Thoughts on Moving

I am not moving. And, for the first time in 13 years, do not anticipate moving any time soon. We plan to stay in one house for at least 4 more years. That'll be at least 5 years. It is very odd to me. It actually feels scary.

The idea of not being able to pick up and go when I get bored is frightening. On the other hand, the ability to take my time, completely decorate my house, and get to know people in the community is appealing. The only problem is that the people I seem to be connecting with are.... MILITARY families. And, unlike me, they're not sticking around. Aaaah!

Then, there's the fact that all my bloggy-buddies are moving. Of course, I've never met any of them. And, really, I don't want to deal with actually moving. But, I love going to a new place. I love meeting new people and seeing new things. I like exploring new cities. I like listening to my children's accents slowly changing until their such a conglomeration of different accents that you can't tell where their from. I like house hunting.

So, for the next 4 years, I'll just work on my house and enjoy knowing where everything is in my house. I'll plan for Gary's retirement and think about where we're going to live when that happens. Who knows? We may end up staying in Kentucky. We really like it here. It really does feel like home. I could live here forever. Maybe. Florida has been fun. We lived here 8 years ago. Pensacola was our first duty station as a family. I wouldn't mind coming back down here.... It would be warmer in the winter. I'm all about warm. I hate cold. Otherwise, I'd go back to Maine.

But, here I am, and here I'll stay. For Now.:)

I Just Don't Get It

Suspended Tampa Middle School Teacher Arrested a Third Time on Charges of Having Sex With Students

Happy Birthday, Mommy!

Happy Birthday, Mommy! I know it's hard to celebrate on such a hard day. It seems so short a time ago since he died. I miss him so much. But, it is your birthday. I love you so much. I hope you have fun.

Cost of homeschooling this month

1 Condo Rental for 5 weeks -- $1850
4 new math books -- $100
1 Month's worth reading materials -- $50

Being able to spend 5 weeks with a father who is gone half the year and not having to worry about what the kid next to you thinks of your shoes --priceless.

Dare Devils

It is amazing how different 3 children from one family can be.



Gabriel (10) has always been a climber. When he was 18 mos, I heard him gleefully yelling, "No, no, no!" I ran to see him dancing on the table. When he was 4, he thought the best place to be was on top of the swing set. This set is very similar, except that our cover was flat.

He liked to stand on top of the cover and do a Peter Pan imitation. You know, where he puts his hands on his hips with his legs spread apart and crows? Well, Gabriel just stood up there looking like Peter Pan. If I was home, I'd get you some pictures, but I'm not home. Sorry.

He climbed to the top of a portable rock wall (like you see at fairs) when he was 4.

Then, when he was 6, he broke his arm falling from a tall metal giraffe climbing toy while holding a sword in one hand. He told me the reason he fell was because he wasn't using both hands to climb.

Then, when he was 8, he decided to climb from one 11th floor balcony to another.

On the other hand, he alienated all the kids in the neighborhood this past summer by telling them they were stupid for not wearing bike helmets.

Then, there's Xavier. Xavier loves speed. When he was 2, he had a 'motorcycle'. This 'motorcycle' had jets, a parachute to help brake, and was really, really loud (pretty sure he did some illegal modification to take the muffler off). Oh, did I mention it was invisible and imaginary?

Xavier has 2 speeds. He has full out and asleep. That's it. He also has 2 volumes. He has maximum and asleep.

Xavier loves to bike, skate, skateboard--anything with wheels that can make him go faster. He also prefers to take those wheels down bumpy surfaces. He rides through ditches, over rocks, whatever he can find.

BUT, he doesn't feel comfortable climbing. He doesn't like heights. He prefers to keep it low and fast. Gabriel prefers to be in control. When he's on wheels, he feels out of control. Where as, Xavier feels control when he doesn't have easy access to the ground.

Fortunately, they're both willing to try things. Gabriel does enjoy biking even though it makes him nervous. Xavier will go up the rock wall, which makes him feel extremely proud of himself.

I love being a parent. It's such an interesting experience.

Hot Mama

For all you moms out there who wonder if your man still wants you, this is the answer! I will warn you that there are some 'raunchy' scenes, so view without children.

Enjoy!
Hot Mama by Trace Atkins.

Parenting Question

Gabriel, age 10, has a fierce desire to own things. He tends to hoard things in his room so that other people can't touch them. Unfortunately for him, he's not an only child. I do not see the point in buying 3 of the same toy, book, comic book to satisfy his need to profess ownership of something.

Here's my question. At what point do I let him have things that are exclusively his? And what do I allow him to have as exclusively his? I definitely think he is old enough to have that need. In fact, I think they all are. After all, at a very young age we begin to understand ownership.

So, how do you balance the need for ownership and custody of things with the need for sharing among siblings? What do I need to do for HIM? How much ownership does he need? Any thoughts?

Protecting the Environment

So, during my teens and early 20s, I was a huge environmentalist.

I am still very much into protecting the earth that God gave us. After all, we are the stewards of this earth. HOWEVER, I believe in practical protection. I do not believe that we are supposed to put ourselves in danger or stop living in order to protect the environment.

I have to be honest here. I LOVE trees. I would like to live in a forest if it weren't for the fact that I desperately want a vegetable garden and they need sun to grow. However, sometimes the extreme environmentalists that have the media attention make me want to cut down a tree-any tree.

I have a very realistic way of looking at the environment. For instance, I don't think we should build a new building IF an old empty one can be remade to our specifications. On the other hand, I don't think that a new building is wrong if an empty one isn't available or is totally inappropriate. I happen to be a country girl who wants the country to stay country. It drives me nuts to see all the housing developments going up. On the other hand, I see that people want to get of the city and I don't have a problem with that. It's a delicate balancing act. And that is the problem I have with the environmental movement. There is no balance. It is all about wiping out man.

Unfortunately, the way they have such a single minded agenda toward the destruction of our societal structure that it turns me totally off to their message of preserving the earth. In fact, it has the completely opposite effect on me. I guess what bugs me the most about this is that I know it is important to protect our environment. But this makes me want to destroy it. I wonder how many other people are effected the same way.

Nooooooooooo!

It's all over! I guess I'll have to pick another team to cheer for during the semi-finals. Obviously I can't cheer for anyone on the eastern shore board. I mean, I can't cheer for teams that beat my teams. Oh well. I'm not one to bust windows and go on a rampage because of a sports game. This is a great quarter-final, though. I think all four series went to 7 games. That's awesome.

Aaaah! They were doing so well!

And then, those idiot Bruins' fans went crazy. Oh well. We're big Bruins fans, but we're not as picky with hockey as we are baseball. Maybe it's because we like hockey so much better, so we're not dependent on a particular team to watch.

Gary and Gabriel like the Red Wings. Dominic is named after Dominic Hasek from when he played for the Colorado Avalanche. We all like the Bruins. (How could we not? Gary's from Maine and we lived in New England for 3 years as a family.) Finally, we all like the Capitals. We managed to get to 3 games while we lived in DC.

Our first game was a Christmas present to Gary's parents. They were in town for Christmas and we went to a Bruins/Caps game. (We were really there for the Bruins:) Then, Gabriel's school had a silent auction. Most of the items had minimum prices, but the two tickets to a Caps' game did not. So, I told Gary to bid $30. The cheapest tickets are $12 each, so I figured we'd at least get our money's worth. Then, I went back and read the description in the auction booklet and told him not to let anyone else win. We ended up getting those tickets for $40. We were in the second row from the glass, right next to the penalty box. Those tickets are normally $115 each. Plus, we had free parking. Wow! That was an amazing experience. Plus, it happened to be a couple days from our anniversary. Then, we won tickets from our bank. I had entered online and they called Gary and asked him how many tickets he wanted. He thought someone was playing a joke on him. We took the two older boys and left Dominic at home. Those seats were great, as well. We were in the lower section, but not so close we couldn't see what was going on all over the ice. It was so much fun. Unfortunately, the Caps weren't a great team. But, we still fell in love with them.

Now, the Caps have a chance at the semi-finals. We're in the intermission between the 3rd period and overtime. I'm on tenterhooks. Come on guys! I need you!

ER

Thank you all for your condolences.

So, here we are in Florida. The weather is perfect. It's been running right at 75 with sunny skies. It's been windy, with great waves, but not a cloud in sight. Now, you have to understand that Dominic likes to try out new emergency rooms. I thought it was visiting my mom that did it. After all, when my dad died, we were in the middle of moving (literally! we had just loaded up the truck and sent it on it's way). While in Oklahoma, Dominic split his forehead open and required 4 stitches, and my 6 year old cousin burned down her sister's house. Then, in June 2007, Gabriel broke his toe while we were there. So, I was a little leery of going this year.

However, we made it through the week and a half without any emergency room visits. I guess we didn't stay long enough. Either that or Dominic refuses to visit an emergency room more than once. This morning, he was trying to acquire his swimsuit and pulled a towel rack down on his head. Since we were having such a hard time seeing his injury, I took him to the ER. Fortunately, he only needed to be cleaned up and he's back at play. We'll see if we can make it through a trip to Pensacola without needing to go to the ER. After all, that would be a different hospital.....

Sorry for my Absence

I'm so sorry for my absence. Fate has conspired against me. This is the 3 April in a row that a close family member has died. April 5, 2006, my grandmother died. This was expected, and she had really lingered in a semi-comatose state for much longer than we would have wished. Her funeral was on my birthday. Then, last April 29th, my father died of cancer on my mother's birthday. While we were expecting it, we were not expecting it, if you know what I mean. Then, April 4th, my mother called to tell me that my uncle died in a motorcycle accident. Not only was this unexpected but it was devastating. My uncle has 4 children, ages 25?, 20, 15, and 7. I cannot begin to imagine what they will go through over the next few years and I can only wish them well and much love.

Needless to say, instead of taking a measured and reasonable departure for Florida on the 16th, I took a hurried departure on the 5th. I packed as much as I could remember, called my house sitter's boyfriend (I didn't have her phone number:) and drove to Oklahoma. Then, I spent a week and a half with internet the speed of a snail. I took the opportunity of driving through Texas to get to Florida to visit my uncle and his wife. Unfortunately, my uncle was out of town. However, I was able to visit with my aunt, my cousin and her two sons, one of whom is only 9 weeks old. Of course, that gave me powerful baby envy. Oh well, it was still wonderful to see them all. And, quite frankly, I rarely get an opportunity to get down to Texas.

Now, I am here in Florida. Yesterday, we went to the beach and it was wonderful. The boys enjoyed it immensely. I enjoyed it just as much. As things settle down, I plan to get back to regular posting. I hope you will join me.

Is Homeschooling Abuse?

Recently, there have been many news articles about homeschoolers. It is amazing how something can be taken from relative obscurity and be thrown into the limelight overnight. By obscurity, I do not mean the act of homeschooling, but rather, the reporting on homeschooling. With one ill advised judgement, a California court threw homeschooling into the national news like kidnapping, child abuse, and murder. In fact, it seems that many people equate homeschooling to these things.

It seems to be the overwhelming opinion of people who don't know anything about homeschooling, that requiring homeschool parents to get certified would solve all the problems these people see in homeschooling. Well, in effect, they are correct. Requiring homeschoolers to have a teaching certificate would mean that a lot, if not most, current homeschoolers would not homeschool. Ergo, it would solve the problems. The only problem with that theory is that the basis for the argument is flawed. Homeschooling does not equate abuse. No more homeschoolers abuse their children than do public school or private school parents.

I will present two concepts here. First, I will discuss the idea that homeschooling, in and of itself, is abuse. Second, I will let you all know that certifying parents to teach their own children is an idiotic idea. (Yes, I said idiotic. This is my blog, I can say what I want on it!:)

It seems to me that the basis for the idea that homeschooling constitutes abuse is based on misconceptions about homeschooling. Many people seem to think that homeschoolers sit around in their house teaching their children who-knows-what. Apparently, we are all Christian wackos (their words-not mine!) who don't have anything better to do than hand our children guns and make them patrol the borders of our conclaves. Now, I'm not saying that I wouldn't like to have a conclave. And, I'm not even saying that if I did, I wouldn't teach my children how to shoot a gun. However, until I can afford to purchase that much land and that many guns and have the time to plow the land, milk the cows, spin my wool to make my clothes, butcher the chickens, (gosh, I'm going to have to stop blogging with all that on my plate).... Besides which, surprise!, I'm not a Christian.

"Gasp! What!!! Are you trying to tell me that not all homeschoolers are Christians? Why, they must be. I mean, why else would someone homeschool?"

I have repeatedly read that homeschoolers don't want their children exposed to the real world and that is why they homeschool. Now, I happen to be one of those people who doesn't want their children exposed to the underbelly of society when they are 5. I'm not really sure why people would question this need to protect children. I understand the concept of exposing children to more than one idea. However, I would challenge the person who came up with the idea of universalism to look at it from a different point of view. I want my children to have a strong grounding and understanding in themselves and God before they venture out and start looking at the other side. I understand that it is hard to understand anything when nothing is concrete. When presented with multiple viewpoints, the child is always going to choose the easiest. This is not because it is the right viewpoint, rather because a child is not a rock for the water to flow around. A child is like a leaf in a stream. It tumbles along going where the water throws it. When the water tosses it up on the shore, it stays there until it dries off, then the wind pushes it around. Eventually, it ends up in a stream again and rushes off to a new location, never in control of its own destiny. It is the parent's job to be the rock in the stream for the child to take shelter in. It is, indeed, the parent's job to be a huge boulder, protecting the child from buffeting that would eventually destroy him. Eventually, of course, a child must enter the world. Indeed, the Bible says for a man to forsake his parents. However, it does not say for a child to be thrown out upon the waves and made to fend for himself.

The idea that a child goes to school in order to experience real life is beyond my feeble brain. I ask you, what is real about our school system? Is age segregation real? No, it is not. In fact, in the adult world, it is illegal. Is it real life to only be allowed to progress at a certain rate? No, in reality, life rewards hard workers. Is it realistic to be babysat through life? Only if you're a liberal. Sorry, sorry. I couldn't resist. In actuality, our country is seeing this more and more. I believe that a school system that does not teach personal responsibility (in no way is this helped by parents that take no active role in their children's lives and sometimes sues the school when the school actually tries to do the right thing) actually hinders the students' ability to function. I would argue that going to school in no way mimics adulthood. Since school only lasts for a very small fraction of our lives, why would we want it to be so totally different from the real world?

"Homeschoolers are depriving their children from seeing poor people." Now, that has to be one of the most ignorant argument I have seen yet. Who do they think homeschool? It has been bandied about that homeschoolers are elitist. We are able to homeschool because we are lucky enough to have: money so that a parent can stay home, patience (cough, cough), who knows what else? Well, I can definitively say that homeschoolers are just like the rest of the population. Some of us are rich. Some of us are middle class, and some of us are poor. Interestingly enough, we actually meet each other. So, our children get to meet rich, middle class, and poor children. Imagine that. We are actually more integrated, in that regard, than the average public or private school. We also have no racial qualifications. If you're a homeschooler, you're welcome. You have something to contribute to my family, and I to yours. I am certainly not lucky to be staying at home with my children. It is something that we determined to do. We have. It has not always been easy, either financially or emotionally. However, I set myself to do it and I have. I could go on all day about that, but I'll save it for another post. The idea that I was given masses of patience would send anyone that truly knows me into gales of laughter. So, you can just get that one out of your head right now.

I also read the argument that parents homeschool out of selfishness and the need to control their children. I read this recently, "Someone willing to homeschool is obviously open-minded. The narrow minded approach is the 'business as usual' and 'do what everybody else is doing', which is public school. It also shows that he cares enough about his children to demand the best he can provide." I can tell you right now that if I was being selfish, I would stick my kids in public school tomorrow and sit on my butt reading smut. Then, I could get a workout in on a regular basis. I could quilt to my heart's content and pretty much do whatever I want. Instead, I have taken on the responsibility of educating my children. It is not an easy responsibility to live with. And, believe me, controlling parents will be controlling no matter where they go to school. Public/private school does not stand in the way of 'controlling' any more than it does abuse. And, I ask you, what does 'controlling' mean-in this instance. Does it mean that I expect my children to work to the best of their abilities and I don't want the teachers to give them A's for mediocre work? Does it mean that I need to make sure that they are given the best education they can get? Does it mean that I feel the need to oversee every thing in their lives? Because, believe me, I feel that is my job. That's what I signed up for when I had children. Does it mean that I make them do everything my way? Of course not. It just means that I know what is going on in their lives. I make certain decisions for them. For instance, I am the one that decides they will eat healthy food instead of junk food all day. I am the one that limits Xavier's bread intake. I am the one that does not allow Gabriel to spend all day reading.:) However, I am also the one that allows my children to play whatever they want within the bounds set for them. Children need boundaries. On the other hand, Gabriel is not ready for sex-ed. And this is the year he would be getting it. He already knows what sex is, but he blatantly pretends like he doesn't. Just like he pretends he still believes in Santa. Obviously he is not ready to face these things. However, if he was in school-being controlled by someone else-he would not be in control of his acceptance of these things.

Now, I know this has been rambling. However, I implore you to seriously think about preconceived notions about homeschooling and 'traditional' schooling. If you have any questions, complaints, or would like to make 'idiotic' comments:), please feel free. I'll try to answer them. Or, some of my readers can. Tomorrow, I'll address credentials.

Review Tuesday 4-1-2008

Happy April Fool's Day! Oddly enough, we haven't seen any tricks around here. I think the instigator, Gabriel, has just been too busy, and his back up team has been sick, so not much help there.

So, today's review is going to center around lots of stuff I found these past few weeks and a book series I found in August. I love new stuff. Today's website is Wellness 360. Today's product is "Hail to the Chief: The Presidential Election Game". Today's books are The Flyleaf Publishing books by Laura Appleton-Smith--Reading Series One.



Wellness 360: A few weeks ago, I signed up for Wellness 360 in order to get a CVS coupon. A couple weeks ago, I got an email from them saying that I could earn money by using their site. Remember, I only signed up to get that coupon. Now, I went on their website and started looking around. I entered some non-personal-personal information. I.E. I entered that my mother is still alive and my father died in his 50s of cancer. Etc. etc. etc. Then, I spent 3 days keeping track of the food I ate. This was quite interesting to me because I have NEVER counted calories before. This was very enlightening. Anyway, a couple days ago, I received an email telling me that I would be receiving a check in the amount of $5.99.

First of all, I thought I had to make $25 before they would send me a check. Secondly, what did I do to get that $5.99? Well, I can't figure out why they sent me that check, but I did get it in the mail on Saturday. I have, however, done extensive research on their website and think I know why they're paying me.

It seems that Wellness 360 provides statistical information to other companies. They "take out all the private stuff" in order to stay in accordance with HIPPA. So, I'm assuming that any information they're giving out is information my doctor is also giving out. (You thought your doctor was keeping that stuff private? tsk, tsk) So long as they're only giving statistical information out, I don't mind. In fact, I'll sign the whole family up.

HOWEVER, if you know of anything that is wrong with this whole thing (IE it sounds too good to be true), PLEASE let me know!

In the meantime, I'll continue keeping track of what I eat and start keeping track of my kiddo's diet as well. I don't mind. It only takes a couple minutes a day. And, if it pays me to do it, then all the better.


Hail to the Chief: The Presidential Election Game:

As you know, I went to a homeschool convention last week. This is one of the things I bought.

We played this game on Saturday. Wow, was it hard! We ended up teaming up with one kid and one adult on each team. We had a lot of fun and we are going to learn SOOOO much from this game. I never knew so much about the presidents. It is a lot of fun, and I recommend getting it for your family. Be sure to get the most up to date version, though.

Flyleaf Publishing: A Book to Remember series by Laura Appleton-Smith:

This series was recommended in the Well Trained Mind. It is an excellent phonics based book series. These are not easy books like the Bob Books, but are fully decodable with phonics. I liked them because the stories are nice and the pictures are wonderful.

My favorite book was Just a Box. Of course, it has a special place in my heart because of my own children's propensity to play with boxes.

So far as I know, you have to order these directly from the publisher and they ARE NOT CHEAP. For 5 soft cover books, the cost is $40. They could become classics in your home, though. If you have multiple children, or are planning to:), I recommend these books. Or, if you just have one child and don't mind spending extra money on books, I recommend these. OR, if you have a library that isn't waiting until its new building is built before adding new books to the system, I recommend recommending these to them!

Have a great week!