Live, Love, Laugh, Learn

I'm moving on...

2008-05-04T15:04:00.000-07:00

I have been floundering with this blog for a while now, feeling like I needed a new direction and focus but not sure where to go. After a lot of prayer and discussion with my husband I have decided to end this blog. I have found a new direction and theme but this blog did not seem like the right venue. I thought that starting anew would be the best option. I have a lot of work to do before it's ready but I did want to let you know why you will not see any more posts from me on this site. In the meantime, you can keep up with me on my other blog. http://ohdiditellyou.com/ Thank you for reading my blog, it's been fun!

Where do you live Weekend?

2008-05-02T12:03:00.000-07:00

My friend Lori over at Just Pure Lovely wants you to write about where you live, sort of a tour around the world from each blogger. I posted mine here if you want to check it out. Let me know if you joined in so I can see yours.

2008-04-29T10:54:00.000-07:00

When you live near the coast where do you go for vacation? Because even those beach bums need a vacation, right? And not at the beach, of course. (OK, that's not really true, offer me a house on the beach, waking to the lapping of waves & I'm absolutely there. But for the sake of this post, let's just say, not the beach.) We have decided to take a vacation, an extended vacation. We have decided to head to a place with abundant wildlife, diverse nature, and flourishing children. I will have spotty, sporadic internet access so I'll keep you posted on our adventure. So for now I better get back to packing and preparing, have you ever taken an extended vacation? There is sooo much preparation involved. But we have lots planned and will have lots to share. Next time I'll post pictures...

Sweet, Simple Saturday

2008-04-22T15:08:00.001-07:00

DSC01105
Originally uploaded by mom2aejs

Yes, I know it's Tuesday but these came to me on Saturday and I was so happy. It's time to mow the lawn so my sweeties, who know I love the natural look of wildflowers, brought me these goodies from the yard. The books showed up in the mail, these are a few we have been anxiously awaiting.

My Mudpies!

2008-04-19T16:02:00.001-07:00

DSC01059
Originally uploaded by mom2aejs

"Ama, can we please play in the hose?'
"Uhm, let's not do that please. I don't want the mud tracked through the house right now."
"Ok, Ama."

It's a good thing they're so cute!

Weekend in Philadelphia

2008-04-08T06:59:00.000-07:00

This weekend we had a wonderful, whirlwind trip to Philadelphia. Our main purpose was to help our beloved Uncle Rob (my husband's brother) celebrate his 50th birthday. We really enjoyed spending time with family that we haven't seen in almost 4 yrs. They adored the kids and the kids adored them. Fun was had by all. We were fortunate enough to take a tour of the city on a double decker bus. I had a very fussy, tired baby in my arms so I handed the camera to hubby who did a stellar job. I love history, especially seeing where it happened. Betsy Ross' house

City Hall with William Penn's statue

Flags from every country line the streets that lead to a

fountain and a view of city hall.

I really thought this was going to be the highlight of the trip for me, aside from visiting family. But in all honesty I enjoyed seeing real life, what was occurring now, the heartbeat of a large city. It's been a long time since we have lived in or around a bustling city and it is so invigorating. I love walking everywhere and watching and smelling and touching, it is a very sensual experience and I have missed it. I loved watching and listening to the bagpipe player in the park, watching the wedding party run across the street in their formals for photo ops by the fountain, tasting the corner Philly cheese steak, watching my daughter observe nature in the middle of all of the busyness, observing the homeless man finding his next meal in the street trash can (yes, this is heartbreaking but it's real, it's not history yet, it's happening now). All of these seem to be in contrast to one another yet they were just steps apart.

I'm off to rest and unpack. It was over 20 hrs to drive home and we are still a bit travel weary.

Jellyfish

2008-03-24T13:36:00.001-07:00

DSC00672
Originally uploaded by mom2aejs

Can you see him? This little guy had some sporadic neon current flowing through him. He wasn't doing too well so we couldn't get a shot of the current. After a few scary episodes last year we know to keep our distance from these small but ferocious creatures. Oh and to carry the necessary equipment in case we have a too close encounter.

Jellyfish sting essentials: white vinegar (too neutralize the sting), meat tenderizer, and Benadryl. We keep this in a bag in the car.

Sweet

2008-03-24T13:11:00.001-07:00

sandyfingers
Originally uploaded by mom2aejs

There is just something precious about plump baby fingers feeling the cool white sand. She loves the sand. She goes through extra effort to pull the blanket until she can feel the sand with those awesome chubby digits.

Sneak Peek

2008-03-10T14:11:00.001-07:00

sneakpeek
Originally uploaded by mom2aejs

This is one embroidered square for a disappearing 9-patch quilt in progress for Autumn. You can see some of the quilt behind the linen square. As is usual for me, there are many, many mistakes but I have come to realize that if I expect to do it perfectly I will never complete a project. So for now, I am very happy with the progress, mistakes and all. I like to think the mistakes give a more homemade, made with love, aura to the quilt. More as progress is made.

A Happy Day

2008-03-06T15:22:00.000-08:00

I have no idea what to name this post but I am so happy to have finally made my first apron, all for me...me, me, me, and no one else but me! I'm a bit giddy. I love my new apron. I've wanted one forever but never wanted to spend the money on it. I decided that today was the day I'm finally going to get that apron. I picked out the colors, I picked out the design, I measured & cut, ironed and sewed, trimmed and ironed some more, and viola...it's done! Well, not completely done, it needs pockets & some trim but it is usable, it just needs the finishing touches to be added when the whim hits. But I am oh so happy so yes, I guess the name of the post fits, it is a happy day.

Update: It's complete!! Woo-hoo! I love it when I actually finish a project!

A bit more info about the apron. The fabrics are from Anna Maria Horner and the design is from my new favorite sewing book. Just want to give credit where credit is due. I love both of these resources and these fabrics and designs will be cropping up in many places around our home in the coming weeks.

What kind of Mother Hen are you?

2008-03-05T19:13:00.000-08:00

What type of Mother Hen Are You?
by Montessorimom.com: Educational Resource

Nature Walk

2008-02-27T16:11:00.000-08:00

Our first assignment for the Green Hour Challenge was to take a 10 to 15 min nature walk, look and observe and upon returning discuss 2 things observed, maybe learn a bit more about them. So, for our walk we hopped in the car & took off for Big Lagoon State Park. Half way there I remembered there was a park entrance fee, ugh, I had no money on me and I was nowhere near my bank. OK, so we turned around and ventured home. We live in a cul-de-sac, lots of houses, very little nature...or so I thought.

It was beautiful outside and we decided to stroll the cul-de-sac to see what we could see. We found so many things that I have seen my whole life but had no idea what they were. We chose 2 to identify upon returning home.

First, this is a seed from a Sweet Gum Tree.

Second, this is such a sweet smelling flower, my girls were sure it was a variety of honeysuckle but I'm fairly certain it's not. We have yet to identify this flower. Any guesses? I can't seem to find them in any of our field guides.

But I was so excited about the Sweet Gum Tree. The kids all had a blast and have asked to go for a walk every day since. We haven't made it out that often but that is my fault, not theirs. They collected treasures, I love displaying natural materials in the house. They did a great job and had a lot of fun. The girls took turns taking pictures and then were quick to post on their blogs here and here about their view of our walk.

I am a little behind because I think assignment #2 is well under way. My head has been in crafting mode lately and I need these nature challenges to get out of the house, breathe some fresh air, and remember why I love living in Florida. I get so involved in my obsession du jour that all else is forgotten. I am glad to have these challenges so I will be sure to get out and see what is happening in the "real" world.

On a nature related note, we are currently studying the moon in Astronomy so the girls used their blogs to post a narration of their experience and knowledge of the recent lunar eclipse. You can read that here and here.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-02-20T12:25:00.000-08:00

green hour button

2008-02-18T18:35:00.001-08:00

green hour button
Originally uploaded by HarmonyArtMom

Check out HarmonyArtMom and her new Green Hour Challenge. For those of us Nature Study impaired this could be just the thing to get us to take that first official step. Let me know if you are joining in. I'll post more as we get our first challenge underway.

Strange Brew

2008-02-18T10:56:00.000-08:00

Strange and bizarre foods are brewing in the Cashen kitchen and I thought I would share...

First of all we have found a fabulous source for fresh from the cow milk and I have had kefir grains waiting for just this kind of milk. So what do you do with kefir grains?

Make kefir of course...

What is kefir? Check out The Happy Herbalist for lots of good info explained so much better than I could. I'll just tell you it's delicious and very good for you.

OK, so now I've made kefir, what do I do with it?

Well, the options are almost limitless. Substitute kefir for yogurt, milk, or sourdough starter. This is what we are making with our kefir:

Luscious Kefir Cookies
And if your eyes are good, here is the recipe:

Cream cheese and whey

The cream cheese will top our yummy bread and the whey will be used to make fermented carrots and sauerkraut, yum!

"Quick" SourdoughBread

The "sour" in this recipe comes from the kefir. "Quick" means you don't have to wait 7 days for a starter to ferment, just overnight.

Aside from kefir, we also have kombucha brewing on our counter. When we are very, very good, this replaces the junky, sugar-filled sodas we sometimes indulge in.

Whole Wheat Sourdough Starter, this is something new for me. I have never successfully made my own sourdough starter. It should be ready on Saturday so I'll keep you posted.

Here we have soaked hulled buckwheat, drained and rinsed. It is in day one of sprouting so no visible sprouts just yet. We will use this to make a living granola in the dehydrator.

Recent finished projects

2008-02-15T11:49:00.000-08:00

Abby has been enjoying trying her hand at different handicrafts. She made this sweet bag for 2 yr old Katy...

...and knit this little hat for Autumn as Valentine's gifts.

And this is my first completed knitting project. I know it's hideous, but I learned sooo much from doing this. First, the weight of the yarn really is important. The pattern called for a lightweight cotton and I used a heavy boucle because I had it on hand. It is supposed to be a lightweight summer top but it works better as a winter vest. Second, it does make a difference if you knit 1 row, purl 1 row & then switch to purl 1 row, purl 1 row even though the directions do not tell you to switch, oops! Third, in my important things learned, it does matter if the front & back sides line up. Fourth, I really should measure a few things every now and then, such as, how far apart the shoulder straps are versus the size of her shoulders. And Fifth, but most important, I found that I really like knitting and the feeling of accomplishment at a finished project is very satisfying. I am eager to try something new & put in to practice the many things I learned on this first knitting venture. Oh, btw, Lori, I embroidered the buttons. And as a side note, please don't tell Katy it's hideous, she loves it, I couldn't be more pleased!

How was Your Valentine's Day?

2008-02-15T11:46:00.000-08:00

Our room

2008-02-14T13:25:00.000-08:00

We have this room, I love this room, I have great plans for this room. We had a room like this in just about every house we have lived in. This is our multi-function room, it's our school room, our craft room, our office room. I always dreamily plan wonderful days spent in this room. The problem is that this room always holds our clutter, our junk, the stuff I don't know where else to put it gets dumped in this room. So we never actually enjoy this room, it is always stressful and disappointing to see the potential of this room wasted on junk. Well, I finally decided, "NO MORE". I spent countless hours over the past week and a half throwing away, sifting through, organizing and making this room what I want it to be (within reason, lol). I finally finished this afternoon. I feel so relieved that the hard work is over. There are still some minor things to organize but it will be a cinch compared to what I just went through. Here are a few shots of our ROOM...

This is the view as you walk into the room. You are looking at our school books and resources. And Katy is enjoying playing with the wedgits in the corner.

This is our craft nook, the craft shelves look messy but they are organized and each shelf holds different craft mediums.

This is our office space, nothing fancy but it is organized, clean, and usable.

So now that this room is neat and tidy I would like my sweetie to build some bookshelves, you can never have too many books or bookshelves. We are also going to bring in a table to use for crafting and schoolwork. That is at our other house, we should get that in the next few weeks. I can't wait to hit the books with the kids on Monday now that we know where everything is and where it goes when we are finished. I am so pleased!

Wordless Valentine's Eve Wednesday!!

2008-02-12T18:05:00.000-08:00

A big girl bed for Katy!

2008-02-12T17:40:00.000-08:00

I know it's really a crib mattress on the floor but she's proud of it. She ran around showing it to everyone and anyone who would look. "Das my!" She was so excited to climb in and snuggle with her stuffed animals and look at her books. She fell asleep and slept all night in her new big girl bed. My baby is growing up! And Daddy could not have been happier, finally there are no babies in the bed, lol!

Busy Hands

2008-02-07T12:53:00.000-08:00

We have been in crafting mode lately. The girls are trying their hand at sewing and knitting. This is a true hands-on learning experience for them because I am such a novice at this myself I am really only able to give suggestions rather than teach them. I am very impressed with their accomplishments and I thought I would share a few...

Erin decided to make a sundress for Autumn, I was so proud of how thoughtfully and carefully she planned out the whole venture.

Erin completed her first knitting project and the first gift for baby Naomi. I hope it's still chilly when she finally receives it.

Here's Abby's first completed knitting project. She did such a nice job & caught on so quickly.

Both girl's are ahead of me, I have yet to finish my first knitting project, I've been working on it for about a month.

One of my big reason's for wanting to sew is to make cloth diapers for my little's. This is my first creation complete with sew many mistakes. It looks cute but this made me decide to follow a pattern for the next diaper. This is an AIO (all-in-one) with green fleece hemp as the liner & PUL pink w/ seashells as the outer cover. Definitely learning...

I can't wait to see what these little hands create!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-02-06T12:46:00.000-08:00

A New Branch

2008-01-31T08:35:00.000-08:00

I think I mentioned in one of my previous posts that I like to branch out and try new things. This year I've been trying new handicrafts. I'm not into potholders, etc. because I need my time invested in a project to improve something in my life. I've never been into decorating my home and I've used the excuse that I just couldn't afford to do what I wanted so why bother. Also, we move so much it seemed like a lot of effort to have to pack it back up again before too long. Although there is a possible move in our future, I decided to go for it anyway. In the past year I have tried to add things to the walls, framed family photos, stuff like that. And after some reflection I realized that the money factor was really an excuse, it is the lack of skill that has been intimidating me. It doesn't have to be expensive. So I've had some motivators lately. My husband bought some bamboo knitting needles and a sewing machine for me for Christmas. This has been so encouraging, it was as if he said, "Just try!" So that's what I'm doing. I have many projects I want to try but I am learning to go slow so I don't get overwhelmed and discouraged.

If you read yesterday's post you know that I am a new aunt again and I want to make something special for Naomi Promise so she will know that even though she is my 5th niece from the Hooker family and the 9th granddaughter for my parents, she is just as much a blessing as my first niece.

Also, we have been having quite a time with our little Katy lately. She used to sleep in her crib every night but when Autumn arrived we moved Katy into our bed to pass the crib down to Autumn. Katy has been having a very tough time not having a bed of her own. It seems I have also dropped our bedtime routine during the new baby and move. She really needs something special, that is all hers. Eric has decided to build a toddler bed for her, I bought a new mattress and some sheets, and I wanted to make a blanket for her bed. I couldn't find anything that I thought was really cute for a toddler bed. It was mostly just character bedding that I'm not crazy about. So I decided to make it for her. I made hers first so I could work out the kinks on her blanket and not Naomi's.

Aside from the obvious, the little extra touches I added were to dye the lace trim in tea so it would have a more antique feel, I also embroidered (not very well) her name on the corner. It came together easily but was much larger than I anticipated and the lace trim was a bit of a challenge. I really enjoyed making this and I hope I've improved my skill so Naomi's will not have as many hidden mistakes.

I'll post pictures of the complete ensemble when Eric finishes her bed. I have more plans for her bed and bedding but will see what time allows.

I missed it!!!!

2008-01-30T06:08:00.000-08:00

Every night for the past 2 weeks or so I have grabbed my phone as I head off to bed. I have been anxiously awaiting my sister's newest little one & didn't want to miss the call if it came during the night. So last night I grabbed the phone as usual but must have set it down before I made it to bed because I awoke to messages blinking and the phone ringing. Ugh! I couldn't believe the one night I forget. Ok, but enough about me. Here she is...

http://growinglittlewomen.blogspot.com/

We only make girls! Naomi Promise Hooker was welcomed into this world at 3:18 am this Wednesday morning. She is 9lbs 1oz and 21 and 1/4 inches long. And she is beautiful, if I do say so myself!:) Mama and baby are doing wonderful after only about 5 hours of labor in which time we had no power because of the rain and wind having knocked it out. But, I will have pictures and a birth story on my blog shortly. Just wanted to let you all know that she has made her arrival and we are doing well.

That was a picture from sister's blog, check out the link for more photos and then the email she sent out! I am such a proud aunt! Girl number 5 for their family. Just when we had caught up in the girl department. Oh well, Autumn is so happy to have a girl cousin her own age, well, Autumn will be the bossy one, she's got 5 months on Naomi, lol.

Congratulations Christina! And the rest of the Hooker clan...she is stunningly beautiful!

A completed Craft

2008-01-29T18:22:00.000-08:00

I love trying new things, branching out of my comfort zone and trying to pretend I'm creative. I'm not really. Most, if not all, of my ideas are inspired from others. I am fortunate to have some crafty friends and have browsed many crafty blogs. There are some very talented woman out there and I am learning so much from them. This year I am delving into knitting and sewing, things I have never tried before. I also wanted to try embroidery. I am currently working on projects in each area but I needed something I could complete in a short amount of time that would leave me feeling accomplished. Follow through is really not my strong point. So today I decided to try an embroidery project, something simple but useful. Just a little background...

I am using cloth diapers on Autumn, I love them, they are so adorable and I really don't like dressing her in onesies or anything that covers up those cute diapers. So I purchased some white t-shirts for her from Walmart. This was so boring, like she wasn't dressed, just hanging out in her jammies all day. So for my project today I decided to dye 4 of the t-shirts yellow and embroider a simple design on the front. Nothing complicated, just simple and cute. So here's what I did and how I did it if you are interested.

First, I love natural dye's so I didn't want to buy a boxed dye. I decided to soak the t-shirts in boiling water with Turmeric and vinegar. I let them soak until the t-shirts were a bit darker than I wanted. Then I washed them with a small amount of bleach to soften the color. They turned out great, the color of butter. Can you tell from the picture?

After they were dry I stuck them in an embroidery hoop & drew a simple design on the front of the t-shirt. I found the design of this ice cream cone on a piece of fabric and it looked simple enough.

Next, I chose my thread colors and started stitching. I don't know much about embroidery stitches so this was just a stitch I had in my head that I wanted to try. I'm happy with the way it turned out.

The girls decided to join in, Abby has drawn her design on a t-shirt and Erin has picked out her design but has yet to draw it. I will post theirs when they finish.

But in the meantime, here is the finished product.

Voila!!

A Redwall Feast

2008-01-29T07:51:00.001-08:00

Winter

Hey ho, hey ho, now comes the snow,
as in draws early night,
outside the cold day slips away,
indoors the logs burn bright.
Long icicles hang from the trees,
like winter's daggers drawn,
whilst winds sing cruel dirges to
sad fields of stubborn shorn.
Hear that rattling windowpane,
wriggle, snuggle, in your bed,
watch the pictures embers make,
pull the cover's o'er your head.
We've food aplenty, warmth for all,
so let winter's snows preside.
Outside each day we'll sport and play,
and then at twilight, haste inside.

This is from The Redwall Cookbook by Brian Jacques. We decided to hold a feast and invite some friends, what's a feast if you eat it alone? Abby and Erin did it all on their own, well, I did help chop up a few veggies but other than that they get all the credit and the glory...

Here is the menu:

In case you can't read that, it says:
Shrimp'n'Hotroot Soup
Veggible Molebake
Honeybaked Apples
Cheerful Churchmouse Cherry Crisp
Summer Strawberry Fizz
Hot Mint Tea

So while the girls worked hard to prepare the meal this is the help they got from little sis Katy, that is Daddy's guitar case if you can't make that out.

Abby works to put together the Cheerful Churchmouse Cherry Crisp...

Our guests arrived around 1:00 and the festivities began. It was a girls feast, no boys allowed. Just this one time only though, next time they can come. We were very busy with babies so my picture of the entire feast did not turn out well but this gives you a general idea.

And of course, since the girls planned, prepared, and enjoyed the feast, the only thing left was the clean-up which they did cheerfully.

After the feast, playing ensued. There were Indians in the front yard, and backyard now that I think about it and knitting and fellowship for the moms. The food was delicious, good job girls, the company was fabulous, thanks for coming, and there were a lot of sweet memories for all...

And I couldn't end this post without mentioning that our little Autumn turned 5 months old this weekend.

Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?

2008-01-28T12:14:00.000-08:00

I know where my cowboys have gone...out of town for the weekend!

It was a boy free weekend. So what is a girl, or 5 girls in our case, to do? We had a fabulous girly weekend. Saturday we decided to have a Redwall Feast, to be held on Sunday noon. More about that later.

So we mapped our day, Joann's craft store where we bought all sorts of fun stuff to further our new handicraft, knitting. As well as a few other goodies to try some new sewing and embroidery projects. Then off to our favorite local coffee shop, The Drowsy Poet, for 3 Wynken, Blynken, and Nods and a 20 oz Poe. In Starbucks language that translates to 3 hot cocoa's and one venti cappucino. From there we drove to our favorite local bakery for grain, got lost, found it, it was closed so it was off to Walmart. We shopped for all sorts of yummy things for our feast. Back at home the girls made pasta for dinner while I started finally putting stuff on the very bare walls.

We played Hullabaloo & Scrabble, knitted, talked, enjoyed Hot Tea & Chocolate Cake and just genuinely enjoyed the quiet. Of course, that was only for one night, I could not have gone much longer without the yipping and hollering of 2 boys and a daddy.

Sunday we got up bright and early to prepare for our party, our guests were arriving around 1:00...

More about that in my next post, for now I need to dig out that Paula Cole CD.

A Lovely Afternoon

2008-01-25T14:32:00.000-08:00

Today we woke up earlier than usual & straightened up the house in anticipation of company for an afternoon tea & visit. Life happens and they had to cancel but that was okay. I realized the house was clean, tea was made, we were knitting, and my girls had just received the Redwall Cookbook in the mail. If you aren't familiar with Redwall, it's a series of books written by Brian Jacques similar to Chronicles of Narnia using woodland creatures & no humans. I haven't read them but had enough confidence in the recommendations I received to feel comfortable letting them enjoy these. Anyway, I found the cookbook from the series on Amazon marketplace for a decent price & bought it for them. They were so excited & surprised when it arrived in the mail today. So we spent the afternoon browsing the book, thinking up menus, now we have to put a grocery list together. Our plan is to make a Redwall feast for one meal over the weekend. Although I did sneak away for a long chat with my best friend, he apparently had some time to talk while he was driving between job sites. I love talking to him, he just brightens my whole day. I do mean my husband in case that wasn't clear. If we do end up feasting on Redwall delicacies I will take pictures & post, I'm very proud of my 2 oldest chicks, they have blossomed into wonderful cooks, chefs, bakers, etc. I also had the fabulous luck of finding some healthier, local, more economical food sources and made a friend in the process. So it has been a very nice, relaxing day with my babes.

What will I think?

2008-01-21T06:33:00.000-08:00

You know how it goes, you sit down to just check your emails & 3 hours later you realize the house is trashed, your baby is running around the house without a diaper, what is that smell, where are the boys, what is that noise & has anyone finished their schoolwork, it's bed time for crying out loud!!! OK, maybe you're not that bad but I have had those moments. It's sad but true. But something occurred to me this weekend that made me pause...what am I doing with our time, it's not just my time, it's our time, mine, the kids, my husbands, our time. I don't know how much time God has allotted for us, I won't know until it's gone, do I have 3 more hours with my babies? 3 more weeks, years, what? I just don't know. What will I think when the time is gone? When they have moved on, will I look back & think of the quality time I spent on the computer, phone, (place time stealing distraction here) or the time I spent with my chicks. God gave them to me, he's letting me borrow them, they are seeds to be planted, nourished, watered, loved and placed in direct sunshine. I struggle with this, being easily distracted, and I want them to know that there is no distraction more important than my family. So for my New Years attitude adjustment for Jan, I am working on more time away from the computer & more time with my babes. We had such a nice weekend and I know how much we are able to accomplish in a day together when we are focused on the important things. Even chores & school are fun and fulfilling when you tackle it as a team. So I am taking time to focus on my team. The girls & I are learning to knit, the boys & dad are building bunk beds & a toddler bed with more projects lined up beyond that. The boys are learning to help in the kitchen while the girls have cooking basics down so we are experimenting together. The Little's just bounce from person to person surrounded by love & warmth & are always under foot, exactly where I want them. If we are to learn at the foot of Jesus I want my little ones to learn at the foot of mommy and daddy & NEVER feel they are in the way! So, what will I think when our time is up? Thank you God for the glorious gift of watching my babies grow and for every second that we had together because it was well spent.

Bonding

2008-01-15T16:24:00.000-08:00

After a fun and busy morning, I was so tired by this afternoon that I decided to take a quick snooze while I was nursing little Autumn. But how could I nap with those big blue eyes staring so intensely into mine. She is such an angel. I propped her on the pillow beside me to just watch her, she decided to watch right back. We made faces at each other and exchanged smiles and giggles for well over an hour. I don't know how to put into words what I experienced during our quiet time together. I feel the same as if I had just finished a heart-to-heart with my 10 year old daughter.

I know her a little better now. I was feeling a bit guilty for leaving while the older kids were working on their studies but now I realize that the time I spend with Autumn is just as important as the time I spend with the others. It was a wonderful afternoon, I feel so close to her right now and to make it even sweeter she officially reached for me for the first time & wrapped those chubby little arms around my neck while she was trying to suck on my face but I like to think she was giving me a kiss. I'm so grateful for my precious gift of time with my littlest lovey.

Bells Will Be Ringing...

2007-12-19T16:01:00.000-08:00

I love this time of year, everything about it. I shouldn't love the commercialism but even that adds a bit of the ambiance and extends the season a bit longer. I know this is not technically Jesus birthday and I have struggled in the past with how to approach this holiday. Do we ignore the existence of it? Should we celebrate with a cake for Jesus & no semblance of a tree, Santa, stockings, etc? Or do we go for the whole shebang? I haven't figured it all out by any means but I know for our family we enjoy this season. I really think Jesus would enjoy seeing us have a full blown party with presents. Since we can't give Jesus a present we can give them to each other. This season gives us a chance to look around and see what & who are most important in our lives and try to make them happy. We go out of our way to spend extra time with the kids, even if that just means curling up by the fire with a cup of hot cocoa to watch Frosty The Snowman on the family channel. Now, this is harder than it sounds since we live in FL & it's still 75 outside so we actually had to turn on the AC to get the house cold enough to make the fireplace bearable, LOL! And instead of actually drinking hot cocoa we settled for Hot Chocolate Ice Cream....but you get the point. We are really enjoying this season. We will leave this weekend for our annual trip to visit Eric's brother in Philadelphia. It's a long drive but we really enjoy our time together & we are breaking up the trip quite a bit this year so it won't be so hard on little Autumn. She is a trooper and has spent the majority of her short life travelling so I'm sure she will be fine.

We have made homemade stockings, homemade ornaments, homemade decorations, had a Christmas party with our friends, enjoyed driving around to view the lights, spent some time baking yummy goodies (& eating them), lots of Christmas shopping, and tomorrow we (the older girls & I) are off to dinner & the Nutcracker with friends. I am so grateful that through this whole season none of my children have become obsessed with what they want for Christmas, their biggest focus has been on what they want to get for their siblings. Although Katy does think that everything she sees that is pink belongs to her, "Das Mine" is heard constantly as I stroll through the store. Luckily, she hasn't been insistent that she bring it home with her!

We have taken time off from formal school work for the holidays but I am so glad to see the kids sneak in a little school even though they don't realize what they are doing. The older 3 love playing math games with Daddy & Katy enjoys looking at books, I even caught her sharing the Renoir book with Autumn who seemed very impressed. In all honesty I knew she was brilliant for a 17 week old!

We met our new neighbor, the kids were excited to know that he (or she) is one of 6 also, now they are not the biggest family on the block, that's a first, also having a tortoise as an outside pet is new for my kids also, much less 6 of them. I have been told to watch for wondering tortoise babies in our yard in the spring. How funny is that?!

This is our newest princess, all dressed up for the Christmas Party, isn't she precious!

And I just couldn't post pictures on my blog without a picture of the kids at the beach. We love it here!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-21T07:03:00.000-08:00

In the middle of all the hustle and bustle of preparing for Turkey Day I wanted to pause for a minute and reflect on a few things I am thankful for. I am so blessed in my life that it is hard to know where to begin. To start I am grateful for God's continual love and blessings, unconditionally, no matter how many times I turn away from him. I am grateful for a husband that challenges me to be my very best and is always ready to make me laugh. No one can change my mood faster than my dear sweet Eric. I am grateful for all of my children with an extra bit of gratitude for the healthy arrival of our 6th this year, Autumn Elise is a treasure, that last piece to make our family complete for now. I am grateful for friends, I have not had many in my adult life because we have moved so many times it has been hard to sustain a real friendship so the friends I have are very precious to me. I am thankful for parents that are healthy and loving and open their arms & house to us at any turn for any reason, they are a true blessing. But if I had to choose what I am most grateful for this year, if it is just one thing I can put to the top of my list it would have to be my sister. She has been there for me so many times I can't even count. She has gone above and beyond the call of sisterhood and has taken rank as my best friend (aside from my husband, of course). She dropped her life for me as my due date approached this summer. She left her husband home alone while she came to stay with me indefinitely to make sure I was not alone during the birth of Autumn. She never hesitated, she never mulled it over, she just did it. She is always a phone call away with a kind word or a sarcastic comment to make me laugh. We talk every day, usually several times a day and I think I just take for granted that she is always there. So I wanted to take a minute and write down how truly blessed I feel to have her as my sister and my friend. She is my never ending source of cheer and comfort, even in the worst of times. I am not eloquent enough with words to express how beautiful she is as a person, friend, sister, mother, wife, daughter, woman. Everyone who knows her is blessed just to share time with her and I am lucky enough to be her sister. I have so many things & people to be thankful for this year but Christina tops the list.

Random Ramblings

2007-11-19T16:04:00.000-08:00

I seem to be under the misguided impression that I need to have pictures to add to my blog or it's not worth the effort. But I felt it was time to just barrel through one post without pictures.

We have had a lot happen in the past month or so. A lot of traveling, packing, moving (more about that in another post) and finally unpacking & trying to get settled while preparing for the upcoming (actually, it's here, isn't it?) holiday season while adjusting to a new baby and 5 more in tow. This isn't complaining, I am so glad we are where we are but *whew* it's hard to come up for air in the middle of constant motion.

I hit a wall on Monday, I just couldn't take that first step to start unpacking, it seemed so overwhelming. Unpacking is usually the easy, well, at least fun, part of moving but I think I am still a bit post-partum. When to my rescue swooped in my dear, dear friend & her 3 precious jewels. She is such a get-it-done person, she helped to unpack most of my kitchen (no easy task) and even brought dinner. A real meal in our new home with the kitchen nearly finished, it was just the jump start I needed. The next day, I was able to organize & put away our bedroom, I even color-coded the closet. I really think I would still be sitting in a house filled with boxes if she hadn't been there. It is amazing how God gives you what you need just when you need it. I hope to be able to come to her rescue one day or as many days as I am needed.

My kiddos had so much fun, unpacking with their friends, using the boxes in the yard and then breaking them down for the trash. It was a huge help to me to have the boxes out of the house.

How do you repay such a kindness, maybe a tea party? Hmmm......

What Kind of Flower are you?

2007-11-14T06:51:00.001-08:00

I am a
Canna

What Flower
Are You?

Autumn in the Air

2007-10-19T04:13:00.000-07:00

Abby is Mommy 2, she is my extra set of hands, she & Erin are the reason Katy is so spoiled & Autumn is well on her way. I couldn't ask for better kids.

Seth is the PROUDEST big brother!

Notice the look of fear on Autumn's face as Katy (2yr) swoops in for a hug & kiss.

"She's screaming Mom, just take the picture."

"Yes, you may admire me."

Erin overseeing her friend, Britty, while she holds Autumn.

Abby sharing her sister with Mary. Consider yourself lucky Mary, she doesn't share her with just anyone.

These next 2 photos are pretty funny. It shows the effects of having 4 sisters on my 2 little boys & yet they still remain quite masculine. They were playing outside when Seth decided to bring me a rock he found. I noticed he was wearing work gloves & a doo-rag while carrying a purse to keep his treasures in, it works for him.

Here is Jack showing off the wood he has skinned (he made walking sticks for his sisters) while holding a doll, but in his defense it is a boy doll. Too cute!

These are shots at the Corn Maze in Chattanooga, TN. I took my mom & the 3 youngest.

Hanging out on Nina & Papa's new deck...

Aren't they sweet...

Cashen Crusades

2007-10-19T02:23:00.000-07:00

We have been so busy lately, new baby, new school year, planning a move, traveling. It's hard to know where to begin. Life was quiet & calm until Autumn was about 3 weeks old.

We stayed close to home, enjoyed visits from family & friends, snuggled with all of our babies and just relished the transition from a family of 7 to a family of 8. She has been an angel of a baby. When she hit 3 weeks we decided to spend a week with Daddy in AL. A week turned into almost 2 weeks. It was cramped (in his little apartment) but we had so much fun just being so close to him & visiting with friends while he was at work. We can't wait to get back full time. On our looong drive down I told him I couldn't wait to wake up & see the ocean.

This is what I had in mind...

This is the view from his apartment with the Mobile Bay in the background. That is a Yacht Club behind the trees.

This is what I got...

We stayed at this fabulous condo in Orange Beach for our first weekend there, it was so much fun, the kids had a blast. I could go on & on about it but I won't. It was beautiful and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

We played at the playground, went to the beach & the bay, looked for houses, went shopping, & showed off our newest addition. She was a trooper through the whole trip.

Then back home for 2 days before we were off again to visit Nina & Papa. This trip held a few unplanned pleasures. The original plan was to arrive on Thursday, visit with my sister & her kids, get my haircut that evening (my first time away from Autumn), on Friday we were supposed to leave the boys & Katy with my Mom for the day & head to Atlanta to meet friends at the American Girl Store and Bistro, Friday was also my Mom's birthday so we were going to celebrate her birthday with the family on Saturday. Anyway, our friends came down with a stomach bug and couldn't make it to the AG store. We were so bummed about not getting to see them. I thought about taking the girls anyway but since it was my Mom's birthday & my sister invited my 3 oldest to a not-going-back-to-school picnic with her homeschool group I thought it would be fun to spend the day with my Mom & the younger 3 kiddos. We had so much fun. It was a nice mother-daughter bonding day. We went to a local coffee shop for Cappuccinos & then to a local corn maze. This wasn't quite what we had expected. It was so hot, way overpriced, the kids were too young to really enjoy the maze, it was during a school day so the hayrides & extra stuff were not running, we got lost in the maze, we finally made our way out, got cold drinks & headed over to the little kids play area & petting farm.

This was the fun part, Mom & I relaxed & visited in the shade while the littles played on the playground & ran through the hay maze (more their speed). We also stopped at a local deli for lunch. My older bunch had a blast with their cousins & it turned out to be a great day all around. Well, except for our friends at home sick. The next day was fun when my sister & her family came over to my parents to help celebrate Mom's birthday. Christina, Dad, & I cooked dinner while we all visited & the kids had a great time.

Then home for a few days, we were able to sneak in a play date with some local friends at the playground before we were on our way back to AL to visit Daddy for a long weekend.

It has been a whirlwind few weeks. We are finally back home, trying to declutter a bit before major packing starts next week (I think). We think we have found a place but have been sluggish in finalizing the details. If that gets settled then we should be in line to move in between Nov 1st and the 15th. So we are back to the grind with Autumn in tow, she is growing and changing by the second. Her siblings are just ga-ga over her, so are her Momma & Daddy.

She is such a joy & at almost 8 weeks old it's hard to believe she hasn't always been here.

Autumn's arrival!

2007-08-29T17:00:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, this has nothing to do with the weather because we all know it is still way too hot outside but it seems a few degrees cooler to me minus baby!
Before I begin let me just say that I made some mistakes & rush to judgment out of fear. I was afraid of going into labor while Eric was in AL & he wouldn't make it to the birth. I was afraid of delivery, which just monopolizes my every thought as the time approaches. I was afraid of going into labor while my midwife was out of town (she will be this upcoming weekend).

So when my midwife told me I was 3cm, 50% effaced, with a ripe cervix & she could prod me along to get this over with I was more than happy to just go for it. She pocked & prodded, broke my water & let me lumber along for about 7 hrs while we waited for the labor to get intense. We filled up the pool, truly a wonderful way to go through labor. I did dilate to 7cm but the labor was no big deal, nothing more than heavy cramping. I'm not sure if it was the water or just the labor itself but the contractions never got too bad. So, at 7cm my midwife decided it would be a good idea if I pushed during the contractions while she "massaged" the cervix to help dilate. This was the most painful thing I have EVER been through. I am not a screamer, actually, I'm very quiet & focused during delivery, usually, but not this time. It felt like my whole body was being split in two. After the head was out the shoulders would not budge so I had to get up with the head out & change positions to deliver the shoulders, again, not a good experience. But then she was here, on my chest, tiny and gorgeous and a GIRL to our surprise! It is not an experience I want to relive but it was still worth it when I look into that tiny face and smell that sweet newborn head. She is an absolute doll that has melted my heart. There are no pictures of or during the birth, I am not one for being photographed naked, fat, & writhing in pain so I will share some pictures of our first few days with baby Autumn. She is the light of our lives as you can tell from her siblings proud faces.

Guess what we did this weekend?

2007-08-27T16:49:00.001-07:00

Birth story coming soon...

Where does the time go?

2007-07-19T14:16:00.000-07:00

I have been bugging my sister for not keeping her blog updated when I realized that I am really the one slacking in this area. We have been so busy & I just haven't taken the time to make note of it. So this will be a quick summary. At the end of June, Eric & I were able to steal away for a weekend. My parents came to watch the children (all 5 of them) and we had 3 days to spend together. We have never done this before & in all honesty I was a little nervous. What were we going to talk about? Well, we figured it out;) & had a great time! I have decided we need to do this more often, I'm shooting for late Oct or early Nov, of course, I will have our newest one in tow but it will still be a treat. Seth turned 4, (WOW!) the following week. I can't believe he is so big, he is my baby boy! We went to the local Museum of Arts & Sciences to see their Dinosaur exhibit. He really enjoyed it. The following week I contracted some sort of stomach bug that has lingered since then making the last few weeks lots of fun. I have been so sick, off & on, it comes & goes. I believe part of it is a recurrence of morning sickness, JOY! So, being sick, I did not take the kids to see fireworks for the 4th of July. I felt so bad about that, we love fireworks. Eric's b-day is the 5th but he was in AL working so we celebrated when he came home over the weekend & then he also had a week of vacation. We were so glad to spend an entire week as a family, Katy celebrated her 2nd birthday, another one that is hard to grasp although her 2 yr old colors are nice & bright! For her birthday we all went to a local nature center, they have all sorts of wild animals that were injured or abandoned & cannot be re-released back into the wild. We saw a Black Bear, bobcats, a cougar, foxes, alligator, an eagle, bison, different owls & others. The best part is that it is free. More about that in another post. I think she had fun. The kids came down with the stomach bug as did Eric so instead of spending the week working on the house as we had planned, Eric spent most of the time taking care of us. He did get the girls room painted but we still have to finish the trim & put in new carpet & a few other minor things. I'll post the before & after pictures when we finally finish. So this week has been a time for recovery, realizing that this new baby really will be here in the next 8 weeks or so, I haven't spent much time thinking about the baby up until now, so the baby has its first new neutral outfit & newborn diapers waiting patiently in the baby's drawer. It's so sweet to see those tiny little clothes & diapers. I can't wait to smell that newborn breath, watch the little one sleep on my chest, and everything else that goes along with a newborn. I am in a nesting phase & am trying to declutter the house, hopefully I will have most of it done before the baby shows up. It will make packing easier after if I have most of our stuff in order. That pretty much sums it up. I will post more with pictures when I get a chance. So much for a quick summary.

Television

2007-06-27T05:52:00.000-07:00

The Old Schoolhouse just sent out a weekly newsletter with the theme Television. This is an off and on again topic in our home so I read with interest what others had to say. It is amazing how many adults of today were raised on Television, my husband and myself being among them. It is hard to think of not having that connection to the outside world, that portal of news, entertainment, how-to shows, and animal rescue channels. But unless you are a very disciplined person (I am NOT) this portal also brings a lot of exposed skin, back talk, bad attitude, commercialism and many other things I really do not want my kids exposed. I would not let my children bring home or be among people who behaved this way so why would I allow them to give undivided attention to a screen showing and encouraging this behavior. We currently do not have cable or public television. We haven't had it for close to 4 years now. As much as I would love to say this is because we made a conscious decision to take the smut out of our lives this isn't entirely accurate. We moved into a house that is unable to get the little satellite and cable is not available on our street which means we also do not get a signal for public television either. We have chosen to go without. I know many people that have chosen this avenue that would never turn back and haven't missed a day of television but we have missed it on certain days. I'm a political junkie and I would have loved to watch the election results as they rolled in, I feel out of the loop on a lot of news and political happenings. My husband loves Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel and we both have longed to just veg in front of the Home and Garden Channel. Now we do own a television, 2 actually, and we do rent movies, a lot of movies. And for the most part we are very careful about what we let the kids watch. I have had a few slip-ups from being lazy or forgetting about a certain scene but for the most part I love this way of watching TV. My kids will watch and enjoy things I wold have never watched and much less enjoyed as a kid. My 5 & 4 year old were enthralled with Hamlet last night, I had a hard time making myself watch it as an adult. They love musicals and movies from great literature as well as animal exploration & discovery movies. The other day my 5 year old was trying to wrap his head around the concept of all day television. My 8 yr old tried to explain to him, " You know, it's like when we go to a hotel & turn on the TV and it just comes on and the shows stay on until we turn it off." His eyes got huge as he realized that wasn't just something special they did at a hotel, people have that in their homes. I would like us to curb our movie watching a bit as that can get a bit excessive but it's still a better option than non-stop bombardment of scantily clad chicks selling toothpaste. We may at some point have television in our home again but I dread the day because I know I am weak and I am afraid I will become complacent with all of the junk on TV & start thinking it really isn't that bad, like I did before.

Reading Challenges

2007-06-18T19:24:00.000-07:00

I have been very fortunate with my older 2 daughters. They are both avid readers. My 8yr old gave me a run for my money when we introduced phonics & beginning reading skills. She would look at me as if I were an alien, it seemed as if she could not comprehend anything I was saying/teaching her. It was a very frustrating time for me. My oldest learned to read so easily, I thought I was just such a great teacher, LOL!!! With daughter #2 I quickly learned that I had lucked out with my oldest and that each child approaches learning with different abilities, interests, and learning styles. But once she finally grasped that these symbols represented specific sounds and when put together unlocked the words in her favorite books, she was hooked. She is now 8yr old and is currently reading Caddie Woodlawn and Heidi (unabridged) on her own. Above grade level is my point. From there I am at a loss. I am currently trying to teach my 5 (almost 6) yr old BOY to read. This is proving itself to be a bigger challenge than daughter #2. Some days we will start the lessons & he will have no clue that we have ever discussed the sounds before. This would be an indication that he is not ready for this yet, I should wait a few more months & try again, Better Late Than Early and all that jazz. But the very next day he will rattle of the sounds perfectly, as if he has known them his whole life, HUH?! Now I am really confused, what do I do?! Of course, when he is cooperative we plow full steam ahead but when he starts looking at me cross-eyed we put it away for the day and move on to something else before Mommy gets too frustrated. So I can see that this is going to be a challenge especially when he announced today that he doesn't want to learn to read, he likes it when we read to him. For the first time I have mulled over bribery. I do NOT like giving rewards for reading. The reward in reading is the knowledge gained and the story enjoyed but he is tempting me. I have never allowed my kids to join in summer reading programs or anything that gives them toys or food for reading so many books. Though I did consider trying the one from Barnes and Noble this summer. They were offering a free book for every 8 books read. This sounded like a good deal until I found out the books the kids would get for free, it is of less value than a candy bar. Actually, my 8 yr old might have enjoyed them, Magic Tree House books but they were way below the books my 10 yr old is reading, this would not have been a worthwhile prize for her. So, in lieu of the junky books, we opted to start our own summer reading program. She is allowed to read any 8 books off of her free reading list for school & she can pick out a book that I will buy for her. This goes for both girls. So far Abby has read 4 books (we started this 2 weeks ago) and she is in process with 4 more. She has finished the Chronicles of Narnia Series and The Lord of the Rings series, she loves these types of books. Not my thing at all but this will be the type of thing she will choose. Now I'm trying to figure out how to tweak this incentive for Jack to encourage him to try harder to learn to read, maybe when he can read the first series of BOB books he can pick out a free book, I'm just afraid he will choose a picture & sound book from Pirates of the Caribbean or something absurd like that. To his credit though, he is really enjoying Charlotte's Web (which I am reading to him), Peter Pan (Abby is reading to him), and Pinocchio (Erin is reading to him) all unabridged so I know he is capable of grasping the good stuff, it's just not his first choice. The challenge of boys and I've got one more (at least) coming up after him....

Who is your Jane Austen husband?

2007-06-15T15:27:00.000-07:00

You scored as Knightley, Your husband/boyfriend

is most like Mr. Knightley of Emma! He probably gives

you kind lectures to help you in certain matters, though

he does these out of true devotion and in your best

interests. Others look to him for his wisdom and good

sense. He is generous and steadfast, though not afraid

to politely argue with you. The two of you enjoy a

challenging, sweet partnership and are most likely very

active in your community.

Knightley

70%

Tilney

65%

Edmund Bertram

65%

Col. Brandon

60%

Darcy

50%

Captain Wentworth

45%

Edward Ferrars

40%

Who is Your Jane Austen Boyfriend/Husband?
created with QuizFarm.com

Year 4, Term 3: Abigail's Schedule

2007-06-15T06:07:00.000-07:00

I started Abby on Year 4 from Ambleside Online last school year, she would have been in 3rd grade. My rationale was that we had been using a classical education model, which is advanced in it's own right, so this Charlotte Mason stuff would be a breeze to her. Ha, ha, ha, there is no fluff in the Ambleside curriculum, it's all great quality literature that is nourishing for their minds. Rather than put her a year back after working our way through the first term we decided to take 2 school years to complete Year 4, slow and (somewhat) steady has made all the difference in the world. Her comprehension, narrations (written & oral), and reading skills have improved immensely in this time. It was definitely the right decision for her. So with that said, here is her curriculum overview & schedule for the current term:

Daily Lessons
Copywork: Classically Cursive Shorter Catechism Book III
Math: Singapore & Archimedes and the Door of Science
Foreign Language: The Easy French level 1
Latin: Latina Christiana 1

Weekly Lessons
Art Appreciation: Eugene Delacroix
Art: Drawing with Children
Grammar: English for the Thoughtful Child 2
Book of Centuries: timeline corresponding to current history readings
Handicrafts: The American Girls Book of Handicrafts
Music Appreciation: Frederic Chopin (composer); Barbara Allen, Cherry
Ripe, I'm Seventeen Come Sunday (Folksongs); Amazing Grace, O For a
Thousand Tongues, How Firm a Foundation (Hymns)
Nature Study: nothing planned, just as we observe we use the Handbook
of Nature Study or field guides.
One Life from Plutarch: Solon (from The Young Folks Plutarch)
Shakespeare: Hamlet

Bible: Alternate readings from NT & OT, reading through Biblical Holidays,
& studying Matthew

History: This Country of Ours (George III, 1765-1782)
George Washington's World

History Tales and/or Biography: Trial and Triumph;
Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution

Geography: Elementary Geography & A Child's Geography of the World

Natural History: Madame How and Lady Why

Science: Physics Lab in the Home; Exploring Creation with Astronomy

Poetry: William Wordsworth

Literature: The Age of Fable by Bullfinch, Kidnapped by Stevenson, The Incredible Journey by Burnford, short works: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Irving, Paul Revere's Ride by Longfellow, Rip Van Winkle by Irving

Free Reading: (since we started term 3 a few weeks ago she has finished a few of her term 3 free reading books but I am going to list them anyway to give an idea of what she reads in a term)
The Railway Children by Nesbit, A Book of Golden Deeds by Yonge, Bambi by Salten (finished), Man of the Family by Moody (family read-aloud), Gentle Ben by Morey (finished), Thimble Summer by Enright, Return to Gone Away Lake by Enright (almost finished), By the Shores of Silver Lake by Wilder, The Complete Peterkin Papers by Hale, Johnny Tremain by Forbes, Amos Fortune, Free Man by Yates (she reads this aloud to me), The Reb & the Redcoats by Savery (just 2 or 3 ch left)

So, for instance, last Monday looked like:
Bible: Genesis 15:1-18, Biblical Holidays-Understanding the Hebrew Calendar,
Matthew study Matt 9:9-17 (Distinctions of Disciples)
Plutarch: One page of Solon
Copywork: Cursive, 2 to 3 lines
Latin: Latina Christiana I: Work on Lesson 5, "First Declension"
French: La Francais Facile, Level I: Lesson 1 listen to story & vocabulary
Geography: A Child's Geography of the World: Rd & narrate ch. 3, "The Inside of the World"
Grammar: English for the Thoughtful Child: Read Independently lesson 28, "Synonyms"
History: This Country of Ours: Rd. & narrate ch. 53, "The First Thrust"
George Washington's World: Rd & narrate, "Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI"
Free Reading: Amos Fortune, Free man: Rd Ch. 4, "Woburn 1740-1779"
The Reb and the Redcoats: Rd. ch. 8
Literature: Kidnapped: Rd and narrate ch. 23, "Cluny's Cage"
Math: Singapore Math: Ex. 15 & 16
Archimedes and the Door of Science: rd & narrate ch 1, "Who was Archimedes?"
Music Appreciation: Frederic Chopin, Son of Poland, Early Years: Rd & narrate ch. 2 & listen to music
Folksong & Hymns: listen
Poetry: William Wordsworth: "How Sweet It Is, When Mother Fancy Rocks"
Science: Exploring Creation with Astronomy: lesson 4, "Venus"

That pretty much sums it up. Her day can take 3 to 4 hours, depending on how much free reading she does but she is very independent and does just about all of her readings herself with one or two written narrations a day, one or two picture narrations, and the rest oral. I usually read one of her readings to her each day, she prefers for me to read Madame How and Lady Why, she said it makes more sense when I read it to her so that is how we do it, not too mention, I enjoy that book. I try to read ahead of her so I know what to look for in narrations in her other books, especially history but it doesn't always work out. For science, the girls do that together and I have them read it aloud to me, while I'm making meals or walking the treadmill. That way I know what is going on when it's time for projects and activities.

Tough Life Lessons

2007-06-15T05:26:00.000-07:00

Let me just preface this post with a little personal background. I was NOT raised in a family that loved nature. If God made it outside it should stay outside, don't bring it in the house. I am weird about the kids bringing in sticks, leaves, anything of that nature and when it comes to live creatures, forget about it, I do NOT want them in my house and in all honesty, I really don't want to be out there with it either. Now, I realize this mentality goes heavily against the CM philosophy of education and I am trying to have a deeper appreciation of nature. This is a work in progress for me while I am trying to instill a love of nature in my children. This is an area I truly struggle in. That being said, let me get on with our story...

This week my kids were checking on their baby birds living in a nest on our basement deck. While doing so they also spent some time playing in the basement (mostly a playroom). They (usually the boys) have a tendency to leave the back door to the deck wide open. This allows any little woodland creature to meander in at will. Well this time it was an injured bird. The kids found him on the floor. I assumed it was dead & told them to sweep it outside & off the deck. As they were doing this, the little guy began to flutter a bit. OK, so now we have a live bird, that is not doing well. My thought (see preface) get it out of my house & onto the back deck. It's going to die anyway & I don't know the first thing about birds. So we swept it onto the back deck & left. After a few hours it was still alive, ugh! Now what do I do? I can't sweep it into the woods alive & injured. I finally talked to my husband about it (this man will try to save an ant if he can) and he was mortified that we had left it on the porch to suffer. He said we should at least try to do something or I should put it out of it's misery & kill it. OK, I did not have the stomach to kill it so I let the kids put it into a shoebox & bring it in. Now the thing was going to die in my house, yuck! Not too mention the bird poop & mess it would make in the box. The kids wanted to keep it on my kitchen counter, NO WAY! But we did keep it on the bathroom counter, close to the water. We found out that we were taking care of a House Wren, looked up what they ate (bugs, moths, spiders, flies, etc.) & Jack set off to find food. We also set him up with a towel for comfort & a small container of water. The little one survived the night, drank the water & ate all but 1 of the bugs that Jack caught. Jack even went through the trouble of tearing off the wings of the moths he caught because we read that they usually don't eat the wings. Erin and Jack were very good caretakers, they spent a lot of time talking to the bird, they wanted to name it but I wouldn't let them. They had grandiose plans of getting a cage & keeping it for a pet. He seemed to be in better spirits the next morning but by early afternoon was not doing well. I would stop in to talk to him and he would just look at me as if he was so grateful to be taken care of, when I walked away he would chirp for me to come back and talk to him. It was so sweet. Every time we would turn him right side up he would flip over to his back, I could tell he was having trouble breathing but we couldn't get him to stay right side up. Right before dinner the kids realized he had died. They were so upset, I have to admit, I was a little disappointed also, not surprised, just sad. Jack and Erin just cried their little hearts out. I tried to explain that they had done a wonderful & beautiful thing, they had helped one of God's smallest & most helpless creatures live it's last few hours very comfortably. No matter what they or we did, he was going to die anyway, he was injured & sick, but they did everything they could and I know God is pleased with them. It's been about 3 days now & they are still sad about it. Death is hard to face, it's a difficult lesson to deal with but one of the joys of having my kids home with me all day is they learn how to deal with these experiences in our home with momma to cry on & comfort them. I have to admit that I'm glad we brought him into our home and tried to help him. Hopefully, he died knowing that he was being cared for and he wasn't alone.

Ambleside Online Year 2, Term 2: Erin

2007-06-08T17:32:00.000-07:00

Here is Erin's schedule for the term we started this week:

Daily Instruction:
Copywork/Penmanship: Docere, Delectare, Movere Copybook II published
by Memoria Presss
Math: Singapore Math and living math books (currently Anno's Math
Games)
Foreign Language: Latin: Prima Latina
French: Phrase-a-Day & Le Francais Facile! Level I
Bible: OT readings on M,W,F; NT readings on T, Th. More in-depth study of
Matthew, and reading through Biblical Holidays as a family

Weekly Instruction:
Art: Drawing with Children
Book of Centuries: Timeline to go along with corresponding history
readings, and other significant figures (artist, composer, biblical, etc.)
Music Appreciation: Folksongs: Barbara Allen, Cherry Ripe, I'm Seventeen
Come Sunday
Hymns: O for a Thousand Tongues, How Firm a Foundation, Amazing Grace
Artist: Eugene Delacroix
Composer: Frederic Chopin
Grammar/Spelling/Dictation: English for the Thoughtful Child (once/wk); Spelling Wisdom, Book 1 (2x/wk), Story Starters (2x/wk)
History:
An Island Story (British History: 1189-1399, Richard I-Richard II)
A Child's History of the World (World History: Richard I-John I Magna
Charta)

History Tales and/or Biography:
Trial and Triumph by Richard Hannula
The Little Duke by Charlotte Younge

Geography:
Elementary Geography by Charlotte Mason
A Child's Geography of the World by VM Hillyer

Natural History/Science:
The Handbook of Nature Study by Comstock
Pagoo by Holling

Science: Exploring Creation with Astronomy

Poetry:
Eugene Field

Literature:
Tales from Shakespeare by Lamb
Little Pilgrim's Progress
Parables from Nature by Gatty
The Wind in the Willows by Grahame

Free Reading Books:
Heidi by Spyri
A Wonder Book by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Tanglewood Tales by Hawthorne
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Sidney
Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales
Pied Piper of Hamlin
Abraham Lincoln by D'Aulaire
Five Children and It by Nesbit

To see how this plays out on a daily basis, here is last Thursdays schedule:
Bible: NT reading Matt 8:18-27 & orally narrated; Biblical Holidays-read verses demonstrating God's designated times, Matthew Study Matt. 8:18-22 (Demands of Discipleship)
Copywork: Docere, Delectare, Movere Copybook Book II-completed 2 pgs.
Dictation/Spelling: Spelling Wisdom, Book I, Ex.6, "Happy Thought"
Foreign Language: Prima Latina-listened to Lesson 4 on CD, The Sanctus, & vocabulary words & invisible verbs
Phrase-a-day French-Je vais me promener. (I'm going for a walk.)
Geography: Elementary Geography Book I; Rd & narrate Lesson 10, "The
Blind Boy (C. Cibber)"
History: A Child's History of the World; Rd. & narrate story 54, "Tick-Tack-
Toe; Three Kings in a Row"
The little Duke; Rd 1/4 of Ch. 7
Literature: The Wind in the Willows, Rd 1/5 of ch. 1, "The River Bank"
Free Reading: Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, Rd 1/5 of Ch. 16,
"Getting a Christmas for the Little Ones"
Math: Singapore Math p. 31-36, Ex. 14-16
Music: Frederic Chopin, Son of Poland, Early Years; rd 1/5 of ch.1, listened to
music, & colored picture to go w/ reading.
Listened to folksongs & hymns
Nature Study: Pagoo, Rd. Ch.3 "Pagoo Is A Hermit Crab!" & picture
narration
Poetry: Lullaby Land. Songs of Childhood, by Eugene Field; Rd poem 4, "The
Dinkey Bird"
Science: Exploring Creation with Astronomy; Do final activity in lesson 3,
"Mercury" (Made craters in flour to simulate craters in Mercury)

We keep all lessons short, no longer than 20 min. This schedule does not take more than 3 hrs tops, that is, if she stays focused (which, in all honesty, is not her strong point, LOL) She also has lots of outside time to explore, play, observe. She is currently keeping a close eye on a momma bird & her new babies.

OK, I'll add Abby's schedule as time allows...

Cashen Happenings!

2007-06-07T19:07:00.000-07:00

The Sparrow's Nest
by William Wordsworth

Look, five blue eggs are gleaming there!

Few visions have I seen more fair,

Nor many prospects of delight

More pleasing than that simple sight!

I started, seeming to espy

The home and sheltered bed,

The Sparrow's dwelling, which, hard by

My Father's House, in wet or dry,

My Sister Emmeline and I

Together visited.

She looked at it as if she feared it;

Still wishing, dreading to be near it:

Such Heart was in her, being then

A little Prattler among men.

The Blessing of my later years

Was with me when a Boy;

She gave me eyes, she gave me ears;

And humble cares, and delicate fears;

A heart, the fountain of sweet tears;

And love, and thought, and joy.

(This is a birds nest that Erin & Ruby found last week. Yesterday we noticed a baby had hatched, we are anxiously awaiting the others to break out of their shell. )

We have had quite the busy end of May, I'd thought I would share what else has been going on with us besides preparing for a new school term.

(I know this is a terrible picture but being the great mom that I am I didn't charge my camera & had to take this quickly, right before it died!)
Both of my older daughters have birthdays the last week of May. We are not real big on the birthday party scene but try to keep it more family oriented. So Eric took an extra day off over the Memorial Day weekend & we had him home for 4 whole days! It was wonderful but not quiet. My parents also came to help us celebrate the girls b-days & they brought my 2 older nieces. My mom watched our littlest one while we took all the other kids to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. (GASP-I know, it is a really bad movie for little kids but it is a huge weakness for us, we are hooked & love them, we own the other 2 & will own this one when it is available) Anyway, we had pizza & cake & Ice cream for dinner & opened presents & played & played. We had a cookout over the weekend w/ my parents, Eric & I were able to steal away for a date night & leave the kids with my parents (pure heaven!!). My parents left on Saturday & my sister came on Monday w/ her 2 younger kiddos. So the older 2 were here for over a week altogether, it was like a week long slumber party for my kids.
We went on a picnic, the kids went for hikes, read books, watched movies, ATE a ton of food,
played at the playground, swam (sort-of) in the creek, hunted for frogs, lizards, and fish (which they dissected, yuck!), found a birds nest complete with eggs, and just really had a great time. I had a wonderful time just visiting with my sister, playing with our babies, and looking forward to our new ones. We compared & talked about school curriculum, our kids, life in general. It was so nice to have her here all week. We had a few funny moments, Erin & Ruby decided to make brownies one night. Erin uses my mom's recipe & makes them better than I do so I always let her make them when she wants. But this time she had a companion in the kitchen so her attention to detail was sorely lacking (keep in mind she just turned 8). She showed me the batter before she put it into the oven & it looked very soupy and frothy. We went through all the ingredients & the amount she put in (she was doubling the recipe so I had to check that she doubled her measurements correctly). When we got to the eggs, I asked if she had doubled the 2 eggs to 4 eggs, her face went pale, "It says 2 eggs, I thought it said 6 eggs". This took a minute to sink in. "So you doubled 6 eggs, you put 12 eggs in the mix?!" Not only did they put 12 eggs into the mix but they had miscounted & actually used 14 eggs!! So, dump the first batch of brownies & try again, this time she comes in to ask me something & I'm wondering why she reeks of mint. "Oh, we ran out of vanilla extract so we used mint extract instead." An entire bottle!! The girls, my kitchen, everything they touched smelled of mint extract. Luckily, I love mint & I don't think they put too much in the brownies, I think they spilled the bottle. The 2nd batch of brownies did turn out very good and we had a good laugh over the 14 eggs. Dad especially thought this was particularly funny. Then we have my little Jack, he is always thinking, he has non-stop questions, some of my recent favorites, "Mom are you 25 or 85?" This one he asks on an almost daily basis and of course I answer him honestly, "25 sweetie!" LOL! But my new favorite, during Bible study this week he wanted to know if Jesus was a Christian! I'm still not sure how to answer that but I said "yes". And then little Katy has learned to dangle off the bars of my treadmill, she and Seth hang side by side, they crack me up. Katy refuses to talk, she just makes funny vowel sounds for whatever it is she is trying to say, she'll be 2 in July. She says "mama", "dada", "abba" (Abby), "papa" (Grandpa) but other than that she just makes noises. She loves to taunt poor Seth by grabbing his blanket, wrapping it around her neck & running for her life with it. This, of course, sets off my little Linus & he screams & chases her. She is totally in her glory when he reacts to her. But for as much as she taunts & tortures him, he loves her. He loves to hold her hand and give her kisses. He always makes sure she is OK & I have to watch that he doesn't wake her up from naps b/c he loves to be with her. Why, I don't know, she is rotten, LOL!

Jackson

2007-06-04T03:24:00.000-07:00

My handsome son will be 6 in August, I had planned on waiting until Fall to officially start school with him but his interest level is high & with our newest addition due in September I thought we would take this opportunity to get a jump on AO Year 1. Here is our curricula-of-choice for little Jack:

Art: Drawing with Children by Mona Brookes
Beginner Reading: Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons
Bible: Alternate stories from OT & NT & Leading Little One's to God
Foreign Language: Phrase-a-Day French
Geography: Paddle to the Sea by HC Holling with corresponding map work
Handicrafts/Life Skills: An American Boys Handibook
History: Trial and Triumph by Richard Hannula(Protestant Church History), An Island Story by HE Marshall, and Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin
American History Biography: Benjamin Franklin by Ingri D'Aulaire
Natural Science: Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock, James Herriot's Treasury for Children by James Herriot, The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton Burgess
Mathematics: Singapore Math K
Poetry: A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson
Literature: The Aesop for Children by Milo Winter, Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare by Edith Nesbit, The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang, Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling, and Parables from Nature by Margaret Gatty
Free Reading: (This is for the entire Year 1, not just Term 1) Charlotte's Web by EB White (currently reading w/ mom), King of the Golden River by John Ruskin, Peter Pan by JM Barrie (currently reading w/ big sis Erin), Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi (currently reading w/ big sis Abby), The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (currently reading w/ whomever he can get to read it to him), St. George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges (read over & over & over, a favorite), The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams, Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Pocahontas by Ingri D'Aularie

Now, I realize this list may seem a bit much for a 5/6 yr old but we read small chunks at a time, do not read from every book every week and take it one small bit at a time. For example, today's schedule looks like this:

Monday June 4, 2007
Phonics: 100 Easy Lessons, Lesson 1 (15 to 20 min)
Bible: Read Story from OT and read 1st page of ch. 5 in Leading Little One's to God, start memorizing Bible verse for the week. (15 to 20 min.)
French: Phrase-a-Day (5 min)
Handicrafts: Read 2 pages from An American Boys Handibook (10min)
History: Read 1st 1/2 of Ch. 1 "Polycarp" (about 2.5 pages, 10 min allowing for oral narration)
Free Reading: Charlotte's Web, Ch. 2 (bedtime story, about 10 min), Peter Pan ch. 5 (bedtime Story, about 10 min), Pinocchio (bedtime Story, about 10 min)
Literature: Aesop for Children, read "Belling the Cat" & "The Eagle and the Jackdaw" (maybe 10 min)
Math: Singapore Math K (about 15 min working through lesson)
Music: Listen to music by Chopin, color a picture about him while we read 2 pages of his bio. (maybe 15 min, the music will be background music during meals)
Nature Study/PE: 1.6 mile walk & observe nature, plus lots of outside play time (2 hrs)
Poetry: A Child's Garden of Verses, read 1 poem each day (maybe 5 min)

So, how long is his day? About 2 hrs plus 30 min of stories at bedtime plus at least 2 hrs of outside play & nature observation.

My computer time is up for the day so I will post Erin's schedule tomorrow.

New Term, New Schedule

2007-06-04T03:17:00.000-07:00

I love starting a new term or new school year, starting new books, learning about a new artist & composer, reading a new or different Shakespeare play and Plutarch. We are starting a new term today. I've been up since 3:00 am to help hubby off to work for the week & stayed up to finish putting together a few things for our schedules. I know I will be feeling it by noon but until then I hope we can stay on track. I want to list the kiddos schedules and where they are in their current year. I will post each child individually so this isn't too long in any one post. Just a little background, we use Charlotte Mason teaching methods in our homeschool. We follow Ambleside Online with just a few minor adjustments to fit our family. So, here goes...

2007-05-22T06:34:00.000-07:00

You Are Dr. Pepper

You're very unique and funky, yet you still have a bit of traditionalism to you.
People who like you think they have great taste... and they usually do.

Your best soda match: Root Beer

Stay away from: 7 Up

What Kind of Soda Are You?

I got this off my sisters blog & thought I would post it because my husband loves Dr. Pepper. Actually, it's Diet Dr. Pepper that he likes but close enough. I, on the other hand, am not crazy about Dr. Pepper so this was a bit of a disappointment, LOL!

New Term

2007-05-17T18:28:00.000-07:00

Eugene Delacroix: Self-Portrait

Delacroix: The Fanatics of Tangier

Delacroix: Women of Algiers in their Apartment

Delacroix: Greece on the Ruins of Missolonghi

Delacroix: Christ on the Lake of Gennesaret

We have 3 weeks left of our current school term. Most people will call it quits for the summer but after some progress evaluations, upcoming baby in the fall, and our late start for the year we have opted to keep going through the summer. That being said we have chosen the fun stuff for next term. Our artist will be Eugene Delacroix, you are enjoying a smattering of his paintings in this post. I would love to let you listen to our up and coming composer of choice, Frederic Chopin, but I can't figure out how to put music on this site.

But this is the next best thing, a painting of him by Delacroix.

We will be studying Hamlet for our Shakespeare. This is a painting by Delacroix: Hamlet and Horatio in the Graveyard.

For our Plutarch study we sill be reading Solon. I have yet to find a painting to coordinate with Plutarch. I still have to choose our folk songs and hymns but we are almost scheduled and ready to go for the next term. I ordered new math books, phonics book, French, and a few other goodies so we are eagerly awaiting their arrival and we are anxious to get started. Even Jack will be starting "official" school next week. He is sooooo excited to have a schedule printed out for him & work to do with mom. I am excited to work with him also, I think it will help him feel more involved in my day. The girls are getting MP3 players for their b-days next week so I will download music from Chopin, folk songs, hymns and some of their history book chapters on audio. I will let them put some of their favorite music in to mix it up a bit but I want this to be a resource, not just a way to tune out the rest of the family. I ordered our prints from Walmart so I will pick those up tomorrow and replace our current Corot paintings. I'm almost sad to see them go, I really have enjoyed his paintings. But it is time to move on. OK, the troops are getting restless and need to head to bed, that's my cue that this post is over.

A Day at the Park

2007-05-10T13:42:00.000-07:00

This week we ventured into downtown Macon for a picnic and playground excursion. The area is around Mercer University. The park is so pretty and the view of the campus is beautiful.

There were lots of Magnolia trees to climb and enjoy as well as to hide behind.

Even Seth and Katy had fun in the trees but Katy's favorite part was the food and the freedom to run!

Job 12:10 & Hebrews 2:13

2007-04-26T15:10:00.000-07:00

In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.
Job 12:10

I have been kind-of down in the dumps for the past week or so. It really stems from a bad attitude. I feel like I am always pregnant & not losing the weight in between has really taken it's toll. At first I thought the solution was NO MORE CHILDREN after this pregnancy but that seems a bit selfish, "I don't want more children because I don't want to gain weight" I have also been reading Birthing God's Mighty Warriors by Rachel Giove Scott and realize that God has chosen me to bring eternal souls onto this earth, WOW! Every time I see that positive pregnancy test, I know that God has personally touched my womb to allow life to grow! What an amazing gift he is giving me, using my body to house an eternal life. What an honor, what a blessing! My weight is my problem not my curse, it is how I deal with pregnancy, I use it as an excuse to eat whatever I want. So I have taken this realization to heart, I have started walking & eating as healthy as I know how while still making sure to take care of the little one that has been intrusted to me. So far it has been great! I started officially on Monday & have actually lost 8 lbs. I have been keeping a food journal and tracking my workout schedule & weight. I went over it all with my midwife today & she thought it was great since I was getting enough iron, folate, calcium, protein, and water. The baby's heartbeat was good and seems to be growing just fine. I have signed up for http://www.babyfit.com/ to keep track of my food intake, exercise journal, and weight. I am praying I can keep this up consistently throughout my pregnancy, I know I will feel better with a minimal amount to lose after #6 arrives. The kids are getting into the act & have taken turns walking on the treadmill or doing push-ups or squats with me, so cute! So I may still be hormonal but I have a new appreciation for being pregnant and bringing a new life into the world and I am happier overall.

Here am I and the children that God has given me.
Hebrews 2:13

Luna Moth

2007-04-24T08:56:00.000-07:00

Luna Moth

Actias luna

Giant Silkworm Moth Family

4". Wings pale green, each with eyespot; leading edge of forewings purple, others edged in purple and white; hindwings have very long tail. Body yellow-green. Nocturnal. Caterpillar green with yellow side stripes; red, orange, and yellow tubercles. HABITAT Broadleaf woods. FOOD PLANTS Hickories, walnuts, Sweet Gum. SEASON Mar.-Sept.

This cutie was on our bathroom window last night. I think they are so beautiful. The above info is from National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Southeastern States. Photo credits go to my 8 yr old (almost) daughter Erin.

Prince Charming

2007-04-23T03:23:00.000-07:00

Hopping Frog, Hop Here and Be Seen

by Christina Rossetti

Hopping frog, hop here and be seen,

I'll not pelt you with stick or stone:

Your cap is laced and your coat is green,

Good bye, we'll let each other alone.

Plodding toad, plod here and be looked at,

You the finger of scorn is crooked at:

But though you're lumpish, you're harmless too;

You won't hurt me, and I won't hurt you.

Budding Naturalists

2007-04-19T12:29:00.000-07:00

Friends

by Emily Dickinson

Are friends delight or pain?

Could bounty but remain

Riches were good.

But if they only stay

Bolder to fly away,

Riches are sad.

Not a completely accurate portrayal of my sentiments but close enough. We have spent a few precious days with treasured friends and enjoyed every minute of it. I am so grateful for the effort they made to get here that I am not complaining they were only able to stay a few days. I'll take what I can get, the time with friends is too precious.
The children played & played, never fussed (well, except a few squabbles between my boys but that is just life). They dressed up and preformed a play, spent time building a house in the woods by a dried up waterfall, read books, hiked, played in the creek, stayed up late, read their Story Starters, and just truly enjoyed each others company.

I was so stressed when they arrived because earlier in the day a frozen 16 lbs turkey was dropped into my silgranite sink causing it to shatter (who knew granite could shatter????) & how in the world could I function without a kitchen sink? It literally has cracks all through (that leak) and an 8 in. triangle missing, so we stuck a bowl under it and kept on going! I had bought a new lampshade for the boys/guest room & before company could arrive, the boys knocked it over & it began to melt/ burn through the lampshade by the time I noticed.
Now, let me tell you about my friend, she is always pulled together, she always looks great, even in jeans & t-shirt, and has this fabulous knack for making things like a broken sink seem like no big deal. She is so laid back, nothing is too stressful or worth getting upset about. I wish I had her ability to let things just roll off my back. I can see this quality in her children also, they are all such a pleasure to be around.
So without much planning on our part we have managed a get together once a month for the girls to read their Story Starters, so the pressure is on to get together in May & be consistent. I think we need a few days at the beach anyway...

Blah, blah, blah

2007-04-16T02:45:00.000-07:00

I am just going to ramble a bit today & then leave a more organized post for another day. It's actually not too early this morning & sweet hubby is on his way to work. This cold weather is about to make me crazy, I'm pregnant, I'm supposed to be hot. We were at my parents this past weekend and when we packed for this trip I checked the weather, 70's, so I packed accordingly. But we never saw 70 or 60, I'm not sure if we even saw 50 but we did see some spitting snow, ugh! If I wanted cold weather I would have stayed in Michigan! So I'm freezing while I type, of course, I could turn the heat up but I'm trying to make a point, it's April, I should be flipping on the air or at least opening the windows but instead I am bundled in sweats, eyeing the fireplace, and thinking about nice warm oatmeal for breakfast. Enough whining about the cold...

My oldest took a sewing class during our visit to Chattanooga. I do NOT sew at all so this was a great opportunity for Abby to get started with her new machine. My mother was teaching the class & my niece was also in the class. I could not believe they finished a whole skirt in their first class. It was so cute. The only thing missing was the hem but other than that it was complete. It is an ankle length, straight, knit skirt absolutely adorable. The fabric was so easy for her to work with & looks so cute on her. She wore it yesterday. I was thoroughly impressed! Isn't it adorable...

While they were sewing, my sister & I had a play date planned at their new neighborhood playground. It was freezing & my kids were wearing shorts & short sleeves. I did have a few jackets for them but it was still cold. Luckily, it started to rain so we could drag their cold tushies inside. The kids played & were warm while we had a nice visit & enjoyed our cozy, warm Starbucks. Eric drove up after work on Friday & helped my dad tear down his deck, they are having a new one built today. We had a family day, our belated Easter/Esther's b-day celebrations...

On this week's agenda, friends from AL are heading this way for a few days, we are so excited! And the weather is supposed to warm up. So things are looking up. I don't have a lot of plans for us, just lots of time for the kids to play and lots of time to visit and maybe walk to the end of the street to check out our neighbors horses. It's times like this I wish I knew our neighbors so the kids could pet & maybe feed the horses but everyone around here keeps to themselves, I've only seen them a few times but we do enjoy watching their horses...

OK, I'm off to make my to-do list for the day...

Nature Study

2007-04-10T15:06:00.000-07:00

Brown and Furry

by Christina Rossetti

Brown and furry

Caterpillar in a hurry,

Take your walk

To the shady leaf, or stalk,

Or what not,

Which may be the chosen spot.

No toad spy you,

Hovering bird of prey pass by you;

Spin and die,

To live again a butterfly.

A photo update

2007-04-10T14:53:00.000-07:00

These are pictures from our trip to Alabama last week & one from Easter. Enjoy!

Global Warming, sunburns, and COLD weather

2007-04-09T02:47:00.000-07:00

All I can say about this weather is "Thank Goodness for Global Warming". Can you imagine how cold it would be if the ozone layer was intact and the earth wasn't warming at such a dangerous rate. We would all be frozen after this past weeks cold spell. We have gone from 80+ degree days and nights when the a/c had to be turned on to stoking the fire & cranking the heat. This is April for crying out loud! OK, enough whining about things completely out of my control. Maybe I will be grateful if this slows down the mosquito population for the upcoming year.

Anyway, feeble attempts at humor from someone who has been up since 2:30 am! Eric couldn't sleep so he decided to get up early & head off to work by 4:00 am. I should have gone back to bed but didn't, the coffee smelled good and the house was so quiet.

So, here I am trying to figure what this post will be about. How about a sneak peek at the prints I just ordered. These are by Jean Baptiste Camille Corot. I have a frame that holds 8 4x6 photos so I thought we would put his prints in and enjoy them all term.

I love artist study, I wish I knew more before I had children so I could have been a better resource to them but I do enjoy learning with them.

Last week was very busy, we spent Monday & Tuesday deep in school & preparing to go to AL. Wednesday we drove, Thursday we continued packing up the "beach cottage", did a little shopping, visited with our friends, and were absolutely wiped out by the end of the day. Friday was the best! We were supposed to go on a field trip but it was cancelled due to the weather & the ferry to take us to Dauphin Island was closed. The weather was windy & chilly, brrrrr! We opted for a picnic with friends instead. It ended up being a great day. Katy & I walked away with MAJOR sunburns from sitting outside all day. It never even dawned on me to use sunscreen or cover-up since it wasn't hot (duh!). But we had a blast, the kids just played & played (in the dirt, of course!), they spent time in the glen, testing the Loquats, across the street to the playground, discovering dead "bobcats" (not really but a bobcat, just a domestic cat that had seen better days). We finally called it a day around 5:00 and said our good-byes (so hard!), headed back to the "beach cottage" to load up the vehicles & head home. We drove back to GA and made it in by 2:00 am, exhausted but glad to be home. Eric & I slept most of the day on Sat, Eric wasn't feeling well and I had the chills from my sunburn. The kids had full run of the house and they didn't disappoint! The house is a disaster, I think the boys pulled out every toy they own & dropped it on the living room floor and then spread it through the rest of the house. I have a hard & fast rule that toys are NOT allowed in my room but somehow a wooden castle has found it's way into my bedroom, which I stepped on trying to get out of bed this morning, not one of my happier moments! So, guess what we're doing this morning! Throwing away toys...I wish. No, I'm such a sap for their toys that I will help clean them up so they can be dragged out another day.

Easter was such a beautiful day. We really downplay the Easter bunny nonsense and even though we have forgone the whole day in years past we decided to do small baskets (VERY small) and dye 10 eggs & do a small egg hunt. I try not to link this to Jesus resurrection in any way since I really do not believe the disciples were out hunting for eggs and passing out candy filled baskets claiming to be overgrown rabbits as they celebrated the resurrection in their years of spreading the gospel. So why even celebrate at all? I don't know, I'm weak. I am sucked into the commercialism of it all and feel like a bad parent if I ignore a holiday that will be fun for my kids.

We have finally decided on colors for the girls room, yahoo, progress! Blue w/ white trim (like the sky & clouds), the loft bed painted nutmeg brown (like a tree for my outdoorsy chic), with a green comforter (green leaves & such from a tree). Erin wants her bed painted white (when Daddy gets a chance to build the frame, we have the headboard) so it will look like a garden gate and her comforter will have flowers on it. They are hoping to make their room feel like the outdoors, did you get that impression? They are so cute! It did take some tweaking on my part because originally Abby wanted it to be an underwater scene with blue walls and fish, dolphins, etc painted on the walls. Sorry, but that is just not going to happen! So she decided this was the next best thing.

I have pictures of our trip & Easter hullabaloo but have not downloaded them yet so I will try to post those at some point.

This week's agenda is MT&W school, clean up this messy house, prime the walls in the school room & the girls room, organize cabinets in the kitchen, unpack our stuff from the AL house, leave for Chattanooga on Th for the weekend. Eric is going to meet me there & bring my treadmill back (we had let my parents borrow it but they didn't use it as much as they had originally thought they would & we didn't have room for it in the AL house) YEAH, I can't wait! I will get to see my sister on Friday!!!!! And spend a family day with my parents & my sisters family on Sat! Looking forward to that. So, lots to do this week.

Have a great week!

Diamonds are a girls best friend?

2007-04-02T03:21:00.000-07:00

Not if you ask my daughter! She is 9, almost 10, and her Daddy bought her a rifle this weekend. She was ecstatic! Personally, I am terrified of guns. I don't know why, left-over paranoia from my liberal days living in New England, I guess. In theory I am all for people owning guns, we have the right to protect our families and hunt. We currently live in the woods and Coyote have been spotted in our area, my husband thought it would make me feel safe. I will get used to it I'm sure but for now I have this insane image of it falling out of the closet & shooting my child (You do know guns have a mind of their own, don't you? I mean we've all heard it, Guns Kill, not people, GUNS) So, of course I am little apprehensive. Luckily, I have been able to hide my fear so as not to pass it on to my children. I even fired the evil thing a few times. My poor dog, she'll be fine though, just a flesh wound. (That was a joke BTW)

What else have we been up to this past weekend? Oh, I know, yesterday I washed my husbands bonus check. Isn't money laundering illegal? I hope that doesn't extend to checks! Corny, I know, but it's early & this is my feeble attempt at humor. I taped it back together & pray the bank will still let me deposit it.

We have been drudging along decorating the house, prepping the girls room to paint (sort-of), working on school, clearing a spot for our garden, etc. Busy but not a lot of interesting stuff to blog about. We did take pictures of the flowers & trees blooming on our street & in our yard so I am scattering those throughout this blog for your enjoyment. I love Spring!

We are off to our beach cottage for a few days this week, it will be nice to get back to the ocean & friends even if it is for just a few days. That "beach cottage" comment is a joke BTW, I am referring to the dump we rented & still have 2 months left on the lease. That is where my poor hubby stays during the week while he is working. But we really are looking forward to visiting friends and I have a surprise field trip planned for the kids, they will be thrilled to see their friends and spend a day at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and Estuarium.

A fun game...

2007-03-27T07:09:00.000-07:00

I had my first prenatal with my midwife yesterday. She attended Katy's birth, it was so good to see her. Anyway, she confirmed my due date so I am 16 wks, due mid-Sept as I had suspected. She has been playing the heart rate game: fast for one sex, slow for another. She said it has been accurate every time. I suspect this baby is a boy and the heart rate confirmed it. Of course, we are still early in the pregnancy and things can change. I do not believe I KNOW the sex of this baby but I love playing these guessing games, it keeps the pregnancy fun. So, in preparation of another boy, I started reading "Little Men" by Louisa May Alcott. I already adore my boys so much more just after reading the first 4 chapters. OK, gotta run to check out paint samples for the kiddos bedrooms.

(Just as a side note, we played the heart rate game when I was pregnant with Abby and it was the heart rate of a boy so I know this is not fool proof, just fun!)

Catch-up!

2007-03-26T04:15:00.000-07:00

OK, not a big deal, just your average, cheap outdoor furniture. But it is/was my outdoor furniture. This was a spot to congregate w/ the kids, draw in our nature journals, enjoy the outdoors while working on school work, afternoon snacks, lunches, and sometimes dinner. Again, not a big deal but we enjoyed it. So Thursday evening, the kids are in bed, I'm in the living room (the room beside the deck) and I hear a loud crash. After regaining my composure and nerve, I flip on the outside lights & this is what I find.

We can not figure out what caused it to shatter. There were no tree limbs or debris in the glass. I half expected some injured animal to be on my deck but no signs of injury. Maybe the weight of the pollen got to it. The pollen is outrageous, it looks like a thin snowstorm, everything is covered with yellow.

We had friends over for dinner on Friday, they

brought pizza. So the girls decided to make brownies and mint choc chip cookies, they did a great job considering I was hardly in the kitchen to oversee their work. The only snag was when Abby misread the recipe for the cookies, she thought it said to add 2 quarter cups of flour rather than 2 1/4 c. flour. Luckily, this error was noticed before the cookies were in the oven, used the teaching moment to master some fractions (how much is 2 quarter cups, ok, so if you have 1/2 c of flour & you need 2 1/4c how much flour do we need to add to make up the difference), stirred in the extra flour and the cookies were saved.

Saturday morning we had a house showing so the house was clean by 10:00 am, the rest of the weekend consisted of enjoying the outdoors and clearing off debris from an area we want to plant a Sunflower and Butterfly Garden. Eric bought a chainsaw and started doing some major clearing, Seth and Katy decided to dance (she is a princess, he is a prince, of course), the boys played in the hose & "swam" in a bucket.

OK, so your all caught up, see you next Monday! Have a great week!

We're here...

2007-03-19T05:48:00.000-07:00

We are back in our house in GA. It is somewhat bittersweet to be here. I love this house despite all of it's problems and quirks but I do not like living away from hubby during the week. It is hard to say good-bye Monday mornings knowing we won't see him again until late Friday night. He is still staying in our rental house sleeping on a mattress on the floor. I am hoping to convince him to bring the pull-out couch so he will at least have a decent bed to sleep on while he is there.

Over the weekend we try to fix, clean, and re-do some of the things that needed doing since we haven't lived here in almost a year. In the process, Eric did a thorough walk around & under the house to discover there is a lot more to be done than we first thought. We could be here for quite a while to get everything updated. It is an overwhelming task when I think of everything that has to be done but I am trying to focus on one room at a time. I was going to work on the basement first, which is our playroom/workout room, but the girls really need the boost and motivation to help me in the other rooms so we are working on their room first. We will start removing wallpaper today and take a trip to Lowe's or Home Depot to look at paint for their walls, trim, and loft bed. I also want to pick out new carpet and new bedding. I have a mirror I need to find and paint the trim to go above their dresser. I'm not sure how long it will take to get it all done but I can do this without needing Eric to be here.

We also need to get back into our school schedule, this will make life a little more consistent and routine breeds comfort so hopefully everyone will feel more comfortable with this part of our lives back to normal.

The kids are so excited to be here, they love playing in the woods, just that room to run makes a world of difference in their spirit. I have to admit that I love watching the deer at the creek in the mornings or the rabbits scurry around in the evening. The birds are abundant and diverse, we saw a Pileated Woodpecker pecking a downed tree right outside the kitchen window, so we have no lack for good nature study. All that being said we miss our friends so much! Tea parties and days at the park are just not going to be the same. They have had such a powerful influence in our lives that can not be replaced and we anxiously look forward to being close again. It's lonely here during the week but maybe that's where God wants me, so I will look to him for companionship.

School on the move

2007-03-07T14:22:00.000-08:00

This week has been crazy, I actually think we are moving this weekend. I have been avoiding packing because of how uncertain everything has been. Half of the house is packed but the other half is just a mess. I am reluctant to put things away because I keep thinking I should leave them out to pack but then they just sit on the counter and somehow make their way to the floor, sigh! In the midst of it all we still have to carry on with school, actually, I think this gives us a sense of normalcy, something consistent we can count on, school must get done, to some extent, everyday. I love our CM organizer, it keeps me from going overboard and gives me slack when we don't finish everything due to time. But anyway, here we are on Wed, I need to get more boxes so I can finish packing. I have to just do it now. We spent the better part of the day working on stories and reading them at the park with friends over a picnic. What a wonderful way to visit and squeeze in school at the same time, I LOVE homeschooling! This is our 2nd time reading stories as a group and it is such a great experience for the kids, they get the creative writing experience, grammar and spelling instruction, and then public speaking experience. We are so blessed to have these opportunities and I am so grateful to be able to share these experiences with my children. Now as we head out the door I'll grab our CD to listen in the car that has our folksongs, hymns, and pieces from our current terms composer. When we get home we will squeeze in some math and history and then I will leave the girls to some lit & free reading while I make dinner and I think we will get in a full day of school, I'll pack when the littles head to bed and I think we can call it a productive day. I better scoot if that plan is going to work out. Oh, I just downloaded about 165 pics from my camera so I should have a few to share in the next week or so, as time allows.

To move or not to move...

2007-03-06T06:07:00.000-08:00

We have been in the process of moving since the beginning of Feb. We have been in limbo, living out of boxes, trying to be ready to leave on a moments notice. My mail has been forwarded since Feb 8th and my phone was turned on at the other house and yet we haven't moved. Here's the situation, Jan 2006 my hubby took a job in AL, we lived apart until June. Staying with him when we could and he would make the 6 hr drive every Friday & Sunday to come home to us. The house still had not sold and we decided to rent a house in AL so we could all be together. Here we are the following Jan, the house still has not sold, the rental house is falling apart (& the landlord does not care), and I'm pregnant. The only thing left to do is to go back to our house in GA and see if we can do some updating (new carpets, etc) to try to make the house more appealing to a buyer. Not too mention the house is not falling apart and a health hazard as is the rental house. The only problem is that a pipe burst under the kitchen in our GA house & we are waiting on a plumber to come out and repair it. This should not be that big of a deal, we have a plumber we have used before so we call & he says he'll get it done that week, the next week we call & he says he'll get it done, the next week we can't even get in touch with him & finally the next week my hubby catches him in the morning and he can't get to it for another 3 weeks, ugh! So, plumber #2 says he can get to it in 2 to 3 days, that was over a week ago but he says he went over last Wed to see what needed to be done and he should be there today to finish. I'm not holding my breath but it has got to get done at some point. So if he does finish today then we are moving this weekend. So say a prayer that it goes smooth so we can get back to some sense of normality. I don't do well living in transition, I need to know what is happening next, it gives me a sense of security.

Scheduling a Charlotte Mason Education

2007-03-01T20:03:00.000-08:00

If you are using Charlotte Mason's teaching methods to homeschool your children you know how difficult it is to schedule things like Nature Study, Artist and Composer Study, Hymns, Folksongs, narration, dictation, copywork, etc. Not too mention trying to keep track of everything to explain to nosey Aunt Hilda that you actually can teach Dick and Jane without textbooks, tests, and grades. Well, finally, someone has come up with a really good CM Organizer. Check it out at http://simplycharlottemason.com. It is brand new and they are offering a free 30-day trial. I signed up right away and spent a bit of time putting in our resources, it's so easy, they even had some of the books we are already using listed in their CM Bookfinder. There are a few improvements I would like to see but I won't list them, you can find out for yourself or maybe it won't even bother you. But all in all I am so excited about this organizer. It generates a daily plan for each child and a progress report whenever you want it for the day, week, month, year or whatever time frame you specify. So simple, you just check off the assignments for that day as they are completed, you can add notes if you choose and change things around as much as you need. Can you tell I'm excited about this?

A Day for Tea

2007-02-15T05:49:00.000-08:00

We had our Valentine's Day Tea Luncheon yesterday, it was so much fun. We had food everywhere and chocolate, yum! The girls started out reading their stories, they did such a wonderful job and they each had their own perspective. It was a great experience and I hope we can continue to do this. We ate and ate and ate and the little one's played so hard my 3 yr old fell asleep on the couch and my 19 mo took 2 naps! Of course what would a tea party be without someone throwing up, LOL! My 19 mo old had a very stinky diaper which made my friends 3 yr old quite ill, she threw up and my sensitive little Seth began to gag. Luckily, he was able to hold himself together. It was a brief moment and all was well again once the diaper was changed and removed from the premises. We spent all day visiting and the kids played and worked on Valentine's and just had a fun time in all. We are leaving tomorrow so this was their big opportunity to spend unstructured time together before we say good-bye (temporarily).

On to Valentine's with Daddy. He was so generous and thoughtful this year. I have been hinting for a while that I wanted an MP3 player to take w/ me to workout but I never thought he would actually get me one but he did. It isn't working right (he was so disappointed) but no big deal, I'll just go exchange it for one that does. I had asked for a few chocolate covered strawberries which I got (YUM) and a bonus of a few Godiva chocolate squares. We have this ongoing joke that if it's not Godiva, I don't want it for Valentine's Day. I'm kidding, of course, but he was so proud of himself for getting me Godiva b/c he doesn't know where there is a Godiva store around here and he just does not order things. Not to mention the very sweet card he gave me. He was such a sweety. He brought the kids all sorts of yummy candy and we had a great time. We had followed some inspiration from Lindafay to make Valentine's very family oriented. The kids made Valentine heart shaped envelopes last weekend and we left out all the craft stuff on the craft table so they could make Valentine's for their siblings any time the urge hit. Apparently the urge hit quite a bit because they had tons of Valentine's from each other and a few from their friends yesterday at the tea party who got in on the fun. Before dinner I filled their hearts with candy, a treat, and a love note to each of them from Mommy. My 7 yr old wrote love notes to all of her siblings all on her own. My heart just melted, they were so sweet to each other. They even made baskets for Daddy and Mommy and filled them with Valentine's and candy that my 9 yr old bought with her own money. They were so sweet and thoughtful. We are going to make this a tradition, it was such a wonderful experience. It was a wonderful day from start to finish, filled with love and affection for friends and family. God has truly blessed us in abundance and I hope we were able to convey that to our children yesterday, how truly fortunate we are to have each other.

Our plans this week...

2007-02-12T05:31:00.000-08:00

We are planning to move back to our house in GA over this weekend & next so we will be packing most of the week. But the kids are being so good about being uprooted once again (even if it is familiar territory this time) that I wanted to do something special for them this week to say good0bye to their friends (it is temporary, we will be back here but it will still be for a few months at least). So anyway, on to our plans. The girls have been working on a Story Starter from Karen Andreola's book, we have also shared the first story with their friends and they are also working on a story. We will have a Valentine's Day Tea Luncheon on Wednesday so they can read their stories and exchange Valentine's. In case you are wondering, my boys LOVE tea parties also. So here is our menu:

scones w/ fresh butter, lemon curd, and strawberry preserves
tea sandwiches (cream cheese & cucumber, tuna, cheese & tomato, and chicken salad)
crudite platter w/ ranch & blue cheese dip
fruit salad
potato and leek soup
tea cookies (the variety pack from Pepperidge Farms)
Edom Chaos (not sure if I spelled that correctly, this is my favorite dessert at the tea room in Chatt, TN. It is fresh whipped cream, meringue cookies, and strawberries all mixed together, YUM!)
Brownies
And I think my 7 yo chef will be making either cookies or a cake, she hasn't decided yet.

And of course it will be served with piping hot Earl Grey tea w/ cream & sugar.
We are also making a Minty Fruit Iced Tea w/ the cutest heart shaped ice cubes b/c a few do not care for tea.

It sounds yummy (I'm pregnant, it's all about the food to me these days) but it is all so easy & quick to make. Except the scones which I am going to try to make today. I wish the tea room in Chattanooga was closer so I could just go buy some buy no such luck & they are too good to skip so I will make them.

Anyway, the food is not really the focal point, I was just trying to make it authentic. I really hope all of the children enjoy each others company while they share their stories. I am anxious to hear what each girl has written, how they each will have a different spin on how the story plays out.

In case you haven't heard of this book, it's called Story Starters by Karen Andreola. The basic idea is to give the kids the beginning of a story with a picture and they take the story & their imagination and make it their own. The first draft is purely their story, their imagination, no critics, no spelling errors, no grammar, just get the story onto paper. The next draft cleans up the spelling, the grammar, the punctuation, and the flow of the story. The final draft is written in their best handwriting so from each story your child gleans creative writing , grammar, spelling, and handwriting practice. And they just think they are writing stories!

So while they help prepare our menu (math and home economics) and then read their stories aloud (public speaking) and have a tea party with their friends (etiquette and socialization) while listening to Mozart (composer study) they will be increasing their education. And they think they get the day off. Isn't homeschooling the best!

A written narration

2007-02-06T16:44:00.000-08:00

My 9yo dd wrote a narration from Ernest Thompson Seton's Wild Animals I Have Known. This is from the chapter Lobo King of Currumpaw:

A wolf who,after losing his mate, no longer cared for life and was later on caught in a trap for punishment for robbing a cow everyday but he didn't care, his mate was gone and so should he. And he died for the want of freedom and for the loss of his mate.

(Big grin from Momma!)

The Joy of Morning Sickness

2007-02-06T16:10:00.000-08:00

I have been so sick lately it has really made an impact on our family. My husband just rolls his eyes, he can't believe that this being the 6th time I've been through this I'm not used to it by now. It's kind-of like asking people why they still act ill after catching the flu for the 6th time. You might know what to expect but it doesn't make it any easier to go through. The luxury of being a man during a pregnancy, the only time I envy them. But he works a lot, no big deal, just a part of our life, and he doesn't have time to take my car in for repairs or do other things I know my dad does for my mom. But he knocked me off my feet this morning when he got up early to take my car to have the tires repaired, one was going flat & we needed the spare repaired. What a man! That was better than Godiva at Valentine's! The idea of waiting in a dingy car repair shop with 5 kids while wondering how long I'll last before I need to make a dash for the toilet did not seem appealing at all. I then went all on my own to get the oil changed & the fuel filters changed, this was of course done at Jiffy Lube so I did not have to get anyone out of the car.

But my story about morning sickness, a few mornings ago I took my 2 smallest into the shower with me because we were the first one's awake. I spent a LONG time in the shower and had not eaten a thing since the night before. Finally, as the water got cold, we meandered out of the shower, covered in towels, and were just about to leave the bathroom when an overwhelming sense of nausea took over. I had to think fast. We have a very hot & dangerous gas heater in the hallway, I couldn't just send them out b/c I was afraid of my 18 mo burning herself. I didn't have time to wake my dh so he could watch the babes so I just had to throw up with the poor little things as my audience. Midstream I caught a glimpse of my 3 yos face, it was as green as mine, and before I knew what was happening, his face was next to mine just throwing up everything he had. So much for my future doctor! Oh, I felt so bad for him. What a terrible mommy to make my own little guy sick. I make sure to eat before I shower now and he hasn't wanted to take a shower with me since then. Hmm...I wonder why!

How's this for a first blog...

2007-02-05T15:18:00.000-08:00

OK, I haven't written a blog in forever but felt it was time. I was on homeschool blogger but they made some changes that made it hard to manuever my way around. I'm not computer savvy enough to enjoy the struggle. So if you know us already, this paragraph will be repeat info but if you don't here is our introduction. We are a homeschool family in the South. Currently S AL. We homeschool our 5 chicks using the Charlotte Mason method which incorporates nature study, great lit and living books as well as journaling, narration, and dictation.

Now for our news, first, we are moving back to Georgia. Kind-of sad, we LOVE where we live now b/c of the people we have met and the landscape but we have had a rough time w/ the rental house we are in & our house in Georgia has not sold yet. We LOVE our house in GA and will be glad to get back to a house that is truly a home to us. So we are a bit torn but feel that we are doing the right thing. This means spending the week without hubby as he continues to work in AL and come home to us on the weekends, that is tough but we feel it needs to be done in order to do & oversee some needed updates on our GA house in hopes of an easier sell in a few months.

Our next bit of news, we are expecting baby #6 at some point in September. The kids are so excited, I would be too if the morning (all-day) sickness was not about to do me in, LOL. It hasn't been this bad since baby #2 when I was sick for the first 6 months, hopefully, this will subside before then.

OK, the troops are getting restless so I should head back down and motivate them in their studies.

Samantha