Master packer

Hey everyone, so it's time to pack. Yes I am currently packing for our trip to the Outer Banks. I can't wait! I am so ready to get away, and for my husband to have some time off (we love time off).

This trip is starting to feel like moving, or at least packing for it is...

This is my master pack list (I like to doodle). This reminds me of moving, and how I would make a list of things we needed to pack in the car (for the trip to our new house). The list was almost always about this long, and this detailed. I would make a master pack list (just like this one), and start pulling the things aside as soon as I could, and get everything in the car, before the movers came. Oh the memories! (moving is so not fun!)





So far I have gotten most of the clothes packed, and most of the dry food, so far this is how it looks...

Yes so far (a lot of so fars here) the dry food (plus some odds and ends like sunblock, lunch box, and bubbles) has taken up 2 plastic containers (I hope they fit in the mini van).

Oh and this too...

He wants to come (but he's not). I'm having my friend Trudly stop by during the week to check on the cats, and they should be fine. This is however a very cute picture.

Jeremy and I have been going over the things to do in the area. We have a little list of things we would like to do, but most of our time down there will be spent relaxing (and doing nothing else). I'm looking forward to having the beach mostly to ourselves, and to sitting back and doing nothing (and I mean nothing).




Oh and we are done for the year with home schooling! I plan on once we get back from vacation starting the kids on some workbooks, so this crazy long summer vacation shouldn't mess them up school wise. I have already started to buy books for next year, and I am surprise they haven't come in yet. Jeremy was teasing me about that yesterday. I checked the mail, and still nothing from Abeka. Jeremy said that I got ripped off, and that it really wasn't an abeka stand that I ordered from, and that it was just people dressed up trying to fool everyone and taking their money (he better not be right). In all reality I know he's not right, but I'm excited to get my books, and I'm tired of waiting.

Okay well I will post again soon! Bye!

Rain, son free, book, and car weekend

Hey everyone! So how was my weekend? Well it was pretty good, and worth blogging about.


Friday

So Friday was the curriculum fair that I have been talking about and waiting for (I'm sure you guys remember), and my mother was picking up the boys that day, for a weekend at the grandparents (thank you so much!). She came and got them around 9am (my mom likes to get things done early). After she left, I put Olivia down for a nap, and had no idea what to do (I know, I finally have some time to myself and I have no idea what to do with it) (not to mention that it was very strange have the house so quiet). I ended up watching a movie, Taken with Liam Neeson (awesome movie). Once that was over with Olivia was up again and I had something to do. At 3pm Olivia and I left the house to go pick up Megan, and go to the curriculum fair (yay!). We get there and wow, that place was packed. I think everyone who has ever homeschooled in the state of Maryland was there (oh help me) (and I'm not to good with crowds). The fair was different from the one I went to last year. This one didn't have that many used text books, it had all of the main vendors there like Abeka, Bob Jones, Classical Conversations, ect... All of the vendors were offering free shipping, and 10% off if you spent a curtain amount. So I spent some time at the Abeka stand ordering the books I knew I wouldn't be able to get used. Some books like the test books, and work books, you can't find used, because to copy every page just so you can reuse or sell them would be to much work.

After I ordered all of those books, we looked around in the other buildings. They had a lot of vendors that were selling used story books, so I got a few books for the boys. We ate dinner there, and the food was great and it was also a wonderful price (very surprising!). We both ate for $5 (and that was not each). We got 2 slices of pizza, 2 cokes, and one bag of chip for $5.

After we ate, we left the fair and went shopping! (yup I love being a girl) Why? Well there was a Plato's Closet near by, and we both wanted to try it out. Wow that store was awesome. We both found some really cute things. It was fun hanging out with Megan and looking at clothes.

Saturday


Saturday was a very rainy day. It was nasty out. We still went out despite all of the rain, because we wanted to get the mini van tuned up. We have a 04 Ford Freestar (named Phantom), and he is the mom car. We have had him for 3 and a half years, and so far he has been a wonderful car. We wanted to get him looked over and oil changed before our vacation (just in-case). So we put Olivia's car seat in Jeremy's car, and we drive both cars to the shop, and drop off Phantom (we don't have a name for Jeremy's car, he doesn't want us to name it anything... no fun!)

We went shopping and out to dinner to pass the time (I know dinner again? I'm being spoiled). While we were out we picked up the new Harry Potter (super yay!), and ate at Outback. Olivia was very well behaved, she shared french fries and ate the yogurt that I brought with us (she loves yogurt). She barely made any noise and I was proud.

Once we got home we watch some Star Trek, and then Harry Potter! :) While watching, Jeremy did his Calculus home work (not sure how he can concentrate with all of that awesomeness going on).

Sunday


So Sunday wasn't as interesting... I was waiting for mom to drop the kids off (once again thank you!), and I sent Jeremy out to do some vacation grocery shopping. He loves to shop with a list, he says it's relaxing (I love that about him).




Well that all I have to report. Thanks for reading!

It's that time of year again!

Time for Nathaniel's birthday!

He is getting so big!

Today he turns 5.

This is his new bike.

Laundry weekend

Hey everyone! As you can see by the post, I spent most of my weekend doing laundry. Thankfully it was only most of it, and the rest was fun. I'm not the best with keeping up with things, so it's really my own fault. Yes I know I do spend a lot of time teaching and raising my wonderful kids, but I really have no excuse, because I do find ways to get other things done. Things that I don't need to do, but like to do (one of these activities may or may not be saving the land of Azeroth). :)

Okay so I was behind, and needed to do some catching up. Luckily Jeremy needed some time to himself to study, because he is way to distracting (you know... good looking man in the house... may get nothing done, sort of thing). So when I say behind I mean 3 hampers full and some on the floor. Okay yeah I know, that's really bad, but nothing left to do but get to work. I ended up doing 4 loads, which is awesome! I'm so glad they are done, and I'm so glad that it was only 4 (I have a HE washer and dryer). The day was mostly spent with me in the reading chair folding. My sons are awesome and they always put away their own clothes, so I didn't have to do that (I'm really not a perfectionist, so I really don't care where they put them, as long as it's away).

After all of the folding, and the last load is in the dryer, my husband comes up to me and says "You know it's been a while since we've had steak." (I love steak!, and I have nothing more to say about that) "Yes you are right honey, I can't remember the last time we had some." "Maybe we should go out to eat, you know at a steak house." (Yes the mention of going out to eat gets me excited!) (I love the thought of someone else cooking for me, for a change... even if I don't know them). "Are there any around here?" (yes we have a shortage of good restaurants around here). "Maybe, I'll go check."

We ended up going to a Long Horn in Columbia (my first time going), that was about 30 mins away. There was apparently a Texas Road house in Glen Burnie (really close to us), but it closed some years ago (would have been nice to try that too). Long horn was awesome! The kids menu was great, we had a really nice waitress, and it was quiet. Olivia was in a very good mood, and we had no troubles from her (babies are so unpredictable).

Sunday I picked up Nathaniel's birthday present! We are getting him a bike (his first one). I picked out a red huffy (from walmart). Nathaniel loves the color red, he would love to have red everything. Two of his favorite characters are red... Elmo and Iron Man :) His birthday is in 2 days, and he's going to be 5 (yeah wow). I'm still wondering where all of that time went? It's doesn't seem fair that time is pasting me so quickly. I know all of us parents must think that. We are forever missing those days of snuggling with our small beautiful babies. Laying them on our chest and watching them sleep, and thinking they are so perfect.

Okay I'll stop now before I start to cry. Thanks for reading, and I hope your weekend was awesome!

Weather the weather is good...

Hey everyone, I sure hope everyone is enjoying this interesting weather. I know I am (*rolling my eyes*) ;)

I just don't get it, and this has happened like 3 times in the last 2 months, where we'll have a great warm day. A super awesome 70-80 day, then the very next day the temperature will drop and it's windy (or like yesterday the temperature drops, with wind and rain). Monday was great! It was 80 something outside, and I had the windows open, and no heat on (it seems like for so long I've had the heat on). We spent Monday night outside on the deck blowing bubbles (the boys have been waiting to do that for months). Then Tuesday came... I had no idea how the weather was going to be that day. Thinking that it would be close to the same as the day before I put on a short sleeve shirt. I plan was to go to BJ's that morning and pick up a few things that we needed. I get the kids mostly ready to go and... it starts raining cats and dogs. So I tell the boys we'll go when the rain stops or at the least slows down. I checked wearther.com, and according to their hour by hour, the rain was going to stop around 1pm. It was right this time, so that's when we went out. After a little search we found a dry cart and went inside. BJ's is a wholesale place like Cosco and Sam's Club, we went with BJ's because they take Visa, and our check card is a visa (that just makes it easier, and they are also the closest wholesale to us). I like to buy pediasures wholesale (it's cheaper that way), my kids are super skinny, even though they eat like little pigs, so my pediatrician suggested pediasure to help them out.

I also bought some things for our vacation coming up. I have a big red box in the kitchen that is for all of the non perishable food. I have made a master pack list, and I'm marking them off one by one. Yes I have started to pack (I know I still have over 3 weeks). I'm not a nut, I just really can't wait (sorry, but I don't get out much). This vacation should be awesome! I'm excited to take my kids to the beach, and not have to worry about a lot of other people being there (I hate crowds). I'm looking forward to eating out in an actual restaurant (you know where you sit down and they take your order, and cook for you, and bring you the food, and they are the ones that clean up). Like I said I don't get out much. I'm also looking forward to long walks on the beach with my husband. Since we are having Jeremy's sister and parents come with us, I'm sure we can swing a midnight stroll, without having to worry about the kids. Okay I'm going to stop talking about this now.

So monday we switched up bed time a bit for Darien. We noticed that when Jeremy and I go to bed (which is on most nights about 9:30 - 10:00pm), that most of the time Darien is still up (he's still in bed, but just not asleep). So we told him that he is allowed to stay up longer as long as he stays in bed and reads (nothing else though). "You mean I can't play with my lego's?" "No just reading, and in bed. You love to read." "Yeah, but I like lego's better." "Sorry son only reading." "Okay I'll do that." Yes he now sits in his bed and reads until he's tired. It's better than just laying there and doing nothing. Unfortunately with Darien, if you give him an inch he takes a yard... The first night after sending him to bed, and giving him a book, he was back down stairs in 5 mins asking for another "What are you doing back down here, you need to stay in bed remember?" "I'm done with this book" "It's a big book, how are you done already?" "I've already read it and I want another." "Okay, but no more getting out of bed." Yeah I heard him sneak down stairs a few more times, before catching him again. "Darien for now on you are not to come down stairs until morning, and you are to stay in your bed. If you get tired of a book then that's just to bad." "Okay, good night mom." Yeah like I said, he takes a yard. Letting him switch out the books that often just defeats the purpose, he spends more time sneaking down stairs than reading. I am a big believer in kids needing a good night sleep and letting them get it, but since Darien was up anyways just laying there I really saw no harm in letting him read, but if he's going to be going up and down the stairs all night than he really isn't going to get any sleeping or any reading done.

Okay well that's all for now. Thanks for reading! :)

Deep space nine

Jeremy and I have been going through all of the Star Trek series (not in order mind you). Our goal is to watch all of them. We have both loved Star Trek for a long time, but before we started doing this, our love of Star Trek was limited to only 1 or 2 series.

Right now we are on Deep Space Nine. We started in the fall, and with our normal Star Trek watching ability, we should have been done by now.... So why aren't we? Well the first season was very hard to get through. Like most tv shows the first season is the trial and error season, and they don't always get it quite right. This was very true for this particular series of Star Trek. The biggest problem was the characters... Commander Sisko was rude, uncaring, and very demanding. He didn't want to command DS9, and he was mad at the world. He also didn't like Captain Picard (and I just can't trust a guy who doesn't like Captain Picard). Major Kira is just as bad, and because of that, her and Sisko tend to butt heads quite often. Doctor Bashir is a pain in the neck. He talks way to much, and its all about nothing, (and I do mean nothing) he is a big wimp, and a horn dog (and I'm not sure how all of that can go together, but it does). Now mind you there are cool characters on the show, but in the first season they don't have very big parts.

Once you finally get through that crazy first season things start to get better, and I actually started to like the show. The characters get better, Sisko becomes nicer and starts to care about the crew, Kira backs up a little, and Bashir develops more of a normal personality (oh thank goodness). Also all of the good characters from the start like Odo, Dax, and O'Brien take a bigger role in the series.

So we are now on season 3 (YAY!) They now have the Defiant (which is an actually star ship), so the episodes have become more interesting, and more of them are happening outside the station. They have become huge enemies with the Dominion, and I see a war brewing (should make for some interesting episodes to come). All in all, it's not so bad. I still think TNG is the best, and Voyager was also better, but this will do. I am thankful that the awful first season of DS9 didn't ruin my love for Star Trek (as if that could ever happen).  ;)


Happy First Contact day to all of my fellow Trekkies!

Spring Cleaning!

Today is a day of cleaning. Yup the whole house needs it. I'm trying not to get distracted... That's why I'm on here (yeah right... everyone desires a break). On the bright side most of the house is done. We were able (when I say we I mean the boys and I. The boys are great helpers) to clean the playroom, living room, kitchen, and Darien's room. All that is left is my room, the baby's room, and the bath rooms. I also need to finish the laundry (not fun). So far the boys (all of them) have moved up 2 spots on the treasure chart. They can be very helpful. So it's no secret that I'm not the best house keeper, and I don't really try to be. I just have different priorities, so I'm not saying anything agents people who put their effort towards that (I actually admire them), I'm just not one of those people.


In my post yesterday I forgot to mention that I have a new Nintendo 3DS, (Jeremy has one too) and it's awesome! I got Lego Star Wars the Clone Wars with it, and so far it's a great game. The 3D is great, and if it becomes to much you are able to turn it off, or adjust it. Just like the Wii you can make you own Mii's, but with the 3DS there is something called the Mii plaza, where if you come in contact with another 3DS your Mii will meet their Mii, and that helps you out in Mii challenges. So far I've met Jeremy's Mii 4 times, and one other random Mii. I had to get my Military ID renewed, and my DS was in my purse, so my Mii met some random guy's Mii, who was most likely in the waiting area. The 3DS also comes with a pedometer and for every 100 steps you take, you get a free coin. You can spend the coins in the challenges and in your games (yes I love it).


Okay so I really need to get back to work. Thanks for reading!

Life is like a bowl of what?

Hey everyone! So it's time once again for a "what is going on post." Well let me see... What have we been up to lately? Well lately it's been a whole lot of planning, because I have a lot of things coming up...

See this is what my calender looks like. (there is a glare on the 15th covering up stuff!) Most of the time this calender is very bare, and only has one or two things on it, but not this month (or months, it has from march 28 to May 1 on it). We are currently planning for a Curriculum fair on the 15th and 16th of April, this is where all of us homeschool moms come to sell and buy gently used books (it's awesome!). The 16th is also the date of my little sister's junior prom (wow she is growing up so fast). So that day is going to be a bit of a juggling act. I have been looking forward to this curriculum fair for months now (yeah that just sounds silly, but it's true) and I'm going with my friend Megan. I also look forward to doing my sister's hair for her big school dances and such. In other worlds I need to do both or else. Ahhh yes life is full of times like this. I am also in the middle of planning our trip to the Outer Banks (I can't wait to go!). There is a lot to plan when it comes to trips (I'm sure you guys all know that), and with this one I also need to plan food, because we are going to be staying at an actual house and it would be easier to eat there for most meals. Our plan is to bring things for all of the breakfast and lunch, and about half of the dinners, because I know we will want to eat out some. We also have Jeremy's sister and parents coming with us, so yes lots to plan. We are all looking forward to it, and can't wait! (the excitement is radiating all through that house). :) 

I just finished report cards for this term! The boys love report cards because they get money for good grades. A=$5, B=$2, and C and on is nothing, but if you get straight A's then you get an extra $5. Zachary got straight A's (woohoo!), and Darien had mostly A's and only one B (needless to say I was very happy, and so was Jeremy). The school work is now almost done, we are running out of work to do. Right now Darien only has Math and Health to finish (yes everything else is done), and Zachary only has Math. I got them some work booklets for the summer months called Bridging the gap (they do in-between like from 1st to 2nd grade, and 3rd to 4th). I may need to use them soon. I don't want then to have to long of a break, and forget to many things.

I went Easter shopping the other day (I love to do that). I brought my kids lovely outfits for Easter Sunday (I do this every year).

 Yeah I love them (and the kids in them too). I got them at Burlington (I love to shop there).

Even the boys were really excited to get something new, and they look great. I like to get the shirt and the tie together, you get a better deal that way, and it's already matched so no worries. I just picked out a few in each of their sizes and let them pick their favorite from those. I must say that for boys they do have good taste. The shirts (w/ tie), only cost me $9.99 each (I love that!). Olivia's dress was $14.99, and yes the boys also helped me with that one (they said that she had to have the prettiest dress there).




I've changed things a bit with the cloth diapers (not much mind you). I have been using both the pocket and the pre-folds. I had to stop with the pre-fold before because of a rash, but I have now found that if I switch back and forth, that there is no rash and I don't have to do laundry as often (yeah for me!). I have also switched to cloth wipes. I didn't however buy them from the website (way to expensive). I just bought a few packs of baby wash cloths, and made up my own spray, with just soap and water (much better) :)

That's all for now, and thanks for reading.

Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time

It's my favorite video game! I love it! I have played it over and over again so many times, and now my oldest son Darien is playing it through for the first time. It's funny to watch! He is doing it all by himself with out any help or hints from me. He finished the Dodongo's cavern yesterday... for the third time (he kept forgetting to save the game, because he is so use to auto saving games). He knows where most things are because he has watched me play it so many times, and even though he knows I won't tell him where to find anything else, he still asks. The other day he was in the Kokiri Village gathering up all of the chickens for the little red haired girl and he only had one chicken left, but he couldn't find it. "Mom I can't find where that last chicken is." (and no response from me) "Is it near the windmill?" (and no response from me) "Should I go and look there?" (once again no response from me). He ended up just giving up on the chickens altogether. Zelda is one of those games where you need to think and figure your way though it, and sometimes you have to do it by trial and error, and I told him it's better if you do it by yourself, after all I had to my first time around.

This makes me think of the time I only let my kids play old games (to teach them a lesson, so to say). This happened about a year ago. I was cleaning up the living room when I noticed a broken game. It must have gotten left out and then stepped on. With most games costing $50, needless to say I was not happy. All they had to do was put it away and this would have ever happened. So I did what any mom would have done. I took away the video games, for 3 weeks. Then I did something out of the ordinary... After the 3 weeks I told them that they could only play the games that were on the system already. (we have a wii, and I was referring to the games that were downloaded from the wii shop). The only games they could play were... Mario Kart 64, Super Mario 3, Donkey Kong Country, and Bubble Bobble (I know I'm really mean). I told them that now they don't have to worry about leaving these games out, because they don't come out. This went on for another 3 weeks... Darien and Nathaniel gave up after some time, because "the games are too hard," but Zachary was the only one determined enough to master some of them, and that was funny, and made the other two even more mad. I think it did them good to have to go through that. It showed them how easy they have it now days with their auto save, and 3D adventures. Lucky kids!

So what's up Legates'?

So it has been some time since my last real post of what we have been up to lately, so some of you may be wondering what is going on with us. Well for the most part it's just the normal things...


Re-enlistment

My husband is due to re-enlist soon, as long as everything works out well. We really want to go the way God is pointing us, and that still isn't clear yet, so even though I tell you guys these things, I still don't know for sure. This also makes me think where are we going to go next?

The selfish part of me would like to pick somewhere warmer. Yeah I'm sure you all are guessing San Diego. I would love to go back there, but I'm still not sure about that, and I have gone back and forth on this. I guess it's better if I'm not the one to make the choice, because I really don't know what I want.

I am also afraid about the people I may have offended, by talking about the move so casually and without much feeling. What I mean is there are people here (in this area) who care about us, and don't want us to leave, and I hope they don't think that I'm looking forward to leaving, because I'm not. I just knew that we are going to have to leave so I have detached my feelings, and it makes me sound as if I don't take, and I do. I'm very sorry. Shore duty is only a three year rotation, and even if he didn't re-enlist, the chances of us staying here are slim, because of job availability. So I always knew that we would only be here for 3 years (most likely). Since I knew this for a fact, and I've known this for quite some time, I guess I just assumed that everyone else knew as well (basically I forgot who I told, and who I apparently didn't tell) (yeah okay oops). I've been talking so much with my friends of where I would like to go, and looking back it makes it look like I want to go. Trust me when I say, that if we could stay then we would, as much as I hate the weather here, my family is here and I do wish I could stay for them. I also really dislike moving, but I have no choice. No choice, so yeah once again, I'm very sorry.

This may bring up the question of "Why did you guys buy a house here then?", well our plans for the house extend our time here, and we do want to keep the house and rent it out, for those of you wondering. I thought I should put that out there, because even though no one has asked me that question yet, I know people are thinking it.

So this is what's been on my mind lately, you know that whole here we go again, but not quite. The funny thing is that when it does come time to move next year, and that three year point comes around, it will be the longest that we have lived in any one area since we got married. We lived in Charleston, SC for a year and a half, in Hampton, VA for two and a half years, in San Diego for two years (almost to the date), and for here it will be three. No wonder it's so hard for us to get use to a place.


Vacation Planning!

So I'm not sure if you remember of not, but back in this post I told you guys about our family vacation that we were planning this year, the one we let the kids pick. Well we are leaving in May! We are going to the Outer Banks, and renting a house there for a week. I am very excited! So right at this point (since the house is already booked), I am working on a list of things we will need during our stay. I do find planning fun. I'm looking forward to our vacation, and I can't wait. Boy do I feel like a little kid! I just love uninterrupted time with my husband. Yeah, yeah I know who doesn't?

Well thanks for reading, and I'm sorry I didn't more to tell you. Like I said, nothing but normal over here.