"I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn." -Albert Einstein

Life Feels Crazy

Two weeks ago, my baby tomato plants froze to death. Now its in the 90's. I must live in Wisconsin.

I'm having messed up dreams. Last night I pulled a blue parasitic worm from my palm and DH thought he was herding cats, but it was a skunk instead. Please let this not be an omen about DH's interview! (Unless its a good omen. :) )

Apparently, I'm not cool anymore, and I'm not referring to this heat. I'll get through these teen years right? I should just give him some space and trust.

Walking is going well. I'm still hoping to motivate my family to join me. I must be patient.

It feels like I've been busy, but what do I have to show for it? I have nothing to present.

I need to so some personal planning. I think this is why I feel lost.

Am I enabling or am I being supportive?

Finding myself longing for things I shouldn't reach for just yet. Is it wishful thinking or unwise dreaming?

I must continue to have hope and remember, if I do what I can, the Lord will take care of the rest.

Food Diary Saturday 5/21/10

Breakfast- the usual- cereal and almond milk, not pictured OJ w/calcium

Snack #1- apple slices

Snack #2- brownie

Supper- re-fried beans, homemade salsa-tomatoes, green pepper, avocado, onion, garlic, jalapeno, a little bit of cheese, tortillas

Snack#3- Dandy Blend Frapp- dandy blend, almond milk, ice, chocolate syrup

Snack #4- not pictured- a bowl of light ice cream

Snack #5- not pictured- cherry fruit snacks

Reflection- I made a few healthy choices, but still hit those sugar speed bumps, ending in a sugar crash and burn by the end of the night. If I could do this day over again, I would have tried to eat 3 healthy meals, not only 2. I also need to get in the habit of bringing home more fresh fruit and veg from the grocery store.

I am finding it to be a challenge to eat healthy with my family. We are rarely hungry at the same time and we don't all want to eat the same things.

Friday Five- Holding a Grudge

I really am a forgiving, patient person, but if I examine myself closer, I can come up with a few grudges. 

1. There is a family we have been generous with who only ended up taking advantage of us. Not that we expected our acts of generosity to be reciprocated, or even appreciated, but when all they would return to us was disrespect, we knew it was time to distance ourselves.

2. I will not shop at Woodman's. I don't care if it is employee owned. I was waiting in line to pick up my developed film. In the check out area was a basket full of Tootsie Pops. Having two little boys in tow, of course they wanted a Tootsie Pop. I picked up the candy and waited my turn in line. When it was my turn to pay, MR. RUDE, refused to ring up the candy saying this was the photo line only. He required me to pay for the photos and then get in a different line, in another area of the store, to pay for the tootsie pops. WHY THEN HAVE THE CANDY IN THE PHOTO AREA IF YOU CAN'T PAY FOR IT THERE!!! I have never shopped at Woodmans since and never will.

3. An extended family member once treated my son very poorly. Its very difficult to forgive those who have wronged your children.

4. I was nine months pregnant, working in corporate hell. We had an employee of the week reward allowing you to park close to the door to the building. I had won the previous week's reward, and the next woman to win was a bus rider and didn't need a parking space. She offered to allow me to park there another week, seeing I was overdue and having a difficult time waddling into work. One day after her kindness, security stopped me and made me move my car. It did not matter even after the woman tried to explain to security she wanted me to be able to use the spot in place of her. The parking spot sat empty the rest of the week. I left work after my son was born and never went back.

5. Anne - She knew we were a couple. She seduced him anyway. Of course, it does take two. His betrayal was just as hurtful to me, if not more so. It took an act of God, literally, to help me find forgiveness. The Lord helped me through it and today I understand why. Maybe this truly isn't a grudge I hold anymore, since I've forgiven them both, but whenever I hear of someone cheating on someone else, it strikes a chord. I will never be a Brangelina, Tiger Woods or Jesse James fan. Infidelity seems to be a greater sin to me than a few others.  


Want to join me in the Multiply Friday Five? http://fridayfivegroup.multiply.com/

Food Diary- Thursday 5/20/10

Breakfast- cereal & almond milk

Lunch- grilled SW salad at McDonalds

Supper- at work- sandwich - Wasn't very good. :(

snack at home- grahams, peanut butter and nutella

What I've learned- I need to take the time to plan healthy meals I will enjoy eating, no matter how busy I get.

Food Diary- Wed 5/19/10

Breakfast- cereal w/almond milk

Lunch- chicken breast (gave away most of the skin), baked potato w/Smart Balance

Snack- graham crackers with peanut butter and Nutella

Supper- at work- spinach wraps w/broccoli slaw and light cream cheese

Snack- ice cream sandwich

*drank lots of lemonade water today, hoping it helps my kidneys

Time To Buy A New Buzzer...

I'm so blessed he loves me so. This is what happened when I tried to cut his hair and the guide comb fell off. I've cut his hair for years, and this is the first time something like this has happened. Needless to say, I had to really buzz his head to even it out. If Murphy's law is real, this means the phone should ring and it will be someone wanting to interview DH for a job. 

Food Diary- Tuesday 5/18/10

Breakfast- OJ w/calcium, whole wheat toast w/Smart Balance, fried egg w/Mrs. Dash

Lunch- Burger, white bun, broccoli

Snack at work- I should have packed a supper- Iced tea (not sweet this time) and Sun Chips

Snack at home- banana and almond milk

Food Diary- Monday 5/17/10

Breakfast at work- non fat plain yogurt with honey, peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat, orange juice diluted with water

Lunch- 1/2 tuna sub on ww, steamed green beans, pickled beets

Dandy blend, almond milk, ice, water, chocolate syrup homemade frappe

Supper at work- second half of tuna sub from lunch

Snack at home- frozen banana blended into almond milk

Food Diary- Sunday 5/16/10

Orange Juice when I woke up

Breakfast- banana,berry, yogurt, almond milk smoothie

chocolate break & evil soda

Lunch- leftover pizza

Cherry Pie- too good! I must freeze the rest or I'm doomed.

Dandy Blend break

Supper- chicken breast, green beans, corn, garlic mashed (I did give most of the skin to DH)

Food Diary- Saturday 5/15/10

Breakfast- tall glass of water, 2 cranberry pills, plain non-fat yogurt with honey

Lunch- leftover taco meat & cheese wrapped in a spinach tortilla with lettuce

Not pictured- 2 inch square of vanilla cake at work

Supper- thin crust cheese pizza - too tired to cook after grilling at work all afternoon

*Treats- homemade cherry pie from my loving neighbor - No mistake you see two photos- Its amazingly good!

Ghirardelli caramel chocolate square

Not pictured- a scoop of cookies and cream ice cream

*I can see now why I crashed at the end of the day. I should have eaten better earlier, before working all afternoon, on my feet over a smokey grill.

Akamai Backyard - Growing food on the Garden Island of Kauai - Start Page

http://akamaibackyard.com/
A very inspirational homeschool in Hawaii! Homeschoolers can do amazing things when they have the freedom to follow their dreams.

At The Sleepyhouse This Weekend....

DS11 made cupcakes and wanted me to take a picture of them, but not him. :) (Don't you love his t-shirt!) He decided he had the taste for vanilla and pretty much made them on his own. I helped with the oven transferring part because I can reach into the oven more safely.  I was also the taste tester! They are yummy! 

I'm still not feeling 100%, but supposedly my UTI is gone. I stopped in for a recheck because I'm feeling run down and not quite right. I'm going to try cranberry pills and eat more yogurt. Maybe my body just needs more time to bounce back.

My family took me to a nursery and bought me a belated Mother's Day gift, a few petunia plants and inpatients. The boys helped me fill most of our pots with the remaining dirt our neighbors gave us. Sometime this weekend, I hope to get those flower plants transplanted.

I have to work today at my pool's safety day and swim meet. I'll have it easy though. I'm on the food station, so I get to be a grill master all afternoon. DS11 wants to join me, but I think its because he knows we're planning on having a bouncy house, one of those inflatable play areas.

Our friends will be bringing over their parakeet for us to bird sit this week. They are flying out to Pennsylvania to go house hunting. :( We don't want them to move, but their dad's job is being transferred. Our home school posse won't be the same without them. :(

I hope to get some cleaning done sometime this weekend too. I've been too busy or too run down, and my nest isn't feeling right to me. Working extra hours is a mixed blessing. The extra money helps, but the time away stresses me out.

Well, I better get moving. Have a great weekend!


 

Now that I have a few hours of free time, I'm too tired to enjoy it. Do I cat nap and risk it turning into a power nap, or head outside into the sunshine to enjoy the fresh air?

13 For Thursday

1. I miss my blog. :( Been too busy.

2. All seedlings have failed. We didn't expect the freezing temperatures Mother's Day weekend and all of the seedlings froze up. We'll still hoping our newly planted seeds sprout up and make it. I may resort to buying a few tomato plants and hope blight doesn't come with them.

3. Need to get back to the photo diet. It was really working well for me, but somewhere between getting the UTI, and going out of town last weekend, I stopped snapping photos.

4. DS11 and I are now workout buddies. Hopefully we'll encourage DS14 and DH to join us. Today we did some muscle toning and yoga. When the sun returns we'll get back to our walks.

5. I had a dream about frogs. We were raising them in a fish tank and it was getting over populated. We were going to have to set up another tank for them. I'm hoping this means good things are in store for us, but it also could be my subconscious dealing with all the responsibilities I've been juggling.

6. I'm going to be a Great Aunt! Or is the term "Grand" aunt?  My nephew will be a father this fall. I can remember babysitting him. Boy, I am getting old! :) I wonder how my sister feels about becoming a grandmother? I know my parents are excited about their first Great Grandchild.

7. Every year I say we are going to the Unschoolers Winter Waterpark Gathering in Sandusky, OH. Come 2011- WE ARE GOING!!! I really mean it!! The gathering has been moved to mid May of 2011 so we won't have to worry about driving through snow, and the room price has come down! I'm counting the days until registration opens.

8. I wish I had more time to sew.

9. I wish I had more time to plant.

10. I wish I had more time to clean and purge.

11. I wish I had more time to come up with a business to run with the family.

12. I wish I had more time to take care of my health.

13. I wish I had more time to write a proper blog post.

5/9/10 Weekend Notes

I'm tired, but want to make note of the wonderful weekend we've had.

Friday we traveled to the homeschooling conference. My family was so awesome and helped me get everything ready for the workshops we were hosting. Oshkosh, well, was Oshkosh. Its not my favorite town, but by now, its become a place of humor for us. Sorry Oshkosh. :)

Our Apples to Apples workshop went great. I was really surprised to see how the boys were not shy at all, and were so willing to welcome guests. I learned DS14 has quite a sense of humor, taking after his father.

Our other workshops went very well, despite the cold, rainy weather. I was just happy it did not snow. Many families were willing to put on a jacket and hunt down our Letterboxes. Twice the expected people showed up for our ATC workshop which was a pleasant surprise!

DH & I did not have alone time on Saturday, but it was still a great anniversary.

Sunday DH took myself, my mother in law, and the boys out for lunch at Micocina, my favorite Mexican restaurant. DMIL & I were given free peach white wine drinks and our meals were half price!

After lunch we went for a hike at the UW Arboretum. We followed a new interesting forest trail and ended up by the lilac garden. It couldn't have been more perfect of a day.

Today was also the last day of my medication so hopefully I'll start feeling better. I'm not sure my UTI is gone, and I've been feeling really run down, but hopefully it is gone, and it was the medicine zapping my energy. I'm hoping to have a more healthy week ahead.

Food Diary- Tuesday 5/4/10

Breakfast- whole wheat toast, an egg with Mrs. Dash, OJ w/calcium

Lunch- broccoli slaw, tuna, light mayo, pickled beets

Snack on drive to work - free small mocha frappe!

Supper at work - chicken meatball noodle soup

Snack not pictured- a glass of 1% chocolate milk and a cookie before bed :( I was tired and not feeling well.

A Sample of Unschooling In Action

A great example of how unschooling works.

DS11 is fascinated with UFOs. While watching a television special, he begins to question UFO geometry.

"Mom, why is it no one has ever reported a square shaped UFO? I think there have been reports of all different kinds of shapes, but not squares."

From that question, we had a discussion on shapes which leads us to look online for more shapes.

We discuss why squares may not be the best for aerodynamics.

So from a curiosity about UFO's, we explored geometry and physics. What's so great about unschooling is questions can lead to answers which lead to more questions. It can be a ongoing investigation, leading to different pathways to explore.

In a school setting often its, "Here's the problem- find the answer that I'm looking for, the way I want you to- great! You're done now because you've met the teacher's/school's expectations.

Unschooling gives the individual ownership of his/her own learning. You decide how far, how high, how deep, you want to strive for. If trusted, humans have an infinite amount of curiosity and creativity. We were made that way, in the image of our creator. Trust unschooling!   

Food Diary- Monday 5/3/10

Breakfast - peanut butter & Jelly toast, Nitrofurantoin

Lunch- chicken meatball noodle soup - I love my mom in law! She's mine and you can't have her!

Snack- graham cracker with Nutella and Peanut butter

Supper- Spaghetti with caramelized onion garlic marinara, garlic toast - I love my husband! You can't have him either!

Snack- light ice cream with Nitrofurantoin
 

What is essential is to realize that children learn independently, not in bunches; that they learn out of interest and curiosity, not to please or appease the adults in power; and that they ought to be in control of their own learning, deciding for themselves what they want to learn and how they want to learn it. -John Holt