Legoland

Legoland in our area offers a great deal for Homeschoolers.  Our whole family got in for the price of one maybe two full price tickets.  It was a deal that was definitely worth taking advantage of!  The only requirement is that we had to go on a Monday.  But, that was no big deal.  So we, and two other families, got up crazy early on a Monday in early October and went to Legoland for the day.  The kids had a blast.  Which really goes without saying.

I have to tell of our car ride down though.  Part of why I right a blog is to journal our family events.  The day before, Boop woke up with an upset stomach.  He spent most of the morning throwing up.  No fever.  We hung out at the house while everyone else went to church.  By Sunday night he was fine.  So we made the executive decision to go.

We woke up at 4/4:30 the next day, piled everyone in the car and about half way through our 4/5 hour trip EG starts throwing up.  All over her clothes, in her carseat.  I won't say anymore.  So we had a choice to make, either turn around and drive over 2 hours back home or just keep plugging on and doing what we could.  

We cleaned out the seat as best we could.  We rearranged the car and booster seats and stopped at Walmart for disinfectant wipes, paper towels and a whole new set of clothes for EG.  By the time we finally arrived at Legoland, an hour or so past our target time, all was well.  Everyone felt well enough to ride rides, eat food and play.

The entrance.

Our friends were already in the park riding some rides.  And this is the first ride the kids took.  It was sort of a water ride and the guns on the boats would shoot water on the onlookers.  And a stream of water could cover some of the riders in the boat.  The kids had a blast trying to shoot us with water.  This is a picture of the "big" kid having fun shooting water too.

Best buds.

Lego horse ride.

I forget what this ride was called but it would go up a little bit and then drop.  And sort of just keep jumping up and down.  I hesitated letting EG go on given her stomach.  But, she talked me into it.  The expression on her face halfway through the ride was priceless.  She wanted off.  And quick.  Thankfully she didn't get sick.  She didn't ask to go back on again.

Boat driving school.  The kids had to steer the boats.  Not an easy task.

Car made out of Legos.

Driving school for the littles.

Driving school for the bigs.  The had an area mapped out like a bunch of streets with a roundabout and stop signs and stop lights.  There were about 12 kids out "driving" and they had to obey the signs etc.  It was fun watching them figure out what to do and avoid accidents.  I think it was one of their favorite rides.

This was one of my favorite attractions.  Two of the three first responder vehicles were manned with peeps from our group.  The hand to hand crank the vehicles to make them move forward.  Then get out, hand crank water to put out the "fire" and then hand crank the vehicle back to the starting point.  All the boys, a couple of the girls and all the dads participated.  They were quite competitive and the dads got in on the fun as much as the kids!

My favorite part was all of the little scenes made out of Legos.  The above few pictures are scenes from Star Wars.  The detail was amazing.  I could have walked around this area for awhile.

Statue of Liberty.  Legos.

New York City.  Legos.  Isn't it amazing?

Washington, D.C.

Our state's Capitol.

The Castillo de San Marcos which was build hundreds of years ago.  A couple of weeks later, the kids went and toured the actual fort.  (Another blog post.)

Space Center.

Boop's favorite.

The park closed at 5 and we drove the 4/5 hours home.  The return trip was not as eventful.  The kids had a blast and I am glad we made the effort.  We are really blessed to have so many fun things to do relatively close to where we live.  And the ability to go and do and see . . . 

Book Club

For our book club we have been reading about our state's history and a lot of other fun stuff.  And, as I am sure I have mentioned before, we have been taking field trips around the area that pertain to our history.  

These are pictures from our last book club get together.  As it turns out there is an historical state park about 10 minutes from our home.  The park tells the history of The Lake Jackson People.  There are about 3 Indian mounds on the site and we arranged a guided tour with the park ranger.  I think we all learned just a little bit more about our local history.  Plus, it was a beautiful day and the kids had a great time playing in the park.  I think we stayed until early afternoon!

Park ranger explain the history of the people.

Replica of the pottery they made.

The stairs up to the top of one of the mounds.

Picture of Boop because he finally lost a tooth.  (The other two bottom teeth had to be pulled.)

The kids giving their reports.

I think book club is one of the kids' favorite parts of school.  I know it is one of mine . . . 

Memory Lane

It will be 5 years ago tomorrow that EG joined our family.  My 40th year was awesome!  In January, I went to New York City with my mom and sister.  About 6 weeks later I found out I was pregnant and in November my fourth baby, third baby girl was born.

I remember a day or two before I found out I was pregnant.  We had friends over and were sitting around eating pizza out by the firepit (it was February.)  I had horrible indigestion.  Pains in my tummy that were unreal.  I still, to this day, think it was because I was pregnant.

Anyway, a couple of days later, I called my sister to bring me a pregnancy test.  She hung around to find out the results but opted to leave when it came time for me to tell hubby.  He loves his kids but he felt our quiver was full.  And this was a little unexpected!  And to make matters more interesting, my due date was at the same time hubby took his annual hunting trip.

When I shared my joy with him, all went well.  We were scared but excited.  I was old so there were a few more health concerns but other than that it was a normal pregnancy.  We decided this time around we did not want to know gender.  And that part was really exciting!

November 14th, five years ago was a dreary, cold day.  But, it was the day!  I had been stressing all week because the 15th was my due date and hubby was leaving the following Thursday for his trip.  I called hubby home from work, arranged childcare and off to the hospital we went.  I was riding in his 4x4 pick up truck.  Not a comfortable ride, whatsoever, for a woman in labor.  And, to top it off, we had to get gas.  We had left the van at home because my family was going to follow us if they decided to keep me.

My fourth pregnancy and delivery was by the book.  Everything happened just as they always talked about.  (None of the others really had for various reasons.)  I was definitely in labor.  My room was like a revolving door.  The kids and my mom and mother-in-law and my sister coming in and out.  My water had broken so some of my labor was pretty hard.  But, given past experience, I had a ways to go.

Poor Boop was in the room with my mother-in-law when I finally asked hubby to have them leave.  The nurse had gone to get me an epidural.  I had previously decided I didn't want an epidural but caved in the end.  But, while she was gone, baby girl number 3 decided to come and the pressure and the overwhelming feeling to push was crazy.  For about 4 minutes, I was certain hubby was going to deliver the baby because there was no one else in the room!

Eventually the nurse came back, the midwife and my mom and sister.  I ended up pushing for about 45 minutes.  I was tired and in pain and a little bit frantic.  I finally was in the zone and a few minutes later baby was born.  I still to this day remember my reaction to having another girl.  At first I was shocked.  I was soooo convinced she was a he.  Shocked turned to love at first sight and we have been inseparable every since.

The girls were happy it was a girl.  Boop cried but soon got over it.  She was healthy and we loved her.

That first year was rough.  I did things with her, for her I did not do with the other kids.  I slept in the same room with her.  (Poor Boop had to sleep on the floor in the girls room for a long, long time.)  She slept in the bed with me.  We slept in chairs together knowing I would get to sleep from 12-5.  I knew she was the last and I just needed sleep.

Because the kids were pretty active in ballet and tumbling, we were always on the go.  But, she was a good baby.  We would all go the grocery store and doctors appointments.  Of course, the big kids were fabulous which made it easier.  I wore her in a Peanut.  I remember almost every night after dinner walking around the house so she would get her 20 minute cat nap.  Just enough so she would be happy while I took care of the other three.  At 7 1/2, 5 1/2 and 3, they were pretty independent but I still did a lot for them.  That changed pretty quick!

EG is sunshine and love and life and joy and giggles beyond measure.  She is tough and strong and determined and sassy.  She has kept us on our toes in more ways then one.  (She has been to the ER and urgent care more times than all the other 3 put together.)  She has kept us young and given us gray hair all at the same time.  She calls me her "snuggle bunny" and loves to hug and be near me.  Day and night.

She has helped to teach me what is really important in life.  And it is her, daddy and all the other children that make our family complete.

Happy, happy birthday to my special baby girl . . .

Boop's Birthday

As part of Boop's birthday present this year, he and his daddy went to an air museum about an hour and a half away.  They left real early so they could spend enough time there and then eat together on the way back.  Boop was soooo excited.  He loves planes.

I have no idea what any of these are craft are and there we about 50 more pictures that I didn't post.  Boop helped me pick some of them out.  Some of his favorites I guess.

He really is like a sponge.  He just soaks it all in.  I think he really enjoyed his birthday celebration . . . 

Jazz Concert

Last night the kids and I attended a jazz concert.  It was at a local church, featuring a jazz orchestra from a local college.  The orchestra was filled with accomplished musicians and led by a man who has played with many o the great names in the jazz world.  All that to say is, it was great!  And free. And, in Boop's words, loud.

They performed a concert of traditional and contemporary jazz along with a few swing tunes.  About a dozen or so couples got up and danced during the swing portion of the program.  The kids and I enjoyed watching them.  Quite a few were very talented.

I grew up listening to jazz and blues.  And this morning I am trying to figure out why I don't anymore.  Anyway, the kids humored me by listening intently.  Well, except for EG because we were out way past her bed time.  I hope through it all that I introduced my kids to something new.  And that maybe one of them will appreciate jazz and blues when they get older.

On the way home, I thanked them all for humoring me for the night.  We look forward to another concert after the new year. . . .

A System - Finally

I think one of the more challenging things about being a homeschool mom is the housework.  We are home the majority of the hours in every day.  The house gets messy, stays messy and with school and life it can be hard to find time to clean and do chores.  And, honestly, who really wants to do them anyway?  Well, I suppose there are people out there who like to straighten and clean but I am not one of them.  I can always find other things to do.  But, we seem to have people over all the time so avoiding housework really isn't an option.

Because we are home a lot, it is hard to keep things neat.   For years, I believe, I struggled with just the right system to keep things neat and keep things clean.  And now, I feel, I have a system.  It isn't a perfect system, but I feel things get done that need to get done.

After EG was born, I had a cleaning lady twice a month.  Just because I was crazy overwhelmed and hubby asked what would help.  And that was my answer.  But, about 6 months or maybe 9 months later, I started feeling a little guilty.  Really, we were home all the time.  I had an 8 and a 6 year old that I felt could be a great help and we started out there.

About 4 years later this is where we are.  Each and every day, with no exceptions (well, except those days we leave the house before breakfast) I print off chore charts that say "This is what so and so does to contribute to the house."  And each child does the same chores every day.  For example NG washes the breakfast dishes.  LM sorts laundry.  There has been some switching around like Nature Girl now vacuums for Boop and he wipes down the Master Bath.  EG turns out all the lights that aren't being used.

Before we leave the house in the afternoons or before daddy gets home, the living room is picked up and the kids' rooms are straightened.  All day long, laundry is washed, dried and put away.  After dinner, each of the kids has the same chore to clean up.  NG loads dishwasher, LM wipes down table, Boop vacuums and they all clean the table.

I have broken down the week into "cleaning the house" chores.  Monday is vacuum day.  Tuesday is cleaning bathrooms and mopping floors and Thursday is dusting.  It doesn't always happen on those days because of things that come up.  But, if it happens twice a month on somethings, it is better than not at all!

We don't give an allowance.  But, I felt that some money had to be made by the kids so they would learn to be good stewards - tithing, savings and spending.  So, hubby and I made up a list of chores that we would be willing to pay the kids to do rather than do them ourselves and then assigned them to each child.  Examples of that are cleaning the glass of the master bath shower.  And, for those of you who have glass shower doors, you know hard those are to clean.  Another example is cleaning blinds and window sills or sweeping the back porch.

Each week the kids are to do those chores.  Mark them down on a Time Sheet and then turn the Time Sheet into hubby on his pay day.  Then the get paid every two weeks.  Just like daddy.  Last week, they did not manage their time well and did not get their chores done before pay day and only got paid for a week's worth of work.  This past week they did a little better realizing we wouldn't be home on Friday so they needed to get their paid chores done sooner.

For cleaning baseboards or wiping down cabinets, those are discipline chores.  If you don't pay attention to what I or hubby says or if one of them has a bad attitude, they pull from the disobedience jar and do one of those type of chores.  There is a corresponding blessings jar for those who go the extra mile or have a joyful attitude.

But, no plan is perfect.  And there are some days when just the bare minimum gets done.  Or, I have to go back and check and help them figure out how the task needs to be done.  I do give tickets for morning chores being done on time.  If it they aren't done on time, a ticket gets taken away.  This past Tuesday, two of the kids had enough tickets to get drinks at a local coffee shop.  One paid for a drink with the money earned from chores and one child got nothing because she didn't have tickets or money.  I felt bad at the moment.  But, the temporary uncomfortableness  gave way to the thought that a valuable lesson was being learned.  Now that child is working extra hard to get chores done by school time.

I know there are as many ways to get chores done as there are families who work at it.  But, I am thankful that we are finally making some forward progress.  And the kids don't seem to mind as much because it has become somewhat of a habit.

Who knows what Monday will bring.  But, I am thankful I just have a plan that finally seems to be working . . .