Ok, so big breath...I just ordered our first science curriculum package and lab kit. On the bright side, I *did* spend less than $150 for a quality science curriculum with lab. On the other hand, I *did* just spend about $150 for a science curriculum for a child who isn't even in elementary yet!! I have a feeling homeschooling is going to get VERY expensive...but if this is what God is pushing towards for our child, I know we'll make it through.

And this is what Reagan wants to study...she's gifted at science...even mothers of her friends have noted it...so here goes...I'm hoping this sets her off on a lifetime joy of learning and discovering.

Tale of Two Protests...

Link to Another Black Conservative Post and link to the two protests that ABC's post is about.

*DISCLAIMER: Some of the photos you'll see at the bottom of the post that the second link links to are graphic..in content and language. Especially if there are any Jewish readers of my blog, these pictures will be especially offensive to you. They made me personally sick to my stomach.

What a complete division of our country. I will never again refer to extreme liberals as "my fellow Americans" because they don't deserve to be called Americans..not after the hatred and racisim and murder they spew. My stomach is in knots. I can't believe that conservatives are called 'hate mongers' by the left....most of what you see from conservative protests is righteous anger directed at the government for not heeding the people's collective will. Most of what you see at liberal protests is hate filled racism and references to murder of various ethnic groups...oh, and unborn babies...those too. Hate mongers? Me thinks the liberals do call us too many names that should be reserved for them.

Actually.....actually....

I just realized I say "actually" way too often. I said it four times in a 1 minute, 30 second conversation. UGH.

oops

I just realized I didn't even post the name of the science curriculum!

Check out this site: Apologia

And here is a snapshot of the book we'll be using first!

Science Curriculum

I've finally chosen a science curriculum for us to begin NOW. I'm really excited as I think this will be a gateway into convincing Reagan to learn about things she ISN'T interested in.

First, this program is rated for K-6th grade. Reagan is very advanced in her understanding of science, so this should be perfect for her. It's based on Creation and advances through God's perfect order of building the world and the study of what He created. For the next 6 years, IF this science course is for us (and who knows, it might not be?? It's all up for reevaluation!), I plan to work through Astronomy, Zoology (Courses 1-3), Botany and Anatomy with her, with lots of review of course!

Reaganism

Last night while I was putting Reagan to bed, we were discussing how much we loved Spring and couldn't wait to roll in the grass with the warm sun on us. Reagan looked at me and said "Momma, I think the sun is the perfect blanket."

Doesn't that make your heart warm?

Isn't it nice?

When you find someone YOU get along with AND you like their kids too AND their kids get along with yours?? Now, only to have the husbands meet! How exciting! Maybe we'll have new "couple" friends soon!

The Death of America

Last night Josh and I listened to the votes coming in for Obama's socialized health care plan. When the final tally was delivered and the plan passed by three votes, Josh and I sat in stunned silence. It was all I could do not to run to the bathroom and be sick. What had just happened? The death of America. The end of freedom and great hope that our founding fathers had for us.

Thoughts ran rampant through my head. What was going to happen to Reagan?? She is inheriting a bankrupt country that is headed into communism and gives no heed to what the American people want. Just last night I wrote my post about how excited I was to start Reagan's classical education.......today I almost feel like what's the point? I am discouraged. I am disheartened. I feel like crawling up into a ball and trying to forget what has happened.

This bill is not about health care. It's about power. It's about the government gaining more and more power over our lives with little regard to what we say and how we feel. It won't stop here. This is a huge victory for the socialist communists in the Democratic party. I laugh...democracy. What a joke. There is no democracy in America anymore. They will continue to take over bits and pieces of our life until we are slaves to the government...think Russia, mid-century. And our children? They are already slaves to the government. We have just sentenced them to a lifetime of slavery to pay our debts and live lives in which they have little or no say even over their own health.

What happened to the ideals our forefathers brought with them to start this once-great country? Americans are not ENTITLED to anything but the PURSUIT of life, liberty and happiness. Our forebears were hard workers...they gave, gave and gave....and all America does now it take, take and take.

We have bred a nation of takers....a nation of whiners. We are a nation of dependent scum. Give me! I deserve! What about me! I don't want to work! But I DESERVE it all! Give! Take! A minority of takers vast overtaking the prior-majority of hard workers. We are CERTAINLY NOT the greatest generation...that generation has slowly died out..leaving us afloat in a sea of complacency to take what's given to us and quickly demand more no matter how little deserving we are.

This was Obama's quote last night: "We proved that this government — a government of the people and by the people — still works for the people." REALLY? That's why the majority of Americans (ahem, true Americans---not the MASSIVE illegal population that our government is catering to for future votes--rest assured they will be granted voting rights in the near future)--Conservatives and Liberals alike--were AGAINST the health care bill passing...and our scum representatives...nay, they don't even DESERVE the name REPRESENTATIVE, passed it against the collective will of the people.

I won't even write all the hatred I have spilling out of me at the moment. I need some time to deal with that. I just hope their souls writhe with guilt at what they've done.

***

There are only two hopes left...that the states sue and WIN against the government for violation of constitutional law (37 attorney generals have said they will). Let's pray that the American people prevail against the government that is running amock (yes, I purposely misspelled that). The other course of action is to dissolve the bands tying us to this government (see our Declaration). Let's hope it doesn't come to that....

Very Excited!

Josh and I have finally made a decision as to what approach we want to take with Reagan's education. It's something we've been discussing for a long time and while I've been working at doing school at home with her, we now have an actual direction to take.

I am so excited to begin Reagan's Classical Christian Education. You can read more about that approach here, a snippet from the Ambrose School. As we've felt led to homeschool Reagan, this is the approach that I will be using to teach her. I'm so very excited, as I feel that I can learn so much from this program as well.

All my life I've felt that there were so many gaps in my education. That we were taught bits and pieces with these huge holes....and I don't want Reagan to grow up with that kind of an education. She is so curious, so intelligent--I want the entire world to be opened up to her to learn from. And if we are able to give that to her, then we are absolutely obligated, as her parents, to do so!

It's coming up crafts...

I've been feeling rather crafty around here lately. Check out some of our latest projects! We had so much fun making these! (Sorry about the photos...a photographer I am NOT!)

Pottery Barn Robin's Eggs Knock-Off

I got the idea to make these from Mad In Crafts Dollar Barn Easter Series! Check out her tutorial. Reagan loved splattering the eggs with brown paint!

Here's the vignette I put together for our hallway.


The PB egg vase (less than $4 to make), some Easter figurines Reagan found at a garage sale last year for around .50 each, a yellow wire chick I found on clearance at Cracker Barrel for $3 last year, some moss covered rocks from the dollar store (SO CUTE!) and a butterfly print from the dollar store.

Make Your Own Scented, Glittery Play-dough


We made green lemon-lime, blue grape, and reddish black cherry! The play-dough smells sooo good and is a lot more pliable than commercial or homemade uncooked dough.

Here's the recipe (I have no idea which site I took this from, if it's yours, please let me know and I'll give you credit!)

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tbsp oil
kool-aid packet
glitter

Combine flour, salt and cream of tartar in a saucepan. Mix liquids and gradually stir them into the dry ingredients. When mixture is smooth, begin to heat on medium high heat, stirring constantly until a ball forms. Remove from heat and knead until smooth. Add in unsweetened kool-aid and glitter. (Warning: Your arms will get a major workout from stirring this dough!)

Felt Food


I hastily put these together but Reagan loved them. You can find tons of information on Google by searching for "felt food" or you can purchase them already made from etsy! Our breakfast platter features pancakes with syrup and butter, bacon, eggs and a Reagan-request, french fries with ketchup!

Rainbow Cupcakes
And finally, rainbow cupcakes from Family Fun! Reagan loved making these..although I was slightly freaking out about all the food coloring! Tons of fun and yummy!

Red Cross Month

Family Fun always has great tips in their magazine! This month I noticed a blurb declaring March as Red Cross Month. In honor of Red Cross Month, here are some suggestions, courtesy of Family Fun, on how to make a mini first-aid kit for your car:

BASIC FIRST AID SUPPLIES:
Alcohol or antiseptic wound wipes
Antiseptic/anesthetic spray (like Bactine)
Ace bandage
Adhesive tape (cloth) 1" thickness
Antibiotic ointment for cuts and scrapes
Aspirin or similar anti-inflammatory pain reliever
Assorted non-stick adhesive bandages
Burn cream or aloe vera–based gel for minor burns
Calamine lotion or hydrocortisone cream for the "itchy scratchies"
Cotton balls and swabs
Eye wash kit
Instant cold pack
Insect bite/sting stick
Scissors
Smelling salts
Sterile gauze pads for large wounds
Tweezers

ADDED EXTRAS:
CPR instruction card
Disposable latex gloves
EpiPen or similar epinepherine auto-injector for severe allergic (anaphylactic) reactions
First aid guide book
Hand sanitzier
Wet wipes

MAKE SURE YOU. . .
Check the expiration dates on all creams, ointments and sprays.
Throw away any product with an old expiration date or soon-to-expire date.
Replenish supplies as they get low.
Keep a card in the kit with all medicine allergies for each affected family member.

Get Your Potty License...get out on the highway...

This is the conversation that occurred at our house on Tuesday:

Mommy: Reagan! You HAVE GOT to start sitting on the potty correctly! Everytime I sit down after you, I get pee-pee all over me!
Reagan: (shrugging) Well, sorry. Sometimes that happens. (pause) But sometimes I DO sit right. I guess I just need to get my potty license.

Good thing I was ON the potty..I would have peed myself laughing if not!

Naaanaaanaa--naannaaannaaa hey hey hey ....goodbye!

Not long ago I was a member of a women's website dedicated to getting pregnant and having babies. While there I started a Conservative Women's group and in response to that, a Liberal Women's group was started...let me you tell you, it got ugly. (And I still have yet to understand the reasoning behind a few of the women saying I should never have been allowed to have children because I don't believe in abortion or gay marriage....Umm, what does gay marriage have to do with children?? And abortion----well, I'm against it. Doesn't that mean I'm slightly more qualified to have children than those who are FOR the murder of innocent unborn children??? As I said, I will probably NEVER understand the logic behind (most) of their statements!)

Anyway, that's all in the past now..but man would I have loved to have seen some of those women's faces when this story broke. Keep in mind these are the same women who said Climate and Temperature have absolutely nothing to do with each other (again, most of their arguments were based on name calling and emotion rather than fact). Please pass the junk science.....

Scientist Admits No Global Warming Since 1995

Happy 7th Anniversary to Us!

Menu Plan Monday 3.15.10 Edition

Another week, another menu plan. Check out orgjunkie.com for other menu ideas!

Monday-Ordering in
Tuesday-Grilled fish and coleslaw, hush puppies??
Wednesday-Irish Soda Bread, Irish Beef Stew
Thursday-Chicken in gravy with rice, salad
Friday-Leftovers
Saturday-Cheeseburger stuffed potatoes, salad
Sunday-Baked pork chops and potatoes, vegetable, Watergate salad

Breakfasts: Lite Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins or Carrot Muffins, eggs, Sausage and Cheese Grits Casserole, string cheese and fruit
Lunches: leftovers, soup, salads
Snacks: fruit, muffins

Welcome Company Girls! I want to say thanks to everyone who gave such great advice and encouragement to me last week. This week has gone much better..thanks in part to setting some boundries with extended family, getting a much needed break to myself and taking some of your advice to heart and into practice.

This week was also absolutely beautiful weather wise and I've really been working on getting the house decluttered, cleaned and aired out. Monday is our 7th anniversary so I've been especially working hard on our bedroom. Prior to this week, we had two queen sized beds in our bedroom, pushed together, to make co-sleeping a little easier. As a gift to my husband, I decided it was time to stop co-sleeping and reclaim our bedroom. We've been working on the transfer of Reagan to her own bed (which admittedly is taking lots of time and effort!). I also moved one of the beds into the guest room and then decluttered and cleaned our room and did a major makeover on our bed--new sheets, new mattress pillow pad, new pillows...it feels so comfortable and soft now!

I think that's it for today's post..Reagan is clammoring for my attention!

"Spring, spring, spring!" sang the Robin. It was Spring......

Yes, I unashamedly copied that from "Home for a Bunny". It's finally springtime in Indiana (well, sort of.) Although it'll probably snow a few more times, right now it's such incredible weather that I have the windows open, airing out the house, letting in the smell of fresh, damp earth.

It's 55 degrees and the air is alive with the sounds of birds chirping, winging their way in from southern climates. The streets are teaming with people longing to get outside after being couped up all winter. And Reagan and I have been enjoying long, slow walks together. Yesterday we even picked the first dandelion of spring. And we saw tiny, itty bitty green shoots and even some purple flowers cropping up in a neighbors yard. The yard is piled high with dark brown mud and we're even starting to see bugs.

SPRING!

Spring is literally a breath of fresh air after a long hard winter of worrying about ice and snow and trying to keep everyone bundled (very hard to do with a three year old sometimes) and worrying about frostbite and wind-burn, and driving where we need to go without ending up in a ditch or in a pile-up. Finally we can relax and BREATHE.

More political snippets

I cannot say this enough...if you haven't checked out Another Black Conservative...GET OVER THERE NOW! LOVE his blog!!!!!!!!!!! Here are some "recent" (I use that term to loosely refer to the last month!) bloglines!

Cheney Calls Out Obama and Biden for Taking Credit for Iraq (It just galls me to no end how men who spent the last several years bashing the war and President Bush from the east to the west coast can now take credit for President Bush's (AND OUR GREAT MILITARY'S) accomplishments!)

Ahmadinejad a 9/11 Truther? Says, “9/11 was a big lie” I could barely copy this link without gnashing my teeth and running around the neighborhood screaming at the top of my lungs. It was bad enough that the whack-job President Tom (as GB refers to him) denied the Holocaust, but now he's denying 9-11 ever happened. From my terror-filled front row seat at Fort Bragg, I can assure you, it DID happen.

And this is why I can barely stand liberals...they vote for the people that stand back and let this man take his pot-shots at America and sit idly by while he builds up his nuclear stash with pure intentions for destroying America. To those who voted for Obama....happy now?

Menu Plan Monday: 3/8-3/14/10

Time for another weekly menu....Check out more great menu ideas at orgjunkie.com

Monday-Chicken parm, green vegetable, bread (homemade rolls?)
Tuesday-Pork steak, mashed potatoes, vegetable
Wednesday-Breakfast for dinner: eggs, bacon, toast and a fruit salad
Thursday-Mac and Beef Casserole, vegetable
Friday-Leftovers
Saturday-??? We *MIGHT* celebrate our anniversary on Saturday since it falls on a Monday this year!
Sunday-Roast in the crockpot with potatoes, carrots, onions, salad and rolls

Breakfasts-bagels, cream of wheat, string cheese, yogurt, fruit, toast
Lunches-leftovers, salad, soup, sandwiches
Snacks-Banana bread, fruit, carrot sticks, raisins

Cowboy Up

Hi to any Company Girls joining me today...too bad I can't have all of you over for coffee and treats today because I really need advice from some seasoned "mother" girlfriends. It has absolutely been one of those weeks (ok, one of those years in some regards). Every single second I have been battling it out with Reagan. Wednesday I spent some time of the phone relaying my fears to my mother in law and yesterday I spent a good portion of the evening crying on my husband's shoulder.

To top it all off, my Great Granny passed away on Thursday morning and I'm feeling raw and emotional. I want to go home to be with my family but the plane ticket for just me to fly (and leave Reagan here :( ) at the last minute is a fortune and I am so stingy about the time I do get to go home that I would rather spend it with my family when we can have some real time together--they understand, but it doesn't stop me from feeling like a heel.

And this was the week I finally thought I was going to have it all together. Funny how life just keeps socking at it you when you feel like you have it all figured out. And actually, one part of my life IS going wonderfully. My marriage for the past week has been better than it has...well, in a really really long time...years, even.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to read The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands by Dr. Laura and it was such an eye opener. I promptly changed my attitude and actions towards my husband and it was amazing to see how immediately and effectively it turned around his responses towards me.

So it absolutely took me by surprise this evening, when putting Reagan to bed, that I had an epiphany--and it really shouldn't have...taken me by surprise, that is. I realized that if I wanted Reagan to react differently...no whining, no temper tantrums, less anger...it was going to require ME changing my attitude towards her first. After all, she was only displaying the very emotions I had been displaying towards her....she barely smiles at me anymore because *I AM* always frowning at her! I've been so busy doing all the mom/wife/house things that I had forgotten my primary responsiblity---to love her and enjoy her.

It is absolutely a life changing realization to come to the understanding that *MY* emotions control the emotion of the household. If I want my child and husband to be understanding, loving and happy---***I*** must be that way first.

I told my husband this and he agreed with me on all points. The only thing left to do is take action...and Cowboy Up as he puts it.

Which brings me to needing some 'motherly' advice....when it gets all too much, how do you continue to be a loving mother and step away from displaying (and feeling) all those fustrations? I would love to hear some advice from those of you who have gone through the fustrations of raising a preschooler--especially a high needs, emotionally charged, independent and a little too intelligent one...because I want so much to be that Proverbs 31 wife and mom "her children rise up and call her blessed."

The Vice-Presidency: Out of the Mouth of Idiots...

OOOPS! I forgot to add the link to the blog this came from...click on "Another..." below and it'll take you there!!!!!

Check out this video from Another Black Conservative. (And yes, it's hard to hear...the translation is right below, then listen to it again and you can easily pick out Biden's voice!)



"It's easy being vice president — you don't have to do anything."
Whomever Biden was chatting with said, "It's like being the grandpa and not the parent."
"Yeah, that's it!" replied Biden.

Beyond Fustrated

Everyday is a series of temper tantrums, backtalking and not listening. I'm so stressed out by the time her bedtime rolls around that my head is pounding and I can't think straight. Reagan has a very dominant personality. She's super intelligent and is EXTREMELY independent.

My parenting skills are pretty worthless at the moment and everyday I find myself glowering at her instead of smiling and having fun. I'm REALLY struggling with three.

Get 1200 FREE prints plus free shipping

Click here to join ArtsCow and get 1200 free prints, plus free shipping and tons of other great offers. I just joined and am so excited..I haven't printed out photos in about 2 years now...eek!

Political Updates

If you aren't a fan of Another Black Conservative yet, you have NO idea what you're missing. Click the link. Get over there. NOW. It's a complete fluke I found this website (since most of my surfing has to do with homeschooling lately!) and I've been a dedicated reader for a few months now....I have it feeding into Google Reader so I won't miss a thing!

Here are some recent highlights I found of particular noteworthiness:

Epic Fail (I included this one just for Josh who loves using that term)

Crib Notes

Response to Tea Parties Comments

NY Times Proves It's Liberal Leanings Once Again--Coffee Party Post

Controversial Ad Regarding Abortion

I think I'm going to be regularly linking up to some of his posts because there are too many really great ones to miss!