There's a 7-year-old in the House

As if the Christmas season isn't busy enough!  lol  Little A made her grand entrance into the world 7 years ago.  I remember waiting and expecting her to be early.  She wasn't.  Looking back, I'm glad she wasn't born before Christmas.  She waited until after Christmas.

We have had a busy few weeks.  The kids and I were getting ready to head to Iowa to spend Christmas with my family while Seth had to stay here to work.  In the process of getting ready, we were in a car accident.  In our new car.  Which isn't registered yet.  With new insurance.  Suddenly, everything I thought I had to do no longer seemed necessary.  No one was hurt.  We thank the Lord for that.

After the car was fixed, we headed up to Iowa.  And we brought an illness that we didn't even know we were carrying.  J and A both had coughs, but J's developed into something more.  He ended up getting a fever and getting sick.  Then K got a fever.  My sister got a fever.  My cousin's son got a fever.  The day we came back to Wichita, A had a fever and I was feeling dizzy.  Later I learned that my mom, grandma, and bro-in-law all came down with it as well.  Ooops.  I did not mean to bring this flu to Iowa and pass it around!  I'm so sorry, Iowa family.

Once we returned, I knew I had a lot to do before I could rest and let this sickness take me down.  On the long drive home, I was fighting chills and sweats, but still no fever.  The day after, I had to finish getting stuff ready for our own family Christmas.  On Saturday, we had our Christmas.  We were mostly feeling ok.

Then, I had to get ready for Little A's birthday on Sunday.  I spent 2 1/2 hours running around Wichita, and not completely well.  I was completely spent when I made it back home.

Sunday was the big day!  Seth went to church while us sickies got some rest at home.  Little A requested chicken alfredo for lunch - the frozen kind.  No complaints here!  We enjoyed lunch and at some point, we all took a nap.

Little A was getting worse throughout the day.  Her fever returned and she was feeling awful.  I brought her presents to her and she opened them, showing little excitement as she was miserable.  She gave a hint of a smile for things she liked.

(Apologies for the poor picture quality.  I need a new camera.)

She also received a gift from our friends at church.  It was so sweet of them to think of her and they were sad they didn't get to see her at church on her birthday.  She loves the clothes.

Oreo pie and enchiladas were on the menu, but Little A ended up getting sick so we decided to hold off on the rest of her birthday.

Yesterday, she seemed to be feeling better.  We enjoyed the enchildas for supper and had pie and ice cream afterwards.  But, Little A still couldn't keep it all down.  :(  It was a bummer of a birthday for her, but we did our best to celebrate her turning 7.

We're feeling a little better today.  Little A and I slept on the couches last night.  I doubt we will be ringing in the New Year tonight with a bunch of finger foods.  Perhaps a family movie and our Christmas goodies we got in our stockings.  And maybe we will all feel better in time for school to start up again.

It's hard to believe our baby is 7 years old now.  That is the age I accepted Jesus' gift of salvation for myself.  I do not know where Little A stands with the Lord.  She can answer all the questions correctly and say the right things, but I don't know if she has made a personal choice to follow Him.  I pray that she has or will very soon.

Happy birthday, Little A!  I hope this year is a great one for you!  I love you!!!

Thanksgiving to Christmas

Time sure flies by when you're busy!

Thanksgiving was a little different this year.  We used to visit my family in Iowa, but Seth's employer stated that no one was allowed to have the Friday after Thanksgiving off.  So, we were forced to stay home for Thanksgiving the last few years.  This year, however, Seth was on-call the week of Thanksgiving which automatically gave him Friday off.  Hmmm, what could we do?

First, we thought we should go to Branson.  We bought a Branson trip at the Kansas State Fair.  We have been wanting to go since our friends moved there, but could never find the time or money.  Since it was somewhat paid for, and our son was off from school, we called to book our room.  But, we thought up this idea too late and the hotels were all booked.  Another time we will make that trip.

So, we decided to head up to Iowa.  Since Seth was on-call, however, we would not make it up for Thanksgiving dinner.  We had our Thanksgiving dinner Wednesday evening instead.  Seth found someone to cover for him Thursday evening and we left as soon as we could.  We arrived in time for games with my cousins and all the kids got along fairly well.  Grandpa and Seth actually took them all to the park.

I had a surprise.  A couple of years ago, Seth had made the comment that his mom used to make pumpkin pie from a real pumpkin.  My grandma kinda laughed and said that nobody does that.  Well, I decided to prove her wrong.  I had made a butternut squash pie so I thought it must be pretty similar to that.  So, I looked up recipes online and this year, I did it.

My mistake last year was not buying the pumpkin soon enough.  Stores don't sell pumpkins after Halloween but only for a couple of days.  Not even pie pumpkins which I thought was odd.  So this year, I made sure to buy the pie pumpkin around Halloween.

Because of having to buy the pumpkin early, I had to cook it before it went bad.  First, I cut it in half and scooped out the seeds.

Then, I baked it for about an hour.  I think a little longer.

I scooped the pulp into my Ninja blender.

And pureed.

Then I put it into ziplock bags and in the freezer until I was ready to make the pies.  I did it one-half at a time so there are 2 bags for 2 pies.

Then, it came time to make a pie.  I let the mush sit out to thaw.

Then I added the rest of the ingredients and mixed.  I forgot to take a picture of it with the ingredients not mixed in.

I poured it into a pie crust.  Store bought crust.  I thought I was being adventurous enough and didn't want to risk it with a bad attempt on the crust.

And walla!!  A pumpkin pie made from a real pumpkin.

I decided to bring it up to Iowa for my family, specifically my grandma to try.  Come to think of it, though, I think Grandma had left by the time we got out leftovers for supper.  She may not have even tried any!  But, she did see that I made it.  :)

Everyone who tried the pie said it was good.  I guess that makes it a success!!!  The other half I am saving for Christmas, but just for our family.  Next year I may have to buy 4 pumpkins and make 8 pies so I have plenty for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  One pie for each holiday just wasn't enough.

Now, Christmas is upon us!  My shopping is basically finished.  Presents need to be wrapped still.  For the past couple of years, we've bought a real tree.  We always decorate it on Seth's birthday as was his tradition growing up.

There could potentially be one more blog before Christmas, but it won't be holiday related.  So...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Trick-or-Treat!

October came and went so quickly!  Everything is up and running and life is busier than usual.  The girls are homeschooling, J is in middle school and involved in a couple of activities.  I decided to join the PTSO.  Add that to my responsibilities at church which seems to be multiplying each week.  And of course trying to keep my Thirty-One business afloat.  Let's just say my plate is as full as possible right now!

But, we couldn't let October go by without the fun of Halloween!

(I'm sure you've seen or heard the small debate on whether or not Christians should get involved in Halloween, but I am not going to get into that here.  Obviously, we have fun with it!)

First, it's pumpkin carving!

As always, I like to join in the dress-up fun.  Don't ask me what I am.  I don't know.  I just threw on extra color on my face and in my hair.  We also have a creeper (from Minecraft if you are not familiar with this extremely popular and addictive game), a cat, and a bunny.

I texted my sister to see if we could trick-or-treat with them since our neighborhood barely had any houses that participated.  So here we have Batman and Barbie bride.

And don't forget about the little pumpkin!

After walking around my sister's neighborhood for about an hour and a half, we headed back to our house and visited a few houses on our street.  Kids were still coming to our door at 9:30, after my kids were in bed.  I turned off our light at about 10:00.  It was a successful Halloween - full fun, costumes, candy, and getting to hang out with my sister and her family.  We don't see each other as often as you would think!

Please forgive the not-so-great picture quality.  My real camera broke so I am left with my ipod touch until we find a new one.

On to November....  :)

One of THOSE days

The day started out ok.  Seth is on-call which means he works regular hours throughout the weekend and must go to emergency jobs outside of work hours.  That means it's just me and the kids going to church.

All is going just fine.  We arrive at church, go to Sunday School, and then there are snacks in the back during the break before the Family Bible Hour.  I filled up a cup of coffee for myself, but then the first event of the day happened.

As I brought my cup of coffee towards me, I didn't quite clear the little spicket thinger.  My coffee immediately spilled on the counter.

"Way to go....me."  I actually said outloud.

I quickly grabbed some napkins to clean up the counter from my side, filled up my cup again..this time avoiding repeating the incident, and then went around into the kitchen to clean up the rest of the spill.  No biggie.  All cleaned up and no one really knew.  I enjoyed my coffee, talked with a few people, and then made sure all my kids were ready for the Family Bible Hour.

Shortly after the speaker began, I received a text.  Since most people know I'm in church, I found it really odd that someone would text me.  It was from Seth.

"I'm in the emergency room because I cut my finger with my sawzall."

I quickly texted back asking how serious it was.  I left the sanctuary and headed to the back so the texts wouldn't bother people.  I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Finally, I got tired of waiting and went back in to sit.  As soon as I got situated....."Do do do do do do.  You've got mail!"

Ack!  After a few texts back and forth and me leaving the sanctuary once more, I find out he didn't need stitches even though he had cut through the epidermal layer, there was a brass sliver in the cut, and he was in more pain after the doctor dug around in it.  Whew!  I was relieved.  I thanked the Lord it wasn't more serious and asked God to help his pain.

Family Bible Hour soon ended and I talked with other people.  One of my customers recently had a party and her order was in, so I went to go get the huge box out of my van.  As I walked up to the door, a nice man opened the door for me.  I thanked him and made my way blindly inside.  Just to trip on the rug and totally biff it on the floor.  The guy who opened the door quickly ran to my aide and said, "Oh, that is just so unfortunate!"  While another guy accused the first one of tripping me.  I assured them both I was fine, grabbed the box, and took it to my hostess.

We were one of the last people to leave, so we made sure all the lights were out and the new family had a way home (the oldest is in 8th grade and no parents coming with them).  On the way home, Seth called and asked if we could meet for lunch.  Of course!  We decided on Taco Lopez, a place we hadn't eaten at in a long time.

We ordered, ate, and discussed various accidents, illnesses, and emergency trips we've had to make in the last 12 years.  One of the ones we brought up was Little A's deformed fingernail.  When she was very little, she was playing with a nightlight that was plugged in...and well, you could probably figure out what happened.  I called my brother-in-law Dr. and he told me what to watch for if we needed to get her checked out.  I also had a nurse at church take a look when we saw her.  She kept an eye on it every week as her blackened fingertip changed colors, blistered, and the fingernail completely fell off.  Her fingernail never grew back the same and has been deformed ever since.

Seth had to go back to work so he kissed the kids and then reached across the table to hug me....only to knock over my glass of pop with his now-numbed finger, causing it to spill all over the booth and Little A.  I went to find napkins, but didn't see any so I told the employees about the spill.

*sigh*

We came home around 2:30.  And you would think that is the end of the crazies of the day.  I did too.

It's not.

The afternoon was a normal Sunday afternoon.  We relaxed a bit, then the kids worked on their AWANA sections for this evening.  Then we headed back to the church for AWANA - a Bible kids club where kids memorize Bible verses and earn "money" they can spend on various prizes a couple times during the year.

As I was rounding up the kids and their things to go back home after AWANA, I noticed Little A's deformed fingernail.  It was ripped and her finger was bleeding.  She said she had a band-aid on earlier but it had fallen off.  I went back to the kitchen to get a band-aid from the first aid drawer and put a band-aid on her poor little finger.

And THAT is it.  Well, it is only 8:45.  Maybe I shouldn't speak too soon...  ;)

Homeschooling myths

Being a homeschooling family means I am very organized and patient and have it all together, right?

WRONG!!!

I am naturally a messy and lazy person.  I am very organized....in my head.  But applying that ideal plan to reality is almost always impossible.  I never account for how tired I will be, how long it will take to do some things, that children will not follow every guideline exactly how I imagine, or for unexpected distractions.  I try.  I really do try.  But, often, I feel like a miserable failure.

Growing up, I shared a room with 1 of my sisters.  Most of the time it was with my older sister.  She is the perfect first-born with every first-born quality.  I am the second-born.  My sister hated that I left a mess in our room.  My line of thinking was....if I'm just going to wear the clothes, why bother putting them away?  Same with making my bed.  I was/am comfortable with my messes.  I know what's there and how to find what I need when I need it.  It's when somebody moves something from my messes that drives me crazy because then I don't know where anything is!

 I was born 2 weeks after my due date.  It's no surprise to me that I was born so late.  When I'm comfortable, I like to stay put.  It takes great effort to move out of my spot.

My mom struggled with me because I guess I was the strong-willed child.  Whaaaaat? That one does surprise me a bit.  I have very few strong opinions.  Mostly because I don't have enough knowledge about some subjects to develop my own opinion.  I'm very much a follower.  However, when I do have an opinion, I'm very firm on it.  I guess I am strong-willed in a way because I have little self discipline when it comes to doing things I don't like.  I will do it when I feel like doing it.  I can pretty always find something else to do in order to procrastinate what I should be doing.  Unless I absolutely have to, I probably won't do something that I don't enjoy.

All of that makes homeschooling all the more challenging.  I was never great at keeping our house clean.  Even before children, it was very difficult for me.  My college dorm room, which I had all to myself, was always a mess except on inspection days or open dorms.  Like I said, I am comfortable with my own mess.  However, when I had to start picking up after other people, that's when it just became too much for me to handle. I absolutely HATE cleaning up someone else's mess.  It is often too overwhelming for me to even start.  So, with that struggle constantly hanging over my head, I decided my life just wasn't busy enough.  I'm sure most of you have heard the story of how I got started in homeschooling.  I was one of those people that said, "I will never homeschool.  I don't have the patience to homeschool.  There's no way I will be able to teach my strong-willed second-born daughter.  I couldn't do it.  It's great that others can; it's just not for me."  K and I often butted heads.  She's like me in many many ways.  One exception is the fact that she is a leader.  Although it's great for her, it can also make her strong-willed nature more difficult to deal with.   I didn't think we could be in the same room all day without killing each other.  I have a bit of  a short temper (it's a lot better than it used to be!).  I didn't think I could handle having my kids with me all. day. long. every. single. day.  Obviously, God lead me in a different direction than what I had planned and here I am in my 5th year of homeschooling.  Every time I hear someone say things like I had said, I just laugh.  Not out loud of course.  But I just think, "Yep, I used to say that.  You  never know."

Let's just think about what many people see as the typical homeschooling family:

Home made clothes.  Yeah, like I can sew.  I'm not sure if I can even sew on a button, even though my mom has shown me multiple times.

Healthy meals made from scratch.  I might do more cooking than some people, but sometimes I go for the fast, easy convenience foods because who has time to cook that much?!?!  I try to make sure my kids have fruits and veggies everyday.  Try.  Doesn't always happen.

Organized place to do school.  The first week of school, yes.  After that, it's more like find the cleanest room and get to work.

Always ready for company.  Not even close.  If you came by my house, I would do whatever I needed to do to keep you on the porch and not be able to see the horrendous mess inside.  And if you ever walked into my kitchen, you will never want to eat here.  This is where my laziness, tiredness, procrastination really kicks in.  I come up with a new plan every 3 months or so.  It works great in my head, but never in reality.  I do honestly become extremely tired by 2:00 no matter what I've been doing, how long I've been up, or how much sleep I've had.  By 2:00 I'm searching for some caffeine or a way to nap.  Getting anything done after that is not very likely.  If the caffeine works, then there's hope.

Well behaved children.  Ok, according to outsiders, they are generally well behaved.  However, grocery shopping trips can be a nightmare.  Or having a daughter who is almost exactly like me - excuses not to work, laziness, procrastination skills....and she plays to my sympathies.  If I'm feeling tired, she plays the "I'm too tired" card, and by 2:00, I'm too tired to enforce any rules.  My "care-o-meter" is nearly zero.  (Thanks, Amanda, for the term care-o-meter.)

Always quiet in church.  This makes me laugh.  We might be the loudest homeschooling family in our church.  This is one of the reasons why we sit in the back.  And my kids aren't even that young.  Ok, they're not so loud any more, but they can still be distracting....or be very distracted themselves.  My youngest usually has books or puzzles.  She likes to show us what she's doing or asks how to spell something.  My older 2, I'm working to make sure they are listening.  That's been a battle that has lasted a few years.  I finally told my older daughter that she is not allowed to sit with friends until she can sit and listen every week.  She thought after 2 weeks, she would be able to return to her friends.  Nope.  I told her I wanted her to sit and listen for a year.  Then, I could probably trust her to do the same while sitting with friends.  J generally doesn't have the opportunity to sit with friends, but keeping him from using his ipod for things other than his Bible has been the issue lately.

Of course homeschooling is not the easy choice.  How can I possibly keep up with dishes, meals, errands, house cleaning, laundry, and now a kid in public school, as well as church activities and running my own 31 business and still teach my girls at home?  By the grace of God.  Some days things get missed.  Some days I am just too tired to do it.  Some days the girls are uncooperative and I spend more time and energy on discipline that anything else.  Some days just don't go as planned.  But, when I give each day to God and let Him guide me through the day He's already planned for me, I can handle anything.

Some people might not understand why I am the way I am.  God does.  He understands that sometimes, I am just too tired to keep going.  He understands that sometimes, I have other priorities.  He understands that sometimes, I do fail.  That's why I have peace.  I let God take my days.  If I were to attempt my to-do list everyday only to never complete it because other things got in the way, I would drive myself crazy...probably into a deep depression...because I could never live up to my own standards.  But God gives me grace.  God knows my weaknesses better than anyone.  I am so thankful that the only person I have to worry about pleasing is God.

Kansas State Fair

We finally made it back to the Kansas State Fair this year.  The last time we went, it was 2010.  And we came home with this:

This was Sally, the bunny we bought K at the state fair.  She passed away over Thanksgiving weekend in 2011.  It was heart-breaking.

Although we had intended to return to the fair, particularly to buy a bunny for J the following year, it just didn't happen.  And with Sally's tragic demise, we never returned to buy a bunny again.  Especially since we now have a dog - a dog who is slightly bigger than Sally.  :)

We decided it was about time we made another trip to the state fair.  I have never been a fan of going to the fair.  It always resulted in exhaustion and pain because I always ended up with blisters on my feet to the point that walking was just plain agonizing.  Seth, however, grew up going to the fair and he looked forward to it every year.  And the kids do enjoy it.

Since Little A was only 3 years old the last time we went, she didn't have any memory of being there so it was all new to her.  She excitedly went running into the animal sheds and lead us all down aisles of hens, pigeons, sheep, pigs....she was seeing it all for the first time in her mind.

As we walked through the bunny aisles, I held K's hand.  We spotted a couple of Sally-look-alikes.  I was fearful that K would become emotional as we remembered picking Sally out and taking her home.  She was surprisingly fine.  I, however, had to ignore that lump in my throat.  She was a sweet little bunny.

After we had seen all the animals we could see, we looked around at art, crafts, produce, etc.  And, of course, we checked out all of the vendors.

We used to have a stroller or even a wagon with us.  It was great to put in all the stuff we left the fair with.  But this year, we chose not to bring the wagon and our kids are all too big for a stroller.  So, I had the girls bring their cinch sacs from 31 and I brought a new 31 purse and another cinch sac.  Throughout the day, we all stuffed our bags.  We ended up getting out the 3rd cinch sac to put more stuff in.  But, we actually survived without the wagon!

Of course, the kids love the rides.  They each got 22 tickets and off they went.  Little A and Seth hung out around the younger kids' rides while the older 2 and I enjoyed the bigger rides.  Well, I didn't actually get to ride, but it was sure fun watching them!

We all went on the giant slide together.  That was fun!  We also enjoyed a train ride and the sky ride as we headed back to the parking lot.  But not before we enjoyed some fair food!  I had a pulled pork sundae that included mashed potatoes, gravy, and cheese.  We always get roasted corn on the cob and the kids shared a large bag of cotton candy.  I also tried a deep fried snickers.  It's not as good as it sounds.  Unless it sounds gross to you, then I would say it was much tastier.  Let's just put it this way:  I would eat it again if offered for free, but I would chose a regular Snickers over it deep fried anyday.

How about some pics of the day?

With J in school, we had to actually try to leave by a certain time.  We left a half later than we wanted to.  I was able to walk to the car without limping because for the first time ever (I think), I did not get blisters at the fair!  It was a fun, but still exhausting day!  I'm glad we got to go.  I think going every 3 years is good.  Now to get Seth on board with that idea...

Back to school

You know how you think you're going to be sitting around all summer with plenty of time on your hands, so you plan to do a big project or two, but when summer actually hits, you have less time than you did during the schoolyear?

Yep, that was me!  Now that we've started school, I realize that none of my hopeful projects were even touched.  I can't believe how busy our summer was, but it was a great summer!  Now, school has started for all 3 of my  kiddos.  J is now going to public middle school and I will continue to homeschool the girls.

J has completed 2 1/2 weeks of school already.  He is enjoying it although the early morning as been a difficult adjustment for both of us.

All 6th graders had orientation the day before school officially started.  It was only a half day.

Since we started homeschooling, I always had in my mind that I wanted to put the kids back in public school by the time they were in middle school or high school.  I enjoyed all the extra-curricular activites when I was in school and I want my kids to have those opportunities as well.  It didn't hit me until January that J would be in 6th grade this fall, meaning middle school.  So, with a lot of praying and researching, we took that leap of faith and put him in public school. We chose 6th grade instead of 9th because everyone in 6th grade is new to the whole different classes and lockers and moving around type of format. J wouldn't be the only one trying to figure it out.  I wanted to find a school that not only suited J, but the girls, also.  We found it.  And it's fairly close to where we live, too close for a bus in fact.  Which I'm finding to be a blessing to have to take him to school every morning.  Not only do I have one-on-one time with him every morning, it also starts my day earlier and I feel more accomplished by the end of it.  It is also the same school that I would go to pick up my neighbor's daughter on occasion so I was already somewhat familiar with it.  God lead and we followed.

The girls and I finished our first week of homeschooling.  Traditionally, I start the day after Labor Day.  But, when I received their first quarter of books and compared my normal calendar with J's school calendar, I realized we needed to start a week earlier.  I got a little protest from K, but I think it worked out for the best.  Little A couldn't wait to start so she grabbed her books and did page after page after page.  She already finished her first book in her Bible curriculum out of a total of 10 books.  She was the same way last year, but I couldn't keep up with her and homeschool the other 2 at the same time, so I forced her to slow down.  This year, I might be able to let her go as quickly as she wants to...even if it means buying her 2nd grade books later in the year.

Since K really struggles in school, we've been on a search for different curriculums for her.  This being our 5th year in homeschooling, we've tried a few different ones.  Last year, we tried ACE for science with both J and K.  It was perfect for K.  J will get along great with any curriculum.  We found that ACE told stories as it taught.  The answers stuck more easily than other subjects.  And she could repeat back to me things she was learning in science without being prompted to do so.  So, we switched everything to ACE this year, except for Bible.  At the homeschool conference in 2012, I went to a seminar on working with kids with a learning disability.  We had suspicians that K was slightly dyslexic so I thought I could get some good info.  And I did.  We worked hard on helping her connect what she was seeing to translate to what she needed to write down.  It was a difficult process where I had to work more closely with her than the other 2.  We also took her to see an eye doctor who diagnosed her with .... a big long word.... and prescribed glasses.  The glasses also added to the improvement in her schoolwork.  This year, she's wearing her glasses and using what she learned through the language curriculum we got from the seminar and she is doing much better with the ACE program.

Although K is making improvements, we will have to make a decision by March whether or not she is ready for public school and join J in middle school next year.  I have told her that I may have to hold her back a grade.  I'm not sure if she's quite ready to handle it yet since she needs specific teaching methods.  She is excited to go to middle school and participate in choir, orchestra, drama, and sports so she plans to work hard this year.  There is a mentoring/tutoring program offered by the school, so we can also take advantage of that if we feel she needs it.  That will just mean less extra activities for K.

But, one year at a time, is how we've handled our children's schooling.  We now have a 6th grader, 5th grader, and a 1st grader.  This is my 5th year in homeschooling. I would have never thought this would be my life right now and I really do enjoy it.  Life is so much easier when I let God take the reigns.