Our Blessings from Homeschooling

There are many reasons why we love homeschooling and why we answered God's call to do it.  Here are some of the many ways that we have been blessed by choosing to keep our children at home...

• I have one boy who loves to sleep-- his body just needs it!  Today, Tank didn't get up until after 10am.  I am so thankful that my growing 5yo can sleep for over 13 hours if need be.  (Now if this would just rub off on the other two, I'd be set!).
  
  


• Since we don't have to rush off to catch the bus or wait in the drop-off lane at school, Dash can have three loads of cereal in the morning.
  
  


• I'm around my boys enough to know that they like to say "loads" instead of "servings".
  
  


• My husband does not have a traditional Mon through Fri job.  I love that the boys get to spend both quality and quantity time with him!  Today they are planning to add a roof and other fun stuff to their backyard fort.  And it's only a Wednesday!!!
  
  


• I woke up the other day to find my early riser (Dash) quietly doing math.  He actually did 4 days' worth and tried to get me to let him have the rest of the week off. :-)  Nice try, buddy, but how about no math for just tomorrow?
  
  


• I think it's funny that I have to yell at the kids I mean it!  No toys, no swords, and NO BOOKS in bed! 
  
  


• When Tank and I were at the grocery store yesterday, we saw one of his favorite fruits-- clementine oranges!  We then spent the next 10 minutes talking about one of our favorite read-alouds last year My Father's Dragon.  He corrected me when I said the dragon liked the tangerines on the island.  No mommy, I remember, he liked some kind of plant and thought the tangerines were disgusting!  Elmer (the boy) liked it though.  He was right, I was wrong...and I was happy to be wrong for once.
  
  


• The boys have enough time after our lessons to hunt for crawfish, catch lizards and play yard golf.
  
  


• I think I'm having more fun learning than they are!  We just finished reading a bunch of Greek Myths.  Sure, I read The Iliad in college and new about many of the myths, but how could I have never heard of some of the other ones?  (I was most surprised to read the one about Arachni...very cool.)
  
  


• Homeschooling allowed Tank to start Kindergarten when he was ready...at 4.5...and in JANUARY of last year.
  
  


• Field trips are a lot less crowded and a lot more enjoyable when you can go on a weekday...and after noon when the school buses have left to take the other kids back to their schools.
  
  


• Oh, and I've made many friends here at HSB-- and even met several of y'all IRL!!!

My days are definitely not perfect and I have tons of room for improvement. When things don't go quite like I planned or the kids are being difficult (or maybe *I'm* being the difficult one!), it is so easy to get discouraged.  It is in these times that I try to count my blessings.  There is no blessing too big or too small to remember.  And now that I have this little list, I can look back on it down the road and be encouraged. 

How have you been blessed by homeschooling?  (Be sure to write it down!)

blogthings

While reading TC's blog, I couldn't resist finding out what my inner haircolor should be.  Sorry about the...uhhh...undergarments this cartoony person is wearing.  It's not ME!  And if for some reason my hair is ever purple, I promise to keep clothed.

 

Your Hair Should Be Purple

Intense, thoughtful, and unconventional. You're always philosophizing and inspiring others with your insights.

What's Your Funky Inner Hair Color?

Then I just couldn't resist finding out what kind of soda I am:

 

You Are Coke

A true original and classic, you represent the best of everything you can offer. Just the right amount of sweet, just the right amount of energy... you're the life of the party. Your best soda match: Mountain Dew Stay away from:Dr Pepper

What Kind of Soda Are You?

That's a bit problematic though.  I'm married to Mr. Dr Pepper!  I actually used to like DP, but after 10+ years of heavy DP usage by hubby, I cannot stand to even take a sip of it.  Even one sip makes me want to blech! (and that's not belch).

Oi veh, these blogthings are starting to get out of control...

 

You Have A Type A Personality

You are hyper, energetic, and always on the move You tend to succeed at everything you attempt And if you don't succeed at first, you quickly climb your way to the top! You could be called a workaholic, but you also make time for fun As long as it's high energy and competitive, you're interested You have the perfect personality for business and athletic success

Do You Have a Type A Personality?

The only thing I have to say about this one is DUH!  Anyone who knows me personally could tell you this.  But I like to look at it as more of a Type A+ Personality. :-)

Apparently, I am also an espresso, will live until I'm 82, am more mild than wild, and am only 47% Taurus (even though my b-day is in April).  And if I could get the settings right on my laptop, these would all be linked to the appropriate quiz.  But I am resisting the Type A personality in me that would normally save this as a draft, go to a different computer and then redo all the above quizzes to get the links just right.  Such amazing self-restraint as this is what gives me that "plus" in A+!

Don't even ask how long I've been doing this tonight...  I'm tired, need sleep, and would still love to have a cup of coffee.

Do y'all have anything interesting to share???

poo-poo

Today started off in a mighty and grand way!  Dozer (2yo) looked at me with his pale skin and bright blue eyes.  Then he just stood there.  His skin started blushing bright red underneath that glowing stack of yellow hair.  Ahhh...the first signs of going poo!  Yeeeeeeehaw.

An interesting thing then happened.  He ran to the potty and motioned for me to take off his diaper (strange how the boy who can fix his own cereal, as well as waffles in the toaster can't take off his own diaper...).  So I plopped him up on the porcelain throne.  He smiled, he strained, he tried to escape.  Then...he did it.  Plop.  Blop.  Smile.  SUCCESS!!!

We wiped, we flushed, we high-fived!  The big boys came running in to see what the celebration was all about.  My baby went poopy in the potty!  HOORAY!

I was smiling to myself as I thought about my little baby doing such a grown up thing. :-)  Just at that moment, little Dozer ran in to me crying.  Pointing.  Pointing into the living room.

I walked into the living room to find two little gifts from my littlest man.  Of the smelly variety.  I'm glad he squatted on the floor instead of on the carpet!  Yuppers, two fresh pieces of poop just waiting for mommy.  Still warm too.  Lovely thought, isn't it?

Oh well, I wasn't ready for him to be potty trained anyway.  I'm of the wait til he's 3 and then knock it out in a week mindset.  I guess I should also be thankful that 1.) he didn't hand me this special gift and that 2.) I didn't walk into the room wondering where in the world these little brown footsteps came from!!!

Yucky.

But it's worth it to be a mom, isn't it?  I just love my boys.  Clean, muddy or smelly, they're ALL MINE. :-)

Texas: Calls Needed to Support Homeschooler Access to Exams

Hi fellow Texans!  I just received this from HSLDA.  Take action right now!

Marsha

Texas: Calls Needed to Support Homeschooler Access to Exams

Dear HSLDA members and friends:

An important bill, H.B. 1844, has been introduced by Representative
Charlie Howard. This bill requires public school districts to publish
the dates of testing for the PSAT to homeschoolers and allow
homeschoolers to take AP tests.

We have had reports from our members in the past that they have been
denied access to these tests. This bill will remedy the situation.
H.B. 1844 will likely be considered by the House Public Education
Committee on Tuesday, March 27, 2007. Your calls are needed now to
ensure the committee will pass this bill.

REQUESTED ACTION

Please call as many members of the House Public Education Committee as
possible, and give them this message:

"Please vote in favor of H.B. 1844, introduced by Rep. Howard. This
bill will end the discrimination against homeschool students seeking
to take college entrance exams and PSAT and AP testing."

HOUSE PUBLIC EDUCATION COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

Rep. Rob Eissler -- 512-463-0797 (Chairman)
Rep. Bill Zedler --512-463-0374 (Vice Chairman)
Rep. Dan Branch -- 512-463-0367
Rep. Harold V. Dutton, Jr. -- 512-463-0510
Rep. Scott Hochberg -- 512-463-0491
Rep. Anna Mowery -- 512-463-0608
Rep. Dora Olivo -- 512-463-0494
Rep. Diane Patrick -- 512-463-0624
Rep. Dianne White Delisi -- 512-463-0630

To review the text of this bill you can go to:
http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=3933 .

Thank you for you calls to help homeschool students.

Sincerely,

Christopher J. Klicka
Senior Counsel

My new avatar and an eternal question

While I shall miss the pic of hubby and I at the Great Wall, this new avatar is nice.  It's a pic of David and I from my mom's b-day par-tay.  Thanks, Coco, for fixing it for me...it looks much less washed out than the color version!  So no more gangsta look for us.  You likeeeeeee? 

I've gotten into the very very very bad habit of staying up late.  It is 1am and I'm tired, but not as tired as I should be.  There is something about the peace and quiet in the house after the kids are in bed. 

Of course, I greatly regret my choice when morning comes and my head is pounding as Dozer climbs in my bed and says Come ooooooonnnnn mommmmyyyyy!!!!!  He's most likely eaten breakfast already (dry cereal that he can get out of the cabinet)...so I think he just gets bored.  His choice of playmate is an unfortunate by-product of too much spoiling by yours truly...  Did I mention that he's cute though?  And it's hard to resist his charms?  It's bad enough when I fall off the child training wagon, let alone the SELF-training wagon!

Well, I guess I should go.  Please pray for dh's uncle.  Aunt Lena died last night after a lengthy battle with cancer.  I am unsure of her salvation.  She was a very "good" person...nice, funny, FUN.  But the Bible says that there is only ONE way to heaven...through Jesus Christ.  Not of ourselves.  Not of our works.  Not of our personality.  Only through CHRIST! 

*sigh* 

One of the greatest gifts you can leave your children and family is the absolute knowledge that you have given your life to Jesus Christ.  If I were to die right this very moment, could you be sad for me if you KNEW without a doubt that I was in heaven and in the presence of Almighty God?

Where will you spend eternity?  Have you done all that you can to show your children the way?

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:  Not of works, lest any man should boast.
~Ephesians 2:8,9

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
~Romans 10:9,10

Besides The Holy Bible (KJV), I have found this resource to be very helpful with my children...as well as my Wednesday night Masters Club class.

 

Question for you CA people

We're planning a trip out to the LA area to visit my brother from April 30th-ish to May 5th-ish. 

We're tentatively planning to spend a day at the beach, a day at Knott's Berry Farm, and possibly drive down to SeaWorld.  Maybe a day at Disneyland?  I don't know.  It makes me tired just thinking about all the walking...but the kids would LOVE it. 

Any other suggestions?  I have never really been to any of the national or state parks over there.  We just need something that is KID friendly.  The big boys are pretty good about keeping up with hiking and such, but 2yo Dozer is getting a bit heavy to be carrying all over the place.

In other news, Spring is most definitely here!  The cars and driveway are yellow and green and my eyes are watery and my nose is stuffy and runny and this is getting to be a very long run-on sentence. 

We also spent the morning pumping mud out of the septic tank.  The boys thought it was totally fun while David and I were less than enthusiastic.  I know, y'all really wish you were here. 

Not to worry, we weren't wading through raw sewage or something stinky like that... it was in the cleaned water tank but still... ewwww...  Nothing like the prospect of spending $8K on a new system to get in there and pump out a little mud!  We should be good until next year.  The flooding last week really messed things up.

Okay, time for supper.  Don't forget to tell us what we should do in CA!

Overheard today...

Tank (5) bounds into the bedroom.  He excitedly tells his big brother (7): 

You know what?!  When I turn my head to the side like this (turns head), then my eyes stay turned to the side!  And then when I turn it like this (turns head the other direction), my eyes are still on the side!!!  I don't know why it does that!!!

They are both currently in a state of...weirdness.  Yes, weirdness is a good word (and I'm sure it will be a lifelong state).  But curious too.  I haven't explained to them the why's of such an odd occurence.  I don't know if I ever will either.  It has been too fun watching them turn their heads to the side with their eyes staying focused on one position! 

All morning long, tuuuuurn the head, looooook to the side, tuuuuuurn the head, looook to the side... :-) 

Who needs TV or the zoo?  I have my kids to entertain me!!!  Oh, and they get that stuff from their dad's side of the family. hehehee...

Birthday bashes, boogers and being a bum

Last week was my own dear mommy's 60th birthday!  We threw her a humongo birthday party that had lots of Korean food, cake, friends, all my sib's and in-law's in attendance, and even a pinata. 

Weird, I know, but it was fun...and my mom looked too cute whacking that big ole bear that looked like it was strung up on a noose (in the church fellowship hall, no less!).

Here's a pic of my mom back when she was in her 20s.  She was a professional singer back in the day.  Beautiful, no?

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

 

A great time was had by all, except for moi.  Well, it's not that it wasn't fun but that I was SICK.  Can you believe that as soon as I got there, I started feeling odd, bleh, and then just bad?  Yup, the FLU.  I spent the entire weekend laying on the couch and being absolutely miserable.   I tried to hide it though...

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos
Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos
Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

(My mom is on the left.)

So we are now back home and trying to catch up on things...School has yet to be one of them though as all three kidlets have been sick all week.  *sigh*  Fever, boogers, fever, coughing, fever, chest congestion, fever, boogers...  But I'm so very thankful that we are finally getting better!  Sitting on the couch and laying around in bed gets old after a while (I never thought I'd say that!).  Besides, it makes me feel like a bum.

A couple other things wandering through my mind:

* Be sure to check out the HSB Literary Society-- aka book club!  We just started our first discussion on chapters 1-3 of Ishmael by E.D,E,N. Southworth.  We'd love to have y'all join the discussion!

* Have I mentioned that I love my hubby?  He is the bestesterest daddy.  The boys have been amusing themselves the past couple of days with a new "just because" gift from daddy.  They each got their own Craftsman Tape Measure!  This is right up there with the shovels we got them for Christmas one year.  Besides measuring, estimating, and practicing practical math skills, you can return them to any Sears store for a free replacement!  We've returned several shovels the past couple of years and had no problems getting them replaced.  That's what we love about the Craftsman line of hand tools from Sears...boys can get pretty rough with their tools!

* Gena (TOSpublisher) is having a photo contest for a new e-book.  Besides fame, you can also win a little fortune with a gift certificate at The Old Schoolhouse Store!

*  Can anyone recommend a good cookbook for cooking light?  I need normal food (no gourmet here) without too many ingredients.  Needs to be family and picky hubby friendly.  David's good cholesterol levels are too low and I need to adjust our diet.  Actually, this is a GREAT thing since it's the exact incentive he needs to try to eat better.  I am happy to report that he's been working out every day since then, though!  (I'm happily cheering him on from the sidelines...while I eat my thin mints and drink my coffee that is deliciously laden with two spoons of sugar and a healthy dollop of Vanilla Almond Parfait creamer). :-)