But I had a plan….

I had a plan.  It was a great plan.  I even announced how wonderful my plan was to the world on my blog.  I couldn’t wait for summer vacation!  The kids would sleep in, I would have 2-3 hours of uninterrupted time to exercise, shower, pray, blog and get a head start to the day.  I had grand plans for the kids each morning to do a little chores, and schoolwork.  I made schedules. Laminated schedules.  We made a bucket list.  This was to be the summer I was proactive! No more “I’m bored”.  Then,

1. Ben decided that during his summer vacation he was going to get up at 6 a.m. every day to not waste one minute of his summer vacation.  Which makes for a very. long. day. for mom. 
2. The older kids rebelled against the 8:30 to bed, asleep by 9 plan which means unless mom and dad stay up until 11 there is zero alone/adult time.
3. It has been an all out mutiny against me and my plan to have them do ONE math assignment per day.  Well, except for Ben, he likes having his morning folder to do each day.
4. Screens. iPad, wii, Netflix, computer  It didn’t occur to me that my children had their own plan of moving from one source of technology to the other to fill up their summer.  Which has turned my summer into a full time job of Screen Police. 

So with these disruptions to my plans I’ve had arguing, grumpiness, whining and complaining.  Which means by 9:00 every morning I’m already irritated, frustrated, mad at my kids and bedtime is 12 hours away!  But I had a plan!!!  After calling and venting to a wonderful friend who is in the same trenches as me, she gave me some wise, encouraging  counsel.  First – Parenting is a marathon, not a sprint.  Raising my children to be productive, responsible adults will not happen in one week of summer vacation. Second – my kids are kids.  When I was thirteen would I have been jumping for joy at doing schoolwork  during my summer break? Um, no. 

So, it’s time to regroup.  I am going to stick with my original plan because I think it’s what’s best for my kids, but I’m not going to expect them to be excited about their laminated to- do list (even though they make my heart go pitter patter).  Instead of getting angry at them I’m going to use it as an opportunity to mold their and my character.  I really dislike it when I pray and ask God to change my children and the answer I consistently get is that I need to change :-/ 

Philippians 3:13   But one thing I do; Forgetting what is behind me and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 

Galatians 6:9   Let us not become weary of doing good.  For at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 

Weekly Wrap Up

Summer vacation is finally here!   Now that everyone is out of school I feel like we can officially start our summer. Yay! 

The day after Hannah, Rachel & Joe’s last day of school they set off to Florida with my dad and Mary.  Mary’s brother lives in Pensacola so they stayed with him.  They saw the ocean for the first time, went on a dolphin cruise and swam a lot in the pool. (the ocean had red flags so they could only wade)  They were gone a whole week and I was very ready for them to be home.  They were very happy today to not be going anywhere in the car after the 14 hour drive to and from Florida!

Ben finished up his last week of school.  He was already showing signs of anxiety knowing his schedule was about to change.  He wanted to know “when can we start homeschool?”.  We celebrated his last day with a picnic lunch at a new park, ice cream and then a trip to the library to pick out some new books to start the summer.

On Thursday we started demolition of the kitchen.  New appliances are coming this week so we needed to tear out some cabinets and Matt is going to work on some electrical so we can plug them in when they arrive.  I feel like a 6 year old on Christmas Eve!  I can’t wait to get my new stove!!!  We’ve got the countertop and flooring ordered so now we just have to do the yucky stuff like drywall and tearing up ceramic tile. YUCK!  It’ll be worth it though!  I can’t wait.  I’m hoping to be mostly done by Jacob’s birthday party.

Ben had his first “friends” birthday party on Saturday.  He requested an Angry Birds cake so of course I went right to Pinterest to get some ideas.  He loved it and was a very happy boy for the day.  It was very different having a party for kids with Autism, they all had fun but didn’t interact too much together.  Which of course is natural for them, I just had to work at it not bothering me.  I enjoyed meeting the moms of his friends and you can almost feel this instant connection with them knowing what it’s like having a special needs child. Ben had a great time and that was the most important thing.  We had a great day celebrating him.

We couldn’t find the 8 candle so I asked him if we could just do 4+4.  Of course since he is obsessed with math facts he was very excited to use the addition problem.

On Sunday we had a very special breakfast with my dad.  I made waffles with strawberries and whipped cream.  They were heavenly!  We had a relaxing morning and then headed to my mom and Art’s to spend the afternoon with my grandparents.  We ate and then sat in the shade watching the chickens and goats for entertainment.  Aaaaahhhhhhh,  Welcome Summer!!

Summer Bucket List

Every summer I start out with such ambition and good intentions and I end the summer discouraged because the time went so fast and I didn’t do half of the things I wanted with the kids. SO, this year I am being more thoughtful, intentional and proactive with our summer goals.  Thanks to a little help from Pinterest I have a ton of ideas and even help to see those ideas through to completion!!  Behold our Summer Bucket List!

Did you notice which ones are already checked off??? 

This poster could also be titled Mom’s Accountability Chart.

I am hoping that at the end of the summer the kids will be able to look at all the things we checked off and have happy memories of the time we spent together.  

This is me. I easily go back and forth between being super organized and on top of things until I get bored and need some excitement but then it seems like things fall apart and I have to cling to my schedule again.

Every summer I struggle with how scheduled we should be.  Of course our vacations are scheduled but I’m talking about scheduling our every day.  I want the kids to be able to relax and enjoy their summer break but it seems like if I don’t have some structure to the day the kids spend way to much time staring at screens and are “bored” by 10 a.m.  Now that we are a homeschool family I’ve decided to work on some subjects during the summer, hoping to allow us to be flexible around the holidays and be able to take time off whenever we’d like.  (see above pic)  Ben has already been asking about school at home this summer and I know he will benefit from having a set routine.  He gets anxious when he doesn’t know what to do or what’s coming up next.  So even though I know there will be some “but it’s our summer vacation” (insert whiney voice) I’m going to force myself to be the bad guy that will be seen as the good guy in the end.  Hopefully. 

Of course I’ll be sharing what we’ve been checking off our bucket list (hopefully) each week in my weekly wrap up.

Spring Wrap-Up

Thursday is our official start to summer vacation!  Jacob was done with school on May 31st, HCA was done June 7 and Ben’s last day is today!  It was kind of annoying having them all finish at different times. 

Seeing that I’m a little really behind on my weekly updates I’ll do a recap of our spring.  The last 8 weeks have flown by but have been so much fun. I am just loving the ages that the kids are at right now. 

• We had a nice relaxing spring break with a visit from cousins then we went to Rockville for Easter.  We took the boys to an Egg Hunt and learned that when someone says you are only allowed to get 10 eggs that a boy with Autism will interpret that as he HAS to get 10 eggs and will have a complete meltdown when he only finds 7.  Thankfully the egg hunt at home went much smoother. 

• Hannah played Middle School Soccer which she loved.  She played really well and liked getting to know the girls on the team.  After spending hours on the team bus she also learned how to french braid and then came home and taught me!
• May was packed full of concerts and field trips.  I got to go to Lansing with Joe to see the capital.  Hannah, Rachel and Joe all had choir concerts and Rachel had a band concert. 
• My mom and I started a HUGE garden.  I should have enough tomatoes to make enough pasta sauce to last the whole year.  I planted some pumpkins and celery just for fun.
• To end the school year we had a pool party for the kids and some friends.  It was a lot of fun. The weather was perfect and the kids all got along really well.

I’m hoping now that school is over I’ll be able to keep up with my weekly wrap ups a little better.    We’ve got some fun plans for the summer.

Melanie

Top Ten Reasons Moms (at least this mom) LOVE Summer!

10.  Sleeping in!  Now that the kiddos are older I don’t have to get up at 5 to enjoy some quiet time to myself.

9.  Sandles/Flip Flops/Bare Feet = Less socks to wash and sort!

8.  Kids play outside more  = a cleaner house inside!

7.  Kids eat snacks and lunch outside = see #8

6.  Being able to just walk out the door when it’s time to go without having to first locate all hats and gloves then spend 15 minutes bundling up everyone. 

5. Not making lunches!!  Even better this summer I’m putting the three oldest in charge of lunch making and cleanup.  (insert heavenly Hallelujah here)

4.  More time for reading – this goes for both mom and kids.  About 4 months ago I grounded myself from all fiction until summer because I have a serious lack of self control. Once I start a book I neglect my children, my home and my own personal hygiene for 36-48 hours until I finish. 

3.  No more carpool!!!  My heart goes pitter patter at just the thought of not having to sit in the parking lot from 3:10 (when HCA ends) until 3:50 (when Prairie Ridge ends) five days a week with 6 kids. 

2.  More time for exercise, Bible study, prayer, blogging! See #10 

And the number one reasons moms love summer break?  Spending more time with our kids!   We have lots of fun plans for the summer.  (more on that later)

We are counting down the days here until summer break.  Especially now that the pool is up, the days are longer, and the weather is warmer.  Every day Jacob wakes up and says “Is today my last day of school?”  Lucky for him he’s the first to be done on May 31st. 

(Stay tuned for my August post on the Top Ten Reasons Moms Love Back to School Time!) 

 

Melanie

Taking the Plunge

Well, it’s official.  We’re homeschooling for the 2012-2013 school year.  Last summer Matt and I started discussions about plans for our family.  First it was a financial decision, then as I prayed and prayed and prayed some more it became a heart decision.  For many years I was very content with sending the kids to school everyday.  I was not a homeschooling mom.  We have a wonderful Christian school to send our kids to and I’ve been so thankful for that blessing in our lives.  BUT, God has been tugging at my heart strings for a few years and as my youngest headed off to school my heart is aching for my kids to be at home.  Matt said it best when he said “You’ve finally got the kids gone and have time to yourself and now you want to bring them all back home???”  Um, yes?  As this school year progressed God made it clearer and clearer that this is what we’re supposed to be doing.  What kept coming to my mind was “My heart’s at home” with my kids.  Does that mean that my kids don’t drive me crazy and they don’t ever force me to lock myself in my bathroom for 2 minutes of alone time? Um, no.  It means that at this point in our lives with our family my heart wants what we think is best for our kids.  So we’re giving it a year and see how it goes.  I don’t want to look back and wonder what if and feel like I missed an opportunity with my kids. 

Oh Be Careful Little Eyes…..

This weekend we had our first opportunity to talk with Joe about protecting his mind and heart from things that he sees.  Last week Matt was at our neighbors house with Joe and noticed the latest copy of Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition laying on a table in the basement.  He came home and let me know and we have been talking about how we were going to handle this.  Joe’s friend  is a great kid and a wonderful friend to Joe, BUT we don’t believe his parents are Christians and they allow him to watch movies and play video games that we would not allow our kids.  They have been very respectful of our values and always call to see if we think a movie/game is appropriate for Joe and there have been times we’ve had to say no. Gulp.  Joe spent the afternoon on Sunday at his friends house.  With much encouragement from myself Matt sat down to talk with Joe to see if he’s ever seen a picture/magazine/website that made him feel uncomfortable.  Joe answered, “Yes, today.”  (and this is where my heart stops beating and all I can see is my perfect, tiny, 6lb 11oz, innocent baby boy sleeping in my arms)  He went on to say that his friend and cousin were looking at a magazine with a bunch of women in swimsuits and that he did not look at it and told on the two boys. Whew!!   This led to a really great discussion between a boy and his dad.

1. Matt explained why boys/men need to protect their hearts and mind from those kinds of images. And how wrong it is to disrespect women by looking at them in that way. 
2. How BRAVE he was for standing up for what was right! 
3. This was an excellent lesson in how the Holy Spirit works in our lives.  We had not talked to Joe previously about looking at pictures or magazines, he’s only 10 years old!  We told him because Jesus lives in him the Holy Spirit nudged him to let him know that’s not something God would want him looking at.  How amazing it was that Joe listened and obeyed! Not because mom and dad told him not to but because he felt that nudge from God. 

Just Sunday morning I had to tell Joe that he couldn’t download a certain game for his iPod due to the violent nature of the game.  I explained to him how viewing those images over and over again cause us to see life as something not to value and it’s no big deal to see someone shot, blown up or decapitated.  I told him about the school shooting in Ohio and how that boy didn’t see the value in the lives that he took.   It all starts with a look.  Whether it’s violence or nudity, these boys are being bombarded with images that will be etched in their hearts forever.  May God protect our boys and may he continue to give us as parents the opportunities to put truth into their hearts!!

Melanie