Struggles. . .

 

 

I don’t know if some of you that follow me have seen that I haven’t been posting much. I have been struggling to keep my head out of the clouds. I am overwhelmed, and just having a rough time.

 

Right now, I have some issues going on at home. I will address that a bit later though. My biggest concern right now is a problem I have had for awhile now.

I don’t know if some of you have seen me mention that I have a thyroid problem. Well, over the years it has continually gotten worse. I now have 3 nodules, that are between 3-4 cm. I went to see the specialist last week, and he told me that one of them is calcified. Which means that it might be malignant. This was not the news I wanted to hear. . .

The verdict is that I am going to have surgery, the first week in November. I’m relieved, anxious, and nervous all at once. I am ready to have this thing out of my body, so that my life can get back to normal. I have been struggling with issues caused by it for to long.

 

So, if you don’t hear from me much in the next couple weeks. I’m working hard to stay focused, but sometimes can’t. Please bare with me, as I go about this journey.

A day in the life of the 3 Crazy Monkey’s:

 

 

Our days are just that very crazy! Most typical days for us start pretty early. . .

 

I’m one of those mean moms that make my kids get up by 7:30am! Why?! Well, if I didn’t they would sleep till noon, and my whole day would be wasted! I like to get up and get moving. I want to finish what we need to get done, so we can have fun. Don’t you?

 

So, our days start around 7:30am for two of my kids. My day on the other hand starts far earlier, at like 5:30am. I get up, and take my hubby to work, and then come back to get my Middle Monkey ready for school. I take her to school, chat with her teachers, and head back home. (So, you all don’t think I’m some crazy mom, my sleeping kids are with my mom!)

After everyone is dropped off where they belong, I wake the other two up and get them moving. Our morning routine is:

• Take shower/ Get dressed
• Eat Breakfast
• Do Chores
• Start School

 

If they get right to their work, and don’t argue, or procrastinate we are usually done school by 11-11:30am. At that time we break for lunch. If they have any labs, art, or experiments to do, we do them after lunch.

 

The kids then get to play for a couple hours, or run around outside. Unless we have afternoon commitments like, piano, or 4H. By the time these are done, we have to go pick up Middle Monkey from school.

After we get back from that, I feed them a snack. (As you know kids are always hungry!) I help Middle Monkey with her homework, and we prep for any night activities we do, like Boy Scouts, Dance, Taekwondo, etc. If we don’t have anything, I am usually leaving at this point to go pick up hubby.

Then its time to make dinner, and the kids to wind down from the day. They are all in Pj’s with teeth brushed by 7pm. Sometimes they watch a short cartoon, or they go in their room to read for a half hour. Really depends on their attitudes most nights. Lights out is no later than 8:30pm.

 

Then I finally get my quiet time, to work on my blog, watch TV, read, or prep the next days lessons.

 

What is your typical day like?

Time is flying…

 

Wow, can you believe that February has flown by? I mean, it seems like just yesterday I was saying, “February is here”. Now I’m asking where it went..

We had some fun times in February. We went bowling, the kids learned to roller skate, and we had some fun times with friends. Little Monkey turned 8, and it seems like the month just got busier after that.

 

I’m in the process of doing some work around our house. I’m trying to paint Little Monkey’s room (all the new rooms we built last year are still just sheet rock). She requested a Lala Loopsy room. Of course I said sure, why not?! I have managed to get the sky painted, and the rolling green hills in the last month, on one side of the room. (still finishing up some mudding on the other side) Next up, we are going to put in the clouds, sun, and tree’s (which will have buttons on them). It will be very cute when it is done.

 

Then I will still have the other 2 monkey’s rooms to finish. Still debating colors for my living room, and my bedroom. Hubby and I can’t seem to agree on a color. Haha! I’m a bright color kinda girl, and he is a lighter tone person. We will find the perfect color eventually!

 

Of course, instead of finishing one project at a time, I’m trying to do like 5! I’m also trying to clean up my homeschool bookshelf, and rearrange it, so I can find things more easily. With our year coming to an end (we are done next week.. already put in our 180 days), and our new year starting within the month of March. I would like to start out fresh, and organized. Do you think that will happen?! We also started painting the upstairs hallway, where the washer and dryer were. That was a quick job, so we could install our new washer and dryer this week. Love them though! Plus the washer isn’t sounding like a monster trying to break free!

 

That has been our February in a nutshell. I still have lots of projects to finish, but hoping to make a dent the first of March. Not holding my breathe though, as we approach Girl Scout Cookie time, they are being delivered this next week, and then it will be cookie booths, and more cookie booths!

 

Monkey Man’s mishap…

 

 

So almost a month ago now..

 

Monkey Man was outside playing with his cousins, during our family reunion. The next thing I know, he comes in saying his hand hurts. I looked at it, and it looked sore, so I gave him some ice.

 

He went on to play on the slip and slide for a few hours. So, I’m thinking it was minor and he was ok. Yup, I was wrong. Upon coming home from dropping the hubby off at a meeting. Monkey Man was still hurting. Ice hadn’t made the swelling go down.. Since he was mainly complaining about his finger, I was really concerned with the fact that the swelling in his hand had not gone down.

 

(See the swelling on the top of the hand)

 

I decided to go to the ER, to be on the safe side. Upon arriving they took him straight to the x-ray department. Then brought us into quick care. The nurse was pretty sure that he broke it. So, we were preparing for the worst.

 

One the doctor came in, she looked it over. The x-ray didn’t show a break on the finger, but he had chipped his growth plate. (UGH) They decided to put him in a half cast, to help keep his finger steady. He was not impressed. He had to stay in it until we saw the Orthopedic. I couldn’t get him in until the following week. So he was in the half cast for two weeks.

 

 

(If you look hard you can see the black and blue)

 

(So not impressed)

 

When we finally saw the Orthopedic they saw another x-ray. On his x-ray they didn’t see the chip they originally thought was there. However, their might have been a slight shadow, wouldn’t know further until some healing started. So, we had to leave again with a new device on his hand. He was outfitted with a splint. This time he was stuck with it for a week.

 

(Getting better)

 

This was even worse, because he could move his fingers and use his hand. Which meant he kept trying to do things he shouldn’t be doing. (typical child of course)

 

After a week, we headed back to see the Orthopedic and get the verdict. Monkey Man was very nervous, but we were hopefully cause his hand looked 100 times better. It was determined that their was not facture, no chip, no nothing! He must have just sprained his finger REALLY bad. So, off came the splint. The doctor told him it would be a couple weeks more before it was fully healed, and that he needed to do some therapy on it. Doctor told him for therapy… to put his hand in hot soapy water after dinner and wash the dishes! (FOR REAL) Loved it!!! Monkey Man, was not impressed, but has been doing it, without complaint! Very proud of him!

A new phone app, sugar, and exercise…..

 

 

What do these have in common you ask???

Well, at my most recent doctors appointment (and this is why I hate going) my blood work showed that I was borderline diabetic. Now, granted I have know for a long time this could always be a possibility. There are a few people in our family that are diabetic, and I also had gestational diabetes for all three of my pregnancies. I was able to control that by diet, and never needed to take medicine.

 

I have been struggling with my weight for a long time, and I try to do things to help loose weight, but lets face it when we think about that “Diet” word.. its just causing failure. After my last appointment with my doctor, we decided to re test my blood sugar in a month. That means, she wants me to loose some weight this month, and watch my carb intake.

Thus far, I have been consuming less carbs.. Not going to lie, this one is hard for me. I love bread, and pasta! Most of my favorite foods are made with either of these! Now I have to learn to adapt. Even if this works, and I don’t become a full fledge Diabetic, I will have to continue to always watch my carbs. Lets face it, the risk will always be there. That means no more soda (Not that I am a huge soda person), and no more Caramel Ice Coffee, extra caramel, extra cream, and sugar. (Yup, that probably wasn’t helping me huh?) Taste so good though!

 

What I have a done to help myself this week. Well, Monkey Man and I went for a 2.6 mile walk on Friday. I was going to go again on Sunday, but the rain mad it hard. My plan is to go every other day til my body is a bit more used to it. I did that walk in 1 hour, including a 15 min stop to say “HI” to my uncle at the farm. I was really quite impressed with myself. I know I can do this. I’m going to lie though, if I have to do it alone, its going to be hard. I have also been watching my food in take. Limiting myself to only so many calories, and fewer carbs. I have done pretty good with this thus far. I struggle a little with eating more than once a day.. I’m not a huge 3 meals a day kind of person. Getting a little better with this as well.

 

So, that leaves you thinking where does the phone app come in? That my friends, is a great question. I needed something to help me keep track of my carb intake. Its called My Fitness Pal, and it is a completely free program. You can use it on your computer, or your phone. I like it on my phone, cause then when I am on the go, I can put in what I had. Then it is not just being forgotten. It has hundreds of foods already in its data base! Plus you can use the scan option, and scan a bar code to a product, and it brings up all the information right to your screen! Frist time I tried that I was so giddy! It was awesome! It keeps track of your calories, and lets you know how many remaining ones you have… Lets you see all your daily or weekly nutrition. You can see what you are eating to little or much of.  Letting you tweak your habits. I’m really hoping that this will help me keep both my carbs down, and to help me loose the weight I need.

 

If anyone has any good Diabetic Recipes that they would like to share with me, I’m looking for new options, and ideas to add to our menu. Trick will be finding something everyone will like.

 

*I was not given any compensation for writing this… all opinions are 100% mine.

What we have been up to for the last two weeks…

 

 

 

So, I know your all just wandering were we have been the last two weeks.. Well we haven’t been that far away.

Actually we didn’t even leave home.. we just have been buried in the house. We started a construction project, but need to finish the majority of it in two weeks.

The first week, we spent cleaning out the basement. We have a lot of things that have accumulated over the last year, as well as my mom’s extra stuff. The next question was were were we going to put them?

After much maneuvering we figured it out. Then we had to etch, and seal the floor. We could only do a half at a time.. so this was time consuming.

Then we started in on the rest of the project. We built a new wall with foam (for insulation) and a floor. I learned a lot about construction and tools I have never used before. Some, I don’t care to have to use again.. (i.e. Ram kit)

 

 

Then we started in on the walls.. Framing went quick after we started. It looks so cool with just the framing of the walls up.

 

I can’t wait for the rest of it to get done. Its going to look amazing!!

The kids are super excited to finally have their own rooms again, and we will also have a family room, along with our bedroom.

That is all the pictures I have for now, but will keep you posted as we move along.. Just waiting for the heating, and electric to go in next, then we can start sheet rocking.

The kids have amazing plans for their room schemes, so be sure to stay tuned to see it! I think you might get a kick out of it!  

Sorry it took me so long to update.. I didn’t even touch my laptop for two weeks. That was hard for me!

Beautiful Saturday…

 

 

The weather is finally starting to come around.. Oh doesn’t that make me extremely happy!

Spring is one of my favorite seasons. I love it!!! I need to get my camera out, and start taking some pictures again. I have been slacking lately big time. (not good)

We were outside most of the day today. I dropped Little Monkey off at a Girl Scout Event. They learned about recycling, and picked up the grounds of the place they meet at. Then planted some flowers. She had a blast!

I came home, and the rest of us went to work pruning our fruit trees. This is suppose to be done Feb/March.. But with the crazy weather we have been having I was hoping it wasn’t to late. We have a total of 7 trees we prune. Got them all done yesterday, and they look lovely, if I do say so myself.  

 

Since the weather is suppose to continue, I’m hoping to get the raspberry and blueberry bushes done on Monday.

I can’t wait til I can start planting in my garden. I have a plan all made out, and even started some of our seedlings. (my dad has a greenhouse, that I put them in)

 

Later in the afternoon we picked up Little Monkey, and headed to the library. Picked up daddy from work, and headed home for our St. Patty’s Day feast! I made Cornbeef, Cabbage, Carrots and potatoes. YUM!

It was truly a great day, to remind us that spring is coming.

What fun things did you do?

Why, I have not been writing as much this month…

 

 

One of my commitments is being a Girl Scout Leader, which I’m sure you have heard me talk about a few times (or more).

Well that generally means for the whole month of March, I’m running around like a crazy lady, trying to find where I left my brain behind. LOL!

Why you ask??! Well, its cookie month. Which for me means, dropping off cookies, counting cookies, picking up more cookies, and becoming a cookie! Yup, lots of cookies in there.  

Please we are doing a bit of this…

Oh, and did I mention beyond being a leader, I also have another girl in another troop! Which means twice the running around.. (luckily this year they did not do a cookie booth)

So, forgive me, but I will be better about getting posts up after this month. Don’t forget to support your local Girl Scout Troop, and eat some yummy cookies!

The Homeschool Mother’s Journal

 

 

 

 

 

 

In my life this week…

This week has been long, but good. We enjoyed friends, family, and lots of fun!

We finally had a snowstorm that produced snow .. (kids were excited, me not so much)

Made lots of homemade bread..

Relaxed a few times..

and prepped for us to get back to the grind.

In our homeschool this week…

We were still on break…

however, we learned about animals while reading the National Geographic Kids

we had fun, on our last few days of vacation…

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…

Work with curriculum that works for you… cause if it doesn’t fit your style or your child’s style.. There are going to be lots of tears, and not so much fun.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

This week we are back to the grind, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun right?? After all we do Homeschool!  

4H, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, Library, play dates with friends…

Plus whatever surprises get thrown in there!

My favorite thing this week was…

The look on my daughter’s face when she opened one of her presents. Pure joy, and surprise! Love it!

What’s working/not working for us…

Saxon Math is working nicely for us… so I think despite my thoughts, to pull my girls from it, I’m going to keep going with it. Just wish I could find Saxon 3 for a bit cheaper. (Being frugal, I will not give up easily)

Questions/thoughts I have…

I can’t believe we are so close to the end of this year. Is it me or has it just seemed to fly by? I mean, WOW! We only have 10 more weeks left, and this year is over. We have our struggles, but this year went far easier than last. I think, (gasp) I might be finally getting the hang of this!

Things I’m working on…

We didn’t redo the school room like I was hoping. After our summer break. We needed to address the clutter in the basement first, so we could seal it, and prep for new walls to be built. (I’m not a patient person, so all this waiting is going to kill me) Anyhow, so we rearranged instead. I will take some photo’s and post them later this week….

I’m reading…

At the moment nothing, and it is not making me very happy. We haven’t had any time to make it to the library, so I have been trying to figure out what I want to read. I finally just placed an order online to our Books by Mail Library. I can’t wait for them to arrive.

I’m cooking…

Omelets, for dinner.. I know, I know, strange, but we had a very large quantity of eggs, taking up a very HUGE amount of space in my fridge. Roughly 14 dozen eggs! Yes, it was time to use some up.. so we settled on Omelets, and finished off a dozen. (sad I know)

I’m grateful for…

My children.. My son spent the night at his Aunt’s house recently… and I missed him like crazy. How nuts is that? I just can’t even imagine what my life would be like without them. I have made many decision because of them, but my life would not be nearly as great as it is without them. They make it what it is!

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

Little Monkey’s Birthday cake, incase you didn’t see it on my Facebook page. Super cute!

Life is super Crazy

 

 

and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better…

Guess that is life though, so I must not complain.

We have all recovered for the most part from our nasty colds that attacked us.

Things are kind of calming down, but at the same time, I’m not sure that they are..

Do you ever feel that way?

My life is changing a little at a time, not for the bad, just changing..

Our new venture in Homeschooling adventure is going quite well, or better than I expected it to (to be very honest)

I’m becoming the from scratch baking mom that I wanted to be, but never had the confidence to do…(all the time)

Now if I could just get the kids to listen a bit better, life would be grand.

I have internet at home, but am not able to link up via my laptop, so I’m falling quite behind in my posting…

So, I’m hoping to be able to come to the library and link in using theirs once a week, so I can be a bit more on top of stuff, and just do my posting from here.

Thank you all for being patient with me, while we move, and get resettled, and figure out what we are going to do next. I really appreciate it.

May you all enjoy this wonderful start to the Holiday Season!

What my week has been like......

Again I apologize for not posting regularly yet...

Still working on getting organized... (big task)

Hubby started his new job this week, and so far so good.. Except the hr travel to it.

Kids are doing really well with the Homeschooling so far... very impressed. 

Starting with a Homeschool Co-op tomorrow, and very excited to have the kids make some new friends.

Having a hard time being away from friends, especially with them having such a hard time right now...

Visiting with old friends is relaxing...

Missing my phone calls, (cell towers in the sticks are not so friendly)

Made lots of baked goods, my mom says I'm domesticating her... 

The cold is a bit much to handle at once... brrr!! 28 degree's this morning when I got up!

My middle monkey is turning 7 a week from tomorrow!!!!! 

Excited to decorate for fall! Love how the weather puts me in the mood. 

Van had some issues this week, that caused me to have a bit of a break down mentally...but i'm over it. 

Just hate how everything happens all at once! UGH!

Miss talking to my twitter friends... hope everyone is having a fabulous week! 

Enjoy!!! 

We made it!

We are safely back in Maine.... It was a long 28 hr drive, but we did it. The other two Monkey's were very happy to see us. 

Our day has been filled with cleaning, rearranging, unpacking, and exhaustion. 

So please bare with me this week, as we slowly get back to life, and routine. 

Hope everyone is having a fabulous week! 

Changes… are coming…

 

We are excited about the changes about to happen here. Not on the blog physically…but as a family. We are getting ready to move again. For any of you that have been around with us very long, know that almost exactly 2 yrs ago we moved from Maine. We had many expectations upon moving… or I should say hopes. While they all did not work out, we had a great time here over the last 2 yrs and have met wonderful people, and made great friends!

However, that being said.. it is time for us to move on.. For some personal reasons we have decided to move back to Maine… to help out family. Being an only child leaves you feeling like you should be able to do more… which is not always easy…

We will not be moving to the same area we were in last time, but more central… and we are pretty excited about our new adventure. The 3 monkeys are excited to see family, and old friends. Very sad about leaving friends but very optimistic about keeping in touch. Since moving is hard… we are keeping their spirits up.

Life throws us curve balls often, but we are so optimistic that we are going to be happy! Good things are to come!

So as we embark on this journey … we are going to try and stay current.. However, if we get a little slow, please be patient with us. We probably won’t be moving north for a couple months, but lots to do in preparation.

Stay tuned for our next journey, and more news we have to come!!!

Sorry...

I've been among the missing lately...


My head is killing me,


but I promise some cool giveaways this weekend!


Hope everyone is having a fabulous week!

What our week has been like thus far….

 

 

 

Interesting to say the least….

Having Monday off threw us off a bit. We didn’t really do anything special as, daddy had to work. The kids and I hung out at home..rather a boring day. We have decided that starting next year, we are going to come up with our own Memorial Day tradition. So, we are not just sitting here… bored, and missing our family up north. Since, we really tend to dwell on that some times.

At the end of the day Monday I told the oldest monkey it was time to cut his hair… He hates to have his hair cut… Getting better about it, but still sometimes a pain. His hair grows so fast its nuts! He is the HAIRY one of the family.. I always joke with him. For the summer, being so hot here… we usually shave it right off… Check out what he wanted it to look like!

See how thick his hair is?? Yup crazy he is! I told him over my dead body would he get a Mohawk! (May I add daddy was not helping me out much) I did win, and the rest was shaved off…. Looks much better now!

 

Tuesday was  Rachel’s  Recital Rehearsal. Can I just say total CHAOS!!! Oh my, it was nuts! I sat in my car, in 90 degree heat for 2 hrs waiting for her to be done! It was torture!

Wednesday my son came home from school, and he was just not feeling good. He had a headache… and was very tired. So he ended up going to sleep as soon as he got home…. we woke him up for dinner, and then he fell back asleep while I was reading to him.

Today… Can we not get one week in this last month that one of my kids stays home sick from school?? Just one week!!!

He is feeling a bit better today… but still not feeling great. Headache still and blah. We

decided to let him stay home to rest, so he could be present for his big school party tomorrow. We are hoping to shake this! Wish us luck!

Now we embark on the weekend… it will be a crazy weekend of hair, dresses, photo’s and shoes!

Recital weekend, which means more chaos, and craziness. I just hope she doesn’t get nervous and enjoys herself. I’m so proud of her!

Photo’s to come next week!!!

 

 

 

I may be….

 

 

MIA for a few days… 

 

I can’t go into great detail cause it is not my story to share. I will say that one of my Best Friends, is getting ready for a major surgery tomorrow. Therefore, I am helping out with her kids… and whatever I can. With that said…

 

I may not have a chance today or tomorrow to get on and post anything. So, I wanted you all to know. I will be back by Friday at the latest, and have everything posted, and giveaway winners up! Thanks for understanding!

 

Keep us in your prayers, and have a wonderful week. I will try to keep some updates on my twitter… if your interested.

May = Crazy??

 

 

May is a wonderful month, as spring has sprung, and of course the best thing of all, my birthday is in this month! However, it never fails as to how crazy May becomes.

It is the month of a bazillion birthday’s for our family and friends. No joke, probably close to 20! The postal system must love me for this month!!!

In that list is my husband first, and then mine at the end of the month… With lots of close family and friends in between. That starts the Craziness off.

This year… you add in camping trips, training for Girl Scouts & Cub Scouts, trips for both Scouts, regular meetings, Dance, Baseball finishing up, and cross over and bridging ceremonies… and you have filled up my whole month of May!

I’m thinking that June will need to be the month of rest, to catch up, but I think it may be just as crazy this year.

Do you ever have one month, that just seems to be jammed packed with everything you can possibly do in it??

Our week so far:

 

I can’t seem to catch a break this week. I’m so, so sorry…that i have been MIA for almost two weeks. With all the stuff going on around here… I can’t seem to catch up.

We made it through the Pinewood Derby. I will be posting on that shortly. Just need to find time to upload pictures. :)

The first two days of this week were taken up with Car repair. Dropped it off Monday Morning at 8am. Sat there for 3 hrs to find out what was wrong with the AC, before they started on the rest of the stuff. I left to go to the mall (which is luckily only a mile down the road) with a friend… Had a great time, but came back at 5pm and the Car was still not DONE!!!! By this time, my daughter had already missed dance, and I was not going to make her miss Girl Scouts to, so I said I’ll be back in the morning for it.

Left in a rush to head home to pick up my daughter and get to Girl Scouts. Phew! Thank goodness for great friends that like to help you out!

Tuesday we went back to get the car, and it was down pouring! I had errands to get done though, so Sage and I had fun getting wet while doing that. Doctors appt after the kids got out of school and Cub Scouts, made that day go by quickly!

Yesterday was my MIL birthday… So my youngest daughter and I took her to lunch, and run a few more errands. Then we spend the evening with family celebrating!

Today has been a bit of a blur as well… But at least the week has flown by! I’m still waiting for a couple of packages to arrive, doesn’t look like the one I need before Saturday is going to make it. Bummer!!! Then this weekend is Blue & Gold!

You tired yet (just reading it)???

Computer issues......

Sorry we haven't been around much lately... Its been a crazy start to getting back into our routine after school started back. Along with our extra activities. Then for some reason every meeting that I attend (being a leader of most of my kids activities) ended up being this week too! Phew, I'm tired all over again just talking about it! 

Then to top off my week, we got a virus on our computer! Yup, so the hubby had to fix it. Thank goodness that is what he went to school for.....but even still, it takes time, saving the important stuff, making sure we didn't loose anything to big that couldn't be replaced. Thankfully after the a couple of days we got it all back in working order, but I'm still slowly downloaded my programs I use...like Windows Live writer! I love this program to do my blog post!

Therefore, here we are.... rested, re focused and trying to catch up. I am working on some new reviews, giveaways, and stories to tell you! I am trying to come up with something new to do on my blog this year... is there anything you would like me to share, tell or do a post about? Questions for me?? Anything??? Feel free to let me know! 


I hope that everyone is having a great start to their New Year! I know ours is, even over our super busy schedule!

Life, and other Random Stuff.....

Things are almost there... 

School is back and going..... homework is back

its been really cold here lately..  yes I know weird for FL...

Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts are back in full swing..

Cookie Sales are coming up, and the Pine Wood Derby.. 

So stay tuned for our pictures... cause this year the Girls are making a car too!

Sage is excited her birthday is coming up soon.... 

Baseball is starting soon for Hunter...

Yup, we are getting busy again!