homemade christmas 2010

This year, as in years past I've done a mix of homemade and store bought gifts.  Some day I hope to have the organization and motivation to do mostly homemade, at least for grandparents.  I try to different things each year, so that gets a bit tricky.  And tricky is a big understatement.  I usually put things off until the last minute, never estimate enough time, and always try new things.  I end up frazzled and doing things at really late hours, and the worst part: I want to have the kids help but I'm always so far behind I don't have time for their help.  This year I was a lot better.  We tried making the hardest one far in advance, and the youngsters helped with the first batch.  The one project was easier then expected.  And the one for the kids went well despite the fact that I was up until midnight.  Here are some pics of the fruits of my labor. 

The kidos in their homemade snuggie-like blankets.  These were sooooo easy to do, and I have very little sewing experience.  Here is a link to the FREE pattern I found.  The kids picked out the fabric, I just didn't tell them why and I went back to buy it when it was on sale and they were at home. (Yes this was for this Christmas and I realize it's only the 24th right now, but Santa loves us more so we get Christmas early ;)

Here are the two things we made for the grandmas.  The bigger one is a body scrub.  SUPER EASY!  and I'm sure cheaper then buying it.  The containers I found at Target.  The small guys are lip balm.  It took us a couple tries to get the hang of the lip balm, but worth the effort.  We had enough for the kids to each have one as well and they love it.  I love that there isn't anything funky in it. We bought the containers, wax, and essential oil from here.

Have a Happy Holiday!

Head aches.

So I had my appt today with a neurologist.  He poked me, hit me, tickled me, made me preform, and touch things.  Sounds kinky right, actually it was rather boring with a boring, yet positive result.  I don't have anything neurologically wrong with me.  YEAH!  He said what I'm getting are tension headaches.  (Different then a migraine, fyi.)  The only thing off, in his opinion, was the numbness I have on the side of my face.  The other thing off, in my opinion, is that eating makes them worse.  And that he doesn't have an answer to why that is.  It's been nice for my waste line and all, but being hungry all the time makes me angry which I can't imagine is good if I'm suffering from tension.  He ordered a MRI. . . just to make sure.  Gave me a new medication that supposedly won't make me sleep for 16 hours straight.  He reassured me this shouldn't happen since the does is smaller then the juvenile does, lol.   And the best part:  He believes (and I agree) that I am probably not getting good sleep, as in sleep apnea.  So I get to go have a sleep study.  woohoo!  And I probably need to have nose rearrangement surgery.  Ok that's not the real name for it, but I can't think of what it is called.  I've heard the recovery is awesome!  So I'm crossing my fingers that that is my issue.  (Please note there was a very sarcastic tone to the last two sentences.)  My brother had this surgery, when I told him I may have to have he he suggested the non-stop headaches would be better. 

So, still taking aleve, eating toddler size meals, losing weight, and smiling.  I plan to try the new meds after the holiday extravaganza! 

I won't be buying a pillow pet.

I'll admit it, my kids watch a lot of TV.  And they watch channels like Nick, and Nicktoons.  So they've seen a commercial for every toy on the planet, and some, like the pillow pet, several times.  They both seem to want with every fiber of their beings EVERY toy, so it's hard to say if they want a pillow pet more then a snuggie, or a zhu zhu.  I've even had them both, while the other was absent, admit wanting toys aimed at the opposite gender.  This is a conundrum for me.  Should I be happy that despite millions of dollars in marketing they aren't going to be told what they should like based on whether or not they have a "y" chromosome?  Or should I be upset because they are in fact falling prey to the gender sterotypes, they are after all embarrassed to admit they may want a toy for the opposite sex.  I should point out that I don't blame TV, or anyone for their strict adherence to gender roles.  When they were younger TV was limited to nothing with commercials, and we were very careful to raise them in a gender neutral tone, yet somehow they knew.  They were both born having read some text book on how a boy/girl should "be" and follow those rule devoutly.  But I've gotten way off subject. Pillow Pet!  I absolutely refuse to buy or allow anyone else to buy them for my kids.  Other mom's probably understand that having another stuffed animal (especially one the size of a pillow!) in the house may just put you over the edge.  I can also use the excuse that my kids have allergies, and I don't see a pillow pet holding up to being washed once a week in hot water, or my kids being pleased when at bed time I want to zip their new best friends up in hypoallergenic pillow cases.  BUT, the real reason is they, imo, are a huge waste of money.  We aren't very strict when it comes to toys, but I do have one rule that I stick to and that is, if it looks like something that will only get played with for an hour don't get it.  Pillow Pets, I'm sorry but I know my kids, you will not be loved for all time.  I'm certain that opening you would have brought huge squeals of delight from my children, but after hugging you a few times and laying on you for a minute they will abandon you for their legos and Wii.  Oh what. . .what was that pillow pet. . .you say we don't have a wii.  Hehehehe, we will come Christmas day, and I'm betting that will trump any disappointment they may have in not getting a pillow pet.  In fact I can hardly wait to see the look on their faces when they open the wii.  I've had such a hard time not telling them, it's like I'm a kid again.  So that's my big Christmas secret!  Just a few more days.


Note: I've made no excuse for my kids TV watching habits.

The perfect solution . . .for all your problems.

So, I haven't posted in awhile, except that last post which I'm not really sure but that may have not been me posting.  I have a really good excuse (it also covers that last post) I've had these insane headaches that started a couple months ago, but got really bad in the last month.  They are a lot better, not gone but better, so I'm able to think again.  The one good thing that has come out of all of this is I came up with the perfect solution to all my current problems, and probably yours too. 

This one thing will help you lose weight, have more time for all the things you never have time for, and will save you money.  And it is so simple anyone can do it. 

Before I tell you what it is I want you to think about a few things.  How much time do you spend at the grocery store?  How much time do you spend preparing food?  How much time do you spend cleaning up after meals?  How much time and energy do you spend telling your kids dinner will be ready in a few minutes, no you can't have a snack!?  How much money do you spend on food?  How much money do you spend on dish soap?  How many of you would like to lose a couple pounds? 

I have a plan that will guarantee weight lose.  Will give you more money in your pocket each month.  AND give you more time to spend doing all the things you wish you had time for but were too busy.

Stop eating.  

No really, don't actually do that.  But as I was having such bad headaches I couldn't function brought on by eating I did think wow, I would save a lot of time and money if food weren't an issue.  Yes people I did also think, I won't have any thing to worry about much longer if I stop eating.  Which is why I went to the Dr. 

However, my headaches could inspire the next weight lose "solution."  I did lose some weight because about half way through each meal my head would suddenly hurt so bad I wanted to throw my plate across the room.  Maybe some sort of shock collar for people that goes off when you exceed so many calories in one meal.

Sorry I don't have a real answer to all your problems.  I'll get on that as soon as I have a minute.  ;)

Stray down this path with me. . .

I promise you will laugh, well, if you are a women.  I'm only a couple paragraphs in and already laughing.  Here are a couple of my favorite lines.

"And he's right -- no woman in the history of mankind has ever wanted to see a picture of a penis. Go back to the earliest cave paintings. The very first one is of a cock, and after that they're all antelopes and sunrises."

"And if you think about it, is there any better metaphor for the sad state of America today than an over-the-hill white guy lazily masturbating in plastic shoes?"

My answer is "no, that pretty much sums it up."   

Ok, ok. . .here is the link.  

quick car update

all better.  The old man came home and spent a whole 2 minutes fixing it. 

New background to cheer myself up.

ok, I'm having a bit of a crummy day.  We were supposed to go to the zoo for the kids first zoo class, BUT my effing piece of crap for a car wouldn't start.  And I don't think it was something simple like killing the battery by leaving the lights on.  There was smoke coming from the engine so I think it might be serious.  So not only am I upset that we missed the first day of zoo school, but the prospect of having no car.  While the idea of carting two kids around in my husbands old pick up is amusing, and would fulfill my dream of becoming 100% hill-billy, it would suck.  And isn't a real option.  a) It seats 3, sort of and we are a family of 4. . .b)it is how he gets to work, and I don't think I could convince him to hitch. 

Ugh!  I know things could be a lot worse, and I'm really trying to remember that.  However I think for today I'm going to feel a bit sorry for myself.  And indulge by doing a few fun things instead of catching up on cleaning or something productive.  For starters, I've changed my background.  I know it's a little early for Halloween, but I love Halloween.  I think next I'm getting out the house decorations for Halloween. 

And so another school year begins. . .

It's started, public school I mean.  I know because I was asked if the kids didn't have school today.  (I won't even go into the fact that today was the second day of public school, really would they have a day off already??  Oh wait they have tomorrow and Friday off!?)  But it got me thinking, are there really that many truant kids running around (with mom and little brother no less) that complete strangers feel the need to know if school is out, or if we are playing hooky?  I don't know why this annoys me so much.  I do have to say it is quite amusing when the question is directed at my daughter.  She answers with such calm confidence "Oh, I don't go to school."  Then she continues talking about what ever it was she was actually interested in.  Meanwhile a look of horror sweeps across the questioners face before they look to me for an explanation. 

For the most part, that is how it ends.  I guess I'm just worried about what could come next.  And so I had to dig up this: The bitter homeschoolers wish list.  It is so funny, well if you are a homeschooler.  Yes it's been around for awhile, but just in case you haven't seen it I'm posting a link.

Summer fun!

Ok, as I was downloading pics from my camera for the "first day of school" post I realized I never posted anything about our little vacation.  The kids and I a couple weeks ago spent about 5 days "camping" on my families property.  I say "camping" because my cousin graciously offered us the use of  her camper.  It was an awesome way to say good bye to the summer.  We had a blast just relaxing, swimming, and talking.  Here are a couple pics. 

First day of school!!!

It is the official first day of school.  It's 8 am and the kids are dressed in new outfits, new back packs and lunch bags in hand waiting for the big yellow bus to wisk them off to a land where adventures in learning await.  I sit here with tears in my eyes as my babies are about to leave for the day to grow up without me. . . . . . .ROFL!!!!  Well, ok most of that was a lie.  Public school hasn't started yet, but today is our first official day of school.  We started some stuff last week, today is more a change of mindset for myself.  In reality the kids are wearing regular old play clothes, even if they did "go" to school we would walk since the school is like 3 blocks away, and right now Patchy is riding his bike and Emmers is walking the dog.  It's supposed to be 90 today so I thought it would be a good idea to get their outdoor time now before it gets too hot and school work can be done later when we want to be in the nice air conditioned house. 

What we are going to be doing this year:  We are continuing FIAR, and Emmers will be taking on Beyond FIAR as well.  We are still signed up for T4L, but I'm not sure we will keep it.  I'm looking into other options for math (both)  and phonics for Patchy.  Patchy's first book will be Lentil, and Emmers is starting with The Boxcar Children.  (Which she has finished reading behind my back, lol.)   I haven't really worked out the schedule for doing both yet as I'm sure it will change as we do it.  They both are taking the homeschool class at the Toledo Zoo.  Emmers wants to sign up for ice skating class and Patchy wants to take karate.

Patchy on first day of K-1st grade. 

Emmers on first day of 3rd grade.

Failure

That is the only way to describe my attempts at writing a blog about homeschooling.  So maybe I should just give up. . .maybe I should broaden my scope. . .maybe I should get a more exciting life.  hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. 

Well, it's summer and we just got a pool, thanks to some close friends.  (Thank you, thank you!!!)  We went up to my family's a couple weeks ago and they offered to let us use their trailer on the lake.  The kids and I are going to go up for a week.  I'm so excited!!!  It's beautiful and quiet and I so need to get away.   Tomorrow we are going to the library to get books for the trip. 

When we get back I'm going to buckle back down with hs-ing. . .we've had a pretty unschooley summer.  I'm going to continue using with FIAR with Patch, and Emmers starts Beyond FIAR.  I'm sure she will still be participating in the activities we do for FIAR.   Back to what we've been doing. . .We've always been more on the unschool side of things and I'm still surprised at how much the kids learn without "formal" lessons.  Emmers still seems to be into math, and has for the most part caught up to where she should be (in school) on her own terms.  The kids did a lot of reading this summer.  Patch, is slowly progressing in that area.  He has hit the point where reading is no longer new and exciting so he just wants to be read to.  I'm trying to encourage him and keep him reading on a regular basis without aggravating him into not wanting to read.  

Ping- Our first week with FIAR

This was our first week using Five in a Row (FIAR) and it went great!  So much smoother then I expected, even with schedule interruptions.  Not only did we bring in an entire new curriculum this week, I've changed my view on how homeschooling and other daily activities need to be scheduled.  Both have led to us being able to get more done and with much less stress.  I'm not a very regimented person when it comes to schedule, but for some reason I thought that was the way I needed to do things when it came to homeschooling.  Our schedule is back to having a much more organic feel, and we are all much happier for it.  I think I will post separately the details of our schedule.

The Story About Ping:  Our first FIAR book.  Ok so not everything went well, the kids groaned when I sat down to read it the third time. . .but absolutely loved the discussions, and activities afterward.    I don't think they will ever forget the Yangtze river or that it's in China.  They particularly enjoyed the art and science lessons.  In fact as I write this Patch is still at the kitchen sink experimenting with different objects to test buoyancy.  He also decided to take the art lesson and expand on it by writing and illustrating an entire book of his own, he plans to work on it over the next few days.  Em was thrilled to learn new drawing techniques (as I expected she would be) and drew a very detailed picture with the new knowledge.    

Row, row, row your boat!

I ordered and received Vol. 1 of Five in a Row, and started my planning.  We start Monday!!!  I wanted to start this week, but between Patch having a 103 fever Sunday night, and somewhere to be everyday but Tuesday and Friday, I choose to wait.  I'm really glad I've got a few extra days to plan things.  I've been able to take my time planning, go over board with activities, and then back off realizing I need to be realistic.  Also, I just came across a great blog  about doing multiple levels of FIAR.  This was my biggest concern, is always my biggest concern.  I've decided to put off doing Beyond FIAR with Em until fall.  However, when I do begin doing both, I have a lot more confidence I will be able to make it work.  On Monday we will also be starting new spelling program, Sequential Spelling. 

So our busy week. . .yesterday we had a field trip with our homeschool group to Greenfield Village.  Only Em went, thanks to one of the other moms who volunteered to take her, because Patch was sick.  Tomorrow is the last day of zoo class for the year.  Thursday we go to one of the homeschool group members house for a geology lesson and swimming.  (Yes swimming in MI in May. . .they have an indoor pool!!!!)  I should really post some pics of this stuff. . .we shall see. 

Hurts so good.

Ok, I can't limit myself to homeschool posts in the strictest of definition.  It's the unschooler in me that sees all of life's lessons as equally important.  Nor do I see myself as any less a student then my children.  And lets face it, isn't one of the things we homeschooling parents strive for is a LIFE LONG love of learning.  How better to teach that then by example? 

My lesson actually occurred last night after my last post.  I logged off and took a shower.  As the relaxing hot water hit my knee it ceased to be relaxing due to the scrape on my knee I got while gardening earlier that day.  I had completely forgotten about it.  I had also forgotten how much getting water on a scraped up knee hurts, it's been 20 years.  When I first got the scrape I reacted much like I did 20+ years ago.  I thought to myself "ow ow ow,"  then looked at it as blood started to gather, took a moment to admire the beautiful color (yeah that's weird but blood really is a beautiful color if you don't think about what it is.)  then went back to whatever I was doing with out a second thought.  (Until the shower, lol.)  Realizing that reminded me of a motto I had as a kid.  "I wasn't having a good enough summer if my knees weren't scabbed over the whole time."  This years scrape came about as I was gardening, something I haven't had the opportunity to do in a few years.  It felt really good to get my hands back in the dirt, to be sore after working my body to provide my family with good food, to smell the earth.  Even as I sat outside that evening there was a calm that came over me seeing the garden in it's beginning stage.  That scrape was a reminder that things are going well.  That it's the small things I need to appreciate.  I've had a lot of subtle reminding lately, and I'm glad that I've been aware of it. 

A case of the crazies!

Ok who are we kidding I'm always a little nuts, and being a stay at homeschooling mom means it's ALWAYS crazy in our house.  Last weekend my sister got married, it was beautiful and went down with out a glitch.  Now I'm waiting for her to blog from Ireland so I can live vicariously through her.  And I can't wait to see her wedding photos.  She looked awesome!  And her photographer was great.  So basically last week no "real" school work got done. 

This week we are working on our garden.  (Let me make clear that I use the word garden very loosely.)  We dug up the big flower beds in the front of the house to plant our spinach, romaine, and broccoli, and our basil and chives.  More herbs to come.  I'm going to get a tiller for the back yard for tomatoes and maybe some others, not sure yet.  In our digging this morning I pulled out 15 grubs, which my children made a home for.  (They now rest in peace.) And this HUGE beetle!  Which I need to look up on the internet.

To go along with having a garden this year we are going to do a few "plant experiments" this week.  Well start them.  I will post more about that later.  That should tide us over until we order new curriculum.  I'm back to debating between Moving Beyond the Page and Five in a Row.  UGH!  Also we started looking at the Ice Age before the wedding took over, and I want to wrap that up.

Other major changes since I last posted are:  Our homeschool group has really gone through some defining moments.  Last fall we decided to rent a space for the cold weather and to move into doing more structured activities, with each family taking a month to plan activities.  I think it went really well.  However because of the more structured approach, before it was basically a playdate once a week, we've lost a couple members.  Also I've since taken on a leadership position in the group.  (I guess I thought I needed more to do, lol.)  And, as if on cue to our numbers dropping we've got some new families coming to check us out! 

The other big change, Em has glasses now!  She is too freaking cute with them.  She has this whole cute disheveled professor look going.  

Guess that's all for now!

out with the new

Let me start by saying I'm sorry I have been quiet for so long.  It has been a looooooooooooooooooooooooong winter.  Winter is the time when the Earth wraps herself in a blanket of snow, and turns her thoughts inward.  I defiantly was doing that this winter.  However Spring is here!  It's time to give birth to all the internal growth.  I had a challenging winter with both my physical and spiritual self, but I'm feeling much more energized with the return of warmer weather.

So, time for an update on the homeschooling.  When last I posted we had just dove into Oak Meadow.  Things have changed somewhat since then.  We are back to using more of a buffet style of curriculum building.  Here is the short list of what we do:
~For our spine we have switched to Time 4 Learning.  It is an online, interactive curriculum that does a good job of teaching the 3 R's, with a little science and social studies thrown in.  The kids love it, especially Patch.  It also has some printable worksheets and lesson plans for offline activities.
~ For math we do a combination of things, in addition to T4L.  We still do some practice from OM, we do mathercise (math/exercise~practice skip counting and other facts while doing stretches, jumping jacks, sit ups, etc)and I have a few work books the kids dabble in.
~Language Arts: T4L, OM for writing practice/ creative writing and some reading, work books Patch for learning to write (along with all his little notes), reading lots of books from the library, OM, and home, Schoolhouse Rocks videos and game, and worksheets for Em for cursive and spelling. 
~Other is where we are still having issues.  They are getting tidbits of science, history, social studies, art/crafts, health and wellness, etc. from various places.  However it's all very informal, scattered, and not enough.  UGH! 

To fill in the gaps I've got a few ideas, I'm just so bad at putting them into action.  So, my goal for this week is to get a rough outline of the "other" stuff I would like to cover over the next couple months, including a schedule.  I am thinking unit studies, I'll keep you posted. 

wow!

Are you freaking kidding me?!

A friend the other day sent me this link.  I'll give you a few minutes to read it, vomit, and then come back.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ok, so did you remember to brush your teeth after puking? 

Let's first cover what is obviously disturbing about this article.  a)  The government, through the public schools in this instance, feels it has the right to spy on us.  b)  The government feels it doesn't need to follow the law (LOL!)  c) The government feels we, parents, are incapable of parenting our own children. d) we now have a new way for perverts with in the schools to violate children

Now let me push that disturbance just a little further.  There was a little detail about that story that really struck me.   The confidence that the government has that we are willing to comply to their heinous and illegal behavior.  What? you say, they didn't tell the parents they were going to have remote access, they lied.  Ah, yes BUT, when a child was found doing something the school officials didn't like they had no problem confessing where their evidence came from.  Did they not think that the parents would be angry?  Did the government really think that it could invade our privacy, our children and all they would have to say is that it's for our own good?  I say yes they did or they would have found another source of evidence against that child.

Well, I can comfort myself with the fact that I'm not actually paranoid.   

Microscope fun

 

This afternoon we finally hooked up the microscope Em got for Christmas a couple years ago to our computer.  I was playing around and it is so cool.  I can take images and save them to the computer, email them, what not.  I can even take a video, although haven't gotten into that yet.  I'm thinking this summer that will be really neat when we can get some pond water to look at.  I'm still getting used to focusing and not looking through the actual lens, but it's nice that everyone can see the object at once.  I've included the first image I took, but it isn't very good.  I did not have the camera tightened down so it's a bit blurry.  I was more concerned with how to do it at the time.  Plus I don't even know what it is of, lol!  The one frustrating thing about this microscope is that it only came with a couple slides and they aren't labeled.  I've looked into purchasing some more.  I really like the looks of this set.  It has bunny taste buds!  (I know disturbing, but so cool!) 

Patience is a virtue best served with tears.

Today my patience was well rewarded with a healthy helping of tears of joy!  One year and eleven months ago, to the day, we started homeschooling officially by pulling our daughter out of ps.  At that time she HATED math.  Let's be fair, she hated all things related to "school."  Math was by far the most hated however.  Over several months and several approaches to teaching her math I too came to hate math.  I had already given in to the unschooling method for reading and writing, I just couldn't let go of those damn math work sheets. Eventually I gave up.  And a couple months ago the clouds began to break up.  I could see numbers floating around my daughters 8 yo brain.  Then today, in our second real lesson following the new curriculum the sun began to shine on the world of math.  After what had to be at least 30 minutes of full math immersion I announced that they could quit for the day while I started dinner, or they could continue on their own and I would return.  My daughter jumped up and stated "I want to do more, I love math!"  

Looking back for a moment.

Well, hard to believe but we are approaching the two year anniversary of our decision to homeschool.  I'm not really sure if it's hard to believe because it went fast, or it felt like a lifetime, lol.  It somehow feels like both simultaneously.  So here we are nearly two years under our belts and on the brink of change.  For the past couple of years we've tried a couple of approaches to education.  We started out with a very school at home style and found quickly that a more unschooling approach was a better fit.  In all of this my task has been to write and implement the curriculum.  A major task, especially in the face of all the other chaos that took place over the past couple years.  At this time we've come to the realization that this needs to change, while still educating the kids in a style that is natural to our children.  The solution, we are hoping, is in a prepackaged curriculum called Oak Meadow <http://www.oakmeadow.com/>.  The plan is to have Oak Meadow serve as a backbone to the kids education, and free me up to concentrate more of my energy on the actual teaching end of things.  (it will also allow me to have time to do things for me so I don't go nuts, hahahaha)  I've ordered everything we need to get started, and I'm looking forward to it arriving on my doorstep in the next couple weeks.
Note:  This was originally part of an email sent out to update my family.  It was written less then a month ago and I thought it would be a good lead up to where we are at now.  Cheers~Carri

My first thought

Hi! Can you feel the pressure? It's my first post and geez if I don't type just the right thing you may never come back. Down the road, sure I have a little more leeway to say something offensive but then we will have a relationship going and I would really have to go out of my way to get rid of you. Right now though we are at that all too hyped "first impression" stage.

I believe I will begin with a traditional introduction, my name. I'm Carri. This next sentence is where I get stuck. What else should I tell you, in what order, should I just list things about myself, or should I explain them????? (Evidently you should never ask for my advice on resumes or first dates.) The problem is if I just hand over a list of things about myself will you take the first things on my list to be more important, do you and I have the same definition of the items on the list, what things are relevant at this point. hmmmmmm. Well, I'm a stay at home mom of two. I have a realtively happy marriage, an average house and a dog. Sounds boring. I'll be honest, most of the time it is.