Hey, Everyone!

I'm still here. LOL Just enjoying the summer with my gang. I think that sometimes I forget that I even have a blog because I'm updating on my Facebook more than anything else. It's just so quick and convenient at times.

What have we been up to? Absolutely nothing. LOL I'm still working weekends and school has been during the week and light, light, light (bout 3-4 subjects per day). My sons are ready for the new school year to begin this fall so that we can start My Father's World Creation to Greeks. Also, I have been getting my son ready for college days. We have freshman orientation coming up. He will get another tour of the campus, learn about student activities and speak with his advisor about classes. He's still looking for a job too.

This summer is flying by so quickly!

I'm going to take my gang swimming this afternoon after school to cool off during this heat. It's been a whopping 100 degrees around here. No matter how long you live in the south, the humidity and heat always gets to ya. I've also made some progress on my yard. Actually, I hired some yard guys to come in and help with some of the work that was too much for me. It's looking so much better! I should've taken a before shot. It would've definitely shocked you. Hee Hee. My son took this pic and cut the garage and other hedges from the photo but he tried. :)

I'm going to make it a point to peek in on everyone a little bit or a day at a time after the holidays so that I can read about what everyone has been doing. I really really miss my blogging friends. :(

Thanks so much for your prayers. I have really needed them since the divorce drama started. I know that in this day and age, divorce has become so common but I pray that NO ONE has to endure one. It is awful!!! Well, I want to leave on a great note so smile, pray, and hang in there. God knows the plans that He has for us which is for us to prosper in all things. Amen!

Love you!

Prayer Request

I have been battling my ex through the legal system for child support among other things which he has refused to pay. He has become so hateful and hurtful during this ordeal. Please pray that these matters can be resolved peacefully and quickly. I had even refused alimony so that he would only pay child support. Some say that after all that he has done, I am too kind but they don't understand how I am so ready for closure. It's not about me, it's about each parent doing their part. I want closure so badly on this matter.

I don't like airing my beeswax but I have met some awesome prayer warriors and wonderfully supportive people through blog land and some know me personally. I am so honored that you think of me and we definitely need your prayers.

Thanks so much!

It's Official

I have completed my last week of orientation for my new job. Whew! What does that mean? Nothing really. LOL! Mainly, it means that I don't have to follow fellow nurses around in order to learn the ins and outs of the nursing unit. Now, I can just bombard them with questions as I pass them in the hall. LOL! But at least we are heading back to our schedule here at home since I will be working my two scheduled days per week. I have decided to spend the remainder of the day washing my vehicle and cleaning the house which was in dire need of it especially my bedroom. You would be shocked if you could see it!

Today, I finished my ACLS class for the tenth time in 14 years (you have to recertify every two years) but it still seemed a little foreign due to my being away from the nursing scene for so long. I missed one question on my test out of 20 and it just about drove me up the wall today. (sigh) You can't get them all right, I guess. Now, I know where my youngest son gets this same attitude about his school work. Ha! He just drives himself crazy if he misses something. Oh, for those outside of the health care scene, ACLS stands for Advanced Cardiac Life Support. Basically, you take this class to get certified to defribrillate (shock) a patient, administer certain medications along with other advanced emergency measures, if someone is in cardiac or respiratory arrest, having a heart attack or even a stroke.

On another note, my twins will be 12 this week! I have to work on their birthday so we are celebrating tomorrow. We are going to see UP, visit their choice of restaurants for dinner and take a trip to Toys R Us then it's back home for ice cream and cake.


I hope everyone is having a blessed week!

Cooking Blog

Need new recipes? Out of ideas? Check out my friend, Connie, at Meal Planning with Connie. She has some yummy recipes and great tips. Connie is such a blessing. I know Connie personally and she is just as sweet as some of her recipes. :)

Change is Good Pt. II

As of today, I have lost 25 pounds. Yay! Well, it started out stress related from all of the drama that I had been dealing with over the past months but I said "Why stop now?". I have decided to tone up this flabby body and get moving! We are headed to the park after school today. (Yes, we are year rounders here.) I have been just simply adding a little activity here and there. I have been parking far from the store fronts in order to get more steps or walking in also. You know when you really think about it, by the time we spend our gas driving in circles in order to find the best parking spot, we would've already been in the door had we not parked at any empty spot and walked the distance. LOL! People...we do crazy things. Hey, I need to put that on a plaque or something. Ha! In my garage, I have a plaque from my mother that states "Never underestimate the power of stupid people in a large group." LOL! I love funny plaques and so does my mother. In my living room I have a plaque that states "House Rules: 1. Mom's the boss 2. See rule no. 1." Another one from my mom that I love. Ok, how did I get into talking about plaques? LOL!

Anyway, the gang has been enjoying our new vehicle which is truly a blessing from God. I returned the old van to my ex who has it in his name. I just simply wanted to work on rebuilding my credit and if I had to pay for a vehicle, it should be in my name in order to do that. You know what I mean?

Ok, what's else is happening? I have a new do. You like? I put a recent pic on my profile. Oh, I am not in my bra or "draws" as they say in the south. LOL! It's a pink tank top (it's been in the 90s here) but you just can't tell in a black and white pic. Ha! My children love my hair! They think it's so hip and up to date now. I must have been looking like an old bag lady from their description! I've received a few comments that I don't look near forty so I guess it's a keeper or they were lying. LOL! FYI, I am not looking for a man! I've had someone hint around or ask me that and I was a little bothered. I have been through so much lately that finding a man is far from it! I just want to focus on God, family and how to make myself into a better ME. Why can't I look great because I want to feel great? Besides, where would I fit a relationship into my already full schedule at the moment? My schedule is comprised of work, children and their long list of activities and church. Whew! That's enough!

We are picking up things a bit more scheduled with school as my schedule is panning out. I will be coming out of my nursing orientation in one week then working my two day weekly schedule instead of three. Those three back-to-back twelve hour shifts have been real kickers! I feel so old. LOL! In case I haven't mentioned it, I work a contract nursing deal. I work every weekend (two days) and paid as a full time employee. The catch: I get only three weekends off per year because I'm basically on vacation each week that I'm off. I love that nursing allows this option and I'm really glad that I kept my nursing license up to date while home but it's been challenging getting my mindset into the critical care way of thinking again. It's so true..if you don't use it, you definitely lose it. I have been relearning things all over again. The staff has been such a great help. I work with the most helpful yet hilarious bunch of nurses. It's like a family away from home.

Ok, back to school. I have been trying to get my oldest son's paperwork completed for college in the upcoming year. I'm just going to say it. This is a headache! Now you have something to look forward too. LOL! As for the younger ones, I feel like we are unschoolers. We have been schooling at the most unusual and the most available times. We did math in the grocery store last night. We do science on the road. I find myself just squeezing learning into simply everything that we do now. We are hitting a few subjects today before heading to the park but hopefully, we can have a report this week but don't cross your fingers. Ha!

Oh, you should see my home! I worked 36 hours this weekend and it looks like a tornado hit it! LOL! Now, change is good sometimes but I just don't like this change! I will definitely get a workout from tackling this today. My bedroom is the worst room in the house. It looks like a laundry monster hit it! We won't even talk about my garage. Time to delegate! Ha! Well, I have typed enough so I guess it's back to work. Oh, please pray for my oldest who has been searching for a job. He has been on one interview and we are praying for a job with a great "atmosphere" for him. It would be his first work experience aside from his lawn care biz so he's excited about it and thank you so much for praying for our family. I continually pray for all of your families as well. We need each other!

Love you, guys!

Busy Bees

I'm just working and basically enjoying the sunshine whenever we get some. We took a school break this week. Well, actually, it was just a little light but we did have school. I took the gang to Chuck E. Cheese and we splurged on dining out twice this week. That's a record for me! LOL! We also rented a movie and had an ice cream cone night. We also stopped to get our favorite...snow cones when it was a welting 90 degrees here during the week. We laughed, tickled, wrestled and just had fun. Our church recognized the graduates with a special service during the week and my son ordered his purity ring. I am so proud of him! Oh, we also got a new van. Well, it's used but still new to us. It feels so weird to earn a paycheck with my name on it again and now to have a vehicle in my name as well. We are growing up! LOL! We are blessed. Working really makes me view our time together as even more valuable than before. I make every day that I'm off to really count. We are certain to do some form of activity after school such as a trip to the park or bookstore. They love the bookstore! It's not always something costly, just simple family fun.

I pray that everyone is doing well. I've peeked at just a few blogs when time has permitted. There are so many families who have experienced job loss this year. Please keep all homeschooling families in your prayers and have a blessed weekend.

Our Weekly Report

Wow! I can't believe that I haven't posted a Weekly Report in over two months! Things have really been busy around here. I have been working 36 hours each weekend. I will drop to 24 hours each weekend within the next few weeks. As my schedule is panning out a bit, I can finally get somewhat of a new routine developed according to my work schedule. It was a light week and no pics but here's a just of it.

Batman: Yes, Batman is still in school and trying to wrap things up for his final year even though we had our graduation ceremony with our homeschool group.
Grammar and Composition- grammar review and writing throughout History and Science
Spanish- terms related to The family
Vocabulary- reviewed for quiz
History- Time line work and World News summaries; researched the history of missionaries in our state
Sciences- Researched vascular and non-vascular plants and reviewed the structure of plants; Hygiene in Health
Math- no math
Bible- lessons on worship and prayer
Character- continued reading 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens and completed workbook lessons

Humble Genius, Sweet Potato, and Slim Jim:
Math- multiplication of large numbers and metric conversions
Grammar and Composition- no writing but grammar study of adjectives, adverbs and punctuation
Spelling- dictation test in Spelling Wisdom
Bible- My Father's World book of Matthew study
Geography- Wrapping up our study of the continent of Africa. We were behind our schedule due to my work schedule but so glad to be back.
Science- read books about grasslands and animals of the grasslands
Reading- independent reading of library books of their choice
Logic and Latin- They have plenty of logic games to play but Logic and Latin have been dropped formally until the fall.

Angel:
preschool- colored and wrote in old books as if she were doing "big work" while at the table with her brothers, painted, watched educational DVDs, sang songs, napped, and played with her toys

We also had a wonderful day at the park this week and enjoyed a cook-out at Grandma's house. Love Mama's cooking! ;)

Have a blessed weekend!

Wordless Wednesday: Park Day