The little things

There are many ways in which I'm a lucky girl.  I have a wonderful family and home, I'm living the life I want and I have an abundance of extended family and friends that I enjoy spending time with.

And that's just the big stuff!  I could go on all day about little, seemingly insignificant things that make my life amazing and special.

But today I want to mention one specific thing. Well, one specific person...

Bryant. 

I'm inclined to just do things myself and sometimes I forget that I can lean on him when I need a little extra support.  Not through any fault of his, I just sometimes get caught up in what I've got going on in my own life and I take him for granted. 

Yesterday I was forcibly reminded of just how blessed I am to have him.  I was washing a bunch of champagne flutes and wine goblets (we don't use them often, so they always need a quick scrub before use) and I shattered one.  A piece of glass gouged into my finger, leaving me bleeding quite a bit.  I yelled for Bryant and he came rushing to my aid.  He held a towel on my hand, applied a bandage and then cleaned the broken glass out of the sink.

It wasn't a huge moment; my hand is fine and I could have put a bandage on it myself.  I could have cleaned up the glass and calmed the kids fears.

But it sure was nice to know I didn't have to do it all myself.  I really should try to remember it more often.

Lazy Activity

I've been living the Weight Watchers lifestyle for about two and a half months now and I'm seeing results.  Yesterday I wore jeans a size lower than my usual ones and even they were a smidge loose around the waist.  I've lost just over 15 lbs and made a lot of healthier choices into healthier habits. 

One thing I haven't gotten the hang of is exercise.  Honestly, I just hate to sweat.  I don't like the way it feels and I don't like the interruption in my day that exercise always is. 

But I know I need to be more active to make my WW efforts more effective and to help my body become what I want it to be - an efficient, healthy machine that does it's job for a good, long time. 

My solution is two-fold.  First, I explained to the kids how important it is to me that I make and keep the commitment to exercise.  We talked about what constitutes exercise and what I am willing and able to do at this point. 

The second part of my solution is to involve the kids as much as possible.  I made a commitment to them to be active WITH them at least three times a week.  That can be walking down our (private) road, playing tag in the backyard, hiking Mayfield or any active play.  They're already excited and brainstorming creative ways we can include more activity into our daily lives. 

What are you doing to create activity in your life?

Flabbergasted



Crab apple blossoms

 Wow!  So, on a whim I decided to check out the stats for this blog and I was shocked, amazed and humbled to learn that I've been read in quite a few countries, including Russia, the UK and Iran.

I understand that those may have been one time deals, probably those people haven't come back for more, especially since I haven't been writing as often as I should.  But I'm still amazed. 

I Googled my little blog and found out that using the search "Swiss Army Wife" I'm on the sixth page.  Six!  Out of gazillions.  That's pretty crazy.

When I started this blog I expected to be read primarily by people I'd see at Gram's house on a holiday, maybe a stray reader here and there.  I certainly didn't expect to be seen by people a world away.

Now I'm feeling a little self conscious, but also encouraged and motivated to make blogging more of a priority in my life. 

So thank you, readers, for taking a moment out of your busy day to stop by.  Feel free to leave comments, especially if you're not related - I'd love to know what drew you here and where you're from. 

Idea fog

I wake up slowly most of the time.  My brain simply does not go from sleep to wake with any speed or efficiency like some people's might. 

So here it is, 9 AM.  I've been awake or nearly awake for just over an hour, but it's only now, as I'm eating my breakfast, that I'm beginning to feel some semblance of brain activity.  Everything before now has been auto-pilot. 

This morning I've felt a little niggle in the back of my brain, like an idea was forming but I wasn't quite able to see it yet.  I felt it when I snuggled Pookie on the loveseat.  It reared it's head again while I chatted about music with The Boy.  And again as I fixed ham and eggs with sourdough toast for Bryant. 

It was only as I sat here with my own breakfast that I began to see the details of my idea, an idea that can be summed up in only a few short words...

Family road trip.

Time flies when you're having fun

A month ago, I turned my alarm clock around so that I couldn't see the digits anymore. 

Two days ago, I unplugged it for good. 

It wasn't the alarm that bothered me (although I hate having to wake up before I'm ready) or even the light from the digits.  It was the time.

I'd wake up in the night and glance at the clock before closing my eyes again.  As I laid there, trying in vain to get back to sleep, I'd start thinking about how many minutes until I had to get up.  If it was 2:30 AM, I'd start thinking that I had to be up in less than 5 hours and then I'd start to think about all the things I had planned for the following day and going over lessons or chore lists or ingredients for dinner, etc...

This would go on for a bit, then I'd fall back asleep, but if I woke up again (on my own or with help from a small person), the whole process would start over.  The more it happened, the worse I slept and the more it happened.  It was really just a vicious cycle. 

So I've given my alarm clock to The Boy and I'm simply using my cell phone alarm to get me up in the morning.  And yeah, I could just flick my cell on and see the time, but that would require me to get out of bed and that's something I just really don't like to do, especially when I'm all warm and cozy. 

And since I turned my clock around, I've been sleeping so much better!

Media Mush

It might sound odd to some of you, but I am much happier with myself and my life when I have very little media influence.  The more I watch television, read magazines and websites or listen to the radio, the more that influence becomes apparent in my thoughts and actions.  I am inclined to want products I know I don't need, to care more about superficial things that don't truly matter and to spend less time focused on my family when I have an abundance of outside influence. 

I'm also more tense and anxious when I have a lot of media influence.  I think it's because the underlying theme of all media (movies, magazines, television and radio) is that you're not good enough just the way you are.  Pay attention and you'll see it everywhere. 

If you have curly hair, someone will tell you it should be straightened.  You have a gap in your front teeth?  Someone thinks you're ugly unless you have it fixed.  You're not a size 2?  You're a fat slob.  You don't wear the latest trends?  You're a fashion failure.

And it's not just about how we look.  In every major magazine (in print and online), there are countless articles about how to make yourself happier or smarter or more organized.  There are articles about how to find love, how to talk to your children, how to relate to your spouse and how to get ahead at work.  And that's not even counting the advertisements.

When I am selective about what I expose myself to, I allow myself to think clearly; to process the facts, truths and ideas and make decisions based on my own mind and heart. I am more conscientious about purchases and products, more open minded and tolerant and more in tune with my family and their needs. I am more creative and my thoughts flow more freely when I allow them to remain uncluttered. 

That doesn't mean I don't enjoy the occasional magazine, but I choose ones that are centered around something I'm specifically interested in.  I read magazines and websites about cooking, homeschooling, gardening and crafting.  I don't watch television, but I love movies.  I simply choose ones that make me feel good or have some mental "nutritional value."

But, like Mom used to say, "Garbage in, garbage out."





Disclaimer: I don't mean to say that every magazine or television program is a negative influence, obviously I don't have experience with every single magazine, television show, radio program or website.  This is based purely on my personal experiences. 

Glaring

A while back I posted about things that annoy me and today I'm going to take that just one tiny step farther.

I 100%, vehemently, with every fiber of my being, refuse to buy from ANY online retailer that can't be bothered to use their spellchecker. 

I'm not talking about the occasional typo or misprint.  I'm talking about the ones that have glaring mistakes in every single page/item description. 

There's just no excuse for that!  It's not difficult and it makes you look way smarter if your product descriptions are spelled properly. 

I'm not saying that people who don't know how to spell are stupid, they're often quite smart.  What I'm saying is that you're already using a machine that has a spell checker - USE IT!

Homeschool Q & A

I've been asked a lot of questions about homeschooling lately and I thought I'd take this opportunity to answer a few of them.

1.  Why do you homeschool?
I actually wanted to homeschool The Boy from the time he was about three years old.  I wasn't homeschooled myself and I didn't know anyone who homeschooled, I just had the idea one day and it wouldn't go away.  I had a very close relationship with The Boy and didn't want to let him go, even for a few hours a day.  But I didn't think I could do it - I wasn't super smart, I didn't have a teaching degree, what did I know about teaching a kid anything?

As I've grown up and become more comfortable in my own skin, I've come to realize that as a parent, it is my right, responsibility and pleasure to teach my children.  Yes, they can go to public (or even private) school and learn the same basic information, but they'll learn it in a completely different environment.  Here I can control what they learn and at what pace.  If they're excelling, we'll move faster, but if they're struggling, we can take a few extra weeks or however long is needed.  I can also change the method of teaching for each child, to take advantage of their unique learning styles and interests.

So I guess the short answer is that I want to be with my babies as they're growing up and I want to give them the best possible education for them, individually.

2.  Is it even legal?
Yes, and in fact, Michigan is one of the easiest states to homeschool in. Here is a link to the Homeschool Legal Defence Association's guide to homeschooling in MI for anyone interested.

3.  How did you get started?
As I said, I wanted to homeschool, but doubted my abilities.  I wasn't sure I'd have the knowledge or skill or patience to give them the educations they deserve, so I sent The Boy to public school.  He did well in kindergarten, but by first grade he was struggling.  He's very easily distracted and sitting in a room with 30 other balls of energy did not make an environment conducive to learning.  By the middle of second grade, he was coming home in tears, we were being told he had ADHD and should be medicated, the teacher was sending home daily reports of his progress (or lack, as was more often the case) and he was being sent to see the school counselor.

Part of the problem (and I don't mean to brag, this is simply statement of fact) was that his reading level was well above his classmates.  So while they were reading things like See Spot Run, he was ready for Harry Potter.  The school he was attending didn't allow him to go to the more challenging parts of the library or bring his own books, so he was bored out of his mind.  It's easier to be distracted when you're bored.

The teacher/school tried things like headphones, weight vests, time outs, moving his desk to the hallway and several other things.  In the end, seeing my baby come home struggling every single day was just too much for me.  The weekend before Valentine's Day, during his second grade year, I called the school and told them he'd be staying home from now on. 

Then the panic set in.

4.  How do you do it?  Do you have to buy a curriculum?
We started by using the Comprehensive Curriculum books published by American Education Publishing.  The books were available at Walmart (where I was working at the time) and I thought they seemed like a good jumping off point for the basic subjects.  In the years since then, we've used lots of different books, but we've continued using those Comprehensive Curriculum books for the basics.  We've added in some textbooks that Bryant bought off eBay, a few other books picked up from garage sales and thrift shops, plus we utilize the library and Internet pretty extensively. 

The Boy is in high school now and we decided to let him try a correspondence course.  So far he's doing pretty well and enjoying the variety.  I'll do another post about his courses and school in the future, for anyone interested.

For everyone but The Boy, I write daily lesson plans and, to some extent, my own curriculum.  I use the Comprehensive Curriculum books as a sort of introduction to each topic whether it's synonyms and antonyms or fractions and decimals.  After we've covered whatever those books can teach, we move on to other sources.

Subjects that aren't included in those books, like history, science and health, are completely custom written.  I scour books and websites and put together a course of study that will help them meet their goals.  Which brings me to the next question...

5.  How do you know what to teach?
For the most part, I let them guide me.  When they are ready to move on to something more complex, we do.  It's as simple as that. 

But, to be sure we are meeting the state requirements and keeping up with other kids the same age or grade, I do consult several sources.  My favorite is here - World Book has compiled a general course of study, averaging requirements from across the country.  I like this one because it is fairly broad, not state specific and is drawn from a lot of various sources.

Another one I consult is here.  This one is the Michigan Department of Education and is obviously specific to our state.  Of course, following the law is important, so I do try to make sure they are following the state requirements.  This hasn't ever really been a problem though, so I don't stress about it. 

6.  What about socialization?
This question is one that always stuns me.  Parents of public school children ask me often how we socialize our children and I want to snap back at them, "How do YOU socialize YOUR children?"  Sitting in a room full of people at exactly the same place in life and being told what to do with every second of their time is not really socialization, in my opinion.  I'm sure some of you will disagree, but it is my opinion that after high school, that sort of socialization is useless.  We need to be able to interact with people of all ages and stages of life.  I want my children to be as comfortable talking to an elderly man in a nursing home as to a peer or younger child. 

So, in answer, we let them live their lives.  As an example, when we go to the library, they talk to other kids, parents, librarians and sometimes just random people (with supervision, though.  I don't let the little ones out of my sight in a public place).  They are learning how to have conversations and meaningful interactions with people of all walks of life, all ages, races and belief systems.  I'm certain this will benefit them later in life.

7.  What about college?
This was a huge concern for us in the beginning.  But after much research, I came to the conclusion that most colleges don't care, as long as the SAT and any other required tests are good enough.  Some schools even consider homeschooled kids to be better qualified as they are generally  more self-motivated and able to handle the college educational system better than their public schooled peers.

So there you have it - my little Q & A about homeschooling.  Feel free to leave comments or questions and I'll respond as soon as possible. 

Rotation

This post might not interest very many of you, but it's something that's been on my mind a lot lately.  In any household, there are chores to be done.  In a house with seven people, those chores get overwhelming fast if they aren't done on a regular basis. 

One of the things we really want to impress on the children is that being part of a group, any group, means pulling your own weight.  So they have chores from the time they're old enough to put toys in the toybox. 

It's taken us a lot of years to find a really good, workable chore rotation.  There's been lots of trial and error, throwing out methods that weren't working for us and even a few tears along the way.  But finally we seem to have a rotation that works for us.  At least for now.  As the younger kids get older, they're move into the main rotation and when The Boy gets a job, he'll have fewer chores.

So, here's the rotation that's working for us right now...

Dishes and laundry are done on a three week rotation, by The Boy, Scooter and Pibb.  Right now, Pibb has dishes.  He is responsible for washing, drying and putting away all the breakfast and lunch dishes by himself, except sharp knives.  The Boy has dinner dishes, so he and Pibb will work together to do the dinner dishes, wipe the counters, wipe the fridge and stove and sweep each day.  They'll also Swiffer once or twice a week, as needed.

Scooter has laundry this week, so her responsibility is to wash a few loads of laundry each day.  As long as she keeps up with it, she can do all the laundry in 2 or 3 loads.  Because Bryant's office is also the laundry room, the laundry person doesn't start their chore until he's done with meetings for the day.  Obviously laundry is the chore that's considered easiest. 

Also the dinner dishes person is allowed to choose one night to "slide" on their chore.  On their chosen day, the laundry person picks up the slack, doing double duty.  This allows each kid to have one chore-free day every three weeks. 

Midge and Pookie have their own rotation.  Their chores are to straighten the bathroom floor or help make beds.  They go every other week and whoever cleans the bathroom floor gets ready for bed first.  The person who helps make beds gets to sit next to me at the dinner table. 

In addition to the chores described above, they are all responsible for helping to straighten the living room and dining room, clear and set the table and each person has to make their own bed (Bryant and I took a cue from my Gram and Grandpa - whoever is out of bed last makes the bed). 

We also do "extra chores" such as cleaning under the couch, straightening the entryway or purging dressers as needed.  There is no assignment on those as we usually just do them all together. 

There are a lot of people who think we're too hard on the kids and that's fine.  To each his own.  But I know that when our children go out into the big, scary world, they'll know how to do their own laundry, to wash their own dishes and pull their own weight. 

Intelligence vs. Rote Memorization

An acquaintance of mine was recently complaining about his intelligence.  He said that every day was a learning experience for him because he knows so little.  He equated memorization of facts with intelligence.

The conversation really annoyed me because I know he has the potential for true intelligence.  And the more I think about it, the more it becomes clear to me that the difference is in attitude.

Yeah, I could memorize a library's worth of facts, but if I don't know how to use or apply that knowledge, I'm still dumb.  And if I don't know how to find more information when I desire it, I'm still lost.

My friend's attitude is that if there is information he doesn't have, he must be stupid.  My attitude is that there will always be information I don't have, but if I continue to try to learn and increase my knowledge, I'm intelligent. 

What is your opinion?

Opinionated Silence

I haven't posted here in a while, I know.  Part of it is that I was sick - I'd never had bronchitis before and it amazed me how much it knocked me on my ass.  I was just exhausted all the time and a lot of things got neglected. 
The other part of it is that I've been feeling extremely opinionated lately.  I understand that blogs are generally considered a great place to let loose and just say whatever you're thinking, but that's not what I want this space to be about.  I know that most of my readers are my family and I don't like offending anyone, especially people I actually care about. 

I also know that my opinions are often outside the mainstream.  And honestly, I just don't want to deal with the drama.

I want this blog to be a place where I can express myself freely, but also that you can come to find some inspiration or at least to feel a little uplifted - not offended or disrespected.  I wouldn't do it intentionally, but when I stop holding back, I tend to get mean fast.  I just don't want it to be like that here.

So until I have something crafty or recipe related to say, the blog silence continues...

Ups and Downs

It all started nearly two weeks ago with three simple words from a four year old - "My neck hurts."  He didn't complain about any other discomfort, so I wrote it off as his having slept funny or pulling a muscle.  Turns out he actually meant his throat hurt.  The next day he had a fever.  The day after that his nose was stuffed up and his throat hurt enough that he said, "I neck hurts so much I can't swallow my slobber."

Within a few short days the other kids started having symptoms and then Bryant and I both got sick.  We let it run its course and it is nearly finished now.  Pookie seems to be over it, Midge and Pibb are both at the tail end and The Boy is pretty well back to normal.  Scooter didn't really get sick except to completely lose her voice.  No pain, no other symptoms, just no voice.  Bryant is still feeling it, although he seemed to be getting better and I was nearly done. 

And then it happened.

I was eating a tortilla chip and apparently I didn't chew it up well enough because when I swallowed, it scratched my throat.

The next day, I complained to Bryant that my throat was really hurting, but just in that spot.  Pretty much from that moment on, I've gotten sicker and sicker.  Like all the healing I did was undone by that one tiny scratch. 

I know it makes sense - the scratch allowed more sickness into my body and it clearly was welcomed with open arms.  That doesn't make me like it any.  So while everyone else is on the mend or completely better, I'm still sitting here with a bottle of Zicam, a handful of cough drops and a box of tissues. 

Lousy, stinking tortilla chips!

Nettled

I'm easily irritated. 

It's true. 

For the most part I'm relatively easy-going and it doesn't last long, but it's amazing how often I feel a little spark of annoyance or petty anger over silly things.

Things like...

Wet counters - seriously, how hard is it to wipe up the water you just spilled?  Whether it's sticky or just plain wet, damp counters just drive me up the wall. 

Misleading recipes - I'm willing to accept that because I'm doubling most recipes I'll have to increase cooking time (sauce for 4 people will reduce a lot faster than sauce for 8 people).  However, I hate recipes that say they only have 15 minutes of cooking time, but when you add up the directed times it's more like 25 - that's a huge increase when you're talking about twice as much food/time.  Either get it right, or simply don't list an estimated time. 

Lack of chocolate - I think this one is pretty self-explanatory.

Medical professionals who think they know it all - I understand that the extra years of schooling probably mean that they know more than I do in general, but that doesn't mean they know my body better than I do.  As a big, fat for instance: the delivery room nurse who refused to believe I needed to push because they'd checked me 20 minutes ago and I was only dilated to six.  This wasn't my first rodeo, it was my fourth delivery and all of them were very quick once they got started.  I knew exactly what I needed (there's no mistaking that feeling), but she was convinced that I just needed to relax, I was getting ahead of myself and it was all in my head.  If I hadn't been so angry, I probably would have laughed at the look on her face as she ran out into the hallway and grabbed, literally, the first doctor she saw. 

Rosalie's eyebrows - In the first two Twilight movies, Rosalie Hale (played by Nikki Reed), had obviously lightened hair.  She had that darker roots, lighter tips look that is so popular and it looked reasonably good on her.  She was pretty.

In the third Twilight movie, Eclipse, her hair is completely bleach blonde, but her eyebrows are reminiscent of Eugene Levy!  Why, David Slade, why?? 

If you've read the books, you know that Rosalie is supposed to be this amazingly gorgeous woman, absolutely perfect, physically. And in the first two movies, she was quite pretty. 

But when I watch Eclipse, all I can see are her eyebrows. 

Misspelled product signs - I actually find it completely unacceptable to have a handwritten sign in a grocery store misspelled.  If you have the product right in front of you, there is no excuse for spelling it wrong.  When I worked at Walmart, an assistant manager was putting out a display of cereal and had misspelled "Honeycomb" to "Honeycome."  I pointed it out and he said, "Oh well, no one cares how it's spelled."  It took every bit of willpower I had not to scream at him that people did care, he was just an idiot.  When he went to lunch, I took  his sign down and replaced it with one of my own, correctly spelled. 

So there's a brief list of things that have irritated me lately.  What's bugging you? 

Analyze This

I just discovered a site called Typealyzer - you enter the url for a blog and it'll analyze the author based on what they write.  I just couldn't pass it up.  Here is what they said about the author of this blog (little ol' me)...

ESFP - The Performers


The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves.

The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.

And, according to the brain graph at the bottom of their site, the parts of my brain that are in control when I write are the "sensing and feeling" sections with just a tiny sliver of the "practical." 

Yup, that sounds about right...