Too much to say!

I have too many things that I want to blog about! So, until I can get focused I'm going to make a list and then soon I'll blog about those things.
1. Why I'm so pleased with Kylie's results in school and how that relates to homeschooling
2. My garage, overflowing and chaotic from the move last year was cleaned out yesterday by me and the neighborhood kids to almost perfection before the rain began. It's some great photos
3. Why I homeschool!
4. Why I send a kid to public school
5. Our racoon
6. The change a backyard pool can make in the running of a household
7. The change a backyard pool can make in the happiness of the household
8. The change a backyard pool can make in the laundry pile/now laundry mountain of the household.
9. Otterpops
10. Lilly-because all of my other munchkins have gotten a post all to themselves and she hasn't yet
11. My day at a glance-because I want to document this for future generations
12. Why do I not use a Menu Plan?
13. The story of the ankle-pictures and all (EWWW! Sooo disturbing and Frankensteinish) (I know I made up that last word but it seems to fit)
14. Therapy from the blogworld-it is so much cheaper, can be done on your own time and I'm constantly surprised by the therapy that occurs when I didn't know I was attending a session-I thought I was just roaming blogs (ok, that may end up being the post in its entirety but I needed notes for myself )

All right-that's all I'm going to list as a reminder for myself. I may have alienated you my 5 readers but I will have my thoughts and year documented. Yea! for me!!!!
I'll post when the last of the garage is done!

I'm soooooo TIRED!

Have you ever been so tired you could cry? Well, I am that tired! but I'm not crying-yet.

Every year my 8-11 yr old girls participate in a 3 day camp. It's called Activity Day Girls Camp. They take 6 different classes everyday and have tons of fun. The classes this year were Hip Hop, Cooking, Babysitting, Beautiful You, Crafts, Sewing, Choir, Outdoors (rope tying, whittling, compassing, obstacle course etc).

I've been in charge of the craft class for the past 3 years. The camp ended today. Planning, preparing, executing, teaching, managing and cleaning up after 80 plus girls crafting everyday can be exhausting and I tell you-I'm exhausted!

This year we did a service project on the first day. We colored, cut and laminated flannel board stories. We are sending them to childrens organizations in Peru, Bolivia and South Africa. The girls made over 80 kits on that day.

The second day, each girl made a journal and a darling paper clip bookmark.

Today, the girls made mini clip boards that are the perfect size for post it notes. The three days involved tons of adhesive, paper, ribbon, punches and ink. If I ever get up again I'll take some photos and post them.

My big challenge every year is staying within my little budget. The budget this year was $100 for all three days and the total spent was $99.87. Sa-weet!
It was a great time for everyone...and I tell you-I'm so tired I could cry!

Pagie loves

Paige! What a girl.

She is my second born, a peacemaker, she always calls me mommy loves, is extremely talented on the piano and is an amazing singer, a huge help and I find her to be very funny.

One day I was babysitting a friends baby. Paige had taken over caring for him. I asked Paige after several hours what the baby's name was and Paige responded by saying "I don't really know." "Well, what are you calling him then?" I asked. Paige replied " I've been calling him Bob!" That cracked me up. Good for you Paige for just making a decision and making it work. The baby's name was Benjamin by the way. That is so typical of Paige. She is quite the little problem solver and she can make most situations work out.

Paige is really fun to have at home. I love to watch her mind wrap around a new concept and see her apply it to different areas. It's so exciting for me. She gets so excited as well when she understands something which she has categorized as hard.

This is Paige doing a headstand in the snow! I tell you-she is funny!

I love you Paige!

The Last Day of 6th Grade for Kylie

STOP reading this post if you don't want to hear me go on and on about my oldest daughter. I want to give her a Shout Out! for a job well done and a very successful year. So... move on if you don't want to be part of gushing, ohhing and ahhing. You've been warned!

Well, school is out! Kylie my oldest, attends middle school. She attended 4th grade and now 6th grade in public school. She has had an awesome year. So, to brag about Kylie-she finished school with a 4.0 for the entire year. In fact, her lowest percentage was 97.5 and that was in gym-figures! She is in a challenge program and excelled in it. She had great teachers, great friends and a great experience. I'm so happy for her. She loves to learn. She only stressed me out about 5 times this year when she would give me a paper to type at 10:00 at night that was due the next morning. The rest of her work she took care of on her own. I'm so glad she has the personality to organize her time, workload and fun.
All of her teachers commented on how respectful and kind Kylie is. (gushing happening now)
In her non-school hours, Kylie is on a Performance Dance Team and takes Jazz and Ballet. This is 4 hours of dance class a week. She is also involved with a church group every Wednesday and is the President of a service organization. I'm gushing I know! I'm just so pleased with how she has handled and excelled this year!
CONGRATULATIONS KYLIE ON A JOB WELL DONE! I LOVE YOU!

Look Mom! No training wheels!

This morning after Sam announced he was done with school for the day, he raced outside to play. A few moments later, I heard shrieks from the lawn. Paige was shouting for me to come right away. I couldn't see Sam. He was behind the van. I was afraid that someone was hurt. Before I could ask, Sam came out from behind the van riding a bike! He taught himself to ride a bike! At first he would hold onto the van to gain momentum and then ride onto the grass.

Within 4 or 5 minutes though, he figured out how to push off while pedaling. It was so exciting. By the time his dad got home from work, he was riding all over the cul-de-sac, making turns, braking to stop etc. It was so exciting to see his determination and joy.

In thinking about this I'm reminded of a few things. Kids have an

amazing capacity to learn on their own. To think out problems, find solutions, try it out, try it out somemore until they are satisfied with the result. Sam without any parental assistance taught himself to ride a bike. He told me his best friend Zach would push off to pedal-thats how he came up with that. He learned from watching Zach several months ago.

I have much to learn from this real life example of child led learning. Children will learn when they are ready. You can force them to learn but when it is on their own terms, the knowledge is so much more tangible and there is an excitement to it that can't be reproduced when it is on a parents timetable vs. the childs. I am posting this for my benefit. So I can remember. So I won't forget that I'm leaving my comfort zone for something better. I must remember.

Funny side note-the only bike helmet we had out front was Lilly's. A pink barbie helmet. Sam wore this all day. However, by the end of the day he determined he could no longer ride until he got an appropriate boy bike helmet because barbie just will not do for a 6 year old boy.

Sam practiced all day learning to ride around the man hole cover-look at that sense of accomplishment spread over his face. I love it!

What in the world happened here?

I just downloaded over 600 pictures off of my digital camera and found this:

This sad, little photo of Sarah who is normally so bright and cheery.

Now, I have several questions about this photo:
What in the world was happening that sweet Sarah looked so sad, concerned, devastated?
What is in Sarah's hand?
Why is she clutching her coat?

I know that this was taken at a T-Ball game that I did not attend (ankle). No one claims having taken this photo. It just makes me wonder. Poor, poor Sarah!

What a mess!

Well! I made the mistake of going dowstairs today. A place that I haven't seen in several weeks (ankle ya' know). What a huge mistake that was. Imagine 5 children under the age of 12 having complete, unsupervised access to the large play room/craft room/tv room for several weeks. It's sooo horrifying that I cannot even take a photo of it. Books, toys, DVD'S, craft supplies, blocks, cups, spoons, bowls, more cups, clothes, games everywhere!!!! and the list goes on.
Upon seeing this horror I did the only sensible thing-I promptly turned around and went back upstairs. I'm convinced that if I stay up here long enough, the downstairs horror will disappear altogether, I'll realize it was a bad, bad dream and it really is what I envision in my mind...a place of joy, laughter, learning, tranquility and cleanliness. I'm not taking any chances of running into that monstrosity of a place again. I'm up here until it can be proven that cleanliness is back. Wish me luck! and by the way-help!