Go Time

I'm ready for a break from school, folks.

Actually, I'm ready for summer and for school to be over. But I'll take a break. I was reading one of Lee Binz' e-books yesterday about high school courses and she was saying if the course is 80% complete--call it complete. After all, that's what public schools do.

Hmm. This theory may work well for me as far as science goes.

We need to finish up quite a bit of stuff in the next 5 weeks, that's for sure.

But today is our last day and then a small break! We're taking a few days off while our friends are visiting. I plan to relax and enjoy NOT doing school. Maybe I'll stop grinding my teeth.

Then next week we have the IOWA test. Our homeschool group offers this test each year and we certainly don't have to take it. This year I am having Sweetheart take it as next year is her 8th grade year and I want to fill in gaps before high school. I suspect I know what those gaps are, but this test will help. Hey, if she already knows something (even if I haven't taught it), I certainly don't want to waste my time teaching it! And Little Bit didn't want to be left out. I've never had Little Bit take the test (Sweetheart took it in 3rd and 4th) because she's not on grade level. Plus, she doesn't have Sweetheart's personality. The test will unnerve Little Bit. Nerves = more tics for her.

So, the solution is, I will administer the test to her in a room by ourselves. She won't have to worry about holding any tics in or being quiet for others in the room. I'm testing her on the 2nd grade test as that's closer to what level she's been working on in reading and math. Hoping she blows it out of the water!

Therefore...with these 2 breaks coming back to back, and company coming...we've got work to do today!

You know, finish school.
Scrub the potties.

Stuff like that.

Come on Holiday girls!! We're waiting for you!

In Which Life Gets Easier

I feel like we're digging out of the last 2 years lately. The house is getting back in order. We're throwing stuff away right and left. We're keeping on top of chores somewhat.

Compare this to the year of all the sleeping (otherwise known as when I was pregnant) and then the year of the newborn...

Now? Bee is sleeping through the night 95% of the time, which makes a HUGE difference in how I feel physically every day. She's a walking, going maniac, which means she's happier and more content and I can get more done every day. We're wrapping up the school year--which makes everyone happy!

HUGE EXHALE......

This week our good friends the Holidays are coming for a visit. We haven't seen them since January and its time! Mr. Holiday will be working out of town, so Mrs. Holiday and the 4 little Holiday girls will be coming. Can't wait!! We're taking a few days off of school to spend time with them so that means a short week at school.

It also means a lot of cleaning went on over here this weekend. Having house guests is GOOD for your home! It makes you take care of areas you otherwise happily ignore.

We were able to get the girls new bikes this weekend. Sweetheart's was stolen earlier this year right out of our backyard and Little Bit had outgrown hers. We added a bike for me too, with a seat for Baby Bee so now we can add "bike riding" to our routine instead of just walking all the time. I still want to walk sometimes--it's good for you, but boy peddling a bike with a 20 pound baby on it is good for you too!

Baby Bee last May...

I just can't believe Baby Bee is about to be 1 and I also can't believe what a difference a year makes. Yes, we've seen an amazing difference in her of course. But what a difference in our whole life! I'm so thankful to God for the blessings of this family and for the health to enjoy and take care of them.

Baby Bee now...with a little friend at field day. She LOVED his hair.

Oh and by the way, it's Teacher Appreciation Week this week.

For a homeschool mom, this plays out much like Mother's Day, don't you think?

So if you have a minute, go ahead and send me some appreciation for all my great teaching. Ha!

It's Friday!

Love on your people this weekend!

 

 

Take your car for a spin.

Enjoy some time outside (maybe...brr!)

 

And whatever you do, don't get in trouble!

Have a great weekend!

Just So You Understand--This Wasn't Planned

I always admire those Mamas who take a picture of their child in the same basket every month of their first year of life. They end up with this neat little montage of their baby's growth.

I tried that a few times. Never could remember to take the stupid picture.

But by complete accident, I did something kind of cool. See, when Sweetheart needed to go get her 9 month pictures made, my mom had made her this really cute dress. I picked the sunflower/basket prop from Sears, and wah lah:

Snapped a picture of the framed picture. Thus, the reflection.

When it was time for Little Bit to have her 9 month pictures made, 4 years later, I couldn't find a good outfit for her to wear. I still had the pretty little yellow dress, but I didn't want my poor baby to wear hand-me-downs! Unless....

I asked the lady at Sears if they still had the basket and sunflowers. She went climbing through the prop closet and emerged victorious! And so:

Naturally, since both girls had their pictures made in the dress, I kept the dress. I didn't hold out hope that Sears would have the same props 8 years later, but still.

I went to Hobby Lobby and bought sunflowers. I showed the lady the older girls' pictures and she went and found that same basket. And so:

Seriously--am I not SO planned and ORGANIZED? Are you amazed at my ability to coordinate this over a 13 year span?

I thought so.

Daddy's Birthday

S turned 43 yesterday. We hadn't mentioned his birthday in front of him because we kind of wanted to surprise him by decorating the house and having dinner for him when he got home. (Why yes, me cooking IS a surprise! Not really... just kidding.)

But yesterday morning when we woke up, I didn't want him to feel unloved so I told him "Happy Birthday." Yep, he had completely forgotten it was his birthday. He even had planned to meet someone at church that night.

The girls decorated the dining room with streamers and birthday banners and set the table for dinner. Then we met Daddy at his work and got to eat lunch with him. That was nice. He works long days and we don't get to see him as much as we'd like to. After we dropped him back at work we went to buy his present. My plan was to get him a couple pairs of jeans and some shirts. He needs them and I knew he would appreciate them. But when we got out shopping, I suddenly had an idea.

An idea that caused us a lot of work!!!!

So we went to a local discount store and bought some patio chairs. The tables were not a good size and we already have a wooden table out on our patio. We bought a table cloth, a new welcome mat, a wind chime, something to hang on the wall, and a pretty citronella candle to go on the table.

Then we went home and started cleaning the patio. It was pretty bad. The girls have recently been playing a game that involves mud. Ahem. We threw a lot of stuff away and even got it out to the curb in time for the trash truck AND they took it all!

Then we set out all the new stuff and waited for Daddy to get home to show him his new, clean, relaxing patio. The girls were so excited.

There's a lot more I want to do out there, but this was a good start. Seriously, if you had seen the before, you would be more impressed.

I hope you had a good birthday S! Even though you had to work and all. We love you!

Bee worked hard on Daddy's card. She absolutely understood that she had made one just like her sisters. Daddy asked, "Is this one from you?" She nodded her head big and beamed.