A little background information...and randoms

I was a single mom with Nathaniel for 5 1/2 years before I married Terry. When Terry and I married in 2004, Nathaniel was entering Kindergarten. I decided to home school him. When Nathaniel's Dad heard the news, he was not happy with it, and really put up a fight. (By the way, Nathaniel's dad isn't a Christian, and we have very different parenting styles) Well, since "legally" we share joint custody, we have to agree on school choices. Well, how do you agree on something you don't agree on? It wasn't something that we could come to an agreement on so we had to go to mediation...In the mean time, I just kept home educating Nathaniel. Kindergarten went great! Nathaniel really learned a lot. Him and I really both enjoyed learning together. I really enjoyed seeing him grow educationally. I taught him how to read and write! That was an amazing feeling knowing that I did that. I still don't know how I did that. The following fall (after he started first grade) his Dad and I went to mediation. The outcome of the mediation was, I made a lot of changes (in favor of his dad) so I can keep homeschooling until, at least, 6th grade. I home educated Nathaniel through Second grade. During Second grade, things changed. Nathaniel and I were constantly at each other. We really didn't get along very well. We ended our days in tears (both of us) many days. I was tired of home schooling him. I didn't like what our relationship was turning into. I wanted to enjoy him, and I really felt like I was starting to not like him so much. Don't get me wrong, I love my son...but I am sure you can relate with not really liking them at moments.
I had Madelyn during that school year...beginning of March. I am sure being pregnant during that time didn't help our situation. I was so very emotional with my pregnancy with Madelyn. I got lazy with schooling, too, but I could tell that it just wasn't working out. Nathaniel had a hard time with separating me as mom and teacher. He took what I was trying to teach as criticizing. I know I can be very critical at times, too...but that is another post in itself (stay tuned). So, with a lot of prayer, and a lot of talk with Terry and friends, Nathaniel entered the Public School this year (2007). He is really doing well, and he enjoys school. I think he does really well under another teacher's direction. He gets challenged by other peers, and he loves competition. He thrives well with structure, and he gets that at school. This isn't a defeat statement, but I don't have to fight with his Dad about school anymore, either. Nathaniel's state test results came back and he far exceeds the standards, he is at a 6th grade reading level, his spelling is a daily struggle....and that makes me want to take him out and keep home educating him. We will see how this year goes. We may end up taking him out and maybe do Christian online school down the road. Who knows. All I know is that I need to do it all in prayer.
I am still wanting to home educate Caleb, Madelyn and any other kids we may have, but I think that having Nathaniel go to the school was a good choice. It was prayed over, and God gave me peace about it. I would have preferred a Christian or Private school...but, finances won't stretch that far. I don't agree with some things with the school system, but I just have to keep bathing it in prayer.

"Holiday Concert"

My son's third grade class had their "Holiday Concert" last night. I remember when I was little it was called a Christmas concert. I guess it would be "politically incorrect" or a "religious racism" to classify it as such. Anyway, it was a great concert!! Nathaniel got to play the drums for the evening concert. He was so proud, and he was so excited! It is an amazing feeling that goes through a mom when her baby is up front performing. I was really beaming, I am sure. The music teacher did an amazing concert with the kids. She involved as many students as she could. Some had singing parts, some played musical instruments, some had dancing parts, and one little guy was the "announcer" for each song. That little boy reminded me of "The Peanuts Christmas" when Linus was up front reciting the scripture from the book of Luke. It was very cute. It was a fun event. They had a concert during the day, which my parents came to that one with me and the kiddos. In the evening, my Mom-in-law came, Terry, Me and the kiddos. I got Nathaniel to giggle on the last song "Feliz Navidad". He has such a great smile. It was so great to see him smiling and having a great time.

Old Fashioned Christmas

Here is our table that we decorated for the "Old Fashioned Christmas" at our church. You can read about this event here.

When I grow up~

Last night, when Terry was putting Caleb to bed, Caleb said, "When I grow up, I will be Nathaniel's age!"

13 things you can win

1. Mom & Baby Fitness DVD
2. Rockin Sing-Alongs CD
3. Now I Know My ABC’s CD
4. Sleep Sounds for Mom CD
5. Garden Counting 1-5 Puzzle
6. Fruits & Vegetables A-Z
7. My MP3: Classical Music
8. Bee Bop Band
9. Pop Beads
10.Water Works
11. Bristle Blocks
12. Rev & Roll Bus
13. Petite Painter

Want to know how to win these things? 5 Minutes for MOM is hosting this amazing giveaway! This is an assortment of infant-to-preschool toys from the award winning Parents® Magazine toy line. Go here to enter the contest (rules posted). Thanks for stopping by, and Happy Thursday Thirteen!

Santa Claus is coming to town~

Check it out~

**Updates with added contests**
Laura Williams' Musings is having a Review & Giveaway: Limited Edition Happy Panda Holiday Gift Basket valued at $200.00. This is what you have to do: 1. Post about this giveaway on your blog or site with a link to this giveaway and to Happy Panda.
2. Visit Happy Panda and view all their cute stuff. Then come back here and leave a comment of which one you like best along with your blog post link about this giveaway. Contest ends tonight at 11:59 P.M. so hurry! She is also giving away a Baby Jamz Move 'n Groove Dance Mat! Just leave a comment on this post by December 6th. I think Maddie and Caleb would love this, so I hope to win it! The Baby Jamz Mix Master chair is also in a giveaway. Go here to enter before December 6th. Do you and your kids love crafts? She is hosting a giveaway for a Hanes craft kit! Enter before December 6th. She is having a giveaway a set of Holiday Bows from The Fairy Princess Bow Boutique. Ends December 6th. Maddie would appreciate this win! :)

Amanda is giving away adorable reindeer girly bows that she made! They are so cute! Head over there before Wednesday, December 5th. You should check out her store, SimplySweetBowtique.com!

DE Reviews is giving away: Fruit & Veg. Puzzle and Under Lock & Key Garage. These toys come from the Parents line (a branch from the Parent's magazine). Other products Parents released are the Kitty Keyboard, Letter Tile Puzzles (on my list!), Pop Beads, Mom & baby Fitness DVD (great for new mamas!), and much more. Enter for a chance to win by Friday, December 7th.

The Apronista is giving away The Santa Baby Apron! It is so cute! Go here to enter before Friday, December 7th.

My Two boys is having one last giveaway for natural products (non-toxic). Natural Pod is offering 5 fantastic products that are best in natural and organic products for your baby. Enter before December 5.

*The Domestic Diva is giving away a My Friends Tigger & Pooh - Super Sleuth Christmas Movie December 10th is the deadline for the Movie~
She is also giving away a Kodak Gallery $50 giftcard giveaway!!! Then, you can make personalized photo gifts! Head over and sign up before December 8th!

*Island life is giving away a $50 giftcard to Warm Biscuit bedding company. I would use it on some of those vintage (by era) toys. LOL~ Enter before December 10th. Win a Woobie by entering this contest by December 7th. I think Maddie would love one of those!

My Family Loves it-Family reviews, stories, and activities is giving away a Spongebob Maritime Music Player. I know Nathaniel would love this, because he really likes SpongeBob! You can also Win a Spongebob interactive song book! This contest ends December 9th winner will be announced December 10th.

Not Entirely British is having a Christmas giveaway! She is having a contest for a RjTECH UNO-02 DVD compact slim DVD player. Contest ends Tuesday December 18th.

Along for the ride is giving away a $250 Shopping Spree to Along for the Ride. Just Email Your Answer to the question by midnight on December 31, 2007. ONE regular entry per person. See question #2 on their site to receive a BONUS entry! Winner will be announced by email on or before January 10, 2007. I would choose the Sachi Carriers Solarweave Mei Tai Pink because it is summer/swimming friendly and I just love the way it looks. I am sure it feels amazing!

A great day/night

We had a great day! We went to a train show this morning with the kids. It wasn't the best train show, but my husband loves the trains, and so it was fun to go. We got to venture through the snow. I love snow. I love lots of snow. I just don't like the cold and ice with it. I hope we get dumped on this year for snow. I wish we could get as much as we did when I was little. I remember making tunnels through the Pine trees in the front yard. We made 7 feet tall snowmen and still had tons of snow on the ground. My brothers used to make igloos...and I am talking BIG igloos! They even slept in them sometimes. My mom worried all night long for them, but they were really warm. I am not so sure that I would allow my kids to sleep outside in an igloo these days. Can I spider-web here? Well, I am a girl, so I guess that is what we do, right? Well, according to Love & Respect we do. I love that we can do that. Anyway, about what we did when we were little...I am sure we played with Lead paint toys....ate baby cereal before 4 months (in fact my mom gave it to me when I was just a few weeks old)...what else did we do, and it didn't kill us? Isn't it amazing at how many "rules" we have to do with raising our children these days? I love that song, "Back When". It is a Country song, and it is super! Here is the chorus: "Back when a hoe was a hoe Coke was a coke And crack's what you were doing When you were cracking jokes Back when a screw was a screw The wind was all that blew And when you said I'm down with that Well it meant you had the flu I miss back when I miss back when I miss back when" It just reminds me of life when it didn't seem so terrible and demented.

Ok, so are you wondering why I am all over the place? Well, I am tired, it is after midnight, and I just think I am being weird. I know my friend's are giggling and nodding their heads yeppers to this....

Anyway, this evening we had one of our favorite babysitters come watch the kids. She brought her little sister with. She is "training" her to be a babysitter, and basically showing her the ropes. Well, they brought over all the sugary candy supplies to make Gingerbread houses. The kids had so much fun! It was fun to see Nathaniel's creativity soar! He has such an imagination. He even put in a wreath holder. He had a candy cane holding the gummy wreath over the door, and the candy cane was a rafter on the top of the house. It was very cute. I will have to get some photos up to show you. When the kids were having fun, we had fun, too. Our church has a Christmas Dinner every December. We invite a performer to come with entertainment. People within the church pick tables and decorate them to their liking. Then, they can choose to invite people to come, and if you can afford it, pay for the tickets. It can be a bit pricey at $20 a plate, but it is so wonderful! We decided to do a table this year. We had a brick red table cloth, a train set (working), Village homes/people, candles, snow, square snowmen plates, and snowmen mugs. It was so much fun. There were so many fun and pretty decorative tables. My friends Lisa and Jody did 2 tables. Lisa and Jody went for the pretty/fancy/elegant, and their hubby's went for the manly and hunting theme. I really enjoyed their tables, too. It was a great night out with my husband, friends and family members. I wish our table would have been closer to Lisa and Jody's, though. I am just glad that my (fire fighter) husband didn't start anything on fire this year. Last year he set Lisa's cloth napkin on fire with the candles. It was sad that the napkin was a bit scorched, but kind of comical that he is a fire fighter...yet caught the napkin on fire. I guess a Pyromaniac at heart! :)

Well, time for this little lady to get to bed. It is way past my bedtime. So, goodnight...sleep tight!

Thanks!

I won the Booples 2: Yikity Blar DVD from Laura Williams Musings blog! I am really excited that I won this! This is making a great Christmas present for the kids! I think the kids will love it! Thank you so much, Laura!

Here is a little bit about it:

"Booples 2 Yikity Blar!" is the second Booples DVD and all new stories and songs! Each episode has a story which is based around a Bible verse. The Booples learn about God, His love, His character and how to best live according to His word.
Each episode's song contains the Bible verse from the story. The songs are fun and catchy which helps kids remember the song, apply the message and retain the verse in their heart.
* "Forgive Each Other" - Ephesians 4:32 * "Jonah and the Tarshish Fish" - Luke 11:28 * "David Rocked Goliath" - 1 Corinthians 1:25 * "God is Faithful" - Psalm 33:4 * Plus all 4 song videos from the episodes! * And a Booples! short: "Fruit of the Spirit"
Songs by Pete Buchwald and Bear Cahill.
Booples named #6 on About.com's "Top 10 Christian DVD and Video Series for Children"
Play-all features for the episodes, songs and both together!

JumpStart World: First Grade

Nathaniel loves playing the JumpStart games! He could spend hours playing the games. The best part of him playing this type of game, is that he is learning while having fun! Kids can sing along to the music videos that teach phonics in the Art and Music studio the Karaoke way. There are different lands and challenges that will open up according to when the kids progress to the next level. What makes this game so fun to play is the 3D effects, too! Kids can earn Super Gems at the Math and Reading Arcades. They can pick what character they want to use when they play the game. Kids can personalize the World with their own artwork and photos. They can create billboards, cards and special pictures. The World changes with the seasons and holidays using a real-time calendar. You can pick what holidays are celebrated. There are over 80 learning games with 40 skills to learn! Skills taught: Math: Addition, Subtraction, Telling Time, Fractions, Picture Graphs
Reading: Phonics, Consonants, Vowels, Sentences, Comprehension
Critical Thinking: Problem Solving, Patterns, Attributes, Classification
Social Skills: Friendship, Knowledge, Dedication
Parents can keep track of what their child is grasping through detailed Progress reports, and create custom rewards to present to their children. This game isn't just for First Graders, either. Nathaniel still loves playing the games and refreshes what he has learned while playing. You can get it at Knowledge Adventure, and they have free shipping! It is rated:

For everyone! :)

Microsoft Student with Encarta Premium 2008

Microsoft Student with Encarta Premium 2008 is such a great tool to have for any student! I enjoyed looking through so many topics and subjects. I haven't even got through it all. Nathaniel looked at some of the items, and he was really excited to just dive right in and learn. I am really excited to use this. I think the Microsoft student is perfect for High School students and College ages. I think that this is a great program to grow with Nathaniel, and you can get new updated information for it online. This is listed as the #1 best-selling encyclopedia software brand for the past 8 years, provides more up-to-date content and more engaging multimedia than ever before. With searching online or offline, it’s trusted for everyone in the family to easily find relevant and reliable information on just about any subject. Plus, it easy to use! You can browse over 60,000 articles, over 25,000 photos and illustrations, over 800 videos and interactive activities, and over 3,000 sound and music clips. The encyclopedia also has an interactive atlas with over 1.8 million map locations. This software is an all-in-one homework tool for math, research projects, a foreign language, and more. Just to give you a run down of the software:

Microsoft Math: A collection of powerful tools provide the confidence to solve challenging problems in a variety of math- and science-related subjects.
Foreign language help: Students can use Microsoft Word for all their foreign language assignments.
Learning essentials: Templates, tutorials and toolbars walk your student through the process of creating papers, reports and presentations that will make them proud of the work they do.
Encarta 2008: With trusted content that's accurate and up-to-date, students can find the information they’re looking for—quickly and easily. You'll be amazed to see the time that students spend researching, compelled by the sights and sounds of one fascinating presentation after another. Students enjoy access to trusted information provided by world experts. And since they can automatically download updates from the Encarta Web site, they'll have up-to-date and accurate reference software whenever they need it. Encarta Premium 2008 comes complete with a wide range of reference tools, including a dynamic atlas, dictionary, thesaurus, and language translation dictionaries. The program comes with Microsoft Encarta Kids, too! The programs on there cover: animals, science, sports & recreation, the arts, reading and writing, people, places, history, social studies, and games (with fun stuff). I think Nathaniel will really enjoy his learning even more with this super software! I was amazed at how much came with this! Microsoft Student Encarta 2008 is a $49.95 retail value. This would be great for any student at any level. You can purchase Microsoft Student, which comes with a 75 minute tutor.com trial, for download instantly. You can order the DVD's if you prefer, too. Right now I found this on Amazon for $28.75! I am not sure how long that price will be that. I think it is definitely worth that price...even at $49.95!

Thirteen movies I love~

• Anne of Green Gables
• Anne of Avonlea
• A few Good Men
• Sound of Music
• Princess Bride
• My Best Friend's Wedding
• First Knight
• Bad Boys
• Enemy of the State
• Liar Liar
• Hitch
• 50 First Dates
• Pirates of the Caribbean

I like a lot of movies, and it was hard to narrow it down to 13...Happy Thursday's Thirteen!