Basic 2015

And Baby Makes Six!

October 9, 2013 By Thaleia 6 Comments

And Baby Makes Six!

Okay, so those of you on facebook or who know me in real-life aren’t surprised by this, but some of you missed the “memo” we had a baby. You my loyal readers and new readers alike I would like to officially announce the birth of our third son and youngest child which makes four children. Today he is 7 weeks old! Sorry for keeping him a “secret”.

Still trying to figure out his official blog name, but for now we will call him Baby C-4! He was born on his due date way back on August 21 weighing in at 7 lbs. 8 oz. and measuring at least 20″. Yep, you read that right! The nurse could not get him to stretch out straight. He has red hair just like I called it. (More like his Aunt Amy’s than Lil’ Red’s!) I do not want to spill more birth details since I plan on writing a post about birth story details.

We now have Eldest who is 10 1/2 yrs., Princess who is 9 yrs., Lil’ Red who is almost 3 1/2 yrs., and Baby C-4 who is almost 2 months old!

We are Now a Family of Six!

The Good about 6 Family members:

1- We now have birthed grandchildren #1, #2, #7, and #8 on my side of the family. (Time for younger sis to add to the role:)

2- We make our own “party” at some local restaurants. This means we will get booth seating more often:)

3- We now only need another family of 4 to get group discounts at museums and amusement parks.

The Not-so-Good about 6 Family members:

1- We have now outgrown hubby’s 5 seater car! When his car bites it we will probably check out a used 8 seater’s since my van is over 20 yrs. old.

2-We make our own “party” at some local restaurants. YES, I listed it both places. While it will be more likely for us to get a booth it also means we may have to wait longer or call ahead. We may also not be able to sit with grandparents and friends as easily either. I’m sure other “BIG” families know what I mean.

3- Holidays and Birthdays can become a little more expensive if we don’t plan ahead and use coupons.

4- We now only have 1 “extra” vehicle seat so both aunt and uncle can no longer ride with us:(

My 35th Birthday Wishlist!

October 5, 2013 By Thaleia 2 Comments

My 35th Birthday Wishlist!

Wow, cannot believe that my “number” is getting that high! Now I will be heading to forty and no longer a young thirty! I thought it would be fun to create a post about my birthday wishlist. This list is two-fold. One for my family aka hubby & kids to know what I really want AND so I can remember cool new products or websites. I can always bump some items to my Christmas wishlist.

Herbal Learning:

My latest hobby is discovering all the useful and helpful ways everyday “weeds” ( I mean native plants) can help with common ailments. I grew up with the appreciation of using catnip, slippery elm bark, echinacea, comfrey, etc. Now as an adult I want to learn MORE and pass more information about herbs and plants on to my children.

I “cheated” and bought some herb related things which I really love like a few issues of Herbal Roots Zine for Kids! (they were on special a few weeks ago) AND the Herbal Medicine Making Kit. The kit came and it looks wonderful but I MADE myself stay out of it until we get some work done around the house AND after my birthday! It has been so hard to stay out of it knowing the tincture will take 6 weeks to make.

Big Ticket items:

Herbalist Training via Correspondence Course $200 and up
Natural Herbal Living Magazine’s Herb Box of the Month $40/month

Herb Supplies:
mesh strainers
cheesecloth
muslin bags
ounce scale
mason jars
amber jars for tinctures and small oil mixtures
The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants
Herbs(dried plants):
slippery elm bark
callendula flowers
red clover (wc)
red raspberry leaves (wc)
dandelions (wc)
plantain (wc)
My kids have been very supportive and helpful in gathering plants since Baby C-4 was born right around the time I was learning about medicinal plants growing right under our noses!

(wc= wild crafted which means collecting the herbs and plant matter ourselves and drying them for future use)

Seeds and Plants:
I think I need dirt and pots for the herb seeds that I have more than I need more seeds, lol! I think some really big pots that I can create miniature herb gardens in would be great for us. I also need to dig up a ton of unwanted weeds in our butterfly garden. I am saving seeds from our Evening Primrose plants but need to find Mullein in the Spring.

Nature Love:

I would absolutely love a weekend getaway at a State Park in order to hike through nature and enjoy the Fall season! I wouldn’t even mind staying in a lodge versus a cabin. I wouldn’t mind bringing all four children along. Maybe exploring a cave would be fun. I love the sound of leaves crunching under foot and the crisp cool air that require some layering.

MISC:
new jammies (lightweight)
nursing bras
fashion boots
winter coat (more modern and fashionable)
better 3-ring binder system for blogging
3-ring fabric pencil case for blog binder
funky and fun pens for blogging
TONS of post-its in various sizes for blog and menus
headphones or speakers for ipod

Hope this gives my readers a chance to get to know me better and my family a REAL LIST to go by versus the usual ” I don’t know what I want”. I may post again and reveal what I really got for my birthday as well as what fun I have using my presents!

What do you want for your birthday? Do you make a wishlist for your significant other or children? Tell me about it!

10 Reasons Why I love FALL!

October 1, 2013 By Thaleia 1 Comment

10 Reasons Why I love FALL!

1) Apple Picking– Fresh crisp apples and all the yummy things you can do with apples. So appealing to me (yes, pun intended!)

2) Visiting a Pumpkin Patch- I love taking my children to a pumpkin patch and a wagon ride to the field is even better.

pumpkin patch

3) Crunchy leaves- Walking in a tree lined path or forest is so awesome and sensory fulfilling. Here’s what we found on our First Fall Nature Hike!

4) Bonfire- the warmth and crackle of a fire combined with roasted wieners and s’mores. Nothing beats it for a nice simple meal or snack.

5) Wearing Warm comfy clothes- love layering and bringing out a forgotten vest, jacket, or sweater.

6) Harvest Moon- I love the show Little Bear and the Harvest Moon episode. Super cute and such a fun way to celebrate the Fall! Here’s a great post from Learning with Mouse!

7) Sipping on Apple Cider- Wish I had a way to make our own apple cider. My hubby used to know of a place that made cherry apple cider as well.

8) Fun Fall Festivals- so many great free or cheap festivals in our area that are family friendly! You’ve got apple festivals, Pioneer or History festivals, pumpkin festivals, harvest festivals, and Halloween festivals like Trunk or Treat!

9) Trick or Treat- My kids love costumes and I love all the post-Halloween sales! I tend to pick up costumes at 75%-90% off for their upcoming birthday party themes and future Halloween’s.

10) My Birthday- gotta keep things in perspective. I think I love Fall since it is my birthday season!

Big Changes Are Happening Around Here

August 17, 2013 By Thaleia Leave a Comment

Big Changes Are Happening Around Here

A couple of weeks ago…

I’m very excited and a little weary but big changes are happening at our house! Hubby got a call about a paid internship on Monday and interviewed Tuesday and started Wednesday. A total blessing for anyone who knows our story about job layoff and him being a full-time college student and his recent graduation. This wonderful opportunity will then lead to a full-time salaried job with benefits IN HIS FIELD! This is very exciting in itself that he has found a job with computers. So he is now an IT GUY, lol. (Yes, I just had to add that:)

Baby #4 is due at anytime which of course adds to the change of sleep routine and what we might or might not do in a given day. We still plan to do some sort of Homeschool Co-op with another couple of families but will wait to settle into a routine of some sorts for a month or so.

I also plan to teach Homeschool Art Enrichment Classes at our local Arts School! I am offering Creative Writing, Famous Artist Study and Famous Composer Study to begin the school year. We may extend it to offer other classes as the need arises. Please pray that we get a good group of 5-8 students for each session so this is a success.

I have still been scouring the internet looking for freebies for Geology, Astronomy, and Aviation for this school year. I even made a plea on facebook to our family and friends to collect some rocks for us and send our way. I will be posting about the Unit Studies and Freebies I have found- soon I promise. I will not keep you all from learning about God’s great earth and solar system.

We have posted about our Preschool Prep Series and hope to continue to add to it throughout August and September. I have also finished posting some freebie resource posts for Literature PreK-College, Before Five in a Row, WWII, Pond Life Unit Study, and Horse Unit Study.

So Much To Do, So Little Time…

December 23, 2012 By Thaleia 1 Comment

So Much To Do, So Little Time…

Urgent. Necessary.Wants. Needs. Something for myself. Something for the kids. Something for my marriage. Clean the house. Do the dishes. Fold the clothes. Work on college. Plan another co-op meeting. So much to do, so little time…

Yes, I know we all have 24 hours in the day, but why does it seem like some people accomplish so much and others do not?

So much to do and not enough time to do it! Have you been there done that and gotten a
t-shirt? I found out earlier today that my next co-op meeting presenter will no longer be able to present! I will now need to plan another entire pioneer homeschool event of 2 hours worth of activities.

Unexpectedly, today my husband checked his college email to find a bunch of “stuff” being left out and up for grabs. So we hurriedly pulled out carseats and called grandma to watch the kids. We arrive at school to find a blue chair, 5′ tables minus the legs and some lighting panels. With our kids always wanting to build and create stuff, we brought as much as our van could hold home. I’m thinking of using the lighting panel for an interactive art piece for Piqua School of the Arts, but not quite sure, yet! If the full panel fits our kitchen we may swap it out since it is cleaner and newer:)

Planning on going to a blogger event next week and remember I have a slow leaking tire. Call my dad to make sure he can fix tire while I am in town tomorrow near his car repair barn. He says yes. Call sister to make sure she will pick me up at car repair barn so we can ride together to our Thursday am homechool childcare job.

Kids at grandmas. Hubby in shower. Tables put away. Fan on damp chair.

STILL LOTS TO DO, but accomplishing as much as I can at lightning speed!

So this was one of those posts that just happened! tried not to over edit besides grammatical errors. Just a quick shot of my life. Wednesday September 26.

Found this draft on my editorial calendar and thought I would share it with you since it was never posted in September:) MERRY CHRISTMAS.

Basic 2015

And Baby Makes Six!

We are Now a Family of Six!

My 35th Birthday Wishlist!

Herbal Learning:

Nature Love:

What do you want for your birthday? Do you make a wishlist for your significant other or children? Tell me about it!

10 Reasons Why I love FALL!

Big Changes Are Happening Around Here

So Much To Do, So Little Time…

Footer