Chalkboard

I finally got a chalkboard hanging on the wall. C needs to use something besides pencil andpaper all the time to write out answers and ideas. Then she copies the answers, sentences, words, etc.. onto her paper

Hubby bought plywood, the framing and chalkboard paint at Lowe's. The frame made the thin plywood sturdier, but the paint made it all seem like a solid, sturdy piece. I think we put 3 coats of paint on there.

Keep C in your prayers, we have our initial IEP this week and hopefully we can find a way to make learning fun.

Settling In

AHHH! Finally some time to myself. The house is somewhat put together. At least most things have a place and I still need to hang pictures.
We made it through 6 nights of hotel rooms, 2 vehicles, 2 kids, and 2 dogs across the country. We had one flat tire and one bad hotel stay. The kids did great, I think they were so excited about traveling that they did not get very bored. I would like to say there was so much to see, but have you traveled across Texas lately. We spent 2 nights in San Antonio and took the kids to the Alamo and Riverwalk.
Our new town seems like a great little town to raise a family in. There are people out walking all the time. Some pushing strollers and some walking dogs, we even saw one lady pushing her dog in a stroller. We have a Wal Mart and a Target and many great grocery stores. My favorite by far is an organic grocery store.
R starts his check in process tomorrow for the school that he will be attending. He is excited and nervous all rolled into one.
C has to get back into the swing of things with homeschooling tomorrow. I had thought that I may be able to get a few things accomplished while traveling but she is not that disciplined yet. It will be a rough day tomorrow as she has a tendency to fight me.
Have a great week.

Lost In December

I am feeling a wee bit lost amongst all the posts for homeschool reviews. I am forever thankful that I was chosen to represent The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and Store. The amount of material that we have been able to review is staggering and I did not get chosen to review every item. There are some good folks out there who are reviewing more than me. Bless their hearts. I will be even more thankful come summer and I am not buying as much because of all that I was given. Thank you God!

December is almost over and we have been trying to enjoy it. We had to say no to several invitations because the stress was getting overwhelming. We have seen plenty of Christmas lights, visited Santa, shopped, made gifts for others, sent Christmas cards, attended a children's Christmas party, and laid low as a family.

So much has been happening since R's homecoming back in October that we just had to put a stop to a lot of things. Mostly the running around. We felt like chickens with their heads cut off. We had no direction because we were trying to please everyone and do for everyone. I know that we have hurt some feeling by not attending Thanksgiving and Christmas with other family members but it just was not right for us.

I never realized how much war changes a person. R is not the same person that he was when he left. We are not dealing with major changes just some stress induced moodiness. Thankfully some of that subsided when we moved closer to his work and we decided that the holidays would be spent here this year. I can see the mark that this has left on him and I pray that we can learn to live with the changes. The kids are not sure when to ask him something, because his first response is to say no. I am not sure why, but I was really looking forward to having the kids go to him for some things, but that has proved useless and tear full. SO more patience is needed as we move through this.

To say that we have been busy would be an understatement. Just the fact that R has been home 2 months today and we have moved into a whole new house and town is enough to make my pressure crawl back up. We are settled now and we like where we are. There are new kids across the street and we are relaxing some.

So Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope that you will continue to check in with us. I promise life is happening amongst all the homeschooling.
Amanda