raisingthreeknightsandaprincess.com

Sometimes I think I'm crazy

Do you ever have those “What was I thinking?” moments?

I had one last night as I replayed the day in my head as I tried to sleep.
Yesterday consisted of:
1. weekly visit to chiropractor for the entire family 10am
2. have tires rotated and balanced while visiting chiropractor at tire shop next door
3. feed kids semi-healthy meal at Zaxby's
4. make bank deposit
5. drop off cranky 2 year old with pink eye at home for a nap because dad is at home and see dog looking sad. allow dog to come with us for intended nature walk.
6. continue on to take 4 year old to 1/2 day K4 program by 12:30pm
7. continue on for a nature hike with 6 and 7 year old along with 2 other home school families
7a. finally tell two older boys where we are going so that 4 year old wasn't upset before going to school. happy yelling and hooping!
8. arrive at park and hike into woods. find scorpion, centipede, slugs, roaches and various other critters under rotting bark on dead tree. discuss mushrooms, decaying trees and bag worms.
9. make it almost to our destination, the creek, without any mishaps EXCEPT for said dog rolling in very fresh horse manure.
10. bathe said dog in creek
11. find salamander
12. 7 year old gets stung by yellow jacket
13. hike back to car on dirt road instead of nature trail to get to K4 in time to pick up 4 year old at 4pm
14. listen to 7 year old talk about how bad his leg is hurting as i watch it swell.
15. rush back by the house to drop off son so dad can administer Benedryl.
16. while at home take 2 year old with me to pick up 4 year old so dad can get back to work
17. 7 year old calls me on the cell phone while dad is actually AT HOME to cry about his eyes hurting.
18. pick up 4 year old and rush back home only to find…
19. 7 year old's lips and tongue are swelling.
19a. discover child is VERY allergic to yellow jacket sting.
20. call pharmacist at CVS because i'm convinced doctors really are from another planet.
21. give 7 year old second tsp. of Benedryl and administer daughters Epi-pen Jr.
22. have NO IDEA needle on Epi-pen is three feet long and don't warn 7 year old.
23. tear big hole in 7 year old's leg.
24. more screaming
25. ice on hole
26. try to decide ER or no ER (I hate emergency rooms)
27. decide to watch him 30 more minutes before going to ER
28. swelling subsides some
28a. wrestle 2 year old to the floor twice to administer pink eye drops after 2 days of breast milk drops in her eyes are not helping the problem.
29. decide made right decision about ER
30. call back friendly CVS pharmacist to tell how 7 year old is doing.
31. more Benedryl in 4 hours, watch closely…….
feed kids, hubbie off to football, walk around like a zombie, fall into bed at 11:30 and can't sleep.
32. and wonder………
WHAT WAS I THINKING?????????????????

5 Comments

Posted: September 8, 2006 by Julie |Category: Chuckles | Tags:

The Best Dad in the World!!

We have the best dad in the world.

After caring for 4 baby kittens for 8 weeks we we took the remaining two kittens to our local pet store last night so they could find a home for them. I did it by myself which I think was harder than having the kids with me. Both my older boys had a football game last night so I dropped off the kittens on the way to the football game. I felt like I'd given away one of my children.

I didn't sleep well last night and kept trying to let my head win over my heart where the kittens were concerned. So this morning we went by to see the kittens and also talked to all the birds, hamsters, mice, tarantulas and various animals as we held and petted the kittens.

My oldest son was so sad he cried when we left. Trying to be rational I talked to him as I held him about the expense of kittens and animals…..the food, vet bills etc.

I had already decided we were going to take the morning off from school since the weather here is turning so very beautiful. So as we headed for the park we continued to talk about the responsibility of animals.

We called dad while we were at the park with our “sad missing the kittens” voices and he decided to meet us a little later with pizza for lunch. When he arrived he also had a box. Guess what was in the box? Both of the kittens!

What a wonderful kind loving father he is. He's not a cat fan and sacrificed his own desires for that of his long-faced children and wife.

I think that will certainly get an extra crown in heaven don't you?
Basking in His LIGHT,
Julie

2 Comments

Posted: September 6, 2006 by Julie |Category: Happenings | Tags:

Labor Day Weekend

This is how you get
ready for bed
GIRL STYLE

First, a little alphabet beanbag while we dance to Barney.

Then we make sure all the bedding is “just so”

One must have on pink sunglasses and designer shoes that mom got real cheap off of Ebay. (She sleeps with this stuff on!)

Now we're ready to crawl under the covers!
Girl Style!

4 Comments

Posted: September 4, 2006 by Julie |Category: Happenings | Tags:

The girls…

Here’s a picture of me (since everyone says they never get a photo with me in it….there’s hope since my oldest has become a shutterbug) and baby girl in our PJ’s with a backdrop of ALL my scrapbooking supplies.

The

3 Comments

Posted: September 1, 2006 by Julie |Category: Our Family, Our Lives | Tags:

I did it! I did it!

I entered this entry last night but for some reason it's gone today. Oh, well.
I entered a photo contest at Shutterfly.com. It's Summertime photos. Please go and vote for me. Here's the link…..CLICK HERE
If I win….oh, I'd be so excited.
So I'm begging shamelessly……..PPLLEEAASSEE Go vote for my photo (you can also view all the other entries).

And here's a second entry into the School Days contest. Not quite as good a photo but it captures these two. CLICK HERE to vote for me in this contest too.
Thanks
Julie

4 Comments

Posted: August 31, 2006 by Julie |Category: Happenings | Tags:

hey you!

Surprise!

This entry is visible to only you. Enjoy!

1 Comment

Posted: August 31, 2006 by Julie |Category: Happenings | Tags:

I have a question!

I remember when I was deciding upon curriculums I came across one that taught spelling with word families. I remember the example being something like:
a
am
ram
tram
trample
trampled
I remember it built on the root word by adding letters to either side of the word. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

I also remember they stressed learning to spell by seeing the word and spelling it correctly the first time, not guessing with the phonetics of the word.

If anyone knows what curriculum this is or if it sounds familiar please let me know!!!!

Thanks
Julie

2 Comments

Posted: August 29, 2006 by Julie |Category: Homeschooling | Tags:

Great idea

We stole this idea from Family Fun today and made beanbag balls with numbers on them to help us with math. I let my son take photos today instead of me so we got “Photography” into homeschooling today too. We used our balloon beanbags for addition, subtraction and discussing numerical placement.

First we started with Stuffmart's lentils and a balloon we'd inflated for about 30 seconds and then allowed to deflate.

Then we filled the balloon with the beans using a funnel.

Then we cut off the tip of the neck of the balloon.

Then we cut off the entire neck of the 2nd balloon and the 3rd balloon and put them around the 1st balloon. This makes the finished product nice and thick.

And here's the one of the finished products.

We used 12 inch balloons because we couldn't find 11 inch balloons and they worked just fine. The larger you inflate the balloon prior to filling the larger your beanbag will be. I liked the larger ones better. Practice makes perfect. The directions from Family Fun are available on their link I included above. Let me know if you try it. We used about 3 bags of lentils to make 12 balloons so buy accordingly.

Have fun.
Julie

3 Comments

Posted: August 28, 2006 by Julie |Category: Homeschooling | Tags:

A busy weekend

We had a busy weekend. I much prefer “not busy” weekends. I don't do well if I try to cram too much into a day. God has given me the wisdom to know that trying to do too much equals one stressed out mama. So even the days I plan too much I always end up deleting things off the calender to the point I feel I can get through the day and still be sane.

One of the hardest adjustments for me has been evening football practices. I love being at home after dinner and having a leisurely evening….well, as leisurely as one can have with 4 small kids. But now we have football practice three nights a week. I usually stay home with the baby while my hubbie takes the boys to practice. He helps to coach so I'm having to get used to evenings that are different than the way our lives have been up to this point.

Our kids love football so it's wonderful to see them come home all sweaty and hot and ready for a shower. But it's also an indication that my boys are growing up. I'm so glad I have them at home for school. I'll blink my eyes and they will be getting married one day.

So here are some pictures from their first football game this weekend. They won 14-6!

Enjoy and then go kiss all your kids so they don't grow up too fast.

My hubbie and #1 son