Gifts from New Mexico

Mike was gone all last week on a business trip. We stayed home and held the fort without a computer. That was not easy for this mom!! Our week was spent doing lots of reading, school, and working on some house cleaning projects. Nothing exciting!

When Daddy came home he brought gifts. (that almost made up for the no computer thing) Kid #4 now has a beautiful shirt from New Mexico, a porcelain frog and a new key chain from Texas. I got two things to hang in our kitchen/great room. I knew about them, because he called to ask my opinion on them and even sent a picture of one of them. I love them both and they look great. Want to see?? Well, I'm showing you anyway. :)

This is my frog! I happen to love frogs and this is the second one in this room. I love it, though and it looks a lot different then the other one. #4's frog is much smaller and isn't for the wall.

Here are some ceramic peppers. I love the splash of red on the yellow wall. I've seen quite a few pictures of paprika hanging (the real stuff) in Hungary. I know this is more Mexican, but it does make me thing of Hubby's roots in Hungary.

Now, this is not new. It did, however, finally make it up on the wall this weekend. Mike always wanted it up, but I kept dragging my feet as to where it should go. I guess I got caught up in all the hanging going on this weekend!

something new....

Assignment: This week I hope you’ll share something new you’re using, why you’ve decided to use it, and if you have used it how you like it. Make sure to include the publishing information and where you got it from so others can look into if they like.

Well, wouldn't you know this is the first year in over 14 years of homeschooling where I am NOT using anything new. I am down to just teaching one child in 3rd grade and we loved our curriculum from last year, so I didn't change it up. Well, I did buy a health book this year from Horizons, but I can't say if I like it or not. We won't be doing any health until spring '09. I can't recommend it until then. Everything else is the same.

We are using My Father's World and this year it is Exploring Countries and Cultures. That has to be my favorite. Running a close second is our Apologia Science. I have linked them in earlier posts for those that are interested in checking into them. If anyone has any questions about those two, just ask away. I'll get back to you with my opinion or any other info you might need.

Blogger Friend Assignment....

Assignment: This would be a good week to tell about your worst struggles with a lifestyle of homeschooling. Tell about something you’ve struggled with and how God’s mercies gave us the strength to get past it. Also, share any curriculum/homeschool methods that have been a relief to you, i.e., a particular Teacher’s Manual or Homeschooling method that’s been easier for your family. Talk about how you felt when the burden was lifted and Oh, What a Relief it is!

I would say one of my biggest struggles with a lifestyle of homeschooling was finding a way to keep the house together and organized. The kids all had chores and my husband would help me on the weekends, but it seemed that the work was never done. Not even close. Things would look great for a day and then be chaos the next. That would weigh heavily on me and just bring me down. I don't need my house to be spotless, but I do work best when things are in order. I found our schooling even seemed to suffer when I was stressed from my lack of order.

One day many years ago, I stumbled across Flylady's website. What an eye-opener for me. She describes Chaos as Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome. She talks about our attitudes and stinky thinking. She points out that we act defeated before we even start and asks how long does it really take to empty the dishwasher. She says get a timer and make baby steps and most importantly you cannot organize Clutter. Ahhh, that was the point for me. My husband was pretty good about letting things go, but I liked to hold onto things. Let me tell you though...that summer I was brutal. I went through closets, drawers, cabinets and every other hiding spot. I got rid of junk, donated things that we no longer needed and gave things to people that would love them or needed them more then we did. I discovered that the house began to stay cleaner longer and if things were messy it was a snap to pick up, because everything had a home.

I worked on my attitude and realized that I really could accomplish A LOT in 15 minute sessions. No more feeling defeated before I even started. I learned that with minimal regular cleaning, I could virtually eliminate having to have long cleaning sessions before company came over!! It was freedom. Yes, quite a bit of it is common sense. However, it was something that had been buried in my mind under tons of clutter.

I learned to declutter not only my house, but our schedules. We can't be running 3 different directions everyday at every moment. This was really helpful when we had 3 active young boys and even more helpful when my youngest son was 10 and we had another baby. That decluttered schedule was a lifesaver at the time.

Nowadays, I don't follow any set cleaning schedule and I no longer do flylady's zones. However, I keep the basics in mind. Things are in order and I am smiling most days just from the burden that was lifted. However, after a major remodeling project I had to pull out my flylady knowledge to overcome my defeated attitude of putting my schoolroom back together. :) I posted about it. You can read about it here, but beware the pictures are scary!! hehe

As far as any homeschool curriculum that has been a relief to me, I would have to say I love My Father's World!! Kid #4 loves it, it's mom friendly, and it's organized. What more could I want??

3 years ago....

September 10, 2005 was a special day in the K household. We gained a new family member when kid #1 married a special girl. It was quite a day. Beautiful weather and that was a good thing, because the reception was in our backyard.




It's such an emotional day when your child gets married. You have a little touch of sadness as you realize your baby is all grown up. Sure you knew it before, but it just really takes on new meaning as you watch him say, "I do."



A wave of nostalgia passes over you as you remember his little bald head and sweet smell, his first football game where you were sure he was going to get stomped on, the day he made Eagle Scout, the first day you dropped him off at college....and now, his wedding day.



A bit of pride creeps in as you think about what a responsible young man he has turned out to be and you just for a second like to think it is ALL because of you!!



You can't help but catch the excitement as everyone is all dressed up and focused on the lovely bride as the music plays and she slowly makes her way down the aisle.



A sense of joy fills you as you realize your family has now grown. You already love the new addition, but that seems to grow by the second as you watch her love and commitment as she looks at your baby...her friend...her husband.

Yeah....it was a special day!!! Happy Anniversary J &T!!!

Soups on...

We have a tradition, esp. during the winter months of getting together for family dinners on Sunday. It happens to be a day where everyone is off and usually not running around. This year I decided to try something a little different. Grocery prices are rising around here and I am struggling to stretch the budget as it is. So, I thought that I would like to make homemade soups on Sundays. The plan is to make two different pots of soup each week. One will be vegetarian and one will have meat. I will also experiment with different homemade breads (shiver) and try different salads. I figure any leftovers will be eaten up during the week and the price shouldn't be too bad for those types of foods.

So, now I am working on collecting some yummy sounding soup recipes, because I would really like to mix it up. I don't want to have the same soup every week. If anyone has a favorite soup, I would LOVE to have the recipe or link to the recipe. (just put it in the comments section) I have a recipe from Pioneer Woman to try. I also have potato soup recipe from a friend and a yummy one on the bag of some small black lentils that I bought. As soon as the weather turns cool....hopefully in a few weeks, I want to pull out my trusty soup pots. I'll be sure to share recipes and our thoughts on Mondays.

As for the bread making....well, that just scares me!!!

a wet day...

We had a little visit from Tropical Storm Hanna. She really wasn't that bad, but she sure left us wet!! I was praying that we wouldn't lose electricity, which is something that seems to happen at a drop of a hat around here. Twice the power did flicker and reset everything in the house, but the power stayed on! Woohoo!!



So, what did we do on a wet, sauna type day. We went shopping, of course! ;o) Mike needed some clothes and Kohl's is having a big Men's clothing sale. He is well stocked right now. Next up will be....ME!



The rest of the day was just being lazy around the house. I am posting some pictures of our yard during the storm for all of you that are in the dry areas forgetting what rain looks like. (our grass is going to grow an inch in the next 24 hours from all that rain) You can click any of the pictures to make them larger. Personally, this is NOT my favorite weather. It is a favorite of my dear husband, though. Silly guy!! ;o)

redecorating....

I have such a great child. She pays attention to details and loves to help around the house. The other day, she decided that it was time to change the picture. I had just shared a photo of the new frame we got for art work and silently I wondered if I would ever be able to change the art. Why? Well, I really liked the art work she had done and taking it out of the frame was like retiring it. Saying it wasn't good enough anymore. Ok, maybe that is not what taking it out of the frame really means, but it felt like that to me. So, enter Kid #4. Her chore was dusting and as she worked in that room she decided it was time to redecorate. I guess if she is fine with it, then I better be! ;o) Besides, I like this picture....it makes me smile.