Giving Is Better Than Getting

This is our first year as a family packing shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. I remember doing it as a child, but didn't realize until recently that it was still being done. After a few searches I found what I was looking for on the Samaritan's Purse website where you can discover what packing a shoe box is all about, how to pack a shoe box, build a shoe box online, and much more. While browsing on their website, I stumbled across their family resources page where it talks about the new Veggie Tales movie Merry Larry & The True Light of Christmas and their partnership with Focus on the Family to provide a guide for those participating in Operation Christmas Child. All of this sparked my interest even more. I discovered coloring pages, a discussion guide to go along with the movie, and several other items to create your own packing party. Before I read most of that my mind was already made up that our family was going to pack a few shoe boxes ourselves. My husband and I took both of our kids to the local store and allowed them to pick out items to place in their shoe boxes. I was overwhelmed at how ecstatic my eight year old was at picking things out for less fortunate children. We were probably there an hour or more narrowing down what would fit in a box and wouldn't work, or wasn't allowed to be sent. Afterwards we picked up our very own copy of Merry Larry & The True Light of Christmas.

Tonight we watched Merry Larry, twice. Both of my children glued to the TV, although I'm not really sure that my two-year old understands any of it. The movie is about a little girl with only one Christmas wish, which is to help a friend in need. I paused the movie a few times during the second viewing to openly discuss what was happening with my oldest, how we could help in our community, what we could do, and how we can pack our shoe boxes to be sent to other children. Tomorrow will be packing day for us, our own little packing party. 

Our family has definitely found a new Christmas tradition, just in time for the holidays. Merry Larry and packing Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes. I wonder what other way we can find to give back and spread the joy of Christmas to others, I will have to see what I can find. After all, giving is better than getting!

"Christmas shines most bright and true when you give the love God gave to you!"

From the overview of Merry Larry & The True Light Of Christmas

Healing After A Loss.

The last three months have gone by insanely fast. Life around me has moved on and just when I thought I wouldn't be able to let go and move forward, I received my last lab results. My HCG levels are back to normal, no more doctor's appointments and lab visits to bring the pain of losing our baby to the surface. I still feel the extreme sting of loss, the pain, and see reminders constantly. Through it all though, I'm thankful for everything I've been through. It has proven to me that I am a strong person, inside and out. It has brought my husband and I closer, our marriage is stronger now than ever before and we are continuing to grow, together. The loss of a child is like no other. It is an entirely different feeling and I've realized that healing isn't an over night process, it's going to take quite some time. Our family will never be the "normal" we were before and I'm okay with that.

Over the last three months I have thrown myself into anything I could, feeling the need to constantly keep busy. Although, I avoided most friends and family or they avoided me, I would go on outings with my husband and two children just to "get away" from my feelings for a bit. I found they followed me and I would feel guilty for having fun. I was angry for weeks, angry at myself, angry at my body for not doing it's job of carrying a baby to full term, angry that my body took weeks to realize the baby no longer had a heartbeat. I beat myself down to the ground and have only now slowly started to rebuild myself. It felt like I was in a never-ending storm, but I finally realized my rainbow was there all along, I just had to choose it. I'm sure that it will surprise most when I say what it is, for others they will question why, how, and why didn't I choose it to begin with. My faith in God is my rainbow. There is no explanation from there. Because those of you who know the love of God will understand. I picked my Bible up, blew the dust off and started reading verses. It had been quite some time since I had a conversation with Jesus, it was long overdue. The peace I felt immediately after is indescribable. I went from feeling angry at God, the people in my life, complete strangers, my husband, and myself to feeling grateful for everything I do have. Simply by the grace of God I have started to move forward. I bought a new devotional book to start reading, one of those that have the month/day at the top of the page. Here is the devotion from THE day I purchased the book:

"Worship Me in the beauty and holiness. All true beauty reflects some of who I am. I am working My ways in you; the divine Artist creating loveliness within your being. My main work is to clear out debris and clutter, making room for My spirit to take full possession. Collaborate with Me in this effort by being willing to let go of anything I choose to take away. I know what you need, and have promised to provide all of that--abundantly! Your sense of security must not rest in your possessions or in things going your way. I am training you to depend on Me alone, finding fulfillment in My Presence. This entails being satisfied with much or with little, accepting either as My will for the moment. Instead of grasping and controlling, you are learning to release and receive. Cultivate this receptive stance by trusting Me in every situation."

From, Jesus Calling

Those words spoke out to me in a way I never dreamed possible.

Life. Death. Pain.

It's been so long since I've sat in front of this computer to write a blog about anything, much less what I'm fixing to write about. But I have a feeling that getting some of my thoughts out will help me heal; so we will see.

On July 4, 2013 we found out we were expecting, a new bundle of a joy, our own little firecracker surprise. It's an amazing feeling as most of you know to find out your carrying a life, a tiny human being, that feeling is indescribable. There are simply no words to describe the joy, love, and pure happiness that you feel in the very moment. It's amazing, because almost as soon as you see that positive line on a pregnancy test (or five if you are like me and cannot believe the first results) how quick your body starts to feel pregnant. All the signs, symptoms of carrying such a wonderful thing. The nausea, sore boobs, the tightness in your belly that can only result from a baby, the cravings, the mood swings, the emotional roller coaster of it all. Even through all that, it's still amazing, because you know that the end result is absolutely priceless. A love like no other develops when you are carrying a child and once that child is born it's like watching your heart or hearts for multiple children walking around outside your body. It's unbelievable the love you can feel just by watching your child play, eat, sleep. Oh how they sleep, so peacefully. But as many have also experienced, there can come that one day that NO parent should ever have to go through. The simple words, yet so utterly complex, "There is no fetal heartbeat." In that moment you can feel an abundance of emotions. I felt suffocated. I felt like a piece of me was being ripped away, right then in that moment, gone.

On August 15, 2013, I went in for what was supposed to be a regular OB appointment (my first, since the doctor's office is so busy) and it turned into a nightmare. An unending nightmare. One that you cannot wake up from. As everyone congratulated me, blood pressure was checked, the normal routine of visiting the OB everything was wonderful and going as planned. The doctor came into the exam room with the doppler (as from my experience most do at nearly every OB appt.) and we talked a few minutes and then she tried to hear a heartbeat. No luck. So she thought it may be too early to hear it that way and brought the ultrasound machine in to see if she could see it that way. After a few moments of silence and I knew by looking at her face that something was wrong, she uttered the words "I see something right here, it could be really really early for you, or it could be an undeveloped pregnancy." The words NO one wants to hear. After telling me to go to the lab for bloodwork, scheduling me for an ultrasound by the technician the next day, and a follow-up appointment for 5 days later I was on my way. In shock. The next few hours were a blur as I tried to not cry, tried to keep the hope that it was a simple mistake, and then nightfall came. With that much on your mind, it's impossible to sleep. The night crept by to early morning hours, then finally daylight came and it was time to get ready for what could be the best appointment or the worst.

August 16, 2013; Sitting in the waiting room with women waiting to find out the gender of their baby while I waited to find out if mine was even alive was harsh, to say the least. Everyone so happy, peppy, and excited to see/hear their baby and get on with their weekends. It seemed like an eternity later (15 minutes of waiting) we were finally called back to that dark ultrasound room. We waited some more as she moved the wand around to get the best pictures, views, and studied the screen. Finally she said that she was going to take just a few more pictures and then she would tell us what she saw. That seemed like forever. All I wanted to hear was that everything was okay, that does not even come close...."I can see a sac right here and right here is where I should see a flicker for the heartbeat, but I don't. I'm sorry, but there is no heartbeat." I turned away to stare at the shaded window and began to cry. And cry. And cry. The ultrasound technician handed me a box of tissue and left the room to give us a few minutes. My boys sat there not really understanding what was going on, my husband in just as much shock as me. After about five minutes she came back into the room, told me what to expect and when I should go to the ER, and sent us on our way. Walking back out into the waiting room still full of happy, pregnant women we left and made our way home.

It seemed the weekend was the longest I've ever experienced, I longed for the questions in my mind to be answered. Knowing that an abundance of them could and never will be answered. I longed for clarification, confirmation, and a discussion with my doctor. August 20, could not get here quick enough. Three and a half days of little sleep, plenty of time to google things, and just silently grieve. Having two other children that needed me, my husband, things had/have to be as normal as possible. Tuesday finally arrived and we made our way back into that waiting room full of pregnant women, thankfully my doctor had noted for me to be placed in an exam room as soon as I arrived so we didn't have to sit in the waiting room long. That is by far the longest, hardest, doctor's visit I've ever had to endure. Lots of prepared explaining on her part, questions on our part, which led to more questions and more responses. We left feeling more at ease that there was nothing we did or could have done, it just simply wasn't meant to be. That does help me, whereas it may not help others, I'm okay with that response (today). Tomorrow is a different story though. So now we wait and continue weekly appointments. It's hard, still knowing that I'm carrying this baby around, but he/she is no longer mine, but in the hands of God. An angel. My angel baby. Our angel baby.


"When death comes, especially the death of a child, it is never, ever the right time. That special part of you is taken away so quickly. And, no, it never seems fair. Life goes on for all of those around us, but for those who have lost a child, time just stands still. Time no longer has meaning."
-Taken from Silent Grief by Clara Hinton

It has been quite some time.

Wow! I didn't realize how long it had been since I've been on here. Time has been slipping right through my fingers. We have been extremely busy with baseball; practices, games, tournaments, and we finally finished the season last week at district Allstar tournaments. Whew! Time to relax and take a breather. Not much of summer left and have so much to do! Planning and prepping for our upcoming school year; yet having fun and relaxing are top priority the next couple of weeks.

Enjoy summer! :)

Birthdays and Ballgames!

Wow! It has been quite some time since I've had a moment to be on here. Feels good to open these pages again and be able to take a minute to get things out. Whew, after a 5-day stay at my mom's for the little ones second birthday in which seemed like it took a week to recover. We were busy little bees while there! We went to local parks, the nearest beach, Bass Pro (I mean come-on, what two year old doesn't want to visit Bass Pro on his birthday), and the zoo. You add in the six hours down there and six hours back, yeah, it was exhausting but SO much fun! Since being back we have been wrapped up in ball games with the oldest. Just last week alone they played six games! Yes, I said six. That means six times I had to run the washer with just a uniform to get it done in time for the next game. We won't even talk about Friday nights (late) double header, washing uniform, no sleep, having to be at the ballfield Saturday morning at 9:30; meaning I had to have both kids fed, dressed, and sunscreened up to be out the door super early after a night of no sleep for me! We'll just skip that ordeal entirely. Just the thought of it makes me tired. The joys of having a kid in sports. Geez, I have no clue what I will do when it's time for the youngest to start playing, if he chooses to that is. Baseball will be over in less than a month, so I'll tough it out until then. After all I am a cooler totin', cleat huntin', uniform washing, hootin' hollerin', baseball mom! I mean, they always say "diamonds are a girl's best friend", in my case it's the baseball diamond! Play ball!

Little one turns two!

Where does the time go? It's the littlest ones birthday today. Happy 2nd Birthday to my little man!♥ I cannot believe you are already two, where has the time gone. Seems as if it was just yesterday that we were finding out that we were expecting a baby, a few months later a boy, and then a few months later you were here! You are amazing and I love being at home with you and your brother everyday. You are definitely a goofball at times, but try to be so serious, although that doesn't last before you burst out into laughter. Your sweet giggles can make anyone around you laugh.

Now let's get serious, all the sweet stuff I've mentioned comes from me. Your wonderful, amazing, tired mother. Everything else is your dad's fault. Hahaha. Look at it this way, any bad habits (burping, farting, tantrums, etc) come from your dad. Blame him when all that nastiness turns off a woman when you're way older and I do mean WAY older (like 25). I know I say way older, but I believe you'd be a great catch now. After all, you know how to bake (cookies), clean the toilet (Elmo blanket works miracles in that bowl), clean up your cereal (try to make it disinigrate into the living room rug), how to wash clothes, (putting freshly folded clean clothes back into the wash), and vacuum (throwing any and everything into the path of the vacuum cleaner). And let's not forget how you love to feed the dog....by throwing your lunch on the floor. Yes, yes, I saw you do it. Not so sneaky, you will learn before long that moms have eyes everywhere. Who couldn't love all of this sweetness though? Such a great help at such a young age. Let's just hope your cleaning skills improve a bit and you realize Elmo doesn't belong in the toilet. ♥

Now on a more serious note;
STOP GROWING! I want you to stay little forever.


-Love Mom.

P.S. Always remember that I was only responsible for the first nine months, after that you were exposed to your father.

One day after your BIRTHday! ♥ So small and so cute!

Have no clue what's going on with the time stamp, this was taken  last week (4/16/13)

♥

Cheese!

Embarrassing....

Kids really do say/do the darndest things. Around Christmas 2012 we were shopping for a gift for my husband's grandmother. We're walking around and around the store just trying to come up with ideas. Well as we are walking we walked past the lingerie department and my oldest son exclaimed (while grabbing a bra) "Let's buy Nana one of these! She would love it." My husband I shit you not must have turned 50 shades of red and picked up his pace a little bit. Which by doing so my son decided to ask what it was, simply curious, not knowing. Well...my husband being my husband proceeds to call it a "Boulder Holder" (just like a man)...After this you can see the wheels just a turning in the mind of my then 7-year old. Then out of a nowhere he grabs my boob, yes in the middle of the store, and goes "OH! MOM THIS IS WHAT THAT'S FOR, ISN'T IT?" I could have fell out right then and there, store full of strangers, and my child's hand on my boob. It was like time stopped for a minute and if I could I would have sucked myself down into the floor so that no one could have seen me. I'm usually not embarrassed easily, but this, this was very embarrassing. I'm sure there will be many more instances this embarrassing to come and I'm sure one day I will embarrass my kids like this. Let the games begin!

Now what did I do with those naked baby pictures.....after all who can resist a cute little baby tush!


What have your kids done that have embarrassed you?

Heartfelt Moments

You ever have one of those melt your heart moments? With having kids it seems to happen more frequently. The sweet little things they do, of course when they want to. The sweet kisses and hugs and "I love yous". Or maybe seeing them work super hard at achieving something and them finally doing it. A milestone of some sort. It seems as if so many things can be melt your heart moments and it varies from day to day on what will catch you off guard, or what will happen. Well, I had one of those extremely melt your heart moments yesterday, had me on the brink of crying it made me so happy. After two years of seeing my oldest son struggle so hard to read (no matter which approach we used) and now seeing him pick up books to read for enjoyment, not because he has to, are great moments every day. But yesterday was one of a kind, he chose a particular book to read. Out of all the books in this house, he chose to read "Love You Forever". Amazing! This is my all time favorite book and I have read it to him at least 3 times a week if not more since birth. He could have chosen any other book though. Anything! One about dinosaurs, or dogs. Cats, dragons, Scooby-Doo; but he chose this book. And as he sat down to read this book to me I had to take a step back and really enjoy the moment. He read the whole book, then went on to talk about how he loved the book so. It was an absolutely wonderful moment. One that I will hopefully remember for a lifetime. ♥

What's a favorite memory of something your child has done?

♥

Dr. Phil & Encouragement

A few years ago I was watching a Dr. Phil show, he spoke about how children are born with a blank slate and that how you act/treat them and what you show/teach them is a major factor in who they become. That episode has stuck with me since. I really do believe that children are born with a blank slate, a love for learning, and the yearning to prosper. I think as parents it is our duty to do as much as we can for our children. As I sit back and watch my children play and learn new things each day, I'm amazed at the thought of who they may become when they are adults. Both of my children love to learn new things and are constantly on the go. My youngest isn't even two, yet he has learned at least 20 animals and their sounds, his basic colors and shapes, he can count to ten, and has nearly mastered his ABC's. (Hey, I didn't say he got them in correct order, but he can say them all.) He has even started pointing out certain letters, so letter recognition as well. My oldest absolutely loves to find new ways of solving problems in math, he sees things differently than the way I teach him and it amazes me. He has tried on numerous occasions to show me how he does it, yet I don't even understand how, how is that possible? And he's getting ALL the answers correct. Math genius? I think so! Hahahaha. But I am a little prejudice with him being mine. He also comes up with science projects he wants to do on his own, ideas he has in his mind that he thinks should/shouldn't work and loves to test them out. Plus numerous other things that amaze me, they really do have a love for learning! And I feel as their parent, their mother, their 24/7, that it is my sole duty to encourage them in every way possible.

What are some ways that you encourage your child/children?

It's definitely......

SPRING FEVER

I'm finding myself wishing summer break would get here sooner rather than later. With the days warming up, garden work to be done, and baseball season in full swing a break is much needed. We have been finishing up before noon these last few weeks so we could enjoy the afternoon outside, but I look forward to being able to spend our mornings swimming or playing games and our afternoons laying around outside reading. I look forward to trips, fishing, and other adventurous things that seem to only take place in summer. I also look forward to planning for our next school year of adventure. This year has been unbelievably full of adventures. We started this year with our state's virtual school and are ending the year with returning to traditional homeschooling. I'm very excited to start planning for the next year, using curriculum that I've chosen. Curriculum that took me months to choose. Have you ever looked at all that's available? Whew! So much to choose from and so overwhelming when you see all the reviews, I didn't come across many that weren't excellent! There is definitely an abundance of things that can be incorporated into a school day, the world is our blackboard! Learning is everywhere. Let's get on with summer break and let's get to planning!

What's your favorite curriculum?

Scared to Death.

Some days I think my kids are trying to scare me to death. My oldest is a prankster, joker at heart. Even the almost two-year old is getting in on the action these days. I honestly don't know where they get it from. Okay, okay, you caught me. They probably learned it from me. I'm the type of parent that leaves a Nerf gun and a note on the counter for my husband to "Find us. We're armed." I've also been known to attack him with water balloons as soon as he gets home from work. I reckon you could say we are all a little playful in this house. So as you can tell I'm pretty used to be picked at, joked on, etc in our household. I'm used to finding the toy snakes in my bed, my oldest being under the bed and grabbing at my feet, etc. That's all in a day's play to me. But NOTHING and I do mean NOTHING could have prepared me for what happened this morning. My truck has been in the auto shop getting worked on the past few days, well I heard from the mechanic first thing this morning so I was on the phone relaying the conversation to my husband. While on the phone my youngest was trying to hand me something, so I held out my hand (like always, assuming he has found some minuscule crumb or "trash" on the floor) and right before he could drop this object in to my hands I realized it was a dang SPIDER! EEEEEEEK! I dropped the phone and ran to the other side of the kitchen, my oldest laughing the ENTIRE time. It was NOT just your ordinary little spider, it was one of those ginormous beast. (Everyone that knows me, knows that I have a fear of spiders and I'm also OCD when it comes to keeping my house clean. Every night after the kids are in bed, I spend at least an hour cleaning up the house. Top to bottom. Vacuuming is done first thing in the morning.) So at this point I'm terrified (even though the damn thing is dead), my oldest is rolling on the floor from laughing so hard, and have no clue where it came from. The rest of my morning turned into tearing my house apart inch by inch, because you know, you can't assume there is just ONE of those beast. They probably travel in packs with 29083712984792877 members. Anyway, here I am this afternoon reflecting back on my morning; my children probably think I'm absolutely crazier than before because of my reaction to this spider, they now have more ammunition against me since they realize that it scared the living daylights out of me, and my house looks like a Tasmanian Devil has been here. So that is how my morning went. Off to finish searching for any more beasts and clean up the mess I've created looking for them. Wish me luck!

Egg bouncing.

At the end of last week we decided to start soaking an egg in vinegar to see if it would bounce. I remember doing this in highschool and probably a few other times as well, but have never attempted it with my kids. So, we got us a glass jar so we could watch the egg each day. We couldn't see any changes just by looking at it. It looked the same, day after day. After several long days of hearing, "Mom, is the egg ready?" and "Is the egg ready to bounce, yet?" over and over. It was finally time. We were finally able to empty the vinegar and rinse the egg in water. Did it bounce? IT SURE DID! My oldest was completely wowed by the factor that it really bounced. He did not think it would, I mean come on, who woulda thunk an egg could bounce? But it did! It bounced and bounced. We discussed how the egg felt (rubbery and squishy at the same time), why it bounced (the reaction the vinegar caused), etc. He played with that joker for over 20 minutes before I had to send him outside with it. (The vinegar smell was horrific) Which once he took it outside it didn't bounce for long, especially considering he threw it up against a tree. A very fun experiment, minus the waiting.

We have also done the whole suck an egg into a bottle thing, which he found fascinating as well. I do advise to have more than one egg ready when attempting that neat little trick though. Our egg broke apart while being sucked into the bottle, so he didn't get to see the full effect. So we will be boiling more eggs to attempt this one again, very soon.

Homeschooling=Amazing. You can do anything at any given time you please. Love it!


Here are the links we used for these two experiments:

Bouncing An Egg

Egg and bottle (Video)

Egg and bottle (Lesson/Materials)

Bumps Along The Way.

Learning at home definitely has it's ups and downs. We have tried several different curricula and were even a part of a virtual academy for almost two years. We are now back on track with traditional homeschooling. It has been a bumpy road. But after seeing the look on my oldest child's face each morning (while with the virtual school) I knew it was time to do something different. The virtual school just wasn't fitting our family's needs anymore. Yes, it was WONDERFUL while we were with them. Set curriculum. Teacher support. Deadlines to meet. Et cetera. I loved the structure of it, my child did not. I knew he needed something different. Where he was excelling in math (and still is), he was falling behind with reading. A struggling reader as most would say. This was VERY hard for me to deal with. I've always loved to read and still find time to sneak a book in here or there when I have time to myself. Dealing with his lack of love for reading was frustrating and saddening to me. Another hurdle we had to cross. But first I had to deal with my feelings. It was so hard watching him struggle to sound out words, but so exciting to see when he would read one correct. I pushed and pushed; because of course since I loved to read he had to, too. After all he is my child! Wrong. Yes, he is my child. But he is his own person and some do not love reading. Reading was stressful to him, hard. During our time with the virtual school he was pushed by not only me, but the teacher as well and was falling even further behind. Having to read books he didn't want to read, had no interest in. And was becoming withdrawn at the mention of anything to do with reading, or writing. So I took a leap and withdrew him from the virtual school. Mid-year, which was scary! I knew in my heart something had to change, he needed to be more relaxed. (With the virtual school there was SO much that needed to be done each day, so much work; which I now refer to as busy work, or unnecessary). He wasn't able to move at  his own pace (like we were told at the beginning), he was bored with math (he's advanced in math) and struggling with the reading portion of it. Science and history were no problem and still aren't.  Since leaving the virtual school (three months ago) he is a COMPLETELY different child. He has developed a love for reading. He even picked up a book the other day and read for pleasure! We are reading the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder for fun, together, out-loud. He has come such a long way and it's very exciting to see him this way for me. He is also writing short stories or just a paragraph each day in a notebook and also doing creative writing pages for me. So not only is he doing work, he's also making the choice to write a story a day in his own personal notebook. What an accomplishment! So this goes back to my statement at the beginning, learning at home definitely has it's ups and downs. But once you find your groove everything else falls into place! I learned to relax and not push so hard when it came to reading; to allow him to come to me with a book. We read more and more together (we had time to finally). And lookie here if he isn't enjoying reading just as much as I do now! I realized that no matter what, if he wasn't ready to do something, he wasn't going to do it and I needed to back off and allow him to WANT to do it. But once he was ready to fly, he flew!


This is definitely what homeschooling is about; creating a love for learning!♥

Clothing. Moms. Poop. Beware!

Before you are a mom you normally discuss day to day life, clothing, trends, etc with friends. But once you become a mom it seems like those conversations turn into what color your child's poop is, whether or not it's normal, and other such things. Isn't it crazy? Clothing, to poop. Plain and simple. How does that happen? Does a switch turn once you have your first kid? I 110% believe so. These things are things I found gross and disgusting beforehand, now they are definitely a part of my everyday vocabulary. I find myself constantly questioning what my child has ate to make it the color and consistency that it is. And I can't even begin to tell anyone how many times I've Googled "green poop" to see if it's normal. Corn? Yuck. We won't even discuss those diapers. Or teething ones. There is just SO many different kinds of poop and nearly every bit of it is normal. How is that? How is that even possible? How does it go from green to orange in ONE day? Every mom knows that it can happen. Every mom also knows about the explosive ones as well. And I'm sure nearly every mom has experienced the explosive with the onesie. Goodness gracious if that isn't a mess! I love onsies now, don't get me wrong. But they are poop holders, explosive poops love to go straight up the back of  those things and you end up getting it EVERYWHERE trying to get that joker over their head. I've done everything possible, short of cutting that joker off of my children to avoid getting it everywhere. It's IMPOSSIBLE though, so onesies are banned in our house during teething times to avoid these types of messes. The things us mothers go through, it's crazy. I've been pooped on, peed on, thrown-up on, had food thrown at me, carrots sneezed on me, etc, as I'm sure every other mother has! But every so often I'd love to have an adult conversation that doesn't involve poop. Who is with me?

Ballgames and manners!

My oldest son plays baseball, he has since he was three and he's now eight. Yes, this is his sixth year of playing. Four rambunctious years of t-ball and now we are on our second year with a pitching machine. Anyways, he had his first baseball game of the season yesterday, so we were down at our local ball fields for the game. (They won by the way! Go team!) I have noticed since he began playing that it seems every year the children become more and more disrespectful to their coaches, parents, or other adult volunteers. This year it seems even worse and makes me absolutely cringe. The things that were coming out of these children's mouths was absolutely ridiculous and so disrespectful. I understand completely that everyone raises their children differently. As for me, I was raised to respect my elders and I'm raising my children the same way. If my oldest says something ugly to an adult, he gets in trouble. Simple as that. I strongly believe that there are just some things that a child DOES NOT say to an adult. Period. Which leads me to manners. I grew up saying, "yes ma'am", "no ma'am", "thank-you", "no thank-you", "please", etc. My children are the same way. Even my youngest who isn't even two yet says "please" and "thank-you", or course it's more like "pea" and "tank-you", but he's grasped the concept at least! Where are children's manners these days? Or adults even? I cannot even begin to count the amount of times that my oldest son as held a door open for someone, they breezed right through, without even mumbling a "thank-you". Ridiculous. I use these people to set examples, I will turn to my child and tell him thank you for holding the door open for that person, that was a very nice thing to do, etc. I've even gone as far as to say it a little loudly so that the person could hear me say it. I've also said some not so very nice things to these complete strangers for not saying thank-you, but after seeing the disappointment on my child's face there was NO WAY they were getting away without saying "thank-you" to my child. Do not mess with mama bear!

Anyway, I cannot quite figure out....are manners not being taught to children these days? Are parents not being strict about it? What is going on? I've heard less and less children saying please and thank-you today than when I was growing up. "Can I have something to drink, please?", sounds SO much better than "Give me a dang drink!", coming from a child or even an adult. And yes I have heard the "Give me a dang drink!" statement come directly from a child TO me during a t-ball game. Among other things while being an assistant coach and dugout mom. There is nothing quite like being spit on by a kid that's not yours!

Play Ball!

Peeing Peacefully? Is that possible?

So after my last blog, I know I said I was going to read, but that will have to wait until the kids are asleep completely, not just in bed. Toddler bed, plus toddler that doesn't want to go to sleep, makes for several trips toting back to bed. On one trip back from putting him to bed I had to pee and of course at that very moment so did my oldest and my husband. (Perks of having just ONE bathroom)  On one of those trips it dawned on me, does any mother remember what it's like to pee alone?  I have completely forgotten what it's like to be able to pee in peace! I know, I know, wishful thinking right. That doesn't happen again until sometime WAY after they have moved out. But a mom can dream. At this rate, I can't even remember the last time I left the house without my hair in a ponytail, sweatpants, and a sweatshirt on. With who knows what on it, I mean, is that the banana that the baby had last week, because I can't remember washing this then? Or could that be snot? Who knows, I just go with the flow. Who has the time to do full blown make-up? Actual clothes other than comfy ones? Not I, not unless I take major time preparing for it. And I don't know about anyone else, but I'm not missing that 45 minutes of sleep just to appear like a Stepford Wife, which I know I'm not! These days appearance is everything, but who has the time for it? Maybe one day, I'll be more like a Stepford Wife, keeping up with fashion trends and able to pull off that razorback tee that's so cute, while chasing after a toddler in 4-inch heels. But for now, I'll take those twice worn before washing sweatpants, that raggedy t-shirt that's so comfy you can't throw it away, and my tennis shoes from highschool because I'd much rather be running around outside with my kids, not a care in the world if my clothes get nasty. After all this rain the past few days, only one thing can ensue; MUD FIGHT!

One of those days.

I have no clue what's worse, the fact that I didn't brush my hair this morning or that I didn't even realize it until a few minutes ago (now almost 7:30 pm).  Thankfully we have had no solicitors today or deliveries due otherwise I probably would have scarred them for life with this mess on my head! It has surely been one of those days. You know, the one where you feel like doing absolutely nothing but know that it's impossible because on that particular day your kids have completely forgotten how to entertain themselves? That was today, in our house. After all the schoolwork was complete today I thought I would read a few pages in my book, before my butt could even hit the couch I hear "MOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM! He's messing with my toys!" coming from the oldest, then the littlest screaming, "NOOOOOOOO, MINEEEEE!". Needless to say I spent most of my afternoon being a referee. I reckon this weather has them both in an uproar. So ready for some sunshine! Now, after I've sent the husband to town for supper (hey it was Subway, that's healthy right?) and the kids are in bed I do believe I will curl up and read some of my book.

Go Hunt!

Learning is absolutely everywhere; it took me a long time to realize that. I thought for quite some time that unless it was structured it was just play. Now I realize it's not!

♥

Tonight before bedtime, my oldest and I played a good round or two of Go Hunt! What he doesn't know is that they are wildlife identification cards. So while we were both having a blast he was also learning the names of thirteen of North America's most popular game animals. :)

Then after Go Hunt!, we played a few rounds of Go Fish! where he was exposed to thirteen of North America's most popular game fish.

Learning really does take place everywhere if you allow it too. He wanted to play cards, so we did! But he also learned a little while doing so. I think we will finish out this week learning about the species in both decks! Should be fun and interesting to do so. 

Lessons on bullying.

If you are on Facebook, Pinterest, or any other social media site I'm sure you've seen the post about a New York teacher that taught her students a lesson about bullying by using a simple sheet of paper. For those of you that have not, here is the story:

 "A teacher in New York was teaching her class about bullying and gave them the following exercise to perform. She had the children take a piece of paper and told them to crumple it up, stomp on it and really mess it up but do not rip it. Then she had them unfold the paper, smooth it out and look at how scarred and dirty is was. She then told them to tell it they’re sorry. Now even though they said they were sorry and tried to fix the paper, she pointed out all the scars they left behind. And that those scars will never go away no matter how hard they tried to fix it. That is what happens when a child bullies another child, they may say they’re sorry but the scars are there forever. The looks on the faces of the children in the classroom told her the message hit home." 

See, as home-schoolers most would think that bullying isn't something we have to deal with. But it is, it's something that, in my opinion,every parent should discuss with their child or children. It's something that at some point your child will encounter. Bullying or being bullied doesn't just happen at school, it can happen on the internet, at the playground, during extracurricular activities, it can happen anywhere! Any child is susceptible to it, no matter their background. Rather they are private schooled, home schooled, public schooled, college. It DOES NOT matter. So as parents we have to take a stand, teach your kids about bullying/being bullied, teach them what to do in the situation, or if they see someone else being bullied what they should/shouldn't do! It only takes one. Stand up!


We do the above exercise in our home, several times a year, it does seem to hit home. I believe that doing it this way does help younger children understand and really sets a light bulb off in older children. It takes 10 minutes or less of your time to talk about it. We have also watched the movie Bully, which was heartbreaking to see the pain and torment of these children, but well worth the watch. One thing I think most parents can agree on is that bullying needs to stop! But it starts with us as parents, to be aware, to take the time to teach our kids a lesson about it, to stop with the "It's just kids being kids." mantra. IT'S NOT! Some kids these days are darnright mean, the petty fights we all had as children are different this day and time, plus the internet bullying that goes on. So take a stand, make yourself aware of just how bad the bullying in our country is, make your children aware, because it needs to stop. No child anywhere deserves to be bullied for anything!



                     SAY NO TO BULLYING!

Here is a great website to use, Lessons on Bullying, and there are several more available out there!

Kids Are.....?

My living room floor, before 10:00 AM. (This is actually a good day, usually it's worse.)

There is just no nice way of putting it, kids are messy! They absolutely love to make messes, simple as that. Messes that take mommy quite some time to clean up. Yes they do help clean, but there is always the abundance of stuff that they forget to clean up; not to mention the food my youngest seems to hide in every nook and cranny of his highchair. (I think he saves it for later, who knows though.) I have met some mothers that cannot stand a mess and are constantly running behind their kids cleaning up, I am NOT, I repeat NOT that mother. My entire house will look like a disaster zone before I clean up in the evening. I think messes are important! While making those messes they are playing, rolling cars, stacking blocks, looking at picture books, doing puzzles, and most of all they are LEARNING! See, a mess is a good thing, if looked at in the right way! I always encourage my kids to make messes, it seems, especially when we are outside. Here lets get the sprinkler and do this, or that. Let's make mud pies, red clay castles (in the south we have very little sand, just red clay everywhere), roll in the leaves (pray for no dog poop while you do), or whatever else we can get into. For instance, yesterday after hunting eggs and enjoying the goodies the Easter bunny left we took a walk. While we were on that walk we veered off the field road and into the woods just to see what we could see. It ended up being an hour of adventure. The boys found some pretty rocks, got stuck with thorns, saw several different kinds of animal tracks, a turtle shell, and the oldest found an old ax. I stumbled upon an arrowhead in nearly perfect condition, the tip is missing, but it's still a gorgeous piece. We all had a blast and the most enjoyment for me was seeing the love of learning shining from my kids, the smiles on their faces just from being outside. We arrived back at the house a little sweaty and a little dirty, but that hour of adventure had SO much learning involved! Anyway, I reckon my whole point is, don't mind the messes, your kids are just making memories. Encourage them to make a mess, then teach them to responsibly clean up after themselves. Be in no hurry, take your time, see the world through your children's eyes! Remember they are only children once, you may be complaining about the messes now, but one day you will miss them! ♥

Lego, Lego, Lego!

If you've ever stepped on a little tiny Lego in the middle of the night, then you understand why I say the word Lego makes me cringe. I 100% believe there are three levels of pain; pain, excruciating pain, and stepping on a Lego. I wouldn't dare wish that on anyone! That sh*t hurts. Good thing for me is I strongly believe that little tiny pieces plus little tiny kids do not mix, so we don't own any regular Legos. (There are unfortunately a few floating around the house that have somehow managed to get in.) We do on the other hand have the big Legos. (Megablocks or Lego Duplo) and use them quite regularly. My kids absolutely love them! And their imaginations run wild as they build whatever they can come up with. We also use them during our school day; they are great for math! Addition, subtraction, counting in general. ☺ Great visual for my oldest and keeps him interested in doing his work and also occupies my youngest. I'm sure at some time or another those little insanely painful Legos will make their debut into our house, but for now I'll stick with the ones that if I run into in the middle of the night they just go hurling across the room instead of treating my foot like a pin cushion.

♥

The start of our day, homeschooling in our pajamas! While drinking my coffee this morning the oldest declared I come look right away. They had built a Lego tower on top of the John Deere Tractor. A few minutes later I could hear the oldest counting as he placed more blocks on the tower. He was trying to get his younger brother to count with him, all I could hear was "One, two, three. Count with me! Four..." you get the picture. 

Future blog posts will be about messy kids and our "eggs"periments, plus lots more! Be sure to come back for those! 

Is Homeschooling Easy?

Is homeschooling easy you ask? Well...I'll get back to you on the easy part. Some days are good and some are bad. There are struggles everyday over something, I'm sure. I don't think there is one home-schooling parent that can say there isn't. For us it's reading, my child wants absolutely NOTHING to do with reading himself. He will sometimes, but 60% of the time it's not by choice. He loves having books read to him, answering questions about the story, or even writing a story similar to what has been read. Anything else he loves. Math, breezes through. History, let's learn more. Science, "Ooh, can we do that again?". Language Arts, not a favorite but he doesn't mind it. In my personal opinion, the key to home-schooling is learning your child's way of learning. Once that has been done, I think at times, yes, it is easy. Another thing is being able to change it up! Want to do learning outside? Go for it! Go to the zoo to learn about animals? Why not?!?! Finding what interests your child is also an option, I can't tell any of you how many times I've let him choose what he wants to learn about (I will be the same with my youngest) and he always chooses something fun! Volcanoes, sharks, toads, plants; struggles seem to subside when they choose. Of course there are the things that need to be taught (my opinion) that they may not want to learn, but they still need to. I also notice that with mine the warmer it gets, the less schoolwork he wants to do. He would rather be outside 100% of his time; he's definitely a country boy. One who enjoys fishing, hunting, trapping, playing in the dirt, riding his bike, swinging, bouncing on the trampoline, using his sling-shot, etc. (I'm by no means saying he doesn't enjoy playing video games or watching tv, but if he had to choose, he'd go outside in a heartbeat.) I've learned to choose my battles; if he wants to play outside we do our schoolwork in the morning so he can enjoy the afternoon outdoors. I've learned that learning is everywhere. Even when he's outside he's constantly learning, his imagination is incredible and with that he has a strong love of learning. I've seen him make piles of dirt into volcanoes and explain which type they are. I've seen him find bugs and tell me ALL about them. Playing by the pond, seeing the water life and his eyes lighting up as he tells me about tadpoles. It's amazing. Simply amazing. All of this is what makes the daily struggles worth it, to see that "light-bulb" go off, to see him teaching other kids what he's learned, the pride he shows in being a home-schooler. (Telling complete strangers how home-schooling is fun and that's something him and George Washington have in common, funny right?) My point is, LEARNING IS EVERYWHERE! Take advantage of your surroundings. Go to a park, let your kids find rocks and then look up stuff about gems and minerals. Rocks and soil. Let your kids throw a ball up in the air, discuss gravity, what goes up must come down, right? There are just so many things you can do as a home-schooler, most importantly being able to change-it up. Rather it, is your curriculum (if you use one), your surroundings, etc.

 Here my oldest is, working hard in his Handwriting Without Tears workbook. Notice the John Cena (WWE) book in the background, that's his journal. He writes about whatever he wants to write about in that daily. He picked out that book, so he loves to write in it. (Once again, less struggles when your kids are able to choose what interests them, my opinion.)

And here my youngest is, ready for summer (following in his brother's footsteps when it comes to being outdoors) wearing my flip-flops on a cold/blustery day.

Why do people assume?

Being a stay-at-home mother people act as if you do absolutely nothing all day. And all of us stay-at-home mothers know that's not true. We are up with the kids (if not before) and going ALL day long. We are literally at our jobs 24/7, there is no quitting time, 5:00 just means time to get supper started around here! I've heard so many comments made about stay-at-home mothers. From "You are so lucky", to "What do you do all day?", well let me answer that last one for you.

I teach my children. I am showing them how to become productive citizens (I hope) one day. I spend time with my kids; puzzles, games, watching documentaries, active play, imaginative play,  and being outside are favorites. We also love to read! Boy, oh, boy do we love to read! We do scavenger hunts, trampoline bouncing, gardening (who knew there was so many interesting things bugs in a garden for kids!), walks, crafts, and all the in-between. We are constantly on the move. I enjoy my kids, I enjoy every minute of being with them. 

Of course with my oldest things are a little different. As home-schoolers we also do a good bit of offline work and online work. Math worksheets. Language Arts. Writing. Journaling. Reading about history. And his all time favorite science. But there are so many everyday things that can be incorporated into school; who knew that loading the washing machine could be math! (Counting the items as they go in). Loading the dishwasher is like science! Okay, okay I'm kidding on that one. Sometimes I feel like it is though! Trying to fit as many dishes as possible into that joker, because psh, no one wants to hand-wash dishes these days. 

Being at home 24/7 near 'bout also makes me responsible for 98% of the housework. (Of course there are those few things I still refuse to do myself.) But along with playing with my children and being their mother; I'm also cleaning, cooking, scheduling appointments, teaching, gardening, refereeing, fixing boo-boos, and chauffeuring my kids around. Who knew until staying home that there are THREE meals to be cooked a day, not including the snacks? Meaning that you have to clean the kitchen at least three times. (This is not including the husband coming home and leaving stuff all over the counter, simply because he forgot where the paper towels are.) Seems as if staying home also ends with twice the amount of laundry (never-ending in this house); wash, dry, fold, repeat.  Okay, on to the next thing.

Wait. Wait. Wait. Okay, so you got me. I don't have some long, rambling list of everything I do all day, every day. Because it changes from day to day. Some days are better than others, but everyday we are learning. I may not have it together and my house may be a mess (I know, probably wondering how that happens beings as I'm home all day right?) but please excuse me while me and my children are making memories.

I am lucky! (Which I knew) But I am very lucky to be able to stay-at-home with my children. Even if I'm covered in whatever that food may be on my shirt, snot, and only God knows what else.  I get to see all the special moments. Sitting up, crawling, walking, hearing first words, watching them learn something new (not many things compare to seeing that light bulb click inside your child's mind), among MANY, MANY, other things. Being a mother is definitely THE most rewarding thing in my life to date, but being able to enjoy/spend every moment with my children is definitely second! :)

You WHAT? Yeah, I do!

When I first started the journey of home-schooling I dreaded the question, "You homeschool?", it was treated like the plague (homeschooling that is). Yes, I homeschool. What's it to you? I've gotten to where I respond in the friendliest matter I can, what happens next all depends on what the person says. "Different strokes for different folks." "What works for us, may not work for you." "Homeschooling works for us." "I've seen the village and I don't want it raising my kids." All of these are responses I've given someone at some time or another. They are my "go-to", as in DROP the subject. It is not up for negotiation. My children, my choice. I choose to homeschool. But I have heard it all; "Are you sure you can do it?", "What happens when you send them to a "real" school?", "What happens if you fail your kids?", and one of my all time favorites, "What about making friends?" the whole socialization thing! UGH!



 "Are you sure you can do it?" 
Why yes, I am very sure I can teach my children. Why, I teach them everyday anyway. I've taught them many things. How do you think they learned their ABC's and 123's? How do you think they learned to say "please", "thank-you", and other respectful terms? To tie their shoes? Ride a bike? Open and close a door? Know their name? Address? Telephone number? It sure wasn't YOU (ignorant person acting like I can't teach my kids) Of course I can. I also taught them to pee and poop in the potty, not to dig their nose for gold, not to spit, to chew with their mouth closed, hold the door open for folks, not to speak to strangers, and to run naked in the yard. Hey! Everyone needs to have a good time, why not run naked (okay, okay, in our undies) in the sprinkler in the summertime? IT IS FUN! You see, I am quite capable of teaching my children the things they need to know and some I'm sure they don't. Things they wouldn't learn in a traditional school setting. ( I am not bashing a brick and mortar school, so do not take it that way.) This works for us and that's all that matters.


"What happens when you send them to a "real" school?" 
Um, last time I checked we are home-schoolers. School is EVERYWHERE. And it's just as "real" as going to an actual school. We do a lot of the same things. Just a tad different. We can do it in our PAJAMAS!

If the time comes and we choose to send our children to a brick and mortar school, they will adjust. It's not like they have been kept in a dungeon away from sunlight. They have friends, they can hold their own conversations. They will survive. If it comes to that. At this point, we are happy on our journey and intend on making no changes to what we are doing.


"What happens if you fail your kids?"
Okay, okay. You got me. I'm intentionally failing them. NOT! Every single parent (that's worth a shit) worries at some point on whether they are doing the right thing. Why am I a target to be asked this question over and over just because I keep my children home with me and I teach them? I will never understand it. I usually tend to respond to this question with the exact same question, "What happens if YOU fail your kids?" See. Not too happy are you that I questioned your abilities. So we will leave that one alone.


"What about making friends?" 
The socialization thing is a whole blog in itself, which I will not get into today.

Sippy Cup Time!

It is definitely one of THOSE mornings. The youngest decided that it would be a great idea to crush as many lucky charms into the living room rug as possible. One of those rugs you can't just vacuum, you have to use the hose and special little tool to clean. You know, that one tool that NEVER stays in place on the vacuum. Yeah that one. After trying to clean that up, all the while being tackled by both kids, it's definitely time for some coffee. I think some mornings my little sweet babies crazies wake up with ideas in their precious little minds on how they can make mommy pull all her hair out before 10:00 AM. Most days, I think my kids are wanting to drive me absolutely insane, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Being a mother is THE most rewarding thing in my life to date!