KOLE LOVES BUTTERFIES...poor butterflies

Kole loves bugs, worms and anything that flies. Today, at the park, he found a "butterfly" (moth) and decided to carry it around to protect it. LOL Poor little moth. He thought it was sleeping. I had to post this for Kole to see in the future. It's another funny one from our little lawyer.

FOR GRANDMA AND GRANDPA: TODAY AT THE PARK

Here are some pictures of Kazz, Brisan, Vinze, Daxx and Kole at the park today. We decided to grab some $5.00 pizza, a couple of 2 liters of pop and some bikes and head over to our favorite shady park.

It is July and that is the month I usually update photos on my blog here so these are the pics from today. I've added the new ones to the sidebar but I may change them as the month goes along. It depends on how cooperative the boys are on any given day I choose to take pictures. They like it most of the time but it can get annoying if I try too many times throughout the year. :o)


Which ones are your favorite mom and Dad?

Hi Brooklyn Jade!! :o) Send me some pictures of you and I'll put them on the blog with the boys or better yet, ask your daddy to bring you up here to visit so we can go to the Zoo, the Detroit Science Center and ride the People Mover after we eat at the Hard Rock Cafe!

4TH OF JULY AT OUR HOUSE

The 4th of July weekend is one of the best holidays for our family. That is one holiday when we know that we don't have to travel anywhere and the weekend will be spent with our own family having fun. We don't even have to travel to see fireworks!

All we have to do to see the best display is walk outside our back door, plop down at our patio table and look up. People all around our neighborhood let off "the big" fireworks at random for hours from 10:00pm on. We never know which way to look because the show is all around us.



In Michigan it is illegal to use fireworks that
make noise or leave the ground, so of course people do it anyway and we get to see some extravagant fireworks without getting stuck in traffic. LOL

I took a little video and a few pictures of last night's festivities. The kids were just getting over a virus so this is just the thing to bring them back from their fevering days. Brisan helped to light his little brother's sparklers and lit most of the fireworks this year.

Our yard was littered with casings. He had a lot of fun being "dangerous." We even let Vinze light a few this year because he is 8 years old now, so that means he gets to light matches and "be dangerous" now too. They love turning 8 in this house. LOL

Man, I just can't believe my life. How sweet.

ENTREFIND SATURDAY - MONKEY FABLES AND TALES

Entrecarders!

WHO DID YOU FIND WHILE DROPPING THIS WEEK?!

It's time for us to give out some linky love to your favorite Entrecarder of the week!

COPY THE CODE AND BLOG ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE THIS WEEK.

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MY EntreFind FOR THIS WEEK IS: MONKEY FABLES AND TALES!

<a href="http://www.icantbelievemylife.com/search/label/entrecard%20saturday"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206579252808421282" border="0" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_35a-iIjV03U/SEF8PqqQj6I/AAAAAAAACpA/OZOuNaLX238/s400/12EntraFind.jpg" /></a><span style="color:#990000;"></span>

MONKEY FABLES AND TALES

I do believe that most people have found Monkey Fables and Tales but for those who haven't or for those who never stop long enough to read this blog, you are soooo missing out. These stories, musings and random thoughts are the funniest reads I've had in many a live long day. I absolutely stop everything and mute the television when I notice a new post up at this blog. He writes exactly what he thinks with no apologies or holding back. I laugh my hiney off each and every time while my family gathers-round asking me what's wrong. Sometimes I have to shoo away the younger kids and tell them mommy is just having a fit because I can't share all the details with them, but you...YOU my friends...I CAN! Go...Go Now, read and enjoy. You will not regret it except that now you will have yet another blog that is a MUST read; but that's a good problem to have.

Who was your Favorite EntreFind this week? Be sure to leave your link below so we can come read about yours too.

LATEST & GREATEST WEB HOSTS FROM THE GEEKS

When I first began blogging my head was spinning when it came to deciding who would host my blog. The list of hosts seemed endless and there were more offers to review than I had time in the day.

I want to share this site with those who may have found themselves in just that dilemma recently. The "geeks" over at web hosting reviews have independently reviewed and listed the top web hosts available to date. We get to reap the benefits of their hard work at our own leisure. This is one very convenient way to find the best web host for any blogger's need and any business owners needs for that matter. I know my blogging friends and business buddies are always looking for the best web deals so here's a genuinely easy way to surf and save money.

Hope this helps someone find a great deal.

4TH OF JULY CAKE

After a day of family time and driving around with the windows down I came home today and made "4th of July Cake" at the request of my sons. It can be made many ways but this is how I make it. They always enjoy it and I think your family will too. :-)


1. Make your favorite brownies or cake
2. Ice it with Cream Cheese Icing or any White Icing that your family enjoys
3. Place fresh blueberries in a square to represent the stars on the American Flag
4. Place your favorite red berries in rows to represent the stripes of the American Flag. (We use quartered Strawberries)

5. Eat! :o)

I was tired and wind blown but the boys wanted me to put a picture of myself on the blog with "Mom's 4th of July Cake" so now you know I have no shame when placing my photo on this blog. LOL Hope your family had a wonderful 4th of July !

TOUGH PANTS FOR BOYS AND TEENS...FOUND!

Have you ever tried to find pants for a teenage boy that don't rip in the knees or tear at the cuff after the first wash and wear? It is such a pain in the wazoo to find a pair of pants that will not tear or stain the first day the boys wear them.

Well, lo and behold, look at what I found today! Khaki pants that are lightweight, fade resistant and TREATED WITH TEFLON for stain resistance! Not only that, they are the stylish kind that have the zip-off legs the boys like so much. I'd pay good money for those my friends. They would last and last and I would actually have hand me downs to pass to the younger boys as they grow!

Where I found them might throw you for a loop. They are made for federal, state and local law enforcement officials! They are the 5.11 Tactical pants! Yep, tactical...that's what I said. They don't look like it, do they? Now you KNOW they are tough!

I've been perusing this site andI'm liking it more and more as I flip through it. It's not just guns and ammo, that's for sure. I have to say, any mom of active, teen boys may want to take a peek.

HOMESCHOOLING EQUALS PATIENCE? or ANSWERS TO RANDOM STRANGERS ABOUT HOMESCHOOLING

Imagine yourself in this situation. You are a normal everyday parent. You believe in God or you don't. You send your children to public school or private school. You are living your life as normal as the next fella when circumstances arise and you find yourself making a decision you never thought you would have to ponder. You are deciding whether or not to homeschool your child(ren).

It may be that your child is having difficulty with rules and regulations at school. It may be that your public or private school has shut down. It may be that you or your spouse is now working afternoons and will never be able to see the kids. It may be because you found out that your child can go to college early if they homeschool but whatever reason, here you are contemplating Home Education of all things!

You are a normal gal or guy. You never really gave it much thought before now but the more you look into the idea the more you see that there are other normal people, just like yourself, who are having a wonderful time with this kind of lifestyle.

You jump in with both feet and begin your new life. You are enjoying the kids, though freaking out a little that YOU have decided to do this but other than that things are going along smoothly. Then IT happens. You and your children are minding your own business at the grocery store, park, field trip, zoo, museum, nature hike, play date, Science Center, or some other random social activity when a complete stranger says, "Why aren't they in school? Did the school have a day off today?"

You are now staring at a random stranger contemplating your response. For the very first time you get to say (or have to say) "We homeschool."

You are about to experience the wonder and awe of the human mind. You are about to witness ignorance at its best and you don't even know it. That random stranger will say one of the following statements and you...YOU...will stand there stammering...wishing you had a response but you won't. Why? Because you did not realize that you are now one of us.

You are now considered "Not Normal" dunn...dunnn. dunnnn

To other people you have morphed into whatever that specific person's idea of a homeschooler happens to be. YOU are ...gasp..."abnormal!"

Some people are nice and understand homeschooling and ask questions out of legitimate inquiry but some people are flat rude, judgmental, nasty and they...need a jolt! Here are some answers you may wish you have said. These are answers I've actually used...some I shouldn't have but there you go.

Read them. Memorize them, ponder your own answers, because I happen to know you WILL need them at one point or another. Some are funny but most are just boring and true. :o)

Hope you Enjoy.

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HOMESCHOOLING ANSWERS TO RANDOM RUDE STRANGERS

Random Stranger: "Why aren't your children in school today? Did the school have a day off?"
You: "We homeschool."

1.
RS: "I don't have the patience for that. You must be a saint."
You: "If you are doing homework 2 to 3 hours a night, you're already doing it. We don't have to force our kids to learn it all by the "test date." We don't have to answer to a teacher. We get to take as much time as we want to teach our children the subject. Who's more stressed? Parenting takes patience. Homeschooling just takes time."

2.
RS: "Is that legal?"
You: "Yes."

3.
RS: "Do you have a teaching degree?"
You: "Do you have one? You are teaching your children every night when they bring homework to your home or does your children's school have courses for parent's to take that will give them a degree to teach their own children?"

4.
RS: "Do you have a teaching degree?"
You: "Do you have hemorrhoids?"
(rude personal question begets rude personal question)

5.
RS: "What gives you the right to do that?"
You: "Their birth certificate."

6.
RS: "What about Socialization?"
You: "Between sports, camp, clubs, homeschool organizations and field trips we've decided we're going to have to cut back. I just have to decide where."

7.
RS: "What about Socialization?"
You: "They weren't allowed to talk in class for 7 hours a day and only had 3 minutes between classes to chat, so we thought we'd take them out of that situation in the hope to teach them to socialize."

8.
RS: "What about College."
You: "I know what you're thinking. You've heard about Harvard and Yale grabbing homeschoolers left and right and that colleges are now recruiting homeschoolers but we're not going to push that in our family. We're just going to send them to the local community college when they turn fourteen like many homeschooling families do. That way they can graduate homeschool with an associate degree when they are eighteen."

9.
RS: "You can't possibly teach them Algebra and Chemistry!"
You: "Do you remember your Algebra and Chemistry?"

10.
RS: "You can't possibly teach them Algebra and Chemistry!"
You: "That's what the community college is for." or "That's what our Co-Op is for." or "That's what tutors are for." or. "Sure I can." or ...you get the drift

11.
RS: "You are abandoning our public schools! It's our responsibility to fix the schools."
You: "Are you saying private schools need to fold also? Don't you think that monopolies, even in education, are bad for the consumer? The educational success in the homeschooling movement will invite the the public schools to take a look at the successful educational ideas and maybe they will implement their findings to improve the quality of education for the children who have to attend there. In the meantime, we'll raise our children while the schools sort out their own issues."

12.
RS: "Why would you want to shelter your children like that?!"
You: "Shelter them as in keeping them in the same class with the same kids for 13 years, day after day, year after year or do you mean Shelter Them as in bringing them out of that situation so they can work in the community, play in the community, serve in the community, and explore the community year after year, day after day for thirteen years? We don't have a horse and buggy my friend. I know how to drive and they do get out of the house daily, unlike most children who have a field trip once a year."

13.
RS: "Oh" (snarky look)
You: "p, q, r, s, t... was that a test or...?"

Got any more questions and answer homeschooler?
I'd love to hear them.

TODAY'S HOMESCHOOL FREEBIE: K THRU 12 CURRICULUM

TODAY'S HOMESCHOOL FREEBIE IS...

OLD FASHIONED EDUCATION CURRICULUM

This site is a no nonsense blast from the past FREE curriculum for ages Kindergarten - Senior year. You may need to use your local library for some of the books but it is absolutely feasible that all of the schooling needed for a well rounded education can be done using only this site. Some planning and fiddling will have to be done but what curriculum doesn't need some time management and focus?

There is a Yahoo group to help with any questions. This is one of my better finds if I do say so myself. :o)
HAPPY FREE HOMESCHOOLING!

WIMBLEDON ON DEMAND...POINT!

The Wimbledon Tennis Matches are very exciting to watch. It never fails to amaze me how powerful the matches can be and how quickly points are scored as victory and defeat strike with a vengeance. I'm always thrilled when I am flipping through channels and randomly find Wimbledon matches on television. I feel like I've hit the "random channel surfing" jackpot.

There is a problem for us Wimbledon fans. The timing of the Wimbledon Tennis Matches and the number of matches in general make it practically impossible to watch the full gamut of Wimbledon. I would have to put my life on hold and search vehemently to watch all of the matches when they air on television. That is not an option, but I do have options available that will work!

Wimbledon LIVE and MediaZone are features available to watch the Wimbledon Tennis Matches on demand. The MediaZone option in particular has archived Wimbledon Tennis Matches ready and waiting for viewing. I can sit back, relax and watch all the matches in my own personal time. Ahhh... relaxation and time at my fingertips.




Now I can watch daily highlights on youtube, enjoy their interviews, learn all the newcomers names, watch their tennis style and root for the underdog at my leisure! Life is good.