School's Cool

School's cool but is it the best option for our family? This is a question that we have been asking ourselves since before we had children. Now that we are approaching our daughter's 4th birthday, it is a question that we are actively pursuing an answer to. To this end, I have been reading the book, So You're Thinking About Home Schooling by Lisa Whelchel. I would highly recommend it to anyone asking themselves this same question. It's a book that crushes stereotypes of what a home schooling family looks like. Each chapter give you a look into a new hypothetical family's home schooling experience. It is very interesting and eye opening.

That leads me to what I learned today. Lisa Whelchel has a website. Within the website there is a huge section on homeschooling. Here is the link. There are two sections which I found particularly helpful and informative: teaching methods and curriculum choices. Each of these sections have links to other sites...very helpful. I learned about Lisa Whelchel's site today but I also learned so much more...too much to write here.

Pancake Breakfast

Today, we went to a local Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast. It was a fun time...pancakes, sausage, face painting, and balloons...all things that made the 3 year old happy. I have always wondered what the name Kiwanis means and here it is...

"The name 'Kiwanis' means 'we trade' or 'we share our talents.' It was coined from an American Indian expression, Nunc Kee-wanis."

I always wondered but never looked it up. This blog has encouraged me to pursue those little things that I never find the time to look up. It only takes a few minutes but all too often I put things off and never ever get to it. That has been the biggest benefit of this blog.

Air Force 2

Whew, what a surreal day I had today! Today I learned about a lot about security, Secret Service and Air Force 2...first hand!

I learned how they get all the limos from place to place...

And, look who I got to meet...

I'll update later with more text but for now I must sleep since yesterday I was too excited to do so!

Dang it!

Today, I read this article... Teens Talk Trash.

Then, I ran across this article... Gosh Darn! Cussing banned in California Town.

Weird that I would run into two articles so similar on the same day without specifically seeking them out. Through the articles, I learned about Cuss Control Academy. Pretty interesting concept. I think it's great that this man is teaching kids that cussing is a "lazy language." Why not give them the tools they need to communicate more effectively by using more descriptive words. Personally, I'm sick of all the cussing that I hear...especially when I have two sets of little ears listening and learning. Whatever can be done to help society find better words to use is progress in my opinion.

He's crawling

Yep, today I learned that the little guy can crawl. Oi! The things he'll be getting into! He is so inquisitive. He loves to investigate. I thought the rolling was bad...it just got worse! He's so cute though. He pushes himself up to his hands and knees and just kinda rocks back and forth. Then, he gets a sneaky little look in his eyes and seconds later, he starts a movin'. He's still trying to master the whole crawling thing. Currently it's a mix of true crawling and army crawling mixed with periodic stops where he raises onto his toes while keeping his hands on the ground in front of him. It's kinda like a push up with his little heiney stuck way up in the air...pretty much like how his momma does a push up!



I tried to post a video of it but it just didn't work. I've been sitting here for the last 40 minutes waiting for it to load and then, Blogger kicked me out!


Tonight, while I was at a meeting, he crawled over to the stairs and pulled himself up! I didn't see it for myself but Daddy and Sister saw it. Then, when I got home, I was nursing him and he turned away and looked at Daddy. When he saw him, he said, "Da-a-a-a...Dee." No kidding! It was as clear as day! My mind says, "Surely he did not just say Daddy." But, it sure did sound like it and he said it as he turned at looked right at him. Probably just coincidence but I have to say it was pretty cool! Of course, Daddy's heart just melted!

I guess the little guy knew that I had had a bad day yesterday and he thought that hitting a few milestones might cheer me up. Well, it did. I learned through yesterday's experience that I need to focus on the things that truly matter and will ultimately last. That would be my family.

Yeesh! My baby is growing up all together too fast! Crawling, pulling up, and first word all in one day...slow down kiddo!

Bruised Pride

I really didn't learn much today and even if I did, I really don't feel much like trying to figure out what was learned. I'm kinda in a funk. I learned today that having your pride bruised is not fun. Sometimes you hear things that you don't particularly want to hear or you learn things that you would have rather not learned. Today is one of those days. It was a day where I thought that what I was doing was pretty darn good only to have it publicly ridiculed. That's a lesson that hurts.

So that I could learn from the experience, I looked through some quotes until I found a couple that were applicable. I thought that perhaps they would teach me a thing or two or at least help me put things into perspective.

"Pride would be a lot easier to swallow if it didn't taste so bad." -- Brad Moore

Ya, I don't know who Brad Moore is. But that's a darn good quote. It currently tastes real bad. Perhaps if I learn how bad pride tastes, it will encourage me to rid my life of it. Hmmm, a life with less negative pride...that would be a good lesson to learn.

Here's another quote from C.S. Lewis, one of my favorite authors. He was talking of pride when he said, "There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves. And the more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others."

OK, so I know that pride makes you unpopular. That's no big surprise. But I never thought about how unconscious of it I am in my own life. I was completely unaware that I had pride regarding this particular situation today until the negative comments started flying. My hurt feelings revealed the pride that I unconsciously had regarding the situation. Perhaps the lesson here is that I need to be more aware of pride in my life. If I remain unaware, how am I to rid my life of it? Perhaps constant reflection and humility are areas that I need to strive for.

Yup, today my pride is bruised...perhaps some chocolate will make it all better.

Angel Eyes

Today, I learned that guitarist Jeff Healey died after battling cancer since he was just 1 year old. Here is a link to a news article on his death. He's such a talented artist who overcame so much, including cancer and blindness...so sad, only 41 years old.

Here is a link to his song Angel Eyes on YouTube. I love this song!!! It was always one of my favorites. An old college boyfriend even gave a recording of this song to me before he moved away. It's one of those songs that just brings back memories...good ones of course.

Thank you, Jeff, for sharing your talent with the world.

(Sorry, honey, that college boyfriend wasn't you.)