Like a Physical Blow

I was laying in bed last night before going to sleep and I started thinking about dinner for tonight.  I knew I was going to end up putting the pork chops on the George Forman grill.

Thinking about the George Forman brought a memory of my Grandma cooking steaks on the one she had.  She loved busting that thing out while we were there and she was so proud of the fact that she could make a good steak in just a few minutes.

For a heartbeat that memory made me smile.  And then I actually had to remind myself that I would never see my Grandma cooking anything over a George Forman again.  Remembering all over that I would never see her in a kitchen again felt like an actual physical blow.  Like someone had done a roundhouse kick to my chest. 

I have found myself lately skirting away from thinking about Grandma at all.  Like if I start to think about her I'll make myself think of something else.  Is that why out of the blue a random memory of her hurt so much?  Is it better to think of her as often as I can and grieve more often or to skirt the memories until one comes that I can't ignore and get all the grief out at once?  I don't know the right answer.  I wish I didn't have to know.

And once again, as much as I miss Grandma and hurt from the loss, I know that my pain is so much less compared to those who have lost a sibling, a parent, a spouse or a child.  I am reminded again that although people who have lost loved ones may seem OK on the outside, they still need my prayers.  Because if it hurts as much for me to think about my Grandma, how much more does it hurt for them?

Snaggle Tooth

I don't care who you are, a snaggle toothed kid is funny looking!  Cute, but funny looking!  #3 finally yanked her tooth out yesterday afternoon.  It's been loose for about a week, but she takes her cues from her big sisters and will not let Daddy touch her teeth to try to pull them out.  So we've just gone along with the gap between her teeth getting bigger and bigger.  She was very excited when it finally came out though, and wasn't fazed a bit with all the blood. 

Her other top tooth is just about ready to come out too.  In fact, she can make it lay almost completely sideways.  She informed me today that she looks like Nanny McPhee before the kids learn to obey her.  And she did--it was hilarious! 

But it'll be even funnier when that second one does come out.  Nothing cuter than a 6 year old missing two front teeth! 

The big homeschool conference

It has been several years since I was able to attend a homeschool conference.  There were always two big ones every summer in Houston, but we were out of town for both the last couple of years.  Before that I was helping man a booth for our performing arts co-op and didn't get to attend any of the sessions. 

I remember the very first conference I went to.  #1 had finished 1st grade and I was looking at having a Kindergartener and a second grader the next year.  I went over the schedule over and over and finally picked out which sessions I wanted to go to.  Hubby and I even went to a couple of different ones because I wanted the info they were giving at both of them.  We were exhausted by the time the two days were over.  We had so much information overload that we couldn't even talk about homeschooling for several days.  I wouldn't recommend doing that for anyone going to a conference, whether you've been homeschooling for years or are a newbie.  Pick just a couple a day that you really want to go to and order CD's from all the other sessions!  It'll make the conference a much more enjoyable time!

I also bought my first, and last impulse buy on curriculum at that conference.  I went to a session by a woman who had written the curriculum and was so impressed by what she had to say that I bought the language arts curriculum, spending $200 on it.  This was half of my budget for my entire year of supplies and curriculum, but I felt like it would be worth it and Hubby supported my decision.  I ended up hating it, the girls hated it and I went back to what I had originally planned for us to use within just a couple of months.  And I'm still trying to get it sold to someone!  I have never done that again!

Fast forward several years.  I consider myself a seasoned homeschooler now.  I don't feel the need to go to a conference every year, but since I hadn't been to one in a while and we are new to this area and don't know everything going on in the homeschool community I decided I wanted to go ahead and go.  It was only a 30 minute drive from our house and the speakers they were going to have there were getting a lot of rave reviews.

I have to say though, that I was very disappointed.  Maybe I'm a tad picky when it comes to public speaking, but I didn't really enjoy the main speakers all that much.  Hubby and I both agreed that they appeared to be used to giving inspiration speeches instead of giving practical advice to homeschool families. 

I was also disappointed in the number of vendors they had.  At the conferences in Houston there would be over 100 vendors.  We only had about 15.  I was used to being able to walk in and purchase almost all of my curriculum there instead of having to order it online.  The only thing I purchased at the conference was book that I've been wanting to buy for a couple of years that they had on sale. 

We ended up not going back for any of the sessions on Saturday.  I took the oldest two with me to hear the Choir and Orchestra of homeschool kids they had performing in the afternoon, but it wasn't really worth the trip.  Again, I know I'm biased when it comes to music, and I know they did fairly well for having kids from across the state come together and perform music after just a couple of days, but it wasn't outstanding. 

Having said all that, I still recommend that anyone who is considering homeschooling or has been homeschooling and never gone to a conference to go to at least one.  I know it isn't for everyone.  There is a lot of information floating around at these places and it can get very overwhelming.  But, with the exception of this year, I have always benefited from going.  I walk away with a greater sense of purpose as to why we homeschool.  I feel rejuvenated to keep going and continue despite the rough patches or failures I experienced this past year.  And I always hear new ideas of how to do certain things or get organized that I would not have come up with on my own.  There is also something to be said for being surrounded by like-minded people.  No one at a homeschool conference is going to look at you funny because you are homeschooling or ask you if you are doing it because you hate teachers or are religious fanatics.  Everyone there is just as weird as you are--and it feels fantastic!  And for the new homeschooler I can almost guarantee that after going to a conference you will solidify your decision to either homeschool or not homeschool. 

Next year I will probably volunteer at the conference here just to be able to be surrounded by like-minded people for two days.  I can get the boost from seeing so many homeschooling families in one place without having to worry about making it to all of the sessions.  Who knows, I might even get to help with the choir and orchestra!  And I will seriously consider making the drive and staying the night with friends to be able to go back to the conference in Houston! 

So many strawberries!

We love to go strawberry picking!  Mainly because we love eating them so much, but also because it is something out of the normal that we don't get to do more than a couple times a year.  One of the homeschool groups we joined had a field trip to a strawberry patch, but you had to pay $7 per child and it didn't seem like you got many strawberries.  So when one of the other groups put a group together and you only had to pay $8 for each gallon bucket--and that price was for however many you could fit in there--I jumped at the chance.  We were supposed to go before our trip up to see my family, but we were rained out.  Which is why we were there this past Tuesday.

I had looked at the GPS before we left so I knew about how long it was going to take to get there.  We left later than I planned, thanks to the fact that our car has officially bit the dust.  Which means that when I need the Suburban we have to drop Hubby off at the church before leaving and then pray nothing comes up that he needs to go anywhere!  We were still going to get there on time though.  I took it as a good sign that I started seeing signs for a strawberry farm along the route we were driving.  I didn't look at the name of the farm.  After all, how many strawberry farms could possibly be along this one country road?

The answer is two.  I know this because we visited both of them on Tuesday.  I don't know about you, but when I can physically see my "destination" I stop paying attention to the GPS.  Which is why I turned in to the first strawberry farm I saw.  We saw a bunch of kids picking strawberries.  I knew there was going to be over 100 homeschoolers so I took this as a good sign.  I thought it was slightly odd that they were already out in the field since we were 10 minutes early, but it was my first time meeting up with this group, so I figured they just did things differently.

We parked, walked through a field of mud, and joined the crowd of people.  At which point I noticed that most of said people were actually small people.  As in pre-schoolers.  I am aware that homeschool outings almost always include the entire family, not just certain ages of kids, but it isn't usual for there to only be little kids running around.  I finally asked someone who looked like they were in charge where the homeschool group was.  She looked at me weird and asked if I was at the right farm.  I told her I was pretty sure I was, again, thinking how many farms could there be.  She asked me for the name of the group again, looked around, and informed me that she was pretty sure I was at the wrong place.  I start panicking a little wondering how I could have possibly been so wrong with the directions.  At which point she FINALLY informs me that there is another farm across the street.  I could have used that information 5 minutes ago, but whatever.  She didn't appear too happy to have to tell me about the other farm.  There is probably a strong rivalry going when you have two strawberry farms on the same road.

So we trek back across the muddy field and attempt to drive out amidst all the little munchkins running around.  I pull out of the wrong farm and immediately see a sign pointing across the street to the correct farm.  I did not see this large sign at all the first time I was on the road.  We pulled in and I noticed the large group of adults and children of all ages.  I also noticed their shirts which actually read "Bayou Cajun Homeschoolers."  Yep, we were in the right place!  Technically late, but still 15 minutes earlier than the rest of the people who showed up.

Number #2 decided to pick on her own

Needless to say, we had a great time.  Because they don't use any pesticides on their fruit we were able to eat as many strawberries as we wanted while we picked.  This worked awesome for #4.  I was able to pick strawberries to keep and every time she wanted to help I would let her pick one and eat it.  This kept her from caring that she wasn't actually putting any in the basket.  Don't judge me!  If you love trying to get little hands to carefully pick a berry and put it softly in a bucket instead of smushing it into a sticky mess, more power to you!  Me--I was just glad we were all able to walk away happy!

Fruits of our labor!  Get it--"fruits"  :-)

There is some angle food cake under those strawberries!

Quick Trips and Field Trips

A few months ago I was desperately searching for field trips for us to go on so that my girls could branch out and find some more kids to get to know.  This week I actually had to cancel one that we were planning on going to.  And as the summer draws nearer and we finalize our trips I am realizing that we really don't have a lot of free days available.  And by that I mean there are not a lot of days that I will plan anything on.  When I over-schedule everything seems to fall apart, so I tend to be selective about what we plan for our family.

Having said that, these last couple of weeks have been jam-packed with activities.  All of which we have enjoyed, although I like looking at the next couple of weeks and seeing a lot of open space on my calendar!

First was a used curriculum sale I went to.  It was with a new homeschool group which is always a little awkward meeting new people, but I survived.  Actually, I scored #3's math for next year at a third of the cost of what I would have paid new.  I also sold enough to cover that cost.  All in all, a successful outing.

Then I was finally able to get my massage that Hubby got me for my birthday.  I always forget how much I love massages.  So let me state this--I LOVE massages!  She asked if I wanted a deep tissue or just a relaxation massage.  I told her I had four children who I stayed home with on a daily basis.  I was going to need some pain to get my back and shoulders back to feeling normal!  She did an amazing job!  I oohed and ahhed so much Hubby bought himself a Groupon to go get one for himself.  I feel a little jipped about that, but I'm letting it slide!

We watched our friends' girls while they went on a date.  Always fun times having 7 girls together!

One of the girls didn't believe we had crayons!  Ha!

 

We met some new friends at the Pretend Play place we went on a field trip to last month.  This family has only been in BR about a year so they are looking for new friends also.  We haven't spent a lot of time with them, but what we have I have enjoyed the kids and the Mom.  We're looking forward to getting to know each other

Yep, they are going to be good friends!

This last weekend we took a quick trip up to my brother's farm.  It was a lot of driving for less than 48 hours of visiting time, but it was worth it. Being  away from all of our family continues to be the most difficult part of being in the ministry.  So quick trips like last weekend are necessary to help us continue to feel grounded somewhere.  As always, we had a blast.  #1 and #2 even had their first gun lesson with their uncle.  Daddy could have done it, but the uncle has the land. Both of them hit the target multiple times.  I also shot the rifle for the first time.   I've only ever shot handguns before.  I also hit more times than I miss!  Woot!

Safety First

#1

It was a little hard for #2 to hold, so she gets a stand

Not too shabby!

Yesterday Hubby and I had our date.  We went and saw the new GI Joe movie.  Big flop!  We're sticking to movies we know are going to be good from now on.  Movie theaters are too expensive to waste on a bad movie!  But we enjoyed the time we got to spend together, nevertheless. 

And now we're gearing up for the next two weeks.  Hubby and I are starting a two week diet that involves eating no carbs.  I will miss them!  We also have a homeschool conference this weekend we're attending.  It's been a few years since we've been able to attend one, so I am really looking forward to it.  I wouldn't say Hubby is looking forward to it, but he is supporting me in my desire to attend.  As usual, he reminds me how blessed I am to be married to him!

May is shaping up to be busy, busy, busy and then summer, as always, involves much travel.  So we're going to take some time to take a breath and get organized before that happens!  God is good, all the time!

Failures and Successes

Normally Thursdays are our library days.  I make sure we finish with school before lunch and then we head out as soon as we get lunch cleaned up.  That way I can get the books I need for #3's school for the next week and everyone trades out their books from the week before.  I would say on average we check out between 50 and 75 books every week.  Thank goodness the oldest three have their own library cards or we wouldn't be able to check all the books out that we want!

This week was a little different.  Our suburban broke down last weekend and threw off our plans to go to the library so we had to wait until Tuesday to go.  We were very excited because we got to go to the brand new library that is only about a mile from our house.  We've been looking forward to it for a while, but I was really disappointed.  Everything is new and it is certainly beautiful, but their selection of books is so small.  And their children's section is probably 1/3 the size of the one at the library we've been going to.  The girls didn't seem to have a problem finding anything though.  And fortunately all the libraries here are connected so I can look for the books I need for #3 online and have them send them to the new library.  I feel a little bad about requesting 20 books (some were for #1), but since they didn't have a single one I needed I have no choice!  Hopefully it won't take too long for the selection of books to expand.

This is how we check out a new library

 So since we had just gone to the library on Tuesday we didn't need to go again on Thursday which left me with an entire afternoon where I didn't have anything planned.  So I decided to try a couple of new recipes I had bought ingredients for.

First up was homemade fruit snacks.  I've been wanting to make these for a while because 3 of the girls love them.  I would probably spend $30 a month just on fruit snacks if I bought them as many as they wanted.  Since they have zero nutritional value and don't fill them up at all I rarely buy them.  But when I saw the recipe that only involved jello, gelatin and water I decided to try it out.  I couldn't find any molds to use so I ended up just putting them in a pan and cutting them into small squares.  I thought they turned out pretty good and the girls all approved.  It was actually very easy to make.  I'll be making them again, although I might try sugar free jello next time.

I pulled that thing out of the pan in one piece!

 I also attempted to make banana chips.  We had a couple of bananas that were starting to turn.  Not one person in this house likes bananas if they have any spots on them so instead of just tossing them I decided to try drying out the bananas in the oven.  The recipe I found said to just dip them in lemon juice and put them in the oven for four hours on 200 degrees.  I think I might have sliced the bananas too thin.  Whatever I did, they turned out awful!  The good thing was that I hadn't bought anything extra so I didn't feel too bad about the fail.  Other than the pan being a pain to clean!

Going in the oven

Fail!  Makes me laugh just looking at it!

Lastly I made some energy/granola bars.  These turned out awesome!  The only problem was that I only had old fashioned oats instead of instant oats so the bars aren't staying together very well.  I'm glad these turned out well.  We spend more of our grocery budget on snacks than I would like to. Which is why I tried these in the first place--trying to make something the girls would like that would replace some of their snacks they eat in the afternoons.  They were a hit with everyone so I'll be making them again. 

Yummy!

So 2 out of 3 tries isn't too bad.  I won't mention how two of the new dinners I tried this past week were major flops.  They weren't complete disasters because the girls liked them, but I didn't, so they go down as a flop in my book.  Considering how many new recipes I've tried since we've moved I guess I'm lucky I haven't had more failures.  As long as I have more successes than failures I'll consider myself to be ahead!

The first 10 lbs

So I've held off writing about this for quite awhile.  Once you put it out there for people to see and know you can't take it back.  Because even though it is pretty obvious to anyone who looks at me that I need to lose some weight, admitting that I'm actually working on it is a little scary.  However, I have officially lost my first 10 lbs and I finally feel motivated to keep doing what I'm doing. So here I go, putting it out there for the whole world to know.  Or at least the 5 of you who read this blog!

I've struggled with my weight for a long time.  I don't ever remember not being self-conscious about it.  Even as a young girl I remember thinking that I weighed too much.  Looking back at pictures of myself I realize that I wasn't overweight, I just had a different body type than what I thought I was supposed to.  I was a little heavier than I should have been in highschool, but not by a lot. 

Fast forward through 20 lbs gained during the first year of marriage and 20 lbs gained for each child and that is where I am at right now.  Between babies #2 and #3 I joined Weight Watchers and lost 50 pounds.  And then I got pregnant again, gained it all back plus a little, and could never get motivated to lose the weight again. 

After we moved in September I tried jumping back in to Weight Watchers.  I knew it had worked for me before, but I could not get into it enough to stick with it.  I'm not a fan of drinking shakes instead of meals, that's not something I can or will keep up long term.  And I definitely am not going to start taking any miracle pills, as tempting as the thought of fast weight loss is.  I'm smart enough to know that doesn't work in the long term. 

What got me motivated this time was reading something my sister put on Facebook about how she decided one day she needed to lose some weight so she cut back on what she was eating and lost 50 pounds.  Now, I was not oblivious to her weight loss, but I had no idea she had lost that much.  When I saw that I was inspired to try it myself.  No, no--really.  I was inspired.  It had nothing to do with the fact that I am her older sister and thought to myself, "Well if she can do it I can certainly do it!" Nothing like that!

However the motivation hit me, it hit.  So I started really paying attention to when I was full.  I left food on my plate, even when it was really good and I wanted more.  I quit eating whatever I wanted because I could.  I quit snacking at night.  If I wanted something sweet, which is my worst weakness, I ate just a few bites of something.  All those little things started adding up and now I have lost my first 10 pounds.  And I am excited! 

I think anyone who has had to lose weight knows that when you finally make the decision to lose weight you do whatever you need to do to get it done.  I did when I lost those 50 pounds the first time.  And that motivation has come and gone off and on since then.  But now I feel it back in full force.  I remember how it feels to know that I can lose the weight.  I remember how good it feels to step on the scale and see the numbers going down.  When I am tempted to overeat or to eat more sweets I can tell myself no easier because I know that losing the weight will feel better than anything I put in my mouth. 

I've read a few things that say that losing the first 10 pounds is always the hardest.  I had to laugh when I read that because when I'm looking at losing 100, the first 10 seems like a drop in the bucket.  But then I realized that 10 out of 100 is 10 percent (yeah, I'm teaching fractions and percents right now).  For whatever reason, 10% sounds a lot better than just saying 10 pounds.  I'm a couponer--10% off is a fairly decent deal!  So--here's to my first 10%.  I'll keep you updated as my percent gets higher and higher!

Baby Girl #4 turns 3!

Age 2

Age 3

Baby Girl #4 turned 3 this last Friday.  She actually got to string the celebration out over a couple of days since Daddy was out of town for 3 days.  Good thing she is 3 and has no concept of when  her birthday actually is or that she could have milked it more than she did!  As it was she was just glad to be able to go out to dinner Friday night with Mommy and her sisters and open a couple of gifts.  Saturday we waited until Daddy got home and then had cake and opened the rest of her gifts.  I was reminded once again that it was just as exciting for her to get a sleeve of stickers as it was for her to get her brand new tricycle.  Everything is so simple and black and white when you're 3!  And I love that.  It's possible that by this time next year she won't be as excited about the stickers, so I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts! 

Stickers!

Not crazy about the sombrero!

She really was happy!

No Peeking!

Big girls lift the whole cake up!

 This last year has seen a lot of changes for #4.  We moved towards the end of the year which meant learning to adjust to a new home, new faces at church, and trying to understand where her friends where that she used to see all the time.  She has adapted very well to these changes. 

So well in fact, that she is now going to sleep in her bed without Hubby or I having to sit in the room with her.  We've been trying to break her of that for at least a year and a half.  Did I mention that she is the youngest of four and one of the most stubborn children I know?  But she has apparently decided that now it is OK to just lay in there with her big sister to go to sleep instead of having to have Mommy or Daddy.  I am extremely happy about this! 

About a week before she decided to go to sleep on her own she also started sleeping all night in her own bed.  Around the time she turned 2 and started coming in and getting in bed with us without either of us noticing, we stopped trying to put her back in her own bed multiple times each night.  As a result, each night between 1 and 3 a.m. she would come in, tap one of us on the arm and then fall right back to sleep when we stuck her between us.  Neither Hubby or I were crazy about this, but neither of us was willing to actually get out of bed and sit with her for 30 minutes while she went back to sleep in her own bed, so we dealt with it.  I have no idea why she started staying in her room all night.  It just kind of happened all of a sudden.  My sleep and my back pain have both improved dramatically as a result!

One more big thing is that #4 is completely potty trained!  She has gone several weeks without a single accident and is very proud to be wearing her big girl panties all the time.  Once again, it was like a switch just turned on in her head and she decided that she wanted to go in the potty.  She stopped having accidents after just a couple of days.  This aspect of her personality is something I'm going to have to remember when she starts school!

So I'm breathing a small sigh of relief with her turning 3.  This last year as been one where she has tested her limits and pushed her boundaries.  But as much as she has frustrated us, she is also full of joy.  She has a smile that lights up a room and a laugh that is absolutely contagious.  She gives the best hugs and kisses you'll ever get.  She loves to play with her sisters, usually without fussing at them, but she also plays really well on her own.  She walks a fine line between wanting to be grown up like her sisters and wanting to be a little girl cuddling with her Daddy.  I love each new stage that she comes to and watching her go flying by it and on to the next one.  If this next year is anything like the last year, it's going to be a blast!

Pretend Play

Eating lunch afterward

This past Monday we went on a field trip with one of the homeschool groups I have joined.  I honestly didn't do any research on the place that we were supposed to be going, other than to see that it was within 10 miles of our house.  There has not been anywhere close to the same number of field trips available that we were used to before we moved.  Each homeschool group is different, and the biggest one we joined has actually only had field trips geared towards Kindergarteners.  Luckily, as with most homeschool groups, siblings of all ages are welcome to come to any field trips.  Normally I'm pretty picky about what field trips we go on because even though they technically count as a school day, we get no actual school work done on those days.  So I'm not wanting to have a field trip every week.  But because we still don't really know anything to do in this area and haven't had a chance to get to know any homeschooling families I want to go on as many group trips as possible to get to know some other families.  Which is why I didn't really care where we were going for this particular trip. 


Turns out that where we were going was called Pretend Play--and it was awesome!  I've seen places like this before, but we haven't been to one since #3 was a baby.  It is just a spot in a strip mall, but inside they have made several "pretend" stations.  This one happened to have

a baby/house area,

 a vet clinic,

a dress-up area,

a firehouse, a dirt/construction area,

 a train station, a stage and costumes, a castle with a slide, an entire table of Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, a glow in the dark space station, a craft room,

a puppet show,

 a reading nook, a kitchen, a restaurant and a grocery store. 

And my girls loved all of it!  They even had an area for babies under 2 that I let #4 go in for a few minutes when she was getting overwhelmed from too many people. 

It really was one of the best places like this I've seen.  #1 and #2 didn't enjoy it quite as much as the little girls just because there wasn't really anyone else their age there, but they kept good attitudes about it and found enough stuff to keep themselves occupied. 

Overall, it was a great couple of hours for the girls, we met a few new families, and best of all, I got information for another homeschooling group that I've already contacted and signed up for another field trip to go strawberry picking with.  This makes my third group.  I will eventually find one that fits our family!

Finally got to use my birthday present

My birthday is exactly two weeks after Christmas.  Now that I have children that usually means that after we purchase Christmas gifts and gifts for Baby Girl #3 whose birthday is actually only 8 days after Christmas, that there is usually not a lot left to purchase gifts for me.  Hubby does his best to make sure that I get something, but it's a little hard when there is no money.

This year Hubby asked what I wanted for my birthday at the beginning of December.  At that time I was going a little stir crazy.  Usually I'm OK being home all day every day with the girls, but every so often I have had enough and I really need a break just to myself.  When he asked happened to be one of those times.  So when he asked what I wanted all I could think of was having a day to myself and a little bit of spending money to spend on whatever I wanted.  And that is exactly what I got!  Actually, he also got me a Groupon for a one hour massage, but I don't get to use that until the first part of April. 

The money has been sitting on my headboard since the first part of January, but with my sister's wedding at the beginning of March we were pretty busy and I didn't have a chance to have my day.  But now that that is behind us I finally got to go.  I did a whole lot of nothing.  I had a coupon burning in my pocket so I went shoe shopping and found a couple pairs of shoes for $25 total.  The only thing better than buying new shoes is buying new shoes and getting a great deal!  I also went to a couple of movies, browsed Hobby Lobby and sat in the shade and read a book.  I got home after the girls were in bed.  The house was clean and I had no jobs waiting for me to do. 

I enjoyed the time to myself.  Even though the cabin fever had passed, I still enjoyed shopping on my own and having no one asking me a million question for several hours.  And to be perfectly honest, I enjoyed not having to share my candy and popcorn at the movies!  But at the end of the day I wondered if I would ever request this gift of a day to myself again.  I enjoy being around other people too much.  While the peace and quiet was nice, I don't think I need it that often.  Time without kids, sure.  But I would rather spend time with Hubby or friends than be by myself. 

I am very thankful for the time I got to spend by myself.  I do feel recharged.  But I think that the next time I'm asked what I want for my birthday I'll pick something else.  Like Sees chocolate--just in case you were wondering!

If you would just tell me...

My Hubby is very good about eating whatever I make and never complaining about it.  I have watched some husbands who snarl their noses at what their wives put in front of them or just flat out refuse to eat it and I'm shocked every time.  Especially when most of those husbands don't even think about helping in the kitchen.  I think it is incredibly disrespectful for anyone, man, woman or child, to complain about food that other people have made for them.  My own children aren't even allowed to make comments about the food I make unless I ask them for their feedback, and even then they are to be respectful if they tell me they don't like it.  And heaven help them if they complain about something someone else makes for us.

OK, sorry for the soapbox, it's one of my pet peeves.  Anyway, the only time I actually remember Hubby not wanting to eat something I made was about 2 months ago when I made something that had sweet potatoes in it.  He had pushed them all over to the side and when I saw them in his bowl I raised my eyebrows and asked if he really wasn't going to eat them.  He rolled his eyes at me and proceeded to eat them all.  After which he tells me that he HATES sweet potatoes.  Not just doesn't like them, but that thinking about eating them actually makes  him kind of sick to his stomach.  I was beyond shocked.  After being married to this man for 12 years I had no idea he felt like this about sweet potatoes.  If I had known I wouldn't have cooked with them and I certainly wouldn't have questioned why he wasn't eating them.  I asked if there were any other food preferences I should know about.  He says no, but I have to wonder what else he hasn't told me.

OK, stick with me, that was just the intro to the story.  A few months ago I found a recipe on Pinterest for sourdough bread.  I enjoy making bread and rolls, especially since it is much cheaper than buying them, so I figured I would give it a go.  Well first of all, it is a pretty involved recipe.  And by involved I mean that I had to read it several times just to understand what it was that I was supposed to do.  Sourdough bread evidently involves a starter.  Some of you may know what I'm talking about.  I had no idea what it was or what I was supposed to do with it.  I finally figured it out and made the starter.

 This is from the blog where I got the recipe

So after two weeks of getting the starter going I made my first two loaves.  They weren't that impressive.  I figured out I let them rise too long.  The thing with a starter is, once you have one you just keep it in the fridge until you make more.  So I tried again a couple of weeks later and the loaves turned out pretty good.  However, I decided that since it actually takes 2 days to allow the loaves to sit and rise the way they are supposed to, and I have a hard time remembering to get them started the day before I need them, that I was going to just dump the starter and forget about sourdough bread. 

I pulled the bowl out at lunch to dump it and told Hubby what I was going to do.  He was like, "Well, OK.  If that's what you want to do."  But it was said in that "I guess that's OK, but I really don't want you to" voice.  Turns out he really likes the sourdough bread.  He told me I should know that because he's told me both times he ate it how good it was.  Apparently I'm too used to him complimenting me on my cooking.  He said I could go ahead and dump the starter if I really didn't want to mess with it anymore.  The thing is, when I know Hubby or my girls really like something, I like to make it for them.  I find satisfaction in cooking and baking things my family enjoys.  All I'm asking is for them to tell me when they like or dislike something.  Because I am apparently terrible on picking up the hints!

Date night--in the afternoon

Today Hubby and I were able to go on a date.  It's a bigger deal than you might think!  Not having any family around to watch our kids for free means we rarely get to go out by ourselves.

Love him!

  Before we moved we had a date night co-op going on with two other families.  One set of parents would watch all the children while the other two sets of parents went out for about 4 hours.  It would switch every month so that each set of parents was able to go out 2 out of the 3 months.  I was so thankful for that.  Out of the three couples, none of us had parents or grandparents anywhere close.  So anytime we wanted to go out we ended up paying more for a sitter than we spent on ourselves for the date.  So this co-op was a real blessing for us.

When we moved I assumed that it would take a while to find other families that we could do this with.  Not only does it take time to meet new families, but there is also finding people that we would trust our children with for four hours.  Luckily, one of the families at church wanted to do it with us.  We thought maybe another family would want to, but I ended up feeling like I was pressuring the Mom into doing it, so I dropped it.  Not that I blame her--she has two girls.  When it was their turn to watch all the kids they would get an extra 7 girls dumped on them.  Not the fairest trade off!  And doing it with just one other family, we decided that we would like to actually go out once a month.  So on two different weekends we trade kids and each of us get to go out each month.  I'm very excited!

I know you're desperately wondering what we did during our few hours to ourselves.  We went to Whole Foods!  No kidding!  I mean, we also used a gift card to go to PF Changs, my most favorite restaurant ever.  Then we went to Whole Foods, just to look around.  We had never been in before and figured going without kids first would probably be a good idea.  Cool store.  After spending $5 on powdered sugar and $7 for some cut fruit (that was amazing by the way) I decided that we could start shopping there if we didn't have to pay rent.  So we are now actively looking for an empty house to squat in.  I hear you can do that now.  We also stopped by Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.  Not exactly Sees Candy, but it'll do.  We got chocolate to go and then went to a book store, splurged and actually bought ourselves new books.  Then we sat outside with a coffee and our chocolate and read for a few minutes.  It would have been longer, but our friends watching the girls texted and said that our neighbor had come over and was acting a little weird, asking for Hubby.  Turns out she needed a little counseling.  I blame Hubby's skills in that department for our date being cut short.  Luckily it was only by about 30 minutes!

This is how we're most likely to act when no one else is watching

Overall, it was just a low key, somewhat cheap date.  But I'm so excited that we get to do this every month.  Time spent with him is the best way to spend a day!

Baby Girl #3 can ride!

A few weeks ago Baby Girl #3 told us that she was ready to ride her bike without training wheels on.  One of her big gifts for Christmas was getting a new bike.  Unfortunately for her, Momma bought one online thinking I knew the right size she needed.  Turns out the one we got was too small.  I was all for taking it back and exchanging it, but because I had gotten such a good deal when I ordered her first one, we couldn't get another one for her without paying another $50.  Which is quite a bit of money right after Christmas and two birthdays.  So we told her we would hold off until she couldn't ride the little one at all anymore and then we would upgrade. 

I figured she would be using her training wheels for a while.  I don't remember exactly how old #1 and #2 were when we took their training wheels off, but I remember it took them a long time to learn without them.  So when the older two came in and asked if they could take the training wheels off and teach #3 themselves, Hubby and I said yes, smirking to each other, confident that they would be in 5 minutes later disappointed that they weren't able to teach her.

Well, they were in 5 minutes later, but it wasn't in defeat.  They proudly exclaimed that #3 could ride her bike all by herself without training wheels.  Hubby and I were pretty skeptical, but sure enough, when we went out there and watched, #3 got on and got started and took off without any assistance.  I'm pretty sure my jaw was hanging open.  I don't know if she caught on so much quicker because she's been riding more than her sisters got a chance to at our other house or if she is just majorly talented.  Either way, her Daddy and I were suitably impressed.  And also impressed with her older sisters who taught her. 

One other moment of pride in that moment was when Hubby asked how they had gotten the training wheels off in the first place.  I'm sure no other parent has ever done this, but when #1 asked if she could take the training wheels off, Hubby and I were in the middle of a conversation and just said yes without really listening to the question.  So when Hubby asked #1 how she got the wheels off he was very proud when she told him that she got a wrench and figured out how to use it to take the wheels off.  I was even impressed with that. That feeling lasted about 10 seconds.  Because when Hubby asked #1 what kind of wrench it was she replied, "Shiny."  I guess you can't take all the girlishness out at once!

Just a little venting...

I have had some health issues pop back the last couple of days so I didn't go to church yesterday.  I read most of the day, but I finished what I was reading around 7 so I turned on the TV for a little bit.  I ended up on what I thought was the Oscars, but turns out it was the pre-show fashion show.  I watched for about 10 minutes and then I had to turn it off.  I couldn't believe that so much time was dedicated completely towards critiquing every last person that showed up.  What they were wearing, how their hair was done, who they were with, what purse they were carrying, what nail polish they had on, if they had a bugger hanging out their nose...  OK, probably not the last two, but that is what it felt like.  Don't get me wrong, I sometimes like looking at different fashion magazines, but the fact that so much time was spent on this seemed like a complete waste of everyone's time.  The fact that there were people riveted to their tv watching this was unfathomable to me.

Which got me thinking about the Oscars in general.  Did you know that when someone is nominated for an Oscar but doesn't win they receive a gift basket worth $45,000?  Yeah, you read that right.  The nominees who don't win receive gifts worth more than a lot of families make in an entire year!  Now I don't know how many awards they actually give out, but let's say there are 100 Oscars actually given.  That means that for all the Oscars that are won there are 500 losers.  That is a grand total of $22,500,000 spent on the losers.  I did the math twice.  Over 22 million dollars given out to the losers.  Please understand, I am a conservative Republican.  I believe in and support capitalism.  I do not believe that taking money from those who have earned it and giving it to others will ever work.  My question is, why are these actors and actresses, the vast majority of whom spout support of green living and Obamacare and taxing the wealthy more, not taking a stand and insisting that the 22 million dollars be used for something other than gift certificates for spending a day at clown school?  Yeah, that was a real prize this year.  A chance to go to clown school.  I can't make this stuff up people! 

Seriously though, that money could have been used for so much good.  Support for the victims of Sandy who are still struggling to rebuild.  Clean water for how many villages in Africa.  Any number of children or research hospitals.  Schools struggling to keep their art programs alive.  Good grief, give it to a company that will provide electric cars to people.  I don't care what it goes to, but couldn't it be spend better?  It's not like we're asking them to give up money they have legitimately earned.  Just prizes that are worth money that other people want to give them.  It literally makes me feel ill to think of the amount of money that was wasted last night.  And makes me angry to think about all of those people who received those gifts and then turn around and use their status to talk about how horrible our country is because we don't take care of those in need.

OK, I feel a little bit better having vented.  I hope I didn't offend anyone who genuinely likes watching the Oscars, that wasn't my point.  I just wanted to shed a little light on something that I never knew myself until this year.

Best Writing Curriculum Ever!

Baby Girls #1 and #2 completed their first paper of the year.  Before you judge, I purposely didn't start this curriculum until after Christmas.  We have another Language Arts program that I use and really love.  I wanted to focus on that the first part of the year. But after the Christmas break I wanted the girls to have an actual writing curriculum along with the Language Arts. 

I can't take credit for finding the curriculum.  We joined an academic co-op at the beginning of the 11/12 school year.  We were only in it for the first semester, but I was introduced to this writing curriculum.  At first I wasn't crazy about it because it seems really confusing for Baby Girl #1, but after the first month or so we found our groove and I realized how awesome it is. 

Why is it so awesome?  First of all, the writing process is put forth almost like a formula.  A formula that you follow each and every time you write a paper.  You always start with an outline.  You always brainstorm for quality adjectives, strong verbs, and adverbs.  In each paper you have a certain number of "dress-ups" that you have to have.  You always have a first draft that you revise and then write a final copy.  As we get further along there will be vocabulary words that they learn that they will then have to incorporate into their papers.  I love that as my children get more familiar with the process it will become a habit for them to write like this. What I think is especially awesome is that this is a process that they will become familiar enough with that I will be able to have a short lesson with them at the beginning of the week teaching any new concepts and then they will be able to finish the rest of the work on their own.  There is always a checklist to remind them of what they have to have in their paper, so there is no excuses for them to not get it right. 

Not only does teaching them to add these dress-ups in their writing help me not die of boredom when reading their papers, it also translates into making their every day speech more interesting.  For example, I would like my child to tell me that the fireworks display was breathtakingly amazing instead of telling me it was cool.  I firmly believe that when they are able to write papers and add those kinds of words in without having to think about it that they will begin to use those types of words in their everyday speech!  And I think that is really cool!  ;)

So what is this curriculum?  It is the Institute for Excellence in Writing.  Don't be intimidated when you look on their website.  They have a lot of products, including a DVD set that they recommend you watch before trying to teach their curriculum.  But I have never watched them and I don't have any problems understanding anything.  Granted, I had the best English teacher in high school, but I haven't had any English beyond that.  I don't even get the teacher book, just the student book, which states that I can make copies for multiple children in my own family.  That means that I am spending just $29 a year for our writing curriculum.  Can't beat that!

So it might seem a little ridiculous to be this excited about our curriculum, but as other homeschooling moms will understand, when you find something that you really love you want to pass that information to as many other moms as possible!

#2 turns 9!

Today is Baby Girl #2's birthday.  We kind of celebrated all weekend long with her.  Or more correctly, she's gotten pampered all weekend.  And she has taken full advantage of it!

Friday we went to Chuck E. Cheese.  I'm sure you remember that that is one of my least favorite places to go.  We thought there was another pizza place that had games in it here, but when we looked it up online there were no games.  So Chuck E. Cheese it was.  Fun was had by all the girls.  Although I think #1 is getting why I don't like it.  She told us that she was disappointed because the games there don't give out hardly any tickets.  Exactly! 

This is what $30 in tokens will get you!

 Anyway, after Chuck E. Cheese we took them to get an ice cream cone.  Baskin Robbins has some of the same flavors now that they did when I was a kid.  Anyone else remember the bubble gum ice cream that had actual bubble gum pieces in it?  Seriously, who thought that was a good idea?  The girls enjoy me telling them what flavors I used to get.

For dinner we had nachos, #2's request for the night.  We also had red velvet cupcakes, also the request of #2.  Want to know my Mommy fail moment of the night?  When I went to put candles on one of the cupcakes I realized that I only had 8.  She turned 9.  Kind of defeats the purpose of having candles if you don't have the right amount. My solution?  Hubby held a lit match up next to the cupcake as we walked it out singing.  It counts, right?  I think it is safe to say that we were done with junk food for the rest of the weekend.

Early in the week last week I got online with #2 to have her pick out an 18'' doll.  Why she wants one, I don't know, but she did.  We ended up getting one that was exactly what she wanted on Ebay.  It actually came on Friday, but she didn't know it so she didn't open it up until today.  She loves it!

The biggest moment of today was that she got to get her ears pierced.  #1 got her ears pierced the first time when she was 8.  Turns out her ears are very sensitive and they got infected a couple of times and we had to let them grow back in.  She got them pierced again at 9 and has done much better with them. Unfortunately for #2, that experience taught me that 9 might be a better age to get the ears pierced than 8, so #2 had to wait until this year.  She's been talking about it since her last birthday.  She was excited all day today, but as we got closer to actually getting it done she got more and more nervous.  I took her to dinner with just the two of us first, thinking that after she got it done she wouldn't feel like eating.  In retrospect, I probably should have taken her to eat afterward.  She was so nervous before hand that she could hardly eat anything.  Even when the staff made her a birthday treat, she just couldn't eat.

They made a really cute little palm tree out of bananas and kiwis

 But she did very well getting them done.  She cried a little, which is totally OK.  But now she is feeling fine, and loving her earrings.  She feels so grown up and special. 

Look close, they're there!

 I'm just amazed that it was 9 years ago that she was born.  She was so unexpected and arrived at a difficult time in our lives, but we are truly blessed to have her as our daughter.  She is so much like me in so many ways, which is great for the rest of the world, but it drives me a little nuts.  She has the best laugh and biggest heart.  She loves to think she is so grown up, but she still loves to play with her little sisters.  She creates songs and plays that are beyond impressive.  I can't wait to see what the coming years with her brings.  I don't know what they'll hold, but I can guarantee they'll be a blast!

Random Going Ons

Baby Girl #4 has slept all night in her own bed for the last two nights.  I'm not getting my hopes up, but maybe it'll become permanent.  I'll let you know how that goes.

Notice I didn't say how restful it has been not having her in the bed with us.  That is because last night I had Baby Girl #3 in bed with me instead.  She came in around 4 burning up with a fever.  Not sure what is going on with her, just that she does this sometimes.  Usually when I haven't made her lay down and take a nap for too many days in a row.  Thankfully, it doesn't appear to be the flu!

For her or Hubby who has also been laying in bed all day with an upset stomach.  He apparently was up for several hours early this morning as well.  I didn't notice.  I've made up for it today by getting him anything he wanted and keeping the girls out of the room.  A feat unto itself.  Anytime Daddy is home they want to be with him.

Baby Girl #2's birthday is less than a week away.  I'm sure if I asked her she could tell me exactly how many hours it is. The child can not make a decision to save her life.  We gave her the option two weeks ago of either going bowling, to Mr. Gatti's Pizza (think Chucke Cheese) or going to the movies.  She has changed her mind no less than 20 times.  She knows that if she hasn't decided before Thursday that we're making the decisions for her.  She'll probably change her mind 10 more times between now and then.

When we lived in Houston I was signed up for with a market research company that I did several focus groups with.  You go in, give your opinion about something, and they pay you for it.  Nothing like that where we are now, but I am still signed up with several companies that do everything online.  I've been involved in a study about bottled water this last week.  I've never drank so much water every day in my entire life!

We're going to California this summer.  Hubby is holding a meeting for a church out there and we're all tagging along.  The 30 hour drive will be no fun, but we are really looking forward to seeing our family and friends out there, as well as going and doing something fun.  Like a vacation, maybe?  I have to keep reminding myself it is still 6 months away.  I want to start making lists already.

My sister is getting married in 2 1/2 weeks.  We've been getting packages almost every day with dresses and shoes for the girls and I.  I've been pinning boards on Pinterest to get ideas for hair for all of us.  I'm going to have to be very aware of the time it takes to get all of us ready.  We're all looking forward to it.

There is an ice cream drumstick in the freezer seriously shouting my name now that the girls are all in bed.  I've been good all day.  I think I will answer the call!

Awkward....

Our church started the reading the Bible through in a year at the first part of the year.  Hubby and I decided that we were going to read in the evening with our girls and go through it with them.  I'm not going to lie, we've missed a few days.  For the most part we get caught up quickly, but there have been a few times that we've just said that we're going to skip ahead to where we should be.  I figure as long as we don't quit we'll be doing good. 

The bad part?  There are some things in the old testament that are a little awkward to talk about with the girls.  And we're not talking about Song of Solomon awkward.  More like explaining what circumcision is.  And why a concubine is different than a wife.  And why that was ok then, but not now.  And why Abraham was married to his sister.  Lovely topics, all of them.  The best was discussing what happened in Sodom and Gomorrah.  We were able to discuss all of it calmly and matter-of-factly, but I'm not going to lie--I wish we didn't have to have those conversations.

But that got me thinking about another subject that we need to start discussing with the girls.  Homosexuality.  One of the big reasons we homeschool is the ability to keep our children innocent and ignorant about a lot of sins for as long as possible.  It has bothered me for many years how the homosexuals are pushing their agenda on our children.  One of my brothers asked me once what I meant by the "homosexual agenda."  To me it is the teaching of our children from a very young age that being a homosexual is completely OK and something someone is born with that they can't do anything about.  As a Christian I see over and over in the Bible where it talks about homosexuality as being a violation of God's Law.  It is not natural nor is it something that we as Christians should tolerate.  Now I'm not saying we should approach homosexuality with hate and fear.  We should approach it just like any other sin.  But when there are children's books for young children about Heather's Two Mommies or My Two Uncles that to me is an agenda to start teaching our children from a very young age that homosexuality is completely normal and that if you don't agree, you are the one that is wrong.

I am very glad that up to this point I haven't had to discuss with my children what homosexuality is.  Not because it would be awkward, but because the knowledge of sin brings the Christian heart sorrow.  I can not teach my children about homosexuality without also teaching them the sorrow that we as Christians have for those who sin.  I would like my children to not have to bear that burden of sorrow for as long as possible.

But a few days ago I had a friend put on FB a book published by Apologetics Press entitled Does God Love Michael's Two Daddies?  It is a children's book addressing the issue of homosexuality.  When I saw it I really started thinking about the fact that our oldest two are probably old enough to start talking to them about this.  It is apparent to me that we can not start teaching our daughters why a sin is wrong in God's eyes without first teaching them what the sin is. 

We'll probably be buying that book soon and having a discussion with our daughters about it in the near future.  And a litttle bit of my children's innocence will be gone when we start discussing sin in the world today.  And they will never be able to get that innocence back.  And that makes me incredibly sad.

Come quickly Lord Jesus!

Nothing says fun like sticking your hand in a cow's stomach!

Disclaimer--If you have a queasy stomach, proceed with caution.  I have pictures of animal organs and talk about said organs.  Don't say I didn't warn you!

It pays to have friends who have lived in this city all their lives.  Why?  Because they know about all the cool things going on that you normally wouldn't have any idea about.  Yesterday the cool thing was the LSU vet school having their annual open house.  Now normally I would ignore this information because I'm not exactly looking for information about a vet school.  But because this cool friend knew about it she informed me that they actually had a lot of cool things that the kids would love and it was free.  We had no other plans so after looking online to get us exact directions so that we wouldn't get lost in the downtown/college area we took off and met our friends.

The very first room we went in showed several different hearts of animals.  One was a dog's heart.  With heart worms in it.  I've heard a lot about heart worms, but haven't really spent a lot of time of what they might actually look like.  If you are like me, allow me to enlighten you.  They are really skinny worms whose larva are delivered through a mosquito bite that make their way through a dog's body, into his heart and then begin to grow.  The heart that they showed looked like an organ with angel hair spaghetti in it.  It was gross.  My wonderful friend has informed me that she got a picture of all our girls looking at the heart with much interest and I'm in the background horrified.  When she puts in on her blog I will provide a link.  It was gross.

Here our girls are playing with cow and dog eyeballs.  Again, gross.  But being the good mother that I am when #4 wanted to touch one I put a glove on her and held her up so she could hold one.  And being the mean mother that I am I made #1 pick it up again so I could take a picture when she was clearly horrified to be touching it.  What can I say, she needed some more science.

This is all #3 wanted to have with the eyeballs.

Another fun room was where they had two cows set up with a hole in their side that you could stick your hand into its stomach.  #2's face pretty much sums it up.  Never one to pass up a learning experience, I asked the people there why the cows had holes in their stomachs.  I figured they had to do surgery because they were sick.  Turns out they do it because if they have another sick cow come in they can take the digested food out of these cow's stomachs and give it to the sick cows and it supposedly has the right amount of bacteria and nutrition to help the sick cow get better.  See how educational this day was?  And just in case you're wondering, the girls didn't actually touch anything in the stomach.  I however looked inside it and it wasn't gross or slimy.  It looked like a barrel full of mulched alfalfa.  The smell was pretty bad though.

Can't have a vet school open house without some cute baby animals to pet.  And let me tell you, those vet school students were so excited to be holding these animals so all the crazy children could go by in a line and pet them. 

Last, but in no way least, the heart and lung of a cow.  But it isn't just any old lung laying there on a table.  Oh no, they have it hooked up to a machine that makes it move like air is going in and out of it.  #4 had to touch it.  She was fearless and wanted to touch everything all day.  I'm pretty sure #1 and #2 touched it as well.  This was the only organ I touched.  It was actually very soft and squishy.  And yes, squishy is a scientific word.  I know because the vet student used it to describe the lung while trying to convince me to touch it!

All in all, it was a really fun day.  Now that I'm in the know, we'll make sure and go back every year!