Update and What We Are Doing!

This year one of the things my teen has really enjoyed doing in English is the program, MOVIES AS LITERATURE by Kathryn and Richard Stout.  We have seen lots of classic movies, and he actually looks forward to answering the essay questions!  Yes, those of you who know my son, I speak the truth!!!  Tonight  we watched THE QUIET MAN with John Wayne.  I loved it and my son couldn't stop laughing.  It led into a great conversation about courtship and the proper treatment of women (not portrayed in the movie, at least in accordance with modern culture).  Anyway, I like to share when we hit upon a winner.


As for the rest of the Sweetums, the girls had their annual well check up today, and they both did great.  They are perfectly on their growth charts and thriving.  We love our kids' doctor!  He is so good with adoption issues and helping our Goldilocks (6) feel comfortable despite her past history.  As for Tom Sawyer, he was really bummed it wasn't his turn for a check up and complained all the way through until it was time for the shots, LOL ....  Oh, the doctor asked my kiddos what they wanted to be when they grow up.  Their responses were as follows.

Tom Sawyer (4)- "a 16 year old fire fighter."  (He wants to be 16 because he wants to be like his big brother.)

Goldilocks would like to be a UNICORN!!  (Hmmm ... I think we are going to have to work on that.)

Little Red Ridinghood (3) would like to be "a sweet baby".  (She actually asked me recently if she could get younger on her B-day so that she could be a sweet baby again.  You think she enjoyed her babyhood or what?)

Ramblings ...

I was just thinking about socialization and what non-homeschoolers often think about it.  How many of us have to struggle not to roll our eyes when someone says, "Aren't you worried about socialization?"  Looking back on this week and the many weeks before it, I am amazed that we have time to get any school done with all the socializing we do.  Just this morning, in the blink of a few minutes, one lady commented on how sweet and well socialized my kids were, and a nearby person, upon hearing that my children attended preschool at home with Mommy, asked me that age old question about socialization.  Actually, I think both women were surprised and impressed.  I guess I should mention that at the time my two youngest, ages 3 and 4, were in their gymnastics class (being socialized  ).  Oh well, I do hear the socialization question less and less.  Perhaps people are learning more as homeschooling is growing in our country.

On the gymnastics topic-- my kids are loving this class.  Little Red Ridinghood (3) is doing great forward rolls and is a pro on the balance beam.  Tom Sawyer (4) is loving trying out the high bar and learning cartwheels.  I am so glad we found this class and plan to continue straight through the summer.  I can really see the confidence building in them, and they are as happy as clams when I tell them where we are going.

Goldilocks (6) is also enjoying the new class she is taking.  It is an arts and crafts class for homeschoolers, and she loves bringing home her latest creation each week.  As for Dickens, our nature loving teen, he has decided to try something that isn't related to animals for once.  Oh, he still spends a lot of time volunteering at the regional nature center, but he did take up acting classes this winter.  He is doing so well, and we are so proud of him.  OK! I am done bragging for today.  It is just so great to see our children blossom!

Tom Sawyer and the Earthworms

Ok, yesterday my boys, 16 & 4, decided to dig up about 12 earthworms, put them in a plastic container, and make them the 4 year old's pets.  I stress the number about 12 because they really aren't sure, could have been a few more or less.  Anyway, in the rigors of the day I lost track of where my dear Tom Sawyer had taken his new-found pets.

Fast forward to this morning --  I am lying in bed still asleep when my little boy arrives at my side.  Tom Sawyer (4), "Oh, Mom, careful don't rollover on Wormy 1!"  Me, "WHAT?!", sitting up really fast.  This is a great way to wake up Mom quick!  Lo and behold, there was a worm on my pillow.  My little boy's sweet face looking up at me said, "Mom, you can have Wormy 1 so that you have a pet too, but you have to be careful when you sleep with him not to squish him."  Where did I get this boy from?!?!?!?  As I was about to respond, screams from my daughter (3), who shares a room with ds shattered the morning silence.  To make a long story short, he had been up for awhile and had already been playing with Wormies 2-12ish, and they were loose in their shared bedroom!!!!  We (or should I say my husband and son) have found most of his little friends and returned them to their own world.  Hopefully, there were less worms than the boys thought and all is well that ends well.  My dd would like her own room, however.  Can't wait to see what the rascals come up with next.

Reclaiming Surrendered Ground -- Living With a RAD Child

My darling Goldilocks (6) has severe Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD).  This is a disorder that a child can develop in the first 3 years of life, if they have been horribly neglected and/or abused.  These children have a terrible time bonding with people and tend to act out in very destructive ways.  Our Goldilocks came to us at 20 months of age as a foster child and we have since adopted her.  She saw and experienced things that we cannot and do not want to imagine. What we do know of her past is so sickening that it still makes us cry.  Yet, after nearly 5 years of turmoil, she is truly starting to bloom.   This past year Goldilocks has been making more and more strides toward healing and acclimating into our family.  She has finally accepted us as her parents and trusts that we mean her no harm.  For the last 10 days, her one-on-one worker and her therapist have been on vacation, so, in a sense, we have been on our own.  Normally, this would mean a great deal of stress for me, and our entire family routine would have been disrupted by one of Goldilocks' blow outs. She has never made it ten days without a major meltdown before.  The amazing blessing that has fallen on our family is that Goldilocks did not blow out -- in fact, she rode through every little crisis (not getting new shoes when someone else did, her favorite stuffed dog's ear being eaten by our dog, a fall off the swing set, Mom being sick enough to actually take to my bed ,which shows a sign of weakness and thus in her mind untrustworthiness, etc.). Just as you would expect of a well behaved 6 year old to do!!!  In the past, any one of these events would have caused several stormy days.  We are so thankful for all of the wonderful people who have worked tirelessly to help our little girl heal and our Creator for answering our prayers.  We are not out of the woods yet by a long shot, but every month gets easier raising our precious little girl.  We are filled with hope and faith as we reclaim surrendered ground.

Out of the Mouths of Babes!

I just had a sweet conversation with my two youngest.  I was rocking my 3 and 4 year olds before bedtime and the conversation turned to WHO and WHAT made this and that.  This has been the running theme of the day.  So the questions went like this- "Who made milk?"  Reply "A cow."  My daughter (3) countered with "Who made the cow?"  I replied, "God."  The conversation went on with "Who made grass, sun, wind, chocolate, snowflakes, the color blue, etc." in which my answers eventually kept coming back to God.  After about 15 minutes of this, my daughter (3) stood up in bed, put her hands on her hips, and with all the seriousness she could muster said, "This God guy is a big deal!"  Yes, he is my darling! Yes, he is.

Out of the mouths of babes! I just love those sweet teachable moments!

Where Is the Snow?!

I know some of you are drowning in snow, but I haven't seen any here in the mountains of NC.  Boy, I would love a good snowfall.  So I was pondering the lack of snow in my neck of the woods today and remembered that months ago I had bought this great product for my kids who have Sensory Intergration Dysfunction ... Godilocks (6) and Tom Sawyer (4).  It's called SNOW MOBILITY  and it is put out by the company Claytronics- http://www.claytronics.com/.  It is this tiny container to which you add water.  Well we ended up with enough fake snow to fill the rice table and the kids had a blast this afternoon (even Mom and the teen got in on the fun).  It was so fluffy and soft and great sensory input for my little ones.  We added a bit more water which turned it into packing snow that the kids could make imprints with their hands and feet.  What great stuff.  It turned what was becoming a blah, cold afternoon into a day that felt like Christmas!  To make the product even more perfect, it brushed right off clothes and the broom swept up what hit the floor with no problem and it is supposed to last for weeks.  KID-TESTED AND MOM AND KID-APPROVED!

We are home!!!!

I love going on vacation but it is so nice to be home.  It was great seeing family and friends and our childhood homes.  Wow! has the Washington D.C. area changed.  Even though my husband and I were raised there, it is like going to a foreign country.  There are so many more highways and the houses just get bigger and bigger.  In my Dad's neighborhood, they are tearing down the 1950's homes and putting in McMansions.  That's what they call them in Fairfax County.  They have no land and are huge -- 4000 to 5000 square foot houses for 3 or 4 people.  Most folks don't have more than one or two kids. My Dad told me that some children who were born to English speaking parents have to take ESL classes when they get to school, because they spent way more time with Spanish speaking nannies than their own parents.  Also, so many people are working so many hours to afford the McMansions that they hardly ever get to come home and enjoy the McMansions.  Maybe it's just me and I hate being judgmental but it seems like a lot of people are missing the point in life up there.  What happened to having time to take care of your kids and enjoy your life instead of working yourself into an early grave?  To those of you who live up there and read my blog -- I know many people up there feel trapped by the fast pace lifestyle and are trying hard to have more time. I am soooo glad that my husband and I chose a lifestyle that allows us to have lots of time with our kids.  We aren't rich in money and assets, but we are very rich in love, memories, and laughter.