Debating

Okay. Time for a little honesty. Who's watching the debate tonight?

I must admit that my first feeling upon remembering that the debate is tonight was frustration that it would be preempting CSI. Which is more entertaining to watch - a crime scene investigation or a presidential debate? Tough call.

Truthfully, I just can't stand watching the debates. Does anyone really decide who they're going to vote for based on a debate where the candidates respond with carefully scripted replies to every question asked? Couldn't most of us actually predict what they're going to say once they read the question?

Maybe I'm just feeling cynical but I think most people already know who they're going to vote for. When your chosen candidate gives a response it is only natural to think it sounds like the best answer for the country. When the opponent gives a response it is only natural that you think he sounds like a bonehead.

Is it really my civic duty to watch these things? I'll vote. I always vote. I know who I'm voting for and why I'm voting for him. There's nothing he could say that would change my mind and nothing the opponent could say that would change my mind.

*sigh* Even the Red Sox have the night off.

Baseball

The Red Sox have clinched a spot in the American League East playoffs with their win over Tampa Bay on Monday night. It is possible, however, for them to still win the division. They'd basically need to win all the rest of their games and the Yankees would need to lost at least 3 of theirs. It's not likely, but is is possible.

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays have some players with great baseball names. I like to watch their games just so I can hear the announcers say Rocco Baldelli. Try it. Just say it out loud. Rocco Baldelli Don't you just love the way it rolls off your tongue? They also have Julio Lugo. Not as cool a name, but still pretty cool.

In the past I've mentioned lessons I've learned from baseball. One thing I've learned is why I find baseball players sexy. It's not the goofy uniforms and it's certainly not the way they spit or pull up their cups. I love the backs of men's necks. I think it may be the sexiest part of a man's body. That's why I like short, short hair on a man. To watch Tim Wakefield pitch makes my heart flutter. He's doing a pretty lousy job this year but he looks good and he has a very sexy neck.

I know most of you don't really give a hoot about baseball. Since you really don't care who wins, why not say a prayer or light a candle or visualize the Red Sox winning the World Series. They haven't won since 1918. They deserve a win.

My first curriculum flop

When I first began investigating homeschooling, I ran across Five In A Row. The literature approach really appealed to me and I quickly gathered manuals and books. My oldest son had a wonderful first grade year using FIAR. We read many wonderful books, went on field trips to accompany them and made lapbooks.

For many reasons, we abandoned FIAR after first grade and started using more suggestions from The Well Trained Mind. This has been a good decision for us. I'm always amazed when I check out the FIAR website at the number of people with older children still using the program. It is simply not meaty enough for older children. Sadly, there is no honest exchange allowed on the FIAR boards. Everyone there sings its praises but no one ever speaks honestly about any of its problems or limitations.

This summmer I decided to use FIAR with my middle son entering first grade. Just yesterday, we read our first FIAR book - How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World. I remember how much fun Adam and I had with this book. We looked at maps, made a lapbook, and even did apple prints (I'm not the messy art kind of person). But yesterday when I read the book with Jared, I couldn't imagine doing anything in the FIAR manual. It all seemed so forced and artificial and, well, kind of dumb. We enjoyed the book and we talked about it a bit but I can't imagine reading it to him 4 more times.

I'm not sure if it was just this book. Maybe I should try another one. I get the feeling that it isn't the book - it's the program. I don't know what's changed. I'm kind of sad that my plans for Jared aren't going to work out. I don't want to include him in our WTM history right now because Adam does most of that on his own. I also don't want to just do phonics, math and reading with Jared. I want something fun and exciting - something that's all his.

Any ideas?

Christian neighbors

We have wonderful Christian neighbors. I know for many people who read this blog that Christian neighbors would be a great thing but it certainly made me nervous when we first moved in.

My oldest son made friends about 5 minutes after the moving van left. He saw the kids get off the school bus, started a conversation and was playing with them 10 minutes later. Soon he was wanting to play with them after school and I walked down to introduce myself to the mother. She explained to me that she had asked Adam where we went to church because he had told her that he was homeschooled. She was very surprised to learn that we are not christians because she had never heard of anyone who was not homeschooling for religious reasons. I thought we might be in trouble. That is, I thought she might not want her children playing with mine. It would not have been the first time that Christian parents did not want their children playing with my non-christian children.

Time passed and the boys in the neighborhood started to do some bullying and excluding. My nice neighbor and I talked it over to come up with a plan. "We all have the same goals for our children," she stated. "We just want them to be good christian men and women." At first I was upset that she would make this statement to me knowing that I was not a Christian. Then I realized that she was correct. While I don't want my children to become Christians, I do want them to act in a christian manner.

Over the last year and a half, our boys have become good friends. They sleep and eat at each other's houses. They play on the same sports teams - or against each other. They ride bikes and build forts. Mrs. Neighbor and I have had coffee and gone out to dinner together. We often chat on the phone. We trade hand me down jeans and cleats. We talk about our children and husbands and share gossip about the people we know in town (okay, not very christian but it is fun). Recently she asked if I'd like to join her Christian women's book group for a meeting. She said the she knew I wouldn't be interested in their current book but that they are going to read Dr. Laura's The Care and Keeping of Husbands next and she knew I was a Dr. Laura fan.

This weekend something happened that I never thought would have happened. Adam asked me if N. could sleep over on Saturday night. I said that he couldn't because we had to leave too early in the morning for church. Ten minutes later he came back to ask if N. could come to church with us. I laughed and said that if N's mother said it was okay that it was okay with me. When N. called his mom, she said yes without even pausing (I was right next to him while he was on the phone). I never imagined that this nice Christian family would allow their young impressionable son to go to a Unitarian church.

So N. went to church with us on Sunday. Adam loved showing off our beautiful church and introduced N. to both ministers and many people. N. went to young church with Adam. On the drive home he told me that our church is much more fun than his church. I worried (a little) what his mother would say to this. Later, I spoke with Mrs. Neighbor who told me that N. had told her how much fun our church had been. We both laughed. I'm sure Adam would say the same thing if he attended a different church.

It is a good thing to have Christian neighbors.

A weekend in pictures

If only there were pictures of Jeff painting the house, or me scouting yard sales, or the family watching the Red Sox, you'd have a complete picture of our weekend. Even without those Kodak moments the photos below pretty much capture our weekend.





All the boys lost their soccer games this weekend but they all had a good time and have a great attitude about sports. The weather was too beautiful to care who won. It was just nice to be outside.

While Jeff was busy painting the house, I went with Jared on his Tiger hike. I was told it was more walk than hike but you don't get the view above without some hiking. We had a good time.

I had an amazing weekend at yard sales. I found two American Girl dolls, two Bitty Baby dolls and a bunch of clothes for $34! My sister wants the AG dolls for her daughter but I'll sell the Bitty Babies on ebay. I also bought a bunch of great books for 50 cents a piece. The grand finale was the solid wood door I bought to replace our front door. We've been talking about replacing it but new doors cost $300 or more. I got a door that fits perfectly and was in great shape for $5. You should have seem me getting it home in my car - that would have been a picture.

This morning I made it to Curves by 6:30. I came home to get the laundry and dishwasher started. I thought I'd get in a quick blog while drinking my tea. The boys are getting dressed and eating breakfast. We're going to start schoolwork by 8:00 in order to be finished by 11:00. Today we're taking the long awaited trip to McDonald's to celebrate Eric's 5th birthday.

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Pencils

Every year I go to the Staples Teacher Appreciation Day and come home with a bagful of goodies. Fun stuff like erasers, pencils, ball point pens, report covers ... I haven't bought a pen in years. We've never used the #2 pencils because my boys have always used the triangular Hand Hugger pencils.

About a month ago, I noticed that my oldest son was wrapping his thumb around the front of the pencil. I tried to get him to improve his grip on his own but he couldn't do it. I pulled out the old pencil grip out of the drawer and put it on one of the #2 Staples pencils. I then tried to sharpen the pencil. Ugh! The wood is flaky and breaks easily. The lead breaks and falls out of the pencil. We tried pencil after pencil and got the same result. These are shoddy, cheap pencils.

Yesterday I went into an office supply store and bought good old Ticonderogo #2 yellow pencils. Ahhhh! How nice it is to sharpen a pencil and not have it fall apart. I never appreciated the good pencils until we tried to use a bad one. Apparently, pencil quality is very different from brand to brand.

This consumer alert was brought to you by Beth, homeschooling mom of 3.

A turning point

We celebrated a big turning point in our family life this weekend. My husband took all the "plastic" to the dump. All the Little Tykes houses and cars, the Tonka trucks and vehicles, the cute little red wheelbarrow and lawn mower - GONE! He said that people were taking them out of his hands before he could even get them out of the van.

I am grateful to have these things out of my yard and grateful that they found new homes with people who will appreciate them.

A beautiful Sunday

The boys and I made it to church again this week. The 9:00 service is killing me - we live 40 minutes away. The boys had their first RE class of the session and I'm thrilled with their topics. They both have teachers they've had before and all are people I've come to expect. I enjoy watching the boys in church. A year ago, I would never have dreamed that Jared would go looking for people to greet during Greetings. He now shakes the hands of all those around us and then seeks out others to shake hands with. Today he shook hands with both ministers as well as welcoming 2 new children to our church. He also can read the mission statement by himself and read it out loud this morning at the appropriate time. I had gone over it ahead of time with him and the only word he couldn't read was celebrate.


Adam and I went to a Blues Festival in a nearby town yesterday afternoon. As he takes off with his music and as his interest in music increases, we want to expose him to what we think is great music. This was a neat festival. Just in the middle of a field in a farm. The price was reasonable and children under 12 were free. The offerings inside were also reasonable - everything except the food was either $1 or free. I ran into an old friend from college that I haven't seen in probably 14 years. She was there with her husband and 3 children. She suggested that Adam run around with them and Adam had a great time. At the end, a woman approached us and asked if our boys could help out the puppeteers.

These are huge human puppet type things. They are basically large paper mache masks that people wear. It's hard to describe. You can see some of them here. Anyway, Adam and two of Anna's boys put on these huge puppet heads that looked like hooligans. Adam's had a cigarette hanging out of its mouth. The three of them walked around while people laughed and took their pictures. They danced in front of the stage while the music was playing and just generally entertained the crowd. I couldn't believe it! Once he was anonymous in the puppet, he was a different person. I could not believe I didn't have my camera.

The only kink in the day was that the Red Sox got smashed by the Yankees. Again. You'd have to be a Red Sox fan to truly appreciate it. *sigh* If only World Series were won in April or August.

The hurrier I go ...

the behinder I get. Isn't that what dear old Pooh said?

Oh my. Fall activities have started with a vengeance. This week we are almost up to full schedule but added in some extra things to keep us away from the house. Jeff is home this week attempting to get a part of the outide of the house painted. It's so hard for the boys to have him here working. They just want him to play catch or practice soccer or throw the football. I'm sure Jeff would rather do those things too but he's busy.

On Monday we went to High Hopes Orchard. We live near many orchards and this orchard is about 1.5 hours away. The boys love it and always ask to return. Since we were trying to give Jeff some breathing room it seemed like the time to go. We met a group of homeschoolers that we had never met before to get a discounted rate in. They were very nice and we all had a great time. We picked yummy apples and visited adorable animals and went on funny rides. We returned in time for Adam to head out to soccer practice and for me to go to a parent meeting for our Homeschool Resource Center.

Yesterday I had my evaluation at Curves. There were many funny moments but the funniest was after they had taken my measurements and were giving me my goals. Somehow my abdomen (you know that baby belly part of most women who are mothers) needed to INCREASE. I laughed. Clearly the goals they're using do not match my rather boyish body type. Anyway, I start this morning at Curves. I may be the only woman in America who has never been on a diet or an exercise program. I really do need to exercise and I think the only way I'll do it is if I pay for it and feel obligated to get my money's worth.

After Curves we need to finish our bluebird project for the fair. Adam finally finished his birdhouse yesterday (Jared and Eric had made theirs months ago while Adam was at camp). Today we need to finish our poster on the Diet of Easter Mountain Bluebirds and then get the poster and bluebird houses to the fair. Tonight we are going to a friend's birthday party at the beach. The weather is predicted to be beautiful and it's a whole family affair. My boys are excited about the prospect of cooking on the hibachis at the beach.

Tomorrow is the first day of our Homeschool Resource Center. The boys are VERY excited. We'll be there from 10:30 to 2:00, home for piano lessons for Adam, a quick dinner of spaghetti and meatballs, then off to Scouts for a bike rodeo. Eric and I will head out to the fair to help set up our 4-H exhibit. We'll all make it home in time to watch the premier of SURVIVOR.

Friday there is soccer practice for the little boys and Saturday we have games all day. Sunday is church and then the whole thing starts again. I'm just treading water.

There is something so ironic, irreverent even, about stopping at Walmart on the way home from church. And yet, we end up doing so more weeks than not. When you live 40 minutes from church and 30 minutes from the nearest Walmart, it only makes sense to combine the trips.

I was feeling pretty proud that we were making it to church at all today. Our church has one service during the summer at 10:00. I love this time. It gives us just the right amount of time to wake up, cook breakfast and make the drive. The rest of the year, however, our services are at 9:00 and 11:00. I can't stand the thought of the 11:00 service because by the time church is done half the day is over. We've always attended the 9:00 service. This means leaving the house by 8:15. At the latest.

As fall picks up steam and we're busier than ever, it can be difficult to make myself not only get out of bed on a cold morning, but also to shower, dress, eat and get everyone else ready. Church starts to feel like one more commitment or requirement. I love church and always feel so much better when I attend. It's just the getting there that can be difficult.

So now, we're all churched up, we got new socks, a football, and laundry detergent at Walmart and the entire day lies ahead of us. The boys are outside playing football with Jeff, I'm catching up my blog and housework, and I plan to attend a friend's daughter's 18th birthday party later. It's a beautiful day.

Good deeds

Dy has been asking what we can do to help out those around us. She's been compiling a list of volunteer activities and good deeds.

It can be hard to volunteer when you're homeschooling a bunch of little guys and you don't feel like you have a moment to spare. I know the feeling. I've recently had to cut back on my volunteer activities to decrease the stress in my life. There are many easy things to do, however,that benefit your communit.

Not to toot my own horn, but I thought I'd mention one thing we've done recently. My husband asked me to clear the things out of Jared's room to make it easier to remove the wallpaper and paint it. As I cleared all the books off his bookcase, I realized that we just don't read these books anymore. Many were old favorites like The Complete Adventures of Curious George, and There's an Alligator Under My Bed(and many other Mercer Mayer books). Others were gifts like In the Night Kitchen and Arthur's Really Helpful Word Book.

I took boxes and boxes off those bookshelves and the boys went through them one by one. We kept the ones they couldn't live without and today we delivered the rest to our local library. The library will add the books it doesn't already have to its collection, replace worn books with those in better condition and sell the rest at their annual book sale. They were very grateful to receive the books that we no longer need and now we have room on those shelves for new books.

What have you done today?

Happy Birthday, Eric!

Eric crawled into bed with Jeff and I this morning. It was nice to wish him a happy birthday while we were all snuggled in bed. He had forgotten that today was his birthday though he's been counting it down since Jared's birthday. He turned to Jeff in bed and said, "Is today a staying day?" Jeff told him that he had to go to work. "But it's a holiday!" Eric proclaimed. Jeff conceeded that point but said he still had to go to work. Presents were immediately opened on the bed.

I'm busy today making Mud Pie again. We had Cookie Crisp cereal for breakfast. I know it's really gross and unhealthy but Eric asks for it every time we go grocery shopping and I say no every time. It seemed the perfect thing to let him have for his birthday breakfast. Tonight we'll have homemade pizza and mud pie.

Eric is planning to go to McDonald's for lunch with his best buddy but he's away camping right now. We'll make the McDonald's trip next week. We may make a run to Walmart today so Eric can spend some of his birthday money from his Mimi.

Happy 5th Birthday, Eric!

Electronic Free Zone

We've never been the kind of family that limits television, computer or Nintendo time. I can't stand the idea of telling them they can watch x number of hours of television and then trying to police it. Most of the kids I know who live in families like this seem addicted to the television/Nintendo. They know exactly how much time they have and they want to be sure they get their daily fill. When they're at someone else's house they are anxious to see if they can add on to their quota out of their house. The whole thing gives me the creeps.

We are a television watching, computer using, Nintendo playing kind of family. Goodness knows I love my Law & Order and CSI. I hate to miss a Red Sox game from April through October. Living without my computer - I shudder at the thought. The boys love their Nintendo and various television shows. I've always felt they police themselves pretty well. They get bored with the television and turn it off to go play outside. They turn if off for meals (that's one of the television rules we DO have). They know there are shows they're not allowed to watch. My oldest watches lots of History Channel.

Recently, however, the television watching has been getting on my nerves. Last night after dinner, I declared the house an electronic free zone. My younger boys quickly found things to do - one cuddled with us on the bed while the other played with Legos. My oldest son, however, moped and slouched around the house insisting there was nothing to do for two hours. I did volunteer to play a game with him and we had a great time playing Battleship (which I won because he always puts his ships around the perimeter of the board), Quarto!, and Trouble. The whole family played Trouble - the littlest even got out of bed to join us. Luckily, Adam won this game.

Afterward, the little boys went to bed and Adam still moped around. Jeff and I went to our room where I worked on the Christmas stocking I'm knitting for a friend's daughter. Finally, Adam settled down with a book.

I think we need to have more electronic free nights.

New clothes

I've never been one for fashion. In fact, I realized I dress rather frumpy. I"m happy to wear some Old Navy men's jeans, a turtleneck, a hand me down sweatshirt from my husband and some wool socks. My sister says I dress like a memere (I say she and my mother dress like Garanimals). Nonetheless, since I've lost weight I don't have any pants that fit me and it's starting to get cold in New England.

A couple of weeks ago I went shopping with my sister to buy "girl jeans". I had a great time cracking up in the dressing room as I tried on every style of jeans in my size. I don't understand how young girls can wear jeans that have a 2 inch rise in the crotch. Finally, I found some jeans that were "just below the waist" and they fit great. When I tried them on for my husband he said I looked like a girl.

I have a hot date with my handsome husband to see NRBQ tonight at a local bar/restaurant that we used to visit when we were dating. In fact, it's the same place where I met handsome husband. I decided that I needed some girlie tops to go with the girlie jeans and I left my boys with my friend, Jenn, yesterday so I could get some shopping done. I went back to and tried on tons of shirts and sweaters and finally came up with a pile that fit me and that I felt I could wear in public. I got some layering tees, a cute hoodie, a black henley sweater, a 3/4 sleeve sweater and even a new sweatshirt designed to fit me and not my 6'2" husband.

I can't wait to get dressed for our date tonight. At least I won't be able to say I have nothing to wear.