Life at Oak Grove

Once again!   During the summer my father-in-law had repaired it but this time it smell smoke...  So the washer is unplugged and we are seriously debating about buying a new washer or buying a new pair of washer/dryer... Front load or upload?   Mmmmm!   Will we move or not?   That's the question really.  And if we move, when?   In a year, two years or more?

Our dream would be a buy some land and then build by design our own house.    Round around porch with rockers on it...  A dream of mine.   School room with bookcases - lots of them.   4 bedrooms upstairs with 2 bathrooms...   Basement finished with a pool table maybe?   Kitchen a bit bigger than the one we have with an island that has electrical plugs on it...   Lots of cabinets...   Big driveway for the trailer for sure.  And maybe a pool in the backyard?  And the woods for the kids to play in it.   A wood fireplace for sure...  Hardwood floors...

Hey it doesn't cost anything to dream right?    

On December 19th, I went in to the hospital to have my c-section...  and we met our daughter for the first time...   After debating between two name, we finally picked Jasmine...  And to be honest, it fits her perfectly.   She is a sweet little one who doesn't wake up a lot and let mommy sleeps a night.

 Some of you might want to take a peek to our new angel.   Here's some pictures...

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

The big is finally there!!!   Tomorrow at 8:30am EST the c-section will be on its way and the baby will be born soon after that.

Pray for guidance for the doctor and all the people in the OR, peace of heart for us, fast healing and no side effect (including sciatic pain...) and so on.

I will keep you posted on how it went and to present you our new little one.

God bless.

Blizzard day here!   TONS of snow fell on the ground and it is not finished but we need to clear the driveway so hubby is outside with the snowblower and removing that white stuff from the ground...   Unbelievable how much snow is on the ground so far and we are not even in winter yet!!!

The snow banks are pretty high already.  What will it be by the end of winter?

I just caught my eldest trying to go over the fence to go play with the kids neighbor....  I wouldn't be surprise that by February they might be able to just go over it... He is already able to come to the living room window to say high... Mind you he is pretty tall but still... It has been ages since we had that much snow.

People on the street are having trouble driving so hubby went to help them.   We need gas for the snowblower as well.  Somehow our containers ended up in the shed so we have to borrow the neighbor's.  Thanks goodness for a1 good neighbor.

Now I have to go... the kids are back in and they are snowed up!!!

Next week on Wednesday my c-section will happen...  So far I am the only scheduled one which means I will be more than likely done in the morning (hopefully early morning).   So next week on Thursday baby will be 1 day old already...  WoW!

My blood pressure seems to be controlled.   Yesterday it was fine.  But this morning I do have abit of a headache... so I will take it slow again.   Did a bit too much last afternoon and night.   But I had a great time with my hubby during supper at Red Lobster.   Delicious!

Got myself some new boots too!  Very warm and comfy...   I needed some to be honest since I discovered this year that my shoe/boot size was not adequate...   Got some orthotics as well and got my feet measured by specialists so that's how I know.  Go figure...  You go for years with a certain size of shoe thinking you are okay but really you are not.   Ah!    However, for boots that's another story... Boots are bigger and more bulky so my size is slightly similar that my previous size of shoes...   I got Salomon boots and believe me they are worth it!!!  

How many children do you have / homeschool?

We have currently 3 children and I homeschool my oldest.   My 3 year old is also interested in school and sometimes he would sit with us to work in his preschool book.   We are expecting child #4 with a c-section schedule for Dec 19th.

How long have you been homeschooling?

I started homeschool during the summer of 2007.   This is our first year and we enjoy it very much.

Have they always been homeschooled, or did they ever go to public/private school?

My oldest son has been in French Catholic school for 2 years before we decided to homeschool.  He did his junior and senior kindergarden at that school.

Do you plan on homeschooling until graduation?

Hopefully yes but I am taking it on a day to day basis.   So far so good... We are planning to continue next year!

Do you belong to a co-op?

No.   I want to take it easy for the first year and not put too much on our schedule.   There was one in my area but I think it is not meeting anymore as most of the families had teenagers...

Do you school all year long, or use some other schedule?

I would see it is sort of year long but we do take some time off.  For example, right now we are taking it slow with the coming of the baby and me having high blood pressure...  We are doing minimum schooling in the morning.  Also, we will take a break during Christmas time as well as most probably February.

Do you use textbooks only, or do you like to supplement with other materials?

We do have textbooks but we also complete with other things like computer software as well as devotions and outside activities.   This past Fall, we had swimming and gymnastics.   For Winter, it will be mostly playing outside and getting adjusted with the new baby.

Are field trips included in your school plans, or are they just family time?

I would say both - in September the homeschool association organized a field trip to Upper Canada Village and we had a good time.  We also go to museums in the area as we have a membership with three museums in our city.  This membership allows us to access other museums for free when we travel - which we take advantage!   Our trip to Toronto allowed us to go to the Ontario Science Centre for free...

Do you and your kids do crafty stuff together for school time?

No much... We will do something this week for Christmas decoration and we plan to do a Gingerbread Nativity Kit as well.   However, I am planning to introduce more crafts and sciences in 2008.

Would you consider everyday household life stuff ‘home ec’?

We already do!   There is cooking classes in a grocery store for the kids and we do cook with them at home too!   My oldest helped his dad to install Windows Server the other day and they learn how to take care of the household with both of us... They help with folding the laundry, emptying the dishwasher, putting the dirty dishes on the counter...etc.

Do you have any advice for new homeschoolers?

I would say to start slow with the basic to be covered and then when you feel comfortable to add more things in your planning.   Don't get discourage and take some days off.   It is a family affair and it takes adjustment for sure!  Investigate before diving in the homeschool...  We had about 10 families in my church and I've sent an e-mail to each moms to ask them questions.   A friend even sat down with me to show me how she schedule her day.   She took the time to encourage me.   Go to a homeschool conference before making your final decision.   Get connected with homeschoolers and don't hesitate to ask questions.   Read books on homeschooling - it was a great help too!   Be realistic...  some days are harder than others.... 

Do you have advice for homeschoolers with little ones under foot?

Encourage them to play by themselves but if it doesn't work take out the playdoh, the crayons and paper, educational toys related to their age, or even a video which they can watch without disturbing the older siblings...

Yesterday I went to visit my OB - regular appointment....  but I had the surprise to learn that I had a bit of high blood pressure which I never had the other three pregnancies.  However, it is no critical to the point that I need bed rest or be admitted at the hospital or be on medication.   So praise God!   But I still need to slow down, don't do too much and relax...  MMmmmM!   So no running around anymore...  No doing too much either I guess.

So if you read this, I would appreciate some prayers to control this and for me to learn to slow down.   We have decided to slow a bit the pace for homeschool since we have the feeling that Alexandre is a bit in advance... and I want to keep things until May or June.  He is more than half-way in his MathUSee and half way the second book for the reading program in French.... Can't go in book 3 yet since it is for grade 2...  So it won't hurt him to have a few days off - or weeks off I guess.   I will do a couple of things in the morning but not as much as before.

Gymnastics is finished for the Fall.   Winter session starts in January but since I can't drive for 5-6 weeks... well I decided it would be better not to overdo it.  So hopefully there will be space in the Spring session...

WoW!   My tree is up... First day, we put the tree up and then the christmas lights.  As usual I tested the lights before putting them in the tree and they were working fine.   Once up in the tree though... one set had the green lights not working.   Solution?  We decided to remove one green light from the other set.   Now our tree has only blue and red lights but to be honest I don't really care this year.   I don't feel like figuring out what went wrong with the set of lights.

The next day, we put the decorations in the tree.   It all starts with the memories ornaments - Halmark and Carlton Cards ones...  and also the photo balls...   and the regular ornaments.   Then I was thinking of putting the other Christmas balls in the tree - the ones we made with glass ornaments and paint but Jérémy kept playing with them and broke one.  So we have a couple in there tucked inside the tree in a way but not too much.   Somehow I feel my tree is missing something but hey... for the safety of my exploring child, I prefer not to put too many balls this year.  

Last step is to put the star at the top of the tree which is my husband job every year.  

I think the kids love it...   I do - even if it is missing some balls in there...  

I do have a few more ornaments to put in but the kids needs to decorate them with glitter glue.   I bought some felt ornaments at Micheal's and we will do them sometime this week.    Oh and there is the baby first christmas 2007 ornament that needs to be put in but I want to wait until the baby is born.   And I  know that this child will have a grandchild ornament as well... 

Some ornaments we possess are Super-Heroes ones...  I suddenly realized that we do not own the Wonder Woman ornament - and that there is one at Halmart this year.   I've send it to hubby but I am not sure if he will get it for me or not...   We shall see!   It is not his thing to be honest.

Next step: I want to do a Nativity gingerbread kit with the kids.   That will be something interesting to do...  I will give you more details on that one soon...