Starting a New School Year

Well, it's that time of year again! YIPPEE!!! Yes, I am very excited for another year of homeschooling. I love it SO MUCH!!!!

This year I am very behind schedule. YILES!!! Usually by this time I have everything for the first few weeks printed and ready, or at the very least planned out some. Not this year...... 

We have all of our supplies and I know what we'll be doing for most things but I'm not entirely prepared yet. 

For the first 2 or 3 weeks we will be studying Leonardo da Vinci for history, science and art. Don't you love when you can combine subjects like that?? Makes things so much easier. ;)

I'll be posting a list of resources for da Vinci in a day or 2. I found some really great resources! 

After that we will take on the Renaissance and Reformation. 

We are joining 2 different co-ops this year. One is very relaxed and is more about getting together and having fun (I think I posted pics of our bubble fun). The other offers 2 classes that Cailey and Colin will be taking. The first class is Art and Architecture. The other will be geography. 

I'll slowly be adding posts for resources for unit studies as Cailey and Colin choose themes. As always, Friday posts will be dedicated to the blog challenges I do and Saturdays should return to week in review posts. 

As for sewing, hopefully I'll be getting some of that done, too!! I miss my machine!! This week (or next) I'll be making Cailey and Colin a couple of bags to carry their supplies to their co-op classes. OH!! I should have some pics of my cute no-sew valances that I made for the homeschool/sewing room to show you! You're going to love the printed burlap! ;) 

I also have some Fall sewing that I want to get started on. Cailey has decided to be Anna from Frozen for Halloween!  Colin still hasn't completely decided yet.


On a homeschooling note.... It never fails to amaze me that there are people in this county that are still trying to discourage new homeschoolers. ARGH!!!! Years ago when I pulled my kids out of public school it was in this same county. I had ALL KINDS of issues. It was ridiculous. Once "they" realized that I knew the laws backwards and forwards, they backed off but not before making things much more difficult than they had to be. Jump forward 7 1/2 years and there are new people in charge but they are playing the same old game of intimidation. Once again after showing my knowledge of the homeschool laws and making phone calls, I received my compliance letter. GOOD GRIEF!!! It should have been a simple matter of them reading my Notice of Intent and sending my compliance letter. But noooooo! They had to try asking for things that by law they do not need nor have the right to ask for.


ANYWAY, it looks like we will be very busy!!!

Fly on the Wall - August 2014 - My Daddy

Welcome to a Fly on the Wall group post. Today 12 bloggers are inviting you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes. Come on in and buzz around my house.

 

Buzz around, see what you think, then click on these links for a peek into some other homes:

http://www.BakingInATornado.com                          Baking In A Tornado

http://www.therowdybaker.com                                  The Rowdy Baker

http://www.justalittlenutty.com/                                Just A Little Nutty

http://themomisodes.com                                          The Momisodes

http://spatulasonparade.blogspot.com/                          Spatulas on Parade

http://thesadderbutwisergirl.com                                   The Sadder But Wiser Girl

http://followmehome.shellybean.com                            Follow me home . . .

http://stacysewsandschools.blogspot.com/                   Stacy Sews and Schools

http://www.menopausalmom.com/                                Menopausal Mother

http://www.kimulmanis.com                                         Kim Ulmanis

http://www.someoneelsesgenius.com                          Someone Else’s Genius

http://www.gomamao.com                                          Go Mamma O

Usually this is a lighthearted piece about all the goofy and silly things my kids have done over the month. Not this one. You see, I have had one of the worst months of my entire life. On August 10th I received a phone call from my aunt that  my Daddy had died in his sleep. He just slipped away, not warning. 

Well, I say no warning but in actuality we could have lost him at any time over almost 30 years. 

When he was in his early 30s he had cancer.

Then it was degenerative back disease.

Diabetes

MRSA

Lyme disease

Brain Tumors
2 brain surgeries
Staph induced meningitis
and much much more
So much more that I can't even remember it all.
He was a disabled veteran.

But that's just the problems he had and not who he was. I am here to tell you about MY DADDY.

That is a picture of my Daddy when he was just a little guy. WHAT a trouble maker. He rode a pig! He climbed the Christmas tree! He talked his little brother into sticking his finger into an electrical outlet. I kid you not.
There are so many stories about the chaos he brought on. 

Not much changed as he grew older.
He used to have girls carry HIS books in school. And of course, they would also do his homework for him.

He was a charmer. A rascal. Ornery through and through.

But he was so much more.

He was in the Air Force and was very proud of his service to his country. He had wanted to make a career out of the Air Force but my mother had issues. He was honorably discharged and they headed home.

Not much more than a month or so later, I was born.

I was told that he professed to not being nervous at all but had 2 cigarettes lit at the time.

He was a joker. A prankster.

Pull my finger.
Go stand on your head and gargle peanut butter.
He could convince me of almost anything, especially when I was little. 


I was his Knothead (I've always been clumsy). His Okeedoe (Oh, kid, oh!!)

He always had a smile on his face and a joke on his lips. You couldn't stay down or unhappy in his presence. You just couldn't help it. 
He was incorrigible. 

He was so full of life, laughter and love.

I have no idea how I am supposed to live the rest of my life without him. My heart is broken into a million pieces.

I know I will get it through it. I've been through this before. The day my Daddy died was exactly a month before the 20th anniversary of my Mom's death. It's just SO HARD. 

I am trying, though. But then I will think, "I need to tell Dad....." and it hits like a ton of bricks all over again.

Heaven help me.

I have had such an outpouring of love and I thank every single one of you. You really don't know how much your kind words and <3 mean to me. THANK YOU!!!!!

Thank you to my Big Family for (literally) holding me and holding my hand. 

I miss you Daddy, now and forever. My life will never be the same. 

I meant to type so much more but this is even harder than I imagined it would be. 

Secret Subject Swap - August 2014

Welcome to a Secret Subject Swap. This week, 14 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts. 

Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts.  Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:

http://www.BakingInATornado.com                          Baking In A Tornado

http://themomisodes.com                                       The Momisodes

http://spatulasonparade.blogspot.com/                          Spatulas on Parade

http://thethreegerbers.blogspot.ch/               Confessions of a part-time working mom

http://www.JuiceboxConfession.com                           Juicebox Confession

http://www.eviljoyspeaks.wordpress.com                    Evil Joy Speaks

http://sparklyjenn.blogspot.com/                       Sparkly Poetic Weirdo

http://followmehome.shellybean.com                 Follow me home . . .

http://www.someoneelsesgenius.com                 Someone Else’s Genius

http://www.crumpetsandbollocks.com                    Crumpets and Bollocks

http://stacysewsandschools.blogspot.com/                Stacy Sews and Schools

http://climaxedtheblog.blogspot.com                         Climaxed

http://berghamchronicles.blogspot.com                    The Bergham’s Life Chronicles

http://dinoheromommy.com/                                     Dinosaur Superhero Mommy

My subject is “Build” an imaginary person by taking the one best trait from different people you know. Which people would you choose and which of their traits would you use and why?  It was submitted by the awesome, the amazing Baking in a Tornado.  

Here goes: 

I LOVE this prompt!! When I first got it I knew exactly who I would use and what traits I would take from them! 

Let's get started!

First and foremost, I had THE BEST grandparents EVER!!!!!! From my grandmothers I would take loving and giving. They were the best at it. Anyone that had ever met them knew love.

From my grandfather it would have to be devotion. He was so devoted to his family. I can still remember watching grandpa and grandma cuddle on the couch. He would baby talk to her and she would giggle. They always held hands. Their love was inspiring.

I have an aunt that is the absolute embodiment of JOY! She is full of smiles and encouragement all the time. I have never once seen her angry. Just thinking about her lights me up.

I have another aunt that is always giving, of herself, of her time and yes, gifts as well. She always lets you know that you are important, that you have meaning. She is amazing.

They are the best people I have ever known or ever will know. I have been incredibly blessed to have them in my life. 

From my oldest son I would take his fearlessness. Sometimes it's a really good thing but other times it frightens me! LOL He knows no fear, of any kind. He has never met a stranger, never been intimidated by anything that has crossed his path. 

From my second oldest son, his brains!! LOL I have never met anyone with the ability to remember absolutely everything they have ever read. I am in awe!!! He is very logical and methodical but he also hilariously funny.

From my oldest daughter, her acceptance of self. She knows who she is and she likes herself. She doesn't succumb to peer pressure. She is herself and if someone doesn't like it that's THEIR problem not hers. She is also extremely tolerant of others. She has no prejudice of any nature.

From my youngest daughter, her bubbly personality. She is a friend to everyone she meets. She can walk into any situation and start up a conversation and make new friends. It's amazing. She has such a sweet and sensitive heart. 

From my youngest son, his inquisitiveness. He is curious about everything. He has such a hunger to know how things work and what things are. Where does this go? How was it made? What is it used for? Where is that place? What do they do there? It never ends and I love it. 

Last but not least, The Hubby. He has the strongest work ethic that I have ever seen. 60-70 hour work weeks are nothing new to him, even when he was on salary and NOT getting paid for those extra hours. 
He is an excellent provider. Are we rolling in money? No, but we don't need to be. We have what we need and a lot of what we want and it's all due to how much of a hard worker The Hubby is. His strong work ethic makes it possible for me to stay home with our kids, which we both think is the most important thing. 

The one thing that all of these people have in common is their loving nature. Each and everyone of them are so full love. I think that's the most important thing a person can have, a never ending capacity to love. I am the most fortunate of people. I have known and loved them all. 

Friday Funny!!! (For July)

July (sort of) Friday Funny

Today’s post is July’s Funny Friday, a regular feature published on the last Friday of every month. Yes, we kow it’s August but July ran out of Fridays. Totally not our fault.

Funny Friday is a collaborative project. Each month one of the participants submits a picture, then we all write 5 captions or thoughts inspired by that month’s picture. Links to the other bloggers’ posts are below, click on them and see what they’ve come up with. I hope we bring a smile to your face as you start your weekend.

Here’s today’s picture. It was submitted by Someone Else’s Genius (http://www.someoneelsesgenius.com).

1. I wonder... Could take him down in a game of H.O.R.S.E.?

2. I wonder.. If I eat all of my spinach will I get that tall?

3. I wonder... If I jumped on his back could I slam dunk??

4. I wonder.. How does he get his hair that way?

5. I wonder... Why am I even here?? I hate basketball!!

Click on the links below and let some other bloggers make you smile:

Someone Else’s Genius

Confessions of a part-time working mom

The Momisodes

Sanity Waiting to Happen

On the Alberta/Montana Border

Cluttered Genius

Stacy Sews and Schools

Baking In A Tornado

Black Sheep Mom

Owl Print Kitchen Curtains

So, I needed some new kitchen curtains. We moved and all my old curtains were worn out! My kitchen here is very retro.... That's just my way of saying OLD!!! LOL Seriously, the stove is older than I am!!! My cabinets are those really old dark wood with the hammered metal handles... Yes, it's THAT old! LOL But I think I can work with it. At least there's a new dishwasher, right???

Anyway, I bought a really cool owl chalkboard with the gift certificate that Jacob gave me for Mother's Day.

I wanted to use it in the kitchen and I wanted my curtains to tie it in.

I mentioned the other day about the recent 50% off sale at Hancock's, well, I bought about 4 yards of white broadcloth to use with an owl print that I have had in my stash forever!!

Here is the result!

I am so pleased at how they turned out!! They brighten the whole kitchen up!! And I think they go well with the age of the kitchen. Very late 60s, early 70s, yes??

I used flowered nails to hang the valance over the sink and the panel on the door. I really like the way it looks. The nails match the hammered metal on the cabinets. 

I also made some very simple little flower buckets to use on my dining room table.

I bought the buckets at Target for $1!! They already had the chalkboard stars on them!! Then I grabbed a $3 set of yellow flowers. I pulled all the flowers off and placed them in the buckets. Simple, cheap but cute!! Well, at least I think so! ;)


Next I'll be working on some simple black curtains for Joshua's room. After that the girls need new curtains. Wait until you see the print they picked out. OH, BOY!!!

DIY No Sew Burlap Valance Tutorial

I am very excited to bring you this SO SIMPLE, SO EASY tutorial. I am loving the way it turned out!!!

We moved and got new furniture so I needed something new for our windows. Our living room window is 9 ft long!!! And we have this amazing view that we didn't want to completely block. What to do.... AH!! A valance! But not just any valance! A chocolate burlap valance!! 

Thank goodness Hancock's was having a 50% off sale!! I bought 7 yards of chocolate burlap for about $25!! Enough to do the valance and a straight panel for the other living room window.

I have sewn with burlap before and while it's a fairly easy fabric to work with, it makes a HUGE mess going through a sewing machine. That's when I decided to go no-sew with them!

I bought fusible bond for heavy fabrics.

This was my first time using the fusible bond so I was a little nervous at first. I should not have been. It was SO FREAKIN' EASY!!! You just iron it right in, it couldn't have been more simple. 

For my 9 ft window I used about 4 yards of the burlap. It had a very wide width so I decided to turn it sideways and use the width as my length, if that makes sense.... In other words, the selvage became my hem. 

All you do is cut the length of fusible bond that you need and place it between the fabric. Add a hot iron and VIOLA! You have a hem!

Since I was working with such a ginormous piece, it took several cuts of fusible bond.... LOL 

This is what the hem looks like afterward. 

For the space where the curtain rod goes, I just measured and folded the top over. Then I placed my fusible bond on the edges and ironed. 

Easy Peasy!!! 

After I put the valance up I took some gold toned ribbon and looped it under the valance, tying it at the top. 

I have to say that I absolutely LOOOOVE it!!! The Hubby thinks I should pull it up even more. He wants to see more of the view. 

I am still trying to decide if I like the other window.... It just looks a little wrong to me somehow. If I figure it out I'll post about it and let you know!!!

Fly on the Wall - July 2014

Welcome to a Fly on the Wall group post. Today 14 bloggers are inviting you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes. Come on in and buzz around my house.

 

Buzz around, see what you think, then click on these links for a peek into some other homes:

http://www.BakingInATornado.com                          Baking In A Tornado

http://www.justalittlenutty.com/                                Just A Little Nutty

http://themomisodes.com                                          The Momisodes

http://spatulasonparade.blogspot.com/                          Spatulas on Parade

http://thesadderbutwisergirl.com                                   The Sadder But Wiser Girl

http://followmehome.shellybean.com                          Follow me home . . .

http://stacysewsandschools.blogspot.com/                  Stacy Sews and Schools

http://www.menopausalmom.com/                          Menopausal Mother

http://www.gomamao.com                                    Go Mama O

http://www.kimulmanis.com                                    Kim Ulmanis

http://dates2diapers2.blogspot.com                        Dates 2 Diapers 2

http://dinoheromommy.com/                            Dinosaur Superhero Mommy

http://www.someoneelsesgenius.com                         Someone Else’s Genius

http://batteredhope.blogspot.com                      Battered Hope   

If you've been keeping up then you know how absolutely CRAZY it's been around here. So then maybe you'll forgive me when I tell you that I don't have a nice list of all the crazy stuff that everyone has been saying and doing. Hopefully you will like what I DO have for you, lots of pics of all the stuff we've done over the past month. :D

We went to the art museum! I LOVE THAT PLACE!!! It's amazing and FREE!!!

I even managed to get a picture of Joshua and Deanna! GASP!!

(BTW, if the pics are showing up small, just click on them to expand.)

We had VBS! Once again I was in charge of the 4s and 5s (and Colin). The kids had SUCH a great time!! At the end of the week we had a water slide! I caught a picture of Deanna on it! Hee hee hee hee!!

We went to one of our favorite parks and got lucky enough to catch a view great pictures. 

We went to a local ice cream place that I had been wanting to try for YEARS!! Colin got the Purple Dinosaur flavor (naturally) and managed to get it from head to toe! LOL 

We did 2 more Lowe's Build and Grow workshops. These are ALWAYS free and so much fun for the kids. We missed the one at Home Depot for July. :(

I got 2 cool cups! The first one has "RUN" at the top where the "KEEP CALM" is crossed out and at the bottom it says, "ZOMBIES ARE COMING". The other is Grumpy Cat, of course. I LOVE THAT CAT!!!

Cailey begged me to cut all her hair off so I did. She LOVES it. SHEW!! You never can tell how that might go. LOL She's always had long hair so I guess it was time to try something new. ;)