All of my blogging time has been consumed by FOOD! This whole idea of getting healthy isn't easy and I never realized how terrible my family's diet has been all these years. My kids have been raised on JUNK!
Seriously, I think I've been poisoning them.
And what's a girl supposed to do with all the conflicting reports out there about... well, just about everything? Fluoride is great, fluoride is bad! Peanuts are good for you, peanuts are toxic! Milk is so nutritious, milk is not as great as you think! All nuts (besides peanuts) are awesome, avoid all nuts as they are not to be consumed! Wheat bread is the best, avoid gluten at all costs.
HOLY CRAP!
And then there's the list of things you're 'supposed' to buy.
~baking soda only sold in health food stores... grocery store kinds have aluminum
~Stevia and Agave Nectar instead of sugar... have you ever tried Stevia... BLECH! That's what I say about that! Besides, I think I'm allergic to it. I tried it twice and both times I thought my throat was swelling. I could breathe but it felt weird. Agave is good, just expensive.
That's another thing, cost! With 5 kids, I've got to practical with my budget and practical sometimes means crappy food. The kind that's over-processed, full of sugar and high fructose corn syrup, white flour, the works. But I'm sad because I really don't want to eat those things any more.
Oh how I wish for good food to be CHEAP, and have coupons! Who's with me?
And the confusion sets in...
I just don't know what to do with all this new information I've absorbed. Which reports are right? Which foods are the true 'super' foods?
I guess I'll just go with what feels right. Now, if I could just get my feelers to work...
Friday, January 28, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Self Control
...I have absolutely none! It's sad, but true. When it comes to food, especially sugary stuff, my brain goes haywire and I can't stop myself. I'm beginning to think I have a serious problem. No matter how many times I tell myself the cookie I'm eating is the last one, I always go back for more, and then I wonder (and so do the kids) where the heck they all went. If I had even an ounce of self control they might last more than just one day. Seriously, it's that bad.... a whole batch of cookies, GONE... just like that!
Sadly, I don't even realize it's happening most of the time. All I know is that I start out with a whole bunch. The kids eat maybe two each, and maybe grab a third later in the day. But somehow, by the end of the day, I realize that I've eaten probably the same amount as my kids.... put together! Are you starting to see that I have a problem?
And it's not just cookies. Oh no, it's anything really. Sweet stuff just exposes the weakness more prominently than anything else. Peanut M&M's, Dove chocolate, Kit Kats, you name it! Even things I don't really care for... Oh man, this post is making me want chocolate.
Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure my friend LeShel did a post about her chocolate addiction. (I hope she doesn't mind that I'm linking you to her blog. It's a great one!) I'm pretty sure I just have an addiction to food in general, and definitely chocolate and sugar!
Lucky for me, I was blessed with a pretty good metabolism. Although, the waistline could definitely use a tuning up after all these cute, fat babies it's had the privilege of carrying around if ya know what I mean.
Just after high school, but before I got married, I worked at a department store called ZCMI. Unfortunately, it's no longer around but this is where the story I'm about to tell you took place.
I worked in the corporate offices as a buyer's assistant. Best job I had ever had until I became a mother. LOVED IT! A girl from my ward, whom I hadn't really ever been friends with, worked there as well as a buyer's assistant for a different buyer. It's so silly that we had never really even talked before but we quickly became friends when I started working there. She had already been working there for quite a while.
**I promise this has something to do with my self control. Stay with me.**
One day, we both bought some Skittles from the vending machine in the break room and I decided that I was going to eat it only as quickly as she did. I had seen her buy candy before and noticed how slowly she ate it. If only I had that kind of self control!
I would watch as she would pull her bag of Skittles out of the top drawer of her desk. She would sprinkle just a few at a time out on her desk then slip her bag of candy back into the drawer. Everything started well. I would follow her example, sprinkling just a few at a time but HOLY COW! She was eating them one...at...a...time! ONE at a time? Really? It was nearly unbearable but I ate only one each time she did. Things were going well-ish.
Fast forward a couple of hours into our work day...
I just couldn't stand it any longer!! The darn candies were calling my name by then. "Brooke, oh Broooooooke! You know you want to eat us..." I couldn't do it anymore! I'm pretty sure it would have killed me to try.
In the end, it took me all of maybe 10 minutes... TOPS!... to get through my bag of Skittles. And that was me still trying to make them last a little longer. Now, guess how long her bag lasted. That little itty bitty (although bigger than the fun size) bag... A Whole Week! That's insane, people! Who does that? Does your bag of Skittles last you a week?
The reason I'm bringing all this up is because I really really really want to try the 'Eat Clean' Diet. You know the one where you don't eat any processed foods and no refined sugars... that one. I actually really like the idea of going Raw too but that one would be insanely hard for my family. I'll implement some of the raw ideas but not the whole diet. This is going to be an extreme change for me if I go ahead with this. Sugar is my happy place! The world might stop turning if I have to give up sugar. Maybe it will work if I sloooowwwly take it out of my diet instead of all at once. The withdrawals could be devastating! Just thinking about it give me anxiety.
All I know is that my family (and when I say 'my family' I mean 'I') needs an intervention. We eat horribly. My poor Afony (that's Anthony) is complaining that he's put on some poundage and he wonders why. We just won't tell him it's because I feed him CRAP! I just hope that the 'clean' recipes taste as good as the crap we eat now. I'm skeptical... I'll keep you posted.
Sadly, I don't even realize it's happening most of the time. All I know is that I start out with a whole bunch. The kids eat maybe two each, and maybe grab a third later in the day. But somehow, by the end of the day, I realize that I've eaten probably the same amount as my kids.... put together! Are you starting to see that I have a problem?
And it's not just cookies. Oh no, it's anything really. Sweet stuff just exposes the weakness more prominently than anything else. Peanut M&M's, Dove chocolate, Kit Kats, you name it! Even things I don't really care for... Oh man, this post is making me want chocolate.
Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure my friend LeShel did a post about her chocolate addiction. (I hope she doesn't mind that I'm linking you to her blog. It's a great one!) I'm pretty sure I just have an addiction to food in general, and definitely chocolate and sugar!
Lucky for me, I was blessed with a pretty good metabolism. Although, the waistline could definitely use a tuning up after all these cute, fat babies it's had the privilege of carrying around if ya know what I mean.
Just after high school, but before I got married, I worked at a department store called ZCMI. Unfortunately, it's no longer around but this is where the story I'm about to tell you took place.
I worked in the corporate offices as a buyer's assistant. Best job I had ever had until I became a mother. LOVED IT! A girl from my ward, whom I hadn't really ever been friends with, worked there as well as a buyer's assistant for a different buyer. It's so silly that we had never really even talked before but we quickly became friends when I started working there. She had already been working there for quite a while.
**I promise this has something to do with my self control. Stay with me.**
One day, we both bought some Skittles from the vending machine in the break room and I decided that I was going to eat it only as quickly as she did. I had seen her buy candy before and noticed how slowly she ate it. If only I had that kind of self control!
I would watch as she would pull her bag of Skittles out of the top drawer of her desk. She would sprinkle just a few at a time out on her desk then slip her bag of candy back into the drawer. Everything started well. I would follow her example, sprinkling just a few at a time but HOLY COW! She was eating them one...at...a...time! ONE at a time? Really? It was nearly unbearable but I ate only one each time she did. Things were going well-ish.
Fast forward a couple of hours into our work day...
I just couldn't stand it any longer!! The darn candies were calling my name by then. "Brooke, oh Broooooooke! You know you want to eat us..." I couldn't do it anymore! I'm pretty sure it would have killed me to try.
In the end, it took me all of maybe 10 minutes... TOPS!... to get through my bag of Skittles. And that was me still trying to make them last a little longer. Now, guess how long her bag lasted. That little itty bitty (although bigger than the fun size) bag... A Whole Week! That's insane, people! Who does that? Does your bag of Skittles last you a week?
The reason I'm bringing all this up is because I really really really want to try the 'Eat Clean' Diet. You know the one where you don't eat any processed foods and no refined sugars... that one. I actually really like the idea of going Raw too but that one would be insanely hard for my family. I'll implement some of the raw ideas but not the whole diet. This is going to be an extreme change for me if I go ahead with this. Sugar is my happy place! The world might stop turning if I have to give up sugar. Maybe it will work if I sloooowwwly take it out of my diet instead of all at once. The withdrawals could be devastating! Just thinking about it give me anxiety.
All I know is that my family (and when I say 'my family' I mean 'I') needs an intervention. We eat horribly. My poor Afony (that's Anthony) is complaining that he's put on some poundage and he wonders why. We just won't tell him it's because I feed him CRAP! I just hope that the 'clean' recipes taste as good as the crap we eat now. I'm skeptical... I'll keep you posted.
callings
Is it so strange that I get anxiety with each new church calling, no matter what it is? My very first calling as a married woman was my choice. The bishop called me in and said that two auxiliaries were requesting me. The two choices were A) Relief Society Teacher or B) Primary teacher. Guess which one I chose. Did they really expect me to get up in front of a room full of women, of which I was sure to be the youngest, most inexperienced one? I don't think so! First of all, I was new to the ward and secondly, my grandma was in the ward. I couldn't very well get up there and teach my grandma! It was just too strange of a thought. Actually, I didn't give it much thought at all. Once the choices were presented, it was an instant reaction to shout "Primary, please!" without a second thought.
I served as a Primary teacher for the six and seven year olds up until K was born. It was so scary. Sounds silly but it's true. I was so scared of those little kids. Eventually, I got used to the thought of standing in front of a small group of young children and I started to enjoy myself.
Since that first calling in my first ward, I have been called to a number of different positions in many different wards and even a branch (South Carolina). Some have been easy, some I've done well, some were emotionally draining, and some I did not give my best effort. But each one has taught me something.
The most recent calling I've been given is that of Primary Teacher... again, but this time it's for the eight and nine year olds. I even get the privilege of having K in my class. She and a little boy are the only active ones in my class. Unfortunately, our primary is not very big at all. So far, I've only had to teach once. Tomorrow will be my second time. I co-teach with another lady with whom K is already well acquainted since she taught K last year. K loves her!
I have to say that my nerves still get me when I think about having to teach. Sometimes it's just scary to stand in front of these two (sometimes one or two more) kids who are so eager and ready to learn more about Jesus and the scriptures. K already knows far more than I do about that kind of stuff. Just the other day I overheard her telling A and H all about the Bible stories she knew. Moses and the basket, Daniel and the lion's den, Noah and the Ark, and even some people I didn't even know. Isn't that sad? I'm supposed to teach her? Thank goodness for lesson manuals! It's going to be rough but maybe it will force me to get to know my Father in Heaven a LOT better. K really is a great example to me. She is one of those self-motivated people that sets her mind to something and it just gets done. You know the type, right? She truly teaches me so much.
As for Anthony, he just received a new calling as well. He and I have taught the 12 and 13 year old Sunday School class for over a year now. Let me try that again.... Anthony and I were both called to that position but the truth is, I only taught once by myself and one other time with Anthony present. Other than that, Anthony has done all of the teaching. I was just there for moral support! That should be a real calling, don't you think? .... 'Moral Supporter', it's got a nice ring to it. Then I received my calling in the Primary so I guess the figured they ought to move him too. I'm pretty sure I can spill the beans since they told Anthony that he is just basically being reassigned. Technically, it's still a Sunday School Teacher calling. He's going to be a Gospel Doctrine Teacher. He he! I laugh only because it's the one calling that he's scared to death of. He's had that calling before, several times actually, but it still gets the best of him. His lessons are always great and people always tell him he's a wonderful teacher so I never know what he's always crying about.
There are only three callings in the church (that I can currently think of, anyway) that I have no desire to hold.
1) Nursery Leader: Man oh man, am I ever grateful to the nursery leaders! But I am home with little ones all.day.long every day and I need a good break on Sundays. I'm pretty sure I would cry if I were ever called to that position.
2) Relief Society President: HOLY COW! That's a huge responsibility. Insane, that's what I would be. No, thank you!
3) Primary Music Person (not sure of the technical name): You know, the one in charge of "Music Time" in Primary. This calling is probably really fun but I also know that they have to sometimes 'demonstrate' parts of new songs being learned so the kids will pick up on it. They also have to sing very loudly for all the kids to hear. All the kids would end up crying after my attempts at singing.... by myself! Seriously, it would NOT be good. Put me in a group and let me attempt to 'blend in', quietly, and maybe no one will notice. Solos just aren't my thing.
For the record, if I were ever called to any of these positions I would not reject it. I would simply fall to my knees and pray and pray and pray some more that I would either have LOTS of patience for the nursery kids, superwoman powers as the RS Pres (and more than 24 hours in a day ;), or a suddenly magical voice for the poor Primary kids.
Having a calling sure does make me think. I'm excited to see what things I will learn in my new venture as a teacher.
Speaking of... I better go prepare my lesson for tomorrow.
I served as a Primary teacher for the six and seven year olds up until K was born. It was so scary. Sounds silly but it's true. I was so scared of those little kids. Eventually, I got used to the thought of standing in front of a small group of young children and I started to enjoy myself.
Since that first calling in my first ward, I have been called to a number of different positions in many different wards and even a branch (South Carolina). Some have been easy, some I've done well, some were emotionally draining, and some I did not give my best effort. But each one has taught me something.
The most recent calling I've been given is that of Primary Teacher... again, but this time it's for the eight and nine year olds. I even get the privilege of having K in my class. She and a little boy are the only active ones in my class. Unfortunately, our primary is not very big at all. So far, I've only had to teach once. Tomorrow will be my second time. I co-teach with another lady with whom K is already well acquainted since she taught K last year. K loves her!
I have to say that my nerves still get me when I think about having to teach. Sometimes it's just scary to stand in front of these two (sometimes one or two more) kids who are so eager and ready to learn more about Jesus and the scriptures. K already knows far more than I do about that kind of stuff. Just the other day I overheard her telling A and H all about the Bible stories she knew. Moses and the basket, Daniel and the lion's den, Noah and the Ark, and even some people I didn't even know. Isn't that sad? I'm supposed to teach her? Thank goodness for lesson manuals! It's going to be rough but maybe it will force me to get to know my Father in Heaven a LOT better. K really is a great example to me. She is one of those self-motivated people that sets her mind to something and it just gets done. You know the type, right? She truly teaches me so much.
As for Anthony, he just received a new calling as well. He and I have taught the 12 and 13 year old Sunday School class for over a year now. Let me try that again.... Anthony and I were both called to that position but the truth is, I only taught once by myself and one other time with Anthony present. Other than that, Anthony has done all of the teaching. I was just there for moral support! That should be a real calling, don't you think? .... 'Moral Supporter', it's got a nice ring to it. Then I received my calling in the Primary so I guess the figured they ought to move him too. I'm pretty sure I can spill the beans since they told Anthony that he is just basically being reassigned. Technically, it's still a Sunday School Teacher calling. He's going to be a Gospel Doctrine Teacher. He he! I laugh only because it's the one calling that he's scared to death of. He's had that calling before, several times actually, but it still gets the best of him. His lessons are always great and people always tell him he's a wonderful teacher so I never know what he's always crying about.
There are only three callings in the church (that I can currently think of, anyway) that I have no desire to hold.
1) Nursery Leader: Man oh man, am I ever grateful to the nursery leaders! But I am home with little ones all.day.long every day and I need a good break on Sundays. I'm pretty sure I would cry if I were ever called to that position.
2) Relief Society President: HOLY COW! That's a huge responsibility. Insane, that's what I would be. No, thank you!
3) Primary Music Person (not sure of the technical name): You know, the one in charge of "Music Time" in Primary. This calling is probably really fun but I also know that they have to sometimes 'demonstrate' parts of new songs being learned so the kids will pick up on it. They also have to sing very loudly for all the kids to hear. All the kids would end up crying after my attempts at singing.... by myself! Seriously, it would NOT be good. Put me in a group and let me attempt to 'blend in', quietly, and maybe no one will notice. Solos just aren't my thing.
For the record, if I were ever called to any of these positions I would not reject it. I would simply fall to my knees and pray and pray and pray some more that I would either have LOTS of patience for the nursery kids, superwoman powers as the RS Pres (and more than 24 hours in a day ;), or a suddenly magical voice for the poor Primary kids.
Having a calling sure does make me think. I'm excited to see what things I will learn in my new venture as a teacher.
Speaking of... I better go prepare my lesson for tomorrow.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
other important matters
First of all, thank you to all of you that participated in my experiment. I was just curious to see if the statistic that I read was really true. From looking at my map, I know there were more people that visited and just didn't comment. That's ok! To be honest, I am more of the silent observer type myself. There are a few blogs that I follow closely and comment regularly on but that's it, most being family/friends blogs. I am either completely silent or pretty darn near silent on the rest of them. A couple of them are people that are related to people that I know (make sense?) and I don't want them to know I'm following, what if they think I'm a weirdy? Like the wife of an old friend of mine. She doesn't know me from Adam but I know all about their cute little family through the magic of her blog. Isn't technology wonderful? And sometime a little creepy...
I just know one day, there's going to be a new i-phone, or something similar but more advanced, that has an app that can read people's minds, then it will you text you their thoughts without them even knowing. It will start out being only someone within 5 feet of you and before we know it (once it's perfected), you'll only have to say a person's name in your contacts list and it will somehow be able to contact that person's thoughts to send them to you. Wouldn't that be creepy?
I guess that could be good in the dating scene. Maybe my kids will have such technology in their dating years. They'll never have to wonder what their date thought of them.
Should I ask her on another date? YEP! She is already falling for me...
Can I pretend to be washing my hair next time he calls? NO! You won't have to because he won't be calling. He already knows you don't want to go out again, he read it in a text. What a relief!
Anthony calls these kinds of thoughts Brooke-isms. I have a lot of random questions and thoughts that run around in my head constantly. Things such as what you were just subjected to, I'm sorry about that!
So now, we'll move on to more important matters such as.... CHUBBY BABIES!
Don't you just looove fat babies? This is the one I get to love on all day, every day.
Except when I'm chasing his brother around the house like a mad woman! Today that little stink got two showers, one with his sisters because I didn't catch him in time and a second one when he decided to to empty my HUGE bottle of lotion all.over.himself. He certainly keeps me on my toes.
But we're talking about the cute, fat baby ..... I could just eat him up. Actually, Anthony is afraid the cute, giant baby is going to eat him. Anthony's always saying, "Hey, chubby boy, don't eat me!" Sometimes I really think he might try. B is constantly eating something. He's definitely worse than all the other kids as far as putting things in his mouth. EVERYTHING goes in! When he's playing on the floor, he'll crawl over to our feet and bite our toes. OUCH! Those darn baby teeth are sharp! The kid loves food, what more is there to say?
OH! I almost forgot... do you know what B started doing last night? First, let me prep this by saying, here I am, the mom. I'm home with him all.day.long every single day. We work on "words" every day, B and I. Never have I practiced "Dada" with him. Why? Because "Mama" should always be first. After all, by the time they're 18 months old, they all like Daddy better. At least give me the satisfaction of saying "Mama" first. But no! Last night, he started saying "Dada". Clear as a bell! And all day today he's been practicing. *Sigh* He's still a cute, fat baby...
I just know one day, there's going to be a new i-phone, or something similar but more advanced, that has an app that can read people's minds, then it will you text you their thoughts without them even knowing. It will start out being only someone within 5 feet of you and before we know it (once it's perfected), you'll only have to say a person's name in your contacts list and it will somehow be able to contact that person's thoughts to send them to you. Wouldn't that be creepy?
I guess that could be good in the dating scene. Maybe my kids will have such technology in their dating years. They'll never have to wonder what their date thought of them.
Should I ask her on another date? YEP! She is already falling for me...
Can I pretend to be washing my hair next time he calls? NO! You won't have to because he won't be calling. He already knows you don't want to go out again, he read it in a text. What a relief!
Anthony calls these kinds of thoughts Brooke-isms. I have a lot of random questions and thoughts that run around in my head constantly. Things such as what you were just subjected to, I'm sorry about that!
So now, we'll move on to more important matters such as.... CHUBBY BABIES!
Don't you just looove fat babies? This is the one I get to love on all day, every day.
But we're talking about the cute, fat baby ..... I could just eat him up. Actually, Anthony is afraid the cute, giant baby is going to eat him. Anthony's always saying, "Hey, chubby boy, don't eat me!" Sometimes I really think he might try. B is constantly eating something. He's definitely worse than all the other kids as far as putting things in his mouth. EVERYTHING goes in! When he's playing on the floor, he'll crawl over to our feet and bite our toes. OUCH! Those darn baby teeth are sharp! The kid loves food, what more is there to say?
OH! I almost forgot... do you know what B started doing last night? First, let me prep this by saying, here I am, the mom. I'm home with him all.day.long every single day. We work on "words" every day, B and I. Never have I practiced "Dada" with him. Why? Because "Mama" should always be first. After all, by the time they're 18 months old, they all like Daddy better. At least give me the satisfaction of saying "Mama" first. But no! Last night, he started saying "Dada". Clear as a bell! And all day today he's been practicing. *Sigh* He's still a cute, fat baby...
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
An experiment...
I read somewhere, recently, that only 10% of blog readers will ever post a comment. And only 1% will comment regularly. Is that true? Makes me wonder.... If you are a reader of this blog, let me know you're there. Just this once and I'll never ask you to make yourself known again.
~This is a shout-out to all my readers...(all 3 of you :)~
Hello, and welcome my friends!
~This is a shout-out to all my readers...(all 3 of you :)~
Hello, and welcome my friends!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Dogs
Q: What do you get when you decide to be nice and let your dogs come into the nice, warm house for the evening while you are away?
A: A pair of nice kitchen shears that look like this! *Stupid, good-fer-nothin', naughty, poo-poo dogs* GRRR! That's all I have to say about that. I'll introduce you to the mutts later. I'm too upset right now to give them the satisfaction.
A: A pair of nice kitchen shears that look like this! *Stupid, good-fer-nothin', naughty, poo-poo dogs* GRRR! That's all I have to say about that. I'll introduce you to the mutts later. I'm too upset right now to give them the satisfaction.
Raising boys
THIS is for everyone that ever told me that boys are easier than girls..... and there are a lot of you.
REALLY?!? Are you kiddin' me?
I would beg to differ! My girls are dramatic, yes. Sometimes the drama at our house is enough to make me want to scream (and sometimes I do). They are whiny and petty but I was always able to keep up with them.
But this little devil...
I can't keep up with to save my life! Good heavens, the child has more energy than I've ever seen in a child, ever! EVER! Maybe it's just him because I've had more than one person say, "My boys were active but they were never that active." So is it just MY boy that is harder than girls? The pic above is of him sitting in the corner after.... THIS.... it's baby powder ALL.OVER.THE.COUCH! (Don't judge me on the decor, it was a free couch. Couldn't beat the price ;)
Maybe when you told me boys were easier, you meant later like the teenage years, maybe? Less..... somethin', I don't know what? I won't have to exhaustedly chase him around like a cop in hot pursuit? I have to admit, I'm scared! His brother is already showing signs of being just as active. HELP!
REALLY?!? Are you kiddin' me?
I would beg to differ! My girls are dramatic, yes. Sometimes the drama at our house is enough to make me want to scream (and sometimes I do). They are whiny and petty but I was always able to keep up with them.
But this little devil...
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Schooling the big kid! ~Part 2~
Now, where did I leave off in part 1? Oh yes, I believe I ended when we started praying about homeschooling.
Anthony and I prayed both together and individually about this and each time, we both felt good about the decision. I have to say that just the very idea of keeping K home put many of my other worries at ease, not just the worries about the school itself. Most of those worries had to do with the social aspect. I mentioned before that school is considered "the only way" to truly socialize a child, right? But, in my research, and from my own experience, I came to realize that the social aspect of public school is often times extremely negative. The bullying, the superiority, the inferiority, all of it can be so trying on a child's self worth.
I recognize that K's personality is very similar to what mine was at that same age. Often times it still is. Our feelings are hurt very easily. We don't take it well when someone is mean to us, it usually ends up that we are in tears. That part has been easier now that I am older but it still happens. For K it still happens all the time. It breaks her heart to learn that someone doesn't like her. These are all things that mean kids feed on. I remember crying each time someone would say anything mean to me while some of my friends would fight back with a feisty attitude when something was said to them. Can you guess who they continued to pick on? Yep, it was me. I gave the reaction they were looking for. Did you ever have a moment during your grade school years that you just wanted to go home and have your mom give you a big hug so the world would make sense again? I felt that way all the time. As great as my teachers were, they couldn't console me the way my mom could. She was the only one that would fight for me and make sure that everything in her power was done to make me feel whole again.
I imagined my little girl going to that same great big playground at the same great big school that I attended and having those same sad, lonely feelings. Her personality is such that she gives the bullies something to feed off of. It gave me a sense of peace, once we decided to homeschool, knowing that I would be here for her when she needed me. I would be here to comfort her and help her know right from wrong.
I know there are critics out there saying, "How is she supposed to learn to defend herself? How do you expect her to grow? She can't come crying to Mommy every time she gets her feelings hurt!" Rest assured, I know all of this. But I looked at my then five year old little girl and I recognized that she doesn't have her wings yet. She wasn't ready to be thrown to the wolves. I still had time to nourish her soul, help her figure out who she is, and be the best K she could be before throwing her out there for the world to mold and shape the way the world sees appropriate. Looking at the world's view of what a little girl should grow up to be is not my idea of what our Heavenly Father would want for her.
The feelings I grew up with during grade school were not positive for the most part. I felt inferior to my peers as a result of the relentless teasing I endured. I hid my face hoping no one would see me only to figure out later that 'hiding' made me more apparent. However, I did find one way to feel superior to some of my peers. Did you ever have reading groups and math groups? We had groups that ranged from low, medium and high which translates to below average, average, and above average. They always called each group a color such as yellow, blue, and red (I don't remember exactly which colors were used) so as not to identify them as the low group or the high group. I'm not sure who they thought they were fooling, we all knew which group was which. Lucky for me, I was in the highest group for both math and reading. THAT, right there, made me better than all those mean kids that made fun of me! I loved looking down on them in this manner! As an adult, I realize now how foolish I was. But at the time, it was my way of feeling superior when in fact, I felt very inferior. After all, wasn't it more important to be popular than it was to be smart?
I remember the first time I realized that I never was smarter than those fools. Sadly, it wasn't until I was out of school and dating Anthony. Anthony was one of the most intelligent people I had ever met. He could rattle things off that I could never have known. Since I didn't know him during our school years, I had no idea how he had struggled in school. Unlike me, he was always in the lowest reading groups and even went to resource classes. He had a 'learning disability', which, by they way, I now have a very different view of after all of my research. I believe everyone just learns in different ways. Anthony never had a 'disability' at all. He needed to learn in a different manner, that's all. Yet, all through school, he felt inferior to his peers. He was never as smart as them and never got good grades. Funny how drastically our attitudes about education have changed. I never want my children to feel either inferior or superior to those around them, especially their friends. I only want them to know how and where to find the answers to the questions they have. I want them to know that they are capable of learning anything they want to learn, simple or complex. No one needs to tell them what they have to know by a certain age or how they have to learn it. Textbooks are not the only way to learn. BORING, if you ask me.
In our quest to find the right educational path for our family, we've learned a lot. One of the main things I've learned is that you can't take one curriculum, plug every child into that curriculum, and have it work for every child. That is why I don't like the idea of the public school system for my family. I believe that the public school system has it's place in society, I really do. Homeschooling is NOT for everyone. It can be hard and trying at times but I am absolutely loving that I get to learn right along with my kids. History, a subject I always loathed, is actually more interesting and fun than I ever knew. One of the the best things about it is that I can see that K is developing a love of learning at the same age that I had started into my hate of learning phase. It's so different when it's your own idea and not someone else's. Being forced to learn something is never the fun way to go about it. But having a question and being able to find the answer on your own is great fun!
This post has gone in a different direction than I had planned but we'll go with it. I know I'm kind of jumping back and forth, it might be a little hard to follow. I'm sorry about that. Just grin and nod your head....
Well, after deciding to homeschool for sure, it was time to go to the Utah Homeschool Conference. There was so much to figure out! What method should we try? Should we try a whole curriculum? Are we going to be the only 'normal' people there? Anthony was very concerned about that last question. Doesn't it seem that when you think of homeschoolers you think of the weird ones? They're out there, for sure! Come to think of it, there were weird public schoolers also! There are just weird people, in general. Lucky for Anthony, at the conference, it was about 98% 'normal' people and only 2% 'weirdies'. Those are his stats, not mine.
By the time we left the conference, I had flyers and brochures from every vendor and workshop we attended. I was armed with more information than I even knew what to do with. Where was I supposed to start? It was crazy! At that point, it all started to feel a bit overwhelming and I wondered if this was just a nonsense idea. I prayed some more and still felt good about it, so we continued.
Before I knew it, it was time to break the news to K that she would be staying home for 'school'. I must admit, she was not very happy when I first told her. She cried! It made me so sad and I thought about letting her go to school anyway. But when I asked her what it was that made her sad, she said, "I just want to ride the bus!" Perfect! Problem solved, she though that she would get to ride the bus to school everyday. Being that the school was only down the street, that wasn't going to happen anyway. Once I explained that to her, she was more at ease with the idea.
In the end, I decided that a full curriculum was not for us. Refer to a few paragraphs above.... I really like the Charlotte Mason method and the ideas presented in A Thomas Jefferson Education. (That's one thing I need to be reminded of... do I underline the name of a book or does it go in quotation marks? Hmm... I'll do neither until I figure it out :) These two methods compliment each other very well. So, our homeschool looks a lot like either of these two methods. We're still working out some bugs, there are always bugs to be worked out in life. We still have things we would like to add to our homeschool and things that we've tried that haven't worked well at all. It's a learning process for everyone but we're having a great time doing it.
K, and all the other kids, have had many opportunities that they wouldn't have had otherwise. Liberty Girls (ages 6-9) has been such a wonderful thing for K and A. They have learned so much and made some great friends. The equivalent for a boy would be Knights of Freedom. I can't wait for C to be involved in this. H will be involved with LG next fall. K is also involved in a homeschool drawing class. She is in the advanced class where she is the youngest artist. She is absolutely loving this opportunity. Her teacher says she's doing very well.
My favorite part of this whole experience is that my kids get to socialize with kids of various ages. They aren't exclusive to only kids of their own age. School is just about the only time that you are forced to be in a room with 30 other kids that are your same age. At work, at church, at the grocery store, etc... you most likely deal with people of various ages. At school, you are made to feel inferior to those in the upper grades but superior to those in the lower grades. Forget the fact that some of them are reading on a completely different level than their peers, either higher or lower, or that some have the desire to move ahead much quicker in some subjects than the others. And some wish things would slow down so that they have a chance to catch up, knowing that if they don't catch up quickly, they will fall so far behind they will be pegged as a lost cause.
I love being able to move at a pace that each child is comfortable with. Is K at the same level as her peers? I don't know, nor do I really care. We are moving at a comfortable pace for her, only moving on once I know she really understands what she was already working on. She will learn everything she needs to know in this life because she wants to, not because she was forced to. She'll remember it because she wants to. And it doesn't matter if she learns about The Boston Tea Party in first grade or in ninth grade, the point is... she'll learn it. Actually, that was a bad example because she already knows about The Boston Tea Party. You get the point, though.
Do I worry about the socialization? NOT AT ALL! Here's an interesting tidbit of info for you. Did you know that public schools are only between 150 and 200 years old? And that they were formed for the benefit of poor people who were unable to afford material to educate their children at home or a private tutor to educate their children. Over the years, it just became a convenience for most people to send their children to the public school no matter what their status was. And I'm pretty sure that 200 years ago, before public school, there wasn't a socialization crisis! My kids see and talk to plenty of people on a daily basis. They know how to speak to children and adults alike. Not to mention, most people comment on how polite they are toward everyone. I think they speak to adults with more ease than most of their peers.
This is not to say that all kids in the public school system are improperly socialized or that my kids are somehow going to be better off in life than yours. As I've said before, this is a lifestyle choice and it is definitely NOT for everyone. It works for us, for now. Will we do it forever? I get asked this questions all the time and my answer is always the same, "We'll do it as long as it works." When it stops working for us, we'll figure out what works whether it be public school or some other means of education. I hope that it continues to work forever but I just don't know. I imagine that in high school, the kids will have some topics of interest that the local high school will be better equipped to teach than anything else we can find. At that point, they can enroll in those classes and learn the rest on their own at home. Maybe drama, sports, band, choir.... who knows! All I know is I'm excited to see what happens in the future.
I'm sure there are a lot of things I didn't cover in this 2 part homeschool post so please let me know if you have any other questions.
Anthony and I prayed both together and individually about this and each time, we both felt good about the decision. I have to say that just the very idea of keeping K home put many of my other worries at ease, not just the worries about the school itself. Most of those worries had to do with the social aspect. I mentioned before that school is considered "the only way" to truly socialize a child, right? But, in my research, and from my own experience, I came to realize that the social aspect of public school is often times extremely negative. The bullying, the superiority, the inferiority, all of it can be so trying on a child's self worth.
I recognize that K's personality is very similar to what mine was at that same age. Often times it still is. Our feelings are hurt very easily. We don't take it well when someone is mean to us, it usually ends up that we are in tears. That part has been easier now that I am older but it still happens. For K it still happens all the time. It breaks her heart to learn that someone doesn't like her. These are all things that mean kids feed on. I remember crying each time someone would say anything mean to me while some of my friends would fight back with a feisty attitude when something was said to them. Can you guess who they continued to pick on? Yep, it was me. I gave the reaction they were looking for. Did you ever have a moment during your grade school years that you just wanted to go home and have your mom give you a big hug so the world would make sense again? I felt that way all the time. As great as my teachers were, they couldn't console me the way my mom could. She was the only one that would fight for me and make sure that everything in her power was done to make me feel whole again.
I imagined my little girl going to that same great big playground at the same great big school that I attended and having those same sad, lonely feelings. Her personality is such that she gives the bullies something to feed off of. It gave me a sense of peace, once we decided to homeschool, knowing that I would be here for her when she needed me. I would be here to comfort her and help her know right from wrong.
I know there are critics out there saying, "How is she supposed to learn to defend herself? How do you expect her to grow? She can't come crying to Mommy every time she gets her feelings hurt!" Rest assured, I know all of this. But I looked at my then five year old little girl and I recognized that she doesn't have her wings yet. She wasn't ready to be thrown to the wolves. I still had time to nourish her soul, help her figure out who she is, and be the best K she could be before throwing her out there for the world to mold and shape the way the world sees appropriate. Looking at the world's view of what a little girl should grow up to be is not my idea of what our Heavenly Father would want for her.
The feelings I grew up with during grade school were not positive for the most part. I felt inferior to my peers as a result of the relentless teasing I endured. I hid my face hoping no one would see me only to figure out later that 'hiding' made me more apparent. However, I did find one way to feel superior to some of my peers. Did you ever have reading groups and math groups? We had groups that ranged from low, medium and high which translates to below average, average, and above average. They always called each group a color such as yellow, blue, and red (I don't remember exactly which colors were used) so as not to identify them as the low group or the high group. I'm not sure who they thought they were fooling, we all knew which group was which. Lucky for me, I was in the highest group for both math and reading. THAT, right there, made me better than all those mean kids that made fun of me! I loved looking down on them in this manner! As an adult, I realize now how foolish I was. But at the time, it was my way of feeling superior when in fact, I felt very inferior. After all, wasn't it more important to be popular than it was to be smart?
I remember the first time I realized that I never was smarter than those fools. Sadly, it wasn't until I was out of school and dating Anthony. Anthony was one of the most intelligent people I had ever met. He could rattle things off that I could never have known. Since I didn't know him during our school years, I had no idea how he had struggled in school. Unlike me, he was always in the lowest reading groups and even went to resource classes. He had a 'learning disability', which, by they way, I now have a very different view of after all of my research. I believe everyone just learns in different ways. Anthony never had a 'disability' at all. He needed to learn in a different manner, that's all. Yet, all through school, he felt inferior to his peers. He was never as smart as them and never got good grades. Funny how drastically our attitudes about education have changed. I never want my children to feel either inferior or superior to those around them, especially their friends. I only want them to know how and where to find the answers to the questions they have. I want them to know that they are capable of learning anything they want to learn, simple or complex. No one needs to tell them what they have to know by a certain age or how they have to learn it. Textbooks are not the only way to learn. BORING, if you ask me.
In our quest to find the right educational path for our family, we've learned a lot. One of the main things I've learned is that you can't take one curriculum, plug every child into that curriculum, and have it work for every child. That is why I don't like the idea of the public school system for my family. I believe that the public school system has it's place in society, I really do. Homeschooling is NOT for everyone. It can be hard and trying at times but I am absolutely loving that I get to learn right along with my kids. History, a subject I always loathed, is actually more interesting and fun than I ever knew. One of the the best things about it is that I can see that K is developing a love of learning at the same age that I had started into my hate of learning phase. It's so different when it's your own idea and not someone else's. Being forced to learn something is never the fun way to go about it. But having a question and being able to find the answer on your own is great fun!
This post has gone in a different direction than I had planned but we'll go with it. I know I'm kind of jumping back and forth, it might be a little hard to follow. I'm sorry about that. Just grin and nod your head....
Well, after deciding to homeschool for sure, it was time to go to the Utah Homeschool Conference. There was so much to figure out! What method should we try? Should we try a whole curriculum? Are we going to be the only 'normal' people there? Anthony was very concerned about that last question. Doesn't it seem that when you think of homeschoolers you think of the weird ones? They're out there, for sure! Come to think of it, there were weird public schoolers also! There are just weird people, in general. Lucky for Anthony, at the conference, it was about 98% 'normal' people and only 2% 'weirdies'. Those are his stats, not mine.
By the time we left the conference, I had flyers and brochures from every vendor and workshop we attended. I was armed with more information than I even knew what to do with. Where was I supposed to start? It was crazy! At that point, it all started to feel a bit overwhelming and I wondered if this was just a nonsense idea. I prayed some more and still felt good about it, so we continued.
Before I knew it, it was time to break the news to K that she would be staying home for 'school'. I must admit, she was not very happy when I first told her. She cried! It made me so sad and I thought about letting her go to school anyway. But when I asked her what it was that made her sad, she said, "I just want to ride the bus!" Perfect! Problem solved, she though that she would get to ride the bus to school everyday. Being that the school was only down the street, that wasn't going to happen anyway. Once I explained that to her, she was more at ease with the idea.
In the end, I decided that a full curriculum was not for us. Refer to a few paragraphs above.... I really like the Charlotte Mason method and the ideas presented in A Thomas Jefferson Education. (That's one thing I need to be reminded of... do I underline the name of a book or does it go in quotation marks? Hmm... I'll do neither until I figure it out :) These two methods compliment each other very well. So, our homeschool looks a lot like either of these two methods. We're still working out some bugs, there are always bugs to be worked out in life. We still have things we would like to add to our homeschool and things that we've tried that haven't worked well at all. It's a learning process for everyone but we're having a great time doing it.
K, and all the other kids, have had many opportunities that they wouldn't have had otherwise. Liberty Girls (ages 6-9) has been such a wonderful thing for K and A. They have learned so much and made some great friends. The equivalent for a boy would be Knights of Freedom. I can't wait for C to be involved in this. H will be involved with LG next fall. K is also involved in a homeschool drawing class. She is in the advanced class where she is the youngest artist. She is absolutely loving this opportunity. Her teacher says she's doing very well.
My favorite part of this whole experience is that my kids get to socialize with kids of various ages. They aren't exclusive to only kids of their own age. School is just about the only time that you are forced to be in a room with 30 other kids that are your same age. At work, at church, at the grocery store, etc... you most likely deal with people of various ages. At school, you are made to feel inferior to those in the upper grades but superior to those in the lower grades. Forget the fact that some of them are reading on a completely different level than their peers, either higher or lower, or that some have the desire to move ahead much quicker in some subjects than the others. And some wish things would slow down so that they have a chance to catch up, knowing that if they don't catch up quickly, they will fall so far behind they will be pegged as a lost cause.
I love being able to move at a pace that each child is comfortable with. Is K at the same level as her peers? I don't know, nor do I really care. We are moving at a comfortable pace for her, only moving on once I know she really understands what she was already working on. She will learn everything she needs to know in this life because she wants to, not because she was forced to. She'll remember it because she wants to. And it doesn't matter if she learns about The Boston Tea Party in first grade or in ninth grade, the point is... she'll learn it. Actually, that was a bad example because she already knows about The Boston Tea Party. You get the point, though.
Do I worry about the socialization? NOT AT ALL! Here's an interesting tidbit of info for you. Did you know that public schools are only between 150 and 200 years old? And that they were formed for the benefit of poor people who were unable to afford material to educate their children at home or a private tutor to educate their children. Over the years, it just became a convenience for most people to send their children to the public school no matter what their status was. And I'm pretty sure that 200 years ago, before public school, there wasn't a socialization crisis! My kids see and talk to plenty of people on a daily basis. They know how to speak to children and adults alike. Not to mention, most people comment on how polite they are toward everyone. I think they speak to adults with more ease than most of their peers.
This is not to say that all kids in the public school system are improperly socialized or that my kids are somehow going to be better off in life than yours. As I've said before, this is a lifestyle choice and it is definitely NOT for everyone. It works for us, for now. Will we do it forever? I get asked this questions all the time and my answer is always the same, "We'll do it as long as it works." When it stops working for us, we'll figure out what works whether it be public school or some other means of education. I hope that it continues to work forever but I just don't know. I imagine that in high school, the kids will have some topics of interest that the local high school will be better equipped to teach than anything else we can find. At that point, they can enroll in those classes and learn the rest on their own at home. Maybe drama, sports, band, choir.... who knows! All I know is I'm excited to see what happens in the future.
I'm sure there are a lot of things I didn't cover in this 2 part homeschool post so please let me know if you have any other questions.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Schooling the big kid! ~Part 1~
Maybe you already know, or maybe you don't yet know, that we homeschool our children. It was a decision based on many different things. Was it something I had always known I would do? That would be a big fat NO! In fact, I was appalled at the idea when Anthony and I moved out of state to South Carolina with my parents and my mom decided she was going to homeschool my younger brother. He was in the 4th grade if I remember correctly. This came about after first being put into the school system there in SC. Things are a bit different there than they are here in Utah. Needless to say, it wasn't going well for my little bro. He was having a hard time socially and the academic side was not coming any easier for him. So, the decision was made.
My thought was, how dare my mom take an already socially awkward child out of the public school system. After all, isn't that why we go to school? To socialize? You would think so considering that is the first question out of almost everyone's mouth when you mention the fact that you are homeschooling. "What about the socialization?"
I was no different. Having grown up in the conveyer belt system, I believed that the only "correct" way to be socialized is to go to school, get picked on, bullied, made fun of, and make sure you find someone weaker than you to do those same things to after it's all been done to you. Then, once you hit junior high and high school, make sure you have a bunch of classes with all your friends so you can goof off and just be together. Who cares what the subject is or what the teacher is lecturing on today. Just make sure we all have fun! That's what school was for me, just a big, daily social event. Grades were never very important until the end of high school when I realized that I barely had enough credits to graduate. Phew! That was a close one! I had the potential, it was there! I tested into the "gifted and talented" programs but didn't care enough about them to do my homework like I should.
No matter how many times my teachers tried to tell me how important it was to get good grades and learn as much as I could, I didn't want to hear it. To be honest, the only things I remember from school are the things I was interested in. If I was forced to learn it, I retained the information long enough to pass the test and then it was gone.
So, when the time came and my mom pulled my brother out of school, I thought she would ruin him forever. He was already an awkward kid as it was. Little did I realize, school itself was only making it worse for him. Just a few short years after my mom pulled him out of school, he was diagnosed with autism. He's high-functioning but it explains soooo much. We now know why he was socially awkward to begin with.
Well, when the time came for K to go to preschool I had no issues with it. We found a great one to put her into and she absolutely loved it! She went for 2 years, did great and Kindergarten was just around the corner. K was so excited at the prospect of a new backpack, new school, new teacher, new friends, and field trips. I had even registered her at the local public school already. But the more research I did about the school she would attend (and consequently, the school I attended as a child), the more I realized what a detriment this could be to her. The school had a very low report card and the testing scores were horrendous!
As I asked other parents about their experiences with the school, I heard a lot of people report frustration at the pace of the learning. So many of the kids were ready and longing to move ahead but were held back because of the fact that the teachers were only allowed to move at the pace of the "average" student. This meant that even though some children were ready, others were further behind. So moving ahead too quickly would mean the kids that are behind get even further behind and the "average" ones would fall a little behind as well.
At that point, I decided to look at my other options. There was a charter school that I had heard good things about. They did a lottery pull for enrollment and K was not chosen. The next thing I did was borrow a whole bunch of books from the library about how children learn best and educational options. After reading and seeing that homeschool was mentioned several times, I borrowed a bunch of homeschooling books. Not only that but I researched online. I probably read a good 12-15 books on homeschooling alone. And some of the websites I found were incredible! I learned about so many different methods and curriculums, it was mind-boggling! During all of this, I had remained pretty quiet about my findings only to surprise Anthony with it one day.
I remember it was summer and Anthony was up on a ladder outside our garage doing something. What is was has escaped me but I do remember him on the ladder. My nerves were getting the best of me at the time as I prepared to ask him what he thought of the idea of homeschooling. Once the question left my lips I anticipated the answer with somewhat of a hopeful demeanor. What I got was the look of insanity!! YEP! He thought I had gone loony for minute. His thoughts had been the same as mine when my mom had homeschooled so the idea of doing such a detrimental thing to our own children was outrageous!
Anthony looked down at me from the ladder and said, "Are you serious?" Once I told him that I was, he gave me what we commonly refer to around here as 'the stank face'. I then proceeded to tell him about the research I had done, the methods I had learned of, and the benefits it could have for our family. The more I talked, the more on-board he was with the whole idea. This 'talk' of ours went on for more than just the few minutes on the ladder. He told me to keep researching and we would pray about it and decide what was right for our family. I was so excited! I read and researched for several weeks and told him of my findings. Some GREAT findings, and some not-so-great findings.... opposition in all things, right? Each time, he would react a little bit kinder to the thought of homeschooling and the prayers began.
This post could end up being pretty long and I'm super tired to we're going to call this a
~To Be Continued~
My thought was, how dare my mom take an already socially awkward child out of the public school system. After all, isn't that why we go to school? To socialize? You would think so considering that is the first question out of almost everyone's mouth when you mention the fact that you are homeschooling. "What about the socialization?"
I was no different. Having grown up in the conveyer belt system, I believed that the only "correct" way to be socialized is to go to school, get picked on, bullied, made fun of, and make sure you find someone weaker than you to do those same things to after it's all been done to you. Then, once you hit junior high and high school, make sure you have a bunch of classes with all your friends so you can goof off and just be together. Who cares what the subject is or what the teacher is lecturing on today. Just make sure we all have fun! That's what school was for me, just a big, daily social event. Grades were never very important until the end of high school when I realized that I barely had enough credits to graduate. Phew! That was a close one! I had the potential, it was there! I tested into the "gifted and talented" programs but didn't care enough about them to do my homework like I should.
No matter how many times my teachers tried to tell me how important it was to get good grades and learn as much as I could, I didn't want to hear it. To be honest, the only things I remember from school are the things I was interested in. If I was forced to learn it, I retained the information long enough to pass the test and then it was gone.
So, when the time came and my mom pulled my brother out of school, I thought she would ruin him forever. He was already an awkward kid as it was. Little did I realize, school itself was only making it worse for him. Just a few short years after my mom pulled him out of school, he was diagnosed with autism. He's high-functioning but it explains soooo much. We now know why he was socially awkward to begin with.
Well, when the time came for K to go to preschool I had no issues with it. We found a great one to put her into and she absolutely loved it! She went for 2 years, did great and Kindergarten was just around the corner. K was so excited at the prospect of a new backpack, new school, new teacher, new friends, and field trips. I had even registered her at the local public school already. But the more research I did about the school she would attend (and consequently, the school I attended as a child), the more I realized what a detriment this could be to her. The school had a very low report card and the testing scores were horrendous!
As I asked other parents about their experiences with the school, I heard a lot of people report frustration at the pace of the learning. So many of the kids were ready and longing to move ahead but were held back because of the fact that the teachers were only allowed to move at the pace of the "average" student. This meant that even though some children were ready, others were further behind. So moving ahead too quickly would mean the kids that are behind get even further behind and the "average" ones would fall a little behind as well.
At that point, I decided to look at my other options. There was a charter school that I had heard good things about. They did a lottery pull for enrollment and K was not chosen. The next thing I did was borrow a whole bunch of books from the library about how children learn best and educational options. After reading and seeing that homeschool was mentioned several times, I borrowed a bunch of homeschooling books. Not only that but I researched online. I probably read a good 12-15 books on homeschooling alone. And some of the websites I found were incredible! I learned about so many different methods and curriculums, it was mind-boggling! During all of this, I had remained pretty quiet about my findings only to surprise Anthony with it one day.
I remember it was summer and Anthony was up on a ladder outside our garage doing something. What is was has escaped me but I do remember him on the ladder. My nerves were getting the best of me at the time as I prepared to ask him what he thought of the idea of homeschooling. Once the question left my lips I anticipated the answer with somewhat of a hopeful demeanor. What I got was the look of insanity!! YEP! He thought I had gone loony for minute. His thoughts had been the same as mine when my mom had homeschooled so the idea of doing such a detrimental thing to our own children was outrageous!
Anthony looked down at me from the ladder and said, "Are you serious?" Once I told him that I was, he gave me what we commonly refer to around here as 'the stank face'. I then proceeded to tell him about the research I had done, the methods I had learned of, and the benefits it could have for our family. The more I talked, the more on-board he was with the whole idea. This 'talk' of ours went on for more than just the few minutes on the ladder. He told me to keep researching and we would pray about it and decide what was right for our family. I was so excited! I read and researched for several weeks and told him of my findings. Some GREAT findings, and some not-so-great findings.... opposition in all things, right? Each time, he would react a little bit kinder to the thought of homeschooling and the prayers began.
This post could end up being pretty long and I'm super tired to we're going to call this a
~To Be Continued~
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Terrible and no good... but let's throw in some fun, too.
That's how the past few days have felt. Hopefully things start looking up from here. There are few things that could make things any worse... things I won't mention here for fear of jinxing myself.
It's just a rant. Do you ever just need to vent? Yeah, me too! So, this is me... venting.
And now on to more serious - ly fun matters. I don't do video gaming well, at all. Unless you're talking about interactive video gaming. THAT, I can do... pretty darn well, I might add.
Speaking of, I still can't get blogger to upload the video of Anthony's mad dancing skills. It's not making me happy! What am I doing wrong? Is there a blogger wiz out there that can help me out?
Let me tell you about my mad skills on the Kinect. I'm already the the champion on the Dance Central game I told you about. 94% on "Ride the Train" and 96% on "Poker Face". Both were on the hard level. Go me! But we tried out the Sports game and I took Anthony on in boxing. Guess who won! ME! It drove him nuts that I won by TKO so we played again and he won that time but it took him all three rounds and went to decision. Then, the third time, I beat him down again... TKO style! My dad thought he could take me on after that but I showed him who was boss. He claimed it wasn't tracking him like it was supposed to. But believe you me, it totally was.
I would tell you about our next venture in ping-pong but I'm sure you can already guess what the outcome will be on that one. So we can just skip it, right?
Ok, I can not tell a lie. I got throttled! Same scenario, only reversed. Anthony throttled me in the first game... 11-0. Second game I won just barely. Third game was his again by a long shot. I've got to work on my ping-ponging skills. Let me just say, I was sooooo sore the next day! I think boxing really got those muscles working!
It's the same on the Wii. He beats me at ping pong every time. But don't you worry! He still can't beat my 3-point shooting score or my wakeboarding score either. It drives him almost to insanity trying. He's just mad that he can't beat me on two of the games he really cares about.
But hey, he'll probably always and forever beat me in canoe-ing. He always says "Whoop-a-dee-doo! Who cares about canoe-ing?" For the life of me I can not get my stupid canoe to go straight. No matter what I do with my paddle/remote, I always end up going in circles. It's frustrating! Even if I copy Anthony's every move, my paddle likes to stay on the right side and take me in circles.
OH! I almost forgot! When I was about 8 months pregnant with B, we were at a friend's house and they had a Wii Sports Resort game (different than our resort game) and it had ski jumping. You have to use the balance board for that one. Everyone took their turn and they all did pretty well. Then it was my turn. Since I didn't know what I was doing and I couldn't see my feet anyway, I was pretty sure I would muff it all up and be in last place. Guess what happened! I got up there on the balance board, did my thing, stood on my tippy-toes and *whoosh* (that's my Mii flying through the air) and when I landed, I heard the roar of the crowd... I beat every one of them! Pro status and all! It was quite exhilerating. Do you think B will grow up to be a pro skier? Maybe? It could happen, right?
It's just a rant. Do you ever just need to vent? Yeah, me too! So, this is me... venting.
And now on to more serious - ly fun matters. I don't do video gaming well, at all. Unless you're talking about interactive video gaming. THAT, I can do... pretty darn well, I might add.
Speaking of, I still can't get blogger to upload the video of Anthony's mad dancing skills. It's not making me happy! What am I doing wrong? Is there a blogger wiz out there that can help me out?
Let me tell you about my mad skills on the Kinect. I'm already the the champion on the Dance Central game I told you about. 94% on "Ride the Train" and 96% on "Poker Face". Both were on the hard level. Go me! But we tried out the Sports game and I took Anthony on in boxing. Guess who won! ME! It drove him nuts that I won by TKO so we played again and he won that time but it took him all three rounds and went to decision. Then, the third time, I beat him down again... TKO style! My dad thought he could take me on after that but I showed him who was boss. He claimed it wasn't tracking him like it was supposed to. But believe you me, it totally was.
I would tell you about our next venture in ping-pong but I'm sure you can already guess what the outcome will be on that one. So we can just skip it, right?
Ok, I can not tell a lie. I got throttled! Same scenario, only reversed. Anthony throttled me in the first game... 11-0. Second game I won just barely. Third game was his again by a long shot. I've got to work on my ping-ponging skills. Let me just say, I was sooooo sore the next day! I think boxing really got those muscles working!
It's the same on the Wii. He beats me at ping pong every time. But don't you worry! He still can't beat my 3-point shooting score or my wakeboarding score either. It drives him almost to insanity trying. He's just mad that he can't beat me on two of the games he really cares about.
But hey, he'll probably always and forever beat me in canoe-ing. He always says "Whoop-a-dee-doo! Who cares about canoe-ing?" For the life of me I can not get my stupid canoe to go straight. No matter what I do with my paddle/remote, I always end up going in circles. It's frustrating! Even if I copy Anthony's every move, my paddle likes to stay on the right side and take me in circles.
OH! I almost forgot! When I was about 8 months pregnant with B, we were at a friend's house and they had a Wii Sports Resort game (different than our resort game) and it had ski jumping. You have to use the balance board for that one. Everyone took their turn and they all did pretty well. Then it was my turn. Since I didn't know what I was doing and I couldn't see my feet anyway, I was pretty sure I would muff it all up and be in last place. Guess what happened! I got up there on the balance board, did my thing, stood on my tippy-toes and *whoosh* (that's my Mii flying through the air) and when I landed, I heard the roar of the crowd... I beat every one of them! Pro status and all! It was quite exhilerating. Do you think B will grow up to be a pro skier? Maybe? It could happen, right?
Monday, January 10, 2011
UGH!
Unfortunately, I can't get blogger to upload my video clip for some reason. I wanted you to see Anthony's mad dancing skills. But after my fourth attempt at getting the video to upload, I am so frustrated that I don't think I can handle trying again and having it fail... at least not tonight. It might cause the computer to take a flying leap, if you know what I mean. And that, my friends, would NOT be good. I'll try again tomorrow.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
I got one!!
One of my New Year's Resolutions was to get a Wii dance game of some sort and so... HERE IT IS! This is what I got. I told you that I had tried my parents' Kinect with Dance Central. So, here's my review of both. First off, I must say that they are completely different. They both have their pros and cons, and yes I prefer one over the other, slightly.
Dance Central - Kinect:
This game has tutorials that teach you the moves and has you pass them off as you learn. You can even slow it down if you need to. Then you can do the dance and it will score you as you dance. You can even battle someone else. There are different levels: easy, medium, hard.... each player can choose the level they want. As you play you unlock different levels, dancers, songs, venues, etc. In my opinion, this type of dance is more of what you might see in a club. BUT, I'm not a clubber so this could be completely inaccurate. Don't take my word for it. There are a TON of songs on this game. And it's so nice to not have to hold a controller. Is it accurate? I have to say that it is pretty spot on. It is able to read your movements pretty darn well from your head to your feet. It can get your heart pumping a little too.
That was the nice of it, here's the not-so-nice... Some of the songs and movements (in my opinion) are a little risque for my children to hear and do/see. Also, the dancers themselves, the females anyway, need more clothing on. Plus, it's a little hard for my girls to do in the first place. K got very frustrated and ended up crying after trying a couple dances. Little A, however, did very well. She's just one of those people that can try anything and is good at it. So far, I am the champion, overall. Not to toot my own horn or anything. Ok, maybe just a little. I like to dance and I think I've got rhythm. That's K's problem, she tries too hard to follow the dancer perfectly instead of trying to feel the beat of the music. Before she knows it, she's half a step behind, then a whole step which puts her going the opposite way. It's hard for her. Anthony has the same problem.
Overall, I really like this game. I think it's really fun and very accurate. I got 94% my first time dancing to "Ride the Train"! Go me!
Just Dance 2 - Wii:
This one has no tutorial for dance moves, just different modes of play. You just dance! Follow the dancer on the screen and go! It's hard sometimes to hold the Wii remote while dancing but it really is fun. I think Anthony has more fun with this one for sure. He was a good sport and played it with me after getting it last night. You don't really have to be a good dancer, you just have to have your remote moving at the right time and in the right pattern. But if you're "trying" to be a real dancer, however, it is still pretty accurate. Of course it's not going to know if you're moving your feet and legs correctly but it reads the remote pretty well. And this one really gets the heart pounding! It's definitely more of an aerobic workout, in my opinion. Much faster paced moves and dances.
This game has less songs and the movements are more for the words of the song or the genre it comes from than anything else. But it is still really fun! My kids had a blast with it tonight. K likes this one better because she doesn't have to be exact and there's nothing to "pass off".
My opinion? This one is a blast to just have fun with. I really do like it but if I had to choose one over the other, I would probably say Dance Central for the Kinect would be the winner. With that said, I will still probably buy Just Dance (the first one) and we really want to try the Michael Jackson one. That would be a challenge, I'm sure!
NOW.... I must tell you about our first experience with Just Dance 2. You might be wondering why I would buy #2 before buying the first one. Well, #2 was on sale, simple as that.
As I mentioned, Anthony was a really good sport to play with me. It was 11:00 pm when we got started so I was surprised he was willing. The girls slept at my mom's last night so we just had the boys. With both of them in bed, it was time to get the party started! I know it's silly but I was so excited!
The "Just Dance" mode is for up to 4 players so we went head to head. Our living room doesn't have a ton of room so we were staggered a little bit. Once we chose the first dance, we started dancing and almost as quickly as I started, I couldn't catch my breath. No, it wasn't so vigorous that I couldn't keep up, I was dying at the sight of Anthony dancing. It was sooooo funny! I really was wishing that someone were there recording him. Oh man, just thinking about it makes me giggle. The game was telling him he was doing certain moves perfectly and I kept looking at what a silly-head he looked like wondering how in the world the game could possibly think that was "perfect". Luckily, I was able to pull off the win and we moved on to another song. Each one got me laughing more and more.
Eventually, Anthony was able to beat me on "Viva Las Vegas" and some James Brown song. He says it was all skill, I maintain it was because I was laughing so hard I couldn't stand up straight through most of the songs. Then it was on to "Walk Like an Egyptian". I won but only by a hair! Truth be told, I'm afraid of going against him on that one. He's a got a mean Egyptian walk there... I may go down next time we battle that one. YIKES!
Tonight, we pulled it out again and let the kids have their first go at it. They really liked it and each one of them has a favorite dance already. Even K has a couple of the dances that she's been able to beat everyone at. Anthony went head to head with A on "Viva Las Vegas". They got to go two rounds of it because half way through the first time, Anthony accidentally smacked poor A in the face with the Wii remote. She screamed and cried but there was no permanent damage done. Not even a fat lip, although it did make her already loose tooth a bit looser. The second time around was much smoother. And that one I got on video. I'll be getting that up tomorrow. I only promised Anthony I wouldn't put it on facebook. I never said anything about my blog..... *evil laugh* It's pretty funny, he really gets into it.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Wouldn't you?
I'm sure you would! I mean, why not? You'd be crazy not to! Seriously... What am I talking about? A job offer, of course!
No, it's not for us. Anthony is perfectly happy with his career as an insurance agent. I'm talking about my parents. They've been living here in Utah for the past couple years and they've run across some rough times. Who didn't the economy hit? It's been a rocky road, no? Well, times are a changin'! Get this...
My dad had an interview at the beginning of last week with a big wig from Santa Barbara, California. They met up in Park City, Utah because the guy was coming here for vacation. I assume he's a skiier. He liked what my dad had to offer so he flew him out to Santa Barbara later in the week. Dad flew home that same day. We all felt like they would offer him a job, why would they fly him in if they weren't pretty certain?
Sure enough, just this past Monday, the offer came in. It's a great opportunity! And when I say great I mean GREAT!
The owner of the company offered to let my parents (and little bro, of course) live in a home he's had on the market there in Santa Barbara but wants to take it off for a couple of years. Let the market pick back up and such before trying again. Apparently he's got a few homes. Sounds pretty good, right? Well, get this... it's not just any ol' house. It's a 5.million.dollar.house!!
NO! I'm not joking! Can you believe it? Pool, hot tub, guest house, furnished, the works! And they only have to pay minimal rent, utilities are included. I'm pretty sure this is the only home of this magnitude that I will ever have the privilege of stepping foot inside of.... EVER! Who has that kind of money? Do you know what the payment on that thing would be to finance the whole thing for the standard 30 years? $36,000/month!! I know because I found one of those "mortgage calculators" online. Is that nuts? Insane!! But I'm sure the guy probably didn't finance the whole thing, who knows! Funniest part is that this guy is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and lives only a few houses away from this one. They'll be in the same ward! Snoop Dogg lives somewhere around there. It would be fun to figure out which one is his.
So, I'll ask again... Wouldn't you?
Guess I better get planning our vacation to Santa Barbara this summer. No need for a hotel ;) We've got something better than a 5 star resort! Just gotta find the money for travel expenses...
No, it's not for us. Anthony is perfectly happy with his career as an insurance agent. I'm talking about my parents. They've been living here in Utah for the past couple years and they've run across some rough times. Who didn't the economy hit? It's been a rocky road, no? Well, times are a changin'! Get this...
My dad had an interview at the beginning of last week with a big wig from Santa Barbara, California. They met up in Park City, Utah because the guy was coming here for vacation. I assume he's a skiier. He liked what my dad had to offer so he flew him out to Santa Barbara later in the week. Dad flew home that same day. We all felt like they would offer him a job, why would they fly him in if they weren't pretty certain?
Sure enough, just this past Monday, the offer came in. It's a great opportunity! And when I say great I mean GREAT!
The owner of the company offered to let my parents (and little bro, of course) live in a home he's had on the market there in Santa Barbara but wants to take it off for a couple of years. Let the market pick back up and such before trying again. Apparently he's got a few homes. Sounds pretty good, right? Well, get this... it's not just any ol' house. It's a 5.million.dollar.house!!
NO! I'm not joking! Can you believe it? Pool, hot tub, guest house, furnished, the works! And they only have to pay minimal rent, utilities are included. I'm pretty sure this is the only home of this magnitude that I will ever have the privilege of stepping foot inside of.... EVER! Who has that kind of money? Do you know what the payment on that thing would be to finance the whole thing for the standard 30 years? $36,000/month!! I know because I found one of those "mortgage calculators" online. Is that nuts? Insane!! But I'm sure the guy probably didn't finance the whole thing, who knows! Funniest part is that this guy is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and lives only a few houses away from this one. They'll be in the same ward! Snoop Dogg lives somewhere around there. It would be fun to figure out which one is his.
So, I'll ask again... Wouldn't you?
Guess I better get planning our vacation to Santa Barbara this summer. No need for a hotel ;) We've got something better than a 5 star resort! Just gotta find the money for travel expenses...
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Best Winder Farms Delivery Guy...EVER!
Remember when I talked about our Winder Farms cooler being stolen? Can you believe it happened... again!?!
About a month ago, we put our Winder Farms account on hold due to "insufficient funds". Their stuff isn't the cheapest but DANG it's good, and so convenient, too! Anyway, we decided to hold off for a while until our budget was a bit more adequate for such convenience.
On the night of our normal delivery, as I was dreaming of... well, something I'm sure, I thought I heard the Winder Farms truck outside my house. It was around 1:30 in the morning. They shouldn't be here, I had put my account on hold. They better not be here because I'm not about to pay for food when I called them just a few days before to tell them NOT to deliver. Then, in my deleriously sleepy state, I thought somone was breaking into my house (the coolers are on the front porch). But between Anthony's snoring and the hum of the air purifier, I was able to wake up enough to realize that I must be hearing things. After all, the dogs weren't barking.... oh, wait! They NEVER bark when there's something to bark at, silly me! What was I thinking?
By morning, I had forgotten about the whole thing, passing it off as a dream, and we went about our routine. When Anthony left for work, he asked why there was only one cooler on the porch. Hmmm, good question! People don't usually just grab empty Winder Farms coolers. That got me thinking... what was that I had heard in the middle of the night? Maybe it was the Winder Farms truck. I called Winder Farms to ask if there had been a delivery made and the lady assured me that my account was in fact on hold. There should not have been a delivery made. I hung up but was not convinced that someone would just take our empty cooler. Then I remembered that just the week before, our delivery guy had called to make sure we wanted that delivery skipped. He's called a couple other times before that as well. So I backtracked on my phone records, found his phone number and gave him a call. It was about 11:30 a.m.
As soon as he answered I realized... DUH! He's been out all night making deliveries. He's probably asleep! Whoops, too late at that point. So I identified myself and asked him if he had dropped something into our cooler, because if he had, we didn't get it. He had! I love it when I'm right! He said it was nothing much, just a little Merry Christmas delivery and he was sorry that we didn't get it.
No big deal. I just wanted him to know that either someone is following him or watching from somewhere. We hung up and I felt sorry that I had woke him up. Then, around 4:00 that afternoon, he called me back asking me to clarify the details for him because he had, in fact, been asleep. After apologizing to him for waking him up and dispersing the details yet again, he voiced his frustrations about the thief that seems to like our coolers full of food (do you think it's the same person as the last time?-- I wonder). Then he told me not to go to the store the following week for our normal delivery items. He wanted to bring it to us free of charge! What a nice guy! I thanked him and asked him to please knock, even at 1:30 in the morning so we could be sure to avoid the thief.
As a thank you, the night of that next delivery, I put a small bag of candy and some mixed nuts as a gift for him, in the cooler. Nothing much but I had to do something. We hadn't made our Christmas treats yet, darn it! We ended up just staying awake until he came so he didn't have to knock. He was another of our Christmas Angels this year!
Fast forward to just this week... B woke up just before 1:30 a.m. the night our usual delivery comes. Anthony walked out to the kitchen to make him a bottle but noticed headlights in front of our house. As he peeked through the blinds, he realized that our Winder Farms guy was carrying a cooler up to our front porch. Since our account is still on hold at the moment, we weren't sure why he would be here at all. As he walked away from the porch, he noticed Anthony in the window and waved. After making the bottle and the truck was gone, we went out to the porch to see the new cooler (we have 2 again!) and a note sticking out of it. When we opened the cooler up, there was a loaf WF bread and a few pint size milks and juices. What a nice gesture! We laughed when we read the note. Here's what it said:
About a month ago, we put our Winder Farms account on hold due to "insufficient funds". Their stuff isn't the cheapest but DANG it's good, and so convenient, too! Anyway, we decided to hold off for a while until our budget was a bit more adequate for such convenience.
On the night of our normal delivery, as I was dreaming of... well, something I'm sure, I thought I heard the Winder Farms truck outside my house. It was around 1:30 in the morning. They shouldn't be here, I had put my account on hold. They better not be here because I'm not about to pay for food when I called them just a few days before to tell them NOT to deliver. Then, in my deleriously sleepy state, I thought somone was breaking into my house (the coolers are on the front porch). But between Anthony's snoring and the hum of the air purifier, I was able to wake up enough to realize that I must be hearing things. After all, the dogs weren't barking.... oh, wait! They NEVER bark when there's something to bark at, silly me! What was I thinking?
By morning, I had forgotten about the whole thing, passing it off as a dream, and we went about our routine. When Anthony left for work, he asked why there was only one cooler on the porch. Hmmm, good question! People don't usually just grab empty Winder Farms coolers. That got me thinking... what was that I had heard in the middle of the night? Maybe it was the Winder Farms truck. I called Winder Farms to ask if there had been a delivery made and the lady assured me that my account was in fact on hold. There should not have been a delivery made. I hung up but was not convinced that someone would just take our empty cooler. Then I remembered that just the week before, our delivery guy had called to make sure we wanted that delivery skipped. He's called a couple other times before that as well. So I backtracked on my phone records, found his phone number and gave him a call. It was about 11:30 a.m.
As soon as he answered I realized... DUH! He's been out all night making deliveries. He's probably asleep! Whoops, too late at that point. So I identified myself and asked him if he had dropped something into our cooler, because if he had, we didn't get it. He had! I love it when I'm right! He said it was nothing much, just a little Merry Christmas delivery and he was sorry that we didn't get it.
No big deal. I just wanted him to know that either someone is following him or watching from somewhere. We hung up and I felt sorry that I had woke him up. Then, around 4:00 that afternoon, he called me back asking me to clarify the details for him because he had, in fact, been asleep. After apologizing to him for waking him up and dispersing the details yet again, he voiced his frustrations about the thief that seems to like our coolers full of food (do you think it's the same person as the last time?-- I wonder). Then he told me not to go to the store the following week for our normal delivery items. He wanted to bring it to us free of charge! What a nice guy! I thanked him and asked him to please knock, even at 1:30 in the morning so we could be sure to avoid the thief.
As a thank you, the night of that next delivery, I put a small bag of candy and some mixed nuts as a gift for him, in the cooler. Nothing much but I had to do something. We hadn't made our Christmas treats yet, darn it! We ended up just staying awake until he came so he didn't have to knock. He was another of our Christmas Angels this year!
Fast forward to just this week... B woke up just before 1:30 a.m. the night our usual delivery comes. Anthony walked out to the kitchen to make him a bottle but noticed headlights in front of our house. As he peeked through the blinds, he realized that our Winder Farms guy was carrying a cooler up to our front porch. Since our account is still on hold at the moment, we weren't sure why he would be here at all. As he walked away from the porch, he noticed Anthony in the window and waved. After making the bottle and the truck was gone, we went out to the porch to see the new cooler (we have 2 again!) and a note sticking out of it. When we opened the cooler up, there was a loaf WF bread and a few pint size milks and juices. What a nice gesture! We laughed when we read the note. Here's what it said:
Hello!
If you are the rightful recipient of this free product (-our last name-) Thank you for the wonderful treats over the holidays. That was so nice, and very much appreciated, hope things are well. Have a fantastic week!
=) (signed his name)
If you are the thief-- Shame on you! You may think your getting away with this but your not -- you will be caught, and either way God sees all and you will be held accountable. If you want Winder products sign up yourself and I will be happy to leave stuff for you. Thanks for stopping & letting people enjoy what they pay for & deserve.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
My New Year's Resolutions
Well, here goes nothin'... I always get the heebee jeebies (is that a real word, because if it is, I'm sure it's spelled wrong :0) when I try to make goals for myself. I don't know why, I just do. And each year, I make the same goals. The same ones that everyone else makes.
--Excercise every weekday--
--Get organized--
--Read my scriptures every day--
--Write in my journal at least once a week--
This year, though, I am not going to set those goals. Let me explain. I still want to do those things but maybe not the way I always plan them in my head. Because in my mind, it always works out perfectly. I start and I'm perfect about it for about a week, then the second week I'm ok, and by the time the third week hits, I've all but given up on myself. Better luck next year.
So, here's my plan...
--Excercise every weekday--
--Get organized--
--Read my scriptures every day--
--Write in my journal at least once a week--
This year, though, I am not going to set those goals. Let me explain. I still want to do those things but maybe not the way I always plan them in my head. Because in my mind, it always works out perfectly. I start and I'm perfect about it for about a week, then the second week I'm ok, and by the time the third week hits, I've all but given up on myself. Better luck next year.
So, here's my plan...
- Exercise -- You'll probably die laughing but I'm really not an exerciser. I'm just not. I hate it, I hate it, I HATE IT! It's not my friend and I think running is of the devil. Just sayin'... But dancing, I looove doing that. My mom and dad got the XBox Kinect for Christmas and they have a dance game that is soooo dang fun! Don't ask the name of it because I can't remember to save my life. If I had it at home I would never leave my living room and my kids would never get to play. I would get every turn and they would have to make their own meals. Ok, probably not but it really is super fun. So, the plan is to buy a Wii dance game (because I don't have a Kinect... or an XBox for that matter) and dance my life away. I'm not going to commit myself to running (evil), or workout videos, or some other boring way of sweating. But give me a score to beat and I'll die trying.
- Get Organized -- Guess what! I've already got a great head start! Remember I told you about my runs to the DI (part 1) (part 2)? This is as close as I've EVER been to where I want to be in that area. My new hobby is throwing things away. Even my kids are developing this hobby (well, some of them anyway). We can BREATHE! We're not drowning in .... STUFF!
- Read My Scriptures -- That's it! I don't know what goal to set other than just do it. By the end of the year, and hopefully much sooner, I better be doing it without thinking. It'll just be second nature.
- Write in My Journal -- Well, I think my blog counts, no? I'll still occasionally write my deep thoughts in my real journal but if I'm being honest, how often do I have deep thoughts? I mean, really... It's a rarity.
- Say yes to my kids more often (sometimes I feel like such a "no" mom)
- Get our homeschool History timeline going ASAP
- A scrapbook for each child. I have one for K... I got up to age one, go me! And she loooooves to look at it. So do the other kids and they always wonder why they don't have one and she does. Isn't that sad? Poor kids! I'm sure they think I love K the most. It's really a sad story!
Resolutions
Umm, yeah, about that.....
I never have my New Year's resolutions ready on New Year's Day. Does that make me a procrasinator? I think yes, but let's say no just to make me feel better. Perhaps that should be one of my resolutions! Hmmm.... something to think about, but it's worked so well for me my whole life, why stop now?
The plan is to have all my goals for this year ready by tonight. I think just one or two in each category will be good. Look for them later. In the meantime, do you make goals each year? What are yours?
I never have my New Year's resolutions ready on New Year's Day. Does that make me a procrasinator? I think yes, but let's say no just to make me feel better. Perhaps that should be one of my resolutions! Hmmm.... something to think about, but it's worked so well for me my whole life, why stop now?
The plan is to have all my goals for this year ready by tonight. I think just one or two in each category will be good. Look for them later. In the meantime, do you make goals each year? What are yours?
Naming Cars
Do you name your cars? I don't think we've ever named our cars until now. I wish I had pictures of the cars but sadly, I do not. Taking one now would make you think we don't take care of them. We blame the salt on the roads. They look awful at the moment. After we get them washed I'll take pics.
Car #1, 2004 Chevrolet Suburban- black
Name: "Big Delores" (ever seen Hope Floats?)-- it just fits!
Car #2, 2004 Dodge Durango- blue (would have been maroon or red if we had a choice -- we're UTE fans!)
Name: "Wanda B Red"-- Grin and nod your head, people!
Car #1, 2004 Chevrolet Suburban- black
Name: "Big Delores" (ever seen Hope Floats?)-- it just fits!
Car #2, 2004 Dodge Durango- blue (would have been maroon or red if we had a choice -- we're UTE fans!)
Name: "Wanda B Red"-- Grin and nod your head, people!
Our quiet New Year's Eve
Normally, when the New Year's Eve rolls around, Anthony and I have plans. Most of the time it involves his side of the family. Once in a while, we get together with my side... although my side is much smaller. This year, after hearing that we would be getting a large amount of snow that evening, we decided not to make any plans. The invites were plentiful but about a week before, we asked my parents if they wanted to come over for card games (because that's the only kind of games they like).
Other than the fact that our kids, with their sugar-highs and sleep deprived second winds, would be running around like mad men, it would be a pretty quiet night. I figure extra sweets, treats and staying up til the ball drops is ok... it's only once a year, right?
Our New Year turned out to be something quite different than what I expected. I was unaware that Anthony had invited his parents over as well. That would still make for a pretty quiet night but just two days before, Anthony's sister called to see if we had any plans. I told her we were just having the parents over. She asked if they could crash the party. That added 3 more kids and two adults.
Then, on the big day, another of Anthony's sisters posted on her facebook that she had no plans. Her hubby would be gone coyote hunting (crazy man!) so she had nowhere to go. I called her and told her she may as well join us. Then my mom called me to let me know that she had invited my dad's cousin and his wife. My brother also came with my parents and my grandpa came over too. WHEW! We had a house full! It was kind of nuts.
So our "quiet" evening at home turned into mayhem and chaos! We loved every minute of it! Minute to Win It games, ping pong (who knew my grandpa was a pro?), tons of food, and LOTS of laughing! Pictures are coming. What a hoot! I hope your New Year was as fun as ours turned out to be.
Other than the fact that our kids, with their sugar-highs and sleep deprived second winds, would be running around like mad men, it would be a pretty quiet night. I figure extra sweets, treats and staying up til the ball drops is ok... it's only once a year, right?
Our New Year turned out to be something quite different than what I expected. I was unaware that Anthony had invited his parents over as well. That would still make for a pretty quiet night but just two days before, Anthony's sister called to see if we had any plans. I told her we were just having the parents over. She asked if they could crash the party. That added 3 more kids and two adults.
Then, on the big day, another of Anthony's sisters posted on her facebook that she had no plans. Her hubby would be gone coyote hunting (crazy man!) so she had nowhere to go. I called her and told her she may as well join us. Then my mom called me to let me know that she had invited my dad's cousin and his wife. My brother also came with my parents and my grandpa came over too. WHEW! We had a house full! It was kind of nuts.
So our "quiet" evening at home turned into mayhem and chaos! We loved every minute of it! Minute to Win It games, ping pong (who knew my grandpa was a pro?), tons of food, and LOTS of laughing! Pictures are coming. What a hoot! I hope your New Year was as fun as ours turned out to be.
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