Home Spun comic strip #510

I have to give an ht to Little Blue School for the Learning Latin with Virgil YouTube videos. Those have really come in handy around here. Muzzy Spanish was also a good investment. I am not really a fan of Dora. Maybe I'm just too impatient with her and her map. Maybe the problem is my children were never into answering the TV people. I do know the pregnant pauses after each question make me think of the boring teacher in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Their favorite method of language learning has been watching loved TV shows in Spanish. I like this method myself. After watching episodes of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends over fifty times, it's actually refreshing to hear them in a different language. Sierra used to purposely borrow the Spanish version of Disney's Cinderella and other loved movies at our library when she was five or six.

Of course, the greatest help is having someone bilingual around. Just so they hear another language being used.

Home Spun comic strip #509

I have to say, I like preparing for a new school year even now that I'm unschooling. I tend to grab books and movies that interest me and leave them in view. Marina shares my history interests the most. I have noticed that Sierra is also developing the love of history. She tends to hit the children's series section of the library first, but then she heads to the biography section. She loves the Mike Venezia biographies. Chase likes anything with pirates and has also been learning a lot from his latest computer game, Age of Empires III and the extension packs for it. I don't know much about the game itself (hey, it's not my interest) but I do hear some movie segments that discuss historic events. According to Marina, the game has tasks, such as helping Crazy Horse win the Battle of Little Big Horn. Yep. OK. I just nod and smile.

As You Wish: Year 19

The summer I was 19, I was preparing for my second year in college. I had a lot of acquaintances, most of them guys, and I had a few close friends who were also guys. I could count on one hand how many dates I had been on. I wouldn't even need the whole hand. I was pretty sure I would never meet "the one." Guys just didn't seem interested in me in that way.

If, at that time, you had told me I was two short months away from meeting my soulmate, I would have rolled my eyes and said, "sure." And yet here we are, 22 years later, celebrating 19 years of married life. It still feels like this is only the beginning.

Those of you who are interested can read my "How we met" story here:
An Incredible Story of Faith, Rebellion and Falling in Love: Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Honey, you are the Happily in my Ever After. As you wish.

Home Spun comic strip #508

Tomorrow marks our 19th wedding anniversary. This is my own little tribute to the day. It's amazing how so many years can pass and yet it feels like we've hardly spent any time together! I am so thankful for my husband. I don't think I could have done all the things I've done without his support.

And for those of you who are new here, yes, we did juggle at our wedding. A picture slideshow can be found at last year's anniversary post.

Home Spun comic strip #507

Soufflé, You Say?

I have to say, when I was 8 years old, I didn't know what a soufflé was. I've never owned a ramekin and wouldn't have been able to point one out in a line-up of bakeware. But Sierra had taken this book out of the library and the recipe she wanted to try first was a soufflé. When you say you are unschooling and your daughter decides she wants to try to make a soufflé, you help her make a soufflé. Here is the play by play. (Note: Please ignore the mess. It was the first cool day we've had in a while and so I chose the optimum baking time over a neat kitchen.)

You might notice the souffles slowly sinking from this point on. I think she over-mixed when she folded in the egg whites. This is why I've never tried a soufflé. Too temperamental. I'm not patient with sensitive food.

Slightly concave, but very tasty. An excellent job for her first time!

Home Spun comic strip #506

Of my three children, Sierra was the only one who put everything in her mouth. I kept the house much neater before she became a major contributor to the mess, but she could always find the one little bead that rolled to the corner of the room. In her mouth it would go. It wasn't long after she started learning to use markers that we realized she would suck on them (luckily, we were already in the habit of locking up permanent markers). For some reason, it was usually the green marker. Thinking back, she reminds me of a character in the book Saffy's Angel by Hilary McKay. The youngest child in the story, Permanent Rose, has a habit of tasting her paints as she uses them. Just like my little artist!

How To Enjoy Summer (If You're a 14 year old Pirate)

1. Take a roll of black duct tape, some cardboard and foam.

2. Make an anchor out of the cardboard and foam. Cover with duct tape.

3. Spend several days (and sleepless nights) making links to form a chain.

4. Complete the ensemble with a duct tape belt.

5. Put on your official pirate captain's hat, take anchor into the yard and start swinging. (Caution: Stay clear of mom's plants and pots. And any windows.)

Home Spun comic strip #505

I used to think it was because I was a professional face painter that my children had a habit of drawing on themselves. Let me tell you something about washable markers: They're not. If I didn't wash the ink off immediately, they had that scribbled on look for a week. You may wonder then, why I didn't hide the markers. It's simple. I knew the marker would eventually come off the skin, and crayon was much harder to remove from walls and furniture.

Beautiful and Versatile Blogger Awards!

I recently received two blogger awards from blogger friends! Since the requirements were similar, I will combine them in one post.

The first award comes from Subadra at Library of Books, Links & More. She gave me the Beautiful Blogger Award. Thank you Subadra! I hope you know I love your blog too and have already bought at least five books because of your interesting suggestions!

The rules for the Beautiful Blogger Award:
1. Add a link and note of thanks to the person giving the award. (See Above)
2. Pass the award on to the bloggers whose blogs you love. (15 tops)
3. Share 7 things about yourself. (These last two I will combine with the second award)


The second award comes from ~*~The Family~*~ at Once Upon a Family. The family gave me The Versatile Blogger Award. Thank you so much for this!

The rules for The Versatile Blogger Award:
1. Tell seven things about yourself
2. Now pass the torch onto other wonderful versatile bloggers. Grab the award and tell us seven things about yourself. (See what I mean? Similar rules. Two interesting awards to add to your blog!)




First, I will name the blogs I'm passing this to. Since I'm not very good at deciding, I offer you your choice of awards. Or enjoy both! Any blog I read regularly is likely deserving of both. I will start out with my award givers:

Library of Books, Links & More: I think this blog should take the Versatile Blogger award since anyone who can put together the amount of links this site holds--and all while preparing for a year long sabbatical in India--must be incredibly versatile!

Once Upon a Family: I have learned so much about the care and keeping of goats from this blog, 4H happenings, and Once Upon a Family also has lots of recipes and neat crafts to do! Her insights into all she does makes her truly deserving of the Beautiful Blogger Award!

Inner Elder: This is my mother's blog. She writes about growing up in New York so that her grandchildren will have a family history to look upon and also shares her poetry and personal experiences and insights. Mom, I know you probably won't figure out how to put this on your blog, but know that I am proud to have you as my mom!

Pictureka: When my youngest child insisted she wanted a blog, I thought it would be as kept up as my son's. But Sierra has surprised me with her persistence, her photographs, and her spelling! Keep up the good work, sweetie!

~Shady Bayou Academy~: There is always something interesting happening at the house of Mama Teaching 2, soon to be Mama Teaching 3! Their experiments are illustrated with wonderful photos that capture the excitement of her young scientists as they make their discoveries!

Is There a Bathroom on this Ship?: I am so impressed with flmom's latest blog. It is full of giveaways and her adventures in adopting a more healthy lifestyle and vegetarian diet.

Boarding in Bedlam: One of the two homeschooling dads in my Reader, his blog is full of his life adventures, some of which have reduced my giggly oldest child to a puddle of mirth.

Home School Dad: The other homeschooling dad I read regularly. His posts range from the introspective, to reviews, to the funny. (You will notice the pattern that I tend to be drawn to blogs with a good sense of humor!)

Jenny of Elefantz: One of my oldest blogger friends, she has an incredible blog full of her quilting creativity as well as quilting tutorials and challenges for her readers.

So there you have it. If I've missed anyone, know that it is unintentional and simply the result of me being so busy I was trying to fit this in between cartooning and car taxi-ing.
*Update* See? I knew I would forget someone:
Laughing Stars: I know a lot of fast readers, but Stephanie not only reads fast, she reviews fast! This is another blog that is hugely responsible for my ever growing "To Be Read" pile. She also posts about her homeschooling life and gives excerpts of her daughter's film critiques, which are thoughtful and interesting.
Malia Li'i Kula: Whose latest entry features a cool egg drop experiment.
And last but probably not really last,
Kez's Blog: Who shares many neat homeschooling adventures and links. Her Week of Learning entries always give me ideas for my own children.

So, seven things about me:

1. My perfect weather is when I can comfortably wear a jacket. I have a favorite duster-length purple jeans jacket for my perfect weather.

2. I would rather cook dinner at home than eat in a restaurant. I like to know what's in my food. I'm a control freak that way.

3. I would rather email than talk on the phone. I can count on one hand the people I can easily converse with on the phone. Writing is definitely my medium.

4. I'm less afraid of getting lost in a big city than I am of running into an acquaintance. This is because I usually can't remember the acquaintance's name when they are out of the place I know them.

5. I tend to be passionate in my ideas, but I lose the power of speech when I try to voice my opinions. It's very hard to engage in a discussion when others jump in while you are trying to organize your thoughts into a coherent sentence.

6. I try to gain insight from everything I read or watch. That includes picture books, newspapers and Saturday morning cartoons. You would be amazed how much learning I can draw out of an episode of Ben 10 or Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.

7. I think I have the most amazing family and friends. They keep me thinking and questioning and make life incredibly interesting for me. And they provide some much needed laughter when I need it most.

So enough about me. Let's talk about you. What do you think of me?

Home Spun comic strip #504

Home Spun comic strip #503

For many years we participated in backyard productions at a fellow homeschooler's house. The kids did everything from adapting or creating scripts to acting. In the early years, one of the parents handled directing, but as the kids grew older our main purpose was to make sure they all got together. It was fun, but I have to admit to enjoying the years we decided not to do the play. Sometimes you need time to relax and have nothing to do. This is especially true after a school year full of activity and milestones.

Carnival at Why Homeschool

The 237th Carnival of Homeschooling: The Punctuation Edition is up at Why Homeschool!

Home Spun comic strip #502

Space: The Final Frontier

Last year I took advantage of having my kids out of the house for a few days to do some serious cleaning in and around Sierra's bed. I recently had that opportunity again, since Sierra is gone for several days visiting with her Aunt Linda.

While there is still a significant amount of debris around her bed, it isn't anywhere near as bad as last time. True, it looked like a tissue box exploded and took out several small battalions of trinkets and tiny toys, but it didn't take nearly as much time to blaze a trail through the mess around her bed. Today I may even tackle the bed itself, but I want to finish my comics for next week, so it will have to wait.

This time around, I have Marina to help get things in order. She was away last time. Marina shares a room with Sierra. Imagine if Felix and Oscar shared one room rather than a whole apartment and you will get an idea of how crazed Marina can get at the...relaxed nature of her little sister. (My chief editor says this is a bad comparison, so I will give full disclosure: Marina is no Felix, she is just neater than her brother and sister.) My own opinion is that the room is simply too small for two girls and their stuff. I've done what I can, but it is simply a small room in a small house.

There was a time when we considered adding on to our small house, but I don't believe that's an answer anymore. As George Carlin would say, "A house is just a place for your stuff." I believe it is far better to teach my kids how to let go of things they don't need anymore than to teach them that they just need more storage room. So even as I make my way through my own piles of stuff, I will try to help sort through the clutter in the girls' room to make their space a little spacier.

Home Spun reprints #74-6: Field Trips with Gramma

Home Spun reprints #373-4: Gardening

A Couple of Things....

I haven't done a profile update in a while. We were recently playing in the yard, so I had my husband take this photo for me:

Honestly, these kids are getting heavy. I may not have many more years left in me to do this. We estimated that their combined weights put them over 300 lbs. On my back. Ooch.

I also forgot to mention an essay I wrote was posted on the This I Believe site. I submitted the essay in October and it was posted the end of April, which was my crazy busy time, so I completely forgot about it until now.My essay is titled Finding the Lightness of Being. If you've never done it, I recommend this site as a way to really think about and share the core values that carry us through our days and to learn about the beliefs of others.

And just so you all know, Blogger is having some sort of issue, so I have been getting your comments, but I haven't been able to post them. Hopefully, it will be cleared up soon!

UPDATE: It appears the issue has been fixed and no comments have been lost. Huzzah!

Carnival at Roscommon Acres

The latest Carnival of Homeschooling: Independence Day edition is up at Roscommon Acres! Be sure to stop by and check out the latest articles!

Home Spun reprints #242-244: Fireworks

Kid-erpillars

This time of year, a lot of plants in my yard start looking a bit bedraggled. I noticed my pussy-willow in particular looks like it has leaves made of lace. What's eating my plants? Most likely, the caterpillars.

I'm one of those people who purposely grows plants for those hungry caterpillars. When I found we had a Spicebush Swallowtail, I jumped at the chance to purchase a spicebush from the annual native plant sale. The spicebush is the favorite host plant for this butterfly's eggs and caterpillars. I like making my yard hospitable to my favorite creatures.

I love having butterflies and moths in my yard, so that means putting up with some of the damage caused by allowing their children--caterpillars--in my garden. Kids can be a handful. They put everything in their mouth. They break things. They don't always appreciate the hard work we put into making our space beautiful. They can get out of control like the gypsy moth caterpillar, when they are left where they don't belong. Like any child, you need to keep an eye on them.

Then after all the craziness of their youth, they slip into their cocoons and sleep like a teenager.

I know many gardeners that take great pains to keep caterpillars out of their garden beds. They seek perfection by making their yard look untouched. My own yard has a shabbier, wilder appearance. My lawn is full of clover and my garden is full of "weedier" flowers and brambles. But it's also full of butterflies. I like that.

And so another Life Lesson from Watching Animals...

Children can get into everything, but with proper guidance they can grow into beautiful adults.

Author's Note: Pictures are not actually related, they were grouped to illustrate the point. No caterpillars or butterflies were harmed in the making of this post. The damage on the willow is not the fault of the photographer.

Home Spun comic strip #501

Thank you for all of the lovely comments on my 500th comic! I appreciate every one!

We have been enjoying warm days and backyard adventures lately. As I inked this, Sierra was outside with her brand new butterfly net. She came inside once with a red admiral butterfly and a second time with a damselfly. How do I know? Because she wanted to identify them before she released them. She also caught a toad and quickly learned that toads relieve themselves in nets. The lessons never end!

Enjoy your July 4th weekend everyone!