Home Sweet Home

On Thursday we had a brief swim in the morning (cut short because of a thunderstorm outside, which I didn't think would effect us swimming indoors, but it did), and then we headed to the Crayola Factory and joined one million kids who were there on a field trip. Well it felt like a million kids anyhow. Thankfully the crowd thinned out during our time there. Paul met us there after he finished his office hours. The kids had a blast, which is good because that place is not cheap! The very next day Nadia and Ian asked if we could go back again. We will probably return there some year in the future, but we aren't going two days in a row! After the kids went to bed, Paul and my dad played three games of pool.

My parents started their drive home around 9:30am on Friday as Paul and I were headed to the swimming pool with the kids. Up until that day, there seemed to be very few people at the resort, but that really changed on Friday. Many guests came in for the Memorial Day weekend. On Friday we took the kids for a little hike in the woods and also introduced them to the game of shuffleboard. They also enjoyed playing in the arcade room even though we didn't actually put any money into any of the machines. We took them to Dunkin Donuts for lunch and Dough Boys (pizza place in Delaware Water Gap) for dinner.

On Saturday morning we took them to a theater to see a production of Pinocchio. The kids really enjoyed it! Then we went to the Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm's Farm Animal Frolic. We spent three hours there, and it was my favorite part of the trip. I definitely want to return to this place. They have different kinds of programs at different points in the year. The hay jump was one of Nadia's favorite parts. She was bummed that we didn't stay long enough for her to participate in the tug of war, but the boys were beyond ready to leave. Ian's favorite part was petting the goats. I got one picture of Nadia with a funny expression when a baby goat was nibbling on her jacket. A reporter from WBRE (tv station) videoed her when the mama goat was nibbling on Nadia's hair, and then he interviewed me for a few minutes. We might have been on tv! 

Nadia and Paul went for one final swim before we left. They opened the outdoor pool that day so they could have gone in that pool for the first time, but Paul opted to stick with the indoor pool. Ian wasn't interested in swimming again so I took the boys into the arcade room and also the playground again. We arrived home around 7:15pm last night, and Ian in particular was VERY glad that we were home. It was the longest time the kids had ever been away from our home (9 nights away from home). Coming home from a vacation is always a bit exhausting due to the need to unpack, do a few loads of laundry, go to the grocery store, mow the lawn, etc., but we are all glad to be home sweet home. Nadia sang with the King's Kids in church this morning. Ian made an attempt at joining the choir, which he didn't do last month. Progress. The choir is actually supposed to be for kids in Kindergarten through 5th grade, so he is on the young side. It was smaller than usual due to people traveling for the holiday weekend. I would admit that going on vacation only 90 minutes from our house wouldn't normally  have been something I would have opted to do, but I have to say we had a really nice week. There was a really nice variety of things to do up there! Now tomorrow we'll get back in the routine of doing schoolwork and chores around the house and taking trips to our playground. I took a boatload of pictures yesterday. I will post more later this week!

Foto Friday

Thankful Thursday

1. It was great to be able to attend the Teach Them Diligently convention last Thursday through Saturday. I am very thankful that my parents were willing to watch my three kids for a few hours each of those three days.

2. I haven't cooked anything beyond a grilled cheese sandwich for the last week! I've enjoyed various treats such as Mexican food, a sundae at Friendly's, a blizzard at Dairy Queen, etc. Aside from hand washing dishes and sweeping the kitchen floor, I also haven't done any house work over the past week.

3. I got to play Boggle with my Dad last Friday night. Yay!

4. We've enjoyed special activities this week with my parents including miniature golfing yesterday, swimming twice a day in an indoor salt water pool, a walk at Bushkill Falls on Tuesday, and we're headed to the Crayola Factory in Easton this afternoon!

5. Nadia swam across the pool (where it was 4 feet deep so she couldn't put her feet down) three times last night. It was the first time she ever did it even once without floaties. I think we'll be able to ditch those floaties later this summer!

6. I'm thankful that Paul can work at Kennedy Concrete part-time from May 14-July 1 and that he can teach one chemistry lab at Bloomsburg University from May 20-June 26. It was also encouraging that he received another invitation to interview (which he declined since he's already signed a contract with Bucknell). This latest invitation (13 of 35 schools have invited him to interview thus far) was for another physical chemistry position in North Carolina. If Paul decides he wants to continue teaching in 2015, this would be the exact kind of position he'd want.

7. I thought Nadia would be missing a soccer game (17th) and practice (19th) while we were away, but both were cancelled due to rain.

Wordless Wednesday

Bushkill Falls

The three nights we slept at my parent's house went very smoothly. Nadia was in a bedroom by herself, and the boys shared a bedroom. They didn't have trouble going to sleep, and the earliest any of them got up was 6:45 each morning (and some slept until 7:30 some days). The first night here in the Poconos also went pretty well although Nadia and Ian each woke up (and required our attention) at least once during the middle of the night. Last night was the first time the bigger two had trouble going to sleep (I think not allowing them to nap today will solve that problem). In light of not falling asleep until 9:30pm, they both slept until 7:30 this morning. Oliver fell asleep at 8:00pm and woke up at 5:45am. If we had been at home, I would have let him fuss a little in his crib, and I am confident he would have gone back to sleep. Since he was sharing a room with his siblings, I didn't feel comfortable doing that. Nadia also woke me up at 3am so I was feeling a bit tired this morning. If this happens again tomorrow morning, I'll be moving Oliver's pack n play out of their room.

This morning we met my mom at the swimming pool at 9:30am and spent about 90 minutes there before heading back to our townhouse for lunch. After lunch we spent about an hour at the playground with my parents. While Oliver napped the rest of us hung out in our living room - playing, reading, etc. After his nap we headed to Bushkill Falls. It was the kids first time going on any kind of hike or seeing a waterfall. The weather was gorgeous (almost 80 degrees), and we had a lovely time there! We saw rainbows over the waterfall. I'll post more pictures later this week. It takes forever to upload pictures with this resort's wi-fi. After Bushkill Falls we had dinner at Dairy Queen (ate outside), and then the six of us went swimming until it was almost bedtime for the kids. Even though we wish the water was a bit warmer in the indoor pool (or that the kids were allowed in the jacuzzi), I think we're all having a relaxing time up here in the Poconos!

In the Poconos

On Thursday morning the kids were very anxious to be at Grandma and Grandpa's house so we left at 9:20 after I finished packing and planting the last few annuals in the flower  beds; with two stops (one to return books to the library and the other to get gas for the van), we arrived at their house at 1:00pm. Oliver only slept for 25 minutes. Ian also took a nap. The kids did pretty well thanks in part to food (I had packed lunch), dvd's, and the iPad. Oliver cried some, and the other two asked me countless times how many more minutes until we get there. They enjoyed playing at my parent's house and a walk to a playground that afternoon. We had an early dinner (pizza) at 4pm so that I could head off to the Teach Them Diligently convention. I arrived at the 5:00 session about 15 minutes late due to traffic on the Beltway. I attended three sessions that evening and made one purchase in the exhibition hall (which was much smaller than the one at CHAP). The third session was definitely my favorite. I ended up buying some of her art dvd's the next day. I am really excited about including this in our art curriculum next year! I got home about 9:30pm and was rather tired from all the driving and such.

Oliver waving and saying "Hi, ca(t)!"

On Friday morning I still didn't allow quite enough time for traffic on the Beltway and thus missed the first 15 minutes of an excellent session by Sonya Shafer on helping children establish good habits. I stayed until 2pm and then headed back to my parent's home. That night my parents took us to dinner at Chevy's. What a treat to have Mexican food again for the second time in one month after not going to a Mexican restaurant in years! My dad also played Boggle with me that night after I put the kids to bed, which was another special treat.

On Saturday the traffic was much lighter so I arrived on time, but I wasn't getting anything out of the first couple of sessions, and I decided I had enough of conferences (having just attended a 2 day conference the previous week). I planned to stay until 4pm, but I ended up leaving at 11am.

On Sunday morning we went to Sunday School and church at my parent's church, had lunch with them, and then got in the car to drive to East Stroudsburg (in the Poconos). The traffic on I-95 was really bad, which shocked me for a Sunday afternoon in May. Mapquest had said the trip would take about 3 1/2 hours, but it actually took 5 hours due to traffic and a couple of quick stops. Paul thought he would arrive at the resort before us, so he stopped at Dunkin Donut to get our dinner. In hind sight I should have stopped along the way because he got lost and we had to wait for him for 30 minutes. Our food was cold, we were VERY hungry by the time we were able to eat, and I had a splitting headache from driving so many hours (with Oliver crying quite a bit of the time).

By the time we ate and brought our suitcases in, it was very close to the time we usually start getting the kids ready for bed, but after having been cooped up in a van for 5 straight hours, I felt they deserved a quick dip in the pool so we spent 30 minutes swimming and put them to bed 30 minutes later than usual. We are staying in a 2 bedroom townhouse. The kitchen, living room, and dining room are on the first floor, and upstairs there are two bathrooms and two bedrooms. The three kids are staying in one bedroom together. Nadia and Ian are each sleeping in their own double bed, and Oliver is sleeping in a pack n play. On Sunday night they went to bed quickly. Ian and Oliver had shared a bedroom the previous three nights at my parent's house without any problems. I discovered that if one of them woke up (and was crying), it didn't wake the other child, which amazed me. This afternoon they all took naps at 1pm, which is normal for Oliver but very unusual for Ian and Nadia. The downside of this was that Nadia and Ian had a very hard time going to sleep this evening (didn't get to sleep until about 9:30pm!). I won't be encouraging any more naps for those two over the next five days!

This morning Paul and I took the kids swimming for two hours, came back for lunch, and then before they took their naps we took them to the playground for 30 minutes. When the kids were waking up from their naps my parents arrived here from Maryland. They are staying in another two bedroom unit. All seven of us headed to the pool for a quick dip before going to Friendly's for dinner and to Walmart to buy a few things for the week. Paul left for home after we came back from Walmart. He is teaching a lab on Tuesday and Thursday mornings starting tomorrow. He will come back out to the Poconos on Thursday afternoon. He worked for his dad last Wednesday through Sunday and will put in one more day this week on Wednesday. His working for Kennedy Concrete is helping us avoid paying COBRA for health insurance for 3 months, as our coverage through Bloomsburg ends on May 30 and doesn't begin at Bucknell until the end of August.

Packing and Planting

I've been a busy beaver today because tomorrow morning the kids and I are driving to Maryland to spend a few days with my parents, and then on Sunday afternoon we're driving from Maryland to the Poconos. The kids and I will be spending nine nights away from home. Today I packed our suitcases, mowed the lawn, weeded and mulched the flower beds, planted almost a flat of annuals, mopped, did a load of dishes and a load of laundry, cooked dinner, did schoolwork with Nadia, etc. My muscles are a bit sore from the three hours of yard work, but it was much cooler out today. Yesterday the temp got close to 90 degrees! Today's weather was much better for mowing and such.

So many times I forget to record the cute little things the kids say. Here are two I want to remember. About a week ago Ian said to me, "I want to be a Daddy when I grow up." I said that would be nice. Then he asked if he could be a firefighter and a Daddy. Sure! Then he asked if he could be a firefighter, police officer, and a Daddy. I said that might be a bit too much. I'm just glad Ian has moved on to helping professions as for at least a year he said he was going to be a pirate when he grew up. We finally had to explain to him that real pirates are bad guys. For the last few weeks Nadia has said she wants to be a missionary to China when she grows up. On Sunday she said she wants to be a missionary to India instead. When she was telling this to Kathy at her party on Sunday afternoon, she announced that she wan't ever going to change her mind about this again. LOL! I have a feeling she will change her mind many times over the next 10+ years about her career choice. :)

Mother's Day 2014

Mother's Day 2014

Thankful Tuesday

Aunt Debbie and Oliver

1. I really appreciate that Paul was willing to have sole responsibility of the kids for 34 hours so that I could attend the CHAP convention on Friday and Saturday. I ran into three women that I knew at the conference. Two of them were there with their husbands (both husbands are medical doctors). The speakers I heard were excellent, but I am doubtful I will return to the convention in the future. Depending on how I feel after attending the Teach Them Diligently conference this week, I might not make it an annual tradition to attend a homeschooling conference a year as I thought I would. My favorite session was one on the Common Core (given by a lawyer from the HSLDA).

2. It was so wonderful to spend several hours with my friend, Joyce. I hadn't seen her in in a little more than two years. We had dinner at Cracker Barrel on Friday night, and then we walked around a mall a little bit. We considered seeing the movie "Mom's Night Out," but we opted just to have more time to chat. Neither of us bought anything at the mall. I spent the night at their house, and the next morning they were planning to go to some yard sales, so I joined them for a bit before I headed back to the Farm Show building for the conference. I accidentally left my coat at their house. I remembered this at 3:45pm on Saturday as I was leaving the convention so I went back to their house to get my coat before driving to Paul's aunt's house for his cousin's graduation party. When I went to get my coat, Joyce gave me a few toys for Nadia (ex. a highchair for dolls) that Kristen didn't want any longer (she's in 5th grade right now). That was very sweet!

We've been friends for almost 18 years. 

3. Joyce said that the best yard sale (she got tons of really nice kids' clothes for a dollar each) was one they hit after I left for the convention, but I did get a few bargains such as a Thomas the Train rain boots for Oliver for 50 cents and a really nice pirate ship for Ian (he has played with it almost nonstop since then). I also got Oliver's 2nd birthday present for $5.00 (a much smaller motorized vehicle that involves pushing a button with one's finger rather than pushing a pedal with one's foot).

Elizabeth (Paul's cousin) and the kids

4. I didn't buy any textbooks at the convention (although I was surrounded by such vendors), but I did buy some missionary biographies and some chapter books for Nadia. The chapter books are birthday gifts for her to receive next month. For example, I got books #7-13 of a series we've been reading for a cheaper price than I paid on Amazon for books #1-6.

5. It was nice to see Paul's extended family on Saturday evening, as we hadn't seen them since December 2012.

6. Paul joined us for Sunday School and church, which was a special treat. The parents had been invited to join the preschool class for a lesson on doing devotions at home. Last week I attended a session on praying at home that was done in Nadia's (K-2) class. I like the Faith at Home emphasis at our church.

7. The time away from home on Friday and Saturday showed me that I am not ready to go back to work yet. I missed Oliver in particular something fierce. I almost was in tears. I didn't miss the kids at dinner though. I have to say I did enjoy having a dinner that didn't involve any objections to what  vegetable was being served or the need to cut things into tiny pieces or remind someone not to throw food on the floor.

8. Sunday afternoon we attended a graduation party for a woman in our church who just completed a B.S. in biology. She was offered a job doing research at Geisinger, but she turned it down because she's headed to Guatemala as a missionary next week. We are excited to see how God will use her. I was very proud of the kids because they were serving fried chicken and slices of baked ham at the party, and Nadia and Ian both picked ham and did a GREAT job eating their meal. Nadia also had a huge bowl of fruit salad. Good job, kids!

9. Paul received his contract on Friday by email from Bucknell. They will be paying him $10,000 more than Bloomsburg paid him. Bucknell won't be contributing an additional amount to a retirement account like Bloomsburg did, but overall I still think Bucknell will be paying him a bit more. He's planning to move into his new office the middle of July (after we get back from Florida) and spend the second half of the summer at Bucknell. Tomorrow he's going to start working for his dad part-time and will continue to do that until July 1. Next week he'll start teaching a six week lab at Bloomsburg on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

10. Over the past few days Paul received two more invitations to interview - one was from a community college in Tennessee and the other was from PSU Altoona. He declined both interviews since he accepted Bucknell's offer, but it has been encouraging to see that thus far he has received invitations to interview from 12 of the 34 places he applied. Hopefully this year of experience at Bucknell will make it easier for him to get a permanent job in 2015.

11. Today we went on a field trip with about 40 other children to learn about horses at a farm! There was a farrier and veterinarian present as well as many other helpers who discussed how horses are groomed, measured, what they eat, etc. I signed Nadia and Ian up for 5 private 30 minute horse back riding lessons at the same farm starting in two weeks.

12. We had so much fun with the butterflies the past 3 1/2 weeks! The fifth butterfly spent a lot of time on Nadia's finger yesterday morning. She named the butterfly Lucy and kept showing Lucy all around the house. That butterfly also spent enough time on Ian's hand that I was able to get a picture. Oliver just wanted to grab the butterfly, but we protected the butterfly from Oliver. Nadia set the last butterfly free. I took a picture of four of the empty cocoons and then cleaned out the butterfly garden so we can use it again another year.

13. When Paul asked me what I wanted for my birthday last month, I said if I knew we weren't moving I'd like a wreath for the front door that I could use in the spring and summer. Our front door has a built in hook for hanging wreaths, and typically I only hang a fall wreath and then a Christmas wreath. Since I didn't know if we were moving or not, I asked Paul for birthday cards made by the kids and for him to vacuum out the van. He promised to vacuum the van, but he hasn't had time for that yet. He didn't have the kids make cards for me for my birthday, but he did have them make cards for Mother's Day while I was at the convention. Also, the kids made cards in Sunday School. Ian's card from church is a painted hand print one that I will definitely save!!! In Nadia's card from church she was instructed to write one reason why she loves me and also write one thing she was promising to do for me. She wrote that she'll clean the potties for me. I wouldn't have suggested that chore for her yet, but since it was her idea I let her help me clean one toilet this afternoon. How sweet! Paul went to Walmart to look for a wreath on Friday, but they didn't have any. On Saturday as I was driving to the graduation party I stopped at two lawn and garden stores, and one of them had many beautiful wreaths. It was a tough decision, but I love the one I got. The front door looks so much nicer!!! Although there is something nice about someone else buying you a gift, it's also nice to know that you will like it because you picked it out. :)

14. Yesterday I went to Walmart to pick up a few things, and I noticed that their Mother's Day flower bouquets had been marked down to $7 (more than half off). I picked a pretty one that included stargazer lilies (one of my two favorite flowers). They really do perk up the kitchen table! I should buy them more often. We had hoped to go out to dinner on Thursday night as my "Mother's Day" date, but the babysitter backed out on us the day before our date. We had backed out on her last month for what was to have been my birthday dinner date due to Oliver being in the hospital. We haven't been out on a date since February. Hopefully we'll have more success in June!

15. The trees have leaves and some have blossoms. Spring is such a beautiful time of year! I usually just take pictures of my three kids, but I did snap this photo (above) of some apple blossoms on one of our apple trees on Monday afternoon.

16. Every Mother's Day, I am filled with gratitude for the three blessings the Lord has graciously given me. Every May I am keenly aware of how hard this day is for those women whose arms are empty. I am ever so grateful to be a stay-at-home homeschooling mom of Nadia, Ian, and Oliver.