Testing, Testing...Is This Thing On?

It seems that after an extended period of ignoring updates, the long suffering Mr. A commandeered my iPad and did the updates himself. 

And - who knew?! - Blogger has a fancy new interface for tablet blogging. 

Methinks Melikes. 

Obligatory test photo: 

A somewhat apropos photo/meme as this is where my headspace has been lately. I'm freaking out in my head (which actually is productive for me as I am motivated by adrenaline) at planning our school year. At the same time, I'm trying to be calm and productive and keep a daily routine. 

That's all for now..

<3 Mrs. A. 

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I've Fallen...

I've fallen in the virtual yarn shop and I may have dropped my credit card. But I must say, it was a great way to start Christmas shopping.

At least, it was great after I had a glass of water and my heart rate returned to normal. It seems I need practice shopping with the masses, virtual or not.

While I was recovering, Mr.A did his own damage shopping for The Boy Child's Christmas gifts at Amazon and the juggling shop.

The Girl Child is proving to be somewhat more difficult to shop for. Having a part time job and a healthy fashion-conscious enthusiasm, she has developed a Christmas liswot hat reads like an airport bookstore fantasy novel.

I'm looking forward to finishing the bulk of our shopping this week. We're having a very streamlined holiday this year which goes right along with my positive, confident approach to the holiday.

We've all decided to have very few gifts under the tree in order to enjoy a family gift this year. We'll be setting up a family membership at a local gym instead.

Ordering much of our shopping online, Christmas or otherwise, means more fun for me. Instead of shipping packages to our door, I have many of them shipped to a receiver in the States, 20 minutes from home. I cross the border, enjoy an afternoon Stateside, and return home with my treasures.

Now, hopefully we've shopped carefully enough that there is only one pick-up trip required. Goodness knows I can't afford to fall down and drop my credit card too many more times this season...

♥Mrs. A

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Byte Size Blog #1

Access to the PC continues to be an issue. I suspect that it is a direct result of me being 'too nice' since my kidlets are (usually) kind, considerate folk who don't mind letting their mother have a turn with the Internet.

Also inhibiting my blogging mojo is my new best friend, iPad, his evil cousin Internet and the well-known super hero, Ravelry.

To prove that I have not fallen off the face of the blogosphere, I bring you Byte Size Blog #1 aka What's Been Going On With Me, sponsored by Point Form.

• It's bloody windy. I was in Kingston this morning (the eastern most point of Lake Ontario) and small people under 100lbs needed to be firmly secured and towed to cover. Seriously.
• No significant knitting progress has occurred in a month. This is disturbing as I have Rams & Yowes waiting in the wings, 2 babies in holding patterns ready to be called to the landing stip at any time, mittens on my needles and a year of stash to get through.
• I donned my Confident Mother guise and told The Girl Child's fencing coach that even though she may be talented and full of potential, this was not the year for her to be involved in every tournament and training camp within a 7hr drive from our home just so she can experience the 'cultural opportunity' of competing in the Summer Games. Although Coach is the epitome of understanding and support, there is another fencing mother who is quite upset that my very grown up, personal, none-of-her-business decision means that her daughter may have to compete in the 'individual' category rather than as a 'team' entry. Really? High school histrionics now? In my 30s? I wasn't good at them as a teenager and I certainly haven't gained an aptitude for them since.
• My mom is out of town taking care of her mom, my grandmother, as she recuperates from a car accident. This is fairly significant as Mom pretty much quit her job and left her 4 (almost 5) grandchildren do so. The simple act of my mother going away for the weekend usually sends my dad into a tail spin and this time is no different. Add the extended time he is expected to be a bachelor for and his impending knee replacement to a super high blood sugar situation and we have a tail spin in a basket case on my doorstep. And my phone. Two or three times a day. I'm counting the hours until my mom arrives for dad's procedure on Tuesday. Because although I try, I just don't have all the superpowers my mother possesses.
• After adding a DVR to our collection of household electronics, I have been continually amused by the convenience of my favourite shows. On the other hand, I have forgotten to keep up with the changing seasons and have no clue about any of the 'new' shows. I am wondering how I should file this one - under 'B' for blessing or 'C' for complaint.
• If I had told my 20 year old self that I would immensely enjoy buying a stuffed squirrel at Winners and then giving it to my lawfully wedded husband to fling about the living room for the entertainment of the dog on a Friday night I probably would have had my 20 year old head examined. The 37 year old homeschooling housewife totally gets it.

This concludes the inaugural edition of Clip Blog, brought to you with the help of my new bf, iPad.

(pretend there's a little heart here: x)
Mrs. A.

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January Blues

What is it about January that makes me hibernate?

Things seem to be going along nicely and then it seems the bottom drops out. Perhaps it's the Christmas wave of must-dos that come crashing to a halt. Perhaps I get people'd out and just need to be on my own. The most discouraging thing, though, is not all the negative, picky, self-depreciating, depressing things I end up dwelling on, it's the looming February Blahs that are right around the corner.

Right then. So instead of complaining and detailing for all the interweb my gripes and moans, I will tell you what I've been thankful for lately. Because making a list is a good idea. Lists make it more official.

• Coffee. Kona beans. Good winter warm up with milk and sugar. Better with the addition of a little Irish Cream in the evening.
• Weekly Menus. So nice to know what we're eating because I've spent the better part of Sunday afternoon tackling this much hated task. Hopefully I'll get better at it.
• A Generous Husband. He's also pretty patient and tolerant with me. Which is not how everyone else would describe him...so we'll call me grateful² on this point.
• Low Maintenance Friends. Who don't have an agenda. And who say what they mean.
• My Kids. Who I like having around. Even if they don't believe me when I tell them. And who spend a good deal of the time frustrated with me because it seems I don't let them do anything or go anywhere lately.
• Canadian History Classes. Which will make me put on make-up and a nice shirt and go out of the house to see other people tomorrow.

On to coffee #4,

♥Mrs. A.

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Changes

So many changes, so little time! It feels like 2011 has been just flying by so far.

The mandatory schedule changes I am suffering this year are not fun to get used to. Mr. A's work schedule changed in January necessitating my house-wife-y duties to resume before 7am. Not popular. Especially with the 'Spring Forward' time change. Other of my house-wife-y duties have had to be rescheduled as well since Time-of-Use hydro pricing has come into play in our city. Laundry and baking are now usually saved for the weekend.

My efforts to focus my energy this year are challenging - but it's a good challenge. I'm planning and organizing more efficiently as I focus on my list of priorities (really, I had to make a sticky note to remind myself). As a result, I find myself a little more accepting of what I do - or don't - accomplish throughout the day. I raise my voice less even when frustrated and stressed. Cool side effect.

Mr. A, The Boy Child, Miss K and I have been seeing our share of family changes as well. Mr. A's daughter, Miss B, has been able to spend some time with us. This new, very welcomed and long awaited change began last summer. We've moved through the novelty and excitement of a new arrangement into a more real eyes-wide-open time of learning about new family dynamics.

With the physical size of people changing around here it's become very apparent that if the size of the house can't change, then the layout and organization must. Adding one pre-teen girl to my collection of newly teen girl and pre-teen boy makes the relative size of one's sofa very small. In fact, it made the entire seating/lounging/sprawling situation very difficult. So Mr. A and I have been doing our very best to make changes to make things a little more comfortable.

Today we added new furniture. In preparation, we moved old furniture to a new rec room type space in our partly finished basement. Adding furniture gave me the perfect opportunity to rearrange our entire main floor. This is our main living area and I haven't been able to rearrange it for many, many, many years. The biggest change was removing the entertainment unit which paved the way for a nicely flowing open concept living area. I love it.

Surprisingly, the kidlets have entered the ranks of the working class. My brother-in-law has gathered them up on occasion and taken them to work at his marina. The arrangement has been working out very nicely and plans are to have regular workdays throughout the summer. Being a business man, my brother-in-law gave instruction on negotiating a wage the very first day the kids were there. He wrote them up a paycheque at the end of the day, much to their delight.

Miss K has been asked to provide her services to my sister, a new mom, as a mother's helper. Homeschooling has never been so flexible! We easily find a couple of hours once day a week for Miss K to watch my new nephew.

On the horizon are exciting things: our first foray into competitive sports for The Boy Child; a regular volunteer position for Miss K and I at the local therapeutic riding program; homeschooling highschool. Among the exciting upcoming things are everyday efforts: returning to running - this time with Miss K joining in; a surprise visit States-side to my mother-in-law's for Mother's Day; a new sesame allergy (added to Miss K's peanut allergy). And so life goes on.

♥Mrs. A.

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Syrup!

The maple syrup farmers have been busy the last couple of weeks in this neck of the woods. Some of the resulting bounty has found its way to my pantry. I'm very excited at the amount of fresh local syrup I've been able to find.

4 Litres (a gallon) were made by a co-worker of Mr. A who makes syrup as a hobby. We signed up for 2 litres but we pleasantly surprised at being offered another two. It seems it was a sap-plenty season. This is the first time I've had syrup packed per litre into large mason jars. I love this option! There's a lovely wide pouring surface, the jars are reusable and they are so much better than the top-heavy store bought jar that is constantly falling over in my fridge.

The large 4L is from a local syrup farm that has a limited run of syrup packaged in 4L containers. My mom tries to get a family order in early so my whole extended family gets a large jug that will last (some of them) all year. In my house, maple syrup is very nearly a food group. I'm excited to see how long I can stretch this batch. I'm already down a pint: 2 batches of maple fudge and a load of breakfast pancakes.

The last few months have seen a huge surge in maple syrup prices around here. 500mL (2cups) is $13 at the grocery store. We don't have a year-round farmer's market, so once you run out, you're forced into buying from the grocery store. This year's local homemade is selling at $12 per liter. Mr. A is glad to have found such a great 'deal' as well. He is newer to the maple syrup habit having grown up on that other stuff they call syrup...but it's not. Thankfully we have the extra grocery money to put up this much syrup.

With the arrival of the syrup, I can now finally agree that Spring is here. I'm sure there are other signs if I would only go outside and notice them. I will be calling an end to my seasonal hibernation this week...fueled by the need to disperse the extra maple fudge to somewhere other than my hips counter top.

♥Mrs. A

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Week #6 Approaches...

Schoolwork has started. But obviously, there are kinks to be worked out. Somehow, we've managed to have March Break already and there have been 2 4-day weeks out of only 5.

I think I was excited to get this school year scheduled and going. Mr. A. feels infinitely better about homeschooling when things are a bit structured and scheduled. Now, if only I could get the schedule to fit what the people are up to...

So here I am, sniffling away with a thick head, annoyed with many things and nearly everyone outside my door, not to mention myself and the current dynamic I've let grow up around me, wondering how much self-discipline I can conjure up in order to pull things together around here.

~Mrs. A.

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Summer Vacation Day 10/73

My 1st 'real' 5K ~ finishing strong ~ July 1, 2010

(I'm in the white top)

Today there are weather warnings all over the media. With humidity, it will feel like the temperature is in the 40s. That's well over 100 for my American friends. We began preparing yesterday by cooling the house and we ran the A/C overnight. The doors and windows are all covered...it will be a dim day. But hopefully, as the temperatures soar, we'll have a cool haven to enjoy.

I'm most concerned about the dogs. The Skittish White Dog doesn't do too well with humid heat. Although, as she is still in full-blow (as in, vacuum twice a day super shed mode) she's pretty thin coated right now. The Blue Eyed Bandit is happy to lay around in the heat....she's happy to be anything really. She's just a happy dog. She's happy to be hot. Or sleeping. Or playing. Or eating. I'll put their pool out for them later for a change of pace. That'll be fun.

I was up early today to see Mr. A off to the office. The kids were still sleeping so I snuck out for a quick run - my first since the Canada Day run - before things heated up outside. My iPod died half a block out and I have a few twinges and aches leftover from the big run so I cut things short. Just a quick 2k to work out the bugs. It was plenty because it's really hot out already!

On the docket today is Seedless Raspberry Jam. Perhaps chocolate dipped strawberries. And anything else I can dream up to reclaim fridge space from all the fresh picked fruit.

Locally, it seems a freighter had a malfunction of it's steering mechanism at a critical point on the Seaway and has washed up broadside on one of the islands. That should be a major undertaking to remedy. We see freighters all the time passing through town. It's a whole new perspective to see them up close. There might be an early morning kayak-with-camera in the very near future...

Enjoy the day,

Mrs. A

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Today Was The Day...

Today was the day that I began to cut back on my caffeine problem habit.

I think - in fact, I'm pretty sure - that I've done this before. A couple bunch of times. I'll spare you the pain and I won't link back to my previous attempts episodes. I'm weak and I have no willpower. It's pathetic.

I tell Mr. A that it is a very good thing that I've lived a squeaky clean lifestyle when it comes to addictive substances. If I ever had the ill-conceived notion to get adventurous with nefarious substances, I'd have been a goner long ago.

I've given up coffee cold-turkey a couple of times. Each time, it took an entire weekend - Friday night 'till Monday morning - before I was remotely ambulatory and partially functioning. Caffeine withdrawal makes me sick. There's a sign or a lesson there that I'm ignoring, isn't there?

It's not the coffee that's the problem. It's the sugar and cream that I doctor it up with that are the real culprits. I'm convinced that white sugar is the devil's work. It's got to be one of the worst substances on the planet that we ingest. Yet I continue to pour it into each and every cup of coffee I prepare. I continue to shout, "Triple, triple!!" into the drive thru speaker box. I thought the little creamers you get at the restaurant were bad with their 10% Real Cream...until I discovered how decadent a cup of coffee can be at home with Table Cream. 18% of creamy, buttery, fatty richness.

Today I distracted myself long enough that it was 2pm before I had my first coffee of the day. By then, my eyes felt like they were being turned inside out, my brain had a pulse and my stomach threatening to.... The Girl Child was experiencing a crisis of dramatic teenage proportions and was taking it out on the rest of us who love her most. I was desperate.

I made a lovely Golden French Toast flavoured coffee in a pail tall travel mug. I looked at all the headroom in the mug and I made another right on top of the first. I poured in a generous estimate of 'enough' sugar, topped it off with cream so it was sloshing out the hole in the lid and the kids and I walked to the rink in time to meet our friends for skating.

Beautiful things happen when you have the perfect cup of coffee. But I digress. I'm supposed to be cutting back not extolling the virtues. So let's just say that I made it through the rest of the day and I have a feeling the coffee(s) helped.

This evening was chaotic busy and challenging. I was finally able to help solve The Girl's crisis, I dealt with Mr. A's in-laws (ahem), got The Boy to his last hockey of the season, pulled off a proper dinner with Mr. A's help in under an hour - cleanup included and I ninja-cleaned without freaking out because we had surprise company stopping by. And I did it all with that pesky raging headache that was plaguing me again. Monday is Laundry Day, folks, not Sit In My Clean House Day. Most people can deal with this kind of business at the end of their day with patience and finesse. Not me. This kind of evening makes me crazy want a coffee. Nice coping mechanism, eh?

So I made a lovely cuppa and - because I'm cutting back - I decided to use be brave and forgo the cream and sugar. Instead, I whacked it with that liquid bravery to cut the bitter coffee taste that I really don't like. Kahlua flavoured bravery is the best.

I'm aiming for two coffees tomorrow. Then I start to cut the good stuff with decaf.

♥ Mrs. A.

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Sunday Afternoon

It's Sunday afternoon and I'm revisiting my blog.

Hello Blog. Long time no see. No pictures today. Keeping it simple.

It seems Spring may have sprung in this neck of the woods. The wind is warmish. Everything's muddy and it just looks dirty out. However, there is sunshine. I went for a walk out at the local conservation area yesterday. There is still a fair covering of snow on the trails - 3 to 4 inches - and there is still thick ice on the water, but there are definitely signs of Spring if you look.

As I do most Springtimes, I am making plans to attend a homeschooling conference. I will attend a smaller conference this year; only an hour from me. I'm thinking of collecting a few local homeschooling moms to drag along. I thought it would be nice to make a day of it. I have secret plans of making a yarn store stop while there. Not only will the conference be motivating and affirming, it will also be stash building! Doesn't get much better than that.

I'm looking toward Summer due to the fact that summer activity registrations are upon us. The Boy Child is registered for outdoor soccer. He was invited to join the competitive league, but we've declined. Making the competitive team means 2 or 3 nights a week plus travelling up to two hours for games. As a family, that's not a commitment we're ready to make. We'd like to be able to have the children do one or two activities during the summer plus still have time for them to do their less structured things: library programs, bike riding, boating, friends, laziness and tomfoolery with the neighbourhood friends.

The Girl Child still has to find an active activity to pursue this Summer. She's decided against soccer and swimming - two things she's enjoyed during past summers. She's not going to do basketball, kayaking or canoeing, baseball or softball, anything at the YMCA, running, biking, road hockey or any kind of dance. I enquired as to whether she would entertain the idea of horseback riding knowing that she would have to chip in for the cost of summer lessons. She's thinking about it. She will be doing some of her 'I'm not going to...' list if only because she'll be dragged along on a family outing. I just haven't told her that yet.

Life with two dogs in the house is interesting. After a few weeks of settling into the new arrangement, The Skittish White Dog has been a little jealous. Crate training has begun in earnest this weekend as the neighbours, with whom we share a wall, are away. If someone is in the house, the puppy (henceforth to be known as The Blue Eyed Bandit) takes quite a while to settle. If we're all gone, then it's about 10 minutes. Nights are slowly getting better. She goes into the crate at 11pm and comes out sometime between 6 and 7:30am. She's getting very solid with her commands in the house. Out of the house...well, let's just say I make sure she's pretty well on her way and has definitely seen the treat when I shout 'come'. All in all, I'm happy we decided to add to our chaos.

I think I'll stop here for today. I'm going to go out with the dogs and enjoy the sunshine before heading to my parents' for a family dinner. My sister and her husband are just home from Jamaica and my brother is going to try to make it (in a timely manner) with his lovely wife and baby. It will be nice to catch up with them.

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This and That

It's been a busy week.I'll recap quickly.

We added a four-legged beastie to the family last Saturday. She sleeps well as long as I'm sleeping on the couch beside her. Crate training is coming along nicely in bits. The Skittish White Dog - surprisingly - likes her. She's in need of a blogging name. Perhaps we'll make that next week's project.

My blogging is in need of a predictable potty schedule.

I celebrated a birthday on Thursday the 11th. Both kids and Mr. A got right into it. It was awesome. Now the five-year countdown to the big 'four oh' is on. I'm not worked up like some get about 40. This last year was a tough one for me and I'm just glad it's over and done. Onward and upward, right?

There's a baby puppy in my house. She's very cute.

Knitting enthusiasts: I signed up for the Knitting Olympics over at http://www.yarnharlot.com/. I'm not brave enough to jump into the Ravelympics yet. I'm making Hattie's Rose Garden Scarf seen here knitted up by Monika. Hopefully mine might turn out half as nicely as hers.

The kids and I were watching the Olympic opening. They went to bed just as the fiddlers started. I think that's my favourite part yet.

Question of the day: When the husky puppy gets upset and starts yowling and yipping ('cause they don't really bark), why does the big husky dog feel the need to join in?! Please send patience and earplugs.

♥Mrs. A who is looking forward to another night on the couch....not really.

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It's Wednesday...

We're chugging along with our week. Books have been read aloud and noone is starving. I've been making an effort to get less coffee and sugar and more sleep. More effort is required.

The Girl Child is in fine form this week. We are experiencing the fallout of every emotion known to man. Generally, by the end of the day, she's thoughtful and apologetic. Ah, puberty.

Monday found us at the local sledding hill and outdoor rink with a few other homeschoolers. Good times. The Boy Child dressed in goalie gear and played between the pipes. He didn't do very well considering most of those playing were adults. But, noone minded - even The Boy himself - and everyone had a good time.

Monday night things got crazy. I made three dinners. There was the one for us before The Boy's regular Monday night hockey game. There was the dish and dessert for my extended family's impromptu pot-luck family dinner which I was very clear that I wouldn't be able to attend. But since I'm part of that mixed up dysfunctional conglomeration, I sent food and The Girl Child as a delegate. And, of course, we had to eat a proper dinner after hockey. That evening, Mr. A and I had a long conversation about effectively saying 'no' to my family. Doing so may involve a pre-recorded message on my answering machine and a neon sign on my door.

To celebrate my new-found and, as yet, unpracticed assertiveness, my brothers and I attended a late night hockey game my brother-in-law was playing. Along for the ride was my very pregnant sister-in-law, married to one of the brothers. We're trying many things to goad her into labour. It's not working. Good times were had by all. The coffee and Bailey's helped.

Tuesday saw school work interrupted by one of the aforementioned brothers. This particular brother has been overseas for a year and his four-week visit home is drawing to an end. He'll be taking off for another year abroad at the end of the week. We're happy to interrupt schoolwork for him. We enjoyed a rousing round of G-rated Skattergories and he entertained us with stories of his high school antics (food fights and unsupervised 'gatherings' and such).

Today is Wednesday. We're halfway there, says The Boy Child. I'm not sure what is waiting for us at the end of the week, but apparently it's anticipated. On the docket today is some schoolwork. As well, we're hoping to get a new little person welcomed to the world before a certain uncle has to depart. It's not looking good. There's been some talk of peering in my sister-in-law's windows and scaring the daylights out of her to get labour started but I'm trying to downplay such antics. Things do get a little crazy - yet entertaining - when my brothers get together.

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Happy New Year! (and some Link Love)

How's that for a creative, attention grabbing title? Weak, I know. But really, I hope you had a good New Year's celebration as quiet or as feisty-spicy as it may or may not have been. I hope you're looking forward to seeing how 2010 pans out. By the way, are you a 'twenty-ten' kind of person or are you more in the 'two thousand ten' camp? Mrs. A. needs to know because I keep waffling.

The New Year and I have a Love-Hate relationship. I love beginnings: clean slates, starting lines, fresh starts. I hate the stick-with-it-ness that I inevitably and predictably procrastinate my way out of. Therefore, there is a noticeable lack of resolution proclamation around here. The disappointment is just not worth it. I do, however, have a few ideas percolating in the background...but nothing I'm willing to lay claim to just yet.

This New Year has started off on a positive note for me. There are new beginnings happening in the bedroom. Real actual furniture has been purchased. That's it, just furniture. This may not be very exciting for most folk, but I'm over the moon. One of the pitfalls of starting a family before establishing a household is the persistent lingering of the college bachelor pad homestead: practical before pretty and pieced together before planned. But no more - Mr. A and I will soon have a proper grown-up bedroom. In our search for a proper dresser, Mr. A and I found ourselves purchasing a complete bedroom set. More economical in the long run. Next month will see us purchase proper mattresses so we can replace the outdated, hand-me-down waterbed I've been sleeping in these last ten years. To distract me from the wait, Mr. A. purchased me paint. I LOVE to paint! So I am now the proud owner of a half-painted bedroom half-furnished with real furniture. (If the novelty of staring at my half-bedroom wears off, I'll paint the downstairs trim until the mattresses are ordered.)

I'm also excited about our New Year homeschooling plans. The last few evenings I've had our books out, getting organized for this coming week, Week #14/36 of our homeschooling year. Happily, I don't have a lot to do due to the work I did planning things out in the fall. New additions to our work arrived under the Christmas tree thanks to my supportive and overly generous mother-in-law. The Girl Child has a new art program Artistic Pursuits. She'll also be taking art classes with a local artist who is highly skilled in graphic design and technical illustration. As part of my thrown-together-in-desperation science curriculum, we'll be reading our way through Galileo for Kids: His Life and Ideas. The Boy Child is keen to use our telescope so hopefully the calendar I bought Skywatchers 2010 will be a daily reminder to do so. Although I am excited to resume our daily bookwork, I can't say that the kids are. I've been visualizing the appropriate parenting methods - patience and clear communication of expectations - that I will employ to deal with any slugishness or resistance. I should have a good week in me before I have to resort to bribery.

I figured that a New Year requires a little virtual closet cleaning as well. I've pared down my blogroll reading list. My goal is to spend no more than an hour poking through cyberspace on my daily blog-crawl and related side-clicks. I do love my blog reading. Good writing, ideas, inspiration and even a bit of entertainment all available with a couple of clicks. I'm such an instant gratification kind of girl. So here's what's holding my attention lately. Peruse at your leisure:

• A Small Corner of Nowhere - check out Audrey's blogroll as well
• Boarding In Bedlam - great writing by Arby...I love me a HSing dad
• Cake Wrecks - this would be part of the aforementioned entertainment
• Free-Range Kids - parenting inspiration and confirmation of philosophy for me
• Handmade Homeschool - check out Sarah's New Year's idea for 2010 - 12 in 12. Inspired!
• Home Spun Juggling - Cristina, her writing and her comics are long-time favourites
• Nurtured By Love - ideas, inspiration and good writing
• Peer Into Our World - Debbie's gone private for now, but a wise and wonderful HSing mom
• Pioneer Woman - Doesn't everyone read here? This one has 'ideas' and 'entertainment'.
• The Homeschool Classroom - more ideas...
• The Woman's Colony - a lot of articles...play catch-up on the weekend with coffee
• Totally Smitten Mama - beautiful babies, cool crafts and really thoughtful writing
• A Knitting Nurse - I keep coming back for Rudee's writing...and knitting

I hope you'll forward any favourite haunts my way. After all, I'm a quick reader. As long as everyone doesn't get all ambitious by blogging every day, I should be able to keep up.

I'm off to rest up for an early start tomorrow. I find it best to return to a regular schedule after holidays by scheduling early morning guests..my dad should be popping by around 8am. Hopefully I'll be dressed and have the dog walked by then. It's always good to have Monday morning ambitions.

♥Mrs. A.

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This Is The Welcome I Get.

I went away.

I went for an overnight with the kids.

The Skittish White Dog stayed home with Mr.B.

The kids and I came home.

The Skittish White Dog stole my toothbrush and ate it.

The Skittish White Dog missed me.

I went out and bought a new toothbrush.

That is all.

♥Mrs. A.

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I'm Having A Strange Morning...

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Trivial Tidbits

The kids had a wonderful trip last Friday. Not only did they make it to la Cirque, but they enjoyed a quick visit to ROM. They picked the three exhibits they wanted to see the most and had a blast. They arrived home very late - or early - and were pretty beat the next day. We're homebodies at heart and a super long day generally makes us useless noodles the next day.

My life has become a never ending nightmare of dog hair. The Skittish White Dog is blowing her coat. Unless one has had an animal which has seasonally embarked on this journey to become naked, one simply can't imagine the sheer accumulation of shed. I vacuum (twice a day) and still there are clumps of dog hair escaping to all corners. This has been going on for the month of September and continues. Now that pink skin and ribs can be seen I am hopeful that the end is near. We've taken to letting Skittish White Dog sleep on the couch: it's easier to pick up hair off of leather rather than carpet. On the flip side, the Dyson is proving itself worth the financial sacrifice.

An emergency trip to the grocery store has unearthed a wonderful treat. I like Green & Black's chocolate. There's not a wide variety available around here. I've had the Milk Chocolate and the Maya Gold is a special treat. But today I found the Mint bar. I am officially in love. Lindt, you may have to up your game to regain your lead.

And, finally today, a little bit of linky-love. For fresh, interesting, non-homeschooling reading, I've been enjoying the writing over at The Women's Colony. Giving some intelligent - and sometimes sarcastic - words to a parenting style that has made sense to me for years is Lenore at Free Range Kids.

The Boy is flinging around a hacky-sack in the living room and The Girl, for some reason, needs help to research 'the slave trade that was before the slave trade that everyone writes about'. Wish me intact furniture and luck.

auf wiedersehen,

♥ Mrs. A.

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Oh, What To Do?!

Today, I have had a day to myself. Sans kidlets. To tell you the truth, I have felt a little lost.

Today, I woke a bit early and pried The Girl and The Boy out of their warm beds. I put The Boy in the shower and gave The Girl a wide berth. (She needed a minute...or twelve.) They dressed nicely, packed a bag of electronics stuff to do on a car trip and meditated on the couch while I made breakfast smoothies and packed a cooler lunch.

At 8, my mom and dad picked them up to whisk them away to lands unknown. Ok, I - the responsible adult in their lives - know where they are going. However, my parents wanted to keep it a surprise for the kids. The Boy was a little anxious and The Girl a little grumpy about this, but I was prepared to let my parents deal with the consequences of their Very Good Plan.

They are off to the big city to see a very good show - Ovo. They will love it. It will be their second Cirque show. Last year, we saw 'O' in Vegas and it was the highlight of the trip.

Today I have walked the dog, dropped a baby crib on my toe, been to the library, registered the kids for indoor soccer, coloured timeline figures, watched the Cosby Show and Extreme Home Makeover, enjoyed a quiet lunch with Mr.B, admired the new grass growing in the backyard and completed only a very minimal amount of housework. When Mr.B completes his workday, we will take the Thanksgiving turkey from my freezer to my mom's fridge, return merchandise to WalMart, walk my dad's dog, drink expensive Starbuck's coffee (we call it Morebuck's) and figure out some dinner. If I am very sneaky, I may even be able to trick Mr.B into pant shopping at Winner's and some chick-flick viewing. Keep your fingers crossed.

I suppose that I have made good use of my day. I'm not really sure what I should be doing when the kids aren't here. Sure there are things I should be doing. I could go out on a limb and actually plan something significant when I know they're not going to be here. But October crept up on me unbelievably quickly and I found myself getting everything ready for the kids' trip yesterday. Noone around here makes plans with 12-hour notice. And really, I have no kidless, non-working friends to make plans with. I feel a little caught-off-guard without my regular entourage and regular weekday schedule.

So there you have it: the meandering thoughts of a homeschooling mother who finds herself kidless for the first time in a very long time.

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Growing Things

Every growing season, I try to grow something. But I have to admit: I'm just not very good at growing things.

Mr. B. humours me, but I know he's really thinking, "Why is she doing this again?" He's very supportive. If I say I want seeds or dirt or a plant he's right there helping me pick it out at the store.

If I truly want something to not-wither, I try not to touch it too much or look directly at the whatever-it-is and I hope for the best. It's kind of hard to enjoy the process though...being worried about killing it and all.

So, with my dismal and inadequate skills in mind, I offer to you the following samples:

The Pretty Pink Flowers I Forget The Name Of. Originally I had sprinkled a bunch of these seeds in my wee front garden. The extras went into this pot. Then, the 'groundskeeper' came around and yanked out all the seedlings and planted ugly begonias. At least this year, my seedlings were the ones to meet their end and it wasn't the kids' sunflowers. That was not a happy day.

My Alive Bleeding Heart Bush. You see here, very clearly, little bleeding hearts that will bloom fully in the next day or so. Not only is this bush blooming, but these are not the first blooms! This is the second batch of blooms. I bought this bush for $4 at the local Habitat For Humanity fundraiser. I was only going to buy the $2 bush, but Mr. B. suggested I might have better luck with a bigger, more established plant. So far, so good!

My Tomatoes. These could be big tomatoes or these could be cherry tomatoes. My sister passed on some of her gardening extras and I got the pots mixed up. I kept one tomato plant and passed the rest to my mother. (I also kept an onion bunch and two hot pepper plants which are also, amazingly, still alive. They are not in a photo-worthy stage of their growth right now. I'll wait 'till they flower or something before taking photos.) So, big tomatoes or small tomatoes, you'll agree that this plant is doing ok! Never having grown tomatoes before, I have taken the hands-off approach. I don' t even water this thing. Perhaps this is why my corner of the world is so wet this summer. Perhaps Mother Nature has finally taken pity on me and is helping out.
The Girl Child. Out of everything I've ever planted, I was most worried about this one. Yet she seems to be flourishing with minimal effort on my part. This season, fashion is budding. I'm not sure I'm in love with the flowers (new shoes in this particular photo) but as long as the rest of the plant continues to be as healthy and wonderful as it has been in previous seasons, I'll just keep my opinions to myself and continue enjoying each season as it comes.

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Baby Visit

Today there was a knock at my door. It was a friend of mine. And her lovely barely-three-weeks-old baby.

So what do you say when someone says 'Can I drop my baby with you for a few minutes? It's raining and I need to walk to the shop and pick up the car.'

Well! I had that baby in the house and settled so fast I could hardly believe it myself. I did let The Girl enjoy her for a little while. Then I walked and talked and cuddled and patted that baby until she fell asleep.

As luck would have it, the car at the shop was not quite ready, so Baby's visit was extended. When her mom returned, it seems that it's been a few days since she's had any adult interaction. Lucky me - more baby holding!!

During Baby's visit, dinner went unmade, The Boy disappeared and the dog languished unhappily in her crate. I nearly ignored my parents who dropped in (turns out they took The Boy with them when they left) and I even made it through the 'Mrs. A's brother is having a baby!' conversation without tears.

Baby visits are a marvelous interlude to one's day. I highly recommend them. And just incase some other lady happens to drop by and asks if I can help out by lovin' on their baby while they run an errand, I told Mr. B we have to stay in tonight.

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A Chatty Blog

Thank you to those who have emailed comments. I appreciate every one as they are so personal. Since I am just a wee blip on the blogosphere and not inundated with huge numbers of emails, I like being able to reply to those who drop a line.

I've noticed funky, frustrating things happening with my blog layout. It could be the template. I can't read all the HTML and figure it out myself, so I'll wait for my tech support to take a look sometime. THAT will cost me favours. But that's ok. My tech guy is my own Mr. B and he's not too bad to do favours for. In the meantime, I just select 'smaller' from the 'Text Size' menu in 'View' on my browser window menu. Then everything pops back where it should be. I'm trying not to worry about it. But it is bugging me.

My brother is having a baby. Well, of course his lovely new wife is actually going to be doing the work of the happy event. I can still call her 'new wife' as their first anniversary is not until next week. This is wonderful news! I will be an aunt for the first time on my side and my kids will get their first maternal cousin. The kids tell me they've been waiting a while. The Boy is all ramped up to teach his new cousin to play hockey. I don't think he understands the timeline involved quite yet. I'm not going to the be the one to burst his bubble.

New baby news is rocking my world. I knew when it came, I'd have trouble with it. For years, I'd been doing really well when acquaintances announced their happy news or brought their new bundle around. I even managed to get over myself when my sister-in-law on Mr. B's side had her baby. However. Now that a sibling has begun the journey to parenthood, all my baby itch, my baby envy, my bigger family wishes, my pregnancy jealousy has taken a seat at the head of the table. Being a hormonal week for me has not helped a bit. So. Please excuse me while I wimp and whine and leak pity tears for the babies I never had. I'm trying to stay busy and not listen to music or be alone and I'm going to maintain a full schedule chalk full of people because that will keep me grounded in reality. I'm trying to keep all the angry, sad and disappointed feelings to myself. It's easiest to take out stressful feelings on those closest to you. My little family is perfect, really. We are so blessed with health and happiness and I feel rich every day in so many ways. So even with all my internal storming right now, I am remembering to be kind and considerate and loving first. I just have to keep a Kleenex in my pocket.

Moving on.

A particular acquaintance of mine, a former employee from days gone by, speaks about homeschooling under her breath. She's a teacher. Every time she sees my kids she asks them when they're going back to school. Never mind that they've never been to public school. It's a little undermining. On Monday this particular acquaintance stopped by while walking in the neighbourhood and this is what she found in our yard:

What poor, unfortunate, unsocialized homeschooled children I have. My kids are loving these outside play times with neighbourhood kids. I could go on about how much they get out of these friendships, what they're learning, the skills they're honing, how they're socialized rather than just socializing. I won't. The kids talk to me about the value of these times and I'm not worried about the Undermining Teacher.

My parents are back from a two week trip to South Korea and Japan. They came home bearing gifts and souvenirs for all. We are eating up the stories of Asian culture and are anxiously awaiting the pictures they took.

As our last week of homeschooling wraps up, I'm weeding through the Shelf and putting away things we won't be needing next year. I've got a bag of stuff to sell off and other things, like our math box, will be dismantled. This little math box held our fact cards, coin cup, money manipulatives and word problems. I think we used it every day for the last 3 years. Onward and upward, as Ms. Frizzle would say.

On the To Do list for today is a Homeschooler Phys.Ed class and The Girl's soccer game. My scrapbooking project will receive some attention. I have a tentative deadline of this Saturday for it to be finished. I should be able to get to a good amount of housework if the last two days are anything to go by. I'm off to get to our schoolwork this morning so we can enjoy our afternoon without bookwork hanging over our heads.

Have a great day,

♥Mrs. A

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