Apologies and clarifications

Beloved Readers, both folks and people alike;

I broke my own rule, and, for the first time ever, wrote a blog post that mentioned my mother. I wrote about some negative things that happened at the Christmas Day gathering at her house and I didn't write about anything nice and it upset her. I think she reads and hopes that I will mention her and I never do and then the one time I ever did, it was to relate some frustrations I had over the electronic gifts we got our kids this year and nothing else positive was said.

I am not sure if this will be considered too little, too late but we did have fun over there. The kids were happy to see everyone, the house looked splendid as usual, the lights display was the best in the neighborhood, and the present exchange went really well, very smoothly, and we had tasty snacks. Their entire basement has been redone by my step father and it is a playworld of fun and a lovely room to be in, built in fish tank and working kitchen and everything, even a train track you can really ride on. We even got to see her amazing beautiful cat, who usually hides when kids come around, but showed her face for the Holiday, much to the delight of all 7 grandkids who have never ever seen such a fancy kitty.

My sister did ask me about my pregnancy and it was great to see her little 3 month old baby girl who is growing so fast, as well as her 2 other sweet children who I wanted to sneak into my van and take home, I miss them so much.

I am writing this entry to not only clarify that good times were had at Mom's, but for a more important clarification, one that will hopefully mean a lot to straighten out lots of misunderstandings for my mom, and for anyone else who may wonder, so here goes:

When I say "Folks", "People", or "My friends and Family", I do not mean my mother. Repeat: When I say things about "Folks", "People", or "My friends and Family", I do not mean my mother.

I have a pretty good sized bunch of friends in my life, some gone, some here to stay. I also have a decent sized family, with a Mother, a Step-Father, a Mother-in-Law, a Father-In-Law, a Grandmother, 1 uncle, 2 Aunts, and several Aunts and Uncles-in-law, a sister and brother in law, and a brother and sister in law---so the one time last spring that I referred to "My Family" on the Breast and Belly blog, it was this extended group to whom I was referring, not Mom.
I will continue to blog in '08 and I hope that many people can get something out of what it is that I have to say and that I choose to share. I made the decision on pretty much my 2nd blog entry ever to make this be so much more than just a little update-y diary of what we have been up to lately, as I find those sort of boring to read and more importantly, just not what lit my fire. Sure, there will be lots of entries about field trips or sick days, but in the vein of HipMama, Bust, Home Education Magazine, Ready Made, Etsy.com, Mothering, and so many more publications that inspire and enlighten me, I try to put out a product that will resonate with folks much more than a dry "report" or Newsletter would.

The best writers will have the most critics, and I have never shied away from criticism or disagreement--but I also never mean to go too far and hurt or attack anyone personally. Thats not cool and I would not appreciate it if it were done to me. That being said, I do not live in a void, I live in a world of people, I come from a family, I have friends, and (hopefully!) daily interactions with human beings from whom my experience is gleaned and my path continues on as a result of these relationships. So when I refer to my life and its experiences, FOLKS and PEOPLE will come up, probably alot. It is not some secret code for "mom", it truly is not.

I do not see my mother very often, and it has been this way for a long time. So the vast majority of my adult experiences do not involve her. Most of my stories, even the ones that include "family" are not about her. I now know that she was hurt by what I wrote, and that is why I am writing this. I forget who reads and I tried to put my frustrating Christmas experience out there, imagining, as I always do, that other moms, other readers, other homeschoolers, homebirthers, homemakers, DIY-ers out there might understand, might see their own experiences through mine, might not feel so alone. I was not trying to shame her or the Christmas party that she threw for us.

Working towards a wonderful new year of blogging!
Thank you for reading!
Mama Joy

Toy Land Joy

Do you love it, do you love it, do you love it???? On the day after birthday, Christmas, Hanukkah, anything, it feels so great. All the pressure is past, and all the memories and new toys are here, signaling in ideas of a whole new life, a whole new start. Perfect timing if you ask me-- as we are in for 4 to 5 months of a loong Michigan winter followed by 2 months of mud and then a new baby--and playing with the angry cat and the broken crayons was getting extremely sad and boring.

I moved around 2 rooms already since 8pm last night and have big plans for more changes. I love to move furniture, I love it I love I love it. We really got such winning stuff this year, we really put alot of thought into what will be FUN and for the first time ever we bought stuff well ahead of time, and I have a job, and my Grandma sent us a very unexpected check. What do we want to be cooped up with all winter, homeschoolers with "no car" and a pregnant mom? Well now, we have GeoTrax for the kids to build, all new playdoh soft and fresh, electronic handheld thingies that we got amazing secret deals on through Ebay and friends of friends and resale shops, crafty stuff and building stuff and Eyeclops and books and ummm did I fail to mention that Santa Claus brought us a ROLLER COASTER and a Nintendo Wii? I am not kidding and I couldn't be more happy about this. Our house really was boring and now it really is fun. I can't wait to have friends over as soon as I tidy up some!!!

The kids have been running and jumping and rolling and boxing and bowling and sweating and asking me for "more water!" all morning while I slowly, slowly begin the process of being a wife and mother again, putting this pit sty of a house back together after 3 months of working and being pregnant and a semi-broken washer (you have to be there to switch each "mode" but we just figured out how to "rig" it 2 days ago so it has been one busy washer!) I am off work all this week and only work one night next week, so I am gonna be a full time Mom and Wife and person and all hopes are quite high for "getting it together", my absolute favorite and yet very unobtainable lately goal.

We have people to invite over and things to do and places to go and I am really trying hard to overcome the lingering nausea and tiredness because as good as it feels to lay in the couch, it is starting to feel even better to be a person and not a zombie. (I recently saw a TShirt that came in toddler sizes up to Mens XXL that said "I survived the first trimester" and I so, so understood)

So, here's to a great Christmas, here's to getting this sty back together for New Years and here's to feeling super happy about STUFF, THINGS, and MATERIAL POSSESSIONS. It really is okay to have great fun toys and to enjoy them! Off to go see if I can beat Casey at Wii-Boxing, he is undefeated in our family and it really gets my heartrate up (although lately, so does walking, sitting up, making another sandwich....)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

From our family to yours, we wish you the very happiest and healthiest holiday season, and an enthusiastically wonder-filled New Year!

How will you "handle" FIVE kids?

Yawn.
After a certain amount of experience with living with many children, this question goes from right-on, to vaguely insulting, to totally irrelevant. I have lived with 4 children since 2002, when The kids in my daily care were Greta (5), Mickey (2), A (4) and G (1). Four little kids, two mine and two I babysat fulltime 5 days a week from prebreakfast until dinnertime.

Two months into this gig, I got pregnant with Casey! I would throw up everytime I changed the almost non-stop diapers, I was sicker than a dog, and yet the show went on. Lets realize that, VERY unlike my life now, this was a time of Four kids who used sippy cups, took naps, used diapers or needed bathroom assitance. Four kids who couldnt always "use their words"or hold a crayon right, in a small cluttered house with a Daddy who didnt get home until 7pm (9pm on Thursdays). If there was anytime to ask me "how do you do it" it would have been then.

But now, my kids are alot older. I have a much bigger house and daytime friends. I have one in diapers and all the rest deal with their business. I dunno. I just dont feel the freak-out whatsoever this time as far as fear of the new baby or whatever.

Going from one child to two REALLY was a mind blowing change, and going from 2 to 3 children was when we felt like we had "alot of little ones". It was hard when Charlie was born because I had a very very extended postpartum recovery time, but four kids was something I was used to by then.

The funny thing is, for me, it is the pregnancy that is so hard. Not the babies. It is the mothering while very incapacitated that is so frustrating and exhausting and discouraging and disheartening, not the other stuff, not the messes, the crying, the stages, the teething--because when I am a strong and healthy Mom, I can handle that stuff, plus usually keep appointments, commitments, a nice house and have 3 hot meals on the table, too.

I remember once when Steve and I met up with his parents for a day at the zoo, and I was about 6 or 7 months pregnant with Casey. We only had 5 year old Greta and 2 year old Mickey, and everything was going fine, when one of them whined a tiny bit about something and my father in law said "What're you gonna do with THREE of em?" I looked right at him and said "I wont be pregnant! It will be fantastic! Plus I have four of them all day as it is". He had forgotten that I was doing the fulltime daycare, I guess. He had never experienced walking around a zoo with a lead boulder crushing out your entire innards, I guess. He was just trying to say those 'clever' things people say on TV when they dont really feel comfortable talking to you, I guess. Thats the way alot of people speak to each other all the time. He just chuckled and looked nervous that I might say the word pregnant again. He's pretty old-school and I try to respect that.

So, when my dear baby joins the Maplelawn Home Academy, there will be much rejoicing. For all the obvious reasons, and for Mommy isnt pregnant anymore, too. I know there is sleep deprivation with a new baby, and I would be insane to downplay the seriousness of that, but pregnancy is not exactly a good-sleepin time for me, never has been. Between violent calf cramps/spasms, back and hip pain, lack of air, nausea, outlandish dreams, restless leg syndrome, extreme heartburn, and the incessant peeing, I just dont get when the sleeping can really occur. I will leave out the pregnancies when I still have a night nursing tot or a little one who likes to get up at 5 am.

Except during the daytime, then oh God do I wanna sleep. I want to sleep in the library, I want to sleep in the grocery store, I want to sleep at work (and did once! LOL) I want to sleep at red lights (so bad) Then I bet, if given the golden opportunity for daytime sleep, ooooh I could sleep 14 hours straight. Oh yeah, except for the every two hours peeing part. Ok, never mind.

Monday December 10th

Working on cards
Greta sewed a hat for Kitty!
Charlie uses glue when we sew.

Mickey sewing a shirt for his toy monkey.

So, I am "out" with the pregnancy news now, and hope you can now fill in the blanks as to why I haven't been blogging. Between work and scraping myself together for the children. sitting down to write has been way down on this list. As i enter the 2nd trimester, I feel myself becoming alot more my old self and that is very very welcome.

Of course, homeschool is happening, learning is happening, our math curriculum is a big success, and we always spend alot of December with various scouting Christmas parties, working on handmade gifts, and baking. I will be honest and say we haven't really baked lately as the kitchen is a scary place that has all sorts of smells and imagery that keeps pregnant Mama at bay...but we did have a one big cookie day with our homeschooling friends a couple of weeks ago and it was really fun!

We have family gatherings, birthday parties, skating rink trip, Girl Scout party and somehow, shopping all to do. Like everyone else. Except we share a car and work 'round the clock and I am starting to panic just a smidge about how this is all gonna happen this year with the one car and me working. Sundays? Oh well. Once January comes, it will be 4+ months of cold cold cold and school school school and so it all balances out.

If you're a homeschooler, you will really, really get this!

An oldie but a goodie: (from my homeschool yahoo group this morning)
(tune of "THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS") The 14 Days ofHomeschooling
On the first day of homeschool my neighbor said to me,"Can you homeschool legally?"

On the second day of homeschool my neighbor said to me,"Are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the third day of homeschool my neighbor said to me,"Do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the fourth day of home school my neighbor said to me,"What about P.E., do you give them tests, are theysocialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the fifth day of home school my neighbor said to me, "YOU ARE SO STRANGE! What about P.E., do you givethem tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the Sixth day of home school my neighbor said to me, "How long will you homeschool, YOU 'RE SO STRANGE,what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the seventh day of home school my neighbor said to me, "Look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"

On the eighth day of home school my neighbor said to me, "Why do you do this, look at what they're missing,how long will you home school, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, what about P.E. do you give them tests, are theysocialized, do you homeschool legally?"

On the ninth day of home school my neighbor said to me,"They'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look atwhat they're missing, how long will you home school,YOU 'RE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"

On the tenth day of home school my neighbor said to me, "What about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you home school, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!,what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the eleventh day of home school my neighbor said tome, "I could never do that, what about graduation,they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look atwhat they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, what about P.E. do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the twelfth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Can they go to college, I could never do that,what about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"

On the thirteenth day of homeschool I thoughtfully replied:"They can go to college, yes you can do this, and they can graduate, we don't need the prom, we do it cuz we like it, they aren't missing anything, we'll homeschool forever, WE'RE NOT STRANGE!, We give them P.E., life it self's a test, they are socialized, AND WE HOMESCHOOL LEGALLY!

On the fourteenth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "How can I get started, why didn't you tell me,where do I buy curriculum, when is the next conference, WILL PEOPLE THINK WE'RE STRANGE? I think w ecan do this, if you will help us, can we join P.E. and we'll homeschool legally.

Living with children.

Oh, my poor, dear, sweet Homeschool Blog-- do you still remember me?

Jeez I am so bad at writing anymore. I feel like I had a contingent of readers and surely they must have given up on me by now.

The kids are well, and learning is always taking place. As for the big shot stuff I wrote in August, do I do a disservice to my fellow homechooling Mamas and pretend like we are doing all of that, or do I come out with the reassuring truths that we are not doing any of that right now? How many Mamas had an "impressive" blog the first week of September and then dropped off the face of the Earth besides a few cute Halloween pics? I know I am not the only one.

A lot has changed in my life since late summer, but here we are. The kids are not only surviving, the are BLOSSOMING. New skills are appearing at lightning speed, and new competencies. On the days when it feels like we "didn't do very much", and I think it is time to start reminding myself of the hundreds of days of my life that were spent under the evil tutelage of a "SUB" (substitute teachers, about 20 years old, possibly sober) and their never ending time-fillers, it turns out that the kids had the best day ever and I am still, after 7 years of official homeschooling, having to remind and remind and re remind myself that the majority of all human learning cannot be measured by time spent against ones will filling out paperwork to tape to fridge doors.

Remember "Subs"? The best of them let us play "Win, Lose or Draw" on the blackboard, or told us dirty jokes or let us just hang out. the worst of them came armed with stacks and stacks of "Dittos", everyone knows what a ditto is, right? Some kind of reproduced, often with purplish ink, worksheet or crossword or word search of some kind, which you had to do, but if you finished it they were all mad at you and told you to do another one or to be quiet. These were invariably 5 grade levels too easy and super blurry and horrid. The nice subs let you work with a partner but you still had to be quiet. they might as well have told us to color.

But this is the reality of school, and this is the stuff that children are experiencing and no one gets all freaked out about it--so when we have cozy days where the only thing that can appear to the untrained closed mind that was accomplished that was "Schooly" was reading together or watching Animal Planet or cooking, my guilt is finally becoming less and less.

Do I want our Home-School to be different? Yes. But that is all a part of parenting, and I am working right now on the whole courage to changes the things we can, accepting the things we cant and wisdom to know the difference proverb thingy. I am re-reading The Mother Trip by Ariel Gore, and really getting it about Chaos Theory. I ask myself if my kids would be better off "somehwere else" and I can say NO for sure. Somedays, many days, homeschool can be just living with and raising your children. Making breakfast, cleaning breakfast. Dressing and brushing teeth. Writing a story. Having a race. Doing experiements with one cat, 5 blankets, a big cardborad box, and 55 magnets. Making lunch and cleaning lunch. Nursey and diaper change before naptime. Reading books. Cleaning up toys. Messing around on YouTube. Cutting out papersnowflakes. Watching a show. Recieving a phone call. Giving a bath or 4. Making and cleaning dinner. Laughing and playing. Getting ready for bed. Putting the house back together.

Horrible confessions, or good wholesome human stuff? So there--I said it. And I mean it. Go ahead and freak out, call the cops. Tell 'em you found a family who is just living and having days together, several days a week. I don't feel bad about it anymore. Because we do lots of stuff that is schooly and we do lots of stuff that isnt, and by doing this, we are doing everything we can to see to it that our children are growing up well. Live and Learn.

How is everyone else's fall going?

Thursday updates

http://www.besthomeschooling.org/articles/elaine_edwards.html

Here is a really nice article, tell me what you think! I am babysitting today and have been busy busy busy--sorry I haven't posted in a while, we are in a sort of transition right now. We went to Waldorf Co-Op yesterday, Campfire scouts Monday, and the children are happy and well. Charlie slept through the night last night and the night before, which was a good treat for all of us affected by my exhaustion levels. I like my job and we had fun on Halloween, even if our neighborhood was kind of scanty on the number of houses handing out candy. I have been looking at new houses when I get the chance in the evenings, but so far they are all gross with stinky cigarette carpeting and general grossness and creeps-ville vibes, so I rush home thinking we have the best house in the world, even if it is too big and we cant afford to spend $400 a month to heat it this winter, or the rent. Of course it is cool and pretty and big, that's why we moved here in the first place.

Daddy doesn't ride his bike too much to work anymore, since it has been so cold or drizzly, but this leaves us without the van. Somedays he takes it to work in the morning, then when he comes home for lunch, we can all drive him back and then have a vehicle for the rest of the day.

I still hold strong to my fantasies of more outings and more happy sidewalk cafes with the kids, eating bagels out of town, going to museums and nature centers, new libraries and new adventures, but it hasn't happened too much lately. This is a huge reason we want to move, to be able to afford the things we really enjoy--outings and doing things other than just paying bills and telling the kids "we cant afford" EVERYTHING in this universe.

My children don't care too much about square footage and copper pipes. They care about swim lessons and family trips, art class and camping, ice skating and new paints and brushes, baking cookies and pies, COSI and the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum, having clothes that fit and snowpants and boots that actually keep out cold and water. We are not poor, but we do need to move. For alot of reasons. It would be nice to get into a place where the landlord cared if you had a working cold water faucet in your bathtub or if your 2nd dryer broke or if you needed a copy of the lease to apply for scholarships and financial aid and health insurances.

I haven't gotten a check from my new job yet, I do in a week or so. This will make all my long hours seem like they are actually FOR something, and it will give us a better idea of where we are at for the next few months. But I still say we need to move. We have no car payment, no credit cards, just this big house and its big energy bills, and we know there is a better way.

Very lovely surprise: it is SNOWING! I hope it sticks.

Cozy Friday

So crazy...whereas yesterday morning, before we got out and met our friends, just being here was torturous and bad, today there couldn't be a cozier, sweeter home filled with mild and kind little children on this world. Even Kitty is sweet and cozy today.

We read some stories, the kids did their sizable chore lists without as much as a huff or puff, we had a nice little lunch with Daddy, Charlie took his nap, Casey helped me hang clothes out to dry, Greta and Mickey are working on a big story together at the school table, the leaves are sparkling as they tumble down in the wind.....maybe the name of this blog should be the schizophrenic/multiple personality homeschool.

But that's just it. Life is ever changing. We have seasons of our lives and they have nothing to do with the calendar. Sometimes we even have seasons of our weeks, I know we do here at MapleLawn Home Academy. All of our activities have this thing where at the end of the month, there is a week or two off and there hasn't been Girl Scouts, Campfire, Waldorf Co-Op since the middle of October, it seems. So things have felt a little "off", but I don't mind one bit. I just started a new job, one that keeps me away from the family quite a bit, and it was perfect timing for all of this to happen when it did.

Two afternoons, we went on outings at around 3:30, after Charlie's nap. We went on a far walk to a park, and just played and played, when suddenly, thank goodness, Mickey, the keeper of the time, the wearer of the waterproof (to 160 feet!) digital watch, randomly proclaimed "It is 4:58" I was like "We have to go, guys!! We have to go home, I have to be to work at 6!!!!"

I am not used to this at all! What does 3:30 have to do with my job, which I think of as my "night job"? Apparently budgeting for time will have to start around lunchtime! Sheesh!

I made it to work at 6 on the dot, but missed out on supper. Thankfully it was Monday night and the people who are there Monday night bring in lots of treats, so I got vegetables and chips and salsa and donuts. A lovely dinner, haha.

So we are really enjoying today. Just being in our sunny home. I work tonight at 7 so I think I will go hang out with the kids and see how their project is coming along before Charlie wakes up. Have a great weekend!

Thursday, November 1

We had a great day today, once we got the heck out of here. After a fussy morning and me chasing after a horrible mystery smell (it was pumpkin seeds, still in the pumpkin gloop, sitting in a little bowl, looking as mild and harmless as can be, stanking of death and fish and sewage!!!! who knew?) unsuccessfully and deciding that I never wanted to be back in this house ever again, we got out and things got better almost immediately.

We met up with our fave family at a beautiful local park and played for hours. It was cold in the shade but warm in the sun and the kids truly did FROLIC, as Greta likes to joke. They rolled down the hills and ran and climbed and screamed and shouted and threw rocks and sticks and we didn't have to feel like we were "gonna get in trouble" like we did at the metro park, haha. I got 5 people, 3 bikes and a stroller into my smallish minivan and i am proud of that, everyone got to ride and play. They got to see a ton of mallard ducks up close, and Charlie "fed" them litle wood chips for over a half hour.

As I mentioned on my B+B blog, today is Charlie's birthday, and, for the first time in...well, let me do the math....10+7+4+2=23........twenty three birthdays of my children, not a single card or phone call was made to us or the dear baby. I wiped away stinging tears when I checked the mailbox in front of my friend, after seeing that only pizza coupons and a phone bill had come, and that no-one besides Dada was on the caller ID today. I wonder what mass oversight occurred and most importantly, why.

It was a really nice day, and we had our friends back to the house for dinner. It was so completely adorable to see the seven kids sitting around the table all together--and me and my friend got to/had to go eat in the living room and listen to them practicing their best table manners (LOL) while we snuck in a few adult stories together, if only for 10 minutes.

The day that started out so badly, ended up incredibly fun and as always, fresh air, getting out, and spending time with people who you truly enjoy is always the cure for whatever ails me. (and getting those haunting pumpkin seeds out of the house! PEW!)

If I didnt say it enough times, Happy Birthday , dear Lindey-bean. We love you more than you will ever know.

4 little vampires

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! HOPE EVERYONE HAD A BLAST!

LOVE, GRETA, MICKEY, CASEY, AND CHARLIE

Cool side effects of employment

Its the weirdest, neatest, most unexpected thing. even though I am really, REALLY tired from my new job, I am also really, really happy and mellow and a much better mom! even though I basically couldn't move until almost 10 this morning, nobody was fighting, everyone did their morning chores happily (I swear!!!) and there was a good vibe in the home.

I am not all panicky and edgy and freaked out anymore. Isn't that bizarre? Its like, I value my time with them more, I know I get to leave as soon as Steve gets home, so I don't feel all "trapped" or something, I have to get dressed and look cute by 5pm, which I thought would suck, but has been very good for me, and I get to completely escape into a world of adult conversation, but its all still quite wholesome and its not like if I had a job at a "real" bar where I would have to go from mommy and babyland to smokey wasted freaks hitting on me and crude co-workers--these folks where I work are a nice mix of parents and grandparents, men and women, young and old, just there to relax and have a nice time. There is no secret subplot, no seediness, no sleaziness, no creepiness, no one is mad at you, no one is looking to fire you, you don't have to "fake look busy", there is no boss to fear. (Can you tell what kinds of jobs I have had in the past?)
So, even though I am getting home late, and Steve has been fast asleep two out of the three nights I worked so far, it is really neat how good it has been for my spirit.

I don't get paid until Mid-November, so when I see that I am actually getting money from this whole thing, it might really send me over the rainbow, lol ;)

But the kids are liking this new chilled out Mama, and I am, too. I just don't get why I was so edgy and panicked in my own home with my own children everyday, nor do I quite understand why that feeling is completely gone now. But I am really, really glad.

2 dollar costume.

I don't know if any of you have had those throngs of people come trick or treating at your door with absolutely NO costume, and felt a mixture of mild annoyance at the flagrant bypassing of the whole "dressing up" tradition of the holiday mixed with concern and pity that perhaps that kid (or adult!) couldn't afford a costume.

Well, today we got Casey a costume at Dollar Tree. We got him a "Horror Robe" which was labeled as up to age 12, and a foam sword. He wants to be a "vampire" but just basically wants to look scary and have a sweet weapon. Big shock to those of you that know my Casey, he's not gonna be a jolly pumpkin or a little M&M or a Pooh-bear, when there are foam swords around. Greta at age 4 was a ladybug and Mickey at age 4 was a car. But my dear Casey can't stop talking about how he needs "fake bwood" and "scawy fangs".

Then we got a pack of TWELVE pairs of plastic fangs at Wal-Mart for 71 cents. I will add some of Mama's red lipstick and Mama's black eyeliner to make some kind of facial scariness happen.

The end! No effort and practically no cost. I love the dollar store!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fun Thursday adventures!

Greta's little boat

Casey barrels downhill

Casey up the tree

Run, Greta, run!

Greta, Casey, Julia and Tommy

Scarlet Oak was dull :(

All 7 children!

Whee!

Today was my kind of homeschoolin' day. We got up, ate, pulled the house together: breakfast dishes in the sink, table all wiped down, beds made, floor swept, checked email, baby re-changed and re-dressed, kids dressed, teeth and hair brushed, shoes located and tied, and out of here by 10:45 in the morning to go to an awesome nature center kind of far away with our friends' minivan following us, with a pit stop at little Caesars for 10 dollar lunch that fed 9 people quite well, saw cool animals, played with puzzles and did little nature-fact quizzes, 3 kids had bikes, 2 had strollers, walked on a trail in the woods alongside a creek, made little "boats" out of bark and leaves, played pooh-sticks, climbed a log bridge, laughed with our friends, tried new things like climbing way up in a pine tree and getting covered with burs, raced down the hill sharing 3 bikes with 5 riders, searched for our beloved scarlet oak trees only to find them vaguely brownish this year, took tons of pictures, left on a good note before any injury or melt-down, stopped at Meijer's on the way home and got 2 days worth of groceries, most of them quite healthy items, got home by 5:15 and cut up fruits and veggies and all the kids started playing nicely with their toys while I sat for a minute before cooking dinner.

THIS is what I want to do almost everyday!

When I get my coveted double jogging stroller, this kind of stuff will be even more manageable. If you don't understand why, just come along with us sometime on an outing like this one! Broken wheels, broken saftey clips, no under storage, purses and blankets and drinks all being tipped and falling out of every nook and cranny of the old beat up regular strollers, the thrift store "jogger" I got a few months ago that shuts on the baby and is rigged with velcro...maybe with my first check from my new night job I will finally get to buy this golden ticket to smooth and less frustrating outings, especially of the outdoor variety! I look forward to more nature centers, metroparks, museums and maybe the zoo sometime soon. This was a super nice day.

It is 6:30 and Casey is almost ready for bed. Steve gets home at 8 tonight and then I am going in to work for a few hours. Busy busy happy happy.

I like it now!

As will come as no surprise, life has humbled me again, and I am happy to hang my head and say that the Waldorf Co-Op and the magic Fairy Mamas are super, super nice and we like it now. (((blush)))

We went back last Wednesday, and, as I had discussed, we did not bring Mickey. Thanks to my dear friend who took him for the day, I did not have to worry about him being loved or safe and I felt like a real mom that had a babysitter! Crazy! I dropped him off at her house, he had a little lunch packed, and I got to say things like "be a good boy!" and gave her my cell phone number--woowoo I am fancy now, a real drop off parent, LOL :D

So it went much better last week--I knew what to expect, I knew where things went, and I just felt much, much better. The luncheon was outside, and I didn't feel insecure about the food I brought. I brought bananas, apples, sunflower seeds, and homemade granola from my awesome friend SgtHowie. (I told them I did not make it--but that it was homemade by a friend!) They loved the granola, and all the kids got along smashingly. We had lunch outside, Greta adores the two other "big girls" there, and Casey played with some little age-mates. Charlie was happy as a little lark out in the breezy sunshine, they opened up the tiny house early on, and all was fab.

On the weeks one and three, they do some formal lessons upstairs with the older children, and Greta did not have a recorder for the recorder lesson, so one of the moms asked me if I would like to buy one for her, that she sold them. Of course I said "oh, yes, yes" but I was so worried that it was gonna be like $200 or something. I wonder if I would have cut a check and then cried all the way home, but happily it was 30 dollars and it is an amazing all wood handmade in Germany one. A real instrument, with warm clear tone--nothing like the plastic ones we had a s kids. I was happy to add a nice instrument to our home, and that she was going to learning to play it with her friends.

Downstairs, the little kids were treated to a very solemn and haunting telling of Red Riding hood with Waldorfy props--little handmade felted woolen dolls and silk squares and pinecones, with A Capella singing by the owner of the house who does have a gorgeous voice. they also did a circle time with a little glockenspiel and some darling songs in a pentatonic scale about fall and gathering apples and old women stirring the stew and stuff.

What was especially neat and very, very different was the way in which they conveyed to the little children that "it is time for___" there is absolutely NO saying this whatsoever! So different from school. There will just be some ladies singing in a circle now, and you feel sort of completed to join in. Same with the Red riding hood story--no one tells you it is story time now, but you hear a little glockenspiel chiming in the front room and you go check it out, and a lady is solemnly setting up the figurines and you go sit around her. Same with the craft. After the story, the lady just started singing softly about "I see a lantern's gentle light" and she sort of wafts into the dining room and starts setting out glue and tissue paper and glass jars and little cans of paintbrushes and voila, it is apparently time to make a lantern! No barking no cajoling no harassing involved whatsoever. I was impressed--and Casey and Charlie were truly TRANSFIXED. Also, no judging language whatsoever--not a single word about "good job", "great job", just children working alongside adults, quietly making lanterns. One time, Casey told the lady next to him at the grand dining room table "Is this done?" referring to his lantern which was about 1/3 covered with glued-on colored bits of tissue paper , and the lady simply kept on working on her own lantern and said "I am going to cover mine all the way 'round" and he said "I am too."

In the afternoon, one of the moms who is my friend outside of this now, the one who originally invited me to this co-op, offered to teach me to knit. (the other moms all knit) I was hesitant, because I felt like maybe i couldn't learn to outside in the wind while watching the kids but i picked it up instantly and i am working on a big rectangle that gives me great soothing satisfaction and a cozy calm. I am so proud and grateful to finally know how to knit this one stitch. This is the third time someone has shown me how to knit and the other two times were unnecessarily complicated. This is easy and I love it. I knew I would.

So, this week, my friend babysat Mickey again, which was a lovely surprise because we both agreed that I do not expect her to so this every Wednesday now. So we went back today, me, Greta, Casey and Charlie. It was the week where it is much less formal, and it was super fun again! We played outside alot, shared alot of funny stories of motherhood, knitted, and the kids played. One of the big girls told Greta some true ghost stories supposedly from her own life and Greta was thoroughly impressed. She retold them to me at home in the bathroom as I did my hair to go t my job interview tonight -woowoo--and they seem ridiculous but I acted very reverent and amazed. She felt they were so sinister that the other kids shouldn't ever hear them--so thoughtful. I brought Monterrey Jack cheese, apples, strawberries, bananas and homemade tabbouleh salad. The women raved about it which really surprised me since it was not made in a traditional way. they were really really nice to me today and I feel like I am part of the group now, a nice feeling. I didn't even wear flaxen-wear today, har har. I wore jeans and a plain t shirt and a zip up sweater. (the first two weeks I wore long skirts, no big whoop, i just wasn't in the mood this morning and no one cared)

I was out in the yard with all the people and we were knitting and laughing and I realized it was 2:10-- I had to go! We left and picked up Mickey and ended up coming in to my friends house and hanging out there about another hour. Too fun. She gave me hot tea and I am just THRILLED to say it is cool weather again, I am assuming for good now, and so hot tea was perfect. I also had hot cocoa this morning and I loved it! Y A Y for the coziness, oh happy day!

This co-op is so good for me. These women and their very unique scene really refresh me out of the daily doldrums. I feel kinder to my kids for days to last, and I feel refreshed and revitalized after conversation and handicrafts, homemade soup and pretty music. Seriously. Who woulda knew.

Woody Guthrie, we adore you

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh! Look at this!

Please, if you don't know about Woody Guthrie, do begin. He was an amazing champion of the working class, a massive, majorly influencial pioneer in music, an incredibly important American, and someone on this website has made some little school-lesson plans based on Woody's songs and life. I think it is fabulous and am going to check it out ASAP.

Really, really cool.

Singapore math is here!

Most of our order from Singapore Math.

The counting cubes that have become a big hit.













Charlie and the counting cubes (or, how I get lunch made!)

Lunchtime.











Casey and his Pre-K workbook.












Casey shuffling his Capital Letters cards.








We got our order from Singapore math, and it is alot of great stuff! We got Textbooks and workbooks for Mickey and Greta, and several Science programs with workbooks, as well as a Word problems math book for both of them, and 2 teacher's guides. We got a little plastic clock, 100 number cubes, blank dice, a measuring tape and a hundreds chart.

So far the kids both like the work--no tears at all. Mickey's first 2 lessons were about measuring things that are one meter long, and some place-value types of things, one, tens, hundreds and thousands and some review about carrying in addition. His science was about what is alive and what is not, and one about the external parts of the body.

Greta's math was about place value also, and really getting the grasp of "What value does the "8" in the number 598,300 have?" (Eight thousand) and so forth. She had to arrange some numbers in order as well. This was all review but that is good, so she doesn't fear the new book. The very next lesson is something she doesn't know, so it will be interesting to see how it goes. Her science was really neat, it was all about matter--how do we know something is matter? If it has mass and takes up space. Is heat matter? Is light matter? Is shadow matter? How do we measure mass? --Stuff like that. She liked it alot. I am glad I got them separate science stuff as his is WAY too easy for her and hers is pretty "out there" for him. With them being three years/grades apart in age, I am lucky that I can apply as much two-kid lessons as I do with the Five In A Row and the upcoming plans we have to do a reading symposium with our adult friends soon.

The number cubes, which we haven't used as we are "supposed to" yet, are a really nice toy. Charlie is flying by me as I type this, with his little "airplane" he made out them. They snap together and are really cool. Much easier to open and shut than Lego, but not too babyish. You know what-- I take that back--we did do a place value thing with them, and Mickey used them to prove some subtraction idea to me. He was wrong, but it was better that the cubes told him that than me--he laughed good naturedly when 11 minus 4 was NOT 8 as shown by the cubes, but of course it was in fact, 7. He was like "Oh." and then we laughed. I used to have certain little numbers facts that often messed me up--and my husband swears that he doesn't know his 7's times tables and hates the 7's... Strange how our minds work.

Casey and I have been working on all sorts of fun stuff, he is now writing several letters and wanting to make us all notes and signs. SO much deja vu of Greta and Mickey at 4 years old, and so funny to me how differently they all got to the points that they were "at" academically at 4. He can make A, M, C, U, X, and O very clearly and so he makes a ton of letters to me that are elaborately taped up and stamped and stapled and inside is a tiny piece of paper that says MAMA MAMA DAD OUOUAOAOA inside it. Yes I save them all. We have alot of fun things for this age, and many mornings we play with woodkins or magnet balls, and sometimes we do little workbook-y types of stuff.

More updates on Singapore Math and Science as we get more into it. We have to take back our Owl Moon and our gazillion other books to the library today. I need to order the next one ASAP but we have another secret freebie--somehow I never noticed that The Tale Of Peter Rabbit is one of the featured books in our series. I love Beatrix Potter of course but was surprised that this "little kid book" was featured, when Greta immediately came to its defense and said that I would be very surprised at how many secret things there are to study in Peter Rabbit. I am excited to tackle this book from a different angle. Next week for sure!

Wednesday the 26th

Here is that book--hope it isn't illegal to show it or whatever...















Here is the elephant you can make.














Here are the frog and fox you can make.



















Here is an underwater scene to work on.














I absolutely love when little ones quietly play trains. Something about it is so sweet and sincere.
















We worked on more of the book Owl Moon today, and talked about "Aerial View". Greta is showing her anthill from three different perspectives. Mickey drew pretzels!













Then we did a bar graph about the amount if sunlight versus dark hours there are in the different seasons.
















The kids worked really hard on them, adding colors and symbols and I was really pleased.








No pics of Casey today--I am out of batteries again! But he stayed in my bed at naptime, watching TV on very low volume. He didn't sleep, but he rested, and thanks to cable and dvr, he wasn't watching all those little princess/little combat commander commercials, hehe.

This work-up of the book Owl Moon has made me a solid fan of Five In A Row. I really am going to stick with this "curriculum". I have already learned alot about the benefits of reading a book more than once--and I don't think we could ever really do all that they give you in just one week. We are completely happy to meander through the activities. Today we did three of them; Aeriel View, Science of Owls, and Hours of Darkness and Light. Owl Moon is a lovely book, but not one that I would have ever gotten "all into". But now I am! I think it might make me a better reader, and I KNOW that it will make the kids better readers.

The Author of Five In A Row really worked hard on this curriculum. It isn't complete, and it needs supplementation--by that, I mean it doesn't have much basic math, etc. But it is a lovely springboard that is working well for us. I really, really like it.

Tuesday, week 3

Baby Charlie
Protein breakfast
French Toast Fort Day

Painting with forks!
Special bunny fort
Burying Casey in the toys!

Well, today is Tuesday, and I haven't written in a while. Not because we haven't gotten anything accomplished, but because we have been really busy.

We didn't go back to the Waldorf co-op last week, but we do plan on going October 3rd. I think I am going to have Mickey go to our good friend's house. I don't know how he will react to this decision, but I really need to figure out if this is something we want to stick with or not. It doesn't appear to be something we can pop in and out of, as the children have ongoing activities such as a play that they would need to keep up on. I was thinking maybe if Greta didn't have to police Mickey, and if I just had to deal with Casey and Charlie, then maybe that would change the dynamic enough for me to be able to think more clearly. It's all so strange, because Mickey certainly isn't "bad", but after some careful thought, I think he might be the one catalyst that was making it not really work for us. We'll see.

We have been working with Casey on ABC's and he knows all of them except "P". Cool! He can count and we have been reading lots of counting books, with Charlie close by pretending to count and saying "A, 2, A, 2, A, 2, O!" So sweet.

Greta and Mickey have been working through the Five In A Row book, with our latest literary pic being a book called Owl Moon. It is a nice little story about a father and daughter who go out into the woods at night to go "owling", which we discover, is to be extremely quiet and to happen upon an owl and observe him. The illustrations are great and it is a Caldecott medal winner so we talked about that. We did a bit more "depth of field" drawing, and talked about how an illustrator can tell us so much about the setting of a place by the kinds of things they draw. We also did this with a book called One Morning In Maine--we talked about how the deciduous trees and evergreens and the way the characters were dressed told us so much about the climate and era and location of the story (Northeast America, 1950's, fall or springtime).

Awesome news--my mom has paid for our entire order of Singapore Math AND science, including manipulatives and teacher's guides. When this package comes in the mail (soon! soon!) I am going to feel an enormous amount of relief and excitement, as my role of floundering math teacher will soon be over, and we will have a nice solid thing to work with everyday. THANK YOU NANNY FRAN!!!!!!!!! I will be blogging about this as soon as it comes, promise!

We have a gorgeous book called Look What I Did With a Leaf, in which there are some amazing art projects to do with leaves you gather. Of course, being early autumn in Michigan, we will have some colored ones to use, which you don't have to do, but it will be nice. I was intrigued at the lengthy process in which the author described the best way to press the leaves for best usage--it takes a WEEK to do! All I ever did with leaves was to stick them in a big old book, and then find them dry and dull a day later. Supposedly this new way will preserve them well. More details to come as we apply this technique!

Things still have a long way to go as far as "running the household". Even before me and Steve got new jobs, it was very hit or miss. I can't even pinpoint what it is, exactly, that seems to throw us "off" every single flippin' day! I really don't know how we can be thrown off of something we are so rarely "on", to be honest.

We follow our schedule, as much as humanly possible. We have the kids cleaning and helping ALOT. Steve and I are still up till 10 at least cleaning and setting up for the next day--but I feel like it is all a quicksand pit by 9 am more often than I'd care to.

The weather is buggin me, I will freely admit. I HATE that it is hot and sticky, with mosquitoes and air conditioners and sunscreen still a big part of our days--and I also hate when people feel it is their duty to tell me what kind of weather I should enjoy--didn't the clouds care that my little calendar has leaves on it? Doesn't Earth care that I have absolutely NO good looking clothes for hot weather? That one week of 61 degrees with a breeze was just the teaser, and I got really, really disappointed when it got back to hot and has stayed. We took down our pool, and now there is just stinking, rotten dead leaves and grass under it that smell like a manure farm, with flies buzzing all over it. Casey stepped on that dead grass area the other morning and I was like a crazy woman, sniffing and sniffing--who has poo? Do you smell poo? It wasn't until I pinpointed it as his little shoes that I realized how bad that dead grass and leaf pile was. I don't remember that from the other years.

Charlie is talking SO much, and that has been bad and good. He gets extremely angry when we don't know what he is saying, but he also is succeeding at communicating more, too--so now we know that for the past year of "Ungh! Ungh!" he was really trying to tell us that he wanted candy and markers and scotch tape and to go outside! :)

Greta had her first girl scout meeting, and she loved it. There were a few new girls, and all her old favorite pals, too. She was well prepared for her meeting thanks to our friend Julia giving us her old Junior Girl Scout badgebook AND handbook--expensive! She also gave Greta a Junior girl scout hat, sweatshirt, T-shirt, and pants. Too cool.

With Daddy working his new job, our evenings are going to be weird, but I am going to be really cheerful about it. It might even be better, if I have it in my head that he will only be home for about an hour, from 530 to 630, I will have dinner ready, and then he will go to his cleaning job, I will get the 2 "babies" put to bed, and then maybe have some special time with just Greta and Mickey in the evenings. Depending on how long this jib takes Steve, he could play a game with Greta and Mickey when he got home, or they could already be in bed and he could play a game with me! Called "lets clean"! I'm kidding. Partially.

Cold season already :(

The beebee's are sick!
This weekend, I started to feel a little tickle in my throat, but tried to blow it off...but then I got the thing where you feel all hot and exhausted when you do anything, andI thought "oh boy".

Today, Greta and Mickey are flat-out on the couch with sore throats and fevers, and Charlie has a boogery nose and a pale watery looking face. Casey is fine so far, and so my decision for us to not go to the Campfire scouts' field trip made him really mad. Apparantly compassion and empathy for others are not hallmarks of being 4 years old. I feel so bad about leaving my friend Trish to lead the entire little kid's group, but it is 84 degrees out and being out in the summer hot sun all sick sounds like total hell for them and for me. It was going to be a really cool trip, too.

So, today we are resting. Well, the kids are. It is nice for me since they are staying put on the couch, I am cleaning like a madwoman ;) Well, kind of--in between fetching popsicles and ice waters and tissues and blankies and motrins...Im so happy to have them all laying still that I don't mind one bit. Sorry if that sounds terrible, but since they don't seem to have anything dangerous, I just have to be honest.

Does Waldorf meet the needs of boys? My boys?

I was drawn to the Waldorf philosophy at a very early age. My little sister went to a Waldorf school for what was to be her kindergarten year, and I was with my mom when we picked her up and dropped her off. I was absolutely fascinated by the wooden toys, the silk scarves draped in front of the windows, the soft-spoken teacher who seemed more like a beloved grandmother out of a fairy tale than anyone on salary...

They did really different things than cut out little turkeys out of construction paper. They played alot of olden time circle games and seemed to spend a good deal of time out of doors. There were children of many different cultures in attendance, too, which was sort of rare in 1985 in our area, sadly. I loved that my baby sister was spinning wool and playing with dried beans, and it really sparked the embers of my burgeoning interest in alternatives in education. I was fascinated by different types of schooling, testing and procedures from an early age, for sure. In fact, after I got my Bachelor's degree in psychology, I had planned on getting a master's in school psychology. Looks like I am doing work-study instead, huh? :)

Fast forward a few years to my early days with my new baby girl. I wanted the gentlest purest things in her life, as all parent are apt to do. Natural foods, natural fibers, organic everything, nature and flowers and historically significant music would be the only thing to tickle her ears. Everything that was plastic or character-emblazoned that was somehow pouring into our home was NOT of our doing. I didn't like the fact that being "poor" made us more vulnerable to accepting toys and clothes and influences that we did not want in our lives, but before we knew it, our little Greta was covered in Elmo clothes and drowning in a bedroom full of plastic toys, lots of them that "talked"--ewww.

When we moved away from our first house, we took more of an active stance in what we had in our little girl's life. We got rid of a lot of crap. We were feeling stronger and more confident as parents, and we began to feel ok saying no to talking toys and crappy Disney stuff, and as she grew, we began to discuss education. We looked into the 2 Waldorf schools in our area but they were $8000 a year for PRESCHOOL! So that was immediately out of the question.

Why Waldorf? I thought the whole thing seemed to care so much for the spirit of the child, for nature, for goodness and purity and the catalogs that would come to the house with all the natural toys and goodies warmed my heart. I wanted this for my child, and, through the casual placement of both boys and girls in the catalogs, one thing never, ever occured to me, and that was the possibility that Waldorf might be much, much more suited for girls.

I knew it all --harhar--when I was the mother of one little girl, and one of the things that I "knew" was that all the boys who were wild and boisterous and making little weapons out of every twig and berry were surely the unfortunate victims of a terrible violent society, hell-bent on making all male infants into little football players and little marines, and that all those parents were horrible and they were ruining a whole generation of young boys for my daughter.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Even in the womb, Mickey was different than Greta, and no, I didn't know the gender of any of my babies until they were born. Greta rolled and swished in my belly. Mickey did jumping jacks. Ask Steve-- I occasionally CRIED, he would buck so hard in there, I was afraid he would break my ribs.

As a newborn he and his sister were vaguely similar--he was much more fussy and loud, but I don't know how much of that had to do with his birth, etc... but pretty early on he was different from Greta. The way he played with the exact same toys she had was different. He threw things across the room at 4 months old that caused me to think really cheesy thoughts like "He's got an arm on him!" At 6 months old, he could kick little toys across the whole front of the house from his doorway jumper, and really did prefer rock n roll to any of the toddler tunes that Greta still loved. If I gave him a soft blankie, he would rip it off his head, cackling with brillaint laughter, where she would be likely to leave it on her head, maybe holding it undr her chin like a little bonnet. Greta also CUDDLED, HUNG OUT WITH YOU, STAYED PUT in general! I didnt know anything about little tots running AWAY at 100 miles per hour until I had been a mother for 4 years and my son was mobile. Goodness! Why wont he HANG OUT like Greta did? I look at the videotapes of her walking calmly down the street for her 2 year old Halloween and I am stunned. I would NEVER have Mickey, Casey, or Charlie anywhere near the street if they weren't in a stroller, with shoulderstraps, thanks you very much! Are you kidding me?

Another thing Greta did was that she would cradle and caress any and everything, even cans in the grocery cart. Mickey would throw them. She loved stuffed animals and coloring--he HATED stuffed animals and ate the crayons like a stack of fresh pretzels.

Don't even get me started on baby Casey...he made Mickey look positively tame! He climbed the actual TV/entertainment center at FIVE MONTHS OLD, forcing us to make dozens of emergency trips to buy all sorts of "babyproofing" products that we never in our wildest dreams imagined that any good family should ever need.

Was it ok for me to now proclaim it a boy-girl thing?

What about when our third boy in five years came along? Did that qualify me yet?

Look, I know most of you know this, but I had big dreams of gender neutrality. Big ones. I dressed my little girl in jean overalls at birthday parties, for pete's sake. We eschewed ALL Barbie, Bratz, and lil' slut clothes. We nurtured and loved our children outside of the realm of media as much as humanly possible. We never told our daughter to be meek and pleasant and we never told our sons don't cry/toughen up/be a man. Ever. We model a balanced marriage for them, and we really, really try.

BUT

Some things are just not up our kids' alleys. and those kids happen to be boys. And now I get to my point, sort of.

I do not know if Waldorf really meets the needs of most boys.

I find an EXTRAORDINARILY unbalanced ratio of women with only daughters being drawn to this philosophy. Such an unbalanced ratio that I even have wondered if there is something in the very ethereal woman that prevents her from bearing a son. I swear. Its food for thought at least.

Anyhow.
Maybe I am completely insane. Maybe I need a babysitter for maybe just Mickey to give this co-op thing a chance. I do not know if I can go tomorrow, and I really want to. Maybe I am making this huge gender thing out of nothing. But I doubt it.

It seems very lovely, for a certain type of kid. a type of kid that I do not honestly know if you can "create" just by providing a certain kind of upbringing. Maybe you can. I did not and now that I see my kids' personalities, I think for certain this this is not Mickey's cup of tea.

Doesn't mean he can't be gentle and insightful or artistic or love feathers and flowers as much as the next guy. But when he shines is when he is around numbers and action, building and planning, mazes and maps and rules and puzzles and sports and maths, big messes and big laughter and plenty of burp and fart jokes and that is TOTALLY TOTALLY O-KAY.

So,
given the physical restraints and stresses of me going to this thing with the baby and Casey and Greta and given that I have concluded that Mickey only liked playing in the tiny house but could do without the rest of Waldorf Co-Op (I think...)

I don't know if we are going back tomorrow. I don't even have any money for whole foods luncheon and would have to write a check to Kroger that wasn't really "good" until Friday in hopes it took its time to "go through", if you catch my drift...

But I do want to talk to the Wiccan mama and I do want to go back. I think Casey would be so happy to play in the little house and Greta might be more apt to settle in to the "classes" without Mickey there and her perceived duty to keep him from saying bad things...whatever it was that he said.
I just don't know.