitude about school than her brother does...LOL

I am sure there are plenty of things I have forgotten but that is a taste of what we have been up to in the last month. 

Yesterday we went on a trip with our co-op to the Boonshoft Museum in Dayton...what a HOOT we had!!!  The kids ran round the museum soaking up as much fun as they could in a couple of hours.  There were various activities like pretend shopping, vet office complete with a wide variety of animals to choose from and lots of water fun!  They also made paper airplanes, speedboats and towers that are tested by a 'rumble floor' that imitates an earthquake...very cool stuff!  I must add that I had some fun myself with the activities...I am just a big kid at heart!  LOL

Our group got to participate in a creative science program that taught us about rainbows.  We made CD Spectrascopes that we could see rainbows in and saw some really cool experiments; one for each color of the rainbow (except for indigo..not an easy color to make I guess)

Here are some pics from our trip....

here the girls are reviewing some animal x-rays

Brianna pretending to be a small forest animal coming out of one of the tunnels

Brandon wearing his CD Spectrascope as a hat...why not, it sure looked like one..LOL

more Spectrascope pics

Brianna mixing chemicals for the color orange experiment that then became.........

a funny orange mushroom...LOL

This is the experiment for the color blue...and, yes, it is glowing!

and here we are at lunch...the yummiest part of the day...LOL
Ok, that's it for tonight.....I need to get my sleep for co-op in the morning!

Later!

Not that Mondays are necessarily a bad day but not much has happened today.  It was supposed to be a non-school day but because we are behind we did some catch-up work but nothing too structured.

We have been pretty busy lately with the bathroom project, school work, church and co-op so it was nice to have a day that is more relaxed.

Co-op is going wonderful and my kids look forward to it every week!  (www.homeschoolblogger.com/communitycoop)  They are super excited about tomorrow because the co-op is going to the Boonshoft Museum for our 2nd field trip!  We are going to have a great time with the Creative Science program...and hanging out with friends!!   Our first field trip was to the Englewood Fire Station where the kids got to get into the fire trucks and the ambulance to look around.  Here are some pics from that outing....

And here are some pics of my kiddos just hanging out at home....

Ok, that is all I can come up with now....I will have to clear the camera and reload with new updated pics....later