W is for We're Moving ~ Part 1 {Blogging through the Alphabet}

This is just a little life update! Yep we're moving and so far it's been a crazy, wild, emotional rollercoaster. I went into this move excited, and have come out feeling like I was tossed around on a football field by a wild rabid dinosaur. How's that for a visual? I can't even tell you how stressful this process has been so far. Calgon, where the heck are you???

Rewind back to the middle of March. We got a letter in the mail saying that our lease was up at our current house and not only was it up, they were going up on our rent. It said something to the effect of, "Yall are top notch clients, but we are going up on your rent $100 a month." Well, I have never liked the part of town we live in because not far from us is quite a bit of crime. Our neighborhood is nice, but if you turn left out of it, and drive about 5 miles, things get pretty shady.  For example, one of the neighborhoods down there is called Sunrise. Well it's better known as "Gunrise" or "Gangville".  Just in the last week across from the Wal-Mart we frequently go to, were two murders! I wasn't a fan when we moved here, so for 2 years I've begged my husband to move me. He decided that it was time.

U is for Unexpected Unschooling ~ Blogging through the Alphabet

When I first started researching homeschool, I found out quickly that there are many different methods to it. You've got traditional, classical, Charlotte Mason, eclectic, Montessori, and unschooling to name a few. This had me so overwhelmed after I began that I almost gave up! I read through most of the methods and a few sounded like they could be good fit for us, and I definitely wanted to do some further research on them. Out of all the methods listed, unschooling was the furthest from my mind. It just sounded crazy to a person like me who knew nothing but public school my entire life.

We started off doing traditional style school, and I realized pretty quick that all I was doing was recreating a public school atmosphere at home. The kids weren't happy, I wasn't happy, so we just decided that it wasn't working for us. I mean why would I want to recreate the school I had taken them out of. In my opinion, for MY kids, public school completely stifled their love of learning. This may not happen for all kids, but for mine it was just the truth. So in trying to really figure this homeschool thing out, I just decided to try different methods and curriculum until I found something that worked for us. Some things stuck and some didn't. I decided that we would just be eclectic homeschoolers.

Through all of my research, I would always find myself back to researching John Holt and his methods of unschooling, or unschooling families who already live this lifestyle of learning. In the beginning what I thought was such a wild way of learning was now seeming to make so much more sense to me. This unschooling or child led, organic, natural, self directed learning was sounding better and better. My kids are born natural learners and they are born with a passion to learn, but no books? No worksheets?  No TESTS? I was slowly getting out of my public school mindset but to just let my kids take charge of what they wanted to learn? That's absurd!

Unschooling by definition is "an educational method and philosophy that advocates learner chosen activities as a primary means for learning." The question was, how could I incorporate this into our "school". I decided that we would ease into this method of learning because it was so new to me.  I also wanted to see what would happen if I let them learn a little more organically rather than try to shove so much information down their throat at one time. As eclectic homeschoolers, we did math the traditional way, because...it's math and I just couldn't let go of it. Language Arts is a mix of traditional and Charlotte Mason (they actually really enjoy copy work so why mess with it.) We also use the Charlotte Mason method for history and science, and they love learning it that way.  As I started letting them take some direction on their learning, a funny thing happened. It made me realize that they do know themselves better than I thought. We started having discussions about the history or science we were learning, and I could see where their interests were peaking. I let them start directing me on what they wanted to learn in science, and before you knew it, we were learning about weather, climates, and the human body. They wanted to learn these things and were actually retaining the information that they learned. It was like a breath of fresh air really. They read about different subjects, watched documentaries on it, and learned.

As we continued our schooling as eclectic homeschoolers, we started to have some unschooling tendencies. I realized that I wanted our structured learning to be done quickly, so that the kids could play, and work on things that they wanted to learn. Read books that they wanted to read.  They get excited about the things they want to learn and tell everyone about it. My son wanted to learn cursive, and begged me to teach him. I did, and he loves it. This was completely unschooling. He asked to learn cursive, and I made that happen. I became a facilitator and gave him what he needed to learn it.

Edyn taught herself to loom knit. She wanted to try it and I bought her the supplies. She watched YouTube videos and taught herself everything she needed to know. She even made hats to sell and also for gifts. So, her loom knitting turned into a small business for her. She learned about taking special orders, profits and also overhead. She learned that her time was valuable. All of this because she wanted to learn how to loom knit.

Edyn's loom knitted owl

My favorite thing about our unexpected unschooling has been that Edyn has taught herself how to do  make-up well enough that she could be a make-up artist at 14. Again, through YouTube videos she has taught herself techniques and practices everyday. Now she even has her own YouTube channel for her own tutorials. (It's called GardenofEdyn in case you want to check it out!) We realized that through this natural, self directed learning that she has a God given talent! She has even had a professional make-up artist tell her that she does indeed have a gift!

Edyn doing her Adele inspired make-up tutorial..and yes they look a lot alike!

She also has a passion for photography. She has taught herself how to use her DSLR camera, and learned how to work it so that it's not just on auto. With her YouTube videos, she has learned to film herself, but she's also taught herself how to edit her videos on the computer. She amazes me with her knowledge of these things and especially since they are all self-taught!

I know that we can't officially call ourselves unschoolers because we do still use books to learn also, but I will say that we are eclectic homeschoolers with unschooling tendencies. I wish I was the type of person that could just let go and let them unschool it all....but right now I can't. I really enjoy watching them teach themselves and mastering different tasks. I feel like they do still want to learn, and letting them take the lead with some things is giving them the confidence they need to know that they CAN teach themselves without me standing over them all of the time.

I really have so much respect for true unschooling families. Unschooling is definitely not un-parenting! If anything it's even harder because you basically follow your child's lead, and we all know children's interests can change from day to day!

I am super excited about what some unschooling "tendencies" has done for us. I really hope that we can go down that road a little more and more as time goes on. Do you have unschooling tendencies or are you an unschooling family? I would love to hear from you so that I can learn more about it, and what it has done for your children!

To read other Blogging Through the Alphabet posts click the link below!

S is for Sunflowers - Blogging through the Alphabet

Yesterday while repotting some plants, and planting some cilantro and rosemary seeds with my husband, I started thinking of my grandparents. When I was a little girl I spent the majority of the time at their house. My mom was a single mother who had to work, so it was just a given that I would be with my grandparents. Oh the memories I have there.

My grandparents were the type of people who never sat down. They were always doing something, but one of their biggest loves, besides us, was gardening. I can remember looking out at their garden as a child and it just seemed to go on and on forever. They would grow strawberries, potatoes, okra, cucumbers as long as your arm, carrots, grapes, watermelons, cantaloupe, and even peanuts! That doesn't even scratch the surface. If it grows in dirt, my grandparents had it in their garden.

One of my favorite memories, was the Sunflowers that she grew. I can remember taking seeds and planting them, and when a sunflower popped up, I was amazed! They were taller than ME, and I couldn't even reach the top of the flower! They would line the front of her garden so majestically. I would sit on her back steps waiting anxiously while she would take the flower off, and I would eat the seeds right out of it! I loved the feeling of eating something straight from the ground it grew. They were so good at what they did, and I really regret not learning their secrets to gardening. I always said, "When I start my garden, I'm going to go get soil from theirs because it has to be the best soil in Texas!" Sadly, I never got to do that.

My grandparents passed away, the house has now been sold, and I never learned how to grow strawberries, potatoes, watermelons, or sunflowers. That in itself can be sad, but I choose to remember the happy memories of my childhood in their garden. I spent most of my summers out in that lovely backyard garden with all of the wonderful things that they grew and put so much love into. The memories of sitting under the fig tree, swinging on my swing set, and the sunflowers will never be forgotten.

I didn't have any pictures of their sunflowers, but this is a picture of their house. I miss it so much.




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Quick Morning Smoothie - Blogging Through the Alphabet

So, I needed to make a quick post before we leave for vacation, and it's time for the letter Q in the Blogging through the Alphabet series! I was sitting here trying to decide what in the world I could write about that started with Q. It's not that easy lol. 

I've made this lifestyle change lately from being a SAD vegetarian, to adding a lot of healthier choices to my diet, and hoping to eventually be a raw vegan.  I started drinking smoothies for breakfast and I'm loving them. My favorite so far is my blueberry and banana smoothie. It's so good and it gives me energy and keeps me very full! I didn't take pictures of all of the ingredients separate this time because it was too late...but honestly it's so easy you don't need many pictures to follow. 

Blueberry and Banana Breakfast Smoothie

Ingredients:

5 to 7 frozen bananas

1 cup of blueberries

1 cup of greens (I use a mixture called Power Greens)

3 cups of coconut water

Blend until smooth. 

 I use a big blender. A little bullet probably won't work since it's not very big.

Seriously that's it. Obviously you can add whatever fruit you want. I also like frozen or fresh mango and of course strawberries!  

Let me know what your favorite morning smoothie is. I'm wanting to try different variations and flavors!

  If you would like to link up your own Blogging through the Alphabet posts, click the link below!

P is for Painting Pottery - Blogging through the Alphabet

Last week we had a day that we had to just toss the books and get out of the house. It was a beautiful day, and I decided to take the kids to our local clay art studio. I love it because you can just pick whatever piece you want to paint, pay the price for that piece, and spend as long as you want painting it.  I think we stayed for around 2 hours. The best part is that since we went around 1, we were the only ones there. It was so peaceful, and relaxing.

O is for Our list of favorite board games (Blogging through the Alphabet)

So, lately we've been on a huge board game kick. We decided now that our kids are older, that we really wanted to build up our collection. We love nothing more than to have a good family night. We have gotten some new board games, and we have a few that are our old favorites, so I decided to list our top 5.

N is for Nature Notebook - Blogging through the Alphabet

Since this week's Blogging through the Alphabet is letter N, I wanted to share our nature notebook. This will be short and sweet since it's nothing special. It's something I honestly threw together because they love learning about things in nature. I wanted their notebooks to be all of their writings and drawings so it's very simple. I took a 3 ring binder, and added drawing paper. Done. You honestly can't get much easier than that. The way we do it is whatever they find in nature, they draw it and add facts about it. They have fun trying to draw whatever it is they've found, then adding all the facts to their page about that subject. I'm also going to let them start adding any pictures that they take on the back. We are just starting out so we don't have much to show.

That's pretty much it. It's easy, cheap, and the kids have a great time doing it. It's just one of the things that can easily be added to any homeschool!

Other Blogging through the Alphabet posts you may enjoy:
L is for Love
M is for Me

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Blogging through the Alphabet...M is for Making time for ME.

So this week's letter is the letter M, and I was really having trouble deciding on what to write about. As I was trying to think of every word that started with the letter M, I thought of the word "me." Of course, I brushed that off quickly because I am not going to write about me. As I thought about it some more, I reminded myself how lately I have really been trying to make more time for myself. This is something I struggle with all of the time. I have 4 kids, 3 that still live with me, plus my husband, and I realized that at the end of the day, I hardly ever take time to do things for myself that I need to do. Who has time left over in the day when you are being tugged in all directions, all day long?  Those 4 kids, my husband, and now my grand-doll are my life. I live everyday for those people. I'm not concerned with myself because I'm happy as long as they are happy, right?

The only problem with that is, of course, I wear myself thin. That's not helping anyone when I'm tired, cranky, aggravated, and just overwhelmed. Mom's need time for themselves to recharge and rest, all without feeling guilty. I have always had a problem with that...feeling guilty. How can I sit, read, and actually ENJOY a book or movie, while there's still laundry to be done, meals to be planned, and also cooked. After we have school, I really try to get chores done, but sometimes I just don't get it all done. That's when the guilt shows up. I can't sit still and enjoy whatever it is I'm trying to do because I feel like there's so much just sitting and begging for me to come do it.

Well guess what? As my granny used to tell me, "It will still be there in the morning." I do this all to myself. I stress about everything being done and perfect, and with 5 people in the house that's just not going to happen. Things are going to be spilled, plates are going to be dirtied, and laundry is still going to pile up. Even if I think it's all done, it will only last a few minutes around here, and THAT is something I had to come to terms with. Between homeschool, breakfast, homeschool, lunch, laundry, sweeping, mopping, dusting, cleaning, there's only one me, and a lot of that. My kids help, but I am also bad about, "just let me do it". I am getting better with that though and letting my kids and husband take the reigns. If it's not exactly how I would have done it, oh well, it's done right?  My husband puts no expectations on me, and for that I am so blessed and grateful. He doesn't expect perfection of me. He knows I work hard and he knows I do what I do for them. He loves me for that, so if he has to get his towel out of a basket that day, he's cool with that. He's just thankful it's clean.

With that being said, I'm really trying to take time for myself everyday. I want to really take time to get into my bible and journal. That's so important to me. Blogging is also one of the things I enjoy for myself so as you can see, I've already started. I also crochet, which is something that makes me super happy. I'm not hiding, I'm right out in the open having time for myself. I've even told the kids to hold on a sec, if I'm in the middle of a page I'm reading, or if I'm in the middle of blogging. It's not going to hurt them to wait a second! When I take a shower, I take my sweet time to shower, wash my hair, do my skin routine, and make-up. It doesn't have to be a mascara and lip gloss day everyday because it takes more time to put on a full face. Who cares! Does it make you feel better? Then take the extra time and do it.

Moms, you're not being selfish by doing something that makes YOU happy. Don't feel guilty that you are reading a book that YOU enjoy, or a movie that YOU want to watch. Frozen doesn't have to be on 24/7. Let it go. Pick up that adult coloring book and your new colored pencils, put on some Mumford and Sons and relax! Seek some time for yourself to recharge and I promise you will be a better mom and wife for it.

If you would like to read other "Blogging through the Alphabet" posts or link up your own, click the pic below.

Last week's post:
L is for Love

Blogging through the Alphabet...L is for LOVE

I was recently invited to participate in Blogging through the Alphabet. They are already on the letter "L", but I thought this would be a great way to really open myself up to some more subjects to write about.

I know it's not quite Valentine's Day yet, but this post, is all about L is for Love. It's not only going to be mushy, It's going to be dripping with sugar, and may in fact make your blood sugar go up just because it's so sweet. Just a warning.

This man. My love. My rock. My cheerleader. My husband. My everything.

He hates this picture, but my blog, and I love it...so there.

My husband, A.J. is the picture of love. He loves unconditionally. He loves with his entire being. He loves with every fiber of his body. He works crazy long hours because he LOVES us. He puts up with a lot at his job just so that I can stay home with our kids and homeschool them. He's the best dad and now the best Pop!

Let me tell you a little of our story. I met him in 2001 when I had 3 children. I had a 6 year old, a 4 year old, and a newborn. I wasn't looking for a relationship AT ALL. I was a single mom just trying to figure out where I was supposed to go with my life now after failed relationships. I didn't want a man. I didn't want a relationship. I didn't want anything more than to just be left alone with my kids. I had moved into a little apartment with my kids until I could get on my feet and get us something more. I stayed to myself and really didn't talk to many of my neighbors. After I had been there a little while, his best friend and his wife happened to move into the apartment across from mine. I had seen A.J. several times just outside or coming and going to and from their house. Sometimes I would be outside and we would smile, but that was about it. After I had met his friends, it didn't take long before I had met him.  He seemed nice, but I wasn't looking for anything. Apparently God had different plans. A.J. would come over just to say hi and ask how we were doing.  He would play games with us, and my kids loved him. They probably knew I loved him before I knew I did. We had become great friends, and it didn't take long after that before I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I loved him. I was so mad at myself at first for falling so hard for him. This was about me and my kids at this time in my life. I didn't want a relationship. I wanted to be alone. God knew that A.J. was my soul mate...and at that time MY plan didn't matter any longer. God's plan always comes out on top.

We have had our ups and down. Our marriage hasn't been perfect. BUT, in the end our marriage has become stronger than you could imagine. Our obstacles have just added another link in our chain. He is the best daddy. We have one child together, Gavin, but he loves the others so much. It doesn't matter to him if they are his by blood or not. I heard someone quote something the other day on t.v, and I thought this fits so much. I don't even know who was saying it so I can't give recognition, but he said, "Blood is thicker than water, but Love is thicker than blood." That right there sums up my husband and his relationship with my older kids. They love each other and it doesn't matter one bit that they don't share blood. He loves them exactly the same as he does his own son. He doesn't even like to refer them any other way than his kids.

So, I just want to thank my sweet husband for everything he does for us. He is the most selfless person I know. If we want or need something, he goes out of his way to try and get it for us. He's nothing short of amazing and I am so thankful and blessed that he's mine. He is my soul mate, and my true LOVE.

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