The Ozmerican Life

Where to start catching up...well I'm not sure, so just some random thoughts....

It's June....summer :)  We haven't had breakfast before 9am.  We have lazy mornings but still manage to accomplish a few things.  Schooling is on the DL.  We read with the goal of going to Chuck E Cheese at the end of the summer.  The kids are totally motivated.  We've been working on counting money and making change.  I've wanted to scream a few times...seems I still haven't quite figured out how numbers work in each of my kids heads....it's all very different from kid to kid. 

We went to the beach this week for the first time.  I feel like it's been the first fun thing I've done all summer.  Seems that my co-workers like to take vacations in June and I have a problem saying, "No, I will not work for you."

Every weekend is booked until the end of September, save one Friday night.  Lots of fun cabin weekends with friends, friends from out of town, Boy Scouts, and Twins game.  It's for sure a good busy :)

Keira is always worried about figuring out who her "Best Buddy" is for the day.  When it happens to be Jentzen, they've got some ground rules covered.  "If we bite each other then we're not Best Buddies."  Good, glad to know they have it under control. 

Nathan grauduated from college.  Whoo Hooo!  I'm so proud of him.  Something 5 years ago, I thought would never happen...he has exceeded my expectations!!

We got stuck in the middle of the lake on a pontoon with a dead battery.  Nathan saved the day for us.  Of course he did.  He's our knight in shining armor....or I guess maybe our knight in green seaweed armor. 

We're planning the finer details of our trip to see Nathan's family.  I'm so excited I can hardly stand it.  It can't come soon enough.  Melanie and I are a kindred spirit...all the way across the ocean in two different worlds, we are so the same.  Well, except for that whole scrap booking thing....I think she's crazy :)  The kids will actually remember this trip and we have no kids taking a nap, no diapers, and no bottles.  It's going to be one big party!!  And we're bringing our 13 year old niece along for the ride.  I couldn't be more excited to show her the down under mother-land.  And she's never seen the ocean either.  There is something about the ocean and I couldn't be more happy to be the one who gets to show her the best beaches ever!!  She's scared of sharks and seems to think they'll be looming close to shore just waiting for her...it's going to be awesome.  Pretty sure a fake, strap on shark fin and a brother-in-law that can swim under water from far away hidden distances will be in order!!

Nathan had to lead the 4 year old Sunday school class all by himself, I was working.  Oh how I would have liked to be a fly on that wall!!

Ava turned 7....Nathan put "Ava's 8th birthday" on Facebook.  Classic.

My goal was to have a joyful, relaxed summer....we're doing just that!

Ava:  "Mom, would you rather not eat or spend time with Daddy?"

Me:  "I'd rather spend time with Daddy."

Ava:  "Me too, I don't care if I starve, I'd rather be with Daddy.  I just love him so much."

Keira and I were hanging in the bathroom while she was "doing her thing."  While she was taking her sweet time, she noticed her underwear....

K:  "Mom, is that Dora on my undies?"

Me:  (not really looking that close) "Yes, it is."

K:  "Why does she have long hair?"

Me:  (now noticing that it isn't Dora, but a random princess/girl figure, and not really wanting to back track) "Maybe she just has long hair sometimes."

K:  "Yeah!!  Like maybe when she goes to princess parties!!"

Me:  (just going along with it)  "Sure, I bet that's right."

K:  (thinking......)  "That's silly!!!  There's no princess party in my underwear!!!"

And just for the record...if you're ever calling in your child from outside and you hear, "Just a minute Mom, I'm just holding some dog poop!!"  It's okay, you can just pretend that it's really just pine cones, it worked for me.

Jentzen loves movies...there's just no other way to say it.  Out of all our kids...he asks the most for movie night, movie morning, movie afternoon, movies, movies, movies.

Friday and Saturday are movie nights...and he knows it.

Last night, Monday night, he asked for some special reading time with me before going to bed.  All the other kids were put to bed and he grabbed a book and crawled into bed with me.  We cuddled as he read his book.  He kissed me and hugged me and told me how much he loves me.  Then in the sweetest little voice...."Mom, could we have special movie time when we wake up?"

Me:  "No Jentzen, it's not movie time tomorrow."

J:  "Well we could just do it special tomorrow."

Me:  "How come you love movies so much?"

J:  "Well because we can learn about God and learn the true things we're supposed to be learning!"

 
He just about caught me with that one....I almost said, "You're right Jentzen!  We'll find a good movie to watch tomorrow!"  Almost, he almost got me!  Was his whole evening of reading, hugging, and loving all in the plan??  Either way, how I held strong to his precious little smile and charm, I'm not sure.  Maybe next time I won't....

I read a lot of articles about homeschooling.  Usually weekly there are blogs, facebook posts, or forwards from other homeschooling moms that cross my desk.  I read most of them.  They help keep me focused on what I'm doing it and why I plan to keep on doing it.  This is one I received last week (thanks Janet).  It does say a lot about why I homeschool. 

“Aren’t you worried you are going to screw up?
That question, or one like it, is often asked of homeschoolers. Some parents find the responsibility of educating their own children so great and so intimidating that they can’t even contemplate it.

My answer to the question is “Yep! You bet I’m worried that I am going to blow it!”
But it’s not concerns over my children’s academics that keep me up at night. It’s that other awesome responsibility that I have. The one that God gave me the moment I became a mother. I’m a parent and that means that God has charged me to disciple my children and cultivate their souls. That’s the part that I’m worried I am going to blow.  And that’s why I homeschool.

My children were 6 and 4 when we began homeschooling almost 10 years ago. They attended preschool and kindergarten at a classical school where I taught. I felt good about the education they were receiving. But I didn’t feel so good about our frenzied lifestyle, so we returned home.
I confess it was a shock. I went from seeing my children very little—a rushed breakfast and an equally frantic dinner time, homework, bath and bed routine—and learning about them by reading notes from teachers to being with them all day long every day. And I discovered something: they were little sinners. They had character flaws and bad patterns of behavior that I had never seen. It was overwhelming, not to mention exhausting. I had to correct, and disciple, and instruct.

That’s when I realized that coming home was God’s gift to me. Being with my children in such an intimate and prolonged way allowed me to see into their hearts in a way that I never did when they were in school. Educating my children at home provided me with many—many—opportunities for discipleship and cultivation.  Opportunities that I would have missed if my children had been with some other teacher all day long.
Now, I am not saying that it is impossible to disciple your children if you don’t homeschool. Not at all. But I do think that the task is more difficult. A parent will have to work harder to find those teachable moments. And no doubt some parents do.

But if I am honest, I don’t think I would have been one of those parents. I was clueless when my kids were in school. They brought home good report cards. Their teachers liked them and praised them. And, frankly, that was good enough for me. I am grateful that it wasn’t good enough for God. He yanked me out of my complacency and put my children’s spiritual needs right in front of my face. Even I couldn’t miss it.

So, for me—and people like me—homeschooling makes us better parents by providing daily opportunities for discipleship. Does that scare me? Absolutely! Do I feel the weight of this awesome responsibility? All the time! Can I alleviate this responsibility by sending my kids to school? No!
A formal education is only one part of a child’s discipleship. Whether or not I put my son on a school bus in the morning does not change my duty as a mother. One day I will have to stand before God and give account. I doubt that He will much interested in SAT scores. And, yeah, that scares me."

Just thought I'd fill in with a few things we've been up to...

Quaid took a spill off his dirt bike 2 days ago.  I was sitting inside playing cards with my awesome sister Nancy.  We heard this high pitched screaming...we couldn't make out if it was fun screaming or angry screaming, or hurt screaming.  Usually a mother knows the cry of her children.  Usually I do.  But I had never heard that sound in the near 8 years Quaid has been my son.  Now I know.  It's a hurt cry.  I looked out the window to see his dirt bike laying on it's side and him limping through the grass.  My first thought, as sad as it is...Oh great....here comes a $10,000 surgery bill!!  Followed by....GOOD!!  He's walking!!!  He's got a few patches of nice greenish purple coloring and some cuts but that's about it.  Oh, and a bent handle bar.  Handle bar vs femur...thankfully the femur won!!

Yesterday morning I had to scrub maple syrup off my kitchen ceiling...Don't ask...I just thought it was worth mentioning.

The kids and I made a paper chain for the days left until we leave for Australia to visit Nathan's family...we're not leaving until Feb 3rd...it's a LONG chain :)  But oh so fun. 


I have a serious farmers tan from mowing lawn yesterday.  It crossed my mind that I might want to roll my T-shirt sleeves up...but then I thought...It's only May 2nd...am I really going to get a sunburn May 2nd??  Yes...yes I did.

I learned that 3 year olds don't have the slightest bit of concern about sitting and playing in a sandbox with no undies on.  Me on the other hand...I think I had enough concern for the both of us.

I feel for my little Jentzen.  Ava had a sleepover at her cousins house, Quaid had a sleepover at his cousins house.  Poor Jentzen...his closest boy cousin is 5 years on either side.  Total bummer.  Anyone have a 5 year old boy cousin I can borrow?? 

I'm going out of town for the weekend.  I wonder who will miss me the most...I'm going to go with Ava.  I don't think Daddy understands her female need to be constantly talking to someone all day...especially when it's asking question after question that she already knows the answer to just for the sake of talking.

I'm sure there's more, but I'm going to end right there...just for the sake of not writing, just to write :)




Dont forget.. I cut my hair when you were away....

...I don't want to forget:

Keira: "Mom?  Can I play my puter game?"

Me:  "No, you don't have a computer game."

Keira:  "Mom?  Can I do my spelling test?"

She's a wise one.  She knows the kids do their spelling online.  She's seen them use "school" as a way to get on the net.  (Remember the movie, "The Net" with Sandra Bullock?  I do.  Just sayin'.)

Jentzen: "Keira!  We're going to be best buddies for 39 days, Okay?" (I wonder what will happen on day 40.)

Ava:  "Keira, don't hit your head on the floor too hard...you'll get a headache."  (She's such a mother.)

Quaid has experienced a pulled muscle for the first time this morning...

Q: "Mom, is there something on my back?"

Me:  "No, it's a sore muscle...you can't see it."

Q:  "Uggghhh, it really hurts when I do this..." (bending and twisting in a way I'm not sure that my 30 year old body even bends anymore)

Me:  "Well then don't do that."  (It's the same logic when we say, "This really stinks...smell it!)