Faster than you think

School starts around here in just over three weeks now. I believe I almost have the kids curriculum finished.

Almost.

I'm getting excited, though!

We're going to give preschool a shot this year as well. Boy am I nervous about that! Little miss KK is such a firecracker and so so smart. I feel like I need to do something to keep that little brain stimulated. It's going to be so much fun!!

ABC pages are printing as I type this.

We are doing a free preparatory program that I found online. And who doesn't like free! It's called Brightly Beaming Resources. I love this site. It just makes no sense to me to pay so much for school and curriculum when you can learn plenty for free or very cheap! Even for my older kids. The library is full of books. Wonderful, paper books. The kids will be reading plenty of classic books. Some that I don't even think I've read yet! I guess I better get on that. He he

I am using a site that seems to loosely follow the Charlotte Mason method. It's called Old Fashion Education. I love it as well! Our math program is free also. The only things left to get are science and a Texas History curriculum. Both Sage and Raiden want to do Texas History and I found an awesome curriculum for just over $100. I'm sure Rai will want to go over it again at some point and it will also work great for Kaitlan.

I am getting much more confident in my ability to home school the kids. I still want to focus on our work a lot, but want to try to branch out more and add some activities that we may have missed out on last year. We already signed up for 4-H and need to get started on building a rabbit hutch.

Rabbits. Oh boy.

Okay, I have got to get back on task! I want to make sure I have everything ready when the day comes. Wish me luck!!

Faster than you think

What is this all about?!

As mom to an almost-teen girl, I've noticed a big change in my daughter of the past year. One of those changes is how she seems to take tons of pictures of herself mostly in the bathroom making goofy faces. You know, silly teenage girl faces. She posts them to her Facebook and Myspace. Some of her friends take these same kind of pictures and I've seen others as well. I'm sure most anyone who has been on the internet has for that matter.

Here is one just before the goofy faces started:

Now they're all so ridiculously funny! I'll let you judge for yourself:

I find them hilarious! There are many more that she has taken on my cell phone, but I have either deleted them or I'm just too lazy to send them all to my email and then blah blah blah. I have told her that she should wipe the mirror down before taking these crazy shots, but I guess she "forgot".

Does anyone have funny self photos of their children? I could do a whole 'nother post on my son and his up-nose shots. Kids.... Gotta love 'em!

What is this all about?!

National Missing Children's Day

All of us have heard the news broadcasts.

We have all been driving in our cars, enjoying our day when we hear an Amber Alert over the airwaves.

As a parent and a caring human being in general, these things break my heart. I'm sure many of you feel the same way.

This morning while perusing through the news stories on my home page, I came across one story of a little boy that disappeared 31 years ago never to be heard from again. On May 25, 1979, six year old Etan Patz walked from his lower Manhattan home to a bus stop two blocks away while on his way to school. His abduction sparked national attention on the problem of and the lack of plans addressing child abduction. His face would become the first to be put on a milk carton and his case would turn May 25 into National Missing Children's Day.

Another high-profile missing child case came in July of 1981. Six year old Adam Walsh went missing from a shopping mall in Florida. His parents were disappointed to find that there was no protocol on neither a state or federal level to help them in the frantic search for their son. We know, of course, that his disappearance lead his father, John Walsh, to start the t.v. show America's Most Wanted.

These events, as well as a three year long spree between June of 1979 and May of 1981 that consisted of the killing of 29 adolescent children in Atlanta, Georgia, led to the exposure of the flaws in the handling of child abduction cases.

Now, I don't know about you, but this is one of my biggest fears for my own children. It is always in the back of my mind when we are in a busy public place. Call me paranoid, but I don't really even let my older kids play in our own front yard without checking on them constantly. And they're 12 and 9!

I wish I would have realized that National Missing Children's Day was actually two days ago because I would have written this post then. Regardless of what the date on the calendar is, I urge you to pay attention to those Amber Alerts from all over the country.

Check the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children board featured at your local Wal-Mart or anywhere else they may be posted.

Check their website occasionally as well.

Our children are our future.

There is no future without them.

National Missing Children's Day

Distractions

These past couple of weeks I have missed out on a lot of blogging.  I've missed my Not Me Monday posts two or three weeks in a row now.  I even had my post for yesterday started and still didn't get it done!  I have to say, though, the reasons for my being so distracted are pretty good.

Sage's choir performance

 

wall climbing... Raiden didn't get much further than that!

 

Raiden  riding the Christmas train

Sage and Kaitlan getting off of the train

 

We rode the Bear Affair!

 

Sage didn't really want to ride

 

My boys making brownie bites

Poor Logan!  Raiden is such a goof.

 

 And my baby girl

There so many other things where I forgot the camera, but we have been having loads of fun.  I love this time of year and sharing this time with the kids.

Distractions

Halloween Preview

I am so excited about Halloween this year!  This is the first year that I have been able to convince my kids that they don't have to get a generic, store-bought costume that every other kid on the street will be wearing.  I convinced Sage that she and Kaitlan should both be Harajuku girls.  They will be so cute!!  To explain this:

Harajuku Girls is a term to describe women and teenaged girls in Harajuku (Tokyo Japan) who wear a style of clothing that originated in the street culture of major cities in Japan, i.e. Tokyo and Osaka. The "Harajuku style," named for the Harajuku district of Tokyo, combines a wide range of diverse influences, and is also known as "Fruits Fashion" by followers of Fruits Magazine. The terms "Harajuku Girls" and "Fruits" are not used by the Japanese to describe themselves.  The term has come into popular use via Gwen Stefani's music videos and songs from her Love.Angel.Music.Baby album.  A few examples:

There are different styles including Gothic Lolita, Decora, Kogal, Ganguro, Wamono, Second-Hand Fashion, and Cyber Fashion.  It's really just about self expression which I always love!  Raiden wanted to be a ninja or something, but I was already on a creative roll.  I talked him into being a hobo.  I remember being a hob for halloween when I was a year or two older than him and I thought it was cute.  I can't wait to get him dressed in a sturdy, filth covered pair of jeans and an old, worn out, long sleeve shirt.  I'm going to mess up his hair real good, make him a napsack on a stick to carry and give him a five o'clock shadow.  They are all going to be so cute!!!  So here is a small preview of the girls costumes... Raiden was just in the pic.

Yes, Kaitlan is crying from being held down, Raiden is attempting to give her bunny ears, and it's just an altogether cruddy shot, but you can see basically what I'm talking about.  The girls will NOT be wearing those tops, but the tutus, BabyLegs, gloves, & knee-high socks are all a part of their outfits.  I can't wait for another week and a half to creep by so I can get creative on them!

Halloween Preview