Family Pictures

I love having the family portrait made. It sure is an easier process than it was just 5 years ago. Our church is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year so we are putting together a new pictorial directory. We do it about every 3 - 5 years. These are the only real pictures we get made of the whole clan outside our annual Christmas photograph. They turned out pretty nice tonight and we get a free 8 X 10 so I'll share that when it comes. I also purchased a picture of just J and I. I was very pleased with it, and we haven't had a professional photo of us since our engagement photo in 1990. Tomorrow being our 16th anniversary, I thought it was appropriate to get an update. I can't wait to put it next to the other one on the bookshelf.

Of course while they are all decked out and nice looking, I made the kids have another sitting at home. That's the one you see above. Notice the boys' poses. That was a copy cat move on the 5yo's part. And can you tell which two loo like me and which 3 look like dh? It's just funny how different those subsets of children look from each other.

Teaching Home Economics

Well, this morning I was teaching Home Economics. More specifically, sewing lessons. We had such a good time. I had 8 little girls (I say little, but we had a couple on the brink of puberty) around the kitchen table learning to stitch on a maze. This was our first meeting of the sewing club. I do this for accountability since my own two "little" girls have been dying to learn to sew for a couple of years now. While I have such good intentions, actually finding the time to teach these homemaking skills to my girls is a challenge. And I do buy "curriculum" to do that so I can have a structure. I have heard moms who are accomplished seamstresses say "I don't need that stuff" and that's great for them, but I think even a mathematician would use some kind of curriculum, or combination of many, to teach a young student math. I like the structure. I have been sewing for so long, I need to be told that a new person might need to learn how to control the machine before trying to make a product. It's like getting behind the wheel for the first time and being told to drive on the interstate.

So that's where we started today. We learned all about the parts of the machine and what they do. We looked at some of the most basic sewing supplies they might need. We picked projects we could easily finish in one or two sessions. We won't get to garments this summer but if they are inspired, they might just do it on their own during the year. The book I am using as our main source of instruction is called "Stitches and Pins" which is available at http://www.bunkhousesewing.com . I think it has excellent projects for young as well as older girls; items which are truly useful. They even have support activities at their website like puzzles, extra projects, etc. It takes things very slowly with lots of reinforcement of each skill. Today after learning the parts of the machine, we practiced making it run fast and slow, without needle or thread in the machine. This was challenging for some of them. I may need to put a sponge in the foot pedal to increase the resistance for my 8 yo as it is hard for her to go slowly.

Then we moved on to trying to sew with the needle in on a straight line drawn on paper. They learned how to pivot (just like in basketball, with one foot -or needle- in the paper). After that, we moved on to curved lines and zig zag lines. Being able to control the fabric as it moves through the machine is a very important skill and takes time to develop. Hopefully they will be practicing on paper at home. Next week we will put thread in the machine and learn how to do the same thing with the thread forming a design. Another book I have had some cute designs that are dot-to-dot and they create a picture when done.

Our first real project will be a pillowcase which I hope to finish next week. It uses one yard of fabric and very simple straight seams. Some of the other things they hope to create are aprons, a quillow (fleece blanket that folds up to a pillow), book cover, and totebag. Later in this book are a skirt and a vest some of them may choose to do on their own once we learn the basics together.

So we get to enjoy our friends, learn a new skill, and I get a cleaner house in the process. That is what happens when you invite people over, isn't it???

Back to previously scheduled programming...

Now that Kerrville, VBS, and the conference are over, I have lots of regular daily living to catch up on. Yesterday I spent the morning getting new tires and a physical for dsB. As I was leaving the conference on Saturday, I discovered I had a flat tire. Since I hadn't changed a tire since my Driver's Ed course 20+ years ago, I couldn't remember where to begin. So, in true "Damsel in Distress" form...I found a strong man! Actually I found two. When I asked for help, they looked at the tire and said, "Yep, it's flat. I wouldn't drive on that." Ha, Ha, now what do I do? So one of those gentlemen got down and changed that dirty nasty flat tire. Thanks M! When I went in yesterday to get that one replaced, they discovered two other tires had nails in them also. You'd think I'd been driving around a construction site. But they replaced them all so I am good to go.

dsB is headed to Colorado for Boy Scout camp this Saturday so he needed a physical...really just an opportunity to pay the dr. $136 to tell me my son is the picture of health. Frustration, but I guess it's better than being told he's not.

Also in the day I baked two loaves of banana bread, biscuits for breakfast, answered the phone multiple times, made appointments for orthodontist and dermatologist, did 6 loads of laundry, cleaned my bathroom, made a dent in the mess of the kitchen that had piled up over the weekend while I was gone, and took a nap. One of those deep naps that is hard to wake from. I knew I was tired but didn't realize just how tired.

Last night I took the three younger ones to the pool. dsB went to scouts and B was at a friend's. Today the younger 4 and I will go to the town about an hour away where my Dad lives. My brother has moved back from Utah and we can't wait to see him. I also get to have lunch with my oldest friend (we go back to 3rd grade). This will be our first meeting without kids in who-knows-how-many years. Starbucks had better have lots of coffee in the inventory today.

A Successful Show

Oh, the conference was so much fun. But it was lots of work also. We seemed to have lots of interest in our academic program that is starting in the northwest part of town. I gave out lots of flyers and registration forms. I did get two in-hand registrations but I never expect much AT the fair. Most people need to take the information home, digest it all, build a schedule, and then get back to me during the following week. I expect the phones to be ringing this week.

My demonstrations also went well. On Friday, I had a dissected frog and we looked at it and then played "Pin the Organ on the Frog" with one I had made of fun foam. On Saturday, I did chemistry demonstrations. That's always my favorite. And the kids' too! Here are some pictures. By the way, the lab coat I got was a big hit. It ended up being a walking advertisement for my business. Check out the beautiful monogramming.

This last picture is of the best demonstration. It's sucking an egg into a bottle. You use a glass bottle with a neck slightly smaller than the egg. It's hard to find juice bottles that are glass although I did find an apple juice bottle. This one is from those fancy teas. The first eggs I tested were too large so this is a medium egg from the grocery store. You peel the egg. Then you light three matches and drop them into the bottle. As soon as the matches are dropped, you immediately put the egg on top of the bottle. As the matches burn up, the air is used up and the pressure decreases inside the bottle. This creates a difference in air pressure and the outside air "pushes" the egg into the bottle. It makes a cool "slurping" sound and is very dramatic. There is smoke too. I love this demo.

Preparing for the Conference

This weekend is our annual homeschooling conference and bookfair. This will be my 12th conference to attend. It is one of the highlights of my summer. But now I wear two hats at the conference. I go as a mom to find motivation, new ideas, and materials for our next school year. And I also go as a business person to advertise my classes, network, and gain new students. That is the part that is stressing me out. I love being in the classroom. Selling myself...not so much. I know I am a good teacher but trying to convince the parents, who at times can be pretty challenging ("What makes you qualified to teach my child science?"), is a bit intimidating to me. This year I am not only exhibiting, but I also have two stage times where I can demonstrate some science and get my face and name out there. Think Mad Science or Bill Nye. Now I love this stuff and will do it in my class with no hesitation. But there will be lots of adults watching, milling by. Dozens of people. The thought scares me.

So I've got all these thoughts and ideas swimming in my head, most of them half completed. I think I'll share that list here as I did in preparing for camp. It helps me even if it bores the blogosphere. My times are Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, 30 minutes each time. So I think I'll make each day have a focus. Like Chemistry and the physical sciences one day and Biology and life sciences the other day. I need lots of marketing techniques, most of which have been suggested by my friend, Y, who just happens to be a marketing person and in charge of this part of the conference. It helps to know the person in charge!

--Big colorful sign with my information on it for those who just happen to walk by to know what is going on.

--Registration for door prizes (a way to collect contact info)
Yesterday I found lots of trinkets for this purpose on sale at the local science supplier. I have a potato-battery clock, a birdhouse kit, glow sticks, and endangered species paper fans

-done 6/21, 49 bags-small science activity to send away with the kids so my "presence" goes home with them and also to those parents who just send their kids to watch but don't actually know anything about me. I'm sending baggies of cornstarch to make oobleck for this. I'll put the instructions and a mini-lesson on a card with my contact info attached to the bag. Cornstarch is cheap!

--white lab coat with my name monogrammed on it (dropped off Tuesday, ready by Thurs.)

--Chem day ideas (molecular motion with food coloring in hot/cold water, glow sticks in hot/cold water, suck an egg into a bottle, density tower, maybe dry ice if I can find it, and the finale-a carbon tower made by combining sugar and sulfuric acid; it's way cool)

--Bio day ideas (sing a fun song about DNA with the accompaniment of dsB on the guitar, teaching the kids the chorus, have a dissected and labelled frog to study before playing Pin the Organ on the Frog, maybe a demonstration using cabbage water to show how plants change colors-not sure on that one)

-done 6/21-I also need to update my trifold brochure, get it printed, and make sure I have enough registration forms to handle the new student influx I am hoping for. (order sent to Office Max, ready by Wed AM)

So, I have three days to finish all of this. Plus the older two need me to take them shopping for uniform clothes for their choir tour-done 6/21-. I will be busy all day Friday and Saturday at the conference so I have to do it before. We also have to hit the library today and maybe swim if the rain holds out through the afternoon.

I am looking forward to this being over so I can finally begin SUMMER. We'll have two weeks before we go to the choir tour. That's a whole nuther post!

Buoy, Booty, Booby...What's the difference?

Okay, this is too funny not to share. W and I are sitting together while I work and he plays a game on the computer where there are sharks in the ocean and a stuntman tries to manuever through the dangerous waters.

W: Look, boobies! to which I look up immediately!
Me: No, those are called buoys floating in the water.

W: I know what boobies are.
Me: Really? What?

W: That's what pirates collect.
Me: That's booty.

W: They collect your booty? - pointing to his bottom
Me: Different booty, it's treasure they steal
W: Oh, and back to his game.

I'm still trying to control my face since this obviously didn't make much of an impression on him. I love the innocence of children.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day Dad! This is my dad. He loves to fish, he loves to grill, and he loves his family! I consider it a huge blessing that I come from a long line of strong Christian intact families. My parents were both from strong Christian families. They were married for 37 years until my mother died in 2003. I can count on one hand the number of friends I had throughout school whose parents had not been divorced at least once.

My dad worked hard in the restaurant business all of his life, which meant lots of hours away from his family. But when he was home, he did his best to do whatever his children needed. I remember fishing with my Dad when I was little. We packed Lil Smokies and animals crackers to snack on and left early in the morning. When I was in high school, I had trouble learning all of the parts of a cell (and yes I now teach that very lessons each year). He was always up late after he got home so I went out to the living room while I was studying after the whole family was in bed. He drew it all out with the analogy of a prison cell. Each organelle of the cell had a counterpart in a prison, doing an equivalent job. I learned it all that way.

During the stressful years of high school, when I couldn't sleep I'd go out and sit on the arm of his chair while we talked. It was just long enough for me to relax so I could go to sleep. I'm sure he was tired and I know he smelled like french fries most of the time :)

Here's to you, Dad! I love you!

A Few New Features on the Blog

It's a stormy day here this morning. We so badly need the rain, we are doing a happy dance. Actually we are lazing about the house, playing on the computer and watching PBS. But later we need to clean the kids' rooms and I need to work in the dining room. During the year, it becomes storage for all my science stuff and now it also has camping stuff all over it. It looks like REI threw up in it! I'm supposed to be hosting some girls and their mothers to teach them how to sew soon and I am not in any shape to have people at that table.

Some of you may have noticed the funny quote of the day I added just before camp. Today I added another quote, maybe one more inspirational. And this morning I discovered I can also add our menu for the week, which usually comes from Menus4Moms. I have varied from it for a while now as we travelled but I intend to follow it somewhat for the summer. The exception is that we do not use our oven for dinner in the heat of Texas summers. I sometimes bake early in the morning but I avoid it for dinner prep. I focus on grilling, the crockpot, and stovetop dinners. When there are dinners that can't be done any other way, I'll substitute.

Last night we had a delicious Southwest chicken salad. I laid a large bed of lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers on the plate, added chickpeas, broken tortilla chips, and grated carrots, and topped with grilled chicken. The dressing is a mix of salsa and Ranch. The kids stick with plain Ranch but I love the Mexican version. I usually use black beans in this but didn't have any and needed to use those chickpeas up.

Now you can check out the menu and even get it for yourself each week. This week the only change I'll be making is that on Monday, instead of French Dip sandwiches, we'll be having Reubens. I already have everything but the swiss cheese. And instead of baked chicken parmesan, I'll do it in the skillet. I'm trying to use up my freezer stock so I can defrost and I'm about halfway there. I have LOTS of frozen bananas and strawberries so we'll be having smoothies for snacks this week. I may even make a batch of banana bread one morning.

Tonight J and I have a date. He won tickets to listen to Conspirare singing Mozart in honor of his 250th birthday. Conspirare is a large choral group of some fame although I don't know too much about them yet, except that they are fabulous. Until now, I've only heard them on the radio. This will also include a large orchestra. I'm pretty excited about it.

On My Heart

This morning I served as a driver for the 4th grade class of VBS as they went on their field trip. The purpose was really a mission outreach. All week they worked to decorate buckets and outdoor toys for some foster children in our church. We have quite a few families now who serve as foster families. This one in particular is an older retired couple who have had 46 children live with them in the last 8 years. They now have 5 children, including one whom they adopted from the system to be their own. It was such a wonderful time visiting with them and letting the kids ask questions all about what it is like.

I have always wanted to do this. But it is such a huge commitment and my plate is so full already. There are family visits at CPS, therapy and doctor appointments, court appearances, and the constant flux of change as children come and go. I don't think it is realistic at this point but someday I really would like to do this. Maybe after my own are all grown I can devote myself to that just as this couple has.

They said their greatest need was time away from the children. Since they have so many issues with consistency, the parents don't like to leave them much and then only with someone familiar and regular in the child's life. And they said Texas is changing the law so that any babysitter they have must be over 21. That eliminates teens and we all know how difficult it is to get another adult to watch 3 or 4 little ones. Add to that the fact that now they have to be screened with a background check and trained, just to keep them for an evening. I understand the need, but that makes it so much harder on these loving couples who open their heart and their home to kids in need.

More festival pics

These are all pictures taken at the main stage. Each night of the weekend, there is a concert with 5 artists performing throughout the evening. Early in the festival dsB got hired on to juggle for the guy who runs the novelty toys booth. He is really very good. Later on, he was helping in the booth, eventually gaining the title of "assistant manager". The picture shows him juggling in his adapted staff shirt and a hat he crocheted himself. He is the quintessential "Kerrvert".

Dad and R enjoyed a dance at the side of the floor dedicated to a dance floor. I'm not sure who had more fun.

Lastly, here is the shot of R singing up on stage during Puff the Magic Dragon. This is a tradition of Peter Yarrow's and as soon as he came on, she headed up near the stage just to be ready. I couldn't get any of the others to go up.

Fathers and Sons

This is a very special picture I took of a significant time during our visit. This is my dh and our oldest son singing and playing a song that J wrote about his own father, who has been gone for more than 20 years. This is a song about how his father loved his family, worked hard, and loved to sing in church. J wrote it while at this place at Kerrville some years ago and they are performing it during chapel on our second Sunday at camp. The time at Kerrville was such a wonderful time for father and son to spend together working and playing side by side. They have always been close, but in the last few years, I have seen a very special relationship develop around projects and Boy Scouts. dsB is old enough to be learning many of the skills his father is fortunate enough to be able to teach him. One of the many things I love about my dh is that he is an absolutely wonderful father. He spends lots of time with the children, playing and teaching them life skills. When they were babies, he let them climb all over him, they wrestled and played "airplane". Now that they are older, he takes them with him for errands, includes them in the outside chores, and lets them help when he is doing things around the house.

As we approach Father's Day, I am especially grateful that our Heavenly Father gave us 5 children to bring up in His love and that he gave me such a wonderful partner in that effort.

Too Cool Google connection

This is too cool. A few weeks ago, I put a site meter on the blog just to get a feel for how many people are reading. I love seeing how many hits I get from all over the world (mostly random surfing of blogs). It even displays a world map with little dots on it. But what's really cool is that I can often tell where they came to my blog from. If it is a Google search, it even tells me what words were searched on. What I have discovered is that at least 2 or 3 times a week, someone is searching on "how to iron a shirt" and they come up with my post of early in the spring when I gave detailed instructions with pictures. I think that is just too cool. I may need to do another tutorial...any requests?

Back to civilization

We were so glad to get home yesterday. Although we had a great time, Kerrville is a definite culture shock for us and I had enough of it to last for some time. There are two groups of people who attend the festival: those who go for the music(that would be us!) and those who go for the party. Unfortunately, those who go to party are not the most considerate young people and I was sick of listening to them at 4 and 5 in the morning after they had been up all night partying.

Some of the highlights of the trip were R getting to sing "Puff the Magic Dragon" on stage with Peter and Paul (Mary is ill and wasn't with them), lots more swimming in the river, dinner at Mr Gatti's Monday night, spending all day with Peter Alsop, one of our favorite children's artists, and lots of good learning for mom at the Teacher's workshop. You see, the main reason we stay so long is that I can earn Continuing Education Credits towards my teacher certification at a workshop series they sponsor called "using Music in the Classroom" We talk about songwriting and other ways to use music in our teaching. It's hard to earn credit since I'm not in a public school setting. This earned 24 hours and it was fun in the process.

Also, dsB got to juggle with Keith and Ezra of Trout Fishing in America, a really terrific singing duo for children. He is quite good and they were giving him some pointers. Today J and dsB came home with the truck stuffed with dirty camping gear we have to process and put away.

This week is VBS so all of the kids are gone from 8-12. I did NOT volunteer to teach this year since we were gone up until the day of. I will drive for the field trip on Thursday and help with the teacher luncheon on Friday. But for three days I get to be all alone all morning...woo hoo...can you say Mommy party?!? Guess what wild and crazy things I did today? I started by giving our poor minivam a thorough cleaning at the carwash, inside and out. Then I stopped by the post office to pick up the mail collecting there. While there I witnessed a poor mom of two little ones come near having a breakdown after standing in line only to be told her package was 3 inches too big (for what I don't know!) Then her littlest girl fell and got hurt. As she bent down to help her up, all of her change spilled every where. This poor mom needed some Calgon! I helped gather the change and tried to reassure her this would pass but she was too upset to even make eye contact with me. My heart just went out to her. I've walked that road too many times to count. I felt so guilty being all alone and able to run my errands quickly and unencumbered.

After the post office, it was a bit early to pick up the kids from VBS so I stopped in at Half Price Books (remember this is MY party!-and I'll read if I want to) and found a favorite peggy Kaye education book and several good movies. One was Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, which the kids and I have decided is our favorite to date of all the Shakespeare we have read. We can't wait to have a movie night and watch it now.

The guys are at Scouts tonight so it is quiet around here. We are all enjoying the space to get away and be alone a bit. Camping involves LOTS of togetherness!

For some reason, I am not able to post pictures in this entry. I'll keep trying...

Home but tired

I'm too tired for full posts tonight but we are home and I am glad to be here. I am headed to bed in my quiet, soft bed. Here is one photo I wanted to share. I'll have lots more after I play with my software a little more. And lots of stories from the week. Hope all is well with my family and friends and hope to hear from you soon.

Ursprache

A parent language reconstructed from the evidence of later languages.

This was the winning word in the 2006 Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee. That was so much fun, especially at the end when they got to the "challenge words". Honestly, I found all of the words in the finals to be challenging. It was down to the last two girls, one of whom was from Canada. Now, don't get me wrong, but I just feel like the winner of the National Spelling Bee should be from this nation! She was a perfectly cute girl and I liked her lots but I was not disappointed to see her opponent, from New Jersey, win the final round. Does Canada have their own big bee? My kids said she had already won that. And that wasn't good enough for her? Sweet kid as she was, it would have been a bad thing for America if a Canadian had won our bee. I'm glad it's over for all those hard working students and their family. I wish them all the best.

Caught up and ready to start again

Day two and I have finally done all of the laundry. Camping laundry is the nastiest kind of laundry, especially kids' camping laundry. I am glad to have it all folded and back in the bags ready to go to camp. I also made it to Walmart for food supplies. This will be a longer time so we will use more canned food near the end. I am excited about using my dutch oven. This was the first year we have had one after a friend gave it to us last year. I used it to heat several things last week but this week I plan to try dump cobbler and biscuits. Here is a picture of our breakfast tacos being warmed for breakfast one morning. I had made them all up ahead of time, frozen them, and then taken them in the cooler. They were delicious! The only problem is that this method of cooking takes a long time. B said she wished we just had a microwave. It took almost an hour from start to finish just to heat them from thawed. But it was oh so worth the wait!

Now we are all watching the National Spelling Bee on network TV. It is a wild ride. There was only one homeschooler in the finals this year and he is already out. We have our favorite but I won't jinx it by sharing. It is nice to see young people being rewarded and celebrated for something intellectual rather than sports or beauty. I can't imagine the stress those kids and their parents are feeling about now. Oh, the assumed top winner just went down. It's down to 4 spellers now.