First poop on the potty!

We've done the happy dance - my 26 month old son went poop on the potty today! Yay! He is sooooo proud of himself, too.

"Say or key in the following numbers for the department you are trying to reach..." NOT KID FRIENDLY!

I am at my wits end with the automated directories you get to when you call a business number. It's bad enough that you rarely EVER reach a human and have to go through the maze of pressing numbers to find one, but it's even worse when you have to talk to the automated greeter........ and you're home with the kids.

Did you know that some businesses ONLY offer the talking system and don't offer you the option of just using the keypad on your phone?

Do you know how many times I had to go round and round this morning trying to get some business done and every time I had to pick an option over the phone, my kids would sneeze, cough, yell, laugh, cry, talk, pass gas, a toy would make noise, a glass would clink, the dog would bark, what have you.... These systems don't tend to pick up on English very well to begin with (it doesn't seem!) but dog gone it they will certainly jump to "I'm sorry I didn't understand you. Please try again" at the first moment of any noise whatsoever....

These things are not kid friendly, let me tell ya... Funny thing is, the kids are usually great at being quiet when mommy is on the phone. But I wouldn't expect them to be dead quiet but I guess you have to be in a soundproof room in order to get anywhere successfully on the first try...

I don't mind them so long as I'm allowed to use my keypad on the phone. Maybe in the first few questions (does it really matter if there is another option?!? It's just one more!) ask if you want to talk or key in your answers, so that if the peanut gallery happens to make a noise before my finger strikes the keypad I don't have to go through the whole process of the automated person telling me they didn't understand me, could I please try again... and again... and again...

It's been one of those mornings!

A new spin on flannelboard stories

My industrial inkjet printer recently bit the dust after a few years of faithful and hard service. I have another laser printer I use for most of my business work now, but the inkjet was my faithful companion for the hundreds of printable activities I've printed for the kids. I refilled my own cartridges and it saved soooooo much money.

I was getting ready to teach them about Noah's Ark and have a bunch of printable patterns to make the story on the flannel board... They LOVE flannelboard stories. But everyone I've talked to has said DON'T use the remanufactured toners and don't refill them myself so I've been buying them at my local Staples (though I do find them cheaper on ebay). Either way, toner is not compatible with tons of printing when you can't refill them yourself so I am going to wait to go printing crazy again until I have another inkjet printer whose cartridges I can refill on my own...

ANYWAY, I figured I'd use the many magazines I've been saving for our ABC scrapbook for most of this story. I can create the ark on my own, then cut out pictures of animals and glue them to flannel, and find other important peices from the magazines. In fact, I can probably create a variety of stories on my own by doing this with pictures from magazines!

A 'duh' moment...

I just figured out how to apply labels and categories to my blog. So now that I know that, I can keep it organized a bit better. I don't have the time to organize all of my past posts into categories - sorry!

Another attempt at organization

I think I've hit "the bottom." Or perhaps, organization at its finest?

I've inventoried my pantry. The deep freezers and fridge are tonight. I'm going to compile everything into a categorized spread sheet and keep a print out of contents in each spot. I'll then keep note of what I use as I use it, mark it on the paper, then every time I go shopping I'll add the new items and update the spreadsheet and print out new sheets for each area.

I'll take a complete list with what we have at home, when I go shopping so that if I find a sale and have coupons, I can decide if it's a good deal or if our stock is low.

We'll see how this goes! Off to freeze my fingers counting food...

And they say homeschoolers don't get socialization... That is the first comment that seems to make it's way out of peoples mouths when they find out you're homeschooling. "How will your kids get to socialize with others?" Let me tell you one thing - instead of my children being comfortable talking to kids their own ages, they're becoming comfortable talking with and playing with kids and adults of all ages. A benefit of homeschooling is actually the socialization. Homeschooling isn't all done in the home. In fact, much of it is done outside of the home. Everywhere we go, the kids are communicating with people of all ages and all walks of life.



This past weekend, my husband and I took a trip down to a awareness event for the homeless. Being an EMT, my husband volunteered his time to do blood pressure checks. I was helping him but soon got into a conversation with a young pregnant woman who was homeless and without any resources. I learned of a local shelter that caters to pregnant women and children and am considering volunteering my childbirth classes over there if they need them. Anyway, we brought all of the kids and they got the opportunity to talk with some very interesting people, some who were homeless by choice and others who weren't. This was a great way to bring a variety of learning experiences together in one day!


Alexis noticed fabric piled up on my craft table and my sewing machine out and has been asking me every day to make her pink dresses and skirts. I'm trying to (secretly) make her some for Christmas. I stumbled across enough fabric to make jumpers for myself and both girls - I'm thinking this might be cute for Christmas. I've never sewn a jumper for myself though, so I'll make theirs first so they can at least match, then I'll give it a go for myself.