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I was reading Grace4Gayle's blog and she mentioned something about Obama that reminded me of a conservation my children and I had in our van the day before the election. My oldest two wanted to know why my husband and I were voting for McCain/Palin so as much as possible I explained it to them saying we really didn't want Obama in office because of his view on abortion. We then talked a little about McCain's views, etc. but Obama's name, of course, kept coming up. A few minutes into the conversation my four year old DD piped up, "OBAMA? He's supposed to be dead!" which sent the rest of us into hysterics. She, obviously thought we were saying "A LLAMA" and was quoting "Emperor's New Groove", but we sure found it funny. Later on that night we were making pudding and I told my oldest daughter, age 10, to get out the metal measuring cup to measure the milk. I mentioned that when I was little, I liked to drink milk out of that same cup because it always tasted so much colder. She asked if she could have some milk in the cup to drink when we were done measuring and I told her yes. My 7 year old DS then begged to have some milk, but missed the whole metal cup conversation and poured his into a plastic cup. My 10 year old poured herself some milk in the cup and said, "Yum, this makes me feel like a Prairie Girl!" My son (who doesn't always have great hearing) said, "Yeah, this milk makes me feel like a Fairy Boy!" Once again, for the second time that day, I found myself in hysterics. Fairy Boy! I hope not!!! |
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Did I mention I was pregnant? This newest one is due on his/her "big" brother's birthday - February 20. Our youngest, at the moment, will be two on that day so we shall see when this newest one will make its appearance on that day or be late like Josiah was. My husband's birthday is March 3 so that would be nice also. |
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I'm using a charter school this year to homeschool. I know, I know. There are many out there who would disagree with me using the public school system, but after praying about it and my need for more accountability in homeschooling my children, this was what seemed to be the answer. It's not a permanent solution - there are so many things I don't like about using it such as: teaching to California Standards; the push to make sure certain subjects are done and how that causes the children and I to lose the joy of homeschooling; and how often it just seems like we're doing school at home instead of homeschooling. There is little spontaneity and delight-driven learning. On the flip side, I'm doing school a whole lot more than i was. Knowing that I have to sign a piece a paper at the end of each month saying my children did school on certain days is a definite motivator. We have gone off a bit from the trail were supposed to be following, though, the last week or so. We are supposed to be doing California History this year (for all three of the kids) and I decided to do a sideline of Pilgrim History. The church we attend does a Reformation Day each year instead of a Harvest Party celebrating key figures in Reformation history. This year they decided to do the Puritans/Pilgrims/Separatists. In light of that, I started reading "The Mayflower Secret" by Dave and Neta Jackson to them - a fictionalized version of the Mayflower story through 13-year-old Elizabeth Tilley's eyes. I have had my children (at least the 8 and 10 year olds) drawing pictures as I read and I decided that a notebook would be a great way for them to keep the pictures. Of course, I'll have them do other things also in the notebook for history, science, writing, and reading. So far I plan for them to: copy the Mayflower Charter, write about the Mayflower's journey and the settlement of Plymouth, choose some of the herbs that the Indians taught the Pilgrims about and do some research on them, include their art, write poems, possibly draw a map of the location of Plymouth, do a timeline, as well as other possibilities. Today I had them make their notebook covers to spark their interest and have a place to put their research and work. For my younger two (ages 7 and 4) I'll simplify it a bit and have them do some Autumn activities also. Coloring, study of pumpkins and autumn leaves, as well as reading them more simplified versions of the Pilgrim stories and dictating it back to me. I found a link to another homeschooling mom's Thanksgiving notebook project that inspired me. She has done several notebooking projects that I thought were creative and sparked my creativity in turn. I don't agree with everything they study, but I'm looking for format at this point. If you know of other websites with photos of ideas for notebooking, let me know. I'm definitely a novice and sometimes I spend too much time thinking, and not enough time doing! |
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I'm preparing for a birthday party for my oldest dd who turned 10 last month, but with school, etc. going on, I decided to postpone it for a month. She wanted an American Girl theme so that's what we're doing. Most of her friends plan to dress up and bring their dolls and I'm still in the process of finalizing games, crafts, and organizing my house a bit more. I know I won't get everything done that I want to and I pray that I will be able to focus on the guests and my children and not the clutter lurking behind closed doors.  I'm tempted to haul my homeschool bookshelf and drawers out of the hallway, but I won't. Most of the kids/moms coming are homeschooler families. Why should I care? I'll just straighten it and move on.Now, on to making mini pumpkin pies and other baked goods. |
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I created a Facebook page awhile back - I can't even remember what prompted it - but as more people sign on and I add them as friends, it has given me flashbacks to high school and college. Not necessarily because these people went to school with me, but because it's easy to fill slighted (even if the person doesn't intend it). You wrote on their wall, but they didn't write on yours. You left a comment on their wall and they deleted it for whatever reason (and it might just be a good one). For some reason I never felt quite like that on Homeschool Blogger. Granted, it's not a social network, but a place to blog and sometime vent on occasion. On Facebook you don't blog. You give little snippets of what's going on in your life, choose "flair", join causes, and wait for someone to notice you - just like high school all over again. "Do they want to be my friend?" "Is my quick view into my life good enough to catch someone's attention?" "Am I going to offend someone and are they going to delete from their friends' list?" It's silly really. I know that to win friends I need to be a friend and that someone posting on my page is not the sum of my acceptance by others in my life. For pity's sake, even my husband rarely post something on my page, even if I have sent him virtual Starbuck's drinks, roses and hot cocoa. Does it mean he doesn't love me? Of course not. He's here with me on a daily basis. He just gave me a neck rub this morning because my neck ached and he loves me. Much better than a virtual cup of hot tea. It doesn't help that I'm pregnant, oversensitive, and sleep deprived either. So, I'll continue to choose not to get my feelings hurt over something so meaningless and remind myself that my self worth is in Christ alone. |
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KEEPING BABY BEAR OUT OF THE TOP BUNK – In my sons’ bedroom we have an IKEA loft bed that we recently borrowed. I LOVE it! When we have the financial resources, I want to buy one for the boys room and one for the girls’ bedroom. The bed is well made of solid pine. Anyway, my oldest boy is 7 and my youngest is 18 months. We didn’t want the littlest one to be climbing up to the top bunk on the ladder. It was definitely a matter of concern because two different times I found him on the top rung and that was when he was only 15 months old. I was racking my brain trying to figure out how to keep him off of the ladder and finally asked my husband what to do. He said, “I’ll just take out the bottom rung.” I was struck by the brilliance of his suggestion. The next rung up was not up so high that my 7 year old couldn’t climb up, but it was out of the little one's reach. My husband removed it and it worked like a charm. I probably would have never thought of that solution. He’s amazing! TOO HOT TO COOK INSIDE – The last few days here in the Central Valley of California have been HOT! The thought of heating up our house by turning on the stove or the oven has just seemed insane. So we didn’t. One night this week I did a salad bar and a potato bar. Okay, not original, but it’s something I’ve wanted to do and just never get around to because of the amount of chopping, grating, and slicing. But this time I went all out and put out all my faves – chopped red bell pepper, frozen peas (thawed), pickled beets, as well as olives, green onions, broccoli (barely cooked it and used it on top of my potato too with cheese), cauliflower, cheddar cheese, and a bunch of other stuff. I rarely buy ranch dressing anymore, but this time I bought it because I love salad bars at restaurants and usually choose ranch or blue cheese dressing. I cooked the potatoes in the microwave so I never turned on the oven. The meal was well worth the chopping! Another night my 7 and 4 year old asked for homemade pizza. I knew it would be too hot inside to make it so we decided to cook it outside. Our friends, the Davises, have used their outside grill to make the Take-n-Bake pizzas from Costco, but we don’t have one of those and don’t expect to anytime soon. Recently, though, my mom had purchased a George Foreman outdoor grill (don’t laugh!) at Costco. It kind of looks like a traditional BBQ, but it plugs in so no charcoal or fuel is needed. The downside is you don’t get the BBQ flavor, but the upside is you aren’t heating up your house. We put a pizza stone on the grill thingy and let it heat up and then cooked breadsticks first and then the pizzas. It was a little difficult sliding the raw pizza onto the hot pizza stone, but I learned quickly to sprinkle the cutting board surface with cornmeal, then place the already formed pizza dough on top then put on the toppings. It still was a little challenging sliding it off of the board with out losing the toppings, but we managed.
Typically it takes 15-18 minutes in a 425 oven to bake one pizza. Outdoors on the grill it took almost 25, but I didn’t have to make as many because two of my kids are gone this week to spend time with Grammy and Grampy. It also didn’t brown up the way I like it, but it was still good. One night we just had a huge salad with chicken and cheese and other goodies mixed in and then I made berry smoothies for dessert. My kids love smoothies and would drink them everyday if I made them. Last night we grilled hamburgers outside and, yes you guessed it, had more salad and smoothies. Tonight I’m working on lesson plans for three of my children. We’re starting school this Monday so I need to get it done. I wanted to have dinner already prepared so I’m doing a crock-pot meal. I usually don’t use a crock-pot in the hot months because it heats up the house and makes it humid (or more humid if you live in the My mother-in-law makes cowboy casserole and bakes it in the oven. Years ago I got the recipe from her (it’s really easy), but I’ve never made it. So today I tweaked it a bit and stuck it in the crock-pot. She layers carrots, potatoes, (maybe celery), sliced onion and raw hamburger in a casserole dish, covers it in foil and sticks it in the oven for a couple of hours (I think). I think she just uses salt and pepper to season it. I put baby carrots, a stalk of celery, sliced potatoes, frozen peas, and cooked hamburger mixed with fresh garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and seasoned salt. Then I sliced some onion and put it on the top (hoping that as it cooks it will permeate the meat, as well as the other veggies). I’m going to try cooking it on high for an hour or so and then turn it down to low. I think it will take 5 or 6 hours, but who knows. So tonight we get a heartier meal, and still won’t heat up the kitchen. Hopefully, the cats will leave it alone! |
Posted in Everyday Life
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Last night, about 7:30 California time, our pastor's wife from Madison, WI called us. My husband talked to her and she was rather frantic because of another family from our church had called them to say their 11-year-old son was missing. They were on their way to the family's home to help search for him. Daniel, had gone out bird-watching, which wasn't unusual, but didn't come back in after an hour had gone by. When they went looking, no one could locate him. The blessing is that the police started searching for him right away. I believe they were already looking for him after only being gone for a couple of hours. It felt so strange to have this happen to good friends of ours. They have five children, homeschool, and our two oldest are good friends with two of their girls and have spent the night at their home on several occasions. My heart went out to them and I was wishing we were still in Wisconsin so we could help join the search. But I knew the Lord knew exactly where he was and we had the privilege of praying for him and his safety. Channel 15 News in Madison had the story on their website (and on TV). My mom and aunt were surprised that he was reported missing because in California, they typically wait 24 hours. I'm so glad they didn't wait that long. 24 hours, even in 43 degree weather, is still too long in my opinion. I called his mom last night at 9:40 p.m. (11:40 their time) to see if they had heard anything, but to also let them know that the description that was given on the website was incorrect. As I was talking to her, they were informed that he had been found. I quickly let her go so she could get all the details, but I was so glad to hear that he'd been found. The Lord answered our prayers quickly. |
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Five days ago my littlest guy turned ONE. Wow! The year has flown by and I can hardly believe that he's been here for that long. He's a cutie - light brown hair (barely any still), dark brown eyes, deep dimples and a beautiful smile. He's both sweet and demanding (which we're continually working on) and loves to make us laugh. He's not walking yet, but he's able to scale our fairly steep, uncarpeted staircase in amazingly short time. We're in the middle of packing and, of course, his favorite thing is to undo the things I've just done. Errrgh! Being that all of our family and friends live anywhere from an hour or more away, his birthday was quiet. His oldest sister made some sand dollar-size pancakes for him and we videotaped him eating them. A couple of nights later, she made a birthday cake for him and he love that. I was surprised at how clean he stayed. He ate most of his piece a cake, only got a couple of crumbs on the floor, and his mouth was just a little messy. He also enjoyed trying to eat it with his baby fork and spoon. Josiah, I love you, Buddy! May Jesus continue to make you more like Him and may we continue to guide you in the way you should go so that when you are old, you won't depart from it. |
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Since November, my husband hasn't been working. God has miraculously sustained us and we've had some quality time together as a family. Of course, he's been looking for another source of income, but nothing has come available that would support our family of seven. We've been praying...and wondering...and second guessing...and planning, but had no idea what our next step would be. At the beginning of February, we went to California for Eric's, my husband's best friend, memorial service. Originally, only Rick was going to go out there and then all of us flew out. (By the way, it was a beautiful service. There was probably around 600 people who attended and his life was shown for what it truly was - God, family, church, and friend-oriented. He really was a great guy.) While we were out there, many of our friends and relatives asked if we were planning on moving back to California. That was unexpected and the farthest thing from our minds. We love living in Wisconsin. Many wondered if we had thought about buying Eric's pool servicing business, from his wife. As more people asked us, we decided that maybe it was worth prayer and consideration. So we did that. And we were surprised by the answer. We really feel like it's time to move back and part of that is buying the business from our friends. It's an answer to prayer concerning what our next step should be, a position for Rick that won't steal so much time away from our family , and income. So now we're in the process of sorting, organizing, packing and purging. It's amazing how satisfying it feels to go through a messy closet and just throw away stuff and compile a box of things to give away and then organize the rest. Very therapeutic. I highly recommend it. On the sad side, we're going to miss our church family. We felt so accepted and part of our church quickly, and that's unusual for us. We've only been there a little over a year, but it seems like a lot longer. We hope to move as soon as the first or second week of March. It depends on a few things, but the sooner the better. Pray for us during this transition time. |
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Please pray for our dear friends. Eric, the husband, passed away yesterday morning. My husband was on his way to see him, knowing that he could go at anytime, and was in California, but not in the Central Valley yet when he got word that Eric had died. So sad! They have six children, five still being homeschooled or waiting to be, but a wonderful church family that are very supportive. |
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First, I want to ask for prayer for our friends, the Davis Family (LazyD). Eric has been in the hospital was in critical condition. He is doing much better, but please continue to pray for him. The other thing we really need prayer for is our finances. Because of very unrealistic hours required of him at his work (sometimes he would work 16 hours a day as a store manager) and continuing dissention among his staff, my husband quit his job and doesn't have another one lined up. We are in serious need of the Lord's intervention on our behalf for our finances and another position for Rick. We also have the opportunity to start up a business of our own in the little town (less than 1000 people) we live in, rent-free, and our friend who owns the building will even buy equipment (industrial oven, fridge, etc.), but the space needs to be finished and we don't know if, even with all the pluses, we'd be able to live off of the business. It's a huge risk, but right now we have nothing and we'd have the opportunity to start a small Starbuck-like coffee shop (or something else) with minimal money. Anyway, these are the things I'm lifting up to the Lord right now. |
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I just found a cool contest here. She's giving away crocheted snowflakes which would look beautiful on a Christmas tree. Go check it out and enter! |
Posted in Everyday Life
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I've just spent 10 minutes outside at 7:15 in the morning throwing a mini pumpkin to our dog, Lacy, to fetch. How very Autumny of us! It's not raining at the moment, but the sky is gray and it's incredibly windy. Not exactly great weather for playing outside, but I seized the moment. All doggy tennis balls disappeared ages ago (okay maybe two months ago) and as Lacy was jumping off our porch to go running around our yard, she knocked off the mini pumpkin where it was perched next to a large pumpkin, a gourd and other various squash. She thought this was pretty cool and proceeded to take off with it. I was going to retrieve it, but then I realized it was getting buggy, so I figured Why Not? So that's how we ended up playing fetch with it. It only lasted five or six throws until it split, but it was fun while it lasted and got rid of some of her puppy energy. She's part Border Collie and part Spaniel and doesn't have enough to do. Once again, I'm considering sheep to help curb too much doggy energy. Why do we keep getting sheep dogs? We've had Lacy since the middle of June. It was one of those, "Hey, Hon, I saw a free puppies sign. Wanna go check it out?" moments and I've regretted that decision quite frequently since then. I think a dog the size of rat would have been a much better choice. She's only six months old, but taller than my three year old when she's on her hind legs and STRONG! She's knocked down that same three- year- old a couple of times now out of sheer puppy aggressiveness. Thankfully, that particular child loves animals and it hasn't scared her to death. Unfortunately, Lacy has already dug three or four holes in the yard (we rent) and wore a path in the grass pacing while waiting for us to get home. I keep asking myself, "why do we keep her?" but I guess the answer is because we promised the kids we wouldn't get rid of this animal. I think the Lord might be using her to stretch my character and I'm being stubborn (as usual) and not allowing Him to do it. Anyone in the Madison area of Wisconsin want to get rid of some sheep or goats? We got a dog to herd them! |
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I'm back. I can't believe how long it's been since I logged in. At one point, I typed up a new entry and then I lost the whole thing. A little discouraging. We're getting geared up to start the new school year. I've been checking out curriculum, reevaluating my curriculum, looking at unit studies and wondering if I need to add Latin, Hebrew, or Greek to our daily stuff. At this point, I'm doing good to get Lang. Arts and Math done so I kind of have to laugh at the thought of adding one of those languages. I'm seeking the Lord and asking Him what He wants to be included in our day and how it should be achieved. I can continue to second guess myself, but he's the one with the answers so I'm going to continue to trust. What I'm considering and praying about is the Charlotte Mason way of doing Lang. Arts (narration, copywork, and dictation) and not doing a bunch of Grammar rules, etc. until they are 10. Of course I'm still doing Phonics. I also see a need to go back to Flash Cards for math facts. I've gotten lazy about requiring them to do this and I can see that they really need to have addition/subraction and multiplication memorized a lot more than they do. I was checking out different sites on the 'net and came across an article on how the Ancient Jews taught their children and I came across this passage: "Passing over the Old Testament period, we may take it that, in the days of Christ, home-teaching ordinarily began when the child was about three years old. There is reason for believing that, even before this, that careful training of the memory commenced, which has ever since been one of the mental characteristics of the Jewish nation. Verses of Scripture, benedictions, wise sayings, etc., were impressed on the child, and mnemonic rules devised to facilitate the retention of what was so acquired. We can understand the reason of this from the religious importance attaching to the exact preservation of the very words of tradition." It's reinforced that I need to teach them using a lot more memorization. I'm also considering using Notebooking much more than I did last year and continue using Unit Studies for Science and History. I guess I know what I need to do, but the most important thing is getting on a schedule and making myself and kids stick to it, at least most of the time, vs. hardly ever. I really need to make sure our house is in order and keep it that way. It's too hard to do school in a house that's a mess. It stresses me. Anyway, I'm done musing. Happy New School Year everyone. |
Posted in Everyday Life
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I forget how busy having a baby can be. It seems like I'm constantly changing diapers or nursing when I have a free moment. My biggest enemy is a unorganized schedule. Nothing is really set in stone and it's murder on getting anything extra done. I did have a great link emailed to me yesterday from HGTV about organization and since I desperately need more to corral all of the extra stuff that is overtaking me, I'm going attempt to do what it is suggests. It sounds manageable. I'm including the link in case anyone else wants the information. The good news is that this is all driving me closer to Jesus. I'm realizing that I can't just do the "motions" of following Him. I need to seek Him daily and lean on Him for His strength. Having been raised in a Christian home, sometimes I can get in the habit of doing the right thing, but forget about who it's all about. I don't have a whole lot of time so I'm ending here, but I hope you have a wonderful day in Him, with Him and for Him. |
Posted in Everyday Life
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Today we're off to the retail store my husband manages to have my girls "model" Easter dresses. I drove to town west of Madison yesterday to pick up my oldest daughter's bestfriend and to drop off my son so that she could do it also and he wouldn't have to. The girls are all excited about getting to model pretty dresses and be fluffy. I'm lamenting the disaster in my house and the lack of time to clean up the last couple of days. Oh well. Maybe this afternoon. |
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I found a great book that I ordered online from Christianbook.com. The book is called The Family Hand-Me-Down Book: Creating and Preserving Family Traditions and is paperback. It originally was priced at $12.99 and now it's only $.99! I love flipping through this book for ideas. Some things we already do, or have done, but other ideas are neat and help preserve our family heritage. I'd say that if you are even a little bit curious, go check it out. They have a ton of stuff (homeschool games, etc.) on sale. |
Posted in Everyday Life
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I'm back. My husband and I had this crazy idea that we should get rid of the internet to help eliminate some bills. Within a day, we were both lamenting it's passing and finally decided to get back online again. I haven't been able to login at the library (my original plan) so I haven't posted in a couple of weeks. It was so nice to be able to blog today and see all the lovely comments. I've been missing my friends! Hi, Everyone! Our baby is getting big. The midwife came Tuesday and weighed and measured him for his one month checkup and he is now 9 lbs. 8 oz (gained a pound and a half already!) and he is 22 inches (grew an inch and a half). We're still settling into a routine, but it is getting better. We are having the baby and our next to the DD-3 dedicated on Sunday at church. Because of moves and transitions, we never had her dedicated so we thought it would be neat to do it at the same time. Well, it's feeding time again so I'm off... |
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We're slowly getting back into the swing of school now that the baby has arrived. I forget how much time everything regarding a baby can take. He is definitely worth it though. I'm slowly getting more sleep and he's slowly getting used to sleeping without me. I feel like we've been off-track forever. We're slowly finishing up our Ancient Civilizations unit (still need to have an Ancient Egyptian meal) and moving on to the Exodus from Egypt. I'm hoping to actually cover the Passover before Passover comes around. At the pace I"ve been setting, I don't know. The curriculum calls for making a model of the tabernacle. I think we're going to skip that and just talk about the tabernacle and the symbolism behind all of the pieces and parts. ****************** I'm tired of the snow and looking forward to spring and warmer weather. |
Posted in Baby
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Finally, our newest little one has arrived. We had a boy and named him Josiah. He was born today, February 20, 2007 at 2:19 p.m. and he was 8 lbs., 20 1/2 inches long. I am so relieved to have it over and be able to hold him in my arms (as well as giving other people a chance to hold him - 9 months is a long time!) I had an amazing birth experience! My midwives were awesome, Christian women with great senses of humor. When I wasn't in intense pain, we were able to joke and just enjoy the whole experience. I had a water birth and it was so much better than any of my other births. Being on your back during hard labor is insane! I was able to pray and focus on what my body was doing instead of panicky in the midst of the pain. It made such a big difference. When I finally felt it was time to push, it only took 8 or 9 minutes and he was out (of course it felt like an hour!). I got to touch the baby's head as he was coming out and then Rick and one of the midwives grabbed him and pulled him out of the water. My mom, Rick and I are all extremely tired from lack of sleep, but are in good spirits. My kids did great, obeyed and stayed out of the room. I did yell during the pushing and it kind of surprised and scared them, but I had prepared them ahead of time so it wasn't bad. So far he's slept a lot and nursed a bit and seems very alert. I'm blessed! |