Week in Review #10



The girls got their hair
did while I was at the gym

 Monday - A great start to a new week! The day was very mellow.  The girls enjoyed some play-doh and coloring, and Hannah was able to do some school work that did not require supervision (math and handwriting).  While Autumn napped we were able to get some reading done. My mom left work early and came over to stay with the girls while I went to the gym.  Hannah even read a few of her readers to my mom.   They always have such a great time with their Grendy! After the kids went to bed, I enjoyed the always-coveted peace and quiet.  A very boring day--how I like it! ;)

Autumn loves her Grendy :)

Tuesday - We were under a tornado watch/warning (same difference but whatever), so we were in no hurry to go anywhere.  Today is usually library storytime, but the staff said last week that they generally do 6 weeks on and 2 weeks off for their programs. If we didn't need diapers I would not have dragged the kids out in the rain. It wasn't raining so bad when we got to Walmart, but of couse it was downpouring as we are walking out the door.  The girls were both in the cart, so I jog down the parking lot to avoid getting horribly soaked.  The girls thought of it as the greatest ride ever! They had a ball.  Despite the rain, it was definitely one our less painful shopping experiences. :)

Play-Doh after breakfast is
becoming routine.

Wednesday - My mother-in-law stopped by with some Halloween treats for the kids, but she had some errands to run so she couldn't stay.  Aside from church, the day was quiet uneventful.  Although Autumn is becoming better about being dropped off in  her class at church. I am so glad! Only took a year! We only got math and reading done today, but I figure those are the two we should be doing daily.  Hannah is doing marvelous in addition.  I am just pleased as punch.

Apparently she can't believe
I interrupted her schooling.
You can see bits of cracker
in her mouth. Real classy.

Thursday - Lots of school done first thing in the morning! Awesome! Hannah got all her addition problems right on the first try.  I've already left a message with Mensa. :) We went to visit my grandma and the kids had lunch at her house.   After Autumn's much needed nap we all went outside to continue enjoying the weather before it gets too cold.  We also able to complete our 6th science experiment which was to study an insect up close using a magnifying glass.  We found a daddy longlegs and safely caught it in our little plastic cup (it was a little mad at us).   Hannah sure loved it.  She wanted to look at everything outside up close.  We even found a massive spiderweb on the side of the house with several bugs caught in it.  That was pretty interesting. I told her that's how spiders eat--they catch the bugs and drink their blood. Yep, yep. Thank you Charlotte's Web for teaching me that.


Playing Candyland has helped
a lot with teaching Hannah
good sportsman ship.

 Friday - No school today.  I dropped Hannah off at my grandma's to spend the night, and Autumn and I ran some errands.  We had ourselves a big time at Kroger. :-p After which we came home, she went down for a nap and I just relaxed! It was divine.  Ryan also came home for the weekend! YAAAY! See the previous post pertaining to our quickie road trip. :)

Day 12/33 (road trip!)

Eating: 3416 calories. *hangs head* I failed the test of being on a road trip. Ryan and I decided to treat ourselves to dinner out before we hit the interstate.  It had been forever since we have been to a sit down restaurant.  We went to O'Charley's which is always dangerous. I found out my favorite salad (pecan chicken tender) is almost 2000 calories!!! Fortunately I only managed to eat half before I was stuffed. But still.

Exercise: grocery shopping always seems to provide quite a workout as the cart gets heavier and heavier to push.  Not to mention I had Autumn with me and she kept me on my toes since she loves to pull things off the shelves!

Food after 8PM? Actually no! Quite surprising since I had enough calories to fuel a body builder. I had a diet coke but that's it.

Bed by 10PM? Yep.  We checked into a Ramada and crashed.  Unfortunately I didn't sleep too well.  I blame the hard mattress and lumpy pillows. :-p

Since everyone's dying to know, our road trip came about because Ryan found an awesome deal on a truck topper in Evansville, IN we just thought it would be fun to just get out of town for a night just the two of us.  Hannah spent the night at my grandma's and my mom stayed at our house with Autumn. Everyone had a big time! :)

Day 11/33

Eating: 1924 calories.

Exercise: biked 11.5 miles at the gym

Food at 8 PM? light popcorn

Bed by 10PM? Yep, I'm definitely headed in that direction.

A very lovely day.  This weekend Ryan and  I are going on a quickie road trip because he found a truck topper really cheap and it's in Evansville, IN (exciting, I know but it's always nice to get out of town once in a while). I'm not known for great food choices on road trips, so this will be a good test.

A Gr8 Marriage

July 2009 - at my brother's basic
training graduation

I guess I could have mentioned this on Monday, but the 25th was mine and Ryan's 8th anniversary! woohoo! I'm thrilled to have a good chunk of years under our belt.  I think like where we are now as opposed to when we were first married.  Maybe that's true with everyone since by the time you're married this long you get into a good flow of life.  Although I was a tad thinner then, so maybe I would go back for just a moment to remember what that feels like. ;) We have been really blessed in our marriage since we actually like each other and enjoy each other's company.  It's a pretty great thing.  My mom says that we are meant to be together since there's no one else in the world who would put up with either one of us. Probably true.

Day 10/33

Eating: 2441 calories. I don't know what it is about Wednesdays (church) but I need to figure something out then again I think most days I'm going over  my set 2000 mark.

Exercise: Various housework, if you count that. :)

Food after 8PM?  yes, didn't eat dinner until after getting home from church

Bed by 10PM? No (first time for this!) Dead Poet's Society was on Cinemax and I had never seen the whole thing. Good stuff, although I'll take Robin Williams in a comedy any day.

Like I said before, now that I am aware my eating can get a bit out of whack on Weds. I need to do something like keep healthy snacks in my purse to avoid starving by the time I get home.

Day 9/33

Eating: 2656 calories.  We didn't have a lot going on, so I admit I ate a little out of boredom. Probably should keep that in check. :-/

Exercise:  The girls and I were wrestling around for a while (they like me to throw them on the couch) but not really otherwise

Eating after 8PM?  had a bowl of cheerios

Bed by 10PM? Oh yeah. Super tired but I tossed and turned as usual.

Day 8/33

Eating: 1750 calories. Woohoo! Not too shabby at all!

Exercise: Ran 4 miles at the gym :-D

Food at 8PM? Finished dinner a little after

Bed by 10PM? Went to bed and read for about an hour

Day 7/33

Eating: 2248 calories.  Seems like every other day is under 2000.  Maybe eventually I will go several days under the mark. :-/

Exercise: Biked 10 miles at the gym plus some weight training

Food after 8PM? Nope!

Bed by 10PM? Yes! I actually went to bed at 8 and was asleep by 8:30...a pleasant surprise!

Day 6/33

Eating: 1960 calories. Yaaaaay! I'm really pleased with some choices I made that could have done some real damage. We went to Taco Bell and I got fresco steak tacos which were only 160 calories a piece (I had two).  Then we went to Baskin Robbins where I got a scoop of no sugar added ice cream which was delish and was only 120 calories a serving!

Exercise: chasing the kids around the park. :) Even though I work out pretty regularly just plain running around with your kids is still tiring!

Eating after 8PM?: finished some light popcorn about 10 after

Bed by 10PM?: Yep! Spent some time watching the telly with Ryan tonight and we both conked out pretty quick.  Once we recover from the prior week, a new one starts! :-p

Week in Review #9



painting pumpkins--less messy than
carving :)

 This is our first week without Ryan and things have gone surprisingly well! I know I should have had more confidence in myself, but I didn't. Sue me. :-p Ryan is now home for the weekend and we are so thrilled!



playing musical hats

Monday - Fall festival with the homeschool group.  Hannah had a blast and Autumn just kind of stood around taking it all in. Afterward we visited my grandma and had lunch with her.  After we got home Hannah got a bit whiny while we were doing Geography so I told her that the new is that if she gets whiny it means she's tired.  I sent her back to bed where she slept for about an hour. During the day while Autumn is up I will have Hannah do school work she can easily do on her own with very little direction(addition problems, handwriting).  After Autumn goes to bed I can focus on the subjects that require more of my attention like reading and geography.  Around 4:30 my mom came over to stay with the girls while I went to the gym.  She's going to come over a couple times a week while Ryan is gone so I can go to the gym. Such a godsend!

Tuesday -  After nap/quiet time, I called my dad and he came over so I could go to the gym yet again. :-D The girls had a great time, especially since their beloved Papaw brought pizza rolls and chocolate milk! Once again, we did school work after Autumn went to bed and all went wonderfully! We started a new reading lesson (#6 out of 20) and Hannah did great! We're reading the different 'e' sounds like, "need" "meat" and "bee".  Also the sounds for 'l' and 'p' but those are easy. ;)



Hannah and Kracker Bear,
who is practically our 3rd child ;)

 Wednesday - A more lazy day today. No gym for me so I pulled the girls around in the wagon for my exercise, loving the cool fall weather! Fall is way to short if you ask me.  Autumn took a late nap so Hannah and I were able to get some school work done.  We did a lot of math since for right now it's tapered off and is just review for the time being. The kids kept picking at each other, so I was most looking forward to taking them to their respective classes at church and bidding them farewell for an hour. :)

Thursday - I was not really in the mood to do school, but we got three subjects done before I knew it. My mom came over to watch the kids while I went to the gym, and Hannah was most excited to read to her. The latest reader is about a crab who grabbed a ham...something to that effect. :-p


how I felt a good portion of the week--
reckon it just comes with motherhood :p


Friday - Today was particular stressful for me. I think after Ryan being away for almost a week I was feeling burnt out.  My fuse was a bit short, praise the Lord we made it through the day.  Hannah was amazing, because she started picking up the living room without me even telling her. "I"m picking up the toys fast!" she said.  She even stops what ever she's doing and asks to pray for me. What have I done to deserve such a child? 

Day 5/33 (worst one yet)

Eating: 3200 calories. I would say that it was cool it came out to be an even number but only if the number wasn't enormously high. I'm going to blame Ryan for bringing home croissants and muffins from Costco. ;-p  All that aside, I am just a work in progress.

Exercise: nope even though I really needed the endorphins. :-/

Food after 8PM?: 1/2 of a huge poppy seed muffin and 2 butter croissants. Ugh.

Bed by 10PM?: Actually yes. Ryan got in last night and we watched Whose Line is it Anyway? on YouTube on the laptop since we're a couple of nerds like that. :) We both fell asleep pretty quick since he was exhausted from his first week at this new job and I was exhausted from the psycho spawn.

Day #4

Eating: 1892 calories. Woohoo! I almost bought a big fat candy bar at the store (when all I needed to get was juice :-p), but I resisted! So proud!

Exercise: Ran 2.65 miles at the gym

Food after 8PM?: Just some light popcorn a little after

Bed by 10PM?: Yep.  I'm already feeling my body get used to going to bed earlier.  I'm pretty thrilled with that

Day #3

Update on Ryan: this is his fourth day at his new job and so far everything seems to be going well. He's not actually working his position yet since he has to go through training first (we all love "death by powerpoint"!), but I think after about a month he should be officially working as a weapons handler!

Eating: 2785 calories. Ouch. What's funny is I don't just sit around eat donuts and other junk like that.  Everything adds up very quickly, not to mention I had forgotten about a few things I ate during the day when I tallying everything up.

Exercise: No gym. Pulled the girls in the wagon around the neighborhood and admired the beautiful fall colors. :) I really should run outside more. I walked 1.4 miles, farther than I expected.

Eating after 8PM?: Yes. :-/ When we got home from church I was famished since I was stupid and only had a small snack before we left.

Bed by 10PM?: A little after, but I didn't toss and turn like I have been doing.

I guess I should also mention that I'm not going to step on the scale at all during this challenge.  I'm hardly ever pleased  by the number any more so I don't think the temptation is really there. :-p

Day #2

Eating: 1963 calories! Yeah! That's more like it! And that's even after my after 8 snacking. :-/

Exercise: made it to the gym again! :D Ran 4 miles in 45 minutes! My hip is a bit sore, so I think tomorrow will be rest day.

Eating after 8PM? Ugh, yeah. I had shows on after 8 and I really wanted something to munch on.  It was just fat free butter popcorn...nothing horribly heavy. Plus I had one of those 60-calorie Jello mousse cups. YUM!

Bed by 10PM? Yep even though I tossed and turned. It's very frustrating but at least I'm in bed.  Whenever Ryan is gone I don't go to bed until I am dead sleepy.  Hopefully it will get better and I will actually fall asleep!

Tonight we have church activities, but hopefully all will go well. :)

A Healthier Me

I could write a book about my struggle with weight and body image. Oy. I don't think I was so aware of my body until after I had Hannah and saw just how much pregnancy had changed everything.  Uh, no...I'm not one of those elastic people who just snaps right back. I reckon the beauty of motherhood makes it all worthwhile. Blah blah ;) But seriously, post-pregnancy weight sure likes to stick around!

I think I'm pretty good a watching my food intake.  I have a calorie counter on my Blackberry which is great so I can see everything right in front of me.  Exercise is at least 3 times a week, but it's hard to make it to the gym depending on Ryan's schedule and how tired I am. I definitely need to get more days in.

I really want to focus more on being healthy rather than the number on the scale.  I know if I put good stuff into my body and take care of myself, the rest will all fall into place. On another blog I saw something about a 33-day challenge (why 33...not sure) of eating healthy, exercise, no snacking late into the night, and getting to bed at a decent hour.  Those last two things I always have a problem with.  After the kids are in bed Ryan and I enjoy munching on goodies like nachos and ice cream (not every night but we've had moments when we've gotten carried away).  The past few months I'm also never in bed before 11, and I know that has to change.  The fact my kids like to wake up at dark-thirty every morning isn't enough motivation for me to get my butt to bed any earlier.  I would rather get up early before the kids and get myself ready for the day (coffee, quiet time, breakfast) than stay up all hours twiddling my thumbs and watching TV Land.

So I'm going to take on this challenge and I'm glad to say that the first day did not go so badly. :)

Eating: 2045 calories...not terrible.  I like to try to keep it under 2000 but there was no mindless snacking.  With Ryan being gone I have a feeling I won't have a lot of time for that. ;)

Exercise: made it to the gym! Biked a little over 10 miles and did some weight training

Food after 8 PM? just barely made it. ;) After the gym I got home and got the kids squared away with bed time and such and then made myself some turkey chili. Very delectable! I also enjoyed a scoop of ice cream afterward (seriously, just a little bit and the only junk food all day!)

Bed by 10 PM? I'm definitely heading in that direction.  Tossed and turned last night so a good night's sleep sounds mighty fine.

Here We Go

Ryan just left at 1 this afternoon.  I would be lying if I said I haven't been ridden with anxiety the past couple days. This morning was really bad.  I could hardly eat.  We all love that feeling, right?  I couldn't even pinpoint my anxiety.  Maybe I'm already anxious about moving again, even though that won't happen for a few months.  I wish I was more resilient--able to bounce easily from one chapter of life to another.  My insecurities aside, I am very excited for and proud of Ryan for this new job.  He has wanted nothing more than to find his niche in the civilian world.  For the time being, I need to treat this like a deployment--keep busy!!  I'm excited that we have various activities going on during the week(storytimes, fall festival, church), so I think all should be well.  I'm working out different days for my parents to watch the girls so I can go to the gym.  I'm sure my kids appreciate me taking my frustration out on the treadmill. :-p

A Delightful Fall Saturday

Tomorrow is the big day...Ryan heads south.  Well, more southwest but whatever. :-p We spent a lovely day together--pumpkin patch, Rotary Park, and met up with my mom at Cici's for dinner.  Right now as I type this the kids are playing contently, and Ryan is packing up his truck.  I'm really looking forward to a nice, relaxing evening.
Here are some pics from our afternoon:




Ryan doing his best Zoolander impression





Week in Review #8

It's hard to believe fall is officially upon us! This past week has been gorgeous with the colors of the trees and all the leaves falling! I could watch that forever! This is Ryan's last week here before he leaves for Millington to start his new job.  Lots of prayer! It's the beginning of something very new and exciting! I'm glad to say we spent a lot of time together as a family this week, aside from Ryan working his last few nights at Domino's (extra cash is always a good thing).  I think I'm really going to miss Ryan working mostly nights.  I love having him home during the day! :)  Then again, I'm going to miss him period since he'll be 3 hours away! Ugh.

This week is Fall Break for public school, so I like to think we are getting ahead. Maybe? :-p We've had unexpected days when we have gotten any school work done, but we've never had an extended amount of time when we've taken a complete break from school. I am certain it's inevitable.

Monday - Ryan was beyond fantastic this morning as he made breakfast, wrangled the kids, and even took them out to visit his mom in Ashland City so I could sleep in.  He worked a little with Hannah on her math..still coming along very nicely. :) I still counting his brownie points!  After I finally got up and around, we were able to do more school work.  Four subjects down minus the frustration. Oh yeah! Hannah did fantastic with Geography.  We were talking about borders on a map, and she had to do tasks like, "Color the three states blue that border California".  I would point to California and she figure out the rest from there.   She can also point out several states on the map.  :)

Churning the batter into butter! :P

Hannah also helped me make banana bread (even though she won't eat it).  She loves to help me cook, pouring in ingredients and stirring.  She loves making scrambled eggs and she's pretty good at it (with constant supervision of course).  Autumn lately loves throwing her utensils on the floor and eating with her hands, especially today.  The girls had spaghetti for lunch so that always makes for a lovely mess.

Tuesday - Library storytime. Returned a ton of books.  I'm constantly paranoid that we've missed a book somewhere and we're going to have a huge fine eventually.  So far so good. Well...I think I've paid about $5 in fines for the year. :-p

Another great day for school work.  We did more addition review.  In Geography we learned about map grids.  It was one of those things we had to repeat over and over, but she did get a good handle on it.  Ryan always seems better at explaining map stuff better than me.



Autumn loves the library's puzzles!

 Tonight Ryan got word he got a place to stay when he gets to Memphis! He's staying with the brother of a man from his mom's church. Got that? :-p Apparently this brother is recently divorced and could use the extra help monetary wise.  All Ryan is paying for is the room since food and utilities will be included. 

Wednesday - Before I even finished my first cup of coffee, Hannah started piling library books on me asking to be read to.  How could I say no? :) This went on for about 45 minutes. In lieu of spending as much time with the kids as possible before leaving on Sunday, Ryan took over school this morning.  It seemed we were on a review portion of everything today--math, handwriting, geography.  At this age you can never review too much! Ryan also went over how to read a compass.  He just got the new Droid phone and was able to download a compass onto it! So cool!

No church tonight due to Fall Break. Why? I have no idea. I would assume it would be a great time for Wed. church since kids won't be all exhausted from being in school all day. Oh, well.  Autumn cranked out and went to bed a little early.  Hannah and I were able to do more school work this evening as well--reading, language and science.  We are up to the 5th science experiment (there are 25 all together).  Number five was regrowing roots.  The book suggested using a dandelion but goodness knows we have enough weeds along the walkway.  Hannah and I went outside (she was thrilled because she got to go outside in her jammies) and dug up a weed with the root attached.  Then I cut up the root into a few little pieces and put them on wet paper towels in a petri dish.  Her science book says it should take a week to see any growth. We shall see.

Thursday - Homeschool storytime was cancelled today, and I didn't know until I was on Facebook and saw the library's post.  Staff training and such.  Ryan still took the girls so they could at least play and get more books.  I'm at home because we are waiting for Ryan's welcome packet from Lockheed Martin, and someone has to be here to sign for it.  It never came today.  We're kind of on pins and needles over it since it's a 50-page thing Ryan has to have all filled out by the time he starts on Monday. :-/ Although this is minor considering how far the Lord has brought us.

My map grid creation :)

We reviewed map grids from Tuesday.  For a minute it seemed like everything Hannah learned flew right out of her head, but I made our own map grid using some old family pics (most taken about 5 years ago...we all look a tad different :-p).  Hannah loved it and was immediately on task. :) She also read her second reader all the way through without any help.  Each one she reads completely by herself she put a sticker on the inside.  The one she read was about a hot dog (as in 'woof woof') who gets lost on a log in the fog. LOL



Autumn is a real Southerner--loving her bbq! ;)

 Friday - We had a few errands to do today.  To save time (don't know why we felt the need to save time since we have very little going on) Hannah went with Ryan in his truck and Autumn went with me.  The only thing I had to do was go to Kroger for a few groceries.  Autumn had her puppy and her bear to keep her company, so her behavior was awesome! She was also stuck sitting in the cart so she didn't have much of a choice. ;)  As you can see by the pic she tried to help a little with the shopping.  I stepped about 10 feet away to decide what kind of cereal to get and she just started to help herself. What's funny is that we actually needed bbq sauce, but I opted for a cheaper brand.



I'm so proud of my little reader! :)

 After lunch Autumn went down for a nap so Hannah and I did some school work.  All was going fine until Hannah came to a math problem she got stuck on.  She tenses her shoulders and gets whiny whenever she gets stuck on something she can't figure out.  I totally understand the frustration of just not getting it when it comes to school work.  I'm hoping to help her push through the frustration and to have the attitude that she just need to keep trying.  It's hard sometimes but I'm trying not to get frustrated along with her.  We were able to move on to reading where she completed another one of her little readers.  This one was called "Rub-a-Dub Cub". It was about a bear so it was definitely a winner. :)

We also finally got that package from Lockheed Martin so that's one less thing to worry about. :D

Tagged Again

1.How has your homeschooling philosophy changed over the years?

I've only been at it for 2 months, but I am learning to relax a little more and that if we don't tackle every subject during the day it's not the end of the world. 

2.What is one of your favorite “guilty pleasures”?

Buying scrapbook supplies.  I definitely don't scrapbook as often as I would like, but there's so much awesome stuff out there I like to make sure I have it on hand in case I ever get to it. :)

3.Favorite children’s author?

Judy Blume is my all-time favorite.  Unknowingly I have read everything she's written.  She's has written everything from children's book to novels.  I used to read the Fudge books out loud to my mom and we would be laughing so hard! She writes about real things kids think about, and her books are constantly challenged because of that (like puberty, racism, etc).  I say it's only because parents don't have open communication with their kids about these things, but I'm not going to get on my soap box. :-p

4.Favorite homeschool resource?

The library! Between the obvious (checking out tons of books!) and various programs (summer reading, story time), we are there a lot!  At least twice a week.  The ladies behind the circulation desk always recognize us and compliment Hannah on whatever earrings she happens to be wearing. :)

5.What is one of your secret ambitions?

To learn how to decorate cakes using fondant, like they do on Cake Boss.  Not necessary all detail like they do, but I would like to learn how to work with it.  I love baking and decorating cakes and cupcakes, so some day I'll buy the materials and see what I can come up with.
6.What is your favorite place you have lived?

Georgia, definitely.  Living near Savannah was so great.  There's no other city like it.  I loved it when the four of us would take a Saturday and play tourist on River Street.  I love and miss that Spanish moss!

7.What are your top 2 reasons for homeschooling?

This is the direction I felt God leading me.  Hannah and Autumn will also be influenced by the Lord through me and Ryan, rather than their peers.  I am very familiar with the negative influences at school, and my kids don't need to be exposed to that.

8.If life were simpler ;0) what would you like to spend more time doing?

Scrapbooking, writing, reading--pretty much anything that has to be saved for after the kids are in bed. :-p

Another Chapter

A title like this probably suited better for January 1st when you vow to make the coming year the best and most productive ever.  Good Lord willing, we are already expecting to start 2011 anew by moving to a new city.  Memphis to be exact.  On the 18th Ryan is going to be starting a new job as a weapons handler with Lockheed Martin, which is basically what Ryan did in the army as a combat engineer.  Ryan is so excited to have finally found a full time job! We are also only going to be a few hours away, which suits my family just fine, since previously we've lived 8-12 hours away.  Ryan will move down there ahead of us, and we will move after the new year once our lease is up.  The only thing is...Ryan needs a place to stay.  Of course we can't afford to pay rent on two different places, so we're hoping Ryan will be able to find just a room for rent for very little.  We've asked our church here to see if they have any connections with anyone in that area, and Ryan has even called FBC of Millington (which is where Lockheed Martin is actually located).  There are a few possibilities, but nothing solid as of yet.  We are doing our best to remain faithful the Lord will provide.  As far as we can tell, it is His will that Ryan has this job so I'm sure God will take care of temporary housing.

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.    - Matthew 6:25-34

I suppose housing is a small worry compared to the wonder of what the Lord has planned for us in this new chapter about to come about in our lives.

Week in Review #7

This has definitely been one of our busiest weeks since starting school.  There was not one day when we were home for a long period of time.  It's a good thing definitely. :)

At the beginning of the week, I realized I had not been including Autumn in our Bible study.  And why not? I have no idea. I'm a fool, I guess.  Even though she's only 2 it doesn't mean she won't eventually start to understand, and in the meantime it's also a nice time to spend with both my girls.  We either do Bible study while the girls are eating breakfast or at night right before they get ready for bed.  A great blessing! (I'm talking about Bible study...not necessarily bed time but take it how you will).

Monday - We met the church homeschool group at the park.  The girls had such a good time.  Unlimited recess for us homeschoolers! Since addition is still a little challenging, I dragged out Hannahh's many Littlest Pet Shops hoping that would help.  Just one of those areas we have to spend extra time on. 

We went to church since we having a revival that lasts through Wednesday night.  Dennis Nunn is the pastor leading it, and we really enjoyed hearing him on Sunday morning.  The study is entitled "How to Actually Enjoy Being a Christian".  Whudda thunk? :-p Plus, a few extra nights in church during the week never hurt anyone!



Autumn actually came home with those
little rocks stuck in the cuff of her pants!

 Tuesday - Hi ho hi ho, off to the library we go! Four and five-year old story time and craft.  Hannah made a "polite dinosaur" and we checked our usual 15-20 books. Always fun.  A month or so ago I started saving the receipts from the library just so I can see later on all the books we've checked out and we have acquired at least 7 receipts already!  I wish I had saved them from all the times we went over the summer!

After lunch Ryan took Autumn with him on a few errands so Hannah and I could do some school work.  Math went a little better.  Church also went very well.  Dennis Nunn talked about having a better prayer life and I felt very encouraged.


Hannah made a very detailed caterpillar
from Play-Doh--actually taking little pieces
to roll and make legs. How's that for fine
motor skills? ;)



Wednesday - Autumn was up and down all night with a croupy cough.  I hate the sound of that. The best thing I could think of was the change of seasons are making her allergies act up.  She was up at 10 (Tues night), 2 AM, and 4 AM.  After she got up at 4 I couldn't go back to sleep, but after Ryan got up I went straight back to bed for 2 hours.  It was glorious! 

I had an idea for maybe helping the girls share with each other a little better.  Declaring that different times during the day is "play together" time when they are to share nicely and not holler for me unless someone is bleeding out of their ears (a little extreme, no?). Ryan is not home all the time obviously, and I am never guaranteed to make dinner in peace.  I guess it comes with the territory of having more than one child, but I would like to eliminate as much hair grabbing and toy stealing as I can.



I discovered Autumn has quite a few
Halloween shirts so we better get as much
mileage out of them as we can!

 Thursday - We went to the homeschool storytime and for once Autumn didn't run around the library squealing like a heathen. Thank you, Mr. Stroller! After story time we visited my grandma and had lunch there.  The visit came to an abrupt end when Hannah pinched Autumn for picking up a toy she was done playing with.  For that, Hannah's favorite bear went to "jail" (the spare bedroom) for the night along with her radio which she always has playing when she goes to bed.  Obviously the designated play time isn't showing immediate results, but it's just one of those things where I will have to be consistent. School work went pretty good.  Math is still a source of frustration for the both of us.  I started looking into finding cute songs and/or games to help with addition and counting money. I got a couple of suggestions from some friends on Facebook that I'm looking into.  All her other subjects are coming along just fine so I maybe we should focus a whole day on math and see where that leads us.  That's what so great about counting money and addition--that you actually use it in everyday life so it's not going to require me strapping Hannah to a chair with a stack of worksheets.

We also did the South America (or Latin America) GeoPuzzle.  Those puzzles are really cool! We're going to look a little closer at Brazil since it's the biggest country. 

Friday - I dropped Hannah off at my grandma's house to spend the night.  As an early anniversary present Ryan sent me away for the afternoon where I got my hair cut and got a pedicure (both long overdue!) I also did a bit of shopping (half of which was a few groceries we needed anyway :-p).  I also went to the Dollar Tree, which always feels like a shopping spree to me. ;)

TAG! You're it!

These are always fun.  I was tagged by Tristan from Our Busy Homeschool.  I will answer the questions she listed, and then I will put in my own questions and tag who ever I want! :D

1.  What is one food or meal you love to eat that your family does not enjoy, so you don’t make it often? 

I actually really like brown rice, and I used to make this spicy chicken bake with it all the time.  Ryan isn't crazy about brown rice, so I don't make it very much.  Not to mention if you want to make it really good you have to cook it (by it I mean the real stuff...no Minute Rice here! :-p) in the oven for 45 minutes. 

2.  Tell me one thing you swore you would never do when you were a parent, but since having children of your own you have actually done.

Spanking. Oh, well.  Spare the rod and all that. :-p I am happy to say it is not an every day occurrence.  Taking away their bears seems more traumatic anyway.

3.  What character issue is God working on in your life right now?

PATIENCE!  Right now Hannah is having trouble grasping addition, and I know it's something that will just have to all of a sudden click in her brain.  I found myself just this morning getting very frustrated, but Hannah asked to pray for me so that brought me back to earth. :)

4.  What is your favorite household chore? How about your least favorite chore?

It's not done inside the house really, but my favorite is grocery shopping.  I enjoy using coupons and finding great deals while buying as healthy as we can afford. :) Not to mention I make it a requirement that I do it by myself.  Any parent can say shopping with kids period is not cool most of the time, and Ryan always finds stuff not on the list that we must have.  Yeah,we really needed that pound of salmon and the cedar plank to cook it on. :-/ 

My least favorite would be laundry.  I'm not very good at immediately getting the stuff out of the washer and dryer, and by the time I remember I'm usually busy with something else. It's also tedious folding the girls' clothes because they're still in small sizes. It does all get done even if it is stretched out a few days.

5.  As a homeschool mom, what is one area you feel you do well in, and one area you struggle with?

I'm not sure exactly what I'm doing right but Hannah just loves doing school work! I don't know what I did to instill that, but I guess I'll keep doing it. :)

See #3 for one area I struggle with.  I think when you start homeschooling you just have to figure out what works for both you and your kids and what doesn't.  There are a couple subjects that Hannah flies right through and a couple others that we need to spend extra time on.  I can never tell you what to expect on any given day.  I've had a day where I planned to do five subjects and due to the happenings of the day we wouldn't get any school done.  Kinda throws you in a tailspin, so you have to learn to adapt real quick!

6.  Would you rather eat health food or exercise regularly? 

I actually love exercising...great to relieve frustrations and stresses of everyday life.  After a good workout I feel accomplished and rejuvenated, so I couldn't give that up.  I also like to eat. ;) I don't go crazy with the junk food but I do enjoy indulging once in a while. 

7.  What is one thing you love about your husband, and one thing that drives you bonkers?

What I love about Ryan is he does not procrastinate and he gets right on the ball with what need to be done.  He's not afraid of hard work and doing what he has to do to take care of his family.

Now that drives me crazy is that boy loves...to...TALK. *big sigh*  Something that takes 20 seconds to explain Ryan will take 5 minutes to explain it.  I've gotten used to it to a certain extent, but if I'm already in a bad mood I will not tolerate one of his jab sessions. :-o  

8.  When your kids all leave the nest what is one job you would like to try in all your free time?

Oh my gosh.  I can't even imagine that season in my life right now. Let's get through Kindergarten first. ;) I'm hoping to be a working writer of some sort by that time in my life.  I'm not looking to be a world renowned novelist (although that would be nice) but just earning income for writing would be just dandy. :) And I guess enjoying time with Ryan will be nice, too. LOL

Now it's time for my questions:

What is one movie you can watch over and over and never get sick of? (I'm going to be lame and say Titanic. Sorry, folks. ;) )

Tell me about the day you got saved.  (I was 13 and I got saved at church.  My Sunday school teacher led me to the Lord.  What's funny is there was no one else my age in our little bitty church, so I just had one on one time which was so awesome! I really enjoyed that.  Some years later I ran in to her (her name was Grace) and I was able to thank her for leading me to the Lord.  I'm really glad I was able to do that.)

What would you do with a day to yourself? (I would go for a pedicure and some shopping, although when I have done that I always pick up stuff for the kids. :-p I would hope to catch up on some scrapbooking since I'm in desperate need to do that)

What is the best thing about fall? (I have big laundry list of what I love about fall, but I would say going to the pumpkin patch and the many photo ops that come with that. :) Us in hoodies, carrying pumpkins.  Gotta love it!)

Early bird or night owl? (There was a time when I could stay up until all hours of the night just hanging out with friends, but now I much prefer getting up early to prepare myself for the day.  I like to read my Bible, get online, eat breakfast, etc, before my little herd stampede their way downstairs.)

I'm going to tag:

Grendy's Gifts
Mau Loa Mama
Life as His Wife
Confessions of a Homeschooler

and anyone else who wants to join in the fun!

Week in Review #6

I believe this is our 7th week in school since I know there was a week where I didn't do a recap. :-p Hard to believe we've already been homeschooling for almost 2 months! The time is really flying. 

I have been loving the fall weather! I'm getting out the girls' fall and winter clothes, seeing what they have and what they need.  Autumn has 9 pairs of jeans. Oops. Guess I went a bit overboard there.  I forgot about all the stuff I saved from Hannah so I would buy pants if I found a good deal.  At least I didn't pay full price! :D Hannah should be good on clothes as well, except for pjs which is an easy fix.  Anyone who has any girl clothes size 6 they don't need anymore, give me a holler! :)

This week has been the most laid back.  We didn't accomplish all I would have liked but we did at least 3 subjects every day, and Hannah never got burned out.  She's quite vocal about when she wants to take a break, but I try to make sure she finishes whatever lesson she's doing. 

Hannah has done at least 20 pages this week from the Early Learner.  She will probably have that whole set done before Christmas! What will we do once that's done? :-p I like to let her pick what we do first and she always picks that. 

I gave her a spelling test yesterday.  She missed 3 out of 10.  Not too bad.  She's spelled 'there' 'thr' which I understood since it's a word that she doesn't see a lot in her reading book.  I should probably do an oral spelling test some time just to see how she does with that as opposed to writing it down. I also should have her write out the words she missed. A lot of things I'm still figuring out as we go along.

We went to Rotary Park twice this week.  Both have been lovely outings.  Ryan has been all about showing the kids different things in nature.  It was also just fun to get out of the house and go somewhere that didn't cost an arm and a leg to get in.

On a non-homeschool subject, Ryan came home from work last night and informed me that the hose on the radiator blew in his truck. Wow. Ryan is able to fix it himself, but it's just one of those inconvenient things you never expect to come up. Just glad it wasn't anything more serious. Other than that, the weekend is pretty tame.  I'm about to get the kids up from their nap.  I'm going to a candle party at my aunt's house tonight while my dad comes over to watch the girls.  Ryan will be at work.  Tomorrow is church and more bumming around the house. Gotta love it! :)