Here it is...the calm after the storm. Yep, still have a pulse...I know because its pounding in my head. I love my blog, its like my longtime friends who live far away or my nearby friends who are unusually busy...my blog is always here and we just pickup where we left off. So here goes, pull up a chair fix yourself a cuppa coffee or tea and let me bend your ear.
Okay, so if you haven't heard by now...we are home schooling. This is pretty high on the list of things I never thought I'd do. It is up there with sky-diving, or say...swimming with Nile crocodiles. You know the saying "money talks"? Well our money said, "You're tripping!" when we were trying to find a way to re-enroll in the private Christian school our oldest son has gone to since Kindergarten. No super-spiritual calling to home school, just plain can't afford private and don't want to trust the public school system with my children for 8 hours of his day for the better part of his life.
I was a little late getting my act together too, not because of procrastination. We moved this Summer and behind that came planning for school including finding a church school covering and deciding on textbooks. So as it ended up, we had our first field trip before our first official day of school!
Off we went to the Exploreum...me, Jack(7), Andrew(3), & Will(1)...for an IMAX film about the Amazon and "Beyond Green" the frog exhibit. Turns out, both topics were appropriate as my children behaved much like the Amazon Jungle natives throughout the museum and exhibits. They were way ahead of me, hopping around from one thing to the next not giving themselves time to actually see or do anything that we PAID good money to do! When I did catch the precious little hoppers, I explained to them that they do not live in the jungle and I'd appreciate it if they could remember that the next time I dare to venture out in public with them again...all at the same time.
About the same time as our field trip, we had an incident at home. I'm enlisting the help of chore charts, very simple ones, to help my children keep up with their responsibilities each day. It is not working. I'm gonna give it time, I think its just still new to them, so we'll see. ANYWAY...first on the list is what I call their "morning routine". So I sent them off after breakfast one morning to get on with their "morning routines" (dress, make beds, tidy up room, brush teeth & hair). So, I have the baby and 7 & 3 are in the bathroom to brush their teeth...when I hear this noise. Can't even describe it now...kind of like a crack-clang-bang with a holla at the end. Not a good sound.
It'd been a rough morning for me, I looked like one of those Wal-Mart baby mamas (sorry for the stereotype-but you know what I mean). With baby on my hip and a crazed look on my face I went down the hall to see what made "the sound". (I'd also like to say here I had not had my time with Jesus or coffee at this point.) I looked in the bathroom, saw 7 & 3 with their jaws hanging open and the fear of God Almighty on their countenances. Just beyond them was the wall...missing two chunks of sheet rock where a towel bar used to hang. My mouth opened and what came out was, "Damn it!" (I know, I know, it was terrible!) Then the excuses and explanations started flying..."HE MADE ME DO IT!" "I'M SORRY MAMA!" "NO! HEEEE MADE MEEEE DO IT!" "WE WERE JUST WORKING OUT!" what?!?!?!?!?! Working out? Yeah, they decided to do chin ups on the towel bar. It didn't hold.
So later that afternoon, after confession, we're doing color pages of realistic toads and frogs like they'd seen at the Exploreum. We were talking about the exhibit and filling out our field trip worksheet for Science actually enjoying our first home school activity at home. So Andrew colors this frog then comes to me and asks, "Mom, can you write his name on my paper for me?" So, I'm excited he's interested and said enthusiastically, "Of course! What's his name?" Andrew then says, "Damn." (choke) "I'm sorry, did you say Tim?" He replies, "Noooo Mom, daaammmnnn." My reply, "Well that's not a frog's name...that's what the beavers build, you know like in Narnia! How 'bout Tim? hmm? Tim the Frog." He agreed.
Tim the damn frog hath taught me a lesson! Lord, my life is the taming of the shrew isn't it? I know he sent my children to bless me, even though they stress me, they are a mirror that reflects what is really down in me. I need Jesus! Always will.
Fast-forward....
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Baby Will has turned 1! It was a nice quiet celebration with blue cupcakes and a special birthday hat! The Sesame Street Birthday Band made their regular appearance along with the birthday banner. Silly little things like those really mean a lot to the older boys; 7 & 3 love to hold on to those traditions and were excited to see them out on Will's behalf. We must have sung "Happy Birthday" a thousand times. Fun times and a wonderful memory for us all.
We survived Gustav with only power blinks and steady light rain. The kiddos had cabin fever and liked to drove us bananas, so we started school on Labor Day. How's it going? Well, today it took Jack (7) 2 hours and change to do his Grammar copy work which was to copy the poem "The Goops" by Gelett Burgess. It is 8 short lines. That's all.
This may be my undoing. I almost fell out right here, on the floor. Never mind that I have fever accompanied by a sinus infection with yucky stuff in my head and throat...I almost came undone. I think the fever saved me though...I just didn't have the strength to come unglued. Good for Jack, good for me I guess. I could be confessing much worse tonight otherwise.
So, tomorrow's another day. We've said our prayers talked about what we'll do better and now we trust God...who I know has enjoyed a good laugh or two on us lately.
Okay, so if you haven't heard by now...we are home schooling. This is pretty high on the list of things I never thought I'd do. It is up there with sky-diving, or say...swimming with Nile crocodiles. You know the saying "money talks"? Well our money said, "You're tripping!" when we were trying to find a way to re-enroll in the private Christian school our oldest son has gone to since Kindergarten. No super-spiritual calling to home school, just plain can't afford private and don't want to trust the public school system with my children for 8 hours of his day for the better part of his life.
I was a little late getting my act together too, not because of procrastination. We moved this Summer and behind that came planning for school including finding a church school covering and deciding on textbooks. So as it ended up, we had our first field trip before our first official day of school!
Off we went to the Exploreum...me, Jack(7), Andrew(3), & Will(1)...for an IMAX film about the Amazon and "Beyond Green" the frog exhibit. Turns out, both topics were appropriate as my children behaved much like the Amazon Jungle natives throughout the museum and exhibits. They were way ahead of me, hopping around from one thing to the next not giving themselves time to actually see or do anything that we PAID good money to do! When I did catch the precious little hoppers, I explained to them that they do not live in the jungle and I'd appreciate it if they could remember that the next time I dare to venture out in public with them again...all at the same time.
About the same time as our field trip, we had an incident at home. I'm enlisting the help of chore charts, very simple ones, to help my children keep up with their responsibilities each day. It is not working. I'm gonna give it time, I think its just still new to them, so we'll see. ANYWAY...first on the list is what I call their "morning routine". So I sent them off after breakfast one morning to get on with their "morning routines" (dress, make beds, tidy up room, brush teeth & hair). So, I have the baby and 7 & 3 are in the bathroom to brush their teeth...when I hear this noise. Can't even describe it now...kind of like a crack-clang-bang with a holla at the end. Not a good sound.
It'd been a rough morning for me, I looked like one of those Wal-Mart baby mamas (sorry for the stereotype-but you know what I mean). With baby on my hip and a crazed look on my face I went down the hall to see what made "the sound". (I'd also like to say here I had not had my time with Jesus or coffee at this point.) I looked in the bathroom, saw 7 & 3 with their jaws hanging open and the fear of God Almighty on their countenances. Just beyond them was the wall...missing two chunks of sheet rock where a towel bar used to hang. My mouth opened and what came out was, "Damn it!" (I know, I know, it was terrible!) Then the excuses and explanations started flying..."HE MADE ME DO IT!" "I'M SORRY MAMA!" "NO! HEEEE MADE MEEEE DO IT!" "WE WERE JUST WORKING OUT!" what?!?!?!?!?! Working out? Yeah, they decided to do chin ups on the towel bar. It didn't hold.
So later that afternoon, after confession, we're doing color pages of realistic toads and frogs like they'd seen at the Exploreum. We were talking about the exhibit and filling out our field trip worksheet for Science actually enjoying our first home school activity at home. So Andrew colors this frog then comes to me and asks, "Mom, can you write his name on my paper for me?" So, I'm excited he's interested and said enthusiastically, "Of course! What's his name?" Andrew then says, "Damn." (choke) "I'm sorry, did you say Tim?" He replies, "Noooo Mom, daaammmnnn." My reply, "Well that's not a frog's name...that's what the beavers build, you know like in Narnia! How 'bout Tim? hmm? Tim the Frog." He agreed.
Tim the damn frog hath taught me a lesson! Lord, my life is the taming of the shrew isn't it? I know he sent my children to bless me, even though they stress me, they are a mirror that reflects what is really down in me. I need Jesus! Always will.
Fast-forward....
crop.jpg)
.JPG)
.JPG)
Baby Will has turned 1! It was a nice quiet celebration with blue cupcakes and a special birthday hat! The Sesame Street Birthday Band made their regular appearance along with the birthday banner. Silly little things like those really mean a lot to the older boys; 7 & 3 love to hold on to those traditions and were excited to see them out on Will's behalf. We must have sung "Happy Birthday" a thousand times. Fun times and a wonderful memory for us all.
We survived Gustav with only power blinks and steady light rain. The kiddos had cabin fever and liked to drove us bananas, so we started school on Labor Day. How's it going? Well, today it took Jack (7) 2 hours and change to do his Grammar copy work which was to copy the poem "The Goops" by Gelett Burgess. It is 8 short lines. That's all.
This may be my undoing. I almost fell out right here, on the floor. Never mind that I have fever accompanied by a sinus infection with yucky stuff in my head and throat...I almost came undone. I think the fever saved me though...I just didn't have the strength to come unglued. Good for Jack, good for me I guess. I could be confessing much worse tonight otherwise.
So, tomorrow's another day. We've said our prayers talked about what we'll do better and now we trust God...who I know has enjoyed a good laugh or two on us lately.
Hilarious. Here's a little tip: I've found that, generally, once the word d-a-m-n exits from your lips, there's little you can do to alter the course. So I stick with S-h-i-.....TAKE MUSHROOMS! Or s-h-i-...ITE MUSLIMS. My kids think shitake mushrooms end up in diapers....on the floor after the dog's been couped up too long....and is what you call the man who pulls in front of Mommy on the way home from school. Try it!
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