Another crazy week around here ~ Weekly Wrap-Up

It's been a little while since I've done a weekly wrap up. We have just been so busy, that we haven't had one typical week! Our busy schedule is exactly why I love year round homeschooling! It gives us the flexibility to take off when we need to. That is working for us right now considering we will be having company three weekends in a row. We will probably only be having 3 day school weeks right now.

This past week we had my husband's parents come for a visit and we really enjoyed our time with them. They came in Thursday and we ended up going out to dinner. It was nice to have some adult time, and enjoy adult conversation.

Friday we took the kids to their hotel room so they could swim, and they ended up swimming all day. It was super hot, so the day was perfect for hanging at the pool. I got to watch Gav make several friends that he would only see that day, and probably never see again. He amazes me that he can make friends where ever he goes. We ended a great day with dinner at the hotel, and then more swimming. The kids were exhausted that night and slept like babies!

Saturday was our last day with their Mam-Maw and Pap-Paw and they surprised them with a trip to Natural Bridge Caverns. If you've never been, it's a real treat. Be prepared though, it's HOT! 

This trip we didn't do the caverns. They rode the zipline, did the obstacle course, and had a total blast!

On our way home, we saw some beautiful deer on the side of the road. It looked like they were posing for us. 

We ended the fabulous weekend celebrating Father's Day for my hubby. He really loved the card he got from the kids. 

Tomorrow is the start of another busy week. We are so excited to have so many people of our family come to see us. We have no family where we are, so we will gladly take as many visits possible!

Have a wonderful week!

May 15-19 Weekly Wrap-Up

Well this week was pretty good for being our first week of our school year. That's one reason I like to school year round. We take frequent breaks, but it's not hard for them to get back into gear.

Edyn started a new math this year called Unlock Math. We are really loving it so far. It breaks the math down into small segments and that is perfect for her. It's not overwhelming at all. I will have a full review coming up on this soon so be sure and look for that!

Gavin has started typing again. Yes again. We started typing a couple of years ago, but I just don't think he was ready. He seems to be doing much better, and has already mastered the home row, and started on the top row. He's pretty excited about it!

I decided that this year I wanted to work Biography read alouds into our normal day. We love learning about people so I thought, why not just take 30 minutes a day and add it into our schedule. So far it's working great! Our first book is about Milton Hershey. Wow this one is even more interesting that I thought! This book is by YWAM, and I absolutely love their books. They do a great job of teaching not only about the person they are centered around, but also so much about the history around them. They are some of our favorites! I am hoping to incorporate some lapbooks and notebooking in on some of these books, plus also with history and science.

We love to be able to stop our normal school day and look out at the nature in our yard. We live in the suburbs but that does not mean we lack on nature! We have a ton of rabbits in our neighborhood, and we always love to watch them. The kids threw a banana out to our baby bunny back there to see if he would eat it. They loved watching him while he checked it out very slowly before approaching it!

This week we got to see a really big lizard on our backyard wall too. I had heard they were around here, but have never seen one...until now. They are super neat to watch, but they are very fast. We did some research and we are pretty sure it's a Texas Spiny Lizard. I am very happy to have him around because they eat spiders...and I do NOT like spiders! I hope to see more of them!

We ended our week with lunch at Chick fil a, and bringing Gavin to Nerf Wars at the park. We have a big beautiful park here that has plenty of open space to run and shoot. He got to hang with friends, I got to hang with Mom friends (thank you Jesus lol), and Edyn even made a new friend! 

All in all I would say that this has been a pretty nice week. Looking forward to seeing what fun next week brings!

Weekly Wrap-Up

I haven't done a weekly wrap up in awhile because honestly, I have just been so busy. We are getting ready to start our new school year tomorrow so this last week was their mini summer break. We are still schooling year round, so that it gives us the freedom to take more frequent breaks and allows us to have the flexibility to be able to travel back to our home town more often. I am looking forward to this school year because we are trying to have a little bit more stricter schedule. I think Edyn definitely needs that with her heavy high school load.

Edyn has decided that she might take some college courses, so we are trying to make sure that she has all of the credits that she will need. Gavin is in middle school, and he is going to be doing his main subjects along with typing, Earth Science, and continuing his study of American History.

We are trying to decide if we are going to start a co-op this year. In all of the years that I have homeschooled, we've never done one because I didn't want to be tied down. We have a great group called SHINE in our community and they offer some fun co-op classes for the kids. You do have to participate as a parent, but it doesn't seem to be anything crazy. Even if we decide that we don't want to do the co-op, I think we will still join the group so that we can have access to all of their activities. They have dances for the kids, including prom, and they also have a graduation ceremony for the Seniors. I think Edyn would love that.

We are also tossing around the idea of letting the kids take a music class. Gavin has mentioned wanting to play the guitar, and we have a great homeschool band group here. We are going to go to what they call the petting zoo, and try out different instruments. I think it will be a lot of fun!

Other than that, it's just been the normal everyday grind. We are trying to get into the homesteading groove (I have a post about that coming up), and get back to the basics of living. We have been keeping our garden up, and it's doing pretty good for our first year! I am definitely learning a lot so far. I only wish that I had a way to go back and ask my grandparents what the secret is to having such a beautiful bountiful garden! I will get there, it will just take time!

So, I will try to make more updates soon, and a lot more frequent. Is there a way to get more hours in the day??

Have a great week everyone!

We Moved...AGAIN. ~ Weekly Wrap-Up

It's been awhile since I have posted an update because we have just been too busy. My life seems pretty much like a whirlwind lately. By the time I get up, get started with the day, it's time to go to bed. But, if you've ever moved, then you know exactly what I'm talking about.

If you remember last year we moved because we did not care for the city we lived in. It was a rough move because trying to find a house around here is pretty much a nightmare. We basically settled on a house because it had just gotten to the point that if we didn't find a house, we would be living in a hotel, and having to put our things in storage. No one wanted that so we said yes to a house that was just "ok", even though we were thankful to finally have a house.

We moved in and from the moment we opened the door we had issues. They didn't even paint the house on the inside, and believe me it needed it. That was just at first glance the list of issues that would follow. We were paying A LOT of money for this house to rent in a wonderful neighborhood. All of these issues should have been taken care of way prior to us even signing the contract to rent it...especially for what they wanted us to pay for it!

After we moved in and we started getting the issues checked off one by one, the owner decided to sell it. Yep, we had random people traipsing through our house several times a week, and of course I had to have the house looking pristine. It was annoying and I would pretty much be in a bad mood for the 2 months it was on the market.

It finally sold, and we were beyond happy. An investor bought it, so that way we wouldn't have to move like the real estate agent told us. He came in and promised to replace the carpet, which was the last thing on our list to have done. The previous owner never replaced it and it should have been, so we were very happy with how things were turning out.

I honestly really liked that house. It just needed things done to it, and the kitchen was too small. Who makes a kitchen with hardly any cabinets in a 4 bedroom house?

So out of the blue the new owner texts me and tells me he has another house available and if we wanted it, it was ours. It was bigger, had a huge kitchen, and wood and tile floors so it wouldn't flare Gav's allergies up. So, we accepted and started moving in two days later.

Our new house

We finally got everything moved, and now we have most of it put away in our new house. It was much easier moving from 1800 square feet to 2500 square feet rather than downsizing like we did last time. We are back to school, and basically trying to catch up from the time we were out of commission due to the move. Everything had to be put on hold, including school, and all of my reviews.

Now that things have settled down, I getting back to my blog and posting reviews. Make sure you follow along, because I have some great reviews coming up!

Deaf Dance Company and Starting a new Plan ~ Weekly Wrap Up

So this is going to be short Weekly Wrap-Up. It has been a pretty normal week here at school. We have been working on the same things and actually had kind of a short week. My husband had to go out of town for business, and we decided to do some life school while he was gone.

I recently started a new meal plan called Trim Healthy Mama. If you haven't heard about it, it's a low glycemic diet that is supposed to help you lose weight without spiking your blood sugar. It has been fun finding new recipes to make, and it's going to be super easy to make meals that everyone likes. The original book was one big book of the plan plus recipes, but since then they have split the 2 books so that it isn't so big and intimidating. I bought the plan book for $20 at Barnes and Nobles, and a friend of mine gave me the cookbook. It's real recipes that are easy, and don't require a bunch of crazy ingredients. That's my style here! Also lots of slow cooker recipes which is also perfect for me. It's too hot here to turn an oven on! If you haven't heard of it, I highly recommend the books!

Last Friday we were able to have a wonderful experience and I'm so mad I didn't get any pictures! We were invited to watch the San Antonio Deaf Dance Company, and we were blown away. If you remember back in April, Edyn was taking sign language classes and had a wonderful teacher who we absolutely adore. She is deaf and has done so much for the deaf community. She not only is an absolute fabulous teacher, but she is also the director of this dance company for deaf children. This is the only program like this in the country! She takes these kids and shows them that just because they are deaf, it doesn't mean that they can't lead normal lives, and do things like dance! And let me tell you, they danced their hearts out! These kids ranged in ages from around 6th grade to Seniors. They were all so good, and you could just see the confidence beaming off of them. I got teary eyed a few times because you could tell how hard they had worked, and how proud they were of their accomplishments. It was beautiful! I have always had such a heart for the deaf community, and was even going to college to work with deaf children. God had a different plan for me, and so I ended up being a Stay at home homeschooling mom. What I love is that Edyn also has a heart for the same thing! She loves the deaf community and wants to do whatever she can to be a part of it! Here is a fabulous article on her teacher, Carol Ann, and the dance company. 

That's about all for our week...hey I told you it was kind of slow, aka boring, week with the exception of the deaf dance company! Hopefully we will have a more fun filled week this week coming up. We are patiently waiting for the summer to go away because it's just too hot to do anything outside right now. We are ready for fall!!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Tasha

The Week Before the Wedding ~ Weekly Wrap-Up

The countdown is on and it's now the week of the wedding! In case you haven't heard, my oldest is getting married next Saturday. We are getting things ready this week to go back home on Tuesday. I'm pretty sure there will be a lot to do once we get there! It's been a busy, wild, and abnormal couple of months since we moved. I am ready to have some normalcy back in our lives after we get home from the wedding.

This week has been a pretty normal week with the exception of Drake working until 230 am...It throws us all off schedule, but hopefully that will come to an end soon. I'm proud of him that he works so hard.

I have been working on Baylie's bohemian jars for her wedding. They aren't easy, but I am figuring them out slowly but surely. I found them on Pinterest, but it only told you the supplies you need, I could never find any instructions on them! Anyway, I am going to do a tutorial on them when I get back. Maybe that way it will be a little easier for anyone else who wants to try them.

The downer part of the week was yesterday morning. I tried on my brand new shoes I got for the wedding. I wanted to try them on with my dress so that I could see if my dress was still long. I took about 4 steps and my ankle literally gave out on me. I broke it many years ago in a bad car accident, and it's just weak. So, now I'm torn about wearing them :( I mean I SURE don't want that to happen at the wedding! So, now I have to make the decision whether to keep them, or go and try to find some different ones that are flats. 

Other than that it's been a busy week. We've been having some incredible sunsets lately so I took a quick pic of one the other evening.

I will post a bunch of pictures from the wedding after we get home and settled! I think it will be beautiful. My baby is all grown up now. I'm sure I will shed some tears next week...better get my waterproof mascara for that day!

Have a beautiful week everyone!

Tasha

Grandbaby and Lingerie Party!

This week has been a week of stress, but also a week of pure joy. My daughter is getting married in just a few short days and we celebrated her with a lingerie party last night.

I hate living so far away from my daughter and my grandbaby. Sometimes I wish that we could move back just to be close to them. Although I know that it's not possible to do that, I long for it sometimes. Living away with no family close at all is hard, living away from your child and grandchild is pure torture sometimes. So, with that being said, I try and make the best of it while I'm here. I try and spend as much time as possible with them because I want to soak it all up so that hopefully it will carry over until my next visit. It's definitely hard sometimes!!

The lingerie party was a lot of fun! We had food, fun, and games. We didn't have everyone there but she still had a good turnout. I think she ended up with a lot of nice things!

We will be spending a couple more days here, and heading home Tuesday morning! I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Working on the House and Birthday Parties ~ Weekly Wrap-Up

So this past week has been a week of still working on the house and trying to get back to a regular routine. Let me just say, I am so tired of working on this house. When we decided to move, we never signed up for renovating a house. We are renting right now for a reason. The walls were terrible because they didn't paint them before we moved in, and someone had touched it all up with the wrong color of paint. I just wasn't having it. I didn't move into a more expensive house for it to look a lot worse than our old house. So...we've been painting the last two weekends and STILL have so much left. It's not fair, but it is what it is.

Yesterday the kids were invited to our neighbor's bday party and they had a great time! They had a waterslide and a game truck. Gavin had so much fun, and met some new friends.

This week coming up we are going to see Baylie and Mila for Bay's Lingerie Party! I can't wait to see them!

Hopefully when we get back, I can get back to blogging more. It's just been so crazy the last 2 months. I'm so ready for some normalcy!

I hope everyone has a great week!

Tasha

Still moving and ASL ~ Weekly Wrap-Up

I just wanted to make a quick post to update our week. It has been another busy week around here packing and getting ready for the move. We got some good news this week that we can stay in our current home until May 7th. This will bide us some time and hopefully our new house will be ready. We've been driving by it to see if any progress is done, and it looks like the people are moving out if they haven't moved out completely. I sure hope we can get in soon. All of the boxes and my house being chaotic is starting to wear on me.

School has proven to be hard to keep up with during this time, but we are doing it. I am thankful for the things that I am reviewing right now because it's a lot of work that the kids can do independently. If they have questions, I'm close and they can ask. I just don't have to sit over them and that really helps right now. 

Edyn is still going to her ASL sign language class and she LOVES it. Her teacher is beyond AMAZING!! Edyn has a heart for the deaf and hard of hearing. It's funny because I see so much of myself in her. I too wanted to work with deaf children, and was even going to college to become a speech pathologist. It was something I had a desire to do for a long time, but I ended up being a Mom instead. I definitely wouldn't change it for the world, but I am happy she has that same love for the deaf community. The only thing she would change about her class is this over achiever weirdo dad and his rude wife that bring their kid there. They are distracting and it makes Edyn so aggravated! She is REALLY trying to learn this language, and they make it awkward. The wife likes to talk to the teacher like she's dumb. She's deaf not stupid and that makes Edyn VERY angry. She loves her teacher and when the mom talks to her like that I can tell she wants to let her have it. We are praying that after this 6 week course, she can do another one. She's even been practicing doing ASL songs. She's getting really good and I'm pretty impressed. 

Well that's about it going on now. I'm hoping that we get to move soon and get some normalcy back into our lives. 

Have a great weekend!

~Tasha

Weekly Wrap - Up - Mila's First Birthday!

This past week was a great week, and we made lots of memories. My husband finally got the long awaited vacation week he deserves. Since he hasn't had a vacation since last JUNE, he was really looking forward to it. 

We started the vacation with a trip back to our hometown for our grandbaby's first birthday party! We live 300 miles away from her, so we were super excited to get back and love all over her. I would say that her party was a huge success! She ate cake, got lots of presents, and had the most fun a 1 year old could have at a birthday party!

The day after the party, it was a beautiful sunny day, but wasn't hot at all.  My husband's parents decided that we should go to the beach and have a picnic! It was the perfect day for it! We loaded up our cars and ice chests and headed to the beach. Now, the beaches in southeast Texas aren't crystal clear blue water with white sand. It's more like swamp water with brown sand, but it works. The sun was shining, and the kids were busy making sand castles. We had been there about an hour, and of course some weirdo shows up. There is literally maybe 10 other cars on the entire beach and he pulls up and parks right next to us. He was shady from the beginning and made us all nervous because he would just stare and not say a word. My husband and father in law flanked him on either side to take control of the situation. It was so aggravating that instead of enjoying our time at the beach, we had to be on weirdo watch. He would speak when spoken to, but other than that, he was silent. After a few times of his hands in and out of his pockets, he "accidentally" took a big wad of money out of one pocket, and then a few seconds later, he was playing with his little plastic baggies of drugs in the other pocket. My husband had had enough so we started to load up so that we could leave because this guy sure wasn't going anywhere. I was so angry that here we were just trying to have a good time, and this guy had to come ruin it. If he was normal, we would have just invited him to hang out with us, but because he was shady and brought his drugs to the party, that wasn't the case. Unfortunately this is the only pictures I got. 

Of course the time came when we had to come home. I cry every time because it is so hard to leave my daughter and my granddaughter. I always thought I would keep my grandbabies just like my grandparents kept me while my mom worked. Sadly that's not the case. 

When we got home, I did get to go buy a new washer and dryer. You know you're a mom when you get excited over appliances! 

We have a super busy week coming up, and we are going to be trying out some new curriculum! I hope everyone is having a great weekend so far!