home schooling... REALLY?

I distinctly remember thinking that "hell would freeze over before I'd ever home school any of my own kids"...

but apparently I'll be buying the next round for the entire populous in Hades... and soon!

We started homeschooling AJ in September for the first time... and since he loves it so much, within 2 months he convinced his 2 younger brothers to drop out of school and stay home with him. They all love it... and it's amazing how much they can accomplish!

As of this afternoon, the 3 of them have convinced my oldest son to get home schooled too!

BUT... wait!

I agreed to home school my 4th grader because it's the best thing for him.

I agreed to home school my 3rd grader and 1st grader because that's easy and the school they were at wasn't nearly academic enough. They REALLY wanted to get home schooled, and AJ enjoys having his brothers around to play with (most of the time); so we're doing it.

But, I'm REALLY hesitant to teach my middle-school son at home!

He's the "perfect" child... the "perfect" student... the "perfect" built-in tutor...

but the truth is... he's already smarter than I am in all the core subjects; and I'm not really sure I can do a good enough job...FOR HIM.

I don't know how we can tell him no though.

He's crushed because he thinks that I'm "trying to convince him to stay in school."

I just want what's best for each of them; and I wish that I knew exactly what that meant for each of them---

because by the time I finish paying their food bill for the next few years, and 4 sets of braces, and insurance for them to drive etc... I really don't think they'll be much left over for any counseling that may be need because I screwed up their education!

ha

Tagged

I got tagged ...so here's 7 Random things about me...

http://alexiselana.blogspot.com/

1. My boys LOVE to clean
(and they get T.H.A.T. from their daddy!)

2. My mom was and IS ... the best mom in the world.
She'd let me stay home from school when I was a kid so that we could go shopping for the day.
Now, Kyle stays home from school once in a while to hang out and shop with Nana.
This was what he brought home last time...

#3...
My boys are Wanna BE Rockers...

#4. Daddy puts little boys on the roof
(when I'm not home) to pose for pictures.

#5 I love to redecorate my boy's rooms...
(but now that they're picking their own colors)

#6
The thing I'm most thankful for this month
is that my boy hasn't had a trip to the hospital in a long time!!!

#7

I went to The Master's College and got my degree in 3 years because dad wanted me to get married AFTER I graduated. In celebration of "saving" my dad all that money in tuition... we went on vacation... where I learned that camels are the worst smelling bumpy rides in the desert. Soon after, the wedding plans began...

In hind sight, dad would have saved A LOT more money by paying the tuition... instead of wedding! ha...

But, that's a post for next month!

Baby, Oh Baby

I can't believe my baby is 7 today...

because just yesterday,
he started this adventure of being the "baby brother"...
and it hasn't always been so easy...

From the very beginning, Caden was patient with his "not so big" brothers...

and was such a "happy little pumpkin" !!!

Always ready to go, go, go...

and has never had a hard time keeping up with the big guys...

His happy heart has been such a blessing to our family!

Always ready to learn something new...

and always up for another ball game...

Yeah, my baby is getting big...

But he's always gonna be MY BABY!

Monday Madness

I've had almost a year to plan for my baby's big day tomorrow... he'll be 7.

But... between going to LA again last week to see this...



and trying to do a little "much needed" cleaning with the boys to surprise daddy...



and cooking all the new recipes on Pioneer Woman's blog
(which are NOT conducive to me trying to lose weight...
but are great opportunities for me to try and teach fractions to the boys)



WELL...

I just realized that my poor baby doesn't have a party planned for his birthday...

and as forgiving as his daddy was when that happened to him a couple of months ago...

my baby...

my baby is mama's boy!

Which means ...

Birthdays = gifts and fun and friends and ...

So...

school is a "NO GO" for our homeschoolers today (again)...

because mama has to go take care of the important things in life...

AHHHH...

my baby's really going to be 7 already???


IDEAS ANYONE???

Fall Fun

Wonderful Weekend

Our friends haven't had a weekend away without their 3 kids in almost 2 years. That's just not good... for anybody. So this weekend, we got to have their 3 kids while they went on a mini vacation! Since we always have an extra boy or 2 around, that's not too unusual for us... but 2 of our 3 guests wore PINK... so it was extra fun for me!!!

They were almost too excited to go to sleep Friday night because they we're going to their first

football game on Saturday.

Colton got to carry the ball 3 times in the first half, and scored all 3 touch downs to show off for his friends. He said he'd score a touch down for each of them, and he did!

Don't his brother's all look impressed...

I was just excited that the wind was blowing hard .... after all... I haven't had too much practice getting a little girls hair looking "just so" like their mama does.

We met thier parents at the pumpkin patch on Sunday afternoon...

Then we took the boys for some batting practice...

Then I had to rush home and cook dinner so they could watch the Dodgers win!

After a wonderfully busy weekend, I'm ready to start my week so I can get some rest...

oh wait...

Now that I'm home schooling 3 of the boys instead of just 1... starting tomorrow...

I'll have to revisit that whole "rest" concept again... maybe sometime this summer.

but... oh how I love the weekends...

Daddy needs to do some laundry...

Weekend Work Force!

Back in the day, loading 4 car seats every time we ventured out was a lot of work.

Getting 4 boys dressed and fed by 7:30 every morning to go to work was even more work... (just ask my husband)

BUT guess what ...

Do you know how much work my strong boys can do in a weekend???

A LOT!!!

Just ask Nana and Papa.

They're in the final stages of a BIG, HUGE, ENORMOUS remodel.

Nana's new kitchen is "almost finished"...













The cabinets just got put in this week, as well as several of the WOLF appliances that we can't wait to try out. With all the bells and whistles that are so cool... like pop-up vents and pull out warming draws... a several work stations.
But wait... who's the stud in the window?

That would be the "father" of the up and coming weekend work force!

After loading up some heavy concrete for the new driveway... they replanted some grass out front.

E
Colton has a never ending supply of enegy, and we love to put it to good use.

Of course, we took a few water breaks.

and puppy breaks...

and breaks to pose for mom... again...

Since she wasn't "part of the work force"... as she was just taking pictures... *grin

The boys were all really hot and dirty and smelly...Some of them more than others... because some of them DO more work than others...

And so I'm thinking...

If I can keep these boys well fed... in Nana's grand kitchen...

and can keep up with all these stinky clothes... (The likes of which I almost passed out from on the way home, even with the windows DOWN)

I'll have it made when it comes time to remodel my own house...

assuming I'm not broke from investing in deodorant stock... which is what I plan on doing first thing tomorrow morning!

And He Scores... again!

Today was a great day of football. Colton got 3 touchdowns and a couple of interceptions. He loves the game, almost as much as daddy and his brothers love cheering him on!

Wonder no more...

If any one's been wondering why I haven't had a chance to post...



Reason #1... (not really... but look CLOSER.... then laugh, and you get the idea!)
CAN YOU GUESS WHICH BOY IN THE FRONT ROW IS IN MY CLASS???

# 2 We've beeen working on http://aj ...





# 3 It's football season...



and being the home team takes practice...lots... and lots of practice!


Most importantly... my baby has been gone this week... and I MISS HIM almost more than I can bare.

So... of course... I decided in at the last moment to redo his room (again) for him, before he comes home -- TOMORROW!

He better love it... or his daddy is going to shoot me!