clair062

This summer I plan to get the schoolroom cleaned up. It has become a clutter room and not a good use of space. I have books, papers, toys, and just stuff everywhere. I really would like to take as many books out and keep mostly what we are using but I don't know where to put all the 'extra' books. Right now I'm putting them in boxes but after that, I am not sure where to put them. I don't want to put them in the garage because it gets so hot in the summer and cold in the winter. The above picture is what my schoolroom looked like when I entered this morning. My goal with this bookshelf is to put all our current school stuff here, in one place.  I need to clear off this desk so Caleb can do school here. He loves having his own spot. I originally wanted this bookshelf to be my Thinking Tree shelf but the journals were too heavy and the shelf was bowing. Instead, I am putting the curricula that I need to go through, that I might use this coming year or next. Curricula ...

Education.com has so kindly shared a yummy summer treat with you all -Peach Popsicles!  Speaking of summer, the Addition Pizza Party  and Stop the Cloc k, are two fun games that your children will enjoy over the summer months (or any month really!) that Education.com offers. Peach Popsicle Recipe Keep your kids hydrated during the sunny, hot days of summer with creamy yogurt popsicles. Pureed ripe peaches, vanilla yogurt, milk, agave nectar, and juicy chunks of peach come together to form a refreshing pop that's sure to cool you down lickety-split. They're completely easy to make, a great way to  practice counting and measuring , and completely delicious. The only hard part? Waiting for the popsicles to set! What You Need: 5 ripe peaches ½ cup reduced fat milk 1 container nonfat vanilla yogurt 1 tablespoon agave nectar or honey, or more to taste What You Do: Ask your child to puree 4 ½ peaches in a blender with the milk, yogurt, and agave nectar. Dice the remaining ...

Summer time means we have more visitors and that makes it a bit hard to get school done. We did have some visitors but were able to get some fun schooling done, yay! One thing I am doing this summer is reading a lot more to the kids. With my two youngest I let this go way too much. Some of our summer read alouds: Pink & Say, a really good book about how these two became friends. This is during the Civil War. Winter Danger about an 11-year-old boy who lives in the woods with his dad but longs for a real home. Words West , when pioneers hit the road in their cover wagons between 1830-1870. These are great books that show children the same age as my kids and the hardships they endured. I'm thankful we are all safe in a lovely house with many freedoms, but at times I think our kids have it pretty easy and need to be reminded that it wasn't always this way nor is it for some kids living today.     We used the Reading Time page of our journals to write about what we read. ...

Lately, school has been crazy with the recent move and all. We took a break last week and Monday we'll start back up. I plan to challenge myself again with another 6-week challenge. A 6-week challenge is when I make SURE we complete a certain amount of school stuff. For the next six weeks I want to make sure Lance completes Dyslexia Games and the Literature Journal. Lance completed Dyslexia Games Series A last summer and started Series B. Unfortunately he didn't complete Series B. I plan to have him redo the first book (I think he completed Book 1 & 2). I'll have him complete two page a day throughout the summer. With the Summer Handbook, I don't think we'll complete the whole journal over the summer. I plan to have him use it two-three times a week. I am going to pick some books for read aloud time. Ethan my 14-year-old son will have a curriculum journal too and so will I (my Winter for Girls Journal ). The plan is for us all to sit and complete a page togethe...

For the last two weeks I've had some splurges. One of my downfalls is FRENCH FRIES! I love french fries.  French fries from Wing Stop and below Chick-fil-A

Grandma has been busy with the kids. She takes them all around town. Yesterday Annette treated her to a coffee.  We went from a the little table to a more comfortable area. We loved all the pretty things in the background. Annette is my sweet girl. I love her so much. Grandma loved her coffee and the atmosphere of Shoemaker & Hardt Coffee. She said it was very relaxing, that is up until my sweet hubby texted me saying the window guy was going to be at our house around 12:45, ack, it was 12:30 when I got the text. We were almost done with our coffee, so that was a good thing. Thankfully we live around the corner and were able to get to the house. When we got home Joshua was already taking care of business. The window guy actually arrived at 12:20 and had just finished when we arrived. I loved this creamer carafe.It's smaller than than the one I have. A perfect size. I wonder if they will order me one. This is a garden piece. I don't know how old it is but it appears to be ma...

My babies are coming home!!! TODAY! I can't wait to give them a hug. I miss them so much!!!! Here they are at their Great Grandma Tanny's house. Look at the nice tan Ethan has. They all look like they've grown some.

Saturday the 13th Annette and I helped out with passing out backpacks and school supplies. It was a lot of fun. I love seeing all the excited kids come through the line. We went with my Sister-in-law and niece. Of course our first stop was Starbucks! Selfie of Annette and I :) Annette and her cousin picking out a backpack. Because Annette was helping she was able to pick a backpack too. The one she's holding is what she picked. There were a lot pretty quilted ones this year. We arrived at 7:30 and stayed till about 11:00 helping out. I was able to get a backpack for Lance too! I picked the robot one pictured above. I think he'll like it. My niece treated us to lunch at Whataburger. It was fun and I enjoyed hanging out with my niece and sis and taking a selfie with my daughter :)

Saturday my husband dropped my dad and Lance off at the Greyhound bus station. I didn't go because he was on the way to work. As Lupe was leaving he realized he hadn't taken a picture so he snapped this one at the last minute. I love it! Grandpa and grandson on a 24 hour bus ride across the states. So cute! My brother-in-law came up with the catchy title: Generations on the Move They arrived safely in Georgia Sunday around lunch! My niece pony-fied my family =)

I miss my Ethan. He's so sweet. I can't wait till August 18th because that's the day he will come home.  We took this picture before he left. I think we were Skyping with Caleb. Here he is (Brent in the background) at his Great Grandma Tanny's house picking some lemons for his Auntie MaryEllen.  My Grandma's backyard use to be green with grass but now it's too much for her so a lot of the grass has died. My grandfather (he passed away when I was a teenager) planted lemons, avocado, apple, orange, fig, and a few other trees on their property. A dream for me. I'd love to have all those trees in my backyard. Imagine the money we'd save.  Around July 9th we took an unexpected trip to El Paso. My grandmother-in-law passed away.   Although we are sad to see her go we know she's in a better place. She had a stroke eight years ago that left her wheelchair bound. She wasn't able to move. She wasn't able to feed herself or even talk. It was really sad...