HAPPY FALL!!

I know when asked most people will tell you their favorite season is Christmas and winter for the snow etc. However, not me. I LOVE Fall. It is so pretty and cozy. I cannot wait to get my first cup of carmel apple cider from Starbucks for the season.
This week will be a busy one or rather the next couple of days. Today is back to the week routine, school with the kids, then lunch, then take one of the two daycare kids to school, after that I have a meeting with our local district homeschool dept to sign up lucky charms, and Honey Nut for an extra class there. LC is taking a beginner art class where the description of the class included words such as: learn to "spin, blow, paint, squish, sculpt, create" I wanted to take that class it sounded so much fun but it is only for 1-3 graders...guess they have not seen me when I figured out that someone in the house ate the last of my chocolate lol. Honey Nut is going to be taking a science class and she is looking forward tot hat. Then tonight is girlscouts with Honey Nut. The girls are trying to earn their bronze award this year! To do that one of the things they have to do is earn their leadership pin. We leaders thought it would be helpful to them to let them each pick a patch they want to earn and then lead the meeting (with help and guidance from the leaders of course) so the girls drew numbers and Honey Nut drew number one so she gets to lead tonight and she is so excited! I will write more later on the patch she chose to earn and lead.
Because I have such a busy week I am going to do a fall meme...consider yourself tagged if your reading this. :)



A Fall Meme

When does fall begin for you? For me it starts when the kids start schoolwork again. Although I waited until we had done schoolwork for a week and then I could not resist and put up the fall decorations.

What is your favorite aspect of fall? Boy I don't have just one aspect. I love fall so here are some of the things I love most about it: The colors of the changing leaves, the clean crisp smell of the air, the cooler weathe, the shorter days, the scenet of pumpkin pie potpurri, the coziness of my house when I decorate it, Starbucks carmel apple cider, routine of the school year, planning Thanksgiving my favorite holiday, helping the kids search for the perfect Halloween costume, slowly starting to look for christmas gifts, putting the perfect comfy favorite sweater on with jeans, and the crafts that I do in the fall with the kids...the handmde "hand turkeys" etc.

What is your favorite fall memory? Taking the kids to the pumpkin patch.:)

What do you like to drink in the fall? nothing better then apple cider.

What's your favorite fall food? I love homemade pumpkin pie, apple crisp, pear or peach cobbler, a big pot of homemade stew, a big pot of vegetable beef or chicken noodle soup, mashed potatoes....the list could go on for awhile.

What is fall weather like where you live? Well the first few weeks is usually crisp and cool in the morning and then warmer in the afternoons, and then in October it changes to colder and wet. However that being said, I love the cozy rainy Northwest days. It is much easier to homeschool then it is when it is 80 degrees and sunny lol.

What color is fall? beautiful shades of orange, dark and pale greens, and a touch of brown. It is like the perfect mixed boquet.

What does fall smell like? pumpkin, apple spice, wood smoke from the newly lit fireplaces around the neighborhood, and crisp and clean.

Holiday shopping in fall: yes or no? Yes, but it is usually online stuff, or if I am able to get away for a Saturday I might do some then. However I REFUSE to decorate for the Christmas season until after Thanksgiving. I get so annoyed that the stores put out Halloween stuff before summer is over, and they completely skip over Thanksgiving, unless they are a craft store or grocery store.

If you could go anywhere in the fall, where would you go? Although I love the Northwest fall because it is what I grew up with and feel comfy and familiar with...I have always wanted to go travel through New England for fall...I hear their fall splendor is the most beautiful in the world. :)

What is your favorite fall sport? I am not much of a sport fan, except for baseball but that is spring. However hubby who grew up in Texas has watching football in his blood. :) He is now a Seahawks fan.

Do you have a favorite fall chore? I love organizing the new school supplies, going through and putting away the summer clothes and putting away the new fall clothes, getting new pajamas for the kids, and putting flannel sheets on the bed and switching to my heaver comforter. Sort of like "battening down the hatches" for a cozy winter. :)

What is your least favorite thing about fall? Well I said earlier I like the cozy rainy days, however when they become endless and I have to get out in it that stinks. lol

What is your favorite fall holiday? Thanksgiving! That is my favorite holiday of all anyway becasue it is about being together and celebrating family and friends and not so much about the commercialness of Christmas. (I like Christmas but not all the stress that goes along with it)

What's your favorite kind of pie? Pumpkin with whipped cream.

What was your favorite Halloween costume? Ironically it was not a costume I wore, in fact it was two costumes I saw other people wear lol, as for one I wore, I loved being minny mouse when I was little i remember wearing the mouse ears hat I had gotten that summer when my family adn I went to Disneyland, and I thought the white gloves were so cool. Plus i had on a black leotard, black tights, and a red polka dotted skirt and the whole costume was completely homemade.
The ones I saw on other people I will mention because they were so cool. One was a playground attended in my old gradeschool and she dressed up as a Qtip..she had a long powder blue slender gown on paired with white fuzzy boots, and a tall white fuzzy hat. very creative. The other was a couple at a party once...she was a wall socket, and he was another wall socket with a plug coming out of the front and it plugged into her socket and they had a light above their heads somehow that twirled when they danced. awesome couple costume.

What was your favorite Halloween candy? candy corn

What was your least favorite Halloween candy? babe ruth

Which do you prefer, the Farm or the Fair? both

Do you have a favorite fall book? One Little Mouse by Dori Chaconas all about "settling down" for winter. :) very cozy.

How about a favorite fall poem? not really

Well, I hope you enjoyed this meme, and if you do it at your blog, pease leave me a comment so I can start a list of links! :)

Happy Fall!

The Cheerio Queen

a fun meme

I have been busy getting the kids back into the swing of things with homeschooling but I am happy to report they are doing well! Trix is liking going to school part time and still getting homeschooled the rest of the time. Personally I think he just likes riding the bus and the fact that he gets to take Daisy with him. It is amazing how fast the kids want to become friends with the kid who brings a dog to school. lol
Lucky Charms is coming along in his handwriting, he is a whiz at math and is starting to read. Where did my sweet little baby go? He also loves that we currently watch a little boy who is the same age as him who also happens to share his real name! That is pretty funny in the house when I have to call out to my son and both boys look at me and say what?
Honey Nut is really getting into writing this year and I am totally thrilled with that. She is really gifted in that area, she is still working on her spelling though although I must admit I love the cute way she misspells things. I know as a homeschooling mom I should correct it right away but it is hard...you see this is a reminder that she is still my little girl. :)
Honey Nut will be taking a science course through the homeschooling program at our school district starting next week and lucky charms will be taking a beginner art class where he will get to learn "spinning, throwing, sculpting, painting and more" How cool is that?
As for me my website to my coaching business is finally up and running! Here is teh shameless link: www.solutionsforhope.com check it out when you can.
In the mean time here is a fun meme I pulled off another homeschooling site but I think it can apply to everyone! be sure and leave me a comment if you decide to do it. :)


FAVORITES:
Magazines/Carnivals - in print or online "mine would be family fun and parenting"
Freebie sites - "freecycle"
Homeschool news/informative : "any of the homeschool blogs"
Forums/book clubs : "don't spend a lot of time on these"
Networking, Blog “About” (sites that offer tech-support or tutorials for computer/internet) & Quick Links : "don't have one"
Mom site - a sites just for moms : "ivillage"
Inspirational/encouraging/motivational: "by sun and candelight blog"
Youth/kid - sites geared towards youth/kids or owned by them : "yahoo kids"
Memes : "wherever I find them"
Organizing/crafts - "the organizing junkie" www.orgjunkie.com
Homemaking/Homesteading : "by sun and candlelight" and "simple woman" both are blogs
Bible-focused - "my friend jessica's site...she posts about a lot of things but when she posts regarding the bible it is so cool"
Homeschool Method - Charlotte mason, and the "hodgepodge" style lol
Family blog - The Duggar Family blog
Businesses, particularly homebased : I don't know.

Another new post...

So it was awhile but not as long as the last time I went without posting lol. :) Things here are busy and school is starting again for the kids..homeschool that is. We are just waiting for our books to arrive. But we have started back into the routine again which I must say feels really good! I am enjoying the cooler weather mainly because fall is my favorite season of the year. I think I might just put up the fall decor today! Bring on the Starbucks Carmel apple cider woohoo! Otherwise nothing huge is new here. Trix lost another tooth, and he has two more that are very loose, he has two already missing...two more and he will be ready to join a hockey team. Lucky Charms is getting older but is still short. lol He just turned 6 on me. He thinks he is about 25 and invinsible. He already has an eye for girls...or should I say ladies. He actually asked me the other day if I would put gel in his hair and make it look handsome "for the ladies" those were his actual words. I am hoping the doc will just prescribe me percocet over the phone. Honey Nut is getting very tall and making dear old mom feel old. She is 9 now and thinks she is a teenager and has lately been testing out the "talking back gene" to which she has been met with dead ends. lol She is strikingly beautiful and the neighborhood boys are starting to notice, and she is noticing boys as well...at the rate she is going I bet she will be married by 10. Hmmm maybe I should call the doc and ask for something a bit stronger then percocet a sledgehammer to knock me out maybe? Either way she is a very lovely young lady who is just sweet. Love that girl and her persitance. :)

Outside My Window ... The sun is coming out and I am seeing steam off the roofs of the houses in my neighborhood.
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I am thinking ... about the meetings I have today.
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I am thankful ... for routine again
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From the kitchen ... porkchops are in the crockpot for dinner.
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I am wearing ... dark pinks sweatpants, and a light pink hoodie that says Seaside on it. :)
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I am creating ... picture schedules for Trix, and chore charts for all the kids.
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I am reading ... Curing the 4A's epidemic, ADHD, Allergies, Autism, and Asthma
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I am hoping ... the meeting this afternoon will go well.
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I am hearing ... The neighborhood kids walking up to the bus stop and secretly being happy that my own little ones stay home with me all day to homeschool. :)
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Around the house ... I'm doing some laundry, and starting to put up some fall decorations for the season.
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One of my favorite things ... chocolate.
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A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: ... Trix starts new more intense therapy at his therapy center, finish up the first official week of school, and hubby has his company picnic on Saturday.
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Here is a picture thought I am sharing....

I make it a point to NOT get political on my blog, however I will say this little gal certainly got my attention when she appealed to soccer moms and moms with special needs kids. :) That is all I will say about that.
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I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Ten Things Tuesday....

Here is a new meme I ran across that talks about ten things your thankful for and I love that idea. :) Oh and on a side note before I start the meme check out this article I was in! http://edition.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/08/11/stay.at.home.moms.economy.ap/index.html?iref=24hours


Anyway...Here goes:

1. I am thankful for the chance to be in an article about stay at home moms to show that it is possible in this declining economy to still stay at home and be happy.

2. I am thankful for my husband and wonderful children

3. I am thankful for friends and family who are always supportive

4. I am thankful that God blessed me with a child with special needs which has led me to a new career from home, and also with the chance to remember what is really important in life.

5. I am thankful for chocolate

6. I am thankful for my son's service dog who now allows hubby and I to be able to have some peace of mind and sleep. ;)

7. I am thankful for the great weather we have been having

8. I am thankful for these hard economic times to remind us what is really important in life

9. I am thankful for mindless entertainment like reality tv lol. ok you know you watch it too.

10.I am thankful that my family and I are all healthy.

ok well that is it for my first ten things tuesday..how did I do?

the cheerio queen

Happy Birthday Lucky charms!

Ok so this is a bit late as LC's actual birthday was a week ago but I was waiting till his party to post about it so I could post pictures. :)

Lucky Charm's is my "baby" it is easy to think of him that way despite the fact that he turned 6 on me. You see his is short, he has alwasy been our "little man" but I have always said that what he lacks in height he more then makes up for in personality! This sweet little man is tough, but very sensitive. He loves his mommy and daddy cuddles still and for that I am grateful. :) He is incredibly smart, funny, charming,and a joy to be around. You have to remember this is the same boy who made his own business at age 4 selling golfballs back to the golfers on our golf course. Last year he made a total of 176.00 in one summer. This summer he has made well over 200. I have always admired his persistance, and focus, and drive. When he wants something he does not give up until he gets it or at least exhausts all possiblilites of getting it, hence the 1969 chevelle he has been pushing for. Hey the kid has taste. :) Being that his Grandpa owns one I am not surprised.

We have always been a bit worried though...you see he is an amazing little flirt and can charm just about anyone. The other day I was fighting the urge to want to smack this little girl who was all of about 6 or 7 herself as i noticed she took a shine to Lucky charms at the park and followed him everywhere! Someone should really tell her mom that she needs to practice the art of playing hard to get with her daughter instead of chasing a boy. seriously. lol I am sure he will have lots of girlfriends. He usually prefers older girls however. He has a crush on a 16 year old at our church it is so cute he is just sure he is going to marry her. Hey the girl is beautiful so at least he has taste. His father and I about died the other day when he asked me to "make his hair handsome" so that "the ladies would like it" yes he actually used the term "the ladies" at six.

oh well the joy of raising him is totally worth it. We are never bored. He is the most amazing little guy a mom could want. Both hubby and I have had a lot of fun with him! We look forward to many more years of joey.
Happy Birthday Little Man!

For you Jessica! lol....

Or really anyone who reads my blog. :) I have a friend named Jessica who goes to my church, actually she is the reason I checked out my current church. She is our worship leader and has the most beautiful voice. I have known her since highschool and she was an amazing singer then. I always thought she would be a pop star. lol. Instead she is a devoted wife, mommy, and child of God. She also gets everyone she knows addicted to blogging and she got me to start a blog. However she also was the one recently who noticed I have not been blogging much at all lately and she mentioned it at church or rather scolded me..."ya know Jen it has been FOREVER since you updated your blog" lol just kidding jess. :) So for Jess I am updating. :)

So this summer has been one of relaxing and fun for a change. Usually I have extra daycare kids in the summer and never go anywhere and I am so busy. However this year with me closing the daycare and going down to just one family with one little girl my schedule has been a lot lighter, once we finished up the extra schoolwork we needed to get caught up. We started k12.com late this year so the kids did not finish at the same time the school year ended. However after some extra work we have spent much of the summer at the park, library, doing crafts at the house, etc. We also took a 3 day trip to Seaside which is a new favorite for us! We will definitely go back, we stayed at a hotel right on the beach and even though the weather was not warm yet the kids still could not resist getting their feet wet in the ocean, and we did lots of swimming in the swimming pool at the hotel. This was also the kids first time in a jacuzzi they loved the "warm bubbly bath" boy did they sleep great that night! Joey still has his therapies during the summer for occupation and speech but otherwise it has been low key. I have to be honest not felt like blogging much. But never fear the new school year is almost here and I am sure I will have more stuff to blog about.

So far this summer the only big news is that Lucky Charms moved to the "big kids" class at church, he is going into the first grade which makes me sad because he is my "baby" he is so short that it is easy to think of him as younger then he is. He will be 6 on Saturday :( He is very excited though.

Trix luckily has had his seizures minimize quite a bit. He is not having them near as much as he used too. Last year was a tough year with him and all the seizures and the sensory issues etc. After a lot of research and scheduling and rescheduling , praying etc. we have a new schedule set up for him this year for school etc. He is entering a year of intense occupational and speech therapy that will hopefully help him make some big progress and get up to or close to where he should be. He is still far behind where he needs to be but I have faith that he is going to be fine and can recover from his delays but it will take work...lots of work.

Honey Nut has been just a sweetheart this year. She recently went to summer camp for church and really had a good time. We sure missed her though. She graduated from brownie to junior in girlscouts this last spring which means that she now wears a green uniform instead of a brown one. Good thing these girls had outgrown their brownie vests. These girls have been together since they were in kindergarten and now they are going into the 4th grade.

I figured out the school year for this coming season. The Honey Nut and lucky Charms will be doing k12 again in the morning for the basic subjects...math, reading, writing, language arts etc. and Trix will be attending school in the morning hours only for half a day 4 days a week. He needs the 5th day for his outside therapies (meaning therapies not at school) then in the afternoon after lunch and during quiet time we will be doing a unit study to cover geography, history, art, science and even PE for all three kids. The unit we chose this year was one I made up on my own because I like to combine different activity ideas. We will be studying the 50 states this year. The kids will learn all the capitols, learn the state bird or flower, learn how to find it on a map, the history of the state, cook a native recipe from the state etc. The great thing about unit studies is I can offer activites for each of the kids learning level. It will be a busy year but hey I like to keep busy otherwise I get into trouble. :)

well this is turning into a novel but here is my update for the past little bit. I will not say when I will blog again because everytime I do then it becomes months before I blog again so maybe if I don't say anything then I will blog more? who knows. in the mean time here is a couple pics of the kids having fun this summer. :)

Till next time,
The Cheerio Queen





the kids at seaside.

lucky charms

Trix

Honey Nut

the view from our window

Been awhile I know...

So it has been forever since I posted but I have been so busy and just kind of fell off the blogger trail. I am slowly coming back but dont' want to promise anything because I always make grand plans and then life takes me other routes lol. Here is a meme that I think is supposed to be done on Mondays but I am doing mine today to get started back into blogging. ;)

Outside My Window ...It is raining and grey ( I thought this was supposed to be June)
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I am thinking ... about making blueberry muffins and fruit for breakfast.
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I am thankful for ... my family and the Seaside getaway we had this last weekend (I will post about it later)
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From the kitchen ... some new gluten free recipes in the crockpot I found.
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I am wearing ... Jeans, a pastel pink hooded sweatshirt, and a pony tail.
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I am creating ... another journal...I have one for everything it seems like.
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I am going ... to go pick up a food dehyrdator today to make homemade fruit rollups.
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I am reading ... Louder than Words by Jenny McCarthy...what a great book whether or not your child is autistic (mine is not)it is more a story about a mothers incredible love for her child. (boy is her son lucky)
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I am hoping ... for some sun, or at least for it to dry up enough today for Honey Nuts bridging ceremony tonight to be held at the park.
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I am hearing ... the pitter patter of rain, the daycare kids laughing at wow wow wubbzy, and the sweet sound of my daughter coming downstairs just now and saying "hi mommy"
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Around the house ... I am trying to finish up the school year, researching how to get my son into a great program I found to help him with his sensory issues and how to afford it, and I am doing laundry catchup.
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One of my favorite things ... is reading and taking notes from what I learned in books, and planning for a new school year.
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A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: ... last brownie meeting of the year for Honey nut, searching for a cubscout troop for the boys, searching for swimming lessons as well, try and get my house in order, and doing some cooking and baking ahead (since the weather is yucky anyway) to freeze for hoepfully a warm summer ahead. lol
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Here is a picture thought I am sharing ...
My heart :)


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I hope you all have a wonderful day!