ECC is going great!

Sorry I haven’t updated in awhile!  Between school starting and adjusting schedules with that and Isaac, we’ve been too busy for me to mess with uploading photos.  LOL!  So this is kind of a catch-up post.
Weeks 1 and 2 we learned all about maps and globes.  Latitude and longitude.  Different kinds of maps, how to read maps, what kind of info maps can tell us.  We peeled an orange and tried to flatten the peel to see why flat maps are so distorted.  We also memorized the names and locations of the continents and oceans.  At the end of the 2nd week, we made this cake.

We also re-visited John 3:16, and colored some sheets that had it in different languages.  We learned that we were going to be studying and praying for different cultures and people groups around the world.  We would also learn about various missionaries and Christian heroes.  Vincent made a chain paper doll, and Andrew made a chain of hearts. 

We started weeks 3 and 4 off right here in the USA.  At the end of the 3rd week, this proud mama gave Vincent a blank map and and alphabetical list of the states, and he placed each one correctly without any help!  I was just beaming with that one, as I thought he would balk at it.  We learned an Omaha Indian song and sang the Eentsy Weentsy Spider.  We started reading the book of Matthew in the bible (Matthew is the focus this year…the Great Commission and all that).  We also started reading a missionary biography about Cameron Townsend and his missions in Mexico and Central America.  Very interesting reading.  We are learning about desserts for science, and we made Navajo sand paintings.  Here’s Vincent’s:

We just bought colored sand from Walmart and painted glue in a design, and sprinkled away!  Beautiful!
Oh, and I colored in on a map all the states we have been through/to.

Still have quite a few to get to, don’t we? 
We just finished week 5.  Weeks 5 and 6 are Mexico.  We are still in the dessert for science.  All week long, I have been having fun learning new Mexican recipes to try, and we have all been having fun eating them!  I will continue next week, although I will probably add some Carribean stuff, too.  We have been playing a game to help us learn all the countries in North America, as well as the major islands in the Carribean.  We’ve only played it twice and Vincent’s already bored because he already knows all the countries.    We’ve learned some Spanish expressions, and we’ve learned a little about the Mexican culture and people.  We’ve especially gleaned a lot by reading about Cameron Townsend.  We will learn more about Mexico next week, and then we will "fly" to Canada.  (Yes, Vincent even has a passport!)  Oh, yeah, Vincent’s been learning his cursive this year, too.

And here’s a couple silly shots.  Andrew’s learning to be goofy.  LOL!

And Isaac learned to smile!!!

Okay, that is a *really* cute last picture to leave y’all with!  This was a really long-winded post (whew!), and I’m really really going to try to keep current here!

Getting serious...

...about de-cluttering, that is.  Well, for the moving sale, anyway.  We are going to try to have our moving sale this weekend.  But, the weather in the forecast for Friday and Saturday does not look good, so we are praying for a change in weather.  In the last couple of days, I've got my kitchen, pantry, mudroom, foyer, dining room, and living room completely combed-through, de-cluttered, and re-organized.  I even managed to vacuum the floors tonight before the boys went to bed.  It's definitely feeling pretty nice in here.

Tomorrow, I will work in our upstairs rooms.  I should be able to get those done in one day, since there's not much to cover.  If hubby's off from work (still not sure, I haven't talked to him yet), he will tackle the basement (that's the biggest clutter spot right now.  Then, together we will do the front porch, where we have begun collecting things that we have packed and are moving with us, but we don't need right now.  God willing, this house is going to lose some serious weight this weekend.

In other news, the Moby wrap I mentioned buying a few posts down is working out *really* well...I REALLY love it, and Isaac is starting to as well.  Today was the first time he fell asleep in it, and it was nice just being able to do things without his fussing all afternoon.  Now, I cannot wait to take the boys to the park!  Who'd have thought I'd be saying that with 3 of them?!  Ah, they're good boys!

OH!  LOL!  And, the hormone thing is getting much better.  Thank you to all who have been praying for me and who have sent words of encouragement.  It means a lot, and has helped so much!

Up to our "ears" in corn

Ha ha it's a joke!  Sometimes I really crack myself up!  Okay, okay,  I know, I'm sorry...

Seriously, hubby came home last night with a HUGE box of corn-on-the-cob.  A buddy from his work grows it organically, and we got over 80 ears for $30!

Here's a bunch we blanched and are waiting to go in the freezer.


These we are going to leave in the husks and put them right in the freezer.



These are what's in the freezer now, and why everything else is waiting.  



The cobs we left the husks on can be thawed, soaked and then put right on the grill.  Yummy!

A new school year

We were supposed to start ECC next week, but we are having our moving sale at the end of that week, so starting the school year then wouldn't be the best.   We have everything we need already, so we decided to start today and then take next week off.  We were too excited to wait another 2 weeks!  LOL!  We are off to an awesome start so far and I cannot wait to see the fruit this year produces!

We started the morning off with an easy cereal breakfast.  Baby Isaac was asleep, and after breakfast, Nick had to run some errands, so he took Andrew with him so that Vincent and I could have a quiet first day.    We started off learning about a book we will use this year called "Window on the World."  We also started learning cursive today as well.  That went over lots better than I thought, and he's doing a good job already!  Then, we picked up where we left off in math and English.  Vincent filled out his passport application to be able to "travel" around the world this year, and we started learning about maps for Geography.  For science, we learned about what environments are, and Vincent started his science notebook.  For music, we started listening to Wee Sing Around the World.  Lastly, Vincent picked up where he left off for reading...he started his McGuffey's 5th Reader today.  And I think before bed, we will find a book in the book basket to read aloud. 

Andrew is also way more interested in school than he was last year.  He and Daddy came home before we were finished, and he climbed up into a chair at the table and wanted to be a part of everything.    Next year, I will get him the preschool package from My Father's World.  He already has the toddler toys and has absolutely loved them.

Sleep, excitement, and too much emotion

I can't believe I remembered how to spell the word sleep, let alone even remember what it is!  My little guy has decided that his time to be up is between 11pm and 4am.  Yowsers!  With Nick back at work and the other 2 boys to take care of, I'm exhausted.

I did have a happy moment, today, though.  Nick said I can go ahead and spend some money at the baby store!    I got a couple of swaddle wraps that will hopefully help Pork Chop (our nickname for him!) sleep better when the rest of us are sleeping.  I do have to work on keeping him up more during the day, though, too.  I swear, if I let him, I think he would sleep all day long.  I have to wake him up every few hours to nurse.  I must not be keeping him up long enough, though, and that's going to change real quick!  I also got a Moby wrap.  Even though this is my 3rd baby, this is the first I'm wearing at all.  It will take some time to get good at wearing the wrap, but I REALLY like it!  It will especially go really good with my nursing smock to make out-and-about nursing super modest.  It will also be good for when I *need* to be up and about doing things...right now, that's Isaac's 2nd favorite time to fuss.  (If you don't know his 1st favorite, go back and re-read about the sleep situation.)

In other exciting news, I have had a really bad emotional day.  My hormones have obviously taken another plummet...must have been during nap time when I wasn't paying attention.  I've been able to fall asleep during nap time for the first time all week.  I was actually doing pretty good before then.  I had gotten the same lack of sleep as I had the last few nights, but I woke up feeling well-rested.  Me and the boys went shopping, came home and had lunch, and all 3 boys went to sleep for their naps.  So I laid down and fell asleep for an hour.  When I woke up, I felt more tired than I had in a LONG time.  I also felt sick to my stomach and my c-sec scar hurt.  Five minutes after I sat up, I was crying, for no reason whatsoever.  No big deal, just what Nick likes to call my hormone dump...it happens after having a baby.  Half hour later, though, I was still just tearing up for NOTHING.  I picked up and then hung up the phone at least 5 times.  Nick didn't need the stress.  He was at work and there was nothing he could do about it.  Why should he have to try and trudge through his day knowing his wife was an emotional mess at home where he couldn't be?  But then again, maybe he *could* be home.  Maybe he would hear what's going on and rush right home to comfort me.  Back and forth, back and forth between rational and irrational thinking.  Guess which thought won out?  Let's just say NOT the rational.  I picked up the phone and made that shameful crying phone call to my hubby.

He was very, very nice about it.  I just have to throw in right here that I have the absolute best husband in the entire world.  While he didn't come home like I thought he would at the time (darn it!) he was still able to be there for me when I needed him.  Like he *always* is.  He is totally my "Jesus with skin on."  He has called back twice to see how I was doing.

Okay, this was going to be a short post.  Wow, I really ramble when I'm tired!  I hope I didn't bore you all too terribly.  If you made it this far, could I ask any of the prayer warriors who feel compelled to just pray for me during this time?  One good thing is, I have had some natural progesterone cream recommended that I ordered yesterday and should be getting soon.  I am anxious to see how it helps.

Yikes, I really have to go now.  We have been watching the Olympic opening ceremonies and I lost track of time...need to get the munchkins to bed!

New baby update! :-)

Isaac was born on July 16, at a whopping 10 lbs 11 oz and 21 inches long.  Oh, and he has red hair.  I love it!  He is such a little sweetie pie, and my best nurser yet.    Here is a picture of him the day he was born.  I will try and post a birth story soon.

In other news, Vincent finished 2nd grade back in July and we will be starting 3rd grade on Tuesday August 19, using ECC from My Father's World.  We already have the curriculum, and just have to buy a few basic school supplies.  We are both very excited to get started!   Dh went back to work this week, and I was very tempted to just start now, since Isaac's sleeping so much during the day right now, but I held myself back. 

I am hoping to get back into some sort of routine here soon, so stay tuned for progress on that bit of our life. 

This week's menus 6/23/08

Monday
Breakfast:
Cereal
Fruit
Lunch:
Cheese Quesadillas
Chips
Grapes
Dinner:
Crockpot sloppy joes
Homemade buns
Chips
Raw baby carrots w/ ranch dressing

Tuesday
Breakfast:
Breakfast burritos
Fruit
Lunch:
Peanut butter & honey sandwiches
Baby carrots w/ ranch dressing
Dinner:
Leftovers

Wednesday
Breakfast:
Eggs
Toast
Lunch:
Leftovers
Dinner:
Spaghetti w/ Crockpot sauce
Salad
Cheesy garlic rolls

Thursday
Breakfast:
Muffins
Yogurt
Fruit
Lunch:
Vegetable soup
Crackers w/ yogurt cheese spread
Dinner:
Chicken pot pie
Salad

Friday
Breakfast:
French toast sticks
Syrup
Fruit
Lunch:
Parmesan chicken nuggets
Sauce
Chips
Fruit
Dinner:
Crockpot lasagna
Salad
Cheesy garlic rolls

Saturday
Breakfast:
Cereal
Fruit
Lunch:
Leftovers
Dinner:
Leftovers

It's almost time!

Sorry I never finished my update.  Things have been crazy around here!  We will be finishing up 2nd grade with Vincent next week.  Well, if we make it that long before little Isaac arrives.  I had an appointment yesterday, and things have definitely progressed!  I am a little over 36 weeks, so I can go into labor at any time.  I really feel like it's going to be soon, but then again, that could just be wishful thinking, too.  Although, the dog's been acting really weird and following me everywhere I go.  LOL!  I have also officially gotten into my nesting stage.  Yesterday was spent reorganizing the kitchen.  Today I will move on to the hallway and probably dining room and living room, depending on how my energy holds out.  I also need to do the floors again, as the (even just slightly) dirty floors have really been bugging me lately!

I still need to pack hospital bags for myself and Isaac.  I should probably do that soon, huh?

So, if things go according to plan (HA!), we will finish 2nd grade next week.  I would ideally like to start 3rd grade in the middle of August.  Nick and I decided we would try more of a year-round school year.  That way, when unexpected things come up, we can take the time off we need without worrying about school running late into the summer.  We are actually doing better than last year, and we even have next year's curriculum already!  All I have to do is buy a few supplies we're running out of and get to the library, and we will be ready to go.  I cannot wait to start ECC...it will be so fun!  We have had so much fun this year, and next year looks even better.  Hopefully, I will be able to keep up on posting what we're doing in school more than I did this year!

Also, we will officially be moving now the first week of December.  So, after things settle down with Isaac and we get settled into our next year of school, we will be doing some "real" packing.  And along with that, more thorough de-cluttering and cleaning.  So, also look for future posts on that progress.

I plan to try to post again before little Isaac gets here, but we know how those plans go, don't we?  LOL!  Anyway if I don't get on before then, the next post you will read will be all about how Isaac came into the world.

Spring Break???

Okay, we are on spring break this week for homeschool.  But, is it really a break?  LOL!  We are cleaning and getting ready for our garage sale at the end of the week!  Yay!  I know I promised pictures, so I've got tons today.    First are the pics of the kitchen, what I had done before today...

Here is our backdoor and mudroom


Here's inside the mudroom closet (it kind of doubles as a pantry/extra storage)


Here's the view when I'm standing in the mudroom looking at the main part of the kitchen


Here's more of the main kitchen, with my sink off to the left.  The only thing I have left to do are the cupboards to the very right (top and bottom).


Here's some shots of the cabinets I have already organized








Here are before shots of the cabinets on the right I had left to do today






And here are the after shots






Later, it's off to the "pantry" area of the kitchen.  Here's some before shots of that




See, didn't I promise lots of pictures?  LOL!  Whew!  That was a ton of uploading.  I think I'll go take a real break now...maybe...