So we are waiting on that school order I placed last week. I hope it comes soon I don't know how much longer I can wait! I just can't wait to get my hands on crisp new materials for our summer of learning. Smell the smell of freshly opened books and paper and colored pencils. LOL
Unfortunately due to circumstances out of my control (and some in my control AKA laziness) it does not look like we will be finishing in as good of shape as I had initially forcasted. I am not sure when we will finish the materials but at least we are within 4 lessons of finishing on time.....part of me says who cares, no public school ever covers 100% of the material in any one grade but they go on to the upper grades anyway so why can't we skip 4 lessons and still consider ourselves done for the year? LOL
I am so looking forward to next year but also I need to really commit to being diligent in our learning because with the new materials not having such set lessons of tangible accomplishment like our current materials I have to be more commited and long range focused than before. I hope it does not end up being a disaster of a year. Especially after this last year going so well and being proud of our efforts. Time will tell......
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Cars again...
I am still drooling over a Honda Pilot, never mind that I am supposed to be considering the best model of car to buy if we have to buy a beater. We only have to buy another vehicle IF Mr Wonderful gets a new job. Which we haven't heard anything from them yet anyway.
As I ponder about howe to get my hands on the steering wheel of a Honda Pilot I started thinking, we could trade in our truck but then what would we haul all of our camping stuff in or remodeling supplies...nope that won't work, gotta keep the truck.
Now the only other option is to just buy it, isn't that what most people do? Just sign on the dotted line and you have yourself a nice new car payment.......I was toying around with some numbers today, wondering if I could REALLY save money each month for a car payment (as if we had a car payment but not really) and in 3 years we'd have enough $ to buy a car....so you have several things going for you....Let's say I have picked out a 2003 Honda Pilot which is worth around $18,000. If I saved up $400+ each month for 3 years I'd have my $18,000 with the help of a 3% savings account and not having to come up with around $700 (interest I earned on the money sitting there). However the impatient side of me thinks, we'll never actually save it, the money will dissappear on something and we'll never get that newer car.......so we should just buy it and that way we HAVE to pay the payment right? So I did the numbers trying to contrast it in almost the same terms as before $18,000 for the car, interest is higher though at 5% and we get to pay it out instead of earning it. Let's just say we also did it for 3 years like the first figures, our payment would be about $100 more per month AND we'd end up paying out about $1400 more in interest payments!!! Not to mention your car is like 3 years older and worth considerably less....However if we saved up that $18000 for that 2003 car we had our eye on, in 3 years we have our cash and what do you know? The car we had our eye on is no longer $18000 is it less, so we have the option of still buying that car for less OR getting a newer car for that same $18,000. See where I am going here?
Now this is the kicker, I see the advantages plain as day I really do, but will my responsible side win or will my childish impatient side win? Or will we go somewhere in the middle and buy a older car we can afford to pay for now with a thousand or two and then go ahead and save that $ for another car down the road?
Ugh, we never should have sold that 1991 Honda Accord, it was such a good car, now I'd be scared to buy a car that old because of what might be wrong with it. Darn it! I am off to stew over this new contumdrum!
As I ponder about howe to get my hands on the steering wheel of a Honda Pilot I started thinking, we could trade in our truck but then what would we haul all of our camping stuff in or remodeling supplies...nope that won't work, gotta keep the truck.
Now the only other option is to just buy it, isn't that what most people do? Just sign on the dotted line and you have yourself a nice new car payment.......I was toying around with some numbers today, wondering if I could REALLY save money each month for a car payment (as if we had a car payment but not really) and in 3 years we'd have enough $ to buy a car....so you have several things going for you....Let's say I have picked out a 2003 Honda Pilot which is worth around $18,000. If I saved up $400+ each month for 3 years I'd have my $18,000 with the help of a 3% savings account and not having to come up with around $700 (interest I earned on the money sitting there). However the impatient side of me thinks, we'll never actually save it, the money will dissappear on something and we'll never get that newer car.......so we should just buy it and that way we HAVE to pay the payment right? So I did the numbers trying to contrast it in almost the same terms as before $18,000 for the car, interest is higher though at 5% and we get to pay it out instead of earning it. Let's just say we also did it for 3 years like the first figures, our payment would be about $100 more per month AND we'd end up paying out about $1400 more in interest payments!!! Not to mention your car is like 3 years older and worth considerably less....However if we saved up that $18000 for that 2003 car we had our eye on, in 3 years we have our cash and what do you know? The car we had our eye on is no longer $18000 is it less, so we have the option of still buying that car for less OR getting a newer car for that same $18,000. See where I am going here?
Now this is the kicker, I see the advantages plain as day I really do, but will my responsible side win or will my childish impatient side win? Or will we go somewhere in the middle and buy a older car we can afford to pay for now with a thousand or two and then go ahead and save that $ for another car down the road?
Ugh, we never should have sold that 1991 Honda Accord, it was such a good car, now I'd be scared to buy a car that old because of what might be wrong with it. Darn it! I am off to stew over this new contumdrum!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Temptations....
Well, we did it! Mr Wonderful actually applied for another job! It feels strange and possibly freeing....however, with that wonderful step there comes another temptation.
There was talk of a hefty raise to stay working with the business and when we do the numbers (if we get the raise we'd like) and figure in the fact that Mr Wonderful drives a company rig....it might be that the money would be better staying where we are. Having said that, we have some thinking to do on how valuable Mr Wonderful's time at home is and how much having him more emotionally available is worth to us. I mean the stress and hours alone are tough, granted more money would make that more worth it.....but we also have to keep in mind not to be weak to more money if it is not a good situation long term. We can't let a good job opportunity pass us by and look back and regret it later unless we are sure we want to stay.
The things making us lean towards the government job are the benefits, (right now we pay our own independent health insurance, there is medical available with his current job but all the employees are so much older than us that our portion would cost us a fortune! We don't have dental insurance offered which is a huge problem because we have a lot of dental expenses every year.) The hours for the new job would be less, he will still have some probable overtime but probably not near as much as now, and he'll be able to leave work at work and not stew over important decisions at home all the time like he does now. There is room for advancement and career growth and raises down the line with this job opportunity as well. It is a tough comparison in many ways. Luckily we don't have to make any decisions right now, right now we wait (darn patience bone, I can't seem to find it, again!) to see if he even gets invited to interview let alone offered the job! We are praying that he does get the job offered to him so that we can have a chance at that decision.
We don't really want to leave in so many ways, we want to see the business thrive but we just aren't sure we have the same vision. I feel more confused now than when I did earlier! How is that possible? I have no idea but is has been proven just this minute.
Time will tell, he may not even get an offer for the job he just applied for. So now I am trying to distract myself by figuring out our front landscaping plan. We did about 30% of it last year and now want to add in another 30% of the plants we need to fill it in. That is all we can afford to do each year. It works nicely though because you can see what is working and what you want to add into the mix of plants you already have, then wait another year to see how much more you want to add, meanwhile I try to fill in the blank areas with annuals.
There was talk of a hefty raise to stay working with the business and when we do the numbers (if we get the raise we'd like) and figure in the fact that Mr Wonderful drives a company rig....it might be that the money would be better staying where we are. Having said that, we have some thinking to do on how valuable Mr Wonderful's time at home is and how much having him more emotionally available is worth to us. I mean the stress and hours alone are tough, granted more money would make that more worth it.....but we also have to keep in mind not to be weak to more money if it is not a good situation long term. We can't let a good job opportunity pass us by and look back and regret it later unless we are sure we want to stay.
The things making us lean towards the government job are the benefits, (right now we pay our own independent health insurance, there is medical available with his current job but all the employees are so much older than us that our portion would cost us a fortune! We don't have dental insurance offered which is a huge problem because we have a lot of dental expenses every year.) The hours for the new job would be less, he will still have some probable overtime but probably not near as much as now, and he'll be able to leave work at work and not stew over important decisions at home all the time like he does now. There is room for advancement and career growth and raises down the line with this job opportunity as well. It is a tough comparison in many ways. Luckily we don't have to make any decisions right now, right now we wait (darn patience bone, I can't seem to find it, again!) to see if he even gets invited to interview let alone offered the job! We are praying that he does get the job offered to him so that we can have a chance at that decision.
We don't really want to leave in so many ways, we want to see the business thrive but we just aren't sure we have the same vision. I feel more confused now than when I did earlier! How is that possible? I have no idea but is has been proven just this minute.
Time will tell, he may not even get an offer for the job he just applied for. So now I am trying to distract myself by figuring out our front landscaping plan. We did about 30% of it last year and now want to add in another 30% of the plants we need to fill it in. That is all we can afford to do each year. It works nicely though because you can see what is working and what you want to add into the mix of plants you already have, then wait another year to see how much more you want to add, meanwhile I try to fill in the blank areas with annuals.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Giddy....
I have been formulating a wish list on www.rainbowresource.com for our homeschool needs. I was not aware of how dangerous and extremely fun a wish list could be! I could have went on for hours adding things. Sensibility took over and I had to narrow it down to what we needed for our summer and early fall materials.
We paid bills last weekend and I requested we spend $150 for school materials....... Mr Wonderful said "Request granted.".....Whoo Hoo! I was so excited I felt like a little kid that was able to pick out candy at the store or something. I had been trying to be patient for a large enough paycheck that we could afford it, I had been setting aside a little here and there and finally it was time!
Anyway I placed my $150 order earning myself free shipping and handling. I am a sucker for free shipping! We got some fun stuff here is a list of what we got:
Primary Language Lessons (Language Arts for Spud Man)
Exploring Creation with Botany (Sunshine's science)
Mavis Beacon Typing for Kids program
Prima Latina DVD's (for Sunshine's Latin, I already have the books and love them!)
Horse Scenes to Color and Paint and Country Scenes to Color and Paint (we like to use these as a master coloring books that we make copies out of all year)
Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils (I love Prismacolor colored pencils and find they are worth the price, we have never tried the watercolor kind though and we can't wait! These will come in handy for art as well as nature studies.)
Kumon Workbooks: Let's Cut, Let's Fold, Numbers 1-30, Uppercase Letters, Telling Time. (For Tobers)
Several books like Burgess Bird Book, Aesop's Fables, and Just So Stories.
Now the order is placed and we wait......ah yes that pesky thing called patience. I do believe I will take pics as we dive into the box when it gets here. Nothing like the rumble of the UPS truck coming down our street and the giddiness I feel when I realize he has stopped at our house, unless of course I have to drag everyone down to the post office and lug it home myself.....that isn't quite as fun but still exciting all the same! I love packages unless of course they are weird packages from some sicko who stole my identity a few years ago, I had quite the shock from the UPS man one day. That is a whole other story, maybe I will tell it someday.
We paid bills last weekend and I requested we spend $150 for school materials....... Mr Wonderful said "Request granted.".....Whoo Hoo! I was so excited I felt like a little kid that was able to pick out candy at the store or something. I had been trying to be patient for a large enough paycheck that we could afford it, I had been setting aside a little here and there and finally it was time!
Anyway I placed my $150 order earning myself free shipping and handling. I am a sucker for free shipping! We got some fun stuff here is a list of what we got:
Primary Language Lessons (Language Arts for Spud Man)
Exploring Creation with Botany (Sunshine's science)
Mavis Beacon Typing for Kids program
Prima Latina DVD's (for Sunshine's Latin, I already have the books and love them!)
Horse Scenes to Color and Paint and Country Scenes to Color and Paint (we like to use these as a master coloring books that we make copies out of all year)
Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils (I love Prismacolor colored pencils and find they are worth the price, we have never tried the watercolor kind though and we can't wait! These will come in handy for art as well as nature studies.)
Kumon Workbooks: Let's Cut, Let's Fold, Numbers 1-30, Uppercase Letters, Telling Time. (For Tobers)
Several books like Burgess Bird Book, Aesop's Fables, and Just So Stories.
Now the order is placed and we wait......ah yes that pesky thing called patience. I do believe I will take pics as we dive into the box when it gets here. Nothing like the rumble of the UPS truck coming down our street and the giddiness I feel when I realize he has stopped at our house, unless of course I have to drag everyone down to the post office and lug it home myself.....that isn't quite as fun but still exciting all the same! I love packages unless of course they are weird packages from some sicko who stole my identity a few years ago, I had quite the shock from the UPS man one day. That is a whole other story, maybe I will tell it someday.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Means of Transportation...
I have been looking into options for a newer vehicle. We really like our current vehicle but it may be necessary that we need another fuel efficient vehicle for Mr Wonderful to drive. Right now we have a Dodge Ram Quad Cab, it is a loud diesel engine. It gets about 21 mpg and has been very reliable since we bought it new in 2002. It has been paid off for about 5 years now. We all can fit into it but boy is it cozy.
So as I try to sort out options for a vehicle for Mr Wonderful, I am trying to decided what is important....should it be able to seat all of us? (I mean you'd think that would be a no brainer right?) but if we keep the pick-up then that will have to be the family rig and the car will be fore Mr Wonderful to get to work since fuel efficient cars that seat 5 are more plentiful. Or should we trade in our pick-up on a nice family vehicle?
We have a RV we want to trade in on that 2nd car (or sell it and use the $ to buy a car). So we have some options but here is my beef..... You'd think there'd be more options for family vehicles for people with more than 3 kids! Seriously it is like these car designers think that if you have a large family you must be rich enough to buy a luxury SUV and pay for 15mpg fuel economy! I would be happy with a stripped down full size van with vinyl seats and rubberized floor if it got 25+ mpg!!!
I have my eye on a Honda Pilot or Toyota Highlander but those are expensive and we don't really need a NEW car so I feel a little confused on what to do. Minivans are ok but the gas mileage is not fabulous there either.
We used to have a 1991 Honda Accord and it was faithful, easy to drive, and got great fuel efficiency. Then when Whippersnapper joined us we sold it....oh how I wish we hadn't. It was paid for, now we have to figure out another car just under 2 years from when we sold it! I guess you just never know about these things.
So I am trying to decide on if we just get Mr Wonderful a inexpensive fuel efficient car that won't fit us all as a family and just keep the pick-up. Or if we should trade the pick-up in on a nice family car that gets better fuel mileage and another small car for Mr Wonderful. We won't need a big powerful pickup very much anymore once we sell our RV. Ugh I am off to research some more. Anyone have a good solution for this vehicle thing? Most people I know with large families drive Suburbans but I don't want that kind of gas mileage and repair history. I grew up with several suburbans in the family and they always needed something repaired. The only good suburban we had was a diesel gutless wonder but it got 30mpg. That was a good one, it had the front bench seat so we could haul 9 people.....see.....why do they do all those fangled consoles in front seats? Just start making cars with a bench seat in front again and we'd get a whole lot more options for rigs with seating for 6! Ok I am off to go write every car maker and complain.
No really I am going to do dishes but I'd like to pretend they might care about my vehicle needs. LOL
So as I try to sort out options for a vehicle for Mr Wonderful, I am trying to decided what is important....should it be able to seat all of us? (I mean you'd think that would be a no brainer right?) but if we keep the pick-up then that will have to be the family rig and the car will be fore Mr Wonderful to get to work since fuel efficient cars that seat 5 are more plentiful. Or should we trade in our pick-up on a nice family vehicle?
We have a RV we want to trade in on that 2nd car (or sell it and use the $ to buy a car). So we have some options but here is my beef..... You'd think there'd be more options for family vehicles for people with more than 3 kids! Seriously it is like these car designers think that if you have a large family you must be rich enough to buy a luxury SUV and pay for 15mpg fuel economy! I would be happy with a stripped down full size van with vinyl seats and rubberized floor if it got 25+ mpg!!!
I have my eye on a Honda Pilot or Toyota Highlander but those are expensive and we don't really need a NEW car so I feel a little confused on what to do. Minivans are ok but the gas mileage is not fabulous there either.
We used to have a 1991 Honda Accord and it was faithful, easy to drive, and got great fuel efficiency. Then when Whippersnapper joined us we sold it....oh how I wish we hadn't. It was paid for, now we have to figure out another car just under 2 years from when we sold it! I guess you just never know about these things.
So I am trying to decide on if we just get Mr Wonderful a inexpensive fuel efficient car that won't fit us all as a family and just keep the pick-up. Or if we should trade the pick-up in on a nice family car that gets better fuel mileage and another small car for Mr Wonderful. We won't need a big powerful pickup very much anymore once we sell our RV. Ugh I am off to research some more. Anyone have a good solution for this vehicle thing? Most people I know with large families drive Suburbans but I don't want that kind of gas mileage and repair history. I grew up with several suburbans in the family and they always needed something repaired. The only good suburban we had was a diesel gutless wonder but it got 30mpg. That was a good one, it had the front bench seat so we could haul 9 people.....see.....why do they do all those fangled consoles in front seats? Just start making cars with a bench seat in front again and we'd get a whole lot more options for rigs with seating for 6! Ok I am off to go write every car maker and complain.
No really I am going to do dishes but I'd like to pretend they might care about my vehicle needs. LOL
Monday, April 14, 2008
Nothin' Much...
There just doesn't seem to be much to write about lately. Aside from ramblings about home school curriculum ideas that change every 5 mins and our slow progress recovering from our cold bug there has not been a whole lot to write about.
We are into our current fad of looking into our options for a different career, going back to school, or moving. Of course I don't believe anything will come of this once again.....(this is only like the 50th time this has come up). I will believe it when I hear the U-Haul truck backing in and the check being written for our house. LOL.
Anyway life is good, just busy. This week we have dinners all week at church for an evangelist who is visiting, we have a dinner each night before he speaks. It makes it nice, we help set up a dinner and I don't have to make dinner all week at home! The first night went well and I am looking forward to the rest of the nights too.
We have been reading The Fields of Home by Ralph Moody. We really have been enjoying this series of books, I don't care for this one as much because it has a harsh tone because of a grumpy Grandfather set in his ways but it is proving to have a undercurrent of deeper meaning. I enjoy reading about country life so it is always good to read in that writing theme.
It is a rainy day here, I would love to be out doing yard work on a sunny day but it is not going to happen for a day or two it seems. I really need to mow the lawn and get some flowerbeds weeded but I just have not gotten to it. I am starting to get into the mood for some flowers in the beds too but it is a wee bit early with as cold of weather as we've been having.
We keep thinking about starting to build some rabbit hutches and get some rabbits. I want to but I am not sure about giving the kids more chores. They have their hands fairly full with the chickens, cats, dogs, yard, household chores and their schooling. They really, really want to get rabbits but I just don't know. We are mostly at a loss of where to put them. They need protection from extreme heat and I don't want to lose anymore growing area for gardening. We shall have to wait and see what we can figure out. What we really need is a few more acres and a few more $1000 per month. LOL I am sure that would solve everything. Right?
We are into our current fad of looking into our options for a different career, going back to school, or moving. Of course I don't believe anything will come of this once again.....(this is only like the 50th time this has come up). I will believe it when I hear the U-Haul truck backing in and the check being written for our house. LOL.
Anyway life is good, just busy. This week we have dinners all week at church for an evangelist who is visiting, we have a dinner each night before he speaks. It makes it nice, we help set up a dinner and I don't have to make dinner all week at home! The first night went well and I am looking forward to the rest of the nights too.
We have been reading The Fields of Home by Ralph Moody. We really have been enjoying this series of books, I don't care for this one as much because it has a harsh tone because of a grumpy Grandfather set in his ways but it is proving to have a undercurrent of deeper meaning. I enjoy reading about country life so it is always good to read in that writing theme.
It is a rainy day here, I would love to be out doing yard work on a sunny day but it is not going to happen for a day or two it seems. I really need to mow the lawn and get some flowerbeds weeded but I just have not gotten to it. I am starting to get into the mood for some flowers in the beds too but it is a wee bit early with as cold of weather as we've been having.
We keep thinking about starting to build some rabbit hutches and get some rabbits. I want to but I am not sure about giving the kids more chores. They have their hands fairly full with the chickens, cats, dogs, yard, household chores and their schooling. They really, really want to get rabbits but I just don't know. We are mostly at a loss of where to put them. They need protection from extreme heat and I don't want to lose anymore growing area for gardening. We shall have to wait and see what we can figure out. What we really need is a few more acres and a few more $1000 per month. LOL I am sure that would solve everything. Right?
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Homeschool With Toddlers!
There is a delicate balance with homeschooling and having toddlers running amuck. Whippersnapper is easily entertained with things like putting leggos in the toilet, scribbling with dry erase markers all over my walls, escaping out the front door (if someone forgets to deadbolt it, hence why I freaked out when Mr Wonderful insisted on oiling the squeaky door, that squeak is an alert for me, without the squeak I wouldn't know when he was trying to escape!!!!).
Here is our peaceful, dilligent morning of school. Aren't they cute little students?
Anyway, trying to do homeschool is difficult with a toddler some days. For example, he has taken to climbing onto the table. He starts with the lean.....he is intensly interested in the kids' school....
Then he decides that vantage point just is not close enough.....
....and boy is he picky about handwriting!!
Let's check in on Spud Man's work.....soon he is ON the table. He also decides life would not be complete without.....
An eraser to eat! Yuck!
Give me that back!!!
Any of you who think he is such a little innocent child...check this out! He is after the teacher!!!! Ahhhh!
Help me!!!!
Kicking Some Germy Butt!
We cleaned! We got so sick of being sick so we just decided to suck it up and we went crazy cleaning this entire house! We scrubbed floors, we scrubbed walls, we washed windows, we sanitized doorknobs and dresser knobs, phones, toilets, sinks, light switches, we stripped bedding and washed in hot, we vacuumed the floors 4 times, we cleaned out the entire frig taking every shelf out and every drawer was cleaned! We also scrubbed every part of our kitchen chairs and table. We worked so hard yesterday and I can only hope this place stays clean for more than 10 mins and that we start to get better!
The best part? Everyone worked so well together, we were like a well oiled machine! We had good tunes on the radio and everyone did their part without struggle and then we'd rest for a few mins and talk about what to do next then get at it! It was a rare day around here since I never get that serious of an urge to clean!
Here is a pic of the boys having a great time in our stripped out frig! BTW I told the kids to go get their grubbiest clothes on because we were cleaning and going to get dirty!! Ignore all fashion sense in these pics or lack of clothing! Oh yes and also ignore the glisten of a snotty nose! It is a permanent state lately! Just tellin' it like it is, honest!
The best part? Everyone worked so well together, we were like a well oiled machine! We had good tunes on the radio and everyone did their part without struggle and then we'd rest for a few mins and talk about what to do next then get at it! It was a rare day around here since I never get that serious of an urge to clean!
Here is a pic of the boys having a great time in our stripped out frig! BTW I told the kids to go get their grubbiest clothes on because we were cleaning and going to get dirty!! Ignore all fashion sense in these pics or lack of clothing! Oh yes and also ignore the glisten of a snotty nose! It is a permanent state lately! Just tellin' it like it is, honest!
He Started It!
He Thought That Looked Like Fun Too!
Here They Are Movin' to the Music!!
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