Mom vs. the Dot: Making it COUNT!

Last week, I watched my kids participate in VBS, particularly the outdoor games.  My camera charger was in a different state at the time (imagine that!  at least i didn't forget my toothbrush.), so I couldn't take pictures, but I can still share what I saw with you. Simple organized games - the best was "Defeating Goliath" where they used a giant water balloon launcher to fling water balloons at a huge face drawn on white tarp.  Riot of a game.  Loved it! With help from an adult, each child was given several tries to bean the giant with a water balloon.  Some walloped it - bullseye!  Others shot too high or too low.  The preschoolers were allowed to take handfuls of balloons right up to the face and lob them.  The elementary-schoolers had to use strength and good aim to launch the balloons fast enough and hit the target. Because my kids are homeschoolers, a lot of our activities include just our 3 kids.  We usually have many trie...

                  (Here my family and I are on a nature walk together - my hubby took the picture) I have been looking forward to this week.  Our kids were all signed up to go to VBS at our former church, bursting at the seams with volunteers and children.  I was ready for a week of free mornings, doing whatever I felt like doing. Tra-la-la! And that's exactly what I've  had: mornings by myself. I've tried to accomplish a few things, but mostly I've had a lot of thinking time.  Not a common occurrence in the land of children.  It's a question-a-minute all day long here. The house was so quiet - it felt peaceful, but not right.  I began to wonder if this is the way moms feel when they've sent their last child off to the first day of school.  The house is suddenly empty. Sure, there are piles of laundry to be folded, mail to be sorted through and phone calls to make, but I missed the interruption...

(Here my hubby is mowing the lawn, with the kids in tow, just for fun!  They love it!)   As I scroll through Facebook, I see many families who, as soon as their children are out of school, whisk their children off to magical places, awesome vacations, camping trips - you name it. We are just finishing our school year tomorrow. Do you know what I have planned? Absolutely nothing. Although I'd love to respond to this thought by putting my feel up, grabbing a book and letting out a long "Ahhhh" (sigh), I can't. I am experiencing a tremendous letdown. A total BLAH. Why? I don't completely know.  Part of it has to do with being in high gear for 9 months, spending half of every week day schooling the kids or planning fun, educational outings.  Many of my after-we-put-them-to-bed thoughts have to do with what we're going to be learning the next day, the next week, the next month and the next year.  My thoughts are consumed with how to make learn...

We are down to the last 5 days of homeschool.  Most of my kids' friends are already out of school.  They're ready to be done. I'm ready to be done. So what are we going to do? It's funny - the whole idea of homeschooling appealed to me because our kids could learn at their own pace and that we could learn in creative ways.  I pictured our family doing puzzles, playing games, and creative play every day. Instead, for 8 months of the year, we are working hard on core academic subjects.  We don't have time to fiddle around with puzzles and fun things because we need to learn our multiplication facts and grammar basics.  My kindergartner needed to learn how to read in 20 easy lessons - and we've only finished 9 lessons by the end of the year.  Granted each lesson was 19 pages, but still...I always think we're going to be farther along by May.  Ah well... We are done with testing.  We have had our portfolios evaluated.   So here...

When we realized we hadn't made our homeschool craft last Monday evening and they were supposed to be ready Tuesday, we did some quick thinking. I am a homeschool mom, and I keep lots of recyclables in case of need - for art projects or science lessons. If you know me, you know I like things that are simple. I prefer if we are cooking, crafting, or science-ing, we keep ingredients or supplies to 3 or less. Materials 1 circle of pizza cardboard duct tape apple juice handle  Step One :  Duct tape apple juice handle to middle of pizza cardboard circle.  I bent the end circles so the middle post would come out from the back of the cardboard, leaving room for a hand to grip it. (Apple juice handle came from Walmart apple juice - two 64-oz bottles packaged together) Step Two :  Color the front of the shield with desired design.  My 4-year-old chose Captain America.  My favorite superhero, too!  Our 9-year-old did a snazzy colo...

We've had an anniversary getaway, dyslexia testing, puppy training and end-of-year portfolio prep, along with the everyday laundry, dishes, homeschool, standardized testing, errands, doctor's appointments, and church activities.  Throw in a few sicknesses, an ER trip, foster care training (12 hours) and a fender bender, and you've just described our entire April and May. Hence why I haven't posted much.  We've been a little busy. My oldest has informed me I've been yelling a lot lately, and she thinks it's because of the puppy.  I try hard to be gentle and loving toward my children.  The puppy has added a degree of difficulty to our household that we haven't had to deal with in a couple years.  Sort of like having a toddler again...but I don't think that's it.  I'm thinking the probable cause is STRESS !!! I sometimes wish I could hear from you, my readers.  What are you up to?  Are your lives this crazy?  Most of the time I feel...

Recently (Ok - it was last month, but for me that's recent.), I went and saw Miracles From Heaven with my mother-in-law.  It was a wonderful movie.  No one told me I should have brought an entire box of Kleenex, so I recommend one for anyone who hasn't seen the movie yet.  At this point, you'll have to wait until it comes out on DVD/Blu-Ray. As I was driving to worship band practice with my daughter, she asked what the movie was about.  She really wanted to know, so I told her. It was a story about a family who had moved to the country - they bought a farm in Texas so the father could start a veterinarian practice.  There were three girls - I think they were about 13, 11, and 6 years old.  The middle child developed a serious digestive disorder that required a ton of medical treatment, and the mother did everything she could to make her little girl better.  Her little belly was so bloated that she couldn't wear normal clothes.  She had to ...