Top Ten Ways "Vacation" has changed with children

I was never one to go on a lot of vacations, but the occassional weekend away with my husband pre-kids was always so refreshing. I also have so many fond memories of vacation with my family. My mom was great at making summer camping trips the excitement of the year for me. SO, when I had children I was more than eager for a weekend or week away to relax and have fun with my children. Well, it is fun, adventurous, but definitely different. After returning from a week long vacation with my children which I did as a solo-parent, I have been thinking of all the ways "vacation" has changed for me.

1. I need a vacation from my vacation-- a solo one in complete silence and with lots of sleep preferably

2. I now plan my route along McDonald's play lands

3. I play in the pool rather than lay by the pool

4. I pack a couple of books for those "down" times, and get there only to realize I will not have ANY down time and I should have saved that space for extra diapers/changes of little person clothes/snacks, etc.

5. I no longer pack a suitcase and small bag for necessities, I know need an entire U-Haul to go away for a weekend, sometimes I wonder if we are going to have to choose between suitcases and children when we are trying to load up and come home.

6. I spend A LOT of money, my quick coffee or soda at the gas station suddenly turns into, 3 candy bars, juice boxes, and water. And EVERY TIME we stop it is at a gas station, and I have a hard enough time saying no to the chocolate bar, so we load up again and again.

7. I no longer have any control over what we are listening to in the car.

8. People actually do say, "are we there yet?" Little people in particular. And they say it every 5 minutes-- I thought that was just in movies

9. We will almost ALWAYS come back with some sickness

10. Home will seem AMAZING! And I am already planning the next one-- it is kind of like childbirth, once you get home, you only remember the good parts.

This post is submitted to Top Ten Tuesdays at Oh Amanda.

Wordless Wednesday--Choosing Joy

I had a whole blog post written full of rants and complaints, but thankfully I got most of it out to my running partner... So instead I am choosing to be joyful, because I have SO much to be thankful for! And two of my "I'm thankful for's" are....

This post is linked to Wordless Wednesday at 5 minutes for Mom

Ten Things I have learned from Homeschooling...

So, I started homeschooling VERY tentatively, then with a little more confidence. I had a few expectations... hopefully they would get a decent education, some stability-- we have moved A LOT, and the ability to learn without a lot of distraction. What I did not expect was that I would learn something from it. So here it is 10 things I have learned from homeschooling.

1. History... I always found it boring in school. I never listened very well, and I am learning, actually learning SO much.

2. That learning takes time. I always thought I would sit down and teach my kids. I knew it would be hard at times, but I thought it would just work. They are smart kids, so why not? Well, it takes a lot longer to learn some things. I actually should have clued in years ago when my daughter, who was two at the time, was trying to learn her colors. I drilled her all day, she just could not get it. How? She had learned to count to 10 in five minutes. But colors did not work. And that is how learning is. There is no formula for how long/when someone will learn a new skill And sometimes learning takes time. Sometimes I need to pack it up and come back in a week or two.

3. Learning is fun. There is so much to learn and kids are naturally inquisitive. They want to learn and try new things.

4. Learning is not always fun. Sometimes it is just hard work. And that is OK. Kids need to learn, just like adults, that some things are worth working at.

5. Do not push it. I started my oldest at 4 in Kindergarten. I was determined to make her read. And I did it, but it was not pretty. And I should have waited. I should have let her play more. Kids only have so long to play.

6. Socialization is natural. It is what everyone worries about with homeschooled kids-- it is what I worried about keeping my kids home. Will they be able to function in a social situation? We are in gymnastics, gym classes, Bible Studies, AWANA, there is rarely a day my children do not interact with someone, and they completely get how to do it.

7. It might secretly have become my excuse to not clean my house:)

8. Each child is different. My children all look different, particularly my two oldest girls. And I have learned that they learn different, as different as they look... so just when I think I have it figured it out, it all changes.

9. I actually like my kids more, the more time I spend with them, usually. I am one of those odd people that likes people more the more I am with them, not the absence makes the heart grow fonder types. I tried working when my oldest was one, and I came home wanting NOTHING to do with her, even though I had been away from her for over eight hours. I would come home and put on the TV and sit, and ignore her. I definitely am tired at the end of the day, and I am sure I would love my kids a lot even if they were gone, and I would get used to it, but I am thankful I do get to spend so much time with them. I also have found that spending the day with them all day allows me to make amends when I am not liking them more.

10. I have learned that I am never going to make everyone happy, but so far it is REALLY working for my family, and so we will keep doing it, until it stops working. This is the one thing in my life I am really OK with leaving up to a year to year decision.

This post is personal -- not to say homeschooling is right or wrong, just my experience.

This post is linked up to to Top Ten Tuesdays at Oh Amanda

Wise Beyond His Years

My life seems to continue to be fuller than I thought. I am often hurrying through life. Then, suddenly some little bit of wisdom shows up from these little people I am living life with. This time it came from my 3 year old.

We made a visit to my hometown, it has been over a year since I have been there, even though it is just 2 hours away. Sometimes, it is just easier to stay put. I have tried a couple of times to make it up there, but something has come up.. sickness, snowstorm, more sickness. But, this time as a snowstorm threatened this trip one more time, I left early to make it up there.

We made a quick stop at my grandma's house. Just to say a brief, "Hi." That is when it happened. My little boy, rambunctious and 'all boy' JUMPED on his 80 something year old great-grandma's lap. He sat there looking intently at her hands. She seemed a bit shy about it, saying, "I know they are old hands." And they are, aged with years of living a really good life. He seemed so fascinated though, tracing the lines and rubbing them. And then he said it, he looked at me with a look of joy, "MOM! Come see them, they are BEAUTIFUL!" How, at the age of 3 does he know what it takes so many of us so long to learn, with age comes beauty. And that is what my grandma is, beautiful.

Top Ten Things I Said I Would Never Do...

I have this list in my head, this idea of who I want to be and what I want to do with my life. Amazingly there are some things I said I would never do with my life. My husband would probably find it hard to believe since I want to do just about EVERYTHING! But... this is the list of things I would NEVER do
1. Homeschool...
I am now on year four of homeschooling

2. Have 4 children...
Two sounded about right-- well until I had one, then I wanted 12, so 4 seems like a good compromise

3. Bake my own bread...
I have not bought a loaf of bread in several months, and I have an excellent whole wheat bread recipe if interested

4. Sew Clothes...
Have you seen project runway?!?! How can I not! (this one I am not that good at though- I hate following directions)

5. Can fruits and Vegetables...
This one has stuck, and I think it will, BUT I did make my first batch of strawberry jam last summer and CANNOT wait to do it again this summer!

6. Be a Homebody-- "I am a Stay-at-home mom that doesn't really stay home"...
I honestly no longer feel trapped if I don't have a car (unless I accidentally clip my daughters finger tip in effort to clip her finger nail)-- I LOVE to be home

7. Drive a White Car....
This one I cannot help, I do not think I was clear in my, "go ahead I trust you with the car situation" when sending him off to get a car, because in my head, people just do not buy white cars, well, unless you are my husband.. we have 2

8. Write a Blog...
ummm... it just happened, actually, there is a long story behind blogging, and I still fight myself over this one about every two weeks, but I am still doing it!

9. Read Blogs...
ummm...again, it just happened, BUT there are so many interesting people out there that can write, craft, story tell better than I... with different life experiences and SO many book recommendations. I had to give this one up!

10. Grow My hair to my waist and start wearing jumpers...
not that there is anything wrong with this, but I really have to draw a line somewhere, so if you see me start doing this, cut off my hair, and take me shopping, PLEASE!

As you can see I have stuck to hardly any of my "things I will never do list," unfortunately my "things I want to do list," is about the opposite... oh well, I need something to aim for.

This post is linked to Top Ten Tuesdays at Oh Amanda

Miss Karis Rose....

My little girl turns 6 today....An amazing Valentine's Day present.

She came into this world full of life... with a heartbeat of 199 bpm and doing somersaults on her birthday-- the nurses commented, "Some babies are just really excited to be born." She was excited in theory, not in timing.. my longest time in the hospital. Full of energy and doing things her own way is how she has lived her life from that day until this.

She came into the world looking nothing like my first little girl. I was actually afraid somehow they had switched my baby without me seeing. My oldest daughter being so fair with big blue eyes. And now this tan little baby with dark hair and dark eyes. She is mine. She stands out in our family to this day, in a family of four, she is the only one of my children that looks this way. And she can hold her own. She is beautiful, smart, funny, entertaining, dramatic, sweet, opinionated, wild and kind. I am so thankful God gave her to our family.

Happy Birthday my little Miss Karis Rose.

Things I Love Thursday--- Sorrow

Now before you think I am one of those people that loves to throw myself a pity party full of chocolate and red wine-- which does sound good sometimes. I am thinking more along the lines of a sermon I heard a couple of weeks ago. At church one of the men was giving a sermon on-- actually I have no idea... sitting in church with a seven month old rarely allows me to hear a whole sermon. But one part did stick out. He talked about how we are so quick to hurry up to the blessing. To get to the good part. The, Romans 8:28 part, the "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." part. And we forget to wait in the sorrow part and let God minister to us there. There is something incredibly vulnerable about being completely out of control of a situation. Of sitting and crying out to God. I told my husband that I am a much better "Christian" when things are good. I LOVE to thank God for his goodness in my life. And I am really good at recognizing where all of it comes from. I am aware of my unworthiness and good at recognizing that all I have is from God. I can remember walking with my husband when we were newlyweds. We would walk for hours just thanking God for his goodness to us! But when things go wrong. I tend to "micro-manage." I do not wait on God. I do not take time to sit in His presence and be loved and held. So this week I am committed to sitting in sorrow-- not sorrow without hope. But sorrow. sitting and lamenting-- Sitting in the midst of our situation that is so much bigger than me-- and letting God take care of it.

This post was submitted to Things I Love Thursday at The Diaper Diaries