My little boy is 12!

At 10:05 p.m. today my little boy turned 12. I just can't believe it. As I sit here writing this I can remember this moment like it was yesterday. Time flies by so fast.

He had a great day. It started with lunch at his favorite sushi place. Then two of his best buddies came by for an afternoon of fun. I don't think he ever stopped smiling.

This evening we took him to his favorite Mexican restaurant to give him his gifts. He received a PSP game system, three of his favorite games and some stuff to go along with it from us and his Nana.

As an added surpise he got cool whipped by our favorite waiter at the restaurant.

He was covered with the stuff. And to top it off the waiter got me too!! We came home and TT spent time in his room with his new game.

Happy Birthday TT we love you!

I feel so special!

I can't believe it! My sweet friend Chasity over at Homeschool Rocks! gave me a blog award!!

I never win anything. I mean if I was the only name in the hat I wouldn't win! She always comments on my crazy ramblings and lets me know some one is listening.

Now as I was told I must pass this on to 3 other of my favorite blogs here it goes and in no particular order:

My good friend Kelli, over at New Mercies Everyday who I get to see every Tuesday and Thursday at our local co-op, but also keeps me thinking when I click on her blog everyday.

If you haven't checked out Joann's blog Our Homeschool Expedition you are missing out on a treasure of free information, recipes, and ideas. She is my guru! I know she is busy and doesn't get to blog as much as she used to, but you could read her blog all day and still never read all the great stuff.

Finally, last and definitely not least comes TC at Fish in My Hair. I wish I could read her blog without laughing until I cry, but that would be impossible. If I am ever having a bad day I just click on her blog and I feel so much better. Such a great witty, funny gal!

Congrats girls and thanks Chasity for thinking of me!

I'm in the mood for Fall.

As you may be able to tell by the new look of my blog I love fall. It has always been my favorite time of the year. I loved it when I lived in my home town where the leaves changed much earlier than they do here and with such beautiful colors. I used to walk through the woods and enjoy the cool air in my lungs, the smell of someone burning leaves and marvel at the wonderful colors of fall.

Now fast forward to fall in my current home. I wish I could say I could enjoy it. But alas I cannot. You see I live in the middle of cotton land. It is everywhere. First, the farmers spray awful chemicals to defoliate the cotton to be picked. This lovely chemical is applied using crop dusters that tend to miss the fields and spray our home, and yard. (They swear they would never do that but tell that to my lawn furniture that is covered with the stuff). When they spray we cannot venture outside because it burns our throats, makes our noses run and we feel terrible. Then they begin to pick the cotton and gin it. (We live a quarter mile from a gin) The air is full of a haze of small cotton filaments that drive our sinus and allergies up a wall.

In reality this is the only season you can really enjoy in this part of the country. The summers are hot and muggy. No one wants to venture out. The winters are cold and wet, no real snow. The last few years we have skipped spring all together and went straight to summer.

The weather has been gorgeous for the last week or so. Oh, how I wish I could enjoy it. I guess I will have to be happy with watching it from inside or outside and heavily medicated with allergy meds. ;)

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Blast Off....

into a new week. I feel like I am taped to the front of a ACME rocket and someone has lit the fuse. And its only Monday.

This will be a busy, busy week. It started today with my neck giving me pain again. I over did it this weekend getting stuff out to take to the consignment shop. Now I am paying for it. I had to suck it up and call my PT to make an appointment for Wed. I didn't want to let it go and feel terrible this coming weekend.

You see this coming weekend is TT's 12th birthday. I have been so caught up in planning his birthday party that it didn't hit me until today that it is my little boy who is turning 12. It doesn't seem real. But, I will dwell on that more later in the week.

For now I have to get through tomorrow, co-op and ballet. Then Wed. I go to PT and try to cram in two days of school because we are taking off Friday for TT's birthday. Sigh. TT and I will be going on a lunch date for his b-day on Friday to eat sushi. That is what he asked for. Then that night we will open presents and such. Finally, his big pool party will be Saturday night with all his friends.

I still have to get the few decorations and find the best deal on pizza in the local area. I am going to be feeding several teenage boys so I need as much as possible.

But its only Monday. Can you believe it.

I can't even say it.....

I am on a bbbb...budget. There I said it! It seems I have lived on a shoestring budget ever since my hubby and I married 13 years ago. We've had a few good years and the last few have been part of that. A good year means I don't have to count every penny, watch how much everything is at the grocery and I can spurge without feeling the guilt.

Now with the price of gas, utilities and food I must put our family back on a budget. Ours may not be as strict as others but it is still sent shock waves through our home. The main budget item that has hurt is limiting eating out. This I didn't mind so much. I get sick of eating out, but it is easier. Now we eat something cheap on Tuesday nights because we have to go to ballet after co-op and don't get home till way after 7 p.m. That is too long from 11:30 lunch time for my youngins. And we eat out once on the weekend. This weekend we choose Cracker Barrel. We can eat there cheap. Most places we eat on the weekends are reasonable at least. That makes it easier to stay on budget.

I have also begun to plan my meals again, breakfast, lunch and dinner. I planned them for 2 weeks at a time and went to the grocery. I didn't go to Wally-world, but to the local good grocery store. I ended up spending about $100 less than the previous weeks. We have had great meals every night. For example, tonight we had pan seared steaks with baked potatoes and peas. Plus, we had coconut shrimp for an appetizer, my hubby's favorite. The total meal cost me about 12 bucks for the four of us. I got the steaks and frozen shrimp on sale. That was one of our "special meals".

I have several meals planned that leave leftovers for lunch and dinner the next day, something I used to rarely do. The kids actually like leftovers!

As part of my budgeting I am getting Poogie's and TT's clothes together to take to a local consignment shop. I used to do this every season and I made a lot of money at it. I hope to get enough money back by Dec or Jan to hit the good sales to buy the kids more clothes.

This of course has lead to planning a yard sale for Oct. I have always had great success with yard sales. I haven't had one for several years just because I have lacked time and space to prepare for one. Now it has become evident that with all the excess clutter we need to get rid of some.

Now I must rest for a day full of lesson plans, laundry and of course taking my mother to the store. That is the one area that is hard to budget. I have had to fight it tooth and nail to make less trips to town, but she just doesn't see the problem. Of course she is not the one paying $80+dollars to fill up my van. I am working on it.

Poogie's First Science Lesson

We did or first lesson Monday using my new science lessons. We read her book and then took a nature walk. She had to draw three living things and three non living things in her little notebook. Her drawings weren't as good as usual because she was in a hurry but they got the job done. Today we sorted them on our magnet board into living and non living.

Then we did our first activity in the Evan-More Science Centers. The concept was the same. Poogie had to divide photo cards into living and non living, then write down her results on the proper side of the worksheet. She did excellent with no help from mom.

We are definitely enjoying science together!

What does 15 years on the job get you?

In my Dad's day it got you respect, job security and seniority. What has it gotten my hubby? Not that. My hubby's company recently became a billion dollar company. It gained attention from the mother company in Europe. You would think this would be positive attention. Not!

How does the mother company repay my hubby and all the other laborers for their years of service and hard work. Hmm. The company wants to now make even more money! A billion is not enough. So they "restructure" the company. They put more managers into place that have never worked with their product, have no experience in the job field and many without a BS or any type of degree. Degrees are not needed in his line of work as it is so specialized it is learned on the job, but many companies tend to fill management positions with people with college degrees. I agree with that to a point. I begin to disagree when they put people in that do not have any idea what they are doing and their lack of experience and knowledge effects your hubby's job and income.

The company also decides to take away things like health insurance, that will save them a bundle. Let the workers pay for it out of their already reducing salaries. Oh, and the workers all need to wear uniforms which they can also pay for. The list goes on and on. His company has not taken away health insurance or made them buy uniforms but it is on their list for next year.

It breaks my heart to think of what America has become. Now with the election coming up, banks going bankrupt, Wall Street falling, our money going to fight a never ending war I wonder if this "Change" that the candidates are talking about will be enough to dig us out of this mess. Will we ever live where a hard days work is rewarded and the working class are treated with respect again? Or will they keep feeding this money hungry machine that is America? More, More, More!

Ok, I'm off the soapbox!

Poogie's Science Units

I have really been struggling this year to come up with some thing fun and easy for science. I didn't want to purchase a full curriculum because I really don't think it is necessary at that age. So I ended up using her reading series Let's Read and Find Out Science that I had purchased from our monthly book club a while ago.

Here is our first lesson:

Subject: Science
Title: Living or Non Living
Grades: 1 & 2

Goals: Students will gain an understanding of the characteristics of living and non living things.

Objectives:
TLW identify and memorize the 4 basic characteristics of living things.
TLW sort and identify living and non living items based on known characteristics.
TLW determine what items is living vs non living by completing a coloring sheet.

Supplies:
Take it to Your Seat Science Centers Grades 1 & 2 by Evan-Moor
What’s Alive? Part of the Let’s Read and Find Out Science Series by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld.
Crayons for Job 2
Sketch pad, pencils, colored pencils etc. for Day 1 activity

Lessons:

Day 1
-I will read aloud What’s Alive?, and discuss the 4 basic characteristics of living things.
-We will then take a nature walk and draw several pictures of living things and non living things for our science journal.

Day 2
-We will review the 4 characteristics of living things using examples found in our home.
-The student will complete Job 1 in Science Centers activities.
-If student is still struggling with concepts I will create an activity using toys to represent living and non-living things to sort.
-I also have a file folder game much like the Science Center activities that can be used as a follow up.

Day 3
-Student will complete job 2 in the Science Centers activities. This sheet will be used as a grading tool to make sure objectives are met.

I will let ya'll know how it well this goes after this week. I plan on doing it MWF.

No More...

Physical therapy!!! Yes!!!! I went Friday and the PT gave me some exercises to do at home and let me go. I was so happy. I can also start working out again, which made me even happier.

Not only will I have more time at home to do things like laundry, school and house work, but I will be saving a bundle in gas. The extra trips to physical therapy each week has caused me to drive to town 5+ days a week, and with gas prices so high you can imagine how much it has cut into our budget.

I am so excited to start back to a normal week of school. I will spend tomorrow doing lesson plans, running copies and getting ready for the week. Just a normal week.

Before and After

I finally got the nerve up to post my before and after photos of my weight loss. Noted that this after photo is actually about 4 to 5 pounds heavier than I am now it is still a major change for me.

The following before picture was taken last fall at a local fall fest. I admit the "colorful" top did nothing to hide my increase in size. My hubby took this wonderful photo that was the reason I really began my weight loss journey. I looked at it an couldn't believe this was me.

Now for my after. My hubby took these photos one evening a few months ago. Like I said I have lost a few more pounds but I still think I look a lot better.

I want to post some recent photos but I am waiting until after I get my hair done and looking decent.

I'm a model and I do what I do....

Actually, Poogie is the model. What began as a photo shoot for our hair stylist turned into a photo session for a local children's store. We showed up this morning for her photo session for our stylist and the owner of a new specialty children's store wanted her to model some of her clothes too.

Poogie was over the moon. She looked adorable in the fun funky outfits and really enjoyed all the posing and primping. What was shocking to me was the price of some of the outfits. The two she modeled were $70 each. I have to say I almost choked when I saw the price.

Poogie has lots of little girl friends that wear these special little outfits. They are cute and precious, but not worth the fortune that it cost to buy them. I don't see the need in paying up to $100 for one outfit for a child that will out grow it in a few months. It just seem crazy to me.

Poogie did receive a gift certificate for a few bucks off of a purchase of one of those expensive outfits for her modeling. I don't know if we will ever use it but she felt like she earned a paycheck for her "work". I will post some of the photos as soon as I get them. TTFN

What makes a father proud.

Donuts!

No not the kind you eat. The kind that your sweet innocent daughter can make in the dirt with her 4 wheeler. My hubby took the kids out riding this weekend in the wonderful new dirt in our back yard. The dirt was the result of the ugly pond being filled up in our back yard finally.

Dear hubby ran in the house to fetch me. "You've got to come and see your daughter!", he exclaimed. So I ran out not knowing what to expect. Low and behold there she is cutting a perfect donut with her 4 wheeler, one after the other while singing Night Fever at the top of her lungs.

My hubby's face was lit up with such a smile and look of pride. You know that, That's my girl, look. I wish I had taken pictures but my camera was on charge. Maybe this weekend I will get some pics as she has already planned for a doughnut rally in the back yard.

Back to Co-op

Our first day back to the Y and boy was it great. The kids were so happy to see all their old friends and meet some new ones. I was amazed at how many new kids were added to our groups this year. The program has really grown and is greatly improved.



As with many things there was conflict and turnover within the program last year. The former coordinator said the new program would be a huge failure, not worth our money. I hate to say it but thank goodness she was so wrong. The new program is great and very well organized. The kids are doing more structured activities in the classes and the atmosphere is much more relaxed.



After a day of the Y and then ballet with Poogie I am spent. I am off to bed for some much needed sleep.