After our lovely winter break, today we are back to homeschooling although I'm going to take it slower this week as we adjust to Mike's new work hours. After Mike gets paid I need to pick up some supplies like a journal for Hunter, pens and some more dry erase markers. After we get taxes (we will be filing in a couple of weeks), I'm going to raid a teacher store I've seen. I've driven past it a few times but never had the chance to go in. I LOVE teacher stores.

On the schedule for this week:

• Math

• Addition and subtraction. My mom sent a puzzle type math game. You have to match up the problem (groups of bugs, rockets, dogs, etc with either a plus or minus between them) with the answer. Tristin will just count the addition ones to find the total.
  
• Greater than, less than pages in Hunter's workbook.
  
• Bake cookies - Hunter helps with measuring - talk more about wholes, halves and quarters with both boys.
  
• Hi Ho Cherry-O. Who said math can't be fun?
  
• English
• Keep up with reading time after lunch.
  
• Run to library with Hunter and pick up new books
• One on one read time with Hunter. He picks, he reads
• Alphabet review with Tristin - magnet letters
• Super Why - PBS
  
• Science
• *ahem* Mentos and Diet Coke. Just for fun.
  
• Repot apple trees. Continue talking about plants and how they grow
  
• Nature walk - What is different in winter?
  
• Sid the Science Kid - PBS
  
• Arts and crafts
• Snakes if we get around to it
  
• Free draw time
• Social
• See about homeschool group park day.
  
• Price karate classes for Hunter.
• Find out when homeschool soccer team starts playing again.
• Play date with Avalon
• Look up Kyle homeschool group?
  

Of course there will be learning in between, the joys of living , but I wanted to write out a schedule to keep us on track and motivated. I think I got too comfortable with not doing anything formal over the last 2 weeks. Gotta get back in the groove. A fresh start in the new year.

I am very excited for this next year. Hunter is progressing extremely quickly. He's still doing a lot of 1st grade work but also loves the easy kindergarten workbook we have. I need to pick up a few more cheap workbooks. He keeps asking for his but I'm worried he'll finish up what little is left in it in one sitting. Haha! He just really really loves workbooks.

Because of his learning speed, we are seriously considering boxed curricula, probably K12, just so I don't have to continue piecing together my own. That boy just soaks everything up then won't stop talking about it. I don't mind it so much now but as Tristin gets more formal schooling and Ethan gets older... it's going to be harder to keep up with Hunter. Having a majority of the prep work done, I feel I will be able to focus more on the actual teaching and give the best I can to my kids.

Okie dokie. I hear a couple little Tornadoes so that's my cue. Have a wonderful Monday!

Well hello 2009. I am bleeding, emotional and generally quick to burst out with reactions (as proven by a snippy semi-rant/attack on a friend on facebook just a bit ago. Sorry again )

That overwhelmed feeling is gone. I'm not quite so peaceful as I was hoping to feel today but all is well.  I loved being able to see my mother in law, one of my sisters in law and one of my brothers in law and very happy that they made it for Mike's graduation yesterday. They came in early morning (2am) on the 1st and just left this morning. While I get along great with my inlaws having then invade my house for 2 1/2 days is a bit overwhelming. Just the dishes themselves were crazy.

Funny that I was considering typing up a blog about extended breastfeeding and what do ya know? I decided to check up on blog feeds first and here ya go - Breastfeeding until 3, 4, or 5: more common then you think? I really love her blog and felt this was extremely well written and put together, far better then anything I could have pull out of my ass. Haha! Go read if you care but warning it is on the long side.

Today's horoscope: Gemini - You are eager to reconnect with your friends today, for you are quite excited about something new in your life. Fortunately, you have enough common sense now to balance your desire for social action with a practical need for stability. If the holidays took a lot out of you, it's more important to trust your intuition. In the long run, you probably won't even remember that you missed a party because you were doing the responsible thing instead.

(HAHAHAHA!)

I will be putting up a protected post about Mike, graduation and what happens now possibly tomorrow. I have to fiddle with pictures and such. Mike goes to work tomorrow. Eek. So while he's gone I'll have time on my hands.  But yeah I'll tell ya when that goes up. I'll also be doing an update with my 101 in 1001 sometime soon.

But beyond that, I'm still feeling like I need more of a break. I may not be around a whole lot next week either. Once this damn curse natural part of womanhood passes I'm sure things will even out and peaceful feelings will return. I hope everyone is doing well. I'll have to catch up on blogs later. For now Mike wants to talk about something. So....

 Love ya!

Since everyone seems to be doing it, I'll jump on the band wagon as well. Warning: Uber long. Because ya know I have almost 8 years worth of stuff.

The Beginning - April 2001
I was 14 years old when I noticed him. I often spent my lunch (whether I was eating or not) in the court yard. I watched the guys play hacky sack and my friends and I laughed and teased with them. He was cute, in the awkward middle of puberty way. At the time I was dating a boy from another school so my observation was filed and forgotten.

The Unexpected Introduction
It was the week before spring break, I had pulled a friend of mine from the hacky sack game to ask about the algebra homework. As we were talking, I heard a THUMP... "FUCK!". I turned around and saw the cute boy on the ground a few feet away. I go over and help him up. He was blushing but managed to talk. We introduced ourselves then went about our day.

(I found out later that the cute boy had seen me around and had a crush. That day he saw his opportunity to introduce himself without seeming weird. As he was coming over a "friend" had pegged him right in the nuts with the hacky sack, because the "friend" is an asshole like that. So the cute boy got what he wanted but not in the way he was expecting.)

Talking with my boyfriend, Nate, that night, I realize things just don't work. We hardly see each other and have very little in common. Our relationship was more of a way to spend time with other friends, his best friend was dating my best friend. He knew it was coming. He felt it too. So we parted ways.

The Courtship
The next day, the last day of school before the break, I tell my friend I ate lunch with what had happened and pointed the cute boy, Mike, out. She surprised me when she told me that he lived on her street. Perfect! I write down my phone number and email address and have her pass it along. I may have been bold when I talked to guys but still shy on actually taking that first step into relationships. I went and talked to Mike some more, even stole his white button down shirt (he had a tshirt underneath) and Taz tie he wore that day. It smelled fantastic. I wanted to sneak away and keep it over the break but he found me after school. It was his work shirt and he needed it. We hugged before he left.

Saturday I did what every teenager on school break does: sleep. I lazed around. I finally got online. There was an email. He was shy too and email seemed less panic inducing. I felt so giddy, more so then with any guy I had "dated" up until then. It was amazing. He gave me his number and told me when he was going to be working. I was giggling to myself, my mom probably thought I was crazy. Haha!

Spring Break Romance
The next day I called him after his shift. We were too shy 14 year olds getting to know each other. But he was able to pop the question "Will you be my girlfriend?" (All together now "Awwwwwwwwwwww".) Of course I said yes. I was giddy all over again.

We made a plan to meet up at the McDonalds on the next day because our parents had rules about opposite sex in the house when they weren't home. MickyDs was within walking distance of both of our houses, we just didn't expect what we should have: April showers. So I walked in the rain, a mile down a road with no side walks to meet this boy I hardly knew but thought he was cute. He was worth it.

He was already there when I got there. He stood up to give me a hug and I surprised him with a quick kiss. I was always bold in everything but the talking. He blushed. I found out that night that that was his first kiss. (All together now "Awwwwwwwwwwwww".) We decide that it is raining light enough that we'll make the 1/2 mile trek to the church up the street. They have a pretty park with a pond full of ducks and a gazebo.

We spent a few hours just being together, kissing now and then, talking about whatever came to mind. The rain stopped. I never wanted to leave but we had to. I walked a bit out of my way with him just to spend more time together. We parted ways at Main Street and I went the round about way home, still with butterflies in my stomach.

Survive High School
That was our start, that first day of kissing in the rain. He quickly became my best friend as well as my boyfriend. We would find each other between classes to hug before another hour separated us. In 10th grade we managed to have a class together, geometry. Our teacher, either unwise and didn't realize or wise enough to know not to deal with us, left us together in the back, farthest from her desk. We passed notes back and forth. Page after page, filled completely with words and drawings. I still have most of them. We failed the class together. I told him I would marry him one day. We were 15.

11th grade was harder. We didn't have any classes in common and he left for half the day to take tech classes at the community collage. But he would always walk me to 3rd hour. We walked slowly and were always late. He gladly took detention if it meant we could have the extra minutes. My teacher decided I was a lost cause and left me alone.  Our friends got a bit sick of how lovey dovey we were together but we knew. We started talking about marriage and what was going to happen after we graduated.

Mike also worked a lot that year, as a food runner at the local Mexican restaurant. He had worked himself up from the bus boy he was in 9th and 10th grades. He spent a lot of money on gas, driving to get me where I lived in the boonies, rural area,  so we could go where ever we wanted. We went to the pool hall, to the church park, to the mall, to the movies or we just hung around our houses.

The Baby
The summer between our junior and senior year was a lazy one. I'll be honest that sex was a dominate feature. Teenage hormones and all that. He would wake up early to drive to my house. My mom worked a lot back then, even gone on the weekends for extra money. We had the whole day to ourselves and we usually spent it alone in my bed. There no one bothered us, told us we were too young. We turned 17 and started planning our wedding for the next summer.

I felt sick. And tired. And moody. I let Mike know something was off but we didn't worry... yet. It was 4th of July week. My mother's cousin Sheri was in town and we had lots of plans. We were going to the zoo, to see fireworks, to the museum. And Mike came along with us. I hid the fact that I was fairly nauseous the entire time, except at the zoo when I got over heated, it was summer in Oklahoma. My mom started putting together the pieces.

Sheri left and life went back to normal, except the sickness. I was late. I wasn't sure but I had a feeling. I was going to the doctors. I told Mike I would call him when I was done. My doctor was a kind, soft woman. We talked for a bit before I finally came out with it. "I think I'm pregnant." Pee in a cup, wait. She rushed in, a little disheveled "It's positive." My stomach dropped to my toes. She told me not to do anything out of fear.

I was a zombie. I showed up at Mike's front door. When he answered I just dissolved into tears. I was just barely 17 years old and going to have a baby. We sat in his room for hours, me crying and him whispering that everything would be alright, we will figure it out. We didn't talk that day about what would happen, just let the news sink in. Next on the list, tell the parents.

Life moves on
So we did. They weren't thrilled but they accepted it. Mike moved in the next week. I enrolled myself into the school district's alternative program for pregnant and parenting teens. I got myself an OB, Mike and I stared teary eyed at each other listening to our baby's heart beat. School started, us being separate for the first time in our high school career. It made the days very long. We decided to bump up our wedding. It was important to both of us to be married when our baby arrived.

We got ourselves a preacher and a place for a wedding. We took 4 sessions of premarital counseling.  I found a white prom dress at a consignment store and Mike borrowed a suit from his dad. A set of simple white gold rings were purchased and a date was set. I hand stamped the invitations. We met with the preacher. Friday we went with my mom and his dad to get our marriage licence, we needed parental consent and they signed off on the wait period..

The Wedding - November 8th 2003
It was a foggy cold autumn morning. My mom and I were up at 6am to ice the cake I baked the night before. Mike was up at 7am to run to town to pick up the flowers. The icing was melting so we put it in the fridge while we got started on getting ready. Mike used all the hot water. I had a cold quick shower on my wedding day. Then burnt the hell out of my poptart. Mike came back with huge gorgeous red roses and said he almost ran off the road. Omens? We didn't care.

The cake was finished, our wedding party showed up and we relocated. Our wedding was being held at a friend of my mom's house. Her father in law was our preacher. We didn't want a church wedding, it just didn't fit us. Mike and I kissed then went to separate ends of the house. My maid of honor and I holed up in the master bathroom, mirrors every where. I was strangely calm through the whole thing, more so then I think almost 5 month pregnant 17 year old should have been on her wedding day.

It wasn't until about 15 minutes before I was set to walk down "the aisle" that it hit me. I was putting mascara on my mom's eyelashes and I stopped. "I'm getting married!" Nervousness and excitement, all balled up in my stomach, butterflies going crazy. I was ready. This is the start of our happy ending and the man of my dreams was out there waiting for me.

Always Together
Life kept on like it does. We were Mr and Mrs, ready to have a baby then finish high school. Things happened a little backward but we had each other and that is what mattered. Hunter was born on a warm March day, a physical representation of our love. After graduation Mike started to work full time as a server at the restaurant. By July we moved out of my mom's house and got an apartment, the three of us.

In The Army Now
We celebrated our one year anniversary. We  toasted to those who doubted us. A couple weeks later, Mike enlisted in the Army. It would give us a better life, a more stable life. He left for basic training right after Christmas.  Nine weeks apart was torture. We wrote letters and he called every Sunday. AIT started and I drove 3 hours every weekend with Hunter in the back seat to go see him. He was finished in May and came home.

We moved to the base and life adjusted. Rumors started then became more. They were deploying. And I was pregnant. The following few months was just a rush of preparation. I helped Mike pack his duffle bags and fill out paperwork. We went to the family support meetings. We cried. In between, I had doctor's appointments.

October approached quickly. We had the ultrasound the week before he left, another boy. I was 5 months pregnant, with a 1 1/2 year old Hunter on my hip the night he kissed me good bye. I stood holding Hunter, in the cold light rain, in the dark to watch the buses pull away. We cried together for our soldier.

The year was a blur,  I shut down. I just couldn't survive without him.  We couldn't survive without each other. But we did survive, the day he came home the world felt right again. I rushed down the bleachers of that gym, our 8 month old son Tristin in my arms. The world was whole.

The next couple of years was just normal Army life. We played D&D with friends on the weekends, we ran errands, we went to the military ball. I was pregnant again. Life was good but Mike was unhappy. This was his childhood dream, to be a soldier like his father but it wasn't fulfilling and his contract was coming to a close. He decided to pursue his other childhood dream: law enforcement.

Where we are now
And this is where we are now. We added another son the same week we celebrated our 4th anniversary. We turned 22 in June, the month after we had moved away from our not so small town in Oklahoma and settled into Austin Texas. 2008 was dedicated to Mike's dream career and I support him 100%. On Friday my husband will be a police officer. And I will be a police officer's wife.

We celebrated our 5th anniversary just last month. We have had our ups and downs, times where we were ready to quit and times where we held on tighter. In the end, we still always have each other. We still give each other butterflies. This is our fairy tale and we are no where close to The End.

You deserve an award if you made it through all of this mushy stuff. Thanks for reading!