Homeschooling in Illinois

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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Nov. 24, 2008

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY November 24, 2008... Outside my window... My mom is fixing the solar lights.  They are constantly getting knocked off.  Also, we keep checking to see if the hawk we saw this morning came back.  I am thinking...That I am really glad we don't have neighbors.  Otherwise they would have been laughing at me when I was running around the yard in my pink pjs and slippers trying to chase the hawk away. I am thankful for... a FIL who likes to make my kids happy. From the learning rooms...  Light schedule this week.  The kids are trying to hand feed Ozzy, our new pet bird.  From the kitchen...  I have bread baking.  Going to make pizza rolls for dinner.  I am also making a batch of yogurt. I am wearing...jeans, Sea World sweatshirt.  I am creating... a list of foods I need to make for Thanksgiving.  Also a list of things to do, and when they need to happen. I am going...to finally get the plastic on my windows tomorrow.  I am.  Really.  I hope.  I think.  Maybe.  Yes, I am.  I am reading...Super Baby Food.  Lil' L is already 6 months old!  I am hoping...Lil' L will start sleeping through the night soon. I am hearing...disobedient children. Around the house...I am getting so aggravated by the messes these children make and how it takes them for. ev. er.  to clean up.  Pretty soon everything in this house will be at the dump. One of my favorite things...A day away from the kids, to just sit and relax and maybe sip some coffee or hang with a friend.  At least, I think.  I wouldn't know.  A few plans for the rest of the week:  Thanksgiving at my house.  I can't wait.  Stuffing, gravy... yummmy!  Oh and all the other stuff, too.  Friday I plan on going to Kohls and finalizing my Christmas shopping.  Here is picture thought I am sharing... For more day book entries, click here.  Come on.  Join the fun!

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Nov. 24, 2008

Our New Pet

I have a few pet rules in my house.  You know, certain things I will not. allow. in the house.  Hamsters are one, birds are another.  My fil came over yesterday with a surprise for the family.  He took us all out to his truck to show us.  This is what it was: Oh.  My.  Word.  How do you say, "No way, take it back," without hurting his feelings and making the kids cry?  Well, you don't.  You keep the bird.  It is pretty.  And if the kids can train it to talk, it will be cool.  But the last thing the boys needed was another distraction.  And the last thing Toddler B needed was something else to get into.  But, it's not like the boys weren't distracted and Toddler B never got in trouble before.  So I guess I really doesn't matter.   The poor bird is really, really scared.  Hopefully it will relax soon.  And I suppose today we will be spending time googling, "How to take care of a bird".  Anyone know anything about birds? I will look on this as a learning experience.  I did say I wanted to be a crazy animal lady, right?

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Nov. 21, 2008

Goat Farm

Thursday we were able to visit a goat farm.  We could potentially be buying goats from them, so we wanted to see what the goats looked like and if they were friendly.  They were. We also wanted to talk to the lady about fencing and keeping the goats safe and we were hoping to sample some milk.  It was SO COLD!  Princess C was the first to go back to the car.  Lil' L never made it out.  Then Toddler B joined the girls.  But before he did, he was kind enough to act a little goofy. This one was my favorite.  She was just beautiful. We did get to sample some milk.  It was from a Nigerian Dwarf, which is what we would get.  It was GOOD!  I was shocked!  I heard they had good milk and that it didn't have the goaty taste, but I never believed it.  My hubby even tried it, and he agreed that it was good!  So if you know him, you know it was good.  We had a great time despite freezing.  She had llamas and a guard dog, and she also had tons of chickens, ducks, turkeys, and sheep.  When I grow up, I want to be a crazy animal lady.

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Nov. 21, 2008

We Need A Doorbell...

...because it was hard to hear them knocking.

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Nov. 19, 2008

N-ism

Nov. 17, 2008

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY November 17, 2008 Outside my window... I saw chickens pecking at the ground under the bird feeder.   I also saw a few snow flakes fall today. I am thinking...  I wish last night's dream would come true.  I dreamed my hubby got his transfer - immediately.  I am thankful... that my brother and his family will be coming in for Christmas.  I will get to meet my new niece and see my "old" niece again. From the learning rooms...working on a Thanksgiving lapbook.  We are focusing on being thankful, since we all need to be reminded of the blessings we have.  We are also focusing on the history of how Thanksgiving became a holiday.  We are taking a break from the normal pilgrim and indian study this year.  From the kitchen...We have lots of cookies from our cookie baking day.  I am eating way too many of them. I am wearing...  A sweatshirt, and yet I am still cold. I am creating... a huge mess!  I just switched my boys bedrooms.  I had to move their clothes and finish switching out the seasons and the too small clothes.... oh my....  I am going... to get in a got bath when the kids are all in bed. I am reading...Storey's Guide to raising Cattle, Pigs, and Goats. I am hoping... I can convince my hubby to let me get a guard dog.  I am hearing...  Li' L crying.  Why is she awake? Around the house...  I still need to put plastic on the windows.  You know it's bad when you can smell fresh air when the windows are closed.  One of my favorite things... catching up with my sil.  Both of them. A few plans for the rest of the week:  Thursday we are going to a goat farm to learn first hand how to care for and house goats. Here is picture thought I am sharing.. Sunset after a rain. For more Daybooks, go here.

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Nov. 14, 2008

Bin Diving

It's amazing the things you find when you start going through bins.  Being that we moved into this house a mere 4 months ago, we still have a lot of bins filled with stuff.  What.. I'm not all that sure of.  My garage has gotten so that you can't even walk through it.  I started that mess when I decided to put all the kids toys in there.  And, boy, what a can of worms I opened.  I never finished that project before I moved on to the next.  Ha, story of my life... Anyway, what was my point?  Oh yes, today, I decided that I should move all of the bins of games into the basement.  That way they will be out of the garage - because Christmas is coming and we need room for all the Christmas bins - and also so they will be a little easier to access.  On my way through the kitchen with my first bin I had the brilliant idea of going through the bins and making lists of what games were in which bins.  I must inform you, there are 4 giant bins and 1 regular size bin of games.  I know, too many.  But we are a bunch of pack rats and we think, "We might want to play that some day."  We can never agree on a game to actually get rid of.  We have different ideas of what might be played someday.  Actually, we did get rid of two games when we packed up.  hehe... My list idea turned out to be a good idea.  Besides the yelling at the boys to stop opening all the games and trying to play them and the yelling at them to stop moving all the games around because they were confusing me, it went pretty well.  And the bonus is, I found some very important things.  One being the directions to assemble our ping-pong table.  It was taken apart when we moved and hubby didn't think he would ever be able to put it back together again.  (Sounds very Humpty Dumpty-ish)  Now we have the directions, all we need is the time to put it together, and the space to set it up in.  Hmm....  My other special find was my Jurassic Park playing cards.  I got those in high school when I was a huge Jurassic Park freak.  And the creme de la creme.... drum roll please...  I found my mil's secret cheesecake recipe.  It was written down on a score sheet.  And I am holding it ransom.  She will have to pay me $1 million or else I will sell it on ebay.  Mom, you have until midnight tomorrow...

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Nov. 10, 2008

I Met JenIg!!

How cool am I?  I met THE JenIg!  And I made it onto her blog!    On Friday, we went to a barn dance hosted by the Bluedorns.  I almost didn't go because I was starting to feel like I was way out of my league.  On Laurie's blog, she posted pictures of different desserts that people were bringing and my desserts looked nothing like those.  I was freaking out, thinking that I hadn't prepared good enough.  But really, I had no idea what to expect.  Anyway, my driving force was, "I'm going to meet JenIg."  So I went.  And I am SO glad I did.  I feel so cool now.    My kiddos got cranky and were ready to go early, so I saw Jen and gave her my raffle tickets.  I figured I had little chance of winnning, but it would be my luck that I did and wasn't there to claim my prize.  So I asked her to check my tickets and if by chance I won, we would figure something out.  I had bought two tickets for the quilt her daughter Coie made, and two tickets for a violin.  As I was giving her my info, her hubby runs in to tell us they are drawing for the raffle right then.  Before we could get anywhere, some guy sticks his head into the room we are in asking if someone has the ticket #661.  I looked at my tickets and I won the quilt!  My hubby later told me I was rather funny because I was like, "#661?  A blue ticket?  For the quilt?  Really?"  I never expected to win.  I was so shocked and excited.  Jen was excited, too, because she shreaked in delight.    Here we are.  Me looking all goofy next to this beautiful lady: We got home, and put all the sleepy kids to bed.  I tried out the quilt on my bed, but, alas, it was too small.  So, I put it on Princess C's bed.  She woke up so thrilled!  She came up to me first thing and said, "Thank you for the quilt, momma!"  You just can't keep a cat away from a freshly made bed.  And while I was making Princess C's bed, Toddler B was in my room destroying my bed!  The circle of life... or something like that...

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Nov. 10, 2008

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY November 10, 2008... Outside my window...I can see for miles down the road now that the corn is down next door. I am thinking...how corrupt the FDA is.  I am thankful for...a huge garden to grow my own organic food. From the learning rooms...we are working on Thanksgiving Lapbooks. From the kitchen...I am going to make a taco casserole out of left over chili. I am wearing...black pants, t-shirt, slippers I am going...to the neighbor's to ride in another combine. I am reading...about all the past Thanksgivings. I am hearing...kids cleaning up the kitchen. One of my favorite things...meeting bloggy friends. A few plans for the rest of the week:  finish getting the plastic on the windows. Here is picture thought I am sharing.. Click here for more daybooks.

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Nov. 5, 2008

Field Trip

Hubby was off on Thursday and it was a gorgeous day out, so we packed up the kids and headed to an Early American Museum.  A nice and free one.    Princess C got to do some weaving. I put N to work hauling water. And Toddler B churned butter.  But he was having a little too much fun. There were some really neat trees outside the museum.  I pointed to this tree and told the kids to go run to it.  N took off towards it, Princess C took off towards a tree in the opposite direction, and D stood around looking lost.  Toddler B had run off to meet hubby who was on his way back from the car.  One out of four.  That's not bad, right?  Right?  Sigh... Another really cool tree. And I got in on the fun on this one.  Now there will be two pictures of me in the family albums.

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Nov. 3, 2008

Princess C-ism

Princess C grabbed her cup of water and looked in: "Somebody dumped my water out."  pause.  "For crying out loud!"

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Nov. 2, 2008

Combine Ride

Our neighbor was harvesting his corn down the road from us and let us come on down for some rides.  What a blast!  I hope my boys grow up to be farmers.  D and N went first on the combine.  Then I took Princess C and Toddler B.  Toddler B was already in, sitting on Jim's lap.  Hubby had his turn last, and I apparently didn't take any pictures of him.  I had to go feed Lil' L, so I must not of thought of it.  Here is the view from inside. B really loves watching the tractors, so he was thrilled to explore this one. Here's a bit of trivia for you.  Do you know were a combine gets it's name?  Well, it combines the jobs of taking down the corn stalk, taking the corn off the stalk, and taking the kernels off of the corn.  Yeah, duh, combine, combine.  Seems so obvious once you know the answer.  Maybe you guys are smarter than me, but I'm just a city girl.

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Oct. 31, 2008

They're Free

A little nervous at first. Rooster on the look out. Today was the fourth day that they were let outside.  They were so anxious to get out this morning.  And they ended up staying out until sundown.  I had to shoo them into the coop because they were still hanging around just outside the door.  Their favorite spot is our compost bin.  There are a couple of holes there that they like to "bathe" in.  There are also a line of bushes that they can take shelter in.  Hopefully they will continue to go in every night and not one day decide to roost in the trees.  I don't want to have to chase them back into the coop.  The rooster scares me.

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Oct. 28, 2008

Vote Values

Oct. 27, 2008

Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today... Outside my Window...Bright sunshine.  Cold wind. I am thinking...of all the things that I need to do today. From the learning rooms...it's empty.  D is reading Carry On Mr. Bowditch in the frontroom.  N is writing a story in the kitchen.  C and B are coloring letter B pages in the kitchen.  I am thankful for...friends and fun games. From the kitchen...the smells of breakfast - bacon, eggs, and apple fritters. I am wearing...black pants, a tee shirt, and long white socks in anticipation of putting on my work boots to get in the chicken coop.  I am reading...too many blogs. I am hoping...a miracle will happen and hubby will get his transfer before April. I am creating...an If, Then chart. I am hearing...Children getting along.  Wha??? Around the house...I need to put on flannel sheets, put plastic on windows, hang up diapers, gather eggs, put away yard toys., mow the lawn...I think I'll stop there, One of my favorite things...the smells of fall. A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...Take a field trip Wednesday.  Organize my desk.  Do all things that I want to do today that I know I won't.  Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

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Oct. 22, 2008

Green Monster

Look what we found staring at us through the trees. What do you do when you see a giant John Deere at the edge of your property?  Take pictures of course!

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Oct. 21, 2008

Bug Catching

When going bug catching, never open up the container your bugs are in. Otherwise, your bug will get away. And you will get really frustrated trying to get it back. And end up really, really sad.

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Oct. 20, 2008

Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today... Outside my Window... the sun is shining bright and it looks like it's going to be a beautiful fall day. I am thinking...wondering, really, what the secret is to making children focus. From the learning rooms...the boys are working on their new school books and Princess C is getting ready for some alphabet pages. I am thankful for...My mom's help. From the kitchen...I am planning on making soup and french bread for dinner. I am wearing...lounge clothes. I am reading...Lies Women Believe. I am hoping...I'll finish that book sometime this year. I am creating...a toy area in the garage.  I am hearing...N making weird noises from the school room. Around the house...I really need to vacuum.  One of my favorite things...hearing my rooster crow. A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...I want to find a fun place to take the kids on a field trip next week.  I also need to order some probiotics for the kids. Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you... He can always get her to sleep.

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Oct. 19, 2008

Homeschooling on TLC

Oct. 15, 2008

Ultimate Happiness

Quote by N:  "Mom, I'm so happy, I could cry."  And that's why we moved here folks.

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Oct. 15, 2008

Fresh Egg

Because of the stress of moving the chickens, we didn't expect any eggs.  But there was one chicken, my favorite, whomever she is, that laid us an egg.  Albeit on the ground... The bottom egg is the one from my chicken.  The top is a farm fresh egg, too.  But not as fresh as a few hours! Have you ever seen such an orange yolk?  YUM!

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Oct. 14, 2008

Step 3, 4, & 5

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Oct. 14, 2008

Step 2

Kill spiders.

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Oct. 12, 2008

Robinson Crusoe

Oct. 11, 2008

Pregnant Mantis

The kids found a pregnant praying mantis a couple of weeks ago.  I never got a pic of it, but it had a very swollen bottom.  The other day it finally laid it's eggs!  I was afraid the boys were going to kill it before she got a chance to lay them.  I had to keep reminding them to feed the poor girl.  The egg sack is alien looking.  It's up near the top of the cage on the leftish.  And here is momma and eggs.  Mom on right, eggs on left.  She is looking mighty thin.  You would never know she just gave birth to up to 400 babies.  I have since let the momma go.  She wasn't getting enough food with us.  I opened the cage but she stayed for awhile.  I thought she might not leave her babies, but she did.  Now we just have to wait until next year for the eggs to hatch.  And on the mantis subject, I saw one mantis eating another mantis.  My guess is they were just... ehem... because when I found them, only the head was missing.  The legs were still kicking and the body was still wiggling.  That lady chomped away at that poor guy and ate him all up.  Only the legs and wings were left.  And she ate him pretty quickly, too.  Imagine eating something the same size as you within 15 minutes.  Talk about a stomach ache.  The boys took what was left of him and put him in our nature jar with our butterflies.  We were so excited when we saw our first mantis.  That was only two months ago.  Now we've counted up to 9 at one time, seen a pregnant one and then her egg sack, and watched one devour another.  I love the country.

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Oct. 11, 2008

They're Coming!

Can you see it?  Way in the distance, between the tree and the flag.  They are taking my beautiful corn!  I can't see it either... but it's there.  I can see it in real life.  My beautiful front porch view will turn into stubble.  It won't be long now...

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Oct. 10, 2008

Timber

This tree was in the middle of no where, doing nothing important.  It only got in our way.  So, with our new used chainsaw, down it went.  I do NOT like that chainsaw.  It's handy, yes.  But, boy, is it scary!  I used it one time, and I will never use it again.  I watched.  And pushed.  And grimaced.  And prepared to run.  It came down the way we planned. Hubby was proud. His hands were sore for quite some time.  He cut off all of the branches and we piled them up next to our shed to dry out for firewood.  Gotta stock up for future wienie roasts.

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Oct. 9, 2008

Step 1

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Oct. 9, 2008

Frugal Tip - Hang Dry

I had been wanting to hang my clothes out for a while, but never put up a clothesline.  Well, my new house has a clothesline.  And I have been putting it to good use.  I must admit that my mom hangs up most of the clothes.  But I do my share, and when she was in CA, I did it all by my self.  I actually find it very relaxing.  The younger kids can go out and get some fresh air, or they can stay in and I can get away from them for a few minutes.  That's always nice.    They are either napping, or I put a video on to keep them in place and I make sure the older kids know to keep an ear out for them. So here is me hanging up the diapers.  My mom was hanging over the front porch trying to take this picture.  I don't have many laundry baskets, so I grabbed a bag instead.  It worked well.  I didn't have to keep bending over to pick up more laundry.  If I do use a basket, I will pick up a bunch and drape them over my shoulder.  I have a bag for clothespins, but when that was broke, I clipped a bunch on my shirt so I had easy access.  I have found that on windy days, the clothes come out nice and soft.  But if there is no wind, they come out rather starchy.  To remedy that, I throw the clothes in the dryer on air dry for a time.  The kids don't mind having stiff clothes, so I don't bother doing that to theirs.  I always thought that I didn't have time to hang up clothes, but like I said, I do enjoy it.  Especially when the sun is shining.  And I enjoy thinking about all the money I am saving on Propane.    Now, if only there was a way to enjoy putting away the clothes.... yuck...

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Oct. 7, 2008

Don't You Hate Surprises?

Oct. 3, 2008

Chainsaw

This is the third time I am trying to write this post.  The first time, I hit the wrong button and everything disappeared.  The second time I was interrupted by my cat chewing on something on my bed.  I thought it was a hairball.  Upon further inspection, I realized it was a baby mouse!  I my bed!  EEK!  I'm not so sure about this country life anymore....  Anyway, here are some pics of what we did with a chainsaw.  I don't think I need to explain.  Except I will say that we did it because we are lazy.  That trellis will go in the opening to make it look purty.  (Don't you love where we keep the gas cans?  Don't worry.  They aren't there anymore. )

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Oct. 3, 2008

Frugal Tip - Laundry Soap

I was a laundry detergent snob.  I only used Tide.  It was the only thing that got my clothes clean.  Until I discovered Borax.  And then I could use cheap detergent.  Borax is awesome!  Although I could now use cheap detergent, I knew that making my own, would still be way cheaper.  Especially since homemade detergent is made partly out of Borax.  If I made my own, I wouldn't have to add the extra Borax.  So after months of the recipe sitting in my notebook, I finally took the plunge and made the detergent.  It was fun!  Especially when you have a future homemaker helping you: I doubled the recipe so I wouldn't have to make it again right away. HERE is the recipe.  Go try it.  I dare you.     Don't be scared.  It's really very easy.  I found Fels Naptha and washing soda at my local grocery store.  Walmart doesn't carry them.

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Sep. 30, 2008

Wienie Roast

For dinner on Saturday, I decided to have a wienie roast.  It was a blast!  We normally eat around 5, but due to pirate bugs, we had to wait until they went to bed before we could eat.  Our first wienie roast was at our neighbor's house.  They had safe hotdog forks that were bent backwards so if you are a kid running with one you won't poke someone's eye out.    So when we went to Big R - which by the way is such a cool store - we of course had to pick some up.  We built a fire in our driveway.  Our driveway!  I love the country.  Except of course, for the bugs.  The secret to a perfectly roasted wiener is sticking it deep into the fire.  It gets nice and black and oh so yummy.

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Sep. 29, 2008

Frugal Tips Coming

Sep. 28, 2008

We're Trapped

Sep. 23, 2008

Fun Meme

Sep. 22, 2008

Catching Up

Well, hubby is gone and we are trying to get back to normal.  Trying to do some school, catch up on blogging... man am I behind... I still need to finish digging up my garden clearing weeds, diapers to hang  and still try and take care of these guys: That's them riding around in our new poly cart.  Buttercup looks like she's having a good time, but really she's very nervous and soon jumped out and ran over to my mom for protection.  We brought those wood containers with us from the old house.  They held chives, basil, cilantro, 2 pepper plants, and merigolds.  I had one and a half bags of dirt that I laid on the ground, cut the top off the bags, and poked holes in the bottom of the bag.  I planted cucumbers and beans.  I was hoping to get a good crop before frost.  We have already picked 3 cukes, which makes it worth it to me.  :-)  I love fresh food.  The beans are finally growing and we should have some in a week or so.  The part we have dug up so far, we spread some manure on from my fil's horses.  Way in the back, behind the green cart, is my compost bin.  We used the stakes from our survey and the wire fencing that we found in the barn, so it was free.  We are throwing in all of are food scraps, mowed grass, leaves, dirt and manure.  And everytime we find a worm, we throw that in, too.  On the far left side of the picture is my blueberry bush.  Here is where I had my tomoto plants.  They only produced a handfull of tomatoes.  The plants have dropped their blossoms, looked diseased, and had giant tomato hornworms.  The world was against them.  And now I need to shower and walk the lil' princess around.  She has been getting very demanding lately.  She likes to be walked around in her stoller.

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Sep. 18, 2008

3 Month Pictures

So, she's 4 months.  She'll understand when she has 5 kids....

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Sep. 16, 2008

Busy, Busy, Dreadfully Busy

When I put off blogging, I end up with too much I want to post about.  And when I end up with too much to post about, I put off blogging.  Hubby was home all of last week and we have been busy.  He is home next week and we already have a lot of plans.  We put a screen door on our back door.  I am so proud of us for that one.  It took us all. day. long.  But it was so worth it.  It lets a nice breeze into our kitchen.  We also weed whacked all the weeds next to our garage, put down weed cloth, and put in a weed barrier thingie.  I should really know the names of these things.... I planted the plant that I got from my mil for my birthday.  I also bought and planted a Black Eyed Susan plant.  And I would like to get a rose bush there.  We planted a blueberry bush and a peach tree. I have to find a cherry tree or two to plant.  In the spring we will plant a different variety of peach and blueberry to give them good pollination.  And a different apple tree.  It seems as though our apple tree is a red delicious.  I'm not too found of those.  Hubby rented Indiana Jones Lego Playstation game.  So we all have been taking turns playing that.  And since we were in the Indian Jones mood, me, hubby, and my mom watched the movies, too.  I think I'll end my post right now.  It's already taken me three days just to write this little bit.  Hopefully I will have some more time soon.

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Sep. 6, 2008

History

We went to our neighbors house for a weeny roast.  I had never been to one before, and now I want some sticks so we can have our own.  And often.  Weeny roasts are great!  I love the country, outdoors, fire, and hotdogs.  Put them all together and you have great memories.  Anyway, that's not the point of this post.  As we sat and chatted we got to hear some history of our house.  The neighbors have lived there for some 30 or 40 years, so they knew a lot.  And then, Jim's family have always been in the area so he really knows a lot.  One of Jim's boys, now a grown man, was telling us that he used to be best friends with one of the boys who lived in our house.  He told us a story of a big lean-to that they built.  And he also mentioned a platform they built in a tree.  Yup, that's the platform.  It's 20-some years old.  Not in the best shape.  Pretty rotted.  But still there.  Pretty cool, huh?

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Sep. 5, 2008

Book Giveaway

Over at A Pondering Heart, she is giving away the newest addition to the Kingdom Series.  D read the first book and loved it.  He keeps begging me to get the next one from the library.  Click here, or on the button to go enter.

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Sep. 3, 2008

(Twilight Zone Music)

An alien came and switched Toddler B with some other child.  I was changing him this morning and I asked the same question I do every morning.  "Are you going to sit on the potty today?"  Only today, he said yes!  I thought I heard wrong so I asked again.  "You want to sit on the potty?"  He said yes.  So off he went to sit on the potty.  He sat for a few seconds and said, "It's not coming."  I let him get off and decided to ask if he wanted to wear undies and to my surprise, he said yes!  I was shocked.  I figured he really didn't know what was going on being that he said, "It's not coming," and actually looked confused as to why it wasn't.  But I know 90% of the battle was getting him to actually want to use the potty.  To my even greater surprise, he did extremely well.  He had two small accidents, but he was able to hold it back and get to the potty to finish.  And the poor thing, had a fever!  He ended up falling asleep on the couch: And he even stayed dry the whole time!  By that time though, I had to give him Tylenol because he was so hot.  In the evening he was battling the #2 urge but eventually, he went on the potty!  I think this is the strangest day I have ever had in 10 years of parenting.  Yesterday, we were at my sil house.  Her two year old is potty trained.  I keep telling Toddler B about him.  "Look.  Carter goes on the potty.  Isn't he a big boy?  Do you want to go on the potty?" "No." So I was very jealous and had some harsh feelings toward them, but now I think I owe B's "early" (for the boys in our family) potty training to them.  He was watching Carter in interest yesterday.  And today when he got dressed he found the shirt Carter gave him and wanted to wear it.  He often says, "I'm Carter."  Sorry Michelle for saying I hate you!  hehe.... Now, I hope tomorrow goes just as well.  Hopefully Toddler B won't be back to his normal self.  I do hope he isn't sick, but hopefully being well doesn't mean he is back to being stubborn!  Oh and one more strange thing.  I sent the other kids to bed but kept him up since he had a nap.  He almost followed them up.  I had to call him back and tell him he didn't have to go to bed yet.  I said, "You don't even have your pj's on  yet."  So he went and got his pjs and a diaper and started getting himself ready for bed.  And after he was ready, he played for a few minutes and then came over, gave me a kiss, and then headed up to bed.  He got up there and was calling for me to put him to bed.  And then, after I put him to bed, he stayed in bed!  Do you hear the twighlight zone music yet?!  Strange, yet glorious...

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Sep. 1, 2008

Sunset

I don't have a west facing house like I would love to have.  In fact, I only have one window that faces the west, and it is all the way upstairs.  But, I still get a beautiful view out of my front window: Who knew that corn could hold the beautiful colors of a sunset? As I opened the door to take this picture, a hawk flew out of the tree across the street.  He is our resident hawk.  I walked all over in my bare feet trying to get a picture of him to no avail.  But I did get this picture: I live there!

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Aug. 29, 2008

Cricket?

Any one know what this is? I was sweeping out my garage of all the crickets and this was with them.  I don't know if crickets have queens?  The wings are so tiny.  I also saw a big grub.  Like the size of a cricket.  Do crickets start out as big grubs?  I can't seem to find any info on the internet.

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Aug. 29, 2008

The Bus Driver

One morning, a truck pulled into our driveway, and the guy who got out introduced himself as Don, our bus driver.  He had heard that there were kids living in the house and he wondered why there were no new kids on his bus route.  After we informed him we homeschooled, he let us know that was "fine".  Umm... Thanks.    We chatted with him for awhile.  He asked hubby if he was still working up north and he said, "yes".  And then hubby asked, "How did you know I was working up north?"  To which he informed us that our neighbor, Don (is everyone named that around here?) let him know.  That was quite interesting being that we've never even met him!  Apparently, we are the talk of the town.  Oh, and another thing.  The people who lived here before us weren't very well know.  Even though they lived here for 12 years, when people find out where we live, they don't say, Don's place (yes another Don).  They say the old Marty place.

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Aug. 27, 2008

A New Four Year Old

Princess C turned four on the 24th.  My baby.  My 1st Princess.  On Sat, we went to my SIL and celebrated there: Then on Sunday, she helped make her cupcakes. And opened more presents. I asked her what she wanted to eat for her birthday dinner.  I figured she was old enough to start choosing.  She chose, "Eggies, pizza, popsicles, ice cream and cake."  She got eggs for breakfast, pizza for dinner and cake.  She was happy.  She forgot her other requests.  Hehe...

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Aug. 26, 2008

Whose Kids?

Aug. 23, 2008

Blog Around the World

This lady is giving away something I just had to try and win.  Plus, you can sign up your blog in your state and see who else is blogging in your state.  Now I think that is cool.  I need to meet someone in my neck of the woods.  I know to many awesome bloggers that live too far away to visit.    Can't talk any more.  Broken glass.... ugh....

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Aug. 22, 2008

Just Breathe

Aug. 21, 2008

Smiling Pictures

Lil' L was all smiles the other day.  She was so smiley she didn't even notice the weird metal object flashing lights at her.  Yesterday, Lil' L turned over!  I left her on the floor in the frontroom.  She was playing nicely and then fell asleep.  After awhile I heard her make some noise and then quiet down some.  I went to check on her and this is what I found: I was so shocked!  When ever I put her on her stomach she cries.  She hates it there.  And yet, when she put herself there, she was having a grand old time.  On a Toddler B note, I forgot that he also fell asleep in his sister's chair:

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Aug. 20, 2008

No More Naps?

Toddler B has been fighting naps.  When I can get him to take a nap, he fights bedtime.  One night I was yelling from my own bed for him to get back in his bed.  So I decided to let him skip his naps rather than fight him.  The only problem is, he often doesn't make it to bedtime.  Here he is falling asleep at dinner.  He did that twice. He also fell asleep while my mom read him a book. And here he is toppled over on the couch. (That cat gets in all the pics, huh?) It's nice to see him sleeping because it's a chance for him to look all sweet and innocent.  He's lying still, not getting into trouble or tearing things apart.  Isn't he cute?

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Aug. 19, 2008

We Started!

Aug. 19, 2008

3 Months

It has come to my attention that I have not posted any pics of Lil' L for quite some time.  Well, now is a good time to post being that she is now 3 months old.  WAAAHHHH!!!!  3 months already!!  Slow down, baby!  I need to enjoy you! Isn't that the absolute sweetest picture ever?  I would post a picture of her wonderful smile, but when she sees the camera, she gets quite fascinated with it and then won't smile for anything. Quite the weird look, huh?  I looked around for some photos of her, and it appears as though she isn't getting enough attention.  Most of the pictures I have of her, she is in her car seat.  The one up above, we were at the arboretum and I have lots of pics of the kids doing fun things, but all she did was sleep.  And the one I am about to post I took when we went to the beach.  Once again, I have lots of pics of the kids doing beachy things, but being a baby, she was stuck in the shade in the stroller.  She doesn't look too upset, does she? Oh and here she is at a restaurant.  Can't ya tell? I guess my mission for the week is to take some pictures of poor Lil' L.  Oh, and maybe write in her baby book...

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Aug. 15, 2008

SNAKE!

I am way behind posting all the wildlife we see here, but I thought I would skip ahead to what I saw yesterday.  I was outside watering my flowers, when I spotted him: I just happened to look at this bush because it was half dead and I realized that that wasn't all bush that I was looking at.  I started yelling, "UHHH... GUYS?!?!  There is a SNAKE!  AHHHH!!!!   Come look!!"  And everyone started clamoring about yelling, "Where are you?" and, "Can I see it too?"  Ugh.  Freaky.  The only other time I saw a snake in the wild was when I mowed it over as a kid with the lawn mower.  I can in the house screaming and crying that I mowed a snake and my mom laughed at me.  But then we had to get the neighbor to come over to dispose of the body because my mom wasn't about to touch it either!

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Aug. 9, 2008

My Love Hate Relationship

Aug. 7, 2008

Photo Updates

My hubby's best friend's family came to visit.  I guess I could make it easy and say we had friends of the family over, but that's no fun.  My hubby and his friend are so close, they call each other brothers.  Right now, he is in Iraq.  His family was in town visiting for the summer.  They currently live in North Carolina.  I didn't get many pictures, but here are some of them playing Disney Seen It.  Their boy really seemed to like D.  And Princess C attached herself to their girls.  It was really cute watching them all play.  They all got along great. They spent the night, which was great.  I don't like being alone at night.  The next day, I thought my brother and sister were coming over, but they didn't come until the following day.  My younger brother is going to school in Colorado, so this was the last time we got to see him before he leaves.  He loved it here!  It was great.  He mowed part of the lawn and enjoyed it.  He said he wanted to live in our barn.  hehe...  He commented on how quiet it is here.  He sat and watched the sunset and then the stars come out.  It was really neat to watch him enjoy it here.  Here he is with four of the kiddos.  (I didn't realize N was shirtless... oops... ) Unfortunately, I didn't get out the camera until after I put Toddler B to bed.  Do you think I could stick his head somewhere in this picture? Yes that is pen all over his face.  He and Princess C found a pen and colored each other.  And the top of my couch...  Ho hum....

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Aug. 2, 2008

Beautiful Sky

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Aug. 2, 2008

Howdy

Jul. 28, 2008

Our Neighbor

Jul. 28, 2008

Nursery Rhyme Gone Terribly Wrong

Little Miss Momanna98, sat on her porch, trying to enjoy the view. When along came a spider, Right down in front of her, And sent her running into the house in terror!

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Jul. 25, 2008

My School Room

I have a school room!  Yippee!!!  I'm so happy.  It took me so long to finish it.  I've been working on it for days.  I would get stuck sometimes because I was unsure of where to put things.  But, what a relief it is to now have it done.  This is what it used to look like: After a lot of rearranging and unpacking and making a huge mess because you can't do any cleaning with making a big mess, this is what it looks like now: I have all the books sorted by general topic.  Science, history, etc.  Eventually I will have them all sorted into more specific topics to make things easier to find.  I have a shelf for books I want the boys to read this year, read aloud books, children's books, and a nature shelf. I have games and puzzles in the built in, math and science manipulatives under the fish, and in the bookcase I have things that I want to finish up from last year, what I want to work on this year, the kid's notebooks showing some past work, and homeschooling books for my benefit.  Above the fish tank I want to get a cork board so I can display some of the kids work.  The top of the built in is empty so far.  I wanted to put some nice things in there and not just games or books.  That is my nature shelf.  My nature box is on the floor my the bookshelf for easy access.  The boys can grab it and go.  If they ever felt so inclined... Now, on to the next room.  Ugh...

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Jul. 25, 2008

Sacrifice

Jul. 23, 2008

Ever See Amityville horror?

And that's only half of one window....

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Jul. 22, 2008

Baseball - What Went Wrong

I was going through my photo's and I just had to post this.  It's too funny. At the start of the season, D's team was doing very well.  Half way through, they started doing awful.  They had lost heart.  They didn't seem to be trying.  Well, now I have proof.  Take a look at all three kids in the background.  Do they look ready to play to you?  And I wanted to post this picture because I thought D looked just like a pro.  Although, you have to wonder, where did the kids go?

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Jul. 21, 2008

Sunset

We get some beautiful sunsets here.  Tonight, D came running down stairs telling me I "have to see the sunset!"  He has a great view from his bedroom and his bed even is faced right so that he can lay in bed a watch the sunset.  I ran outside to "sunset corner" to get some pictures.

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Jul. 21, 2008

Strange Animal