Oh How Time Flies...

I'm starting this post out with a deep sigh.  One of the ones you do when you take that time to really really look at your kids as they are getting older.  You know how you kinda get caught up in your every day regular life stuff...then out of the blue, you look at your child, and it's almost like seeing a whole new person.  It's still them, obviously, but just a little more grown up, a little more mature, a little more of a lot of things...and it really hits you, all at once, in that moment...time is really speeding by.

This evening, we all went to Arlee's Girl Scout Bridging Ceremony.  She crossed over the bridge to become an Ambassador Girl Scout.  We're working toward getting her ready to start working on her Gold Award within the next couple months...and then she will begin working on putting her ideas into motion, and finally making it happen.  This next year will be Arlee's last year in Girl Scouts.  This chapter of her life is coming to a close.  The next time that she will be involved in Girl Scouts will be IF she has a daughter of her own...and I do hope she signs her up!  I know Arlee has really enjoyed her time in Scouts...since 2nd grade. 

Tonight Arlee sang during the ceremony "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield.  If you haven't listened to it before, I suggest you do!  A very inspirational song...and I think it was a wonderful choice for Arlee to sing tonight as her, along with the other Girls, begin a brand new year together.

With Arlee getting ready to turn 17 here in just a couple months...it is REALLY weighing heavy on me.  My little girl is just not so little...hasn't been for some time.  She only has 1 more year of being "officially" a child.  It won't be long before she is ready to move out and start her own life on her own...and she won't be just "down the hall" in her room drawing, listening to music, or watch her tv anymore.  I will have to call her, fb her, or email her when I want to share something with her.   I will have to "schedule" time with her when I want to see her.  What am I going to do when I no longer get to see her every day??  Oh geez.  this is going to be REALLY hard on me.

I had tears in my eyes tonight watching her up there singing her song in front of her friends and their parents.  There she was...my beautiful daughter...all grown up.  And here I sit as I write...with tears welling up again. 

Getting Caught Up

I know exactly why it's so hard for me to keep up with my blog...it's because we are just so darn busy!  And we've even been knocking some things off the calendar to help save a little in our gas budget!  Whew!  Some days...just looking at our calendar can make my head swim.

Sept 4th...Went over to my IL's so Sue could help Arlee make a cape for her costume she made to wear to the Cincy Comic Con that upcoming weekend.  We hung out and chit chatted.  A very nice visit!  And Arlee left with an amazing cape to complete her costume!

She did a great job making her vision of her costume come to life!  See how there is the green sleeves on the red shirt??  She cut those off another shirt, and replaced the red sleeves on that shirt!!  Like her glove??  Those were from that other green shirt, too!  She is just so darn creative!

She even had people stopping HER to get HER picture!  What an awesome compliment for all the hard work she put into this costume!  :)

Sept 5th...This night was our first Girl Scout & Cub Scout meetings for the 2013-14 year!  Whew!  There are SO MANY great families that we get the honor of seeing at these meetings!  I wish I had time to get to catch up with each one...but I sadly don't.  Last year I was a Co-Leader for the "older" Girl Troop...this year, I'm concentrating more on our Cub Scout Pack!  Oh goodness was those boys wired that night!!  They were so excited to be having their meeting...oh my!  They were wild!  None of them were "bad"...just excited and it definitely showed!  I hope they had a good time...and I look forward to a great year of learning together with them!

Sept 6th...Had to get up EARLY this morning so Frost & I could meet up with some other Committee Members from his Boy Scout Troop to complete his & another Scout's Board of Review!  I sat in on the other Scout's one, and Frost had to go in and do his by just talking about the Troop, and what he's done to get to where he is now.  From what I heard, he did a great job...parents are not allowed to sit in, unfortunately...this is why I think they should definitely video them!  Just sayin'!!  So very proud of my boy who is now a Second Class Scout!

In the evening, we got to go hang out with some really good, long time friends of ours!  It was just me the the kiddos...Danny was at his Magic Tourney right up the street.  We had some good food, and great company!  I've missed my friend so much!  We used to spend so much more time together...I always enjoyed my time with her...and I miss it a lot.  I got to shoot some pool with her...lots of fun!  Danny did get to swing by after his tournament...so that was really great!

Sept 7th...Cincy ComicCon!!  Danny, Arlee, & Frost went.  We really didn't have the money for this outing...but there was NO way we could break Arlee's heart like that!  She's been looking forward to it for WEEKS!!  Shoot...maybe MONTHS!?!  They had a good time!  Here are some pics from their day there:

Sept 9th...Boy Scout Night!!  Well...it turned out to just be Frost & one other Scout!  :)   It was totally fine though!  Frost and him did some planning for the upcoming year...and Frost helped him to get a requirement signed off by Danny!  I got to talk with his mom.  So I'm calling it a successful night!  :)

Sept 11th...FIRST DAY OF Co-Op!!!!  It was SO nerve wracking BEFORE class!  I was just too nervous AND excited!!  I couldn't get the internet to work with Arlee's lap top, so I wasn't going to be able to show my video.  :/   And then...I had to fill the time TALKING...and time was moving SO SLOW!  LOL!  But...we managed to get thru it!  I hope the kids had a bit of fun at least...I hope they like the book, and I'm looking forward to some great projects that they get inspired to create and bring in next month!

I also gave them a photo & caption from the book, "The Chronicles of Harris Burdick"...this is a great book to inspire a little creative writing!  You show the photo & caption...and the kids are suppose to come up with a story they make up.  There are stories in the book, made up from famous authors.  I also gave them some prompts in case they'd rather use those instead to come up with stories.

My friend Katrina did the AMAZING photography class...that the boys REALLY enjoyed!!   Liam really liked the Science & Art classes that he did as well!  There is a new 4H group forming from our CoOp families...so we are looking into all we can do with that.  We are TOTALLY brand new to 4H...so we are on information overload right now...but it really looks like a great way for the kids to learn lots of new things!  I can't wait until next month when we get to do it again!  There were so many great families who jumped in and made this happen!  A huge THANK YOU to all of them!  I got to catch up with some friends I haven't seen in awhile...and got to meet some families I hadn't met before...which is ALWAYS exciting!!

Sept 12th...Shooting Sports!!  Arlee & Frost have been waiting for this to start back!  The did Archery tonight...and I think did pretty good for not shooting all summer long!  Then there was a meeting afterward.

So, I guess that pretty much catches us up to the NOW.  I really do need to be heading to bed...I need to get up early to drop Frost off with his girlfriend and her family for an outing they are all going on together.

Thanks for dropping in!  :)  Hope to see you again soon!

Flexibility....that is the Key

Last night...while I recounted our day thru my blog...I thought about what I would like to do with the kids the next day.  I was really looking forward to it...and was hoping the kids would enjoy it, too.

9:30am...the phone rings...it's Danny..."I'm at Urgent Care."   Definitely NOT something you want to hear your Husband tell you.  Told me his side and back pain were MUCH worse than last night...that he couldn't take it any longer...and that he's just waiting to be seen by the dr.   "Do you want me to come and be there with you?" I asked him.  "No, it's fine", was his response.   We talked a bit more...then he got REALLY nauseous.  "I'm on my way."  Said our "love you's" and we hung up.

I got dressed as quickly as I could...drove to Urgent Care...he was already in the back, so I told the receptionist that I was there to see my Husband...she said they were in talking with him...so I stood there.  Just a couple minutes later, I really think after she noticed I was NOT going to be sitting down to wait...she had one of the nurses take me back...I was thru the door she opened before she even finished saying my Danny's name.

We waited for what seemed like forever for the dr.  It was horrible because Danny was in so much pain...and I couldn't really do anything for him.  FINALLY the dr came in...he was suspecting a kidney stone, but said that we needed to go to the ER so they could do a CT scan.  They did, however, give Danny a shot of pain meds to help...and it did...thankfully.

Got to the ER, and I'm sure you know how that goes...you wait, and wait, and WAIT.  They took some blood, asked questions, finally got the CT scan done, looked over everything, then the dr came in to talk with us.  He verified that Danny did have a kidney stone that was "stuck"...and that his kidney has more it's holding.  :/  Gave us some 'scripts, directions on what to do next, said that Danny could pass it anywhere from a couple hours to a few days.

We had left Danny's work van at the Urgent Care...so we had to go pick it up before heading to Kroger to drop off his 'scripts.  Ran over to Little Caesar's to pick up one of their $5 pizzas {well...$5.50 pizzas since we were at the one in Amelia}...we were STARVED by this point!!  By the time we were picking up his meds, Danny's pain started to come back.  We needed to get him home QUICK!

Once at home...he took his pain meds, and laid down.  I've been keeping water near him since we got home around 5:30pm...urging him to drink as much as he possibly can.  He's been taking it easy all evening.

Did still get to run up to the library before they closed!  That was one of the things I was wanting to do with the kids today.  Picked up a TON of books...about 5 movies for us all to watch.  We watched "Battleship" tonight...ooooooooh....THAT is a good movie!!  VERY highly recommended by the Conn Family!!

Liam had brought along his money...and decided that he wanted a donut from Speedway.  So we stopped in so he could get his donut.  Frost went in with me...with money Arlee had also giving him for a donut of her own.  Frost got himself a Freeze & me a small cappuccino {I love my boy}.  So I scrounged around in my purse to find a $1 so Zach could get something, too.  Ended up...since Frost went first buying Arlee's donut...we were able to get Zach's for free!  YAY!  I got to keep my $1!!! 

Kids are all in bed...which is where I'm about ready to be heading...have to get up early to take Frost & Arlee to work in the morning...they are both going to be tired after staying up late to watch the movie!

I do have this amazing daughter...who I called when we were sitting at the ER...just to update her on how things were going...and she asked me if there was anything I needed her to make sure the boys did today.  So I rattled off a few schooly things the boys could do...and she did the best she could to get the boys to do them.  Liam was being pretty moody today...no big surprise...but I am so thankful that she was so willing to step up and help out where she could since I was unable to be at home today.

When you choose the life of a homeschooling family...you must totally embrace FLEXIBILITY.

Our Labor Day

Hoping that everyone had a fun & relaxing holiday weekend! 

Today was just a typical {I use this word loosely} day around here since Danny had to work.  Other than him having to get up and out the door early this morning...the rest of us {including Frosty's friend that stayed over} came creeping out of bed at some point after noon.  Yep...that's just how we roll. 

We each slowly got some breakfast...none of us really move much faster than a snail's pace when we first get up.  I made oatmeal for Zach, Liam, and myself....Arlee made some Ramen noodles {her breakfast of choice}...and Frost made his friend and himself some scrambled eggs and toast.

I sat and listened to Zach practice his piano.  He has 2 songs & his upcoming Fall Recital piece to work on.  I'm excited, and can't wait for his Wednesday lesson with his teacher because he has been practicing much more than we normally.  For the past almost 2 weeks, he's been doing so great at practicing his music!!  I don't know how many times before I've fought and fussed with him to sit down and work thru his books...Oh goodness...he would end up crying, yelling, and just get so frustrated with himself and me.  So I think we BOTH started to just avoid it all together.  I am so thankful that things have seemed to smooth out for him...which also means for me, too!

At this point, we took our awesome visitor back to his house.  Frost came along with me...so we had some one on one time while we headed back home.  I left Arlee at home with the two younger boys...she worked on getting our kitchen table cleared & cleaned off...and Zach & Liam worked on straightening up our living room.

After Frost and I got back home...I got Zach working on his Study Ladder stuff {www.studyladder.com}.  He got introduced to counting from 1 to 10 in French...along with a few other French words/phrases.  He also did some fun art lesson thing on there.  Along with a couple games.   Liam worked on his Reading Eggs {readingeggs.com} which he really enjoys doing!  Arlee worked on some writing, reading, and math today.  And Frost read out of a book I picked him up from the library:  "Cryptid Hunters".  I was hoping he would be able to get into it...he loves cryptozoology.  He's saying it's not very good.  I told him he HAS to get to at least chapter 3 before he can abandon it.

Arlee put together a spur of the moment art project for them all to do.  Liam got the play doh out for them all to sculpt something...then they had to draw it.

This was Liam's monster that he created.

 Arlee's creature & little doggie thing.

Frosty's demon-like guy & dragon

Sadly, Zachary did make a whale kind of creation, but he destroyed it before we got a picture of it.

They all worked on this for about 45 mins or so at the kitchen table together...no fighting, no teasing, no picking at each other...they were just together...peacefully.  I was loving it!  

When Zach was all finished {when his ADD wouldn't let him continue to sit at the table any longer}, I got him to read some more of his book that he's been working on:  "Guardians of Ga'Hoole: The Capture".  It's the first book of an impressive series.  Now...Zach can read very very well.  He sounds things out.  Has always been able to read words well beyond what he should at his age.  But the comprehension is what trips him up every time.  I'm not sure if it's his ADD working against him or what.  I get him the books on cd, and the book itself for him to follow along with...then afterward I ask him to tell me what he remembers from what he just read/listened to...and he struggles to tell me.  This is something I really need to work on with him, but not sure where to start.  Something I need to definitely research and look into.

As the kids are working on their things...I'm taking advantage of some time to work on a knitting project and get some reading in myself!!  I've been reading "A Midsummer Night's Scream" by R.L. Stine.  I remember reading his books in school...always loved the Fear Street & Goosebump books! 

When Liam finished up with his art stuff, I got him to come over and read with me out of these one books we have that are for beginning readers.  Our plan it to read and re-read over and over and over and over again.  Well...sometimes that plan doesn't work well for Liam.  I try my best to be patient with him.  We had just read the first story of the 2nd book earlier, so he didn't want to read it again like I wanted him to do.  So he got mad, and ran off to his room.  I told him that when he was ready to read it, to just let me know...and then we had a new thing to try out after.

After Zach finished his reading...he was ready for a nap.  His Strattera really takes it out of him.  I'm hoping it will balance out soon so he won't be so tired in the middle of the day.  I read some more.  Frost was working on looking up something he wants to buy on amazon.  Arlee was working on stuff in her room.  Liam was still pouting, but wanted to watch some tv.

Since the tv was on...I headed to my room to read some more...ended up after a bit, I just could not keep my eyes open...so I slid down and sneaked in a cat nap.  Liam came in after I was starting to wake up to let me know he was ready to read with me.  So we snuggled up on my bed, and he read thru his book.  He's doing a great job.  I just introduced these books to him last week, and he's picking up the words really quickly.  I know some may "be concerned" about him being 7 years old, and just now beginning to read...but I'm NOT concerned at all...especially not after this week.  He, at this point, is WANTING to learn...he wasn't before...and let me tell you...that makes ALL the difference!!  Just allowing him to come to me when he's ready makes the whole process so much easier!!  We read along...and I explain some grammar/spelling rules along the way...he sounds things out...it's been great so far!  I can't wait to just keep working with him, and watching his reading ability grow!

Oh...and the "new" little thing we did together...I have these magnet letters and blends that I pulled out.  Him and I put a bunch of them on the fridge.  He put the lower case letters in alphabetical order, I did the upper case letters.  Then we played around with 'at' words...and I explained word families to him...we spelled out some of the words he's been working on in his books.  He was sitting there really paying attention, and really listening to what I was saying and doing with the letters.  Then he went and read his book to Danny.  And after that...now mind you, this was around MIDNIGHT tonight...he wanted to hop back on his Reading Eggs so he could finish up a quiz he had to do to unlock his next map!  And he did amazing on it...only missed one...but he did it all on his own!  I'm so very proud of him!

Danny came home not feeling well today.  It was a "grab what you can" kinda night for dinner {I had the veggie soup that Frost made last night...with some extra jalapenos added in....oooooh...so yummy!}...and now here we are at 2:11am...Danny's been in bed for a while...I'm typing up my blog entry...Arlee is in bed because she's not feeling too good either...Frost is playing Minecraft on the Xbox...Zach is watching Frost play...and Liam JUST dozed off.  :)

Well...this post turned out MUCH longer than I had originally planned!  But there is a little peek into our day.  :)

Welcome September

Here we are at the beginning of September!  Wow.  Really.  How did that happen??  Didn't summer JUST start??  How can it be ALMOST autumn already??  Not that I'm complaining too much.  I LOVE FALL!

Well...all those EXCEPT for the football games!  I'm not a huge fan!



So here I am again attempting this blogging thing.  I really do love it...but just finding the time to really sit down and put the time into I would like to...well...that's the trick isn't it??


Today was much of a "lazy-like" day.  I worked on homeschool group/Boy Scout/Cub Scout stuff on the computer for the majority of the day...why do I do that!?!  I *REALLY* need to set like some business hours for myself or something.  Arlee, after picking her up after a birthday sleepover, slept for a good part of the day because she was just so tired.   Frost had a friend over, and played on Xbox for most of the day.  Zach & Liam were right there with the older boys watching them play.  Not a whole lot got done around the house today...which I do feel really bad about.  Wasn't really the day I had planned out in my head last night...but I will give it another go tomorrow.  :)

I've been trying to run thru my head my upcoming Cub Scout Pack meeting this week.  With it being majority homeschoolers, we are a multi-level Pack...not enough boys to actually make dens.  So we function solely as a Pack.  I came across a great website that has a whole 2 years planned out just for a Pack like ours!!   What a find!!  I love the internet!! 

Another great planning endeavor that I'm working on is our CoOp that will be staring NEXT week.  I signed up to do the Tween/Teen Book Club...which I have lovingly named, "Words & Stuff".  I've picked out our first book, which is "The Invention of Hugo Cabret".  We've seen the movie...and really liked it.  Then, recently, when I started researching the book...there was all kinds of great reviews for it!  So I had to check it out myself.  It's great!  It is this HUGE book...but it is equally done with words & illustrations!  I'm also going to be sharing some stuff about atomatons {one of my favorite words...love the way it sounds}.  Very much looking forward to our first get together!

This year, for our homeschooling, I'm not even sure what you can call it...maybe "unschooling"...maybe "eclectic" ...maybe it's more summed up like: "from a non-linier, non subjective point of view it is more like a big ball of wibbily wobbly timey wimey...stuff".  Whatever we call it, I'm excited about the year ahead.  Did you know what I just figured out the other day??  I'm 1 year away from being at my 1/2 way mark for my homeschooling career with my children!  How awesome is that!?!  This year is our 8th year...obviously, next year will be our 9th...if all goes well, and Liam graduates "on time"...I will have been homeschooling our children for 18 years!!

So, yeah, back to what we'll be doing this year...my "plans"...for the younger two...I'm going to pull in "the basics"...reading/writing/math...along with art/music...everything else will be 'as it comes along'.  I'm definitely NOT good at writing out school lessons or schedules...so things will be pretty much "by the seat of our pants".  We will work on things that resemble "lessons"...sorta, but not really.  There probably won't be much rhyme or reason for what we do each day.  I know this kinda thing makes my Hubby VERY nervous about the whole idea of homeschooling.  But, I believe, in the end...it will all work out OK.  :)

For the older two...as soon as I can pull the funds together for it...I will be signing them up for an online High School Course.  When they finish, they will have their diplomas/transcripts.  It is all online...they will give them 1 subject at a time...no due dates, turn in things when you can.  I think Hubby is on board with this one...and I love the flexibility that it comes with.  Ahhhh...the sweet sound of compromise!  :)

So there is my short & sweet update...hopefully with many more to follow!  :)   Thank you much for dropping by!  I appreciate you visiting!

Just Checking In...

I hate it that I have such a hard time keeping up with my writing and updating for my blog.  Bad, bad ME!!  It's no wonder my poor son can't keep focused on ANYTHING!  A lot of that, I'm sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt, came from me!  Well...and then there is his Daddy, too!  Poor kid NEVER had a chance! 

But just look at him in these photos...you can just SEE his personality, right??  Or is it just me??  I must say, this boy has REALLY grown into an exceptional young man!  He's come a LONG way.  We still have a LONG way to go...but we will get there...eventually....together.   We are SO very proud of him.  It is just unbelievable that he will be turning 10 years old in just a couple months.  They just grow up way to fast.  I have yet to find that sure fire way to slow them down...unfortunately. 

Monday this week, after dropping Arlee off at work, we headed over to Chick-fil-a for lunch...and guess who was able to join us...

After lunch, the boys and I headed to The Dollar Tree and Micheal's for some things we needed for our upcoming homeschool Valentine's Party.  We are all very excited about it!  There will be friends there we haven't seen in a long, long time...we are looking forward to connecting with them again, and getting caught up!  There will also be families there we have never met before...so we are happy for the chance to make new friends!  Each of the kids has to have about 90 cards to exchange...they've been working very hard on getting them all ready!  They will be playing games, doing a craft, eating snacks, and just having a great time together with a group of some truly magnificent families!  It is just so heartwarming!

Tuesday, Arlee babysat for a friend for the first time...and she LOVED it!  I'm telling you this girl is just a natural when it comes to little kids!  I can see her...some way, some how...teaching in her future!  Teaching ART, probably!  She is now very excited because her friend is very talented at sewing...so Arlee talked with her, and bartered her babysitting for some sewing lessons!  Arlee can't wait to get started!  Not only will she get some know how on the sewing, but also getting to hang out with her friend as well!  I'm very impressed with my beautiful daughter...that she is able to trade her skills for things that she needs/wants.  And is very willing to work for them.  She definitely makes her Mama proud!

Tuesday evening there was an event at a local library called Love Stinks...I signed up Arlee & Frost for it...and a few of their homeschool friends were able to go as well.  I can not even describe how much these two just love getting the chance to hang out with their friends.  They are all so very special to them.  On the agenda for the even was making black duct taped roses.  {I've been trying to upload a picture of them, but for some reason either my computer or this site is not cooperating with me...so I guess I'll have to show you at a later time.}  I love them!!  They are "planted" in my pen/pencil holder on my desk so I can see them everyday!

What a blessing my family is!!

Our Friday...

After worry & taking care of Arlee the night before, I woke yesterday morning asking Danny what time it was.  I thought I was going to be late to pick her up from her sleepover!!  But then I remembered, Oh yeah...she's HOME...in bed!  And the poor girl had been laying there for awhile waiting for someone to walk down the hall so they could help her get out of bed!  It's still hard for her to raise herself up with her broken collar bone.  Danny helped her, and she headed for the bathroom, got dizzy, called for help, and then went DOWN!  Crying and worrying about what was going on with her, she just sat for awhile until it passed.  Then she was fine...no more dizzy spells.  We're guessing she probably just got up too quickly off her bed.

I had to run back over to her Girl Scout Leader's house to drop off some paperwork, and Liam ended up leaving his shoes their yesterday as well.  So I asked if Arlee wanted to go along with me.  She did, of course, especially since it was early enough that the majority of the troop was still there at the sleepover!  We got there, and Arlee was bombarded with cards from the girls there!  It was just so sweet!  I was getting tears in my eyes by the show of kindness and caring from these friends of Arlee!  She appreciated it so much as well!

We visited for a bit, then had to go drop off Arlee's scripts at Kroger.  While we waited for those to be filled, we ran over to Speedway so I could get a cappuccino and she got a chocolate milk.  They have butterscotch flavored cappuccino there...and I *LOVE* it LOTS!!  Since we were both pretty hungry, we decided to treat ourselves to some other Speedway treats, as well!  After finishing eating, we picked Frost up from a friend's house since they live nearby.  We were only able to visit for a minute, before we had to go pick up Arlee's script and head home.  Arlee was already feeling pretty tired.

Once we got home, Arlee decided she needed one of her Tylenol 3's since she was feeling pain in her shoulder.  She called her boyfriend, then another friend, and by then was VERY tired and groggy...but she just couldn't get too comfortable and plus her room was just so bright she couldn't get to sleep.  We tried to arrange her blankets better, to cover her eyes, and she finally was able to fall asleep.

I was ready for a nap myself, but worked on lunch for everyone.  Frosty, thru a deal we had made, was outside weed eating our back yard.  We have a piece of yard enclosed by a chain link fence.  It's where the dogs stay.  Danny has to cut it with a push mower, but ours quit working back in the Spring...and we haven't been able to get a replacement one yet...so it has NOT been cut all summer long!  And it has gotten LOOOONG!!  So, for Frost to have his friend over, AND be able to play Xbox while he's here, he needed to cut it all!  And he did!  This was also the FIRST time he had ever weed eated {should that be "weed ate"??} at all!  We are so very proud of him for working so hard!  Danny even thru in an extra $5 for his good job!

When lunch was finished, I woke Arlee up.  You could easily tell that she really wasn't ready to wake yet, but one of her best friend's was having a get together that evening that she truly wanted to go to.  It was another sleepover, but Arlee knew she wouldn't be able to spend the night, but still wanted to hang out for a bit with the other girls.  She then found out how tough it is to get ready to go somewhere ONE HANDED!  And this girl is NOT one to ask for help!  She has always been so very independent...this is going to be tough for her!  She never wants to trouble anyone.  I've been telling her that this may be a life lesson that she really needed to learn...the ability to ask for help when you need it! 

We headed over to our friend's house.  I got to see a mom I haven't seen in such a long time...which was WONDERFUL!  Then got to sit with a friend and talk for a couple hours...again...WONDERFUL!  It didn't take long for Arlee to just get really, really tired.  So we headed home...with Frosty's friend along with us! 

When we got home, Frosty was sleeping on the couch...guess he wore himself out doing all that weed eating!  Poor guy!  So his friend played YuGiOh with Zach instead while he waited for Frosty to finish his nap!

Arlee went to relax for a bit while talking to her boyfriend on the phone.  I went to check on her, and she said she was hungry.  So we got her sitting up, and I made her some food.  We got her TV set up so she could watch some shows while she ate.  She said the pain was starting back a bit, plus I thought since she was going to bed, we went ahead and gave her another Tylenol to help her sleep that night.  While she waited for it to kick in, she came out and sat in the recliner in the living room with the rest of us.

It was another busy day...but such a good day.  Visiting with friends always adds something special!  We've learned that Arlee REALLY needs to take it easy...she is learning that she REALLY needs to learn to ask for help...and that we could probably get Frosty to do about anything if we bribe him with getting some screen time back!  :) 

Whew...What a Day!

Wow...yesterday...gee whiz!!

We started off our day behind...I remembered about Arlee's Writing Club at about 10:20am...it starts at 10:30am!  So we rushed to get ready...and we hurried over to drop her off.  Got her there around 11am.  On our way back home, we stopped by The Family Dollar to pick up a couple things we've been needing around the house.  Then home to fold some laundry, get the boys dressed for the day, and check my messages before leaving again to go pick Arlee up.

She had a great time, as usual, at Writing Club.  When she arrived, they were all excited that she had made it!  Arlee listened to the writings of the others, then she was able to read a piece of her own.  One of the ladies, she tells me, told her, "Wow.  I can REALLY see that."  What a great compliment for a writer!  She even left with a bag of cherry tomatoes for us to snack on in the car!

Home again, but not for long!  Enough time to change my clothes, Arlee to pack up for a sleepover, and Frosty to grab his Scout stuff and bag up some tadpoles for a friend!  We headed up to meet up with a fellow homeschooling mom who wanted tadpoles Frosty and the other kids had gotten out of our pool, and I picked up some homeschooling magazines from her.  I was very much looking forward to an evening of reading with a yummy cup of coffee!  Yeah...best laid plans!  Ha Ha.

We were all absolutely STARVING by this time...and with NO time to make anything we could have brought "on the go", and actually with NOthing we could have used to bring "on the go".  "REALLY need to hit up the grocery store soon!}  So we decided to stop in at McD's.  All the kids got McChickens, I had a McDouble...we all had parfaits and large orange drinks...and we left with our food for $15.32!!  Not too bad for five of us! 

Next we hit up Aldi really quick to pick up some snacks for Arlee's sleepover with her fellow Girl Scouts.  Then we headed over to her troop's leader's house.  She has twin boys that get along well with my two younger boys...so they played together.  We tried our best to keep the girls focused...we tried to have a meeting to talk about a project we are working on...but it was pretty much a lost cause for the most part!  They were VERY anxious to just hang out and have some fun together down in the basement!

I had to leave about 2 1/2 hours into it...Frosty had a Boy Scout outing that evening.  We picked up a friend on the way to a Firehouse for some first aid training.  We were there when Danny was trying to get a hold of me.  Thankfully he was able to call Arlee's boyfriend, Zach's, phone because mine had ZERO service out where we were.  He let me know that Arlee had gotten hurt really bad, and needed us to come check on her.  The boys were almost done, I know Zach was wanting to come with us to check on Arlee since she was hurt.  So once they were done...we sent Frosty with one of our friends to be dropped off at another friends house.  Then headed to my in-laws to drop off our younger two boys as well.

When we arrived at the sleepover, Arlee was sitting up, but still in a lot of pain.  She had attempted to do a cartwheel for the first time, and...well...it just didn't go over well for her.  Somehow she fell right on her shoulder.  She said she heard a loud CRACK when she landed.  She laid on the ground for awhile.  Her leader, my friend, took such good care of her.  Staying with her, talking with her, trying to keep her mind off the pain.  Her friends talked with her and was there for her as well.  I'm so very thankful for ALL of them!

While Zach {Arlee's boyfriend} was at the Firehouse, he had asked the EMTs what would they do if they were treating someone who had broken their collar bone.  They wrapped HIM up how they would do that...and allowed him to keep the sheet and such.  And he put it on her when we got there.  She said it did help a lot since it made it so she couldn't move her arm as easily with it on.

We stopped in at Urgent Care first...when we arrived, Arlee said she heard a big POP in her shoulder, and the pain started in again.  Not sure what that was.  I don't know if she could have popped her shoulder out of place, maybe, before when she fell...and then somehow it popped itself back into place??  I'm not sure.  We were talking about it when she got her Xrays done...we were kinda hoping at that point that that would be all it was.  But when the ER doctor came in after looking at her Xrays...he confirmed it was definitely broken.

A nurse came in and put a sling on Arlee...let her know she would have to wear it for about 4 to 6 weeks.  We also received a couple pain med scripts.  They gave her a couple Tylenol 3's for her pain while we were there.  On the way home, I believe the combination that the hospital visit was over, she then knew for sure what was wrong, and having her Dad and boyfriend there to make her laugh got her in this giggling fit that lasted almost the whole way back to my in-law's house to pick up the boys!  But then while we were updating them on what was going on with Arlee...she about fell asleep laying on Zach's shoulder.  She was ready to crash.  Poor girl.

We dropped Zach off at home...then headed home ourselves.  Arlee pretty much went right to bed.  I put the boys to bed.  Then Danny & I wasn't far behind them.  Yeah...WOW...what a day!!

~*~ Happy August ~*~

Wow...August??  Really??  Already??  How the time flies these days!  Can summer really be winding down already??  Is it really time to get serious about thinking "back to school"??  Only 146 more days until Christmas!!  Gee whiz!

So here we are at the beginning of a brand new month.  I know I've shared before how much I enjoy this small window each month where it seems you can "start over" or "begin again"...whichever you need at the time.  The month laying before you is brand new, a clean slate, and totally unwritten {well, other than in my calendar where there is actually already a lot written in August!}.  I like having this illusion.  I know some people are very good at "beginning" right where they are...not me.  For some reason, it just helps me to start at 1...like the 1st of the month, 1st of the week, or 1st of the year.  I know...I'm weird like that!  And strange thinking comes right along with it!

So what am I beginning this month??  Another round of a Biggest Loser Competition!  It "officially" starts next Friday evening for the group, but I went ahead and weighed myself this morning...and it was NOT pleasant!!  I have gained back all but like 8 lbs from the last round of the competition.  Very, very disheartening.  Obviously, it's all my own doing...but still.  I really miss the days of long ago when I could eat anything and everything I wanted and remain in that slender state of being.  Four children, and a couple decades later...that is just a dream!  At this point...I'm really learning, but am NOT happy about it...I really, really, REALLY have to work at it!  And THAT is tough!!

With where I am at, as of this morning, my overall weight loss goal would be 60lbs. That would put me back where I was when Danny & I got married, which I was VERY happy at that weight.  But, by gosh...that just looks like such a big number sitting there staring at me...and I've been trying to lose these same 60lbs for YEARS now.  I know it's possible, and that I can do it...the hard part is to convince my willpower and motivation to jump on board with me! 

It's That Time Again...

I guess it's about time for my typical post about, "Wow...it's been quite some time since I last posted."  It always seems to happen.  As much as I enjoy updating my blog...it does end up getting shoved to the back burner when life gets hectic.  Then, next thing I know, it's been months and months since I last wrote.  Seems way to overwhelming to even try and think about how to get "caught up" because there is just always too much stuff going on to really cover it all.  So I guess the best route to take would be just beginning again from right here...right now.