Homeschooling, a tough choice

I have been struggling with the idea that I really am going to homeschool during the elementary grades. I've felt pretty overwhelmed with my three kiddos recently, and the thought of finally being able to send them out the door for a while sounds like pure bliss. As I've been working with Ruth on her alphabet and phonetics there are times I just want to rip my hair out because she won't focus for 5 minutes.

Then I start to think about all the horrible social aspects of school that I observed while student teaching and think, "Really, I want to expose my babies to that stuff when they're 5?!" I also worry because I know Ruth would ADORE going to school. She is so social and I know she would soak up every second of school just like I did.

Then there are the days where I listen to will sing the ABC's in his room and listen to Ruth telling Will all the sounds of the letters. Those days are so rewarding. In an attempt to figure out what I really want to do I've been reading lots of pros and cons lists on the internet. Whenever I read about homeschooling I get such a sense of peace and a desire to teach my kids. When I think about the reality of being responsible for their education I freak out and get so overwhelmed. But then I remember that I know what I'm doing, and have done a good job so far. I just need to stress less and take it one day at a time.

Kelsey Richards has been a huge inspiration to me. On her homeschooling blog I found this article which really hit home with me. This is something I want to do. There really is a leap of faith required, this article helped me feel like this is something I really can and should do.

Date Night

We went on our first date last night WITHOUT Claire! It was so fun to be alone again. Also, I love sushi.

I'm also super glad fall is here, even though it's still 80 degrees in Twin Falls. I'm so excited for the holidays. Holidays are way more fun now that Ruth and Will are old enough to get excited about them. Halloween is going to be especially great this year because Will is obsessed with candy. It's just like that Jerry Seinfeld stand up thing where he talks about kids spending their entire day figuring out how to get more candy, totally Will. So Halloween should be a riot. Thanksgiving will also be fun because we're spending the week in Oregon with my whole family, and we get to celebrate Ruth's b-day while we're there! We'll probably be alone for Christmas, but it will still be fun to have the house decorated, listen to Harry Connick's first Christmas CD a million times and watch the Grinch.

Fun

Before I had Claire, EVERYONE kept telling me how hard having 3 kids was going to be. After she was born I figured I was super mom because the first few months weren't that bad. Things seemed to flow well and we were all getting along and happy. Well, the month of September wasn't that way at all. Maybe it's because I have been potty training Will, but something happened and I've been way more stressed out, and consequently I've been a horrible mother.

I don't want to be a bad mom, I want to be a fun, happy mom. So the past few days we've done everything that the kids have wanted to do. Yesterday we went to a park we've never been to, looked at toys at Walmart (also got some groceries), bought a toy for each kid at the dollar store, played chalk, read books, went to another park that friends happened to be at as well, and had tacos for dinner!

Today we haven't done quite as many things but we did go to a fun park we rarely go to that has an awesome walking trail surrounded by trees and tons of rocks and boulders. The kids got to do lots of exploring and rock climbing, and Claire was apparently having fun too! And we had a picnic.

Updates

First, I applied to be on the game show they're making of the app Draw Something, this is the picture I used to apply. Fingers crossed! Before Brad and I started playing this game, he didn't know I could draw, haha!

I wanted to use this picture because I think it is good, but it's too hard to figure out what it's suppose to be. (slowjam, whatever that is)

When I showed Brad this drawing he asked if I drew it, he still doesn't believe I can draw!

 Cute pic of Will

Don't know why they did this, but Ruth made Will a bed in one of the toy buckets and then read stories to him.

Fancy new church clothes

Claire has become a very talkative girl. She loves to jibber jabber. She also LOVES her jumperoo. And she finds it comfy enough to nap in too!

Also, I have to record a funny story while I'm thinking of it. For a while Ruth was really obsessed with traffic lights. If it was red she would want me to stop even if we weren't to the line yet. And the second the light turned green she would shout, "Green, Go! Green, Go! Green, Go!" At first I couldn't figure out where she learned the word gringo, then I figured out what she was getting at.

Labor Day Weekend

We had Brad's and my parents in town over the weekend so we could bless Claire at church. We had lots of fun all together watching the kids show off and playing games once they were in bed. Claire's blessing was really nice, some of the highlights include:
-being filled with light, having light follower her
-being an example to her family, especially her siblings
-having a firm testimony and faith
-being creative in spiritual and temporal pursuits, especially in helping others

The other major thing is that we changed her name to Claire FIONA Laws. While we love having "Clarinet" as a nickname, we felt goofy when we told people her name was Claire Reinette.

Here are a few pics of the big morning:

 Here are pics of the other fun stuff we did.

Bird Center in Boise

Feeding giraffe's at the zoo, look at that tongue!

Yes, we actually slept at the Red Lion

 Brad and I on a camel ride

Everybody but Claire on the camel:

Will's favorite part of the zoo was the kimodo dragon, they had a real one that he stared at for 10 minutes.

My favorite part of the day was eating at Leku Ona (a Basque restaurant), thanks Tia for the suggestion. YUM.