Pretty, pretty, pretty please....

Head over to Simply Corey Photography and vote for me!!!!

I am the first picture and it was taken 2 years ago when I was pregnant with Zeb.

While you are there, check out her other pictures and her portfolio. She is fabulous!

Schooling With Toddlers

I am often asked questions like, "How do you homeschool with little ones?"
 or
"What do you do with your baby or toddler when you school the older kids?"

This is a common question for any mom who has many kids of many ages and homeschools. This is in fact a question that at times I ask myself, especially when I am worn out and exhausted from all of the household chores that must still be accomplished while also schooling the kids.

Sometimes the answer is easy. There are days when the toddler is happy and content to just play with toys in the adjoining living room.

Everyday my living room looks likes this picture above because even if he does not play with toys he always pulls them out and throws them everywhere. That's OK. We always do a tidy up when we are finished and again at night before bedtime.

Of course there are other days when there only seems to be one thing that will keep my toddler from totally driving us crazy and when only one thing will keep him in one spot and away from electrical outlets and other potential hazards that he enjoys so much.

It is the Nintendo DS. It is a well kept secret of mine. Here is what happens if I pull it out and put a Spongebob video in it......

Yep! He sits still for a good 15 minutes! He is captivated with the sounds and color and action.

So, for all you folks who had images of my super clean house and educationally occupied toddler...here you go. Sometimes you just have to pull out all the stops to get a 15 minute reprive from the chaos that only a 2 year old can create. Just think, in a few weeks I get to add a nursing newborn to the mix:-)
Is it worth it? Yes
It all comes together with a little patience and lots of organization. In the meantime... it is time for that nightime tidy up. Have a great weekend, ya'll.
sami:-)

Beach Invasion

Well we spent a long weekend in Mississippi and loved it! The beaches were beautiful and the weather great, and it was not crowded at all. In fact we made several sand castles along the shore.

We also discovered that Indiana has a talent for catching fish with her bare hands. She's like the character in the book "Hoot" called mullet fingers.

Zeb's favorite activity was to throw sand...at everyone and everything.

The main reason we go to Mississippi is to see this wonderful lady, Aunt Inez. She is my great-aunt and she turns 96 this year! Every year we have a big birthday bash/family reunion for her. She looked great and I must say her mind is as sharp as ever! (I hope I have the same gene)

After our drive home yesterday we unpacked and prepared for the busy day today. We started our school year and it went well. My oldest two girls have heavier loads of work, but everything went smoothly and I am grateful for that fact! It can sometimes be challenging to school with small children and toddlers, but it is a lesson in patience. I will have to do a post on that soon:-)

Tomorrow? Journee goes on an orientation flight with her Civil Air Patrol. I will try and get a picture!

lol
sami:-)

Gulfport

We will be heading to Mississippi soon for an annual trip to visit family.
I will not be blogging for a few days, but I WILL be back and will catch everyone up on the fun filled weekend.
Enjoy the Labor Day Holiday!!!!!!!!
Keeping with old and wonderful traditions, we will start our school Tuesday...the day AFTER Labor Day!
lol
sami:-)

That's Just Pathetic

Out here we have 30 acres.
Room for the dogs to run and play, and often times they do quite a bit of both.
This evening it has cooled some and the breeze is blowing and it's just darn nice out.
My canines have been inside a good portion of the day, and so it's time to go out and play and run.

They all 4 disagree.
That's just pathetic.
lol
sami:-)

My Bee Keepers

What do you do when you are 8 months pregnant and have 11 hives to feed syrup to everyday?

In my case, I put the younger bee keepers to work! Indiana and Willow are most enthusiastic when it comes to helping me in the apiary.

Indiana has gotten really good at opening the hives and going through frames. Today we took the smaller nuc (shown in front) and placed it into a full hive (the box Indiana is touching).
I made that nuc over a month ago to raise a queen so I could re-queen a certain hive. In the meantime that hive raised its own new queen. This all equates to a new hive for the bee-yard.

Yes, these very lucky bee keepers get to drive a go-kart down to the bee yard. That is one great advantage to having so much room outdoors here.

I see a future in bee keeping for these youngsters!!!!!

lol
sami:-)

Where To Begin...

I have been absent, but only in blogging. I have been here in spirit, hoping to find the motivation to write and take pictures and such.
Tonight I have decided that sometimes you just gotta do it...even if it seems "blah" or if the energy just doesn't seem to be there.
Have I depressed you all yet? Hello? (crickets chirping.....)
I will spare the details and start fresh with new realistic facts that I will be having a baby soon (in about 4 more weeks) and that our school year starts in a week!!!! I am grateful we can start after Labor Day while the government schools started August 4th this year! That is crazy!!
Oh, and the picture above is my dad and Indiana. Precious, yes?

Here is Cricket,our new kitty. I went to the pet store to buy crickets for the bearded dragon and decided to bring this cute guy home. I do things like that, especially when I am pregnant, hormonal, and want to care for every animal in need.

The honeybees are doing great and well I now have 14 hives! See that long looking thing at the bottom of this picture? That is a queen cell. A new queen will emerge from that cell. These frames I like to take and start new hives, and that is why I have so many now. Hopefully I will have so much honey to extract next year that I will complain:-)

I am back and I promise to keep you all filled in on the happenings. It is busy here preparing for a new baby and school. I have been baking and cooking like crazy. My birth kit has been ordered and I have washed baby clothes:-)

Where did the summer go?
lol
sami:-)