Keeping It Simple

Since I have posted our Halloween fun on my other blog for the past few years, I will keep with tradition. Please come say hi. :) http://catholicbabysteps.blogspot.com/2014/11/fallhalloweenall-saints.html

My son, who drags his feet over doing his math each and every day, came trotting over to the table with his iPod and headphones in his hand to complete his assignment. I quickly stopped him. ME: Ah, heck no, we do not do school with distractions in our ears (yes, I sometimes do sound that snarky). HIM:  But mom, look how much I got done last time. I completely lost track of time and finished a WHOLE page while listening to music. Okay then.

A friend of mine passed away on Tuesday. She was a homeschool mama of 5 who homeschooled through chronic illness. She was very well educated (but not at all pretentious), kind, fun, funny, and a bit blunt. We connected a little more when we discovered "hey, you have a blog!". Tricia would have become a blogger of considerable force, but things like taking care of her kids, taking care of herself (no easy task), and being a wife took priority. I have to admit that the first thing I wanted to do when I heard of Tricia's passing was to crawl into bed, pull the covers up, and not get up for a very long time. But, one thing Tricia did was keep on going. Through so much. She complained only in the sense that she was frustrated, she wanted to do more. To be more for her family. I have to honor that. So, I got up (I let myself have one morning to wallow for just a few hours) and I got going. I love this post that Tricia wrote. It is very honest. - http://adobecreekacademy...

Monday - Beach Day My sister and her 5 children, 2 of my daughters and their children, and I with 2 of my boys headed to the beach to try and stretch our summer just a bit longer. Tuesday- First Day of Theater Fun (James) Wizard of Oz Junior, here we come! Try outs were on this day. Next Tuesday, the fun begins. Wednesday-  Children's Zoo, First Day Back to Volleyball Class (Paul),  Paul's Crazy Social Life James and I headed out first thing in the morning to visit our local children's zoo. We are members so that we can take grandchildren, yet have not gone on our own in years. But this was member's early entrance morning and we thought it would be fun to go hang out for an hour or so. The highlight of the morning was watching the Fossa eat breakfast. Eew.  I don't have pictures of Paul's adventures. As a homeschool parent, I don't want my child to feel deprived, but sheesh! This kid needs to start driving (almost ...

In no particular order, this sort sums up the last year or so. Lots of blessings, lots of busyness, and lots of fun. :) 1- In case I have not mentioned it a thousand times, we welcomed 4 grandchildren in to our family (in addition to the 4 that were already here!). Just wow! That's kind of blurry, but you get the idea.  Can you tell my husband does not take the pictures in the family?  2- Paul took his first classes out of the home as a high schooler and he did amazingly well. With scores of over 90% on most of his work, he really stepped up to the plate. Paul has several learning struggles and he struggled right through them! 3- James was in his first ever play with a few small rolls in a children's production of Willy Wonka and LOVED it! I have my sister to thank for helping me through this obligation as item #1 on this list was taking up a bit of time. That's James second from the left as one of his characters, Mr. Salt.  4- James loved hi...

Somewhere, a while back, there used to be some sort of a kitchen sink link-up. I don't take my kitchen sink that seriously, but having mine clean and clear (in spite of the rest of the house being trashed) can bring me peace of mind.  Have you have ever read Sink Reflections ? If you are domestically challenged, do! If you are one of those that cleaning and organizing comes easy to you, you might still enjoy it. :)  Speaking of domestically challenged- every year I throw thousands (no exaggeration) of figs away. People say they want them. They say to just let them know and they will come pick them. But they don't. I don't like figs- to you fig lovers out there, I am sorry. I tried. It is just... well... bleck. I can't get passed how they look (or taste for that matter!). And I am just not that adventurous in the kitchen.  But I tried a recipe for fig jam from this cookbook . And, I don't hate it! It's really just honey, fresh lemon juice, l...