The North American Tradition of Quilting

Yesterday Link did quilts to represent North America in one of his classes.  It got me thinking a lot about quilting and the tradition it's become in the United States.  Much like other handcrafts, it's been long forgotten by most.  often times it's not quilts you see on beds, but big downy comforters and other blankets obviously mass-marketed in some factory.  Quilts aren't as popular as they once were.

In a way, I can kind of understand the push away from quilting and other handcrafts.  It's easier to go buy a blanket for a bed than to make one.  Fabric is expensive.  Then there's all the time required and learning the necessary skills, skills that many people don't learn in their youth anymore.  The same goes for knitting socks and sweaters.  It's not surprising the trend has gone over to cheaper to produce factory goods for convenience.  It's freed up the average mom a good deal of time in her day to do other things, like cooking, cleaning, and selling on eBay.  Then there's all the working moms and single moms that really don't have the time for leisure activities like knitting, sewing, and quilting.

I know it's easy to blame modern production facilities for the loss of valuable handcrafted goods in this country, but it's more than just that.  Let's face it, how many people really want to sit there for hours piecing together a quilt?  How many people want to be bothered making clothing for their kids when they outgrow them so fast?  How many people really want to knit a constant supply of socks when they know that they'll just have to replace them when feet grow or holes are worn in?  That's not even mentioning how hard it is to keep up with things like sweaters.  Handcrafting goods for a family is a lot of constant work.  Then there's staying on top of fashion trends on top of it all.  Gone are the days when kids aren't judged for wearing their older brother or sister's hand-me-downs.  While at one point that was normal, kids get harassed if it's too clear that their fashion choices are out of date, or that Mommy makes their clothes.  In some communities it's not so bad, but in others it's a real big deal, so I get it.  Handcrafting is no longer necessary, nor is it really practical or fashionable in most cases, or hasn't been.  It's a leisure activity for those who have the time and money to engage in it.

So where does that leave quilting in our modern day?  For a very long time I thought it was a very forgotten thing.  I know my mom got into a quilting craze in the 80s, but I don't know whatever happened to it.  I just remember seeing pieces of green fabrics that would make some kind of star pattern when put together.  However, I haven't known too many people that quilt.  From everything I've heard it was a skill that was fairly limited to wealthy older women who had nothing better to do with their time than make quilts.  It's got a huge reputation as a granny craft by those who aren't involved with the craft.

I have to admit, I've been drawn to quilting for a while.  I've really been too embarrassed to admit it around most of the people I know.  Most of them seem to think quilts are pretty ugly, and in some senses, I'm inclined to agree.  I've always thought quilts were particularly hideous, using garish patterned materials that clashed with each other.  However, it's because of that rather hideous, often clashing nature that they are beautiful.  Sure, a modern eye for fashion and trends say that those quilts clash, aren't fashionable in any way, and have no place in a modern home.  The modern trend towards simplicity or something exotic and imported pulls attention away from something that is so inherently American.  However, those often clashing colors and patterns have their own distinct beauty.  Part of it's the geometry of it all, pieces fit together just so.  Part of it is the bold departure from the modern in piecing together colors and textures that don't "work" in a modern vocabulary.  Mostly it's just the beauty of a traditional craft being used for a traditional reason.  However, most of the friends I've had really don't understand that.

Plus, there's the huge waste of time and resources that can go into quilting.  It's not exactly a cheap hobby, much like my other favored hobby of knitting.  It's incredibly time consuming, which is a huge drawback to many I know.  They'd rather spend their time sitting in front of a computer looking at YouTube videos or chatting with friends than they would engaging in something as detailed as quilting.  Besides, there's also the image that quilting (much like knitting and crocheting until recently) is for grannies, and I'm not even close to being a granny.  In a way, I have to agree.  Quilting would take a good deal of time away from my other hobbies.  It would certainly take away from my knitting time, and I'd really like to get back into embroidery. What can I say?  I'm a woman with a love of hobbies!  Quilting is definitely an expensive one from everything I've heard, even if you make all your own patterns, fabric isn't exactly cheap anymore.  I've looked into it for my grand ideas of making clothing for my own kids.  I don't even know half of what you need to quilt, but I know it takes more than some fabric, some batting, a needle, and thread.  I can definitely see where my friends are coming from on that end of things.

However, yesterday I realized I just might want to get into it.  The wonderful mom teaching Link's global arts class brought two quilts she'd made.  They were beautiful.  It made me realize that I'd really like to make quilts for each of my kids, even if they were never finished until they moved out of the house.  I know my great-grandmother used to quilt, and my mom tried her hand at it, so it would be like preserving a traditional family craft, like knitting.  It would also be a unique gift I could give my children, especially for cool nights.  There's nothing more wonderful than climbing between your sheets with a nice, warm afghan with a quilt laid on top.  That's enough to keep you warm and cozy all night, even in a house as cool and drafty as our own.  Quilts and afghans are much better than store-bough comforters, not just in warmth, but in durability and quality too!  It would be a wonderful gift I could give to my children.

The whole thing struck me as something I should really set my mind to when we got to the art project of the day.  The class (funny enough, a class full of boys!) made quilts by gluing fabric onto cardboard.  Watching the pieces of fabric come together was wonderful.  Just seeing the eye for patterns, colors, and designs these kids had was wonderful!  Link enjoyed it so much that he said he wants to make a "real quilt blanket" some day.  Well, that settles it.  I'm going to have to learn to quilt!  How can I ever help him with his goal to make his own quilt if I never learn to do it myself?  It's the only logical solution.

Maybe this will be the start to inspiring a whole new generation.  True, it seems to only be the homeschool set that gets this wonderful introduction to a rich world of arts and culture, but that's a start.  How many of these kids will go on to inspire others?  To show others that knitting, quilting, and so much more are more than just "granny crafts".  Further, it's a return to rich, heritage crafts that have become a part of our nation's history.  It would be a shame to have these wonderful crafts lost to time because people would rather hop on their computer for social networking sites and empty games than create these beautiful works of art that are not just stunning, but practical and useful too.

It's Co-op Time Again...

Ah, the co-op!  I forgot how much I missed all the crazy bustling of activity.  There's something about the bustle of kids from place to place and all the cool things they do at the co-op.  I wish my kids would actually tell me what they're learning, but they'd much rather tell me about other things they do.  However, I know they're learning from peeking in on their classes and helping whenever I'm needed.

The little man didn't go to the co-op today, but he was missed.  He decided he wanted to have a hang-out day with Daddy, something the two of them haven't had without the other kids around in a good long while.  I think they needed their boy time.  However, it looks like he's going to have a full and fun class of other kids his age.  I'm sure he'll really like that.  He might not have enough interest in the other kids to care that he's seeing his "friends" again at this stage, but at least he'll be seeing the kids he's spent so much time playing with in the past, and a few new faces!  I'm sure he'll be very excited to have other kids to play with this year.  He's much more interested in interacting with other kids these days.  I have a feeling he'll be handing out more than a few hugs!

Sadly, I didn't get to see much of what Bunny Boo did in her classes, but I was teaching her theater class, so I got to see that.  Those kids are a riot!  Some of them were more into it than others, which is normal early on.  I don't think any of them really knew what to expect.  I know they all thought there was going to be a lot of acting, but with kids with a variety of skill levels, it's hard to gauge what they're ready for.  Besides, I don't want to get them tied down to script acting.  Kids have great imaginations for improvisation!  Some of that class really is a riot.  The one lone boy definitely stands out, and not just because he's a boy!  He's a brave one and isn't at all intimidated to get up in front of the classroom full of girls and act out his scene.  They're going to be a lot of fun and I can't wait to see how their skills all develop.

After that Bunny Boo disappeared for chemistry and art appreciation.  I can't say for sure how either of those classes went.  Bunny Boo isn't much for sharing (at least not until months later when she starts telling me all about molecules and atoms), so I didn't hear much about it.  However, the art appreciation class sounds wonderful.  Unfortunately, I won't be able to see any of her artwork until after the co-op.  They're keeping all their artwork in class so they can be a part of the local arts exhibit.  Apparently all the schools enter exhibits, so they thought it would be nice if the homeschoolers could do their own thing.  I can't wait to see the exhibit!

Link's classes were so much fun!  He learned about viruses and bacteria today in his science class.  Their snack was in the different shapes of bacteria to help them remember.  Then they made viruses as their craft.  Link's virus is a little virus version of him.  It even has a sword.  Then he went on to his global arts class.  They made quilts out of squares of fabric glued to pieces of cardboard to represent the North American tradition of quilting.  I think it was a wonderful project.  They also got their passports so they can travel to other countries for the rest of the co-op.  Next week they're traveling to South America.

Another mom mentioned to me after everything was over that her relatives didn't agree with her choice to homeschool, but she made a great argument for it.  Kids in schools around here aren't getting to take art and theater classes.  Kids her son's age aren't exactly taking chemistry either.  These kids are having a chance to experience classes they'd never have a chance to take if they didn't go for private instruction, and they're learning to work with kids of a variety of ages.  It's a wonderful experience.  I can't imagine having them do anything else!

We Never Stop Learning

Yesterday Bunny Boo and I were over at her friend's house.  Her friend asked all these questions about how Bunny Boo knew all of these things.  I don't even remember half of it with how fast they were jumping from topic to topic!  Her friend seemed amazed at how she could be so smart.  She wanted to know how Bunny Boo learned all these things.

Bunny Boo pointed to me, and then followed her friend's questioning look with, "My mom teaches me.  She's my only teacher.  I've never gone to school.  That's why I'm so smart."

Of course, I had to remind them both that just because one person knows a lot doesn't mean their friend won't know just as much.  They probably just know different things.  For example, Bunny Boo's friend is pretty good at reading.  Bunny Boo may know a lot about a whole bunch of things, but she's not so good at reading.

I also pointed out that I'm not Bunny Boo's other teacher.  When she goes to "school" she goes to the homeschool co-op once a week.  There she learns from other mothers and with other kids, kind of like school.

As I expected, this started out a new conversation.  Bunny Boo's friend told her how she goes to school every day but Saturday and Sunday.  She couldn't imagine only going to school one day in a week, or not at all.  It's just something kids in school don't really think about.  I'm sure some would find it cool, but other kids really like school and all the friends they have there.  They couldn't imagine doing it all from home.

That's when things got interesting.  I asked Bunny Boo when she stopped learning.  She said she never did, and her friend was shocked.  "Except when you're sick, right?" she responded.  I told her Corde learns even when she's sick and I was told I was mean.  Corde thought this was pretty funny and then explained how incredibly hard it is not to learn anything!  She went on and on about how you can't ask questions, play games, read books, or even think because you might figure something out that you didn't know before.  Even when you're sick you still learn stuff, even though you're just trying to get better.  "It's impossible to stop learning!" she declared.

Right there her friend gave this look of disbelief.  That's when I dropped the bomb on her.  "You know what?" I asked.  "We just proved our point.  Just by talking to us for five minutes you learned a whole bunch about homeschooling and unschooling.  See how hard it is not to learn?"

It was an interesting day.  It really did hit home for Bunny Boo that it's true, she never stops learning, and no one way of learning is better than any other.  Sure, her friend goes to school and learns a lot of things there, but she learns a lot of things too.  They both know a lot of different things, which means if they put their heads together, they really know quite a lot about the world.  Better yet, we've shared the joy with someone else, the knowledge that no matter what you do, you never stop learning.

The Next Big-Boy Step

It wasn't that long ago that my youngest decided he really wanted to be like the big kids.  He started to drink water from plastic bottles instead of cups.  He even had whoever was closest fill empty soda cans with water so he could drink from the same things big people drink from.  Now it's on to wanting to drink from a regular cup, just like everyone else.

This isn't really a new development.  He's been drinking from things other than his sippy cup for months now.  Even with his experimentation in regular cups, he still wanted his trusty sippy cup more often than not.  It was familiar to him, and it seemed like a safety net, like his two blankets and his Scentsy frog.  Those used to be the things that preserved his image in our minds as still being the baby of the house.

Now he's talking up a storm, even though much of what he says is still confusing, and he's starting to let go of his babyhood needs.  Sure, he still likes to have his two blankets to sleep, but any blankets will do.  He still likes his frog, though it's not as much of a need as he was before.  He's more of a pal than a best friend.  Now he's losing the sippy cup too.

It was just a week ago that he decided he wanted to use cups for everything.  We've only used his sippy cup on a couple of occasions since then, usually situations where a spill would be much too likely, or when we know he's not going to be paying much attention, like outside.  The rest of the time he's been using the same plastic cup over and over again, the only plastic cup in the house.  If it's not a cup, he's drinking from bottles and soda cans.  He's gone from drinking milk like it's the only thing that sustains him to drinking equal shares of juice and water with a little bit of milk once or twice a day, and the occasional sip of soda when he grabs the wrong can.  When he does, good luck getting him to give it up!  He's a soda fiend!

His choices in drinks and cups aren't the only ones that have changed.  He now likes to have his cereal with milk, just like most of the rest of the family.  He eats it with a spoon and doesn't make much of a mess.  When everyone else has sauce, syrup, or butter, he wants some too.  He's decided he'll only eat with utensils if everyone else is, unless those last few bits are too hard to scoop up.  Toddler utensils won't do it either.  He wants to be eating the real deal.

Suddenly, as though overnight, he's decided he wants to give up that very baby-like attitude and just grow up.  He wants to act more like a pre-schooler than your average toddler.  There are still some skills he doesn't care to master, but he's just growing up so fast.  He just doesn't want to be the baby of the house anymore.  He wants to be grown up, just like everyone else.

He's even started to look more grown up.  Part of that is a recent growth spurt that took some of the chubbiness out of his face.  He looks so much like his father now!  He's also started standing with his feet planted squarely on the ground, hands on his hips, and chest pushed out like a little Peter Pan.  His body language is becoming just as expressive as his vocabulary too!  He's developing such a strong personality and it's amazing to watch him grow from being your average toddler into a very expressive little boy.

I'm sure these changes will just keep happening over the next few months, and probably never stop.  He'll keep growing into something amazing, just like his older siblings.  I can't wait to see what kinds of things he'll build his life around as he grows.

The Books She Chose to Read

When I think of reading books as a child, I think of all the things I liked to read.  I wanted books with stories in them.  If it was too obvious I was learning something, they were no fun.  I always thought my daughter would likely be the same way.  She would choose books that are full of story and fun to read.  I guess I'm a bit surprised that she didn't do at all what I'd expected.

For the past few days Bunny Boo has been reading by choice.  She grabs books and magazines and actually reads them.  She's been trying to teach Link how to read too, though that's not going over so well.  He's not so keen on the idea of learning, mostly because his sister keeps him up all night and then gets him up at the crack of dawn every morning.  I'm just happy she's reading at all.

However, I have to admit, I'm surprised at what she's reading when it comes to things that aren't magazines!  She's been gravitating towards the same two books for the past couple days.  What are these incredible books that she loves so much?  She's been reading To Root to Toot to Parachute: What Is a Verb and Hairy, Scary, Ordinary: What Is an Adjective.

Looking at the books, I guess I can't really blame her.  They may be educational, but they're fun little books.  They have crazy writing, cute pictures, and look like a great read.  I can understand why she might be drawn to them.  They're simple, educational, and kind of silly.

I've got to admit, I'm glad she's chosen these books.  Not only is she getting reading skills out of them but she's also getting a good education.  She's actually learning a lot more than she thinks she is, not that I'm going to tell her that.  I'm smart enough to realize that she'll stop reading them if I tell her they're educational too!  She seems to hate anything that makes her any more intelligent!

That's one thing I can give kids who are homeschooled.  They seem to naturally gravitate towards things that help them learn.  It's almost as though they've got the natural inclination to find out about the world around them and the way it works, imagine that!  And it seems like my kids are already proving that they'll eventually span the range of every subject matter if you give them half a chance to do it in their own time.

Nasty, Nasty Weather

Many areas of the country have snowfall right about now, but not here in Texas.  Here we have rain.  Normally I love rain, but in Texas, rain just makes for an icky mess that no one wants to deal with.  Either it's so light it's barely worth calling rain, or it's so heavy that everything floods.

I can't complain too much.  Texas has had a severe lack of rain over the past couple of years.  The first year I was here we got so much rain in May and June that the lakes were overflowing and the dams had water flowing through at such a high rate that it felt like you'd be swept away just by standing near it.  I thought this was normal for Texas, but that's not normal at all.  Apparently I've never seen a normal year in Texas.  Every year since has been dryer than normal, as though the environment around here is trying to make up for giving too much in 2007.

As a result, water prices have skyrocketed.  Everything looks dead and dry earlier in the year than it usually does.  The lakes and ponds are smaller than they used to be.  All of the river beds and run off areas have been bone dry for quite some time.  Many worried that with each continual year things would just get worse and worse.  It's been getting to the point where conserving water isn't just something good for the environment, it's necessary, unless you intend to be paying a small fortune on your water bill.  Even my very conservative family was paying about $100 per month in water over the last summer, a huge step up from when that winter where we were spending half that much or less.

Unfortunately, as much as Texas needs it, the state really isn't set up for rain.  The ground is so dry and clay-like that the water pools on the surface.  Roads flood all over the county and cars hydroplane more than I've ever seen.  A friend of mine called me in a frantic fit of desperation asking if she could put some stuff in our fridge because the water was running down her street like rapids and they had the road closed off.  She was terrified that her house had been flooded as the water hit the bottom of her street, but thankfully, when the rain cleared, it turned out the water just rushed past her home.  I can't blame her for being concerned.  Her possessions weren't the problem.  She was more worried about her dogs that were kenneled in her absence.

So in light of all of that, I can't really complain about the rain.  It was necessary, even if it woke everyone up in the middle of the night.  It's what we really need for the health of the world around us, so hopefully the fire bans will be lifted and stay lifted.  We need this rain so it will be available when people need it over the spring and summer.

I'm sure the kids and I can find something to do on this rainy day when no one feels motivation to do anything.  This miserable weather isn't enough to keep us down, but even the kids are suggesting we relocate to somewhere with a more normal season pattern.  They want somewhere with snow.  At least then they could go out and play in it.

They're All Getting So Grown Up

Last night Chesh and I were hit with a striking point.  What are we going to do when the kids are grown up and out of the house?  It's something I guess most parents don't think about until their kids are older and likely to be moving out, but it just hit me.  It may be years off, but there's so much evidence that no matter how much we enjoy the moment, it's still going to happen sooner than we realize.

Thinking about that made me realize just how grown up all of my kids have gotten.  I'm not going to say that it seems like yesterday that Bunny Boo was just a baby.  Thankfully, it doesn't!  But it seems like not that long ago that she was my curly-headed girl that would bounce around with all the sass that her brother has.  She was so much shorter then!

Bunny Boo has proven how brilliant she really can be.  She's pretty good at problem solving, when she chooses to be.  She's got a wild temper and a selfish nature, but she's also got the capacity to be incredibly protective of her brothers and her friends.  Sometimes she's really too smart for her own good!  Often that ends with her making smart alec comments that make everyone roll their eyes.  She loves math and has a logical mind for science.  While she's not very good at art (which is normal for her age) she has a passion for it.  She enjoys learning about everything, as long as she doesn't have to read about it.  Even then she's starting to come around and is actually enjoying magazines.  She loves the Kids Discover Magazine and we're getting her a subscription to National Geographic Kids as well.  I kind of wish we had more to spend each year because I think we'd probably load up on magazine subscriptions!  Thankfully, the Kids Discover magazines were a gift from her aunt.

Bunny Boo also loves history and we're finding out day by day it doesn't matter much what kind of history it is, as long as it helps to explain why things are the way they are today.  The American Revolution is interesting because it's how our country became a country.  Women's suffrage is interesting because she sees it as the start of the feminist movement, and she's decided she's a modern feminist.  Her newest historic interest is inventors.  She loves hearing how science was discovered and who it was discovered by.  She also likes to know about things like who made the first car, who made the first vacuum cleaner, or who made the first cell phones.  It's amazing the things that interest her now.

Link has turned into such a comedian.  He's always looking for ways to make everyone laugh.  He loves to run around the house pretending he's a pirate, or Link (hence the reason he asked me to call him that on this blog!) from Legend of Zelda.  He's decided he likes to clean his own bowl for cereal and gets upset if anyone else wants to pour him milk or get his juice.  He's very determined to do everything he can without help, aside from writing.  He's got a serious love for music and is slowly learning how to play guitar, though it's not easy when dealing with the attention span of an energetic four year old.  It's not easy with his tiny fingers either.  It's going to take some time, but maybe we can get him some lessons before long.  He's decided he wants to grow up to be a mechanic, but he wants to work on robots, preferably transformers.  He's even decided he wants to have a car that's like a transformer when he gets older.  Of course, you know kids and how their opinions change.  While Bunny Boo is very interested in history and art above all (though science is cool too), Link is all about science and engineering.  He loves to build things.  He's becoming more and more my little scientist and engineer with every day that goes by.

It's not just taking control of his life that Link's been up to.  He's also decided he likes reading.  He's still barely reading, and it's only a few words he recognizes here and there, but he's learning.  For the most part he's been teaching himself how to read.  I'm really impressed with how far he's come!  Before long he'll be on to whole books without help, mostly because he doesn't want any help.  He just wants to do it all on his own.  He's a very independent child.

Of course, we all know with kids that what they are now may not be what they are ten years from now.  Bunny Boo may want nothing more than to be an artist now, but she may some day be a doctor.  Link might show all the signs of a budding engineer, but he may go on to be a great musician or an archaeologist.  I'm certainly not going to limit my kids to what they become in the future, but it will definitely be exciting to see how their interests evolve over the years.

Even the littlest one has really grown a lot, possibly the most.  He's talking up a storm, though sometimes he's not the easiest to understand.  "Boo" can mean just what it sounds like, "Boo!"  It can also mean broke, book, boat, and boot.  "Moo" generally means milk, but can also mean move.  "Go" is pretty clear, but sometimes also means "grow".  Even "Mama" can have an alternate meaning.  Typically he's talking to me, but sometimes he's really saying, "My, my" or "mine, mine".  We haven't quite figured out which it is.  "Ow" can mean he's hurt, but he also says it to tell us when something is hot or cold.  It's also become the way he says "out", which sometimes, confusingly, actually means in or uo.  He's decided "poo" means poop as well as pee.  "Ha" means hat and have.  "Cu" means cup, which is the only word that seems to have a single function in his vocabulary at this point.  He also likes "uh-oh", "no", and "pleesh!"  He's also decided to say "Eww..." when it comes to anything he might find icky.  He says it any time he hears someone fart or burp.  He says it when he sees something that looks icky, even if it's not.  He says it when he finds a piece of old food that he's hidden from us, or trash.  It may not be a flawless system, but at least he communicates better than he did a few short months ago!  It's a start.

I know it won't be long before all of them are moving on to even greater things.  Bunny Boo will be reading without challenges.  She'll probably be pretty good at art by then.  She might even find she likes a kind of art that isn't drawing or painting.  Link will be working on crazy inventions of his own, this time ones that aren't imaginary.  The little man will be talking like a pro and reading before we know it.  It will be hard to believe that it wasn't so long ago that they were all right where they are now.  We'll look back and think it was forever ago, but at the same time, all to little time.  It's amazing how fast they're all growing.  It just seems to be passing by all too quickly.

Busy, Busy, Busy...

I never realized how much time my family would be spending out of the house this year.  I always heard about homeschool families never being home, but I never thought my family would be like that.  We're living on a very limited budget right now, so we can only afford so many extra expenses.  I figured being a family that's never home would be something that would only happen once we were a little more financially stable, and probably when the kids were older and more involved in activities of their own choosing, like sports and classes and things.  I'd never thought of the possibility of that happening so soon.

Thinking about our opportunities to get out, I've realized there's a lot of things for us to get out and do, even if they're just park days.  Monday we'll have the co-op.  There usually seems to be a local park day on Wednesdays.  There's another park day on Fridays.  I'm going to see if I can set up another play date on Tuesdays or Thursdays, maybe both.  That would give us something to do every day of the week.  Already this  is the start to having pretty busy weeks!  Once we're a little more financially set my my son wants to take guitar lessons and would love to get into baseball or soccer.  My daughter has asked about piano lessons, martial arts, and art classes.  She thinks soccer might be fun too.  Thankfully my littlest is too young to have much interest in classes, but it will only be a couple of years before he's wanting to do stuff as well.

I'm really looking forward to getting out and feeling pretty busy.  It's going to be good to spend that time in the fresh air.  It will be great to see other moms.  I'll have some socialization, and so will the kids.  Sadly, we've been cooped up most of the time since we've moved.  It's made everyone really irritable and unpleasant.

All this getting out, playing, and running around will have a great benefit too!  The kids will get a lot more exercise, which means they'll be a lot more tired come bed time.  Maybe it'll be less of a fight to get them to sleep!  I'll know they'll be getting in shape too because of all the running around I know they'll be doing at the park.  On top of it all, they'll be getting a lot more fresh air than they do around the house.  Without a fenced yard and knowing the reputation of some of the local kids, I'm not terribly inclined to send the kids out to play without a lot of supervision, and that means watching them all like hawks and trying to wrangle them as they all run off different directions.  As a result, we don't spend too much time out of the house.  It'll be good for all of us to have a little bit of time in the sun!

It's Project Time, Automotive Style!

For those of you who know us well, you know that we've been in the market for a new car.  We've been looking for something we can pick up for a very inexpensive price, knowing full well that we'd have to put some work into it.  If you've planned to spend $1,000 or less on a car, you're going to have to plan on doing some serious work to it if you want it to last out the test of time.  Otherwise it ends up being just a beater car that you plan on running into the ground.

We ended up with this car, something others might consider a hunk of junk, given how torn up it is.  She needs a paint job.  She needs some serious loving.  We're going to need to replace a lot of parts in it over time, but it's something we can do a little at a time.  Chances are we're going to put some serious money into it in March and April, possibly even May in order to make it really what we need it to be right now, but it's definitely worth it.  Chesh gets to have a project car and though it's not the greatest thing in the world, we managed a car that fits within both our timeline and our budget requirements.

This poor car has been abused.  It's been sitting in a back yard collecting dirt and dog scratches.  She needs some serious love.  She went from being well loved, babied even, to being cast off and neglected.  Now she's getting a new chance at life.  She's going to be loved and put back together.

Now, I know a lot of people would consider buying a car like this to be a waste of money.  Cars are bad for the environment and aren't all that sustainable.  However, in Texas, even if you never take the kids anywhere in the car, a car is necessary.  You need a car to do the simplest of things, from grocery shopping to working.  True, we probably don't need to put the kind of work into it that Chesh wants to put into it, but what's the point in having a car if it's not going to be something you love, right?

All in all, Chesh is looking to put at least $15,000 into this car, including the purchase price.  I know you could buy a new or nicer used car for that price, but that's not even thinking about all the other benefits you can get from an older car.  This isn't just going to be a car, but also a learning experience for the kids.  With all the money he's looking to put into the car, we're looking at effectively gutting the whole thing over the next ten years or so and replacing it all.  He's been looking at body kits, performance parts, and even what it will take to rebuild the engine entirely.  He's even planning out the perfect paint job for the car when it's complete.  By the time he's through, this won't just be a nice car, this is going to be a performance car.

You might be wondering what this has to do with homeschooling, or anything else on this blog.  At first we didn't put much thought into this car as a project car for anyone but Chesh.  With the amount of time Chesh plans to spend on this car alone, just in simple care and maintenance, this is a cheap source of entertainment that's also very practical.  However, it's evolved into something so much greater.  He and I have talked about what we're going to do with the car when it's finished.  It's going to have a lot of hard work and love in it.  Now, a lot of people will turn their project car into their son's first car, but when all is said and done, "first car" is definitely what this will be for anyone.  Performance cars are a dangerous first car to put on the road, especially if the driver doesn't know how to respect the power behind it.  Performance cars are fast and handle well, but they can also be deadly for an inexperienced driver that wants to push the car to it's furthest limits.  Driving a street-legal performance vehicle requires a sense of discipline, self control, and a great respect for the vehicle you're driving.

After a long discussion, Chesh and I have toyed with the idea of offering the car to Bunny Boo as a graduation gift from college.  If she doesn't go to college, then perhaps for landing her first job in a career field she's interested in.  We've also talked about other great accomplishments where the car might make an excellent gift, however we haven't set anything in stone.  Bunny Boo is still much too young to think about having a car any time soon.  She's not even nine yet!  However, this offer comes with a very big catch!  If she wants to have the car when she's older, she needs to earn it!  As for the cost, since Oz is going to be driving it as his car as his daily driver until it's time to hand it over, we're not going to ask her to earn a cent for parts and everything else.  We may have to reassess that when it comes down to time to get project cars for each of the boys.

Part of the whole discussion of a project car in general included the kids.  We've been talking about a project car for Chesh since he and I got together three years ago.  One of the benefits he's always listed with a project car was the potential to teach the kids about vehicle maintenance by working on the car.  Knowing how to work on cars is a valuable life skill, even if you're not going to be a mechanic.  It's nice to know how to do minor repairs when something goes wrong, and when it's something bigger, it's nice to have some idea of what the mechanic is talking about, especially as a woman.  Most mechanics will try and get as much over on a woman as they can, just because most women don't know what their mechanic is talking about.  Instead of telling them exactly where the problem is, they go through the laundry list of repairs that can be made, not all of them even necessary at that point, and try and convince the woman to do them all, not just the ones she really needs at the time.  Knowing about cars and car care is a vital life skill for anyone.

When we picked up this car, we knew that's exactly what we were getting, Chesh's project car.  One of the first things he suggested was to have Bunny Boo help him out because she's old enough.  Car care is a vital life skill, like I've already stated, and she's been begging to spend more time with Chesh.  Since she's decided official or not, he's her step-dad, she's wanted to do more stuff with him.  They have their Pokemon league, but that's not enough for her.  He thought this would be the perfect thing to give them something else to do together, even if it's just washing the car every weekend to keep it in as pristine condition as they can.  The boys will likely get involved and help where they can too, but they're a bit on the younger side and won't be able to do near as much as she will.

Bunny Boo is already hitting the point where she's really loving her time working on the car.  She's decided she likes Mazdas, so she's happy to know that it's a Mazda Mx6.  She's even named the car.  Her name is Tasha.  She's more excited about this car than she has been about many of the other projects we've started, games we've played, and things we've done.  It's a chance to learn.  It's a chance to get dirty and fix things.  It's also a chance for her to do things that boys usually do and girls are usually left out of, though she may not know that.  We haven't talked much about gender roles in our family.  Most of all, it's a chance to share something with someone she cares about a lot, but isn't quite sure how to connect with.  She's been looking for things they can have in common, things they can share, and she's very excited having just found one more.  This car could mean so much more for her than something she can drive when she's older.  This car could mean standing up in the face of gender stereotypes, learning vital life skills, and special time to share with someone very important in her life.

There are so many other lessons this car could create that it's more than just a car.  It's more than just a project that they can work on together.  This car is a life lesson, on friendship, teamwork, planning ahead, financial planning, design, mechanics, and so much more.  While we picked it up as just a cheap car to get us to the things we absolutely need to do, she's proving to be so much more!

Time Flies...It's Going to Be Co-Op Time Soon!

It didn't dawn on me until today that the co-op is sneaking up on us.  We've had so much going on lately that we didn't even stop to look at the calendar beyond the date!  A week from Monday will be our first day back to the co-op, and I can't even begin to tell you how happy that's going to make me.

The co-op is good for our family for a lot of reasons.  It's not just good for the kids, but for the whole family.  We all enjoyed the experience last time, but we didn't get to make it through to the end for a variety of reasons.  This time our luck should be much better.

Socialization is the biggest and possibly most obvious reason for loving the co-op.  You hear everywhere that the big concern with homeschooled kids is the social aspect.  They don't get the interaction with other kids that most kids get in school.  Now, I remember back when I was in school we were always told that school is not a place to socialize, but I do get it.  Most classes have kids work together on projects, there's interaction in the form of class discussions.  Things like gym class offer a chance to work as individuals and teams, but still be social.  Then there's recess and lunch where kids get another chance to interact.  Homeschool kids aren't exposed to that.  While they do enjoy play dates, park days, and "afterschool" activities like classes and sports, it's good to have another chance to get out there and be social.  The co-op is just one more excuse.

At the co-op, the kids get a chance to learn things they're not learning at home.  Both of my older two are going to have an art class this year.  Bunny Boo is going to have the second part to her chemistry class.  Link is going to have a science class too.  My littlest is going to have some arts and crafts project during snack time, or so I've been told.  Link will have P.E. and Bunny Boo will be taking a theater class.  While a lot of this is stuff they could do at home or through other classes and activities, it's still good for them to get out and spend time with other homeschool kids, make friends with other kids who understand what it's like to be homeschooled.  It's also good for them to take classes that are designed for the co-op, so they travel from class to class with their friends and learn from other moms, moms that aren't me for a change of pace.

It's good for me too.  I'm getting a chance to teach a class this semester.  I'm going to be teaching theater.  It's been a while since I've done anything with theater, so it should be fun.  I can't wait in some ways, but at the same time I can only imagine how teachers must feel on the first day of school facing a whole bunch of kids they've probably never met.  It's exciting, but scary.  Thankfully, I think the class will be fun for everyone.  It should be a good chance to adjust to teaching a class with something a little more loose and fluid than a more standard subject, like science or history.  Theater is great because you can just go with the flow rather than follow a lesson plan.

Going to the co-op is an excuse to get out that I can't really talk myself out of.  It's not free, so I feel a lot worse about missing out on it.  It's easy to make excuses not to go to something when it's free.  I can't count the number of times I've said "I'll go next week" about park days when we were low on gas.  Most of the time we could work gas into the budget, but it was an excuse.  "We need to put gas in the car and we really didn't plan for that.  We'll just go next week."  However, I always made sure we had the ability to go to the co-op if it was at all possible.  We'd already paid for it, so it was far more worth it to find the money for the gas we needed to get out there.

The homeschool co-op has also been a great place for me to socialize.  I get to talk to other moms, which is great because I often don't get a lot of social time myself.  A good deal of the people I know are a lot of drama.  They've always got some problem or another in their life, which makes them so much less fun to be around.  These moms are so refreshing.  We talk about kids, learning, traveling, and so much else.  It's relaxing to be around them.  Sure, I'm sure they have their own dramas, some of them possibly with the other moms at the co-op, but they don't really show it on the outside.  It's not exposed for the world to see, which allows the environment to be calm, a place where I feel like I can let down my guard and really be myself.  I know I look like the odd one out with dreads and piercings, especially when most of these moms tend to be so conservative on the outside at least, but none of them seem to judge me, or if they do I haven't noticed it.  I just get to feel like a normal person, even if I am a little more obvious and outlandish on the outside.  It really seems to be a place where what's on the inside matters.

The kids love it too.  They can't wait to go back.  The co-op has given Bunny Boo incentive to read.  Link has started to work on his writing skills, even if he is just starting with his name.  The littlest isn't really at the point of caring too much, but he's starting to become really social.  I'd like to think that he's going to start making friends at the co-op this year, or at least other kids his age that he likes to pal around with.  He doesn't play with others so well yet, but he's getting there.  The co-op really has encouraged him to work on his own communication skills.  I bet part of it is learning from all the other kids and seeing what they can do.

Then there's the simple mark of growth.  I know when we go back everyone's going to be at least a little bit taller than the last time we saw them.  Some of them might even seem a good deal more grown up.  Especially the little ones are going to show a noticeable difference in the way they talk and how clearly they express themselves.  It's going to be especially striking for my own kids, to see how much taller they are when standing next to the same tables and chairs, or on the stairway.  I know they've all grown from the way their clothes fit and everything else they do, but the things at home are a hard mark of growth.  They're around this stuff all the time, so their slow progression of growth isn't as noticeable as it would be in a place they visit less often.

I just can't wait until we're back at the co-op.  It will feel so good to get back, even knowing it means getting up early to get everyone dressed and fed.  It will mean fixing our current lack of routine.  Baths will go back to being on regular nights instead of the "whenever's convenient" thing we've got going on now.  Bed time will be enforced instead of this, "oh, I forgot and got dinner started late, so I guess everyone's going to bed late".  It's been easier to have a schedule with the little one I'm caring for during the day around.  She makes remembering to have lunch on time easy, and most days I start dinner not long after she leaves, but with nowhere to go in the morning it's a lot harder to be motivated.  It's funny how having somewhere to go on a regular day makes it so much easier to build a schedule.

As much as I can't believe it's almost time for the co-op to start again, I'm also shocked at how fast time has flown!  It wasn't all that long ago that the year started, or so it seemed.  Now we're already about to dive into the co-op.  I somehow seemed to think it was so much father away.  At least it's something we're all eagerly anticipating!

Public Breastfeeding: Legally Protected, yet Still Persecuted

Normally I don't get all political on this blog.  It's about being a parent, raising children, and trying to be a little bit more sustainable in the process.  Politics really has no place here, but when it comes to a mother's rights, maybe this is the perfect forum.

Just the other day a friend of mine posted this article.  The article is about the popular educational show for children, Sesame Street.  I'm sure most of my readers remember watching the show when they were little, if not watching it with their own children more recently.  Sesame Street has covered a good deal of topics, not just in the standard educational format, such as letters and words, but also in aspects of life.  I remember being in high school when everyone started talking about Sesame Street covering the concept of death.  In the '70s and '80s they also apparently covered breastfeeding as a topic.  While I don't remember these clips as a child, I don't doubt that I saw them with how much Sesame Street I watched.  I guess it should say something that I don't remember it because that means it didn't stand out as abnormal, strange, or uncomfortable in any way.  It must have seemed normal to me when I was a very small child.

Some time in the 1990's, Sesame Street stopped showing clips of mothers nursing.  They removed them from the show in it's entirety.  Given that the clips of women nursing showed off less skin than your average teenager, it's hard to imagine what the problem is.  It shouldn't be surprising that twenty years later mothers everywhere are calling for a return of nursing on Sesame Street.

Unfortunately, this movement has come under some opposition.  While the rights of mothers nursing in public are legally protected, it seems that nursing mothers are not protected in the media.  Facebook removed countless pictures of mothers nursing their children, as noted in this article.  Television still refuses to show images.  A picture of a baby nursing on a breastfeeding edition of of Babytalk Magazine was condemned for being inappropriate for a magazine cover, as seen here.

One would imagine that breastfeeding images would become more popular, after all, images of celebrities nursing their own babies are now featured on magazines.  Redbook Magazine had an image of a breastfeeding mother on the cover of one of their articles as far back as 1997.  The breastfeeding cover only appeared on newsstands while subscribers got a different image, but it still proves that the media doesn't see anything wrong with publishing images of breastfeeding women.  Angelina Jolie was captured by her own husband nursing their child for the cover of W Magazine.  The image is so discreet you might not even know she was nursing if you didn't look for it, or know beforehand.  This article also shows numerous pictures of nude or near nude pregnant mothers as well as nursing mothers appearing in the media.  If these covers are appearing on newsstands, then why do we have a problem with children having these images explained to them on television?  After all, they're going to see these images in newsstands.  It's not like these magazines will be wrapped in plastic and hidden away like pornographic materials.

If you think about it, there's this huge surge to encourage women to breastfeed.  WIC encourages women to breastfeed and offers a good deal of support and assistance.  Breastfeeding is all over the WIC office.  The American Academy of Pediatrics shares it's stance on breastfeeding here.  The Center for Disease Control and Prevention also lists statistics for infants that are breastfed in the United States on this page.  Their current report card shows an increase in breastfeeding.  This report lists that currently 81.9% of babies in the United States are breastfed for some duration.  By six months of age, that rate drops to 60.6%.  In other words, over half of all babies in the US are breastfed for the first six months of their lives.  Breastfeeding is everywhere, and on the rise.  This is the direct result of medical encouragement and breastfeeding being brought into the public eye.

If we want this trend to continue, for moms to do what's best for their babies, wouldn't it be best to start exposing our children to this natural, normal, and healthy behavior when they're young?  Shouldn't we be exposing children to the act of breastfeeding before they get some sexual concept of what breasts are for from television shows and movies?

More importantly, shouldn't we help our children understand that they shouldn't feel ashamed for being exposed to nursing mothers?  With rates of breastfed babies rising so significantly, it's becoming more and more likely that a child visiting with a friend may be exposed to a nursing mother.  A child at the mall or the park may be exposed to a nursing mother, especially if there is any significant gap in the ages of the mother's children.  The reality is children are going to be exposed to breastfeeding at some point in their life, and someone needs to teach them how to handle it.

For many of the children and teens I've talked to, they don't seem to have much of an opinion of images of a mother nursing her child.  Some of them think it's a beautiful bonding moment for mom and baby, but most of them just shrug and find it no different than feeding from a bottle.  At most the response I've gotten is it's "a little weird" because they haven't been exposed to it before.  If this is how children feel, then why should we be so concerned about how they're going to feel about the act?

More importantly, how are they going to feel if they are exposed to people who condemn images of women nursing, or nursing in public.  How are these children going to feel when they've got their own baby in their arms and are considering the choice of breastfed or bottle fed.  If breastfeeding is something to be embarrassed about, something that can't be talked about, which one do you think they're going to choose?

This isn't the Victorian era anymore, where people simply don't talk about those kinds of things.  Women are now encouraged to speak openly and share their experiences in pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding.  Women are encouraged to take their infants out of the house because fresh air and sunlight are good for them.  Gone are the days when new moms are cloistered away in their homes.  Life goes on, especially with women with older children.  Baby is dragged along to play dates, school events, and grocery trips.  Women are encouraged to go to support groups, and to speak to new mothers to encourage them to become educated on all options before making a decision on how they'll raise their children.

Let's face it, it's time that we see breastfeeding as an educational segment back on Sesame Street and other children's shows.  It's time we put the information out there for everyone, young and old, especially as it's the most highly recommended way to feed your baby according to medical experts.  It's time to change the public opinion and help others become comfortable with the idea of breastfeeding mothers.

Family Game Night

So, we're finally doing it.  We're going to have a family game night every week!  We've certainly got plenty of games to choose from at this point (but who couldn't use more?) so it's time we finally start using them on a regular basis.  It's good for the kids, and the adults get to spend some social time.

For the longest time, Trouble was one of the favorites around here. That was, it was a favorite until the board came apart, which occasionally happens with well-loved games. Surviving the move presented another challenge. I'm not sure if it was a matter of letting the kids play unsupervised, since they both wanted to play every chance they could get, or something else, but that poor game got beat up. I suppose that's what happens with kids.  They can be rough on things they love!

This year my daughter got Sorry from her great-aunt and uncle.  I have to admit, I'd never played the game before.  I know pretty much everyone of my generation has.  Even Chesh said he'd loved that game when he was a kid.  He said if she liked trouble, she'd like this, so we gave it a try last game night.  I'll be honest, I wasn't a fan of Sorry.  It seems to be a game where a lot of time is spent sitting around, waiting to be able to do something.  Once people can get out into the board and start doing things, it doesn't necessarily move much faster.  It's not exactly my pace of game, and my little Link didn't seem to think it was his speed either, though we kind of figured that would be the case.  The rules are a bit complex for him, and he gets frustrated with competitive games that he doesn't understand so well.

However, my daughter loved it!  She thought it was the greatest game in the world and just wanted to play again and again.  We really didn't have the time for another play through, but it looks like that one's going to be coming out on our next game night, and every game night after as her choice of games.  As a result, we've decided everyone really needs to pick a game and we'll either go with the two favorites, or maybe we'll just have to dedicate a whole day to games.  Otherwise I get the feeling we'll be playing a lot of Sorry!

The other game we played on our last game night was Apple To Apples Kids 7 Plus, which turned out to be quite amusing.  I really wish we'd had more people to play with, because larger groups only make it that much more amusing.  We've played Apples to Apples before, but it's a game rated at 12+, so we thought a kids' version might be more appropriate.  Added bonus?  All of the sets work together, so while we may have started with this small set, we may end up with quite a set by the time we're done.  Most of my friends love this game, and now my kids love it too, even Link who is too little to read the cards on his own.

So in this case we all sat down to play.  Chesh and I already knew the rules, so it was easy for us.  Bunny Boo did amazingly well with all the reading skills.  Link, though he couldn't read, decided it was fun just to pick a card at random and throw it in, just because it allowed him to play without help.  When it came to his turn, we read the cards for him.  The whole family ended up in laughter at some of the things that got thrown down for each category.  I'm thinking we may have to pull that out at every party we have from now on, at least every party with kids old enough to read.  I might even have to think about packing it in our bags if we can find a way back home for Christmas next year.  I think the family would get a kick out of it.

I'm looking forward to all the other games we pull out of the closet over the next few game nights.  We've got a lot of games in there that have been seriously neglected.  I think it's time to pull them out and let them enjoy the light of day again!

And We're Back...

The beginning of the year is always a rough time for us.  It's not so much that we've got bad things happening.  It's more that we've got so much going on that it's hard to actually get everything done, or anything done for that matter.  I'd almost rather have winter vacation lasting all winter long than summer vacation, which in Texas doesn't even last the whole summer.  Of course, things will be what they will be.

Every year Christmas greatly distracts from getting back into the swing of things.  For the next several weeks the kids want to do nothing but play with their new Christmas toys.  Books are cast aside and ignored until later.  Games occasionally get played, but more often than not, they don't really have much patience to play them.  There's too much else to distract them.

Chesh and I have our own things to worry about.  The beginning of the year always brings new considerations, like financial planning for the year and tax returns.  Every January we take stock of what we've got and what we'll need so we can plan for the rest of the year.  Generally some of tax returns get spent on clothes for the kids.  We like to save something for the older two since their birthdays are in the spring.  It's a lot of time spent looking ahead.

This year we've had another distraction from it all.  I'm working as a nanny again.  I'm watching my friend's precious baby girl.  I have to admit, it's really nice to have a baby in the house again.  I forgot how wonderful and sweet they really are.  She's been fantastic, but babies require a lot of attention, so this has dragged us off course a little more as we attempt to establish a new routine that now includes getting up before a soldier has to be in training in the morning, and having her here all day.  We're finally starting to settle in to that as well.

Homeschooling took longer to get back in gear this year than usual.  Thankfully, now that we're hitting the school work, we're hitting it hard.  Bunny Boo has been hitting the math hard of her own accord.  She's been telling everyone how much this plus that equals, even starting to toy with doing triple digit math in her head.  She's only really good at doing addition in her head at this point, but we're getting there.  Our next step is going to be deeper math, but we're getting there.  She's been doing a little bit of writing, mostly copy work from books.  We're trying to reinforce spelling and proper structure to her letters.  She's been picking up books way below her level, but she's been reading them without a fuss, so I consider that progress.  She's been reading her little brothers, which is also good for them.  She's very excited about that and it's inspired her to keep on reading.

Link-boy, the great adventurer, has decided he's ready to buckle down and do some school work of his own.  He's been working on writing his name as his big focus, though he needs a lot of help with it.  If you don't watch him like a hawk, he gets all sorts of side-tracked.  He's been working on reading with Bunny Boo.  He's already proven he can read a little bit, so I can only hope that teaching him to read will be much easier than it was with his sister.

Little man, the littlest of our lot, has decided it's time to start talking up a storm.  While this isn't really doing school work by learning to talk, he's definitely making progress.  Our goal for the longest time has been helping him to better communicate because he gets so frustrated.  Thankfully, he seems to be learning.  He's got simple things down like "please" which sounds more like "pleesh".  He can ask for some things he wants. For most things, if he can't figure out how to say it, he can at least give us a hint with his own made-up sign language.  We've made a lot of progress!

It really feels like we're finally getting back on track, and making more progress than we have in the past.  I have a feeling this year we're going to be kicking off this year far better than we have with any year in the past.  We're actually on-target for once!