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!

Came to my Senses

Did I get burned out? I'm not really sure. I really just wanted to put the kids in public school, saddle my horse and ride off into the sunset. I'm not kidding!

Then I came to my senses and cried. I cried because I didn't no way, no how, not happening - I refuse to ever send them to public school.

Maybe the kids came to their senses and I cried because they did. HaHaHa
I like that better!

Time Flies

I'm sure that you all know all about how Time Flies! It really can just run away with you. Pick you up and whisk you off. I think that's what happened to me. Regardless of where, what or even when...
I'm back again.
I will have lots of post to do to get caught up. Shoot, I might not get caught up. LOL But I sure will post again.

I'm heading outta here right now to start another blog. I'm gonna do a blog about our home school group! Yeah!!!

The Bible

Today an odd question was ask by a dear friend. That question went kinda like this...
"How do you get away with teaching the bible?"
This question came about because today me and the boys were discussing our bible lesson and getting caught up. Kinda refreshing our minds from last week. Once we were all caught up and refreshed, I released the boys and sent them to lunch.
When the question was ask, I almost ask what exactly did my friend mean. Really now, what do you mean how do I get away with it. I get away with it because I live in the United States of America. I get away with it because this is a free country. I get away with it because God teaches us all of our core subjects. Language Arts, Math, History and Science.
Our conversation went on for a few minutes to discuss passing the GED and such. But I am still a little umm...how do I say it, confused.

And now I just have to ask you.

How do you get away with teaching the bible or from the bible?

Now...when was it

I get so darn busy sometimes that I just can't think straight. It seems like sometime back, I said I was going to get all of my coupon stuff put on here. I need it all here so I don't have to run all over the internet looking for it. Now I'm studying from my Teachers Guide, no, not coupons but Vacation Bible School. Yes, I'm teaching! I am so excited. Today I found my helper in church. This lady loves to laugh and so do I. Oh it's gonna be a blast.

Now...when was it. Oh yeah, almost a week ago I ask you all to stay tuned because links were coming to help you save some money. Well, maybe not really save but spend less and get more. Yeah! I like that.

Ok - check out the side bar for links that will help you get more and spend less. I'm updating them as I go to them and remember them. Eventually they will all be there.

Peace Within

What has happened to me? Where is this coming from? I don't know the answer to the questions and I don't want to know the answer. All I know is that I have a peace within. It's awesome. After just about driving myself nuts, I have finally figured out that the best thing for me to do is to lighten up. Yeah!

I'm really just updated and catching you all up to let you all know that I'm still around and we are still home schooling and we love it.

Home School Videos

I just discovered a great place to see some other homeschoolers doing what they do best. Yeppers - homeschooling! I am glad that other homeschoolers are showing off. With these home school videos, now I know our family is normal. LOL Go check it out!
Home School View Tube

I Know...

I know just what you are thinking. I should update my blog and stop talking about updating it and keeping it up to date and so on and so on. Blah - Blah - Blah! We've all heard it before.

Ok, I'll do better.

Now, where have I been...

I've been to a couple of funerals. Dealt with those and moved on. I've rented an RV. YES, AN RV! Did we look like Robin Williams in the movie RV? I doubt it but I do have to say that we all rented the movie a few days before we rented the RV and went on vacation.

Our garden has done so well and provided us with so many veggies. I love home grown food. Home school is going well. Yes, we are still in school. There won't be very much of a summer break. Right now we are only looking at the month of August. We'll see what happens between now and then.

Home School Funnies

Home Schoolers you are sure to enjoy these Home School Funnies!
I found this What About Socialization that I thought was down right amusing.

How about this one Top 20 Advantages to Homeschooling.

How does a homeschooler change a light bulb?

14 Days of Homeschooling


I hope you enjoy them!


This is one of my favorites because someone always get caught in the act.
"If you get caught talking to yourself, you can claim you're having a PTA meeting."

The Hits Just Keep on Comin

Right when I think that I am finally going to get caught up - The hits just keep on comin.

Honestly they do! I still have a mound of paperwork on my desk. This morning I started going through some of it and I actually threw some things away. I'm sure later on I'll be wondering where they are, but that's ok. I'll just deal with it then.

Over the last 2 weeks I have been really slack in the boys schoolwork. We have strayed from the books and did some fun projects. I sure wish that I would have taken the holidays to do that. Live and learn! LOL

This week I am really trying to get back into the book work. It's going pretty well - so far. Since we had 2 weeks of slacking, the boys ask if they can do this or that. I think I may have made an impression on them with some fun activities. That's not a bad thing! Our homeschool group is really picking up with activities. Now throw up the activities with the Boy Scouts and once again - the hits just keep on comin.
Ok - throw in a Valentine supper. I really wanted to have the kids do some Valentine decorations but there just isn't enough hours in the day. One thing I have really figured out is this...Kids have to get out and run to burn off that energy. Really, they do. I have noticed that our bad days are mostly because they didn't burn off enough of their energy.
Oh yeah - I almost forgot. It's garden planning time. Mention a garden and they boys just go bezerk. Really they do. Is is because they like to watch things grow or because it gets them outside. I don't know - I just like the fact that they are interested in it.
I sure do remember being in the garden with my dad. I also remember all the good meals that momma used to cook from the things that dad grew. Mmmmm - I can smell it cooking now.

Ok - that reminds me that I need to finish cleaning off my desk. Help the boys with their school work and I want us to take a little walk after lunch today. Have a wonderful day!

A Slacker I Am

Ok - I admit it. I'm a slacker! There! LOL

I really have slacked off on my posting here and keeping you up to date. I guess there isn't too much new to tell you about. Unless you want to hear about my 2 broken fingers. It's really a long story. I just hope that the swelling will eventually go down enough that my wedding band will fit a little more comfortable.

We have been busy with school and with the Boy Scouts. Somehow, I managed to get deeply involved in the Scouts. I really don't mind. But it really does keep me busy.

Oh gosh! I almost forgot! No more dial up - we are now among the fastest of the fast. Yep, we know have high speed internet. I love it! I hope I never, ever have to go back to dial up. Now I can enter my coke rewards points and it doesn't take a whole darn day. LOL I can do a few other things too. I am a gatherer and I love making a few extra spending dollars there. I'm also a boomertowner. I like watching my points build up really fast. That way I'll be able to cash them in for the gift cards.

Let me think. Hmm...
Last week in school we broke away from the book study. We worked on our counting money, drawing, reading aloud, learning our States, doing some word search puzzles and just plain out having fun. Our home school trip was even a break away from the river. We all meet at one of the members houses for some fun time with her horses. It really was just a very nice meeting and a nice break away from the routine. I have some pictures that I will share with you, when I'm not slacking.

Our Outting Today

Our home school group leader, Mrs. Merrilee, sends out an email every Monday giving us all a little heads up for our weekly Thursday meeting. I tried to keep it a secret about what we would be doing. My secret keeping abilities failed last night. In our conversation at supper, I told the boys that we would be visiting an island. An island? Well my goodness, we're gonna need a boat. Imagine that! LOL

I woke up this morning and the boys were all dressed and were modeling their backpacks. Water bottles were all filled up and snacks were packed. Do ya think they were excited?! Yeah, me too. Even Mindy our little Schnauzer was running around barking and carrying on.

Down the road we go. The excitement didn't stop. They were going to get to ride in a boat. They just kept on and on. You know how it is!

Finally! At the river. Now I hear, "Where is the boat?" "Is that it?" And on and on.
The boats in sight and it's time to all load up.

The boat that we all rode in was a canoe. LOL No joke! It was not just an ordinary canoe. It was handmade out of cypress wood with a fiberglass shell. The owner gave us lots of information about the canoe. I sure wish I would have written some of it down. Ok - I now have an F in note taking. Hmm...I think I need to set a better example.
The canoe could only take 3 of us to the island at a time. It took a few minutes to get everyone there but it was well worth it.

Rum Island -
I don't know all of the history about the island, however; what I do know if pretty darn interesting. The history goes something like this: Years and years ago there was a house on the island. Yes - there was a still where they made rum. The island sits in the Santa Fe River with one county on the north side and another county on the south side. The island didn't have to abide by either of the counties laws because it wasn't connected to either county. Both of the counties were dry counties. A dry county is a county that cannot sell any alcohol.

The island's name is supposedly derived from moonshine and bootlegging operations that was located on the island in the early 1900s. A current sign on the site ironically warns, "Rum Island "No Alcohol Allowed." It has been reported that undercover police stake out the grounds, looking to bust people with open containers.

At some point the house burnt down. I have no idea what happened to the still. Somewhere on the island there is a small part of the foundation of the house. Today we did not find the remains. I would love to explore more on the island and find out more about the history.

Our 3 boys were extremely interested in the island. Their interest is an encouragement for me to take them back and do a little more exploring.

Note to self - next time - take the darn camera.

Something Cool for Home School

WooooHooooo! Thank you Karisma for posting these links on your blog. You know I gotta post them here to share with my friends.

Seagrass Adventures great site for the kids.

Community Environment Network is an alliance of community and environment groups from Lake Macquarie, Wyong and Gosford.

Time On My Hands

Today I found myself with time on my hands. Time for what? What the heck am I supposed to do? I stood in the dining room and I thought - "hmm...now I have nothing to do". LOL Have you ever thought that?
I think I was outta my mind for a brief second, when I thought I found time on my hands.

Yesterday in WW's and JD's Language Arts class, we studied Idioms. Yesterday I thought this would be a neat thing for me to tell you about. Of course I slept last night and when I woke up I had forgotten all about it. Which it doesn't surprise me that I forgot about it. I think that's why people say if you can't make a decision, just sleep on it. By the time you wake up you'll be forgot all about it.

An Idioms is a phrase or phrases that have meanings that cannot be understood from the literal meaning of the words.
Think about how someone that is trying to learn the English language. They hear an idioms and they automatically think of the idioms as a literal term. Time on my hands would probably mean to them that I have a clock on both of my hands. How about bent over backwards - which means have made a great effort to help. Can you just see in someones mind that you literally bent over backwards while trying to help? LOL

So I sat down at the computer this afternoon and thought I would just get you caught up a little. Especially since I haven't talked to you in quiet some time. I've bounced in and out here and there, but that's it. I was going to tell you all about how wonderful the past 3 days has been for me. That was my intent anyway.

I just started rambling here and there and somehow I recognized an idioms. So here we are, talking about a word that I have such a hard time saying. LOL

Can you think of any idioms to share?

The Days Go By

The days go by so fast sometimes. And then again, I sometimes wonder if the day will ever end. Do you have days like that? It seems like the more fun I have, the faster the day goes by. Now if I just happen to be having one of those days. Yeah - you know the kind. LOL It's those days that I wonder if they will ever end.

We have gotten back full force in our home schooling. We work on our regular subjects most of the time, but it's the extra things that I want to do. The extra things are games, cooking, sewing, exploring, discovering and on and on. I think the boys really just wanna throw their books out the window and do the things that I want to do. But we just gotta get that book work done.
B-o-r-i-n-g!

I think tomorrow I will just sleep in a little later than usual.
Or maybe take a nap during the day.
I think tomorrow we may just play one of those games.
It's always educational.
I think tomorrow we just might bake some bread.
Or just get out the flour and play.
I think tomorrow we might play hopscotch in the dirt.
Or find a stick and play fetch with the dog.

That's it! We are gonna throw the darn books out the window and play!

Happy Friday!

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.

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!

Some Free Stuff

The Values-Driven Family has some really neat downloads that can really help you around the house with the kids. Did I mention they are free!

Free Homeschooling Resources from NotebookingPages.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I have (and still am).

School After Thanksgiving

Give em 4 days off for Thanksgiving and they forget how to read. What's up with that? I fear the summer if this is how it's gonna be. Speaking of summer - I think I will homeschool them through the summer, just not as many hours in the day. I'll think on it and figure it all out. Maybe! LOL

So now that the holiday is over, we are back to our normal routine of school work.

I am so thankful that Superman has returned to his line of work. Now he has more time off during the week to help with homeschool. It's not that he helps with the school work so much as helping with JD's attitude. I need help with that more than anything else.

JD can come up answers that are so out in left field. Example: How do humans get their energy? His answer was, "They get their energy from drinking soda". There is no way that was in his Science book. He just wrote something down to get to go outside. He just writes things down without reading or looking back in his lesson.
Because of answers like that, he must write the page number where he found his answer. We have tried taking all of his privileges away from him and giving him a few of them back at a time. He whines and complains and just sasses me so darn bad. Since Superman is home today and there were some issues, we have decided that JD will be sitting on his bed when he is not doing his lessons. That will remain in affect until he gets it in his head that he must read the lesson, answer the questions correctly and write the page number where he found the answer.
That is all I know to do right now. I really am about to pull my hair out when it comes to him getting his lessons done.

In The News Again

Remember I told you that there was a reporter at our last home school meeting. The newspaper is published once a week. I waited and waited and hoped and hoped that our story would be there. Finally, I saw it last night. Not just our story - yes - pictures too.

Our picture is on the front page! That's where the article starts. You can read the article here.