Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Acting Classes

My children have learned that if they want something they ask Jacob to beg with them. 
They have also taught him how to faint or how to act upset. 

Pamela

Flat Daddy


Jacob is old enough to realize dad is not home. He realizes dad is not in bed at night. He loves face timing with dad. 

I am so grateful we have flat daddy. I really think I should get a updated picture for Jacob though. 
Pamela


Sunday, November 15, 2015

Drama

I have the best helpers here. Hope was asked to mop and in true Hope fashion she decided to turn on Its a hard knock life and scrub on her hands and knees. 
Jacob on the other hand does not understand the drama. He does not believe in drama. 

Pamela

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Thief or lover of Jelly

This is the look you get when you try to take his store bought jelly away from him. 
He sneaks into the fridge every chance he gets. 
Pamela

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

White Squirrels

I know this is not worthy of a blog post but I love looking at this picture. 
One of the fun things about living here is the amazing white or all black squirrels. 
Pamela

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Smore's Dip

I love having company over. I try to have quick snacks available for them. 
Today we found a new recipe. Pour a bag of chocolate chips (we only had white chips) into a cast iron skillet. Cover with marshmallows for 8 minutes or until  marshmallows are brown. 

Pull out of the oven and let set a couple of minutes. We scooped out this dip and put on graham crackers. It was a huge hit for my kids and took no effort to make or clean up. 
Pamela

Saturday, November 7, 2015

How we Homeschool

This year we have five children being homeschooled. Several people have asked me how you homeschool when you have little ones. 
I will say it takes practice and patience. Some days go smoothly and some days we just laugh through it. The current plan is that I work with the littles while the big kids wake up and do morning chores and typically the baby is still asleep. The littles think it is fun and they are still up really early. 

I work with the three big kids in the morning while the littles play and wat h TV. Yes, they watch TV. I monitor what they watch and there are plenty of healthy things for them to watch (leap frog, veggie tales). During this time Jacob is running around between both rooms. I always have crayons at the table. 
  Then we have lunch. After lunch the big kids can finish up school and I can work with the littles more while the youngest two nap. 
  Some things that are helpful to me in keeping it together are to remember not every day will be the same. We will not get everything done everyday and that is okay. Because some days we get more than a days work done. 
And honestly some days we just give the baby pudding to keep him busy. 
Pamela

Friday, November 6, 2015

Pinterest Fail Half Way

So I jumped on the band wagon and made my husband salads in a jar minus the dressing. 
I love the look of them and they were fun to make. Sadly, my husband did not love it. He said he could not get to the bottom of the jar with a fork so he had to pour it onto a plate. 
 I think I will try it again with wide mouth jars. 
Pamela

Baby Wearing

Hope was suppose to do the dishes but someone else thought he needed extra love. She said she could not ignore him so she is carrying him in a back pack. 
When she could not carry him in the back pack he cried. Then he decided he would just act like a dog. So she is holding the leash. He will play and be content as long as he is close to her. I have no idea how he will handle things when we start school.

Pamela

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Peek a Boo

Everyone plays peek a boo with the dog. I can almost guarantee when we are not home the dogs take a deep breath and relax.
Pamela

College Bound

I was excited to share our back to school pictures with you. You know make cute little signs. 
By first born starts college this morning. He also picks up his car from the dealership. I was thinking I would at least get a smile. I tried to bribe him but this is as much as I got. 
I love this boy and hope he had a great day. 
Pamela

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

The Price of a Salad


Sometimes I get so angry. We recently went away. During this trip we decided to eat at the hotel. We had a couple of options for our family. We could order. Pizza for $12.99 that had 8 pieces or we could order salads. The salads were $8.99. They said this salad would feed 2-4. Let's be honest it fed one. 
  What angers me is that not everyone has the money to buy both like we did. So of course they would choose the pizza that feeds more. Seriously it had four slices of tomato and a few slices of cheese with the lettuce. 
  So since I am on this topic let me tell you some ways that you can eat healthy on the road. First, pack healthy snacks. We always pack apples and bananas and carrots with us. Stop at the closest store and pick up salads to eat in the room. Pack a cooler with water bottles and healthy juice to avoid buying vendin machine sodas. I am not going to lie we also pack granola bars and mini chocolate bars. We also pack popcorn. This sounds horrible but I love having popcorn in a hotel room because I do not have to vacuum it up. 
Pamela

School Helpers

This is how we focus on school. Hope is responsible for the dogs. 
And Faith helps Jacob know he is working with her. 

Some days this goes better than others. 
Pamela

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Calming Down

I love homeschooling. I love that when my girl is struggling we can just stop. On this day I asked her to just walk laps outside. I know her well enough that to just walking around outside would help. 
I was not very specific with her so she completly decided that one of our goats should walk with her. 
  I don't mind, I love how therapeutic our animals are for her. A couple of minutes of being outside and she was calm and back to studying spelling words. 
Pamela

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Great Wolf Lodge

I know I have told you before how much we love love love Great Wolf Lodge. We had the chance to go again recently, 
This time was so much better in several ways. First, Jacob was not scared. He loved the water (which was scary for me), he loved Oliver. He loved Oliver so much that he would not leave him alone. He was very concerned that Oliver did not have a swim bracelet on. He kept showing Oliver her bracelet and pointing to his ankle. 

One of our favorite things about Great Wolf Lodge is that they have so much to do without leaving the hotel and spending extra money. The kids all enjoyed having their face painted. They enjoy story time. 

Pamela
 
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