Blogger Challenge: Dun Dun Dun!!!

So I know I'm several days behind, but what the hey, I figured I might just go ahead and jump on the 30 days of blogging bandwagon...(tomorrow!!) I have already done enough blogging for today, so I'll be starting my 30 days of Blogging challenge tomorrow. This is going to be fun!

The Challenge: 
day 1 – recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
day 2- the meaning behind your blog name
day 3- a picture of you as a child
day 4- a habit that you wish you didn’t have
day 5- a picture of somewhere you’ve been
day 6- favorite super hero and why
day 7- a picture of someone/something that has had the biggest impact on you
day 8- short term goals for this month and why
day 9- something you’re proud of in the past few days
day 10- songs you listen to when you are happy, sad, bored, hyped, mad
day 11- write a bucket list of things you want to do before you die
day 12- write a poem to someone you love
day 13- your 5 favorite books and why
day 14- a picture of you and your family
day 15- put your ipod on shuffle: first 10 songs that play
day 16- a picture of yourself
day 17- someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
day 18- plans/dreams/goals you have
day 19- write about a sweet memory from your past
day 20- write a letter to someone
day 21-a picture of something that makes you happy
day 22- what makes you different from everyone else
day 23- something you crave a lot
day 24- post your favorite quote or verse of scripture and why
day 25- what I would find in your bag
day 26- list 10 things that you are thankful for
day 27- my day job verses my passion
day 28- cruise a thesaurus and pick out 10 words you like the sound of
day 29 – favorite tv shows and why you like them
day 30 – movies you can watch again and again.

Homeschool Convention 101

Disclaimer: I am not claiming that I am a pro at homeschooling, let alone going to homeschool conventions. In fact, this year will only be our second year of homeschooling and our 2nd convention to go to, and last year we didn't really get to stay for much of the guest speakers (but I'm hoping to do more this year). In my defense I had a new baby, so it was difficult for me to balance. There are, however, several tips I wish I would have known beforehand-some of which I had to learn the hard way.  That's why I want to share them with you.

I think conventions can be a great way to spend time together as a family. I also think that it can be a great way for other moms to get together-I am actually thinking that this might be a good idea for some of me and my friends this year. I also see some value in having some time just to yourself, if only when shopping at the curriculum expo, to focus.  It can be overwhelming at times, since there are SO many vendors and booths. If you don't go in there prepared somewhat, it would be easy to overspend and get sucked in by all the "shinies" as I call them. So, here are my tips to have a successful homeschool convention.

1) Decide if you want to (or will be able to) go as a family or by yourself. Will you be going for all the days or just some of them. Realistically think about the challenges you might have. If you would ideally like to go with your whole family, consider the ages of your children. Do you have a baby that you are going to have to pay constant attention to? Do you have young children who might get easily bored sitting in a seminar? What about teens?
These conferences are used to all types of families, and try to be as accommodating as they can to you.    If you are breastfeeding, be sure to find out if there is a nursing mom room (if you want one) ahead of time. I went last year with the expectation that there would be one, but they had not yet set it up when we arrived. I ended up nursing in a corner with my cover, but just because I prefer more private areas. I did get the sense that no one would have been bothered if I had to nurse in a seminar or anywhere else. Jonah ended up very fussy though, and I felt like I needed to leave the seminar (again, my preference) and ultimately the conference for that night because of this.
I also noticed that many of the parents had kids that were playing on cell phones, mobigos, or some other handheld  gaming system. I did also see a few kids doing work, and even fewer just sitting there quietly, not saying a word, next to their parents. Maybe I'm a bad mom or something, but my kids aren't just going to sit there quiet and still for several different seminars. I am not a fan of them spending all day on a phone or handheld gaming device, but in this instance, it seems to be a good option. The kids get to play games so they aren't bored, and mom gets to focus on the speaker.
It's also important to note that if you have teens or older kids, sometimes conferences and conventions have special programs JUST for kids.  Most have some type of separate group just for teens, and the conference this year that we are going to has a "children's conference" similar to VBS or Sunday school for kids ages 5 and up.  Sometimes these programs cost extra money, and sometimes the cost is included in your family convention cost. We did not come prepared last year, but if we had thought ahead, we would have been able to stay longer.
I didn't feel like it was fair to have my husband walk around with the three kids just so I could listen to some speakers. So instead, we ended up heading into the food area, which brings me to my 2nd tip.

2)Food prices are HIGH. We are talking Disneyland high.  I don't remember the exact prices but it was something like $5 for a bottle of water, $7 for 3 chicken strips, etc.  If you have babies, bring sippy cups and goldfish, for sure. Stuff a bottle of water in your purse if you like, although there are usually water fountains throughout. I highly recommend putting aside some money to eat outside of the convention. Everyone is going to get hungry at some point. If you have traveled to the convention and you are staying at a hotel, try to eat breakfast at the hotel before leaving to save money. Then, if your hotel is close enough to the convention, consider going back for either lunch or dinner in your room, and then eating out one meal a day at a restaurant.
If you are driving to and from the convention each day, it may not be that easy to go back and forth to home for every meal. I would say to eat before you come, and build your day around the speakers you want to hear, and at some point for lunch, plan a nice lunch out(side of the convention) for you and your family, and then eat dinner at home.  You will likely spend the same or less money eating out at a nearby restaurant as you would eating overprices chicken tenders and cokes at the convention itself.
Once we saw how overpriced the food was, and had 3 hungry kids, we opted to go ahead and leave the convention early the first night and go out to eat instead.

3)Get a babysitter. If you are the only parent going, you may want to consider getting a sitter for all or part of the conference. Perhaps you and a friend could swap days to go. One friend can keep the kids at home while you shop/hear the guest speakers, and you can return the favor for them.  Also, as I mentioned before, consider if your convention lets you attend the conference for one day only, or if a full convention fee for all days must be paid regardless.  I would highly recommend having someone (even if it is just your spouse) watching the kids while you are shopping at the Curriculum Fair if nothing else.  That is my personal opinion though. I like to have a clear head when shopping and I'm always on a tight budget, so I'm very concerned with saving money and getting the most bang for my buck. Last year, we were able to get my Mom to watch the two older kids while my husband and I shopped, and we just had the baby with us.  That made things a lot easier, for sure.

4)Set a budget. For everything from eating out, to curriculum shopping, to any other things you end up buying or activities you may do, figure all this in to your budget at stick to it.  If you don't find any speakers you are interested in or won't be able to do anything but shop, consider purchasing a curriculum fair ticket only for yourself, if available. I would say, if possible, plan an extra hundred dollars to have in case of any unexpected deals you find, or activities you want to do, such as a comedy show or kids workshop the convention may have.

5)Do the research. To make the most of your time, find out ahead of time what the convention's schedule looks like and who the speakers are, and if possible, what topics they are speaking on.  My conference is in April and they have not yet posted any of this info, so I am actively checking every few days to see if there is any new info. Be sure to bring pen and paper with you to take notes on important sessions to you.  I did come prepared with this, and it was very helpful. Any time you hear helpful info you are going to want to write it down. There are going to be so many things thrown at you, it may take some time to really soak in.

Now, here are my tips just on the curriculum fair itself.
1) Plan ahead. Have an idea ahead of time, for at least some subjects of what you may want to use and what you are looking for. If nothing else, at least set a budget and decide on what subjects you want to do. I went with an idea of what subjects I wanted to cover, and knew some of what I was looking for specifically when we went.  If at all possible, try and decide what you may want to buy ahead of time, or possibly limit it to two or 3 choices. Research the cost of these ahead of time, and know what the going price is for new and used. If you already know what the price is that you can readily get it for online, you will be able to make a better educated decision when you shop and have everything in front of you. I am a big believer in "hands on" shopping. Although I do see merit in the cost effectiveness of online shopping, there is just something about seeing it right in front of me. I like being able to touch and see the textbooks, and flip through them. It is easier for me to make a decision that way, that just looking at some basic info in a catalog or on a website. I find that if I have an idea of what subjects to teach, and have it narrowed down to two or three solid options, I can easily make a decision once I have them right there in front of me. Find out if you can get this item used in good condition, and talked to others who have used this. Try to get both positive and negative feedback. Remember that what is a negative experience for someone, may very well be a positive experience for you, (or a neutral one).  If you don't think you can get it used in good condition, then be prepared to actually buy this item at the convention if you see a good deal.  

2)Walk the WHOLE expo first. Bring a notebook (or some type of handheld device you can type notes into). Create a price book ahead of time for each of your options, and know the going rate. Then walk the whole way around the expo before buying ANYTHING. As you go around, any time you see something you like, even if it wasn't a part of your plan or budget, write it down. Trust me. I bought Math U See for Hannah new at the fair, because I knew if I bought it new at the website I would have to pay for shipping and they were offering free shipping through the convention for orders placed that day.  I was very excited about saving the $15 in shipping costs, even though I wasn't going to be able to go home with her books that day....Until I walked 3 booths down and a re-seller was selling Math U See stuff at a sizable discount, and if I had only waited, I could have bought the item I wanted for less and left the fair with it.
Fortunately for me, I learned that lesson rather quickly. I continued to write down the price of the items after that, and came across an Art curriculum that I really liked. He even had a tote bag of art supplies that included everything needed for the curriculum. The only problem was that it would be my only splurge item left, as I was running out of money I had budgeted. I  decided to think about it some more, and ended up finding the same art book (and several others too) at a booth called "Miller Pads and Paper".  There, the book was not only much cheaper, but the workers at the booth were able to find all the supplies we needed at just a fraction of the cost of the other booth.  With the money I saved, I was able to get a book about dinosaurs and a dvd from Answers in Genesis for Joshua.

So, I hope some of these tips help you. If you have any other questions, I can't promise I will have the answer but I will sure try!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!!!!

So in part of my new year's resolution to de-clutter, I have been getting rid of things we don't need and rearranging those things we do need to work better.  In talking to a girlfriend of mine the other day about me needing organization, I had an epiphany of sorts. Why not put the two older kids in the same room (once again). Hannah and Joshua always end up sleeping together in either her room or his room anyways, because they don't want to be alone. Jonah will probably be in our room for at least another year. Getting them to clean their rooms has always been a constant battle, and while after heming and hawing for an extended period of time I can get Hannah to clean her room. Joshua willl lay there and whine that it's either too hard or he doesn't know what to do (even if I tell him), till he wears himself out and falls asleep. So finally we did it. We put the two beds in Joshua's old room, separated by their  dressers on either side of the room. They also each have a laundry basket in their room for the dirty clothes-this is nothing new-and a place to put their shoes. The new rule is that NOTHING else should be in their room, with the exception of ONE toy to snuggle with at bedtime.

Hannah's room on the other hand, became the playroom. ALL toys, with the exception of one toybox and Jonah's larger toys (which goes in the living)  has to stay in the playroom. This way, it is much easier for them to clean up because the only thing they have to put away in that room is toys. So far, it has worked exceptionally well, and the kids have not complained ONCE about picking stuff up, in any room.  It is only Tuesday though.

Then, today, I decided I wanted to switch the two desks in my office.  We had a nonworking computer on Jacob's old desk, and my computer and printer/etc on an old kitchen table (that is on it's last legs, no pun intended). I convinced my sweet hubby to unhook all the PC stuff and put the non working one away. Now Hannah can use the table-desk for school work. At least for today, she seems to be a huge fan of it. Now, my next project is getting the extra dresser (aka junk drawers) out of my bedroom, so we can put the dog's crate in our room. THEN, when we get our piano, we can put THAT where the dog crate is now!

All the while I am trying (and failing) to catch up on laundry and getting old clothes sorted out for the church consignment sale next month. The goal is to get a good bit of money saved up in order to buy more spring/summer clothes for the kids, and have a little extra towards the homeschool convention in April I will be blogging about this soon too I hope.

I have also started writing again. After taking a hiatus for several years, I have started working on a new story. I won't give any details right now, and can't promise that I will ever be ready to take that risk and share it with anyone, but in the mean time it has been oddly theraputic for me. In a time when things have been super chaotic lately, it has been a major stress reliever.

Hubs and I have also started playing WoW again. I have really been missing it over the past few months. Nothing major, just little things here or there would remind me of questing in a different zone or a certain instance. Last week, we started talking about playing when we got our tax return, and just paying for the year up front. But then we realized that it's actually free to play now, no credit card required or anything, all the way to level 20. Of course it's a little limited, No trading in the auction house, no grouping with other trial members, etc.  But it was enough playing for a couple days to help me decide I wanted to get back in to it. Especially now that Jonah has gotten bigger and can play for a little bit in the room with me without me constantly holding him, but I think we are mostly going to be playing once they go to bed or take naps.  All in all though, it's something I really do enjoy, and I think I have gotten over being burnt out and am ready to start getting back in the game!!

Newsflash.....

So, I have to apologize for the lack of blogs recently. We have had a roller coaster ride these past 3 weeks. Hannah celebrated her 6th birthday party. Jonah and I got sick with sinus junk.  Then last week, Jacob had an unexpected allergic reaction. Again, and again. He had 3 reactions that kept getting more and more severe to something-we didn't know what.  He kept having to go back to the Emergency Room and get a shot to help his body calm down. Friday night, he even had to get IV fluids. Saturday, the third time, his face got swollen, he was short of breath and I had to drive him to the ER. And they STILL refused to give him an EPI pen rx.  Seriously??? How can someone have 3 reactions in a week and you not give him one. We had no idea what he even might have been allergic to at that point, and the reactions kept getting worse. I remember thinking, ok, so if whatever he keeps getting exposed to happens again, we are going to have to call an ambulence. How are we supposed to avoid something if we don't know what it is. Then, someone mentioned his diet, and what had he eaten this past week. It dawned us, that each day he had a reaction, he had eaten this new type of bread I bought. It wasn't anything strange, just a plain white loaf of bread from the bakery at the store. But I had never bought it before. And each time he had eaten the bread he had a reaction within an hour or two. Immediately I checked the label, thinking maybe there was some strange new ingredient setting him off. But no! In fact, it was a much shorter list than the other breads we had and all ingredients that could be pronounced, and ALL ingredients he had hat before. Wheat, barley, rye, etc.  

So, since we realized this, Saturday evening, he has had nothing with any type of wheat/grain in it, and he's felt great. No more allergies, and he's even off the steroids from the ER. Last week, he was medicines to curb the allergy and he kept getting worse. Before yesterday we were thinking that this was what it was, but weren't sure. This is unknown territory to us.  But after hearing what the doctor had to say, we both started to feel condident that's what it was. Even the doctor said the symptoms were in line with a food allergy. He even brought up things that hadn't even occurred to us.  It made no sense to us that an allergy he had never had before that would show up all of the sudden like that. The doctor said that it's actually not unheard of though, to be fine one day and suddenly the next day your body has a brand new allergy. He also said that there is such a thing as cross contamination of sorts, when it comes to allergies, and when Jacob worked out in the yard last Tuesday, it could have aggravated the wheat allergy and made it much worse.Plus, each time he ate the bread, it got progressively worse, and other things he ate like macaroni and cheese  and a whole wheat sub didn't help. The symptoms kept compounding and Saturday, he had horrible stomach pains-apparently if you have a food allergy that can be a reaction as well. I had no idea that would have anything to do with it.

The dr. was super nice and gave us an EPI pen rx to protect him against this allergy and his wasp allergy (which we've known about for years).  He said we can't do the allergy skin testing, yesterday due to the medicines he's been on, but he did draw blood to test for this and hopefully we will know for sure by the first of next week.  This is just an answer to prayers, to know what is causing this.  It's going to be a major life change for him and us to. We have been trying to eat much healthier these last few months. We have, for the most part, cut out fast food.  Where just a few months ago, we were getting about 2 fast food meals every week. Now, I am trying to cook most of our favorite meals at home from scratch. If we get a craving for burgers and fries, instead of going to McDonalds which is HORRIBLE for you, we buy the stuff to grill hamburgers and bake fries in the oven. It has not only saved us money but empty calories as well. I haven't been able to kick my sweet tea fix yet, but I figure it's better to be drinking sweet tea daily than coke right?

I have been struggling trying to find gluten free foods/meals that he can eat this past week. I'm sure that is going to be a challenge. for us. So far we've had lots of grilled chicken and veggies. We are big bread people though, so it's going to be a big adjustment. As far as we know, it's not bothering him to have the kids and I still eating whole grains etc...and switching to totally gluten free is no doubt going to be expensive, as we try to find healthy alternatives to the foods we love. But in the mean time, I am just going to buy separate for him. If we have sandwiches for lunch, I will use different bread for him than I use for the kids and I. That way I can still make use of the foods I have already bought for my stockpile.   I think, as time goes by, we will probably eat more gluten free foods as a family. I am a big fan of brown rice and wild rice, and those foods are ok. But one of the benefits to this is he won't be able to have most processed foods. So no more frozen dinners. No more hamburger helper. That is going to help us all in the long run, as I start to choose mostly lean meats and fresh veggies. It's basically like a forced Atkins diet, lol. So be prepared for some (hopefully) yummy gluten free recipes to come as I continue to experiment with our meals in the future.

Out with the old...

So today I am in the mood to do a deep cleaning. I've been organizing the stockpile after buying groceries last night. It really needed it. I usually try to keep up with expiration dates of stuff, so nothing goes bad. I am pretty proud of myself. The only thing I had to throw out was 1 bottle of salad dressing that I had missed. Everything else has 6 months or more. Now I'm determined to get my desk area, and my husband's desk area cleaned up today.  In a few weeks, *God willing* Jacob and I are going get new laptops. We have had 2 computers crash in the past year (including Hannah's ancient one) and are down to mine and an older laptop given to us by a friend-which is what I mostly use. It was given to us for Jacob to go to back school, which he did for a semester. He was going to go back in the Fall too, but he got a new job and had a lot of training sessions to do, and we weren't able to get him ready in time. I'm hoping he'll go back this Summer. If not, then I just might! .  Joshua and Hannah use mine to play educational games online, but the disc drive doesn't work, so when we get new ones, they will be able to use mine for school. Hopefully, Jacob will be able to fix the disc drive too. One thing we have missed was our online gaming. We played WoW and then Rift for a while on the pc, but when his pc crashed, there was no point in me playing by myself, and his laptop doesn't have enough memory to handle it.

......So I found my wedding band! I haven't had it for a couple weeks and I found it over here on my mess of a desk. Trying to sort out all this clutter over here, and get organized. Sifting through the trash, coupons, school stuff and random bills etc....I am NOT an organized person. We really do live in a kind of organized chaos. I really feel like I am constantly choosing between spending time with the kids, doing school, taking care of Jonah, spending time with Jacob, and getting the house clean....the house is always my last priority. I try not to stress about it too much, but every once in a while I have to go through and declutter because I can't stand it. ...be back later :D

Resolutions

So I've made a few resolutions this year. Usually I attempt to make and keep some, but they rarely stick.  I have always said that the best way to set yourself on the right path to starting a goal, is starting it immediately rather than saying "I'll start tomorrow" or "I'll start next week...".   I have often said those things myself and I find that if I am truly honest with myself, the reason for delaying a start is usually that I am not that committed to the goal. I know that if I were truly committed, I would start right now because I know that I need to start right now not making excuses.  If I start right now, then I will be able to overcome whatever obstacles I face by taking it one day at a time. If I have to have that one last indulgence before making a change, how does that teach me to resist temptations?  Although, I do see some merit in (for some) making a plan and sticking with it before diving headfirst. I have done it both ways. I just know if I have to have my steak dinner with the loaded potato before I can go on a "diet" I am probably not going to last very long before I want another when the opportunity arises. I was thinking back, and the way I remember doing it before successfully was tracking every single thing I ate while I was out onto a sheet of paper, even if it was one cracker, and putting it to my food tracker when i got home.

 The thinking was this: Say 5 crackers is a serving (who eats 5 crackers??? Seriously??) Anyways, if 5 crackers is a serving and you look at the back of the package to see the calories and fat etc. And you think, wow...for some reason these ritz crackers are really high in fat. I better just eat 1. So you open the package and eat 1. But it's so good you think I'll just have one more. 2 crackers is hardly anything, right?  Then you don't eat any more and you go about your day. A few hours later your kids want a snack, so you spread some peanut butter on some crackers for them, and you have a lick of the pb off the spoon, out of habit, and that makes you want just a smidge more on a cracker. You decide to indulge yourself, it's only one after all right? Later on, after lunch, they request some cheese and crackers. (Sorry for the example...we really have been eating a lot of Ritz crackers around here lately, haha) You decide to make yourself just one little mini cheese cracker sandwich. A piece of low fat cheese (healthy, right?) sandwiched between two ritz crackers.  By this time, you have completely forgotten about the other crackers you snacked on throughout the day.  Now it's added up to a whole serving.  At the end of the day, you are really craving a little frozen yogurt, so you enter in your foods you have eaten for the day, only to find out you are very very close to going over as it is and you have just enough calories and fat left for a small serving of frozen yogurt. Then it hits you. You forgot about all the crackers and little bits of snacking you ate throughout the day. It has added up. If you had tracked as you went about your day, you wouldn't have been let down just now, and probably wouldn't have snacked so much knowing that you it was all adding up.  Now, is snacking bad? No!!  And those 5 crackers are not a big deal. I am just using it as an example because I know it applies to me specifically. That has happened more than one. I lost nearly 50 pounds before I had Jonah through hard work, exercise, and eating right. But I gained it all back and then some when I got pregnant. I felt like being pregnant was an excuse to eat whatever I wanted, even when I knew that wasn't right.  This time, I am stronger. I am praying for the strength to not make excuses, or be lazy.  I won't lie. I do get out of breath from exercising each night. It's fun for a little while and then it becomes work. My whole family has been playing Just Dance 3 on the xbox and it is a great cardio workout. But it's tough for me. I am not coordinated and it's not easy for me to keep up with the choreography. I'm pretty bad out of shape. But I'm making an honest effort. I know that the more I do it, the easier it will be (and then I will have to push myself more!) and as I shed the pounds it will be much more normal to just get that exercise in as a part of my day.  Right now it feels more like a challenge.  The biggest challenge for me though is the food though.  I LOVE cooking, especially rich southern cooking. Fried chicken strips, bacon, butter, LOTS of bread, etc....oh my goodness. I could spend all day checking out different recipes on Pinterest. I know there are plenty of healthy recipes out there too, and I will probably have to start researching those too....but it's just how I was raised. Eat that chicken, and then have a second helping. Did you get enough to eat? It's just ingrained in us, as a way to show we cared, to feed those we love with all these good tasting (horrible for you) foods. So those are the foods I love.  I am going to have to work at cultivating a new love for healthier foods. I have no problem with veggies, as long as they are coated in butter, fried, or over salted! But I know that has to change.  I know especially at our house, we have a tendency to have large servings and then go back for seconds if there is enough left. So what I've started doing is not making enough for that. I just make enough for everyone to have one normal size serving, and one extra for hubs for lunch the next day.  That seems to be helping. Also, I need to try to work on the bread thing. We are bread lovers around here. Most nights I try to have some homemade yeast rolls ready to go with dinner.  I guess that's one of the things we need to change! I don't see us kicking the bread habit any time soon (as I am not of the school of thought to cut out bread all together anyways).  I do see us however, switching from homemade white breads to homemade whole grain breads.  We already eat only wheat store bought sandwich bread. That sounds like something for me to do today....research healthier scratch recipes.

What resolutions have you made? Are you trying to get healthier too? What are you doing to get yourself and your family on the right track?

New Year News!

Wow, it's hard to believe we are in the new year already!  Christmas has come and gone and so has New years Eve! We had a great Christmas. My husband got to be off for a week and a half, starting Christmas Eve. Today was his first day back. We really enjoying having him home too. In fact, I had a whole list of things in my head that I wanted to accomplish with him being home, but we really didn't get much of it done at all. In fact, aside from our daily everyday things we had to do, we really just got to spend some quality time and enjoy the kids together.  It'd been about 6 months or so since he had had any vacation time (maybe longer, can't remember). So we did some fun things that really made some memories with the kids hopefully.  As for Christmas, we were really blessed. These kids had probably the best Christmas they have ever had, and I hope they never forget it. A "Secret Santa" even brought us and XBOX 360 and Kinect and left it on the doorstep! We ended up making ornaments out of salt dough and painting them to give to friends and family members. Hopefully they were just as happy with our homemade crafts as they would have been with storebought gifts. This way, all the kids were able to give a gift to everyone they love, to say thanks. Here are some pictures I took of the kids making ornaments.

We also baked some yummy Christmas cookies. Truth be told, these weren't the best cookies I have ever made, but hey, baking is kind of a trial and error with me. Mostly errors, but when I find a good recipe I will stick with it. I found the recipe on Pinterest and everyone was repinning the recipe, so who knows....maybe it was just me! Goodness knows I love to cook though, so I'm sure I will keep trying.

We also had a spurt of nice weather last week, got up into the 50's even. So we decided we'd take the chance to spend time together and go to the zoo. We even took the little boy that I keep during the week and he had a blast!We got to go around the right side of the zoo which was really fun. Normally we just go in and to the left immediately around the loop, and then about halfway through the kids are hungry, tired or some combination and we have to leave. This time, we got to go through the Teton Trek, which I have never been too. They had a this huge beautiful log cabin there. That is my secret dream, too. To live in a log cabin. But that's a post for another day. Mostly, because that's something I could go on and on about. But I digress...Back to the zoo. We got to see the polar bears, grizzly bears, animals of the night, flamingos and penguins, and tons of others. Oh, and I forgot to mention we treated the kids to pizza at Fazzoli's before we even went to the zoo. Pizza is always a hit around here!

We also signed up for a free trial of gamefly.com (so glad it was just a free trial!) and added some movies to our Q. Then we realized it wasn't like netflix where they had a distribution center here, and the nearest shipping center was all the way in Florida. So while it has been fun to have a couple games to try out, I don't think we'll be signing up. It took several days for them to ship the first game, and the second game (which was supposed to ship with the first) shipped several days later for some reason. I don't know whether it was the influx of customers for the Holidays or what, but it taking a week or more to get a game is not something we can afford to pay for right now. We have however had a couple fun days playing the games. We got Final Fantasy 13, and Just Dance 3.  Hubby and I are into RPG's  and I have really enjoyed seeing the storyline of the FF game play out. This was the first game for a console that I had really paid much attention to him playing.  The only problem is we are WOW geeks at heart, and even though we aren't playing now,every time we play anything else, it just makes us miss it.  We played it off an on for a good 3 1/2-4 years, and there are just things about it I haven't been able to find in any other game. We aren't playing right now because his computer can't handle it, and we can't justify the expense for us to play once or twice a month. When Jonah gets a little older and not so needy (not meant in a bad way at all. I just want to be able to give him my full attention now while he is a baby, while he needs my constant care/supervision), I'm sure we will be getting back into it at at some point.


So yesterday we started school back again. Some have asked why we didn't give them till Wednesday, when many other schools are going back. My answer is simple: because I get to make our schedule.  We do not follow the county schools calendar, mostly because I want the freedom to deviate when we choose. We still have school the same number of days, it is just the days I pick! For example, all our field trip days count as school days, even if we don't do book work those days. Other times, school is in session and we aren't. We started our Christmas break a whole week earlier than regular schools. I am also leaning towards doing year round school. Since we stay home most days anyways, in the summertime especially, they get board staying indoors for hours on end. So yes, I can send them outside to play or we may go to the park. But when it gets to the 120 degree heat index, there is no chance we are trekkin it to the park! So what are we to do? Have school of course! That way, in spring time, when it is nicer outside we have more time to just relax and play on an extended spring break!

That is the plan anyways, but plans can always change.  I have several goals for the new year, with regard to school and otherwise. Considering this is our 2nd year homeschooling, and our first year doing several subjects on a daily basis, the half way mark has been a good time for me to evaluate how I feel we have done, what we've accomplished, and where I need to do better (and Hannah too).  One of my main faults is that I am NOT organized. At all! I have been doing good to save Hannah's work in a file folder, but to be honest, I have massively failed at grading things. That is one of the many things I want to work on in the coming year.  I have started a new system that I hope will help things to run more smoothly. I'm calling it the daily work folder.  What I am going to do, (and we'll see if I'm able to keep this up, because it takes a couple hours a week for me to plan ahead the next week) is this:  plan all her assignments ahead for the whole week, day by day.  Each day, have a list of the pages to complete in specific workbooks, activities to complete, stories to read etc.  I sat down last week and worked on this and I think once I get in the habit of this, it's just going to make everything run so much smoothly and seamlessly. I get all her loose pages together, regardless of subject, and staple them to the assignment sheet for the day. Then I put each day's assignments in the same folder, along with a weekly plan.  The weekly plan has our spelling words for the week, the math unit we are studying, info about the book(s) we will read, etc. That is more for me, to keep track. I think, at least for now, since Unit studies seem to be a big part of our schoolwork, it will be better to do each week's work just a week ahead. I will go ahead and type out my long time tentative game plan on the computer, but keeping it basic until closer to the time we do it. That way, we will be able to stay flexible.  Also, I will be doing more focused unit studies based around literature. Last semester, I mostly allowed Hannah to free read (with a few suggested books, and books I read aloud to her or the kids mixed in).   This semester, I am choosing classic literature and modern fiction books.  The first book we are reading (just started yesterday) is The Secret Garden.  I am typing up Vocab words and key people so she can refer back to it if she gets stuck.  I have also encorporated questions each week, geography activities, and a Bible verse/discussion for each week. I think this is going to allow me to stay on top of grading, because as she finishes each week, I can go through the assignments and mark down her grades.  I am still on the hunt for a good planner/gradebook  though, so if you have any ideas/thoughts, Post Them Below!!!!!  Also, I want to know what are your goals for the new year-even if it's not related to homeschooling. Share them in the comments too.
God bless,
Melissa