This post is from from my other blog here

The funnest part was tossing it around and shaking it up...


Taste testing..... :X

This post is from from my other blog here



Do you think he may be a little aggravated by sister? :)

This post is from from my other blog here

Today I'm thinking of resources. You know, people can be amazing resources and comforting to your stressed out thoughts in times of need. Let me elaborate...

I'm a homeschooling mom. We are in our 8th year. I'm amazed when I say that. Eight years, has it really been that long already!? When I first started out, I knew of no one else who homeschooled, either local or long distance. With the wonders of the internet, I found a place on AOL set aside especially for Homeschooling Parents. They had message boards, articles written by seasoned homeschoolers and a chat room too. When I first went into that room, much like a dog with it's tail between the legs, becuase I had no clue what I was doing, where to start or how to even ask for help.I met a small group of women in that room who had been doing this for years. Some were new like me and there for the same reasons. I'm a generally shy and quiet person, so it took me some time to really open up and let on about my fears of this new path we had chosen. I mostly watched the chat roll on as these wonderful women gave their infinite wisdom and advice to others, and I took notes. I eventually worked up the courage to ask my own questions and was amazed at the information that flowed forth.Over the next few years, as I gained more experience and confidence, I was able to share advice with other parents starting their journey. I've kept friendships with the women who were there for me in the beginning, as well as some of those I helped later on. These women have been a blessing in my life and now as I am entering the high school years with my oldest child, I draw from their infinite wisdom again. They have been there to offer advice once again, and never looking down upon me or others if they choose to go different routes. We all know we have one goal in mind. That is to make learning fun, worth while and to inspire our children in their lives. We all want what's best for them.

So if you have a wealth of knowledge on a subject and you meet someone just starting out on that same path, give a hand up. Be a blessing to someone as these women have been a blessing to me. Life is a journey we are all on together. Share the knowledge.

This post is from from my other blog here

Unconscious Mutterings:: Week 208 ( Link to participate is on my side bar, stage left.)


I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Limit :: Coupons. There's always a limit to coupons, isn't there?!


2. Voice :: Alan Rickman. There is a website dedicated to him somewhere called The Voice. I love to hear him read poetry.


3. Change :: Diapers


4. Expression :: Sugar Bear. He was being a silly baby last night and had the funniest expression on his face.


5. Tailor :: Jeans. My husband's jeans sometimes have to be tailored to fit in length better.


6. Lemonade :: Heartburn


7. Thought :: Reason


8. Phoebe :: Friends. I was/am a huge Friends fan.


9. Impression :: Art


10. Sister :: I always wanted one. I'm an only child.

This post is from from my other blog here

This post is from from my other blog here

Thirteen Things I can't stand 1. Any baby besides my own, that is wet with drool, spit or even something as juice soaked on a shirt, completely grosses me out and I can't stand to touch the child until they are dry. This is why I've never been a babysitter and never will be. 2. People who talk on cell phones while driving. There is a road full of cars with families and friends. How about putting the phone away and DRIVE without almost running me or them off the road??!! 3. When I say "No", and I'm not taken seriously. I'm tired of hearing..."Are you sure?", "But, why?" No means NO...some people, and sometimes my kids included, need to look it up in the dictionary. 4. I can't stand it when I see a pregnant woman smoking. I just want to slap some sense into her. 5. When the baby spits up a pea sized amount and hubby says "He Threw up all over the place!!! Jeeeeeeezzzeee!!!" I can't stand that! Is he kidding me??? 6. People who drag their feet when they walk. 7. Those stupid Geico commercials with the lizard. Just give me more caveman, please. 8. I can't stand to be slapped on my rear. Why do husbands think it's so funny to do that when we walk by? 9. Self righteous talk show/tv hosts. 10. As a Christian, I can't stand how judgemental other Christians can be. It's not our place to judge. 11. I can't stand for my kids to be hurt by mean spirited kids. 12. People who say they'll call or get back to you and never do. 13. Florida with all the humidity and bugs, boring landscape and over population. Only thing keeping me here, is my husband. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

This post is from from my other blog here

Have you ever heard of Ole Kirk Christiansen? Or how about Joseph Campbell and Abraham Anderson?
I stumbled upon a website tonight that details the history of branding. It's pretty cool if you want to know the story behind the companies.

Christiansen.....he's responsible for LEGO. Campbell and Anderson.....Campbell's Soup of course!

Find out the history of your favorite....or not so favorite, brands here.

This post is from from my other blog here

Unconscious Mutterings:: Week 207 ( Link to participate is on my side bar, stage left.)

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Audition :: When I was in high school, I wanted to join the newly formed Drama Club. Their first play was the Wizard of OZ, and I had to read for the part of the Cowardly Lion. I was so nervous, but I pulled it off rather well, I think. Not good enough though to get that part, but I did get to join the drama club and went on to do other roles.


2. Urgent :: Taxes. This makes me think of all the paperwork I'm in the midst of collecting and going over with my CPA. I hate this time of year.


3. Lunch :: I could really go for some Taco Bell today.


4. Adult :: Not as fun as being a kid.


5. Mug :: I need a new one for my tea time. My current one is cracked.


6. Awful :: Awful Kanoffel. That is what we call Sugar Bear now. He's such a dare devil child, he scares us. Only a matter of time before he breaks something. He stands on his bike like Evil Kinevel (sp?), so we call him Awful Kanoffel.


7. Comics :: Makes me think of an online friend who used to have a screen name with Comic in it.


8. Damage :: Pokemon. Yeah, I don't like Pokemon, but this makes me think of it because my kids have been playing their gameboy sp's this morning and I've heard the word "damage" used a few times.


9. Kicks :: Sugar Bear, kicking the rabbit. We had one of the bunnies out yesterday on their harness and Sugar Bear walked up to it and tried to punt it for a field goal. It was a good time for a lesson in being nice to the animals. He's only 15mo.


10. Experience :: I feel like I have a lot of experience in some things, not enough in others. I'd like more experience in the good things in life.

This post is from from my other blog here

This post is from from my other blog here

This is a lizard from my front yard. The kids and I were playing around the swing set when we noticed we were being watched. He's hiding inside the top bar of the swing set, looking out. Perfect opportunity for a surprise picture. Say Cheeeeeeeeeese! He wasn't too happy that his cover was blown.

This post is from from my other blog here

This post is from from my other blog here

Little Big Man is and always has been a hard one to figure out in terms of homeschooling. HIs learning style is all over the place, his mood about any formal learning is tolerant at best. He is 11 now and still has struggles with his reading. He is reading much better than the previous year, though still struggles with large words. Give him some time and have some patience to wait for it, and he will get the word. I've also discovered that a majority of it all is pure laziness. He amazes me still, with the many ways he tries to work you into doing it for him. He gets so mad when we don't, but then buckles down and goes it on his own with success.

We've tried many curriculums with him and none have made it any easier or enjoyable. He does like tests, just hates lessons. We've done the unschooling, the unit studies, etc. Like I said, he's a hard one. I've found an approach to spelling/reading that I think he will enjoy and I'm going to give it a try. It's called Sequential Spelling and the website offers an 8 day sample. It's test form, where he corrects his own spellings before moving on to the next word. It appears to be an approach he would enjoy. I figure if we make it through the 8 days and he's still breathing, then I'll have to order it and go for the full approach. I see potential here. If anyone has ever used this, please comment on your experience.
I'll update as we go.

This post is from from my other blog here

Another awesome find. I like to watch documentaries with the kids and then discus any questions or ideas that arise. This site has an extensive list of FREE full length docus to watch. High speed internet recommended.

http://best.online.docus.googlepages.com/home

This post is from from my other blog here

I woke up with a major headache this morning. I know why. It's because of the the three minor headaches I had last night.
Little Big Man's best friend slept over and all three kids (my daughter, son and his friend) shared the room. (My daughter and son share a bedroom anyway. It's a large room thank goodness.)
So as you can imagine, with a 13g, 11b and 9b all in one room, I about went nutts! The goofiness was unbelievable. The hours to which they stayed up just boggles the mind. Not to mention the phone calls they should not have even been on....like I needed more noise and goofiness! HaHaHa...and let me not forget to mention the marshmallows. Yes, the gooey mess from hell. The kids wanted to toast ego's for a late night snack...no syrup (thank Gawd!) and I allowed it. Not long after, my house smelled of Smores. Turns out my son walked out of the kitchen when the toaster was in use and a bag of marshmallows magically fell on top of it. So now my toaster is probably ruined unless someone reading this knows how to get that mess out?! My BRAND NEW Toaster. That's ok. They're alright. I didn't kill them. I did have the joy of waking their butts up at 6am to send the friend home. He had a scheduled fishing trip with his dad. So much fun waking three kids who obviously didn't sleep much at all.

I know probably many more interesting things went on last night and I'm just forgetting to write them down. What do you expect though? My brain is mush right now, my head throbs and I suspect it will be a lonnnnnnnnnnnnng time before I authorize another SLEEP over. Yeah, sleep over....they never sleep...what idiot first named it that?

Anyway, hope your night was better than mine!

This post is from from my other blog here

This post is from from my other blog here

Google still amazes me all the time with the cool new features they come up with. One they have in Beta now is really cool. It's Google Patent Search. Anyone with a mind for science, inventions, the how to's or even the legalities of it all, can get lost in this for a long time. I've been nosing around, searching cool patents and my gears are spinning on ways to incorporate this new feature into our homeschooling. I'm seeing science projects, book reports, art.....I can go on and on, but I'll spare you. :) Ever wonder how something is made or who made it, how it came to fruition? Then click the link above and educate yourself!

This post is from from my other blog here

This post is from from my other blog here

Ok, so this is pure laziness. I have cable internet which is normally very fast. Lately, it's sluggish and lags. This means one thing. Time to clean up the crap. I use a program called Crap Cleaner to clean files and the ole' ball and chain from my pc.
Now, One thing I LOVE about my computer is the fact that I can store passwords and easily one click my way around the internet and sign in without any problems. This is a good thing since I'm usually rocking Sugar bear to sleep when sitting here.
So why don't I just clean the crap off my pc and reap a faster internet, you ask?? Because I'm too lazy to have to start all over with storing my passwords. :(

This post is from from my other blog here

I really like this picture. Babs and I took it on a whim the other day. She's not fond of it because the sun was in her eyes, which explains the face. I on the other hand think our expressions are priceless. We both are looking at 'you' as if we're thinking, "You expect me to believe that?" Yeah, we look real friendly, eh?!

This post is from from my other blog here

Sugar Bear's cousin Zane came over the other day to play. Here are some pics from that. Sugar bear is in full teething mode again, so he wasn't into it as much as Zane was. Zane is my husband's Nephew's, son. :)


Create Your Own

This post is from from my other blog here

If you're a regular to my blog, you'll notice I've made a big change. I was tired of the dark, mysterious look, so I'm lightening up. :)
Please bear with me as I'm still tweaking it, adding things to it and settling in.