When we made the shift from homeschooling to enrolling our three bigs in the local public school last year, I felt like a failure. In the weeks between registering our children and them starting class, I worried and fretted over what this meant for their futures, and how they would be treated by the school system and their peers, as well as more mundane concerns like getting up and out the door every day and school clothes and supplies.
I haven't blogged much over this last school year, and what I did write didn't address the kids' schooling. This year has been a roller coaster in many ways, but the kids' school has been a blessedly stable, positive experience. The twins' teacher was wonderful, and my dd's teacher was reasonably good. They are all now reading, which is a huge, huge improvement. My dd is now getting the additional help and support she needs to overcome her newly-diagnosed learning disability.
It is wonderful to now have other caring adults invested in my children's education. Homeschooling is an excellent option for many families, and the season we spent schooling together was good in many ways. But with my dh traveling extensively, dd having an undiagnosed learning disability, and three littles home, too, I just couldn't continue.
School began yesterday. My 9yodd is in 4th grade, and the twins are in the same 3rd grade classroom. 5yods begins kindergarten next Monday, and went in for an evaluation this afternoon. So far we like all the kids' teachers, and have high hopes of having another very successful school year.
And when I hear my dd read a book to me, or listen to the twins quiz each other on their spelling words, or see my 5yods write his name, I see them succeeding--and I am grateful.
Showing posts with label how we do it. Show all posts
Showing posts with label how we do it. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
I'm feeling inspired
My friend Chautona has a lovely new crafting nook I'm drooling over...
I need to confront the storage nightmare hidden in the under-stairs closet, where I keep all my crafting supplies. A significant part of the issue is that other items are stored there, too, like all the vhs tapes we no longer watch, the homeschooling items we no longer use, and waaaayyyyyy too many scrapbooking supplies.
Of course, in order to keep peace and harmony in our home, I can't really work on this until dh goes out of town for at least an overnight. When I sort through this disaster, I'll need to spread out...and his blood pressure doesn't do well with that kind of mess. ;)
I'd love to have a permanent place to craft, but at this point our home doesn't have a good place for me to claim. Having the under-stairs closet space as storage is great, though, and I want to work on setting it up to be easily accessible. I'll likely need to do some ruthless sorting and tossing--not easy, given my pack rat tendencies.
One of my biggest current issues is my need for some more albums in which to put completed pages. I've got probably 2 to 3 albums worth of pages that need to be journaled and put into albums. Definitely something to plan on doing in the near future.
I have too much paper--and the shelving that I could use to store it so I can actually see what I have isn't in place. To put that in, though, I'll have to remove the bookcase that's currently in the closet, storing all my scrapbooking idea books, magazines, and leftover homeschooling materials.
Hmmm....lots to plan, lots to think about. I'll post before and after pictures when I get to the point of actually getting going on the project.
I need to confront the storage nightmare hidden in the under-stairs closet, where I keep all my crafting supplies. A significant part of the issue is that other items are stored there, too, like all the vhs tapes we no longer watch, the homeschooling items we no longer use, and waaaayyyyyy too many scrapbooking supplies.
Of course, in order to keep peace and harmony in our home, I can't really work on this until dh goes out of town for at least an overnight. When I sort through this disaster, I'll need to spread out...and his blood pressure doesn't do well with that kind of mess. ;)
I'd love to have a permanent place to craft, but at this point our home doesn't have a good place for me to claim. Having the under-stairs closet space as storage is great, though, and I want to work on setting it up to be easily accessible. I'll likely need to do some ruthless sorting and tossing--not easy, given my pack rat tendencies.
One of my biggest current issues is my need for some more albums in which to put completed pages. I've got probably 2 to 3 albums worth of pages that need to be journaled and put into albums. Definitely something to plan on doing in the near future.
I have too much paper--and the shelving that I could use to store it so I can actually see what I have isn't in place. To put that in, though, I'll have to remove the bookcase that's currently in the closet, storing all my scrapbooking idea books, magazines, and leftover homeschooling materials.
Hmmm....lots to plan, lots to think about. I'll post before and after pictures when I get to the point of actually getting going on the project.
Monday, March 9, 2009
This has been the weekend of the dead vehicle
So, last Wednesday my Chrysler van died after small group. We had a caravan of three vehicles shuttling home me, my friend who was staying over at my place, and my six kids. Dh thought he could probably fix it pretty easily, so we just left it parked at my pastor's house until dh got back into town on Friday.
We have a back-up Toyota van but the battery was dead, and it needs to have brake work done before it can be safely driven. Plus the tags expired at the end of February and it's only insured for storage, not for driving, so completely undriveable until those issues were dealt with.
While dh was driving back from Nevada Friday afternoon, his Ford work truck started blowing blue smoke. He turned around and went back to a town to have it looked at, but they couldn't figure it out. He finally decided to just go ahead and drive back to Salt Lake and made it okay.
Saturday morning and early afternoon were eaten up by getting the Chrysler van towed back to our house and dh doing a bunch of troubleshooting. He decided we should have the dealer work on it at 3:30 in the afternoon, so I called and had it towed to the Chrysler dealer.
Sunday we didn't go to church, since we couldn't all fit in dh's truck and he wasn't feeling well. I can't drive the truck, because I'm not an employee. Dh took the truck by Jiffy Lube in the afternoon, on his way back from picking up groceries for me and the kids. Jiffy Lube discovers there's a front differential leak (whatever that means), which they can't deal with.
Dh parks his truck at home and takes a cab to the airport, where he's rented a (very nice) SUV so he can drive back to Nevada. He takes off at about 5:00 in the evening.
This morning I called the Ford dealer and had dh's truck towed there, as well as passing on dh's list of the issues and his contact info. Thankfully, dh's company will be paying for all repairs.
Then I got a call from the Chrysler dealer with a complete diagnostic and repair estimate. *faint* I note down everything and call dh at the mine site to get direction. Call back the Chrysler dealer--a couple times--to confirm exactly what and how dh wants things done. (Sometimes it's a blessing having a mechanic dh, sometimes....not so much...)
By this time, the tow truck is here for dh's truck. I go outside, chat with the driver while the little guys watch out the front window.
Then I call the Toyota dealer, arrange for the Toyota van to get towed, and confirmed the issues needing to be dealt with on email with dh.
Waiting on the tow truck for the Toyota right now....
We have a back-up Toyota van but the battery was dead, and it needs to have brake work done before it can be safely driven. Plus the tags expired at the end of February and it's only insured for storage, not for driving, so completely undriveable until those issues were dealt with.
While dh was driving back from Nevada Friday afternoon, his Ford work truck started blowing blue smoke. He turned around and went back to a town to have it looked at, but they couldn't figure it out. He finally decided to just go ahead and drive back to Salt Lake and made it okay.
Saturday morning and early afternoon were eaten up by getting the Chrysler van towed back to our house and dh doing a bunch of troubleshooting. He decided we should have the dealer work on it at 3:30 in the afternoon, so I called and had it towed to the Chrysler dealer.
Sunday we didn't go to church, since we couldn't all fit in dh's truck and he wasn't feeling well. I can't drive the truck, because I'm not an employee. Dh took the truck by Jiffy Lube in the afternoon, on his way back from picking up groceries for me and the kids. Jiffy Lube discovers there's a front differential leak (whatever that means), which they can't deal with.
Dh parks his truck at home and takes a cab to the airport, where he's rented a (very nice) SUV so he can drive back to Nevada. He takes off at about 5:00 in the evening.
This morning I called the Ford dealer and had dh's truck towed there, as well as passing on dh's list of the issues and his contact info. Thankfully, dh's company will be paying for all repairs.
Then I got a call from the Chrysler dealer with a complete diagnostic and repair estimate. *faint* I note down everything and call dh at the mine site to get direction. Call back the Chrysler dealer--a couple times--to confirm exactly what and how dh wants things done. (Sometimes it's a blessing having a mechanic dh, sometimes....not so much...)
By this time, the tow truck is here for dh's truck. I go outside, chat with the driver while the little guys watch out the front window.
Then I call the Toyota dealer, arrange for the Toyota van to get towed, and confirmed the issues needing to be dealt with on email with dh.
Waiting on the tow truck for the Toyota right now....
Monday, January 19, 2009
Dentist office victory
19/365
Six kids.
Five appointments.
Four exams.
Three year old's first visit, meltdown-free.
Two hundred dollar credit.
One happy mama.
Zero cavities.
The longer version: It went amazingly smoothly. We go to a large office, so they did three of the kids at a time. We were in and out in exactly an hour--including sitting down with the office manager to chat about insurance/payment/future plans.
L didn't cooperate with getting in the chair, so he didn't get his teeth cleaned. He did let the dentist look at his teeth, though, and they all looked good.
The four oldest all got their teeth cleaned and checked. Not a single cavity!
My dd needs to have work done on her teeth. She's got one tooth toward the front coming in really badly, and the rest of the front of her mouth doesn't have enough room. I'll be talking it over with dh. Thankfully we have dental insurance that will cover some of the cost, so this will be doable. Oh, and the office inadvertently overcharged us last year, so we have over a $200 credit with their office.
All in all, a very good dentist's visit!
Six kids.
Five appointments.
Four exams.
Three year old's first visit, meltdown-free.
Two hundred dollar credit.
One happy mama.
Zero cavities.
The longer version: It went amazingly smoothly. We go to a large office, so they did three of the kids at a time. We were in and out in exactly an hour--including sitting down with the office manager to chat about insurance/payment/future plans.
L didn't cooperate with getting in the chair, so he didn't get his teeth cleaned. He did let the dentist look at his teeth, though, and they all looked good.
The four oldest all got their teeth cleaned and checked. Not a single cavity!
My dd needs to have work done on her teeth. She's got one tooth toward the front coming in really badly, and the rest of the front of her mouth doesn't have enough room. I'll be talking it over with dh. Thankfully we have dental insurance that will cover some of the cost, so this will be doable. Oh, and the office inadvertently overcharged us last year, so we have over a $200 credit with their office.
All in all, a very good dentist's visit!
Friday, January 16, 2009
Refi goes through!
16/365
I won't be posting today's picture publicly, because it's the actual documents from our mortgage refinance that closed today. Today's picture shows my dh's signature, by my signature, AAIF. AAIF stands for As Attorney In Fact. Because we knew dh would be spending all of this week in Nevada, and expected the refi to close by the end of the week, dh went by the title company last week and signed a limited Power of Attorney so I could sign on his behalf.
Today I signed his name roughly 5,283 times.
My hand hurts.
But we're happy. Because of this refi, we are now locked into a 30 year fixed mortgage at 1.25% lower than our previous (30 year fixed) mortgage. Thank you, God!
I won't be posting today's picture publicly, because it's the actual documents from our mortgage refinance that closed today. Today's picture shows my dh's signature, by my signature, AAIF. AAIF stands for As Attorney In Fact. Because we knew dh would be spending all of this week in Nevada, and expected the refi to close by the end of the week, dh went by the title company last week and signed a limited Power of Attorney so I could sign on his behalf.
Today I signed his name roughly 5,283 times.
My hand hurts.
But we're happy. Because of this refi, we are now locked into a 30 year fixed mortgage at 1.25% lower than our previous (30 year fixed) mortgage. Thank you, God!
Monday, January 5, 2009
5/365
Today I finished the beginning-of-the-month marathon shopping, with stops at Ikea, Sam's Club, Alberson's, Macey's, and Reams'. Twice.
Some great bargains:
*Macey's had boneless, skinless chicken breasts for $1.29/lb. I got a 40 lb box, and packaged and froze (shared) meal-sized portions.
*Reams' had lean ground beef for $1.39/lb., as well as its usual assortment of beautiful produce.
*In my continual attempt to bring order to the chaos, I purchased 4 DVD storage boxes and some hanging organizers for the coat closet at Ikea. I could happily spend WAY too much money there, and only rarely go.
Some great bargains:
*Macey's had boneless, skinless chicken breasts for $1.29/lb. I got a 40 lb box, and packaged and froze (shared) meal-sized portions.
*Reams' had lean ground beef for $1.39/lb., as well as its usual assortment of beautiful produce.
*In my continual attempt to bring order to the chaos, I purchased 4 DVD storage boxes and some hanging organizers for the coat closet at Ikea. I could happily spend WAY too much money there, and only rarely go.
Monday, May 19, 2008
The drive-in with six kids.
Last night dh and I took the whole gang to see Prince Caspian at the drive-in theater. There are many, many others reviewing the movie, so if you're looking for a review I'll point you to Plugged In.
Going to the movies with six children is a potential financial disaster. Ticket prices of $8 for adults and $5 for kids are the norm, so we would be looking at over $40 just to get in the door. And then we can't watch a movie without snacks, and with the exhorbitant prices at the theater we could easily lay out another $25 or so, just for drinks and popcorn.
We just can't justify spending that kind of money for an afternoon at the movies. But the experience of going out for a movie with the kids isn't one we want to miss, and waiting the months for the dvd to be released can be torture for short people anxious for the next installment of The Chronicles of Narnia.
When we moved to the Salt Lake area, we were thrilled to find a drive-in theater within easy driving distance. During the summer we will often go two or three times a month, and we always have a great time. (Well, there was that one time that dh and I saw Blades of Glory, but that was our fault for not looking at any reviews.)
Last night was second drive-in movie of the year, and it was warm enough to keep the car open and sit outside.
Our theater-going experience yesterday started at home, where I put together snack mixes for the kids of dried apple rings, pretzels, goldfish crackers, animal crackers, both chocolate and yogurt covered raisins. Dh and I had our own snacks, with some nuts, beef jerky, and string cheese for him and a variation of the kids' snack mix for me. A half gallon jug of iced tea, water bottles, and a stop at the convenience store to pick up cash for the theater entrance and a Diet Dr. Pepper for me, and we were on our way.
Once at the theater, dh swings into action. The van is parked backwards with the hatch opened, and the rear seat cleared of car seats and small children while he turns it around. The three bigs sit on the bench seat, while the two little guys sit in their car seats on the floor of the cargo area. Pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals brought from home are distributed, along with the snacks and water bottles. Dh and I sit in our folding chairs outside the van, and the baby rocks in his car on the ground in between us--until he wants his snack, too.
We had a great time. I think we'll probably be at the drive-in again this weekend--Indiana Jones is coming out!
Going to the movies with six children is a potential financial disaster. Ticket prices of $8 for adults and $5 for kids are the norm, so we would be looking at over $40 just to get in the door. And then we can't watch a movie without snacks, and with the exhorbitant prices at the theater we could easily lay out another $25 or so, just for drinks and popcorn.
We just can't justify spending that kind of money for an afternoon at the movies. But the experience of going out for a movie with the kids isn't one we want to miss, and waiting the months for the dvd to be released can be torture for short people anxious for the next installment of The Chronicles of Narnia.
When we moved to the Salt Lake area, we were thrilled to find a drive-in theater within easy driving distance. During the summer we will often go two or three times a month, and we always have a great time. (Well, there was that one time that dh and I saw Blades of Glory, but that was our fault for not looking at any reviews.)
Last night was second drive-in movie of the year, and it was warm enough to keep the car open and sit outside.
Our theater-going experience yesterday started at home, where I put together snack mixes for the kids of dried apple rings, pretzels, goldfish crackers, animal crackers, both chocolate and yogurt covered raisins. Dh and I had our own snacks, with some nuts, beef jerky, and string cheese for him and a variation of the kids' snack mix for me. A half gallon jug of iced tea, water bottles, and a stop at the convenience store to pick up cash for the theater entrance and a Diet Dr. Pepper for me, and we were on our way.
Once at the theater, dh swings into action. The van is parked backwards with the hatch opened, and the rear seat cleared of car seats and small children while he turns it around. The three bigs sit on the bench seat, while the two little guys sit in their car seats on the floor of the cargo area. Pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals brought from home are distributed, along with the snacks and water bottles. Dh and I sit in our folding chairs outside the van, and the baby rocks in his car on the ground in between us--until he wants his snack, too.
We had a great time. I think we'll probably be at the drive-in again this weekend--Indiana Jones is coming out!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
The Mother's Days of my childhood
This week's HK blog topic:
Now that Mother's day is past, look over your Mother's Days as a child.
Which one stands out most to you and why?
Although I do have very specific memories of my childhood, annual occasions like Mother's Day and Thanksgiving tend to meld together into a happy mish-mosh of compressed years and family traditons. I can't tell you what happened in a single Mother's Day, but I know what we always did for Mother's Day:
On Mother's Day, my mom always got breakfast in bed. When we were younger my dad would make the breakfast while we "helped". As I grew older, we took over making the breakfast, and Dad got breakfast in bed, too. We usually made a fairly elaborate meal, with pancakes, eggs, bacon or sausage, and fruit. And we all joined Mom and Dad in their bedroom for breakfast, hauling in the high chair for the baby and eating our picnic meal scattered around their bed on the floor.
Mom loved our homemade cards. Mom always loved our drawings, and made a practice of not keeping coloring books in the house. She much preferred creative drawings to us keeping in the lines.
We always had church to go to on Mother's Day. And there would be the inevitable sermon on motherhood, and a carnation handed out to all the mothers in the congregation.
So much of what I remember fondly from my childhood was the predictibility of our lives. We always celebrated Mother's Day by breakfast in bed and homemade cards. Other things happened some years, like Dad grilling our dinner after church or us going out for a meal as a family. But the framework of tradition was solidly in place.
One of my passions as a mother is giving my children that same security. Our family's traditions are not all the same as the traditions I grew up with, or the traditions of dh's family. We're creating our own traditions and memories. I love listening to my three bigs talk in anticipation about upcoming holidays and events and reminisce about the past. They begin by saying, "We always..." And I smile.
Now that Mother's day is past, look over your Mother's Days as a child.
Which one stands out most to you and why?
Although I do have very specific memories of my childhood, annual occasions like Mother's Day and Thanksgiving tend to meld together into a happy mish-mosh of compressed years and family traditons. I can't tell you what happened in a single Mother's Day, but I know what we always did for Mother's Day:
On Mother's Day, my mom always got breakfast in bed. When we were younger my dad would make the breakfast while we "helped". As I grew older, we took over making the breakfast, and Dad got breakfast in bed, too. We usually made a fairly elaborate meal, with pancakes, eggs, bacon or sausage, and fruit. And we all joined Mom and Dad in their bedroom for breakfast, hauling in the high chair for the baby and eating our picnic meal scattered around their bed on the floor.
Mom loved our homemade cards. Mom always loved our drawings, and made a practice of not keeping coloring books in the house. She much preferred creative drawings to us keeping in the lines.
We always had church to go to on Mother's Day. And there would be the inevitable sermon on motherhood, and a carnation handed out to all the mothers in the congregation.
So much of what I remember fondly from my childhood was the predictibility of our lives. We always celebrated Mother's Day by breakfast in bed and homemade cards. Other things happened some years, like Dad grilling our dinner after church or us going out for a meal as a family. But the framework of tradition was solidly in place.
One of my passions as a mother is giving my children that same security. Our family's traditions are not all the same as the traditions I grew up with, or the traditions of dh's family. We're creating our own traditions and memories. I love listening to my three bigs talk in anticipation about upcoming holidays and events and reminisce about the past. They begin by saying, "We always..." And I smile.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Crunch Time
Tomorrow morning my little guy and I will be flying home to Oregon to suprise my Dad on his 60th birthday. My mom and siblings and I have been plotting for months for my visit, and we're gleefully anticipating Dad's reaction to seeing me casually meander into the room during his birthday celebration tomorrow night. He'll be meeting our little guy for the first time, so this should be a lot of fun.
Before we get on an airplane tomorrow morning, though, there are a myriad of things I need to get done. First and most importantly, I have to complete the scrapbook I'm making Dad as his birthday gift. I'm really excited about this scrapbook, which is titled "60 Reasons We Love Dad" and is a cooperative project with my seven younger siblings. Well, six of my seven younger siblings, since my youngest brother never did get me his part of the project.
I also need to:
*write a shopping list of everything DH could possible need over the next four days
*go shopping
*do laundry (tons of it)
*contact the airline and find out exactly how much stuff I can check in (bag, stroller, carseat, etc.)
*photocopy our little guy's birth certificate--so I can prove to the airline that my five month old is under the age of two.
*finalize plans to get together with my sil and her family while I'm in town
*pack--allowing for multiple changes of clothes for the little guy and me, too, in case he manages to spit/puke/poop/pee/drool on me during our flight
*write up a meal plan and a rough schedule for DH while he's caring for the kids over the next four days
*get the next two days worth of school prepped for him
Before we get on an airplane tomorrow morning, though, there are a myriad of things I need to get done. First and most importantly, I have to complete the scrapbook I'm making Dad as his birthday gift. I'm really excited about this scrapbook, which is titled "60 Reasons We Love Dad" and is a cooperative project with my seven younger siblings. Well, six of my seven younger siblings, since my youngest brother never did get me his part of the project.
I also need to:
*write a shopping list of everything DH could possible need over the next four days
*go shopping
*do laundry (tons of it)
*contact the airline and find out exactly how much stuff I can check in (bag, stroller, carseat, etc.)
*photocopy our little guy's birth certificate--so I can prove to the airline that my five month old is under the age of two.
*finalize plans to get together with my sil and her family while I'm in town
*pack--allowing for multiple changes of clothes for the little guy and me, too, in case he manages to spit/puke/poop/pee/drool on me during our flight
*write up a meal plan and a rough schedule for DH while he's caring for the kids over the next four days
*get the next two days worth of school prepped for him
Monday, March 31, 2008
Menu Plan Monday--March 31
Today is the first time I'm posting my menu plan. This week's plan is pretty simple, especially since I'm going out of town this Friday, and dh will be doing kitchen (and kid) duty while I'm traveling.
Monday:
Beef and bean burritos with salsa and sour cream, green salad
Tuesday:
In honor of April Fool's Day, we're reversing the meals today!
Breakfast--meatballs and brown sauce over pasta, green beans
Lunch--as usual
Dinner--waffles with strawberries and whipped cream, scrambled eggs, sausage
Wednesday:
Chicken and mushrooms in stirfry with rice
Thursday:
Spaghetti with meat sauce, green salad, garlic bread
Friday:
Pizza at Chuck E. Cheese
Saturday:
Lasagna, green salad, garlic bread
Sunday:
Pizza, green salad
Monday:
Lasagna (leftovers), green salad
If you want to join in with your own menu or get some ideas from other ladies participating, head over to Laura's blog at I'm An Organizing Junkie.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Meal planning
I'm the resident cook in our home, not because I'm particularly gifted in making meals or enjoy cooking as a hobby, but simply because I'm the one at home.
When dh has time, he really enjoys perfecting his specialties, bread and pizza--both whole wheat. He's also quite handy with a grill, and makes teriyaki chicken and burgers and dogs all summer long.
I, on the other hand, am much more utilitarian in my approach: I'm mom to six children and wife to a diabetic husband, all of whom need to eat healthy, appealing, economical food every day. I don't have time or energy at this point to make complicated, fancy meals, but am focusing on cooking things that everyone in our family will actually eat, that I can prep with a minimum of time and fuss.
Right now I'm trying to organize four weeks worth of meals along with a corresponding grocery shopping list, so I can simplify the process of getting food on the table. I'll likely vary the side dishes, but since dh and the kids tend to prefer the same meals on a consistent basis I'm hoping this will give me a much-needed break in the kitchen.
I'm finalizing this week's menu, and will be posting it tomorrow. At this point I'm not planning meals for breakfasts and lunches, since the kids tend to rotate through about five meals over a two week period. It's going to be interesting to see how the plan matches reality, once I get it all figured out.
When dh has time, he really enjoys perfecting his specialties, bread and pizza--both whole wheat. He's also quite handy with a grill, and makes teriyaki chicken and burgers and dogs all summer long.
I, on the other hand, am much more utilitarian in my approach: I'm mom to six children and wife to a diabetic husband, all of whom need to eat healthy, appealing, economical food every day. I don't have time or energy at this point to make complicated, fancy meals, but am focusing on cooking things that everyone in our family will actually eat, that I can prep with a minimum of time and fuss.
Right now I'm trying to organize four weeks worth of meals along with a corresponding grocery shopping list, so I can simplify the process of getting food on the table. I'll likely vary the side dishes, but since dh and the kids tend to prefer the same meals on a consistent basis I'm hoping this will give me a much-needed break in the kitchen.
I'm finalizing this week's menu, and will be posting it tomorrow. At this point I'm not planning meals for breakfasts and lunches, since the kids tend to rotate through about five meals over a two week period. It's going to be interesting to see how the plan matches reality, once I get it all figured out.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
A Flop for Dinner
Today is the first day that we got through all the courses in our new homeschooling curriculum. We began yesterday, but I got suddenly sick in the afternoon and we had to put off doing the first math lesson. We did two lessons in math today, to make up for it. I'm wanting to stay as close to on-track as possible, since our goal is to finish first grade with it and move the three bigs into second grade in the fall.
Homeschooling three kids and caring for an infant, a toddler, and a preschooler, plus keeping up on the house and trying to provide such basics as clean clothes and meals for everyone...right now, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. This new curriculum is a vast improvement over what we were doing before, in that it's not completely teacher (mom) intensive, but it still requires a large time investment on my part. I'm trying to figure out how to fit everything in, still, and so far meals and laundry are suffering. Dh had leftover (homemade, at least) pizza last night, and the kids had cold cereal and toast. They were thrilled, but I can't do that every night.
So, tonight I made a not-so-great casserole with chicken, whole wheat pasta, and broccoli. The kids' weren't too enthused, and honestly I can't blame them. I'm still learning how to make the casseroles dh likes with the whole wheat pasta we're now using, and tonight's pasta was gummy and not very appealing.
Oh, well. Tomorrow we're having one of the lasagnas I made last week, so that's two nights of a good meal that I don't even have to prepare.
Homeschooling three kids and caring for an infant, a toddler, and a preschooler, plus keeping up on the house and trying to provide such basics as clean clothes and meals for everyone...right now, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. This new curriculum is a vast improvement over what we were doing before, in that it's not completely teacher (mom) intensive, but it still requires a large time investment on my part. I'm trying to figure out how to fit everything in, still, and so far meals and laundry are suffering. Dh had leftover (homemade, at least) pizza last night, and the kids had cold cereal and toast. They were thrilled, but I can't do that every night.
So, tonight I made a not-so-great casserole with chicken, whole wheat pasta, and broccoli. The kids' weren't too enthused, and honestly I can't blame them. I'm still learning how to make the casseroles dh likes with the whole wheat pasta we're now using, and tonight's pasta was gummy and not very appealing.
Oh, well. Tomorrow we're having one of the lasagnas I made last week, so that's two nights of a good meal that I don't even have to prepare.
Friday, February 15, 2008
The Joys of Chuck E. Cheese
Moving to Utah in November of 2004 was a huge change for our family. We left behind in our home state of Oregon both sides of our extended family. It was a difficult transition, and we missed our families terribly, especially over that first Christmas. When the first birthday after our move came, our youngest's (at the time) first birthday, I was at a loss for how to properly celebrate without having his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins joining us.Fortunately, my resourceful dh had a plan: Chuck E. Cheese!
At first I thought it was silly. We didn't have any good alternatives, though, so we went ahead with dh's plan. And we had a great, great time! The noise level was loud but not unbearable, the food was suprisingly decent, and our kids had an absolute blast playing games and going on rides.
Since that first birthday away from all our friends and family our options have grown: we have good friends here now, and we've even had family visiting over a few birthdays. But our kids still love going to Chuck E. Cheese, and we go at least every other birthday. Last night we spent Valentine's evening in a delayed celebration of dd's 8th birthday, and once again our children had an amazing amount of fun. I have to admit that I love it just a little bit, too, because of the good memories I now have of family celebrations we've made our own.
Oh, and our then-youngest is now #4 out of 6, and is a very happy four year old. He's pictured above on the little carousel, having a ball at "Shucky Cheeeeeeese"!
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