Sunday, December 12, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Whats really sad is this heading pops up automatically when I start to type. I've been busy all of last month with mom and dad here, then they left, then Thanksgiving, and now I'm doing lots with my vinyl business trying to make some money so we can sponsor a family for Christmas. I got BushCreative up on FB, and did a big giveaway with SimplyB. Now Brady got me onto twitter and I'm exploring the marketing aspects there.
The kids are good. We have started volume 1 of Beyond 5 in a Row and they are really enjoying it. Carter is in rock climbing, Tys in MMA, and Thursday Katrina will join Carter in rock climbing. Its a kids club that meets for 2 hours 2x a week. Carter loves it and Trina thinks she will too. Its nice because the classes are all at the same time, right next door to each other. And they are near Bradys office, so I drop them off, he picks them up on his way home. What more could you ask for? Oh ya, the charter school pays for it!!! :)
Tonight we will be decorating the Christmas Tree, it was supposed to happen last night, but as none of the lights worked we spent the entire evening using wire clippers, snipping off the 2 million wire-ties attached to our pre-lit tree. So hopefully tonight, as tomorrow I have a vinyl party, Thursday an open house, Friday we have a Christmas Party and Brady is DJ'ing, so I guess worse case if not tonight, the Saturday.
So those are my rambling thoughts, as I multi-task between dinner, weeding vinyl, fb and blogging!
Life is good here in Cali, though it is getting chilly. Love you all
The kids are good. We have started volume 1 of Beyond 5 in a Row and they are really enjoying it. Carter is in rock climbing, Tys in MMA, and Thursday Katrina will join Carter in rock climbing. Its a kids club that meets for 2 hours 2x a week. Carter loves it and Trina thinks she will too. Its nice because the classes are all at the same time, right next door to each other. And they are near Bradys office, so I drop them off, he picks them up on his way home. What more could you ask for? Oh ya, the charter school pays for it!!! :)
Tonight we will be decorating the Christmas Tree, it was supposed to happen last night, but as none of the lights worked we spent the entire evening using wire clippers, snipping off the 2 million wire-ties attached to our pre-lit tree. So hopefully tonight, as tomorrow I have a vinyl party, Thursday an open house, Friday we have a Christmas Party and Brady is DJ'ing, so I guess worse case if not tonight, the Saturday.
So those are my rambling thoughts, as I multi-task between dinner, weeding vinyl, fb and blogging!
Life is good here in Cali, though it is getting chilly. Love you all
Friday, November 26, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
We got back from our mini vacation last night and we all struggled to get up this morning. Even Brady was late for work. My friend stopped by to bring back Frodo, we had an oven repair guy coming sometime between 8 and noon, and I was frantically trying to get the kids going.
"It's cold!!" "I'm tired" "Theres nothing I want for breakfast," were a few complaints being yelled around the house this morning, while I tried to get breakfast done, and chores accomplished. I sat in the living room, visiting with my friend, yelling at the children to get busy and finish their chores or there would be no pumpkin patch this afternoon. She asked me if I've considered just sending them to school- "this looks like a lot of work." I laughed and said, "Na." But in my heart I was thinking "YES, YES, YES!!!!"
After she left and the repair guy finished with his estimate, I pulled the kids into the living room and told them if they don't get this figured out they are all going back to school!!!! And I meant it. I laid down the law, laid out a new updated schedule of our day, and ordered them all to start school. Then I went to my computer, and found Tammys blog. WOW, did I need that today!!! You not them. Inspire not require. What am I doing? Time to pull the book back out and get busy inspiring. I think part of my frustration comes from the fact that we are meeting with our ES and supposed to turn in a few samples of what we have done this month.
What does she mean? We haven't done anything this month. We have no math pages, book reports or science projects. But this isn't true. I just need to look deeper. Tyler has read 2 books, Katrina is studying Hamlet in her Shakespeare class and Carter has started an ant farm. This needs to be part of my "You not them." I can take pictures of these things, take notes and make copies. They dont need to do anything different. (except maybe their chores a little quicker with a lot less complaining.)
They are learning, even if its not through textbooks and worksheets.
So today is a new day, time to "Inspire not require."
"It's cold!!" "I'm tired" "Theres nothing I want for breakfast," were a few complaints being yelled around the house this morning, while I tried to get breakfast done, and chores accomplished. I sat in the living room, visiting with my friend, yelling at the children to get busy and finish their chores or there would be no pumpkin patch this afternoon. She asked me if I've considered just sending them to school- "this looks like a lot of work." I laughed and said, "Na." But in my heart I was thinking "YES, YES, YES!!!!"
After she left and the repair guy finished with his estimate, I pulled the kids into the living room and told them if they don't get this figured out they are all going back to school!!!! And I meant it. I laid down the law, laid out a new updated schedule of our day, and ordered them all to start school. Then I went to my computer, and found Tammys blog. WOW, did I need that today!!! You not them. Inspire not require. What am I doing? Time to pull the book back out and get busy inspiring. I think part of my frustration comes from the fact that we are meeting with our ES and supposed to turn in a few samples of what we have done this month.
What does she mean? We haven't done anything this month. We have no math pages, book reports or science projects. But this isn't true. I just need to look deeper. Tyler has read 2 books, Katrina is studying Hamlet in her Shakespeare class and Carter has started an ant farm. This needs to be part of my "You not them." I can take pictures of these things, take notes and make copies. They dont need to do anything different. (except maybe their chores a little quicker with a lot less complaining.)
They are learning, even if its not through textbooks and worksheets.
So today is a new day, time to "Inspire not require."
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Today Brady gets back from Europe, more specifically, Belgium. We have missed him. He has been gone 8 days. His phone didn't work there and he had very limited Internet access. So we had to communicate the old fashioned way. Once daily, scheduled phone calls. Wow, what a difference, not being in constant contact. I sure have missed my best friend.
So... today we get ready for Daddy's return. Laundry will be done, bathrooms and kitchen scrubbed, groceries bought, cars gases, and bedrooms cleaned. Our house will be brought back to normalcy after a week of neglect.
Its amazing how quickly it all goes to pot when a key figure of the family is missing. We eat cold cereal and scrambled eggs, for dinner. We stay up late and sleep later. We burrow into the house and get comfy, as if we are hibernating, waiting for Daddy's return.
So... today we get ready for Daddy's return. Laundry will be done, bathrooms and kitchen scrubbed, groceries bought, cars gases, and bedrooms cleaned. Our house will be brought back to normalcy after a week of neglect.
Its amazing how quickly it all goes to pot when a key figure of the family is missing. We eat cold cereal and scrambled eggs, for dinner. We stay up late and sleep later. We burrow into the house and get comfy, as if we are hibernating, waiting for Daddy's return.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Todays subject- How to clean a bedroom.
This is a continuing education course as it seams the topic must be revisited every 3-6 months no matter how many times the student has attended the class in the past.
Topics covered will include:
Under the bed is not toy box
Putting like things together
The closet is for clean clothes How to use a hanger
Broken toys belong in the trash
And my favorite-
You don't have to keep every piece of paper you have ever read, doodled on, or been given.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Monday, October 11, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
No one is thrilled, accept maybe dad. He LOVES coming home to a clean house, and this has alleviated the need for many Scrubbing Saturdays; and hence his need to participate in the cleaning.
But as for the rest of us, the kids get frustrated with having to "work ALL the time" and I get frustrated having to repeat myself.
Exactly how many ways can u show/teach proper cleaning of a toilet before it sinks in?
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
I LOVE Mountain Dew.
I love the taste.
I love the sugar rush.
I love the caffeine pick me up.
Sadly, my body does not love Mt. Dew.
My body doesn't love a lot of things I LOVE...
ice cream, carbonation, chocolate, hot chocolate, potato chips...
The list is long.
As I have gotten older,
(did I just say that?)
I have learned my body (ie: stomach) just isn't the same,
but despite this knowledge, I still don't change,
and I suffer the consequences.
So today, once again, I have quit caffeine.
But of course, not cold turkey!!!
That would be CRAZY!!!
So this morning I had a (1) can of Mt. Dew,
a measly 12 oz's,
and this afternoon I am dragging.
The 8 cans left in the garage fridge are calling to me.
But I will hold strong.
I will respect my body,
(not to mention, avoid a night of heart burn and other issues)
So why?
Why is this the 3rd time in 18 months I have done this?
Alas, I am an addict.
I will finally cleanse myself of the EVIL that is carbonation,
and then one drink,
one moment of weakness,
"just one won't hurt"
and I am back here,
Starting all over...
Thursday, September 9, 2010
I LOVE TJed.
I love watching my children explore and begin to move past all the boundaries and labels put on them by the conveyor belt.
School days at our house are very unconventional. So far today we have done chores, made french toast, worked on a puzzle on the "dining room" table, built a city out of blocks for our Leggo guys, houses, and vehicles, played Scrabble Slam, and are now playing "covert agent guy" in the back yard.
Every time Tyler walks through the house he stops for a moment to put a few more pieces into place in the puzzle, then Carter walks past and compliments him on his puzzle skills.
We are reading 3 books together right now. In the mornings we are reading Dr. Doolittle, then in the evenings we are reading Little Britches, and The Book of Mormon.
This afternoon we are planning a walk to Walmart for more ammunition for their cap guns.
I have loved the seminars and webinars I have found online that are helping me move forward, as well as the advice from a great mentor who is using Tjed with her children. (Thanks Amy! ;))
Right now we are focusing on Love of Learning, and You not Them. It's such a neat experience to see them coming into their own. Discovering they can think for themselves. Allowing them to make their own decisions about what to learn and that learning is everywhere and can and should be fun.
My biggest struggle right now is "lets go" not "you go." I am great at telling them what to do and then sitting back and watching. I am trying hard to create a "lets go" environment. They love it when I say, "Lets play scrabble," or "Lets go outside," rather than telling them to do it and sitting back to watch.
I am an Side Lines Mom.
In my family, the kids and Brady "go and do," while I observe from the side lines. This is true with many things. Playing in the pool, putting pennies on railroad tracks to see what will happen, wrestling in the living room, fishing, hiking, even in some of the cleaning and chores.
This is one of the thing I am working on, a current "You, not Them." So I guess I should get to it rather than sitting here blogging while they run around the backyard arresting the bad guys.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
"Mom... where'd his Leggo?"
I couldn't help but laugh. This kid is funny. We have started to refer to this side of him as "goofy Carter" and occasionally have to remind him there is a time and a place. But I love having him around so much and am in awe of his incredible sense of humor and timing.
Move over Jim Carey.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
So today was our first FEC, (Family Executive Council.) It went well, though it did take almost 3 hours. There was A LOT of information to cover. FEC is a weekly meeting between mom and dad where we invite Heavenly Father and discuss our weekly schedule, education, and needs as well as the individual needs of each child. After we met with each child individually, then we brought them all together to go over things that effect everyone. We are hoping, as do more of these, they will take less time. But today it needed to be LONG. It has been a long time since we have sat and spent that much time and effort, in one sitting, specifically on our family and our needs.
It was good. We realized there are many areas were we need work. Brady pointed out that we need to be careful to not go so gung-ho that we get over-whelmed and end up bailing on the whole thing. So we picked a couple specific areas to focus on this week. This week is about the new schedule, and the kids becoming more self reliant and responsible.
Our new schedule.
It will start at 7am with Brady and I getting out of bed. Brady will get ready for work and I will make breakfast. The kids will get up and join us at 7:30 for breakfast. Brady leaves for work just before 8 and we will start getting ready for the day and doing chores. I am hoping that by 9, but being realistic, it will be 9:30 we will start school. Mon and Wed school will go til noon when Brady comes home for lunch, and Tues and Thursday at 9:30 I work out with a friend for an hour, so that will be personal study time for the children. Friday will be field trips. Afternoons will be for PE and play. Tyler is working on his Weblo, and is going to teach PE to the kids as he works on his Fitness Badge. He is also in charge of FHE for the month, and teaching Citizenship. We are hoping to have him get his Weblo at Octobers Pack Meeting, giving him plenty of time by April to get his Arrow of Light.
Evenings will be for family outings and family reading.
Then everyone to bed between 8:30 and 9, least the kids. The goal for us is 10:30.
We have agreed there will be no TV or X-box during the week, but that Friday night will be family TV time. I am looking for good educational sites on the computer for the kids. I want them to be internet and computer savvy, but dont want them wasting their time. Today we found a great typing game, and are on the look out for more math and spelling sites.
We also instigated the Bean Counter Game, (more about that later) but the kids are excited about earning a trip to 6 Flags.
So it begins, a new school year, but more than that, a new adventure. I am SO excited by all the great changes I see happening in our family. And not just for the kids, for Brady and I too. This is a good thing!!!
Saturday, August 28, 2010
So it is official. School started last week for all of the neighborhood children, and our 3 children stayed home. I am so excited about Thomas Jefferson Education. I know, many of you are thinking... its about time. But it is about time, our time. And the time is right for us now. I have learned so much the last few months as I have started studying TJed. There is so much information in books, audio seminars, and from people all around who are willing to share their knowledge. The children are still stying to catch on, but as they say, "you not them," and we are focused on us.
There are so many changes to make in getting off the conveyor belt. New routines and schedules. We are TV people. We can waste hours a day in front of the TV or computer. A bad habit I know, but even worse when you are trying to set new priorities and goals as a family. More time reading, talking, studying. More time together creating, dreaming, and doing, and less time vegging out in front of the Video God.
Alas,as I type this, here I sit, stretched out in Bradys lazyboy watching an MMA fight with the boys and eating pizza. My laptop open on my lap as I peruse various blogs by friends and family.
I read Amys blog about early to bed, early to rise. Another one of our struggles. I LOVE TO SLEEP. Before we married, I was an early riser and Brady slept in. He showed me the error of my ways, and now I can gleefully sleep til 10 am while my children slumber away in their own beds. We are all sleepers. There is no one in our home that sees the point in getting up before the crack of noon.
This must change, too much time is being wasted, "sleeping the day away" as my dad used to say. Morning are for great things, not sleeping... so I must turn over a new leaf, find the morning person in me, and make the change in my family. But Amy, my sympathy is with you.... my mornings will NOT be starting at 6 am. That is just cruel!
There are so many changes to make in getting off the conveyor belt. New routines and schedules. We are TV people. We can waste hours a day in front of the TV or computer. A bad habit I know, but even worse when you are trying to set new priorities and goals as a family. More time reading, talking, studying. More time together creating, dreaming, and doing, and less time vegging out in front of the Video God.
Alas,as I type this, here I sit, stretched out in Bradys lazyboy watching an MMA fight with the boys and eating pizza. My laptop open on my lap as I peruse various blogs by friends and family.
I read Amys blog about early to bed, early to rise. Another one of our struggles. I LOVE TO SLEEP. Before we married, I was an early riser and Brady slept in. He showed me the error of my ways, and now I can gleefully sleep til 10 am while my children slumber away in their own beds. We are all sleepers. There is no one in our home that sees the point in getting up before the crack of noon.
This must change, too much time is being wasted, "sleeping the day away" as my dad used to say. Morning are for great things, not sleeping... so I must turn over a new leaf, find the morning person in me, and make the change in my family. But Amy, my sympathy is with you.... my mornings will NOT be starting at 6 am. That is just cruel!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Big Trees.... That is an understatement. These are HUGE trees. I have included lots of pictures to try and demonstrate the point, but you can not comprehend or truly appreciate the magnificence of these trees unless you see them for yourself!
This tree is called "Discovery Tree." It was the first of these great Sequoias found, and they promptly cut it down. As there was not saw to span the necessary 30+ feet, they drilled holes into the tree until it eventually fell over. You can see those marks here.
The stump left after Discovery Tree was fallen, was made into a dance floor.
This is the root system of a tree that has fallen over.
See the small children in front of the tree?
"Mother and Son"
Playing in the trees
The inside of this tree was burned out by forest fire after if died and fell over. The bark is so strong and dense it can sustain itself again fire, even when dead.
These are one of the only species still on the earth that existed at the time of the dinosaurs.
Many of the trees in this forest are as old as 2,000 years.
Friday, August 6, 2010
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