Just because I can't stop talking about it!!!!

It's my blog so I can ramble on about this (AGAIN) if I want to right? :)
Tomorrow we are telling Jake we are going to homeschool next year..Oh yeah, I have mentioned that 3,249 times already right? I can't help it I AM SO EXCITED!!!

I went to a Homeschooling bookstore yesterday and found myself wanting to buy all sorts of curriculum.  It is a consignment store where you can bring the stuff you have already used and get other stuff you may need.  It was wonderful!  There were kids sitting on the floor reading while their mom's were searching the store.  There was a girl taking a piano lesson in a little "classroom" office.  There were birds chirping sweetly in a big glass cage.  There were A Beka (and every other one under the sun!) curriculum-the books and teachers answer guides.  There were educational games and DVD's.  I looked at everything and almost spent a small fortune (not really I just could have).  Then I remembered that we aren't going to do it that way.   We are going to be making our own curriculum...Yikes, that sounds so scary...And it is a little, but also, not so much.  I have the list of all the things Jake "has" to learn in the 5th grade.  We will learn those of course...but we are really going to study all the things that Jake wants to learn all about.  In fact that will be our first task starting Monday...That's right the poor boy isn't even going to get a break. :)  We are going to jump right in-but it isn't going to be like school AT ALL.  We are going to create Jake's "compass"-the list of what he wants to learn about.  The guide we will use on Jake's path to self education... How awesome is that?  Learning what you are interested in.  Going into that wonderful bookstore made me realize (again...) that stepping off the conveyor belt of public school education is going to be an ongoing process.  It is in grained in my brain that you must follow the norm.  Take the easy path.  Go page by page in the workbook and that is learning. Right?  It works, but Jake needs more than that.  He deserves more than that. He deserves an education.  He is smart enough to learn how to love learning.  All children are...I am not drinking the Kool Aid, I swear.  I am just excited because I have learned so much preparing to help Jake.  I know he will LOVE it!!!

Wordful Wednesday: Alliterations...(this is not easy people!!!)

Over at Chocolate on my  Cranium, Cocoa has challenged us to write an alliteration  today.  This was HARD for me for some reason. So, here it is...This is as good as it gets.  I had to change the color of all the "f's" to prove that they really are in there...

One of my Favorite Faces...

This familiar face is one of the first things I see in the morning.  Freckles from the summer sun find a home for a few months here. Finding out how you are feeling is easy for those who know you.  From your eyes we can feel your emotions. 
From the moment I found out you would be part of our forever family I was filled with joy.  Then I saw your sweet, fresh from Heaven face and I found a part of my heart that was never fully formed before. From the moment you entered our family I was forever changed, for the better. I will never forget your first words, first steps, and first day of school. Our family found its meaning when you found our way into our hearts.
 Faith comes easy to you. You are funny, friendly, and forgiving.  Family, friends, and strangers find full acceptance from you. I hope you never fear the future, for yours will be amazing.  From your talents you will always find the strength to fully fulfill your purpose in life.  Find the path your Father in Heaven has for you and continue in faith to follow it. 

Are you better at this than me?  Find out if it is one of your talents! See if other people found it easier than me over at Cocoa's.

Farewell to my 2nd home: Bi-Lo (not forever just for now...)

I am a stay-at-home mom. :)  Yesterday was my last day of 5 days a week at Bi-Lo.  (I am going to go in to help with the sales tags so to be kept on the payroll so I can go back if I need too, but that will only be once a month.)  Picture me jumping for joy!  I admit I will miss all my regulars.  The sweet deaf lady that writes me notes on receipt paper to tell me what is going on in her life.  All my coupon ladies that came through U-Scan just to chat.  New grandmother that gives me an update on her precious grand daughters when she comes in.  My favorite fake grumpy guy who is upset if I let anyone else use his U-Scan check out #4.  Free thermometer  lady. "You doing any work today?" guy.  The Yankee Sisters.  Chocolate milk man.  The lovely Queen Redfern (is that not the BEST name you have ever heard?).  Back brace and visor wearing lady. Parents of one of the most beautiful little girls I have ever seen who toddles over and lets me hold her and talk to her :). Mr. Blessings who owns a cafe in town called "Blessings Cafe" and tells me what is on the menu everyday (and I WILL go and eat there one day I swear!!!).  Cute purse lady. My Norman Rockwell couple. The guy who calls everybody "buddy" (male or female). "Paper bag only" lady.  The lottery ticket family.  My favorite redneck, down-to-earth family.  The VFW men that sell hot dogs on Friday to raise money.  The lady that comes through U-Scan and always gets the same kind of tobacco every time she comes in and I was only able to remember one time what it is called-I remember it now-"Society".  Scamming the system lady  (she uses her Food stamps and coupons to buy all sorts of stuff and sells it out of her garage...Not to mention she knows how to use her coupons so that she gets money back from her food stamps at the U-Scan...a big no-no that is a glich in the system that no one seems to know how to fix), and who claims to be a very strong Christian. My mom regulars who I love to chat with.  The girls that work at the day care right down the road.  All the homeschooling families.  I could go on and on!  I do know a lot of these peoples names but it is much more fun to give them nicknames.

I will also miss all our vendors: the Doritos Lady, the smelly Pepsi guy, The Sun Drop guy, Magazine man, Hershey's lady,  The beer guys...again the list could go on and on.  I will miss my co-workers that became great friends.  I will miss running the register-not U-Scan...I won't miss that at all.  I will miss the beep the registers make when you scan groceries.  I will miss the buttons-how I love to push buttons!!! I won't miss the annoying commercials that come on in the middle of the best songs we play.  I will and will not miss all the drama that small town people like to create to make their lives more interesting. :)  I will miss Senior discount Wednesday when all the sweet old people come in and buy their small amounts of food and stand around to chat and give hugs. If you ever want to feel like your are part of your community than you should be a cashier for a little while.  I have loved it (and hated it)!  I am so looking forward to eating food that isn't warmed up rather than cooked.  I am looking forward to having matching socks because the laundry will be done.  I am looking forward to having a clean house again.  I am looking forward to not feeling guilty this summer that Jake will just be sitting around by himself while I am at work and Aaron has to sleep because he just got off from working 3rd shift.  I look forward to starting homeschooling and getting on a schedule.  I look forward to exercising more.  I look forward to my old and most favorite job in the world (EVER): being a stay-at-home mom.  I look forward to it because I know without a shadow of a doubt that home is where I am supposed and want to be...But I will miss my Bi-Lo...But not for long!  I have to go by there on the way to Jake's school and pick up some ice cream for his party today. :) 

Memorial Day, My B-day, Jake's a Bear, and Our Pool

We all had Memorial Day off this year which was so awesome! I have to admit I was reminiscing about our Memorial Day tradition in Asheville and really missing it this year...We used to go to Pisgah National Forest with a bunch of our good friends and play in the river and cook out.  We decided to do the cooking out part this year and Aaron cooked some ribs.  I am not a huge fan of ribs but my guys are so I was happy to eat a couple for my b-day celebration dinner.  My b-day wasn't until the next day, but Aaron had class and work that day which meant he wouldn't be home at all, so we celebrated a day early.  I got a ton of texts, phone calls, and Facebook happy b-days on Tuesday so I felt loved. Thanks everyone!  (I got so many emails saying I had messages on Facebook I decided I better go on...I am NEVER on Facebook.  I even got a couple of "Not sure why I am saying happy b-day here because you will never see it!"  messages on it.  I typed a little message saying thank you and I will most likely not be on until my next b-day if people are nice enough to do it again.  Why Facebook when you can blog?)

Aaron got cheesecake instead of cake because I LOVE IT!  It has become a fun tradition to look forward to.

Wednesday at Pack Meeting Jake got his Bear badge. Way to go dude!

All Jake's glasses are in serious need of some bending back in place.  We are going this week to have it done no matter what!  I can't take it any more...Take a look at the next pic and you will see what I mean....

They also worked together to see if they could catch water balloons in towels. :)

And last but not least for our week:  We bought a POOL!!!...For $10 at Walmart.  :)  It was in the 90's with HIGH humidity all week and we thought this would be a fun way to cool off for Sadie...and us too.

Sadie jumped around and splashed the water like crazy-she had a ball...Jake in the tiny pool with a dog who is going crazy...Not so much!  She acted like she was digging in the dirt or something which was pretty funny.  I kind of love Jake's face in this one. :)

Holding his breath since she was splashing water EVERYWHERE!

Jake was not loving it so much...This is his "Eye-yie-yie!" (how do you spell that?  I know it is Italian and we say it a lot...but never really thought about spelling it....You know what I mean right?), moment.  At least one of them was enjoying themselves.  Now when Sadie has been outside we have to check and see if we need to grab a towel before we can let her in. :)

That was pretty much our week...besides spending Thursday night going a project for AIG math that was so fun! Jake loves to research and do projects (he learned that love from me. I am so proud to have taught him so well!), and I think we will be using that love a lot in homeschooling. He doesn't even know he is homeschooling yet but he already want to do projects this summer on Black Beard the Pirate and Beethoven.  We are going to have so much fun homeschooling. :)

Five Minute Friday: Everyday

I am not a writer-I am a rambler, so this really works for me. :)  If you need to just write without thinking.  If you need to just let out your thoughts and not worry about what people think-just release...Then you need to link up to The Gypsy Mama and have some fun with 5 minute Friday.

Here is my 5 minute Friday Starting now:

Everyday I want to take a step forward, instead of two steps back...I didn't accomplish my to do list...Let's be honest-have I ever really finished my to do list?  No, because in everyday life there is something always something to add.  Send the email to remind parents to send in $ for the end of the year class gift to the parents?  Check!  Figure out when I am actually going to have time to use the $ they send to get the gift for the teacher....Laundry done? Check!  No...wait...My dog just jumped on my freshly washed capri's and left 2 cute (sarcasm)  muddy foot prints...Add laundry back to the list.  My to do list never says Ta Da!-your done!  But that is okay...I am embracing the gift that my Heavenly Father has sent me.  I am a woman.  That makes me the mommy.  The center of our home for nurturing, preparing, and maintaining our home.  The To Do list is my reminder that everyday I am taking steps to lead my family back to our home above.  The EVERYDAY things I do to make our house a home are my way to take a step forward, instead of two steps back.  I will always look forward, because everyday is a gift...

STOP

I saw this on a blog I love and decided this would be my new mantra:

Now it's your turn...It is so fun you have to try it!!!  Come on everyone has 5 minutes.  Consider it a mini brain declutter.

Embracing 35...

That's right I said it, I am 35.  I was going to redo 34 but driving home from Virginia on Sunday something clicked in my brain and I realized no matter what spin I put on it I am still 35...and that is okay. I earned that year, even though on a  personal level I feel like I have accomplished...well nothing this past year!  I know if I really thought about it I probably have but on the surface I feel like it was kind of a flop.  I sound so pitiful and depressed don't I?  I'm not really.  I am just going to look ahead to what this year will bring.  Here are a few things I plan on accomplishing this year.  This year is going to be my year.  My wonderful husband reminded me that I say that every year on my b-day...but I am pretty sure this really is my year...My year to:

*Lose a whole bunch of weight and you won't even know it (because I am so done talking, crying, whining, complaining, dwelling, murmuring, and rationalizing it) until I post a picture of myself and you will all look at my blog and leave me comments saying "You look great!", "How much weight have you lost?", "Great job!".  And I will love myself and actually be able to recognize the person I see in the mirror as the person I have been hiding a way under layers of fat for the past almost decade. :)  This is all I will say about that subject so don't even mention it...until you see a picture that you can say "WOW!" too...I guess I should post a picture of the "wow..." that is me right now so you will have something to compare it too.

*Not make long lists of things that I WANT to do but don't really have TIME to do or Need to do. I will stop adding more pressure to myself.  I did accomplish some of the things on my list that I made the beginning of May.  I read my scriptures ever day except one and I just plan forgot that day.  I did read a few other books (on my Kindle that ROCKS), not all of which are on the original list but things I just plan wanted to read.  I finished my puzzle, but not any of the other projects (that I will do this summer...whenever I decide I have time and really want, rather than feel like I need, to them).  I never got up at 5:30am and I am totally okay with that.  I am not a morning person and I don't think that is ever going to change.  I have done better with exercising-wait I said I wasn't going to talk about it!  I can't even remember what else was on the list...Oh yeah Spring cleaning-negative on that, but it will happen because next week I am done working 5 days a week and we are going to get on an AWESOME schedule immediately after school gets out..Okay-rambling!  You get it-the list was not completed-surprise, surprise.  Moving on...

*Continue to strengthen my testimony.  I will serve more.  I will set a better example to those around me.  I will remember who I am-"at all times, in all things, and in all places".  I will stop neglecting my spiritual needs.

* Take time for me.

*Follow through rather than giving up in all areas of my life that this applies to.

*Be less grumpy.  I will not take my stress out on my family.  I will try not to stress about things out of my control.

*Do better at keeping in touch and reach out and reconnect with people that have touched my life for the better.

*Remember what is important and stop worrying about things that aren't.

*Be a better wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, etc....

 *Doing other things that I see I need to do as the year goes on.

That list is much better than the one I did the beginning of May.  I guess I am already older and wiser.  35 may not be so bad after all....

Simple Pleasures: Air Conditioning and fans...

We live in North Carolina. It is hot here. It has been in the mid to high 90's all week...It's only June 2nd. I ask this every year: If it is this hot now, how hot is it going to be in July and August, our 2 hottest months? We are already in the "it is too hot to go outside for any length of time" phase. It is stinkin' hot...My simple pleasure today is air conditioning and fans that help the cool get pushed around the room. Enough said.

What is your simple pleasure today? Check out Cocoa's and you can get some cool free printables she found. :)