Dizzy Hair Clips

Today we finished the CAT test! Woohoo! We're done for another year! And we met our self-imposed deadline to get it finished before the zoo trip tomorrow and well before Disney. So We celebrated with the long trip out to Sonic for some root beer floats and a cream slush. On the way back, we passed a park and decided to stop and play for just a few minutes.

My girls *love* this park and we don't make it out there too often. What makes this park so special? Why, this of course.

This park has not one, but *two* of these magic machines to accommodate the crowd of children wanting desperately to get rip-roarin' dizzy. My girls ran straight to these and wanted to go round. And round. And round. Until Mom was dizzy and made them go slide. By the time we left, the girls were chilly, muddy, wet, and L had dissolved into tears, but at least they got out some of their pent-up energy.

Tonight, I worked on my latest craft project. Since K got her softball uniform and will soon be playing games, I thought she might need some cute hair clips to match her uniform.

Because I have girls and can worry about things like that.

So I made a set of clips in the team colors. And another pink pair for L. And a blue and pink pair for K. And a set each for the girls whose mom babysat L today while K and I were finishing her test. And I kept adding bows and beads until you could just die from all the cuteness.

When my sisters and I were young, we learned to decorate our own hair clips by weaving ribbon into the little snap clips and bar clips. We'd leave long streamers and string them with beads and have all kinds of clips to match various outfits. I just pulled those memory files and put it into practice for a whole new generation. The girls were amazed at the clips and are so excited at their new treasures.

Aren't they cute?

A story you need to read

Lysa TerKeurst, who I've mentioned only about a bazillion times here, has an awe-inspiring, amazing story to share this morning. It's enough to give you chills to see how God so directly intervenes in our circumstances so that His will is accomplished, even in spite of the capricious behavior of airlines!

Go here to read the story on lysaterkeurst.blogspot.com.

Works For Me...Sunday?

I have a Works For Me Wednesday post brewing, but this is not it. You'll just have to come back Wednesday for the most valuable advice anyone will ever give you.

BUT, I do have a tip for today.

Sometimes life gets busy and you get so far behind on housework that you feel you will never climb the slippery slopes of Mt. Laundry. The precariously stacked jeans and socks tremble with every footstep and an avalanche of pink t-shirts threatens anyone who dares approach the majestic (and smelly) summit. You know it will take days of washing, drying, folding, and putting away to level Mt. Laundry and by that time, it will have sprouted mini mountains that will never completely disappear.

Never fear!

Pack the whole mountain into trash bags, throw the bags and the detergent into the van, grab a bagful of quarters, and haul it all to your local laundromat! In a few hours, the whole thing will be clean and folded and DONE!

Can you tell that's what I did this afternoon?

We had a comforter and a sleeping bag that needed to be washed and that necessitated a laundromat with bigger machines than I have. So I took L and most of the laundry with me just so I could finally get caught up on one aspect to housework. Mr. at Home stayed home and worked on a few things and acted as test administrator for K's CAT test. We're trying to get it finished before our zoo trip Tuesday so she did some of it Friday evening, some today, and we'll finish it tomorrow.

So next time you're faced with the tremblings of the Mt. St. Laundry and you fear the impending eruption of mildewy towels, think Quarters! And Quadruple Capacity Washers! And Soda Machines that only dispense MelloYello! And don't forget your loyal assistant who will happily hand you coins, push the buttons, drink half your soda, and scold you for not checking each machine the second it stops. To you, an afternoon at the laundromat is work, but to her...well, it's a grand adventure.

The news lies

Yesterday I read an article that told us the water restrictions have been loosened a bit. The open burn ban has been suspended and people can water their lawns one day a week, but that may go away if "the the dry weather continues".

Um, where have people *been* this year that they think it's "dry"? Since softball started back at the end of February, we've been dealing with the rain. Skills Day was delayed because of wet fields, practices have been continually rescheduled or cancelled because of the rain, and last weekend's opening ceremonies and carnival were cold, windy, and drizzly. At least 3 practices have only happened because the rain held off until the practice was over. It's been anything but dry.

The reports all show that our water supplies are coming up nicely, so why are they still all gloom and doom about it? I think it's because the water company announced that because we had done such a wonderful job of conserving water last year, they hadn't made as much money as they need and their bond rating would go down. As a reward for our civic-minded responsible water usage, they are increasing everyone's bill by almost 20%. Yahoo. By making people think we're still in dire danger of going thirsty, they justify the price increase. By letting people water lawns, people use more water and the water utility gets more money.

It's all a big conspiracy, man.

Home Education Week - Day 5

Show off those talents. Share a story, a special moment, a piece of artwork. Any accomplishment, great or small, is fair game.

Cool, it's "Show and Tell"! And I get to talk about the cool stuff I do!

1. I write.
I hope that one didn't come as a shock to you, because I'd be very concerned if I caused you any undo emotional distress. I have a blog (I know, another shocker!) that I enjoy writing in tolerably often (sorry, that's the way I talk after I've spent a few days immersed in Jane Austen). I have one story published under my name in the book I'm Glad I'm a Mom (which is awesome and you totally need to read it. the book. not necessarily my story) and lots of technical writing that does not have my name anywhere on it. Around the time that the book was being published, my daughter K was working her her entry for the Young Writers and Illustrators Contest. She came to me in tears once because *she* wasn't published and everyone in the whole world couldn't read her stories. The whole writing thing is obviously something I've managed to pass on to at least one of my kids.

2. I craft.
I *love* to do anything that involves a glue gun, paper, ribbon, painting, etc. I hate to spend money on something I could do just as well or better *and* have the joy of making and personalizing it. Things like the Quiet Families and sewing and paper crafts. My project for tomorrow is making huge button pins with K's picture and softball team name to wear to her games. A lady came around last night at practice offering some really plain ones for sale and, being me, I figured I could do something cooler and cheaper on my own. So I made a quick run to the craft store, bought some button supplies, and that will be our homeschool art project for tomorrow. You've got to love homeschool.

3. I come up with cool games for when school gets in a boring rut.
I've posted about a scavenger hunt and I once did a chocolate lottery where I wrapped tiny chocolate bars in paper with each subject written on the inside and we did the subjects in order of being drawn and the kids get to eat chocolate all morning. That's the stuff that makes my kids think I'm a very cool teacher.

4. I wake up in the middle of the night and write blog posts when I can't go back to sleep and I'm suffering from yet another bout with a stomach virus.
Oh wait, that's not actually a talent. That's just my current state. Ad I think I'm about to put me and my stomach back to bed in hopes that I can claim a little more sleep before the sun and the girls get up.

For more posts on Show and Tell, visit Principled Discovery and follow Mr. Linky.

Taking a quick break from the homeschool goodness to say...

Am I the only person on the planet who doesn't watch American Idol?

Of course, that's a ridiculous exaggeration, but I've read no less than half a dozen summaries of the Dolly Parton-inspired performances this morning and I don't even know who these people are. And how many of you think the dreadlocked guy has ever heard a Dolly song *in his life* in spite of the fact that he's from Texas?

I must confess that I have never seen more than a few minutes of American Idol (even though I love me some Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood) and I've watched a total of 12.437 seconds of Survivor. I tend more toward the sophisticated and cerebral. For example, last night I read Pride and Prejudice and played Webkinz. What? You don't think Webkinz is cerebral? Ok, *you* get past level 11 on Home Before Dark and I'll personally mail you a fabulous, handmade Excellence and Lightning Fast Reflexes in Spatial Reasoning and Manual Dexterity award. Maybe I'll work on it next Tuesday night while I sit in front of the TV and figure out this whole American Idol thing.

Home Education Week - Day 3

And we have likely all felt the fool in one way or another. Share your greatest challenge. Or one of those terrible, horrible no good, very bad days where the only thing there is to do seems to involve moving to Australia.

I’m going way back in time for this epic story, but it does involve homeschooling, so be patient and read all the way through.

Back in the ancient history known as BC (Before Children), I was an upwardly mobile office professional, with my own little space in the cubicle maze where I answered Important Emails using acronyms like ASAP, FYI, SME, ETC. It was my 4th job in 3 years after graduating from college (remember, I was “upwardly mobile”) and I had been assigned to help with the updates and edits of an 18 book user documentation set.

In order to complete said assignment, I had to learn a new documentation software, all the company standards of writing and formatting, all the formal techniques of technical writing, and mainframe system administration. Yep, piece of cake.

The day when all the books had to be sent to the printers was fast approaching. It was also the day that my cousin was graduating from high school in a town a few hours away where I was supposed to attend a pre-graduation party and the actual ceremony. I was very interested in going as I had taught some of his classmates during my unfinished year of student teaching. It would be neat to see them go from their punk freshman attitudes to the oh-so-mature status of graduating seniors.

Before the big day arrived, I had made plans to meet my parents and ride out to Sulphur Springs, TX, with them. I would finish up work early and we could be out there in plenty of time for the party and Aunt Shirley’s baked beans. The only problem was that I had never done a Publication Day before and I had no idea the hurricane that was headed my way.

The morning of Publication Day, I blithely went through the files for all my books, tweaked a few things, printed them off, and handed them over to my editor for final approval one by one. Almost before I got back to my desk, the editor returned them with sticky flags *everywhere*. Change this, move that, reprint it and I’ll check it again. What?!? I had been working on this for months, how come all this was coming up now? So I made the changes, reprinted it, dropped it off, and got it back with more flags. It was a nasty, vicious cycle that I was sure would end the *next* time I handed it over.

The hour came and went for me to leave to meet my parents. I called them and explained I would be a little bit late. Then I called them again, “Soon” I promised. I was getting frustrated, the editor was getting frustrated, my boss was getting frustrated and it was *not* a pleasant experience for any of us. Finally, the books met everyone’s grudging approval and got their final sign off. I sent the files to the printer and raced out the door - very, very late. I raced to meet my parents and we ended up completely missing the party and just barely squeaking in for the graduation ceremony. I felt horrible that I had made everyone so late.

As we sat and watched the ceremony, I saw that the valedictorian was a student I had worked with when he was a freshman. That year had marked the first time he had been in school as he had always been homeschooled before. In fact, watching him try to adjust to public school life was one thing that influenced me against homeschooling. This kid dressed different, acted different, talked different, even *walked* different. He just couldn’t find a place to fit in and he seemed to be having a miserable time of it. But in the 3 1/2 years since I had last seen him, he had gotten the hang of this high school thing and had excelled. Maybe he wasn’t Mr. Popular, but he had obviously found a way to make the system work for him.

In the end, we had missed the party and the baked beans and I felt like a schmuck for not just telling my parents to go on without me. However, I did come away with a greater appreciation for homeschooling. It had obviously benefited that kid by giving him a strong academic foundation, even if I did feel that his parents should have given him more opportunities to interact with other kids *before* tossing him into the deep end of public high school.

That whole experience still influences me in my own homeschooling journey and it’s probably a big reason I get my girls involved in extra activities. Awhile back, we met up with some other homeschoolers for a trip to an orchard and I noticed a bumper sticker on another mom’s van. It read, “Warning! Unsocialized homeschoolers on board!” I had to laugh because the last thing our kids are is “unsocialized”. Sure, they don’t spend hours every weekday in a group of 20 other kids of exactly their same age, experience, and academic level all cooped up in one small school room. Because we all know that’s exactly what real society looks like, anyway. On the other hand, that small, unchanging classroom probably does do a great job of getting them ready for the 6'x4' confines of a their corner of the cubicle maze.

For more stories, go read Principled Discovery and follow Mr. Linky.