Mom Teaching Two

Not so Little Bear

2012-01-24T12:59:00.000-05:00

Little Bear, who is not so small anymore, but not all that Big either has been having a rough time in school. Much of it is social, as it has always been, but up until recently he has been able to progress academically despite the frustrating social aspects. I am noticing more and more that his behavior toward schoolwork is turning negative. He has begun to bring up his desire to be homeschooled more and more again.

I have explained to him that he needs to show me a level of respect in regards to homework, that has not been present as of late, before I am willing to seriously consider it.

Part of me wants to bring him home, today, now, because there is so much about what they do at the school I disagree with. Another part worries my health is not up to it. Though as he gets older this becomes a bit less of an issue (since I can sign him up for online classes, and he can socialize with neighborhood friends without my constant supervision).

This is not a decision I am going to jump into, or make alone. Bear is half of this parenting team, even if he is not the one doing the teaching.

Books 4, 5, and 6

2012-01-19T15:51:00.000-05:00

2012 shall be my year of reading. Well of logging my reading. My goal is 52 books, but based on my last month 2 months of kindle reading alone I expect to hit that by April. Between my Kindle and the extensive collection of books in this house I should have no lack of supplies. I shall endeavor to keep a log of the books I read here. Note that none of these are sponsored, just stuff I found interesting enough to read all the way through*. I will not be logging books I start and get bored by, what is the fun in that. And since I find it interesting I will list the format and source.

6. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde Kindle owned via amazon.

5.Dead to the World (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 4)by Charlaine Harris
Kindle via public library

4. Club Dead: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel by Charlaine Harris
Kindle via public library

3. Never After by Hamilton, Laurell K., Galenorn, Yasmine, Marjorie M. Liu, Sharon ShinnKindle via public library

2. Living Dead in Dallas (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood) by Charlaine Harris Kindle via public library

1. Smokin' Seventeen: A Stephanie Plum Novel by Janet Evanovich Kindle via public library

*As usual these are referral links to amazon.com

On strike

2012-01-18T08:19:00.003-05:00

#3

2012-01-09T02:38:00.000-05:00

Someone asked me recently how it is that I finish up so many books back to back. Well, I do read kind of fast, but I also read a number of books at once. Usually one or two sci-fi/fantasy, a classical fiction, and some variety of non-fiction. The classical and non-fiction usually take me about 5 times longer to read then my comfort reading. I actually find short story anthologies take me longer because I am only invested in reading the individual story. When reading a series I can go through a book a day easy.

2012 shall be my year of reading. Well of logging my reading. My goal is 52 books, but based on my last month 2 months of kindle reading alone I expect to hit that by April. Between my Kindle and the extensive collection of books in this house I should have no lack of supplies. I shall endeavor to keep a log of the books I read here. Note that none of these are sponsored, just stuff I found interesting enough to read all the way through*. I will not be logging books I start and get bored by, what is the fun in that. And since I find it interesting I will list the format and source.

3. Never After by Hamilton, Laurell K., Galenorn, Yasmine, Marjorie M. Liu, Sharon ShinnKindle via public library

2. Living Dead in Dallas (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood) by Charlaine Harris Kindle via public library

1. Smokin' Seventeen: A Stephanie Plum Novel by Janet Evanovich Kindle via public library

*As usual these are referral links to amazon.com

#2

2012-01-02T09:55:00.002-05:00

New Year, New Post

2012-01-02T00:00:00.000-05:00

A month of thanks: 2

2011-11-02T23:09:00.000-04:00

Today I am thankful for pizza. Because without it I would have had to cook dinner tonight, and nobody wanted that. No really.

A month of thanks

2011-11-01T21:29:00.000-04:00

I have given myself the assignment to post something I am thankful for every day this month. I have been kind of down lately, and maybe if I do this I can refocus.

Today I am thankful for coming out unscathed from the horrid weather this year.

Reading love

2011-06-28T11:57:00.000-04:00

I love books. As a child I read obsessively. I would have just about always rather be reading then playing with other kids. It took until I was a teenager to find other people who loved reading as much as I did. I fell in love with my husband as soon as I saw his bookshelf. I had read at least a quarter of the books he owned, and wanted to read most of the rest (which I am still working on all these years later).

It is a bit beyond comprehension for me to think that there are houses without books. Our shelves overflow. No really, I have two big boxes in the hallway that are incoming, and a box of stuff we are purging. Oh! That reminds me, I need to bring a load to the library.

I expect my children to love books as much as I do. When Little Bear was caught staying up all night reading on a school night, I was torn. Do I go give him a big hug and tell him how much I understand, or do I force him to put it down and sleep? Indy is just getting bitten by the reading bug. Things are finally starting to click for her. She does not have the all out self motivation yet, but I am sure that will come as the struggle goes away.

There are so many reading programs that reward kids for reading. The library has a summer reading program. Barnes and Noble has one, so does Borders, as does TD bank. It just feels so weird to me to need a reward for reading. Isn't reading the reward? But clearly it works. My kids dutifully record the books they read, the minutes, and whatever info each place wants.

Does it matter how much you read, what you read, if it is for enjoyment or education? Not to me. I love it all.

Bored to list revisited

2011-06-14T22:47:00.002-04:00

Two years ago I got together a fallback list of things to do with the kids when they cry boredom. Since they have grown, and resources have changed I am updating the list. There are surprisingly little changes to be made, but always room to grow, so add your suggestions in the comments!

1. Lightsabers
2. Freeze tag
3. Board games
4. Soccer
5. Movie
6. Cook something
7. Pillow fort
8. Finger painting
9. Legos
10. Listen to music
11. Nerf wars
12. Wii
13. Scooters
14. Bikes
15. Learn about birds
16. Read books
17. Rocket blaster
18. Bowling
19. Garden
20. Puzzles
21. Dinosaur toys
22. Pool
23. Remote control cars/dino/etc.
24. Camping
25. Fireworks (seeing not playing with)
26. Zoo (go to Bronx Zoo on a Wed. when there is free admission or perhaps the Bergen Cty Zoological Society)
27. Baseball
28. Picnic
29. Hopscotch
30. Glider
31. Building blocks
32. Dress up
33. Library
34. Parks
35. Make ice cream
36. Action figures
37. Make t-shirts
38. Card games
39. Real tea party
40. Play music
41. Rock tumbler
42. Play with balls
43. Volcano
44. Watch a local Baseball game
45. Play Doh/clay
46. Make puppets
47. Painting
48. Crafts

Whole foods or something like them

2011-03-29T23:33:00.000-04:00

Trying to focus on the garden is just leading me to frustration since I have to wait almost an extra month to get my hands dirty thanks to all the frozen wetness.

Instead I am going to focus on getting back on the whole foods bandwagon. Sadly, being when I am not feeling well we rapidly fall off the wagon out of convenience. So I need to take a serious look at my pantry, food budget, and menu planning.

100 Days of Real Food has provided me with a bunch of snack ideas which is always a rough issue around here.

Luckily the local health food store has reopened, so I will pop by there this week as a start.

Do you have any resources you like for whole/real foods?

Midsummer Night’s Inspiration

2011-03-18T11:19:00.000-04:00

I have given myself the homework of going through and reading (or rereading) the classics, and more. I started on a Jane Austen kick for a while kicked off by the Jane Austen Book Club. I read Madame Bovary which came from a random reference by Craig Ferguson. My list is kinda long and wandering and has no real focus. I just pick whatever my interest at the moment points to. So when I came across this lovely post by Zoie at Zoie Pulkka Photography, I moved A Midsummer Night's Dream to the top of my list.

I finished it yesterday.

Her photos provided the framing for the entire play. The colors, the setting - it was so lively and immersive. Like the way I always hope a movie adaptation will be but never is.

Please take a moment and check out her lovely work!

On gardening and insanity

2011-02-17T13:32:00.000-05:00

I got a 10x10 plot in a new organic community garden. I am clearly insane for considering this since I am just now feeling a bit better. But I love being in a garden full of vegetables, I got the smallest plot available, and a neighbor who is willing to help out. So now I have to try and make this work.

First step? Planning! Erm, wait. Research! Erm, research and planning!! Yeah.

So, some very rough thoughts:
-Absolutely nothing perennial or invasive
-I would like to try my hand at successive planting
-I only want to plant things we will actually eat
-I can and will donate any overage
-I know for sure that I want snow peas, snap peas, sweet peppers, cucumbers, strawberries, pumpkins (not sure if I want cooking or mini-decorative), heirloom tomatoes. I would love garlic scapes, leeks, maybe some potatoes if I can figure that out. Do I want flowers??? Maybe some marigolds to help with insects?
-I need to leave room for paths to work from
-Water is on site, but I can not use any sort of sprinkler or drip irrigation
-Any support structure must be temporary and made of untreated materials
-Nothing over 5 feet tall (no giant sunflowers or corn)
-I want the kids to be able to at least sort of enjoy coming with me, so maybe let them have a small section for each of them, or input in the planning?

I am TOTALLY open to suggestions, recommendations, ideas, etc. This is my first go at a plot this large by myself, espcially not being able to plan on growing things over years. Used to blueberry bushes, grapes, that sort of thing, with minimal other stuffs.

This should be fun. And while a different direction for this blog, hopefully an entertaining one.

Small changes

2011-01-03T09:10:00.001-05:00

I am a Work in Progress. Maybe I should have a construction sign or something.

In and of itself this is a good thing. Change and evolution can be good. But sometimes it feels a bit like traveling on I-95. Some part is ALWAYS being worked on, you always get caught in traffic, and it never, ever, ever feels finished.

Being the time of year where resolutions are made, and everyone is about big change, I found myself thinking how doomed to failure it all was. Because change starts with the small things. I fear like most extremism any resolutions I make can't possibly stick.

I resolved to make small meaningful changes in my life. Take those big, unrealistic goals and make a tiny dent in each one.

Lose 100llbs = No matter the serving size, always leave a little left on my plate.
Eat healthier = eat 1 piece of fresh fruit a day.
Parent perfectly = Just once a day, when I go to scream, laugh about it instead.
Have a clean house = Each day spend 15 minutes cleaning ONE room.
Get fit = 3 days a week do some sort of healthy movement.
Stop spending any unnecessary money = talk to DH before I spend money on anything.

I was going to keep going with this, adding to it. But that makes it way too unrealistic and turns the whole thing into a Big Change.

What changes are you making in your life right now, big or small?

On Calendars and Keeping Track

2010-11-11T15:52:00.000-05:00

Over the years I have used many different systems for trying to keep track. Keep track of appointments, schedules, members of my family, you name it. For a while my favorite was the More Time Moms Calendar but I never had it with me when I needed it. I had endless pieces of paper with appointment cards mixed in. I was chronically double booked. Then I got my Droid. Oh how I love that thing. Oh how I love that it gives me access to my Google Calendar! Except then I have to remember where I put my phone, or load my calendar on my laptop, or you know, do any sort of work at all, when I want to get a glance as to what we are doing for the day/week/month/year. So I decided to do monthly printouts to give me an overview that I can hang in my kitchen where my old calendars lived.

Sadly this was short lived as I discovered that one of my favorite features of my previous calendar was missing - I used to be able to dedicate a line or color to each person in the house, allowing me to, at a glance, figure out if I needed to actually be DOING something or just shuttling the kids. So my latest incarnation is to have each of the kids have their own Google calendars, which share with MY Google calendar, which then gets said overview printed and hung in the kitchen.

The husband? He is on his own for now. I either drag him with me, or leave him to his own devices.

What do YOU do to keep everyone on time, on track, and on the same page?

70 days to go.

2010-06-28T12:59:00.000-04:00

The kids being home is a struggle to readjust to. More for them than for me, but it is no picnic for me either. They both have work to continue throughout the summer to prevent the dreaded summer slide. We are not talking about a full fledged curriculum. Just a few worksheets, writing in a journal, and reading. But you would think that there were spikes on the pencils and the papers were poisoned. None the less it gets done, even if my throat is sore from arguing and my patience is exhausted.

After this Herculean struggle the little lovelies want to go to the pool. Like none of this has been going on for the last two hours. Meanwhile, I am ready for a nap, not hours of playing lifeguard, swim instructor and pack horse at a pool RIGHT NOW.

Instead I will insist on mommy getting 15 minutes on the computer to decompress, make lunch and head to the pool, with an understanding that we are not staying all day, and that there will be reading to each other later while mommy does indeed catch a cat-nap.

Lordy how I missed them. I may be exhausted but September may come too soon.

Some days

2010-06-07T12:14:00.000-04:00

Some days are harder than others. Today is one of those days.

It was harder to stay asleep last night. By 3:30 I was up and going, and not in a good way.

Getting in the shower was a fight. Why bother getting clean when in a couple of hours just going to ruin it all by exercising.

Getting dressed lately has been hell. I have no interest in any of my clothes. Or rather, how I look in them. Even the pretty ones. Which, regardless, where not going on my chore and exercising doing body.

I pushed and got the kids dressed, fed, and on the bus. I avoided a fight with a neighbor by biting my tongue. That too is not getting any easier.

Some days just walking down the stairs to do laundry is hard. My knees ache and everything is tight. This is one of those days.

Emptying the dishwasher made my hip ache. WTF hip? Knock it off.

Clearly my body is tight, so what the hell, might as well try and exercise to get it loosened up. See, I am full of bright ideas today.

Some days I can't force myself to exercise. Some days I can, and am then filled with dread as I push through it.

Some days I just keep going. Even with the shadow of a migraine, my body betraying me hundred ways, and the intense desire to beg Bear to come home and snuggle with me.

Today was one of those days.

Time for a change?

2010-06-04T07:49:00.000-04:00

The end of the school year is closing in on me. A whole year of public school. A whole grade I did not homeschool. Ya know what? It was not so terrible. Sure it had its positives and negatives, but we will be doing it again next year, so I think the scale leaned to the positives side.

Which today led me to the desks that reside in my living room. Really, it is the desk I bought in this post, and an old Ikea table. There was no way I was dealing with these desks until I was SURE that public school was gonna stick. So the Ikea table is going back to the basement for me to fold laundry on. Which is not as easy as it may sound. Because I like to make piles. As so my kids. All that stuff needs homes. So does Little Bear's laptop. Which still gets used, but not daily for schoolwork anymore, so it can probably live in a happy pile with Indy's and mine.

Next I need to decide what I want to do about the cork board. I mean, a cork board is useful and all for school papers, but do I need it to take up such a prominent place in my living room? It distracts from all the Star Wars Legos, Ginormous TV, and artwork. On the positive side, it distracts from cat hair and all those piles I was talking about earlier. Maybe the kitchen would be better suited to house it. Or the kids room...

All this makes me think though. Should I be changing the name of this blog now that I am no longer homeschooling them? Or does just the fact that I am teaching them about all the rest of life still count?

Girl Talk Thursday: Home Projects – The Good, The Bad, The Necessary

2010-06-03T09:23:00.001-04:00

There is a love-hate relationship with home projects and renovations around here. Oh how we love when they are done. It is the getting there that we hate.

It is not just the actual DOING of the work that is disliked. No, that is not the hard part. What is? The decision making, the planning, the gathering of the materials, the budgeting.

An example. Six years ago we moved into this house. We love it here. It is not perfect but it is ours, and really with the best neighbors in the world, what more could this family ask for? (Okay the answer to that is another bedroom or two, but I digress.) When we moved in we painted most of the rooms. We stripped wallpaper, patched holes, primed, edged, and painted for a month. Yes a month. You have no idea how bad it was in here. As time ran out on our impending move we made the decision to postpone the painting of some of the areas - like the bathrooms, hallway and basement. We have since remodeled two of the bathrooms, and painted the last. The basement may never get done. The hallway however. Oh how it mocks me. With it's flat marked up beige. Holes and gouges from bicycles, scooters and who know what.

We made the decision to paint it. Rather, I announced I would paint it and Bear grudgingly agreed to put up with me doing it. However we both know he is much better at spackling and patching than I am. Trust me, this hallway needs it. So we hemmed and hawed about what type of spackle to use. What time of year would be best for painting (moderate temps so we could open the windows please). We finally agreed spring was as good of a time as any and BOUGHT SPACKLE! I even picked up paint chips which are taped to the hallway wall for me to stair at while I type this.

That was over a month ago. No spackling has been done. No paint has been chosen. For heaven sake I could have re-dry walled the thing by now (okay maybe not, that ceiling is pretty high).

Am I mad? No. Because when we finally get this project done there is another dozen or so to follow it. Lurking, with decisions and procrastination just around the corner.

So the hallway will get done when it gets done. And I will promptly want to replace the floors.

Oooh flooring...

Wordless Wednesday: Best friends

2010-06-02T13:15:00.001-04:00

Snack Taxi Winner!

2010-05-06T06:04:00.001-04:00

The winner of the SnackTaxi giveaway is... Coffee Tree! I know you will love the products :D

Wordless Wednesday: A little me and my cat.

2010-05-04T16:33:00.002-04:00

Girl Talk Thursday: What’d you wanna be when YOU grew up?

2010-04-29T12:33:00.000-04:00

Today on Girl Talk Thursday Diane from dashoff asks: What’d you wanna be when YOU grew up?

What did I want to be when I grew up?

What a loaded question. Maybe an easy question for other people, but never for me. I had convinced myself for years that I wanted to be a lawyer. I excelled at debate early on. I had a close cousin who is a lawyer. It was an desirable career. And thanks to feminism I could be anything I wanted to be right?

Except what I *really* wanted to be was a wife and mommy, and a stay at home one at that.. Which some how, in a feminist, girl power sort of world, was totally looked down on. With all this potential, all of the opportunity to do "great" things why would I want to settle for being a housewife. But for me it was never settling. It was like a secret thing I kept inside me until I was 17 or 18.

Then college rolled around. I started off in political science - the direction I was told to take if I wanted a good base for law school. I HATED it. The nagging desire to give in and be true to myself was pushing further forward. So I rambled around doing everything from retail to being an executive assistant until Bear and I got married and made the decision I should stay home. The kids were born and it was everything I hoped it would be.

Now as they are growing up, I start to wonder what I want to be as I continue to grow up. Really, while I think that I probably "should" go out and get a job, I love being home. Sure it is endless hard work. This past weekend was the first in over eight years I have had "off". But I am doing something I love, and the benefits package can't be beat.

And on that note, I am going to go snuggle with Indy, and read a book!

Review and Giveaway: SnackTaxi

2010-04-27T11:21:00.001-04:00

Back in February I got hooked up with SnackTaxi by Business2Blogger. SnackTaxi sent me a bulk/produce sack, a sandwich-sack, a snack-sack, and a twice-as-nice napkin to try out. I have spent the last month and half sending them to school with my kids, taking them to the park, and throwing them in the washing machine.

I have a shelf full of reusable lunch and snack things, so I am all too aware that after the first use or two the flaws in the products come out. I am pretty happy to report that I still love them.

The snack-sack got sent to school daily. If the kids decided they wanted something else I rinsed it out, was dry by morning, and ready to go. Until a yogurt in the lunch box with it exploded that was all I did to keep it clean. Then I threw it in the washer/dryer, and was ready to go.

The sandwich-sack was really interesting. Many of the other sandwich products I have used are not suitable to use with rolls rather than just bread, but the sandwich-sack was absolutely large enough. Which in and of itself was pretty cool. But then a few weeks ago a neighbor and I went to the park. After the kids were done eating her dog was thirsty. I grabbed the sandwich-sack and she poured some water in it - ta da! Doggy bowl. Into the washer/dryer that went that night, and still looked great. This also got used to large snacks on car trips when I needed enough to feed the whole family.

The twice-as-nice napkin were just what it should be - usable, absorbent and washed up well. My kids loved that it matched the sandwich-sack, and the pattern on both and were totally willing to use it. The bulk/produce sack, was good to use. I ended up hand knotting the top when I had the room, but would have liked an attached closure. Still, it was small enough to be easy to grab when I went to the store.

Now the nice people at snackTaxi were nice enough to provide me with a snack-sack and a sandwich-sackin adorable patterns for me to give away!

Want to win it? Head over to the SnackTaxi website and comment here with a product you like.

WANT EXTRA ENTRIES?

-Post about this review/giveaway on your blog and then come back and comment again with the direct link.

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-"Like" SnackTaxi on facebook, and then leave a comment

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Giveaway Rules:
1. Giveaway is open to those with a US mailing address only.
2. Winner will be chosen by random.org and notified via email - (please make sure to either have your email address visible on your profile or leave it in the comment).
3. Winner will be asked to respond with full contact information within 48 hours of being notified. Failure to do so will result in another winner being picked.

Entries will be accepted until May 5th 2010. Winner will be announced May 6th 2010. Good luck!

SnackTaxi provided me with the products to review and giveaway. No additional compensation was received. All opinions are my own.

Losing It: Not just our Sanity - Week 7

2010-04-09T06:48:00.000-04:00

People we have a situation. I am finally starting to get into the habit of the whole workout/gym/being sweaty thing. I adjusted my workout thanks to the help of the personal trainer (who by the way was a one off consult from the gym with my membership - I don't get to keep him. Boo). But you people did not mention I was going to gain weight with all this muscle. What the hell?

I get the whole muscle is denser than fat thing. I totally get that hey, holidays = not being great about diet. But seriously? SO sick of seeing the scale go back up instead of down while working my ass off. Although apparently not literally since Oh Hi I gained weight this week.

So my friends, this week will be about tracking every bite. And counting calories. Because despite drinking enough water to drown in, and not missing any workouts I am failing at Losing It. If there was a Gaining It I would be in the running.

This is week 7. Which means I have 3 weeks to become a lean(ish), mean, exercising machine. Meanwhile, I will post my exact weigh in after I workout this morning, because that is when I always do.

On a positive note, I have a dent and my arm shows a tiny bit of muscle when I flex it. Focus on the little things. And pray my panties don't cause inappropriately placed blisters.

Guest Post: Traveling with My Infant- First Time’s a Charm

2010-04-02T10:55:00.000-04:00

I am taking a Spring Break this week and am lucky to have some guests posts. Today's post is by Elise Jones, mom of 2 lovely girls & blog editor of www.babybites.com

Before having children, my husband and I traveled extensively with a close-knit group of about 10 friends. We trekked all over the U.S. as well as many parts of Europe. So once I found myself with child, we naturally were urged by our childless-traveling buddies to plan on continuing our trips with our little bundle. Surely traveling with a non-walking infant was E-A-S-Y. Plus no how and no way was our pre-baby travel schedule going to alter just because we had a BABY. Just strap them on /in and we’d be on our way.

So the first European trip was booked BEFORE the baby came and was to happen soon after the child’s second-month shots. We were all off to Bordeaux for my husband’s first marathon (oh yea, he was training for it the months leading up to and just after having our FIRST child; that was so much fun). I had the passport application in and her first “mug” shot taken as soon as I received the birth certificate and Social Security number in the mail. She was 6 weeks old when we received her first passport and she traveled for the first time 2.5 months after she was born. Her first airplane trip was to FRANCE; how lucky can one gal be?!?

Well let’s just say, this trip was my first lesson in “let me show you who’s boss, lady.” As I packed and planned in the weeks prior to leaving, I was certain I hadn’t overlooked any little item we would need, much less anything “surprising” that might come our way. I mean, I may have had a 35 lb. bag just for the 10lb. baby, but one never knows what crazy things might happen. The fog of new motherhood and the craze of sleepless nights, did seem to only help the situation. I mean, now as I look back and I’ve mothered two little bits and I know what it means to travel with said little bits (fyi, I’m on self-imposed, ground-stop travel as of the past six months) I think I must have been a bit crazy at that moment in my life but was too punch drunk to know it!

The lesson gleaned from this first foray into infant travel and subsequent international and national plane trips can be summed up in five little “helpful hints” for all of you who are looking to dip into the unknown abyss of plane travel with the under one set:

1. Check everything you can! Do not fool yourself into believing you will save ANYTHING by carrying on as much with you as you are allowed. What you may make up in money, you will lose in sanity. Plus your medical bills because of crazed, airport-induced stress will far outweigh any savings in the long run.

2. Only carry on the following items: sling/baby carrier, diaper bag, and gate check the stroller. I usually don’t use the stroller in the airport to transport the baby. It has most frequently been used to transport bags, coats, the massive amounts of magazines my husband insist on buying at the newsstand, blankets, and liquids (bought after security, of course).

3. Once you approach the security line at the airport, give the first security guard a pitiful look. It’s the sure-fire way you will be escorted to the “family” line and get through security lickety split! No one likes crying babies. And even worse than crying babies, is screaming babies in long airport security lines. And the grand mal of terror is crying babies, pissy parents and longgggg airport security lines. At the security checkpoint, everything must go through the conveyer belt X-ray machine. EVERYTHING (except, of course humans). So be prepared to do the dance. It’s fun (in a really painful doctor’s visit way) and you’ll only smile afterwards (as they paw through every baby item you painfully folded/washed/stuffed into your diaper bag). Weeeee!

4. Speaking of diaper bags, here’s what I suggest packing in yours: diapers, wipes, diaper cream, lotion, changing pad, pacifier, bottle, bottled water, baby food, change of clothes for both mom and baby, non-squeaky toys, books, traveling documents (in a Ziploc bag; don’t ask), blanket, and sanity. Please don’t leave this last one at home; it makes for a rough trip for EVERYONE. All of these are in a quantity of at least one day’s worth of items. God forbid, you are delayed or your bags are detained, you will be at least prepared to get through a day where you can locate emergency supplies if need be. All of the liquids must be in small quantities. Just enough for 2 days (travel day plus one more). No need to go to the gym in the days leading up to the trip as you can see you will need to save up your energy for the weight of the bag and of course the baby you are carrying for many, many hours.

5. Once on the plane, make sure you have requested bulk-head so if the baby is small enough and your ride is long enough, you can have a bassinet to place the baby in to free up your arms for eating, reading and all of those other things you THINK you are going to do when traveling on a plane with a baby. Also if the little one is lucky enough to get their own seat, there won’t be a problem with them kicking the seat in front of them (unintentionally, of course) and making you a lifelong “friend” with the passenger in front of the child. The most important rule of travel is make sure the baby is sucking going up and coming down: pacifier, bottle, breast, sippy cup, or whatever. This is help with the pressure on their ears and it will help you eliminate one more possibility for the cause of the child’s wailing. I’ve also offered ear plugs to nearby neighbors on planes. Mixed reactions can be found to this ploy. Alcohol purchases are more successful.

Before you know it, you’ll be landing in wonderful Bordeaux and trying to figure out how those Europeans drive in such small cars with no storage space for bags. I guess it’s all about journey, not the destination.

I am taking a Spring Break this week and am lucky to have some guests posts. Today's post is by Elise Jones, mom of 2 lovely girls & blog editor of www.babybites.com

Guest Post: Have 6 kids, 32 pairs of shoes, 1 golf bag - Will Travel

2010-04-01T23:51:00.000-04:00

I am taking a Spring Break this week and am lucky to have some guests posts. Today's post is by Heather from Café smom.com!

Traveling with kids is always an adventure. An adventure that begins the moment you start packing. I found this out the hard way when I began gathering all the necessities for our family of eight to travel from Ohio to San Diego for my brother’s wedding.

To give you a little background, we are a blended family. My husband has two daughters (ages 9 and 11) and I have four children (two daughters, ages 6 and 10 and twin sons age 9). Yes, we have six children living with us who range from 6 to 11 years of age. Some call us crazy, others know we are blessed. I like to think of our home as chaotic love. When we went on the trip the youngest was 4 and the oldest was 9.

Getting back to the story, I was so thankful my brother asked all six of our kids to be in the wedding. I really wanted my stepdaughters to feel included. I was so excited that my parents were also flying out and so was my other brother, his wife and their three kids. We thought it would be super fun to all rent a beach house and stay together for the week. We obviously were not thinking clearly.

As I began packing, I realized that all the activities my brother planned for us were great but they also translated in to many different types of clothes and worst yet – shoes that needed to be packed.

At a minimum, each of us needed a pair of flip flops, tennis shoes, dress shoes and wedding shoes. Take those four types of shoes times eight people and you get 32 pairs of shoes or 64 individual shoes to pack. As I was sitting on the floor amidst a sea of rubber soles, my husband came to the rescue. He brought up his golf bag. “Throw all the shoes in here,” he said. Thank God for a clear thinking man.

Next on the list was packing the clothes. I packed a few outfits for everyone, two bathing suits a piece, beach towels, wedding attire and clothes for the rehearsal and dinner. Knowing that my parents were staying in the top part of the beach house with our family, I packed a few going out ensembles thinking my husband and I would be able to steal away for a night or two. That turned out to be yet another one of my wonderful expectations about the trip that never came to fruition – we never got to go out alone.

Got everything packed and loaded in our 12 passenger van. Two giant suitcases, 1 golf bag full of shoes, a carry on for me and each of the kids were allowed to pack a backpack full of whatever they wanted to keep themselves busy on the plane. We were ready to go.

We get to the airport and I was not prepared for all the stares and comments we would get as we walked through the terminal. “Are those all your kids?” people would ask and then seem surprised when we said yes. And our favorite was all the pointing at the golf bag my husband carried. “Look at that poor woman with six kids and her husband is going to play golf,” we overhead one lady say. Little did she know that my man had traded golf for his family. They were actually staring at a very wonderful guy with a whole lotta shoes.

Well, the flight went amazingly well. We were so proud of the kids. We did have to divide and conquer so my husband and I didn’t get to sit together but the peace we had by splitting up certain siblings was well worth it. When we got to the rental car area, we called to check if my parents had landed. My brother had already picked them up at the airport and they did not rent a car as they were planning on riding with us all week. We had rented a minivan that seats 8 only. Since my parents didn’t seem to get the picture very clearly, my husband rented a car which meant I had to drive my parents around all week and couldn’t ride in the same vehicle as him. Who thought traveling with my parents was a good idea?

We get to the beach house and my family loved it. It was literally right on the ocean and I was just happy to be on land and relax for the first night. But no, we have to get ready and go to my soon to be sister-in-law’s parents house for dinner. My kids are tired and crabby but we put on our smiles and go. My sister-in-law’s family is from Greece and so they prepared this authentic Greek dinner for us. The dinner was delicious but our kids were craving Mickey D’s. Their house was full of marble and statues and I was afraid something very valuable was going to get broken. Luckily our kids were so tired that they nearly all feel asleep.

Next day it was off to Sea World where we got to go behind the scenes and meet Shamu, train a beluga whale and swim with the dolphins. Amazing. Next day we were at Disneyland. We had one day to do Disney so we were all about the rides while my brother was all about the food and shopping. We had to split up. My kids badgered me to go on Space Mountain and then shortly after getting off the ride, they found out why mommy can’t ride roller coasters anymore. The hard way. They won’t be asking again.

Next day it was beach day. Finally a day to relax or so I thought. We were awoken at exactly 7 am by a call from my brother who was staying in the unit below us. Turns out he had seen a bug late the night before and was calling to inform us he was moving his family to a hotel. We are staying on the beach and there are bugs near water and sand yet my brother is a nurse and a germ a phobe and there was no convincing him to stay. Still don’t know why we needed a 7am wake up call to find out but so goes the trip.

We enjoyed our day at the beach. Our family went boogie boarding, collected shells, buried my husband in the sand and had a great time. My one son found what he calls an Octopus leg on the beach and picked it up. He chased the girls around the beach with it for quite some time. Then he got really mad at me when I told him he couldn’t take it home with him. Such a terrible mom.

The next day we went to the San Diego Zoo. What an incredible place. Loved the panda, giraffe and elephant exhibits best. My boys were totally fascinated with the meerkats. From there it was off to my brother’s for dinner. Next day was another beach day. Off to Hollywood the following day. Got to see Tim Robbins get his star on the walk of fame. The kids did not know who he was but we thought it was cool to see him and Susan Sarandon. The kids did recognize Jack Black who was there for the festivities.

We went to the Kodak Theater to have an Idol moment and it was there that I heard my greatest question of the vacation. It came from a lady on Hollywood Boulevard who was soliciting tours.” Excuse me miss,” she said “are you the supervisor of this group?” With a hearty chuckle I responded “no, I’m the mother of this group.” She smiled and went on to another herd of people. Don’t think she hears that response very often.

The rehearsal dinner went great but the wedding day was quite the deal. My sister-in-law made appointments for the girls to get their hair done – all with the same “do”. Two of my girls loved it and two hated having their hair look exactly like everyone else. Why did I get all the complaining? I’m just the driver. It was “picture city” the morning of the wedding so my husband and I had to split duties again. He had the boys where they needed to be and I took the girls to the park. Problem was, I was never told where in the park to go and this was a huge park filled with many different wedding parties taking photos. We didn’t find the bride and her bridesmaids til the last picture was being taken and then it was off to the Church.

The ceremony was beautiful. It was a traditional Greek Orthodox wedding and my son, Charlie, nearly dropped the crown as he was carrying it down the aisle. It was true comic genius that can never be duplicated in print. You should have seen the look on the priest’s face. Priceless. My nephew, who was two at the time, refused to walk down the aisle much to his mother’s chagrin. Another priceless moment.

It was finally time to head home. We arrived at the San Diego Airport and were running tight on time so my husband dropped us off and then went to return the rental car. The kids and I walked through the airport and went through security. When I emptied my pockets, I had glow in the dark plastic teeth, lip gloss, loose change, sea shells and Polly Pocket shoes in my bin. The lady behind me started laughing. I laughed too and knew she had to be a mom herself to appreciate how things you don’t own can end up in your pocket w/out you knowing. I found out after my sister-in-law sent us the wedding photos that my son, Charlie, had worn the fake teeth in the guys’ only wedding shots. Don’t think she was too happy but I actually found it quite humorous.

All in all it was a great trip. Despite getting handed a bill by my new sister-in-law at the end trip for the cost of all the attraction tickets (which we were originally told would be comped), having to rent a car for both ourselves and my parents, my brother and his family moving out of the beach house because they found a bug, my parents complaining it was too hot (constantly), and my son Charlie getting bit in the privates by a sand crab, it was a wonderful vacation.

What gives me the biggest giggle is to listen to the response from each of our kids when asked what the best part of the trip to California was. It’s not Disney, or Sea World. It’s not going to Hollywood or body surfing in the ocean. No, my kids’ favorite part of the vacation is the street performer that we saw at the pier. He was dressed in silver from head to toe and danced to Michael Jackson songs. We gave him a few bucks and he put on quite a show. My kids loved it. Loved it. We could have gone to Downtown Cleveland and saw the same thing. Smile. I just love how kids truly do appreciate the simple and somewhat bizarre things in life. As parents, we often try too hard to impress.

We all made it home safe and sound from the trip; two adults, six kids and 32 pairs of shoes (courtesy of one great husband and his dusty golf bag).

I am taking a Spring Break this week and am lucky to have some guests posts. Today's post is by Heather from Café smom.com!

Wordless Wednesday Guest Post: Some Days Require Bulk Chocolate

2010-03-31T20:34:00.000-04:00

I am taking a Spring Break this week and am lucky to have some guests posts. Today's post is by @mstori!

Losing It: Not just our Sanity - Week 5

2010-03-26T08:39:00.000-04:00

I tried the whole commando thing. Not horrible, maybe not even worse than the Great Panty Debacle of 2010 but not a solution either. It just let to my pants becoming a little too personal with me. Ahem.

I did also grab Fiber One products and things are moving a bit better. Unfortunately this week was busy to the point where I kept beating myself up for over scheduling it so badly. And of course being so busy and beating myself up led to a fallback of some old habits. I did the unthinkable - I ate fast food not once but TWICE this week. The scale reflected my poor eating this week as I was up a half a pound.

On the positive side I met with the personal trainer and he designed a workout to fit around my limitations but that would still start to move me forward. I also learned that I was pushing myself too hard on the treadmill. My target heart rate is about 10bpm lower than I thought. So I can get an hour long walk in at my target range without limping after.

Now I am off to the gym!

Monday Mingle March 22nd 2010

2010-03-22T13:19:00.000-04:00

This week's questions submitted by Alexes from One Cluttered Brain (thank you Alexes!):
1. How do you usually celebrate your birthday?
2. Do you ever reveal your true age to people? Or do you make people guess?
3. What's the craziest thing you ever did OR wanted to do on your DAY?

Losing It: Not just our Sanity - Week 4

2010-03-18T23:53:00.001-04:00

Lets get this out of the way right now. I have a MAJOR problem with exercise equipment. I fixed the shoe situation thanks to Zappos and a lovely pair of Brooks. I have a sports bra, but could probably use a new one - all in due time. My problem however is with underwear. I have tried a different style every day this week. And by the end of my warm up something to do with my panties are rubbing, cutting in, pulling, digging, sliding, pinching, or creeping. OH. My. God. I tried a thong (which based on my discrete panty line viewing at the gym is a favorite) and almost got a blister in my ass crack. I tried a bikini style, and boy shorts. I pulled out my one pair of granny panties and still no luck. Someone send the Plus Size Panty Fairy!

I been on the treadmill for an hour every day this week. I have now healing blisters on my feet. I hit a wall every day around 25 minutes, and would have really liked every single day to have just cooled down at that point. But I have kept going. Every day. Despite panty problems! All this walking has been adding up to over 10000 steps every day. I added a protein shake in the morning since I am really bad about eating breakfast before working out.

What this means for my weigh in? No idea yet. I will update in the morning. But seeing as how I am constipated like whoah (I think the thong shoved stuff places o_O) I expect the loss to be minimal this week with a big one when things start moving again.

Maybe ask the Plus Size Panty Fairy to bring a laxative!

ETA: Stayed the same as last week. Bah.

Where I wish I was today.

2010-03-17T12:14:00.002-04:00

Monday Mingle March 15th 2010

2010-03-15T17:54:00.000-04:00

This week's questions were submitted by Greg from Telling Dad:
1. If you were forced to choose between skydiving, base jumping off a skyscraper or rock climbing, which would you choose?
2. Are you an aggressive or defensive driver?
3. Due to the sour economy, the genie can only grant you ONE wish. What would it be?

Losing It: Not just our Sanity - Week 3

2010-03-12T11:11:00.002-05:00

What I want to do is scream and cry and pout that it is not FAIR that I am fat, and was sick for my birthday and that I deserved to eat all the cupcakes, cake, ice cream and such. Instead I will step up and admit I fell back into all my bad habits this week. What I didn't do was treat *every* meal like it was a comfort I deserved. I tried to salvage some of them, and make smaller, better decisions when I felt I could (which was not enough).

It hit me pretty hard when I got on the scale this morning and saw a gain. I could justify it as "not a huge gain" but I am never going to get healthy going backwards. So instead of diving into my fridge, I went to the gym. No seriously I did! I am all sweaty and my legs hurt and everything. Even if my nose is still sniffly. Percentage lost to date: 4.3% Percent this week: +0.4%

Girl Talk Thursday: $10 can stretch pretty far…

2010-03-11T09:10:00.002-05:00

Today's topic on Girl Talk Thursday: "So, you’ve got $10. Dinner needs to get on the table. What’re you going to serve?"

There are SO many dishes that can be cooked for $10 it is hard to decide which one to share, so today we are going to take a look at a family favorite: Penne al la Vodka.

Around here we shop sales, and try to keep a stocked pantry and freezer so this meal often costs a LOT less than $10. But we can go to the grocery store and just grab the basics for $10 if the cupboards are bare.

1 TBS butter (we use unsalted, because that is what we keep in the house)
1 TBS oil (olive oil usually but vegetable has been used in a pinch)
1 onion, diced (medium to large or 2 small) [less than $1.00]
1 can of tomatoes 28oz. (sometimes diced, sometimes whole plum, sometimes crushed, always whatever is on sale. If whole drain and dice.)[$1.99]
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
salt to taste
1 to 2 oz vodka (one if kids are eating two if not)
1 cup of heavy cream [$2.99]
Parmesan cheese (freshly grated is best but whatever is handy is fine too)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Box of Penne Pasta [$1.99]
----------
Total cost: $7.97

1. Melt the butter w/oil in sauce pan.
2. Add diced onion and cook until translucent but do not brown
3. Throw in the can of tomatoes and let cook until most of the liquid is gone (~20 minutes)
4. Cook Penne according to directions on box.
5. Add the red pepper flakes, vodka and cream, and bring back to a simmer.
6. Season to taste with the Salt, Pepper and Parmesan cheese.
7. Throw sauce in pot over cooked pasta and serve!

As stated earlier there is usually a bit of something else in the house, sometimes that needs to be used up, or just yummy and can be thrown on top: peas, cooked shrimp, grilled chicken, add a side of garlic bread or salad, all are house favorites!

Generally speaking even this mom does not mess it up, so likely no one else will either!

Playing in the Shadows

2010-03-10T15:29:00.000-05:00

Cough, Cough

2010-03-10T09:08:00.000-05:00

Indy has pneumonia. Meds have taken care of the worst of it and she has returned to school, slowed down just a tiny bit. Bear is sick as well. Not horribly so, but enough to warrant a visit for him to the doctor, which is something. Meds are on board for him as well. Little Bear seems to be unphased and occasionally will sneeze but mostly just goes about playing like a wild man and vaguely concerning me by not wanting to wear a jacket (it is still only 50 degrees out - and there are piles of snow everywhere). I am just inconveniently sick. The worst of it really is my throat/voice from the mild coughing. Who needed to be able to yell anyway ;)

I went to meet with my physical trainer yesterday for the first time. He does not just do workouts but also nutrition, which immediately put my guard up, since so many of these people are all or nothing hard asses. Which is why during the course of our conversation, when he mentioned eating things like Oreos and hot dogs, I really started to listen. This is a guy that understands eating for real - sure not having that at every meal, or every day, but there is no expectation of life long deprivation! A lot of what he talked about is all about blood sugar regulation, and just generally medically backed up ideas. *blink blink*

We will be meeting on Thursday to go over what he wants me to do in the Gym. Would I like to work with him over the next few months? Hell Yes. But I don't know that it is in the budget. These first few meetings came with my gym membership. Beyond that, I do not see how it will happen.

But I went. Despite feeling not great. I got up and put my darn workout bra on, which does not help with deep breathing on the best of days ;) and showed up. For some people that may not be a big deal. Maybe for them that is easy. To just keep going. Not for me. So I feel good today for having that much willpower. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a piece of birthday cake that needs eating.

Parenting is no fair.

2010-03-06T12:42:00.001-05:00

Sometimes it is hard being a mom. Wait, no strike that. It is always hard being a mom. Sometimes it is just a lot less enjoyable than others. Little Bear was being brat-tastic this morning. Only willing to play games HE chose, refusing to even listen to what Indy wanted to do, not listening to me, throwing all manners out the window, and just generally being a grumpy miserable person to be around.

Which sucked. A lot. Not just because I had to deal with it, but because I had intended to surprise him and go to a movie he wanted to see this afternoon. Just the two of us. But there is no way I was rewarding that behavior. Nuh uh. No matter how bad I wanted to go. He seems to have pulled himself together, so I am going to take a wait and see approach.

This just all makes me think of so many other parenting decisions, that I am sure some people just do not get. I am told I am mean, or strict. Perhaps I am. But I don't think those are bad things necessarily. Sure it is often no fun at all. Would it be easier to let my kids stay up all night than be firm about bedtime? Let them leave their room a mess and their beds unmade all day? If course it is easier in the short term. But they are worth the energy investment. Equally, the world would not be well served by me turning out children who grow into adults like that.

So there may not be a movie today, but there will be ones in the future. Ones where I know my kids are not the ones being disruptive or rude during.

Even if it would be easier to just say to hell with it and go anyway, cause damn it I wanted to go to the movies with him and it is just no fair!

How do I say goodbye?

2010-03-05T20:09:00.001-05:00

Mabel's Labels is hosting a contest: "Write a post on your blog in response to the following hypothetical situation: Electrical storms are going to wipe out the Internet (perhaps forever). You have one day left to write about your passions: what do you want to say to the blogosphere in 300 words or less?" This is my entry:

In no time flat the internet will be gone forever. This thing, that has introduced so many into my life. Wonderful people that I value, casual friends, business I use the products from every day. Do I really want to go back to heading to the store for every book and movie, when the internet oh so magically delivers them to me? I seem to be going through the stages of grief. Denial has passed, where I just went about posting, emailing and tweeting like nothing would happen. Anger was not so good on my laptop. I had to borrow one for this post. How will I buy a new one without the internet to do research on! I tried bargaining, but no amount of offering to give up ice cream, or to go to the gym every day would help. I laid in bed wondering how this could happen to so many good people. We love the internet, we NEED it. It has connected us in so many ways. And now here I am trying to accept it. That this amazing thing, that I met one of my best friends through, that I chronicled the birth and growth of my children on, will be gone soon.

But everything will be ok - I already grabbed the phone number and mailing address for Mabel's Labels.

Losing It: Not just our Sanity - Week 2

2010-03-05T17:08:00.001-05:00

This week was so darn typical of how I get off track. Indy got sick on Sunday with what turned out to be Pneumonia, which rapidly derailed my gym streak. Kinda hard to work out with a feverish five year old clinging to you like a nursing newborn. I tried to stick with just getting more movement in the house - sit down less, don't be afraid of the stairs, and try not to GORGE when I eat.

Totally convinced that I was going to gain back some of last week's weight loss, which I was pretty sure was a total fluke anyway, I got on the scale this morning and discovered a small loss. Which is totally better than NO loss, or a gain, but kinda disappointing compared to last week. Percentage lost to date: 4.7% Percent this week: 0.7%

Next week back in the gym!

#LosingIt10

Princess excitement

2010-03-03T08:52:00.002-05:00

Cookie monster

2010-02-28T20:55:00.002-05:00

We are a family that likes cookies. Chocolate chip cookies are a favorite. Which led to us purchasing a rather large container of them right before Mother's Day in 2003. Little Bear was only 13 months old. It was pretty much my first mothers day that did not involve praying for sleep and trying to get a newborn to stop crying and or latch on. I woke up that morning to find that Little Bear had crawled out of bed already all sneaky like, and was giggling happily in the living room. Bleary eyed I got up and walked into the living room and found this:

He had pulled the container off the table and had upended it, opening it in the process, getting at the precious precious chocolatey cookie goodness that was trapped inside. He was covered in chocolate. My couch was smeared in chocolate. My rug had chocolate and crumbs ground into it. There was chocolate on the walls, on the table... everywhere. My initial reaction was to want to cry at the mess, and the cleaning it would entail for me on what should have been my "day off". Instead I made one of those decisions - what kind of memory did I want this to be? I decided to laugh, and grab the camera.

Eventually, I grabbed him, and sat him in his highchair to finish the mess off while I started cleaning, laughing all the while. He was my kid all right. A cookie monster!

Losing It: Not just our Sanity - Week 1

2010-02-27T00:20:00.002-05:00

Weight loss is a funny thing. It looks on the outside to simply be a matter of Less calories in than out. Really there is so much more to it. The reasons why we do the things we do, how we view ourselves, how the world views us, and how it effects how we want to look. UGH. While I am not thrilled, but any stretch with my current weight, shape and size, I am also not filled with the self loathing others might expect. Mostly, I want to feel healthier.

I had already made this decision a while ago - to set my physical fitness as a priority. I went to physical therapy for my knees. Followed up with every damn doctor they could throw at me. So the next logical step was to join a gym, which I did earlier this week. The day I went to the gym I weighed in at home. My starting weight - the heaviest I have ever been. I totally wanted to crawl into a hole instead of going to the gym that day, and who am I kidding, pretty much every day since. But I got up and went. And did what needed doing. Feeling a bit like I was throwing grains of sand at the incoming hurricane, when I really needed a truck full of sandbags.

The next day I got up determined to go again, but still without a drop of real motivation which changed while I was ~~procrastinating~~ checking twitter and came across #LosingIt10

So rather than feeling kind of helpless, I suddenly had a challenge. Which kept me going all week.

I don't plan on posting my weight. What I WILL be doing is posting my percentage lost each week. This week: 4% Which frankly is pretty damn spectacular, and might well have been a fluke on the scale this morning. And if it is I will work harder next week. And if it is not, is a darn great start.

I signed up for SocialSpark!

2010-02-21T15:55:00.001-05:00

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have, of recent, been spending a lot more time and energy on this blog. I have been loving meeting the other bloggers, tweeples, and getting to know their lives and families. In the process, it became apparent that a significant number of them have a developed a rich landscape of opportunities and in some cases even full time careers.

Following the suggestion on one led me to IZEA where I signed up for SocialSpark! Anyone who has been reading this knows I have opinions and are all too happy to share them, so the idea of doing so with sponsorship sounded perfect.

It was really easy to set up an account which involved inputting some basic information about my blog and interests then I claimed my blog (put some invisible code on my blog to verify I was indeed the owner) before I was able to look at the opportunities available. The opportunities I qualified for included at least one I was interested in and I don't HAVE to do any of them - just continue to write about what interests me. Which to me is pretty perfect as I don't intend this blog to become just an advertising space.

"It's a meal"

2010-02-18T11:05:00.001-05:00

When I read Diane's post on Girl Talk Thursday that started with "I’m not an athlete." I thought, hey *I* am not an athlete. Score! Then I read Maria's post and decided this was clearly the event for me.

I have an uncanny ability. You will be able to easily guess this if you have ever eaten a meal with me, seen me after a meal, or really just noticed my shirts. I drop food on my chest at every meal. Every. Meal. This earns me a Bronze medal I would think. More often than not it is something that makes a mess, earning me a Silver. Entirely too often it is something that stains. Which would probably earn me a gold, but really if any of you have seen the size of my chest you understand just what a showpiece this is, earning me the often coveted Stain Stick medal for having one more reason to stare at my boobs.

I have, of recent, started wearing scarves in situations that I would prefer not to walk around the rest of the day advertisement of my meals. This does not stop my darling husband from declaring EVERY time he sees it happen "It's a meal".

We were off to such a great start

2010-02-18T09:51:00.000-05:00

I suck at packing. And leaving the house on time. And lots of other things too, but not all of those are relevant right now. Our goal was to get out of here in time to get to the airport to leave for Disney/FL in plenty of time to check bags, park the car, get through security (with a laptop, a CPAP, 4 pairs of shoes, coats, scarves, etc. this takes a while) and eat lunch before our flight.

Amazingly enough I succeeded. I even managed to keep my checked bag under max weight 49.5lb to be exact! Everything looked to be going so well. The flight was even looking to be on time. Possibly even arriving in Orlando early. We load onto the plane and wait. And wait some more. And they announce that we are waiting for some passengers from a connecting flight. Since I think missing a connecting flight would suck, I have a lot of sympathy, but even still, I am watching my schedule for dinner slip away.

Why do I care so much about my dinner plans? I spent entirely too long getting reservations for us at Disney's Kouzzina by Cat Cora. This was to be the first time we were seeing my sister in law in years, and would be meeting her fiance. Special, important, reunion. And we should have had plenty of time. I allotted for the hour and half of taking a bus from our hotel (Coronado Springs), to Downtown Disney, and then taking another bus to the Boardwalk where the restaurant was located.

The plane takes off late. We arrive late. We manage to meet my SIL & fiace on the Magical Express. Indy has even stopped crying about her ear hurting. We are all hungry, and starting to run late. But I have hope. We did online check-in so this should move quickly. We get up there and get our Keys to the World. And I find out that my room request has been ignored (I could not have been farther from El Centro) and to boot we are far from bus stops, and I did not have the Water View I paid for. Ok well, they can't seem to do anything about the room. I breath through as they give me a credit for the lack of water view and run to drop off our stuff in our rooms.

At this point it is clear we are never going to make the res. if we take the bus. So I call the front desk for a taxi. No problem they say, and connect me to they taxi company. We request a minivan since there are 6 of us, and give them our room number and building and are told the driver will call when he arrives (it is raining so waiting outside not ideal). Ten minutes go by. A half hour goes by. No taxi or phone call. I call the taxi back. The guy picked up the wrong family, they are sending someone now. Ok, dinner reservation is NOW. Wait some more. Phone rings, and it is the dispatcher. Taxi can't find us. Where are we in the lobby. Uh dispatcher? We are not in the main lobby that is why I gave you our room and building number. Well, apparently taxi can't pick us up at our room and we are so far from the lobby we would have to take a bus so we just decided to do that. And then take the second bus. We are now an hour late for our reservation.

All the while I am frantically on the phone with Dining Reservations trying to make sure we will be able to eat when we get there because we have not had food since before noon and it is now around 8:30pm. We make it to Kouzzina. The place is PACKED. We are starving and the wait is almost an hour. At some point I just started to apologize. It was my job to plan, organize and make sure things ran smoothly. To keep people fed and happy. I am full of fail. Bear decides we are not going to torture ourselves with the buses any more than necessary, so I call Hertz and not only are they able to start our reservation days early, but they will pick him up at the hotel. YAY HERTZ!!!

I check with the hostess about how much longer till we are seated - could be 10 minutes could be a half hour. The kids look translucent they are so hungry. She goes and gets them some warm bread to eat while we wait, and amazingly our table is ready. I do have to say that if it had not been nine hours since the last time we had eaten I would not have minded the wait.

The food was wonderful. Everyone was happy with everything. If I can find it I will post what we all ate, but sadly, in my exhausted state I did not take pictures of the food, and well, that seemed to have held true the rest of the trip. We did eventually make it back to the hotel and to bed, stuffed, cold and moist from the rain. I was up and down all night nervous I would sleep through our wake-up call, and hopeful our next day would be filled with Disney Magic.

Meets or exceeds expectations

2010-02-03T11:57:00.002-05:00

Little Bear brought home a note asking me to come to a meeting to go over his evaluation for OT. Which seemed to mean they had finally completed said evaluations. After showing up to the meeting I was asked if I had any questions about the report. Why yes actually I did - When would I get a copy? They looked confused and told me it should have been sent to me as soon as it was complete, and I assured them it had not been. After finding a copy they went over it with me. Basically, he is holding his own. He of course tried his very hardest for the OT so she did not see ANY of the issues his teacher or I observe on a daily basis *head desk* However the teacher was able to provide her with samples so she at least saw it happened at all.

Long story short? He does not qualify for ANY services. His school work, with the exception of his writing, is exceptional, as is his behavior. They did agree to put a plan in to try addressing some of the writing issues. Different paper, the possibility moving forward of typing work, etc. was discussed.

The teacher, while not thrilled with this, at least they are acknowledging that there is some issues, so moving forward if it gets worse we at least have a basis of comparison. Personally I am not surprised, and will continue to work with him at home. I am so glad we decided to homeschool until he got to this point, but am sad the system is not willing to help him live to his full potential.

If I am able to manage this on our own the so be it. If not, I will go back to private OT. I am really trying to avoid it as it kills what little down time the kid has - OT is an hour away, so that eats up three hours a day easy.

Date night confessional

2010-01-19T13:31:00.000-05:00

I have a confession. Unless there is a special event, my date night activity of choice is going grocery shopping. People think who wants to go food shopping on a date? But I tell you we have the best time.

We wander through the isles together laughing and smiling. Bear tells jokes, makes fun of my inability to reach anything up high, and just get to be us. We talk about the crazy foods some people will eat, and occasionally try them. He pokes fun at me when I am staring right at what I have been looking for, and am ready to walk up and down the aisle AGAIN to look for it. We share tiny little meaningful touches and inside jokes.

When we first started dating grocery shopping was something we did out of necessity, but found it to be fun. Now? I look forward to the rare opportunity to do something so mundane as a couple and just enjoy all the little reasons we chose to be with each other.

Because really? Bear just cracks me up.

Balancing act

2010-01-14T05:28:00.004-05:00

As far as transitions go, the transition for my kids to public school was not bad at all. Having now given them four months to adjust I decided to evaluate their academics on my scale after the winter break. Both are doing well according to the school's standards. It would seem however that I expect more. I know, big surprise.

So what to do. I don't want to pressure them into hating learning, but also see the need for them to be challenged. Balance is not my strong suite. In that interest I will start slow and reevaluate.

For both their first priority is homework. Thankfully the school does not seem to bury them in this.

They both also attend Hebrew school, which has little work there, and I am not entirely sure is teaching much except culture at this point. I am starting with Little Bear on this as a focus. The school uses the AlephChamp system. I KNOW we covered at least the first two if not four levels of this last year while homeschooling, so now I just need to review with him so he can test up. He is at white now. I think they are only doing basic letter exposure for Indy, which is something I need to confirm this weekend.

For Little Bear I also want to work on his typing skills. With little movement on his 504, I will put my attention toward things I can help him with. We are using Type to Learn 4 for this. In the interest of improving his writing which I am not just giving up on, I am going to reintroduce some copywork and journaling. I don't much care which he chooses to do at this point, but I need some practice to be done. I am also having him do Weekly Reader, and read books in general.

For Indy there will be a lot of practicing in general. She loves to skate by pretending things are too hard. Yeah that won't fly. We are practicing her handwriting (letters and numbers), counting (up, down, by 2s, 5s, 10s), calendar, and reading. For reading we have been using Bob Books and ClickN KIDS. And lots of me reading to her. And her brother reading to her, which really is just about the best thing ever.

Gluttons for punishment

2009-12-10T09:59:00.001-05:00

You want more updates and details huh? Ok, but you were warned.

I woke up today with my left knee and shoulder throbbing, with background headache. The knee has been bothering me since the weekend, but the shoulder is new. Well, new to this level. I had injured it oh so many years ago.

It was passover at my mom's house, and she had run out of clean kitchen towels. I ran downstairs to grab some more out of the dryer and rounded the corner to go back up the stairs, towels in hand, and the little rug she had put at the bottom of the stairs when Whhhhoopppp! and so did I. The little rug was on top of a tile of concrete floor. My years of practice falling down came in handy, in that I did not smack my head. What I did was take it all on my left arm/shoulder. Nothing broke, but I did get repeatedly asked by the doctors if I had really fallen or if my boyfriend at the time had done this to me. I was a bit confused as a teen to figure out how they thought he would have pulled that tiny rug out from under me. Don't you love teen naivete?

The newest in the medications they are throwing at me is Ritalin. It is an attempt to manage the Idiopathic Hyposomnia. So far, other than just feeling a tiny bit off, I don't really notice a change in my exhaustion level. I am not really noticing side effects either, which is a marked improvement from their last attempt of Provigil, in which I was a migraine filled joint achy mess. Where are all the great benefits of wild energy and weight loss I hear promised? See THIS is why I would make a horrible prescription drug abuser! I never get any the fun parts out of ANY of them.

In other news I am fighting with the school to do a 504 for Little Bear. We got the script from the doctor in Sept. We met to determine eligibility in the beginning of October. I was told the evaluations would follow shortly. October finished out and I followed up. Soon they sai50 d. November before Thanksgiving I follow up again and they say the week they return. Still nothing. Yesterday I get a packet, date the seventh saying they need written permission (what about all the papers I signed at the meeting? I don't know if it was on there, I never got a copy!). I keep reading the paperwork, and discover they will have 50 school days from the time they get written permission to do the evaluation. We have aproximately 180 school days. Of which aprox. 60 have already passed, leaving just about 120. So you want me to wait another third of the school year? Uh no.

In all my advocate mommy glory I get on the phone. I call the District Special Ed department. I speak to not one, but two very nice woman who say that they are HAPPY to provide me with info, but until a plan is FILED they can't enforce it. But here are some possible next steps. Maybe. My next call was to the school principle. Who is the one giving me the run around. I explain that it is unacceptable to have this wait that long. She tells me that the OT went to schedule the eval, and that she could not find the written permission so she sent that home. That they would NOT be doing an eval for PT unless the OT recommended it. Never mind the fact that the doctor wants it. Never mind that I was told in the meeting that there would be separate evals for both.

She then assured me that I was not going to have to wait the 50 school days. I do not believe her. So much so in fact, that on the little form they gave me I made sure to indicate where they asked for the date when signed, that permission had been giving at the initial meeting and that the 50 days needed to be counted from then. Then, I handed it to her, in her office last night. She grinned at me through gritted teeth as she accepted it, promising to give it to the OT in the morning.

In which I am angry and curse. Cause that never happens.

2009-12-10T00:08:00.002-05:00

I have been trying to write this post. About how fucked up I feel. And frustrated. And helpless. How turtles on their back are starting to look like a good life goal.

I am totally aware it is not that bad. How lucky I am in SO many ways.

But right now? I hurt. And I am sick of hurting. I am not supposed to be driving. Esp. not at night, and rarely during the day. Right now, due to new medication, not really at all yet, till I adjust. And hey, my knees are sucking so bad I can't walk to the store either.

The most frustrating part is hearing a few words over and over again. "Idiopathic" being the MOST frustrating of them all by far. "Inflammation" is just the new black. And "wait" is somewhat equal to sandpaper.

I have been mostly avoiding posting because even I am sick of listening to me. But those of you who have seen/talked to me recently *know* something has not been right. And I guess it is not really fair to keep blowing you all off.

They are testing, AGAIN, for something auto-immune. The most recent Rheumotologist* said to me "there is no reason a healthy 31 year old should be having this many problems". And he was smart and kind and is trying to help me, but I just wanted to scream... WHY DO YOU THINK I AM HERE?!!!

How do I explain to these doctors that they have to figure it out? That I HAVE been waiting. That it has been TWO YEARS of waiting since the first random lump appeared? 10 years or longer since the "idiopathic" stomach pain started coming and going? That I can't homeschool my kids anymore because I feel like shit? That I just want to have ONE WEEK without having to take a fucking pill or another, that most of the time causes more side effects than helps, and really they are just guessing anyway? That I am still scared, EVERY MORNING to wake up and be blind. That maybe this time the pain in my head is a fucking stroke.

That I want my mommy and she can't drive right now either, so they need to hurry up and fix one of us.

And I have spent the last two days LEAKING from my face. Tears and snot. And not feeling sad. Just MAD. Maybe this is the new meds I am on. Maybe this is hormones. Any which way, clearly keeping this shit to myself and a small handful of other people is not working.

I think I am REALLY starting to understand the spoons thing.

*Why is it that my spell check has Herpatologist but not Rheumatologist?

Math about Face!

2009-01-03T20:02:00.001-05:00

When the proposed NJ homeschooling legislation came up a little while ago, I disagreed with a number of points with it. One of the things it was trying to require was that parents submit a curriculum to the Superintendent for approval. Now in theory I get that this sounds nice, and fine and all. In all likelihood before I homeschooled I would have thought that it was reasonable enough. On a personal level I am not concerned about my curriculum getting approved despite my general opinion that it is none of the governments business TYVM.

However the reality of teaching my kids at home is a bit different than a classroom setting, and allows me the luxury/benefit/right/whatever to recognize when the curriculum I am using is not working best for us, and not having to wait an entire year if not more to try something else. So when I look at the fact that Little Bear, who LOVES math is stagnating? I am not just locked in until next September. I order a new course a go for it.

I just took the leap and ordered Math-U-See I will try and post a review after we have been using it for a bit.

Of shopping and sales

2008-12-10T18:13:00.002-05:00

I like to shop. A lot. But not as much as I like to save money. So I was thinking that occasionally, when I come across those deals that make me giggle like a 4 year old, I would share.

These last couple of weeks have been rather nice shopping wise, and I thought I would start with some Milk. Yes, Milk.

Horizon Organic Reduced Fat Chocolate Milk, 8-Ounce Aseptic Cartons (Pack of 12)
or Horizon Organic Reduced Fat Vanilla Milk, 8-Ounce Aseptic Cartons (Pack of 12)
when purchased from Amazon for $14 - choose "Subscribe & Save" and use coupon code HORZNORG to cut the price to $9.10 (which is less than $0.76 per each) with free shipping - Just cancel the subscribe and save after your order arrives if you do not want any more!

Now on to something a bit more, erm... frivolous than groceries. And a bit harder to find a place to put. I know because I can't figure out where to put one. Oh well. Target has the Lego Millenium Falcon on sale from $499.99 to $349.99. Use coupon code 7N584R3M to take off another $35. Target will give you free shipping, but you may have to pay sales tax (you will in NJ). Ebates will give you 4% back too!

Oh! There is an AeroGrow AeroGarden with Gourmet Herb Seed Kit on sale for $89.99 (but only in white - the black or stainless are still $129.95).

PetFoodDirect.com has 22% off using coupon code PF120B - also use with Ebates for another 5% back.

That is all for now. I am back to trying to figure out what 10yo & 12yo boys might want for the holidays...

ETA: Oh, and since I am pimping? Go check out: and get$5 off purchases at CafePress of hoodies, jackets and sweatshirts, excluding shipping charges and applicable sales tax. Code: DCPHOL5

When a tomato is a potato on a train to Coney Island...

2008-10-14T15:58:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was supposed to just be a quick visit to my dad in Brooklyn for lunch. Well when I called to confirm he mentioned maybe going to the aquarium. Erm, ok. Being Columbus day I was not thrilled, but I was opened to the possibility. At my dad's house Indy picked a cherry tomato from one of the plants one his stoop - Potato! she announced and put it in her jeans pocket. No, Indy, TO-MA-TO.

Well when we got out there kidlets were starved so we just got some nummy NY pizza. Then they asked for ice cream and my dad got that look in his eyes. So we hop on the subway to Coney Island. Ever the adventurer my dad makes a point of making sure we are on the car with the conductor (not the operator driving the train, but the guy who does the announcements and opens and closes the doors and such). Pops gets friendly with him and next thing I know the kids are in the booth with him honking the train horn, pushing things on the computer to make the announcements and learning all about his job.

After arriving in Coney Island we head to William's Candy and all get Ice Cream Cones, and Pops also spoils them with some giant lollipops and me with a bit of fudge for later. Indy shows them her "Potato!" (No, Indy, TO-MA-TO.) We wander around for a tiny bit, discussing a bit of family history in the area (like how my mom danced with Sammy Davis Jr. at the hotel across the street) and the upcoming renovations.

We headed back to the station, this time my dad directed us to where the front of the train would be, and, since this was the end/beginning of the line, the operators changed here, and the trains got cleaned as well, so we got to experience that as well. Indy got to see that women operate trains too, which she thought was pretty cool, and Little Bear learned a bit more about how they label and operate the tracks. I meanwhile was ready for a nap. No such luck ;)

Back at my Dad's house we hang for a bit and get ready to head back to Jersey because I have a slew of appointments and the farm to still get to after I drop the kids off at Bear's office. Indy gladly picks another "Potato!" (No, Indy, TO-MA-TO) and puts that in her jeans pocket too.

I was none too surprised when Bear relayed to me last night that Indy told him proudly that she had potatoes in her pocket and he was very confused. He was less confused and more grossed out when she retrieved one tomato, and a handful of squished mess and seeds. I meanwhile laughed so hard that I almost burst something. The mess will come out in the wash. Her joy is priceless.

I love those kids. And while yesterday was nothing like I planned, and really stressful at times, it had all the moments that made it just what it needed to be.

First day

2007-06-17T22:24:00.000-04:00

We got started with a preview day on Friday, since Little Bear was so excited, he did not want to wait till Monday. The curriculum that Bear and I decided on is K12 so the materials were ready and waiting. We seemed to fall into a pattern of schoolwork, play, snack, potty then more schoolwork. So while the lessons stretched out for the whole day, in reality we were not working more that 30 minutes at a shot.

Indy was not too thrilled initially, because this meant that Little Bear was the focus of my attention and not her, so I checked in with my backup plans, and she seemed to be O.K. At first she was very content to just color and scribble on some "worksheets" like her big brother, but after a while she became bored, and so I offered her the Wedgits. Holy cow, she was enthralled for at least a whole lesson, and then once Little Bear took a break and wanted to play with them too, she was excited enough to have them back to herself she made it through at least one more on just that!

I did not use the preschool activity bags, since we did not need them yet, but I did pick up some foam letters, and some plastic spoons so I could make another couple of them.

It became apparent that Little Bear was familiar with many of the concepts covered in Friday's lessons, so since this program is Mastery based, I just started giving him the assessments to let him "test out" of the individual lessons. When he took their placement tests he did test at the second semester for the year, but I decided to start from the beginning, for fear that there were some basic concepts that he might be missing. It looks like I was not mistaken. While he did test out of 9/10 of the lessons in unit 1 of math, there was a lesson on patterns that he did need. So Bear and I discussed it and we will continue to do that moving forward. So long as he gets 100% on the assessments we will just move on to the next one.

Indy and Little Bear also really enjoyed all the books I was reading to then. Over the last 3 days we've read:
Cinderella in The Random House Book of Fairy Tales
The Irish Cinderlad
Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters
Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China
Floating Home which was Little Bear's favorite this week
Where Do I Live?
Don't Be So Nosy, Posy! which was Indy's favorite

Rabbit season! Desk season!

2007-06-13T10:38:00.000-04:00

I had been planning to teach Little Bear at the kitchen table, which is where we do most of crafts and such now. However while he was coloring a while ago I noticed that he was sitting down kind of low, leaving his hands at the wrong angle to develop proper handwriting skills. I have one Kinderzeat which had been his, but that has long since been handed down to Indy. I picked up a booster seat, but I don't think he will be comfortable sitting in it for extended lessons, for while he seems to like it, he is always fidgeting by the end of a meal.

Thus began the great search for a desk. I started with Freecycle with no luck. Next I researched school supply websites. It is unbelievable how much money they want for even the most basic of school desks! That was promptly vetoed on budget concerns. I had mostly given up the idea, but then decided to give it another shot when I heard that a nearby town was having a town wide yard sale. Sure enough on a tiny side street that Bear managed to wander us over to, I spied a small wooden school desk. It is beaten up, could use to be refinished, but has obviously been well loved, what with being drawn on and all. The woman was happy enough to have it go to a good home that she gave me an extra chair for it, so now Indy has a place to sit as well if she wants.

After a quick wipe down Bear and I briefly discussed refinishing it. It occurred to us that if we did put all that energy into it we would be upset if our kids ended up coloring all over it again so it will stay as is, though I might take a Magic Eraser too it just to clean it up a tiny bit more. So I have a (well loved, beaten up, in need of refinishing but not going to get it) wooden school desk in my living room that the kids have already been making a part of their daily lives.

Meeting of the minds

2007-06-09T01:43:00.000-04:00

While researching curricula I came across information of Mensa and gifted children. You see Mensa encourages homeschooling for gifted children who's educational needs are not being met in public schools, acknowledging that a suitable private school education is out of the financial reach of most parent. So after all these years of avoiding it, I went through the process of taking the test, and joining, in the hopes that I would have access to resources to arm me to better education my children.

Tonight I braced myself, left the kids with Bear, and headed off for my first meeting. Boy was I in for some surprises. First of all I was the youngest person by far. Secondly upon hearing that I was to be homeschooling my children I received a reaction I have never experienced before. Respect and adoration! I was greeted with chimes of "how wonderful", "it is nice to see parents today taking responsibility for the education of their children". Normally I am met with scorn, confusion, or even disbelief when people hear about homeschooling. This was a lovely, and much needed change.

I met someone who has studied the gifted programs in NJ public schools, or really the lack there of. She had tremendous suggestions of books to read, (especially The Hidden Gifts of the Introverted Child: Helping Your Child Thrive in an Extroverted World which I am reading now) and best of all a contact person within the local Mensa chapter who specializes in gifted children. It sounds like some testing for the kiddos might be in order so that I can best utilize their natural strengths to teach them effectively.

This subject requires thought and processing, research and review. We shall see where this leads if anywhere, but for now I will be grateful for the much needed support I received.

Namaste evolution

2007-06-06T23:24:00.000-04:00

I am not a physically fit person. This is definitely one of those traits I do not want to pass on to my children, so I am trying to incorporate a healthy level of physical activity into their day to day lives. Now that Little Bear will not have the organized mayhem that has been gym class in his preschool any longer I set out to create a physical education component to our homeschooling. If I should reap the benefits of this as well, all the better, but that is not my focus.

I started this as I do most things, on the internet. Then I talked to some other HS moms and got their input and experiences. I formulated a plan that involved swim classes, soccer with the township, and a variety of other activities. Then I sat down and talked to Little Bear about it, and he informed me that he did not really like what I had planned thank you very much though. Could he PLEASE learn to swim from me, not a stranger because I understand he does not like to get his face wet? If he was going to play soccer could his sister come too, and while we were at it could we do more fun stuff like this together?

So I tossed my nicely planned activities and pre-approved by Bear (DH) budget out the window. We will go to the pool as a family and *I* will teach them to swim. We will join a homeschooling soccer group that I found so that they can play together. Then as if by magic when I opened my mailbox last week there was a postcard from a new Yoga studio opening up within walking distance of my house, and they offer family yoga!

Today was the first class, and it was more wonderful than I could have expected. While I have done yoga in the past, and have even tried to do some with the kids here at home, I was unprepared for how well they would respond to a class geared to them. She made a point of explaining that we were trying to have our minds and bodies work together, which is something Little Bear and I have been talking about a lot together. She let the kids lead the evolution of the class, so that when they wanted to be animals we were, and when they wanted to use props she showed us how. We told stories with our bodies. When they did not want to participate in something there was NO pressure. Simply loving acceptance of their choice and a warm welcome when they rejoined. Indy made it through the entire class and begged to do more, while Little Bear sat out the second half as he has not been feeling very well. He did still express a desire to come back since it was ok for him to rest when he needed to.

Best of all, I got to do yoga again, which I find helps me remain patient with the kids, and I don't have to find a babysitter to do it!

What about Indy?

2007-06-04T22:43:00.001-04:00

In my grand scheme to homeschool Little Bear, there is one issue that I have not been convinced on. What it the world I am supposed to do with Indy while I am teaching Little Bear? In my quest to solve this problem I have searched support group archives, made repeated use of Google, and as of yet have only been able to come up with a few ideas.

The first of which is that which seems to be the most basic. Try to include her in as much of the learning process as she is interested in. Let her scribble while he practices his letters. She can listen in on the lessons and stories. Do craft projects with us. But lets be frank, not many 2 year olds can hold their attention as long as a 5 year old can (not that they are bastions of attention spans themselves, but you know what I mean).

The second is to reserve specific toys for her to play with while we are schooling, in the hopes that the novelty of these otherwise forbidden toys will be enough to keep her attention. My concern in this? What is to keep Little Bear from finding them just as intriguing?

The third, and the one I am trying not to pin too much hope on, despite enjoying every second of prep work thus far is Preschool Activity Bags. My tests of these with Indy have resulted in a lot of high hopes and much giggling on her part. I can only hope they will be such a hit when I need them to be. I have only assembled two of them to date, and am working on a third. Perhaps as time goes on I will review them individually.

The Larval Stage

2007-06-04T00:23:00.000-04:00

In the realm of homeschooling I am not even a newbie. More a larva. I have a curriculum ready and waiting. Little Bear (who is 5) is anxious to start Kindergarten in two weeks. I am nervous, excited, and hoping that I can do this. I have plans within plans. Backups, support systems, social groups. Yet what it all comes down to is me. If I can manage to be mother, wife and teacher. If I can amuse Indy (who is 2) while I teach Little Bear. This is my journey, for better or worse, success or failure.