I need to get motivated!!! I just don't seem to want to do anything. I need someone to come over and blow a whistle at me. Anyone?

Adventures in Homeschooling

We are wrapping up month 2 of homeschooling. I can hardly believe that we have been doing it this long. When we started I thought I knew it all. I thought all those people that talk about how the first couple months is about trial and error and figuring out need vs. want were below me. Well, I was an idiot. We have changed some of the curriculum a time or two. I've organized & re-organized trying to find the most efficient way to keep track of everything. I have even re-arranged our classroom/office because I didn't like the way it felt. I have added things to our day like practicing the guitar and studying his football playbook. There are subjects I thought I could teach without curriculum that I cant. Subjects I thought I needed curriculum for and I have given up and made my own. It's been an adventure. My sanity savers are.....


As you can see I have made several changes to these.

 This was given to me by Ham's 3rd grade teacher.

The duck tape is not what you think it's for so please don't call DHS!

I'm not sure why it is that I feel the need to date stamp everything. I just know I sleep better at night knowing it's done.

The cell phone is so I can call for help when I lose my mind.

A bigger stapler is on my wish list.

What is it you can't go a day without?



Dry Gulch

I had an awesome time with an old friend this weekend. Got to know some really awesome chicks. More on what I got from it when I've had more sleep......

Ham's bday cake

It's not the best I've ever done but the boys loved it and that's what matters. I over booked myself this weekend so it kinda got thrown together at the last minute.

My little Hamster

Ten years ago I brought a baby into this world and I was certain he was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. This is what everyone else saw.


Do you remember that thermometer commercial with the baby and the caption that read "you want to put that where"? Tell me he doesn't look like that baby



But then he got those chubby little cheeks and he really was the cutest thing I ever saw.

Here he is at 2 driving the boat with Gma Irene.

And there's my cutie-tootie at 3.

He mastered the terrible twos at about 3 1/2.

 Awwwwwe. Here he is four.

I think this is 5. I miss that cheesy smile.

 Six.....

Oh the toothless age of seven.

Eight....

Nine. He looks so grown up.



A couple weeks ago...

 This stage I am NOT happy about.

And finally here he is practicing his guitar on his 10th birthday!


Happy Birthday Hamster!!! I love you.

Roll 'Em

This was our fun for the day.

Science booooooo!

I hate science. Sam hates science. However, we plan on switching to K12 next year so he can play sports for the public school here. So....we have to do science so that he will be prepared for next year. I tried to do it without a textbook or curriculum set and it was a disaster.

I could have kissed my mailman when he showed up with this today. But he's my pastor so I didn't. Then Sam tried to hide it. And I used the mom voice to tell him to hand it over. So we are gonna get our science on and like it. Or at least tolerate it.

Down. Set. Hut.

Ham started tackle football this week. It cost me about two fortunes. It also took me about 4 hours to convince him to get the physical once he figured out what they were going to do to him. It's been 3 days and he has yet to forgive me. I have never been a football fan. Watching my baby get the crap beat out of him is not helping my dislike for the sport. Today I went from dislike to downright hatred. Somehow this got worked into our "home school curriculum".....

I want a raise dang it!!! How can I possibly teach the kid the entire playbook when it looks like hieroglyphics to me? Arrrrg.

I'm a believer

Can you really look at something as beautiful as this and still doubt God? I know I can't.

I am

I am a wife.

I am a mother. A homeschooling mother. And a public school mother.

I am God fearing.

I am a friend.

Those are the most important things to me. Next to these my greatest love in life is reading. I was reading newspapers at the age of four. My mother and grandmother would spell out entire conversations that they did not want me to hear when I was small. I was able to understand what they were spelling before I even started Kindergarten. I have a scar on my leg from when I was about eight and I was supposed to be asleep. I made a tent out of my blanket and put a lamp under it so I could continue to read. My mom walked in and scared me... the lamp fell onto my leg.... I now have an ugly scar. I will read anything. Seriously anything. I still have my favorite books from when I was a child. And I read them. My favorite book of all time is 'Little Black Sambo'. My great grandmother had it when I was little. I would make her read it to me over and over. It was given to me when she died. It is falling apart everywhere. A couple years ago I tried to find a replacement only to find out they no longer made the book because it was considered "racist". I was heartbroken.

Fast forward to this morning. I had forgotten completely about the discontinued book. I am working on my lesson plan for the month. In doing that I look up the holidays (official & un-official) for the month so we can use it as an opportunity to add to the basic stuff. It's one of the reasons I chose homeschooling. I like to think outside the box. In September (17th - 23rd) is Banned Books Week. As soon as I saw those words it was like....like.... I don't know. Like someone knocked the air out of me. The thought of all those books that are banned. It just breaks my heart. Someone poured their hearts and souls into these books. Some of them are even considered classic. I remember reading some of them as a class when I was in school. And now they are forbidden. Most books are banned for "religious" purposes. I will be the first to admit that I read books that some would feel are not "appropriate". Just because I read a book does not mean I agree with every part of it. A huge part of my love for reading is using my imagination. I love to read a story about something that I've never seen and deciding for myself how it looks, feels, sounds and smells. Each of these books were banned in a certain part of the US and not nationwide. Here are a few books on the Top 100 Banned or Challenged Books: 2000-2009 list that shocked me...

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
The Giver, by Lois Lowry
Junie B. Jones (series), by Barbara Park

Really Junie B Jones? So this month I am going to read a few of these banned books. That is if I can find any of them... I may even read one with Ham for homeschooling.

I want my mommy

I am sick. Really really sick. So yesterday we didn't do school. And I'm not sure we will today either. I feel like such a bad homeschooling mom. Wonder what they would do if I dropped him off at the school???

Last Tuesday the younger two kids brought home a note saying that soccer sign-ups were on Thursday from 5pm - 7pm. I immediately jump on the "socialization" oppornunity and fill out a form for the boys along with a check. I set it on the counter for Thursday night. This and that happened and I remembered the sign up about 8pm Thursday night. Appearantely our small town has a very strict "no late kids" policy. I stayed mad for a couple days. I am over it now. I'm terrible at holding a grudge. I just dont have it in me to stay mad at someone. Soooooo. Last night we attended our first 4H meeting. Ham's chosen projects for the year are:

Woodworking

Bunnies (provided by my dad)

Photography

Let the fun begin!

Count to five

I ran across this in the childrens study bible when we were doing Bible Study today. It really hit me hard. I think it is something that should not just be for kids.

Lost and Found

When I was about thirteen or so I decided it was time for me to make some money of my own. I did what thirteen year old girls did when they want their own pocket change. I convinced some poor clueless woman to hand her precious ~I use this term lightly~ little angels over to me. I could rattle on about the details of my one and only babysitting job. Instead, I'll just cut to the chase. I lost one of them. One minute he was playing in his room quietly and the next his bedroom window was open and he was gone. A frantic call to my mother and an hour of searching the neighborhood later he was found at the local park. That day I swore I would never be in charge of another child again. Here I am many years later with three little angels of my own. My day consists of taking kids to school, walking, homeschooling, house cleaning, cooking, faking a headache, and passing out. To be honest I wouldn't have it any other way.

Love at first play

When I first decided to homeschool Hamster I started gathering whatever I thought I might possibly need or use at garage sales and such. I did not want to be stuck spending a boatload of money at the same time we have to get school supplies & back to school clothes for the other two. I came across a garage sale that had these cards for $0.50. Today we got a chance to try them out for the first time. I just want to say that I LOVE this game. When I first pulled the cards out and began to shuffle Sam asked me what War is. After I got over the shock of him never in his entire life playing War I explained how to play. We played this game for almost an hour! That was the best $0.50 I've ever spent. We both laid down our cards and I would wait to let him tell me who had the higher card. It was a great review of math facts.

The next game I want to buy is this. Lets see if you can remember the name of it.....

I just have to find a way to make it an educational game so I can justify buying it. I'm thinking English since you have to come up with adjectives to describe the people. Whatcha think?

Tomorrow is the first day of school. I'll ship the youngest two off to public school and begin this journey with my oldest called homeschooling. I have researched. I have bargain hunted. I have pieced together a curriculum that I think is perfect for him. He'll be doing 2 grades at once. I know it sounds insane. What that really means is that just over half way through his 3rd grade year in school is when my grandma died. That loss was more than his nine year old soul could bear. He shut down completely and began turning in completely blank pieces of paper with his name at the top. So.... we'll be wrapping up that last little bit of 3rd grade he missed out on while also starting on 4th grade material. If something is super easy for him then we'll move on. If he has a hard time understanding then we'll take it slow. That's the cool thing about homeschooling. It's about going at his pace. Oh yeah ~ and the fact that he will not get away with turning in empty papers to this teacher. It also helps that the principal of this school lives with us.

Since school starts on a Thursday this year we will spend the first two days getting everything organized. We have an office to set up. A scientist to choose. A book report book to choose. A library to raid. Dishes to wash. For Home Economics class that is. Hmmmm. I wonder how I can fit him mowing the lawn into the lesson plan. Anyhoo~ we are going to be busy folks around here. By Monday we should be up and running.

Love,
Mrs. Mom

You're telling me that grass is green?

In May God informed us that I would be homeschooling Ham. The conversation went something like this:

God: You need to home school Ham.
Me: You cant be serious. I maintained a solid D in History for 13 years strait. And Science... don't get me started on Science.
God: I will help you.
Me:  But wont he miss his friends.
God:  Take him to church and he'll see his friends.
Me:  But.....but....
God:  Don't call me a butt. (He totally could have said that. My God has a sense of humor)
Me:  Dadgumit. I didn't want to work anyway.

So the search for the perfect (and by perfect I mean cheap but sufficient) curriculum began. All summer I have been working on planning our home school adventure. At the same time I've been fighting for my daughter. Last school year she made honor roll 3 of the 4 quarters. Unfortunately her teacher does not feel that is a good enough reason to pass her on to the second grade. I have always been told that when your child is in elementary school they can not retain them without the parents permission. Here's how the process goes for us:

1.  Parent & teacher meet. Parent says pass. Teacher says retain. If no agreement is made another meeting will be made with principal.

2.  If parent cant attend meeting due to lack of notice and work schedule a detailed letter is written by parent explaining why their child should be promoted to next grade.

3.  After the meeting parent gets letter from principal stating that they read the letter and still feel child should be retained due to the fact that the teacher feels like the six year old child is immature. Also if we want to appeal the schools decision we can fill out the appeal form and write a letter (Hello! We already did.) and it can go to the school board for a final decision

4.  Father of child writes a letter letting the school know all of the flaws in their system. The letter also informs the principal that calling a 6 year old child immature is as redundant as calling the grass green or sky blue.

It has been 2 months since we since our last letter accompanied by their "appeal form". School starts in just over a week. I finally got a call from the principal yesterday stating that the school board meeting has been set for Thursday night and our attendance is optional. Do they really believe that we would go this far and just decide that this meeting is not important enough to show up? I am terrified. I am a peacemaker. I don't like confrontation so this meeting is especially difficult for me. However, I believe that our children are a gift from God. If I'm not willing to stand up and fight for my children then how can I expect anyone else to? Most importantly.... I believe in my child. I believe that she will be successful in the second grade. Her teacher convinced her that she would not succeed if she moved on. She needs to know that someone believes in her or she will likely give up on herself. There are so many things I hope she learns from this experience.

With God on your side you can not fail. And stand up for what you believe in.

If the school board votes to retain her then I'll be homeschooling two kids this year instead of two. That scares the poo out of me. But I believe that no matter what... God is in control.

Are You There God? It's Me Aimee.

My youth minister used to tell us that if we didn't pray from the heart our prayers would bounce of the ceiling and God would never hear them. As an adult I know that is not the case. I now know that God hears our prayers no matter what. But sometimes when I pray for my heart to stop aching and it doesn't... when it hurts so bad I cant breathe... I think back to that lesson and wonder. Can you hear me God?

To work or not to work...

We are preparing to homeschooling next year. Working on setting up vision therapy and occupational therapy for Hamster. With all that we have going on I'm trying to decide if I want to continue working. I feel like I need a break to kinda process everything that's happened in the last couple months prepare for the next season. God give me the answers.

Rawr

Is there anything cuter in this world?

Betty Crocker You Are Not

I'm going to make this cake for C's birthday party on Saturday.













My children are convinced that I am not capable. I'll post after pictures letting you know how it goes.

Friend or Foe

We bought a house that has plants everywhere. All the way around the house there are flower beds. I have absolutely no knowledge when it comes to flowers/plants vs. weeds. I really dont know how that happened either. Both of my parents garden. My aunt has a greenhouse. My grandparents have always done veggie gardens. Somehow it just skipped over me. Anyway... back to the point here. I am trying to keep up with what the previous owners got started but I dont know what to pull and what to leave. And some I just want to know what they are. Soooo. I've taken pictures of everything and will be posting them with a number. What I'm asking you to do is tell me what they are and if I should pull it or trim it or just let it be.

1                                                        2      

3                                                       4

5                                                      6

Rubber Duckie

Yesterday was an awesome day start to finish. A good friend came to town for the Rattlesnake Round-up (which I still think is a little crazy). I finally go to meet her hubby. She got to ooh and ahhh over Hamster's battle wounds. They went through the Den of Death and the Butcher Shop while I waited in line 45 minutes to get the little ones faces painted. We ate high calorie fair food. I promised the kids I'd let them ride rides when we weren't entertaining our friends. Brought them back to the house. We had a great time catching up and promising to meet up again while she has the twins this summer. It was awesome. She is one of the coolest chicks I know. When we were kids.... Never mind. Moving on.

I took about a 30 minute break before I started supper for the family that was coming over to visit. Me and the kids went to meet up with my mom and aunt at the festival so the kids could ride rides as promised. We got another bag of cotton candy (since the boys didn't share the first one) and Snickers on a stick (which was not near as yummy as expected). This was the first year that all three kids got to ride big kid rides. It was so much fun watching their faces light up. We came back to the house just in time to pull supper out of the oven (cause I'm awesome like that). Ate. Laughed. Took pictures. And kicked them out.

After a long day all I wanted was to relax in a bubble bath. I ran the water and climbed in. Apparently my children were not aware that mom's are allowed to take baths. Before I even had a chance to get settled in I had 3 kids & 2 dogs standing over me staring in amazement. Princess B was so excited that she brought me 7 of her barbies to play with. And then showed me how to play with them in the bath. Turns out that playing Barbies and laughing with the kids was a lot more relaxing than just laying there. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.

Famous Last Words

Since we moved into our house in October I've been begging Matt to put up the hammock. FINALLY this last week we began working on it. The first night we set it all up to find out that the post wasnt buried deep enough. So on Wednesday he digs it up and buried it deeper and setting it with concrete. Thursday night I finally got to lay in my hammock for the first time since my dad gave it to me. I was so excited. We have only one big tree that we could hang it on so it got hung about 4 feet away from my upper deck out back. Fast forward to this afternoon.... I went upstairs to my office to make some changes to my schedule for next week. Appearantly while I was doing that Evil Knievel and Junior here decided to add some excitement to our day. Car went first. He climbed up onto the banister of our upper deck and jumped with everything in him. Unfortunately (in his opinion), his little legs didnt quite do the trick because he landed just short of the hammock. So what happens next..... Oh yes! My 75 pound 10 year old climbs up there and jumps. I guess his aim is a bit better because he landed right in the middle of the hammock. What they didnt account for was the fact that that pole was not coming out of the ground. Instead it snapped right in two. When that top piece broke loose it came swinging at Hamster's head. Now remember... the wonderful mom that I am had no idea that any of this was going on until Ham came running up the stairs gushing blood on everything in his path and screaming. I grab a towel and apply pressure to try and stop the bleeding. I tend to be a lot more 'go with the flow' than any of my kids. At this point all three of them are screaming and crying even though Ham is the only one that is hurt here. Then I realized that he keeps saying "I'm going to die! I'm going to die!". Being the less dramatic of the group at the moment I say "Don't be so dramatic. You are hardly going to die from a little cut on your head." I have to say that I never expected the response that I got. He looked at me with the most serious freaked out face he could manage and said "No mom. Dad is gonna kill me when he finds out I broke that hammock". Poor kid. His head is gushing blood everywhere and he's worried about getting in trouble. Now he did get in trouble but it wasn't until after he got his head stapled & the tylenol kicked in. Matt was pretty ticked that the hammock was broken. But he admited that it's something he probably would have done as a kid if the opportunity had been there. Guess I wont be spending many hours laying in the hammock after all. Maybe we'll try again in about 10 years.

Amazed

I want to start off by saying.... I had no idea you still existed. I was sure blogger would have deleted me due to inactivity. It's been 2 years since I blogged. A lot has happened in two years. We found out my Nana had cancer. Put our house on the market so we could move closer to Nana. Moved in with Nana until our house sold. Lost 3 contracts on our house before it finally sold. Spent most of the summer in a hotel room in Ohio where Matt was working. Found the perfect house. Someone else bought it before we made it back to draw up an offer. Found a house for a great price about 25 minutes from Nana's house. Made an offer & got it inspected to find out it had major termite infestation. But.... Third times a charm because the third house we found was "IT". A couple weeks after Matt found a job here locally we lost Nana to cancer. I know it seems like the last year sort of revolved around my Nana. And it sort of did. Spending the last year with her was the amazing. My kids got to experience the childhood I had spending time with one of the greatest people I've ever met. We had an awesome year. And then it ended. At 3:30am on March 5th my Nana (and my very best friend) went to meet our maker. It was the most painful experience of my life. I felt like my heart had been ripped from my chest. It still feels like I've been punched in the gut every time I think of her. But time heals all wounds. Hopefully some day I can think of her and smile instead of cry. Ok.... back to today. The kids are finally adjusting to small town living. They have friends. We have a church. I miss my Coweta family all the time. But I finally feel like we are home.

I was looking back at old posts and realized how much I have changed in 2 years. So over the next day or two I'm going to go over my "to-do" list and see where I stand on certain things. Seems my priorities change with time and experience. Should be fun.