Saturday ~ I am frozen!

The day was spent selling cookies. We had a booth sale scheduled from 9:00 to 1:00 in the morning and from 4:00 to 8:30 in the evening. This is the last weekend of cookie sales (I am SO glad!) so everything had to be sold.

The morning shift was VERY cold and windy. We sold 22 boxes in 4 hours, not good at all. I was very worried. We did not have enough to even pay our cookie bill. We still had over 170 boxes left to be sold during our evening shift. Well God was shining down on us and answered our prayers. Another troop called and asked if they could have some of our cookies. We were able to transfer 9 cases (108 boxes) to them. So for the evening shift we had about 65 boxes to sell. This was more manageable.

We were able to sell all but 11 boxes. I will bring them to the meeting on Monday and hopefully we can all divide them up to get rid of. I now remember why I was never the cookie mom when my older daughters were younger. It is almost too much to be the troop leader and the cookie mom.

When Kalie and I got home we were so COLD from being in the wind all day that we got into pajamas and went to bed. We did watch TV forever (I was ready to go to sleep by 8:30) though.

Friday ~ Icky and rainy.

Today was an icky rainy day! We schooled for a bit in the morning and then I decided we were done for the day. I was getting restless. In our area a local roller skating rink has homeschool roller skating on the 1st and 3rd Friday of the month from 1:00 – 3:00 for $3. We (ok really I) decided that it was time to go. I had been suggesting it for months to Kalie and today was the day.

It was a bit rough at first: with her anxiety, not knowing how to skate and it being very close to the assisted living that Bill had lived in before he died. But … we survived. Had an OK time and will be returning! Kalie has made so much progress in her behavior and dealing with new situations in the past 2 months. I am amazed!

After skating we dropped Kasie off at work and went to Kalie’s favorite store, the “pay by the pound” GoodWill. We got two more games, a few books, some “junky” toys and … 2 pairs of moon shoes. They are this strap on you shoes, be suspended on stretchy bands, walking device. Kalie loved them in the store. Both pairs weighed less than 3 pounds, so for $3 I couldn’t say no. She can’t wait for Hannah to come over and play. LOL!

We went home, let the dog out and played. We ran errands with the dog in tow and picked Kasie up at 10ish. Izzie has been a wonderful addition to our family. Kalie enjoys her so much and she is very loving. She LOVES to ride in the car and take walks with Kalie. She also lays right at your feet if you are sitting in a chair (computer, desk or dining room) but if you are on the couch she wants to lay on you. LOL!

So all in all it was a very good day!

Thursday ~ Stay Home Day!

Today was a wonderful stay home day! I am amazed at how well Kalie is doing in school. When she is given a little bit of “control” she goes above and beyond what I would have required.

A little backtrack… when Kasie and Katie were in the last half of the 7th and 8th grade and then the entire 8th and 9th grades they were homeschooled. I was working full time and Bill was the “daily supervisor”, I made all of the lesson plans and corrected about 1/3 of their stuff with Bill or the girls doing the rest of the corrections. The girls were given their “plans” on a quarterly basis (every 3 months, as we schooled year round). They learned very fast that if they worked really hard, were disciplined and finished early then they would have time off. So by the 3rd 9 weeks, they would work very hard for about 6 weeks and then have almost 6 weeks off. They still had some daily work but a majority of their lessons were completed.

Fast forward 4 years. I am now sharing the “plans” with Kalie. I have given her the option of working hard and long on a few subjects (that she doesn’t like) so she would have to do them less often during the week. She finished the entire week’s math and reading lessons in 2 sittings (instead of 5). Now what she doesn’t know is that most of the games we play during the rest of the week when we are not “doing school” really are learning games. LOL!

When she works hard and fast we also have lots of time to work on lapbooks (we have 5 or 6 going at once right now), our pioneer study and her Animal Notebook (science). These are the things that she loves.

Hope everyone else had a great day!

Wednesday ~ Katie's Birthday!

Katie is 20. I am happy and sad at the same time. My life has changed so much during the past 20 years. I hope I have been the mother that the Lord had intended for her.

We spent the morning on school work and walking the dog. Katie called and said she was not feeling well. She sounded terrible. Her allergies were flared up and giving her lots of trouble. She spent most of the day in bed.

We drove to Anderson (1 hour and 15 minutes away) in the evening to have a Birthday Dinner! She wanted Wedgy’s Wednesday. Wedgy’s is a local pizza delivery/restaurant in our area. They thought we were crazy ordering a sausage pizza with no sauce. Kasie has developed food allergies because of her RSD. She is now allergic to apples, peaches, cherries and tomatoes. So, no sauces with tomato base for her.

We also stopped and picked up an Ingles bakery cake for her. We had the party at Charlie’s moms house (2 blocks from AU) because it was Wednesday so no RSVP for Charlie (he is Katie’s boyfriend of 18 months). RSVP is the time when boys and girls can visit each other in the dorms at AU. It was an interesting party.

Katie loved her gift. Kasie and I went together and bought her an iPOD Nano. Katie was thrilled! She has been hinting and thought she might be getting an iPOD Shuffle, since they had just gone on sale for about $50. But we got her what she really wanted (which was $150). After we were home she called to tell me she was loading songs. I am glad she had a nice birthday.

After the “party” we went to petsmart (in Anderson) to get Izzie new clothes and everyone new collars. (They were having a 75% off sale). Izzie came to the party with us. She did very well riding in the car for so long and then being in a new environment. She is a great dog; we love her already and are very pleased! Izzie got a new coat and a harness. The cats all got collars to put their new ID and rabie vaccination tags on. (Let’s just say, they were not pleased with their presents. LOL!)

On the way home we stopped at Izzie’s old owners to get her shot records and registration papers. It looks as if she was never officially registered with the AKC, so we might have a late fee. But that is ok because then we can name her. The name on the application is Ms. Isabella Stella Kiss Faal. We would change it to Ms. Izadora (something) (something) Williams. Any suggestions?

Am I CRAZY? Chickens in our house?

Okay so let me tell you first off that I am not this huge animal lover. I like them, but do not want to have a zoo. LOL! Three cats, a dog, and a part time fish (it lives in the dorm with Kasie most of the time) are plenty enough for me! Actually they are too much for me. Well … I do not always have the deciding vote in our house. I run a democracy; sometimes I wish it was not. LOL!

While we are at Art class today (Kasie joined us) we played with Ms. Samantha’s chickens again. Ms. Samantha lives in the real country; not the have a big yard with no trees to climb and still have neighbors country like we do (Kalie’s words). Ms. Samantha has a wonderful husband who supports her crazy, eclectic, creative homeschooling adventure. They have a dog, five cats (two who will be having kittens soon), two guinea pigs, two birds, 3 roosters and many chickens! So … while we are there Kasie is talking to Ms. Samantha about her chickens and how cool it is to have chickens just walking around your yard. Somehow (I do not know because I missed the beginning of the conversation) Kasie discovered that you could get baby chicks at the local Feed and Seed for under $5 each. So, guess what Kalie is going to get for Easter. How crazy is this? Ms. Samantha said that when the chick was too old to keep in the house we could add it to her “flock”.

Our homeschool adventure is becoming more and more unschooled. I need help!

Tuesday ~ A busy day.

Tuesday is our busiest day of the week. In the morning we have MMCC and Art class in the afternoon. I always try to fit in all of the errands needed in between the two. So it can be hectic. Today was no exception.

Ralphy (our youngest kitten/cat) is about 9 to 10 months old now. So it was time to be fixed. (I am a firm believer in getting pets fixed, unless you are a responsible breeder.) We dropped him off at the vet at 8:30 on our way to work.

Kasie was the infant teacher today (Ashley, her friend who usually does it, went home to NC for spring break). She spent the time loving on Carissa (almost 7 months) and Mia (almost 10 months). Kalie helped Ms. Elizabeth (and the two homeschooled teenage girls) in the Toddlers and Two class today. I was alone with the preschoolers. We had a great morning!

Afterwards we went to the bank and ran errands. Then off to Art class which was an adventure to be told in another post. LOL!

When Art class was over, we had to rescue our little “Ralphy Muffin-Cake” (as Katie calls him). Our running around did not end until after 5:00. We were all so tired when we got home. The evening was spent “chilling and relaxing”. Kalie played with Izzie and I loved on Ralphy. It will be hard to keep him in the house for a few days as he loves to play in the yard.

Monday ~ Cleaning and Scouts

The day was spent cleaning the house (we did not finish the day before), running errands and a Scout meeting in the evening. Kasie stayed home while we went to Girl Scouts. I came home to Hayley (her friend) and her changing their hair color, AGAIN! Whenever Kasie gets bored, upset, stressed, etc. she changes her hair. I guess I should not be upset, as hair will grow out/back. She could be doing worse things, like piercing and tatoos. I do not always understand my girls. LOL!

Sunday ~ The adventure continues.

On Sunday morning as we are getting ready for church, I said (really loud as Kalie was in the other room) to Katie and Kasie, “Well, what do you think? Have we found the right dog? Should we keep her?” In their loud, overly done voice, they answered; “Yeah, I guess we should keep her.” Kalie screamed and started crying and laughing, the dog went crazy. Kalie was hugging her so hard that I was afraid she might break a rib. She kept saying, “Izzie you are part of the family now. You get to be my dog forever. We are going to be best friends. We can adopt you! I love you so much!” It was a good 10 minutes before she came out of the room to tell us “Thank You”

Kalie did not want to leave her when we went to church. I had to set some ground rules very fast. LOL! Izzie is not a reason to miss commitments and responsibilities! Walking into church, I started towards our usual spot; right behind the Dyches’ and Mark & Mer, but Kalie had other plans. She wanted to sit by Jonathan. I was very surprised! She has made so much progress with her anxiety lately. Eighteen months ago I could barely get her to church, twelve months ago it was a struggle to get her to Sunday School, six months ago I could barely get her to go to community group without tears and having to leave early and today ... we sat by someone new (well not really new, he is in our community group but we have never sat by him before) and she walked almost all of the way to Sunday School by herself. HUGE progress! I am so pleased and happy!

After church we made our usual stop at Wal-Mart for our paper and Sunday treat. While we were there we stopped at the craft/fabric department. I needed a pioneer dress pattern (yes we are really into this unit study) and … we had to get a doggie coat/bed pattern. Kasie and Kalie picked out coordinating fabric to make 3 coats. We will pick out fabric to make the cover for her crate later in the week. Kasie is very excited that Izzie is a girl/dog who likes to wear clothes.

The older girls went to work for the afternoon. Kalie and I came home to CLEAN (our house was trashed). We worked for about 3 hours doing laundry (we had about 6 loads to fold) and picking up. It was so cute where ever Kalie went Izzie followed. We folded the laundry on my bed. I would hand Kalie a stack of folded laundry to put away, she would walk out of the room, and Izzie would jump off the bed to follow her. They would return. Izzie would jump on the bed, lie down and look as if she was sleeping. As soon as Kalie would start to walk away from the bed to put something else away, Izzie would perk up, jump off the bed and follow her.

I think that Izabel will be the perfect best friend for Kalie. The only concern I have is … will Izzie want to be homeschooled. I do not need any more uncooperative students. We have had problems with Oliver, Stanley and Ralphy (the cats) and their participation. LOL! You think I am crazy, but Kalie has spent many an afternoon locked in the bathroom trying to teach the cats’ math. I also think that Izzie will also help to get Kalie more active and trim her up/down. I say this because she took the poor dog for 6 walks from 12:00 until 5:15. LOL! Poor dog.

We met Paige at around 4:30 to get Izzie’s crate and toys. I know that she was sad to see Izzie go to a new family, but happy to see that she will be loved, pampered and spoiled. We will meet Paige early next week to get Izzie’s shot record and papers. We will register her, but will not breed her. In fact I will make an appointment to get her fixed very soon. I am going to check into a class for Kalie and Izzie. I thought it might be another way to help Kalie with her anxiety about new people and places if Kalie and Izzie did dog shows together. Nothing serious or stressful, just maybe a local show.

Kalie did not want to go to community group for church. I had to reinforce the laws that had been stated in the morning before church. We had a wonderful supper with great fellowship! I am very blessed and fortunate to have “the Best community group” ever. After the meal we had a short sermon discussion and broke into prayer groups (men and women separate). Well sometime the miracles pour out all at one time. Kalie joined us for prayer time. I was so amazed. She has never joined us for prayer before. She has always played (sometimes quietly and sometimes not so quietly) in the background. She is still young (7 ½) so I just pushed being respectful and quiet during prayer time not requiring her to participate. Well she did participate and very well at that! I was so very proud and pleased with her! God is so good! He is slowly changing Kalie into his chosen daughter. I am very blessed!

Katie dropped Kasie off at community group after work. Katie had to go back to AU. Kasie did not have to go back to NGU because she is home for the week. Yea! Spring Break! Kalie is happy to have her sister home! The rest of the night went very well. Izzie slept in Kasie’s bed with her.

Saturday ~ A new dog?

Kalie has been very lonely since her daddy has died. He was the “good” parent, always ready to play and read. He never had to worry about keeping the house, paying the bills, her education, therapy appointments, her diet, clothes, etc. You know all the things moms have to do. We have all missed Bill, each in our own way. The older girls miss having someone on their side to help change my mind. I miss my best friend and confidant. Kalie misses her best friend and daddy! He has been gone for two months now and it seems like yesterday and also like forever ago. So, that being said, we have been missing something … I of course, had to try and fix things and fill the void.

We got a dog! Crazy, I know. Just what I need, another responsibility and expense to add to my overflowing, underfunded plate. I really felt that Kalie needed an always be there for you, love you even during the rough times, friend. Well hopefully, that is what Izzie will be.

Izabel (Izzie for short) is an AKC black cocker spaniel. She is about a year old. She has been crate and house trained. (Which is the only way I could have done it, we are not good trainers? LOL!) A friend who encouraged this new adventure, saw a listing on Craig’s List. She convinced me to check it out. After over a week of back and forth we finally met Paige (Izzie’s mommy). She bought Izzie to meet us. It went so well that we asked if she could have a puppy play date for a few hours. Well that went so well that we called and asked if Izzie could spend the night. Kalie was so happy! The two of them were glued together the entire day/night. Where ever Kalie went Izzie followed.

We had a very busy day! The morning started off with a cookie booth sale and meeting Izzie, things just got busier. I had to run Kasie to work (by noon), go back to the cookie booth, end the cookie booth, afternoon errands, getting our hair cut, running Katie to work, library trip, and a cookie drop off all with a dog in tow. LOL! It was crazy! We also stopped at Petco, got some doggie treats and had Izzie’s nails trimmed. By that time I knew that we would be keeping her.

Kalie, Izzie and I picked the older girls up at 9ish from work. We all changed into our pajamas and went to Brewster’s (Ice Cream) for free waffle cones. Once a year (the first weekend in March) they have pajama day. If you come to Brewster’s in you pajamas they give you a free waffle cone. They also give dogs a free puppy sundae (vanilla ice cream and a doggie biscuit) whenever you come. Katie worked at Brewster’s for 2 year. We LOVE Brewster’s.

To be continued ...

Friday ~ The End of the Week and Begining of the Weekend!

Today was a busy but good day! Kalie and I had a relaxed school day with Math being our main (and only) subject. We spent a significant amount of time on money. Okay … really what happened was I had to make the deposit for Girl Scout cookies. I thought, humph, we will never have this much money ($992.50) in cash any other time, so lets use this to our homeschool advantage. She counted money for over an hour. She had a blast, and lucky for me she did not lose any. LOL!

Our booth sale tonight did not go well; we sold 14 boxes in 2 hours. I hope Saturday goes better. Afterwards we went out for dinner with Amy (asst. leader) and her family. Pizza Inn, the best place in town (Kalie and Hannah's opinion). Katie joined us. It was very fun. We spent more time visiting than eating.

Kasie came home for the week, she has spring break. Kalie is very excited to have a sister home! I am not sure Kasie is that excited. LOL!