Happy New Year

Another Happy New Year to all of my blogger friends. I thought last year was a year that was tough, but 2009 really showed out! I am so thankful to have made it through! Gratefully, we've had more gains than losses.


Every year the kids and I make silly, paper glasses with the new upcoming year as the frame. We have been doing it since 2000, but the first 3 years were with a Polaroid, before my digital camera days. Years 2005 and 2006 were lost when my old computer crashed. Look here if you want to see "how they have grown."

Blog Awards

MomInTheTrench gave me a blog award and I have to admit, getting an award is one of the things that makes me happy.

Now for the fine print. The Happy 101 Blog Award Rules are as follows: List 10 things that make you happy, try to do at least one of them today, and tag 10 bloggers that brighten your day. For those 10 bloggers who get the award, you then link back to my blog and create your list of things that make you happy.

1. Realizing a blessing

2. Watching my kids learn, play, and laugh!

3. Getting a great deal on Ebay

4. Validation (Love blogging comments and awards! Lifted this one right from Mom In The Trench ~Smile~)

5. Family vacation

6. My favorite television shows with cliff hangers (I’m 1 of those yell-at-the-t.v. types)

7. Farmtown and Farmville on Facebook

8. Simply Apple™ apple juice

9. Camping

10. Fishing

I would like to pass this award to those brave parents, fighting in the trenches, that decide to get up again in the morning:

Corey @ Watching the Waters

Reighnie @ Monkey Trouble

Christine @ Welcome to my Brain

Diane @ Gold to Refine

Beemommy @ With Love from Sumy

Another Hit!

Once again, Dollar Store Christmas was a great success! Last year we started a new tradition and had so much fun that we decided we would continue it this year.


On Thursday (12/24) we made cookies and had fun with the frosting.

James was trying so hard not to lick the spreading spoon that he tucked his lips in to fight the temptation. LOL!!

The kids put the tree up and really did not want to decorated it. They did put 1 box of candy canes on it (half of which were eaten during the decorating) their 3 gingerbread men and they put 2 strings of popcorn only around the bottom half. They were happy with it and I let it be their project. We have a new foster child with us for an extended respite and bless her heart, I'm sure she thought we were nutsy, but did enjoy shopping for her mom and sister at the Dollar Store.

When we started Dollar Store Christmas, the kids made a list of everyone in the family and purchased a gift for each person. This year, 5 year old Jackson came out of the store with his gifts and when Poppy sat down with him to help him wrap gifts, there seemed to be an extra one. When my dad ask who that gift was for, he said, "It's for Jackson!" When he made his list, he listed all the family members including himself. The kicker was, when he opened his gift to him from him, he was so excited and had the biggest smile. My brother was like, " The 5 year old has changed the rules to the game and I like it!"

A huge pile of over 40 gifts under the tree for just over $40. The fun = priceless!

My Christmas Card To You All!

Last Day of School

Monday, December 21st is our last day of school for Christmas break. We are planning a Christmas decorating party and 6th grade went into the store to shop for party goods all by herself! Let's just say... that girl likes her shopping!!

Saturday

6th grade and I are watching "Left Behind: The Movie" together as she has read the kids series and most of the adult series. She has been wanting to see it for a while and I have been holding off, but decided to watch with her today. I love how her mind works and her 11 year old interpretation of things.

Peace

Numbers Words

2nd grade continues to do very well in math and because we have not shared much of his work lately, we decided to show how well he is doing in writing and reading number words.

Library Day

We went to the library today and our wonderful librarian told us that is was Christmas story and craft day, but that no one had registered for the class. I guess it did not make it to the website. So we went in and she read 4 great stories: 2 about the gingerbread baby, 1 that told about the 12 days of Christmas and a neat little book called: "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" By John Rox and Bruce Whatley. I had never heard that one before and I am sure that I enjoyed it more than the kids did!

The craft was a chance to make our own gingerbread man ornaments. They smelled delicious!

Fun fun!

After School Activities

Why is it that my homeschooled kids can't wait till the end of school time and then get up and go in the other room and play "school"?!?!?

~Smile~

Home Economics

Check out what Princess Puppy is cookin'.

Presidential Studies

2nd grade is studying past Presidents and when he drew this picture, I just had to share.

Now We Have Teeth...

In science class, Pre-K is studying cells. We are using the book, Sam's Science: I Know How My Cells Make Me Grow and today Pre-K was drawing a picture of the characters from the book. Remember when I was so excited that we had 5 fingers with my then first grader? Well I am now proud to announce that with Pre-K, people have teeth!

Choices...

Yesterday (Saturday) 6th grade had her very first recital with the other students from the studio where she is taking voice lessons. It was wonderful! Before we left, as I was getting everyone dressed we had a small wardrobe malfunction which put us a little behind on time, so as we were walking out the door, there was just a bit of frantic grabbing of last minute items. I reached for what I though was a pack of gum to throw in my pocket:

But what I grabbed was this:

Which I did not find out about until we were sitting in the auditorium waiting for the performance.

Not the way to get fresh minty breath! LOL!

This morning as we were heading out for church, I told the kids to grab money for the offering plate to stick in their pockets/purse. Later, as the plate was being passed around, James pulls this out of his pocket:

He could not understand why he could not spend this Bahamian dollar here in the States.

Just before I wrote this post, the phone rang and I picked up the t.v. remote.... I think we've had too much vacation. ROFL!

Field Trip

Today we went to a bounce arena with our home school group. I was able to surprise the children with this trip and they. had. a. BALL!!!!! It was a really nice set up as I had never been to any place like this. The price was very reasonable: $4 per child for 3 hours. There were couches and massage chairs for the parents to sit in and a very nice sized group. I think this will be a monthly thing that we will try to participate in this winter.

6th grade has posted about The Best Vacation Ever!! over at her blog, Princess Puppy. Check it out and give her some support.

Facebook Finds

I joined Facebook to keep up with my teenager, but really never paid too much attention to "socially networking" on it until I learned to play Uno, Farm Town and Farm Ville. (BTW - I need more neighbors so I can hire plowers :))

When my mother was pregnant with me, she agreed to be followed by a student from Case Western University in Cleveland, OH. That young doctor ended up delivering me. I believe I was her first delivery and my mother kept in touch with her and she with my mother after my birth. In fact, she gave me a little stuffed animal that I still have. When I was 10 years old, my family moved from Ohio and while I had several phone calls with that doctor, we eventually lost touch with each other.

I celebrated my 44th birthday last week and this morning when I got on Facebook to check my farms (LOL), I saw a friend request from the doctor that delivered me. What a trip!

HOME!!!

...and while we miss the beach and warm weather and especially the ocean (which was exceptionally warm this year) it is good to be home.

Until the Ride Comes To a Complete Stop...

Our time is almost up here and I must say it has been the 2nd best vacation I have had. The kids had a great time and while we did not have as much school as I had planned, they learned so much and met so many new people. We met new families from New York, California and Michigan. This years newest geography lesson was meeting a large family from Dawson Creek, British Columbia. They were a Christian family that has homeschooled in the past and have 6 daughters, some of which love to sing. We have learned about their climate (up to 10 months of winter and snowy weather, Yikes!) and other demographics.

We also rekindled with friends from Scotland, Sheffield, England, Boston, Michigan, and various Providences of Canada.

I have loads of pictures that I will post for documentation sake.

Blessed!

Too True Tuesday

One of my blog buddies, Essie, has a blog segment called Too True Tuesday and the subject of this weeks TTT is, your least favorite holiday and why. And just for fun and balance, your favorite holiday and why.

My least favorite holiday is Halloween. It's not so much the holiday that I dislike as much as the social pressure I get because my kids do not usually get to go trick or treating. Our annual family vacation starts the Saturday after Halloween and so I am usually just too overwhelmed to do the whole costume and parade around the neighborhood thing.

My favorite is Thanksgiving because of this, (Originally posted last November here)

My immediate family is pretty small... Mom, Dad, 1 younger brother and myself. All of my extended family live out of state and we just don't get together like we used to. About 6 years ago, I asked my then 10 year old what he wanted for thanksgiving dinner and he jokingly said, "grilled cheese sandwiches and french fries" our then favorite meal. We kinda looked at each other and thought, hmmmm. And so our family tradition began. Believe me, I have heard much criticism about it, but it's what we like and it is fun and the kids love it and so do I. To see pictures, click on the "here" link.

This year, Thanksgiving will be celebrated here in Nassau, so mom cooks like crazy. And Essie...we are having ham!

Today Is My Birthday!

With the Ocean Singing Back-Up

6th grade met new friends this week from British Columbia. As it turns out, they all like to sing and decided to put on a concert for us parents tonight. It was so cool because as the girls sang songs, some written by the girls earlier this evening, the ocean sounds were in the background. It was amazing!

Jordan has a recital for voice class when we return to the states and I had told her teacher that I would try to get her to give at least 2 practice recitals while on vacation. Mission accomplished as she gave 1 last week to a group of sisters from California and then tonight's concert. I love that she gets to meet people from all around the world. I am actually tempted to break my rule and post the video of her singing tonight. If i can get it to load with this very slow Internet I just may.

Signed,

Proud Mama!!!

Friends and Sunsets

One of the things I love most about time sharing is the meeting up with friends year after year. It is truly like a family reunion. Jordan and her friend had a great time swimming, giggling, playing tennis and Boggle, giggling and eating out at a great Italian Restaurant.

Here they are with a beautiful sunset. I blocked her friend out as I did not get permission from her mom to share it.

Tennis Serving Lobster

This is going to be a pictureless post as this laptop does not have a memory card slot and the one that does have the slots, cannot seem to pick up the wireless signal here....

Jordan played tennis today with her friend from Massachusetts and said she had a great time. She went swimming and enjoyed lunch on the beach. Even tho' she was wearing an SPF of 50, she still got a little crispy.

The little boys enjoyed going to happy hour at the club house and trying to catch geckos and snails. They are both the kind of kids that could play for hours with a cup, spoon and pile of sand and be the happiest little kids around. I love that about them.

Tonight, we had the sweetest, tastiest lobster for dinner. For dessert, we had peanut butter cookies using this recipe. Very sweet, very good. Thx K.

Television Mesmerized....

One of the perks on vacation is that the children get to watch a whole lot more television. They watch it so hard! It's like they are mesmerized. LOL! As you can see, James is a bit crispy. It's hard to get him out of the water often enough to re-apply.

My Morning Buddy

I have been waking up every morning at about 5:30 am and I go out on the patio for quiet time. Every morning so far, this has been my buddy. It just sits on the patio quietly too. I wonder if he/she is taking quiet time before his/her kids wake up too. Ha Ha!

First Day

We made it and had a really smooth trip. In fact, it was the easiest ever. My legs and feet are a little sore...the Dallas/Ft.Worth airport is HUGE!!!! Of course, we arrived in Concourse A and had to get to Concourse D which seemed to be 2 cities over. LOL! Luckily, Tx time zone is an hour behind ours so we had plenty of time to make our flight. The weather is calm, 88 degrees, partly cloudy.

Birthday

Today is my oldest son's birthday. He is 17 years old.




17.....



~sigh~ Happy Birthday kid.

Last Day of School

Monday was our last day of school while stateside. There was cheering and dancing in the halls! I gave out progress reports and the gang is still doing very well. They love taking their report cards with them to show off to friends and family. 6th grade had voice lessons today (Wednesday) and found out that she has her first recital 1 week after we get back. I think there will be a couple of practice performances during vacation.

We will be flying to Dallas, Tx on Saturday for a short layover and then on to Nassau. We will be giving a shout out (from the airport) to our bloggy buddies in the state of Texas. Be sure to listen for us! ~Smile~

Tell Me About Your "Junk Drawer"

I have a "junk drawer" in my kitchen. It is the drawer that holds coupons, birthday candles, extra twisty ties and a host of ketchup, honey, soy/duck sauce and salt packs. I go through this drawer often to clear it of "junk", but the junk just multiplies. I ask my self every time, "Why do we keep this stuff?" but then when the kids ask me what to do with said junk, I without thought tell them to "put it in the junk drawer." Why? My goal for the end of this year is to re-purpose the junk drawer. I will no longer keep packs of ketchup, mustard and duck sauce (that by the way, no one ever uses). I will keep coupons with the grocery list and will put just enough twisty ties in a zip lock bag and get rid of the rest.

So, tell me about your "junk drawer".

They're In the Money

Today the little boys finally got their own bank accounts! It took me a long time get their social security numbers after the adoption and we are just getting around to getting the accounts set up. Now they can take money out of their sock/underware drawer and put it in the bank. LOL!
They are very excited.


9 days!!!

Look What I Got!!!

My little boys went out shopping with my mom today and came back with these tiny, yellow roses with red tinges. They are so cute and smell wonderful. I really like fresh flowers and used to keep them in the home frequently, but have not had any in a while. Also on the entertainment center is a framed picture of Jesus holding a baby that I received as a gift from the family that took our Little Rottie last week. It is a very nice pencil drawing. Just thought I would show you what I got today. ~Smile~

Mat Man Letters

The Mat Man pieces include big straight line, little straight line, big curve lines and little curve lines. These can all be used to make letters.

Carry the 1

2nd grade is learning to add with carrying. James has always shown strength in math and with this lesson, he came to it and did it before I even had a chance to explain it.

Empty Nest... Kinda

Our little foster baby is gone. He went home with his new foster family in a pre-adoptive situation. The family brought gifts for us all and a new outfit for the baby. Very cute. After they left, we went out for brunch and it was so weird to not pack a diaper bag, make a bottle, check the car seat, make sure the stroller was still in the car, etc. We will miss him, but are so happy for him.

Our Home Away From Home

I was just checking the weather in Nassau cause it is so cold outside here. LOL! I found an areal picture of our condo and thought I would share it here. The kids pretty much live in the pool and ocean the entire time.

16 days

New Week & Count Down

We have 19 days until we leave and have really pushed to get as close to the end of November's schoolwork as possible.

In 2nd grade, we are behind in History & Geography... not sure how that happened, but we are doing well in the other classes. I am not happy with this year's spelling for him, but it goes with the curriculum so I am trying to stick with it.

Pre-K is right on track, in fact, we have had to slow down a bit and do extra review to not get too far ahead. He can now consistently read the high frequency words: a, my, I, like, we, no, see, look, come, one, and little.

6th grade has done a great job of getting motivated to bring her grades up and get ahead of schedule. She is as always enjoying her Bible class. She is studying about Paul and likes reading about his conversion.

Little Rottie is leaving Thursday. I am so pleased with the way this transition took place. It was all about him as it should be. It has been a fun 9 months.

Just side information: I received 2 spaghetti squash last week. I had never cooked 1 before and followed a recipe on about.com. It turned out great and the kids really liked it. I only added butter, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese. Tasty!

Aww Shucks!

Mom #1 is one of the most encouraging blog buddies anyone can have and she has awarded and tagged me for an award.

Thanks Mom #1!!

And now for the rules:

1. Answer the questions below using only one word. Very difficult!
2. Thank the blogger who gave it to you. Thanks again, Mom #1
3. Pass it on to 6 of your favorite bloggers. Some of my favorites have already got this award, so…. If you want to pass I so get it, but I was thinking of you :)

And we’re off!

1. Where is your cell phone? table

2. Your hair? twisted

3. Your mother? funny

4. Your father? giving

5. Your favorite food? cheesy

6. Your dream last night? peepee

7. Your favorite drink? tea

8. Your dream/goal? wealth

9. What room are you in? Living

10. Your hobby? Blogging

11. Your fear? failure

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? moved

13. Where were you last night? Home

14. Something you aren't? Skinny

15. Muffins? blueberry

16. Wish list item? house

17. Where did you grow up? Ohio

18. Last thing you did? typed

19. What are you wearing? outfit

20. Your TV? ON!

21. Your pets? dead

22. Your friends? few

23. Your life? blessed

24. Your mood? Shaky

25. Missing someone? yes

26. Vehicle? starts

27. Something you're not wearing? Shoes

28. Your favorite store? EBay
29. Your favorite color? fuchsia
30. When was the last time you laughed? Now

31. Last time you cried? yesterday

32. Your best friend? Monica

33. One place that I go over and over? Potty

34. One person who emails me regularly? brother

35. Favorite place to eat? Home

Now... 6 of you who help me stay afloat and you may not even know it...

Fatcat ~ she reminds me to start again in the morning
Christine ~ What can I say... Really!
Renee ~ When Renee speaks of her children, there is a love that is so evident that I cannot help but grab some and pass it on to my kids.
Kysha ~ She is strength with a giving heart.
Christine ~ I am daily encouraged by her take on parenting. She is a must read!
Karen ~ Karen's honest love and acceptance of her Lil' Man is heartwarming

Wanna Hear About My Rock?

6th grade is taking a photography class and 1 of her assignments was to take outdoor pictures of her home. Today she was editing her photos and I saw one that reminded me of story of getting something that I wanted.

I have always wanted 1 of those big rocks that you see in people's yards, but after pricing them knew that it would be one of those things that just stayed on my wish list. Well, last summer our utility company decided that they were going to put meters on the outside of the houses in our neighborhood as most were in the basement and nobody would let meter readers in anymore. LOL! When they dug near my foundation to get to the meter, they hit a rock that was blocking right where they needed to hook into the meter. They had to dig it up and the guys ask me if they could please just leave it in the yard. I cracked up! It was not as big as what I thought I wanted, but it is the perfect size for sitting on in the front yard, the kids love standing on it and jumping off (and it is small enough to be safe for that) and finally, the place where they left it is perfect because it stops the water run-off that used to flood the flower bed we sometime put in there.

My rock!

Progress Reports

Progress reports for 6th grade and 2nd grade.

26 Days!!!!!

The Littlest Rottie

Our littlest Rottie is leaving soon. A pre-adoptive family has been identified and they have started visiting him for the transition. They are a very lovely family and I am so excited for the baby because he is going to a great home. I think my kids are doing okay with his leaving... we talk about it and they understand that he will have a new family.

I started packing today and got most of the children's clothes packed: 2 swimsuits, 2 sets of jammies, and 1 dress/casual outfit in case we go out to dinner or a show. We have this down to a science. LOL! I always put the kids in matching traveling shirts as it helps me to keep an eye on them and lets suspicious eyes know that we are all together.

Community Helpers by James

A booklet by James.

History & Geography class is much better this year for 2nd grade as the lessons are focused on useful information for him and I think he is enjoying the projects this year.

Mat Man

We use Handwriting Without Tears for all grades and 1 of the characters for the Pre-K is Mat Man. He is made using the curves and lines that are needed to make letters. He is usually made with a rectangle as his body. In today's story, he needed to be made from a triangle.
I must admit, I crack up every time he is made. Mat Man has curly hair today.

Tickets & Review

I finally got affordable flights for our trip. Twern't easy.

Review:

6th grade took a couple of days off from school...not feeling well, but she dragged herself in today. Her curriculum has alot of essays this year. She loves writing, but has such a hard time with the structure of writing an essay.

2nd grade is working hard and doing lots of independent reading for his lessons.

Pre-K had been doing testing all week. I mentioned before, his biggest struggle is his confidence. We are working very hard on him just trying new skills. During circle time, we have started paying attention to the weather. I have 6 little icons that show sunny, sun with clouds, clouds, rain, snow and clouds with lighting coming from them. It was a bit cloudy this morning and Pre-K was looking out the door to determine the weather. He looked and searched and then yelled out, "There's that sun!"

What's On Your Floor?

Floor puzzles....

and muddy footprints!

(James played in the rain and mud today after dinner)

Saturday School... Poor Kids!

We are doing Saturday school for the next couple of weeks to compensate for the extra vacation this year. It has not been too bad and really, only 1 person has complained and that seems to be because they just feel obligated to complain and not because they are doing school work. LOL!

Quote for today:

6th Grader: I am caught up in all of my classes and in Bible class I am done with units up until March.

Me: Really? Cool. What are your grades in Bible?

6th Grader: They are a high B. I need to retake a quiz, but I know I will do better on it. My grades are good in Bible class... I don't know why I am so naughty!?


LOL LOL LOL!!

That is my girl!

Voice Lessons

Princess Puppy is taking voice lessons :)

Pre-K Science

In Science, Pre-k is working on a unit called, "My Body" and one of the activities was to do a face puzzle. So here is what he started with and then the completed project.

BTW, his cutting skills have come along so nicely. I had to stifle laughing out loud at the picture, not at it but just how darn cute is was. Look at the little tuft of hair at the top. Gushing over here...bear with me.

Saying Goodbye

I have put in a 6 week notice to my foster care worker that she will need to find new placement for our Littlest Rottie. He has been a pleasure to care for and we will miss his very sweet personality. He has grown so much and has accomplished many milestones in the last 4 weeks. He is almost crawling!

We will be leaving for our annual family vacation a bit earlier this year and will be gone for 1 whole month. I decided to have him moved instead of seeking respite care as I thought it would be unfair to him. I have been requesting a pre-adopt home for him since he first came as I knew (or thought, but you know how God is LOL) that I would not be in a position to keep him. I hope that the pre-adopt family that was identified some time ago has been licensed and can take him so that he will not have yet another move.

Out of Magnets

What is your system for keeping school papers? Do you hang papers on the fridge or wall? How many do you keep and if you homeschool, how long do you keep completed work?

Book Review

Check out Princess Puppy

Fwyer Twuck

Also known as a fire truck