joyfulhomeschooling

sorry

for the negative post yesterday.  Apparently, it was an exhausted, whoa is me, feel sorry for me kinda day. 

I'm working on getting our school room finalized.  I'm searching for where we put all the posters and things in our old schoolroom/dining room.  I'm pretty sure we unpacked them, but have no idea where we put them, so the hunt continues.  My next step is to get some curtains or something up in here.  The white walls, with white blinds, is a little much for me.  I'm debating whether or not, just to sponge a pale yellow or blue on the walls, just to get some color.  Maybe blue would be better, isn't that color supposed to put you in a good mood?  AT this point, I would have to go around the bookcase and computer hutch, becase well, they are way to heavy to move and no one will ever see behind them.  I think I'll look at paint this week.

Must be nesting I guess.  I'm also trying to get the rest of the stuff up on the walls.  The echoing in here is a little overwhelming sometimes.  hehe

Also this week, we're going to be putting together the crib and getting a baby swing for baby x.  I just realized that we are exactly eight days away from the csection.  Wow, where did that time go?  I will also get a bouncy seat, but we don't need that right now.  I use it more later on.  I don't need the dog licking the newborn or Kailyn pulling her off the table or counter (did I mention that Kailyn's climbing all over in the last post?)

I've been pretty lazy today and haven't gotten much done.  I guess I needed that.  Tomorrow I will get going and get some things done that need to be done.  I'm excited to finally be getting the school room and the rest of the house done!  Yeah!!

Take care!!  Tomorrow is a doctor's appt and hopefully I will find out what time the csection is scheduled for next week.  Daddy has a standing golf game on Tuesdays and would like to try to fit it in, hehehe.

ps-we are so excited for football season!!  Last night, we got to watch the Bills-which is my team and yes they lost AGAIN!!  We're famous for that.  Anyway, its nice being able to watch football at a normal time.  In Japan, we had to get up at 3am on Mondays to watch the Sunday afternoon games!

Also, please keep my Japanese friends in your prayers.  The area where we lived has had to major earthquakes in the last few days!

Pondering what to write.....

For once, I really have no idea what to even blog about.  Usually I have some homeschooling topic or funny thing that happened, or pictures to post-nope not today.  Must be pregnancy brain.

I have an appt on Tuesday and I'm hoping that the doctor will be able to tell me when the csection will be scheduled on the 18th.  I mean, we do have other children that we need to find a place for during that time.  Of course, being new here, means not knowing alot of people, so depending on the surgery time, we may have to keep daddy at home with the kiddos while I'm in surgery.  Let's face it, its hard to ask someone that you really don't know that well to get up at 6am with four kids.  All are self sufficient, except Kailyn-and we are rediscovering the explorations of a toddler.  Climb on the table.  Climb on the counter.  Climb on the changing table.  PUt the whole roll of toilet paper in the toilet and flush.  Swing from the ceiling fan-you get the idea.

I'm doing pretty well considering that I can't get comfortable and therefore can't sleep that well.  I say that, although I know I've been barking at my husband and children the past few days, I'm just pretending that I haven't been.  I'm in denial.  I'm at least smart enough to say, I'm so tired and I'm sorry but...... bark, bark, bark.  Not that it makes it any better, but at least they've been warned that I'm a sleep deprived crazy person and they usually shrug it off.  They're wonderful and forgiving. 

My only big issue is the baby's name.  Hubby won't discuss any names other than this ridiculous name he's thought of combining Hannah Montana and Gabriella from HSM-Montana Gabriella.  I absolutely hate it.  Both names, not to mention the fact, that I don't really want my child name after pop stars, it doesn't even flow with our other children's names.  Its driving me mad.  I like to be ready for things, not deciding the day we leave the hospital her name.  Or perhaps, we'll be like Murphy Brown and take six months to decide.  We could try different names on her and see what fits.  Nope, doesn't work for me.  I'll be too crazed not having a name.  So, right now, we argue discuss names.  Actually, we really don't argue about it, he just keeps repeating this  nutty name that he knows is driving me over the edge.  I know he's doing it on purpose, but stop the madness already!!

.  I've finished all the school stuff and other than hanging some posters in the school room, I am as ready as can be for the upcoming year.  I'm very excited.  I hope the kids are too. 

I hope you don't think I'm too crazed after my rant today.  Just needed to rant to someone other than my family, I've put them through enough!!

Take care and have a wonderful week!

Chicken Manure Man

Today I thought I'd share the story of the Chicken Manure Man.

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The kids and I had driven with the camper and dog from VA to MT and picked up daddy at the airport.  Daddy got to drive the rest of the way to WA, and I got to deal with the kiddos in the back of the truck-I think I would have preferred to drive.

Anyway, we were on the third day of driving with daddy and pulled into a rest area before hitting the Cascade Mountains.  The kids and I were in the camper going to the restroom, when this tractor trailer comes whizzing in and pulls up next to us.

This above average sized man gets out and goes over to Kevin-"hey you got an apple?"

Kevin looked at me and I nodded and turned to go in and get him one.  We were both thinking that perhaps he was diabetic and his sugar was low.

The guy says, "no, no, I mean do you have an apple tree>"

Hmmm, let me think about this.  We're in a rest area in Eastern WA, with our 34 foot camper, big dog, and four kids.  Nope, not so much.

"Or how about some tomato plants?"

Hmmm, please refer to the above thought.

"I mean at your house!  Do you have any at your  house?"

Oh, now we're getting somewhere.  Nope, we don't have a house-at this point we're living in the camper. 

"Too bad, I've got the best fertilizer in the world here"

Then the smell hits us.  Chicken manure.  Now, I don't know how many of you have ever been around a chicken farm, but the smell is worse and more toxic than a pig or cow farm.

The man rambles on for a while and we're finally able to get into the truck and leave. 

"So," I asked "exactly what was he going to do.  Go to the top, scoop us out a cup of it?  And then what?  What would we have done with it then?"

Thoughts of chicken manure fermenting in the camper came to mind.  eeeeeewwwwwwwww

Its wonderful!

We are back to typical weather for WA!!  Yeah!!  Its nice and cool-good sleeping weather.  For the first time in nights, I got a good nights sleep.  Yeah!!  The kids are still sleeping and its after nine.  I'm letting them and enjoying the peace and quiet.  They are so tired after trying to sleep in the heat and we'd been letting them stay up really late to hopefully cool off their rooms some before going to bed. 

So, now I can continue on with my lesson plans, which I will be doing today.  I would like to finish them up today or tomorrow.  I have some  housework to catch up on because it was too warm to do anything, especially upstairs.

I have some pictures I'll be posting in a few minutes for you!!  Thanks to everyone for your prayers for nicer weather!!

lesson planning

I am right now knee deep in lesson plans.  Our box came from Rainbow Resource today and I'm thoroughly enjoying looking through our stuff.  Some are items Trey's used before and I'm just getting the new student text for Hallie and Courtnee.  This year will be really difficult with a newborn, toddler, and three different grade levels, but I'm going to do my best.  To start off, organization is the key to it all.  I'm going through each book and putting my lesson plans into Homeschool Tracker.   I want to be able to just sit down and mindlessly pull out the things to do for the next day, since I'm positive I'll be sleep deprived-at least through October.

I did find a great Chemistry book for Trey.  I just want to do a short Chemistry unit to introduce him to it this year.  It's called Christian Kids Explore Chemistry.  The website is www.brightideaspress.com.  I believe they have two or three other texts-one is biology and one is earth science.  If I remember correctly, I think they have physics too.  Don't quote me on that-I'm pregnant remember and can't recall what happened five minutes ago.

Most of the unpacking is done, just a little organizing left to do.  This weekend our community is having a garage sale and I hope to get rid of our junk stuff we don't use and get a swing for the baby and get some money put aside for a double stroller.  We need to get the crib together and decide on a name for this little one.  We've been preoccupied with the move and haven't taken the time to really discuss names.  Hubby is threatening Montana Gabriella- for Hannah and High School Musical.  Good thing he doesn't ever fill out the birth certificate paperwork!!

Our little Kailyn thinks she's quite the grown up.  She's following the bigger girls all over and wants to play with them at the neighbors.  I was letting her because I was trying to unpack, but now, I'm making her stay with me and she's not liking it!!  I'm such a mean mom.

We've been trying to get her to go to sleep on her own.  Yes, I know she's almost two.  BEfore we left Japan, she was going to sleep all on her own and very nicely.  Then we left Japan, bought a camper, traveled across country and lived in it for four months.  No more crib to keep her in, since she crawled outta bed, we'd lay with her until she fell asleep.  Well, no more of that.  Now she's in a big girl toddler bed, so we've put the gate across the door so she doesn't sneak out and fall down the stairs!  Yesterday, she was so tired at nap time, that she got outta bed (to let me know she didn't want to take a nap), laid down on the floor and fell asleep next to the gate.  It was very cute!! 

I usually wait upstairs until she falls asleep, but today I had a lot to do, so I came downstairs.  Hubby came home and went upstairs to get changed.  He called down because she wasn't in her bed.  I thought, oh, she's on the floor again - nope!!  She'd climbed on top of the changing table and fell asleep there!!! 

Now we need to try to rearrange so she can't get up there again!!  And just when I thought I wasn't going to get anymore gray hairs!

They're making tunnels out of the boxes....

We've been in the house now for about five days.  Unpacking, unpacking.  I see boxes in my sleep.  I still about 25 boxes left.  Although you may think that's pretty good, its not.  You see, usually when we move, I'm extremely organized.  I weed and purge and get rid of stuff.  I organize things into piles.  However, since our house in Japan was so small, that didn't work out that way.  I didn't do any of that.  So, I'm forced to go through things now and get rid of junk-and boy did we have a lot of it!!  The other problem was storage in Japan.  I had my scrapbooking stuff in three different places.  So now, I've come across several boxes of stuff that I need to find a place for and organize.

The plus side is that we now have a school room!!  I can't tell you how excited I am about that!!  Dining room table just didn't work for me-especially with school supplies in three different areas.  All in one place now!!  Yeah!! 

I'm hoping to have my photos from our drive across country posted later this week.  We also have some photos of the bald eagles that were living near our campsite.  They are beautiful.  I didn't get any pictures of the whales.  Hopefully, we'll get them soon.

Also, this week, my goal is to order my curriculum.  I need to get lesson plans done for after the little one arrives.  We still haven't settled on a name.  Hopefully, we can narrow that down soon, but right now our focus is unpacking!! 

Have a wonderful day!!