Monday, April 12, 2010

Questions answered

How's the house?

Finally after two weeks, we got this house DONE! And thanks to my wonderful husband, all of the laundry is done. He helped me this past weekend more than some husbands help in a lifetime. I'm grateful! When I say the laundry is done, this means folded and put away! I've tried all kinds of schemes and ideas on how to keep the laundry DONE and the only one that works for me is two loads a day. One in the morning then dry, fold and automatically put away and the same at night. If I'm lucky, there may be only one load but that is HIGHLY unlikely with another child on the way! I know tomorrow I have to wash my sheets and since they are king size that's a load all by itself. Trying to get this house up and running and today I feel like it was successful. Two weeks without a schedule and two weeks of disorganization was causing depression. I was beyond stressed.

What's for supper?

Well I thought I would be daring this week and plan a menu for the week. Usually I like to plan one for two weeks but being pregnant and having morning sickness makes it difficult. This is why menu planning was DARING! I have no idea what will sound good next week and what sounds good now may not sound good for months. Since I was in the mood for fresh ideas, I headed over to Pioneer Woman for some new or already used recipes. I cooked many of her recipes last year and had forgotten how easy she makes it with all the pictures. So this week we are having her Lasagna,  Corn Casserole (and I am using my own BBQ ribs recipe that I do in the crock pot) and Chicken Spaghetti. Jeremy loved the Chicken Spaghetti when I made it last year. Then I bought some easy stuff for those nights ("Fancy Grilled Cheese" and Soup) when I don't feel up to cooking a full blown supper. Of course we will have lots of leftovers from Lasagna and Chicken Spaghetti. I told you I love Italian when I am pregnant! Oh and I will share with you sometime why I call my Grilled Cheese "Fancy" because it really is "Fancy". :)

How's the School House?

Since you asked, it's challenging, fun and ever changing! Right now we are finishing up the year with lots of reading. My hope is to have them full blown in love with books by the time June hits and by August I hope the Library card is plum wore out that we have to request a new one. We should be finished by the middle of May with curriculum! YEE HAW! We started a Biography today about Grant Wood. This is a book I read a loud but it's also a book Josiah could easily read alone. If you are not familiar with Grant Wood, He is the artist who painted the American Gothic. He grew up on a farm and loved to draw and obviously became world famous for his paintings. Reading a Biography for kids is where the Charlotte Mason point of view comes in. We are reading about REAL PEOPLE! In the mean time, I am learning so much too. I love what Karen Andreola says in The Charlotte Mason Companion. "In History we are surrounded by men long dead, but whose speech and whose deeds survive..." I tell you I am refreshed over and over again every single time I read a page from this book because I am reminded of why Homeschool is BEST for my family.  Each day, because my point of view is changing, I am finding such richness in this new way of thinking in regards to my style of Homeschool. I am not as frustrated and upset which is how I feel when I sit for hours with Josiah working on "worksheets". I feel like using this Charlotte Mason Companion allows me to be the Mother God created me to be. Here is something I read today that got me excited about this call on my life as a Mother. Look at this! "The greatest maxim of all is that children should be brought up as simply and in as domestic a way as possible and that (not interfering with their lessons) they should be as much as possible with their parents and learn to place the greatest confidence in them in all things." -Charlotte Mason Companion



What am I reading?

The only way I can turn my children into book worms is by me doing the same. I have been reading a lot lately and I've purposely made sure the kids have seen me with my nose in a book. Today we walked down to the mailbox and I was excited to see this book in my mailbox! There is another one of her books I am waiting on and a few more I should have by the end of this week for the kids. Every book I read is usually a book suggested to me. Every book I read to the kids are also books suggested to me. Well I did find the Grant Wood book all by myself but that's it. I love reading what my friends say is good! I need all the suggestions I can get.




Have I mentioned how much I love Chores? 

Chores are great when someone else is doing them and the kids have always done chores but recently we have added some that really help me out a lot! This also gives them a chance to earn  an allowance. Dog poop is no fun to deal with but if you get a nickel for every piece you put in a trash bag, it ain't so bad. Today Ava Beth earned fifty cents just over dog poop! Works for me!

What about the the "dirty laundry"?

I thought we already covered the laundry but since you are wondering I guess I can share. I have not posted very many struggles lately. It doesn't mean they are not going on but I am learning how to handle some things differently. One of the things I am doing is sharing my burdens with my Lord and Savior first (always) and then maybe a close friend. There is always something going on behind the "Happy" or "Healthy" blog posts. Trials are around every corner and battles are waiting for all of us daily. My marriage continues to grow but also continues to trip over silly arguments we have had for nine years. Not really any new challenges, just the same old crap. Isn't that how life is? My kids fight and bicker DAILY and there are moments that make me want to scream the biggest, worst cuss word you  could ever imagine. It seems like every second I am putting some one in their room or taking a privilege or toy away. Ezekiel screams at the drop of a hat and I want to pull all of my hair out. Life is FAR from perfect. So when you read these posts and feel tempted to think "WOW, she has it all together", stop and slap yourself because I am just like you. I read blogs and imagine what their house is like. I wonder if their kids act like brats like mine. I wonder if her and her husband make out every single time he walks in the door. I compare. But at the end of the day, we are all the same. We all struggle and we all succeed. Comparing is a dirty, smelly trap I find myself in often but I can't stay there. Whatever we think someone is in our heads, they are not. 

So there you have it! I may not be blogging my "Dirty Laundry" but I am blogging! Hoping to encourage, hoping to be encouraged.



7 comments:

Kim said...

Loved the post. All of it.

Especially the part about slapping myself. I think that might be just what I need ;)

Kelly said...

The Mission of Motherhood changed my heart on mothering like no other book I have read. It took me awhile because I wanted to absorb it (and I wound up highlighting most of it!), but I flat out adore what she encourages mothering to be. Truly God-inspired, I believe.

Love the updates... you always encourage me, whether you write about the good, the bad, or the ugly. You're always real, and always trusting God. So glad you are settling in and loving home. Hope it is a fabulous day:-)

Jules said...

Well, you have sure encouraged me, today!! Thank you! And, so happy you got the book! All of her writing is just so awesome & inspiring...I could curl up and read for hours! (My books look like journals, too. Glad to know I am not the only one who underlines and makes notes in all of my books.)

Have fun reading!

Christina said...

The Mission of Motherhood is a book that I am currently reading and I am loving it. It's not a homeschooling book, it's a mothering book and I LOVE it!!! I plan to give it to my sister as she is going to be a mama in a month or so.

Also, it's so funny how i am reading the same books as you and going through the same "changes" meaning adding things to my schooling day. Nature study is something we are just getting into, it's so neat seeing my 4 year excited to draw worms. lol My issue with the library is that I end up taking out way more then we can read and I have to return them. lol

Oh - sorry for the long post but I wanted to ask - have you heard of Mystery of History? It's a world history book that allows the teaching of multiple age levels. It is a narrative and would fall under "Classical Education" - we're starting it in the fall and I can't wait. It shows God's Hand throughout History.

Anyway - thanks for sharing your heart - you always inspire me!!!!!!

Stacey said...

Girl, it feels like we just went for coffee and got to catch up on "life" - thanks for sharing! Good to get a glimpse into your corner of the world today!!

Kimberly said...

Amanda,I so appreciate what you said about going to the Lord first and then a close friend. I admire you for your transparency but also that the Lord is teaching you about coming to Himself first...we all need to learn that lesson! Also, I am THE WORST about comparing. I really think I am....that sounds like a comparison, doesn't it? Anyway, what you said is so true-it's a dirty, smelly trap. That's a great description. I need to remember it. I believe it's the enemy's way of stealing our present joy! I don't want him stealing anything from me so I will continue to confess this sin I struggle with too. Know you are not alone.

Glad you are loving homeschooling. We are in our 4th year and I have good days and bad but would not want to educate my kids any other way. I homeschooled this year after my 4th baby was born in October. It hasn't been really easy but God has been so faithful to enable me. The Well Trained Mind is an amazing book and is one of the foundational ones I have read. And- love the Ministry of Motherhood,am reading it now.

Sorry to have rambled on but I really identified with your post. :) Blessings!

Dee said...

I love this post!!!!!! You always inspire and capture me in your posts....and speak to me ALWAYS on some level, right where I am. I love the praise you offered your hubby for helping. That is SO awesome. So often, I think we (women) neglect to recognize how much they actually do and only focus on what they don't do. And your homeschooling --- you already know how much I admire that and love reading your journey. But that last paragraph. THANK YOU! I know this, but like you, sometimes wonder...all the same things. However, in this year...I have learned a HUGE lesson. Like you, taking it to the Father, talking to maybe a friend, but not dwelling on it and focusing on that which is GOOD. Seriously, attitude change (which won't happen unless your first priority is your relationship with God) makes THE biggest difference in how I face EACH challenge, whether it be marriage, mother, kid, school, laundry or otherwise. I LOVE YOU!