The First week of School is Done

Wrapping up the first week of Pre-K for my little Ladybug I'm wondering if she'll be too far a head to send her to kindergarten next year. It's only the beginning and she already is learning basic addition, the states and their capitals, and the basic reading skills. She can is an expert at letters, numbers, shapes, and colors already. Hubby wants her to start school next year but I think it will be holding her back. She is so smart and picks things up super quick. I would love for them to test her and maybe start her is 1st grade instead.

Her first week was exceptional. I separated all of her "subjects" into stations.

*reading- listening to me read, reading comprehension, sight words, rhyming words, letter sounds
*writing- her name, lowercase and uppercase letters, numbers, sight words
*science- experiments, nature, life skills
*math- numbers, counting, addition, subtraction, fractions
*games- memory, card games like go fish, uno moo, puzzles, pick up sticks, tic tac toe, dominoes, etc.
*America- about the flag, states and capitals, pledge of allegiance, star spangled banner, historical figures
*sensory- sensory tubs and crafts
*Bible- Bible story, Bible verse, daily prayer, craft or worksheet

Then she was able to choose whatever she wanted to do. It was great to see what she would choose. It kind of gave an insight into what her interests are. On the first day she chose the sensory tub first. I knew she would because she was interested in what it was. She loved it! Her and Butterfly played in it for almost an hour. The second day I was excited to see what she would pick because she knew what everything was now. She chose Reading first. We read a chapter in Charlotte's Web and then she answer question's about the chapter for reading comprehension skills. After that she worked on sight words and rhyming words.

She learns whatever she wants until she is bored. If she doesn't get through all the subjects that's OK. Some days she did school for 5 hours others was only 3. I think her learning this way is why she loves learning. She is in control of what and when she learns rather then being told.

One Day at a Time

“" Life can be like a roller coaster...
And just when you think you've had enough,
and your ready to get off the ride and take the calm, easy merry-go round...
You change your mind, throw you hands in the air
and ride the roller coaster all over again.
That's exhilaration...that's living a bit on the edge...that's being ALIVE."

--- Copyright © 1999 Stacey Charter”

Lately my life has been one crazy roller coaster. I'm lucky if I get 4 hours of sleep each night and my eating habits are pretty crappy. Hubby just went back on over nights and the whole family has been effected. Newborn+toddler+preschooler+husband= one tired mommy!! I will say I am getting pretty good doing things one handed and multitasking is the only way I do things. But hey who doesn't like a good roller coaster?

So have I been able to continue on my journey to self discovery? Yes! :) In fact I'm feeling so good about who I am these days. I've finally accepted that I will never be exactly who I was before I had kids. Which was (I think) the most important step to finding myself. After accepting that I found that I'm still the same in a lot of ways.

I realized that my love for reading has not gone away but in fact has just changed it's form. I may not grab my cup of coffee and sit down with a novel anymore but I love reading blogs and magazines. Honestly even if I had the time to sit and read a good book I'd choose to catch up on my favorite blogs instead:

Counting Coconuts - I love to come here for inspiration and ideas on homeschooling. I'm kinda sad she is starting baby leave but completely understand.

Homemaking on a whim - Not a lot of people have the same old world views as I do so it's nice to hear from someone who thinks the same. You don't have to agree with me but what I'm talking about is that my job as a wife is to put my husband first. In a way to cater to him and his needs and in return he'll do the same. I know this is a touchy subject which is why I really don't talk about it much on my blog. But I will defend it to the end and I will never change my views on it.

The gd kitchen - Baking is and has always been a passion of mine and this blog is Delicious! I just made her espresso cookies and they are AMAZING!

the little things we do - Just a really great life blog plus I link up every week for fill in the blank Friday's. Well every Friday that I have extra time.

Courtney's organized chaos - This one just made my favorite list. It's great for a laid back fun and fashion read.

I love so many blogs and find new ones all the time. What are some of your favorites? I'm searching for a great weight loss one if you know of any.

and so my journey continues...

Finally I took a picture, it took some courage but I'm wearing those bags under my eyes with pride. Heck I'm a mommy and a good one at that. I have every reason to be proud!

Have a fantastic weekend everyone.

Monday Style File

It's Monday again. That means I get to link up with Courtney and daydream about fantastic clothes and shoes!!

This week I am featuring Anne Hathaway. My mind can focus on only one things these days (as far as clothes go) and that is ball gowns. The Air Force Ball is coming up in September and I'm searching for the perfect dress. Anne Hathaway is always so classy and beautiful on the red carpet, how could she not be my Red Carpet inspiration.


photo credit

I absolutely LOVE this dress, it's an Armani Prive in midnight blue. I am dieing to have this exact dress but since that will never happen I'm keeping my eyes open for a look alike. Or at least something along the same lines.

OK so this was going to be a really short style file because I'm so set on this dress. But I am using some of her other looks for inspiration. You know in case I cant find anything an fabulous as this one.

Loving the back on this one...


photo credit


The lace on this dress is just beautiful.


photo credit 

This one is so gorgeous and is definitely on my radar while gown shopping. I love the bottom, can you say princess!


photo credit 

I have always loved the one shoulder look. It's such a great way to be sexy without being skanky. And the draping on this dress is flattering for just about any body type.



photo credit 


What a great way to start off a week. You guys are probably going to here talk a lot about the Air Force Ball in the next few weeks. I'm beyond excited!! 

Happy Monday :) 

Homeschool Planning Time

photo credit

Wow I cant believe it's already time for school again. I started planning out Ladybug's curriculum for this year and I'm getting super excited about it. Last year I planned out everything in advance and tried to have it be very structured. What I learned is that that doesn't work for us. This year I'm doing things a lot different. I'm only planning a month a head of time and it's really just an outline. 

Ladybug is a huge part of her curriculum this year, it's called "All About Me". Like it sounds this year is going to be all about her. The month of September is entitled "I am American". She will be learning all about the USA, The Pledge of Allegiance, and The Star Spangled Banner. Aside from the theme she will have a weekly Bible verse and vocabulary word. Plus we are going to do a review of what she learned last year letters, numbers, colors, shapes, etc.

The rest of her monthly themes are going to be all up to her. I have a questionnaire for her fill out on her first day of school. It's all about her, her family, her favorite things, etc. After that I'll go through and pick out a theme for each month based off of her answers. That way everything we learn about will be interesting to her. Then on her last day of school I'll have her fill out the survey again and we can see what has changed and what has not.

I've also planned out a weeks worth of muffin tin meals. I saw these on counting coconuts and fell in love with the idea. It's a great way to incorporate the days lesson into something other then worksheets. Hey she's gotta eat either way why not make it fun.



My plan is to not stress too much. As long as she is learning something everyday then we're good. She loves to help out around the house with cooking and cleaning. Those are great things and are easily encorporated into her Practical Life lessons. We started a cookbook last year and are definitely going to keep adding to it this year. As far as gym goes thats another easy thing to do at this age. Right now I have a ton of ideas just going around and around in my head.

So this is just the begining of my planning stage I'm sure I will have a bunch more to share soon. I cant wait to start school with Ladybug and I am even thinking of ways to include Butterfly. Lets just hope that my new little Bee will cooporate.

P.S I know I already mentioned Counting Coconuts but really if you are going to be Homeschooling check out this site, it's fantastic!!!

Fill in the Blank Friday

Yay...I am super excited to do my first Fill in the Blank Friday since my sabbatical. Lauren over at The Little Things We Do hosts this link. It's always fun and a great way to get to know each other but today is extra special because it's her birthday. So here goes her birthday themed questions...


1.  My most favorite birthday was  my 18th. I didn't really have great birthdays growing up but I always remember this one as the best. It was just a small pool party with my family and closest friends.   

2.  My worst birthday was    Ugh definitely my 13th!!! I don't know if whats me or what but I ended up fighting with friend who was there and pretty much kicking her out of my house. I never did speak to her again but yeah that was one crappy party. 

3.  My favorite birthday memory is    this past birthday. Hubby and I got to go out on our very first date in forever. We went and saw the last Harry Potter. The movie was awesome and getting to spend some alone time with the love of life was even better.

4.  The best birthday present I've ever received was   a beautiful pearl and diamond necklace from Hubby.

5.  The  best birthday present I've ever given was    I'm not sure but I asked Hubby and he said his Carolina Panther sweater.

6.  Birthdays are   well my own are really not that important but I always go over board for my girls and Hubby. I guess in a way I'm trying to make up for all my crappy birthdays by giving my kids great parties.

7.  My favorite age so far has been   22. I always said it was the best year ever because 22 is my lucky number.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Weigh in Wednesday

photo credit

So it's time to face the music and step on the scale or in my case the Wii Fit.

I started out at a whopping 150 when I first weighed in 4 weeks ago. The wonderful Wii board thoughtfully informed me that I was over weight. Thanks for that push!! So for the past month I have been doing what working out I could while recovering from childbirth. I've been walking and doing easy exercises. As far as diet I'm just watching my carbs and drinking a crap load of water. I have also been breastfeeding, that helps a ton.

Today I weighed in at 144, YAY!! I think I'll treat myself to a piece of cake.


photo credit

I kinda feel bad because I'm losing the weight at fairly decent pace but Hubby is having a ruff time. In fact he actually is going up on the scale not down. Yes we are in a competition but I still want him to succeed and feel good about himself. I know right now he's feeling a little down but i think he's even more sexy then the day we met. So I am excited to be down a good 6 lbs but I find myself worrying more and more about him and less about myself. I don't know if caring about everyone else before myself is my weakness or my best quality. Either way I cant help it.

This week I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing and see where it gets me. As far as Hubby goes I guess it's time for me to get into my cheer leading outfit and get him motivated.

What do you do to stay fit? Anybody know of a good easy diet?

Monday's Style File

So I'm excited to have found a new blog that I LOVE: Courtney's Organized Chaos!!

And with my current blog theme being all about finding myself again I am super excited to do this link up all about style. So what celeb style am I loving right now?

Heidi Klum


photo credit 


photo credit 



photo credit


photo credit


photo credit 


I love her because she is so put together and a successful women. And she does everything she does without sacrificing being the best mommy and wife she can be!!

I cant wait to see everyone's style file...