August 2014

I'm backtracking aaaaallll the way back to August.  I stopped blogging once I started the Roadhouse 4 Us Facebook page..  Using Facebook is just so quick and easy.  However, one of these days I want to print this blog into a book.  You know you can do that, right?   Here's one of the sites you can use to do it.  Blog2Print

That was the whole purpose of starting this blog.  For my family to be able to look back on it and remember all we've done.  Inviting the public along was just an after-thought, but glad you are here!  So, please bear with me.  I'm going to have very picture-heavy blog posts for a long while to get caught up.

AUGUST 2014

We kicked off the school year with a field trip to the Orlando Science Museum.  It was 'Homeschool Day' at the museum which means we got in for FREE!  One of the many perks of homeschooling!  

Look at that!  

Homeschoolers do know

how to stand in a line!  

Curious George exhibit was there!  

Perfect timing because Scott LOVES

Curious George.  It is THE ONLY books

he willingly listens to.

Sage loves chess, and he got in a friendly

match with another homeschooler.  

Kinetic Sand

First time they actually got to play with the stuff.

The museum is 4 floors!

Our first I-Max movie.  

Whoa!

So neat even though it made me nauseous at times.

Wind tunnel to simulate a hurricane.

Bridge simulates earth quake.

When we got home, they got in the pool.

Best first day of school ever.

Visit to the library

Doing School Work

Learning about ALS before doing the Ice Bucket Challenge

Videos of Ice Bucket Challenge

Listening to the Storybook Bible

Playing with their stuff animals

School work at the library

Chess Club at library

Vending machine with books 

at the library

Chore time

Inside Pictures of our RV

We finally started our youtube channel!!  It's only taken us 6 months to get it started.  Life just kinda kept happening.  Plus, I finally came to terms that our whole RV (all 410 square feet of it) will never all be cleaned and organized at the same time.  Our first video was an inside tour of our RV.  Sage manned the camera while Scott and I were tour guides.   Click on over and 'Subscribe' to our channel.  The boys are so excited to be one of the cool kids on youtube.

Video Tour of our RV on Youtube

Below are some inside pictures of our home on wheels that were taken in December.  

Our kitchen, living room, dining room, and homeschool area.

We have a full-size residential refrigerator, microwave, 

3-burner stove, small oven, 2-sided sink, a pantry, 

and lots of cabinets and drawers.  

This is our pantry.  

The black square is our radio, CD/DVD player.

It has speakers throughout the whole RV 

including a speaker for outside.

Decorated for Christmas.

The lounge area.

The bottom drawer is used for shoes.

We like our games!

New Year's Eve...playing 'Win, Lose, or Draw'.

Master Bedroom (King-size bed)

Boy's 1/2 bathroom

(The door inside the bathroom 

leads to the outside).

Boy's 1/2 Bathroom

Boy's 1/2 Bathroom

Boy's 1/2 Bathroom:  

This is a skylight that opens up for ventilation.

Boy's bedroom.

Master Bathroom

Shower/Bathtub Combo

An Actual Bathtub!

Shower (obviously  :-)

Hope you enjoyed the tour and don't forget to go and subscribe to our youtube channel!  We'll be making more RV related videos as well as filming our travels across the country!  You can follow us along on Facebook at Roadhouse 4 Us.  

Why we love Florida

Surprise!  Surprise!

I don't think Florida is horrible!  

From the 'Florida is soooo 1990's Series', you might assume that I'm sitting here hating Florida.

Nope!

For someone who was 100% sure they didn't like Florida, I sure am liking it!!  

What do we like here?
Number one has got to be being around family!

2)  Being around friends who we knew before we came here.

3)  Every place is new to us.  We love exploring new places.  

I remember what it was like to have my first child and seeing everything through his eyes.  It was like seeing the world for the first time.  I distinctly remember taking him to the zoo for the first time when he was 4-months-old.  I thought for sure he would be so amazed by the gorillas, monkeys, elephants.  But no...it was the birds that amazed him!  And all the times that I had been to the zoo, I had never stopped for more than 3 seconds at the birds.  Once I saw that my 4-month-old was watching them, I stopped.  I then realized that 'wow, they are pretty cool!'  I just had never taken the time to actually stop and watch.  Each 'first' that your child experiences is just so fun and memorable. That's what it's like being here in Florida.  We are seeing so many firsts and doing so many firsts, that is all so fun and memorable!  

4)  Love the winter weather here.  My most favorite weather is a perfect Ohio fall day, 73 degrees, sunny, blue skies.  Chilly nights.  This is Florida winters.  I love being able to go walking and biking in the morning.  I love going to the parks and beach NOT in the heat.  
It's not warm enough to actually go swimming for the most part which my boys don't like.  Overall, the winter weather is lovely.  (Now...the summer weather = yuck).  

Florida is soooo 1990's: Part 3

The healthcare options here are lacking.

By 'here', I mean in this area of Florida that 

we are currently in on the east coast.  

(the part that we have been in for the past 4 months)

....wait....we have only been here in this area 4 months?!

Seems longer.  

Again, I'm comparing this part of Florida to our 

'home' of Columbus, OH.  

Columbus definitely comes out on top in healthcare options.

Hands down.  

Not saying that the actual doctors/nurses in Florida are bad.

In fact, one of our good friends here in Florida is a nurse, and I know she is fabulous!

I'm saying the options for care here are slim.

In Columbus, there are 10 hospitals!

(Since it's the 15th largest city in the country, of course, it has a lot of hospitals to be able to accommodate all the people).

The Ohio State University Hospital

Riverside Methodist Hospital (where Sage was born and where I beat cancer's butt!)

Dublin Methodist Hospital

Mount Carmel East Hospital

Mount Carmel West Hospital

Mount Carmel St. Ann's Hospital

Mount Carmel New Albany Hospital

Grant Medical Center (one of the nation's best trauma hospitals and where Scott was born!)

Doctor's Hospital

AND a hospital dedicated to just children:

Nationwide Children's Hospital

Next up, are the countless urgent cares.

I say 'countless' because I googled it, and didn't get an exact number.

Just know they are everywhere.

Best thing about the urgent cares is that there are tons urgent cares for adults, 

but then there are 17 urgent cares just for children!  

Urgent cares are great because hospital ERs don't have to be clogged up with

'non-urgent' matters.

Plus, I know with our insurance, that it's much cheaper to go to an urgent care if we can instead of the ER.   

And yes, Florida does have urgent cares, but no pediatric urgent cares.

 (Copay for urgent care = $50.  Copay for ER = $150)

Lastly, my favorite healthcare option that Columbus provides are the 

Minute Clinics that are located in CVSs, Walgreens, and grocery stores....

places with pharmacies.  Nurse practitioners are on-site.

These are walk-in clinics like urgent cares are...no appointment needed.

They are great if you think you might have strep throat, pink eye, ear infection, poison ivy...

some kind of non-urgent issue, but an issue that needs to be addressed.

(Copay for Minute Clinic = $20)

Since they are located in a place with a pharmacy, 

it makes picking up your prescription a breeze.

Florida does have Minute Clinics, but I think the closest one is 25 miles away...

so not exactly a minute clinic if you have to drive 30 minutes to get to one.

Here's an example of one:

CVS Minute Clinic

So, that's just the hospitals, urgent cares, and Minute Clinics.

Then you have a billion options in doctors including speciality doctors.

You would think that I am a healthcare nut.  

That I love going to the doctor.

That I'm all about 'conventional' meds.

Nope.

I'm all about the holistic approach to health if it's an option.

Unfortunately, essential oils don't cure cancer.  

Essential oils don't cure my son's asthma (I tried!)

Essential oils don't cure my son's food allergies.  

When you see your son turn blue from not breathing, 

you kinda like to know there's a place that can help him.

Luckily, I did find a pediatrician here in Florida that 

(so far) I like.  She's, however, not our 

Dr. Sant at WholeKids Pediatrics in Ohio.

Dr. Sant is a holistic pediatrician

who prescribes conventional meds when necessary.

WholeKids Pediatrics

She sells Juice Plus, essential oils, herbs, supplements in her office.

Yoga and massage are also done in office.

But when she looks at you and says, 

"He really needs an antibiotic this time."

or

"He really needs a steroid this time."  

You trust her.  

When she hugs you and says, 

"You are doing a great job being their mom"

you know you are going to miss her when you leave town.

I called our health insurance company to get a list of primary care doctors for me.
I had 3 requirements for a doctor.
(1)  Our insurance was accepted by them.
(2)  The doctor is within 20 miles from me.
(3)  The doctor be female.
The insurance rep emailed me a list of 21 doctors.
I started going down the list and calling them.
I FINALLY found a doctor that would accept me as a new patient when 
I was on doctor 17 on the list!  
17th in line!!  
No one was accepting new patients
or
they only took CASH (not health savings card)
or 
the first available appointment wasn't for another 4 months.  

I gave up trying to find an endocrinologist because there just isn't any here. 
There are two...one isn't accepting new patients and the other is a pediatric endo.
Even my primary doctor said, "Yeah, there just isn't enough options here."  

I do want to say that I have been to the 'imaging center' here for quite a few tests, and it is a great facility.  Very nice and professional there, on-time, clean, and overall a great experience there each time I've been there.  

So if you finished reading this, I'm impressed because this was a REALLY boring post!!

Florida is sooooo 1990's: Part 2

I am not a shopper.

My husband thanks me periodically for this.

I'm not a 'girly-girl'.  

I'm not into clothes, purses - or do we call them handbags now?, 

shoes, or make-up.  

I'm not into getting my nails done.

I get my hair trimmed 1-2 times a year.  

I don't color my hair.

I can't wear perfume - it gives me headaches.  

So spending money on myself is pretty rare.  

BUT

I do spend money on good food and on

my boys!

Reason #2 that Florida is behind the times compared to Columbus, OH:

WHERE ARE ALL THE STORES??

Now, I know I could drive an hour to Orlando 

and probably find everything my little heart desires.

Who's got time for that?!?!

Columbus, OH is known for it's shopping.

I'm definitely not a 'mall shopper', but 

Columbus has really, really awesome malls.

Easton Town Centre

http://www.eastontowncenter.com

This is not a typical mall.

It's made to look like a little town with 

inside shopping and outside shopping...
with cute little streets...

plus lots of yummy restaurants like

Cheesecake Factory, California Pizza Kitchen, 

Cafe Istanbul, Ocean Club, etc.

Some stores include Lego Store, American Girl, 

Nordstorms, Tiffany & Co., Apple, 

Tesla, Gap Kids, Children's Place, etc.

Polaris Fashion Place

http://www.polarisfashionplace.com

This is also an indoor/outdoor mall with

an abundance of stores and restaurants.
It houses my favorite kid clothing store = Crazy 8.

There's also a couple of 'regular shopping malls'.

http://www.simon.com/mall/the-mall-at-tuttle-crossing

http://www.eastland-mall.com

It's been said that Columbus has a specialized store for everything =

Looking for batteries....there's a store for that.

Looking for beads....there's a store for that.

Looking for scraps of everything...there's a store for that.

Looking for a.....you get the idea.

What do I miss, though, that this part of Florida does not have?

1)  Once Upon a Child (there's no Plato's Closet

 or Clothes Mentor either)

2)  Whole Foods (Columbus has 3)

3) Trader Joes (Columbus has 2)

4) Cato's

5) Target that is closer to us.

6)  Kroger!  (I miss the 'Simple Truth' brand).

7)  Gap, Gap Kids

8) Old Navy

9) Crazy 8

10) Cookie Cutters - hair cut place just for kids

11)  Lakeshore Learning Store

Also, it should be noted that Columbus, OH is home to

Victoria's Secret, Express, and The Limited headquarters

which equals lots of jobs.  
http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2013/07/11/columbus-ohio-shopping-boutiques-stores/2508723/

Henry's input on the shopping difference was, 

"The grocery store (Publix) closes at 10:00 pm!"

Florida is sooooo 1990's: Part 1

Who would have thought that Florida would be 

'behind the times' 

compared to the Columbus, OH area?  

I've been thinking about this blog post

for a while and how to word it just right.

The simplest way to describe it is:

Florida is behind the times.

I should be more specific.

The area of Florida that we have been 

in for the past 5.5 months (east coast Florida)

is behind the times. 

Is this a bad thing?

It's not a bad thing if it's all you know.

You don't know what you are missing.

Henry, who grew up here, agrees.

He said, "I remember when I left Florida and moved to West Virginia 19 years ago how I thought how 'behind' WV was compared to Florida.  Now that I'm back in Florida, I'm surprised how it seems it hasn't progressed in those 19 years.  Columbus, OH is definitely more advanced now compared to Florida."

This is such a long list that it will be broken 
up into 'Parts' in different blog posts.
This post will discuss the comparison of the library systems.  

1)  The library system:  http://www.columbuslibrary.org

The Columbus Metropolitan Library system has won awards 
for being best in the country and for good reason.  
When you are an avid reader AND a homeschool family 
who utilizes the library twice a week, a great library system is imperative.  

Why am I'm not impressed with the library here in Florida?

1)  They only take cash or check for paying fines!  

So not convenient.

Hello....it's 2014.  Accept debit/credit cards.

2)  Once you hit $5.00 in fines, you can no longer check out 

materials until you get the fine under $5.00. 

 In Ohio, it's $10.00.

3)  You receive an email AFTER your items are due 

letting you know that your item is now overdue.  

In Ohio, you receive an email 1-2 days 

BEFORE your items are due so that you have time 

to return them BEFORE you rack up fines.  

4)  In Florida, you can only check out 25 items TOTAL at a time.  

25.  

Seriously.  Whoever made that rule, is NOT a homeschooler.

In Ohio, it's 100.

Yeah, big difference. 

5)  When reserving an item, even if it is already in the very library that you are asking it to be sent to, it will takes days, even a week, to get the item.  

6)  In Florida, there are NO self check-outs.  
It's so weird to me to have to stand in a line to check out my books....
and then have the library staff make comments about my book selection.
In Ohio, self check-outs are plentiful.  Quick and easy.  

7)  Book/movie selection is slim. 
There have been multiple items that I have tried to 
reserve only to find out that the
 library doesn't even have it.

I have paid more in fines here in 
Florida in 5.5 months 
than I did in 15 years in Ohio.  
For real.  

The library system in Florida seems to be here to benefit the library.

The library system in Ohio seems to be there to benefit the patron.

I am thankful, though, that a library exists here.  
It's not all bad.  
There's no way I could ever 'hate' a library.  
I might have to get a job to pay for my fines, though.