Seriously Intimidated

Okay, I've been home for a few days.  I've gotten mostly unpacked, got the house mostly cleaned (I still need to tackle my room and clean and finish unpacking my own stuff), ordered the last of the homeschool curriculum, and now it's time to start planning the chore charts and to make use of my birthday present--remember?  The $40 planner?  I don't know what my problem is but I feel so intimidated.  I hate organizing stuff like that and really don't know where to start.  Once I get started I get going and I dare say even have a little fun but getting started...I've already decided that tomorrow is the day.  I'm going to sit the kids in front of the tv all day and I'm going to tackle that beautiful planner, really.  That's the plan.  

Another thing I'm totally intimidated by is the latest couponing craze that has taken my homeschool group by storm.  It seems crazy how much money these ladies are saving.  I'm hearing stories of spending like $10 and getting $400 worth of stuff.  There have been a couple of classes recently where these ladies are learning how to do this but I've been out of town for all of them.  Right now I can't even get my brain around starting this but at the same time I sort of feel like I should.  I'm not working, we are living on one income, it would definitely help out with the finances, yet...do I want to take it on?  It seems like a lot to think through and organize.  I don't know that I would be that good at it either.  I totally bombed on saving money the other day.  The kids got coupons at VBS for a free 4 pack kid's meal at Chick-fil-a with the purchase of a chargrilled chicken sandwich.  I also had the calendar coupon for free large waffle fries with the purchase of a medium drink.  So, we go to Chick-fil-a, order 3 chicken sandwiches (two are still in my fridge), the three kid's meals, the drink, and fries.  My total?  $15.  The same amount I would have paid had I gotten what we usually get--3 kids meals and a #1.  I did come out of it with 2 extra chicken sandwiches but I'll  be honest with you--I really don't care for their chargrilled sandwich.  I'm not crazy about the bun or the sauce.  I will eat them though because I paid for them by golly!

Well, it's time to go do something completely unimportant and not on my to do list.  I've had enough of accomplishing things for one day.

A Simple Woman's Daybook

A Simple Woman's Daybook for today...August 17, 2009
Outside my window...the wind is whipping around through the trees and it's getting dark, I'm hoping for a big ol' thunder boomer
I am thinking...about the to do list that needs to be written--I have homeschooling business, church business, house business, and financial business to attend to....lots on my mind!
From the learning rooms...we have two weeks off while I order some curriculum and do some planning and then we start a new school year!
I am thankful for...home sweet home.
From the kitchen...Hannah and I are making Norwegian Meatballs tonight. She chose "choose dinner" and "help with dinner" from the reading bingo rewards jar so we'll be doing that tonight. Grace will be making peanut butter cookies this week and Joe will be making whoopie pies. That will satisfy their "bake cookies" rewards. We will also be having hamburgers, taco salad with chicken, and I don't remember what else I planned for.
I am wearing...my "hippie" skirt that I got for my birthday and a purple t-shirt.
I am reading...just started "A False Sense of Well Being" today. I don't remember the author but I do know it's her first book. I finished "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" this morning so I'm ready for book club tonight.
I am hoping...to get a lot done these next two weeks and not get overwhelmed!
I am creating...lesson plans
I am praying...for wisdom
Around the house...it seems every room is cluttered and in need of some attention, I'm working on chores for the kids so I hope that soon things will stay a little neater and cleaner.
One of my favorite things...starting off a new school year
A few plans for the rest of the week...decide which sport Grace and Joe will be doing and where, put together my household and homeschool planners, wash all the sheets, order curriculum, enjoy my family, limit the time I waste on the computer and be productive around the house, clean the bathrooms, make those chore charts and put together a cleaning supply basket, ....
Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...
The kids and Madison after their free haircuts yesterday. Joe was pretty excited about his. Oh and they also got some free school supplies. Remember how exciting it was to get a fresh, new spiral notebook?

Keeping it Real--Camping Style

This blog post has been brewing for a few days...
There was a time in my life when I had a very idealized view of camping with my family. Ollie and I had a "Camping" themed shower when we got married and collected all sorts of cool camping stuff. If you've ever browsed the camping aisle in any store you know all the cool stuff there is for camping. My family didn't camp but Ollie's did and I wanted to be Ms. Outdoorsy and really get into camping. I still have that dream but it hasn't come to much. I love the "idea" of camping but the reality of camping is a very different thing. I really am not a good sport about camping. I try but I almost always have a bad attitude at the beginning of any night of camping. I ultimately get over it and have fun (sort of) but I just wish I could approach it more positively from the beginning. I think part of my problem is the way we camp. We have never camped more than one night in the same location and usually use camping as a place to stay for the night. So we never get settled and do cool things like string lights in the tree around us (I've ALWAYS wanted to do that!!). Usually we camp after a long day of driving and we pull into the campground around dinner time--we are hungry and tired. We pitch the tent, pull out the camp stove, cook dinner, clean up dinner, and then go to bed. Often much of this is done in the dark. And did I mention that camping is dirty? My Birks (the only shoes I wear) are always sandy and dirty and my adult-onset-of-sensory-integration-disorder really struggles with sandy, gritty, dirty feet. I struggle through all of this trying to be happy and bless my family with a cheerful, peaceful momma and wife. Sometimes I succeed at faking it and end up having a good time but more often than not I don't. And sometimes I downright meltdown. After every camping trip I say to myself--I'm going to plan a weekend camping trip to someplace really cool and I'm going to be organized and not stressed out and I'm going to cook good food and string cool white lights and put a tablecloth on the table and have the kids make a centerpiece from something they've found around the site and we are going to stay for more than one night and we are going to build campfires and make s'mores and and and and....I've yet to do it. On this trip we camped three times. Here's a synopsis of those three campouts--

• The first night that we camped was in Western Tennessee and that was the night that it started pouring while we were pitching the tent. Oh and the mosquitoes were awful! Thank goodness for bug spray. I almost cried out of sheer frustration but mostly held it together. Thankfully the rain stopped long enough for us to make dinner that we had to eat sitting at a dirty, slimy picnic table. We all did dishes together and I made a remark about camping in rain. I was trying to make light of the situation and find my good attitude. Ollie's response wasn't what I wanted it to be and I snapped at him and a good ol' argument ensued. Goodbye good attitude. Overnight the rains started again and our tent flooded at all the edges--picture big pools of water. Hannah's pillow was soaked. Thankfully our bags and sleeping bags stayed mostly dry. When we woke up I just wanted to pack up and get on the road and then some man offers us some firewood and Ollie accepts. Ugh!! I was annoyed and stressed but it turned out to be such a blessing. Not only did this man give us firewood but he also built the fire for us and talked to us for about a half hour. The kids loved the fire and played with sticks and burning paper (safe, huh?) while we packed up and cleaned up. I also got a chance to dry out my slimy, wet shoes. After the clean up we all got showers and headed out.
• Our second night camping was after a week in Chicago. We camped in Ohio at a pretty nice campground. It had a great playground and mini golf. Again I was tired and irritable and worried about rain and had to have a moment. I kept it private and prayed my way through...setting up went great, dinner was easy, the weather was cool, we were set for a nice night. Ollie and the kids played mini golf and I kept score after dinner. As we were headed to the park office to return our clubs three carloads of teenagers pulled in--it was 9 pm by this time. I looked at the campground and saw plenty of spots that they could go to that were nowhere near us. Unfortunately the sites right in our "backyard" were most appealing to them. They pitched their tents no more than 20 feet away from us. Thankfully they were quieter than I thought they'd be but still. They were 20 feet away from us. I slept HORRIBLY that night, I was freezing and the ground was crazy hard. Morning was a blessing and we got on the road with no big problems.
• Our third night of camping was the night before we arrived home. We looked at the forecast before we left VA and saw that the whole coast was going to be covered in rain all day and all night. Ollie had really wanted to camp on the coast. I got my hopes up that all that rain would mean that we would either drive straight through and go home or stay in a hotel. When the rain didn't make an appearance and we ended up camping I just fell apart. We were at a campground in a wooded are and it was moist, dirty, and mosquitoey. I'll be honest here--I sat on the back of the car and cried while Ollie put up the tent alone. I had truly had it--two weeks away and I was done. Ollie did all the work and then took the kids swimming at the beach. I sprayed myself down with bug spray and buried my head in a book and snapped at or looked viciously at anyone who tried to say anything to me. The quiet time reading settled me down and I resigned myself to make the best of it. We cooked dinner in the tent because of the bugs and dirt and moistness outside. That proved to be...interesting but tasty. The other two nights we camped we ate beef stew. This time we had a kit to make chicken marsala and it was really good. Then I found out we had wi-fi and I managed to be a happy camper. I woke up at 5 to the sound of raindrops and I woke Ollie up and we quickly packed up and got out just ahead of a big rain. Less than 5 minutes down the road it was pouring and the streets were so wet it looked like it had been raining a long time. God truly spared me of that rainstorm.

So, that's my real life camping stories from this trip. If you ask the kids though (and Ollie) they will tell you how wonderful camping was, how cool it was to sleep in a tent and eat off of metal, speckled dishes, how fun it was to shower in the bathrooms, and how they can't wait to go again. Maybe next time I will do better at being the happy-go-with-the-flow-emanating-peace-momma. Or maybe not.
Enjoy the pics from camping--there aren't many of them. I don't usually snap many pictures when I am all stressed out.

Pictures from Chicago

Our new car has a diesel engine and can only run on "ultra low sulfur" diesel fuel. We had one scare when we were very close to running out of gas and couldn't find the right kind of fuel. Thankfully we did find it with maybe 10-20 miles to go before we'd have been stalled on the side of the road in the middle of Illinois. It wasn't as hard to find the other times we stopped for gas but we didn't cut it that close anymore just in case. The car gets great gas mileage. Of course we kept track. Our best was 50.4 miles per gallon. Our worst (I had been driving and had the pedal to the metal!) was 37.4--still not bad at all!!
These pictures are in no particular order--I wasn't that organized! Above is Ellie with a lego creation. My kids have finally joined the ranks of kids who will play for hours with legos. There was a huge tub of them at the cabin in Wisconsin. And below--a goofy picture of Joe in the creek.

Hannah and Ellie spent much of their time taking pictures of each other. They both got some great shots of each other. I'm posting too many of them but it was too hard to choose which ones to post.





Ellie did Joe's hair for him--is he cute or what?
This one's pretty blurry and I'm not sure what Grace is doing but I thought it was cute.
Fun on the porch at the cabin...





This is a picture of the amazing burger that Gabi made. Not a bad photo either.

Home Sweet Home

Nothing like a two week road trip to make you really appreciate home.  We got up super early--about 5 am and packed up and hit the road.  An  hour later we had a huge breakfast at Waffle House and then hit the road and didn't stop until we pulled in our driveway.  Since then I have mostly unpacked, done some laundry, did the grocery shopping, and now I have more laundry waiting for me and some dishes and dinner to make but not before I take a computer break.  I have mostly caught up on blog reading but not blog commenting.  I have a weird habit of reading everything first and then going back and commenting on everything.  Who's up for lots of picture posts???

Just a couple...

I can't resist posting just a couple of pictures from our time in VA.

Not Quite the Old Fashioned Way

We are camping right now in Beaufort, SC.  The campground happens to have wireless so we are really "roughing" it while I read blogs and check e-mail.  The kids are knocked out for the night, they haven't gone to bed before 11 for the last three nights so they are pretty wiped out.  We are in the home stretch of our trip, heading home tomorrow morning.  I truly can't wait.  It was hard for me to stop and camp tonight knowing that just 5 more hours or so and we'd be home.  I'm glad we did stop though, my back was hurting and 5 more hours would have seemed like forever.  After a night of sleep it will seem like an easy drive compared to our other longer days.  We should be home by early afternoon--can I get a WOOHOO!!!  I love a good vacation but I love coming home even more.  I told Ollie tonight that I can't wait to plan a menu for the week, grocery shop, just do NORMAL life stuff.  Nothing like a two week vacation to make you appreciate your normal daily life.  We've had a great vacation though.  I've got lots of great pictures to share later.  We spent the last two nights at Ben and Marissa's in VA.  It was so good catching up with them and spending tons of time holding the new baby, Elijah.  I even got some sweet smiles out of the little guy.  It was sad for all of us to say goodbye again.  I'm off to do a little reading before bed.  I'm trying to finish "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" before book club on Monday.  I've had very little reading time on this trip and I'm behind!  Peace out!