Cooking Mamas

For the past few years, I've been trying like crazy to come up with good, family traditions during the holidays. It sounds so easy and simple, so I'm not sure why it feels so difficult to accomplish. Maybe it's because I forget by the following year what we did before (like how I tried to read and collect Easter books each year only to forget to add to my small collection).... Or maybe because life happens and we get too busy (like how we haven't even visited any Christmas lights this year and I only have two days left!!). Truth be told I suck at this! And yesterday was no exception...in all my brilliancy, I decided my new Christmas tradition would be baking. I always dreamt of my house being filled with the wonderful festive smells of cookies and gingerbread and anything fattening and yummy during the holidays. The only problem is, I'm also not good at baking. But I decided this year I was going to bake -- and not only bake but also package the goodies and deliver them to our neighbors. Such a novel idea, right?? Well here is the reality of how that marvelous idea played out.

First, Brenna kept sticking her fingers in the dough, licking them, and then double dipping!!! Being the germaphobe that I am, there was no way I could actually give those to people. Failure #1.

Then, after Hayden and Brenna fought over who would help mommy crack the eggs, Brenna decided to take one and smash it in her sweet little hands. Failure #2.

Then, because the kids pretty much lost interest before the oven even reached 350 degrees, they continued to bicker... And mommy, despite all of her efforts to create a happy, peaceful holiday memory for my children, proceeded to scream "Cooking is fun darn it! You're supposed to be having fun... And if you won't have fun, then you're both going in time out!!!" Failure #3.

And finally, the after product.... Let's just say my baking skills remain as bad as my tradition making skills...Failure #4.

We did manage to get some good pictures out of it all though. Maybe in a few years, I'll be able to convince my kids that this was a happy memory, and the house did smell wonderful and full of holiday yumminess, and they really got along perfectly, and the cookies were the best darn cookies they ever ate... Maybe, just maybe...



14 days of homeschooling!!

I saw this song on a  homeschooling website and thought it was soooo funny! It's to the tune of the "12 days of Christmas" ....I think I can see the humor in it because just in these short few months, I think I've gotten all of these questions and comments so far :)  So, I just have to post it!!

On the first day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Can you homeschool legally?"

On the second day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the third day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the fourth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the fifth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "YOU ARE SO STRANGE! What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the sixth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "How long will you homeschool, YOU ARE S0 STRANGE, what about P.E. , do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the seventh day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"

On the eighth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, what about P.E. do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"

On the ninth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "They'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E. do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"

On the tenth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "What about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the eleventh day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "I could never do that, what about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the twelfth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Can they go to college, I could never do that, what about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the thirteenth day of homeschool I thoughtfully replied: "They Can go to college, yes you can do this, they can have graduation, they can have a prom, we do it cuz we like it, they are missing nothing, we'll homeschool forever, WE ARE NOT STRANGE!, We give them P.E.,  we give them tests, they are socialized, AND WE HOMESCHOOL LEGALLY!

On the fourteenth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "How can I get started, why didn't you tell me, where do I buy curriculum, when is the next conference, WILL PEOPLE THINK WE'RE STRANGE? I think we can do this, if you will help us, we'll join a sports team, and we'll homeschool legally."

Ho, Ho, Ho ... Merry Christmas!

Tonight we attempted to take a Santa picture with Hayden and Brenna (after Logan convinced us that she was simply way too old for that). We love going to the Shoppes in Chino Hills this time of year because they have Santa, a snow show, lights, and a big Christmas tree. Once we were there, Brenna kept saying "no Ho-Ho---- Mommy!" which translated to "I don't want to sit with Santa, I just want Mommy". And Hayden, who normally loves that type of thing, decided she wasn't too thrilled about sitting with Santa either. So... It was time for a compromise. And here were the results.....

Of course after the picture, both Hayden and Brenna just LOVED their new friend, Santa. So much so that Brenna kept yelling "Bye Ho Ho!!" and she even insisted we give Santa her sparkly blue bracelet. Haha! And Hayden was quieter than usual but seemed confident that she was going to get everything on her list :) As for the family picture, though it won't be making it to a wall anytime soon, it's at least good for the memory books... :)

Our Christmas Card

Here is a copy of our Christmas card, compliments of Logan! She took all of the pictures, including the one of herself, edited them and made the card with shutterfly. I LOVE having a photographer in the family!! :)


Looking forward to a blessed holiday season!!!

On Our Tree Christmas Card

Find unique and Personalized Christmas cards at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

A grateful wife

Here's some truth telling for you....Yesterday was a bad day. I have to admit that at certain times of the month (ahem) I may get a teensy bit cranky, emotional, overly stressed, dramatic --- you name it, I FEEL it!! I'm not proud by any means, but it is....well....reality.

So yesterday I was having a tough day with the kids, and specifically with our homeschooling lesson plans for the day. I felt discouraged, and a bit overwhelmed and I may have, just a little bit, taken it out on my poor hubby. Again.....not a proud moment.

Sometimes, no matter how hard he tries to be supportive, nothing gets through to this thick skull of mine, and I know that he can feel like he's beating his head against the wall. Yesterday was a wall beating day for sure. (sorry honey)

But today....this is the note I received from my wonderful, amazing, encouraging husband....


Cornerbacks (defense) are told they need to have a short term memory. Meaning they need to forget about the last play and focus on the new one. The reason is because they are out there on an island all by themselves and have a big responsibility. They can have a lot of bad plays but they will also have good plays as well and can be a game changer. In homeschooling you are going to have bad days and great days and ultimately be our game changer for our kids. You can forget about the tough days and focus on making today a great day. Love you!


Seriously.....how lucky am I?? I am so blessed, and so undeserving, and so in AWE of the man God chose for me. In all of my sin, and in all of my hormonal pity parties, I have this wonderful man right by my side, helping me through it all, despite how unworthy I am of his grace and love.
 
I am certainly a grateful wife.

My little pumpkins

Being a Christian is a lot like being a Pumpkin

First, God Picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you.

....but I have chosen you out of the world John 15:16

Then, He washes all the "dirt" off the outside, cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff.

...the old has gone, the new has come 2 Corinthians 5:17

Then, He carefully removes the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc from  inside of us

....For we know our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with  Romans 6:6

and then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside you to shine for all the world to see!

...let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds...Matthew 5:16

And we will forever be changed

...My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to You - I, whom You have redeemed  Psalm 71:23



A Day in the life....

And here I thought I'd have so much more time on my hands without working.....LOL! Little did I know how busy I'd be teaching my little munchkins at home. But how blessed I have been!!!

A lot of people, including myself not too long ago, have the misconception that homeschooling means bringing the traditional classroom into your home while your kids are stuck alone with you ALL. DAY. LONG. There isn't much that seems appealing there, right? But I have learned through the help of other homeschooling friends, and the countless literature available on the topic, that there is so much more to it.

Logan is currently in Western Christian ISP where she gets to take classes such as photography and mask-making, art and science, worship, PE...you name it, they have it available. But the beauty is that we get to pick and choose! So far she is LOVING her photography class, every Monday,  and Art and Science every other Friday.

And we also joined a homeschool co-op through a wonderful resource called LIFE. We have four different moms , all working together to enrich our middle schoolers through learning.

I have the wonderful opportunity to teach these five girls the Bible every other week.

Working hard in their Bible Journal

Some of the topics we discussed

I can't even begin to tell you how blessed I am each time I work with these girls, and realizing that I get to be a part of my child's learning while growing in Christ. AMAZING!!!

On the alternate Mondays, the girls take cooking with another parent. They are learning about different foods from different cultures, and each week their assignment is to make that food for someone they care about as an act of service. Logan has enjoyed it so much!




Becca trying the Vietnamese lettuce wraps



Yummy rice noodles!

Sweet Amanda waiting her turn

Something else that we've all really enjoyed is that both LIFE and Western Christian offer a TON of educational field trip opportunities.

One of the first activities we took part in was on National Homeschool Movie day, where we viewed Dolphin Tale. What a great movie!!!

Our little co-op after the movie

And though my focus has been primarily on Logan, I've been equally blessed working with Hayden and Brenna on a fun, engaging preschool curriculum.

Working on their letters with My Father's world curriculum

Hayden loves lacing her letters!

One of the other fears I had about homeschooling was in regards to the lack of social opportunity. I have been amazed at how far from the truth that is! In fact, I have had to put a stop to the amount of social activities we take part in each week! With fieldtrips, and classes, and play dates Logan has more than enough socializing going on! :)

Being silly in their room

At the park for P.E.

LIFE group's Park Day event

Girls just wanna have fun!



 So far, despite the challenges that come along any type of life change, I have truly loved this new journey that we are on as a family. I can't wait to share more!!

Blogging? What's that?

I feel like I have been so far removed from the blogging world! With my mom being in the hospital and my job getting crazier by the minute, not to mention raising a family of five....my life has seemed to be a bit out of control. And blogging has unfortunately fallen off my list of priorities :( But, that's all about to change!!!!! I am so excited to say that in the midst of all of this craziness I have called my life, my husband and I - after much prayer - have agreed to SLOW things down. As of Wednesday, I will be a full time Stay at Home MOM!! I can not begin to say how relieved and excited I am. As much as I love teaching, the public school system is just not working for me anymore....which leads me to my next life change.........


I am officially HOMESCHOOLING Logan!!!! Curriculum has been ordered, school records have been requested, and objectives have been planned. I can't wait for this new chapter of our life to unfold. This is something that I've been wanting to do for over a year now, and the Lord just recently provided a way for us to do it. I can't wait to blog all about it - after Wednesday that is :)

Brenna Turned TWO!

 

 Click here to view this photo book larger

My little Brenna Bear - we had so much fun celebrating your birthday with you!And so did all of your friends!!

The Rickes

Your neighbor friends!

Deda and Hayden relaxing by the pool

So happy Marlena and her cute kids could make it

Your friends, Brooklyn and Matty

Mommy and Logan enjoyed the day with you!

Hayden did too :)

You love Miss Susie!

Steph made you her yummy cupcakes!! Thanks Stephanie!

Your Moppets friends wanted to say happy birthday too!

You loved your candles!

Hayden wanted to blow some out too (of course!)

But the Lollipops were your FAVORITE!!

We love you Brenna! Here are some fun facts about what you're getting into these days:

• You're talking more and more every day
• You love the Hot Dog song on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
• You LOVE Disneyland and all the Princesses
• One of my favorite things to see, is your version of the "booty dance" - which basically looks like an old lady shaking her booty :)
• You are very sweet, but boy do you have a temper also!! Watch out world!
• Your a daddy's girl, just like your sister.... but you only want Mommy putting you to bed at night!
• When you're scared, you usually run to big sister Logan
• Your favorite toys are Legos and baby dolls
• You have a current obsession with cleaning! You like to stack things, wipe things, sweep things, and even mop the floor! I love it!! :)
• And another one of my favorite things that you still do is put your finger on your cheek when you're scared.  It is the cutest thing!

These are just some of the wonderful things you are up to these days....I can't wait to see what the WONDERFUL TWO's will bring!! Love you Bear bear!

Mommy and Me time

Hayden and I recently tried out a new art class through the Chino Hills Recreation department for some fun mommy and me time. I have found that one of the biggest challenges of having multiple children is getting that quality one-to-one time with each of them. One of these classes, geared specifically for her age group, seemed like a perfect idea! And it did not disappoint. We had a blast!

DAY ONE...Painting a sun

DAY TWO....Making whales!!

How cute is this craft?

Day Three....Creative crafts - Food coloring, glue, and salt....the perfect toddler mix!

And a fun little hand ducky too!!

Unfortunately, we missed the last class which would have been so fun --- making cupcakes together -- But I think this will definitely be a class that we sign up for again! I loved spending that quality time with my little Hay Hay! She's the perfect partner!!!