I am making my husband's #1 fantasy come to life, and no, it's not having two women at the same time, although I'm sure that one ranks high as well. My husband has a set of preferences that are a bit...ANAL. There are many, but one in particular is that he wants to come home from work to everything tidy and in it's place. It makes him absolutely insane to think of someone else meddling with his "things." No, I'm not stepping up my game on housework . Try actually living in your house rather than using it as a pit stop & you will see why.
I'm giving him the biggest room in the house, just his stuff, soundproofed, & a dead bolt lock! He will have the work-out equipment (which I will still have a pass to use), his drum set, my black leather theater couch & chair, a television, his desk, books, files, etc. He can also cover his walls with pictures of his Mother if he wishes to do so, as long as he can keep that energy within the room and not allow it to escape and poison the rest of the house. (Just kidding hon, had to add a MIL joke in there for effect, you know, just to spice up my writing;)
Don't get me wrong, I benefit from this new arrangement as well. I get the entire downstairs for our Unschooling adventures. We get Mike's current office all to ourselves, which I really love because it has big windows (more light!), a high ceiling, hardwood floors, french doors, and pretty yellow walls. It is attached to the kitchen, which I frequent all day long in order to keep my family fed with the very best of everything. I can't wait to fill the office/new Unschool-Room walls with maps and the bookshelves and storage cubes with all sorts of interesting things! Also, I happen to come with my own set of preferences....
I can't stand a television! I only want to hear the chime of children's voices, (sometimes not necessarily a "chime", but still better than the television), and maybe dog bark or two, while I cook, read, etc. While I exist in the moment. I tried for a while to bond with husband in front of the television...not so much. First of all, he never watches anything from beginning to end, but rather watches snippets, changing channels as soon as a commercial comes on, maybe going back to the previous channel, maybe not. Secondly, I just can't find purpose in watching television. Watching someone else play a game (sports), someone else live their life, someone getting their insatiable ego satisfied. I am more of a participant than I am an observer..I would rather be living my life rather than watching someone else's. I have ALWAYS been this way. He used to attempt to "share" things with me on TV (I would be cooking or something...), Husband ~"Robin, listen, you have to hear this! Did you hear it? That's so funny!! Bwahahaha!", but after 1000+ times of sincerely and with all of my heart and soul not being amused, I think we both finally got it that TV was not going to be something we do as a couple.
I don't like to hear the drums! Maybe ten years ago I would have been turned on, but now it just hurts my ears and destroys my Zen. Just as kiddos demanding husband's attention as soon as he gets home from work conflicts with husband's desire for "veg" time, husband's drum practice AND television usually occurs about the same time of day *I* crave "veg" time.
I don't believe that putting something away as soon as you are finished using it is applicable to every situation. When the kiddos complete a puzzle or build something amazing with Legos, we like to leave it out awhile to admire it, not tear it down and "put it away" when we are done. If the kiddos construct a brilliant "tent" out of throw pillows and blankets in the middle of the living room at 4pm, I don't want to make them destroy their work of art before 530pm because husband will be home soon. We may start writing in our journal at 8am, but get writer's block by 8:10am, so we leave the journal right there on the kitchen table open to the page we are writing on. Maybe we walk by it at 10am and have a fabulous thought to add to it? Maybe someone sees it on the table at dinner and mentions it, and it spurs a family conversation on what we were writing about?
Where Mike has a no-food-out-of-the-kitchen policy for children only, I believe that there are circumstances that warrant food outside of the kitchen for children , not just adults. Popcorn or pizza with a movie, a spring water by your side wherever you are to stay hydrated, and many more. If a kiddo needs a protein lift, a craving for something sweet, etc, I don't want them stuffing the food down in a hurry in order to get back to what they were doing, because this encourages poor eating habits. We talk about being careful with crumbs, cleaning up after ourselves, etc, but it is normal at their age to still have accidents. That's what dogs and cats are for...just kidding! Don't get me wrong, I am sanitary...five cups in my teens room with "things" growing in them or a sucker stuck to the carpet still pisses me off! I just don't believe that all food & drink consumption must happen at kitchen table is the answer.
I need flexible timing. Being Unschoolers
My children came along and broke my ridiculous obsession with perfection long ago. It's not that my children and I don't respect our "things" or others "things", it's just that I have had a really hard time in my past with being obsessive and possessive over "things." For example, if a college course was going to be a B, I would drop it if I could and pay to take it over. My college transcript is a mile long! (withdraw, A, withdraw, A, etc) This seems insane to me now, especially after I went into the job field and realized that the people who half-assed their way through all of their courses still got the same degree I did, and were still half-assing it at work, earning the same as me or more! I was rescued from myself a few years ago when the Universe set things in place for me through some profound heartbreaks, all for my spiritual growth, and I was able to let go of my emphasis on "things."
I now find my husband's obsession unattractive, because I see the old me in it, and it caused me so much inner conflict, anger, and pain. I am blessed to be rid of it. I despise it, and here I am married to it!! lol Sometimes I am obnoxious with my being on the extreme opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to being anal, but I am working on this. My husband's anal tendencies do benefit us in many areas, though, such as finances, legalities, and maintenance & upkeep of things, just as my relaxed tendencies help us with "being in the moment" more and determining what is the big deal and what isn't really. Not to mention, he does love to see me like a helpless fish flopping around on the pier in certain situations, because it serves his manly ego well to swoop in and take charge and rescue me. Both of us are struggling to find a balance, because both of us are to the extreme in our very opposite tendencies. We are both making progress, he more so than I, I will have to admit. It seems that we were placed in each others paths by the Universe especially for each others Spiritual Growth. We are hoping that his new Man World Room will satisfy his needs for being in control of something, because since we moved in and infiltrated his once predictable home setting, he feels that he has no control and no space to call his own.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Josiah's Dam (not Damn) Fascination 2010
I found directions online last night for building a model of a dam ( How To Build A Model Dam), at the request of Josiah. It seems simple enough, using a pan, clay, pebbles, and popsicle sticks. I just want it to be something he can use over and over again, because...he is going to want to use it over and over again. It has to be a dam that will fail, because that is the fun of it.
Josiah has been fascinated with dams since we hiked Lake Julian Price off of the Blue Ridge Parkway a couple of months ago. The hike had a lot of obvious beaver activity, and a real beaver dam! He called the obvious beaver activity "beaver chew", and still does. He also pronounces dam sort of like "damges", it's so freaking cute!
We checked out three beaver books at the library that we read several times each over the course of our two week time allowance, and all of them had pictures of man-made dams in them, so he became super-curious about man-made dams. When we had to return the books, there was major disappointment, so I bought him a Beaver book from Amazon. He "reads" it over and over and asks tons of questions, most of which I don't have the answers to, but we find it out.
When my Grandmother passed away this month and I had to make an unexpected, sudden trip to Nashville, I was able to take him to see the Percy Priest Dam (one my Grandfather helped build) in Nashville, TN (Percy Priest Dam). He was afraid at first (maybe because we watched all of the Nashville flooding videos on YouTube in the hotel room the night before? ~ Actually, YouTube has been invaluable to our Unschooling as a visual aide!), and begged me not to drive over the top of it. To his surprise, we made it across alive, and I was even able to find a hidden road that took you to the base of the dam! Then he wouldn't get out of his car seat. He was afraid it would "crack" and wash us away.
It didn't take long at all for Josiah to spot the beaver dam displays on our recent trip to Schiele Museum in Gastonia, NC....
We walked the trail at Schiele, and the boys built a dam in the creek, which is most likely not okay with the Schiele Museum, but here is the evidence...
We watched some really cool dam videos on YouTube, including a Model Dam Fail that Josiah calls "a fake dam cracking." Here is his favorite video of a fake dam cracking: Model Dam Fail , after which he discovered the Hoover Dam thanks to Mike. Mike told me this morning that he was so disappointed to see a special about the Hoover Dam come on at 11pm last night, but the boys were already asleep :( We want to go see the Hoover Dam, and Mike says he has a friend in Arizona we might could stay with! I hope we can make this work sometime soon! How exciting!
There is a ton of Science that can be explored with Josiah's passion for dams. Physics. Biology. Some of the specific discussions we have had include: Fluid Dynamics - The bottom of the dam has to be strong enough to withstand the pressure of the water at that depth, Hydroelectric Power ("Free" Electricity), Exothermic Heat - Occurs naturally when concrete dries, but there is SO MUCH concrete used in the construction of a dam that Exothermic Heat doesn't happen sufficiently, engineers must come up with an additional way to dry it. Biologically, when a dam is built, it changes everything downstream. One of the important jobs of a river is to move sediment. Sediment will build up rather than move with a dam, so engineers must come up with another way to move sediment. I didn't decide to teach Biology and present them with the subject I chose. I didn't decide to teach them Physics and think, hey, I will introduce it with a dam. The boys looked around their world, which is their classroom, and discovered these wonders, natural and man-made. Then I helped them find the Science in it by researching to answer their questions and providing them with resources to learn as much as they want. There will not be a test.There will not be grades.There will bot be a calendar date that we drop this subject and move to the next chapter. All of our discussion and conversations happened at the dinner table, in the car, in front of my or Mike's computer, at bedtime, over a book, etc. They will retain what they need and apply it when they need to. This is real learning. This is beautiful.
I looked out the window to check on the boys in the backyard this afternoon, and they were building a dam (Note: We DO NOT have a creek). They were muddy and soaked, the dogs were muddy and soaked, but the boys were very focused on and thrilled with their project:
Josiah has been fascinated with dams since we hiked Lake Julian Price off of the Blue Ridge Parkway a couple of months ago. The hike had a lot of obvious beaver activity, and a real beaver dam! He called the obvious beaver activity "beaver chew", and still does. He also pronounces dam sort of like "damges", it's so freaking cute!
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| Beaver Chew! |
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| A Real Beaver Dam! |
We checked out three beaver books at the library that we read several times each over the course of our two week time allowance, and all of them had pictures of man-made dams in them, so he became super-curious about man-made dams. When we had to return the books, there was major disappointment, so I bought him a Beaver book from Amazon. He "reads" it over and over and asks tons of questions, most of which I don't have the answers to, but we find it out.
When my Grandmother passed away this month and I had to make an unexpected, sudden trip to Nashville, I was able to take him to see the Percy Priest Dam (one my Grandfather helped build) in Nashville, TN (Percy Priest Dam). He was afraid at first (maybe because we watched all of the Nashville flooding videos on YouTube in the hotel room the night before? ~ Actually, YouTube has been invaluable to our Unschooling as a visual aide!), and begged me not to drive over the top of it. To his surprise, we made it across alive, and I was even able to find a hidden road that took you to the base of the dam! Then he wouldn't get out of his car seat. He was afraid it would "crack" and wash us away.
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| Sam & Josiah at Percy Priest Dam near Nashville, TN |
It didn't take long at all for Josiah to spot the beaver dam displays on our recent trip to Schiele Museum in Gastonia, NC....
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| Beaver Chew! |
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| Beaver Dam with the stuffed Beaver on top!! |
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| Sam & Josiah building a dam in the creek at the Schiele |
We watched some really cool dam videos on YouTube, including a Model Dam Fail that Josiah calls "a fake dam cracking." Here is his favorite video of a fake dam cracking: Model Dam Fail , after which he discovered the Hoover Dam thanks to Mike. Mike told me this morning that he was so disappointed to see a special about the Hoover Dam come on at 11pm last night, but the boys were already asleep :( We want to go see the Hoover Dam, and Mike says he has a friend in Arizona we might could stay with! I hope we can make this work sometime soon! How exciting!
There is a ton of Science that can be explored with Josiah's passion for dams. Physics. Biology. Some of the specific discussions we have had include: Fluid Dynamics - The bottom of the dam has to be strong enough to withstand the pressure of the water at that depth, Hydroelectric Power ("Free" Electricity), Exothermic Heat - Occurs naturally when concrete dries, but there is SO MUCH concrete used in the construction of a dam that Exothermic Heat doesn't happen sufficiently, engineers must come up with an additional way to dry it. Biologically, when a dam is built, it changes everything downstream. One of the important jobs of a river is to move sediment. Sediment will build up rather than move with a dam, so engineers must come up with another way to move sediment. I didn't decide to teach Biology and present them with the subject I chose. I didn't decide to teach them Physics and think, hey, I will introduce it with a dam. The boys looked around their world, which is their classroom, and discovered these wonders, natural and man-made. Then I helped them find the Science in it by researching to answer their questions and providing them with resources to learn as much as they want. There will not be a test.There will not be grades.There will bot be a calendar date that we drop this subject and move to the next chapter. All of our discussion and conversations happened at the dinner table, in the car, in front of my or Mike's computer, at bedtime, over a book, etc. They will retain what they need and apply it when they need to. This is real learning. This is beautiful.
I looked out the window to check on the boys in the backyard this afternoon, and they were building a dam (Note: We DO NOT have a creek). They were muddy and soaked, the dogs were muddy and soaked, but the boys were very focused on and thrilled with their project:
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| Backyard Dam |
Thursday, August 26, 2010
8-24-2010 (Josiah had his TUESDAY underwear on)
Today has really been adventure, yet we have not even left the house! My day started with two howling beagle pups at 4am, and then at 8am…
Me ~ "Don't wake the pups. I have been up since 4am with those little devils."
Josiah ~ "Don't call them devils. They are just little babies, who came out of their Mama's vagina...for real."
We have thoroughly covered The Human Life Cycle, and correct terminology for human anatomy. As luck would have it, I own National Geographic: In the Womb, the FOUR disc set, which happens to include (drum roll…) In The Womb: Animals !! We found our Science for the day! Sam was especially amazed that elephant sperm is killed off by “attackers” BEFORE it can get to the egg (I will have to verify this, I took his word as I did not hear this part, had to heat up Cass’s spaghetti for when she came home for lunch), unlike human sperm, which is killed off by the chemical that is released once one sperm penetrates the egg (which he remembered from The Human Life Cycle…from last winter).
We are in the process of switching rooms…making the Family Room into Mike’s Space, and the Office into Our Classroom. I was unpacking shelving and reading the directions for putting it together, when the doorbell rings. It is Sam in his Duct Tape Gear. He slipped out the door, without asking, and sold a Duct Tape Purse to the neighbor a few houses down for FIVE DOLLARS. This is an example of his impulsivity: Act now, think later. Act now, ask later. The neighbor asked why he wasn’t in school (of course..), and he answered that he was homeschooled (roaming the streets, peddling Duct Tape purses, no less! FMR!). Okay, so anyway, the police never came…lol.
Josiah has exhausted his puppy, Starbucks, so we have a big argument when I insist he leaves the pup alone so it can get some rest. This leads to me calling Reading Time, so we can discuss the needs of the pup against our wants for the pup. I read Beagles to Sam & Josiah, and ta-da! It is believed that King Arthur used beagles, and beagles were used for hunting back in the day of the knights, which has been our most recent passion since Medieval Times at Myrtle Beach. Sam exclaims that hey, he saw beagles in his Knights & Armor book, so he runs to grab the book to show us. I read the Hunting Chapter, which DOES have pics of a pack of beagles hunting, and we also find meaning for why they did the Falcon act in Medieval Times…they hunted with the Falcons and Kestrels as well! Wow! Josiah then had to poop, so I took a voice break, and alas, Sam starts reading aloud from the Knights & Armor book on his own! We never actually got around to “what puppies need” in the Beagle book, but we covered their personalities and their history.
Sam is going to try out Boy Scouts tonight and he is very excited!!
I have decided to start blogging and sharing our days, and I am very excited about that! It is 4pm now (again, up since 4am), and I am so irritable and sleepy. I had to send the boys upstairs and instruct them to stay there a while, Mom loves you very much, but needs space right now. The Universe brought me the pups so that I might stop entertaining thoughts of having a baby!
Well, we went to the Scout Meeting and it seems like it will be something Sam will enjoy, however, I will need to discuss the SNACKS with someone…my post from Facebook:
“They had cupcakes with icing and sprinkles, chips (which are not so bad), and sodas...and no limits enforced whatsoever? And then you tell them to CALM DOWN, and on the PLAYGROUND, no less???? They should be so lucky as to have the playground still standing."
I volunteer for every snack this whole year. I will beg of him.
SERIOUSLY…what the hell is wrong with people? Your pitch to me is that you end scouts “early enough”, because the kiddos have school the next morning, but you jack them up before you send them home? Does it not occur to anyone that maybe we should be promoting good eating habits in all activities? Josiah came home and ran slap into the tree in the front yard, running, but looking the other way....And my boys only took a few bites from their cupcakes, some of those other kiddos were putting them under! Making suicides with the sodas! The boys still ate well, though: Tender, all-natural chicken breasts in a zesty, orange BBQ sauce, Cascadian Farms tater tots, and a dark green salad. I think their bodies were screaming at them for protein.
My thoughts have gone completely negative…I seriously need to just GO TO BED. The darling pups have been sleeping soundly for a couple of hours now, getting all ready for play time at 4am, no doubt.
Me ~ "Don't wake the pups. I have been up since 4am with those little devils."
Josiah ~ "Don't call them devils. They are just little babies, who came out of their Mama's vagina...for real."
We have thoroughly covered The Human Life Cycle, and correct terminology for human anatomy. As luck would have it, I own National Geographic: In the Womb, the FOUR disc set, which happens to include (drum roll…) In The Womb: Animals !! We found our Science for the day! Sam was especially amazed that elephant sperm is killed off by “attackers” BEFORE it can get to the egg (I will have to verify this, I took his word as I did not hear this part, had to heat up Cass’s spaghetti for when she came home for lunch), unlike human sperm, which is killed off by the chemical that is released once one sperm penetrates the egg (which he remembered from The Human Life Cycle…from last winter).
We are in the process of switching rooms…making the Family Room into Mike’s Space, and the Office into Our Classroom. I was unpacking shelving and reading the directions for putting it together, when the doorbell rings. It is Sam in his Duct Tape Gear. He slipped out the door, without asking, and sold a Duct Tape Purse to the neighbor a few houses down for FIVE DOLLARS. This is an example of his impulsivity: Act now, think later. Act now, ask later. The neighbor asked why he wasn’t in school (of course..), and he answered that he was homeschooled (roaming the streets, peddling Duct Tape purses, no less! FMR!). Okay, so anyway, the police never came…lol.
Josiah has exhausted his puppy, Starbucks, so we have a big argument when I insist he leaves the pup alone so it can get some rest. This leads to me calling Reading Time, so we can discuss the needs of the pup against our wants for the pup. I read Beagles to Sam & Josiah, and ta-da! It is believed that King Arthur used beagles, and beagles were used for hunting back in the day of the knights, which has been our most recent passion since Medieval Times at Myrtle Beach. Sam exclaims that hey, he saw beagles in his Knights & Armor book, so he runs to grab the book to show us. I read the Hunting Chapter, which DOES have pics of a pack of beagles hunting, and we also find meaning for why they did the Falcon act in Medieval Times…they hunted with the Falcons and Kestrels as well! Wow! Josiah then had to poop, so I took a voice break, and alas, Sam starts reading aloud from the Knights & Armor book on his own! We never actually got around to “what puppies need” in the Beagle book, but we covered their personalities and their history.
Sam is going to try out Boy Scouts tonight and he is very excited!!
I have decided to start blogging and sharing our days, and I am very excited about that! It is 4pm now (again, up since 4am), and I am so irritable and sleepy. I had to send the boys upstairs and instruct them to stay there a while, Mom loves you very much, but needs space right now. The Universe brought me the pups so that I might stop entertaining thoughts of having a baby!
Well, we went to the Scout Meeting and it seems like it will be something Sam will enjoy, however, I will need to discuss the SNACKS with someone…my post from Facebook:
“They had cupcakes with icing and sprinkles, chips (which are not so bad), and sodas...and no limits enforced whatsoever? And then you tell them to CALM DOWN, and on the PLAYGROUND, no less???? They should be so lucky as to have the playground still standing."
I volunteer for every snack this whole year. I will beg of him.
SERIOUSLY…what the hell is wrong with people? Your pitch to me is that you end scouts “early enough”, because the kiddos have school the next morning, but you jack them up before you send them home? Does it not occur to anyone that maybe we should be promoting good eating habits in all activities? Josiah came home and ran slap into the tree in the front yard, running, but looking the other way....And my boys only took a few bites from their cupcakes, some of those other kiddos were putting them under! Making suicides with the sodas! The boys still ate well, though: Tender, all-natural chicken breasts in a zesty, orange BBQ sauce, Cascadian Farms tater tots, and a dark green salad. I think their bodies were screaming at them for protein.
My thoughts have gone completely negative…I seriously need to just GO TO BED. The darling pups have been sleeping soundly for a couple of hours now, getting all ready for play time at 4am, no doubt.
8-26-2010
Today I resisted the urge to reprimand a teenager so as not to humiliate Cassidy. I took her to meet her boyfriend in the Taco Bell parking lot to have lunch and ride to ATC class together. As I was pulling out, I saw a crowd of teen boys parked beside of Cassidy & Chase. I saw one throw his trash on the ground behind his truck just as Sam exclaimed, "Mom! That dude just LITTERED!!!" This has to be in the top 50 on the Things That Make Robin Super Pissed list (and Sam gets extra points for knowing this).Would it count as Community Service for the boys homeschool portfolios if we go hang out in the Taco Bell parking lot at lunch time every day and confront the little piss-ants?
The boys were out front taking the pups out for the Three P's: Piss, Poop, Play...and the neighbor walked her 4 year old over to see the pups. I go out to be neighborly, and find that Sam has already informed her that, "We decided to homeschool so that we can take care of the puppies all day." I'm sure this, as well as my breath from eating a clove of raw garlic just moments ago, has confirmed many suspicions that she already had about us. (And yes, Sam, I have been homeschooling since the year 2000-ish because of the puppies we didn't know we were getting, until we got them, this past Sunday night in the year 2010...)
I am thinking that we will take advantage of the weather and do a Field Trip-A-Thon until it's just too damn cold to go anywhere. When it becomes so cold that there is no green in sight and it's too miserable to play in the creek, we can cuddle up all cozy in the house and do some Math! We also want to incorporate one dog per trip if allowed, to make up for any sad feelings they might have over loss of attention because of the pups.
My back is really hurting today, and now includes left-upper side. Cassidy massaged my back and shrieked in horror as she announced how swollen my back is. I'm thinking I may have pulled something at Home Depot Monday as I cradled a pup in my right arm and at the same time lifted a big ass roll of garden fencing over and into the buggy with my left arm. Ibuprofen has taken the edge off. Mike had to get us take-out Chinese for dinner though. I think I will soak in the tub and sit in My Chair facing the dark abyss of the back yard and read for the rest of the night, never mind, I have three kids, one husband, five dogs, two cats, one guinea pig, two hermit crabs, and one turtle. I will try to get a million things done and actually accomplish two or three, then I will collapse into the bed with no bath.
The boys were out front taking the pups out for the Three P's: Piss, Poop, Play...and the neighbor walked her 4 year old over to see the pups. I go out to be neighborly, and find that Sam has already informed her that, "We decided to homeschool so that we can take care of the puppies all day." I'm sure this, as well as my breath from eating a clove of raw garlic just moments ago, has confirmed many suspicions that she already had about us. (And yes, Sam, I have been homeschooling since the year 2000-ish because of the puppies we didn't know we were getting, until we got them, this past Sunday night in the year 2010...)
I am thinking that we will take advantage of the weather and do a Field Trip-A-Thon until it's just too damn cold to go anywhere. When it becomes so cold that there is no green in sight and it's too miserable to play in the creek, we can cuddle up all cozy in the house and do some Math! We also want to incorporate one dog per trip if allowed, to make up for any sad feelings they might have over loss of attention because of the pups.
My back is really hurting today, and now includes left-upper side. Cassidy massaged my back and shrieked in horror as she announced how swollen my back is. I'm thinking I may have pulled something at Home Depot Monday as I cradled a pup in my right arm and at the same time lifted a big ass roll of garden fencing over and into the buggy with my left arm. Ibuprofen has taken the edge off. Mike had to get us take-out Chinese for dinner though. I think I will soak in the tub and sit in My Chair facing the dark abyss of the back yard and read for the rest of the night, never mind, I have three kids, one husband, five dogs, two cats, one guinea pig, two hermit crabs, and one turtle. I will try to get a million things done and actually accomplish two or three, then I will collapse into the bed with no bath.
8-25-2010
Today I'm not feeling so very well. Hot flashes, agitated, and excruciating pain in mid-upper-back. I don't get sick days, so I just keep on rocking. No need to rush to the doctor to pay a co-pay, achieve nothing, and pick up a virus while I'm there. I will just do the same thing any good doctor would: Guess and use process of elimination by trying different remedies until it just goes away. (I won't be really sure of exactly what it was or what made it go away, but who cares now, it's gone...again, just like any good doctor) I have assed around and not made a new batch of Master Tonic, and I am almost out of my last batch. Making Master Tonic, in my opinion, is not a pleasurable activity. I hate peeling horseradish and ginger, and I know my blender will eventually blow up from processing horseradish. (To hell with shredding that stuff, it's worse on the hands and wrists than one year of Public School - Handwriting...the now useless art...) So today I make my Master Tonic and I am very pleased because the aroma is off the charts strong. My eyes are watering, I am sneezing, I can breath! The entire house reeks of Master Tonic. I wonder though, I never follow the Start on New Moon, Pull on Full Moon, or whatever it is. Is this a bad thing? It seems to be working wonders for me in spite of me ignoring the moon.
I have been so spun out since yesterday afternoon over the harassment situation going on with Cassidy at school. My husband was in the principals office first thing this morning with Cassidy, evidence in hand, case prepared. He is such a life-saver in these cases. "The Female" did two very ugly posts about Cassidy on Facebook, tagged Cassidy in the posts, then de-friended Cassidy, but "The Females" profile is not set to private. I was able to go on this chick's wall and print out both posts and all of the comments, which she basically gave a play-by-play of events that incriminated HERSELF as the aggressor, as well as the threat of yet another confrontation the next day at school...ummm....thanks, "The Female"? Nothing was done except for calling the girls in the office and having them verbally agree to "drop it", which Cassidy had damn well better do, but at least we have the report filed now, so when "The Female" steps out of line, they will come down on her. Mike wants to know why it stresses me out so. Isn't this a part of gaining experience in dealing with people for her, he asks. Ummm, noooo, this is exclusive to Public School (and maybe Jerry Springer), and Public School is nowhere near reality. What Cassidy has learned is how to fight back with the same type of ammunition, and that sucks. I hate to see her wasting her time in the Public School System, but I will support her. I do have to say that Laney's program, Concert Choir, has been a real positive.
I sent the boys outside to the back yard to walk barefoot on the earth today! Me, not feeling so well, sat in the plush, leather, over-sized chair by the window, and found myself turning around often to look out the window and check on them. Every time I moved it made the pain in my back worse, and I thought, "Why is this chair placed NOT facing the window, anyway?" So it turned it around...WOW. Why didn't I think of this before? I can see the birds and the trees and the sky. I can see the kids and the dogs. I placed three beautiful candle holders on the now-visible window ledge, draped my favorite quilt over the chair (the one my Gramma Key made for my Granny Jenkins:), scattered some of my books about, and was thoroughly pleased with myself. This is my chair, my nook, my little corner of the room. Mike was not so impressed..."Are you going to LEAVE it that way?" Um, yes I am. But we should address WHY we feel we need to conform to the standard, common, accepted way of arranging the living room furniture, Mike. We shouldn't merely THINK outside of the box, we should ACT outside of the box, and on a regular basis.
How can I not mention that we had dark green salads with carrots, cucumbers, tomato, bell pepper, and freshly shredded sheep cheese, and grilled Organic Grass-Fed Ribeye Steaks for dinner, followed by Earth Fare Everything Cookies, freshly baked, which I finished off before Mike got one, and blamed it on the kids.
I have been so spun out since yesterday afternoon over the harassment situation going on with Cassidy at school. My husband was in the principals office first thing this morning with Cassidy, evidence in hand, case prepared. He is such a life-saver in these cases. "The Female" did two very ugly posts about Cassidy on Facebook, tagged Cassidy in the posts, then de-friended Cassidy, but "The Females" profile is not set to private. I was able to go on this chick's wall and print out both posts and all of the comments, which she basically gave a play-by-play of events that incriminated HERSELF as the aggressor, as well as the threat of yet another confrontation the next day at school...ummm....thanks, "The Female"? Nothing was done except for calling the girls in the office and having them verbally agree to "drop it", which Cassidy had damn well better do, but at least we have the report filed now, so when "The Female" steps out of line, they will come down on her. Mike wants to know why it stresses me out so. Isn't this a part of gaining experience in dealing with people for her, he asks. Ummm, noooo, this is exclusive to Public School (and maybe Jerry Springer), and Public School is nowhere near reality. What Cassidy has learned is how to fight back with the same type of ammunition, and that sucks. I hate to see her wasting her time in the Public School System, but I will support her. I do have to say that Laney's program, Concert Choir, has been a real positive.
I sent the boys outside to the back yard to walk barefoot on the earth today! Me, not feeling so well, sat in the plush, leather, over-sized chair by the window, and found myself turning around often to look out the window and check on them. Every time I moved it made the pain in my back worse, and I thought, "Why is this chair placed NOT facing the window, anyway?" So it turned it around...WOW. Why didn't I think of this before? I can see the birds and the trees and the sky. I can see the kids and the dogs. I placed three beautiful candle holders on the now-visible window ledge, draped my favorite quilt over the chair (the one my Gramma Key made for my Granny Jenkins:), scattered some of my books about, and was thoroughly pleased with myself. This is my chair, my nook, my little corner of the room. Mike was not so impressed..."Are you going to LEAVE it that way?" Um, yes I am. But we should address WHY we feel we need to conform to the standard, common, accepted way of arranging the living room furniture, Mike. We shouldn't merely THINK outside of the box, we should ACT outside of the box, and on a regular basis.
How can I not mention that we had dark green salads with carrots, cucumbers, tomato, bell pepper, and freshly shredded sheep cheese, and grilled Organic Grass-Fed Ribeye Steaks for dinner, followed by Earth Fare Everything Cookies, freshly baked, which I finished off before Mike got one, and blamed it on the kids.
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