Pain is the theme for me lately. I guess I'm being called to work through it and rise above, but will you allow me first to vent? (If not, stop reading, because I'm going to anyway.)
The holiday weekend began great, but on Saturday a van almost sideswiped us. As I saw the van about to hit us, I turned and tensed my body on instinct. Thankfully the cell phone distracted driver swerved back over before impact, sparing our car, but the damage to my body was done. I messed up my back and shoulder tensing up like that. I have chest pains every time I have to take a breath which basically is every few seconds if I want to live.
A headache followed and stayed for the duration of the weekend. I still have brain cloud this morning, although the pain has dulled a great deal. At one point, I was thinking - virus - because my joints all started to ache as well. My energy level was almost non-existent too.
Monday I used an Italian pottery dish to re-heat beans in the microwave. Apparently, Italian pottery is not microwavable. I grabbed the dish with my hand, instantly burning my thumb. Interestingly, the beans were still ice cold, while the dish was lava hot. I cannot imagine the suffering a burn victim must feel. I was in agony over my thumb.
Let's move on now to emotional pain. Yumi is very sick. I think its life threatening sick. I noticed over the weekend she had stopped eating. I was able to get her to drink a few sips of water, only to watch her throw up foam afterward. I anxiously waited to call the vet after the holiday weekend, and now it seems I can't get her in until Wednesday morning. Apparently there are a lot of sick fur babies in this town.
I have to stop beating myself up over this. I did not make her sick. I am not a vet. I can offer her the best care I can until her appointment. I smeared Nutri-cal on her fur hoping she'll lick it off. Its a high calorie gel that can sustain a cat nutritionally on a teaspoon or two a day. I've also tried to get her to lick up some fish oil. If cats lose weight too quickly, it damages their livers.
Right now she is still going about her usually activities, (except for eating and drinking), but I can tell she is dehydrating quickly. I hope she can make it the next 24 hours. I'll feel better if the vet can get some fluids into her tomorrow morning, although there has to be something seriously wrong with her.
I'm going to take it moment by moment today and try my best to find a place of peace rather than worry.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Confessions Of An Unschooling Mother
I'm not a saint. I'm not the mother of the year. I'm not that organized or insightful. Truth be told, its not that difficult.
I simply love them unconditionally and respect them. I use my best judgment to keep them out of harms way, but I've learned to let go and focus on what really matters, my relationship with them.
Everyday I tell them I love them and always show affection. Instead of kisses I get fist bumps and maybe an occasional "man hug", but I accept they are young men, not my little boys anymore.
I respect and trust them enough to not stand in their way. They've had to be patient with me as I've had to deschool myself and evolve from the type of parenting I was raised with.
When doubts began to sneak in, I learned that meant I wasn't spending enough time in their world. Directing my focus on them and not the outside world's expectations helped quickly eliminate any doubt our unschooling lifestyle was working beautifully.
I also learned there was an autodidact within myself that was just as anxious to learn about the world as they were. When your lifestyle follows your own passions, you can't help but model that for your children. Little did they know I learned how to do this from their example.
My children don't fight. They have disagreements, but they discuss them. I remember spraying my brother with Windex in anger along with throwing a set of keys at him nearly taking out his eye. My boys are better people than I was at their age.
My children will help out around the house, often without being asked to do so. I have never seen any teen rebellion in my boys. I think this is because we give them so much freedom along with respect.
I don't schedule their life. They can choose for themselves how their day plays out. Most times when we invite them to share an experience with us as a family, they op in.
Before you think my boys are Stepford children, I can prove otherwise by showing you the dust bunny colonies in their room.
We've just learned how to focus on the important things in life, loving and respecting each other. Once this was in place, the rest came so easy.
I simply love them unconditionally and respect them. I use my best judgment to keep them out of harms way, but I've learned to let go and focus on what really matters, my relationship with them.
Everyday I tell them I love them and always show affection. Instead of kisses I get fist bumps and maybe an occasional "man hug", but I accept they are young men, not my little boys anymore.
I respect and trust them enough to not stand in their way. They've had to be patient with me as I've had to deschool myself and evolve from the type of parenting I was raised with.
When doubts began to sneak in, I learned that meant I wasn't spending enough time in their world. Directing my focus on them and not the outside world's expectations helped quickly eliminate any doubt our unschooling lifestyle was working beautifully.
I also learned there was an autodidact within myself that was just as anxious to learn about the world as they were. When your lifestyle follows your own passions, you can't help but model that for your children. Little did they know I learned how to do this from their example.
My children don't fight. They have disagreements, but they discuss them. I remember spraying my brother with Windex in anger along with throwing a set of keys at him nearly taking out his eye. My boys are better people than I was at their age.
My children will help out around the house, often without being asked to do so. I have never seen any teen rebellion in my boys. I think this is because we give them so much freedom along with respect.
I don't schedule their life. They can choose for themselves how their day plays out. Most times when we invite them to share an experience with us as a family, they op in.
Before you think my boys are Stepford children, I can prove otherwise by showing you the dust bunny colonies in their room.
We've just learned how to focus on the important things in life, loving and respecting each other. Once this was in place, the rest came so easy.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Fortune Cookies
Description:
We decided to make home made fortune cookies for our posse. The hardest part was coming up with fortunes! Its a must to do this well ahead of time because when baking and folding fortune cookies, you don't have much time.
Think up your fortunes, print them out, cut and fold into tiny strips. I must say my boys were much more creative than me.
Ingredients:
3 egg whites
3/4 C white sugar
1/2 C butter, melted and cooled
1 t vanilla
1 C flour
2-4 T water
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350
Grease your baking sheet with butter or use non-stick spray
Beat the egg whites and sugar together until frothy.
Add the vanilla and butter.
Add in the flour and start with 2 T of water. The batter consistency you are looking for should be pancake or crepe like. Add more water if needed.
Spoon the batter onto your baking sheet and spread into 3 inch circles. Start with only 2 at first until you get the hang of it.
Bake until the edges are just golden, about 5-7 minutes.
Remove from baking sheet with a spatula and place the fortune in the middle. Fold the cookie quickly in half and then use the edge of a cup to bend into the typical fortune cookie shape.
Cool the cookies in a muffin tin so they retain their shape. Once completely cooled, they will set.
Be ready to act quickly. The cookies are only pliable when they are hot.
My son said they taste more like a "Christmas" cookie, and I suppose that's because this recipe uses butter. I'm sure fortune cookies from Chinese restaurants are made using oils.
When I make these again, I'm going to try and use our pancake batter holder and see if I can achieve much better circles that way.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Today Its The Little Things
The rain is so wonderful. Yes, its cold and dark, but it brings out the comforts of my nest.
His kiss waking me from my nightmare...
The smell of a freshly shampooed head...
Slippers, blankets, kitty heaters and cocoa....
Movies, music and written words....
The company of my free living lads...
Today's an awesome day to unschool.
His kiss waking me from my nightmare...
The smell of a freshly shampooed head...
Slippers, blankets, kitty heaters and cocoa....
Movies, music and written words....
The company of my free living lads...
Today's an awesome day to unschool.
Blind Melon at the Metro!!
| Start: | Sep 4, '11 |
| Location: | The Metro - Chicago |
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Sandusky Road Trip May 2011
We're home now and I'm decompressing, with candles and a frozen pizza. Let's see if I can journal all of this out before I forget the details. We left last Saturday for the Unschoolers Waterpark Gathering at the Kalahari in Sandusky. We had to cut our trip short since DH is really busy at work, but we still had a great time.
On the way we stopped in South Bend for lunch at Chick-Fil-A. For any Southern friends reading this, you must know our family loves Chick-Fil-A but the closest one to us is over an hour away. It was more than worth it getting off the highway to find the mall and find Chick-Fil-A.
It was a very nice mall, technically in Mishawaka. We saw Paul Blart, I'm not kidding! There was a security guard riding a Segway flirting with a woman at a kiosk. We saw him later stop at the mall's candy shop and load up. If you've seen the movie, I'm sure you'll understand why we were laughing inside. I really regretted not bringing in the video camera.
When we got to Sandusky, we were eager to see the lakefront and compare Lake Erie to our beloved Lake Michigan. It was a cold, rainy day, (which accurately describes the weather our entire visit,) and to our surprise, the lake was brown. I found out this was due to a certain type of algae, although I suspect it also has something to do with pollution. The area is known for coal shipping.
Downtown Sandusky/Cedar Point was also a disappointment. We were expecting a lakefront like Kenosha. It looked like they were trying to re-vitalize the downtown, but hadn't done much with the lake front. It seemed like Sandusky was full of tattoo parlors and tanning places. Of course it also seemed most of the population was young adults working at Cedar Point.
We skipped Cedar Point because the weather was terrible and we had to shorten our trip. Maybe we'll be able to fit this in next time.
The Kalahari was great, but honestly, we prefer the Kalahari in the Wisconsin Dells. They did have a few rides that were different, but the lazy river and wave pool were smaller. Plus they only had 2 spas. They were indoor/outdoor spas and that was neat. I spent a great deal of time allowing the warm water to keep my body warm while I allowed the cold rain to hit my face.
I lost count of how many times the boys went on the rides. We did spend most of our time in the waterpark, rather than at the conference, (insert guilt here). I did go on two rides, Victoria Falls and Swahili Swirl. The Victoria Falls raft ride left my stomach a little queasy having to go through a dark tunnel, not knowing which way the raft would turn. The Swahili Swirl was more fun for me, since it didn't completely go in the dark. After a quick drop, you enter a giant bowl and spin around until you go down the chute - yes - it was like being flushed! :) LOL
We ate out a lot, but we also did a lot of swimming. How can you not eat out on vacation and swimming makes you very hungry. One of our favorite places was Tofts Dairy. Its a 100 year old dairy that processes milk from local, hormone free farms. The business has been in the same family all these years. They have an ice cream parlor to beat all others, 50 flavors! We ordered smalls but you wouldn't know it from the photo. I had chocolate almond, DS12 vanilla, DS15 Philadelphia Freedom(mint), DH Holy Toledo (caramel with caramel sauce and caramel bits). If we ever have the chance to be in Sandusky again, this place is a must stop. It seems very popular with locals and tourists.
At the Unschooling gathering, we did hear Pat Farenga speak on how important it is to let go and trust unschooling. It was a great booster. I hope we can attend this gathering again next year and stay for the full duration. I also hope we can encourage friends to join us. :)
We found a very cool used dvd/cd/video game store called the Exchange. We ended up going back 3 times during our stay because they had so much stuff to look through. I picked up a couple of Aimee Mann CDs, DH found a few he liked too, and the boys hit the jackpot finding 7 plus games, all for a dollar a piece! If we had this store here in Wisconsin, we'd be in trouble!
Unfortunately, we didn't find any good used book stores. :(
I did hit up CJ Banks at the mall since I had a coupon. Turned out it was good for 50% off my entire purchase so I picked up a few pieces for summer weather.
I knew I was homesick for Yumi when we saw a black and white kitty behind a Wendy's. I wanted to "rescue" her and name her Wendy of course, but in reality, there was no way to transport this sweetie back home. Plus my puma would not play nice with her I'm sure!
We managed to make it home, just slipping by the expected rush hour traffic of Chicagoland. Driving through Illinois was the worst of it, 7 tolls! Indiana and Ohio each only had 2, when you get on and when you get off. Later we'll log online to our I-Pass and really see which state cost us the most to drive through.
We knew gas would be most expensive in Illinois. It was $4.48! We gassed up in Wisconsin before we left at $3.89, skipping Illinois. Topped off in Indiana at $3.95 to get us to Sandusky, where gas was the cheapest over all $3.78.
I suppose I'll be playing catch up with laundry but it's worth it. We had a wonderful 5 full days of family time!
Sandusky May 2011
Best ice cream place on earth, hands down! These are SMALLS, I'm not kidding! 50 flavors all made from hormone free milk at a 100 year old dairy.
Our road trip to the Kalahari Sandusky for the Unschoolers Waterpark Gathering
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Random Thoughts
Note to husband - hiding the caramel chocolitas next to my fruit smoothie supplies was not the best choice.
Hiking in 90 degree heat in your sandals for the first time after a long cold winter, not a good choice either. Ouch! Blister! I guess I need to get my feet summer ready.
I think its pretty cool the humming birds have found the feeder but the wasps have not. Its only moved a few feet, but apparently the wasps have poor eyesight or strong chemical sensors to last year's spot.
We're converting 8mm tape to the computer and after watching footage from years ago, I'm more motivated than ever to purge. When the boys were younger, we had so much room to move around. Its amazing how much stuff you accumulate in life. We were perfectly happy playing around on the ground with our pillows and blankets. Furniture could be over rated. I'm going to re-think this.
I'm finding it actually sad viewing these tapes and wondering where these little boys went. I have young men with deep voices now. I want to reach through the camera and squeeze their cute little heads.
I just heard thunder!!! Awesome!! Please rain!! The garden is planted, and the seeds are thirsty.
I hope I can still find tomato and pepper plants after we return from our trip this weekend. I don't want to plant them now and have to worry about someone being around to water them.
Yeah! Its raining!
I think I'll go brew some wine coolers, I mean youthberry orange blossom tea. It might be a nice treat to bring some to work with me to sip.
One more thought - Osama Bin Robin, feel free to start targeting the obnoxious camper my neighbor down the street has decided to park in front of our house instead of his.
Hiking in 90 degree heat in your sandals for the first time after a long cold winter, not a good choice either. Ouch! Blister! I guess I need to get my feet summer ready.
I think its pretty cool the humming birds have found the feeder but the wasps have not. Its only moved a few feet, but apparently the wasps have poor eyesight or strong chemical sensors to last year's spot.
We're converting 8mm tape to the computer and after watching footage from years ago, I'm more motivated than ever to purge. When the boys were younger, we had so much room to move around. Its amazing how much stuff you accumulate in life. We were perfectly happy playing around on the ground with our pillows and blankets. Furniture could be over rated. I'm going to re-think this.
I'm finding it actually sad viewing these tapes and wondering where these little boys went. I have young men with deep voices now. I want to reach through the camera and squeeze their cute little heads.
I just heard thunder!!! Awesome!! Please rain!! The garden is planted, and the seeds are thirsty.
I hope I can still find tomato and pepper plants after we return from our trip this weekend. I don't want to plant them now and have to worry about someone being around to water them.
Yeah! Its raining!
I think I'll go brew some wine coolers, I mean youthberry orange blossom tea. It might be a nice treat to bring some to work with me to sip.
One more thought - Osama Bin Robin, feel free to start targeting the obnoxious camper my neighbor down the street has decided to park in front of our house instead of his.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Monday, May 09, 2011
Weekend Update 5/9/11
Friday - Headed up to Oshkosh for the WPA conference. Hosted Apples To Apples gathering and was surprised at our huge turn out. Many more teens than I had expected, yet I suspect a couple of local college kids wandered in to join us.
I really don't like that WPA basically has the conference in a UW Oshkosh dorm. They may call it a "conference center", but its a dorm. I resent how the "conference director" also tries to turn our conference into a promotion/recruitment weekend for UW Oshkosh. The campus is depressing with liquor stores literally across the parking lot from the dorms. Not exactly family friendly.
Our night at the hotel was brief because we're busy at the conference, but to me it felt long since I didn't sleep. I'm fighting off the scratchy throat & dry cough the rest of my family has already dealt with.
On pure adrenaline, I presented our two other workshops and then we attended the commencement gathering. Lunch followed and then we got some much needed fresh air at the zoo and park in Oshkosh.
We came home Saturday night and met G-Ma. Being tired we crashed on the couch for movies and I went to bed and finally slept.
Sunday was a double holiday for me, Mother's Day and my anniversary - 18 years married, 25 years together. It ended up being one of those days I wish I could record and do over and over.
Woke up and Pride & Prejudice was on. Is there a better way to wake up on your anniversary? After lingering in the love nest, I had a spinach banana strawberry smoothie - YUM! After being spoiled with gifts including gourmet blended tea from Teavana and chocolate, we headed out to lunch at Outback. After lunch we hiked at Magnolia Bluff and saw many early spring, forest wild flowers. Once back home, I spent the rest of the afternoon in the garden getting more veggies planted. After a fend for yourself supper or snack break, the boys watched Repo Man and I made caramel chocolitas. It was a perfect Mother's Day/Anniversary Sunday.
On the agenda this week, get the video loaded to the computer, finish planting the garden and finish all errands before next weekend when we head to Ohio. I'm hoping the Unschoolers Waterpark Gathering is more welcoming and inspiring than the WPA homeschooling conference was.
One more thing, Mr. Crazy Robin has an official name courtesy of GMa - "Osama Bin Robin." He also now has an accomplice. Hopefully I'll figure out how to share video soon.
I really don't like that WPA basically has the conference in a UW Oshkosh dorm. They may call it a "conference center", but its a dorm. I resent how the "conference director" also tries to turn our conference into a promotion/recruitment weekend for UW Oshkosh. The campus is depressing with liquor stores literally across the parking lot from the dorms. Not exactly family friendly.
Our night at the hotel was brief because we're busy at the conference, but to me it felt long since I didn't sleep. I'm fighting off the scratchy throat & dry cough the rest of my family has already dealt with.
On pure adrenaline, I presented our two other workshops and then we attended the commencement gathering. Lunch followed and then we got some much needed fresh air at the zoo and park in Oshkosh.
We came home Saturday night and met G-Ma. Being tired we crashed on the couch for movies and I went to bed and finally slept.
Sunday was a double holiday for me, Mother's Day and my anniversary - 18 years married, 25 years together. It ended up being one of those days I wish I could record and do over and over.
Woke up and Pride & Prejudice was on. Is there a better way to wake up on your anniversary? After lingering in the love nest, I had a spinach banana strawberry smoothie - YUM! After being spoiled with gifts including gourmet blended tea from Teavana and chocolate, we headed out to lunch at Outback. After lunch we hiked at Magnolia Bluff and saw many early spring, forest wild flowers. Once back home, I spent the rest of the afternoon in the garden getting more veggies planted. After a fend for yourself supper or snack break, the boys watched Repo Man and I made caramel chocolitas. It was a perfect Mother's Day/Anniversary Sunday.
On the agenda this week, get the video loaded to the computer, finish planting the garden and finish all errands before next weekend when we head to Ohio. I'm hoping the Unschoolers Waterpark Gathering is more welcoming and inspiring than the WPA homeschooling conference was.
One more thing, Mr. Crazy Robin has an official name courtesy of GMa - "Osama Bin Robin." He also now has an accomplice. Hopefully I'll figure out how to share video soon.
There are NOT caramel chocolitas in the kitchen. There are NOT caramel chocolitas in the kitchen. There are NOT caramel chocolitas in the kitchen. There are NOT caramel chocolitas in the kitchen.......I wish I had a sponsor to call who could come over, wrap up the caramel chocolitas and bury them back in the deep recesses of my freezer. For some reason, treats left on the counter are picked at, but treats sent to the forgotten twilight zone of my freezer bring me balance. You may say having the sponsor remove the treats from my home entirely would be better, but actually that only makes me want to make more. Knowing they are in the freezer actually keeps me from baking more, yet I don't eat them. I need to know they are available so I don't have that fear of lacking, yet I still need them out of sight out of mind. Will I ever figure this out?!
Thursday, May 05, 2011
Birdwatching and Babbling This Morning
I'm up early with my birds. Fluffy is my favorite house finch. He always seems to be wearing a blow out. His back wing feathers appear to be damaged but he's able to fly around and visits the seed feeder regularly.
Our first hummingbird of the season was checking out the nectar feeder. We have moved it slightly, and we may have to move it further. I'm just so excited they are back in the area after their migration. Its amazing to me how far these birds travel.
Our neurotic robin has won the war. We're now parking in the street. Yesterday I had pulled into the driveway to unload groceries and as soon as I came back out for the second load of bags he was sitting on the window, pecking and pooping away. I grabbed the hose for a quick rinse off. When I went to put the hose away, he was back that quickly. My son captured some video of him. I will have to see if we can upload it for you to see.
Speaking of cameras, mine is officially broke. For the time being, I will see if I can learn how to use our video camera to take still shots. I'm not in a hurry to buy a new camera. Maybe because deep down, I'm thinking smart phone?
I've been busy getting ready for our state's homeschool conference coming this weekend in Oshkosh, WI. My family is hosting several workshops once again. Every year I tell myself not this year, but then when they ask me, I can't say no.
We'll have back to back getaway weekends. The following weekend we head to Sandusky,OH for another homeschooling conference. I'm really trying not to think about the price of gas right now. These events were planned months ago and I do really want to get away. Plus we have to make memories with the boys while they're still living with us. We only have a few years left and they'll be out of the nest.
My tea kettle sounds ready so I suppose I should pop in my toast. Have a great day!
Our first hummingbird of the season was checking out the nectar feeder. We have moved it slightly, and we may have to move it further. I'm just so excited they are back in the area after their migration. Its amazing to me how far these birds travel.
Our neurotic robin has won the war. We're now parking in the street. Yesterday I had pulled into the driveway to unload groceries and as soon as I came back out for the second load of bags he was sitting on the window, pecking and pooping away. I grabbed the hose for a quick rinse off. When I went to put the hose away, he was back that quickly. My son captured some video of him. I will have to see if we can upload it for you to see.
Speaking of cameras, mine is officially broke. For the time being, I will see if I can learn how to use our video camera to take still shots. I'm not in a hurry to buy a new camera. Maybe because deep down, I'm thinking smart phone?
I've been busy getting ready for our state's homeschool conference coming this weekend in Oshkosh, WI. My family is hosting several workshops once again. Every year I tell myself not this year, but then when they ask me, I can't say no.
We'll have back to back getaway weekends. The following weekend we head to Sandusky,OH for another homeschooling conference. I'm really trying not to think about the price of gas right now. These events were planned months ago and I do really want to get away. Plus we have to make memories with the boys while they're still living with us. We only have a few years left and they'll be out of the nest.
My tea kettle sounds ready so I suppose I should pop in my toast. Have a great day!
1st Hummingbird of the 2011 season
| Start: | May 5, '11 07:00a |
| Location: | Sleepyhouse |
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