The Egbert Epic

Time4Learning Review

2010-09-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

The kids have been doing time4learning for 2 weeks now. They love it. They always ask if they can log on. Sometimes I even have to limit their use or they'd be on it all day long! We're more of an unschooling family so they choose whether or not they want to log on. At first, I was worried that I might be paying for something that rarely got used, but they've proven the opposite. It's been a good investment. The kids are very excited for the art lessons to be accessible! I'm sure Time4Learning will be great over the winter, especially when we're stuck in the house due to the cold! It's definitely worth it if you have the funds.

Time4Learning

2010-08-21T05:05:00.000-07:00

I’ve been invited to try Time4Learning for one month in exchange for a candid review. My opinion will be entirely my own, so be sure to come back and read about my experience. Time4Learning can be used as a homeschool curriculum, for afterschool enrichment and for summer skill sharpening. Find out how to write your own curriculum review for Time4Learning.

Heavyweight Champion

2009-08-01T12:14:00.000-07:00

Born into this world July 21, 2009; weighing 9lbs 11oz measuring 22 inches long meet:

Gabriel Ryan Egbert...

Mom and baby are doing well despite the traumatic ushering in to the world of a toddler...haha
I think I'd have to be induced a month early to get an average sized child.

Valentine's Day

2009-02-17T09:38:00.001-08:00

What did we do for Valentine's Day?

Jacob sent me flowers. Total surprise! Made me teary eyed! I felt special and loved!

Jacob and Ethan played Guitar Hero.

Not quite sure what these two were doing. But they were having fun!

We're not too good with having family traditions. So we didn't do anything special. The grandparents sent packages with the cards, presents, and chocolate (which they absolutely loved). So we don't usually buy them anything. I did take the kids to the Dollar Tree to get presents for dad. They were very excited. I'm sure he loved his gifts!! As much as an adult can love anything (toys) from the dollar store! For dinner we had a heart shaped pizza from Papa Murphy's.

Boy or Girl?

2009-02-17T09:21:00.000-08:00

Today we had our ultrasound.

We're having a....

BOY!

Now, if anyone has any name suggestions, please leave a comment.

Feeling Better

2009-02-14T12:50:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm finally starting to feel better. I'm almost 18 wks! About time. So, now my goal is to get life back on track. Try to get some structure in our day, which I find to be a little hard when we're all home all day (minus Jacob). Nothing making us stay structured. Sometimes I wake up and just don't feel like doing much or making the kids do much. Which is the glory of homeschooling. We can do what we want when we want. But occasionally it can be too easy of an excuse for me to be lazy and unstructured. Especially when I'm not feeling 100%.

Ok, so while I'm doing this I'm listening to Sierra and Adam play with stuffed animals in the other room. Sierra was just grunting, 'Don't argue! You need to share.' Hmmm, can you tell what mom's been saying a lot lately?! I'm surprised I didn't hear her say, 'you guys are driving me crazy with the arguing!'

One last thing. I've had this twitch in my eye lid, on and off, for 3 wks now. It's driving me absolutely crazy!!!!!!!!!! Anyone have any advice?! Vitamin deficiency? Old age? Eyes going bad? Not enough chocolate?

Movie Review

2009-02-14T12:35:00.000-08:00

Last night Jacob and I watched the 4th Indiana Jones. I'm not a huge fan of action films. If I never saw them, I don't feel I'd be missing anything. I don't like to be scared or anxious while watching a movie. So, I usually complain if Jacob gets a movie of such genre. But he always makes me watch it and tells me I'll end up liking it (which I usually do but just say 'yeah, it was OK'). So, I thought Indiana Jones 4 was going to be like Mummy or something- wasn't interested in scary live mummies chasing people (of course, I've never seen that movie and don't plan on it ever!). Well, I guess it's been so long since I watched an Indiana Jones movie and in the 80's I was young, I thought it would be scary. Far from it. Boardered on ridiculous/funny. Sword fights on the hood of cars, while they're driving through the rain forest...never once losing they're balance. The only part I covered my eyes for were the very gross humongo ants that devoured people. Thought I'd puke! Overall, the movie was entertaining. I enjoyed it in a 'that so can't happen' /dumb=funny sort of way.

Radio

2009-01-31T20:55:00.001-08:00

So, a couple of nights ago Jacob and I were snuggling on the couch listening to the radio(what one does when we have no TV stations). Some classic station talking. Some guy was on sing talking funny things. Anyway...to the point... He talked about how some restaurants are small and one half is for smokers and the other half for non smokers (always hate those kindof restaurants!), then he said it was like having a public pool that has a section for pee'ers. HA! totally made me laugh! And the way I've been feeling I needed a good laugh!

Minus 1

2009-01-28T07:51:00.000-08:00

I guess the stick figure picture of my family is no longer correct. We are now minus 1 dog. Sorry Kelty but you were the only member of the family that could be given away with out tears! With #4 on the way, the amount of dog hair on the floor, on our clothes, and yes even sometimes in our food...I just couldn't do it anymore! Besides the fact that every time I looked at her I felt guilty!! She's a Lab and needs exercise. The one thing that I was the only one to do anything about, and didn't ever give her enough of! Jacob and I just got to the point where we just didn't like having her around. I hated feeling guilty all the time and I couldn't stand it when she got in to the trash or any food. And boy could she find any food that might have been left around. Drove me crazy! So, we wanted to give her a better life. Owners who would love her, exercise her, pet her, spend time with her. Now she's someone else's dog that I'm sure gives her all that stuff. Plus she has a dog pal to hang with when no one's home. It was a little hard to give her up. I felt like a dog owner loser. We've had her since she was a puppy-4 1/2 yrs! But, I must admit that I don't miss her, the everyday guilt is gone, and I seem more peaceful. I was prone to let Kelty be the brunt of my frustration and she was the one that would get yelled at. The only thing I miss is the kitchen floor isn't magically void of food and crumbs anymore :(

So, there you have it. We're just not the dog lovers we thought we were!

Some whine with that cheese?

2009-01-27T12:28:00.000-08:00

If I hear another whinny voice I'll probably scream! Adam has a cold and hates having a wet nose. Every 5 minutes he comes to me, whining, that he needs a "blesshew" (aka tissue). The blesshew word is way cute, but him whining telling me I need to go get him one and blow his nose is getting real old. Every time we have the same talk, "You bring me the tissue, Adam, and I'll help you blow your nose!" "NO! You get it!" with all the whine he can muster. Of course I stand my ground! Learned that lesson long ago. Give in and all the work you've done must start over from square one. Anyway, guess I'm venting. It probably doesn't help when the kids get to bed late and are naturally prone to whininess when they're tired and couped up because mom doesn't feel good and it's freezing outside!

Viewers

2009-01-27T12:20:00.000-08:00

I was wondering if people I know actually view my blog. Sometimes I wonder if I go through the trouble of posting for any good reason. I never really know. The only time I get comments are when I don't post for a year. I started the blog for family but think that they've never even visited the site. Or do I just not update enough, so friends and family have just stopped checking?...

Anyway, just thought I'd add my thoughts for once to the blog. And these are the thoughts I always have when I go to my blog to visit others' blogspots.

Stephen's Lake and spray park

2008-12-16T12:12:00.000-08:00

Above: Ethan and his friend Jared
Below: Sierra and her friend Mary

Niece Kristina Came to Visit

2008-12-16T12:07:00.000-08:00

Random pics of Adam

2008-12-16T11:38:00.000-08:00

Above and below: Adam's 3rd birthday

Adam's new pose for pics:

But I want to touch the computer!

Trying to attract the fish:

Fishing with Gma Vickie:

Ice Cream!

Potty Trained!!! Yeah!

Spray park. One of many in Columbia.

He's good at it! Learns from his sis. Obviously not from his mom!

Our Subdivision Pool!

2008-12-16T11:27:00.000-08:00

Our most favorite past time this summer!! We went swimming almost everyday. Adam's surfer tan was quite impressive!

Sierra and Kelty

2008-12-16T11:17:00.000-08:00

One of Sierra's favorite past times...dressing up Kelty! Necklaces, bracelets, hair clips, the works. How does she do it? She tempts Kelty into her closet and closes the door. Kelty is her captive!

Missouri Storm

2008-07-20T21:01:00.000-07:00

The storm that brought these clouds was quite interesting to watch. Seeing these clouds, we were in awe! Not sure whether we should hide in the basement or stay out on the deck and marvel! Welcome to Missouri.

Happy Now?! By the way, we moved!

2008-07-20T20:48:00.001-07:00

So, as many of you know, we moved! Thus, the lack of updating my blog! Sorry, it's not top priority. This is our new house! We love it. I'm finally adjusting to the amount of extra cleaning and yard work I now have to do. The kids and I moved in April. Jacob moved in the end of June. Life has been hectic (to say the least)! I'm still not quite settled in but you all are begging for updates!! :)

Here are the kids. Ethan will be 8 in a month, Sierra 5 in 2 wks and Adam's 2 1/2 (and he just potty trained himself! With a little encouragement from dad (the peeing in boots and anywhere he pleased wasn't working for us!). In this pic they're holding the cards they made for Jacob's B-day in April.

The Love of Books!

2008-02-03T13:16:00.001-08:00

Every night before I go to bed, I check on Ethan and Sierra (I'm afraid that if I went in Adam's room he'd wake up. Heaven forbid!) It's usual, lately, for Ethan to have fallen asleep while reading (a new found love in his life that I'm more than willing to support!). But this night when I went in to check on them both of them had fallen asleep with thumbs in the books they had been reading/looking at! It made me so proud! I know, I'm weird! All 3 kids love books! Every night they're usually surrounded with tons of books that they "read." I just love it!

Can you say "Princess obsession!"...
I'd be worried, but I notice all girls her age are the same way!

Ethan's love for reading was fueled by the Magic Tree House Series. I could hug that woman for writing books that interested my son so much that he just couldn't stop after I was tired of reading to him! Now he'll read 4-5 chapters a day on his own. The only downside: He picks up where I left off and I never know what happened in between!
It's a great series of books!

Dress Up

2008-02-03T13:09:00.001-08:00

I can't remember for the life of me what she was dressing up as, but I do remember getting enough of a kick out of it to get the camera out! But, Sierra is definitely queen of dressing up in this family!

Playing Together

2008-02-03T12:59:00.001-08:00

I was gone at Young Women's Night Activity and when I downloaded pictures these were on there. They were too cute. I guess the kids all wore their Crocs and a backpack and were pretending to go on a vacation! Too cute! I love the one of Sierra helping Adam get his shoe on! She's so motherly that way to Adam. :)

My crazy plant!!

2008-02-03T12:37:00.001-08:00

So, normally I'd say I definitely do not have a green thumb! I'd describe my experiences with plants as a brown thumb because I seem to kill every plant I've ever had. The worst was a plant Jacob gave me when we were first married and expecting Ethan. He did the whole I know you'll be a good mom because you can take care of a simple plant. Well, that plant didn't last long!! But, lucky for my kids, I can't over water them and I can put sunscreen on them if they're outside too long! And I can understand their wants and needs better than I can judge what the heck to do with a plant. How much is too much water by the way?!

Anyway, for Christmas our Young Women's President gave me this plant. My first reaction was, "Great! She doesn't know my background with plants! Hope she knows this thing has no chance in my hands!" So, I read the instructions and did exactly what it said. They seemed simple enough: After planting, water as needed. OK I can do that. So when the bulbs started growing I was excited. Before long I noticed that it seemed to be growing several inches during the night! One bulb's leaves grew like crazy but the flowers all wilted away without ever growing and the other one's flower grew like the beanstalk in 'Jack and the Beanstalk.' Yet the leaves didn't really grow and the other flowers, too, wilted. Maybe the plant can just feel the love! Or maybe there's something really wrong with Riverside water!!

Here's the plant next to Ethan and Sierra so you could see the craziness!

Pool Party?

2008-01-28T12:31:00.000-08:00

What do you get when 3 families with little children get together for a Holiday weekend?

Well, the bath started out with my children. Then all the other kids wanted to join in!

7 kids in all!

That was the quickest "get'em washed and get'em out" bath time I've ever done!

Once there was a Snowman!

2008-01-28T12:20:00.000-08:00

Every Monday night we have Family Night. We sing, pray, read from the scriptures and have a spur of the moment lesson on whatever topic seems to come to our mind (some may call that lack of planning. Well, I like to call it letting the spirit guide us! :)) Anyway, the highlight of the night is singing songs. The kids love the song, "Once There Was a Snowman." Without fail, we sing that song every Family Night, several times. But it's oh-so-cute to watch!! So, we had to video record it for memories sake. That means, now everyone gets to join in!

Video of Adam blowing out candles!

2008-01-28T11:26:00.000-08:00

Adam blowing out the lighter before we could even light the candles was too much. So we had to get it on video! He had everyone laughing. We thought maybe we'd have to sing Happy Birthday in fast-forward to get the whole song in before he blew out the candles.

Adam's 2nd B-Day

2008-01-22T11:59:00.001-08:00

Adam's B-day was on Thanksgiving.
Did you notice that his "cake" is a roll?
With all the pies, we decided not to make a cake.
Adam didn't care(he didn't know better) but the older
children sure thought he needed one.Adam loved blowing out the candles!
He would blow the lighter out before we could even light the candles!
It was the funniest thing! We didn't even know that he knew anything
about blowing out candles.

Fall!

2008-01-22T11:39:00.001-08:00

Fun in the leaves!
(Adam was sleeping)

Skates!!!

2008-01-18T12:43:00.000-08:00

I'm so happy! I even sleep with them on!

(Well if it's not my skates then it's brother's Ski boots)

By the way, I'm wearing 3-4 shorts of Ethan and Sierra's!

Brudder's Skates!

My Skates and the drawer I love to empty!

I can't be happier!

Oh Wait! I can be happier! Skates, naked, and by the fridge eating!!

Last but not least...skating naked with 'Ditter!

My new hairdo!

2008-01-18T12:18:00.000-08:00

Kate, yours is definitely cute, but mine...well, at least it was done with love!

This is how Ethan and Sierra passed the time during family scripture study before bed. We're reading the Old Testament(we're in Numbers)!! 'Nough said!

Without Kate around they are my next best choice when I need my hair done. We all know that I'm hairdo illiterate!

Adam's 2nd Birthday

2008-01-17T19:55:00.001-08:00

A week prior to Adam's B-Day Adam got to open a present from G-ma Ree. Why? Well, let me tell you. I was in the shower one morning when Ethan comes bursting in, "Mom! Adam climbed on top of the couch and got his present down. He's going to open it!" Luckily I was done showering so I ran downstairs and proceeded to take the present away, explaining that his birthday wasn't until next week. Yah, I know! Empty words to a toddler. He must have sensed from the start that there were roller blades in that package(he's obsessively been wearing Ethan's rollerblades for weeks). He didn't even know it was his, let alone that he was having a birthday in a week! Anyway, of course he cried and cried and cried! It was more than I could bare (or wanted to at least). So I said he could open it. (Great! Just gave into his crying for something. No wonder I feel like I'm losing the battle sometimes!) Before I gave it back I had to get the camera. After I gave him his present he was so happy and laughing. That's this picture you're looking at. If you click on it you can see the tears on his face!

The minute he saw the skates he was ecstatic! "Skates! Skates!"

Here's he asking me to help him put them on.

The minute I got them out of the box he had his shoes off!! Ready for the skates!

Happy Adam with his new Rollerblades!

Stay tuned for more rollerblading pictures. The next post will make you laugh! (I just don't have time to post it now)

Ethan Snowboarding 1st time

2008-01-17T19:21:00.001-08:00

Last night we got a couple inches of snow. This morning when I went outside to see what he was up to this is what I found:

Ethan tried out snowboarding for the first time today. He did surprisingly well! So proud! He says that he's ready for a mountain now...well, at least he wants to try it.

More to Come

2008-01-15T20:18:00.000-08:00

Sorry everyone! I promise I'll post something...eventually. Hopefully even with pictures! Just not enough hours in the day!!

Halloween Oct 31st, 2007

2007-12-30T09:12:00.000-08:00

Just beginning the door-to-door journey for...

CANDY! This is the day that Adam learned what candy was and how to say it. You can tell by his expression that he loves candy! In the bottom picture of Adam can you guess which candy he likes best? "Dutter!" as he calls them. Ethan was a Jedi Knight (I made the costume!), Sierra a Princess (as usual), and Adam a Doctor. After one street both Adam and Sierra were done. Too tired and cold! And their bags of candy already too heavy! So Dad took them home. Benefits of living in a townhouse complex. Ethan on the other hand was determined to hit every house in the complex. Needless to say I ended up carrying Ethan's bag after a while because it was so full! Remind me why we do this? Do they really need all that candy?! Luckily my kids forget about there stash quite quickly and then it disappears!

Pre-Halloween Oct 2007

2007-12-30T08:26:00.000-08:00

The kids were so excited about Halloween that they had a pre-Halloween dress-up party. Wearing costumes from the dress-up bucket. It was fun to watch!

The Patriot Kids

2007-09-14T15:02:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from the homeschool group we're a part of. We call ourselves the Patriot Kids. We meet every Thursday. We all go to the same church, realized we all homeschool, and got ourselves organized. There's a total of 24 kids, ranging from 5 months to 13 years old.

Yesterday was the 2nd Thursday of Sept. We did drama, PE, and music.

For drama the kids did charades.

Adam (on left) and his buddy. Here's Ethan doing "Tennis."

After drama we went outside for PE. We played Red Rover.

Then we all went inside for music. The kids danced to music, learned how the piano makes a sound, and listened to, looked at books, and colored pictures about Chopin.

Ethan and the boy in the red shirt are friends. Parker homeschools and lives just down the street. They play together everyday.

Up and coming

2007-09-11T05:45:00.000-07:00

Hopefully, with Jacob's help we can update the family with pictures and comments on what we're all up to through this blog spot.

Seeing how this works

2007-09-11T05:35:00.001-07:00

Hope it's simple