Down Home in TN

School Week Preview!

2011-02-27T14:50:00.006-06:00

I decided that I'm going to try to refocus this blog back to its original purpose, our homeschool adventure. So to this I'm going to try, emphasis on try, to do a weekly preview of our upcoming activities. Then I hope to do a refection on the week at the end. This way I hope to see what works, what doesn't and how lazy I am, lol.

So what will happen this week? Well, Poogie will continue her study of pronouns in English, supplemented with writing activities in her history unit. She will also continue with Teaching Textbooks 4 three days a week and Saxon 3 daily. I did this because she loves the TT but needs the Saxon. Math skills will focus on subtraction of larger numbers, finding the square root, making predictions by collecting and analyzing data and adding larger numbers.

In science she will be learning about he life cycle of a frog and the characteristics of amphibians, fish and reptiles. I have supplemented this will some fun activities with the frog life cycle.

Geography will focus on cardinal directions and using a map scale to measure distance between two points.

History will include reading Meet Felicity and doing reading comprehension activities. Reading and doing a famous person activity on George Washington. This unit also includes activities for our newspaper, writing an editorial and friendly letter. The fun part will be writing using our berry ink, which we will make and write using a quill. The week will end with a day of cooking Queen Cakes and sipping some tea!

Poogie's week at the dance studio will be exciting. It's Parents Watch Week!!

T will continue working through his new math Saxon Algebra 1/2. So far it has been challenging but well worth the stress. In literature we are taking a break before we tackle Tom Sawyer. I am letting him read some novels for fun. In language he will be learning about and diagramming gerunds.

In science T will be reading and doing a report on biomes. And finally, in history he will continue reading about the Revolutionary War and watching John Adams.

Extracurricular for T will include dance and voice lessons. His dance will also include parents watch week, and continue rehearsal for the spring production coming up in 3 short weeks.

American Girl History Unit

2011-02-24T13:59:00.002-06:00

The Abeka history is gone. We just couldn't take one more minute of it. We also stopped using Bob Jones reading. BORING! Both of these made us dread these subject each day. The solution was found in a unit study called Portraits of American Girlhood by Cindy Sotelo. It is a seven unit study using the American Girl books. Perfect!

We were so excited to find that the first girl we read and study is Felicity! Poogie received Felicity and Elizabeth for Christmas. Since we only have the first book in her series I called my local library and found that they had the next two in the series so that will keep us busy. The study also calls for the use of Felicity's cookbook and craft book which I got from my library also. After looking through those two books I know those are books to put on my purchase list, they are wonderful.

The unit study is laid out for us Monday-Friday with reading and/or activities daily. Mrs., Sotelo recommends that you supplement the unit with a math and phonics program. You may choose to also use a separate spelling program if you wish. Most of the activities are grammar and language based so that is not needed. I however, will still use all of these programs we are currently using. The only thing I am changing is to use this unit study for history and reading. I am also replacing the writing portion of my current curriculum with the writing activities in the unit study. These just make more sense to me.

I also purchased a very inexpensive lapbook on the Felicity reading series from Curric Click. It has comprehension exercises, vocabulary, writing prompts, handwriting, sequencing, and the list goes on. Poogie is really looking forward to the newspaper activities in the lapbook. She works on pieces as we go and when completed with have a full newspaper layout.

So what have we done so far in the unit. We started by doing a book activity, naming the author, illustrator, copyright, etc. This is in the lapbook. I made vocabulary cards to go with each chapter, also from the lapbook. Today we will be doing a lesson from the unit study. We will be visiting a website about colonial Williamsburg and design a sign for a business of our choice found there. I hope to take photos and keep a log on my blog of the unit study. ttfn

Change is good...

2011-02-12T20:09:00.004-06:00

We are well into the new year and looking forward to thawing out after a very cold and snowy few months. These months have been full of change and surprises. My hubby started a new job, which was a welcome change since it would mean more money and a chance to save a little money too. I continued my part-time job that began last fall. Also a good change, although it does bring some craziness to our daily lives.

The other changes have been small, some personal and some educational. I have found a little time to explore my spiritual path. Wish I had more time for it but alas I will have to make due with late nights and stolen moments.

Homeschooling has offered up its own group of surprises. I, as always, began to plan for next year early. I like to have plenty of time to research all options when it comes to curriculum. This year is even more important since I will be planning for a high schooler. The surprise came along when I began searching math programs. I always look at the scope and sequence of each program and was in shock to find that many of the hs programs were very advanced vs. his programs this year.

He is just now getting into doing some real algebra and it is very basic at that. I sat down and discussed the situation with him since it is he who will be faced with the Algebra 1 next year. T was not surprised but concerned. So we decided to order a stronger pre-algebra curriculum to work through the rest of the year. I will start by testing him through the easy chapters and hitting the new material hard. What was hard to recognize was that the curriculum we were using was failing him. We were using Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra. I did a lot of research before I ordered it because it was so expensive. But even the best research will not prepare you for the real deal.

What brought all this to my attention was when Poogie was given TT 4 to try out. We use Saxon 3, so this was new and interesting for her. She loved it of course, it was really easy. I waited and waited for her to be challenged and so far that hasn't happened. Needless to say we did not stop using our Saxon program. But I did begin to look closer at T's TT to see if it too as behind. Not surprising it was.

So here I am mid February ordering new curriculum. I have ordered a few other things and made some more changes but will post that another day. Enjoy this warm weather.

Christmas is almost over, now what??

2010-12-25T21:09:00.002-06:00

As I listen to my hubby and kids playing new video games in the other room I am beginning to think of the new year to come. What do I want to accomplish? What goals to I want to set and hopefully meet? Time seems to be in overdrive. The days, weeks and months are going by so quickly I can't really catch my breath. But I feel the need for a game plan.

For the last few years I have felt that I am at the mercy of life. What's the use in making plans if I can't reach them. I have felt beaten down by just life. Every day life. I don't want to feel like that anymore. I want to set goals, reach those goals and feel good about things again.
I'm not saying that my life has been awful, wonderful things have happened in the last year. It just seems like the stress and the bad stuff makes it where I cannot enjoy the good stuff.

So I'm going to take some time in the next week to reflect and determine what I want to focus on. Then I'm going to make a plan of action. One that can be carried out. Nothing so far out there that it realistically cannot be done. That only sets you up for failure.

Along with all this I need to come to terms with the knowledge that my family and I are never going to fit into what is considered the norm here where we live. We are different. We homeschool, we beat to our own drummer and that's okay. I also need to face up to the fact that our beliefs about life and spirituality are different than most. It is scary being different. But we have to be who we are not who others think we should be. Just some thoughts at the end of Christmas Day.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-22T21:59:00.003-06:00

I know it's been a long while since I posted. What can I say Nutcracker just took up every extra minute we had. It was such a wonderful experience. T threw himself into the role of the Nutcracker with everything he had. I was so proud to see him shine up on that stage. This experience has brought about so many positive changes in him. He is more focused, driven, and is even setting his own goals. The ballet company that he is a member of is a wonderful way for teens to find their way and grow up among other dedicated and focused teens.

Poogie was also a shining star on stage. This being her second Nutcracker was much easier. The bon bon routine was faster and more challenging than last year but she loved every minute of it. I will post pictures soon. I just need to find some "free time" in which to do it.

I have been working part-time for the last several weeks to supplement our income. I have to say it is nice to have the extra cash but exhausting to try to do it all. It will get better when we are all over this crud and are feeling better. It is that time of year when we all get the sinus crud, fun fun.

My plans over the holiday break mostly consist of continuing school and preparing for the second semester. I may take a day to rest, that would be a nice treat:) I hope all of you find time to chill and enjoy your families this holiday season too.

It's Nutcracker Time!

2010-11-09T13:55:00.002-06:00

It seems only a few months ago we were preparing for Poogie's first Nutcracker. Now here we are again busy with rehearsals, dance classes, costume fittings and all that goes along with preparing for The Nutcracker. The difference this year is I have two performers, not one. Not only is T the Nutcracker Prince, but Poogie will be a tumbling Bon Bon again.

I am so excited for both of them. Poogie has worked her butt off to perfect the tumbling tricks, especially the back-handspring for this performance. T is so excited to be the Nutcracker Prince and he has been blessed to have the sweetest Clare ever. The look adorable together and will light up the stage. This year's performance will require T to lift and truly dance with a girl like he's never done before.

My time has been spend doing Ballet Arts work to get ready for the event. I love being involved and have enjoyed every minute of it. It has been so much fun since T became a member of the group.

Alas, it can't be all wonderful. It has been a time of trials too. As with any other activity there are those that are left out of roles or do not get the ones they hope to get. I know this will be something we have to deal with in the future also. But for now I want to enjoy and bask in the wonderful honor my children have been given to be part of such a wonderful production. My heart hurts for those dancers who did not receive the roles they wanted. I tell my children that you don't always get what you want. But you must enjoy what you do receive. That one day they too will be faced with not getting the roles or parts they want. But what they are given they must do their best, because it may lead to something greater.

That said, if you are in my area come and see the 2010 Nutcracker! I can promise you a great production. :)

They are growing up so fast.

2010-10-06T14:56:00.006-05:00

This is my sweet Poogie. I can't believe how much she has grown up in the last year. I wish I would have gotten a picture of her with her hair down but that is hard to get. Her hair is so long and she wears it up most of the time. At least the picture shows off her sweet smile.

I am in shock when I see this picture. Can this be my little boy?? Wow what a difference a few years make. I am proud of the young man he has become. He is a good soul. Can't wait to see what the next few years bring.

Update!!

2010-10-05T20:03:00.002-05:00

We have had a busy, unusual and exciting start to the school year. We are not only a Ballet Arts family, but my son T is this years Nutcracker Prince!! I can't believe that he has come so far in less than a year. He is so excited. Of course this means that we will have even more rehearsals and time at the studio than we already do but it will so be worth it. T loves dancing. His favorite classes are ballet, jazz and tap. He takes too many for me to count, lol. He is also taking hip hop, which is not his favorite class but he keeps working at it. It is awesome how your children can surprise you. We haven't found out yet if Poogie is a Bon Bon this year or not. Hate the waiting.

As far as school goes we have had a wild year. We started out okay, but Poogie wasn't being the most cooperative child. Everyday she wanted to go to school. Several of the kids she knows returned to school this year and she thought it would be fun. I told her no, I knew it would be hard on her with her stomach issues. Then my hubby didn't work for almost 2 months and I thought I was going to have to return to work at least as a substitute. So I gave in and enrolled her in school. Biggest mistake we ever made. By the second day she was back on her stomach medicine, crying all the time and stressed to the max. What is funny the stress didn't come from her knowing how to do the school work or not, it was from the other stuff. What did the teacher want her to do, what was the homework assignment. She wasn't given a buddy, or anyone to help her. She couldn't' hear the teacher most of the time over the talking of the other students. And every lesson was rushed through where she couldn't tell me what it was about. It was like going back in time 3 years ago to T being in school. Needless to say she is so much happier and appreciates being at home so much more. I will not be returning to work, end of story. My kids and I are happy homeschooling and that is what we will keep doing

The few days that Poogie was in school I was so shocked at what little time I got to spend with her. A few minutes here, another few minutes there. I missed being with her. Heck, I miss them even when I do get away for a few hours to myself. I like being with my kids and they like being with me and my hubby. I cannot imagine spending just a few minutes a day with them and those few doing homework or whatever. I hope I have to never return to work until at least T is graduated from high school and even then I want to have that time with Poogie. You only get these few short years with them at home, I want to cherish every moment. No regrets.

Just in case you didn't know....

2010-09-05T21:34:00.002-05:00

we are a Ballet Arts family. T is a first year trainee in the company. He is so excited. Now all he has to do is dance and work hard till the parts are given for Nutcracker. He is taking lots of dance classes. I stopped counting at 6. But he's loving it. So now we are at the studio 5 days a week. So what's a few more when rehearsals start.

Poogie is enjoying her 4th year ballet class. She got to move on up an extra year and is loving it. She is also taking 2 other ballet classes, 2 jazz, 2 acrobats, and 1 tap. But she helps out in other classes especially hip hop, she loves it. Since starting back in acro she has been working on her standing back handspring, which she finally got last week, and the side aerial. Not too bad for an 8 year old. She amazes me everyday.

Summer's End

2010-07-30T22:43:00.004-05:00

The days of sleeping in, staying up late and spending all day in the pool are almost over. The kids attended their last summer dance classes for July, and have a whole two weeks off. It feels like it just begun and now another school year is upon us.

We have been busy this summer with dance, hanging with friends, being lazy, and just plain having fun. I was so lucky to get to watch T dance in his final day of classes. He amazed me at the progress he has made in such a short time. This crazy ride he has taken us on with dance has been well worth it. Yes, I do get tired of going to the studio and setting there for hours several days a week. But when I see the smiles on their faces when they accomplish something they have worked so hard for, it is well worth it. I can't wait to see what this year brings with dance. I now have the privilege to have two dancers in the family. What's funny is I keep saying how surprised I am about it. But, then I remember that dancing was how my hubby and I met. Weird, huh. I guess they might get it from us after all:)

It's HOT!

2010-07-17T20:39:00.002-05:00

I feel like I'm setting on the sun! That's the best way to describe what it has felt like being outside the last week or so. Today wasn't too bad if you were in the pool, otherwise it was way to hot. Since Mother Nature has turned up the heat my central air system decided to act up. It is out of freon. Thank goodness my hubby found a wonderful gentleman to come and charge it up. I was so glad to see the man I think I scared him a little, but it was getting way to warm in this house. Of course it wasn't cheap but you cannot put a price on cool air, lol.

I've been spending my days cleaning and organizing the house for fall. Working out a list of dinners to use to plan my grocery lists, and of course making lesson plans. I've squeezed in some time to hang out with my girlfriend, and layout in our pool. But mostly I've been busy working on the house. It's still a work in progress, but hopefully in the next few weeks it will be done.

While I have been cleaning and laying out and all this I have been thinking too. I have been thinking about what I am going to do. I know sooner or later, and probably sooner I will have to go back to work. I am hoping it will be after T graduates in 5 years but it may be sooner. It all depends on how my hubby's job works out and right now it isn't working. There are several fields I am interested in, but it is hard to make up my mind. I know I do not want to go back to teaching. The only way would be if I could teach college level science and that isn't going to happen. I really don't have time to go back to school but it is a must for what I'd like to do. Decisions, decisions. Hmmmm.

Stomach aches!

2010-07-14T20:21:00.002-05:00

I haven't been posting much lately. Been trying to enjoy our short break this summer. It has been hard enjoying it all with Poogie not feeling well. She has been having problems with her stomach. It's more like heartburn of all things. I mean she's 8, she shouldn't have to deal with heart burn. We changed her diet and waited to get in to see her doctor today. He checked her for all the normal stuff and decided to put her on an heartburn medicine for a few weeks to see if that works. I hope it does. I hate her having such a bad time of it.

On top of all this she started her back handspring class last week. And T started ballet and tap. Poogie really wants to master this bh and get it over with. Well, bless her heart she ended up spraining her wrist yesterday in class. The doctor says she shouldn't flip tomorrow. I just want her to heal and feel better.

I have been so busy with family stuff that I have neglected my lesson planning for the upcoming school year. So for the last few days I have been working on science and history plans. I am ready to have it all planned out and over with to start our new year.

Well, I'm gonna enjoy some much needed quiet time.

What's going on?

2010-06-16T21:46:00.004-05:00

We have been one busy family the last few weeks. We made it through recital as you can see by the beautiful pictures above. Maddie was a little heartbroken that my hubby wasn't here, but she went through it lie a trooper. When her daddy finally did make it home she received a pool as a present. Not too shabby. She helped my hubby put it up yesterday while I took T to his first summer intensive dance class. He was invited to work with one of the dancer from the Joffrey Ballet. The gentleman was very nice, but he pushed them really hard. T was so sore today, lol. But he can't wait to go back tomorrow, so it must we worth it.

I also have been in the process of ordering our curriculum for next year. It's like X-Mas around here with all the packages coming in. This is a small list of the things I have planned.

For Both Poogie and T I will be doing a literature based History curriculum of Early American History based on The Otter curriculum. I put the link on here in an earlier post and I have it posted on my side bar. For it I have purchased tons of books. Most of them have been used but the consumable ones are new. T will also be doing SOS Tennessee History.

Science: I am also following The Otter Science curriculum for the first semester. It is a study of the human body. I am using the chapters in Apologia General Science for T and literature books for Poogie. During second semester T will be doing Real Science for Kids Chemistry. And Poogie will do Life Science and Landforms by REAL science.

Math: For Poogie I will be using Saxon 3. She loves it and if it isn't broke I'm not gonna fix it. T will be using Teaching Textbooks again.

English: Poogie will be using BJU Spelling and English 3. I wanted to use a secular curriculum, but I find BJU a well written curriculum and we can leave out what we don't want to use. She will be using an Evan Moore book I purchased for handwriting. T is using Easy Grammar Ultimate 8, Write Shop, Word Wise 3000, and Editor in Chief. That is what works for him so we are keeping it.

Literature: Our list of literature for this year is long. Some examples of read alouds are: The Birchbark House, Calico Captive, and The Witch of Blackbird Pond. Poogie will also be reading chapter books and readers on our history and science subjects. T will be reading the books I read aloud to Poogie along with Across Five Aprils, To Kill a Mockingbird, Summer of My German Soldier and Out of the Dust.

I still have lots of planning to do but I am looking forward to it. I will keep posting as I keep planning. Till then.

Summer Break is here!!

2010-06-09T20:23:00.002-05:00

We made it through recital! And now we have at least a few weeks of no dance for summer break! What will I do with all that time? So far I have spent it getting school stuff ready for next year. Working on Poogie and T's literature based history curriculum. The main time sucker with that is finding all the books I need at the library on online really cheap. I've had really good luck so far.
We are all excited about this new approach to learning. T is especially happy since he loves to learn about a history subject in greater depth than the textbooks allow. So we will see. I will post more when I get it all together.

Happy Memorial Day!

2010-05-31T20:32:00.002-05:00

We celebrated Memorial Day with a green Ogar and a crazy Donkey! Yes, we ventured out to see the latest Shrek movie. It was okay. I think they should have stopped after the second one, but hey who wants my opinion. This one was different but not as funny as the first two. I still laugh at Donkey and Puss in Boots every time.

Now we prepare for Civic Center week. This is my third Civic Center week of the year and will probably be my easiest. We have studio rehearsal tomorrow. Then we have two days of dress rehearsal at the Civic Center. Every thing about Poogie's dance studio is very organized and run very professionally. I have been happy with our experiences in the last two years. Now T's Cinderella rehearsals did run long and were exhausting but so worth it when you saw the dancers on stage. Poogie is just ready to strut her stuff, lol. I'm just ready for a break. After Saturday I will finally get one, I hope. So now off to bed to relax before everything gets crazy around here.

I've been a busy little bee.

2010-05-30T20:57:00.004-05:00

It always seems like there is always something to do around here. Today was not exception. I started the day mowing our 2 and half+ acres. Not an easy thing to do when there's a million things to cut around. But I accomplished the task. And I even planned ahead for dinner. The kids wanted BBQ spare ribs in the crock pot. Easy to make an melts in your mouth. My mom took pity on me and made my favorite potato salad. So I baked an apple cobbler for desert and some cinnamon bread for breakfast while the oven was hot.

After a few minutes of rest I decided to begin working on finishing the decorations in Poogies room. All went well I was even able to use my Cricut to do some of the decor with vinyl. I can't show the actual picture of that creation on here because it also shows some personal info but I can show the cool collage we made to go on her long wall. We plan on putting a dance quote on the wall next to it with the vinyl. She choose all the pictures from the last year of dance that she loved. We can change them as things change.

Poogie has been busy herself. She has created the cutest thing. She began posting sign up lists on her door today. As of the week after recital she will be offering dance and zumba classes. She came to T and I to ask us if we wanted to sign up and if we wanted to take a class or private lessons. I mean how cute is that. T would benefit from it since she is more advanced than him in all forms of dance. He just says that she is a tough teacher and expects him to be perfect. Well she expects that of everyone including herself. I just thought is was so sweet. She always does lessons with her American Girl dolls so I guess she's branching out, lol.

R.I.P. Sony Cybershot

2010-05-29T21:55:00.002-05:00

That's right my camera died. Right before recital too! I can't say that I loved the camera, it was okay. But it would have gotten me through recital. Alas, this did not happen so I must with much regret purchase a new one.

How did this happen. Well, I removed the memory card a while back and the end started to crack. I should have replaced it then, but hey it worked so why worry. Last week while removing it to download my son's scout pictures it fell apart. I got the photos off thankfully, but parts of the memory card were still in my camera. I shook it a little and a few pieces fell out, couldn't see anymore so I thought problem solved. NOT! I purchased a new memory card, which I should have done months ago and tried to put it in the camera. It wouldn't go in all the way. After looking with a flashlight I saw a large piece of the old memory card. Needless to say it did not come out without a struggle and the camera died in the end. It still takes photos but none of the buttons for settings works on the back.

So I spent all evening shopping for a new camera online. I knew what I really wanted was a new DSLR, but my budget just couldn't handle purchasing the one I want. The entry level ones are not what I want so I decided to get another good upper level digital. So I searched and read and searched and read until finally I narrowed it down to three choices. They were all a step above my Sony but beat out some of the entry DSLR's when it came to zoom and mega pixels.

So off I go to town thinking that one of the handful of stores would have one of these three cameras! Ha, after hours of searching I only found one. The one I really wanted and only the display model was left!!! So in the end I ordered it online. It will be here Tuesday! Just in time for me to take some photos at home of Poogie in all her dance costumes, and for me to get familiar with a new camera.

What did I end up getting? It is a Canon Powershot SX20IS. I think it will suit my needs for now. I will have to save for a while to get my DSLR and the lenses I want but it will be worth the wait. I'll let you know how it goes:)

A New Blog

2010-05-26T21:23:00.003-05:00

I am really excited for one of my friends from high school who has started a blog about her wonderful recipes. I haven't had a chance to test any of her great food, but after reading her facebook posts everyday I am ready to try.

So check it out, it's called Dishin with Denise!

Summer plans

2010-05-24T21:49:00.002-05:00

I said we would have a lazy summer. Maybe some art classes for Poogie, and some dance for T. Well that just went out the window, lol. We got the summer dance class schedule and they are both wanting to take some classes in July. It would be good for T to prepare for next year and Poogie wants to work on one specific thing.

I did make T choose between boy scout camp and dance, he choose dance. I just don't let them do everything, it's too much. They need down time to be kids. Poogie loves to play with her American Girl dolls, play basketball and ride her 4 wheeler and T likes to video game it. At least we have June to kind of chill out. And I don't plan on starting back to school until the second or third week of August. We will have a summer!!

To Do List

2010-05-23T15:24:00.002-05:00

Since things are getting ready to slow down for the summer I made a to do list of things I would like to get accomplished in the upcoming months. Some I have to rely on my hubby to do when he is home, but others I can accomplish myself. So here is my list (it ranges from household stuff to school stuff)

What I have accomplished so far:

Painted and redone our master bathroom.
cleaned out and reorganized our walk in closet.

What I still want to do:

replace shutters on all windows.
extend and redo our front deck.
build a small deck on back
make a nice run for the dogs
repaint the living room and kitchen
refinish my bedside tables
paint my scrapbook cabinet.
purchase and organize the kids school work for the first semester
complete the decorations in Poogie's room.
Paint and rearrange my master bedroom

That is all I have so far, but I do believe it will keep me busy for a while. Since we decided against purchasing a new home right now, I want to make the one we have a little nicer. It's a work in progress, lol.

It's starting to finally feel like summer!

2010-05-19T21:48:00.003-05:00

I feel like I have come out of my shell. The weather has begun to warm up, with a nice breeze in the air. I have awaken from my cave and now I am ready to stretch my legs, lol. After such a long winter and a rainy cool spring I am really enjoying myself. I started by buying me a few new pieces of clothing. That was fun and made me feel so much better when I didn't have to get a size larger like I thought I would after eating so much. I am tanning a little to get some color on my pasty skin. And I am taking better care of myself inside and out.

Of course, it is a work in progress. But it is fun work. I just ordered a set of zumba DVD's for the kids and me to workout to this summer. I can't and don't really want to make the long drive to town for a short daily class so we will have one at home. Poogie and T like to do it too, so it will be money well spent.

We also plan on doing some art lessons together. Poogie is very interested in art right now so I hope to get her in some classes this summer. Poogie and I plan on starting our nature journal soon.

T is will be working on moving up in his boy scout troop and improving his dancing skills with classes through the summer.

Of course, I have been busy wrapping up this school year, working toward recital with Poogie and buying new summer clothes for both of them. I took Poogie last weekend to get the basics of her summer wardrobe and will take T this weekend or the next to get his. It's not cheap but its worth it. They enjoy getting the new clothes and love shopping. I have to say it's worth the sacrifices we make to give our kids what they need and sometimes what they want.

Till later, enjoy the great weather.

Great find!

2010-05-14T21:19:00.002-05:00

I have been spending a lot of my down time looking for next years curriculum. I thought I had found what I wanted but the kids changed my mind. They are so burned out on the textbook learning. Both of them want to enjoy science and history, their two favorite subjects. So I began to search for secular literature based curriculum. I like Sonlight and still plan on using it for Poogie for reading. But while searching through several new web sites and blogs I found a wonderful curriculum suggestion. It's called Otter science and Otter history. It is a free literature based science and history curriculum for Poogie and can even be adapted for T. There are tons of books with the history curriculum, some to purchase and some to get at the library. Many of the ones that needed to be purchased I have already found really super cheap on Vegsource and other sites. In other words I just wanted to let you all know about this little curriculum so you can check it out.

Summers almost here. Only a few more weeks of dance, yay! Then we can have some fun. Poogie has become obsessed with basketball and art. I purchased her a great little sketch pad, watercolor pad, drawing pencils, charcoal, and brushed to start her own nature journal. She was inspired by a book I picked up at the library, A Diary of an Edwardian Lady. I believe that is the title anyway, I can't find it at the moment. Poogie hasn't put it down since I brought it home. We also purchased her a new basketball goal since a storm a while back destroyed hers. That should keep us busy for a while, lol.

Well, I must go for now. Have a great day.

We survived!

2010-05-02T21:34:00.002-05:00

We officially made it through the flood of 2010! Wow. I have been living here for 15 years and I have never seen so much water. It pretty much shut down the whole area. Roads were closed due to flooding, damage or the road was completely gone. We spent two sleepless nights of one tornado warning after another. Rain that just never stopped. And way too much time stuck inside a house with 2 bored, exhausted kids and a very restless American Bulldog.

But we made it and now I am ready for things to get back to normal. Don't know when everything will be back to normal since several of the main roads are still closed, but at least we don't have to hear the weather radio going off every 5 minutes.

On a good note I was able to spend the days searching and researching for our curriculum for next year. I have to say it is irritating trying to find anything other than Christian curriculum. Now, don't misunderstand, we have enjoyed some of the BJU curriculum. It is excellent. But I want my children to be able to read a science, history or reading lesson without the influence of Christian views. I believe and have always believed that religion does not belong in the classroom. I think the great thing about going to school and learning is to gather the information about the world, all the information, not just what someone wants you to learn, and to make your own choices based on that information. You need to know both sides of the issues, not just one. And that you are a better person for understanding the way other people live or believe, why they live or believe that way and not whether it is right or wrong but just different.

That being said I was so excited to find some great curriculum this year. For T and Poogie I finally found a secular science, Holt Science. I found it along with the all the supporting material including teachers manuals. From Holt publishers I also choose the history curriculum I will base their studies around. I plan on basing our literature read alouds and independent reading to go along with the time periods we will be learning about. I also want to purchase A History of the US from Sonlight since they will both be studying US history this year.

For T I only need a health book and maybe something extra for language arts. He already has most of the other subjects thankfully.

Poogie will be using Holt for science, definitely, and maybe history. I am debating between Holt and Sonlight. She will be using Sonlight for reading and read alouds. We will be using Saxon for math again, she loves it. And as of right now we will use Bob Jones for English, Spelling and Handwriting. We are comfortable using those and the content is very good.

Now all I have to do is finish out this school year, lol. We may be going way into the summer to complete everything, which I dread. Hopefully next year without having the YMCA cutting into two of our days a week we won't get so far behind in the fall. I hope:) Well I must go and surf the web for more curriculum. It's almost addictive!

Happy Birthday to....

2010-05-01T22:25:00.002-05:00

ME! Yes, yes. Another year has come and gone. I get to add another number to my age. I consider it my numerical age. I don't feel anything like 38 years old, most days anyway. We had planned a fun weekend. My hubby was going to take me to Nashville Friday for my favorite food, Jack in the Box tacos and shopping. But we had to skip because Poogie had to be at dance class that day to get her costume and we wouldn't have made it back in time.

So we decided we go to Memphis on Saturday to eat and I would get to shop at Archiver's and Eclectica for scrapbooks stuff. Well, that went out the window when we were up till 5 am with one Severe Thunderstorm warning and Tornado warning after another. Then thanks to the torrential rain we are experiencing the worst flood in years. We couldn't even make it to a local town to eat out.

So trying to be sweet my hubby orders a pizza from a place close by so we can watch a movie and just chill. Well, we get home with the pizza and the power is out. Now come on, I just can't catch a break. Thankfully the power comes on and we do watch some of a movie. But, I am so tired from the lack of sleep I decide to turn in and try something different tomorrow.

It hasn't' been a bad birthday just an unusual one, one I definitely won't forget, lol.

The lyrics of my life

2010-04-27T21:01:00.004-05:00

I love this song by Linkin Park. It sums up all my feelings so well.

I cannot take this anymore

saying everything I said before

All these words they make no sense

I find bliss in ignorance

The less I hear the less you'll say

You'll find that out anyway.

Just like before....

Everything you say to me

Takes me one step closer to the edge

And I'm about to break

I need a little room to breathe

Cause I'm one step closer to the edge

And I'm about to break

I find the answers aren't so clear

Wishing I could find a way to disappear

All these thoughts they make no sense

I find bliss in ignorance

Nothing seems to go away

Over and over again

Just like before...

Everything you say to me

Takes me one step closer to the edge

And I'm about to break

I need a little room to breathe

Cause I'm one step closer to the edge

And I'm about to break

Thank you so much Linkin Park! I couldn't have said it better.

Ups and downs.

2010-04-25T22:04:00.002-05:00

We've had some changes around our house. Been working on decluttering the house. Moving things around. Makes me feel better when everything has it's own place. It is also a good stress reliever to focus on something other than the issue at hand.

It's also been nice to just chill a little. I will just be glad when June is here and we get a break from going to the dance studio 4 days a week. We will be doing some school this summer but it will be great not to have to go somewhere every day.

I am also excited to find a secular curriculum for the next school year. Nothings locked in but I am very interested in Oak Meadow. It has been a hard year with T's science and Poogie's science and history. We just aren't having the best time. I am hoping that this will be a better fit for our homeschool.

The past month has been like a roller coaster but I am hoping that the ride is almost over and things will get back to normal. Here's hoping;)

New look

2010-04-20T20:43:00.001-05:00

I decided to change the look of my blog to match my mood. I love this wall paper. It's called Bella's closet. It is very romantic and dark. Just thought it would be a little more interesting than the blue and white.

Frustration!!!

2010-04-20T12:56:00.003-05:00

I cannot even begin to share my frustration right now. There are so many things not running smoothly in my life. First, my hubby's truck still has not been returned to us. Back story, my hubby's truck caught on fire inside last summer do to a mouse eating some electrical wires. The mechanic person that fixed it did not fix everything correctly. Such as the door locks that had worked fine before the fire no longer worked, and several other small things. So we took it back to the mechanic to fix the problems. That was a month and a week ago!! I just made another truck payment on a truck we do not have to drive. I mean he had it last year for 4 months fixing it and now another month without the truck. Frustrating!!!

Yesterday I face yet another frustration, our homeschool curriculum. For the most part I have been satisfied with my curriculum choices. My main area of stress has come in science. It is so hard to find a good science text that is secular. I believe science is science and religion is religion. They are not to be taught together. Thus I have reached my limit on trying to weed out all the religious info in my son's science text. Apologia does a good job with most concepts, as in keeping to the scientific issues. But I was so disappointed in the chapters on fossils, one of T's favorite subject. I guess from one view you could say they did offer an explanation of both views of fossils, the age of the earth, etc. But it was very heavy on the religious side. I ended up throwing out so many questions from the test I almost just said forget it no test on this module. Next year I will find a science book to fit into our needs and beliefs. In fact I am looking into whole curriculum's.

Finally, my biggest frustration has been with waiting. We are still waiting to hear whether we are going to close on the house or not. After three weeks, two of which were wasted dealing with a loan officer that was totally incompetent I am hoping to hear something today or tomorrow. I just want to know, yes or no! Then I can move on.

Sorry this has not been the best blog entry. Not uplifting or positive, but some days you just need to vent.

Pictures are up!

2010-04-08T21:13:00.002-05:00

Yes, I finally got a few of my 500+ pictures I took during Cinderella. I put up those mainly of T since it was his show. He had such a great time. And I was so proud of him. It took a lot of guts to get up in front of all those people. Poogie thrives on it, but T has always been shy. Not any more. He has the bug, lol. He can't wait for his next chance to get up on that stage. Who knew.

What have we been up to??

2010-04-07T20:59:00.003-05:00

It's been a while since I had the time to really post a good entry in my blog. Between Cinderella, and kids being sick I haven't had a moment to spare. So here is what has been happening around here.

Today I took Poogie to Memphis to get a third opinion on her teeth. Her regular dentist has been wanting to pull her baby teeth as we go due to extreme over crowding. She wanted to go to my dentist to have her upper canines pulled because she is more comfortable with him since we are there all the time for my work. After looking at her xrays he just suggested we have her checked by and orthodontist to make sure she doesn't need help keeping all those teeth in line. So that's where we went today. The ortho we seen was so nice and determined that the extractions are the way to go. She may have to loose 4 of her small permanent molars in the end but here teeth are coming in straight when the extractions are done. So that answered that.

I have also been looking forward to the next school year. Planning and searching for curriculum. As always there are things that worked great this year, like Teaching Textbooks, and things we hated like BJU science and social studies for Poogie. I'd like to do at least one subject for each of the on the computer, maybe two for T. Math is a given and I'm thinking maybe science. We like Apologia, but it is a little overwhelming. I'd like to do Poogie's science on computer with SOS. Still thinking though.

They both want to do history by reading novels. I'm thinking Sonlight or Beautiful Feet. For Poogie I'd love to do Sonlight for reading. We are so tired of the BJU Reading. Then there is language arts. For T I will definitely stick with Word Wise and Editor in Chief. But may try Sonlight or Rod and Staff. I'm not sure with Poogie. Not really fond of BJU's layout, but the material is really good. Same with their spelling, we will keep it too. Poogie also wants to stick with Saxon math, she loves it. I wanted to try the new TT for 3rd grade but she doesn't want to try. Like I said I'm just starting to throw ideas around. We will be schooling through the summer so I have time to make the final decisions.

Everything else has been crazy. Bella, our beloved American Bulldog keeps me on my toes. She is a mess, but I thinks that's why she fits so well into our family. The kids keep me busy going to the dance studio. We made it through Cinderella alive! Now all we have is recital. Poogie is dancing 7 dances and will be in both shows. T, as far as we know, will not be in it this year.

So that's the low down on what is going on around here. Got to go for now.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T21:29:00.004-05:00

I hope everyone had a nice Easter, I know we did. I also know I need to get some new pictures on my slide show. I have some great pictures from the production of Cinderella in which T danced in. I will try to upload those this week since we don't have any dance, it's spring break!! Don't know what I will do not having to drive to the dance studio 4 times a week, lol. I will keep busy. Sorry so short, but I am in much need of some rest.

Happy Birthday Bella!

2010-04-01T21:43:00.005-05:00

Today my sweet Bella turned 6 months old, and weighs in at at 56 lbs. We have had her for only 3 months, and it has been a wild ride! But we wouldn't change a thing. Love you big white dog. She loves playing soccer. If you can't tell by the picture. I can't believe she has doubled in size since we got her just 3 months ago. Can't wait to see what the next 6 months will bring.

It's Civic Center week, again!

2010-03-21T21:36:00.002-05:00

It seems like we just finished The Nutcracker and here we are again at the Civic Center getting ready to do Cinderella. T had his first rehearsal in the CC today. He has been dancing almost every day for weeks and today marks the count down to Friday's opening show.

He has been added in Act 1 as a mouse that pulls Cinderella's carriage. So now we have to be at not only Act 2 rehearsal but Act 1 also. He is on stage so much in Act 2. That act takes place at the ball, and he is a lord that dances with the ladies at the ball. I was really proud of how calm and focused he was on the stage. I sat there thinking I would have never thought I would be here watching him up on that stage, Poogie yes, but not T. But I am so glad he has tried something new. He loves it. This has been a great learning experience for him. This week will be long and tiring but when the curtain goes up Friday it will be so worth it.

School and sickness

2010-03-17T13:24:00.002-05:00

Poogie is still sick. After another night of vomiting, dry heaves and muscle spasms we went to the doctor. Tested her for H1M1 and strep, negative. The doctor thinks it may just be a stomach bug. But she said that if it goes into next week we need to come back to test for other things including Salmonella. Ug. She did give her some meds for the cramps and pain. It seems to be working thank goodness. She has had a horrible few days. She is not much of a crier or whiner but she has really broken down with this pain.

As far as school goes, Poogie isn't doing any. T is back to his regular pace. We have added some new subjects and made some changes. First, he was moving through Easy Grammar Plus so fast I decided to add something more challenging. I purchased a used set of Rod and Staff English for him. I love R & S, him not so much. But it is challenging and I know he needs more challenge. I also purchased Word Wise 3000 for him. We were working on vocabulary with his reading but I felt he needed more.

We are also working through all the Key to... Percentages, Fractions and Decimals in a certain order to hopefully get the most from the series. After hitting a wall in a few chapters of Teaching Textbooks I decided to step back and make sure he has a real grasp of the material before moving on.

After 3 nights of almost no sleep I need to rest while Poogie is finally resting, so bye till later.

Whew what a few weeks.

2010-03-15T20:38:00.002-05:00

The last few weeks have been horrible. And to top that off Poogie has come down with a stomach virus, we think. She began feeling poorly Saturday night and Sunday morning. By Sunday afternoon she had diarrhea and horrible stomach cramps. Then that night the vomiting started. She ended up having the dry heaves all night. I hate it when my kids are sick like this, you feel so helpless.

She finally got to feeling a little better tonight. I'm hoping it will be gone by tomorrow, though she is still running a fever. T has rehearsal tomorrow. I just hope I don't get it too. With all the stress I have been under I don't think my body would welcome being sick too. I was hoping to get back to regular school work today, but toss that idea. T did do his work, along with his new stuff which I will talk about in my next post. For now I am tired from no sleep, so good nite all.

Back to blogging.

2010-03-13T20:30:00.006-06:00

Now that facebook has lost its appeal to me I hope to get back to blogging regularly again. With T not swimming and Cinderella over at the end of March I hope to have some time on my hands. At least a little. I want to get back to blogging about homeschooling and our journey. We have gotten so caught up in extra curricular junk that we were having a hard time even fitting school in.

I hope T can return to swim later in the summer. But if he doesn't that is fine too. He is loving dance and wants to take lots of classes next fall so it would have been hard to do both and do them well.

He is happy and excited about dancing. He is so much more confident in his abilities. He knows he will always have to face being called names for being a dancer, especially in ballet, but he says it worth it. I am really sick and tired of the gay thing. I mean come on people, football players take ballet. It is a physically demanding activity. I do not want my kids lives to be defined by sexual stereotypes. I was raised in a house in which my dad loved to cook and could sew better than my mom. Was he gay, um no. Was he a great dad, yes. If Poogie wanted to do a "guy" thing like auto mechanics or build transformers like her dad I would think that is awesome. It is okay to let your kids try new things. Don't worry so much about what other people say, just try it. You never know what will happen.

Who would have thought??

2010-02-28T20:50:00.003-06:00

Who would have thought just a few months ago that I would be driving TT to dance rehearsal? That's right, not Poogie, TT! As I posted before he got interested in dance while Poogie was in the Nutcracker. He started ballet in January and loves it. I still can't believe it. And now he is dancing the part of a lord in the Cinderella ballet this month.

He went to his first rehearsal this weekend and loved it. Told me that he would love to do it every day. I was like, now wait a minute, this I have become used to hearing from Poogie but not him. He wants to take more classes during the week so I am hopefully going to get the teacher to find some time for him. He is so excited.

This goes to show as a parent never begin to think you've got your children all figured out. Because as soon as you do, BAM, they throw you a curve ball. I am happy as a lark about the dancing and all, just a little surprised. I have been very blessed to have two children that try new things, and enjoy them. Two stars in one year, what more could I ask for.

Hello! Are you listening???

2010-02-23T10:12:00.002-06:00

This is what I am wondering after attempting to reschedule Poogie's dentist appointment. When I scheduled the appointment weeks ago I did not know that it would be on the same day as my long awaited photography class. When I received the email about my class I knew I would have to change Poogie's dentist appointment. I dreaded it. I have had to reschedule several appointments in the past since you make them so far in advance you cannot know what will come 3 to 6 months down the road. So my issue is this.

They call to confirm the appointment. (They beat me to the punch).

I say I'm sorry but I need to reschedule. A pause, then "you will need to hold".

I wait and wait and wait.

Then they return saying they have such and such date open.

I counter the offer by telling them when I can come, say on a Wednesday in the late morning or afternoon.

They come back with Monday at 8 a.m.

Hmm, okay I repeat my request.

Okay, Wed. at 8 a.m..

Umm, no I need late morning or afternoon.

The final offer I am given is on a Wed. at 8:30 a.m.

I give in. Tired of the back and forth, and totally convinced that this person needs to take some instruction on good listening skills. I mean really;)

New Look!

2010-02-15T21:38:00.002-06:00

I decided to give my blog a new look in hopes that it would help usher in some spring time weather. After another day of below freezing temperatures and more snow I will do about anything to help spring along. I think all this cold, wet weather has taken it's toll on my sanity. I've always heard about cabin fever but now believe I have actually experienced it. Our yard has not been dry or snow free since before Christmas. And hello, yesterday was Valentine's Day!!! I can't remember the last time we have had such a winter.

I know those poor folks in the Northeast are wondering if they will ever see their lawns again. Or if there is another color other than white! So here is hoping for some much needed sunshine and warmer weather.

Change isn't always easy

2010-02-08T21:09:00.003-06:00

We finally bit the bullet and changed swim teams. It got to the point that things were not going to improve. After a year of waiting, and listening to empty promises and excuses we left. We completed the season with our team at the championships this past weekend and it was over. TT really loves swimming but the coach of our old team was killing his enthusiasm. It is hard to get kids excited about something if; 1) they don't improve their skills due to the coaches lack of well "coaching abilities" 2) the coach misses 3 out of 4 practices a week on a regular basis or 3) when the said coach is out, two of the three "assistant coaches" do not have any real competitive swim experience.
With all this said. We held on for months. We kept thinking it will get better. But it didn't and after a while you just get tired of waiting. Our choice of teams has caused quite the controversy but I think it is the right choice for us.

A Busy Weekend

2010-02-04T12:58:00.004-06:00

This weekend we were looking forward to my hubby coming home for a few days. I pictured just hanging out, spending time together. Well, we will be together but not at home. TT has two swim meets this weekend. First, we have to attend the meet his USS Germantown team is hosting in Memphis on Sat. We have to be up at the crack of dawn and in Germantown by 7:15 for warm ups. Then Sunday is the MSC finals in Memphis. At least this brings the MSC season to an end until this summer, but the USS just keeps going. Now we go into long course season.

He loves swimming but unlike most sports that only last a few months a year, swim is year round. Then, of course, I have Poogie in dance. We are still going 4 days a week. TT only has one class but it keeps us there late one day. I was hoping after Nutcracker things would slow down at the dance studio, but they have not.

We are looking forward to attending the spring production of Cinderella in the audience. Poogie is looking forward to attending her first tea party too.

It is a busy, crazy life, and yes I do get tired. But it is so worth it when you watch you children love something and excel at it. Suddenly all those hours of sitting by a pool or at a dance studio seem so unimportant and so worth it.

Snow in 2010!

2010-02-03T22:03:00.004-06:00

TT taking a break from sledding. Can't believe how big he has gotten.

Poogie at the end of the run, getting ready to climb the hill "one more time". They had a blast at their Aunt an Uncle's who happen to live right next to us, but have much better hills to sled down.

It snowed!

2010-02-02T20:34:00.003-06:00

Yes, it finally snowed here. The kids have been wanting it to snow, really snow all winter. First of course we got ice, then snow and then more ice. So we ended up with about 8 to 10 inches of snow in between two layers of ice. Not the best snow for sledding or building a snowman, but we enjoyed it anyway.

Poogie's birthday party was cancelled. We will have to reschedule. The roads were way to bad and the YMCA cancelled all parties. It was sad, but Poogie enjoyed the snow so much she never mentioned it.

I enjoyed having time to get some much needed work done around the house and with school. I purchased a little machine to clean my couch. It worked wonderfully. It's like I have a new couch and chair. Who knew!

We watched movies, ate a lot of home cooked meals, and just hung out. It was nice. But it had to come to an end and now we get to enjoy the mud and muck left over from all the snow melting. Yuck.

I must go, so much to do and I have to find time to sleep to, lol.

Update!!

2010-01-20T21:08:00.005-06:00

As usual I have resorted to updates since I am to darn busy to keep up a daily blog. So here it goes.
Today we took Bella for her 15 week check up. She gained almost 7 pounds in almost 4 weeks, weighing in at 30 pounds. Not to shabby. She got the last of her shots, and received her heart worm pills. The worst part was that when the vet checked for worms she ended up having round worms, yuck. The vet seemed to think they were from the kennel and not from our house thank goodness. She behaved beautifully. Walked on her leash, sat and stayed when asked. She was a little scared at first so I had to hold her like a baby, but soon she warmed up and was every ones friend. She has offered her own challenges in our house. She will not let me out of her site. We are still working on house training, but it is getting better.

After the new year I thought the kids extra curricular activities would slow down since we were not returning to the YMCA program, but I was mistaken. Poogie dropped two dance classes and ended up picking up two more. Mmm, no reduction there. Then TT ends up adding ballet and maybe hip hop, on top of swim 4 days a week. Do you see the pattern. At least they are extremely happy in what they are doing.

I've also been working like a mad woman to make all the appointments I put off due to terrible insurance or the lack of in the last months of '09. Now we have dentist appointments, eye appointments, etc. Must be done, but man are they time suckers.

Finally, I have been planning Poogies 8th birthday party. She decided on a swim party. I made her invitations today. She is having an American Girl party, no surprise there. But the invites and decorations are hard to find so we are making our own.

So given all I have to do it is no wonder that I must go for now.

Happy Birthday Sweet Poogie!

2010-01-12T11:23:00.004-06:00

I can't believe it. Eight years ago today my sweet Poogie fluttered into our lives at 3:12 in the afternoon. She weighed in at 7 lbs. 4 oz. and was 18 and a half inches long. I had waited so long for her and she was finally here. I remember it all like it was yesterday. And now here she is a big 8 year old. It just gets harder every year to watch her grow up. I wish I had a better recent picture of her but all the pictures I get of her are usually at dance.

So what are we doing for the big day? Sunday we went to see the new Alvin and the Chipmunks movie. Today,we opened her presents, well all but one she got earlier in the week, American Girl doll of the Year, Lanie. She also got some AG clothes and stuff to go with Lanie, plus a digital camera. Tomorrow her Nana and I are taking her out to lunch at the restaurant of her choice. Then she will have a swim party with her buddies at the YMCA later in the month. Pretty good for an 8 yr old. Oh, and her daddy is going to take her ice skating again.

She is well worth all this celebration. She has brought such joy and love into our lives. We are blessed.

It's getting a little wild around here

2010-01-07T20:49:00.003-06:00

I had forgotten just how much work a puppy could be. Our little chihuahua wasn't this hard to deal with. Bella is like having a child. I can't walk out of her site or she whines. She is a total handful. She has to pee every 10 minutes and it is freezing outside. Not my favorite thing to do. Don't get me wrong she is sweet and I love her to death. But, man is she demanding. She hogs all the bed. Snores like a freight train. Has wild dreams that actually wake her up barking, I kid you not.

I'm beginning to think I need the dog whisperer or psychic. Someone needs to tell her that we are the good guys. That she isn't a person, and that it is 10 below out so do your business before we freeze to death, lol. I guess I am spoiled to not having to take care of a baby. Plus with all the cold weather we now have two cats and two dogs in the house most of the time. Bella loves the cats, especially Bugsy. The get along great, a little wild but great. I feel like Noah in the ark. Things are getting a little crazy around here.

Welcome little one

2009-12-29T21:41:00.003-06:00

On Christmas Eve we welcomed a new member into our family. We had been on the hunt for quite sometime for the perfect family dog and protector. I had fallen in love with the American Bulldog breed when my sister in law and her hubby would bring their Am. bulldog here when they visited. So for the last year I had been looking for the perfect Am. bulldog puppy. There are different types of Am. bulldogs, and I wanted a certain type. I had all but given up the search when on a whim I was searching the Internet and I found her, my Bella. She was a little over 200 miles from us. The owner said that we could pick her up on Christmas Eve. So we spent Christmas Eve on the road with our new puppy. The kids loved her instantly and she loved us.

She is a sweet, loving, and sometimes rowdy little girl. Who at the moment is attacking my computer screen. Buffy and cats have grown to love her and her wet kisses. Life will never be boring while she is around that is for sure. So welcome dear Bella to our family. We love you.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-22T12:05:00.003-06:00

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

from our family to yours.

Candy, Candy, Candy

2009-12-21T20:52:00.003-06:00

Today we got around to making some Christmas candy. Somehow last year I got out of making any, but this year I was not so lucky. Don't get me wrong I like making it, well most of it. I would like it more if I had a Kitchen Aid mixer to use. I borrowed one a few years ago to make my monstrous batch of buckeyes and it was so heavenly. No sprained wrist or counters covered in powdered sugar. You see it's the mixing of the stuff that I don't like. We went ahead and made them anyhow. Yes, my arms are tired but after mixing and dipping about 200 pieces of candy I'm all done in.

Along with buckeyes we made some yummy turtles. I tried a new caramel this year and it didn't work as well as my old caramel in years past but they are still yummy. We completed the evening by baking a pizza (not homemade) and watching The Santa Clause.

Tomorrow my son TT is planning on exchanging gifts with his girlfriend. They are still planning the get together. I just wait to see what they have cooked up. It was very sweet watching him shop for her. He was much more thoughtful than I would have believed him to be. There may be something to that saying that good guys treat their mother's good. He is pretty much by best bud, next to Poogie. I'm enjoying it while I can.

We also plan on making a gooey butter cake and chocolate covered pretzels tomorrow. Not near as messy as our adventure today thank goodness. Then I have to give as much candy away as I can so that I will not eat all of it, lol.

I'm one step closer to the edge and I'm about to break...

2009-12-20T21:34:00.002-06:00

Linkin Park expressed my feelings exactly. On days like these I feel like this is my theme song.

I'm hooked on....

2009-12-19T21:38:00.002-06:00

Lady Gaga! I know I'm a little late to the party, but better late than never. She may seem a little crazy and out there. But I so get her, and her music. Love her.

Thinking about the New Year.

2009-12-18T21:38:00.002-06:00

Christmas is almost here. I can't hardly believe it. It seems just yesterday we were taking down the tree and now it is up again taking over my small living room. Now that I have completed my Christmas shopping and the Nutcracker is over I can sit back and think about the year to come and what I want to change or improve about my life.

As I reflect on this last year I find that I have spent a lot of my time doing things that I really didn't want to do, but as usual wouldn't say no. I spent most of the year so stressed out that it has caused me some pretty bad health problems. On top of that I have tried to hang on to several situations in our lives hoping things will get better. That people will step up to the plate and do what is right or what they are being paid to do. I have unfortunately found that for some people you could wait forever and this is not going to happen.

So what does all this mean for me and my family for the new year. Well, it means that we may not be the most popular people in our group, not that we ever were, lol. It means that I will say no, even if the other person or group doesn't like it. I will put the best interest of my family above all others. If this means changing certain situations in our lives then so be it. I want my children to be happy, heck I want to be happy. Not all the time, but most of the time. I will no longer be every one's doormat. And I will stand up for what is right.

This has been a long and trying year. I just want to make the next one better for me and my family. So as far as New Year resolutions go, I haven't come up with the exact wording of mine yet. It is a work in progress, but at least I have an idea of what I want to accomplish.

It is over:(

2009-12-14T13:49:00.004-06:00

The Nutcracker is over, and we are all a little sad. The show was wonderful, but then it always is. Poogie and her bon bon buddies tumbled their hearts out. The Snow Queen, soloists, guest performers and supporting dancers danced their hearts out too. I was so proud to have been part of such a quality production. Yes, the practices were hard, the nights long and we had little sleep. But after the final curtain fell all Poogie could say is that she didn't want it to end. That she could have done it several more times.

What was so special is how our little ones were taken into the company and treated so sweetly. The older girls gave them advice, encouragement and most of all lots of hugs. I couldn't ask for Poogie to have any greater group of dancers to look up to and admire. I will post more in the upcoming week but for now I must go. We are back to dance classes and swim practice. The show must go on!

It's almost here!

2009-12-06T13:19:00.004-06:00

In just a few days my sweet Poogie will be dancing in the Nutcracker. I can hardly believe how fast the time has went by since we first learned of her getting the part.

Here Poogie is working with her partner to do a special trick. TT is in the photo because he was asked to help be Ms. Ginger's skirt, lol. He did it but I can't say that he enjoyed it.

We have Act 2 rehearsal today and then we are off Monday. I plan on taking that much needed time to rest because we will need it. Starting Tuesday till the final curtain on Sunday we will be on the go and working. I hope I don't cry, but I am afraid I will when Poogie comes out on stage. I almost cried yesterday watching the older girls dance on point thinking that would be Poogie before I know it. It all goes by so fast. Wish I could hit pause once in a while.

My iPhone is here!!!

2009-12-04T21:03:00.004-06:00

I have been counting down the days until I could upgrade my cell phone. Then when the time approached I couldn't' decided which phone to get. I have been longing for an iPhone for a while, but didn't want to make the wrong choice after living with my terrible phone for two years. I ended up getting the iphone and I love it. For the first time in our house I have the coolest and most up to date technology. That is a first.

Now I can check my emails and facebook while I sit at the pool or dance studio. I feel so spoiled. It is kind of nice. I will really enjoy it this week when we spend all those hours in rehearsal for The Nutcracker. Only 6 more days, and my Poogie will be a star. Well, she already it to me:)

Wish list

2009-11-22T15:37:00.002-06:00

As I sit here thinking about the upcoming holiday season, reviewing my kids very short but pricey wish lists, I am reminded that it has been quite a while since I made a wish list of my own. I remember around this time of year as a child I would begin to draft my first versions of a wish list for Santa. That list would change several times before the final draft was written, for that I am sorry for my parents. I know how it is to think you have found something on that wish list only for it to be dropped from the list shortly there after.

With that said I began to think about what I would put on a Christmas list. Then I came to the conclusion that I would have to make a dream wish list and then come back to reality and make a real one. So here it goes.

My Dream Christmas List:
1. A Canon digital SLR Camera
2. A 12x12 Epson printer
3. A $1000 dollar shopping spree at Archivers or at the Mall for clothes
4. A new Volvo XC90
5. A new house with a scrapbook and school room.
6. A miniature Yorkie puppy, and an American Bulldog puppy

And now back to reality.
My real list:
1. A new set of pots and pans, mine are in terrible shape
2. An electric griddle to make my family yummy pancakes.
3. A waffle maker
4. Adobe Photoshop 7
5. New house shoes

There might be more things I would add to either list, but I really had to think hard to come up with both lists. It's just not something I think about that often. I have to say it felt good to think about even if it is just for fun.

It was AWESOME

2009-11-20T20:17:00.002-06:00

Yes, New Moon was awesome! The werewolves were beautiful, and so was Jacob. It was well worth the wait, now if Eclipse would just come out sooner. Even my hubby liked it. Hmm. I may have to go see it again! Lol.

New Moon is here

2009-11-19T20:31:00.002-06:00

I can't believe it but in about 15 hours I will be sitting down to watch New Moon. I know I sound like one of those teenage girls, but I feel like on when I think of seeing some of my favorite characters on the screen. This installment also includes one of my favorite supernatural creatures, werewolves. I mean I like the vampires and all but its the werewolves I am going to see. And after a day like I have had it gives me something to look forward to.

I got a great surprise this morning while teaching Poogie her math lesson. I took a dinner mint, you know the soft melt in your mouth ones, and popped it in my mouth, bit down and crack! One of my porcelain crowns busted into several pieces. It is part of a large bridge so it isn't something that can simply be replaced. My dentist is ordering the stuff to fix it, and hopefully next week all will be right again. I sure hope so. But, until then I have Bella, Edward and of course Jacob to keep me in good spirits.

True Bliss

2009-11-18T16:34:00.002-06:00

I am experiencing something that has eluded me for quite some time, time alone. Not only time alone, but time alone at home no less. Being a stay at home, homeschooling mom time alone at home is almost unheard of. But thanks to my wonderful hubby I am sitting in front of my computer with a chocolate bar and diet coke. Funny how such small things can make one so happy.

I best take this moment for all it can offer because it will be quite a while before I can even glimpse another day at home with no place to go or time alone. I am focused on getting through the next few weeks till the Nutcracker and then enjoying the rest afterwards.

With all that said we are still plugging away at school. We have missed a few days here and there due to my hubby being home, but all in all we are staying on task.

I am looking forward to beginning my Christmas shopping and decorations. I usually try to be almost done by Thanksgiving but that will not happen this year. I hope to start in the next week or so and finish up in early December.

I taught my last class for the year at the YMCA yesterday. It was such a relief to have that monkey off my back. The program is okay, but my youngest isn't very happy with it so it has become a have to go situation since I have to teach. Now that it is over I'm not sure if we will return in January. When we started the program 2 years ago it was our only social outlet. Now the kids are involved in so much that the Y tends to be more of a hassle than its worth. So that is one that I am just going to have to wait and see what will happen.

But for now I will take my leave and enjoy my few moments of quite left.

Too busy

2009-11-14T20:55:00.002-06:00

I know I haven't been blogging regularly. To my handful of readers out there I am sorry. I hope things get back to normal after The Nutcracker is over. Just a few more weeks and this whirlwind will be over and then I can stress out about something else, like Christmas lol. Till then don't give up on me, I'm still here.

Feeling better

2009-11-09T20:41:00.003-06:00

Living in cotton country we have a yearly battle of the sinus and crud. This year has been the worst in several years. Starting last week I've had a sore throat, cough, sinus congestion and just felt yucky. It even lead to us missing a day of dance and swim last week, which is unheard of in this house. But, I just felt so terrible I had to take a day and rest. With all this Nutcracker rehearsal there isn't much time to rest. We will dance 7 days this week. And TT has a swim meet this Sat. Thank goodness my hubby will be here to help carry the load.

On a good note I did feel somewhat better to go out on a date with my hubby for our 14th wedding anniversary. We wanted to go away for the night but the kids schedules would not allow for it, but we had fun anyway. Hopefully we can take a short trip for Valentines. Right now it's all about flipping, swimming and school. Oh, and now I have to start Christmas shopping. Geez, when does the list ever end?

Happy Anniversary....

2009-11-04T20:42:00.002-06:00

to me! Today my hubby and I celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary. I still have a hard time believing we've been married that long. But, we have and so we must celebrate it. The only problem is he is off somewhere working and here I sit at home. Until a few years ago we never spent an anniversary, birthday or any other holiday or milestone alone, but then one of us has to work. The best part is he will be coming home in a day or two and then we can go out and celebrate, even if it is a day or two late:)

Introducing the 2009 Bon-Bons......

2009-10-18T19:57:00.006-05:00

These are not the entire set of bon bons but they happen to be some of Poogie's best buddies who received their letters the same day she did. Since then one more of her sweet friends has received that precious letter and has joined the cast. So here's the pic of the updated cast. They are such a sweet bunch. This is not the whole group of bon bons just the little ones.

So far the journey into the world of the stage and The Nutcracker has been exciting and very hard work. Poogie not only has 10 classes now, she picked up another advanced acro on Fridays, but also 2 to 3 days of rehearsal a week. That to me is a lot. My fear has been that she would crash and burn. However, the opposite has happened. For example, today we had to get up at 5:30 a.m. to take TT to a swim meet. After the meet we drove straight to the studio for a rehearsal. I thought that would have been enough, but no. I ended up having to make her stop practicing headstands so that we could eat dinner and relax for a little while.

What is hard to deal with is when other parents think you are pushing your child into these situations. That you are making them practice and take tons of classes. That may be the case with some, but that is not how it works in this house. Poogie has taken control and I am just along for the ride. I am constantly asking her if she is okay, does she want a break, is she over doing it. She looks at me like I am crazy and says, "Mom, I love to dance, just leave me alone!" So I do. I think passion is a wonderful thing. It seems to be something that she has in abundance for dance, so I am not going to stand in her way no matter how tired I get of driving her to the studio, of sitting there or of listening to others ask me why am I putting her through all this. I'm sure other parents of passionate children have heard these questions. But, I believe that those that really pursue their passion and excel at it have parents that support them, not hold them back. So here are your wings baby girl, fly!

Dreams do come true!

2009-10-02T22:28:00.002-05:00

Today my sweet Poogie received her invitation to be in The Nutcracker production for Christmas 2009!! She will be a Bon-Bon!! This is what she has dreamed about. I don't think the reality of it has hit me yet. But I am so proud of her I feel like I could burst.

We had thought this year would not be it for her. She had to be 8 by Dec. to try out for an angel, and the bon-bons were by special invitation only. She is only 7 so we thought well maybe next year. But she has worked so hard to learn all the advanced tricks to move up to the advanced acrobats class that I guess it paid off. The rehearsal schedule will be demanding and hard but she just told me "So, I can do it." Her best buddy Sweet Pea received an invite to be a bon-bon too! What more could we ask for?? I never knew watching your kids reach their dreams could be so wonderful. Even if it is a dream you might never have wanted, when you look at it through their eyes it becomes your dream too. I don't understand her passion for dance, but I do understand what it is like to have a passion for something. It is a wonderful thing.

Where do you draw the line??

2009-09-28T20:20:00.003-05:00

When you feel that your boundaries have been pushed to the limit? When you know that there is a true threat to you and your family? When you have to choose between the safety of your children and the convenience of others? I know where my line has been drawn and it is not a very popular thing to do.

When you reach the point when you have to say "No, I will will not do...", because it goes against my principles as a parent is not one of the easiest thing to do. But I have reached that point in my current situation where I have had to hold my ground and do what I think is right for my children and our family. It has not been easy, but it makes me sleep better at night knowing that I am doing what is best for my kids.

One of those moments

2009-09-25T22:28:00.002-05:00

This is one of those moments that you just want to stop time so that you can remember what it was like before your first born becomes a teenager. Tomorrow at 10:05 p.m. my sweet first born boy will officially become a gulp, teen!

I just can't believe that 13 years have flow by so quickly. I still remember bringing him home from the hospital, stopping at Target on the way to buy diapers that actually fit his chubby little body. The newborns just didn't work.

It is a little bitter sweet. I don't like the thought of what is to come, but I am enjoying him so much right now I have to say it might be pretty cool. We have a blast together and he has yet to act like a total pain in the butt I remember being at that age, but then I am a girl. And I must admit my sweet Poogie has enough drama for us all!

I know it won't all be roses, but that is fine with me. At least I get to be there and take these steps with him and he doesn't seem to mind. Now if I can only get through tomorrow without crying I will be doing good.

Then again , I can think about next weekend when my house will be taken over by a bunch of hungry, awkward and smelly teenage boys to sleep over to celebrate this blessed event. Nope, still feeling a little weepy.

First USS Swim Meet

2009-09-20T20:58:00.005-05:00

TT had his first USS swim meet this weekend and man was it awesome. He was so nervous, but he ended up swimming great. It was his first time swimming in front of his new coaches and he wanted so badly to do his best.

Saturday he swam both the 50 free and 50 backstroke. He wasn't expecting to place in the top 10 but low and behold he placed 9th in the free and 8th in the backstroke. He swam his best backstroke to date.

Today he swam the 100IM and 50 fly. He started out really good in the IM but the breaststroke was the killer. He ended up getting DQ because his kick motion was not just right. They are very picky and his breaststroke needs a lot of work. In his favorite event the 50 fly he ended up turning in a good time and placed 4th.

What made today even harder was one of the best butterfly swimmers on the planet was watching TT swim. To say it made him nervous was an understatement. Gil Stovall of the US Olympic swim team (he swam the 200fly) was at the meet to help coach the Memphis Tiger Swim Team that was also competing. TT got him to sign his swim cap Saturday and today got him to pose for a quick pic. He was gracious and supportive of all the young swimmers. As I watched him though out the day interacting with the young MTS swimmers I was so overjoyed to see a gifted athlete like him work so well with these up and coming swimmers. So here is the pic of TT and Gil Stovall. What an awesome experience.

Accomplishments

2009-09-14T20:57:00.003-05:00

Today was a day of one great accomplishment. TT finally took his test for his Apologia General Science Module #1. I was wondering if this day would ever come. For those of you who know about his curriculum and this first chapter in particular you know it is a tough one to get through. But, low and behold we did it. He took the test this morning and made a 100%!! I felt like to doing the happy dance, still do! Most of it was due to those wonderful study cards I printed off from the yahoo group. What a wonderful resource that has been.

I was just lazy

2009-09-12T22:48:00.003-05:00

That's right. I was lazy today. I spent most of the day curled up on the couch with my little dog Buffy watching some great movies on the syfy channel about werewolves. I was in heaven. Two of the movies were ones I had never seen. It is not like me to spend any day much less a Saturday on the couch, but I thought what the heck. My hubby and kids were outside doing what they like to to do, so I took some much needed me time.

It also helped that I know our schedule for the next two weeks is going to be just plain crazy. TT has swim meets the next two weekends and every week day we have something on the calendar. So I chilled, and then my hubby even got Mexican takeout for dinner. It really didn't fit into our budget, but man was it worth every penny.

Just a quick thought

2009-09-11T21:25:00.002-05:00

The main question I receive when people find out I homeschool is about socialization. Ug, if they only knew. But now I am beginning to wonder when is enough, enough! I have come to believe that you can have too much socialization. IMO.

Learning as we go

2009-09-09T20:18:00.003-05:00

Beginning the school year with new curriculum is always a learning experience. After 2 and a half years of homeschooling I am still amazed at how long it takes me to learn all the ins and outs of a new curriculum.

Take for example TT's new science curriculum. Apologia General Science. I never thought I was an Apologia person. I had looked at it several times, but since I'm not a fan most Christian science curriculums I always passed on it. Well that was until this year. I finally gave up hope of finding a: 1) inexpensive and decent secular curriculum and 2) a good Christian curriculum that I could afford and liked. I have to say I am so glad we gave Apologia a try.

The first Module has been tough to say the least. Poor TT has been very understanding through all my trial and error. "Write out the summary." "No, write out the study guide." He just smiled and took it. I ended up joining a Yahoo group for Apologia users and it has been so wonderful. First, I found a fill in the blank for the summary. Now, I know it says in the book that the student should write out the summary to help with studying and memory. But to my son it was horrible. The fill in the blank worked wonderful for us. Then I found some great flash cards that followed the study guide. He answers the questions on the cards and then can use them to study. Those were just what we needed. He is flying through the cards. I have to admit the first mod is overwhelming, but he seems to be taking it in stride. Today while discussing some of the answers on the study guide I was amazed at how much he could recall from memory. Now just to get through the test and then we can move on, finally!

We are doing Workboxes!!!

2009-09-07T15:32:00.008-05:00

Yes, I have jumped on the workbox bandwagon! I started using the system with Poogie last week and since it went so well I'm starting TT this week. First I bought Sue Patrick's Workbox book. I am a owners manual type girl, so that was a must. You can purchase it on Sue's website here, or from Amazon. I got mine from Amazon because I needed to order a few other books too.

I had first heard about the workbox system on some blogs I browsed through over the summer. Then, my dear friend, MK, told me she was using them and they were working really well. That sealed the deal. I wanted to try them but was afraid that it would be a waste of time and money, but oh how wrong I was.

The hardest part was buying all the stuff, printing out the cards and such, laminating (I am so thankful I have a little Scotch laminater. It is now my best friend.) With all this off I went to set up my workbox system. I found the shoe rack at Target for under $15. Great buy. And my shoe boxes were $1.02 each at Target. I liked the Target ones over Wally Worlds because they were wider. I needed that extra width for some of our books. Here are our workboxes ready to go for tomorrow. On Tues./ Thurs. we only do 6 or 7 since we have the YMCA in the afternoon. On the other days we do all 12, including some fun activities along with basic subjects.

I found the cutest tags on a great blog, Spell Out Loud, by Maureen. She actually got them from another blogger, Cassie. I loved them. So I printed these instead of Sue's. They are so cute.
Here are our schedule strips. I enjoyed making them to match each child.

I don't know if we will do this forever. It may be a passing fad, but so far we really like it. The system offers a way to organize the day, along with allowing the kids to see their work disappear as they work through the boxes. Have a great week!

Swim Team Banquet

2009-08-29T20:26:00.006-05:00

Last night we got to enjoy the company of our fellow swim team members at the swim team banquet to honor our swimmers for the '08-'09 season. We had a great time visiting with friends and some good food too!

The swim coach from the USA team came to the event, so TT got to meet one of his new coaches for the upcoming season. He is so excited about joining the USA swim team! But he doesn't have to wait long since practice starts Tuesday.

After dinner the kids swim coach, Ms. K, gave out awards for the year. These included ribbons and medals from the Championships in Tunica, to individual awards. TT received two silver medals from Tunica in butterfly and freestyle relay, a fifth place ribbon in backstroke and in freestyle, and a swim trophy. The big honor of the night for TT was receiving the most dedicated swimmer award of the boy swimmers. I was so proud. He was truly dedicated. This is a first for him to give his all in a sport. Here is TT receiving his swim trophy.

Poogie received several ribbons from Tunica, a swim trophy, and the most dedicated award for girl swimmer, too!!! I was overwhelmed to have both of my kids recognized for dedication! You could say I was a very proud momma!

Here is Poogie receiving her swim trophy from her coach, Ms. K. These little trophies were so cute they were bobble headed!

I will post the pick of them getting their dedication trophies when I get them from a friend. I was so excited I forgot to get a picture.

Now all this leads up to a new swim season beginning Tuesday. It will be different swimming USA. TT will train 4 days a week and the meets will be bigger and more intense, but he is looking forward to it. Poogie opted to just do dance. That was fine since she has 7 classes, 3 nights a week.

I plan on spending the rest of the weekend setting up my school room and getting ready for the week to come. Will post more on that later.

Weekend recap

2009-08-23T21:51:00.004-05:00

As unusual I'm sitting here wondering what happened to the weekend. It seems as though you go to sleep on Friday night and poof it is Sunday evening!! We enjoyed the weekend with family and a little work thrown in too.

Friday night we went out to eat and on a shopping hunt for shorts and swim trunks. TT and Poogie needed long shorts for the new dress code at the Y. TT hates wearing the type of shorts they are asking him to wear. The loose basket ball type shorts. But we found him some that he could deal with. Shorts for Poogie on the other hand were harder to find. All that was out there was those super short shorts, super ugly longer shorts or fall cloths. We just found out about the dress code a few weeks ago so it was kind of at a bad time to find them. We ended up buying just a few pairs. The real fight will be when it turns cold. Poogie is not a jogging suit, sweat pants girl. She loves jeans and that is it. I will have to find some middle ground.

Saturday was spent at the farmer's market buying some yummy fresh produce and at a family birthday party. The kids had fun playing with all their cousins and we enjoyed catching up with everybody.

Today we started to work on all our stuff to put in the yard sale. You have no idea how much crap you accumulate over the years until you start going through it all for something like this. I haven't had a yard sale in a few years, but man am I due. Now I am tired so off to bed I go.

2nd Week of School

2009-08-19T12:59:00.010-05:00

We are almost halfway through the second week of school and for the most part everything is going well. Poogie is loving her Saxon math, who would have thought?? TT just hated Saxon in ps, but each child is different. Poogie's hardest subject so far is Bob Jones English. It is a really good program, but much more challenging than her phonics and English last year. The hardest part for her has been getting into the groove with reading again. I have to say this will be the last summer that we do not do any school work. It is just to hard to get started again in the fall. Poogie is like a rusty old wheel turning when it comes to her reading. We just have to find our groove again.

TT is enjoying his new curriculum, especially Teaching Textbooks and Apologia science. Teaching Textbooks is wonderful. Math has always been our dreaded subject, but not anymore. He, like Poogie, want to do math first thing instead of the last dreaded subject of the day.

Science is also one of our favorite subjects. Yes, the first chapter of the Apologia Science is tough, but it is broken down really well and I have given TT some great study supports. The experiments have been so much fun. What is great is that the experiments really support the ideas and concepts in the book. Here is a photo of today's experiment. It was so much fun we did it twice.

Poogie has enjoyed her Bob Jones science. She has been learning about planning and planting a garden, something she loves!

I have to say we have started out the year pretty lax as far as where we do school. Most of Poogie's work is done at the kitchen table or on the couch. TT stays in his room at his desk or on his bed. I have to do so much oral work with Poogie it is hard for him to concentrate while we read and do our lessons.

Here is Poogie in her pj's and her hair all a mess working on her new clipboard, doing her "homework". She wanted homework of all things.

TT enjoyed reading and doing some of his work in his room all comfy on his bed. You see he does have a desk, but he just doesn't like using it. Go figure.

All this leads up to my big announcement! I am getting a school room!!! Picture me doing a happy dance right now. It will be so nice to get all the school stuff out of my little bitty house. Plus, I think the kids will do better without all the distractions of pets, phones, toys and games. I will let you know more as my plan evolves.

Letting go

2009-08-13T19:25:00.002-05:00

For me it has always been hard to live in the moment, to ride by the seat of my pants, or to just let things happen as they happen. I confess I am a planner, an organizing geek. I love to spend hours with my label maker and my clear storage bins. My family probably thinks that if I could I would label them.

I know this leads to my over stressing about things. I turn a little pale at the thought of my daughter's Polly Pockets being put in the bin with the Pet Shop toys. Gasp! Then I came across a quote or a phrase as the blogger called it, "Let go of the day you have planned and enjoy the day you been given". Wow. So simple, yet something I hardly ever think of. I hope to make it my new quote to live by. Something must bring me out of this vicious cycle of planning, stressing, planning, well you get the idea.

Now if I could only get my hubby to listen??

First Day of School!!!

2009-08-10T20:26:00.002-05:00

We made it through the first day of school with flying colors! Poogie was up and ready to go, TT not so much. We all finally got going and actually had some fun. Poogie loves her new math and science. TT enjoyed exploring Teaching Textbooks and his Apologia science.

I still haven't added TT's reading and writing curriculum, but that can be done next week. With everything up in the air about what we will be doing this year for the YMCA and swim I'm taking it slow when it comes to planning to much.

After lessons we went to the homeschool skate party at the rink. It was so nice to catch up with everyone. TT and Poogie got to skate and hang out with all their buds. A great way to end the first day of school.

Day 3 plus...

2009-08-08T20:24:00.002-05:00

So far I have had good days and bad when it comes to getting away from caffeine. I did go to the grocery store today to buy some healthy snacks and food for myself. That seems to always help when I am trying to be healthier.

The decaf hot tea has also helped a lot. I love drinking it in the mornings with my mid-morning snack. I just need to work on drinking more water.

This has been a long and trying week. Many things are still up in the air about our schedule for the fall. That drives me crazy, but it isn't something I can do anything about until next week. It all depends on other peoples actions, not mine.

Our lives may pretty much stay the same as last year, or they may change dramatically. I don't mind change I just hate waiting to see what will happen. I'm impatient at times, can't help that.

We are going to ease into school as of Monday. I do have some appointments that will interfere with a full day of school some days, but we will still make a go of it. Poogie starts dance the 17th and that in itself will be challenging. She is taking 8 classes this year and can't wait to start. If it was up to her she would dance all day and the heck with school.

Well off to bed.

Day 2 in my battle to kick my caffeine habit

2009-07-30T22:12:00.003-05:00

I did really good for most of the day as far as caffeine goes. I drank my decaf coffee this morning with a nice cup of caffeine free tea in the mid morning. But I slipped a little at supper this evening. I ended up drinking a total of 3 and a half Diet Cokes in the end.

But based on what I use to consume that is doing quite well. I got really nervous and just grabbed one out of habit during all the storms and stuff this evening. I know that it doesn't help when you're nervous to drink caffeine but I couldn't help it.

One day at a time.

I think I can, I think I can...

2009-07-29T20:26:00.002-05:00

I feel like the little engine that could at this moment. I am officially trying to kick the caffeine habit, or I should say the Diet Coke habit. I never really had an issue with caffeine or soda until I had Poogie and started drinking Diet Coke. Now I live on the stuff. I know it is bad for me. It makes me irritable, and my stomach hurt, but I can't stop. That was until my stomach has started hurting all the time. So just as an experiment I limited my caffeine intake to day and surprise it has hurt much, much less. In fact it feels quite good at this moment. It's more of a burning ache instead of hurting but it still doesn't feel good.

Now I'm not going off of it cold turkey. I don't think my kids or hubby would appreciate that, but I am trying to cut way back. I drank some wonderful caffeine free herbal tea this evening and water with dinner!! Yes, water! My body might just be in shock! I will just have to wait and see what the next 24 hours brings but it may get pretty ugly around here;)

Heartbroken...

2009-07-28T20:18:00.002-05:00

I finally got to go see The Half Blood Prince this weekend and I am actually heartbroken. HBP was my favorite of the Harry Potter books and I couldn't wait for it to come to life on the big screen, but wow what a disappointment.

I know directors and screen writers make changes that is fine. What made this movie so bad was that it was so slow and poorly done. I almost fell to sleep during it, which would never had happened during the previous movies. The acting even seemed forced at times. I only hope that they can redeem themselves with the final two movies. It would be a shame to see Harry fizzle out instead of going out with a bang.

My hubby has promised to take me to see The Ugly Truth with none other than Gerard Butler this weekend! I have to say it would have to be pretty bad for me to fall asleep in one with him in it;) Ahh, we shall see!

Tunica Swim Meet!!

2009-07-20T20:26:00.002-05:00

We have returned from the final swim meet of the season in Tunica, MS. I can't believe it is over. But what a time we have had this summer. TT and Poogie have enjoyed every minute of the swim meets and practices. I have to admit I was even a little sad to see it all end. And man what a way to end a season.

The aquatics center was awesome. The kids really felt like they were in the big time with the digital scoreboard, touch timers, and cool down pool. Even though we were missing several team members we still put on a strong showing.

Of course things were a little crazy. The organizers changed some things around that was confusing and nerve wracking if you have a very nervous child like mine, but it all ended up well. TT missed his 50m butterfly due to confusion and had to race with the little ones. He didn't swim as well as he had all season in that race but he made that up with his best swim in back stroke ever. Even his turn was great!

Poogie did excellent. She even had to take the place of one of the 11-12 year old girls in a free relay. It was so sweet to see my little Poogie standing there, her head only reaching the middle of most of those girls. She swam a strong 50m free style, doing a flip turn like she had been swimming 50's all year in competition. She amazes me.

My hubby even got in on the fun being a timer. He really enjoyed himself. We all returned home yesterday exhausted, but happy that we had taken the chance and given swim team a try. What a ride.

Today Poogie started her dance camp. There are only 7 girls attending this camp, which is excellent for Poogie. She will get a lot of one on one time with both friends and teachers. She also added tap to her dance classes for the fall. She never really liked tap at her old school but wanted to give it a try since she likes all her other classes at her new school so much more. So as of now she will be taking 2 ballet, 2 acrobat, 1 jazz, 1 hip-hop, and one tap. I may need to just buy a small camping trailer and move to the school parking lot for the next 9 months.

After this week of dance camp I will have 2 whole weeks free of any commitments. I hope to scrapbook and get the house organized for school. I can hope anyway!

What's new!

2009-07-10T20:34:00.001-05:00

I know I haven't posted for a while, but I have tried to take a little break this summer from all the computer stuff. It has been nice to not feel that I have to be on facebook every moment. But I have to say most of my time has been spent taking my kids to swim practice, swim meets and trying to organize everything for the next school year.

We had our last regular swim meet last Tuesday. They did great. TT even got first place in the 50 free!! Now we have a week of practice and then it is off to the finals. As I have said in the past the kids have really loved the swim team. TT has really enjoyed it and would like to keep with the program. We have been blessed to have two extraordinary young swimmers working with the kids who have stepped up and been great coaches. It has been a great experience.

I worked last weekend to recover from my horrible root canal. My jaw was the color of a grape, both purple and green, and I felt like I had been punched. It took over a week for it to return to normal. Then this Wed. I got to get another root canal on the tooth behind it. This one went much smoother. No pain or bruising.

I have pretty much got the curriculum organized and ready to go for the upcoming school year. We plan on starting Aug. 10th. I would have really liked to have gotten their new school desks before we start but maybe I can get them later.

I am also in the process of planning my curriculum for the YMCA science class I will be teaching this fall. I am excited about teaching again, but dread doing all the prep work on top of all the kids school work, but it will be worth it.

I know, it all sounds boring, but for now this is all I can post. Too tired to do much more. I may post some new pics this weekend if I get a moment.

We've been transfomed!!

2009-06-28T19:35:00.002-05:00

By Transformers, that is. We just got home from seeing the new Transformers movie. It was really good. I had read the reviews and heard what others were saying about it, mostly negative but as usual when I checked it out form myself it ended up being really good. My kids both liked it more than the first movie.

We have been busy trying to fit a whole weekend into less than a day and a half that my hubby was home. Yesterday and this morning was spent mowing grass and doing things around the house then we took off for the theater.

Now I need to get the kids to bed early since tomorrow we begin swim practice in the mornings, 9 a.m. We are not morning people so this should be interesting. After getting them tucked in it will be time for my hubby and I to enjoy our favorite show on HBO, True Blood. All in all a great weekend.

Hello all!

2009-06-26T15:14:00.002-05:00

I had planned on blogging about the goings on around our house, but after the events of yesterday I just would like to share my thoughts on Michael Jackson's death.

To say that I was shocked yesterday when I heard of his death would be and understatement. He was one of those people that just seemed immortal. I know he has been weird and accused of awful things. But that is not the Michael I think of when I hear his name. I think of the boy that danced to Thriller and Beat It. I remember dancing to those songs, dressing like him and thinking that everything he did was so cool. He was a big part of my late elementary and jr. high school years.

My heart goes out to his family and children. No matter what he has done or how crazy he lived, everyone I have seen interviewed did note that he was a wonderful father and loved his children. My heart is with them. The music industry will never be the same without him.

Swim Meets!

2009-06-10T12:11:00.010-05:00

Last night we had our second swim meet of the season and it was a blast. Swimming has turned out to be one of the best activities we have ever tried. Both Poogie and TT love the meets and practices. The meets offer them a chance to spend time with their buddies and make new friends with kids from the other teams. You can make the meets as competitive as you want to, which I just love. Both of mine are competitive to a point but not to where it isn't fun anymore. They just enjoy being out there and doing their best.

This was a great pic of Poogie and TT before the meet. They actually love being on the same team. Plus, mom only has to be in one place to see them both, a great bonus.

This pic shows the main reason we love the meets. TT and his buddies hang out between heats. The friendships are great. They support each other while swimming and amuse each other during down time.

This pic did not turn out so good but I had to show Poogie hanging out with her buddies too. Plus, this pic also includes one of their coaches, Ms. A. They have been so blessed to have such sweet supportive coaches.

This pic is of TT on the starting block. Don't you just love the suits. At first the boys really didn't like them because of the bubbles on them, but after going to a meet and seeing how great they all look together the love them.

Here is Poogie on the starting block. She looks so tiny up there, but that doesn't stop her from kickin' butt.

This meet required them both to compete in four events. TT swam the free, back, relay and 100meter IM. Poogie swam the free, breast, relay and 100 IM. This was the first 100 IM for both of them, and they had to swim it at the end of the night. It was hard on both of them. What was amazing was seeing my 7 year old swim the same event at my 12 year old. They both finished in the middle of the field. Which was good with it being Poogies first time and longest swim ever (most of their swims are just 25 meters on one length of the pool, not 4), and TT first time and having to the the breast stroke his least favorite. For those of you that don't know what a 100m IM is it requires the swimmers to swim 4 lengths of the pool, swimming a different stroke with each length. The order of stokes was butterfly, back, breast and free. I will post the results of their heats when I get them tomorrow.

They have both been swimming with the year round swim team at practice, and I have to say it has really paid off. Their endurance and focus just amazes me. I am so proud of them.

A toothache and new curriculum

2009-06-07T12:46:00.003-05:00

I am still suffering from this horrible toothache. I can't wait until I go to the dentist tomorrow. The only way I am coping is with pain medicine and soft food to eat. I hate that I am missing out on such a beautiful weekend outside and visiting church with friends, but I am too out of it to do much of anything. That is the trade off, be in pain or loopy. I choose loopy over the blinding pain I have had the last few days.

Anywho, I took a moment to post my curriculum for next year for those of you that are interested.

For TT I have changed from my original plan. He has come so far in his math since just May we have decided to go on into pre-algebra. Since he is above level on all other subjects, we have decided to just jump into 8th grade. We shall see how it goes. He is old enough to be in 8th since I started him a year late in kindergarten, so that is not an issue. My curriculum for him is a mixture of 7th and 8th grade.

Math-Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra
Science-Apologia
History-Bob Jones
Grammar-Easy Grammar Plus & Editor in Chief
Writing-Write Shop
Literature-Various novels such as (The Outsiders, Tuck Everlasting, The Giver and Tom Sawyer)
Foreign Language-German (Mango Languages) One Semester
Computer Literacy-One Semester
P.E. -YMCA program and swim team

For Poogie, who will be in 2nd grade, my choices have been pretty easy. We have added a full history and science program this year.

Math-Saxon
Science-Bob Jones
History-Bob Jones
English-Bob Jones
Reading-Bob Jones
Spelling-Bob Jones
Handwriting-Bob Jones
P.E.-YMCA program and multiple dance classes
Typing-Spongebob Typing

So there it is. All is bought and paid for, now all I have to do it get it all organized and ready to go. That's the fun part!

I've got it all!!

2009-06-05T20:05:00.003-05:00

YES! I ordered the last of our curriculum for next year this evening. I waited until today to order because we had our last used curriculum sale today and I was hoping to make some money to help purchase the books and to maybe find some of it used. No such luck finding the last few things used but I did make a little over half of the amount needed to order the rest of our curriculum. That made me pretty happy! Now all I need to do is re-enroll the kids in their umbrella school for next fall and I would like to buy them each a desk. Other than that we are ready to go.

I made it through the ordeal today even though I had a terrible tooth ache. I have a dentist appointment for Monday but I hate that our weekend will be ruined because I feel so terrible.
I will post my finalized curriculum choices for next year in a day or two when I am feeling better.

The Big Show!

2009-05-31T20:56:00.002-05:00

Yes, we made it. The big show is over. I have to say it was a relief to have it over and done with but also a little bittersweet. I loved watching all the girls dance, especially my Poogie and I hated to see it end. But alas it has and now we only have swim team. What will I do with all my free time;)

The show went off beautifully. Poogie had several friends show up to see her dance. It was a wonderful treat for her to have support other than family there. It was very touching. Most were very surprised of the level of talent at the recital. Our school puts on one heck of a show. Poogie surprised me at her calm and control on stage. She was so focused. She just amazes me.

After being there for 2 shows and a short break for dinner, we arrived home after 10p.m., we got there at 12:30 for the first show. The day was very long, but rewarding. Poogie surprised me when I arrived on stage to get her at the end of the night by saying "Mom when can I do it again?". I was dog tired and all I had done was sit in the audience. She was still dancing on the way to the dressing room to change out of her tutu. I couldn't believe she still had energy. The burst was short lived when we arrived home and she fell into bed falling to sleep almost instantly. So sweet, my little ballerina.

We made it to the finale!!

2009-05-29T20:40:00.002-05:00

Whew! What a week it has been. This is Poogie's final week of dance. We had rehearsals all week. Tuesday was 2 and a half hours of studio rehearsal and then we were off to the kids first swim meet. They did excellent. Where Poogie got the energy I do not know, but she swam in 4 events. TT really kicked it in and showed his stuff. I was very proud of both of them and the entire team.

Wednesday was free, well free in that we didn't have to go to dance or swim. I ended up doing tons of laundry and cleaning house. Thursday and today was spent at dress rehearsal. We enjoyed it.

When I first decided to put Poogie in this new dance school I heard horror stories of hours and hours of waiting at rehearsal. We were there for several hours but it was just enough for her group to rehearse and to get pictures taken. Not a lot of time was wasted. It was very organized and well managed, I was impressed. In fact everything about her new school has been excellent from the teachers to the experience itself. She loves it.

Tomorrow is the big show. Poogie will be performing in both shows so it will be a long day, but well worth it. I can't wait to see her shine.

Memorial Day weekend!

2009-05-24T23:01:00.002-05:00

So far our weekend has been nice. Saturday was spent with my sweet Poogie. We went shopping, a girls day. I ended up buying her some pretty dresses to wear this summer. There were some really good sales out there so we got some good bargains.

My hubby didn't get home from work until late that evening so we just stayed in and watched movies. Today was spent just being lazy this morning. It was nice just to hang out and not really do anything. Then we went to church with some friends of ours. It is our second visit to the church. I have to say I am really enjoying it. It is a whole new experience for my family, and so far a good one.

Tonight we have been experiencing rain, storms, and even a tornado close by. I would like to have a weekend free of rain. It seems like it has rained all spring. I'm definitely ready for some sunny days. Maybe tomorrow will be sunny, a way to end the weekend on a bright note.

We have a guest!!

2009-05-22T20:23:00.003-05:00

That's right we have a guest in our home this week. His name is Bandit and he is a sweet guinea pig. We were lucky enough to watch the little guy while his owner is busy in Washington D.C. at the National Spelling Bee!!

So far it has been interesting. My hubby has never liked the little critters much, but I love them. So this is a kind of test drive to see if one day we can have one or a rabbit of our own. Our chihuahua, Buffy is very interested. It was love at first sight for her. She just can't get enough of the little guy. Every move he makes, she goes nuts. She whines and he peeps at her. It is hilarious.

My hopes and prayers are with TT's friend and his family as they travel to D.C. for him to compete in the bee.

Long time...

2009-05-19T20:57:00.003-05:00

Yes, I know it has been a while since I blogged. A good friend and obviously an actual reader of my blog noted this evening that she has missed reading my blogs. It was nice to hear that someone actually reads about all my rambling and daily drama.

Well, life has been busy these last few months, I won't lie to ya. Between dance, swim team, play dates, social events and just daily life I have been running myself crazy. After next week dance ends for Poogie, but what a week it will be. We have studio and dress rehearsals several days and then recital on Saturday. Plus, we have swim practice and our first swim meet. Thank goodness I have a great network of fellow homeschoolers and girlfriends that help me out when I need it.

I have also been shopping for curriculum for next year and planning science lessons to teach at the YMCA program next year. That's right I am slipping on my teaching hat and will be teaching my favorite subject, science. We will see how it all goes.

I just wanted to take a moment to publish the latest pics of my kids with their swim team buddies at our swim-a-thon. The kids swam and raised money for their suits and other team necessities. I have to say that the swim team has been a great activity to be involved in. It has improved my kids focus, determination and overall health. They are in the best shape ever, especially TT and they love it.

Well, I must take a little mommy time now that the sweet ones are in bed.

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T16:05:00.004-05:00

Happy Mother's Day, everyone!!!!

Still busy.

2009-04-27T21:03:00.002-05:00

Yes, as usual our life is still busy. This week we have yearly testing and I am working as a monitor during the testing. I know what was I thinking. Well, I was thinking that if my son will be there anyway and I can't drive home for those few hours I might as well help out. It just seems like all I get done is run here, run there. Talk about a dog chasing it's tail.

Next week will be our last at the YMCA program for the summer. We will miss everyone but it will give us time to catch up on school work. I am looking forward to some quite, unscheduled time, but that may be just a dream for a while.

Sometimes a song says it all...

2009-04-21T20:10:00.002-05:00

Run your car off the side of the road
Get stuck in a ditch way out in the middle of nowhere
Or get yourself in a bind lose the shirt off your back
Need a floor, need a couch, need a bus fare

This is where the rubber meets the road
This is where the cream is gonna rise
This is what you really didn't know
This is where the truth don't lie

{Chorus}
You find out who your friends are
Somebody's gonna drop everything
Run out and crank up their car
Hit the gas, get there fast
Never stop to think 'what's in it for me?' or 'it's way too far'
They just show on up with their big old heart
You find out who your friends are

Everybody wants to slap your back
wants to shake your hand
when you're up on top of that mountain
But let one of those rocks give way then you slide back down look up
and see who's around then

This ain't where the road comes to an end
This ain't where the bandwagon stops
This is just one of those times when
A lot of folks jump off

When the water's high
When the weather's not so fair
When the well runs dry
Who's gonna be there?

You find out who your friends are
(yeah, yeah)
You find out who your friends are

Run your car off the side of the road
Get stuck in a ditch way out in the middle of nowhere
(Well man, I've been there)
Or get yourself in a bind lose the shirt off your back
Need a floor, need a couch, need a bus fare
(Man, I've been there)
Man, I've been there
Oooh yeah.

Brent Byrnes, Lyrics
Tracy Lawrence, singer

Update!

2009-04-13T13:53:00.002-05:00

As you can see by the slide show we have been keeping busy. We took the trip to Shiloh for the annual reenactment to go along with the lapbook unit on the Civil War we have been working on. It has been interesting for both TT and myself to learn about he Civil War. I never really learned much about it in school and what better way to learn about it than to go and see where the battles were fought.

It was really neat to see the soldiers all dressed and acting out the battle. The cannons were loud and smoky, and the muskets were quieter than we thought they would be. We also were able to meet some interesting participants that were there to represent the Union army and navy. Each person took the time to discuss their role and information with us. It was fascinating.

I do recommend going to any reenactment near your hometown. It was definitely worth the drive.

Big NEWS!!

2009-04-02T22:11:00.003-05:00

I just read on my favorite author's blog, Laurell K. Hamilton, that they are making a t.v. movie out of her Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series. I am like a kid in a candy store. First we have, True Blood based on the Charlaine Harris books, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, and now my favorite Anita Blake.

You can read about the press release here on her blog.

I am a big Buffy fan and Anita Blake is a more mature and rougher vampire slayer. Plus, her books are based in St. Louis, my home town. Granted the Anita books are a little more "hard core" than the others but I love them. There are like 16 of the novels which are also being converted to comic books.

The movie is suppose to come out next year on the Independent Film Channel. I can't wait!!!

Spring Break is over:(

2009-03-30T20:27:00.003-05:00

Yes, it's back to school and our busy lives again. Well, we actually did school everyday last week except Tuesday. That was left open to go to the Pink Palace Museum in Memphis. We got caught up in some of our subjects, but not all.

We loved the museum. TT wants to go back and spend his time viewing the exhibits. He could get lost in all those fossils, rocks and the historical stuff. I would like to post some of his favorite pics from the trip as soon as I have a minute.

To finish up spring break we took it easy over the weekend. It was nice to just hang out, watch movies and do nothing. Sunday we went to see the ballet of Peter Pan. It was put on by the ballet arts group from Poogie's dance studio. It was magical. When this group does a production it is excellent, and the premiere of Peter Pan was one of their best. The characters flew through the clouds, the pirates had sword fights and the crocodile was a hoot. Poogie couldn't stop talking about it.

So today we were back to school and swim practice. Only about a month left of the Y and it will be time for summer break. I can't believe how fast his year has flown by.

Diets are for everyone.

2009-03-27T20:01:00.002-05:00

I took my sweet Buffy to the vet today for her yearly shots and physical. What started as a routine checkup turned into a nightmare for my sweet little pup. To put it bluntly she is fat. She should weigh around 7 to 9 pounds, yet she weighed in at a whooping 15 pounds.

So needless to say, no more treats, table scraps or junk food for our little, or I should say plump little dog. She's none to happy with the situation. Everything else check out okay. I left the vets office with my arms a little heavier (carrying Buffy) and my pocketbook tremendously lighter.