family time

Halloween Prep {Thoughts From Me}

October 28, 2016 by Dana

This week has been spent on Halloween preparations. The kids absolutely LOVE Halloween. Not so much the scary stuff but just dressing up and pretending to be something else. It’s all in fun for us.

This year the costumes are:

Dark Pumpkin Man

Good Witch

Princess Fairy Witch

Dinosaur

and Black Cat.

I’ll post pics for them once the date is past.

Each costume takes on it’s own unique personality, designed for the wearer. Each was chosen by the wearer to fit their interests and style. After all, costumes are fun!!!

Now I know not everyone cares for Halloween or dressing up on the day. For our family, it’s the beginning of our Holiday season and we enjoy dressing up, bonding with each other as a family. We simply enjoy our time together.

And that’s what it’s all about: being together as a family. Bonding, sharing and loving each other. Just as it should be.

Full January {Thoughts From Me}

January 10, 2013 by Dana

January is jam packed full for me this year. This month is filled with doctors appointments, review materials, photographs to work on and so much more. It’s beginning is sure to prove that the rest of the months in my year will be just as full.

This month begins another year on The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew. There are a lot of amazing vendors coming up this year. I’m excited to share each one of them with you as my reviews become due.

This month also brings reviews from many other avenues: Propeller, Booksneeze, and Blogging for Books just to name a few. I have several great give-aways coming up so prepare to stop by in the future to check each one of them out.

On the home front, therapy has started back for Laycie again. She loves her therapists and enjoys her once a week visits with them. She learns so much without even knowing she is learning.

At her recent speech eval, Laycie scored in the 6 year old range on most things. She turns 5 next April, so this just assured me once again that homeschooling is the right thing for us. Laycie scored out of language for her therapy but still requires articulation to help continue building her speech.

Winston had a doctor’s checkup today. He’s perfect in all aspects, but I already knew that! (Yep, I’m pretty biased when it comes to my babies!) He is exactly 5’0 tall and weighs 90lbs. He’s come along way from his 7lb15oz birth weight and 21 inch length. He’s been having some tummy issues lately so we have been referred to a Pediatric GI for further exam, which we will hopefully get into very soon.

Jackson is feeling better after his recent bout with his ear infection and mild cough. He began eating cereal and applesauce this week and loves it. He gets one feeding a day at this point and of course his usual breast milk. He’s growing so fast and is an adorable 13 lb butterball, getting bigger every day.

Later this month, Emma has an appointment with the Pediatric Ortho for her toe-walking. We are finished with therapy for her. We are finished with braces for her. Now we are heading back to the Ortho for another eval to determine if she will be cast or if she will require surgery. I’m hoping for casting, honestly but it will be up to her doctor.

Yesterday, the Bestie and I began a fitness program with walking. We walked around the rather large pond 3 times to start. Today, I purchased Zumba Fitness 2. We both worked through the short course and boy do I feel it! Yep, I’m pretty out of shape right now. My goal is to get back into shape, flatten my tummy, eat a little healthier and drink more water. So far, I’ve only managed to increase the water a little but the rest is a work in progress.

So this is what our month consists of: Lots of doctors appointments. Lots of reviews. A new fitness program for me. And loads of other fun that I haven’t mentioned above. It’s sure to be a month full of activity and as my new year’s word stated, I’m driven to get through it all! Have a blessed week!

A Day Out {Thoughts From Me}

June 25, 2011 by Dana

I recieved a sweet little card and candy bar from a dear friend for my birthday in the mail today. The kids were excited to see it was a Wonka bar, after reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory together. Wonka is a big deal around here though my friend had no idea what a sweet gift it really was to send!

We ate lunch in a nice little restuarant in Hemingway, SC. The food was Delicious!! We will definitely be eating at that little BBQ place again.

We did some reading with the iPad. We read about how the whale got his throat from Rudyard Kipling and the intro to Grammarland. We also read a little about the Red Tide from our Curiosity Files and the great Professor Ana Lyze. It’s always fun to get a little extra schoolwork in while you’re out and waiting.

We spent the rest of our afternoon at home.

I also scored a long list of great homeschooling books for the kids only for shipping. Over 30 books for $20! I’m so very excited about that. Can’t wait to get those!

Overall, it was a very good day for us. We enjoyed the time together. Tomorrow the kids will get outside to play. We’re hoping to get some swimming in before the end of the weekend too but we will see.

What are your weekend plans? Whatever they are, I hope they bring you as much joy as ours often do!

Made It Through {Christmas 2009}

December 29, 2009 by Dana

Well, we made it through Christmas and a birthday to boot. This year was exhausting, adjusting to new schedules and trying to keep the girls routine enough that they did not have any set-backs. In the end, everything turned out well.

The kids got out of school on December 18th and have been playing non-stop ever since. Things were pretty calm all week, until Thursday came. Christmas Eve. The kids were sooo excited. That night we had our Christmas party at a family friend’s house and we opened our gifts. The kids really enjoyed it but the late night and over-exciting day made Laycie very fussy. I think she was a little overwhelmed but she slept fairly good that night.

When we got home the kids and I finished cookies for Santa. We wrote him notes and set his cookies and milk out underneath our little tree. Then we went outside to throw out reindeer feed (oatmeal, crushed up cookies and hot cocoa). “This is to help the deer find our house,” Emmalee said.

After feeding the reindeer, we came in and read a few things on the computer.

The first was Selma Lagerlof’s The Holy Night. This is the story of a man (Joseph) in search of a heat source to keep his wife and babe (Mary and Jesus) warm. It tells how he was turned away continously and how he found one shepherd, which he amazed, that reluctantly agreed to help him. In the end, Joseph found heat and the shepherd’s eyes were opened to the Glory and Amazement of God’s world.

The second story we read was the famous editorial by Francis Pharcellus Church: Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. This editorial was first published in “The Sun” newspaper as an answer to 8 year old Virginia’s question, “Is there a Santa Claus?”. After all, “Papa says, “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.”” The editor goes on to answer, little Virginia’s question, stating that “Yes, there is a Santa Claus”, though he may not be seen, he lives in the heart of all. This is the joy of Christmas.

The third and last story of our night was ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, A visit from Saint Nicolas by Clement Clark Moore. This cute little story tells of the thrill of Santa’s appearance, both physical and emotional, and brings joy to the heart of all who read it.

It was at this point of our night that Winston realized it was “late!” and decided we MUST head to bed. So that’s just what we did.

Christmas morning came with me waking the kids at 6:30 am. They were happy to see that Santa left them a wonderful note and some really great gifts. They did not get a lot, but they have really enjoyed what they have gotten. Winston got Transformers, a Tractor/Trailer car, some airplanes, a Scooby movie and two ds games. Emmalee got Barbie, Mulan Barbie, two ds games, a Scooby movie and a Littlest Pet Shop doctor’s kit thing. Laycie got a toy cell phone, a babydoll, linking rings, linking heads, and wooden blocks. They all got the traditional stocking and this year it even included some “coal” chocolate candy.

Around 11am, we went to Grami’s and opened gifts, then went to eat at 1pm at MaMaw’s to open more gifts. Afterwards, we all came home to nap, then got up again to eat leftovers before our day was through. The kids were pretty exhausted and so was Mommy.

On Saturday, (the day after Christmas) Winston and Emmalee went to visit their Dad. They enjoyed their time with him and they were able to see both their Great-Grandmothers, which I am thankful for.

Sunday, we rested, though we did go to MaMaw’s to eat Sunday dinner.

Monday was Winston’s 9th birthday. It seems like yesterday that I carried him in my tummy. I can hardly believe 9 years have gone so fast. He had a great day and was extremely patient. MaMaw made him a cake and everyone brought him presents. He got clothes to lounge in and a nice suit, some fun things, and a couple of DS games. He loved his homemade chocolate cake and his choice of pizza for dinner. After the party, everyone relaxed in the living room and watched Sinbad (the cartoon) on tv. It made for a really nice night.

So, here we are at today, Tuesday. Today we are cleaning house and relaxing after the busy, busy week before the kids have to go back to school next Monday. I have a lot to catch up with but it will all happen with time. At least we have great family memories to enjoy!