Curriculum 2013-2014

Just in case anyone was wondering, I wanted to share out curriculum choices for this year.

• Core (History, Language Arts, Bible): Sonlight Core A - I absolutely fell in love with this package when I saw it at a homeschool convention.  Last year we used Heart of Dakota, and it was okay; however, my kids didn't like the reading selections.  We really enjoyed their Bible and History, but we were ready for a change.We also purchased Sonlight's kindergarten and second grade readers/language arts.
• Science: Sonlight A.  Luckily, we found this on ebay in like-new condition.  I'm also pretty excited about this (it came with several books and a DVD). Last year we used Apologia.  I think Apologia would work well for older kids, but it didn't work well for my kids.  It was a big text book that in my opinion wasn't reader-friendly for younger children.
• Math: Staying with Math-U-See.  Little Lou will do Primer, X-Man will do Beta. LOVE MUS.  The only issue I have is that there are 30 lessons and our school year is 36 weeks.  Small issue, but I thought it was worth noting.
• Handwriting: Handwriting Without Tears kindergarten and first grade.  Last year X-Man's handwriting improved VASTLY with the help of this program.  We really liked it, so we'll use it again this year.
• Health: Alpha and Omega, Horizons Health 1.  This year we added a health program.  It looks like it covers quite a bit of info, but only on the surface level.  There's 50 lessons, but they appear to be pretty simple, almost an introduction.
• Additional: We also purchased a PE book, some art appreciation books, and some classical music CDs.  Due to X-Man's fine motor delays, we also purchased a few activities that should help him (Little Lou is VERY interested as well!).

So, there you have it.  There are thirteen more days until school, and I've prepped for two weeks of them so far.  We're pretty excited!  We can't wait to share more with you throughout our school year!

Praying for a legacy

Recently God has really put it on my heart to pray (incessantly) for my children.  For as long as I can remember, before I go to bed, I check on each child, give them a kiss, and say a quick prayer over them.  I've always prayed that they would love Jesus and that they would lead lives that are pleasing to Him, but as time has gone on, I've added quite a bit to my prayer list.  I'm no expert parent, but I wanted to share what I pray in case any of my (three) readers needed some ideas for their children.

• As I stated before, I pray that they love Jesus.  I pray that they feel His presence in their lives, and that they see Him in every facet of life.
• Purity.  I pray that they lead God-honoring lives.  I pray that they are not corrupted by this world, and that they choose to wait.   I pray that they learn things 'the easy way' and not feel the need to try things that aren't beneficial to their future.
• Compassion.  I pray that they want to help others.  I pray that they put others needs before their own wants.  I pray that they don't ask for things in return.  I pray that they see the good in people.
• Thankfulness. I pray that they see the blessings they have, and that they are grateful for them.  I pray that they never be selfish. 
• Joy.  I pray that they find beauty in everyday.  I pray that they have wonderful memories and that they chose to live each day to the fullest.
• Love.  I pray that they feel truly loved, and that they love with their whole-hearts.  I pray that they speak the truth in love, never in judgement.
• Purposeful.  I pray that they feel needed and wanted.  I pray that they see that they are important and that they matter.  I pray that even if they mess up (which, everyone does), that they still feel valued.  I pray that they feel freedom from perfection.
• Needs.  I pray that their needs are always met.  I pray that God will protect them.
• Their future spouses.  I pray that their future spouses love God.  I pray that they are compassionate, kind, and that they respect and love my children.  I pray that as they grow, they make God-honoring decisions, and that they choose to wait for my children. I pray that they feel loved and welcomed into our family.
• I pray that Little Lou finds a husband that is a hard-worker, a Christian man, someone who treats her like a queen, and will be a gentle leader of their future family. I pray she respects and loves him with all her heart.  I pray that she become a mother (if that's what she chooses) that is representative of God's love.  I pray that they honor their commitment to each other. 
• I pray that X-Man finds a wife that is a Christian woman who supports him, is respectful and loving, and becomes a mother (if they choose to have children) representative of God's love.  I pray that he treats her like a queen with constant love and respect.  I pray that he works hard to provide for his future family and that he be a wonderful, gentle, leader of his family.  I pray that they honor their commitment with each other.
• Their relationship with each other.  I pray that as they grow older, that X-Man and Little Lou remain friends.  I pray that they stay close and that their spouses be supportive of that relationship. 
• Our family unit.  I pray that we always keep our focus on Christ.  I pray that we are always loving toward each other.  I pray that we can always communicate in love and honesty; and, when needed, that we choose mercy and forgiveness over grudges. I pray that we are always close and that we never feel as if we are a burden to one another.  I pray that they know that they can come to us about ANYTHING and that we will always have unconditional love for them.
• I pray for my future grandchildren.  That they have the wonderful qualities of their parents, and that they also choose Christ.

As time goes on, as life happens, as we see sad and traumatic situations, I feel that it is imperative that we constantly pray for our children.  I'm reminded of some song lyrics "I want to leave a legacy, how will they remember me?  Did I choose to love?", and I pray that the legacy we leave behind, is one that God would be proud of, one that positively impacts the legacy of our future generations.  One that changes our future generations for the better.

Pork - Be Inspired BzzCampaign

I was recently selected to review Kroger's Moist and Tender Silver Plate pork as a part of a BzzCampaign.

As part of the campaign, I received some coupons for pork (including one that was $5 off!), a recipe booklet, a basting brush, and a potholder. 

We don't but a lot of pork, maybe once a month or so when pork chops go on sale.  I tend to buy the lean chops, then throw them in the crock pot with italian dressing, honey, and a squeeze of lime or lemon.  It's tasty, but it dries pretty easily.

So, with my $5 off coupon, I decided to try something that I normally wouldn't get.  The 'regular' ribs were pretty expensive, but the country ribs were very inexpensive ($6.06 for just under 2 lbs, which made it just over $1 with my coupon - SCORE!).

I was concerned that the meat would be dry, so I visited my 'go-to' website for recipes, allrecipes.com.  I found this easy recipe, it took around 2 hours (45 minutes to boil, an hour to bake), but it was so good.  Pretty fatty (since they were country ribs), but DELISH!  I can't wait for ribs to go on sale so I can make a rack or two using the same recipe.

Today's Creed

I've been struggling.  A lot.  I've been seeing evil (in the world), I've felt abandoned, I've felt not good enough.  I've lost sleep, made mountains out of mole hills, and have either not cared for myself, or have been so focused on myself that I've neglected others.   I've been worried about things that may not happen, I've been worried about things that may happen.  I've cried, I've lost joy, and I've found myself in a dark rut.  And I'm done.  I'm over the worry, I'm over the anxiety, I'm over the bad. 

I am blessed.
I am saved.
I am kind.
I care and I love deeply.
I am favored.
I am gracious.

I will not allow anxiety to rob me of joy, confidence, sleep, sanity, relationships, honesty, or life.

Life is bigger than this.

God cares. My anxiety is His, for I am His.

I will find joy in EVERY day.  For my children, for myself, and for the one who gives me each morning.

I refuse to focus on evil.

I will delight in truth.

Truth is love.
Truth is good.
Truth is real.
Truth is Godly.

I choose joy.
I choose love.
I choose truth.
I choose to live.

Yesterday was worry.
Today is a new day.
Today is truth.
Today is peace.
Today is hope.
Today is the only day.
Today is new.
Today starts now.

I am ready.

Specialists and Evaluations and Therapies. Oh My!

I don't know how to start with this post.  I guess a warning would be good - this is probably going to be long.  I want to cover the last few months of what's been going on without skipping over details and all that our X-Man has been through.  So, grab a cup of coffee, and let's talk.

Last fall, X-Man started playing basketball.  We knew he wasn't going to be the star-athlete on the team.  He doesn't have much muscle mass (he weighs only 37 lbs at 6 years of age), and isn't quick on his feet (maybe from clubfoot).  What I wasn't expecting was to leave practice one night sobbing.

At his practice, I noticed something wasn't quite right.  When the other kids were listening to the coach, he was rocking back and forth staring at the ceiling.  When the other kids were dribbling the ball, he was jumping up and down and putting his hands all over the other kids and making unusual sounds.  When it was his turn to dribble across the court, he couldn't without trying to shoot a basket every time he walked past the basket.  He was the disruptive child on the team - the one the coach had to constantly redirect and correct.
My hubby was the assistant coach, and he started to notice too.  Basketball was pointless.  It was basically a time for X-Man to act excessively silly and disrupt the team.  There were a couple of games that the hubby couldn't make due to work, and I would have to walk across the court and try to calm/redirect/correct X-Man's behavior.  He played the whole season as I didn't want him to quit mid-season and he still loved going.  He was very discouraged that he hadn't made a basket, but he still had fun.
So, I called his pediatrician (whom we adore) and she asked that we come in to the office to observe him and help us come up with an action plan.

We spent time discussing things that concerned us, as well as some questions that she had for us.  She recommended that X-Man have evaluations for autism spectrum disorders, physical therapy, and occupational therapy.  We filled out multiple evaluation forms, met with specialists and came up with an action plan.  We would do PT once per month, OT once per week, and thankfully, it was determined that he does not have any form of autism.  It was, however, recommended that we have him screened for ADHD.

I've been having mixed feelings about getting a diagnosis for ADHD.  I feel that there is such a stigma attached; besides, I homeschool, so an IEP really isn't something that he needs at this point.  I talked to our pediatrician about these concerns and she explained that there are support groups and parent-led groups that could possibly help us learn how to cope and help him.  I told her about my concerns with stimulants and that I wouldn't be interested in putting him on medicines.  I'm biased, but X-Man is SO smart, and I'm concerned that medication would alter the way he thinks, and that's the last thing I want for my brilliant child.  I asked if there's some dietary changes we could implement to help his symptoms. She explained that there is no scientific proof that dietary changes help, but on a case-by-case basis, there's anecdotal evidence that it can help.  We decided to cut out gluten, red food dye, and cut back on other dyes, artificial flavors, and sugar.  It has seemed to help.  He was having daily meltdowns, now he has them every three days or so.

He did have the biggest meltdown of his life two weeks ago, which resulted in many stares, whispers, and judgmental glares by patrons of the zoo.  It also resulted in the biggest meltdown of my life, but that's another blog post on another day.

X-Man attended physical therapy in January, February, and March.  His therapist was very surprised.  She said that considering how inflexible his feet are, that he is able to do more than almost any other child that she's seen! In those three months, he greatly improved as we would spend time implementing stretches and exercises at home.  And, at our last visit, he 'graduated' from PT - she recommended that we put flexion-stops back on his magic shoes, and that we continue his exercises and stretches.  She said we could also contact her whenever we had concerns or questions.

X-Man has been going to occupational therapy each week.  Unfortunately, it took a while to get us in as the locations we preferred had no openings.  We go to the main children's hospital, which isn't as bad as I thought - I tend to stay in my quadrant of the city, so I think it's a good thing that I'm being pushed to go somewhere new.  And I absolutely adore his occupational therapist.  She is so patient and kind and easy to talk to, which is great.  About two weeks ago, she asked if we had ever had him assessed for sensory processing disorders.  I told her that we're going to get him assessed for ADHD, but that there had been no conversation about SPD.  So, she described it to us and explained that sometimes SPD is misdiagnosed as ADHD.  We filled out a questionnaire and Audrey (the fabulous OT) scored it for us.

He had two 'senses' that fell within the normal range (I think they were vision and body awareness), the rest fell in a light gray area, which means 'some problems'.  Thankfully, even though some were close, none fell in the dark gray 'definite dysfunction' area.  She also gave us a lot of information on SPD as well as activities to help him throughout the day, called a sensory diet.  So far, it seems to be helping.  He had one of his best, focused days of school to date.  We started the day by having him carry the jug of milk to the table, push a basket of laundry across the floor to the laundry room, load the washer, and then had him chew on chewy jellybeans while he did his math work.  He didn't complain about his math work, and didn't forget to do any of his problems (nearly every day he forgets to do a few problems).  His handwriting actually looked better too! 

There are many times where I think he is just not listening (constantly tossing a ball up in the air, acting very silly, getting very wired when he 'rough houses', making sounds over and over again, etc.), that may actually be him 'stimming', which is something he cannot control.  When we do certain activities on the list, it really seems to help - which is quite amazing.

I feel very happy that he isn't in the definite dysfunction category, and even happier that we now have ways to help him.  I'm still not sure about getting the ADHD diagnosis (or ruling it out), and I'm trying to figure out just what SPD means - I'm currently reading The Out of Sync Child which was recommended by some SPD parents and am spending probably too much time researching - but in the meantime, it feels good to have some answers.  We're going to keep working with him, and doing all that we can to help him.  If you or someone you know loves an SPD child, won't you please share any tips you have?  We could also use prayers for discernment (please no prayers for patience ;) ).  I also want to thank all my friends and family members who have already been praying for us and checking in for updates - your support means the world to us.

Kroger Good For You Campaign - CARBmaster and Greek products

For this campaign, we were given a $10 Kroger gift card to try Kroger's CARBmaster and Greek yogurt products. We purchased four CARBmaster yogurts (strawberry-banana, strawberry-colada, caramel spice cake, and banana cream pie), four Greek yogurts (strawberry, vanilla, peach, and pomegranate), and one Vanilla CARBmaster milk. 

I typically buy 'normal' milk, and the CARBmaster milk does cost more.  Honestly, since we don't have a need for lactose-free milk, we likely won't buy this again. The kids loved the vanilla milk, it was sweet and delicious on cereal.  I was a little surprised at how thin the milk was, I just expected it to be really thick.  It has a rich taste, almost like a milk shake.  We also used a clementine, banana, some crushed ice, a Greek yogurt, and some vanilla CARBmaster milk to make a smoothie.  It was REALLY good.  Maybe in the summer we'll consider purchasing some more as it is lower calorie than our regular 2% milk (60 calories versus 100) - and it did make a fantastic smoothie!

Now for the CARBmaster yogurts.  The price is really good - about $.40 per cup. I am NOT a fan of lower fat/sugar yogurts - to me, they all taste artificial.  Unfortunately, this yogurt was no different.  I tried each of the flavors we purchased (I will say that I am impressed by the extensive flavor selection).  I was really looking forward to the banana cream pie, but like any other low sugar yogurt, it tasted artificial to me.  My kids loved each yogurt though and gladly finished each cup for me.  Of the four we purchased, I liked the strawberry colada the best.  If it weren't for an artificial-sugar-substitute aftertaste, I probably would purchase this flavor again. 


I love Greek yogurt.  Again, I'm not a fan of lower fat/lower sugar yogurts, so I purchased four 'full-fat' Greek yogurts.  I really like Dannon Oikos yogurt - and I gladly spend $1-$1.10 per cup because it's worth it to me.  The Kroger Greek yogurt costs roughly the same - a little less than $1.00 per cup.  So, I knew, unless this yogurt was incredible, I wouldn't replace my current yogurt with the Kroger version.  Again, I liked the large selection of flavors.  The yogurt is good.  It's thick and creamy, the was Greek yogurt should be - just like the CARBmaster yogurt, my issue was an aftertaste.  Kroger Greek yogurt is sweetened with stevia.  I understand that stevia is a natural product, but the aftertaste has nothing natural about it - it tastes pretty artificial too.  I added some candied walnuts to the vanilla yogurt, and that did make a big difference, I liked it much better.  However, it doesn't come close to Oikos for me.  My kids enjoyed it, but I won't be replacing Oikos with the Kroger brand. 

I think someone who enjoys low sugar/low fat yogurt will enjoy the Kroger CARBmaster and Greek yogurts.  Unfortunately, for me, they were just okay.

Bzzagent Review: Schick Hydro Razor

Let me start by saying that the worst razor I ever purchased was a Schick razor. Because of this, I haven't purchased a women's razor from Schick in a few years (my husband does like the men's razors from them). So, to be honest, if it weren't for this Bzzcampaign, the chances of me trying this razor were very slim.

 First, I liked the packaging. It was shiny and pretty - not confusing at all. I like that the razor came with a replacement blade and a holder which suctions to the shower wall. I really like this option as it makes it very easy to keep out of the hands of my little ones. The design of the razor is also good. The handle is easy to grasp, it has almost like a rubbery coating which makes it pretty non-slip. It also has little etchings on the handle which also makes it difficult to slip around in your hand. I've only seen the razor in blue, which is fine; I just think for families with more than one woman, the option of purchasing other colors would be helpful.

The razor was very easy to load. I also noticed, that unlike my current razor, it is impossible to load the razor upside down onto the handle. I've cut myself with my old razor by accidentally loading the razor upside down. One thing I really like about the design is that the razor head maneuvers very well; it actually flexes/rotates about 60 degrees. My current razor is no where near this. It made it very easy and kept my wrist from having to turn and bend awkwardly.

 The first time I used the razor, I was very scared. There are five blades. FIVE. I've been known to cut myself with one or two blades, so I thought for sure that I would annihilate my legs with this one. It also had some moisturizing serum on the top and bottom of the blades (I figured that would be helpful for the many cuts I was about to experience). So, I took a deep breath and started my first use. According to the directions, you need to get the razor wet to activate the serum. So, I ran it under a little water, and then began my shave. It didn't feel like the razors were making contact, but my legs did feel moisturized (kind of slimy in the shower). Even though I couldn't feel the razors, they were doing work. The razor removed all my stubble (I get stubble every single day). Oh, and I didn't cut myself. I've probably used the razor a dozen or so times and haven't cut myself!

 The day after my first use with the Schick Hydro, I noticed that unlike nearly every other morning of my adult life, I had no stubble on my legs. So I skipped shaving. I was actually able to skip two days of shaving (it's a miracle!) before I was able to notice any stubble. I haven't experienced any red bumps on my legs or underarms, so it does seem to moisturize well.

I've used the razor for the past two and a half weeks, and the blades still work very well. The moisturizing serum lasted for about five or six shaves.

 Schick Hydro really surprised me. It is my new favorite razor. I am now a loyal Hydro user and WILL purchase blade refills.