End of August!?

{I have no idea what the deal is with Blogger.  It is getting to where it doesn't want to work anymore.    At least now I can insert pictures, but I can't use my signature that I love so much.  :(  }

This picture is one we took last Christmas when doing family pictures with my family.  We each took turns getting some shots of our kids and our families and the grandparents with the kids, etc.  Fun times.  I'm so thankful I had/have a camera that enabled us to get this done so well.  But while my family was "posing" my nephew was snapping the pics.  When I was going through them, I came across this one that he snapped when we were apparently being goofy.  Shocker, eh?  Although you can't see PadaThree's face in this shot, it's still just a perfect shot of our family and is my favorite of all the ones we took.

We're nearing the end of our 3rd week of school and so far things are going well.  PadaTwo is still putting massive pressures on himself, but so far this year he seems to be doing very well with the rather rigorous school schedule I've set for him.  He's managing and for that I'm thankful.  PadaOne is rocking his school, naturally.  And PadaThree is fumbling through dealing with the times that she can't get her way with her bubbies.  I'm grateful for the schedule we seem to be keeping.  It has helped me tremendously to have a schedule again.  I'm not being a nazi about it, but I'm trying to keep them on task to get their work done each day.  Sometimes we start at 9:30 and some days (like today!) we don't start until 11.

We begin moving things down to the basement this weekend and I'm thankful and fearful.  Now comes the hard work for me:  organizing it all!  Not only do we have to clean out and go through all the items in storage, but now I have to find a new home for everything.  I know how we are...we'll get it all in the basement and we'll start using stuff before it's all set up and we'll work out of boxes for a while and stuff will never get fully unpacked/put away.  I sincerely do NOT want to do that this time and desperately want to get it all organized before I let the kids move down there for school.  SO thankful mom is coming to help with this portion of it!  Hopefully before too long I can start using all those things on Pinterest I've been pinning for my homeschool room.  And also hopefully I can post pictures of my own to share what my new basement/school room looks like!  Woot!

I cannot believe that August is over already.  This weekend is Labor Day weekend and we jump into September with both feet.  Crazy.  Fall is here....and our schedule is just as crazy as ever!  Bring it!

Summer is gone!

Summer is officially over, which means school is back in session.  I could.not.be.more.relieved!  Our summer has been extremely crazy and busy and we're just exhausted.  Now, we're turning our sites to the fall and our fall schedule, which is already starting to look equally crazy, and we're looking at making some tough decisions regarding what we take part in and what we skip.  I'm so happy to be back to a schedule for our days so that we all know what to expect and everything gets done like it's supposed to.  

Brent is starting 7th grade this year...and he's already jumping in with both feet.  Clayton is still finishing up 2nd grade stuff from last year.  Sure he's behind, according the Public School standards, but thankfully I don't have to worry about that yet.  I know he will catch up!  The cool thing this year is that already he's starting off with such a great attitude and he's doing GREAT!  He is reading so much better and actually *comprehending* what he's reading.  He still has to do things in small snippets, but he's doing it and that's what matters!  Alivia has decided she needs to do school as well this year, so I have purchased the Rod & Staff Preschool set for her.  So far, she is loving it.  Does a couple pages every other day or so.  I'm also making some activities for her that I got off Pinterest (love my Pinning!) that I hope will occupy her while the boys are both doing independent work.  

I've rearranged our schedule this year a bit too....the boys will have work that they will both do at the same time and I will work with Alivia while they do.  Then, when I need to work individually with one boy or the other, I have them occupying her in another room.  It's working okay....not perfect yet.  But we're only in the second week of school!  

We are still upstairs working in the kitchen for school.  It's not my ideal setup, but we'll manage till the basement is finished.  Hopefully we're only a few weeks from officially starting school downstairs.  Hopefully.  

Time to get back to the madness!

My baby is turning 3!!

The day she left the hospital...MAD because we put clothes on her. 

She *still* goes to sleep this way.  Oh.my.goodness. How adorable!

 3 years ago....it seems so long ago, but also such a short time.  This bundle of joy...the smallest of my three...arrived and brought with her a whirlwind of emotions and circumstances.  Daily I am amazed by her and what she's teaching me, even at her young age of 3. 

Just a few months old at the Pumpkin Patch.

First pumpkin carving!

Happy times...look at how little my babies are!  They have grown and changed so much!

Thanksgiving...

Alivia learned to walk so early (9 months...earlier than B or C) and that was *such* a blessing!  So many people told me to "not wish for her to walk because I would regret it" and they were so wrong!  The poor child was so attached to her Mommy that if I walked into another room she would cry and cry and cry like I had abandoned her and it was so emotionally stressful on both of us, that I was grateful when she started walking.  She still cried when I left the room, but she quickly learned that she could follow me and keep up with me.

Outdoor fun...riding a bike...time with the boys.

 Ah...Daddy.  The person she has neatly wrapped around her little finger.  :-D  He calls her "Princess Cupcake" and will do just about anything for her.  There's nothing like the relationship they have.

Almost 2. 

*sigh*  Just so beautiful!

I am amazed at the beauty she has, already at this age of 2, both inside and out.  She is polite and emotional and friendly (to women, anyway!) and fully of energy and smiles.  My heart about explodes when I catch her in a moment of being still and contemplative...her beauty takes my breath away.  I thank God for her every day of my life.

"Mom, it's hot!"

One of the very rare moments when she let me put her hair up and she actually kept it up!  

Playing with the Photobooth settings on the iPad.  She loves to make silly faces.

 She's silly....she's beautiful...she's full of life and energy...she's my girl.  And she's 3!  Happy Birthday, my Munchkin!!!  I can't wait to see what you do with this world and what God has in store for you!

Is school out yet??

 

We went on a field trip a couple weeks ago to visit a local farm operation.  While interesting, I didn't really learn anything crazy new compared to what we already knew.  Except one thing:  people who sell their own "organic" stuff are REALLY proud of it.  I've seen it other times, but was *floored* by the prices of the items they had to sell...eggs ($3.50/dozen), pork chops (2/pack @ $5.00/lb), and ground beef ($6.75/lb).  I realize that it's popular (and important!) for people to eat and organic and minus all the nasties in our food.  But goodness gracious.  It sounds almost crazy that people actually PAY those prices....how do they buy anything else???  :(

We are nearing the end of our "school year" but we're still not done.  It's weird...I don't feel like we're ever "done" with school.  There is always another portion to learn.  Something else we could have covered better.  Another avenue we could have taken to learn something different.  But, we need a break.  We need to stop for a few weeks and let our brains rest.  The basement is nearing completion (one of these days it WILL be finished) and I just keep hoping that when I finally get it organized and we can go down there and shut the rest of the world out, we'll be able to get more accomplished.  I truly pray that is true.  I want to be able to do our science experiments and know we can leave them where they are and not have to clean the table to eat supper.  (KUDOS to anyone out there who intentionally schools at their table, as opposed to desks.  I don't know how you do it without going bananas!)

One thing that will happen this summer is camp.  The boys have chosen to go to a new camp this year where a majority of their friends from church also go.  Then the week after that, Brent wants to go back to LECYC.  They both love camp and are so anxious to go and learn and spend time with friends.  Summer (Christian) camp is one of the best things we've ever started for the kids and I'm so thankful we've been able to do it!

My New Passion

So, as of yet, I've had no one indicate they are following.  That's okay.  At this point, I just want to write.  And share what's inside of "me."

In the last few years, I've become more and more interested in Essential Oils.  A good friend introduced me to them and sent me a blend she created to help Clayton through some of his anxiety attacks.  Since that time, I've purchased things like Lavender, Tea Tree Oil, Clove oil, Lemongrass, Coconut Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, and little vials to put my blends in.  When Alivia was a newborn and I needed baby Vicks for her, I used the store-bought brand.  She *hated* it! Cried!  When I would put Lavender in her bathwater, she would scream.  Same thing when we used the Lavender lotion after her bath.  So we discovered that she was insensitive to the Lavender...thus, I couldn't use the store-bought version of baby Vicks.  So I had to come up with my own...I used coconut oil and eucalyptus oil and put it in a little container.  Worked very well!

Now, several years have passed.  I have used Tea Tree Oil (TTO) on my pimples and it really makes a difference in their severity.  We've also used an oil from Young Living called Thieves...a moderately expensive oil blend, but it works! {Interestingly, there is a recipe to create this using other oils!}  Clayton always gets "barky" when he gets remotely sick (even something as simple as allergies) and I can put the Thieves on his chest (about 4 drops) and it calms his breathing.  A-Mazing!

Well, this same friend from above has recently introduced me to doTERRA International...  The thing that got me most about these oils is they are certified to be safe to take internally!!  I signed up, got my kit and have been messing around with it all week.  I hope to be able to post my progress here and toss examples out there for anyone wanting to know.

Another thing I'm VERY interested in...kinda goes hand-in-hand with EO's...is making my own hand lotion and hand soap.  I've been doing some research on purchasing beeswax (suggestions on where to buy a good quality product??) and I hope to start that over the summer.  I have seen some great recipes for using EO's to make scented gels (think of those Renuzit cones, only these would be in small jars) and also for making candles.  The possibilities are endless!

Reviving my inner-writer

I've been wanting to get back into writing and blogging and I see so much potential that can be had from writing.  I like the idea of writing to share with family what is happening with my kids and house and life, but I also have begun to see writing as a way to get my thoughts out.  I have thoughts that I'd like to share with people...some of them may not be politically correct.  Some of them might make you mad.  But I figure I can share my thoughts and share my views and maybe by doing that I will give people a glimpse into the real me.

I read books and write reviews.  I love it.  But I find myself wanting to do more with my time.  I am finding that I'm lacking in something...there is something missing.  So I am hoping that by posting and sharing my thoughts and views on things I can find my purpose and figure out where I can excel and what I need to let go.

And so it begins....Let's see where we go and who will join me on this journey.