The Life and Times of this Homeschooling Mom

So, as you know, I'm not only a mom and educator...I'm also a part-time portrait photographer.  This is a work at home job.  There is only one problem...it is really difficult to find the hours in this home to sit at the computer and get into the photo editing frame of mind.  It isn't something you want to start...stop...start...stop for laundry, meals, entertaining kids, etc.  Obviously, I can't do it during schoolwork.  Trust me, I've tried!  LOL  If my attention is on editing it is similar to the teacher walking out of the room.  Editing takes concentration and focus.  I totally tune out everything going on around me when I'm in the zone.

Therefore...guess when I have time to edit photos.  At night.  When everyone in my house is sleeping!  Actually, yesterday I started mid afternoon because Kevin was home and took care of the kids and cooked our dinner.  I stayed up editing until 5am...and I wasn't even tired.  I was so happy to be accomplishing something!  This happens a lot.  It makes me a little sleepy the next day, but it is worth it!

Anyway, I woke up this morning and I was greeted with an e-mail from Brandy that included a prayer from a homeschool mom.  Seemed fitting to share it here.  It is all true and the beginning is funny!  And, without God and humor...well, I wouldn't be able to do all of the jobs I do!  :)  Admittedly...I do some better than others.  LOL

He maketh me to live on less sleep: He leadeth me through the noise of many voices. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me to teach The right lessons each day, for His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of undone Laundry and kitchen messes, I will fear no evil: For thou art with me, my teacher's guides and Answer keys, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence Of threatening school officials and critical family members: Thou anointest my head with heavenly wisdom, my cup runneth over. Surely educated and godly children shall follow after me All the days of my life: and I will dwell again one day In a clean house with the Lord forevermore. Praise God, we do have a good Shepherd who leads us through every homeschooling problem and provides for our every need. Best of all, our Shepherd knows us and promises never to desert us when the wolf comes seeking to destroy (John 10:11-13). When we listen to the Shepherd's voice and follow Him, we are sure to receive a great reward as we reach the peaceful green pastures of Christ-like, educated children. "And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away" (1 Peter 5:4). Father, how I praise You for leading my children and me in the path of homeschooling. Without You, we surely would be confused and lost. We come to You again this day and pray for Your continued blessings as we follow You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Just thinking back...

I was reading some of my older posts and they were reminding me of some of the wonderful changes in my kids in the last 8 months.

Genna...wow...she has deprogrammed and really come into her own.  She still doesn't like to be wrong, but we rarely have tears anymore over simple and few mistakes.  In the beginning if I corrected her paper and found something wrong she pretty often would be in tears or very angry.  I'm just now realizing how that response is all but gone in the last few months.  YAY!

Thomas is still as sweet as ever, but he is a stinker and thinks he is big.  LOL  Here is a funny example...while doing his addition he'll stall (for time to think) by saying "This is soooo easy."  Cracks me up!  Also, he is reading...however...the word "but" makes him laugh every time he reads it.  He can say it 100 times and not laugh, but when he reads it he is all giggles.  He knows it is not "butt"....but he can't help himself.  He is a crazy boy.  :)

Moms and dads, do you own a digital kitchen timer?  If you don't, you should!  I started with using it to train Genna to avoid wasting time while completing assignments.  In other words, FOCUS on what you are supposed to be doing and not on everything else happening around you.  This is one of those awesome traits she inherited from her momma.  I know I struggled with this in school, and I may not be able to fix myself, but I can help my kids!  We even use it for the shower some nights.  Because, my kids have a problem understanding the words "please hurry up" or "take a quick shower/bath."  Now, on the nights when I need for them to be fast, I set the timer.  This method is working so well for us.

Our Garden Update

So...Here are pics from May 18th...below are the pics from this week to compare!

In the garden growing process...I figured it was a great time for a Science Lesson on Parts of the Flower and Pollination.  That sent us outside to find and photograph pollination in progress!

AND Here are pics of the garden on May 25

Well....Hello!

baby cucumber on the trellis 

Our biggest baby

Bell Pepper is getting bigger!

Cherry Tomatoes

Going to be YUMMY!

Radishes are just about the easiest thing to plant and harvest!  It only takes about 3 - 4 weeks from seed to harvest!

Another flying bug??

And...bad news...I learned today that our squash has been attacked by the SVB (Squash Vine Borer).  Grrrr....we are quite upset.  Remember the "velvet ant" that I posted about a while back...well...turns out they are not velvet ants at all and they are the adult versions of this pest.  Not sure what I'm going to do about this problem...will have to hit the nursery tomorrow and see what they suggest.  :(  The first one I found was in a squash, but after further inspection I found a LOT of them in the stems.

The larva

The "entry" point - where the egg was attached and larva developed

Loving the Walmart Cashier!

So, the kids and I were out and about this morning running errands.  We saw many moms with their kids who are now finished school for the summer.  


We got to the register and Genna helped unload the cart and the cashier asked Genna if she is home schooled!  I was wowed by her insight.  LOL  Then she said (and this is my favorite part), "I can just tell.  The kids who are home schooled are usually really well behaved and independent."  HAHA  LOVE IT!


And, I have to say...trips to the grocery store are so much nicer with my kids now!  I used to do anything I could to avoid shopping with them and now it is no big deal and we actually have fun.  Pretty cool...just one more thing to add to the "What I Love About Homeschooling" list!   


But hold on...don't go crazy thinking that I have the most well behaved kids on the planet!  They are good, but they are also kids!  So, just like everyone we have our moments.  :-P

A Special Choir Performance!

Genna's choir experience this year has been overwhelmingly awesome!  I can't say it enough.  Performing/singing IS Genna's "thing."  She has the natural talent and is so brave and poised when she performs.  She is 9yo!  Her ability to handle the nerves that anyone (even the best adults) experience when performing in front of a room full of people is just amazing to me.

For this special concert in Mississippi, Genna was invited to join the big kids (11 - 17yo) in their choir to sing two songs.  She embraced the challenge, and with only two rehearsals and very little help from me she learned these two rather complicated and long 3-part choral pieces in less than two weeks.  One of these songs is a song that I remember singing with my high school "District Chorus!"  I am so proud of her for (a) working hard and learning the music so well and (b) taking on the challenge without hesitation!  I'm happy for her that she is so confident in her ability.  I don't have videos from those two songs because my camera battery died.  Brandy did get video, so someday I may be able to share.  :)

Then...we got an e-mail asking for kids to audition for special performances to "fill out" the concert line up.  I called Brandy to see if Caryn and Laney would like to audition as a trio with the "50 States Song" which all three of our girls have now learned.  (See previous post for a video of Genna singing this song when she first learned it.)  They did audition and the choir director was impressed and asked the girls to perform "You Are My All In All" for the concert.  They learned this song in 6 days before the concert!  They all did such a great job.  They were the only "little kids" to do a special performance for the concert.  There were 4 others and they were all teenagers.  I wish I had not had a low battery so that I could share those great performances, too!  Here is the video...from left to right is Laney (7yo), Genna (9yo) and Caryn (10yo).  They only made one little mistake that they never made in rehearsal.  :-P

Here are some other videos from that concert.

And, finally, I have to add that the congregation at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church was so welcoming and kind.  They provided a feast of the most delicious foods and made donations to this youth choir program.  Their generosity is so appreciated and I know I'm not the only parent who feels blessed to have been in the company of such good and loving people.

Field Day 2011

We were thrilled to help with Field Day yesterday!  Kevin was able to help, too!  He was in charge of making cream pies and we played "Pie in the Face Hot Potato" with the kids.  Total riot and would suggest the activity for any group of kids!  Here are the rules...


If you have the "potato" when the music stops you have two choices...(a) pie yourself and stay in the game or (b) pie the person to your right or left and leave the game.  

My kids (and most of the other kids) decided to pie themselves!  LOL

The whole day was fun!

Crazy April! What else is new?

I live by several common mantras, cliches, sayings, etc...

God will lead the way.

Whatever is meant to be, will be.

Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you.

Don't Judge.

And my latest favorite is...

NEVER A DULL MOMENT!

Since my previous post:

Kevin ruptured his Achilles Tendon while playing basketball.  He has had surgery to repair it and we are looking at several months of recovery.  It has been joyful....well, actually, no it hasn't.  Not for him, and not for me.  He is a big help in our house and these days he can't help much at all.  This is very frustrating for him.  And now instead of two people who need me to care for them, I have three!  LOL  However, I know things could be much worse and I continually count my blessings and stay thankful that his ruptured achilles is the worst thing we have to handle!

We also had a visit from Nana and Huckie!  They were here for Easter week and we had such a great time with them.  We spent one day in the French Quarter of New Orleans where the kids and Huckie toured the Cabildo (museum of the history of N.O.) and the Katrina museum.  We also took them to the original Cafe Du Monde for beignets and they were thrilled.  They were able to peek into the kitchen and see them making the beignets....1000's of them!  It was really windy that day, which made for some real fun with the powdered sugar!  AND...I'm very upset with myself because I forgot my camera! 

While Nana and Huckie were here Genna had a choir concert.  She auditioned and was awarded with a solo!!!  It was extremely exciting for me to see my little girl singing on a stage!  I now understand how my parents felt when I was young.  :)  She could have sounded awful and I'd have thought she sounded like an angel!  BUT, she was AWESOME!  I'm still amazed at her poise and grace.  Not to mention her beautiful voice.  :)  This choir experience has been so special, and of such a high quality, that everyone "gets" why I drive an hour each week to New Orleans to participate! 

Please follow this link to see her performance with her awesome choir!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuldOOHmGBA&feature=related

And here is a pic of my baby getting ready for the concert!  I think she was excited!  ;-)

I'm not sure if Thomas will join this choir since he (a) said "I wish I had earplugs." and (b) slept through most of the concert!  LOL  He is such a stinker.  

See if you can find him in this pic!  

That is from the park where he is playing baseball and Genna is playing softball.  Our schedule for this activity is awesome....Monday practice for both, Tuesday game for Genna, Wednesday game for Thomas, Thursday game for Genna and Saturday game for Thomas.  On Wednesdays we also have dancing for Genna.  This will go on until mid-June.  Thankfully, tonight we had a very exciting game!  It has to be entertaining or I'd really just want to quit.  LOL

In other news our garden is being tended by me and the kids only.  That really wasn't the original plan, but it's fun and I'm hanging in there!  :)  While tending yesterday I saw two of these and had to get pics so that we could find out what kind of bee is red?  It isn't a bee at all, it is a "velvet ant" or "cow killer."  And, guess what...despite their name they aren't an ant either.  LOL  They are actually wasps.  The males fly and don't sting, but the females (haven't seen one, but I'm looking) don't fly and pack a nasty sting and actually help to control the wasp and bee population because they lay their eggs on top of a host larvae and when they hatch they feed on and kill the pest to be.  So, I'm not complaining, but I'm also making sure that we are wearing shoes outside!

In Flight

Close up on a cucumber leaf

Hope you enjoyed your science lesson for the day!

Otherwise, our garden seemed to explode overnight!  Suddenly our little tiny plants became HUGE!

Future Squash

Cherry Tomatoes

Teeny Tiny beginnings of a Bell Pepper

Massive amounts of cilantro!  LOL  

I can't wait for the tomatoes and peppers so I can make a LOT of salsa!

And, the kids have a new fun pastime....catching minnows.  And, amazingly, they are very successful.  They use two big cups!  The wind kept blowing them over so I picked up a plastic tank at Walmart for them to keep and observe their catches in.  :)  They've made some bonus catches...a clam, a tadpole, and something that resembles a teeny teeny tiny crawfish!  There are at least 30 tiny minnows in there.

And, my last cliche mantra that sums our awesome lives up lately:

Let the kids be kids!  

But wait....husbands!

You may want to think twice about "being a kid" before you (and your achilles) regret it!  ;-P