My eldest child

I'm gonna try to catch you up to date on my eldest child. Hmmm...rolling eyes around while brain searches for 411.

William is my eldest child and (if you've been keeping up) you know that all three of our boys are adopted. And if you haven't been keeping up, now you know. William is now in Brunswick, GA at Job Corps. And I gotta tell ya, my dear husband has been catching it from his mom. Oh yeah! She has been giving him an ear full. Back to William. He was going to age out of school and he's at that age where mom and dad just aren't hip (cool) (down with it) (or whatever it's called nowadays) anymore. Hey you remember when you were 17 going on 40! William was and still is very excited about the Job Corps program. This is a good thing. He will either get his diploma or a GED and he will get job training for a career path that he chooses. And...get this...they pay him. For real! I think it is a great program. It wasn't easy to send him out into the world, so we figured an environment that is still controlled and monitored not only eases our minds but helps him to ease into the world.
Our calls to him have been uplifting and we can hear his excitement over the phone.
His one request is for us to please send him some toilet paper, striking paper, toilet tissue or what ever you wanna call it. It's the stuff you clean your bottom with. He says that people still it from the bathrooms.
I know...I'm as clueless as you are.

Yeah! A break!

Nope it isn't my leg or anything like that. We actually took a break today. I met some of the home school group at the springs for a day of sun and fun. I had to leave and go to a meeting and some of the moms kept an eye out for the boys. Once my meeting was over, I picked up the other boys and took them to the springs. I love it when we can take a break like that. Just leave all the studies and responsibilities behind.
I love hanging out with the other moms!

What a life

I sure have to admit that I have an easy life. I go to bed latter than the rest of the gang because it's the only time the house is quiet. I'm not kiddin! LOL It seems like my kids just never shut up be quiet. I sleep late everyday.
You would think that living on a little teeny tiny farm that I would have to get up early and milk the cows and feed the chickens and on and on. To start with, we don't have a cow or any chickens. We do have 3 horses, 3 cats and 2 dogs. Of course the cats will scratch your eyes out if you don't feed them at the right time. And the dogs will bark until you can't hear yourself think if you don't turn them out of their kennels that they sleep in every night. Not to mention the damage that 3 huge horses can do in just a few minutes if they don't have their hay at the crack of dawn. Ok - I'm joking about the critters!

I really do sleep late every day. My boys are woke up by Superman. Once Superman wakes them up, he heads off to work. The boys do their chores and eat breakfast and then they sneak in and wake me up. Since the boys missed so many things that we all take for granted, I will let them crawl in bed with me in the mornings. After about 15 minutes of the covers being pulled this way and that way I have to say enough and run them out of the room. Now I take about 10 minutes to brush my teeth, make my bed and get dressed. I walk into the "classroom" and our day begins.

There are days when I just have to reward the boys with being done with school at lunch time. Summer is here now and I intend to keep their feet wrinkled from swimming. Yes we are still doing school but we are swimming too. We spend a few hours at the springs and then we head home to get dinner ready for Superman (and us).

I intend to take more pictures of the springs and our activities. I have lots to share now, I just gotta get em here.

What a life!

Should I Quit

All of you know that I haven't been posting here like I should. I am just doing other things and don't want to spend so much time talking about what I want to do or what I've been doing or even what I'm gonna do...
I just want to go and do it. That's what has me thinking that maybe I should just quit. I mean quit blogging. No - not forever - just for a little while. Haha...that's pretty much what I've done. Well to some extent anyway.

Here lately I've been...
outside more
enjoying home school
raising a baby squirrel
doing more with freecycle
planning and planting a winter garden
enjoying our 3 boys

Finally

Finally! I am back again. I tried to do this earlier but life happened. Imagine that! LOL

The weather here finally turned cooler. Ok, we had 3 days of really cold weather. It was a nice break away from the heat. Florida generally has some really strange weather. I hear people talk about this and that when it comes to our weather. And we have an old saying - "If you don't like the weather in Florida, stick around, it will change really soon".

I did a little bit of organizing in our classroom. I moved some book shelves around, put most of the books on the shelves, moved some of the boys school stuff and a little here and a little there. It is so much more organized now that we can all find what we need without running all around looking for it.

I have also been working on the Gather community a lot. A LOT! LOL
I really enjoy the Gather community. All you have to do is join, read a few articles, rate a few articles and if you are really interested you can post articles for your friends to comment and rate. It only takes a few minutes a day. Be careful though, it's addictive! I actually have just ordered my free Home Depot gift card. Yes, you heard me right - I did say FREE. Free things are always good!

Christmas at our House

Christmas at our house - it was our first Christmas with the boys. It was our first chance to let Santa into our house. I told you about going out and selecting our tree. That was a lot of fun and something that we will do every year. We had to buy some new ornaments because we had thrown most of the stuff out a few years back. We did have some homemade ornaments that we used. I love those. We also made some new ornaments. They turned out wonderful and we had a lot of fun making them. The cards that we made with the boys pictures inside were a big hit. Actually, everything that we made was a big hit.

Nana loves here canvas bag the boys made.

Christmas Eve:

Granny K stayed over. That was nice. It gave Superman and I a chance to do what we had to do. Superman read "Twas the Night Before Christmas". The boys were so ready to go to bed when it came bedtime. They were sound asleep almost when their heads hit the pillow. I baked several dozen cookies during the day. Sometimes the boys would help with the cookies but they really just wanted to eat them. Go figure!

Superman had been holding on to the 4 wheeler secret for so long. Just one more day and he can let the cat out of the bag.

Oh yeah - I almost forgot. We made a Santa Clause Landing Zone. We used milk cartons with tea light candles in them. The Santa Clause LZ looked so much better than it does here.

Our tree before Santa had arrived.

Christmas Day:

Our tree after Santa had arrived.

No this is not the Taliban! Talk about pulling the wool over their eyes!

The face of a very surprised and happy child.

Instructions, directions, do and don'ts!

Even do and don'ts from Grandpa.

Of course we have to try them on. They fit well...I know they belong to the boys. Now get off of them.

Oh yeah! Somebodies just gotta get brave!

And Mindy says it all...I've had enough!

I know there no helmets on anyone of us. Superman turned the 4 wheelers down, so they would go really fast. One the boys learn a little more about them and really get the feel of them and learn to respect them, then they will be turned up a little at a time.

Helmets are coming this month. We will not ride them anymore until protective gear can be worn.

Sketch's

At the yard sale Saturday, there was a man that set up near us. He had a few things for sale and honestly, I don't remember what he had for sale. What really amazed me was what he was doing. He is a sketch artist. He did sketch's of all of the kids that would sit still enough. Get this - the sketch's were free. Yeah - FREE!

Here are sketch's that he did of the boys. The sketch's actually make the boys look way older than they really are. I just like the fact that the boys were interested in this.

A Fun Day

We started our day out early. Into the big city to take my mom to her doctor's appointment. Traffic wasn't too bad. At one point the boys ask if we were the only one on the roads. I guess for about a mile we didn't see any other vehicles. It was actually kind of spooky. The boys and I sat in the waiting room with my mom for a few minutes. I'm not one that can sit long without something really interesting in front of me. So outside we went.

The boys wanted to play on the bike parking area but I had plans. We walked in the parking lot and I explained how the drainage system worked. The parking lot has big grates in it where the water runs to the sewer. We looked at lots of plants and talked a little about each one. We found some pine cones and we talked about the pine cones. Of course we brought a few pine cones home with us. Right now they are under our Christmas tree. And of course the cats have been playing with them. But that's ok, I'm glad the cats are enjoying them.

On to hopscotch...I won, I won!!! We found a rock and I drew a hopscotch right there in the parking lot in an empty parking space. We each got a piece of bark out of the mulch from around the plants and we started our game. It was really fun! No - not because I won...Silly. It was fun because we played together. It was fun because we laughed and made fun of each other. Ok, because I won!

We made it home by 12:30. Not bad for a trip to the city. And I was able to get one errand done. The boys ate lunch while I checked my emails. JD had a little bit of History and Geography to finish. It just takes him forever (or so it seems) to get a task completed.

I finally managed to get all 15 windows cleaned, but only on the outside. That's a great accomplishment too. I had to move the step ladder from window to window on the back side of the house. On both ends and the front of the house, I had to use the extension ladder. I also started scrubbing our front steps. They get a lot of fungus from the oak tree that's close to the front door. WW and MJ managed to get our big farm truck washed. Actually WW had to wash it twice because he was responsible for the washing and the first washing really lacked. A valuable lesson learned for him.

Now I have to tackle the windows on the inside but that won't be too bad. I want to take down all the ugly blinds and either hang curtains or put up new blinds. Not sure what I'm gonna do with the windows. But I'll keep on thinking on it until I figure it out.

Friday, Superman is planning on taking the boys over to his dad's house to use the wood splitter. I'm supposed to get a few me things done. I'm really considering not doing the me things and just go with them to split wood. I might better sleep on that one and make the decision when I can think a little clearer. I'll let you know what I decide.

Here Lately

Here lately I've been busy. I know - Imagine that! I've been trying to figure out what has me so busy.
Could it be that I homeschool 3 boys or maybe we have 3 horses, 4 cats, 2 dogs? Maybe it's the bike riding we've been doing lately or the window cleaning that I started a couple of days ago. Maybe it's our Boy Scout Troop or running errands here and there. Maybe it's all the time spent in the kitchen. Oh who knows. LOL It's ok though, it's just that time of year.

I do know that my laundry is not even close to what it used to be. I discovered GoodNites. Yes, we have a bed wetter and it's not the end of the world. I sure thought it was the end of the world when I was washing his sheets and blankets every day of the week. Since we have discovered GoodNites all of that has stopped. Now our youngest child has his special pajamas and he is so proud. You can find out more by going to the GoodNites website.

Five to seven million kids in the United States wet the bed.
20% of 4- to 12-year-olds wet the bed.
Bedwetting is more common among boys than girls–about 2/3 of kids who wet the bed are boys. 72% of kids who wet the bed will outgrow it by the time they're 11–99% by age 15.

Bike Riding

Oh yeah! I've done it 3 days now! WOOHOOO! Yes, bike riding.

Saturday, we rode 2.5 miles. Me and all 3 boys. Explored a huge hole that was dug years ago.
Sunday, 5 miles. Round trip it was a total of 5 miles. Saw a beautiful green worm.
Tuesday, 2 miles today. We saw the largest hawk that I think I had ever seen.

I'm not sure why, but I think I may be thinking a little healthier. Maybe it's because I spend so much time inside now that I homeschool the boys. I am such an out side person that it almost drives me insane to stay inside so much. Bike riding gives me more exercise than sitting in my office chair and trying to read my emails while the boys do whatever it is they are supposed to be doing.

We'll see how long we keep doing this. We do have a lot of things coming up with the Boy Scouts, but they shouldn't create any issues with our bike riding.

Our Outting Today

No kids today! I mean it, they stayed with Granny Karen today while Superman and I went and picked up one of their Christmas gifts. We are getting all 3 of the boys 4 wheelers for Christmas. We have told them over and over again that when they turn 15 that we will get them their very own 4 wheeler. Shoot, we had to tell them that or they wouldn't leave us alone about it. They have no clue! It was a long drive to go and pick them up and then to take them to my father in laws house. I was able to catch a little cat nap while Superman drove. I love napping when I am riding. Once we dropped off the 4 wheelers, we stopped by Toys R Us.

I think I may have told you that I am not much of a shopper. Put me in the grocery store or the craft store and I know just what I want and what the price should be. Put me in the mall or the toy store and I start with the panic attacks. Sometimes I really do want to scream. Prices and people - horrible. Darn good thing that Superman is good at this. I just kinda follow along and when he finds something that he thinks the boys will like we discuss it. And that's what we did today.
I am shocked that 8 boxes of toys was $225.

Oh the price increase is because of the increase of fuel. And them more excuses. Regardless of the reason for the price of things, it's horrible.

What's a Mom to Do

Today was a short day of school. I think in public school they call it early release. However, in all reality, homeschool is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Very few breaks. Homeschool is tough but let me tell you what, the lessons they learn are priceless.

Tonight was our 2nd Boy Scout meeting. I gotta say it sure was more organized tonight than last week. Thank goodness! Oh yeah - I have created a blog for our Troop! Troop 472

We have a couple of events planned for this month. On the 15th we will be having a yard sale. On the 16th we are going to Devils Millhopper.

Tonight we finished the voting for Quarter Master and Scribe. I am proud to say that WW was voted at Scribe. I think he will really be good at this too. And of course JD not to be out done had to run for Grub Master. I was wanting him to run for Historian, but he preferred the Grub Master side. LOL Next week we will be doing the voting on that.

And last but not least. And this is where I say "What's a mom to do?" MJ was caught cheating today. I gave them all short lessons today because we needed to work on some of the Christmas crafts for gifts. MJ finished his school work first, so I thought it would be a good idea to give him a Christmas activity book to work in for about 30 minutes. I heard "Mom, MJ's cheating!". I thought I would loose my cool. I mean really - last week JD cheated and couldn't go to the Boy Scout meeting and now this week MJ had to follow his brother. Why? He knew what would happen if he got caught. I'm just not gonna put up with it, no way, no how. Ain't happen Captain!

Ok, now for my time. I'm off of here to stick my head in the pillow and scream!

Christmas Boxes

About 2 weeks ago we went in search of some of our Christmas boxes. And as luck would have it - we found them. They aren't anything special or so I thought. We put the boxes in our little classroom. The boys wanted to open them then (2 weeks ago). Of course we didn't have time then but tonight was a different story. I gave each one of them a task. MJ had to get some paper and a pen. WW and JD had to fetch the boxes. Oh when I said get the Christmas boxes, I thought there was going to be a train wreck right there in the den. They all scattered as fast as they could to retrieve their task. Within about 5 seconds (or so it seemed) they were back.

Buried treasure! That's exactly how they acted - when the lids were taken off the boxes, they were like little octopuses with arms reaching in the boxes after the Christmas treasures. Teddy bears, handmade ornaments, a camouflage stocking (oh my), a beautiful crystal reindeer with silver glitter antlers, a tree skirt, a stocking cap, reindeer antlers to wear and a few more precious items. The ohhhhsss and awwwsss were something to hear. MJ found the angel for the top of the tree. They would have it no other way but for us to use her for our tree. We were going to buy whatever they wanted for the top of the tree, but I guess now that they have seen her, she will be on the tip top of our tree.

We are going to get a real tree this year. We are planning on taking the boys to a Christmas tree lot, walk through all of the trees and pick the one that is perfect for us. Then we will use a hand saw to cut down the tree, put it on top of the car and bring it home.

Within the next couple of days we will all go shopping for Christmas ornaments and decorations. I am also planning on getting the boys to make some decorations to hang up in the house. Something to get us all in the Christmas mood.

The Taste of Soap

I bet you know what I am about to say. Yeppers - your right. The taste of soap is bad. I have tried and tried to stop the sassy mouths of the boys. JD is the one that has the worst mouth when it comes to sassing. On Monday, I sat a bar of soap on the kitchen counter and I gathered all 3 boys around and explained exactly what the bar of soap was for. They have had to taste soap before, just not with me.

Today, Mr. JD had the sassy mouth to die for. Ok - that's it, let's go taste the soap. More sassing from him. Every time he sassed was one good lick of the soap. He got the bright idea to just barely touch the soap to his tongue. Didn't work!
"I'm not doing it!" Lick #1.
"But mom!" Lick #2.
"I hate school!" Lick #3.
Yeah - it went on. Lick #4. Sass! Lick #5.
A total of 5 licks. After 5 licks he had nothing else to say. Three minutes later, his words were as kind as can be.

For now it is working. I don't know what will happen next time. Only time will tell. I have got to get control now. The longer I wait and the longer I let it go will only make it worse. JD is 12 years old, 10 pounds lighter than me and as tall as me. In a year or 2 he will loom over me. I will look like a little drill sergeant, looking up at him, trying to get him under control. What if he gets it in his head then to challenge me? Somebodies gonna get hurt.

If it takes the taste of soap to get your child under control, then do it. Take time now to get control of what could later become a very bad situation.

Thankful For Eggs

A few days before Thanksgiving I made up some little slips of paper for all of us to write what we are thankful for on. On Thanksgiving day Superman, the 3 boys and myself sat around our empty dinning table. Yes, empty. It was empty because we were going to my father in law's house for our Thanksgiving feast. Superman started the conversation about being thankful and the meaning of Thanksgiving.

Then came the slips of paper that we had all wrote on. Here are a few things that we all wrote.

I am thankful for...my wife, my husband who is my best friend, Christmas, God, my outlaws inlaws, my mom, food, the soldiers that protect my family and friends, communication, my family, my 3 wonderful boys, the morals that my parents taught me, my parents, the way my parents raised me, eggs.

Eggs? Yes eggs. I fixed breakfast for everyone because I knew it would be late when we ate. While the boys were eating breakfast, I gave them their slip of paper to fill out. JD couldn't think of anything else to say so he wrote that he is thankful for eggs. When that slip of paper was read, WW and MJ broke out into laughter. It kinda embarrassed JD. It is fine to be thankful for eggs. There is nothing wrong with that at all. Without eggs we couldn't have scrambled eggs, fried eggs, chicken, bbq chicken, chicken and dumplings, chicken and rice and the list goes on. I think it is wonderful that JD is thankful for eggs.

If you are thankful that is wonderful. No matter what you are thankful for - yes, even if you are thankful for eggs.

The afternoon was spent with family and we are all thankful for that.

Scouts

Yesterday afternoon I finally had a few minutes that I could actually make a phone call without any interruption. Imagine that! The phone call was to a Boy Scout leader. Yes - my boys are gonna join the scouts. Actually WW and JD are in the process of signing up right now. I am really excited about them joining the scouts. MJ will join the Cub Scouts.

WW and JD were handed their scout handbook this morning. They had their heads stuck in the books on the drive back home. WoooHooo on the heads stuck in the books! The scout leader told them that they would be learning all kinds of really neat things. He showed them how to tie a square knot. He gave them a piece of rope and told them that they could work on the square knot over the weekend. They will meet every Monday evening for about 2 hours. He told them that they would be learning gun safety and how to use a rifle and a shotgun. Archery, camping, skiing, and fishing were mentioned too.

This Friday they will go to their first Pow Wow. Now how cool is that?!

Why Mothers Eat Their Young

I figured out today why mothers eat their young. I mean the animal mothers of course. And of course this is a funny and not a serious.

Today my kids have driven me slap up the wall. I think that my head may have actually spun around and flew off.

This is what I have heard today...

Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?Mom?

I tried to pretend I didn't hear them. But it only got worse.
I tried listening to them. But it only got worse.
I tried talking to them. But it only got worse.
I tried and I tried. But it only got worse.

I finally hid escaped in my bedroom. I think they know that when I hide disappear into my bedroom that I need some momma time. They were quiet at little mice for the rest of the afternoon. How come I couldn't figure it out before I climbed the wall and my head spun around and flew off? I don't know. I think moms are supposed to do that every now and then. That way they don't eat their young.

Family Fun Day

I think that every day should be family fun day. I bet you think the same thing. And then again, being moms, we're both saying..."How in the world can it be family fun day when there are piles mountains of laundry." And what about the dishes that someone left? And the muddy tracks in the laundry room? Yeah - family fun day isn't so fun when you think about all those things. I know, I'm a mom too.

Whoa! Hold the phone! Everyday can be family fun day. I promise. Yes, even with the little stacks of laundry and the muddy footprints, the dishes and the rooms that haven't been cleaned since who knows when.
How? Focus on the little things. Whisper in one of your children's ears that you love them. Call your mom or your dad on the phone and say something like this..."I was just thinking about how much I love you". What about your spouse...Put a note in their lunch box or pin it to their shirt. Family fun doesn't have to be going to Disney World and spending thousands of dollars.

Relax and relieve the stress. I did that today for the Family Fun Day at Partnership For Strong Families. The boys had a blast - as usual. I think they may even be in our local newspaper. We left Superman at home because he needed some time to prepare for his new job starting tomorrow. I'll update you on that in a little bit.

We have told the boys that the closer we get to all of these holidays, that the parties will be many. I love all the kids parties! Even us old fogies get to be kids! Isn't that wonderful?

Carnivals, Fairs and More

Last week I took the boys to our local fair. The local fair hasn't been in town for...Well for a lot of years. I just don't wanna tell my age right now. LOL It was fun but really not very organized. It'll all come together if they keep having it.

This week we are all going to the adoption celebration. I'm not sure all that happens there, because I have never been to one. But I bet I'll be able to tell you in a couple of days.

22nd Annual Hoggetowne Medieval Faire is coming to town at the end of January. I have been to this once and I really enjoyed it. It will be wonderful for the boys. They get to step back in time a little bit.

My favorite is the mounted knights jousting in full plate armor. I loved that part!

Here's a bit of info on the Faire:
Join the crowd and cheer for your favorite contender as mounted knights joust in full plate armor on the tournament field. Applaud street performers who dance, juggle and jest for your amusement. Listen to minstrels playing period music and enjoy continuous live entertainment on eight stages. Browse through the bustling medieval marketplace for that perfect gift or trinket.
Watch and enjoy as warriors and magicians battle one another in a living chess match, or test your own skills in games of chance, strength and skill. Watch and learn as more than 150 artisans demonstrate their skills in blacksmithing, weaving, leather working, woodcarving, pottery and much more. Indulge in a fare fit for a king in our food court, where you can find sweet potato fries, bloomin onions and our famous giant turkey legs.

Tis The Season

There is no doubt that the season is upon us. The season for fairs, carnivals, festivals and just about anything to get one to spend money. It's inevitable. Everywhere you go throughout the year there are places offering to trade all kinds of stuff for your money.

Tis The Season to spend money. LOL Now that we have children, we can spend more than I ever could have imagined. Groceries for preteen and teen boys is something else. I either have a football team or an Army. And there's only 3 of them.

I generally take the boys grocery shopping with me. They love to make the grocery list and even the errand list. They love to put the items in the cart and they enjoy putting them on the counter at check out time. They compete for the shopping cart. I made that easy by setting the rule of who sits up front has to open and close the gate and push the cart. It's almost like it is their grown up day. We keep a little notepad in the car and we write down their names when they sit up front. We stick by that list no matter what.

Speaking of carnivals and fairs and such. Today we had doctor appointments for Granny (my mom) and Granny Karen, in the city. After the doctor appointments we had planned on getting horse feed and then head to the fair. While I was placing my order for the horse feed, I found a flier for the fair. Opens at 4 pm! Oh NO! I talked to the boys about the opening time and we came to an agreement. Since we had already had to run all over the place and still take the horse feed home, maybe we should just wait until tomorrow for the fair. They agreed! Not only did they agree but all 3 of them agreed to do one school lesson this afternoon. Ok - who switched my kids! LOL

I wasn't feeling well yesterday so I decided to give the boys half the day off. Oh they were all for that. One thing I have noticed about them - if I just don't feel really well, they tell me it's ok if I go and take a nap. They are always so good when I nap. They either play outside or they sit and watch a movie quietly.

Since all the carnivals, fairs and festivals are up and running, I'm off to do some planning. Fun time agenda is on the way.