Sep. 24, 2008 - Took long enough!!

I can't believe it's taken me so long to get a post up - well, yeah I guess I can.  We have had a lot going on

Friday, September 12, 2008 at 5:37 pm  our newest little flake arrived!  He "floated" in at 10 lbs. 1.6 oz and 21 1/14 inches.  All went well and we are both doing great.  I don't usually use our children's names, but by way of introduction (which I'll probably delete in a few days) his name is Keller Micaiah B-- .

Yes, pictures are forthcoming.  We have some great ones so I'll pick some favorites and get them up this weekend.

Thank you so much to those of you that were praying for us.  The Lord was so faithful and merciful to us, and we are all so very thankful for this new little life.

Until later,
Cindy

Jul. 7, 2008 - Good news, bad news

The more blogs I read, the more I realize how many of me there are out there.  The seriously overworked genre of  " stay at home mom with multiple children blogging about the mayhem of her days" is appealing for a reason - We see some of ourselves there.  I heard that in business if there is no competition, there is no market.  I guess likewise, if no one can relate to what you're saying - they won't bother to read it.

So more of the same from me :)

Good news: We got the car back!  Bad news: It cost more than we wanted to spend. Uber bad news: It is still doing the same thing it was when we took it in.  Most Uber bad news: It's back in the shop.

Good news: The toilet isn't clogged now.  Bad news:  You can only go #1  Uber bad news: Oldest son has a stomach bug...

Good News: Had a Dr. appt. and baby is doing great.  Bad news: Baby is doing too well, measuring 3 weeks 2 days big - so I will be giving birth to a toddler again.

Good news: Got curriculum ordered.  Bad News:  Lost my debit card.

Good news: We seem to have caught up on alot of the loose ends that have been hanging around :  Bad News:  Tomorrow isn't here yet.

I got an e-mail that a little used account I set up on a home-improvement site had been frozen because someone tried to log into it 5 times with the wrong password.  We got the IP and found out it was some guy in Isreal.  Thankfully I haven't bought anything there and they don't have any of my personal info. there.

Today the Water Utilities truck pulled up out front as my dh was leaving for work and I saw them talking to him.  He came to the front door shaking his head.  "Our water meter is broken.  They can't get a reading so they need to shut off the water for a little while to fix it"  I just started laughing.  Now it's things we don't even touch!  I felt a little like this....

I know you can all relate :) 

~Cindy

Jun. 30, 2008 - What e'er My God Ordains is Right

What e'er my God ordains is right: Holy his will abideth;
I will be still whate'er he doth, and follow where he guideth:
He is my God; though dark my road, He holds me that I shall not fall:
And paitiently I wait his day.

What e'er my God ordains is right: He never will deceive me;
He leads me by the proper path; I know he will not leave me:
I take content, what he hath sent; His hand can turn my fears away,
And patiently I wait his day.

What e'er my God ordains is right: Though now this cup in drinking,
May bitter seem to my faint heart, I take it all unshrinking:
My God is true; Each morn anew sweet comfort yet shall fill my heart,
And pain and sorrow shall depart.

What e'ere my God ordains is right: Here shall my stand be taken;
Though sorrow, need, or death be mine, yet am I not forsaken;
My father's care is round me there; He holds me that I shall not fall:
And so to Him I leave it all.

May. 12, 2008 - Rollin' up my sleeves

The last few weeks have brought a very welcome change around here.  As much as slooww progress is difficult for me, I see now how truly getting organized takes time.  When we played musical bedrooms to make adjustments for the new addition in Sept., everything was pulled out of all closets and off shelves.  I sat looking at the mess thinking #1 - where did it all come from? and #2 what do I do with it?  We have storage issues, so I decided that it was time to seriously purge, de-clutter and then organize.  So with my Clutter Cutters book in hand I did just that.  It took me over THREE WEEKS!!! 

I thought I was reasonably organized.  I thought everything had a place - apparently I was very deceived.

So far I have accomplished the following:

**Cleaned out all household files - All warranties, product info., tax files and regular house files have been cleaned out, re-ordered, and appropriate files put in new durable boxes and put in a new closet. ( We had manuals for things we haven't owned in at least 10 years.  I found the first Dr. visit sheet from our son's pediatrician back in 1994.  The shredder at my husband's office was smoking.)

**Totally cleaned out toys.  If it was broken or unused, out it went.  Those for the baby are in the 'baby toy bin' in the attic to come out later. We put in a great closet organizer designed by hubby and I (he is sooo handy) and now the younger three boys closet is so perfect I walk in there just to look at the order of it all.  All the toys, seperated and in the right sized bins are in the closet , on shelves, and NOT in my Florida room/dining room - that is a glassed in porch or sunroom for those not from Fla.

**Went through all my currciulum, re-arranged the shelves, bought a new book shelf, found the 285 pencils that we have lost this year, and now have a nice box or two for the used curr. sale in June.

**Re-hung the pictures I had taken down in hopes of de-cluttering to sell the house.  It looks like for now we will hang on here and make it  work.  WIth all my cleaning out we may find we have more space than we thought.

**Cleaned out the shed which was busting with 'stuff'.  We sold alot, and chunked most of the other stuff. 

**Cleaned out the garage - big time.  My laundry area got a good cleaning and we have plans in the works to close in the back portion of the garage to make a laundry room/storage and pantry overflow area.  That in itself will be a HUGE help.  We seem to consume alot of everything around here and finding a place to store it all is difficult.  It's on top of the freezer, over the washer/dryer, in the hall closets, falling out of the current pantry.. you get the idea.

Still waiting to be attacked:

**The game closet and craft cabinet need cleaning out.  And re-stocking for next year.

**My dreaded "top-drawer".  I will post a picture because you will have to see it to believe it.

** Our DD and the baby's shared room.  When we find out next week, Lord willing, what sex the baby is, I will get started on fixing up their room.

Big summer projects beyond curriculum/lesson plans:

**Recipes - Too many loose ones!!  I am going for a consolidated 3-ring binder type set-up to corral all the floating recipes I have.

**Get caught up (at least one year!!) in each person's picture book - This may be very wishful thinking. 

It almost makes me feel lighter! :)   Twenty one weeks and counting...

~CIndy

Apr. 22, 2008 - The scoop

In case anyone noticed, I didn't post about "the big ultrasound"....because we didn't do it.  The long and short of it was that we didn't feel we needed a diagnostic ultrasound.  We wouldn't do anything any different whatever the ultrasound may or may not show, we have no reason to think there are any problems, and the more people we talked to, the more common we found it is to have a 'false' diagnosis.  We didn't want to carry that around for five months only find that nothing is wrong!  So we are opting for the standard 20-week-in-office-ultrasound to find out if we have a 'he-flake' or a 'she-flake'.   Can't wait!

Other than that, I am feeling like my kids - ketchup on everything!  I am trying to 'ketchup' on my e-mails, blogs, correspondence, ironing (ggrrr) , grading, curriculum hunting, house organization; do I need to go on?  We played musical bedrooms so now everyone is in a new room.  Only dd is waiting for some new paint, until she finds out if she is getting a sister or not.  She told Dad that she wanted an all girly room if it's a girl (she is sharing a room with new baby) but right now she has a..."dad, is there a word for boyly room?"  (she is in the boys old room)  lol 

Then we had the dreaded yard sale.  I just don't enjoy them alot, but we got rid of some stuff so that's good.  Now I'm trying to finish de-cluttering, yeah right, and then I need to re-organize what's left.  Nothing like dumping the contents of your house out into the hallway and putting it all back.  I am working on getting things easily maintainable, so they stay relatively sane.  I looove Organizing Junkie  www.orgjunkie.com  I'm a wannbe I know, but she has some practical things there that have really helped out.  My biggest issue I see has always been maintainance - keeping it the way I put it.  Since that was my #1 resolution/goal for this year I think this is a great time to start trying.  And what better way than to try and comfortably fit a homeschool family of nine people into a modest sized home and keep it clutter free, junk free, stress free!!  OK, I'm dreaming, but it is motivating isn't it?

This week ends the crazy busy season.  May has some fun stuff, but it's not insane.  This week 14yos has piano guild audition, then PE awards and party, then we (our local Homeschool League WFHESL, with me coordinating) are hosting a picnic nearby, where we are welcoming Paul and Gena Suarez of TOS and Pat and Linda Marcum of Homeschool Headquarters.  It should be a fun day, and Lord willing the weather will stay beautiful.  We signed the three oldest boys up for a flag footbal league this summer and evaluation night for that is next week, so lots to do. But I am enjoying it.  And I am ready for a break from school - probably more than my kids  :) 

I was going to throw in a book review, but my ironing pile is mocking me loudly.  Pass the ketchup  :)

~Cindy

Feb. 27, 2008 - Ta-Da!

Well, compliments of my techno-teen, I have a new look.  One that suits me a litttle more.  We're still tweaking it here and there, so if you see something that looks goofy, let me know.  :)  This was one of those things that I could do lying down - delegate.  I tell him what I want, and he delivers!  And all for the low price of extra-Game Cube time and maybe a Vanilla Bean Frappaccino.  I highly recommend getting a techno-saavy older child if you don't already have one.  Very beneficial.

I am ten weeks and counting.  That means at least 2-3 weeks more of feeling 'really bad'.  Then a few more weeks of 'getting better'.  By around 15 or 16 weeks I'm usually back in full force - so watch out!

If nothing else right now, learning is happening, and meals are being eaten.  Anything else done doesn't have much to do with me.  My kitchen fairy comes every night to clean the pots and pans, the stove top, and start the dishwasher.  Can't complain!  Dare I say, I am learning contentment?

The movie about the Transcontinental Railroad is about over and I see it's dinner time. 

~Cindy

Feb. 23, 2008 - Down but not out

Just a quick update:

I am still sssiiiccckkk.  I cannot wait to feel better!  I have to be the worst sick person ever.  Pain I can handle.  But I go crazy when I feel sick.  All I can do now is think about all the things I am going to accomplish in a few weeks!

My family and wonderful friends have been such blessings.  My DH and awesome "little flakes" have been keeping the house mostly picked up :) and clean and everyone has been patient with the meals. lol  I have friends who have been willing to come get the kids for PE and Drama and lots of offers to come over and play.  It could be alot worse :)

So, all that said, I'm of course coming up with all kinds of great things to post - eventually.  It is very spring like here which is good and bad - good because it's uplifting to look outside and see flowers.  Bad because I want to be outside - (being in the sun makes me feel more sick )  But it will pass.

Hanging in there,

Cindy

Feb. 11, 2008 - Weather report just in...

Would you believe they are calling for snow in Florida?  Well, actually only at our house.  And not until the first part of October.  Yes, there will be another little Floridasnowflake coming this fall.    (surprise all you real-life friend lurkers!!  You thought I was just in a bad mood - lol!)

If I am somewhat erractic over the next month with my blogging, stick with me -  I am quite ill.

It should pass in the next 8 weeks - uugghh.  But we are praising the Lord for this soon to be newest edition to our family.    With all of the big homeschooling families that we have in our aquaintence, it seems like the verses get used, used, and re-used, about children being a blessing.  It is true though, and the Lord is filling our quiver nice and full with many arrows to send out for Him.  It is just very humbling (ok, terrifying) to know who we are raising these children for and knowing how made of clay we are.  As our pastor often says, "these bags of dust and bones"  are so very fallible and the responsibility of raising children for God's glory is so great, it is just intimidating.  Thankfully, we aren't doing it alone.

Until I can sit upright again,

Cindy

Jan. 24, 2008 - Double shot personality

I saw this in several places and decided to take it because, well, I really like coffee.  I had no idea what I would come out as...

You Are a Double Espresso

Hey Energizer Bunny Girl! Do you ever slow down? You're a mix of high energy and ambition, perfectly matched with strong espresso When you want something you get it - by any means possible You're driven, determined, and no nonsense. Which is just how you like your java.

Jan. 14, 2008 - January Ho-Hums

I was just remarking to a friend a few nights ago that so far the New Year had been very calm.  Unnaturally so.  I'm holding my breath I told her.  Didn't have to hold it too long.

Last night our dd - 6yo, swallowed a closed safety pin.  Does that beg the question - WHY did she put a safety pin in her mouth in the first place???  Well, X-rays show a nice 5cm safety pin floating in her stomach, which means it traveled unharmed down the esophagus.  After asking 20 million questions, the GI Doctors said that they would just wait for it to "pass", as they felt it would do so without problem.  I'm sure I could get some kind of unit study out of this - "Let's follow the safety pin through our digestive tract!"  or  " How does a safety pin respond to the digestive process?"  maybe,  "Home safety Don'ts"

Hopefully everything will come out alright in the end.  As they say, this too shall pass.  (sorry, I couldn't resist)  - I can only be light about it now because I know she's not in imminent danger.  All the Dr.s were confident that she is fine.

Otherwise, all is quiet on the Southern Front.  We're still digging into the Civil War.  I'm very much a project person.  I looove doing artsy craftsy things for school.  When I saw this display at Hobby Lobby, which is on my list of 10 most dangerous places to go by myself (esp. if I have $),  I thought "This is so cool!  for those awesome displays that you see in science fairs or on model train set ups.   SceneARama is the company, which is part of Woodland Scenics.  They have everything you need to make absolutely amazing displays (you just have to supply creativity)  www.woodlandscenics.com  and   www.scenarama.com  

OK, started this post yesterday...finished tonight.  I am happy to report that said safety pin has um... left the premises.  No, I will not keep the pin for her baby book as someone asked - gag- I have an X-ray.

Today we studied Gettysburg so the older boys are watching the movie tonight and really enjoying it.  We're also trying to get some projects finished for the Art Show next Monday and for a Homeschool Showcase night in Feb.  13yos is in the city spelling bee next Monday as well.  I don't think he cares too much about spelling, but the chance to win $$ is an incentive.

I enjoy Jan. and Feb. so much because they are such boring months.  Seriously, it is a joy to just be home and tend to things here and dig into school without so much outside activity.  March is when it picks back up.  But by then I've had two months to get prepared.

Current Reads:

Just finished Passionate Housewives Desperate for God  by Stacy McDonald and Jennie Chancey.  Very good reminder about the awesome importance and privilege of being a wife, mother and homeschooler.  Some might not agree with all their views, but I found it refreshing and challengiing, not to mention convicting.  Pondering my next book choice...

Well, time to scoot.  Nothing too exciting.  Isn't it great!!??

 ~Cindy

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Just my personal observations and ponderings on this journey we're taking, some silly, some serious. Hopefully all edifying to the reader.

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