Homeschool or Not to Homeschool?

I have been preparing all summer to school my three youngest girls at home. We did well on Tuesday, our official start day. However, my face froze up (I'm guessing from stress) and my 2 1/2 year old grandson wasn't real keen on the idea of keeping quiet during school (I was taking his playmates away.)

A few of the girls came with me to pick up their older sibs from school, and well the enticement of friends, fun, and so-called freedom won over. We enrolled them the next day. Except.....the classes were now full and my second grader needed to go back into the first grade class. One of my girls was repeating first grade anyways, but in many ways she does better than the one who was promoted to second grade. My girls were not happy campers.

A few days went by and by Friday two of the girls withdrew from school. Two second graders sitting in with first graders was NOT going to cut it in their book. Then the third grader (the one who really needs to NOT be in a group setting) wanted to withdraw also. This week they're all three home.

We received permission from our church to use a classroom during the day so we could have somewhere quiet to go. Except two mornings a week BSF is there, which means we shouldn't be.

I'm tired. Do I REALLY want to do this all year long? I've done this for twenty-five years now. These girls put a different spin on it though. All three are high-maintenance and low tolerance for each other which are two reasons I did want to keep them home this year. The bonding. Between them. Between us for the third grader. She is absolutely a different child when she is not in a group. I thought about this yesterday and it could be that the classroom setting takes her back to her time in the orphanage, and there was where she was criticized and had to look out for her self.

We're trudging through our A Beka readers, our Saxon Math, our Rod & Staff spelling books, and loving our Blessed Heritage history.

 

 

Baby shower time!

We hosted a co-ed baby shower for my sons and their wives in June while Jesse and Sage were home visiting.

                                                     The Mamas-Arianne & Sage

                                                 Drawn  and posted by Adah

                                       
                                                      My project for the shower

                
                    Almost our whole family. Nathan and Elizabeth are missing.

                                      Grandpa, Grandma Val and Aunt Debbie

 

Cake from Costco-Don't let them tell you they can't do a double shower cake.

                                    Jesse & Sage with Grandma and Grandpa

                                                            Little Lizzie

                                       
                                                           Isaiah Boy

                     We had Big Sticks for dessert since it was so hot outside.

                                                                Cousins

                                                                    Joe

                  Thank you to Frankie Najor for taking all of these wonderful pictures!

July 2013

We've been so busy these past few months. I've either been too busy, the internet is out, or I haven't felt like blogging. We're going to the beach later today since Joel starts school next week. I'm not feeling the best so I'm wasting spending time at my computer.

After Joe graduated in June, John and Joel went to Mexico for their annual Junior High Mission weekend. They help out a missionary couple and play with the kids there. We had VBS the last week in June, and I was the craft lady. I don't think I should have done it because I was quite grouchy all week. I didn't feel called to do it, but did it more because I was asked, which is and isn't a good reason. I never really got excited about it like I usually do.

We've been swimming and to the beach.

 



We welcomed July with M receiving weekly sessions with the Burn Institute of San Diego. Her counselor is helping her delve into her feelings about her hand, and come up with things to say when people ask what is wrong with her hand. We've made GREAT strides in her security just since the beginning of July, and after going to Burn camp I think she realizes she is NOT GOING to another family. We're it. She wasn't so sure we were picking her up after camp, but she was exhilarated to see us!  She's been with us since Christmas 2011 and after all her moving around you can see why that thought would be in the back of her mind. She certainly was bumped around for her first years. At the end of this month she will have been with us the same amount of time that she was in her last family-twenty months. We learned two important things this week and the healing that has taken place just since Monday is remarkable. She feels safe enough to let us know what has happened in her little world. We love her so much.

                                      


Steve and I went to see Fleetwood Mac in concert. Oh my goodness, do they know how to put on a show. I love them.

Scotty Boy had his second birthday, but we went to Palm Desert for our annual get-away for a few days. There was a bad fire in the nearby mountains so we didn't get outside like we normally do because the air quality was horrible.

Scotty's mom had a another baby at the end of the month. Little Stephen Daniel made his appearance into the world on July 31.

 

 

 

 

 

May Happenings

There has been so much going on here that it seems as though I'm going from event to event or preparing for the next event. I'll actually start at the last two weeks of May to catch up.

Joe's high school volleyball season had come to an end so we attended his volleyball banquet at an Italian restaurant. The coaches put together the photo collage and the team managers (high school girls) gave each of the boys a pink crown with their names painted on the front. Joe won a total of three awards that night which we were very blessed to see he did so well.

Joe had a soccer tournament in San Bernadino. I think we went two of the three days, but that was a month ago so who knows. I know we went on Saturday and didn't go on Sunday, not sure about Monday. We didn't go on Sunday because of the dinner at the Ethiopian church. San Bernadino is about two hours or so from us. That Saturday we only took Sarah and the baby. She needed a break from Little Man so he stayed home with his aunts and uncles for the day.

We have connected with an Ethiopian church here in the San Diego area. Marantha Ethiopian Evangelical Church is renting space from another church and would like to have a building of their own. They held a fundraising dinner where the church members as well as the adoptive families of Ethiopian children were invited to attend. They served delicious Ethiopian food as well as some pasta dishes, which was a blessing for some in my family who don't care for the Ethiopian food. Most of us LOVE Ethiopian food, but what can I say other than some of the men/boys are picky eaters.

The girls wore their Ethiopian dresses to our regular church, which all the older people loved, and then they fit in at the Ethiopian church because the ladies were dressed in their dresses also.

Since Monday the 27th was Memorial Day Steve and I went to the cemetery to honor my uncle who had died in the Vietnam War. My grandparents are buried on each side of him. We placed flowers in the vases and made mental notes that we need to come back and spruce things up like cleaning the granite headstone and gluing one of the vases down.

Even though the girls are in school I like to be involved as much as possible. I was asked if I could go on a field trip to the Space Theater/Science Center. My three youngest went and we had a great time learning and playing. http://www.rhfleet.org/

The next night Addis and some of the high school girls did a Spa Night fundraiser for camp and a mission trip. I signed up for the works. Got a manicure and a pedicure, a massage, and a facial. The girls each made about $50 which we're very grateful for since the camp runs about $500 and Addis wouldn't be able to go if we had to for the whole thing. There are monthly rummage sales, they can get work for people, and there are other fundraisers for the kids to help raise the funds. My boys have done yard work, move a mattress, helped someone run their kayak business. If it's something they can do then they work for their way to camp.

May ended with the piano students from school going to see The Wizard of Oz put on by Christian Youth Theater. The show was excellent. The kids who performed did an outstanding job. We rode the bus about an hour each way. On the way there we stopped at a park and had an early, early lunch. It was a fun, fun day, exhausting, but fun.

Treadmill, Thrift Store Run & Odd Girl Out

I finally got back to the gym after taking about two months off. I stopped going because I was sick, and then I just never got back into the groove of going. My house needed cleaning, everyday big-time, but it's a little more in control now.

I was able to go and walk two miles which is a start. I try and keep my treadmill pace at 3.5 once I get warmed up. I try and go up to 3.6, but I get worn out faster, so I drop it back down. My heart rate should be 110% when I'm going, but it doesn't seem to get up to that until I'm almost done. The trainer told me a few months ago that I'm in better shape than I think I am, probably because I have three lower elementary aged girls I have to keep up with, and a three year old granddaughter I usually have a few times a week.

On Friday afternoons I used to take myself out to Ross, Target and run any errands I needed to run for the week. I've been stalking the library bookstore but it wasn't open yet. I headed over to Goodwill which is the next best thing.

I found some clothes for the four youngest girls, some badly needed coffee mugs-Pier 1 and Food Network-yay!, and some books.

 I found a book that piqued my interest-Odd Girl Out; The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls by Rachel Simmons. It was in new condition and this is an issue we've been dealing with at school and at church. The book I found was not this version, but the first edition. The one pictured is the new and revised version with cyber bullying and helping girls handle the dangers of life online.

  Rachel Simmons: Odd Girl Out

From her website: When Odd Girl Out was first published, it became an instant bestseller and ignited a long-overdue conversation about the hidden culture of female bullying. Today, the dirty looks, taunting notes, jealousy and social exclusion that plague girls’ friendships have gained new momentum in cyberspace; we need fresh, innovative strategies to help our girls come through it all.





I'm hoping this book gives us some insight and answers to behaviors. We as a family are just not like that. We try to see the best in everyone, be helpful, go outside ourselves to help others feel welcome. Not so much with girls we know. We've gone to a baseball game with our church before. There were about four-six girls sitting together. When one of them decided it was time to go to the restroom or the snack bar, all of them, except my daughter. They all made sure their "buddy" went, but no one considered my daughter their "buddy." Unfortunately, she knows what is going on. She recognizes it. She's not popular, she's not in the clique.

 It's even prevalent among homeschoolers. We went to a co-op every other week and my daughter (different one) was the one not invited to the parties. She was fun to play with in P.E., and fun enough to play with every now and then, but not welcome to the parties. She wasn't loaded into the 15 passenger van with all the other screaming, giggling girls. She caught it. She knows. She's not popular, she's not in the clique.

I tell my girls it is really the parent's fault. They should teach their daughters to go outside of themselves and include EVERYONE. Not the popular ones, not all the Caucasian ones, not all the ones wearing pink jeans, but EVERYONE. If you've never been in the minority, try it. It's a must. Now. Go. Get out of your comfort zone.

There really is no excuse except selfishness. Most people today are so self-centered they can't possibly see needs outside themselves. For girls to bully and behave in such ways shouldn't really be all that surprising. I'm just surprised they learn it so young.

World Autism Day

It's World Autism Day. Until today I didn't know such a day existed. When we were trying to cope so many years ago, there wasn't much awareness at all. We persevered and did what we knew was right for our son. It was hard work, but it's said that nothing worth having comes easily.

Our son had many of they triggers for autism. We induced his birth a week early hoping to avoid a big baby, his brother was 10.10 lbs at birth and the midwife thought if we went a week early maybe, just maybe he would be only 10 lbs. Well, he didn't want to come out a week early. We had the Pitocin turned up as high as was recommended and I wasn't dilating. We turned it off and went home.

We immunized him on schedule as was recommended. He would get sick after the immunizations, but we didn't catch on to what was happening. We had five other children and were just trying to get through the day. At about six weeks he ended up in the hospital with RSV. His oxygen saturation level was in the low 80's. He was immediately suctioned and placed on oxygen to help him breathe. He was on oxygen for five days. Being on oxygen for five days is another trigger.

At three he still wasn't talking. He sounded like a Tele Tubby. Having other children who talked incessantly, and then to have one who didn't talk was a blessing, or so we thought. This was a warning that something wasn't right.

At six months his soft spot closed. He received x-rays to monitor his brain growth and bone structure to make sure his brain wasn't hitting against his skull.

He didn't potty train until he was four. He wasn't being willful. He could not control his body functions.

One day we went to a bird show at the library. This show was SO BORING!!!! The bird lady wouldn't let the kids touch the birds, they had to sit perfectly still, and her information would have bored a board. My son was not able to sit in his chair. He was everywhere-on top of the chair, under the chair, around the chair, behind the chair...you get the picture. I took him out of the building to the car and gave him a spank for misbehaving. We came back in and he tried to sit still and I felt horrible.

I knew there had to be a different way. Something was going on but I couldn't put my finger on what it was.

We went to a neuro-therapist suggested by our homeschooling group. She was not someone I recommend anyone go to, but she did direct us to an osteopath because of the early soft spot closure many years before.

This osteopath was instrumental in my son's healing. He did a complete examination of him and noticed that his body alignment was off. He tested his urine for peptides. We followed up with him for about a year until we couldn't afford to keep going.

We found that he did have peptides in his urine which meant he was on the Autism Spectrum, but he didn't have classic autism. This started us on the path of a GF/CF diet-gluten/casein free diet for almost two years.

The first week his soccer coach noticed a difference, but didn't know what it was. He asked us what was different and we told him about the diet. He started sleeping through the night within days. He always woke up about one or two in the morning ready for the day. You can imagine how tired we as parents were and so not ready to get up at that time of the day, so for him to sleep until a normal time was wonderful.

Our whole family went on the diet for one month. We purged our house of anything that contained glutin or casein. I learned how to cook differently. I used potato and rice flours instead of wheat flour. This was back in the day when eating glutin free was not popular and finding stuff for a four-to-five year old boy to eat was not easy.

Our lifesaver was Lisa Lewis's cookbooks for the  GF/CF Diet. Special Diets for Special Kids is the name of the first cookbook and has some wonderful recipes in it. Very kid friendly and doable.

My son is now a teenager and does very well. He still has some quirks about him. He's now learning at grade level. He takes his studies very seriously and is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. He makes a mean chocolate chip cookie. We've come a long way from those days about twelve years ago. It was worth it. Every single recipe and decision was worth it. Be your child's advocate. You are the voice for your child. Find it.

Mom Mastery Summitt

Yesterday I came across this website through Pam Farrel. I signed up for a four-day conference called the Mom Mastery Summit. It's all online and there are over 20 workshops!

I got a free pass, so I wanted to pass it along while there is still space available.

Check it out: ----> www.mommasterysummit.com

The summit will be covering marriage, money, homemaking, health, parenting, homeschooling, personal success, and faith.

Make sure you grab your spot!

Life at full speed

Seems as though I don't have time to blog or post little pictures here and there. Life is happening at breakneck speed and I just try to stay on top of the chaos.

I hesitate to blog when I do have time because I really don't have any lightbulb moments to share with you, I don't think that deeply that I could share some unknown wisdom on how things work or enlighten you to change your life or give you some wild wisdom. I'm just a wife, mom of thirteen, grandma to four trying to get through the day.

I'm lucky if I get some laundry going and a meal or two made. It doesn't help that I've been losing weight which means I don't cook the yummy stuff I normally do. I'm slowly starting to getting back to cooking my yummy meals, but that means I can't eat very much of what I cook. Seems as though I'm usually hungry, but that's okay. As long as I get my frozen yogurt with granola I'm good.

Tonight I made Black Bean soup. My daughter-in-law made a yummy salad with different lettuces, avocado, tomatoes, and onions. My husband brought home flour tortillas to go with the soup. We put a dollop of sour cream on the soup too to give it a little somethin', somethin'.

My second son and his family have been living with us for the last few weeks. They sold a house and are buying a house. While all the legal and financial things are being settled we get them for a bit. I've enjoyed having little Scotty Boy around. The first week he would wiggle free from my arms, but now he's resigned to the idea that gma is going to scoop him up and kiss his cute little face so he might as well enjoy it. :-) He's now laying his head on my shoulder if he's tired.

Usually we have our oldest granddaughter with us several times a week. I love how the different ages work together and how we all learn patience from different ages being around. Our youngest is six and our granddaughter is three. So in someways they could be sisters or cousins. One helps the other and they both exasperate the other. It will be so much fun for them when they're older and they have a close relationship with each other.

Two times a week I've been going to acupuncture to help loosen my facial muscles and nerve endings from the Bell's Palsy. It is helping and the acupuncture has helped my health in other ways also. When I go I have needles from my ankles to my head, sometimes as much as 27 or so needles in my face. Try scratching your nose when you can't move. Some days I'm in a room with up to three other people. I'm afraid to go to sleep, we lie there for an hour, because I just know I'm going to snore. I can't not snore when I sleep, but I really don't want others to know that. It's bad enough my family knows!!!

I just took our little Meskerem to the doctor yesterday. She's growing and thriving. Last year it was estimated that she would be 5' given her size and this year she has grown so much the dr. predicts she will be 5'3" and possibly taller if she is younger than her legal age like we think she is.

We've had birthdays, birthdays, and more birthdays! James, Addis, Abi, and John celebrated as well as our granddaughter. We've had parties, dinners, and lots of fun. Abi wanted to take her friends out for Ethiopian food. They loved it!


The three youngest girls have been taking swimming lessons. I need them to know how to get to the side of the pool. They can't wear floaties forever!!! We've been doing that twice a week for the last few months and we'll continue through April. Living in Southern California we NEED to be water safe.

That's just a glimpse into what has been happening around here.

Healthy Changes

This last week I joined Weight Watchers for the umpteenth time. I'm going to devote until August to lose the weight I need to lose. I'm doing this for my health. I was advised years ago to lose fifty pounds, but you moms know how it is. We take care of everyone else but ourselves. This is the year this mama needs to reclaim her health.

I was surprised when I weighed in heavier than I thought I was. Our at home scale is obviously light........ I'm on track now with 29 points a day. I've done really well so far, and I've gone out to eat almost every day.

I went out to Panda Express twice (I couldn't resist the second time). I changed up the fried rice for the vegies which are a big fat 0! Added the Black Pepper and Mushroom Chicken for a points value of 10. When I went back the next day I had a Panda bowl with vegies and Black Pepper Chicken and that was only 5 points.

We went out for bbq and I ordered the steamed vegies and 1/4 chicken with sauce. The chicken was breast and a wing. Since this restaurant isn't in the WW Eat Out book, I guesstimated that it was about 7-8 points for the meal, add in an ice tea and I was set.

We got pizza for our Friday night in-house date. Two pieces of that with raspberries and water, came to about 14 points.

On Thursday we went out for our weekly get-away-from-the-kids date and ended up at Olive Garden. I looked on the Lighter Menu and found a Lasagna Primavera and it was really scrumptious. Turns out that was eleven points. So I've been able to enjoy my food, I'm just making healthier choices.

I needed to go to the grocery store so I ended up in the misc. aisle. I bought the cup featured above. You can find it at Cool Gear. It has been my faithful friend all week. I just wish it were bigger so I wouldn't need to keep filling it up all the time.

I did give up Diet Sodas in 2010 because my joints were always so sore. Getting away from the aspartame fixed that problem for me. I switched to Iced Coffees at home recently and have shied away from those too this week.

The next thing I did to make a healthy change was to buy myself some new tennis shoes. I've been looking for months, but I hate to commit to shoes and purses so it takes me forever to decide on the right one. I found mine on the clearance rack at Famous Footwear for only $30-Nike's to boot! My husband is convinced I like them more than him, but I don't. (not yet :-) )

Then tada!!! I joined the YMCA yesterday. I signed up as a one-parent family and all nine of my kids get to go too!!!! Sarah will get to go to since she is moving home in May. Her husband is going to Korea for a year, so we get her for a whole year! The boys are excited since their friends go, and Joe wants to train for possible entrance into the Coast Guard. He passed the first round, next is the ASVAB.

Look out 2013, here we come!