Guest Post

Hey friends! You'll find me over at this great blog called, Simple Homeschool today...I am excited to have my very first guest post! Let me know what you think!

Kick off...school year 2010-2011

Fresh crayons, markers and glue are all stocked and ready at hand. The school room has been reorganized and cleaned. New curriculum, fresh paper, and sharpened pencils stacked and ready. All signs...it's time to kick off another school year!

We learned so much, academically and about each other, last year! Although I wish I could have written a bit more about the journey it felt very much like my first year of teaching all over again. Learning new curriculum, keeping the home going, juggling the needs of both kids and adjusting for the kids of "mom" putting on the new hat as full time "teacher" was a sharp learning curve for all. To be perfectly honest, some days were ugly. There were also days when I stepped back and said, this is the greatest job ever! Overall, I feel so blessed to have this opportunity to home school. It's working for us now and we're going to run with it for another year. I'm excited to present some new materials and plans for Brody and Collin that have been in the works for the last few months.

Let the learning begin!

Ahhh, Life With Boys 4

It's those panicked words, coming from the backseat, that will quicken any mothers heart;

"MOM, I HAVE TO GO POTTY!!!"

It's at those moments that I am so pleased to be a mama of two boys! Yes, we've graced the road sides from Portland to Salem making other travelers chuckle as they witness the little guys aim for trees, bushes and grass! So if you see a bush that is particularly thriving, you can thank our little Fischer boys for their contribution...

Ahhhh, life with boys!

Tropical Getaway

Right in the middle of our torrential rain pour we had here in June, Kyle and I got to sneak away to our little island adventure. Thanks to our family and friends who had the kids for a week, we got to sit in the sun, relax and reconnect. We feel so blessed to have had this opportunity.

Healthy living has been a focus for us this year. We are working on making it a lifestyle and have been keeping each other accountable by racing each other to 100 days of exercise. That's right, i said 100 days people!! We celebrated our first day there by running workout 100 on the beaches of Hawaii. That works out to exercising 4 - 5 days a week since January. I understand, to some people that's no big deal but it was a change for me in consistency and purpose in this area. Can't say it was easy but I can say that I feel like I am in a good routine. I have more energy, toning up, eating better and can even celebrate a good burn during a workout. We tried to fit in some exercise most day in Hawaii which I was game for since it often ended in a trip to Starbucks on the way back to the condo! :)

We didn't do too many tourist things this time. We did head to the Haleakala and hiked into the crater to the first cinder cone. At 10,000 feet, it definitely takes your breath away, literally! It was quite a hike, sandy and steep! If you are looking for a workout to work your back end...this is it folks!

The rest of the time you'd mostly find us laying on the beach, snorkeling, or enjoying some great dinners out.

Here is a picture of one of the five sea turtles that showed up every evening outside of our condo and a view from outside of our lanai. We went snorkeling out in front of our condos to try and find the sea turtles one morning but came up short. The next day we met another couple who said sea turtles are a favorite food of Tiger sharks. We decided we didn't need to see them up close! :)

Snorkeling with my handsome man!

Mahi Mahi...YUM!

Mahalo, Maui!

Mama Milestones

I fell in love with the crib the moment I laid eyes on it...dark cherry colored, beautiful thick slats, something of high beauty and quality...yes, that would only be right for my precious first born.



7 years later...Brody's little toes reach the end of the crib turned daybed/toddler bed and he was eager for his first big boy bed. I hunted down bunk beds and last night you should have felt the buzz in the air...the bunk beds were going up and the boys could hardly stand the wait. Oh, they were so excited!



As we cleared the room it was time for the crib to get broken down. It wasn't until that last screw was taken out and I crumbled into tears in Kyle's arms that it hit me - this marked an end of a season of life. Little hands and feet have grown, they are full of life and adventure and my role as a mother has morphed into something new...and my heart breaks just a little bit letting that go. It's a mama milestone.



It's a milestone for the boys too! They think their room is the coolest now...who can resist these smiles!

Ahhh, Life With Boys (3)

For Christmas, one of our sweet aunts gave Collin a box of experiments to do. He was thrilled. First and foremost, he pursued what they called "Sea Monsters".
It hatched...it's disgusting...and thriving!
Looked on the Internet today to find out how long I have to look at this thing in my kitchen window...
Triops have a relatively short lifespan of 20 to 90 days and grow quickly to their adult length of one to three inches. How large they grow depends on the amount of light and food they receive. After hatching, they often double in size daily!
3 INCHES...90 DAYS....DOUBLE IN SIZE DAILY!!!!!

Ahhhh, Life With Boys!