The Haul from the Garden

The tomatoes are doing well. We still have plenty on the vine. I fear this may be the end of our green onion season. The Serrano peppers haven't come up at all. I don't know if they will. I wish I knew what I did wrong on the pepper front.

One of the best things about growing our own tomatoes this year is that Z has given them a chance. He hates restaurant or store bought tomatoes, but he'll eat the home grown ones with now fuss.

Next season I'll be able to use my composted soil. Very excited about that project! I hope I can get my raised garden beds at least for Spring planting since I've been using containers for the past 3 years. I'm thinking the raised beds could totally be a homeschooling project, don't you?

Peace out. Peace in your 'hood.

The Gifts People Give You

I love gifts.

I'm okay with surprises. Sort of. Not really.

Anyway the other day my mom stopped by and had a little giftie for me. This isn't unusual for us. We are both thrift store shoppers and if a deal is too good to pass up for the other we take it. Because how can you go wrong with $.99 butter bell? So gifts for no occasion doesn't really merit a pause for thought. Unless...

My Mom: I saw this and thought of you.

Me: What part of this? 

My Mom: The whole thing. The canning, the gardening. It looks like there's a good article on recycling.

Me: Uh, thanks.

I'm still having a bit of difficulty finding my way to hippie acceptance for myself. It's nice to have a diagnosis, but the label still furrows my brow. Then to realize that people, your family in particular, thought of you that way all along? It's a bitter pill to swallow, my friends. A bitter pill indeed.

Of course I've read the magazine cover to cover. I wonder if they have a digital copy? Seems a shame to waste the paper.

/lainey 

A Working LOL

I do accounting work. Sexy, no? Well, it pays the bills (or in our case improves the quality of our life).

Generally accounting is pretty darned boring and when I see something in a client's notes that makes me smile, let alone laugh mah fool head off, then it must be shared.

Seen on the memo portion of the check: Another BS tax. Can't argue with that expense account.

How Mommy Got Her Groove Back

Yeah, not so much.

I'm really lousy at this consistency thing. I have plans to write. I even create drafts, take pictures and start the post, but the final execution eludes me. I guess I like the doing more than the recording. Shame that.

So let's catch y'all all up in one big swoop.

In homeschooling we finished up our 5th and 7th grade years. Over the summer our plan is to work 2-3 days mostly reviewing. The majority of our time will be project and goal based. For example the boys have set goals for the number of laps they'd like to be able to swim. Right now their endurance is lacking (they come by it honestly, my endurance is in the negative) and they want to improve. Dad has been lead on this class.

We are also doing a unit on the summer Olympics. We'll thrown in a dash of World Geography as we review the countries the Olympic participants' countries.

They boys have been doing a course on American Government. We thought it was timely with the elections this year. Dad has been doing a current events lesson about 2 times a week. The news is always a great teaching opportunity.

I've decided on our curriculum for next school year and when I say decided, what I mean is my current plan of action. Decision sounds so final and it's hard for me to commit (I've been married for 20 years, I think that's enough commitment for one lifetime.) for fear of making the wrong choice. That and I'm just a bit of a procrastinator.

Anyway, I've been ordering curriculum little by little. Definitely one of the down sides of homeschooling is that we pay for what we learn. I've tried to looks for what I want as inexpensively as possible, but sometimes it's just easier to buy what I need outright. When we have the funds, of course. So the plan:
8th Grader - Math U See, Winston Grammar, Cambridge Latin, American History and Geography unit studies and P.E. (golf or fencing).
6th Grader - Math U See, Spectrum Language Arts, Computer Science: Code Academy, Art (glass class) and P.E. (golf).

Of course all of it subject to change.
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Spring Break Part Deux

We thought we'd go back to school this week. We thought wrong. After all the hubbub from last week we still needed some chill out time. (And I haven't rearranged the curriculum since I decided call it done with the online version.)

Of course then J got sick. A bit of a tummy bug. Please, oh please, don't let this go around the house. I couldn't take anymore.

Spring Break - Woo Woo!

We went camping this year for Spring Break. And when I say camping what I mean is we stayed in a rustic place with native plants and animals around us. There was a nearby river, waterfalls and a nature trail. We did all the typical camping stuff like sitting around a campfire, roasting marshmallows and making s'mores. 

Showdown at high noon. Okay, after lunch. 

Where is this Home on the Range you ask? Why it's just down the road a spell in the Texas hill country. It's all about appreciating what God gave us in this great state.  

Roughing it out by the lake. Or the activity pool as the locals call it.

We need some time off to get back to nature. It's important to connect with the land donchaknow.

Entering the "lazy river".

The boys went off exploring the campgrounds by way of water. Very adventurous those two. 

Making s'mores at the campfire.

Every night we enjoyed s'mores by the campfire. Do you know how fabulous it is to just come and enjoy without the worry about building the fire, finding a stick, buying the supplies, putting up the fire and all the other things that suck the fun right out of this kind of experience? The fact that some people would consider our campsite to be "real" camping isn't going to take away one bit from the thrill of the week.

So I highly recommend camping at the Hill Country Hyatt. All the pleasure and none of the pain. Activities like make-your-own-tote-bag or water balloon fights every two hours for the kids. It's a welcome respite from always being the entertainment point of contact. Since our kids were the few that were onsite the staff doted on them and even the guests by the pool (all 5 of them) spent time chatting them up. 

Shame it was so crowded at the pool.

One important lesson the boys learned this week was how to order room service. Very important to know the rules of hospitality. Unlike frog dissection, proper etiquette is a skill that will serve them through life. 

Four Months Out

Tomorrow marks four months since J has been in traditional school.

It's gone by really fast. I still feel a bit ass-over-tea-kettle in the planning department, but I'm hanging in there the best I can. Planning and preparation aren't necessarily hard so much as there are just a lot of moving parts to keep in the air. I can certainly see the desire, nay the need to keep everyone on the same page in a bricks & mortar school. Again, my hat is off to public school teachers.

When J first started homeschooling we said that we'd make the decision year by year. We knew the 2011-2012 academic year would be at home. We also knew he'd be at home for the 2012-2013 school year. The other day he told me he's is so much happier at home and that he'd prefer to homeschool through graduation. Of course I'll give him the freedom to change his mind, but he seems pretty adamant. We shall see.

Z has been homeschooling only since mid-February. Even though I worried about him missing out on the "fun" part of school I really think he's happier homeschooling. He still gets an attitude from time to time, but he's relaxed considerably from his time in a classroom environment. I loved his teacher. He loved his teacher. And even with all that love floating about I still think bringing him home when we did was the best choice for our family. There was nothing to be gained by keeping him in standardized testing environment. Needless stress.

The other reason I'm glad I pulled Z earlier than I had planned is because after The Test all the attention would be in the direction of the transition to middle school. We knew he wouldn't be attending the middle school so what was the point in him having to sit through the presentations and the forms and the tours. Waste of time for his situation.

I do feel a little sad when I think about the traditions that J took part in that Z won't do. On the other hand, Z is doing really cool stuff that J didn't experience when he was that age. Field trips and movies in the middle of the day. Reading on the porch swing and trying new recipes in the name of science. It's a trade off.

We are blessed.