Summer Vacation!

The tile of this post has very little to do with the post. It's just there for the obvious, that yes it is summer vacation time. This post is mostly just an update and some interesting put together information, although it may not be that interesting to some people. I don't really know. I feel like I haven't posted a real post in some time, and now it is time to post something (I guess).


Potty Training success!

Okay I know, it took me long enough, but I have finally potty trained Olivia. This happen about two weeks ago (I think...). I just finally got rid of all of the diapers, and only dressed her in big girl underwear, and if I was going to have to change her 14 times a day and do her laundry twice a day, than that was how it was going to be. The first two days it did go like that and it was very discouraging, but on the third day, she got the hang of it. It really came out of nowhere and she knew just what to do. The days following that, I just had to remind her every hour to go, because she wouldn't go all on her own. Now she does, she knows when to go, and I can take a sigh of relief.

I kept wishing that during the whole process I had kept a journal from how I taught the boys, because I just couldn't remember. I remember the boys not being easy to teach, but I don't remember what finally did it in the end. Nathaniel is four years older than Olivia so I guess that's why I don't remember (I also think it maybe due to the fact that I was pregnant with Olivia when I potty trained Nathaniel, and it's hard to remember things when you are pregnant).

Yay! it is over! No more diapers for us. I am so happy!


Sippy Cups are history

Along with the potty training I was able to get her to give up sippy cups as well. I know it's been a big week (or two weeks). She has been using a regular cup here and there for about a year (really only at dinner time), but for breakfast, lunch, and bed time she had to have the sippy cup (especially at bed time). I finally got tired of having to wash and track down these things, because she left them everywhere. Now we have fully switched and throwing those sippy cups away was awesome (FINALLY!). I'm sure a lot of you moms can relate.

Yay! I'm also glad this is over.


Pirates have our remote

This interesting story dates back to about two months ago, when our remote went missing. We bought a new tv in the fall, and it's a 3D, smart tv with aps, so a regular universal remote wasn't going to fix the missing remote problem. Our main suspect for the missing remote was Olivia (yeah of course), so we kept asking her "Do you know where the tv remote is?" and she would tell us "The pirates took it. They have a boat and monsters, and they also took the princess." I'm not kidding, she said that. She kept pointing to our fire place and saying that the pirates live in there. Now of course this made us think that maybe she put the remote in the fire place. The good new was we hadn't lit a fire in months, but the bad news was after looking all over and around the fire place, we still couldn't find it. We ended up turning the house upside down, and found nothing. We finally had to order another remote from the manufacture. Yup all of this just because some pirates took our remote. :)


Garden Success!

Remember this photo...

Well it's more like this now...

They have grown so much! I planted Sweet peas, Strawberries, Tomatoes, Bell peppers, and Broccoli. So far I have picked about 6 strawberries. I'm just so happy that everything is growing, and that it all looks so healthy. I'm sure I'll have more good news about this later. :)

School year is OVER!

Yeah I had to write about this one. We finished the work about a month ago, but since last week was the last day of co-op, I guess we can now call the school year officially over. Their poor lunch boxes were so dirty on the outside, last time I packed them. My thoughts were, thank goodness this is the last time. Their drink containers bit the dust a few weeks ago, so I had to save some old Gatorade bottles just to get us through the last few weeks. Yes next year I am starting over with new drinking bottles. Do you ever feel like that? Like "Thank goodness this is over, because I didn't think this curtain item would last much longer." It's like that curtain item was about to die, and you just needed it to last for one last week, or one last event, then it could fall part, and it wouldn't matter.

So I guess the big question is "Are we doing any school work over the summer?" Well... only a little. I know... Is that wrong of me? It's only about an hour a day of work on Monday - Thursday. I have some math for them to practise, and some small writing projects. The last thing I want is for us to start the next school year unprepared. 

I get to go to a curriculum sale tomorrow, and I am super excited. I love used books sales, and that could be any kind of used books. Jeremy has duty tomorrow, and so I have to take the kids :P... I guess I could put them to work to help me out, so it doesn't get too crazy. I'll let you know how it goes.

Okay well that is all I have to update on. Thank you for reading :)

Zachary is turning 9!

Happy Birthday Zachary!

Has his favorites changed any?

Favorite toy : Legos
Favorite thing to play : Also Legos
Favorite thing to eat : Tacos
Favorite TV show : Phineas and Ferb
Favorite color : Blue
Favorite place to visit : Mommom's house
Favorite book : Captain Underpants
Favorite movie : Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Favorite Video game : Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon

Darien is turning 11??? What???

So my oldest son Darien is turning 11 today, and I really can't believe it. It really makes me feel old... Has it really been 11 years already?

Favorite toy : Legos
Favorite thing to play : Also legos
Favorite thing to eat : Pizza
Favorite TV show : Sponge Bob Square Pants
Favorite color : Green
Favorite place to visit : San Diego
Favorite book : Harry Potter and the Deadly Hollows
Favorite movie : Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows part 2
Favorite Video game : Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon

Homeschooling FAQ

I've put together questions about homeschooling, these are questions that I have been asked personally, and hopefully they will be helpful to anyone who is considering homeschooling.


- How do you get started with homeschooling?
This of course is one of the more important questions because it is the first step. Every state has different homeschooling laws so the first step is finding out those laws. I recommend a Google search like "Washington Homeschooling laws" or whatever state you live in. Some states are very loose with their laws, and some states are very tight. Some states require you to be supervised, and some just require a test at the end of every year to make sure that your children are meeting academic standards. Some states also offer more than one option. If you don't understand the laws or if still don't know how to get stated after seeing the laws, I recommend either finding a local homeschooling group (most of them are on yahoo groups, just search for a group in your area "Homeschooling groups in Anne Arundel County Maryland"), or you could e-mail the board of education in your school distract. They usually have someone on staff that deals with homeschooling, and should be able to answer your questions. If they are not helping you in any way what so ever, driving to the office itself really helps (I've totally done this before), the whole I'm not leaving until you help me act really does wonders. They will help you tenfold just to get you out of their hair. :)

- Do you have to be really organized to homeschool?
I just want to start by saying that I am not a very organized person. Homeschooling does take organization but not an extreme amount. The way I see it is if I can do it (a person who is not very organized), than I'm sure you can too. The more you plan the easier it will be. You don't want your school year falling apart in the middle. If you would like to know how I plan out my school year please read this post. It may take some time to plan everything out, but you will be happy you did. If you are not good at that, then I would recommend going with a curriculum that comes already planed out (they do exist) (I think Alpha Omega is one of them).

- How do you pick a curriculum?
This also states with your state in some cases, because in curtain states there is a list of approved curriculums, but most states will let you do whatever so find out first. Then I would recommend talking to that homeschool group (the local one you need to join) and ask different people about their curriculum. Some curriculums a very laid out with test and quizzes included, some are just the books and leave the test and quizzes up to you (they give you full control), and some are all online. It really all depends on what kind of person you are, and how you want to do things. So ask questions, and find out.

- What curriculum do you use?
I get ask this a lot! Which is a good thing. I use Abeka, and it's a curriculum that comes with the test and quizzes already made up (because I really didn't want to have to do that myself), but it is also a really tough curriculum, and it's really challenging. You have to teach a lot and with math there is a lot of drilling. I feel like it keeps my kids and me on our toes (we really need that). With all curriculums there is good and bad, which is why asking questions is important.

- What happens if you need help teaching your kids curtain subjects?
This of course depends on what that subject is. If it is something extra curricular like art, music or sports ,you can sign them up for art classes (YMCA or town civic centre), or a local sports team for sports. If it is something more academic then look for local co-ops or if worse comes to worse you can get a tutor. I ended up getting one for my son Nathaniel when he had a really hard time learning to read. We had her come to our house twice a week and she really help me learn different ways of teaching him, and he learned a lot in just a few months. Note it was expensive, but totally worth it. If you don't want to spend your money on a tutor than ask some other homeschooling moms on their methods of teaching curtain subjects.

- What is a co-op?
A co-op is either a group of moms, church staff, or state provided teachers that teach curtain classes to homeschooled kids. Some co-ops are provided by the state, some are just a group of parents who got together and pooled all of their teaching methods (each teaching a different subject to a group of kids), and some are provided by different churches who just want to help homeschooled kids. Once again if this is something you are interested in, a Google search should help you find out if there is one near you ("Homeschool Co-op in Kitsap Country").

- How long should your school year last?
This is completely up to you. I like to do about 36 weeks (give or take), but the best way to do it (or the way that works best for me) is to print up a calender for the upcoming school year then plan your days off for thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring break, ext... Then figure out when you want your school year to end and when you want it to start, from there you can pull out the books and figure out how much work you would have to do each week to finish on time (sounds like a lot of work, I know). Like I said 36 weeks seems to be that magic number of weeks for us. Everyone is different though, some like to have busy days, and some like to take it easy. Some like to have the luxury of taking time off more often, and some would rather not. This is why homeschooling is so cool, because it is up to you, and if you have the type of lifestyle where you travel a lot or have a lot of activities or if you just like to have a lot of free time, homeschooling is the answer.

- How do your children socialize with others in their age group if they are homeschooled?
People wonder and worry about this one a lot. I have had people tell me that I shouldn't homeschool because of the lack of socialization that happens when you homeschool. These people honestly don't understand that there are different ways to meet people, and school isn't the only place my children can go to make friends. They meet friends at co-op, church, homeschool groups, ext... True if you do stay at home and never do any of these things than yes they will not be socializing and that would be bad, but in most cases us homeschooling moms are very active and knowledgeable about what we are doing and how it will affect them. We research everything. We care deeply for our children which is why we want to homeschool them, and we don't do this lightly.

- Do you think homeschooling is for everyone?
No of course not. I think that in some cases some children do better in a school setting, and they may even need and enjoy that more, but I also think that public schooling is not for everyone (that's right I said it). It is very generic and with some children it just doesn't help them. Some children get lost in the class room setting, and advance only because their class does, and they don't end up learning curtain things. There are times when someone notices a child struggling, but then they just make excuses as to why their system is not working for this child, and they try to stick a label on them saying "oh well it's ADHD, and you need to put your child on medication." I just don't believe that the system works for everyone. One of my friends shared this video on facebook a few weeks ago, and it really does explain why our public schools don't work for everyone. True it does work for most, but what if your child isn't like most other children?




I really hope this helped anyone who was considering homeschooling. If you have any other questions or if you have any points that you feel should be added, please message me (e-mail, comment, Facebook, whatever) and I will add it to this post and credit you. Thank you to everyone who asked these questions. :)

When is your reading time?

Jeremy and I really put an emphasis on reading. We really want our children to know how important reading really is. When I was little I hated to read, because I found it really difficult, and I really didn't want to take to time to practice and get better. It wasn't until after I got married, and Jeremy started reading to me, that I wanted to read more. He inspired me to read out loud, and read a lot of books, a lot of different books. My son Darien is a lot like him. Darien will read without me telling him to. He will check out 5 books when we are at the library and have read all of them by the end of the week, and that's just the kind of person he is. My other two sons are like me. Reading isn't easy for them, and they need to set aside time just for reading. So everyday at 4pm is our reading time (for the kids anyways). This is usually about the time I start to make dinner. While I'm making dinner, the boys come and read to me a few lines in whatever book they are reading. It's nice, the house is quiet (well mostly) and my kids are practicing.

Last month my son Zachary had to write a "Persuasive Essay" for our home school supervisor. This is what he wrote.

Reading Time

by Zachary Legates

     I think that reading is important because it helps to train your brain so you will read better and it helps with spelling. Reading can also help with history, science, and health because you have to read and understand your work, so reading helps with almost everything in school.

     I think everyone should read for an hour everyday because it's fun and relaxing. Reading can settle you down for bed, it can also make you sleepy.

     When you are reading you can think of a picture in your head of the whole book and you can imagine that you are in the book while you are reading. So reading is also good for your imagination. I like reading I will read everyday.

This is from my son in the third grade. WOW! Note I did have to correct some spelling. I did however leave the grammar alone, because he is only 8. How cool is that though? He hated to idea of having to read "for a whole hour everyday," but now he loves it, and knows its importance. I want my children to know how important it is to read, write, and speak properly, so that way they are taken seriously. I know from experience that reading more really helps in this area. I'm sure you are thinking "well yeah, everyone knows that," and you are right, but how many people actually do that? Or encourage their kids to do that?  All I have to say is it's never to late to start.

I also have more encouraging news. Nathaniel (my son with ADD), is doing so much better with his school work. He is now able to sound words out like a pro, and has a huge list of words he knows just by sight. I'm so proud of the progress he has made over this past school year. I really thought he would never learn and that I may never be able to teach him myself, but finding help and taking deep breaths does wonders (not to mention trusting God, he really has helped me). :)

One year in Washington

So you know by the tile what this post is going to be about. I for one still can't believe it. Has it really been a year already? I must say that this place has really tested me. I really feel like it was a harder year than it should have been. It was not as hard as my first year in Charleston, SC but it is next to it (as far as first year in a new place).  Charleston was my first time away from my family, and it was a hard first year because I missed them very much, Jeremy was working all of the time (this is when I thought that was all of the time) (that was nothing compared to a deployment or any sea duty, which is actually working all of the time), I had a baby to take care of, and I didn't really know anyone there. It was a bad first year.

Here I just think that the stress of buying a new house right after moving across country, the weather, and also the fact that I have met very few people here, are the reasons why this as been a tough year. I guess it could always be worse. Other than all of that I think I'm adapting fine. A few weeks ago I deemed myself a true Washingtonian because when I started the car I switched on the windshield wipers out of habit, and it was sunny out. I guess I'm just use to it raining all of the time. I'm still not sure I like it here to much. I feel as if I am really trying though. It is beautiful here with the mountains and all, but you don't get to see them on most days, and I feel like the area is very run down. There isn't much here in the first place, and the whole area could use some TLC. I guess after living in nicer cities you get standards.

I've had a lot of late night talks with God since moving here. Most of it has been WHY, why here? I still believe he has his reasons, and I know I need to respect that, and I am. So because of that I'm just trying my hardest to find a way to like this place, to find a way to keep every other place I love more than here (lets face it, at is point it's almost everywhere) out of my mind. I'm trying to just love this place for what it is, and be happy that I'm here. Oh if only Jessica and Jessica lived here, I'm sure they would keep my spirits up. Hear that you two? You guys willing to move out here? Yup after I just talked so highly about this place... please ;)

Okay switching subjects now. So guess who is joining the Military wife lifestyle? My little sister Shelby. She got engaged to a Marine a few weeks ago (Also named Randy, so now family reunions will be very confusing with him, my dad, and me all named Randy/Randi). I just got the news Wednesday that she will be moving to Hawaii in the fall (yeah WOW). He's in "A" school right now, and should be moving in October. There is so much for her to do, and learn but I know she will be fine. How exciting this that though, that your first duty station is in Hawaii? Needless to say I very excited for her. I know she will love it there, and do just fine. I am also slightly jealous Hawaii sounds like an awesome place to live.





Oh and also I started a garden (I know this post is all over the place).

It was not easy. Our house was a remodel, that someone bought just to make a profit. So after they remodeled they covered the backyard with sod, which is great until you decide to dig it up. Yeah that took a while. After all of that I began to till the ground. That was not easy either because we have a lot of rocks apparently. So I finally finish that, then I poured potting soil on top and then planted. I got all of the plants at Lowes. I've always wanted a vegetable garden, but I have never really been successful at it. I would always plant one, then our dog would always destroy it. This is one of the many reasons why I'm not much of a dog person (Jeremy however is). I'll have to let you guys know if it works out this time.

Nathaniel birthday YAY!

Happy Birthday to my third son! I love him so much, and he is totally awesome!

Favorite toy : My star wars red ship
Favorite thing to play : Legos
Favorite thing to eat : Hot dogs
Favorite TV show : Phineas and Ferb
Favorite color : Red
Favorite place to visit : Play Ground
Favorite book : Star Wars Yoda in Action
Favorite movie : Star Wars (all of them)
Favorite Video game : Lego Star Wars


Looking forward to years to come, and missing the years that have past. I can't believe you are turning 7. :)

Finally Went Hiking!

YAY!...

I announced to the kids Wednesday, after picking them up from co-op, that we would be going hiking tomorrow (Thursday). Zachary then asked "What about school work?" and I answered "We are playing hooky." there were shouts of excitement in the car after that. I love homeschooling. :)

Thursday morning I woke-up and packed a lunch for us to eat when we got there. It's an hour and a half drive to get to Port Angeles, and a half an hour more to get to Lake Crescent. We stopped at Port Angeles to visit the Olympic National Parks' Visitors Center.

They have a really nice staff, and they helped us pick out some trails that would be easy enough for us to do. We had already done the Marymere falls trail and we wanted to do that same trail again, with maybe a few new ones. The lady who was helping us recommended the Sol Duc water fall trail as well, because it wasn't to far from Marymere, and it was an easy mostly flat trail (we really can't hike strait up a mountain with little ones).

The Marymere Falls trail starts at the Lake Crescent Lodge, and is a mile long. It is a mostly easy trail, with a few steep steps at the very end of the trail. Going back down those steep steps is the worst part.

I always feel the need to carry Olivia on the way back down because I don't want her to lose her footing. The tail and the view is beautiful! 

After Marymere we drove another half an hour to get to the Sol Duc Springs Resort. From there we went on the Sol Duc Falls trail.....

...and the Ancient Groves trail

The Sol Duc trail was easy and like she said mostly flat, so we had a great time walking it, and it was also a mile to the falls and a mile back. Not bad at all. The Ancient Grove however was terrifying. It was a short half mile loop, that lead you to this cliff side trail, that is very narrow, and had a huge drop off. I'm just glad no one lost their footing. The view was breath taking but that might have been because we were fearing for our lives.

We had a really good time, and it was nice taking the day slow and seeing the sights. The kids collected  rocks and they came back to the car with full pockets (even Olivia).

So glad Jeremy is finally healed enough to do things like this :)

Randi Legates NRN (non-registered nurse)

It has been an interesting and tiring week, and it all started last weekend (kind of). Remember when I told you that this weekend we may be going hiking? Well that was actually only because we wanted to go on Easter Sunday, but couldn't go because Jeremy was sick, and we were postponing the trip for this weekend. Well we weren't able to go this weekend either, because of the same reason.

Last Friday, my husband kept saying that his tail bone hurt, and he had trouble sitting in a few positions. We both thought that maybe he had hurt something while working out, and we didn't think much of it. He was also developing a cold (the two aren't related, but I felt it was worth noting). By Sunday (last Sunday, the day we really were planning on going hiking), he was miserable, with the cold and the tail bone thing, and I was about ready to take him to the doctors, however due to scheduling, his work, and stubbornness, he did not make it there until Tuesday (not the best idea).

Turns out Jeremy has Pilonidal Disease. Pilonidal Disease is when you have a cyst at the base of your spine, and for some people they don't even know about it until it gets infected, and that's what was happening to Jeremy. So Wednesday I took him to the Naval hospital to get the infected area lanced (eeeeek). Poor Jeremy, he was in so much pain, and wasn't able to sit or bend over.

After getting him home (carefully), and getting the pain meds in him, things seemed to be looking better. It was a rough next few days though. He couldn't sit, he could only lay down or stand, and for the first few days, standing really wasn't an option, because it made him sick and dizzy. We also have a very boring bedroom, so having to stay it bed was not very fun for him. He eventually got his iPad, and watched two seasons of the Walking Dead. I got to learn how to pack and re-pack a wound, and I got the privilege of waiting on him hand and foot. Now this I really didn't mind so much. He's my husband, I love him, I also felt so bad that he had to go through this, and I love spending time with him no matter what. It was my wonderful children however that were putting me on the edge. They were just loud, crazy and out of hand. Okay, you know, when you're on the phone, and your kids know you're on the phone, so during that time they feel the need to get into things, or do things they are not supposed to do (like pushing your brother around the room on the ottoman as fast as you can go) (YUP). Not to mention Olivia was going through some of those "I'm acting this way because I am three" moments. They knew I was distracted, and they took advantage of it (how dare they). I'm sure you can imagine, that at the end of everyday, when bed time came around I was so ready to put those kids to bed.

The good news is Jeremy is starting to feel better. He is finally able to sit in a mostly normal position. He is completely off of his pain meds, and it just taking over the counter. This makes both of us happy, because his pain meds made him sick, and loopy (yeah he was very entertaining when he was on them) (and he doesn't remember anything about that). He is also now able to walk around the house normally, so now I don't have to go and get everything for him (I really didn't mind at all, I'm just glad he is feeling better). So maybe next week, we can go hiking.... maybe, I just hope the nice weather keeps up.

Salmon!

There's not a lot to do here in Washington, that is unless you hike and watch nature all of the time, and there's nothing wrong with that. One of the things you do get to do (and I guess this really does go along with watching nature) is, you get to watch salmon. It's more exciting then it sounds (or maybe it's just really exciting for me, because I stay at home most of the time with my kids).

The homeschooling program that we are in (Off Campus), gets salmon eggs every year, and they let the kids release them into the stream, that is right next to their building (how convenient). Last fall in November we got a chance to see the salmon swimming upstream. This was at the very same stream that is right by the school distract building. 

We were told by Mrs. Huggins (our homeschool supervisor), that soon they would be getting the eggs, and we could come and see them in their library. AWESOME! So from that point on, every time we were in the building, we had to go and see those eggs.

This was really exciting, even if it doesn't look like it. Even if you are thinking to yourself "They are just eggs." Well yes they are, but they are also a learning experience, and that really gets me excited. Salmon are such awesome fish. From babies they travel thousands of miles to the ocean, and after just a few years they travel all the way back just to lay eggs, and then die, and that's if they make it back (Well I guess if they don't make it back, then yes they did die too....). Wow what a journey!

This became even more exciting when the eggs started to hatch :)

They were so small, and looked nothing like salmon. It's hard to believe that these little guys could make such a big journey. I've mentioned before that Olivia really likes fish and aquariums, so she was the real pusher, but the others of course didn't mind one bit.

Last week was release week, so we came on friday, and it was awesome!

This is the kids, and Mr. Menefee (one of the teachers), releasing the salmon

Each of them were able to release a few, with their red cups.

Mr. Menefee is showing them how to do it

He is now wishing the fish good luck :)

I was nervous when Mr Menefee started to hand each of the kids a cup, but he told me that he has yet to have a kid drop a cup, or fall into the stream. He was right, no one dropped their cup or fell in, and I was so glad (you have no idea). I really didn't want to be the first family to have someone drop their cup of fish, or have one of my kids fall into the stream.

Okay so great day, and big success! Can't wait to do it all again next year.

The weather was been great here these past few days, and we've been out more (you may have notice on the pictures above, that the sun is acually shining on the kids). On clear days you can see the mountains.

This is Mt. Rainier, and even though it is 75 miles away, you can still see it from here on a clear day, and it is huge! It's summit is 14,411 ft tall, and it is considered a Volcano. No Hawaii isn't the only state with volcanos, and no Mt. Rainier isn't the only one we have.

These are the mountains of the Olympic National Forest, and they'er a bit closer.

On most days you can't even see them because of overcast or rain, but like I was saying it's been really nice here lately. Sunny days, and the temperature has been in the mid 60s.

Saturday we took a walk downtown. We live close enough to do so. We visited our favorite game store, the pet store (to pick up some treats for the cats), and the playground.

Olivia has to bring her bears everywhere :)

Darien and Zach love the swings

Nathaniel loves to climb.

It really surprising how many cool things are within walking distance.

If the weather stays this nice, then this weekend we are going to go hiking (thats all you can do around here right?). If we do I'm sure you'll hear all about it ;)