Wordless Wednesday

More Fun with Friends!

Yesterday, we had the pleasure of visiting Janelle and her kiddos in Temecula.  We had originally planned to spend part of the day swimming, but it was a bit too chilly (I know...in July!).  Instead, we hung out at the house, ate Janelle's food, visited, played with Riley and Claire's toys, and overall had a really great time!  Here are some pictures from our visit:

Janelle and Claire

 

The boys had a great time playing with swords and lightsabers in the front yard.  It was hard to tell who won...

Claire even wanted to join in the sword-fighting fun!

Charlie really enjoyed playing with Bailey (pictured here) and Maddox.   We didn't even make it to the freeway on the way home before he was passed out.  It was too funny that all of the kids made it home without falling asleep (about an hour and a half drive), but the dog didn't make it five minutes.  LOL ***Side Note: I swear, my dog has the longest tongue in the history of the universe.***

I'm pretty sure this car is Kourtney's favorite toy at every house we visit.  We really should consider getting her one...really...

Kourtney was kicking all of the dogs out of the house.

And after she kicked all of the dogs out of the play house, she crawled in their houses to play with them.

It was a simply fabulous day!  I had a wonderful visit with Janelle, virtually uninterrupted by the kids, who were having too much fun playing.  We had some great girl talk, and were able to share ideas for cooking, scrapbooking, and life in general.  We also had a few minutes to plan a kid-less visit for next month!  I can't wait to hang out again (with or without our children...)!  Thank you, my wonderful friend, for hosting today!

Weekend Fun

This weekend, we had the pleasure of having dinner with some friends of ours. They invited us over for a BBQ, with water fun for the kids. We enjoyed an afternoon of friendship, great conversation, fabulous food, and relaxation. Here are some pictures from the fun:

The kids are all lined up, ready to go!

Kieran was the first volunteer to go splashing down the Slip 'N' Slide. A face full of water was just what the kid ordered!

Kourtney's favorite: Daddy launching her down the Slip 'N' Slide.

Weeeeeeeeeeee!

Cristian spent his portion of the afternoon being chased down by the girls. Those squirt guns can be lethal to a 10-year-old boy!

The girls rounded out the evening watching cartoons, while the boys played video games.

The grown-ups got to enjoy some relaxing time in the Rogers' spa, which was fabulous! All-in-all, it was a wonderful afternoon/evening. Thank you to our wonderful friends for dinner and entertainment!

And Another!

I came across another "new favorite" quote today, and thought I would share:

Henry Ford had a great idea when he came up with the assembly line, but it was never meant to be applied to education.

Love it! :)

The Village

I saw a fabulous quote today on a new homeschool website I was checking it out, and I just had to share it:

"I have seen the village, and I don't want them raising my children."

That pretty much sums it up for me as to why we have chosen this journey. :)

Father's Day 2010

Look...I'm posting again! :)

Today, we celebrated the fathers in our lives. We started the morning by surprising Brady in bed with cards and an Electronic Slide Caliper (whatever that is...). He was completely shocked at the gift (thanks to his wonderful dad for giving me the guidance to get him exactly what he wanted/needed!), and enjoyed the kid-selected cards. Then, we had pancakes and strawberries, which is always a delight. We rounded out the morning with church, and then headed up to my parents' house. The afternoon was spent enjoying delicious barbecued hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, potato salad, deviled eggs, chocolate cake, and lemon meringue pie. Yummy! The kids all played with their cousins, and the grown-ups visited. Charlie gave Jimmy a run for his money, which was entertaining to watch. :) All in all, it was a fabulous day!

When we got home, the kids watched "The Princess and the Frog" while I did laundry and Brady packed for his week of training in Michigan. Fun stuff. Now, all of the little people are in bed, and Brady and I are getting ready to watch a movie together. Having him home for two days has been wonderful and relaxing. I'm definitely going to miss him while he's gone for the week...it's been awhile since we've been apart for this long...I have lots planned for the kids and I to do, so hopefully, the week will go by quickly. Fingers crossed...

While I had intended to post a few pictures from our day today, I really didn't take many. I guess we were all too caught up in the chatting...Brady did take a few pictures of the garden, though. Perhaps I will post those tomorrow.

Until then...

I'm Baaaaaaaack!

I know, I know...it's been more than six months since my last post. Every time I had the time to make an attempt to update the blog, I decided that a few hours of sleep sounded like a better plan. It's been a crazy few months, but I'm happy to say that we all made it through in one piece. I'm off of work for seven glorious weeks, so I will definitely be updating more often!

Let's start with today...

This afternoon, we went to our wonderful friends' (Pete and April) house to celebrate their four kiddos' birthdays. The kids spent several hours in the pool, ate tons of food, and had a blast playing with kids and grown-ups alike. I believe it took a total of two point five seconds for them to all pass out when we got home. That definitely makes for one happy momma, as that means they all had a wonderful time and played hard. Gotta love that! It was certainly a great way to start our summer!

Now, I'm relaxing with my handsome hubby, watching "Men of Honor." The dog is pulling all of his blankets out of his crate again. The dishwasher is running. The kids are all passed out. Life is good. :)

Tomorrow, we will celebrate the amazing man who holds our family together, and I am soooo excited! Spending time with family and friends is what I enjoy most, and I'm looking forward to another wonderful day at my parents' house. I'll try to check back in tomorrow with some pictures of the kiddos!

Humming

Kieran: (watching the dog play) Mom, the dog is humming.

Me: Humming? You mean, like "hmmm hmmm hmmmm?"

Kieran: No, like this...(proceeds to demonstrate the hip-thrusting action of the dog).

Me: Ooooohhhhh... (attempts not to laugh hysterically)

Wordless Wednesday

Frustration

Beware...this is a venting post...read at your own risk, and know that you have been warned.

I'm frustrated.

Today was the boys' second day in a traditional public school, one that is supposed to be of the top few in our district, and I have, thus far, been completely and utterly disappointed with the quality (or lack thereof) of instruction. I'm trying really hard to give the teachers time, and the benefit of the doubt, but as we all know, I am not the most patient person...and what I've seen so far has just driven me nuts.

This afternoon, Cristian came home with a calendar worksheet that required him to "Write your name in box _" and "Put Martin Luther King Jr's birthday on date _." And, on the back, he had a dinosaur to color. SERIOUSLY?! WTH?! This kid is in 4th grade, and you want him to color a dinosaur during instructional time (yes, this is what they worked on in class today)? Come on! We are no longer in 1st grade, and I'm pretty sure that calendar skills are not a part of the California State Standards. I guess you could consider filling in the blanks on the designated boxes could be considered following multi-step instructions...but last time I checked, a calendar was not considered a technical manual. Am I wrong?

Kieran, who had a fabulous day with his friends, could not tell me about one thing he did in class today. It was quite possibly because he was so incredibly bored that he honestly didn't remember. Yesterday, I was in there for an hour, and watched the "high" Language Arts group instruction. My poor child was yawning constantly through 45 minutes of test prep questions. They only got through eight questions, not because the kids didn't know the material, but because the teacher was requiring them to write ridiculous information from these questions in the journals. What?! Are you kidding me?! These kids are dying for more challenging and creative instruction, and yet they all sat there, doing as they were asked, because that's how they've been trained...to be little robots that simply repeat and don't think in any kind of depth. Honestly...give them whiteboards, check for understanding, and MOVE ON ALREADY!

I am feeling very frustrated, not just with the teachers, but with myself. I know that I gave up on home-schooling too early. I got overwhelmed, and didn't take the time to reflect on the reasons why we kept the boys home in the first place. I needed to take a step back, re-prioritize, revamp, and jump back into it after the two week break, and yet I was so anxious for a solution before the break that I let it all go. It breaks my heart to send them to a traditional public school when I know that the instruction is not of the quality or depth that I want for them. BUT, by the same token, I LOVE seeing their smiling and excited faces when I pick them up in the afternoon. I LOVE that they tell me the LOVE school, and can't wait to go back. I LOVE that they are making friends, and feeling like they belong.

Where is the balance? How do I figure out how to get them the best of both worlds, without turning their worlds upside down yet again? They have gone through so much change and upheavel over the last year and a half, and they deserve some kind of stability in their young lives. Do I sacrifice their academic potential and talent for six hours of boredom and lots of friends? Do I sacrifice their social lives for an education that would far surpass what they will receive in a traditional public school?

I have given it up to God, and have asked for his help with patience, understanding, integrity, and humbleness. I know that He will make the final decision, and will lead me in the right direction. In the meantime, I am frustrated. And, I'm not afraid to admit it.

Ringing in the New Year...

...with a puking child is no fun! And, it's no way to start a new year. My poor baby girl starting throwing up at 10:00 on Friday night, and continued to do so until 4:00 the next morning. She threw up 19 (yes, 19) times. It was awful! After time 8 or 9, she would cry as I was holding her head over the trashcan and say, "Mommy, why are you doing this to me?" Boy, did I feel like the worst parent in the world. It broke my hear to hear her say that. Poor baby.

She finally got to the point of being so dehydrated that I took her to Kaiser for a quick check of her electrolytes. Thank God for Pedialyte! Her electrolytes were good because I'd been giving her a 1-teaspoon-syringe full of Pedialyte every 5-15 minutes for hours before we went in. I was very grateful that she didn't need any IV fluids this time around...it helps that she's a bit older now and knows when she needs to drink.

Now that the laundry is all caught up from this flu episode, I would imagine the next kid will start puking soon. Lovely. I.hate.puke. It is the one thing that I truly dread as a parent. At least they can all make it into the trashcan/toilet now...that helps. On the upside, though, I did get to go to the grocery store all by myself today because Brady didn't want Kourtney to leave the house...it was Heaven!

Here's hoping we all have a better week!