The End.

The end of our first year of homeschooling has me feeling a wide range of emotions.  First of all I am completely 100% glad that we decided to homeschool.  As you may or may not know, just deciding to take the plunge was a HUGE decision, and one I worried I could regret.  What if we ruined Nate?  What if he hated it?  What if I hated it?  What if my house was always dirty because things were too hectic to clean?  What if, what it, what if.

In the beginning of the year Nate did have trouble with the hour it took to do school.... like he was just ready to keel over!  I kept thinking, jeez kid this is one hour.....  Public school is seven! Our Handwriting Without Tear lead to tears once or twice in the beginning.   In the middle of the year getting math done was like pulling teeth, I literally had Dave do math with Nate after work for about a week, because I was struggling.  

Then. Somehow. Things were easy. Nate got through school with no problem, banged out handwriting with confidence and ease.  Even his math was easy and he was proud to get it done.  Then the next minute school was over!  Now that school is out Nate asks daily if we can do school.  He enjoys it, and that means the year was a 100% success in my book!

That was my goal!

I'm so blessed to have spent this year with my son.  I spent the first five years with him of course, but this year..... teaching him, watching him thrive, it was such a blessing I wasn't expecting.

So next year I'm not going to worry so much.  I'm going to trust our decision.  Lean on the HUGE community of local homeschoolers more.  Take more field trips.  Take school on a trip with us.  I'm going to relax and trust that it works because Nate is interested in learning and is sharp as a tack.  

I'm going to trust myself more.  

I'm going to enjoy everyday more.

Yardwork

Kindergarten is OVER.  Can you believe it?  I just can't!  I'm going to share more about that later, but I was here to announce the garden is in!!

 I put the tomato plants in a week ago, and today I planted the peppers and herbs and the last off the seeds- beans, cukes, and zukes.

What a sad thing it was this morning when I was cleaning up my seedling trays and little pots and getting them ready to be packed away until next year!  Doesn't that seem like an eternity away?!  Anyhow, the peas are just now starting to emerge, I only had 1 single solitary spinach plant come up so far!  What is with that?  I'm mildly alarmed.  The great thing about gardening is that one day nothin'.... the next a whole bunch of little plants have emerged.  My Morning Glory seeds did that!  Tuesday there was 1 single green sprout... the next day, a dozen!  Tricky buggers.  

The lilacs are done blooming now.  I am drying a bunch in an attempt to make a satchel.  We will see. 

This year I also treated myself to a bunch of lilacs in the house.  So wonderful!

And last week I finally went to the greenhouse.  I bought the same stuff as last year.... why try something new right?!  Maybe next year.

 My hanging baskets are planted.  

It's so odd to see them so small again.  By the end of last summer these plants were huge.  I love that!

 The front pots are planted too.

 My front flower bed is finally cleaned up and planted.  In front of the rocks I planted Alyssum.  Behind I planted Butterfly Weed.  It says it takes up to 21 days until the seedlings emerge.  Jeesh.  That's a long wait!  My cosmos in the back are already up after a week! Hopefully the weeds will be worth it!

Besides the yard work, things around here have been hopping with activity....

 Kitchen delights like butterscotch bars, and homemade caramel corn, have been keeping our sweet tooth happy.

 The boys gave the tent a trial run last weekend in our backyard.  Dave only lasted until 4... his back was killing him.

Before the camp-out we had made fire starters using a tutorial on Pinterest.  Using and egg carton, dryer lint, pine wood chips, old melted candle wax, and a raffia wick we make some awesome fire starters.   We tried one out in our little pit and Dave was amazed.  You can see the flame is really strong.  They will be a great thing to bring on our Yellowstone camping trip in July.  

 Dave brought home some really amazing news last week!  He make his next rank!  It's a great accomplishment to make it.... especially before his 13 year mark!  I am so proud of him, and happy for him.  

Summer fun has been going on for Nate... skinned knees and elbows, he smells of sunscreen all the time ( my Grandpa Hoisington would be so proud eh),  and he is always out kicking a ball around or digging in the sandbox.  I think I would like to make him a larger sandbox using a tractor tire, but the tires seem pretty pricey.  I'll keep hunting on craigslist.

Since our initial Wahl clipper investment of $29 we have cut Bonnie twice ($60 x 2= $120) and Nate got a hair homecut for a $15 savings.  That means we have saved  $106 so far!  AHHH.  It makes me so happy!

I'll keep you abreast with garden updates.  I know you're dying to know how my plants are doing all the time right!

Such a Busy Time

The past couple of weeks have been so busy around here.  I've been hardening the plants, and trying to get the tomatoes straightened out.  A couple of them are really curved.  They are tall, and need to be planted soon.  I'm going to go get buckets this year to shelter them from the wind.

The bleeding heart hasn't grown much but the hearts are out.  I love them.

The lilacs and trees in the neighborhood are going wild with blossoms.  Our neighborhood smells amazing.  That means I have started my daily Claritin.  Last year around this time something got me bad. 

This year near my tulips this mysterious flower showed up.  I have no clue what it might be.  Do you?

The rouge roses are really growing.

Outside Nate and I planted spinach, lettuce, carrots, and peas. 

Besides the yard, it feels like we have been running.

Dave is an assistant coach for Nate's T-ball team.  With 5:30 games and practices, we aren't getting dinner on the table until after 7.  I told Dave I think we've eaten after 6:30 more in the past two weeks, than our entire twelve years of marriage.  Seriously.

Dave is playing on our church's Sunday evening softball team. Fun stuff but late dinners.

 With the school year coming to an end I've been trying to work in fields trips.  We went to Reptile Gardens with our friends last Friday.  Then Dave came home and reminded us that we had a birthday party at Reptile Gardens the very next day!  

Two days in a row was a bit much for me.  But I did get to pet an American Gator, and between Miranda & Dave making monkey calls we got to hear the kookaburra sing a dozen times.  

It's been a fun few weeks, but busy.  I'm sure I'll be repeating that statement all summer.  I hope so.

Box Day

Yesterday bright and early our boxes of first grade curriculum arrived.  I was in the shower and hear the dog barking, then Nate asking me through the door if he should open the door.  Honestly?!  We've had that talk probably 88 million times. "if we aren't dressed or if it's dinner time we NEVER answer the door"

When I got out of the shower and was dressed I went to the door to find first grade.

Nate was really excited.  He brought the little box in with no problem, so he thought the big box would be easy too.  But I knew there was forty pounds of books in there.  

He tried.

He finally just rolled it in the house.

Opening that big box full of books was so exciting.  Last year I think I was just so terrified that I couldn't relax and enjoy the excitement- to my anxious self it felt like fear not excitement.  This year, knowing we can totally do this, it was fun.(plus I see a professional to deal with my anxiety now.... so that helps too)

This year when I pulled out the massive binder of lesson plans, I was excited instead of my throat closing up.  I know this big intimidating binder holds the key to my time.  Everything has been planned out and coordinated for me.  This is what I paid big bucks for.  

I love that this curriculum uses real books, not made for school books.  Someone asked me recently where I put the stuff after we are done with it.  On the bookshelves!  These are real books, a lot of them are classics, that we would want in our bookshelf anyway!  That's the beauty of Sonlight.  I actually had to check with the curriculum list a few times during the past school year to make sure I didn't order books from Scholastic's book club fliers that would be included with the curriculum.  

The fact that Nate wanted to take a smiling photo with his next Handwriting Without Tears book is some life lesson for me I'm sure.  Considering this was how it started off, I'd say we came a long way! 

And I cannot tell you how awesome it is for him to see characters he already knows in the box!  I love that I can probably find the coordinating TV episode on Netflix and make it a 'special treat'.  

So with 12 days of kindergarten left, and first grade here and waiting, I'd say we are excited about summer break, but also totally geeked about next school year!  

We are going to spend 8 of our 13 weeks of summer break doing a very light, three day a week of summer school, probably only half an hour of worksheets a day.  I don't think it will interfere with summer fun, or our summer trip to Michigan.

Gotta love box day!  And a six year old that is excited about getting new books!

Spring Clean Up

After our long cold snowy winter I am so happy to be in the yard with dirt under my nails, new things greening up or budding, grass that needs mowing, birds chirping and kids running around yelling and playing.  Even if it's not super warm. 

My bleeding heart was the first to emerge.  Even though it was snowed on last week, she seems happy.

My hostas are just coming up.

Raspberries are getting leaves.... even in the pathway-which is not where they are supposed to be!

The blueberry bushes don't seem to be dead.  That is a relief.  Gary has warned me that they probably need plenty of watering even late fall early spring, and probably next year I should wrap them in burlap.

The lilacs are leafy and the flower buds are forming!  I cannot wait for their blooming this year. It's the only thing that makes these nice to have.  We spend all spring, summer and fall working to keep them from taking over the whole yard just to have a couple of weeks of pretty.  

Our strawberries are not as big as our neighbors.... but we have no clue what to do with them, so we only just uncovered them today from the layer of leaves we applied last fall.  

Today Dave added the a couple bags of chicken poo and a bag of cow manure to the garden.  I am going to plant my peas and carrots very soon.

After Dave mows the garden fence is going up because Anna would LOVE to roll around and lay in this poopie dirt on a warm sunny day.  And we are meanies and won't allow that to happen.  Hopefully Bonnie won't jump the fence to roll around in it.  Last year she stayed out of the garden area except for the day after Dave put a fishy fertilizer in. 

Last year with the April snow storms I did not get to see these pretty red tulips!  What a nice surprise!  

With all of the new growth and green things happening, sights around the yard and neighborhood still remind us of our October blizzard- like all of our pathetic looking trees.  

Ugggg I'll hate that Atlas Blizzard forever!

Hopefully once the garden is bursting with green plants and fresh produce, I'll forget about the lost limbs.  

Lemon Bars

Today I leapt into Lemon Bars.

These were more work, but I had a slave to help me.  Seriously this is a big reason I love homeschooling.  Plenty of 'after school' time to learn too.... AND bond!  Today after mixing the butter, flour, and powdered sugar for the crust we were pulling the Kitchen Aid bowl away from the mixer and Nate exclaimed that he loves my mixer and would like one like it when he grows up.  I told him that was a good thing to wish for, and he asked if I will buy him one for his birthday when he gets older. Obviously I will now! 

More steps, more dishes..... I didn't make the slave do them, he only did fun stuff, so really I am the slave.

Completely delicious!  

 I'll have to have Dave taste test them to see how they compare to his grandma S's "world renown" lemon bars. 

The guys love having bars in the house.  When the last bars were gone they each reminded me everyday that we should have more!

Next week I'm going to try these Toffee Chocolate Bars

A Blessing: Over Two Years Later

I have a friend getting ready to embark on a lengthy time apart from her husband thanks the the AF.  She has two young boys, younger than Nathan was when David left for his deployment.  As she prepares to say goodbye to her husband and start this 'single parent' year of her life she's been on my mind a lot.  It brings back a lot of the thoughts and memories I think I usually try not to bring up.  Not bad things really, just a time when things were hard on me, and to say I'm still dealing with the resentment is a true statement.  

Anyhow, I got a new phone in early April.  After nearly three years with my iPhone I went with a Windows phone, which I really loved.  That's right 'loved' as in the past tense because it died on Monday.  I was talking on it and it just went haywire and it's not fixable.  While my replacement is on it's way I'm using my trusty iPhone again. I was cleaning it out the other night.  Removing apps I don't need or use, cleaning out stored junk.  Then I ran across some old voice memos.  I played one, and there was my sweet three year old boy telling his daddy that he missed him and loved him.  It hit me.  

Memories of that time came back.  Playing a voice memo with Dave saying prayers and goodnight to Nate, every single night of those six months.  And the tough nights, when Nate wanted to talk to his daddy, we recorded messages and I would send them to Dave.    While I still wish my little boy hadn't had to go through that whole ordeal, we survived.  And now I have all of these messages with my sweet three year old's voice.  It's so nice to have, especially since Nate will most likely be our only child, and the only three year old voice we will ever have had in our house.  A bunch of little saved memories I wouldn't have if we hadn't been separated.  So 2 1/2 years after the deployment I found something good that came out of it.  (well, our trip to Hawaii was also nice)  It took a long time but I found something!