On a Lighter Note...

Found this poem while blog surfing. Especially funny to me, since we only have 1 bathroom!

Attention Children:
The Bathroom Door is Closed!
Author Unknown



Please do not stand here and talk, whine, or ask questions. Wait until I get out.

Yes, it is locked. I want it that way. It is not broken. I am not trapped.

I know I have left it unlocked, and even open at times since you were born, because I was afraid some horrible tragedy might occur while I was in there, but it's been 10 years and I want some PRIVACY.

Do not ask me how long I will be. I will come out when I am done.

Do not bring the phone to the bathroom door.

Do not go running back to the phone yelling: "She's in the BATHROOM!"

Do not begin to fight as soon as I go in.

Do not stick your little fingers under the door and wiggle them. This was only funny when you were two.

Do not slide pennies, Legos, or notes under the door. Even when you were
two, this got a little tiresome.

If you have followed me down the hall talking, and are still talking as you face this closed door, please turn around, walk away and wait for me in another room. I will be glad to listen to you when I am done.

Oh ... And yes, I still love you.

Mom

Kingsport Fun Fest

Well, for a local fun day, we decided to check out Kingsport's Family Fun Fest. People were talking about it around town, on the radio and in the newspaper, so we thought it'd be fun. Here are the medeival guys fighting for their lady:

But that's where the fun ended. I dunno if we just couldn't find the rest, or if it was just a little lame. So instead we went to Chuck E. Cheese, where there's always a Fun Fest goin' on!

Things that kept us busy in Tampa- SWIMMING!

We swam for our cousin Noah's Birthday party:

and for our friend Dylan's birthday party:

Trip to Shriner's Tampa, FL

So, we've been gone for a very long time! Toby had an appointment with the Shriner's hospital down in Tampa to get fitted for a prosthesis. For any of you who don't know, Toby was born as a congenital amputee, LBE, or missing left arm below elbow. Nothing stops the kid, and he can maneuver his "little arm" precisely enough to be a master Game Boy player! But he decided he would like a prosthesis to help with bike riding balance. For now, that's all his interested in using it for, although he likes to put it on and show people. We arrived to Shriner's on June 4th, and kept ourselves busy playing Pokemon cards and making friends with the pet therapy people!
Next, Mr. Danny made a cast on Toby's little arm to begin the prosthesis mold.




He had to bend it and hold it just so while it was drying for the correct angle of the elbow bend in the prosthesis. Mr. Danny was amazing, and made us all feel like family! About 2 wks later, we got to pick up the finished product.

The prosthesis has a harness system that is secured around his other arm and on his back. It is adjusted to pinch together when he pulls the prosthesis forward. For Toby it will be a great tool, and we are so blessed to have the opportunity to go to the Shriner's Hospital. When you see your Shriner's with their fez hats asking for donations, pull out your money! They treat everyone for FREE, up until age 21! This is such a blessing for us, and I know other parents who would otherwise have a worry of money, or insurance claims, on top of the worry of getting the right treatment for your child. Hopefully we'll have pics this weekend of Toby riding his bike!

A Day in the Life of Me...Inquiring Minds want to Know!

I have people say to me all the time, "I don't know how you get it all done!" "What do you do all day?" "How do you do it?". Well, today I decided to write down what we did, as we did it. True life today. This is a good day on the scale of productivity, some not quite as much as this. Maybe I'll do it tomorrow too....

A Day in the Life of Me:

6:30 wake up Morning Routine
7-8 Walk (Frank wakes up with kids, breakfast and their morning routine)
8-8:30 Bible

8:30-9 Math Toby & Zane, Sophia Preschool worksheets
9-9:15 Astronomy Toby, mom checks emails, Zane free time
9:15-9:30 break time, mom on computer tasks

(Jude and Sophia playing with activities while we are doing more school)

9:30- 9:45 Zane phonics Toby independent history reading: The Columbus Story Alice Dalgliesh Narrate
9:45-10:00 Wind in the Willows Reading with mom
10-10:30 Snack & Morning Chores (Me Load of laundry, Toby load dishwasher wipe table, Zane wipe bathroom, Sophia bring toys upstairs)
10:30-11 First Language Lessons Toby & Copywork Zane too
11-11:15 Piano Practice Toby
11:15-11:30 got an eBay customer-kids played Wii Mario Kart
11:30-11:40 Phone Call with Mortgage Person
11:45-12:15 Outside play-kids Mom-schedule an eBay listing
12:15-1pm Lunch outside, play outside, clean up
1-2 Quiet Time
2-6 Leave for town to run errands (not that normal for a Wednesday, usually I get to stay home all day! This time usually spent with more quiet time, and a walk to the park or a show on TV) Paid ticket at courthouse, shipped package, went to Lowe's, Home Depot, Wal Mart, Starbucks, picked up Frank in Bristol
6-7 Home, Outside chores
7-8 Cook dinner & eat
8-8:30 bedtime ritual
And tonight I went out and bought the Wii Fit while Frank was performing said bedtime ritual. Crazy, but true. One for me, some to sell on eBay.
11:30 blog all of this
11:40 fall asleep! Usually in bed by 11....Good night!

Weekly update

It's been a while since I posted, sorry for those of you who check every day! The Fri before last my poor mama fell on the sidewalk while walking over to our house and required a dozen stitches:( I will spare you pictures....not very family friendly! Besides that, we've been plugging along at homeschool, organizing our ever chaotic household and preparing for spring. I am sooo ready for spring! Don't get me wrong, I've adjusted to cold weather better than I anticipated, and I sure don't miss the swealtering, humid summers. The thing I miss is the color green! We are about to start vermicomposting. For those of you who don't know what this is, it's a composting system using worms. We are going to buy this system:

and use these worms:

We got some great reclaimed wood from an old barn to build raised beds out of, and have some locals helping me figure out what in the heck I am doing! Homeschool will be very science heavy for the next few months:)! The boys are excited about feeding the worms, and I can't wait to cook with something from MY garden! I'll post in a week or two with pics of the raised beds and the composting system. Here are some smiling faces for you: