Wildflowers at My Place

oopsy

not setting examples

I had to ground my son for a week today.

I won’t go into detail, but there have been issues that have surfaced, and I am not impressed with his behavior.

At all.

The problem is that I cannot truly say that I am asking him to behave according to the example he is seeing at home from his parents. I wish I could say that, but lately that would be a flat out lie.

I have a choice, and the last while, I have been making the wrong choice. A choice between my “rights” and the well-being of my family. A choice between acting on my pride and selfishness or thinking of the others involved.

We fail as adults. We fail as parents. We are human, and selfishness abounds. Keeping that selfishness in check is a difficult task, especially when we feel no one notices or appreciates when we choose the right way. So we think of ME, Number One, The One Who Matters Most, The One Who Deserves a Break From All This Once In a While…

The slight glitch in that thinking is that by marrying and having a family, we (Moms AND Dads) already chose the other way. Going back on that and placing ourselves first, at the expense of our spouse’s and children’s feelings, only wreaks havoc. And we can choose to be in denial of that, and let the havoc continue, and maybe even blame it on someone or something else. Or we can admit it, admit we messed up or are messing up, admit it is not always everyone else’s fault for not seeing things our way or depriving us of things we “want” that “should be” rightfully ours… and tackle the problem before it is too late, before our kids follow our example and become people we really don’t like.

People like the ones we are becoming through our selfishness.

It is not fair to expect form our children what we do not display ourselves…

My son is sitting up on his bunk right now. Grounded for a week. No, he will not spend a week on his bunk---that is just for now until I can get my head straight and figure out exactly how to handle all this. No TV though, and no playing with his friends.

So I have to sit down and think of me in a different way now, and figure out what needs fine-tuning and how to do it. I am aware that I can’t fine-tune any other adults in the house, and even if I tried, they definitely wouldn’t appreciate any attempts LOL. But I can definitely fine-tune myself…

But this is hard. Parenting is hard. My mom told me (she never told me who) that when I got married and decided to raise a family, someone (I’m thinking more than one person but I guess she’ll never tell) said “She could have done so much more with her life…” Well, no. No, I couldn’t. This is more than enough, thank you. Parenting is hard. It is not for cowards, for slackers, for people who don’t want to ever think deeply about the things that aren’t exactly pleasant to think about. Situations arise that just plain stink sometimes. You can’t get halfway through and change course, like a career allows you to. You can’t come home and put your feet up because your work is done for the day. Your work is NEVER done, and don’t fool yourself into thinking it is. On a completely sexist note, I do find more Dads can attempt to fool themselves into thinking their work is done LOL… But I don’t think there is any way, unless I adopt a few kids too, that I could have “done so much more” with my life. Some days I’d take “less” just for an hour or so, so I could at least have a nap…

 If I’m not dead by 50, I’ll certainly be refined J.

And now to figure out about the boy (sigh)…

It's almost over!!!

The nausea and fatigue is becoming less and less frequent! Soon, life will be normal (and incredibly chaotic and crazy) again! Actually, it still is crazy, but I am like a slug lately, so it's simply me who is not being crazy and chaotic, you know? The game is still happening, I just can't seem to participate & keep up the pace all that well. But soon, borderline-on-speed-Jo will be back in action... my poor children will be getting away with much, much less...(insert sinister laugh here)... (kind of disturbing how "sinister" and "minister" rhyme)...

So I finally got find find out who all these Classmates.com guestbook signatures were from, and I finally got to read the e-mails that they wouldn't let me read without a paid memebership. I got a 7 day free trial,  and now I go back to those annoying notices about e-mails I can't read and signatures I can't view. Some guy I hardly knew as a kid signed my guestbook twice which seemed kind of odd so I e-mailed a "hello" just to see what was up, assuming that seeing as I am pregnant with my 6th child it would not be taken the wrong way... Oh, I also uploaded a few photos of the family as well...

Elijah was told by his big sis today that she is not coming back form her visit to QC. Wow, the tears. It was hard not to cry myself, and I think Tan was almost there on the other end of the phone. They are pretty close. He was pretty upset. He actually said that if she moves there he wants to move too.Then it later hit him that because my brother and his fiance have changed their plans and are now getting married in the Carribean (and saving a large amount of financial distress lol), we would not be able to attend (as it would cause us a large amount of financial distress to go that far lol---I kind of joked that we would have to sell the house to go and he said "do it"), and the little heart was pretty darn broken I'd say. I hate, hate HATE seeing my kids' heart broken. I hate, hate, HATE having to let any of them down. If I somehow can't make a Little Red Riding Hood cake for Noah's birthday on Wednesday I am going to lose my mind. I despise seeing them disappointed. But some things can't be helped. He understood when I explained about the wedding and said we'd have gone for sure in Ottawa. But I think he just loves his relatives (already pumped that Great-Grandma is coming in August with Grandpa) and misses them. I am hoping he gets sidetracked by something fun and exciting and his mind gets off the sad stuff. There is a bunch of snow falling right now so maybe he'll be sliding with the neighbor kids tomorrow. Hmmm, maybe the neighbor kids' Mom and I will be sliding too.

I never got around to posting what we did all last week. I guess I'll have to try and get on more often or something.

Today was pretty relaxed as Mommy felt like GARBAGE. We didn't do much of anything "structured", which was fine. Tomorrow I will hopefully have another energetic day (they are more frequent now, thank goodness), which means the whole kit & caboodle for homeschooling.

Noah has been very helpful in regards to helping out with housework. They all have alternating assigned chores, and stuff they each have to do daily. But I notice she is the most likely to just pick up the broom and sweep if she sees a mess, or tidy things up a little. Although she does have Daddy's perfectionist streak LOL... Mickie started helping fold laundry today (or at least trying to), and Elijah cleared the dinnertable without being asked and swept after, which he usually hates doing. I have to wonder though if that was to escape the possibility of TV priveleges being revoked for the evening (I am getting famous for that when snottiness hits the kids' attitudes. Works.), seeing as he really does hate sweeping...

When he is "set up" in Tanya's old room, I am going to set up his telescope so he can look outside. I'm not sure what kind of view he'll have back there. I think we will enjoy that this summer form the sunporch, or just outside. We got a great view of the craters in the moon one time. It was pretty awesome.

Ok, this is long enough for today. I will try and come back on tomorrow night and recount our homeschooling day, but I can't promise anything.

Good week but running out of steam (Saturday come soon!!!)

Today is already striking me as an overwhelming day. We have had a good run this week of getting our math, language arts, literature & narration, science, social studies, French, and copywork done. Not to mention the fun art projects tied into the lessons. It has been tricky to keep the housework up, at the same time. I am trying to keep the kids up to par on their daily chores but so often it seems more like I am adding work to myself my doing this. I know that if I train them well now, then the payoff comes later, when I can trust that their work will be not only done, but done well and at a reasonable speed, without me having to be on their cases. This has been the case for many a large family where the parents take the time and effort to do this. It just seems like so much sometimes…The children will not stop fighting. It makes me laugh to hear people say that one of the problems with homeschooling is that the kids are not exposed to the reality (harshness) of the real world that they would be dealing with form other children in school. You know, th differences, name-calling, being picked on. Um, hello? THEY HAVE SIBLINGS! Step into my home right this instant and you will hear what I am talking about in just a few short minutes…

 The kids are doing really well with their lessons, in fairness. It is just not my nature to be constantly running and being the “sergeant”. I have always been exasperated by people who make something incredibly complex out of something so simple, like, say, sweeping the floor. It takes my 8-1/2 year old son three to four times as long as it should to sweep the kitchen floor, which drags out the rest of our day and schedule, and in essence is just really frustrating.

 He made a T-Rex mask out of an old cereal box after reading a book about dinosaurs this morning. This could count as schoolwork lol…

 Both Noah and Elijah’s reading is incredible. Noah needs to learn to take her time and really READ the words as opposed to racing through spouting them out.

 We were supposed to begin guitar lessons tonight, but I am wondering if we will. It might simply be better to reserve a chunk of time every week, maybe a couple of times a week, and go through Guitar for Dummies together. I am still feeling very nauseated from late afternoon into the evening most nights anyways, and she seems to conk out early a lot of the time, so a 7-9pm class might not be the best…

 I think part of why so many homeschooled kids with moms who did not complete college or university do so well is that we, their moms, feel even more driven to ensure that our children learn well. There is a bit more “pressure” on us, some inflicted by others, some by ourselves. I find the insecurity in me as a homeschooling parent is gone as I am halfway through my 4^th year of it, and my 2 oldest are doing amazingly. Now it is simply setting goals because I thrive on challenge. No, the kids  are not “projects” to me. That said, I do believe it is definitely my responsibility to pick up on their strengths and encourage them that way, pick up on their weak areas and help them to work on them, and pick up on their interests and supply all that is needed for them to teach themselves about these things. In essence I have to be tuned in to each one of them and guide them. They have the example of two extremely self-taught and capable parents who still love to learn, so that helps.

 All right, enough typing. I will post a list of the things we have covered this week sometime tomorrow.

end of the break & siblings

Hello, I’m back. I didn’t stick to my plan of writing twice a week, but instead of kicking myself for it, I’ll just try harder J.

 Things are ok over here. We are adjusting to some changes and there will also be changes in our homeschooling routine form now on. We begin again tomorrow. No point over the holidays, as the neighbor kids come over looking for ours to go sledding together. Seeing as they hardly see one another during the school year, I don’t feel right saying no. Actually, it gives me great pleasure to find the two little guys from next door at our back kitchen window peeking in… The youngest is the same age as Mick (3) and likes to be called Sporticus.

 The nausea comes and goes, some days much stronger than others. The worst is when the nausea and fatigue kick in at the same time. Not very practical with 5 kids.

 We met another family that homeschools, about 10 minutes away. They are expecting their 13^th child this spring. He was widowed with 3, she was widowed with 6, and they have had 3 more together since then. They are organic dairy farmers. We spent about an hour and a half there, and ALL the kids were terrific. Funny how sometimes 2 kids can be more trouble than a dozen LOL… Interesting to see 2 electric stoves and a cookstove,. All in the same kitchen! They are a really nice family though, and I am sure we will see them again soon.

 I was thinking about siblings today, and wondering how my children will get along as adults. My father’s family had 6 kids, one died at 18 (the youngest). The others have had their issues over the years, but nothing that has really put huge wedges between them, from what I gather anyways. In my own family we were just 2. We basically speak on birthdays and if I am in Ottawa at my parents’ place. Aside from that, we’re pretty much strangers. It’s odd how two people can be raised in the same house, same family, for 20 years, and wind up with nothing in common whatsoever except their parents and childhood address LOL. I guess that’s life though. Oh well, who knows what the years will bring…

 Scored a Hooked on Phonics Reading Power kit for $30.00. Can’t wait to begin using it tomorrow with Elijah and Noah. It really teaches them to think about what they are reading and use reason. I’m sure we’ll have fun with it.

 Ok, time to go…

goose

I am learning more and more that there is more “learning” going on with the kids when I am not “teaching” them. It is amazing how many important, life-affecting bits of information and understanding are imprinting themselves in the children’s minds throughout the entire day. I guess looking back, I can remember learning what was being “taught” here & there, mainly in elementary school (because it was fun, depending on which teacher I had, and I enjoyed it). But not so much in high school. I do remember trying to make sense of some things in math at times, with great difficulty. Some of it was easy. Especially when you could “relate” it to something in life… But much of it seemed so abstract and unimportant. I loved studying Shakespeare and other literature & plays. That was always great fun. Ancient History was fun, but then Canadian History was so drab (yet I ADORE it now) because the teacher was quite boring, impatient with us, and very snobby… Science and biology were incredibly boring. But then as a nursing student they came to life and I excelled where I had done so poorly before. Plants were BLECH and now one of my passions is herbalism…

All the kids are asking a million questions a day about everything under the sun. I don’t recall even teaching Zabby her alphabet or how to write, but she is doing it. Sometimes as homeschooling parents we tend to focus so much on our schedules, goals, and curriculum that we lose sight of why we have chosen to homeschool to begin with.

I know for us, we both agreed that school, even elementary nowadays with some exceptions, is not the safe, fun, happy-go-lucky place it once was. Although it never completely was, as there have always been bullies, and nerds, and all those other not-so-nice labels kids slap on to one another (like it or not). But we both found that throughout our entire lives, the most significant learning experiences we had took place outside the four walls of the classroom, or if actually in school, they were relationship or personal growth related--- you know, life lessons.

 Not to say we didn’t enjoy school at times. But  I don’t know, I see my kids learning everyday, more and more, and really, I’m not worried that they are going to miss out, or won’t be able to get their diploma/GED when the time comes. I think they’ll be fine if they decide to go to college, trade school, or university. In all honesty unless they want to become doctors, teachers, or something that really requires a university education, I hope they stay away from it. Many go, succeed, and it betters their lives or careers. Many others go simply because they are “supposed to”, waste thousands of dollars, and extend their adolescence by a few years (generally at Mom & Dad’s expense). Then, all too often, when they meet someone “uneducated” who knows as much about their field of expertise/study as they do (and who didn’t have to spend thousands of dollars to learn it), their egos are wounded and an arrogance surfaces. I have seen it too many times and it sickens me. No, not all the time. Perhaps not even half the time. But definitely too often for me to want my children to attend university unless it is really necessary.

Although in this family we’d probably be more likely to sprout some carpenters, midwives, herbalists, organic farmers, writers & who knows what else LOL…

Micaiah (3) has picked up that after touching meat or cracking eggs it’s important to wash your hands, so he constantly reminds me from his chair by the counter when I am cooking or baking. “You could get sick, Mom.” he says. Actually it’s more like “You could get thick, Mom.” because he has a lisp… They learn a lot by baking & cooking, too. Measurements, what different ingredients do, nutrition… Day-to-day life-learning is kinda fun J.

Cooked a goose yesterday. Delicious. Free-range, from a farmer friend of ours, for $15.00. So far I have made 3 meals out of it and there is enough meat left for 3 more. The gravy from goose drippings is fantastic. & goose fat on fresh baked bread (still warm so it melts) or toast is so yummy. Made some chicken and goose stock from 2  full freezer bags of bones today too, and baked 4 loaves of bread. Completely cleaned out and re-organized my kitchen (a.k.a. workshop lol), and moved back into the bedroom (hubby was doing the hardwood floor, and he built me a countertop to paint on. So sweet.)… It has been a long and tiring day, but that good tiring, where you know you have worked hard and accomplished much. The kiddos and Dad were all pretty cheerful today too. It’s great when we are all jumping in together and just making our home & life a pleasant & warm place…

Gotta go, somebody needs me J.

It's not easy being green...

 As soon as I found out about this pregnancy, the wheels began to turn in regards to homeschooling, efficiency, training the kids, and all that stuff that is OF GREAT IMPORTANCE when one is: expecting #6, cooks on a cookstove, and only has hot water for ½-3/4 of the day (depending on how many baths and showers have taken place, and how mnay dishes have needed washing).

 All was going well. And then it hit. Again. I never expected it last time, and it took me for quite the turn then. I had kind of forgotten about it this time, until it started. I don’t think it will be as bad, but it is definitely there. That good ol’ 1^st trimester fatigue. I had never experienced it until Tubby. With the 1^st, I got sick for 3 months, then all was fine. With the 2^nd, I was a smidgen sick for a few months (cooking meat, especially red, really got to me), but really no big deal. Nothing for 3 and 4. In fact, 4 was the best pregnancy ever. Then with 5, I was wiped right out for almost 3 months straight. As in, could hardly get up and get things done without feeling the need to crash on the couch and fight sleep right after. The last couple of days, especially today, I have been a very tired momma. I have gone to bed by 10pm (early over here), a couple of nights ago at 9:30pm, and slept and slept and slept. This morning I set my alarm to get up and get rolling with chores and homeschooling, and slept through almost 2 hours of the radio being on when it went off. It was loud, too. So needless to say, we didn’t get all our stuff done, and I dragged my feet wanting to nap all day. Yikes. Not a good start to the next few months. Then in Super Store, I was hit by a wave of nausea that made me suddenly realize how incredibly far the bathroom was from the aisle I was in. Thankfully, my lunch remained in my stomach. But for a second there I feared the worst…

 I am going to mosey on over to “Large Family Logistics” and check out her cleaning/organizing/laundry/homeschooling/meal-planning info again. I have found it very helpful in the past, and seeing as cloning myself is out of the question, I need a bit of help from elsewhere.

 Elijah is doing really well with his 3^rd grade math. No problems at all so far. After this book I am going to invest in THIS book because we have taken it out from the library several times and it is amazing.

 Both Mick and Zabby are doing “Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons”. It’s actually going great, and Mick is picking it up quite well for a 3 year old. Actually, he’s doing almost as well as Zab, and she’s 5. So that’s pretty encouraging…

 Ok, better go. Copying and pasting again lol. The kids are hungry and we are having a “comfort food” supper: grilled cheese and tomato soup J. Nice once in a while.

We're still alive :)

Wow, it’s been a long time since my last post. Yes, we are still alive. Life has been busy. We took a trip to Ottawa to visit Grandma & Grandpa. Aside from an unexpected extended confinement in their 8^th floor apartment, it was great. Wayne was supposed to do 3 days of work for a generally disorganized person, which turned into 8 days instead. Yes, it was money that made the trip financially easier. But most of the trip wound up taking place inside an 8^th floor apartment building because of it. It was one of those things that could have gone much better and taken much less time if there had been even a tiny bit more organization to it. But it brought in unexpected cash, so I guess I have to look at it that way.

Actually, before the trip, we were ready to have more children. I had a miscarriage a little while before (a very early one), and had found that before that happened I had completely adjusted to “being pregnant”. During the trip, for several reasons, I decided that if we had more at all it would not be for a long, long time. If at all. My mindset stayed that way, and up until a little while ago, I was viewing the future in that way. Obviously, Someone had other plans, because I was pretty surprised to find TWO pink lines on a test one day… Especially since I had tested negative just a couple of days before… But I was HAPPY. INSTANTLY. I ran over to the farmhouse to tell Wayne he had to stop being mad at me (slight bickering going on that morning) because he was delivering another of our babies in the summer. The look on his face was priceless. His eyes wrinkled and he looked like something deep inside had warmed him over completely. I mean, he was just as shocked as I was, but just as happy. So there is a baby coming in the summer, due the day after my Dad’s birthday. Elijah was afraid that if we gave Grandpa a grandkid for his birthday he’d keep it.

Homeschooling is going really well. We do math, literature & narration, copywork, and language arts on a  daily basis. No overdoses though. We also do French and the kids watch something interesting on National Geographic or Discovery for science & social studies.

They are doing well with their chore charts too. I guess with a 6^th on the way I am viewing my future as a “sink or swim” situation lol… Better be consistent and organized from this point on or I am going to be overwhelmed. I don’t like that word. I have seen women with 10-14 children who are nowhere near overwhelmed, so I know I can do this. My husband is not exactly a “Here. Let me rub your feet.” kind of guy either hahaha. Yes, a wonderful man. But a nice mixture of the Choleric and Melancholy temparements, which means he works harder than most, and excels at all he does. Which also means that I kinda have to get off my mainly Phlegmatic & Sanguine (with a dab of Melancholy to keep me from being a total slacker) butt and keep up on my end. I have to say, thanks to the high standards of this man, I have achieved more than I ever thought I could, in so many ways. But  I won’t be expecting any doting until I have given birth and can’t get up without hemorrhaging for a week or two LOL…

Tanya and I have decided to try and gradually work up to eating mainly raw foods. There are so many recipes out there, for dips, spreads, dehydrated breads, “cheeses”… Actually, I made a parmesan-type cheese from nutritional yeast, sesame seeds & salt, and it is DELICIOUS. We put it on our salads for protein & calcium. I basically eat mainly raw except supper. Then I enjoy whatever I have made for my family. Tonight it was free-range chicken, potatoes, carrots & gravy. My snack tonight will probably be avocado (I am addicted!!!!).

Well, it is time to go put the kiddos to bed. We are now on dial-up, so I am not on as often. I am going to try to post at least twice a week though. Right now I am typing in Word and am going to paste this online later…

Back on track

Today we printed off some language arts pages for 1st & 3rd grade from http://www.learningpage.com . The lessons were based on zoo animals (always a favourite). Zabby did a couple of preschool sheets. Noah did some "sticker subtraction" with Tanya's help, and Elijah is doing a couple of pages from his math book. We finally have some sunshine after about 36 straight hours of rain.

We went on a Nature Walk with some friends on Sunday. I'll have to shrink and post some photos of that later. It was very nice, and good to know they have summer programs for children for free. We'll probably go apple picking this weekend.

The kids are looking forward to their big trip in 2 weeks. We leave for Ottawa on the 18th of October, and will be there until the end of the month. They can't wait to see their grandparents, and hit all the museums in our country's capital. I'm sure it will prove to be quite the educational experience.

I'll try to get back on later and get those photos up...

FIDDLER'S SONS!!!

Wow, it's been a while since I have posted anything, eh?

Yesterday, in all honesty, was a HORRIBLE day. Especially since the day before was an AMAZING day. No, nothing special happened or anything. It just went really smoothly, and a lot got done, and the kids were really good. Tanya's friend came by, and he happens to deliver for a pastry company. His boss told him he could snack on stuff when he gets hungry. So he pops by and gives the kids a bunch of stuff, including a small package of gourmet walnut fudge (YUMMMMMYYY!!!!). Anyhow, the sun was shining, the weather was nice... Tanya and I enjoyed our afternoon coffee & chatting, which seems to be becoming a hibit again. I think we both had missed that from our Mansonville days. But like I said, nothing extraordinary happened, it was just a day where all goes pretty good, and you wind up just cherishing the simple things of life, like making a meal for your family, hanging clothes outside in the sun, reading to the kids (who are behaving themselves)... Patience abounds, even when the fighting does break out among a couple later in the day...

And then...

Yesterday happens.

I'm not sure how or when it all started. Maybe trying to get everyone ready so I could take the three youngest to a play group while Tan watched the older two... That was just not going well. And I am FINALLY  getting my shoes on---- literally tying the first sneaker--- and my friend/neighbor/mom of 2 who also babysits 4 more walks in to tell me not to go. Why? Because there was a wake at the church where the playgroup was supposed to be, and the lady in charge of the playgroup had forgot to pass along the info that it wasn't happening. So we figured Zabby RUNNING into the church, seeing the body, and blurting out "Is he dead??" and perhaps poking at him would be, ahem, a not-so-good thing. We laughed hysterically at the thought of it, but then I realized her & Mick were already in the van, and they never get to go anywhere alone with me (hahaha alone means THREE of them instead of FIVE), so I asked Tan if she minded if I just took them down to Montague instead, to Super Store & the Down East Mall. No problem (her van)... I go to Gotcha Covered (nice little thrift boutique) and decide to get a new top ($4.99 lol) since I was going to a concert that night and when you never get out, you do that. Even if it wasn't really new but who cares it was a great deal. I also got Tubby a bunch of much-needed socks.

Anyhow, to cut to the chase, the kids were not the greatest to have out once we hit Super Store, the top didn't fit when I got home with it, I am due for my period tonight or tomorrow so I was having those super-emotional-reevaluate everything-you've-ever-done-want-to-cry-at-the-drop-of-a-hat mornings...

I get home, thankfully Tan & Noah had cleaned up which was nice. Made lunch, sat down, had a coffee with Tan again Was super stressed cuz they kept fighting and stuff, which was so odd, after the great day before. Tried sending them all outside so I could get some housework done before Wayne came home for supper. Oh, he had come home for lunch, and stayed a while, which was nice. And he also decided that he would stay with the youngest three so I could go to the concert with Elijah, Noah & some friends since he usually gets to go out & I don't. That was pretty sweet of him. I sent the kids outside, and then my neighbor/friend called to see if her kids could skateboard in our driveway (dirt driveway but hey, they're kids...). Elijah happened to have his tool/knife/pocket thing on him, and it fell out of his pocket. The other kids got hold of it, but it wasn't open. I went out to talk to their Mom for a sec, and found it, and took it. Noah kept trying to take it out of my pocket, even when I would tell her no. Zabby snuck into our house with the neighbor kid, went upstairs, stole Elijah's guitar and took it outside. I was NOT PLEASED.

Then they kept coming in and out while I tried to clean, so I had to lock both  doors. It was like they were having a contest to see who could drive me to get my tubes tied first...

THEN...

The phone rings. It is my neighbor/friend, asking me if it is possible that Noah has a knife in the playhouse. Great. Lovely. I had put the knife/tool thingy way up where they couldn't reach it without getting a chair or something, and trying real hard. Which they wouldn;t do, bcause they KNEW they weren't to touch it... Guess again. She did it. And she apparently had been RUNNING with the blade out. Yes, folks, running with a knife. I ran out, took it, said "You aren't coming tonight" came back in, and just about fell into a heap bawling. I called my friend to apologize, and she felt that once in a blue moon kids just do stuff, all kids, that is dangerous and/or disobedient, and it happens, and not to let it get to me. There was now no way I was going anywhere in this frame of mind. But then she was telling me I NEEDED to get out, especially after today, so I should go. Which Wayne promptly agreed with when he came in, even when I didn't want to. So ok, why make Elijah lose out because of the others. He had been terrific all day. So I showered, borrowed some of Tanya's non-housewifey-no-stains clothes, actually wore eyeliner for the first time in years (SHOCKER), and Elijah got all dressed up too. And off we went with Sandra and Fred. And it was AMAZING! We actually couldn't all sit together cuz it was so packed, and Elijah sat ON MY LAP the whole time. But they are soooo good, and they had these two fiddler girls with them, Courtney Hogan, and Cynthia McLeod, who are AMAZING! I love these guys! They are offically now my absolute favourite band in the world. Yes, the little band from PEI (from around here, actually) has beat out Blue Rodeo on my list. For sure. I am so glad we went. What an evening...

I came home to Tobias screaming in Wayne's arms. I guess he had only been that way for 15 minutes, so it wasn't bad. Nursed him, and hung out with him, and off to sleep he went. Wayne & the kids had watched Road to Avonlea while we were gone. They had a nice quiet evening.

So if you are ever in PEI, and see a sign or advertisement for Fiddler's Sons or Cynthia McLeod, or The Redheaded Fiddler (a.k.a. Courtney Hogan), or Eddy Quinn (singer for Fiddler's Sons), GO SEE THEM!!!

Now I have laundry to hang, potatoes to dig (hey, this IS  PEI...), a house to clean, soem math to teach... I'll check in again soon...

www.fiddlerssons.com

http://www.cynthiamacleod.com

http://www.courtneyhogan.ca

Hahah, just as I was typing that, our mailman, who happens to be related to one of the band members (welcome to PEI) knocked at our door to drop a huge parcel off... And I haven't even brushed my teeth. How embarrassing... Time to get rolling... 

Rainy day

We had a rainy day here today. The kids all did schoolwork, both "formal" and just learning a bunch of new words in French as the day went on...

Elijah was on the couch reading this.

I think I have strep throat, which isn't very convenient with 5 kids. Maybe I shouldn't have written that, because now my Mum will get all worried if she reads this... She does that... It's not good for your health, Mom, cut it out...

Some things are needing a wee bit of fine-tuning around here. I need to pull out that famous child-training book, the title of which I will not disclose, and have a little "boot camp" for a few days...

The kids are actually doing quite well learning french. I am in touch with some francophone/acadienne organizations on the island. I never thought I would miss speaking french but I do (sigh). And I want my kids to be bilingual.

Well, Tobias is screaming, so I will have to add onto this later....

Long week

It has been a long week in our home.

A friend of my husband passed away suddenly, due to complications from what was supposed to be a fairly easy surgery. Ok, in fairness, how easy is brain surgery? But the complications were so unexpected, and now he is gone, leaving a wife, grown children and grandkids, at such a special time of his life, too. He was in his fifties, and he and his wife were dream-chasing, you know? Working on their home, he was fixing up a small plane... She loves her grandkids (he did too, but you know how grammas are...). Only in his fifties. My husband will be in his fifties in just over five years. That isn't long. That isn't long at all. My Mum and Dad are in their fifties. They are the same age (roughly) as my husband's friend was.

Why are so many people dying, out of nowhere? Is it just that now I am more aware of their deaths? Life seemed so easy and endless as a child. Now it seems so fast, so short, so uncertain... Why is it that the people who love their spouses lose them, while the people who cheat and leave stay alive? Why can't the cheaters and deadbeats kick the bucket, and the ones who have something to live for stay alive?

My husband lost his first wife when they had both just barely turned 34. She had a 9 month battle with breast cancer. Three children, and she was gone. Yet if she were still alive, there are 5 people, and perhaps someday more, who would not be. But does that somehow make it fair? Does that somehow cancel it out? Most days, if I begin to think about these things, I have to make myself stop, because there are no answers. There may be, until you dig a little deeper. Then you are lost again, and it makes no sense. Again.

I guess we have to learn to trust. Trust that no matter how messed up, or unfair it all may seem, that Someone knows what is going on; knows the "why" in it all, you know?

Another friend has just lost her grandmother. Yes, she was old. Yes, she had a long, good life. But that doesn't change how much she will be missed.

I think of my grandmother often lately. She is 78. I hope she lives another few years. I hope she doesn't leave us soon. There is still so much to say, so much to hear, so much to learn. So much that can only come from her.

Then it will be my parents. The two who have given me everything, and who love their grandchildren more than life itself. What if they go? That's not fair. They are loved. They give love. So many of our lives would be so empty without them.

If life were truly fair, the people that are wanted and needed, and who bless others' lives, would stay forever. And the ones who want to kill and rape and hurt all the time would be the ones to cease to exist instead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On a lighter note, Elijah found some shed snakeskin today and is keeping it in a jar on the shelf to study it for science. He is presently watching a movie about the Oka Crisis (which happened right near where I grew up, about 15 minutes away). He now wants to be a history teacher when he grows up. Personally, I think he should be Prime Minister  ... Yup, the country's first homeschooled Prime Minister. That would be cool...

Well, Mickie is on my lap, requesting my affection, and the older kids just woke the baby up (ugh!), so I will sign off here. Next post will be more "homeschool" oriented, I promise :)...

Goodnight!

Several new leaves...

You know that expression, 'turining over a new leaf"? Well, it seems as though several new leaves are turning over around here lately. Generally involving me. Ok, all of them are with me...

It's not like one of those New Years' resolution things, where you get all gung ho and then the minute you fail you throw in the towel...

Just more of a re-evaluation of different aspects of my life. And I seem to have developped quite a bit more self-discipline and organization this last while, which may schock some of you. Especially my parents who actually removed the door from my room once when I was a teen to try to get me to actually clean up in there...

No, but seriously, it's kind of strange. I am beginning to hate messiness and would rather lose sleep most nights than leave the place a mess. I'm also getting up early with no problems, or even much of a desire to hit the alarm and roll over. It's so odd. I must be in my thirtieth year or something LOL... Getting old...

I am finidng I need a "day off" each week. So I try to plan for it. Had one today, except for making eggs and hash-browns and then caving and cleaning up cuz all the dishes were getting to me. But other than that, all my laundry was done & put away yesterday, and I had a meal ready to cook in the slow-cooker (put it together yesterday & put the slow-cooker bowl in the fridge) for tonight. Had soem plum coffee cake made for this morning, too. So I did really get to relax.

I'm also realizing my daughters are getting bigger, and this is happening way too quickly. Somedays I feel as though I haven't gotten to know them, and a friend mentioned how they voiced a few things that were quite a wake-up call for Mum over here. So I am determined to get to know, and be friends with, both my daughters instead of shooing them away while I try to work. Noah has been enjoying the audio books I have brought form the library. They are listening to Grimm's fairy tales. Strange how these stories have lessons, like in the Fisherman and His Wife, where they lose everything because she just can't be happy with what she has been given...

I did promise, too long ago, to make Zabdiel a doll. Gotta make good on that...

Noah asked me out of the blue if we could go back to the church we were going to last summer. How could I resist, as at the same time, I had been thinking about how much I missed a few poeple there. So we will go tomorrow.

Another new leaf: health. Yes, we eat mainly organic, and all that. Hardly any cakes & cookies & stuff. But I have been severely neglecting exercise and stretching, which I need to do. I also would like to someday go 90%-100% raw (food), but for now I don't think that will happen, although I am definitely going to increase my fruits, veggies, and seeds and nuts. Coffee is my ADDICTION, though...

The kids and I are going to start taking more walks into the woods, or along the path, or just way over into the village to play at the park sometimes. Plus, beginning Sep. 21st I will be taking the three youngest to Carousel in Cardigan, which is a preschool/baby play-group type of thing. The older two will get to go to all the homeschool functions (well, not all, but the big stuff).

We have all been reading together a lot more. It's fun. They all get really into it and then want to draw pictures of what they heard.

Well, I am very tired. I am not even going to check for typos, actually, which I am sure there are plenty of LOL.

Goodnight :)

p.s. the kids LOVE this: www.starfall.com 

plan B

Well, it looks like Plan A is not working too well so far. Plan A was doing Faith Studies, Math, Literature & Narration, Copywork, French, and Language Arts every day, and then alternating History & Science, and Guitar & Art...

The problem is that we do the everyday stuff minus French and by the time we get to Language Arts, believe me, it is more than enough. Then I would get all frustrated that we weren't doing all the other subjects, and get discouraged, and want to give up on it all. Then I'd express this all to my husband, who knows me well enough to know I'll be fine if he just lets me freak out a little and then get on with it...

And then it hit me (Plan B, that is): do it on a cycle. Pick up the next day where we left off the previous day. Don't start with  Math or anything else because you are "supposed to do those ones every day". If, for whatever reason, the homeschooling day ends before you get to French, start with French the next day. And then Science. And so on... You know?

It's pretty sad when it takes a few days of frustration to think of such a simple solution. I just use the excuse about the brain cells leaking out through the breast-milk...

And this way, the kids don't get sick of HAVING to do math every single morning, or HAVING to do French every day. I think this will work.

I'll be back to let you all know in a couple of days...

By the way my almost 3yo identified Stephen Harper with great joy and enthusiasm today. Is that abnormal? I thought it was funny myself...

ok, here are all the pics I accidentally deleted from other posts...

I didn't realize (found out later when I read the FAQ) that removing any of them form my File Uploads would totally remove them from the posts as well...

So there you go, they are back LOL...

whoops...

I just deleted all my photos by accident.

Welcome to my life.

I'll put them back in a new post now...

Pics

  At the top, we have Daddy & Tobias in the swing chair in the sunporch, snuggling as usual.

Next would be a night when Mickie and Noah fell asleep on the couch together, which I found cute, so being a Mum I took a picture of course.

Last, we have Mick and Zab helping me bake a cake from the book "Amish Recipes", which I believe is available through Rod & Staff publishers. Really good recipe book, and quite inexpensive as well. And yes, those are in fact three Molson Canadian beer bottles on the counter. Although my personal favourite is Alexander Keith, and the occaisional Corona...

There you have it. Pictures. Enjoy :)

Hey Sombra, if you are reading this, thanks for the sunflower pictures. I just can't figure out how to stick them up top, you know? Help!

(slightly illiterate when it somes to this stuff...)

Finally

It is 8:45 pm my time and I am exhausted. We had friends over for a BBQ, which was fun. It was nice to sit in the sunporch and eat, and the kiddos were pretty good. These are friends who have no children (by choice), and claim to not like kids, but "tolerate" them (if they are well behaved...). Yet it didn't take much for our 10 month old to be sitting on the husband's lap, who was in the swing chair. He claimed it was strictly due to Tobias being a bit cranky and beginning to cry, so he picked him up to stop him. Yet on one occaision we caught him talking baby talk to him... Hmmm...

So our venture into early homeschooling did not turn out well. We did TWO DAYS. The next door neighbor just happens to be the kids' best friend, and partner in summertime adventure as well. He starts school on Tuesday. Which in essence explains why us starting early didn't go so great. How do you say no to a little cutie knocking at your back door for 4 of your 5 kids to go out blackberry picking or bike riding with him? You should see the eyes on this kid, too! Huge, and really light blue. Freckles on his nose, and quite the smile. So homeschooling will have to begin on Tuesday (sigh)...

Apple picking tomorrow at some friends' place in the morning. The same friends who were here today. Nice of them to offer their fruit to us like that: just grab some bags & start picking! I guess they have other firends coming in the afternoon who will take it all, so she told us to come in the morning and get a bunch first LOL... She also promised my 8yo a ride in the back of the pick up.

Tanya will be 22 on Monday. Wow. What happened to the little girl in the peach sweater and white sneakers running towards me at youth group while the others played soccer? With her bangs just cut, I think, and light blue jeans, and a huge smile. I think she was only 4"9 or something back then, too... Now she is agonizing over her current boyfriend, working full time, hair dyed, and all grown up... But still only 5' hahaha... Yikes... Time flies. Although I'm sure my Mum would say the same...

We are getting into a bedtime routine here, which is nice. As much as my dear hubby likes the kids staying up until whenever, getting up whenever, I find I need a routine to help things go well. Not just go well, but also in order for me to enjoy my life at home with the kids. I really want to enjoy my time with them while they are young, and I just can't do that when things are chaotic. So at about 8:00 pm, it is time to get in their jammies, wash their faces & brush their teeth. Jammies for Tubs, too. They seems to enjoy the routine. Then they can grab their animal sleeping bags and huddle in with Daddy and watch TV if something decent is on. Otherwise, it is bed time. If they watch TV they usually conk out in no time, and then I just throw them into their beds or Wayne does. If there is nothing on, they get tucked in, and that is that. They can read in bed if they want, as long as they are quiet.

I have been carrying Tubs on my back for 2 days straight, for most of his waking moments, with the occaisional Jolly Jumper break. I never realized how many trips up and down the stairs I make in a day until I began to do it with 23-1/2 lbs on my back... My legs were sore in the morning...

Ok, now I have to get some pics up as promised...

SOMETIME WITHIN THE NEXT 14 HOURS!

I'LL POST A  DETAILED ENTRY WITH PHOTOS BY MIDNIGHT TONIGHT!!!

Sorry, been busy & not on for long enough to write anything, but so much is going on!!!

Been a while...

Hmmm, I'm back, after a lengthy absence. I won't be putting up any pictures tonight, as I am very tired and will be heading to bed as soon as I am done with this entry.

On Monday, we will begin our first OFFICIAL day of homeschooling for the 2006-2007 year. I only have to account for Elijah again, and then Noah turns 7 in January... But I will be keeping records of our studies for both from now until then anyways...

We are kind of basing our history on the book The Story of The World , vol. 1.  I think I have taken out every children's resource on Ancient Egypt and archaeology imaginable from the library... We will be doing the basics: math, language arts, reading, and French, plus poetry (somewhat...), guitar, literature (Tales From Shakespeare), artist study (possibly Emily Carr?), and science (The Night Book, given to Elijah by his grandparents for his 8th birthday)...

I think both the kids and I need some serious routine AND hard work in our lives. I notice my lovely daughters (one gorgeous one in particular) complain a whole lot more when they have less reason to. It's bizarre. I should upload our schedules and stuff, to give an idea of what is going on in our home.

I have made my second batch of Hillbilly Wine (a.k.a. wine made from grape juice, bread yeast, a cup of tea for tannins, and a squirt of lemon juice). It is YUMMY. I am going to try banana wine as well. I found a few recipes for it.

I can't wait for the full moon this moon cycle. We have such gorgeous full moons out here, HUGE and orange... I will have to adjust Lijee's telescope for him before the next one...

I guess I'd better be off to bed. It's 12:16 a.m. Atlantic Time, and I , the insomniac mother of this house, should not still be up...