Trials already . . . .and we haven’t even begun!

Happy Thursday to you! Well, I sure have gotten off to a horrible start, haven't I? Let's just say that we have had the crud passing through our house like crazy these last 2 weeks. Add to that a good friend from high school passing away and you have a lady who hasn't really been with it. Anyway, I guess you can tell that I finally got around to posting #9 on the must have's list. I will try my best to be more diligent in posting – but it has just been a quacky 2 weeks. So, enjoy and hopefully I will get into the habit and be better at posting regularly. Love to all!

Newbie Must Have’s #9

The willingness to learn from your child(ren). How many times did you hear as a child " . . . because I said so!" If we can take a step away from that mentality, we will see that our children can teach us just as much as we can teach them. Not only will we learn from the curriculum we choose for our children, but we will learn from their innocence. How many times have you listened to your child ask a question and then think to yourself, "I don't know and why do you even care?" It happens to me on a regular basis. So one day, I actually listened to the question being asked and I became determined to find an answer. The question was one of those simple questions, "Mom, why is the sky blue?" So we started researching and that research led to more research and the next thing we knew, we had a whole list of questions we wanted to answer. That was the day that I realized how much I stand to gain by listening to my children and learning from their own naturally curious natures.

Tomorrow: #8: The faith that you CAN teach your child.

Newbie Must Have’s #10

Over the next several days I am going to share with you the steps that I passed through (decisions, trials, night sweats, etc) as we begin changing our lifestyle to that of a homeschooling family. These are just my opinions and my experiences. They are not meant to offend anyone with different ideas. If you don't like what you read, move on to another blog.

The desire to take on the responsibility of your child's future. So many times we willingly give the government the responsibility of raising our children and we don't even know that we have done it. The public school system, in theory, is a great thing and it is the right choice for a lot of children. So please do not think this is a bash session against public school. Remember that I am leaving the twins in until I get my ducks in a row because I am too scared to pull them all out together. What I mean is this: until a parent makes the decision to be 100% responsible for their child's future and not rely on the school system (public or private) then the homeschool decision is not the decision for them and before you can decide that homeschool is the right decision for you and your family, you must be willing to take that responsibility away from whatever institution you have entrusted with your child and plant it firmly on your very own shoulders.

This is probably the scariest part of the whole ordeal - assuming the responsibility. That is why it is listed as the #1 on my list.

Tomorrow: #9: The willingness to learn from your child(ren).

What the heck are they saying?

I was recently on a homeschooling forum and I couldn't understand what folks were saying. So I searched (on that forum) thru the FAQs and found this information. Thought I would share it with the rest of you just in case you were wondering, too.

• TIA = "Thanks In Advance"
  
• [S] = "Smile"
  
• [BG] = "Big Grin"
  
• IRL = "In Real Life"
  
• ETA = "Edited to Add"
  
• ITA = "I totally agree"
  
• BTDT = "Been There Done That"
  
• ROTFL = "Roll On The Floor Laughing"
  
• [VBG] = "Very Big Grin"
  
• [LOL] ="Laughing out Loud"
  
• OTOH = "On the Other Hand"
  
• FWIW = "For What It's Worth"
  
• FS = "For Sale"
  
• WTB = "Want To Buy"
  
• DH = "Dear Hubby"
  
• DD = "Dear Daughter"
  
• DS = "Dear Son"
  
• DW = "Dear Wife"
  
• ILs = "In-Laws"
  
• MIL = "Mother-in-Law"
  
• FIL = "Father-in-Law"
  
• SIL = "Sister-in-Law"
  
• IMHO = "In My Humble Opinion"
  
• IMVHO = "In My Very Humble Opinion"
  
• KWIM = "Know What I Mean"
  
• FYI = "For Your Information"
  
• BTW = "By the way"
  
• HTH = "Hope this helps"
  

How neat! Ok – well love to all!

What a sad, sad day! (ha ha!)

Yesterday, the girls returned to school after being tracked out for 3 weeks. They only have 19 more days left of this school year as they are year round but you would think from the way I acted that they were never coming home! I know it sounds crazy but I used to look forward to them heading back to school after being tracked out for so long. I remember craving the time when I would just drop them off then return home, childless and FREE! Yesterday, however, I felt like I was sending the girls to the guillotine! What in the world is wrong with me!?!?!?!

I guess since we have made the commitment to homeschool, my mind has just turned anti-public school. But it shouldn't be that way. Really it shouldn't. The public school still has a lot to offer a child, especially here in Wake County. After the NCHE conference I couldn't help but feel like we should go ahead and pull the twins, too. But, you know, the thought of homeschooling ALL 3 at the same time NOT knowing what I am doing is just too scary. So as of right now, we will continue with the plan of just pulling Kenne for the 2009/2010 school year and letting the twins go back and start 1^st grade.

Tons of love to you all!

Working full time AND homeschooling?

Ok – so that sounds like a contradiction, right? But think about it and think about me and what I have been doing since 1996. As a Realtor, my schedule is extraordinarily flexible! I mean, come on, what other career would allow me to make money even while laid up in the hospital for 6 weeks! I will continue working as a Realtor forever! The great part about my career is that most interaction with clients is at night or on the weekends. So I really think I can do both, successfully. What's the worst that could happen? Oh, boy, I wish I didn't just write that sentence. Now all I can think of is "dumbing" down my girls or dropping the ball on a multi-million dollar deal.

When I think about everything we will have to do in a day, I know that scheduling is going to play a big role in succeeding. Not only will I have to train the girls to try to live by a schedule, but I will have to train myself as well. I love schedules, love them. But do I stick to them as well as I should? Nope, sure don't. I am a justifier. I can justify anything. Like right now, I should be getting some lunch into my little rugrats. But what am I doing? I am blogging. I justify that by saying it just has to be done. Yeah, right!

Anyway, let's just say a prayer that I get my act together and things go smoothly.

35 Days and Counting!

Switching to Blogger

Hi everyone! A friend of mine thought I would have an easier time of it if I switched to Blogger for my blog versus ChristianBlogsites. So I am going to try it before deleting my Christianblogsites account. I am also going to try to figure out how to transfer my other blog to Blogger. It is sorta hard to figure it out because ChristianBlogsites doesn't allow for us to download content. But hey, I'll figure it out. Just wanted to post here to see how easy it was to use Word as my blog editor.

If anyone has any ideas on how to do this easier, feel free to comment. J you know I love to be taught new things!

God bless!

Kel