Bite the Butt

I'm Baaack!

2011-08-19T00:22:00.000-04:00

No I didn't forget I had have a blog. I've been overwhelmed with life for the last many months! Last week I noticed that I had been in a reasonably good mood for several days. That hadn't happened since ever. I actually felt like my old self again (I'm usually pretty jovial). I realized that I'd been taking my Estroven for over a week and concluded it was the cause of the return of the old me. Thank you Estroven!
Contrary to what my gyno says, I'm sure I've been going through "the change" for the last two years. When my periods returned after taking Delaney off the breast, they were no longer perfectly regular like they'd been all my life. Then came insomnia, and a very slow onset of moodiness and low libido. Two hormone tests revealed that I was not pre-menopausal (yeah, OK). Although I feel physically and mentally better than I have in months, I think I am starting to experience the dreaded hot flashes. My husband has left the bedroom a couple of times because he couldn't take the ceiling fan on high. I usually can't either. My periods continue to be irregular, with the last one being late and lasting 10 days.
Me being anxious, worried, sad & mad has caused some strife in my marriage. I'm just realizing the problem was me exacerbated by him. I did apologize and urged him (for about the 20th time) that if I'm ever "not myself" to point it out lovingly instead of launching an attack. Start by asking me if I've taken my Estroven that day...

Inspired Reading

2011-03-16T14:20:00.001-04:00

I'm loving this book! When I read it, I feel like I'm sitting on the front porch talking with my favorite uncle about gardening and cooking. It also has great info on building raised beds, soil amendments and info on growing various vegetables. I also just finished listening to the audio book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Very entertaining, informative and inspirational. I highly recommend both of these books (I'm not getting paid to say this).

30 Day Vegan

2011-03-07T22:49:00.001-05:00

Welcome 30 Day Vegan visitors! Isn't it great over there? I gave up meat two months ago, with no intention of ever going total vegan, but this little workshop makes it sound so doable, doesn't it? I think I can, I think I can!
As you can see by earlier posts, we're in the process of starting a garden (again). Maybe I'll post later about my many reasons why. For now, I'll tell you the number one reason: to save money! That also happens to be one of the reasons I gave up meat. You will notice a hefty drop in your grocery bill when you stop buying meat. I'm not forcing the family into it, however. Ava loves pork chops. She can still have them, jut not as often and organic ones now. Hubs is mostly on board.
I wish the workshop would have taken place when my garden was in full production! Oh, well, by then, I'll know a whole lot more about healthy eating and can plan subsequent crops accordingly.

Waiting For Spring

2011-02-28T22:33:00.000-05:00

Bed 1 of 7 planted. Rainbow swiss chard and seven top turnip greens.

I'd like to thank my lovely assistants.

Playin' in the dirt.

Getting the Garden Started

2011-02-23T21:02:00.000-05:00

We found this great deal at Home Depot. The budget only allowed for six.

Here I am putting the beds together. I'd just learned to use a drill the week before. I told the Hubs that now that I know how to use one, I don't need him anymore :-) .

My beautiful beds.

My laundry room/green house...oops! Ignore the bra...

Wakey wakey seeds!

The marigolds sprouted but the basil is being stubborn.

Update 2011

2011-02-22T21:23:00.000-05:00

The main purpose of this blog is to chronicle my family's life for posterity. If it helps or amuses others in the process, cool. Ironically, the more we have going on, the less time I have to write about or photograph it! So I'll just give a brief update:

Hubs is now working as a truck driver. I am not happy about being left alone with three kids for three to four days a week, but I am happy about the steady paycheck. Our finances appear to be on the verge of getting better. Some uncomfortable decisions had to be made, but I think it'll be worth it in the end.

After years of whining about wanting to be a stay at home mom, I had the following epiphany: I CAN DO IT! I think we can pay the house off in 3-5 years if we seriously commit. I don't think it'll require unreasonable sacrifices either. We can live on Hubs' paycheck and use mine to kill the mortgage. I really think it can be done and he appears to be on board. First, we have a few pesky debts to clear, though. Once we no longer have a house payment, I'll just work every other weekend just to fund my IRA.

Of course, we'll have to cut expenses in order to achieve the above goal. My plan for that: grow our own food! I'm talking urban homesteading, baby! If that family in California can live off of 1/10 of an acre, surely we can do something similar with our 0.6 acre! Although I think pygmy goats are adorable, I'm going to pass on having animals at this time. I'm not even sure I'm allowed to have them. But we can grow all kinds of veggies and fruits. We can freeze a lot of things and I plan to learn to can, so we can eat off of our garden most of the year. I hope to be able to post about it. Our last gardening venture didn't turn out that well. We did not pick the best spot in the yard for it, but it didn't do so bad, either.

Money Troubles

2010-09-29T15:11:00.000-04:00

I thought I was stressed when I wrote the last post! The hubs had been unemployed since June. We were OK for the first few months, but now I'm really feeling the pressure of the vice grip that is debt. We have no credit card debt, thank God, but a car loan and two other "small" loans, in addition to my very old student loan. Courtney finally found a truck driving job (I never got around to posting about how he went to truck driving school and how unhappy I was with that decision). They're working him to death for a pittance, but it's better than no income. So now, on top of homeschooling, working, parenting, cooking, laundry, etc, we're having to dig ourselves out of this hole. To say that it's been a strain on our marriage would be an understatemnet. That subject requires a post of its own, but it's not within the scope of this blog to tell ALL my business.
I think I'm coming out of the depression I was in for a number of weeks. I do have many blessings to count, after all.
As for homeschool, I've concluded that I'm going to have to go with a boxed curriculum. I don't really want to (nor can I afford it right now), but I just don't have the time & energy to put lesson plans together! We are doing pretty well overall. We make adequate daily progress and the girls do get a lot out of what we do. I just wish we could do MORE. Money is not everything, but it sure does make life a little easier all around, doesn't it?

Back to (Home) School!

2010-07-27T15:16:00.000-04:00

People often ask me, “How do you homeschool AND work?” I’m starting to ask myself the same thing. I NEVER have down time. I’d like to post more often, but it’s just not possible right now….and we haven’t been schooling for a couple of months now. Luckily, I have an awesome husband who does a lot to make things a little easier for me. We start next week, but the girls have been asking for weeks now if we have school or not. Good to know there’s interest!

One of the things that’s been keeping me busy is getting familiar with my Homeschool Tracker software. The learning curve is quite steep, but it looks like the effort will be well worth it. I’m loading lesson plans and learning how to get things set up. I’m hoping it will decrease daily prep time. I concluded that the Workbox System just isn’t going to work for me. It requires daily work that I’m not willing to do. I’d rather have something in writing that I can look at once a week and get things together right then & there. I guess I’ll be using the WB system with a twist: Daily work will be placed in folders, which will be placed in drawers. I hope to take pics and post them in the near future.

This year Ava will be in first grade, Shelby in Kindergarten. If she was going to public school, she’d have to wait until next year. She is very bright and interested in many things, so I think she’ll do well. The plan is to break the year up into six 6-week terms with one week breaks in between. We’ll take three weeks off for winter holidays and two months of in the summer. I think this way, we’ll get a lot of work done without burnout. Each week will consist of four “academic” days. One of these days may include a field trip or outside class. The fifth day will probably be a work day or housework day for me, although it may consist of a field trip, depending on what we’re studying and what’s going on in town. I any event, learning takes place every day, right?

I have most of my curriculum in place, although I’m still doing some tweaking. The girls will do science, history, geography, health and language arts together. When ever possible, Language Arts will correlate with geography. They will do math & reading separately. I haven’t figured out what I’m going to do with Delaney (aka Babezilla) during school. I’m leaning towards daycare, but right now, finances won’t allow for that. For history, we’ll probably start out with Core Knowledge’s What Your X Grader Needs to Know . We’ll breeze though that in the first term, then embrace the classical education model and start with Ancient History next term. We’ll use History Odyssey for that. I’d like to use K12 for Shelby’s phonics, but that’s till up in the air. The rest of the subjects are as follows: Pandia Press’s REAL Science, Handwriting Without Tears, NC Healthy Schools for health, Phonics Pathways for Ava’s phonics, Galloping the Globe for geography and Right Start Math. They’ll each do Time4Learning as independently as possible while I work on phonics and math with the other one after we’re done with the group session.

I hope to incorporate lots of hands on activities. I know REAL Science has almost daily experiments. We did a trial run of a lap book (Hey Diddle Diddle) and they loved it. Galloping the Globe and History Odyssey also incorporate crafty projects. I’m looking forward to starting and so are the girls. I think it’ll be more enjoyable this year because they’ll be working together. Let the learning begin!

Archaeology Day at Fernbank Museum

2010-05-13T21:30:00.000-04:00

An old iron

A seed planter

My future archaeologists put the pieces back together

Learning about ancient pottery

Delaney too!

Artifacts from the past

Shelby still plans to be a vulcanologist when she grows up

Edisto Island Beach State Park Camping Trip

2010-05-09T23:18:00.000-04:00

As usual, Courtney got his way again. He talked me into our latest toy, a travel trailer, henceforth referred to as "the camper." Although the truck he'd recently purchased had ample towing capacity, he had to trade it in for am SUV because blah, blah, blah...

We'd planned the beach camping trip long before the camper idea was though of. We were just gonna tent camp. I was Ok with that. I really was. Gas alone ate up a big chunk of money. I didn't realize how much would be needed when hauling a load. The total gasoline bill for the trip was about $250. Also, it takes longer to get places when you're hauling a load. I'm a city girl, how was I supposed to know that?

There's a tiny Piggly Wiggly right outside the park.

Shelby's beach-friendly hairdo.

The girls sleep in the bunks above. Ava on top, Shelby & Delaney below. The door on the left is the bathroom.

Inside the well lived-in trailer. The bed is actually a slide-out. It extends the length of the trailer by about 4 feet. The dinette area converts into a bed also.

It rained off and on the first couple of days there. On Saturday, the surf was really rough. Courtney tried some fishing, but it was no use. The girls enjoyed the beach cold wind and all.

Breakfast in the outdoor dining room.

It was about a half mile walk from the car to Botany Bay Beach, a few miles from the campground. It was worth it! On the way we saw hundreds of little brown crabs on the sides of the path. When a few of them decided to cross the path, Ava & Shelby went into hysterics. A few minutes later, Courtney and I saw a possum coming towards us! We weren't worried about it being rabid as much as how the girls would react whe they saw it. Luckily when it saw us, it made a right turn. Whew!

The beach was deserted and beautiful. I have been to many beaches, but I'd never seen as many shells as I saw here! We spent about an hour there walking on the beach and collecting seashells. The have people there who make sure you don't take them home. I just wanted to take pictures of them.

The girls decorated a tree.

Someone left this display for us to enjoy.

Listening to the sea for the first time.

Headed back to the truck.

I finally found a bird field guide at the Goodwill, but I never did find out what kind of bird this was.

My beautiful man.

The view behind the trailer.

Our first trailer camping trip was a success. The girls definitely loved it. Our next trip was going to be to a beach campgound near Destin, Fl. Tight finances and the impending oil slick, have caused to change plans. We'll either go the the mountains near Chattannooga, TN or Lake Lanier Islands. Stay tuned!

William Harris Homestead Fieldtrip

2010-04-14T21:55:00.001-04:00

William Harris built the house above in 1825 with his own two hands! I really enjoyed this filedtrip and learned a lot about rural life in the 19th century. The girls learned more than I realized.

We learned about the daily life of a Confederate soldier.

Down by the creek, where the laundry was done.

One of the buildings on the property.

On a hayride.

Inside the Harris house. Daily life was busy! They combed and spun cotton and wool, dyed it and even wove it into fabric!

The family cemetery. Nine babies are buried here.

Making candles.

The smoke house and the hams inside.

A sheep herding demonstration.

A picninc lunch when we were done!

Shelby's Volcano

2010-04-12T22:34:00.001-04:00

I am proud to tears of this project! Shelby (4) made it without being asked to and without help. It's a volcano near the ocean. The orange is the lava, the blue the water. She's been interested in volcanoes for some months now. I got a National Geographic DVD on the subject last week thinking it would be too technical and boring, but worth trying. She loved it! We also got a few books, but haven't had too much time to read them yet.

Traveling Flats

2010-02-26T15:27:00.003-05:00

I've known about The Flat Stanley Project for a while and have finally decided to join in. I joined the Flat Traveler Homeschool Yahoo Group for resources, ideas, and to hook up with other Flat Traveler Families. I'm not sure if the girls are old enough to appreciate this now, but I know they will down the road. My plan is to put together a Flat Traveler (henceforth to be referred to as FT) scrapbook that they'll be able ot browse through and (unknowingly) learn from. You can click here for more ideas & info on FTs.

I made two FTs: Flat Ava and Flat Shelby. Flat Shelby is not pictured, as she's on her way to Israel. Flat Ava (pictured with not-flat Ava) will be going to visit my ex-SIL in Austria. Shelby's holding the journal I put together that the hosting family will fill out for us. In it are questions such as Did anything historically significant happen in your town? What is your town's food specialty? and places for the host to draw pictures or place stickers. My plan is to visit every state and as many countries as possible. I've made a list of folks I know in differet states & countries and will be hitting them up to host our FTs in the future. You can send and host as many FTs as you like. I think 2 out at any given time is plenty. We are expecting two and I'm thinking that's a good number to have to keep up with...I mean host.

I Can't Believe I'm 45!!! (seriuosly)

2010-02-22T15:06:00.001-05:00

Me and the hubs, all glammed up for a birthday outing.

It was great to get out with other adults!

Here I am more au naturel, doing one of my favorite things: cooking. Notice the almost complete kitchen. I love it!

Atlanta Snow 2010

2010-02-22T14:56:00.001-05:00

I spent the snowy weekend sick in bed. We tried to go to the doctor on 2/12, but couldn't get out of the neighborhood because of the snow/hill combo. Finally made it the next day and was diagnosed with "A Bad Cold."

2nd Place at the Girl Scout Bake-Off

2010-02-22T14:49:00.000-05:00

Goodwill Finds

2010-01-29T23:59:00.000-05:00

It had been a while since I'd been to my favorite store--Goodwill. Most of the time, they have just what I'm looking for. Sometimes they have items that I'm not necessarily looking for (like the books above), but some I just can't pass up! For the books I paid between $0.75 and $1.25. Some of them are classics! The prices for the appliances were: $5.95 for the ice cream/sorbet maker and the crockpot on the right, $7.95 for the programmable crockpot on the left. It was a good day of shopping! Anybody got any good crockpot recipes?

Daisy Scouts Bake-Off

2010-01-27T00:22:00.000-05:00

Ava and Shelby made Butter Squares for the Girls Scouts Bake Off. Curiously, we had to use the recipes provided by the troop leader. Ava is a Daisy Scout, Shelby a "Tag Along" since she's not old enough to be a Daisy yet. They got second place in the bake off.

My girls handle that mixer like pros!

The finished product. Ava got to taste it, but Shelby couldn't because of her allergies.

Thanksgiving RV Trip

2010-01-10T23:44:00.000-05:00

For Thanksgiving, we decided to rent an RV and go visit my aunt & uncle in Maryland. I hadn't seen them in over seven years. They had a houseful, so we thought it would be a good idea to bring our own accomodations. She was a 38 footer and sooo nice!

The drive turned out to be longer than planned. But it was OK, we had good drivers.

We had a very good visit with our family. Delaney was a little monster the whole time we were there. I think it was due to her sleep schedule having been disrupted. I think she now has a bad reputation with the kin.

Here's my brother and me with Aunt Serena (who hates taking pictures) and two of the girls.

My dad with Ava & Shelby

Some of my crazy cousins.

I got to see two of my old Air Force friends while up there. Gwen and I were stationed at FE Warren AFB in Cheyenne, Wy. I left there in 1991, but we have stayed in touch through the years.

Karen and I were stationed at Hickam AFB in Hawaii in the 80's. We experienced our first pregnancy together. Our due dates were 3 weeks apart, but we ended up delivering one day apart (I was late, she was early). I looked up to her, and she helped me navigate some of my marital woes. We had lost touch in recent years, but I managed to find her through her daughter on Facebook. It was so awesome to see both of them, but sad that we couldn't spend more time together.

We also took advantage of being up there and did some quick sightseeing. I wanted the girls to see where the president of the United States and his family live, among other things.

The Capitol

The White House

The Wahington Monument

The trip cost much more than we'd calculated, but it was a great expereince overall. We REALLY want an RV of our own, but that won't be doable for a long while. *sigh*

Fun Birthday Outing 11/09

2010-01-08T00:07:00.000-05:00

For birthdays, I like to plan fun family outings. For Shelby's 4th birthday, we went to Babyland General Hospital, in Cleveland, Ga, where the Cabbage Patch Kids are born. It just so happend that it was the grand opening of their new location.

Above is the Cabbage Patch. The setup was sooo cute! Babies are born when the mama cabbage is 10 leaves dilated. Sometimes the babies need a dose of imagicillin. The nurses are LPNs--Licensed Patch Nurses. Our girls weren't too impressed with the whole experience. We spent a fortune on dolls they don't even play with! Oh well, I had fun--except for dealing with Delaney's bad attitude that day.

God & Religion

2009-12-27T22:21:00.001-05:00

The last time the girls went to Miss Lisa's (our daycare provider) she sent us off with the following little anecdote: "We were singing Christmas carols and having lots of fun. (This is the first year they've been exposed to them and really don't know that many). We sang "Joy to the World" and when we came to The Lord has come, Ava asked, 'Who's the Lord?' " I was both amused and uncomfortable. I believe in God, but not necessarily in religion. I have NEVER told my girls about God because...I don't know what to say! I don't believe the human mind can fully grasp the concept of God. It boggles my mind when I try to understand. God is the ocean and we are molecules of water. What do you say to a child? Living in the South, the subject is bound to come up again...and again. They need to have some infortmation on the subject! I ultimately want them to reach their own conclusions. My son (23) has some pretty wild beliefs, and I have to take some resposibility since I was always open to new ideas as I raised him. Whenever the subject of religion comes up, Hubby always throws the phrase "bible-based" in. Although he went to church growing up, I doubt he could quote you a verse if you paid him $100. He really knows nothing about the bible, but seems to feel that he should and the anything having to do with God should be "bible-based." I don't take the bible as the only divinely inspired text. There's the Torah, the Koran, and the Quitab-I-Aqdas to name a very few. I find it a little offensive to think that the bible is the ONLY book in which God reveals him/her/itself or gives instructions for living. I plan to introduce the girls to the Creator....soon.

Tears For Teeth

2009-11-13T23:22:00.000-05:00

I don't care what the lab test said, I think my hormones are out of whack! The silliest things get me all teary-eyed. Like Ava losing her first tooth. It had been loose for over a week, and we had been wiggling it daily. I even tried to twist it out that morning. But when she ran into the kitchen, all excited becasue the apple she was eating made the tooth come out...I had to fight back tears! I told her I was sad, and sweet nurturer that she is, she kindly asked "Why, Mommy?"
"Because this means that you really are getting to be a big girl."
"But, Mommy, if I get big, I can help you cook."
That is one of her highest aspirations. Although she already helps me cook...sometimes. Apparently what I let her do is not enough.
So if I'm crying over a loose tooth, Lord help us when we shop for her first bra...

Fall Photos 2009

2009-11-12T14:47:00.000-05:00

At the pumpkin patch

Georgia Aquarium

Shelby

Ava

Delaney

On the Walking trail

One big happy family

Runaway butterfly

A Monarch butterfly, Tinkerbell, Belle

Still Working On the Kitchen

2009-09-14T23:04:00.000-04:00

I was supposed to have worked yesterday, but got cancelled. I spent the day helping Hubby lay hardwood flooring in the kitchen. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know he built me a new kitchen this year. It had been at a standstill for many months until I started gently and lovingly reminding Hubby that I sure would like my kitchen to get done. Honey does indeed attract more bees than vinegar (or is it flies?). As usual, he started all of a sudden and without warning me. You'd think he'd know better by now. Instead of bitchin' (OK, I bitched a little), I spent yesterday helping him get the damn thing done. He said he likes it when I help him with his work and that it makes him feel romantic! How sweet is that!? Today we were both sore and exhausted (yes, there was romance after the hard work).
Now we are planning the logistics of getting the floor sanded, stained and polyurethaned with three little ones in the mix. It looks like there'll be a least one night's stay in a hotel. We hope to get it done within the week as it's not wise to leave a wood floor unfinished with three rugrats running around. Good thing I don't buy red juices!
No word on my PC. Don't know if it's that serious, or if the doctor's just that busy.

Learning About Teaching

2009-09-10T23:43:00.000-04:00

I know I'm not the first homeschooling mom to question her decision. There have been times over the last few weeks when I have asked myself "what was I thinking?" It would be so much easier if I didn't have to work outside the home. I have to stress that because I feel like I'm always working! Hubby has been sooo good about helping to clean. Thank God, because otherwise we'd be living in a pigsty! I've been managing to keep up with washing clothes. Folding & putting away...well, that's another story.

I have pics to post, but my PC is at the doctor's. Hubby has threatened to ban me from it since it's not the first time I've jacked a PC up. It appears that I'm downloading infected files....

So school is going well overall. Ava asks for lessons even in the evening, and I do not say no. Part of my stress is from GVA. There are deadlines to meet! I have mixed feelings about it, since the curriculum is pretty good, so far. We're testing out of a lot of the early math & science units, but I'm hoping it'll get a little more challenging down the road. Ava has her good days and her bad ones. I think she's a little envious of her sister's freedom. I keep telling her that she's a big girl and has to do big girl things. This usually works, at least for a little while. We are loosely using the Workbox System. it does appear to help keep the day moving and to accomplish more. I put fun things in there to break up the day a little. I'm learning that Ava is quite squirmy and I try very hard to let her move all she wants, as long as it's not distracting her. I'm not sure if she's an official Kinesthetic Learner or just wriggly.

My latest brainchild has been to use movies as a fun part of our geography studies (called history by GVA). Below is a list of movies that can be used to teach about the continents (feel free to add to it):

AUSTRALIA

Finding Nemo

EUROPE

Beauty & the Beast

The Secret Garden

Anastasia

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The Three Musketeers

Don Quixote

Hercules

Ratatouille

Nanny McPhee

ASIA

Mulan

The Jungle Book

AFRICA

The Lion King

Madagascar 1 & 2

The Prince of Egypt

NORTH AMERICA

Pocahontas

An American Tail

The Incredible Journey

American Legends Series

SOUTH AMERICA

Ferngully

ANTARCTICA

Happy Feet

Penguin March

I don't plan to show every movie, but I think any of them will give a Kindergartner a sense of the continent being studied. My plan is for the kids to watch the movies over the weekend when I'm at work. Hopefully, they'll want to watch it again with me later in the week, but if not, that's OK.

Panama City Beach Vacation 2009

2009-09-02T00:40:00.000-04:00

The girls on the balcony
The giraffe and I

Shelby & Delaney

Ava & the lemur

Delaney striking a pose

Shelby & the bird

My Lovely Ava at sea

On a boat ride to Shell Island. We saw dolphins!

At the Marina

Breakfast in the condo

Cuddly sisters

Beach beauties

The pool at night

"The Shores of Panama"

Answering Questions With Questions

2009-08-25T00:41:00.000-04:00

Kindergarten has officially started! It's been mostly good. We enrolled in Georgia Virtual Academy at the last minute. I was seduced by the FREE, pre-organized curriculum. Not too thrilled about having an assigned teacher, although she sounds nice enough. There are hoops to be jumped through and that may be what makes me decide against it for next year. The material so far has been pretty easy for Ava--almost too easy. I'm thinking it'll get more challenging as the weeks go by. She's asking to do lessons at all hours, even if we've already "done" school that day, so I usually oblige her.
One of the things about my child that I find a little aggravating is her penchant for taking a simple question and not only going on and on with her answer (she gets that from her daddy) but the off track questions she sometimes asks. If we're looking at pictures of houses in a magazine and I ask her which house she likes best, she's not just gonna say, "The blue one." No, she's going to ask where the house is, who lives in it, do they have pets, and if there's a Mexican restaurant nearby. Sometimes I go along with this (there has to be a name for it), but usually, I just go on to the next question or comment.
So last night, I'm doing her hair and she is being particularly wriggly. I ask her, "Ava, why can't you sit still? You got ants in your pants?" The response: "Red ants or black ants?"

Atlanta Summer 2009

2009-08-09T17:07:00.000-04:00

In looking for the planetarium, we ended up at the wrong Fernbak Museum

We read Who Owns the Sun, a Five In A Row book. It's mostly about slavery, but we learned mostly about the sun, the planets and the drinking gourd (Big Dipper). The Science center has a planetarium, where we enjoyed a show about the constellations. The girls were able to make the connection between the drinking gourd form the book Follow the Drinking Gourd and the real night time sky.

Back yard fun

Miss Independent at the Olympic Rings Fountain

Going there was a last minute decision, but lack of proper swimming attire was not a problem

Centennial Olympic Park

Imagine It! Children's museum. Hubby took pictures of Ava & Shelby with his phone, but I have yet to get them. He decided to join us at the last minute, and thank God. I don't know what I would've done with all three at the museum by myself! Keeping up with Delaney was challenging enough!

Kids and Craziness

2009-08-05T23:17:00.000-04:00

Hubby teases me becasue I like to watch reality shows about big families (I quit Jon & Kate because of their divorce). As a kid I loved Eight is Enough and The Brady Bunch. I don't know why I'm so fascinated by big families, but I know this: three is sometimes too much! The reason I haven't posted in so long is because they keep me so busy! Sometimes, all I'm doing is holding the baby, but that keeps me form accomplishing other things like laundry and dinner. I know one thing that might make a difference is getting up earlier, but I don't want to ! (*whine*). Over the last few weeks, I've been having some major insomnia that I attribute to perimenopause. Yes, there IS such a thing. My periods have gone from like clockwork to schizoid since I weaned Mr Huggie (Delaney). That never happened after the other babies. I've also been kind irritable, which is sooo not like me (really, I'm not being sarcastic). I've also been trying to get ready for school. We enrolled in Georgia Virtual Academy and school officially starts on 8/17. We'll be on vacation that week, so I'd like to start in the next few days. GVA is called public school at home by some. Just the fact that it's at home makes it sooo much better than public school. I'm really liking what I've seen so far and am excited to get started. But first, I need to not be so busy all the time....

Delaney at 14 months

2009-07-11T13:29:00.000-04:00

At the Pool

2009-06-22T14:47:00.000-04:00

These pics are from last week, but this is where we spent part of our Father's Day. I was a nervous wreck watching the girls while Daddy went to the giant slide. Shelby is much too independent in the water and Ava is finally loosening up. Delaney it quite at home in it. They all had a great time and we were all worn out at the end of the day.

Goin' on a bike ride with Daddy

2009-06-22T14:42:00.000-04:00

Courtney took back the bikes we'd bought for the girls, because they just weren't figring out the whole pedaling thing. He thought the hook-on bike would help teach Ava the concept. She pedaled backwards throughout the ride.

Garden Progress

2009-06-22T14:36:00.000-04:00

We have 2 kinds of tomatoes, okra, hot peppers, bell peppers, cucumber, squash, zucchini and 2 kinds of beans. Still have room for more, but we haven't decided what else to plant. I'm thinking peas and a second planting of beans.

Playing in Cow Poop is Fun!

2009-06-02T12:22:00.000-04:00

The kitchen redo has kept us from pursuing other items of interest. One of them was starting a vegetable garden. After reading Mel Bartholomew's Square Foot Gardening, I decided to give it a try although it was kind of late in the season.

Hubby pouring the ingredients of Mel's Mix

Our big helpers (above).

When we had all the ingredients of Mel's Mix in the van, Shelby (who is very smell conscious) asked, "What is that stinky smell?" I told her it was cow's poop to which she replied, "EEEEEWW!"

Here we all are, mixing the mix per Mel's instructions.

Once it was all mixed and her nose had acclimated to the smell, Shelby announced, "Playing in cow poop is FUN!"

Our Square Foot Garden

First Steps

2009-06-01T23:10:00.000-04:00

I think that no matter how many children you have, a baby's first steps are always thrilling, adorable and a little sad. Sad because she moving out of babyhood. If you have older children, you know how fast they grow up. Most of the time, I am really enjoying these early years. The girls are all so sweet and adorable (again, most of the time).
Over the last couple of days, Delaney appears to have realized the magnitude of this new skill. She looks so proud of herself when she manages to take more than a few steps without falling. Her sisters hover around and impede her progress, and I don't think she's going to tolerate that much longer.
She's gaining weight nicely, thanks to a visit to a pediatric gastroenterologist. We still don't quite know why she's so underweight, but at least we're making some progress. All her labs and stool studies are normal, so we'll see what the next step is at the follow-up appointment. He switched her from Alimentum ($27 a can) to Vital Jr (cheapest I found was $150 a case of 24 - 8oz cans). There goes our summer vacation! One of the many sacrifices we must make for our children, I guess. I did find a case on eBay and won it for $76! Am I proud of myself, or what? We may get to go on vacation after all. This formula tastes better and is higher in calories (30 cal/oz), and we sure can see the difference in just a few days. Her stools are firmer (but still quite stinky) and she looks fatter already!

Five Minus One

2009-05-30T11:25:00.000-04:00

It was Delaney's birthday celebration, but she had a fever that day. She was asleep when this photo was taken.

Dancing With OUR Stars

2009-05-21T14:06:00.000-04:00

Ava and Shelby in make-up.

The Adorable costumes

The rehearsal performance.
This was our first (of many apparently) ballet recital. It was adorable beyond words. Performers' ages ranged from 3 to 17 and they were pretty good. Of course the younger the dancers, the cuter (mistakes and all). I was sitting too far back to get good pictures of all the other numbers, but I was able to get some not-so-good video. The girls got roses after the performance. Their faces were glowing with pride!

Happy Birthday, Delaney!

2009-05-07T21:51:00.000-04:00

My sweet Delaney! What a sweet blessing you are. This past year has gone by so fast, maybe because I'm holding on to your babyhood so hard. We all eat you up! You're the liveliest of the buch at this age. You are one busy baby! I'm savoring every minute of you and your sister's childhoods, especially these early years when you are all so sweet and innocent. At the same time I look forward to seeing what kind of women you will be. May you be surrounded by love and peace for many, many birthdays to come.

Happy Birthday, Ava!

2009-04-22T00:28:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was Ava's 5th birthday and we spent a lot of the day running errands. She told everyone who would listen that it was her birthday. She's so comfortable talking to adults, yet so very shy with kids. Shelby insisted on wearing her purple sparkly dress, and I didn't put up much of a fight. If you have a three-year-old, you know what I mean. Besides, we gotta let our kids express themselves! The socks and shoes were also her idea.

I'd promised them we'd make strawberry cupcakes . I thought they turned out great: spongy and moist and just sweet enough. Shelby only liked the pink frosting with sprinkles, Ava only liked the cake part. At least they had fun making them. Maybe I should rename this blog Cooking With Young'uns. Or maybe How to Exercise Your Patience Muscle.
Notice my plywood countertops. Aren't you jealous? The concrete ones are in the garage, taking up lots of space and waiting for whatever DH needs to do to them next.

Sweet Potato Pie (12/08)

2009-04-17T02:24:00.000-04:00

Time Marches On

2009-04-17T01:28:00.000-04:00

I just got home from working an evening shift. Delaney has been boldly standing without support for a week or two, but I was not prepared when DH called me at work to tell me she took several steps today. I am not ready for this! She's already quite busy as it is. I can hardly get anything done because she's so high maintenance, what am I going to do when I have to spend my days chasing her? I'm hoping the other two will help...
But really, what has me most upset is that she's growing up! I often remind DH that our sweet little girls will one day be lanky teenagers full of attitude. I'm aware that change is a constant thing, but it still makes me sad. I try to live in the moment and savor their sweet faces and the adorable things they say. When I think about Alex as a child, it's the 5 year old face that I see. I can still hear his voice and feel the silky smooth cheek that I kissed often, knowing that one day kisses from him would be few and far between. I lived in the moment then as much as single parenthood and a full time job allowed. My worries are not as many these days (thank God), but I know that my threats to bite the butts will one day be met with much rolling of the eyes. So I get as many kisses and hugs as I can now and savor them while they last.

Easter Fun

2009-04-06T15:25:00.002-04:00

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/

Updates

2009-04-01T17:35:00.000-04:00

I don't know what it was that had all our noses running and my head feeling like it was going to explode, but , thank God, it's over!
Delaney gained 8 oz over three weeks. The pediatrician was pleased because it showed that she could gain weight, but the labs show that there is a possible problem. More labs are in progress and I'm trying to put it out of my mind until I know something definite. Her appetite appears to have improved and she definitely enjoys feeding herself. So far we're feeding her regular oatmeal, avocado, pasta, baked or boiled potatoes, steamed sliced carrots, canned fruit, vienna sausage and what ever else I can think of that she can eat with four teeth.
The kitchen continues to be a work in progress. The concrete counter tops have been poured and demolded, but the polishing is another story. DH's work schedule has changed and it's slowing things down even more.
I'm currently planning our pre-K and kindergarten curriculum, which I plan to start in the next month or two. The renovation had brought schooling to a standstill. Ava misses her "atcibiries." I plan on using the Five In A Row curriculum and am in the process of buying the books as cheaply as possible. I've also discovered a system that I think will be very beneficial: The Workbox System.
My plan as of now is to "do school" three days a week. I hope to be able to cut my work schedule back to just weekends, but I don't know when that will be possible. I just can't commit to 5 days a week, especially just "officially" starting out. When we were doing it before it was sporadic and mostly unplanned. This will be my official "getting my feet wet" year. Although I already have an idea of the girls' learning styles, I hope to hone in on what will work best for each of them.

Same thing different person?

2009-03-24T00:16:00.000-04:00

Well, Shelby was better on Thursday, but Friday, after feeling quite droopy all day, she suddenly barfed all over the (fabric!) couch. I cleaned it with some spray stuff, then DH took the cushions outside and hosed them off. The cushions spent the night and following day outside and now there's no hint of the mess. The next day, Ava came down with some feverish thing and today, I'm under the weather. I haven't even had a cold in probably a year! I'm miserable and writing under the influence of Nyquil, so this might be more interesting than I intend.
So I'm on a new quest of frugality. Thank God I like my job, but I hate that I have to work. I'm not sure DH knows this and I haven't told him. No worries, he doesn't read the blog. We have minimal debt (house and 2 loans) and I really think we could live on one paycheck. DH says he's on board with this plan, but I'm not too sure about that. A dollar in his hand is a dollar spent. Although, I must say, he has come a very long way and the dollar he spends is usually on the house. The Nyquil is really kicking in. I'll tell you more in my next post. In the meantime check ou this awesome blog I just duscovered!

Sick Day

2009-03-19T18:25:00.000-04:00

Shelbilicous threw up yesterday at ballet. The young ballet teacher came out looking very flustered, "Shelby just threw up!" Someone in the lobby offered to hold Mr Huggie (Delaney's new name per Ava) and I ran into the studio. She had vomited on the floor, all over her leotard, tights, and ballet slippers. My poor baby! She said she felt fine, so I took off her soaked ballet clothes, put her skirt back on and we stayed in the lobby until Ava was done. She threw up several more times before going to bed. Today, she's back to normal. I was worried it was one of those things that makes its rounds in families, but everyone fine, thank God.

2 Ballerinas

2009-03-12T10:15:00.000-04:00

My Skinny Baby

2009-03-12T00:21:00.000-04:00

Delaney is 10 months old and more adorable by the day. She continues to be high maintenance, but I don't mind too much (most of the time). She STILL wakes up in the night to nurse, and I can't say no! The pediatrician says she's underweight and she needs all the nourishment she can get! (She actually said I should pump and save the milk and feed her the formula, but that's not working). She's in the 95th percentile for her height, 25th for weight, which would be OK except that she has fallen off the growth curve. She put her on Alimentum, a formula that tastes awful, because she's allergic to milk . She took it for a few days, but no longer. She was eating her store bought baby food pretty well there for a while, but that's going downhill, too. It sounds like she eats decent for everyone but me. I wonder if it's because I'm the one with the (huge) breasts? She likes to feed herself, so I'm thinking that once I'm able to cook again, she'll eat more. Most of the store bought baby finger foods have milk in them, so there goes that. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd sure like to hear them. Today I put chocolate syrup in her formula and it did work...for a while.

Kitchen Update

2009-03-11T23:58:00.000-04:00

OK, I'm tired of not having a kitchen! I am having cooking fantasies! I'm dying to use my gas cooktop (a Thermador, no less).

When we discussed about how much we wanted to spend on the reno, we didn't figure the cost of eating out just about every day!

So this is how things looked a few days ago. There is now plywood where the concrete countertops will go. We chucked the copper idea when we got a quote of $8000. Courtney is so anal, that I knw he'll do an awesome job with the concrete. We both have been reading up on it and watching the DVD that came with a book he bought. Although he'll be doing most of the work, my creative touch will be included in the final product.

At some point, I will post the total cost. I have no idea where we are so far, but we have gotten some awesome deals on the appliances and cabinets. We have paid cash for everything! We did have to borrow some money from a friend in order to keep things moving, but that will be paid in no time and we will ramain credit card debt free.

I have been surprisingly patient with this project. DH works full time, and I know he's doing the best he can. I must say it does annoy me that every time he works on the kitchen he makes at LEAST one trip to Home Depot or Lowe's (on average it's two or three). In order to keep my annoyance to a minimum, I don't ask too many questions. He really is doing an awesome job. We (mostly I) plan to stay here at least until the girls leave home, but I think if we were to put the house on the market with the new kitchen, it would sell in no time!

New Hairdos

2009-03-02T23:59:00.000-05:00

Atlanta Snow!

2009-03-02T23:51:00.000-05:00

Yes, she's wearing mismatched shoes

Men Are So Funny

2009-02-23T20:27:00.000-05:00

I first started talking about wanting to remodel the kitchen a few months after moving into this house. The lack of counter space was getting increasingly frustrating. DH asked what did I want to do. I said, "I want to open up the whole space and move the cook top to the opposite wall." "Open up the whole space?" He was appalled. When the subject came up again months later he said, very authoritatively, I can get you a cut through so you can see into the dining room, but opening up the whole area is out of the question. Thinking it had to do with load bearing walls and what not, I didn't argue too much. I had visions of cooking for folks while being part of the conversation in the dining area, glass of wine on my beautiful concrete counter top. "Concrete?" he asks, appalled again. I show him pics online of the awesome things you can do with concrete. "I dunno, Babe. I think granite would look better. Besides, wouldn't it be too heavy? I don't know if I could make it look like those pictures." As the months went by, different ideas were discussed, but nothing ever officially planned. I wanted to go into the remodel with a design board a la HGTV. I said repeatedly that I wanted to go in with a plan, not flying by the seat of our pants. I wanted color schemes selected, cabinet style narrowed down, money put aside for the project, etc. All of a sudden towards the end of 2008, he starts talking about the remodel. He wants to take down walls. What? I thought they were load bearing. "I'm pretty sure they're not." Pretty sure? I insisted he hire a professional to confirm this detail. Our neighbor, a contractor, assured us the walls were removable. Wait, what happened to the little cut through I thought I was stuck with? During the Christmas Holidays, we talk about it again. He says he wants to do it when the weather's cool. "Ok," I say. "By fall, we'll have money saved up....." the next thing I know walls are coming down. I was not ready! We might as well get it over with he says. But we have no money saved up! The van's paid off, we'll use what used to be the car note... After the walls are down, I say, "I think a turn at the end of the peninsula would look nice." No, there wouldn't be enough room to open the pantry door." Days later I get a call at work. "It looks like there will be room for a turn." He found a great deal on cabintes and they were delivered from Tennessee last Friday. They're not exactly what I wanted, but the price was too good to turn down. Beautiful, and according to DH, well-constructed. Last Saturday we spent half the day looking at granite and other counter top materials. I settled on a travartine tile. I don't want to go too dark. Sunday he calls me at work, "I think concrete counter tops would look really cool...."

Trip to a Chocolate Factory

2009-02-18T23:53:00.000-05:00

Last month, a mom from one of the homeschooling groups I belong to organized a field trip to a chocolate shop. The kids learned about where chocolate comes from and how it's made. They got to make a chocolate pizza and lollipop. Because of her allergy to milk, Shelby wasn't able to taste her creation. I brought some vegan chocolate chips along so she could eat some while the other kids were tasting theirs. They had fun and have asked to go back several times.

Kitchen update

2009-02-18T23:46:00.000-05:00

Above: Recessed lighting and peninsula knee wall
Ceiling dry wall being hung

Ava, handywoman in training

Award Winner

2009-02-08T23:27:00.000-05:00

Brownie Mom nominated me for an award~! I'm so honored. This is the Lemonade Nomination. It's an award for blogs that make you feel like you've just sipped an ice cold lemonade on a nice, warm day. A Refreshing Blog with lots of upbeat attitude and at times, just plain attitude!

(sorry - I'm having a hard time posting the image of the award)

Here are the rules:

Put the logo on your blog or post.

Nominate at least 5 blogs that show attitude and/or gratitude.

Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.4

Let them know they have received this award by commenting on a post.

Nominate your favorites and link to this blog.

At this late & tired hour these are my nominees:

The Snavley Freebirds

Homeschooling in the Garden State

Fabulously Frugalicious

Kitchen Wishes

2009-01-30T20:12:00.000-05:00

WOW! I've been getting a lot of visitors lately, mostly thanks to The Mom With The Brownies featuring me on her blog. Among many other things, she has lots of free curriculum info posted. Thanks, Brownie Mom!

I am surprisingly un-stressed about my kitchenless status. I'm somewhat stressed by the fact that my employer keeps cancelling me. I'm an RN at a children's hospital. I am a "PRN" (as needed) employee and receive no benefits, including paid time off. They pay those in my department handsomely, but the trade-off is that when the patient census drops, we are the first to get cancelled--without pay! It's my choice, so I won't complain too much. Due to lack of childcare, I'm not able to pick up shifts when they have a need on an unscheduled day, but I'm working on that. I need my money because I REALLY don't want to be kitchenless too much longer!

In a previous post I said that in our marriage, I am the brakes, DH the gas. In spite of this we usually work very well together. We are both creative thinkers and he can build/fix anything! So I decided I want a copper counter top in my new kitchen. Did I mention DH likes to "debate?" I call it arguing. So I did some research on the benefits of copper and came across this very interesting article. I did this to keep the "debating" to a minimum, although I know that in the end, I usually get what I want. Not only is copper beautiful (and gets more so as time goes by), but it's actually antibacterial! Where would this benefit be needed more than in the kitchen? Google copper counter tops and you'll see the cool stuff that's out there. Since we're handy/creative, we'll probably be making ours ourselves.

My original idea was to wrap the copper sheet (a relatively heavy gauge) around plywood. DH has come up with the idea of adding tile to the edges. I see it in my mind, and I like it!

Kitchenless, part deux

2009-01-30T10:44:00.000-05:00

Kitchenless

2009-01-26T12:03:00.000-05:00

This is what my kitchen looked like...until 3 days ago. We'd been talking about renovating it for a while. I wasn't quite ready to go, but that's life with Courtney (DH). I always describe our relationship as him being the gas and me being the brakes, and this applies to most things: moving, money, home projects, etc.

The day this pic was taken (we posted it on Craigslist and did sell the cabinets and fridge) was probably the only time the kitchen was ever that clean. As you can see, there is minimal counter space. Except for the area next to the cook top, there's usually crap all over the place. I love to cook, but have hated to do so for the two years we've been in this house. Not just because of the lack of counter space, but because of the electric cook top. So as I write, the kitchen and 2 adjacent rooms are without a ceiling and most of the walls have been taken down. We are hoping to redo the whole thing for under $7K. I'll keep you posted.

I often brag about my husband's ability to fix anything. However, he has a shortcoming that I am going to try very hard to be patient about during this upheaval: poor time management skills. I pray to God that it won't take more than a month. Right now all we have is a fridge (a very nice GE Profile that I hear retails for upwards of $6K that we got for less than a third of that) our old double oven and microwave oven. No sink, no faucets.

I'm just going to pretend we're camping for now...

Home Made baby Food

2009-01-19T01:09:00.000-05:00

From L-R: Apples & blueberries, squash, spinach/cauliflower/potato, carrot/potato, red lentil with mixed vegetables.

I make my own baby food for several reasons, the main one being that is saves sooo much money! Cooking is an act of love and I don't think Delaney should be the only one in the family I don't do it for! I like knowing exactly what's in her food, and adding this or that to boost nutritional content and flavor. All I do is steam whatever, run it through the food processor (a couple of months ago I'd strain it, but she's a big girl now), sometimes I'll add some breast milk or vegetable stock (form the vegs themselves, not store bought, if it's a little too thick) and put in ice trays to use later. I still buy jar baby food, because it's convenient when we're out all day or out of town, but not often.

Delaney has food allergies (milk), so that's another reason. A lot of jar baby food contains milk or milk derivatives. I'm able to feed her a varied diet without stressing over what's in it. And what keeps me doing it is the fact that she loves it!

Me, Cooking

2009-01-13T00:19:00.000-05:00

This is my solution to getting things done when Miss Delaney insists on being held, which is most of the time. Although I don't believe in letting babies CIO (cry it out), poor Delaney has too more than her sisters did simply because I can't always get to her. The sling works every time.

Making Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-01-13T00:01:00.000-05:00

Although we are not vegan (or vegetarian for that matter) I've found that vegan recipes work very well to acommodate Shelby's food allergies. She's allergic to eggs, milk, peanuts, fish, and we recently were told that she is also "a little" allergic to soy! Believe it or not, there is a lot she can eat, but I have to be imaginative. He appetite is awesome, but she's not always willing to try new things. I hope this changes as she gets older. You can get the recipe for these cookies here.

Delaney at 7 months (11/08)

2009-01-12T23:57:00.000-05:00

The Girls' First Visit to the Dentist (12/08)

2009-01-12T23:52:00.000-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2009-01-05T14:06:00.000-05:00

The more I try to not be too busy, the busier I am! I don't usually make New Year's Resolutions, but this year I WILL try to be more organized. Step one would be to get out of bed a lot earlier on days I don't work (my current get up time is 9-930), but Miss Delaney makes that very hard. She is almost 8 months old and still wakes up to nurse in the night. Now she's teething, so a good night's rest for mommy or daddy is pretty much out of the question.
7 am would be ideal. I could fold a load of laundry, maybe do a little websurfing...oh wait! I really need time on my treadmill. This post pregnancy blubber appears to be more stubborn than with past pregnancies. I weigh the same as pre-pregnancy (too much), but the fat has redistrubuted itself in a whole new way. Although I don't like it, I'm not as bent out of shape (no pun intended) about it as I thought I'd be. Getting up earlier would allow more homeschooling time, time for outside activities such as story time at the library and so much more.
I'll be uploading pics of Christmas and before at a later time, if I get a chance...

Ava, Attorney at Law

2008-12-18T14:04:00.000-05:00

I always say Ava us going to be a lawyer some day. She can be argumentative and is very good at putting two and two together to figure things out. So on the day after we put our Christmas tree up, she and Shelby had a hard time keeping their hands off the ornaments. I had to tell them repeatedly NOT to touch the ornaments.
Shelby: Mommy, Ava was playing with an ornament.
Ava: No I wasn't!
Shelby: Yes you were. I saw you.
Ava: Just 'cause you saw me do it doesn't mean it was me!

Church Ettiquette

2008-12-10T23:23:00.000-05:00

Hubby's great-aunt passed away last week. On our way to the funeral service at the church, we realized the girls had never been in a church before. We decided against explaining the whole death thing right now, but did tell them that they had to be really quiet inside and not to roam all over the place. So after listening to the eulogy for a few minutes, Ava leans over to me and whispers, "Is he telling a story?" "Yes, kind of," I answer. She listens for a few more minutes and says, "When do we clap?"

Frugal Fashion

2008-12-10T14:32:00.001-05:00

Here are the girls with their cousin Q. I bought the dresses at Goodwill for $2.60 each. The green one is embroidered velvet, the purple one's skirt is velvet, not sure about the bodice fabric. When I bought them, they looked like they'd never been worn!

Atlanta Children's Parade

2008-12-10T14:21:00.000-05:00

Books and Reading

2008-12-05T23:25:00.000-05:00

There's a school of thought out there that says you shouldn't teach a kid younger than 6 how to read, or any academics for that matter. I disagree! I learned how to read at age 4 all by myself! I would look through other kids' readers and it just made sense to me. Granted, Spanish is my first language and the fact that the vowels have just ONE sound each made things easy (at least for me). So I can't imagine not knowing how to read.

My girls know all their letters and their sounds, but reading is a different story (it is English, after all). I've been working on it with Ava (4), but she just doesn't get it. Hakuna matata I say. But it does boggle my mind how she knows the following on sight: Kroger, Walmart, McDonald's (of course), Wendy's, Home Depot, and Lowe's among others. We went to see Sam the Lovesick Snowman (a really cute story about a snowman who falls in love with a stove) at the Center for Puppetry Arts today. Ava has a fascination with buildings, especially tall ones, of which there are many in midtown Atlanta. So on the way home she points to a building in the distance and says, "Mommy, that building with the red letters says 'Coke.' " It was, in fact, the Coca Cola building (and it says Coca Cola, not Coke), but my point is, how does she know??? We rarely buy sodas!

Another quirk my children have is that they like to sleep with books. OK, stuffed animals and books. If it's one we've read that night that they especially enjoyed, they fight over who gets to sleep with it. And not under their pillow, but next to them. I don't know how it started, but it's kind of peculiar, don't you think? Does it mean they'll have a life long love of books? I sure hope so. I remember back when I used to read *sigh*. I love books, too, but I don't sleep with them! I hope this means I can look forward to all of us sitting around reading or discussing books we've read. One day, when I'm not so exhausted at 9pm, maybe I can start reading again...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHELBYLICIOUS!

2008-11-19T22:51:00.000-05:00

On the way home from the birthday party, we heard a little voice from the back of the van: "It was a beautiful birthday celebration that we went to." How cute (and articulate) is that?! Yes, it was Shelby and it made me want to cry.
We decided at the last minute to have a special day for Shelby. The last 2 birthdays were acknowledged during Thanksgiving with the whole family, so it felt a little lumped together. It was at Chuck E Cheese's and she was so surprised and excited when we got there! We were all a little sleep deprived from the previous middle-of-the-night's disruptions. Delaney wouldn't settle down, Ava wet the bed, and I don't know WHY Shelby decided to get out of bed. We were all awake at 3:30 am! Everybody eventually settled down, but the girls were up again before dawn. If it wasn't for DH, I wouldn't have gotten ANY sleep!
Delaney had an allergy test (positive for milk) earlier, and I wonder if she wasn't still itching from it. Daddy told me this morning that he ended up giving her some Benadryl because her skin felt rough (she has eczema) and she was scratching. My poor baby! Shelby's birthday cupcakes were vegan due to her allergies (eggs, milk, fish, peanuts). She and Ava helped me make them and they weren't too bad! We got the recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.

Fall Frolic

2008-11-17T21:40:00.000-05:00

Halloween Pics

2008-11-13T14:49:00.001-05:00

2 Mermaids and a soldier (cousin Cory)

Mermaid Princess #2

Mermaid Princess #1

the girls' costumes: made by me.

!!YAY OBAMA!!

2008-11-13T14:36:00.000-05:00

Life has gotten in the way of me posting more regularly. There are bloggers out there who homeschool, work, cook and keep up with their very interesting and informative blogs. How they do it I don't know. I really really wanted to post something about the Obama win, but in spite my emotion, just couldn't find the time. For now, let me just say how proud I am. Not just of him for winning, but of our country for voting for him. I really think he'll do a good job, but let's not expect miracles early on, people. And if he does a bad job, it'll be an improvement over what we've endured over the last 8 years. Sometimes I get all emotional when I think about this historic event. Being biracial myself, I can really relate to Barack. Not that I'm anywhere near his league, just that whole racial identiy thing. He has not let race be an isuue in his life, and I just love love love that!

It's A Wrap

2008-10-11T22:37:00.000-04:00

My latest creation, a baby wrap. You can buy one online or at a baby store for $40-$60...or you can make one for about $4. I'd had the pink fabric for years and finally decided I was going to make a mei tai baby carrier. It ws going to take more time than I have, so I opted for the baby wrap after reading a few reviews and watching some videos about them on youtube.com. It took just a few minutes to make, and Delaney LOVES it! I have 2 maya wraps, but the limit the mobility of one arm, so they're not always practical when your baby wants to be held and you have things to do. You can wear your baby several different ways, but I've only mastered the facing in and facing out positions.

So after a couple of weeks of negotiating schedules with DH, I finally get the chance to go vote and at the same time sport my new wrap. We got to the place at about 11am and the line was out to the parking lot of the huge shopping center. There must have been upwards on 100 people in line! It's heart warming to see the interest in the elections this year! Delaney started out in her car seat on the stroller. As expected, she started to fuss after about 10 minutes. So I take her out of the car seat and put her in my nifty wrap. Y'all should have seen the looks of puzzlement and interest in the folks we were surrounded by! I don't usually like to call attention to myself, but this time it was kinda cool. Delaney and the wrap got numerous compliments.

So after an hour in line (thank God the weather was pleasant: cloudy but breezy) I get told that even though I've lived in this county for 2 years and even though I distinctly remember registering to vote AND getting mail telling me where I'm supposed to vote, they have no record of my registration, so I have to go to my previous county to vote. I wasn't as upset as I might normally have been. I got showered with compliments and a needed break from the two wild ones at home.

Us and Ours

2008-10-11T22:24:00.000-04:00

Our Lovely Daughters

My sweet Delaney is FIVE months old!

Shelby at gymnastics

Amicalola Falls Camping Trip

2008-09-24T01:20:00.000-04:00

3 girls and 3 bearsShelby and her ketchup mustacheAva

Us girls at the falls
Amicalola means "falling waters"

I got teased for insisting we bring

the inflatable mattress. Here's

Delaney enjoying it.

Papa Bear and Baby Bear

Enjoying breakfast al fresco

The other homeschooling families

My family at the falls

425 are SOME of the steps

A member of one of the Yahoo homeschooling groups I belong to organized a group camping trip to Amicalola Falls State Park. Not all the families that signed up went, but we enjoyed our first camping experience nevertheless.

County Fair

2008-09-24T01:17:00.000-04:00

Toes Rhymes With Chicken

2008-09-12T00:14:00.000-04:00

It looks like all I have to do is plant the seed, and Ava sees to it that it grows. We've been talking about rhyming for a few weeks now, and it didn't look like she was getting it. When she was learning her letter sounds, some conversations went a little like this:

Mommy: The "P" makes the zzzzz sound.
Ava: (amused and thrilled at my ignorance) No it doesn't, Mommy!
Mommy: Are you sure it doesn't make the zzzz sound?
Ava: P makes the puh puh puh sound! (very pleased with herslf at knowing something
Mommy doesn't.

So now a few times a day she'll come to me to tell/ask me whether certain words rhyme. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. But more and more frequently they do, and I am thrilled, because she's doing it on her own, without me bringing it up other than when we come across words that do rhyme.
So tonight's converstion went like this:

Ava: Mommy, does blocks rhyme with socks?
Mommy: Yes! You are sooo smart!
Daddy: And toes rhymes with chicken.
Ava: Da-deee! No it doesn't!
Daddy: Yes it does, listen: (pronounces slowly) to-es, chick-en. They rhyme!
Ava: (very amused by this) Daddy, are you being a goober? (a frequently used word around
here)

I'm hoping that most (if not all) of her learning will be this self-driven. It seems to be more effective when things are her idea. Most of the time we do "actibeeries" (activities) on her request. I have to say that usually, she wants to do the easy activity book first (a pre-school book I bought at BJs a couple of years ago), but doesn't argue much when I suggest we do our letters and number games first. We rarely work for more than 20-30 minutes, but the material sticks, and that's what matters!...and she enjoys it!

2008-09-10T23:10:00.000-04:00

2008-09-10T16:11:00.000-04:00

2008-09-10T16:07:00.000-04:00

The girls with their cousin, Cory, playing in the dirt.

Flexible Teaching

2008-09-09T15:29:00.000-04:00

Well, the bird house project is still in progress. Between the rain and not being home much, we haven’t had a chance to finish them and finding a proper place to hang them. We’re moving right along with Right Start Math and Handwriting Without Tears. While I work with Ava, Shelby “writes,” colors or plays with the wooden letter pieces that go with HWT. Yesterday, Ava and I were working on “H” and to my pleasant surprise, Shelby wrote it on her little blackboard (on her own with no one asking her to)! WOW! I thought I had another year before I started teaching her, but it looks like it’s going to have to be sooner than later. I love this flexibility and not having to listen to a “professional” tell me what she is or isn’t ready for.

As for extracurricular activities, Shelby is in gymnastics and Ava will be starting a “Creative Dramatics” class on Thursday. I’d signed her up for pre-ballet and a folk dances class, but they both got cancelled. I really want her to meet other home schooled kids so she doesn’t feel like she’s different. She’s asked several times over the last few weeks when she’s going to school. I’ve told her that school will be at home and I’m her teacher, but I’m not sure it’s sinking in. Because we refer to learning time as “activities” she doesn’t think of them as school. I prefer it this way so that she associates learning with fun.

Other fun things going on around here are playing in the dirt "mountain" in the back yard. Daddy bought it for the patio/yard grading project and needless to say, the kids have had a blast with it. Me, not so much what with having to deal with dirt stains that don't seem to want to come out. I thought daddy knew the difference between the nice clothes and the play clothes, but it appears that I was wrong. Daddy doesn't know the difference within his own wardrobe, but don't get me started with that!

My Laid Back Approach to Teaching

2008-09-03T23:53:00.000-04:00

My original plan was to have an actual schedule where we sit down and learn stuff three or four days a week. After a few half-hearted attempts I’ve come to the following decision: since I don’t hafta, I’m not gonna. If play is a child’s work, my girls are way into overtime! I see a lot of learning going on when they play: getting along (kinda), sorting, stacking, fine and gross motor skill development, physics (what’s the highest thing we can jump off of? What will happen when I drop, throw, slam this? Math (Can I have THREE Oreo cookies?) And so much more.
I concluded that The Explode the Code book is too advanced and not that interesting yet. We try to do Right Start Math and Handwriting Without Tears at lest three times a week and one craft project a week. We do it at no particular time, although it’s easier if we do it in the morning. We read at least a bedtime story daily and recently more during the day. I downloaded about 30 stories to the iPod, but they seem to prefer ME reading to them than listening to a story being told by a stranger with no book to look at. We’ll keep trying that one, since I see numerous opportunities for quiet time with it.
We are currently in the middle of a birdhouse project. Ava is so worried that if we don’t put them out, the birds won’t have a place to live. I keep reassuring her that the birds will be OK until we finish our houses.
Between playing and official learning, there are outings, house work, conversations and an infinite number of questions.

Caterpillar

2008-09-01T20:51:00.000-04:00

Have you ever seen such a thing? I'll have to

research it and see exactly what kind of caterpillar

this is. Ava confidently stated that it will turn

into a green butterfly.

From Ohio State University Extension Website:

The tobacco hornworm is the larva of the Carolina sphinx moth, Manduca sexta. It has seven diagonal white stripes, and its horn is curved and red. Sometimes you'll see hornworms with little white things on them. The white things are wasp cocoons! Small, parasitic braconid wasps often lay their eggs on hornworms. The wasp larvae eat the hornworm's innards (yuck) then form cocoons when they're done. Eventually they kill the hornworm. This is good for gardeners but not for the hornworm.

Blogsurfing

2008-08-25T23:51:00.000-04:00

If you click on “next blog” at the top of this page, you land on a random blog. It could be about anything: families, music, travels, all pics and no text, all text and no pics. And it could be in any language, some recognizable, some not. Because I have small children, my computer time is limited, but I could spend hours just…blogsurfing! They are plain and creative, funny and sad, relatable and totally “out there.” I’m fascinated by people’s desire to share themselves with the world. Some people post pics, but blur the faces, other use initials or “blog names” for the folks they write about. Somewhere I read that a blogger received pics (in her comments?) of her own kids playing in her yard. That’s pretty scary and makes you understand why people want to hide their identity (but still want to share their experiences). I guess there are risks associated with anything that involves other people. So far I’ve gotten nice comments and have used my blog to show co-workers pictures of my girls when I didn’t have an actual photo on me. There is a lot to be learned by blogsurfing. Go ahead, click and see where you land!

Adorable Moment #552

2008-08-20T13:07:00.000-04:00

Ava knows all the letters (consonants) and their sounds. We are working on learning to read. So the other day she goes up to the TV and points to the letters beneath the screen: "S-A-N-Y-O" she says. What does that spell?" I ask....."TV!" is the enthusiastic response.

Special Cupcakes

2008-08-19T15:41:00.000-04:00

( Sorry, the pics were uploaded in reverse order)

We officially discovered Shelby’s allergies when she was about 6 months old. She’d had a rash on her cheeks for a couple of months that would come and go. Sometimes, she’d have a fine rash all over her body. Because she was exclusively breastfed, I suspected she was reacting to something I was eating. This suggestion was blown off by the pediatrician on the several occasions it was made. I finally insisted that they do an allergy test, even if I had to pay for it. One day before the results came back, Shelby was all of a sudden covered in nickel-sized hives. It looked awful, but she didn’t appear to be uncomfortable. I gave her an oatmeal bath and thought back on what I’d eaten that day. The most recent meal had been scrambled eggs with lots of cheese. It’s the eggs! I thought.
The next day the doctor calls. Shelby is allergic to eggs, milk, peanuts and codfish! Codfish? I’d never heard of an allergy to codfish! Oh, no! I’ll have to take her off the breast! Everything has eggs, milk & peanuts! I wasn’t ready to take her off the breast! She was to be my last baby! I reluctantly weaned her, but after about 2 weeks, I relactated and breastfed her for 5 more months. I figured I needed to lose weight anyway, and anything that had milk and/or eggs in it was probably something I didn’t need to be eating. Amazingly, there’s a lot you can eat. In spite of her dietary restrictions, Shelby is the chunkiest of the bunch. One of her nicknames is Fatburger, Burger for short.
I was going to donate the 2+ gallons of frozen breast milk I had. My habit was to eat a PBJ sandwich while I pumped at work. All the milk was tainted with peanuts, so I couldn’t use it. In the end it had to be thrown away when DH accidentally left the freezer door open and it all thawed out.
So now I am always on the lookout for egg, milk & peanut-free recipes. Any version of a food bought especially for Shelby is called special around here. She has special cookies (Oreos), candy (almost any hard candy) and potato chips (so far Cape Cod is the only milk free brand I’ve found). When grocery shopping, labels always have to be read, as food makers sometimes change the ingredients of their products.
Shelby will be three in November and she is surprisingly cool about her allergies. She has yet to get upset when she’s told she can’t eat something, even when everyone else is eating it (ice cream & cake at bday parties, for instance.) For her birthdays, I’ve found a health food grocery store that has the best vegan chocolate cake! You’d never guess it’s missing most of the usual ingredients!

THE RECIPE

Glazed Chocolate-Avocado Cupcakes
(Vegetarian Times Sept 2008)

Avocado replaces the eggs and most of the oil in a rich, chocolaty batter that turns out super moist baked goodies.

Cupcakes:
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
1 avocado, pitted & peeled
1 cup pure maple syrup
¾ cup plain soymilk
1/3 canola oil
2 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze:
¼ block silken tofu, drained & patted dry
3 tbsp maple syrup
½ tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
4 oz semisweet vegan chocolate chips, melted

To make cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in bowl. Puree avocado in food processor until smooth. Add maple syrup, soymilk, oil, and vanilla and blend until creamy. Whisk avocado mixture into flour mixture.
2. Spoon batter into prepared cupcake cups. Bake 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out with some crumbs attached. Cool.
To make glaze: Blend tofu, maple syrup, vanilla and salt in food processor until smooth. Transfer to bowl. Dip tops of cupcakes in glaze, pulling straight up from glaze to form peaks.

THE VERDICT

Better than I expected! Next time I might try to make them sweeter by using semi-sweet cocoa or adding a 1/2 cup of sugar. Shelby loved them! These are her first cupcakes ever! They are moist and chocolaty just like the recipes says. Shelby insists on using a fork to eat it so her hands don't get dirty. This from the one who cleaned the table with her shirt...and tongue. I promise the pics were not staged.

Isn't she lovely?

2008-08-15T13:28:00.000-04:00

Our Playroom, Future Schoolroom

2008-08-12T17:45:00.000-04:00

This is what the room looks like now. The plan is for it to eventually become the "school room." I doubt that our actual schooling will be done here, but it will be where our resources will be housed. DH has said he doesn't want school stuff all over the house, but I don't want to put limits on any enthusiasm that may arise! Right now, we're working at the kitchen table, since that's where we can all sit at the same time. I'm thinking about creating "centers" so that each child is always occupied while I work with the other. In the meantime, I've downloaded 30 stories to the iPod so that one can listen to them whilke I atent to the other. I've gotten great ideas from my Yahoo! group on various centers. I will tell you about them as I get them put together.

getting started with homeschooling

2008-08-08T14:20:00.000-04:00

I haven't decided when our fist "official" day of school will be. Finances are not allowing me to order the curricula I want for math & Spanish yet: Right Start Math and La Clase Divertida. I've been working with Ava on her sight words and she's doing quite well. I'm following the curriculum from letteroftheweek.com. We haven't been doing it every day or for more than 15 minutes at a time. We tried starfall.com and she did very well! I don't think she got that she was actually reading words yet. I told her it was a game, but apparently she didn't find it very much fun, since she only did it for about 5 minutes. We will try again another time. I want our sessions to be fun & interesting to make it easier on both of us. She is only 4, so I will not be pushing...too hard. We call Shelby our little echo, and true to form, she repeated everything her sister said. During sight words, I use the words in a sentence: is as in Ava is a pretty girl. Shelby: "Ava is a pretty girl." Shelby is pretty smart, and I suspect she'll be picking up a lot just from sitting in on her sister's lessons. She already knows most of the letters, so my goal for her is to learn their sounds.

Preschool Literary Influences

2008-08-05T10:43:00.000-04:00

Recognize this character? He's the farmer in Fisher Price's "Little People" toy series. I don't know what his official name is, but my girls call him Mr McGregor. For those of you who may not know, Mr McGregor gave Peter Rabbit a hard time when he found him in his garden in Beatrix Potter's Tale of Peter Rabbit.

Frugal Homeschooling

2008-08-03T11:36:00.000-04:00

I finally decided to go ahead and “officially” homeschool Ava this year. There are differing opinions out there about whether to HS preschool age children, but I finally decided to go ahead. It won’t be more that 20-40 minutes a day. It will actually depend on her. She is very curious and it seems that the more she learns about something, the more she wants to know. I hope she stays this way! Ava know all her letters (and their sounds), numbers, colors, and shapes. Yesterday she asked what sound does 8 make. This tells me she’s ready for more. I bought the Handwriting Without Tears for pre-K and K at the SE Homeschool expo. I also plan to order the Right Start Math Level A curriculum. We’ll also be adapting some of the curriculum for letterofthe week.com.

Then there’s Shelby. Surprisingly, she knows a lot of letters and numbers, too. Because she’s only 2 and a half, I always forget her when it comes to planning & deciding HS issues. I see now that she’ll have to be included, but have yet to figure out how. She’s more independent than Ava, so maybe I’ll do Ava first then Shelby. I haven’t made out an actual schedule, but I do think that having one will keep me motivated to follow through.

There is a mind-boggling amount of info and resources online. I’ll probably be taking this and that from different places to suit our needs.

Friday I went to my favorite store, Goodwill. I was looking for a cork board for the school room (playroom). I’d seen one at Walmart for a $9, and didn’t want to spend that much. I found a HUGE one at Goodwill for $5.05, a globe for $4.04, and a book about the Trail of Tears and other Native American history by a Native American for $2.50! I just LOVE a great deal!

Baby Love

2008-07-29T23:20:00.000-04:00

In my rational, everyday mind, I know that we are programmed by the Creator to love our children in the interest of propagating the species. Yet this simple science doesn’t explain why the love is so deep! Delaney is almost three months old and she makes me want to cry! She is the sweetest, most adorable baby! Although I love ALL my children, there’s something about a baby that I can’t quite explain. She is my last (planned :>) ) baby, so maybe I’m also feeling some grief over this fact. If I was 10 or even 5 years younger, I’d be thinking about the next one. The pregnancy was healthy, but miserable. In my hormone drenched, crazy pregnant mind I sometimes worried that the fact that I was so sick and uncomfortable would make me resentful towards the baby. Now I know how ridiculous that thought was.

Six Degrees of Separation

2008-07-25T00:26:00.000-04:00

The premise of six degrees of separation is that everyone on earth is separated by six people: I probably know someone (2) whos knows someone (3) who knows someone (4) who knows someone (5) who knows me (6). None of the people in between know each other, yet the connection comes back to me. This occurred to me as I browsed through blogs. I'm really fascinated by them and can't believe it took me so long discover them. As I browsed I thought, wouldn't it be cool if I saw someone I know in one of these? I actually think that when I watch TV. I've met so many people in my life, it's bound to happen.
Many years ago I was in the Air Force, stationed in Wyoming :>( . A friend, who was from NYC, was looking through one of my photo albums, in which I had my driver's permit with my maiden name on it. "Hey, I know some Bullocks back home," she says, to which I reply, "Really? I have some cousins in NYC (who doesn't?)." "I know a girl named Princess and her mom, Vi." "Shut up! They're my cousin and aunt!" True story. Waaay out in Wyoming I run into someone who knows my kin in NYC. So that's 3 degrees right there. I call these my "Small World" stories and I got a million of 'em.

2008-07-24T01:13:00.000-04:00

My children: Alex, 22; Ava 4; Shelby 2.5; Delaney 2 months

Adorable Diapers

2008-07-23T23:01:00.000-04:00

These are some of my latest creations. Every now and then I find myself shopping for diapers online, but can't stomach paying so much for them when the ultimate goal (besides saving the planet) is to save money! There was a time when I was all about cloth diapers. I made and sold lots of diaper covers on eBay and even opened an online store. It fell by the wayside when my work schedule changed and I no longer had the time or energy for it. I have another baby now and she was awakened my dormant obsession! Right now, I'm just working on my own stash. Maybe I'll start selling them again down the road.

More about me later

2008-07-21T22:08:00.000-04:00

I just discovered this whole blogging thing about a month ago. I’d heard of blogs, but never ventured to read one until I joined a Yahoo! Group in which some of the posters have them. So this is what all the hoopla is about! Pretty cool. Hey! Why don’t I start a blog?! I have stories to tell: amusing anecdotes, sad tales, opinions, young kids who do and say the darndest things, and interests that might put me in touch with like minded people. I asked DH what he thought about me starting a blog. Still waiting for an answer. I guess I’ll be writing about whatever is on my mind that day. Hopefully I’ll be more motivated to blog than I have been about writing in my journal.
Bite the butt is kind of a term of endearment at my house. Whenever one of the girls says or does something adorable I say, “Come here and let me bite the butt!” Sometimes the butt gets (pretend) bitten, others she’ll squeal and run away covering her tiny hiney with an itty bitty hand. Other times I say I’m gonna eat them up. Occasionally I’ll hold one squirmy girl in my arms while DH, her sister and I discuss which body part we’re gonna eat. Mommy: “I’m gonna eat the elbows and the knee caps.” Daddy: “I’m gonna eat the nose, the forehead and the toes.” Sister: “I want the belly button!”
I plan to home school, so that journey will be documented. I love all kinds of crafts, so perhaps I’ll post pics of my creations. Personal finance is a subject that is often on my mind, so you’ll probably be reading about our journey in that area, too.
I want to get comments, suggestions, ideas. I’m sure there’s such a thing as blogging etiquette, so feel free to educate me.