Summer Has Started!!

Summer has started with a bang at our house. Starting with a week of VBS at our church for the kids. They had a blast. This was the first year that I was not able to help out and I sorely missed being a part of it.

To say my kids were excited about VBS would be an understatement. I really don't think either of them slept much the whole week just because of how excited they were to get to go the next day again. It wasn't with out a  little bit of fuss though. As I went to drop them off that first day Bug found out much to her and her best friend Avery's horror that they were to be in separate groups. Avery was to be in Kindergarten and Bug with the 1st and 2nd graders. They are both the same age but I had put Bug in the 1st grade group since that is the grade she had done at home with us as opposed to the grade she should have been in had she been in public school. Epic Mommy fail! They survived though I guess there was a "serious talk about their friendship surviving".

While they were enjoying learning all about 1 Peter 3:15 and what it means to discover, decide, defend, I was at the Classical Conversations Practicum learning grammer, dialectic and rhetoric. It was interesting and got me excited to start in August!

On Friday the 13th it was Caden's 8th birthday!!!! I can't believe me lil' man is 8. It's crazy crazy crazy. He decided he wanted to have breakfast at Cracker Barrel, go fishing at rookery bay, have lunch at Chuck E. Cheese which his daddy was able to meet us at for a bit. Then he and Grandma and Honey headed home. When his daddy got home they headed to the park and played some basketball. Dinner was at Red Lobster then cake at the house and presents and finally bed! It was a LOOOONG day.

If you noticed I said that Caden went home with Grandma and Honey. That would be because Bug and I had to leave from Chuck E. Cheese to head to her dress rehearsal on the other side of town. I had done her hair in the morning praying it would stay. I got her dressed and did her make up in the school bathroom with another little girl and her mom (because I am not the only one that was running around that day) and fixed her hair a little and we were good to go. Rehearsal took 2 hours and she did great. The girl loves the stage. She actually had been thinking about giving up dance but while we were gearing up for the show she said "Mommy I just don't think I can give up the stage!" She gets that from my sister because it definitely doesn't come from me or Joe.

Saturday was Bug's recital day and she did really well. She loved it! She already is asking when dance starts again and thinking about what her costume with look like next year.

Caden started Basketball Camp this week. This is a big thing because I have never signed the kids up for any camp before and never left them anywhere that wasn't church, family, or friends that we knew well. Also a big deal because this is the first thing he has shown a real interest in. I thought he would be nervous but NOPE left me in the dust after I signed him in with a "bye mom love you" I won't lie. I had a moment driving away where I wanted to turn the car around and go and get him back out of the camp and say he couldn't stay. Only because I missed him. I figure this is what a mom taking their child to school for the first time feels like. Having never experienced this before it was pretty crazy. So now to all those moms that had to deal with this when your child was in kindergarten I AM SO SORRY!

Anyway he loves camp and gets up each morning ready to go and is sad that tomorrow is his last day. Me? I am not so sad about that.

This post is really long and I am sorry but like I said we have started summer with a bang!

 Bug and her friend Madelyn

 Their VBS verse

 His birthday morning picture!

 Last day of VBS and being a 7 yr old picture

 last day of ballet

Building fun electric stuff with daddy with birthday present from Auntie Heidi and Uncle David

Little Fish

Here are some pics of what the kids enjoy more than anything else

 the kids with Anna

 Caden's little friend Alyssa and him playing in the waves (these two are like dolphins)

 Bug and Ally doing what they enjoy most about beach days

And now that this post is over we are heading outside to....yep SWIM!!!!

Our new addition to the family

The kids and I have been wanting a puppy for awhile now and Joe had decided we should wait till we get back from vacation this summer. Well me being me couldn't help but look on Craigslist every day just to see what kind of puppys were out there. You know I was just looking what harm could come from that right?

Yea most of you know me pretty well and know this was definitely a mistake. I can't look at cute animals and not immediately want to buy it, save it, love it. I was good though I knew we couldn't have one yet. So I scanned the animals everyday and would fall in love with all the cuteness and want to rescue the rescued ones without asking Joe if we could buy it...until this one day when there was a ad for Chug/Min Pin mixes. See Joe had told me there was no way we were going to have a big dog because our house is too small. He also said he wanted a Min Pin but they are too expensive. This was a little, a Min Pin mix, AND cheap!! Seriously how could I not send Joe the picture of the puppy while he was at work so that he would fall deeply in love with it.

Needless to say...

Meet Fancy Nancy

(Bug named her after her favorite books)

 She was the runt of the litter and only was 1lb when we got her she now is almost 4lbs

 Jubilee wasn't really a fan but she is coming around

 Notice the bling and the dress? Yea Bug is in puppy heaven

 Caden loves cuddling with her

And Joe well he pretty much spoils her rotten

 Kids taking her for a walk (she has a lot of energy she really needs her walks)

We got her the day before she turned 8 weeks old she is now 3 months old and will be 4 months on the 29th. Yep her and my beautiful Livi share a birthday which is good because i would never remember the puppy's birthday otherwise.



lets try again

Okay so I kinda stink at keeping up with the whole blog thing. Oh well!!! Let's try again.

Last time I posted it was after my Birthday and it was about going to visit my amazing sister and her family. This time it is about her visiting us! YAY!!! I love when they come to Florida. We had a great time. My kids were beyond excited to see Anna and Brielle (ok mostly Anna since she is the same age as them but Brielle was able to play more this time too). It was filled with swimming, food, games and of course shopping!

Heidi is going to her bro-in-laws wedding soon and wanted the perfect dress. This means she had an idea in her head of what it would look like and we needed to try on lots of stuff till she found the one that spoke to her. I have been shopping with her like this since we were kids so I was ready. What was the most fun though is that our girls have both been watching a lot of Say Yes to The Dress and have become fashion critics. We let them pick out dresses for both of us and then they gave their fashion opinion. They are adorable and sassy to say the least. In the end Heidi found 2 gorgeous dresses that look AMAZING on her and I got 2 also :)  I think my favorite part was that Heidi and I have very different taste but we both ended up with the same dress. It's ok though since she lives in TX and I am here no worries of showing up matching.

Joe and Dave bought a new Wii game at the beginning of the visit...Tiger Woods Golf. Need I say anymore as to where they were during our shopping experience and the rest of the visit? It was good for Joe as he has been working crazy hours still. He was able to unwind and really enjoyed their visit.

Then the stomach flu hit. It was ugly and miserable and it knocked everyone down but Joe, Dad, Brielle and Livi. At one point there were 6  of us down on the same day with it. The good thing though is that God was really good and Heidi, Dave and Anna were better the day they had to drive home. We were all praying hard on that one because it is a very long drive.

It was a bummer though because Anna wasn't able to have her Ball so I guess we will be having a Christmas Ball when they come down again.

The other fun thing is that Caden finished Kindergarten <3 Classical Conversations came to an end at pretty much the same time as he finished he Math K book and other Kindergarten books. We are moving on to 1st grade soon as his new workbooks get here. I was beyond excited last night at the book sale because I got all his new books for only 27.00 and then just had to order the workbooks for 2 of them. Seeing as how even one of the new books I got him would have been around 90.00 each bought online I pretty much did a happy dance. Best part is that everything I got Bug can do with him since she finished the Kindergarten Math book too and I can work the other things to her level. YAY for used books!!!!

Well hopefully I will do better at keeping this updated now. We shall see!

It's been a Looooooong time

It's a new year and a lot has happened since the last time I got a chance to post. I don't think I will be able to remember everything that we did so I will just do recent stuff. First though the reason behind the big hiatus was our computer was busted and with the Geek Squad for over a month then life just got too busy for blogging.

First I am a proud new Auntie again!!!! Ms. Alivia Elaine Bronleewe was born Dec 29, 2011. Mom, the kids and I had just gotten to Texas that day and lil Livi decided to make her debut earlier than her scheduled time which was supposed to be the next day. She is gorgeous and I couldn't be happier to have that little girl have my middle name.This was the first time I was able to be there for the birth of any of my nieces and it was really special. I was incredibly excited and I am so glad I was able to be there when Heidi got back from the hospital. Those new born snuggles are priceless!! It was so much fun getting to spend time with my nieces!!! Anna is a star and rules  Texas with a sparkly mircophone and a crown atop her head and Brielle is little dancing queen that adores tutus and baby dolls (don't let that angel face full you though she isn't a push over she has enough of her Auntie in her to stand on her own two feet). If you add my two to the mix you have quite the combo!!! Bug and Anna I think had to adjust a little to sharing the spot light since frankly Bug rules Florida with sparkly dancing shoes and a crown firmly in place but they were thick as theives and put on some hilarious shows. Caden is a go with the flow kinda kid and of course the only available Prince Charming so was in very high demand. There was many tears when it came time to leave and the count down has already started for when they will all see eachother again. <3

While we were in TX my lil man got a cold. That turned into a sinus infection. That didn't go away after two rounds of antibiotics. Which then after that turned into pneumonia. That final diagnosis was a week and a half ago and he is doing better now thankfully. The good thing is that he was in good mood through all of this and never really lost much energy. Actually the pneumonia kinda took me by surprise except that his cough had turned funky sounding he hadn't really slowed down much. He was still not taking a nap but was going to bed at 6p.m. which is very early but when he is not feeling well not uncommon for him.

While we were in Texas Caden asked Jesus to be his Lord and Savior. It was a huge moment. He was so excited and couldn't wait to come home and tell everyone. We ended up having to miss church though because he was sick for a while and finally he got to go one sunday and he told Pastor Hixon. I was so proud of Caden because usually Caden is very shy and it is like pulling teeth to get him to talk to people. Pastor Hixon likes to speak to the kids before they walk forward and get baptized to make sure they really understand what they prayed and what it means to have a relationship with Jesus so Caden and us went into his office 2 weeks ago and Caden was a little chatter box! I was a little shocked. My little boy is getting so grown up. Anyway Caden wanted to get baptized right away so we set it up for the following sunday. That was the week we found out about the pneumonia though and we had to reschedule...twice. Now that he is doing better it is back on and will be this Sunday!! Caden is super super excited about it.

I am now in my last year of my twenties! I don't know why but my birthday is still just like it was when I was a kid. I count down to it. I wake up several times the night before and the morning of is super exciting. People call to sing Happy Birthday, the facebook messages, the fun texts and cards. I mean really it is so much fun!!!! When you have kids it is even more awesome because you get to see on their little faces how much they want to help you have a good birthday. We went to IHop for breakfast, Red Robin for lunch and then Il Primo for dinner and shopped in between. According to Caden it was the best birthday ever and he wants to do the exact same thing for his. I guess my food choices were right there with a 5 year olds hehehe. My hubby had to work A LOT! so he is going to take me out some time soon for a great date night when his work load gets lighter. I told him that is fine it is like stretching my birthday out over into March which is when his birthday is so I get to keep celebrating with him : ) We also get to go out thanks to Aunt Jan and Doug still for Valentines day at Cheese Cake Factory because we saved our giftcard from christmas like we always do. So thank you guys!!!!

About Joe working so much please pray for him. His one supervisor is having to work in ft myers the past few weeks and it looks like he will be there for quite a while. While this supervisor is in ft myers that means that Joe is carrying the load of a full time super on his part time schedule. He worked about 39 hours last week and he is supposed to only work 20 to 25. He is tired but doing well and he actually enjoys the job. A lot of big wigs are watching him right now seeing if he can handle the job for possible promotions in the future. So please just remember to pray for him that he would remember to seek Gods will, not lose his cool under the pressure, make wise decisions and have energy. Also pray for me so I would have a good attitude as I want to support him and not be snippy when he tells me he won't be getting home till 11 or will be working on a day he was supposed to have off. I may have done that this last week (insert red shame face here) He told me I didn't but I felt like I did.

The Weekend

Friday Joe didn't have to work because of the holiday. We LOVE it when he is off and this day was even better because it worked out the best way possible. My mom had to have some surgery on her veins and I was taking her. Joe is such an amazing Daddy. He took the kids out to breakfast at IHop before taking them to the Letter Club (yep he played Mommy for the morning) and joined my friends at the park. I have the say my friends were really impressed that he brought the kids and said their husbands wouldn't have done it. The kids had a great time and he scored major points with their friends too by doing all the cool stuff at the park that only dads do. By the time they got home for lunch and I got home with mom even Bug was telling me what a great time she had. She is a total Mommy's girl and wasn't all that sure about her Daddy taking her Mommy's place that day but he won her over. Caden of course didn't have to be won over he is all about his Dad.

Mom did good with her surgery though she was sore. She is able to walk around and all which is very good she just can't over do and can't stand still she has to keep the circulation going. I have to keep an eye on her she is queen of trying to push the envelope on seeing just how much she can do before it is too much.

Anyway So Joe ended up having to go to work Friday night and Saturday but he got overtime which is good for this time year so God is good! We had a great time though when he got home. Caden and I went to the Library while he was at work on Saturday (Caden has discovered that he really can read he doesn't have to just read from his lesson book) but Bug decided to stay with Grandpa and Grandma and watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas for like the zillionth time and yet another cooking show. I figure if she keeps watching all these cooking shows by the time she is tall enough to reach the top of the stove I will never have to cook another meal again.

Sundays are Church and then Bronco Football!!!! I have decided I do not like 1p.m. games. They mess up my day. It was a mad rush from church to Costco to the pizza place to try and get home in time for kick off and I had a coupon for Sunday only for a store and I had to go grocery shopping still too for the week. The kids were not happy about having to miss part of the game for naps and I had to leave at half time for all the things I had to get done. It was really inconsiderate of the football people to do that to us. Broncos won though!!!!! Browns lost : (

Caden's science project he is working on

racing Daddy

 I was gone at this point of the game see what happens when I am not around!

My Fishing Man

Caden has been asking to go fishing for a while now and since the weather has turned cooler my mom and I decided to take him. Before it was just too hot for me mostly because Bug has no intention of ever fishing and she has NO intention of touching a worm or shrimp and she has NO intention of sweating. Since I am the one that has to deal with the little princess while my mom gets to enjoy the boy and fish and I really didn't want to miss his fishing experience we waiting till I thought she wouldn't complain about sweating.

I have to point out that this pattern of one child enjoying fishing while the other has a strong aversion to it runs in the family.

As it turns out it was a PERFECT morning!!! Caden didn't catch anything but he had quite a few bites which was just as exciting as him actually catching a fish in his opinion. He was cute as could be with his fishing pole and the look of anticipation on his face. We got to see a bald eagle fly over us with a fish in his clutches. This excited both kids as it is Grandpas favorite bird and as a result Caden's too. I have to say God really blessed the trip it was beautiful out and we had a shady spot it was a little breezy too! Bug actually ended up having just as good of a time as everyone else pretending that the dirt, shells and sticks were food and cooking tools and she was making her own cooking show.  I didn't get to fish because I didn't buy my license yet but next time I will definitely be fishing too!!!

Here are a few pictures

A Few Pumpkin Photos

Waaaaay back at the beginning of October we got our pumpkins. The kids had a great time and here are a few pics from that outing.

Caden is big into ties right now. So he wears one when ever he gets the chance.

You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile!

This is the song Bug will be doing at her dance recital. She is beyond excited to say the least. Annie is one o her all time favorite movies and I love that she loves it because it brings back tons of memories for me. We would always watch that movie at my Grandma Krouts house when we were kids and it is impossible for me to see the movie and not think of her.  Anyway Bug was a little disappointed she wasn't going to do ballet because she like ballet better than tap (I think that is because she is better at it LOL) but she loves the song and gets to wear a hat so all is good. I threw her off by being in the room I wish I had recorded her when she didn't know I was watching because she did all the steps then but whatcha gonna do right? It's only the very beginning of the dance since they have only been working on the dance for 4 lessons now.

Enjoy the cuteness!

Out My Kitchen Window

The kids have been greatly enjoying the outside as of late. It's like they have discovered this new world and they must be out there in it at all times. I have to admit part of it is me. Joe and I were really cautious about letting them be outside without us so there playtime outdoors was limited to only when Mommy or Daddy felt like it. I grew up in this yard but Joe didn't so we decided to wait for them to explore the outdoors solo till they were older (well as old as 5 and 4 is). Joe still isn't super comfy with it but it has been awesome I have to say. I open the kitchen window and tell the kids to go have a good time but stay where I can hear and see them. I can do the dishes, make dinner, and fold laundry all while watching my amazing kiddos have the time of their lives out my kitchen window.

That is the whole reason I wanted that window there. Sure it kinda needed to be there because of the way the house is made but when we were talking about building I was insistent on having a kitchen window where I could see the backyard. It is so much fun!!

Yesterday I went out to hangout with them after getting the kitchen all clean and was texting my sister in Texas while she was having to do that whole 3 hour glucose test (she is fine by the way test came back good) and I was telling her Caden was hanging from the top of the swing set just like I used to do and then Bug climbed up on the slide and started singing into the pipe that is the top of the swing set (we do not have a fancy swing set we have the old fashioned kind) just like Heidi used too! It was so funny I just was dying. It was just like being sent back to when we were that age and we were the ones running around the same backyard having the time of our lives.

It made me really thankful for the great childhood I had. My parents were amazing we didn't have lots of money but they made sure we had moments just like these memories and we were beyond loved.  I am so glad that my kids are getting to enjoy some of the same joys. I pray they know they are as loved. God has blessed us beyond belief. Who would have thought so much joy could come from looking out the kitchen window.

Pumpkin time!!!!

It's Fall!!!!! I was so excited to have a little cool weather the other week that I spent the weekend doing yard work and hanging outside the whole week. Of course now that is over because it is so stinking hot right now but I am looking forward to it being cool again sometime in the future.

Today we are missing Letter Club for the first time since we started it : ( Caden has a cold and I didn't think that sharing those "I"cky germs with the other kids were be a good show and tell experience. The kids are bummed but Caden is feeling okay so we are going to take them to the pumpkin patch to pick out there pumpkins and we will be painting them tonight at family night. Caden is beyond excited it has pretty much been his favorite thing since he was 1. He already know what he is going to paint it too. It will be a fire breathing dragon to eat his sisters princess pumpkin that she is planning on painting. Gotta love that boy.

The Last 3 Weeks or So

Well the last 3 weeks have been pretty busy!

Caden started with the Classical Conversations every Monday. We are there from 9-12 and he gets to have a great time learning new stuff and I have a great time learning some great ideas for how to teach him things I would have never thought to teach a 5 yr old. Caden LOVES it and it helps that one of his friends is in his class. I really thought he would have a tough time with the show and tell part because he is so shy but he always can't wait to get up there. We are working on him not being so shy about joining in on doing the hand motions to the memory work songs. He loves to sing them but the hand motions help the kids remember and he is afraid of having people look at him while he does them. His favorite thing right now from it is History and Latin. We have learned about Christopher Columbus, the Mayflower, and this week is the Boston Tea Party. I read Caden and Bug a book about what it was like to live in Colonial times and they LOVED it I was going to take all week to read it but they wanted me to keep reading so we finished it in just 3 days. With Latin he is learning some words and definitions. I am not very good at it but he seems to really enjoy it. His all time favorite subject right now though is Math. I am really proud of him. He is trying his best (most days anyway) and we are able to get through all the things we need to and have a great time doing it.

Bug is not quite as interested in school yet. She says she enjoys being the baby but I tell her she still has to learn even if she is always going to be the baby LOL Her schooling of course is easier but she actually joins in on most of Caden's work. I wasn't going to mess with math with her till next year other than learning to write her numbers but she ended up coming back to the table every day and asking if she could do it too so she has been doing everything in the math area Caden is. Her favorite thing of course is going to the park for Letter Day with our friends every Friday. She is getting very good at writing her letters and numbers but doesn't really want to learn to read right now. She will do it with me but doesn't really want to so I don't push it.

Last week was Bugs 4th birthday! She is crazy about My Little Pony right now and so that was what she got everything My Little Pony. We even got her a shirt on clearance for her to wear celebrating. She very excited because she is out growing her little bed and Joe is going to make her a bed and we are using her Birthday money to get her My Little Pony bed stuff and she wants to paint her room pink but Joe isn't so sure about the painting thing. We went to Disney the day before her birthday (it's tradition!) we only got day passes because I am still trying to save for the passes for next year. The kids had a blast like the always do and it is the best time of year to go because there are hardly any lines at all. Bug was tall enough to go on Splash Mt for the first time and if you ask her she will say she cried "Happy tears" after the big drop...I am not sure how "Happy" she actually was from the look on her face but hey she says she liked it. Caden was tall enough to go on Space Mt for the first time and it is now one of his favorites. I was surprised because he usually is my timid one. (A bonus of homeschooling is we took Tuesday and Wednesday off from school but we just schooled on the weekend instead)

So that brings us up to this week. Bug got hit with the stomach flu at around 3a.m. Tuesday : ( She and I watched My Little Pony till Joe and Caden got up and we had our first time trying to school while one child was sick but the other needed to do work. Thankfully she felt better but the evening and Wednesday was only a little under the weather. Caden hasn't gotten it and I am so thankful!!! So please keep praying he remains healthy.

Tomorrow is Letter Club and my day to have a lesson and craft done and i haven't even looked at something yet so I should probably get on that.

Early Start on the Letter C

This week has been really amazing. We seem to have our routine pretty much down except for the curve ball that staying up late on Wednesday threw us. The kids have enjoyed schooling and the time we have spent outside. Mostly they really enjoy looking forward to the end of the week when we meet friends at the Part for Letter Club. Another friend joined us today so it was great fun the kids really enjoyed it and already are preparing for next week. We are bringing the snack so they have been giving me ideas about what of their favorite foods should be brought to the park.

Caden's favorite thing he learned this week was all about plants. How they grown, what they need to survive, and what each part of the plant does. When he really likes something he gets a little obsessed and I have read and reread many science plant books to him this week.

Bug's favorite subject was Beethoven. She thinks he is pretty cool but also gross because he cared more about his music than cleaning himself. She also enjoyed dancing to his music and requested it A LOT...I am glad she liked it but I have never really been a classical music person (something I will not be telling my kids till they have formed their own opinion) so I was a little over it and glad it is Friday so I can at least convince her to listen to some Chopin for the letter C.

They were great little students this week so they made all their 5 Happy Apples. This means they get to do something fun and special. This week it was meeting Grandma and Honey at the mall and going on the carousel. Grandma already had tickets from when Anna and Heidi were down so I didn't have to spend money on it which is one of the things I am aiming for in the special things they earn. I did get them each a sugar cookie from the cookie company because I just wanted to. Caden brought to my attention that carousel and cookie start with the letter "C" so I guess we are just getting an early start on that!

The Second Week Has Begun

For our 2nd week of school we of course are focusing on the Letter "B".

Bug had a great time last week doing the letter "A" and then going to Letter Club on Friday. Letter Club is something my friend Sarah and I came up with as a way for our kids to play together and show off a little of what they learned during the week. There is a Story Time, Craft, Show and Tell, and a whole lotta playing. It is nice for the little ones (and their older siblings in my case) to get together and learn some games that they don't really get to play in a two kids household. Some games like duck duck goose...this is rather hard with only two kids and totally not as much fun. Last week Sarah did the leading and this week it is my turn and we have another friend joining us YAY!! If she brings all her kiddos that will bring our little group up to 7. Bug is already trying to figure out which book she wants me to read and what she is bringing for show and tell.

Caden just got his new math book and he can't wait to use it but he is going to have to wait till next Monday as I need Joe to make me some pattern blocks. I refuse to spend 76.00 on a kit I can mostly make up of things at the house. So this week I plan on continuing his learning number order and practice writing his numbers. He tends to be really sloppy and you can't tell some times what he is trying to write. His letters are much better than the numbers but we will be practicing those too.

We also are studying Beethoven for music, Bruegel for art, Buchanan for presidents, Blue Whale for animal science, Tower of Babel for Bible and Plant Life just for fun because they wanted to. Reading Lessons continue from How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons for both kids. Caden has moved to copying pages from his favorite books to practice both reading and writing skills. Their favorite school game is Sequence Letters. I really want to get the States and Capitals version too. I have some math games I got off of Confessions of a Homeschooler Blog. I decided to hold of on Geography this week because I am going to download Road Trip USA but I need to wait for another week or so since that is when we get paid again. They really enjoyed learning about Alabama but when I was at the library this week I figured I had enough other stuff not to shove too much in their poor little heads if I want them to continue to enjoy school.

Tomorrow we are making Banana bread as part of school too. I have really been enjoying it but it is such a learning experience. It can be a little overwhelming especially if one of the kids isn't in the mood to learn. I have learned to let them take a short break by going and doing something like clean the bathroom (which I know sounds like punishment but they love it!) or having a snack break. They tend to get back on track with better attitudes and so do I.

please keep praying for us as we continue to press on with all the learning. We want to make sure our focus is on God and that Joe and I are being good witnesses to the kids with our lives. I am so grateful for my friends support and my family helping me figure things out. Everyone has been really helpful and truly has had some great ideas!

First Day of School

Today was the kids "first day of school" I had them get up and get dressed as if they were leaving the house and then we sat down for our family breakfast. While they were eating we did our Bible Lesson and Flash Cards. Then I had Casey practice her ABC's while Caden did a work sheet. Next we went over words that started with "A". This was mostly for Casey's benefit as she is doing the letter of the week preschool lessons but Caden can always use the refresher. We played a game where they each had to run through the house as fast as they could and find 3 things that started with "A". It was really fun to watch them running around! Caden found his really fast and then of course big brother that he is kept trying to help Casey who didn't want help at all. After that I let Casey take a break and Caden did some flash cards for his counting. He can count pretty good but has trouble recognizing the numbers. We then did some president flash cards and I answered questions they had about some of the men and why they looked so funny : ) Casey did really well on her worksheets today. They were for practicing writing the letter "A" and finding objects that are the same. Caden loved doing his worksheets which were identifying the first letter of some animals and objects as well as a follow direction one. We also learned about Tomaso Albinoni for our composer of the week. Caden finished up with a reading lesson and then we called it a day.

In all I learned some important things.

1. Caden loves to get a big A on his paper with a 100% if he gets really annoyed if he doesn't

2. Bug works really really well if you tell her she will get a "Sad Apple" on her door if she doesn't listen and follow directions.

3. I didn't plan enough! My kids were wanting more and I had done everything for the day.

4. Caden can color in the lines but he doesn't think he should have to.

5. Bug does NOT liking being told which colors to use in a picture. If the girl wants to use blue for an apple you are not going to convince her to color it red.

Tomorrow we are doing more in depth research on one of the Presidents (Adams obviously because of the letter A" )as well as Albinoni and do a geography lesson on Alabama. I still have to get my Math curriculum and of course Caden's Classical Conversations doesn't start till September but for now this is working.

Please pray for our continuing work with the kids schooling and that we can keep God the center of all of it.

Dinosaur Kisses

I LOVE getting dinosaur kisses!

When Caden was 2 he fell in love with dinosaurs (he still is obsessed with them) and at night when I would read him his bedtime story he would say "Mommy I give you a dinosaur kiss" then he would start to growl as he leaned in to give me a kiss. It was the funniest thing I had ever seen him do so we kept it up. Now he is 5 and still will give dinosaur kisses at bedtime. <3 I will be so sad when he out grows them but for now I am just really enjoying his love and cuteness.

Hunt for School Items

Caden starts kindergarten in August. I am starting his schooling the same week Joe goes back to work for the public school just so that we have a starting point. We are doing Classical Conversations so I had to pay a fee for the 28 class days Caden and I will attend (which are awesome and I will post on that a lot this year) then the book that we make some of our weekly plans out of. I also need to get him a tin whistle and veritsa press history timeline cards. We are going to do Saxon Math too. Caden is really excited and can't wait for his "school" to start. I am pretty excited too except for the money we are paying. This is when I became a fan of searching for deals!!

The Foundations book is 50.00 bought new. I really didn't want to spend that so I started looking on e-bay and they didn't have any listed for cheaper than that so I put my need on Facebook. That is when my friend told me I should ask if there were any moms that weren't doing Foundations this year that did it prior and if they would sell me their book for cheaper. What a great idea except I am immensely shy and don't like to call people I don't know asking for things. I bit the bullet though and asked our coordinator and she gave me two names to call. God is so good!! One of the ladies told me I could just have the book! It is missing a page in cycle two but I won't need that page for 2 years so I don't care at all.

The tin whistle is only 10.00 I don't mind paying that.

The Veritas Press cards are the big ticket item. They are 100.00 for the whole 5 sets (which covers from Creation to Present Day History) I have become slightly addicted to e-bay because of this. I check everyday and am amazed at the people paying MORE than the retail price for USED cards. I mean come on people use your head. I have been outbid on every one I bid on because I refuse to pay more than 80,00. I am sure I will succeed though and it has been kinda fun trying.

Walmart is my friend too. They have terrific school supply sales right now! Caden got to pick out a lunch box and pencil carrier along with folders and scissors. We got some other things too and of course I didn't leave Bug out she is doing preschool with us after all.

Bug is very excited about it too I mean I did some with her last year but because she is going to be 4 soon she is sure she will be a great little learner.

I think it is going to be a great school year : )

email issues

I have a new e-mail address haleyshumway1@gmail.com if you would like to know why you can read my venting post. If you don't care but are wondering why I haven't responded to an e-mail you sent resend it to this address and I will get back to you I promise. If you don't care about this at all well you don't have to read any of it : )

About a week ago I went to check my Yahoo e-mail and couldn't get in because according to the little message my e-mail had possibly been compromised so I needed to change the password and all would be okay...

Sounded simple enough and I have changed my password a few times before so I did it just like they prompted me to. Only every new password I tried to pick they told me it was not a good password so I had to pick another one. This went on for like 5 different ones and then I got irritated. I read directions and I had followed all the criteria for a good password. So I decided I would just try again later. That was a BIG mistake. When I tried to sign on later nothing worked at all. when I tried to do a new password they said my old when wasn't my password anymore. So I tried all 5 of the new ones I had tried but they told me didn't take. None of them worked either. So then I followed the prompts for "I have forgotten my password" and they asked some security questions. The second one was "What is the last name of the maid of honor at your wedding" I put in my sisters last name. NOT CORRECT! I am sorry my sister wasn't my maid of honor?? Now I know she has a long last name so I tried spelling it all the ways you could possible misspell it because I thought maybe I did that or something. NOPE. Then I tried putting in our Maiden name because maybe I goofed up and put that. NOPE. I even tried her first name and even Jeni's name just because. NOPE NOPE. Now I am sorry but I don't think I would have gotten that question wrong. She is my sister AND it was my wedding. I tend to remember things like that.

So I tried to find a number a Yahoo rep. NO GO! So a live chat maybe?? NO! They are always too busy and it says 'Try again later"

Now by this time I am getting really frustrated and that takes a lot because I usually don't care but I mean at least be available to leave a message with people.

I filled out a form and they said they would get back to me within 24 hours. Then I got an e-mail (using Hubby's of course since mine was the problem) that said they were really busy it could be longer. I was okay with that they responded I was happy. Then  I got a nice e-mail asking silly questions I already answered in the form I filled out but I answered them anyway and sent it back...

That was last Saturday. I have heard NOTHING back. Since then I have replied to the e-mail again and filled out another form hoping for some more action but those didn't even get a response at all.

So now I am a gmail girl and hopefully when Yahoo fixes there busy schedule they will fix my e-mail and I can get all my contacts out of there and all the e-mails people have sent me in the last week.

Summer

We have had a very eventful summer so far!

Colorado was our big trip this year and we went with my mom and dad. When we were waiting to take off on our second flight my mom called my Honey and Papa to tell them that the flight had been late due to some problems they wouldn't tell us about and Papa informed her that Honey was very sick and couldn't even get out of bed. This was pretty shocking as we had just seen them that morning before we left but my mom told him to make sure he got her to the hospital right away! It turned out that Honey had a kidney infection that was so bad it had gone septic and was in her blood. She has Alzhimers and still lives with my Papa but my mom takes care of them but Honey and Papa had been hiding that she felt bad because of our trip. Mom wanted to come home right away but that couldn't happen and my Aunt was coming down with her family to take care of them anyway. So she came down a day earlier than expected. Mom was NOT happy about not being home but she also really enjoyed her vacation with all of us so it was definetly a time of mixed emotions for her. Especially when we got the call after Honey was home from the hospital that Papa had collapsed and was now in the hospital himself! AND my Grandpa (dads dad) was in the hospital because he broke his leg.

By the time we came back Papa and Honey were in much better shape and Aunt Janet had done a pretty good job being mom for a while LOL so well in fact mom asked her to move back but Aunt Janet said "No!"

My Aunt went home the 29th and my sister Heidi came in on the 4th of July for 10 days!

It was so much fun the kids had a great time with their cousin Anna and baby Brielle. We went to the mall, the outlet mall, the water park, and had lots and lots of family dinners. They left this morning to go back home to Dallas and I am not a happy camper at all to be sending my sister home.

I will hopefully have pictures and more on all of this a little later but for now this is the update so you know we didn't fall off the face of the planet.

Trying to keep a 4 yr old down??

You can't!  Caden's coughing attacks get much worse when he is up running around. Plus he then looks like death because he doesn't feel well and ends up just sitting down where ever he is trying to recoup. So logically I have been trying to keep him from being up and about. We have watched movies (my mom even let him watch the Magic School Bus movies he wasn't supposed to have yet) that worked for a bit till he felt he was well enough to go outside. So I got out his cars and dinosaurs. This worked again till he decided he really should be outside. Then another movie, more floor play, games, movies, and so on. I need to point out that Joe is home this weekend and has to work on Father's Day gifts so he is outside in the tool shed. Caden usually is out there with him. This means that in between all my fun ideas to keep my son from not feeling horrible and coughing till he can't breath Caden was getting quite annoyed with me.

It was a little hilarious actually. He would ask to go outside and I would tell him No that he can't be around the saw dust and the heat right now. He would then proceed to try to play some thing inside and would end up running circles around the table or get Bug to join him in a game that was too rough for him right now. It would end with him coughing and having to lay down of course. Poor kid just really isn't used to sitting for long periods of time at the house.