wet is wet

It always amazes me how complicated I make my life.  Mind you, I don't realize at the time that I'm doing it, though I'm not certain I'd stop even if I did...  In any case, the kids have seemed to make it their responsibility to help me find simplicity or at least joy in simple things.  Ah yes and to stop and smell the roses...
A few days ago we found ourselves blessed with a beautiful warm, sunny day.  The kind of day that screams "walk!" to me, but which the kids want to spend just playing outside.  I've learned to give in to that request as pushing a walk generally ends poorly.  While my daughter and I worked on school on the deck, the boys asked to paint.  Large spools of white paper provided by my father served the purpose of a back drop beautifully.  This was spread on the lawn below and a plate of paints, cup of water and brushes were set down beside it.  The boys quickly went to work on their masterpieces.  Thankfully this time did not involve the lovely roller sponges that turned into clubs, leaving my boys teary and covered in paint...
After a time, they wanted to wash up.  There was no way I was letting those creatures into my house with their hands and feet covered!  I brought out a tub of warm soapy water and left them to it.
One boy washed up and went inside to play with cars.  The other did not reappear, but no worries... he loves the water.   After about 10 minutes of spelling work, my daughter and I took a break and looked up.  My youngest was sitting nude in the tub.  His knobby knees reached his chin and he barely fit, but there was an enormous grin upon his face.
This prompted a school break; and two more tubs of water were placed on the deck.  Swimsuits and bath toys appeared seemingly out of nowhere, along with several beach towels.  I now had 3 children playing in the tubs (though clothed in swimsuits now!)  Upon seeing this, I raced downstairs in search of our kiddie pool.  No avail.  I looked upstairs, back down again, in the garage, on the porch, one more time downstairs.  This whole time I was panicking because I could make this moment better... if only I could find the darn pool!
I then began searching on craigslist thinking that I could quickly find a pool, pick it up and then my kids could really have some fun outside.  I lost the precious moments of play during my rush.  Finally, my daughter told me to stop and come back outside.  The wanted to show me something.  Watching them play happily for over an hour in their little black tubs made me realize that I didn't need something bigger or better.  Afterall, wet is wet.

coming to a school near you?

This is one of those days I dread as a homeschool mom.  When attitudes and the weather align to make school miserable.  Today has been particularly frustrating.  It has now been about 5 hours since our homeschool day began.  And we have very little to show for it.  I am ready to throw in the towel.
I know these days come and go rather quickly and that I need to look at the big picture, but really.  Is there a reason we switch from "math is easy!" to "i don't know how to add 2"  AHHHHHHHH!
At times like this I wonder if homeschooling my daughter is really fair to my boys.  Instead of going to parks and the zoo and long walks, we are stuck at home with a sulky 7 year old who refuses to count.  The temptation is certainly strong to send her to school and be done with it.  At least then my days would be in my control.
Then again, when I consider the reasons I'm homeschooling to begin with I know that this is worth it in the long run.  If only there was a way to avoid these outbreaks.
She is ever closer to coming to a school near you....

Total Bliss

I am in a completely zen-like state at the moment, spoiled only temporarily by the couple that decided to join me on the patio and light up.  I'm now inside :( but still sitting in the beautiful sunshine).  As you may know, we had a baby scare earlier this week.  I am happy to announce that everything seems to be fine again.  The baby is still kicking - even more so now - and I am feeling much better.  I definitely am learning to redefine my limits and my expectations.
I have to thank my in-laws for taking my three kiddos for the past few days.  I was actually able to rest and sleep.  After sleeping nearly the whole day (literally from the time I got back home from my morning class until about an hour before my evening class... with a slight break in between to scarf down some food...) and the whole night (unheard of!) I awoke feeling relaxed and alive.  I have energy.  No, wait, that doesn't seem right.  I HAVE ENERGY!!!!!!  Much better.
The morning was spent seeking garage sale treasures.  Wow did I ever strike gold!  My car is full and my husband is going to pick up the piece of furniture I purchased later this evening.  I finally went to the gym (first time going just for me in months) and lifted weights.  I feel amazing!  I don't really feel as though I worked out, but still had enough gawkers to know that I was performing at my normal level, just cutting the workout down a little.  I'm now enjoying my decaf caramel light frappaccino and rest... mmmm....

So, moms out there, when was the last time you took a moment for yourself.  Heck, how about a whole day?  I am ready to tackle my kids again and life head on.  I feel as though I went to a special spa the past two days.  I do wonder, though, if I would feel guilty if I wasn't preggers.  I suppose it doesn't matter.  I am and I don't!  I'd love to repay this amazing favor.  So moms, if you need someone to watch your kiddos for a few hours of peace, let me know!

All for you

It's amazing to what lengths we will go as moms.  I find that time and time again that I will do anything to protect my children.  This apparently extends to my own body as well, when gestating.  I teach Zumba 5 times a week.  I love it and have been teaching for about a year and a half now.  I have taught through earaches, the flu, sprained ankles, pulled muscles, you name it.  Never once have I been too concerned, even when I felt dizzy or nauseous.  All that changed last night.
I came home from a great class.  I felt terrific and alive.  I then discovered that I was spotting.  At 18 weeks along, that is of some concern.  Okay, I admit it, I freaked out.  I went from calm and happy mom to panicking, tearing up, crazed mom on a phone mission... don't bother me, I'm calling the OB.  Of course, I was reassured on the phone that the baby is probably just fine and not to worry too much.  Then the kicker - she told me to "take it easy" for a while to see how things go and how I feel.  Take it easy?  What does that mean?
I dutifully went to bed feeling relieved to have something "to do" for the baby and annoyed that I was in bed.  I have a husband and 3 kids to spend time with.  Not to mention, class in the morning... and I would have liked to have taught a new song.  I just need a little more practice.  But no, for the baby's sake, I stayed put.
After being up most of the night tossing and turning, I went to teach class this morning.  The restraint!  I never imagined how difficult it would be to take it easy.  I did manage to cut down on the jumping and higher impact stuff, but it was hard.  It's just not the same when I'm not giving my all.
Baby still seems to be fine - still kicking.  Mommy's just going crazy sitting in bed.  If I was told to take it easy for any other reason, I would be still going about my normal routine.  After all, there are dishes to be done, laundry to fold and put away, Zumba routines to work on, the list goes on and on.  Staying in bed is some sort of strange punishment to me.  And yet, I will do it, all for you, little one.

my head is still spinning

My husband and I raced to Oshkosh for the WPA curriculum fair last night.  We only had an hour to browse and find everything we needed and barely made it!  If you have ever thought about homeschooling, I highly recommend this fair!  The fair is going on all weekend, but now there is an admission fee.  Last night was the only free night.
Wow.  We checked out Sonlight curriculum, which I have heard amazing things about.  It looked pretty cool and is all planned out for you, but you pay a pretty penny for it!  It would have cost us over $1000 for next year for Char.  Not gonna happen.Sonlight Curriculum: Introduction to American History: Part 1 Core 3 Instructor's Guide
Then we looked at some other complete sets, not even worth mentioning.  We finally stopped at Cornerstone's booth.  Wow.  They have an impressive knowledge of homeschooling.  For those of you who may not know, Cornerstone is located in Madison on the East side (in an office building behind the new HyVee).  They are family owned and operated.  They are a great source of knowledge and willing to give genuine opinions (not just out to make a buck!)
Here's the info I loved from them...
For foreign language, they prefer TellMeMore over Rosetta Stone, but not until age 11 or so.  Unfortunately, TellMeMore does not make a Mac version... :(

For Science, I adored Real Science 4 Kids.  Wow.  They have a great series.  Each book is meant to cover 4 years and you can buy a lab manual with worksheets to go along with it.  The author was a chemistry instructor and gets kids learning about molecules right away.  She also has a set for Biology and Physics as well as books to relate these subjects to critical thinking, the arts, philosophy, etc.  Very, very cool.  My husband majored in Chemistry and Math and has a PhD in nutritional sciences and he loved this series.

For History, I liked The Story of the World.  This comes with a text book, an optional testing guide (this would work well as a workbook too) and a teachers guide with reproducible coloring sheets, worksheets and activities.  This seemed to be a well rounded set that again covers roughly 4 years worth of material.






The other cool booth we saw was teaching textbooks.  They have a math program that teaches a lecture on the computer and then has problems for the child to complete.  This seemed like a pretty cool idea, especially as your child gets into higher math and you skill might not quite be up to snuff.  Right now it's a bit extravagant for us, but would be great for anyone looking for a quality math program with great resale value.

The final info we found was for some free websites.  I have not had a chance to peruse them yet, but here they are:
www.livemocha.com - great for keeping up your foreign language skills
www.freerice.com - for vocabulary building
timez attack - for multiplication drills  (we just tried it today.  awesome!  everyone was gathered around the computer cheering Char on.  The drills are very repetitive, but time sensitive, so the pressure is on.  i loved it!)

I can't wait to start using this stuff!

Mother's Day Freebies

I will be adding to this list of Mother's Day Bliss as I find more deals.  Some stores are still uncertain if they are doing anything because it's "so far away."  Crazy!
Anyway, here we go - you deserve it moms!

Michael's Frozen Custard - Free sundae for moms
Whole Foods - Saturday make a gift for mom 1-2pm, ages 6 to 12 ($5)
Also on Sat, free spa day for mom in the Whole Body dept from 2-4 pm.

Culvers - they aren't sure yet.  Last year it was a free sundae for mom
Flat top - nothing
Noodles and Company - not this year