All Hallows' Eve

Two angels and St. John the Baptist

I sewed the angel costumes using a regular dress pattern I have (increasing the arms) and in flannel because the weather would be chilly. Humorous note about white flannel: Apparently the white flannel I purchased is wide enough to make sheets--like, king sheets. So when I was guessing how much I'd need for two little angels and I asked for four yards, no wonder the cutting lady at the fabric store arched her eyebrow. Not till I got home and began to sew did I see that the fabric was the width of king sheets instead of 45" wide. Yes, I have a lot of leftover white flannel. Perhaps I will sew nightgowns or something!

We greatly enjoyed the All Saints' vigil party held at our parish. It is not limited to homeschooling families but I think that is all who end up attending. It is so popular that we have to put a limit on attendees in order to fit in the large cafeteria. This year, 75 attending children were allowed, so there were about 200 people total when one counted helper teenage siblings and parents.

The evening began with singing the Litany of the Saints and praying one decade of the Rosary for the souls of the dead. How much does Mama's heart leap when she sees her 19-month-old hear the Rosary being prayed and the toddler drops to her knees and starts thumping her chest in her version of the sign of the cross?

Then the children played games all around the room. Each game is something simple, like a ring toss, but with a saint's theme to it. The creativity is wonderful! Children receive candy and holy cards at each game station.

The volume in the room is astounding. My voice is hoarse from shouting to be heard. The heat goes up. What ridiculous six-month-pregnant woman thought she needed to wear a turtleneck just because it is a cold night?

There was a pumpkin-carving contest. Above is a photo of my favorite one, the most ornate there tonight!

There was also a cake walk, done in stages starting with children four and younger, moving up through the age groups, and finishing with the parents. Each cake had attached to it a note asking for prayers for that family's deceased loved ones, listed by name. So, whoever won a cake will pray for those souls. Additionally, there was a huge chest of "soul candies" for all the children who did not win a cake. Each candy was a lollipop encased in a tissue with a face drawn on it, to look like a ghost. A ribbon was tied around the "neck" with a note attached, requesting, "Please pray for the soul of so-and-so, deceased." In an extremely touching gesture, the mother who assembled those soul candies listed my mother's name on a lot of them, so many sweet children in our parish will be praying for her soul! What a gift to me (to her)! (Thank you, dear K----!)

All in all, a wonderful night. But, as I realized with the bodily fatigue I am feeling, I am having to face: "I can't do Thanksgiving." That's a whole additional month of pregnancy away! Chris had asked me last week if I'd consider us going to a restaurant for Thanksgiving (he being a kind husband who notices it's already hard for me to get a regular dinner on the table each night, and wanting to give me a rest) and I was almost too horrified to reply because one must do Thanksgiving properly. Today I told him, "Honey, I'm ready to open up negotiations about Thanksgiving at a restaurant. I can't do Thanksgiving." I am humbled by my own limitations! I keep thinking about all the late-pregnant women who will be hostess with the mostess at Thanksgiving . . .

Bonus reading: Great articles on Catholics reclaiming Halloween and on the Catholic history of this holy vigil day. Also, our pastor wrote a good letter in our parish bulletin about the real spiritual dangers of certain practices that often occur around Halloween. Remember, tomorrow is All Saints' Day, a holy day of obligation!

Carving Pumpkins

Today we carved pumpkins in anticipation of the Feast of All Saints' vigil party tomorrow night. The kids wanted to enter the pumpkin-carving contest, but then they desperately wanted their pumpkins carved, not just decorated. I told them they were too young to carve themselves, so they did the drawing and I did the carving; I assume we will enter in the "family pumpkin" category as a result (instead of the 5 and younger category), but that's okay.

I really wanted the children to do their own decorating, so I had them first sketch out their plans. John wanted to carve our church into the pumpkin and Mary wanted to carve a girl's face. Note the "tongue of concentration."

Mary drawing the girl's face in marker, which I wiped off after I'd carved over her lines

She was almost paralyzed with concern about the bumps on the pumpkin messing up her drawing. 

What is a church without red and gold sparkles to give it pizazz?

Mary was curious about toasting pumpkin seeds, so I prepared them following this recipe for Caramelized Spicy Pumpkin Seeds. I substituted real butter for olive oil and the caramelizing white sugar for brown sugar: results excellent.

And now six-month-pregnant mama's back hurts, so she has to lie down!

Birthday Weekend in Atlanta

We haven't traveled to visit Chris' parents in Atlanta in months, mainly because of my feeling so yucky with pregnancy. But finally at six months along, I'm in that short window of suffering a tolerable amount of discomfort before it gets rough again. I wanted us to make a jaunt to Atlanta when I could because Chris' parents have been so generous to travel to us over and over again--Chris' birthday weekend seemed like great timing!

*****

Humorous announcement by John when he emerged from Quiet Time on Saturday afternoon:

Mama: "John, what are you doing out of Quiet Time?"

John (deadpan): "Mama, Mary got out of bed and brought me a dead cockroach. I told her to wash her hands."

*****

While in Atlanta, a super, professional children's photographer (aka my sister-in-law) did a photo session of our children.

Best photo! Only genuine smile one of our children gave! 

Then when I was inside and all the cousins were playing together outside, my poor boy did a face plant in the drive way involving a skate board (can I tell you how much I hate those things?), leaving me to wonder if I am a wretched mother for being grateful it happened an hour after the photo shoot. Below is a photo of my firstborn, sleeping peacefully with the Lambie he has had since he was born, sporting a bandaged road rash and bruise.

Saturday evening we celebrated Chris' birthday with a wonderful dinner made by his mother and cake. Humorous comment made by Mary (almost 4) as birthday cake was being served:

Mama: "Chris, hand me a sliver for the baby so she'll stop screaming."

Mary (shocked): "A sliver! Mama, I don't think you mean to give a real sliver to the baby. I think you mean a piece of cake that looks like a sliver."

After Mass on Sunday, we had the chance to visit with the children's godparents, which is always a joy and too-short. Following was brunch, one more visit with Chris' brother's family, packing up, and driving home. The drive which takes one adult three-and-a-half hours took us six hours and six separate stops, getting us straggling home at 10:00 p.m. Phew!

Happy Birthday, Chris!

Happy birthday to my dear husband!

Chris' birthday was last Wednesday, which coincidentally was the Fall Homeschool Day at Chimney Rock State Park. Chris decided to take a well-deserved day off work so he could take John and Mary to the park for the day. Five months pregnant and caring for a one-year-old, I knew I should stay home. Chris' special day seemed suspiciously like a gift for me since I had an entire day to myself, caring only for Margaret: I finished making the children's All Saints' costumes, read books, and watched television!

Radical Raptors

What makes a bird a raptor? Birds of prey have fascinated people for centuries and often been the origin of great tales. Your students will love discovering traits of these fascinating animals! 

Skins, Skulls, Tracks & Traces

Bobcats, bears, owls, rattlesnakes and bats are just some of the animals that roam, slither or soar their way through Chimney Rock and Western North Carolina. Seeing these critters may be rare, but we know they’re here from the traces they leave behind.

Basically Bats

Over a dozen species of bats can be found in Western North Carolina during different parts of the year. These winged mammals can often be misunderstood and lack appreciation! Learn what makes the creatures so amazing and the important roles they play in our ecosystem. 

A ranger-led hike to a 400-foot waterfall

Chimney Rock is two hours from our house, so I drove part way and met the rest of the family at a restaurant for a birthday dinner.

First Quarter Report

We have completed twelve weeks of official homeschooling--an entire quarter! I think it is a good time to share some of my experience and the adaptations I have made to our schooling (the original plan being laid out here). I have been learning so much about how to manage children, how to talk to them, how to inspire them--it's possible I've learned more than have my children!

We are doing schooling four mornings per week, with Wednesdays being spent at Catholic Schoolhouse (which is also school). Catholic Schoolhouse takes off about one day per month (plus all of Advent), so on that day we might take a field trip or just relax.

I was having difficulty squeezing in so many of my academics (which my experienced homeschooling friends knew I would be but were gracious about it!), so I backed off. When John was showing a lot of misbehavior during school and telling me, "I hate school!" I had the first of what I'm sure will be many crises and examined things anew. Things I had to bring to the forefront of my mind:

1.  Kindergarten remains an optional year of school, not even mandatory according to the Big Brother state.

2.  John has already achieved all or almost all of the state standards for graduating Kindergarten, so anything I teach is "gravy."

3.  Until recently, Kindergarten looked like what preschool looks like today. Lots of finger-painting, puppet-playing, and running around outdoors, while achieving some basic familiarity with letter recognition and numbers one through ten.

4.  Many other countries do not teach reading until age seven, and I've read enough books on the good reasons behind that.

I decided to back off and start smaller, plus add more fun into my schooling. I'd been doing the fun Kindergarten-type activities for so long that I wanted this to be "official" school which, unfortunately, looked very boring and dry, and not age-appropriate for my five-year-old. I forgot that Play-doh is school for a Kindergartener.

I am now trying to start the homeschooling morning (always in the morning, immediately after breakfast) with standing in a circle, we pray a prayer, we say the Pledge of Allegiance. Then I should do something fun, like our animal noises game or sing a fun song, but we achieve that on some days, not on others. Then we do our joint lessons, which always starts with the Bible story of the day. After that, Mary can wander off if she wants. (But I have begun doing workboxes with her, which she enjoys so much.)

I prefer right now to "do school" in one focused period, instead of a lesson here, a lesson there, throughout the day. It's what works for my family at this time. (I don't want to use nap time to educate John because that is my Quiet Time!) So, school takes us one to one-and-a-half hours, but that includes my going back and forth between teaching John and Mary, plus tending the toddler, plus various potty breaks, and switching laundry. We're done by 9:30 or 10:00 and the rest of the day stretches before us.


RELIGION

We are reading three or four stories per week from The Golden Children's Bible, then illustrating the children's own Bible about once per week. This is a favorite and the children's artwork has visibly improved because we brainstorm ahead of time different ways they might draw the story.

Catechism lessons from Chats with God's Little Ones occur four days per week and I am extremely pleased with this choice. The Socratic method is exquisite for the human mind! John also receives catechises at Catholic Schoolhouse and three Sundays per month at our parish.

MATHEMATICS

We are doing a lesson from Right Start Math Level A twice per week. It's a parent-intensive program and one lesson often take more than 30 minutes.

PHONICS

We were doing lessons from All About Reading Level 1 daily, but then I slashed it to twice per week. I recently introduced All About Spelling Level 1. So, for the time being, we are doing Reading once per week and Spelling once per week, with Math on the other two days.

LITERATURE

At some point during most days of the week (including at bedtime), we read some great books together.

HANDWRITING

We were doing handwriting daily, just a page, but I've cut even that to less often. My children do so many random workbooks or artwork and I think that counts at the mature age of FIVE for developing fine motor skills. At this age, working with Play-Doh or stringing fat beads or drawing in sand is "handwriting."

POETRY

Totally cut out poetry! John hated it!  Considering this child memorized nearly all the Mother Goose rhymes (which are poetry) at an earlier age and loved them, and memorized quite a bit of Scripture just from listening to his unabridged Bible on CD, I halted in my steps when having him memorize poetry was inciting such bad feelings from him.

NATURE

Twice per week only we read a story from the Christian Liberty Nature Reader Book 2, which is all of two pages long.

MUSIC

Totally cut out music! John hated it! John hated having to memorize a dry hymn not of his choosing, but I realized that he listens to a tremendous amount of music on his own. He listens to the classical radio station and analyzes the music ("this piece is very jolly/sad/reminds me of dancing/sounds like a battle," etc.). He knows everything he can about Beethoven. He sings our family Rosary Gregorian-chant style. I decided that at this early age, I probably won't ruin him if I just keep making high-quality music available for his enjoyment.

Mary's Missives

Mary likes to practice her letters. Sometimes she wants to spell out words, but often she wants simply to practice letters.

I find these notes all over the house, sometimes on big sheets of paper, sometimes on tiny cards, usually every day. These cryptic and quirky "missives" always make Chris and me laugh! 

Back to Normal

Never fear, today was back to normal. Feelings of a chaotic day that defies my routine, check! Feelings of being unable to keep on top of it all, check! Feelings of the relentlessness of housewifery. and intermittently that I am a failure, check! Yup, just a reminder that yesterday was a Big Blessing from God.

Cute moment today: Margaret (19 months) dug out the ladybug costume she wore last year to the All Saints' party. She demanded, "Bug! Bug!" until I dressed her in it, causing her to be pleased as punch. She went to find Daddy to show him. At snack time, she took it off and put it away: then she pointed at me and said, "Mommy," pointed across the house toward Daddy's office and said, "Dada," and then pointed at herself and said triumphantly, "Buggy!"

Outdoor picnic lunch

My Seemingly Perfect Day

My day yesterday went so smoothly--like something I'd read about on a blog that makes the homeschooling lifestyle seem prissy perfect--that I felt suspicious and worried all day!

I slept in late till after six. Breakfast and morning chores went well. One child went with Daddy to a weekday Mass and was home happily at 7:45.

I had laundry humming, dishes washed, and children dressed when we started sharp at eight. School time went beautifully, just like what a parent dreams about when she's planning to homeschool but has no experience yet.

We finished all our schooling without dashing any subjects aside by 9:15, even including a potty break and a pause to change over the laundry.

I had the whole day stretching before me to decide calmly what we would do instead of a lengthy list of tasks pressing down on me. I decided to take the children to Wal-Mart, taking them shopping with me, which I almost never do. They made it through the two-hour shopping trip basically fairly well, with only a normal degree of correction required on my part.

The baby fell asleep on the way home, but was able to be transferred to her crib so she actually napped a full two hours instead of a measly few minutes in the car, leaving her crabby for the rest of the day. See how the day was becoming more and more surreal?

The children went into Quiet Time after lunch peaceably and easily and stayed there. I looked around and didn't have anything pressing to do, so I lay down to nap in the middle of the day. For once I thought to myself, "Well, the baby could wake up from her nap anytime now and I'd be okay"--instead of thinking, "Please, please, keep sleeping, don't wake up!"

The weather was exquisite and I had free time (free time?) so I sat outside reading an engrossing book ("Why Gender Matters" by Dr. Sax) while supervising the barefoot children playing happily. I finished three large loads of laundry.

Then I introduced the children to the book Pinocchio, which I hope to read to them in full before we see the (surely dumbed-down) play in a few weeks. This is the real Pinnochio by Carlo Collodi--lengthy, dark, and full of meaningful symbolism. To my joy, John's interest was rapt and he had me read seven chapters before I absolutely had to stop in order to make dinner. It was one of those homeschooling mama's dreamy moments.

Dinner was incredibly easy because I had picked up a take-and-bake pizza at Wal-Mart. Children ate happily without complaint. The kitchen was back to spotless by 5:30. The family Rosary went smoothly with no consequences doled out. (Do you see? Do you see why I was suspicious all the time? What mother's day goes this well?!)

Then I left for  a brilliant night of reflection for women given by a priest: home-baked cookies, good socialization, and being spiritually fed. Bedtimes (including for Margaret) went so easily and sweetly that Chris remarked that I shouldn't even count it as "an evening out" because it was too easy on him.

And then I actually stayed awake till the end of the presidential debate instead of falling asleep ten minutes into it like I have every other one.

Are you kidding me? It was like the perfect quiet, domestic day that newlywed women think their days are going to be like. And I spent the entire day wondering what was wrong, what I'd forgotten to do, and, if it really was this perfect, was there any key to it? Was there anything I could replicate the next day?

I think the answer is 'no.' I think my great day was as random as are many of my chaotic days that leave me in tears. And that's the frustrating thing! But I thank God for a bonus day that went so well. I have no expectations for today, that's for sure.

Snapshots of Our Week

On Friday we enjoyed another theatre performance (just so happened that two of the four performances for which I bought tickets fell in the same week).  We saw "The Fisherman and His Wife," this show geared to ages three through five. The actors encouraged audience participation in making noises and hand motions for waves, wind, storms, and echoes, so it was a real hit with the littles--although confusing for my two because I had so thoroughly taught them for Monday's play (geared to older children) Theatre Behavior: be still, be silent, do not clap until the appropriate times!!!

New workbox: filling in missing numbers in a series of apples

New workbox: The children counted dots, then matched a clothes pin with the correct numeral to the right spot. This helped the children learn to recognize their numerals and challenged them to count dots carefully. Interestingly--and I don't know why--but this helped John finally "see" the pattern of numbers as we count 10 through 20. This one was a big hit with the kids. 

A sweet moment of reading BOB books with Mary

Photos taken by John of me (25 weeks pregnant and gaining way too much weight this time) and even posted in honor of this excellent article, "The Mom Stays in the Picture." All moms donating their bodies to growing babies and then thinking they're not worthy to be seen are encouraged to read the article!

Margaret stripping a chicken wing, tapping in to the Buffalo, NY, roots on her daddy's side

Overheard . . . 

I observe often the negotiation of John trying to play action games and Mary trying to play relational games.

John: "Let's play rocket ship!"

Mary: "No, I want to play school time!"

John: "I know! Let's pretend that there were no horses and no cars to get us to school so we have to take a rocket ship to get there!"

Mary: "Okay!"

*****

Last but not least, you know you're Catholic (and that your husband is awesome!) when you ask him to occupy the children for a few hours so you can sew All Saints' Day costumes and he says, "Sure, I was thinking of going to pray down at the abortion clinic, so I think I'll take them with me." (And then you know your husband is double-awesome when he calls you on the way home from praying for babies to say, "Do you want me to pick up dinner at the grocery store deli so you can keep sewing?")

John Presents About the Titanic

Today John (5-3/4) gave his first "real" presentation at Catholic Schoolhouse. The children are required to give a presentation every fourth week, and it's encouraged for them to do something beyond show-and-tell of their toys. John gave a presentation about Beethoven on the first day of school, but he had no clue what a "presentation" is--and the results showed! Then when he was due to give his next presentation (on Christopher Columbus), he was sick that day. So today was the day!

I hadn't seen any of the other children's presentations given in weeks because I'd been assigned Art Helper for three weeks (so wasn't helping in John's class), then we were on vacation one week, and sick two weeks  so I didn't know what to expect . . . .


I was so pleased with the comfort John showed presenting his material. Knowing how very shy he was at two and three years old, I didn't think he could speak this way at five years old in front of a crowd.

The audio is a bit low--except for the sound of Margaret making noises asking for pretzels and my rustling in the bag to give her some so she'd be quiet. This is the transcript of John's presentation (most useful when trying to hear Mary's presentation below):

"One hundred years ago, people thought the Titanic was an unsinkable ship. But it wasn’t! On its first trip, it hit an iceberg. Fifteen hundred people died when the Titanic sank."

Of course, Mary (3-3/4) wants to be just as big as John and she has a competitive streak, so she memorized his presentation while listening to him practice for two days. Then she drew her own illustration and requested that she be able to give her presentation to her nursery teacher at Catholic Schoolhouse. (Except for saying "fifteen-sixteen" instead of "fifteen hundred," she had it memorized!)

Mary spelled 'Titanic' herself. The picture is of the ship with three smokestacks surrounded by waves, with a stick person and a sun above.

Again, Yes, Seriously

AND WHEN WE WERE PLAYING OUTSIDE AND FEEDING BOXER, MARY SPLIT OPEN HER STITCHED LIP YET AGAIN.

Just this morning we had examined the lip and found the stitches dissolved (right on schedule), yay!

But then this afternoon she walked into the path of her little sister swinging ever so slowly in a swing and--thwack!--got herself hit in the face.

I think there were just blood and tears, I think she is okay. But I am so shaken by this streak of injuries. I want to sit her in front of the television on the soft couch and leave here there to be safe all day . . . but then I sigh and think that she'd probably find a way to injure herself even there!

Where's Boxer?

The temperatures are dropping, the air is crisp, so this is the time of year boxer turtles hibernate (I don't think it's technically a true hibernation, but let's use that word for ease). My friend was at a local state park so she spoke to one of the wildlife experts there on my behalf with my questions. Also I've done some reading about how to aid in the hibernation of an outdoor pet boxer.

Apparently he will slow down, stop moving as much, and stop eating (first cutting back on his protein, then even on his veggies). I definitely noticed this the week before we left for Charleston, when most days he didn't touch his food. One day I put a live wiggling worm (his favorite food) in front of his face and he didn't move, just watching it squirm away. I read that their digestive system needs to empty out before hibernation, so they stop eating. The wildlife specialist gave me a tip via my friend that I should not be picking up Boxer to place him by his food (which I was doing each day), just to place the food near him and leave him alone to choose to move. Otherwise, he might be beginning the hibernating process and I'll have disturbed him in his stillness.

I also read that I was supposed to make sure his habitat is easy in which to hibernate. I loosened the soil all around with a spade, having read that some hibernating boxers have been found two to three feet underground! I placed some logs and his box upside down in case he wants to go under there. I added fresh, crunchy leaf litter under which he can hide. Some days I'd watch him sit in the same place for 48 hours straight, awake with eyes darting, but not moving. Then the weather would warm up and he'd move somewhere else.

Today I went to feed him and freshen his water, and it took me a while to find him. (Clue: he's in the lower-left corner of the picture, near the fresh green leaf on which I placed his mash of hydrated turtle pellet food. His little eye is visible beneath a leaf. EDIT: I've discovered that one can't magnify the photo above enough to find him, but he's there!)

I'm hoping to see him hibernate soon! Should be an exciting transition!

Mary's First Play

Today John attended his second live theatre performance and Mary her first! Having enjoyed much community theatre and some professional theatre so much for my whole life, I have been counting the years until my children were old enough to attend so I could go again. Seriously, I'd calculate the months, that's how much I have missed theatre.

Readying to leave to see "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" 

at the Children's Theatre of Charlotte : This was a professional performance with adult actors in a large theatre that has got to seat something like 800 people.

The plays are open to children three years and older, so my lovely mom-friend Mari and I split duties. She would be staying out regardless because of her newborn, so she and her mother-in-law took responsibility for my Margaret and Mari's toddler and newborn while I escorted the four "big" kids into the theatre. I was surprised that Margaret was happy as a clam since she has been in a new clingy-for-Mommy stage the last couple of months, not even tolerating being alone with Daddy very well. The children ate their snacks and played outdoors in the sunshine . . .

 . . . then came inside for story time at the children's library inside of which the children's theatre is housed.

My dear friend Mari!

It was such a joy for me to see how much the children enjoyed the show! It was especially delightful to see Mary in her innocence witness theatre for the first time. She could not get over how everything worked: how is that couch moving? how is that kite flying when there is no wind? they're just pretending to be mad/happy/sad, right? that is pretend food they are eating! Her eyes seemed to be literally glittering.

The play ended at lunch time so we decided to take them for pizza next door, which was a lot of fun, but I was utterly at my "end" of ability to mother children out and about by then, especially since I'm still getting over an illness. I'm looking forward to the other three performances for which we bought tickets this season!