Ironing

So, today the girl tween found "new" clothes in her closet. (See, sitting in there doing schoolwork proved useful after all ;-) It's hand-me-downs that now fit. So, in a fit of industriousness, she cleaned older clothing out of her drawers and is ironing items that were not fit to be seen in. Yes, the child is doing all of this work. So I should turn into new clothing and beckon her to do chores, and she would run willingly to do them, right?

Nutty Child

I'm not sure whether to say this child is mine, or not...but she is on the shelf in her closet, studying. A stepladder is required to get up there. Oy!

Amazing Hiccup Cure

Believe it or not, there's a cure for hiccups, and you probably have it right in your kitchen. Eat a spoonful of peanut butter. Amazingly, that's all there is to it! Both of my kids have tried it, and it works instantly. It's pretty funny, when they start hiccing away, to see them run to the kitchen and rummage in the drawer for a spoon so they can dive into the peanut butter bowl ;-)

Slippery.....Sticky.......Who?

Our yard is yielding an abundant crop of Suillus luteus and Suillus granulatus this fall. The easier to pronounce moniker is slippery Jack mushrooms. They are one of the last edible fungi to be found in the fall, along with Calvatia gigantea, the giant puffball. (This one pales in comparison with the size of the one we're trying to nibble our way thru right now, LOL.)

Anyway, a couple of days ago, ds6 came running in the house hollering for me to come look. He'd found a smallish cluster of slippery Jacks but he couldn't remember the name, so he wanted me to come see the "Sticky Joes" he'd found! ROFL, well, he was close! Now every time he's out in the yard, he has to pick the ones he finds and bring them in. Really, I'm tired of eating them darling. You may leave them in the yard, LOL.

Playing the trump card

Or, how to silence a child quickly ;-)

DS6 inquired of his sister how many American Girl dolls she needs to have, because after all, they ARE expensive, you know ;-) When I informed him that his Lego cargo train cost more than sister's AG doll and extra outfit that she got for her birthday, he had nothing more to say. You should have seen her smirk ;-)

On the Eve of A New Decade

To My Dear DD10:

In just a few short hours, your second decade of life will begin. How time has rushed by so quickly with you in its firm grasp! 10 years ago, you were leaving infancy and on the brink of exploring life and the world around you. Today, you stand at the brink of young womanhood, as you rapidly leave childhood behind. I'm thankful that you are right where you are. One minute you are happily playing with a doll or other toy, and the next minute you are the hyper-mature, mothering young lady of the house. I am loathe to see you grow up so quickly, yet I am glad that you allow me glimpses of who you will be when next you stand at the brink of a decade.

My wish for us is that we will remain friends in this next decade. I know you won't always agree with me or see eye to eye with me, but I hope that we can work through our differences and remain in love with each other. I hope that we can respect each other, and learn from each other. I know there are a lot of things you can learn from me yet, LOL, but there is also much that I can learn from you, if I remain openminded and keep an open heart. Remember that you can come to me with anything--a question, a problem, a dream, anything you want to share or need advice about. I will always love you, even if what you have to say to me is upsetting. We can work through any problem--but hopefully there won't be too many of those along the way!

Dear daughter, please remember that God is your anchor. Stay firm to His truths. Remember that He loves you and desires that you will be a child of His Kingdom. I gave birth to you, but HE gave you re-birth. You are more precious to him than you are to me, hard as that is to imagine.

Nuts abound!

At the dinner table tonight:

DD10: I have "Betty Grable" [the song] running through my head.
DS6: [always the helpful child] begins loudly singing HIS favorite song, "Joy to the World," to help rid her mind of "Betty Grable."
After he has completed belting out the song.....
DS6: There, did that get rid of the Betty Cracker song?

ROFL, Betty who????????????? Methinks he's been hanging around people who hang around cooking websites too often, tee hee.

Proud Mom!

Last night was the Youth Honors Choral Program spring concert. This is my dd10's 3rd year in the program--1st year in the middle group. Her group sang 4 songs, and then the 3 choirs also sang 3 songs as a combined group. Each group has 30-50 members, so that's a pretty large group of 3rd-8th graders! All of the choirs sang really well. They had a nice mix of music, from introspective to folk/traditional songs, to gospel and "happy clappy" songs. My favorite song was the one that dd10 played her flute on. It was NOT an easy song to play--very slow and lots of long sustained notes--but she played it just wonderfully. I was so proud that she was able to learn it and play it well. It's not easy to get up there on the big stage in the big auditorium with the big hot lights shining on you! But next time it'll be easier ;-)

Why the grass dies in wintertime

I'm certainly glad we have a scientist in the family, even if he IS only 6 years old! He informed us today that the reason the grass dies in winter is because it gets hypothermia and doesn't have anyone to keep it warm ;-) ROFL

What a difference a year makes...

At least when you're a little boy. We got the Speedminton stuff out for the first time this evening. You wouldn't know ds6 was the same little boy we played with last year. His hand-eye coordination has improved magically over the winter! He managed to return quite a number of hits, which he never did last year at all. His serves were much more accurate, as well. Last year he swung his whole body around and you had no idea what direction the speeder would fly, until it was in the air. Now, if he wants it to come to me, it comes to me--if he wants it to go to dd10, it goes to her. I was amazed! It might actually be fun to play this year ;-)

Poppa came over so we had two games going--Poppa vs dd10, and ds6 vs me. Lots of fun to be had by all!

It's me, The Mom!

It's fun celebrating Home Education Week this week! Since I most often blog about my kids, I'll accept today's challenge to blog about myself for a change ;-) So, here's who I am, in a nutshell. Literally, because really I like being a nut. I figure a little humor can help ease the tensions of life.

Like many women, I used to have my own identity. Now I'm "The Mom." I see now who my mom was, during all of those years supporting me as I grew and developed. I don't regret my identity loss. I figure all too soon I'll gain yet another identity--Grandma--so I'm enjoying being "The Mom" for as long as I can.

Since I'm here, you can guess that one of my great passions is homeschooling. And you're right. I love learning with my kids, and I love helping other parents in their quest for the best education for their children. Hardly a day goes by that you won't find me in my mentorship role. Yet, there's uncharted territory ahead for me. I know I don't have all of the answers. High school is rapidly approaching ;-)

To keep this short and sweet, here's the rest of the nutshell:

• Vegetarian
• Violinist
• Love to sing
• Spiritual
• Passionate
• Cuddly
• Love to cook
• Bibliophile
• Creative
• Musical
• EMT-Specialist
• Helpmeet
• Walker
• Speedminton fan
• Treble Choir Lover
• Morel mushroom hunter
• Bicyclist
• Wife
• Avid learner
• Perfect pitch
• Goofball
• Storm lover
• King's Singers fan
• Friend
• Dispatcher
• Caring
• Paint Shop Pro putterer

Life before I was a homeschooling mom...

The challenge on Principled Discovery this week is to celebrate Home Education Week by blogging. Sounds like a great way to celebrate, if you ask me.

So.........what was that I said about life before being a homeschooling mom? Well, there was life as a homeschooled teen. Yea, back in the dark ages, aka "The 80s" when hsing in my state wasn't legal and we had to jump thru all sorts of silly hoops like having my curriculum "approved" by the teachers of the local public school, and having a certified teacher "tutor" me in every subject. Anybody who knows anything about hsing knows that those are silly, and even, unnecessary hoops to have to jump thru. Thank goodness the laws have changed drastically and we're now free to educate our children in the manner best suited to their learning styles and personalities.

So anyway, it was back in the 80s that I decided that when God blessed me with the title of Mom, that I wanted to hs my children. Luckily for me, the love of my life also had that desire, even tho our reasons were initially different. But before kids, we did have a life. I'm pretty sure it was a boring existence however, because there's just nothing like the adventures parenting can bring. I can remember fitting my schedule to my dh's odd work schedule more, so you might find us both sleeping during the day, and I'd be up cooking and cleaning and sewing for half of the night. I can remember being able to play cards with him, without some little person wanting to play. I think that when I went to bed in the evening, I used to read to myself. Silently, that is ;-) There was a time when I used to wear white clothing because there was no one to sully it.

Do I miss any of this? Nope...Not. At. All. Life is so much richer as a parent. There is no emptiness in our family or our hearts. Children have filled the voids. I had no idea that my own horizons would be greatly expanded by being my childrens' learning facilitator. Who'd have thought an adult could learn something from kindergarten!!! Twice, in fact. I wouldn't trade my world for any other. It's perfect just the way it is.

What she wants to change

OK, you asked what dd10 wants to change. I'm not entirely certain, as it seems to change from day to day! And knowing her, if one eensy little thing is bothering her, it affects EVERY aspect of her life and she'd like to change the whole thing, instead of just of focusing on changing the bothersome aspect. But here are some things she desires.

• She doesn't want to be in the Youth Honors Choral Program because the rehearsals are 1.5 hrs long and the teacher expects them to work.
• She doesn't want to take organ lessons because she "doesn't like the book" and I suspect because Grandma has high expectations.
• I'm pretty sure she's not really happy with taking flute lessons. Part of that I can understand because it was difficult for all of us when her original flute teacher, a longtime family friend and really fabulous lady, passed away last year.
• She doesn't like her art lessons because she doesn't want to learn the basics of drawing. (Are we seeing a theme here????)
• She doesn't want language arts books that cover "basics" and stuff like proper word useage, etc, even tho she makes mistakes in these areas and obviously still needs instruction therein.
• She only wants one math program, and she only wants to do one page a day in said math program (um, hello, since when does she get to dictate, and how long does she want to take to finish the book????????)
• And the ultimate "grass is greener"--she wants to attend to school. She has no clue how her life would change if THAT were to happen. She has it good, but is clueless as to just HOW good her life is.

That's probably the short list. I work with her as much as I can but sometimes I get tired of the complaints and demands. There are days that they're endless. My list of complaints would be short and to the point, however.

• She doesn't help enough around the house.
• She needs to learn to pick up after herself.
• I'm tired of stepping around/over her messes, and having to look at them for days on end.
• The "privileged princess" act can end anytime. If anybody deserves that title, shouldn't it be me????????

Shoe Sizes

So what's up with shoe sizing for kids' shoes? DD10 said her size 2 sneakers were getting a bit tight, so we shopped for shoes today. She found a pair she liked. They looked a bit big, so I gave her a size 2 to try on. They were huge on her. I gave her a size 1 and they were huge as well! There weren't any smaller so we gave up on those and found some nearly identical ones, just a different brand. Wouldn't you know, the size 2's in that brand fit just fine. Evidently the size 2's she had been wearing ran a bit small. It's just odd--3 different brands and totally different fits for the same numerical size. I think there's some merit to the European centimeters system of clothing/shoe sizing. Centimeters don't change from one brand to the next!

She wants change

I suppose people have the right to be individuals, but some days I wish I had a dd more like me! I'm basically a contented kind of person. Routine is just fine with me. Being at home and having time to do the things I need/want to do is just fine with me. (Well ok, I have time to do the things I need to do, but being a mom, my wants are usually swallowed up by the needs of my family.) But the Lord blessed me with a daughter who is different from me. A daughter for whom contentment is not as easily attained. Now to figure out how to balance her wants with the needs of the rest of the family.

What I can't blog about!

I can't blog about what ds5 is getting for his birthday, because just my luck, the precocious little youngster would get on here and read it ;-) But I can guarantee you that he will LOVE what his two "grandma wannabees" from church have each selected to give him. You know, they had to consult with mommy to make sure the items were ok to give so I am very much in the know. Can't wait for Saturday!

Pics from DS5

These are some recent photos taken by my ds5:

(top left) Big sister in school
(top right) Personalized birthday balloon
(bottom left) Butterfly on flowers at a field trip

(below) A pic he didn't take ;-)

Ah, little guy--don't break my heart and grow up so fast! Are you really sure you should be able to take pictures this good already????

Lego Police Follow-Up

DS5 amused me further by thanking me profusely for having made clean-up so much fun. It was "much better than if you just said 'Go pick up the Legos,' mommy." LOL, what a goofball. Oh, and he now wants ALL clean-up to be accompanied by a creative play scenario. Oy, I've created a monster!

Watch out, the Lego Police are after you!

This afternoon the kids were supposed to be straightening up parts of the house that they messed up. DD10 had disappeared to her room, and ds5 was convinced that he could quit too. So, for once I had a brain cell functioning and I beat him at his own game! I had him don his Lego police vest and report to me for his special mission, should he choose to accept it. Well with a bribe like that, he couldn't resist.

The mission was as follows: Lego bricks have been sneaking into our house and congregating in corners to spy on us. On the designated night, they will sneak out of their corners, meet in the middle of the floor, build something from themselves, and attack us. DD5's job was to ferret them out of their corners so they can't spy on us or attack us.

Well let me tell you, he took off on the big search! He brought the first couple of pieces that he found to show them to me, and I made up these fantastic tales about who they were and what their roles in the invasion are, so then he started making up his own stories about the pieces he found. And wouldn't you know, the Legos all got cleaned up, with nary a complaint about having to "work" ;-) Lest you worry that they will sneak back out into the corners and spy on us again, they can't--they're "locked in jail", aka the drawers.

This game was such a success--I swear he jabbered on and on about it whenever he could get a word in edgewise at dinner, and to anyone who would listen! I shall definitely remember this one for future clean-ups ;-)

Romantic Valentine's Day--For 4!

Sometimes kids have a way of nicely being in the way ;-) But I don't mind at all. I know dd10 would have liked to cook for me, but I had special meal plans too, so a compromise was reached. I cooked, the kids served and cleaned up. Hey, we should do that every day, LOL. We did lots of "together cooking," as well. For lunch, we made heart-shaped pizzas with pineapple coleslaw and macaroni salad on the side. For dinner ds5 and I made garlic monkey bread (he loves rolling dough!). We had stuffed shells, broiled eggplant slices, and Asparagus with Walnut Dressing, and tossed salad. True to their word, the kids not only served, but decorated. They even conned Poppa into getting a folding table that they set up in the living room. I wasn't supposed to look but I recognized the sound and offered them a red-checked tablecloth, LOL. So then I was permitted to look and even helped. I added a few nice touches like floating candles ;-) They also dressed for dinner--you know, they had to look the part of restaurant propietors ;-) DS5 even condescended to put on a tie, and left it on until we were done eating! We enjoyed our delicious dinner together and then exchanged Valentine's gifts. DD10 and dh picked out a teal blue jacket for me, and a plush doggie dressed for Valentine's day. DH snuck the purple poodle for dd10 because he saw her admiring it, so he said they'd get "two for mommy" but really it was for her ;-)

All in all, a very enjoyable day/evening.