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I had corndogs for lunch! LOL! Yes, now that my brother has a girlfriend, I see that we will have to share the holidays! Since it was important for Girlfriend to be with her parents for the Thanksgiving meal and Brother also wanted to eat with us, we're having our meal at Dinner time. ----- Which is actually not much later than usual, but it's cute just the same. I was trying to remember what Matthew and I did for holidays before we had kids. I think they were still spent with my parents or at the Rescue Squad. Rescue Squad's fine when you don't have little ones, but I'm so glad that phase of life is over and done with. Anyway... on to better thoughts... As for all of us, our lives don't usually look the way we planned. But maybe that can make us more thankful for what we have now. It makes me more thankful!! Although I still have so much to learn so I can be a better wife and mother, I am so thankful for my awesome husband and children that make sanctification worthwhile. I love just relaxing and laughing with friends and family! So if you come to my home for a holiday, don't expect a 20 course meal. Bring a snack and come enjoy the day. Maybe I can get Mom to downsize her meals so she will sit down more too. Time to go dry some dishes for her so I can take a nap! Our Thanksgiving 10 years ago...
And this Thanksgiving...
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I've spent 2 days updating my profiles at various sites - busness and personal because Matt and I changed the community blog to www.CarolineVABlog.com . Yep! Came back from Orlando inspired to work on details. So what suffers right now? The personal blog. But it's all good! The kids and Matthew put up the tree last night. Kinsey made cookies today - snickerdoodles. Thanksgiving starts tomorrow at our house. Yea! |
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I realize that I need spell check more and more each day. I can't blames it on my inability to type. I never learned to type correctly, but it seems that I make more mistakes now than I ever did. Maybe because I type faster? Text messaging makes even someone like me type faster. But then you have to suffer through my spelling if I forget to run spell Check. Yep, we're on our way to Florida for our work vacation. We stopped in Savannah tonight. I wrote a quick not to my Grandmother this evening. In it I said, "we have 4 cameras, a flip can, and 5 phones and we did not take a single picture today." We did keep up with work emails on the Blackberry. We kept up with friends on Twitter. The kids watched movies on the laptop, played games on the DS. Anyone see a pattern here??? My hope is for a day or two completely - ok, mostly unplugged to watch life and not screens. On that note, I'm off to read my book! If you think of it, please pray for our safety and that the Lord would reveal any new plans for our Real Estate careers that He would like us to use. And pray for my dad. He will be spending the most time with the girls at Disney while Matt, Mom, and I are in classes! |
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As Daddy is moving every toy in her room to find a tiny spider, I am reminded of several other things my 6 year old has handled from her point of view today. At one point she said, "Be careful with my hair please. It's delicate. That means..." While reading her phonics book there were definitions she gave to a few of her words: chat - "like on the computer with your friends" - I thought it was very interesting that she thought about chatting only on online and not relating it to talking to someone in person. chill - "like to chill out with your friends" - yeah! Great! My 6 year old is using slang! And then we had the word "chick." She said, "We can't use that word. It's not nice." I said that they were talking about a baby chicken and not a guy calling a girl "chick" and in this case it was ok. Very funny day for Mommy. |
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Today I went in to shadow for floor duty. Answer phones, greet customers when they come in the door. I really like my new office! I feel like I am playing catch up - learning all sorts of office policy that I should have learned in the past year. Between my mentor and my broker, I'm heading into a very busy season! I can't wait! Kid #2 went with me and was given chocolate and peanut butter chocolate cake. Came home and had to cook up 4 pounds of hamburger since I Forgot to separate it all before I froze it. So now its thawed out and I make 18 mini meat loaves and divided the rest into cooked hamburger to put in meals. Tonight is caregroup. I guess I better get ready to go! |
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Yes, I had a Divine Appointment today! It's a pretty cool feeling! I had a wonderful meeting with some friends. What I thought was going to be a cold, windy play date - ended up being a wonderful opportunity to talk about Christ and what He has done or is doing in each of our lives. I was so excited and thankful! Oh, the kids had fun too. The girls and I also started our prayer journals. I am very excited to see what the Lord wants to share of His heart with us! |
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I bought my Disney tickets today. It was odd that after you buy 3 day, 4 days was only $7 more! And 8 days was only $17 more than 3 days. That's pretty cheap entertainment even if you only go and walk around for a couple of hours. Or should I say especially if you ONLY walk around for a couple of hours! I'd like to take some of the shuttles to the different hotels and walk around. It sounds so relaxing to me! I also booked 3 nights at a value Disney resort. $60 per night! How cool is that! I tried to find bating suits today. I found some for $30 each. No thanks. I'll wait till we get to Orlando and stop by Walmart! I need to download some games onto my treo to give the kids more game options in the car for 2 days. |
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Last Sunday I asked 2 friends from church if they could run the powerpoint at church fr the next 4 weeks. They agreed. So today I got to sit in the Now I need to figure out the best time to practice waiting and listening. I've been trying unsuccessfully for 20+ years, but then I give up. I'm going to make it a habit - I just don't know when the best time of day would be. My mind is constantly going 1000 miles an hour. Even when Hubby asks me what I'm thinking and I say "nothing," it's because I just though 100 different things, but none of them in enough detail to share. I read 2 great books this week! You can see them on facebook if you're interested. Matthew and I voted against socialism and killing the unborn humans yesterday. This is going to be a very busy week. |
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My computer's been running slow since I cleaned it the other night. Really slow! And not closing down correctly. Even now, after just turning it on I can't see what I'm typing! Ok there it is. Can't sleep. Computer's telling me it's too late to work. Guess I'll try cleaning my system... if I can get there. I love Ross! The store! Oldest daughter needed new clothes. Figured we'd hit Goodwill first - just to see what bargins we could find. We found a few tops, but I find it frustrating that I have to flip through every tag to find out what size it is. Then we went to Ross. They had the same hodge-podge of clothes, BUT they were catagorized according to size! That's all I ask! Skirts size 10, dresses size 14, shirts, large. Very easy. And the prices were great too! Please remind me the next time I need clothes to head straight for Ross. While there I saw several boxes of white dishes. It's been a dream of mine for the last couple of years to have a matching serving set for 12. And I thought that white would be best because it's timeless. Most of these sets only came with serving for 4. One or 2 came with servings for 6. So the girls and I went through all the sets seeing if we could come up with 12. I found sets I liked better, but they did not have a full 12 - maybe 4 or 8. Finally we found 3 sets of 12! So now we had 3 options to choose from. None of them were my favorite, but still met my requirements. Called my Hubby to meet us there. He liked 2 of the sets. I liked the 3rd. I got the set I liked. Sorry,Hon! And I'm really sorry that I squished your fingers in the door of the van!! So serving for 12 for $45! I was not planning on purchasing this right now - especially since we're heading to Orlando for Realtor training soon. But this was too good to pass up. So Merry Christmas to me! Does this site have spell check? I could really use it right now! It seems like my typing skills are gettng worse every day...
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I seem to make the best, real meals when the fridge and pantry are practically bare! Not that tonight counts because we had hotdogs for dinner, but they WERE beef with wheat bread. And we had a salad, baked apples, and my daghter made m&m cookie bars for dessert. Usually, the meal would be baked chicken and vegetables or mini meatloaves. Yesterday, I made sloppy joes from scratch! I have steak and potatoes in the freezer, but the grill needs new heat thingies and we accientally bought the wrong ones. |
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Too much work. Not enough play. Makes my pesonal blog dead. So let's try 1 paragraph at a time. Maybe then I can write. I finally have a decent summer business wardrobe and then the temberature FALL drastically! And I'm not allowed to wear sweaters and jeans to work. I can wear my cords, but I only have one pair. And I'm back to wearing jeas to church. Grrr! I can't stand being cold! Kinsey needs a full winter wardrobe. Maybe I'll find a few nice warm pants or thick, long skirts whn I go shopping for her. And cheap. They have to be cheap! I think I've watched more fooball this year that all of my first 32 years put together. It seems like football is on ALL the time. At least I can work well withut being distracted - until the Chilli's commercials come on. What happened to the barefoot and pregnant, organic, dress wearing me??? Sigh... |
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The last week has been very busy. Work. School. Work. I love working at my new company - Coldwell Banker Elite! But it's been a big transition while starting school at the same time. I should have made the move earlier in the summer. A reoccuring goal in my life seems to be balance. And how to have it. Matthew has been absolutely awesome! He's so supportive when I need help - which is often these days. It's been like role reversal in this home. "Honey, I have to check my email. Honey, I have to update my blog. Honey, I have to meet this client tonight." LOL! Yep! All the thing that used to drive me crazy I find myself saying.I just pray that this all pays off to help the family and not damage our relationship. The kids went to Grandma and Grandpa's for 2 days last week. These were 2 unscheduled free days. So now I have to double up on lessons that I have already doubled up so that we can complete this chapter before we go on vacation. And now I hear that we may actually be leaving a day early. It's pretty crazy! I'm not talking about doubling up on Math and language arts. No, just Weaver subjects - science, Bible, social studies. The other subjects just keep going until the book is complete - hopefully before the new school year starts! I find myself impatient that the kids don't want to just dig in, complete their work and move on. I'm constantly saying, "Just finish it and you can go play." 4 hours later I'm saying the same thing. I'm also surprised at how much help my 9 year old needs. I thought she would be more independant by this time. I'm still trying to get the kids to help each other often. Not because I don't want to do it, but I think it will help them in several different ways. My hands felt numb today. I'm trying to teach myself to sleep with my arms down - instead of up and under my head. I think I'm damaging the nerves. I also nee to drink more water and buy a bottle of MSN! It's 11 pm already and I still have more work to do. Be blessed everyone! |
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I don't have pictures because we did not do anything out of the ordinary, but we had our first day of school. It went very well and I give Jesus all the glory! I even woke up before the 7:30 alarm (a first for me!) Work 7:30 -8:30 Get ready for day and chores till 9am Start school 9 -12:15 Break for lunch and work 12:15 - 1pm Read to girls 1- 2 pm Work 2pm - 6pm Dinner and chores 6-7 Work 7 - 11 I think it went very well! Lord, Can we do this for another 179 days? That would be great! Thanks!
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We are starting our new school year tomorrow. It should have been today (Monday - Labor Day) but the family was here so we went to the beach and had a wonderful family day. I still need guidance how how to make the most impact with the little bit of time I have - for school, work, managing the home, marriage, church... I had to say no to something that would have been a VERY good thing to do. My problem was that something else would have needed to suffer to do this really good thing. I pray that the Lord would be gracious and let me be used even though I could not commit to an awesome study in order to minister more effectively. |
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Right to the big news --- I'm switching real estate companies. From Century 21 Classic to Coldwell Banker Elite in Massaponax. This will give me the organization and structure that I crave! And more training! I'm so excited! But it's going to be a very busy September - learning new systems, working with new types of properties, driving a little further to get to the office... My plan is to continue homeschooling the Weaver unit study subjects in the mornings from 9-12. Then after lunch while I'm working, the kids will do their book work. This will help them with independant study. I'm also planning on having them help each other more with their studies. I still need to come up with a good plan for what I'm willing and able to do with the homeschooling group. I know I am going to commit to at least 1 event per month. But what will that event be? I'm not sure.... It depends on how much other families are willing to contribute. I know it can't be anything that takes a lot of planning or extra work for the kids to participate. So science projects and teaching classes are out. So this final week of summer will be filled with updating my information and learing the process at a new office. We had Middle Daughter's 9th birthday this week. We tried to have a slumber party. We invited 5 little girls that we do not see very often - thought it might ba a change to catch up with some older friends. 4 could not attend. 1 could but since her other friends could not, she was not comfortable with spending the night. So we moved the party to Chuck E Cheese. They had a blast. But I think I should have given them all pepto bismal before bed - pizza, soda, cake, cotton candy... Hmmm... pizza! NAh! I'll skip the midnight snack. I thought it was off giving her a Ben 10 video, a Nerf Gun game, and Littlest Pet Shop toys. But she loved it all!
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No Husband No Kids No Dog Just me. Ahhh! |
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Let's see... Dropped the kids off with my cousin for the next 4 days! Yea! Then it took 2 hours to get back to our neck of the woods. Then Mom and I went shopping for Kayla's birthday. I don't think we came home with anything for her, but I got 2 cute 1950s farmer's wife dresses! They are so cute! I have been waiting for them to drop in price and today I finally got them. I'm so glad they were still there! This evening we watched more Olympics until dinner. I made mini meatloaves. I love the Kraft Food and Family Magazine! Then we all wnet downstairs to the basement (cave) to watch a car race. I think this was one of the best for the year. While that was on I was able to fill in all the Weaver Curriculum information into my weekly lesson plan. I always plan 1 chapter at a time. This chapter on Miracles in relation to bodies, nature, and such is 4 weeks long once I included Labor Day, 1 Day for an all day class, and 3 days for a Virginia Realtor Association Convention in Baltimore. I had to double up on several days in order to complete the chapter before the convention. It's going to be a very busy first month of school! Tomorrow I plan on entering a few of the other textbooks to get me started. I don't enter too many pages at once because things happen and sometimes it takes longer to complete math and language arts. We never know how long it will take to complete a piece of literature. So I can fill in what we start with, and then we'll go from there. Since I will be working and teaching this year, the PLAN is to organize the next day the day before. For example, when I check today's homework, I will then mark and write down what needs to be accomplished for tomorrow. I am hoping this will lead to more independance for the children in some areas. Final note. Shaving. Yes, shaving! I know, it's a totally different topic. But anyway, I get tired of shaving every day, don't you? Sigh! But if I don't then my legs are prickly and then I have to wear pants durng the day and to bed. A few years ago by brother brought be a trash bag filled with these expensive razors. How he got them is a story in itself, but they have been great! I have not had to buy a razor in YEARS! But I'm down to my last 2! Boo hoo! And as I said, there were really nice! When I run out, I'll have to go back to the very cheap, 1 blade, no moisturizer razors. Yuck! Hmmm.... MAybe I'll have to invest in better razors for the sake of my marriage. Just thinking... Enjoy your weekend, everyone!
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As the Opening Ceremonies are comint to a close (I'm watching the torch make it's way around the Nest), I'm thankful for the baility to sit here as a family. We have been able to learn about other cultures. We've been able to pause the ceremony on our Tivo to clean up the basement, put the kids to bed, and walk the dog. I was able to use twitter to discuess what we saw and felt as each country waled in and were amazed by the human ability and the beauty that was created... I enjoyed a beautiful windy day at the pool with friends. I got to work hard. I got to pack the kids up so that they could enjoy a few days away with family. During that time I will get to focus in on reading articles, praying about opportunities, and finishing up my my lesson plans... You know, I can't run or swim or sing. But I am so blessed! |
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So I moved 5 of my "weekly things" over to the monthly side. That's one less thing I have to do per day. But I would still like to delete some things or move another 5 things to monthly. Or delete some things. So now it looks like this...
I think I have bought all the supplies we need for the kids. So I still need a copy of Quick Piano, 2 Learn at Home Workbooks, Some dotted paper for 1st and 3rd grade, and some ereasable highlighters. Anything else would e extras. So this is really good! I'd love to get 4, 12"x12" plastic boxes for the kids books, but I don't want to pay more than $1 or $2 for each. Today I went to WalMart, Target, 5 Below, Staples, and The Dollar Tree. Oh! And 2 party stores. No luck for what I wanted unless I paid $5 for each box. Yuck! Other than work... I have a huge pile of non-related school books sitting on my living room floor. I did not like the way they were organized throughout the house. So I hope to get these compiled and put back on the shelves before I go to bed. There are things like Mariage, being a husband, being a wife, being a mother, parenting, Church related books, being a woman of God, Man of God, etc...
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I finished the overview. Whew! Our school year will go from Sept 1st to June 10th. Then I had to create a new weekly lesson planner. Well, I created it... But it is WAY to full!!! There is no way I'm going to have time to do all this with my kids - and work at the same time! Here's the section I'm worried about the most at the moment:
And then I have one more column that has a list of books or tapes that I want the kids to complete during the year. Basically, read this book, then put it back on the bookshelf. But the items in this chart are things that are supposed to be done on a regular basis - not daily, but weekly or monthly. I can't do all of these. But what is important enough to keep on my schedule? And I still have other items I need to review this week. But not tonight! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||