FOR TODAY Monday November 29, 2010

Outside my window... a deceptively overcast sky that makes me think of grey November in Ohio, but then I remember it is probably really warm here

I am thinking... that I hope I find a deal this morning on Cyber Monday

I am thankful for... my wonderful husband who wants to make me happy

From the learning rooms... I need to make a decision about Tyler's math curriculum. He was struggling a few weeks ago and I promised him we would try something else. However, since that day he has been doing a great job and I am not sure if I should make a change.

From the kitchen... Jeff is making us steaks tonight, yummy!

I am wearing... my pajamas

I am creating... a shopping cart at Amazon.com

I am going... probably nowhere today, but I just got back from Sarasota.

I am reading... The Postmistress by Sarah Blake

I am hoping... that the 3.5 lbs I gained on the cruise will come off quickly

I am hearing... SILENCE! Maggie is with my Mom in Sarasota, Jeff is at work, and Tyler is, shockingly, still asleep.

Around the house... our TIVO remote is broke and stuck on a paused show so I can't watch any TV.

One of my favorite things... my date stamp for homeschool. This is my 3rd year homeschooling, but my first to buy a date stamp. It was such a simple idea, but it never crossed my mind to get one. Only homeschoolers will understand this post ;)

A few plans for the rest of the week... Daisy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Park, and we will probably have a garage sale this weekend.

Here is picture I am sharing...

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY Monday November 22, 2010

Outside my window... the sun peaking through the clouds

I am thinking... that I have A LOT to do before Christmas

I am thankful for... the wonderful, relaxing, and romantic Caribbean Cruise the hubby and I just returned from

From the learning rooms... I am hoping that there is something written down for this week in my planner because I have no motivation to come up with anything.

From the kitchen... Jeff made fajitas last night... my favorite meal.

I am wearing... my pajamas

I am creating... a Christmas gift list and budget

I am going... to a birthday party today then my Dad is taking us all out to dinner

I am reading... Nell by Nancy Thayer

I am hoping... that the 3.5 lbs I gained on the cruise will come off quickly

I am hearing... the kids playing on the porch and my Mom and Jeff typing on the other computers.

Around the house... too much technology on at this time in the morning: 3 computers, my Dad watching TV and the kids playing Wii Fit Plus

One of my favorite things... my new clothes I bought for the cruise that fit!!

A few plans for the rest of the week... birthday party, budgeting, planning for Black Friday, cooking a small Thanksgiving dinner, and possibly going to the beach.

Here is picture I am sharing...

Family Friday: My Creative Son

I am sharing this video, because I am so impressed by it. My son loves to watch You Tube videos of Legos and of game walkthroughs. Last week he asked me if he could borrow my camera to make his own. When he showed it to me I thought it was the cutest thing I had ever seen. Ok, I know that is Mom's perspective, but I still wanted to share.

The video is pretty choppy, but it is his script that I think is so well done.

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY Monday November 8, 2010

Outside my window... nothing yet, but watching for my parents to arrive

I am thinking... about a situation on a Mom's board I frequent and how there are a bunch of crazy people in this world

I am thankful for... the morning spent with my son

From the learning rooms... I seem to be running out of LA curriculum faster than I anticipated. T is already in his second Reading Comprehension book and going through it fast. I was alternating that with another book, but he has lost the second book. M loves workbooks and does extra pages in her LA books. I need to pick up a couple more for her to do.

From the kitchen... steaks!! Yummy. Steaks are the best part of this weight loss plan.

I am wearing... Capris and a ls white T-Shirt

I am creating... a list of everything I need to do before we leave for vacation on Saturday

I am going... to get a cup of coffee and finish school with T

I am reading... nothing. I just finished a book and I need to figure out what books I want to take on our cruise.

I am hoping... not sure, but I have a stack of 6 books to choose from. I made a mistake and picked out a couple books from the library shelf before I got my reserves so now I am a little overloaded.

I am hearing... T talking to either himself or his new toy.

Around the house... I really should mop before my parents get here, but I am not in the mood. The dishes are done and their bed is made. I give up on T's room and M cleaned hers yesterday.

One of my favorite things... Big Fish Games. I may have posted that before, but really when I am bored or stressed I download a game and it is very enjoyable to me. I know many people don't understand, but I have learned in my 40 years that everyone relieves stress in very different, but all valid, ways.

A few plans for the rest of the week... shopping, dentist appointments, more shopping and packing

Here is picture I am sharing...

My handsome date

Weekly Wrap-Up

Our week started out hectic and on the wrong foot. I spent Monday afternoon shopping for clothes and having lunch with a friend. Daddy was home with the kids. They did a little school work, but Daddy needed a break, and he deserved one. So I finished up school work when I got home. Tuesday the kids were playing a make believe game when I got up. They didn't want to stop playing when it was time to do schoolwork and, hence, we had a day full of power struggles and punishments. It was NOT a good day. DH and I spent some time talking that night trying to come up with some ways for our days to run smoother.

I actually knew what needed to happen, but I resisted it. I know that when I get on the computer in the mornings, our days do not go well. But I selfishly want to be able to do my own thing while the kids are doing their schoolwork. This does not really ever work in my house, but I still insist on trying to make it happen. So, Wednesday morning I kept the computer off and I kept the kids focused from the moment we got up. We had a great day.. We got our schoolwork done early and even had time for an extended break before lunch. Let's hope I can stay focused on this issue after I return from vacation.

T: T is still having Math issues. I am not sure why he hates it so much. I would think a person would hate something they are bad at, but he really does a great job in the subject. I am really at a loss. I don't want to spend the next 10 years listening to him complain about math. On the other hand, I cannot just let him not do it. I believe he needs to do math daily. Maybe I just need to find the right program for him. This is our 3rd math curriculum though.

M: M is doing really well this week. She is my workbook girl, you know that child who actually loves to do workbooks. I was actually like this as a child, and I really don't know why people don't enjoy workbooks. :) Teacher he about money is frustrating me, but she has difficulty with skip counting so that is part of the problem. I am putting together a couple file folder games to help her.

Mommy: I went out last week and bought myself a new Covey Planner at Target. It is working out pretty well so far. My biggest issues is all the things I think about as I am falling asleep. There is no way I am getting up to write stuff down at that point. I usually don't remember once morning hits.

Once I gave up my morning computer our week went smoothly. Yesterday DH and I went to see Dave Ramsey Live! We have seen him before, but we thought we could use a refresher. DH and I have been stuck on BS3 for awhile, so we needed some inspiration. I think we got it. We really need to finish up our Emergency Fund so we can move on to our investing. It was good because DH has been feeling badly about not investing and this was a good reminder about why we temporarily stopped that. Our temporary has just lasted longer than we anticipated.

I am looking ahead to a VERY busy week as my parents arrive and we prepare for our cruise next week. Happy sailing!

Family Friday: Myrtle Beach

So after our last minute venture into North Carolina we continued onto our original destination: Myrtle Beach. My hubby's Mom moved to Myrtle about 6 or 7 years ago. Since then we have only visited her once. She has visited us a few times, but we don't get to see her as often as we would like.

I feel the need to interject a side topic here: Mother-in-Laws. Every time I hear some horror story, read a blog, or talk to a friend ;) about their MILs, I feel very blessed. I have a great MIL. I will say that I attribute this partially to my MIL and I, but I also give credit to my DH. I think a lot of In-Law issues stem from the husband (or wife) being unable or unwilling to put their spouse first. I don't think my husband has ever been a "Momma's boy" but I do know that from the beginning he showed with his actions and attitudes where his priorities are. Now my In-Laws would never treat me like the stories I have heard, but I know if there was ever an issue my husband would stand beside me. And, in just saying that, I realized that this is another reason for the no conflict.

Ok, back to the original topic. We arrived in Myrtle Beach around 5pm. After a short visit with J's Mom and her husband we headed out to dinner. They took us to this really cute little pizza place, Mellow Mushroom. The food was great. Ok, well the only thing I could eat was a grilled chicken salad, but the pizza looked and smelled DELICIOUS! I would definitely like to return some day when I am able to eat bread again.

Saturday we did a little shopping. I bought a new pair of jeans and then we hit the grocery. Jeff spent most of the day helping his Mom with some computer issues. That evening we were lucky enough to be able to enjoy a dinner alone thanks to my MIL. Jeff took me to this restaurant on a pier by the ocean. It was a nice little place, but our food was not the greatest. Still, we enjoyed ourselves and the scenery. After dinner we headed upstairs to the outdoor bar/lounge area. I had 1/2 a beer (lightweight) and we enjoyed the view of the ocean and boardwalk. We are pretty boring, so we were home and in bed by 10pm.

Sunday we had planned a trip to the beach. It turned out to be a perfectly beautiful day. We traveled about 30 minutes to Huntington Beach State Park. This is also the site of an old Spanish-style castle called Atalaya. My MIL thought the kids might enjoy touring this site, and they did. T still has the map of the house in the car and will occasionally ask "Did we see the outdoor studio?" I have answered that question 10 times so far, but he still insists on asking.

After our tour of Atalaya we walked over to the beach and enjoyed a picnic lunch. Then Jeff and the kids played in the sand while the rest of us sunbathed and enjoyed a book. It really was a lovely day. There were even several people swimming, but the water was a little cold for us.

Later that day we returned home and the kids spent some time playing with the neighborhood children. We grilled out for dinner and started gathering our items for our return home.

Monday was a very long day in the car. We left Myrtle Beach about 9am and spent way too much time on some back roads getting to the highway. Scenery is nice, but not when you just want to get home. Overall it was one of our best family vacations. We had a great visit with Jeff's Mom. Jeff and I had a lot of time to talk and dream. The kids were pretty good in the car and we made some great family memories.

Weight Loss Wednesday

My loss this week was very small (less than 1/2 a pound). I am particularyly annoyed because I have been getting alot of physical activity, but it is not showing on the scale. On the other hand, my clothes are still feeling looser and I can really no longer put off buying new undergarments.

Sorry this is a short post. I've been crabby this week and I am feeling frustrated that I have not hit the goal I set for myself.

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite TV shows

In some particular order..

1. LOST - yes I am one of "those" people.. one of those crazy people who doesn't understand why everyone would not love this show. It was full of excitement and bewilderment. That is why I loved it. I spent many nights wondering "what the heck just happened" and I loved every minute of it.

2. Friends - I still quote this show on occasion and just had a good laugh when someone posted this clip to a bulletin board I frequent

3. Seinfeld - "Serenity Now!"

4. M.A.S.H. - one of the best, but I will admit I would take BJ over Trapper and I know I am in the minority on that

5. Happy Days - no one is cooler than The Fonz

6. Guiding Light - I started watching this with my Grandma when I was a young child. She was a fan since the radio days. Sadly CBS cancelled this show last year, but it will always remind me of Grandma.

7. Roseanne - the show that made the rest of us feel "normal"

8. ER - the early years. I loved Anthony Edwards and when he died, I left the show. Well, honestly the arrival of John Stamos really killed the show for me because I just cannot stand to watch him act.

9. Arrested Development - this is a new one for me. I watched it entirely on Netflix, but I'm glad I had the opportunity to do so.

10. Weeds - We don't have premium channels so I am always late in the game when it comes to the series on HBO and Showtime, but this is one of my favorites. I am always a season behind, waiting for the DVDs, but this one hooked me pretty quickly. Nancy is so the antithesis of me that it is always shocking to watch her in action.

2010 Gratitude Challenge - Nov 1

I found this Challenge from a friend and thought it would be a great idea. I have been trying to help my son become more grateful so I might challenge him to join me.

Today I am grateful for the opportunity to have lunch with a friend. She will be starting a new job soon and we will have less opportunities to get together. Ok, to be honest we haven't done a lot of in person activities since her son started public school, but still...

T: T is thankful that he got to buy pears today at the grocery store.

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY Monday November 1, 2010

Outside my window... the kids playing Wii fit on the back porch

I am thinking... about taking a shower so I can get busy on my day of errands

I am thankful for... the beautiful weather and fun relaxing day we had yesterday

From the learning rooms... I am trying to catch up from vacation and our slow week last week. I have a few goals I want to accomplish with the kids before they have a weeks vacation in November.

From the kitchen... steaks!! Yummy. Steaks are the best part of this weight loss plan.

I am wearing... my pajamas

I am creating... a new thought organizational system with my new planner.

I am going... to shop today: books, clothes, citrus

I am reading... nothing. I just finished a book and I need to figure out what books I want to take on our cruise.

I am hoping... that I can loose 5 pounds in the next 2 weeks so I can reach my main goal I had when I started this program.

I am hearing... the kids playing on the Wii and J typing on his computer.

Around the house... my floor are so dirty and I never got around to cleaning them yesterday. I have been doing well keeping up with my laundry though. The rest of the place is a mess.

One of my favorite things... the online library reserve system. This is the ONLY way I choose books. And to expand on that, the whole Library system is one of my favorite things. I LOVE the library. It is one of our country's greatest resources. I wish more people took advantage of it. On a whole, it is a great thing. Some libraries are better than others. And, as homeschoolers know too well, some librarians are nicer than others.

A few plans for the rest of the week... shopping and lunch with a friend today, bookmobile tomorrow (I love our bookmobile librarian), scouting, park on Friday, and then hubby and I are going to see Dave Ramsey live on Saturday.

Here is picture I am sharing...

Obligatory Halloween Picture