Meme AND Great Preschool Resource

I was "tagged" by Amy at Milk and Cookies :-)

Favorite person (outside family)? Hmm, outside of family. I would have to say my blogging friends Marsha, Ms. Amy B and Candace.

Favorite food? Pizza. . . hmm, wonder why I have gained weight the last six months?!?

Quirks about you? I like to talk in song at times. I talk really fast when happy or excited

Any regrets in life? There are always things that in hindsight seem to be smarter choices, but as far as major events or things that really matter? Nope! I have a wonderful life! All the small mistakes I have made up to this point have shaped the person I am today :-)

Favorite Blog recently? Lately I never seem to have time to get on blogs :-( But although I have lots of favorites, I would say any listed in my "favorite blog" list in the sidebar would qualify!

Something you can’t get enough of? Snuggling and Cuddling with my family

Worst job you've ever had? I have talked about this before on here, so I will just simply say the lingerie department at Dillard's.

What job would you pay NOT to have? Well there are the obvious jobs that have the "ick" factor that my squirmy stomach couldn't handle, and the jobs that involve being out in the HOT sun that I am just not built for, but I would have to say being a Celebrity. Yes, they get paid well, but they either have to battle paparazzi and the world wanting to know everything about them and judging them for it, or they battle with believing their own press.

If you could be a fly on the wall, where? The set of the Office

Favorite Bible verse right now? "The King is enthralled by your beauty, honor Him for he is your Lord."

Guilty Pleasure? a spoonful of Nutella

If you HAD to spend $1,000 on YOURSELF, how would you spend it? I have to agree with Amy, I wouldn't be good at spending it just on myself. . . most likely I would fix up the backyard and/or get some storage solutions into the garage

Favorite thing about your house? the size, we have plenty of room.

Least favorite thing about your house? the size, it is so hard to maintain!

One thing you are bad at? going to bed at a decent hour, recently maintaining motivation for improving my health, deleting emails from my inbox, balancing my day and staying organized. .. Oh, did that say one thing? Hmm, I guess add reading carefully to the list.

One thing you're good at? Trying to see the silver lining in situations

If you could change something about your circumstances, what? I would be totally debt free (student loans, mortgage, etc)

Who would you like to meet someday? I'd love to meet my blogging friends one day

Who is your real life hero? My husband, without a doubt

What is the hardest part of your job? Housework -- finding a balance between Donna Reed and Roseanne, and a reasonable schedule for it in this season of life. Homeschooling -- Battling fears and guilt (are we doing enough, are we doing too much, etc)

When are you most relaxed? When Gregg and I are putting the girls down at night and we all lay down, reading stories and cuddling.

What stresses you out? Housework and driving in the rain

What can you not live without? Obvious one is my family. . . Fun answer? Bubble baths, the lock option on the bathroom door, sunglasses, caffeine, showers, sleep

Why do you blog? I am really going over this one right now. Originally it was because I was the only contributor to HOTM that didn't blog. Then it became a great online journal and way to keep family "in the know." Then I was enjoying seeing my reader counter grow. Now I am trying to find a balance between keeping a journal (for myself, the girls and my family), living my mission (by hopefully encouraging moms who are homeschooling by sharing what we do, my thoughts and resources), and actually LIVING my life and not letting this become an idol in any way. I need to daily ask myself my reasons for blogging that day and make sure I am doing it for the right reasons. :-)


NOW FOR THAT GREAT PRESCHOOL RESOURCE!!!!

I got an email today from Preschool Post that had THIS link in it! It is the Top 100 Preschool Sites and it is full of great resources for your preschool! I am definitely book marking this site :-)


Have a wonderful week!

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MORE Books?!?

Volunteering at Scholastic was a HUGE success!

For your work in the very hot warehouse, Scholastic "pays" you in credits for books -- $20/hour for the retail price of the item or $10/hour for the sale price of the item (the sale itself has items 30-50% off, but it actually works in your favor to go the retail route --believe me, I tried it both ways)!

I worked Friday from 1pm-7pm. I was blessed to work as a cashier, which meant that I was upfront, had a chair to sit in if it was slow (although I did very little sitting) and had two box fans on me, as well as being near the huge freight door. After the sale closed at 7pm, I was given time to shop, although I had been shopping a little all day by looking through items that people had decided against and checking out any bookshelves near my table. I assumed that I would just look around for maybe a half hour and then "check out" and go home... HA! 2 hours later I decided that it was time to go home and that I had looked enough -- I know I didn't get to see all they had out, but the Texan heat finally got the best of me. :-)

Wanna see what I got for my time??

• Owl Moon by Jane Yolen (Caldecott Medal)
• The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
• Daisy Comes Home by Jan Brett (I love this author! We rowed this book during our China weeks. Great unit at HSS!)
• The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett (Yeah! Adaptation of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, but set in the Arctic with an Inuit girl and snow bears)
• The Very Greedy Bee by Steve Smallman
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
• Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann (cute story about a police officer and his dog partner teaching safety tips)
• The Children's Book of Home and Family edited by William J. Bennett (The Introduction states: "all of these stories center around home or family life . . . providing a good way for adults and children to talk about beliefs they hold dear." VERY good selections!)
• Miss Spider's Wedding by David Kirk
• Angelina Ballerina - A day at Miss Lilly's based on the stories by Katharine Holabird
• Angelina Ballerina - Angelina at the Palace, story by Katharine Holabird
• Animal Strike at the Zoo, It's True by Karma Wilson
• Father Bear's Special Day by Else Holmelund Minarik
• My Big Book of Spanish Words by Rebecca Emberley (very cute and VERY colorful book that goes over all the basic words that we would want to cover during preschool!)
• Street Safety Hints (Very cute board book cut in the shape of the little girl on the cover. . . goes over safety tips for pedestrians, biking, driving, street signs and lights, etc)
• Fireman's Safety Hints (same as above, cut in the shape of the fireman on the cover. . . Great fire safety tips!)

And Finally, MY FAVORITE:

• A Princess Primer, A Fairy Godmother's Guide to Being a Princess from Dutton Children's Books

The Princess Primer is SOO cute! It is a huge tab book that goes over - in detail- how Princesses dress and act, what they look like in different countries, a HUGE picture of a palace with tabs to show you the different rooms inside, secret codes, the different parts of a Kingdom, how to get ready for and act at a ball, a section about the Royal Wedding (complete with a folder inside with invitations,reply cards, reception menu and recipe and vows) and finally, at the end a section titled Can You Be a Princess? I love the last sentence in this book --"For Remember this: A fairy godmother's magic is only as strong as her princess's belief in herself. . ." Too cute!

The reason I love Princesses so much is that I really want to impress on my girls that we really are all Princesses -- of the MIGHTY King!! And what girl (or woman) hasn't once daydreamed of what it would be like to wear a crown and live in a palace :-) This book is so awesome!

Well our new wonderful pool is calling my name . . . Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

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Busy, Busy Bees

Whew, things have just not slowed down yet!

Shortly after returning home from New Orleans, we were blessed to have my cousins come stay with us en route to their vacation in San Antonio. My cousin has a daughter that is two years older than Jordan and all of the girls had a BLAST together. It is so much fun to see how they have grown, and hear the creative stories and imaginary worlds they come up with!! It was also fun to get a glimpse of what we have in store for us in a couple years with the girls. . . and also a chance to realize the blessing of the current stage we are in :-)

I will be posting pictures soon (once I slow down a bit LOL) but after an afternoon/night of non-stop playing, we all took the girls to the Houston Children's Museum on Wednesday. Gregg and I had taken the girls a few months ago, but it was amazing to see how much attention span and intense curiosity for EVERYTHING that they have gained in that short amount of time! Jordan did wander away from us for a few bone-chilling moments, but overall it was a very fun and successful outing. And while I did not let Jordan "off the hook," I did realize my own part in her "disappearance." Prior to that incident, I had been allowing them to freely explore the museum, always keeping them in eye shot and bouncing back and forth between the girls, but definitely letting them explore the interactive exhibits on their own. I realized that while I knew that I knew where they were at all times, I had not done a great job of letting the girls in on what I was doing. To Jordan, her wandering over to explore the exhibit when we weren't looking was no different then what she had been doing all afternoon!! After a nice talk, we explored a bit more before leaving "on a good note." I will definitely keep my new found realization in mind next time we explore the Museum, or anywhere else for that matter!

For family members reading and dying to see the pictures of the graduation, the party, and the girls at the museum, I will post them all as soon as I can. This weekend will be more of the same busyness as I will be working the Scholastic Warehouse Sale tomorrow (AWESOME deal -- you get paid for your time in books and educational materials!!!) and then this weekend we will be busy putting together our newest TOY, courtesy of my dear father-in-law. . . A POOL!! It is one of those Intex easy above ground sets, but the girls are sooo excited! I am, too, to be honest. I always wanted my own pool growing up, but my parents knew they would be too much work. Gregg had one growing up and says the same thing. I am figuring that this awesome pool will either serve to cure me of my desire, or confirm it, but either way it will be a lot of fun in the process!

So. . . to all of my lovely readers out there, if I don't get back to you before then, have a WONDERFUL and SAFE Memorial Day weekend/holiday with your families! Get some much needed rest and relaxation and FUN!

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What have we been doing lately?

In case you are wondering where my posts have been concerning my well thought out unit studies and lesson plans, I am really relaxing on "schooling" lately. Instead, we are focusing on finding good routines for our day (instead of that dreaded schedule that has my day planned to the nanosecond and that I can never seem to keep up with anyway), habit training (hygiene, housekeeping, first time obedience), LOTS of snuggling (my favorite part of any day), reading (still mostly great literature from the HSS or FIAR lists, but some just plain fun ones, too), having A LOT of fun and laughing!!

I am working on an article for next month's Heart of the Matter magazine on my "under construction" preschool philosophy, but for now know that we are still learning, just in a much more relaxed way. For example, right now we are learning about spiders. We are reading lots of picture books and stories from the library and around the house (including a few different picture book and easy to read versions of Charlotte's Web, and Miss Spider books), and watching lots of movies and videos on spiders. We are working on narration after reading or viewing, but that is really all we are doing on that topic right now -- but they are still really learning a lot! We are also working on light phonics and math, as well as a lot more coloring, playing with play dough and MANY games of Elefun lol.

I have also been having fun taking more pictures with my wonderful new camera! Since this blog is also my virtual scrapbook, I will be posting a lot of pictures this week from graduation and the family party, but today I wanted to share some fun pictures of the girls with all of you -- and my wonderful family members who subscribe to this blog mostly in the hopes of seeing more pictures of the girls, ha! So here are some fun shots from around the house of my girls being just plain silly! :-)

They love to chase each other back and forth LOL

Ahh, Sisterly Love. . . I love moments like this!

Run, Run, Run. . . Get that P.E. in!

Do you notice the book Jordan wants me to read? Yes, it is upside down, but it is Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey, so if she asks me to read it, I will stand on my head! I love FIAR book lists!

And finally, my really silly girls. The face Cali is making above is the face I get at least 100 times a day! She is the girl of a million faces, but this is the one she gives you when she is not happy with what you have told her or she is pretending to be unhappy with something... that girl is so funny! And my girl Jordan is on the end, re-enacting Ninja Warrior and trying to scale the swing set. Watch out All Stars!!

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Proud of their Daddy

We are back from New Orleans, and what a FUN and FULL weekend it was! All four of us ended up going to bed around midnight the past three nights, so we are all sleep deprived, but it was well worth it :-)

I am in the midst of the post-vacation clean up. . . why is it that you always feel you need a vacation from your vacation?? Anyhoo, I wanted to share some pictures from Thursday night before we left for New Orleans.

The girls knew we were going away for the weekend to celebrate Daddy's graduation. They love surprise parties and since we actually had a reason to have one, we decided to throw Daddy's a Surprise Graduation Party! We picked up an M&M cookie cake -- green for Tulane, of course -- and a cute Winnie the Pooh card (it isn't manly but it fit the girls really well and I knew they would like it). When we got home, we colored the card, made a sign (please don't criticize my art skills lol! I love that they are in the scribble stage, as that fits more closely with my own artistic abilities), put up streamers and Mardi Gras beads ( Tulane is in New Orleans and they have Mardi Gras there. . . and well, I wanted more decorations and the girls love beads!)

They were so excited to show Daddy his cake and yell surprise! They are very proud of him, as am I :-) I will post the pictures from his actual graduation this weekend soon - - - we have some family coming up this week, so I don't know when I will be able to, but let's just say the graduation ceremony was a HOOT! I was so surprised that such a dignified and prestigious school such as Tulane would have such a FUN ceremony, ha!

Here are our pictures!

(The sign above says "Congrats Daddy! We love you!")

Congratulations, Baby! You've been working for a very long time for this and we couldn't be more proud!

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Great FREE Field Trip Idea. . .

This will be a quick entry as we are getting ready to leave for the weekend. . . we are celebrating Gregg's MBA graduation, WOO HOO! But, before we left, I wanted to post about our new favorite Field Trip idea!

Gregg's new job has him working half day Fridays EVERY WEEK! We are so loving this schedule! We try to plan outings at least two Fridays a month now with the girls, to get out of the house and have fun family quality time. Unfortunately, at the same time, we are working the Dave Ramsey plan pretty hardcore, and do not have tons of extra money just lying around. We need to be a bit creative on what we do for those outings. Our latest creative idea has gone over so well that the girls continue to ask to do it again, including while driving around this morning!!

The girls, like most children, LOVE animals. They love visiting family members who have pets, but for the season of life we are in right now, having a pet of our own is just not going to happen. But I am certainly not opposed to getting them around animals as much as possible. Going to the zoo, aquarium, petting zoo or farm would be one way to do this, but would definitely not fall into the "creative" money saving category. What we came up with one afternoon was a field trip to . . . A Pet Store!

We have a Petco about five minutes from our house and it is full of hampsters, rabbits, mice and rats, birds of all kinds, frogs, turtles, snakes, fish, guinea pigs, iguanas, ferrets and more! We stayed in the store for over an hour, and the girls would have gladly stayed longer! We followed that trip up with a trip to a nearby playground and a drive down to CiCi's Pizza next door where the girls ate free and we got the cheap buffet for ourselves. Six hours of quality fun family time, including food, for the total cost of about $10 with tax!

We will most certainly be recycling this idea again in the future! If you are wanting to get out of the house this summer with your little ones, but are either short on cash or dread the idea of being in the hot sun at the zoo for hours on end, maybe try out your local pet store . . . Hey, it works for us :-)

Have a WONDERFUL weekend!

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Love for Wendy's

I am a good Mom. My girls are well behaved and civilized. We CAN eat at a fast food restaurant and not have it end in tears or a tantrum of some kind. Ahhhh, thank you Wendy's!

I do love that McDonald's and Chic-fil-a have the fun activity centers for kids. . . I plan to utilize this in the future for cheap birthday parties or a cheap 'field trip' out of the house. But they do not seem to be very parent friendly at this stage, at least not for me.

Our most recent attempt to take the girls out to lunch at one of these places was so frustrating for all of us that I vowed to myself that it would be a long time before I tried it again. We had gone to Chic-fil-a, one of MY all time favorite fast food places, although definitely not the most cost effective. They had a play area that the GIRLS loved but I hated! It was a lot taller than it was wide, so it had many, many, many levels up. I couldn't see the girls, couldn't really hear them when I called out to them to see if they were OK or even still breathing. My other complaint was that they did not allow parents to bring their food into the area. A few weeks prior, we had gone to a McDonald's that had a large play area and tables outside for the parents to eat (and to entice the children out of the playarea with the smell of fries dripping in grease and sugar filled drinks sure to keep them bouncing off the walls, as if they needed the help). Chic-fil-a, on the other hand, did not. It also did not help that there were at least 10 other little girls and boys running around through the thing, much to the delight of my VERY SOCIAL children.

Jordan decided to camp out up top in the play gym/maze/parent's worse nightmare, and decided she would rather live up there I guess. Eventually, my wonderful husband had to use our Love and Logic training and we were forced to leave said Chic-fil-a in tears. . . and with a lot of stares watching our every move and departure. Thus my vow.

However, this week has been very HECTIC and I have not been able to spend as much fun quality time with my girls as I would have liked. Last week was filled with coloring, reading, snuggling, baking, building, dress up, etc. This week, not so much. And tomorrow we leave for what will be a very fun weekend for THEM, visiting with grandparents and cousins, but hectic still for Gregg and I. We will be driving home to New Orleans for his long awaited graduation from Tulane's MBA program!!!

But, as exciting as that is, I was still needing some Mommy/Daughter time. Unfortunately, I knew I needed to go grocery shopping and more house cleaning that didn't get done all week with said hectic-ness (is that a word? ) What can I do? On route to the grocery store, I realized it was getting close to lunch time. There is a Wendy's right by the Kroger's Grocery store we were going to and I noticed that Wendy's is "old fashioned" in that it didn't have a play area! Knowing that this could go either really well or really badly, I decided to roll the dice and try an adventure.

We pulled into the parking lot. We walked to the door. We walked up to the counter. No stroller -- will the girls stay up front by me while I ordered, or will they start running around and screaming? They stay with me!!! They stay quiet and smiling!!! They put the food on the tray for me and I realize that I can't carry it and hold their hands, so I ask the girls to hold hands and walk in front of me. Will they listen? Will they NOW run and scream? Will they demand that they sit in the open chair next to the nice couple, or the big group of men eating? I watch as they calmly and quietly walk to the back of the restaurant and sit down in a booth. I put the tray down and sit across from them, anxiously awaiting my Wigglie Willie Cali to get up and start running around. Why didn't I put her next to the wall instead of the aisle? I watch in amazement as they both start eating and smiling. I, too, begin to eat and realize that I forgot a straw and ketchup. Here it is, the breaking point. I ask the girls to stay seated as I quickly walk up front, knowing that they will either run behind me or get up and start talking to the lovely couple next to us. I walk back and sit down, still in awe at their calm smiling faces. The girls BOTH eat. Jordan comments on the music and they both start "chair dancing." We talk about Magic School Bus and the trees outside. Then Jordan asks for a straw, too. I so should have that of that! She is in the 'straw drinking' phase. I walk back to the front of the store to get the straw, still unsure of how this will go, but walk back smiling at them as they sit and eat. I finish eating. Cali finishes eating. Jordan realizes her half-eaten cheeseburger has mustard on it and she decides she doesn't like mustard, but she just asks to not have to eat it anymore... no yucky noises or anything! I gather all the trash onto the tray. Here it is. Again, I can't carry the tray and hold their hands. I ask them to hold hands and walk in front of me. I walk smiling as I follow my calm, sweet children to the front of the store. They wait up front as I throw away the trash, I hold Cali's hand, and the three of us walk to the van. SUCCESS!!!

Yes, thank you Wendy's for giving this exhausted Mama a fun meal full of smiles, laughter and good conversation. And for giving me the experience of walking out of a fast food restaurant with a feeling of contentment, and of knowing that I have sweet darling little girls!! And, in case you think this story ends in a BUT, they STAYED calm and singing the entire time in the grocery store! WOO HOO!!!

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Good Find. . .

I realized late last night when I was going to bed that I had forgotten to list one of the books I purchased yesterday.... see what homeschooling is doing to me? I think about this stuff ALL the time! Anyhoo, I realized that I hadn't seen it since we got home, so I went into my van this morning and-tada-I found it hiding between my seats! History for Little Pilgrims by Christian Liberty Press

I was really excited to find this yesterday because it was only $1!! I had read wonderful things about Christian Liberty Press supplies and this book in particular, but I had never gotten the chance to really see a good sample. I definitely do not want to go the route of text books, but wouldn't mind having an interesting book that I could read from as a history spine to fall back on. I had heard wonderful things about Story of the World as well, so I had purchased a used copy of Volume 1 a few months back at a great price, just so I can see what the hype was about and help me figure out my thoughts on "classical education." I am very glad I bought it because it is great, but it did help me in deciding to not pursue that approach for the early years. I do think I will use the book as a resource, but probably when the girls are a good bit older than the ages that people are currently using it for (Kindergarten and First grades).

So, I was eager to see if CLP and History for Little Pilgrims would be the same. I am happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised. It amazes me that some people use these two books for the same age group. (I want to be clear here, again, that I have nothing against SOTW or people who use it for the early years. I just don't think it is the right fit for us at that stage, but I do love it and will use it in the future.) I just feel that for us, this is a much gentler approach to introducing history, it is written in a very easy to read aloud type text, it focuses on God's hand throughout History (not just mentioned as a side note or left out altogether!), it has activities and ways to relate the material to the child's life throughout each unit, and has a very easy review at the end of each that you can use if you choose to for narration type questions. I also really like that it has fun and easy map exercises throughout, since my girls love looking at maps and globes and I really want to encourage geography as much as possible.

Now, do I expect to use this book now with a 3 1/2 and 2 year old? NO! In fact, I seem to be going in the opposite direction of some people in that the more I homeschool and learn what this is all about, the more gentle and laid back I am wanting to be in regards to their early years... however, I do think I will use it in a couple years and will probably use it as a resource as needed until then. And I now know that I am pleased at least with this offering from CLP so I am definitely more inclined to purchase more of their materials in the future, in particular their Nature Readers. Also, this book is actually included in CLP's First Grade Curriculum, so they have even more gentle books for the K set that I might check out as well.

So. . . for anyone interested in this Mom's humble opinion, I was pleasantly surprised and happy with this book and the company, and definitely recommend them for a more gentle, Christ-centered education. And the best part is that their regular prices are really inexpensive! WOO HOO!

Have a great day!

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You know you are a homeschool Mom when. . .

Yes, I am a homeschool Mom... I have completely embraced it. How do I know? Well, my birthday was a couple weeks ago and I got a belated birthday card with $25 in it from my wonderful Grandpa. I had visions of spending it this weekend on skin care products (I used to sell Arbonne and use all that stuff, yet somehow I allowed myself to go to drug store face wash, no toner and store brand moisturizer the past few years, blah!) and maybe combining that with my wonderful Dave Ramsey "Blow Money" that I will get on payday (Thursday) to get some makeup as well.

Those were lovely visions.... but then I got an email about a Used Curriculum and Book Sale at our local homeschool store today. I decided to check it out, thinking I might get a couple books and really get to browse people's books to see the products I have been thinking about. So we drove out there at 9am today, and I loaded my darling girls into the double stroller to start "Browsing."

I think I made it to the second table before breaking out my lovely envelope with my treasured $25! By the end of the journey, I had also dug into my change stash in my wallet and written a $7.10 check that will end up being cashed on payday, thus coming out of my wonderful "blow money." Oh well -- it was SOOO Worth it!!

Wanna see what I got for $34.60?

• The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth
• The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System (I also have this one on tape thanks to Discovery channel)
• The Magic School Bus Meets the Rot Squad (have this one on tape, too!)
• The Magic School Bus Inside the Human Body (Yep, this one, too!)
• Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
• Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
• The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck by Beatrix Potter
• Jamberry by Bruce Degen
• The Berenstain's B Book
• Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel
• It's About Time, Jesse Bear and Other Rhymes by Nancy White Carlstrom (I love this series, which I found thanks to Before Five in a Row!)
• The Hare and the Tortoise by Brian Wildsmith
• Richard Scarry's First Little Learners Colors
• The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric Carle
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
• Percival the Plain Little Caterpillar from Discovery Toys
• Picture Me Cute As Can Bee
• Moses Baby in the Bulrushes
• Noah's Ark
• Joseph and the King of Egypt from Guideposts
• The Lord is my Shepherd, the Twenty-Third Psalm (cute illustrations and the psalm is broken down to a few lines per page, very sweet)
• God Knows My Name by Debby Anderson
• The Story of Mu-lan by Jean Fischer
• Biscuit Finds a Friend, an I Can Read Book by Alyssa Capucilli (we found this series earlier this year for our Dogs unit and the girls loved him)
• Dora's Color Adventure
• It's Nice to be Nice
• Pinocchio's Nose Grows, a Step into Reading Book
• Draw with Jonah and Friends, a Veggie Tales book from Zonderkidz
• Clifford's Birthday Treasury including 3 stories (Clifford's Birthday Party, Clifford the Small Red Puppy, and Clifford the Big Red Dog) by Norman Bridwell
• Clifford The Firehouse Dog by Norman Bridwell
• Clifford's Tricks by Norman Bridwell
• What's Inside my Body? A First Guide to the Wonders and Workings of the Human Body, a DK book!
• Children Just Like Me, another DK book that we LOVED when studying China
• Celebrations from Children Just Like Me, another DK book that teaches the Festivals, Carnivals and Feast days from around the world
• Five in a Row Volume 1 (woo hoo!)

and for FREE -- hey I love free stuff:

• A thick Highlights magazine for Kids from February of this year
• a Blue's Clues Clue into Safety coloring book
• Some fun puzzle cards on the story of Noah's Ark. On the front is the story, broken down into small, easy to read pieces, and the back has part of a big picture that you need to put together of Noah and the animals on the ark... ok, so it looks like I might not have taken the time to grab ALL of the pieces, but I got most of them! he he

So, who needs good skin and a pretty face when you can have tons of fun books to read?!?

Yep, I'm a goner.........

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Honoring My Mom

Yesterday was Mother's Day. I was blessed to attend church in the morning with my loving husband and amazing Mom, and we were all blessed to hear a message from our guest speaker Dr. Gary Chapman. He spoke about the Five Signs of a Loving Family, which was based on Ephesians 5:21-6:4.

The Five Signs he gave us were:
1) an attitude of service
2) Intimacy between Husband and Wife
3) Parents who Teach and Train
4) Husbands who are Loving Leaders
5) Children who obey and Honor their parents.

He told us that the best parents bring their children up in the Nurture (Actions) and Admonition (Words) of the Lord, and that these two must always go together, in the context of love.

I have been thinking on these five signs, ways to make sure that I raise my children in a home with a loving family, and thinking on how I know I was raised in one. Love was something that I was never short on growing up. I always knew that I was loved by my parents. They both expressed their love in different ways, but today I want to focus on my amazing Mama.

My Mom was my Matron of Honor at my wedding and is my Best Friend. Growing up, I did not have the best of luck with friendships. I was hurt or betrayed by just about every friend I had growing up, and I allowed those experiences to shape my self esteem as a teenager and as a woman. It wasn't until last year doing Beth Moore's Believing God Bible study, that I was able to understand God's hand in it all. I was able to see through all of those experiences that I wasn't alone like I had thought, but that my Mom had been my rock. Of course, God was with me, too, but He blessed me with amazing parents and in particular, my amazing Mom.

Growing up, it was through the gift of my Mom that I learned: what it meant to love, what a friend truly was, the meaning of loyalty, how to truly accept others for who they are, to openly and honestly communicate with others, how to truly be happy for others, how to be silly, how to find JOY in life, the importance of family, the importance of celebrating little things, a love of reading, and how to be a good Mom. I know I learned so much more from her, but these immediately come to mind.

The lessons I learned from my Mom didn't stop in childhood. Late last year, I was blessed to have my parents move into the house behind me. As a result, I have spent more time with each of them in the last five months then I did in the last five years! Most recently, my mom has inspired me to continue in the Word. Gregg and I had committed ourselves to reading the entire Bible last year. I ended the year almost on schedule, with only the 4 Gospels remaining. That should be a breeze, right? Well, maybe not! Life happened and my good diligent reading ended. Up until last week, I STILL had the 4 Gospels remaining. But my Mom? Since last August, she has read the entire NIV Bible and the books in the Catholic Bible that aren't in the NIV! I have been watching her spiritual growth and insights in awe, and last week I finally allowed that to inspire me to get back on my own plan again. So far, so good, and it is because of my Mom's example and model that got me back on track.

She also continues to teach me how to be a better Mom. I love watching her with my girls! It brings wonderful memories to mind of my own childhood, of the silly songs and my Mama's beautiful laughter and smile. When I was the reason for that laughter and smile, I felt like the luckiest girl in the world.... and still do :-) I LOVE that my children will be able to grow up with both of my parents so close -- not only will they learn so much from having different generations to look to, but they will be blessed by the unconditional love and support that I was blessed with through my parents.

Mom, I want you to know that I love you so much, that I have so much respect and admiration for you, and that you have truly been a blessing to me. You have taught me so much about life, marriage, womanhood, and motherhood. I may not get to say it as often as I would like, but THANK YOU!

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Melt your heart...

Tonight we were watching the Figure Skating Championships on ESPN, and the girls wanted to dance. Gregg, the wonderful Daddy he is, took turns with each girl, picking them up and spinning them high in the air like the dancers on TV. After a few performances Daddy's arms were pretty tired.

Jordan decided to keep dancing and was spinning gracefully. . . we told her she looked beautiful. She smiled shyly, and then walked up to her Daddy and asked, "Will you be my King?" Totally melt your heart!!

Of course, he said "YES!" He picked her up in his tired arms and spun her around while she giggled and screamed, "Look at us, Mommy, we're dancing!"

Cali came over and I picked her up and danced along with them.... this is what Parenting is all about , isn't it? :-)

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A Unique Daddy and Daughter Bonding Experience. . .

We do many things as a family. We play a lot of games, read a lot of books, sing a lot of songs, and watch wholesome family movies. . . all typical stuff for the American family. But there is one thing that I think might be unique to us, something that my 3 year old asks for and anticipates doing when her Daddy comes home. What is this unique bonding experience? Watching G4's Ninja Warrior!

It happened to be on television a few weeks ago and my husband put it on in the background while we were all goofing around, and we all became mesmerized. Ever since, it has become a staple in our home! I enjoy watching it, and Cali stops her dancing around every few minutes to tune in as well, but Daddy and Jordan are the ones snuggled together on the sofa, intently viewing Japan's finest athletes compete in these crazy obstacles!

If you haven't watched this show before, it truly is Reality TV at its finest! And it is great for homeschooling, too -- ok this is a bit of a stretch, but stick with me here.... The athleticism of the participants can inspire your student to reach for their own athletic goals (PE), and at the very least you get an ab workout from the cringing you do when they totally wipe out! The entire show is in Japanese with American subtitles, so you are exposed to a Foreign Language as well as culture. The countdown clock is great for Math and teaching time as well as counting. Ok, I think I am tapped out, but you get the point :-)
It really is a fun show, and while I have been severely limiting the amount of television I watch, I have added this because it is so cool! So if you are bored tonight and looking for something to watch, check out your television listings and find this channel* -- they have lots of cool shows on it -- and check out Ninja Warrior. If you do, come back and leave me a comment, letting me know what you think! You'll be hooked!
Have a great weekend!
*** Edited: I thought I should point out that we TIVO this show and we never watch commercials. This channel does have international programming and commercials, so let's just say that you might not want to watch this LIVE with your children. But if you can TIVO or tape it, I do highly recommend it :-) ***

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A Little About Me. . .

I've been tagged by Amy at Adventures at the Allen Academy for a fun Meme!

Here are the rules:
1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player tags 5 people and posts their name, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

What was I doing 10 years ago:
Ten years ago, I had just turned 18 and was finishing up my Senior Year in High School. I was sooo ready to "be an adult" and go off to LSU. Remembering how badly I wanted/needed others approval and the silly things I thought were important is so embarrassing!! Yeah, we are going to homeschool till they are 25, ha! (just joking)

Five Snacks I enjoy:
1. Chips and Queso
2. Pistachio Almond Ice Cream with Nutella drizzled on top
3. Peanut Butter Crackers
4. Hot and Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookies
5. Anything Chocolate

In the real world:
1. I love to read but struggle to make time to do it.
2. I love reading Children's Books that I read to the girls! I learn so much from these, love the illustrations, love cuddling up with the girls. . .yeah, Meg Ryan's character was onto something with that Children's Bookstore of hers in You've Got Mail.
3. I cry easily at movies. I am such a sap! For my birthday last Friday, my husband and I had a wonderful dinner at a Mexican restaurant and then rented two movies -- The Nanny Diaries and Alvin and The Chipmunks where they raced around the world in the hot air balloons (remember that one?? I loved it growing up!) Anyway, the Chipmunk movie was really for the girls ... Or so I told my husband, ha.... so we watched The Nanny Diaries that night. I couldn't stop crying! I *think* it's supposed to be a comedy of sorts, and it was really good and had funny moments, but I got so wrapped up in the little boy's story, and other children like him and the parents who just don't seem to care, that I just balled! And balled... and balled...
4. I love bubble baths -- but while I love hot showers, I need my bubble bath to be almost like pool water lol... just with lots of bubbles!
5. I love making schedules and routines and planning... I don't always do a great job of following through, but I love the planning part!

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Be debt free - a goal we are already working towards. Those pesky student loans, grrr
2. Travel, Travel, and Travel some more!
3. Set aside money for our girls to keep them from going into any debt for college, and to teach them the value of investing and financial responsibility
4. Hire a housekeeper again... sigh....
5. Hire a lawncare and landscaping company again.... sigh.....

Five jobs that I have had:
1. Production Director and Host for programs on LSU's college cable system
2. Intern at Entertainment Tonight
3. Door to Door Office Supply Sales person -- YUCK!
4. Dillards' Lingerie Department, fitting women for bras. Yes, too many people wear the wrong size but when you go shopping for one, and ask to be fitted (which you should do), please plan in advance and be kind to those ladies... Don't only wear a dress (especially if you are wearing underwear that doesn't fully cover things it should), shave, and wear deodorant please :-) Can you tell that this wasn't my favorite job, either?
5. Loan Officer Assistant/Jr. Processor/Processor/Post Closing for a Mortgage Company

Three of my habits:
1. Checking my email every time I walk by the computer and as soon as I get up
2. Saying I'm sorry for things that either aren't my fault or doesn't even make sense to apologize for.... it is like my way of filling up a lag in the conversation if I don't know what to say or something, I guess? If I can sympathize with what you are going through, or hear something has happened that is a bit annoying to you, even if it has NOTHING to do with me, I apologize. What is up with that? It drives me nuts
3. Caffeine -- Dt Mountain Dew or Coke, but not that hot stuff.

Five places I have lived:
1. Gretna and Marrero, Louisiana (birth- high school)
2. Baton Rouge, Louisiana (College at LSU)
3. Staten Island, New York (Took a 20 minute train ride, 20 minute boat ride and then a 20 minute subway ride to get to the Paramount Building in NYC that summer I interned at Entertainment Tonight in college) 4. Charlotte and Mooresville, North Carolina (June 2002-December 2005)
5. Houston and Tomball, Texas ( January 2006 - current)

What do you want others to get from your blog:
I love reading other people's blogs. I learn so much from someone sharing their "day in a life" stories, reviews and ideas. I actually started mine when Heart of the Matter was about to come out, as I was going to be the only writer who DIDN'T have a blog. So I started writing mostly for any readers who would happen to follow the link over to my blog. Then I started looking at all the wonderful things that can come from this endeavor -- our family can be able to read and see what we do each day (not just all our out of state family, either. My parents, who live behind me, still learn a lot, as does my own husband who can't be with us during the day -- he can see what the girls are learning and doing), I can journal for myself and for the girls what life has been like for them (I have been really bad at keeping up with their baby books, so I look at this as a form of that), I can use it as a creative outlet to write my thoughts and ideas down (I think things out much better when writing them down), and finally, I really do love when I hear feedback from other homeschool moms who have read my posts and have been inspired or encouraged or have asked for my advice or opinions! That is so humbling and energizing, and really helps me to live out what I believe is my Mission -- To Encourage Moms To Experience JOY in the MINISTRY of Motherhood.

And I am going to break the rules a bit and NOT tag anyone, because Amy took a lot of the people I would tag anyway (ha) and because I think a lot of the people I would tag have either done this already or prefer not to do them.... BUT if you read this and would like to share, I would LOVE to hear your answers! I love getting to know all my bloggy friends (and any family members reading this, too!)

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Honoring Our Heroes

I was a bad Mommy yesterday. . . I completely forgot my AWESOME new camera when we took the girls on a Service Walk last night! My husband really values service, and wants our girls to enjoy performing acts of service as well. As we were driving home from service on Sunday, he came up with the wonderful idea of us baking cookies to bring to our local Cypress Creek Volunteer Fire Department. :-)

Kelly, my very helpful homeschool mommy friend lent me a great Scholastic book, I'm Going to Be A Fire Fighter by Edith Kunhardt that the girls and I read ALL day (gotta love this stage where they want to read the same book over and over and over again). I tell you, those people at Five in a Row are truly onto something because even though it was five times in the SAME day, we all knew our stuff by the time we got there!

The wonderful crew at the station come in for training and maintenance every Tuesday evening, so they had told us in advance that it would be the best time to come by. As we were pulling up, my husband told me that he hadn't thought to arrange a tour, as that wasn't the point of us going, but that it would be cool if we could look around a bit. As we were getting out of the car, a very nice gentleman came to meet us, and immediately asked us if we wanted to see the trucks!

Obviously, we first made sure to give them the cookies we had baked them, and let him know that was the REAL reason for our visit. . . to give them a thank you gift their service. We also told him about the book we were reading, and how we had taught the girls that they were Heroes. Jordan was pretty shy the entire time, clinging to her Daddy, but as soon as he led us to where the trucks were, you could NOT wipe that grin off her face!! The truck was HUGE! Gregg and I have never really seen a fire truck up close or looked around it before, either, so we both found it very cool ourselves. And we were pretty proud of the knowledge we ALL had, thanks to that wonderful Scholastic book!

Jordan recognized the hoses and the valves, got to see the uniforms, the lights and they even let her sit in the driver's seat! Cali had fallen asleep on the drive over and slept in my arms for the first few minutes, but once she woke up, she was smiling a ton, and I could tell she was recognizing a lot from the story, too!

They really enjoyed the visit as they asked to read the story again at bedtime, and twice today, along with playing fire fighter with their dress up clothes...Thanks Paran! (For those of you non-Cajuns out there, that would be their Godfather, my brother Ryan).

We will definitely be making this more of a regular tradition, baking goodies and making cards for our various "Heroes" in our neighborhoods, and I PROMISE to bring my camera next time! (Sorry grandparents!!!)

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Get Up!

I am starting again. . . I have not been as faithful as I would like in reading the Bible, getting up early, exercising, eating right, or balancing life. But I am starting again. I guess you can really only take it a day at a time, know that you will make mistakes, but that you need to pick yourself up and begin again.

I am feeling positive about the changes I am making, and my understanding that it won't all happen at once. That is me and my personality, an all or nothing approach, but I am truly trying to take it a step at a time, really trying to take action and see results.

Maybe this is why this particular verse from my reading in Matthew this morning is sticking with me. I love how in Matthew 2:13, when an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph, he says, "Get up. ." and we read in verse 14, "So he got up." The same thing happens in verse 2:20 when the angel of the Lord appears to Joseph again, "Get up" and again we see in verse 21, "So he got up." I put a note in my Bible that it is interesting to note that there was an immediate call to action when God spoke, and Joseph obeyed immediately. Similarly, when we feel God's prompting in our lives, we are called to not just sit there, wait and plan --- but to Get up and DO Something!

I am not sure if what the Spirit is prompting me to DO is to make these lifestyle changes and stick with it (I am really only on day 2 of these changes, ha!) , or if He is preparing me for something else that is to come. But I pray for the discernment to know when He is calling me to action and the strength and courage to take that immediate step of obedience.

What is God calling you to DO? Do you have any stories to share of when you felt His leading you in a certain direction, to make choices or changes? Did you obey? What was the outcome? I would truly LOVE to hear from you!

Have a wonderful Tuesday and may you feel His presence and hear His gentle whisper guiding you in all your decisions today :-)

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The Sam Houston Folk Festival

Friday was my birthday and we celebrated with a wonderful family day! We woke up very early, had a wonderfully healthy breakfast courtesy of Whataburger (I love those honey butter chicken biscuits!), and headed out to the Sam Houston Folk Festival! There aren't many field trips that my local homeschool group attends that are inexpensive or age appropriate, but this one seemed really fun! It was a festival celebrating the life and times of General Sam Houston who won the battle against the Mexican General Santa Anna, was the president of the Republic of Texas and was later a governor of the newly annexed Texas. Not being a native Houstonian or Texan, I knew nothing about him really, but thought it would be a fun outing, a good way to see what this lovely state has to offer for future educational trips, and a great way to celebrate my birthday!

It ended up being a lot of fun! We got to see children dancing traditional Mexican dances, watched demonstrations from a blacksmith and on glass blowing, and saw lots of people dressed up in period costumes. They had two army vehicles on site and a few men dressed in uniform. I told the girls that these men were Heroes and asked Jordan if she wanted to give them a hug. She surprised me by walking right over :-) Too cute!

It must be said that I am a TOTAL HOMESCHOOL MOM DORK now! I think I was always interested in history, but not like this. . . I loved hearing how people did things back in the 1800s!!! They had a woman spinning sheep's wool on a spindle. I have read and watched Sleeping Beauty countless times, and must confess I never really thought about what those things were used for, much less cared to see a demonstration on one, but Friday I was fascinated! She had a group of children around her and I was the one asking all the questions! How did she get the wool on there to begin with? How does she pull it to make that thin string of wool? How does she make several pieces of wool become one joined piece? It was so cool! Yes, I am a dork!

I was also super excited to see a local Bee Farmer there! We have been watching the Magic School Bus episode on honey and how it is made, a lot. Although the girls love it, I think I watch it for myself half the time because I learn so much from this show!! The farmer had all his supplies and tools out on the table, and I asked if they were giving demonstrations. He said he could if anyone was interested, which of course I said that we were! The girls watched for the most part, but again I was the biggest dork listening intently to the entire process. After the demonstration, I did what any good homeschooling mama would do -- asked if they give tours/field trips at his farm (answer: they haven't before, but they could if someone was interested!), got his card, and purchased a jar (for educational purposes of course)!

We also watched a woman demonstrating how they wrote back then, using the ink well, pen and paper. Gregg and I both found this interesting, as she described how the paper itself was delicate, as was the fresh ink on the page, so you had to write slower and at that angle to keep the paper from tearing and ink from smudging. Writing a letter back then was truly a labor of love, a gift that was done by stopping, and taking time out of your day to write to a loved one. How quick is it to rattle off an email nowadays, and maybe say things that we wish we wouldn't! This woman had her children around her, and I wasn't surprised to learn they were homeschoolers!! She told us of many historical balls and festivals in Texas that really celebrate history, which I am very excited to learn more about!

The girls loved looking at all the items up for sale, the pinatas, the pictures, the dancers, people and animals -- but their favorite part was watching the ducks and turtles in the large pond! We sat down and watched some very fiesty ducks and tried to take a picture of an elusive turtle for a long time, before hiking back in the lovely Texan humidity to our van!

Yes, it was a WONDERFUL birthday! Also, thanks to all of the wonderful grandparents for my wonderful birthday present -- an AWESOME new camera!! Woo Hoo!!

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