i'm always losing my glasses!

Zenni Optical: Sell Rx Glasses $8 with case! This is exactly what I need. The family is always after me (making fun of me actually) for losing my glasses lol. Maybe I actually need to put them in the same place every night (that would be an absolutely NOVEL idea huh?). You can't beat buying a pair of glasses for $8 with the case! Next time I lose my glasses I am headed here that way I wont feel too bad when I have to replace them!

*post sponored by Zenni Optical

Sickie boy...again...

Poor Noah was at he Dr's office last week and has asthmatic bronchitis. He gets to coughing so much it just makes him physically sick. The Dr. put him on antibiotics (and a good ol' shot in the hind end) and here it is, almost a week later and he is still hacking horribly! Not to mention behavior has been "Off the charts" so to speak this week.......*sigh* Hopefully sickie boy will be feeling better soon!

Guess what educational thing we did yesterday?

yep! We went to the movies :) I can't help it....sometimes it is just nice for the kids to get to do something extra. I guess that's part of the beauty of homeschooling, we don't have to put ourselves to the same time constraints of the public school. For "us" we have a certain amount of work I want them to complete in a week. I refer to get it done on a schedule (This is one of the few parts of me that would actually fit into a type A personality) but, on the other hand, I suppose the important thing is that it just gets done...period. Yesterday was a day when we just covered "the basics" (reading, writing, and math). The kids were done with that SUPER early (Katharine still had some language arts to do, but was done with the rest) so we headed to our local movie theater, The Ohio Theater. They are now having their winter family fun series which is.....FREE...my favorite word:) Every week they show a movie and there is no charge for entry. Not to mention their snack stand prices are reasonable. I usually pay $3 for a large popcorn for all the kids to split...when was the last time you went to the movies and watched the movie with popcorn for $3???The catch is that the movie is on at 10am on Mondays. Perfect for the homeschoolers that don't want to go with the rest of the crowd! LOL Yesterdays movie was Surfs up. We had seen it a million times, but the kids love it and of course you just can't beat seeing a well liked movie on the big screen.

Note to self~

While in Japan, don't go to pizza hut. Check out what my niece and nephew had to say about it.

Maddieisms

Musings from a 3.5yo diva....



Yesterday was hair day. She get so "tickled" with her new hair do's- after I was done I said "would you like to go see your hair in the mirror?" Noah pokes his head out of his door and says "I want to see!" Maddie very diva like sticks her head out from around the couch, puts her hands on her hips and says "SEE!" and then pulls her head back...very diva like



Last night in the car I was looking for something and talking to someone (maybe myself?) at the same time. From the back seat the never ending parade of "Mama mama mama mama" is heard. I guess I have naturally learned to tune this out as I didn't hear it, but Kyle did.

Kyle: "yes Maddie?"

Maddie (very innocently): "Are you mama?"

Kyle: "no..........."

Maddie (very innocently): "Then why are you talking to me?" LOLOL...



After we recovered from our laughing to tears bout from the last one..we decided since the kids had been soooooooo good through some grocery shopping that we would take them to McDonald's for a pie (we had free coupons). So we tell all the kids they get to go to McDonald's (it is almost 9pm by now so this NEVER happens!) and they get sooooooo excited. then we hear Maddie say" Ummmmmm pie....I like pie....It just tickles me!"

For those of you who wonder if CVS could work for you...

Ok so people laugh at me when I tell them how much I have saved by shopping at CVS. In reality, it has been a huge saving for us, as well as a challenge. We started off shopping at CVS because we had to. Clipping coupons and such is just not my cup of tea. Honestly, I could find much more entertaining things to do with my Sunday afternoons. After we started thinking about it....even after we are out of our financial hole....why could we continue to do this an be able to spend more money on missions???? Any savings at all would be able to help us put our money in other places. After looking at what Amy and Joe did........do you think you could find a good use for $740 besides spending it at the grocery store??? Check out what they did at CVS this week:)

An amazing article......

In a world that is so focussed on "me", it was wonderful to read this article which I got from Harmony's blog.

Check it out!!!

20lbs down! 'Nuff said!

WFMW Easy and effective exercise!

For all of those who know me, I am a HUGE fan of Leslie Sansone. She has an EXCELLENT series of exercise videos that you can do in your home. Before I started this I thought "ugh, I can not do aerobics! It kills my knees!" Leslie's way of exercise is by in home walking, therefore she named her series "Walk Away the Pounds." As you begin it is low impact...seriously...its like walking in place. The challenge comes when she starts adding in arm movements and sometimes weights or bands. The great thing is that you do these at YOUR OWN pace, if you can't do the arm movements, then don't! If you can't do weights yet, don't! She has levels for beginners and advanced walkers! There are 1 and 2 mile walks, 3 mile walks, 4 mile walks, and believe it or not....a 5 mile walk. These are only a few of the workouts she has available! She is very encouraging and is able to lift your spirits. Also, there are REAL people used in her videos...not twigs that act like they never had an ounce of fat on their body in their entire life lol. The video I am doing right now is the before mentioned 4 mile walk. Even though she does "boosted intervals" AKA jogging....lol I find it enjoyable. She also includes her family (daughter and niece) in this video...like I said...real people :) At any rate, she has helped me lose weight before and we are on our way to "walking away the pounds" again!

Thanks Brittan! You Brit you....

You Belong in Dublin

Friendly and down to earth, you want to enjoy Europe without snobbery or pretensions. You're the perfect person to go wild on a pub crawl... or enjoy a quiet bike ride through the old part of town.

What European City Do You Belong In?

Ok Maybe without going to a pub lol

Check out how we are movin!

As of today here is our updated list!


St.Francis Hospital
Kohl's
HSBC Card #1
Capital One
Wells Fargo Financial Loan
HSBC Card #2
Clarion Hospital (from my surgery back in 12/06)
Sears
Discover
Citibank Credit Card
CitiFinancial
KDH (This will probably last to be paid off as this is our Dr. Office..it seems we will always owe them a monthly payment)



We have 5 items paid off, we are currently caught up on ALL of our bills (or will be by then end of the month), and have paid 1/2 of what we owe to HSBC#2! At this point in time, all of our bills &tithe are IN OUR FINANCIAL LIMITS! As far as a budget, it is still not quite possible as we maybe under limits for our bills, but that doesn't include gas and food lol. Kyles business is rather slow right now (as far as new things coming in, he has TONS of work to do on 3 other cars out there) but that is expected in the winter time. For some reason we are always slow now but tend to pick up when it gets warmer out. Hopefully he will have more boats come in this spring for interior work! Within the next 2 months, one of our short term goals is to have 3 more bills crossed off!

WFMW- Get those kids to work!

This WMFM is GET THOSE KIDS TO WORK! Many of the comments that we get about being homeschooler is that "I couldn't do that because_______________." The blank could include:

1. I don't have the patience

2. I don't have the time

3. How do you get everything done?

Well I am about to make a confession..I am a SLAVE DRIVER. Yes you read that right. I expect my kids to work, and I don't mean on their school work (although as a homeschooling family, that would be nice). My kids have chores that they are expected to do every single day, without fail. I have heard in the past people implying that my house should be cleaner because I am home all day. What they forget is that I may be home all day, but so are my kids! Without their help, the house would look like a tornado went through it AT ITS BEST! Therefore, my kids are put to work. Every morning the kiddos get up and they have 1 hour to complete the following (and yes this even includes my 3yo...although yes she is little so she gets more help than the other two get).

1. Their bedrooms must be picked up.

2. Beds must be made.

3. They must be dressed.

4. They must have their morning chore completed. For my older 2 this means they have the lovely chore of cleaning their bathroom. One will take on cleaning the sink and tub while the other does the toilet and floor. Once Sunday comes they switch. It is their bathroom so all responsibility of keeping it clean is up to them. While the older 2 are working on the bathroom, Maddie is in charge of taking all the shoes that pile up at the door (we don't wear shoes in the house...we live in the country with basically a mud driveway yuck!) and putting them away.

After all of this is completed we can sit down to a nice family breakfast. They all also have chores to do at each meal time. One will put the plates and silverware on the table, another will get out items from the fridge (bbq sauce, butter etc.), and the last will make the drinks for everyone at the table. Each person is expected to clear their own spot. While I am generally the one washing all the dishes, the kids take turns cleaning off the table and putting up the dry dishes (we don't have a dishwasher so the dry dishes need to be put away before I can wash after each meal everyday). Those are just their "required" chores. What I LOVE is that my kids take so much of the pressure off my shoulders, and not always because they have too. Many times I will catch one of them taking laundry out of the dryer for me or cleaning. One thing Sanite loves to do (for fun??) is clip coupons for me on Sundays. What a help that is! Some may say its cruel, but I love the fact that my kids have a great work ethic and are getting a sense that family means team. At any rate, this is what helps us make it through our day, it may not work for you but it sure works for me:) For more Works for me Wednesdays Check out Shannons blog!

Money Shape up!

As many of you know, we have made some HORRIBLE financial decisions in the past and are getting busy trying to "fix" this problem. Our goal is to completely get ourselves out of debt. Crystal over at moneysavingmom is encouraging everyone to get their finances into shape and we are joining in! Unfortunately coming up with a budget is not possible right now as we owe more than we bring in, but here is a list of things we want to pay off by the end of this year (in order from smallest to largest)

St.Francis Hospital
Kohl's
HSBC Card #1
KDH (This will probably last to be paid off as this is our Dr. Office..it seems we will always owe them a monthly payment)
Capital One
Wells Fargo Financial Loan
HSBC Card #2
Clarion Hospital (from my surgery back in 12/06)
Sears
Discover
Citibank Credit Card
CitiFinancial

This is what we want gone this year....also...for those of you who don't know. Kyle has his own business refurbishing older cars. He does everything from engine work, body work (including custom paint), to custom interior (yes he sews it all himself!). His big love outside of God and family is his cars. He has one car that is especially important (and sentimental to him). It is a 1962 Pontiac that belonged to his father. Years ago his father sold it and when Kyle was 18 he saved his money and bought it back. He had high hopes for this car. It meant allot to him. He decided last week it was time to sell it and that he did. He approached someone who had wanted to purchase his car for a long time, and he ended up selling it tonight. On one hand we are sad, but on the other we are tickled to death to knock some of this stuff off our list! Check in tomorrow and see what we have been able to pay off!!!

Update on the sweet DH

Kyle had his Dr. apt this evening for his chest pains. We all went together as even HE wanted me in the room to catch anything the Dr. said, you know, in case he forgot :). As soon as we got there they took his blood pressure, oxygen level, pulse, and ran 2 in-office EKG's. NONE of these test were abnormal (PRAISE GOD!) and due to the fact that he does not have a family history of heart issues they are leaning away from it being heart related. he did have Kyle lie down on the table and he pushed right under his rib cage directly in the middle. Kyle let out a little "umph." Dr. Napier asked if it hurt and Kyle replied with a very surprised "yes!" The Dr. is thinking that it is one of 2 or 3 things (depending on how you look at it). He is 1st treating Kyle for Acid reflux (he actually gave some really long name that was gastro blah blah blah blah..yeah..you figure that one out lol...but said it was "basically" acid reflux). He has to take meds for the next two weeks and if it is NOT better in two weeks to come back so they can stick a tube down his throat and check for ulcers. On the other hand, it could be from neither one. For those of you who don't know, Kyle was in a very serious car wreck in his senior year in high school. The truck he was driving flipped several times, he was thrown from the truck (through the windshield I believe) where he skidded 50ft on his face. During this time something (no one knows what) impaled him from the front to the back and when he was thrown out of the truck, whatever it was came out or went completely through him. This impalement was in his chest area (the ER physician told his mom that if it had been 1/4 inch in any direction it would have been immediately fatal). The Dr.'s also prepared his mom for the worst as they were not expecting him to live through the night.......point of all this???? Dr. Napier is also suspecting that it "could" be scar tissue from this wreck that is affecting his esophagus being as it is in the same area and his pains go from the front of his chest all the way to the back. We are starting with the least invasive treatment first (the meds) and then moving on from there. Of course I ask "Is there anything we can do at home to help?" Dr. Napier turns to me and laughs and says that he loves it when the wives ask the "loaded questions." LOL He laughs and says "of course." At this time Kyle is laughing too because I had prepared him for the Dr. to say something about his "diet." So as of now, and for the next 6 months (as long as the tests prove nothing different), he is on a bland diet lol. No more spicy items, or food with flavor. The Dr. flat out told him, if it tastes good, spit it out LOL. Also there is no coffee or chocolate (ok that would put me in a rubber room for the next 6 months) and NOTHING with caffeine (including coke). So, pray for Kyle that this will indeed cure these chest pains, and pray for his as he deals with his new BLAND diet (ok a little lol here)

A super yummy healthy breakfast

This is one of our favorite (and frugal) breakfasts from over at Crystals Blog. Over time I have adjusted it to fit our needs/tastes. We have started making this Saturday night and then throwing it in the oven when we wake up on Sunday morning.



Baked Oatmeal



1 cup applesauce

1 ½ cups sugar (can reduce)

4 eggs

6 cups oats

4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup milk

1 cup water

2t vanilla





You could also use 2c milk instead of 1c milk and 1c water and you could also use oil instead of applesauce but it will double your calories for the entire recipe.



Mix everything together in a large bowl. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and bake at 375 for 30 -40 minutes. This makes 12 servings-serve each with butter, milk, or Brown sugar! Enjoy!

RBS 6 nations

RBS 6 nations is a website that has incredible amounts of information about Rugby. They cover various countries such as England, France, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. They give tons of updated information on various tournaments that are happening as well as offering a rugby podcast. There are pictures and video casts also! If you need information about Rugby they also have a History section where you can check what has happened with the sport over the past 135 years as well as find out information about women's Rugby teams!

If you are new to Rugby, they also have a listing of the rules to get you started. If your interested they also sell tickets. So ehad on over and check them out!

I love how God works :)

Since our Dr's appt with Katharine last Tuesday, it seems like parent of children with SID have been coming out of the woodwork! It has been amazing. I ran into someone from our homeschool group and was telling her about it....she then told me that one of her sons (almost college age) also has SID. The best part is she has 8 children, and only lives about 2 miles from me! She gave me loads of advice, what worked for her, what didn't. She also invited me to stop by the house to offer up some books for me to read. One she is going to lend me is The out of Sync child. She asked me if I read it before and I said "well...um..I started it...." then she finished my sentence.."you saw too many similarities and couldn't read it any more." BINGO! I told her that it was nice to know I wasn't crazy, that yes my baby does have these issues, and YES someone else sees it too, and she said she remembers having the EXACT same feeling. I have received loads of feedback on Therapeutic listening and it seems that either it REALLY worked for people, or it did the exact opposite of what it what supposed to. I feel like I have already wasted 5 years of her life, and with only 8 more years until society "expects" her to be an adult, I fell like there is just not enough time :(

CVS score of the week

Wow what a week at CVS! Here is a pic of my score

1st CVS order:

4 reeces whipps @ .25/1 + BOGO coupon from the paper (only 1 pictured....4 candy bars + 3 drooling kids - 1 mama RESISTING chocolate = 3 candy bars eaten and one waiting for Papa)

2 Nabisco Nutter butters 5/$5

Garnier Fructise Shampoo $2.99 + $1/1 coupon

Garnier Fructise Hair frizz stuff $2.99 + $1/1 coupon

Aquafresh Advanced $1.99 + $1.99/1 Coupon FREE

L'oreal vive pro $3.74 + $1/1 coupon

L'oreal vive pro $3.74

Johnson and johnsons Buddies $.99 + $.99 coupon FREE

Replenish eye solution $8.79 + $1.50/1 coupon

Wrigley's Extra $1.19

Plus add in $2/10,$3/$15, $4.$20,$5/$30

Total Before coupons: $29.42+ tax

Total ECB used: $1.50

Total out of pocket: $ 6.91

Second CVS order

L'oreal Mascara CLEARANCE! $2.25+ $2/1 coupon

L'oreal Lipstick CLEARANCE! $2.25 + $1/1 coupon

L'oreal Preference hair color $6.99 + $1/1 coupon

Garnier Fructise Conditioner $2.99 + $1/1 coupon

2 boxes of Carefree @ $2.79 + $2/2 coupon

2 boxes stay free @ $2.79 + $2/2 coupon

Aquafresh toothpaste $1.99 + $1/1 coupon

Colgate toothbrush 2 @ 2.99 + $.75/1 coupon

Colgate toothpaste $2.99 + $.75/1 coupon

2 softsoap hand wash @1.40 + $.35 coupon

Add in the same $2/10,$3/$15, $4.$20,$5/$30 coupons for a total of....

Total before coupons: $41.39 + tax

Total ECB used: $10

Total out of pocket: $4.58

So add all this up...I bought roughly $77 (including tax) worth of items and paid a total of $10.49 out of pocket! add in the fact that I got $10 in ECB back as well as another $15 in CVS coupons! Whoo hoo!

For more great deals check out Crystals Blog.

Leslie Sansone lies!

OK not exactly.....but....I had already ordered my 4 mile walk. I am always up for a challenge right? Last Saturday I thought hum....Why not?? I get all excited..Finally! A new workout! After all I have done the 1mile, 2 mile, and 3 mile, 4 mile should be a little bit of a challenge right??? On the back it says it has fast walking and boosted walking..No problem! So I started out and wow...I felt good..thought man this will be pretty easy...just few minutes longer than I normally work out. Everything Went well until I reached the "boosted" part of the workout....it was JOGGING...I didn't think my body would ever recover.....as it shouted for cup after cup of water and new *ahem* "apparel" suited for a jogging woman......





I have survived now....I have been at it for 6 days now and I haven't died yet, so one more exercise "marked off the list." Hopefully the weigh in this week will be worth it lol

Afterschoolers???

As of lately I have been very "enlightened." I had always thought of there being only people that Homeschool, and ONLY people that sent their kids to public school. I never really gave much thought to the fact that thee are people out there that send their kids to school but then school them at home also. This is what is known (as I just learned) as Afterschoolers. From what I read, they are trying to combine the best of both worlds, the public/private schools and homeschooling. Now don't get me wrong, I am not sending my kids to public school to school them in the afternoon. I am however promoting that every family has to do what they feel is best for them. Some families are able to homeschool, and quite honestly, some are not. Not always because of choice, but because of other circumstances such as single parent homes amongst other issues. For those that even have an idea that they may like to homeschool but already have kids in the public school, this may be the perfect springboard to begin! Who knows! Sometimes all it takes is a little bit of a confidence boost for people to realize they can do it and they may end up homeschooling after all. Afterschoolers.com is a website that I found that talks about Afterschoolers and gives more information. Also, I have found that the majority of homeschool sites that I looked at also included Afterschoolers in the introduction for their sites:)

My official post to say to the entire blog-o-sphere....

LORI SHEPLER IS RIGHT! On my 30th birthday I was given a mothers ring by Kyle and the kids. I had wanted it for a VERY long time...Then....about a year ago...I LOST IT! Oh I cried, and I cried, and I cried. I called Lori bawling my eyes out. It was one of those "sick in the pit of your stomach" feelings. Not that I was attached to a material thing...I know it was just a ring. But it was something that Kyle had really thought about......one of the best most thought out gifts he had ever given (in other words it was from his heart)...and I go and lose it :(. So here I am talking to Lori and she was telling me about something important that she had lost....but when she least expected it, it turned up! She told me to be patient and that one day I would find it. She was right! Here it is, one year later, and as I was going through my Jeans drawer, there it was, between 2 pairs of jeans that I don't wear anymore (but hope to wear someday soon). Needless to say, she was pretty excited when I called her this morning to tell her how right she was :)

Works for me Wednesday, Therapeutic Listening

This weeks Works For Me Wednesday is another backwards one where I get to ask YOU for help! As I mentioned in my prayer list, Katharine and I had a terrible week in school last week. All of this brought me to the conclusion that we could no longer wait to speak with an O.T. We ended up at the Dr.'s office on Monday as Maddie was complaining about her ears (which are fine by the way). While we were there I asked for another referral for an O.T. that I had heard about from the mamallama. They called before I left the office to set up that appt...and they actually got one for yesterday (Tuesday) morning! We went in at around 9 and were there until 10:30. The Therapist dually noted my concerns and completely agreed. It is nice to know that I am not crazy and that things are indeed..NOT normal. She noted that Katharine falls on the Autism Spectrum and as we go through more sessions will know more over the next few weeks and hopefully get an official diagnosis. Now I just have to convince my daughter that there is nothing "wrong with her" (UG) and figure out how to deal with all this myself. In one way I am happy as we can now move on and make her life more enjoyable, but on the other hand, that's not exactly something a mom wants to hear either:)



One thing that the therapist wants to try is called Therapeutic Listening. I have lots of research to do on this so if any of you out there find some info I would love to hear about it!

Home 3 years already?

Well I can't believe it...my little squirt has been home 3 years! In celebration of our 3rd Gotcha day, we headed out to the Louisville Science Center. We had a blast! The kids had a great time and we spent so much time just playing around in the exhibits! Maddie was also excited. We had never had any of the kids be so excited for their gotcha day .This kid could not even get to sleep the night before we left! That morning we woke up and took all the kids out for breakfast. They thought that was especially cool as we don't head out to breakfast all that often. Yes I did very good going out :) A bowl of yummy oatmeal and fruit was what I had

All 3 kiddos playing in a nature exhibit

All 3 pretending to be Eagles eating fish

Maddie building and playing

Maddie making bubbles

Maddie playing in the water

Noah acting a little "squirlly"

Katharine being her beautiful self

Katharine studying butterflies

Katharine feeding fish to her eagle

Really? They are actually working TOGETHER?

Noah making bubbles