life changes - the reason i stopped homeschooling

No kidding, I stopped homeschooling.  Go ahead and look over there to the right.  See that.  Its a homeschool banner.  Yea, I know.  I don't update the blog religiously but that is one thing that will always stay.  That and the Compassion banner.  I love both.  And if you asked, I would probably still tell you that I homeschool even though the kid goes to school.  Yip, he goes to an honest to goodness school- complete with walls, and lunchrooms and PE, and bells, and a playground and a swimming pool.  And he loves it.  What's worse- I LOVE IT!  I'm half crazy about the kid's brick and mortar school building.  And I still say I homeschool.

I miss homeschool.  We went through a bit of a patch a few years ago.  When we came back to where we called home, we, the whole family, realized we needed a thrive not survive life change.  So we put all the cards on the table and asked God to do something with them.  He brought a new job in a new city with a wildly different house and a school environment that had @ written all over.  When that happens, who am I to argue.  So the kid went to school and grew by leaps and bounds.  He wasn't doing poorly in any way in homeschool, it was just time for him to put his roots in different soil so that he could grow.  He had outgrown the pot he was in.  So I became a room mom.  @'s sweet teacher was kind enough to share her class with me a little.  I read books, subbed, brought the cookies, but really I didn't want to miss a minute of watching @ grow in his new pot.  And he did.  Ah, the kid amazes me. This year is no different.  This year has been a bit harder.  His teacher doesn't ask much of me and I find myself not wanting to insert myself.  It isn't his teacher, just the growing dynamics.  So I find myself looking in the window at how @ is growing.  He's still doing amazingly well but I find myself with my finger less on the pulse.  It gets me jumpy sometimes.  I miss him more.

As things would happen I find myself on the cusp of homeschooling again.  Seasons change and we'll be in the US for part of 2015.  I'll get @ back for 6th grade, or some part of it anyway.  And as luck would have it, @ is looking forward to homeschool.  He enjoys school at 5th grade but I wonder if he isn't ready for a change of pace.  I have been surprised by how eagerly he talks about it.  Soon we'll be looking through our Sonlight catalog together and eagerly awaiting box day.

Maybe homeschool will only last for a semester while we're away.  Maybe it will extend the whole school year.  But all the same, I've decided homeschool to some extent is a state of mind.  Probably that isn't what I should say, but its accurate for where we're at.  Presently @ is in a school building school.  Presently so is !.  I know ! has another few years before I need to think about school- like curriculum school.  And she is a different bird than @.  The very things that met that @ NEEDED a school building school are some of the very reasons that I don't know that ! will.  I wonder if she won't thrive a bit on homeschool.  And then at some point maybe she'll flip and NEED a building school.  The good news is that I have wised up.  The better news is that I can see that we have choices and we'll do what is best for each of them at the time they are ready for it.

Christmas 2011

Forts were in Santa's sleigh this year for the kids at our house. Some months ago I saw this on pinterest and thought @ needed a reading nook. I put it in the back of my mind as something I could probably put together without a problem once we returned home. Jonathan saw it and he wanted one too (who doesn't?). So once we were home he started searching out the best size pipe and tweeking the design a bit.
A friend of ours had to get a new fridge a few weeks back. They kept the box thinking perfect ! fort. A day or two before Christmas we cut into it, opened up an end and put a porthole in the top. We been finding both children inside of it and ! has decided its her secret lair for things she knows she's not supposed to have- like daddy's day planner.

What we thought was going to be the BIG surprise of christmas was kind of a yay, middle surprise. Someone at church was selling their Wii that they didn't use much. So we jumped on it- this was back in the summer. We brought it back here, put it in the drawer and finally got it out for Christmas. I'm happy to have the drawer back. The Wii is ok. Our 7 yr. old @ can be a bit of a no it all because he's played the Wii before but he learned from 4 yr old, which increasingly becomes obvious as he really needs to settle down a listen to directions. The first day was full of us wondering why we had brought this evil to our house. The second day was much better. Jonathan and I learned to use it a bit, set up the internet connection so we can read the morning news. Last evening we played bowling and tennis and it was a little like being on a date. So we're learning to enjoy it and @ is learning to be patient with himself as he learns to play games- he was a great bowler though!

I'll get a finished product picture of the fort in his room later but this is the fort with his stocking underneath. The design on the site we saw had the fort entirely wrapped with sheeting. No way were we doing that here- way too hot! My first idea was to take some material and use binder clips on the sides, or to hot glue the fabric stretched over the top. Jonathan remembered this sheet set we were given- its roughly a queen size sheet but the elastic fit perfectly over the corners.

stories to tell- baby naming

Over the last month I've had stories to tell. Lots of them. Stories of being the mom of a infant again. Of watching snow. Of watching @ become a real boy all the time- he's a nice boy but there is very little left of him being a young child. Of enjoying days laughing with my husband. Of realizing that our time in the US ebbs and flows- somedays we've been here an eternity, others its a blink of an eye. Of making new friends and hearing there stories and collecting them (I do kind of collect people).

I think I'll tell the story of naming baby !. Her middle name is Irene. I knew when we found out that I was pregnant that her name would be !. It was a certainty. I knew that God had told me her name because it was the story we were living. We were living our year of !. We've come to a place where we are well settled. We've been provided for in so many ways and we have been restored. And I knew we should celebrate that. Her middle name came harder. With @ we had thought that if we were having a girl her name would be Irene Ann but @ was a boy. So we tossed around both Ann and Irene as middle names for a girl named !. Irene is my grandma's name and Ann is the family middle name. Ann was a problem however. Her name would be prone to the nickname LeeAnn and I'm not a nickname person. I didn't want her nicknamed LeeAnn because I want to hear her name all the time and be reminded of the specialness of her name. But Irene seemed like a lot for a middle name. I didn't want my grandma's nice name getting lost behind baby's first name. That would be too bad. But really nothing else felt very right too me and I'm a believer in names singing themselves into existence. When you've found the right name I really do believe its irresitible, like there is a choir from heaven the resonates the name's rightness for that person. That really is how we chose @'s name. So we hemmed and hawed and finally ! Irene was born.

And here is where you find out just how self centered I am.

I hadn't really thought about my grandma's reaction to hearing we had used her name as great granddaughter's middle name. I think maybe some months ago I might have given a fleeting half second thought. That was it. My grandma is getting older faster. It seems that age has finally won the race to catch up with her. She's lost a fair amount of ground over the last two years. She's in a nursing home now and I don't know that alot of days she understands and remembers things. And its hard to think of a once active and alert lady declining. So it didn't occur to me that 1. she would remember me and 2. that I had a new baby. And I was ok with that for the most part. It is what it is, its sad but its the course of life. Anyway, my mom called my aunt and my aunt while visiting with my grandma told her about new baby. And my aunt said that grandma suddenly became clear. She heard her name and she knew that name. "Well that's my name." And that was special to her and for a bit she was clear. So I sent my mom around with pictures of baby ! and @ to take to grandma. But what surprised grandma and my aunts is that grandma has remembered about baby !. "Did you know I have a baby named for me?" she tells people. Its something that has stuck in her head and its been awhile since something has really stuck in grandma's memory. Its baby! Irene. And that is very nice news to add to the year of !.

getting up off the mat

The last week has really been lovely. I had a deliciously brief labor. I sat around in the maternity ward as the only patient (no one else on the ward the entire time I was there). I and baby ! were completely healthy and had 2 nurses with no other mission for their 8 hour shift than to serve me. I had restaurant style (and quality room service). My mom and adoring husband took care of @ and after getting him off to school, they came to join in the seemingly neverending service of me. On Tuesday when I went home a nice friend brought us dinner. I sat around in lounge clothes all day Wednesday. I shuffled about the house putting things away. Folding. My mom happily busseled doing laundry. Jonathan and mom were eager for dish duty. Wednesday another dear friend brought dinner. Thursday my mom went home and I began to think about getting my life together to do more than nursing a new baby. But yet again, dinner arrived on Thursday. On Friday we took for granted that dinner would come (not that we needed it). We took a late afternoon walk, visited with friends up the way and by 5:30 we began to wonder where our dinner was. Well, dinner didn't come. And I began to grumble a bit inside myself. Where was my manna? Where was my group of neverending servants? And then I began to realize, I can still function for myself. I'm in no pain. I'm not sleeping a ton but the quality is better than when I was pregnant. I have no job. My son is pretty self sufficient (within limits). I really don't need a constant attendant doing my laundry. I can make my own food.

Today I spoke with the dear friend who has been organizing this shower of generousity. She wanted to make sure things had arrived in a timely manner and to let me know that tonight (Saturday) would be our last meal. My last supper. Delivered to me by a kind woman and her two teen daughters. The kind woman said "Dessert will be good but I'm not a very good cook." Delicious chicken chili, complete with tomato, cheese, and tortilla chips. Even @ liked it (and he has decided this is the week to grump about all food put before him). But as I went about this evening, I've found the response of "What!? I can't cook my own dinner. What will we eat? How will I pull this together?" And I remembered that I am capable. I'm a functioning adult. I need to adapt to the new routine of having a slightly larger family and its new dynamic. I've adored the kindness of all of these people but I don't need to abuse and take for granted their kindness. Their kindness is best spent on someone else now. I've adored the grace to slowly restart life. Its such a mercy. But its better for me to walk back to the other side of the table. Too much being served can be dangerous. It is Thanksgiving though and so I think I will add this week of my life to the list of things I'm crazy thankful for.

the wee small hours of the morning

Its not quite "wee" at the moment, but I've been up for a while. I laid in bed for a while trying to breath laying down but it didn't seem to be in the cards. Breathing is easier sitting up. The boys will be asleep still for another hour or so and it is really dark in Indiana at 6:30a.m. I made the coffee, hoping the smell doesn't wake Jonathan- coffee has that effect on people, even non-coffee drinkers. Jonathan and @ are both recovering from a cold brought on by allergies. The farmer cut the corn behind the house earlier this week and I handed Jonathan the claritin. There has been lots of snoring at our house this week. But as I was up and the coffee was bubbling, I remembered being up in the wee hours when @ was first born. He wasn't one of those bad sleeping babies, he has always been a perfectly fine sleeper. But I was still up with call to prayer and found that it was easier if I started the morning on my terms, while it was still quiet, and the coffee could be allowed to bubble and the morning sounds were quiet. And that is what I find this morning. The furnace kicked on, the coffee has finished bubbling and is now sighing and in a few weeks a new baby will hopefully still be snoozing in the borrowed cradle in our bedroom. And those are all very happy, hopeful thoughts I think. And the coffee tastes lovely. Wondering if I should risk the smell of cinnamon rolls to really add icing to the mornings tranquility? Maybe in an hour or so.

8 days

We leave for the US in 8 days. And that isn't traumatizing to say. And that in and of itself, is a miracle to say.

The last time we left a country we had a little bit more than 8 days to figure out how to leave for good and never come back. That was not easy and was very traumatizing. But now here we are and I have time to write a cool and mostly collected blog. So nice. We've thought alot over the last month or so how far our healing has come, how grateful and thankful we are for healing; how (to some extent) this has worked together for the good. We're thankful.

So what's on the docket for 8 days?
- Farewell party with friends from University (because I've learned how infinitely important saying "goodbye" is).

- Casual get togethers with other friends on different days. For lunches, for coffee.

- Having a man come and look to see if the water tank can take an easy fix or if its going to be the hard fix. Really praying for the easy fix. The hard fix involves repiping part of the house. We're blessed with friends who will oversee that while we're gone, but not really something you want to have to have done. This is actually weighing on me quite a bit.

- Packing, need to sort out the luggage and set up the folding table for the staging area of the pack zone.

- Putting away- the computer, the stackable trays, the last of the homeschool materials

- Take the baby mattress somewhere and have sheets ordered for it. Meant to get that done this week but I did silly other things like establishing auto-debit at the bank for all of our bills and changing our internet and satellite service.

Yeah, I'm trying to think of other stuff but that's pretty much it. Loving that. I have a couple of bins of stuff to give away and a couple of bags that need to be thrown away. Still none of that is stressful.

I've thought about the snacks and drinks I want to bring on the airplane (I'm pregnant and often thirsty). I've thought about the clothes for @ for the airplane. I guess I could think about my clothes for the airplane. I had a brillant idea for a father's day gift for Jonathan but kind of have put that off on the idea that I'm flying him to the USA and that seems like a lot.

Yeah, for 8 days, life is good and all in all blessed beyond measure.

civic order

Something you should know from the outset: I get oddly excited about all things related to proper civic order. When governments and institutions work according to the prescribed guidelines- it just makes my heart flutter. Its enough to set me happy for days on end. So when I saw the adverts that our nation would be having a national census the month of May, I was hopeful and a little doubtful all at the same time. I didn't get counted in the US and I wasn't sure that they would count us here either- as we are foriegners.

Tonight I came down from putting @ in bed and saw Jonathan sitting on the front porch. I went out to investigate- we don't sit outside at night with the light on because that is a good way to get moquito bites, and what's more the season finale for The Amazing Race was on, he shouldn't be sitting out front. He was talking with 2 census takers. He was just finishing giving them each of our names and so I sat down to join the fun- also thinking that 2 heads thinking through the language of the questions is always better than 1. Our names, birthdate,our religion, city and country we were born in, our tribe, where we lived in 2005, our schooling completed, job held- those were the questions for both of us and for @.

The questions at the end were a bit different: fuel we use for cooking, the source of our drinking water, and access to internet. These reflect a national conversation that seems to be in constant flow. The government is trying to switch people from kerosene and wood cooking to natural gas- its been a costly switch frought with headaches. Use of safe drinking water is making good advancement throughout more urban populations but it has a ways to go. Safe drinking water is becoming more affordable though, slowly but surely. There is a push for more access to internet and getting the public sector online to speed along government. They're doing a good job overall but change is slow.

There is a push away from corruption here. They are trying so hard and in a lot of ways they are making real strides. So when I see nice, polite, courteous, efficient census workers, well, I do back flips. The 2000 census was plagued by problems and the official results have never been released to the public. There is a lot of nay-saying that the 2010 census will suffer the same fate. It might. But at the moment I'm hopeful. Only problem, I didn't grab my camera while they were here!

nesting but not really

We couldn't be happier about expecting baby #2 sometime in the fall. Really, we're very happy. But we have a problem. We've kind of forgotten about babies.

We had @ in Aug 2004 and returned to what we thought was going to be our permanent home for years to come. We brought stuff with us so that @ could grow up there. Not expecting to return to the States for probably 4 years. So we brought along baby stuff, toddler stuff and even some young boy stuff. No kidding, when @ was a new born I bought him one pair of pajamas in every size up to 5T (by the way, I should start out with, I'm kind of nuts and I like to have a something like a plan). He just started wearing those 5T pajamas. After our idea was closed down in Dec 2005, and we returned to the states we were sad. Sad. And to some extent I especially went inside myself and mourned the loss of our home and our dream and our family. And I wondered how we could be a family without our home because I couldn't imagine ever really finding a home like that again.

But time and life went by. We picked up what we had and pulled together and our family was still our family, just different than we had imagined when @ was born. And I learned that home really is where you make it and it can be remade. Home is where my boys are, and we've made a nice one here. And we're thankful. There isn't a day that goes by that we don't sit at our dining room table and say "I love our home". We have friends again and people who care about us. There are crazy neighbors and kids to play with and a garden to weed and a laundry line (I love laundry lines). By no means is the house perfect. The street floods and the roof leaks but still its where we are happy.

Now that we have been here 3 years, we're getting ready to take some time to go home. Jonathan is going to switch jobs and we'll need new visa etc. so its a good time to go back to the states and catch up on our family there. Its all very exciting. We have 3 nieces at present that we need to meet and there is another niece/ nephew yet to be determined arriving just about the time we arrive home (yes, that did help us choose when to come home). My mom's accidentally remodelled her house while we've been gone. All of these things. And in looking at our full life and the happiness that we have been given a second time, we thought maybe we could have a second baby to fill life even more. And God was gracious and we're 3 months in. All good and all wonderful but there is a fly in the ointment. We don't know anything about having a baby.

We return to the states in just over 2 months as a family of 3. When we return here sometime next spring, it will be as a family of 4. So I'm cleaning and sorting and organizing our house for the person who will live here in the meantime and I'm realizing a hiccup. The baby doesn't come for a long time (1st of November is really a ways away) but the baby comes HERE just as soon as we do. So I need to leave this house with some readiness to have a baby in it. Does that make sense? Probably not. I'm not worried about the baby stuff for the states- we have loads of time once we get back there to figure that out. But the baby stuff we need here, I need to do/ get now so that its ready when we get back here. I know it sounds like I'm creating a mountain out of a mole hill. I know. And I think its the idea of going back to the states is more the problem than the baby. We've never re-entered the states nicely. When we re-entered the states last time it was as this huddled sad mass of sadness. I think having the time to think ahead and plan has probably made me a little addled.

All of this to say, if you can think of something I should have ready in my home for 6 month old baby, would you let me know? I've got "crib, sheet, bumbers" on my list. Oh, and that's the other problem, I'm trying not to bring everything and the baby sink in a suitcase back from the states- that's going to get spendy, fast.

why i homeschool and you can too

An article on homeschooling I really enjoyed this morning. Reminding me that I'm not messing up the kid and even if we don't press science as much one day because we are busy making our own intrepretation of Picasso, its really ok.

a public apology

When I was a child we lived in a small town. Once every couple of months we would head to a larger town that had a mall and a wal-mart. While in the stores I would inevitably get lost. It was a confluence of events really. I was born curious and, I suspect, prone to being an extrovert. My mom is not the tallest person you will ever meet. I was not and am not currently a tall person. So you see, it was inevitable that I would get lost at the K-Mart. We'd get into the maze of clothing racks. I would linger longer over something and turn around to find that I couldn't see my mom. And then adventure and tears normally ensued. The one time I recall the best was that I finally gave up trying to find my mom and wandered to the customer service desk. My guess is that it was with the encouragement of some nice K-Mart employee. And there I would whimper my mom's name "Betty Way"and they would ask me again because that doesn't sound like a person's name and "can you understand what that little lost girl is saying?" and I would again say "Betty Way" and they would call for "Betty Way" over the intercom and my mom would come to the front half furious and half relieved and then when she saw little whimpering girl, she just felt relieved. The thing is that "Betty Way" is not my mom's name. See I had a real problem with the /r/ sound for nearly forever and my last name didn't help matters.

So today I was at the grocery store. @ was desperate to go see pets. I needed to stop and read lightbulbs so I sent him ahead to pets (at the end of the next aisle over) and told him to stay there, I'd be there in a minute. I called Jonathan about the lightbulb/ extension cord he wanted. I walked to pets. And you guessed it, kid is gone. So I start looking and see his red shirt darting by at the end of the aisle, by lightbulbs. So I run, but he is too. Then I see him duck down the milk aisle, So I run. And now I'm calling out my child's rather unique name. Now if you were an adult and you saw a noticeably different boy running the wrong way from a noticeably different mother yelling a name, you'd grab that kid and point to the woman right? Well you weren't around. Not a helpful person could be found in the store. Then I saw the kid run through the produce section. Then I saw him run through the lightbulbs and then I couldn't see him anymore. Until finally I hear over the intercom my kid's name looking for his mom. And then I'm running to the customer service desk.

Now your saying, why didn't you go to the customer service desk? Because my kid doesn't listen to it and I don't think he would know what to do necessarily. Because I'm a bad mom that hadn't taught him what to do if he got lost. This is the first time I ever let him out of my sight in the store. And the thing is he normally refuses to use his language, so I wasn't sure how he was going to tell someone he's lost. For real, we've done our best on the language front but I can't make the kid produce it. Anyway there was a happy ending and he somehow knew what he was supposed to do.

But all of that to say, I'm sorry I was a frustrating kid mom.

going on a road trip

After 10 years of marriage, we are going on our first truly free form road trip. Jonathan likes the idea of them but it doesn't always work out so well for him. But we've gotten comfortable enough with all things local here that we can pretty well take it where we want. We have a rough sketch of where we are going. Haven't made reservations because we can't find information for the places that we've been told are there. So we're going to take it as it comes. The idea is that we will spend a day or so on the south coast seeing what is there. Apparently that won't include a lot of ocean swimming as the rip on the south coast can be pretty awesome. So wading and rock walking are the plan. Really I think if we are going to take a child to the south coast, 5yrs old seems like the perfect time, before he is old enough to think he really can swim against awesome rip and before he believes he can surf. We're also thinking on trying to find a cave where they play music with the stalagtites and stalagmites. Don't get mad at me, they've been doing it for centuries, wether or not I come and see it. So we thought we should go and see it. The colors are supposed to be amazing too.

So we're going south and it really is as free form as it gets around here. That being said. I have checked the maps. In fact I have a bag of maps. And I know what you are thinking, "if you have a map that isn't a free form road trip, rhea". Not true. When we're in the states we don't need maps, there are signs and the reasonable assurance that if you get your mini-van up a hill there will be a road down on the other side. That isn't true hill. Roads do suddenly terminate into bamboo foot bridges over rivers. And its a road that you were getting your minivan down just fine 2 seconds ago. Roads do go up a hill with no way to turn around or get down the other side. This has happened to me now on two continents. Backing uphill 100 yards isn't easy kids. So I have maps to try to keep on roads that stay roads.

Inadvertently over the years I have developed my road trip clothes. Its a uniform good for all weather conditions in equatorial regions. Longish flowy cotton capris, tank top, over shirt, hiking sandals. Its hot but if we get out of the car and stop at a temple and they won't let me in because I'm in a tank top and my shoulders or knees might tempt away the faithful holy masses, well I have an overshirt and flowy capri pants. I don't recommend trotting around the world in the Nike sports tank that the girls on Amazing Race always seem to embrace. It isn't the best way to make friends and influence people in more traditional countries. The overshirt and capri pants is a nod to cultural respect and thus walking through centuries old temples.

So here's to free form road trips

moving to a tropical island paradise

"Its record setting freezing outside. There's a foot of snow in the driveway. The wind is blowing 50mph. Not sure if the electricity is going to stay on. Man, that Amanda must have it made living on a tropical island. I wish I could move to a tropical island." Kids, moving to a tropical island ain't all its cracked up to be.

This is the one where I explain in whining detail that the grass is just as green on this side of the fence.

So the clouds came in dark and nasty. Fine, something about Christmas day marks the get nasty point of the rainy season. Only draw back- our roof started leaking Christmas Eve (happy christmas to me!). Our landlord is sending a guy around on monday. We've hooked up a tarp system to run the water to the drain and i have buckets and rags on stand by. 5p.m. Jonathan position tarp and @ yells "The water is going down on my shower." I making dinner. Jonathan finishes the tarp and goes to check @'s issue. In fact their is no pressure. I check the kitchen sink and Jonathan check the water pump. No water going to the roof- which is how we get pressure into the house. I bring in a bucket. @ dries off. Jonathan begins opening the housing for the pump. Break for dinner. Rain turns from sprinkles to crazy downpour.

Resume activity after dinner:
@ begins yelling and running- storm fever. Jonathan turns off the shut off to the toilet. I reposition rags/ buckets, sop up water from the floor then bucket wash dishes. Jonathan continues to labor on the pump- getting no where because his tools are upstairs cordoned off by tarp systems catching the bucket loads of rain coming in. While working on the pump the electricity goes out. Now we have no running water in the house, no electricity, flood water rising in the street and a leaking roof. Give up on pump. Light candles. Shut off very noisy battery back up to the computer. Reposition/ Sop up water with buckets and rags. Child is given stern warning that death awaits running, yelling children (death would probably result because of mom and dad spontaneously compusting).

Once family is settled in with the electricity off- Jonathan grading quizzes (mindless activity), @ sitting with Ipod watching old Grinch (God Bless the nice people who made the Ipod), I decide to shower- with my trusty bucket of water.

After getting out of bucket bath by candlelight, lights begin to flicker. Rain is slowing. I check the buckets and rags, wring/reposition/sop. No one moves to turn things on or off for 5 minutes after the power comes back on, don't want to jinx these things.

Good news:
-There is a man supposed to be coming tomorrow to look at the roof.
- After rain stopped, Jonathan went up for his tools. Got the rusted cap off the pump. Primed it- we'll have running water soon.
- Electricity is back on so the AC is cooling off bedrooms- Praise God for AC and beds.
- This is all fairly typical but fortunately it all happened before we went to bed, much better than when you're really at the end of the day and want the AC
- Child calmed down with the end of the rain. These claps of thunder and lightening can be so loud it gets everyone on edge- even otherwise nice children.

an open letter to the people at Pixar

Have you seen the movie "UP"? Well then what are you doing? Go! Go, now! Go see this movie. Break into the Pixar building if you have to (try not to tear anything up). Bring your kids. Bring your 85 year old Grandma. They're all going to love it. Its that good.

We picked up the DVD for christmas. It was supposed to be the christmas present for the 5 yr old boy but really I should have given it to my husband as an anniversary gift. We laughed, began to tear up. And while I was washing dishes I realized, we didn't screen that movie. Normally we try to pre-screen movies just in case they aren't 5 yr old appropriate. Everyone who saw it said it was great and so we didn't think about pre-screening. And it was safe. It was family friendly through and through. And that is a rare quality people. Something that is funny for grown ups generally doesn't entertain the 5 yr old. And often if it does, its because its stoops to the basic and lower insticts- relying on gas humor and inuendo. But this was funny and nice and clean and...sigh...happy family movie.

And as I reflected on Pixar in general, the movies I remember from them all are "family friendly". They're nice.

So, thanks Pixar! You were our movie highlight of 2009. And we're really proud of your content, not just your kickin' movie production.

about my uncle george

When I was little, my sister and I stayed out at my grandma's after school and during summer break. Grandma would make a trip over to Pana to see her sister, my Aunt Marie, once a week. My sister and I would play out in the yard and try not to get in trouble or fight in the house. Sometimes Uncle George would be home during the day but normally he was out hauling rock or water. He made a business for himself hauling rock and water and whatever else in some big old trucks and he did it longer than people can remember. Being self employed and frugal, he kept a close eye on everything and kept a book for it all. He did his own billing and his own taxes and knew just every cent the state or the feds wanted from him. And he paid them, grudgingly sometimes but my guess would be always on time. That's who Uncle George was.

The state notified my Uncle George some years ago that their house and land would be taken should the state ever get around to expanding the road the that ran in front of his house. I think initially it was concerning to them. It was his home but also his business. But as the years past and the state had other projects, the road in front of their house ever getting widen looked REALLY unlikely. The odds were quite good that it would be there kids problem and not theirs. Some 15 years later (by my guess), Marie and George were notified that the state was ready to widen the road and it was time for them to sell and find a new place. Uncle George still hauled for people but he was pretty well on in years and it was mostly water to fill tanks for little old widows. It was with a good bit of sadness that they moved. And within a few years, my Uncle George died.

But what was problematic upon their move and his death was his record keeping. Not because it was messy or hard to decipher but because it was complete. It was thorough. He could tell you how many gallons of water he hauled to Mrs. Smith on a particular date in 1975. How much rock went to XYZ project. How much, When, Where, To Whom, Why, and the price. It was all down. And it wasn't just his business. My Grandma went around to play cards (Rummy is the game of choice) with Marie and George at least once a month for countless years. George has a book that can tell you who won and by how much and because of which dealer in August of 1983. Every game that he ever played or conducted on his premises or vicinity, he has a record of. Generally is a1 subject spiral bound notebook. And the question comes: what does one do with 20+ years of notebooks full of record keeping on card games? Think that through for a minute. You could throw them away but it seems a shame when we're talking about a person's passion. Record keeping was Uncle George's hobby. Do you throw away a person's hobby? Even if its a bit obsessive, its represents the diligent work of a man.

I don't know what became of the notebooks. Aunt Marie has needed to downsize a fair bit. She's on her own and her health isn't great. But what I learned from this, and why I'm telling you this story is that there is a virtue in good honest record keeping. I have a fairly good memory. But if I write something down, I remember it far better. And if I need to validate or prove something, you'd better believe I'm going to write it down.

The paper man stopped delivering our paper after his holiday bonus. I had written down when he came with the last paper and when we called to cancel the paper. The next month a man came along to collect for paper delivery. I got out my calendar, showed him when we cancelled, when the last delivery came, how much the bonus was and instructed him that if he needed money, he needed to contact the delivery man. You can't argue with that.

We've been wrestling the Telekom for 3 months since we changed our internet service. I've written down and saved every bill and the contract dates. Again this month I took it all in. It was easy to correct and hopefully they really put it in their computer correctly (computers were not George's thing and he had a more than healthy distrust of them).

We've been working through the world's longest renewal of visa which has required phone calls, papers sent and delivered and to various offices and then visits to various offices. I have written down in my dayplanner every time Jonathan or I have done something with that process and what it was. Every extension filing, how long it took, and when. So when Jonathan was told he needed to pay the cost for facilitating our visa, he was confused. Because if we haven't been facilitating the visa, then what is all that work. So today he went in and explained this to his boss. With my calendar full of dates. And (Jonathan just called) sure enough he doesn't need to pay the facilitator. Now I don't know about my suggestion that they pay us for the facilitating, my guess is Jonathan left out that bit. But it makes me happy. Not because I get to save my money, although that is CERTAINLY very nice, but because it reminded me of my Uncle George and the virtue of honest, diligent work.

homeschooling week 19

We've passed the halfway point of homeschool with our Sonlight Curriculum. Actually I just realized that if I wanted to return it (which I don't) that deadline passed last week also. With Sonlight, if you get halfway through it and decide you don't like it, you can return it and get your money back. Is that awesome or what?

So we're halfway through. @ loves it. I love, love, love it. We have a pretty good schedule and I've gotten comfortable enough with the schedule and the curriculum that I don't go crazy if the day changes and something else needs to get squeezed in. We can get to it later or if I'm organized I remember to pick up what I need (the sound cards, a pencil, a spare bit of paper) and we can do it wherever we are going. How great is that?

History:
This week we are concentrating on World War II. I'm somehow trying to get across the gravity of the thing. The damage of it all. But somehow still be 5 yr old friendly. Today is Pearl Harbor Day and so we'll watch a bit of a video. Screening it now to see where to stop at. Later this week I'd like to show him a few picture of German Jews with their Star of David patch. The Holocaust pictures, even the ones of the kids with their serial number tatoos are just way too grim. We've read a wonderful book called Twenty and Ten and we'll review it a bit this week too.

Geography:
@ is able to identify and name the 7 continents. We're working on the oceans. Oddly he has a hard time finding the United States. He can use the Compass on the map to help find where countries are. He is able to find our nation on the map and where we live.

Math:
I like Singapore Math. Each lesson involves talking through the problem and writing to solve the problem. Presently he is in the middle of the Early Bird KB book. We're combining number bonds to make addition sentences. We're going to skip the end of this book because it wants us to work US Money. We'll do a bit on local money but I'm not planning to push it hard.

Language Arts
@ started his 10th book today, Rob's Cap. He struggles with b,p,d reversals and it seems more pronounced the more we add. I like that the curriculum had us take a break in adding letter for about 3 weeks so that we could concentrate a bit more on sorting things out. It takes time and I'm not worried but we were ready for a slow down. We need to get more into his handwriting material but its a point of oppoosition so we're taking it easy.

Science
We seem to stay ahead on science. The experiments are good but we have a hard time doing some of them here. We have no heater so its hard to show how a balloon place over a heat vent rises fast. We tried the inverse with the fridge door but that didn't work terribly well. Seeds on a wet napkin in a jar don't always grow here- sometimes they mold. But take that same seed and throw it at the ground- chances are it'll grow. Little things about living in the tropics are a drawback. But then we also live in the tropics on a volcanic island. Want to study dirt, growing, volcanoes, earthquakes? we're all over it. Ocean currents, wildlife, habitats, flooding, beaches? Check!

We've taken lots of hiking excursions and trips to the marina. Through the first of the year we're going to be doing lots of christmas decorations and lessons about Advent and Hannukah. Then in January we'll do a good bit about Chinese New Year.

We're also getting in bits of art projects, some music, some P.E., and language lessons. Those aren't things I worry alot about. @ likes to dance and sing, run and play, and he's always eager to help with crafts. We've tried to make sure he gets opportunities for that and we don't necessarily need to call it school. He told me a few weeks ago he's going to be an artist.

If/ When you want to know more about Sonlight, just let me know. I'd be happy to help you get a discount by mention me as a referral- little something for you, little something for me.

Meal Plan

Trying to figure out what to do with leftover turkey. Its not that its a nuisance, its more of a problem of how special it is. We don't do turkey often - once a year- because starting price for a turkey is 30USD. That's kind of pricey. I have a nice box of it leftover but I've been trying to think of special recipes that we can't really make very often. We've had just thanksgiving leftovers a few times but i want to make sure I use every bit of it well. Presently I'm boiling down the carcass in the pressure cooker. Thinking of boiling it down a second time because i think there is still some goodness in there and my thought is that turkey broth will make white rice way more fun.

Monday noon: beans & rice and carrot (need to get rid of a jar of beans in the fridge and make something fast)
Tuesday noon: Turkey pot pie with leftover gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans and carrots
Wednesday noon: Gado-Gado, Rice cooked in turkey broth
Menu: personal size BBQ Turkey Pizza (per Jonathan's request)
Menu: Meat loaf patties, leftover mashed potatoes, leftover veg

Thinking that dinner menus will feature turkey, biscuits and gravy one night this week. And I want to put some turkey in the freezer.

I have a long list of leftovers that I'm working at knocking off too. I got out a box of freezer pickles for our local guests the other day. Pickles are familiar to them and people enjoyed them. The olives did not go over so well. But I love olives. I made one of the teachers try 1 olive (she had never had it before and it was in keeping with the spirit of the day) one of the funniest faces and strongest reactions i've ever seen on a person. It was just so immediate. She was a good sport about the whole thing but I think that will be it for her and olives. So I have a jar of olives to eat by myself- that is not a complaint, just probably not the best news for my blood pressure.

between thanksgiving

yesterday we had thanksgiving with friends up the mountain. its lovely to go there because they have a house with a lovely tropical garden cut out of the jungle. and you sit in front of the picture window with a cup of coffee...its terribly relaxing. i brought the turkey and (for my own future reference) we packed it in a rubbermaid box. Carboard lining, then the Illini fleece blanket, then a layer of newspaper. turkey wrapped double in foil. then wadded up newspapers. i also put in the broth from boiling down the neck and a separate container of dripping from the bottom of the turkey pan. also for future reference a 16lb bird shouldn't be put in a large cooking bag- it needs the fuller sized turkey bag if its available. it did ok but more room is really needed.

today i went around to market, bought 6lbs of potatoes, 2lbs of green beans, 2lbs of onions, eggs, celery and bread. i made 2 pumpkin pies, cleaned the green beans and washed the potatoes. we dug out the serving dishes, wiped them off. found the extra plates and silverware. wiped off the glasses. cleaned up the kitchen a dozen times and washed dishes at least as many. went to get water. i did as much prep work for tomorrow as i can really get away with.

tomorrow we have somewhere between 6 and 16 people coming for thanksgiving. we're pretty sure we're going to hit 12 but everything is soft until you see the whites of their eyes. lunch isn't until something in the ballpark of 3ish so there isn't a big rush. i'll need to wash out the fridge after taking out the turkey. its a drippy thawed out mess in the crisper drawer at the moment. i need to do something about cleaning out a few million plastic containers but that will come as lunch prep comes together. jonathan will be in charge of peeling potatoes and i need to think of some locally inviting way to make green beans. i suspect it has something to do with oil and chilis but i wish there was a way to make locally pleasing and healthy. probably not going to happen.

but now i'm off to rest. i love having people over but turkey is stressful. there's to much "not killing your guests" talk associated with it. that isn't something i normally have to factor in to having people in for dinner.

knock-off pumpkin spice latte

see, i put up with a lot. i've got every other tom, chris and jason telling me about the wonders of their pumpkin spice coffee. singing its praises for all of its restive benefits. and here i sit in 90 degree heat at 7:30 in the morning with no pumpkin spice coffee for hundreds of miles. my friend an hour away isn't even running her coffee shop regular hours and thus it really is hundreds of miles. then dear Owlhaven links to this lovely lady's site. Now, mind you I don't have a can of pumpkin. But my morning plans now involve going to the store to buy a pumpkin, roasting said pumpkin and then storing the pumpkin puree so as to have homemade "canned" pumpkin. but i have a sneaking suspicion that it is going to be SO worth it!

Just Like Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte
Makes 1-2 servings

Ingredients:
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons sugar or sugar substitute – adjust to taste
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup strong brewed coffee (or 1/4 cup of espresso if you have an espresso machine)

Directions:In a saucepan stir together milk, pumpkin and sugar. Cook and stir over medium heat until steaming. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and pumpkin pie spice, transfer to a blender and process for 15 seconds or until foamy. I don’t usually bother with the blender and just whip the mixture really well with a wire whisk.
Pour into a large mug or two mugs if you decide to share. Add the coffee or espresso on top.
Optional: (But don’t even think about skipping this step. I mean it). Top with whipped cream and sprinkle pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, or cinnamon on top.

meal plan- watercolor edition, oh & burying the lead

Yesterday @ was watercoloring at the project table. He really wanted someone to work with him. I did a sunset and painted another picture. He wasn't done. I needed to get on to some list making and thinking for the week ahead. But it occured to me, what hinders me from watercoloring my grocery list? I wrote the menu plan in crayola marker but the grocery list is in watercolor. Seemed like a good use of time and energy.

Sadly the menu plan is already somewhat sprained. I planned to do Zuchini Garden Chowder today for lunch, but somehow the zuchini's I bought turned out to be cucumbers. Not sure how that happened. So the Cukes become freezer pickles along with the last red onion. Perhaps this week i'll have better luck at buying Zuchs instead of Cukes.

From the oven this week:

Granola- been meaning to make it for 2 weeks

Mango/ Applesauce- thought it sounded like something to try

Monster cookies and Choco-Raisin Cookies- for Jonathan to take back to school for his students.

**Jonathan just walked in and he has a work visa, his police book, and his passport in hand! He is officially finished with immigration!!

Now if only @ and I could get our paperwork...

about christmas

I've started to kind of vaguely think about christmas. A friend sent me a christmas stamp set so that I could switch up some of my christmas cards. I have a bit of fun making the cards but then it comes to addressing them and posting them and somehow the magic dims a little. I started playing with the stamp set yesterday after having them sit on my desk for 2 weeks. Wasn't feeling clever enough to have such pretties so it took me a while to work up the courage. I made some little lovelies- at least in my estimation.

Last week we were up in our first town and i stopped at the ribbon shop that i like to go to. Its small but things are out on the shelf so that you can touch them. That's kind of unusual here. Small things are often kept in a cabinet and you have to ask the keymaster to open the cabinet and tell her which one you want to touch. If you're window shopping, as I often do, this gets a little on the tedious side. Having someone stand there waiting for you to either buy or ask for something else. Anyway, I came away with a few meters of ribbon, some slicky paint to finish off stockings and some fake poinsettas. I'll add them to wreathes and homemade christmas ornaments this year.

Jonathan and I have entered into idle discussion of christmas for @. He's 5 and we are going back to the states 7 months after christmas. He's WELL STOCKED for toys and oys seem silly because we aren't bringing them with us. He has a bike. A list of the things we've talked about as family presents:

We've talked about a keyboard for the family- I like to play, or attempt it, and we've both thought @ should learn and instrument. Jonathan's family all play something or had a lesson when they were kids. So for Jonathan its how kids grow up. I've just always fancied the piano. A keyboard would start somewhere around $120.

We've talked about a camera for @. I know that sounds wasteful but we will be in the states for a good 8-10 months. Meaning the 5yr. old will be without the bedroom he's used to, in the house that he is used to with his bike and friends and toys for 8-10 months. That's kind of a lot it seems like to me. We walked by a display of Fisher Price 1st cameras when we were in Singapore some months ago and as was the display's intention, it got us thinking that might be a way for him to take some memories with him. What he wants, not just what I take pictures of for him. But then i read the reviews and it doesn't sound like its much of a decent camera. We've talked about buying his a cheapy here ($50) but then that seems silly too. Or I could just take pics of what he tells me to- which is what we already do and it seems to work just fine.

We've talked vaguely about a handheld video game system for the family. They are everywhere here. Our thought is that we have 30 hours in the air back to america, another 30 to get back here and countless car trips in the states. Maybe a game of tetris would be pleasing to everyone. We haven't looked at them or really even talked about it more than in passing but i think they would probably start at $175.

Now understand, we don't do lots of presents for christmas or birthdays. Normally its one present and then some books or a new set of markers, paints, etc. The grandparents send the child plenty of stuff! Indeed, presently we need to work through some of his stuff again to get rid of some of the things. We try not to buy him things that he will grow out of quickly. And these are all items for the most part that will be family gifts- even the camera to some extent because I'd love to see what his eye sees.

So tell me, what do you think? What do you do for christmas gifts? Tell me about your kid and taking pictures? Am I just crazy on that idea?