Just here checking out the new blog here at HomeschoolBlogger! I’m up at the crack of dawn to get ready to drive down to Laguna Beach for a dentist appointment and beach day. Yay!

No, I’m not dying and I’m not going to stop blogging!  I’m moving to Blogger. I really like it so far and I’ve needed a change anyway.

So here is the new address. http://libertyacademyanaheim.blogspot.com/

I’m going to leave this up here for awhile and then shut it down.

Thanks for reading!

     I’m writing this while Tom takes a bath. He is finally in after a ten minute battle. I have to go into the details of this to make it right in my mind. I’m a pretty relaxed Mom. I let my kids do as they please as long as they aren’t hurting themselves or those around them, or stepping on anyone else’s right to peace. The past six months have been pretty rough between Tom and I. He is very particular about things and does not like to make decisions. Let me give a few examples. I let them dress themselves at a young age, like two. If they were big enough to express an opinion, I generally accepted it. Food went the same way. I always give them the choices I have available and they pick from that. Lately, Tom can’t decide. He will either freak out that the choices aren’t to his liking, or he will want all of the above, cry, and have a melt down. This starts at breakfast and goes on through the day. Most days he doesn’t like his pants, especially if I have asked him to get dressed to go somewhere. We argue about everything. And I’m not talking what to do or not to do. I’m talking about moving his feet so I can vacuum under him. Please don’t beat on your brother because he won’t give you something. Please don’t hold the dogs down and get them fighting. Please don’t leave food all over the table. Please answer your brother when he is talking to you. Please answer me! I mean seriously!

     Tonight it was about the bath. They want to take a bath/shower every other day so I have to get them up there to do it. If I don’t harass Tom about getting up off the couch and in the bathroom, he will decide at 10pm that he HAS to have a shower because he isn’t comfortable. I would just let him do this, but we all sleep in a very small space with a bathroom in the middle. My husband and step-daughter get up very early to go to work and school. I have to get up to take her to school. We would like to get some sleep. So the drill is dinner, showers, Dad reads to them and then goes to bed, I read in the doorway until they go to sleep (lately that has changed to, I read in the doorway until Jake goes to sleep and then lay down next to Tom because I can’t stay awake anymore). Tom will lay there completely still and quiet until 11pm sometimes, usually 10 is the latest I can stay awake. We’ve tried relaxing, music, tea, melatonin. The kid is just a night owl, much like I would be if I didn’t have to get up at 5:30 for Nikki.

     So here I am ranting and raving. Tom is a very sweet boy. It isn’t that he is trying to make me nuts. He actually feels bad when I explain how completely crazy his is making me. Tonight I told him that he needs to do things for himself if he wants them done a certain way. He understands that. He made his own bath tonight. He told me he doesn’t like showers because he is scared when he closes his eyes in the shower. Understandable. But if he had just explained this before I got angry about his refusal to take a shower, maybe things would have been nicer.

     Yikes! I hope we both get through this phase without scars!!

     We went on an awesome trip to San Diego on the train today! A homeschool friend set up a group ticket for us all and that makes the cost so good that you just HAVE to go. We had to get up at 6am and leave at 6:45 to get to the Irvine train station. That was fine for Jake and I, but dragging Tom out of bed and out the door that early is darn near impossible and can be hazardous to your health. After much coaxing and bribing with donuts we got him to the truck with a blanket and pillow and he was awake enough by the time we got there.

     On the train was great. We had some friends we already know well and made some new ones. I love taking the train because I get to sit and relax (well maybe not that much) and talk to my friends instead of concentrating on getting there.

     When we got there we walked to the Maritime Museum at the Star of India. Our friends didn’t want to see it but the boys did, so we parted ways and planned on meeting them for lunch later. The boys and I shopped for awhile at the gift shop and bought a cool book called “By The Great Horn Spoon”. Then we checked out the museum on the old steam boat. We spent almost an hour in there and then looked around the Medea (I think). There was a lot of stuff about sailing and how they navigated in different eras. And a whole section about fishing for tuna that just fascinated Tom. He wants to go on a fishing trip now.

     Then we went over to the Surprise. It used to be called the Rose and it was used in the movie Master and Commander. We have to see it now. A guy was working on the boat and asked if we wanted a tour. He took us all over the ship and explained all about it and showed us the things that were just for the movie. A lot of it was just made so that it looked like a real old ship but it didn’t actually work. Then he told us that he was in the movie as an extra and showed us some cool pictures. He told us all about making the movie. He said he was so impressed with the boys questions and how much they knew about boating and war. He said he was getting ready to go home for the day and thought he might do something fun so he offered a tour to the kids. He was really nice and the boys were just so impressed by him.

     After that, we went over to the Star of India. We didn’t spend much time there because it was already 1:30 and we were hungry! We never did meet up with our friends until we got back to the train! I just couldn’t pull them away from the ships. We walked down to the Shoreline mall place and had lunch, listened to a South American band (that Tom loved) and bought some trinkets to take home. We got ice cream cones and walked back to the train station.

     The ride home was loud and exciting. All the kids were wound up. We were all yelling back and forth and playing and being silly. It was a long day. On the way back to the car, Jake went a little too far in the keep-a-way game they were playing and Tom had a complete melt down. Funny thing is, I knew it was coming. I just took him by the wrist and dragged him to the truck. A few minutes later he was holding my hand and saying sorry. I so wish we could avoid those types of things, but what can you do.

     We’re home now, relaxing. My throat hurts from talking and laughing all day! Jake is back at the Force Unleashed and Tom is checking out RuneScape because Cameron told him to. We’re going to bed when I finish writing this because I’m exhausted!! It’s 8:30!

     This comes a few days late because I was getting frustrated with downloading pictures so I quit, but then didn’t find the time to get back to it until tonight. Really, I want to get my pictures of our train trip. If I put those up before the birthday, I will lose interest in them and never get back to it. And you just HAVE to see the Candy Mountain Cake!       

     Birthday party accomplished! What a day! There were kids everywhere! I never realized that when you have kids their party guests get bigger and bigger too and they make more noise and run around a LOT more! I do have a large group of great friends though. Not to mention an awesome family! Tom was spoiled rotten. We had a “Charlie the Unicorn” theme this year. If you have no idea what that is, you are not alone. Search for it on YouTube.