08.30.2010 The Whirlwind Weekend

I alluded to our busy weekend in my prior post. It did not dissapoint. We spent our Friday/ Saturday scouring for a good deal on carpet to finish the theater room. We also needed to finalize a plan PRONTO for flooring in the Breezeway / Addt'l Room area. Normally that wouldn't be a huge priority but.....

We closed our retail store.

We didn't go "out of business", actually for the most part buisness is pretty good. The problem is we are paying SERIOUS amount of overhead for our retail location and it is KILLING us. Financially that is. Add a full-time employees salary to man the shop on top of that... and it's frightening. We have been getting very little walk-in retail traffic and our normal "busy" time for DISH Network sign-ups did not happen this year. It's been declining little by little but now the economy finally caught up with us. After much discussion and prayer over the last year - we finally decided it was a good time to follow through with our "going mobile" plan. Most of DeRell's work is done either "remotely" (he can log into a customers computer and fix the problem without them having to have the customer bring it to our store or having to go to their home) or he has many Business (network) customers that he services in person. 90% - 95% of our current business falls into those 2 categories. Thus, having a retail space is only serving as a financial drain to us that we can no longer afford. So now he will do everything on-site or from our home.

Long story short, we have to be out of our space by (Tuesday) August 31st per our agreement with the landlord we made back in July. All the prior equipment now gets moved to our home. We built a Theater "Demo Room" just like you would see at a large Electronics store in that Retail location. All that now will go into our personal Theater Room. His techncial area now will have a new home in our remodeled/enclosed Patio area (which initially we thought we would use for a Hot Tub room).


**Remember this? Construction last fall on the Breezeway/Patio Area - all that area will now be his tech area**


**Now it looks like THIS - same view looking East**


**New Office/Tech Area looking West from the Breezeway**

His new area is attached to our breezeway - which is super convenient actually for him. He can unload items right from his van through the garage/breezeway and right into this new tech area. Problem is the concrete was chipped/un-level and there was no flooring. We were initially thinking some VCT (commercial tiles) but i iamgine it will be super cold in there this winter even with the heaters we installed out there. We had a guy come out and hand trowel out some stuff to make it more level and even out the humps and stuff. We went with indoor/outdoor carpet (NOT green astro-turf). If snow/dirt/mud is tracked in it has easy clean up, it covers alot of the unlevel area, and it is warmer than tile. It's actually quite a big area that we didn't really have a use for. But the Lord did =)

So we had to 1.) pick out and purchase that carpet as well as theater carpet, 2.)pack, 3.)load and unload trailer loads of equipment, and 4.) work on the demolition/renovations at our retail/office location. (We have to return the space to it's former icky layout) So walls have been knocked down, doors removed, texturing started, etc. Not to mention trying to pack and move while still doing business. The weekend was the best time to get the bulk of it done. Unfortunately it rained on/off all weekend. We accomplished alot any way. 60% is packed. Our friend Jim started the drywall, texture etc. We had the carpet installed on Saturday - which wasn't finished until Sunday. Monday (today) the other area will be carpeted. He will bring in and build the desk area tonite as well as finish the packing and moving of all the bookcases, racks, fridge, desks and oodles of boxes of STUFF all on Monday. Then the final painting, repairs and cleaning will all need to be done Tuesday. Whew! Life is never boring.


**Picking out Carpet**


**The finished carpet in Theater room (chairs set there for cleaning-we still have to place them properly)**



**Tearing down the Theater Room at the office**

The best part is ALL of my home is nearly complete on the inside (Upstairs and Downstairs) thanks to all these changes. The cause and affect is awesome. I am sure trim and a few things will still take forever to be finished - but the big stuff will be done. Yippee!!!

The blessings in all of this are astounding. Financially we will get ahead instead of not even breaking even. (We've been surviving on very little or using credit cards to keep afloat) Our Home Theater Room, which we didn't expect to be able to complete for a year or more, is nearly done. DeRell will be home more --even if he is working downstairs..he's still HERE. In addition to saving money by Homeschooling this year, the family time will be exponentially more. The life of frequently feeling like a single parent while my honey is busy "at the office" or everywhere but here will be exponentially less. Not to metion the GAS ( = less $$ too) we will save not having to drive all the way into town every day. He will still travel as much as before for his on-site stuff, but now both of us will work from home. Exciting.

08.28.2010 We Survived the Week - Woo Hoo!

We made it through a few more fun filled days of Homeschool. I must say, day 2 went far better than the first...thankfully! Besides the evening Homework and the "talk" he got from daddy - i think the little one decided he could have better days going forward.

He slept in a little later - and was actually 15 min. late to school on day 2 but we let that one slide. His sleep was more important. He had a great attitude and after bible we got right to work. The next day was more of the same. We had a few hiccups, but each day was a learning experience for BOTH of us. My son is Hyper. He can't sit still well (unless something is capturing his attention). I pulled out a Phonics computer game that came with a phonics set we bought eons ago.. and it worked. He worked peacefully each day for 30-40 minutes progressing in the "game" path - thus READING.

All that time away in my office (right next door to the classroom) also helped sis to be able to focus without her brother contantly distracting her. She is doing SO WELL in our Homeschool environment. She strives to complete all her work as fast as she can and be extra obedient for a chance to get a prize out of the "prize box" i implemented.



The prize box is a reward system. For 5 days of "good behavior" and demonstrating at least 1 "Fruit of the Spirit" {Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness, Self-Control...our Homeschool classroom/life theme} the kids get to pick a prize. For the 1st week i offered them the oppty. to pick a prize EACH DAY to get them excited about it. Sis got 4 out of the 5 days. Bubs got 1 day. We also give stars in their pocket to represent the count up to 5 for the prize. In addition i made simple rewards other than those in the box. (i.e. cook/bake something for 5 stars) Once they have gotten 10 stars they get a special one on one "date" with mom or dad like to the movies or their choice. (those seem to be hard to come by these days) Not that we wouldn't do those things anyway...but they like the idea of earning or "winning" that as a prize.



Friday's are set aside for Fieldtrips or Library or "Catch-Up" and P.E.days. We didn't have a fieldtrip on Friday but we tried to make the most of the day catching up (for Bubba). Getting enough outside time is already tough. Sis is not an "outdoor girl" because of the number of bees. Mom is not into the Nature walk thing with all the Rattlesnakes roaming around this time of the year...so we will plan for the park, library or local swimming pool for Fridays going forward when we don't have a dedicated field trip planned. The kids love all of those!

This next Friday is FAIR TIME! They wait all year for the Fair to come around...so i am planning the week around learning about farm animals (yay! one of Bubba's requirements for 1st grade already met in the 1st 2 weeks!) and animal care. Measuring comes into play when seeing if they are big enough for certain rides...life is our classroom!

We have so much going on this weekend it is exhausting to even think about...more details later - I'll try to catch up the weekend fun for you on Monday. Have a great one!

08.23.2010 Day 1 of school is in the books! #

We did it! We made it through. It wasn't the most glorifying or perfect day but we survived it none the less. Here is a few shots of our classroom (that i was finishing a few touches at about 11pm last night)

(The kids' desks)

(Reading area)

(Our "stuff"..curriculum, art supplies, books, manipulatives, etc.)

(My desk and calendar/weather area)..always wanted a window view LOL

It was the sweetest thing this morning though...i have to write this down so i can remember. The kids set their alarms for 7:30am (well sis did 7:45 since she was sure she didn't need a WHOLE HOUR to be ready) and got to bed at a reasonable hour. Me? Not so much. I was busy making classroom rules and schedules and reviewing the lesson plans. I finally decided i needed some sleep and heck, we could just do crafts and sing songs tomorrow if worse came to worse. LOL.

Anyhow, back to the good part. So i set my alarm and dragged my tired body out of bed at about 6:30. I wanted to shower, dress, make a good breakfast before they got up. Well I'm not even in the shower yet and here comes my sleepy little man, rubbing his eyes, telling me he is "SO EXCITED FOR SCHOOL I CAN'T SLEEP ANYMORE!" Talk about melt a mamma's heart. I was done for. So he talked to daddy a bit while i showered and then layed on my bed while i got ready. I told him it was okay to get under the covers and sleep a bit longer since it was so early. But he couldn't. He played with the kitten and chatted my ear off. Then helped with breakfast (by cutting the veggies for the eggs) and did a great job of getting dressed, eating, brushing his teeth and was literally JUMPING with excitement to be able to go downstairs to the classroom. It was awesome. Sis was equally as excited (and helpful - getting the water bottles ready, cleaning up, etc.) and it made it so FUN!



We took our annual 1st day of school picture of each of them under their boards with their grade level, measured them, weighed them, etc. We went over the rules and the kids added some more. We talked about what our day would typically be like. They wrote their first paper about what kind of things they each wanted to learn this year - mom helped Bubba's write his out (there was ALOT) and they journaled next about what they thought would be the best or worst things about Homeschool. Neither could come up with a negative this morning. I think we were all on cloud nine. We had snack and went back - and sis wanted to get right to work on her first day. I hadn't planned we would get to it all....so much talking and discussing i figured we would just skate through today - - but she had other plans indeed. I wrote it all out on the board and she finished EVERY SINGLE THING before she would let the school day be over.

BLISS.




But truthfully, it wasn't all bliss. After snack when the reality of "school" set in my little man couldn't sit still. (i knew that would likely be a problem) After lunch it was even uglier. (do 1st graders still take naps? Where's the Benadryl - only kidding!!) He couldn't concentrate for more than 5 minutes on any task and was easily frustrated. He wants to read and write - but still struggles. A broken pencil lead set us back 15 minutes. Tears over something minor drug out for 30 minutes. All the while sis was ticking off each subject from her list and wanting more. He was a huge distraction when she was trying to concentrate. He got a few red posicle sticks (for bad behavior) and couldn't handle the agreed upon consequences. It was melt down city for most of the afternoon.

I pray tomorrow is a better day. I have to read more in my books about these kinds of things. It breaks my heart that it became so frustrating for him.(It all started over him not being able to write a lower case "a" and all the spelling words had an "a" in them) I pray he does not continue the behavior problems that cause his sister to be distracted. It was 360 degree different than what i expected. The girl who wasn't so sure about Homeschool couldn't get enough. The boy who woke up super excited couldn't finish a single task.

Tomorrow is another day though. We have plenty of time to get it right. All in all i consider it a successful day even with the mini-meltdowns.

08.18.2010 SCHOOL

The date was set, the children bugged me - "Is it time to start school yet?" "Is it time to start school yet?" We played an imaginary game of "school", talked about the things we want in our classroom, but that is as far as we got. Truth be told, i have a ridiculous idea of what our "school" will be like i suppose. Organized. All the "boards" and "centers" set up...like a REAL school. All this to satisfy my insecurities...because lets face it....any mom who has ever stood where i am standing wonders "Will i be good enough?" Can i teach my children the way the school would have taught them? What can i do better? Will i be a complete failure and mess them up or make them behind? Then i realize that is just Satan playing on my insecurities. I'm a first timer - so a novice at the whole idea of Homeschool. I'm not quite sure what i want ours to look like, or how it will turn out.

One thing i do know though. I have the faith to do it regardless of the nagging fears because i know the Lord has called me to do this. Regardless of the friends or family that may be unsure we are "doing the right thing" - i know in my heart that we are. But then i let my insecurity and fear creep in and steal my JOY. This is about my kids. About my family. About knowing what is best for them, how they learn, and making the best experience possible for them and our family. The truth is that the people that do it for all the reasons we will be doing it, trust in the Lord, as i should be, and succeed. They have school on the Kitchen table with no set curriculum and succeed. Their children learn, and even thrive.

I can do this! As Mother Teresa once said : "I know God will not give me anything I can't handle, I just wish that He didn't trust me so much". Isn't that the truth?!

Did i get a fancy curriculum and go overboard trying to do "all the right things"? Yes, i did. In the end though what i really hope to achieve i have written down in a binder about my goals for this year. Not one of them is to have the smartest kid or a 6 year old doing Long Division. So i am attempting to forge ahead and not let anything stand in the way of our joy.

Unfortunately (and again, if we are telling the truth here.."fortunately" for my type A personality) our employee had an emergency (her husband had to have emergency triple bypass surgery) so i had an excuse not to start on Monday since i would be working in our store until he was stable enough for her to come back. This gave me a few more days to get the class "just right". I was totally relieved! I wasn't "ready" ...everything wasn't "perfect" for their 1st day experience so i let out a big sigh and said next Monday. It will be next Monday - if we are ready or not. My kids are ready and it will all fall into place. Whats the worst that can happen? We can do 1st day back to school crafts and not touch a book! Ahhhh the joys of Homeschool. "Regular" school doesnt start for a little over 2 weeks here so we are still ahead! It's Thursday and the boards are not up, there is still bulletin board stuff strewn on the floor. Desks aren't organized. My craft for their wall is not done. But we will be okay. School will start whether all the pieces are in place or not. I trust that i will not fail. I have the support of my Heavenly Father. What could be better?

I try to hold on to this verse:
Dont be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which trancends all understanding, will guard your heart and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I try to remember this above all else:
I am thankful for being able to stay home with my children. Thankful for the opportunity to teach His ways and to grow in His love. I need to be confident that i can be the teacher that He has created me to be. I must be willing to give it over to God when i don't have full confidence and trust in His ability to give me the peace i need to move forward.

I can do this! See you Monday with an update!

08.12.2010 Hmmmm.. so long really?

I can't believe it has been more than a week since i posted.

Much is happening at the Homestead as usual.

Much "end of summer" shenanigans. VBS this week. A Homeschool Co-Op meet and share. Some horse riding for sis as usual. Some Office Demolition - more on that later. And WORK, lots of work for me...which is prohibiting me from preparing for school...WHICH STARTS ON MONDAY!!! (..and the lack of funds for cool organizing boxes and baskets is also keeping me from finishing...thus i WORK)

Much preparing of our classroom. Items which do not require further expenditure such as Desks have been assembled. The room has been cleared & mopped. The bookcase is full (but not organized as of yet). I am waiting (not so patiently) for some funds to come in so we can purchase the final MUCH NEEDED items to complete our classroom. I still need;

*8ft. Dry Erase Board (final Large purchase)
*Plastic bins for storage in the bookcase
*Cork squares for a special project
*Fabric
*Posters
*Our classroom calendar
*flags
I am also still looking for the Math U See Manipulatives (blocks) that are on back order and are going for WAY TOO MUCH on ebay right now. I am sure they will turn up before school.

At this point we have decided to push back our official start date by one full week. It makes us all sad but it is necessary. That is the beauty of Homeschool though...we can go with the flow! Plus we were starting a full 3 weeks before traditional school starts out here - so we are still ahead.

We are thankful for the provision we have had thus far. I'll share the other news regarding the office later. It's BIG.

08.03.2010 The Instrument of the DEVIL

This just got out of the shop. It had been dead to me for a few years. Well, firstly it was broken - all the gears eaten up. Mainly i am just not a huge rider.

Did i mention before that i live in the country? Or even that you must climb many, many a hill to get to my home? I didn't? Well we do. Maybe that is my reason behind not liking the idea of riding.

Must be the size of my behind vs. the size of those seats i think.

Anyhow, Sis has been itchin' for some "Family Time" - in the form of bicycle riding.

I tried it a few weeks ago using DeRell's bike. Luckily for me the begining of the ride is seriously downhill. About 6 of them to be exact. We flew like the wind. A few times i thought i might even get out of control i was going so fast.

It never really clicked that what goes down must come up. Maybe cuz that phrase is backward. But not here. We start at the top, we go down.

Sis and i got to the end of the road and decided maybe that was enough fun for one day and we should head back. So we did. I made it up one of those darn SIX hills and literally began panting like a dog - unsure if my thighs could handle one more rotation.

Lucky for me, she did too. So i did what every rational mom nearing her Forties would do, hopped off my bike and walked with her. That mile or so, uphill.

That was that. My bike was "broken" so i said i couldn't continue to ride Daddy's bike bcuz it's just too big for me.

HAHA. Little did i know, he, and my demon spawn took my bike in for repair BEHIND MY BACK.

It got finished today, OH LUCKY ME!!! So at 8pm we headed out. I made it down the hills and a bit further before my legs were on fire. Thus, how i KNOW the bicycle is the Instrument of the Devil. The dog Max came along and was struggling to keep up so i did what any nice momma would do...i rode at a leasurely pace and walked my bike when he could no longer run.

I am a GIVER i am!

I am sure this is not the last of this saga....stay tuned.

08.02.2010 They are getting BIG!

Who can resist photos of cute little kitties? I know i can't!

I thought i would improve your Monday by showing you my lil' cuties.

They are getting SO BIG!!!



Normally they aren't allowed on the counter. But i was filling up the water pitcher and they were so excited they jumped up there. Instead of spraying them (training technique) with the water bottle, i ran to grab my camera. (The pull of the scrapbooker/blogger in me is just too strong) But OMH, please ignore the dishes in the sink. No time to finish those and snap cute photos.

It's no secret around here that Cowboy (the boy grey kitten) is mine. He loves me to death and the feeling is mutual. So i can't help but have a few more photos of my cutie.



YOU'RE WELCOME!!!! Happy Monday.

08.01.2010 Building Excitement

I awoke this morning with a plan. My plan was to turn this:



Into this:



Based on before and after photos you now know that it happened!

My classroom floor is in! Now for the exciting part! The kids and I are just itchin' to get it all set up. They have begged me repeatedly to start school already. I decided August 16th was a good date. This way we are 2 weeks ahead. I need that for a few reasons; 1.) It's my first year Homeschooling and i anticipate it may take me a while to get in the groove 2.) We are hoping to go back to California in October so if we are ahead that gives us a real vacation without schoolwork, and 3.) I am so ready for us ALL to be on a schedule again.

We also finished most of the bathroom in the basement before the guests arrived like i said. Meaning we had sinks and a toilet. We put honey's friend Jon to work right when he got here and hung the door so they could actually USE the bathroom. Since i have my camera back, i thought i would show you the result. The shower/tub is not yet operational. We still need to put the tile surround on the tub walls before we finish up the plumbing. We'll get there. I actually bought the floor tiles at Lowe's and found some 4x4 wall tiles at Home Depot so we should be able to get to that once all the grouting and tile is done in the Mud Room.



Well the trim isn't in..but baby steps. The trim isn't done in half of my upstairs either!




Oh and here are the photos of the finished guest room (the carpet/trim/door at least). I haven't gotten any bedding or furniture in there. It's technically Grandpa's room so we want him to decide if he wants the older bed or this new mattress before we do anything. I'll hang some pictures and we'll put a recliner and lamp in there soon.





So for all my far away friends and family i want you to know i have a room for you! So come on out!

It's starting to feel like progess, and we are excited. This week it's grout. We'll see how far we get.

Happy Monday to ya!