This little piggy...

Bitty Ballerina

Here's my beautiful little Thea waiting excitedly for her Beginning Ballerinas class. She loves it. Going to ballet (ba-yay as she calls it) is the highlight of her week. All monday morning she carries around her ballet bag and says "ba-yay? ba-yay?" And i tell her, "not yet! After lunch!" It's really cute. Although when I accidentally stepped on her bag when she was getting on her shoes she was NOT very cute about it! LOL

Beautiful Day!

Hiking the trail

A rare picture of mama and daddy taken by Q

Big brother being loving to Thea

View from the top

We checked out a new park in our area (new to us at least) and had a wonderful time enjoying the Indian summer. This area is full of beautiful parks! I think it's my favorite part of living here.

naval ball

is over!! Hooray! Too much stinkin' stress for this mama. It went fine. My dress was super uncomfortable (it was from before I had any kids so my body's not quite the same), but it worked. There were so many beautiful dresses this year. They were colorful and elegant, which is quite a change from the past several years. I enjoyed the people we sat with and the food was wonderful.

Unfortunately, we had to leave a little early. Landon threw up at home (he's not sick, just ate too much) and Dan was exhausted from running 12 miles early that morning. No dancing for us!

Thankfully, we are blessed with wonderful neighbors. Our babysitter called home and her mom and sister came to help clean up Landon's mess. We baked brownies to bring to them the next day!

so ashton lost another tooth

Ashton lost tooth number 2 and was as cute as ever taping the tooth to the front door to make sure the tooth fairy didn't miss it! She brought him a dollar and a lego set. We went to Walmart the next day and ashton chose a tube a toothpaste that he found that cost exactly $1 to buy with his tooth money! I thought it was so funny, but a lot like him to want to make sure he keeps his teeth clean and healthy!

Halloween!

Kids checking out the white tigers at Hall-zoo-ween


Waiting for Daddy to come out of the head


Cutest Pumpkin ever!! Eryn knitted this as a gift for Mareea. We love it!



We had a blast on Halloween. the post about it was awhile back, but here are the pictures from that fun day!

Feeling Better!

So I tried my sure-fire way to get myself out of the self pity rut...helping someone else. I have so much stuff to get rid of around here and the thought of trying to sell it was exhausting! So I put up our huge lot of rescue heros and my gigantic stash of fabric (that i do not have time to use) up on craigslist for free. No need to post pictures when you're giving it away.

Holy cow have I gotten responses!! I have even changed the titles to "gone" and people are still emailing me asking me to let them know if the pickup falls through.

My fabric stash, scraps and patterns are going to a church who has quilting groups that make blankets to donate to the hospital and to mexico. This thrilled me because I had been wanting to make blankets, bibs, etc. to donate and don't have time. Now I can help someone else do it!

The rescue heros are going to a mom without much money for her little boy. If she dosen't come for them ( haven't heard back yet) they will go to either a little boy in foster care or a volunteer fire department to have for the kids to play with who come to visit. I am so thankful these things that were weighing me down can be a blessing to someone else!

Stupid hormones!

I can still blame hormones at 9 1/2 months right? I mean...I'm still exclusively nursing so I guess I can.

Some days I am perfectly content with this life. I love it so much. My children are a blessing and a joy and I am so happy to have them to take care of. But today I am so angry with myself...i hate feeling depressed! I just can't seem to shake it. My house is all cluttered and I can't seem to get the energy to get it back in order. I have nothing to wear to church (it's so embarrassing!!!) or even in general since I'm not pregnant this winter. I think I am going to try and take everyone to Kohl's to try and get something for church at least. I dress up the kids so cute and Dan looks nice and I'm just pathetic.
Yesterday I went to the thrift store and bought what I thought was a really pretty dress for naval ball and when I got back to the car (dan had taken me to look and they stayed in the car) Dan was so angry for having to wait and the kids were asking me what took so long. HONESTLY!!! I needed a stupid dress and it's really hard to try stuff one with everyone with me. I can't go over there by myself because it's scary and I don't have the money to go to the mall and get one. Not to mention I'm at home all day taking care of them and there's no reason they can't wait 40 min. for me to find a dumb dress. So anyway...I get home and Dan doesn't like the dress and says I should go hunting in it because it's orange. It's more of a red/burnt orange color. So now i have the dumb dress that I paid $22 for that I can't return and I called him today and said I didn't' even want to go. I have no time, money or desire to try and find a formal dress to fit this gross body that has had 4 kids! Not to mention anytime I have tried to get involved in group exercise I end up only being able to go about every 4th class and it's a huge waste of money. I would love to exercise, but well...it just never works out. And that would be fine except for when I'm supposed to go to Navy ball and have to wear a dress.

So I am going to try now to clean up my basement and get things in order again. Somehow a clean house seems to kick me out of a rut like this. I hate feeling like this! There is no reason I need to feel sorry for myself. I am so blessed and happy to be able to stay home.
Thanks for letting me vent...

What a Halloween!!!

Wow!! I feel like this has been the longest day of my life so far. Normally, I am a person who would prefer to be at home mostly so I am just exhausted!
We started out the day with 2 soccer games. They were the last games of the season so we decided to go to pizza to celebrate afterwards. We came home and put on our Halloween costumes to go to the zoo to trick or treat there. We had such a great time there. The lions were yawning (with a roar), the baby tigers were sleeping in a pack, and the beautiful white tiger was making a lot of noise! It is amazing to hear him roar! I was trying to get a video of it, but all you can hear is landon and thea begging to be picked up to see it. However, there was no trick-or-treating so we came back home and went out to do that. When we finished getting too much candy (and having a visit with our sweet neighbors) we went over to a family from church's house and had a wonderful time of fellowship around a bonfire. These families are so fun to get together with. They all have several children around the same age as ours and also homeschool. They love their families and the Lord and I just feel like we have so much in common. We are pretty new to church and they have accepted us and been so friendly. I am so thankful God led us to this church and to these wonderful families!
Now I am typing this trying to wind down a little and get to bed. Thankful that daylights savings it tomorrow!

I'll get pics of the kids' costumes up soon!

Blue!

Saw this on a MOMY's friends blog and thought I'd try it to

7 Blue Things I love

1. Thea's eyes (along with all the other blue eyes in my family)
2. The blue sky in Hawaii, which is the bluest I have ever seen.
3. The ocean in hawaii which you can see right through (sigh...missing HI today)
4. Mareea's blue (and white) fleece snowsuit that saves me from having to put her in a big bulky coat. She's the 4th child to wear this and it is such a blessing.
5. Dan's dress blues, because when he wears them it means we're going to Navy Ball and we have a date!
6. The blue nasal aspirators we got at the hospital with each child. Baby's love to be able to breath while they nurse when they have a cold :)
7.Landon's blue velcro shoes that I don't have to tie!


OK...I don't think i did very well on this, but i do really, really love that nose sucker. I have no idea what we would do without it. I even keep one in the car LOL!

I love my children

I love my children so much. Today I was sitting in the bathroom brushing my hair and my heart just ached with how much I love them. I praise God that I am able to stay home with them and homeschool them. There is no way that I could send them away each day for so many hours. Earlier in the school year I was going through a dark time and thought about enrolling the boys. I just shutter now at the thought of what that would be like. I love how Ashton will still hold my hand in the store and that I get to teach him and watch him learn. Today I helped Landon wash his hands (he did not like this by the way) and I almost cried over how big those hands are getting! I have a very vivid memory of washing his hands in Hawaii when he was around 18 months and just falling in love with how those chubby, little dimpled hands looked. Now they are getting so big and the little dimples are going away.
Today Ashton told me that we should "make a store and get some dollars and pennies and take it to a country where they don't have a church and buy stuff to make one". How precious they are. He will be 6 in 12 days and I can hardly believe how fast the time has flown. These loans from God are only with us for such a precious little time. Please Lord, bless me with the wisdom to raise them to love and serve you all their lives! And may I savor and appreciate every day that you have gifted me with them. Amen

Family Vacation to Red River Gorge

Mareea's "hiking in the cold" outfit



View from the top of the Natural Bridge
Mareea was exhausted after the big hike and fell asleep on the way down
Family shot
Hiking up in a cave type thing at a place called silvermine
Exhausted on the way home


We had a fabulous time in KY this past weekend. We hiked Friday morning and afternoon and again sat. morning and afternoon. Our morning hikes took about 2 hours each and the boys didn't complain at all! Dan had a wonderful idea when he planned this mini vacation. One of the best things was that it was only 2 1/2 hours away from the house instead of 6 like last year's fall hiking trip was! The cabin we stayed in was up at the top of a hill/mountain (I'm not sure) and had a beautiful view. The last day we were there the sun came out and as it rose over the mountains it shined right into the cabin. What a beautiful sight!

Fall 2009!!!

We spotted a big tree with freshly fallen yellow leaves on the way home from the store yesterday. After lunch we took a walk to play in said leaves and had a great time. God's wonderful creations (children and nature) are just beautiful together!

Dressed up for church

My notes from my Thursday Morning Mom's group today!

Put your husband's needs first and have a great relationship with him and your children will be secure.
*Think of what your husband would like to have done and do it
*Cook his favorite meal and have the kids help. Decorate the table special for it
*Trace cheap white cloth placemats with the proper table setting so little ones can help set the table.


Making deposits and Withdrawals
*When we say encouraging things to our children it is like making a deposit in them
*When we are critical, harsh or unkind to them we have made a withdrawal
*Make many more deposits than withdrawals

Family Time
*A good time to build values in your children
*At dinner each person says a good thing about their day. Helps them to focus on the positive instead of the negative.
*Use the "red plate" or any special plate. Give it to the birthday child or when a child has done something special
*Victory candle. Have a special candle to light for achievements or exciting events. Keep a special journal to record the date and event for which you lit it. When the kids are old enough to write, they can write down why it was lit for them.
*Family fun night. Take turns on who choses the dinner and activity. Have that child help prepare the dinner


Finances
*Point out to your kids how much things cost and how much you can save by not buying it, eating at home, making from scratch, etc.
*When a child is about 13 have him/her write all the checks for the family that year so they get a good idea of how much it costs to support a family and how important being frugal is.

Friendship
*Invest in the lives of your friends. Share meals with them...build relationships with them for the future
*Entertaining is a great way to make friends
*Have a list of a few "entertaining meals". Keep of shopping list for those meals handy.


Cooking
*Have special themed nights with decorations for dinner. Ex: italian night. Use a red checked table cloth and play italian music
*Start traditions of making foods that are unique to you that your children will remember you making.

Develop a habit of "Praising your way through the day"...laundry is not a chore, it's a time to be thankful for the clothes we have, clean water to wash in, a washing machine and dryer and healthy hands to fold it all.


I had a great time, learned a lot and visited with some very sweet moms. I also got to hold a tiny baby!!! Thank You, Lord!

Yummy Fall Soup

I got this recipie from a friend's crock pot blog. I made a bunch of changes to accomidate what I actually had in my cabinets and it turned out really, really well!!

2 cloves crushed garlic
2 cups frozen corn
2 cups medium salsa
3 cups organic chicken broth
1 can garbanzo beans
1 lb. kielbasa sausage cut into 1 inch pieces
1 Red bell pepper diced
4-5 medium tomatoes diced (or 1 can of diced tomatoes)
1 1/2 Tbsp. dried cilantro

Put everything in the crock pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Yum! I made some cornbread and a veggie tray to go with it.

6 weeks of shopping...

We have decided to try and streamline/simplify our shopping by shopping for large periods of time. Because this is our first attempt, we just decided to shop for 6 weeks and see how it turns out. In theory, I would like to shop for about 3-4 months. We made a menu for 3 weeks and I will repeat it once to equal 6 weeks. I also make a lunch and breakfast menu.

Breakfast
Monday through friday oatmeal
Saturday - pancakes with homemade batter
Sunday - eggs

Lunch
M- PB&J
T- Black bean dip
W - eggs
thur - refried beans and chips
Fri - PB&J
Sat - uncured hot dogs
Sun - leftovers or out to eat

Dinner
Week 1
sunday - BBQ roast on hamburger buns, frozen veggies, fresh fruit
monday - egg casserole with fruit
tuesday - chicken noodle soup, veggie tray and bread
wednesday - albacore salad with crackers and a veggie tray
thursday - baked potato bar, green beans
Friday - pizza!
Saturday - minestrone soup with brown rice, corn bread

Week 2

Sunday - roast, rice and frozen veggies
Monday - sweet and tangy crock pot chicken, rice and veggie tray
Tuesday - Mexican casserole
Wednesday - Turkey sandwiches, fruit and veggies
Thursday - sausage and corn chowder, cornbread
Friday - pizza
Saturday - black bean soup, bread

Week 3

Sunday - BBQ chicken, frozen veggies, noodles
Monday - egg casserole
Tuesday - Chili or potato soup (not sure yet)
Wednesday - albacore, crackers and veggies
Thursday - spagetti, salad
Friday - pizza
Saturday - red beans and rice


We went to Costco yesterday and stocked up for the next six weeks. Total was $344. We plan to spend about $50 a week on fresh produce and at the grocery store. I also need to buy about another $50 in food for things that we didn't find at Costco, and another $50 for paper products and tolietries from Target. So our estimate is that we will spend about $744 for 6 weeks of groceries, tolietries, cleaning products and paper products. A grand total of $124 a week!

We did forget toliet paper at costco, but I think since we have one from there that is almost full we may be able to make it. We'll see!

Another way I will be simplifying is by doubling the dinners I make. That way during the second 3 weeks I can just thaw and cook several of the dinners.

I wish I could post our costco list of what we bought yesterday, but it would take way too long! There is an amazing amount of oatmeal in this though though.

She's growing up too fast!!

Mareea is only 7 months and has been pulling up for the past couple of weeks and yesterday she showed us that she knows how to clap! Another big suprise yesterday was Quintin yelling, "mareea's up the stairs!" I had gone to get the friday night pizza and dan was at home with the kids. Before I left, we had talked about how mareea could get up onto the landing and we'd have to get the gate out soon. Well, after I left she made it up to the sixth step! Thankfully, Quintin saw her and Dan got her before she fell. When I got home the gate was up!

I was able to get a video of her clapping today and hope to figure out how to upload it sometime today.

Too sweet!!

I love how the kids just love their little siblings...especially the baby. The other day Ashton told me that he couldn't stop staring at Mareea "because she's so cute". They often ask me when we're going to have another baby and tell me they would like to have 100 babies! I'm not sure I could handle that :)

Q's first day of school

This is about a week late, but Q had a great first day!

Sweetness

Mareea was crying the other night. She stopped and i figured she had gone back to sleep. Instead, I came upstairs and found this.





They were both sound asleep.

Ashton lost his first tooth

a couple of weeks ago. It's taken me awhile to get to blogging it! He was so cute about it. He actually put the tooth in a bag and put it on the front door to make sure the tooth fairy saw it! The next morning he found a dollar in a Ziploc taped to the door. He inspected it closely to see if "maybe there's another dollar behind this one". I can't believe how big he's getting :(

Park Day

Ashton and Q being silly

"choo choo!" I told them we were making a train.

Handsome young men

Pretty little girl

Homeschool Year 2009-2010 goals.

I made a list of academic goals I want to accomplish this year with each of the kids. It should be interesting to look back at the end of the year and see how many were actually completed! I say this because I often end up switching curriculum during the year. I made this list as a way of helping myself do some lesson plans. If I know what I'm aiming at it's much easier to hit!

Ashton Kindergarten/1st grade (will be 6 Nov. 4th)
MUS alpha completed
rod and staff gr.1 "we learn about God" set completed
Learn and place all the countries in the 7 continents and the planets.
Place the 50 states
Ancient history overview with bibloplan
Apologia Exploring Creation with Zoology 1 (finish book, but not go too in depth)

Landon 4 years old
Saxon K or MUS primer completed (haven't' decided yet)
Finish 100 EZ lessons
Write all 26 letters correctly upper and lower case
Learn some countries in each continent
Learn to place some states in the US
Learn some ancient history and some science from apologia

Thea 2 years old
Sorting and matching
Learn colors
Learn numbers0-10
Count to 20
Recognize shapes
Learn letters and their sounds (letter factory)
Kindermusik
BFIAR read alouds and a project from each book

Family Read Alouds
Little House books
10 P's in a pod
Bible
Five Little Peppers and How they Grew
and I will add more as needed

Bible and other Christian Study
Learn Hymns with "Hymns for a Kid's Heart"
Weekly memory Verse
Daily devotions
Daily bible reading

Mareea's 6 month pictures

Isn't she beautiful? What a blessing she is.