Such is Navy life

It's been awhile since I've posted anything, and I hate that.

We are gearing up for another Navy move, and all the emotions I had before and after I left California are rearing their ugly heads again. Moving so much is really starting to take its toll on me. Just about the time I get comfortable and make lasting friendships, it's time to move again. On the flip side, if it weren't for the Navy, I wouldn't have half the friends I do. And thanks to facebook and the telephone I'm able to keep in touch with those wonderful friends that I have all over the US.

I've been having a hard time keeping it all together lately. Trying to be a good mom, a good teacher (both to my kids and the preschoolers at church), and a good friend while trying to keep the house clean, the bills paid, and food on the table all with a smile on my face is becoming harder and harder. I'm much better at all those things when I have my helpmate here with me. Especially being a firstborn, I feel like I need to keep it together and organized and running smoothly ALL THE TIME. I criticize myself and get down on myself when I can't. Like, if I can't hold it together there's OBVIOUSLY something wrong with my schedule or lack thereof. I don't feel like I'm as strong as everyone thinks I am, and most of the time I'm stronger than I ever wanted to be.

Being a perfectionist-planner, living in limbo makes me crazy. I have no idea where we're moving in just a few months and it is definitely a source of frustration for me. Communication has not been going too well with J right now, which is another source of frustration. This part of our lives will be over soon, and I'm looking forward to being able to talk to him every day for 3 years. It sounds like bliss right now to be honest. I haven't talked to him everyday of the year since 2004. I do have wonderful friends that are helping me through this. I just need to teach myself to know my limits and ask for help when I need it. I refer you to the previous paragraph, however. :-)

Switching gears a bit, I want to talk about my recent weight loss. I started taking Zumba classes in mid-July. I love Zumba and it's exactly what I needed to keep me motivated about exercise. I've been a slacker the last week, but I plan to get back into the swing of things today. I've lost 10.5 lbs and at least 9 inches total. From doing a bit of low carbing since J has been gone, I'm starting to realize just exactly what carbs do to my body. I've decided that I'm going to give Atkins a try. I don't know that I will follow it strictly, though; I will do a modified version of it. For example, I'm not going to avoid eating fruit when I'm choosing to eat fruit instead of a bag of chips, kwim? We'll see. I might decide differently.

I must end this for now. I must take hold of the joy and peace that only God can provide me. I hope to update my blog more often.

ftmks

My kids love playing the "punch bug" game when we're out and about. R got tired of waiting to see one only to have one of her siblings call it first, so she decided to start calling PT Cruisers. Now we all call PT Cruisers as well as Punch Bugs.

We've had to set ground rules because there were way too many fights over who was calling what and when and "moma, s/he's trying to call one I already called!" Our rules are:
1. We have to be in a moving vehicle
2. The car being 'called' must be moving and not parked
3. At least one other person must see the 'called' car to verify its existence
4. The counter for how many you 'have' restarts every time we get in the van

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R: Man, I wish I could call that punch bug police car.
Me: R, there is no such thing as a punch bug police car
R: There is in my world

FTMKS

I was just putting L down for his nap and he asked me to lie down with him. After a minute or two:

L: Mama, doe way (go away)
Me: L, that's not very nice
L: (in his sweet voice he reserves for me) Mama? You pea pea doe way?


Pea is his word for please. He always says it twice.

All about school

This coming school year will be our 4th year homeschooling. Every year it seems I get more lax on some things and more strict with others. I love that my kids love homeschooling as much as I do, and I love that they're doing well.

We recently got achievement test scores back and I was blown away. There are several things (like vocabulary, reading, and math concepts and application) that B, the 5th grader, scored an 11th grade equivalent (read about grade-equivalent (GE) scores here). In Social Studies the test showed a 12+ equivalent. In vocabulary, reading and math he got Stanine scores of 9!

O, the 3rd grader, scored grade-equivalents of 5th and 6th grade. Her highest Stanine and National Percentile was in Spelling, which is no shock to me. She is an awesome, natural speller. Her Social Studies score showed mid-6th grade.

Social Studies tests their knowledge on geographical concepts, economic dimensions, historical perspectives, government, citizenship, sociological patterns, and applications of concepts. I have the History/Geography curriculum I use (Sonlight) to thank for their high scores in Social Studies. They know exponentially more about the world than I did at their ages.

I am so very proud of them both. I also feel like I can exhale a bit. This is the first standardized test they've taken since I've had them home, and it's confirmation to me that I'm not doing them a disservice. I didn't really think I was hurting them by keeping them home, quite the opposite really, but there's always that voice of doubt that says I'm not good enough and they'd be better off in mainstream school.

We're wrapping up our school year, and in just a few days I will have a 6th grader, a 4th grader, a Kindergartener, and a preschooler. Wow, that seems impossible! I've never homeschooled Kindergarten before, so this is new territory for me. I pulled the older two out of public school after their 2nd and K years.

I'm reading _The Well Trained Mind_, by Susan Wise Bauer and it has completely rocked my world :-) After reading only what I have so far, I've learned that the most important thing I need to be doing with her this year is teaching her to read and preparing her for 1st grade. I'm not so intimidated anymore, even though teaching to read is still one of my least favorite things ever--right behind teaching to tie shoes lol.

This is what our curriculum looks like for next year:
Sonlight Core 4 Their reading and books I read aloud to them are included in the core.

(Based on placement tests, I am jumping each of them ahead a year in Math. Achievement test scores confirms to me that I made the right choice). If the concepts are too hard, we'll just slow down the pace. That's the beauty of homeschooling.

Saxon 8/7
Saxon 6/5

Easy Grammar 6
Easy Grammar 4 and 5 (older version, but same content as Easy Grammar 4)

Editor in Chief

Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW)

Wordly Wise Book 6
Wordly Wise Book 4

either Sequential Spelling or Spelling Power

Sonlight Science 4

and a Latin program. I'm still doing research trying to figure out which one will work for us.

For R (K), I had contemplated getting Sonlight P4/5, but money (and timing with when L will 'enter' school) changed my mind.

We're using Phonics Pathways and Bob Books to teach her to read, and Horizons Math K.

And of course, we'll go to the library a lot.

FTMKS

L has been hitting and biting and just being too rough and tumble lately. He was playing with B and must have done something to him. B was pretending he was mad and told L that he was going to tell me what he had done to him. L began screaming and crying hysterically not wanting B to tell on him. His last resort was:

"Bubba! NO! You're my favorite!"

FTMKS

J: (with insistence) R, BRUSH YOUR TEETH
R: but I did daddy!
J: When?
R: uh, when you weren't looking?

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L singing his abc's:
"a b c d e def c 8 i day tay I-don't-know p"

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At dinner tonight R wasn't eating. J was talking to all 4 kids:

J: "If R doesn't eat dinner, R won't get an Oatmeal Creme Pie"
R: "Will R get one if she does eat?"

My brother, the funny guy

I was chatting with my brother this morning. Between his schedule and mine, we rarely get the chance to just sit and talk. Toward the end of our conversation, we started talking about babies. Me asking him if they were going to have more and telling him about how I had baby-wants. In my right mind I know I don't want more children, but seeing all the pregnant women around me and holding newborns is clouding my judgment!

My brother says: Just breed dogs!
Me: yeah right
Him: Yeah, you'll have shorter pregnancies, more babies and you can sell them bastards without going to jail!

Thanks E, for making me laugh today!

Emergencies

If you've ever been at my house, you know I keep a laminated (of course) sheet on my refrigerator for emergencies. It's mainly for the kids in case something happens to me, but it also has pertinent info for a babysitter on the rare occasion I get one.

I go over this sheet with the kids every so often (which thoroughly insures we'll not need it, by the way) so that they know what to do in an emergency (who to call, where to go, etc) and also gives me the opportunity to discuss with them what constitutes an emergency.

What R learned out of today's lesson in her words:

"mommy falling down the stairs and looking like she's asleep and you can't wake her up is an emergency"

"trying to wake mommy up early in the morning because we want candy and her refusing to get up is NOT an emergency"

FTMKS

Nutrition class?

R: ...and when you drink milk it goes to your belly then through your blood and then it goes to your brain and hydrates it.

FTMKS

B was making peanut butter cookies for dessert a couple of nights ago. He put them in the oven and a minute or so later said, "Oh Moma! I forgot to fork them!"

Last night I was trying to settle a fight between the girls. O said it was her turn to pick which movie they watched and R said it was her turn. I told them that since I didn't know who's turn it was, I would settle it by having them pick a number. I asked R if she understood what I meant and I knew by the look on her face she didn't. I explained the game to her then turned around to write a number on a piece of paper. R said "Can you make your number be number 9?"

On the way to church this morning, R said "mama, you have green teeth". Feigning offense I said "I most certainly do not!" She said, "Your bottom teeth are green." The other kids started coming to my defense and said "well you're going to have buck teeth, Thumbelina" (that's what we call her when she sucks her thumb). She said, "Well...they'll be easier to brush!"

FTMKS

R: My best friend was making fun of me at church yesterday.
My Aunt: Really? What is her name?
R: I don't remember.

FTMKS (Funny Things My Kids Say)

Here are some old ones I found. She was almost 4.

At Chick-Fil-A after lunch:
R: Mama? My breath hurts...
Me: What?
R: My breath hurts...I think I need some ice-cream.

At the dinner table:
R: Daddy? Lukie POOPED and PEED in his diaper ALL DAY LONG tomorrow
Him: Oh yeah? All day today?
R: Yeah, the earth didn't like that, right?

Wow! This thing is dusty!

I have been thinking a lot lately about starting a blog about the funny things my kids say. Mainly one child, Rebekah, but the other ones are pretty dang funny too. And then I realized, I already have a blog, silly! I'm not sure if I'll just post funny things as they say them, or if I'll do like a Funny Friday or something...we'll just have to see.

Here are some to get it started, though.

We're at a seafood restaurant in town and Rebekah needs to use the bathroom. Ever the homeschooling mama, I make her figure out which one we should go into based on the pictures on the door. On 'our' door it said "Mermaids and Ladies" with a picture of a mermaid. She said "I'm cute, so I must be a mermaid."

We were visiting TN and trying figure out dinner. Rebekah said "me and Mema can go fishing and catch some fish and then Pepa can grill it on the grill until it turns into chicken."

"Moma, can you go buy me a snack at the concussion stand?"

"Moma, when is your van's birthday?"

"We shouldn't cough in our hands we should cough in our elbows cause we have flat germs and if we cough in our hands the flat germs will fly out through our fingers"