fall

with the coming of fall, comes canning season! i actually really like to can. i love knowing that i've put up produce for my family to eat at a later date. i love the way it makes the house smell. i love the bonding moments it produces.

i have a tendency to not let the kids help me in the kitchen. the kitchen is my domain, and i really don't like the extra work that comes with letting my kids "help." however, i've discovered (i should have already known this...) that when you are canning, "many hands make light work." having one of the older kids help me, makes things go twice as fast (imagine that)!

this year, i wasn't able to get the peaches canned before they went bad. i got them on a monday, and ended up working tuesday, wednesday, and thursday. by friday, they were beyond saving, so i made jam, dried them, and fruit leather.

then, we had an early freeze (like a month an a half early), and all my plums fell off and weren't usable. and all the red apples fell off and were bruised and mushy. wouldn't you know, though, that my apple tree is a granny smith, and they need the freeze to fully ripen! how i love me a tart granny smith! however, they make tart applesauce too.
i was able to find enough red apples (by searching all the dropped ones from ours, and a friends), to make 2 batches. then i broke down and bought some from broulims. they had them on sale for $1 a lb.

however, i don't have a victoria strainer, and didn't really want to spend hours slaving over my stove. so, i found a crockpot recipe online! it turns out fabulous! i was able to get 11.5 quarts out of 5 batches.
and, i even let the kids help me! i had them go get the granny's for me, and what they could find of the reds around the corner. i let elizabeth and taylor dice while i peeled and cored (this recipe was great for my granny's cause they didn't get sprayed this spring, and they are super wormy).

i'm working on letting them help. they want to desperately to, but it's hard for this mama to give up her control in her domain.

not expected

i made it to the temple yesterday morning, and i'm so glad that i did.

i went looking for more guidance on some revelation i was given a few weeks ago, and found something completely different!
i did get an answer for that revelation, but it was, "you already got your answer, now get to work." .....um, yes, sir.

we've been struggling with school. the kids keep saying that everything is boring. i keep having to fight them on getting things done. they don't enjoy it as much as they should be, and we are all frustrated. i DO like the new school. it's less repetition for them, and more work for me ( i know that sounds backwards). because i have to go through and make lesson plans, i know what they are learning. i know what i want them to be aware of, but not take to heart.

i ran into an old friend in the dressing room at the temple. she introduced me to a lovely lady that homeschooled her kids. we talked for an hour (in fact, ashley was late to school because of it.). but, she reinforced some things that i had been thinking about and struggling with anyways. she also gave me some great resources, and places to go.

as a result of our conversation, i am overhauling our schooling!

when it rains.....

it pours...

i have been using the same set of contacts for about 6 months (possibly more). i've been doing that because we don't have the $150 to get another 3 months worth. i have one that has had some deposits on them that won't clean off for about 2 weeks. last night, i tore the other one...
i have a pair of glasses that are about 3 years old. they went through a toddler that liked to twist and break things. as such, they are not in the best of shape.

the internet/phone was going to be shut off, so i took the "rent" money and paid the phone bill instead.

anything but easy

i was kinda hoping for some easy answers.
i went to the doctor on friday to talk about some concerns. migraines, extreme exhaustion... i had a few possible answers, but needed blood tests to confirm them. all the blood work came back perfectly normal............

so, now i'm back to square one again.
both my thyroid tests came back well within the normal range.
my cortisol test came back normal.
that means, no thyroid problems, and no adrenal fatigue.

so, now we talk about the possibility of chronic fatigue .
and i try to remember about the burning cold sensation in my lower back.

insanity

the definition of insanity...doing the same thing over and over and expecting to get a different result.

same old argument, same old result.

result...both of us are upset.

art

we went to the craft store on saturday to get the kids' art supplies. $80 later and we had all but 1 thing! i had forgotten how expensive good art supplies can be!

after getting home, a friend stopped by and told us that he had everything that we had just bought, and he'd just give it to us.....

so, i took just about everything back, and we will go "shopping" through his stuff.

hurray for getting money back!

shaun

shaun's counseling last week revealed some things to the therapist that he hadn't been fully aware of. partly because shaun always feels like he's vomiting his problems when he talks about them.

shaun told him that he's to the point that he no longer cares. that he doesn't know why he keeps going or trying cause it seems like nothing ever changes. this was not anything new to me, but it was to the therapist. he got really concerned. he wants us to see a doctor about possible meds. shaun doesn't believe in them, and sees no reason why he should take them. he agreed to go, but only to get us off his back. 

in talking with them both, i revealed my history to the therapist. it doesn't bother me, and will hopefully help him understand where i'm coming from when we talk about shaun. most of it shaun knew, a few things he didn't. but, the therapist was amazed at how i can be so positive after everything that's happened. when the other option is despair, no thanks. i'll take the positive any day!

so, i made an appointment for shaun, and he says he'll go, but he doesn't plan on asking for anything or taking it if it's given to him. ...so, what's the purpose in going?

i'm kind of hoping that things will change, but i'm going to keep my hopes up.

school

i was trying to think of something cool and witty to say, but it all sounds dumb.

life is life. we take what comes at us, and do what we can with it.

i finally got the last few things for taylor and shannon for school. i have about 4 weeks worth of lesson plans completed for each of them. i'm going to do 1 unit from 1 subject per night, and get the rest finished.

elizabeth has been working on this book i found for her. it's started to show us the problem areas. i have a few things that we are doing to work on them, and so far they seem to be working. it could also be because they are new ways, and when the excitement wears off, they won't work anymore....but, until then, we'll keep going.

shannon loves to learn, but her attention span is pretty short. still trying to figure out how to get her through everything without losing her all the time.

ashley just started head start today. she was so excited and couldn't wait!

michael has started getting really whiny and crying all the time. i'm not sure if it's cause he feels left out, or if it's something else.

school day

our first full school day was long and hectic. 3 different grades, 5 different kids begging for attention. i got seriously frazzled! thankfully, a few weeks, and things will settle down (at least, i hope so).

i've gotten a good head start on taylor's lesson plans. i've even put them into weekly lists for him to work from. i'm still waiting on a few books, but otherwise, i just need to finish plans.

i've also discovered that making lesson plans can be tiring. trying to read these books make my head hurt sometimes. ok, more than sometimes.

taylor was able to get nearly his entire list done today. elizabeth got hers done as well. shannons lesson plans are still in progress so we only got a little bit done. it's time to work on some more plans....

exhaustion

i get so tired every day, that it's crazy! within 2 hours of getting up for the day, i'm ready to go back to bed for another night. the doctors keep trying to tell me that it's because i have 5 kids. i'm pretty sure that there's something more, but no one really believes me.

i'm going to make an appointment with the doctor later this week. hopefully i can get someone to listen to me and get some help.

i also need to look at getting something for my migraines.

actually, i have another laundry list of things i need to talk about with the doctor.

week in review

it's been kind of a crazy week, so, this is a short mass post.

monday, was labor day. i went grocery shopping, and we had a birthday party for a friend.

tuesday, i worked. kids didn't get much school in because i worked, and we are still waiting on books.

wednesday, i also worked. we were able to get a little more school done as books have trickled in. i wrote lesson plans.

thursday, work again. more books showing up, a little more school could be done. i wrote more lesson plans, and started on weekly plans for the kids to work from.

friday, i spent most of the day making lesson plans. i did so many, that i'm having to talk myself into finishing them!

today, saturday, we are trying to clean house, and i need to finish all these lesson plans! so far, we still have a long way to go on both!

potty training

we're trying to potty train michael. it's been an up and down road.

yesterday, i took him in to go. he says,
"mom, i have to poop. ....grunt. it won't come."
mom, maybe there's nothing there."
"oh, it's there, mom."
mom, "well, let's try again next time."
"next time? ok, try again next time."

he's so funny!!