Camping Part 1

Ever tried camping with a two year old? How about 2 two year olds? One of whom has decided that camping is the perfect time to begin potty training. Add a three year, five year old, six year old, eight year old, nine year, summertime in the south, lots of sand, mosquitoes and two tents. Not to mention the raccoons. Sound like your kind of relaxing vacation? Sorry Chris, your trip to the Cape or Vineyard has nothing on my summer vacation! I had so much fun that we only stayed for three days. [I am sooo happy that my husband talked me out of making reservations for a whole week.
A WHOLE WEEK!
(Yes, I am a glutton for punishment, and yes, once again my husband was right! When is he ever wrong?)] In fact it was so relaxing it only took me four days of bed rest to recover. And yes, of course I was the only one who ended up burned. Who knew that the Copertone baby sunblock only works on babies? You know, the one that is supposedly 50 SPF? Certainly not me! By the way, anyone else have any ideas on how to respond when a stranger tells you that Head & Shoulders does wonders for dandruff? (Yes, I burned my scalp! Very badly. Like blistering and peeling).

Fire Update

Hubby is on his way home and called to tell me that the fires have gotten so bad it's snowing ash!
Please pray for everyone who is being affected by these fires. Thank you!

Discovering New Passions...

Well, we have had an interesting week! Due to fires in the surrounding area the children have not been able to play outside for almost a week. The smoke is so thick we haven't seen the sky either. My poor little boy is having outdoor withdrawal! I have to deadbolt all the doors to keep him from sneaking outside!
Hence, he has discovered a new passion:

Baking!

We're still working on the whole cleanup after you cook thing :P

Update

Well, we have had a very busy month! Hubby's best friend from high school and college came from out of state to visit. We also attended our first homeschool convention! (Hubby hates to shop and spent most of his time on the playground with other fathers and the children.) His response upon entering the convention: "I didn't know it was going to be a book fair!" For some reason, I don't think he will be attending the state homeschool convention! :)
We were able to get a desktop computer for our 5 yr old daughter from the convention for only $30! What a blessing! Hubby had been trying for months to build her a computer, but we were missing one part, which turned to be very difficult to locate (we couldn't even find it on eBay!)
So finding this computer was really a blessing. All the computer needs is speakers. So Hubby now has his computer back and free of children's games. :)
We also made new friends who directed us to a wonderful family integrated church. We love it! Everyone stays together for Sunday school and the worship service. We had been looking a long time for a church. We had only two requirements : 1. It had to be family integrated. and 2. God's whole word had to be preached, not just the comfortable parts. We want to be fed!
I jokingly told Hubby that if we couldn't find one soon, we were either going to have to move out of state to Tennessee and join the Pearl's church or start a home church. lol
Well, that is enough for tonight. Hubby and I are going to watch a movie since he is off tomorrow. I'll continue updating over the next week: master schedule, sewing/other domestic arts and chickens! Stay tuned!

Homeschool Week

Candy is doing a home school week and has asked for everyone to post what they are doing for homeschooling this week. I think it's a great idea! I'm just a little late on getting started, but here it is:

M: (5 yr old daughter) This week we are working on penmanship, reading, Bible studies, and science.

Today's lessons:
pg 159 &160 A-Z handwriting review from
The Complete Book of the Alphabet.
Letter A alphabet tracers (from a Jan Brett Alphabet)
Lessons 1 & 2 from McGuffey's Eclectic Primer
Handwriting: sentence practice
Bible/Science studies: Genesis ch 1 - ch 2 v 7.

We have been using Hooked on Phonics Kindergarten Level, which she has been doing very well with, except the fact that she memorizes the books and lessons instead of actually reading them! So, I decided that we needed more reading material and have started using McGuffey's. Hopefully this additional reading material will help.

As for science, we have decided to incorporate that with our Bible studies. Right now we are studying how God created the heavens and the earth. This will be a very slow moving study. I plan to do "sub studies" of what God created each day. For example, right now we are studying the difference between light and darkness. Next we will be studying the sky and weather patterns and so forth. Each study correlating with a day of creation.

N: ( 2 yr old son) N is working on pronouncing the alphabet clearly and also learning his letter sounds. He is also learning new words. (N has speech/developmental delays, but is quickly improving everyday!) He is also learning NOT to eat the crayons while he colors!

Well, that was it for our home school today. Tomorrow I will post links to sites that I find helpful for homeschooling.

Things to Remember About Turning Two

1. When Honey called and asked to speak with the birthday boy, you excitedly jumped up and down, doing your happy dance , yelling "Two, two!". When she sang Happy Birthday to you in person, you screamed and covered your eyes. You also shot your sister a dirty look, as if to say, "How could you betray me?"


2. When your Nana and Papa sang Happy Birthday, you had the same reaction.


3. Trust me, the birthdays don't get much better except for the 16th, 18th, 21st, and 25th(unless you're a bad driver).


4. You also screamed and shot the T.V. dirty looks until you realized it was the National Anthem being sung and not Happy Birthday.


5. You enjoyed the boxes, wrapping paper, ribbons, and clothes hangers better than the actual gifts.


6. Which is why your sister is sleeping with your new Buster koala bear.