I've decided to home school

I was informed a few of months ago that my sweet young son was struggling with reading.  After meeting with his teacher, and hearing her recommendations, I held it all together, smiled, and left.

The closer I got to the car…the tears filled my eyes and I completely lost it when I closed the car door. My little boy…..struggling…WHY? HOW? His older sisters are series book readers and have never been behind in any subject. Where did I go wrong with him? Was it because we moved schools? Was it because I went to nursing school? I felt a lot of guilt, and at that very moment I decided that I needed to do something. And I did.

I ordered home school materials and talked to all my friends. In just a few weeks of working with him, he improved so much! I won't lie and say that it was easy (for me) but, I CAN do this, I WILL do this, for my kids. Ethan is now reading chapter books and testing two grade levels higher in math (at times I feel like he is teaching me math…LOL!).

I’m not sure if the one-to-one instruction is just what he needed or if he is not getting the help that he needs at school but, whatever it is....it's working. 

I have enjoyed our teaching times and am considering to home school all the kids next year.  It will be a challenge but, I am looking forward to it. 

Big House......Clean House

I was always one of those people that said "the bigger the house, the more to clean" but, I was wrong.
A year and a half ago, our family moved, again. I never would have imagined having a 3,000+ square foot house for half the price of what we sold our 1,700sf, 15 year old fixer upper in Fla. so, six years ago, we jumped at the opportunity to get the biggest house we could find. HUGE mistake.
So, we moved……but, somehow I managed to gain two extra bathrooms, an extra bedroom, and an enormous yard. Although, the neighborhood, schools, yard, and front porch was just what we were looking for, one problem still remained…..How am I going to keep this house clean?
While I love the idea of a clean house, I’d rather spend the day sewing, chatting on Facebook or searching Pinterst than start cleaning my bathrooms……all five of them!
So, how did I do it???

I made myself a schedule.....Daily, Weekly, and Monthly.

Daily:
Morning:
Laundry
Make beds
Dishes
Vacuum

Evening:
Wipe down counters/toilets in bathrooms
Dishes/Counters/Kitchen table/Stove
Vacuum/sweep & mop floors
Put away toys, mail, etc.
Dining room table cleared and cleaned

Weekly (i try to spend less than an hour on these)
Monday: living room/play room clean and dust
Tuesday: run errands/grocery shopping, de clutter pantry
Wednesday: Kitchen: clean oven, microwave, fridge
Thursday: clean bathrooms/ showers/bedrooms/closets
Fridays: Catch up on any chores not done
Saturday: Clean out purse and car/plan my coupon and grocery lists

Monthly:
Dust blinds
Wash windows
Yard work
Baseboards
Reorganize closets

I am somewhat of a natural housekeeper anyway, but I have three active children and a nursing career, and I refuse to spend my days cleaning. There are lots of great advice out there and I was determined to be one of those moms that could keep a clean house in less than an hour a day. I’ve read books and taken suggestions from Pinterest to get myself to a happy medium and decided to see how much I could get done in 60 min. It was a struggle in the beginning. I was so happy today, to be getting it done before the timer went off.
I do have to give credit where credit is due: I say a prayer daily to keep me focused on being a good mom and housekeeper. And I can’t do it without the constant help from my wonderful husband and children for helping me daily by picking up after themselves.

Senioritis

I’m sitting here, in my last weeks of nursing school.......studying those last few chapters and having a really hard time concentrating.With graduation right around the corner, I almost wish I felt more excited about it but really, I am so over it!This must be what senioritis feels like. The senioritis that I thought I would never have.I still have so many chapters to cover but, right now all I want to do is sit and read a book or watch a good movie.Well, I actually am watching a movie while typing this, and trying to study- which probably isn’t the best combination.I think my brain has officially checked out…..

Snow worth it

Weird, unacceptable things have been happening around here as of late Monday evening. After the big ice storm, schools shut down for four days. By Friday at noon, I was getting a little stir crazy.

As I pondered thru the house I couldn’t come up with any good reasons to leave the house.

The refrigerator was full of enough groceries to last thru the weekend and the news keeps showing cars stranded on the side of the road but, I wanted to get out just for a moment. Just to get a change of scenery. But, still no good reason to leave the house until…..I went to make some coffee and noticed that I was out. Now, THAT is a good reason to get out.

So, instead of fighting the crowds at the grocery store for instant coffee grounds I decided to venture out for a venti anything. I was ready to drive up to a window and let someone wait on me for a change, especially a Starbucks!

But, when I finally made it there…..I was shocked to find that they were closed! And I could not believe it.

I sat there for a moment, wondering if I should attempt another Starbucks (there is one just down the road) but I decided not to. I almost hit the grocery store when I looked over and saw the really full parking lot. Nope, I don’t do busy grocery stores. It’s one of the few things have little patience for. Instead I just headed back home. Empty handed. BIG SIGH!

As I headed down the street (at 15 mph), I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful everything looked. The sparkling sheets of white snow and the laughter of kids sledding and playing in surrounding neighborhoods filled my view and I couldn’t help but smile, especially when I reached in my purse and found a package of Starbucks VIA instant coffee……ahhh, it what worth getting out.

Fall is finally here

Oh happy day, so glad it’s Friday! I took a brisk walk this morning to clear the cobwebs after dropping my kids off at school. This fall day could not be any more lovely, with bright blue skies, a gentle breeze, and turning leaves rustling in the trees. I plan to spend most of this weekend outdoors enjoying this autumn weather.

We took advantage of the warm day to get the leaves off of the driveway and walk and back into the yard… Hoping that they can be mowed instead of raked and bagged, we worked hard to spread the leaves around the yard as much as possible. The sad thing is there are still a lot of leaves in the trees!

So not a Stepford wife

Even though I have lots of days where I might not feel like it, this is the best time of my life. I have really hard days though. Days were the morning starts too early and I stumble around in my pjs all morning long. Days where I want to take that smiling housewife with pearls and heels and stab her with her unscratched stilettos. Cause that is not me. My floors are sticky my sink is full of dishes. Reality is I would much rather take the kids to the park and the library or play dress up and make cookies then wash dishes and sweep the floor. I do this and little by little the housework piles up.

I am not a ‘full time’ mom, but I am home 5 days a week with the kids. In essence I am a stay at home mom most of the time. For some reason, I have come up with this ridiculous ideal stay-at-home-mom in my head that I strive to be like. I love the idea of being the perfect mom and wife, like in Stepford, but who am I kidding???? They were robots!!!! I did notice that my entire demeanor and attitude change when I am not in scrubs and my hair all fixed versus if I just stay in my greasy hair and ratty clothes to run errands.

We all have frumpy days. Days where our energy levels are zapped, the house is atrocious and you feel overwhelmed. I call these frozen dinner days because you just want to stay home and do as little as possible. But this should NOT be the norm. More stressed? Certainly! Sleep deprived? Undoubtedly! I am plan Jane but, if I just wash my hair and wear something other than workout clothes (2 very easy goals to achieve) I think my household moral will improve! But as I said earlier, these are the best years of my life!!!!!

A Good Day

It’s hot, humid, and horribly sticky.
Just packed clothes for vacation.
While sitting on the porch, sipping on coffee..... I count my blessings:
1) quiet morning
2) Mike had two days off in a row
3) A clean house
4) A clean heart
5) A clean slate
6) A long, long talk with Lisa, where, among other things, she shared with me some lessons on criticism, perfectionism, and friendship. Our long distance relationship has grown such much and I am ever grateful for her in my life.
7) I've made a haven at home, one that welcomes big kids and little kids, both my own and the ones that come my way for a just a little while
8) Life is Good!

Merry Mommy

My kids have been home from school for a week now. I've personally loved the chance to sleep in and be lazy in the morning. It's nice not having to get up and get the kids ready for school. And the kids have been great so far. Almost every morning, they've left little surprises for me to find! Once they left a gallon of milk out on the table. Another day, they left all the couch cushions scattered throughout the house. They've left a roll of toilet paper unwound across the bathroom floor and a dozen plates with melted cheese on them sitting on the counter. They left me a snow boot sitting on the kitchen floor and every single toy they got for Christmas on the family room floor.
It's a toss-up as to which is worse - cleaning up the messes or getting up early.
But, today was different.
Today, when I got up, I stumbled into the kitchen to make some coffee and when I rubbed my eyes to focus, there I found it....NO mess. Just three little children palying video games and coloring with each other. For a minute, I thought I might be in the wrong house but instead I grabbed my cup of coffee, and counted blessings.
My kids are great!!!

Best of Both Worlds

I am lazy sometimes. Everyone needs time to pamper themselves and escape the crazy week at the office or appointments, deadlines, and organizing the house. When I am feeling lazy, I totally give into it...hey, I deserve it! I am a super busy working mom.

But nothing beats lazing around when it's raining outside.
As I look outside the window and watch the drops coming down, I remember why I always love the rain. It’s because I always associate my happy childhood with the rain. I used to love playing in the rain with my cousins and my friends. The rain always forced our family to stay indoors and just be with each other and mom would cook something great! When I grew older, the rain was the best reason to stay at home, take naps, watch a movie or get lost in a good book.

I am currently in Florida at my parents house and it is raining outside.....what a great treat to have both today. I think I will take full advantage.

I've got that summer feelin'

Several times recently I've said, "This summer, we need to..." and, it's already well into summer. Our summer got off to a slow start, and sometimes I feel like I'm waiting for it to get underway, but actually it is flying by….real fast. Once again…I sit here and wonder where the week went?
Our family went on vacation to Destin Beach, Florida and it was a lot of fun. I met a lot of nice folks, some from my neck of the woods here in Texas. I completely understand why people from Texas travel all the way to Florida for the beach, (sigh) and the weather….perfect. The tide was high and the waves were strong, it was funny to see the kids start out swimming in front of us and five minutes later they were twenty feet to the left. It wasn’t hard to spot us though, our big bright striped umbrella stuck out like a sore thumb next to those perfectly lined rented green ones. But as the week progressed, people wised up and we saw a mish mash of rented umbrellas and other types along the water's edge. Anyway it worked out because the kids knew exactly where we were at all times.

I have made it back from vacation, tropical-depression free. Well, I suppose the only depression I’m feeling now is the one that knows I have loads of laundry to do and a stack of mail to go through. So while I go tend to my life again, I will try to get unpacked (as it may sit here for a few more days) and get back to the reality of housework, busy kids activities, getting ready for school, and trying to stay active but cool on these hot Texas summer days. Before you know it, we will be packing again for another trip back to Florida, then it'll be time for school again.....well, let’s not go there.
Today it is 103 degrees so I will pour myself a glass of tea and attempt to start summer projects that I want to be doing, try not to think about what I should be doing and, make myself feel better about what I am actually doing. haha!

Is Summer Here Yet???

Let's Go Swimin' NOW!
Yes, it's that time of the month year again, when thoughts turn to sunshine, vacations and lazy afternoons spent outside by the pool with a good book and some lemonade. Where the best part of the day is when the kiddos are laughing and running and have pink sun kissed noses! I just love that!
Ahhh, that's right - summer is almost upon us and I can't wait!
As many of you know, 2009 has gone down around here about as smoothly as pea gravel pancakes and we're ready to say goodbye to Spring, no matter how many flushes it takes.

Makin' a list.....

I have a list....you know THE LIST....the ones that are always getting longer & longer....
The List of things TO-DO....
The GROCERY List...
The PARTY List...
The WHAT I NEED TO PACK List...
I've been thinking this week about the CRAZINESS of Life...sometimes it goes smoothly, sometimes it hits all the bumps in the road....
sometimes it's filled with GREAT things...sometimes the worst things....
Rush, Hurry, Cram, Speed, Get-it-done....Go, Go, Go! These are all the words that seem to show up on my list. And, I can't help but think I'm making the WRONG list....I'm truly thinking my List needs to be more like this....
Take time to do something "just because" today
Compliment & Encourage a Friend
Call someone you're missing and catch up with them
Send an email to a far away friend
Realize all the beauty around me
Smile, Laugh, and be filled with JOY
Say the words I LOVE YOU to everyone that I Love!
Be Thankful for everything (even a bad hair day)
Have FUN....it's okay to act six again...to sing at the top of my lungs to the radio, to dance to the beat in my heart, and to dream