It's that time again. We have been at rehearsal and recital all week. It has been long hours, long nights, and the kids all have stuffy noses, and so does hubby. We have one more perofrmance on Saturday. We are all tired, but...
My kids are so awesome. They are so incredibly talented and I am the proudest mom. When they each take the stage, they light it up. I am always in tears with joy. My heart swells with love. When they are done, I yell and scream and hope they hear how proud I am of them. I'll post pics and videos and whatever else on Sunday.
Have a great day!
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
Vacations
We have decided that we want to go to Hawaii. We're just going to jet over, see the family,and lead a life of leisure. And then I woke up. But seriously, we want to go. We have started a vacation fund that we hope to have full in two years. We want to stay for two weeks to be able to do all the things that are on our list, and that will take some serious fundage.
We want to do this like we did Disney. We want to have enough money to do whatever we want to do. We are going to try to rent a condo or timeshare or house for the time we are there. It will be cheaper than a hotel, so we are already saving money there. Some places still have maid service, but I don't know if that's the type of place we want to rent or not. We would love to be close to the beach, but that's more expensive. We'll see when it gets closer to vacation.
We can also buy our own groceries and prepare some of our own meals. It's expensive for our family of five to eat out. To eat out for all three meals a day for two weeks is a lot of cash I would rather spend elsewhere. If we eat most of our breakfast meals and some lunch and dinner at "home", we can spend that money on other things.
We want to go to other islands and do some of the really touristy things. We will be staying on the Big Island, so we will need to ferry or fly to some of the others. We want to go to the pineapple plantations, the coffee farms, ride horses in the valleys, the black sand beaches, North Shore, learn to surf (stinkin' hubby already knows how), volcanoes, and so many other things. We know we will have to pick and choose, but we can have a list of will dos and maybe dos.
I also want to spend some time with family that I have only met once. I don't know nearly as many people on that side of my family as I would like to. I would like to reconnect with my half sister. I have only met her once, and that was when I was ten. I have thought about her often over the years, but neither one of us has ever made the gesture to get to know each other. I'm hoping to correct that when we get there.
My dad had gone back a couple of years ago, and I have to say I was a little upset. He took my nephew, who probably wouldn't have gone otherwise. That was a great experience for him, I'm sure. I just wish he had let us know earlier. I wish he would have taken my kids. Those are their relatives that don't know them. Those are their relatives they don't know. That is neither here nor there now, and we are trying to rectify that situation.
We would really like to get the credit cards paid off before we go. That will allow us to save even more money. No cards to pay, more money in the bank. I like that idea. I like the idea of the credit cards being paid off. We are about to pay off another one. Three down, four to go. If hubby can get some really good overtime this summer and my Juice Plus business takes off, we can really start putting some money in the bank. Please pray for lots of rain and people who want to get healthy.
Those are our plans. We are going to live as frugally as possible and save as much as we can. We are planning the trip of a lifetime and memories our children can carry with them forever. The kids bring me all kinds of change to put in our jar. They find it when they clean their rooms and want it to go to our fund. They're so funny and I love them dearly. Hawaii, here we come.
Have a great day!
We want to do this like we did Disney. We want to have enough money to do whatever we want to do. We are going to try to rent a condo or timeshare or house for the time we are there. It will be cheaper than a hotel, so we are already saving money there. Some places still have maid service, but I don't know if that's the type of place we want to rent or not. We would love to be close to the beach, but that's more expensive. We'll see when it gets closer to vacation.
We can also buy our own groceries and prepare some of our own meals. It's expensive for our family of five to eat out. To eat out for all three meals a day for two weeks is a lot of cash I would rather spend elsewhere. If we eat most of our breakfast meals and some lunch and dinner at "home", we can spend that money on other things.
We want to go to other islands and do some of the really touristy things. We will be staying on the Big Island, so we will need to ferry or fly to some of the others. We want to go to the pineapple plantations, the coffee farms, ride horses in the valleys, the black sand beaches, North Shore, learn to surf (stinkin' hubby already knows how), volcanoes, and so many other things. We know we will have to pick and choose, but we can have a list of will dos and maybe dos.
I also want to spend some time with family that I have only met once. I don't know nearly as many people on that side of my family as I would like to. I would like to reconnect with my half sister. I have only met her once, and that was when I was ten. I have thought about her often over the years, but neither one of us has ever made the gesture to get to know each other. I'm hoping to correct that when we get there.
My dad had gone back a couple of years ago, and I have to say I was a little upset. He took my nephew, who probably wouldn't have gone otherwise. That was a great experience for him, I'm sure. I just wish he had let us know earlier. I wish he would have taken my kids. Those are their relatives that don't know them. Those are their relatives they don't know. That is neither here nor there now, and we are trying to rectify that situation.
We would really like to get the credit cards paid off before we go. That will allow us to save even more money. No cards to pay, more money in the bank. I like that idea. I like the idea of the credit cards being paid off. We are about to pay off another one. Three down, four to go. If hubby can get some really good overtime this summer and my Juice Plus business takes off, we can really start putting some money in the bank. Please pray for lots of rain and people who want to get healthy.
Those are our plans. We are going to live as frugally as possible and save as much as we can. We are planning the trip of a lifetime and memories our children can carry with them forever. The kids bring me all kinds of change to put in our jar. They find it when they clean their rooms and want it to go to our fund. They're so funny and I love them dearly. Hawaii, here we come.
Have a great day!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
The Week in Review
I need to start labeling my posts. I've noticed other blogs have done that and I like the idea. If I'm looking for something specific, I can click on the subject. One friend has great recipes, reads alot, and has great homeschool ideas. She has her posts labeled and I can go just click on whatever category I'm looking for. One friend is very inspirational. When I need to be lifted up, I go to her blog and choose a label. Of course, saying and doing are two different things. I may never get to the labeling thing. Opening monologue over, and on with the show.
Hubby has been working some really good over time. All the rain has caused all sorts of trouble and we are very thankful. He's also on call, so that is a nice little "extra" as well. He hasn't gotten called out, which is a little weird. Hubby contracted for awhile and followed the hurricanes making some pretty good money. We always felt a little awkward that his job depended on really bad weather and misery for others. It's still the same way. We are thankful for all the rain we've been having for more than refilling our lakes. It is helping to refill our bank account so we can dig our way out from under our mountain of debt. Hubby works so hard for us.
Friday was the homeschool convention. It was incredible, amazing, and a few more adjectives that I am not going to take the time to list. My friend C said she was amazed at the diversity of homeschool families. I was, too. There were families of all shapes and sizes. The sheer number of people that were at the convention was staggering to me. I was in curriculum heaven. I could see, touch, smell, hear, but not taste because that would be gross. I managed to pick some things up that we needed, and a couple that I wanted. It was awesome!
The big girl went with and she was so good. She played with C's daughter. They giggled more than two girls should be allowed to giggle. The big girl fell asleep on the ride home. I think the sugar rush was over and she couldn't help it. The girls got their faces painted while we were there. The big girl liked what the lady had on her face, so that's what she got. The lady made it look so easy. It was Am's first time ever getting her face painted, so it was nice to be there to see her reaction. It was good to spend some time with just the big girl. It's hard to give each one of them alone time as much as I would like to. Any time I get to spend with the kids is good time.
Thursday was the Health Fair at church. I worked promoting Juice Plus with my upline and had a really good time. We didn't make any sales, but it was still fun. I did get an interesting offer about another venture. There is a fellow church member that is starting to put a new program together for doctors' offices and he wants to talk medical billing with me. I am really excited about where this opportunity can lead. Not only could this be an interesting side project, but being in doctors' offices will be another opportunity to promote Juice Plus.
This week coming up is our last official week of dance. I cannot believe it is ending. We have recital the first week in June and are so excited. The kids have their costumes and I will post pictures as soon as I can. You'll have to wait until after recital for that. I may take some summer classes while the kids are in vacation bible school. They will all be there, so I'll have a little free time. We'll see what I can get away with.
We had lasagna for dinner tonight. We had to go to the grocery store after church and I asked what everyone wanted for dinner. The big girl said lasagna and hubby seconded the motion. It was so good. We haven't had it in so long. It was cheesy and bubbly and melty and mmmmm. We had home made bread with it. I made a loaf yesterday and some rolls. The rolls are all gone. I'll need to make smaller ones of those next time. They were a little on the large side and a tiny bit doughy, but that didn't stop us from eating all of them. I liked being able to control what went into our bread. That's the next hurdle to conquer- making our own bread and being able to keep it up.
We have really felt like we have made some serious progress in being better to our bodies. We are trying to get away from packaged and processed foods as much as possible. We haven't cut everything bad out, but one step at a time. We are eating organic, are taking Juice Plus, and have cut our milk intake. We are spending more time as a family and less time in front of the TV. We are working more outside and trying to be more active. So far, so good.
I have to tell you about what happened in church today. I had to leave the 8:30 service a little early to get to our 10:00 service. I was greeting today and I had to be there about 9:30. Since I was also teaching Sunday School at 10 (spread a little thin today, but hubby helped), I took the two older kids with me. They had stayed in the service with us after the children's sermon, so we left together. I kissed hubby really quick, told the kids we were leaving and we left. The big girl stopped and went back to kiss hubby goodbye. The boy went back and kissed hubby. This was done in front of everyone in the service. We weren't thinking about that. We were saying bye the same way we always do. I was greeting at our activity center and a couple of people who had seen it stopped and commented on it. It was all positive and nobody was offended. It was a normal thing for us, and we were able to brighten the lives of others with it. That made us feel really special that we were chosen for that.
That's about all I have for now. I have some ideas that have been rolling around in my head for my other blog. Tyler and Lydia have been talking to me, so I need to do that. Who knows what'll happen next.
Have a great day!
Hubby has been working some really good over time. All the rain has caused all sorts of trouble and we are very thankful. He's also on call, so that is a nice little "extra" as well. He hasn't gotten called out, which is a little weird. Hubby contracted for awhile and followed the hurricanes making some pretty good money. We always felt a little awkward that his job depended on really bad weather and misery for others. It's still the same way. We are thankful for all the rain we've been having for more than refilling our lakes. It is helping to refill our bank account so we can dig our way out from under our mountain of debt. Hubby works so hard for us.
Friday was the homeschool convention. It was incredible, amazing, and a few more adjectives that I am not going to take the time to list. My friend C said she was amazed at the diversity of homeschool families. I was, too. There were families of all shapes and sizes. The sheer number of people that were at the convention was staggering to me. I was in curriculum heaven. I could see, touch, smell, hear, but not taste because that would be gross. I managed to pick some things up that we needed, and a couple that I wanted. It was awesome!
The big girl went with and she was so good. She played with C's daughter. They giggled more than two girls should be allowed to giggle. The big girl fell asleep on the ride home. I think the sugar rush was over and she couldn't help it. The girls got their faces painted while we were there. The big girl liked what the lady had on her face, so that's what she got. The lady made it look so easy. It was Am's first time ever getting her face painted, so it was nice to be there to see her reaction. It was good to spend some time with just the big girl. It's hard to give each one of them alone time as much as I would like to. Any time I get to spend with the kids is good time.
Thursday was the Health Fair at church. I worked promoting Juice Plus with my upline and had a really good time. We didn't make any sales, but it was still fun. I did get an interesting offer about another venture. There is a fellow church member that is starting to put a new program together for doctors' offices and he wants to talk medical billing with me. I am really excited about where this opportunity can lead. Not only could this be an interesting side project, but being in doctors' offices will be another opportunity to promote Juice Plus.
This week coming up is our last official week of dance. I cannot believe it is ending. We have recital the first week in June and are so excited. The kids have their costumes and I will post pictures as soon as I can. You'll have to wait until after recital for that. I may take some summer classes while the kids are in vacation bible school. They will all be there, so I'll have a little free time. We'll see what I can get away with.
We had lasagna for dinner tonight. We had to go to the grocery store after church and I asked what everyone wanted for dinner. The big girl said lasagna and hubby seconded the motion. It was so good. We haven't had it in so long. It was cheesy and bubbly and melty and mmmmm. We had home made bread with it. I made a loaf yesterday and some rolls. The rolls are all gone. I'll need to make smaller ones of those next time. They were a little on the large side and a tiny bit doughy, but that didn't stop us from eating all of them. I liked being able to control what went into our bread. That's the next hurdle to conquer- making our own bread and being able to keep it up.
We have really felt like we have made some serious progress in being better to our bodies. We are trying to get away from packaged and processed foods as much as possible. We haven't cut everything bad out, but one step at a time. We are eating organic, are taking Juice Plus, and have cut our milk intake. We are spending more time as a family and less time in front of the TV. We are working more outside and trying to be more active. So far, so good.
I have to tell you about what happened in church today. I had to leave the 8:30 service a little early to get to our 10:00 service. I was greeting today and I had to be there about 9:30. Since I was also teaching Sunday School at 10 (spread a little thin today, but hubby helped), I took the two older kids with me. They had stayed in the service with us after the children's sermon, so we left together. I kissed hubby really quick, told the kids we were leaving and we left. The big girl stopped and went back to kiss hubby goodbye. The boy went back and kissed hubby. This was done in front of everyone in the service. We weren't thinking about that. We were saying bye the same way we always do. I was greeting at our activity center and a couple of people who had seen it stopped and commented on it. It was all positive and nobody was offended. It was a normal thing for us, and we were able to brighten the lives of others with it. That made us feel really special that we were chosen for that.
That's about all I have for now. I have some ideas that have been rolling around in my head for my other blog. Tyler and Lydia have been talking to me, so I need to do that. Who knows what'll happen next.
Have a great day!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Convention
Memorial weekend in this part of the country is time for the annual home school convention. Vendors and speakers come in and set up their wares. Families travel from all over the country, and sometimes the world, to come to our convention. I have been wanting to go for the last couple of years, but haven't gone. I got an email at the beginning of the week from a friend of mine that said she really wanted to go and would I go with her. OK.
It was fantastic. I loved every minute of it. There was so much curriculum. We all know how I feel about curriculum. Are you ready for the best part? There were vendors with curriculum that I had no idea existed. As much as I research, you would think that I would know them all. Apparently, I haven't researched enough. We visited every booth and looked and touched and became overwhelmed. We had to take a lunch break at one point to process and get away from the books for a minute or two.
I took the big girl with me, but the boy and the baby stayed with my in laws. Hubby dropped them off on his way to work and picked them up on his way home. My friend brought her daughter, who she recently adopted from Ethiopia. Am understands more English than she speaks, but she and the big girl get along so well. They kept each other occupied and played and giggled all the way there and all the way home. There was an area set up for the kids that had a bunch of inflatables and we let the girls play a bit after lunch. I know they were tired of following us around all morning and they were fabulous anyway. We wanted to let them have some time to play and get their wiggles out before we went back to wander the aisles.
I did finish up our curriculum for next year and got a start on the year after. I wanted a new bible study, and the free ones online always led me back to the one we are already doing. We're a little bored with the same one over and over, so I found one that I think the kids will like. I bought one for each of them, but I think I will do the one I bought for the big girl, and have her and the boy do the one I bought for the boy. The baby's follows along with the other two, but she will have some down days. Those are the days that she will do a color sheet or maze or something while we do the rest of the study. As long as she is involved and sitting with us is what is important to me.
I got the science curriculum we will be using for the human body. I really like the series of books we'll be using. We are using the animal one for next year and I really like the way the curriculum is set up. I also got a really detailed book of the human body that is incredible. The kids and I were looking at it when everyone got home and were amazed at the pictures. A couple in the muscle section are a little creepy. When you see just muscles on a body or a face, it definitely looks different.
We will try to go next year. It is only $40 for hubby and I and the kids can go into the exhibit hall with us for all three days of teh convention. They do have child care, but it is a little expensive for us. At $75 per kid, that would be more money than we like to pay for child care. They do great activities and provide lunch and a snack, but $225 for a day of babysitting is still steep. We would have to find excellent deals on curriculum for that kind of money. I might see if MIL will do an over nighter for us, and we may stay the night. Doesn't that sound great?
That's the wrap up. You know what's next.
Have a great day!
It was fantastic. I loved every minute of it. There was so much curriculum. We all know how I feel about curriculum. Are you ready for the best part? There were vendors with curriculum that I had no idea existed. As much as I research, you would think that I would know them all. Apparently, I haven't researched enough. We visited every booth and looked and touched and became overwhelmed. We had to take a lunch break at one point to process and get away from the books for a minute or two.
I took the big girl with me, but the boy and the baby stayed with my in laws. Hubby dropped them off on his way to work and picked them up on his way home. My friend brought her daughter, who she recently adopted from Ethiopia. Am understands more English than she speaks, but she and the big girl get along so well. They kept each other occupied and played and giggled all the way there and all the way home. There was an area set up for the kids that had a bunch of inflatables and we let the girls play a bit after lunch. I know they were tired of following us around all morning and they were fabulous anyway. We wanted to let them have some time to play and get their wiggles out before we went back to wander the aisles.
I did finish up our curriculum for next year and got a start on the year after. I wanted a new bible study, and the free ones online always led me back to the one we are already doing. We're a little bored with the same one over and over, so I found one that I think the kids will like. I bought one for each of them, but I think I will do the one I bought for the big girl, and have her and the boy do the one I bought for the boy. The baby's follows along with the other two, but she will have some down days. Those are the days that she will do a color sheet or maze or something while we do the rest of the study. As long as she is involved and sitting with us is what is important to me.
I got the science curriculum we will be using for the human body. I really like the series of books we'll be using. We are using the animal one for next year and I really like the way the curriculum is set up. I also got a really detailed book of the human body that is incredible. The kids and I were looking at it when everyone got home and were amazed at the pictures. A couple in the muscle section are a little creepy. When you see just muscles on a body or a face, it definitely looks different.
We will try to go next year. It is only $40 for hubby and I and the kids can go into the exhibit hall with us for all three days of teh convention. They do have child care, but it is a little expensive for us. At $75 per kid, that would be more money than we like to pay for child care. They do great activities and provide lunch and a snack, but $225 for a day of babysitting is still steep. We would have to find excellent deals on curriculum for that kind of money. I might see if MIL will do an over nighter for us, and we may stay the night. Doesn't that sound great?
That's the wrap up. You know what's next.
Have a great day!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Books on Tape
They still make them, but we listen to the ones on CD. We don't have a tape player or we would listen to those. Anyway, here's what we've been listening to, and reading, too.
We just read "The Wind in the Willows". I had read it as a child and decided it was time to introduce my kids to it. It was just as phenomenal as I remembered it being. The kids loved it. They love to have action and adventure and humor and all those things that we all like in a good book. We laughed at Mr. Toad and agreed that without Badger and Rat, the rest of them would have fallen apart.
We are listening to "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix". That is a great book. We are always disappointed when the CD is over and we can't listen to a new one right away. There are 23 discs to this book. I told the kids there was no way that I would be able to read that one after dinner. The books are just too big. We get into unknown territory next. "The Half Blood Prince" is next and I have already ordered it from the library. The movie will be out this summer, but we won't have seen it before we read the book. Super excited about the movie.
We are reading an Animal Ark book right now called "Puppy in a Puddle". The big girl didn't want to read it just because of the title. I read her the synopsis on the back and she said, "I guess that would be good." She's really liking it. I told her to open her mind and expand her horizons. I don't know what we're reading next, but I hope it will be exciting. We are always open for suggestions.
Reading is so important. I think we will go to the kids reading when we are in the van, or even after dinner. I haven't decided yet, but we'll see what happens. It will help their reading skills and give Mama a break for a little bit, a double positive.
Have a great day!
We just read "The Wind in the Willows". I had read it as a child and decided it was time to introduce my kids to it. It was just as phenomenal as I remembered it being. The kids loved it. They love to have action and adventure and humor and all those things that we all like in a good book. We laughed at Mr. Toad and agreed that without Badger and Rat, the rest of them would have fallen apart.
We are listening to "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix". That is a great book. We are always disappointed when the CD is over and we can't listen to a new one right away. There are 23 discs to this book. I told the kids there was no way that I would be able to read that one after dinner. The books are just too big. We get into unknown territory next. "The Half Blood Prince" is next and I have already ordered it from the library. The movie will be out this summer, but we won't have seen it before we read the book. Super excited about the movie.
We are reading an Animal Ark book right now called "Puppy in a Puddle". The big girl didn't want to read it just because of the title. I read her the synopsis on the back and she said, "I guess that would be good." She's really liking it. I told her to open her mind and expand her horizons. I don't know what we're reading next, but I hope it will be exciting. We are always open for suggestions.
Reading is so important. I think we will go to the kids reading when we are in the van, or even after dinner. I haven't decided yet, but we'll see what happens. It will help their reading skills and give Mama a break for a little bit, a double positive.
Have a great day!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Blueberries
Hubby and I have been get off our butts lately, not an easy thing to do, and have been getting the family out more. Sunday we went blueberry picking. And it was fun. One of our homeschool families has a blueberry patch and we decided to support them and fill our freezer. We had talked about doing this before, but we just never did. We realized that time is going way to fast for us to continue in our rut. We are trying to come up with fun and inexpensive things to do. This was one of those. We filled a one gallon bucket and have eight pints of blueberries. The kids ended up playing more than they picked, but they were with friends they don't see very much. That made it worth it right there. The baby even made a new friend. How exciting is that. Enjoy our pictures. We'll be thinking of you as we munch away.
Have a great day!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)