If You Give a Mom a Blog Space

Merry Christmas 2011 - Part 1

2011-12-24T20:13:00.000-08:00

Josh has been singing this song all week, so we decided to record it and share with friends and family. Merry Christmas!!

More pics and video to come tomorrow. :)

Gym Time!

2011-04-02T16:22:00.000-07:00

Drew has been having a blast at Us Too Center since last summer and I just today remembered to bring my camera to document the fun. These pictures aren't the best, but when those two boys of mine are in motion it's hard to grab a good one!

Us Too is so freakin' fantastic, we *love* them! The owners are lovely people who really really understand having a child with autism (since their son is autistic). The instructors are loving, fun, accepting, patient - everything you want in a person who works with your child (especially your special needs child). Jordan is the best guy *ever*, the boys *adore* him. Oh, and even though this is Drew's class, they always allow Josh to 'crash' the class if he has to tag along. Did I mention we love these people? :)

Skateboardin' Fools

2011-04-02T16:03:00.000-07:00

The boys and I attended a skateboarding clinic for autistic kids today, hosted by Etnies and the A.skate Foundation in partnership with Autism Speaks. I'm not generally a big fan of Autism Speaks (they tend to view autism as a disease to be cured, and I'm not really on that bandwagon, myself), but this was an *awesome* time for the boys and they had *so* much fun! It was totally free, they allowed Joshua to participate, and every skater had a volunteer working with them, 1:1, woot!

From what I could tell, the volunteers were not autism experts, therapists, etc., but just ordinary people who loved to skateboard and donated their time and energy to giving these kids a fun morning of skating freedom. I wish I could remember the names of the people who worked (played really!) with my boys, but whoever they were, I loved you and THANK YOU for making my kids so gleeful. To be honest, the volunteers seemed to be having as much - or MORE - fun than the kids. See for yourself! (as always, click on an individual photo to view a larger version)

Jog-A-Thon

2011-04-02T15:23:00.001-07:00

As you can see, the last post around these parts was back in the fall. I typically go into a bit of winter hibernation and emerge once again in the spring, and here I am! I have a lot of pictures to share and will do a separate post for each set. I might even keep things up to date for a while after this...maybe. *grin*

The first set of pictures is from Joshua's school fundraising Jog-a-Thon. He amazingly went 21 laps over a 30 minute event. Yay Josh! It was adorable, watching the 1st through 3rd graders run around a mini track while pop music was played by a DJ and all the parents stood around cheering them on. Since Drew is homeschooled he of course was with me during the event (it was held on a school morning) and Joshua's teacher invited Drew to jog along with his brother, which Joshua *loved*.

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T21:28:00.000-07:00

Another successful Halloween has concluded at the Thedakers! The kids were invited to visit at a friend's house tonight, and although Josh had a tough time and wanted to come home with me to trick-or-treat in our neighborhood, Drew chose to stay and do the candy rounds with his friends for a bit. So I took Josh around here, we came home to pass out candy (which Josh loves to do), I picked up Drew, he did another round of t-o-t in our neighborhood, then came to pass candy here too. Whew!

Drew originally wanted to dress up as a little-known video game character, but it was too complex for me to figure out, so he opted for a Lego instead. So much easier and it came out great!

Josh went with Luigi (from the Mario Bros.), which was Drew's costume from last year. Easy again!

We had fun with pumpkins, especially since I encouraged (okay, forced) the kids to do their own this year. I always carve everybodys and I wasn't doing it this year! Josh's was the cat (of course!), Drew did the bat, Eric did a last-minute silly face and I did the dragon (which came out awesome, in my opinion).

A successful evening, ending with a big bubble bath for Josh and (hopefully) sleep before 10:00pm, since it's a school night.

Creative Multiplication

2010-10-13T11:54:00.000-07:00

Drew is still struggling a bit with memorizing his multiplication facts. We went ahead and moved forward in math, working on fractions, but not knowing those times tables by heart is making some of the work frustrating. Rote learning is so horribly boring, and honestly didn't seem to be working for him. He's very visual and artistic, so I started searching around for artistic, creative ways to work through the times tables.

As it often will, Waldorf saved the day! I found two approaches that Drew really enjoyed. Both ideas came from reading the blog Our Little Nature Nest (amazing stuff there if you are interested in a Waldorf approach to education, especially in the home). The two ideas, both variations of a wheel of numbers, are in the post HERE. Scroll down a bit to see the pictures of the multiplication sun and star. I will say that our art is not *nearly* as lovely as the art shown in the blog, but it was lots of fun and Drew enjoyed it, which was my whole point.

So the first idea was a sun, in which you draw a small circle in the center containing the number you are working on - 3 for example. Then you number 1-12 around the outside of the circle, as a clock would be. Each number then has a section radiating out to an outer circle - the sections will then contain the product of the two numbers, i.e. 3 and 1 will be 3, and so on. This is all colored, of course, that's the artistic fun part! Here is Drew's for 3:

The second idea has proven to be even more engaging for Drew. It's called a Waldorf Math Board, and is typically done with wood and nails. It looks like THIS. To make my life easier, I went with a cork board we already have and used pushpins instead of nails. Voila!

This design is the times table for 7. Isn't it cool?? There are 10 points around a circle, 0 to 9. You start with a string tied at the top, at 0. So, 7x1 is 7, tie the string around the 7. 7x2 is 14, tie the string around the 4 (last digit of 14), 7x3 is 21, string around the 1, and so on. Who knew math was so beautiful?

A shot of Drew working the 7's.

A close up of the pins, I just put little pieces of paper with the number written on the underneath each pin.

This is the 2 times table pattern. It's the same for a few other numbers too, of course. :)

OC Fair 2010

2010-08-06T14:02:00.000-07:00

This week the boys and I made our annual pilgrimage to the Orange County Fair. Money was spent, rides were ridden, food was consumed, animals were viewed (and sometimes petted), and a good time was had by all. Some highlights were; Drew's deep-fried Snickers bar (verrrry rich and yummy), Josh being stunned by the size of a full-grown sheep (are they really THAT big??), Josh reporting to Eric at the end of the day, "We saw sheep! And naked sheep!" Yes, sheared sheep, lol. The day was made complete by the Alaskan pig races, a few more rides on roller coasters, a hot dog on a stick, and ice cream. Whew. Here are the pictures!

On the spinning boat ride thingie, pre-spin.

The very first ride of the fair!

Josh's first ride was fraught with nerves. He got off all smiles, though. :)

Bazinga! Bonus point to those who know what that is from!

See, they get along sometimes!

On the Dragon coaster.

Monkey!

Drew was persuaded to ride the kiddie train for another year...

....and made the best of it!

60 inch height limit - this'll be the last year he can ride this one!

Spider swings!

Enjoying spider swings for the last year, Mr. Tall Preteen

I think he enjoyed this one!

Happy Bouncing Boys

Josh told everyone that this was his First. Snowcone. EVER! It wasn't, but he was pretty darn thrilled with it.

Drew and his deep fried Snickers bar, which looked very much like a corndog.

"OC Fair" in Legos!

Starting off on the Crazy Coaster

About to fly on the Cliff Hanger

Flying on the Cliff Hanger (3rd set back, green shirt)

After the log flume ride (which Josh didn't want to ride, but LOVED)

Josh was determined to get on the Skyway, and he did - twice! Very very happy guy.

Drew on the Skyway

Awesome OC sunset!

Hello, my name is Michelle, and I'm a SHE

2010-08-03T12:53:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true, I admit it freely. I embrace the truth so that I can release the guilt. I am a SHE, a.k.a. Sidetracked Home Executive. I could write a flowerly, good-feeling definition here, but I'm on the track of truth, so I'll be blunt. I'm a horrible homemaker. I'm insanely ADD. I can't recall, from one room to the next, what in the world I was doing. I almost never finish a household task, usually beacuse I see something wonderfully shiny, get distracted, and....see prior sentence. Clean clothes, what are they? *Where* are they? Toys? We have a zillion, but between being misplaced, out of batteries, missing pieces, etc. nobody gets to play with them. Rent check? Why yes I mailed it Honey....oh...maybe not...I know it's here on my desk *somewhere*. What's for dinner? Er....isn't it "Eat Out" night tonight? (said as I stare panicked into the freezer, where I have plenty of lovely meats, all frozen solid as a rock...and it's 5:00pm) I love having plants and a garden, but I never remember to water them. I love having time to play with the kids, but I never do because I feel so guilty that I'm not doing the housework that so desperately needs to be done...and then it never *gets* done because I'm so overwhelmed with the mess.

The positive in this is that my nature is one of wonder, joy, excitement and happiness. I love *everything* and cannot bear to miss any of it. I'm that person who stops to look at a tree, because the sun is streaming through the leaves in a magical way. I see the beauty in dustmotes sparkling through the air, caught in the sun from my kitchen window. I have so many treasure around the house that I simply MUST top and enjoy some of them as I pick up a room (which never, ever gets picked up). Ah yes, we see where this joy and beauty sometimes leads me. Oh all right, *always* leads me. Because even though I can see the beauty everywhere, my house - to the outside eye - is far from beautiful.

I've tried several approaches to getting myself organized. I won't go into the insanity of many of them here, because I already look loony enough. Suffice it to say, nothing has worked. Until now! Yes, I finally have hope that I will overcome my SHEness! Enter Pam Young and Peggy Jones, the self-professed "Slob Sisters". They are SHEs too, and they wrote a book many years back titled, "Sidetracked Home Executives, from Pigpen to Paradise." In short, they devised a system with 3x5 index cards that has changed my entire approach to being a homemaker. I actually *feel* like a homemaker this week! Not a housewife, a HOME MAKER - making my house a HOME, where my family and friends are comfortable, safe, secure, loved, happy, relaxed and joyful. This has been my dream for 30 years - it's what I always wanted to be. (Yes, always - I never wanted any other career than that of wife and mother. So 1950s, I know, but it's true!)

Oops....sidetracked by my own shiny there. Anyway! I have a 3x5 card for *everything* that I do - daily, weekly, monthly, seasonally, yearly. They are color coded and filed in a lovely pink box. My dear friend Rachel calls it my "Magic Box", and it really is!! I'm sure to those of you who are Born Organized (a phrase also coined by Pam and Peggy), this sounds utterly ridiculous. To my fellow SHEs, you're nodding your heads in total agreement and understanding. :) Yes, even brushing my teeth, making my bed, cleaning the breakfast dishes, feeding the cats - it's all on cards. I finish the card, I refile it in the next divider (next day, week, etc.). I *know* I did it. I *know* it'll get done again, on time. All hail the Magic Box!

I know it's only week 1 (day 2), so it's pretty early to be shouting my success from the rooftops. But I feel so accomplished and focused (for me, those are very relative terms). Today, before 11:00am, I had completed *SEVENTEEN* tasks. Seven-freakin'-teen. This is more than I usually get done in a *week*. I did so much work that I truly enjoyed taking a few minutes to chat with my hubby, write up this blog, and now I'm going to hang with my kids and eat lunch. Then a few more tasks to finish off the cards for today, leaving me free to daydream and play however I please.

Behold the Magic Box! Cute, isn't it?

Inside the wondrous box!

Meal plan!

Weekly card

Leave them be and see the creativity!

2010-07-15T14:48:00.000-07:00

This week is our 'week off' from academic work, and on these weeks I just let the kids do whatever they want. So long as the volume is reasonable and fighting doesn't cause blood, I'm pretty hands-off. Sometimes what comes of this is a slugfest - which is fine, we all need those. But some weeks, some incredible creativity breaks through.

This week, the boys have been collaborating on the creation of an animated cartoon. Drew found four programs that would do the jobs they needed done, figured out how to use them individually, how to use them *together*, and posted the initial results on his blog here: Drew's Blog.

To say I'm impressed would be an understatement. Drew did all the drawing, animation, sound effects, and some voices - Josh did the other voices and contributed story ideas. It's very simple right now, but a nice start I think!

I'll also credit the focus and calm emotions while working on this project to his new medication - it certainly seems to be helping!

Public school? Whaaaat?

2010-06-26T13:41:00.000-07:00

Josh has chosen to try out the neighborhood public school in September. I'm feeling excited, sad, anxious, fearful, optimistic - you name it, it's swirling around inside of me.

Of course I know that Josh is not Drew, they have very different personalities and needs. It's been quite a tough road this past year trying to find balance for them. Drew is needing quiet, peaceful time much of the day - both to pursue his interests with the concentration he desires and also to help keep his anxiety low. Josh, on the other hand, wants nearly constant interaction. Usually with Drew, and you can see where that becomes a problem. To be honest, I'm not up to the constant interaction either, being the introvert that I am.

We'd considered a classroom situation for Joshua before, but he hasn't been interested until now. I loooooove homeschooling, so that's hard to let go of for him. I also have a huge bag of fears related to public school, which will be a process of letting go, because I certainly don't want *my* hangups to be transferred to Josh. He deserves to have his own unique experience without my baggage. My plan is to follow the school plan until Christmas and then see where we are. That gives us a concrete amount of time to explore the experience, without giving up too early if it's going badly, but not feeling stuck if he wants to come back home. This is his choice, all the way. I won't force him to go, nor will I force him to stay (well, not forever). I do feel that he needs to give it a 'real' chance, not give up after a couple weeks. There will probably be alot of him to get used to and it will be difficult sometimes. Then again, I don't want to doom him to failure because of my negative thinking. I want him to find a situation/environment where he is happy and gets his needs met. I'm going to be flexible - I am! (breathing, breathing, breathing...)

New Car, Birthday, New Room

2010-05-24T10:11:00.001-07:00

Lots of pictures to catch up on! This slideshow is a mishmash of Josh's birthday, his new bedroom and my new car. Fun stuff over here lately!

If you click on the slideshow, it will take you to the slide.com site, where you can choose "full screen" to view the pictures much larger. :)

'Snow', Josh's cat clubhouse and bubbles!

2010-03-31T19:19:00.000-07:00

I have lots of pics on the camera that haven't been shared here yet. Let the sharing begin!

These first few are a continuation of the 'drawing in sugar' that we did a few weeks ago. Josh took the leftover sugar a few days later and, using his Cars figures, made a snowy Radiator Springs.

The next set is Josh's 'cat clubhouse' underneath his loft bed.

The final set is the boys at the Science Center playing with bubbles. I love some of these shots!

A spoonfull of sugar really does work!

2010-03-08T15:43:00.000-08:00

More like several cups of sugar, but that doesn't work with the Mary Poppins tune nearly as well. :) I've been exploring different ways for Josh to practice his letters that are fun and won't make him hate me for hours afterward. Today we hit upon the idea of putting sugar into a baking dish and drawing/writing in there using fingers, pencil tips, cars, etc. It was *fun*! Drew even joined the party for a while. It was a mess to clean up (and is still stuck to places) but the fun was worth it. Here are some pics of the fun (and yes, the lens is dirty in the corner, sorry!):

Other creativity today was artwork from Veggie Tales:

Josh's rendition of Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber

Drew's Big Idea logo, plus Bob and Larry

Adventures at Tewinkle

2010-02-04T14:20:00.000-08:00

Today was our Homelearner group parkday, we went to Tewinkle Park in Costa Mesa. They have a brand new playground which was lots of fun, but the true awesomeness of this park is to be found on the other side. Interconnected ponds, waterfalls, paths, trees, hiding spots, river rocks to jump - it's a kid paradise! I have 77 pictures and want to share them all!! I'm doing a slideshow this time for it (which is only letting me choose 50, boo!), but if any of you (grandparents I'm thinking of) want a particular picture to print out, let me know and I'll send it to you directly. :)

Oh, I have to mention - the pond where the majority of the pictures were taken of the boys...that's the one that Drew fell into at age 2. Completely submerged, scared the shit out of me. He got out, looked up at me, and signed "more?" (sign langauge at the time was his primary communiation). When I mentioned that to him today, his reply was, "Well, if I fall in today it's no problem, I have great swimming skills now." Very matter-of-factly. I love my Drew.

February 3 - Disney Day!

2010-02-03T16:38:00.000-08:00

Wednesdays are typically Disney days around here. Sounds excessive perhaps, but Disney is such great entertainment for us - close by (30 mins or so North), paid for (we have annual passes), and so much to explore.

An advantage that we have, going every week, is that we aren't in a hurry for anything. There is always next week to ride/see something, so we can take our time. Today we spent a good bit of time looking at the natural elements of the park. Drew's science lesson this week is about geometric patterns in nature and wow did we find them! Here are some picture of the beautiful landscaping at Disneyland. Some of the old trees are so wonderful I feel I could just climb up and live there!

February 1st

2010-02-01T13:38:00.000-08:00

Drew has been very enthusiastic about piano over the past few weeks, practicing at least an hour a day (15-20 minutes here and there). He had shown an interest a year or so ago, but only the very basics, and dropped it pretty quickly. For whatever reason the creation of music seems to be filling a need for him now and he's very joyful about it. His posture and hand position leaves something to be desired, but so long as his joy is intact I'm not going to correct anything at this point. I have a video of him playing, but I can't seem to upload it. I'll keep trying and get it on here eventually.

We made homemade potato chips today, per Drew's request. They were quite yummy! The kids helped to peel them (discovering it takes more force and coordination than I made it appear) and then Drew did all the slicing with our mandolin (under my somewhat-nervous supervision). It was an excellent side for our hot dogs. (The word 'excellent' here referring to their taste and not particularly to their nutritional value.)

Here's a small sample of the type of work that we're doing with our Oak Meadow home school curriculum. Oak Meadow's philosophy is to educate a child's head, hands and heart (you can see the whole philosophy HERE). There is a great deal of creativity interwoven throughout the academic work. One of Drew's lessons today was on adjectives - no dry worksheets here!

Joshua mainly listened to stories and ran around outside today. He's much less enthusiastic about doing any type of schoolwork than his brother. I'm trying to take it slowly, rather than pressure him so much that he shuts down completely on the idea. I'm also keeping in mind that we'd been unschooling for a year (which was a fantastic learning experience, even though it didn't pan out in the long run). So we'll ease Josh back into having a bit more structure.

A Month of Sharing

2010-01-29T11:20:00.000-08:00

I was reminded today of how much I love sharing the shine of our lives with others via my blog. It also is a tangible way for me to acknowledge how wonderful my kids are and how rich and joyous our days can be. I'm committing to a month of blog posts focusing on the boys and what they are up to, starting February 1st. So stay tuned for daily smiles and sparkle around here!

For today, since I'm here anyway, I'd like to share this beautiful video, "The Animal School". It speaks to the uniqueness of every child (and every person - can you see yourself here??). Enjoy!

Lake Thedaker

2010-01-19T15:06:00.000-08:00

California rainstorms, always lots of fun! We've never actually had the backyard flood before, but the kids are in heaven. They have now put on swimsuits and are jumping into the 'lake'. Hot showers will commence soon. :)

Living Zen in 2010

2010-01-03T15:34:00.000-08:00

As a response to a contest for Glen Ivy admission for a year (fingers are soooo crossed!), this was my "What is Your Resolution?" essay. Not sure they wanted an essay, but that's what they got! :)

When I first began considering a New Year's resolution for 2010, I thought of one which has been on my list for nearly two decades now - losing weight. Not a very unique goal, nor one which brings with it much in the way of sparkling enthusiasm. After having tried and failed, year after year, to bring my nearly 200 pounds down to a healthier level, any glow of promise attached to this resolution has long since dulled.

As I considered the degree of probability for reaching any kind of weight goal, I was searching for a method which was reasonable, something I believed I would actually *do*! I did find a program which has a great deal of promise, but even more meaningful than that discovery was the broader vista of possibility which has opened up as a result. Part of the program I'm starting is conscious eating - in other words, paying very close attention as you eat to your food and yourself. Consciousness is a concept which has come into my awareness over and over again during 2009 and I've toyed with the idea in various areas of my life, but never with deliberate commitment.

With this in mind, I've created a motto for myself in the New Year: "Living Zen in 2010!" To put my full attention, joy, meaning and life's energies into everything I do this year and really *pay attention* to my life. For what is more beautiful and meaningful than my *now*, which happens anew in every moment and always has something wonderful to share.

I still want to get into better physical shape and hope that the end of the year I'll be smaller and healthier. But the real goal is to enjoy that journey with my full, aware self, and all the other beautiful paths that I will walk over the coming twelve months.

Symphony of Science

2009-10-31T08:58:00.001-07:00

This was shared by a guild friend and it's just so beautiful. I'm going to listen over and over and over.. :) Enjoy!

And one more incredible science link! Size of Cells

First completed project!!

2009-10-22T22:01:00.000-07:00

Well, not my first completed project in anything, ever. But my first completed crochet project. The shawl is done, finished edges and all, woohoo! I had some mistakes, and one of the edges didn't come out quite right I think, but I love it and it's a huuuuge sense of accomplishment to have it finished.

Crafty Gal

2009-10-17T22:20:00.000-07:00

Where have I been lately, you may all be wondering? I've been finding my inner Craft Goddess! As such I haven't spent much time blogging or WoWing or anything else-ing. I'm currently crocheting a super soft shawl to wear at a friend's upcoming wedding (in which I'm the matron of honor). Not to wear *in* the ceremony itself, for which I have a very fancy wrap, but afterwards so that I'm not cold at the outdoor venue. I'm about 1/4 of the way done and I'm pleased so far. It's my first crochet project in over 10 years so I'm rather proud. :)

I'm also making a single granny square blanket for Josh in yellow, which is so easy, just keep adding rows!

Drew asked for a granny square blanket of individual squares, red bordered in orange. Not sure what color I'll use for the binding yet.

And then, if all the crochet wasn't enough, I made homemade costumes for the boys this week, Mario and Luigi from Super Mario Bros. (video game for those who don't know).

Disney Halloween (part one of...many)

2009-09-25T19:57:00.000-07:00

The boys and I journeyed to Disneyland today for their 'Halloween Time' part of the year. It was lots of fun and very, very, VERY emotional. Space Mountain received a holiday themed makeover called "Ghost Galaxy" which we were looking forward to. The line was immense (90 minutes) and FastPass (where you get passes to come back into line later with a shorter wait) was *broken down*. Drew was crushed, this was a major detour for his mental plan of the morning. Add to the stress the fact that he was so excited last night about the new Halloween stuff that he couldn't sleep - and we woke up early to be there right as the park opened - yeah, he had an extra hard time handling things. We went on several other rides and came back later, deciding to wait the 65 minutes at that point. I thought the ride was awesome, but the boys were quite creeped out. As we pulled into the station, Drew's eyes were huge and he yelled "Holy SHIT!". Josh decided that this version of Space Mountain is his "worst nightmare". Here's their reenactment (while on the Omnibus) of how they looked at the end of the ride.

Haunted Mansion Holiday with its "Nightmare Before Christmas" theme, was wonderful fun as always. I just love Jack Skellington!

The most difficult part of the day, where I ended up crying into the phone to Eric, came at the end. Drew had saved up allowance to buy a DVD set about Imagineering and was ecstatic to purchase it today. We sadly left it on the Monsters, Inc. ride and were not able to find it either there or at Lost and Found. The emotional blowout that commenced was incredible. Although I was fully willing to purchase another DVD set, Drew just couldn't get over the overwhelming emotions of the moment and he exploded in anger for about 30 minutes. In the 100 degree heat. In the middle of the entrance plaza. Yeah....pretty horrible for everyone involved. I have to say that I'm pretty well past the embarrassment issues of other people thinking that I'm a bad parent in those moments. Screw 'em, they have *no* idea what we're all dealing with. I was rather concerned that security was eventually going to be called. This is when I broke down in tears and called Eric, just needing emotional support.

What ended up happening is that another mom with an autistic child watched the situation and offered her help - though I couldn't see what she could do. She ended up talking to Lost and Found (I'm guessing) and came back a few minutes later saying that they had found our stuff. The cast members then took a much more detailed report of what we had lost, including approximate cost (they had written a more general list the first time we talked to them). Fifteen minutes later a bag with our things was delivered (there was a book in there that we had previously purchased a few weeks ago, but was being stored in the bag). Disney had bought us brand new replacements for what WE lost! I never NEVER would have asked for that - after all, it was ultimately our fault for leaving it on the ride. But wow, did that save my afternoon. I was in complete tears, thanking the mom, the cast members, soooo appreciative that caring people exist in the world.

In the end, I came out damned proud of myself and my children. Josh was an ANGEL throughout the entire thing. Sat quietly, kept himself entertained, and was patient as can be. What a gem. As soon as Drew was able to snap out of the emotional overload, he was perfectly willing to talk about things rationally, discussing what we'd learned from the situation (buy things at the very very end of the day and don't take them on rides!) and trying to help figure out how *I* could help him better next time he gets overwhelmed. And for me, I never got angry and yelled, never shamed him, never told him he was being difficult/stupid/a baby, etc. I empathized, suggested solutions, rubbed his back, gave him water, encouraged him to breathe. I did restrain him on a few occasions where his anger boiled and he wanted to run off and do....he's not sure what. Kept him safe. And when it was all over we hugged and focused on the appreciation and love for everyone involved. We were even able to briefly attend a neighbor's birthday party later in the afternoon. We watched the DVD later this evening and it was very enjoyable. We decided it was worth the purchase - though perhaps maybe not the emotional journey we took to bring it home. :)

November Novelist

2009-09-22T16:35:00.000-07:00

While at the recent unschooling conference I heard about a website that does some kind of novel writing process in a short amount of time. I finally got around to looking it up today and it's called NaNoWriMo - which stands for "National Novel Writing Month". Their website is HERE. The challenge is to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November - start the 1st, stop the 30th. No editing, just write write write as fast you can and get that word count up! The idea is to get over the hump of, "I'd love to write something but....." and Just. Write.

I used to write all the time when I was younger and I really loved doing it. I had been thinking lately of trying to write again (more than just the blog), but hadn't found any ideas or solid reasons to start. So I signed up for the challenge today! I have *no idea* what my novel will be about, not a single clue. I picked up a book not too long ago called "Tarot for Writers" that I'm thinking about using. I loooooove me some Tarot!

Writing doesn't officially begin until November 1st so I have time to tweak around ideas in my head. I'm looking forward to seeing where my creative process takes me. Oh, no guarantees that I'll allow anyone to actually *read* my finished work, lol!

Manic Monday, September 21

2009-09-21T10:07:00.000-07:00

Would you be willing to have horrible nightmares every night for a year if you would be rewarded with extraordinary wealth?
Good heavens, no! *shudder*

What was the most recent movie that made you cry?
That's a tough one, because I don't watch movies very often. I most recent was "Coraline", which I liked, sorta. The visual was awesome, and it was a well-done story. But I disliked how the parents truly treated Coraline like a non-human, and how apparently if a parent treats a child with love, respect and joy (as the 'other mother' did), they must obviously be a fake mother who intends to eat your soul. Um, what?

Would you rather be stranded on an island alone or with someone you hate?
I would imagine that being stranded on an island with someone you hate would eventually end up as being stranded on an island with someone you love. Spending that much time with someone, isolated from the outside world, would probably strip away all the overlays that we put on ourselves, taking us down to the bare bones of Who We Really Are. Which is Love, always. So yeah, someone I hate, because it would eventually work out beautifully.

Not Back to School at Disney

2009-09-17T09:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the unofficial "Not Back to School Day" at Disneyland. We got a rather late start on the day - blogs and Wii games were much more exciting for a while. Due to that we didn't hook up with many other homeschoolers, I think many of them had gone home by the time we arrived. But we had fun anyway of course, we always do! I brought the camera with us on this trip and got some cute character shots, plus Sleeping Beauty castle at night. Ah, Disney magical goodness.

But will they be successful?

2009-09-17T07:36:00.000-07:00

I've been home from the unschooling conference for 3 days now, and I'm still working on bringing the pieces together that were collected there - ideas, feelings, words, impressions - and making some kind of whole to be embraced as My Truth about it all. I'm just now making the time to sit and put ideas to 'paper', let's see how it comes out.

One of the biggest ideas - and the one that most parents seem to be most focused on - is the question of, will they be successful? The first step in answering this question is to define 'success'. Other people's idea about success for their children generally involve the following; acquired knowledge of schoolish facts, getting a good job (usually defined as one that pays well), being responsible (usually defined as being able to financially take care of oneself), etc. In a nutshell, did they do well in school and do they make good money while living on their own. That is success in many parent's minds.

My version consists of one thing. Happiness. If my children grow to adulthood and live their lives with happiness, I will consider them a success - and by extension, our journey as a success. I believe that all of the other needs of their life - jobs, homes, relationships - will naturally and inevitably follow if they are striving to be happy. Because honestly, how many happy people are broke, homeless and lonely? And despite common thinking, the jobs, homes and relationships do not make people happy! Nope. You get happy *first* and *then* the good stuff follows.

I think this process will be much easier for my kids if they start out happy! In other words, if they have been encouraged to seek happiness their whole lives, once they reach adulthood there it will be. Automatically! They won't need to rethink themselves, find themselves, figure out who and what they are all about as so very many (most? all?) of us did when we hit that supposedly 'magical' age range of the late teens and early 20's. My kids will already know all that information about themselves, because they'll have lived their entire lives following their inner knowingness, their inner truths, themselves.

I met several adult always-unschooled people this weekend, young adults who spent their whole childhoods following their passions in their own way, their own time. They ate whatever they wanted. They were up all night and slept all day. They wore crazy clothing and hairstyles. They did absolutely nothing that looked like traditional schoolwork (unless they wanted to). Their parents were kind, connected and supportive. And guess what? Now in their late teens and 20's, their lives are successful in every way. They are happy, working, making money, living independently, following their passions. Many of them have or are getting college degrees because they want them for themselves. They are vibrant, friendly, balanced, intelligent, beautiful people. They are people that you would deeply enjoy having around you. They are people that you would be delighted to hire to work for you, because they are committed, interested, passionate, creative, deep thinkers who get the job done and love most every minute of it. They *want* to be at work, at school, at wherever they are. Because it is their 100% choice to do so. And it has always been their 100% choice to do so. Empowered people? You bet!

So there ya go. The most powerful knowing that I walked away with this weekend was the absolute certainty that this unschooling path we are travelling can, and likely will, ensure that my kids will be wildly successful adults, in every way. Especially in the ways that count for their hearts and spirits.

Oh, and a small post-script for those silly (to me at this point anyway) fears about grown unschoolers knowing schooly facts. They do. They know all about science, history, math, language, writing, reading, health, government, physical education and the like. Without ever stepping foot into a classroom or being compelled to sit at the kitchen table with textbooks and workbooks. Spiffy.

Manic Monday, September 14, 2009

2009-09-14T07:22:00.000-07:00

I'm recently back from the Good Vibrations Unschooling Conference, and there are big thoughts swirling in my mind. I received so much input that it's all a bit like radio static right now, with all the ideas overlapping and intertwining with one another. I have the intent to write about some of the 'aha!' moments, my thought process and even where I disagreed. But in the interest of having time to sort through all those ideas, I'll post some 'fun stuff' for a day or two.

Manic Monday questions this week are:

What's one new thing you tried this summer than you've never done before?
We went on a cruise ship, which I'd always thought about doing. I learned that putting aside a large amount of money for excursions is a good idea - or taking a shorter cruise is best. I learned that asking the children's activities department *in detail* about their program is a must ahead of time - or to wait until my children are no longer children and then go cruising together as adults. I learned that more simple vacations are more my families cup of tea.

What is the one thing you miss the most about summer when it is over?
In general I don't miss summer. I enjoy it while it lasts, but I adore Fall and am eagerly anticipating the cool, crisp weather. I also enjoy when most other children go back to school so that we have the parks, museums, beaches, amusement parks and such all to ourselves again. Yes, I'm a little greedy that way.

If you could eliminate one source of anger in your life right now, what would it be?
My own perceptions of that which angers me. One of the presentations this weekend spoke directly to that, and it was so powerful that I cried. Right there. In my seat. I noticed that many others were wiping teary eyes as well. In brief, every problem I have with another person or circumstance - *every one* - is really about *me*. It's about changing myself to make myself happy. It's a big shift in thinking and I've heard it before, but it's starting to penetrate my understanding a bit more.

2009-08-10T19:44:00.000-07:00

I guess I'm behind but I just saw this and it's awesome!

World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale from World Science Festival on Vimeo.

Human Thunderstorm and great music!

2009-07-29T09:34:00.000-07:00

via videosift.com

Refreshing Pool Happiness

2009-07-28T10:23:00.001-07:00

Here are some pics of the new pool that I bought for my birthday. It's been wonderful for beating the heat - jump in, be cool for a few hours, jump in again. Always clean, always full of water and ready to go. Major improvement over our kiddie pools!

And then a bonus picture of flowers from the backyard that Josh brought it for me last night. How thoughtful!

Manic Monday, July 20th 2009

2009-07-20T12:35:00.000-07:00

When and with whom was your first kiss?
Hm, this could have several different answers. The first boy who kissed me was Fritz Cornell. I was hanging upside-down on one of those domed climbing structures on the Kindergarten playground, and he kissed me without my permission. I punched him.

The next boy I kissed with any real purpose was in elementary school when I lived in Texas, and for the life of me I can't remember his name right now, although I can see his face. Rodney Peyton maybe? I don't remember if it was an amazing thing or not, so I'm assuming it wasn't!

Do you believe that everything happens for a reason?
Oh yes, everything happens because we make it happen. In other words, we create our own reality. Our biggest problem is that we are almost always doing it without knowing what we're doing, so we get all this crap happening in our lives, i.e. thinking about what we *don't* want and therefore manifesting *that*. I'm rather guilty of this and am working very hard to be more present and conscious, bringing into my reality the things that I deliberately intend.

What would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
"Yo chica! Welcome back - was that a *blast* or what? Ready for another, different, go-round? WHEEE!"

Friday Fill-Ins, July 10

2009-07-10T09:32:00.000-07:00

1. The last thing I ate was porcupine meatballs and a Ricola throat drop. Not together, of course. Ew.

2. New clothes is something I recently bought.

3. When it rains, it makes me feel cozy inside the house, perfect days for movies and books.

4. My cat Coaster was the first person I talked to today. Ok fine, he's not a 'person'. My son Drew in that case.

5. Hugs are wonderful from the right people.

6. Dark chocolate equals extra comfort.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to feeling better, tomorrow my plans include celebrating E's grandmother's 90th birthday and Sunday, I want to hm, haven't planned that far ahead yet!

Natural Backyard Goodness

2009-07-07T17:03:00.000-07:00

I adore our backyard. It's laid out just enough to have the areas that we need, but we let it run pretty wild and I *love* that. Eric mows the grass a few times a month back there, I weed when the urge strikes me, we clean up the toys once in a while. But it's just comfortable and natural and *fun*. I don't care for overly manicured lawns at my own home, I want it to be free and playful. Much like the rest of our lives I suppose!

Cruise Recap & Slideshow

2009-07-06T15:10:00.001-07:00

So, we're home from the cruise. It wasn't horrible and it wasn't amazing - it was okay. The kids ended up being rather bored for much of the time. I don't know if Royal Caribbean's kid areas are not as great as other lines, but it sure didn't tickle my kids' fancies at all. Mostly recess-style games like dodgeball and the like, which they don't enjoy. An hour or so of crafts/art per day - which they would have enjoyed. And despite their claim that parents receive pagers, so as to alert them to children needing/wanting to be picked up, there is no such thing. So even when the boys *did* decide to give things a try, Eric or I needed to be in the stateroom to receive the call to pick them up (they both only lasted an hour or so when they went). The website said there was a children's pool, but there wasn't, which was pretty disappointing for the kids as well. Other than that, there wasn't much for them to do on the ship.

We did get off at Cabo and swam in the (rather cold) ocean for a bit, which was fun. Mazatlan was a port town with nothing interesting so we stayed on the ship that day. Puerto Vallarta was beautiful, I would totally go back there again to vacation. We took an excursion to a private beach, Las Caletas, and it was awesome. The company who ran the trip was fantastic, Vallarta Adventures. The beach was beautiful with warm water, snorkeling and kayaking - fun times.

The food on the ship was good, but not amazing. I had a few dishes at dinner in the dining room that were really good, however the portions were small. By the end of the cruise many of us were ordering two main dishes in order to fill up!

All in all, I feel like I should have trusted my gut instinct at the beginning and opted out of the big family trip. Not that I regret it exactly, but it was an awful lot of money for an unsatisfying time. I might be willing to do another cruise on the Disney line in a few years when they come to LA, but I wouldn't take the kids on another line again. I'm pushing for another Florida Disneyworld trip next year, that was fun almost all the time (although sometimes stressful, I admit).

Here's the slideshow, we ended up with some neat pictures. :)

Manic Monday, July 6

2009-07-06T10:28:00.001-07:00

Name two things you consider yourself to be very good at:

1. Considering new ideas.

2. Finding creative solutions (eventually!).

Name two things you consider yourself to be bad at:

1. Keeping my temper.

2. Sticking to a schedule.

Name one thing not many people know about you:

I love having my hair played with. Which admittedly is difficult with my hair this short. Perhaps some incentive for me to grow it out? (Eric is reading this and snorting in disbelief, I guarantee it!)

Manic Monday #175, meme located HERE

The Most Profound Question

2009-06-27T08:09:00.000-07:00

This about sums it up for me today. Enjoy! :)

Friday Fill-Ins, Goddess Edition

2009-06-26T09:58:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling particularly close to the Goddess this morning, so I'll weave that into my fill-ins this week.

1. She had a great idea, creating so much variety in the Universe to choose from. What Joy to look around, pick what we like, and pull it into our existance.

2. The Goddess is by my side, always. (Well, I actually believe in the concept that we're all One, including the Divine - all aspects and focuses of the same All. But close enough.)

3. I know this: There is only Joy and Bliss moving through me - the only time I suffer is when I block the stream, when I resist the light. There is no "darkness switch" which can be turned on. Just the light switch that I cover up. Probably with duct tape because, you know, I use that for everything else. (oh c'mon, you didn't think I could be all philosophical and not throw some wit in there, did you?)

4. Be still. At least sometimes, for a few moments here and there. It's much harder than you think, Being Still. Wonderfully beneficial however.

5. These words apply to me: dreamer, seeker, thinker, creator, lover. Goofball fits in there somewhere I'm sure.

6. Yea, though I walked through the valley of being-stuck-in-my-own-anxiety, I discovered friends who love unconditionally and a Goddess who is always ready with Hope and Love when I get quiet and open, and I looked out through my safe-made bars on the window and lo, the sun was shining.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to devouring my new library books, tomorrow my plans include laundry, packing and repacking (and possibly coffee with friends), and Sunday, I want to board a huge cruise ship, finding all the Joy and Bliss that is available for me there, and have a magical trip with my beloved family!

2009-06-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

As our cruise departure looms closer, my anxiety about the whole thing rises. Since it's just about all I can think about lately, I figure I might as well blog about it and maybe diffuse the emotions. Therefore, here are 13 things that have me anxious about our cruise:

1. The dress code. I just *hate* going anywhere that has say over what I wear on my body. Maybe it's a rebellion thing leftover from my youth, when mom and I disagreed constantly over what I wore. In any case, I'm having bad dreams about showing up to dinner dressed inappropriately.

2. Being trapped on a boat on the ocean. This is totally freaking me out. We're on water, far from land and I *cannot* *leave*. Unless I want to dive into the drink, anyway. Would I want to leave? Maybe not. But I *can't* even if I wanted to, and that just makes me nervous as hell.

3. Having small beds for four not-small people. Two twin beds. Oh yeah, that's gonna work out beautifully. There is a couch - where I envision myself sleeping. I hope it's a comfortable one.

4. The uncertainty of things to do for the kids. Everyone keeps saying how much fun the kids will have, how there is *so* much to do. But everyone keeps forgetting that my kids don't generally enjoy the same activities that other typical kids enjoy - or their high-strung natures make it very difficult for them to do so, anyway. Movies? They can't be quiet enough to watch one with other people. Group kid activities? They don't do so well in groups of children without *major* supervision. Which puts me in the kid's area supervising them. How relaxing.

5. The total lack of anticipated relaxation. Most people go on a cruise to have fun, yes, but also to *relax*. I cannot see where relaxation is going to be in the cards for me on this trip. I see lots and lots of child management, in an unfamiliar environment. That we're *trapped on*. Did I mention that part yet? Oh yes, I did.

6. Seasickness. I've only ever been on small boats, but they don't agree with me. I'm going to be on this boat nearly 24/7 for 5 or so days. Sleeping on it, even. Oh my.

7. Eric's family. Okay, don't get me wrong, I really really love my in-laws and all the other people in his family. I do. But they all intimidate the hell out of me. Whew! There, I said it. I'm the uneducated, stay-at-home mom who doesn't share hardly any interests with them and therefore has a tough time making conversation. I always feel that whatever I *do* say comes out wrong, or wasn't quite appropriate. Not to mention that they are a tight-knit group - which is great, I don't resent it or anything! But it's...uncomfortable for me.

8. Laundry. This seems like a ridiculous one, but when you see the few clothes we have, and the fact that the kids and I are not the neatest people (i.e. we spill stuff alot), this becomes an issue. There are no self-laundry facilities on the ship. Oh, they'll do your laundry for you, for a fee. I shudder to think what the fee *is*.

9. Passports. Eric has one. The kids and I do not. By the time I finally received my birth certificate (which for whatever reason I didn't have), it was too late to get a passport without a 'rush' fee, which I wasn't willing to pay. They aren't required for the trip (I've checked about a dozen times to be sure), but I worry about those 'what if' situations where we'll be screwed without one.

10. Joshua's behavior. This little guy has been a real pill lately, pushing the limits of what is acceptable to the breaking point over and over. We are regularly leaving fun locations/activities because he cannot follow the rules (which are always safety/respect of others based). I have this vision of me sitting in the stateroom with him for 5 days, playing DS and whatever travel games we have.

11. Drew's anxiety. Anything out of the ordinary brings Drew to a high pitch of nerves, even if the new thing is wonderful and something he really wants. Disneyworld was so fun, but he fell apart *a lot*. I'd think that this will be a similar situation. Which puts me in the stateroom with *both* kids, playing DS and whatever travel games we have.

12. My hair. Yeah, okay, I'm getting down to the last two of the thirteen and these are little things. But my hair color is making me so sad. It was this lovely burgundy that was fun and unique and I loved it. Then I tried to highlight it - ye gods! Bad idea. Then I covered the disaster with dark brown, which helped and got me through the wedding I was in last weekend. But now it's....odd looking. Brownish reddish with odd highlights poking through in places. *sigh* I can't professionally fix it, and I'm rather scared to mess with it myself. Long term is to grow the color out (easy for me since I keep it so short) and start over. It'll still look blah for the cruise, though.

13. Our cats. They're accustomed to spending the better part of each day outside, then we bring them in at night. But they'll be cooped up in the house for a week, and although this certainly won't kill them, they won't be happy. We have friends coming a few times to top off water and food, clean the boxes, and play with them (if the cats venture out to play). So they won't be abandoned. Just sad.

Wow, it's so unlike me to be so negative, but I do feel rather better having written it out. The anxiousness is still there, but not as severe. Eh, if nothing else, it'll be over in a week or so and I can go back to my super-casual-familiar-environment-have-total-control-and-leave-whenever-I-want life. :)

Friday Fill-Ins

2009-06-19T11:15:00.000-07:00

I've been an absent blogger for quite some time, my apologies. June has been a busy month! Which seems to suggest that I would have lots to blog about, if only I took the time to pull it into a coherent post.

Since that isn't happening anytime soon, here's a Friday Fill-In to at least fill this empty space...

1. All children alarm their parents, if only because you are forever expecting the unexpected.

2. Show me a good loser and I will show you a person who has their life's energies going in the right direction.

3. Drinking on Saturday night at the camping trip is like eating an entire box of chocolate liqueurs at one time.

4. Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are busy living their lives and hopefully enjoying themselves. (I don't talk politics, so I can't come up with a witty response for this one!)

5. I have yet to hear a man ask for advice on how to combine beauty cream and creamed corn. (actually, I've never heard anyone ask about that...)

6. It is impossible to think of any good meal, no matter how plain or elegant, without butter or salt in it.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to bed very very early, tomorrow my plans include being in Karin's wedding and Sunday, I want to sleep, sleep, sleep!

Josh's Birthday & The Bounce Room

2009-05-21T23:19:00.000-07:00

Josh's 6th Birthday was yesterday. It was a seriously full day! We did presents and cupcakes in the morning, a visit to Mimi for unwrapping of his gift from she and Papa, a park with friends around 11, a trip to ToysRUS for another part of his GeoAir set with bday money from Grandpa Groth, a trip to Boomers around 3pm with friends, and finally a McD's drivethru and home for quiet play. Whew! He originally wanted to have dinner at Red Robin, but said to me at Boomers, "Mom, I'm frustrated! We're supposed to go out to dinner for my birthday, but I'm tired and want to go home and play with my new toys!" When I told him he could do that, and we could have a special dinner out another night, he was thrilled!

Today was no less busy. For those of you who personally know my boys, you're well aware of the fact that they both crave a high dose of sensory stimulation. I'm certain they've crawled on, crashed into and jumped on top of4f everyone we know. I used to be awesome at providing a good outlet to Drew for those needs, but as he got older and seemed to need it less I slacked off. Turns out that Josh has the same needs in that area and the poor boy really hasn't had easily accessible outlets here at home for that. I *finally* clued myself back in to this need this morning and decided to do something about it. Since the kids recently decided to combine their sleeping room again (which was done around 10pm the other night, lol!), I had an available mostly-empty room to work with. Voila! The Bounce Room was born!

I took the bedframe off the bed and put the box springs straight on the floor (Mom, if you're reading this, we can put it back on for your visit if it's too low, lol!). Then we put an inflatable mattress on one wall for "ricochet" needs. The "egg chair" from Ikea came in next. Then we took a trip to Ikea for a tunnel, igloo tent, rocking toy and a cool sensory pad with bumps all over it (not sure what it's *for*, but it feels cool!). Then off to Walmart for a mini trampoline. Back home to set it all up and Wow!! Everybody - including the cats - love this room.

Avatar inspried body art

2009-05-19T19:55:00.000-07:00

We've been watching "Avatar: The Last Airbender" around here lately - what an awesome show! Joshua was really inspired today and wanted some body art that is similar to Aang's symbols.

Here's Aang:

And here is Joshua's art (he chose the designs and locations):

It's done in eyeliner, although I think henna would be awesome (and would last for days!). He can't sit still long enough to apply the henna and let it dry, though. So I'm guessing that I'll be drawing the designs on him for a few days, lol.

The only problem so far is that Drew - who loves life to Stay. The. Same. - is unhappy about Josh looking different. He's just trying hard not to look at him, and I'm reminding Josh to try to stay out of Drew's line of direct sight. They're figuring it out. :)

Autism and Unschooling

2009-05-19T19:07:00.000-07:00

I wrote a post today on the Radical Unschoolers Network in response to a mom asking if anyone else was unschooling an autistic child. Conventional thinking about autistic children and learning leans heavily towards structure and schedules - imposed by people other than the child themselves. Here is what I wrote:

"My son Drew is about to turn 10 and was diagnosed with mild to moderate autism when he was 2.5. My second son Josh is 6 and is not autistic. We started Drew in public school at age 3, went to school-at-home mid-way through K, and then moved to unschooling in December of 2008. Josh has never been to school, and did a smidge of school-at-home for a few months but *refused* to do the work I set for him - I credit Josh for really opening our eyes to the joys of unschooling. :)

Drew is definitely still in deschooling mode (as are the rest of us!), but his sweetness and passion for life has come back *so* strongly since we started living this unschooling life. I won't say we are 100% radical unschoolers, we just do better each day than the day before and strive to be more connected to one another, repsectful of each other, and joyful in general.

I also used to believe that, because of his autism, Drew 'needed' structure and schedules. We've tried many types of ways to schedule our days, and what I found more often than not was that the constant transitioning - imposed by someone outside of himself - was horribly stressful for him. When he is allowed to go with his *own* flow, ah! Peace! We certainly still have to work around the needs of other people in the family, but he is *so* much more flexible now that he is in control of the majority of his day. We definitely still have our difficult times, unschooling hasn't 'fixed' the stresses, sensory challenges, social confusion, etc. But it *has* helped, because we're all more relaxed and connected.

I've also found that, in the past several months, I'm seeing just *Drew* almost all the time. I used to see 'my autistic son Drew'. He's just himself now, in my eyes. It's a beautiful thing for me to experience again."

It turns out that someone found it very helpful, and another unschooling parent asked if she could use my words on her extensive website on the subject (see the link for Sandra Dodd on the left of my page here). I felt good about that, that what I shared could be inspiring and helpful to other parents and children.

Unschool vs Public School - essay by a teen

2009-05-07T15:09:00.000-07:00

This is a pretty cool essay by an unschooled teen who tried out 9th grade at a public school. Quite insightful and a good read:

http://fivefreebirds.blogspot.com/2008/07/unschool-v-school.html

It's always nice to read the perspectives of unschooled kids, especially teens/young adults and "grown" unschoolers.

Ultimate Uncle Time

2009-05-04T19:09:00.001-07:00

Jeff came with us to Legoland today, and the boys had a *blast* with their Uncle along for the adventure! The park was nearly empty today, allowing us to ride everything we wanted to ride, sometimes twice, with no lines. Sweet. Lots of fun pictures of course!

Candy Pizza and Playdoh

2009-05-01T22:10:00.001-07:00

No no no - not together! Eww!

We picked up some new playdoh today - so nice and soft and squishy! Josh made a minigolf hole (which is hard to see on camera, no depth), and Drew made the solar system (and quite accurate too - check out the asteroid belt between the inner and outer planets!).

We also hit the bookstore and spent at *least* an hour in there. Came home with the game Traffic Jam (fun!), a huge cheat book for video game consoles, and the hardback of book 1 of Harry Potter. I have books 3-7 in hardback, but don't know where 1 & 2 are. I need the full set! Don't ask why, I just do. So #1 is here and #2 is ordered (they didn't have it in stock).

Went to dinner with Eric and his parents for E's birthday (which is Sunday). Shogun for the win - yum! No pics on my camera of that, but should have a few up later on from Suz's camera.

Came home and made a candy pizza, which was inspired by Club Penguin's pizza parlor game. Sugar cookie crust topped with chocolate frosting, sprinkles, marshmallows, red vines, chocolate chips and jelly bellies. Sugar overload but it was tasty!

Now I'm drinking strawberry margaritas (which may account for any rambling in this post, lol!), playing WoW and listening to Drew chill in the bathtub. Josh is waiting for him to get out so they can watch a Winnie the Pooh video.

Incidentally, that's another kick-ass thing about homeschooling - my kids don't worry about which activities are "baby stuff" and which are "age range". They just do what they like to do. I love that.

Do Re Mi - The Smile is Guaranteed

2009-04-30T14:01:00.001-07:00

How to Horrify Random Parents at Public Parks

2009-04-29T22:08:00.000-07:00

Today was our weekly "Discovery Day" with our local homeschooling group. We did bubbles, which are always lots of fun. In a nice (in our minds) twist, we filled a small kiddie pool full of bubbles and let the kids go at it. Much fun and laughter ensued - for our families, anyway. Turns out the other families at the park - most of whom had their little ones dressed in rather beautiful clothing most unsuited to park play - were rather horrified at the idea and spent alot of energy keeping their children away from the bubbles. "Don't touch that!" "No, NO! That's not for you!" were heard quite a bit for a while.

Honestly, if you are taking your child to the park, let them *play* and be a kid. It wasn't mud, or food dye that would stain - it was *soap* for goodness sakes. If anything, their kids would have been *cleaner* than they started out! Ah well, my kids had fun anyway. :)

Drew chose *not* to get engulfed in bubbles, but enjoyed watching Josh.

Oh yes, in the face - there was alot of bubble tossing happening.

He looked so hillarious in here, and was very content to hang out for about 10 minutes or so.

Spring Sweetness

2009-04-26T17:53:00.000-07:00

*Very* sweet! Josh had an idea to make a "spring cake", and so we did!

Here is his blueprint:

And here is the finished cake (I did the icing, the boys did the sprinkles and marshmallows):

The cake itself is "funfetti", which is white cake with sprinkles:

Recent Plans, Unschooling Ideas

2009-04-20T12:14:00.000-07:00

Yeah, those two subjects aren't tightly related, but I'd rather make just one post, so see what your brain can come up with to link 'em together.

We've made so many fun plans for the next several months. Eric and I go on our annual gaming guild camping trip the second weekend of June, to Missouri and glorious nature! Such a fun time to catch up *in person* with friends I talk to online all year. The canoeing down the river is the highlight of the trip for me and I'm bouncing just thinking about floating away!

The next weekend is our friend Karin's wedding, of which I am a part. The weekend after that we're on a seven-day cruise to the Mexican Riviera with Eric's family, on Royal Caribbean. You can be jealous and see all the details HERE. Heh.

A few weeks after that is a local camping trip with the kids and friends to O'Neill Regional Park for the weekend. We were able to reserve our *favorite* campsite, which has a *beautiful* huge oak tree that the kids pretty much live in for several days.

In September we're off to the Good Vibrations Unschooling Conference in San Diego. This will be our first conference and we're *really* looking forward to it. So much to learn, new people to meet who will be on the same wavelength - fun fun fun!

Somewhere in there is another friend's wedding to attend, *all* of our birthdays (Eric 5/3, Josh 5/20, Drew 6/16, Me 7/21), possible Wild Rivers Waterpark fun, and who knows what else! I'm hoping that my Mom will be able to sneak out here for a visit somewhere in there too - before it gets insanely hot.

On a not-really-related subject (except for the fact that we'll be living and learning *tons* throughout all these fun activities), I saw a great video interview of Sandra Dodd today, talking about how she came to unschooling. Good stuff!

Watch Out, Villians!

2009-04-17T06:36:00.000-07:00

I'm comin' to get YOU!

Make your own hero alter-ego HERE.

Awesome Quote!

2009-04-13T15:17:00.000-07:00

This was said by a gal on one of the unschooling discussion lists that I am a member of. I thought it said what I believe *beautifully*!

"There is NO list of things a person must learn to be successful. Or, maybe it's more like this: in each community, if a person truly MUST learn something to be successful, that thing will be so pervasive that *no one* can escape learning it."

And there is our educational philosophy, in a nutshell. :)

Children's Freedom

2009-04-12T09:03:00.000-07:00

While listening to my newest iTunes purchase, the audiobook "The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent" by Abraham-Hicks, I came upon a wonderful retelling of a Q&A session from one of their seminars that discussed freedom for children. It was *so* powerful and wonderful to listen to, I had tears in my eyes! It's entirely too long to retype here, but I'd like to share a couple excerpts which I especially enjoyed.

The basis of the question was about a 5-year-old boy who would not do what his parents or teachers told him to do. Not a violent behavior challenge, but just a child who is *very* strong-minded and refuses to do things because others think he should. Here are a couple statements by Abraham** that I *loved*!

"Well, here's the thing, as (child) is doing pretty much what he wants to, if he could maintain that, then when we visit with him - 15 or 20 years from now - and he is experiencing not only outrageous success in all areas of his life, but he's one of the most joyful people we're ever met, and we say, '(Child), what is your secret?', he would say, 'I had a driving influence coming forth from within that I listened to, louder than everybody else put together. Oh, my mother tried, yes she did try, she even threatened to throw me out of the house, but I did not let anything dissuade me from my own guidance system.'"

"Now, we're playing with you a little bit, but it's mothers like you who have left you as the walking wounded that you are. In other words, so many of you are not trusting your own guidance, because you've yielded to the guidance of so many others who are ill-equipped to really guide you, you see. And when you think about it, that teacher is guiding (child) so that *she* will get from him what *she* wants, and you are guiding him so that *you* will get what *you* want. And who gets to guide him so that *he* gets what *he* wants? And that's the point that he's trying to make with everyone, you see. And we do not want to hurt everybody's feelings, but we are on *his* side."

The guest says: "But what about his age, I mean, isn't he kinda young? I just don't want him to be an adult that doesn't want to listen to anyone, and then...."

Abraham responds, "Well then, our purposes are crossed. Because we want him to be an adult who does not listen to anyone. We want all of you to be adults who are not so controverted by what everybody else thinks that you contradict your own vibration and disallow what you really want. "

Wow. Powerful stuff. Certainly this flies in the face of conventional parenting, but it sounds so *right* and *true* to me. And I decided years ago to make *that* the basis for my decision-making. What feels right trumps what I've been told in the past or what everybody else says or believes. It's a strange place to be sometimes, out on the edge of how others live. But very, very joyful!

**If you've never heard of Abraham, or Jerry and Esther Hicks, check out their website: www.abraham-hicks.com

April 10, 2009 - Pics of the Day

2009-04-10T21:23:00.000-07:00

Happy moments at our house today:

Drew at my computer, planning out (with guidebook at the ready!) a Warcraft III campaign.

Josh on the "dancefloor", gettin' funky with a Playhouse Disney CD (from 7 or 8 years ago, classics only for this kid!). This was at his "Cat Party", where he originally was going to get married to his cat friend Girlie. Alas, that never came to pass (she was supposedly at the party, though - I almost danced right on top of her).

A fun shot of Josh's room - the loft bed behind him, and the "slide house" covered with an afghan. Most excellent clubhouse, there are strings of white lights underneath, not shown here.

Josh and I playing Mario Kart on the Wii. Notice the slightly frustrated and concentrated expression on my face? We're racing on Rainbow Road. If you play the game, you know which road I mean, and you understand my difficulties. It goes without saying that Josh kicked my butt. (Thank you to Drew for taking this pic!)

Drew and Josh snuggled on the pull-out couch in the living room, getting ready to watch "Ratatouille".

Moving away from this

2009-04-08T20:36:00.000-07:00

I always have wonderful things to learn from Sandra Dodd, a "pioneer" of unschooling (not sure she would agree with that, but that's how I see her!). Her main unschooling site is listed on the left of this page, in the links. Here is a list that I just read about "How to Screw Up Unschooling" http://sandradodd.com/screwitup.

I'm happy to say I do very few of these at this point in my evolution to be a better parent, but sad to say there are still times when a few crop up. An eye-opening read for me, in either case.

Sea World (mostly pics!)

2009-04-01T21:25:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to Sea World today - without Eric, boo!! - but had fun nonetheless. I'm putting up a slideshow of pictures, as it's easier than putting them in one by one to the blog post. Basically we started our day at a park in San Diego, because we arrived down there *much* earlier than I thought we would. Fantastic pictures ensued. The tree pictured here was *awesome* - Drew and I completely fell in love with it. I think he would have almost preferred to stay in it all day and skip Sea World! Once we hit Sea World it was mostly an exploration of the "Bay of Play", their new kid's area. We go to SW at least twice a year, so missing some of the exhibits in order to play on new rides and sky bridges was totally worth it. As we always do, the trip ended with the Shamu show, which always makes us happy. Orcas are neat. A trip through the candy cart (tons of choices to scoop into a bag, yum!), and we were off back home. It was a very fun day, and I am completely done in!

Being More Respectful

2009-03-30T20:52:00.000-07:00

I had a lovely moment today, that kind of moment where I act in a way that really pleases me and makes me recognize the internal changes that I continue to make towards more respectful parenting. The boys and I decided to head to the McD's drive-thru for dinner (E was not able to join us today, so we made it easy!). The last few times that we've done McD's, Drew has ended up getting a Happy Meal, but adding a plain cheeseburger to it because those kid meals just don't fill him up anymore. On the way over, we talked about that, and how sometimes the toy is really cool and it's worth getting the kid's meal for that and then adding something else from the menu. But sometimes, the toy isn't very exciting and maybe at those times it would be preferable to order a regular meal, sans toy. He knew that it was completely his choice, either option was possible. After driving up to the ordering menu and seeing what the toy was (character toys from the new "Monsters vs. Aliens" movie), he chose a regular meal. Josh chose a kid's meal with the toy. I chose a BigMac meal, if you're interested.

In my "old" parenting - at least some of the time - I might have *told* Drew that he needed to order a regular meal, because he needed more food and paying for a toy he never plays with anyway was a waste of money, etc. I might have given him the same well-reasoned explanation that I described above, but it wouldn't have been *his* choice. I would have expected him to accept my reasoning and do what I needed him to do.

It felt *awesome* discussing it with him in a neutral way, just sharing information so that he could hear a different viewpoint and thus make a better decision *for himself*. Not so that he could make the decision that *I* might think he *should* make. And if he had decided that the toy was cool and he wanted a kid's meal plus something extra, that would've been fine too. Treating my kids like people, not like lesser-than, is rather nice. :)

p.s. if anyone knows how to move my blog picture to the center, or resize it in a way that will nicely spread it across the entire title section, that would be awesome

Happy Ostara!

2009-03-20T12:30:00.000-07:00

Today is Ostara, the Pagan Sabbat (holiday) celebrating the Spring Equinox. Today is the "official" first day of Spring, the day when night and day are equal - not to mention a fantastic time to gobble up some eggs and chocolate bunnies!

For those of you not familiar with this holiday, but recognizing how very similar its name is to "Easter" - you're on to something. :) Eostre is the Germanic goddess of Spring, so it's no surprise that springtime celebrations bear her name. You can read more about Ostara HERE.

At our house we're enjoying the warmer weather (which inspired us to purchase a new kiddie pool), the flowering plants in our yard and garden, and some serious spring cleaning. I'm especially inspired to sweep away the Winter because we have special visitors arriving in a few days! I know better than to think the house will be spotless, but at least Miss E won't have quite as many dust bunnies to munch on.

Here are some Springy pics for the day. Yes, I know some of them have a smudge, dirty camera lens!

I so love lavender...

A big patch of our backyard is covered in this - not grass, but beautiful. See the tiny purple flowers?

A new photo of me for Facebook, by the back wall covered in ivy.

Rocketship swing for Miss E's visit, being "tested" by Joshua...

....and by Drew!

Stealth Cat! Thomas in the side yard, where we let the weeds go free for "jungle atmosphere".

Not very stealthy Coaster, thinking about joining Thomas.

Coolest Flight Attendant EVER

2009-03-19T15:45:00.000-07:00

Have fun at work, oh yeah!!

The Ever-Present Dental Work

2009-03-12T17:13:00.000-07:00

Josh had a cavity to be filled today, which I'm rather thankful for. Considering that his other two major dental appointments were for crowns, a filling is not nearly as much of an ordeal. He's still *very* nervous at the dentist, so we chose for him to receive oral sedation and laughing gas. This worked beautifully (as I knew it would, because Drew went that route a while back with great success). He was especially nervous about the needle that is used to numb your mouth, but of course didn't remember it happening - so he keeps needing reassurance that it really *did* happen. Typical Josh! He was scared of it, but wanted to be sure it happened so that he didn't skip an essential part of his treatment.

His strong-willed personality came out clearly at home, where he was determined to walk immediately. Of course he could not, but I finally let him try and see for himself. WHAM! Straight into a wall. He only sat for 15 minutes after that though, and tumbled off the bed - TWICE! - in his efforts to move. I hadn't eaten all day (neither had he) so I made myself lunch and brought him some soda to sip on. He ate 3/4 of my peanut butter sandwhich and lots of Cheetos. The at-home instructions specifically said to NOT give solids for several hours. Nobody clued his body into that rule apparently. About a hour later he had 12 mini-pancakes, syrup and 6 chicken nuggets. He then proceeded to run all over the backyard and swing set for several hours. I think he's recovered. :)

Whale (well, dolphin) Watching Trip

2009-02-12T11:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday the kids and I went on our first whale watching trip. What fun! The boat ride was a thrill in itself for the kids. We unfortunately didn't see any whales, but plenty of dolphins and sea lions. The dolphins were in pods of about 20 (my estimation anyway). It was beautiful to see them leaping about, they were often quite close to the boat. My picture aren't great because those critters are *fast* and it's hard to catch them on film. Especially while keeping an eye on two very adventerous boys who wanted to be in 20 places on the ship at once!

This was snapped as the boat really picked up speed. Drew was loving it!

A few dolphin pics:

The sea lions were adorable (albeit stinky!). The kids were tickled by how they were all piled up on one another.

February Beach Bums

2009-02-05T19:12:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday I made a beautiful activity plan for the week, taking into account the work that needed to be done at home and for schoolwork, our current interests and the weather. Hitting a local beach was scheduled early in the week when temperatures were in the 80's. However, a certain 5-year-old decided to be horribly rude and nasty to us on the scheduled day o' beachy fun, and the trip was cancelled. The next available day for this trip was today, when we had a 40% chance of rain. Hmm. Ah, what the hell! We chanced it for 10:30am, hoping for rain later in the day. We should obviously be meteorologists, because after a several-hours frolic in the waves, a nice trip home and a warm shower for everyone...BAM! The rain hit. Can we time it or what?

Exploring at Irvine Regional Park

2009-01-28T16:36:00.000-08:00

A small trip to the park became a 4 hour adventure today. I am so very thankful for the big green spaces we have in OC. I'd still rather *live* on that kind of land, but it sure is refreshing to walk amongst the centuries-old oaks and just BE for a few hours.

This is what little boys should do in life - stick their hands into unknown holes in the ground where there are sure to be wild animals that'll be angered by the intrusion.

Sticks. Is there anything they can't do?

Can Drew climb the tree? Of course he can!

And Josh *must* find a "Joshcat" sized tree also.

This root system made a wonderful place to play, we were there for an hour at least.

Happy nature girl.

I was completely convinced that my children were going to fall into the pond. Only because they've done so in other parks half a dozen times. Yes, really.

How to distract them? A runaway mine cart!

No, no - but the 1/3 scale train worked nicely.

They went right back to the water - the waterFALL no less! *sigh* Nobody fell in today, amazingly enough.

These pics were from last week, but lots of fun and I wanted to share. The first three are the boys "excavating" creatures from ice blocks. This is an easy, cheap activity to set up and keeps them busy for at least 30 minutes.

This were our alphabet biscuits, the second batch. The first batch "A-H" got gobbled up too quickly to photograph. :)

Just sing it, and paint it, and build it up to the sky...

2009-01-22T08:27:00.000-08:00

Jonathan Mann is writing and posting a song a day in January. Click HERE to find out more and see more songs. Some are *not* appropriate for kids or work, FYI, so you may want to either wait until nighttime or use your headphones!

I *loved* this one (it says "suck", but nothing else questionable). It expresses how I feel about life. Enjoy!

Field Trip to the Science Center

2009-01-20T18:59:00.001-08:00

We don't often venture up to LA, but they have a darn cool science center, so we braved the traffic today for a field trip. We left late because I *had* to watch the inauguration live! But we made it and stayed until they just about kicked us out as they closed the doors. Drew had a great visit, taking lots of time to read and explore each exhibit. And yes, that drove Josh a little nuts since his 5-year-old mind isn't ready for such intense concentration!

Box stacking - not sure of the scientific value here, but they had fun!

Investigating the circulatory system of a salamander. It's a closed system like ours, in case you wanted to know.

Building the roof tiles on a "house".

Three accomplished arch builders! Josh, Nikki and Mandy.

It takes a *lot* of blood pressure to get a giraffe's blood to his brain.

We learned how certain building designs withstand earthquakes better than others. I'm not sure this design qualifies.

The older kids (Drew, Mandy & Ryan) watched a show about the body, with a 20-foot model inside. Josh flipped out as soon as we walked in, so he and I walked right back out!

Denizens of the Deep (well, the shallows, actually)

2009-01-18T12:56:00.000-08:00

I can't remember the last time we explored tide pools, which is ridiculous considering that we live 20 minutes from the ocean. Now that we have a parking sticker for many of the local beach lots I plan to spend a *lot* more time at the shore. Today we headed down to Dana Point around 10am (after I pulled Josh out of bed, Mr. Sleeyhead!). Low tide was in effect and we saw wonderful critters in the tide pools. I could spend a whole day there, just quietly watching the sea life go about it's business.

And for all the crankiness I'd had lately about the extra-warm weather, being at the beach in January with beautiful weather was awesome.

Happy Birthday Mimi!

2009-01-17T11:23:00.001-08:00

We celebrated Suzanne's (a.k.a. Mimi, the boys name for her) birthday last night at Shogun. Both boys were delighted with the teppan show, Drew especially. The fried rice was a big hit, with Drew eating leftovers both after we came home last night and this morning for breakfast. Yum!

Mimi and her boys!

Randy, Kathy and Martin (a.k.a. Papa)

Happy Birthday Song!

Shogun is The Best!

Dinner was enjoyable, but there was a high level of child wrangling. I felt like I'd run a marathon at the end, hence the strange expression.

Suzanne and two of her kids, Eric and Kathy.

Day o' Legos

2009-01-15T18:57:00.000-08:00

We got a slooowww start, but managed to finally get to Legoland today for a few hours. Luckily it was *empty* so we enjoyed a lot of rides, riding several two or three times in a row.

The boys are ready to shoot targets in the ancient temple!

Bounce-o-Rama

Tally-Ho!

This the "The Hideaways", an *awesome* super-fort.

These boats are great, there are no tracks so the kids truly "captain" them through the waterway.

In the "Adventurers' Club" on the quest for the hidden keys!

Josh *asks* to explore this every time, but still gets scared *every time*!

They found the keys and the missing explorers! This is Josh's "serious face".

Josh & I on the Sky Cruiser, which you pedal from an elevated track.

Drew in his cruiser, sooo far ahead of me!

The upcoming inauguration, in Legos!

Woot, Lego Obama (and family!)

A preview of Josh at 16!

How Nice to See Friends Again!

2009-01-14T18:00:00.001-08:00

Today was the first day since our wave of household sickness that we have ventured out for a day with friends. It was *so* nice to see all those smiling faces again! The weather was beautiful, in the mid-80s, and we had picked a park with a very fun water play area. Drew had a difficult time on and off, his black-and-white thinking was his nemesis today. But we still had a great time and stayed for 4 hours! Here are a few pics of the fun:

Josh and Cassidy, playing with Moon Sand

Drew and Casey, "excavating" critters from ice blocks

Carissa and Me, enjoying the sun and companionship

Drew atop a large dino skeleton

Josh is racing the wind

Drew making river channels

Josh's Artwork & Park Beauty

2009-01-12T16:50:00.000-08:00

We started our Oak Meadow lessons again today, since last week was awash in illness. Joshua was initially resistant to putting crayon to paper for any purpose, but once I started coloring with him he had a ball! He's working on letter "A" this week, exploring it in many dimensions, along with "The Tale of Peter Rabbit". Here is his artwork, a picture of the gate that Peter squeezed underneath (if you recall the story), with a great big "A", which of course is the vowel sound in "gate". I thought it was a rather beautiful picture!

Drew opted to continue his exploration of the Folk Tale about the rabbit and the caterpillar which we began last week. He did a nice writing and picture, but didn't want to color it in. He then proceeded to spend the next 90 minutes (!!) making a full 11-page book with a retelling of the story plus illustrations. That was after he did a full main lesson and was told he had "Free Time" - which usually translates into video games. I love how inspired he was (and that's his words, "I was so inspired!")

After lessons, we ate lunch and then went down to "The Company of Angels", the little store connected with the Waldorf School of Orange County. What a delightful place! We picked up a few colors of molding beeswax (get some, it feels amazing in your hands and smells great!), plus a tin of Stockmar beeswax crayons - half block, half stick. Beautiful colors and they last a LONG time. We explored around the store for a quite a while (you could drop a huge amount of money in there), then off to Laguna Niguel Regional Park to purchase our park/beach parking permit for the year. Now we can visit all the local regional parks, wilderness parks, plus beaches without bothering about parking fees each time. The kids *love* the creek at the park, and spent several hours bonding with the geese and ducks. The playground was fun too, but is never as much of a draw as the more natural areas.

The day finished off with a trip to WalMart for plastic critters that we're freezing and then "excavating" during our dinosaur "Discovery Day" with our homelearners group on Wednesday. We couldn't find dinos anywhere, so we went with some stretchy bugs. Those are rather fun anyway, so it should work out nicely!

Go Lakers!

2009-01-11T19:11:00.000-08:00

No, I haven't suddenly become a basketball fan (sorry Dad!). Drew started the basketball season of Spirit League today and his team is the Lakers, complete with purple uniforms. Having never played before, and still being somewhat sick, I thought he did very well. I completely neglected to tell him some of the rules beforehand, so there was some confusion during practice. Travelling was a big problem, as was grabbing the ball out of other players' hands (even his own teammates on occasion!). There were tears as well, because he wanted to dribble the ball perfectly 10 seconds after first trying the skill.

I still think team sports will ultimately *not* be Drew's thing. His competitiveness and perfectionism make him an anxiety-ridden mess out there. But he wants to play and there are certainly wonderful life skills to be learned on the court, so we'll continue as long as he has the desire to be there.

A few not-so-clear pics. The lighting was harsh in there, and my camera doesn't enjoy non-flash photography. But it's something! :)

Being *very* frustrated about dribbling. His coach is the most patient man alive!

Shooting hoops during a break, he sunk quite a few during practice and one during the game!

Recovering from The Plague

2009-01-08T09:45:00.001-08:00

Today is the first day in over a week where I can say I'm feeling more than 50% healthy. I'm still coughing badly enough that my next-door neighbor can hear me sometimes (and we're in houses that don't share walls...sad!). I'm still moving verrryyy sloowwlllyyy. But I'm not feeling that horrible heavy weight of the past week. Whew! Drew's energy seems to be coming back, so he is also on the mend, albeit with coughing that makes him choke. Poor Josh didn't dodge the sickies, he started coughing a bit last night. But his endless energy is still in force, so I imagine he'll heal up quickly.

The worst part of this sickness is the monotony of our days. It's basic maintenance of eating, bathroom, keeping people mostly clean, napping, watching TV while resting, etc. That's nice for a few days, but gets old quickly. We have so many new and exciting things to do this month, I'm ready to get to it!! I'm hoping that by next week we'll be 100% and tackling the world again.

Totally unrelated to this post, here is an *adorable* picture of Coaster and Thomas taken last night. They're curled up on my office chair, which is entirely too small for the both of them. Coaster is squished in the back with Thomas nearly falling off the front.

Our First Day with Oak Meadow curriculum

2009-01-05T09:39:00.000-08:00

As luck would have it, our first day back to lessons after winter break is fraught with germs. How do we combat that? Homemade chocolate chip muffins, of course!

Well, that plus Dayquil for mom, antibiotics for Drew and chilled apple juice for Josh. Mmmm...healing goodness.

The teacher's guide suggests telling the weekly folk/fairy tale to the kiddos at bedtime. I changed that a smidge and told each of them their story during their bath. Drew loved that! Josh was less enthusiastic, but his cold had hit hard at that point and he just wanted to sleep.

Drew's main lesson was short and sweet, punctuated by deep coughing from him. Poor kid! Considering his health, and the fact that he's been mostly unschooling (i.e. doing NO writing or formal anything) for many months, I was very pleased with his first writing/artwork. He was too. :)

We finished up his lesson by reading the first chapter of the original "Winnie the Pooh" by A. A. Milne. Although at first thought it seems a very juvenille book for his age, the vocabulary is anything but! Obviously the story was "dumbed down" from the original over the years.

Josh has spent almost the entire day asleep, so I won't attempt to do anything with him today. A healthy body is much more important.

2008 in Photos

2009-01-01T08:37:00.001-08:00

As a wrap up to 2008, here are some of my favorite photos from the past year. Enjoy!

Who can forget the amazing Hello Kitty popcorn popper? Many moments of yummy fun were to be had with this popper. Sadly, it melted itself to death before the end of the year.

Drew battling Darth Maul - who's your daddy NOW?

Drew & Eric on one of their nature hikes.

We'd just moved in to the new house and were thoroughly enjoying our beautiful backyard.

Fun at Disneyland with friends. Wheee!!

Josh's last-minute birthday at Chuck E. Cheese's.

Visiting Red Rock in Vegas while on a trip to see Nana.

We didn't get out to a campground in 2008, so we put up the tent in our yard instead.

We love living at the beach!

Drew turning 9 with his Kirby cake.

The boys are about to experience Toy Story Mania at Disneyland.

It was a *very* hot summer, and without a/c in the house, here's how we kept cool.

Me and Emelia, hanging out in Chicago.

I went to see her mama too!

Legos were, once again, a HUGE part of our playtime here at the Thedaker abode.

Drew's comic book, one of his first written creative projects ever.

Eric and Drew, enjoying the Blizzard company picnic, county-fair style.

Breaking open the piggy banks from Grandpa Thedaker in preparation for our Disney World trip.

The big event, our trip to Walt Disney World!

We loved this Halloween cake.

Drew's soccer season was challenging, but rewarding.

Christmas treats and trees.

We're looking forward to a fantastic 2009! We bought our Legoland season passes the other day and plan to spend lots of time exploring down there. The boys are starting a brand-new homeschool curriculum, Oak Meadow, which I've been wanting to try for years. Drew starts basketball this weekend, which he has never played before. I'm looking forward to camping with the kids this spring/summer, as well as the legendary SOK camp out in June. Who knows how many other delights and surprises await us in the next 12 months? I can't wait to find out!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Happy Holidays 2008

2008-12-26T18:13:00.000-08:00

As usual, few pictures were taken at the Thedaker abode this holiday season. Much activity occurred, but I never take the time for pictures. In a way I think this is a good sign, because it means I'm having so much fun BEing, that taking pictures never enters my mind. It could also be that I'm heavily ADHD and there is so much shininess this time of year that I can't keep a thought in my head to save my life.

We had a very nice Xmas Eve open house with Eric's family at his mom's - nice and casual, we left just as the kids were getting twitchy. The next day we never left the house, opting to stay here and have friends over for ultra-casual grazing and general hanging about. And napping, in Kelly's case.

Here are a few pics, perhaps our friend Lauren will have more to share, she was walking around with a camera and snapping away. :)

The First Gift of Christmas!

2008-12-18T13:13:00.001-08:00

The boys' generous cousin Laurel (second cousin, technically speaking), sent them both a gift card for Christmas. They have been watching trailers for a crazy game called Rayman's Raving Rabbid's TV Party for a week, and giggling their butts off. It was on sale for $40 at Target, so they pooled their cards and picked it up today. Thank you Laurel!!

Yeah, they're excited.

Put that in your ear and...ow!

2008-12-17T01:02:00.000-08:00

Over the summer we went swimming almost every other day. As a result, I got water stuck in my left ear that never managed to find a path back outside. I didn't think much of it, honestly. Until this week that is, when I started to get little pangs of pain in there. Hmm...maybe I should have that looked at?

So off to Kaiser I go, and the doctor tells me that not only do I have a nasty ear infection but that if I had waited a few more days to be treated I'd likely have ended up in the hospital on an IV of meds. Apparently my body was doing a decent job of keeping the infection contained until I got struck down by a virus this past week. At which point my body said, "Screw it, I'm abandoning the ear and concentrating on the lungs."

She then recommended that in addition to taking two heavy-duty antibiotics (one orally, one in drop-in-ear form), I get a shot of the good stuff. In my behind. This was accomplished by getting stabbed by a rather cute, young male nurse. That somewhat made up for the shot. *smirk*

We Clean Up Nicely!

2008-12-13T10:28:00.000-08:00

Here's a shot of Eric & I on our way out to the Blizzard holiday party. Josh's comment when he saw me emerge from the bedroom all done up was, "Mom! You look like a movie character!" Drew's comment was (with puzzled frown), "Mom....why did you change??"

Woot! Henna rocks.

2008-12-10T16:47:00.000-08:00

Two posts in one day, I know. But I am *so* thrilled with the henna on my hand, I had to show it off. I've been practicing making the "kiss" all day, trying to get it even around a circle so that I could make a flower. I feel it came out *great*!

The palm design is a moon/sun. I'm not super-pleased, but the concept was good. Noel, how would you have done this one so that it flowed better? Not too complicated, please!

And one more, this one on my shoulder. I'm wearing a sleeveless dress Friday night to a holiday party, and this should look amazing. :)

Solstice Cookies, Yum!

2008-12-10T12:50:00.000-08:00

I made a batch of sugar cookie dough on Monday, and finally got around to cooking it today. Unfortunately it was too sticky for shaping into traditional "Christmas" cookies, so we did plain circles (i.e. drop cookies) instead. Hmm...how to decorate them in keeping with the season? Ah ha! Solstice cookies! Suns and Moons of course - and since we had two of the four elements (Fire and Water), why not throw in Earth and Air as well? Our colors aren't exactly traditional, but we felt happy about them and that's the whole point. So we have yellow suns (Fire), blue moons (Water), green (Earth) and pink (Air - Josh's choice there, lol!).

It was nice to talk to the kids a bit about the four elements, solstice, etc. as we decorated. Drew immediately recognized a correlation to the card game he plays online at Club Penguin called card-jitsu, where the cards represent the elements. He was *really* into things after that!

Josh isn't in the pics because he lost interest in decorating early on. He wanted to slap an enormous amount of icing on each cookie, but since we had a limited amount of icing, I asked him to use a smaller amount and spread it. That was too much work and attention, apparently, because he high-tailed it out of the kitchen at that point, lol!

Holiday Light Coolness

2008-12-08T18:50:00.000-08:00

This is fun to watch. The Holidays meets Jethro Tull! The house is in PA and there are 210,000 lights on there. Wow. For their website click HERE.

The Beginnings of Holiday Cheer

2008-11-29T19:51:00.000-08:00

A scant couple of days after Thanksgiving, our home is starting to ring with the Holiday spirit. We inhereted a monster 7' tree from Mimi and Papa and it looks beautiful in our living room. Honestly, a smaller tree probably wouldn't have done justice to the space nearly as well.

The boys also enjoyed building a gingerbread house. Would you like to guess how long it stayed together? About an hour, I think. It would have been much less (closer to 60 seconds), but I convinced them that we should have lunch first before gorging on the house. As Drew said, "It's buildable *and* edible....that means you can make it *and* eat it!" Well said.

Deep Thankfulness for Homeschooling

2008-11-25T09:55:00.001-08:00

Wow. We are so unbelievably, stunningly, amazingly lucky to have the option to homeschool. I've been reading accounts lately of local AS kids' lives as experienced in the typical schools, and it puts our shiny, joyful, centered, happy lives in stunning relief against their difficulties. Sleep problems, extreme anxiety, bizzare classroom policies, exhaustion, bullying, depression. It honestly makes our life look almost blindingly beautiful in comparison.

I am SO SO SO deeply grateful that our family has chosen the path of allowing our children to spend their days in ways that are free of all those pressures that come with typical schooling. My boys can follow thier passions in a supportive, comfortable, enriching environment ALL THE TIME. In this way, the parts of their days which are stressful (and don't doubt, there are difficult times in each day no matter what!), those times are easier to work through and are moved past quickly.

*happy sigh* Life Is Good. Oh yes, very good indeed.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T20:35:00.001-07:00

We've had a spooktacular Halloween here, as we always do. Costumes were especially easy, as everyone chose costumes (or combinations thereof) we already have in the dress up bin. Drew was Darth Vader and Josh was Space Cat and Captain Cat, respectively. They trick-or-treated two nights in a row, once at Blizzard (Eric's work) and once around the neighborhood. And in Josh's eyes, that meant two different costumes!

The boys did more staying at home and handing out candy than they did treat-or-treating, which seems to be the case each year. They *love* luring people to our door - going so far as to stand at the end of the driveway, waving light-up wands, yelling "This Way To The Treats!" LOL!

Today was spend carving pumpkins, listening to spooky music and chomping on treats that were collected from Blizzard. Yum! Photo evidence of it all below!

Tricky Treats

2008-10-29T10:30:00.000-07:00

Per Josh's request, we made a Halloween-themed cake. It's strawberry, with strawberry icing, all dyed orange of course! The cake pan is a train (Josh's favorite), but when I attempted to remove the cake after it cooled, it completely fell apart. Oops! So instead of a spooky train, we got creative and made a spooky pumpkin patch/graveyard. It came out *awesome*, in my opinion.

Disney World Goodness (finally!)

2008-10-21T17:11:00.000-07:00

It took a comment from my own husband to finally get my creative juices in gear again, but it worked! We received our very creative pics from Disney and now I can post the total goodness package (although probably not all in one post!).

Our first *full* day at Disney World was spent at Magic Kingdom, which is the Florida equivalent of Disneyland. Same basic layout and rides, but much *much* bigger. It was wonderful and the kids were over the moon. Here we are at the start of our day in front of Cinderalla's castle. Oh yeah, Drew's excited!

Our first "ride stop" for the morning was "it's a small world", which is Josh's very favorite ride in the whole world. I was very impressed with Drew for delaying his wish to ride Space Mountain and *volunteering* the idea that "small world" should be first for Josh's sake. Awww!! Brotherly Love! And more nearly-overwhelming excitement.

The rest of the day is fairly blurry, but we managed to ride darn-near everything. In some cases, two or three times. The crowds were very low and the lines were fantastically short. The humidity was certainly more than we experience here in California, but not drive-you-into-the-ground bad. Although we did pass out very quickly at the end of the night! Here are more fun pics from Day 2:

They're coming, I promise!

2008-09-23T10:08:00.000-07:00

I am going to update here with pictures and stories of our awesome trip, really! We ordered a CD of all the photos that the Disney photographers took of us, and I'd like to include those in my posts. I should have the CD by the end of this week at the latest, so hang in there!

In other (more current) news, both boys had fun at a new art class that they're taking with a local private art instructor. Miss Cindy is a treasure, obviously truly loves children and takes them seriously. Some of the boys' friends are in class with them, which makes it even more fun. To make it all even more wonderful, our charter school pays for the classes. Goodness all the way around. Once they have completed a project I'll post pictures!

Drew started soccer with Spirit! League on Saturday. What a HUGE difference in his enjoyment from four years ago when he first tried sports. Even with a cold and cough, he was fully loving the whole 90 minutes of stretching, drills and game. At the very end, he ran up to me and yelled "I SO ROCK!!!" Awesome.

It was interesting to talk with some of the other parents there, some of whose children have been in the league for several years. Many of the parents told stories of how their kids really disliked going to soccer (or whatever sport they were currently doing), and would cry, etc. But that now, years later in some cases, they did enjoy it. ACK! Why, oh WHY would you force your obviously miserable child to attend a *recreational* activity? It's insanity, that's what it is. I look at Drew, who *was* miserable four years ago at this activity, was allowed to stop for as long as he wanted to, and is now back in and loving it. The difference between Drew and another child who loves it now, but was *forced* to attend for those sad years in between is that Drew is *honored* and *trusted* to follow what is right for *Drew* - as opposed to what *I* think is "good for him".

Disney Recap, Part One

2008-09-15T15:50:00.000-07:00

We're home! I have TONS of pictures, many of which my regular readers have already seen. But I'll be posting some here over the next few days with background stories to bring them to life. I doubt I can remember all the magical moments that we had at Disney World (lordy, I sound like a commercial!), but there are fun ones that I'll share. This post will start with our first travel day, which mostly consisted of airplanes with a dash of Disney at the tail end of the day.

We flew from Orange County to Dallas/Fort Worth, then on to Orlando. With layovers and time changes, it was a LONG day! We left our house at 5:30am and arrived in Orlando around 6pm-ish. The boys did well on the flights, although Josh was not so convinced he wanted to fly as we were boarding the first plane. During take-off he realized it was no big deal and was comfortable the remainder of the time. Drew told every person silly enough to make eye contact the WHOLE story of where he was going and what he was planning to do. Some people were amused, others merely tolerant.

I really loved using Disney's "Magical Express", which handles your luggage for you and transports you from the airport to your resort. It was very well run, everyone was pleasant, it ran on time and was NO hassle for us at all. Hilarious moment on the bus was when we passed under the Disney World official sign and Drew yelled "We're here! HALLELUJAH!" Everyone got a good chuckle out of that.

The Pop Century resort was great, a perfect fit for us. I highly recommend anyone staying on a Disney property to invest in the refillable mugs on the first day. They were about $12 a mug and you can refill them for free at the resort (not in the parks, darnit!). We used those things a LOT. And Pop Century has frozen coke machines, woot! That was worth it right there.

After we made it to our room, it was probably 8pm or so. I wisely packed one carry-on bag with swimsuits, PJs and a change of clothes so we were ready to hit the pool! Swimming in the dark was a big hit with both boys. Perfect way to end the tiring travel day. Our luggage arrived at 11pm, with one lonely bag popping in around Midnight. We all collapsed into bed, set the alarm, and got a bit of sleep to energize for Magic Kingdom in the morning.

Thursday Thirteen - My 1st Edition

2008-09-03T20:11:00.001-07:00

The thirteen things I am most looking forward to about our upcoming Walt Disney World trip:

1. Exploring our very cool resort, Pop Century.

2. Watching the kids' faces as they step through the gates of the Magic Kingdom for the very first time!

3. Eating at the imaginatively themed restaurants, mainly Sci-Fi Drive-In Theatre and 50's Cafe.

4. Being in air conditioning while inside. Of anywhere. I know it'll be hot in Orlando, but honestly, I'm freakin' hot inside my own house every day!

5. Experiencing the amazement of Epcot. I've wanted to visit this park for YEARS and I'm finally spending a WHOLE DAY there! Plus 1/2 of another day, depending on how things go.

6. Eating out for every single meal. No cooking for 9 days, woot!

7. Riding Rockin' Roller Coaster and Expedition Everest. Yeti, here I come.

8. Watching "The Festival of the Lion King" and "Finding Nemo - The Musical".

9. Exploring the (sort-of) wilderness at Animal Kingdom.

10. Gazing at The Tree Of Life at Animal Kingdom.

11. Enjoying "it's a small world" with Josh, probably over and over again!

12. Having 9 days of family time - no work, school, laundry (well, maybe a few loads of that), or any "real life" distractions. Just my family, together and joyful!

13. Being totally immersed in the Disney Magic.

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Row, Row, Row Your Boat

2008-09-01T12:12:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Rachel and I were discussing this piece of wisdom yesterday. Dr. Wayne Dyer, if you haven't heard of him, is a very accessible spiritual teacher whom I have been learning from for decades. This particular piece is part of an audio collection which I've listened to many times, and Rachel found the clip on You Tube yesterday. Such a simple song, such great wisdom. Enjoy!

This Little Piggy Went to DisneyWorld

2008-08-29T16:48:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Thedaker gave the boys authentic "piggy banks" last winter, the kind that you have to actually break open when it's time to cash in on your change collection. We've had fun plunking coins in there over the past many months, without a clear idea of when they'd break the piggies or what they'd spend the money on. With our decision to do the Trip That Ate Florida, a.k.a. DisneyWorld, we thought using the money for toys and treats would be fun. We decided to smack open the swine this week and see their booty!

Josh was *very* excited and enthusiastic about smashing his piggy. His comment when the piggy cracked completely open and he saw all the loot was, "Holy Tarnation!"

Sorting all the coins to be packaged up for the bank.

Drew was less excited about the process. He'd become rather attached to his piggy and didn't want to break him. He was also anxious about the noise from the smashing, but we assured him that was minimal. He finally agreed to do it, and didn't get upset at all. He passed on sorting the coins however, since the sound of clinking money bothers him.

And the grand money total? So far we have $101.00!! That's not counting coins still in the sorter that haven't achieved critical packaging mass. We decided to split the money 50/50, since we never kept close track of what loose change went to which piggy. So the boys are making out with $50 each for toys and treats (and of course we'll be buying them stuff with trip money too, but this is theirs to totally blow however they'd like!).

In 8 more days we'll be crazy with Disney Fever with my kids telling *everyone* in the airport and airplane where we're going, in exacting detail. It should be hugely entertaining. Disney will be fun too. :)

Friday Fill-Ins

2008-08-21T21:16:00.000-07:00

1. Dancing to the songs on my iPod while laying down in bed and not really moving at all makes me relaxed.

2. The last time I sneezed I nearly peed my pants (thanks to two pregnancies and not enough Kegel exercises!).

3. When I drive I am closest to a Zen state, even with two kids bickering in the backseat.

4. I saw one of our cats, Coaster standing in my shower, drinking water that had collected in a toy boat. Ew!

5. Give me peace, give me centeredness, give me chocolate!

6. Next week I am looking forward to hopefully going back to Disneyland.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to watching a Netflix movie with Eric, tomorrow my plans include shopping for DisneyWorld vacation tidbits and Sunday, I want to do as little as possible!

Get YOUR Friday Fill-Ins here: http://fridayfillins.blogspot.com/

Drained Mom of an Autie

2008-08-21T09:05:00.000-07:00

I think, for the most part, I do a really good job as the mom to an Autistic child. It's a hard job, a confusing job, a draining job. I suppose it's only to be expected that there are some moments when I crack and just can't keep up with the demands. I don't respond well, I don't keep my temper or my peace, I lose my perspective and I feel like a failed mom.

Drew has had big backslides in behavior the past several months. I don't know why, nor do I really know what to do to help him gain ground again. The difficult and disruptive behavior in public is the worst. I normally do very well with it, but it's been so constant lately that I've reached my limit. We were planning to make our first trip back to Disneyland today after the summer break. Josh woke up very excited, and ran into Drew's room to share that joy. He yelled something that I think was "Drew! It's Christmas Day!", due to his overexcitement I'm sure. Drew went ballistic. Yelling, calling Josh nasty names, just flipping out. That was it for me. No WAY will I take him out in public today, much less to Disneyland.

Certainly I understand, on an intellectual level, why Drew responds that way. Things are "right" or "wrong" in his world, period. He's also very very reactive lately, so when he encounters something which he perceives as "wrong", his response is completely over-the-top. However, on an emotional level, there is only so much of that I can deal with. And I hit my wall this morning.

The really shitty part is that Josh is now missing out on a fun day, and there isn't anything I can do about that. Very unfair to all of us, really.

Bah. Autism sucks some days.

Mellow & Sweet Company Picnic

2008-08-09T16:57:00.001-07:00

Blizzard Entertainment's company picnic this year was at Oak Canyon Park, which is a lovely little park that is leased out exclusively for private parties. Food, drinks, rides, boating, fishing, mini golf, DJ, silly contests, face painting - it was mellow and family friendly. The weather was wonderful, just warm enough to enjoy the water misters that were strung in certain areas, but not oppressively hot. Of course I have tons of pictures!

My *god* Eric is tall!

Drew on the ferris wheel, all by himself. He's at the very top in this shot.

There's Drew, making a great face - zoom in on this one!

LIMBO!

Josh made it under once, anyway.

Those scooty-things - Josh mastered them immeditely, Drew couldn't quite figure it out.

I *adore* this picture!

Hoola-Hoop Contest

Gone Fishin'

Mom, Drew and Josh on the little lake. Drew did a fair share of oaring, I was impressed.

Josh and I went back out twice more. *I* did all the oaring those times!

On the ferris wheel, I got to ride with Drew this time.

We're near the top of the wheel in this shot.

Putt-Putt Fever!

Er...it's a golf club, Drew, not a sword!

Eric and Drew on the Tilt-a-Whirl. Better their stomachs than mine.

Drew Productions!

2008-08-08T11:52:00.001-07:00

Drew has never been a big fiction reader. He tends towards non-fiction, mostly gaming manuals/guides and fact books on Disney. He has recently picked up the "Captain Underpants" series by Dav Pilkey, though, and wow! He's hooked! It's full of silliness, illustrations, bathroom humor, and 9-year-old boy goodness.

He's been so inspired that today during "art time", Drew spent 45 minutes drawing his own Captain Underpants comic strip. Anyone who knows Drew very well knows he generally *loathes* drawing, writing, or anything involving holding something in his hand and making markings with it. He's ecstatic about his work, it's so cool. And for your viewing pleasure, here it is! (Of course, Captain Underpants is the property of Dav Pilkey, and we certainly won't be selling this anywhere!)

Definitely click on each picture for a better view:

Fairy Lights and Choo Choo Trains

2008-08-02T18:34:00.000-07:00

This first shot is of the "fairy lights" around my desk. These were originally purchased to go outside on our back patio, but the strings are waaay too short to be useful out there. After having them sit around in a box for several months, I decided they needed a fun home (I credit the inspiration to our friends in Huntington Beach, who have little year-round holiday lights all over their kitchen and living room). I *love* my fairy lights! Especially at night when we turn off everything else and play computer games in the dark, with only their magical light around me.

I did try to snap a picture in the dark, but the lights confused my camera's focus, and it came out all fuzzy, blech. Here is is, though.

These next two pictures tell a funny story of a 5-year-old who is crazy about cats and trains, and a cat who is just crazy. The cubes are a cat toy, turned into a "Cat Train". Coaster (the cat pictured inside the cubes) honestly and truly allowed himself to be dragged around the house at full speed while clinging to the inside of the cubes. In the front of our house you can go all the way around the living room/dining room/kitchen in a loop, and it's all either tile or hardwood flooring. They really got some speed going. The corners were especially hilarious.

Thomas, the other (less crazy) cat, was intelligently staying far far away from the insanity.

Allowing

2008-07-25T10:29:00.000-07:00

I'm working on an attitude of allowing today, specifically surrounding Drew. I notice that I've been overly critical of him lately, trying to fine-tune his behaviors and social actions. On the surface, the intention is assisting him to be a more approachable and likable person. In truth, however, I realize that what I'm truly accomplishing is reducing his sense of authentic self and worth. Not so much what I want to be doing.

The fact of the matter is that Drew has Autism. His brain interprets life differently than many other people's brains, so he behaves in ways that are different and sometimes incomprehensible to the rest of the world. Certainly this *does* make him less approachable in some ways. It does complicate the process of making friends. However, I need to remind myself that Drew's goals in life are *not* my goals, nor should they be. His social needs are very different from mine, or his brother's. This is okay! I cannot evaluate his approach to life from the perspective of *my* goals. When viewed from *his* perspective (or as close as I can come to recreating that in myself), the behaviors and actions which I see as problematic are much less so, or not at all an issue.

I'm also working on finding a balance between Drew's needs and the rest of the family's comfort. This morning he is playing a very cool online game, which unfortunately has little external administrative controls. In other words, the players pretty much run things. This translates to people being jerks a lot of the time, and that is horribly frustrating to Drew who has a very strong sense of justice and "rightness". He's a rather "black and white" person in that regard. Drew also has a tenacity that defies logic - he will cling to an idea to the point of apparent insanity. It doesn't matter how illogical, improbable or irritating the situation is, he *must* stick with it. You perhaps begin to see how those two mindsets - rigid perception of justice and inability to give up an idea - might collide in certain situations. In plain English, he's getting very, very angry this morning about the game he's playing. I have lots of ideas about how we could change the situation in order to do what he wants in a more pleasing way. No dice. He's so locked in to his idea that he just can't move to another mindset. This puts me in the position between allowing him to explore his own ideas and choices, and yet not subject the rest of us to yelling, screaming and cursing as he becomes increasingly angry. And of course, terminating the game time results in unbelievable anger, meltdowns, etc.

What's the answer? So far it seems to be constant awareness from me on what is happening with him, how far out of alignment he is, and how much his stress is affecting the rest of us. It's like walking on a moving balance beam, continuously finding my footing and adjusting for my next move. All the while staying connected to Source myself, keeping in balance and harmony with the Universe. Because I *know*, more than I know anything else, that being out of balance myself, being disconnected myself, makes my job impossible.

A nicely sweetened cup of coffee helps too. :)

May the Birthday Weekend Begin!

2008-07-18T19:50:00.000-07:00

It's technically not my birthday until Monday, but being the "spotlight" girl that I am, I figured we would start today. Can't have too many days of celebrating!

So here's my first gift, picked out and purchased with some help from the boys. She's a Webkinz blue rhino whom I've named Blueberry.

Yeah yeah, not very inventive, but I liked it. So there! Of course the boys *had* to get a Webkinz pet as well, so Josh got a black and white kitten (shock! surprise!) whom he named Joshua and Drew got a golden retriever (awww!) whom he named Thed. Lack of creativity ran in the family today apparently. Drew barely got enough time to play Webkinz.com before he was off to the Angels game with Eric, but Josh and I played around quite a bit. It's a very cute site, a little tough for Josh but I believe that he'll get the hang of it soon. He'll definitely increase his reading skills, as almost nothing is eletronically spoken for you.

I'm completely undecided on what my next gifts will be. I was considering a single cup coffeemaker, but the basic drip one that I have is working just fine for my minimal useage. Perhaps more clothes, can't have too many of those that both fit and feel pretty. Once the handyman gets back in touch with me maybe my gift will be some screen doors for the house. I would honestly LOVE that!

2008-07-17T19:20:00.000-07:00

Joss Whedon* genius. Click on it. Watch it now. NOW! Not child-friendly, but not horribly unfriendly either.

Who knew Doogie Howser could sing?

*for those who don't know (gasp!), he's the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Firefly"/"Serenity" guy

Homemaker

2008-07-15T06:59:00.001-07:00

I've been doing a fair amount of contemplation over the past few weeks about my chosen career path, which is homemaking (in case you all missed that!). To mention that being a homemaker is not a position of high esteem in our western world would be stating the obvious, so I won't go into that. I did have a bit of an epiphany - not mine alone, certainly - about feminism and homemaking recently. The two are not mutually exclusive, at least not to me. I feel that feminism is about opening the world of possibilities to women. Homemaking *is* one of those possibilities, and being able to choose this path openly, freely, consciously - *that*, my friends, is empowerment!

Just for fun, let's see what *positive* pictures a Google image search turns up for the word "homemaker" and other related phrases, shall we? These will be completely work/family safe, I promise!

1. Took until page 2, but here's a homemaker, albeit a cartoon one, that is enjoying her moment!

2. Why yes, I am!

3. Alright, I can hear you groaning over the 50's implication of a housewife, but honestly, having a weekly rhythm for these essential jobs is really the key to a smoothly running household for me. Don't ask how smooth my rhythm is lately, though. Thanks.

4. I truly find this type of image appealing (sans the high heels - who the hell wears high heels while baking!?). I'm not a big cook, but I *do* enjoy baking. And look how clean the kitchen is, I swoon!

5. Mom is damn hip, and the kids are joyfully being *kids* - licking the spoon, playing music with pots. I wanna come over there for coffee.

The truth is, I adore my homemaker status. I feel grateful every day that I live this full, rich, exciting, interesting, free, shiny life.

If You Give a Mom a Blog Space

Merry Christmas 2011 - Part 1

Gym Time!

Skateboardin' Fools

Jog-A-Thon

Halloween 2010

Creative Multiplication

OC Fair 2010

Hello, my name is Michelle, and I'm a SHE

Leave them be and see the creativity!

Public school? Whaaaat?

New Car, Birthday, New Room

'Snow', Josh's cat clubhouse and bubbles!

A spoonfull of sugar really does work!

Adventures at Tewinkle

February 3 - Disney Day!

February 1st

A Month of Sharing

Lake Thedaker

Living Zen in 2010

Symphony of Science

First completed project!!

Crafty Gal

Disney Halloween (part one of...many)

November Novelist

Manic Monday, September 21

Not Back to School at Disney

But will they be successful?

Manic Monday, September 14, 2009

Human Thunderstorm *and* great music!

Refreshing Pool Happiness

Manic Monday, July 20th 2009

Friday Fill-Ins, July 10

Natural Backyard Goodness

Cruise Recap & Slideshow

Manic Monday, July 6

The Most Profound Question

Friday Fill-Ins, Goddess Edition

Friday Fill-Ins

Josh's Birthday & The Bounce Room

Avatar inspried body art

Autism and Unschooling

Unschool vs Public School - essay by a teen

Ultimate Uncle Time

Candy Pizza and Playdoh

Do Re Mi - The Smile is Guaranteed

How to Horrify Random Parents at Public Parks

Spring Sweetness

Recent Plans, Unschooling Ideas

Watch Out, Villians!

Awesome Quote!

Children's Freedom

April 10, 2009 - Pics of the Day

Moving away from *this*

Sea World (mostly pics!)

Being More Respectful

Happy Ostara!

Coolest Flight Attendant EVER

The Ever-Present Dental Work

Whale (well, dolphin) Watching Trip

February Beach Bums

Exploring at Irvine Regional Park

Just sing it, and paint it, and build it up to the sky...

Field Trip to the Science Center

Denizens of the Deep (well, the shallows, actually)

Happy Birthday Mimi!

Day o' Legos

How Nice to See Friends Again!

Josh's Artwork & Park Beauty

Go Lakers!

Recovering from The Plague

Our First Day with Oak Meadow curriculum

2008 in Photos

Happy Holidays 2008

The First Gift of Christmas!

Put that in your ear and...ow!

We Clean Up Nicely!

Woot! Henna rocks.

Solstice Cookies, Yum!

Holiday Light Coolness

Human Thunderstorm and great music!

Moving away from this