Happy Unbirthday!

While my parents were visiting we celebrated an Unbirthday for everyone.  Every time my mom visits or we visit them she likes to celebrate a holiday whether or not it is actually that holiday.  For example, when they visited one Thanksgiving we celebrated Easter a few days later with an Easter egg hunt. 

For this last visit my mom wanted to celebrate everyone's birthday.  We held the unbirthday on my mom's actual birthday.  Are we confused yet?  

So how do you celebrate an unbirthday?  Everyone gets a birthday cake to share.  Two people at a time were sung to and then blew out their candles and then everyone had cake and ice cream.

We had decorations and my mom handed out gifts to the children throughout the day.  They ended up playing with sidewalk chalk, having a water fight, and playing with their new dollar store toys.

By the end of the unbirthday we were worn out.  So we saved the pinata for the next day.

We stuffed Easter eggs with money and candy to fill the pinata.  Everyone got three swings at the poor whale. 

It was fun.  I wonder what we will celebrate next time?

My Oldest Son Explained in Two Photos

He loves to mess with his mother especially when she is taking pictures.

And he loves working on computers.  This sign is outside of the business where he had an internship this year.  He has learned a lot about computers and how much he wants to work with them in the future.

I thought this was a nifty sign and was happy to have my ipod with me so I could take a photo.  And that is all.  I hope you've had a nice holiday weekend.  We've been resting and relaxing.  Tomorrow is our first day back to school after almost a month off.  Wish me luck!

7 Things You Don't Know About Me

Well, I don't remember telling you, so in my mind you don't know.

Marissa over at Life On Our Side Of The Mountain gave me a stylish blogger award.

In order to play along I have to list 7 things you don't know about me and pass the award on.  So, here goes...

1.  I've never taken a public bus.

I had to take this photo with my left hand.  I feel sorry for my left handed daughter.

2. I have two tattoos.  One on my wrist of flowers and one on my shoulder of a lily.  Both are in purple, blue and green.  I got the one on my shoulder for my 18th birthday and the one on my wrist for my 21st b-day.

3. I do not like elevators, parking garages, or tunnels.  There is a reason behind the elevator fear but not the parking garage or tunnel.  I'm  not going to share the story behind it right now because certain people laugh at me when I tell it, even the guilty party!

4. I have not eaten chocolate since September 27th of 2010.  Yes, I know the exact date!  My family has survived so far.

5. I used to be afraid that our house would catch on fire when I was a girl.  Every night I would carefully place some clothes and anything I couldn't live without at the foot of my bed in case we had to exit swiftly in the middle of the night.  I also went through a phase where I was afraid my mom would throw away my teddy bear while I was at school so I hid him every morning and rushed up to my room every afternoon to make sure he was still there.

6. I get seasick easily.  Well, seaqueasy, actually.  The last time was when we took a ferry on Mobile bay.  Land was still in sight but it still upset my tummy.

My new and improved? footprint.

7. Remember my broken toe saga?  Well, when I had surgery almost a year later  the doctor shortened my toe after removing part of my toe bone.  Now my toe is short and stubby and does not touch the ground.  It's pathetic, but it doesn't hurt like it used to or swell up after exercise.

Any of you, my lovely readers, with a blog may accept this award if you would like.  Please leave me a comment and let me know I'm not the only one sharing embarrassing things publicly. 

Improving Soil: A Simple Project

First I wanted to mention that Beth over at CatholicMumma won the giveaway for the book Unplanned by Abby Johnson. 

A sunflower from last summer.

And now on to a simple way to improve your soil.  I'll be demonstrating this simple project in my front yard.  I'll try to update how this spot looks each month so you can see the long term process.

First choose an area with poor soil that you want to improve.  My soil is very sandy and needs lots of organic matter.  Weeds and grass covered this spot when we moved in three years ago.  I covered the soil with cardboard and compost two years ago but the grass came up through it anyway.  This spring my husband tilled this area with a rototiller and I spread compost on top.  The soil looks nice but underneath it is sand and doesn't hold water well.  Now you don't have to do any of the above steps to try this soil improvement method out.  I just wanted to tell you what I have already tried to make this spot more fertile.

This spot gets sun in the morning and early afternoon.

If your soil is very compacted you might want to loosen it a little before you plant.  You can just use a hard-tined rake to break up the surface a bit.  You don't need to turn the soil with a shovel.   Then spread some sunflower seeds over the surface and rake them in a bit.  I had a bunch left over from a food sprouting phase I went through.  It's o.k. if the seeds aren't covered. 

Sunflower seeds will come up almost anywhere that receives sun as long as you can give them some water to start.

Then water them in well.  I watered every few days but every other day would make them sprout faster.  You want to keep the soil from drying out too much before they sprout.  Once the sunflowers are up you can cut back on the watering.

Watering is the hardest part for me because I have to remember to do it.

And here they are sprouting all over the place.  I planted the seeds May 8th and this photo was taken today, May 28th.  We had some cold weather and I forgot to water a few times but they still made it.  You can thin the plants out a bit if you would like but you don't have to. 

So now you are wondering what the big deal is about growing sunflowers, right?  Well, anything you can get to grow in your poor soil will improve it, including weeds.  I happen to prefer sunflowers because they are pretty, easy to grow, and we can eat the seeds.  After the sunflowers have died back this fall I will cut them down at ground level and leave the roots to decay in the soil.  They will add humus and make this spot easier for other plants to grow in.  Have you ever pulled up a sunflower when it was full grown?  Their roots are large and run deep.  I've had to use a shovel many times to dig the plant up!

This tiny plant offered a nice amount of resistance to being pulled up. 

Sunflowers help to break up the soil in addition to adding humus as the roots decay.  If you can leave some of the plants or leaves to decay on top of the soil they will add organic matter.  All of the nutrients the roots pull up from below is now concentrated in the plant which will break down and deposit the nutrients up higher where more shallow rooted plants can get to it.  Also as the ground gets wet from rain or irrigation those nutrients will wash back into the soil and feed the roots of other plants and trees.

I will compost the tops of my sunflowers this fall and then return some of the compost to this spot next spring.  As birds pick the seeds from the flower head some will fall to the ground and you will have volunteer sunflowers next spring.

Sweet alyssum from last summer.

Another plant I like to use to improve soil is sweet alyssum.  It is a white, low growing flower which smells like honey and can be used as a ground cover.  It also self seeds and I have them all over my flower beds in the backyard.  They have a large root system which grows close to the surface and lightens the soil.  When I trim them back or pull them up I shake the flower heads over the soil so the seeds will fall to the surface and sprout in new areas.  I've had a difficult time getting alyssum to grow in my front yard because the soil is so poor but will keep trying. 

Please leave me a comment if you blog about your garden so I can come visit.  Or just leave a comment about anything and I'll stop by.  If you have any questions or article suggestions they would be appreciated.

How is your garden doing this year?

Healthy Home- Fit Mommy

My parents took us out to dinner while they were visiting.  Baby got the black eye when he ran into his brother.

Good afternoon.  I'm here to report on my progress back to being fit.  I lost a tiny bit of weight but otherwise am about the same physically.  I have been resting and recovering from the stress I was under the last two weeks and I'm feeling much more relaxed and almost back to normal.

We have been out of school for three weeks but will start again on Tuesday.  I need to figure out a different schedule so we can spend some time outside in the morning while it is cool.  We are at a high altitude and the sun is pretty intense in the summer so we spend from about 12:30-4:00 in the house each day unless it's cooler than usual or we are playing in water. 

We hadn't been out for a meal for months.

I spent a lot of time in the garden this week but didn't do any other type of exercise.  I plan to start my exercise program again next Monday but will cut out the intervals for a week.  Running intervals 3x a week and strength training 3x was a little too much to start out with and made my back really sore.  I need to build up slowly.  I need to remind myself of that plan often! 

Not even to grab fast food!  Which is probably a good thing.

I have upped my carbs a little by eating almost 2 cups of berries and 2 apples per day.  I've been really hungry and I get frustrated by having to eat so much.  I'm trying to eat more coconut oil to see if that helps.  I eat a bunch of veggies and adequate protein so I don't know why I'm always so hungry.  I guess I just burn through food quickly.

My children are recovering from a cold this week.  I've felt it a little the last two days with some afternoon tiredness and sinus funkiness.

We are sticking to our budget even if it drives us crazy!

I guess that's about it for what's going on health wise around here.  The heat is picking up again and we are trying to stay cool.  Do you have any tips for us on how to beat the heat?  I hope everyone is happy and healthy at your house!

I'm linking up over at The Legacy of Home blog. 

Hello Peeps! Unplanned Giveaway

Hi,
I'm sorry I haven't been here much.  My son graduated from high school last week and we had to get ready for company.  Oh, and my parents came to stay with us for two weeks.  My nephew also graduated.  Oh, and there was prom for my two oldest sons.  It's been busy.  I'm taking this week off of school to recover!

There's my baby all grown up!

Now on to the giveaway.  One of the best books I reviewed in the last year was Unplanned by Abby Johnson.  I think it is an excellent book to read to learn more about the prolife/prochoice debate.  I especially appreciated Abby's honesty as she shared the beliefs she held when she was prochoice.

Flowers for you, dear reader.

Anyway, if you would like to enter to win my lightly used hardcover copy of Unplanned please leave me a comment.  If you would like extra entries you can leave a comment telling me you are following me, shared on facebook, tweeted, or blogged about my giveaway.  Please remember to leave a separate comment for each item to make choosing a winner easier.  I will use a random generator thing on Friday and announce the winner on Saturday!

Thanks for visiting and commenting on my blog over the last year.  I've enjoyed meeting all of you and visiting your blogs.  Here's to another year of blogging!

TOS Crew Review: Apologia Read for the Heart

Read for the Heart, Whole Books for Wholehearted Families by Sarah Clarkson is more than just a guide book.  You can feel the Author's passion for good books as you read her words.

Table of Contents

Specifications:
*384 pages
*12 chapters
*List of Caldecott Medalists
*List of Newberry Medalsist
*Historical Fiction by G.A. Henty list
*The Trailblazer Series list
*A Few of My Favorite Things lists
 -Favorite read alouds for the family
 -Favorites for girls
 -Favorites for boys
 -Favorite audiobooks
*Indexed by Author, Illustrator, and title

*Chapters explaining why reading is so important with my thoughts on each chapter in parenthesis:
-Reading to Live(Reading good books gives you the courage to do hard things and live a good life.  Parents can use books as an ally in their parenting.)
-Reading Lost: The State of Literacy in America(Deep thinking is taught through reading.  We need to encourage children to read.)

*How to chapters:
-Life by Books: How to Begin(Lots of great tips to make reading a part of daily life.  One of my favorite was to make read-aloud dates with each of your children.)
-A Roadmap for Using This Book(In this chapter you will find how Miss Clarkson chose and organized the recommended books.)

*Book lists with genre information:
-Picture Books(I loved this chapter!  She shared wonderful thoughts on choosing a book for the words as well as the illustrations.)
-The Golden Age Classics, free sample chapter(I enjoyed reading the history of how these books came to be.)
-Children's Fiction(Sarah had wonderful thoughts on criteria for choosing books.)
-Fairy Tales and Fantasy(I plan to read the books listed to learn more about this subject.)
-History and Biography(These are listed by era which is helpful to quickly find a book on a time period you want your children to study.)
-Spiritual Reading for Children(Biographies, devotionals, study guides and children's Bibles are listed.)
-Poetry
-Music, Art and Nature

Books are listed in each section by Author, a brief description is given for each recommended book along with other books also recommended by the same author.

Apologia Press

I enjoyed reading Miss Clarkson's book.  It was full of motivation for me to make sure we are putting enough emphasis on reading quality books.  Throughout the book she emphasises the importance of quality books.  I thought her point of what children become used to reading creates an appetite for that type of book was very important and will help me reevaluate the books my children read.

It was neat to see the results in Sarah of growing up in a book loving family.  It encouraged me to put more emphasis on using real books for more of our studies.  I loved hearing about how her parents incorporated books into their everyday lives.  I have already taken her advice to make an afternoon session of quiet reading more special by serving my children iced tea or lemonade to sip as they read.  She recommends hot chocolate which I reinterpreted for our warm weather as a cool beverage.

I had lost confidence in my children's ability to learn enough just by reading  good books but reading Read for the Heart has me rethinking how we study and longing to go back to the basics of good books as the foundation of our learning.

I would recommend this book for anyone who wants to include more good books in their daily life.  It would be especially useful for those who are just starting out or who need a well organized book with recommendations of good books for children and teens.  I found many new books listed throughout this book.  I also thought it was a wonderful book to read as encouragement to parents to raise their children with the company of good books.  I will be referencing this book each year as I choose new books for my children to enjoy during school and free time.

To purchase, visit Apologia Press.
Read for the Heart by Sarah Clarkson
$17.00

I received a free copy of Read for the Heart from Apologia Press and have shared my honest opinion.  Please visit TOS Homeschool Crew blog to read more reviews.

The Who of Our Homeschool

I am joining Abbie over at Second Star to the Right for the first week of her Who, What, When, Where, Why and How blog hop. 

This week we are introducing our students. I will have six students this year. 

Here's my first little guy, David.  He will be 3 in September.  He is learning colors, to count, and shapes.  He likes to play with his older brother Isaac and to be spoiled by everyone.  He knows he's the baby and will use his powers to his advantage at every opportunity.

This is Isaac.  He is 5 and will be starting Kindergarten this fall.  We've been working on letter and number recognition.  I think he will learn to read easily.  He likes to do puzzles, look at books, and play/get into trouble with David.

Sarah is 7 and is finishing first grade.  She is my budding bookworm.  She loves to play with dolls and her big sister, Hannah.  She has been my garden helper this year and even volunteers to weed.  She has recently become more interested in taking care of the little boys and enjoys being a mama hen just like her big sis.

Below you see Elijah, also known as Incredible Mr. E.  He is sandwiched right between two girls and gets into trouble for picking at them.  He is my hardest worker and likes to help his dad.  He's a reader and is also getting better at math.  He is 9 and will be in fourth grade next year.

Hannah is 11 and will start sixth grade this fall.  She was a little perturbed about having her picture taken.  She's my oldest daughter and in many ways acts like a firstborn child.  She is a math and hands on type person just like my oldest son.  This year she started to enjoy reading and I have hope that it will become easier for her.  

My oldest student is Nathan.  He is 13 and will begin eighth grade this fall.  He likes to read, tolerates math and science, and sometimes enjoys history.  We are studying Latin together and he enjoys saying things in a language that only he and I know.  He does not like to smile for the camera but I started taking extreme close ups which made him laugh so I was able to catch a rare smile.

This is my oldest son, Caleb.  He just graduated from high school and is looking for a job and waiting to start college this fall.  He has agreed to be our homeschool math teacher until he is too busy to continue.  He will help Jacob(my 17 year old son) prepare for NMMI's entrance exams on which he will hopefully score high enough to get a full scholarship.  He will be teaching two different levels of Saxon math, working with Sarah on math facts and maybe try his hand at Kindergarten math with Isaac.  He is brave!

Here are all of my children lined up in order of birth.  These are the people who keep me busy and out of trouble. We school year round but will cut a few subjects out for the summer so we have more time for play and outside work.

Join the blog hop over at Second Star to the Right.

Schoolroom Unveil

Here is our schoolroom right after we moved into this house, when it was a bedroom and before we started removing things like wallpaper and paneling.

The closet juts out into the room and takes up lots of space.

Here is how the room looked before the remodel began.  For a complete tour see this post.

And now the moment you've been waiting for!  The finished schoolroom.  Well, almost.  We(husband) still need to add the trim, flooring, and curtains(me).  Come on in.

Wow, two windows!  We had one tiny, dysfunctional window before.  The new windows let in lots of light and air which is helping to cool the rest of the house.  I hope our electricity bill is less this summer! 

We found the table and two chairs at a garage sale the day we were moving our furniture back in.  Sarah will use the table as her desk.

This view is not very nice yet.  I need to figure out what to put on the wall behind my desk.  I would like a clock but that's not the right spot for it.  I might paint the Bible verse there when I decide on which one and get over my fear of messing it up.

The light colored walls are a darker shade than the ceiling and soffits.  Did you notice?  It's hard to tell, especially in a photo.  They have a little more yellow than the ceiling and make the room feel warm and sunny.

Nathan's desk is against the back wall.  We moved the aquarium into the schoolroom and Fin, the goldfish will be our school mascot.

My parents and oldest son painted the two small desks and Nathan's desk for me.  I like the color.  They look so much nicer in the room now that they match.  Before, Nathan's desk was mustard yellow, one of the small desks was light brown and the other was black.

This is my favorite wall.  I love the green color.  It's the same color we used in the kitchen.

 My husband did a good job planning the lighting.  We have one of these lights in each corner.  He placed the four little lights on a separate switch from the ceiling fan so we can choose how much light we need during the day.  The room is nicely lit, even at night!

Here's the ceiling fans that was given to us by someone my husband works with.  Wasn't that nice?  I love the style and color and think it goes perfectly in this room.

This is Nathan's desk with the chair we found months ago.  I think they go together nicely. 

I need to figure out where to keep the keyboard.  It might not even stay in the schoolroom.

The toddler toy storage area.  I'll throw a blanket on the floor for the little guys to play on.  We plan to install laminate flooring later. 

A play area.

 My mom bought us a flag.  I like it.  Now I have to teach my children the pledge of allegiance.

The storage area in the corner behind my desk containing items we use daily and weekly.  I need to find a small bookshelf so I can be more organized but this should work well for now.

The view from my desk.

My husband and sons did all of the work themselves.  It's nice to have a handy and hardworking hubby!