Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Big changes today. I donated a nice fat 12 inch braid to Locks of Love. I have needed to get my hair cut for a long time, but I just kept putting it off. I'm not sure why. I guess it just wasn't a priority. I finally made an appointment and even had enough to donate. That was pretty exciting. I really was ok getting it cut, but it's nice knowing that it can go to a good cause. Here's the result....



I LOVE IT!!!!

Great Little Holiday Book

I spent part of the afternoon today reading Hundred Dollar Holiday by Bill McKibben. I know it's early to be thinking about Christmas, but I'm a planner. I've been thinking about how I want this holiday season to look for our family. Also, I'm really trying to incorporate some homemade gifts this year which take time. I saw a post on another blog (I wish I could remember where) talking about a homemade Christmas and that blogger mentioned this book. It was a really quick read but very inspiring. He wrote the book in 1998 so it's ten years old but I think especially applicable right now with all the financial worries everyone is having. Honestly, I'm not sure how I've missed it before, but glad I came across it now. Anyway, his tagline is "The Case for a More Joyful Christmas."

First he kind of goes through an abbreviated history of Christmas from wassailing in the medievel times to the uber-consumerism of today. Talking of today he says:

"Here's the bottom line: We have so much stuff that a pile of presents is no longer exciting, no longer novel...When you have a lot of stuff, getting more is less exciting than when you have very little. That seems obvious--it's habituation."

And a little later he says:

"If there's one way in which the world has changed more than any other since 1840, one thing that's truly different in our lives, it's that we've become such devout consumers. That consumption carries with it certain blessings (our lives are long and easy by any historical standard) and certain costs (first and foremost the damage it causes to the rest of creation). But the greatest cost may be the way it's changed us, the way it has managed to confuse us about what we really want from the world. We weren't built just for this life we find ourselves leading--we were built for silence and solitude, built for connection with each other and the natural world, built for so much more than we now settle for. Chirstmas is the moment to sense that, the moment to reach for the real joys."

His proposition - give yourself a hundred dollar limit. He says that there's nothing magical about a hundred dollars. He said he first thought of it because it sounded good with "holiday." lol But the point is to limit the amount you spend. Take more time thinking of other ways to celebrate the holiday to bring you and your family peace, time with others, connection with your spirituality. There is a lot of emphasis on homemade gifts that have real meaning instead of the piles of presents that really don't mean that much. Really inspiring.

I already know that we will be spending more than a hundred dollars this year. But I thought of some ways that I want to incorporate some of the ideas from the book. I thought I would make sure everyone (in my immediate family) receives at least one homemade gift. We will drastically limit the other gifts, something we had already been talking about. I want to think of ways to honor our neighbors with homemade gifts, nothing fancy, probably just cookies. But it's a way to show them that we appreciate them. I'd like to make sure we shift our focus to celebrating our Christian faith. Last year we started a Jesse Tree but didn't keep it up. I'd really like to do that this year. I also want to find a meaningful way for us as a family to give to someone facing harder times than we are right now.

I was even inspired to jot down a little pledge for myself in my notebook. Here is what I wrote,

"I will buy nothing unwanted or that I know will be unappreciated. No more junk or hastily chosen items just to fill the quota of the right amount spent or number of gifts for someone. Handmade and consumable is better than store bought and plastic (although I'm sure there will be some of the latter.) I will be intentional about creating meaningful traditions for our family."

I know, I know, I need to get through Halloween first. But since I'm already making lists, this was a perfect time for me to read this book.

A New Friend

This is "Stripey" found and named by C. He found him on another bush in our front yard. We were feeling a bit sad because the cat-faced spider was nowhere to be found. The web was gone and hasn't been rebuilt. We had gotten in the habit of checking on her every time we came and went from the house. We were all a bit bummed about it. Then C started yelling that he found a new spider and that it reminded him of the one at the Botanic Gardens. It's not quite as big as the garden spider, but the pattern on it's legs and body is so cool. Not as cool as the tarantula that we saw at the GGYR Pumpkin Patch on Monday. We were there for a homeschool field trip complete with horse rides, face painting and of course, pumpkins. It had been caught at the horse ranch that morning. B and A both held it. C and I were happy to watch it from a distance. ;) What is up with all the spiders lately??? :)

Friendly Kitty

Normally our cat is quite the anti-social animal. He has no patience for the kids and spends most of the day in hiding. The only time he comes out is during a storm. He hates storms and looks for the closest human to sit by during the storm - no holding and cuddling, just close proximity. We had a crazy storm this afternoon complete with hail, wind, thunder and lightning. He was next to my feet for most of it. Once the storm was over, he went back to his hiding spot.

I was really surprised to see him out this evening trying to be social. He walked up to C and laid down next to him. He allowed C to pet him. I think C was pretty surprised, too. I had to get a picture since none of my friends even believe we have a cat. Also, I wanted to prove that he's not that bad. ;)


Don't they both look like they have the same slightly irritated expression? How sad that this was the exciting moment of my day. We missed the Balloon Fiesta. I was so disappointed. They ended up canceling all of today's events because of bad weather. It was probably a good thing since my 3 yo is sick and I might have been tempted to take her out this morning if the weather had been nice. B did get to play his soccer game. It was really windy but it was before the rain and lightning. The rain started coming down just as we were leaving. C's soccer game was canceled. (We were secretly relieved.) Hopefully A will be feeling a bit better tomorrow. We already had to bow out of a birthday party tomorrow. Don't want to spread germs, especially to friends. Maybe I can get some much needed housework done tomorrow. Or get started on a few books I have laying around here waiting to be read.

View From Our Backyard

This balloon got us outside this morning. We could hear it going over the house. When we went out we could see all of the balloons heading north. I love Balloon Fiesta!


It's hard to see in this photo. You probably need to click on it, but in the center is the Darth Vader balloon. The boys favorite balloon of all!

The Energizer Bunny balloon.





More balloons that we could see from the backyard.


It's hard to get a photo of the magnitude of Balloon Fiesta. It's just incredible to see all those hot air balloons in the air. If you can imagine, more balloons to the north and south too. Hopefully, if the weather holds out, we'll get to go on Saturday. It's even more impressive from the park.

Big Foot!

New shoes for all the kids today! B has been complaining about his feet hurting in his size 3 shoes. So, off we headed to the mall this afternoon to look for shoes and new jeans. We looked at a few different stores and were having a hard time finding anything we both liked. We ended up at Sears. A very nice sales clerk overheard B and I "discussing" whether or not the size 4's were ok. He was complaining that his toes were at the end of the size 4's and that he needed a 5. I, of course, good mommy that I am, didn't believe him. The lady measured his feet and sure enough, he needed size 5's. Man was I embarrassed. And what 7 year old wears a size 5 tennis shoe??? Thankfully, I was able to admit the bad mother that I am, and buy him shoes that fit. ;) I decided to save face and get new shoes for the other two as well, since they had outgrown their shoes too.

The good news in all of this (besides the fact that my kids' feet won't be deformed from being forced into too small of shoes) is that B has finally decided to tie his own laces. Yay! Again, the very nice sales clerk showed him once and he got it right away. Nevermind the pleading from mom that he learn how to tie shoe laces over the last 2 years. Oh well, he's got it now. He tied them himself in the pic above. At least the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Blizzard from Dairy Queen helped to soothe my ego. :P

I really should change the name of my blog...

to something having to do with bugs. ;) We went to the Harvest Festival at the Botanic Gardens today. On our walk back to the farm area, we decided to take a path we had never seen before. On our detour we found this spider. Pretty sure it's a garden spider. I personally don't like it as much as "Pumpkin." But, it was cool enough to take some pictures. B is supposed to be studying insects this term. I guess we're getting that in without even trying!


Another picture of it moving around. I don't think I would like to find this in my house.



And a photo of a rose that looked so beautiful after our night of rain. I have taken my camera off automatic and am trying to learn a little more about digital photography. I am still pretty intimidated by all the settings, but a few of my photos are coming out. I'm really excited about that.

We did eventually make it back to the farm area where we met some friends. We got to watch apple cider being made, make corn husk dolls and crack walnuts on an antique nut cracker. And we bought some of the yummy cider!

Dinosaur Day

After soccer games yesterday, the kids and I headed over to the Natural History Museum for Dinosaur Day. C had to wear his T-Rex shirt in honor of our adventure.

They had a chance to feel real fossils and talk to a volunteer who explained how they grind down the rock to get to them.

They made coelophysis masks. Coelophysis is New Mexico's state fossil. I should post a picture of B's finished one. It was very cool. He had to finish it at home, because his brother and sister were getting impatient with him.

And here the kids are working in a pretend dig for fossils. It was complete with hats. Fun times!

Finally a Finished Project!

I got stuck on a couple of baby gifts this past spring and pretty much gave up my knitting. But, I decided I needed to make myself get back to it. I've only been knitting for a year, but I really enjoy it when I'm not frustrated. So, I picked a really simple baby hat for a friend's gift. She's allergic to wool so I chose a cotton-soy blend. I think it came out pretty darn cute. And it reminded me that simple is sometimes just as good as complicated and sometimes even better. Now I have to get my sister's baby gift on the needles...

Brothers and Legos

My friend Cindy inspired me with her post and photo of her kids playing together. I don't do those cool digital scrapbook pages but I thought I would try to catch my kids playing together too. When I'm frustrated with the bickering, I sometimes forget that they really do like to play with each other. It seemed like a good way to remind myself of the positive experiences. I didn't catch all three together but I did see my two boys working together on their legos.

Confidence

It's amazing what a little confidence will do for someone. B made his first goals in a soccer game last weekend. The first goal was a tap into the goal. He really just happened to be at the right place at the right time. But, it was still a goal and his confidence started building. Then later in the game he was able to make a strong kick to the goal. I think he was a little shocked. I really wish I had had my camera with me because the expression on his face was priceless. He surprised himself. Then his confidence soared. He took the ball from one of the opposing team, turned it around and made another goal. It's like a switch suddenly turned on for him. He could do it!

Not to be out done, C also made three goals in his soccer game. He played great and really kept his head in the game. And again, the confidence was boosted which led to better playing, and for him, the ability to keep focused on the game. He was especially excited because Grandpa Jerry and Great-Grandad were watching his game. They made it from Colorado just in time to see him play. What a fun day!

More Bugs

I have this bad habit of leaving our back slider door wide open all the time. In fact, it's open right now. Anyway, we have lots of creepy crawly visitors because of it. Here's our latest find. A praying mantis on our kitchen chair. The kids thought it was soooo cool!

Our Amazing Day Last Friday!

We had the opportunity to go to Galloping Grace Youth Ranch on Friday. It was such a wonderful experience for the kids and I. I was so amazed at how the kids pitched in and helped scoop poop without complaining, and how much they enjoyed the horses! I was especially amazed at how quickly my middle guy took to the horses.

We have been going through a really rough spell over the last couple of months with C. I think the transition to "kindergartner" is proving a tough one for him. Even though we homeschool, a lot of things have been changing. He's in a new class at church. We've been going to a new church with some homeschool friends and he really liked the 4 year old class. So, when the time came to switch, he had a hard time. For about 3 weeks, we dealt with BIG feelings about the new class. He started asking to stay at home instead of go with us to some activities that normally weren't a problem. We have had a couple of big temper tantrums recently. I was really struggling. So much so, that I even asked the pediatrician at his well check a couple of weeks ago if we were maybe dealing with something more than personality. Thankfully, we both agreed that this was just a tough time for him - my introverted, physical, has-a-hard-time-with-verbal-communication kid.

That is why Friday was so amazing. My little guy that struggles with new people and is fearful of most new situations was one of the first ones on a horse. He has never talked about liking horses or cowboys before. We really hadn't read any books or watched any shows about riding horses. This was all new to him. An incredible volunteer, Nancy, took him under her wing and had him helping to saddle up a horse. She helped him lead the horse to the arena. She treated him with so much respect and kindness. By the end of our time there, the wonderful folks at Galloping Grace even had him riding a bit by himself. As my husband said on the phone, "Our C? Really? He rode a horse?"

C is hooked. Right away he asked if he could have a cowboy hat like Mr. Max. On the phone this weekend he told his Aunt Judy (a horse lover) that he was going to be a cowboy for Halloween and Christmas. (I didn't know you were supposed to dress up for Christmas ;) ) He said he wants a "horse-riding" birthday party. (It's not until next year.) He dug a pair of old cowboy boots out of the closet that Aunt Judy had given B a long time ago. He said that when he grows up, he wants to ride horses in a race. I have never seen him this excited about anything before.



B and A did really great too. B (since I know you'll read this ;) ) was so incredibly patient. He waited for his turn to ride without complaining. And A got right up on that horse like she'd done it before. She is so proud of how she balanced on the horse. What an amazing time! I'm so proud of all my kids!

Ewwww Spiders

We have this awesome spider web between two bushes in our front yard. The boys saw the spider out tonight and ran to get me so that I could take a picture. I hate to admit that I know nothing about spiders. I have no idea what kind of spider this is, but it sure is cool.

ETA: We found out from a very informative and friendly docent at the Butterfly Exhibit that our spider is an Orb Weaver. Sometimes it's called a cat-faced spider or a pumpkin spider. Seems especially appropriate this time of year!

Time for Soccer!

Here's how we spent our Saturday morning. Both boys are playing soccer this year. It's the first time either of them have played team sports. They did great! I guess that means I'm officially a soccer mom?!?! Not sure how I feel about that. lol It sounds so suburban, but I guess that's what I am too. lol

C's team in the pic above are an under 6 team and they are "The Green Hulks." B plays on an under 8 team called "The Red Flames." Both of their teams won today - not that that matters. ;-)

New School Year

Well, we are in the midst of gearing up for the new school year. Over the last two years, we haven't really followed a schedule very closely. We were still finishing up some reading from last year's list over the last couple of weeks. However, I'm going to really try to get through our first term of Ambleside by the beginning of December so that we can take December off. My plan is to start Monday. B will be doing AmblesideOnline's Year 2 and C will be doing Ambleside Year 0. Year O is really just a reading list so we're going to try to work through the list, with a little bit of math and phonics mixed in. I plan to keep it really light for Kindergarten. But, I did want to start to get C into a good routine. I think it will help him to know that every morning we sit down to do something "schoolish" together. If they only knew how not "schoolish" we are here. lol Of course, A really wants to do school because of her big brothers. I ordered her a Lauri Preschool Pack from Rainbow Resource. I put that in her school basket along with a new book of fairy tales and some of the Year 0 books.

I think we're almost set. I have some things to print off this weekend for their notebooks - maps, copywork, Bible story checklist. But, I think we're pretty well prepared. I'm actually getting excited. It's going to be a challenging term as far as outside activities. I'm having a hard time saying no to things that sound so fun! ;-) So far we have both boys in AYSO Soccer, A is in gymnastics, they are all doing baseball club, B is starting swim lessons, the boys are taking science classes from the children's science museum, Roots and Shoots, Opera Class...yikes! It will definitely not be a boring year!

I love my Birks!

I guess I can officially say that I've crossed over into hippie-dom. lol For my birthday, my mom got me my first pair of Birkenstocks. I don't know why I waited so long. I love them! I wear them almost every day. They are the first sandals that don't hurt my feet. Thank you Mom!!!

Butterflies

The kids and I went with friends to the local botanical gardens last Thursday to visit the Butterfly Pavilion. It was very hot but we had a lot of fun! I even got a couple of decent photos. Once it gets a bit cooler, my plan is for us to visit the gardens several times a month to work on our nature journals. I think even A could start drawing in a journal this year. This is an area I've really struggled with getting into our days and yet it's one of the things I love about the Charlotte Mason style of homeschooling. I'm really going to try to be more consistent with it this school year.

No Sourdough :(

My first attempt at sourdough bread totally flopped. I was so hoping to post a pic of a beautiful loaf of bread. It was too dense and a little under-done or something. I used a recipe from a cookbook I checked out from the library. I'm really hoping it was the recipe and not me. lol Oh well, I will give it another try soon.

We have worms!!!

I'm so excited! A friend dropped by this week with worms for my vermicomposting bin. I followed these instructions to build my bin. I'm so excited that we won't be throwing away all of those food scraps anymore. At first I had it just outside our slider door on the patio, but I thought it was getting too much sun so I moved it inside under the kitchen sink. The kids think it's so cool that we have worms in the house. She also brought a sourdough starter. I have my first sourdough loaf rising as I type. I told her that she and her husband have made my week. She mentioned that they might have kefir grains too...