Quote of the Day!

My dear friend Andrea is so wise. She leaves me a comment on most of my posts and makes me chuckle. After reading my latest post, she gave me a bit of her wisdom. I have declared it my quote of the day.


TV remotes - one of the reasons men and women will never understand each other!

I don't know!

TV has been the blame of some weird phenomenons here. The other day, I caught Princess and Batman watching my TV in this position. I don't even ask what they are doing or trying to accomplish anymore. I just laugh, take a picture, and say "I don't know!". Yes, weirdness runs in the family!

We have another habit that's forming in our house. My dear son has taken another step into manhood. He is about to turn six next week! In his great walk through life, he has learned an unwritten man trait. A trait that every woman winces at once in her life. If that woman has married or had multiple brothers, the chances are high that she winced a lot.

My dear first born son has mastered the remote control. He has learned to yearn for it. He knows what each button is for. When he sits and watches a movie, he will not stop looking for it before sitting down. It might as well be duck taped to his hand.

He has picked up the habit of rewinding and replaying the good parts over and over and over again, until his siblings run screaming from the room for me to come and take the remote away. When I come in, he instantly puts the remote down and acts like he didn't do anything. He bats his icey blue eyes at me, and innocently says, "What mom?". I instantly know what went on. I don't know if it is my mom instincts or if it is the reality that I somehow lived through growing up with 3 brothers that all did the same thing. Icey blue eyes or not, I know what he has been up to!

He also has the man habit of high volume. He doesn' t have a hearing problem. He simply has little man ears. My daughter and I can listen to the volume at an average level of 10 to 12. My son and husband??? It is more like 35. I don't know if it is nature or nurture. I have come to the conclusion that it is no coincidence!

A homeschooler's gym class

This is our PE class! No, I don't organize relay teams, or make them do exercises before each class. I have heard of some moms doing a gym class, but we don't. One of the reason's I don't is because of these pictures. Why waste my time? My kids are active. They run, play, spin, jump, and are moving all day long. Even during our rest time, I have to go up stairs and remind them that it is rest time, a time for rest and relaxation. Which means we need to be resting or lying down, not hanging off of our bunk beds and pretending we are jumping off tall buildings like Spider man!
I would love to challenge anyone who thinks that home school kids are getting anything less than public school kids. If anything, my kiddos are having more fun!

My First Born Son

When I had this little man, life changed. He brought a certain "oomph" into my life. He is super charged. He is full of life and energy, and at the same time has this little heart of gold. He is so caring. He will gladly give up something he wanted to someone who wants it more. He is the all around kind of guy. He makes friends everywhere. He wants to be just like his daddy.

About a week ago he told us that he wants to be an astronaut pastor. "Really, buddy?" I said. "Yeah, I need to go into space and I want to be a pastor and tell the whole world about God!" he said. My cup runneth over when he says things like that. Only a mother of a little boy could understand how stinking cute that sounds.

Sometimes he says things that blow me away. While at the doctor's office today, he made friends with this other little boy about his same age. They were playing in the little playhouse in the waiting room together. The little boy got excited about something and shouted, "Oh my god!". My son chimed in quickly and said, "Don't say oh my god! If you say oh my god, then God is going to come down and destroy your house!"

I quickly corrected him, but was laughing the whole time. The poor little boy he was talking to probably now has a true fear of God. All because the preacher's son decided to bring forth a little fire and brimstone! I love this kid. He makes my heart go pitter pat. And no, I don't believe that God is going to come down and destroy our houses.

So....How's it going?

It is going really, really well. Life is crazy, but we are surviving. I have been staying on schedule, mostly. I have been sleeping in until 6am instead of getting up at 5:30am. I know, I know! You think less of me. How undisciplined can one get? 6am wake up, that's for wimps.

Well I am one. I admit it. I like to sleep. I love to have the birds singing to me while I rub the sleep out of my eyes and stare at the wall for 30 minutes. It's what I do. For my first 30 minutes of existence in the morning, I like to live a life of denial. I like to deny that I even have to get out of bed. I like to think of every reason of why I should sleep until 10 or 11. I think things like: "They will be fine getting their own breakfasts today! They won't miss me. They will sit at the table with their school books ready quietly waiting for me. I will be the one welcomed with breakfast waiting when I get up. (Or my favorite excuse!) Sure! We can start school by 10:30 and get it all done before noon!"

I am totally not living in reality when I wake up. I am close to hallucinating. I don't think straight. Like I said, after 30 minutes or so of pondering my day, I decide that I must stick to the plan. I must grab myself by the collar and hoist my butt out of bed. I realize the reality of the situation and I grin and bare it. It's not that I don't want or like my life. I just don't like anything in the morning. After 7 or so, I am completely living my dream.

Just ask my husband. After 9 years of marriage, he still tries to converse with me while I am in the hallucination stage. He wakes up singing like a bird. I grunt or moan with a frown that is beginning to cause wrinkles. I tell him that I hate mornings. He asks, "Do you at least love me?" I give him a look. He leaves for work after hugging me and kissing my forehead. I love when he kisses my forehead. As for the hugging, I wouldn't classify my part of the hug a real hug. I really just lean into him and make him hold me up. About 45 minutes later, after my first cup of tea, I call him on his cell and with a big smile tell him good morning. He laughs at me, then tells me how ridiculous I was after I woke up, and asks if I am now finally awake. I act like I said or did nothing wrong or out of the ordinary. He again laughs at me, and asks if I will ever be a morning person? I then laugh at him, and sternly say "NO WAY! God didn't make mornings for me!".

After my nightmare of getting out of bed early everyday, everything is dandy. School is going great. The kids are falling into my steps just fine. They are learning at alarming rates. We have chosen some challenging curriculum for them and they are surfing right through it. Ok, Ok, it is only the second week of school and they are still reviewing last years material, but they are getting back at "it" very quickly.

As for this blog of mine. I am trying to find the time to do it daily. It might not happen everyday as you have noticed, but I will be posting more often as I find the time. I love doing it, and it seems to me by the remarks of those I see, that you guys enjoy it. So between the multiple grammar, arithmetic, phonics, history, and science lessons in the morning, the scrubbing of bathroom floors in the afternoon, and the nightly laundry sessions that I am called to, I will come to you. Who needs history? Let's just leave the past in the past, right? And math? Why did we invent calculators? Oh! and my favorite, we don't need to wear clean clothes everyday, do we? I mean, we do home school. Showering and dressing are optional!

Anyone who knows me, knows that these last few lines are a total joke! Just thought that I would clear my conscience and reassure you all.

Day one: Who needs organization?

We started school yesterday. I had this big plan. Our lives were perfectly set out like a clean pair of clothes for the morning. I was prepared man. No one, and nothing could rock my new disciplined life.

He He Ha Ha Ho Ho! Nothing that is, except for life itself. (Note to readers: Every time that I try to be ultra disciplined, I have a catastrophe. Something comes flying into my life like a rock into a windshield. I have learned to embrace this with laughing and not stressing, for I am ordinarily random.)



Anywho, back to the story. It actually started the day before school started. It was a hot Sunday afternoon and we were to attend a picnic. Since my husband is on the church staff, I am sort of required to be there. I really did want to go. I love hanging out with people. I love to eat. Church people know how to cook. I love to watch as my kids are entertained by the other children. Since my kids are home schooled, they almost hyperventilate when other children are around them. They are always ready to make new friends. It was 90 degrees outside, but we had a great time. After a few hours of running hard and playing games it was time to go home. We arrived at home at 4pm and the kids all wanted some much needed rest time. "45 minutes" I told them and myself as I got sucked into my love seat.



Yeah 45 minutes! Famous last words. Try 3 hours later. We all rolled out of our cocoons and awoke from napping. It was now 7pm, an hour before bedtime. Don't you know the rule for the night before school? It is mandatory for kids to get to bed early the night before the first day of school. Every good parent requires it, and then rejoices in the fact that they are awesome parents because their kid is safely tucked into bed and will be smarter because it was early. We ate dinner at 8pm as the kids laughed at the realization that they were awake during forbidden hours. We finally got to put them to bed at 9:30. They fell asleep at about 10, 2 hours past bedtime!



Of course, this messed up the schedule that I worked so dang hard on. Some slept in, and some got up early. The ones that needed to sleep in are the ones that got up early. Mood swings and all, we did it though. We trudged through the murky waters of the first day of school. We, I mean I, cracked the whip and did all 16 subjects. This number is the amount of 4 kids combined. I officially have a 3rd grader, 1st grader, kindergartner, and a preschooler. I would like to face some one who thinks being a stay-at-home mom is boring.

The Indiana State Fair

Do not adjust your computer screen. This is what happens when you take your 4 children to the fair. Your head is not screwed on tight. This is your brain. This is your brain when you decide to go to crowded public places with all 4 kids. Just kidding. This is actually my try at copying an idea from a photo blog that I read. She took the same type of picture, but hers was better. Much better. Mine looks like I was about to drop my camera just as I clicked the button. Maybe next year.

We had an awesome time. We went on the perfect day. It was only 80degrees. 80 degrees and August don't go together in Indy. It is more like 90 or 95 degrees, hence the reason we didn't go last year. The crowds were actually not bad. We went the day after all the public schools started so no one was there. It's another good reason to home school. We got to pet all sorts of farm animals. We fed them too. Princess is now determined to convince her daddy that we need a farm. I am convinced too, but she is better at getting her way with him. (Don't tell him I said that!)

Food was extremely expensive there. We made sure that everyone only ate absolute necessities. This of course included the must have of cotton candy. When else does mom OK eating pure sugar that is a cool color too.

Oh! I love this one. It is the proof that I do exist and that I do go on the family outings with them. I am never, and I mean never, in the pictures. I am the one that takes all the pictures.

Here they are! The other half. We only rode on one ride. Would you believe that one Ferris wheel ride costs $22 for a family of six to ride. They were troopers though. The animals and tractors were enough to keep their minds busy! The biggest attraction was the horse manure in the middle of a walking path. Poor suburban kids. What's as normal as a house fly for ranchers is a shock of excitement for suburban kids. And, no I didn't take a picture of the manure!