Home School Week

We have been back so school for a couple weeks now and have really got into the swing of things. We finally have it locked in stone enough that I feel comfortable saying that this IS what we do.

Every year, (last year and this one), it has seemed like the first week is a little like a trial run. We figure out a time that works best, what routine flows the best and how we will do things. The first week shows us what works best and that is what we do...of course leaving room for fluctuations in life.

With everything figured out and having Rhiannon start her Satellite extension classes tomorrow, I thought this week would be a great time to make it Homeschool Week on the blog.

Over the past year we have had a lot of questions about our schedule, what curriculum we do, how we keep home separated from school and all that good stuff. I'm always surprised at how many moms are interested in homeschooling. I am more than happy to show you what we do. What works for us.

Remember while reading though, what works for my home and my child may not work for you and yours. Every child and family dynamic is different. That is the beauty of homeschooling. We get to custom tailor our child's education based on their learning style, belief system and home life. Don't mimic someone else. It took a lot of research to find out how to educate our daughter the way I feel fits best. So come read, get some tips and then plan for YOU and YOUR CHILD.

This Weeks Schedule:

• Monday (today)- Introduction
• Tuesday- What she is Learning
• Wednesday- A Look at Our Schedule
• Thursday- Peek into the Classroom
• Friday- Back to School Pictures

**Just as every program and curriculum is not designed for every student. Home schooling is not for every family. Home school because you love it and are called to it, not because of pressure from those around you. Let's stop the mommy wars. If you home school, high five, you are giving your kids the best education you can! If you send your kids to Public School, good for you, you are giving your kids the best education you can!**

A Newborns Life

Seriously, has more than a month already gone by since we brought our sweet baby boy home? Time is a funny thing. How is it that it can feel like we have had Corbin forever but like he just arrived at the same time?

A few days after our little guy graced us with his presence, my good friend Alaina from Simply Sweet Moments Photography came and did some our newborn pictures. We went with more of a lifestyle shoot than the typical studio newborn photos.

I am absolutely in love with these pictures. Using our own furniture, Corbin in his crib, they really give a sense of who his family is. What his reality looks like. Alaina did a beautiful job.

Cannot wait to watch this little guy grow. I do wish it would slow down a bit though.

Party Time

Talon is a big bad three year old now. How does this stuff happen? When do they grow up? Lame-Sauce!

For Tal's third birthday, he wanted a Monster Party. Boy is obsessed with Monsters Inc. and Monsters University. Specifically Mike and Sully. Randall not so much. Dude's a creep. 

Since we have a brand new baby in the house, we went simple with all store bought decor. You can read more about that here. With so little effort going into decor, we were able to focus on some fun food.

When trying to think of what to make, I was drawing a blank. Until I remembered that in Monster's Inc. Mike takes his girly friend to Harryhausen's Sushi and it is all the rave. Bam! Theme of our food. But wait! How many kids are gonna eat sushi and my hubby may just laugh in my face when I tell him I want to supply our party of 50+ with an expensive cuisine. Fushi (Fake Sushi) it was.

As for fun, we went simply again. Games with 30 kids are too hard. Make all those kids the ages of 1-8 haha, yeah no. So coloring sheets and a pinata was all they got. That and the two rooms full of toys in our house. They were happy. I was happy.

For dessert, cake pops, cake and candy. Did I mention the kids were happy?

My brother and nephew modeling the cupcake frosting...

Once again, we were super blessed by everyone who came and the amazing gifts. Talon is set on Monster toys. He is thrilled. 

We will finish this off with a picture of the kids who came. You know, in case you doubted me when I said 30 children. Mind you, there were a few who were two shy to be on camera. Oh and the 8 who were busy nursing when the photo was shot. 

Not so Handmade

I like to create. It's no secret that a lot of crafting goes on in our home. It's also no secret that when it comes to parties, this mama goes handmade. From decor, to favors and food, almost everything is made by me. We do this for a few reasons. Handmade is WAY cheaper (if it's made by your hands and not an etsy shop), we like a personalized look and I love crafting, duh... yeah, I am 12 years and say duh, don't judge.

Anyhow, Talon's party was this weekend. It was NOT handmade. Not even a little bit. I was teased about that statement because the food was homemade fun-ness and so were the cake pops. To me, not the same.

It was hard on me. It saddened me that I was not able to give my little guy what I usually do. I know this doesn't make sense to a lot of people. In fact, a few people were rather rude about the fact that I feel the need to go above and beyond for parties. I mean lately there are blogs after blogs talking about how moms just need to stop. Stop with all the extravagance. For some of us, that extravagance is just who we are. It's a way we show our love.

We all have different love languages. we show and recieve love differently. This doesn't only apply to marriages but all of our relationships. If someone shows love to their children by throwing crazy parties, doing elf on the shelf and a million other things, don't be so quick to put them down. <---- Not a diss to those bloggers, just defending my own heart here.

Wow, this post was not meant to go this direction at all. I guess I needed to vent a little more than I realized. All I wanted to say, is that for some moms, it breaks our hearts to not be able to go beyond on parties. It is part of who we are. And that is where I stood.

Friday, as we set up decorations, my 3 year old asked me over and over "mama, you made this?". He knows mommy usually does. It killed me to tell him "No honey, Wal-Mart did".

As Friday came to an end and the food prep began, his excitement rose watching his mommy make Mike Wasowski cake pops.

He was thrilled once again to see the Fushi (fake Sushi) bar come to life. At his young age, he understands that these things are an act of love from his mommy. Maybe that is how he feels loved too.

In the end, I knew that it was okay that I didn't spend the month after having a new baby making 35 scream canisters out of pringles cans. It was not the end of the world that I waited too long to buy pool noodles and couldn't make the garland I had planned. The Mike Wasowski lanterns did not hang from the ceiling and there was not a scrap of fabric anywhere to be found but I did what I could and he saw it.

Being a mom is hard. Finding balance is such a challenge. Not judging ourselves and feeling inadequate can weigh so heavy on our shoulders. We can't let it. Sometimes we need to just stop and allow ourselves to breathe. We need to rest knowing that the best we can do is enough. We are still good moms.

Whatever it is that you are questioning yourself for today, know that it is okay. You are still a good mom. It's okay not to be the best at this or that. It is okay to fall short of your own norm. It is okay to not have the big party...but because you decided not to, not because someone else told you that you shouldn't.

All this being said, I still feel a little bit bad about it all. If you need to find me, I'll be the one eating store bought cake in the corner. I kid. About the corner. I am so gonna eat the leftover cake!

I'll be posting the party later this week. When our sugar highs are gone.

ReOpening Soon-ish

I love my jobs. The one as a mom and the one as handmade business owner. If I have to chose, it would always be the first. Getting down on the floor and spending time with my kids is the single most valuable moment in my day.

Up until this point I have made time for both. I have been able to balance pretty well. Adding a forth has obviously made life a little...busier. We also started Kindergarten homeschooling this week. My schedule still has room for sewing but just not the extent that Vessel had been demanding before maternity leave.

Out of nowhere my little handmade business had exploded into a 2 employee + myself, barely keep up with orders type of business. It was wonderful and exciting and fun. We stopped taking orders so that I could have a short maternity leave and it has been amazing. I am dying to get back to sewing though. Not like I was though. I am scared that I won't be able to keep up quite yet.

We have prayed a lot about the final months of this year. I am ready to re-open the doors but not ready for what the shop demands. What on earth am I supposed to do? We have finally come to a decision. The etsy shop will remain closed. At least for now. Until the end of the year.

I will be participating in two small boutiques. Like I said I want to be sewing. I love it. I am ready. I want my business to continue. Not at all ready to give it up. The boutiques will be local and I will be going simple. A few products I love.

Any products that do not sell will be listed in the shop until I am ready to reopen completely. No stress. Just fun.



So all that being said, if you were to walk into a boutique, what would you want to see? Be specific.

 

Is there a princess apron you would want? A quilt for your little boys crib? Our signature foldover clutches? Art accessories? We want your input.



As for the future of Vessel, we are not sure. The doors will surely be reopening. What it will look like is still undecided. We may reopen with just a hodge podge of products that I am currently having fun creating. Or maybe we will reopen as a ready to ship shop with a smaller amount of our typical products. Who knows, I may get a burst of energy or an additional employee and we will be back to our normal business. Only time will tell.

For now, you tell me, what would you like to see. For the boutique line and for the future of the shop. We always value the opinion of our customers :)

My second born

Wow, this week has really been one of reminiscing. A lot has happened in our family over the years on this amazing week.
 


The first was three years ago on this day. My first baby boy was born. A mama's boy from birth.



Over these past three years, Talon has grown and changed so much.



He is the silliest, funniest little munchkin around. The things he says and does crack me up by the second. There is never a dull moment when he is around.



He loves and snuggles like no other. He slays me with his hugs and kisses that often turn to wrestling. He is all boy. A wild child with a heart of gold.

My boy is three today. I might hide in a corner and cry. No more growing up!

The first year

Today marks one year since Little Man has entered our life. I remember the day like it was yesterday.

It all started with a phone call.

"Mrs. Murphy, are you ready?"
Uhhhh. yes!!!!!
"We have a 4month old baby boy, here is what we know...."
WE WANT HIM!
"Do you need to ask your husband?"
No. We want him. I don't need to ask. (Don't judge me people, it was my baby I felt it. Hubby understood haha)
"Ok, I will call the social worker and let them know there is a family if he still needs one."

Then we waited and waited. For two hours. Then the call. He would be here is a few hours. So we shopped.

He arrived. Not at all how you expect a child to come. A knock on the door. A child placed in my arms while a woman ran to her car, grabbed a small bag and a stroller. She had us look him over, sign a few papers and left. We didn't even know how to pronounce his name (we weren't even positive until our first visit 3 months later). This precious boy was basically dropped on our doorstep, it was so surreal.

You know that feeling when your baby is first placed on your chest? That overwhelming feeling of love? That is how we felt when handed Little Man. I loved him just like my others. Insane love and attachment instantly. It scared me. He is still someone else's child. He can still leave. But oh the love he will receive while he is here...and forever.

This year has been a beautiful mess.

We have had tears and laughter, sometimes both at the same time.
We've had weekly visits and then none at all. And then the same thing all over again.

There have been court dates and postponements. Oh the postponements.
There have been scary decisions made by a judge whose name we didn't even know. With a lawyer we didn't even know had changed. We have dealt with a broken system.

We have seen his first teeth come in. Watched him learn to roll, crawl, walk run and jump.
We have heard his first words. He calls me mama.

A few family vacations. Lots of fun days. Disneyland. Beaches. Zoos. Adventures.

His first birthday has come and gone. We have celebrated his milestones. His months, year and HIM.

We've watched him fail to attach. We have felt the heartbreak of loving a baby who was too scared of us leaving to really truly love us back. We celebrated a bit, the first time that he cried when we left. He loves us. We've watched him fall asleep numerous nights, knowing he was scared we would leave. We still have these nights. He is attached and sometimes scared.

We've been amazed at how early he learned so much. When he was placed in our home, he could roll to one side. Within weeks he was rolling and crawling. He started taking steps at 10.5 months. He started fully walking on his birthday. We are fairly certain he was walking behind our backs before then. He is a silly little joker.

He has always had the sweetest smile. It seems to get bigger and brighter by the day or maybe even minute. His full belly laugh will melt you but only if you can see his face, because he laughs so hard and intensely he often sounds like he is scream-crying, as we call it.

This boy radiates joy even through his struggles.

This year has been crazy. This year has been joyous. This year has been hard. This year has been fun. This year has been emotional. This year has been amazing.

Little man has grown. He has attached. He loves. He struggles. He clings. He fights. He brings laughter and smiles everywhere he goes. He is amazing.

We have grown. We have attached. We love. We struggle. We cling to. We fight. We laugh and smile. We are amazed at what God has done.