Birthday parties

Birthday parties, who needs 'em? I know kids love them but as a mom, I can really do without them. Now I would like to make it clear that I don't have a problem with a family celebrating the birthday of a family member. I even think it's fun to invite some family friends for cake and ice cream. The thing I really don't care for are the parties my kids get invited to year after year for the same kid. Do kids really need friend birthday parties every year? I say, no they don't. If you can afford it and want to have a party go ahead, but every year? Am I the only one who can't afford birthday presents for the same kids year in and year out? I have taken to making most of the gifts we give at parties. Something simple and inexpensive. I am also finding it very freeing to just say, I'm so sorry we just won't be able to make it this year. I for one know that my kids don't need any more crap to store in the middle of their floor. So from now on I am going to ask kids to please bring a donation to give to some other family or service that actually needs things. Because after all it's the party that IS the present, time with friends, crafts, games and cake. Maybe it's time we started giving our kids less, less crap and stuff, less material expectations, less want for material things and more time with family uninterrupted, more service to others, more looking outside themselves, even on their birthday. Please tell me I'm not the only parent who thinks this way. I can't possibly be. I would rather spend the day doing something fun that will build memories rather than using the money to buy more stuff that we don't have room for. Our kids don't go into public naked, they have shoes, they eat us out of house and home, they have books and toys a plenty. So why not spend time at an art gallery or an armory museum or an insect house, or going for a hike or to a clothing museum and a fabric store (it might surprise you to know that this one is a huge hit around here). All of my kids would love to go to the Boston public library and walk around the public gardens. So here is to a year of no gifts, instead we are using that money to make  a memory or help someone else. All those who wish to join us say, aye!

My yearly vacation

This past April I was able to attend the Masshope homeschool conference. I look forward to conference every year. It is a time when I can learn, be renewed, encouraged, strengthened and see thousands of other people who are as crazy as I am. It is also a time when I can see first hand the tender mercies of the Lord. I am always amazed at how He answers my prayer for my kids. I have been learning and studying about the
Charlotte Mason style of education the past few years. I have found that it works really well with my girls and especially with Kiah. This year I was able to attend many classes about this style of learning and all of its how too's. My favorite speaker was Sonya Shafer. She has used this method for many years and I was able to learn quite a bit from her. I was also able to ask her some specific questions I had. If you are interested in finding out more about what I'm talking about you can visit Mrs. Shafer's website at  http://www.simplycharlottemason.com/. I have watched many of her video's and have employ many of her methods into our homeschool. Both the girls and I love it. It has really helped to make learning enjoyable. I am grateful to a Heavenly Father who hears and answers prayer and is concerned with what some would call trivial matters. And since I'm talking about it, I also loved the five days of staying in a hotel and eating out and the long quite walk in the art museum. Of course in true homeschool mom fashion, I spend the whole time taking notes and pictures so I could show the girls when I got home. The phrase, they would love this, came out of my mouth a lot. I think the art museum in Worcester is at the top of our to do list. Becuase they really would love it. I also love spending time with my friend, who found an amazing mexician resturant that we ate at. I love guacamole and they make the best I have had in a very long time, maybe ever. They made this devine mix of guacamole with pepper honey and dark chocolate. Yes you read that right. Dark cholocate. It truly was the best guacamole I have ever eaten and the entree was good too.

Round one

Sickness has hit the house or more correctly the family. Usually these things begin with the younger ones and work there way up or Dan so kindly brings something home from some trip. This time it started with Anique and moved to Micah and now Toran has it. What is it you are wondering? It is a nasty cold like illness that hits hard and lasts a long time (or so I am told). We have quickly added vitamin c, echinacea and elderberry. Anique has been sick for four days and we started seeing an improvement on the morning of day three. She isn't what I would call well but she can function. Toran has been hit hard but I think it is because she won't take the vit. C as well as everyone else. I hope I can keep from getting it. Colds and asthma don't mix well and I just don't want the hassle. I am grateful that this weekend is general conference and we can stay home to watch it may help break the cycle of spreading this wonderful fun. I foresee Lysol and laundry in my future. It just isn't fun when sick comes to visit.

It's a hard day when...

Toran's birthday was last Sunday. I asked her what she wanted for her birthday and she said she wanted a bike with rainbow colors and glitter. So that's what she got. Oh and a helmet of course. Can anyone tell me why the helmet is so expensive? It's almost as expensive as the stinkin' bike. Anyway I digress, back to the bike. Toran invited some friends to join us for cake and ice cream and presents, it was great fun. When she opened the bike she was very excited and Anique started right in on putting the bike together for a late night ride. She demanded that there be no training wheels. Well after the first five minute biking adventure she was ready for those training wheels. She was very proud of her ability to ride all by herself. After many days of riding her bike from the first possible moment of the morning to the last glimmer of sunlight, she came in one afternoon and fell on the couch. She burst out saying "I am soooo exhausted! I've been puddling and puddling all day."

Taken by surprise I asked "what did you say?".

"I've been puddling and puddling on my bike and I am tired, I need a brake."

"Puddling and puddling, huh."

"Yes, I was turning this way and that way and puddling as fast as I can (arms and legs moving in a wild and fast motion to demonstrated just how fast she is) and now I need a brake."

"Oh, ok then." I say trying so hard not to laugh out loud to much.

So if you are puddling and puddling as fast as you can, you may need a break and a Popsicle according to Toran.

Christmas

With Christmas landing on Sunday this year the timing of opening presents changed. Instead of getting up at dark o'clock and ripping through every gift then having breakfast, we leisurely looked through stockings at about 6:30 and then proceeded to a fantastic breakfast. After which we all dressed for church and headed out the door. The gifts remained unopened, untouched and unspoken of. When presented with options of how we would be handle Christmas morning, they decided to wait to open things until after church. Which meant they were choosing to wait many hours before ripping into those presents. Even Toran agreed that it was a good idea to wait. So they waited until about 2 o'clock that afternoon to open gifts. All of the pictures still show them in their pj's because when we got home from church they quickly changed right back into them before eating lunch. I hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

That is exactly what I needed.

About a month ago Kali came running in yelling "I have found one! I was looking and looking and I found one." I couldn't figure out what she was talking about when she thrust into my face a four leaf clover. Yep, that's right we don't have a fine manicured lawn, we have been growing clover and Kali spends hours looking for the very elusive four leaf clover. We told her she would probably never find one, good thing she didn't listen and kept looking. We did facilitate her discovery by spending no time whatsoever on the so called lawn. Other than mowing every once in awhile. She is very welcome for the "Luck of the Irish" that is to come her way.

BIG NEWS!!! KIAH IS 12

I have put off writing this post for many reasons. One being that if I ignore it long enough maybe it won't really be true, I can't possibly have another child entering Young Women's. Two, she is the one most like me. Yes, she has my quirky sense of humor (read sarcasm), she sounds like me, she looks like me, she is my mini me. Needless to say we butt heads a lot. I know that is shocking. Of course when we are on the same wave length, there isn't anything the two of us can't do. We can read each others thoughts and feel each others pain.

I probably "get her" the best of all of my kids, it also means we tend to argue more too. It is harder for me to write about Kiah because she is most like me. Kiah is someone you just get or you don't, there is no middle ground. To most people she is ambiguous and amoeba like, but to me she is a very easy read. She is loyal to a fault, she is kind, she is creative and loves to work in 3D. She likes to create and make something out of things most people would never think of using as craft material. She is a thinker, she is reflective and ponders on things that many great thinkers have only scratched the surface of. She definitely thinks out of the box. She loves to cook (we are all grateful for this one). She makes the best beef stew ever. She likes to bake and make a mess of the kitchen and come up with things to please others. She adds lots of love to whatever she makes. Her cookbook collections is already better than mine. I could totally see her writing one someday. She hopes to go to culinary school someday and become a pastry chef or own her own restaurant. I say do both, as long as mom eats for free. She is passionate, full of fire and ambition. She is also timid, cautious, tentative and slow to warm to new people or situations. I have to say this has served her very well through out her young life. She is a great judge of character. I often look to see how Kiah reacts to someone before giving a final clearance. Kiah is someone who will give you her last dime, last meal, shirt and coat, and last breath if you need it. So it is good that she is a little slower to make a friend because once you have reached the inter sanctum of her circle, you are there for life and she is there for you.

She loves a good game of anything. She is very competitive and will not give up an inch for anyone or anything. If you win playing against Kiah, it is a well fought battle. Thankfully she is usually a pretty good loser if she loses. Kiah has always been my lover of the outdoors. She is most happy exploring the woods or streams. She loves to ride her bike, roller blade, jump rope, chase sisters. Of course as she enters these soon to be teen years she is discovering the arts of the home. She is becoming very capable in caring for and beautifying a home. She enjoys caring for younger kids and babies and can't wait to begin babysitting. It is fun to watch her grow into womanhood and to begin an amazing journey into discovering herself. If the past is any indication, she will be a witty, smart, funny, capable, handy, beautiful daughter of God.