The Boy and his bike

Well, today he decided he wanted to learn how to ride his bike. WOOHOO! No training wheels, so it is interesting, but I think it went well. I hope he sticks with it. He wobbled and started to get irritated, but then calmed down. That by itself is amazing. He is SO his mother’s child. 😉 I just LOVE raising myself. He did start to get the hang of the whole balancing thing, which was super cool. We had a bit of a conversation, then I asked, ” Do you just want me to shut up and get out of your way?” and he said yes. LOL I love my kid.

Wow. A year, really?

I just realized that almost a year has gone by since I last wrote here. That’s just sad. A lot has happened in that time. I’ve gotten two rescue chickens. I’ve added 10 chicks, which was a real handful. Then I fostered 25 more for a friend until my back was about broken in half from bending over to pick them up and move them to clean their area. I have survived introducing the 10 pullets (adolescent female) chickens to the established two adults. More recently I have grieved the lost of two of the pullets, one a couple of months ago to an unknown predator, and definitely the most painful was one of the original rescues. Speculations abound from raccoon or possum to hawk, only to be confirmed with the placing of a trap. A small raccoon was found in the trap looking up at me oh so pitifully. There was much debate as to what to do with said raccoon. It will remain a mystery here.

My remaining 8 young ladies and 1 older lady are doing well, relatively. The older is at the moment in a cage stinking up my dining room. We are trying to determine if she has an upper respiratory infection. I’m leaning towards not, since she has been doing this for a long time and no one else has gotten anything.

So there have been a slew of other things pop up in the past month or two.

I’ve started working on a consultant basis for my former employer helping with marketing. Lots of time on the computer. I have become an activities coordinator for our cover school. It’s pretty cool cause I get to plan things that we will like to do and other families with like minded, generally same age group kids will come with us.

And now the doozy. We are pondering international adoption. =O I am so overwhelmed, but oh so in love. Maybe it’s just like, or infatuation. I’m not sure yet. A friend has just come home with her new son from Ukraine. While they were in country, a group of five Ukrainian orphans and their directory came over here for three weeks. We have gotten to spend quite a bit of time with them. They came over to see the chickens one day. We had a blast! They loved the chickens, picking them up and carrying them all over the place. We also colored and painted fingernails and the boys went outside and did whatever boys do. Later in the week, they held a birthday party for the kids at the host home. That was wonderful to see these kids get gifts and be celebrated like never before. Hurts my heart to think that they won’t be able to take most of it back with them. They came to our church this past Sunday and we went to a park for a picnic afterwards. It was wonderful to get to know them a bit more, as well as the host family. Tonight we will go to the host family’s house for a going away party. They leave tomorrow. My heart is heavy that I may not see them again. My mind wonders if I might see them (or at least some of them) again in one way or another. Plans are being made to have a camp in Ukraine next year, so maybe we can go there and minister to them.

I just hope that WE can hear God clearly and know His direction. No. I know we will hear him clearly and know his direction because we are praying for that. He is for us and not against us. I must remind myself of this daily. Some times moment by moment

Be Joyful in Hope

We have some new friends, over at  that have adopted 3 Ukrainian orphans and host some others occasionally.  There are 5 here right now.  Last Monday they came over and played with the chickens, colored, painted toe nails and fingernails, just played and had lunch.  It was amazing!  Saturday night we went to their house for a birthday party for the orphans.  We made new friends and the children have really stolen my heart.  Dave and I are considering how God may ask us to be involved.

 

In other news, at least one of our young girls has started laying eggs.  They are just the cutest little things.  very dark brown and smooth, nice hard shell and a beautiful almost orange yolk.  

 

Just a little while ago, Joseph and I were watching Ratatouille and he decided he wanted to cook something with me.  He wanted to create something with me in the kitchen.  So we went into the kitchen, found some ingredients and spices and threw them together.  I truly had no idea how it was going to turn out.  It was lots of fun and it turned out to be really good.  Now he is wanting to make ‘some kind of salad, but that isn’t a regular kind of salad’.  I have NO IDEA what that’s gonna be, since we have very little in the house, but it’s going to be fun trying. 

It’s been a foodie kinda day.

First I tried out a recipe that I found on . It just screamed FOOTBALL FOOD! It was really good. I thought that 1/2 cup of hot sauce was going to be too much, so I didn’t put much in it. I ended up added a lot more to it when I was about to eat it. OH MY GOSH! I just put it on Ritz crackers (a suggestion of my little foodie helper). Pretty good suggestion. Here’s the link for the recipe

Oh and make sure you have a good ole coke or sweet tea ready. I really needed it, not so much for the heat, but just one of those foods that really wants a coke with it. You know, kinda like a pizza. Hard to eat one without the other.

Then later, well, now actually, I am preparing to can tomato sauce for the first time. I am also going to roast some tomatoes. I’m excited. it’s fun. I actually have my laptop on the counter. ((yes, away from the water)). The cookie sheet of cut up tomatoes has just gone in the oven (175 degrees, supposed to be in there for 48 hrs!). I’ve boiled a bunch just long enough for the skins to split. Then I’ve put them in cold water. The skin just peels right off. I know I don’t have to peel them for spagetti sauce, but neither of us really like the peel.

New recipes!

It’s fun to try new stuff. I made salmon patties for the first time. I just used the recipe on the can of salmon, with some slight changes. onion powder instead of chopped onions and no chopped bell peppers cause they give me hearburn and I didn’t have any anyway.

They were pretty good, but I wanted a sauce to go with it. so I googled sauces, looked at several, then went into the kitchen. I combined several different recipes. mayo, a bit of milk, garlic, dill pickle relish, and cheyenne pepper. What a weird combination, but man was it good!

Intensive Care for Unschoolers

 

Wow! I’m so late, I’m almost on time for this week. That’s sad, but I guess better late than never.

This week we want to…”

We planned to go to our first science co-op with a few friends this afternoon. There are a couple of things in the way at the moment. A sinus infection (me) and a lot of rain. I’m actually feeling a little better and the mom who is hosting said we all could just come hang out in her house. So we might still get to do it.

Also want to get some canning done this week. Tomatoes first. This is new, but I’m feeling adventurous.

The kids are…”

He has really been stuck on Ben10 Alien Force cames on Cartoonnetwork.com. He’s not only playing them, but he can create them too. It’s really fun seeing him so excited. Last night dh asked, ‘so do you think he’s learning anything on there?” I said, “YEAH!” He may not be learning what someone in Academia would say he needs to learning, but he sure is learning. The other day we were getting ready to leave for a playdate and I told him we had to be there at 1:00. That meant we had to finish getting dressed, eat some lunch, and drive there in 30 minutes. He shot back at me (and I do mean SHOT, as in rapid fire machine gun fire),”that’s 15 and 15. that’s how many minutes it’s gonna take. That makes 30.” It took me a minute to decypher what he had just wizzed at me, then I responded, yeah, that’s right. The wheels turning like a wind turbine in Kansas, he then let go (in rapid fire) 19 and 11, 18 and 12, 17 and 13, 16 and 14, and 15 and 15 all make 30 minutes!” After I picked my jaw up off the floor, formed a smile, and agreed. He knocked me back on the floor with, “God told me all that last night while I couldn’t sleep” !!! Now this wasn’t the first time this happened. About a week ago another math fact, that now eludes my brain, came wizzing out of my child that I knew I didn’t teach him and he informed me that God told him that the night before ~ when he couldn’t sleep. again. Now philosophically, I totally agree with this. The Bible says the Holy Spirit is our teacher. Stands to reason He’s gonna teach my child what he needs to know.

“I am learning….”

How to can veggies(spagetti sauce first, since we use a lot of it), then maybe corn. It’s been 30 years since I’ve shucked a bushel of corn. I have mixed feelings about that endeavor. LOL I would of course enlist some help.

I’m also about to embark on what feels like a huge undertaking. Maybe someone who has been here can help me. I got a prophecy about 2-3 yrs ago that I was going to write a book from my journal entries. I thought that was cool. Thought about it every once in a while as I wrote, but nothing serious. Well, about 2 weeks ago I got another prophecy (both of these were from people that don’t know me very well) saying the same thing. So it’s been on my mind recently to start gathering some of those journal entries. I also wondered about getting a book to help me gather my thoughts and get a plan.

“I am struggling with…”

Getting of this sinus infection. It really kicked my butt. I was starting to think I had the flu. I’ve never been so drained from a stinking sinus infection. The steriod shot and antibotics have already started helping. Thank you God.

“This week is the first time….”

Well, last week was the first time I made no cook pickles. The turned out pretty good, and I learned some things.

“I am grateful…”

I’m grateful for being in such a good place, spiritually and emotionally lately. I’ve been having really good quiet time with the Lord. My latest financial endeavor has been going pretty well. I’m taking life a little more in stride, in general any way.

“When I was a child, I wanted to be ________ when I grew up

I wanted to be an architect, but my self esteem and confidence were so damaged from my early public school experiences, I thought there was absolutely no way I could do all the math. God has such a great sense of humor and of justice. It seems that I have been and will be designing our new house. BAHAHA! I love my God. HE ROCKS!

and since this is for this week and last week…

My favorite season is_____________because…

Fall. The coolness, the colors of the leaves, the football, Thanksgiving.

Shopping for DooLollies by Nicole

Here is my new business venture that I would like to share with you all.  I am so excited!  I would love for you to check it out and let me know what you think.

Some of you that are Facebook friends of mine, may know about this already.  Forgive me for the overlap.  Please spread the word.  I can adjust them to fit smaller or larger.  I will do my best to offer other teams, where available.  Well, maybe not Tennessee (just kidding).  I also made one that was spread out much further for my sister.  She wanted to try to use it in the operating room, but it wasn’t quite long enough.

Cyber-talk to you soon,

Nicole

Me ~ an introvert? GET OUT! I CU for Christian Unschoolers

“This week we want to…”get a little more proactive. Don’t unleash the hounds. I mean more intentional on strewing, etc.

“The kid is…”still pretty interested in Moshimonsters. He has also had a resurgence of interest in building with his dublo blocks. We don’t have many Legos, so this is the next best thing.

“I am learning….”that I might actually be introverted. That sounds so crazy to me. I am SUCH a people person! Always have been, but I’m reading How To Raise Your Spirited Child. It has been absolutely fasinating so far, as if there was any doubt that ds was and is ‘spirited’. One interesting this is that there is a distinction between being a social introvert (shy, etc ~ which I am definitely not) and a psychological introvert, which is defined as someone that gets recharged internally by getting alone. That is the opposite of psychological extrovert who THRIVES on and gets recharged by being around a lot of people. I’ve always thought of myself as an extrovert because I have never met a stranger, talk easliy, love to people watch, etc. However I am very much aware of my need to get away from people, noise, activity or I will explode, and it is never pretty. I usually need to apologize to someone or everyone in the house.

“I am struggling with…”At thi svery moment, I am struggling with being on the verge of an explosion. I just got home from work after a crazy busy day and ds was wizzing around the house like a top that had just been released. I couldn’t even think to figure out what I wanted to eat for dinner. LOL Ya know it’s bad when I’m too frazzled to eat. HAHA!

“This week is the first time….”we are going to see a friend’s new son. This makes her fourth boy! I can’t even imagine, but she seems to be able to keep it together. We are also planning on getting together with several moms Friday to discuss the posibility of meeting occasionally to do a science-y kind of co-op thing. I think it could be a cool thing. We’ll see what happens.

“I am grateful…”for headphones and Anthony Skinner already being on my laptop, so I don’t have to deal with my little Wild Thing. See. I am so freakin done. It is sad.

“I’m looking forward to…..”selling more of my DooLollies (headbands that can expand into a kerchief). I’ve already sold 6! I’m so exited!

What a nice day.

I got a huge dose of Volkswagen love today. We got to go to the annual VW show. Oh my goodness! I so wish I would have brought my camera. It was really cool sharing this love with my husband, and to a lesser degree my son. Joseph was much more interested in going to the water than looking at cars. It was very hot, so I don’t really blame him. Maybe we should have gone to the water first, but I was afraid that some of the cars would be gone by the time we got to the cars. I did get a great shot of the apparently elusive ‘car cooler’, aka swamp cooler. I have been trying to describe this thing to Dave and another friend of ours for a few weeks. We have considered buying an old bug and they both asked me what I would do in the middle of Alabama’s sweltering summers. That’s when I started trying to describe this thing. I googled everything I could think of to find it, but to no avail. I felt like I was losing my mind, or thought they thought so. I feel vindicated or validated or something, now that I’ve found one and photographed it. I’ve sent the picture to the friend and Dave was with me, so he saw it with his own eyes.

car cooler on VW bug

Better Late then Never

It has taken me two freakin days to get my password straight. sheeesh!

This week we want to… intentionally ‘strew’ more stuff around the house. I actually cleaned off my dining room table, well, then got my sewing kit and machine out. So I guess will have to put it somewhere else. I did reposition a little kids table in the dining room, so he passes it frequently

The kid is…still very excited about Moshi monsters. It really is fun to see him learning so much math-adding and place values. He has also adapted his new card game a little from my attempt to teach him how to play Rummy. His new card game is pretty cool in it’s original form. Seperate red cards from black, minus face cards. Each person picks up 3 cards. (here’s the cool part) You have to add the three cards and the person who has the highest number gets to discard those three and get three more. So he’s learning less than/greater than and adding. I quickly remembered that when we first started homeschooling, he wanted to add three numbers, and I thought it was strange, but interesting.

I am learning…how to make a headband. I really liked how my first one turned out and I’m planning on getting more fabric tomorrow so I can make and sell some. Football season is about to start and a friend of mine suggested last night that I make some with houndstooth fabric. For those of you that may not be into college football, ‘Bear’ Bryant was a legend of a coach for the University of Alabama. He always wore a houndstooth hat and now you can see houndstooth everywhere.

I am struggling with… self confidence. I have had some problems with how I feel people are perceiving me, whether they like me or not. I’ve felt awkward around women from my old cover school. It’s just been weird. This new cover school doesn’t have co-ops, so the opportunities for us to hang out with other families isn’t quite as easy as it was before.

This week is the first time… I met some new homeschoolers that are part of our cover school. We seemed to get along ok. Joseph showed out some, but she seems to be ok. That is actually part of the source for the above mentioned feelings.

So, there ya go. The week in a nutshell. Here is the link to the original ICU

http://christianunschooling.com/i-cu/