Happy October

Yes...It's Halloween time! I love Halloween!!! It's time to get out the decorations. It's time to watch the boys get out all the costumes and try them on. I love watching them play in their costumes! I'm tempted to take the day off to decorate the house and watch some fun Halloween movies! In reality, I'll probably do the decorating, but the day off and movie watching will have to come later! We already took off last Thursday to go to COSI. Pokemon King had an interview for their volunteer program. Friday we went to the Dayton Air Force Museum with my parents, my sister and her kids. I'll try to post pics sometime this week! So, today is back to school. But, we like Mondays for MOVIE MONDAY! It's time for another fun filled episode of Mythbusters!

School is In

School is in session. Sadly, I think I'm already burned out! The boys like the new way of schooling. I, however, worry because they are getting done quickly! Pokemon King and Dinodude are more responsible for their work these days. I'm trying to get them to assert their independence and learn for themselves. I think they will remember things better if they figure it out on their own, instead of me just telling them.

I don't like to compare my children to each other, but I've been thinking back at how Wally was at this time where Pokemon King is now. His work seemed a lot more advanced than Pokemon King's, so of course I am officially worried. I can totally see how reading while young is very important. Wally was writing 2 page papers on History and Science and I'm lucky to get a paragraph out of Pokemon King. The difference between the two of them? Wally has always been a reader. Pokemon King has not. I am positive that has made a tremendous impact.

My goal this year is to get Pokemon King writing and reading. He is doing a lot more with reading, which is good. We are going to be working on writing more as the days progress. So, hopefully by year's end, he will be writing a lot better.

We've also decided to start the week off by having a 'Movie Monday.' Not a regular movie, but something educational or close to it. Although today's Tuesday, we decided to go ahead and watch something. We watched an episode of Mythbusters. If you haven't seen it, check it out. It's very interesting! On the episode we watched, they were recreating the motorcycle stunt from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. They wanted to see if throwing a stick in the wheel of a motorcycle would cause it to flip. Another stunt they decided to do was to find out if tying bedsheets together would allow a person to escape from prison. Along with the bedsheets, one of them tried tying hair together and the other tried toilet paper. I won't tell you the outcome. You need to see for yourself, but the boys and I really enjoyed it! So, come Monday, we will be watching another episode.

Look What I Made!

I attempted to make a new scripture bag. The scriptures I have are an older version of scriptures. The ones they make now are made with a thinner paper, so they are skinnier. My case is made for the newer ones, so I got tired of trying to stuff them in. I decided to use some fabric I have leftover. I originally was making a quit, but realized it was smaller than what I had envisioned! So, I decided to turn it into my very first scripture bag. I am definitely no 'Martha Stewart' when it comes to sewing, so it's not perfect, but I have to toot my own horn and say I'm pretty proud of how it turned out. I got the handles at JoAnn Fabrics for only $1!

Lazy Summer

The summer has whizzed by and we haven't done very much. Chalk it up to my laziness. Wally is heading to the fair to sing with the choir for a while. Pokemon King will be leaving for scout camp soon. We are planning a vacation. We're thinking Universal Studios. But, we want to wait until September or even November to go. Florida in the summer is crazy! Not to mention hot! When we went to Disneyworld a few years ago, it was November. The weather was perfect and it wasn't very crowded.

Next year I've decided we are getting pool passes. It's been pretty hot here and I know the boys would like to swim. My goal until then is to get them some swimming lessons. Plus, by then Babymoon will be almost 3, so I think it will be a lot easier on all of us!

In the meantime, I've been getting school ready for the new year. We've changed some things for the new school year. Surprised? LOL! I know, I'm always changing things. I've been reading up on Sue Patrick's Workbox System found here. Now, I kind of cheated, because I didn't buy the book. I skimmed through tons of blogs and made up my own similar system.

The boys each have a bin with mailing envelopes in them.

They range from 6-12 depending on the child. In each folder is an assignment written on a card and a card for the different type of narration required.

Also included are any books or papers that are needed. They must complete each folder before moving on to the next one. Pokemon King and Dinodude each have 12. So, once they have completed their 12 folders, they are done with school for the day. I've also included at least one fun item, like computer time, wii fit, ride your bike, have a snack, etc. So, in reality they are only completed 11 items. I'm also working more towards the two of them working independently. Obviously if they need help, I'll help, but I want them reading the assignments and trying to do them on their own first. I really think they learn better when they try for themselves. Rocket and Babymoon also have the envelopes too, but not as many. I'm really looking forward to using this system and hope it really works. Wish us luck!

Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership with God

I've seen this on blogs and facebook and love it! So, I thought I'd share it with you. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Happy Anniversary

Thirteen years ago today, it was hovering around 90 degrees. Although it was pretty hot, it was sunny and beautiful! That was one of the best days of my life! June 21, 1997, I became Mrs. Bond! Woohoo!!

I am so blessed to have married the most awesome man. He treats me like a queen (and why shouldn't he? LOL!) And is the best father in the world to our boys. Thank you Bond for these amazing 13 years. I look forward to so many more with you!

I love you! Happy Anniversary!

Bond took Dinodude, Rocket & Babymoon to the park. While they were gone I did some cleaning up and got ready for bed. Rocket walks in the door and notices I am in my pajamas. Immediately, he tells me, "Hi Mom! I see you're all pajama-ed up!"

Sleeping Issues

If you don't know, I am not a very good sleeper. I haven't been for a long time. Believe me, I would LOVE to sleep, but it just doesn't happen easily. What makes it worse is seeing Bond lie down in bed and in the blink of an eye....he's completely out! So after thinking long and hard on the subject of sleeping, I have diagnosed my sleeping disorder. I suffer from.....

R.B.S.

Restless Brain Syndrome!

Here are some common questions used to diagnose Restless Brain Syndrome...

• Do you lie in bed constantly thinking that one of your children is going to wake up.
• Do you have a teenager who has not returned home from an evening activity and has usage of a vehicle?
• Do you hear every single noise inside and outside the house and try to figure out what made the sound?
• Do you lie there wondering what to fix for breakfast, lunch and dinner?
• Do you wait for a child to come into your room to complain he can't sleep or that he is not feeling well?
• Do you lie there thinking the garage door is open and/or the house is locked and wondering if you should go check?
• Do you lie there worried that the alarm is not going to go off in the morning when it's supposed to?
• Is there a special event coming up that you just can't get out of your head? Especially if you are the one planning it!
• Do you lie there thinking there is something you forgot to do, but you just can't figure out what it is?

If you answered yes to the majority of these questions, then you, too, could possibly be suffering from....Restless Brain Syndrome.

Sadly, there is no immediate cure for Restless Brain Syndrome. At least I haven't been lucky enough to find a solution. So, if you or someone you know suffers from Restless Brain Syndrome and have had luck in finding a solution, please let me know.

Happy Birthday, Pokemon King!

Pokemon King turned 12 this weekend. My, how the time flies! He is growing into such a fine young man. I am so proud of him! He had a sleepover with some of his friends to celebrate.

We love you, Pokemon King!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all you women out there! I am so blessed to have my amazing boys. I am proud to be their mother. Every year I look forward to the wonderful breakfast they make for me. Then, I get catered to the rest of the day. How lucky am I!!!

This is the wonderful breakfast my boys made for me. There was another piece of bacon at the top, but Babymoon decided that it was his!

Dinodude made this for me. He also made me a really cool card.

Our normal tradition is to go to Old Man's Cave on Mother's Day. This year, we were unable to go due to the fact that Wally and I were asked to play and sing in church. I also decided it was a little cold to go as well. The temperature was only in the mid to upper 50s. That wouldn't be so bad, but since they are caves that don't get much sun, it would feel even colder. We might go this weekend, but we are undecided at this point.

Zoo Day!!!

We decided, well, the boys decided, that we should take a trip to the zoo. According to Pokemon King, he will only go to the zoo on a day when there's school. He says any other day it's boring! Crazy kid! So, we packed up and headed to the zoo. Pokemon King was the photographer for the day, so these are mostly taken by him.

We loved the fact that this turtle had his mouth open!

Dinodude touching a 'Children's Python.'

Rocket's turn to touch the Python. I'm really surprised he touched it!

"Barbara Manatee.....you are the one for me...." (If you've seen Veggie Tales, you know what I'm talking about. If not, you are completely lost!)

This was a really cool red fish we saw. We need to look it up to find out what it is.

Dinodude and Rocket got to pet this wonderful starfish.

This tiger kept pacing back and forth along the window. Rocket would not go near it!

Yodel-odle-oo! These types of goats always make me think of yodeling!

A Tufted Deer

Red-crowned Crane-If you look hard you can see the patch of red on the top of its head.

Rocket and Babymoon posing with the penguin, which sadly, we didn't get a chance to see.

My boys! What well behaved boys they were today. I am so proud of them! Thanks to them, I got to keep my sanity!

Happy Spring Break!

It's really starting to feel like spring. We have the week off, with the exception of a few tidbits we needed to finish from last week. It's pretty funny how much I can accomplish when there's no school! So far, I've done 3 loads of laundry, stripped the beds and remade them, finished up the school tidbits, vacuumed and shampooed the den and the dining, which meant clearing the furniture out of the room, and I still made time to eat some lunch! I've got the windows open and the house is starting feel fresher. The winter always seems to make it stuffy, so it's nice when spring rolls around and we can open it all up!

Bond's birthday is tomorrow! He and I went out for dinner on Saturday for his birthday, but I'm trying to come up with some ideas to do for him. Cheap ideas! If anyone has any ideas, please let me know!!!

Where in the World Have We Been?

How long has it been? January! Sheesh!!! What could possibly be more important than keeping up to date on the blog? Busy times are upon us. As of now, we are at least all healthy. Over the past few months someone has been known to be sick. The worst was Bond, but thankfully, he is all better now.

Valentine's Day came and went.

St. Patrick's Day came and went.

Easter is almost here. Does my house show it? Not in the slightest! I need to get those decorations out! Otherwise the Easter Bunny might just pass us over.

School is going well. Not much to report other than the usual, so I won't bore you with the details.

The time change has really messed me up. But, it's done wonders for Babymoon, who still goes to bed around 7:45pm and sleeps until 7:30 or 8:00am. And he still takes a nap. Of course, now that I've mentioned it...well...it's over, right?

Bond and I started back up our exercising. We do it in the morning instead of the evening. Although it's a pain getting up, it's working much better. Too many things go on in the evenings...Chuck, 24, American Idol, Lost, etc. Just kidding...well...not really! Who wants to exercise when you can sit on your butt and put your eyes to work! Seriously, we are on Day 8 now and Bond has already lost 2 pounds! I haven't checked my weight yet. I'm not sure if I really want to! Having him exercise with me makes all the difference in the world. I'm not sure if I would do it if he wasn't right there by my side!

Wordless Wednesday-Sleeping Beauties!

We Had 'Snow' Much Fun!

With this nice January snow, we definitely had to take advantage of it. Although, I think we spent more time getting ready than we did actually sledding!