what i did today

I found this article “Homeschooling Is Not Optional” from OrganizingYourWay.net from AmyLovesIt.com (is that enough linkage?)  I love this quote:

No school can address your child’s every need.  I often talk about the “whole child” a common term used in educational and developmental literature.  It refers to the education of not just the cognitive aspects of a child, but also the creative, and physical, and so on.  And yet, you will not likely find much spiritual education in a public school.  Spirituality is a part of the whole child, and shouldn’t be neglected.  In public schools, you will find character development, perhaps, but not real morals.  References to religion, on occasion, but little on faith.  This is your job.  Tend to it intentionally.

It’s always the parents’ job to be the spiritual teacher of your children but after our decision to go with public school versus private, I felt even more of a burden to fill that role.  Lately I’ve been reading a story, or THREE, out of Lexi’s picture Bible (ImpressYourKids.org recommends The Jesus Storybook Bible).  It has been astounding the questions they have come up with.  We’ve discussed sin and creation and Heaven and Hell and Satan and Jesus’ scars and Noah’s ark and the plagues and God’s miracles.  I love how we can all agree “no one in the whole world” understands how God has no beginning and end.  I love that they’re discussing it with me and not (or as well as) a school teacher or Sunday School teacher.  I love that I have a pulse on their fears and struggles.

But it is very intentional.  Even when we’re all exhausted and cranky at the end of the day, I have to make that time intentional to read and answer another 100 questions before sleep.  But it’s so entirely worth it.

OK, people, I finally decided on a coffee cozy from Pink Gasoline.  Yes, it took me nearly a month to decide.  That’s how indecisive I am. It’s not that I didn’t like any of them.  She even added more to their store since my first post and I loved more of them.  I would be ok with using a different one every day.  I love them all that much. But in the end, every time I went by this one, I felt like it was already mine.  I think it may be the same one I eyed at the post office originally.

Anyway, I was SO EXCITED to see it came in the mail today

And even better?  There’s a cute liner!

Yes, it’s probably unhealthy to devote so much time to and be excited about a coffee cozy.  But it’s SO CUTE!

I got a great little deal at Walgreens tonight for stuff the girls needed for school and who couldn’t use a little extra savings this time of year?

I paid $1 for:

• 1 Box of 24 Crayola crayons
• 1 Pencil box
• 4 Boxes Yellow Pencils
• 1 Box 8 Crayola Washable Markers

Here’s how:

1 box of Crayola crayons for $1
Received $1 RR
Total: $1 oop

1 Pencil box with in-ad coupon
4 Boxes Yellow Pencils on sale for .09/each
1 Box Crayola Washable Markers on sale for $3
Used $1 RR from crayons
Sent in $3 mail-in rebate for markers (it prints like a RR)
Total: FREE after rebate

That’s it!

A few weeks ago I did a post of small ways I make money online.  Since then, I joined Opinion Outpost.  You get somewhere around $2-5 for filling out a survey.  Well, when you don’t qualify, they let you enter a sweepstakes or try to be an instant winner.  I always do the Instant Win and today I was so glad I did!

$50 for NOT qualifiying!! Suh-weet!

Happy Monday!  I’ll be back to do a post on our birthday weekend to Charleston!

Sometimes I have a bit of an identity crisis on here. 

Sometimes I feel like a mom blogger.  I blog about the funny things my kids say or I write them birthday letters.  There are some mammoth mommy bloggers that I read and I think oh, I really need to steer my posts that way.  Even more than that, some of them are super involved in their local blogging community.  My mind goes a mile a minute and oh, wouldn’t a Charlotte mommy-blogger group be so much fun! 

Other days I feel like a geek girl.  I’m a professional programmer and love techie stuff whether it be my iPhone or just some cool thing I found online.  I found some rockstar geek girl bloggers yesterday and I thought man, wouldn’t I love to be a rockstar geek girl like that..I really should write about all this coding and techie stuff I’m immersed in.

Other times I feel like a fan girl, writing about celebrity meetings or celebrity photos.  Sometimes I feel like I could turn my blog into a Grade A (or at least D) celebrity news site. 

Sometimes, I’m simply a Christian blogger.  I put my heart on the line over and over and my soul is satisfied when I share that.  There are some great Christian bloggers out there and I know I could write about that every single day and be happy. 

I love to be the comedian.  I can’t tell you the satisfaction I get when someone can laugh at something I wrote.  Because sometimes you have to be there and sometimes you can write it well enough for people to feel like they were there.  I read other blogs that are super funny and wonder if I could do that every day. 

I’m also a writer, a cyclist, a fashionista, a designer, a photographer, a couponer, and a cook. 

I guess sometimes I just feel like I need to peg this blog into one thing and be really good at that.  Because that’s what the blogging experts say to do and those expert blogs look like so much fun.  Some people have said they like coming on the blog and not ever knowing what type of post it will be.  I’m sure some are turned off when they are expecting a spiritual nugget and then have to read about my new hair cut.  I’d really like to find my niche.  But I can’t.  I am all those things.  Some days I’m only one of those and some days I’m all of them. Usually on those days, I don’t even have time to be a blogger.  I guess when you get to it, the thing I’m good at, the thing I know the most about, the thing that is my niche, is me.  And as self-absorbed as that sounds, I can’t change it without losing some part of me. 

I don’t think I have a pretty bow to put on the end of this except to say to those that stick around, I can’t thank you enough.  I would write this blog (and did for 6 years) with no one reading it, but it sure makes it fun when you do.  I hope you’ve learned a little, laughed a little, cried a little and one day, remember all those a lot.

Hang in with me here…it’s a funny one…

So my dad’s 55th birthday is today.  Happy Birthday, once again!  For his birthday he got up early and did a 55 mile bike ride.  Wow!  Well, this morning Heather and Mom call and “suggest” that I make dinner tonight. Which is fine by me but I tell them I have absolutely nothing.  We get on speakerphone and decide on one of my dad’s favorite, baked spaghetti.  They ensure that I’ll have garlic bread and my mom pipes up “I’ll make salad…do you mind picking up the lettuce?”   Really, mom?  We all start laughing…I’ll get salad…buuut do you mind getting the lettuce?  For the record, I completely forgot to get the lettuce at the store and then my mom said she’d get it, fixes it at home and then completely forgets to bring it to my house and has to go back and get it.  That salad was did not want to happen!

So this afternoon I go with the girls to Walgreens to pick out his card and in my mindset I decide to go with something funny…about being old(er – Dad, I don’t think you’re old!).  The girls are intent on helping out.  I turn down the purple Barbie birthday card that Lexi picks out first but then she hands over a card that actually made me laugh out loud.  And I say perfect, Lexi!  The outside said “You don’t have to take your birthday lying down!” And the inside says, “Unless you want to!”  So I’m thinking perfect!  He’s probably so tired from his long bike ride and it makes a joke of him being old…this couldn’t be a more perfect card!

I should add in here that Dad is NOTORIOUS for not reading his cards.  If it’s more than like 5 words, he skips right to the signatures.  So he opens all his cards tonight including ours which Lexi was SUPER proud of…

opens his presents

We take birthday photos

I light the cake with a near-blow-torch

And he blows out the candles

And then Mom says, “Did you get what your card is suggesting??”  I’m thinking yeah, he’s old and tired.  She starts laughing and then hands the card over to me:

Gah, I completely skipped over the “Honey” and all the hearts and THE BED.  Yes, that is the card I gave to my dad for his 55th birthday from his daughter and granddaughters.

We caught a picture of how happy the girls were to give it to him.  Lexi thought it was HILARIOUS and didn’t catch the real meaning at all.

After I figured it out, I was like, “Birthday Card FAIL!”  Mom says “Oh but Lexi picked it out.” And I said, “Yeah, but I screened them all first!  I turned down the purple Barbie one.”  Heather, always one to quip, “Then, yeah, that’s a big FAIL.”

So…Happy Birthday…Honey!

*shudders*

ugh

This post was written at the behest of all those involved with the warning that it would be all over Facebook if not.

So for several years, since Heather bought me these two pictures for my birthday, they’ve been on the wall here –>

They are the two behind the couch.  I had to go back in photo archives 2 years to find a picture of them at this angle.  Well, I’ve had some other unused wall art sitting around the house and I decided to make use of it all in one wall collage.  I wanted it to be cool like something like these from Pottery Barn:

But it didn’t happen.  However, I did what I could:

Not ideal, but I’m calling it a win.