Garage Woes

Nathan is turning 10 in about 10 days. I can't believe it! A few days ago, I decided to give him a birthday party. Not only does he want a party, he wants a sleep over. So I thought it over and came up with a lot of great ideas to make a fun party.

First, I'll have ladder golf, lawn darts, and the basketball hoop set up for the boys to play with. After about 1.5 hours, we'll eat dinner. Then we'll split the boys into two groups. One group will make tie dye shirts while the others play a game of basketball golf. When they're done, they'll switch. Next, the kids can have more free play with ideas like sharks and minnows, freeze tag, relay races, and a water balloon fight. Then it'll be time for cake and presents. After that, we'll have games in the garage like party bingo, limbo, hot potato, Chinese telephone, and a mummy wrap contest with door prizes. Finally, I'll set the kids up with popcorn and a movie.

Although I'm really excited to give Nathan his birthday party, I know there's a lot of work that needs to be done. The most important task is cleaning out the garage. I worked for about 5 hours today with Nathan's help to clean it out. It may not look great yet, but there have been great improvements.

Here's the garage after all of the hard work. Everything is much more organized than before. We killed about 50 spiders over the course of the morning and I sprayed for bugs like crazy.

This pile is going with us to my parents' house. It is garbage that I'm sticking in their dumpster. Thankfully, it will be out of here in a few days.

I put the legs on the couch and cleaned it out. Now people can sit on it and I don't think they'll be attacked by creepy crawly things. I'll probably clean it out once more to make sure. All of the boxes behind it are waiting to be taken to the dumpster as well.

The rake, scooter, and basketball hoop are staying. All the rest is garbage waiting to be taken away. Yes, both bikes are broken. I think I buy Nathan a new bike every year because he's so hard on them.

Here are two of the tables that we'll be using for the party. I have one more that I'll set up later. All of the garbage bags are for the donation truck that comes around once a month. Hopefully they'll come before the party so we can get rid of them.

This is Katie's sand and water table along with a box of sports balls. These are staying.

I was able to put more stuff on our shelves. Most of this stuff is holiday decorations.

Nathan worked really hard, but he did complain toward the end. I explained that it was important to finish the job that was started. I was proud of his willingness to help. After the job was finished, he and Katie went out back to play in the water.

Summer Days

We've been having a great summer so far. We're still working on math and reading, but the rest of our time is focused on fun and relaxation.

This past week was spent at VBS and the kids had a blast. The learned about the 7 C's of history: Creation, Corruption, Catastrophe, Confusion, Christ, Cross, Consummation. There was a dinner tonight followed by a program put on by the kids. They all did a great job.

Nathan's summer seems to revolve around household responsibilities, outside time with his friends, and the Wii. Katie has fun hanging out with mom and being crafty. We try to get outside when it's not too hot or rainy. We also go to a local park every Wednesday with our homeschooling friends.

Here are some pictures of the kids at the pool with Mom and Grandma. We will be taking advantage of the pool more often during our stay with Grandma and Grandpa.

Nathan filling his water gun.

Katie getting brave at the deep end.

Katie posing with Grandma.

Nathan learned to float on his back.

Katie kept getting cold, so she had to sit in the sun for a while to warm up.

Nathan may also be taking swimming lessons this summer, and the kids may attend another VBS toward the end of July. I want to make sure that they are kept busy but I want it to be relaxing and fun at the same time. School will be back before I know it and it will be back to the grindstone for us.

We're Almost Ready

Over the past few months, I've been getting our curriculum ready for the coming school year. I knew I needed something that was Christian-based, inexpensive, well planned out, and fairly simple on my part. I also wanted something that would push Nathan out of his comfort zone. He is used to a more relaxed style of homeschooling, but now that he's getting older I want him to do more writing and independent work. Here is what I have for him this year:

Rod and Staff:
Reading 5 "A Time to Plant"
English 5 "Following the Plan"
Science 5 "God's Wonderful World"
Spelling 5 "Spelling by Sound and Structure"
Bible 5 "God Chooses a Family"
History/Geography 4 "Homelands Around the World"
Music 5 "Growing in Music"
Art 5 Artpac
Math U See for Math (Delta and Epsilon)
A Reason For Handwriting Level D

This year I'll be adding Katie into the mix. She will only be doing preschool work, but I wanted something that would be Christ-centered, fun for her, little preparation time for me, and at her level. I found something that I think will be just great for her. This is what we are using this year for Katie:

Little Hearts to Heaven by Heart of Dakota~LOVE IT!
This includes A child's First Bible, My ABC Bible Verses, and The Singing Bible CD.
I'll also use the set of 4 preschool activity books through Rod and Staff.

So take some time and check out the links. All of the links have samples of the work the kids will be doing throughout the year. I plan on keeping a weekly journal of our homeschooling for this coming year. Hopefully I can keep on top of it. Although I'm excited to start using our new stuff, we still have a busy summer ahead of us.

Temper Tantrums

I lost my temper the other day. My kids were being obnoxious and I was irritable. While loading the dishwasher, one of my dishes got stuck, and I couldn't get the drawer to pull out. I tried to get my arm all the way back there, but my arm was too big. I asked Nathan to stick his skinny arms back there, but he swore that his arms weren't long enough. I was pretty sure he could stick it in farther if he tried. He argued with me. I argued with him. Then I lost it. I told him to forget it and I yanked the drawer with all my built up frustration. I broke the drawer and blamed it on my dear son. Then Katie wanted to talk to me while I was in the midst of trying to fix the drawer. Again, mommy yelled.

At this point we have an angry mom, angry son, crying daughter, and broken dishwasher. Katie asked me if I still loved her and I reminded her that of course I still love her. Mommy's just angry. I was able to fix the dishwasher~pretty much.

I sat down and cooled my jets. I'm not sure why I lost my temper, but I was rationalizing it the best I could. I will NOT apologize to these children. It was THEIR fault! Yes, I'll just keep telling myself that. Their fault. Their fault. Not my fault.

I finally allowed that little voice of reason to speak to me. If I don't apologize for my actions, how can I expect it from my children? So I called Nathan into my lap. He moaned and groaned to show me he was angry, but he sat there anyway. I told him that I was sorry for sinning against him. Mommy was angry and allowed my anger to get out of control. You don't have to forgive me right away, but I would like you to think about it. Again I'm sorry. He asked, "What about Katie? You yelled at her too." He's very protective of his sister. I told him I'd talk to her too. He said okay and walked away.

Then I called Katie onto my lap. I told her the same thing and she said, "It's okay Mommy. I love you." Oh, how sweet of her to forgive so easily. Later, Nathan also accepted my apology and forgave me.

The biggest lesson I've learned through parenting is that we adults can be the most childish of all. I can imagine the Lord looking down on us and thinking how foolish his children can behave. My temper tantrum reminded me that I am always growing spiritually and really need to grow up!

Check out our logo!

Yes, I decided to make a logo for our school. It's on the right side of this page. When I gather some money, I'm going to officially purchase my logo and get some shirts made for all of us. I'd like to do this for the beginning of this coming school year or maybe Christmas. What do you think?