things my grandma taught me

my Grandma Faye and Baby Zach (notice the red lipstick and tissue in her L hand:)

no matter how far out the branch you are on the family tree, you will always look like grandma's brother or sister.

it's wasteful to throw away a perfectly good bread tie. and you should keep them in a bouillon cube jar in your silverware drawer.

a baby Bayer aspirin can cure anything. and so can red methylate.

it's ok to hoard cash, store it in your bra, and give it to your children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren as you see fit.

red carpet is a home interior statement. not a home interior mistake.

it's possible to shop in a mall for 4 hours, shop only the clearance racks, emerge with only one formal pants suit (that may be a size too small, or a size too big) for the formal dinner (you may one day attend), and claim shopping victory.

in nursing school, you will learn that you do NOT put lotion between your toes. *and, it does not matter that you only attended nursing school for 3 months then quit to get married. you still went to nursing school.

a good place to store a package of 3 Musketeers is in the bread drawer. because ... who?! would think to look there. or in the extra bedroom closet. or the laundry room shelf.

it's not unsanitary to place tissues (used or not) in your couch cushions, in your pockets, and in your handbag. *and, if you don't have a pocket, no worries. you can just place them in your waistline.

plates of Butternut bread and bowl of Mott's applesauce should be placed on the table at EVERY dinner.

a bad hair day doesn't matter as long as you have a tube of red lipstick.

you will never be able to cook chicken and dumplings, swiss steak, or vegetable soup right.

singing is important. nursery rhymes are important. folk songs are important. *you can make any fussy baby happy by bouncing them on your knee and chanting 'Going Down Sailor' ... which you will learn in your mid-thirties ... is actually 'Going Down Cellar.' **you can also make any toddler giggle by playing 'This Little Piggie' with their toes. an extremely exaggerated 'Wee wee wee' only makes it better. ***all of this will also guarantee you will have beautifully talented singers as children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren

a rust colored, fluffy, paisley blanket makes little children feel cozy.

chunks of raw potatoes never hurt anyone. neither did chocolate cake for breakfast.

pink dove soap will get even a gruff, garage-scented grandpa clean.

... ... ...

there's more. believe it or not. but i must get back to my children, and say more prayers for my sweet grandma.

thinking of you today, Grandma Faye, and all the wonderful things you showed me, and fed me, and sang to me, and taught me. i love you.

mothering is a battlefield

The big kids were all doing math, Benjamin was napping, so I took three of my rowdy, little boys outside to blow bubbles, including the 2.75 year old. To some, three rowdy, little boys would be a battle. To me, it was like swimming in a lake of still waters. 

We tried to blow bubbles in the baby's face. "No, don't blow bubbles in the baby's face. The soap could burn his eyes!" ... "It's not soap Mom, it's bubbles!" (silly momma)

We got the hang of blowing gently, which created a thousand bubbles at once

 

We kept losing our bubble stick in the bubble bottle.

We puffed our cheeks big.

Then I decided we should put the bubbles up. They were half Benjamin's bubbles after all, and we should save some for him.

The 2.75 year old decided this was not such a good idea. And we battled over the blue bubble bottle. 

And the 2.75 year old won. 

And Benjamin's bubbles got dumped out on the driveway. 

And I stood there defeated. 

And realized that even with only 1/3 of my children ... if that 1/3 includes the 2.75 year old ... there is no such thing as still waters. Only a battlefield.

These wise (accessible) words for moms are on the way. My new battle plan.

"I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious." - Vince Lombardi    

daybook, july 16th

Outside my Window ... mild, but storm-ready. Which makes me happy.

I am thinking ... how glad I am that we have absolutely NO plans today whatsoever. We need a good day of school work and chores.

I am thankful for ... a break from Seminary. Brian and I have been talking about life, watching our shows, and reading good books.

From the school room ... Brian put the kids back on track with Math just before he left for work this morning, Kylie is working through Analytical Grammar at a fast pace, Korinne is almost finished with Spelling 5, we have hopes that Connor will reach the end of English 2 by the move, and TJ is reading aloud each Mr Putter and Tabby this summer.

From the kitchen ... Coffee with caramel machiato creamer, *Daddy's chocolate milk (because he evidently makes it better), waffles. The blueberry kind.

I am wearing ... my faded, lilac housecoat over my yellow, butterfly nightgown.

I am reading ... finishing up The Mission of Motherhood and For The Children's Sake. Both excellent, every summer reads. Brian and I started Shepherding Your Child's Heart again. And he just finished What He Must Be yesterday, and asked me to read it too. I'm also still working on the Newberry Challenge. Slowly. Bridge To Terabithia.

I am hoping and praying ... my grandma is feeling relief from her pain today. And that my grandpa can get her surgery moved up.

 

I am creating ... an organized, move-ready home. I have 2 more big projects to tackle before our packers come August 9th. The attic, and all the kids' out-of-season clothing. We've decided to purchase each child a Rubbermaid Roughneck storage box ... hoping those will withstand the moving truck and many years of switching out.

I am going ... nowhere. But tomorrow we have spaghetti dinner plans with our friends, the Hutchesons.

I am hearing ... the dramatic music and anxious voices of the shark wranglers. We LOVE History Channel's new show.

Around the house ... packing, taking wall art down, spackling ... I'm also on a mission to teach some of the youger kids how to do some chores that the big kids have been doing for a few years. The girls are wanting to do more cooking and baking, and need some time freed up to do so.

 Some of my favorite things ...

Benjamin's new ABC and 123 Star Wars books. So simple. So big and sturdy. He loves them to0. Free Chick-fil-A. Such an all-around great place.

And Pastor Rogers on Sunday nights with my family.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week ... school work, chore training, packing ...

 

reminder to my (homeschool momma) self:

I would like to share just a few pieces of homeschooling advice with you. A few things that I wish someone would have shared with me back in the summer of 2007 when we started our homeschooling journey.

First bit of advice: just start the journey.

...if you have the tiniest inkling of a thought that you want to homeschool or the slightest tug at your heart that you want to homeschool. Do it.

Know it will be hard. Know it will be different. Know it will cause family friction. Know, even four and a half years into your journey, that there will be some days that you look at the big yellow bus with envy.

Do it anyway.

Having a relationship with your children, spending time with your children, and accomplishing with your children is worth the hard days. Worth being different. Worth the family friction (which goes away once your family sees the fruit). And as quick as the thought of putting your kids on the bus comes...it goes.

Second bit of advice: do not label your homeschool.

...do not claim a method. Do not claim a learning style. Do not claim a curriculum. Because as soon as you do, things will change.

Method does not matter. What matters is that you're spending time with your child, teaching them, and they are learning.

Learning style does matter (a little, not as much as they say)...but, from what I can see, learning styles fluctuate with subject material. Know how your child learns, and do your best to use your materials accordingly.

Curriculum does not matter. I repeat, curriculum does not matter. You can tweak ANY curriculum to suit ANY method/learning style (which you are not claiming anyway). ***this statement alone is my BIG reminder, as I flip out about History for next year!***

*If you are a large family I do recommend you buy non-consumable materials to save money.*

 

Third bit of advice: do not feel you must join a support/co-op group. or attend a convention/fair. or read all the books on homeschooling that have ever been published.

...I actually did this from the beginning.

We've never, in four years, been a part of a group. Thankfully. The compare game would have probably gotten the best of me. "Our curriculum is top notch." "Our Little Suzy is only six, but in 5th grade." (we do, however, know and enjoy the company of a few other homeschooling families)

I have also never been to a homeschool convention/curriculum fair. There is already an overwhelming amount of info on homeschooling to be had online and through snail mail. I would have outright heart failure and homeschool mom sensory overload upon walking in to such a fair.

I've read a handful of homeschooling books, a few gems, but most just push their own curriculum or homeschool style. There is no perfect curriculum, and thinking that your homeschool can look exactly like some other family's homeschool is just absurd.

We've spent the first few years of our homeschooling journey paving our own homeschool road. It looks like no other family's we know. But it's us. It works. Everyone is thriving.

Now that we see OUR ROAD clearly...we are thinking of joining an area homeschool group for fun (not academics)...I'm still on the fence about a convention (probably not)...and I've tried a few homeschool books (borrowed) in the last month, and can't get past the first few chapters, because I just know that the author is not talking about us.

 

Fourth bit of advice: live life first. homeschool second. keep plugging away at academics.

...take days/weeks/months off when you need to. Sometimes school just won't get done when there are doctor appointments or grocery trips. Sometimes everyone just needs a vacation (to nowhere). Sometimes a new baby comes along.

School year round. All day. Don't try to fit it into nine months. Or 180 days. Or 4.5 hours.

Enjoy your children, while you mark out your path.