Happy Birthday to My Love!

Happy Birthday, Jose! The girls and I are so blessed to belong to you. You're the best in the whole world!

Dinner Ideas

Last year I asked what everybody was making for dinner so I can get more menu ideas. So here we go again...

What did you eat/make last night for dinner?

What are you having tonight for dinner?

Last night we had white rice with stir fried beef strips, bell peppers, and onions.
Tonight we are having pork chops, roasted red potatoes, and steamed brocolli and cauliflower.

Please leave your answers in the comments section. Thank you for your input!!!

Target Rocks!!!

Last Friday my vacuum cleaner of almost 10 years finally kicked the bucket. So in the evening we spent a fun-filled Friday night vacuum shopping. I really wanted to invest in a high quality vacuum because of my horrid allergy problem. We found the one we wanted and shelled out the money. I love my new vaccum!! It looks like a robot and its yellow so we now call it Bumblebee. Even though we paid for the quality I think every penny is worth it. So yesterday my mom called and asked what model we got. I told her and she asked if we got the $50 Target gift card with our purchase. "Uh, no." The deal began on Sunday. So today I went to the customer service counter and asked if there is any way I could get that $50. The girl was so nice! She refunded the money for the vacuum, re-charged me, gave me my giftcard, and refunded the difference in the tax I paid originally. Like I said...Target rocks, and so does my new vacuum!

Its Hard To Be A Mom When...

your child has to get 3 shots, a TB test, get blood drawn, and go back next Tuesday for 2 more shots while your 3 year old watches in horror. Oh yeah, and next Tuesday the 3 year old gets caught up on all her shots. Now there's something to look forward to! Oh the joys of motherhood.

What are some of the hard days you've had as a parent?

Field Trip Flop

Today was our field trip to the county fair. All three of us were looking forward to it. If you know me at all, you know I don't like large crowds, heat, and carrying backpacks, strollers, etc. However, I was so determined to make this a great day for my kids and not leave early (as I usually do from things like this). But my allergies were SO bad. The last couple of days I've really been battling them. And today was no exception, especially with all the farm animals and hay, etc. (which of course was the main attraction for my kids). We only were able to stay for a little over an hour. My kids were really disapppointed we couldn't stay longer, but my attack was so bad I could barely see through my swollen, watery eyes and could barely breathe with my congested sinuses. Rrrrrrr! Thankfully in the hour we were there the girls got to see the animals and some educational discovery booths. I really want to make this up to them. Here are some photos of our hour at the fair:

This is for real! Call today!!



Please read and respond today!

There is a piece of legislation on the governors' desk for
signature that he plans to sign on Friday; however, he will tally the
telephone poll results before he actually signs this. This is AB2567, which
would require the teachers on "Harvey Milk Day" to observe and provide
gay-related curricula for that day. You can view the entire bill at
http://www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/acsframeset2text.htm and simply type 2567
into the box for bill number.

If you are opposed to this bill, please do the following:

It only takes about 10 seconds of your time but may change the future of our
kids.

Call 1-916-445-2841

Press 1 for English

Press 2 for "bills"

Press 1 for AB2567

Press 2 to vote "NO"

If you are opposed to this legislation, and you have more than one phone,
you can call from all of them.

Tuesday Miscellaneous

So far school is going well. Each morning we go through our routine and Bekah has been very enthusiastic about joining in the fun. In addition to studying each day of creation, we review the alphabet daily. I am so blessed that both of my girls already have letter recognition down (thanks to preschool for Annie and the show "Super Why" on PBS for Bekah) so that part of school is a breeze. Hopefully Bekah will still stick with school when we're learning new concepts. :)

This morning Bekah called me to their room to check out how tall she is on their growth chart. I said, "Wow, Bek, you're three feet tall!" So the rest of the morning she insisted she does NOT have 3 feet, only two, and kept looking at her actual feet. I don't think she's ready for measurements. :)

The girls wanted to make bird feeders, so we made some primitive looking contraptions out of orange juice cartons, rope, twigs for perches, and birdseed. I hope the birds enjoy!

Yesterday was a packed day. We did school in the morning as usual. I can already tell an area Annie will be working hard on...handwriting. She had to copy a Bible verse and it was hard for her to go back and forth from the small print and find her place after each letter. She got pretty frustrated but we took a minute to pray and re-focus and she finished.

















Then we got to go on our first official fieldtrip! We went to The Huntington Gardens in San Marino. The first Thursday of every month is free and since this week we are studying creation, it was a great place to go enjoy God's nature creations. It was very hot but the kids were troopers and had good attitudes. Thankfully I had my mom along for help. Here are a few pictures:

Then we had a homeschool meeting at church. It was nice to meet the leaders and hear the theme for our school year: "Come, my children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord." Psalm 34:11

It's Never Too Early To Celebrate Fall

With the official beginning of our school year yesterday, I decided it was time to start decorating for fall. My dad gave me a basket of fall-colored flowers and my blog is easy to change into the appropriate colors. Maybe I can pick up some pumpkin scented candles and some apple cinnamon ones too. Let's face it, fall decor gets the short end of the stick because technically the season ends around the 21st of December but we start decorating for Christmas at the end of November. So I'm going to give Autumn a good three months of celebration, even if it still is summer for another two and a half weeks. Annie is requesting I bake oatmeal raisin cookies and since we finally got our air conditioner fixed yesterday (it was a long, hot, sticky weekend) I think those cookies are a great idea and will begin our Fall baking season. Letting Annie help me measure and bake will be educational, too!

First Day of School

Well the first day was short! We started at 9am and ended by 10:20 which included a walk through the neighborhood and snack! The first 10 days of school we are studying creation, taking one day of creation at a time. After the first couple of weeks I know there will be more work involved as we get into our regular lessons. For now I'll just enjoy easing into our homeschool!

New Homes

Today we got to visit Jeff and my dad to check out their new houses. They both look great!


Jeff's Kitchen, Living Room, & Master Bedroom

Dad's Family Room, Living Room, and a picture with the girls