OUR first day of school.

Today was our first official day of homeschooling. It went very well. Of course, this was one of those rare mornings that the girls actually slept in, so our routine was slightly off, but not too bad. Normally what I'd *like* to happen is for them to get up at 7am (I'm still not to the point where I'll wake them up if they don't get up on their own...I figure if they're sleeping, they're tired) then they're allowed about 30 minutes of tv/veg time. I need it, they need it...it's also our snuggle time, so I'm not doing away with that. Then it's get dressed, hair done (makeup for me), chores (swish/swipe bathrooms for me, throw laundry into dryer, etc.), breakfast and whatever else needs to be done. School starts at 9am.

We're focusing on 4 major areas:
Reading
Hand-Writing
Math
Bible

As I get better and more into the groove, I hope to add more creative projects in as well as more detailed nature study and more structured activities and also GERMAN.
I've got Rosetta-Stone, Usborne First Thousand Words in German and also Muzzy, so what's my problem?? I feel that since I don't speak the language well enough, I'd like to be at a point where I can at least follow along so they're learning properly. But I also realize that all of this will fall into place as we get more into schooling.

I do have more detailed ideas for science and we're using the Story of the World for history. I've got the book and the CD's, so Savannah has been listening to it during "rest" time.

So this morning we started out with writing. This is the area Savannah needs the most work. She's very advanced in reading and math, but some of the math she can't do yet because she can't write her numbers. I'm not too worried because I'm not a big worksheet/book-work kind of person, but it definitely is something that needs to improve. She's currently doing first grade Singapore Math and although we're using the Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading, today I just had her read to me from her Bible...she is an AMAZING reader!! Definitely above where she should be right now, so I'm not sure if we'll do a structured teaching part on that or if I'll just allow her to read and learn from doing. We'll see how things go.

Considering this was our first day I think it went pretty well, but I've already definitely seen areas that I need to work on myself...and PLANNING is the biggest area. So I'm off to write out a calendar of housework and meals so I don't have to think of that...and then get a lesson plan started for this week...and if not this week, I'll definitely have it for next week. I'm still considering this week our trial!

I did something fun with Abby this morning while Savannah was working. We took Play-doh and letters from a puzzle and pushed the letters into the dough and spelled words. She can do her own name, but I did C-A-T and D-O-G so she can start to get the idea of blending sounds. She knows the letters and the sounds they make, but it hasn't clicked in her head yet how you blend them together...but I have seen a very dim light bulb go off in her head, so I know it's coming soon!! :) Watching your children (and being an active participant) learn is so much fun!!

I've got Wii fever!

Now I understand why these things are flying off the shelves! We were lucky enough to get one from the Coast Guard exchange (retail price with NO TAX!) a few days ago. Jeremy and I started bowling in the evening the other night and it's such a blast!! I cannot even begin to describe how incredibly SORE I am. It's such a great workout, you'd never guess!! I'd definitely, definitely recommend the Wii to anyone, it's SO MUCH FUN, and the girls love it too!! I should also mention that I'm TOTALLY anti-video game, so this is a big deal for me!
Next we need to buy another Wii-mote so the girls can box each other...let's see if we can channel that frustration!!

Speaking of frustration (totally off topic here), Abby told me that she had a dream that when she was getting frustrated, she turned into a monster...and she started turning all red...hmmmm...very interesting!!

One more side note:
Luke ate his first food yesterday. I've fed him numerous times, but last night he actually ATE it instead of spitting it out. It was fun because our friend, Lorraine (from New Jersey) was here and she got to be the one to feed him! How special!
He's also getting SUPER grabby...grabbing for everything within reach and "clawing" at everything. We've got a little toy in his crib that hangs on the rail and he never paid much attention to it until just recently...yesterday he was pushing at the buttons and all. He still doesn't know how to "push" stuff yet, but I have a feeling that'll be just around the corner!

How we were (so rudely) awakened this morning.

This morning was unbelievable! At 6:45am I was awakened to the sound of the girls voices chattering--VERY LOUDLY. What I thought was going on was that Abby got up to go potty and Savannah was already going and they were talking to each other loudly. Since the bathroom and their bedroom open to a common area where my room AND Luke's room are, I did NOT want them to wake Luke up, so I jumped out of bed and said, "SHHHHH....BE QUIET!!!" (yelling while whispering, nice touch!). As it turns out, I was not yelling at MY children, I was yelling at our NEIGHBORS boy, Kaeden who apparently got himself dressed, put on his backpack, walked right into our home and up to the girls room and was wondering why they were SLEEPING?!?! I could NOT believe it. His mom didn't know he was here either because she's got a little one and had a rough night and had fallen back to sleep with the younger one and Kaeden took off. How nice. Of course the girls would not go back to sleep. I was very disappointed because we had a late night and I thought for sure the girls would be sleeping in. No such luck! What a morning!

Baby it's hot outside!

My oh my...we've had an incredibly mild summer so far and honestly, I can't complain...it's the end of August and I think we've had about 3 or 4 HOT days so far this summer, but man, it's WARM! I heard that it reached 100 or more today and yesterday and I'm hoping that it's going to cool a bit in the near future, although since we don't have television to watch the weather and I never know what website has accurate information. I tell ya though, on days (actually nights) like this I seriously envy my children. I don't know why, but I have this need to make my children as comfortable as possible...I think all parents do, but I also think my selfishness has a bit to do with it :) (the more comfortable they are, the less chance there is that they'll wake me up at night!). The children have air conditioners in their bedrooms. AHHHHH!! So I keep their rooms cool and then shut them off before I go to sleep. There are nights when I wish I could just curl up in their rooms and sleep away in a nice, chilled room. Our room has a weird window that won't allow us to install an a/c without MUCH trouble. It's not so bad at night, but we also can't really open our bedroom window because we're right on the street and it's pretty noisy and I'm an incredibly light sleeper.

So we just got back home from my parents house. The girls went up there on Saturday morning and then spent Sunday and Monday in Tahoe. Lucky girls!! Grandma and Papa brought them up and took them out in the boat. They stayed at a hotel with a swimming pool and hot tub. They were living the high-life! They had a really good time. I'm going to get my parents to blog about it for me...since they know all of the details.

I'm ending here for now, I started this post last night and I've just gotta get it out there. I'll post more photos soon too!

My Goodness!!

I've been reading some of my friends blogs lately...namely:
www.homeschoolblogger.com/CupHalfFull (Which belongs to my good friend AmyBeth) and
www.greenrepublican.blogspot.com a blog I didn't even know existed until the other day and belongs to a long time online friend (the woman I'd like to be one day! Hahaha :))

Anyway, in comparison (and yes I know, there is no comparing one mommy to another and all that stuff, but in comparison, my blog is sad! I guess there is always something to strive toward and I do thank you ladies for being a constant inspiration, but for heavens sake, you're making me look bad!!!

Anyway, I am who I am and by the Grace of God am (hopefully) improving every day. I'd like to have strong political, nutritional, environmental views that I feel so passionate about that I have to get it out there and share with the world my cause...but I'm not there yet. I do have a passion for many of these things, but I'm still learning to FLY (so to speak). I also wish that I had an organized menu and homeschool plan and all that stuff...and hey, while I'm at it, wish I felt like gushing about my husband and how wonderful he is (which he is, I just don't feel that way all the time!!) and sincerely mean it...perhaps one day I'll get there. For now, I've got my simple stories, ambitions and lackluster passions to share...and with much prayer and of course each new day it'll improve. For those of you who are STILL with me and STILL reading my blog...THANK YOU! It's good to feel loved!!

Savannah is Brilliant!

Of course I've always known that Savannah's sensitive nature and somewhat eccentric way was due to the fact that she was a total genius, but she never ceases to amaze me with the things she comes up with. She's started writing short sentences with the magnets we have on the refrigerator, and of course the number of letters we have is rather limited, so she improvised...I thought it was rather brilliant using a "Z" for an "N" and a "V" for an "A". I tell ya, where does she come up with this stuff??

Something she said recently that cracked me up: "Mommy, what are you going to get me for Christmas?" to which I replied, "I don't know, what would you like?" She looks at me and says, "Hmmmm...give me some options!" Hahahaha...OPTIONS??? I didn't realize a child her age needed "Options"!

First day of school...in the neighborhood.

Yesterday school started in our area. It's strange to think that Savannah is officially a Kindergartener although we're not going to start until after Labor day. I'm in the process of getting our home organized and streamlined so that when we do start, it's not so overwhelming. To be honest, the thought of homeschooling IS a bit overwhelming anyway, but it's definitely a challenge I'm looking forward to. It's nice to have the neighborhood kids gone during the day again. It brings back a bit of normalcy. This neighborhood is wonderful in many ways, but the lack of privacy/time JUST for family is a bit difficult to swallow at times. We got new neighbors with 2 dogs--the one thing I was praying for was NO dogs! One is a Yorkie-Poo which Savannah adores. She's always wanted a little dog to care for and now she has one she can play with without all of the added responsibility. The dog runs all over, including into our home and then of course the girl next door comes running into our home after him. It's very frustrating because people around here feel like they can just come into your home whenever they want. It's also pretty much impossible to have any family time outside without other children around and that does get a bit old at times. Anyway, enough about that.

Abby has been staying dry like a champ!! She hasn't had an accident in a while and has actually earned new panties for Savannah AND herself. She was pretty excited about that. It's so nice that she's going to the potty on her own, without me having to remind her constantly. I never thought we'd get here!