Big Changes

First of all, just wanted to mention that the "exciting thing" that I was talking about in the last post that I couldn't comment on just yet was the fact that we finished our basement!  Woohoo!!  And the reason why I couldn't say anything before was that Nathan had made a small bet with a friend over who was going to finish theirs first so he didn't want him finding out beforehand but now we are pretty sure he knows :)  And Nathan won :)  So anyway, that's super exciting for us because 1) we just doubled our square footage 2) we added 2 bedrooms 3) we added another bathroom 4) we have a cozy movie watching room with another fireplace and 5) we have a huge playroom with lotsa room, a trampoline, etc for the kids to go crazy in!....and not to mention a place where I can demand the kids go now!  While the basement was getting finished, ALL their junk was upstairs gettin' tripped over and ate by Jaeger and shoved in our already too tiny garage, making for a mess EVERYWHERE.  I can't even explain how nice it is for everything to be in it's place once again....ahhhhh. :)  And it only took us 4 weeks.  Everyone we talked to about it (contractors, etc) said at least 6-8 weeks and even our main worker was surprised that we finished that soon. My first contracting job and I finished under time. Nice.

Ok, so onto the other big change!!!....We have decided to put the 2 older boys in school for the remainder of the school year!!!  This has been an ongoing thought for us for a l.o.n.g. time...like years.  But this year we got really serious about it since we are "back" and not on the road.  This decision has been on my mind day and night, everyday, haunting me until we finally made up our minds.  I (we) felt like we couldn't go either way....the thought of sending my kids to school made me sick but the thought of homeschooling them (esp right now) made me just as sick.  I felt trapped, like I was stuck between a rock and a hard place.  I didn't like either choice.  I've always (ok, always as in like once we had kids) thought I was going to be a homeschooling mom, forever and always, no matter what.   Everyone has bad days, I get that, but this was more. 

Tiernan has always been a people person.  LOVES people, loves big groups, loves chaos, loves activity.  We've thought from the beginning if he would end up needing something other than us during his days.  As this year went on, him and I...who happen to have a lot of the same personality...started to butt heads.  He didn't want to learn from me and frankly, I didn't want to teach him.  I wasn't going to fight him everyday to get some school work done, with him in tears and both of us yelling and frustrated just for the sake of "homeschool".  And honestly, I was starting to not like being around my kids because I knew eventually the attitudes about school would start and I knew that something needed to change.

My mom still teaches my kids once a week and for that they will all sit (for the most part) for a good 3 hours and listen to instruction and do whatever my mom has planned for the lessons that week. At church, he (they) goes to sunday school and to a program called RAD every wednesday where they are instructed by a teacher. Not one problem.  He would learn from anyone but me.  Now, that only goes for school-type work.  Instruction on sports, games, legos, etc we have no problem with.  We have fun together in those areas but at some point the kids have to actually sit down and read and write and that's where the problem lies.

It was so hard for us (well, me esp) to make this decision because I had thought that I was a homeschool mom.  I had visions of being the coolest mom, going on all these cool trips, doing all these neat activites and crafts....and then I had kids....and several of them.  And I began to realize that I am not an elementary school teacher.  Some people are blessed with that gift and love for teaching reading, I was not.  And that's okay.

I was told once that there are 2 types of homeschoolers: ones who want to homeschool their kids and ones who think they have to.  After MUCH prayer and processing all of these battles going on in my head, I began to realize that I was homeschooling because I felt like I had to instead of because I have an absolute love for it.  Of course in a perfect world, I would love to be able to have everything organized and have 72 hours in my one day to get everything accomplished and babies who don't need to be fed the same time as the math lesson is going on, etc, but my reality right now isn't that.  And for now, I'm okay with that.  I know that my children can still thrive and learn to love the Lord, even if they aren't under my wing 24/7.  We will not stop parenting just because the kids are in school.

Could it change later? Absolutely! Could we end up homeschooling later? Absolutely!  Could we end up homeschooling some kids while sending others to school? Absolutely!  I think each family needs to evaluate what is best for their child and their situation and go with that.  Not focusing on what others are doing or that each kid has to fit the mold of the other just because we had some silly notion in our heads that we were going to do something.  Do I feel a little anxious about what some of my homeschooling friends will think or say?  Yes.  But I hope they can understand and know we are doing what we feel is best for our family at this time.

And where are they going, you ask?  Well, that was another thing we debated back and forth about and what made this decision so hard (until I actually found the school that they will be attending).  We knew we didn't want to throw them into the big public school who's district we are in because it's huge.  Class sizes are big and I didn't want my kids being lost in the crowds, plus we weren't exactly sold on public schools yet.  But on the other hand, the private schools around our area aren't exactly cheap, esp for the size of family we have.  Once you figure sending 3, 4, 5, kids to one of the major private schools here, yikes, that's big bucks...and for elementary school?...didn't really wanna go there.  So what gives? 

Well, one day I had remembered that I swam with a girl in high school that had gone to this school in her younger years.  I had no idea if it was still open or whatever so I did some searching.  Yep, it was!  I called it up and that same week they were having an open house.  The boys and I went to the open house where they got to spend time in the classroom and immediately it felt like home.  It teaches k-8th grade and it's super small....ONLY 15 students in the WHOLE school!  There are only 2 classrooms, k-3 in one class and 4-8th in the other.  So the teacher kind of acts like a homeschool parent would in the fact that they are teaching mulitple grade levels but the students are all integraded.  I loved it.  The boys will still be in the same classroom and only with about 7 other kids.  The whole school eats lunch together and outside play ends up being like one big family where the older kids always include the younger kids in whatever they are doing (sledding, etc).  Younger siblings are invited on field trips, where the parents drive.  It really does feel like just one little step up from homeschooling and that is what is so nice about it.  It's a private christian school so my kids will still have our faith intertwined in what they are learning, which is important to us, but tuition is much more affordable than other local private schools.

We will be able to test it out for the next 3 months of the school year and then re-evaluate over the summer, but for now we are excited!  And I feel weight lifted because we made a decision.  Life sometimes ends up a little different that we think it's going to go.  But I'm learning to trust God, and I'm okay with that.

January

One single post in January. Ha. Maybe this will mean that I'll actually be able to keep up with transferring my blog to a hard cover book.  I'm still in 2010.  Still can't believe that even with everything going on, I blogged almost every.single.day.  Wowzers!  Makes for awesome memories though.

So how has 2013 been treatin' us so far?  Well...here's some of the recent happenings....

We have something going on real exciting here but Nathan doesn't want me to post for another couple weeks, so you'll hafta wait!

Tiernan lost another tooth...#6....and was super excited to get a lego guy under his pillow instead of money.

Jaeger and Ariella had a little bout with pneumonia last week.  Jaeger was worse. He was within about a half of a day of being hospitalized but thankfully the meds helped and that didn't happen.  Within a couple days of him going in, he was back to his normal happy-crazy self.  Ariella is better too!

Shortly after the new year, our friends' house burned down, almost a total loss.  I've been helping with rides, shopping, a place to hang out, etc.  It was crazy to actually see the place.  Not every day do you go inside a home where everything was black and almost unrecognizable.  Thankfully everyone is okay and they are making decisions about their future.  If anyone wants to help or see what things they could use, I helped make a website for them.  www.theforsmanfamily.weebly.com

Nathan is still working transmission, although we've been enjoying him home alot lately because of the extremely cold and windy weather.  He was home most of all last week and this week so far.  The only bad part about it is that he still has to go in in the morning so it makes for 4 hours of driving per day....good thing we have the civic!

We are still wrestling with what will happen next school year.  We might be taking the plunge and putting the kids in school.  We are finding out that that might be best for them right now but it makes me feel better knowing that we can take it year by year or sooner if change our minds or don't feel like its a right fit after all.  So we'll have to see what unfolds in the next few months.

I'm enjoying a relatively quiet morning this morning.  After RAD at church, I brought the 4 oldest over to my parents for a sleepover.  Since we needed to be at their house by 9am so my mom could teach them (they have school at my parents each thursday), I figured why not bring them the night before and then I could have some quiet time with just Jaeger before I go get them!  It was really nice to just put Jaeg to bed last night and to wake up and just make myself breakfast.  What a change in pace!  And Jaeger even slept thru the night which made Nathan and me sleep like rocks.  It was so nice!

I had my first public speaking experience when I spoke at the MOPS group in Foley.  I was asked in Dec if I would and I agreed.  I spoke on the topic of Home and Time Management.  Even though I feel really inadequate right now about that specific thing, I was able to share my ideas and what has worked for me while raising lots of little ones.  I think it went well and I hope I was able to give a few people some ideas about running their home a little more smoothly!

I've also been busy trying to turn this house into a home with painting walls and putting in shelving, etc.  My dad made an awesome cubby and coat rack in our entry hallway which has been so wonderful and I re-did our bathroom so it wasn't so blah!  I hope to keep painting as the rest of the white walls drive me crazy!


Bath before:                                                                            Bath after:

     Hallway before: (we had already put up shelves)         Hallway after:

 



 I'll try to post more pics soon....I need to get them organized first!

Christmas day

What a great Christmas day!!

We started the morning off with waffles made by Nathan and we had Nathan's brother Neil & family over to eat with us before they went back home.

Then we took some naps and went to ny parents for the rest of the day. Talk about some good food!! We had the traditional fondue with steak and fish (caught by dad in lake of the woods), twice baked potatoes and pina coladas. After clean up, we opened gifts, the highlight of the kids night of course. They were very excited. T got a fishing pole, C got walkie talkies, B got legos, A got princess stuff and J got some pjs and a toy.

We finished the night with snow on the mountain! It's been years and years since any of us had it but it used to be a tradition by my gma back when we were growing up. It's basically a pile of fruit and some cake topped w a bunch of whipped cream. Crazy to think we didn't like it as kids, what's not to like about that?!

We are home now and getting the kids snuggled in bed. We are so thankful for this time together as a family and are in awe of the Lord's goodness!! Merry Christmas!!

Enjoying Daddy's Time Off

The kids and I are thoroughly enjoying having Nathan home for a whole 12 days!! The first day consisted of opening presents with our family and making and decorating cookies. I am trying to get better at enjoying those moments instead of worrying about the mess that's being made, but I will admit that I still need lotsa work!

The kids kept busy the rest of the day putting together their Lego sets they got and Ariella was enjoying her princess dolls! They also enjoyed a game of Hedbanz together, which was hilarious to watch as they didn't really understand the rules but had fun anyway. Jaeger got a bunch of balls at I put in a pack n play but we still aren't convinced yet to keep them as they cause more trouble with the other kids :). Nathan and I purchased a iPad for the family so I am writing my first post on it! I hope it will come in handy with school as well.

Wordless wednesday

I survived.

Well, I survived. Barely.

I had to go to town to drop off a meal for a family from church and do a couple "simple" errands that shouldn't take that long.  And no, after almost 8 years of being a parent, I apparently haven't learned that NOTHING is simple and quick with 5 kids in tow...especially our kids.

The kids are crazy in the van...crazy AND loud and I knew that the store wouldn't be much different.  I drove into Walmart parking lot and drove right back out.  Nope!  I don't like Walmart.  I don't like Walmart with all my kids and I especially don't like Walmart with all my kids and lots of people. 

Next up, Home Depot.  I needed 3 things. Hinges, poly, and sandpaper.  Should only take 5 mins, right?!  Nope. Kids are touching everything. Everything. Ya know all the little cubby things that all the knobs and hinges are held in. Yep...open, close, open, close.  Wrestling on the floor, ninja acting in the aisles, pulling the cart with Jaeger in it away from mom. 

We finally leave.

Next up, Coborns.  Between getting a few free kids videos to bathroom breaks to forgetting something and going back after paying for everything else, we finally made it out of there.

7pm and we haven't eaten supper yet.

Get home, put supper in the oven (thankfully I had already put it together this afternoon!) and finally finish supper by 8pm.

I'm wiped.

This is when we were heading to the checkout and I finally got them all rounded up.  And, yes, the cart was heavy and hard to push.  By this time I didn't care about how heavy it was, I was just glad that they were all in one spot!

kids update

You'd think I'd realize that if I did a quick post everyday or every other day then it wouldn't be something that hasta take forever when I finally get around to posting!!  Maybe I'll learn one of these years....

So here's what's up in our world these days...

I have been in paint mode!!  This house has WHITE walls and it was really starting to get to me.  I broke out the paint that was left over from our other house (yes, I brought it with us) and to my pleasant surprise, it is almost an exact match to the 3 walls that are already painted in this house (which is the only color in this place).  So I finished one wall in the dining room, the entry way and the other wall in the kitchen.  It feels soooo warm and inviting now.  We totally have the itch to do the whole house...but I think I'll wait til Nathan can help me with the big parts, esp with the kids here.  Today though I painted the main bath and was done with 2 coats by 2:00 this afternoon AND I had all the kids here to boot!!  Although...next time I'll wait til Jaeger is taking a nap.  Not so confident in Tiernan's ability to babysit for me.  The first part went great until Tiernan "made lunch" (pretzels, cheese, granola bars) and left Jaeger...who made his way over to the Christmas tree and when I went to check on him, was wrapped up in lights he pulled off the tree and had a pipe cleaner in his mouth.  Yeah....

But the bathroom looks so nice!  Once I have everything done in there I'll post before and after pics.  Still need to paint the cabinets.  It feels like I'm in a different house with color on the walls!  Love it!

Tiernan, Tiernan, Tiernan....We are definately looking forward to the time when he matures into the natural responsible leader first borns are "supposed" to be.  Wait...will that ever happen??  He's by far our most mischievious child, which is kinda frustrating for me since 1) he's the oldest and the other kids look up to him and 2) he knows better!  When he's not cutting himself with dad's pocket knife that he's not supposed to have, eating brown sugar out of the container, sneaking any food he can get his hands on, or cutting holes in the bed sheets, he's probably planning on doing one of the above :)  He def loves science though and lately is most favorite show has been Myth Busters.  He learns so much on that show it's incredible.

Caedmon cannot get enough of coloring and crafts, definately our most artistic child.  Brayan loves legos more than anyone and will work for HOURS putting sets together.

Ariella is so darn funny, I can hardly contain myself.  She's so smart and witty, her comments just knock us off our socks!  I'll hafta get better at writing some things down she says. She's a whoot!

Jaeger is finally sitting up by himself!!  Which is funny to say since most of the kids (besides T) were WALKING at 10 months and at 9+  months, J's just starting to sit up and scoot himself across the floor.  I don't really mind though.  With all that goes on around here during the day, having a stationary baby has been helpful :)  He's also just cut a couple teeth and a couple more are visible under the gum.  Won't be long til he's got 4 chompers!  And this kid LOVES to eat...oh my goodness.  Give me food!!!  That's his motto!!

It's off to Gma Barb's tomorrow for school!  So blessed she is willing to teach the kids for 3 hours every Thursday morning.  The kids love it and mom gets her teaching fix :)  I try to get some work done on my albums but most of the time I'm still busy feeding Jaeger and playing with him.  I'm a little past due with my albums though.  I put all our family pics in albums by year instead of getting the pictures printed.  It'd prob be easier to print them but I like the albums once they are done.  Plus, I print out my blog by year but I'm also way behind on that..still working on 2010.  They take f.o.r.e.v.e.r to do but once they are done, it is awesome!  The kids love looking back.

Another thing I'm working on is finishing my certification for placenta encapsulation.  I'm learning a lot!  And try to write my essays for it on Thursdays but that doesn't always happen either. Tomorrow I will be helping my dad work on my coat rack/cubby thingy we are making for our hallway!!  I'm super excited bc 1) we NEED a place for our coats, shoes, etc since I turned the hallway closet into a pantry/storage area and 2) it will look SO cool!!  I'll post pics of that too when it is done.

Well, I have a few things to do before bed so I'm going to check out.  I will try to do a quick(ish)...you know me...post tomorrow and see if I can keep up to date so they aren't as lengthy!!  Oh, and I'm bringing back Not Me posts!  I figure there's too many funny things not to write them down :)