I have terribly neglected this blog. I have been going through such a chaotic time in my life... My oldest son has graduated, and on to his new life. This is a happy/ sad time for me as a mom. My Mother has Stage IV Breast Cancer. She is rapidly declining, and I am now having to think of her final days.
We are back to our schooling after a nice Spring break. We are using Calvert Curriculum this year. It so far seems to be a good choice for us. Jilli has started PreK, and is very rapidly learning the alphabet, phonemes, and simple math. We continue with Kung Fu.
We bought a great Pop Up Camper this past week, and we are looking forward to using it. It is going to be a great relief not to have to set up a tent each time we camp. Frank has gotten us started on a new hobby-- Geocaching.
I'll post our brand spanking new family portraits soon (hopefully tomorrow.)
Angie
There is not anything really exciting going on in our lives lately. We did get some Cornish Rock chicks. These are going to be "meat" chickens. I am going to keep a few that are good specimens and incubate their eggs to continue on having them for meat. We also bought 7 ducklings. The ducklings are just pets. I have had ducks off and on since I was 11. Ducks are good people. :)
The children and I built a pen inside our chicken house for the little chicks to stay in temporarily. I want to build a chicken tractor for them. This way I can move them around and keep green grass in their yard. I am going to experiment with different feeds and supplements, while keeping their diet organic. The next thing I have my eye on is a couple of goats-- some that I can use for milk and organic grass choppers! LOL!
School wise, we have been taking it easy and enjoying the Springtime. We are just doing seat work, and reading. That gives us plenty of time for playing outdoors. This summer when it is too hot to go outside, we will be hard at work. :)
Frank and I are getting ready to go to Hawaii. It is so awesome that Frank earned this trip for us. We will be staying at the Hilton Waikoloa. They have activities that we get to choose from daily. We chose spa treatments, a dolphin experience, and a volcano expedition. The we also will have plenty of free time to do thing we want to. We do have 2 dinners (one semi-formal- the awards ceremony) and a breakfast. They give us a daily allowance (in Vegas it was $150 each), and lots of great gifts. I AM SO EXCITED! My Mom in Law is coming to stay with the kids.
Today, I will be planning our menu, cleaning house, doing floors, and hopefully finish up Frank's "shed". I have been organizing it. That man has a lot of stuff! I have more time at home than he does, so I thought I would give him a hand.
Tomorrow, Ian has a belt test. If all goes well, he will be an orange belt. He has worked extremely hard for this, so send some courage vibes to him. We have been practicing out of class and viewing videos on YouTube.
Next week I will take Mom to Houston for her check up at MD Anderson. I am not looking forward to driving in Houston, but I am looking forward to spending time with her.
Frank has started his new semester at WGU. Hopefully he will have a good one!
Ya'll have a great time! :)
The children and I built a pen inside our chicken house for the little chicks to stay in temporarily. I want to build a chicken tractor for them. This way I can move them around and keep green grass in their yard. I am going to experiment with different feeds and supplements, while keeping their diet organic. The next thing I have my eye on is a couple of goats-- some that I can use for milk and organic grass choppers! LOL!
School wise, we have been taking it easy and enjoying the Springtime. We are just doing seat work, and reading. That gives us plenty of time for playing outdoors. This summer when it is too hot to go outside, we will be hard at work. :)
Frank and I are getting ready to go to Hawaii. It is so awesome that Frank earned this trip for us. We will be staying at the Hilton Waikoloa. They have activities that we get to choose from daily. We chose spa treatments, a dolphin experience, and a volcano expedition. The we also will have plenty of free time to do thing we want to. We do have 2 dinners (one semi-formal- the awards ceremony) and a breakfast. They give us a daily allowance (in Vegas it was $150 each), and lots of great gifts. I AM SO EXCITED! My Mom in Law is coming to stay with the kids.
Today, I will be planning our menu, cleaning house, doing floors, and hopefully finish up Frank's "shed". I have been organizing it. That man has a lot of stuff! I have more time at home than he does, so I thought I would give him a hand.
Tomorrow, Ian has a belt test. If all goes well, he will be an orange belt. He has worked extremely hard for this, so send some courage vibes to him. We have been practicing out of class and viewing videos on YouTube.
Next week I will take Mom to Houston for her check up at MD Anderson. I am not looking forward to driving in Houston, but I am looking forward to spending time with her.
Frank has started his new semester at WGU. Hopefully he will have a good one!
Ya'll have a great time! :)
Wow, it's been a while!
Zach's birth
day party went really well, and I hope that everyone had a great time. When Zach woke up that morning he came into the kitchen and gave me one of those great big "I love my Mama" hugs and I started crying. I am tearing up just thinking about it. I never in my life have realize just how fleeting time is -- then my baby boy turned 18. I still remember with in exact detail of the moment that he was brought to me for the first time in the hospital. His first steps, his first tooth, his first day of kindergarten, his first crush--- He is a good man, and I am proud of him.
Thursday I went with Mom to her chemo appointment. Everything went well, and she has tolerated it better than we were expecting. I will be taking her to Houston in April to see if it is working on the mets in her liver. She continues to make her own blood cells. We will also see if there is a treatment to get her eye muscles relaxed so that she can stop seeing double. She has come a long way since her initial diagnosis in June '08. She is the strongest, most persevering person I know.
I finally finished the afghan. It looks and feels great. It is so soft and warm. I was kind of glad we had some chilly weather. We all snuggled up under it and relaxed. The littles wa
nt to use it when I am reading to them, even though it isn't really that chilly any more. Now I am crocheting a doily, and working on a crewel embroidery project that has been hanging around for half of my life. My Mom bought it in the '80's at a garage sale, and gave it to me for something to do. I have messed around with it every once in a while, put it down, packed it up, found it, and the cycle continues. But this time dang it, I am going to finish it and have it framed. It is the Irish Blessing (May the road rise up to meet you...etc) and it has some pretty cool cable work to do. I am looking forward to seeing the finished product.
Last weekend, we put in
some fruitless mulberry trees. They are pretty impressive trees. It will be nice when they get big. The give off a lot more shade than Mesquites, and grow very quickly. It gets hot here... really hot, and I want to have a few nice shade trees around so we can still enjoy the outdoors during the summer without burning to a crisp. I also revamped my watering system, put automatic timers on 3 areas, and we put in four grape vines as well. It was windier than heck, and that made it not as enjoyable, but it still felt nice getting some stuff accomplished. Now if only I would get the watering system set up in the garden...
Tomorrow I am going to post some .pdf files of my weekly menus. Just because I really like to see what other people are planning (I get some great ideas!) Ry and I are going to town to run some errands, and we are up to our elbows in mixtures and solutions, watching sublimation and condensation. We are also enjoying learning about Cadmus, the inventors of our alphabet, and Greek myths. We read about King David today. Ryan was surely impressed. Ian is immersed in fractions and writing proper paragraphs. Ryan is learning how much knowing how to read can change a person's life. Jilli is just being cute and driving everyone insane singing "Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb. Mary had a cute little purse cute little purse." etc etc and on and on and on...
Good Night, Sleep Tight, and don't let the bed bugs bite! ;^)
Zach's birth
day party went really well, and I hope that everyone had a great time. When Zach woke up that morning he came into the kitchen and gave me one of those great big "I love my Mama" hugs and I started crying. I am tearing up just thinking about it. I never in my life have realize just how fleeting time is -- then my baby boy turned 18. I still remember with in exact detail of the moment that he was brought to me for the first time in the hospital. His first steps, his first tooth, his first day of kindergarten, his first crush--- He is a good man, and I am proud of him.Thursday I went with Mom to her chemo appointment. Everything went well, and she has tolerated it better than we were expecting. I will be taking her to Houston in April to see if it is working on the mets in her liver. She continues to make her own blood cells. We will also see if there is a treatment to get her eye muscles relaxed so that she can stop seeing double. She has come a long way since her initial diagnosis in June '08. She is the strongest, most persevering person I know.
I finally finished the afghan. It looks and feels great. It is so soft and warm. I was kind of glad we had some chilly weather. We all snuggled up under it and relaxed. The littles wa
nt to use it when I am reading to them, even though it isn't really that chilly any more. Now I am crocheting a doily, and working on a crewel embroidery project that has been hanging around for half of my life. My Mom bought it in the '80's at a garage sale, and gave it to me for something to do. I have messed around with it every once in a while, put it down, packed it up, found it, and the cycle continues. But this time dang it, I am going to finish it and have it framed. It is the Irish Blessing (May the road rise up to meet you...etc) and it has some pretty cool cable work to do. I am looking forward to seeing the finished product.Last weekend, we put in
some fruitless mulberry trees. They are pretty impressive trees. It will be nice when they get big. The give off a lot more shade than Mesquites, and grow very quickly. It gets hot here... really hot, and I want to have a few nice shade trees around so we can still enjoy the outdoors during the summer without burning to a crisp. I also revamped my watering system, put automatic timers on 3 areas, and we put in four grape vines as well. It was windier than heck, and that made it not as enjoyable, but it still felt nice getting some stuff accomplished. Now if only I would get the watering system set up in the garden...Tomorrow I am going to post some .pdf files of my weekly menus. Just because I really like to see what other people are planning (I get some great ideas!) Ry and I are going to town to run some errands, and we are up to our elbows in mixtures and solutions, watching sublimation and condensation. We are also enjoying learning about Cadmus, the inventors of our alphabet, and Greek myths. We read about King David today. Ryan was surely impressed. Ian is immersed in fractions and writing proper paragraphs. Ryan is learning how much knowing how to read can change a person's life. Jilli is just being cute and driving everyone insane singing "Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb. Mary had a cute little purse cute little purse." etc etc and on and on and on...
Good Night, Sleep Tight, and don't let the bed bugs bite! ;^)
Happy Friday!!!!
Today the kiddos and I are going to town to buy stuff for Zach's birthday party tomorrow. We are going to have a house full of people. I am hoping that my Brother-in-law and niece and nephew will get to come down, my Mother-in-law is coming tonight, and of course, my Mom, Dad, Brother, Grandpa, and Uncle with be here too.
We are going to have beef and chicken fajitas, (with all the fixings), queso, salsa, chips( salsa and chips are Julio's of course.) Refried beans, spanish rice, jalapeno poppers, guacamole, homemade vanilla cake with chocolate frosting. Zach has never really liked store bought cakes. He always requests a homemade one, and I gladly oblige.
The Little's haven't bought Zach any presents yet, so they are excited to go shopping for him. We bought him a big present, but I want to get him a couple more little things.
I ended up going to town yesterday to watch the boys at Kung Fu. They are doing really well. I need to incorporate some of their exercises and memory work into their daily routine. SiFu Welker is an amazing role model for the boys and an extraordinarily patient man! The style of Kung Fu that he teaches is Shui Huo Kung Fu. Martial arts are far more than punching and kicking. They have really given the boys confidence and respect. Jilli can not wait until she can
get on the mat!
Well, I need to get in gear and get going! :)
Today the kiddos and I are going to town to buy stuff for Zach's birthday party tomorrow. We are going to have a house full of people. I am hoping that my Brother-in-law and niece and nephew will get to come down, my Mother-in-law is coming tonight, and of course, my Mom, Dad, Brother, Grandpa, and Uncle with be here too.
We are going to have beef and chicken fajitas, (with all the fixings), queso, salsa, chips( salsa and chips are Julio's of course.) Refried beans, spanish rice, jalapeno poppers, guacamole, homemade vanilla cake with chocolate frosting. Zach has never really liked store bought cakes. He always requests a homemade one, and I gladly oblige.
The Little's haven't bought Zach any presents yet, so they are excited to go shopping for him. We bought him a big present, but I want to get him a couple more little things.
I ended up going to town yesterday to watch the boys at Kung Fu. They are doing really well. I need to incorporate some of their exercises and memory work into their daily routine. SiFu Welker is an amazing role model for the boys and an extraordinarily patient man! The style of Kung Fu that he teaches is Shui Huo Kung Fu. Martial arts are far more than punching and kicking. They have really given the boys confidence and respect. Jilli can not wait until she can
get on the mat!Well, I need to get in gear and get going! :)
What a wonderful, cold, wet day it was yesterday. We didn't do much at all besides the normal tidy up, laundry, cooking routine. I powered through a few squares of the afghan I am making. I only have 1 1/2 strips left before it will be ready to crochet the border on and it will be done. The fact that it is not completely done, however, does not detract my children from snuggling in it every morning. First it's Jilli, straight from bed. Then when she wakes up enough to start running around requesting breakfast, Ian wanders in. Then while Ian is eating, Ry sneaks in and starts his wake up. I guess it is the equivalent of kid coffee. Ry melted my heart the other day because he told me that he felt all of the love that I put in it. Ahhh. I am so happy that they feel that way. I must be succeeding at doing my job of mothering. Since my children have discovered that I have this awesome talent (*snicker*) I have a project list a mile long. Afgans, scarves, blankets for stuffed animals, dollies, crocheted play food...
Anyway, back to the afgan. It is a 63 square afghan, and every square in a different stitch, or pattern. I used the same colors that are in the picture -->, except for the aqua, I substituted it with navy. It goes better with my furniture. Some of the squares are really cool, and I would like to make a whole afgan out of them. Some of them are not. I have only skipped one, and that is because I really, really, hate picots. I can tolerate them on doilies, because thread picots are so much easier to control, but big fuzzy picots just annoy me.
This is an example of a picot
Well, today is much more of the same. I have ironing to do, and I am going to do some baking. It's nice to bake on cold days. I am making a couple of loaves of whole wheat bread, some matrimony cookies, and a loaf of whole wheat french bread. I don't cook dinner on Thursdays because it is leftover night. The boys have Karate tonight ( 2 classes) so Jilli and I will have the house to ourselves this evening. I may even get some of Jilli's summer wardrobe cut out.
Have a great Thursday!
Anyway, back to the afgan. It is a 63 square afghan, and every square in a different stitch, or pattern. I used the same colors that are in the picture -->, except for the aqua, I substituted it with navy. It goes better with my furniture. Some of the squares are really cool, and I would like to make a whole afgan out of them. Some of them are not. I have only skipped one, and that is because I really, really, hate picots. I can tolerate them on doilies, because thread picots are so much easier to control, but big fuzzy picots just annoy me.
This is an example of a picot
Well, today is much more of the same. I have ironing to do, and I am going to do some baking. It's nice to bake on cold days. I am making a couple of loaves of whole wheat bread, some matrimony cookies, and a loaf of whole wheat french bread. I don't cook dinner on Thursdays because it is leftover night. The boys have Karate tonight ( 2 classes) so Jilli and I will have the house to ourselves this evening. I may even get some of Jilli's summer wardrobe cut out.Have a great Thursday!
--If it did, I'll do it more often!!!
It rained!!!!!!!! A whole half an inch!!! I hope we get more. We need more, but I'm happy with the half inch. :)
I did get my pantry cleaned out yesterday. Whew. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. That messy pantry was really weighing me down! It kept getting messier the longer I put it off, and I kept putting it off because it was so messy! I need to use the lock that is on the door to keep the kids from roaming around in there, and I need to put up the groceries as I get them. I took out a bunch of stuff (like the filing cabinet) that did not belong in there, and put the stuff up that I cleaned out of the kitchen when we emptied the cabinets to reface them. Here are before and after pics... Now don't think badly of me... there are 5 other people in this house helping me make a mess... LOL.
Now I have to get Jilli's room reset and the boy's room reset, find a place for all the odds and ends I have cleaned out, and then I will be done with Spring Cleaning!!!!
It rained!!!!!!!! A whole half an inch!!! I hope we get more. We need more, but I'm happy with the half inch. :)
I did get my pantry cleaned out yesterday. Whew. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. That messy pantry was really weighing me down! It kept getting messier the longer I put it off, and I kept putting it off because it was so messy! I need to use the lock that is on the door to keep the kids from roaming around in there, and I need to put up the groceries as I get them. I took out a bunch of stuff (like the filing cabinet) that did not belong in there, and put the stuff up that I cleaned out of the kitchen when we emptied the cabinets to reface them. Here are before and after pics... Now don't think badly of me... there are 5 other people in this house helping me make a mess... LOL.
Now I have to get Jilli's room reset and the boy's room reset, find a place for all the odds and ends I have cleaned out, and then I will be done with Spring Cleaning!!!!
What a nice and relaxing morning! The birds are chirping, and the children are sleeping. :)
One hobby (errr... obsession) I have is making Jilli hairbows. I found this super cute grosgrain dot ribbon. I spent a little time yesterday making these. They still look cute in her hair even though she cut all of her bangs off. Her hair on the front of her head, from her hairline to 2 inches back in 1/4 of an inch long.
There has been a change of plans. We decided to have a spring break after all. I think our batteries need to be recharged, and I really need to get some deep cleaning done. ( My pantry is calling my name... ugh.)
Having a clean, organized pantry means meal planning and keeping it stocked up are a whiz. I have a huge pantry. It is more like a mini store. I have a refrigerator and a huge upright freezer in it, along with lots of shelving. We live so far away from any store that I like to keep it stocked up. It isn't feasible to run to the store when it is 30 minutes away! I also keep extra appliances in there too. It makes my smallish kitchen very workable. I will take before and after pictures of it.
Zach sold the truck that Granddad gave him yesterday, and that will go a long way to paying off his loan on the truck that he drives now. He is really happy about that. Craig's List is a wonderful way to sell stuff-- as long as you are cautious about it. He had one lady interested in buying it, but then she told him she was going to send him a check for $5000, to cash and then Western Union someone else most of the money to pay for delivery... Scam.
The boys had Kung Fu last night. Jill can not wait until September when she will be able to start as a Little Dragon. Ryan will be out of Little Dragons in May when he turns 7. He will enter as a yellow belt- the same belt as Ian. It will give Ian incentive to work a little harder.
Ryan also gets his allergy shot on Mondays. Afterwards, he gets a huge swollen lump at the injection site. This is causing me concern. I don't want to stop the shots-- they are very effective for him. He just gets such a huge dose. The poor little guy is allergic to everything-- except feathers and dogs. On top of the allergy shot though, he has to take Allegra for nasal allergies.
After the boys class last night we went to Big Lots to get something for Ian to organize his K'nex and Legos into. He is getting to be a Lego Nut. Ry is too, but he hasn't reached quite the level that Ian has. Ian put together a huge amusement park ride out of K'nex- all by himself! He was so proud! ( I was proud of him too!)
Please forgive the mess in the background-- we are currently doing painting and some remodeling.
Well, off to tackle the pantry! Have a great Tuesday!
One hobby (errr... obsession) I have is making Jilli hairbows. I found this super cute grosgrain dot ribbon. I spent a little time yesterday making these. They still look cute in her hair even though she cut all of her bangs off. Her hair on the front of her head, from her hairline to 2 inches back in 1/4 of an inch long.
There has been a change of plans. We decided to have a spring break after all. I think our batteries need to be recharged, and I really need to get some deep cleaning done. ( My pantry is calling my name... ugh.)
Having a clean, organized pantry means meal planning and keeping it stocked up are a whiz. I have a huge pantry. It is more like a mini store. I have a refrigerator and a huge upright freezer in it, along with lots of shelving. We live so far away from any store that I like to keep it stocked up. It isn't feasible to run to the store when it is 30 minutes away! I also keep extra appliances in there too. It makes my smallish kitchen very workable. I will take before and after pictures of it.
Zach sold the truck that Granddad gave him yesterday, and that will go a long way to paying off his loan on the truck that he drives now. He is really happy about that. Craig's List is a wonderful way to sell stuff-- as long as you are cautious about it. He had one lady interested in buying it, but then she told him she was going to send him a check for $5000, to cash and then Western Union someone else most of the money to pay for delivery... Scam.
The boys had Kung Fu last night. Jill can not wait until September when she will be able to start as a Little Dragon. Ryan will be out of Little Dragons in May when he turns 7. He will enter as a yellow belt- the same belt as Ian. It will give Ian incentive to work a little harder.
Ryan also gets his allergy shot on Mondays. Afterwards, he gets a huge swollen lump at the injection site. This is causing me concern. I don't want to stop the shots-- they are very effective for him. He just gets such a huge dose. The poor little guy is allergic to everything-- except feathers and dogs. On top of the allergy shot though, he has to take Allegra for nasal allergies.
After the boys class last night we went to Big Lots to get something for Ian to organize his K'nex and Legos into. He is getting to be a Lego Nut. Ry is too, but he hasn't reached quite the level that Ian has. Ian put together a huge amusement park ride out of K'nex- all by himself! He was so proud! ( I was proud of him too!)
Please forgive the mess in the background-- we are currently doing painting and some remodeling.Well, off to tackle the pantry! Have a great Tuesday!
