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! :)