Yes, my dad let my three-year-old drive his wheelchair. But boy, did he have fun!

We just finished the longest Christmas vacation ever. 3 weeks!!! Full weeks!! It was a blast.  It was genuinely fun because we didn’t spend the whole 3 weeks in any one place. We went south, then we went north, then we went home, then we went back south, then back home. We had a good time with it!

We watched pretty much every Christmas movie ever made.

And we were terrible.

Truly terrible.

We let the kids stay up as late as 10 some nights. I know. The shame! Other nights we put them to bed at 8, but there was one night we were at a big reunion party. It was an hour and a half from home, and by the time we got home and got the boys all in bed, it was after midnight!

I know!!! We are never this shocking. We are such boring people normally.

Some people skip stones…..we chunk boulders. (Don’t worry. Only into the water, and no one got hurt.)

I don’t think I got out of bed before 7:30am a single morning.

Discipline? I would say we were the opposite of disciplined…

We took the kids to two different movies. We let the boys sleep as late as they wanted, and for some of them that was actually until 8 or 8:30am!!

A disproportionate amount of corn dogs, candy canes, and chicken fingers was consumed.

JD has about quit napping completely.

The boys played so much Skylanders they’ve already beaten the new game twice.

decorating the Christmas tree cookie cake

We built Lego creations, we colored, we ate ice cream, we played with cousins and friends. We got spoiled by grandparents. We completely forgot about reality.

I kept saying things like, “Tomorrow we HAVE to get back on schedule. Tomorrow we’ll all go to bed at 8, and I’ll set alarms and get up at 6….”

Never happened. Never.

Dan and I found this centipede(?) on a walk. I’m not a bug expert. Centipede was my best guess.

And so tonight we didn’t even bother to put everyone to bed until 9 or 9:30. I made coffee and did the dishes. You will be happy to know that we did actually make them shower.

Alan is furiously re-immersing himself in work emails. He took a ton of time off too.

I laid out my clothes but totally forgot to lay out THE BOYS’ clothes. Who knows if we’ll be able to find anyone’s shoes or belts tomorrow.

I set my alarm for 5:30am…..but you know I’m the worst EVER at getting up when my alarm goes off. I set my alarm, and Alan actually laughed. Sigh.

I’m scared y’all. I think we actually had too much fun on our break. I don’t think we can go back to real life. I’m afraid no one will be able to wake up tomorrow morning!!!

I don’t think this is an irrational fear.

We played Star Wars. Ha! Just kidding. THEY played Star Wars. I’m not that cool.

Why does real life have to be so very very real and strict and work-like???

Ah, but it does. You can’t train children for the world without upholding standards in their childhood. You can’t expect them to go to college if you don’t first teach them elementary math. And have you seen elementary math??? It’s not all that easy!

Tomorrow is the big day! Are you ready?? Were any of you as big of slackers as we were??? Tell me we are not alone!!!

Well, if you were, we would like to wish you all the best of luck. I’m sure everyone’s shoes will be clean, dry, and easily found. Everyone will be on time, and no one will cry. Well, maybe me at 5:30am. I might cry. I’m just not so sure I “got this”!!!

Okay. Deep breaths. We’ll be fine. What’s a good verse we can recite to ourselves?? Oh yeah.

Joshua 1:9

 

Have not I commanded you? Be strong and of good courage. Be not afraid neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Gotta go. The Benadryl I took to make myself go to sleep earlier is finally starting to kick in…

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Tomorrow is Daniel’s very first day of kindergarten. To me he still looks like this:

How can I send this sweet Bama boy to kindergarten??

But, believe it or not, the Dan Man is 5, and he is extremely excited about going to school with his brothers. They will all be at the same school together. I had planned it differently, but at the last minute Daniel was awarded a scholarship, so that worked out beautifully.

It’s hard to even focus on how much is happening.

Our heads are still spinning. In June, we trekked across the U.S. of A. In July, we hurriedly unpacked. (So now I need to go back and re-organize everything.) Then we headed off to one vacation after another. We did Disney. We saw friends. We went to Destin. We visited family.

I feel as though all along, our life keeps improving more and more. Happy things keep happening to us, and I’ve been so much in recovery from the dismal beginning of 2016 that it’s taken me awhile for this new thing to set in to my head.

I’m not stressed anymore!

Wait. I don’t have to make lesson plans? Nope.

I don’t have to do any teacher training? Nope.

I don’t have to even feed everyone lunch? Nope.

I can be at my parents’ house in two hours? Yep!

The big boys are already in school, and they LIKE it??  Yes!!!

They actually like their new school a LOT!!!

I keep thinking about those Christian song lyrics, “He set my feet upon a rock.”

Of course, that is also in the Bible, but it’s so much easier to pop in my head when it’s set to music. In my head that’s me. I was sinking in my misery, and I have been lifted and set upon a rock. Amen. Amen. Amen.

I think we’re on the verge of loving it here. I made my schedule for tomorrow, and it doesn’t sound hard! I didn’t even have to color-code it!! 

Praise the Lord, y’all! I have found relief!!! Now we just need to make a friend or two, and we’ll be all set.

We aren’t off to a great start on the makin’ friends bit.

First off, we’ve lived here over a month and we’ve been out of town for most of that.

Secondly, we have a son whose Southern accent impersonation is down right hilarious. I only hope the locals will think so, instead of feeling like they’re being made fun of. I haven’t heard him do it in public though, so we should be good. (Ask Joshua to talk Southern next time you see it. You will laugh!!)

Then there was the doctor’s office incident.

Alan took all four boys to the doc on a Saturday by himself. (I was out of town again.) We just needed to get school and sports forms filled out. Moving is such a pain when it comes to health care!!! (That’s another reason our company should let us live places a little longer.)

Well, they were all there for HOURS, but everyone was well behaved, thankfully. But right at the end, the doctors refused to sign the sports forms for ALL the boys! Can you believe that!!??  And it was because of my heart problem! Ugh.  Way to go, Me!

Alan tried to convince them that the boys do not have it, and even I am fine. I could play sports even. (Not well, but I could do it.) He failed to convince Doc #1, so he asked to get a second opinion from one of the other docs there that day.

Doc #2 also denied us. We all have to go to a cardiologist before they will be cleared to play sports. Doctors totally freak out about the v-tach thing, but I’m telling you mine is benign. It’s monomorphic, non-sustained. I’m good.

So today we’re sitting in Sunday School, and Alan whispers, “That doctor that wouldn’t sign the boys’ sports physicals is right over there.” Yep. Doc #1 is in our Sunday School class.

No way.

Yes way.

We chatted with him after class. He didn’t budge any on the issue, but hopefully we are all on good terms. I’m sure he’s a very good doctor. It was just a little embarrassing.

Oh, yeah, that’s us. We’re just making friends all over the place.

Won’t you be our friend??

I am seriously, for real, truly going to take a “1st day of Kindergarten” picture for Dan tomorrow. And a “3rd day” pic for J and C! I don’t know why I’ve had so much trouble remembering.

Have your kids/grandkids started back to school yet? Share with me in the comments!

The post Life After Home School and the Move appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Warning: Boy on the loose with a screwdriver!

Have I mentioned that I only have 4 weeks of teaching left for this year? Surely I have mentioned this because I am plumb GIDDY.

The last few weeks of teaching are a lot like the last few weeks of ANYTHING. It’s getting a little sloppy. People that say “finish strong” are basically just getting on my nerves at this point.

So here’s what’s been going on:

1.Caleb developed a sudden fascination with a screw driver today. The toys took a hit.

2. The blog is doing well. In fact, the blog is doing so well that I’m being bombarded with “sponsored post” requests on a daily basis. I’m going to honor the ones that I have accepted, and then I am going to post a price list. I figure that will end the bombardment, as few people actually want to pay much for advertising. I’m thinking $50/review. Not even kidding. I’ve worked hard on this blog, and my time is valuable.

Don’t worry, friends. These fees won’t apply to friends and family.

Don’t ya’ll think that sounds fair?

And while we’re on the topic, I would like some feedback, from you, my friends and family, my readers on what you’d like me to review on the blog. Food? Services? Health? Kitchen supplies? Beauty supplies? Curriculums? What kind of reviews would you like? Or none at all? Tell me that too. 😉 Lay it on me.

3. JD is using three words consistently: Yes, No, Nooooooo, This.

He can also say all of our names, but I just love hearing his adorable little voice.

cornbread fiend

4. You know the phrase “eat or be eaten?”

JD takes that phrase seriously. He is the biggest food thief. First, he goes to his plate and eats all that he wants from that. Then he climbs down, walks over to Dan’s plate, before Dan even makes it to the table, and he eats Daniel’s food! Not kidding! He especially does this with cornbread and mashed potatoes. Boy loves him some ‘taters. 😉

Actually, all food is pretty hard to get your hands on. Alan just cried out in dismay, “Where are the brownies!??” Seriously, Alan, when you left the house this morning there were 3.5 brownies in the pan, how could you possibly expect brownies by the time you got home????

5. JD has joined the mob of children on our trampoline. We just have this rule that they have to only ‘jump’ on their knees. They are really careful and sweet with him, so this has been SO EXCITING for JD, and for everyone, really–except us because it makes us nervous.

6. California is turning brown again. This makes me really sad. I keep praying for rain. Each time I pray, it will rain a wee bit the next day, the ground soaks it up, and then it’s gone. C’mon ya’ll!!!! Let’s pray for rain!!!

7. 

Toddlers are a lot like cats. They like to sit on the table. Don’t worry. We don’t let him do that often, but it’s really not a big deal to us. I’m sorry. Once you have so many children, you simply are not so tightly wound any more, and there’s no way to get the high-stress parent mode back. You’re welcome, John David.

Okay. I HAVE to go clean up, and I WANT to make Alan brownies. Even I have standards. 😉

Hey, he was cold. Two hats helped him. 🙂 Have a great week, ya’ll!

The post Screwdrivers, Food, and Price Increases: Yes, it makes sense! appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

I thought, “No big deal. It automatically saves…..” It didn’t.

You will be happy to know that I did not panic. I felt sad, but I internalized all of my bad feelings rather than annoy anyone by “venting” my frustration. That’s right. You can look for an April explosion from this suppressed disappointment later……

I’m not the kind of person that can re-create awesomeness. It’s gone. It will never come back. So we will just hit the highlights. Forget my brilliant essay, and since no one will ever get to actually read it, I can call it brilliant. 😉

We will just stick to the bullet points:

• Home-schooling. It’s happening. We are really going to do it, ya’ll. I’ve ordered the curriculum. I’ve attended information sessions, book fairs, and read copious amounts of information. I’ve been planning, and planning, and planning. I’m even getting excited about this.
• Embarrassment:  I’m not too thrilled about announcing this to the masses. I admit it. In my mind, I’m still wondering if this officially makes me a weird-o. Many of you are nodding your heads…. On our trip out West, Alan would tell people, “Actually, we are home-schooling.” I would all but elbow him, as I wanted to hide under a rug and whisper, “Would you please stop telling people that!?”
• Does this make me crazy? Nah. I’m just doing what I think is best for my family. Neither of them listen well in a large class setting. Their teachers have told me that repeatedly, so I know the normal-for-these-days classroom setting of 28 kids to 1 teacher just isn’t working. At least I will be working a 4:1 ratio. Why stick with something that isn’t working?
• Clarification: The boys are doing okay in school. They even do really well at some of it, but the thing is that I know they could do better. So we try something new. They are smart boys. I know they can do well.
• This was the answer to my prayer, and it was loud and clear. Do you ever get loud and clear answers to your prayers? It makes the decision so much easier.

What I worry about:

• Making friends: The boys are really good at making friends. We are as social a family as you will find. If I am unable to find friends for them through our tutoring service (Classical Conversations), church, or extracurricular activities, this may not work.

Hope:  It’s been AMAZING to see the 4 of them playing together just fine this summer. Also, they have been making friends everywhere we go: church, the playground, the library. They always walk away telling their new friends, “Come back tomorrow!  We’ll play some more!!”

• Fitting in in my neighborhood–Will anyone else in my neighborhood be doing this??  Or will they label me “that crazy home-school lady”???  Noooooooo
• Fitting in with other home-schoolers–These ladies seem so much more “together” than me. As a group, they are thin, accomplished, healthy-food-eating, conscientious, seemingly- perfect- people. What if they find out about the way I down soda when I’m stressed or that my baby is 12 months old and still wakes up once each night????  😉 Shhh.  Don’t tell them.
• Also, when do I get to go to the dentist….or the hair stylist???  You can’t do those things with children in tow, and Alan does not work flexible hours.

Hope: Of course, there are no perfect people. I should be fine as long as I’m nice, accepting, and friendly. Right?? I will quote Reese in Legally Blonde, when she went to Harvard, “Relax. Everyone will love you.”

What I’m not worried about:

• Curriculum– I’ve done a little of this before, so I’m well acquainted with what works and what doesn’t for my boys. I think I have found some awesome materials, through Classical Conversations and A Beka. I LOVE the lesson planning part.
• The teaching– I’ve been teaching Joshua all of his math for years, since he doesn’t listen in class. Thankfully, this past year his teacher picked up on that, and I got a break! I also taught in Texas, ages ago, so I feel comfortable with that portion. When you have children, you teach all the time.
• Okay. That’s about all I’m not worried about!  Haaa!  Excited but nervous first-year home-schooling mom here, ya’ll!!!  Any words of encouragement would be greatly appreciated. See the comment box below!!

I have high hopes for this year. We all do what we think is best for our family right? And as we say in the South: “There is more than one way to skin a cat.”

The post Breaking into the Home-School World appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Joshua burst my bubble the other day. After a whole winter of people telling me I look like a Disney Princess (Anna from Frozen), and walking around feeling pretty good about myself……la-te-da…..

Joshua says, “You don’t really look like Anna to me.  You gotta take us to go see How to Train Your Dragons 2!  Hiccup’s mom is who you really look like!  I mean, you might look a little like Anna, but really you look like Hiccup’s Mom!!  Can we go??  Will you take us??  Will you? Will you?”

Eh. I guess she’s not such a terrible person to be compared to ……child abandonment aside…. Still, I’d rather be compared to a Disney Princess.  Let’s go back to that.

Delusions are so much nicer than reality. : )  Let’s move on…

By the way, How to Train Your Dragon 2 comes to theaters in June.  Joshua is an EXPERT on when all movies and video games marketed towards little boys are released.  We don’t even have cable, but somehow he always knows these things.

Speaking of cable, we cut our cable a month ago, and we don’t even miss it at all!  Guess how much money it’s saving us…..NONE!  Disappointing, isn’t it? Our media services were all bundled up so well, that cutting cable would save us a whopping $10 a month, and since we’re moving in June, that makes it not worth the trouble of having to hunt down the cable store and return the box.  You know?  So we just unplugged it from the wall.

Actually, Alan plugs it in once a week and watches some Revolutionary War tv show he’s into.  Ha!  So I guess we just sort of don’t have cable…..

Guess what else happened last week that I was so excited about?  The boys did so well on their report cards that I took them to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate.  Caleb had his best report card ever, all good grades, and he is now on grade level for his reading.  WAhoo!!!  Go boys, go!  Yeah, Joshua wasn’t so keen on having his picture taken while eating.  In my defense, he moves too fast for me to take his picture when he’s not eating.

They had a great time. Daniel is a Chuck E Cheese Mastermind.  

You can’t make this stuff up:  Daniel walked around to all the machines, collecting the tickets that other kids had left behind.  Before kids realize the power of tickets, they often flitter from one machine to another, without stopping to collect their tickets.  Daniel is our #1 Easter egg finder and our #1 ticket earner.  The older boys earned about 15 each.  Dan earned and collected 50.  Haaaa!

He still isn’t quite crawling yet….Instead, he scoots backwards great distances, but isn’t he adorable?

He’ll figure it out soon. I keep forgetting to mention that he is down to only two breast feedings per day.  He now eats plenty of solid food and drinks whole milk instead.  He would have no part of formula, so regular ol’ milk is working just fine.

Busy, busy week ahead, as usual!  Oh yeah!  Our EFMP paperwork was approved, and we have ‘Request for Orders’ in hand.  One step at a time.  We almost have everything we need to book a moving truck!!  Hurray!!

What’s everyone else up to this week? Hope you are all having a good one.  At least it’s raining and not snowing! April showers bring May flowers!  ; )

Best quote I saw on the internet this week:  “When you have a bad day, a really bad day, try and treat the world better than it treated you.”  –Patrick Slump

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