Creating an Atmosphere for Exploration *Edited*

Bruiser received a new kiddie-camera for his last birthday. All of the boys have long held interests in photography and drawing. I have tried to be as supportive as I can - and this has been made easier by the use of digital photography. Gone are the days of having to wait to develop the film to find that none of the pictures are worth keeping! While a part of me - the old-fashioned part - laments the loss of "real" film (the old 110 or 35mm film, you know), allowing them to use a digital camera has been a blessing as they explore new methods of seeing the world and new areas of interest. Increasingly, I am finding some pretty good shots, and almost always from an angle or perspective I would not have considered.

One of the best aspects of homeschooling is the freedom to allow our children to explore these new interests and try out new things while still "getting it all in" on the school front. This freedom comes from the fact that their interests are usually easily incorporated into their schoolwork.

Show Review: "Heavy"

As I mentioned in a previous post, I know a few people who struggle with their weight and so I am coming to our relationships from a few angles: First, I am trying to be supportive myself by eating a healthier diet (i.e.: more water, healthy snacks, etc., less sugar) and secondly, I am working to better understand the thoughts, feelings, emotions, etc. that my loved ones struggle with in their efforts to become healthier people. To that end, I've begun watching shows on Netflix to get ideas and understanding. SO... Without further ado, here is my first TV show review...

Corn-Quinoa-Basil-Lime Soup: A Simple Summer Soup

This soup is a mix of two recipes that I have from two different cook books - it is a 20-minute or less type recipe, very easy for even the non-cook types, healthy AND tasty (yes, the two CAN go together!) Pair this with a salad (suggestions below as well), if you want it to be the main part of the meal or if you want it as a starter, follow it up with a chicken breast topped with fresh bruschetta and a side of steamed kale or spinach (recipes for another day and post!) Beyond tasty!

Encouragement in Getting Healthy

No pictures on this post for now, I just don't have a good one yet. This post is a little out of my normal realm but I hope readers will forgive me. I am feeling really pressed lately to start working on posts that are encouraging and helpful in this area of life. I hope to make this only the beginning.

Like so many others in our society right now, there is someone that I love that is clinically labeled "morbidly obese." I have watched her for many years as she struggled to get healthy and get fit... again, and again, and again. I saw her during the "Phen-Fen" years, where she dropped more weight than I remember her ever losing; I watched all that come back after the medication was no longer available. In truth, I'll take the "larger her" than the scary medicine. I've known this person all my life and love her deeply and want to see her succeed in her quest to be healthier and to regain  herself in the process.

Let's be clear, this person is, in so many ways, amazing - and she is wonderful, but this is an area of struggle for her. She is at the end of raising six children. Of those six, all of them talk to her pretty frequently, and only one lives farther than two hours away from her. She has worked two jobs at a time to make ends meet for years and years. She is wonderful with babies and newborns - they adore her (and sleep for her, God bless them!) I'd say that makes for a lot of positives in life!

Up to now, I have watched people in society make nasty, jeering comments; laughing when they thought she was not aware that they were looking; whispering to one another over what food, or how much, was on her plate... Though she puts on a pretty good face of self-confidence, I know from other events that have taken place in her life that she struggles with that. Her weight is one symptom of that. The number of negative, snarky, unsupportive people she surrounds herself with is another: She doesn't feel worthy of being loved or of being fit and healthy. And she is absolutely worthy of both.

A Primer on Larger Families

Our oldest two boys have been in Colorado visiting the 'Grands for about two weeks now and boy what a difference it has made in our house! It is easy to think that temporarily going from five children to three might make my life easier, if only because I am cooking for and taking care of fewer people overall. However, I have to give credit and kudos to my oldest two boys. Bruiser is doing his very best to try to help hold back the "creep" on the house and the Clutter Within. But he's six. He wants to play, he wants to watch shows, he wants to do games with Mom, he wants to hear stories - and rightly so! He's six!

Giving credit to my Exact-Center son, he has moved the laundry from the washer to the dryer and even figured out where to set the timer so it would run long enough to get everything dry. Please trust me when I say that that is a big deal. I've found more laundry left slightly damp in the dryer than I care to remember! On top of that, when it became clear that he was not going to be able to help me mow the back lawn, he saw another need and took care of it - Mr. Magoo was crying in his stroller off to the side and so Bruiser took him into the house and kept him entertained for the twenty minutes it took me to mow. There are other things he's helped with as well, but these are just two big ones from today.

Burst Tomato Recipe - a 20 minute meal

It's been quite a while since I put anything food-based on here and tonight's meal is a great one to share! This meal took me 20 minutes to make, start to finish, is healthy, and delicious!

So, here is what you're looking at: to the left is couscous topped with burst tomatoes, behind that is home made pita, following around to the right is hummus, then kalamata olives and cucumbers from Spinster Beth's garden (Thanks, Beth, they were delicious!)

Scenic Sunday: Washington DC Folklife Festival

I realized after last week's post that if my pictures were going to be taken on Saturday, the actual "Scenic" posts would be Sunday! So continuing on with what I started last week, here are some photos taken yesterday while attending the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington DC with my family and friends. I am using these posts as a way to encourage me to look more closely at the beauty - and sometimes oddity - in the world around me. I am not always the most observant person in the world, largely because I am busy keeping a head count to make sure all of the children are accounted for. Enjoy the story of our day!

Each year the Smithsonian Folklife Festival focuses on three things: a country (Columbia), a type of music (Soul/Blues), and an organization (Peace Corps.)