Well I haven't posted in forever!

You know, I guess it's not a bad thing when life is so busy and full that you never post on the blog that is supposed to be all about your busy and full life, lol.

Truth be told, I've been trying to focus so much on schooling, the house and getting ready for another little one that I haven't really wanted to spend the free 10 minutes I have before bed on here. Writing. Which isn't one the my strengths.

I enjoy sharing and creating the blog, but writing for me isn't exactly perfect, I don't have all of those wonderful phrases and eloquent language as others. I usually end up misspelling things or using the wrong tense of a word, which bothers me to no end. And really, lets not even talk about proper punctuation. Eek.

But enough about me. I think it's time to actually time to get to why I decided now I should write.

 Update everyone on things as they are now.

Basically, it's because soon we'll be welcoming our little girl into the family and world. A big, scary, stressful world. But a family full of love, just waiting for her.

She wasn't expected. She wasn't planned. She was literally a gift, that we didn't know we wanted. But love her and want her, we already do.

Mia Ann is planned to arrive via C-section on Dec. 31 around 7:30 in the morning. We all have so much to do and yet all we have is time to wait, it seems.

Luckily, she's been a wonderful pregnancy. I've been so fortunate to have great health and comfort with her. Just now am I getting to the place where nothing is comfortable and I can't sleep (my little precursor of things to come, haha).

The timing of all this is a little hairy, life is never slows down to let you enjoy the things like you want to. But I'm sure we'll manage just fine. God has a way of making things work out that we never dreamed would, so I have to let Him handle the things that are out of my control. 

Not easy, let me tell you.

Thank you all for the support and love throughout this year. I hope that next year is full of blessings in return.

Love, Alicia

We finally settled on a name.

I know that some of you already heard on FB, but I thought since I haven’t posted on here in awhile, I would share it! It seemed like we could never agree on anything, but when Joe said Mia Ann, it just fit. Hopefully we’ll be able to me her before the end of the year and put a face with the name.

Once she is born, I’ll add her birthdate to this and print it out for the nursery

First day!

Well, we started our homeschool today, and wow did it go fast!

I think when you do this for the first time, you have a habit of comparing it to a public school day. It takes all day for your child to go through all of their lessons and subjects. But in homeschooling, it really doesn’t take that long, mostly because you are trying to get just one or two (or a handful depending on how may kids you have) children to understand a concept. Once they get something, you practice it and just move on.

I was amazed at how quickly we went through our morning. Nathan and I read a book, then based the rest of our subjects off of that book/theme. We reviewed and expanded his popcorn or word wall words (common words in writing/reading: is, a, and, I….)

Luke helped with this and then he and I sat down together (while Nate practiced writing his words on a dry erase board) and did his math. Since he had already covered what I consider geometry last year, I was a little nervous when the first lesson started off with defining a rectangle, but I was pleasantly surprised it started asking questions that he couldn’t answer right away. Not because he didn’t remember, but because it was new!

Since I am planning on using this program when Nate gets older, I picked up these dry erase sleeves at the teacher store. They have come in handy more than once! Now I can just tear out the worksheet and slip it in the sleeve, rather than always copy and print them.

Since I want keep track of what we have learned (and when) along with how many days we are in school, I picked up this notebook at the Dollar Tree. It lets me keep track and make notes of what we do each day we are in class.

Another thing I was really excited to find at the Dollar Tree the other day was a cardboard clock that is for teaching time.

I saw a great idea on pinterest (that I’ve also seen in classrooms) where you have clocks set to an important time. Some take cheap wall clocks and dial them to a time (no battery so they stay, lol) and then label what it’s for. Like lunch, recess, specials, etc. I used a paper clock like this so I can change it after an event or if it’s not the same time everyday. That and on the back it’s set up to teach time, so I get double use out of it!

We are off to a good start and I am planning on it getting even better as we go on.

New Addition (of the furry kind)

This is Molly, she an APBT just like Buck. And He LOVES her.

See, he’s even smiling! They were snuggled up, with her laying over his neck, but he got excited when I brought out the camera and rolled over!

So far, she’s fitting in just fine. Very calm like Buck and seems to be smart too. Picked up on walking on the leash and listens when you tell her no. But being so young we still have a long way to go. I was just glad that we could give her a good home, since her owner couldn’t keep her anymore.

Fishing

It’s rare that I think to, or take the time time to, pause and snap family photos of all of us, lol. Usually I’m so wrapped up in enjoying the moment, that I just forget! But this time, I grabbed my camera before heading out to the lake.

Nate was so excited, he loves fishing…and sitting at the front of the boat, lol.

Lucas got to sit by dad, which is his favorite.

And I got to spend time with all my fellas! Not to mention…go fishing! I’m sure that next summer I’ll have to stay home more and go out with them a little less. At least until the new addition grows up a bit. So I’m treasuring every chance I get to spend time with the three of them right now!

Maybe next time we’ll actually catch something, lol.

Setting up for our new adventure!

We haven’t gotten to the nursery yet, but we are getting ready for our first year homeschooling!

It’s kind of intimidating, I have to say. Being so used to a traditional classroom, I was feeling like we needed some really good space (or spaces) for the boys. And also, the layout of the day. Some sort of schedule to follow that could be flexible enough for extra time or interruptions, but predictable enough for success.

After some inspiration from Pinterest and some blogs I follow, I came up with a few different things today.

First of all, I wanted to really get us in gear for scheduling. I found this idea on Pinterest and thought it was genius.

Eventually, I’d like to back these and put magnets on them. But for right now, it works great! The boys can follow it and know what to expect and I have some accountability to follow it, lol.

Next I wanted to set up a reading/quiet area for the boys. I had originally thought about each boy having a nook in their room, but I wanted to keep all the books together. Instead I cleared out their tiny toy (i.e. horribly overflowing, never put away, heap of toys *aka death trap*) and made it better.

It still has a long way to go (not to mention a good remodeling, lol) but for now I am quite pleased. We’ve got a shelf for games and puzzles. Then a shelving unit with two sided access for books! The blue tub is full of big books, and there is a tub of musical stuff on top of the shelf. Oh, and can’t forget the chair in the corner.

I had thought about also putting the craft area in with the books, but (rightly) decided to move it downstairs. It makes way more sense to be down stairs since we mostly work at the kitchen table.

So I converted a poorly used space beside the kitchen into our craft area.

All of our supplies and the little stack of workbooks we have. Plus coloring books, notebooks and letter stamps. Everything is easy to find, has a place and is easy to reach.

I’m hoping that this gets me on a roll with the rest of the home, lol. Not to mention homeschooling this year

Egg!

It’s here! The first egg. I’m not sure which chicken laid it, but we sure are happy to see them starting.

Because I’ve slacked severely with my photo project

Laundry room touch up

While cleaning my much ignored but used laundry room (which is also a mudroom/breezeway from the garage to the house), I looked around and thought, it really needs….well a lot. lol

But, until we can gut it, if figured that it could use just a little tlc and some color. I had been using some shower curtains as curtains in the living room, but had taken them down and replaced them with some black out panels because of the heat. Soooo, what better place to use them than in the laundry room! ( the window is small, so the other panel I used in the kitchen, love it!)

Since I REALLY like blue, grey, brown (dark wood tone) and white, I decided I also needed some artwork to go with it.

I already had a fantastic piece I’d made above the dryer, but I wanted something that was white.

I saw this a while back on Pinterest, and decided to make my own version

.

So I came up with this:

I wanted something big, but didn’t have the right size wood, and beings it was sooooo hot today, I didn’t feel like cutting any down. So, I thought I would use a big piece of cloth and hang it with clothes pins off my clothes line! Fitting place in a laundry room, don’t you think?

That added to a shelf I put up in the other corner has really improved the space. (putting away the winter coats and boots kinda helped too, but we won’t go there, lol)

Then I had a FAMILY sign that I apparently left the L out of….

Um, hum.

Sooo, I re-painted it and am quite pleased with the out come AND I spelled it right this time….trust me, I made sure, lol.

It’s a little hard to tell from the picture, but the letters are grey and the background is a “white”wash of a pale slate blue. (disregard the awful textured walls, eventually those will go and a wonderful smooth surface with grace the hallway. Along with another wall color., lol)

Next up will be to put up some shelves in the boys room for all of their treasures and to hopefully give them a desk area.

Have a blog and never post…opps!

 

It’s been an embarrassingly long time since I’ve posted on here! I’m sorry to those of you who actually read it.

Life certainly has a way of changing plans and making this …. interesting.

Since I’ve last posted, we’ve been knee deep in summer fun. Not to mention a short, but intense bought of morning sickness that almost killed my whole garden, lol. Not to mention the guys were a bit at a loss without the girl around to keep things in check.

The first week of July we had a wonderful visit with my brother and to-be-sister-in-law in Kansas City. We were quite busy there, visiting Legoland, Sea Life, going to a Royals game, and a really cool Pirate exhibit by National Geographic…plus a bunch of other stuff.

When we got back, it was life as usual again. I have been attending the chickens, and trying to tame the amazon that was a garden. But recently the heat kicked in and we are trying to do as little as possible.

Tuesday of this week I had my first doctor appointment for the new baby. It went great and am so glad to have this new dr. After the normal list of questions, he asked if we (the boys were along) wanted to hear the baby, of course, yes! Then he decided we should really just look at it! With an inhouse ultrasound machine, we literally walked to another room and there our new baby was, on the screen!

This isn’t my first time seeing my unborn child on screen, I had ultrasounds with both boys. But when he felt my belly, and put the baby instantly on screen, it was magic. There it was! And from what he saw, it was doing great! (and just one! lol) From measurements we figured I’m right at 16 weeks, just like we thought. And….he was pretty certain it was a GIRL!

Wow.

We had an idea it could be, but for the dr. to be so certain….wow.

Like a friend of mine pointed out….I’m going to have to change the name of this blog! lol

But seriously, we have a lot to prepare for before next year arrives.

Of course, being a woman…who is pregnant, I’m thinking of names and nursery colors, and how I’m going to handle a newborn/homeschooling/and life in general

But, the Lord provides and I have faith. So I know that Joe and I aren’t doing this alone and that gives me courage.

I shouldn’t be surprised…

 

I find it rather amusing and yet ridiculous that I’m constantly faced with unexpected change. By now, I would think that I would just expect the unexpected, lol. That I would take anything for granted or assume it’s going to be the same is laughable, and yet I still find myself doing it. I mean just look at the past few months for example. I decided to homeschool, I found out I was pregnant, one of my hens was a boy…..(by the way, I named him Henry. He’s entertaining to say the least. Yesterday I found him in my tomato patch!)

With the completely unexpected arrival of a new baby, I should have guessed that this pregnancy would also be different than my previous two. But, of course I was blindsided by an acute bought of morning sickness, which I might add isn’t just in the morning! We are taking 24 hours a day people.

I never had any with the boys. But it seems as though it’s caught up with me, since I was completely bedridden and didn’t eat for two whole days. Luckily, my wonderful husband came to the rescue, again, and found me some PsiBands (some of you may have heard of Sea Bands) which are bracelets that basically do pressure points on your wrist. Relieving nausea, motion sickness and apparently used by chemo patients as well. I have been wearing those constantly (taking them off for a short time every 48 hours) and chewing ginger gum every time I feel a bit, well nauseous, which seems to come and go depending on what I eat. The lack of food has really run me down and right now I’m just trying to regain my strength.

Needless to say, I’m slow going at the moment and almost everything around the house was put on hold. Including my poor garden which I came out to see today Not quite sure what I’m going to do about all the grass,  but at least what I planted is still alive….right?

And my poor flower bed out front is a complete jungle that will probably get re-done in the fall, assuming I’m over this.

Luckily I was feeling well enough to make a picnic for the boys and eat popsicles with them outside. Popsicles seem to really help right now too.

Plus, I got to download…upload….load some pictures from Luke’s 10th birthday.

And a pregnant picture for all my silly ladies that have asked for one, lol.

Well, lets hope I can get over this and not have a whole pregnancy of illness….’cause that would suck…for everyone!

I totally failed May’s P365!

Yeah, so I could just sum up the month of May (which obviously isn’t over, I know!) as a big ball of slightly controlled chaos. We found out we have a little one on the way, it’s the end of the school year, we unexpectedly filled up all of our weekends with get-togethers/trips, roosters, gardens, and I’m just plain tired!

So, as you can guess, my photo project P365, didn’t even take a back seat, it got left at the curb three bus stops ago! And I can tell you right now, June won’t be any better!

For those of you who look forward to my posts of photos, I’m sorry. But I just didn’t have the time to stop and shoot anything specific. However, I am going to try and at least share photos of all the things we are doing. *Try* is the word here, just so you know.

Thanks for reading!

Alicia

Surprise!

Yep, to everyone’s surprise, we are expecting number 3 at the end of this year.

We are excited and also looking towards what this means as a family. More hugs to give, more mouths to feed, more shoes to look for when running late, more snuggles. Another life to care for and love.

The boys are reacting like we thought they would. Luke hopes it’s not a girl because, “Sister’s are annoying.” (But he thinks it will be a girl anyways.) Nate is excited to finally be older than someone and to pass on some hugs and big brotherly advice…..”even if it is a sister.”

Looking forward to the next school year (which is only about 4 months away…ekkk!) the challenges of a newborn and a new adventure of home schooling should be interesting, to put it mildly. This summer will be filled with gardening, a trip to Kansas City, camping, chickens, but most importantly, planning the school year! With the new arrival coming smack dab in the middle of the school year, I’m hoping to block in some extra vacation time to accommodate.

There is so much going on right now, it would be easy to become overwhelmed! As of right now, I’m handling things I would say fair. I feel ok, we have bill money, a slight plan in place, and a new son or daughter! God has blessed us tremendously and even in the rain, I will praise Him!

(While it’s easier said then done when the world crashes your plans, I have learned over the years that if you just keep being thankful for what He has blessed you with, joy comes in the morning….or three weeks later. But it comes nonetheless. )

The Hen House

It will probably always be a work in progress, like everything else around here. But for now, it safely houses the chickens. I figure on painting the planter (though it looks more like a feeding trough to me…) a brilliant cobalt blue to jazz it up a bit. The trim on the windows are black to tie in with the chicken.

Joe built me these awesome nesting boxes (complete with removable bottoms so that I can replace pieces when they wear out!) from scratch!

And then installed some roosting bars complete with a poop deck (literally, lol!) I got the idea off of  a backyard chicken coop with limited space. That way you can put food under the roost without it getting covered in, well, you know.

The ladies are still too young to start roosting that high, so they use their little bars down in the corner.

Next on the list is to tackle the garden.

Sigh, I’m almost dreading it this year because I haven’t started a thing! Ekkk!