May 24, 2012

What is happening? The year is nearly half over!

Looking forward to some lake time this weekend. I miss being on/near the water. Haha. I do not necessarily miss being IN the water. Lakes have fish poop, duck poop, all the nasty hot dog water people dump out while making their lunch... you name it, the lake has it. And there's no salt in there to help kill the funk. So... yeah. I like to be near the water, I am not crazy about being in it.

This week has been challenging. I recently did two things that have forced me to re-examine the way I interact with and educate my children.

The first thing was reading "Bringing Up Bébé" by Pamela Druckerman. I knew that America has a unique child-rearing culture but I had no idea the differences were so fundamental, not to mention that those differences begin even before birth. Convicting! I, too, am guilty of celebrating my kids' basic skills as if they were amazing accomplishments (what a good jumper you are!), narrating their play (as if they can't "wheeee!" on their own!), and allowing them to monopolize not only my time and attention, but that of my friends, parents, and the general public. I don't want them to be self-centered or praise oriented or incapable of accepting defeat and criticism but they are well on their way already. So, as foreign (har har) as it seems, I'm 'tightening the screw' that should never have been allowed to be so loose. Enforcing manners, respect, patience, obedience, and self-reliance: setting up the cadre. This establishment of framework fits right in with the schooling style that I believe will be ours for the duration so I feel comfortable that this is the right path.

The second thing I did was attending the Home School Book Fair. I admit, I went in hopes of this year finding a magic curriculum that would somehow fit all of our needs. Something that would cover all the basics and not assume that only Christians care about offering an education that encompasses the whole person, spirit and mind. Alas, I did NOT find this magical curriculum. I found things to like and things to stay away from and things that I didn't quite understand (the Richest Christian boardgame? uh...). So I came home and researched and made lists and pondered... and it's back to square one. Living books, lots of copy-work, hands-on activities, and hoping that what I miss one semester, we make up in the next. I will either become organized or die trying. haha

Moving on to other things...

Dance class is nearly over. Next Tuesday is the last 'regular' class and then the following week we have the RECITAL! I wasn't going to push Izzy to participate in the recital but it seems that her teacher thinks she's ready so it didn't seem right to just exclude her myself. The moms have been allowed to sit-in during some practices and most of the girls seem ready to perform. There are still some giggles and stumbles going on but they are actually pretty intent on mastering the skills they're being taught. I'm already looking forward to next year's class.

May 3, 2012

Sunday school has only two classes left and then half of each weekend will be 'free' for the Summer. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I'd almost rather it were a year round affair, just to be able to stay in the routine easier.

This brings me to a different quandary tho... do we home-school year-round so as not to lose any academic ground or do we follow the public school model and take a break? I feel like public school students miss out by having a forced break... the beginning of the next year seems to involve a lot of review, at least from what we gather from Ben. Home school has the advantage of a mindset of incorporating learning at every possible opportunity so even with a Summer 'break', there's a good chance of being right on target or even ahead by the time the next school year begins. 

I'm considering just instituting a relaxed schedule for the Summer... picking a book to read each week, regular zoo/arboretum/aquarium trips, letting Izzy set a goal of some sort at the beginning, things like that. I don't want to slip out of the routine so much that when Autumn comes around again, we all dread it. 

The Home School Book Fair is back in town next weekend. I am EXCITED! There are a few workshops I'd like to sit in on but mostly, I just want to see if there's anything new/improved to work into our day. 

*****

Furniture refinishing has kind of taken over my free time. I feel like housework is definitely suffering. But it's just more fun to restore a table than to put away dishes, mop the floor, or organize the pantry. Which really needs it, by the way. The pantry was sort of tidied up before Passover but now it's just... amok. Madness in there, lemme tell you. 

*****

Too many people I know are having babies. Flashbacks to the colicky months aren't even enough to make me totally fine with being done. Darn babies and their cuteness. 

April 23, 2012

So, we bought a juicer a few weeks ago and after letting it sit in the kitchen for a while, I finally got it out, looked up some recipes, and hit the grocery store. We've done smoothies with various fruits/veggies in the past and while they've tasted ok, the texture wasn't a hit. Fruit/yogurt smoothies are about the only way to go. So... yes. I was a little skeptical about using kale, cabbage, and beets in a drink but after a few different combinations, I've gotta say that it hasn't been bad. We've done kale/cabbage/carrot/apple juice, kale/cabbage/carrot/apple/pear, all of the above with beets/celery, and then tonight's treat was carrot/apple/orange/ginger. I sprinkled ground ginger in all of them except today's- used fresh. I definitely can taste it more when it's fresh. I like the zing it adds.

I'm not sure I could do one of the the longer cleanses but aside from lunch today, we're working on a three day juice diet this week. It wasn't bad this morning. I didn't even realize I hadn't eaten anything solid till after the girls had already finished their lunch. I actually FORGOT that my lunch was even ready till after I'd been babbling on to Chad about random things in the office for a while.  I'm such a grazer, tho, that I'm not sure I can actually commit to the real juice reboot. Maybe it wouldn't count against me if what I graze on is more fruit?

Anywhoo. That's going on.

Passover was a short week. I thought it would be hard to be leaven-free but the days flew by and the girls didn't seem to really notice that they didn't have the same meals/snacks as usual. Yom HaAtzmaut is Thursday and we'll have a carnival at temple on Sunday. I didn't go last year... I don't remember why. But it sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun so I'm not missing it again.

The girls and I picked up cinder blocks and soil/compost this morning and while they were napping, I put together a little raised bed garden in the back yard. I really hope the dogs leave it alone. I'll probably have to put up some sort of fence, tho. So far, we have green beans, lettuce, spinach and some herbs planted. I'm hoping I remembered the right herbs to deter flies. They have been AWFUL this year already. Poor doggies are just bit all to pieces every day.

I suppose that about covers it. We had Ben this past weekend and spent Saturday afternoon at Joel and Stacey's house for Rowen's birthday party. Ben and the other kids swam/splashed in the pool. It's so fun to watch Ben really dive in. He's not what you'd call an 'accomplished' swimmer but he's got leagues on me. This summer ought to be a lot of fun if we can spend a good portion of our weekends on the lake. I think water-play is perfect for Ben... it requires the energy he seems to have.

March 16, 2012

Ugh. Sometimes, it feels like it should acceptable to hunt someone down and punch them in the face for being stupidly selfish. Stupid OR selfish can be forgiven but I swear, the combination of the two is just BEYOND.

March 9, 2012

Ok so the BIG news around here is the engagement of some very dear friends of ours. Finally. We only made them start dating like... 5 years ago. Maybe 6, actually. Anyway. Yay!! A wedding!!! Next year!!! hehe.

In at-home news, we've been egg-sperimenting the last couple of days. teehee. I came across this via Pinterest and we set out to dissolve our egg's shell and have a NAKED EGG. It took more than 24 hours, at least for me to be happy with the nudity level. And the kitchen smelled fanTAStic for that time. Blech. But the horror excitement on Izzy's face is totally worth it.

Here's how we started:

Nothing too terribly exciting, other than the immediate covering of bubbles.

By the next morning, we had a frothy layer on top of the vinegar. Yay, calcium carbonate!

 From the side - lots of bubble activity for sure. The egg would also periodically roll on its own. THAT was really cool.

Day 3 - we emptied the vinegar, rinsed and rinsed with water and then added food coloring.

 We emptied out the dyed water and ran fresh in... the egg is most definitely colored. I wonder if we could boil it and cut it open to see how deeply the dye saturated?

March 8, 2012

Ugh. I feel like I have been yelling since the moment I woke up. Lily insists on testing my limits by staring back at me while I'm asking/telling her not to do something... I've considered the possibility that she sees yelling as a bluff but speaking quietly and firmly has even less effect on her. I wish I knew what her buttons were to know what would have the most immediate response. It's not always possible to get 'on her level' or escort her to a corner as soon as she disregards an order. Sometimes the threat of the corner is enough but I hate to use the 'do you need to stand in the corner?' line too often. It's always backed up if she continues to disobey but by then, the damage is often done. Lotion is spilled, towels are strewn across the room, toys are thrown...

I know this is just a phase. I know she won't always test my patience and she won't always be nearly-three. Possibly I should just stop taking it personally.

February 28, 2012

How is it almost March already? This is craziness.

I think my last entry must have been the one about not spanking the girls anymore. Which would mean it's been nearly 3 weeks since they've been spanked for 'realsies.' I think I've swatted a couple of  bottoms to hurry them up the stairs but nothing major. It's likely too soon to say whether the shift has been successful or not, since every week/day/hour brings about changes in their temperaments, attitudes, and reactions.

Looking at some old pictures of Lily made me tear up a little. She was such an easy-going, HAPPY baby. Now she's a bit mercurial and stubborn. Ok. Not just 'a bit'... she's a LOT mercurial and stubborn. She's still pretty low-maintenance but when she wants her way, she makes it known to the entire area code.

We're working with Izzy to cut down on the water-works. Any deviation from routine or expectation can send her into a near panic mode. This could just be normal nearly-5 behavior for a girl, tho. I don't know. Ben was relatively easy to manage at this age... he wanted his way, of course, but I don't recall him bursting into tears over every little thing like Izzy sometimes does.  Anyway... trying the divert/distract tactic with her seems to help but it's not always easy to break through the emotions and get her attention.

Parenting is hard and every day I'm reminded of just how much work and affection my parents put into us on a daily basis.