Hello, 2016!!

I’m really killing it at this blogging thing! I haven’t posted in for-ev-er (A few days shy of an entire year....yikes!)

I have the asbolute worst scatterbrain. I am pretty sure if I were to start losing my marbles in old age, no one would really notice much. (Disclaimer: I know, on a personal level, that Alzheimers is a terrible disease, and I am not making light of it.) Not to mention, my life really isn’t all that interesting.

Tomorrow is back-to-school day! I have mixed feeling about it. The kids were fairly well behaved, and I don’t recall thinking to myself at any point, “I CANNOT WAIT UNTIL VACATION IS OVER!!!” So, that’s a good thing. They are a lot older now, and they can pretty much entertain themselves. They did eat a butt load of food and run me ragged attempting to keep up with the housework, though. I like not having a set routine, even though I need one because of my scatterbrain.

The kids had a great Christmas and made out like bandits. I decided a couple years ago that I was no longer buying gifts for the kids. They all knew Santa wasn’t real and, quite frankly, I dreaded Christmas every year. Do you know how almost impossible it is to shop for 6 kids and try to keep everything equal and fair? I am pretty sure that’s where my grey wispies on my temples came from. So, now, the kids get cash, and they can buy whatever their hearts desire. Less stress. They are happy. I am happy, and we all live happily every after. (And I give them grief about all the useless crap they buy lol)

Let’s see, what has happened since my last post. Lots of laundry happened. My oldest daughter got her license then promptly wrecked her car (smh). She is fine! The car is banged up, but still gets her from point A to B. It is, apparently, totally embarassing to drive now. Sorry, kid. Live and learn.

Hmmmm…..

The husband got a promotion. He is now a Lieutenant and working at a women’s prison. After spending 13 years at a men’s prison, he said the biggest difference is that if there is a fight, the women love to tell everything they know. He said there could be 50 men who witness a fight, and “no one saw anything”. The women are totally the opposite.

We went to Six Flags. We went to the movies. We went ziplining. We went skating. We went swimming. A lot of regular stuff happened in between, but that’s pretty much all I can think of. 2015 wasn’t a bad year.

Well, I am outta here. I gotta wake up at 4 am. :(

Awesome socks!

Oh....my....goodness. I have to get these crazy socks! Aren't they great? lol

Time4Learning Review

Good morning!  I am going to take a couple minutes and review an awesome website that I found recently. 

https://www.time4learning.com

Time4Learning is an excellent tool for those who home school. The website is very straightforward, easy to understand, and navigating is a breeze. 

This is my third year homeschooling my oldest son (7th grade). I am pretty scatterbrained and unorganized, unfortunately. When I was making my own lesson plans, I had a hard time keeping the sequence of the lessons in order, if that makes sense. I felt like I skipped around a lot. There is a fluidity with Time4Learning that I really like. I absolutely LOVE that you can make a lesson plans for the entire school year (or less, if you want) with just a few clicks. Time4Learning keeps track of everything for you. How awesome is that? Homeschooling can be a challenge, and it's really nice to have access to a website that makes it so much easier. Attendance and grades are tracked. In Missouri, you have to log your child's hours, and it can be such a pain! T4L does the tedious work for you. 

Another great feature is that you have access to the lessons within all of the grade levels. That is really helpful if you have a child who might be a little behind in a subject or if you have a child who has mastered their grade level in a subject and can move up. 

With just a couple clicks, you can view all of your child's reports. You can see all of their work in their Student Portfolio. It's really great, and I absolutely love it! The price is very affordable, as well.

Up until I found Time4Learning, I was using primarily workbooks and worksheets. I knew I needed to change things up a  little bit, because my son, who loves school, was feeling pretty bored with his daily routine. I could tell that he wasn't enjoying his school time. My son is definitely a product of the technological times that we live in. He loves being on the computer, so Time4Learning was just what I was looking for. He is excited about school again. :) 

I would HIGHLY recommend Time4Learning for homeschooling families.


Disclaimer: As a member of Time4Learning, I have been given the opportunity to review their program and share my experiences. While I was compensated, this review was not written or edited by Time4Learning and my opinion is entirely my own. For more information, check out their standards-based curriculum or learn how to write your own curriculum review.

Swirled sugar cookies

These are the coolest sugar cookies that I ever did see!

http://salttree.net/2012/10/swirled-sugar-cookies.html/

French Toast Crunch!

Woohooo! I LOVED this cereal! It's a comin' back!

http://time.com/3623148/french-toast-crunch/

Helmet Head

I can't believe my oldest son will be 13 this Friday! He earned the nickname "helmet head" bc he has always been clumsy. :) I can't believe he is already taller than me. He wears men's jeans and size 9 1/2 shoes. It makes me proud and a little sad. Individual days seem slow sometimes, but looking back makes it seems like time is flying by. He is such a smart kid. He is funny and handsome.  He is a great artist. He is sensitive, and he has a good heart. I am proud to be his mom! <3

(He is around 6 yrs old in this pic)

Time4learning!

Over the next 30 days, I will be reviewing Time4Learning. They offer an elementary school curriculum, middle school curriculum, high school curriculum, and tools like theGetting Started Homeschooling Guide. Be sure to come back and read about my experience!