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Homeschooling in Illinois
Jan. 12, 2009
Christmas
Christmas came late this year. We opened our presents on Jan 1. Hubby was working Christmas and with so many other things going on and him not being off until the 1st, we decided to just wait. And I am so proud of my kids. They didn't complain, or bug me at all. Not once did they ask to open the gifts. It could be that they got plenty from other people, though...
I enjoyed being able to leisurely open the gifts, and then actually use them instead of rushing off to my sil's for Christmas dinner and then open up more gifts. It was nice to have the celebrations spread out. I am now a fan of celebrating the 12 days of Christmas.
We finally cut back this Christmas. Every year I want to not buy so much, but every year I feel guilty and end up buying a bunch of toys that we don't need. This year I got the kids mostly usable things. Like flannel sheets.

And winter work pants. They will come in handy when we get more animals.

The older boys each got a tool box with a few tools to go into it. And Toddler B got a wheelbarrow to help out in the garden. The boys put it together with their new tools.

And Princess C got a rake and a shovel to help out in the garden.

The kids were happy. And my bank account is happy. 
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Nov. 29, 2008
Thanksgiving
We had a great Thanksgiving. There was a total of 19 people. Of course, 8 from my house and 8 from my sil's house, and you have yourself a crowd right there.
We had three tables lined up across my kitchen. I can fit 19 people in my kitchen!!! How cool is that? In my old house, I could only fit the tiniest table, and since there were so many of us, it was pointless to even try and squeeze a table in there. The white table was lengthwise while we were eating. We only moved it to make more room from cleaning up. Actually, only 18 fit at the tables. Poor Lil' L was pushed off to the side.

We are enjoying desserts. 2 cheesecakes and pumpkin squares.

Lil L got to enjoy her second day of food.

After we were all stuffed and then able to moved away from the table, my hubby put on some old home videos. We got to see my hubby and his sister when they were teens. Hi-LAR-ious! We had a great time laughing at those videos. Now I want to look at some videos of when the kids were small. I think I'll get out some of past Christmas'. That should be fun.
I hope you all had an enjoyable Thanksgiving!
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Jan. 2, 2008
Christmas Cont...
For Christmas dinner (at lunch time) we went to my SIL's house. We had yummy food and then the kids opened up more presents.

We gave my MIL a picture of all the grandkids for Christmas. It took two different sittings to get a picture. The toddlers were... umm.... not too cooperative.


But we finally got a good one.
In case you don't know, the ages of the kids are 9, 7, 6, 6, 6, 3, 3, 2, 1.
We left my SIL's after 6 in order to pick up my brother, SIL, and niece from the airport. A very busy, and tiring day. But it was well worth it.
What I never mentioned was the Christmas party at my SIL's house on the 22nd and my MIL came over on the 24th to wish N a happy b-day and to give us her presents.
And then on the Day after Christmas, we had my family's Christmas. The 10 that are currently in this house along with my sister and Grandmother were there.
Here is a picture of my niece.

She looks just like my brother and I did when we were little. She is 2.
On Friday, my hubby's best friend came over with his family, and on Sat, my dad came over. For New Year's Eve, we had family and friends over, ate yummy food, and played Balderdash and Cranium. We had a great time, but we are very glad the next few days will be uneventful. Phew, we did more in the last few weeks than we did all year.
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Dec. 28, 2007
Christmas
Just a quick note to say we had and are still having a great Christmas season. Lots of family and friends to celebrate with....
My brother, SIL, and niece are visiting from CA and will be here for another week or so.
I'll post pictures of our adventures soon! (hopefully...)
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Dec. 21, 2007
Christmas Picture
Last Sunday I got the courage to take our Christmas picture. This is a first in a long time. The last few years I've sent out New Year's cards because, well, I'm not on the ball. This year, the picture is taken AND the cards are even sent out!
Princess C was really excited to take pictures:

Toddler B, not so much.....

I wanted to do a goofy one, just for fun:
(Don't you just love B's face?!)
Here is the one we ended up with:

Gotta love digital cameras and the rapid shot feature! You're bound to get at least one good one. Actually, I think we just got lucky... 
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Apr. 8, 2006
Easter Ideas
Jan. 2, 2006
Praying for my Grandpa and remembering the past
My grandpa is 88 years old and is dying of cancer. I'm not expecting any miracles of health, but I am praying everyday that his heart would soften and he would let in Jesus. My mom (Abiga51) is having a hard time dealing with her "daddy" dying. It is hard for me to understand the whole "daddy" idea, because me and my dad are not close, and I only have maybe 4 "daddy" memories. My mom talks about her dad in her blog, Abiga51. Look under "From Grandma to Bamma to Abiga", and please leave some encouraging words for her.
I remember going to my grandma and grandpa's house every holiday, as a child. My grandma made the best polish food. Of course, I didn't like it until I grew up.... She would make polish sausage, saurkraut, pierogies (cheese and saurkraut - I only liked potato which she only remembered 1 year), ham, mashed potatoes and gravy (ah, finally something for me to eat), and dumplings (those came when I got a little older -YUM!). There was also cranberry mold and jello mold. Don't forget the dessert! She always had kolackys, banana cream pie and... drum roll please... blueberry cheesecake. It was the simplest cake, but my older brother looked forward to that every year. On the end tables there would be Fannie May turtles and cashews. When we sat down to eat, my grandpa always sat at the head of the table, and my grandma never sat at all. She would refill the food and keep it warm. My Uncle Paul would come to the table from the back porch were he lived, eat, drink a tall glass of milk, and then go back to the porch, saying maybe two words. I remember after every meal, my grandma and grandpa would do the dishes together. Back then I thought it very strange. When my dad still lived with us, he didn't help my mom at all, so I didn't really know a man was supposed to pitch in. After dinner was all cleaned we would gather around the tree with the cute little village under it, and open presents. And after presents came bingo. I loved bingo. My grandma would have presents wrapped up for prizes - nothing great, but fun anyway.
My Grandpa was a hard man to read. I remember him telling jokes (so I thought), but then his face would be serious. So I never knew if I should laugh, or apologize. But I remember, at my 8th grade graduation, my Grandpa, walking up to me, hugging me and crying. WOW, a man, my Grandpa, crying. I also remember, walking down the aisle, determined not to cry, but almost losing it when I spotted my Grandpa, teary eyed.
The last few years we spent Christmas with my husbands family. Last christmas I told everyone that this year we would spend Christmas with my Grandma and Grandpa. All year I looked forward to it. As Christmas neared, my grandpa got sick. He was in and out of rehabilitation centers, until finally he had to be put into a nursing home. We were afraid Christmas wouldn't happen. But my grandma said if we set the table, she would cook. Hurray! I got my wonderful Polish Christmas that I had missed so much. The yummy food was still the same (which I now love it all!), but that was about it. My grandpa wasn't there. It was strange, seeing his chair empty, but nice to know at least he was still alive. My grandparents had moved a few years ago, so it was a different house. My grandma actually sat down and ate with us. My Uncle Paul (who got his own place when they moved) actually talked (but still had his big cup of milk). There was no tree and no village. No bingo either. But we had a great time. I am so glad we got to be there for Christmas this year.
Don't forget to visit Abiga51, please!
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Jan. 1, 2006
Happy New Year
We had a pretty uneventful New Years eve (more uneventful than normal). Last night, my husband's friend from the Marines and his wife and three kids came over to exchange presents with us. We ate, opened presents, and watched some home videos. One of the videos was from their "Turkey bowl". The boys and I got to see M make some pretty neat catches. We didn't know he had it in him... hehe.... Our guests ended up leaving around 8:30. We then played Disney Scene it. I finally got to go to bed at 10. If I had my choice, I would have been in bed by 7. Two weeks of sleep deprivation is finally catching up with me. Baby B LOVES to cry. It seems that every other night he is awake 1-2 hours fussing and crying. And he cries during the day, so I can't rest then, and when he finally does sleep, and I'm not holding him, I want to do something (clean, blog....anything).
Today, M's mom came over and wanted to play mexican dominos. I didn't really feel like it. All I wanted to do is take the dried up tree down, but I said I would. Baby B was crying and I was trying to play and feed him and burp him and try and get him to not cry. My sister came home and held B and got him to go to sleep. So then I ended up having fun and relaxing. And I won the game! WOOHOO! After we finish, Baby B was still sleeping, so we played Disney Scene It. Me and N teamed up and won for the second day in a row. WOOHOO!
I am going to catch up on some blogs now. See if anyone has done anything interesting.
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About Me
Oh, the crazy things that happen in my house.... I am the wife of M for 8 1/2 years now. I am the mother of a 10 yo boy - D, 6 1/2 yo boy - N, 4 yo girl - Princess C, 2 1/2 yo boy -Toddler B, and girl Lil' L 1, and a new little blessing due Jan 31. I've been homeschooling since 2003. I lean towards a Charlotte Mason approach, but more often than not, it's "whatever works".
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