Why is it as a child you feel as if time crawls, but as you get older it feels like somebody is slowly upping the tempo to your life's song until it moves so fast that one day you look in the mirror and realize that the person staring back at you is not the one who did 10, 5, or even 3 years ago? I mean, it's not always a bad thing, it's just a little alarming at how fast time goes by. I'm sitting here pondering the things that need done in my life and while I subtract the hours required to do these things, I realize that I am in some serious debt, time-wise! There are so many things that need done but no time to do them. I almost feel guilty sitting here writing this because at this very moment I am thinking of those few dishes left in the sink that need to be added to the dishwasher or the remaining pile of dirty laundry that needs washed, or heck, the mountain of boxes in our garage that needs tackled. But you know what? Now that I have a few minutes to myself with the children asleep in their beds, I think I'm going to spend the last few minutes of my day to destress, wind down, and veg :-)
I honestly planned to post a detailed update with these few extra minutes (No, really!) but everyone will just have to wait. It's not like there's anything major to report at the moment anyway so I will just leave you all with my "mini-rant" :-)
Monday, April 5, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
My Valentine's Gift
My hubby is so romantic :-)
On another note, we have a big chunk of our stuff moved into the house. It only took two trips in a 26 foot Uhaul truck but we got it done. We will probably have to rent another truck in the future when we are ready to get the last bit of stuff but it can wait for now. Now I'm surrounded by boxes that haven't seen daylight in over 2 years. It's like Christmas and Halloween all wrapped into one because the majority of boxes have nice things in them that we need for the house, and then there are a couple of boxes that have unpleasant surprises from being in storage for so long lol. Well, I better get back to work while the house is quiet!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Snow Day!
This morning we woke up to a surprise- snow! This is the most I have ever seen it snow here in Texas, and I have lived here my entire life. We got at least 7 inches or so. We are really close to the record for here. The girls actually had to go to school today but luckily they got out an hour early. Tomorrow school is closed so we will have to see how we will spend the day :-) I know this doesn't even come close to the amount you folks up north see but for us it's pretty darn amazing...
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The view out our front door this afternoon.
The view out the back door this afternoon.
Our house around lunch time today.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Back on Track
Whew! I feel like I need to knock some cobwebs off of this blog, it's been so long since I've posted an update! Where should I begin? (I can be really corny and bust out into a very well known Sound of Music song here but I will refrain...)
Back in December we FINALLY sold our home in Abilene. We were really bummed to let it go but it was for a good cause. You see, we could not get a place of our own in DFW until we sold the one we owned in Abilene. We have actually been staying my husband's wonderfully AWESOME parents (Yes, I love them to pieces and am not being sarcastic, unlike so many out there who LOATH their inlaws, many times for good reasons.) since we moved from Del Rio so Tom could work in DFW.
While we all get along wonderfully and have helped each other out in so many ways, we knew it was time to focus on a new chapter in our life and get a place of our own. Up until now, Tom was driving 1 1/2 hours one way to and from work. When gas prices were sky high, that hurt. On top of that, he's not a fan of driving, so his stress level was pretty high. To top it off, while staying there, our family of 5 grew to be a family of 7, so things got pretty cramped. So, after selling our home, we immediately began the search for a place to rent close to Tom's work.
Now, many people ask us, "Why don't you buy instead of rent?"
I wish we could buy, but we can't right now. We really need to save up some money and take care of a few things. Well, we could buy SOMETHING. But we don't want to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on just SOMETHING. If we are going to invest our money in something that costs so much, it's going to be our dream house.
Unfortunately we had to take a break from looking for a couple weeks in January while Tom was in Chicago for work. When he got back though, we started our search again. While looking for homes, we came across a few hurdles, the biggest one being the amount of scams out there (There are one or two in particular that I will go into detail about but that will be another post some time later, I have a bone to pick with Quest Property Services.) so that took up a lot of our time. Luckily I worked with a wonderful agent, Debbie Holt, with Re/Max Masters in Grapevine. She helped us out with our search and we finally found a 4 bed 2 bath home in Fort Worth. Once I get a chance to take pics, I will upload them.
Another big change is we enrolled the girls in public school when we moved. I know that some may think that I'm crazy for having them in public school and others may think I was nuts for homeschooling but either way, we decided that this is what's best for them. We enjoyed our homeschooling adventure and may homeschool again in the future. I don't feel too bad about it because the schools that they go to now are excellent and so far the girls love it. They come home every day and tell me all about their day and look forward to going. I'm sure it is just the excitement of a new school but I will enjoy it while it lasts :-)
Well, I guess that's the majority of what's happening right now. Once things settle down a bit I hope to post a little more.
Back in December we FINALLY sold our home in Abilene. We were really bummed to let it go but it was for a good cause. You see, we could not get a place of our own in DFW until we sold the one we owned in Abilene. We have actually been staying my husband's wonderfully AWESOME parents (Yes, I love them to pieces and am not being sarcastic, unlike so many out there who LOATH their inlaws, many times for good reasons.) since we moved from Del Rio so Tom could work in DFW.
While we all get along wonderfully and have helped each other out in so many ways, we knew it was time to focus on a new chapter in our life and get a place of our own. Up until now, Tom was driving 1 1/2 hours one way to and from work. When gas prices were sky high, that hurt. On top of that, he's not a fan of driving, so his stress level was pretty high. To top it off, while staying there, our family of 5 grew to be a family of 7, so things got pretty cramped. So, after selling our home, we immediately began the search for a place to rent close to Tom's work.
Now, many people ask us, "Why don't you buy instead of rent?"
I wish we could buy, but we can't right now. We really need to save up some money and take care of a few things. Well, we could buy SOMETHING. But we don't want to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on just SOMETHING. If we are going to invest our money in something that costs so much, it's going to be our dream house.
Unfortunately we had to take a break from looking for a couple weeks in January while Tom was in Chicago for work. When he got back though, we started our search again. While looking for homes, we came across a few hurdles, the biggest one being the amount of scams out there (There are one or two in particular that I will go into detail about but that will be another post some time later, I have a bone to pick with Quest Property Services.) so that took up a lot of our time. Luckily I worked with a wonderful agent, Debbie Holt, with Re/Max Masters in Grapevine. She helped us out with our search and we finally found a 4 bed 2 bath home in Fort Worth. Once I get a chance to take pics, I will upload them.
Another big change is we enrolled the girls in public school when we moved. I know that some may think that I'm crazy for having them in public school and others may think I was nuts for homeschooling but either way, we decided that this is what's best for them. We enjoyed our homeschooling adventure and may homeschool again in the future. I don't feel too bad about it because the schools that they go to now are excellent and so far the girls love it. They come home every day and tell me all about their day and look forward to going. I'm sure it is just the excitement of a new school but I will enjoy it while it lasts :-)
Well, I guess that's the majority of what's happening right now. Once things settle down a bit I hope to post a little more.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The last few weeks...
...have been flying by! Where does the time go? Jaina celebrated her first birthday on October 11th and Alex celebrated his 2nd birthday on the 28th. They had a blast on their special days and I now have two toddlers running around the house! What did I get myself into? Just kidding! I wouldn't trade my life for anything.
Homeschooling Samara, Andrea, and Myranda continues to be a learning experience for all of us. It has it's ups and downs and I have definitely found my patience limit :-) It's really cool to be completely involved and aware in their educational accomplishments and each day I appreciate the fact that we chose to homeschool. I was a bit nervous in the beginning but I now am confident that we made the right choice for our family.
Samara and Andrea are pretty independent with their learning although I do step in occasionally to point them in the right direction if they get lost and if I feel that a certain topic hasn't been covered as well as I would like. I am super proud of them and amazed at just how fast they can learn when there are no boundaries!
Myranda is doing pretty good as well. She can be very stubborn and distracted at times with her learning. Until recently, she was having a little trouble with learning to read but I have started to notice that everything she has learned is coming together. She can now read well with just a little help with new blends where needed. Now we are having trouble with math. She will sit for a very long time on the same math worksheet. It's not that she doesn't know how to do the work. She just chooses to daydream and goof off. I'm not too worried yet because I'm pretty sure that things will "click" for her in math just like they are in reading. In the process I have learned that beans, candy, etc. when used as a counting tool are more of a distraction than a help, even when the candy is used as a reward for good work :-)
Homeschooling Samara, Andrea, and Myranda continues to be a learning experience for all of us. It has it's ups and downs and I have definitely found my patience limit :-) It's really cool to be completely involved and aware in their educational accomplishments and each day I appreciate the fact that we chose to homeschool. I was a bit nervous in the beginning but I now am confident that we made the right choice for our family.
Samara and Andrea are pretty independent with their learning although I do step in occasionally to point them in the right direction if they get lost and if I feel that a certain topic hasn't been covered as well as I would like. I am super proud of them and amazed at just how fast they can learn when there are no boundaries!
Myranda is doing pretty good as well. She can be very stubborn and distracted at times with her learning. Until recently, she was having a little trouble with learning to read but I have started to notice that everything she has learned is coming together. She can now read well with just a little help with new blends where needed. Now we are having trouble with math. She will sit for a very long time on the same math worksheet. It's not that she doesn't know how to do the work. She just chooses to daydream and goof off. I'm not too worried yet because I'm pretty sure that things will "click" for her in math just like they are in reading. In the process I have learned that beans, candy, etc. when used as a counting tool are more of a distraction than a help, even when the candy is used as a reward for good work :-)
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
From Baby to Toddler
Wow I can't believe it's been a full year since Jaina was born! It seems like only yesterday I was typing the last blog before she was born. I have to say she has been the most easy going baby I have ever known. It's a good thing because Alex is definitely in the terrible twos! Looking back on the day she was born, all of my memories are good ones. It was the most wonderful experience and if we were to have another baby (not happening, lol) I would definitely use the birth center again. I only wish that I had known my options when I had my son but I can't change that and that is okay. For anyone who is having a baby in the future I strongly recommend doing your research and deciding the best option for you. For anyone in or near Denton, Texas I strongly recommend Innana Birth Center (they take most insurance) http://www.inannabirth.com. Everyone there is very friendly, caring and helpful :-)Anyway, I gotta get Alex to go to bed. He's been fighting sleep all evening... I'll leave you with the link to Jaina's birth story: http://mistyfraker.blogspot.com/2008/10/settling-in.html
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
A Time For Learning For All of Us
Now that I have a few minutes to myself I can give a little update. We are officially in week 3 of homeschooling, and while we are still working out some kinks, it seems to be going well. I have quickly noticed that each girl has their own unique learning style. Samara is an independent learner who can read something and recite it back to me almost word for word and retains what she learned. Andrea has a little more difficulty with comprehending what she reads but when I can get her to slow down and actually pay attention to what she is reading she does pretty good. Myranda is easily distracted and sporadic. If she finds something the least bit uninteresting then she gives up. I have had and interesting time finding creative ways to get her interested in what she needs to learn. I have found that games that incorporate what she needs to learn work really good. I am also debating whether I should have them study together or at seperate times. I began with a set schedule for each subject and have had a hard time with the girls disrupting each other. Also, if I have to go over something with one of the girls, the other two are distracted by me. I have started working with each one individually the past couple days and have found that this way has its good and bad points also. I guess I will just have to weigh the pros and cons of each way and go with the one that comes out ahead.
Besides all that we have joined a homeschool group in the county that has been a big help to us in our learning process and we have made new friends as well. We even had our first field trip last week to a coffee roaster!
Besides all that we have joined a homeschool group in the county that has been a big help to us in our learning process and we have made new friends as well. We even had our first field trip last week to a coffee roaster!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Priorities
So yeah I'm not keeping up with the weekly updates for my weightloss but that's okay. I'm still keeping with my goals... I'm down to 198 as of Friday (-8lbs total!!!) so I think I'm doing okay :-) While I'm going to continue working on that I have put the record keeping on the backburner because I have an entirely new project to work on. Tom and I have decided to homeschool the girls!!! I will have more info on that later. Until I get more time to update... ;-)
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Wednesday Update (Just a Little Late!)
Week 3 (Yeah I skipped week 2; shame on me!) 202 (-3lbs, 5lbs total)
Sorry about not updating sooner! It's been another crazy time, but then, when isn't it? LOL
So far my weight loss has been on track so that is good news. I've been pretty lazy at following any sort of a plan but I have been a lot more aware of what I eat. Sometimes I will splurge, like yesterday I had some yummy pizza from Papa Murphy's. I have pretty much cut out all night snacks except for the occasional banana plus I have been sticking to water and diet/sugar free/low-carb drinks. I have also been trying to stay active with my children so I think that has been helping too. Tom and I have decided to homeschool the girls for this year for various reasons so I will have to spend time with them working on physical education. That should help me get more exercise too. Hopefully I will continue having good results to report :-)
Sorry about not updating sooner! It's been another crazy time, but then, when isn't it? LOL
So far my weight loss has been on track so that is good news. I've been pretty lazy at following any sort of a plan but I have been a lot more aware of what I eat. Sometimes I will splurge, like yesterday I had some yummy pizza from Papa Murphy's. I have pretty much cut out all night snacks except for the occasional banana plus I have been sticking to water and diet/sugar free/low-carb drinks. I have also been trying to stay active with my children so I think that has been helping too. Tom and I have decided to homeschool the girls for this year for various reasons so I will have to spend time with them working on physical education. That should help me get more exercise too. Hopefully I will continue having good results to report :-)
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