Boys Will Be Boys

Boys! I love our 3 boys. There is no doubt that "Boys will be boys"! But isn't that why we love them so. With all of the issues or problems or whatever you want to call it that JD (our middle son) has or reportedly has, he never ceases to amaze me. He has to be pretty darn upset for either myself or Superman not to make him smile. But generally, if we keep after it, the smile will peek out from under the frown.
We are gradually reducing his meds. Today I discussed this with his therapist (who wasn't happy about it), but then decided that it may just be time to reduce them and that is just what the therapist did. And - get this...The therapist ask when school starts and so on and so on...I told the therapist that I would be homeschooling JD and his brothers. Well with that said the therapist had to ask me why. Oh yeah, I told him why - peer pressure, bullies, crime, lack of one on one time and more. Making a long story short, when I got back home and checked the mail there were letters addressed to the "Parents of" all 3 of our boys. Here is a quote from the letter from our School Board - "Please only return the attached transfer application if you would like to transfer your child to Florida Virtual School or want your child tranported" to another school (I didn't list the school name). Look at the bold in that sentence. Yeah - I know, we all make mistakes. But really - from the School Board?! One would think that they would use spell check or something.

Today he discovered spitting out the car window. Sometimes I just have to giggle to myself. It's the kinda thing a parent does when they look the other way - that's only because we don't want the kids to see the smile on our face. LOL
Not only did he discover this new thing today, but yesterday he found out that when you put the hose nozzle in your mouth and then pull the trigger that your cheeks pop out and water sprays out your mouth. Oh yes - he just had to show me that trick yesterday. Funny thing is - when his cheeks pop out, his eyes get as big as saucers. They really do!

The last couple of days WW and JD have been helping Granny Karen move furniture, take out carpet and tack strips and paint the floor in her bedroom. They finally got half of the floor painted. I don't know why they are doing it in halves but that's what they are doing. Today WW, JD and MJ all sprayed their feet with spray paint and walked across the painted floor. Don't panic! That is how she wanted the floor done. I think it is a pretty darn cool idea. I guess over the next couple of days they will finish the other half. Once it's done I will have to go and see what it looks like.

Uh Oh! I forgot to call my sister yesterday. I know, I know! Today I called and there was no answer, but I did leave a message. Well - we left a message. The boys and I sang Happy Birthday on her voice mail. It was so cute, it kinda reminds me of the animals in Madagascar singing Happy Birthday. Hopefully she still has her sense of humor and will get a really good laugh at it.

Did I tell you about the ring tone that the boys wanted me to put on my cell phone? We listened to a couple of ring tones and the boys wouldn't have it any other way than for me to have "Bad Boys" as my ring tone. Now they laugh everytime my cell phone rings.

We did get to go swimming this week. Once! A darn thunder storm came up and out of the pool the boys had to get. Today is Friday and I finally see the sunshine. That was some thunder storm. LOL But that dosen't mean this was the last week of swimming. Summer isn't over yet. The rain hasn't slowed the boys down any at all. Since we havn't had any lightening I just let them play outside in the rain. What the heck, they would have gotten wet if they would have went swimming. JD thanked me over and over for letting them play in the mud all week. Summer camp is next week, it starts on Monday. This will be their last week of camp for the year. I will finally have a little time to myself. I'll probably be lost and not have a clue as what to do with my free time. Imagine that!

Work At Home Ideas

I know some of you have ask me about working at home. I can't blame anyone for wanting to work to work at home. However, working at home will have to be successful or it won't last long. Anything that you want to do can be done with a little effort on your part. Then there is the concern about start up cost. Start up cost can be as expensive or as inexpensive as you want it to be. I started with the bare minimum. I already had a phone, a computer and a desk. I just went from there.

Here are a few ideas that may just give you that little boost you need.

Direct Sales Recruiting - Take your Recruiting Online
Turning Your Love of Fashion into a Business
How to Start a Pet Supplies and Accessories Business
How to Start a Business in the Pampering Industry
How to Start a Business in the Wellness Industry
How to Start a Candle Business
How to Start a Home Decor Business
How to Start a Jewelry Sales Business
How to Start a Scrapbooking Business
How to Start a Craft Business
How to Start a Natural Products Business
How to Start a Cosmetics Business
Getting Started with Rubber Stamping
The Qualities You Need to Start Your Own Small Business
Some Useful Statistics about the Growing Scrapbooking Market
How to Start a Business Selling Products for Kids
How to Start a Gourmet Food Business
How to Start a Kitchen Tools Business
Reduce Risk: Evaluate This Often-Overlooked Criterion When Choosing A Business Opportunity
Discover What You Need to Know Before Joining a Company in Pre-Launch

Doing A Few Things

We are setting up our little homeschool room. It is going to awesome! Yesterday we took a little trip to Walmart and I browsed around looking and thinking and getting ideas to go with the ideas in my head on how I wanted to set up the classroom. I got it! I bought folding desk (3 of them) that are easy to move around and they can be folded in case we need the room or even want to take the classroom outside. How cool! I love the craft section of every store, I think I spent almost 2 hours just looking at material. I found some awesome material that I wanted to make curtains our of. The material is all in primary colors and it has all of the countries printed on it. The boys love it! Yesterday and into last night, WW, JD and I started cutting and sewing. I had a small piece of material (primary colors) that made excellent hanging tabs to sew to the top of the material. The curtains hang from about 1/4 the way down the window and rest on the window sill. We used the spring loaded curtain rods, that way we can move the curtains up or down. I think that will let in enough light and prevent the boys from day dreaming out the window. And the curtains can be used to learn about different countries and we the United States is located in relation to other countries. I know - I'm still patting myself on the back for this one!

Now if I can just get this junk moved from the middle of the room. Junk - a file cabinet that I may use (but I doubt it), it's just so big and takes up so much room. There's a microwave cart that who knows what I will do with it. It's really nice but there is just no room for it. I also have 2 really nice old tables that I remember using in school. They are very useful and I have no plans of parting with. I just don't know what to do with them right now. Oh yeah - tubs of material and yarn that I hoard. Imagine that! I turn around and look at the stuff (junk) and I also see a stereo cabinet that I have no clue as to what to do with. Yard sale? Probably a great idea but I really hate having them! Guess I need to bite the bullet and just have a yard sale.

We also took down some curtains in the den, threw away the old ratty blinds, cleaned the blinds from our front room (there were salvageable) and put them in the den. I bought some sheer material (dark blue) that was on sale for $1 a yard (I bought 7 yards) and this is what we hung around the window frame. It looks pretty darn good for $7, if I do say so myself.

The other day, nope I don't remember what day. I found a pair of MJ jeans that somehow he managed to rip in more than one place. I cut the legs off just above the crotch and made a clothes pin bag from them. It's the most adorable thing. I still have the legs of the jeans and I think that I will make us a resuable grocery bag out of them. I need to find something really strong for the straps. I know somewhere I have some sturdy straps that I cut off of something else that I can use, now I just have to remember where they are.

Today

Today is my sisters birthday! Wow - she must be old by now - 43 years old! Hey, I got it - I think that the boys and I will call her (probably wake her up) and sing Happy Birthday to her as loud and off key as we can. Loud and off key shouldn't be a problem for us! LOL
Oh My Gosh! That reminds me that I have a birthday in 3 days! And to think that I am older then her - schew - only by 3 years though. Hmmm...doesn't that mean that 50 is approaching really fast. Oh well, like I always say - I may get old, but I refuse to grow up!

Our boys don't think that I am old, they say it all the time. Maybe that is because of the way I act and carry myself.
The other day we went to Walmart, and I like to enter the store through the garden area. Walmart has concrete block set up with post sectioning off the plants and patio furniture and such. As me and the boys were walking up to the area, I just jumped over the fence. The boys thought that was the coolest thing and of course they had to do it too. And to think that at the river I am the one to climb the tree and go off on the rope swing. It probably puts you about 20 feet above the river before you plunge in. It's a blast! Once I did it, WW had to try it. Now we both think that it is the bomb! Going off the rope from the ground is like riding the merry-go-round. And of course the other day when we ate lunch with Becky, it had rained and there were some really great puddles in the parking lot. Oh yeah! Splash time!
And there are days when I am out in the yard playing kick ball with the boys. Running around as if I am 12. Superman said about a month ago that he looked out in the yard and saw an extra youngin running across the yard and be darned if it wasn't his wife. LOL It wasn't very funny though when I tried to do some really quick turn and stop all at the same time - I kinda did a split and then fell in two different directions. I didn't know my body could do that. Needless to say that the boys laughed so hard it hurt. Once they recovered from their laughing spell, they all had to high 5 me. Wait until we have paint ball guns and 4 wheelers! They better watch out!

If You Haven't - You Should

Lived! If you haven't - you should! I met with my best friend today that I haven't seen in years and years. We have know each other since we were 11 years old. Becky looks fabulous! Let me tell you - she hasn't changed a bit. I really think that is what I love so much about her. The boys love her! They call her Aunt Becky.
The boys got to swim in the pool while we talked and got caught up. Of course with Florida weather, a thunderstorm came up and the boys had to get out of the pool, not without complaints of course. We ate lunch at McDonalds (not my favorite cuisine by not means). Then we parted ways and promised to get together this week and go to the springs. Oh yeah! If I forget this part the boys will wanna pinch my head off. LOL When we left Micky D's, Becky gave them each a $5 bill. Oh yes they thanked her and they talked about her all the way home. All of Becky's children are grown now and she is a grandmother. Shoot - me - I guess I am just a little late at the whole kid thing. But that's ok with me, I waited for the best kids. LOL

During our conversation today, we talked about growing up then and growing up now. Times certainly have changed. We got into all kinds of trouble when we were kids but it was silly stuff and not stupid stuff. Becky gave me an old picture from 1978 of another of our friends, her and me. It must have been "Old Fashion Day" at school. The picture has survived all these years, including a house fire. I am going to see if I can get it restored. By the way - we have no idea who the goat is.

If you haven't lived your life you better start now because none of us is promised tomorrow!

Superman Gets Attacked

I declare! My husband is always the silly one. He sent me an instant message last night telling me that he had found the property that would be perfect for us. Then he gets side tracked and has to tell me about being charged by 3 deer and attacked by a flying squirrel. I'm im'ing him asking all kinds of questions about the property and he tells me to stand by. LOL He has got to tell me the story! So I stand by.

First let me tell you that Superman is not a wimp, he is almost 6 foot tall and weighs in at around 265. His arms are like rocks. Ok, on to tell you (in his words) about his attack.

Superman: i was attacket by a flying squirl and charged by 3 deer on it
Me: no way
Superman: yes the squirl attacked me
Me: how
Superman: ok just read and i will tell ya
Me: ok
Superman: went on it with a nice white haired lady
Superman: she showed me the drive and i said i wanted to walk it so she left me there
Superman: i walked down the middle and around a bend into a clearing
Superman: i said this is where we will build the barn
Superman: went through the cleearing and over a small hill into a second clearing
Superman: i said there is where we will hunt the deer
Superman: walked out into the small clearing and jumped three deer
Superman: this scared the squirl
Me: lol
Superman: not done yet
Me: ok
Superman: the squirl was 40 feet away in a tree and said its time to fly
Superman: i saw it jump and thought it was a bird at first
Superman: then it began to fall
Superman: i began to duck, 40 feet away
Superman: it kept falling and i kept ducking
Superman: then it hit the ground with a little squeek
Superman: I was almost at the ground and made a big squeek
Superman: time of incident
Superman: 3 seconds
Superman: time to laugh and recover
Superman: 5 minutes

Now the fun part of the whole story will be when he gets home and tells it to the boys. I am sure that they will be rolling on the floor laughing.

Good Stuff

Bread on the Grill I thought this was just awesome!
Bake it Better Free information delivered to your inbox.
Baking with Kids A grandfather shares his experience with kids and grandkids with tips, techniques, and more.
The Prepared Pantry is a great place to get lots of free recipes, tips, tricks and so much more.

Here is a great link for the Farm Girl in you (or even the Farm Boy). Mary Janes Farm. There is also an Outpost for Mary Janes Farm.

Family Friendly Sites.

If you are interested in working from home, you may want to check Work At Home Resources - Resources for the work at home mother or anyone else who wishes to start a home-based business! A Woman in Business, Work From Home Directory, Working From Home With Success.

Maybe you just like to read Ezines or Newsletters.

There are lots of Free stuff at The Free Site or you can go over to The Free Stuff.

Don't forget to support your local farmers. The best organic food is what's grown closest to you. Find farmers' markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area, where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies. Local Harvest.

Fly Superman

Well, he's off. Off to Missouri and Arkansas. Superman flew to Missouri and Arkansas today in search of our little 40 acre farm. That's pretty funny - "Superman Flew". Well of course he flew! LOL
I will keep you updated throughout the week on our new little farm.

I am surfing right now. Surfing the web, looking through some of my favorite sites and hoping that you will enjoy the links to come.

On A Jet Plane

Leaving on a jet plane...You've heard the song.
Well the big day is coming for Superman to fly to Arkansas and Missouri. I think I already miss him. This will be our first time apart from each other in - hmmm...I actually don't think we have been apart from each other. The boys and I will be just fine. Yes, we will have fun and go swimming.

Superman will be in search of our dream property. This will actually be our 3rd trip to the area. The first time we took my mom with us and she really made the trip miserable. But that's all behind us. Thank goodness! The 2nd time Superman and I rented a car and drove the whole way - 16 hours. We had a blast. Now he is going by himself because we just think that it will be too much for the boys right now. I trust that Superman will pick the perfect little 40 acre farm for us. We both have the same ideas on how we want to get closer to Mother Nature and farther away from civilization. Just a quiet little piece of property to run, play and raise our family on. I'll try to keep you updated throughout the week, but don't forget that I will be busy swimming, playing and just having fun in general.

No Swimming

Ok - I know. I wanted so bad to take the boys swimming Friday. However, it just didn't happen. Superman drove our SUV to work so that he could work on it. Work on it? Yes. It has a rear axle seal leaking. He called me to let me know that he was on his way home and that he wasn't able to fix the SUV and that he would tell me all about it when he got home.
Once he got home there was an incident with JD that had to be taken care of. Oh not too bad of an incident - just playing in the fire, that's all. All 3 of the boys wanted to have a weenie roast, so out I go to stoke the fire. Ok - now I gotta got back another step. For the past week we have been burning limbs that Superman cut from some of our trees. These things will keep a really great set of coals and be very hot for several days. So I pile up all the little loose sticks and throw them on the ashes, and within about 3 minutes we had a fire for the boys to roast weenies. JD thought that it would be a great idea to get his dad's really expensive flashlight (which none of the boys are allowed to touch with permission), needless to say, he did not have permission. While he was getting the flashlight, he thought it would be ok for him to grab a box of kitchen matches. Not a good idea! But no one was hurt and it was dealt with and over.

The SUV - Superman explained all about how he was unable to fix it. He said that he will take it to work in a couple of weeks and get it fixed. He did explain how he wants me to handle it while he is out of town. So we didn't get to go swimming on Friday but I certainly have swimming planned for this coming week. I think we will go to a friends house that I have not seen in quiet a few years and swim in the pool. I think we will go to the springs, which is only about 10 miles from our house. I think we will go to my friends house that lives on the river and do some swimming and some tubing (which the boys and I love to do). Then maybe we might sneak off to the beach. Who knows.

It's now Saturday and life is good! We just got home from a wonderful day at Superman's dad's house. We had a little cook out and there were lots of kids for our boys to play with. It rained! But that's ok, my father in law, being the wise man that he is has a shop that we can all hang out in. On the way home the boy's talked about all the cousins they now have. It was a very good day!

Tuesday and Thursday

Well, well - what a week. Tomorrow is finally Friday and I think we may all just take it easy around here.

Tuesday we worked around the barn. We took everything out (except the tools hanging on the walls) and we put it all back in. LOL Not just like that. WW, JD, MJ and myself rearranged the barn. We put the 4 wheeler where we used to store the hay and the hay were we used to park the 4 wheeler. We keep our hay stacked on pallets to keep it off the ground. We had to move the hay, then move the pallets, then clean where the pallets were, clean the pallets, put the pallets in their new location, level the pallets with bricks, and put the hay back on the pallets. Scheeewww - I'm tired just thinking about what we did. MJ painted the outside of the barn doors. Boy howdy do they look great! WW and JD moved the remaining limbs that Superman cut down the other day. I cleaned the barn floor, well the best I could because it is a dirt floor. Over time a lot of hay gets built up and it starts to smell a little moldy. I took out the old hay from the floor of the barn and put down new hay. I like to keep a small layer of hay on the floor because it helps cut down on the dust.
I'm sure there are several other little things that we did and I just can't remember them.

Thursday the boys and I moved a lot of blocks 16"x16"x4" and 8"x16"x4" from the barn area down to our back door. I sure am glad we have the 4 wheeler and a little trailer to pull behind it. Can you imagine moving those blocks with a wheel barrow? That's funny because I moved them up to the barn with the wheel barrow. Once we got the blocks down by the back door, we started making our little patio area bigger. We more than doubled the size of it. I think it was about a 4'x4' area. It is really great now because it so much bigger. Not only is it bigger but it really looks great. Hopefully this will eliminate some of the sand that gets toted into the laundry room and into the house.

Friday...Hmmm...maybe, just maybe, I will surprise the boys with a little swimming trip. That means I best get to bed. Goodnight all!

The Sound Barrier

True Lies. Have you seen that movie? It has Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis teamed up together as a married couple. Great movie! I let the boys watch it Monday and I really think they have watched it at least 3 dozen times since then. Ok - not that many times, but a bunch of times. There is a scene in there where a limo is on a bridge, Jamie Lee Curtis is in the limo and her husband (Schwarzenegger) is trying to save her. There are jets flying and a long bridge. One of the jets breaks the sound barrier. You can see it when it happens. I told the boys to watch for it. You can see like a vapor and that is how you know the sound barrier has been broken. I finally get the boys to see this happening on the movie. Today WW points out to me when it happens - I am thrilled that he saw it and pointed it out. Then he looks as me in his most serious face and says "Can they fix it?" He thinks that the sound barrier is something on the plane that broke. I had to hold back my giggles because he was so darn serious. Of course I explained to him about the sound barrier and how things break the sound barrier. Well I thought this was cute and I just had to share.

Announcement

I know that I ask everyone to stay tuned - that there would be a very wonderful announcement today. Ok - I do have a wonderful announcement! Here it is!

Our Adoption is Final

It has taken us several years to finally have children. We cannot have children of our own and we originally started with an adoption agency. That fell through and it was a very negative expericence. At one point we thought that we would never have children. Now we are the proud parents of 3 siblings. The boys are 9, 11 and 13 years old.

Sunday, July 29th, 2007, Superman will be flying to Arkansas and Missouri. His visit will be to buy at least 40 acres for us to relocate to. We won't relocate this year, but we are looking forward to relocating within the next 24 months.

Stay Tuned...

You may want to stay tuned this week. It is an extremely exciting week for us. On Wednesday July, 25th, 2007 we will have a wonderful announcement.

My Most Recent Finds

Well it's late again, and I am up while the rest of the family is sleeping. I really messed up today because I took a 2 hour nap. I call it a cat nap because every little thing would make my ears perk up just like a cat. Naps are generally out of the question for me because I have enough trouble sleeping normal hours. Generally when I get sleepy during the day, I will busy myself in some way. I usually get a lot done by just piddling around.
This morning we managed to get some low hanging limbs cut from around the barn. WW hauled 3 trailer loads with the four wheeler and there are about 3 more loads left on the ground for all of us to clean up tomorrow. I managed to get a few more things added to my little flower garden.
As soon as this roll of hay is gone, we are going to redo the inside of the barn. It's pretty funny that I even call it a barn. It started out as one of those metal sheds that Sears used to sell. You know the ones, they rust in about 2 years. A few years back we had a tin roof over it and my dad and my father in-law came over and helped us add on to it and pull the old rusty shed out. Now it's an L shape shed. But it just sounds much better when I call it a barn. I keep the horse feed and the hay in it and it is located in our little paddock, so we have come to call it a barn. I just like the sound of "barn" better anyway.

Since I am awake and everyone else is asleep, it really gives me some time online without being interrupted. So I browse through my emails, read a few blogs and in general just get caught up online.

Here are a few things that I just found that I really like and wanted to share them with you.

Maggie's Musings is a very interesting blog.
Martha Stewart has a lot of great tips and a website that can keep one busy all day. I especially like the crafts Martha Stewart Crafts.
If you are looking for low-cost, home-cooking from scratch, you really must check out HillBilly HouseWife. Owned by Miss Maggie. She is also the owner of An Old-Fashioned Education, where you will find a directory of free homeschool curricula, literature and text books organized for the use of homeschooling families.

I know I certainly will be looking around these websites. I like the whole issue of free.

Miss Potter

What an absolutely lovely movie! This movie is about Beatrix Potter. If you haven't heard the name, shame on you. Renee' Zellweger played the part of Beatrix. I always enjoy movies that Renee' plays in, she seems to really bring the character to life. About 15 minutes into the movie I was getting goose bumps. Just an awesome tingly feeling all over. Why? Simply because Renee' played such a wonderful part and brought the whole thing to life.
Not only did I enjoy this movie but Superman also enjoyed it.
Is it a chick flick? I think not. I think it is a wonderful family movie!

Another Week Gone By

My goodness! So much going on this week that I can't see straight. The adoption is getting closer and closer to the finalization date. We went this week to see our attorney (assigned by the state) so that our oldest son could sign the paperwork stating that he wants to be adopted. This is a requirement by law because he is 12 years old or older. Also we had to sign the legal documents about their birth dates and their names and so on and so on...Now we have an official court date and case number. We finalize the adoption on Wednesday, July 25th, 2007.

Maybe this is a good time to give each child a name instead of saying our oldest or our middle son, etc...because of freaks that are online I will assign each one a name for online purposes only.
WW is our oldest, he is 13.
JD is our middle child, he is 11.
MJ is our youngest, he is 9.

I have been working in the yard a lot this past week. Moving the horses from paddock to paddock to help save the grass. Superman cut down some low hanging limbs in the back yard and of course I had to get them up before all the leaves fell off. Well I didn't have to, but I certainly didn't want to rake them up. WW really was a huge help. He loaded most of the limbs on the little trailer we pull behind the 4 wheeler. Of course he got to drive the 4 wheeler. I say little trailer, shoot it is big enough that we haul a lawn mower on it and pull it behind our vehicle sometimes. It took us 2 days to get that done and then we had to burn the limbs.

This is the note that JD brought to me while I was

still in bed trying to catch up on my sleep. I thought that it was very thoughtful of WW to write this note to me. When

I called him on the Walky Talky, he was sitting and waiting patiently at their clubhouse. I told him to let me get dressed and brush my teeth and I would be right out.
I had to save this to show Superman and then I just had to take a picture of it for our family picture book.

I managed to do a little rearranging of a few patio stones around the back door. There was so much sand being brought into the laundry room that I thought that our next garden would be indoors. I cleaned the gutters and now they drain like RotoRooter has been here. I finally finished taking apart a couple of palates that I want to do a few crafts with. Maybe, just maybe I can get started on some cutting this weekend. I mowed my mom's yard (1 acre), I mowed our pasture (3 acres), I mowed our yard and the roads beside our property about another 2 acres. I managed to get caught up on smashing the cans that we recycle. WW and I went for a 4 wheeler ride, just for the heck of it. And I ran umpteen dozen errands.
I piddled around and got more things done, I just can't remember all of them.

I finally managed to start the LIFEPAC Placement Test with WW and JD. No, the test that I ordered did not come in before I started the testing. However, this afternoon I did get the call that the packets are in and I can pick them up any time. Things happen for a reason...
When I graded WW and JD's books that they finished, I was shocked. But then again I really have to wonder how many children could have scored the 70 that they are required to score in order to be in a grade level. I started WW and JD on a 3rd grade level and they both didn't score enough on grades 3, 4, 5 or 6 to be placed in either grade level. I don't blame them and I am certainly not upset with them. I know that it is the system and the public schools that are failing our children. With everything that the boy's have been through, I am not surprised. I have ask for some help from other home school parents in my yahoo home school group. And if you have any suggestions, I will gladly accept them.
I spoke to Superman about their scores and right now we are leaning toward starting them both at a 5th grade level and getting them some lower grade work books that may help them advance. Yes, we are still open for suggestions.

I called the home school store and ask for advise and now I am waiting on a return call. I see no reason to test the boy's anymore at this point. I know that they will give me a credit on the material that I ordered and paid for. The credit will come in handy, because I intend to buy more material.