Sometimes you should just listen to your instincts!

Something told me that I didn't want to go anywhere this holiday. I don't know why, it wasn't that I wasn't feeling merry or in the gift giving, joyful mood of the season. I just knew for some reason that I didn't want to go out and about. I pushed myself through this train of thought, thinking it was just me getting way to deep into my own head, missing Noni and wishing for times when things were a bit easier and less stressful at this time of year ~ but really what would the holidays be without at least a little bit of stress? Any-who - I now know that I should have just listened to my gut, because if I had, my whole household wouldn't have come down with the wretched norovirus that is running ramped around here!
We went to my sister's house on Christmas Eve and everyone who was there that evening went home and had a wonderful Christmas morning, but by Christmas night we were all far from well. We got a call from my wonderful sister, the nurse who after calling in sick to work was told by the hospital that she works for to make sure that she notifies everyone that she came in contact with to quarantine themselves for 72 hours after their first signs of illness! Yeah - so we have done very little besides trying to keep some sort of food in our systems the last few days! Luckily - and very strangely I must say - CJ did NOT get sick, so he was able to plow and make some money during the blizzard that hit on Sunday!
Thankfully KM and I were able to get out and about a bit today, because I think one more day in would have driven us all KOOKY! DN will be here until Thurs and is under lock down until then as he didn't start vomiting until Monday afternoon. Lots of laundry and disinfecting will be done today and tomorrow and hopefully that will be last of it.
Next time I am just going to listen to my instincts and STAY HOME!!!!

Hope you all have a very....

Christmas Glitter

Stop the Madness - Incredible Video

This video brought me to tears. My friends and I were in the generation at the beginning of this craziness! We were given label upon label and many of us often wonder WHERE we would be if we hadn't been. We have friends that AREN'T around, is it because their dreams were squashed? Because they were told they needed to be fixed? Because they were told they weren't good enough? Because they were CHANGED into what others wanted them to be?

Stop labeling children! Start supporting the incredible things that make us all individuals!

Three years have past...

since we started down this road and I don't know where the time has gone.  Looking back to my first few posts about homeschooling I am amazed at how our family and life has changed since taking KM out of PS in December of 2007. When we started out we were much more of a "school at home" family, I didn't know any better, as the only learning format that I had ever been exposed to was the public school system. So when I abruptly took KM out of PS midyear of 5th grade, I knew I could educate her better than they were, but it never occurred to me that she would be such an independent learner and I would become more of a research assistant and event coordinator than a "teacher".

We have had so many fantastic adventures and I cannot imagine where we would be if CJ and I had made a different decision. I am so grateful that we had the confidence to make this choice and I can't wait to see where the next year will take us!

A Very Merry Yule To One and All

City of Bones - Teen Book Review By KM

The City of Bones is an incredibly well written thriller with suspense, action, and myth. This book is a favorite of mine and I believe that others, teens and adults, will agree that Cassandra Clare is an incredible writer who is always throwing things at you that you would never expect. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this series.

~~~I have asked KM to start adding her own posts to the blog to get a teen perspective, so hopefully we will be hearing from her more often! 

Update - Rather Hectic Week

We school year round, but at each solstice and equinox we take "book work" breaks. It always seems to be our busiest times and we generally aren't home for days on end with whatever seasonal sport we are doing, - ice skating right now - performances, field trips while the "schools" are not taking them, and all of our normal running around. When we are home, it is lots of baking, cooking, and preparing for whatever season is beginning - right now we are working on holiday gifts and crafts. We try to make time as a family to remember what each season means to us, what joys have passed and what we hope to come. This week has been an exceptional busy one, here are some highlighted moments -

Our Favorite Science Teacher has his own show!!!!

Science Jim Show: Holiday Gadgets #1 from Science Jim on Vimeo.

Baking, Baking and More Baking...

I began feeling better just in time to start baking for our Bonfire Bash this weekend. We spent the day filling the house with the sweetest smells of the season....rocky road & butterscotch chip brownies, chocolate chocolate chip cookies, snickerdoodles & challah bread! 

Update - Feeling a bit under the weather

I have not been feeling so fabulous the last few days. Luckily KM is a trooper! She has been very busy with friends and getting the last of her fall lessons completed, while nursing me back to health. I just have some sort of head cold, but it is making it nearly impossible to sleep and my sinuses feel like they are going to burst. She was very understanding when I offered to make a quick run to the library for her to pick up books this morning in lieu of me having to sit in the freezing cold ice rink this afternoon - THANK HEAVENS the mangas she requested were in through interlibrary loan! I am hoping if I rest up one more day I will be up for taking her to the rink on Thur and if need be I can stay in the warm room with some coffee and a book! I have to be better by this weekend, as we have our Bonfire Bash coming up!

Afternoon on the Ice

She hadn't been on the ice in a VERY long time, but she was confident that she wanted to try. Though she mostly stayed near the side, she made huge improvements in the short hour and a half we were there. Many, many thanks to all the wonderfully encouraging moms who were cheering her on along the way.

Please disregard my horrid video skills...I am still getting used to doing it again.

Since she had such a fabulous time and she knew she was going to be keeping them, she came home and made them her own...

To see the finished product take a look HERE!