7 Quick Takes (volume 44)

-----1-----

Pumpkin wrapped up ballet camp this week and I was so proud of her. Especially since she experienced cliques for the first time and it wasn't pretty, or fun. Who knew that cliques started when you were four years old? It seems that a group of mothers all signed up their daughters (who apparently only play with each other) for the same dance camp on this particular week. So ,unlike the last time we went, (each camp is a week long) this group of girls only spoke to each other and ignored poor Pumpkin. She lasted 4 of the 5 days. I didn't make her go the 5th day because really, do you have to be exposed to every bad thing when you are four years old? Also, I had just shared with Big Daddy the night before how proud I was of her that she was going and having fun even though I didn't think any of the other girls even spoke to her. I know my daughter. On Friday morning she cried that she didn't want to go to camp because she didn't have any friends. She has never cried about going to Sunday school or any of the other camps she goes to. She always makes friends when she is there and expects to meet new people. My heart still hurts for her, even though she has (thankfully) forgotten about it.

-----2-----

Two more Leopard Geckos hatched bringing our count to three adults and 5 hatchlings. Who knew the life study of a gecko would result in a small gecko farm? Clearly we need to separate our male and wrap up this study! Cutie Pie enjoys running up to the tanks and screaming "Gecko", she's 1. I actually think Tortuga was her first word. Another animal lover enters our family. I think it's time to hit Big Daddy up for a puppy. Because with 4 homeschooled children, a writing gig and building a house I don't have nearly enough to do!

-----3-----

I posted my updated Schedule Cards that I made under my Teacher Tips tab. But you don't have to be a homeschooling mother to appreciate them. They really are great for helping your little ones understand WHAT we are doing next, WHEN we are going to the playground (or where ever they keep asking you to go), and that you eat breakfast before dinner. They work like a charm in our house!

-----4-----

This was the week of the playdates. We had two playdates and I'm exhausted. It was a good reminder how good it is to make time for play though with our friends. Which reminds me that I need some Mommy Playdates too (sans kids). I'm hoping to do that at least once a month starting in the fall.

----5----

This week they began work on our dining room ceiling. I'm really excited about this dining room because in each of our other homes we rarely used it. It is my intention that we will eat all of our dinners in the dining room---not only save it for special occasions. If that seems a bit difficult to pull off in my wife-of-a-road-warrior-reality, then I will insist we eat all of our weekend dinners in the dining room. Weekends are when we are usually able to eat as a family so it will be even more special in the dining room I think....even if it is take-out pizza!

-----6-----

I'm so excited about the Not-back-to-school blog hop that Darcy from Life with my 3 boybarians is hosting! You see, it was my bright idea and I didn't have to do a darn bit of work. Bonus! I like being the idea girl. I can sit back with a smug smile and enjoy the fruits of someone else's labor. How often do we get to that as moms? All kidding aside. This is going to be cool. So make sure you participate and tell Darcy how brilliant she was for listening to my bright idea!

-----7-----

I'm really excited about speaking at the upcoming Heart of the Matter Conference

which is being held August 3-7th. The speaker line-up is amazing and I'm both honored and amazed to be a part of the conference. I am so excited about my presentation, "The Best Online Teaching Tools" and Big Daddy even taught me how to create a pretty cool looking Power Point Presentation! I'm so addicted to PowerPoint that I think I'm going to create slides to use in our home and present to my children throughout the day. I'm sure they will appreciate my "Here is why you need to eat what I cook you" slide, don't you?

You can join in with your own 7 Quick Takes here.

Reward Tickets

Do you use reward incentives with your children?
If so, you may want to download these super cute reward tickets from Ambrosia Girl, they're free!

Like everything in life, if you choose to use a reward system with your children, it should be done in moderation. Otherwise, you may end up with kids who are always looking for "what they can get" before doing anything.

Rewards are nice. Who doesn't like to be rewarded or receive a special treat? But, our children should learn to do things without always expecting something else in return. Sometimes, satisfaction comes from within and it is our duty as parents to teach that to our youngsters.
Even if we sometimes like to try to bribe them to eat chicken!

Thanks Ambrosia Girl for sharing your cute tickets!
I'm also a huge fan of 1-2-3 Magic.

Cooking vs. Preparation

Now that I am embracing my personal verse for the year, I've decided that this isn't my season to cook. Which really works out great since apparently this isn't my children's season to eat a variety of foods either.

Three things that I've recently discovered are:


Amy's Mac & Cheese. You find it in the frozen section. This is so good. I especially love how I can pop it in the microwave. Yeah, it's sad when you are microwaving mac and cheese----but this is truly good.
No Pudge Brownies.
Who knew nonfat could taste so good?
Of course eating the whole pan in one sitting probably discounts any caloric savings. Not that I've done that personally of course.


And finally my latest favorite, Alexia frozen breads. The french rolls look and taste wonderful. Throw a couple in the oven and you are good to go. Which makes me wonder if you couldn't just make some and freeze them yourselves? And by you, I really mean you, since I'm quite content to buy the frozen stuff this season of my life.

I hope Big Daddy loves my new personal verse as much as I am starting to. I guess it is time to subscribe to Semi-homemade...man, why didn't I think of being the semi homemade Chef first?

My verse for the year

There is a time for everything
and a season for every activity under heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:1

I first read about selecting a personal verse for the year on MaryBeth Whalen's blog and though it has taken me some time to find the right verse, its timing is perfect for me as I prepare for another school year and a move into a new home.

I want to do everything and then get frustrated when I cannot.
I take on all manner of tasks, no matter how full my plate already is and snip at Big Daddy when he golfs. It is not his golfing that annoys me, so much as the fact that he has time to golf. But that is really my issue. I am in charge of my time and since I do not prioritize restful periods, I don't get them. I have only myself to blame.

I would do well to reflect on this verse as I contemplate our upcoming school year and the eventual move. What verse would you do well reflecting upon this year?

Shamless Self Promotion

Pssst,
Guess what?



I'm speaking at the upcoming Heart of the Matter Conference!
I'm so excited to share my personal list of online tools and resources with you.
Parents and homeschoolers won't want to miss this amazing conference.

You can attend in your pajamas!
From home!
You don't need a babysitter!

And best of all, you can either listen live or playback the sessions whenever the mood hits. Although I hope you attend live. It's more fun that way.

Plus, what will I do if no one attends my lecture?

Seriously though, you should really attend. I promise this conference will inspire, energize, motivate and encourage you. Take the time to refuel. You deserve it!

7 Quick Takes on my week

-----1-----

Our playground was finally installed. We are no where near being able to actually move in. But somehow, knowing we have the playground up and going to visit it each evening to play, makes the wait and stress of building a little more bearable.

----2-----

I have been invited to speak at Heart of the Matter's upcoming online conference. I am just so impressed with Heart of the Matter, The Amies, and all of the writers that I am still pinching myself that I am able to participate in this ministry as a reviewer, occasional writer and now a speaker! Every dealing I've had with HOTM has been "a God thing" so I know these ladies and ministry are in line with his word. One day soon I will share a little more about what I mean.

----3-----

I am really pleased with my new blog design by Darcy at Graphically Designing. I still enjoy clicking around and checking it all out. It's clean, neat and pretty which is more than I can say for my office desk right now.

-----4-----

I won a giveaway from the Sneaker Teacher. It was such a surprise. What is it about winning something that makes your heart smile? I think my prize will make my children smile too. I cannot wait to try out some of the projects with them.

----5-----

I generally read several books at once. Right now I'm reading:
To love honor and vacuum by Sheila Gregoire
A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola

---6----

I've been contemplating when to start our school year. With everything up in the air on when we will actually move into our new house I feel the need to start earlier than I originally planned. That way we can stop. But I'm not 100% done will all of my preplanning so maybe its a bad idea? I'm not sure.

----7----

Last year I participated in mini co-ops with some of my homeschooling friends. This year, I decided to expand on that idea and launch a full blown co-op. We have been blessed to have 14 members with only a small word-of-mouth marketing and a desperate prayer to God when I was discouraged and finally gave it to Him with the words, "I'm releasing this to You to make it successful." Which brings me to the main part of this highlight...why does it take me so long to realize I need to ,"Let go, and Let God? " And even after this has been illustrated in my life, time and time again, why do I continue to need this reminder and act surprised?

There are more quick takes posts on the Conversion Diary.

Not your typical Trophy Wife...

As the Road Warrior's younger second wife, I'm technically supposed to be the Trophy Wife. That means my days should be spent getting my nails done, lunching with the girls and driving the Jag (Jaguar) to the gym.

The only problem with that is:

a.) While I love pedicures, I cannot stand sitting still for manicures because I'm all about multi-tasking and how will I read a book, or plan out my homeschool lesson plans if I cannot use my hands?

b.) We don't have a Jaguar. You cannot fit 4 Britax car seats in there. Go figure.

c.) I'm not a fan of going to the gym. Or working out. I'm lazy like that.

d.) We have four children under the age of 7. I think trophy wives usually only have one token accessory child. Otherwise, they might suffer from excessive hair loss or not have time for manicures or lunching with the girls. Plus, as I said before, you cannot fit four car seats in a Jaguar.

e.) Who has time for lunch with the girls when you have field trips, nature study, homeschooling, co-op, blogging (here, here, and here) and writing reviews for Heart of the Matter or homeschooling articles for the Examiner?

I also suspect it also doesn't hurt if you have a full time nanny or your own reality show. But ultra private Big Daddy won't be going for the reality show thing anytime soon---and I'm not so sure that fans of The Real Housewives of NJ will find me as interesting to watch. Unless they like stories of when Homeschooling goes bad or how I can manage to kill a resurrection plant but hatch gecko eggs in an incubator!

So, I guess I'm not your typical Trophy Wife.

Be nice to me. I might talk about you on my blog

Have you seen these t-shirts from Planet Mom T-shirts?
There are many more, including Trophy Wife, Botox Free and Nanny Deprived.

What do you think?
Cute, or not so much?

Backyard dream playground

Our dream playground was installed today from Rainbow Play systems. I just am so impressed with this company. From the quality of their play structures to the fun factor. It's impressive. Have I mentioned there is no weight limit on this thing? It is commercial grade and built for adults to join in on the fun.

Even though we have no idea when we will actually be able to move into our new home, we sure are having fun visiting our finished playground area.

The play yard is a side yard right off the playroom/classroom and mom's office/classroom. How perfect is that? I imagine myself saying, "Time for Recess!" and maybe ringing a little bell. Or perhaps I'll save the bell ringing for when it's time to come in? I could blow a whistle or wear a cute apron and come out and sweetly say, "Time to come in, kids!"

Maybe during recess I will sit by the window in my office and look out at my children and sip some tea. Maybe it will be hot. Maybe it will be iced.

Oh, who am I kidding? I'll be out there playing with the kids! Who can resist a play structure like this?

In Box Intervention

Today I took an hour and deleted 2, 135 emails from my in box. It does feel good...but I still have a ways to go. I was glad to know that I wasn't the only one afflicted with "save-all-the-emails-for-no-apparent-reason-itis"

If anyone else cares to fess up.
Now is a good time.
There is an in box intervention going on!

3,371

I have 3,371 items in my in my email box.
I have read and replied to the majority of the emails in my box.
So why do I save them?

I also have 24 submail folders set up.
I'm a stay at home mother!
I think this is too much.

Yes, I know I have a filing obsession.
But this is frankly too much.

My dream is to only have 50 things in my in box at any given time.
Do you think that is possible?

How many emails do you still have sitting in your inbox?

Inspiration needed

For the past several weeks we've been told we are just 4 weeks away from getting our certificate of occupancy on our new home. Unfortunately for us, we are told that at every meeting we have. {sigh} I guess that is par for the course when you are building a dream.

Still, it's hard not to get excited about our move, whenever that may actually be. As the weeks drag on, like Ground Hog Day, the nesting urge has officially started.

This is the part where I need your help.

Several years ago I heard of a company called, Wonderful Graffiti, and I fell in serious like with the concept. With Wonderful Graffiti you can create custom removable transfers for your walls that look painted or printed on. It is simply amazing when done right.


You are truly only limited by your imagination. And here is where I need your help. I'm exhausted and not feeling too terribly imaginative. Will you help me come up with something?

I need ideas for
my mud room
breakfast room
and playroom/classroom.


Scripture, prayers or quotes are welcome.
Have any ideas?
Share them with me!

Summer Camps: The Saga begins

Did you grow up attending summer camp each summer? I did. Where I grew up the kids attended day camps, not sleep away camps. Of course it was also ONE camp per summer, which doesn't seem to be the case these days. One year it was the Girls Club another year, The Boys and Girls Club and another year it was a state park where we all got chiggers from crawling around the woods and learned to put nail polish on them each night. Good times!

It seems that summer camp has become a rite of passage. Although we homeschool year round I have always worked in a variety of summer camps into our homeschool program each summer. One of the things I like about the summer camp offerings, is that it is a great way to try out a sport or activity without a huge commitment.

Whatever your child's interest, there is a camp for it.

This year we are enrolled in:
Art camp, Fairy Princess Dance Camp, Nature Camp, Soccer Camp, Piano Camp, Golf Camp, and Surf camp.

I justify it in my mind that these camps serve as our extra curricular activities or PE program, which they do. Or that they also allow my children an opportunity to spend time with other children on a semi-regular basis, which is also true.

My children certainly aren't exhausted or over scheduled. The camps they are enrolled in are half day camps, which seems about the right amount of time for their age. They enjoy them and look forward to them. They also don't attend them every week. Some weeks their sibling has camp and they stay home. That's what happens when you are part of a semi-large family and your father is a Road Warrior CEO and your mother won't let anyone else drive you anywhere.

But am I spoiling them? Should they just spend time in our home enjoying the "lazy days of summer" with no camps at all? Or, does this not really apply to them because they are homeschooled and each day already allows them time to explore their own interests at their own pace, and enjoy downtime?

Sometimes I wonder if it's just too much. Or if the doctor will prescribe enough Valium to get me through surf camp. My boys can swim, but what about the sharks? I plan on hanging on the beach with a lifeguard who doubles as a babysitter that I've hired for the week. True story. I think between the two of us we can bust a move out into the surf and rescue my children. Or she can perform CPR on me if I have a heart attack watching the lessons. The boys meanwhile cannot wait. And they have friends who will be attending this camp for the 2nd or 3rd year in a row, so obviously they survived. I'm hoping I do too.

What is your take on summer camp?

Blog Tour

Welcome to my new blog!
I'm so excited about the changes that I wanted to give you a personal tour.
Humor me. I'm a geek like that.

Connect with me

To the right you will see cute little buttons so that you can send me an email, follow my tweets, read my Heart of the Matter Reviews or articles, and read my Examiner articles.

Subscribe
You can also subscribe to my blog with a Reader of your choice, become a Mommy Fan or subscribe by email.
That way you won't miss a single post!

Tour the new sections
The cute tabs across the top will take you to a few featured sections of my site.

About me:
Have you ever stumbled across someone's blog and just wanted to know their story? Well, this section has my story. In case you were wondering... In another day or two it will also have more pictures of my family. Minus Big Daddy. Because he's private like that.

Our homeschool:
As the name suggests, this tab links you directly to our personal homeschool blog, Passport Academy. Our homeschooling adventure is chronicled here. Although I do link to some resources that we are using the blog is about our personal journey. All of my general homeschooling information, websites & resource suggestions are under the new Teacher Tips tab.

Teacher Tips:
Because not all of my readers are homeschooling, teaching or are parents of little ones, I've moved my Teacher section to this area of the blog. The only thing is, it won't show up on your reader, so you'll need to subscribe to Teacher Tips via email if you want to get the latest updates. I've separated my Teacher Tips from my email subscription to Mommy Matters, so even if you subscribe via email to my blog, you won't automatically get the Teacher Tips, unless you subscribe to them separately.

WPB Examiner:
I am the West Palm Beach Homeschooling Examiner. Use the tab to read my latest Examiner articles and visit my Examiner home page.

Where did the Mommy, Homemaker, Wife, Organizer, and Decorator buttons go?
Those sections are now part of "Mommy Dishes on" although they've now been renamed: motherhood, homemaking, marriage, organizing, and decorating. There are even a few more categories (but not too many) to help make it easier to find the posts you like, along with a new search feature you can use. It is located above the email subscription form.

What is your favorite change or new feature to my blog?

Everything changes...

Sometimes, it is for the better.
Sometimes, it is worse.
Sometimes, it really doesn't matter either way.

I hope you will think the upcoming changes to my blog are for the better, because I sure do.

The design changes are cleaner, but still pretty true to my original look. I know it sounds terrible, but I'm drawn to attractive blogs. Aren't you? If a blog is pretty, I tend to want to stick around and read it.

The better I can navigate the site, the more I will read----if the content is good.

So I'm cleaning up my navigation, side bars, and design so the content stands out and is easier to read and find.

The major housekeeping is done---but now the fine tuning is about to happen.
Please be patient over the next few days and feel free to give a shout out about what you like!

If you've grown accustomed to the variety, don't worry. It will still be here. I am staying true to myself in this blog redesign and variety is my thing. I'm just going to make it easier to pick out the variety that you like to read and skip the other stuff.

I'm also going to embark on a couple new directions too.
Stay tuned...

Create a booklet from any PDF documents

Did you know that you can upload your PDF documents online and then print them out (reordered) so that they create a very easy folded booklet?

I didn't, until I found Booklet Creator from United Teaching.
It's my new favorite homeschooling tool that is not only easy to use, but FREE!

First you upload your documents

Then, download the result which will look something similar to this:

Then, print

You can use Booklet creator online for free or purchase an offline version for just $9.99

With booklet creator you can create your own custom booklets for:
custom coloring books
field trip books
Author study
Unit study booklets
Nature study mini books
Club Member directory or guidelines
Phone directory for your group

What are your ideas?

Great suitcases & backpacks for kids

My new favorite website for kids is Dante Beatrix.
Can you believe how cute these backpacks, lunch boxes and suitcases are? It's hard to pick any one favorite design.

3 things you didn't know about me (Blog Hop)

I live on a golf course and have no idea how to golf.

I love crawfish and can eat 5lbs at a time!

I have no sense of direction and my 6 year old has to direct me frequently!

10 of my most favorite things

This week's Friend Making Monday post assignment is
to make a list of 5-10 of your favorite things.

#1
Starbucks Vanilla Chai

#2
Pedicures

#3
Massages

#4
Sleep

#5
Reading

#6
Peruvian Ceviche

#7
Being a Mommy

#8
Being a homeschooling Mommy

#9
our church & church family

#10
Building a life & family with Big Daddy!

Designing a homeschool classroom

If you've read my blog before, then you know we are in the middle of building a house. We feel very blessed to be able to custom design a home to meet the needs and personal desires of our growing family. And yet, its overwhelming at times. Lately I've become fixated on our homeschooling and playroom space.

Whenever you are starting a project, its great to look and see what others have done. Maybe you'll find something that will work for you, or at least you can know for sure what you don't want!

By far Nicandboys room captured what I was trying to accomplish the most. Her room serves as both a playroom and classroom. I liken it to classic preschool or kindergarten room---but gorgeous! And I absolutely love the color! I looks like a happy place to learn and play!



The one thing that all homeschoolers have in common is books! So I always enjoy seeing how everyone addresses this in their home. The bookshelves that Life on Grace has posted, showcasing her school room library, have lights posted above each bookcase. Great idea!

Nicandboys created a reading nook and posts all the picture books across her school room wall. Very inviting and a great way to rotate books!

Chalkboard paint and magnetic paint are great ways to dress up your school or playroom walls. Suziebeezie shows off her chalkboard paint door! Suzie used classic black but you can tint other colors with the chalkboard paint as well.



I have tons of great ideas swirling around my head now. I hope you too are inspired to create spaces that work for you or your family.

I'll post our spaces when we finally move in----hopefully by the end of the summer!