Baby feet

What I really want to say

A lot of people ask me, "So how's homeschooling going?" or "You home school, isn't that hard?".  Most of the time I say it's going great, or its hard a lot of days but worth it.

What I really want to say is:

It sucks. It's hard.  Most days I feel like a failure.  Most days I feel like I need at least four more of me to be able to get everything done that needs to be done.  I have three kids constantly wanting my one on one attention and there is only one of me.  Today I was playing Candy Land with Owen while wearing Kennedy in her wrap trying to get her to nap and answering questions Landen had on his math program. During all this I was really thinking, "I really want a cup of coffee and some breakfast...oh and I need to pee."

Today has been a day that I wonder what the heck I'm doing...and I wonder if I'm screwing all my kids up.  I just try to keep telling myself that I love them and I'm trying to do what I think is best for them...that's all I can do right now. I told Landen that sometimes I wonder if I should send him back to ps. Not for anything he's done wrong but simply because I don't want to screw him up.  He said, "Mom, I hated school then, now its fun. I love spending time with you every day."  I'm trying to tell myself that means I'm doing something right by him. I'm trying to see the whining and not listening for what it is, being kids...and not that I am doing something wrong.

So for today, we're reading...and reading...and playing Legos, and enjoying the beautiful day.  Tomorrow we'll go over verbs and adjectives. Today we need to enjoy the day.

O's room progress

Not as far as I'd like but...
The door is painted and on with new hardware.
The trim has been touched up.
A few new accessories have been added.
The closet has been redone.
Hoping a big trip to Ikea is in our future!!!!

Finishing

I'm not very good at finishing things.  My husband gets pretty annoyed by my ongoing 500 projects, all of which are 1/4-1/2 the way done.  Personally I think its one of my many endearing qualities...or so I tell myself.  Any who, I've decided I need to finish some things up. I want to be able to say, "THIS room is DONE."  First up is Owen's room.  Why start with a kid's room? He asked me to do it. Simple as that.

So far its been painted...twice.  It was originally a beige color with blue, green, and white stripes.  Now its a neutral "greige" color.  I'm going to touch up a few places on the walls and trim and finish the floor. Oh yeah, we replaced the floor with faux wood stuff but there's a few places I still need to add a filler piece too. THEN we'll be ready to get going!!  Patrick installed a new ceiling fan yesterday. I need to go take a picture of the old one really quickly before the trash men haul it off. U-G-L-Y and tiny and OLD. EW.  (ok, just went to go look and I guess someone hauled it off. Lucky them?!)

So on the to do list:
-Touch up walls (where L picked paint off...because he's annoying..)
-Touch up trim while I'm at it
-Repaint door, rehang, and add new hardware. Pretty self explanatory. 
-Install new closet doors. The old ones were broken so I threw them away.  I like to throw stuff away.
-Redo the inside of the closet. I want to add a vertical cubby area in the middle with two rods on either side.  This will give him more storage space for STUFF. I'm also hoping that the bins on the cubbies can serve as storage for his clothes. Ideally I'd LOVE to rid of the dresser and put some kind of sideboard/bookshelf (think Ikea Expedit) to house books and toys instead.  That would free up so much room in his room AND it would be SO much more organized.
-After all this, the fun can begin!! We've picked out fabric and wall art inspirations already!!! Hopefully this blog will keep me accountable and in line!

photography less than three

Ok, so I've been looking at photo blogs all night and I decided to link up to some of my favorites that I spent some time on tonight.  You should check them out. It'll make your day better.

First up is JHintze Photography. Jenny is a friend of mine, although she probably refers to me as that crazy chick or "girl who likes/comments/texts/stalks/ect every photo I post".  Jenny photographed our baby girl's birth and has been really helpful along our home schooling journey as well. Jenny is crazy talented and well..she's kinda crazy too. ;)

Next is my cousin, Brittany Dawson Photography.  She's pretty amazing! I haven't seen her in ages but I love seeing bits and pieces of extended family as well as her amazing work.  I don't know what she considers her specialty but I'm the most fond of her bridals and wedding work.

Eleanor's Eats..ok its not JUST photography but she posts a bunch of really cool stuff.  Food, crafts, ect, all with amazing photos.  My friend Emily (Eleanor is her daughter) is just starting out in the business side of photography but home girl has had mad skizillz for years.  If you live in the Chicago area, you should call her. Now...why are you still here??

Ok, some people I don't know.

Sarah Q: I have never met her and don't know anyone who has but I LOVE looking at her work.  I have spent HOURS on her blog and site...many times just to see all the pictures of her daughter, who is the coolest little chick I've ever seen.

Ashley Ann of Under the Sycamore Tree...she's crazy creative and I love seeing her perspective on things.  I believe right now her blog is mostly about adoption right now but she's always got new things going on and great photos to go with it. She also has three boys and a girl, which is always the family I said I wanted growing up. (I was CRAAAAZYYYYY).

Jinky Art: Located in Australia unfortunately for us.  I love how different a lot of her sessions are. The creativity and thought that goes into each session is apparent and whoever comes up with and finds all her props deserves a raise!!!

Bre Thurston: I don't know her but we both posted on a photo forum years ago and from there I "liked" her on facebook and continue to watch as she rocks each session.  She's another I could spend all day on her site!!

That's it for now...its midnight and I'm sleepy.