~ Wednesday, September 29, 2010 ~

Josiah and I read Flash, Crash, Rumble, and Roll. Josiah loves to learn about weather, especially severe weather. We did an experiment like this one, http://www.salemclock.com/weather/jarcloud.htm, in the back of the book. We had a tough time seeing a significant mist/cloud. 





Josiah looked through all three of our pirate books on the bench by the kitchen window. He asked me to read him one of them, but we never got to it, because we picked up Sam's first issue of Highlights magazine and got interested in that. Time Capsule in Your Closet article enthralled Josiah. I told him about the time capsule we buried in the ground at my Junior High, oh gosh, back around 84? 85? 86? Highland Junior High School in Gastonia, NC, which is now Highland School of Technology, so I wonder if our time capsule has been forgotten. That kind of bothers me if it has. We also read the article How To Find A Tortoise Nest (in the desert). It came with an additional booklet, Hidden Pictures Fun, and, oh my, how Josiah loves to do these. We did almost all of them. If I see it first (which is usually never the case), he wants me to keep quiet and let him find it. In one of the pics, one of the items he had to find was an envelope. he kept calling it "mail."I explained the difference between mail and just an envelope. We took an envelope and I showed him how to address it, where the stamp goes, etc. This brought back memories of our Post Office in 1st Grade at Rhyne Elementary, Mrs. Whitlock's class. Now THAT was fun, and we couldn't wait for our turn to be the Postmaster!






I get Family Fun magazine, and Charlotte is featured in the October issue! I thought that was neat. It covers US National Whitewater Center, ImaginOn, Studio i,  Discovery Place, Lego Store & Nascar Speed Park at Concord Mills, and Lazy 5 Ranch. It mentions Great Wolf Lodge for lodging. We really are blessed to have so much available in this area.




Sam did four multiplication worksheets. Not much else to say about that.




Mike had band practice, which I love. I adore my husband, and I don't know what I would do without him, he is my soul-mate. But he is also human, and usually grumpy after a long day at work. We also have to go through the "switching gears", the kiddos adjusting from just me being here giving my attention to them and being the sole administrator, to him coming on the scene, me giving him attention, them wanting my AND his attention, and suddenly having TWO administrators...It is best for him to go unwind at band practice, and me enjoy extended time with just the kiddos and myself, send them to bed, then let husband come home to quiet, he and I being able to talk without lovie interruptions. And send them to bed I did at 830pm, and they had no objections. We had a full day of exploring, playing, and learning, but they nearly drove me insane with the common bickering and the usual mishaps, as today, I finally started my period! I juiced carrots & beets, and had some Nettles as well. These saved me from my usual pre-menstrual exhaustion. I was irritable, but had tons of energy. Just ordered more Nettles today, for I fear being without!





I have been having haunting dreams of being pregnant and nursing, which I know is nearly impossible for us. Maybe because I have so many friends pregnant? It is also hurting my heart to read Moll Flanders, and how many children she bore and "sent away." Also most likely inspired by reading Moll Flanders, I had a dream about being wed to a fellow I barely knew, it being our wedding night, and me in sheer panic, thinking, what if "it" is teeny tiny? What if he doesn't know how to use "it"? Then I am stuck with "it." I was seriously stressed and woke up with my heart racing. I'm glad in this day and time we are not so stupid to think that we shouldn't test the sausage before we buy the whole pig.

~ Tuesday, September 28, 2010 ~

My energy is off,  probably because I am approaching menstruation. I am "as mean as a  rattlesnake"...lol. We did some rearranging in our "classroom" today, in order to make room for the folding table that we really need out all the time. I was so pissed at the boys when I found wrappers to breakfast bars, things missing, and things mixed up in some of the baskets I worked so hard on organizing. When things get thrown around, things get broken. When cards or game pieces get missing, you can't play the darn game. Grrrrr! I had them hopping straightening everything back up.




I am in the mood to implement some new menu items for our dinners, and some of my magazines helped out. Today I tried Slow-Cooker Bratwurst with Sauerkraut and Apples, Potato Salad, and Cole Slaw. I sent Cassidy to get Bratwurst at Earth Fare yesterday and when I open the package today, it has THREE Bratwurst in it. I'm not sure what family she thought she might feed with THREE Bratwurst, surely not this one! Mike and the boys LOVED the Bratwurst, but me, I'm not so crazy about it.




Sam has his Multiples of 2 down pat, so we are moving on to 3's. I am so happy to see him working them out, rather than simply memorizing the facts.




Sam read the book Why Do Leaves Change Color to me, and we discussed the diagram in the book of the Inside Of Leaf . He was very engaged in the book until about halfway through, at which point he started missing words he knows and losing his spot. Then he flipped through the pages to see how many he had left before he was finished, so we stopped. Just like I stop reading when I become distracted or too sleepy. I read a hardcover book of really cute poems to Josiah, Dirt on My Shirt by Jeff Foxworthy, that we scored at Once Upon A Child for $2.50!  Then we read Chomp! A Book About Sharks. Josiah was so amused that shark babies are called pups, and thoughtful about the fact that shark mamas don't take care of shark babies. They leave the egg and immediately start taking care of themselves.



Sam and Mike went to Soccer practice. We got our team shirts, and we got GRAY....AGAIN! Dr. Chuck, whoever the hell that is, is our team sponsor. I think Mike would rather I go to practice with them, but I think A) I don't miss soccer parent drama, B) Sam enjoys the alone time with "Dad", and C) Josiah enjoys the alone time with Mom. This is the last week of practice, though, so it's not even going to be an issue anymore, because, of course I will attend the games.




Today makes two days now that I have not left the house. Love it!



You should see our sleeping arrangements in our king-sized bed now that the weather is cooler and the husband has the windows open and two fans going in the room. He is on the very edge of "his side", I am smashed up against him, then whoever joins us in the middle of the night (usually Josiah), is smashed up against me. The cats have more than half of the bed to themselves. Husband is most likely cramped, but as his dear ex-wife so condescendingly stated to him in a recent email, he should be "happy now to have people around you that LIKE you." And we do "like you" very much, husband!

Life Cycles ~ Butterfly 2010

Josiah became mesmerized by caterpillars in the Summer of 2009, noticing one on our front porch as we were leaving one day. My first discussion with him was how delicate they are, and how we should handle them first of all, infrequently, and when we do handle them, gently. Sometimes Josiah “loves” too hard ;)

From then on, every trail we walked, every tree we passed, he searched high and low hoping that he would be lucky enough to spy a caterpillar, and when he did, especially when it was one we had never found before, it was one special moment! We observed for awhile, took a picture, then placed the caterpillar back in a “safe” spot. With all of these caterpillar sightings came all types of questions, so I ordered a beautiful Caterpillar Field Guide, Caterpillars of Eastern North America: A Guide to Identification and Natural History, popping with color, from Amazon. For many nights after we received the book, Josiah and I cuddled in bed together as he sifted through the pages asking a million questions.

Of course, all of this led us to the Life Cycle of a butterfly, as well as an interest in moths. I ordered a Butterfly tent and sent the coupon in for our Painted Lady larvae. The larvae grew quickly, moved to the top of the jars and hung, to turn into beautiful, iridescent chrysalids. We were then able to open the jars, remove the chrysalids, and pin them to the inside walls of our Butterfly tent.

Larvae

Chrysalids

The Butterfly Bungalow

Getting a Close Look at the Chrysalids

Discovering that a Painted Lady had emerged  from the Chrysalids was amazing! We were very curious about the red liquid we found that looks like blood. It is actually called meconium, the left-over color and unneeded tissues from the butterfly's wing and body transformation.

Meconium

One of our first emerged Painted Ladies

Chrysalid, Meconium

One Chrysalid and Three Empty Chrysalids

Painted Lady

Sam in Bungalow with Painted Ladies

We really had a time keeping the cats away from the tent. We had to keep them locked out of the room, and they peered in longingly.....

Camo and Loki would love to get hold of one of those!

And finally, the release!

~ Chicken Noodle Soup, Monday, September 27, 2010 ~

A cool, rainy day...the first in a very long time! How blessed I am to be at home taking care of myself and mine. Luckily, I went to Earth Fare last night, so we are all stocked up on good things to eat. No errands to run, no commitments outside of the home to fulfill. I started my Chicken Noodle Soup in the crock pot early, so the ingredients can get nice and happy together by dinner time. I am trying to imitate the Chicken Noodle Soup at the Earth Fare deli,with only the ingredients, no exact measurements. I am going to have to play with it. This is what I used: 2 lbs chicken breast, 2 Earth Fare organic chicken broth, carrots, peas, white onion & 3 garlic cloves pureed, celery, 1 pkg. Bionaturae Traditional Egg Pasta, 4 bay leaves, 1 tsp ground cloves, sea salt & mixed up salt to taste. The boys and I loved it. Mike loved it, but called the clove taste "distracting." He is not accustomed to real herbs in home-made soup. His style before me was canned soup. I was able to freeze 3 portions this time, so next time I will double the recipe so that I can freeze a greater quantity for the cold days ahead. I named my blog post Chicken Noodle Soup, because A) if I lose my recipe, I can pull it up on my blog, and B) it's my blog, so I can name it what I want!



I forced the husband to take a shot of Master Tonic when he came home for lunch. The noises he makes when and after he takes it are hilarious...UGH! UGH! Ugh. UGH!....etc...It's like...he's having sex with a pig or something? Such a wimp. He refuses to admit that it is helping him. I think, because, his Mother is a nurse and he has been brain-washed to depend on pharmaceuticals, and because he is a man and doesn't WANT to be well, he wants to embrace his sick time and whine and be fussed over. He did enjoy his Soothing Throat hot tea with raw honey, between Master Tonic burps. If he truly wanted to be well, he would stop smoking. (I love you bunches, honey.)



The boys and I read Chapter 2 of Corn Raid. Both boys were wiggling around and appeared to be distracted and uninterested, which really pissed me off, but when I finished the Chapter and asked them questions, they were able to tell me everything that happened in detail. SO, the problem was just my ego. We started to take a nap, but then Cassidy called from school. Everyone was rushed to the halls, because a tornado touched down in York County. Josiah was fired up then, so a nap was not going to happen.


I have been working bit by bit on getting the carpet cleaned, since the husband has made little effort to make the all-wood floors happen. (Love you bunches, honey!) Cats, dogs, kids, and people not taking their shoes off have wreaked havoc. It looks a lot better now, but carpet is still nasty, IMO, and it is beyond me why anyone would choose to have it. I had a dream about us moving into a new house the other night, perhaps this is a hint that something is on the market now that would suit us? When I would have time to resume the search is beyond me, with soccer, scouts, home schooling, cooking, cleaning, socializing, Mike's band endeavors, 3 kiddos, 17 pets, 1 husband, and the list goes on.





I am enjoying Moll Flanders, but it just chaps my ass the way men have been such pigs forever and it is acceptable, but women are held to different standards. Also the role money plays in how one is respected or not. Some things have changed, but these things remain the same today, in my opinion. It's interesting that as the boys and I are reading Corn Raid, I am reading Moll Flanders, both around the 1600's, both full of the same abuse. Of course, Corn Raid is for kiddos, so I'm sure it's not going to mention it, but I'm sure that Laydon is raping the girl servant, Susan. We should all be so lucky to be alive in this day and time.




One of the pups took a nap under the grill.....Look at his ears hanging down!!!

 Josiah made a clay model of the City of Nashville...it was pretty darn cute. The Tye-Died, because they mix all the colors as soon as they open the packs, but still very cute and creative! The thingys that look like bowels are the roads, he says.

Sam got the red paint and wounded some of the Civil War soldiers. He made a display of the battle, and pulled all of the Civil War books, "..so when Shaimeek comes over, I will teach him all about the Civil War...." Is this Unschooling History, or an 8 year old doing PG-13? ;)

I tried Fresh Yerba Mate Organic Mocha Mint hot tea today...Mmmmm....

~ Saturday, September 25, 2010 ~

Several weeks ago, the ex-MIL asked if the weekend of September 25th would be the boy's visitation with Dad. Apparently this is where my ex-husband got his scheduling skills. I check my calendar and tell her no, it will not. She says her company is having their family picnic that Saturday, and she was going to take the boys if it was visitation weekend. I tell her that we don't have anything on the calendar the day, and that I would be happy to let her take them. Fast forward to FRIDAY the 24th and I have not one confirmation or logistics detail from her. So *I* call her. I finally work out time & details Saturday morning. Are you bringing them to the house? Um, no, the house is 1.5 hours away from my house, the location of the picnic is .5 hours from me. Are you picking them up at the house? Um, no. Again, 1.5 > .5. Soo...I meet her at the park and her car is full, so I'm wondering how in the hell she intended to safely and legally transport my children if I brought them "to the house" and picked them up "from the house." The echoes were so loud on my way to take Cassidy dinner at work, that I went into a full-blown panic attack. Sooo, if we did it YOUR way, I would sacrifice 4 hours traveling, half a tank of gas on me, all so you can endanger my children's lives on the highway. I had just enough time to take Cassidy her food and go in one store, pick up a shoe and look at it, and ex-MIL calls that they are done at the picnic. Shortest shopping trip ever, Mike should be pleased. I know they love the boys, but they have no idea how to interact and connect, just like the ex-husband. They also have no concern with things such as car seats and seat belts and precious cargo, ALSO just like the ex-husband. (Sigh) The boys seemed to have had a great time, so it's all good.




I took the boys to watch Mike's band play their first set. Sam accidentally bopped into one of the flimsy plastic patio tables and spilled one of the drunk granny's beer all over her. He said I'm sorry maam and we bought her another beer, but I think it was the Universe telling Granny she might want to slow down, it's just 830pm. I was so happy to see Dee & Carson, but also relieved to be able to leave before 9pm, sober, and with the great excuse of having my kiddos. They are playing this particular bar one more time I think. I will be happy to move on, as there is a bad energy there that I can't quite put my finger on.




The boys and I headed to Scarowinds. Josiah insisted ALL DAY LONG that he wanted to go and that he was NOT afraid. He did great! We went through Cornstalkers and the Dead Inn. We got to see Cassidy and take a pic with her and her monster!

We watched the theater show, Fangs, and it was AWESOME! A little racy, with adult humor! If you go to Scarowinds...GO SEE IT! I am not going to talk about the incident that occurred with Captain Redneck before we went into the theater, because I am ready to forget about it. It really makes me worry about kiddos, especially teens, being out in the world alone. It makes me sad that some people get all the way to adulthood and still don't get it. A great family day, though, despite the brief drama!

~ Friday, September 24, 2010 ~

The boys and I had Starbucks for "brunch." Sam was doing his Math in the back seat, so he had to let the lady working the drive-thru window know that he is a home schooler and that he is doing Multiplication. As it turns out, she was home schooled and so were her siblings. She was finished with high school at 16 and in dual enrollment. She is about to graduate with her Bachelor's from Winthrop this year. I really do hate that Cassidy chose to waste her time in public school :(



We headed to Discovery Place. Surprise! It was nearly deserted! Yay! There IS something good about schools after all! We had a really great time. They have two live Western Hog-Nosed Snakes now! 


 We did Life Cycles, which we are already fans of, but Discovery Place has some sets that we don't have, such as the Praying Mantis, Beetle, and the Ant.

We enjoyed a demonstration about Phosphor, What's Glowing On, which included Van Gogh's Starry Night in Phosporus Paint and an Emperor Scorpion. Guess what? Our TEETH contain phosphorus, which make them glow when exposed to flourescent light! Of course, both of my "unsocialized" unschoolers were jumping at the bit to be a volunteer. Sam did the teeth, Josiah did the glow swabs. 

We learned about the Roll, Pitch, Yaw of airplanes. I researched it to see if we could dig deeper into the subject, but I'm not sure we are ready for Trigonometry just yet. I may introduce some basic Trig just to gauge interest, as there is little rhyme & reason for order of curriculum in traditional schooling. Maybe build something that has an angle and show how you could calculate the length of a side of it, etc. 






The boys and I spotted a Puffer Fish that had gotten "stuck" in some of the coral reef in the tank, so we notified an employee and stayed by to witness the rescue. I'm not sure if the fish will make it, because it was very much in shock once released. There is no telling how long it had been there. There were people that viewed the tank as we stood there and didn't even notice that the fish was stuck. Why? Because it's rush, rush, rush.

Cassidy and Mike worked all night, so the boys and I had dinner at Wing King Cafe. We were on our way home and spotted Shaimeek walking down the main road. We stopped and he said he had just come from our house. I told him to hop in. No one noticed me picking up a kid off the side of the road. Anyway, I lay on a towel in the front yard reading my book while the boys played on the skate ramps. After Shaimeek went home, the boys and I turned in early.

~ Thursday, September 23, 2010 ~

Sam got out the Mini Weapons of Mass Destruction: Build Implements of Spitball Warfare book out last night and made a Clothespin Catapult. He couldn't find any glue sticks to put in the glue gun, so he used Elmer's. I'm not sure it's going to hold up, but I love that he took the initiative. I didn't even know he was doing it until he brought me the finished catapult.

Josiah had Home School Hair all day today....







Today we were a bit stagnant today, so I started the Jamestown's American Portraits series. The Corn Raid: A Story of the Jamestown Settlement. We cuddled on my bed (A Mom sandwich. Mom in the middle, one boy on each side.) and I read aloud (Sam could absolutely read this book, no problem, but I read with fantastic inflection, so I thought it best for me to read, especially for Josiah to be able to get into the story.) We finished the first chapter, and it was a big hit. The boys were shocked and appalled that in the 1600's, young, poor boys were brought over to America from England to be servants, and were whipped by their masters. We had to stop and look at the map in our "classroom" to get an idea of the location of the Jamestown settlement and of England. Wow! The servant boy came a long way across the ocean. Their eyes got big and they moved as close to me as they could get in excited anticipation as the confrontation between the twelve year old servant and the Indian boy who stole his hoe escalated.







We read from Read Aloud Spooky Stories, Little Orphant Annie, as well as The Canterville Ghost, then took a long nap. We are SO ready for Halloween!

Cassidy bought me flowers with her OWN money, and as she handed them to me, she said, "Thank you for being my Mommy!"








Sam and Mike went to soccer practice while Josiah and I stayed home and made baked spaghetti. Fresh mozzarella, grass-fed beef, my special sauce...dark green salads....Udi's garlic toast....YUM, YUM!

 A wonderful surprise: I got a text from friends from high school to meet for drinks in Gastonia. One friend was here from Missouri, and I have not seen her in twenty years! It was such a great time! We had so many laughs. I got home at 4AM!!! (Thank God for that two hour nap earlier;)






I am sooo into the Sue Grafton books now. "S" is for Silence is awesome!

~ Tuesday, September 21, 2010 ~

We did Car schooling today (Math & Language Arts Workbooks) on our way to meet friends for Slime in the Park (Science):

"Now for the SCIENCE part.... This POLYMER is unique because it has qualities of both a solid and a liquid. It can take the shape of its containers like a liquid does, yet you can hold it in your hand and pick it up like a solid. As you might know, solid molecules are tight together, liquid molecules spread out and break apart (drops) POLYMER molecules CHAIN themselves together (they can stretch and bend like chains) and that makes them special. Jell-O, rubber bands, plastic soda bottles, sneaker soles, even gum are all forms of polymers. The polymer you made should be kept in a sealed plastic bag when you aren't playing with it. Also, be sure to keep it away from young kids or pets who might think it's food. Have fun!" http://www.sciencebob.com/experiments/polymer.php

Sam and his friend also started an impressive acorn collection. Nice, big acorns, not the teeny ones. Being an Unschooling Mom, I will be finding out what type of tree those nice, big acorns grow on.




We had scouts.
Scout leader ~ "Who has a pet?"
(hands go up)
Scout leader ~ "What kind of pet do you have?"
Boy 1 ~ "A dog."
Scout leader ~ "What kind of pet do you have?"
Boy 2 ~ "A dog."
Scout leader ~ "What kind of pet do you have?"
Boy 3 ~ "A dog."
Scout leader ~ "What kind of pet do you have?"
Boy 4 ~ "A dog."
Scout leader ~ "What kind of pet do you have?"

SAM ~ "Let's see...", (Puts up both hands to count on fingers), " FIVE dogs, TWO cats, ONE turtle, SEVEN fish, TWO hermit crabs, and ONE guinea pig....." 

~ Town Creek Indian Mound Historical Site, June 2010 ~

We took a field trip to Town Creek Indian Mound Historical Site located  in Mt. Gilead, NC. This was probably Cassidy's last Summer "free" to hang out with the family, so I dragged her along with us everywhere before the imminent age of sixteen swept her away to driving, a job commitment, etc. She wasn't exactly thrilled about most of it, but ended up having a good time anyway. She didn't "get it", how it is a sad time for a Mom, but she played the "Last Summer" game for me.

We LOVE Maps! Every place we visit, we must collect & study maps!

Mound

Midget Doors!

My boys LOVE these boys!

Pee-Dee River

The things we were most fascinated by about the Pee-Dee Indians would be the mysteries surrounding their disappearance, the many human burials on the property, and their burial rituals. The boys watched the Mortuary Exhibit over and over. The Indians are burying a three year old child in the exhibit. It is very haunting. I would urge anyone to visit the site and read the history of these people.

~ Duralia Saint Patrick's Day Feast, Wednesday, March 17, 2010 ~

I love to celebrate cultures, and I had this idea for Saint Patrick's Day brewing for a while, but waited until the last minute to purchase the Corned Beef Brisket, and Earth Fare was all sold out. I settled for Bangers & Mash instead. I scored some cute hats and other Irish decor at Target. It was irritating that not one book about Saint Patrick's could be found anywhere locally on Saint Patrick's Day. Not the library, not Books-A-Million, nowhere! No luck with finding shamrock plants as well! Since, we have found two nice books to add to our Irish Culture collection, so next Saint Patties Day, we will not be in the same pickle! We had our Irish feast, laughed, and talked about the history of Saint Patrick's Day and Irish culture. The boys were most fascinated by the legend of the "snakes":


"Pious legend credits Patrick with banishing snakes from the island^[47] , though all evidence suggests that post-glacial Ireland never had snakes;^[48] one suggestion is that snakes referred to the serpent symbolism of the Druids of that time and place, as shown for instance on coins minted in Gaul (see Carnutes), or that it could have referred to beliefs such as Pelagianism, symbolised as “serpents”.^{[citation needed][when?]} Legend also credits Patrick with teaching the Irish about the concept of the Trinity by showing people the shamrock, a 3-leaved clover, using it to highlight the Christian belief of 'three divine persons in the one God' (as opposed to the Arian belief that was popular in Patrick's time).<sup>[when?]" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick




We have most definitely started a family tradition!</sup>