A Little of This and That

I know, I know, I haven't been keeping up with my blogging lately.  It's not my fault I've been busy homeschooling and tending to my  kingdom on Castleville.  For realz.  It's not easy running a kingdom.

Since I only did a wrap-up for Kayleigh last week, I was planning on doing one for Mackenzie this week.  The weekend got busy and I didn't get to it.  I haven't even taken the pictures off of my camera in over a week.  I'm feeling daunted by the amount of editing that I have in my future.  Oh my!

Since Mackenzie's schedule for the year was blasted by the Winter Promise Joke debacle, I'm trying to decide when to end the school year.  I think we're going to end our Sonlight studies when we finish our current study on Russia.  Then we'll pick up where we left off in August or whenever I decide to start back up.  We will definitely continuing on with science and math until they are finished.

I'm torn about grammar.  We just started Growing With Grammar a few months ago, when Susan Wise Bauer crushed my dreams and decided not to publish Advanced Language Lessons.  Ugh!  Those first 15 weeks she let us all use were wonderful.  To tease us with the first 15 weeks and then snatch it away was too, too cruel.  I'm leaning on continuing on with it  through the summer, so she can be on grade level for our new school year.

We had a busy week of outside activities.  A field trip to Ripley's Believe It or Not.  There are photos but they are on my friend's camera and I'm awaiting their arrival to my inbox.  She's remodeling three bathrooms so she's busy.  But take my word that we had fun.

Friday, we headed out to Busch Gardens.  It was a last minute trip and it was a totally awesome and chill day.  Mackenzie even took Kayleigh on as many rides as she wanted.  For once Elmo Land wasn't packed with strollers.

In other news...

The new Winter Promise Joke catalog came out.  Can you believe they actually had the nerve to mail one to me?  I'm actually thinking of writing them a thank you letter because there is blogging gold in that there catalog.  I'm thinking of doing a little series on it because it is jammed packed with little gems that I have opinions on.  Just so you don't have to wait forever, I'll share this one with you.

Hardy har har har!!  They are offering to grade your student's written work.  Bwaaa haaa haaa haaa!  Have they read any of their own publications???  Ever???  Clearly not based on the amount of errors you run across in them.  I'm going to go more in detail with the ludicrousness of this "service" at a later date. Please know it will include plenty of examples of their own work including one of their very own language arts programs. It's going to be EPIC!!!  

A Military Family No Longer...

Last week, my honey retired from the United States Navy after 21 years of faithful service. He did 16 years of sea duty, 11 of them overseas, that included countless ship deployments, 2 tours to Iraq, and tons of little trips to places that I don't even know about. I can't imagine that there are too many places that he hasn't been to. He has most definitely been gone more than he's been home.

It was a tough decision for him, it's all he's known since he enlisted at 17. He debated and prayed about the pros and cons for over a year but finally he came to his decision.

In his words, "After making two deployments to Iraq, missing the birth of Kayleigh, and hearing my Mackenzie crying on the phone begging me not to reenlist again, I knew that my time was up."

Kayleigh talking to daddy for the first time

Mackenzie begging daddy not to go back on the day he left for his second Iraq tour

I imagine that you can only endure so many scenes like those above before you have to say enough, even for job security.
So on Friday, June 11th. Kevin said good bye to his military life. It was bitter-sweet. Here's some of the highlights.

Arrival of the official party



The CO, command masterchief and my honey. Notice the lack of ribbons on his uniform. He said that since everyone else would be wearing all of theirs, he was going to do the opposite. That is so Kevin. (In case you were wondering where Kayleigh gets her spunk from. LOL)




A toast with CMC after the CMC's speech. Yep, the man brought Bud Lite to the ceremony and they drank it. LOL



Awards from the CO



Receiving his shadow box from the Chief's mess


Next came the flag ceremony. That was AWESOME. If you haven't seen one you should. It is a very moving and humbling experience. Wow!

Now's where it got really good. He took that flag, walked to his mother and said...

"I've always wanted you to have one of these but only if it came from me."
Can you say hysterical sobbing? Oh yeah! His mom and step-dad totally lost it. (Okay we all did but they were the best.)


Of course Kevin had to give his speech after that. Time to compose yourself

Here's Kevin requesting permission to go "ashore" for the very last time


Look how happy Mackenzie is.

Here's a couple of shots of my adorable girls.

The best for last...I met my new BFF at the reception afterwards.

How many people can say that Rudy from Survivor came to their retirement party? I'm pretty sure it's because he was so excited to meet his new BFF, me, and not coincidence because the reception was being held at the chief's club. =o)
So basically our last two weeks of wrap-ups and tot school were a unit on civics and family. Next week we home to finish regular school and continue on with tot fun.

Weekly Wrap-Up: Flood Edition

Well's it the end of the week and time for the Weekly Wrap-Up hosted by Kris.

There's not much to say about our week. We were having an easy week in preparation for DADDY COMING HOME. =o) Meaning I pawn off my kids on other people so that I can do some cleaning in peace. Kenzie's work for the week was a math test and starting a Thanksgiving Lapbook.

The lapbook is going well. No pictures yet because it's not finished. However my tasks were put on hold due to the lovely Nor'Easter that blew through. Thus preventing me from ditching my kids with anyone. I could explain the problem but I'll let the pictures do the talking.

This was no surprise. There's been problems with the drains in our neighborhood since we moved in. A little rain and the streets flood, a big storm and the ducks are thrilled. The problem is easily fixed if they come out and pump them, but they rarely do. Regardless of how many phone calls they get. So needless to say, 2 days later, the "moat" around my "palace" remains. Thus I'm pretty certain my slab will get soaked and the water will seep through the floor and I'll be replacing the entire thing again. Sigh...

My black thumb

May have been cured. I am notorious for killing most living things, people being the exception. Every plant I've ever own has died a slow and miserable death.


So it was with great misgivings that I planted a couple of tomato plants this year. The "fresh" produce here is horrid at best and I really wanted to taste a yummy tomato that had actual flavor. So Mackenzie and I bought a couple of plants and planted them in a Topsey Turvey, as seen on tv. LOL We also had one zucchini plant because Mackenzie planted it on a field trip.



It is with great pride that I show you our "bounty".

The tomato plants are continuing to bring in fruit by I'm afraid that was our one and only zucchini. It was could while it lasted.

Weekly Wrap-up: Kind of Boring Edition

This week was an easy one for me.

Mackenzie went to a day camp at a local church. She had a BLAST! And my wonderful friend did all of the driving so I wouldn't have to disrupt Wee Babe's napping.

Mackenzie did some hiking, canoeing, swimming, crafts, and learned a lot about missionary work. So we're counting this week as PE, religion, and world cultures for school. And she doesn't know it yet, but, she's doing a math test when she gets home. LOL

Kayleigh and I had a relatively peaceful week. We went grocery shopping, to baby gym, and I learned something new. I now know what to do when your lawn mower starts spitting out tons of white smoke. That is knowledge that I never wanted to have and I hope to never use again. =o)

Next week it will be back to school. I can't wait!

Join the Wrap-up over at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

My New Blog

Welcome to my New Blog.

I am Stefanie, a new blogspot transplant. In my previous blog-life, I was over at Homeschool Blogger, which I loved, but I once my loveable yet demanding Kayleigh arrived, I needed an easier format. Hopefully this will be easier.

I will say that I am not enjoying the inability to cut and paste things. Maybe I'm missing something...feel free to clue me in. Nevermind, I figured it out, I have to switch over to HTML. Got it! LOL

I am a proud military wife to my wonderful husband, Kevin, and a stay-at-homeschooling mommy to 2 beautiful little girls...Mackenzie (8) and Kayleigh (17 months), and, of course, daughter of The King. (And no I don't mean Michael Jackson or Elvis. LOL) But that is how I know that I really am a princess like I always tell everyone. o)

Here we are...almost a year ago...Kayleigh's bigger now LOL


We are about to start our 5th year as a homeschooling family. Homeschooling was not in our original "family plan" , I'm a former PS teacher after all, but God used a move to Guam to put it in our plan and we've been loving it ever since.

Homeschooling has been a real blessing for our family. It allows us to put our family first. With a husband who is ALWAYS deploying, it's nice to be able to take time off around his schedule without worrying about pulling anyone out of school. And I really couldn't imagine having to miss so much of my child's life.

And of course there are the obvious benefits...one-on-one instruction, tailoring their education to suit their learning styles, going as fast or as slowly as their needs dictate, more time for socializing, going to Busch Gardens while the rest of you are stuck at school/work. That last one is one of my favorites. =o) Nothing like not having to wait in long lines or vacationing in the middle of October. Have you been to Disney the week after Thanksgiving? Awesome!!!

I went through many, many language arts and math programs until I found what really clicked with Mackenzie's learning style. What I would've given to be able to do that as a classroom teacher. I can't tell you how many times I've run across a new curriculum option and thought, "Oh that would've been perfect for...insert former students name here...S/he'd have really learned well with that."

But homeschooling isn't for everyone. There is a lot of sacrificing involved. There are no breaks without the kids, there's always someone messing up the house, you pay for their education totally out-of-pocket while living on a single income, shopping alone is almost non-existent, there is a lot of wear-and-tear on the car because of the 8 billion extra activities you can participate in when school only takes a few hours. And I recall, in a past life, hearing something about "me time". I can't recall exactly though. LOL It's even rarer for a military spouse.

Well, it looks like this "intro" post turned into a "why I love homeschooling" post. I even love the

My Daughter (flash back)

What can I tell you about my Mackenzie?

She's an only child.  (And not for any lack of trying on our part.  Trying to have another child has become like a full-time job.  I suppose there are worse jobs. LOL)

She's newly 5. I hate that number.

Why must they grow up?

We think she's beautiful...

She loves knock knock jokes.  She'll make you crazy with them.

Her personality is...how shall I put it...Dramatic!!!!!!!  I believe a lot of people would define her as "spirited".  Maybe you've read that book.

She definately has a flair for the dramatic.  She's either really, really happy or really, really not.  If we lived near broadway, I'm sure she could get a job. ROFL

There's a slight chance her stubborness might come from me. Very slight though. LOL

She's also very, very loving.  She's more than happy to sit on your lap and receive lots of hugs and kisses and snuggles.  I hope that lasts for a while yet.  And she can say the sweetest thing sometimes.

She has  very big heart for our Lord.  I love that.   Her favorite book to read is one of her Bibles. Last March she wanted to ask Jesus into her heart. It was so sweet and of course I was bawling.  I'm not sure she really understands what a big decision that is, so we're holding off on baptism until she's old enough to understand.

She can be very sensitive.  She's easily embarassed and gets upset when she feels embarassed.  It'll break your heart.

Her favorite toys are books, barbies, dress up clothes, and babies.  She's all girl.

She keeps busy with dance classes, swimming lessons, kindermusik, awana, and gymnastics.  It's amazing that we ever have time for school. LOL

She's also pretty smart.  She pretty much taught herself to read with some help from the leapfrog people. 

Kevin insisted that we had her tested in reading, so we did.  She reads at a mid-3rd grade level, spells at a late first grade level, and comprehends at a 4th grade level.

I already knew how well she could read, so that part wasn't a surprise. The spelling suprised me.  I thought she'd be lower.  I'm not buying the comprehension level so much.  After all, I do spend all day everyday with her.  I think she got lucky with her guesses. LOL

We feel very blessed to have the priviledge of being her parents.  If she's the only one we ever have, we'll continue to praise God for giving us the best that he had.

Well I guess that's enough rambling for now.