Random thoughts on a Tuesday morning

--I am loving my mornings! Yes, it is hard to wake up at 5:00 in the morning, but that feeling lasts for only a few minutes. The results of waking up early lasts all day. I am able to have some quiet time to myself to prepare for the day. I get some one on one time with Henry because he is the first one up and out the door. Then Seth and Caroline get up, and I can focus on them. Evan is the last to get ready because he goes to school last. I love the staggered design because I feel like by the time they need to go, we've had enough time to get each of them prepared. Sending the kids off to school well inspires me to be more productive when they are gone. So, all in all, the mornings are what they need to be. :)

--Caroline and I went out to dinner together and then to Secret Keeper Girl LIVE! on Friday night.What's a secret keeper girl, you ask? According to their website, "A Secret Keeper Girl values modesty, she surrounds herself with wise friends and she embraces Godly beauty. So, she keeps the deepest secrets of her beauty for just one man. But she also knows that she can share all of her heart secrets with her mom at any time. The coolest thing for you to know is that a Secret Keeper Girl is a masterpiece created by God." Many of Caroline's best friends went. It was fun having a special night with her. We danced, we talked, we laughed with friends, and we prayed. All in all, we learned a lot and it was definitely a Friday night well spent.



--Getting the master bed and bath painted inspired me to get other things checked off my to-do list. Yesterday, I tackled the "out of control" playroom, bagging up garbage and games or toys that had missing parts as well as toys that have been outgrown. They immediately went to our garage, where they will be given to my nephew, Robbie, Goodwill or thrown away. Caroline's sleepover birthday party is on Friday night, and there is nothing like entertaining and the threat of an "influx of new toys" that motivates a mom to get organized. :) I am finishing the playroom today, and hope to tackle the basement and kids' rooms next.

--I have been reading Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother lately. It's been on my list of books I want to read for quite a while, and finally I have gotten around to reading it. One of the concepts I am taking from it is the fact that a very important way to show your love for your children is to make sure that they are well-prepared for their future, and not letting anything stand in the way of that. One of the areas that we are focusing on right now, drilling morning and night, is math facts. There have been some complaints and the kids have not had as much free time, but because I love them, I am not letting that stop us. We have been using a website called xtramath.com, and what I like about it is that it tests each child on their facts and figures out which facts they need extra practice with. The kids visit the site once or twice a day, and have practice sessions tailored to them. Finally, it keeps track of the facts that they've mastered on a chart. One more thing...it's FREE! We've also been using flashcards, as well as doing drill sheets from math-drills.com. I am really pleased with the progress the kids have been making!

--Henry has also been working on improving his keyboarding skills through a website called freetypinggame.net . Before school he works on one of the typing lessons, and after school he gets to play one of the games. It's been working for him because he is typing 10 words per minute faster than before he started the program!

--I had a great conversation with my little brother a few days ago. I haven't talked to him in too long, so it felt really good to catch up.

--Caroline cleaned her room yesterday, with Evan's help (!), and it looks beautiful.

--Dave worked late last night, so I did the carpooling, dinner, helping with homework, and getting the kids ready for bed by myself. I'm thankful that most nights he's home and in the trenches with me.

--I'm thankful for my runs. They definitely help me keep my sanity. There are so many things that I love about being a wife and a mom. HOWEVER. ;) There also are many frustrations and stresses that can eat me up, bog me down, and cause me to not see the beauty and enjoy this season of my life. Going out on a run helps me to work out some of those frustrations, gives me time to thing, and helps me to feel strong and capable.

--On that same note, I am thankful to be running outside. About a year ago, my brother-in-law injured his knee. He asked if we could trade our elliptical machine for his treadmill for a while. It worked out beautifully. He was able to recuperate with the help of the elliptical, and I was able to get back in to running because of the treadmill. Just a couple of weeks ago, he asked to exchange the machines again. The elliptical is sitting in our garage. We're going to take it to a Play It Again Sports and exchange it for our own treadmill. Having a treadmill is a really good thing, especially when its cold or rainy outside, or if I can't run until after the kids are in bed. However, not having the treadmill right now has gotten me running outside. Being out in the fresh air, soaking in some sunshine, and seeing the beautiful fall color is so therapeutic!

--I'm thankful for our fall sports (cross-country, football and soccer). We've really enjoyed them, and they have definitely helped us to budget our time well. Being busy with practices and games has forced the kids to use their time wisely. That fact was especially evident in Henry's life this fall. He has been such a busy kid with cross country practices, meets, and the increased homework load of middle school. He has been working his tail off. It has been hairy at times trying to fit everything in, but he has risen to the occasion. Our son is getting all As! Now that middle school cross country is done, he is joining a running club. As soon as Seth is done with football, he is joining it too. Since parents can participate as well, I'll be able to run with them sometimes too! I am loving the whole idea!

--That's all for now...the kids are up and it's time to start our morning! Have a good day! :)

Fitting it all in

I have not been especially faithful to my blog this past couple of months. Truthfully, it's bothered me. I want to document everything. I want to remember everything and hold on to everything in this season in my life. I love this blog and everything I've captured here in videos, pictures and words.

Why, then, have I only blogged 6 times in this month? Why am I letting days go by without updating?

I wish that I could balance everything and do everything. But I can't, and really, no one can. I'm trying not to feel overwhelmed with what I can't get to, and trying to feel good about what I am getting done. There are a lot of good things happening right now, not everything that I would like, but I'm working at it. The kids are in a good place with school, sports and scouts, and that's the most important thing. Plus, we painted our master bedroom after living with blotchy paint-sampled walls forever, and I think I like it. :)


And to top it all off, tonight I blogged. :)

Hopefully soon I will have everything balanced so that I can fit everything in!

Learning her prayers

This is a very important year of Religious Education for Caroline. She is preparing for her First Communion in the spring. She has been taking the process very seriously, getting her homework done right after it is assigned and diligently learning her prayers.

The way that she learns her prayers is a system that she came up with, and it is really working for her. And honestly, I find how she is doing it so sweet that I had to share. :) She practices a prayer until she remembers it, then tests herself by seeing if she can write the whole thing on a sheet of paper. She then draws a few crosses on the paper and hangs it over her bed.


Then, every night before she goes to sleep, she says her prayers. I am so proud of my sweet girl!

And, Mom, guess what? We finally hung that bulletin board that you made for Caroline. She LOVES it! (We also moved the doll shelf above the book shelf. It only took us about a year and a half to get that item checked off our to-do list!)

Keep up the good work, Caroline!

Having a "Moment" with Henry

After school today, Henry walked in the door and had a snack. He then proceeded to practice his trumpet, do some homework, practice his keyboarding and math facts, and finished two projects. He did all of this without complaining, knowing that it all had to be done before he went to Religious Education class at 7:15. At one point, I looked over his shoulder, and seeing what a good job he was doing on his communication skills project, I actually got a little teary. I asked him to look at me, and said to him,
"Henry, I am so proud of you! You are hard-working, responsible and organized, and your grades are top-notch. You have come such a long way from some of the struggles you had last year. It has been a joy to watch you develop as a student this year. You are amazing me!"
Seriously? You should have seen his smile. He was beaming.
It was such a moment between us, and I will always remember it. :)

Random Picture Post

Missed me? :) Sorry I've been gone so long! It's been a whirlwind around here since last last Wednesday night. We've been out of the house with sports, activities, family fun, etc., and FINALLY I was home all day today. Feeling overwhelmed, I tried to "catch up on everything". That's code for "I walked around in circles starting but never finishing countless items on my to-do list." "Inefficiency" was the word of the day today.

So here I sit on a Tuesday night, trying to process the past few days and plan for the next few. I'm feeling kind of scattered right now, partly because of the weekend and partly because of just being exhausted. Please bear with me...this post contains random pictures with no central theme and probably less than top-notch writing. :) With that kind of a set up, don't get too excited!

Yesterday our whole family went to my father-in-law/dentist :) to have him check our teeth. We got great news. NO CAVITIES! The kids got to put their pictures on the bulliten board.

Last Wednesday night right after CCD, Seth and his friends started working on their homework right away, even amongst distractions from yournger siblings. What good boys!

When Seth was stuck on a few of the questions, Matthew and Will put Seth right in the middle and helped him.
Seth and Evan sharing a quiet Angry Bird moment together at Henry's last cross country meet.

Right before the meet, the boys got together for a cheer.

Here's Henry right at the beginning of the race...kind of a cool shot. :) He did great!

We've been working on getting the kids their Halloween costumes all set. The boys decided to be skeletons, and Caroline is going to be one of the girls from a show called Monster High. When Caroline was trying on her costume, she walked out of the changing room and ran into one of her best friends, Audrey IN THE SAME EXACT COSTUME! Well, the girls thought it was fate, and decided right then and there that this costume was THE ONE!

Moxie is not a huge fan of the costumes. She barks whenever the kids put them on.

Caroline has been decorating the house for Halloween a little at a time. Don't you just love what she did with the chandelier? :)
That's all for now...Off to bed for me. 5 AM is going to come WAY TOO EARLY tomorrow.

A Field Trip to the Apple Orchard

Today Evan's preschool class took a field trip to the apple orchard.


We toured the orchard where the kids learned about how the farmers take care of the trees and how to pick apples. (There's my boy wearing the plaid shirt in the middle of the picture.) Through some special care, an apple tree can start bearing fruit after one year of being transplanted!

Then we walked over to the building where they make cider. We saw the process where apples were chopped, ground, squeezed and pasteurized. Finally, we saw the last step where the cider was dispensed into gallon jugs. See that pile in the middle of the floor? That is what is left of the apples at the end of the process. These scraps are taken back to the orchard to use as fertilizer.

After that part of the tour, Evan got to pick out an apple to eat.

The kids thought they were delicious!

Next, we hopped on a tractor ride to tour the apple orchards and Christmas tree farm.

After that, we toured the bee house. The orchard brings in many hives a year to help pollenate their trees. The kids were FASCINATED!



After that, the kids got to climb on some tractors, and as you might imagine...

they were a big hit!

Here's Evan and his buddies, Connor and Michael!

Such a fun day...

...topped off with apple cider and apple cider donuts. YUMMMM!
On the way out, Evan and I picked up some of the same treats for his brothers and sister. They were pretty happy kids when we served them apple cider and donuts for an after school snack! :)

A Day at the Zoo

Especially according to his brothers and sister, Evan is a very lucky boy. They were grumbling a little bit when they learned that Evan was going to the zoo while they were going to school. I had to remind them that they got to go on these special trips when they were his age too. Evan felt very lucky because not only were we going to the zoo, but we were going with one of his best buddies, Connor! We even drove there with Connor, his mom, grandma and little brother, which was icing on the cake as far as Evan was concerned. :)

And what a day we had!! The kids rode on the carousel atop of their favorite animal. (Or, I guess, a bug, in Evan's case. I wasn't the least bit surprised that he rode a cicada).


Connor was thrilled that he got to ride a lion.

Sweet Michael chose an ostrich.

When we went to the Living Reef, the kids also got to "ride" a sea turtle.

Evan didn't look the least bit worried that a big fish was eating his friend!


There was so much to see and do!

One of the kids' favorite things to do was to pose in these pictures...

They did it again....

and again...

and again!

On the way out, we spotted a rainbow by a fountain.


They were tired boys on the way home!

I'm thankful for these sweet days with my Evan!

Happy October!

Here's a little Halloween Jib Jab! :)

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!