Birthday Wishes

So, I thought my birthday was this coming Tuesday, but it's Monday.

Much to my surprise, Big Daddy brought home birthday gifts Thursday night and he wrapped them with the help of Maggie and Ellie. I can't wait to see what they are since Maggie had no idea what they were even after she had seen them!

After the kids were in bed Big Daddy told me that he didn't get me what I had asked for (a CD) because Maggie had just told him what I wanted. I have been telling her for at least a month so that Big Daddy would have an easy, inexpensive gift idea.

One of the sacrifices I made when I became a stay at home mom was my income which allowed me to buy what I wanted, when I wanted it. Big Daddy always tells me to buy what I want or need, but I have a hard time buying stuff unless it's needed. Everything seems so expensive these days and seeing how much money I spend on things that we need makes it hard to buy things that I want.

One thing that I didn't want for my birthday was another full week of single parenting. But that's exactly what I'm getting. We are planning to go out for breakfast to celebrate my birthday before Big Daddy leaves for his trip and then the day will proceed as normal.

Playing Catch Up

The past couple of weeks have been challenging. I have had daily headaches, Maggie has been VERY Maggie, we had bible school and Big Daddy was out of town.

This week has already been so much better. I went to the doctor yesterday for my second spinal manipulation and I really think that Dr. M has magic fingers. I woke up this morning without a headache and had the housework complete before 9 am
.
Next week we have three special activities during the week and one on the weekend. We also have a special visitor coming to town. Of course, my birthday is next Tuesday, but we'll be celebrating with my family this coming weekend.

Our week of bible school was wonderful! Our church calls it "Week of Wonder" and it's open to everyone. They also do Preschool Summer Day Camp in June for preschoolers and Camp SONshine in August for K-5th grade and an overnight camp for middle school and an overnight beach trip for the high schoolers. Maggie will be attending Camp SONshine next year, Ellie will go to Preschool Summer Day Camp and both will go to Week of Wonder- it looks like I'll be busy for one week in June, July and August!!

I'm still working on Ellie's big girl room. She has her bed, comforter and one set of butterfly sheets that make me want to puke. I have been looking for more sheets and fabric for curtains and pillows, but haven't found exactly what I have in mind. I have several ideas for wall art, but I'm still waiting on fabric so that I know what colors to use.

Homeschooling Maggie is my saving grace some days. She loves it and is always eager to "do more". She will be finished with her kindergarten math curriculum soon. It was the only kindergarten curriculum that we've been using, so I guess that she'll sort of be in first grade. I love that she can work at her pace on not have to wait on anyone before she moves on. She loves math and has really enjoyed our Singapore Math curriculum. The time that I used to have as "free" (relatively) I know spend teaching Maggie, reading to Maggie or looking up more homeschool ideas. I have found that many of the moms that can't believe I would want to homeschool my children feel that way because they don't want to be with their children all the time or they want that free time when their children are in school. Believe me, there are days where I want to ship Maggie & Ellie off to Nana's or drive Maggie to the nearest public school and put her out on the curb. LOTS of people seem to think that you have all the patience in the world to homeschool, but I promise that I have my moments. I have felt more fulfilled and useful as a mommy in the past six weeks. So...homeschooling works for us, for now.

We have a family trip coming up in August and we have decided that we will be going to Disney World (unless something happens) in the fall!

And then there's Pinterest. I received my first invitation a few months ago when I had NO idea what Pinterest was. I decided not to do it and I continued to rely on my memory, bookmarking and writing down the web address to things that I may want in the future. Time passed and I thought that I should jump on the Pinterest bandwagon and then I got an invitation from someone and the love affair began. You can request an invite from Pinterest, but I've heard that it takes a while to get accepted. I'd be happy to invite you if you want to leave your email address in the comments or email me.

Is it Friday yet?

I posted this picture on Sunday, but I really love it! It's also the only picture that I have of Maggie from this week. She loved the "Block Party" on Sunday and has had a great time every night this week.

All of the two year old classes are on the playground at the same time, so I've been able to see Ellie play with her friends.

I have to pick Ellie up (right next door to my class) and then go to another building to get Maggie. Then, I go to another floor of that building to get Callie. The "Worship Rally" was still in progress on Monday night so we joined in. Maggie loved it! Our church is quite large and it was nice to see that every seat was full of Kindergarten through 5th graders. Maggie loved the music and wants the set to stay there "forever"...especially the fountain.

Ellie is a huge fan of the slides on the playground!

We have had a great time this week, but the later nights and Daddy being out of town have not mixed well. Maggie & Ellie are both extra tired and missing their Daddy.

The Week Ahead

This is our "Week of Wonder" at church so I'll be teaching bible school. I'll also be homeschooling Maggie, cooking dinner and feeding the kids extra early, putting the kids to bed extra late and being a single parent. And I'm not feeling well.

In other words,
I'm going to be away from the computer a whole lot this week and could use some prayers.

We had a nice Sunday evening as a family at our church Block Party. I wish I had taken more pictures, but my hands were full. There were all kinds of food, several bounce houses/slides and great music. It was a community-wide, free event, so hopefully lots of people came to church that might not normally come.


I think everyone found out why Maggie wears shorts under all of her dresses, too.

I Should Be Folding Laundry

I should be folding the three loads of laundry that are waiting for me in the laundry room, but I decided to make a list of the things that I've done today. Maggie and Ellie are "hunting for trash"with some cardboard boxes. I'm not sure what gave them the idea, but I think they are really trying to look for treasures, more than trash.

• 6:45-I woke up when Big Daddy woke up, but sort of dozed back off until Maggie came and got in bed with me at 7:00. Just as Big Daddy was coming out of the bathroom after his shower, Ellie woke up. He brought her in and we cuddled for 15 seconds before she told me to "gup", a.k.a. get up.
• 7:20- I fixed Ellie oatmeal and Maggie asked for cereal. While they were eating I put the dishes from last night away.
• Fixed the coffee pot and prayed that the coffee grinder wouldn't die because I'm pretty sure that it's on it's last leg.
• Helped the girls get a blanket, coloring books and crayons set up in the living room floor.
• "Worked" on the computer while the girls were coloring and I was waiting on the coffee.
  
• I ate breakfast in the living room so that I could watch Maggie and Ellie play.
• Brushed teeth, washed faces, dressed the girls.
  
• I made up the beds and Maggie fixed the pillows on them.
• Put in a "Signing Time" movie in per Maggie & Ellie's request.
  
• Cleaned all of the mirrors in the house, the front of the stove, front door, french doors and fireplace-basically everywhere that little hands like to leave prints.
• Cleaned the toilets.
• Started a load of laundry only to realize that there was a load still in the laundry basket and another one in the dryer. Uggh.
• Wiped off the counters in both bathrooms.
• Cleaned up Olivia's mess from last night.
• Put the movie up and told Maggie & Ellie to have a little play time.
• Wiped down (dusted) everything in the living room, dining room and all of the bedrooms with a micro fiber cloth. Declared the house as clean as it was going to get for today.
• Fixed homemade trail mix for Maggie & Ellie's snack.
  
• Sat down in the living room with Maggie and Ellie for about 15 minutes until Nana came to get Maggie for a "Nana Day" at 9:30.
• Walked outside to wave goodbye to Nana, Maggie & Callie. Told Ellie that she had free reign of the dollhouse in Maggie's room!
• Went straight to the kitchen and cleaned out the set of cabinets where Maggie puts all of her preschool, church and library art.
• Checked under Maggie's bed for more art and found a few pieces of construction paper.
• I needed to make a phone call so I let Ellie watch a Barney movie.
• Turned movie off and played with Ellie.
• Took Ellie out to the garage and we wiped down all of the surfaces in the van.
• It was SO hot outside, so we came in and played until about 11:20.
• Went to Nana's to have lunch and pick up Maggie.
• Came home around 1:20, put Ellie down for a nap, set Maggie up with a computer game.
• Mowed the little bit of the yard that needed mowing and did a little bit of weed eating.
• Came in and did a math lesson with Maggie and then set her up on another computer game.
• Did more weed eating and told the yard not to grow until after Daddy 's trip next week.
• Taught Maggie another math lesson and gave her beads and made up word problems using subtraction.
• Ellie woke up-2:30.
• Fixed snack, finished math and discussed our new curriculum that arrived today!!
• Ellie requested another "Signing Time" movie. Normally two movies per day is the max, but I let them watch it again.
• While they were occupied, I went over the curriculum and made out our revised lesson plan for the week. I also got all of my materials together so that I can prepare a few things for tomorrows lessons.
• Turned movie off.
  
• Washed collard greens and started cooking them for dinner tonight. Sniffed of cantaloupe and decided that I would cut it while preparing dinner.
• Maggie & Ellie found their cardboard boxes from the delivery and decided to get a blanket and crayons out so that they could decorate them.

And that brings us to right now!!

Today was a high tv day which is rare. We also had much less school time than usual. Since I needed to get the yard taken care of and it's so hot (like 100) today, we'll do a little more school work tonight. Maggie did double some of her work yesterday so that she could have less work and enjoy a "Nana Day". We usually read several books in the morning, but since Maggie was away I tried to let Ellie have a little time to do what she wanted to do: Barney movie and dollhouse play in Maggie's room...without a big sister to bother her.

Of course, I still have lots of stuff to do!

• Finish dinner: chicken in mushroom sauce, steamed broccoli, wild rice and collard greens. Cantaloupe for Maggie, fresh strawberries for Ellie.
• Clean up kitchen and wash dishes (I only use the dishwasher a couple of times a month-max) while girls play with Play Doh at the table.
• Clean up Play Doh, do school work, read and play.
  
• Big Daddy comes home (7-ish) and has dinner then we'll play outside and go for a walk,
• Bring kids in for bath, pajamas and brushing teeth. (7:30-8:00)
  
• Read and play until bedtime.
• 8:30-Put girls to bed, fold laundry, plan for tomorrow, check email and spend time with Big Daddy watching tv or playing on our separate laptops.
• 10-10:30- shower, watch tv with Big Daddy until 11ish and then go to bed.

Something Sweet

I very seldom share recipes because I don't use them that often. I have always enjoyed reading recipes and I can remember doing it at my Grandma's house when I was really young. I can remember hanging out in the kitchen with my mom or one of my grandmothers and just watching the things that they would do.

My first experience making anything from scratch was in high school in a home economics type class. I took a Teen Living class and a Foods and Nutrition class which taught the basics of sewing and cooking. This is around the time that I became an active member in FHA, also known as The Future Homemakers of America. I guess I sort of have my dream job after all!!

I made a pecan pie from scratch one day and I think this was my first fail! I had made biscuits and muffins from scratch in school, so I decided to try making my Grandma's Pecan Pie recipe. I didn't think it looked right and called my Grandma to describe it so that she could tell me if it sounded normal. I had planned to take the pie to work and I went along with my plans even though the filling never set up and was quite runny. My Grandma assured me that I did everything okay. Years later, I got pretty good at making her pound cake, but they were never as good as hers. I really wish I had watched a little closer when my other Grandma made her famous biscuits, but I'm sure I would have messed them up!!

My mom was going through my Grandma's recipes and found a "pie" recipe that she had cut out of a magazine. My mom made it and it was a hit. I looked over the recipe and was happy to see that it had simple ingredients that I had on hand. I copied the recipe, came home, put Ellie to nap, mixed up the pie and hoped it would come out okay while I homeschooled Maggie.

The good news is that it was yummy! I made a simple mistake (as I think I always do), but it didn't ruin it! I don't bake very many sweets because I'd eat all of them myself. This recipe was simple and everybody enjoyed it, so I think I'll make it again sometime. It's called apie, but it's really like a brownie.

Fudge Brownie Pie

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 c melted butter/margarine (I only use real butter)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa (I used special dark)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped nuts- optional (I didn't use nuts)

Beat eggs and vanilla and blend in sugar and melted butter. Combine flour, salt and cocoa and add to the egg mixture. Pour into a greased 8 inch pie plate and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Pie will not test done.
Cut in wedges and top with ice cream and hot fudge. (I didn't do this)

Butterflies

Our church plans "H.A.P.P.P.Y" (Hands-On Activities for Preschoolers, Parents and You) Days field trips once a month during the summer months. We've never attended a HAPPY Day before, but we wanted to go to the butterfly farm and they have inconvenient hours for us, so we decided to skip the library and go.The butterflies were very friendly and I think every single person had at least one on their feeding pad, skin or clothes. I was the only one that was "fortunate" enough to have one in their hair...almost the entire time.

It was quite warm and Ellie was very hot. Both girls had been under the misting pergola and were pretty wet which attracted the butterflies even more!

I think my favorite part was looking at the butterflies in their chrysalis. There were several that were clear and ready to "hatch" and we were able to watch one as it emerged. It happened so fast, so I wasn't able to get a picture, but it was the chrysalis right beside of the butterfly with wet wings that is on the far right. That one had hatched just a few minutes before and was drying out.www.all-a-flutter.com

The Adventure of School At Home

To say that I was nervous and stressed about homeschooling Maggie is an understatement. I was totally overwhelmed with information.

After the first few days of "formal" work I felt SO much better about our ability to make this work. I found out that Maggie is a bit of a work-hog and was able to double the amount of lessons that I'd planned for us to do. I decided to do weekly lesson plans so that I could plan to cover certain things over a weekly period.

One of the reasons that we like the idea of homeschool, is because you can allow your child(ren) to work at their own pace, whether it's fast or slow. Starting next week, she'll be required to do the amount that I've planned, but she'll also be able to do an extra lesson or two if that's what she wants, but she is required to do a certain amount of work. I'm not letting her run our classroom. Allowing her to work at her own pace will mean that I'll have to do lesson plan work on a daily basis, but that's okay. We really want to feed her love of learning when she's just starting out. I really think that keeping children engaged helps to foster a love of learning, hopefully for a lifetime.

Maggie often does her phonics and handwriting work shortly before Ellie's nap because she is eager to "get to work". During Ellie's nap we focus on math, reading, history and geography. She loves looking at maps and finding things on our globe. Next week we are doing lots of geography, thanks to a great book I checked out at the library yesterday.
Ellie is pretty serious about her work too!!

I didn't think that I would love doing this, but I do! I can truly say that I adore teaching Maggie math concepts and how to read a map and crazy things like that! I have felt more fulfilled and this adventure has been such a blessing so far.

And on a completely different note...
Today is the birthday of a very special young lady. On July 1, 1994 a sweet baby girl was born. Her mom had undiagnosed Vasa Previa, just like we had with Maggie. Unfortunately, Kayla wasn't born completely healthy like our Maggie was. Kayla has never spoken, never eaten and never taken a first step. Kayla's mom has been such a source of inspiration for me and Kayla is very loved and well-taken care of. Just a reminder to me that we are so very blessed.