New Things

This is my year for change - for doing things I've never done before or even cared to do. I have a running list going, because, at the end of this year, I want to look back and see all the things I have accomplished. I want to be able to SEE that I haven't wasted a moment of time. I have become very tired of monotony. I want EXCITEMENT! I want to be out making memories and living life!

So far, this is what I have on my list. At the first of the year, I bought a treadmill and started walking and running several days a week, because I wanted to get my heart in shape and build up my stamina for all the exciting things I had in my mind to do. A few months ago, I was on the news talking about how the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will be affecting vacation plans for people locally. Brient and I made the decision to join in our homeschool co-op this fall for the school year, and I even signed up to teach 3 classes. While on vacation last month, I faced LOTS of my fears head on. We went spelunking (caving), and I had to face my fear of heights as well as claustrophobia. That cave was DEEP and narrow and dark and - well, you get the idea. A few weeks ago, our church had its annual Singspiration, and I played my mandolin and sang. It was the first time in YEARS that I have played and sung in front of anyone! And about 2 weeks ago, I took a chance and sent in an article to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine for consideration, and they immediately wrote back and said they loved my article and wanted to publish it. WOW! And we're only about half way into the year!

Last week, I decided to add something else to my list. There was a 5K run scheduled for Saturday in town, and it was to benefit the Shelby's Wish foundation. This group provides funds to local hospitals to make improvements to the pediatric floors by way of adding a play room for hospitalized children, and it also provides a stuffed bear for each child that is admitted to the hospital. It was founded in memory of a little girl, Shelby, who died at the age of 8. It is a great organization. So, I decided to enter the race. This would be my first 5K, and I was super excited! But I didn't want to do it alone, so I asked my mom to join me. The race was so much fun! It was in the evening, and after the sun went behind the trees, the breeze began to blow and the night was just beautiful. I will admit, I didn't even come close to running the whole thing! I am lucky if I can run an entire mile without stopping, let alone 5K. But we finished, and we had a great time!

After all the fun of that evening, I just couldn't stop thinking about it and wishing I could get out there and run again! And then, a very sweet friend told me about another run this weekend. YAY! I was so excited about getting out there again, I could hardly wait.

So this morning, bright and early, I was up in town getting ready to run my second 5K. Let me just say, I was very misled to think that, by running at 8:00 in the morning, it wouldn't be too hot. In the Deep South, it's hot even at that time!! This race was to benefit the Jake Owen Raborn foundation. It was started in memory of a boy who died of a rare childhood cancer, and the money that this group raises goes to give financial and emotional support to families dealing with pediatric cancer. (I have to tell you, I have watched the physical, mental, emotional, and financial effects of adult cancer, and it's not fun! No child or their family should ever have to deal with that!) And so, when the race started at 8:00, I was ready to go! It was for a good cause, and I was ready for more fun!

This race was much harder than the first one I did last week. The sun was pounding down, and there was only a little shade. However, even in the heat, I managed to shave 5 whole minutes off of my average time. Usually, on my treadmill, it takes me about 45 minutes to walk and run 3 miles. And today, it only took me 40 minutes!! (Now, for those of you who can do it in a lot less time, just don't tell me!) By the time the race was over, I was drenched and I felt like I was about to pass out! But I went into Smoothie King, and picked up my free small smoothie that they were giving away to all race contestants. They gave out strawberry banana, and it was fantastic!! That really helped perk me back up and get me going. After the prizes were handed out, none of which went to me, I headed for home. It was a great race.

Just to give you a little background history here, I have never EVER liked to run! EVER! And I really HATE to sweat! Those 2 things are what caused me to get into the poor shape I was in. Now for those of you who know me personally, you would probably say something like, "You're not overweight." But being overweight and being out of shape are 2 totally different things. I have always eaten pretty healthy, and so I have never been very big. But by living a sedentary lifestyle in the air conditioning, I had allowed my heart and lungs to get so weak that I could barely go shopping without having to take several breaks. I would just get so tired, I would need to go home and take a nap. I had no stamina at all! And that was frustrating to me, because there were things I wanted to do, but I knew I couldn't because it would make me too tired. I'd like to take my kids to Disney World one day, but I always knew it would be a waste of money. I'd spend most of the time in the hotel napping, because I would be too worn out to do any more. And I was completely tired of living like that. Which is why I bought my treadmill in January. And for the first few weeks of walking and running on it, I was completely worn out! But after I kept up with it for awhile, I could feel myself getting stronger. I could tell my heart and lungs were getting in shape. And when we went on vacation last month, I was able to out walk Brient and the kids!!! YAY! And much to my surprise, I actually enjoy walking and running and getting sweaty and stinky! It feels yuck at the time, but I know I'm going to be able to clean up right after I'm done. So I have come to a point now where I love to run! I look forward to it, and I'm disappointed if I don't have time to get in a run. Crazy!

So all in all, this year has been pretty great. I have done LOTS of things that I have never done before, and even some things that I didn't really think I liked. But turns out, I tried it, and I really DO like running! So come September, I'll be running in The Race for the Cure 5K! And I can't wait!! (No, there is no way I'm running any more races before September. Summers in the Deep South are BRUTAL! I'm waiting on cooler weather!)

Is Something Missing

If you follow my blog, you may be thinking, "Something's missing here." About a week ago, I wrote a post called "Someone to Lean On," but if you search my blog, it is nowhere to be found. Hmmmmm.....

Three days ago, I had another one of my "brilliant" ideas. I decided to send in that blog post to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine for them to consider including in an upcoming issue. I sent it in yesterday, and within just a few hours, one of the ladies involved with the magazine e-mailed me with some questions. She asked had the article ever been published before - like in a magazine, on a blog, or in a newsletter. WOW! I couldn't believe, first of all, that I had received an e-mail from them. But more than that, I couldn't believe she actually wanted to know if it had ever been PUBLISHED! To think someone actually had to wonder that about something that I wrote! WOW! I sent her a reply to let her know that it had only appeared on my blog, and was posted about a week ago.

To my amazement, she sent me an e-mail this morning letting me know they want to PUBLISH MY ARTICLE!!! YAY!!!! She said they would like to include it in the Winter addition of their quarterly magazine. However, she did say they would like to have the rights to the story, and asked if I would be willing to take it off my blog. YES!!!!! Like I even had to think about that!

So here we are. My blog is "missing something." And if you didn't get a chance to read the original post, I guess you're just going to have to wait until the Winter edition of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine is on shelves and go pick up a copy for yourself! It is the BEST homeschooling magazine published with loads of great information and resources for both parents and kids alike. They are a Christian magazine with a theme for each magazine that portrays that fact. My sweet mom got me a subscription this past Christmas, and I LOVE it!! So this Winter, go pick up your copy of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, and see my article PUBLISHED!!!

But don't wait until winter to check out this magazine. Go visit their website, The Old Schoolhouse, and see all the amazing things they have to offer. And then consider purchasing your own subscription. It is WELL worth it. (And I'm not just saying that because they're printing my article!)

Summer School

Summer is upon us. The weather is getting warmer - much too quickly, days are getting longer, and school is finally out!! Well, for most people, anyways.

Several people have asked me lately when we will finish up our school work for the year. When will we be "done"? I always love to see the different responses I get when I hit them with the hard fact - we don't quit. We do SUMMER SCHOOL! Let me explain.

I tried once, many years back, to follow along with what the public school system says about holidays and vacation times. We did our school work during the 9 regular school months, and we quit for the summer. That lasted all of about a week! My kids were so absolutely bored! It was too hot to send them outside (I live in the Deep South!), they were tired of watching TV, we had already cleaned the house from top to bottom, and they wouldn't quit fighting with each other. What to do? So I decided then and there that, if I was going to be finding something creative for them to do all day, we might as well use that time to learn something constructive! Why in the world would I want to spend the next 3 months listening to bored kids fight all day, when I could be teaching them something fun and educational that they needed to know anyway? That summer turned out to be one of the best ever!

And then fall came. The weather was beautiful, the kids were ready to go outside, and, most importantly, I wanted to be outside. So we closed up our school work, and we headed to the park for a picnic! Why in the world would I want to stay inside with antsy kids who would much rather be exploring and using their muscles and brains outdoors? That fall turned out to be one of the best ever!

And so our homeschool started to take shape. I decided that, instead of trying to do what everyone else says I should do, I was going to run my school, including the school calendar, according to what would work for OUR family. The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea.

It turns out that there are lots of educational things going on during the summer. We stay at the library when it's hot outside!! They have all kinds of programs for all different ages, and we love to incorporate our school time with the activities they already have planned. The library constantly has crafts, science experiments, story times, movies, lessons, and board game times. My kids LOVE to participate in all of the fun.

We spend a lot of time catching up on things that I have wanted to teach my kids, but just haven't made the time for it. Like, for example, the chemistry lesson we did last year. It was a hot, rainy day, so we pulled out the chemistry lab, and Britches spent all morning reading the directions, putting the different tools together, and doing some experiments.

And then, of course, there are always the never ending botany lessons in the garden. We have studied worms and their effects on soil, seeds from beginning to full grown plant, different types of insects and which ones are helpful and which are harmful to our garden - the list just never ends.

We catch up on a lot of math, because often, we get so involved in our other unit studies that we miss a lesson here and there. Also, we use that time to get ahead in math, so that we don't have to worry about it as much when we are working on history or geography or science or whatever.

For many years, as new homeschoolers, I struggled with one thing more than any other. I felt as though I always had to keep up with what everyone else was doing. That included what the public school did, as well as how others ran their homeschools. It was always a struggle and a point of great stress. I used to feel guilty when I would try to explain to someone why we did things the way we did. I felt like I was being scrutinized and that I was doing less than I should just because I didn't keep the same rigid schedule as everyone else. It took me YEARS to come to understand that I am not STUPID, I am working towards the best interest of my kids, and I don't have to be like everyone else - no matter what someone else may tell me! I do what works for MY homeschool. As should everyone! I like to tell people that we do "year 'round" school. We do our best work in the dead heat of the summer and the cold, wet winter. And during the beautiful months of spring and fall, we will be taking our break. We will spend days at the park or the zoo, and we will vacation when the weather is nice, the prices are lower, and the people are few.

And so, if you call my house this summer to ask if we can come and do something, don't be surprised if I tell you, with upmost pride and confidence, that we are doing school. But don't feel sorry for my kids! Because we will be off doing great, relaxing things this fall when other kids are back in school!

Timez Attack

Lately, Little Man and I have been butting heads where math is concerned. We are trying to learn the times tables, and it is just NOT WORKING! We have tried worksheets, flash cards, working facts on my white board, and even playing a few math games online. But he just cannot retain what he's learned.

Actually, I think he does know most of them. But My Little Man is a kinesthetic learner, which means he learns best by doing. Some kids are worksheet kids, and some are hands-on doing kids. Little Man just cannot sit still in front of a piece of white paper with a pencil in his hand. He looks at the page and simply blanks out. Literally, he will sit there for an hour and a half looking at his page and never answering the first problem. He is able to get most of the answers correct when we do flash cards, but that is SO BORING after a few days of the same cards! VERY FRUSTRATING!!!! Back to the drawing board.

We are what you would call eclectic homeschoolers. That means, I take from lots of methods what I can use, and I disregard a lot of things. One of the methods we use is Charlotte Mason. Check out the link to find out all about this amazing woman. She lived many years ago, and taught many children using her method. Her approach is to use "living" books in place of the standard textbook. This is how most all of our school is taught. So why, if this method works so well in everything else, would I expect a textbook to work for math? Hmmm...

I have to stop here to add a side note. There are times in homeschooling, as with many things in life, when I tend to get away from my original plan. I find something that works, but then, for whatever reason, I start going a different direction. Sometimes it's because I think something else may work better, and sometimes it's because I start comparing what we are doing with other homeschoolers or even public schools. Then, after lots of frustrating lessons, I think to myself, "Why is this not working?" WELL, it's because I got away from what worked. I then have to stop what I'm doing, reevaluate the direction in which we are going, and go back to square one. When I stick to the method that I originally chose, it always works out better. All that said, don't let people or things get in the way of your plan. If you truly find something else that works, do it. Otherwise, stick with the plan!

So today, I got online and started looking for some way to teach a "living" math! I could not figure out how in the world I was going to teach multiplication facts to this kid in a "living" way. But yeah hooray, Google saved the day! I LOVE Google!! You can find anything online!! So what did I find? Only the COOLEST video game EVER!!

Timez Attack is an unbelievable, new multiplication tables game. You have to see it to believe it!! It's as high-tech and entertaining as a top video game, yet as rigorous and effective as one-on-one training with a skilled teacher. Trust me--you've never seen an educational game like THIS before.

I downloaded the FREE base version, which teaches all the facts 2-12. This is a GREAT game. It looks as good as any Wii or XBox game I have seen. The graphics are wonderful.

Little Man LOVES video games, so this was PERFECT for him. When he saw me downloading it, he almost couldn't wait! And as soon as it was ready, he was chompin' at the bit to play. Too bad for him, I told him he had to play with his little sister first. HA! Thought I'd make him want it a little more!! (Aren't I terrible?!) 

I chose to try the free version first, because I wanted to be sure it was something he would really enjoy and play. It teaches everything, but you only go through the dungeon. In the upgraded versions, you can play through the dungeon, a machine, lava, and ruins. If Little Man plays it and likes it, I will go back and upgrade to get the rest of the features. 

If your kids are having a hard time in math, or any subject for that matter, go check out some "living math" lessons! They are WAY FUN, and very effective. When you teach in a "living" way, your child not only has fun, but they retain the knowledge so much better than if the information is just read once from a textbook. 

And if your kids like video games like my son, go check out the COOLEST VIDEO GAME EVER!! You'll be glad you did!

Tomato Pie - YUM

Vegetarian Times is my new favorite web site! This year, as most of you know, I have determined to eat even healthier than we already did. Part of my "eating healthy" plan is to include more veggies and a bigger variety of them! (I am from the South, and, quite frankly, I have grown tired of the traditional peas, beans, and cornbread with every meal!)

About a week ago, Vegetarian Times announced its 21-day healthy lunch challenge. It is a campaign to make and take your lunch every day, instead of eating out. Also, it includes 30 minutes of walking at lunch, instead of just eating at your desk. And then, lastly, you spend about 10 minutes of time just reflecting - thinking, praying, whatever.

Well, considering the fact that I stay home most days and don't hit too many drive-thru's, this didn't really apply to me. But I decided to give it a try anyway, because I wanted to add more to our lunches than just peanut butter and jelly (which is our old stand-by, because it's so quick and easy, and I can count the carbs in it!).

Today was day 4 of the challenge, and I decided to make a recipe I have been planning to make for YEARS!! Yesterday, I stopped by our local farmers market, and I picked up 4 yummy tomatoes! So I decided to make a tomato pie. And it was so good, I wanted to share my recipe!

I started out with a crust that you make right in the pan. It's very crumbly, but you just pat it down in the pan and then cook it for about 15 minutes.

Then, I cut my 4 tomatoes into about 1/4-1/2" slices and put them all around in my crust. I cut up some fresh basil straight from my garden, and sprinkled it on top of the tomatoes. After looking at it a bit, I decided it could use another tomato. I happened to have one more that I had bought a few days ago at the grocery store. Let me just say, as I cut the tomato, I could absolutely tell a difference in the ones from the farmers market and the one from the store. The farmers market tomatoes were firm, juicy, and easy to cut. You could tell they had been handled well. The one from the grocery store was mushy, fell apart, and was hard to cut. So on a side note here, if at all possible, consider buying local, fresh produce instead of the bulk shipped grocery store stuff that has been picked way too early and sprayed with all sorts of preservatives so that it can be shipped hundreds of miles to your local store and then be handled in a way that it is no longer even fit to eat by the time you get it. Back to my recipe.

After the last tomato was sliced and put on top, I added the other half of the basil and then spread grated mozzarella, Colby, and Monterey Jack cheese all over the pie. I put it in the oven at 375 for about 30 minutes.

The kids and I sat down to eat it while it was hot, so the cheese was still melty! It was really good!!

A few things I will do differently the next time I make this recipe. One thing is that I will use my other "old standby" pie crust recipe, instead of the crumbly pat-in-pan crust. The one I used was too crumbly, and when I tried to serve each piece, it sort of fell apart. Another thing I will change is the type of cheese I used. The melty cheese was a good idea, and it did taste good, but as it cooled, it hardened a little too much. Next time, I will use feta cheese, because it is crumbly, doesn't really melt, and has a really good, tangy taste.

All in all, the recipe was a hit, and I will be making tomato pie again soon! This pie would make an excellent side dish, but it was equally excellent as a main course!

This is only day 4 of the lunch challenge, but so far, I have really enjoyed trying out some new recipes and eating just a little bit healthier with my kids!