Ok, I'm Losing It !

We had a really good day today. The kids got along together really well which always makes a mommy happy. Hubby surprised us by coming home early from work. We then headed to Joann's to pick up some "southwest" themed fabric for a school project we are working on.

Our homeschool group is having an Arizona "Statehood" day in February. Each child will present a topic to the rest of the group. Hannah has the state flag, Brandon has the state bird, and Jacob has the state mineral. Instead of doing them on posterboard, which we originally planned, we're going to make a family "Arizona" quilt. It will be 9 squares, each containing different state symbols, the flag being in the middle. I'm going to print out some black and white outlines of the different things, trace them onto the squares, then me and Hannah will embroider them. The fabric we ended up getting will work for what we need and will probably end up looking nice, but I was hoping to find a "Route 66" fabric that I had seen there before. We got two chilipepper fabrics. One has large chilis, bell peppers, tomatillos, etc on a black background and the second are smaller sized red and green chilipeppers on black background. The larger print will be the border to the quilt and the smaller print will be the backing which folds around to the front to make the binding. I'd post pics but my computer is still not cooperating:)

One thing I have to share about my sweet daughter that made me tear up tonight. The boys each brought their money with them to spend tonight. At the checkout at Joann's they each sat there debating what kindof candy to get themselves and they each took turns checking out. We were heading to the car and I noticed that Hannah had not asked if we could get her a treat since the boys were getting one, and that she was not even pouting as they were digging into their goodies. I teared up thinking what a "big girl" she was becoming. Then as we were getting into the car, Jacob asked her why she hadn't gotten anything. I piped up and told him that she didn't HAVE any money to spend like they did. She then blew me away with this reply, "I have money at home mom. I'm saving it to buy something for the new baby when it's born." I spent the whole ride home in tears. How did she get so grown up??? I "rewarded" her unselfishness when we got home with a lollipop that we had hanging around and told her how proud I was of her putting other's in front of herself. Anyway, it was just a good "mommy" day for me today.

Tonight was movie night. We watched "How to Eat Fried Worms" and then "Secondhand Lions".
The kids actually sat still and were quiet all the way through them both! That's always a treat for us adults:)

I implemented one of De'Etta's ideas with my kids this week. I've been handing out "stars" to the kids for good behavior/choices, obedience, kindness, etc this week. They are then able to redeem their stars for time with Daddy on Saturday with the XBox. I've noticed a definite improvement in my kids. They are arguing less, sharing more, and willing to help me more readily. They started out asking me things that they could do to "earn stars" and I told them right away that they won't receive one for something done just to receive a star. I will be rewarding for behavior done just because it's the "right" thing to do, and without the expectation of anything in return. So far it's working. It's taken Jacob a couple of days to get the "hang of it" but today was a really good day for him. Usually he spends a good part of the day causing trouble with the others and being very disobedient, he's very strong-willed, but today he was very pleasant. That in itself is worth it! I've been praying very hard for God to help me learn how to "train" more and punish less. Not something that comes naturally for me but I'm working on it.

The kids got ALL of their schoolwork done this week. I "graded" all of Hannah's math tests and then averaged them out and she's currently pulling a 95.8% in math. I don't push "grades" with the kids, and she actually just realized *what* it was that I was doing today, but I need to do it for ME, so that I know how things are going. Plus, my hubby likes to know their progress in "real school" terms. Brandon only has 2 or 3 more weeks of math to go, and then he's done with his for the year. I'm not sure if I should order the next level and keep him going, or just buy some grade-level "fun" workbooks for him to work on??? I hate to break the momentum I have going with him, but don't want to work him to death either. He's still doing good with his phonics lessons. I just needed to wait until he was ready to learn to read. I'm still feeling self-conscious that he's *behind* in that area, it gives my grandma fuel for her anti-homeschool conversations with me, but keep telling myself that "IT'S OK!". It won't ruin him for life, and he'll be caught up in no time. I'm already pondering what we'll be doing next year. I was gonna go the ACE route, but chickened out. I do think we need something more structured for next year, but just haven't cemented anything in my mind yet.

Jen