Homeschooling

I have to admit that I have a terrible case of the March blahs (it's still March, right?). I have become insanely irritated with the cold, rainy weather. Various degrees of cabin fever hit me regularly, since Juliet is almost always sick during the winter season - which means we aren't around other kids at all.

Homeschooling has become strictly academic lately -both Samuel and I choosing to forgo the fun stuff (like painting, clay sculptures, etc) in order to get on with our day (me to responsibilities, him to play with Jude and Legos). Do I think it will be like this forever? No. I will probably be cured when I can be around people again, being the extrovert that I tend to be most of the time.

One positive thing: Samuel is reading. We are almost done with a book called "Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons", which has proven to be very effective. Samuel dreads it, but once we are done in a few weeks, I will let him pick out any book he wants each day to read to me. Should be much more fun! Here he is reading yesterday:
We are going to homeschool next year again and I don't anticipate such a rocky road (the first year tends to be the hardest). I think I am also attempting to draw strength from the wrong source (myself) and need to lean more on God, who led me to the decision to homeschool in the first place. Doesn't everything go better when we check in with the Lord frequently?

March Gardening

With the rising cost of groceries hitting our budget hard (I find myself saying "Babe, this food budget isn't working anymore..." every couple of weeks or so), we have decided to get a bit more serious about growing our own food. Since it was unseasonably nice yesterday (which is code word in Oregon for "not raining"), Colin spent the day with the kids working in the garden. He planted spinach, lettuce, beets, carrots, onions and leeks. Later, we will be planting our usual warm weather crops.

I snapped some pictures of the kids - for some reason the boys thought it was appropriate to be doing karate for the camera:I love this picture - Samuel eating old spinach - look at his face!

This was Juliet's contribution - causing mayhem, of course.
Jude: "Here! Try some, Mama!" I politely declined.


And my muscularly husband working hard. My contribution was taking pictures - that counts for something, right?

Who Needs Anthropologie??

Ok, it's time to admit that I've had a problem with coveting this shower curtain from Anthropologie for some time:
And much to my glee as I was perusing a sewing blog this morning, I discovered this tutorial that shows people who don't want to fork over $118 how to make it yourself!! Yay! Apparently I need to be investing in a ruffle foot for my sewing machine, so I won't tear my hair out.

It feels like Christmas came a little early for me =). The only drawback? How much will all those yards of fabric cost??

Beer Floats. Root Beer, That Is.

Oh, my. It's been a long time since I posted. I swear I have a good reason - I just can't think of what it is...

Whenever Grandma S (my mom) comes over, there usually is a root beer float treat to be had. She and Samuel run to New Seasons and pick out the most expensive, delicious vanilla ice cream and a similar quality of root beer. Then they come back and treat anyone that has eaten a good meal. You should have seen my kids shovel that stir fry in their mouths tonight!Look at the delight in her face at the sight of more root beer!


Jude refuses to pose for a normal picture - this is the best I could get.

Spiritual Thoughts

While the house was quite this morning (before everyone woke up - it's the only time I can finish a deep thought), I prepared for Bible Study by reading Mark 14 - Jesus' washing the disciples feet. And while I read this passage, I realized that Jesus was setting an example for what we are to do for others. We are to love others and humble ourselves so much that we would wash another's feet. My question to myself was: when was the last time I humbled myself that much for my friends? What would Jesus' example look like in today's society?