I Can't Think!

I sit here and stare at my monitor and wonder what in the world to blog about. I have a blog planner.... I don't ever use it.. typical. I write things down in it I would like to blog about and I get to my desk to finally blog and it just does not seem as urgent as when I wrote it down. Its near Christmas and I am seriously having issues with getting into the "spirit" of the holiday. Last time I was this out of spirit was when my husband was deployed. Yeah that is a whole nother blog in itself. So you're sitting here wondering what in the world a mother of 3 who homeschools and stays home with her kids could possibly blog about don't worry I am wondering the same thing to. Then I remember that every mom has struggles and the best way for us to deal with them is to realize that we are not the only ones struggling. We are not "Susie Homemaker". I am far from it. Its been a while since its happened but I am pretty sure the load (or two maybe three) have been sitting on my couch for about 2 days now (Maybe more). I would be lying if I said I just could not wait to fold clothes and put them away. Let me tell ya. Folding clothes is my least favorite part of my job description alongside cleaning up vomit. Yeah that is how much I despise it. Maybe I will bargain with the kids and do some of their chores so they will do some of mine.. is that wrong?!?! Probably. Homeschooling is going good... Got a planner put together that I just love love love!!! Though it has its downfalls like hearing that GASP when one of your kids spilled sweet tea all over said planner that you love so much... >.< Yeah... I just chant to myself.. "It will dry" "It will dry" "It will dry" Guess what??!? Its smudged and not as neat as it looked before but, its dry! Voila. No use crying over spilled tea. Anyway this is about all you will get outta me today. Definitely gonna try and keep up. Yeah I know I been saying that for the last 4 years. Maybe I will start using my blog planner!!! Meh... who knows! Hope everyone has a great day!

Its the Little Things!!

Have I mentioned I love Wednesdays and Thursdays. Those are the days my hubby is off. The days we do not do school work. (Unless for some reason there is make up work to do). I am sitting here at my computer sipping on my coffee reflecting on the past few weeks since I blogged last. Selfishly I have to say I am glad football is coming to an end... but I am more sad. It has been great for me and for my son. Shoot its been good for my girls too. My son really enjoys the sport. And he loves so big so I have unexpectedly adopted 17 other little boys who are now brothers to my son. There are a few he is particularly closer to than others but loves them all none the less. My girls have made some new great friends as well. They got to see a little of the cheers they may be doing next year. I am still on the fence about putting them into cheer here due to some drama issues I have heard from other parents who have daughters on the cheer team. How has it been great for me? Well I have made some new wonderful friends I get to see and socialize with a few days a week. Not to mention now that all of our sons are brothers we have become a family in the 10 weeks or more that we have been together. So yes it has been way more of a blessing than it has a burden. Some days I am like UGH football practice but once I get there and I am surrounded by great folks I enjoy it and think man I am glad I did no stay home. How has school been going? GREAT! My kiddos just breeze right along. My littlest who is not "technically" kindergarten age (she misses the cut off by 3 weeks) is rolling right along in her kindergarten school work. Not sure how that will work when I enroll her with the county buuuut we will see. One of those things were we weren't sure if she was ready for kindergarten so we would try it and if not we would back down but shes done great. I am a proud mama. My son, he can practically do all of his work on his own. Hes a great reader. He HATES writing though. When we answer questions he whines "Mama can you write it for me my hand hurts". Sorry son... Such is life. But he thoroughly enjoys having the freedom after we knock out all of his school work in less than 2 hours. My oldest... Ahhh 4th grade... Shes doing great but her favorite part is the experiments. We have jumped into the experiments this year and I am glad. We involve the younger children as well so its fun for all. We are learning about electricity and how its produced and different kinds of energy. So far the journey has been fantastic. This year they are not getting a "winter" break but a fall break. Hubby cant get Christmas time off so we are giving them a break to spend some time with their grandparents. I am so blessed to have a wonderful family and grandparents for my children who are so involved! Anyway... The holidays are coming up.. All things Christmas and pumpkin smelling. Let me state for the record that anything pumpkin flavored, tasting, or smelling is gross... I'm just saying.. You can hold that against me if you would like but just know if you come to my home it will smell like tropical flowers all year round except Christmas time when there will be a hint of Christmas Tree smell (From my REAL Christmas tree). Well that is all. Just wanted to take some time to update everyone! Hope you all have a blessed day!!! <3 p="">

Football Mom

I am a proud mom to an awesome son who is now a football player. Yes he is 6 and yes it is contact football. I know some people are concerned and for good reason but I am writing this little blog to reassure those who are worried. I agree that throwing a child into full contact football is dangerous.. as I have learned letting your child play on the playground is dangerous as well too. My sweet 3 year old got ran over by a bigger kid who did not see her and she got a concussion when she smacked her little head on the concrete. The reassurance I can give to those friends and family who are concerned is that we have truly lucked out with Beast's (He says that is his new nickname) team and coaches. They are very focused on fundamentals. learning the plays and making sure these boys are stretching correctly, warming up efficiently, blocking correctly, and teaching them why learning the correct way to do these things keeps them safe and allows better efficiency. The common sense ones are making sure these boys have a time to take a breather and get some hydration and they do. Most of the boo boos (and I call them boo boos because they are not technically injuries) are from running into each other and hitting elbows, accidentally stepping on someones hand, and in many cases not paying attention  which I might add they could do playing without pads on a playground. This game, if taught and enforced by the PARENTS correctly, can enforce self control, confidence, focus, and teamwork. I have to brag a little bit... Our team has gone undefeated because of the fundamental focus. So this is not a blog to discredit necessary concern because when it comes to children their safety to should be a concern on the forefront of every parents mind. This blog is to reassure you all that we are fully aware of the concerns and we appreciate them and that he is being taken very good care of.. If you did not care you would not be concerned. =) We love you all and thank you all so much for your unfailing support and encouragement.

Good Morning

Well hubbs had to work early today so naturally I woke up when he got up and now I can not get back to sleep. So here I am sitting in bed watching the news with my headphones in (because my 6 year old crawled in the bed sometime last night) and blogging on my phone. Again. Gotta admit watching the news first thing in the morning may not be the best start to someone's day. It's all bad news these days isn't it? Sigh.. course at 5 am there's really nothing else on TV other than cartoons. So.. news it is. Desperately wanting a nice big cup of coffee but I don't drink coffee anymore.  Anyways. Today is one of those days where you don't wanna get out if bed. Kind of let my duties get a little piled up (which I normally don't do). Busy busy. School, football practice, bible study, daily duties just been busy. No time to sit. Of course that's the life of a mommy and wife right. Don't be mistaken I truly love what I do and feel extremely blessed. Gotta find some time today to get some things done here and there and get my walk in. I want to get healthy enough to start running again. Struggle Ruth ah in splints but I got some shoe inserts that will hopefully help out with that. =) Watching my son sleep it just fills my heart with hoy and sadness to see that they are growing up so fast. I mean my BABY is about to be 5... you blink and all of a sudden your babies are turning into little people. My 9 year old Is literally 9 going on 19. She is so grown.  Well this is all the ramblings I have going on today. I hope everyone has a blessed day. Remember to smile. A simple smile is an act of kindness that can completely change someone's day!! God bless you all!

I CAN DO IT!!!!

So it has been a few weeks since I blogged last and since school has started and I have to admit. It has been going pretty smooth. My 9 year old is not wanting to read on her own but I have gotten a lot of encouragement and tips to get through this. My littlest missed the kindergarten cutoff by a couple of weeks but after praying about it and doing some serious thinking I decided to start her on kindergarten work. She is breezing right through it. The good thing is I can take is slow with her if she starts struggling. My son is doing fantastic. We have put him in full contact football. At first he was struggling with hitting and getting more confident in it. Partly because he has been the biggest kid in his age group we have encouraged him not to hit. But now that he is picking up on it he's a beast! I am awful with blogging and keeping up with it but I am going to try.... again...... lol. Life is great right now. Back into Bible Study. Another Beth Moore one so those are always fantastic. It's late now so I will update more tomorrow when I'm not blogging on my phone. Hope everyone has had a great day and all sleep well!!!

2 Days till Day 1!

So I have two more days well less than that until the first day of school!! I have decided to go ahead and work my littlest into Kindergarten. She misses the cutoff by a couple of weeks and I think shes ready for it. Just have to be persistent in teaching her. My lil man is looking forward to it. The oldest however is less than thrilled but she will survive. Some things I have been working on are getting organized and scheduling worked out. Im not sure if I want to go by a strict schedule or if I want to just play each day by ear. Schedules have never been a bad thing so I am going to try that first. I am probably the most organized unorganized person I know. I have decided to go with Sonlight again this year because I loved it so much last year. Fun part was when I got my books in the mail my mom and sister in law were here for me to divvy out the books, label and organize them. Because there is so much material I have most of the school work broken down by 6 weeks. Just have to finish printing off worksheets. I am super stoked! I can not wait. But then again the pressures of homeschooling terrify me to no end. I started playing World of Warcraft over the summer but have decided with school coming up I do not know how much spare time I will have so I cancelled it for now. Priorities. Anyway here are some photos of my classroom/dining room! Please excuse the mess!

I got the Morning High Five idea from a lady named Jessica Here but I tweaked my pics a little bit to work with my household. 

Well thats all for today!!! I hope everyone has a wonderful and restful weekend!!! Happy Back to school time!!!! =)

I CAN DO THIS!

I WILL DO THIS!!!

So once again I have started eating right. I can not say dieting because well... I'm not. I'm just trying to get healthier and be more active. I have some health reasons why I am starting this now. Well I started a week ago and I have to say I already feel great. More energy, better mood, and I am not quite as lazy I had been. I know its only been a week but when you fuel your body with something other than junk it definitely responds in an appreciative manner. What is making it easier this time than the times before..... well my husband has joined me on this journey to be a healthier us. There is so much we want to do with our kids still and they are still young and well lets face it when you are out of shape walking around all day at the beach or the water park or an amusement park is not any fun. Not to mention being comfortable enough to wear shorts and a tank top when its over 100 degrees outside will be a lot better than trekking around in pants and a t shirt (or a black t shirt in my case because well that's what I like to wear). Like I said earlier its only been a week but I can already feel a difference. Now to start exercising.... YAY! Got a mix between Zumba and p90x. Gonna make it a point that when I check my mail I walk and not drive. My mail box is about 1/4 of a mile from my house! =D Well that is all for today. This summer will be fun and fabulous! I can not wait. So much going on these next couple of months! I hope everyone has a GREAT day!!!!!

P90X and a Diet!

Yep thats right. Gonna start p90x and a diet tomorrow (again).. Meaning no more cokes, sweet tea, junk food, only eating healthy and working out. I do this at least once a year and never stick to it but with our latest medical checkup results its time that hubbs and I got healthy. Especially since our kiddos are so active and busy. Hopefully we can stick to it and motivate and inspire each other. I am totally not going to post a before picture yet until I have an after picture to compare it to. Of course it will be a while before I post an after picture. So you are just going to have to keep coming back and checking. We are going to do a low carb diet and just make better overall decisions about our eating lifestyle. Our problem is we grew up in the south and well you know about that good ol southern cooking. Everything is fried, and we go crazy with the mac and cheese and tater salad.. Yeah... I know right. Nom Nom! That sounds so delicious. Sigh.. Gotta give it up! Not much to update today. Headed to my sons flag football make up game then back home to get some cleaning done. Gonna attempt to mop the kitchen floor. Thats always fun when you have kids and dogs running in and out. Might even take some quiet time tonight and read some. My older brother got me the sweetest birthday card with a bookmark. Figure at some point I need to utilize it. Well I hope you all have a blessed day and Thanks again from stopping by and experiencing some of my life with me. God bless you! =D

Dinner for Lunch

So the great thing about staying home I can adjust my schedule according to my husbands. He works at dinner time so I have decided to start cooking dinner at lunch time so he can eat it while its hot before he leaves for work and has food to take for dinner. Needless to say because I do that once I eat my big lunch Im not worth much the rest of the day. Although I did manage to get into the pool yesterday and clean it out some. I have not touched it since before Mothers Day. Its hard when you are the only one who gets out there and cleans it. So, I will be making a trip to the pool store today for some shock. Fantastic. Also I have a confession to make... The blog I wrote a few days ago that said I had a mountain of clothes to fold, well... they are still there. =( I know I know. I managed to get my son to fold his clothes with a tad bit of bribery and there my clothes are... still waiting. OF course to this "supermom" laundry is my kryptonite. Anybody else? So I added a follow by email option on the top right of my page. So you can subscribe and get an email each time I post a blog. If you like what you are reading please share. The more followers I have the more feedback I get. Well this is all I am going to blog today. I have some things weighing heavily on my heart and well.. If I continue to type they may just spill out onto my keyboard and onto your screen and I would rather spare you the ride on my soap box. I hope you all have a gorgeous and blessed day!
God bless you all!

Moms Vs. Moms

For so many years moms have been compared. Different kinds of moms and who does it better or who does it worse. Contrary to popular belief ALL moms (Who are doing what they do in the best interest of their children) are doing everything they can. Many say moms who home school and stay at home are not contributing to society and moms who work are not contributing enough to their children. Where is the happy median. Everyone is different. Some circumstances are beyond our control. Many moms who work don't CHOOSE to they HAVE to, to provide for their family. To say they are less of a mom than a mom who doesn't work would be wrong. In my honest opinion, a stay at home mom, a single mom, a working mom all have the same interest at heart. Loving their children and providing them the best that they can with the situations presented before them. Who are we to say which mom does it better or which mom loves her kids more. I can assure you that working moms love their kids as much as stay at home moms. I have been both. I have worked and I have stayed home. Both of which I loved. Mind you sometimes I miss working but not as much as I know I will miss my kiddos. I am so sick of the cliche of this mom vs. mom thing. Its ridiculous. A mothers love is not to be questioned unless a child is being neglected or hurt. So please, DO NOT compare apples to oranges. Every mom makes sacrifices for their children. One is not more important than the other it is just different. Love all moms equally. Remember to tell them what a great job they are doing regardless of work or staying home. Hug them. Being a mom is not an easy task. God bless all mommies in all walks of life! You may not know it now but one day this hard work will be appreciated.

On a side note if you would like to be a guest blogger let me know. Men and women alike.
Have a blessed day!

Something Clever!

Okay I am having a hard time coming up with blog post titles so lets pretend that I came up with something clever. Many days I sit here and draw a blank and never end up typing anything. Thus the reason I have more "drafts" than actual blog posts. Sad isn't it? Yeah.. It is... I know its OK to say. It wont hurt my feelings. Though I have to post a shout out to all my readers and the 1 that always comments! Makes me smile to know that you all take the time to read my posts and that they are not a complete waste. So please leave comments. Those always encourage me to write more. And if there's anything in particular you would like me to blog about don't hesitate to ask. I need a to do list for my to do list. Im sitting here dishes need to be done, clothes on the couch waiting to be folded nicely and put away, carpet that is supposed to be green but now has a blonde/reddish tint (from the dog hair) and a little boy asking to eat everything in the house when we should be knocking out this stack of math worksheets staring me in the face. AHHHH!!!! Yet here I am typing away at the computer trying to put off the inevitable.Last week my Kindergartner and Third grader took their "placement" test. Mind you it wasn't required but I had them take it for me to get a general idea of where we should be focusing our attention in the years to come. I am anxiously waiting for the results. It is kind of a test to see how I did this year in homeschooling as well. Yes, I am terrified.. Last thing I want to see is that I failed my children homeschooling them this year. Both of my kiddos assure me that they feel like they had done well but we all know how that is. Always feel good on a test to find out you bombed it. Few more weeks of school work then we will be done for summer. Then I get to spend the whole summer trying to get organized. Organization.... BAH! The more I organize the more I see needs to be organized then I get overwhelmed and quit. I did manage to find someone to take my preschool curriculum off of my hands so I do not have to worry about organizing that or trying to find a place for it to collect dust in my house! YAYA!! I look at the curriculum for the next school year and its hard not to cringe but I have to remember that my children's education is worth it! My oldest daughter wants to be a pediatric dentist (which I find quite humorous as she is the one always at the doc), my son wants to play football for the University of Georgia (Make his daddy and uncle proud) and my youngest... well were not sure what she wants to do right now (right now she wants to be a princess). Well that is all I have for today! You know as a stay at home mom there is no time for anything else. Everything else gets in the way of me sitting on the couch watching my stories and eating bon bons! (HAH! I hope I made all of you moms laugh) Stay tuned for tomorrow when I discuss my thoughts on ALL moms. Working, single, married and Stay at home!! It might surprise you! God Bless you all and thank you for reading!

I am a Mommy Blogger!

Okay so I have to admit I have drawn some inspiration on the new movie Moms Night Out to blog again. Mind you I seen it last Friday and I am just now blogging! (It takes me a day at least to write a blog , all while trying to run the daily happenings in my home. I really need to schedule better!) The movie has shown me that I do have something to blog about even when I think I don't. It was nice to see that I am not the only mama that wakes up in the morning and just stares into her coffee cup, trying to patiently wait for the coffee to be done (The calm before the storm) and then... it begins. Your youngest child spills milk all over the table, your son is pulling your eldest daughters hair and shes screaming at him. All the while you are staring into the empty abyss of your cup wondering if its already bedtime yet. Is that you too? Its me... what seems like every day. I didn't realize until I got older and had children of my own the significance of a moms job. In all honesty I am still learning each day more and more the importance of a moms job. Looking back I took for granted the blessing of a mom I had. She worked her butt of for me and my brother and I think in my honest opinion she did a good job raising us. Many times I think I am failing as a mom. My patience is spread too thin and I lose it or I have even gone a whole day doing the bare minimum... I know shameful isn't it? But then there are the moments, at the end of the day when your babygirl falls asleep in your arms, or your oldest tells you what a great mom you are or when your son gets his football award and he smiles at you!! Those are the moments! Those are the special moments in time that make all of the business, the stress, the list of to dos fade away into nothing. Revel in them. They are few and far between but my friend those are the moments that we LIVE for. God knows just when to fit those moments in doesn't he. Just when you think things couldn't get worse, or you are at the end of your rope God sneaks in a precious moment with your child and everything just fades away, even for a moment. He is so good. So why have I decided to blog again? Well I had a very close friend visit this past weekend and she seen my "organized" homeschool area and asked how I do it... I told her honestly... Its a lot of crying, a lot of soul searching, a lot of doubt, and a lot of praying. You look around and see all of these moms who "have it together" and wonder what it the world is wrong with you that you don't have it all together. They make a trip to the grocery store looking like movie stars and you are lucky if you get out with everyones hair brushed, including your own. I am here to let everyone know thats its ok not to have it ALL together. You have bad days and you have good days and thats ok. You are not alone in it. And you aren't the only one who doesn't have it all together.

Balance & Peace

So how do you juggle homeschool, church, Bible study, meal planning and prep for a large family, having time to spend with the husband and kids, quiet time with God, and quality time to myself? I don't. So how do I balance my craziness in life and be at peace about it? I DON'T! I definitely do not have it all together. And I really never feel like it but lately I have started putting God at the start of my day. Makes me think of Matthew 6:33-34 " But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." So what does that mean to me or to you or any other busy person on this planet. Get what you can get done today. There are some things that can wait. Deep cleaning the house can wait until the next day. Instead of checking your facebook before you ever get out of bed, read a devotional on your phone and pray before your feet hit the floor. Remember life does not have to be something that is dreadful. You should enjoy your life. Make the best of it. There are just some things that are not that important that can not wait. If you ever begin to feel overwhelmed take a step back, breathe, look at the blessings life has brought you and be thankful. Remember that you are only in this season for a short time. Laugh, Love, Hug, and Smile a lot!  Anyway, that is enough of my soap box. Hubby and I are about to embark on a whole new journey in our lives. We have gone through and have done a lot in the short time that we have been married but this, is new, fun, exciting and scary all at the same time. We are going to join the homeowners club! YAY! So we love FL so much and hubbs likes his job we are going to plant some roots and maybe stay here for a while. GREAT NEWS!!! Had a little bit of a scare and thought we were going to be relocating to a place that is well... not so warm but a lot of praying and advice from our elders we decided that staying here for a few more years would be the best for our little family. This way hubbs can get a few more years in at his job, we are still close to some family and for the family we are not close to well who wouldn't want to come to Florida to visit. I mean honestly! =D Well that is my blog for the day. Thanks for reading it and keeping up with my posts!

Sleepless AGAIN!

Okay so although I have many things to help me sleep at night, it seems none of them are working. I still wake up and go through the day exhausted as when I was not even sleeping at night. It does not make sense. I am eating better, taking vitamins, and even being more active than normal. I am not sure. Maybe its just a period of adjustment for my body. Either way I hope I start feeling rested soon or I am gonna have to take a week or so to just sleep. Speaking of a week. Last Wednesday I started a Bible Study at my church. Breaking Free by Beth Moore. Whew. Nothing like having a spunky little blonde woman give you a spiritual butt whoopin every week. I have also started in a new Sunday School class. Which is even more exciting because I actually KNOW my teacher and there is some work assigned in that class. Finding the time to get all of the footwork done has been a chore... With EVERYTHING else that is going on. Homeschooling and trying to juggle spending time with my husband and kids in there too. But I am sure I will manage. If I put God first he will give me plenty of time to do it all or he will weed out the things that can wait till later. My "lifestyle change" is going good. Im trying not to call it a diet. I have done really well at eating healthy foods, less junk and more water. I have even started eating breakfast and taking a multivitamin that has helped a lot too. I cant wait until I can get into a gym and start working out. I enjoy walking but it hurts so much. I get shin splints and they are extremely painful. I really do try and push through them but to no avail I cant get over them. Hopefully once I get some more weight off it will be easier. At least that is what I am praying. I will find out on the 28th how much weight I have lost. Praying its what I am hoping my goal would be. Anyways! I hope you all have a blessed day.

A Little of This and a Little of That...

Kind of happy, kind of sad.

OK so here is day one of one of my "resolutions" is to blog more. On a daily basis... As you can see I have already missed 6 days of blogging... ALREADY.. So I guess you could say I got off to a rocky start. So here goes. There are actually many things I want to blog about... Just have to get my thoughts in order. Might start utilizing my Blog Planner. Im big for making lists and planners and things I just usually do not stick to them. Terrible isn't it? With three kids you would think I would organize and stick to it. NOT! My  three kids and husband is probably the reason I DO NOT stick to it. So if you are reading this and it has been a day since I have blogged feel free to kindly remind me. As with New Years there is always a time for you to restart and work on yourself. I have some medical issues that I am addressing and in order to do that I am having to make a serious lifestyle change. I mean really, when is a lifestyle change NOT serious? Especially when it comes to something that you have done for a while and it is time to change it? But, If I want to be on this planet and HEALTHY for my children as they grow up and get older I need to get on it. Well Bible Study is starting back up and might I say I am SO ready for it. Nothing like getting your Spiritual butt handed to you each week.  It helps though that with the move I have found a wonderful church to go to with a phenomenal group of women to worship and fellowship with. I was so worried that no church would ever amount to the one I left back home but God showed up and showed off and placed me in a church that is just as wonderful as the last. God has blessed me so much, its time to start showing him I appreciate his love. Lord knows I do I just do not show it like I should. Today is such a bitter sweet day for me. And I do not know how much I can blog into it but today 9 years ago I lost my first baby sister. You can see pics and read my blog on her before Here and on my Grandmothers website she made for Carly Here. It was a difficult time in my life as I had just found out I was pregnant and the next day I turn around and bury my 3 month old sister that I have wanted all my life. Many thought I would be jealous of her being I was the only girl but when I walked into the NICU and seen her precious little face... I have to admit... being my first baby sister she was my favorite out of the twins. I love them the same but there is just something about a baby sister. I fell in love.. Looking back I was so hurt but the pain in my heart is nothing compared to what my dad and step mom went through. I cannot even begin nor want to begin to imagine. I just pray that the hurt eases as time passes knowing that on this day as Carly is looking down at us God is snuggling her in his arms saying "No worries my precious child, they will all be ok and one day they will get to hold you in their arms like I am now." 6 years to the day after my sister passed my first biological nephew was born. Oh sweet Michael. He is just too sweet. Now you all know that as a proud Aunt I wrote a blog about him too! So you can read about that Here! We also live with him so you will probably read about him quite frequently. His maternal grandparents are in town so he is out and about with them but we will celebrate with him later!  I will get into more detail about things later on to give me some blog post ideas. Thanks everyone for taking the time to read my blog. Your feedback, comments and time are deeply appreciated! I hope you all stay warm and have a blessed day!