A Victorian Christmas

This book was used in the Victorian Christmas Card Presentation

The boys and I attended a wonderful home school history program at the Gaston County Museum today: A Victorian Christmas. We rotated through several different well-prepared and captivating presentations covering everything about a Christmas in the Victorian Era including, decorating, stockings, gifts and toys, Christmas trees, tree ornaments, sleds and sleighs, and cooking.


Sam got our party started immediately at the first presentation by revealing our unchurching. It was some Victorian toys, under a little Victorian Christmas Tree....a really nice wooden Noah's Ark complete with the Two by Two's. He admired it, I could tell, and as Mr. Jeff talked, Sam sat as close to it as he could. Finally, Mr. Jeff called attention to the ark..."Who knows what this is?"...and Sam, excited and still enamored with the boat and the animals, is going to allow another kiddo to answer a question about HIS boat LIKE HELL...Sam eagerly raises his hand, almost standing he raised it so forcefully...Mr. Jeff calls on Sam....Sam exclaims, "It's...one of those...........um.......JESUS THINGYS!" Bwahahahahahahahahahahahaha! I am standing in the Bible Belt, amongst a clan of Baptist home schoolers and their parents I'm sure, and Sam calls Noah's Ark A JESUS THINGY! You should have seeen the look on Mr. Jeff's face, but graciously he replies, "Well, yes, but what IS IT?"...and all of the good little Baptist school-at-homers sing in unison..."NOAH'S ARK!" Freaking hilarious! Love it!



The things we found most interesting (besides the Jesus Thingy):

 Postage was like a collect phone call. If you sent mail, the person you sent it to had to pay the postage. People wanted to send beautiful Christmas greetings, but they didn't want to burden the recipient with the costs. This eventually reversed postage costs to the sender. We made Victorian Christmas Cards at this presentation!

We loved the wax ornaments, the real gingerbread ornaments, and the peanuts-wrapped-in-colorful-paper-to-look-like-candy ornaments, real popcorn as garland, and real fruits on the tree. We were fascinated that they put REAL candles all over the tree, and stood around the glowing tree soaking it all in for fifteen minutes, because fifteen minutes was the max the candles could burn without burning the tree and probably the house down with it. We don't have our tree up yet, so I'm sure the boys aspire to put REAL things on our tree now that they are impressed with the Victorian way....we will NOT be doing the REAL candles, and Mom will be watching closely to assure that no one ATTEMPTS it. We made Victorian Cornucopia Candy Holder Ornaments! They boys have already put pecans and who knows what else in theirs.  

We have talked about this before from seeing pictures in books, but they had the REAL stockings (socks) hung on the fireplace, to be filled with small toys, nuts, and fruits. The socks were usually hung by the fire anyway, any day, to dry. The speaker emphasized just how big of a deal something such as an orange would have been at that time of year back then, due to being out of season and lack of transportation. Wow the things we take for granted today.

We loved going into the carriage house and seeing the sleighs and sleds! The Transport Sled was most interesting...the Victorian Era's eighteen wheeler, minus the sleazy truck driver!

Our last presentation had a beautiful Victorian Christmas table setting that included a Gingerbread House and our favorite, a Gum Drop Tree!

There was a snowy model of the little town of Dallas, NC. Josiah LOVES models.They also have some really cool models of a mill and a mill town in this museum.

 

Last but not least, the Stereoscope! Too cool...Read about it here:  http://www.dlt.ncssm.edu/collections/toys/html/exhibit01.htm



One of those JESUS THINGYS....Bwahahahahahaha!!!!

Fa La La La La!

After surviving an all boys, party-like-rock-stars sleepover, at which the boys took the "sleep" out of "sleepover", we are now well-rested and back for more. They boys opened a Christmas gift (K'nex Coaster), and have been busy at work putting it together. They became excited when they saw just how looong the track is, so they have aborted mission on the standard construction and are stretching the track from the balcony to the downstairs and all over the place. From this roller coaster mania, we so far have one broken lamp that the husband can repair, I'm sure, for the SECOND TIME due to the boys knocking it over (The first time was right after we became engaged, it had been broken in my apartment since the boys knocked it over there. He bought the parts and even installed a little  one, two, three, brighter, no dimmer switch, to prove his manly "I'm going to take care of everything from here on out-ness" :) I am not upset over the lamp, but I am upset over the Christmas plate that the lamp knocked over. Nana got it for me for Christmas last year, and I really liked it :( I'm not mad, the boys were not being rough, they were being creative and just didn't do their engineering calculations properly ;)

So I am making party mix, and I AM NOT using the free packets of Chex Mix party mix seasoning that were FREE - TAKE ONE...If you took one, you are feeding your family carcinogens. You can make your OWN seasoning at home with a few simple ingredients, and avoid poisoning yourself, your family, and your friends. They shouldn't be ALLOWED to give that crap away, much less charge $$$ for it! So anyway, back to my GOOD FOR YOU Party Mix...I opted out of the entirely Gluten-Free version, because we want Cheerios and Pretzels in our Party. If I take any to the Holiday Party tonight, many of my friends may not eat it, but that's just more for me to take home! My MIL makes an excellent home-made Party Mix, that my husband hides from us and will take a limb off if he catches any of US devouring it. She has yet to share her recipe with me. Nana is the one who pays attention to what everyone wants or loves, and makes sure they get it.

2 cups  Rice Chex
2 Cups Corn Chex
2 Cups Cheerios
1 Cup Peanuts
1 Cup Mini Pretzels broken into bits & pieces (I used Snyders)
^All of the Above: Put in a 9 x 13 casserole dish

Preheat oven to 250.

6 tablespoons of butter melted on the STOVE TOP(I use the microwave as little as possible because it messes with the molecules and who knows what that might do to a body!)
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire (I use Earth Fare Organic)
2 teaspoons of seasoning salt (I used Jane's Krazy Mixed-Up Salt Original)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
^All of the above stirred up really well together, then pour it over the crunchies in the baking dish, toss and turn it until all of your crunchies are coated. Bake for one hour, stir every 15 minutes. My first batch is halfway done, and I am already munching on it every time I open the oven to stir. If there is any left when the timer goes off, I will serve it to the family and report back.

Okay I came home to only scraps left in the one party mix pan I left, so I am assuming that either the husband or the cats loved it very much. Sam seeded FOUR pomegranates today for the Holiday Party (he took a shot at peeling potatoes for the potato soup, but we decided he wasn't quite ready for that yet when I caught him taking short-cuts and cutting off chunks of potato with the skin ;), and Jen took all of the seeds home with her, because it was the only thing I brought gluten free. She did give me her tangerines AND her hummus, so I suppose we are squared up. Besides, we held back on the pom seeds and left some at home....muahahahahaha! The kiddos had a lot of fun at the Holiday Party, we received some nice baked gifts from friends, and we made some cool ornament crafts. We had a book exchange there, and Josiah scored some Natural Disaster books that he is really excited about.

 

 My teen daughter and I find it difficult to bond over many things, but one thing we DO gel on is MUSIC. We had a blast singing along to the tunes on her Ipod for the drive to the Holiday Party and the drive back. DANGEROUS! SCANDALOUS! <Only she will get this one.....roflol!

The boys and I finally read our Winter Solstice books last night, and they seemed a little bored until the first mention of evil spirits, trolls, and witches. We had our huge laminated world map in the bed with us looking up the locations of the different Solstice stories. The boys want to stick the toothpicks in the orange and use the flashlight to simulate axial tilt......

I am reading The World According To Garp by John Irving right now, as I wait on my Book Club friends to catch up with me on Hotel New Hampshire. Since I out-read them on this one, I am also going to out-drink them at the next Book Club meeting. I know. I aspire to do grand things!

December 9, 2010

Two days ago, a dear friend gave us a storage bin full of kiddo books from cleaning off her bookshelves. How did we get so lucky? An Unschooler with two boys = THE best books EVER! I didn't tell the boys, I just put the storage bin in the middle of the living room floor. They have hopped over it and played around it for two days now. Finally, today, Josiah is so "into" a book that I can't get him to hop off my bed so I can make it. I didn't recognize the book. I looked and the storage bin was open. Wow! Thank you Pam! Sam immediately discovered the UFO/Alien books and pulled them all out. (Sam has suddenly developed an intense interest in UFOs and aliens). Josiah loves the Magic School Bus books, especially the Waterworks. Anything with water, dams, tornadoes, storms, etc gets his undivided attention. Josiah and I also spent about an hour in the Usborne Puzzle Adventure book, in which we made a trip to Scandinavia, China, and Rome through time travel.


I am beginning to connect more with my local home school group. I met a person who I absolutely adore. She is a self-taught expert on herbs, and she had both of her babies at home! She has a wonderful personality, and she is so "real" and easy to talk to. We have a parade coming up in which we enter a float of our own for our group. It is a "farm equipment/animal only" parade, and I hear it is fantastic! I don't think we will get to ride on the float this time, but I am so excited to be able to experience such a parade!

Cassidy's Christmas Concert was amazing. Well, minus the troll that sat behind me. (Luckily, a REAL teacher eventually came and sat beside of me to take pics, and magically, the Troll Teacher Assistant behind me AND the rude teen with her shut the fock up for the remainder of the performances!) I have NEVER heard a high school chorus so developed. I am so proud of her to be part of such an amazing group, and I believe that Ms. Laney has been an important influence in Cassidy's life. Admission is two canned goods per person, all for Project Hope. I love watching the accompanist, and I envy how well and how easily she plays. I should have practiced when you tried to make me, Mama! lol Now that I am "playing" again, I can see that practice makes all of the difference. I will struggle with a piece until I have to just walk away from it. I will go back to the same piece the next day, and the part I struggled with before comes more easily to me. I also envy the interns. That should have been me. Life is music, and music is life. How easily what I loved so much was made unattractive to me through the distractions of high school. In 1990, NC State came to Hunter Huss to recruit people for their textile programs. Textiles started to disappear before we graduated from college!

The boys behaved so well during the concert, and on the front row, no less, that I let them stay up until almost midnight to munch on popcorn and watch A Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey. It was scarey! Great effects, especially the evil horses! 

I received our Winter Solstice books today. I am really excited about this. (The above pics are saved images and not links, so don't try to "Look inside!") One actually has celebration activities in it! I also ordered other seasonal books, covering Christmas around the world, pioneer Christmas, etc. Our list of winter books we have read is very long, and will grow even longer as we go. So far, Josiah is smitten with the idea of decorating a tree with real candy & fruit (from Nonna Tell Me a Story: Lidia's Christmas Kitchen by Lidia Bastianich, set in Istria long ago...) IT is a very good thing to have many maps about when you are Unschooling, in the house, in the car. There is a way bigger world out there than what we confine ourselves to by playing the mainstream game.

I think Mike and I are having more fun with Hooper, our Elf on the Shelf, than the kiddos are....


I love you Jen. Because you packed up the Wasabi Peas and sent them home with ME!




Today I am thankful that we are not wasting our lives away dropping kiddos off and picking them up from school. I am also thankful that the boys are not wasting their childhood away doing homework and signing reading logs. I am so thankful that *I* am raising my children rather than sending them away to the school factories to be turned into sheep, while I work to buy more things. I am thankful for my husband, my Mr. Steady, who makes this all possible, and who is learning from us as we are learning from him. We are making moments, which is all you really have. As Jen said the other night..."There ain't no Uhaul behind  that hearse."

December 7, 2010

Two nights ago, as Josiah was taking his turn in "detox" (a 30 minute bath in apple cider vinegar and epsom salts), he glanced into my bedroom on Mike's side of the bed and spied a hint of Spongebob underneath some of Mike's clothes. He notified Sam, who was roaming freely in the room, and Sam investigated, finding the two Spongebob Snuggies I bought them for Christmas. I didn't get mad, I just gave them the Snuggies. They did such a fantastic job all day helping me out with cleaning the house anyway. They loooove the Snuggies! Sam has been asking for a "kid snuggie" for over a year now. Then I surprised them with the Elf on the Shelf. We read the book and talked about how we were going to play Elf on the Shelf. We agreed that when we find the Elf, we will make wishes for others, the world, the animals, but not for ourselves. We named the Elf Hooper after our favorite bar, Hooper's. It is now morning number two, and we still haven't found the Elf from yesterday yet! Ha! I hid him on the storage shelf in the laundry room. We also read the Christian version of The Christmas Story. I have some new books coming telling different perspectives of Christmas, from different religions and different areas of the world. I am especially excited about the Winter Solstice books. I hope to have a bonfire here on the 21st to celebrate.

There is a lot of excitement and wonder surrounding water freezing now that the temperatures have plummeted, especially freezing to the shape of the container. I am going to pull what I have here in our library and make it a science lesson, of course. Sam was fascinated with ice in the shape of the dog bowls as he did his morning chore of caring for the dogs, but he was especially thrilled with the ice in the shape of the sandbox toy...an ice castle! He wants to keep it it, so we put it in the freezer.

Yesterday we decorated gingerbread houses for the very first time. I have probably done it some time long ago that I don't remember, but the boys have never done it. I had a big bag stuffed full of different candies and icing for over a week, more prepared than I normally am for sure. The boys were just excited because it was at Kailey's house, and they weren't really sure what to expect, even though I showed them pics of gingerbread houses. When we got there at their favorite place and their favorite friends are sitting around tables covered with bags and bowls of candy, they jumped right in and loved it. I was so impressed that Josiah used Twizzlers as "logs" on the roof of his. Then he bit into it a couple of times. It was such a great day with awesome friends.  We are now looking forward to going to Asheville with friends to view the gingerbread houses on display at Grove Park Inn, then have pizza! Maybe we can get some ideas for next years decorating! Kailey surprised the boys with scarves that she knitted herself, and they didn't want to take them off when they went to bed last night. Sam rolled his up carefully, handed it to me, and said, "Mom, please take care of this, okay?"   Now they are curious about knitting on the looms, so I will pull the yarn and my looms out of the attic and let them give it a try. I used to sit and knit on them with Jen while the kiddos played, and the knitting also helped me calm my nerves through the many painful court dates I went through during my separation, divorce, and custody hearings. Oh, and my two assault charges. Ha. I made toboggans and scarves. I put the looms away years ago, probably because I then associated them with a painful season in my life. I can't see the boys sitting still long enough to finish a scarf, but then again, when Sam has an idea of what he is going to do in his head, he is going to do it come hell or high water. I'm not sure where he gets that from ;0) We'll see! I am now looking for one of the tiny looms that Kailey uses to make that particular style scarf. I have this set already: http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=&q=circle+loom+set&rlz=1B3GGLL_enUS386US386&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=10438463860265545739&ei=s5n_TNy4EcWclge35PSpCA&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=image&resnum=4&ved=0CDQQ8gIwAw# .....and an ass-load of yarn!

I'm going to have to pony up and learn how to tie them when they are finished...Jen always tied mine for me. Jen did a lot of "tying up ends" for me in those days ;)

December 6, 2010

Sam made Ants on a Log for us this morning for breakfast. A celery stick filled with peanut butter and topped with raisins (the "ants").  I'm not sure where he got the recipe, but he has been begging to make them for weeks now. Television? A book? A magazine? Scouts? The recipe was in his head. We always have celery and peanut butter, but we have not had raisins in a while. Well, he scored a box of raisins from Ann-Mama's house last night, so project Ants On a Log was accomplished first thing this morning. Amazing how he holds onto an idea that he finds interesting. They really are very good, and good for you!

We are having such a fantastic Holiday Season. The boys saw their very first play yesterday, children as the cast. A couple of our home school friends were in the play. Josiah asked a million questions, especially about the stage hands. He found breaking down and setting up the scenes fascinating. Sam would totally perform in a play. I need to look around Rock Hill and see what is available to us. The play was a spin on The Wizard of Oz. My boys have never seen the movie, and their curiosity was mounting because of the play and what I was telling them about the movie. When the Wizard of Oz came on television, once a year?, it was a stop what you are doing and watch the Oz affair. After a great time with friends at a really cool coffee shop (J. Olivers in Kings Mountain, NC ~ has mouth-watering potato soup!), we stopped and picked up the movie.

This morning when the movie was started, I heard a conversation between the boys...Josiah ~ "Sam, Mom said the beginning of the movie was in black and white...that's not black and white, that's brown and white. Right, Sam?" I thought this was the cutest thing ever. Finally, Sam came and informed me of my error. I love my kiddos!

We have been making paper snowflakes. We started with printing premade patterns off of some websites, with instructions on folding and cutting. After several of these, Sam just picks up a piece of paper and goes at it, trying his own ideas. We visited Paw-Paw Ken last night, who just had surgery. Sam immediately went to Ann-Mama's paper drawer and made her some snowflakes.


We have so many exciting activities going on this week. Yay! We can't wait. But today is cleaning day. If we want to play together, we have to work together to get the things done that have to be done. 

Santa Claus ???

I don't do Santa, and here's why.....(I have in the past, and it just doesn't feel right)

It is confusing and disappointing when you become older and realize that it is fictitious. There will be enough disappointment that occurs naturally throughout their lives without me willingly creating another one for them.

I wrap gifts when I purchase them and put them under the tree...now THAT is exciting....shaking, wondering, guessing for weeks. Hiding gifts is a hassle and wrapping 5000 things on Christmas Eve makes me have a very-not-merry Christmas.

Planning, picking out, and shopping for gifts for my children is so very special. Purchasing them costs FAMILY money. I am not giving all of the credit for that to some fat, jolly dude in a red suit who is NEVER here for the hard times or the good times.


I refuse to threaten and scare my children with naughty or nice. I give them gifts for Christmas because I love them and I want to, no matter what challenges they face during the year..... """It is so sad when parents threaten kids into obedience by telling them Santa won't bring them gifts if they are "bad". What a sad, culturally ingrained manipulation that sucks the Joy out of a holiday that is supposed to be pure and magical. ☼" ~ Dayna Martin


It's really unreasonable to expect your children to be nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugar-plums dance in their heads...if a stranger is expected to sneak in the house in the middle of the night...that's just creepy! It's not okay for anyone to enter our home in the middle of the night while we are sleeping. If we let Santa do it, who else might show up? Superman? A Smurf? The Wicked Witch of the West? No honey, only Santa is allowed...what a perfect disguise for a child molester! Santa is allowed and trusted, and I had better be "nice"!  

My kids are still crazy excited over Christmas WITHOUT the element of bullshit. They STILL enjoy Christmas movies and books with Santas, but are able to accept Santa for the fictitious character that he is, right along with Scooby-Doo, Bugs Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy. We still leave cookies and milk out, just for the novelty of it. They really don't give a shit that I didn't play the game with them. (I DO eat the cookies and drink the milk, and they are well aware that I did it, and not some home invader.)

The pics I DO have of my kiddos sitting on Santa's lap are cute, because my kiddos are cute. But I could just slap myself for making them do it. It was NEVER an idea of theirs to do it. They don't want to stand in that line any more than you do. Some are so afraid, they even cry. Forcing your children to pose on a strangers lap, and making them tell the stranger their desires, is just contrary to everything else we try to instill in them. 


If you have decided to lie to your kids and play the exhausting game of Santa Claus, do not hold me and my kids responsible for maintaining your lie. I won't ask my children to lie for anyone.

November 9, 2010

Today was a full day. The boys and I picked up a breakfast sandwich from Starbucks and headed over to the Scout Store in Charlotte to purchase Sam's very first pocket knife. Then we headed to Earth Fare to knock out our grocery list and talk about Health & Nutrition. The boys were so excited that Issue 3 of Earth Fare Itty Bitty Bites Comic Book is now out! This one introduces Artificial Artie in "Intentionally Deficit." So far we have covered Trans Fat Tina and High Fructose Fred. Sam asked me to turn the music off when we got back in the car, and he read the comic all the way through. These comics are so witty and give "bad stuff" a good slam, for 35 cents an issue. Love them. I was excited to find Tom Kha Phak Thai Coconut in Amy's Soups. Can't wait to try it.

We met some of our friends at Historic Brattonsville and took a nice tour. Brattonsville has a really neat Gift Shop, and every time I turned around my boys were sneaking back in it. Josiah chose a slate, and he wrote on it all the way to soccer. How do you spell this? How do you spell that? His letters look great, and he has never "practiced" handwriting. I love to see him so excited over reading and writing, watching him be excited about discovering it all on his own. Every time we are in a restaurant, he has the kiddie mat flipped over writing "words", and last night, we had to ask for extras. Back to Brattonsville... I really enjoy the old structures, the trails, the trees, the leaves, and the sky. The door to the kid's room upstairs kept closing by itself! I must add, I only tripped ONCE in my Skechers Shape Ups...YAY!

We had our last soccer game tonight. This has been a tough season for the kiddos. We have majority "never played before 8 & 9 year olds." We have had a lot of kiddos missing games, and when your strong players are not there, you are in trouble. There have been a lot of improvements individually, and I am happy that we have the opportunity to teach some skills to kiddos who want to try out soccer. I do get frustrated seeing the same coach in the league getting the same kiddos every season, majority experienced, when everything is supposed to be a mix. I get frustrated with the soccer parents and the coaches who model and encourage poor sportsmanship. I am super proud of Sam, who, in his third season of playing ever, is really starting to get his game on. He normally plays Fullback, and the last few games, no one has been able to get past him on the field. For the last game, the keeper has been begging to get out of the goal and run, and Sam has been begging to play keeper, so Mike let them switch. Mike was really impressed with him and suggested he pursue keeper next season. He was really aggressive with going after the ball. He lunged for it, jumped in the air for it, dove for it. Have you ever seen an ADHD, unmedicated, 8 year old play keeper? This is Sam...when the ball is being played away from the goal, he is turning cartwheels, spinning around, looking at the game behind us, etc....we will need to work on that next season....lol..I think the director of the program, Leslie, sucks, and I am not far from letting her know with specifics. I am really bummed that I screwed up our team's trophies, my Facebook post, as I am too lazy to re-type/tell the story:  

"We have had a lot going on. I dropped the ball on something, actually, I completely forgot all about it. I then tried to do it at the last minute, delegated some of it to Mike without clear instructions, and it got really effed up, namely, ...our soccer team's trophies. Our soccer team has not had a "winning" season, although, individually there have been major improvements. To top it off, we had to play an asshole team tonight for our last game. Then we handed out trophies, and Sam's like, "Hey! Why do these have Coke on them?" They had our team name from 3 seasons ago engraved on them. The last thing these kiddos needed were effed up trophies. I didn't even check them when I picked them up. I could have done better for them. I SUCK."

After soccer, we had cub scouts, which was super exciting! They did Pocket Knife Safety and Use. I have never seen a group of 8 year old boys more attentive. They got their little certification cards. They carved on a soap bear. Sam was so excited. He tried to sneak his pocket knife in the tub with him later, I suspect he was planning on carving some soap! ROFLOL...