The love of baseball!

I love baseball~have for years...and there was a summer league, free in the paper. So I got all the kids in the car, sans birth certificates and headed for the park. After driving around for a bit, we found it! It is free, one month of games only...free shirt, hat and gloves! The kids can also all be on the same team! Did I mention there were NO practices...the games were to teach the basics of baseball.
I am beyond happy...then he says, we do need coaches...ugh...I have 4 kids on one team? I said, I'll give it a try, but I can't throw or catch, but I know the game...he matched me with Rick, a father of 4 boys who KNOW the game, because they play soccer, football and baseball...if there is a sport Rick coaches and his kids play it! He is funny and encouraging to the kids. Tony came out the first night and he got rigged into being a coach too! hee hee!
Gabriel got a solid hit the first night! He was so in to it! I kinda tripped out, one of the things the coach does is switch the kids around to the other bases and outfield each inning...Gman caught and he already acts like David Q. so seeing him in catching gear...was like going back in time to see little Q in action!
The hitting team has the coach feed a pitching machine for the batter...it was a bit intimidating at first. Abby was a bit bummed to strike out the first few times she hit, but I am happy to report she got a hit last night and was able to be brought home. Touching all the bases was a joy...
Eric totally surprised me! He is really good, I mean really good! He has a real strong arm and loved catching...I know it isn't a catchers mitt...we didn't have a left catchers mitt! Eric hits every time...he is strong!

Anna, hmm, well she hit the ball, and she ran. She talks the whole time, tells how happy she is and her thoughts so the "fans" in the stands are laughing hysterically! I am usually yelling at her to throw the ball...as she will hold it and yell, Where? til the same "fans" are chanting THROW IT! She seems to enjoy it, and likes drinking water from the jug and using the bathroom numerous times in a game!
This is a reminder why I don't wear baseball hats! Egads that looks horrible! I really am glad we did this, but it has reawakened a sleeping giant of time sucking that we don't have the time for! I so understand how people give their lives to sports for their kids...watching my children excitement and their improvement is enough to make a mom beam.

Friday...you don't want to miss this....

I will come back on Friday...and tell you all! I hope it is done by then...but I am excited, my husband said, well, it's about time! My kids said...yes! I am so beyond happy about this...can't wait to tell you!

promise kept! yeah...hand slap!

Can you see it!?!?!? My first tomato! It is so beyond cute! I think this is pretty much life size! We have 6 plants and last count 6 tomatoes...ha ha...but they are beautiful plants! Luckily our neighbors have the touch and have been keeping us stocked up with tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers and assorted things!
Speaking of the wild, last week, we had a Park Day with the home school group. My desert raised children found frogs, big ones, little ones and ones that were hidden under rocks! I had to explain to the California parents that were looking at my children like un-socialized home school children (something frowned upon..ha ha...little HS humor) that in the desert they don't have frogs...horny toads yes, but cute little frogs and toads; nope!My kids came to me with that look...can we keep them? aaaaaaaaaaaaaaw, of course I said yes! Find some bugs to feed the reptiles and we will figure this out. Plus I didn't have my camera and this of course was a scrapbooking moment, as my dear hubby likes to say!
The frogs were bundled up and brought home, to be tormented by my children..no, no, I mean taken out of box and allowed to jump, be squeezed and dropped and then put back in the box! The kids found some rolly pollies..but the newly acquired frogs were not eatting....this is not good. We looked up on the internet, care for frogs...
DO NOT KEEP FROGS FOUND IN THE WILD...THEY WILL DIE!
Sadness, but the frogs had to go back! One last frolic with the children and bundled back up and brought back to the original place of capture:click on the picture and look close under the rock, you will see one toad and one little frog..this is where they were first found...they just jumped right back under...extremely happy I am sure!

After the release to the wild, camera in hand...pictures must be taken! My awesome kids...
tomorrow see Coach Anne in action and some baseball shots!

I promise pictures tomorroW

okay, I got a book on organizing...no managing my home...it is beyond spectacular...okay, I know you guys think I am over the top all ready in my obsessive compulsiveness and passing this down to my unsuspecting children...but this is so way different!
Really...
and I did a schedule (with the kids Sunday afternoon)
BLINKER...BLINKER subject change but just a quick lane change:
I laughed right out loud, it is 85 degrees a lovely delta breeze blowing and my kids are all huddled at the dining room table with me, going over chore charts and LOVING it...are we weird or what!??! I now return you to your regular scheduled subject:
This schedule is in 30 minute blocks...for a woman whose life used to be in 15 minute increments...I was beyond excited to have small amounts of time to fill in!
We did our trial run today, and since we were looking for chores we had forgotten, we threw in the Saturday BIG chores! Three hours to do chores! and they were so excited...my van was vacumned AND steam cleaned! Both bathrooms were scrubbed, I mean pumice stone on toilets, hands and knees on tubs and showers and a scrubbing mop, and, my kitchen counters were sterilized and the stove taken apart, scrubbed and reassembled....all by my magnificent children...I was supervising...and will do so for a while...they have the chores for 3 month increments...it was fun and they loved it! Tomorrow, we do just the regular day chores....no HUGE ones...
so tomorrow..pictures of my kids playing baseball...this is hilarious! I got roped into coaching, as 4 of the team are mine! None of my kids have ever played the game I love! I mean I could so get into this...but i'm cool!...our main coach Rick, his dad went into the hospital and he had to fly to Nebraska, so this week we have 3 games and I was on my own...my AWESOME hubby who usually has to go to bed at 8pm due to his early morning work schedule committed to help me...
and committed is what I should be...this man is so beyond awesome...wait to you see the book case/bakers rack I got out of the garbage, well I found it...and Tony got it! Tomorrow I promise!!!!

well, no turning back, I'm goin' all the way!

We sing this song in church, No turning back, I'm going all the way..........for the Lord! I've made up my mind.............I'm going all the way for the Lord!
That is how I finally feel about homeschooling! I can't turn back now! I don't want to put a spiritual spin on everything, but my children are beyond precious to me, and this has been a real inner struggle in my soul, heart and selfish little brain for a while!
I am astounded how God has blessed us with the resources to do this and a support group, both from Christine (with the organized closet) to the home school Meet-up group here in Yuba City!
Thursday evening, I had been going thru trying to find an English book, program, something that would work for me and the kids. I would watch one of the sales videos, and I actually cried in one. I wasn't the worlds best grammar student, and whatever I did learn must have been the brain cells that fried out or jumped out of my brain. One of the videos the lady was talking about prepositional phases...and I didn't have a clue what one was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I put a panic thread at a forum on HomeSchool Lounge...and got a few responses.
I finally told Tony, I need to go and touch these books, I can't order them from the internet...so a trip to Sacramento (east side) to the home school store!
I had gone before and didn't even know the language to ask for the right things. I spent almost 2 hours in there with one of the owners and touched every english, literature, grammar, spelling, vocabulary book in there!
I read the synopsis, and Tony even agreed on the final yahoo! Easy Grammar! I am going to learn this right side by side with my kids! I loved it...how it was written out, the worksheets, the teachers edition is like a hand holding mine! yeah
So I got that, Spelling WorkOuts for each level, with the promise kept, Gman does not have to do cursive! lol
I got some historical maps and charts for the American Revolution, constitution, bill of rights and lewis and clark!
Writing is big for me and the state of California, and I am using the standards rather tightly to keep me on a path.
I picked up Genres of Literature, Writing with the 5 Paragraph Model(which I think I am going to scrap a poster for the kids or something to stick in their journal) This is a big part of the final testing, writing a persuasive essay (5 paragraphs) so I want to give them a good foundation. I also picked up Traight writtings, and a Literacy Centers little folder. I make the folders and they pick the one they want to do...16 of them...should be a fun for all and mom!
We are reading Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry right now, so I got a teaching guide for it also!
perhaps I have too much, but I looked at them, it is like 15 minutes tops work for most, and much less for others.
My panic quilled and I really feel prepared! I have the math, it should be in my home by next week! Spanish, Social Studies and Science will take another 2 weeks, but we will start math August 1oth and get a grove down with reading journals, p.e. chores and life at home....
I'm goin' all the way............for the Lord!



I

Claudi is leaving ONE store!

I have this wonderful gig, I make QP's, page clusters and I get to me a help to Claudi of Claudi Designs. I kind of stumbled into this whole thing due to my obsessive compulsive organization skills. Yeah! I am a very organized person, and have actually had to become less so, in order to have a happy home and family! I used to schedule my day in 15 minute increments....my hubby said, "uhm, babe, that is not happening!" lol
Soooooo, I organized Claudi's team of talented QP artists, and we got a ball rolling and now Claudi has more time to design. She is wanting to concentrate on a few stores, so the shop at Inspiration Lane is closing for Claudi, but she does have a great leaving sale!!!
Claudi also has a brand new kit; Hot Summer! I don't know about all you, but here on the west coast of America we are cooking! It has been a summer of popsicles, bein' in the water and search for shade! This kit has it all! I played with it, and amazingly, this whole layout has only 8 elements, the rest is papers blended with a fun picture of my girls devouring cold fried chicken at the beach! You can even see the seagull in the H of beach! I love when that happens totally in the picture but not planned in the layout! Those waves are off Claudi's papers...so cool! It is available right now at Inspiration Lane....

coming up on 20 years! wowza

okay, we will be married 20 years in February...but Lorilei Murphy had this kit, it is all black and white with greenery that is so fresh and crisp! The kit is called Pristine and it is available only at Rosey Posey Studios...and it is! I mean you can do heritage wedding pics, any color wedding with it, because the elegance of the monochromatic...so I dug this picture out(a scan actually) and played with a scraplift challenge from DSO, (dear LouCEE's) the scraplift was from Hutch...wow, what a cast of characters for one layout eh?
I wanted to try something complete different, with the alpha in the kit (of which there are two different ones), so I played with the transparency and desaturation...it is a bit different, and missing something...but I am glad I stepped out of my box! The picture if you can't see is our hands with our rings on the bible, with my little bouquet of flowers. That was one budget wedding!