The Lesson in the Nest

Several years ago, the kids received a DVD about hummingbirds as a gift from their Nana. It turned into a week-long theme study and a blog post. Yesterday, Mr. Magoo found a complete bird's nest on the ground, lying off to one side and it brought back memories of that week. 

Bruiser put it back in the tree

Schoolhouse Review Crew: Victus Study Systems Review

As Maestro gets further into his high school years, and have decided that we can confidently continue to homeschool through those years, we have been considering and watching his time management, study skills and time spent online. We want to make sure he is set up to manage his time, take on the world and achieve his goals and dreams, whatever direction he moves in. One possible solution came from my faithful Schoolhouse Review Crew when they offered the chance to review the Victus Study Skills System. 

Schoolhouse Review Crew: Papa's Pearls

Papa's Pearls is a fun, easy-to-read book by Diane Flynn Keith, and I am glad that I was picked to be one of the reviewers for this little gem. "Papa" was what Diane's father was called by children and grandchildren alike, and Ms. Keith does a wonderful job of including stories from each of the generations about him. It is clear from the story that he loved his family (and they knew it) and is loved by his family still (though he is gone now.) 

Buttercup "reading" like Mom. She's getting there!

The story is a sweet way to pass on Papa's sayings (the "pearls") and life lessons, and to share those lessons with the world at large. I was drawn into this book, and throughout every chapter found myself thinking, "That's a good way to illustrate that lesson," or "I like that saying, I have to remember to use it in our house more often!"

Living Intentionally and a Link to a Giveaway

I have goals and dreams, most of us do, I suppose, but I seldom write them down. I sort of take it for granted that the events taking place in my life are leading me, slowly but surely, through and to those things I am meant to achieve in life. When I was younger, all I ever wanted was to join the military and get a pilot's license. I joined the military at 18, married at 22, left the Navy at 24 and largely feel like my life has been an every-day gift.

Having that attitude doesn't require anything of me really, except that I show up and be open to going along for the (sometimes wild) ride. But that attitude also means I am not living my life intentionally. If I don't live my life with a thought to my goals and dreams, then I am not really living my life to its fullest potential. In short: I am letting big chunks of life pass me by as I float down the lazy path of the slow part of the river. 

There is nothing wrong with taking the come-as-it-may route, I get to see the forest for the trees that way. Heck, I even get to see the leaves of the trees that way - and the occasional Leaf Bug hiding in those leaves!

But this post is about changing that dynamic somewhat. This post is about making a "bucket list," but since I am not fond of that term, I'm using one I saw on another blog: "Life List"

Living Life Backwards - A Different Perspective

I posed this thought to my children the other day:

What If...

parents knew how old a child was going to be when that child was born 

and

as a result, we counted our years down instead of up.

Would you live your life more fully, knowing that your days were "numbered" and life had a clearly-defined ending? Would you live in fear of what was coming and try to play it safe - perhaps in the effort to "escape" the inevitable? 

Overcoming Frustration

What to do with a six-year-old who is frustrated from learning to tie his shoes? Make him do it again. Grit and Grin and tie it again. And again. And again. OR end up tying shoes for a 30-year-old man (???) Yeah. No.

Each of my three older children are different in this way. Maestro has had a lot of experience at things coming relatively easy for him. With music, he has never had to really press through frustration because he "gets it" on the first or second try. It's just his thing. Smeagol, on the other hand, has long had to work for every. single. step.

No regrets

I have lived much of my life by one series of thoughts:

Every decision I have made in life,
whether seemingly good at the time
or seemingly poor,
has led me to where I am now.

I have no regrets.

So I've decided to take a sort of "life inventory." Here are the stats for the last 18 years (I'll include pictures where I have them digitized.)

Began taking college classes (18 years ago)
Left high school and college for the Navy (16 years ago)
Got married (11 years ago)


Had our first son - Maestro (10 years ago - born the week before our 1st anniversary)

Left the Navy (9 years ago)
Sold Pampered Chef (8 years ago)
Had boy #2 - Smeagol (8 years ago)

Stopped selling Pampered Chef (8 years ago)
Moved from Georgia to Maryland
Joined the Orthodox Church

Visited Ireland (6 years ago)

Had boy #3 - Bruiser (5 years ago)
Began homeschooling Maestro

Worked as a mystery shopper (3 years ago)
Started a writing business from home
Began homeschooling Smeagol

Had our first baby girl (22 months ago)

Graduated from college after working at it for 18 years (9 months ago)

Now I am homeschooling all three boys, working on baby #5, finishing some big projects for my writing business, and enjoying the process of moving toward the next step in life. Still big on my dream sheet: earning a pilot's license - saving for that now!

This is the culmination of 20 years of work, patience and love from those around me. I can't wait to see what is next!

Necessity of Friendship

Last Sunday was a dear friend's birthday. Usually we take our spinster-friend out to a tea house for high tea. Before you think I'm being mean calling her a "spinster," here is a plug for her blog: www.spinsterbeth.blogspot.com You'll see her spinning wheel in one of the photos.

So, we're going to tea... We've considered wearing hats, but I don't usually have one to wear. I need something huge and gaudy and outrageous I think. Most years, we have three for tea - but one of our numbers is out of town until September, so this year we'll have

tea for two...
and two for tea...

(anyone know this song? Or am I just the Queen of Old Songs? Well, it is a song about two lovers, which she and I are decidedly NOT so I can only use that part of the lyrics for this post.)

This same wonderful friend has been a Godsend when Jeff has been out of town on business trips - she has come over when the kids were driving me crazy, she has come over just to sit and play Othello or checkers, and she and a few other friends come over nearly every Saturday evening for dinner, fellowship, and games. Our Saturday night group is a mixed bag - military, civilian, veteran, knitters, woodworkers, married, single, with and without children and somehow we all manage to find enough points of similarity to form a sort-of extended family in it all. The kids ask about each other through the week; the adults keep in touch via Facebook and e-mail, planning meals, deciding who will bring what this week, etc. Two ladies knit, I crochet, but don't have the same... shall we say... obsession for yarn-craft that they do.

A neighbor comes by every so often to have tea and an afternoon chat. Our children play together constantly and we feel at ease in making sure they behave, whether talking to our own children or those of the other. She and her family have come by for dinner once or twice, and have joined us at neighborhood gatherings and "happy hour" at another neighbor's down the street.

Another group I gather with has four to five women, including myself. In that group, we have a military retiree, two military veterans and one who is still active duty. We all met through work. I know only that one is heavy into scrapbooking, two love baseball, and we all have a pretty rowdy party when we go out.

In each of these groups, there may be only one or two places of similar interest or background or life experience - but I feel safe in these groups. I find the camaraderie with them that I joined the Navy to find fourteen years ago. Whether an all-women group, or mixed, we share news of our days, plans for the future and troubles. In return, we offer jests and good-naured ribbing, we offer laughter, we offer advice - and sometimes, in kindness and love and respect for one another, we offer rebuke, knowing that the friendships will hold strong.

I have talked to several people recently who are looking for those connections - people who have them, and don't always realize it. So I started looking around. Do I have them? Where do I stand in this world, with whom do I connect? Whose needs do I help fill? And I found these groups, and others, all around me. People I see regularly enough that I know them by name, not just face (a continual struggle for me!) People that I know care enough to tell me when I've messed up.

This is my thanks to them - the realization that I am not alone because of them. And in this case, this week, it starts with tea.