You Get What You Get

Life is such a funny thing. 
One thing I've noticed about homeschooling is that my kids get to see me (and their Dad) at our worst more often than we would like.  Sometimes I dream of a day when I could be having a melt down, hide it well enough to get the kids out of the house, and then have my meltdown privately...

I remember one of my homeschooled nephews telling me when he was just a little boy, "Auntie  Daphne, when you have a big family you can forget about privacy and personal hygiene".  I never laughed so hard.  He was so right, and little did I know it at the time!  Privacy is quickly becoming a rare treat indeed.  As for hygiene...well, you try grabbing a shower around seven other people!

We have bad days...bad weeks.  Recently my husband and I have agreed this has been a bad MONTH.  I confided to him that I feel badly that we are sometimes not the best examples for our kids.  We show it when we are angry or hurt.  Showing a variety of feelings is a common occurance around here.  We can't hide it when we are not getting along. 
He laughed, shrugged his shoulders and said:  "You get what you get".  In other words, they got US.  His humour about the issue made me feel a whole lot better.

Yup, you get what you get.

9 Reasons I can Think of to Keep Homeschooling

I'M NOT SURE I SHOULD STILL BE HOMESCHOOLING WHEN....

1. I find my 18mth old walking around on the top bunk after I have removed the ladder and even moved a dresser in front of the climbing bars.

2. Other little ones have enjoyed cat food for a snack.

3. When reading a poem about "fall" and "apples" my five year old can't even hear me.

4. The printer won't work. Again.

5. After re-stocking all the school supplies, NOBODY can find a PENCIL.

6. Nobody can find an ERASER.

7. Nobody can find a RULER. Or a CALCULATOR. All of which we have in multiples of 13.

8. The printer is working! But there is no more ink.

9. Dinner (at lunchtime)  has miraculously been provided, with all the major food groups...and most of the family has the flu.

10. I need a shower because I'm beginning to look like Albert Einstein, and I'm the Mom.

11. We get to do it all again tomorrow.

A FEW REASONS WE ARE STILL HOMESCHOOLING....

1. My kids read. All the time. On the deck when the sun is shinning, or on the couch in front of the fire when it's raining.

2. They love to be home with each other, most of the time.

3. I get to see them learn new things, and see them help others in need of help.(usually me)

4. When school is finished, they are excited about dance, music, and everything else to do in the evening.

5. They love to write.

6. Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln, and C.S Lewis were homeschooled and they turned out ok.


7.  We have time to talk.


8. Impromptu trips to the beach with an impromptu picnic.

9. Impromptu lots of things.

I think tomorrow should be one of those days, with a coffee in hand.

A slice of tired pie

It's been that kind of a week. The kind of week where you wonder if you are going to make it through another year. This week I felt like I was just treading water... not really getting anywhere, not going backwards, just staying a float. Well...kind of.

I used to have a great attitude about times like this...I would think to myself, "this too shall pass" or "nothing is forever", knowing deep down that I won't always be doing what I am doing right now. (The un-fun stuff that is. The spilled milk, the spilled coffee, the tantrums, the colds, the coughs, the teething, the driving, and so on.)
In short, I used to be more positive.

I'm just tired. Anyway, one thing is for sure. I definately need to carve out that little something for me, otherwise I'm pretty sure I won't be much fun for anyone. What does one do? Schedule a bunch of solo mini-dates with myself? Pull out my violin?

P r a c t i c e?

I saw a pie-making class recently, that kind of appealed to me. I have never made pastry before, and I think if I could pull off some homemade pies, I might not only feel better...but I'll be a hero in my own house.

The possibilities are endless. I could master my craft and end up at the local farmers markets, then enter contests. This might be the thing I've been waiting for.

I am being a bit facetious, (yes, I'm tired) but do ask me about my pies in about a year.
Give me one year.

Camping 101

The very first thing I do when the first summer camping trip is suggested is take a deep breath. Don't get me wrong...I love camping! Afterall, we went camping for our honeymoon. That's what you do for your honeymoon when you are still practically kids and there is no real bank account in place yet!
We continued to camp (in a tent)with babies and toddlers, and more babies, and more toddlers. I consider that if we are not professional campers, we are at the very least professionals at camping with small children!

We have all the gear. You can sleep a small village in our tent. But, somewhere along the lines, after our third baby we decided that it would be a little more comfortable to sleep off the ground with a little bit of heat, so we bought our tent trailer. After a few comfortable years of camping with our trailer, we now need our tent along again anyway! Several of us now fight over who will sleep in the tent. This is just fine with me...you won't find me in the tent again. Been there, done that!

Anyway! After the initial deep breath, I begin with my list of food. It's not a grocery list, but a list with what we will eat each day. Snacks included. "Adult drinks" included! Then I start putting it all in a big container. The kids pack a small backpack of clothes, and it's the one time I don't double check what they bring, because it really doesn't matter when you are camping. Of course for us there are ALOT of extras...diapers, wipes, blankies, bibs, sippy cups, stroller, playpen and so on. For us, this is all standard anyway, so it doesn't take much thought anymore!

Dad packs the truck, hooks up the trailer. Pulls the trailer. Finds the campground, books the campground. Dad does most of the work for camping trips. Afterall he is the wood finder, the wood chopper, the fire starter, the water finder, water hooker-upper, the fixer of all things broken. Heck, I still don't even know how to turn on the heat in the trailer, and he doesn't even get to sleep in there anymore!

And yet, he still suggests the camping trips year after year, and I'm still the one taking the deep breath. Go figure.

Thanks Babe. We love you for it!

Random Things About Me

After the heavy blog post of last week, I decided to do something a little different.

15 Very Random Things you might not know about me.

Here is goes:

1. I blog while I am trying to get my kids to sleep.

2. I blog on my husbands new apple Macbook pro, because I secretly want one myself. You see, I bought him the Macbook, and he bought me a cute, but frightfully slow PC notebook. Poor guy. (Poor me!)

3. Writing is a passion of mine, but it comes behind my desire to be a doula.

4. Pregnancy and childbirth are therefore my number one passion, and I plan on becoming a doula as soon as I can. I am hoping to begin the process in the fall.

5. I also wonder why music, and all things violinistic do not go in my first place spot for things I am passionate about. I suppose it could tie for second place...I couldn't live without music.

6. I was raised Baptist, but converted to Catholicism in 2000.

7. I always wanted lots of kids.

8. I used to bring my dolls to my violin lessons.

9. I love to read, and I admire the ability to write and create stories in other authors.

10. My three top favourite composers are: Bach, Beethoven and Mozart. When I have been in labor, I listened to the Bach Goldberg Variations.

11. Now that I live on the West Coast, I never want to leave.

12. My biggest fear is ever having to move again.

13. I tried my first cigarette in Grade 9, and I still enjoy smoking. I have one every night. It's my own little secret bad habit. My little nightcap.

14. I don't think I pray enough.

15. I wish I had a HUGE Kitchen. Like, HUGE.

That's all folks!

Sister love

Sisters. I find myself looking at my four daughters and contemplating the relationship that they are so lucky to have with each other, and yet I know that it will challenge them too.

I am the youngest of three girls. I arrived on the scene five years after my sister, and the older two are two years apart. I was always close with my sisters. They spoiled me when I was little, and I looked up to them more than they know. I truly admired my older sisters, and I wanted to be just like them.

Now, the only relationship I have is with my oldest sister. My middle sister who I will call "Linnie", doesn't want to be a part of our family. No one has heard from her in nearly a year. It's complicated. The hurt is deep, and the history is heavy. What I don't think Linnie understands is that a family also has a history, and the love is deep.

I believe that Faith is one of the ways that we can understand the transforming power of Unconditional Love. I believe that to love oneself is only possible through understanding God's love for us. I think that this is what my sister is missing. She doesn't love God. She doesn't love herself. She couldn't possibly understand how much we love her. But we do. We love her Unconditionally. It's not a perfect love. There have been many times when the hurt has prohibited me from loving Linnie too. But time goes by, and slowly I come around and extend my hand again. And again. Linnie isn't ready to accept my love yet, not until she is able to love herself. I'll keep showing her that I'm here and want a relationship with her. I'll keep loving her.

God helps me to do this, because I can't do it alone.

Sugar Free

When I decided to set up my blog, I figured I had a lot to say. Only two blogs later, I think it's time I better say something!!!!

So, I'm going to talk about my recent decision to limit sugar in my house. For me this began a few months ago. I kind of did it cold turkey...no extra sweets, no sugar in my coffee and so on. I made other changes to my diet, but ultimately about 2 and a half months later, I dropped 20 pounds. I have replaced the sugar with an artificial sweetener at times (Splenda), and I would like to kick that next. But for now, I can safely say that I don't eat regular sugar on a regular basis anymore.

I decided that sugar was a secret villain in my household and recently have tried to limit it's amount for my kids as well. For example, I learned recently that one of those long freezies that I used to hand out to my kids on hot summer days, contain as much sugar as a regular can of pop!!! Yikes! I don't let my kids drink pop, so why give it to them in these other forms? In the meantime, I have made many batches of my own popsicles. Here is a great recipe that you can feel good about eating and giving to your kids...(Yes, my 3 year old has even had more than one a day!!!!)

Blend: 1 cup of yogurt, 1/2 cup of crushed pineapple, 6 strawberries and one sliced banana. Pour into popsicle molds and enjoy!!!