The value of blogs, books, "playing" on the internet all day, and chicken noodle soup

I told my mom she should start a blog.  Just because she knows so much.  I stumbled onto a blog when I was looking for something about vocal instruction on the net.  It was super awesome!  This lady, who is raising and homeschooling ten children, just talks about things she thinks/learns/knows, and she has inspired me to do better.  It’s nice when those who are a little older and wiser share with those of us trying to learn everything in a hurry.  I was thinking back to all the things my mom taught me, all the fun things we did.  I remember making gingerbread houses (both from graham crackers and from scratch), cooking all sorts of things, making our own ornaments, gardening, canning, sewing, piano lessons, singing, etc.  It just seems like she knows so much about everything!  I can’t say I do all those things with my kids, but when I read inspiring blogs from other moms, or think about my own childhood, I get up the motivation to do a craft or project that otherwise would not have been on my “to do” list.

Today has been one of those days where I didn’t backslide on the house too much, but definitely didn’t make any progress.  The kids got most of their schoolwork done, but we didn’t do anything spectacular.  What I did do was spend hours upon hours on the computer looking at curriculum, homeschooling support blogs, more resources, reviews, authors, etc.  Sometimes productivity doesn't exactly look productive.  It looks like mom sitting on the computer surfing the net.  I have a big long list of books I want to read (preferably before actually buying them), and a slightly shorter one of books I want for the kids this year.  But right now, I’m going to go eat chicken noodle soup (not homemade but helped along by adding stuff) and play Boggle :) (Demetri's spelling lesson for the day!).

A Happy Productive Day

We were very productive today.  Demetri usually gets up before me and does his scripture study, which he did today.  Then we have breakfast, and I get the kids started on writing practice.  Olie is tracing letters and numbers.  Both of them love to write letters and send and receive mail.  While they do schoolwork, I do the dishes and clean up the dining room and kitchen.  Then it’s math time.  We were done by 11:30, in time to go to the opening of the rec center, where the kids enjoyed the tour and the hot dogs.  We came home for naps and more school (reading and then math games on the computer for fun).  I had a headache and ended up taking a long nap; I still have a headache and I’m trying to decide what to do about it (Shawn doesn’t want me to take Advil!).  But even so, we did a lot!  It’s almost 9:00 and the kids are in bed, much of the house is clean, and all the dishes are done :).  We had an easy dinner (shepherd’s pie) and there was enough left over for Shawn’s lunch.  We had FHE, sang, read a story, practiced violin, and the kids were in bed almost on time.  Demetri begged to stay up and help me clean after I had the other kids in bed…which is the reason the living room is clean.  Some days absolutely nothing gets done and we struggle to get even one school subject completed.  This wasn’t one of those days. 

Why I Blog

Blogging is a form of procrastination for me.  I like to write, when I actually get around to it, and blogging is an excuse for not currently cleaning the kitchen, doing more laundry, or planning tomorrow’s cub scout activity.  Things you’ve been putting off become more stressful the longer you put them off, and blogging also relieves some of that stress (no idea why).  

I have a new bed.  I love, love, love this bed.  I’ve never been on one so soft.  I am beginning to appreciate that value is relative and subjective.  

I’m exhausted.  Homeschooling is a lot of work.  I don’t know how long we’ll do it, but I’d better get organized in a hurry if it’s going to be very long.  Shawn’s working on putting a curriculum together. 

We’ll be working on perfecting a crockpot chicken pot pie this week.  I have 3 recipes to try.

SO very elated about the new rec center opening next week.  Free gym and swimming pool a 2 minute drive away (the other one we’re allowed to use is 20 minutes each way).  Shawn has volunteered to watch the kids whenever I want to go…think he’s trying to tell me something?!  Anyway, he’s been really good about not bugging me to work out (I think he got too frustrated).  It’ll be a lot easier to go now that there’s one that close, and Shawn can take the boys swimming…if he’s that brave.  It’s hard for one adult to keep an eye on all of them in water.

Pinterest is interesting.  Not sure I have the time, but it sure is entertaining.  One more form of procrastination.

Getting off the couch...

I’m supposed to be making a pirate ship birthday cake.  I will get to it very soon.  I’ve been very sick, very whiny and cranky (poor Shawn), and have had a difficult time getting through each day.  I’m sure I’ll feel better soon; this doesn’t last forever.  Shawn did the dishes for me this evening :).  And the boys even helped clean up after dinner.  I’m going to stick a movie in my laptop and get going on this cake. 

I need to stop stressing.  I’m sure everything will work out.  I’m going to have the baby either in California or Idaho, and we’ll pick where as we figure out what will work best.  If the car breaks down we’ll live, and I don’t need to worry about where we’re going to be stationed next.  I don’t have any say in it anyway and it’s still 9 more months away. 

The little boys think playing school is fun, and Demetri thinks writing is the most horrible thing he has to do every day.  I hope it changes as he gets better at it.  Next week we’re turning in registration for a play.  Demetri’s going to try “A Pocketful of Rhymes” and see how he likes acting.  The opportunities here are wonderful and I thought we should take advantage of them for the short time we’re here.  (Besides, it keeps me busy and forces me to get dressed and leave the house.)

Pirate ship cake here I come!

Some weeks I have more to say than others

I'm home...an hour and a half after cub scouts is over. I did stay and talk, mostly about cub scout things. But I was also pulled over on the way home, and sat there for 20 minutes. I know because I was watching the clock. I was also watching the policemen behind me, who waited for a backup car, walked around my car to see if anything else could possibly be wrong aside from my headlight being out, looked in every window, and purposely shined a flashlight in my rear view mirror every time I tried to look at them in it (that was actually kind of hilarious). I'm not sure if there were slow computers or if they were standing out there just talking about good times, but eventually two came back and gave me some sort of a strange citation...a reversible citation? Anyway, I go get it fixed and show up at the police department so they can make sure I did it. Not a problem...different...but much more sensible than just giving people tickets for things they didn't know were wrong with their car. Demetri was terrified...we spent the 20 minutes going over why we weren't going to jail, what exactly was wrong with the car, why that was a problem, whether policemen can pull people over "for fun," how they can tell things from looking up license plates and looking at a driver's license, etc, etc.

On to life. I'm 8 weeks pregnant. I can eat potatoes and ice cream. Rice makes me instantly sick...even the smell. So do eggs, but I love eggs so much that I eat them once in a while anyway, and pay for it the rest of the day. I lay on the couch more than I should, but usually still manage to get dinner on the table and the laundry done. Evenings are the worst, so I'm slowly going back to the crockpot.

Demetri starts his charter school on the 15th, and for the most part he's excited. I'm trying to put together a curriculum (which I have ample time for as I lay on my couch) as well as a halfway organized cub scout plan. I'm learning a lot. I'm very excited about a website called scouttrack.com; it will eliminate soooo much work if we can actually use it!

Shawn and I are both nursery leaders now. It's much easier than an older class because I can walk or sit and because Shawn's so awesome with the little kids. I'm glad he's having fun...I need to take a video camera.

Shawn is going to China for several weeks. And I think I'm going to cook tv dinners the whole time he's gone. Yep, good plan. He helped a lot with the house over his vacation. Maybe not his idea of a vacation...but, well, he is getting paid to go study (and SIGHTSEE) in China, and I get to stay home with the kids, and I really wasn't feeling that well. I'm very grateful that my husband loves me.

Several of my good friends are moving in the next couple of months (or have moved recently), and I'm depressed. Happy for them...but depressed all the same. It's been so hard to explain to the children why they can't visit with their friends anymore. Well, not hard to explain, just hard for them to understand. The hardest to take is Alyissa moving. It's probably rare to be so close to your next door neighbor, but the kids thought of it as a second home, and walked in as they pleased (even though they still got in trouble for that!). Our kids played together almost every day. Mine have been asking me why strange men are in her house (the management people getting it ready to rent again) and if we're going to eat dinner with her family.

I had to go over child abuse prevention with Demetri as a cub scout requirement. One of the warnings was not to accept gifts from adults without your parents' permission. This evening he asked me if a Bear scout could be a child molester. I, being slightly alarmed, replied that it's possible...another scout had given him a "gift"--an origami dragon he'd made. I chuckled and explained that it was okay to accept the gift, and thanks for telling me about it. He might be a tad bit paranoid after that prevention stuff but better safe than sorry, eh.

I've actually been keeping more busy than I'd like to be, but it'll slow down in a few days, and even more as my friends continue to move :(. I went to a friend's house today and she showed us how to make Hungarian pastries. I can't wait for her to translate the recipes and e-mail them to me. They were so yummy, and I even kept them down. Hooray for friends who are great cooks! But mostly, hooray for friends in general :).

A Typical Day on the Ringen Ranch

14^th July 2011- Thursday

It’s awesome to be back on the ranch. I don’t realize just how much I miss it until I get back here. This morning I got up and stacked firewood for a couple of hours. The kids have disappeared with my 11 year old sister and 7 year old brother, and I doubt I’ll see much of them this week. They did, however, come help stack wood this morning. I can’t believe how much more active a lifestyle I live when I’m here. After firewood Tyler and I went to help Dad where he’s logging (at Solberg’s). I was supposed to drive the skidder and Tyler was going to hook the logs. We got sidetracked picking berries for a couple of hours (at Dad’s instruction), and then we helped. It was good time spent with my brother. I’m pretty rusty on the skidder and the brakes are bad…I’m not sure how much help I really was. I busted one of the logs in two, and forgot to bring the blade up a couple of times. I kind of think he could have done it faster without me but was taking the time to reteach me a skill.

After work we went to town to get diesel. It’s the only time I would go into a store looking like a hobo and smelling much worse. When I’m with others just as dirty and smelly and I’m in Kamiah…people just assume you’ve been working hard.

All in all, it was a good long day. I was so tired I went to bed around 10:30, causing me to believe that my insomnia would be quickly cured by some good hard work. Even the kids are sleeping better.

Oh yes, and Shawn now has a bird--a parakeet to be exact. Our neighbors were driving across the country and were getting rid of it. He, now named Basil I believe, is keeping Shawn from being too lonely.

What- I have blog?!

Yes, I know it's been roughly a month, and I have no excuse. But look at me now- I'm writing on my blog and it's 2 in the afternoon instead of 2 in the morning. :)

Demetri is gone for a whole month and I'm keeping busy so I don't constantly call the poor kid. We had a great 4th of July...with absolutely no fireworks, but a lot of relaxation. It was nice to have Shawn to myself for a few days.

Demetri is now enrolled in a charter school for next year, which I'm very excited about. We're about to start gymnastics (that is, if I can tweak the food budget a bit, haha), and I'm going to attempt, again, to give at least two of my boys piano lessons. I struggle with consistency.

My semester is almost over, and I'm learning a lot. If there is such a course at BYU-I, I want to take an in-depth class in logic...it would really help my critiques. Hmm, and maybe improve my mind as well. My English class just touched on it enough to show me I need to learn a lot more.

Birds have eaten all my green tomatoes off the vine and I'm about to sit outside with a shotgun to guard my beloved produce...or invest in a net. At least it's warm and beautiful outside and the plants are growing pretty well.

I'll be haying at the ranch for the next couple of weeks- just found out. So the kids get to have their own little vacation at Grandma's even if we did cancel most of the other vacation stuff we were thinking of. :)