The Challenge of preparing to move with 3 small children.

Now I know that I have shared little tidbits about our moving preparations in previous posts but I don't think that I have gone into detail about the highlights and the challenges.  I never realized how difficult it was to keep a house in top-notch shape thinking that the realtor could phone at any time to say she has a perspective buyer interested in viewing our home or how disappointing it can be every night when 8pm rolls around and you have heard nothing from her.

 I'm more exhausted than anything but, it's not easy at all.  I have a stack of empty boxes lined up by the wall so that when the phone call does come we can quickly unload the clutter (that has definitely been minimized but is required to live) from the counters and the dryer.  I am picking up and vacuuming constantly and I am trying to convince my children that now is the time to learn how to make our beds everyday, put our clothes in the laundry everytime and make sure our toys are cleaned up when we are done playing with them always.  Not to mention the husband who is learning slowly but surely.  I know that he wants to get out of this house but when he leaves for work in the morning I don't really think he realizes what goes on while he is away.  He only notices that I am ready for bed by 8pm.

I know that when we sell the house, move to the new house, get all settled and organized and can take a deep breath this time in our lives will feel like a small bump we overcame to achieve greater goals and greater living arrangements but for now I am tired and anxious!!  The kids are excited about moving to the new house, having a huge back yard, their own bedrooms and a better life but I feel bad not being able to say when exactly we will be moving.  I feel like I have said "when we sell this house" a million times.  They aren't really satisfied with that answer and neither am I.  After this move I am hoping we will NEVER have to go through this again.  Only time will tell I guess!!

For now I will continue to reign in the chaos we call life, I will try to have a more optimistic outlook on this whole selling thing and I will make sure when the call from the realtor does come this house is as close to perfect as it has ever been.

For now........

Shylo 

Revelations!!

Recently we have come to some much needed revelations.  We (being me mostly but Tom was included in this decision) have decided that the boxed Horizons phonics curriculum we purchased for Alyvia is NOT working.  She does  not sit well to complete an entire lesson (which are some times 6 pages long).  We had been using this curriculum since August.  I had tried EVERYTHING!!  I tried splitting the long lessons throughout the day, making them more fun, writing the answers for her and yet nothing worked.  She was always "tired" or just couldn't sit still.  She cried about not wanting to do her phonics which we also tried calling reading, writing and pages.  I would get frustrated and wonder why I couldn't get her to get it done.  She wanted to learn how to read but wanted nothing to do with phonics.

Finally, two weeks ago now, Tom and I had a really rough night with her.  I had bought some flashcards for her, easy sight words and Tom decided to try them out with her.  He told her they were going to do only the purple side of these flashcards and she agreed to try them.  We all sat on our bed and started going through them.  I didn't expect much because she had not seen these words regularly or been studying them in her phonics lessons (when we managed to get one done).  She was into it and we were working together to figure them out, then Tom saw an easy word on the brown side and he decided to have her try it.  I knew this was a mistake and she would not have it.  She shut down and was "tired" and he got angry.  We went about another 10 minutes trying to coax her into finishing the purple side.  She agreed to try them in exchange for ice cream and we finished.  (Truthfully her efforts were not worth ice cream in my mind but Daddy gave it to her.)

After Lyvi and Wyatt went to bed Tom and I had to discuss what had happened.  I cried telling him that this is what I deal with every day when it comes to her completing her phonics lessons.  He told me he had no clue that this was what I had been trying to explain.  We started talking about what could be the problem, things were mentioned like dyslexia, ADHD, aspergers, stubbornness ect.  And I wanted nothing to do with the conversation.  We agreed that we needed to figure something different out for her phonics and we headed to bed.

I tossed and turned from 1 am to 3 am and finally I had to get up and get on the computer to figure this out.  I searched and searched all night and read a lot of information about everything.  I decided that I would make a list of the issues we have been having and date it.  I was not going to seek any professional help for this yet, I wanted to try to fix the problem without labels, medications or suggestions that public school would be more able to deal with her particular learning challenges.  Then I started making a list of things we could try out that might make the difference between joyous success and frustrated failure.

I ordered (without consulting Tom which I never do) an exercise ball for Lyvi to sit on at the table and rock or slightly bounce on while she does her school work.  This was a suggestion I read during my early morning search and the women who suggested it described similar problems she was having with her son.  I decided I would get silly putty for her to keep her hands busy while I was reading to her or we were trying to get through a lesson that she wasn't 100% interested in.  I also decided to take a new approach with phonics and these have made a world of difference for us.

First I have kept the flashcards and she has learned the entire purple side in the last two weeks.  We have even started doing the brown side with her insisting we try them.  We put the Horizons phonics curriculum in the file cabinet, out of sight and out of mind.  I'm thinking we may try it with Wyatt or just sell it to another family without the first workbook.  We have instead been doing some worksheets from workbooks I got from our Dollar Tree.  They may seem easy to her but they were labeled for first grade and when I looked at the ones labeled for Kindergarten I thought those would be too easy for even Wyatt.  I think she is having her confidence restored and I know she is loving the extra praise.  She has played around on readingeggs.com and we signed up for the free trial but the interest in that has been lost I think.  We are instead considering buying a phonics computer game or using free resources we find on the web to supplement the workbooks from the dollar store.

Altogether these last few weeks have been a rude awakening for me.  This is our first official year homeschooling and I feel like I should have had this revelation months ago.  For now I am saying there is absolutely nothing wrong with my baby girl.  The curriculum we purchased did not fit her learning style and personally I feel that I do not fit her learning style either so, my solutions are good~buy to the curriculum and hello to this Mommy trying new ways of teaching her precious daughter.  So far (almost three weeks in) I'd say we are doing a lot better.  Her behavior is even improving.  We love you Alyvia Shaye!!

Shylo

The Homeschool Mother's Journal Friday January 6th 2012

In my life this week…  Our house has been quarantined since last Thurs 12-29-11 because Mazlyn woke up in the morning with one of his eyes stuck shut with "gunk".  I knew that he most likely had pink eye so I made an appointment right away and sure enough conjunctivitis and double ear infections.  So.... nasty smelling (and tasting I'm assuming) antibiotics were started and he started looking and acting better by Sunday.  So naturally Sunday morning both Alyvia and Wyatt started having the "gunk" and coughing.  Wyatt slept most of the day away and when he was awake he had a fever of 102.  Monday morning I called and made an appointment for the other two to be seen by the doctor and they were diagnosed with bronchitis, ear infections and pink eye.  So more antibiotics and eye drops were added to the docket.  The kids have been doing well taking their medicine but school has not exactly been smooth sailing this week. 

In our homeschool this week…  Alyvia's homeschool program at the YMCA started back up on Thursday.  We had been on Winter break since early November so it was nice to see our friends and to have her excited about going.  Since the kids had all been on antibiotics for more than 48 hours I figured it was safe for us to venture out and participate this week.

I am inspired by…  All the amazing Homeschool Mom's that I meet either in person (like at the Y) or on the internet.  I have come to realize that we all have our own strengths and weaknesses but we can learn some very valuable things from each other.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…  The Y this week for Homeschool program, hopefully making a visit to see Grandparents this weekend and maybe a trip to the Museum of Play next week (before our membership runs out.)

My favorite thing this week was…  When Wyatt (3)  looked me in the eye after taking his medicine and said "Did I take it like your champ Mom??"  I melted into a puddle right there.  He's growing up soooo fast.  And they remember everything.

What’s working/not working for us…  School is very loose around here right now as we prepare to put our house on the market so we can move to a bigger/better house.  Lyvi is learning daily, it's just not always workbooks and readers.

Things I’m working on… Staging our house for sale and getting organized in my head.  Lol.  Funny right??

I’m reading… The Bible daily,  several womanish magazines on the Nook and of course tons of children's books for my three little book lovers.

I’m cooking…  Yeah about this, one of my New Years resolutions is to cook.  I always seem to plan the meals but Tom usually ends up making them.  I am going to try to curb that habit a little.  For his sake and my own.  Lol.

I’m grateful for… Life, love and family.  

I’m praying for… Peace.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

Brothers

Thanks for visiting and feel free to follow us through this homeschool journey we are on.  Till next time.

Shylo

Happy New Year!!

So, it is officially 2012!!  Hooray!!  Not that it's a big deal but this year I have actually made and written down several (okay maybe 30 or so...) resolutions.  Nothing too unrealistic.  Some examples would be no yelling, make more home cooked meals, take better care of myself and start blogging regularly (meaning at least once a week).  I have reviewed my list a few times and have even added a few things that I have thought of since my initial drafting.  I'm very happy and excited about it and I plan on keeping every single one of them.

Now to the good (or not so good) first blog entry of the New Year.

On Thursday December 29th. 2011 our youngest Mazlyn (17 months) was diagnosed with pink eye (conjunctivitis) and double ear infections.  The Doctor forewarned me that it would be close to impossible for me to prevent the oldest two from getting it as well so..... Happy New Year to the Fuchs Family!!

Wyatt, 3 has the worst case of it.  Along with his pink eye he also has an ear infection in his left ear and bronchitis. He has had no appetite for 2+ days now and he is visibly sick.  When he is awake (which is not very often throughout the day) he is clingy and quiet.

 Alyvia, 5 who is normally our terror (God love her) has also been infected.  She has pink eye in only one eye, double ear infections and bronchitis.  She is not terrorizing like normal but she is still keeping her title.  Very whiney, still not liking to keep her clothes on and coughing like a barking dog.  Poor thing I know but it is a nice break from the normal.  This is also helping me to keep the "no yelling" resolution.

 Needless to say we have a pharmacy in the fridge.  All three of them have oral medication that needs to be administered twice a day (different doses of course).  And the older two have some lovely eye drops that they need to have dropped in four times a day.  Luckily all three of them take their medicine like CHAMPS.  Otherwise I may be trying to run away.  Lol.

The Daddy is also sick.  Mainly with the cough and runny nose but,  his eyes are itchy too and he's not very fun to be around.  I love him but when he is sick..... he's not much fun.  Lol.  But, who is right??

Anyways, along with my list of personal resolutions, the family has also made a list of "Promises to Jesus" (for his birthday but, all the same for the next year.)  Some of those include saying Grace to God before each meal, eating together as a family, obeying our Mommy and Daddy and being kind to everyone.  I am very excited about these as well.  I think our family is getting to the point where we can understand the significance and create good habits for a lifetime.  Fingers crossed.

For now I'd say I have successfully blogged for the first time in 2012.  You are now up to date with the Fuchs family.  Hopefully I will keep this resolution.

God Bless!!

Shylo 

Update!!

So, the excitement is great at the Fuchs house right now.  We are planning on selling our house and moving into a new one that is double the size and even has a garage.  Tom is excited about the garage and the kids are excited about having their own bedrooms to decorate however they would like and I am excited about everything!!  This is a big step into the next phase of our lives.  This will be the forever home we have been looking for and I couldn't be happier.  The hard part is getting our current home ready for showing.  I can't even call the realtor until we get the house in perfect order.  This entails removing 3/4 of our belongings and taking them to be stored, repainting all of the rooms that we have personalized over the past 5 years.  (ex. pesto green kitchen, electric blue boys room and pretty pink girls room).  And cleaning EVERYTHING!!  We will do it.

Will all this going on our Christmas celebrations have been scaled down.  We are not decorating for Christmas this year because we have realized over the years that we are never home on Christmas to enjoy our tree and lights anyways.  Also Christmas decorations and ornaments are very personal and we are trying to remove the personal from our home at this time.  We are still doing our Advent calendar and we will be celebrating with our families who are setting up.  I think we will survive.

Alyvia is doing well in her homeschooling although we could be doing better.  We are behind and I am not sure how to get caught back up.  The interest is just not really there for her and I feel as though we may need a break.  Now is a great time for that break though because of all the cleaning, packing and holiday engagements we have.  Hopefully after the new year when the house sells (fingers crossed) we can pick up and cruise through to first grade.  This does not mean that we aren't doing school.... it just means that we are doing school less strictly.  We can't afford to get any further behind but we also can't afford to lose her this early in the game.  She is interested in learning to read but not interested in doing her phonics which poses a slight problem.  Working through it.

Mazlyn is starting to talk and run.  I am loving every minute because this is our last child but I am also trying to look ahead to the positive things like not having to change diapers or dress the kids anymore.  It will come in time I know and I am not wishing it away but I am trying not to be a sap thinking about the lasts all the time.  This is leading to great things.  All of this is leading to great things.

Wyatt is just as cute as ever and growing to be a very good kid.  I love his interest in things like reading, trains and me.  Sounds selfish I know but I like being the favorite.  Lyv has outgrown Tom and I and Mazlyn favors Tom so Wyatt is (and always has been) my little man.  Cuddle time with him is wonderful and happens many times daily.  He is amazing!!

Well, there is a quick update on what we are doing.  I am hoping that after we move and get settled in we can start blogging more regularly.  Lol.

Tigers Roar!!

Today Alyvia learned all about Tigers.  We learned interesting facts, read tons of books and even dressed up as tigers.  We got out the masking tape and measured 9 feet on the carpet to show how long an adult tiger can grow to be.  Lyvi now knows that tigers are mammals, carnivores, the largest cats in the world, they have 100-150 stripes and live in Asia.  We learned that to be a mammal means that you have a back bone, are warm blooded and most of them have hair or fur.  Baby tigers are called cubs, female tigers are called tigresses.  She is so smart and really enjoyed her science lessons today.

Fuchs Academy Sept. 19th-25th, 2011

In my life this week…  I have had some emotional moments.  I think I may have realized I have a lot of anxiety caused by my lovely children.  Nothing they do just situations that come with having children.  Now I am trying to figure out the best way to handle the situations we face.

In our homeschool this week…  Alyvia started her homeschool enrichment program at the YMCA yesterday (a major cause of anxiety for me) and she loves it.  She was great and made a few new homeschool friends her own age. 

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…  EVERY moment can be a teaching moment.  Just be creative!!

I am inspired by…  The look on my kids faces when I really get into a story or lesson.  Their expressions say "wow!!  Our Mom is sooo weird."  But I know they love that side of me.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…  Homeschool Enrichment and Grange.  At Grange we have a family reunion every other Friday so we will be seeing the best Grandparents around and some God parents and random important figures in our children's lives.  We are also attending an event tomorrow called "Fun on the Farm".  It is at a local dairy farm and the kids will get to see some behind the scenes of another dairy farm.  We are going to be focusing on the differences between their Aunts farm and this one.

My favorite thing this week was… Being with my children.

What’s working for us…  Babysitting children before (public) school.  They are being dropped off between 6 and 6:30 and they are gone by 8:30am.  It's an effective way for me to contribute to our family finances and it's over before the kids and I are ready to start our day.  

Things I’m working on…  Antarctica Unit.  We are studying the 7 continents and 5 oceans this year and now that we have the concept of continents down as well as their names I figured we would go more in depth with Antarctica first.

I’m reading…  What your first grader needs to know.  Lyvi is already starting some first grade concepts so I figured it wouldn't hurt to get a move on.

I’m cooking…  The usual.  Tacos for dinner tonight before Grange.  Yum!!

I’m grateful for…  My life, my Husband, my children, the opportunity to homeschool them, my family, our dog and fish, our home. 

I’m praying for… Friends suffering with illness.

     A photo to share…

This was Lyvi and I before we left for her Homeschool Enrichment program Thursday at the YMCA.  While we were there she could sense that I was having a hard time so she kept finding me in the hallway and giving me the thumbs up to say she was doing fine, not to worry.  One time she actually left her activity and came out into the hall and whispered "Mom, I'm having so much fun." into my ear and then she turned around and ran back into the gym.  I'm not sure when it happened but, she's grown up.  Five years old!!

I'm back!! I hope!!

So, I may have fallen off the horse with this whole blogging thing.  A lot has happened since I last blogged so I am going to try to hit the high points and then my plan is to start blogging regularly.  Not exactly sure what regularly is going to look like for me, could be daily, weekly, monthly.  I'm not exactly sure what will work for my families schedule at the current time but I know I want to create this blog for my family and friends so that everyone can keep up with "The Fuchs Family Five".  (Oh, how I love how that sounds.)

So since October 5th, 2010 we have celebrated many special occasions.  Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter.... you know the usual.  We teach our children the real meaning of holidays like Christmas and Easter so we celebrated Jesus' birth and resurrection not visits from Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny.

We have made it through another wrestling season and we love the money but, hate the time away from each other.  Last weekend we had our first night of racing for the year.  This year Tom and I are both working at the track so, the children are staying home with Mazlyns Godmother Melissa while we "work".  It gives me a break from the kids (I know that sounds terrible but I am home with them 24 hours a day, everyday of the week (by absolute choice).  Sometimes Mom just needs a break.) And it earns us a little extra money.  I also started babysitting the cutest little boy Aideyn in January.  We are lucky enough to have Aideyn come play with us every other week.  He is just a little younger than Wyatt so it makes for a good playmate too. 

We sent in our letter of intent for Alyvia to start Kindergarten at home next year.  I am excited but also nervous because Lyvi has been "homeschooling" since she was 2 and she is already most of the way through Kindergarten so we will be doing a mixed school year.  We will start out the year finishing Kindergarten and finish it 3/4 of the way through 1st grade.  We shall see how it goes.  We plan on trying out a 4 day school week (Mon-Thurs), Thursday afternoons Lyvi will be participating in a homeschool enrichment program that is offered through our local YMCA.  The program will cover New York states requirements for art, music and physical education and is an affordable addition to our curriculum.  It will also give Alyvia a chance to interact with other homeschool children her age and older.  Fridays we are calling "Field Trip" days and we will spend them traveling to the zoo, museum, library, park, nature center, ect.  We are also planning on homeschooling year round even though we will have our required 180 "school days" fulfilled by the end of June so that I can send in our year end report.  Can't believe my "baby girl" is turning 5 in June.  Where has the time gone??

Wyatt is going to be 3 on May 5th.  We are having a Thomas the Train birthday party to celebrate and I will be creating another cake for this event.  Wyatt is about ready to start Kindergarten.  He knows all his letters, shapes, numbers and colors.  He has a very mellow attitude toward life.  He takes everything as it comes and loves to snuggle with his Mommy.  He plays GREAT by himself but that's not always a good thing seeing as he's not an only child and Mom babysits a child his age who has the same interest that he does.  Thomas the Train is all we know around our house.  Wyatt has TONS of trains and he plays with them daily. 

Mazlyn, Mr. Mazy.  Is now 9 months old and has 4 teeth.  He is sort of crawling (he does an army crawl sorta thing) and he is starting to pull himself up on the furniture.  Everything goes into his mouth (normal) and he loves playing with his bro~bro and sissy.  He's so perfect and it makes everything even more special with him because I know he is the last baby that Tom and I will ever have.  The Fuchs Family Five has been completed thanks to Mr Mazlyn and we couldn't be happier.

Tom and I are as happy as ever.  Still the normal issues but I am trying to live with them.  I have to realize that not everything can be perfect all the time.  Tom is a guy and I love him more today than I did the day I met him and thats saying something.  Lol. 

Well, hopefully I can write again tomorrow and maybe even add some pictures.  Till then................

Homeschool Update Week 3

The Fuchs Academy Homeschool progress Sept 26-Oct 3

This week in our homeschooling journey we learned about cows. The letter of the week was "C", number 3, color pink and shape heart. We had tons of fun reading funny stories about cows and doing our different craft activities.
 
The week started out terribly for us though.  I was sick Monday and Tuesday with a headache that could have killed someone who's not a mother.  Of course I had to forge through it and make sure that all 3 of my babies were at least fed and clothed properly and that they were safe and sound all day long.  School however took a back burner these few days because I was in no shape to organize, supervise and teach any lessons to the kids especially lessons that involved A LOT of loud "Mooooooooing".  Lol.

Tuesday though we decided to go to the mall with Aunt Jawni to find a birthday gift for Grandma Winter.

Here is Wyatt in the food court eating his lunch.

When we got home Grandma and Grandpa Winter were here to put in my new birdfeeder that my Daddy had made me for my Birthday.  Here is Aunt Jawni and Wyatt out in the yard  watching.  (Wyatt had just been forced to wake up from his nap.)

 
So, on Wednesday we picked up with our normal school schedule.  I attempted to cram 3 days worth of activities into one and the kids were not very accepting of it.  I find with them only being 4 and 2 one craft activity a day is plenty.  Even though they may be begging for a second after the first is finished by the time I get another one set up the idea has fizzled and they are off reading books or playing quietly with each other and the thought of another craft is not appealing anymore.
 
So we introduced the letter of the week "C" and did this fun craft.

Next I had the kids do another craft that was along the same lines with the shape of the week.

We then read some books about cows actually one in particular I found very interesting and informative about dairy cows. 

On Thursday I had a cow puppet craft prepared and Alyvia was more excited about it than I was.

My children love to play with the glue sticks and I hate that the glue seems to end up on the table more than the paper.

Here is Lyvi Shaye hard at work coloring her cow.



 

She named her "Cassie the Cow"

Wyatt had fun glueing his cow but, ended up ripping her arms off and losing her ears so she went straight to the recycle bin.  ; (

We met Great Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Nate and Grandma Fuchs at Burger King for dinner and then....

Mommy and Daddy had a Grange meeting to go to Thursday night so of course all 3 of the kids came too.

Here is Mr. Mazlyn sitting with his Great Grandma VanLare, and that is Grandma Fuchs' arm too.

Uncle Nate and Great Grandpa were there too.

Friday we took a day off to go garage saleing.  I mapped us out a nice route and ended up finding a lot of things that we had been looking for.  Mazlyn got a jumperoo and I found pants for Miss Alyvia for $2 a pair.  I also was able to get several Level 1 readers for the kids for only a quarter a piece.  I was so happy and I felt really good about skipping school to find these excellent bargains. 

Saturday was the same as always, lazy morning followed by Paradise in the afternoon/evening.  Other than the fact that there was a huge cart race and Alyvia decided to be a little devil everything went great.

Sunday we all went to church.  Unfortunately we drove seperately because the boys needed the extra time to get ready but, Alyvia enjoyed her second day of Sunday school and it was Bring your Pet to church to be blessed Sunday so my children really enjoyed seeing all the animals that people brought.  Tom and I had decided however that having 3 children to take care of and chase after was enough so our dog Radar was there in spirit.  Lol. 

So, that pretty much sums up last week.  This week we are learning all about dinosaurs and resuming our normal schedule.  Or something close to what I want to consider normal.  Lol.

Eight Questions From Tristan at Our Busy Homeschool

I love reading Tristans blog at Our Busy Homeschool and today she had this great blog activity posted.  She asked these 8 questions so I decided to answer them and send her the link.  Here we go.

1.) What is one food or meal you love to eat that your family does not enjoy, so you don’t make it often?

I absolutely love kidney beans and corn and my family (husband especially) does not care for them.  I will only make it for myself when we are having a "fend for yourself" dinner and it is the only thing I eat.


2.) Tell me one thing you swore you would never do when you were a parent, but since having children of your own you have actually done.

My Mom was very overprotective and I never understood why.  (I was not allowed to go to friends houses, walk the mall alone, play outside alone ect.)  I thought she was nuts but now that I have children of my own I realize I have turned into my mother (I may even be worse than she was.)  I don't trust anyone (but my parents) with my children and I always forsee the worst possible outcome of every situation that arises.  I said I would never make my children feel the way about me that my Mom made me feel about her but, guess what..... now that I am a Mom I don't care how they feel about me as long as they are safe and healthy.
3.) What character issue is God working on in your life right now?

I feel God is working on my ability to let the little things go. 

4.) What is your favorite household chore? How about your least favorite chore?

My favorite household chore would be making beds.  There is just something about the satisfaction I feel after I make them perfect and the way it makes me feel when I put my kids to sleep in their nice neat beds at night.  I also love getting into a made bed versus an unmade one.

My least favorite chore is dishes.  I really don't like dishes.
5.)  As a homeschool mom, what is one area you feel you do well in, and one area you struggle with?

One thing that I feel I do well as a homeschool mom would be teaching my children in a way that makes them excited about learning and "school".  We are only doing preschool at the moment but, my children can't seem to get enough of it.  And they retain every bit of information it seems. 

I do have an issue with not keeping to my schedule.  Maybe I plan too much or just run out of "teacher steam" short of completeing everything that is prepared for any given week/unit.
6.)  Would you rather eat health food or exercise regularly?

I would rather excercise regularly because when I excercise it makes me have more energy to do the regular things life as a mom requires me to do.

7.) What is one thing you love about your husband, and one thing that drives you bonkers?

I love (and am very thankful to God) that my hubby is so interested and involved in his family and the kids schooling.  I know that my children will be better people because they are learning from both their Mom and their Dad about life, relationships, friends and all their school subjects.

I can't stand the way he can recall all sorts of sports information that has absolutely no purpose or importance in our lives but something he and I talked about in dept yesterday he can't recall.  It makes me feel terrible.
8.)  When your kids all leave the nest what is one job you would like to try in all your free time?

I would like to be a freelance writer and possibly a church secretary/assistant.

Thanks Tristan!! 
I had fun and I hope you enjoyed reading my answers.