Randomness At Our House

My sister-in-law says that I have made her tear up/cry twice this week and wants me to stop.

So, I thought I would lighten things up with just  random bits from our lives recently.

Our microwave just went "zap" one morning, when I was trying to reheat my coffee.

Panic ensued.  Mostly from my teenagers.  How would we heat up our nuggets and pizza rolls  they wondered.  I wondered if I would have to resort to heating my coffee up on the stovetop like my mom used to do?  Gasp.

So, I looked on-line found some pretty decent prices for microwaves at Walmart and made plans to head over there after the National Honor Society induction ceremony.  D-man is Vice President and A-girl was being inducted.

Rainman had to work and L-girl was spending the day with the Ramblers group from our church.  So, they weren't at the ceremony.  The Ramblers are the senior citizen group at our church (although all ages are welcome).  L-girl went over in the morning to help them with a craft painting project that they are working on for a fundraiser.  She left at 8:45 in the morning....she got home last night at like 9:30.  The Ramblers know how to party.  They crafted.  They went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch.  They crafted some more.  L-girl was invited to join them for supper at a local Mexican place that also holds a trivia contest.  So, she and the friend of ours who had the crafting at her house, took a nap on the couch to prepare for their night out.  Just cracked me up. Homeschooling was why this kind of day was even possible for her.   L-girl had  a blast and came home exhausted!  Too funny.

The induction ceremony only took like 20 minutes total because there were only 11 kids joining. So, we had time to run to Walmart.  I perused the microwave offerings (none of which were the ones that I had seen on-line)....found one that was the right size, right wattage, right price.  But, there weren't any on the shelves.  I went over to the nearest department for help.  It happened to be the gun (i.e. sports and leisure) section.  They did their little computer gun magic and said that there should be 3 in the warehouse.  But, of course, when he went and checked and there weren't any.  So, I went with my second choice, which was $10 more than my first choice.

We got it home and D-man and I got it all set up....and lo and behold....the cord was too short to reach the outlet.  Grrrrrrr.   But, we found a power strip and are using that, so we should be okay....but to get to that point took us like an hour.

This morning, this sign was posted on the cupboard above the microwave.  L-girl cracks me up.  Totally a mom in training, right?

I am chuckling just reading it again.

I am so glad we have babies around our house again.  I have missed seeing things like this throughout our school day.

V-girl has been practicing her braiding techniques on anybody with long enough hair.  She is getting better.

L-girl finally let someone trim her hair.  She picked A-girl (I am not sure how I feel about my roll as barber being taken over by someone else).

But, it looks really healthy and A-girl did a good job.

Found this on the camera too....apparently L-girl had practiced her deer make-up on her little sister before Halloween.  Her mouth is cracking me up.

Hopefully that was less heavy and more light-hearted for you, Deb!

Minnesota.....Ahh How I Miss You.....

Recently, we took a quick weekend trip up to Minnesota to see family and attend my nephew's graduation party.  We decided to fly, since we can do it for free...even though it is standby.  Rainman had been checking flights and while they weren't empty, it seemed like there were plenty of flights that we would be able to get on.

Then, the night before, he announced that the flights were now all overbooked!

Seriously....I LOVE Minnesota and all....but how many people actually decide they need to fly there at the last minute....from Atlanta?!?  Apparently a LOT of you!

We ended up having to fly to Milwaukee, spend 3 hours at their airport and then continuing on to Minnesota.  That was fine.  I will fill you in on our flights home later, because this was really not meant to be a post where I whine about something we get to do for free.  Honest.  It was meant to talk about Minnesota.

I really didn't take any pictures of our weekend in Minnesota.  (I took some at the Milwaukee airport though.)

The fact that I have no pictures of our time there and the people we spent it with bums me out...even though I am the mook who chose not to take my camera out and capture those moments.

I think my excuse is that I was so enjoying being there...being in the moment.....watching the kids run around with their cousins....just sitting there talking to my mom and sisters....playing Buzzword.....that I didn't want to interrupt that stuff with the camera.  I don't know.  I guess I don't really have an excuse.

Somehow, I forget how much I love those people when I don't get to see them.  If that makes any sense.

I loved seeing my kids run laughing and giggling with their cousins.

I loved playing games with my sisters and being accused by Rainman and my kids of having had too many drinks because I was laughing so hard I was crying. (By the way....I hadn't had a drop of alcohol.) We are really funny when we are all together....even if we are the only ones that think that!

I loved driving near my sister's house and being flanked by the farms....the growing crops....seeing the silos in the distance.  I even tried explaining to Rainman that I missed that view.  I missed the feel I got from driving around surrounding by the farms.  He sort of got it...I think....for him....a city boy.  He said, "Yeah, we don't really have those down in Georgia.  I can't think of a single place where it looks like this."  He is right.  With our house, I have been able to find a place that is similar with trees and the lake....but, not driving through farmland to get places.  Oh well, guess you can't have it all.

On our way back from my sister's place, we even stopped at the very same Baker's Square where Rainman and I met on our first date.  We ordered our pies to go, this time.  But, it was fun reliving what each of us remembered from that night for our kids and my mom.  And, the pie was, as always, phenomenal.

We even attended services at the little church I grew up in before heading to the airport.  My mom asked me to sing.  So, I did.

We said our goodbyes and headed to the airport, where apparently everyone had also decided that a last minute trip to Atlanta was just the thing for a Sunday afternoon/evening.  Uggg....

There wasn't room for us on the next 4 flights, which is where Rainman decided to get creative.  In looking at our chances for Monday morning flights...things were not looking good either.  So....we took the last flight out of Minneapolis, to Chicago....got a rental van and 15 minutes before we got there....surprised his mom with overnight guests!  Yes, all 8 of us! (Funny side note:  Our normal van that we drive around in at home is a big, full size, extended top "party" van - as my friends call it.  My kids were enamored of the mini-vans that we rented on our trip.  The little kids are convinced that we should get one and drive around in it all the time.  The big kids understand how foolish that would be, but appreciated the ease of having doors on both sides of the vehicle and that it was kind of fun to sit right next to people that you were teasing instead having to be a whole arms length away!)

When I say that Rainman's mom had "overnight" guests, I am using that term loosely, because we got to her place about 11:00 and then headed back to the airport at 4:30 the next morning.  But, it was fun for the kids to see both their grandmas in the same 24 hour period.

I have felt behind and sort of internally hectic since we got home.  Partly because I had to cancel things we had scheduled for Monday, from the road.

I have just felt sort of.... paused.... between my two worlds.

My Minnesota life has a different vibe than my Georgia life.  Neither is better than the other, I think. Just different.  I miss my Minnesota people.  I miss my Minnesota scenery.

Whenever I think about missing my family back in Minnesota, I think about the pioneer days and the fact that, when people moved away from family, many times they actually never saw each other again.  They only had letters.  I have e-mail, Facebook, Skype (but I have yet to be truly successful in getting that to work right), and yes standby flights  - that might be inconvenient and annoying - but eventually, I do get to actually see and hug my people.  So, I can't complain too much, can I?

Goings On......Summer 2014 - Part 1

I finally have my computer back and now that we have started back into school, I can back to a bit more regular blogging about our lives.

We went on a whirlwind road trip to see family this summer.

We started at a family reunion for Rainman's side of the family.  Three of his siblings were missing this year though.

My kids were in heaven for numerous reasons......lots of cousins....and lots of babies!

V-boy giving V-girl one is his "love" head butts.  It is the most adorable thing in the world!

Rainman, Mini J-girl, and A-girl.

It warms my heart that my boys love babies just as much as my girls do!

A-man with one of the happiest, easy-going babies ever....E-girl!

Pool fun.  Since we don't have a pool at our new house, they had a great time at the pool.  There is A-girl in her fabulous homemade swimsuit.

I cannot even tell you how many times L-girl and I fought over possession of the babies on this road trip!  Seriously.

Our cabin was near a town called French Lick, Indiana.  D-man, V-girl and I went and walked aroundthe hotel and grounds.  D-man is trying to get a selfie of himself with the fancy chandelier to send J-girl. 

From the reunion,  we went and spent the day in Rainman's hometown so he could play a round of golf and attend their annual Pierogi Fest.  I hung out at his brother's house snuggling with Mini J-girl and was a happy camper.  Bonus:  They brought me a plethora of Polish food to eat.

Here is his cousin Paulie with the "Bushas"!

We left his hometown and headed up to my brother's new place in Wisconsin.

We even managed to get all the grandkids together in one place....that hasn't happened in awhile!

I love their new place!  Rolling hills, dirt roads, cows....and my family.  I was in heaven.



They have a river near their house, so the kids and a few grown ups went and played there, while the rest of us took the nearby Leinenkugel's beer tour!  I don't even like beer...but I really liked the Summer Shanty and the Berry Shanty....which Rainman says doesn't prove a thing because they aren't "real" beers!





This is my brother and his wife posing in front of their "Glamper".  This is a random shot from somewhere they were visiting.....because I totally forgot to take a picture!  I just wanted to show you were Rainman and I slept while we stayed there.  It is the coolest thing ever.  It really is the best way to camp.  A real bed.  Doors and windows to protect you from stray wildlife that may want to come and visit....but with screens and windows so you can see the stars and hear the nightsounds.  I slept great!!!!  It apparently even has a t.v. and DVD player if you want to watch movies!

We had time to fix each others hair, tell an embarrassing dating story...or two....hurt Rainman's feelings (who was sitting in the next room with the guys) with above mentioned story....have a little more baby time...and then head over to Minnesota.

In Minnesota we spent more time with my mom and sisters.  D-man was in heaven with my mom's new to her lawn mower....we haven't had a riding mower at our house in years.....he was a very happy teenager!

We concluded our whirlwind trip by spending a day or so visiting our friends that are, as my kids calls them, "almost cousins" in Iowa before our trip back to Georgia.  And, I realized as I was putting together this post that I took exactly "0" pictures of our time with them.  Zero!

There really is nothing like family.  I know some people don't really like their families, so seeing them, or not seeing them is no big deal.

That is not how we feel.

We love our families.  Both sides. I love his side of the family, and get along great with them.  He gets along with my side too,  although I will admit there are times that he just sits back and shakes his head at us sometimes.....especially when I am with my sisters.  I am sure it is just because we are just so darn adorable and clever that there are no words to describe it.  Right?

There is a comfort and safety when we are around them.  They understand you....and your quirks. They will laugh until they cry with you.....I have discovered that this is a rare gift to have in your life.

I felt like I breathed deeper the closer to Minnesota I got.  I do love Georgia....now.

But, it still really isn't.....home....yet.

S-girl Cuteness

I got a real laptop computer this year.

It is mine.

Mine, I tell you.

Little hands and even Rainman's big hands are banned unless there is an emergency....in other words, unless there is blood involved from a family member.....and the bloody person had better not be the person looking up information!

Up until my laptop purchase, our whole family shared 1 old (yes, something purchased in 2009 is now considered "old") desktop computer.

I had 2 ancient laptops that I used in my life as a transcriber/minute taker.

They died long ago, but the kids have kept them to use when they are playing house.

Recently, I noticed S-girl sitting next to me looking deeply into her laptop.  She would look closely.  She would type something.  She would write something on her screen....yes, write something....with a pen.

(Apparently she was also looking like a crazy woman while she typed)

I will admit I freaked out a bit when I saw her using a pen on the screen.  Yes, I know the computers are dead and gone....somehow it just made me think that the kids would try to do it to our regular computer too.

Then I walked around to the other side of her and saw this.

It is her "Fathbook" page......taped to the screen.

And her "Pintrest" page.

Her "pins" crack me up.  I am assuming this is for a fashion/beauty page.

She has created numerous other replacement pages for her work and other on-line activities.  Honestly, she can play this game for quite awhile, just working away at her computer.

We Choose Virtues - Review

This is the second time we have gotten to review a We Choose Virtues product.  The first time we got to try the We Choose Virtues Clue Cards.



This time around, we got to try out the NIrV  Parenting Cards plus a download bundle. (Teacher Manual, Family Character Assessment, Sing Along, Butterfly Award,  Kids of Virtueville coloring book)  You can also get these in the King James Version which uses only Old Testament verses for inspiration.

I loved the clue cards we got to use last time around....but we were sort of hard of them.  They are small and easy to bend and lose.....which we did.

The Parenting Cards are much bigger.  A smidgen over 5 x 8.

The whole premise of the We Choose Virtues product is building "character" for ages 3 to 18. This product was designed for kids in the early elementary years. ....3 to 11 or so.  (I will tell you that we had some success in our kids and maybe a grown up too.... that were well beyond the early elementary years...more on that later!)

The Teacher Handbook that came as a download with the physical cards, starts out with this...

Are you ready to make moral courage as important as physical courage?

Think about that one question for a bit and let it sink in.

Moral courage is hard.

Physical courage is hard too, but usually when you are trying to have physical courage, there are people there cheering you on and telling you that you can do it.  Like, ride that scary roller coaster or to jump into the pool without floaties for the first time.  There are encouragers and when you succeed, there is much celebration  and woo-hooing!

Now, think about having moral courage.

Where are the cheerleaders?

Where are the encouragers?

Where is the celebration when you do the right thing?

Exactly.

That is why I think moral courage and doing the right thing....just because it is the right thing....is harder than physical courage/bravery.

We Choose Virtues helps parents (and teachers) start encouraging moral courage while we are young.  They make it really easy to get started through the Teacher's Manual with 4 easy steps.

1.  Expect Excellence
2.  Explain with Enthusiasm
3.  Emphasize Everyday
4.  Examine Everyday

The author, Heather McMillian, goes quickly and easily through the concept behind the cards, how to introduce them to your children, and how to reinforce the lessons you are trying to teach them.  The Teacher's Manual is definitely written more for a typical classroom type setting, but as a homeschooler, or just a parent, I could easily adapt the concepts and activities to work for us as a family.

Before we began, I printed out the Family Character Assessment sheet, where you basically assess yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 for each character trait.  For example, for Self Control, you would grade yourself on the scale between "I am wild, rowdy, disorderly, I expect others to control me, I am bossy towards others" and "I make myself do the right thing."

My original intent was to fill one out for each child....but after reading through them, I decided I had a pretty good idea, as their mom, which traits my little people needed to work on.  I was also a little afraid that they would be overwhelmed by the assessment and come away feeling like they were horrible people.

So, I just used it as a scale to remind me of what kinds of behaviors were my goal for them....which, in turn, would become their personal goals.

I went a little off book from the Teacher's Manual.  (Yes, I am sure you are shocked!)



The manual recommended focusing on one word a day, as a team...or class.  I decided to take a more individualized approach....but together as a team.

So, I picked a word for each of my 3 littles and we read through the card and talked about it and I gave examples of what the word meant to them....but the other 2 were also sitting there listening to the word I had chosen for the others.

Make sense?

I was a little nervous about this way, because I didn't want it to end up being a way they could bully each other about what words I picked for them.  But, I didn't need to worry.  They actually helped me with examples of each word and even if they helped point out that their brother or sister wasn't using their "word", it was always done in a nice way.  (At least in front of me....)

The Teacher's Manual gave a lot of ideas for activities you could do to really reinforce the concepts of We Choose Virtues.  I found that our everyday life and activities gave us plenty of ways to reinforce the concepts.  But, the ideas were good ones, if you don't happen to have a houseful of kids!

Some of the downloaded material, I didn't use right away.  We used the coloring book and I used the Family Character Assessment.  I would have used the sing alongs if it wasn't Vacation Bible School time around here....I didn't want too many songs bouncing around in my head.  But, it is a cute idea....they have words that you sing to the music of other songs to help solidify the concepts in your head.  The Butterfly Award is just that a certificate you could give when you child really masters the character trait.

Okay, so how about these cards, huh?

The front of the card is intended for your student and the back is intended for the teacher.

Here is an example:




I would just read this aloud to whichever child I felt needed to work on this particular virtue, then hand it over to them to review.  (In this case, it was A-girl and her desire for more clothes, shoes, jewelry...  )

The back of the card shows this:



I liked the "What to say after I'm sorry"  and the teachable moments sections the most.

The Virtue User Challenge can get a little competitive.  Like the example on this one, is to challenge your entire family to try to go a whole day without saying "I want" or  "I am bored".

Honestly, the whole family got into trouble with this one recently when our little baby cousin came for a visit.

(How can you resist that little smoochable face?!?!?)

I started our downward spiral into being greedy and whiny.....with my declaration.....  "I want a baby!"  The kids all quickly agreed with me and Rainman, well.....he just smiled his secret little smile.  I took them all down with me!

Actually, it was an interesting moment for me, when I realized that my declaration about wanting a baby was an example of not being content.  Although the inspiration verse wasn't super helpful....to me....

Psalms 131:2  I have made myself calm and content like a young child in it's mother's arms.  Deep down inside me, I am as content as a young child.

See why that particular word picture wasn't the most helpful?

.....content like a young child in it's mother's arms.......as content as a a young child.....  

But, it did make for a good conversation between the kids and I.  Yes, I still want a baby....or, to be honest, more babies.....plural....but I am working on not being whiny with God.

Pictures like this don't help my cause....

...or like this....

But, it was a good reminder for me as I try to get the kids to work on their "words" that I too have virtues and character traits that I can improve on.

V-girl's word was Obedient.

She wants to be such an independent person that she struggles to do what I say....when I say it.  This was the perfect little reminder for her.  If I asked her to do something and she responded with "Just a minute", or "Wait, mom..."  I just had to say, "What is your word?"

She would say, "obedient" and happily run off to do whatever I had asked her.  When we first started this reinforcement, I would say, "What is your word?"  She would say, "Obedient".  Then, she would stand there and think a minute before saying, "What does that mean again?"  We would laugh a bit...I would tell her what it meant and she would trot off to do what I had asked.

The little catchphrase things were the most helpful thing to me on these cards.  The one for Obedient is ..."Okay, whatever you say, I will obey, right away."  She had that one memorized really quickly.

Since S-girl and A-man are older, I had them concentrate on 2 words.

For those of you that know S-girl, I know you will be surprised by these 2 words.  She is naturally a very gentle and kind person....unless you are a sibling that she feels has pushed her too far.  Then she is a raging, punching, bag of pretty little blue-eyed girl.  She really is like a completely different person.

These words gave us a way to discuss this and give her gentle reminders that even though her brothers and sisters are annoying and make her angry, she really does need to treat others how she wants to be treated and not resort to punching when she gets frustrated with them.

A-man's 2 words were....

A-man is a truth spinner. We all know it.  Sometimes we think it is funny.  The problem is it has become a bad habit for him, so that he sometimes can't make himself actually tell the truth.  He doesn't know why.  He wants to tell the truth....he just can't seem to make himself do it the first time.  I loved his Bible verses....because underneath all his bluster and bravado, he has a tender heart that wants to do the right thing....always.

Psalms 34: 12-13  Do you love life and want to see many good days?  Then keep your tongue from speaking evil.  Keep your lips from telling lies.

Romans 8:9  But your sinful nature does not control you.  The Holy Spirit controls you.  The Spirit of God lives in you.  

As with S-girl....these cards and their words were just a gentle reminder for them to pay attention and try harder.

Like I mentioned above, these cards are designed for the early elementary years, but our whole family used them.

J-girl was over the other night and heard me remind one of the littles about their word and she turned to D-man and asked if he had a word too.  We all jokingly threw ideas around for him...Self-Controlled (I am NOT wild, rowdy or disorderly   ).  Gentle....because....he had just punched/tackled A-man....moments earlier.  But, we settled on Helpful....

(He refused to pose with his card.....)

We settled on this one because although he is a hard worker and is usually willing to help .... you have to ask.  We settled on this one for him because of the catchphrase and the reminder.

I find things that need to be done and I do them.

I am NOT....selfish, lazy or unwilling to serve, and I don't have to be asked!

L-girl had a combo of:

I Am Kind (like S-girl) and I am Forgiving....which says, "I choose to love when others hurt me"...she has a tendency to retaliate and sometimes even plot a retaliation....or two....or three.

We took the We Choose Virtues cards both lightly and seriously in our family.

We joked and teased about words, but not in a mean or bullying kind of way.  Internally, we all took them very seriously.....even down to V-girl who just needed a gentle reminder about her word every now and then.  Towards the end of the review period, she was reminding me when she was being obedient.....just in case I didn't notice!  I did.

You can get your own set of Parenting Cards for $38.49.  We Choose Virtues is even having a few specials over the next few months....just enter the coupon codes in your order:

MAY-JUNE: *Promo Code BIG50 for 50% off our amazing set of 12 11x17 Kids of VirtueVille Posters! This is the first time we have ever offered these posters at this price. They are great for school classrooms, Kids Church, or your homeschool room. Kids love them for their bedrooms, bathrooms and kids’ hallways.

JUNE-AUGUST: *Promo Code BTS20 for 20% off anything in our WCV Store. This includes any kit. Let’s start School with Virtues this year!  

*Only one promo code per order

Take a look at what other TOS reviewers did with their We Choose Virtues Parenting Cards and download bundle.

The End of Birthday Palooza - L-Girl's Birthday!

Yes, I realize it is almost June and I am just posting the last of my April birthdays.

Homeschoolers get busy at this time of year too!

L-girl turned 12 this year.

She too, picked me for her special birthday meal.  She has inherited her mother's love of Chinese cuisine, so we tried out a new place together.....and I forgot to have someone snap a picture of us on our way out!

Too bad, because we looked really good.   Chaos around here sometimes, I tell you.

Her food was better than mine, which is only fair, since it was her birthday!  We both got fortunes that made us smile.  We are both still a bit peeved that we didn't get our promised egg roll.  But, overall,  it was a good day.

We came home and she got to open presents.

V-girl went out on a limb this time and shopped in her own closet (rather than off the floor) this time and gave L-girl the step stool she uses to get her clothes down.  That girl just cracks me up!

Tried and true gift from A-man (the same thing he got for A-girl)....One Direction trading cards.

A-girl helped add to her One Direction trading cards and got her a drinking cup (that I steal as often as I can)!

Somehow D-man and S-girl escaped pictures this time around.  In case you can't guess, birthday present opening time can get a little chaotic!  Usually, I am a fanatic about  making sure I get pictures of each of them, so I am not sure what happened this time around.

So, I will just include recent pictures of them with L-girl to document the approximate time of her birthday.

Here she is at D-man's graduation from a youth leadership program in our county.

Here she is with S-girl, at the Cinderella viewing party, in the room we have ready for Grandma.

If you remember, at A-girl's birthday this year, she and L-girl got a one joint gift to open on A-girl's birthday, and the other would be opened on L-girl's birthday.

This second gift came in a big box that had been tormenting them for weeks.

What is it????

A dress form!

It has a stand and everything.  They were so excited....and, honestly, I was super excited to give it to them. It cost more than I would usually spend on their gifts, but after seeing what they could do with swimwear and all the other cute skirts and dresses they have made, I knew it would be used.

(Coming soon:  A Micro Business sewing custom clothing!  They are just trying to work out the details.  I am so excited for them.)

Now, L-girl's birthday being so close to Easter this year, we ended up waiting awhile(honestly, it was like 2 weeks) to have her cake....poor thing.  But, she did get it....and it had fruit....so she was happy!

Happy birthday, my sweet, sweet, L-girl!