Our Ozark Adventure

We just returned from a 5 day trip to Branson, MO in the Ozark Mountains. We drove our new travel trailer there and stayed at America's Best Campground. It was a great campground in a convenient location - close to everything but not right in the middle of the noise and busyness of town. This was our first time there, and we the vacation was fabulous. We had some thrilling rides, saw some music shows, and visited a couple of museums.

We spent a day at Table Rock Lake with Corey's family. Corey got to ski, and we all tubed behind the boat. Luke even cooperated, kept his lifejacket on, and didn't jump off the boat. The boys saw some advertisements for the Track Family Fun Parks, so we rode go-carts on a wooden track that had many levels, twists, and turns. They also played mini-golf and laser tag. For most of us our favorite activity was ziplining. Two guides helped us ride 7 different zip lines and 3 rope bridges. Nick and Michael were a little scared at first, but quickly decided it was fun.

Even though the temperatures were in the 90's (while back at home they were well over 100) it was still hot, so we also needed some indoor, air conditioned activities. The Titanic museum was full of stories and artifacts from the ship. It came with an audio tour that helped explained everything. The Dinosaur museum had some really neat exhibits. Michael and Luke especially liked it there. We went to Mass on Sunday at Our Lady of the Lake, and Zack spotted a family there from our own parish!

Branson is known as the music capital of the world, so we had to see some shows. Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede kept the whole family entertained. We had a delicious 4 course meal that was choreographed into the show. There were lots of horses, buffalo, and pigs, and the waiters and waitresses were dressed as Civil War soldiers. We also went to the Eagles Tribute and the John Denver Tribute. Michael and Luke both fell asleep during the Eagles, even with the loud music! We had front row seats for John Denver, and the kids got to get up on stage and get bags of candy. Finally we saw Noah the Musical at the Sight and Sounds theater. We enjoyed the many animals on the ark that were live.

Branson is a wonderful place for families. It is easy to get around, and there is something for everyone. There were more activities we would like to have done, but we ran out of time and reached our budget. I would love to take another vacation there someday!

Cry It Out?

I thought I would have more time to post regularly in the summer, but clearly that has not been the case. We have been busy with summer camps, the water park, and going out of town for a funeral. And I've been trying to get the house in order (as much as possible with 4 kids under the roof).
Anyway, earlier this week I read a post on Facebook about whether or not a mom should let her little boy (2 years old) cry himself to sleep in his own bed so he would stop sleeping in his parents' bed. Many well meaning friends commented encouraging her to "stay strong" and not to "give in". There are many books that explain how to get your kids to sleep by themselves, most of which involve letting them cry it out. The reality is that the U.S. is one of the few countries where babies sleeping in their parents' bed is looked down on and discouraged. And so there are also many books and doctors that encourage co-sleeping and explain the benefits.
We have always had our babies in our bed. Our oldest was a horrible sleeper and we were exhausted. Once we put him in our bed at night, we were all sleeping better. I found it easier to nurse in the middle of the night since I didn't have to get out of the bed. In general I am against the cry it out approach. We managed with one of ours to get him to sleep in his own bed all night, and he only cried a few minutes. That was no big deal, and it did make our lives easier to have a good sleeper. What I don't like is when parents are convinced that the cry it out approach is the only way to go just because their friends and family have convinced them that the baby does not belong in their bed. Babies are all different with their own personalities, and some naturally need more contact (some need constant contact) with their parents. Some don't have any trouble sleeping in their own beds and seem to "sleep throught the night" from the beginning. When babies cry alone in their cribs for 30 minutes or an hour or longer it is heart wrenching for the parents, and to me it is not worth it.
Of course when babies turn into toddlers many parents just want their bed back to themselves, and I understand that. All of ours just simply moved out to their own beds when they were ready. Now that we have a toddler again (who starts out in his pack and play and moves to our bed when he wakes up) and looking back on that time with our older ones I wouldn't have changed a thing. We had some precious times snuggling with our babies, and in the blink of an eye they are too big and don't want to snuggle anymore.
The bottom line is that parents need to do what is best for their family. And this might be something different for each child in a family. I don't think there is any one right answer or method for everyone. Parenting is such a tremendous job that no one should be judged for how they choose sleep in their home. I like to say that as long as everyone is sleeping, and no one wakes me up, I don't care where everyone sleeps.

Conference and Curricula

Last Friday and Saturday I attended the Immaculate Heart of Mary Homeschool Conference for the second year in a row. Until last year I had never been to any homeschool conference. I figured I knew what curriculum I wanted to use with each of the boys and if I went to a conference I would just start second guessing myself and overthinking my choices. Now that I have been I wish I had been going for all of my homeschooling years.

There were lots of vendors with some great programs, and it was nice to be able to see and look at the books in person. I was able to find many of the books I need for next year. But what I found the most valuable was the inspiration I got from listening to the speakers and being in a conference hall packed with other Catholic homeschoolers. This time of year most homeschool moms are feeling burned out and overwhelmed. It was refreshing to be reminded of why we choose to homeschool and to hear some great suggestions on how to run the house and teach the children and stay sane at the same time. I know lots of other homeschoolers whose friendship and support have been invaluable, but at our church where we are involved in many things, there are only 2 other homeschool families who we very rarely even see, so it was encouraging to be around other families who share our faith.

I was hoping the conference would help me decide on a math program for Algebra and a middle school science program, but I'm still contemplating these. I'm trying to decide between Harold Jacob's Algebra and Teaching Textbooks. For science I'm really leaning towards The Rainbow, which is a 2-year junior high program with great reviews. What is holding me back is the price, but it includes absolutely everything - textbook, lab book, teacher guide, and all lab supplies. Then I looked up the absolutely outrageous tuition costs of some of the Catholic schools in the area and decided that an extra $100 for a good science program really isn't that bad. And what should I use for 5th grade and 3rd grade science? I have a few different good programs on my bookshelves, but there are so many others out there that I'd like to try! Luckily I think it is fun to look at different curricula, and by the time we begin our next school year later this summer I will be ready and excited to get started.

Not So Extreme Couponing

I've been watching the new television show on TLC called Extreme Couponing. It shows shoppers who are consumed with clipping coupons and come out of the grocery store with something like $968 worth of groceries for $7.43. My first instinct was to think that I would like to try to save that much money. After I put some thought into it I decided that kind of couponing is just not for me. First of all the people on the show spend 30-40 hours a week clipping coupons, organizing, and studying weekly ads. That's like a full time job. Second, they have stockpiles of food and merchandise that takes up quite a bit of room. That's fine, but much of it seems to be things that they will never use (like 800 tubes of toothpaste or 400 sticks of deodorant or 52 bottles of mustard), but they are proud to have it because it was free. And they have to pay for the coupons, either through purchasing a newspaper or ordering them from a coupon web site. Actually I've seen some of them who dumpster dive to find coupons! Finally, most of them have spent years learning all of the tricks to getting so many free items.
So I'm just not willing to go that extreme. I don't have the time or the energy or the interest. But it has inspired me to work a little bit harder at finding coupons, organizing them, and planning to get the best use of them. I probably spent about an hour clipping and printing coupons for my trip to Target today and for my Kroger trip later this week and then matching them to things that were on sale. I ended up saving about $20 out of $100 today, so I thought that was pretty good. I'm going to be content to be a not-so-extreme couponer.