Laura D. I am sending Katie your info now. Congratulations! Your beautiful floral crown headband will be winging its way to you soon.
Thank you so much to The Fierce Chipmunk for gifting so generously.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
It’s a Giveaway!
I have some very happy news for you today. Earlier this year I fell in love with The Fierce Chipmunk, an etsy shop of pure awesomeness. Like, fell hard. I mean, people, she had me with the red mushrooms. And little flocked deer? Oh my.
I had this brief, fleeting, DIY fantasy idea that went something like, "I should make something like this…." Then I got my hands on these beautiful pieces and well, laughed uproariously at myself. There is handmade and there is homemade, if you know what I mean. One glance and Katie's fabulous workmanship is evident. Not only is her vision to die for, her handwork is superb. Totally impressed all around.
I was so impressed that I hoped to share the love with another of my friends. Katie will be giving away one of her whimsical felted floral crowns to a lucky reader this weekend. You in? Here's the deal. Leave a message in comments here to enter the drawing, then hop over to The Fierce Chipmunk on Facebook and "like" the page. That's all. You're in. : ) If you link up on your own blog or facebook we will toss your name into the hat a second time, doubling your chances. This pair of picnic-ers will draw a name from their basket on Saturday and Katie will send off a crown to the winner.
(delivery is only possible to regular US and APO addresses)
May you enjoy yours as much as we have been….
The crown is glorious needless to say, but I have to plug the tiny deer.
And the mushrooms.
I really do.
fixing leaks – food waste
This summer is about taking inventory, something of a State of the Union. I am taking a hard look at where my time and money and emotion is being spent and fixing any little (or big) leaks that I am finding. As Ann Voskamp famously quips -
A pail with a pinhole loses as much as the pail pushed right over.
As we have been cleaning the refrigerator weekly it has became clear we are losing too much food due to poor planning and poor execution. Time to tighten up the ship and be more intentional in what we buy and seeing it through to being used.
Some efforts to that end:
make a menu
shop from a list
prep food soon after shopping (wash/chop/store)
store it so you can see it
use leftovers creatively
This last part is essentially what is composing our breakfast and lunch menu. Leftover fruit, vegs and meat are finding their way into smoothies, soups, frittatas, wraps, omelettes, stir fries. If it is likely to be used within the next day or so it goes into a small storage container. If not, it gets frozen. (the last serving of smoothies and soup are easily poured into extra ice cube trays)
Todays breakfast took five minutes to prep. Line muffin tins with one slice bacon each. Pour in beaten eggs – average one per muffin cup. Add leftover sauteed vegs. Bake 20min in oven. Mine was set to convection. Your time may vary. We have done this minus the bacon and used leftover ground meat or sausage. (pardon the iphone pics pleaseandthankyou)
Anyway, maybe it's just me. It seems as we get busy we get little leaks in the budget like this. We move faster and there is more expense and more waste. For a season you can compensate but it's not a good long term default.
pricillas
Pulling together a room is intuitive for me. Despite thousands of Pinterest pins and what some would consider an unreasonable quantity of decor volumes on my shelves, when actually decorating it comes down to me sitting in a room and seeing what it calls for. The ideas come 'in response to' rather than by superimposing a predetermined design.
(this may or may not be a metaphor for the rest of my life you know)
The little girls share a small room now for the first time, in a pair of white antique twin beds. One by one the ideas I had for them when coming to this house were rejected. When we got here I knew just what I wanted for the windows – storybook style white pricillas, the sort that have graced dollhouses and picture book windows for generations.
I had pairs of these very curtains stored for many years. They were purchased the same year this house was built – 1979 – for my own girlhood bedroom in Wisconsin. I spent half an hour today coaxing out the creases and pressing the ruffles for their next stint in Utah.
Bedroom makeover
The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. We have been making over several rooms in the house that were not yet updated or not recently anyway. It is easier to paint before furniture is placed so we just gunned it and tore into several rooms.
Some of these rooms are repainted now but not completely "done" so I haven't posted updates yet. I figured what the heck though. Home improvement for most of us normal joe's happens in increments, right? Especially when you are working on several spaces. So with that in mind here is one girl's room before:
Last updated in the 90's I am guesstimating based upon when sponge painting hit its heyday. The room looked a bit dingy and we were moving white furniture in. Not to mention these walls are listed as some of the top offenders for resale. Unless you are us, looks like. The carpet is relatively new and it wasn't in the budget to replace. We decided on a latte color which took a couple tries to nail down tint wise. It made the room much cleaner and brighter and tied in fine with the flooring.
(Moving the furniture in)
Alannah and I managed this room ourselves since Moira and her Dad were taking down wallpaper in her room at the same time. We were so happy with the after. Window treatments will happen next (we are recycling panels from our last house) but meantime it's the perfect space to cuddle with your big sister.
Painting gets filed under "things that are much easier with older children in the house." The last time I painted a room was many moons ago back at the ranch. 8yrs? More? Suffice it to say, it takes way longer with babies and toddlers. Way. waywaywaywayway
Checking in
Hello friends! I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth. Big changes are well underway. We travelled to CO to see our sons and daughter in law. Then we closed on our new house. We immediately dove into some remodeling projects we will be sharing soon. (Today’s adventure – wallpaper removal!)
Will be taking a new turn with this space as our focus turns to home improvement for a time. We are learning so much and having a grand time. There is a major case of old house love happening. Hope you will join the fun!
Back soon.
what we will remember
It's not about the eggs. The thousands of plastic eggs scattered across the soccer field were there just to hold joy for a little while. To bottle it up and spread it around some. They did that well. Little faces watched expectantly for the ridiculous bunny to start the race. Little people were ringing the edge of the field in anticipation, hearts racing when the whistle blows. There was the happy surprise of a new bunny erasers and hair ties. The bliss that is a balloon tied around your wrist. There is always time for that, even during weeks like this, so we got the older girls settled and resting (wisdom teeth out yesterday) and slipped out for an hour to make memories.
It will be a simple holiday here. Semi-homemade. We have girls who are still under the weather and a big month ahead. It's all about easy and fun right now. I figure they aren't going to remember if I nailed that recipe or if their dresses were perfect. They are going to remember if they laughed. So we are laughing. : )
The High School Decision
While responding to a letter about discerning homeschool high it occurred to me other people might also be having similar thoughts this time of year. Many of us look at our kids' education in two chunks, elementary school and high school. As the one comes to a close there are usually some very big discussions about how to handle the latter. Even seasoned home educators can be apprehensive about the prospect, understandably. If your child is planning to attend college (and you really want to keep that as an option til the very end of their education so no doors are closed prematurely) there are required courses to complete and records to be kept. Likewise, transferring to an on-site high school has all sorts of new demands.
There is a lot to think about and steps to take, either way. Just off the top of my head this is what I said in reply:
Raising teens is intimidating, period. There are so many variables with high school – the child's temperament, your temperament, your current working relationship. Those are the first things to consider. Homeschooling works best in collaboration so if there is any resistance or conflict it can almost be counterproductive in some cases. My best advice is to do what best preserves family peace, what best keeps their hearts. For many, that is homeschooling. Sometimes though, parents can assume a cheerleader/mentor role better when the child is away at school. Each child/parent/teacher relationship is unique. Whatever is most conducive to team building as a family is best.
If you choose to use the public school you'll have much more supervising and damage control to do morally and theologically, but far less to do by way of preparation and paperwork and legwork. If you choose to homeschool you will have far more to do to ensure the student stays on track and meets the appropriate educational goals and deadlines. Contrary to what some home-ed folks assert it has NOT been our experience that a student can fall way behind in math and suddenly cover 4 yrs of upper level math effectively and thoroughly inside a year, even if properly motivated. They may figure out enough to meet college entry guidelines but will not like become engineers. Some things cannot be easily caught up or done fast so it's important to stay on top of it as you go.
If you homeschool it is a good idea to look around several colleges and high schools and see what is suggested for college bound students. Plan your courses accordingly and keep a blank working transcript handy to pencil in courses and extras as they happen. Then its easy to tweak and fill in senior year. It is NOT fun to sit at the table late in the night before application deadlines trying to remember what year they did American govt. or how many years of piano were done etc.
The more traditional your coursework, the easier transcripts will be. The more traditional your coursework is, the more challenging it can be to finish it with enthusiasm too. If you are un-schooly or non-traditional you will need to get up to speed on how to articulate your student's learning in typical 'edu-ese' language. It can be done, just requires more mental gymnastics on your part. Ideally, you'll have a mix of both approaches – enough traditional coursework to provide a thorough foundation and to familiarize the student with real world deadlines coupled with enough authentic learning experiences and hands-on activities to keep the fires burning without exhausting mom.
In many states you have a third option which is to partner with your local schools for some courses or extracurriculars. Many community colleges also offer quick start or dual enrollment options. Some communities have such large numbers of homeschoolers they are able to support co-op programs so be sure you research all your local resources.
When you finish out these years you will have moved from acting director to an advisory position in the big production of their lives. Your goal is to hand off the baton by the end of this period while still being a respected and trusted voice they turn to as they move into the bigger world. Every family has to discern how best to make that transition and it won't be the same for everyone. Either path chosen will have perks and drawbacks, some significant. That's a given. It's going to be hard work either way. You are absolutely right though, the best is yet to come! These years are the culmination of all those that came before and it is amazing to watch this transformation.
We have 'done' high school several different ways now. We have assembled our own courses and written transcripts. We have used the community college. We have enrolled in correspondence programs. We have had students play sports through public schools. It's likely we will mix it up yet again because some options are better fits for some students and different areas we've lived have had different opportunites. We will have this same discussion approximately every other year until Abbie Rose reaches the end of her elementary years.
It's sad to me that a search of 'homeschool high school' today pulls up page after page of ads for various schools and businesses. This decision, like all parenting decisions, seems better made around a kitchen table with trusted friends and family rather than by thumbing through flashy fliers.
Some encouraging virtual visits:
St Patrick’ s Day
Simple feast day fun. We have next to no resources at the moment. : ) We did make an outstanding Shepherd's pie to share with friends tonight. A bit putzy it was. I second guessed my decision part way through. All doubts resolved at first bite.
Otherwise, my 'how-to-draw' afficianados have been making leprechauns. Tutes here and here and all over pinterest fwiw. Have a blessed feast!
previous St Patrick posts (with more ambitious craft and prayer tute's) here and here
cozy
“Tea! Bless ordinary everyday afternoon tea!” – Agatha Christie
Starry Sky Journal 