Has anyone ever...

...taken a look at this book? I saw it on another blog and thought it looked interesting, just wondering if any of you have it or have taken a look at it?

We are not a homeschooling family (so far, though we do try to be learning/teaching/involved all the time), but the scheduling part, esp. with 4 kids now, looks very intriguing! I tend to be a scheduler anyway, but having a resource to help catch everything might be nice? (You can click on the book picture to go to their website.) Maybe I can pull enough out of it from the Table of Contents to make something work for us?

I realize just having the schedule isn't enough and the actual implementation of it is key. It is just hard to remember everything and get it in there on the list. I have heard of homeschooling moms taking a weekend "off" (or even just a day) where they go to a hotel by themselves in the summer before starting school to "pull it all together" and plan their school year/schedules and I was thinking how nice that sounds -- to be able to have peace and quiet to remember everything... of course by this time I just may need the chaos to think! Maybe I could have just 1/2 of a day to "pull it all together", but right now, I would probably just sleep!!!!!

I'm also looking into various "organizing" books and homemaking and mother/daughter type books, some from the blog I referenced earlier. (Probably good to teach H-girl some girly things since the house is now full of boys!!) I just can't seem to get more than a couple things done in a week. This includes every chore there is. Only a couple each week. Seriously. I know some of you probably vacuum twice a day and mop more, but that doesn't happen here. My poor husband. Hopefully I can get it together (...hmmm ...is there a theme here??) now that I am not pregnant and get this house into shape. It would be nice after 10 years that a wife could get her house in order!!


Maybe you should pray for my husband.

The poor man.

School Starts... Blogging Stops?

Is this how it works? I was wanting more "schedule" in my day, but is this it? Is there really a schedule? Ummm, where does blogging fit in???

Maybe I'm just not there yet. I was having the B man get his shoes on a whole hour before we were supposed to leave to get the H girl yesterday... totally messed up on time. (Granted it takes him a while to get them on, but a bit extreme in this case!)

I am not settled into a routine for sure. The kids are getting closer to it, though it has been a transition for B to go to school on different days than last year (M,W,F instead of T,TH). He gets confused with that. H seems to like going everyday.

And they are so tired! This PM kindergarten/preschool stuff is hard on us! The kids need naps still, but doing them when we get home is too late, too close to bed time - not that they would do it at 4PM anyway... And after being babies they have not napped before lunchtime so that is out of the question now. A couple times I have gotten B to sit with me for some quiet time on the couch with his blanket before lunch, but never H.

So we are working on it.

It just seems like we are spending our mornings just waiting for lunch to come around so we can go to school. There isn't yet any real defined activity times that we do things in the morning except the TV goes off by 8/8:30 depending on what time we are done with breakfast... then get dressed and then free playtime with a small snack around 9:30 and then lunch around 11:15/30 (so we can get toys put away, ready to leave for school around 12:05.)

So writing it out here, it looks like I could (if I really wanted to/had the energy to/really obeyed what I should do...) put in some kind of Mommy&Kids activity between 9:30 and 11:30. I have thought of a "chore jar", or some Christian homeschool curriculum (just something light and fun since H is in public school now not Christian preschool anymore), or some other form of activity.

Here are some thoughts now that I am sitting in the quiet (yes, older two are quietly playing together and lil'D is napping...) and thinking...

Maybe one day is "game day" to play board games or outside together (Monday?);
another a "learning day" for worksheets or special Bible reading, etc. (Wednesday?);
maybe two days of the "chore jar" (Tues/Thurs);
and what for another day?? "Art", "Kids choice"? ...hmmm, those scare me a little! :)

(I would love to hear some more ideas from anyone here...)

Not to mention filling in the time with the things I need to be doing like dishes, laundry (I have already noticed that I am not hanging out the laundry as often because of the time crunch...bummer), other cleaning, figuring out dinner.

I have already been able to determine I am not going to get through this (hmmm...life?) without a meal plan for the week, and I am not going to be able (usually, depending on the meal) to get away with "starting dinner" after the kids get home from school (3:30-4 ish.) There are too many needs/wants the kids all have during that time that I just can't focus on the kitchen stuff...which is usually a disaster by that time anyway. I feed the kids a small snack when they get home and we talk about their day, but with lil' D being awake also, he isn't willing to sit for as long as the other kids, and then "the chase is on."



It is so hard not to turn on that TV and "plug them in" for awhile... but I am doing really well so far at not until I "have to" to get through. (Oh, yeah, yesterday was a bad day, I was quite a grouch from 3 'till 6 ish...headache, mean, tears, ask for forgiveness, etc..) :-{ So, when the older two are at school, I need to get any errands done while in town, then come home, entertain lil'D (because he rarely has a nap after the morning one... ...gee, he has a bit of a strange schedule, but it seems to work for him), give him some "Mommy time" - he loves sitting and reading books then- and trying to get what I can going for dinner while chasing an 18 month old out of the kitchen. Fun, fun! :-)

And, looking at it all from this vantage point, it is fun.

Or at least like mostly fun,
should be fun,
except the tough parts,
and that is my call to reach out to God for help.

I am reading a great book right now, really inspiring, called Passionate Housewives Desperate for God and it is really helping me to see God's vision for women/mothers. It is a quick read; unless you want to look up every verse referenced for context, and then it will take you f-o-r-e-v-e-r! There is a lot of Scripture packed in there - it would be a great book to pass along to young Christian wives/mothers, maybe for Christmas? It is far from being about perfectionism - since there is only One who is perfect! But real. Written from the vantage point of real women who have been there, who are there, who have lived to tell about the blessings.


So, as it goes, we are working on it. I am working on it. A life in process. Hopefully progress!

For I am confident of this very thing,
that He who began a good work in you
will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:6

Wow, can it be?

Wow, can it be Friday already??

School started for H and B this week; Thursday for H and today for B.

It is going to be crazy figuring out this Kindergarten (everyday) and preschool (M-W-F) schedule, especially with the Kinders having "early release" every Monday - which for us being PM means going in early and getting released early.

It is unusual for our family to be going in the afternoons since we have always been morning people - forced by kids getting up so early every morning!! Figuring out what to have the kids do for the first half of the day - waiting for school to come - will be the hard part. I've already heard "I'm bored." I thought they only said that in summer when there wasn't much going on??!

Not to mention getting this all figured out now, only to have our home "schedule" be changed by having new baby in a month and a half!!

So, we are on our way with school now. Next week is the first full week and that will help the routines settle in. I'll post when I know what I'm doing!! :-)

Updates

Wow. We survived last weeks crazy schedule! We enjoyed the BBQ at the V's house on Monday without any rain. It was fun to have the kids together and there was tons of food. (Quite good for the pregnant people!)

On Tuesday David went to the Doc and he is growing right at the same rate he has always. He is 24 lbs 3 oz which puts him at the 45th percentile for weight and is 31" tall at the 50th percentile. (Head size for any that care was 47.1 cm - 50th percentile.) He is working on getting another tooth on the bottom front (so he will have 5) and the Doc said the molars are getting "mushy" which means they will be trying to come through soon also. A little unusual since he hasn't filled in the others yet, but these kids have always had strange order in their teeth popping out. (With Helen still missing one on the front top without a gap for it.) David got three vaccines at the appt. and did very well with that and no afteraffects for him. He will have another "well baby exam" at 18 months. I wonder what city we will be in??

Helen had her preschool graduation on Wednesday. That was cute. It was just a short day for them, just the little ceremony and then a picture video of the year followed by cookies and lemonade. Helen was so sad because she wanted us to leave and her stay at school with her friends for the rest of the normal school day and then us come back and pick her up. It was hard for her to understand the end of school.



Ben had his last preschool day on Thursday with a fun game day. There were different games set up in four different rooms that all the parents and kids were going back and forth to. Then there was a potluck "lunch" at the end. He had a good time, but wasn't really adventerous when it came to the games. He probably participated in only half of them. (Helen was all over those games, participating at least twice I think!)

Helen's final day at school was on Friday where there was an outside game day with sack lunch (hot dogs) provided. There were lots of people there and the kids had a good time. Helen didn't get to see too many of her friends because everything was so spread out, but did hook up with two of them and ran around together for a bit. They mostly wanted to just play on the play equipment like a normal recess. It was fun and the sun was out! Hurray!
I think we actually didn't do anything on Saturday. Just played outside and D did mowing/weedeating, etc. But on Sunday we went to the Family Swim at the local pool for the first time with all three kids. It was fun. All the kids really had a blast. I am signing them up for swim school this Friday. Lord willing we can get the class time I want so I can take David to the "Mommy and Me" type class at the same time. He really enjoyed the kiddie pool after he warmed up to it. It was a really unusual time for us to do anything like that as a family, but it worked out really well. We had an early dinner (yes, even earlier than our normal) at 4:15pm and the swimming at the pool started at 5:30pm. We stayed about an hour and the kids were worn out!!! Thankfully I had brought them some apples for the ride home and they gobbled them up. (Wish I would have brought some for D and I!!)

A busy few days for sure, but fun was had by all.

Blog Crazy / Crazy Schedule

So in reading various blogs (my new favorite thing to do - it must be the adult "conversation"), I am noticing many are about only one topic. Like only Gardens, or only Fabrics, or only Life. Unlike mine which is a mish-mash (my new favorite and oh so appropriate word) of various topics and happenings. But these other blogs seem to have enough going on in their postings on these individual subjects to justify an individual blog on the topic. I don't think I could support an individual blog just on gardening, although that is the topic of choice right now. There just isn't enough going on with it at this point. And no way for fabrics and crafting right now.

So I guess this will remain a little about this and a little about that. Mostly my life as I adjust to it (an ongoing process for all...) and some special highlights during certain seasons of time (like gardening currently.)

The pregnancy is going OK for someone who isn't the best pregnant person on the earth. I am already experiencing symptoms that are very easy to complain about, but I am really trying to refrain since it is still early and I have so long left to complain!!! I am 17 weeks along; on Thursday I will be considered 4 months along.


The next few days and next week are going to be crazy.

Saturday H was invited to a friends swimming party at the local pool. She had a blast and can't wait to have swimming lessons. I think she will love it. She was very brave in the water, wanting to try different things - that is until the water splashed in her face at which time she immediately panicked... but quickly recovered. She will be fine.

Sunday H sang at church with all the kids. They did an awesome version of "Rock of Ages" and then "God Bless the USA". They really belted it out and looked great. They were mostly all wearing red white and blue and had hand motions (sign language type) for the second song. It was a great showing for Memorial Day by the kids.

Today (Monday) we rested and then went to a friends house for our small group's end of season BBQ. That was fun, but the weather was a little cool. It didn't stop us from being outside of course. The kids were very worn out by the end and B fell asleep in the van maybe 2 minutes into the drive home!

Tuesday is B's last full day of 3 year old preschool. H will go to a friends house for the morning because I am taking D for his 15 month doc. appt. where he will receive some more immunizations.

Wednesday at 9:30 is H's 4 year old preschool "graduation". It will last about an hour and they all have little lines to say and will sing some songs.

Thursday at 10:00 is B's preschool end of year "family picnic pot luck and play day" at school. **Mental note - remember to bring something for the pot luck!!

Friday at 12:00 is H's combined 4 year old preschool family picnic and play day" with the three other preschool classes, AM and PM. So there should maybe be 60 little 4 year olds and their families running around that day. Should be interesting!! It is also a $2/person fee for some food, so I wonder what that will be? At least I don't have to remember to bring anything!

Saturday: Wait a minute... ...is there nothing on the calendar???? Could it be??? Yes, it is true, .but we haven't been up to Concrete for quite a while to see D's folks, so that might be the time since the next weekend is already booked. Hmm Though I think D was thinking about borrowing the neighbors DR Brush Trimmer (insert Tim the Tool Man Taylor/Home Improvement noise here) to trim the ever growing taller ditches that weekend. That "trimmer" really mows it all down though, so it shouldn't take him too long. Maybe we can to both things. I guess we will wait on the weather forecast.

I guess I'm not going to know what to do with myself in June with school being out for these kiddos. I am going to have to create some kind of park schedule or something! How am I going to entertain these munchkins? Aaaaah! As the years keep going by and the munchkins keep growing my responsibilities keep changing! How is one to keep up??? I was just getting good at diapering! Now I have to entertain 4 and 5 year olds that have been used to professionals for half the day! Yikes. Maybe I'll hide in the bathroom (more) and just let them figure things out.