The Cycle Begins Anew

As usual, it's been a while since I posted here. Time always seems to slip away so quickly! Since I last posted, many things have happened. We started school this past week. I'm finding that schedules are a must. With a written schedule, I can see who needs my help in what subject and who can work on seat work while I'm helping the child who needs guidance. It worked pretty well for this first week and I feel a great sense of relief. So while I hate schedules in general, they are going to be a life saver this school year. Before we started school, our kids went to stay with their nanna for a week. They had a lot of fun and I know that Nanna really enjoyed her time with them. When we went to pick them up, we stayed for a week and did a little sight-seeing around the area. McDonough, GA has some really neat places to see if you're on a budget. For one thing, it's pleasant to walk the town square during the morning hours when everyone is at school or work. It harks back to the time when McDonough was a smaller town. We discovered that Grits, a local eatery on the square, is a great place to get fried apples and peach cobbler. Their sweet iced tea is good, too! When you're done with that super cool iced tea, take a stroll around the corner to the Bell, Book & Candle used book store. They have something for every taste and it's always a bargain. On the other side of town you'll find the Henry County Veteran's Museum and War Memorial. They do not have an entry fee but donations are accepted. It's a great place to go with your kids, as long as they aren't interested in touching the displays that are not behind glass. I'm very proud of my kids, who followed the directions given to them by the museum volunteers! All the memorabilia is donated to the museum and there's a good bit of memorabilia. It's wonderfully put together and a great way to teach our kids about our veterans and the things our country went through over the years. History is really important. Why? Well, we need to know where we came from. We need to know why things were done in a certain way. We need to see where we went wrong so that maybe next time we can get it right. History is so very important. The memorial itself is situated on a small hill outside the museum building. As we read some of the quotes made by famous people such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, etc., I thought about my relatives who had fought for this country. I thought about the one relative of mine who fought and died for this country. I cried thinking about all those things, thinking about the amount of casualties in each successive war, thinking about how people who fought then had a love for their country that cannot be found in the civilian of today's United States of America. I also thought about how so much more than lives was lost each time we fought in a war. In everything there is balance. Sometimes the balance is scary. "If you wish for peace, prepare for war." McDonough has quite a few interesting stores closer to the interstate, as well. We got to visit a Summit store for the first time in McDonough, GA. I'm pretty sure if you asked any of us, we'd say it was a pretty neat experience. My husband walked away with a brand new t-shirt and I got a nifty-difty suspension coil. I'm pretty sure I can do something pretty awesome with it and there might be a future blog post concerning the creation of it. The anime store was kinda neat. It's fairly new (within the last 3 or so years, maybe) and they had some interesting and varied merchandise. The comic book store was a lot of fun. I found some cool buttons to buy. I passed them out to the kids when we got in the car. TheRo got 'compassion' because it is most like her. TheShi got 'hope' because she is the most hopeful of our children. And Nojo got 'will power' because he is the most determined. :) I think it worked out well. :) In Locust Grove, GA, there is a wonderful place called Noah's Ark where they are "bringing children and animals together." In the dead of summer, it can be a pretty hot walk. Thankfully, there are also a lot of shade trees along the route! We saw different kinds of reptiles, ostriches, emus, tigers, bears, a wolf, a jaguar and lots of other animals. It's not really a zoo. It's more like an animal preserve, I guess, since their animals are all rescue animals. It's a non-profit organization, so it doesn't cost to get in but donations are happily accepted. Can you imagine what it must cost to take care of over 1,200 animals? A picnic area is provided but we didn't visit until after lunch. I highly recommend this as an educational outing, especially if you are trying to stay within budget. It's a great place to visit! We made one last stop on our way home from Georgia. We visited Middle Earth, a self-sustaining farm in Citronelle, AL. What a wonderful place! It's a peaceful place, a welcoming place, perfect for catching your breath in today's fast-paced lifestyle. While we were there, our friends, the Kalloch's, let us stay in their barn apartment where we got to experience solar power, fresh and clean (by using reverse osmosis) water from their rain barrels and a composting potty. If you've never used one of those before, let me tell you! It's fabulous! I want to transfer all my toilets over to composting toilets since there is no danger of bursting or leaking pipes. It saves water, too! No more toilets 'running through' and running up the water bill. We were able to watch Craig and Lisa remove honey from the hive, along with two helpers, Lori and Ken (I believe that was his name. I hope he'll forgive me if I got it wrong!) Then Nojo, theShi and my husband got to help run the extractor that slings the honey out of the frames. For their efforts, we got to bring home a bit of raw, natural honey! We'd love to make another trip out to Citronelle sometime in the near future since there is so much we can learn from them. This concludes today's extremely long post. I hope you find something you like, maybe even visit one of these places someday. We had a great little mini vacation and got to spend time with family and friends. What could be better? Laugh a Lot!

Back To School Madness

As a new school year begins, I just have to shake my head and sigh. The kids have to start back to school sooner and sooner every year and I don't see that there is any more improvement in their actual and practical knowledge. Some of them, too many of them, come out of high school not being able to form a complete sentence or even spell contractions! Many of them come out of high school with a huge dose of apathy and a detrimental sense of "I don't care" or "I don't wanna" as if there was no point in gaining knowledge.  It's no wonder, really.  But I'm already getting off the topic I wanted to discuss. This was supposed to be a post about what you have to buy to begin a new school year.

While private schools have always had uniforms and fees galore, this is the first year that I heard of public schools charging a fee for kids to ride the bus. This is yet another way to charge the taxpayers more money because for those kids who can't afford to pay the fees, the American taxpayers will have to take up the slack. Here's one article on the subject: http://chestertontribune.com/Indiana%20News/713103%20attorney_general_says_public_sch.htm 

Here's another article: http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20110720_Board_raises_public_school_bus_fares.html

Now if you are from one of these states, chances are you  might be in part of that 54% the writer of the second article mentioned.  But if you aren't 'lucky' enough to be in the low-income category or if you are like my family was when I was growing up (low enough income but owned a home) then you might find this a bit burdensome. My first question is this: Aren't schools non-profit organizations? Shouldn't any money they make from fund raisers go back into the schools? And if this is happening then why isn't there enough money for the schools to be able to support themselves? 

Kids are supposed to be able to get an education.  After all, that's what the public school system was created for in the first place, to be an affordable option as opposed to the private schools that cost more.  But it's becoming quite obvious that it's costing many folks just as much for public education as it does for those sending their kids to private educational facilities.  It used to be the norm for kids to get a better education at a private school but such is no longer the case. More of the private schools are moving towards the same curricula as public schools and therefore, the knowledge gained is the same across the board. So why would I pay more to send my kid to a private school when the education standards are all the same and there is no extra educational benefit in sending my child there?  So my choices in schools are much like my choices in bananas at the less than perfect grocery store: green or over-ripe? Neither option is acceptable to me, which is another reason why I continue to school my children at home.  

Another friend of mine was speaking of how much it cost her to put her public school children in uniforms and buy all their supplies. She figured that she probably spent $300 per child.  By shopping normally for clothing for my own children, which means bargain shopping these days or making their clothing myself, I save a /ton/ of money. By shopping for curriculum very carefully and taking advantage of coupons, discounts, special sales and great websites that offer free resources, I spend a lot less than what a person might spend on tuition fees. I get to choose which method I wish to use for my children, planning the curriculum in such a way that it is tailor made for each child.  This is a win/win situation, in my opinion.  

My second question is this: Why is it necessary for all the kids to have the same brand name supplies? Some of the schools in our area are actually specifying which brand of supply to buy. Isn't a binder a binder? Isn't a no. 2 lead pencil a no. 2 lead pencil? What difference does it make if the pencils have Spiderman or Barbie on them? Heaven forbid we actually allow our progeny to form unique personalities! Heaven forbid we actually encourage them to think for themselves and learn about how to be able to live and make life decisions and then live /with/ those decisions. Nah. They don't need any of that, do they? Pardon my sarcasm but it seems to be the only weapon I have these days. I'm sorry. I don't want a cookie cutter kid who looks, thinks and acts just like every other kid. I want to have a child that grows up into a responsible, thinking, fully functioning, unique adult.  I want to encourage them to reach their potential.  While I believe it's possible for a child to do this while attending public or private school, I think it's a much harsher environment in which they would need to learn.  Why put them through all that when what they are truly supposed to be focused on is not all the social stuff? The focus is education, right? I really am beginning to wonder about the true purpose of our 'education' system. Actually, I am past the beginning of wondering about it. I'm truly skeptical of it. 

Remembering to breathe...

From Chaos & Mayhem To Calm

I know. It's been /forever/ since I last posted a blog here. It's been one giant roller coaster at our house lately, with old pipes giving way and new pipes needing to be put in, one of our two air conditioners going out and needing to be replaced, and on top of all that a stage production!

Our washing machine has always had a bit of a backing up problem when it drains. We're living in the house I grew up in and it's always done that...backed up a bit into the kitchen sink.  Since it drained without further problems, we never worried about it.  Last week, it decided to completely clog and was spewing like Old Faithful into our laundry room. (sigh)  So between running loads of laundry next door, hauling the wet laundry back to our house to put them on the line to dry, and not being able to use our kitchen sink, the last two weeks have been chaotic, to say the least.  And with the economy in such bad shape, there was no question of hiring a plumber to fix the issues.  We had to do all the work ourselves.  My husband, who knows next to nothing about plumbing, put his head down and tackled the job, even while his knees, shoulders and back are somewhat messed up from his time in the Air Force.  He is one awesome guy.  He got under the kitchen sink to try to see what the problem was and the pipes under there just crumbled away in his hands. Frustrating? You better believe it.  Tensions were definitely running high that day.  So we made several trips to Lowe's, spent a few days working on the pipes under the sink, and checked to be sure all was well with the pipes under the house. Because of his dogged determination, the kitchen sink is working again and we'll be testing the washer today.

Before we had all the back up issues with the pipes, we were having trouble with one of our window units not cooling like it should. We believe it needs Freon (spelling?) but aren't sure how to put it in so we bought a stronger window unit.  But we didn't buy it until recently and working on those pipes with only one working ac in the house? Yeah, that was a definite trial. It's been hot and humid here, not that it's unusual for the weather to be that way in Louisiana.  I guess Murphy was working overtime for the pipes and the ac unit to go out at the same time. I'm just glad we're seeing a light at the end of the tunnel again.

While all this was going on, we were also having theater practice. My husband is loving the theater and I love that he loves it. :)  'A Flea In Her Ear' is now showing at the Crowley Rice Theater in Crowley, LA.  The cast consists of 14 wonderful actors and some really awesome set/costuming/back stage crew members.  We've made some more good friends and enjoyed our time with them.  But it's been adding to the hectic and chaotic whirl our life has been caught in and we are both ready for it to be done.  Thankfully, the production is going well and we are looking forward to tonight's show.

So in conclusion, I'm remembering to breathe and I'm starting to laugh again. Hope you guys, my faithful readers, will remember to laugh a lot today! Until next time...

A Sweet Smelling Treat!

As I was browsing through facebook this morning, I happened upon this super giveaway. They asked that folks share it so I'm sharing it on my blog. :)  If you love lavender, like me, then I know you'll be interested. Check it out here. And while you are at it, take a look at the awesome planner Home Educating Family Magazine has put together. I'm really looking forward to trying out this planner for my own home school needs.

Top 10 Reasons To Make Lists

It's been several weeks since my last blog post so I decided to do another top 10 in the hopes it will be a catalyst and get me blogging more often. We'll see, I suppose.

I hate making lists. I don't like the extra piece of paper that floats around my house. I don't like having to go on scavenger hunts to locate one of the many pens that are never around when I need them. It just seems like there is more hassle involved in making and keeping track of lists. But I have learned through the years that for all the hassle, a list can be quite the thing to keep me on track. I've also learned that it helps you see the light at the end of the Long Tunnel of Chores become a bit brighter and clearer as you check off items that get done or purchased. So here are my top 10 reasons to make lists. (I'm gearing up to make a massive grocery list today so I really need this, probably more than anyone else who's reading my blog today!) These are in no particular order. I'm just writing what comes into my head.

1. You can see clearly if you've forgotten anything while shopping. I don't know about the rest of you but I usually forget one really important item if I don't make a list. I never forget milk but I would probably forget the eggs or butter or maybe even my fish oil supplement. And I am the type of person that would forget my head if it was not attached to the rest of me.

2. Lists help you prioritize. In these tough economic times, it's very important for my family to prioritize what we put on our grocery list and on our wish lists. Do we really need that box of granola? Or can we get by without it? Should I get my new tattoo now? Or should I wait a few more months?

3. A list also helps you to see what you need in relation to what you have coupons for. I have my coupons in a nifty-difty accordion wallet. I never remember what coupons I have but if I used lists, I might actually remember to check that wallet more often and save myself a few dollars.

4. Crossing items off of a list, especially a to-do list, gives one a sense of satisfaction. Every time I cross an item off my to-do list, I feel a sense of relief, like a bit of a large burden has been lifted from my shoulders. It gives me a sense of accomplishment and reminds me that even when it doesn't seem like it, progress has indeed been made.

5. Lists can keep the peace. My husband and I decided to make lists to prioritize what we need to do, what we want to do and when we want those things to be accomplished. This helps us keep our needs and wants in perspective so we don't splurge on a ridiculous item and do have what we need to get necessary items. This effectively keeps the peace in our house, at least as far as money goes.

6. Lists help you see how far you've come. If you make a family list, like the one mentioned in number 5, this list will be kept for a while. As you go back to it to check off more items, you can see how far you've come in getting to all your goals. You can more easily see the path ahead as something you can definitely do because you've checked off all the other items that came before.

7. Order equals peace. I know I mentioned this in number 5 but even putting together a grocery list gives you a sense of peace that nothing will be forgotten while shopping that day. In this hectic hustle and bustle we call 'life', peace is sometimes hard to come by but it is so very important!

8. It's a great teaching tool for kids. Kids need to learn to make goals that are appropriate, reachable, doable. They can't do that without help and as their parent, it's part of my responsibility that I teach them how to make goals that are practical and how to effectively reach those goals.

9. Lists are very 'green'. You will find, if you stick to your list, that you will waste less time, money and effort when using that list. How many times have I wandered around the store thinking, "I know I needed something else but what is it?!" What a waste of time and effort! And how many times have I bought something frivolous simply because it was in front of my face? (I won't count those and you shouldn't try, either. You'd probably go cross-eyed.)

10. List making can be fun. I like to doodle. No one says your list has to be a boring bit of letters on a white strip of paper. Have fun with it! If you're teaching your young child to read, draw a milk carton or a glass of milk on your list and write the word 'milk' inside the picture. Kids love that kind of stuff and they love to help. When they smile, I smile too.

While some of my reasons may seem kooky to you, I need every one of them to make the lists I'm working on today. We happen to be at the bottom of the barrel and in need of whopping amounts of things. With that in mind, I will let you all get back to your day while I get started on that list-making. Hope you have a great one!
Laugh a lot!

Survival Skills Are Important

...And if you don't believe they are, just watch the news. If you live in the city and you've lived in the city all your life, then survival skills are /definitely/ something you need to acquire. Why city-folk and not country-folk? Well, folks that live in the country are used to making do with what they have. Many times, you have to reuse a part that needs fixing because you live too far away from town or it will take 2 weeks for the new part to come in once the parts store has ordered it. Most folks who live in the country farm, fish, or hunt and survival skills are important in all three of those occupations. What happens if you are in the woods hunting and you have an accident? What happens in you're in the middle of a big swampy area fishing and you have an accident? What happens if you're working in your garden and you get bitten by a poisonous snake? What do you do? Survival skills will get you through situations like this.

Now on an equally important note, you folks that live in the city have quick access to public servants (police, firefighters, EMTs). For those of us living in the country, well, let's just say it takes a little longer for help to arrive. What do we do in the interim? What happens if someone invades your home? What happens if a wild animal tries to devour your pet? Do you just stand there and hope help arrives to take care of your problem? What do you do? Survival skills will help you through situations such as these.

That's why I really appreciate resources like http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/ where I can find helpful hints that improve my chances of protecting my family from harm. I highly recommend that you check them out and see what helpful hints you can discover. They also have a blog, forum and store.

An Educational Site Gives Away an Awesome Freebie!

I know it's been a long while since I last posted here on my blog. However, I came across this great giveaway opportunity from Freely Educate. They're giving away a chemistry curriculum worth $100 and I wanted to pass it along to you, my readers. :) I hope you'll check out the Freely Educate website b/c they offer lots of free items to help and encourage our children to succeed in their educational journeys. You can find the giveaway details here.

The reason I am trying to get this particular giveaway is because our son will be studying chemistry very soon. I've been searching for a curriculum that is easy to understand and teach but challenging enough for the student to really stay interested in it.

For a little twist of subject, hope you all enjoy this Memorial Day weekend and if you haven't hugged, thanked, enjoyed time with a veteran yet, be sure to do so before the weekend is up. They gave so much for us to keep and enjoy our freedoms. They deserve our respect and they deserve honor.

Laugh a lot!