Monday, August 27, 2007

Breast Cancer 3 day

I have only briefly mentioned that I am training for the Breast Cancer 3 Day walk in October. Well, October is getting closer and I am a little worried. I need to really step up the fund raising, I am at $305 out of the $2200 I need to participate. I know lots of my family intend to support me and think that it is a ways off but I need to know I will make it long before the deadline just to make travel plans. I was watching 3 day video blogs on youtube.com earlier and it had me in tears, I have to do this, for me, for my children and for my family. So, it is back to the fundraising resources online, better get busy.
We had a great time camping this weekend. I have decided that the youngest just doesn't sleep well on the ground, which translates into I don't sleep well. But it was worth it because the next day the Grandparents watched all 3 little ones while dh and I went on a motorcycle ride and had a good time browsing the shops in Creed then having a delicious lunch while sharing a table with some wonderful people. There were 3 couples who have been meeting up in this little town for many, many years (I think some of them more than 20), they had some great stories and were very friendly. This town has that effect on people. I know we have been going there for at least 15 years and my dh has been going since he was a little boy.
The kiddos had kind of a rough day, I think they were still tired from all the activities this weekend, but now they are all tucked in and the house is quiet. I think I will go and work on whatever it is that I am knitting (I have no pattern, I just felt like knitting this weekend and started something) I imagine it will just be a scarf, or maybe I will undo it like everything else I have knitted and start over, again.


One of the kids favorite bedtime snack is ice cream. We have had dietary issues with dairy in our house for 3 years so real ice cream is a treat, although dd doesn't mind eating Ricedream, most of the time. Nothing beats a cool treat on a hot summer night.

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Going Camping, sort of....

So, we are going camping today, just for the night. The in-laws are staying at a campground about 3-4 hours from here and so we will join them. I prefer when we camp to not go for less than 2 nights (too much work for just one) and I really like it better when we are up in the mountains so my children and dogs can run free... But at least the in-laws have a nice camper and the kids like it so they will no doubt want to be over there vs our tent, and I am counting on them cooking, so really it isn't going to be so much like camping as it will be just visiting, from a tent.



I think this is my favorite picture right now, the kids look like they actually like each other and were playing really well. For the most part they are good playmates, but every now and then they fight like ....well, like brother and sister.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Long time no post

I have been spending more of my time reading blogs rather than writing on mine. I don't know why that is so, just not real motivated these days. Our older dd went back to school last week. She was only home for a week from her journey to OK and TX, but that was long enough for her and her brother to get on my nerves. Not sure why those two can't get along, maybe the sibling thing, don't know.
After talking to my neighbor whose son goes to the local school I am once again reassured that homeschooling is right for ds. The kindergarten class has almost 30 students in it! I feel so sorry for that teacher and don't know how she can possibly teach the kids anything. I am also relieved that my friend whom also homeschools has decided we should not go to COS for co-op classes (it is an hour each way) and we should just do our own. That will make my life with MOPS easier since they were on the same day. Speaking of which it is getting closer to the start of our fall semester for MOPS. I am glad that our whole year seems to be coming together ( I am on the steering team) and I can't wait to see all my friends again.
Today was one of those rare days where I had HOURS to myself. My friend watched the kiddos while I went off to run errands. I browsed Hobby Lobby (you can't do that very well with a 1, 3, and 5 year old), wandered through the thrift stores, ate lunch out, and alone ( I always think people feel sorry for me eating alone but it doesn't happen very often and I actually enjoy it), and then went to Vitamin Cottage for a few groceries. My trade off was to bring 2 extra kids home with me for 1 1/2 hours (I am pretty sure I got the better end of the deal today but I will pay my dues on Friday). Although there are still dishes to be done, laundry to be folded and toys to put away, I am going to have a shower and go to bed, the rest can wait until tomorning.

In case you were wondering...
Tomorning is a word invented by my son when he was about 3. I have always thought it was a very functional word. He didn't vanish from this picture, when he was first potty trained (around the same time he invented the word) he would always get naked to do his biz, if he had time he would lay out his clothes to make putting them back on easier. Gosh I love this kid.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Tomorrow is a new day

I started off this morning cleaning. I got the office cleaned and rearranged, the kids cleaned their room and I got it vacuumed, and I even got my room straightened (I won't call it clean...) and the vacuumed, then today happened. After 6 kids were done with it, the house looks only a little better then if a tornado had come through. This is partly my fault because I am trying to get our school area set up and I had to move around the toy area, then of course, I had to roll up the rug because it had to be swept underneath, and I never get to finish a project in the same day so I will have to put it all back together tomorrow.
Yesterday we went to our first homeschool park day with the coop group in COS. The kids had a great time and seemed to enjoy meeting new kids. I think ds will have a good time this fall when we have class once a week. The moms were all real nice and welcomed us. I hope to get to know them better.
Yesterday was such a long day and I think that might have had an impact on ds behavior today. I just don't know what to do when he has such a horrible, no good, rotten kind of day. It is frustrating to see him make one bad decision after another. We had some friends over and that was good for dd because she got to play with her friend and not get into it with her brother. Unfortunately for ds's friend he wasn't being very nice. Sometimes I can trace his behavior to too much sugar, but I think today it must have just been too much over stimulation. This makes my list of reasons to homeschool even bigger. I can just imagine having a day like that at school.
In the midst of all that was wrong today I feel I must find some good in it. For quite a while today ds did come and sit with me, just needing to be touched and cuddled. We were watching a show and it had someone on there who was in a tornado, he had so many questions. Since I grew up in Oklahoma I was able to answer most of those accurately :) . The mother on the show was also paralyzed as a result and that was another whole set of questions. It was amazing that the mother was so grateful for life even though she was having to learn how to do everything from her chair. She said she spends a whole lot more time just watching the kids. As hard as it is for me to realize it in the middle of all the chaos, I know that too soon these little ones will be grown. I was trying to have the littlest babe, who is 16 months old today, sleep in the room with her brother and sister and just going to get her when she would wake up. For the last few nights she has gone to bed with us instead and I have to say it has been nice. I like feeling her little body curled up next to me, although usually by morning she is closer to her Dad, (she would have to be classified as a Daddy's girl I think).
A few years back we adopted a border collie mix from the pound. Dh actually picked him out and I was hoping they would bond. Well, the poor dog is scared to death of dh, but the other night we had a really bad thunder storm and the dog just jumped right up on his lap, 3 different times. And when dh went into his office he went around and got under the desk. You would really have to know how petrified this dog is of dh to know that he must have been just out of his mind when the storm hit.