What's going on?

Wow! Talk about slack. Whew! Can't say that I am the most "with it" can you? Well, I guess I can blame it on tons of things - but the main thing is that I just haven't made time to post. Have you ever felt that no matter what, you just can't seem to get your act together? Well, the past few weeks have definitely been that way for me. BUT that's ok. Because as my dear, dear friend, Patti pointed out to me, we homeschool to live not live to homeschool.

The girls are thriving! Absolutely, totally thriving. They love homeschooling. It's so funny to me that I used to be one of those "what about socialization" types of folks. You know the ones I'm talking about. Yep, that was me. My poor, poor girls! I think some days they wouldn't mind going back to public school just so they aren't run to death! Seriously, they really are loving it AND they are still learning!

So, what has been going on? Well, we have been hit with a few medical hic-ups. My MS has flared up big time over the past month. I have a new neurologist (one of the best MS specialists in the area) and he is running tons of baseline tests so we can try to get a handle on everything NOW instead of waiting until it is so bad we are playing catch up. So the past few weeks have been a little nutsy with tests and all. Just to tell you how awesome my girls are though (yes, I am about to brag!): went for an updated MRI which was supposed to only take about an hour. Well, it ended up taking over 2 and 1/2 hours. My baby girls were sitting in the waiting room that entire time, reading, playing their DS, taking naps (ok, so only Taylor slept!) and just chilling. I had so many folks come up to me when I FINALLY got out of the tube telling me how fabulous my girls were. Can you just imagine the pride that overflowed from me that day?

Then Kenne got this mulluscum thing. So we are tea tree oiling her twice daily and it is really helping. (ask me about Tea Tree oil if you don't know what I'm talking about! AMAZING!)

Then Taylor (why is it always Taylor?) got an infected belly button. That's right - her belly button is infected. Looks so nasty. But she may have scratched it while digging in it (you know, lint removal!) and it got all crusty and bloody. So after trying to treat it at home for a week, we ended up having to take her to the doc and get her a topical antibiotic.

So the past few weeks have been a little nutsy. Oh and on top of all that, my darling SBC (sister by choice) Erika felt called to start a soccer league for Northern Wake County homeschoolers. Well, who do you think just had to volunteer to be her admin coordinator? Oh and our co-op starts this upcoming week so I have been preparing for that. And finally, finally I have actually been working. Yay!!!!!! Maybe, just maybe the real estate market IS turning around. I just hope it's not a false turn around - know what I mean? But let's stay positive and that's for another post.

Love to all and may God bless you as richly as He has surely blessed us!

Our Curriculum

So many people have been asking us what curriculum we are using or "where do you get the stuff you teach?" It's so neat to talk about our curriculum choices. We are doing things pretty "normal" around here with the occasional jump "outside of the box."
Our main curriculum is Sonlight. Our history, geography & writing all center around the stories in Sonlight. For math and science we use Switched on Schoolhouse.
We love everything we have tried as of right now. Sonlight allows the girls and I to share in the learning experience and it is all laid out for me - virtually no planning on my part (well, not as much as it would be otherwise!). The SOS makes Kenne read the instructions. Because of that, she is learning to actually follow directions. Imagine that!?!?!?!
We have just started using a FREE (that's right, FREE) lesson plan based on the Book of Virtues. Loving it! Loving FREE! Loving what the girls are learning! For the twins we are using Sing, Spell, Read and Write for their Language Arts. For their math we use Horizons - which I got for FREE from a friend in our co-op.
Anyway, I could go on forever and ever about the FREE resources out there. . . .oh, wait! I think I will go on and on - in another blog post down the road.
Love to all!

May I introduce . . . Kelli, the patient one?

So many of my friends and family have asked me lately how I am managing to stay calm and actually have tons of patience. Well I am going to share my little secret with you. But first, let me tell you a little about the "old Kelli."

Back in the day, you know, back when the girls were NOT homeschooled (It seems like FOREVER ago!) I felt like a chicken running around with its head cut off. It was go, go, go – constantly go!!! After the girls had spent 7 hours in school they then came home to do their chores, then homework, then dinner, then soccer (or karate, or piano, or church, or . . . . . ). Then it was time to go BACK HOME and get their showers and throw them in bed. And Tim wondered why I was short tempered back in those days.

Now, let's meet the NEW KELLI!! Patient? Me? PUHLEASE!! But wait! It's really true! Kenne, my oldest, tells me everyday how wonderful her "new mommy" is. I do NOT feel rushed, I do NOT feel crazy! I do NOT feel like it is go, go, go . . . . .constantly go anymore! It is truly amazing how wonderful I feel by NOT going bonkers trying to fit my life (and that of my family) into the public school schedule. Here is a sample of our new daily schedule:

7:00 – I wake up, take my shower, brush my teeth, you know that kind of stuff.

7:30 – I have my quiet time with God (or QTWG)

8:00 – I wake the girls and they make their beds, get ready and all that jazz.

8:15 – I actually feed the girls. (that's right, breakfast! Before breakfast was a pop-tart or granola bar as we ran out the door! Now it is muffins, sausage biscuits, cinnamon rolls, cheese toast, and yes, bowls of cereal!)

While they are eating, I read the daily bible story to them from Studying God's World from Christian Liberty Press. They even have comprehension questions so I can make sure they are listening.

After they eat, they run and brush their teeth and brush their hair – all that "girly" stuff. By the time they finish, it is normally bout 9:00.

9:00 – 10:00 they do their chores (so do I) like emptying the litter box, dusting, putting clothes away, laundry, bathrooms etc.

10:00 – the school bell rings. No seriously, it really does. I have my computer scheduled to sound the alarm!

From 10:00 until 12:30 we are in class. We have morning announcements where we: Pray, say the Pledge of Allegiance, sing from Sonlight's Wee Sing and then we all get started on our materials for the day.

12:30 – we eat lunch

1:00 – Kenne (my 5^th grader) finishes her math and science and anything else she hasn't finished (like reading etc.) Taylor and Morgan (the twins) take this time to be QUIET!!!!! Ok, ok, so really this is their time to read, color, do some computer work – quiet time type activities.

2:00 – DISMISSAL!! That's right – after only 4 hours in "school" my girls are done. Now, once Kenne hits high school, I expect her hours will get more intense. However, she STILL will not have hours upon hours of homework to do once she gets home so she still comes out on top!

As for me – from 1:00 until 4:00 I get to work. Being a Realtor, business is pretty slow right now. But we are seeing a turn around so maybe it will pick up some and my husband won't have to carry the burden of supporting us all on his own.

So that is why, my dear friends, I am a happier person – there is actually TIME to enjoy my kids, myself, my job, their jobs blah, blah, blah, blah!!! Go ya get me?

Ok – so new Kelli is here, hopefully to stay. Do you know my girls ACTUALLY ask me why I smile all the time? I thought it was a given that I smiled all the time – but evidently I hadn't been smiling so much and now they are just ecstatic that mommy is smiling. Amazing, huh?

Thank you God! Thank you so much!!

The Homeschool Buyer Co-op

Boy oh boy am I slack, right? I may not have been posting like I should but I guarantee I have been far from idle. One of the things I have been researching is The Homeschool Buyer Co-op. And let me just tell you this. . . . IT IS AWESOME!! Take a peek for yourself and you will see why I haven't posted.

The Homeschool Buyer Co-op is a free homeschooling organization for both new and veteran homeschoolers. Co-op membership is free and confidential, and entitles homeschooling families to discounts from over a hundred educational suppliers. They also sponsor "Group Buys" for curriculum packages that save homerschooling families lots of money. On the site you'll find lots of free information, such as databases of free curriculum, field trips, and educational contests and scholarships. Highly recommended. Click here for more information.

Be on the lookout for more "freebie" hints coming your way! Take care!

Week 3 – sorta, kinda . . . .Maybe?

Well, another week down, but I don't know if we should count this one towards our hsing journey or not. Kenne did 2 days of hs but then we just quit for the rest of the week. BUT WAIT! Don't get your knickers in a twist. (I have always wanted to say that!) She participated in Science Camp this week through the public library system. FREE and she loved it. Wow! This year's focus was Chemistry, so every afternoon from 1 to 4 she went and hung out with 19 other boys and girls and completed these awesome science experiments. She really had a blast.

Oh, and one more great hurdle was jumped this week. We have officially (as opposed to unofficially?) committed to hsing the twins, NOW! Their first "official" day of hs will be this Monday. We are very excited and they are really into it. They were feeling left out and while they wanted to go to school to see their friends, each day they would ask why they couldn't stay home and homeschool, too. Evidently God did want them home because he allowed me to get my brain wrapped around everything and he guided me towards a very workable schedule so that I can teach each child, do my chores AND work some. Gotta love that. So folks that are clients . . . .please know that I have changed my office hours. They are now 1:00 until 4:00, nights and weekends by appointment.

Ok – what else, what else? Hmmmm. We are really doing great. Truly. It takes me a bit longer to realize that we do NOT have to stress about scheduling but once it does hit me upside the head, then all is good (like this past week! Why the heck was I going to make Kenne go thru basically 12 hours of school if you count the science camp plus the work she had to do before and after just to stay "on schedule?" Oh – and I realized that when we go to Gettysburg in September I am NOT going to do any hsing curriculum stuff, but instead focus on the experience itself.

We are just so blessed to have this opportunity to be with our girls. I told Tim, Oh darn! I forgot to buy a lottery ticket. Oh well! Anyway, I told Tim that my main reason for wanting to win the lottery is so he can stay home with us and quit having to work so hard to provide for us. He is missing out on so much of their growth that it just depresses me. Now, before you get all sappy, ask me if it depresses me enough to make me want to go and work a real, 9 to 5 kinda job so he can stay home with the girls. The answer to that is HECKARONI NO!!!!!!! Love him, mean it. . . . .but I am so selfish that I do not want to give up my time with the girls.

Ok – well, off to bed now. We had a very successful yardsale at my office in Wake Forest today and I am beat. Not only do I have a "heat" headache, but I am just plain exhausted.

Love to all and God bless!

Field Trip & Fun!

You know, I'm an old fashioned southern gal and I am used to having fresh vegetables and fruits and all that jazz. But since we had the twins, our time tables have gotten all messed up and we haven't had a garden in years! Trying to change the family's eating habits & save money really got me thinking. Then what do you know, the HS group I joined (Generations) posted a link about a produce co-op. When I was too late to the table (ha ha, pun definitely intended folks!) a wonderful lady in the group by the name of Anita, shared her knowledge with me. So, being the exploring kinda gal I am, I decided what a great field trip for Kenne! On Thursday morning, we packed up, dropped the twins off at public school (more to come on that) then headed to The State Farmer's Market. Oh My! Talk about a great experience. Now, folks, I have been to the market before & taken the girls and we all loved it. But I have never been to the bulk market. I got everything you see spread out on the dining room table . . . .are you ready for this? . . . . . $65! Now, I know with 1 dimension pictures it is hard to truly see what is there so I'll tell ya! I got a case of squash, case of snaps, 10 pounds of tators, 113 apples, case of peaches (case seen plus 18 more because I had already set up the dehydrator and the girls were wolfin' them down left and right) and 5 pineapples. Can you believe that? Oh my! Oh my!!!

Is that not amazing? So, Kenne's field trip for the week consisted of economics – she had to decide what we bought and which vendor to get it from (who had the better deal). In the next part (that comes from the field trip but is really conducted here at home) she will help me put up all this food by dehydrating, canning or freezing. We will also make some apple sauce later next week or early the following week once the apples of ripened a bit more.

So I would have to say our 2^nd week was another great success. Of course, we did have a bad day or two, but even those ended up ok. Oh, and we had our first "anti homeschooling" run in with one of Kenne's old friends. I knew it was inevitable but it still depressed us. Maybe I will be able to write about one day, but right now, let's just leave it at this: I am praying very hard that God wraps this little girl (the friend) in his arms and shows her his love because she needs it, very, VERY, badly.

Okee dokee – signing off for now. Y'all take care and thanks again for reading this. I'm doing it to keep all our friends and family posted on how it's going, definitely. But I am also doing this to keep a journal for future years so I can remember (we know how that memory thing just isn't a great thing with me!). So, love to all!

First week down, only 35 more to go!

Hot diggity dawg! We have had a blast this week! Being the type triple A personality that my great friend, Buck, accuses me of being, you know I had scheduled and spreadsheeted myself to death over homeschooling! I had a schedule for my schedule! But hey, it gives me something in writing to follow and if it is in writing, well, I tend to actually do it! So after this week, we are so excited. Kenne loves hsing. She loves it. I know it has only been a week, but she has made remarkable progress. It's like she has grown up overnight. I haven't had to string her up by her toenails just to get her to do her chores. She also is in love with reading – how the heckaroni did that happen? Tim and I both love to read, but she hated it! Well, when I say she hated it, she didn't really hate it! She just picked out a book because she thought the cover looked cool. Then that book would sit on her desk or her bed for WEEKS and she would never open it!

Now this rugrat BEGS to read. She is loving it! I thank Sonlight for that. Anyway, today she is having her spelling test and then moving on to Chapter 2 in her history and then she will read some more of her "living history" book and then she has the rest of the day off. I am just so proud of her!

I truly thank God for giving us this opportunity! It is a blessing to be able to do this with our children. I am trying to imagine life once we get the twins out of public school and I have to say, I am scared! Really scared! But oh well, God will provide the patience for me as I try to do His will.

Love to all! Oh – a friend asked how does she follow this blog – just click on the box up above that says "Follow Blog" it should show up in the Blog toolbar above. If it doesn't, just shoot me an email. Love to all of you! Off to watch School House Rocks right now – so we can watch a "Noun is a Noun." Gosh, I love this!