In our home if you need a bed made you ask the (now) 5 year old. He can make a bed better than any recruit Thomas has seen. Yesterday Clover was trying her best to make her bed and getting increasingly frustrated. She asked Oakley to help her. Clover told him all the things she had done to make the bed, the way he had taught her. She kept complaining about how she couldnt do it. In response, Oakley held his had up to her and said: "Patience young Padawan."

I dont know why i do it to myself... but every time Thomas is away i stay up so late, even though i am completely exhausted! I try to go to bed at a reasonable time, but i fail. After a few days i get back into routine of going to bed and sleeping. But it takes so long!!!

I hate when he is gone.

CLR

My friend Isabelle reviewed So Good on her blog and is having a contest, check it out:

http://canadianladybugreviews.blogspot.com/2011/07/so-good-beverages.html

Well... in one month we move into the cottage. Wow... we need to make a list of everything we are going to need.

So far on the list i have:

1. Uno
2. clothes drying rack
3. wash board
4. swim suits
5. toaster oven
6. nature books
7. crayons
8. tea
9. little broom
10. sewing/serger machine... and fabric with patterns
11. yarn and needles
12. sand toys
13. ....

What else? help me!!!

'the days are long, but the years are short'

I am starting to feel scared about moving back to kingston. I am so longing to be there, but becoming so scared that I'm not really looking forward to it anymore. My time here has changed me. And my friends back home. Our families have all gotten older, they have changed.... are our kids going to get along anymore? Have we been forgotten there, like we have been here? how long will it take for us to adjust to being in kingston? It took us over a year of being here to adjust to missing our friends in kingston.

I'm concerned.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/05/14/education.gradeless/index.html?hpt=C1

Maybe the reason there is less of a discipline problem is because they are relating to the children in a better way, and the kids are no longer frustrated. The kids are directing their learning instead of being prepared for a 'standardized' test. Nothing is standard when it comes to kids!!! If kids were standard then we would never have problems with children EVER! There would be no need for said tests and everyone would be the same! However, the drop in the literacy on the standardize test may be due to the fact that they are actually LEARNING and interested instead of regurgitating what was taught.... thus, they may be reading in other schools, but without the love of the act of reading.

Jul is starting to love reading. If he were in school, being forced to read he would HATE it. But he would have to do it so he could pass some stupid test! These tests are, in my opinion, taking time away from learning, and wasting time comparing.

a friend's giveaway

Hey Friends

My friend Isabelle is hosting a giveaway for some really cool stuff. you can check it all out. I love the cookbook she is reviewing.

Take a look:

http://canadianladybugreviews.blogspot.com/2011/05/kitchen-garden-cookbook.html

Vulture Bees

At the homeschool conference i went to a session teaching how to reach reluctant writers. Her example was about Vulture Bees. Here is Jul's report:

Vulture Bees

Scientists discovered a different type of bee. This type of bee does not eat pollen like other bees. Instead it eat’s dead flesh from other forest animals. It’s spit has cool chemicals that changes the flesh in to mushy meat. It’s cool. Don’t die in the forest.

Everyday I wake up with the hope that today will be different. That today I will be the person I am trying to be. This person lives differently. Yet everyday I fall into the same old habits I am trying to break. But 'if you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten'.

So the think that I want to change are easy enough to do, if I just take little steps. I find we watch too much TV, and I rely on it too often. I find that the TV and computer games cause us to be separated. Even if we are all in the same room we are focused on individual entertainment and personal comfort. The computer games are worse for that because only one person can be on it at a time. And generally the person on the computer wants to be left in peace, alone.

Each morning I think about what I can do different. Yet everyday I do the same thing as teh day before. I remind myself: Baby steps. My first step is to want to change, because that isn't the same thing as making change itself. Changing itself is very difficult to do. So I make suggestions. And my suggestions are met with complaints, whining and opposition. So, first I must not respond the same as I would. Patience. And a silent prayer. But, is a new habit formed by just not doing something? I think it may be more than that. Instead, maybe it is about little things. Little baby steps to the positive. Instead of saying to myself that I am not going to do something, why not things I can do. Just 3 thinks each day, everyday, for... well, as long as it takes for it to feel different. For me not to think about it anymore, for it to become a new habit.

What 3 thinks will I change? First, turn of the computers. My hope with this action is that connections will start again. I have started to see it happening. The kids are honestly playing together. And playing well! It will give us time to explore other interests and give me the opportunities to pass on my passions to my children. And time with God will no longer be avoidable. Second, I want to get outside more. Not just in our yard, or the park, but most days that is what it will be. But I mean OUT into nature. Going for hikes. Exploring what God created and discovering their names, and eventually their uses. Third, I have a blog. And i have so many things bouncing around in my head that I want to get out onto paper (and onto the computer once I have a finished product). So many wonderful opportunities will arise from changing these 3 things.

Everyday, just 3 things. Now everyday is a new, positive challenge. Not to not do things, but to accomplish and do something more. I want MORE for my life. Not to feel like I have failed again, but to feel I can. There is so much I am missing, but one day at a time.

rainbows

We have been trying different experiments lately. These were just two of them.

Jul is having difficulties with fractions and Rachel told me about what she did with her daughter.

We measured how much a whole bottle was, then

broke it down.

Lovely in the sun light!

We also found a recipe for making your own paints.

Although the colour looks nice and saturated, it is very much a water colour, and i didnt have enough to make it intense.

But dont they look so pretty!!!

Both rainbows are lined up on desks in front of windows. and it brings so much joy to my heart!

Sapping

We decided to tap 'Bruiser' this year. Seeing as he is a maple tree.

We were able to get something like 9 or 10L of sap, and possible more of it running this week.

Which is good... because it boils down....

A lot!

I sat in a large hot tub, surrounded by strangers, and giggled to myself.

Because i was wearing my panties

Best Chocolate Buttercream EVER!!!

3 1/2 oz chocolate, melted

3/4 cup butter, whipped

1 tbsp milk

1/4 tsp vanilla

3/4 - 1 cup icing sugar

Whip butter as you melt chocolate. Whip together melted chocolate and butter. Add milk and vanilla, mix. Add sugar until combined.

Double, triple, whatever. Just enjoy!

delicious!!

I went through all the baby clothing and sorted it. It hurt to sort through it and pass it along. I know that there is someone out there who can really use it and is in need of it. But i have held onto it in hopes that i would put another baby into them. My heart breaks.

I thought i was done crying, but i broke down pretty bad at the Crisis Pregnancy Centre where i donated it. Thankfully, there was a woman from church who knew me and she just hugged me. I am happy to share the love and let others have the clothing. It is more that i dont want to be done having babies. I dont care how they come into my arms, as long as they do.

This, getting rid of the excess, was me letting go of my fertility, saying i want more of God. I just need to love Him more. And give this over to Him.

Education

It's moments like these that warm my heart.

Watching my oldest teach my youngest.

Yarn Along

I do love these yarn alongs. Thank you Ginny for arranging them!

This is a lovely project that I am working on. When I realized it wouldnt be done for Christmas, I put it aside, and will finish it for next Christmas.

I am freezing right now. Our new furnace isnt working

I am going to go snuggle with my kids and and keep knitting.

I have become an insomniac. I have had moments of insomnia, usually due to a baby. When that happens, the sleepless nights feel purposeful. But right now they are just making my life miserable.

I have been dreaming of painting and taping. Not exactly restful. In fact, my dreams are making my reality that much more frustrating. If i have to painting walls all night in my dreams, i dont want to do the same walls during the day.

I just want this house to be ready and sell quickly.

I wonder if there are any tutorials on how to sell a homeschooling house.

Sanding And Painting And Selling! Oh My!

Although it isn't official until April, the people who control where we go have decided on Kingston. I feel pretty convinced of God's hand in this because Thomas' career manager said that he was unsure who Thomas knew, because this move was set before he moved into this position.

I am THRILLED!!!

There is much to do here. Paint touch-ups. A new floor for the bathroom, and a new finish for the floor in the kitchen and sun room. Oh man! There is a tonne of things to do before April.

And then there is a new house to find. ACK! I know that God will be as present in this move as He was in the last. He is the one who gave us such a great house in Owen Sound. I know He will give an equally perfect house for our family in Kingston.

Clover: Mommy, if Oakley's name starts with 'O', shouldnt it be Ockley?

Mommy: Very clever!!! But "when two vowels go a' walkin', the first one does the talkin'."

Clover: ah, O A K L E Y! Oakley! [laughter]

she gets it!!!

Does it have to be Friday?

I am very excited about today. We will be able to do our usual schedule today, for the first time in what seem forever!!! I find that if i dont have some plan for the day it rushes by me and we accomplish so little! I had planned yesterday to sew with Clover, it didnt happen. I planned on putting laundry away, it didnt happen.

But, we did have a lovely dinner and dessert. I got to talk to each child and just enjoy the day.

And it cant be all bad; my kitchen and dining rooms are clean and ready to go for today. The kids are prepared, and one excited, about today. I wish my whole week could be like this, starting with a monday. I cant even imagine all that i could get done if my week started this well!!!

On another note, i am looking into new curriculums for my children. I hate the idea of settling on just one for all the kids, and i hate the idea of spending so much money! I think i am insecure about the lack of time and effort put into school with the kids. I guess what i really want is books for each subject so i can see them being filled. I still stand behind the Moore Formula.

I need to find my camera and knitting.

For just over a week now i have been getting up before 6am. I usually read my Bible then work out. I stare at my blog because there are things i want to express, but my words are very jumbled. They will be done though... sometime.

I have found this time to be really wonderful for my attitude and my motivation. We can eat breakfast earlier for one, starting the day earlier. (the kids still arent allowed out of bed before 7 though!) And although i feel tired, it isnt the same kind of tired.

I have been going through homeschool curriculums. There is a conference coming up and i want to be educated when i arrive for the vendors area. None of the curriculums i find really make me feel excited. If i dont feel excited about it, i'm not going to use it. It really is that simple. The kids are so individual that i dont want to buy three separate ones... that would be insanely expensive. And i do want to teach them in each their own way. I wish i felt safer about unschooling.

Also, the time with my Bible is creating so many questions! And sometimes i find it isnt very well written... In the beginning. I think i should draw a quick visual for the family trees!!!

Yarn Along

Finally! The last sweater to be knit. Not finished, mind you. I have to compete two of them, but this one needs to be done so that my nephews can get their Christmas gifts. I made ties to go with them.

I know that this isnt the best picture, but it is the best my laptop can do. One of my children, who will remain anonymous due only to the fact that i dont know which child it was, has taken my camera without my permission and i cant find it. Yet.

I hope next week to show pictures of the table cloth i am knitting for next Christmas. I am so excited about it!!!

Happy Yarn Along!

Every night when i get into bed i have the intention to get up and work out in the morning. But here is what usually happens: a child comes in my room between 2 and 4am. Once it is 4, i am usually awake enough to start my day. But really, who wants to start their day at 4 to educate, feed and otherwise entertain 3 children? So i end up falling back to sleep around 5-6, then am a mess when i wake at 7:30- 8.

Today, i am going to get up, work out. Then this afternoon i will nap.

What would you do?

I truly need to sit and finish the posts i have started. but i am really busy right now. just look at we got:

I'm busy teaching sewing! She is very very excited!!! She is sewing a rag quilt. My mom gave her all the fabric and batting all precut, and the machine was one of my mom's students! it doesnt need a peddle foot. no really! there is a button you press to make it go, and you press it again to make it stop. How easy is that for a little girl!!

Yarn Along

I am really loving these Yarn Alongs. I feel very excited to see what others are doing! And it keeps me blogging. I try hard to blog... and i have many ideas rolling around in my head. I cant seem to get them out. But this! this i can do! I can show what i am working on, and be inspired at the same time!

This is a scarf that is my go to project. I love it! The wool is hand spun and hand painted. I got it at a large guild sale. When it is done, it will be for my patient husband... i just hope i have enough of the wool!

I love the colours!