Around the house here

I have taken a few pictures around the house the last few weeks. I finally got around to dumping them on the computer, so here we are.  Welcome to our home!

 Isaac helping make some granola bars. He really likes helping in the kitchen.

 My boys doing something? involving ants?  I don't know, but this was a unified project that kept them busy for at least an hour one day. Which is kind of miraculous.

 The girls and I watched from the deck.

 We have been in desperate need of a fresh stash of play dough, so we made some this morning.  The entertainment lasted hours. I had to give the carpet a good vacuum afterwards, but it was totally worth it.

 A heart for me.

 Volcano

 Even my big girl had fun!

Uh, this little project (we dyed the playdough with frosting dye) left my hands quite discolored, even after washing. Oh well, I suppose it has to come off eventually?

 Issy staged this and took the picture when she was playing with the littles one morning. 

She also set up this tea party for them.

School and houses....

I have started or thought about starting a blog post several times. But sometimes my brain gets tired of thinking and processing so I just didn't.

So hi! I am alive. Things have changed completely since my last post. 

Let's see, some non-house things: we started our homeschooling year.  Issy is in 6th grade, Isaac is in 4th, Liam is in 2nd and Adelle is in Kindergarten.  We are enrolled in a virtual school through another school district and so far, so good, for the most part.  It is obviously an adjustment.  Getting used to the curriculum, getting used to each child's learning style, strengths and weaknesses.  Managing time well.  

The blessing of being enrolled in a virtual school is that there is accountability, the materials are provided and I don't have to worry about not "doing enough".  The con is that it is a fair amount of work to get through- it is very "school at home".  It is fine for the older three since they are used to it, though.  

I love having the kids together again. I love them being each other's.  Seeing them interact, playing together, even fight.  I miss my job, but I love being with them.  

Life is not perfect.  I get tired.  George sometimes makes school difficult, the older kids sometimes huff at me (I love the eye-rolls) when I asked them to play with him so I can work with someone else.  Schoolwork made one of my children cry in frustration yesterday.  Sometimes Critter eats the puzzle pieces that are left on the floor.  Markers get left out and George scribbles on couch cushions.  

But it's still pretty great, overall.  

Ah, the house situation.  So, pretty much immediately after pushing "publish" on my last blog post, we got a counteroffer on the Wyoming house that was unworkable and it was made clear that they weren't willing to meet us on a price that would work for us.  So no.

So we pursued a house in Idaho.  And very shortly after our counter-counteroffer was accepted, we found out that the contract on this house was going to fall through because the buyer was having loan issues.  Fortunately, there was another party interested.  They went to the bank to get a bridge loan and we found out last Monday that they would also be unable to buy our house because of some financial issues. And the first people that put in an offer (with a contingency) were still interested but their house hasn't sold yet.

So to lay it out- under contract on a house in Idaho.   Three interested parties but no one to actually buy this house.

To say that this was upsetting or stressful would be an understatement.  I also feel, because this is a situation that we willingly choose, I have no room to complain or feel badly.  I am trying to remind myself that we are here to do God's will, whatever we discern that to be.  And if that means that now is not the time, it isn't the time.  

We had a showing on Tuesday and are having an open house this Saturday.  If we don't get any offers from that, there is a fairly good likelihood that we will lose the contract on the Idaho house.  That is, obviously, disappointing.  But if it isn't that house now, we will find something else when this house does indeed sell.

When we put this house on the market, we expected it would take a while to sell.  It was surprising to get an offer (and then a second offer!) so quickly.  I think the hardest part has been going back and forth on expectations.  We thought it would take a while to sell, then we were supposed to be moving at the end of September, and now we are back to it taking a while.

So now, in order to keep our sanity, we are being hopeful but realistic in our expectations.  We will embrace and enjoy life here now and be present in the moment until we are off on a new adventure.

Journal: House on the market

Out my window: 70. Humid. Not too bad.

Around the house: Crazy cleaning, organizing, decluttering, house projecty stuff the last couple of weeks. See the "Thinking About" category for why :)

Clothing myself in: Jeans. Stripy maroon shirt. My mom had a ton of striped shirts- this shirt reminds me of her.

Toddler: Hit a bit of a snag with the babysitter. Being defiant and *ahem* hot-tempered. Lots of biting :-/  I am really looking forward to staying at home with him again, I think it'll help.

Kiddos: They have all been enjoying summer school, which is done in a couple of days. I am glad they have had a chance to do that, keeping them busy with fun, brain-stimulating activities.

In the kitchen: Gah. Don't even ask. My menus are so boring lately. Two jobs, ya'll. We do what is easy.

Crafting:

Bringing me joy: Nursing my Georgie- Boy at bedtime on the nights I have off. Yes, we still do. Such a lovely time to reconnect. We chat, nurse, chat. I neeeeever imagined breastfeeding a more-than-one-year-old when I started having babies, but I am so glad I was at least open to it. It's a gift.  Back deck time with the hubby, snuggling my Delle.  Sitting on Issy's bed with her.  Clean house. For Sale sign at the end of my driveway....

Thinking about: .... which brings me to this. To preface: before the kid's school closed, but when it looked like it was going to happen, we prayed. We prayed for the school to stay open if it was God's will. But more than that, we prayed that if it closed, that some good could come out of that sad situation. As you know, it closed in April.  And then we decided to homeschool the kids again, which meant I was going to have to leave my job at Catholic Word.

Joe has been working remotely from the rest of his team since shortly after he started. So at the end of April, we got the go-ahead from his bosses to have him work remotely... from the mountains.

It has been on our hearts since before we ever left Idaho that we should be in the mountains. It was crazy hard to leave in the first place. And we have talked and dreamed many times about returning. The timing seemed about as ideal as it could be. So we have been working the last two months to put our house on the market.  We are (trying fervently to be) realistic in our expectations- it often takes houses in this area a while to sell. But it's a beautiful house and it'll be perfect for another family. I am glad we get the chance to pass it on.

Next up: Mountains. Home.

Picture to share:

Liam's school year

I decided to purchase the MODG syllabus again this year.  I am really pleased that I did- I am using it as a base and substituting and/or adding things wherever I like. It has been really nice to have a guide, though.

 The handwriting book that MODG syllabus recommends.  Liam is pretty meticulous with his handwriting. 

 Aesop's Fables for reading aloud and then narrating and illustrating in his book.  

Religion- MODG recommends the First Communion Catechism and to do reading about saints and draw pictures of them in a Saint Book.  I wanted to organize our saint readings so I looked them up in the various saint books we own and wrote down what pages they were on so I wouldn't have to do it on that day.  Much better and easier to keep up with. 

MODG recommends 100 Easy Lessons for phonics but Liam has kind of outgrown that, so I picked up this workbook. It is also nice to have a go-to learning page when I am putting the baby down for a nap or making lunch.  

 Poetry- Memorizing and then retelling/ illustrating various poems

 Working on the Chronicles of Narnia for our Literature.

MODG recommends A Beka math but we have been using Math U See and like it so I decided not to switch.  We are finishing up his Primer book and will be starting Alpha in a couple of weeks.

 Nature Study- I like this little book. Some of the little activities we use and some of them we don't but it is nice for getting ideas.

I bought this back when Issy was using MODG for Kindergarten and haven't looked at it much since.  Broke it back out for Liam.

We are keeping things simple and straightforward for things like social studies, other science, geography and such. We explore topics as he is interested in them, as well.  He is really thriving this year.

Ten years together

Life has been busy the last couple of weeks- we celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary last week, Joe's parents came to visit and we celebrated Adelle's 3rd birthday.

For our anniversary, I went through our ten years of photos and we compiled a slideshow. We shared it on facebook, but if you don't facebook you can see our slideshow here:

Anniversary Slideshow

It was a pretty great day, well the whole weekend really. I can't believe how blessed I have been in the last ten years and I am so grateful that I have Joe to do this life with.  He is my best friend.

Summer has gone well so far, though it really doesn't feel like summer yet. I am actually having a hard time believing we are halfway through June, since it isn't insanely hot (well, at least not consistently) yet.  We are keeping up with a slightly more relaxed school schedule, but definitely working on it. Between George's birth and moving we were behind, particularly with Isabelle. And I want the kids to be all up to par when they start school in September.  Issy's focus this summer is composition and editing and math facts mastery. Isaac's is handwriting and math facts mastery.

It is going to be so very odd to have the biggers gone during the day next year.  I guess I am still having a hard time wrapping my mind around that one a bit. I am really excited for them. And nervous. I hope that what I have taught them (both academically and lifewise) up to this point will be a good foundation. 

I still need to decide what I would like to work on with Liam and Adelle next year. Obviously, it will be pretty relaxed with Adelle, but she is plenty interested so I think she would like to get started on letters and numbers. Thinking about taking them down Elizabeth Foss' Alphabet Path.  Lots of storybooks. I need to get over myself and take them to the library. I am just a little weird about leaving the house, but I don't think I will be able to do that this winter and maintain my sanity.

OH! In the last week, Adelle has taken a real interest in potty training. Praise the Lord! I won't call it yet, but I am hopeful we have turned the corner. In addition to that, I am back to cloth diapering George, so that is good for the budget.  Just a few more dollars a month for our Finish the Basement/General Home Improvement fund :)

So that is our life update for now!

School days, school days...

So. These are my babies before their unofficial first day of go-to-school School. Yes, life is a-changin' around here.

Next school year, Issy and Isaac are going to be going to our teeny-tiny little parish school.  As far as school goes, it seems to be a very good fit.  It is grades 1-6, and there are only about 25? kids in the whole school.  They have had the opportunity to spend a few days in their future classrooms, meeting the other kids, the teachers, working on some learning things. The school has been very very accommodating- the administrator suggested that they come for a day every couple of weeks for the remainder of the year just to acclimate.

The kids love it. So much. I know that some of that is the novelty of it and it will wear off (for example, they did standardized testing with the other kids so that we could have a gauge of where they are at, information-wise. When I asked them how the testing was they said, it was "Great!" and "Awesome!" And they weren't joking.) But they loved being around other kids their age, they seemed to like the structure.

Even though I know it is the right decision for them at this time, I would be lying to say that I am not a bit, hmmm, not sad... but wistful?  Perhaps more than any other decision, this changes things. We have moved, we have added babies, Joe has changed jobs, but homeschooling was the one constant.  And I wouldn't have had it any other way- we needed that. Now that we are settling, the dynamic has changed, other things will be the constant, so sending them to school won't rock our family the way it might have in the past.

We always said that we would go year by year and child by child with this decision.  And we have decided that, for now, we will continue to homeschool Liam.  The school starts at first grade and while he will technically be old enough by next year, he just isn't ready for it, maturity-wise. He is plenty smart, but we need at least another year to work on how to deal with frustration, how to win well and lose well and just to establish a connection. He gets middle- childed a lot.  It is one of the challenges of a large family, I suppose. You try to be fair and divide your time equally, but sometimes, it is just not fair.  The few days the older ones have spent at school it has been nice to just focus on working with him while the littler ones play quietly.

This school only goes up to 6th grade currently, so there may be some more homeschooling in the future, which would be fine with me. We will just keep the year by year and child by child policy :) 

 

A glimpse of our school year

We started school a couple of weeks ago. It hasn't been toooo bad. George actually isn't the big challenge. It is keeping Adelle occupied/not making a mess that requires some doing. Some days are better than others in this regard. Luckily, she has been taking pretty good naps lately so we have been doing most of the things that require one on one time during that time. It makes me think back to our early homeschooling days when Liam was her age. And then that kind of makes me feel like time goes by too quickly.

We are using Mater Amabilis curriculum as our base this year. My sister Michelle used it last year and spoke highly of it, so I thought I would give it a try. Isaac is pretty much Level 1B and Issy is 1A but we have adjusted some things so that Issy, Isaac and Liam can do them together.

Liam is doing Teach Your Child to Read and Issy and Isaac are doing Explode the Code Online for phonics. Issy and Isaac are also doing Primary Language Lessons for grammar this year.

The kids are all doing the Faith and Life series together. Issy is using the New Catholic Picture Bible for Bible History and Isaac and Liam are using it for New Testament. Issy is using the Life of Our Lord for Children for her New Testament.

We are using This Country of Ours for American History. Interesting book. Think I might need some more sources to have a balanced look at the beginning of our country, but so far, it seems like a good overview.

Continuing with Math-U-See this year. Issy told me she is liking math more than she did last year. And my boys are pretty darn enthusiastic about it. I wish I could guarantee that they would always have kind of enthusiasm for math.

Our literature collection. Tall Tales on Monday, Fables on Tuesday, Poetry on Wednesday, Myths on Thursday and a Classic (we are starting the Narnia series) on Friday.

Our new art book. I have several others, but I am excited about using this one for ideas. We are also doing picture study, singing and music.

For Science we are doing a lot of Nature Study this Fall. When it gets too cold for that, I am planning on using the weather lesson plans from MA.

First Communion

Daddy took her picture before Mass

The kids in PSR and the homeschooling kids all sat together as a class.

Party at Grammie and Grandpa's. They were extremely generous in providing both a space and most of the food for our get together. I did provide cupcakes, however :) The actual cupcake was a little dense for my taste, but the cream cheese frosting was good.

Opening some beautiful gifts from party attendants.

With her godparents.

With her "godsister" and very best friend.

Mom and Dad

My nephew Richard received his First Communion a couple weeks after Issy. Joe took some pictures for him, too and we got some of them together. I can't believe they are both so big!

The baby must like coffee

... since I can feel him kicking around in there as I drink a cup :)
Trying to decide what I want to do for school next year, curriculum-wise. We are doing more of a Charlotte Mason approach this year- taking some great ideas from Elizabeth Foss' Serendipity website, particularly the Alphabet Path. This was working great until I got pregnant and tired and it has been much harder since then. I have guilt for this. I start to compare myself to "other" homeschooling moms- big families which means being pregnant a lot, they craft, bake, keep seemingly perfect homes, plan creative, enriching lessons. How do they do it? Better time management? How are they not exhausted?
I don't even get the really bad morning sickness and I still feel like curling up in bed for the first trimester. I mean, I don't do it, but I really want to. Maybe I am just whinier than other people? Slightly overdramatic? Not very good at offering up and sacrificing? At any rate, we kept up on the basics, learning-wise, in January and February but there were no fun trips to Exploration Place or winter nature walks. Oh well. There is a season for everything, right?
The first trimester was good for one thing- it forced me to be realistic about my limitations next year. I don't suppose it'll be too much easier with a newborn (well, maybe, but that is hard to predict). So I think I am going to go a more structured approach next year. Thinking about Mother of Divine Grace since we have used that before. And then I will add in things as I feel able.
It is hard to let go of some of my idealized, better-in-my-head-than-in-practice plans for right now.

Let's try this again

Delle being initiated at her first Spa Night.

I keep starting posts and then abandoning them. So while there are a ton of pictures I could post from the last month and a half, I thought I would start with this one. Have to start somewhere, right?

Life has been pretty good. It was a really good Advent, not too much, not too little. Just preparations. Holidays were nice- we hosted both our families on separate days, so there was some cleaning involved, but it was nice to not have to drive around.

I was feeling like I was starting to get drug under by the winter blahs, so I have been trying to turn it around. I have recommitted myself to my AAMI work so that I can get my Orientation finished before the end of February. Then I can really dig into the meat of it. This has helped with the blahs, fortunately. January and February (and August) are kind of my least favorite months, so anything to help them pass by more smoothly would be great.

We started back to our core things last week and will be continuing the Alphabet Path tomorrow, which everyone is pretty excited about. I am looking into using the Mater Amabilis curriculum next year. Just exploring it right now, seeing if it'll be a good fit for us. Issy will be in 3rd grade, Isaac in 1st and Liam in Kindergarten (which totally weirds me out- I can't believe he is going to be in Kindergarten!).

So that is us. We are just hanging on tight, hoping to get into a good rhythm and get through the grey winter months. I will try to get some more pictures up soon :)

Pumpkin Patch 2010

The homeschooling group we belong to had a group get together at the pumpkin patch and we got to go earlier this week. The patch we went to had a lot of fun things to do- a zipline, bouncy mat, tricycle track, playground, big slides. And there was a great selection of pumpkins in their "school" patch. It was a lot of fun!

Adelle says, "Hmmm, which pumpkin should I choose?"

Zipline

Adelle was not feeling very cooperative with the group picture effort. In fairness, it was almost naptime for her.

Silly boys

Fall is here

Finally! We were able to go to a great little nature area a couple of times last week- once with my sister and her kiddos and once with a friend. It was so gorgeous. The leaves are starting to change, the weather was beautiful. Love it.

Jude and Isaac are best friends.

Big grasshopper!

There were several logs that had turtles lined up on them.

That is one big spider :)