Ryan has had to work like crazy ever since we got here to San Antonio. He's gone Monday through Friday and then he's home on the weekends. So that leaves me with the kids during the week. Some may call me a "supermom" but lately I've been questioning my sanity. :) The two of them definately keep me busy. Trying to unpack anything is laughable! And going shopping for anything is always eventful. Today I was at a consignment shop with the two of them and as we were leaving Kaylee decided to play "run away from Mommy when she asked me to come." Oooo, that drives me crazy! And in a parking lot no less! I've definately had a few meltdowns. But then I try to remind myself of the alternative. I could be waking up at the crack of dawn to get ready for work, getting kids ready to go to daycare, and leaving my kids with someone else for the day. So I try to breathe, calm down, and be grateful that I'm able to care for my own children at home.
P.S. Hopefully once hunting season starts Ryan will be home every other night. :) Its funny. At his old job, that would have seemed like a hardship. Now I'm jumping up and down with joy! :)
I can't imagine how hard that is. Whenever Frederic has been out of town for work or doing a meeting or something I can't wait till he comes home. It's lonely by yourself and it's hard making all the decisions for the kids and dealing with them not obeying and trying to just go to the bathroom by yourself. Hang in there.
You're doing a good job. It's hard doing it by yourself. And hard when Daddy is in and out so much. Hope it settles down soon! Where is Ryan during the week?
We are in similar boats... Jeff travels most weeks M-Th for right now. It can be tough, esp going out to the store, etc. Hang in there! You are doing a great thing by staying home with them. The frustrating times pale in comparison to the rewards of being THE ones who raise our children.
You are doing a great job. Trust me, I know how hard it is. I'm sure you just appreciate Ryan more. Tell Ryan that I'll catch a big one just for him:-)
Today Noelani asked me when we could see Kaylee and Colton again. I sadly said not for a very long time. Why did you guys have to move?!?!?! WE MISS YOU!!!
That's funny. It's definitely a blessing to get to stay home with the kiddos. I'm glad you're able to too. It's hard sometimes too, but all too worth it. :) We'd love to see ya'll soon. Would you mind emailing me? My address is on my blog. :) Homeschooling is great. I really enjoy having Alyssa here everyday. I wouldn't sweat anything for pre-K. We don't spend very much time doing Kindergarten. It has been an adjustment to my weeks though. The benefits are that you are in complete control of your child's influences & you have more time to talk & teach spiritual matters. You also can do things according to your schedule & not the school districts. If you want to go on vacation in the middle of Oct., no problem. We attend a congregation that has lots of Homeschooled children. We get together every week for a Ladies Bible Study & the kids play on the playground. We go to lots of social activities so Alyssa is for surely not lacking in that area, which is what most people worry about. You won't need 8hrs a day to dedicate to her for her to learn & grow. All children are different in how they learn though. Most of the children that are homeschooled here are very smart for their age both with Bible knowledge & academics. Some parents don't have as much free time (older kids) because their child might struggle with a certain subject like math or something. If it's something you are interested in doing, I say go for it. You can just start out 1 year at a time. All of the Mom's told me not to worry about buying a curriculum for Kind. I didn't. There's lots of info on the web that's helpful too. I could email you some of the websites I got from Joyce that they use in school. We also go on field trips with the kids sometimes too. :)
On the other hand, if putting her in public school seems like the best thing for your family, you can do that too. I always try to say that there isn't a right or wrong. I just recommend doing what you feel like you're being pulled towards. If she's put in public school, you'll have to work harder at deal with different obstacles, but you can for surely do that too. You can still help them get through those things and be a shining light. :)
Well, we're trying to get into the swing of things here in San Antonio. It's a little different right now because Ryan is having to stay in Laredo all week, M-F. I'm still unpacking boxes and finding homes for all our "stuff." Kaylee really loves her new room. She keeps asking though when we're going to FL, which is kind of sad. She misses everyone there, especially Abbey and her grandparents.
In other news, Ryan and I are considering homeschooling. Kaylee will be four next summer and ready for preschool. I guess we would begin next year with a few lessons. So I was wondering if anyone had any advice, tips, ideas,pros/cons, etc. I'll write more later when I can collect my thoughts, still feeling a little scattered. :)
There are so many things to consider when you think about schooling your children. I got your post card. Your house looks so adorable!! I wish I could come and see it!
I'm so glad you all made it safely to TX & are getting settled in. I'm sure Kaylee will have NO problem making lots of new friends real soon! I'm so excited at the thought of getting to see you all more often possibly. I feel so fortunate we were able to see you all so much even when you lived in FL!
I don't know if you read my comment on your last post about some things to do with Kaylee. I would say this... be laid back with it and do just a little bit each week or day. You can scroll down for some suggestions I had. I am really enjoying spending school time with Ian. Even at his age of 5, I don't spend more than 45 minutes to an hour each day on it. Some days it is less, depending on what our day is like. I have really enjoyed our homeschool playgroup which meets once a week for the kids to play and form friendships. I started that right before Ian turned 5 and he really looks forward to it each week.
I have never homeschooled my own children but can tell you pros and cons from the public school realm. Unfortunately the kids I have seen come from homeschool to public school are pretty much always behind their age group. so if you are going to make the commitment, really do it and stick to a schedule. However, public school is a scarey and sometimes dangerous place. On the other hand, children need to experience evil and learn to make good decisions. They also need to develop people skills so you have to make sure they still have lots of interaction with kids their age. It can be a wonderful thing or a terrible thing. This is probably not helpful at all.
Actually, and not to start an argument or anything, kids who are homeschooled stastically do better on standardized tests as well as score higher on GED tests than many high school graduates. And maybe I misunderstand you, but how can we see the need for our children to experience evil when they're 5??
I think what she's saying is that kids need to learn to defend their beliefs, or what they know to be right and wrong... whether it's cheating on a test in 3rd grade to testing drugs in high school.
From my perspective, I attended a private school that was run by members of the Church of Christ. While it was great being surrounded by Christians, and growing up was a little easier, I found in college that the faith of those I went to church with was much stronger than mine... and they all went to public school. I never had to defend my faith to anyone b/c everyone around me shared the same faith. There is something to be said for learning to stand up for yourself and trying your character... it's hard to get that in a homeschool environment.
While statistically homeschooled students do better on standardized tests, she has taught children in public schools that came from a homeschool environment. Maybe they started attending public schools b/c their parents weren't so great at the home education. I went to FC with some that made me wonder how they survived on their own. (I also went to FC with one that is a well-adjusted, intelligent attorney.)
I don't believe God asks us as parents to send our children out into the world to defend their beliefs. Adults are to do this, but I find nowhere in the Bible that would suggest we are to subejct our children to such things. A child can very well learn right and wrong and have their character tried in a homeschool environment. I am speaking from experience on both sides.
Thanks for all of your and Ryan's help when Eric was in Texas last weekend. He really enjoyed being around your friends and they were so hospitable to him. He's usually home on the weekends so it's very hard for him to be away from me and Luke.
I would certainly never force my opinion of home school on anyone. Each parent must choose what they feel is best for their children not only for their education but most importantly to help them go to heaven. I can only report what I have seen at the middle and high public school level. I am sure there are some wonderful, well educated, socially well-rounded, God-fearing homeschooled children and adults out there. Unfortunately I have seen some very negative aspects. I know it can work, but it takes special parents to make it work well. I'm not here to debate the issue, I realize some people feel very strongly about it and I respect their opinion.
Thanks for all the different angles on homeschooling. If we do homeschool I definately plan on joining some kind of playgroup or other social activity so that Kaylee can interact with other children. She's such a social bug anyway, I can't imagine keeping her at home all day. She says hi to everyone she sees, at the grocery store, playground, etc. and makes friends easily. I also plan on going to the elementary school when it comes time for her to start Kindergarten and observing some classrooms, just to see what its like there and if I could feel comfortable leaving her there. We've just heard some horror stories from another Christian parent with a student in high school out here. And while high school is a long ways away, there are definately negative things that children can be exposed to at a young age. If we are comfortable with the school I plan on using any negative situations to teach Kaylee what is right. We still have two years, so we'll see what happens. :)
Thanks! It was alot of fun. Alot of work but alot of fun too! I can't believe he's going to be one either. Noelani just turned 5 and I still don't know how that happened. Pretty soon she'll be 10!
...if I shared any of these pics or not. They are from my grandmother's home in Missouri. It was kind of sad going back and her not being there and knowing that the family farm probably wasn't going to stay in our family. So I took some pictures with the kids so I can show them someday what it was like. Here are a few of the pics.
Those are great pictures and will make for sweet memories. Every time I go to Missouri I hate that I can no longer go to my grandparents' house I grew up visiting.
yes, it is a great book- I think you would like it! I just checked our library catalog online and they didn't have it. =o( I think it's fairly new, so maybe they will still get it.
Abbey almost brought me to tears this week talking about Kaylee. She was talking about eating watermelon at her house and she said "I miss her" :(. The pictures of Epcot are on my Facebook, there is a link on my pleo page.
Can you please email me three recipes for the FC cookbook. I will be more than happy to put them in for you. Our deadline is the end of the month. We need people and recipes. You can send them to me. My email address is at the top of my pleo page. Thanks.
My grandpa has a farm too. But no one in our family is interested in working it. It's not capable of really bringing that much money to anyone so naturally no one is interested. Funny how that works.
Please email me (email address on my home page) a dedication, thought or scripture that you would like put on the dedication page of the cookbook. We are also encluding camp directors etc. Thanks.
Hey! How do you like San Antonio so far? I heard your parents sold their house, is that right? Where are they moving to? How old will Kaylee be? There are some good things out there to do with preschoolers such as Before Five in a Row, Starfall.com (Letter of the week) - it is free, and I have a good Bible based preschool curriculum that is called A-Z Toddler Curriculum (it is full of hands-on activities centered around learning the letters and such)- it cost me $5. If you want to know more about any one of these, I can give you more info.
I have been working on potty training with Kaylee for almost a year now. It always felt like she could do it if she wanted to. Well, I guess she wants to now! I never thought it would be in the middle of a move! We went to Epcot on Tuesday with friends, and I think that it encouraged Kaylee to potty train because her (Nornie) daughter is potty training. So, Kaylee stayed dry the entire day at Epcot, of all places, and has continued to do so since then! I can't believe it! It's awesome! I am still putting a diaper on her at night, but she's even kept that dry! I'm so proud of her! Yeah to no more diapers!!!! Except for Colton of course... :)
P.S. I would post pics from Epcot, but Ryan took my uploading cord with him. :)
Thanks for your comment!!! That meant alot to me! My mom is probably going home on Tuesday so maybe we'll have some time to hook toward the end of the week.
Well, I will be here at my parent's house for the next two weeks. I hope to get to see all of our friends here before we have to leave. We finished up packing on Thursday morning and the movers came and got everything loaded. No more packing, yeah!
I'm so glad that's all done with. Now I just have to make it through this next week being a single parent.
Well we will have to get together. My mom just got here yesterday and we are hanging out too. Much is going on here. Lots to tell you! I'm not sure when she's leaving but we'll have to get together FOR SURE!!!
I hope the next 2 weeks aren't too difficult for any of you! Email me your new address when you get a chance please!*? Enjoy your last couple of weeks in Florida.
I hope everything continues to go well & Ryan is enjoying his new job. Let me know if you need any help when you get here. We live northeast of Austin. Not too far. :)
