What a Beautiful Day...(one minor incident)

Ah, the freedom that home educating allows ones family is one of the absolute best parts of choosing this lifestyle. One needn't be a millionaire (we certainly aren't...not even a hundredthousandaire's!) to enjoy the beauty that Nature provided each and every day. Days in which to drink in the suns rays, adore various creatures and best of all, each other.

We left out around 8:15 this morning and headed over to Perdido Key State Park. It was so beautiful and peaceful and the waves were fun to play in without the danger of rip currents. We body surfed, found shells, saw several blue crabs, a small jelly, plenty of birds and two dolphin...and hence we've reached the minor incident! I am utterly terrified of sharks. Zak was about waist deep and Brooke and I were closer to the shore when I saw a fin pop out of the water, well I panicked "Get out of the water! Shark! Shark!" The whole time Zak is saying, "Mom, it isn't a shark, it is a dolphin." I didn't care, I saw the fin and that was that. I saw that no one was in danger and was screaming "Get the camera, get the camera!" While trying to stay with the fin, which were now two fins and I knew then we were dealing with dolphins. To make a long story short, Brooke's awesome "Rat" innertube was lost to the Gulf of Mexico because during the panic, the waves had grabbed hold of it and Zak was trying to hurry and get me the camera. Anyway, I felt terrible and promised Brooke a new innertube.

After the "incident" we still had a wonderful time and here are some samples of our awesome morning at the beach:

Morning at the Park and Swimming to Cool Off and Zak Bakes

We've decided to postpone our lessons until the afternoon because it is so very hot and humid lately and so this morning, we headed over to the new Perdido Key Kids Park. Whew! It mattered not that we went early it was still extremely hot and humid but not nearly as bad as it gets in the afternoon. Thankfully, we brought plenty of water. The children and I played Hide-n-Seek and they wore me out but we had a great time. After about an hour we headed back home for some fun in the pool. Our pool time consisted of throwing a football, jumping into the water all at the same time, noodle races, and more.

After we ate lunch the children went ahead with their lessons. They continually amaze me with their ability to learn all the while I keep in mind "not to step in as teacher, they ARE capable of learning on their own". Rarely am I called upon to answer a question and we do enjoy reading aloud together from some of their readings. It is the being there that is important but let me tell you...from reading with them and/or scanning their quality books to be read, I have learned more than I ever did in all of my schooled years. I'm thankful to be able to give my children a liberal education, one that will prepare them for college (should they desire to go)and one that puts them in direct contact with living books and living ideas.

Later that early afternoon Zachary made his first batch of brownies (no help from me whatsoever). :-) It was funny because he had chocolate all over his fingers and then the spoon and of course the beaters. He called his sister out to 'clean' off the spoon and beaters and I kid you not...I'm surprised we had brownies at all because I think they ate more than Zak put in the pan...LOL But man, they were delicious! Way to go Zak!




The above pictures were taken Saturday at the same park by DH. And what a fabulous family day that was... :-)

Wife Swap Rant...

Why I tune into this show when they have a family of home schoolers is beyond me because it does nothing but piss me off. Of all the home schoolers I know and have known, NONE have locked their children up from the world and I've known people on all sides (meaning from the fundamentalist to the radical non-christian unschooler). I'm sure that the public is well aware that Wife Swap and other 'reality shows' arrange shows in a way that will stir up controversy (which apparently people love) but home schoolers already have a negative stereotype due to ignorance on the part of opponents. Far be it for Wife Swap, to focus on home schoolers who actually get their children out, whose children are happy and getting along, whose children are taken to visit friends and have friends visit, who are in an activity or two, etc. However, it wouldn't stir ratings when they show how the majority of us are, despite what homeschooling philosphy or style the home educating family is using. Sadly, they will continue to portray the extremist homeschoolers and therefore continue feed the stereotype that that is how the majority of homeschoolers are.

Reality shows, love em' or hate em', are no where close to being reality. In reality, we don't swap spouses (well unless you're swingers), aren't put on islands for 31 days with complete strangers, don't cross countries with no money, don't have four women dating one guy the same night at the same time, etc. I cannot stand reality shows but just flicking through the channels gives me enough information to make a rational judgement...they are garbage. Everytime I have ever stopped on one, I find myself wishing that I could get those wasted minutes back.

They had a Ball....

The children had a ball today at their first day of blended school. They'll be going once a week. The whole day was hands on physical science done through; art, drama, writing, etc. Recess and lunch and of course a snack break helped the fun of the day as well. Both made many new friends, and Zak had the attention of some females...lol

I'm so thankful that my children have a choice on what they want to do with their education. So many public/private schooled and home schooled children do not have such an opportunity, many ask their parents to be home-schooled but they are told, "No" with really no good reason why. Same for many hard core home schoolers, their children want other learning opportunities or to get out and their parents do not allow them to try.

Donnie came home for lunch to spend some time with me and we had a super time... ;-) It was strange not having the children here and I admit, lonely for me earlier on but I'm just happy that they are happy.

Boy, I am sure to get a lot of put off decluttering done on Thursdays now...probably a good thing seeing how Christmas is just around the corner.

My Favorite Lyrics...

This song and it's lyrics are so powerful to me and our daughter loves the song as well. Positive music in the pop world and ones that aren't about having sex are often few and far between and that makes me all the more fond of this young lady, Natasha Bedingfield, for not following the crowd and standing out on her own.

Unwritten
Lyrics
Artist(Band):Natasha Bedingfield

I am unwritten,
Can't read my mind
I'm undefined
I'm just beginning
The pen's in my hand
Ending unplanned

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words
That you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten Oh

Oh, oh

I break tradition
Sometimes my tries
Are outside the lines
We've been conditioned
To not make mistakes
But I can't live that way oh, oh
(back to staring......)

A Shameless Plug for Home and Natural Remedies

We have been so fortunate to have read over the years books regarding natural and alternative healing. There are many things that I do not know and remedies that we have not tried but I'm going to start keeping tabs via this site about ones we have used that work....

Zachary has had an ear infection this past week and so I pulled out a trusted remedy that we had used on Brooke and myself within the past year. I boiled about a half cup of olive oil, turned down the heat, added 5 cloves of smashed garlic and cooked on low for five minutes. After the tincture has cooled, I poured it into a dropper bottle and administered one drop two times daily. His infection has already started to clear and we'll continue this for the next seven days.

Last year Zachary had some sort of skin-colored inflammed rash on his left inner elbow. It never really bothered him so I forgot that it was there sometimes. However, a couple of months ago it started to irritate him so off to the doctor we went. The physicians assistant, sweet as she was, never told us what this rash on his arm was; she just wrote a prescription and to put the ointment on twice daily for one week. I was kicking myself later after we used it because the possible side-effects listed were horrible...one including sterililty in males! Of course, by the time I read those we had already been using the medication. It cleared the bumpy and inflammed rash up but now the inflammed rash is back again and this time it was really annoying. I knew that we'd only get hit with another round of antibiotics and doctor bill so I decided it was time to go with natural healing...again. Yesterday I purchased a small bottle of Source Naturals Ultra Colloidal Silver Spray , Boericke & Tafee Florasone (R) Cardiospermum Cream and a bottle of blueberry flavored Acidiphilos (so as to introduce good bacteria). I sprayed the colloidal silver on his arm and allowed to dry, gave in one acidiphilous tablet, and then we followed with the cream and guess what??? Already the bumpy rash has gone down significantly and there are no 'possible' horrid side effects. I wouldn't be surpised if he was cleared up by Friday and we'll continue the treatment until next Wednesday.

I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and instead of going on pain medications and disease altering meds that have a list of nasty possible side-effects I've chosen to go (within reason)to a vegan diet and combined with 3 glasses daily each of 1tb of cider vinegar combined with 1tsp. of honey and 1tsp blackstrap molasses. First though, I did a week long fast as in the book Prescription for Dietary Wellness, that immediately relived pain and swelling. After that I started my path to vegetarian/vegan. There have only been mild flare ups and they ONLY happen when I have run out of proper foods and have had to eat what I shouldn't because we've had something happen over the pay period that cost extra and therefore I wasn't able to buy my foods. Other than that, and even despite that, I have not had to use any type of pain reliever be it over-the -counter or prescribed. I've learned so much, for instance...did you know that pineapple is a natural anti-inflammatory? :-) Two book recommendations are Cure Arthritis the Drug Free Way and also Eat to Live: The Revolutionary Formula for Fast and Sustained Weightloss. To date, I have lost 23 pounds since June as a result of a healthy diet and regular exercise.

I'm very thankful to live in a country with such advanced medicines and technology, however, I think it is sad that those in the medical community are so much more apt to offer man-made medicines instead of the ones that have worked for centuries...they have thrown out the baby with the bathwater. There is not one good reason that natural and dietary remedies shouldn't be offered as a first treatment option, NOT ONE.

Chess and a Nice Weekend.....

Zachary has a great passion for the game of Chess. We bought him a beautiful wooden chess board with hand-carved pieces for his birthday. He has beaten his father and I many times over the past few weeks and he only gets better. We rented Searching for Bobby Fisher this past weekend and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. When it was finished I of course noticed that at the end it gave an update on Josh Waitzkin, the story of whom the movie was about. How cool to learn that not only did he become a proficient and champion chess player but that he is awesome at martial arts as well and guess who else is interested in the martial arts? LOL Yep, our son. ;-)

This past weekend was very nice and relaxing. Saturday Donnie, the kids and I spent lounging by the pool and playing together. On Sunday, we had some friends and their children over for a visit, swimming and dinner. I believe that we all need weekends like that where you just do 'nothing'. Families need more time like that for just chilling out with not a care in the world for the lawn, or the weeds, or cleaning; they need it to just be. To be at one with nature, at one with their families and at one with their spirit.

The Park and WildLife Sanctuary

Today we went to a park just a few minutes away from home to feed the ducks and birds, but we went a little bit too late because there were few around and when we threw a couple of test pieces, the Seagulls didn't bother. Before we went there though the kids wanted to get snack from the store with their money. I just sat back and watched as they estimated the total amounts in their head, how they interacted with the clerk, etc.... their life skills are just fine. Brooke's total was $2.99 and she gently counted out one quarter at a time in the clerk's hand until she had counted out three dollars, and gave him a polite 'thank you' when he handed the change back to her. Zak had so much junk and only had out $4 and I asked, "Son, are you sure you have that right?" With a slight bit of a 'sigh' he was like, "Yes Mom, I have enough, I estimated everything out." He was right. :-)

At the park the children enjoyed their food and drinks and swang for awhile, however, I wasn't that comfortable. An older teen was there (he had a vehicle) and he had a toy shotgun that he aimed at many things. First I thought that it was just a little strange but it was when he went to the car that I got nervous. I'm a firm believer in motherly instincts and let me tell you, mine went into overdrive. He placed the toy gun down but then picked up a big bag and reached inside, he then pulled out a handgun that did not look like a toy. He studied it a moment then placed it in his bag and walked away from the car while leaving the hatch open. I quietly walked over to the children and said that we need to leave. I should've called the police but I was just bothered so much that it didn't cross my mind. The toy gun had an orange tip, what he pulled out of his bag did not have a tip. I do not feel bad about my intuitions at all and am glad that we left the park, you just never know these days.

We went home and had lunch and then about an hour and a half later we went to the Wildlife Sanctuary just over the bridge from our home. We had a wonderful time! Mourning Doves followed us everywhere and allowed us to hold them and they really loved to get at our toes. The white-tailed deer was out and about and the kids fed him with leaves around the area. We watched Pelicans fly around and stare at us with their beautiful eyes, and some geese were busy making a ton of noise. Two mallard ducks wandered around in freedom one of which had a broken wing.

I think it is just so awesome that there are organizations out there who take care of animals. Last month when we visited Brooke donated $15 and they sent her a handwritten thank you note. Zak loves the sanctuary too, and we've decided to regularly frequent and support this little gem of a place. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if they wanted to volunteer their time someday when they reach the right age. However, at this moment, the sanctuary (for liability purposes) doesn't allow those under the age of 16 to volunteer.

Pensacola Museum of Art

Today was a mother/daughter afternoon. We went to downtown Pensacola to the Museum of Art. The artist being displayed was Salvador Dali and the artwork of his being displayed were Botanical. The art was amazing to look at and every piece was a conversation for Brooke and I. We discussed what we saw in the drawings and read the card on the side with what the artist was trying to convey, it was a very calming atmosphere even though we thought that most of the art was disturbing. However, we enjoyed the works anyway. Next we went to the upstairs portion of the Museum to view the local artists in the area and were drawn in especially by one painter who's art we both absolutely loved; Larry Horn.

Afterwards we took a stroll in the city park and Brooke climbed on the cannons and we sat on a bench under a big tree for shade. Being that it is a Sunday is was very relaxing and peaceful. There were two men playing guitar over by the fountain where Brooke made a secret wish.

When we were finished we went to pick up some groceries and pick out birthday cards for Zachary, he'll be twelve tomorrow. I'm excited, wow, how the time flows by! One day they are in your arms after exiting the body of their mother and the next thing you know, they are so tall that they are at eye level with you. :-)

Blues on the Beach

Tonight we drove to Pensacola Beach and had a wonderful time listening to some blues and classic rock from a local band. The weather was perfect and the breeze from the Gulf of Mexico was slightly cool, taking the humidity away to make for a very comfortable evening. Zak and Brooke played on the sand dunes for awhile and then later Brooke played with the daughter of a man whom Donnie works with.

Zak ventured out on his own tonight which made me a little nervous but I know that there comes a time when children want more independence. There were probably over a couple hundred people there and many at the beach and he wanted to go take a dip in the Gulf without me or his dad by his side. :-) So, although I was nervous, I was excited too, for him. It did relieve another fear which was that "will homeschooling mean children who never want independence?" The answer is a resounding "no", in their own time, they will want independence.

Last Blog For A Bit...

Unless I'm nearby a computer in the next several weeks, we're on our way to visit my family in Michigan. I'll miss my hubby over the next 14 days, seriously, my heart hurts thinking about not seeing him for that amount of time. Donnie will miss all of us, I can't imagine what it will be like for him to have no cuddle with Brookey time, or playing football with Zak. *SIGH* However, the time will fly because we're happy to be seeing much missed relatives including aunts, uncles, friends, grandparents and great grandparents. :-) My hope is that for Donnie it goes by fast too, afterall, he's the one who'll be alone.

Yesterday we just chilled out here at the house, Zak and Grandpa sat on the front porch watching the city workers dig a huge whole for the well-water pump. There are many yellow machines in our neighborhood right now, dad said that a front-end loader almost clipped our car! Donnie came home for lunch and after he went back to work we headed for the beach.
The wind was blowing, the waves were hulking, and all kinds of nature surrounded us at the beach on the Gulf of Mexico. Seagulls dove for shrimp, two catfish swam back and forth, and a Blue Heron were all in a tidepool. Sandpipers lined the beach running towards the outgoing waves and then quickly running away when they came near the coastline...Brooke took the opportunity to pretend to be a sandpiper and quickly ran back and forth with them. Zak delighted in the physics provided by the oceans waves, so what if we don't know the technicalities, he was observing and wondering throughout...what a scientist ;-). I cannot count how many times that he caught waves for body surfing, many were so mammoth that they literally tossed the kids to the shore...LOL My dad and I inadvertantly got soaked to the bone, thankfully there was a nice strong breeze that dried us...slightly. My dad and Brooke walked the shoreline a bit in pursuit of seashells while Zak and I stood near our towels in the water and picked some up from there.

Later that day we had a pleasant roast beef dinner, sat on the back deck and chatted, played a couple computer games, and finally the guys settled down for a movie. Brooke and I were exhausted and instead opted for sleep.

I have some piddling to do this beautiful day, in order to ready myself and the kids for our excursion tomorrow. I awoke to a storm early this a.m. and when dawn came and the sun shone it's lovely light, I was surprised to see that it looks as though a hurricane hit. The orange barrels used by the city in the road were knocked down as was our trash can, a huge one of several pipes that holds a fence for the pump in the road was down, branches all over the place, our chairs were blown off the deck, etc. Needless to say, I won't have time for much yardwork today so DH will be left with the brunt of that.
See you all in about 20 days...until then...Later. :-)

DH Gives Me Heartfailure!

I think that these pictures speak for themselves as to why I had 'heart failure'. Of course hubby and the kiddos had a ball! There is more than meets the eyes to these pictures...Donnie had a running start from the beginning of the diving board, I am nervous when anyone runs the length of the diving board let alone with like this was done. :-)




Thankfully, all survived and no bones were broken.

Finale' Pool Time

After a long day between the Crawfish Festival, the museum, eating Church's Chicken for dinner and watching the latest release of King Kong it was pool time in the evening. These photos are of "GrandpaShark", a new species...





Zak, Brooke and Grandpa were having so much fun that later Donnie and I decided to join in on the fun.

Well, our day finally settled down. The kids were pooped out and went to bed around 10pm. Donnie, my Dad and I stayed up to watch a movie until about midnight. I think that today we'll take it easy. :-)

May 6, Part 1

My Dad, how I love this guy. :-) We spent this morning poolside, drinking coffee, doing puzzles, making paper airplanes, attempting a complex tanagram, and just general chit-chat.


Hmmmm...I dare say that Zak is thinking about how many crawfish that he'll consume at the Crawfish Festival today. Or, perhaps he's thinking about the future, or going to his Grandma Glorias next weekend?




Brookey and Grandpa share something in common other than happy faces; they loathe crawfish! However, they had a great time listening to some Louisiana style music at the table...


while Donnie and Zak....



Chowed down on two plates of spicy crawfish made by a Louisiana chef. Zak really enjoyed those little 'seabugs' and even I braved a taste and actually enjoyed it, well except that his lips stung for quite awhile from the spices. After a bit, my Dad, myself and Brooke walked down to the water and left Zak and Donnie to their pound of crawfish. Sometimes the best pictures are the ones unexpected.

May 6 Part 2

Donnie having a good time.


Dad still has his imagination after 62 years. Here he is as a pilot.


Kids enjoying shooting down enemy aircraft.


Men admiring engines.


We had a nice time at the air museum. Donnie, the kids and my dad also took the opportunity to experience a flight simulator.

Some Catching Up To Do...

Wow, the past week sure flew by and I realized that I haven't posted.

Caverns - Last Saturday we went to the Florida Caverns in Merriam, they were gorgeous. The kids had an awesome time despite the fact that Mom and Dad argued almost the whole way there and back. Our petty arguments took a backseat when we actually got to the site. :-) My husband and I have a great relationship, we love one another BUT...because we do not argue much we have what I'd like to call a volcanic build-up. Its as if it is needed to give another good several weeks to month and a half of virtually argue free living. Sadly though, the volcanic build-ups are the worst because you don't hold your thoughts and generally spout off horrible things to your spouse that you'd not say had you not felt so compelled to blow up.

I'm so glad that we went though, after the cavern tour we explored the nature outside...awestruck, I was absolutely, awestruck. Zak loves climbing so it was perfect for him and lots of logs and plenty of nooks and crannies. Brooke enjoyed it too until something bit her ankle, then she wasn't in the mood to try exploring off the path.

Sunday through Wednesday were basically uneventful and spent at home swimming, reading, watching tv, playing video games, games, etc. Monday, I offered the children 25% profit off of books sold on EBAY if they helped me sort through them all...they gladly helped! We don't have allowances so this is special for them and they deserved it. The process was so long in fact that Zachary cooked dinner that night because he said that I worked hard and shouldn't have to make dinner. What a SWEETIE! He made a delicious spaghetti dinner.

Wednesday the city put in a well water pump in the street not more than 100ft. from our bedroom window. The noise was atrocious and it shook the whole house. You could barely hear the TV up full volume, no exaggeration it was loud. The kids and Donnie had no problem falling asleep but I lay awake literally all night. I made the mistake of misreading Donnie earlier in the evening and tired and drained wrote a 'let me educate you' type of email that I sent causing him to send me a not so sweet reply later that day. NEVER EMAIL ABOUT A MISUNDERSTANDING WHEN YOU ARE OVER-TIRED...lol I apologized as soon as he walked in the door. The next morning I called the ECUA to ask if there wasn't a way that they could quite the pump...they did but it is still loud, however, I can sleep through it because the fan is in sync with the vibrations.

Thursday, after not sleeping at all we had to take the Mitsubishi to the dealer for a recall and tire repair. Zak, Brooke and I received a short history of the Mitsubishi lesson from the head of repairs. Did you know that the three diamonds stand for a father and his two sons? Or that Mitsubishi made parts for kamikaze pilots in WWII? The made parts for MANY things. We chowed on some doughnuts and drank some water while waiting and weren't there but only 40 minutes.

After our car was finished we headed over to Lavender's for a long visit. The kids swam, played baseball, played video games, etc. and Lavender and I had nice conversation. Her home is so warm and inviting, she makes me laugh, cry, you name it. Her household is the kind where not only kids long to go to but adults as well. I'm glad we spent time there as we probably won't see them until June.

I was so drained from no sleep that Donnie ended up taking Brooke to gymnastics. Zak talked to my mother for 2 hours that evening, they can just go on and on and on, laughing and talking about anything on their minds.

Friday There had been over a month of anticipation for today, a day that we would pick up a very special visitor...my father, Grandpa John! We cleaned and the kids swam, they couldn't hardly stand waiting. They looked at the clock all day long, tried to pass time in other ways, (oh, who am I kidding, I was anxious too!)and then finally, it was 5:05 pm and time to go to the airport. We stood at the exit for 10-15 minutes smiling from ear to ear and finally we saw my Dad and the smiles got bigger, we greeted and everyone got a huge hug. After we got him to our home we mostly sat on the deck and visited, what a terrific day.

And that brings us to today, Saturday, May 6, 2006. I'm up early and until now everyone else is sleeping but now Zak is up. We're heading off to the Crawfish Festival later (PTOOEY!) because Donnie and Zak love crawfish. I'm looking forward to another day with my dad. :-)

A Weekend Remodeling Zak's Room

Donnie spent *the* whole entire weekend busting his rear, making for Zak, a very nice and comfortable remodeled bedroom. Zak was so appreciative and happy, Donnie asked him what color he wanted it, where he wanted his new shelves placed, etc...so although Dad did all the hardwork, the room is filled with Zak's desires too. Complete with a wall mounted TV, it looks like a small bachelor's pad; tan walls and curtains, white baseboards and trim; tan and white bedding and a gorgeous red Coca-ColaTM clock to boot. After Donnie was finished Zak went into his room to lie down and then dad brought in a little something special for the room...a chair. Now Zak can sit in the chair, towards his playstation and TV and have time. His room is so nice that Donnie jokingly says that he is going to move in there. :-)

Our weekend was really nice and last night we went to eat out for dinner and then went to Walmart, where Brooke and I stayed well ahead of Donnie who had tucked his shirt in and pulled his shorts up above the waist, walking around pointing and asking us questions...we were soooooo embarassed! As for Zak? He absolutely LOVES it when his father acts like a goof off in public, I feel for his future wife should he marry someday because she'll have to go through what I do.