I'm Corky, a military wife and mom of four. We're in our 11th year of homeschooling and have lived in many different places in our 18 years of marriage. My hobbies include reading, tandem bike riding with my hubby, and blogging, of course! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/corky/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Fri, 21 Jul 2006 09:25:00 -0500 Fri, 21 Jul 2006 09:25:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/corky/170489/ Fri, 21 Jul 2006 09:25:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/corky/170489/ http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/corky/167147/ Fri, 14 Jul 2006 19:34:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/corky/167147/ I will Praise YOU In This Storm http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/corky/165697/ Wed, 12 Jul 2006 11:06:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/corky/165697/ Yep, our youth group has been gone for less than 48 hours and we have had a report that Bud is the first on the trip to sustain an injury.  After arriving safely in Ontario last night, they were playing musical chairs, and my guy, in his teenage boy exuberance ran and dived onto a chair, hurting his back (and I’m guessing, a little of his pride.)  Praying that the ibuprofen is all that is needed to help him feel better quickly, and that there is not a serious injury lurking there to hinder his work for the LORD this week.        http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/corky/164123/ Sun, 9 Jul 2006 15:57:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/corky/164123/ Well, all my babies left yesterday and I'm home alone at the moment.  Hubby is on a bike ride, so it's just me and Gus, the stinky-at-the-moment puppy. My two oldest are on their way to Kingston, Ontario for and my two youngest are spending the week being spoiled by mammaw and pappaw. My boys have gone to camp for several years now, but I actually had tears in my eyes last night before saying goodbye to them.  When they started calling van assignments,  Bubba's name was called in the first group, Bud yelled out "Bye Bubba, I love you!" and of course, all 89 attendees and their parents started laughing and broke the tension, so no tears flowed when I hugged them one last time.  Thursday we went to the midnight showing of Pirates of the Caribbean.  All in all very entertaining (I didn't fall asleep!) except for the creepy river woman.  We got home at 3:30 am, and my internal clock had me up by 6:30 (I do not use an alarm clock, but it is rare for me to sleep past this time.)  So, yesterday I was running on three hours of sleep and lots of caffeine.   Bud has had some noticeable chin hair for several months now.  We have avoided the first "official" shave with a razor, but something needed to be done about it.  So, before he left yesterday, I got out the ol trimmer and chopped it off.    He turned 15 AND A HALF on the second (and yes that "half" is important to him as it signals the time that he may go to get his temporary driving permit.)  But I am in no hurry for him to get a car or his license.   Let's see, he also has a girlfriend now, Strawberry, who I will say is adorable and is a wonderful Christian girl.  They have been an item for over three months now.  She has joined us on family outings, and they sit together for church activities, but we are not allowing dating just yet.  But they talk on the phone every night.  He gave her a betta fish in a vase for their three month anniversary.  I cannot imagine how he is going to top that gift, but my advice to him was that it wasn't about how much time or money he spent, but the thought behind it. But, Oh my soul! Where has my baby gone to? Bubba earned six merit badges at scout camp.  He borrowed a phone card from a fellow camper and tried to call me.  I, of course happened to be out at that time, so he left this message to me that was just "heartbreaking"  In the whiniest voice possible...>>> "Mom, Where ARE you?  Pick up the phone, this is not a telemarketer. I miss you.   You better be there next time I call."  Of course, he is a big ham, so I understood that he wasn't really upset, but if anyone else had heard him...So, I spent about 30 minutes trying to record the "perfect" answering machine greeting assuring him (and my other two boys who were also at various camps) that I was SO sorry to miss their calls .  And wouldn't ya know, he never tried to call back.  Boo went to church kids camp.  He has a hard time matching his clothes, normally putting on the first shirt and pants that he sees, so he asked for help making certain that he had matching outfits.  I packed each days clothes in a Ziploc bag.  A day or two after he returned, he came down with red and black shorts on with a white shirt trimmed in black.  Honey Bunch says, "Boo, you look really good today, you match."  To which Boo replied, "I had an outfit left over from camp."  Hey, whatever works, right?  Boo'ism:  "I really want the nut of the litter," said when we were picking out a puppy. Baby Girl'ism:  "I want to go to BackOut (Outback) steak house."  She got her braces put on Wednesday morning.   She was left home with me while Honey Bunch and the boys were off to camp.  We got movies from the library and the video store, went to see Over the Hedge, ate at Ruby Tuesday's, Subway, and McDonald's, but she still said more than once, "I'm bored".  I'm sure she won't admit it, but she really just missed picking at her brothers. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/corky/163558/ Sat, 8 Jul 2006 08:11:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/corky/163558/ Well, what does it say about me that I've spent the better part of the afternoon changing around my template and have no time to write an update.  You'd think I would have prioritized differently since I've been absent from around here so long.  Oh well, I would promise to update tomorrow, but all of my men folk (hubby included) return from camp, so my free time will diminish once again! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/corky/159209/ Thu, 29 Jun 2006 15:46:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/corky/159209/   Well, we had 23 people in my house Saturday night for a Sunday School "small" group fellowship.  I have never had more than 12 people around my table at one time, but I made all the food, and if I do say so myself, did a pretty good job on judging how much to make.  Here is my menu: Veggies and Dip Chips and Salsa Brisket Grilled Chicken Breasts Hot Dogs (yes, we had some adults who ate these) Hash Brown Potato Casserole Macaroni and Cheese Corn Pudding Green Beans (canned last summer) Rolls Watermelon Homemade Vanilla and Cookies n Cream Ice Cream Pound Cake Brownies Apple Dump Cake http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/corky/159203/ Thu, 29 Jun 2006 22:26:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/corky/159203/ Here's a picture of our new puppy.  He's a Labradoodle--His mama was a black poodle and his daddy was a chocolate lab.  He's 13 weeks old, but we've only had him for one week.  We've never had a male dog before, so please tell me that he'll behave.  As for his name, we're still unsure, but leaning towards GUS (for Augustus Caesar, or the mouse, Gus-Gus in Cinderella, or if he's just a big goober, Augustus Gloop from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.)  This guy's going to be big, but isn't he just a cutie! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/corky/158764/ Wed, 28 Jun 2006 20:24:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/corky/158764/ This guy has been seen swimming around our pool.  Then he (or she?) hides in the skimmer, just out of reach.  Baby girl refuses to swim until this critter is caught but all the guys are away at camp this week. Just for the record, he looks bigger in this photo, but I'm not reaching in to get it out. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/corky/158753/ Wed, 28 Jun 2006 20:16:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/corky/158753/ Once again I have left this blog neglected.  It has been crazy around here since we bought a 30 year old, 3500 sq foot house and have removed wallpaper and painted almost every surface (including ceilings) while trying to unpack boxes and make time for schooling.  I feel so blessed to have this house.  Each of the children has their own room and we have a separate school room and craft room!  We have birds at the feeder daily and have seen our share of cardinals, robins, finches and blue jays.    Of course we have also seen mice and snakes in the shed...but don't tell Baby Girl!  We are trying to wind down for the school year and are awaiting the arrival (hopefully any day now) of our IOWA tests.   All in all, I feel that this has been a good year, even with the interruption of moving.  Summer camps start in just three weeks with our oldest, Bud, going to Scout Leadership Camp (he was just elected Senior Patrol Leader), then onto Youth Super Summer Leadership Camp.  Bubba will go to Scout camp, while Boo attends Church Kids' Camp.  Then Bud and Bubba will go to International M-Fuge--traveling this year to Canada!  Poor Baby Girl just gets to stay home with mom. Our latest purchase was a drum set.                                                   'nuff said on that topic..... And, that's my life in a nutshell for the moment.  http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/corky/133318/ Thu, 11 May 2006 20:45:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/corky/133318/