So I dropped off the map.

I have been way to busy living life to write about it, so my poor little blog has been neglected. Also it has become fodder for porn-in-code posting commenters, which is why I now moderate my comments before they are published.

News in my life:

I have gotten WAY into raw food, and am loving it. Also am loving the weight loss that comes with it. It has been so fast I am almost concerned. But mostly I am just loving it.

I have been reorienting on how I look at homeschooling. Again. I am focusing on how Pablo learns rather than what he needs to learn, and trying to figure out more creative ways to work with my kinesthetic/visual-spacial boy. He wants to get the heck out of 3rd grade, and if he stays this motivated, I bet he does soon.

I'm sure there is way more to say, but this is all I got for now.

And anyone posting comments in code will officially be considered to be writing porn on a wholesome site. Uncool, dudes. Bugger off.

Because everyone needs a song about the periodic table!

This is Pablo and Beebz's favorite new video. Wanna place bets on how long it takes us to learn it?

Summer Dress

I just finished Beebz's first summer dress. It was super easy, once I got over the weirdness of sewing knitting with a sewing machine. This pattern bears repeating.

I am also working on a knitted polo style dress. I am at the point where I believe it will never be finished, so I guess I must be getting close!

Me? Radical?!

There was a show on discovery called "Radical Parenting" a few weeks ago. Now, I was really excited, because I thought I would see something new and innovative. But then I watched the show and I was SHOCKED. Because it was basically me, represented by 3 families. Not totally, but way more than I thought it would be.

I mean really. Attachment parenting is RADICAL? I thought that was just good, attentive parenting. Pretty standard for any full time parents. I mean, I know full time parenting is pretty rare these days, but has it really gotten THAT unusual? Yes, these folks were a bit unusual because they used Elimination Communication, but that isn't a tenant of attachment parenting. It is just for parents who want to up their difficulty level and try for bonus points.

And the segment on gender neutrality?! That one kind of pissed me off, because I thought that was going be some mindbender about androgenous kids named Jamie whose parents won't tell people whether Jamie is a boy or a girl. It was just some parents who let their boys PLAY WITH DOLLS. Really?! THAT is radical? All boys don't play with dolls? They didn't even have nailpolish on the boys' toes. Give me a break.

The only ones that were even approaching radical were the unschooling parents. Now, just as EC was mixed into the attachment parenting segment, there were multiple things going on under the "unschooling" heading. These parents believe in no structure at all, for anything, down to hygiene. That's all well and fine for them, but that is not what unschooling is. Unschooling is about letting the child choose their learning path, and about learning via experience. It is not just a total free for all for the kids. So I guess these folks were kind of radical. I mean, the schooling part was pretty reasonable (tho a wee mite further than I would go with having no academics at all, but whatever). Having no structure at all whatsoever? Yeah, OK. That is kind of radical. But not called unschooling.

All in all, I was left wondering just how far out I am on the bell curve. Exactly how many standard deviations am I from "normal" in my parenting? Wherever it is, I am happy here.

Stomach viruses suck.

Man, oh man do I hate it when the family gets sick.

I really can't complain, though. In all of his 6 years, Pablo has now vomited a grand total of 3 times. Ever.

But 3 out of 4 of us got the nasty little bug, each 2 days apart.

I am "recovered," meaning no longer actually sick. I am not, however, back up to full speed. That will take a few more days. The kids ARE back up to speed, so keeping up with them will be a challenge.

My sainted partner stayed home and took care of all the healthy people while I moaned in the bed. Look closely next time you see her. You will totally see a halo.

Apparently the Universe was listening part 2...

When Pablo's birthday party FINALLY came around, we asked to borrow a table from my partner's brother. They brought this amazing table that bears a strong resemblance to the tables in the lunch rooms of my youth. You have seen them and used them. They collapse but are big and super sturdy. We used it, and when we made plans to return it, we were told that we can have it on permanent loan.

I was thrilled. I have really been wanting to create a space for homeschooling, even though we are pretty informal, because I think it is important to hold a space for it. We had been using the dining room table, which got pretty messy and confusing when we had projects and meals going simultaneously. So, I set of the table in our music room, and tried my best to organize everything without actually having any bins or drawers etc.

Then my birthday came around, and my friend Karen became a miracle worker by offering me 3 sets of awesomely cool plastic drawers. These things are awesome. They transformed my homeschool space into a paragon of organization. The kids and I are thrilled.


YAY for a school room!! We have used it all week and just love it. This has become the most popular room in the house.

Apparently the Universe was listening...

A few weeks ago it snowed like crazy in Dallas. I was insanely jealous. So the universe sent me SNOW!! One whole day of snow. The kids started out kind of wimpy and wanted to come in after only a little snow play, but it was really wet snow so our hands were all freezing. We made a teensy snowman, and went inside to warm up.



In the afternoon, we got awesome powder. The kind that stays nice and dry as you make it into a snowball but nice and wet once it slides down the back of your neck. We had a massive snowball fight, and at Beebz's request I made a snow puppy and a snow turtle. The turtle was no big thrill, but I am pretty fond of the puppy!