Sunday, August 31, 2008

Problemo

UPDATE: I give up. I've tried over & over and only get errors. Not my night. I'll try again tomorrow. At least my posts are still intact!
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I'm having a little trouble with my blog tonight. Please forgive while I try to work out the bugs.

Decisions & Dilemmas


It's that time of year again........time to head back to school. But first I still need to finish the portfolios & school planning. I have a general idea of what the kids will be studying. That is a relief. Sweet Pea is going to be doing two of her main subjects on the computer which will help both she & I. when I told her this she was very excited. She loves being on the computer and doing her schoolwork a little different than sitting down with pencil & paper. I think I have Boo's curriculum selected but am still figuring out all of Elvis'.


Dave is home this weekend and yesterday he and the kids went down to the storage unit to organize it. I think they found all of Sweet Pea's schoolwork from last year. What a relief! Now I can finally put it all together & get that portfolio off my back. I did call the Deputy Super's office last week and explained things. They were understanding and I was relieved. I think they have bigger things on their plate with public school starting next week anyway. =)


I'm kind of at a loss of how to plan our schedule this year. I am still believing God will move us soon. Because of this I haven't signed the kids up for soccer or anything else. I feel badly about this b/c they missed it in the spring as well. But frankly I don't know how I'd do it all myself - all the practices, the games, the errands, the cleanings & then school too. Plus I'd hate for them to be signed up & then have to quit right after they started as the season starts later in Sept. & goes through Oct. But I still feel badly they are missing out for 2 seasons in a row. I had so hoped we would be settled in TN by now. BUT again I am hanging onto HOPE. The fact that we will move soon, (keep believing!), also makes me wonder how to plan our daily schedule. How do I balance it all? Plus on top of everything else I have not been feeling well. The thought of a full day of school all week long simply exhausts me. Ack!


Speaking of all of this makes me anxious to begin. I had better get busy on sorting Sweet Pea's work from last year. Boy will I be relieved when I can turn those portfolios in and check them off of my long list!


Thanks for listening! It's nice to have a place to go and write freely. =)


Friday, August 29, 2008

YAY!


Dave comes home tonight! We will pick him up at the airport at 11p.m. I'm sure we won't be home until well after midnight.


We have a very busy day tomorrow with another showing, the farm pick-up, picking up the 3 youngest kids, running errands & organizing the storage unit. Hope everyone enjoys their holiday weekend!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

What's Up

We're still here. We've been very busy getting ready for another showing. It's not only cleaning that needs to be done but every closet, drawer & cabinet has to be cleaned up & organized; every stitch of clothing washed, dried & put away; all toys, papers, & little items put in their proper place and every corner cleaned to perfection. Plus don't forget to mow the almost 1/2 acre, weed all the gardens & pick up every toy in the yard! We have worked all day & still have lots to do in the morning. Perfection is what the buyers demand.
It is scheduled for tomorrow, Friday at 10a.m. EST. If you feel led please pray for us that this is THE buyer.

The younger 3 went to G& G's tonight but Sweet Pea stayed to help me clean and prepare for tomorrow. For a treat & to say thank you I took her out to dinner tonight. It was fun going out with only she & I. Afterward we took a cruise of the local toy store to look for gifts for Bugsy's upcoming birthday.

Wish us luck tomorrow!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Lonely

I'm feeling very lonely tonight. The majority of friends have disappeared this summer both local & long distance. It's hard enough having Dave gone but then having this happen...........well it sucks. I couldn't help myself and snuck off to the bathroom for a good cry so the kids couldn't hear. I feel so darn lonely tonight.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Caravan Awards

During the school year Sweet Pea, Boo Bear & Elvis participate in our Wednesday night church children's group. We belong to the Nazarene church and the program they provide is called Caravan. The kids have activities & hand on learning in many different areas including Bible, communications, cooking, community service, art, and so much more. On Sunday they were presented with their sashes/kerchief and award badges. Elvis had been waiting for this all summer and was super excited. It was sweet to watch them in this milestone.

Sweet Pea is presented her sash & badges. I believe she earned 16 badges.


Sweet Pea and Her Leaders Karen & Larry

Boo Bear Receives Her Sash & Badges

Neat!

Elvis suddenly turned shy as he stood in front of the entire church. His teacher, Jennifer presented him his kerchief & badges.

Isn't His Expression Funny?

Proud Kids

A Closer View of Elvis' Kerchief



Elvis has been carrying around his kerchief every day this week!


Monday, August 25, 2008

Weekend Deals




Anyone catch the denium sale at Old Navy Saturday? I was in Sears and the lady there told me about it. I was able to get all the kids jeans for only $7 a pair! Yahoo! I also picked up 2 pairs of denium shorts for E-boy for next year for less than 1/2 the price. Thank you saleslady from Sears!


And speaking of Sears I picked up 3 men's pocket t-shirts for $12. $4 a shirt.......not bad, eh? Hubby bought a much needed yard rake & shovel down in TN. Craftsman brand was Buy 1, Get 1 Free. Hot diggity dog!

Sunday, August 24, 2008

A Couple of Things

I got this shirt for Elvis from Old Navy on last year's clearance. It now fits him. I think not only does the size fit him perfectly but the statement does too. I can NOT see this child sitting in a classroom all day long! LOL!

Being a lefty this was a torture device for me too growing up!


Cool Idea
Sweet Pea came up with the idea to decorate her own notebooks. She made this one for her brother using his current favorite - Transformers. Elvis is over the moon for his new notebook. It goes everywhere with him!
(By the way it's frugal too as she used a 5 cent notebook from Walmart, FREE glue from Staples & papers we already had in the house. Neat, eh?)




Saturday, August 23, 2008

Playtime, Pizza & Pals

Friends came over for a few hours on Friday. I told Dave it was like having 3 sets of twins! LOL! The kids got along wonderfully as always & kept themselves busy running from one activity to another. I had Sweet Pea bring out the sand/water table and Boo brought out the picnic benches for a picnic. Their favorite by far was the pool. They splashed, played mermaids & sea creatures and let their imaginations go wild. I tell you my kids slept hard that night after all that playtime. =)

A Picnic Lunch


Pool Fun



Friday, August 22, 2008

A Fun Family Day

On Saturday we wanted to do something fun. Our visits with Daddy are so short and far in between that we needed this time to be something other than cleaning for an Open House or chores. We chose to go to the Westfield Fair. Boy was it a great choice! We had a fantastic time. It was the perfect fit for us - not too far away, not too big, not too small, and not too much $.



Walking Into the Fair
Notice Bugs is holding Boo's hand? Love these moments!



As many of your know Bugs LOVES chickens! He simply had to say hello to these ladies.

Witness Protection Program? Just kidding!



There was a stall where the kids could safely pet all the animals.


The kids even got to feed them & it only cost me 50 cents!


This calf was precious.



Elvis really enjoyed feeding all the various animals.


Why, hello!


Hey, UP There!

This cow kept bellowing at us from the next stall over. Not sure what she was so upset about but she had a lot to say!



Finally his face! Lol!


The Bunnies Were Precious

Watching Sister

The Army had this cool climbing wall set up. It was free but there was a long line. Boo wanted to go and we were all eager to see her climb.


Here She Goes!





She almost made it to the top! The guy told her she made it a lot higher than most of the climbers. That made her feel 10 ft. tall!


Then she did some push-ups in order to win a little football. I was so proud of her for stepping out of her shell and doing both the wall & the push-ups!

A Full View of the Wall


This Thing was Cool

We never go on the rides b/c frankly it's way too expensive. This time since it was an extra special outing with Daddy we splurged.


This was Bugsy's first time on the carousel. He wasn't one bit afraid and had the best time. He grinned the entire ride! I think I did too watching his enjoyment. I let him pick what he wanted to ride & he chose this reindeer.




What a Family!
After the older kids finished their ride Bugs' was still going. They came over and every time he came around they cheered like crazy. Bugs thought this was the best thing going. He was the most popular kid on the carousel!

Elvis & I went on the Ferris Wheel. At first Boo was going to go but she got scared of how high it was. I didn't want Elvis to miss out so I went with him. He loved it! I haven't been on one since I was a kid and it used to be my favorite ride. Oh it was fun! Sweet Pea took pics for us.




We ended up with 3 extra tickets so Dave took Bugs back on the carosel while I was on the ferris wheel with Elvis. This time Bugs chose a rooster. I think he would have ridden that ride all day if we had let him. =)



Next we went to watch the Demolition Derby. Here is Bugs exclaiming over all the cars crashing.


This is what I had been looking forwrad to! LOVED IT!




This was Elvis' favorite.


Toothless Grin

What a Ham!
This was Sweet Pea & My Favorite


Oh Man!
While towing the car off the lot the truck rammed it right into the cement barrier! Ouch!


Aftermath


Round #2

Hurting

See the front tire? He was barely wobbling out of there.


The van was nearby so we walked over for a water break while the cars got ready for their final free-for -all round.

Glug, Glug, Glug

Waiting for the Final Round

We were in a different spot this time so I didn't get clear pics. But I was happy to be able to sit down! =)

Watching the Excitement
In a nutshell this last round was for anyone that could get their car back in the ring. Then they had a big free for all and the last car running was the winner.

The Winner Standing On His Car
You can't see it from this pic but Sweet Pea's & my favorite was the winner! We were thrilled b/c this car was raising $ for a little boy with cancer. I'm so happy this $ went to this brave little boy.

At the end Sweet Pea used some of the $ we gave her for a ride to buy her siblings a toy. Wasn't that sweet?

Green! Her favorite color!

Bugs had me in stitches! He was swinging this thing around like a madman. It would ricochet off his head, off his legs, fly through the air, one time he almost wrapped it around an electric wire he threw it so high (he wasn't holding on to it then).........none of it phased him. He just kept on going!


Going Crazy
Dave stood nearby so as to protect passersby. LOL!


Playing with Daddy



We saw lots of exhibits, ate a budget friendly lunch, had cotton candy & had an overall blast.
Definitely a day for the memory book!