Today

Today has been an interesting day. Since hub and I have been running fevers we stayed home from church today. It has been nice. I had forgotten how relaxing the weekend can be. Hub took a nap this morning while I played Hide-N-Seek with the kiddos.

Hide-N-Seek was fun considering there really isn’t anyplace to hide in our house. Hiding consists of putting a blanket over you and hoping nobody notices you. We don’t play for the hiding aspect of it; we play for the fun. I mean really…we once played Hide-N-Seek in the car while waiting in line at McDonald’s drive-thru…where can you hide in a 5 passenger sedan…you can’t.

This afternoon I took a nap. I wanted one but had no intentions of taking one but my body has a will of it’s own and overruled my brain. After my nap I took a bubble bath and started reading Off the Record by Elizabeth White.

While I was napping the kiddos were playing games on the computer and I’m not sure what hub was doing. I know at one point he was playing Pokemon with the kiddos.

So yes, today has been a day of rest and relaxation and I’m praying we are feeling better tomorrow.

My Mom, Invertebrates, Maggots and a Book

So I’ve cheated the last couple of times and haven’t actually written anything important. Not that I ever write anything important, but I at least try. Well, no, that’s a lie…I don’t really try. I just sit down and type whatever comes to mind. The only time I tried to really write was when I entered the Write-Away contest.

So, okay, I’m writing…I have a blog and need to post to keep it interesting…hmmmm… Yeah…well, it’s not happening. It probably won’t happen for a couple of days since my mom is coming to visit. This is a good thing. (My mom visiting not my not posting). I would pull up some random favorite posts except…I’m new and everything is new. So, I will have to make do and warn you that I may not be posting for a couple of days.

I’m excited to see my mom except I’m also nervous. I am a very routine-oriented person and this visit will totally throw off my routine. It’s only for a short time, but I sometimes have trouble adjusting. (Look at previous post about my personality to see what I mean).

I haven’t seen my mom for two years so any change in routine is welcome even if I am witchy woman to hubby until she gets here. I think I have calmed down some…the wine helped…mostly the support and prayers of friends helped, but the wine is a close second. Actually, it’s not so much the wine…it’s the fact that I slowed down enough to try to relax. Relaxing is good.

I don’t know why I’m so stressed. It’s not like I cleaned my house top to bottom. I’m fairly good at keeping things in order (overlook the kiddos school papers). The main thing was washing the kiddos sheets and cleaning their bathroom since that is where mom is staying.

This visit should be a breeze yet I am nervous. Why? She’s my mom. I shouldn’t be nervous. Yet, I am. I’m a little girl still seeking mom’s approval. That’s silly since I know I have her approval. I know this.

On a different note, Hubby caught a cottonwood beetle this evening. We were at friends house this evening when we saw it crawling on the window. I had never seen one before and thought the kiddos would enjoy it. One of our kiddos is studying invertebrates in class and has been collecting bugs. Some of the bugs kiddo takes to school and some of the bugs kiddo keeps at home. All of the bugs are dead (except the cottonwood beetle). Some of the bugs have maggots in them. The maggots are pretty cool (as long as they are in the glass container and can’t get out). I never thought I would be excited to see maggots until the other day. When the maggots were discovered I had to save them to show hubby and kiddos. Now that the maggots have been properly seen I can throw away the jar. Forever. Although it was a good object lesson to why we always wash our hands after catching bugs and other things.

There, now that I have properly bored and grossed out all of my readers I think I shall say goodnight. I want to read some more in Demon: A Memoir by Tosca Lee before I retire for the evening. Be thinking of me this week as I am enjoying my visit with my mom.

Technical Difficulties

Due to technical difficulties (read husband and children not leaving me alone long enough so I can think) there will not be a post this evening.

I apologize for this inconvenience…you know…to the one maybe two of you who read this.

Check back later and hopefully the difficulties will:

a) be reading or find his computer

b) be asleep

c) all of the above

Thank you for your patience.

Quandary

I am in a quandary. I feel as though my kiddos are not getting the most of their education. This is not the first time I have thought this. I have had these thoughts for several years now.

I have always encouraged my kiddos to be individuals. I have been proud when they have not conformed to what others are doing. They are their own person. I love that. However, at school that is not an option. My kiddos individuality and creativity are slowly being sucked away. At one time they loved school. Now, they hate it. They don’t want to be there.

The sad thing is…I can’t blame this on the public school system. They go to a private school. A private school that prides itself on high test scores and excellent teachers. I have yet to see the high test scores and my kiddos are behind in math compared to their public school friends. (Although, their friends are above average so I shouldn’t be comparing to them.)

I have seriously considered homeschooling them for some time. I have also struggled with yanking them out of their current school and enrolling them in the closest public school. I wonder if they would fare better there? Would the school appreciate the individual in my kiddos or would they add my kiddos loathing of school?

What am I to do? At a young age, my kiddos no longer enjoy school. I was hoping to instill a love of learning in them only to find that they are having worksheets shoved down their throats. My kiddos are bored and I feel as though there is nothing I can do.

If I put them in public school and we still have difficulties then what? Homeschool? What if I fail at homeschooling? I know there are people who homeschool and will quote tons of statistics to me. I live in a homeschooling community, but for every great homeschool success story, I know of many more that have failed. Stories where the people themselves will tell me they should have never homeschooled. How am I supposed to know what to do?

I want the best for my kiddos and right now I’m not sure what that is.

We have a dog.

We have a dog. For those of you who know me you should be surprised. For those of you who don’t, well, it’s no big deal. You have a dog so what.

 

 

I am so anti-pet that I was upset when my husband wanted to get fish. You know why, because I would be the one taking care of them. I was proved wrong. I don’t have to take care of them and in the 2-3 years we have had them I haven’t fed them once or done anything to their tank. My husband takes care of the tank and the boys feed the fish.

 

 

Anyway, back to the dog. As I stated earlier, we have a dog. This is a big moment for me. I haven’t wanted to take care of a dog. I didn’t want a dog licking me or pooping in my yard where my children play. I didn’t want a dog in the house because if he made a mess I wouldn’t be able smell it (I have no sense of smell).

 

 

We go to my in-laws a couple of weeks ago and there’s S. A sweet Australian Shepherd sitting around the pool as my children are playing and splashing in the water. S was so sweet and gentle to everyone it was easy to pet her and talk to her. Then came the question…Do you want her? Well, yes, actually I do want her and she came home to us the next day.

 

 

Honestly, I don’t know what happened. I fell in love with S and the rest is history. She is definitely not the dog I would have picked if I were to go out and buy one. However, she is the dog for me. The children love her, even my youngest who is scared of any animal. She starts crying if an animal so much as looks at her.

 

 

The first day all youngest child would do is look at S. The second day she was helping walk the dog and would pet her. The third day she was chasing S around the house.

 

 

S seems to like living with us. We turned her into an inside dog so the air conditioner is a welcome addition to her life.

 

 

All is well. I have had a change of heart towards pets…well, with my S at least.

 

 

By the way, I love you Hotstuff!

 

 

 

Adventures of the Wii

Aaaahhhh a Wii. Something my boys (well, oldest son) would love to have in our home. Wait a minute…something I would love to have in our home.

 

Some friends of ours were in town this weekend and wanted to stop by…sure, no problem. Come to find out, they had brought their Wii with them. (Good thing we let them come over!)

 

It was so much fun! First, it was fun watching my oldest son and their daughter bowl (We played Wii Sports). It was even more fun watching them play tennis. My oldest went “wild”. That means instead of waiting for the ball to come to him and then swing, he kept swinging the whole time.

 

Next, it was hubby and my turn to play. We played tennis. I missed the first ball. I realized I can’t see the ball. I put on my glasses. I played better…I think. I was trying to play when my son shouts “Go wild Mom!”. So I went “wild”. I played much better when I went “wild”. If I tried to play the real way, I lost. If I was “wild” I won. I loved it!

 

Then we played baseball. I didn’t do as well. My hubby seemed to only be able to hit the ball when it was a female at bat…I don’t know what to make of that. Me, well, I didn’t play so well.

 

Boxing. Boxing was FUN!!! I had taken a kick boxing class and had wondered if it would help. Not really. But it was so much fun. I wanted to keep playing but I knew I had to share. Drat. This setting an example for the little ones can really be a drag at times.

 

Anyway, it confirmed my thinking that maybe as a family Christmas present we should try to get a Wii. Oh, and let our friends come over at any time! Thanks M and L!!!