Our Day Off

Wonderful Husband has been so busy lately that we haven't had a chance to spend any time with him except on our busy weekends. Today he was off of work, and we took full advantage. We started with a trip to the orthodontist where we learned that The Dancer will be getting Phase I braces, and that The Soccer Player will be getting her own in 4 or 5 months. Then, we headed to Bass Pro Shops. It sounds dorky, but it is one of our favorite places. And, for whatever reason, we always end up going when the weather is at its worst (today was rainy and cold). We had lunch and then took advantage of the Christmas fun they already have set up. FYI - they have Santa there in a very cute setting every night from 5-8 and you can get a free picture. He will also be there on Thanksgiving Day - might be a good idea to get the kids ot of the house while the turkey is cooking.

It was a super day!

The Bike Ride

It was a beautiful day today, so The Gals and I decided to go for a bike ride. We stopped off at the dock in our neighborhood to see the ducks, and then made our way to one of the tot lots near us. The Gals got to swing as high as they wanted to - which is a big deal lately.

Wonderful Husband and I went to see Avenue Q this afternoon. The show is part of a package of tickets we bought ourselves for our anniversary. We had no idea what to expect. All I can say is it was funny and wierd. If you get the chance to see it, I would, but warning - it is NOT for children or the prim and proper.

ECU/VT Game

We decided it was time to take The Gals to their first college football game. What better game to go to than the Virginia Tech/East Carolina game in Greenville. They had a blast! They totally threw themselves into the whole excitement of it. I remember when The Soldier was their age. We used to take him to games all the time. He was a member of the Hokie Kids Club and the Pirate Kids Club. He loved it. There was something really special about being able to share the same thing with The Gals. And - the best part was the fact that there were two of them. One of the perks of having twins is that they kept each other occupied instead of us having to do it. Not to mention the fact that dressing them up into the two different teams was great. Back when we took The Soldier to this game, he had to wear half ECU and half VT.

Happy Halloween

Well, another Halloween bites the dust. We headed over to our Dear Onofrys' neighborhood this year to do our Trick-or-Treating. The Englisbys joined us which made it even more fun. While the dads headed out with the kids, the moms sat at the end of Dear Katie's driveway passing out candy. Looks like we have started a new tradition.

Disgusting!

OK - dissecting the crayfish last week was one thing. We all thought that was cool. But, today, we get to CC and find out that they have "owl pellets". No, it isn't what you think. It is worse. They had little balls of owl stomach contents. The Gals had to break them apart and pull out bones, beaks and whatever else they could find. They matched them up to a chart they had to see what animals they came from.

A few of the boys thought it was great, but for the most part - well, let's just say that we finished this science project quickly.

Crayfish

Today, at our Classical Conversations class, The Gals got to dissect crayfish. They loved it! What kid doesn't like plucking out cool looking eyeballs and seeing what a tiny heart looks like. Very stinky - but they didn't care. Best part - bringing them home to show Dad.

Sorry

I know I haven't updated my blog in a while. After the MOPS Convention, I hit the ground running with the women's retreat for our church. I was asked to speak on the Joy of Others, so I had to spend some time figuring out what I was going to say. It went great! Then, I had to start focusing on helping with the Mothers of Multiples yard sale for my multiples club. Finished that last weekend. This week has been a time of recovery. With school and MOPS and getting The Soldier ready to leave, there just hasn't been much time. I promise to do better.

Here we are - the wonderful ladies of Zone 13 for MOPS International. We had our annual MOPS Convention this year in Nashville. It was so awesome to get to spend time with all of them. We never get to do that since we are all spread out across Virginia. You can tell by our faces that this was taken the first night. The bags under our eyes didn't pop up until the next day.

I cannot begin to tell you how great it is to have this time with the over 3000 MOPS moms to talk, worship and learn. Matt Redman, Christy Nockuls, Matthew West and Natalie Grant all sang with voices of angels. It was like having my very own live version of KLOVE.

Science Museum

Today, we met our Dear Onofrys at the science museum. I had not been there since we joined. The kids loved it - ran around like crazy people not knowing what to go to first. Who can blame them? There's space stuff and electricity stuff and ocean stuff, and more.

Heaven On Wheels

We took our vacation home to Myrtle Beach this week for our first camping trip with it. It was actually my first time ever camping at the beach. I cannot tell you how wonderful it was!

We stayed at Pirateland Campground. Our campsite was directly on the other side of the sand dunes, so we could hear the waves crashing 24/7. It doesn't get any better than that. Grandma and Granddad were there, too, in their new fancy-schmancy camper. It was nice being able to go visit them - they even babysat one night so we could go on a date.

Of course, we still had to do school while we were there, so every morning we got up, ate, took our morning walk (or ride - we rented a golf cart for a few days), and then The Soldier and Wonderful Husband would leave the camper while The Gals and I did our work. As you can see from the pictures, Scarlett watched over us to make sure we stayed on task.

The Dancer's request for the week was to play mini golf, so we did that. And, The Soccer Player and The Soldier wanted to do go-carts, so we went to the Nascar place to do that.

The camper was great - even with sand everywhere. And my pink flamingo party lights absolutely added to the goofy white-trash trailer-park feel I was going for!

We are already planning our next trip. We made some wonderful memories this week. And, there will be many more to come.

First Day of Classical Conversations

Today was our first day of our Classical Conversations group. Let me tell you, after 3 weeks of getting up when we wanted and doing school on our own schedule, 7:00 came very early this morning. The Gals have 9 kids in their class - including another set of twins. I sat in the class with them and watched as the teacher (they are called "tutors") taught them their memory work, played games, did a science experiment, some artwork and other stuff. They are learning about Africa, and Latin and some math (skip counting). They also had a Show and Tell time during snack where each kid did a presentation (CC is big on oral presentations). I had brought a book with me to read, but I only got through about 5 pages because I needed to see how she went about doing it so I could follow up at home next week. Then, next Friday, we go back in, they go back over the Week I stuff and move on to Week II.

After class ended, we all went outside and ate lunch, and then they got to play. I got to talk to some of the other moms which was really nice. I had been concerned that the other people in our group were mainly from another church that is not near us so no one would live nearby, but as it turns out there are quite a few who live not too far away. One even has two teenage boys (nice for us to be able to commiserate together). So, my prayers were answered. Definitely lets me know we are on the right path.

P.S.

I realized I forgot to add that I have also signed The Gals up for a homeschool PE class which meets once a week starting Sept. 17, as well as an art class and Spanish. So, we will be busy.

And, to answer your question, yes, of course I keep thinking - Man! In a few days I could have been sending them off to school and having my days alone again. I just keep reminding myself that that would be selfish, and this is more important to me than that.

Another Week Down

Well, we have successfully made it through another week of homeschooling. Tomorrow is our first Classical Conversations group day, but I don't really have to do anything but sit there, so I am done for the week.

After 3 weeks, I have to say I think it has gone pretty well. Don't get me wrong - there have been a few tears. And a few bad attitudes. But, for the most part they have seemed to be listening. Are they learning? No idea yet. Our schedule has been:

* Prayer Requests
* Pledge of Allegiance
* Opening Prayer (The Gals switch off between leading Pledge and praying)
* Math
* Language Arts
* More Vocabulary Stuff
* More Language Arts (can you guess what my favorite subject is?)

We have done crafts and special worksheets. And, they did a presentation of a poem they had to memorize for their dad. Once these CC classes start up, we will be adding that memory work.

Since The Soldier hasn't left for Basic yet, I have sent him and The Gals on field trips once a week. Yesterday was the Science Museum, which we joined (FYI - they have a reciprocal agreement w/science museum in Baltimore - you can find out who else on their site). They got to see an IMAX movie on the coral reef and see a dissected shark.

The biggest surprise has been this - I assumed that, after spending the entire day together, The Gals would be sick of me and all over Wonderful Husband when he got home from work. I had been looking forward to the evening when they would all be together, and I could hide out and watch some HGTV and not talk to anyone for a while. Has this happened? No! In fact, if anything, they have started to cling to me more. And, it isn't like WH hasn't tried. But, after about 5 minutes of me lying down watching Property Virgins, The Dancer usually slinks down the stairs and joins me. A few minutes after that, The Soccer Player comes along. So, the 3 of us are crammed - "snuggling" - on the couch while WH is getting some alone time to himself upstairs. I am still trying to decide if this is a blessed byproduct or a curse.

The Intruder

Look what tried to hide out in our garage!

Busch Gardens - AGAIN!

Once again we headed to Busch Gardens with our Dear Onofrys for what may be our last fun day of the year there. It ended up really storming, but not before we had hit a bunch of rides. The Gals even rode The Big Bad Wolf roller coaster - which is being retired and torn down soon.

Classical Conversations

Last night, The Gals and I (along with Wonderful Husband) had a meet and greet with the Classical Conversations homeschooling group I joined this year. I have to admit I have been having doubts about the decision to join this group. They moved our meeting day from Tuesdays to Fridays - which I had planned on being our Fun Day. Then, they moved our meeting location from my home church to a new church for budget reasons. Every time I turned around, it seemed like there was something popping up telling me to get out. But, after meeting all these people last night and being reminded of how wonderful this program is, there is no doubt in my mind that I have made the right decision for us. I had visited a group in the spring, and had forgotten how much I enjoyed it, and how much I think The Gals will benefit. There are eight kids in the Journeyman group The Gals are in - six of whom are girls. And, they will be giving presentations to their class every week and doing a family presentation to the group probably twice this year. I love that! I have always hated speaking in front of a group (yes, I do it now all the time, but it took me 40 years to get to this point). I am sure starting this at a young age will help them to be come the wonderful, powerful women God has planned them to be.

We have been working hard this week. I am really liking most of the supplemental curriculum I picked. It is pretty cool teaching Language Arts and using David and Goliath as our story. Or, watching The Gals learn the concept of multiplication.

I am excited to see how this year goes.

Our Classroom

Some of you have asked me what our classroom looks like that we are using, so I decided to post some pictures.

We had our first day in there this morning. Papa is coming in a couple of weeks to put in shelves in the closet that he built for us so I can store all our stuff.

The flowers on the lattice are actually hot glued to clothespins so we can hang all the girls fabulous pictures and projects.

Scarlett joined us. We told her as long as she didn't interfere, she could stay. So she laid on the floor and learned a little about multiplication.

Jackie's Visit

We have been busy the past couple weeks hanging out with my sister, Jackie, and her family. She is back in the States. It has been so wonderful having her and her family here. We went to Carolina Beach with my ma and sister, Jenny, to celebrate my nephew's birthday at Chuck E. Cheese and hang out on the beach. We also got to visit the aquarium. The kids did not want our time together to end - and neither did I.

The Fountains

A couple days ago, The Gals and I met our Dear Onofrys at a local mall so the kids could play in the water fountains. The Soccer Player was not having a good day, so she spent most of her time sitting with me on the bench. I remembered the first time I took them to the fountains. They were probably two years old. They loved it then. And, I was so happy all the girls still had just as much fun six years later. Maybe they aren't growing up as fast as I think.

Let Me Take My Teeth Out First

Once again, the very generous Grandma and Granddad allowed us to use their house at the lake for the week while they were out of town. And believe me - we used it. My sisters and their families came for 5 days. My mom was even able to join us for a bit. After they left, the Playgroup Girls all joined us for the I-don't-know-how-many years in a row. On Saturday, we did a combo birthday/graduation celebration for The Soldier. His Godparents were both able to join us for the day which made it really special.

We are completely exhausted. But, I have to tell you - I cannot remember the last time I laughed as hard as I did this past week. My stomach still hurts - course that could be from the fact that I was able to do a 360 on the kneeboard. (Three times if you must know.) Wonderful Husband said he is going to enter me into the Senior Citizens Olympics. Very funny!

Our Vacation House

Wonderful Husband and I picked up our new vacation home this past weekend. We are really excited about trying it out in a few weeks. I want to thank my beautiful models for helping to show it off.

The Movie

So, what would any normal woman on the wrong side of 40 do after spending six hours at a swim meet? She would go to the midnight premiere of the new Harry Potter movie with her son, of course. The Soldier and I headed to the nearby movie theater last night. I am not a big fan. I haven't read any of the books. But, The Soldier and I have seen all the movies - although never like this. I brought my camera with me, but The Soldier was not very happy about that and asked me not to take pictures of all the faux Harrys. It was so crowded. We got in line around 10:30, and by 10:50 the line for our side of the theater was three lines thick and then went out the door. There were people of all ages there, so I didn't stand out - except for the fact that I didn't have a Hogwarts emblem on my shirt. The things we do to spend time with our children!

The Birthday Weekend

Once again we headed to Grammy's house to help her celebrate her birthday. The weather was great. We got to spend a lot of time in the pool - and so did Maggie.

That's What She Said

We headed to the lake this 4th of July weekend with our Dear Onofrys. Grandma arranged for the girls to go visit the horse stables near her house, so all five girls - yes, FIVE - got to see and feel and feed the horses there. They loved that. Granddad took Wonderful Husband and Kyle fishing Saturday morning on his new boat. WH caught the biggest striped bass he has ever caught. All together, they got four keepers that have been cleaned and are ready for us to eat for dinner when we go back in a couple of weeks. The night of the 4th, we decided not to ride the boat over to the big fireworks because of the crowds and the kids. Instead, we sat on the dock and had our own personal fireworks show across the lake that someone had obviously spent a lot of time and money putting together. No idea who it was - but it was really nice. We gave them a big round of applause when they were done. I hope they heard us.

My Buddies

I spent the past weekend with my buddies - Donna and Anita - from college. We all met at Anita's place in Mathews, Virginia on the Chesapeake Bay. We normally try to get together once a year, and this was one of the most relaxing trips we have ever taken. I love these ladies. We have known each other for a very long time. There is something so wonderful about knowing where we were and seeing how far we have come. They will always be a part of my family - whether they like it or not.

The Chef

This afternoon, The Chef was sworn in to the U.S. Army. He is going to train to be a cook - I think they call it Food Specialist. So, now I guess I will have to refer to him as The Soldier. He doesn't leave for Basic Training until the beginning of November. I guess that gives us all plenty of time to get used to the idea.

Blue Toes

Ten years ago today, Wonderful Husband and I were in Hawaii getting married. Our wedding was on the beach, and I got married in my barefeet. For whatever reason, I had blue nail polish on, so every year at this time since, I always paint my toes blue. It's dorky, and I do get some strange looks, but it doesn't matter. All I have to do is look at them, and it takes me back to the sand and the sunset and the wonderful time we had.

I can't wait to see what kind of looks I get when I am 80 and have blue toes. Someone might rush me to the ER thinking something is wrong. And, of course, I'll be back in Hawaii - and they'll blame it on dementia.

Father's Day

Wonderful Husband decided he would like to spend Father's Day at Busch Gardens. He couldn't have picked a better day. The weather was surprisingly nice - not too hot - and the crowd was light. He and The Chef hit many roller coasters, while The Gals rode as many rides as they could. I am like an old lady - standing by the stroller watching everyone ride. I can't help it. I don't do roller coasters. And, I don't do anything that drops - which rules out most of the water rides there. And, yes, I know that I have a bunch of pictures on my blog from BG, but I can't help it. Fun is Fun. :)

We are all beat. The kids fell asleep in the car on the way home. I have a feeling WH is going to be taking a nap. And that's OK - it's his day!

Go 'Canes!

Well, tonight was The Gals' first swim meet. They had a blast. And, considering it was their first competition, I think they did very well. It was just so great to see them get ready to go, and to cheer them on. I am sure next week will be even better - now that we know what we are doing.

This Is It!

I sent off my Notice of Intent To Homeschool this morning. There's no turning back now! (Well, there is, actually, but I was going for dramatic effect.) I am actually pretty surprised I was able to get all my paperwork together, and put together a curriculum description (thanks, Jenn). If I could do that, I can do anything.

I attended my first homeschooling convention Saturday. It was nice. They had a huge room of exhibitors where you could buy textbooks, etc., and as I looked around I thought - wow! This is awesome. It is amazing how much help and support is out there. How many different types of curriculum - it is great.

This morning begins our adventure. We are doing Math and Language Arts over the summer - kind of a trial run. Plus, I don't want to have to spend all that time reviewing in the fall.

I have had a lot of people ask me about homeschooling. They normally always say at some point - "I couldn't do it." And, they're right. Because you have to have the desire. I by no means think this is going to be easy. I by no means think that I won't have days where I go screaming from the house as soon as Wonderful Husband gets home. And, I by no means think I know everything there is to know. That's the difference between a mom who thinks she can homeschool, and the one who thinks she can't. The desire overrides the doubts.

Now, I may be writing on here in a year that I am done with it - it didn't work out. I'll be OK with that. But, if I don't try how will I ever know?

School's Out!

Today was the last day of school for The Gals. I wanted to mark the occasion of their last day of public school, so I got with a couple of the bus stop moms, and we had silly string and balloons and popsicles. As soon as they got off the bus, all us moms let the silly string rip. Course, then we shared some cans with them. There was also a bucket of water and some balls. They could dip them in so they could get each other - and us - wet. Some of you might think I am so clever for thinking of this, but for those of you who live in my area you know that this is a pretty common occurrence in our neck of the woods on the last day. Our "party" was pretty tame compared to most.

Afterwards, we headed to the pool for a few hours. We are all exhausted from this busy day!