OUR WEEK IN REVIEW May 15-21

 

It's been a while since I did A Week In Review post but I'm taking the time today to sit down and get it done.

Sunday we didn't make it to church because I'd been very sick that night.  I had a horrible headache, vomiting, extreme dizziness, and more.  I barely slept and with my husband gone at work I just decided to stay home.  I wasn't sick like a virus or anything contagious...it was either pregnancy related, vertigo, or possible caffeine withdrawal since I forgot to drink any that day.  

So we spent the day hanging out at home.  The kids found some toads and a turtle, and then we took some time to play at the neighborhood playground once my dizziness had calmed down. 

Monday was my husband's 34th birthday.  He worked during the day and then when he got home, we went and picked up Ruy and headed out to dinner.   The kids (other than Ruy) had never been to a Hibachi restaurant before so we decided to go there. 

Our family filled up an entire table which I loved so much but also was like...."what will be do when the next set of twins in born!!! Big family problems :) 

The boys LOVED having the food cooked in front of them and the girls (twins) were so good.  Milla loved the salad which I was surprised since it's such a unique flavor but she woofed it down.  Mara only wants to feed herself which posed a slight problem with how high the table was but we made it work.  Liam learned how to eat with chopsticks and Nathan caught some food in his mouth when the chef threw it at him! :) 

It was a really nice dinner celebrating Nathan. 

Tuesday we headed out to Home Depot to grab boxes and moving supplies.  The girls loved the cart at Home Depot and did not want to get out.

Wednesday was a full day at home working on packing.  We took a break in the afternoon to get some fresh air and exercise.  I walked down to the little park in our neighborhood with all the kids.  Alanna and the twins picked "fuzzies" aka dandelion seed flowers (not sure of the actual name).  Alanna taught the girls to call them fuzzies though and I absolutely love it.  

Milla also learned to climb UP the huge metal slide that's at this park and I was nervous about that but she handled it like a pro and did it over and over.  Alanna stayed behind her the whole time though to make sure she didn’t fall.

Thursday was when the appraisal on our house was being done so we had to leave by 9:30 that morning.  I decided to take the kids strawberry picking and we had a lovely time.  We spent about 2.5 hours there.  We've been going to this strawberry patch for about 7 or 8 years now.  It's free to get in, free hayride, free playground...you just pay for what you pick. 

Mara was not a fan of the thorns on the strawberry bushes but the rest of the kids loved it as usual. My older kids, (especially Liam) were a huge help this day.  Liam and I took turns pulling the wagon, getting waters from the van, playing with the girls on the playground, and he held Milla on the hayride. 

I love days like this with my children so much.  It was much needed after how crazy things have been around here getting our house sold and packed. 

The girls took a short nap that afternoon since they fell asleep in the van on the way home.  When they got up, I turned on the sprinkler and filled the girls' water table.  All the kids played in the water for a long time.  Jude showed the twins how to make mud and they were thrilled.  They were covered in mud!  They had a blast in it until all of a sudden they were done with it and wanted clean. :) 

Friday was another packing day and then I picked up my oldest son to stay the weekend with us.  I hurt my food Friday morning which really was awful.  I think I sprained two of my toes and spent all day Friday and Saturday in horrible pain.  It's feeling a lot better as of today (Sunday) thankfully.

Saturday was a full day of packing and loading the moving truck.  We have one week until we need to be moved out and we still have so much to do.  I hit 28 weeks in my pregnancy on Saturday as well.  So thankful for a healthy pregnancy so far and hoping to make it another 10 weeks at least like I did with my girl twins. 

And that sums up our week. I'm exhausted physically and mentally from everything going on with this move and am very ready to have everything packed and be out of here. 

I'm going to work on getting a MOVING UPDATE blog post done this week to share what's happening and answer some more questions I've been getting. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful week!

xo, 

Lauren 

WHY ARE WE MOVING TO AN RV?

 

We are planning on listing our home NEXT WEEK!

I am slightly (a lot) overwhelmed by all the things that need done prior to listing but my husband is confident we can get it all done by then.  

This past weekend we made our first trip to a storage unit and dropped off things we will need in the RV but are able to do without for a few weeks while we wait for the house to sell.  We also took things that we want to keep for when we eventually build a home but can not fit into the RV.

It was one more step taking us closer to our goal or getting our home sold and beginning our RV adventure.

I have seen the inside of RVs before and know they are not huge.  I have tried to be careful of what I'm planning on taking into the RV but I am 100% positive I will be going back through all the RV boxes, plus what we still have in our house and downsizing even more. 

This is not an easy process but I am excited about what this all means for us. 

I've had a lot of questions from people about our transitioning to an RV, so I thought I would answer the first question I get most often today...

 "Why are you moving to an RV"?

We want land and to eventually build our dream home.  

We currently have a small yard and we're just not happy with having so little land and being so close to neighbors.  We want animals, space for our kids to roam, woods, pastures, lots of space to garden, etc.  

A lot of people in our neighborhood consider the yard we have to be large ( .25 aces) however, we lived on 2 acres for several years and then our last home had 1.5 acres.  Going from that to where we are now really confirmed in our minds that we are not meant to be in neighborhoods close to other homes, with so little space for our children to explore.

The reason we moved to the home we are at now was to put us in our oldest son's school district.  I also thought that I needed a bigger home BUT this particular home we bought never ended up feeling like home to any of us. 

Doubling our home space actually proved to be much harder to deal with than having a smaller home. We went from 1050sq feet to 2094 sq feet.  I prefer the smaller space as it is less to clean, and it feels cozier.  But I also think that it's not so much that the small space is what's needed but the right layout needs to be different than what we have now. When we build, I am sure I will build around the size we have now, but the layout will be very open so that we don't feel closed off from each other.  I am so excited about what it will be like to design a home that fits our needs perfectly.

We had only been here a short time when my son's school went virtual in 2020 and he ended up being at home for a year. Then shortly after returning to school in 2021, he moved in with his dad full time.  After that, he was never with me during the school week but on weekends. 

This major life change left my husband and I in a place where we could move if we wanted to.  

Last summer we started making plans to get an RV and begin looking for land.  It's been a long process as 2021 was one of the hardest years for us in many ways.

But after nearly a year of planning, taking a lot of things into consideration, praying, etc... we are SO close to selling and finally getting our RV.

Other questions I plan to answer soon...

What type of RV are you getting?

Are you going to stay local or travel full time?

Where will you park your RV?

Are you buying land right away?

How long do you plan on living in the RV before building a home?

If you have another question, please let me know so I can add it to this list :) 

That's all for now! Back to cleaning and packing!

xo, 

Lauren 

FINDING OUT WE ARE EXPECTING OUR SECOND SET OF TWINS

 

I wasn't able to schedule my first appointment and ultrasound until I was 12 weeks pregnant.  I was trying to decide if I wanted to have a home birth or use the hospital.  Because of that, I waited to make an appointment.  I ultimately decided I wanted to use a hospital as I had with all my other births. 

I had developed a rash on my arms around week 8 of my pregnancy which was consistent with the rash I had with the twin girls.  At first I thought the rash was a reaction to the soap I was using or something like that.  But then it hit me...."I bet this is the same rash I had with the girls and I'm pregnant with TWINS AGAIN!!!"

I told Nathan I felt it was twins but he was convinced it wasn't. 

When I got to my ultrasound appointment, I told the midwife about my thoughts and facetimed my husband and kids so that they could hear and see what was happening. 

And sure enough!!!  It was TWINS!!!....AGAIN. 

I was shocked but also not shocked.  I think I honestly would have been more shocked if it hadn't been twins.  Having the rash, and the extremely high odds of having twins again just really made me believe it was.  

I had spent weeks trying to figure out how on earth I would manage twin babies again while having twin toddlers plus homeschooling three grades but once I saw the twins on the ultrasound all my worries really just melted away.

For weeks up until the ultrasound, I had actually been struggling pretty hard.  It was the first time in any of my pregnancies that I felt worried, nervous, an emotional wreck like....how am I going to handle this/what if it's twins again/I am exhausted etc. 

I was really in a mentally difficult spot and hadn't talked to anyone about it other than one other twin mother who has 7 children.  She totally understood and really reassured and encouraged me. I had never dealt with feelings/emotions like that after getting pregnant so it was all very strange to me. 

But once I saw them...all of that just was gone and I have been so at peace about it all since. 

Will it be a wild adventure having four children (2 sets of twins) UNDER 2 years old for a few weeks and then it will be four children ages 2 and under once the girls have their birthday in August???....Yes, yes it will be!

But it will also be wonderful and amazing and it's what God wanted for our family so I have total peace about it all. 

We are so thankful for these babies!!! 

And I am still trying to get used to saying "I am a mother to EIGHT children!"

xo, 

Lauren   

HOW I TOLD MY HUSBAND + MY SIX CHILDREN I WAS EXPECTING AGAIN

 On December 4, 2021, I took a pregnancy test.  It was the evening of our family pictures. You can see that entire session HERE. We had just gotten home, had dinner, and gotten everyone ready for bed. I was a few days late for my cycle, which my husband usually realizes I'm late if I am, however, this particular time, he did not, and so my handing him a positive pregnancy test did come as a surprise to him.  

I took it alone without telling him I was going to and then called him upstairs and handed it to him.  This was the first time I ever took a test without telling him I was going to.  

Funny story....a few weeks prior, I thought I was pregnant and took multiple pregnancy tests.  They were all negative because I wasn't pregnant yet, but I convinced myself there were two lines on one of the tests.

I showed it to my husband and told him I thought there were two lines.  I said "it's so faint but it's there!!!"  He looked at it for such a long time and tried to see what I was seeing but there was NOT two lines.  I was just seeing things because I'd convinced myself I was pregnant :) When I got up in the morning and looked at it again, it was definitely not two lines and we both laughed about it for a long time.

Fast forward a few weeks and a cycle later and there was the positive pregnancy test.

We decided to keep our news to ourselves for a little while.  I think I wanted to come up with some epic way to tell the kids but I think I stressed myself out with that.  Keeping things simple is probably just the best way to go, especially when you're a fairly simple person like I am. 

After stressing way too much over how to tell them, I finally was just like "this is silly!"  We told the kids while we were on our vacation trip in PA back in December. 

At this point I was about 5 or 6 weeks pregnant and still feeling normal, no nausea or extra tiredness.  That started about two weeks later. 

It was the morning we were heading home.  I told the kids I wanted a picture of them in front of the river that was on the property we stayed at.  While I was taking the picture I said "ok everyone say cheese" (which I honestly never ever tell them to do) and then said "ok everyone say Mom's having a baby!!!"  

My oldest had already guessed I was pregnant so he wasn't surprised, Jude and Alanna just stood there because it was very cold out and they didn't really process what I'd said for a few moments, Liam yelled "Mom's having a baby!" thinking I was kidding...

He then said "wait, you're having a baby?! Mom's having a baby!"  :) 

Once we got into the van and everyone was warm the kids started to acknowledge what I'd told them.  They were all excited and taking bets on if it would be one, two, or three babies.

Alanna and Ruy wanted twins, Jude and Liam wanted triplets, Nathan and I said "just one baby...there's no way we're having twins again."

On that trip home, I did start looking up the stats on the chances of having twins again after having fraternal twins.  The chances drastically increase and I did start to wonder if it would happen again, but at that point thought..."surely no, it wouldn't happen to us." 

.......

to be continued...

xo, 

Lauren 

Fall 2021 Family Photo Session

In early December 2021, we did family photos with my best friend.  I had hired another photographer to do our photos back in October, however, we used different addresses and ended up going to two different locations TWO hours a part from each other :(   My best friend was so kind as to fit us into her schedule in December to try a make up session since my photographer was fully booked until Spril 2022.

Mara ended up being sick that night which I didn't realize until we got home.  She had a fever so she was in no mood for photos and cried the whole time.  I wish I had realized she had a fever prior to going.  Milla cried the whole time because she did whatever Mara was doing :) 

So basically it was pretty much a stressful session because two screaming babies isn't easy to work with.  I felt so bad but Kim did manage to get some good shots despite having two super cranky babies and a few kids who wanted to run off the entire time.  Kim is my hero!!!

This also happened to be the same night that I found out I was pregnant again.  I took a pregnancy test after we got home and it was positive!  You can read about that story HERE.

Alanna is so good with the girls.  She has been such a huge help since they have been born. 

I never feel like there are a lot of us until we are all spread out like this and then it seems like there are more of us than I realized :)  Pretty soon there will be TWO more little ones joining this clan! 

Oh!  In addition to the girls being so cranky, Liam's eye swelled up on the way to the session.  I have no idea what happened but it was all red and watery. 

The boys are all getting so big.  It feels like yesterday they were just 8, 4, and newborn. 

Thankful for these images and the memories and knowing that our newest twins were documented for the first time during this session and we didn't even know it! 

xo, 

Lauren 

OUR 2021-2022 CURRICULUM CHOICES

 

This is my 10th year homeschooling.

That statement sounds so incredibly unreal and also amazing to me. 

I never thought I'd be a homeschooling mother.  But when the time came to put my oldest son into Pre-K and Kindergarten, everything within my soul told me "NO!"

There was a call to do something different, to spend more time with my child, to preserve his childhood, to be the one that was the main influence in his life, to be there learning alongside him.

In 2011, I began Pre-K with my oldest son and now here it is 2021 and I am teaching three grades. 

My oldest son is in public school since he lives with his Dad full time now but the rest of my children are homeschooled. 

This year I have a 4th grader, 2nd grader, a Kindergartener, and of course the twins who are our little distractions and also fun play buddies. 

This is my second year teaching three grades.  Last year was a big adjustment for me since I had never taught that many grades.  This year I am feeling more confident in teaching three grades but have struggled with having active little twins who are into everything and on the go non stop except for their nap in the afternoon.  

I am the type of person who likes structure, routine, and everything to go as I planned.  Of course, with teaching three grades and having two babies this really just isn't practical.  Yes, we can have a routine but for me to expect everything on my "to do" list to get done and to get done without any distractions is just unrealistic.  

I used to feel very confident in sharing my homeschooling journey, advice, and such but this last year or two left me feeling quite inadequate.  I spent much time comparing myself to other homeschooling mamas I follow on IG, wondering why I couldn't just be as good as them.  This of course if very damaging and not something that I should have done but it's easy to fall into that trap in the world of social media.

I recently spend a month off of IG and FB and did a lot of reflecting.  I also recently was talking about this on a post and sharing how difficult it's been to find a routine in homeschooling since having the twins and many of you were so encouraging and I can not express my thanks to your kind words. 

 I believe I am ready to let go of the extreme high expectations I have set for myself.  As well as letting go of the comparison and just finding joy again in my own journey; being confident that I am capable of teaching my children well and that the way I do things is what's best for us.

Homeschooling is such an amazing thing and I am grateful for it every day.  I want my children to remember their childhood as the most simply magical time.  I want them to remember the simple, mundane, every day things as beautiful and joyful.

Well all that said...here is our 2021-2022 curriculum choices:

4th Grade...

Math: Horizons Level 3

Language: Abeka Level 4

Spelling: Abeka Level 4

Cursive: Bob Jones Level 2 and 3

Reading:  My children read all throughout the day.

They read from their language reading books, our history and nature study books, 

as well as classical books/living books.  He just finished Peter Pan. 

Typing:  The Good And The Beautiful

Music: Liam will be starting guitar lessons soon.

Sports: Liam just finished up soccer for the fall season.

2nd Grade:

Math: Horizons Level 2

Language: Abeka Level 2

Spelling: Abeka Level 2

Cursive: The Good And The Beautiful Level 2 and Abeka Level 2

She wanted to begin cursive but also was enjoying the print workout she had, so she chose to work on both books at her own pace.

Reading:  Language reading books, Little House On The Prairie, our nature study and history books, and whatever else she is interested in reading. 

Typing: The Good And The Beautiful

Music:  Alanna will be starting violin lessons soon

Sports:  Alanna has a few things she'd like to try so we are looking into those for her. 

Sewing/Gardening:  I'm looking for an online sewing course for her so her and I can learn to sew together.  We also will be starting a garden together in the spring.

Kindergarten:

Math: Horizons Level K

Language: Master Books Basic Phonics and then onto Abeka either Level K or Level 1.

I also use Explode The Code

Handwriting: The Good And The Beautiful

Spelling: Right now we are working on sight word recognition and don't have weekly spelling lists yet.

Reading:  Bob Books, The Good And The Beautiful K5 books, and other easy readers.  

Music:  I will be teaching Jude piano so that I can learn with him.  I have wished I could play for some time, so I am going to try to teach myself as well as Jude. 

Sports:  Jude will be playing baseball again in the spring. 

 Together Subjects:

Our "together" subjects are all of our favorite things!  I love being able to have all the kids doing these subjects together and just adjusting what I need to for each grade.  Joined learning is so fun and makes homeschooling multiple grades much easier.  

History:  My Father's World American History

My Father's World World History (after completing American History)

We are on week 24/34 in American History.  I am assuming we'll finish this up in about three months.  Sometimes we take more than a week if we are really enjoying something.  Also, life happens and we take breaks etc. So we will probably finish up American History around the beginning of March and then begin World History with My Father's World.

Science:  The Good And The Beautiful Space

I bought this some time ago and we started it, but only got a few lessons in.  I'm planning on starting back at it this week though. 

Nature Study:  I am currently finishing up with Treehouse Schoolhouse's Autumn Nature Study and then will be going back to Exploring Nature With Children's Nature Study for the rest of the school year. 

Read Alouds:  We are currently reading David Livingston and The Hobbit.

We have read several other books this year and we will just continue to read through different missionary stories and Living Books.  We also read books for our history and nature study curriculums.  There are amazing books lists in our curriculums and I also have a huge list of great Living Books from Sally and Clay Clarksons homeschooling book Educating The Whole-Hearted Child.  I pick a new book once we finish one based on what I think my children would be most interested in at that time.  We are currently loving The Hobbit so much!  Our last read aloud was Summer Of The Monkeys which we all just loved!

Other:

Thanksgiving: We will be taking the week of Thanksgiving to study about the first Thanksgiving by just piecing together my own things. 

A Connected Christmas:  This is a curriculum I purchased from Treehouse Schoolhouse last year.  My children really enjoyed it and so we will be doing it again this year. 

 

Well that is our line up for the year.  We kind of homeschool year round so I don't really know when we will take our extended break in 2022 but I believe we should finish up our core subjects sometime in the middle of May.  I'll probably take a few weeks off a that point and begin up again in July.  

I am planning on doing another post soon on what our daily routine looks like on most days and how I'm combining teaching multiple grades. 

I hope you found this helpful.  If so, please feel free to share with another mama who is homeschooling or thinking of homeschooling. 

xo, 

Lauren