Thanksgiving 2018

Good morning!  I hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We enjoyed it as much as possible even though we missed Nick so much.  It's so weird celebrating without him.  I made a video for him of how our weekend went, so I thought I'd share it on here as well.

The kids and I made our Thanksgiving menu Monday morning and went to gather all our supplies later that day.  We had a very simple, yet delicious turkey dinner.  But first, we started our day with the much anticipated breakfast all week.  Sterling and I prepped homemade cinnamon rolls the night before.  So we popped them in the oven and enjoyed warm cinnamon rolls.  We kept dinner classic with Turkey, stuffing, gravy, green beans, homemade dinner roll, and an apple crostata for dessert.

Sterling helped me a lot of Thanksgiving day as well.  She was disgusted with the look of the raw turkey with it's aromatic stuffing.

I asked the kids two questions and then Sterling put on a ballet performance.  It is the cutest.  She's a great dancer and I'm so glad she wanted to join again.  Now, we just have to remember to get there on time!

The day after Thanksgiving, we got working on deck the halls with boughs of holly.  I love holly accents!  The kids loved all my art pieces that I painted before they were born and some when they were tiny babies.  I told them they sucked out all my creative juices and I've given them all to them.  Maybe I'll start back?  We finished our night watching Christmas Chronicles on Netflix.  We loved that movie!  And now we get to sit back and enjoy our festive home.

I'm not any good at making videos, but nonetheless...hopefully Nick will enjoy it.

Have a great day!

Happy Thanksgiving

Bridget

Gratitude

Good morning.  In a world where there is so much to be thankful for, I think we don't say our heartfelt thanks enough.  We've had a hard day/week/month, so when my sister mentioned to me she read something about saying a gratitude a day, I immediately began thinking.  I wonder if having everyone say at least one thing we are grateful for the other person for would help our situation.  We're specifically saying something positive or grateful about everyone in our home at the dinner table now.  We'll also include saying three of the best things from our day.

Honestly...

Here's the thing.  My kids, especially one of them, tends to act like a spoiled disrespectful brat.  And I'm trying to kick that attitude to the curb.  ASAP.  It has gotten so bad that there's been yelling, pushing, hurtful things have been said...all things that started with this lovely move.  My sweet and cuddly child is angry.  So angry.  And it's been stressful lately.  We should be having fun together.  Not bickering all day long.  We had a nice family talk last night and we all agreed to work together to get better to be happier.  The emotions of one person is so toxic that is sends everyone over the edge.

My little guy didn't want to clean his room on Sunday and told me I could take away all of his toys.  I told him that I would take all of his toys, but he still had to clean them up.  He hates responsibilities. Loathes them!  After he was done, I put every toy up and away.  All he said was...well, now it will be easy to cleanup because I don't have anything.  Ugh.

My little gal?  She adores playing with her brother and begs me to make him play with her.  I won't.  It's his choice.  She begs and pleads with him.  He usually caves in and plays, but, on his terms.  It doesn't usually end well, but they'll play for a couple hours nicely.

I hear a lot of...I'm never playing with him/her again, and I hate you, and you're the worst brother/sister ever, and but she/he said/did it, and I wish you weren't in our family.  Ouch.  I hate hearing these words come of their angry mouths.  

This morning as we were getting ready for camp, Sterling didn't want to go.  Xander asked her why and said that he'd miss her.  I reminded him that "you never want to play with her again though".  He declared that he didn't mean it.  He just said it because he was angry at her.  This is the problem.  They're not thinking before they speak.  That's what I want to fix.  I plead with them every day to only say what you'd want to be said to you, but it hasn't clicked yet.  Obviously.

So, with this gratitude/positive talk we're starting, I have a feeling it's only going to be for the better.  I'd already seen a difference.  Mornings are rough, but this morning was not.  Everyone was calm, talking politely, and helping each other get things done so we could get out the door on time.  It was a nice change and I'm hopeful that we can make it stick around.

I know a lot of people are talking gratitude because of Thanksgiving, but we're going to stick with this every day.  Saying enough positive things about one another can only lead to good things to come.  So, we're not stopping when Thanksgiving is over.

My problem...

I've got a lot of reading ahead of me.  One problem I have with some of the great books I have read is that in the heat of an attack, how do you remember the new technique you're supposed to use?  My brain is on fire, I can't think of which technique I should be using at that time.

What are some technique's you've found to help in your family?  I know I'm not the only one dealing with this ;)

Happy Thanksgiving, enjoy the break and tell someone something positive about them.  It'll make you feel better too.

Weekend Wrap-up

Good morning!  I hope you had a great weekend.  I've been dealing with a head cold all weekend.  No fun at all.  The kids have lost all patience with each other and we have gone crazy a few times each day.  Other than that, we enjoyed a walk and collected leaves to use as a lesson for school.  It ended up being more fun than we thought.  Xander hates going for walks so he complains most of the time, but once we started collected leaves and talking about them, the complaining stopped and he was enjoying himself.  We finished our last make up day on Saturday and will return to our normal schedule.  Everyone's excited!

We also finished our thankful unit.  I found these printables from Lucky Little Learners on teachers pay teachers.  I love how the inside turned out.  Definitely a keepsake.

I finished fluffing the tree.  No lights yet, but I have three days.

While at my sister's she made special k bars.  I haven't made them in years because they never turn out for me.  Well, her precise measurements are key to the recipe.  It's day three and they are still soft and chewy.  No brick bars for me this time!  I'm thinking of freezing the remaining.  Have you ever and did they survive?

Xander's been obsessed with Daddy's Home 2, so we watched it together on Sunday and Lulu took a nap on me.  She's so snuggly!

Their last swim lesson.  I didn't sign them up for another round, but I decided I will.  Their coach can't in December, so we'll start back in January.

The kids are going to day camp this week and I may be a little bit too excited.  I have a list of everything I need to accomplish without them tagging along.  Think Santa, Elf supplies, Pier 1, and hobby lobby shopping...stores I don't want to take the kids in.

Have a great day!

Friday Favorites: Lately

Good morning!  We are almost caught up with our make up days for school and it feels so good.  After Saturday, we're back on schedule.  It'll be nice to have our three days off again.  I need to figure out our activity routine because I keep forgetting to take Sterling to ballet and hip-hop.  I remember at 10 o'clock at night!  Yikes.  Hopefully she won't be kicked out.

I'm linking up with the ladies for my weekly favorites.

On Monday we learned about Veteran's Day and the kids made something to send to daddy.  Kids crafts have always been my favorite!

We also went to Target to get a few things and since the kids wanted to spend their money, they decided to buy each other a Christmas gift.  So far, they haven't told each other what they got them.  

I finally let Sterling wear her favorite dress from Target.  She's asked every day since buying it on the 6th!

The kids started gymnastics this week.  They loved it and declared it their favorite day of the week.  I'm telling you, I'm nuts though.  I also signed us up for another session of family clay time.  No wonder I can't remember to get Sterling to dance.  So much to do and I keep adding more!  I've set an alarm to go off every day that dance happens, so hopefully we won't miss anymore.  I had an alert on my phone calendar, but for some reason, that didn't go off.  Ugh!  Lets hope next week the alarm will go off.

We worked on how to write a letter this week.   Reading what they had to tell daddy was precious.  Tears fill my eyes easily lately.  We miss him!

Lulu spent a lot of time sleeping.  She's doing so good.  She hasn't had an accident in the house since our trip (I probably just jinxed myself and today she'll be horrible).  She's still a ball of energy and hates standing in the rain to use the bathroom.  I guess I would too, ha!  I've been her favorite this week and the kids hate it.

Some days we have "off" days and are tired of a certain program.  So we'll take a break from it next week.

I pulled down the Christmas stuff.  We're not going to decorate it until the day after Thanksgiving, but, I knew this dang tree would take forever to fluff.  So, I've started.  It's taken 5 days to get this far!  It's a 9 ft tree, so there's still a lot left 😒.  I want to get the tree fluffed and the lights strung before Thanksgiving.  Did you put up your Christmas decorations already?

Maybe I'm adding more to our activities because it keeps us busy so we don't dwell on the fact that Nick is gone.  Swimming, dance, gymnastics, and clay time right now.  We might stop swimming.  I haven't decided yet though.  I really think they would be good at swim team this summer, so I hate to take them out of private lessons.

In school news, I've planned the entire next month of lessons.  It's feels so good to be ahead in that area!  And, I rearranged our school room.

How do you combat stress?  I was all over the place this week.

I'll leave you with this.  We've been obsessed with the new animoji's!  

If you stopped by from the link-up, thanks!  Have a great weekend!

Veteran's Day

The kids and I are having a school makeup day today, so in honor of Veterans Day, we want to thank all who have served.  We'll be doing a fun project to send to daddy.

Have a great day!

Friday Favorites

Good morning!  Today, I'm sharing all about visiting our favorite people ever.  My sister and her family.  We had our trip planned for two months and couldn't wait for the day to finally come.  We had to wake up at 3:20, but somehow it wasn't soo bad.  I guess there was just so much excitement to see everyone.

After we arrived, we headed out for a walk around the capitol.  It was nice to get out and moving since we'd been sitting all morning.

And then we picked up Sterling's favorite person from school.  Xander has this thing about forgetting to put on shoes when he leaves the house.  Well, he did it on his first day at Auntie's house too.  

The next day was Halloween, so we arrived just in time to spend it with the cousins.  

We had a jellyfish, Evie (from Descendants), Ray Mysterio (a wrestler), a doll, ghostface, and a witch

We went to the museum to watch Kinley put on a presentation about a special project her grade did.  Then we explored for a bit.

We ran errands and posed as mannequin's in Lowe's

And then a group shot where someone forgot to remove the mannequin pose 😂

These boys were in heaven playing Xbox together

Sterling is deathly afraid {or maybe intimidated} of her uncle.  He's a funny guy and loves to play jokes/tricks on people.  She doesn't know how to take all that, so we have to warm her up slowly.  So towards the end of our trip, I caught a rare moment and had to capture it.

We also had the chance to watch little man play hockey.  He's pretty good too.

The morning we left, it started snowing!  It was supposed to snow a few days prior, but never did.  The three littlest went out to play in it before we headed to the airport.

And then this happened and we almost missed our connecting flight.  Why must they be so slow?!

I love a good wing in the sky picture

And Sterling looking for daddy's star.  We've dedicated a twinkling star in the dark sky as a "daddy star".

We got right back into school when we returned.  It feels so nice to be back in our classroom.  They were so excited to write about all the fun we had at Auntie's in their journals.

We had a great time visiting our favorite people.  Hopefully it won't be as long before the next visit.  I'm hoping for an early summer visit, but we'll have to see if it works out.

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great weekend!

8 Homeschooling Questions

Good morning.  I thought I'd answer eight of the most common questions I've received when people find out we homeschool.  Homeschooling is hard, and it's not for everybody, but I'm really glad we took a leap of faith and are on this journey.

Why do you homeschool?
I've wanted to homeschool since before Xander started kindergarten.  But when we moved to VA, we lived in one of the top rated school districts.  I felt I had to send him so he'd receive the best education.  I loved his teacher and felt he was learning so much, but the school itself I had concerns with.  Of course it stated "zero tolerance for bullying."  But there were instances where I didn't see staff take appropriate action.  The following year, we sent Sterling to the same school.  I loved her teacher too, but she didn't really budge too much academically.  She's brilliant in math and in most of language arts.  But, she needed extra help in reading and speech...which go hand-in-hand of course.  We received two notices that year about absences.  We take trips.  We love giving experiences.  But were punished for doing so.  We want the freedom to explore and enjoy life without being harassed.  There were just too many school shootings and threats over the past two years.  I know shootings can happen anywhere, however, if I can help prevent my child ever having to go through that by taking one less chance, I'll do it.  Insert homeschool.

Were you nervous to start homeschooling?
Was I ever!  I knew I wanted to after our notice of absences for vacations in January.  But was terrified.  Then after we moved, the community we live in is a huge homeschool area.  So, I felt it would be perfect to start after we moved.  I researched and researched and researched!  I grew even more terrified.  I was going back and forth all summer long if I was really going to go through with it.  At the beginning of August I decided to just apply and send in my notice of intent.  Our school was approved that same day!  So after going back and forth for many months, we bought workbooks the next day and started prepping.

What is your favorite part?

In no particular order...
1) Watching Xander smiling throughout the day and having fun

2) Teaching them to be respectable kids

3) One on one

4) Watching them reach the "aha" moment
5) Getting to learn with them (it's been 30 years since i was in 2nd grade!)
6) Going on trips
7) Doing school when it's convenient for us (lately it's been in the afternoons)
8) Watching Sterling help Xander in math
9) No filler work.  Once we're done for the days lessons, we're done.
10) Knowing my kids are safe

What is your least favorite part?
1)  Planning (I do it, but it's definitely not a favorite 😟)
2) Attitudes
3) Not getting those 7 hours of alone time
4) Doubt and worry!  It consumes me some days.

What curriculum do you use?
We don't use one set.  We follow our state laws and teach the areas that are required, plus a little extra.  After so much research, I decided I needed to get individual curriculum for each child.  They are both so different, and one program wasn't tailored entirely for either one of them.  At the beginning of the year, we were using workbooks.  But, let's be honest.  They're boring.  So we've switched things up over the past month and are now using new resources plus we are taking advantage of technology for learning.

We use a lot of the Moffatt Girls (we love her products)
Printables from K-12 and Education.com
IXL (we have LA, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Spanish)
Hooked on Phonics for Sterling
Teach Your Monsters to Read (both)
Spelling City
Starfall
ABCmouse
Rocket Math
Animal Math
GoNoodle
YouTube

When do you get time to yourself?
On most days I get up about two hours before the kids in the mornings and then stay up another two hours after they go to bed.  I have also started dropping them off at a play place for kids up to 12 for a few hours each week.  It's really not that bad trying to find time.  As long as it's something I can do at home.  

Do you miss not having them in public school?
Only when I have errands.  But now that I found the drop in place, I'm golden 😉

Aren't your kids going to have socialization problems?

Not a chance.  There's so much that we're involved in.  They're shy though, so they stick together all the time.  Branching them away from each other is my struggle.

1+4=5 and 2+3=5 and 5+0=5

There are many ways to get to the number five, and in education, there are many ways of teaching.  We may do school differently than others, but in the end, we'll have the same outcome on our own journey. We're here to embrace the beauty and freedom that homeschooling offers.  And we're loving it!

We may not have it all figured out yet, but we're willing to learn and be patient to get there together.

Have a great day!