Good Morning!!

This is really more of an update blog. I've been making notes about blog topics, and marking them out as I write about them. Some of them just keep popping up. Some of this is kinda new. Some of it is for the other blog. Yes, Big Sis, I'll get to it as soon as I can. Ready for bullet points? I am!!

• You should see out garden! We are so happy! Our tomatoes are flowering like crazy. Our pepper plants have tiny, tiny peppers on them. The onions are getting huge. Sweet potatoes are vining. The eggplant and cucumber plants are crazy big. I took pics from the beginning and I'll try to get new ones today or tomorow so you can see for yourself. I do not have a green thumb, so all of this is new to me. We planted several different types of tomatoes. My favorites are the Cherokee Purple and the Lemon Boy, but we also have Roma and Mortgage Breakers and Mr. Stripeys and a cherry variety called Chocolate Cherry. I have always liked the odd balls.We would like to make salsa and tomato sauce and have some to can and put away. My grandmother used to make the best tomato juice. Gosh that stuff was awesome. I had a friend say that maybe we should have a fajita party when the tomatoes and peppers and onions come in. I like a party, so you never know with me. Now to build a netting frame to keep the stinking birds off my strawberries.
• There is a bible curriculum called Grapevine Studies that a couple of friends reviewed for a homeschooling magazine. It's learning the bible using stick figures. I have a few samples and mini lessons that I downloaded for free. We love them. I've used them at home and for Sunday school. They are just fun. Anyway, I was looking for something to use for Easter. You would think with all my freebies that I could find something I liked. Yeah, no. I did come across the teacher's guide for their Easter study that I had gotten as a freebie. I broke down and bought the student book. It wasn't expensive and we enjoy them. Oh my giddy aunt, you should see our stick figures! We are having the best time!! It's keeping our attention and we're laughing and we're learning. It fits right in with our cartooning as well. Too fun!!
• Speaking of our art study, my big girl is quite the artist. She has always been very artistic, but this has been awesome for her. She would take hours to get her drawings right if I let her. We are down to just one day a week for art. I may go back to two days since the kids like it so much. And they have a cartoon to draw and we only have six more weeks of school. Guess we better get a move on. 
• I printed objective sheets for school for next year. I will have a high schooler, middle schooler, and elementary schooler. I need some help. No. I really need some focus. The older I get, the more scatter brained I become. I think it's because I fly by the seat of my pants. When I printed the sheets, I wasn't really sure what I wanted to accomplish next year. I printed a sheet for each subject and one for general objectives. I had to drag out all the curriculum for next year and group it by subject. I sat and read through the teacher guides and part of each text book. Then I formed a plan, by subject. It felt good to put some goals down on paper. I feel more accountable that way. And with a high schooler, I really need to make sure I am on top of things. I want her dual enrolled when she gets to the last couple of years in high school. And as I go back and read this bullet point, I realize that I am a big freak. Like I didn't already know that.   
• The chickens have been ordered. The chicken wire has been layed out and measured. The fencing we are using has been ordered and shipped. We are getting closer and closer to the big day. The pretty ladies will be here by mid April and we need to be ready. The closer it gets, the more nervous and excited I get. We picked a nice shady part of the yard that isn't too far from the house. We should still be able to see them from the house. My concern is picking them up from the post office. As long as all ten chickens aren't in one huge box, we'll be ok. We did order started pullets. We didn't want to take a chance with chicks yet. The ladies ship when they are about 17 weeks old. They should start laying eggs a couple of weeks after they arrive. Once we get the pen up, we build the nesters and the coop. So much to do still, but at least things are progressing.
• We spent yesterday at Disney for the baby's special day. Loving these passes! We fast passed the Winnie the Pooh ride and got surprise fast passes to Philharmagic, too! The line for that is always long. It was a great surprise for us. And the baby got to ride her first roller coaster. She got to ride Splash Mountain. Hubby rode with her and taught her the death grip on the handle. She loved it! He said she was a little scared, but it was her first "big" ride. Hubby wants to take her on Space Mountain. I'm just not ready. She's just not big enough, the poor petite thing. And for the first time, I was all by myself while everyone was on a ride. That was odd. Leave me alone too long and I'll go shopping. Good thing we fast pass almost everything. 

I guess that's about all for now. I need to get my achy, tired kids out of bed. Yeah, I'm mean that way. One day, they'll appreciate it. Like, when they're parents and can do that to their own kids.

Have a great day.