His Plan....

It happened so quickly and within a moment, it was gone. But we are supposed to recognize, aren't we? That nothing is without His plan. Nothing happens randomly. It is His plan. Nothing is pure circumstance. It is His plan. Nothing is without His Hands, guiding and redirecting, swerving and moving them to the left and to the right. Leaving the stranded, broken vehicle in the middle of the busy interstate. Giving the driver several more precious moments to move it out of the lane of traffic. He moved the semi-truck moments before it slammed violently into the back of the car, certainly leaving little but fatal tragedy in it's wake. I watched it with my own eyes. I watched as the cars jeered left and right, away from the stranded vehicle that held my loved ones. They were a mere hundred yards away but they may have easily been a hundred miles. I could not reach them. I could not touch them. I could not protect them from sitting in the middle of the mess. Only He could. Only He did. It was mere moments before thoughts were gathered, a plan devised and we were able to get the broken car out of the lanes of traffic. And then the tears of relief. The overwhelming sense of near tragedy. The recognition that it was not their time. It was not their time. It was not His plan. It was His plan. It was His plan. It was His plan. Thank you Great Father. Thank you. Thank. You.

I'm squealing like a girl!

AHH!! You've just GOT to see my fantastic find today!! AHHH!! Really....truly....I'm squealing like a girl. And I never squeal like a girl! Mainly because I'm not that girly most of the time. But I've really been trying to be a bit more girly. I think SH likes it. So.....check out my find:





Aren't they adorable??!!! And are you ready for the BEST part? Drumroll please........................they were exactly $4.00 for each pair!! The polka dot ones are Keds and the flowery ones are Skechers! Regular price was like $45! WOW!!! I'm not sure if I've every hit such a bargain!! And now, my friends, I'm a die-hard fan of Bealls. Can't beat it! LOVE IT! I get to be girly....I get to be girly....watch me dance in the living room.....I get to be girly!!

Debbie's Green Bags

I've never bought anything from one of those As Seen On TV ads. I never thought I would. Then my aunt told me about Debbie's Green Bags. All I can say is...WOW! They really work! I can keep green beans for well over a week! I keep bananas in them for several more days than we need...they get eaten pretty quickly in this house. I put all my fruits and veggies in them first thing when I bring them home. I've been known to keep something in there just to see how long it would last.....I remember it being like 3 weeks or something like that. And it was still edible!! So here ya go....my official As Seen on TV endorsement....Debbie's Green Bags. I didn't get mine from the website...I bought them at CVS or Wags or something like that. About $10 for several bags. And you can reuse them for quite awhile. This really WORKS FOR ME!!

Go ahead and hop on over to We Are That Family for more great WFMW tips!!!

Tips for packing it up!

We'll be heading to the great state of Texas to visit SH's family this week so blogging for the next week will be sporadic.

In the meantime, I thought I'd leave you with some tips of what makes our lives easier when we travel. We travel several times a year as our families for the most part, live in other states. Most of our travel is by airplane so we've experienced the stress of delays, cancellations and other airline-related ill fates! The boys do rather well I think and I've learned how to make the trip as painless as possible. Here are a few of our tricks:

--Both boys have their own backpacks with their names embroidered on them. I spend a little extra on a great pack. It is worth it to know the handles and zippers will not break!
--They have great pride in their "packpacks"! They are expected to take one change of clothing. Then they get to pick 2-3 small toys of their choice. Then I pack at least 1-2 small books.
--I read this great little tip on how to transport crayons....in a small travel soap dish! It is the perfect size for crayons and I've purchased two cheapies from the dollar store for each of them. In goes a small coloring book. That's about it. The boys honestly, are very entertained by the activities in the airport and on the runway so they really don't even bother to get into their bags until they are well into the flight.
--I always hit Dollar Tree before a trip and get several new little trinkets. I always have something in my bag to entertain them....not expensive but new and almost always entertaining.
--If we are experiencing a long layover or delay, I try to find a child friendly area or play area for them to run around in. I'll find a quiet(er) hallway or corner and play red light/green light with them. It helps to burn off the energy! We'll play "I spy" a lot! And if we find a play area (Atlanta has a great play area for kids!), we'll go over there and kill time.
--Each flight really has to be two hours or less. We've only traveled further than that one time, when Big Boy was one year old and Little Guy was still in utero! That time, we went on a 30-hour flight to another country. I honestly can't recall how we survived! I remember being exhausted and have not yet done it again! Two hours or less, I say!
--Pack snacks! I make sure I pack granola/cereal bars, nuts, small treats. I don't like to have to wait for the cart and I'm not willing to pay for these items either.
--Everything I need goes into one tote bag. A small bag of hygiene/make-up items, small purse, snacks, book, Tide pen, an extra blouse and camera.
--One suitcase for boys and I. SH travels a lot so he has his own bag. I use an large suitcase and fit in all the boys stuff and mine. We pack enough for a few days and anything beyond that, we do laundry somewhere. I check the suitcase in--it is just too much otherwise.
--My IPod for myself, if I'm so lucky that the boys sleep on the plane and I can "zone". If not, the games for Big Boy! SH always takes a few movies on his computer for whoever is sitting next to him.

Hopefully we'll have lots of great little pictures of our travels. I'll do my best! Gotta get the housesitter set up, pack up the bags and get on the jet plane.....See you soon!!

You like me? You REALLY REALLY like me??!!

I'm channeling Sally Fields right now!! This very sweet, sweet, sweetie Sarah over at I Blame My Mother just gave me my very FIRST bloggy award! AWWWW!! Y'all are gonna make me tear up!!! Honestly, I'm SO touched! I feel like a newborn in this blog world and I've yet to quite find my toes, if you know what I mean? So this is a very nice thing to give such a newbie and I'm truly honored! Thank you Sarah!! So here are Seven Things I Love--I'll do my best!

1. Being a Mama.
2. The smell of fresh cut hay from the fields (I don't get the scent too often here in FL--mostly a memory from long ago...)
3. This bloggy world! I learn SO much and enjoy it immensely!
4. Reading just about anything (fiction, biographies, mags, anything!)
5. My dear wonderful sweet family.
6. Bread, fresh from the oven slathered with sweet creamy Irish butter.
7. Entertaining--SH and I really love to have people over, grilling out, eating and laughter.

There it goes....there are SO many more but hopefully, I'll keep them under wraps until I unveil one of those '100 things about me' lists. Here are Seven wonderfully Kreative and fun blogs that I look at almost every day:

--We Are That Family This is a fantastic Kreativ blog!
--Journey Mama Rae doesn't know me at all but she has been essential in my journey to start writing again....I love her writing! Check her out!
--No Time For Flash Cards Allie is the McGyver of preschool activities! Cool site!
--Thrifty Decor Chick Sarah is one thrifty decorating goddess!
--in His Grace Chrissie is a beautiful artist and I love her work!
--Frugal Dad I'm sure that Frugal Dad will be a bit shocked to be named one of my fav Kreativ bloggers but I learn SO much from this site!! It's essential in my journey become debt free!!
--And I gotta mention Shannon over at Rocks In My Dryer. She REALLY has helped motivate me to get this blog off the ground. Love her blog!!

Your job now is to copy the award and hand it off to seven of your favs. Thanks for all of you that have motivated me start Because I Must. I could not have done it without your blogs showing me the way! Now go spread the love!

And the cycle continues...

I witnessed a very interesting conversation between the Big Boy and Little Man the other day in the car.....

Big Boy: You are bacon.

Little Guy: Am not.

Big Boy: You ARE bacon and I'm going to eat you!

Little Guy: I NOT, I Little Guy!

Big Boy (in his best singing voice): You are bacon and I'm eating your eyes....la la la la la la

Little Guy (screaming at this point): I'M NOT BACON, I LITTLE GUY!!!!

Big Boy continued singing about how he was eating bacon and Little Guy kept screaming about how he was NOT bacon and should not be eaten.

So as our world is disinegrating before our very eyes, the cycle of brotherly love continues....

What are the Rules?

I'm so proud I could just pop! Big Boy asked me that question just the other day before we went on an errand and went to the store. "What are the rules, Mama?" I'm SO PROUD that he actually pays attention! You see, we review three very specific, simple and effective rules, every time we go somewhere with the boys. They are:

--Quiet voices
--Walking feet
--Listening ears

That's it. Sums it up nicely. And it works! And it's very Kid Friendly! At 3 & 4 years old, they understand it. It works for just about any situation. And most importantly, they follow them rather well. Try it! We review these 3 rules every time we go somewhere, whether it is to the doctor office, the grocery store, someones home or church. It's Kid Friendly Friday folks....what is your Kid Friendly tidbit?

I Blame My Mother has other great tips to make your life more Kid Friendly! See you there!

Dear Me, 1984,

Happy Birthday Sweet 16! Now I know that you think that this is, like, the best day ever. But let me tell you about a few days that will be even better. I know, I know, hard to believe, isn't it? After all, you are 16, you've got your driver's license, you and the girls get to go to Happy Joe's Pizza in the BIG city and there will not be an adult in the car! But it does get a bit better as time goes on. You know that wild boy you are dating? The one who truly makes your heart and head spin? The ONE? Well, he's not the one. In fact, he's only the one for a couple of more years. Then sadly, he breaks your heart and yes, you break his and you both move on. That's the good part. You move on to fall in love again, and again and finally, again. That last finally, well...it was truly love that time and truly worth the others not working out. It will be several years before you find him but have faith. He is there. He will be not only the love of your life, but your very best friend (along side your other very best friend, who is in the passenger seat right now....don't fear, she's always there...). He will be the one you travel all over the world with. He will be the one who keeps you warm and the one who encourages to makes steps in directions you don't think you are even remotely interested in. He's a challenge that one. But worth every minute you'll wait for him.

There are other goodies waiting up ahead of you too. Believe it or not, you're gonna get on an airplane and travel to places far, far away. You'll get out of that little town in Iowa and believe it or not, you'll stay away. Now before you start protesting, it's okay! You're going to be the one who chooses to stay away. Not because you don't love all these people that surround you today. But because they love you. They cheer you on. They want you to go explore the world. In fact, Daddy encourages you to go figure out if you like living other places. And he'll never ask you to come back. He looks forward to your every visit and telling him the tales of your travels. Just understand that he doesn't fly and will more often than not, expect you to come home rather than he come to you. That's okay too. It gives you a chance to see those best friends.

You'll find that you can really trust yourself. You've got great instincts. I know you think that today. It'll be a few years before you believe it. You'll figure out that your gut is most often correct, whether it's the answer on your graduate school exams (yes, you do love school, even though you say you don't now...), the time you had to say goodbye to Love #2 because you knew it wasn't where you were supposed to be or when you become a mom. You've got GREAT intuition. Like you told your mom, just a few days ago. You already know what is right, you just have to have opportunities to choose what is right. And you pretty much always do.

You are going to be a mom! I know that doesn't play into your plan right now. Those birth control pills hidden under your mattress work pretty well! And it won't happen for another 15 years or so. You do a lot of searching your soul before it happens. And that's a good thing. Because that mom thing? It's the best gig you'll ever have! You will wake up many, many years from now, surrounded by two little men that absolutely adore you. Their chubby little fingers will wrap themselves around your strong hands, much like you do with your mom. Always trying to see how small they are compared to how big you are. And they'll look at you the same way you look at your mom. Like you are the universe. You are their universe! You wait a long time to become a mom. Not until Love #3, the one who truly matters. But you'll learn a lot between now and then. And you'll have that great intuition and great love. There will be days when you don't get it right. You aren't perfect. But mostly, you love and teach and guide and nurture and try harder every day. You'll get it wrong sometimes but mostly, you'll get it right.

So, even though today is going to be one of the best, there are still many bests to come. You'll have birthdays that you remember, like this one. They will be imprinted on your brain and you'll be grateful and laugh when you think about them. There will be birthdays that you don't remember. The year will go by completely uneventful and you'll not have a clue what you did that day. There will be birthdays, like that 30-year-old one, that you'll spend in a cabin with all your girlfriends (yes, even she in the passenger seat is there...), drinking wine, listening to great music and laughing so hard you'll fall over. That's a pretty good one too. And when you are 41, you'll wake up lying next to your youngest son. You'll look at his long dark eyelashes, kiss them softly and thank God for him. You'll spend a moment on the phone with Love #3 because he's not there but as always, he's thinking of you and wishes he was. You'll peek at your oldest son lying in his bed and wonder if you'll ever tire of just watching him breathe. You won't. And you'll spend the day well. You may indulge in a pedicure, you may wander around a bookstore or two because that is your favorite place still. You'll remember to thank God for all of His blessings because you know then, more than now, that He really has a Great Plan for you. By then, you'll trust Him a lot more than now. So have a good day, Me, 1984. Treasure it. Happy Birthday.

You, 2009

Works for Me Wednesday--Finger Paints for Kids!

This is how we do fingerpaints. I bought a super cheap ice cube tray. Different color paints go into each little cube. The big boy, Batman, uses one side and the little guy, Superman, uses the other. Eventually Superman takes over the entire event and paint is everywhere.....but it starts off handy and contained. That Works for Me!!

Head on over to We Are That Family for more wonderful little WFMW tips and tidbits

Our windfall

We received our income tax return last Friday. Now before all my frugal friends and Personal Finance gurus scream, I'll just come out of the closet and say that yes, it was a return and yes, it is a bit of a return. Before y'all scream at us about how we are loaning our government free money and how that is the number one sin in the eyes of PF'ers around the country....just relax. We understand all that. And we've discussed it. And we are keeping things just as they are, thank you very much! We've decided that what is best for us is that we will continue to keep our return the way it is. The interest that could be earned on the money, should we save it, would be relatively minor. We like having a "windfall". We like a little surge in the budget once a year. It is purely psychological and it works for us. So we're keeping it that way. Thank you for your concern.

Now....what we find as the most enjoyable part is the diversion of funds when we get our windfall. This is how we're dividing up our return this year:

-Some to our emergency fund to beef it up a bit.
-Property taxes that are not put into escrow.
-Homeowner's Association dues for 2009.
-Upgrade computer equipment to better accommodate the software for my husband's photography business.
-Pay off a couple of debts.

That is how we are doing it this year. And it feels really good to have some resolution to outstanding debts (the taxes, HOA dues) and a little extra for the computer equipment. We are followers, albeit not religiously, of Dave Ramsey's principles. Have you heard of Dave? He is a fantastic Personal Finance advisor and we use his principles outlined in the Total Money Makeover. Now Dave would really chastise us for loaning the government money and for that, we'll take our licks. We do follow his Baby Steps and think that his overall program is sound. We're on Baby Step 2--eliminating all debt. We've got a bit of all the steps tackled and did before joining him. Now we are trying to refine our budget and work on things in his method. If you haven't checked him out, we'd really encourage you to take a look! Check us out again in the future to be able to hear us scream "We're Debt Free!!"

We want Panpakes!!

That was the cry I heard much too early this morning. The boys absolutely love their panpakes (that would be our speak for pancakes...). And I make them as frugally as I can from a great recipe I got on my very favorite recipe site, www.allrecipes.com


Here is our favorite recipe for delicious panpakes:

Truck Stop Buttermilk Pancakes
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
6 tablespoons butter, melted
5 cups buttermilk
5 cups all-purpose flour
5 teaspoons baking powder
5 teaspoons baking soda
1 pinch salt (optional)
5 tablespoons sugar

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, butter and buttermilk. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and sugar; stir into the wet ingredients just until blended. Adjust the thickness of the batter to your liking by adding more flour or buttermilk if necessary.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and coat with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side. Continue with remaining batter.

Here is the link for more great pictures and those delicious panpakes!

Kid Friendly Friday! Raising Responsible Kids

Super Hubby & I started on the family a little later than many. I'm...ahem...what you would call an 'older mom'. It was intentional, and luck I suppose. But I always knew that this parenthood gig would be one of great importance. And I didn't take on the thought, nor the actuality of it, lightly. I knew it was time when Super Hubby and I found one another and decided that we'd venture through the rest of our lives, together. I knew he would be a great dad because we talked long and often about our values. One of those values that we agreed upon so adamantly was the concept of raising responsible kids. Responsible not only for themselves, but each other, responsible to God and truly for their world that surrounds them.

We've also realized that in the mere four years that we've been working at this task, how truly monstrous the task at hand is. So we try very hard to break it into smaller increments and work the value of responsibility in at every opportunity we can. Daily, we talk aloud at how they must be responsible for their environment. The house belongs not just to Mama and Daddy but to us all and we all must care for it. Now before you envision child labor, I'll clarify that at 3 & 4 years old, we give them age-appropriate responsibilities. Here is a list of things we have them do already:

*The oldest is responsible to help feed the dogs. He cannot reach the food yet but once I've gotten the container for him, he places the food in their respective dishes and calls them to eat.
*Both boys take recycled items to the bins in the garage.
*They clear their dirty dishes from the table and place them into the sink after meals.
*They help set the table before meals.
*They help clear their toys and pick up their room, daily. They don't get everything in the correct place but as long as the attempt is made, we consider it success!
*Yesterday they helped in the yard, raking leaves and cleaning up. This really rather equated to raking a few leaves into a pile with their kid-sized rakes but we talked a lot about responsibility of keeping the yard looking nice. They were pretty proud of their leaf pile!
*They throw away their own trash instead of just handing it to a parent.

It doesn't really equate to a lot of work, but all of these little tasks, and the discussions about responsibility that go with them will add up over time. We use the word RESPONSIBILITY a lot in our home. We want them to understand the concept and more importantly, practice it often. What we don't know yet, obviously, is the difficult task of teaching and enforcing responsibility as they grow. What we do feel very confident in though, is how teaching this particular value now at these young ages prepares them so much more for the challenging tasks that lie ahead.

Head on over to http://iblamemom.blogspot.com/ for more Kid Friendly Friday bits of wisdom! It's fantastic!

Fruits of our Labor

Lookee what we did today!! My wonderful Aunt and I got together and made strawberry jam! YUM!! We are pretty no-nonsense about it....we simply use the recipe from the Sure-Jell package insert which gives super easy, simple directions to follow. Here in Florida, it is strawberry season and they are absolutely marvelous right now! So here you have it....for about $30 for strawberries, supplies and then 3 hours of our time, we put up 12 pints of jam, 12 half-pints (the jelly size jars) and several batches of strawberry puree for the freezer. We'll use the puree for smoothies, milkshakes and margaritas in the future! OH HOW YUMMY!!!

My lifesaver....my IPod.

I love it. I really really love it. I didn't think I would love it. In fact, when my SH gifted me a couple of years ago on Christmas morn, I believe I said something like....'OK, thanks. That'll be great. I hope I'll use it.' Then I didn't use it. For a long time. And finally, out of guilt and a wee bit of curiosity, I hooked the thing up and downloaded some CDs. And then some pod casts and a couple of books. And listened. And guess what? I LOVE IT! It saves my life....err, sanity...many many MANY days when I've had enough of children and not enough of me. I just plug it in, put my earbuds on and do something mindless like clean my house! A little Dixie Chicks, a little Neil Diamond, a whole lotta Ray Charles and I'm in HEAVEN! A whole new world, my world, my isolative little IPod world. It really Works For Me!

I love technology sometimes...

Head on over to www.wearethatfamily.com for more wonderful little Works For Me Wednesday stuff!

Crockpot kind of day

Today is a crockpot kind of day....There have been at least 1-2 people in the house that have been sick for the past week. And today is my turn. UGH! So in light of the lack of energy, the general blah! kinds of feelings and absolutely no desire to accomplish anything, I will resort to my one of my top favorite kitchen tools...the crockpot.

Not sure what I'm making yet but I'm quite certain it'll be from this site, http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/. I LOVE this site! We follow a relatively low-glycemic diet in this house. It just makes sense for us and I cannot tolerate too many carbs, especially white, refined carbs. So we generally stay away from them and eat a lot of beans and chicken, and I try to add as many veges as I can fit it. I have just about any kind of meat that I can use today. I have beans. I have some very yummy fresh green beans or some wonderful looking brussels sprouts that I could add into something too.

So I'm off to load up the crockpot and then back to bed to recover. See you tomorrow!

Kid Friendly Friday!

So I found this great carnival over at http://iblamemom.blogspot.com/. It's Kid Friendly Friday! And I loved the idea and knew immediately I wanted to join. Then the panic set in about what I should write about. (I hate being the new-kid-on-the-blog-block....). Then it hit me....our family schedule. Which is chaos to those on the outside and to Super Hubby and I, it is Kid Friendly. See, SH travels for a living. And his schedule changes every month and sometimes, even every week. And since we also don't have much family that lives here in this state, we don't have a lot of options for childcare.

So I work weekends. For my sacrifice of every Saturday and Sunday, it's like having a full-time job, as far as benefits and pay are concerned. The differential pay is good and I'm only required to do those 2 days a week. I never thought I'd love it....when I did this it was simply for a year or two until I could figure out something else. I was not going to give up weekends, Sunday church, family time, etc.... What we discovered though is that our kids don't know the difference between Tuesday or Saturday. It doesn't matter if we get to the beach, or the park, or some shopping on Thursday morning or Saturday afternoon. In fact, many of the places we go to in the middle of the week are less crowded, cheaper and a whole lot less stressful during those times. SH usually can get a weekday off here and there. He gets home every weekend to watch the boys. I get a weekend off once in a while. It's working out beautifully and I love it. Our kids love it. It so works for us and it is wonderfully kid friendly. Our boys don't go to preschool or daycare. We "homeschool preschool" at this point. We spend tons of family time together--much more than the typical family that works 9-5, Monday thru Friday. I feel like a part-time SAHM. All these things work really well for us and for our kids. I would really recommend anyone who has to work looks at this kind of option. It looked terribly restricting in the beginning but has turned out to be a fantastic alternative option for our kids and our family.

See you next week for another Kid Friendly Friday! Hop on over to http://iblamemom.blogspot.com/ for more kid friendly fun stuff!

Vacuum Sealer

These days, we are all trying to sqeeze the proverbial blood outta, well, whatever it is that we have. I'm all for saving a buck and am constantly refining the ways that we budget and spend our money. I enjoy being able to tell my money where to go and not just sitting around, wondering where it went?!

One of my favorite tools for saving money? My vacuum sealer! I LOVE this thing! I really use it and it saves me money. We buy large bulk size meats at places like Sam's Club and grocery stores. We cut costs by buying larger packages, and as soon as I get home, I separate out smaller portions, vacuum seal the packages and pop them in the freezer. It's a few cents that turns into several dollars over the course of a year of doing this. I've used it save fresh produce bought in season and frozen for later. The blueberries we did last spring are still as wonderful as they were then. We add them to yogurt smoothies and the boys just love them!

I have to admit that many years ago my wonderful husband, prior to proposing marriage, thought a vacuum sealer would make a great Christmas gift. He bought me the whole kit and knowing how much I like to cook, thought I would really appreciate it. Sadly, I did not. I was looking for, ahem...let's just say another kind of gift! I wasn't all that impressed and decided at the time, I wouldn't use it, so I returned it to the store. Years later...and happily married...we bought one. And I love it! He never lets me forget how insightful he really is....

For more wonderful tips, head on over to http://www.wearethatfamily.com/ for Works for Me Wednesday. It's a great place to find more tips on what really works--this week it is Greatest Tips & Hits edition. Enjoy!

No worries...

I'm protected by Super Powers!

Homeschool Preschool

For over a year, SH and I have been talking pretty seriously about homeschooling our two boys. Since formal school is still more than a year away, it has not been something that I felt we needed to decide upon. But it's getting closer and the more we discuss it, the more we believe it is the right decision for us.

I read several great articles about why homeschooling is important and chosen for families. And what really appeals to me is the diversity in everyone's decisions about it. At first, I thought I truly had no idea what I was talking about. The only homeschooling experience I knew of was this family in my hometown that no one really knew. The dad drove our school bus but his kids didn't go to school anywhere. Never got it? When we had the boys and the thoughts of sending them off to school was brought up, I shuddered. I've worked with kids with behavioral issues and mental health issues for years. Unfortunately, much of my experiences with school systems have been with kids with these kinds of issues. Not a good ground to formulate an opinion! So I've taken it upon myself to discover what our opinions are about what school should be, not so much in the arena of what it shouldn't be. What is it that we want, rather than what we don't want?

There have been several resources that I've found that are helping to make these decisions. First of all, it is our spiritual life. Our experiences through our church and Bible Studies simply reinforce that we know this is an important daily part of our lives. Secondly, our lives our not Monday through Friday. SH and I both work variable schedules, which often includes weekends and our days off can be during the middle of the week. This will likely never change. Right now, it is wonderful that Saturday does not mean anything different to them than Wednesday. I cannot figure out how to schedule their lives Monday through Friday when ours does not accommodate that. The reality is that one parent or both will have very little time with our children much of the time. And that is simply unacceptable. We also travel often and the ability to take the boys (and their schoolwork) with us works for us. We don't want this option to be hindered by school schedules.

Another important factor is that homeschooling truly is so incredibly flexible. You can follow any one of many wonderful programs such as A Beka, Classical, Unschooling, and many others. There are specific curriculums available or you can create your own. You can mix and match. The possibilities are endless. Something will fit eventually.

Socialization, or lack of, seems to be the biggest arguement to this option. Some believe that homeschooling equates to isolation and it simply is not true. There are so many options for socializing your children. Children can participate in homeschool groups for social events, there are unending options of sports, clubs, YMCA, museums, the list goes on and on. Our family is very social and we see friends and family members several times a week usually. I'm not at all worried about our children's social lives.

Right now, homeschooling is leading the options of schooling for our boys. That may change at some point and if it does, that is fine. For now, and mind you, they are simply at preschool ages, we are toying with the idea and playing school often. We'll see how it goes as time goes on and they boys progress. I'll let you know.

This is us, homeschooling today....it used to simply be called PlayDoh but in the world of school, we'll call it Tactile Work!