Homeschooling Discoveries

Recently I realized that I hardly ever post anything about homeschooling. I am not sure why this is so, maybe it is because homeschooling has been a part of my life for 13 years and I don't think about it much anymore. Whether this is good or bad, I am not sure!

For the entire time I have homeschooled my kids, they have done there "alone" work in the morning and we do our "together" work in the afternoon. This gives me time to work with Aubry mano-a-mano before the boys need me. Since we have recenly added some extra activities in the afternoons, I have been very frustrated over the fact that history and science work (our "together" subjects) have been falling by the wayside. And believe me when I say that I dislike falling behind in school subjects!

Last week I was talking to a very wise friend and she suggested that on the days that we have afternoon activities we should do "together" work in the morning and the boys can finish up their own work when we get home. Envisioning me with a glowing light bulb over my head would be appropriate since I feel like I unearthed a treasure when I heard this! So far it has worked wonders and I also find that I nod off less in the morning while reading books to the boys than I did while doing it in the afternoon. (Yes, I really do occasionally fall asleep while I read to my boys!)

I suppose that when you have been doing something for so long it becomes a habit, and the only way to get out of a rut is to get the point-of-view of a friend in order to solve a frustration. The answer was so simple and obvious, yet so hidden from my view. My only wish is that I had thought of it years ago!

My baby

My baby moved out today. Her childhood, packed neatly in boxes, stacked in the back of her car while she waited to drive away towards her very own life.

As it should be, of course.

I wonder if she felt like I did, eighteen years ago. Wearing gray sweats, standing next to my husband who was carrying my little blue suitcase. It was time. Turning around before stepping out the door, taking one last look into the house, but really taking one last look at the life I was leaving behind. Just the two of us. Unsure of what changes were coming and knowing that things would never be the same. Bittersweet, fear and excitement, all rolled into one unrecognizable emotion, but I knew deep inside that magical things were just around the corner.

Yes, I know how she was feeling today.

Years. Roller-blades. American Girl dolls. Diapers. Graduation. Pound Puppies. Skinned knees. Riding Lessons. Potty training. Soccer games. The Donut Man. Driving lessons. Biology. Birthday parties. Books. Books. Books. The talk. Snowboarding. Bill Nye the Science Guy. Years.

All of those years rolled up into perfect memories, stashed deep into my pocket, always ready to be remembered.

Who knew the time would slip away so quickly?

Eighteen years...just a whisper of time.

Shiver Me Timbers

As a kid I always wished that I had a big brother. Somehow a big brother meant protection, guidance and not just a little bit of fun.

Aubry, of course, has been blessed with two big brothers who adore her almost as much as they are exasperated by her. They have taught her the joys of Legos, playing army, mudfights and wrestling which consists of the boys laying on the floor while she jumps on them and screams "Hi-ya". They never fight back.

Aubry and the boys spent the good part of a day creating this little pirate ship, complete with gun turrets, crow's nest and a spyglass. All of us landlubbers were cast aside while the they worked and imagined and played.

Without her brothers, Aubry would be relegated to the land of princesses, ballerinas and dolls, which, believe me, we get enough of around here. If anything, they provide some spice for her sweet little life and in the days to come I am hoping for some protection and encouragement for my little gal.

Methinks my littlest matey has spied land:

The Missing Basket Mystery

This weekend I was in Aubry's room and I noticed that her laundry basket was missing from her closet. Looking around the house availed no clues so I asked her where it was, but all I received were hunched shoulders and an "I don't know". A few hours later I was looking for her shoes (which she loses often) and upon looking under the bed, I found the basket in question:

It was loaded with the clothes that she was supposed to put away a few days ago!

Taking her aside, I confronted her in my stern-mommy manner and I was met with a demeanor that told me that, not only did she think this was funny, but that I should find it funny too. Honestly, in spite of the fact she lied to me and failed to put away her laundry when I told her to, I was cracking up on the inside, but any good mom knows that you cannot let that be known. Lucky for me, my hubby was home so I called him in to deal with my smirking gal. He was only able to get a couple of words out of his mouth before Aubry was practically a pile on the floor, tears of sorrow and regret streaming down her cheeks.

Now I have to wonder why I can't get that kind of respect? (The previous sentence should be read in the best Rodney Dangerfield voice that you can muster.) Why is it that me, the mommy, is greeted with laughter and an "aren't I funny gal" kind of countenance, while the daddy is met with a "I am so sorry for disappointing you" attitude? Ah, the unfairness of it all!

Today is Monday and in my house that is laundry day, and with five kids the piles are high, but I am considering taking a cue from my little one and stuffing it somewhere. With piles so big I may have to remove the pool cover in order to have a place to stash it all, but at least it will take my dear family a while to find it. All I will have to do it to plead innocence and when Craig finds it just turn on the waterworks and all will be well.

Have a happy Monday!

Wax On, Wax Off

All that "waxing on and waxing off" has reaped its reward! Craig and I and the boys have earned our yellow belts in karate. Our testing weekend was exciting and fun and actually receiving the belt felt more worthwhile than I expected it to.
















As you can see, my hubby is going for a combination Jet Li/Grizzly Adams look which I find endearing.

Over the last few months I have been told the my kia needs work. (A kia is the hi-yaa sound made at certain points in the katas). Yelling at Craig and the kids more often must have paid off because I was complimented on my kia twice during the testing sessions. I am truly on my way to becoming a lean, mean fighting machine. Or maybe not.

Here is a picture of me in true karate form:

You probably never expected me to look so threatening, did you?

Hi-yaa! And have a wonderful Monday!

Observations...

***Christmas isn't as fun as usual when half of the family is or has recently been sick.

***Most of Christmas dinner doesn't get eaten when the non-sick half of the family is afraid of getting sick--therefore they don't eat much!

***The cat doesn't care that sickness is in the house because, by golly, there is a mountain of wadded-up wrapping paper on the living room floor just waiting to be played with.

***Sick boys are fully capable of assembling 1300-piece Lego sets.

Christmas isn't about the decorations, the food, the tree or even the gifts. It is about collecting memories, good and not-so-good, that we get to unwrap year after year. The funny thing is that in unwrapping the memories they all appear good--largely because they were, although we may have neglected to notice that at the time.

This week we will pack up our Christmas memories until next year and I am confident that we will have a lot to smile about when we revisit this year--our sick-Christmas year!












I hope your holiday was a good one!

Our house...

...In the middle of a street...


















...was our castle and our keep...












...Our house it has a crowd
There's always something happening
And it's usually quite loud
Our mum, she's so house-proud
Nothing ever slows her down
And a mess is not allowed...












We would have such a very good time
Such a fine time, such a happy time












Our house!

The Tree Goes Up!

After rummaging through the crawl space for our Christmas boxes (Craig did that part!) we discovered that a few boxes had gotten wet and mildewed--including the box with our homeade stockings! Too sad since Emily made them when she was 12, but in our memory they will stay, for sure!

Each Christmas when we open the boxes and the kids start decorating, I am amazed at how many years Craig and I have done this together. All the memories of years past are contained in those boxes and it never fails that I find myself with a catch in my throat as the ornaments are taken out one by one.

For the last few years the ornaments have hung like a fringe around the bottom of the tree simply because Aubry was only able to reach up a couple of branches, but this year she was aware that even spacing and color distribution makes for a lovely tree. My heart was sad, but I know that grandchildren will come along in some future day and create the wacky-looking tree I mistakenly thought that I would be glad to say good-bye to!

My favorite ornament is this one simply because it reminds me that Craig and I are the ones who started this little adventure we call family, and that it is through sticking together that the years add one upon another and end up being a lifetime:

When my oldest girls were young we made these teddy bears for our own tree and also for friends--it was like a teddy bear assembly line!

This is our cat who parked herself under the tree as soon as she could and just waited there until we went to bed. In the morning there were ornaments scattered around the room, evidence of the kitty Christmas party she evidently threw while we slept!

Deb and Morning Glory are both hosting ornament show-and-tells! Thanks, ladies!

Playing in the snow!

This is my biggest kid making his way down the hill:
Mr. Handsome hanging out on the sleds:
Another Mr. Handsome attempting to escape the camera:
This is how Aubry looked after about 10 minutes of sledding. Her feet were cold (largely because she didn't want to wear her snow boots and instead opted for her regular shoes--against my suggestion to do otherwise!) and she spent the entire time--2 hours--crying and whining!
I didn't want to you to think it was all sweetness and light around here all the time, so a little real-life it is!

Hope your weekend was a good one!