What's up with us...

So...it's been awhile.  That's what happens when you're pregnant, I guess.  And it's hot.  And you have three other little kids.  And you're always tired.  And there is always laundry to do, and meals to fix, and pillows to keep company.  Etcetera.  ;)

These last couple months have really zoomed by.  After my grandfather's funeral in July, we celebrated Independence Day with friends, family & food.  No fireworks though.  Just sparklers 'cause it was just too dry in these parts to take the risk.  And since then...I don't think we've had a single real rain cloud.  So sad.  So hot.  So dry.   In fact, just last weekend my hometown area was just surrounded in out-of-control fires that were caused by dry lightning.  Five homes were lost and thousands of acres burned.  In fact, fire came withing yards of my childhood best friend's parent's home where I spend a great deal of my growing up years!  Thankfully, the fires seem to be mostly contained at this point but the lack of rain really has been a HUGE problem this summer.  :(

Mid-July I escaped my husband & kids for a weekend and attended Hills Alive Music Festival in SD with my parents.  That was kind of a nice little break.  I got to enjoy MercyMe & TobyMac interrupted only by the calls of my ever shrinking bladder and not by tired, sweaty children.   And I got to do a little thrift store shopping.  I was actually surprised that my parents we as accommodating to this as they were.  Overall it was a pleasant weekend.

In August, my cousin got married and I got to be the photographer at the wedding.  It was fun but totally exhausting.  Especially at 7 months pregnant.  I could barely move the next day I was so sore and tired!  I still have some editing to do for them but I posted a few on my other blog HERE to keep them from getting too impatient with me.

It was about this time that Acacia up & decided that she had had enough of diapers and began using the potty full time.  It seemed so sudden to me!  We bought her a little package of panties and she has been doing great!  Only one real accident to speak of.  Completely dry through the nights!  I am one happy mama.  :)

Russ & I also celebrated our 9th anniversary on August 16th.  Didn't get to do anything much.  Russ was working out of town and didn't get home until late so we ate at Pizza Hut with the kids on our actual anniversary.  But we got to go out to a nice place alone a couple weeks earlier so we didn't feel too cheated.

Russ has been working on our bathroom remodel.  We started tearing it apart over a year ago and it is finally almost finished.  Just a few more tiles and some grouting and I may actually have a shower upstairs again.  And now it is BEAUTIFUL!  You'll get the full before & after when it is finally officially "after".  :)

I am at 34 weeks in my pregnancy now.  Getting more awkward by the day!  Was in full-on nesting mode last week trying to get the house as absolutely organized as possible.  Purging anything that was not necessary.  Lot of trash & trips to Goodwill.  Even sold a few things on Facebook.  It's weird though, because I don't feel at all like I'm going to be bringing home a newborn in just a few short weeks.  I haven't had to buy anything for this baby since we've been told it's probably another girl and all the basics are covered.  We haven't got a room ready for her, no crib set up or anything, 'cause we know from experience that baby will spend at least the first six weeks (possibly months) in our room.  So we put the pack & play in the corner there which is just randomly filled with everything we think we'll use during those first weeks.  Not exactly "welcome home" friendly yet.  In addition to feeling like a real baby is kind of an ethereal concept and not a fact I should be getting practically prepared for. I have also been experiencing some crazy issues with heart palpitations and shortness of breath which has led to other symptoms such as extreme weakness & pain in my upper arms and legs.  It's something I've experienced before but the symptoms have never been this pronounced. When it happens, I feel just awful and have to just lie down until it passes.  Hard to be productive when you feel too weak to stand and you have to lie down all the time!   When I almost passed out in the ob's office they finally started taking me seriously.  Add on to this a family history of atrial fib and Wolff-Parkinson-White and they ordered a Holter monitor test.  BUT since I am a self-pay patient, the hospital is waiting on payment plan/help confirmation before they will administer the test.  At this point, I'm thinking it's all pretty pointless anyway.  I had an EKG when I was pregnant with Acacia that found nothing, and what are they going to do if they did find something this time anyway?  I'm having a baby in less than 6 weeks! 

On top of everything else the school year has begun and I'm attempting my third year of homeschooling in the midst of all of this craziness!  Not only am I teaching Eden who is now in 2nd grade but I've also started Jasmine on Kindergarten.  I wanted to start a little early this year since I know I'll be taking a break mid-October when the baby is born, but now that I've started, I'm not very worried about keeping caught up.  The girls are getting their work done much more quickly then I had anticipated, so I don't think those crazy sleep-deprived couple of weeks in October are going to set us back too significantly.  Praise God!  Jasmine is picking the routine up quite well.  We are currently in review of stuff she knows very well already so it seems super easy to her and is a good way to get her used to daily work.  She doesn't enjoy the handwriting practice very much and (as with everything else) wants to do things on her own terms which can be pretty frustrating at times...but that's okay.  It's the nature of the beast!  Eden has a tendancy to be easily distracted so having Jasmine working nearby has been a bit of a challenge.  But since Jazzy tends to finish her busy work much more quickly than Eden...Eden still gets a lot of one-on-one time with me once Jasmine has been excused, which works out nicely.  Acacia has been pretty cooperative so far.  While we work at the table, she usually plays nicely alone or sits with us doing her own "homework".  :)  The only time there is a problem is when I'm trying to read lessons to the girls.  It seems that if I'm reading, she thinks this is a good time to make lots of noise or try to talk to us.  But I honestly have almost had as much of a problem with Jasmine doing this as Acacia!  They just don't seem to understand the concept of sitting quietly and listening.  But other than those couple of minor issues, school has been going very well...much better than I had really expected it to.  Now we just have to wait to find out how adding a newborn to the mix is going to affect us.

We've also just started dance classes again this week.  Acacia had her first dance class ever and was sooo incredibly excited.  She didn't show even a bit of timidity or trepidation about going.  She walked in as if she owned the place and her teacher said afterward that she acted like she knew everything already.  Probably from watching her sisters.  Eden is taking three different classes this year:  ballet, tap and jazz.  She really wasn't enthused about tap but she wanted to take jazz pretty badly and so when the teacher said she needed to be in both ballet & tap in order to take jazz, she was back on board.  Jasmine decided in July when we registered that she was going to sit this year out of dance.  Was adament for weeks that she was perfectly happy NOT being in dance this year.  That was until dance actually started!  Now she says that she wants to be in the Monday evening Pre-K class that follows Eden's ballet/tap classes.  Seems like that's okay with everyone.  I just hope she doesn't change her mind again.  She keeps saying that she wants to be a ballerina.  So we'll see.  :)

Anyway, that's a quick recap of what has been going on here the last couple of months.  Hopefully I'll be able to post more now that summer is winding down but I can't make any guarantees.  I am a pregnant homeschooling mommy with three other kids after all!

First Day of School (2011-2012)

After having to postpone starting school for a week due to curriculum shipping delays, we finally had our first day of school.  Eden is in 1st grade and I'm doing some Pre-K stuff with Jasmine.  We are focusing around an animal theme this year and I'm also going to teach US Geography.  I set up a little corner for them in their room with desks and boards to display their work.

My First Grader:

My Pre-Kindergartener:

My three girls:

We had french toast for breakfast.

Then we had some reading time.

We learned about observation and measured ourselves.

Then it was time for some busy work.

And lastly, we had our first geography lesson.  Where is Alabama?

5Q Friday: August 5, 2011

Since I haven't been very inspired lately but I have wanted to say something on my blog, I decided to participate in My Little Life's weekly 5 Question Friday this week.  Maybe you'll learn something about me or maybe you won't but here are my answers to this week's 5 questions.  :)

1. Do you have siblings and are you close with them?

 
I do have siblings.  I have a younger brother and a younger sister. I love them both so so much but I'm not sure how to describe our relationships in terms of "closeness".  I consider us pretty close, but I know by comparison to other siblings that we are not as close as some.  My husband and his sister are super close.  

My brother & sister and I all care about each other a lot and I have no doubt that they would do anything they could for me and I for them but we aren't ones to talk late into the night or call each other just to see what's going on.  We live close enough to each other to see each other at least once a month and we always have a really fun time when we're together but we don't get together very often to just to hang out with just each other.  Our parents are around 80% of the time.  But I've noticed that recently we have begun to make more of an effort to do things together.  A couple years ago my brother's family and mine went on vacation together and that was a wonderful trip.  I'd like to do more of that kind of thing.

My brother & I were really close as kids but as we matured the gender difference started to come into play more.  With my sister I think the fact that I am eight years older caused our relationship to have a protective element to it which kept us from having the super close peer relationship that some sisters have.  But now that she is officially an adult and married and whatnot, I expect us to overcome that a bit.   I am way excited because in a week my sister and her husband are moving to town and my hope is that this will give a chance to connect in a whole new way...  

Yay, for siblings living down the street!!

2. Would you rather be slightly UNDER weight or slightly OVER weight?

This seems like a dangerous question. In this day and age, weight can be a pretty touchy subject.  I have a a huge problem with people who are slightly (emphasis on slightly) overweight, obsessing about those 5-10 lbs.  They look great...they look fine.  I say don't lose your pride in your body over a few measly pounds.  On the other hand, I think that people who are truly overweight need to either own how they look and be the best over-weight them they can be and quit griping about it or they need to take the initiative to make the lifestyle changes that they need to make to change it.   

However, I personally do not feel equipped to speak on the subject because I really have never struggled with my weight.  According to most weight charts I am considered slightly underweight but I don't think that is truly the case.  I have pretty much been the same weight since puberty and it suits my extremely small frame.  One of the down sides to being so thin is people thinking I have an eating disorder.  I don't get this much anymore, now that I've got the post-baby tummy pooch, but in high school and college I got it a lot.  And the funny thing was, I was always eating and eating a lot!  I was just blessed with a high metabolism and cursed with irritable bowels.  (Is that TMI?)  

I can just hear people groaning.  I realize that I am not gonna get a whole lot of sympathy from the average women out their who struggle with their weight on a daily basis but...you know....

In answer to the actual question...I'm happy with how I am and I think that we should all strive to be the best "us" we can be regardless of our weight.  Ideally, we would all be our "ideal" weight but very few people are and we should concentrate more on who & what we are on the inside rather than spending so much of our life unhappy with the way we look. 

In conclusion...My opinion is that a person's health and a person's sense of worth is much more important than their weight.

3. What's your favorite State Fair food to splurge on?

Um...funnel cakes with powdered sugar.

4. What are your thoughts on your kid(s) going to school in a few weeks?

Well...my kids won't be "going" to school because we are a homeschool family.  So in a few weeks we will be "starting" school.   The summer went by so fast.  I just got my paperwork back from the state Wednesday and I had a huge realization that "Ohmygoodness, it's already August and I haven't ordered my curriculum yet!"  So I got my act together and placed the order.  Eden will be in 1st grade this year and I'm going to include Jasmine in some of the lessons for "preschool".  I am excited to start with the new curriculum but I would be remiss to say that I am looking forward to the school year.  Homeschooling is not for sissies!  It is hard work and you never get a 8 hour reprieve from your kids.  I feel honored to be in charge of my children's education but it can be a bit intimidating.  It will be nice to have a daily agenda again but I will miss the lazy freedom of summer as well.  Well..."to everything their is a season."  And soon it will be what we call the "school season."  Bring it on...

5. Pool or Ocean?

For swimming, I'll stick to the pool.  But seeing as how I live in Western Nebraska, I certainly welcome the sight of the ocean whenever I can get it.

Aww... (eyes closed) Big deep breath of salty air and sand between my toes.  :)

(This is a photo of me at Newport Beach on my honeymoon in 2003.  

It was the first time I'd ever seen the ocean.)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Feel free to jump on over to Mama M's blog and see how other's have answered the 5Q's!  

Thanks for stopping by...

Look at this guy...

We went on a Entomology field trip today with our homeschool group and we got to pet this Madagascar hissing cockroach...and yes, we know it's a boy!

Eden's First Day (and mine!)

Well...I began my homeschooling adventure today.  I got most of Eden's curriculum in the mail the last couple weeks.  (Still missing her Bible curriculum and a couple random books.)  I was planning to start next week but Eden's been anxious to begin and I just realized that next Monday is Labor day and therefore messes the week up some so rather than waiting and starting on an odd week, I just decided to go ahead and jump in and see what happened!

I am using the "Hideaways in History" kindergarten program from Winter Promise.  So far, I think I'm going to like it.  After breakfast I started with the history reading.  This week we are learning about early people and civilization.  Eden struggled to really sit & listen.  She kept interrupting me with demands to move on.  When I asked her questions about what we read she said she didn't know and we had to go back and read parts of it again.  I'm thinking maybe I should start the day with a sit down activity like math or phonics and then do the history & science readings in between busy work.

After that we sat at the table and did an activity in her "Mastering Kindergarten Skills" book.  It was basically just a coloring page about how we are suppose to treat books.  After that we did a little review about ancient writing and we got on the internet and looked at pictures of cave paintings and talked a bit about them.  While I fixed lunch she worked on her own "cave painting" mural on a large piece of brown paper with markers.  I gave Jasmine one to work on, also.  They seemed to have fun with that.

After lunch, we got to handwriting & phonics.  The assignment for today was working with pre-letter forms.  Eden found this boring since she thinks she already knows how to write.  But since she still struggles to write top to bottom, left to right and often gets letters backward I thought it was important to work through the foundation.

My teacher's guide book also requested I teach her how to spell her first name today and write it tomorrow but since she already knows how to spell and write her name, I taught her to spell & write her full name.  She had a bit of a breakdown in the middle of the phonics/writing portion because she didn't want to do all that repetitive work...but she recovered nicely.

We then read our science text (which basically just covers the 6 days of creation and we'll probably easily get though that before the end of September) and Eden memorized Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."   On to math...which is Horizon's K math text.  Also a text which she will probably breeze through.  We went through six lessons in about 5 minutes.  It was way too easy for her.  I didn't have to teach her anything because it was all stuff she already knew.  Jasmine could have breezed though the "math" we did today!  The most difficult part for her was in writing the number two.   Once we got through that, I said a closing prayer and called it a day at about three.  She called Russ to tell him the verse she learned and whatnot and he told her how proud he was of her.

It was a fine first day.
I think it's going to be a good year!