Best moment of 2015...........

used to be finally getting the support that my children deserve even though it took a trip to court to do so but that changed today on the way home.  The girls and I were talking about the new year ahead, and then I heard them both say this was their best year ever!  And they listed off all the things that we were able to do and accomplish.  There is just nothing better than that!

TWD.........

Looking forward to a new year, a new residence, and more amazing adventures with my kiddos.........

More DIY decorating ideas........

I absolutely love this life hack!

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Excerpt from Ladders of Deception.


......and then he stood there wondering how it all went wrong.  He worked feverishly day and night to keep his secrets and hide his lies.

How was it now possible that after all this time his web of lies would unravel and cost him everything he had....................

A few things to try when we move.........

You can find all of these on one of my Pinterest boards, Tracey's Place or Dreaming of Stuff and Things When We Move.

Interesting random info.........

Apologia Chemistry module 5.....

If you need to change up your review question format, check out Quizlet.  Complete the review questions and hit check answers, done!  Click here for the link.

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Holidays.....

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One thing we will miss when we move is.............

our adorable 3-year-old and 7-year-old 

little neighbors.  

Good thing we will still be 

close by to see them!

Guitar Hero Live is awesome..........

Smokey John Jones is practicing being symmetric......

Homeschool consulting.....lets give it a try!

As a newly single parent with two kids to support, I find myself trying to come up with various ways to make money and stay as flexible as possible so I can actually be a parent and available for my kids.

Someone a few weeks ago said that I really need to be a homeschooling consultant and thinking about it now, it just makes sense, right?  Why not me?

If you are a long-time reader of this blog you will see countless blogposts about how to homeschool, countless unit studies I have written myself, curriculum reviews, and school-related blogposts outlining experiments and great detail regarding the topics of study.

I already answer a lot a ton of homeschooling questions anyway, I give advice regarding homeschooling from my perspective when asked to, and I am half way through my 11th year of being a homeschooling parent from the beginning and while I really love talking to people and answering emails/twitter posts/texts/or blog comments, it is time consuming and like I said I am supporting two kids.

I am quite confident that I qualify for the job.  Just having made it this far alive and intact is proof of that.

My other qualifications besides being a veteran homeschool parent of 11-1/2 years include teaching in co-op for years and years, as well as doing admin work for co-op.  I am a professional proofreader and editor thanks to my medical transcription training and job.  

I have been there/done that when it comes to homeschooling.  I have used almost every curriculum there is.  I have written my own unit studies for co-op and my own homeschool. I have homeschooled on a budget and not on a budget.  I have homeschooled during sickness, during divorce, during complete uncertainty of what tomorrow might bring, through moving into a new place, and both my girls have made it to high school with +90% on all of their "standardized tests."  (Side note, I am not a fan of standardized testing as I have said many times.  I just do it because the law in GA requires it.)

I am also affiliated with some of the top names in homeschooling (see the sidebar on the left).

I have a very eclectic-style of homeschooling methods which include unit studies, project-based learning, nature studies, living math, Charlotte Mason, and gifted homeschooling.

If you are new to homeschooling, stuck in a rut, or just want to bounce ideas off of someone, please contact me through any of my social media outlets or via email.  You can also leave me a comment on this blogpost.  Let me know the best time to contact you and how.

As always, happy homeschooling............

~

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I think I might have a budding politician on my hands....

C16 has always be amazing at forming her own opinions and thoughts, and she is never afraid to express them.  A14 is the same way but not when it comes to politics.

C16 has taken quite an interest in politics with the presidential election coming up.  She has been watching media reports, following the candidates, seeking out information with regards to what the candidates believe in, and having debates with me almost daily about why this candidate is this and that candidate is that.  She has a phenomenal insight on these candidates, and she knows who she likes, why, and who she does not like and why.  At 16, politics was the last thing on my mind.

Cheers to new beginnings............

Finally able to get out from underneath this suffocating past and move into our own new place to start making memories that will last a lifetime.

New Year + new place = AWESOME!

Great go along video for Apologia Chemistry module 5. Mole Conversions.

My cousin Jeff doing another product print ad........

Wisdom teeth.......

I have a background in dentistry, and I type medical reports for oral surgeons, and when I tell people this, I hear the question why are wisdom teeth called wisdom teeth?

So here is the short answer and a little trivia about wisdom teeth.

In the seventeenth century, they were referred to as teeth of wisdom and by the time the nineteenth century rolled around they were simply wisdom teeth.  Technically, they are third molars but wisdom teeth sounds better.

The reason for this is that it is believed that between the ages of 17 and 25 is the point in time that a person reaches adulthood and is wiser than when the other teeth erupted.  Recent studies have shown that the brain reaches full maturity around the age of 25 so that makes sense to me.

Did you know that back in the caveman day, they had four sets of three molars?  The reason for this is because back then, they needed more teeth for grinding their food, foods such as tough meat (gross), leaves, and nuts for example.

As time went on, the human brain began to expand in size which caused the need for the skull to accommodate for this which in turn caused the human jaw bone to become more narrow to accommodate the brain. Thousands of years later due to changes involving the skull and jaw bones, we no longer have enough room in our jawbones for four sets of three molars, and the majority of people today do not have enough room to accommodate the wisdom teeth/third molars.  In fact, around 35% of people will never get wisdom teeth.

In reality, no one needs wisdom teeth.  They can/but not always cause a lot of problems for some people because these meat-mashing molars are cavity-collectors and cause periodontal disease on the tooth/teeth in front of them.

If they are impacted, they can also change/shift your teeth, slowly but surely, and cause issues with your bite.  Not everyone needs their wisdom teeth pulled either, and honestly there is no specific time frame in which to have them pulled if you do.  I had my wisdom teeth out at 27, and I type reports daily about people older than this having their wisdom teeth out.

That is about as exciting as wisdom teeth can get!

Finally, finally, finally a fresh start!!!!

Don't miss 5 Seconds of Summer perform tonight at 8 on iHeart Radio.

Read more here at E!

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Teen Wolf (Season 5B) | Official Trailer | MTV

Keeping your teens organized.

Teen + organized = not hardly.

Here are a few tips on how to keep your teen organized (or try to anyway).

There needs to be a place for everything and keep everything in its place.

Keep things where they go after you have established a home for them.  This is key.  It is certainly easy to just toss things around instead of putting them back up but it saves time in the long run.

Teens need their own planner whether it be a daily list, a digital planner, or a paper planner.  They can be as creative with this as they would like to be or as simple as they would like to be.  It really does not matter.  As long as things are being kept up with, there is no right or wrong.

Prioritizing:  Let them figure out the "balance" of their subjects.

At this point, your teen should know which subjects they are better at than others and which need more time.  For example, if they are not strong in math, then math should get more time.  They need to be creative enough to work this out on their own at this point.  It will help them later on when they have to make the decisions for themselves anyway.

Supplies are also important so choose supplies wisely since they can be on the expensive side.

You might get different colored folders, notebooks, and colored tab dividers for each subject.  This is a good way to organize things visually -i.e. a blue notebook for science.

Markers, highlighters, and colored pencils.  I love them all and so do my girls.  We have an endless supply of all of these.

So that is pretty much it.  If you can commit to these few steps now, this will help stave off chaos for your teen later.

~Happy homeschooling.......

TWD

Movie adventure madness.........

Over the last three years, my girls and I have been through a good bit of hardship but despite that, we have gone on adventure after adventure.  We stay outside the box.

As I mentioned the other day, they were both selected to be extras in an upcoming movie being release in 2016.

We literally headed out at 3:30 a.m. to get to the destination but my navigational skills coupled with Google destination directions only lead us to not only get lost and arrive late!(Hate Google directions).

I think there is something to be said for getting lost sometimes.  Makes it a little more exciting and fun in a way.  It all worked out fine.

We arrived on the set and checked in and got the instructions.  Did I mention that it was 29 degrees?  It was!  29 degrees!

We watched as the production team and actors did take after take after take after take................see where I am going with this?  They did at least 20 takes for every scene, no kidding!

Finally, it was the girls' turn so they did what they were supposed to about 20 times and then it was time for a break.  At this point, it is only 12:30.  Only 12:30 I say and only one scene had been worked on because of all of those do-overs.  The crew ordered lunch for everyone and luckily it was warming up by this point.

The girls did another scene and the production team decided they had enough daylight to go for one more scene before they lost their sunlight.  Finally after the final 20 takes, it was a wrap.  Finally around 5:30!

The production crew was fantastic!  They were very organized and talented in their jobs.  They made sure there was plenty of food and drinks for the actors and thanked everyone for coming out.

There were several kids young and old with their moms.  In my opinion, if you are bringing your kid out for this type of job, you need to be extremely patient, otherwise, you will lose your mind.  It is a lot of waiting around.

The girls quickly bonded with this little girl named Olivia.  They were holding her hand and taking her all around everywhere they went.  She was super cute!  Her mom was fantastic also.

Since saying we were in Augusta and at the Savannah River is not a spoiler, I will say that is where part of the movie was being filmed.  This is a beautiful place!  Breathtaking actually.

Hopefully, the film will be a good one.  The girls had great fun and learned a lot especially about having patience which is a good quality to have.

They are looking forward to the next gig!