Janne's Jabberwocky - Homeschool Blogger

Welcome

Sun, 17 May 2009 16:17:00 -0500

Welcome! Thanks for stopping by Janne's Jabberwocky.

Although you can find all of my older entries here in the archives, my current blog entries can be found here. Please stop by for a visit!

Many blessings,
Janne

Audrey

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 08:42:00 -0500

Although I am no longer updating my blog here at homeschoolblogger, I wanted to stop in and post a prayer request for those who don't visit me at my new site.

It's about my 15 year old daughter, Audrey. She is bipolar and high-functioning autistic...and her behavior lately has been erratic at best -- extremely violent at worst. She has been Baker-acted (placed involuntarily into a psych ward for observation) repeatedly, only to be returned home in less than 72 hours because of poor insurance.

There are no services available to help us. We have appealed to every agency we can think of, even DCFS -- to no avail.

The latest updates in our saga can be found here.

I am at a total loss. I don't know where to turn or what to do, except to ask you all to pray. Please.

Moving Day!

Tue, 2 Jan 2007 17:12:00 -0600

My new blog is ready to go!

I added my first posts to it yesterday, so come take a look, and update your bookmarks! (If you are still using IE for a browser, bear with me -- it still needs some tweaking. IE messes up the sidebar for some reason).

As I mentioned previously, I will be keeping this page open for archive purposes, but any of my new posts will be on my new blog, http://janne.cc/blog.

To find my archives, in the tabs at the top (on this page), "2007" goes to my new blog archives, and "2005" and "2006" go to my homeschoolblogger archives.

If you would like to receive blog posts and updates from my NEW blog in e-mail, just enter your email address in the designated box in the right sidebar, and hit the subscribe button (or, of course, you could just subscribe to the rss feed in the traditional manner -- your choice ;)).

So farewell, homeschoolblogger. I hope y'all will join me at my new place!

They Say a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Sun, 31 Dec 2006 17:15:00 -0600

So here is my thousand words:

Florida Winter Sunset Over the Salt Marsh
December 30, 2006

Update

Sat, 30 Dec 2006 18:33:00 -0600

I am feeling MUCH better. I honestly think my little funk was largely weather-related. The sun has been shining brightly for the last couple of days, and today we were able to go to the beach and soak up some rays, so I am feeling much better. The children seem to be behaving somewhat better too. (I wonder how much of their behavior is directed by the weather?)

Thank you for your kind words and prayers.

I am in the process of setting up my new blog. I will be unveiling it on January 1st. :)
I will keep this site up for archives, and will probably be posting my blogger friend school posts here (yes, I know I have many overdue assignments), but the majority of my posts will be in the new place, where javascript is still alive and well. I will be posting the link soon, so make sure you come visit!

Depressed

Wed, 27 Dec 2006 06:10:00 -0600

I don't even like to admit it publicly, but I am suffering from depression that goes well beyond the post-holiday blues.

I'm sure some of it is weather-related. I don't function well without sunshine. Yesterday was the first time in many many days (weeks?) that the sun actually presented itself. I did feel better. On Monday (Christmas) I was pretty much a basket case.

Another big issue is the kids -- not ALL the kids -- just the oldest three. It is the oldest three who cause 98% of the problems around here. Those three fight constantly. They scream, they hurt one another, they argue non-stop, they verbally assault one another, they mouth off to me, they slack off with their work, they are extremely selfish and unappreciative of everything. I feel like I am dealing with animals here rather than people. The youngest six -- piece of cake! The oldest three -- I would like nothing more than to put them into public school; have them disappear for an entire eight hours a day so I can have some peace in my home for that amount of time, and so I will have that time to give the younger children the attention they need, rather than expending all of my energy and patience on the eldest trio.

They have drained me. I have actually had visions of running away. I often go to bed at night PRAYING for God to call me home before the morning. I dread waking up the next day.

For those wondering, where the oldest three are concerned, it's really nothing new. These are my three vaccine-damaged ASD kids. They have always had issues (the oldest has full-blown autism in all its glory, the second oldest has all of the classic Asperger's symptoms, and the third-oldest has been diagnosed with PDD, as well as other learning disabilities), but their "issues" just seem to get worse among each other the older they get. I refuse to use their medical diagnoses to excuse their behavior. The bottom line is they are SELFISH. All they think about is "ME! ME! ME!".

*SIGH* I don't know what to do anymore.

I've gone from trying to do the right thing, keep the peace, etc. -- to yelling -- to now just wanting to crawl into bed and give up entirely.

Merry Christmas, Y'all!

Sun, 24 Dec 2006 16:34:00 -0600

About Homeschoolblogger and the "Not Working" Thing

Sun, 24 Dec 2006 14:57:00 -0600

I guess I am just suffering with disappointment.

On the one hand, I love homeschoolblogger, and the friends I have made here, and I thank all of those whom work so hard to make it happen.

On the other hand, these recent changes have left me feeling pretty disheartened. I thought an "upgrade" was supposed to mean more and better features, rather than the taking away of those which we already had. :(

The primary reason for my complaint is that it reminds me of the big gov't "we're taking your freedoms away to help you" stance. I didn't abuse javascript; nor did I abuse "the system" by putting malicious html in comments. Why punish me by taking those freedoms away?

Is this really in the name of security? No, every one of us has the right and ability to disable javascript and even images in our own browsers if we are afraid they pose a security risk. Should we all have to go without?

Some of the things which depend on javascript to function are those things which give our blogs their personalities -- such as the blogger ecosystem, available now to all bloggers except for homeschoolbloggers, and the word of the day -- I LOVE the word of the day! It's a great way for us to learn a new vocabulary word each day, and the Bible verse of the day. With this, I KNOW that I am showing that this is a CHRISTIAN blog, and I know that any vistor will be exposed to at least some scripture. This is important to me. (I also miss my page counter).

Can I live without these features? You betcha! But it's the ability and freedom to express ourselves and our individuality that makes blogging so much fun. When those things are taken away "for our own protection", it is just disheartening.

I was going to make a little Christmas card graphic and leave it in a comment to each of my friends tomorrow too, but I guess since the powers-that-be have now disabled the ability to leave html (graphics) in comments -- I won't.

Like I said before, I am very appreciative of the hard work that those behind-the-scenes-people put into homeschoolblogger, but please return to us the features which we once had.

Sickness!

Sun, 24 Dec 2006 14:45:00 -0600

Our family has been sooo sick this year (which is one of the reasons I haven't written much lately).

Every one of the children, except for one, has gotten a *NASTY* tummy bug over the last month. I knew, once the first one started throwing up, that we were in for the long haul -- but I expected it to be OVER WITH once we cycled through everyone -- but nooooo....it seems we're cycling through it again. Baby Rey is the third child who is going through round 2. Will this ever be over?

Everything has been scrubbed with Odo-ban, there has been frequent handwashing, toothbrushes have been replaced, carpets have been steam-cleaned, bedding has been washed -- I can't even imagine where these germs are residing in order to re-infect.

And we aren't the only family affected. If you think of it, please say a prayer for my church family. Nearly every family in my church is battling either this intestinal thing or a cough/fever -- or both. I know for one family the coughing virus has turned to pneumonia.

Forget the "MERRY" - I am wishing you all a very HEALTHY Christmas this year!

Leaving Homeschoolbloggger

Fri, 22 Dec 2006 08:19:00 -0600

Just wanted to give my friends a little heads-up. I will be leaving homeschoolblogger in the very near future. Since the recent upgrade, NOTHING seems to be working properly.

My Bible verse of the day script is gone, my dictionary.com word of the day is gone, my ecosystem is gone, my stat counter is gone, my blogroll is gone -- I had to manually add the names from my blogroll last night. I repeatedly add these scripts back in the template, and they show up in the preview, only to disappear again when I save changes. :(

I will be creating a new blog, probably in wordpress, so I won't be just disappearing.

Watch for the link to my new blog as soon as it's created -- hopefully by the new year!

I'm just frustrated. I have wasted soooo many hours here trying to fix things, to the detriment of my family.

About Me

Sun, 22 Oct 2006 07:15:00 -0500

Name:

Janne - "Ann with an E"...and a J (+ very long hyphenated last name that is difficult to spell and even more difficult to pronounce.)

Occupations:

Survivalist - that is, surviving being seriously outnumbered while being a mama to, and home-educating nine brilliant adorable children. (I'm not complaining, mind you).

Manager - that is managing my own baseball team! Those nine aforementioned little players on my Team LeFebvre (see, is that a name you could spell or pronounce? And that is without the first part of the hyphenation -- is hyphenation a word?).

Trainer - providing sibling compatibility training, as well as doing my best to follow God's command of Proverbs 22:6.

Homeschooling:

I began homeschooling in the winter or spring of 1997, when my oldest daughter was removed from her private kindergarten classroom for behaviorial problems (she is autistic). Not wanting to expose my children to the failure that we refer to as "the public school system", I reluctantly began homeschooling. Now I wouldn't want it any other way! (Not saying that I never face burn-out, but I certainly could not imagine sending my children away from me every day!)

My first student is now in high school, with four of her siblings having already formally joined in (I say formally because even the youngest children in this household are learning constantly.

I am what you would call an extremely eclectic homeschooler. I generally have a classical mindset with a huge Charlotte Mason and Unschooling flair.

My Faith:

I am a Christian. More specifically I am a conservative independent Baptist. I was saved as a high school student, backslidden for several years, then rededicated my life to the Lord in 1994.

My Family:

Married Rob in 1991.

Nine children followed - five girls and four boys (and in case you're wondering, yes, I do know what causes that). ;)

Political:

You know, there was a time, not so long ago, when if asked about politics, I would have just said, "I'm a Republican". But, now I see it's not so simple.

I have always been registered as a Republican voter, but I feel strongly against some of what they support (or don't support). In most incidences I have Libertarian or Constitutionalist leanings...and some of my views fall in line with the Democrats. I suppose you could say that no one party fits my ideals.

Simply put, I am a political conservative. I am very strongly pro-life (anti-abortion) and pro-family. I believe that government involvement in our lives should be VERY minimal, and that most government-run entities should be privatized. I support our military, and am very passionate about animal rights and conservation efforts.

Obsessions, Passions, & Causes:

Well, besides my pro-life, conservationist, pro-animal rights obsessions...I love to read (my motto is, "so many books, so little time". I love babies. I love nature and everything about it -- preferring to immerse myself in nature. I enjoy photography -- I almost always have a camera with me so I won't miss one of those "Kodak moments".

Some of my favorite things are sunshine, birds, colorful sunsets, the ocean, and art.

Pet Peeves:

I won't even go there. My hubby says I don't have pet peeves...I have a whole zoo!

French Bread Recipe #1 - Onion Bake

Thu, 21 Dec 2006 10:09:00 -0600

Onion Bake

From Allrecipes.com
Yield: 11 servings
"This casserole bears a resemblance to French onion soup. Sauteed onions are combined with cream of chicken soup, and then baked under a crouton and Swiss cheese topping."

INGREDIENTS:
6 onions, thinly sliced
2 cups butter
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
2 cups shredded mozzarella or swiss cheese
1 (1 pound) loaf French bread

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a small pan, melt butter and add onions. Cook 10 to 15 minutes or until soft. Remove onions from pan (leave butter in pan) and place in a 9x13 inch pan.
3. Combine soup and milk to pour over onions. Sprinkle with cheese. Slice bread approximately 1 1/2 inches thick and dip both sides in butter. Arrange on top of cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until bread is golden brown and toasty!

Christmas Blessings

Thu, 21 Dec 2006 09:23:00 -0600

You know, God always shows Himself to be true, but it seems He always shows Himself even more so at Christmas time. He never fails to meet our needs -- and many times, our wants.

Take last Saturday, for example. We stopped by the ATM machine at the bank to take out $60 so I could finish my Christmas shopping, but were unable to, regardless of the fact that our balance in the account showed more than that. I was a little disappointed, but, oh well.

The bank however, which isn't generally open on Saturday, was having an open house on this day. My son, Ant, was with us, so we went to the table for him to get a snack, and were told we could sign up for a chance to go into the money-thing (what did they call it? Can't remember. It's a big inflatable thing full of $1 and $5 bills. You stand in it while they blow air in. The money flies everywhere and you try to grab as much as you can.) So, Rob signed up for the noon drawing to be held 15 minutes later -- and no one else did. So, he was chosen (and me without my camera!).

His final winnings were counted out, and to my amazement, totaled $58! God didn't want us to get $60 from the bank. He wanted to GIVE it to us!

Other than three small stocking stuffers and an ornament for my husband, my gift shopping is complete! (Praise the Lord!)

Then, shortly after we returned home, there was a surprise knock at our door. A local church had sent over some food for us! Then they returned on Sunday with bread - LOTS of bread! Fifty-eight loaves of bread to be exact, plus four packages of buns and two packages of rolls! There was so much French bread that we couldn't fit it all in the freezer, so we have been trying out lots of new French bread recipes this week so the bread wouldn't go bad. I will be sure to share the "keepers" here.

Bread graphic courtesy of
Julia Bettencourt

Mohawk Kitty

Thu, 14 Dec 2006 17:31:00 -0600

I guess this entry should fall under the category "Bored Petowners".

The mama, rather than participating in more productive pursuits today, decided to brush the cat's hair into a mohawk. (I don't know why).

But never fear! It's Baby Rey to the rescue!

Rey, noticing that the cat just didn't look right, decided to give him a hand, brushing down that funny hairdo (and negating Mama's creative endeavors).

Speculaas and the Cookie Man

Thu, 14 Dec 2006 16:51:00 -0600

For St. Nicholas Day, we made Speculaas (German Christmas cookies) -- and the children caught the cookie fever. Over the next few days they continued to make more batches of cookies on their own, until we ran out of ingredients. They all got involved, even allowing baby Rey to cut out a few cookies.

When only a smidgeon of cookie dough was left, Gator made a special creation just for me -- Cookie Man! (He says he even used extra cinnamon and nutmeg on the pupil sections of the eyes to make them darker).

SPECULAAS RECIPE:

1 cup butter
1 cup lard
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp. soda
4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cloves
4 1/2 cups sifted flour
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Cream the butter, lard, and sugar. Add sour cream alternately with sifted dry ingredients. Stir in nuts. Knead the dough into rolls. Wrap the rolls in waxed paper and chill in the refrigerator overnight. Roll the dough very thin and cut it into shapes. Bake in moderate oven 10 to 15 minutes.

Our Christmas Tree

Sun, 3 Dec 2006 20:28:00 -0600

Cate posted a Christmas Tree Photo Challenge, so I thought I would share a picture of our little Christmas tree.

I have always used an artificial tree (I am allergic to pine needles), but this particular tree is special because it was a gift from a dear friend last year.

Do you like the halo/sunburst effect that I added to the photo? ;) I did so at Rob's request, as he says it makes it look like the "Griswold Family Christmas Tree" from Christmas Vacation.

The Last Day of November

Sun, 3 Dec 2006 20:12:00 -0600

You know, I complain a lot about the cost of living here in Florida. The property taxes and insurance are so high, I never anticipate (without God's intervention), to ever be able to own a house. The people drive like lunatics. The yards are small. There is no autumn foliage...

...but I am here to post a little reminder to myself that the payment is worth the reward.

Here is the reward:

Here are photos of my children playing in the back yard on November 30, while most of the remainder of the country braced for ice storms and snow storms. :)

An Update, and Baby Rey

Sun, 3 Dec 2006 20:02:00 -0600

Many thanks to all of you whom prayed for me. I am almost back to my old self. I'm still a bit tired, but doing MUCH better. Praise the Lord!

I didn't blog much last week because this handsome little chocolate-lover had surgery on Friday.

Rey, partaking in his sister's homemade chocolate chip cookies

The surgery was minor, but I was concerned because he had to undergo general anesthesia. All went well though (Praise the Lord again!), and my little Rey has been recovering nicely. The day following the surgery he was already up and running around as if nothing ever happened.

I'm so glad God made these little guys so resilient!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sat, 25 Nov 2006 16:01:00 -0600

Pictured:
Left side of table, from front - Boo, Curly-Top, Lefty, Cricket, Rey
Head of table - Daddy Rob
Right side of table, from front - Sunflower, Gator, Tumblina, Ant

Okay, so I'm a couple of days late. I was hoping to visit all of my friends' blogs and personally wish them a Happy Thanksgiving, but I was very ill.

I started becoming sick on Tuesday night, and by Wednesday was unable to stand up, or even sit up by myself. It turns out I am very anemic. Thankfully, by Thursday (Wednesday was the worst), I was able to get out of bed long enough to snap these pictures and eat with the family.

Besides my illness, Thanksgiving went off without a hitch. Rob made the turkey, while the oldest four children prepared the rest of the feast.

Sunflower helped Tumblina peel the eggs, made the rolls, made the sugar cream pie filling, and the sweet potato casserole.

Gator - made the pie crust, boiled the eggs for deviled eggs, helped serve the cranberry sauce (which means he opened the cans ;)), and set the table.

Ant - made the cornbread dressing and made the filling for, and stuffed the deviled eggs.

Tumblina peeled the eggs, made the topping for the sweet potato casserole, served the cranberry sauce, and helped a bit with the pie.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families!

1 Chronicles 29:11-13

"Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.

Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.

Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise your glorious name."

Link of the Week - Black Friday Ads

Thu, 16 Nov 2006 12:56:00 -0600

My link of the week pick is http://www.blackfridayads.com.

If you don't know what "Black Friday" is, it's the day after Thanksgiving, when the insane (or the insanely frugal-minded), rush out in the wee hours of the morning to snag those best shopping deals of the season - many of which are actually FREE!

* Confession, in my house, I am not the one to brave those crowds. There isn't enough Prozac in the world to get me through an experience like that! My hubby does it though. I make the shopping list and he goes -- we generally end up saving about 75% because of it.

Well, we no longer must wait until those ads come out in the Thanksgiving Day paper to plan our strategy. Now, thanks to places like BlackFridayAds.com, we can do our planning RIGHT NOW.

And a small disclaimer, lest you think I am getting tangled up in the commercialism surrounding modern-day Christmas - I'm not. This is the perfect time to stock up on those items we need anyway -- free software (including anti-virus), VERY cheap batteries, DVD+R discs, SD cards, etc.