I am a mom who is a devote member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I'm also a homeschooling mom of 3 soon-to-be brilliant children in the making. We work hard, we play hard and sometimes we even sleep hard. :) Come check us out to see what is happening and please feel free to leave a message so we can meet you as well. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Kariesblogof3/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Wed, 3 Sep 2008 06:17:00 -0500 Wed, 3 Sep 2008 06:17:00 -0500 I've been hesistant in changing blog sources because I like this template from homeschool blog, but I find it's harder for me to add friends since this one only allows homeschool bloggers and not others. I'm sure there's a way with doing html but that would require getting my ds to help out all the time. Plus being able to do other things as well easily.  So I'm changing to this blog Karies slice of heaven  that I've also been using all along the way, but it will be my main blog now. Karie http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Kariesblogof3/584315/ Wed, 3 Sep 2008 06:17:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Kariesblogof3/584315/ Yesterday was Tues, but we ended up letting it be two days worth of stuff to do. Because of the Labor Day weekend, the library was closed so we couldn't do our normal library stuff on Mon.  So Tues morning I get up and find that all the kids are still sleeping including ds R. I need him up to keep an eye on dd S while we take dh to work. So I ge him up then I head downstairs. I, later on, ask dh if he's taking his conference call here at home, or at work. He's taking it at home. I don't generally mind, but it just means that we start our day later since I still have to take him to work, the come home and try and get started.  I'm hoping on the days I don't have the car that we can try and start around 8:30 instead of 9. I find there is a difference of when we start. So around 8:00 dd N and I take dh to work. Dd S has come down for her chocolate milk and has gone back to sleep. So we are off. After we have dropped him off, I call ds R to have him wake up dd S but she's already awake. Good. Once we arrive at home, I tell the kids we'll start our morning at 9. After the devotional is over with it's time for a shower for me and the kids to get the books ready.  Around 11:00 we head to the library only to find the parking lot full. I was not expecting this. I figured with public school being on that it would be less crowded. NOT!  So we finally found a spot, after having a few stand offs with some people who apparently had no idea they were holding up traffic. We headed to the library and proceeded with our normal routine. However, our favorite librarian was there today so I was kind of trying to catch up on things with her. Most of the librarians are very nice, but this one goes the extra mile by actually being willing to chat with you and being interested in your life. The others are polite, but that's about it. Oh well, that's fine. We then get our books and get ready to leave. I tell the kids that this is the last time we head to the 3 separate locations for lunch. The next time we do library we will just be sticking to McD's. They seem fine with that. Ds R decides that since it will be his last time, that he wants a 12 inche sub instead of just 6. So I give in and do so. Lots of sandwich. lol We arrive home and it is now the Tues routine.  After eating lunch, dd N reminds me that both older kids need showers since they have their church classes that evening. Oh yeah. Dd N is now 12 and in young women's, so looks like the whole family will be going Tues evenings now.  The reason dd S and I go is because I have a sign language class I teach. It's only basics but it's fun. Pretty soon it's time to get dh from work so we all pile into the car. The road construction in downtown is finally starting to show signs of being done.  I know the roads really needed it after last winter, but it's still nice to be able to drive our regular route again. We pick up dh and then head home.  Once home I get dinner fixed and then we head to church. Seems a lot of people are running late due to fall schedules happening once again. I don't mind this time of yr, but so not looking forward to more snow. We had soo much snow last yr (record 99 inches in our town) that I just don't want anymore for awhile. My signing class was a bit noisy due to one of the sisters needs the couch to sit on so this means we have to stay in the foyer.  There were 3 brethren who were chatting, but since one of the sisters is hearing sensitive we asked them to move down the hallway. I think next week we'll go to the other foyer since no one hardly ever goes there. I felt bad making these brothers move. Finally it's time to head home. Need to get the kids to bed so that ds R can get up for seminary. We'll see how his first morning goes. Last yr he was up and at them, but after a few weeks it was hard to get him up. He is a morning person, but not always wanting to get up for seminary.  So kids are in bed and quiet time for dh and I. Karie Kariesplace http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Kariesblogof3/584314/ Wed, 3 Sep 2008 05:48:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Kariesblogof3/584314/ Because we had a 3 day long weekend, I didn't blog on Mon so I'm somewhat behind in my blogging.  I'll see what I can do to remember the weekend. Fri was another lazy day at home. Didn't need the car and we didn't do structured school. I keep telling dd N that even though I'm not giving out assignments, that doesn't mean we're not learning.  One day she'll get it. :)  Well like I said, most of  Fri was just being home. I did do some cleaning and putting away of things.  Did laundry and dishes(again). The girls did really good playing together with the occassional wanting to play with ds R. Around 5:30 dh came home and rested for a bit.  I had visiting teaching to do that night so I prepared dinner for the family, then my companion came to get me.  We were traveling a bit this time, and with dh on call he might need the car so my companion offered to drive. Thank goodness. We arrived at our sisters house, but it took several wrong turns to get there. We had a nice visit then looking at the clock, we realized we needed to get home.  Once home, I found the girls and dh playing dominoes. Dh was doing ok so I felt good we left when we did. Proceeded to put the kids to bed and the rest of the evening was ours. Sat was spent home again.  With dh on call we just don't plan on being anywhere or doing anything.  The morning was spent being lazy and waiting for everyone to wake up. Finally was able to get the family up and going. The morning was again spent being lazy. I figure come Wed it'll be back to getting up early due to seminary.  So I guess we all just wanted to relax.  We did receive a phone call from dd S's primary teacher about their trip to the zoo that morning. I told her that dd S had already gone to the zoo last Mon for dd N's birthday. Told her to have fun and we'd see them on Sun. For me the day was spent cleaning up the house(once again), washing bedding. It had been waaay too long (pew) and needed it.  Especially ds R's since he's a teen. So I strip the beds and take them to the wash. I then mention to dh that as soon as he's done in the shower, I will start the laundry.  I then go about doing some other chores and watching the girls. They are outside on the swingset mostly being good. They keep wanting brother to come out and play, and sometimes I make him.  He does good to go out when he's supposed to mostly. lol Later on dh approached me about going to the store to purchase some milk and other items. But due to main street and a few others downtown being closed for the Harley Davidson(yes motorcycle)party I had to go a different route. No biggie since I had been that way before. Took all 3 kids since I needed to have the calm company of ds if I were to go the wrong route. I didn't, but it's always nice to have him along when I have dd S.  When we arrive we found dd S's teacher there with her dd. They were doing their weekly shopping. We chatted for a bit then went our separate ways.  We arrived home to find dh not doing much. Spent the rest of the evening getting ready for Sun.  Helped dd S with her talk for primary. She talked about temples and we what do in them. She did really good.  Bedtime for kids. Sunday was our normal get ready for church. Headed out around 11:40 since dh had his weekly meeting to attend. Once we arrived, I set about getting the ward bulletin(program) copied so we'd have it for church.  Sacrament meeting was regular stuff.  Today dd N was going into young women's(organization for the youth ages 12-up to hear stuff about their age group and how to handle life at this age).  So she was excited. (sorry the information link wasn't working on this one.).  The adult class 18- up met in the chapel(main meeting room) for all the classes. Dd S had her talk to give, so once church was almost over I snuck out and went to listen to dd. She was a bit nervous but once we got the talk out, she did great.  2 moms commented on how a 4yr could already read without help. We just grinned. Arrived home and had dinner. We were all hungry.  We spent the rest of the evening just relaxing. Guess we're gearing up for a busy week this coming week lol.  Mon was Labor Day, but due to dh being on call we couldn't plan anything or go anywhere. I had wanted to invite some friends earlier on in the month, or go to friend's home, but couldn't. At least the kids were good and played nice most of the day.  Did clean up around the house especially in the kitchen. Things were getting kind of sticky. Dh decided that evening that we needed to do something fun for that day. So we all piled into the car and got gas, then picked up chicken and accessories for dinner. Got home and watched Pirates of the Caribean(sp?) with dinner. It was a bit slow to start, but after it got started it was pretty good. Dd S was a bit hesistant and after a bit wanted to play some computer games, so I got her started on those while we watched more of the show.  After a bit she wanted to come in and play some games while we watched. She eventually joined us for the ending of the movie. It was mostly silly with a few scary parts, but overall a good movie. Then it was time for the kids to head to bed. School starts for public schoolers so we'll have the library to ourselves tomorrow finally.  Now quiet time for dh and I. Ahhh! Karie Kariesplace   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Kariesblogof3/583767/ Tue, 2 Sep 2008 06:11:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Kariesblogof3/583767/ Thurs was a pretty boring day, the kind of day I like after having several in row of going here and there.  I was considering doing school, but by the time dh left for work, it just wasn't worth it. Our morning started out with dh getting up at 7 and needing to use this computer to do some work.  So I got up and started to relax on the couch nearby.  After a few min I realized that my stomach was growling so into the kitchen I went to get me some homemade bread and chocolate milk.  Sat down in the school room  near dh and ate my breakfast. By 7:30 I was done so I just sat back and relaxed and doozed.  Waking only for a bit every once in awhile. By 8:15 I realized that none of the kids were up so off I went to wake the bunch. Ds was the easiest since all I had to tell him was it was after 8 and he decided he needed to get up. Dd S had woken up earlier in the morning with one of dh's phone calls from work and came in to cuddle. Dd N was still in bed and a bit harder to wake.  She always is. I'm thinking next Sun evening I'm going to have all the kids head to bed a bit earlier since all the public school kids will be starting Tues.  Eventually dd N woke and started stretching in bed so I headed to my room to wake dd S up. After a couple of min of giving her small cuddles I suggested she might be interested in some chocolate milk. Boy the grin on her face lol. By this time ds R was up and headed downstairs. Dd N was up as well. So we all headed down the stairs. Dh was still doing work stuff so I told the kids to be quiet and the girls watched some pbs shows.  Ds R went online and I went back to the couch to snooze a bit. By 10 am dh was ready to head to work.  By this time the girls were up and playing upstairs so I gathered them together to say bye to daddy.  Then I said my goodbyes and walked him to the door.  I then told the kids that we would have our devotional in a few min. They pleaded to have me wait until 10:30. Well what's 30 min more. So I said fine. After the devotional, it was almost close to lunch time. Did a bit of cleaning up, but not much. Had ds R work on our homeschool groups website. The calendar hasn't been working so I had him fix it.  I told him I wanted what we had the last time. So he reinstalled the last calendar that had been there. The rest of the afternoon was spent with me getting laundry settled and the dishes getting washed. We actually had run out of big plates that were usable and on Wed I had the kids using paper plates. Normally we run out of cups but not this time. Later in the afternoon I had the kids go outside for a bit. They had been inside all morning mostly being good, but I felt they needed some fresh air. The weather lately has been somewhat eratic meaning in the morning somewhat chilly and by mid to late afternoon it's been in the high 80's.  So in the mornings we've been sticking one of our square  fans into the window facing outward so the air inside gets blown outside. Then we've had a fan between the dining room and school room blowing in and the door in the frontroom open so the cooler air outside gets blown in.  It makes more sense if you saw how our house was laid out. Pretty soon the kids are wanting back inside so I said fine.  I kept waiting for dh to come home somewhat early since he had worked many more hours since coming home yesterday. But he ended up coming home regular hours.  But he must have been busy because I had emailed him several things yesterday and had gotten no response. One of the emails was askind dh if we could have the free pool our friends were giving away. They are moving and trying to get rid of as much stuff as possible before the move. I had told my friend that dh was very busy, and that if she didn't hear back from me by 9pm to give to the next person. She apparently knows I really want it because she's willing to give me this weekend to get a chance to ask. Also,her move date went from this Wed to another week due to the other house not being ready yet.  So hopefully dh will have a more settled day tomorrow (or today) and I can approach him again. Well, as I'm looking at the title of my post, I'm chuckling because apparently some things must have happened. lol So anyway, dh comes home just as I'm getting dinner settled. He greets everyone then heads upstairs to rest for awhile. The kids and I eat dinner alone, which is mostly have we do it lately. I then remind the kids that in a bit I will be doing some visiting teaching with my companion that evening so ds R and dd N need to watch dd S while I'm gone. My companion comes a bit after our scheduled time. She ran into snags downtown. There's a biker party going on this weekend and most of downtown(which is relatively small) is closed to 4 wheel traffic. Glad I don't need the car the rest of the week. So anyway my friend and I go out and visit with one of our sisters. We arrive home a bit later than I said, but that seems to be the norm when I go out visiting. I get the kids all settled and watching a video. Then prayer time and bedtime. This night dd S is having a hard time getting to sleep.  Must be the warm evening we are having. Well, after several times of dd N coming down to say dd S wants me, ds R decides to have a talk with dd S and she settles. I surely appreciate ds R. Eventually bedtime comes. So ready. Karie Kariesplace http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Kariesblogof3/581988/ Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:17:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Kariesblogof3/581988/ Yesterday we had the car so we could go to park day.  And this particular park day was being considered a sad goodbye to some friends of ours.  So let me start at the beginning. Took dh to work early which meant I got home early.  However, our little city is hosting a Harley Davidson weekend so the streets were littered with bikes, cops cars and party places.  It was fun driving home. As I arrived home I see ds R coming outside with dd S still asleep.  He said he thought I wanted him to make sure she woke up somewhat early so she would sleep that night. I told him thanks for being thoughtful, but she could sleep a bit more.  As I'm getting ready for the morning, I tell ds R that we'll start out morning around 9:30 since dd N came in late last night and I'm going to let her sleep until 9.  So eventually we start our moning. I tell all the kids that after the devotional is over and I shower, we're headed to Walmart to pick up some things.  I was going to also bake some cookies when we got back, but looking at the time I realized we wouldn't have time to do that and eat lunch, so I bought some packages of cookies to take with us. We wanted to take a treat for everyone so we could have a goodbye celebration for our friends. Once we get home, I have the kids get their lunch, then the girls and I head out to the park. Once we get there we discover there are already 6 moms there. This is great!  Normally in the past we've had 3 to 5 moms show up. Lots of these are some new moms that just recently joined the group. We let the kids play and we just chat with some interruptions from the kids. We then decide we need to get some photos of the kids and the family.  So off and on some of us moms are up and about getting some photos of some of the kids. When it was time to go home, we had all the kids that wanted to, sit down by the playground and pose for some pictures. We wanted to have this memory. I think if they are able to come next Wed, I will  try and get one of their family.  We will miss them.  As I'm heading home, I'm seeing that I will just arrive at home in time to pick up ds R and head to dh's work to pick him up.  So at 4pm I call from my cell phone telling him where I am. I then call ds R to let him know dad might call.  Funny, just as we arrive and head to the door, dh calls. He's ready so we get ourselves ready and head out the door again, this time with ds R.  As we're picking him up he tells us he has a call to make when he gets home and some work to do. We get home, he heads to his work station and I start making dinner. The kids go play for a bit until I call them. After dinner they play some more.  Dd S wants to go outside and play so I convince dd N to go out and play with chalk.  They both go out but eventually want me out with them. So we all head out.  While out there, I'm trying to get dd S to get some energy out so she will sleep tonight.  She pretty much just says she doesn't want to do much other than the chalk.  She does agree after we're done with the chalk to go for a ride around the block on bikes.  So we do that and then inside. It's now close to 9 pm and time to get kids ready for bed. Dd S does pretty good but still doesn't really want to go. Eventually after several hugs and kisses she's down.  I also manage to get the other two to bed.  At this time dh is still doing work stuff.  He says he might be there for a bit. However, as I'm done online I ask if he's going to be up all night. He makes a few phone calls and finds he is able to head to bed.  So dh and me time. Karie Kariesplace http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Kariesblogof3/581408/ Thu, 28 Aug 2008 06:17:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Kariesblogof3/581408/ Tues evening was dd N's first activity in the young women's and boy was she excited.  Let's start from the beginning of the day first. Woke up with ds R already on the computer since 5:30. That used to be normal, but lately he's been sleeping in so I guess he's growing up as well.  Not sure I like that. I like having him be up early so I don't have to.  OH well, got to deal with life.  So anyway, I'm online doing my journal and realize that time has gone by and I need to get off so dh can have on for a bit before work. He comes down, has breakfast and then leaves for work. Later that morning we're having our devotional and getting started for the day. I tell the kids that one of our homeschool moms is having a FREE garage sale and I'm going to try and go if I can find a ride.  I do so after the devotional, I go up and shower.  Eventually my friend shows and dd N and I go.  Ds R and dd S stay home. I'm learning you just don't take a 4 yr to garage sales.  So we get there and 90% of the stuff is gone and it's only 11am. We're told a few min later that a family of 6 kids showed up at 9am in a van and just loaded the van up with whatever they could carry. So most of the good stuff was gone. I did manage to find a couple of small items, but nothing exciting. Did visit with another friend while there. Eventually I realized we needed to get home, and besides we would see these friends at park day on Wed. Arrived home and found ds R and dd N outside waiting for us.  Dd S was pretty good girl, so that's good. We all had lunch, then since both older kids were going to be leaving that evening for their church activities, I encouraged them both to play with youngest dd since she wouldn't see them until either tomorrow(Wed) or that evening at bedtime.  Did some housework and other stuff. Eventually it was time to get the kids ready to leave. Had ds R shower while dd N played for a bit. Then encouraged ds R to eat since they wouldn't be eating on their activity.  After a bit we heard the doorbell ring. All puzzled looks since it wasn't time for anyone to be picked up yet.  Turns out ds R's ride was there early.  The father of one of ds R's friends was picking him up, but the friend forgot to call ds. Oh well, guess that's normal. So ds R leaves a bit early but that's ok. Now it's 5 pm and dd N needs to get ready. She's really excited about this activity. After she's showered and such, she's ready to go. Her ride ended up being about 15 min late, but they have the same car situation that we do, only one car so she had to pic up her dh, then drop him off with her kids before coming to get dd N. So they left around 5:45 for the evening.  Just before she showed up, dh drove up in the driveway and a few seconds later dd N's ride came. Once they were gone, it was just dd S, dh and I. We went inside to dd S could greet daddy. I did a couple of quick chores and then watched the two of them build with legos for a bit.  That last 20 to 30 min and then dd wanted to go upstairs and play tent. That's a game where they tie her sheets up to the top bunk bed and have a tent covering the bottom bed.  But unfortunately, their room was a bit messy and dh wouldn't be able to move anywhere so I suggested a walk.  Eventually dh even said let's go for a walk, so all 3 of us went. The chat was uneventful until we walked up the driveway and saw our neighbor coming home from work. Chatted with her for 20 or so min then she excused herself to go eat and relax. Dh and I walked into the backyard after I mentioned there was an animal hole in the backyard. So we went to inspect it.  We then inspected our dry garden and watered it more. Eventually dh went inside for dinner and I encouraged dd S to draw with chalk.  So we did that for awhile until it got dark. Then inside for a snack and video. Eventually ds R arrived home from his activity. He said it was ok, but nothing exciting. Oh well, that's how things have been with him lately.  Guess he's going through a boring phase in life. He did chat and tell me all the things the guys have been doing lately and I'm glad he hasn't been invited to any of their hangouts. Apparently they have been getting into things and got caught by the police. Luckily they didn't get arrested but were warned about their naughty behavior. But apparently the parents were notified and so all the boys have been given punishment of some kind or another. So now we're sitting on the couch waiting on dd N when the phone rings. It's her asking us if she can stay a bit longer. Dh answers and says yes.  So around 9pm it's time to put dd S to bed. So I get her ready and then head downstairs. She's getting really easy now to put to bed since I don't have to sit in her room and wait till she falls asleep. I just give he a hug and kiss and then leave. Now she has no one to play with or talk to so she gives in to sleep. Eventually ds R heads to bed as well. He says he will try and stay awake until dd N gets home. So while he's reading and listening to his music, I head to the computer and surf around. Finally 10:15 arrives and I mention to dh I might want to call. Just then a van pulls up and it's them. She heads out of the van and runs towards me. I brace myself because she's coming full force. lol I give her a hug and thank for adul leaders for giving her a ride. We chat for a bit then say goodbyes. She chats with me for a bit longer before heading to bed exhausted. More info tomorrow. So now all 3 kids are in bed and quiet time for dh and I. Karie Kariesplace   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Kariesblogof3/580875/ Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:20:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Kariesblogof3/580875/ Yesterday was a good day. It was oldest dd N's 12 birthday, which in our faith is a big deal.  She now gets to go to young women's.  This means she's growing up and learning how to slowly become an adult.  She's excited now, but up until about a month ago, was very nervous.  Now she's excited.  Well, let me start from Sunday evening activity. Just before bedtime we decorted the house a bit. Dh blew up balloons and I put streamers up.  I wasn't in the best of moods to do this, but I knew it needed to be done for her. After that we went to bed. Mon morning I'm up early trying to get my journal done before anyone else wakes up. Dh has the day off to spend with us as a family. Around 7am dd S wakes up and is excited to see all the decorations. "Mommy," she says, " it's sisters birthday and she's 12!"  "It sure is", I tell her.  She gets her morning chocolate milk and goes back to sleep. A bit later dh wakes up and I end up having to wake up ds R so he can get her flyer done. I tried doing it the night before but jus wasn't getting it right.  So anyway, ds R finally gets up and gets working on the flyer. Dh does his usual morning conference call, then gets up to fix dd N's french toast she requested.  I go up and proceed to wake up dd N for her day.  This morning doesn't take too long since as soon as I said "it's your birthday" she popped up out of bed lol. Got up pretty promptly and headed downstairs. Pretty soon dh had breakfast ready and so we ate. We then had our devotional to which dd N was in charge of getting it started.  She wanted to surprise her daddy by stating she would be saying the prayer. Now I know you're thinking, she's 12 and saying a prayer shouldn't be all that big of a deal. But it has been with her since she doesn't like to say much in public even with family. So this was nice. After the devotional we proceeded to get ready for the morning.  I went up and showered while the kids got their books and videos ready.  Then we all headed to the library. Dh wanted to go along so he could get some errands done, so he dropped us off and headed out. As we entered and were getting our books put away, we bumped into one of our church friends.  It was one of the young women leaders and she wished dd N happy birthday.  Dd N just beamed. lol Then we continued with the rest of our library stuff. As we're getting our stuff ready to check out, I remember to call dh that we're ready. He's on his way as he does a couple more things.  Once we're finished we head downstairs to find dh there and checking out some books.  Dh then tells me we're not headed home, we'll just get some lunch and proceed with our day.  So we head to McD's for lunch, then to the zoo. We decide to check out parts of the zoo that we haven't seen in awhile.  We check out the giraffe's and see that the zoo workers are letting some people feed the animals. We all chuckle at the looks of EW coming from the children who are feeding the giraffe's.  My kids are not interested in doing this, just watching. We then head off to look at other animals. Even though we've just been to the zoo last April, we still had fun. We saw the polar bear doing some interesting moves and a brown grizzly bear sticking his butt at me and peeing. GROSS!  What a time to pick to watch the animal. Dh thought that was funny. Close to closing time we head to the train area. Both girls wanted to ride it and the merry go round. So we head in that direction.  Dh decides to join us. Usually in the past when we've had the stroller, dh has stayed behind. But lately since we don't have it he joins us. That's been nice for us as a family. So dh joins us but since ds R decides to sit opposite the girls, dh has no place to sit so him and I sit in the next area.  As we're riding, both girls are sticking their heads out just slightly do dh gets some good photos. After the train ride, dd S decides she wants to ride the merry go round so dd N decides she wants to as well. This means that either dh or ds has to go with dd S. I can't due to ear problems which when I go round and around I get major dizzy. So ds R decides to be nice and go with dd S. We got some cute photos. Then the ride is over and we decide to head to miniature golf. We were, at first, going to eat dinner and then do the golf, but since most of us aren't quite ready for dinner, we opt to golf. Thank goodness because later on it cooled off greatly. So we're at miniature golf and having fun. This place is a new one and it has water at every stand. At first I'm thinking that's dumb. But then dh realizes that the water is only 1 ft deep. Ok that's fine.  So at this time I'm doing much better than I normally do.  We're all having fun and such. Then we're done with the game and head to the car for dinner. Dh reads us the scores and I can't believe what he has just told us.  I BEAT EVERYONE! I've NEVER gotten first place with golf.  I even beat dh which I NEVER do! I told the kids and dh that I wanted to keep that score card lol. So now we head to dinner to our favorite buffet place, New China. We occassionally try other buffet places, but this one has our most favorite foods. And we must have gotten dd S very hungry because her normal eating is 2 to 3 small pieces of chicken and some french fries. Tonight she has eaten about 8 piece of chicken. She did very well. After we eat, we head outside and like I said earlier, it has cooled down considerably. BURR! We arrive home and get the cake ready for singing.  Then present time. She has received many craft and painting things. This should be fun. She's also gotten a hoola hoop and candy and some jewelry. Nice stuff and she's happy. We then eat cake. Prayer time then settling by watching a video for the evening. Put kids to bed and thankfully dd S is very tired. After a bit I'm headed to bed. I find myself falling asleep before dh gets up there. He was downloading the pictures online. I was just too tired for any cuddling.  I'll make up for it Tues evening. :) Karie Kariesplace http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Kariesblogof3/580360/ Tue, 26 Aug 2008 06:27:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Kariesblogof3/580360/ Fri was a normal day except we didn't do any formal school work. Ds R needed to get his report done so after our devotional, he got started right away.  While I showered the girls played nicely.  Nothing too exciting happened. Sat was the start of the busy day. I got up and showered somewhat early, at least for a Sat. I was going to be going out with my df D to do some shopping for our annual block party. So I got the girls up around 8 so that they would have time to wake up before mom left for the morning. A bit after 9 she pulled up in the driveway and I left. We headed to the Dollar store first. Actually found lots of things.  I even got a few things for dd S for school.  We then headed for Target to see what was there.  Not a whole lot more, but I did manage to find a few more things there, again for dd S.  Found a set of plastic cups that dh might like so I called to ask him. They were out and about searching for dd S's cake. Arrived home knowing that they were gone. Kind of a weird feeling having the house to myself for a bit. After 30 min they arrived home having found a cake for dd N and ordered it from Sam's Club.  We then got dd S showered and ready for her first birthday party.  It was a princess and balerina party so she was dressed as a princess. She was so excited and a bit nervous. There were only 5 girls invited, but several had a few siblings which were there also so it meant lots of kids. We arrived at the party right on time and just in front of another guest.  They had treasure chests for the girls to decorate while they waited on the other guests so that's what dd S did for a bit. She did a great job.  Once all the guests showed up, we then went into the family room to learn some dance steps from a young man who was learning dance. He did a great job, but I think after 30 min of just quiet dance steps and not really knowing some of the people, dd S started looking bored.  So thankfully they moved on to cake and ice cream. After the cake and ice cream they opened gifts and boy the confusion at one point.  Thing did eventually settle down.  Once the gifts were done they did a pinata'. They had the kids line up smallest to tallest(with birthday girl in the front, of course). Each child was allowed one swing and the older siblings were also allowed in.  Lots of good hits, but no one even cracked the pinata'. So they let the kids line up one more time and this time they were allowed 3 hits. Dd S cracked it good on her 3rd hit which spilt some candy. The mom then popped it open the rest of the way. I dove in to help dd S because she was over whelmed with all the kids around her. Even some of the older kids gave her some candy. Once that was over with we needed to head home.  One of dh's co-workers was having a party at her home that afternoon so we needed to get going for that.  Dd S and I arrived at home around 2:30 and after a brief explanation of what happened, headed upstairs to get ready. We left shortly after arriving at the party around 3.  It was slow going at first. A lot of sun in the backyard so we did the best we could to find shade. Dh grabbed our chairs and we found some spots to sit. After the introductions were made, we all just kind of sat around. After a bit the hostess invited the girls to join her dd and another girl playing her room with dolls. Dh joined them for a bit so that dd S wouldn't feel too over whelmed considering she'd already been to one noisy event.  After a bit of chatting and mostly listening to the other guests chat, dh finally came back outside to join us. We again just sat around chatting. I had dh get our drinks since it was getting really warm.  Eventually they started serving small refreshments while we were chatting. Yummy stuff. Eventually some of the kids wanted to go swimming, so my girls also wanted to go. I had ds R go in with Dd S since she still needed assistance. She was only in the water for about 20 min before she wanted out. She told me ds R wasn't holding her the right way and so she was tired. Eventually we needed to get dd N out since most of the kids were already out and we were waiting on dinner.  Then dinner was served and it was good. The rest of the evening was just more chatter and since the other guests were drinking alcoholic drinks they were starting to get a bit giggly and silly, although not too bad.  Finally around 8:30pm we all started gathering our chairs and such to head home.  Said our thank you's and goodbyes to the hostess and left. Dd S was singing away the whole way home. I kept hoping she would fall asleep, but I think overall she's past that stage. Sun morning came and it was time to get started on church preparations.  Dh and ds also had some hometeaching to do.  Finally time to head to church. Overall nothing too exciting except we did have a family who did a special music number and they did great. After church we were invited to attend a seminary meeting on this coming new yr for seminary. I wasn't able to attend last yrs due to my last calling, but apparently not much else had changed from last yr. So afterwards we left for home. Had dinner and the girls then played for awhile. Dh and ds R had another home teaching to do.  Finally it was time to put kids to bed and have quiet time to ourselves.  I had forgotten, however, that we still needed to decorate the house. So dh started blowing up balloons and I started putting up decorations. I was going to do a flyer, but just wasn't in the mood so ended up doing decorations. We then headed to bed.  Tomorrow will be a long but good day. Karie Kariesplace http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Kariesblogof3/579820/ Mon, 25 Aug 2008 06:26:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Kariesblogof3/579820/ not really sure what to title this one, so I'll just let it go for now by helping start my sentence.  Yesterday dh did his conference call from home. No biggie since it was over around 8.  Had just enough time to wake up oldest dd N with the help of youngest dd S. As we were waking her dh whistled up that he was leaving so that got dd N up without me having to wait. Started our morning routine(after breakfast)with the devotional and then decided to shower. Ds R was going to be working on his eagle report getting it situtated so he can show it to his scout master.  So all morning he was getting it presentable.  The girls were playing nicely with their toys and with ds doing his stuff, I just got lazy and we did no school or at least no structured school.  Ds R was still doing some and the girls were using their imaginations so we did learn something. Around lunchtime we stopped what we were doing and ate. I called my friend, who would be taking me to a meeting that night, to make sure she was still on. Then had lunch and let the girls go outside and play. trying to get all of dd S's wiggles out so she'll sleep again at night like she did last night. After a bit I had ds R take a break and go outside as well. Pretty soon they were running around the house again. Eventually I remembered that I needed to do laundry and so I had the kids sort through their stuff and help take baskets downstairs.  Got it started and then the dishes. Eventually dh arrived home and I got dinner ready. Nothing fancy like last night. Last night I made my newest creation but unfortunately didn't get it done in time before dh had to leave for a meeting so tonight I had made something a bit simpler for dh.  We had warmed up ham with side dish leftovers. Nothing fancy but the kids love it. The dish I made yesterday is rolled biscuits in a can flattened out and small pieces of cooked chicken with cheese was put in the middle after smashing it out. Then  cook for 9 min or until it's just a golden brown. Yummy when eaten warm. Ds loved them. Around 6:30 went upstairs to let dh know I was leaving with my friend. He told me the kids and himself were probably going to go to Sam's Club and to write a list. I did, and then left. We arrived pretty early but Iike doing that versus getting there right on time and having nowhere to sit.  The meeting was good, but a bit long. They had a brother who teaches seminary and public school who wrote a book on the presidents of the U.S. come speak to us. The theme of our meeting was "going back to school". The sisters who were in charge had asked for school photos of long ago for a project they were working on so I emailed mine in. What they did with them was stick  them on a board, and see if we could figure out who everyone was. Pretty interesting. Then we had "lunchtime" served in the "cafeteria" before classes started. I didn't read the card well that they handed out or I wouldn't have eaten dinner. They were serving dinner there and it looked yummy but I was stuffed from dinner already. I did manage to swallow some fruit cocktail but that was all.  We were then assigned which classes to go to, but the 2 sisters I was sitting with decided to "skip" those classes so I joined them. We just chatted then around 8:30 decided to head home. Dh was probably going nuts with the kids or at least with dd S. I called to let them know I was heading home Once home I found dd S playing fishy with one of her sewing toys. After I said hi to everyone and talked a bit about the nights events, we had prayer and then got the kids ready for bed. I retold dd S that again I would do all the things we normally did for bedtime and then sit in the hallway while she went to bed. This night she didn't seem to want to sleep, so after about 10 min I told her I was going downstairs and would see her in the morning. She eventually fell asleep but it was after 10 because I put dd N to bed around 10 and dd S was still awake. But at least she had stayed in her room so that was good. Now quiet time for dh and I. Karie Kariesplace   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Kariesblogof3/578571/ Fri, 22 Aug 2008 06:33:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Kariesblogof3/578571/ This morning when I got up was normal. Did my blogging and then woke up ds R so he could be awake when dh and I left to take dh to work. Well, dh comes down once showered and dressed and informs me he's going to take his 7:45 call at home. No problem since usually those only take 10 to 15 min. This call took 45 min so we didn't leave at the regular time. Around 8 I decide to wake up dd N since dh is still in the middle of his call. I have been leaving both girls at home with ds R since dd N is usually hard to wake up and in the process I usually end up waking dd S. Thankfully this morning dd N was easy to wake up since all I had to say to her was "do you want to come with while I take dad to work". She immediately sat up lol. Once dd N came down I told her to watch a bit of cartoon while we waited for dh to finish. We ended up not leaving until 8:45 which meant I didn't get home until almost 9(stopped for some stamps). That meant we didn't start school until 10. Basically it was a domino affect.  Our devotionals started at 10, we ended at 10:40, I showered and ended at 11:00 and we needed to do some birthday shopping for dd S' friends party for this Sat, so around 11:15 we all piled into the car having done no school work. Got the gift and headed home with the kids commenting about being hungry.  They convinced mom(didn't need much convincing lol) to stop off at McD's for french fries and drinks. Then home and had a bit more lunch. Around 1:15 the girls and I left for the park leaving instructions for ds R to finish his eagle report and get it presentable.  We arrived at the park and found 2 other new moms plus a regular mom there already. We ended up with 6 or 7 moms at the park.  The regular mom is moving the end of Aug and will be missed.  They are moving to AZ.  It was really nice to meet some of the new moms who have recently joined the group. I think it's interesting how over 4yrs ago my family and I joined the group as a young family with kids ages 10 ds, 7 dd, and 5 month dd.  The group was newly formed a yr or two earlier so young families which is what we needed. Now 6yrs later and 4 yrs later for us, my family has grown age wise(and physical wise with ds and dd N getting waaaay tall) and a new batch of moms with young children coming in. Amazing how life does that. So we get a fresh brew of younguns. Just before leaving the park I call ds R to see how his report is. He complains that I didn't have my phone turned on, but I did. Unfortunately, my phone only vibrates and unless I'm holding it, I won't know it's ringing. I asked him what the issues was and he said he needed me to stop off at the store to pick up a new binder. I asked him why since we already had 4 or 5 from when we first started homeschooling and weren't using those anymore. He said he couldn't get the top paper out of the front so he could add his eagle report.  I told him I would help him once I got home. We arrived home and I immediately was able to take most of the papers out.  The only one left was the one in the spine which he eventually managed to get out at bedtime.  In the meantime, the girls are playing while we wait to pick up dh from work.  Eventually we do and head home. Dh has a church meeting at 6:30 so I'm hoping the dinner plans I have make it in time. Unfortunately they don't and dh ends up having cereal instead. I feel bad since he was tired and hungry.  Next time I will plan some of the dinner ahead of time should he have this meeting again.  After dinner dh left for his meeting and the kids and I went outside. I was trying to wear out dd S so she would go to sleep easy this night.  I had ds R and dd N outside having her run around the house, literally, 40 or 50 times. Then they ran and climbed around the swingset.  Ds R and dd N did a great job.  Dh came home a bit later and was watching the kids play for a bit then headed inside. Still tired but feeling a bit better.  I watered the garden which consists of beans, tomatoes, some now wilted lettuce and some tired looking squash which finally produced one squash. I'm hoping it will continue to do well since it's still growing.  Last yr we had one or two but they rotted before it was time to pick. We've had luck this yr with beans, lettuce and finally tomatoes.  Overall considering that we planted the garden about a month and a half late, we did pretty good. Bedtime came and go ready. I sat dd S down to explain to her that tonight I was going to do all the same stuff with her, brush her teeth, potty, read, listen to her pray, but then after I tucked her in I was going to head out in the hallway and sit instead of cuddling with her. Dh and I have decided that she's definitely way old enough to go to sleep on her own. With how her bed is situated, she's able to look up through her head board and see me sitting there. Thankfully she was tired from all the running and feel to sleep pretty good. Eventually the older 2 went to bed as well. Quiet time for dh and I. Karie Kariesplace http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Kariesblogof3/578100/ Thu, 21 Aug 2008 06:32:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Kariesblogof3/578100/