on this date in history...

One year ago...

was our 100th blog post, check out the picture of the kids!

And two years ago, was Mia's first birthday.

A HA

Remember this post from a few months ago?

I knew it wouldn't be long before someone took action to help overweight pets...

Look at this article I found!

He doesn't just love the a/c vent...

he's in love with it.
Sometimes he licks it, sometimes he just lays there, and when the fan is cycling on and off, he stares into it with his ears pricked. There is a noticeable difference in the noise of the breeze as well as the air temperature in the room when he lays down on the vent - and it's always whichever vent is closest to us in the same room where we are.

KONOS

I just love this post from the yahoo group for our new h/s curriculum.

MW wrote:
>
> I wanted to check in and reiterate that schooling the KONOS way is
> fun..for the kids, and esp. for mom. We are traveling through Russia,
> Land of Endurance. Convinced that this is the Lord's timing for our
> family and this unit..I am continually amazed at the daily applications
> of the current lesson. The Bible portions are such a blessing and a
> wonderful springboard into discussions with my children. My oldest has
> opportunity to apply the memory verses immediately on not giving
> up..enduring in the face of difficulty.
> Yesterday was our Communist lesson. I was, of course Mother Russia
> (found a printable communist flag
> at google images for the activity.) After reading some library books
> about Marx and communism..we jumped into our daily activities. Each
> child was to bring me (the govt.) their most precious possession..for my
> 13yo, it was his new black razor cel phone which he purchased and pays
> the connection with his lawn mowing jobs, for my 2 younger sons, it was
> their guitars which they are anticipating beginning guitar lessons next
> month. and my daughter her pink blanket. I received these items and
> then gave each of them a plastic lid as exchange as my perceived
> "value". We continued the discussion on economics, value, supply,
> demand, communism and capitalism. The items were then re-distributed at
> the govt. discresion, with some other items substituted and added. The
> guitars went into my "warehouse". The store activity was next..one
> child as storekeeper, one as potato farmer and the other 3 as govt.
> factory workers. each rec'd 3 cents to each buy one potato at one cent
> each for their families. The first child bought all 3 potatoes
> available in the store (after govt., grocer and farmer kept some).
> Better luck next time huh? Next was the Lunch activity. You know, the
> one where lunch is re-distributed at the mother's choice. After some
> complaints, and one prayer..the offenders(no prayer in athiest communist
> countries allowed, neither are complaints to the govt...no freedom of
> speech either) were sent to Siberia (utility bathroom) Hilariously..the
> phone unexpectedly rang from Siberia! Mike who had rec'd the
> redistributed cel phone called us on the phone to check in from
> Siberia! As you can imagine..shortly after there was a revolt from the
> masses. The children gathered their stick horses from the Obedience
> unit and their dirty laundry as missiles and attacked the govt. This
> was spontaneous and evidently based on our previous discussions on
> earlier revolutions..
> Last night I had to shoo my 13yo to bed because he was caught up on
> reading our library books on the Berlin Wall..he kept saying, "This is
> pretty interesting..I didn't know that..or I didn't know this..".
> They won't forget this lesson soon..even my 5yo has an inkling of what
> the lessons are about and everyone can participate together.
> KONOS works.
> M in OK
> 13yods,11yods,8yods,5yodd, 2yods

And, if you can stomach it, here's a link to Neal Boortz where you can read an excerpt from his book Somebody's Gotta Say It. See if you can find the parallels.

Charlie tells me that when Simon and Mia play with their play doctor set, they pretend that the yellow cube with blue buttons that says 'emergency' is used to check if something got stuck in their throat and went into their knee. Clearly a human body lesson is in order, since I covered in quick conversation this morning what a 'pager' is. Before there were cell phones, you could send someone just the phone number and then they would have to find a phone and call you back.

aaah, the pre-pager generation.

Yes, our dog crosses his legs when he lays there.

I always laugh when I see him this way, that will never change. He's so charming and mannerly. Sometimes.

I am so proud of the fact that ...

my sons MUTE the commercials when they are watching TV. Although maybe they should be muting the shows too. Today they were watching something in passing, a cartoon no less, (Tim and I were in the room too) and I heard someone use the term 'blowhard'. I am not sure what channel it was. We promptly changed it.

We spent the afternoon straightening up our basement/catchall room and hanging out there enjoying the clean afterwards. I finally finished entering the last of my used books. I could probably get more free from craigslist but I truly don't know where I would put them!

I actually looked over there just now - maybe I could snap a quick picture. Wait, is that book shelf leaning? They are anchored to the wall, but hmmm. I"ll have to get Tim to look at that for us.
Here is the link to the full current inventory.

We are embarking on a debt reduction plan and any book sales will be put toward that project.

words cannot express...

Ever seen this site? Warning: not family friendly, foul language and adult references.
It's out of date now, the authors had to abandon it. But really, how long could it go on? Go check it out, after you fall on the floor laughing, then pick yourself up, come back and check out this one.

And I promise, I will never knit it.
Ever.

Please tell me why...

A Taiwanese chef is catching flack from animal rights activists for serving a way-too-fresh fish, partially deep fried yet still twitching. Amazing. Gross? Incredibly. Inhumane? Maybe. Outright wrong? I don't think so.

but wait... there's more!

On the same page, an adorable slide show of ___ obese cats. Why are the animal rights activists not screaming over this one? Wasn't there a story of British authorities removing an obese child from his mother's care? Why are fat cats immune to the wrath of activists and fish get it?

But speaking of fat cats...

Follow along with me for a moment.
We recently adopted a large cat. After we got him home, we skimmed over his veterinary records, showing that he had been originally rescued in July 2005. That can't be right. Although a year and a half in a cage might explain his 18 lb register on our bathroom scale. Long story short, this cat fell ill, requiring care beyond our means. So we returned him to the rescue agency, per our 'contract' with them (which also required such things as promising to keep the cat indoors - I am convinced this furthered his weight problem and even caused this habit of ingesting large quantities of foreign objects.)
I know I said short, so let me get to my point.
When we arrived to turn him back in, the woman handling the papers, etc all but accused me of neglect, for the simple act of choosing (as the rightful owner of this cat) not to over-extend our finances for this animal. And of course, they take no responsibility for their part in making him as fat as he is/was. By saving every animal they can, don't they contribute to pet overpopulation? How is that humane? Every pet they save has to endure part (in this case up to a year and a half!!!) of its life confined to a cage, to only then be confined - unnaturally - for the rest of its life to the indoors. And this is 'saving it's life.' Let's get some perspective here, people!

i made this !!

It took several months, so don't be shocked by the mess accumulating in the background of this picture. This dress was made from a pattern in a cool book called Candy Tots. I didn't use the spec yarn, at $13 a hank - no thank you - I used Cotton Ease by Lion Brand, at $5 a ball. This substitution is not hard to do - a couple of gauge swatches, adjust the size of the hook, calculate the yardage required and buy an extra ball just in case. So now I have extra yarn stashed and can easily add on more rows as she grows (the bodice is roomy and stretchy enough to fit next year, the length will have to be extended.)

when we arrived...

when Josee's family arrived

Baby Cousin Dan and our three monkeys

Mia and Mommy on a walk through Nana and PopPop's neighborhood,
which backs to the NC Art Museum.Tim and Nigel take a rest at the entrance to the foot bridge over the beltline, just a short walk from Nana and PopPop's new house. It was hot this day, and he had his fur coat on, but Nigel was a trooper.

PopPop and Simon love to take pictures, often times of each other, and at the same time.

Josee and Dan (7 months) in Nana and PopPop's kitchen.

Four cousins swimming on Nana and PopPop's back porch, July 4th. Can't figure out why I have no pictures of the fifth monkey, 10 month old Isaac.

Interesting development... Simon was making a non-traditional paper airplane, this part shown here is a wing. I was trying to show in the picture how he had written 'my airplan' completely and perfectly backwards. This fascinates me. Recently I read a part of How Children Learn by John Holt which addresses common, and often incorrect, ways people attempt to diagnose and treat learning disabled children and adults. More on this later.

far away cousin box

When Mia was a baby and Tim was deployed to Iraq, we (the boys and I) made a box like this for her so she could see pictures of her daddy. It had several pictures of him from different angles, in different light and setttings. She could hold onto it, turn it over and around, lick it, stand on it, etc. It was all hers. She had no trouble accepting him as her dad when he returned after 7 months gone - she was 13 months old when he returned. I'll never know if the box had anything to do with it. She still has the box, though she doesn't play with it - it sits on her dresser top.
Well, now we live far away from the kids' new cousin Dan (my sister's 7 month old baby). We are able to watch videos of him on Youtube, and get pictures from their blog, but for Dan, though, we made a baby-friendly picture box. This box had raw sugar in it. When it was empty, we added some dried black beans, taped the spout closed, and covered it in tissue paper to hide the package writing. Then we covered it with torn tissue paper in lots of bright colors, added recent pictures of our three monkeys, and contact paper to protect it all. I can never get the contact paper to wrap and secure well at the ends, so I added some packing tape over the ends.

Very secure, not indestructible, but sure to provide lots of noisy fun for little man.

Crochet Pattern, Travel Tic Tac Toe

Here is a picture of my first completed travel Tic Tac Toe. Since this is from my head, I am going to test the pattern as written in the next few days and take pictures as I go for instructional purposes. Check back soon! It's a fun project for kids, beginning crocheters, as well as yarn junkies with oodles of gauge swatches lying around.

SKILL LEVEL - easy
FINISHED SIZE - 5" x 5"
YARN - Lily Sugar and Cream, as many colors as you want.
HOOK - K/10.5
NOTIONS - yarn needle
Gauge - not important for this project. You can use any yarn and any hook - more experienced crocheters who choose a different yarn, can adjust the number of stitches and rows, a multiple of three works best, to obtain the correct size of about 4" by 4". Also, instead of making the game pieces out of yarn, you could use buttons, coins, etc.


Game Board- Front/Back (make 2)
Chain 13
Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc across, ch 1, turn. (12 sc)
Row 2-11: sc across, ch 1, turn.
Row 12: sc across, fasten off.

Place the two squares back to back, lining up row 12 at the top edge. Join a contrasting color yarn (insert hook through both squares, draw up a loop, chain 1, hold yarn tail in place and stitch over it to hide.) Begin sc through both pieces evenly down one side (may be more than 12 stitches), across the bottom (should be about 12 stitches across) and up the third side. At the corners, add in one extra sc to round out the corner. At the top edge, sc across, through only one side, finishing back where you started, fasten off and weave in ends. This makes a pocket to hold games pieces with contrasting border. Use contrasting color yarn and yarn needle to backstitch a tic tac toe grid across the front. Use the stitches and rows to guide you along in a straight line.

Game Pieces - (make 5 each)
"O"
Make adjustable ring (wrap the end of your yarn around your first two fingers two times, so that the end of the yarn is closest to the end of your fingers. Slide the crochet hook under the first loop, grab the second loop with the hook and draw it through the first loop.)
Ch 1, sc 6 inside.
Pull tail to close loop.
Sc2 in each sc around (12 stitches), sl st to close, fasten off. Pull tail through middle to the back and tie off with the beginning tail in two overhand knots, snip ends to 1/2 inch or so.

"X"
*Ch 3.
Sc in 2nd ch from hook.
Sl st in next ch sp.*
rep from * to* three more times.
Sl st to join back in 1st ch sp.
Fasten off.
Pull tail through middle to the back and tie off with the beginning tail in two overhand knots, snip ends to 1/2 inch or so.

sidenote:
I have looked at so many crochet pattern websites in the last six months, but to to my knowledge, this is my original idea. I have searched them over again, to be sure, and found only one other game with a completely different concept and construction.

more before and after...

see also Tim's blog for more before and after shots...

Good Morning!

The best way to start the day - with a happy girl!



Oh, and we've been busy, that's my excuse, see also boat pictures at Tim's blog.
We are, quite possibly, headed for the water this weekend!

Christian radio, not so Christian message...

WGTS 91.9 - Christian radio station in the DC area.

I have been listening to the same sound clip for weeks now of a caller telling Brennan that behind every man is a good woman (Becky). I have been trying to make sense out of it. It may seem harmless on the surface and even the DJs laugh about the comment made, maybe out of politeness. But by playing the clip incessantly, this station openly perpetuates to the anti-male culture that has developed in this country, and across the world I am sure, since the rise of the feminist movement. James Dobson, trusted author and speaker, whom we hear on this station through out the day, touches on this idea in his book Bringing Up Boys. Men, fathers in particular, are portrayed negatively in everything from sitcoms to greeting cards. Since reading that book, I am more aware of and try to steer our family clear of media outlets (print, television and now radio) who participate in this unfair and unChristian treatment of men.
It distresses me to hear this clip again and again. We choose this radio station because it is 'family friendly'. But children, including my young sons, who hear this idea that men are incompetent or inferior to women, don't have the ability to filter out these comments. What will they grow up thinking about their father, and grandfather, and uncles, and about themselves? Consider this: if the caller presented the opposite view, and had referred to the woman as needing the man behind her to make her look good, they wouldn't dare broadcast it. But in our culture this is accepted. Or is it overlooked? The apathy implied here is just as dangerous.

I have written the station on this matter, and hope to hear from them soon. I'll post their reply if I can. I have included a link to the station's website where you can hear it streaming live through out the day. Although, you might not want to listen to it all day. They seem to have a limited song selection which they can cycle through three, or sometimes four, times a day. It's sometimes comforting, sometimes monotonous.

Also, Mia wanted me to post this picture of 'squished man'.
(my apologies, it is completely inappropriate for this blog post, not sure why she drew it, or titled it this)

National Gallery of Art, Friday May 4, 2007

Fountain in the West Building at the NGA, Simon took this shot.
All three kids with Nana Judith at the cascade fountain in the concourse at the NGA.
After lunch at an outdoor fountain, Mia found the large azalea on the ground and insisted on posing for a few pictures.
Another shot by Simon, Nana Judith showed him how to position the camera to include the capital in the background. Next lesson, how to command everyone's attention.

Is that all?

another pocket kitty...

New friend's daughter is having a birthday on Wednesday. It's supposed to be a cat, but I think it looks like a mouse. (I'll starch the ears into a point, that might help.) But we'll see what she thinks and which she wants it to be.

check this out

I'm not going to vacuum 'til Sears makes one you can ride on.
-Roseanne Barr-


I am not usually a Roseanne Barr fan, nor do I like male-bashing jokes. But the thought of a riding vacuum just tickles me. Chas offered to vacuum today (as we were preparing for visitors) but he quickly tired of it when he discovered "hey this is hard work and my back hurts!" The kids are doing well overall adding in more chores happily.

But more later on the male-bashing culture in America...

no small potatoes

With one child having been excused from the table for complaining about the meal which had been so lovingly prepared for her, Tim (in an effort to repair my feelings) said 'I like your potatoes'. Then the boys starting saying they like my potatoes, but missing (thankfully) the innuendo. Chas says he likes then so much he wants to marry them before he eats them, like a praying mantis. We almost died laughing.

what to do with those obsolete, yet ubiquitous 3.5 inch floppies

But we are working on a floppy recycling project with a somewhat smaller scale... look for pics later.

pocket kitty...

It occurred to me that maybe I should post links to the patterns I have been using... Mostly I trawl crochetpatterncentral. That's where I found the Easter rattle, turtle, and poc kitty. I finished Mia's honeycomb sunhat (pattern from bythehook) last week in the same strawberry pink ombre as the kitty, but it was too big. I passed it on to a friend before I could get a picture.
I am still working on Mia's sundress, the skirt is fifteen inches from the bottom of the bodice. The stitching got monotonous after the first four inches, which is why I have been sneaking in these other little projects. I am about half way down the skirt now, then a little trim work around the bodice. Won't be too long. She doesn't believe that I am making her a dress because it isn't pink (I chose a light green with white stripes.)

Oh and I had my sewing machine tuned up for the first time since I received it as a gift almost 12 years ago. I had to stop mid-project because it was not stitching evenly and would periodically spit out gobs of bobbin thread. So when I finish topstitching my placemats, I'll post a picture of them too. They were made entirely of remnant fabric for a total cost of about $10 for all eight of them, that includes the cost of a can of stain resistor spray starch. That's $1.25 each, you can't find placemats that cheap, even at Walmart.

diversions...

Tim has blogged on his site about our field trip to the Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Mason Monuments. This picture was taken outside the Jefferson, Tim has more pictures on his site. We had a great time and the kids were real troopers as usual. I think we are going back today to see a few more while their interest is high. It is interesting to note that there were not many children out yesterday, several senior citizen groups, and a few families with older teens.

I haven't been blogging much, I have succumbed to the yarn bug and my crochet habit is growing (some would say) out of control. I am working on a dress for Mia, but enjoying small projects that I can pick up at night and usually finish in one sitting. I did a few rattles for my nephew, see picture. This one is a bunny with a few plastic pebbles sealed inside a plastic egg and stitched into the body section. I also made a carrot with the same concept - plastic egg inside. I also just finished a turtle for a friend's little boy. Up next is a sun hat for Mia and maybe a matching pocket kitty cat. The boys have expressed interest in stuffed dinosaurs and dragons. I am searching for those patterns.

Easter in Virginia

Life in the big city, a three part series

Since moving to the big city - well, actually we are in a suburb, but it is closer than we have ever been to a city and a bigger city, at that - we have had many strange encounters.
Like last night, we had the windows open in our room - it's actually quiet enough, although bright from the shopping center lights nearby, and it's the third-and-a-half floor, so it's not a security risk. But we were woken up at 2 am by Nigel barking at the window, something in the woods. Tim checked the back yard, from standing on the window ledge and looking straight down to the backyard, where there is a sliding door to enter the basement. He didn't see anything, and went promptly back to sleep. I, however, was suffering from adrenalin cramps in both legs and knots in my stomach, so I stood by the window for a good while, trying to see any movement in the woods. There is a lot of panhandling at the shopping center (this has prompted discussion with the kids about social responsibility... more on that later.) So I thought if someone was back there, heard the dog barking, lay low for a while, then would start moving again. Come on, you have these thoughts too, strange sounds in the middle of the night, you have to make sense out of them or you'll be up for two hours staring at animal planet reruns on mute. I eventually did hear something in the woods and sure enough Nigel responded by barking again. (This is quite ironic because two nights ago when Tim got home late from running an errand, I was in bed asleep, the dog by my bedside. Tim came into the house, cleaned up the den in the basement, checked email, and then came upstairs around midnight. The dog never flinched. We had a talk this morning about getting priorities in line - that's Nigel and I had a talk) This got Tim up and we heard an owl come up the creek. It started in the distance and got closer, then he settled right outside our gate. He must have been flying low over the creek because we never did see any movement, but he was getting closer.
We live in a development of townhomes and single family homes which backs right up to Huntley Meadows, a 1452 acre nature preserve smack in the middle of the Washington DC suburbs. There is a proliferation of wildlife in our neighborhood. There is actually a stand of trees with a creek/drainage ditch of some kind running through in between our back yard and the parking lot of the next row of townhouses.
I remember one day within the first month we had lived here, sitting with the kids in our living room watching a hawk of some kind perched on a branch in the stand of trees. We waited quietly, as I explained that he might stay for a while. He puffed up his feathers and we held our breath wondering what he was going to do, when he let out a shot of white bird waste about four feet long. A chorus of eeeeeewwwwww (me included) rose into the air and out the window downstairs where Tim was trying to get a picture. The hawk (spooked, I guess) took flight and we all just laughed and laughed.
Then last week we were playing at the neighborhood playground when a neighbor, an older gentleman who is a retired Marine, was walking his poodle (yeah, I know) walked by and invited us to walk with him to the woods. Sounds creepy now that I write it out, but it's not.. . anyway.
He was referring to the section of woods that is Huntley Meadows. We walked in only a few feet and saw half a dozen deer within sight not far into the woods. Since then we have seen many many deer running in the woods near the playground. We have been hiking a few times at Huntley Meadows, they have a two mile flat trail with includes a half mile boardwalk over the marsh. We have seen lots of wildlife there (eight different kinds one day, Chas was keeping count one day.) If anyone wants to come visit us in the big city, we'll be sure to include a hike there. It's one of my favorite places.

On further research, I found this article (scroll down to page two of The News for the Folks of Lake Accotink Park, which is in Maryland across the Potomac) with more about the barred owl, which I think is the kind we had last night, judging from the description of its hoot. whooo-cooks-for-yoooo!

vocabulary lesson, unschool style

word of the day... plummet

their dad taught them this word the other day and now they are experimenting with the parachute action figure, alternately deploying and failing his parachute, watching him float or plummet.

unschooling rocks!

The kids found a new friend at the neighborhood playground yesterday. Instead of playing on the equipment, they all went outside the fence to the rocky slope and dug with sticks and rocks looking for dinosaur bones and fossils. They came home filthy and tired and happy. This morning we baked cookies, talking about fractions (obvious math connection here). But also talked about good habits like cleaning pots and pans as you go, and mixing dry ingredients separately from wet.

But my main reason for posting (twice in one day, wow) is what the children are doing this week. I am focusing on spring cleaning the house, finishing up some sewing projects and just enjoying the beautiful Virginia weather. As an alternative to planning formal, sit-down, paper-and-pencil lessons, I sometimes like to sit back and observe just what the kids can do with a stack of library books and no intervention. As a product of public schools myself, I occasionally catch myself replicating school at home. But the best lessons, the ones that stick, are child led and resemble nothing of a classroom. Here is an example of how unschooling works in our house.
Today, Chas has invented a toy dumper (problem solving skills) from a box and some yarn (recycling, resourcefulness). He used scissors to punch holes in the box, and experimented with where to put the two strings to obtain the correct dumping action (insert small discussion on fulcrums and levers.) He troubleshooted his way through the whole thing, the string kept slipping out so he made the knot bigger, then he figured he needed to add packing tape to secure them, when that didn't work, he talked to me about what else he could do. So we worked out that he could use one string to go through both holes, what could we do to make the string stronger. I showed him how to make a crochet chain with his fingers (home economics). He worked for a while as we talked about how to determine what length to make the chain, one foot for each handle, plus the distance between the two holes (math). He got a bit tired of making the chain, so he decided to lay it to the side for a while and come back to it after lunch (project management). I'll try to get a picture up soon, to do justice to the toy dumper.
Public school's way of teaching the same lessons would have been terribly disconnected from real life and from each other (subjects are segregated in a classroom), would have taken much longer to transmit, and would have cost a lot more money. Change the way learning looks. www.unschooling.com

coffee and clear thinking

I was flipping through a catalog called Beyond Play this morning. Their self-description: Early Intervention Products For Young Children with Special Needs.
Needs? Such as love, a stable home, privacy, freedom? Now I hope that I don't come across as callous - I am aware that some children have true disabilities and learning delay both mental and physical. My question is do they need contrived pieces of plastic, foam rubber and fabric, or any of the eleven college degreed specialists who apparently consulted in the development and testing of these early intervention products. A few examples...

Tubmobiles - These soft, safe cocoons are perfect for toddlers to 3 year olds. Surrounded by 3.5" thick, cushioned sides, children riding in the Tubmobile will have a fun vestibular experience.
VESTIBULAR EXPERIENCE? Parents are the original 'soft, safe cocoon'! How about mom or dad holds their child close while dancing to fun music? Wouldn't that do the same thing? Babies who ride in a sling get the same 'experience' plus all the love and warmth a tubmobile can't provide, not even for $165.
Deep Pressure Tops and Vests- These Tops and Shorts are designed to closely hug the child's body. They provide proprioceptive deep pressure feedback and stability over the entire trunk when worn together, or over the upper or lower body when worn separately.
Now, I don't know much about proprioceptive feedback, I'm not a college educated expert.

I am a mom.


And I know, and lots of other moms know, that hugs heal all sorts of things, and cost a lot less than $90.

Think of a child's world, full of things to learn from, real everyday things. But adults sterilize their world - strip it of all resemblance to real everyday life, and (as prescribed by specialists and experts) add things back in as listed in shiny colorful catalogs with fancy words and pictures of happy disabled children. Who really benefits from this? (I don't think I need to answer that question. If I have done my job in conveying my point here, the answer is obvious.)
When I started this post, I wasn't sure where it would go... I thought I would end with a phrase I saw in another catalog I was flipping through this morning: "our products are pretested by pros... and parents!" Excuse me? Professional what? Who can be called a professional if not a parent?
But that leads me, and you too, here...
I challenge you to pick up a book by John Taylor Gatto called Dumbing Us Down. "In his speech, “The Seven-Lesson Schoolteacher,” Gatto describes the seven lessons that are taught in all public schools by all teachers in America, whether they know it or not." (excerpt from his website. To read about all seven lessons, click the link and scroll down.)
Another excerpt that I find particularly relevant to the experts vs. parents argument, also taken from that website:
"The fifth lesson I teach is intellectual dependency….It is the most important lesson, that we must wait for other people better trained than ourselves, to make the meanings of our lives….[Only], the teacher can determine what my kids must study, or rather, only the people who pay me can make those decisions, which I then enforce. If I’m told that evolution is a fact instead of a theory, I transmit that as ordered, punishing deviants who resist what I have been told to tell them to think….Successful children do the thinking I assign them with a minimum of resistance and a decent show of enthusiasm….Bad kids fight this, of course, even though they lack the concepts to know what they are fighting, struggling to make decisions for themselves about what they will learn and when they will learn it…"

He goes on to explain in further detail in that chapter of his book. Still wonder where our country's expert-trusting, specialists-relying, over-dependent mentality comes from?
Just some things to think about. I enjoyed my cup of coffee this morning, how about you?

around town

We had an exciting field trip last night into the city for a book signing. Neal Boortz, talk radio personality, was in Washington, DC, signing books. We schlepped the kids ... can't believe I spelled that correctly and blogger isn't highlighting it as a unknown/misspelling... any we took the kids into the city on the train on a weekday afternoon. It was quite a different experience from Saturday mornings on the metro. Around six o'clock, Mr. Boortz wanders up the escalator with his latte in hand, and says 'hey people'. I think he was surprised to see any people, since he isn't on-the-air here in DC. It was a rather light crowd - my estimate was about 50, Tim thinks it was less. It's hard to say because people were arriving after he had finished his bit of talking and was signing books. The kids behaved well (on the back row) and waited patiently with Tim and I until it was our turn (last... because they went from the front to the back row by row.) He was quite friendly, said Mia was a cutie, and even asked her name. Then he told her to tell her daddy "homeschool me"! (another interesting editing note, blogger insists that homeschool is two words.)

It was a great experience overall, and this is just the short version. I'll try to post more later about another book I am reading by John Stossel, Give Me a Break.

The boys wanted to learn about rocks and minerals this week. They are also looking at geology as it pertains to earthquakes, volcanoes, and plate tectonics. They made a puzzle out of the modern map of the seven continents, working together to fit the pieces into what Pangeae may have looked like. We are using a book called Geology Rocks, an hands-on activity book with lots of experiments. In this picture above, we were making sugar glass (quickly cooling melted sugar in the deep freezer) to compare with our sugar crystals (simple syrup forming larger crystals over the next few days as the water evaporates). Check out the boys' blog to see the seismograph they made. Also, Simon posted about a sewing project we completed last week. Chas' nature book cover/pouch is still in progress, as he chose to quilt his by hand instead of by machine and it's taking a bit longer. Chas likes to get things just right. We try to encourage pacing himself and not rushing, but setting goals and keeping in mind what he wants his finished product to look like. Chas is also practicing his cursive writing, working hard and enjoying the results.



Other than schooling, I have been busy with a new business, selling used books on half.com. Tim has been collecting used books for me which he finds for free on craigslist. I estimate that we have about 400 books here at a total cost of *nothing*, about half have been entered in as listings, average price I am guessing around $5 each. And we have sold (and shipped) four so far. I don't expect to get rich doing this. Mainly, I expect to use the experience to teach the boys (and Mia, eventually) about running a business, about profit, cost and revenue, etc. and the math involved with keeping track of all of that (we made an excel spreadsheet) and we are keeping some of the books for ourselves as resources for homeschooling. We made a blog with the business name - HappyJax - as a redirect to the half.com inventory page, and we have made bookmarks to include in every order that direct customers to the blog, and hence to the inventory. If I see a book come in that I think a friend or family member might be interested in, I might mail it to them as a surprise. So keep your eyes open for a book from HappyJax Books of Alexandria Va!

our new project

We wanted to teach the boys some computer skills (beyond www.transformers.com). So we helped them start their own blog. You can read it at vabrothers.blogspot.com - and comment if you can, they really enjoy checking for new messages. Be sure to scroll down whenever you visit,
they both post on the same day so it would be easy to miss something.
So far they can scan in a document, save it to a file folder, and upload to blogger. They can also take pictures with our digital camera, remove the memory card, upload, transfer the files by batch to their file folder, and upload those to blogger as well. As their typing skills improve, they'll write more I am sure. They are learning a few short cuts, like cut/copy/paste and when to use double click and when to single click with the mouse. Be sure to bookmark their site, I'll add a link to my sidebar soon.

This is what they mean by 'wintry mix'?

This was taken on the way in...




















...twenty minutes later, a snowball fight on the way out.





We headed into the city to take a ride up the Washington Monument expecting a mix of flurries and rain. After missing our chance yesterday (the free timed tickets were all gone for the day by the time we got there) we figured we would go today. Chas had been asking to go for sometime. We thought the weather would keep the crowd down, we certainly didn't mind the rain. The snow part started as we were pulling out of the garage and, as we approached the city, steadily became heavier and heavier. We had a short wait in line in the snow for our turn to ride up to the top, just to see nearly white-out conditions from the tiny windows. There were other things to look at up there, fortunately, so we didn't hear a single complaint or uttered disappointment. When we finally came down and out onto the promenade (we were only up there about 20 minutes), about two inches of snow had gathered on the ground where we were just standing in line. We had a great time throwing snowballs as the park rangers built a snowman nearby. We played just long enough to start feeling cold and wet. And then we started the long walk to the van... it's a very wet snow falling out there today. My hair and the sleeves of my sweater were soaking, dripping wet. The kids were wet too, and we had them strip off wet coats and hats, gloves, everything as soon as we got into the van. Tim drove us home slowly and carefully, people were beginning to have trouble slipping and sliding, on the hills mainly. We are home safe now and drying out. There are about three inches on the ground and it is sticking to everything, even to the sides of signs, to lamp posts and to every branch on every tree. For all the hassle and cold, it is beautiful. So much more beautiful than the mud that often precedes and follows.
Tim has gone in the truck (with 4 wheel drive) to get a snow shovel, as we had a bit a trouble pulling into the driveway and the flat spade garden type shovel he had been using wasn't quite doing the job. Please check his blog soon, I am sure he'll make a video of the trip.

delight-directed learning...

Not my phrase, I read it in a book this week. When a child decides he wants to learn something and is allowed to pursue it, vice telling him he is not old enough, or it is too hard or even requiring him to learn something, the inborn love of learning is preserved. Chas decided he wanted to learn cursive writing. We showed him a few things, and he asked for more, and more, and this is what he came up with two days later...

my monthly blog entry

I have a really good excuse. I do...

We have officially been here in VA for 1 month. So much has happened in that time, that it feels like we have been here for three months. Tim has been on leave this whole time, so we have been taking it easy on the desk work, and most of our homeschooling has been out and about. We counted up five Saturdays since we arrived: the first Saturday was our household goods arrival, the next one we visited The Corcoran Gallery for family day (this was our second visit there, actually), then the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Air and Space, and this week we went in on Friday for a visit to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Tim has been keeping up with his blog superbly. Most of the trips I mentioned have been journaled there, except for the BEP, they don't allow cameras of any kind, so there are no pictures to tell the story, and it was just a few days ago. So far it has worked out that we pick a museum or attraction for the upcoming Saturday, plan a week's worth of desk work, so easy since there are so many resources on the web, and finish out the week with the trip into the city. On weekends at the Metro station (about five miles from our townhouse) parking is free, and the fare is reduced by almost half. It is so much fun to go in the city on the train, the kids have a ball every time. Chas has his own fare card which he keeps up with and Simon uses mine (until he's 5 when he'll get his own). They aren't even afraid of the escalator, they just hop right on and go with the flow. They have nearly memorized the routes of the southern half of the blue and yellow lines. They keep up the pace all day, no matter how cold. (I am actually the biggest complainer when it comes to the cold. We have had two big snowfalls, by the way, and we are expecting more on Tuesday.) Usually when we get home Saturday afternoon, I'll put out a tray of snacks and the boys will write in their journal about what they saw and learned, Mia draws a picture which I'll narrate for her, and Tim usually formats the pictures from our camera and works on his blog. I have been lobbying for a slowdown, the monuments and museum will still be there in the Spring when it gets warmer. But, as Tim points out, so will the crowds.
We have joined a homeschool support group on the nearest military base, a small but active group. We all went bowling with them last Tuesday, some older boys invited Chas and Simon to play on their lane, they even waited for them to catch up by 4 or 5 frames. Chas bowled 104 and Simon was not far behind. Mia said she had fun but admitted she wasn't very good at it. They have many more trips and activities coming up.
Also keeping me busy is a sewing project - Tim is helping me and we mostly work on it at night after the munchkins go to bed. We are covering the old plaid sofa. I'll post before and after pictures when we gt to the 'after' part. Soon, probably this week. We are expecting our first house guests this week, Jo and Danny, then on the weekend, Nana and PopPop.
I hope you've been checking out Tim's blog to see what we have been up to. If not, grab a cup of coffee and settle in, there's a lot there to read and see - movies, too!

I want to close with this picture of the kids that I took Friday after our trip to the BEP. Aren't they precious? They really love each other, they thank God for each other when they pray, and despite our best efforts to move Mia to her own room, they still want to sleep in the same room. So Mia is at one end of Simon's bed and he is at the other, Chas is on the top bunk. It helps her sleep all night, so Tim and I are happy. The night before she made the move to their room, we found her crying up stairs in her bed, saying there was no one to talk to. Well, sister, you're supposed to be asleep! But I did feel bad for her, why should she be alone, after all? Everyone else in the house has someone to keep them company at night. I'll try to make my next blog about the children's progress in school etc.

While I know others are struggling through their troubles this Christmas, we are having our own issues with the loss of our Moses. We aren't moping around the house crying all day and night, but there is a heaviness about the place. I went into the kids' room last night to help Simon settle himself. I told him to face the wall so he could see Moses (Tim had taped a picture of the cat up above each bed). I was really looking for something for Simon to focus on so he would stop talking to Chas and Mia and go to sleep. He burst into tears, and said he prayed to God that he wished Moses was still alive. And he didn't even get to see Moses; he really wanted to see him Friday night after we discovered him. Simon is such a sweet soul. I remember once he stood in the kitchen and cried because Moses was in the backyard crying to come inside and I didn't immediately go open the door for him. 'Mosey's my best friend and you're leaving him out there!' I think the deadbolt was on, the boys couldn't open the door on their own. Simon used to get down on the floor and show Moses pictures he had drawn, and he was always first to volunteer to fill Moses' food bowl. When Simon asked to see Moses, I was going to let him, but Tim didn't think it would be a good idea. I thought it wouldn't really hurt but might offer Simon some closure. It's done now, Moses is in the ground with dahlia bulbs over top awaiting the warm Spring. We set a small amount of the same bulbs to the side, we'll put them in the ground at the new place. We have talked with the kids about getting another cat when we get to the new place in Virginia. We'll have to see.
In the meantime, Nigel is doing his best to fill the space. His coat is getting so long that it is falling to the sides naturally leaving a part on his back. At the part, you can see the difference between the undercoat, soft and light, and the overcoat now, coarse and peppery. The fur on his head, though, still makes an Einstein-ian explosion, which is quite adorable. We also weighed him at the PetSmart and it appears he has gained some weight since coming home in September. He likes to bury his treats lately. He rarely eats them, but instead, wanders the house whimpering and searching. So far he has buried treats in the couch cushions and in baskets of toys. And if he cons me into letting him outside (sometimes you can't see beneath the beard if he has something in his mouth,) he makes a mess of his beard as he noses the dirt over to fill the hole. Nigel is a happy and mostly balanced member of our family.

So long, old friend...

We have returned victorious! We found an amazing new place to live in Alexandria, Va. See Tim's blog for pictures.

Also, we were surprised to find that while we were away our dear old cat Moses passed away. We had taken him to the vet this summer after he lost a lot of weight. They were unable to determine what was wrong. He bounced back eventually, but we noticed him taking a turn down the same road again these last few weeks - sleeping a lot (even for a cat) and losing weight again. I had seen this pattern earlier this year when my sister's cat was ill and then passed away.
We are a bit overwhelmed with this news. The boys, especially, as they really missed him while they were at Nana's for four days. Mia wasn't affected in the same way though. She asked if he was still dead, and then said that she told God that Moses was dead. Poor Simon keeps asking to see Moses. We explained that we want him to remember Moses healthy and happy. Chas noticed that we forgot to give Moses his Christmas present. It lay on the hearth unopened. We decided to include it in the box with Moses when we bury him later this morning. Moses had been our friend for nearly nine years. He was our first son, in a way. We'll make a scrap book together this week with photos and stories. Depending how the week goes with the move coming up, I'll try to post some of the stories.

Our Christmas was wonderful, filled with family as it should be. Please forgive my hyperlinking, others have posted lovely blogs, much more intelligible than I can manage at this point. Josee has Christmas pictures up on her blog, at the Meehan Family Photoblog. See also, the Family Christmas Jam (Tim and PopPop's movie on Josee's blog.) I'll try to post some pictures of our Christmas morning at home soon.

All three of our children have locked themselves in the dog kennel with musical instruments. It's a radio speaker, they say. They asked me to close the curtain on the front of the kennel so it can be a speaker. Chas is the announcer. "It's time for the Simon and Mia band! And now, it's time for the Simon and Mia band to shut off and the radio to shut off until next morning."

Scroll down for more new pictures.

recent pictures from Thanksgiving

the funniest joke EVER

Simon: Knock Knock

Mom: who's there?

Simon: Lucy

Mom: Lucy who?

Simon: when Lucy laughed it made my skin fall down!!

I laughed so I hard I cried. This was his attempt at retelling a joke that he heard from his older brother (who first heard it from Nana M.) The original joke goes like this...

Knock Knock
Who's there?
Lucy
Lucy who?
Loose elastic makes my pants fall down.

Dear Simon is lagging behind in the humor department. We have faith he'll catch up, as Chas was there until recently. Chas is at a point where he realizes what is funny and what isn't, and even a little bit of why things are funny.

Credit for this picture goes to PopPop. He entitled this one 'How hot is a cat?' It was actually about 65 degrees that day. The boys and I were in the middle of lessons at the school table a few feet away and we checked back several times to watch the temperature drop.
My dad has been visiting on a regular basis while remodeling our bathroom. He always brings his camera and never misses a great shot. This is our dear cat, old man Moses, who has been with us since January of 1998, and who we believe to be about 10 and 1/2 years old now. He thinks he is a dog, ie. comes when we call him, runs to answer the doorbell and greets visitors (even those with children), and joins us on family walks around the block.

MONKEYS

Outrage!

In an attempt to save myself a little time and hassle, I decided to order stamps from the US Postal Service through their website. I remember having done this before and it was quite convenient. Since we now use our bank's web billpay service, also very convenient, I have very little use for stamps. This only throws into sharp relief the hassle that it is to buckle and unbuckle three kids to stand in line, only to buckle and unbuckle them again, only to have gained a few measly stickers that I will probably misplace three times in the six months it will take me to use them all.

So before I even realized what was happening, it was too late. I had paid $1.00 shipping and handling for one book of 20 stamps and they projected it would take 3-5 business days to arrive. An utter outrage. I am sure they are making this more difficult than is has to be. Why can't they just send my letter carrier a message saying she should grab an extra book of stamps, toss it her truck, and when she drives over to my house, opens my mailbox, and puts my catalogues, bills and assorted junk mail in it - - - - PUT the stamps IN the BOX too! Hell, I wouldn't even mind if they took one of the 39 cent stamps out of the book and affixed it to an envelope and mailed it to me. An entire US dollar and 5 days!

I am sitting here trying to determine if one dollar is worth the irritation I am feeling, and if it is worth one dollar of my time and patience to go to the post office myself. I don't believe it is worth one dollar of their time to 'handle' these stamps. It costs only 39 cents to mail less than one ounce, so they are trying to tell me that 61 cents is for the envelope and some minimum wage goverment worker's saliva to seal it? Don't forget to add on the waiting period, 3-5 days!

So I don't feel one dollar is representative of the work and costs involved on their part. While it may be representative for my part, to avoid the hassle of dragging three little ones into the post office, I will never again order stamps online from the USPS.

While I am at it, has anyone else seen (and been disgusted, as I have been) with the fact that the USPS is mailing full color glossy advertisements for their own services? Excuse me, but if a government agency has to advertise and promote itself to retain business, then it's possible they are approaching irrelevance. And what of the cost involved in advertising? What is the effect on the cost of actually doing the work of delivering mail and packages on time?

My dad's blog has some great new pictures of the kids. Take a look! Also, if you haven't already, check out any of the other blogs on my sidebar. My sister and her husband are expecting their first baby anytime now, so keep an eye on her blog for news of their arrival (due November 30). We all Lewis' are well, too. The holiday season is approaching, so we are getting busy, much like everyone else.

2nd quarter HomeSchool Themes by week

Week #1 October 30 - November 1
Time, Family Tree

Week #2 November 6-10
Space and Solar System

Week #3 November 13-17
Thanksgiving

Week #4 November 20-22
Dental Health

Week #5 November 27 - December 1
Colonial America

Week#6 December 4-8
Mammals

Week#7 December 11-15
Winter

Week #8 Decmeber 18-22
Christmas

Thing 1 and Thing 2

Simon and Mia were thrilled to discover that they both had footed pajamas on the other night. They were best friends for an entire thirty minutes. It quickly wore off for Mia, who complained about them being 'too wiggly'. We think she was referring to the bagginess - they really were too big for her. Later that same night she appeared in the kitchen, naked, with another set of pajamas in hand, requesting help putting them on.

My sister's new photo blog:

meehanfamilyphotoblog


Cute site, referred to it by the Beardie Yahoo Group.

www.idodogtricks.com

have you seen the kids lately?

I realized I haven't posted pictures of any of our kids lately. They are still here and doing well. They are taking their lessons well everyday (nearly) and progressing at a reasonable pace. This week we'll study the human body. I am not sure to what depth, but we'll start small and see how it goes. Sometimes the studies run over and into the next week. Sometimes we don't have time for everything we had planned. Sometimes we can't arrange a field trip during that week, we'll just go whenever we can. I'll try to post some pictures of their artwork soon.

He is settling in well...

This picture is of Nigel at a dog park that is in an apartment complex nearby. Some friends who live there met us for a few doggie playdates before they moved. It is really just a fenced in area for those who live in the complex to bring their dogs for some exercised. I can imagine they would get pretty nuts cramped in an apartment all the time. We are looking into a boarding kennel nearby that also has a doggie agility course, which you and your dog can run with or without a trainer, and a fun park to include nature trails and splash pools. They are full service, also offering overnight care with 24 hour supervision, and a full list of grooming services. It is an option we are considering for times when DH travels with work. Nigel is doing well. Some days are better than others as far as his behavior, but it seems directly tied to the amount of exercise he gets. A tired dog is a well-behaved dog.