A~Musing Life - Homeschool Blogger

Top Ten Blessings for 2008

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 19:04:00 -0600

10. M’s Job: M is now employed as a Field Service Tech for ID Technology. He began to work for this company in April. He no longer has to travel to other states or countries. Hooray!

9. Our Health: M, Lovey, P'Tator, and Miss E have no major illnesses or injuries to report. A~ had an eventful year. Her pregnancy included almost 3 months of modified bed rest this summer with a case of Complete Placenta Previa. God granted us a miracle and the placenta moved without any problems! Baby Boy was born via C-Section on 10/20. Recovery was slow and painful but without any major complications. Baby Boy (Bundle) is healthy and strong.

8. Our Community: We are thankful for the many people who helped us this summer as A~ was out of commission. We were blessed with meals, help with laundry, housecleaning, and prayers.

We have been attending a new church, where the kids have been involved with the Awana program and Christmas musical. The “Merry Christmas” performance was held on Sun 12/14. Lovey had her first speaking/acting part. She and P'Tator sang as part of a trio and also with the choir. Both kids did a fantastic job.

7. Our Home: We are still living in the same house in the Central Valley. Although we were looking to get a larger place or relocate closer to M's work, we are thankful that, in the present economy, we are not in jeopardy of losing our home. We did some home improvements-landscaping, interior painting and a little redecorating this year. There is still blue painter’s tape up in the hallway… maybe we’ll complete it in 2009!

6. Our Friends: We have people (local and on-line) in our lives who have loved & supported us this year through some challenges and hard situations. Thank you! We are grateful for some new friendships that are the result of some changes in our lives.

5. Home School: Lovey is a 4^th grader and P'Tator is in 2^nd grade this year. They are enrolled in a new charter school. They enjoy the weekly enrichment classes that the school offers. We are concentrating on the basics this year. Our goal is to give them a firm foundation in the 3 R’s… reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic.

4. Our Extended Family: The events & circumstances of this year have shown the strength of our love and commitment to one another.

3. The Children: Lovey is 9, P'Tator is 7, Miss E is 2, and Bundle is almost 2 months old. We definitely have a full house now. They are great kids… smart, friendly, loving, helpful, and funny!

2. Our Marriage: We celebrated our 12th Anniversary on January 7^th. We’re still laughing (and in love) after all these years. The challenges this year have strengthened us as partners and friends.

1. Our Lord: As we celebrate Christmas this year, we are thankful for His abundant grace, love, and mercy. After looking back over this past year, we are mindful of all of our many blessings.

Personal Philosophy of Education

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:39:00 -0500

As with many other things in my life right now, what I think about education
has changed drastically. I have yet to put it into words. I just know it is
not what I used to think/believe. I have begun to question and examine each
aspect of life. The most mild question in my mind right now is "What is the
point?" The worst of it is "Why bother?"

From the beginning, homeschooling was not on my agenda. God obviously had
other plans... which have turned out to be completely different from mine.
I was happy with my life down in Hometown. Had the great husband and 2 kids
(1 girl and 1 boy even!), neat, old house to play with, the flower shop
(work I loved), a place in ministry, enough money, my family and friends
nearby. No, it wasn't perfect, but it was good. I always thought the kids
would go to a private Christian elementary school like I did. I accepted
that school was what kids do. A necessary part of growing up. I never
thought to question it. Other than praying that they weren't bullied too
much (or worse-become bullies) and hoping they would prove to be good
students, I didn't give it a lot of consideration.

Fast forward through the last 5 1/2 years of changes and trials. Suffice it
to say, those things in Hometown are no longer part of my life. (At least on
a regular basis.) I find myself living a life that does not fit who I am
inside. I am a pregnant SAHM attempting to homeschool 2 kids while taking care of a toddler and a house. I am frustrated and disappointed and sad at times. I cannot make myself feel differently, no matter how I try.

I want some kind of life for myself outside of Motherhood. Selfish maybe,
but true. But that is not socially acceptable to admit, is it? I love my
kids. I enjoy them and want the best for them, but I also need something
more. Someday. I hold onto that "Someday" and then realize that I will be 40
by the time this last one is out of toddlerhood . Mostly I am excited about
having a new baby in our family, but also dreading the endless feedings and
dirty diapers and No Sleep. Plus, Miss E will be 2 and that is a whole set of
challenges unto itself.

I feel like I am missing the mothering gene that makes a woman feel like her
children are growing up too fast. I feel like they are living each day, with
every stage and season plenty long and full enough. I don't long for the
days of baby or toddlerhood... I enjoy them being 7 and 9 and almost 2.

Maybe it is because I have Miss E and the new one to make sure I am fully
aware of the reality of the itty bitty stages. I had to refrain from joining
in on the conversation at the park when some friends were talking about their
kids (only children) growing up too fast. I *know* that it would be easy to see my child's younger years as going by too fast if I had 1 child.
But, that is not reality for me. I have 3 and 1 on the way. And pregnancy is
not a wonderful experience for me. I felt sick/nauseated almost all day
long for over 4 mos. I was bedridden for close to 3 months with the Placenta Previa. It is getting harder to cope with so little or no energy this last trimester. But still
the responsibilities are there. The dishes and laundry must be done, the meals prepared.

When we signed on with the state public charter school, I wanted the kids to be on par with what the public schools were doing. I needed that "safety net" if something happened and we had to put them in public school. We met a family just before we moved here that had homeschooled but had to put the kids in school when the mom got really sick. Knowing I had chronic back issues, I figured it would be wise to cover that base. The charter's standards are actually higher than our state's. We'd be covered in case of emergency. They would learn the same kinds of things as other kids and maybe be able to adjust to a classroom without too much struggle. (Nice theory, huh?)

Die-Hard homeschoolers told me things like, "My kids will go to public school over my dead body". Having lived through what we did, I figured that was always a possibility.
One never knows what is coming down the pike.

I think when I first started, I had an "ideal" for homeschooling. Lots of
creative, fun experiences and outings. I tried Unit Studies, but it was
limited. (Lovey was in Kindergarten) It was too much work for not a lot of
impact. Lots of prep work but the actual lesson or activity was over in a
short time. Then it was clean up time and I had to find something to keep
them occupied while I got ready for the next thing. It wasn't so much fun
for me. I liked the creativity and felt like we could take our time on topics, but
it took more energy and organization than I had to sustain it over a long
period of time.

Before Lovey entered 1st grade, I asked the local homeschool community for
help and ideas, but they basically told me to go to the CHEA convention or
start a Co-Op. (Neither of which I was willing or able to do at the very
beginning)

A friend found the state charter school and we felt like God was leading us in that direction. Everything was provided- curriculum, computer and printer, even the
musical instrument (recorder) and art supplies. This was the only way we
could have afforded it. It was a good starting point. It worked for us for
the first 2 years just fine. As long as it is only one child, and "life"
doesn't throw any curve balls, it is doable. But, it is a lot of work. It
has a very fast pace. Each concept is approached from ever possible angle to
cover each learning style. All of the lesson plans are laid out. It is
almost fool-proof for the parent.

I liked having a supervising teacher. Or the thought of it, anyway. Our teacher
is a nice lady, but was not as helpful or supportive this year as we needed her to be. We fell"behind" in the curriculum, and there was no way to "catch up". Therefore, their grades reflected that... unless I just had marked a bunch of stuff as Done and moved on without covering it, there was no way around it.

I admit I was tempted to "cheat". Who would know that we didn't actually do all of the work? However, that goes completely against my nature. I knew my kids were watching. Do I model dishonesty so that they can "succeed" in school with good grades? (Since it was all based on % of curriculum covered.) No, I couldn't do it. We took the Incompletes.

We could have tried to pick up the pace, but I didn't have it in me. I had
basically given up on catching up. I couldn't make the kids learn any faster.
I didn't even care enough to go any faster. Why put that pressure on
them? For what purpose? To make them hate learning? To keep us all stressed
out or "busy"? So that they have good test scores? For what?

That led to the changes in thinking. Where I used to believe that
educators knew what was best, I no longer believe that. Who sets the
standards? Who says all kids have to learn this or that at 6 or 8 or 10? If
the public schools have standards that they are not able to meet, why should
I adopt those standards? What is STAR testing really about? Does it assess
anything other than a child's ability to take a test?

Since having a conversation with another homeschool mom in the spring, I have polled several adults and come to the same conclusion. Other than the occasional DMV test or Civil Service test (or something for a job), no one takes many tests as
an adult outside of college. Why set them up to "perform" in some arena that
has nothing to do with the rest of their lives? What is the point? Other
than bragging rights or shame, is there anything for the child that comes of
it?

Yes, eventually there are SATs and college entrance exams, but I imagine
that 17 or 18 year olds are more equipped to handle it. It would be appropriate to prepre and study for those exams.

I have been rethinking my position on grades and test scores. I now believe that a test or assessment is only useful in determining what we need to work on or where
to start. A good test score is NOT the goal. Also, what are grades really measuring?

All 3 of my kids learned to walk and talk and go potty in the toilet. I
didn't have to have a license, credential, or curriculum in order to teach
them. I didn't read the instructions to them out of a book, or have a
diagram showing them how to do it. They learned it naturally, on their own
time, with support and modeling from us. They learned it at home and not in
an institution. Why can't we approach almost everything else from this perspective?
If we don't know, there are people who do or ways to learn it. (Computer,
books, apprenticeship, Parks and Rec,community college, on-the-job, etc.)

The home is the natural environment. With the exception of the military,
orphanages, hospitals, and other "institutional" settings, everyone in the
world has a home of some kind. I am now thinking it is more important that
my children know how to function within a home and family than it is to
learn who-knows-what facts or test taking methods at a school. How does an
artificial environment (large group of same-aged people all lined up for
hours every day in a classroom) help my kids prepare for adulthood? How will
this foster creativity or critical thinking? (2 things I do believe to be
important.)

I came to realize that what we were doing now was not working. I still
don't know what will or how to create the best environment for our family, but I think I am on the right track. We have signed on with a different charter. It is much more flexible and we have CHOICES. I am excited about it.

School starts next week. I cannot help but wonder- What will it
be like this year with MORE responsibility and even less time? All I know is it is a big relief not to have to devote lots of time to filling in endless worksheets or diagraming sentences!

I was surprised at what I really think is important. It isn't much,
actually. I want my kids to be self sufficient (in terms of life skills),
helpful, kind, generous, creative, godly adults. Competitive, but not in a
malicious way. (Or sore losers) Just enough to motivate them to do their
best.

It matters more to me that they have discipline and character rather than
being "book smart". I want to foster common sense and yet leave room for
dreams.I want them to be physically active but not obsessed with sports or
activities.

I used to plan events for a living. I thought that planning outings would be
a no-brainer for me. But it has turned out to be tough. Reality is I am not
well-connected in the community. We don't have a lot of resources.
(Therefore planning field trips out of town or to events that cost a lot of
$ are out of reach for us.) Add in Miss E, pregnancy, the weather here (hot or cold), and it is beyond me. Which is one of the reasons I am grateful to for our Park Days and the field trips other moms plan.

I don't want to raise them to expect to be entertained all the time.
Imagination and the ability to amuse themselves is important to me. They are not
over-scheduled right now and I don't plan to put them in all kinds of
activities. One or two at a time. I refuse to run all over town everyday and
be a slave to their games/activities on weekends. Saturday is the only day I
have to sleep in. I will not give that up until everyone is sleeping thru
the night.
Balanced lives are what I want for all of us. (Which I guess means exposing
them to a wide variety of things but not all at one time.) I think I lean
more toward being "well-rounded" than focused on 1 ability or interest. Not
that they shouldn't stick with something if they have a natural ability or
talent, but I don't want them to do 1 thing to the exclusion of everything
else.

I want them to be responsible for their own persons- doing chores, cleaning
up, preparing meals, laundry, etc. (Age-appropriate tasks.) Right now, it
seems like it is all on me and I am simply not up to it. M has them help
him outside with yardwork and they help sort laundry and put away their
clean clothes. They set the table, put the silverware away and help with a
few things like dusting and polishing furniture. They help me with Miss E a
lot. Lovey wants to learn to sew. I want to teach her to cook. I just feel
like there is no time with all of this other stuff. (The All Important
Curriculum...) I am not sure what P'Tater needs other than to be able to play
and practice his reading skills.

I think my Philosophy of Education boils down to "Children will learn as
long as one is giving them interesting opportunities, modeling behaviors and
tasks, and supplying a supportive and encouraging environment." There is a
little more to it with regards to natural talents and a means of earning an
income later on, but for now that should do it.

I think this can certainly happen in a classroom setting, but is not in most
schools. Can our home school supply all of this? I think so.
I think that we could do more (outside stuff) if we lived in a different
house. I would love to have a small garden and some fruit trees. Someplace
where the kids could have a playhouse and someplace to sew or do crafts and an area to let them display their artwork and experiments. This is
what I want... and yet I feel discouraged because there is no way to have
that right now. So, we make do.

Good News and Bad News

Fri, 16 May 2008 18:40:00 -0500

First, the Good News. I am 19 weeks pregnant with our 4th child. We had an ultrasound on Monday afternoon. There is only one baby with what appear to be boy parts. Hooray! We were all hoping for a boy. This makes some practical things much easier for our family. (3 girls in one bedroom would be pretty tight.)

The bad news is I have complete Placenta Previa with a very large placenta. I was told it is unlikely to move. I am taking that to be unlikely, but not impossible. We know that God can interevene... just not if He will. It has warmed my heart to hear my kids praying for me and asking God to "move Momma's placenta so she can have a regular birth".

The fact is that I have the most serious kind with some scary possible complications. After reading up on it on the Internet, I know what to look for/expect. I was told to expect to bleed sometime during the 2nd and/or 3rd trimester(s). The timing and amount is what will determine the treatment.

At this point, it means limiting activities- "house" (ar)rest, no exercise, no marital relations, no travel, etc. I am not used to being limited. This shall be interesting. All of the activities I had planned on participating in have been cancelled or modified. I am dreading this summer when it is 100 plus degrees outside and we are confined to the house.

One day at a time, right? No borrowing trouble.

Current situation: We have a month of school left. It looks like we won't be "catching up". We are so far "behind", it isn't even funny.

This week has been quite an adjustment for our family. It is kind of impossible to stay in bed or on the couch all day with 2 homeschooled kids and a toddler to take care of, but I am doing my best to take it easy.

Emotionally, it has been hard to process, but I think I am pretty much all cried out and on my way to accepting it. Another object lesson in trust. (Surrender?)

The Latest

Tue, 29 May 2007 15:22:00 -0500

It has been f-o-r-e-v-e-r since I have written and I don't have one good excuse. (Just a few pretty good ones.) Life (AKA fodder for this blog) has been happening in full force, but I have not had the energy or desire to write about it.

Today seemed like a fine time to change that.

Let's see...

M just returned from his 3rd trip to South Africa. This trip was relatively uneventful compared to the others. It started out kind of tough- we ALL had the stomach flu. The baby woke up the morning he left with it. Because she is a baby and well, babies DO throw up, we didn't suspect that was what was wrong. We were out running errands and she managed to cover me in it. Yuck. Fortunately, I was blissfully unaware that this was only a forshadowing of events to come.

M threw up from LAX to London. He called me to tell me about his FluFest and ask for prayer. He was so weak that he knelt down in the public restroom stall (loo?) in London and rested. Poor guy sounded awful. I prayed with him over the phone. It worked. He felt better by the time the plane boarded for the next leg of his journey. He worked 12 hour days for 2 weeks. He did not get to sightsee or do anything other than work. (Kind of a bummer for him but the extra money was a good thing.)

Lovey woke up with it the next morning. 2 hours later, her brother joined in on the party. What a day. My time came that night. Wow. This could only be described as the WORST bout I have ever had. The only thing I can think of that compares to the misery, was labor with Miss E and the mastitis I had a few months ago. Ugh.

Considering that I do not have any family here, and I was not about to ask any of my friends to come help, I decided to wave the old white flag and head down to my grandma's. We ended up staying there for an entire week. She caught it too. (So sorry, Grammy!) This is what happens when Typhoid Mary and her brood come to call.

On to the more pleasant results of the trip. M brought us back some goodies. Real English toffee.... 2 types. Walker's Shortbread. (Of course we can buy that at Marshalls or World Market, but Hey! It was imported by my beloved. That makes it extra special.) Assorted South African candy bars. (Including 3 large French Nougat bars. These are kind of like divinity with peanuts and cut up gummy-like fruit snack pieces. They are my new SA favorite.) The recipe for the house lady's Malva Pudding. (Something like a dense, very moist, spongy cake.)

What I really want is a T'Shirt that says "I survived South Africa Tour III". Less fattening than all those sweets. His trips have become the standard comparison for whatever trials come our way. ("At least it wasn't South Africa!")

Lovey stayed at my grandma's for a few extra days. It was the 1st time she has been "alone" there. (Meaning without M and I) She did great. She came home more grown up, somehow. I think it gave her a confidence that she lacked before. She was homesick a bit but she worked through it. I am very proud of her.

Her brother was a different story altogther. He was a wreck. That surprised me. I thought for sure he was going to bask in all the Momma attention. Nope. He had a fit as we were leaving. He cried and ordered his sister into the van 37 times. ("You get in here RIGHT NOW!") He was a mess. We had meltdown city for a good 30 miles and then he fell asleep from sheer exhaustion. (Still doing that post-sob gasping in his sleep. ) He was lost without Big Sister. No one to boss him around. He didn't know what to do with himself! I did not expect that at all... Then again, he has never been without her.

I got another case of thrush which makes nursing tortuous. Miss E refuses to take a bottle of any kind, so we have to keep on keeping on. She has little white patches on the inside of her cheeks and I have PAIN.

Miss E is crawling now! She is on the move. No more plopping her down and having her stay put. She is also adding to her vocabulary. She says "Uh-Oh!", Hey, "Nunuh" (When she wants to nurse), Dadda and Momma. She mimicked me saying "Blah, Blah, Blah" the other day. Too fun.

Well, that is the latest. I am sure there is lots more I could report, but I need to get back to business.

Hugs,

Kid Speak

Wed, 7 Feb 2007 01:59:00 -0600

These kids say the funniest things, but still get the point across...

Just a couple of recent examples~

P'Tater's foot "fell asleep". He didn't know how to describe it so he said, "The dots are running around on my foot!"

Sunday he was all excited because they painted with an "ear picker" in Sunday School. (Code name for QTip)

We told him he needed to behave. "I AM being have!" (Rhymes with cave)

Lovey was overjoyed with a new game her Daddy found for them. She said her stomach felt "all frizzy".

She calls the nether regions the "crouch". (My guess is it was what she thought she heard it called after spending her potty-training toddler years being told to "crouch down" to check the area for cleanliness.)

It Wouldn't Be My Life...

Sat, 3 Feb 2007 18:02:00 -0600

....Unless something ironic, out of the ordinary, or just plain old weird happens each day. It is typically smallish in nature, nothing catastrophic or earth-shattering, but just enough to be somewhat inconvenient or downright irritating. (Dependant entirely on my mood at the time.)

Someone is always saying something like "I'm so sorry, ma'am, This NEVER happens.", "Gee, it has never worked out (broken, come apart, looked) THIS way... I don't get it.", or my personal favorite: "What the heck?!"

I have learned to shake my head, smile and tell them that it has to be my fault because THIS IS THE WAY MY LIFE IS.

Stick around folks, and you'll witness some crazy stuff. I am not sure if it God's way of teaching me patience, or if He's making sure I still have a sense of humor. Either way, it is never dull around here.

Today, I was being the good FlyBaby that I am (haha) and shining my kitchen sink. (If you wish to know what I am talking about, see www.flylady.net) This is a rather lengthy process involving bleach, Comet, and Windex, (not at the same time) and lots of hot water. It does result in a very shiny sink and this is something to smile about.

I filled up one side of the sink with the bleach water and let it soak. Drained it, scrubbed it and shined it all purdy. No problem. I then filled up the other side with extremely hot water and bleach, let it soak and pulled the plug to drain that side... when the plug decided to jump out of my hand and land upside down right smack in the hole for the drain so that the raised part that you grab ahold of was pointing down into the drain. The weigh of the water plus the forces of nature (which I don't understand) caused a vacuum in the drain which made the rubber seal hold fast to the metal drain. Uh oh. At least it did not make a big splash, resulting in bleach stains on my black pants. (Yes, that has happened before. It somehow gets past my apron and on to my clothes... Not sure how, but it does. )

My right hand and arm is slightly scalded from the very hot water and I smell like Eau de Clorox. This is not pleasant. I would've worn a pair of those attractive yellow rubber gloves, but somehow I ended up with 2 left ones, one of which had a hole in the tip of the finger. (Where could the right ones have gone?) I threw them away earlier this week, after scrubbing the shower floor. (I have some gross drain plug photos from that adventure. I'll have M help me download them here later.)

M and I spent several minutes trying to break the seal using different tools and methods. He was finally able to pry up the seal with a fork, let out the water and save his damsel from her distress. My hero...

I can honestly say that I am not a ditz. The odd occurences in my day are not usually direct consequences of clumsiness or forgetfulness... They just happen.

Inevitably, I will choose the one bag of flour out of 27 on the shelf with the small hole in it, which leaves a Hansel and Gretel type trail in Costco.

If there is an air bubble anywhere in the Icee machine, it will find its way out, urp on me, and spew neon green Icee all over my shirt. (Then the napkin dispenser at Target will be empty and the bathroom will be completely out of paper towels... and the sales associate I talk to is brand new and doesn't know where the extras are, and well, you get the picture...) so I will find myself mopping it up with the last baby wipe in the diaper bag.)

Many times it is not even *my* mess. Last week, I had the privilege of cleaning up approximately 3 cups of coffee grounds and at least a couple of gallons of water off of the counters, drains, and floor of the church kitchen.

I help with the hospitality part of some Network classes at church. (Basically I am in charge of setting up, preparing and serving snacks, dessert, and beverages, and clean up.) Anyhow, the lady who teaches the classes attempted to make coffee in the huge industrial coffee maker. (I, being me, knew better than to try it myself. Most machine-type things don't like me.) Still, somehow, the coffee maker malfunctioned (most likely user-error) and overflowed.

Have you ever tried to clean up a pond of wet coffee grounds? What a mess.

I think, despite over 60 minutes, the staining of countless dishtowels, lots of trips back and forth to the sink, and the Twister type maneuvering of my body to reach the far corners of the counters under the coffee maker, there must STILL be coffee grounds lingering somewhere in there. Every time I thought I was done, I would come across another tiny hidden pile that would smear into at least a foot long smudge upon meeting the wet towel.

The associate pastor has recommended that I go to Starbucks and buy one of the travel packs instead of attempting to brew it on campus. He doesn't realize what this might mean.... Who knows what mishap will happen at the local Starbucks?! My guess is that they will run out of something just before I arrive. (It happened to me in Dec.- seriously. They were out of whatever chocolate or mix it takes to make a mocha.)

All I can guarantee is it will be something odd.

Who Needs Hooked On Phonics?

Fri, 2 Feb 2007 22:26:00 -0600

P'Tater, our 5 year old, is still learning his letters and sounds. I have tried Hooked on Phonics, flash cards, Kindergarten reading books and workbooks, and even let him watch way too much Sesame Street. None of these things have really helped with this yet. (I am patiently waiting for it all to "click" in his little brain, as it is foundational and we really cannot move forward until he gets it.)

Lovey came up with something today that seemed to work! She is really handy to have around. She is so smart and creative, that one.

Here's what happened. This afternoon at lunchtime, while eating their Alphabet soup,(I'm telling youu, I am trying everything!) she started singing a round of the "Name Game". (*I took at guess at this being its formal title and it turns out I was right! Gotta love Google.)

You know the one where you use your first name and make it into a sing-songy rhyme.... "Hannah, Hannah, Bo-Banna, Banana-Fanna-Fo-Fanna. Fee Fi, Mo-Manna.... Hannah!"

For more info check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Name_Game

Anyway, Lovey decides to do it with my name, but with a twist. She added each letter of the alphabet to my name (Since it begins with A, it was easy.) and then continued from there... Throught the ENTIRE alphabet. (It would have been annoying had it not been an effective teaching tool for her brother,)

So it went something like:

For the letter B: "Bandrea, Bandrea, Bo-Bandrea. Banana-fanna....etc." Then on to C and then D and so on. P'Tater joined in and before I knew it, he was singing along to, shouting out the next letter in the alphabet as we came to it. Then, he would listen to her start the song with the correct sound and joined in.

This is homeschooling at its finest.

Breaking In Is Hard To Do

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 23:58:00 -0600

I chatted with a couple of friends on the phone this morning, nursed the baby and put her down for her nap in my room. I went into the kitchen and made myself and the kids something to eat. I prepared the kids' food first and then started making mine. (Still talking to my friend L on the phone...) Lovey finished her breakfast and heard the baby crying, so she headed back to my bedroom to get her. I sat down to eat, and (I kid you not!) JUST as I was about to put the first forkful into my mouth, Lovey came running back into the kitchen shouting "MOM! Mom! MOM!! (Now what?!)

She tells that the door to my bedroom is locked! (Nah, It can't be...) I hurried down the hall with two excited kids in tow... And sure enough IT IS LOCKED.

The doorknow is kind of lightbulb shaped with a weird kind of lock- there is no button to push or twist like the other locks. It pushes in... kind of like the top of a medicine bottle. Not sure how it got locked, but there we were. Crying baby on one side, Momma and other kids on the other. Huh. Ok. This is a new one...

First thing, I tried using the bathroom "key" in the little hole. It didn't work. Next up, a small screwdriver. Nope. That doesn't work either. The kids were freaking out, the baby was now screaming at the top of her lungs, and I cannot get that lock open.

I found myself in a mild state of panic. I could no longer think straight as the older kids were having hissy fits. Lovey kept making her Drama Queen statements- "Mom! She's gonna STARVE to death!" and "Call 911! Call 911!". She also kept shouting at Miss E thru the door, which made the baby cry harder. P'Tater was having himself a tizzy,jumping around, occasionally landing on my foot.

I got off the phone with my friend and called M. He was 45 min. away. It looked like it was up to me to figure it out... At least he was able to tell me where the tools were and play Tech Support.

I try to make and post a daily To-Do list on my FlyBaby Yahoo Group.

This is how the first one looked for 1/10:

1) Morning routine

2) Homeschool

3) Bake cupcakes for AWANA

and muffins for Pray N Play

4) Babysteps~HB, Zone Work, Missions

5) Exercise

6) Wash my bedding. Did P'tater's last night because he has a spider bite on his hand. He came in yesterday am and showed me. I "doctored it up" but didn't think too much about it. I showed dh, and he decided to see if he could find the spider. The only one M found in his room was a Black Widow on his window sill!! (Right by his bed) I am keeping a close eye on him, but he has not developed any serious symptoms. Just the bite, which hurts and itches.

7) Get kids ready for church tonight

8) Date night for dh and I (and the baby!:))

We are going out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary. I am thinking Olive Garden. Yum...

This is what it looked like not an hour later...

**** REVISED DUE TO UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES****

New list~
1) Morning routine

2) Break into bedroom via window where A/C unit is by pulling a MacGyver!

*I couldn't get the window itself to budge.I had to disassemble part of the A/C unit from outside and slide the whole unit over.

* Spend a good portion of the time attemping to keep Lovey and P'Tater from dropping the screwdrivers or knocking over the parts of the A/C unit as I dismantle it... Find myself saying "Back off!" and swatting at the air at least 67 times.

*Discover that, while not an easy thing to do, the A/C unit is not "break-in proof" after all. It was no match for Momma.

3) Push Lovey and P'Tater thru the 12"x 14" opening so they can open the bedroom door and be heroes. (Think of a couple of Pooh Bears "stuck in Rabbits' hole" and you have a pretty accurate mental picture of the scene.)

4) Reassemble the A/C and window so that the cold air is not permeating the house. (It is freezing out there!)

5) Fix myself a cup of hot tea and sit down to let the adrenalin leave my system. Heat up my cold ham and eggs. (Why am I not a size 4?!)

6) Bake cupcakes for AWANA (Decorate them with one hand as I nurse the baby 20 minutes before I have to leave.)

7) Homeschool

8) Wash bedding

9) Add a few things (like Benadryl for spider bites and a new doorknob) to my list of things to buy on Pay Day.

10) Get everyone ready to go to church and date night

What a day.... and it not even noon.

I was really looking forward to item #10...M and I were supposed to go to dinner at The Olive Garden for our anniversary. It didn't happen. He had a disastrous day at work. He did not even get home until 8:45pm.

Miss E and I ended up going grocery shopping while the kids were at church. I sat in the parking lot of Foods Co eating the insides of 2 tacos from Taco Bell with her serenading me with her wails... (She HATES riding in the car. She hates her carseat. She is not your typical baby, which means she fits right in with our family.)

It was not so much fun.

This was quite a day.

Grounding

Sat, 21 Oct 2006 13:54:00 -0500

Hey Everyone~

This is "Big Mama", the warden here at our Correctional Facility... where our purpose is to train children with loving discipline. Their behavior today earned our charges a long term "grounding". They have been separated and placed within the safe confines of their bedrooms until their dad gets home this afternoon from his Men's Conference around 3pm.

We were *supposed* to have a Family Fun Day- the kids and I, but it has turned out to be a "stay at home and not have fun day". :( They woke me (and the baby) up bright and early with their arguing and fighting. They have recently started shoving and smacking each other. A BIG No-No here. We must put a stop to this.

The plan was to take a walk to McDonald's this am and have a special breakfast and let them play in the playplace... but they chose to fight with one another this morning, and I cannot reward bad behavior.

Instead, I"ve parked myself, the baby, her Boppy, and my ice water and snacks on the Big Daddy chair and have been reading off and on all day. This has actually been rather nice for Miss E and me! Not so much for the older two as they have discovered that 3 hours in their rooms alone is not so much fun. It is amusing that what would be play time under other circumstances, is suddenly punishment! (They are welcome to read, play with their toys or whatever else they want to do, they just cannot play together nor come out except for meals and potty breaks.) They are downright miserable.

Anyway, I am heading back to my chair! LOL This may prove to be a really good card to have in my hand- I think that the consequence of being grounded is possibly going to make them think twice the next time they decide to pester one another. We'll see!

Look Ma, No training wheels!

Fri, 13 Oct 2006 14:50:00 -0500

Lovey learned to ride a bike w/o training wheels today!
This is something we have been working on for a couple of years, and she
just wasn't willing to give up the training wheels, so we didn't push it. (This fell under"choose your battles".) We figured she would decide to do it in her own time, and she certainly did.
She borrowed a homeschool friend's son's small bike and taught herself in all of about
15 minutes. Easy!

When Daddy got home, she asked him to take off her training wheels and off she went. She rides like a champ now. It's amazing what Strong-Willed kids can do when they make up their minds to tackle something.