30 September 2009

Testing, Testing...

In addition to some craziness that's been going on behind the scenes at the Mrs. C house, Woodjie must "test" in order to "qualify" for the local special-needs preschool. Um, non-verbal kid? Unable to follow directions? Unable to get a bedtime routine down, let alone start working on the letters of the alphabet and potty thing? That kiddo? We have to "test" him to see "if" he qualifies??

Bleh. We all know he qualifies. Whatever. So my schedule next week is a real bear with four appointments for "testing," six therapy sessions for other children and several doctor appointments for G (bloodwork and stuff. Nothing serious). Throw in a little homeschooling and a couple toddlers and you have...

Me, wondering why I get headaches every night. Why, just when everything is critical, I find the YoVille sweets factory calling me to check the ovens, make a little virtual money, and buy a big-screen TV for my virtual self. Not that I'm escaping or anything, but my place looks reallllly nice on YoVille. :P

We're about done with our Singapore Maths 4B book. We had our last "teaching" lesson yesterday. The rest is review. I'm stretching it out because I want to be sure the concepts we haven't covered in a while are reviewed and clear before we move onto fifth grade. It's hard to believe my just-turned-eight kid is going to go into fifth grade math soon. Well, we'll probably slow it down a bit and start Thanksgivingish. He doesn't need to go to college at twelve.

You know, Emperor is very bright. The odd thing that homeschooling does is develop talents in a child that might be a little uneven. Emperor cannot, for the very life of him, write perfectly neatly. If it became some sort of requirement... he'd fail. Sorry! I'm about ready to just ask him to print everything. If I drag out schoolwork from a few weeks ago, even he cannot read his own writing.

So, it's tough. I've been printing up some interesting little math tests, and they often ask you to show your work when you do the math. Emperor doesn't. There the answer is, almost always correct, written on the line with no work showing whatsoever. And some of these are multistep problems requiring remembering to add, then subtract, then add, then do this or that...

But there is the answer. In fact, it messes him up if he has to write and show his work. He's done before Elf, and there's no answer key to my knowledge. He knows math. Maybe I should start believing the AOL commenters who know kids at the age of nine months who could recite the entire Bible and do Calculus and stuff. Oh, and they coulda entered Yale at three, but there wasn't enough scholarship money so Mom held him back a year.

LOL... ok. I see all kinds of comments like that. And I have to admit I don't really buy 'em. Though I DO think we can have uneven talents and abilities. And I DO think homeschooling can help bring those out. Remember that someday when Woodjie can multiply plenty of things on paper if he still hasn't said "Mama" when he's nine. Maybe he will write me an equation for Mothers' Day or something. You never know.

I'm VERY happy with Singapore Math, though I think Teaching Textbooks might be something to seriously consider as the children get a bit older. (It IS worth your time to click this link and look at some of the Teaching Textbooks samples.) Every now and then, though, I think it's good to expose the children to other curriculum or tests, to get a feel for how other people ask for the same sorts of math from their students. It wouldn't do for my kids to grow up and ONLY understand the question when it's worded as it would be in Singapore Math.

But...

Sometimes the tests are a little problematic. I swore to myself that I would hand the tests over to my children without comment except for laying out the ground rules. No talking. You may use the bathroom without permission but otherwise, please stay in your seats. When you hand in your test, that's it. No corrections once it's in my hand.

Ok.

Here's a question for you: If Jeremy wrote down the numbers 3, 9, 15, 21, 27... what is the next number in the sequence?

"33" written on the answer line. Good job, Emperor. Next question: On the lines below, describe Jeremy's pattern.

"Jeremy's pattern is easy and not quite tricky." I had to laugh. He DID "describe" the pattern, didn't he? And in the next question, he correctly wrote another set of numbers using the same rule (obviously, "add six"). He knows the math. He knows how to "describe." But somehow I think that the NY State people would mark that one wrong. :]

28 September 2009

Elf Responds to "I Am Autism."

Is autism alive, or is it a sickness? I have autism and I think autism is something we should not think of. Autism may be hard, but it doesn't destroy anything. You should lay your mind off autism and start on other things. Is your life on autism or is it something better? Does autism kill you? Work on something greater than autism. (Hat tip for video: Joe at Club 166)

27 September 2009

Going to a Festival

Fall Festival has booths with crafts, small items for sale, food booths and even a little mini-carnival. I took the older children to see what was there this year. Last time I went, I found quite a few fun little things to bring home and the children enjoyed the sights. I went with some of the older children as Woodjie and Rose wouldn't handle this well.


One thing that struck me this year was that about a third of the booths were run by church groups. I had no clue that there were something like six Baptist churches in town who wanted to set up competing booths around the Square. Actually, that's kinda funny. And I know of several other Baptist churches around that didn't bother setting up a booth (about five more in this town alone come to mind immediately, and I am no connoisseur of churches!)


Usually it goes down like this: we will be walking by and a clown or person making balloon animals will jump out at the kids and start in on the spiel. "You need to come to our church! We have something for everyone! You want a balloon? We have a great youth group. Give this card to Mom. ("herds" Mom toward booth) Oh, here's Pastor Z! What a coincidence. Hiiiii, Pastor Z!"


LOL Well, it's that kind of town. What can I say?

Actually, they were very nice people. Some of them even put up with being stabbed repeatedly with balloon swords and threatened with the wooden daggers I bought for Elf and Emperor. One booth sold little bags of "puppy chow mix" and they wanted the children to try it.

"No, thanks," Emperor told them. "You see, we don't eat dog food. We eat only people food at our house." One of the ladies at the booth laughed and told them it was fit for human consumption.

?

"That means you can eat it! It is made with Chex mix, chocolate and peanut butter. Try one." Emperor cautiously took one and looked it over carefully before nibbling its edge. Then he grabbed the bag to take home. Yum.

But Elf refused to try any. "I don't like to try new things," he told them.

Wow. No running away scared. No hiding behind Mom. A simple and polite explanation. Wow. I think he would have liked it had he tried it, but it DID look rathermuch like puppy chow. And... once he heard it was "puppy chow," that was pretty much the end of that idea. I'm not going to push him, especially since he was so polite about it.

We went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant and bought some Hawaiian icee-type drinks to sip on the way home. It was fun, but I don't know that I'd go next year. There really wasn't that much to do. And honestly, I was *shocked* by the fact that in addition to the bonafide church groups and bonnet stores that dominated the landscape, there was a "passion party" booth AND an "explore the paranormal" group.

I mentioned my shock at this to one of my friends and she said that probably we just need more churches at the festival and maybe somebody oughtta talk to Pastor about our church setting up one, too. Seems to be the thing to do.

But I'm not sure.

Well, I can't say I *disliked* having so many churches out there. It was encouraging to see so many people out there proclaiming their church and faith. But it isn't why we went to the festival and past a certain point, it's rather disappointing because the churches aren't selling marshmallow guns and stuff like that. I would want more of the fun things we saw: bonnet shops and places with "real Indians" selling tomahawks with leather "blades" to little boys. Popcorn stalls. Pan for "real gems" in a mini-sluice mine. Handcarved walking sticks and handmade breadboards. Locally grown monster pumpkins. Sand art creations. The Conservationist department and its collection of animal fur and skulls found locally... including a small cat and a turtle.

Not passion parties, paranormal stuff, churches, or "redo the windows in your house; here's a brochure" places. Maybe it's just me. Maybe other people go to a "fall festival" with ideas like, "WOW! I can't wait to explore the paranormal, meet seven youth pastors and check into buying an entire houseful of windows!" when they set out, but I usually don't. :]

26 September 2009

Pearls of Wisdom.

"On one hand, public school kids are dumb as rocks because the schools are worthless. On the other hand, I know homeschooled 10-years-olds who are still nursing, 12-year-olds who can't read (unschooling), 8-year-olds who have never been to a store and never saw escalators because of their mom's phobias, and I know the fundies aren't teaching their kids proper science because they don't believe in science."

"I knew 2 whole families who were homeschooling for educational reasons--and I was one of them, so I just think that it's extremely possible for homeschool kids to be smarter than public school brats, I'm just not seeing it locally."


Because I realize some of y'all are still waking up in Australia, I have to edit this post with a Christmas-y green to emphasise that I didn't say or write the above. ((Good morning, Ganeida!))

I know I come off as odd and rather fundamentalist. I'm sure some of my comments have rubbed you the wrong way and you're about to just go, "GAH! What's she thinking?" every now and then. Rest assured as I read your blog, if you type posts like this, I feel the same way.

I find a fair number of *wonderful* blogs by using search engines and typing "homeschooling" and short homeschool-related phrases, but obviously my granola mix has a few nuts in it. I was tempted to ask the poster why she hung out with people who nursed their ten-year-olds and never looked at escalators, but I refrained. I did. I'm also leaving the "public school brats" comment alone, too. Congratulate me! In fact, now that I've copied this tripe, I'm hitting an X in the corner of that posting and never looking at it again if I can help it. Other stuff to do. :P

25 September 2009

Children's Tylenol Recall

It doesn't sound like anything too serious, but check your medicine cabinet anyway. We have four bottles total and only one is on the list. Have a great weekend!

23 September 2009

YoVille Math.

Elf and Emperor helped me figure out what the best use of my "working" time on YoVille would entail. We got the list of the things my character can "bake" in the Sweets Factory and figured out the profit per hour of baking time. To complicate matters, the boys had to remember to add in the mandatory $10 oven cleaning fee between each batch. It was eye-opening for me. I had no clue that the longer recipes (three days for a "yellow cake") average out to something like 50 cents an hour of oven time. The chocolate chip cookies and coffee cake average out to $2 an hour. The problem being, you MUST check those cookies at exactly four or six hours, or they will "burn" and not be very profitable. We talked a little bit about how a good businessman would figure out a good estimate of the number of hours he thinks a job will take (multiplied by labour cost per hour), pad that number just a little bit just in case and add it to the cost of the materials. I don't think I'm going to rush into doing the "oven" thing every four hours, but it's good to know anyway that while it's *convenient* for you to leave the yellow cake in the oven for three days while you go have a life, it isn't economically advisable for your avatar. And my avatar needs a new couch. :P

The Vacuum Dealer, Part II

Dropped off the vacuum head AND the pole it came with so that there could be no excuse for it falling off again. Left.

Of course, somehow my request isn't so urgent and they took another four days to get the work done. When I came in to collect my stuff, they tried to just pass off the vacuum head on me without my testing it. And my pole? Go find my pole.

Sure enough, it never snapped in properly, but would fall right off. No way you could vacuum that way, let alone take that heavy vacuum head up and down the stairs still attached. This is NOT fixed, I told the guy.

Oh.

Well... (fiddles, wastes time... he's probably hoping I'll just say "nevermind" and leave... my, he's taking forever) LOOK! I fixed it! See this part here? I replaced it! And there was a tab inside here that's supposed to click in to the (blah blah... on and on he goes) So you have to feel this. No, reach in and look! I replaced it.

Fine. I reach in and "feel" the replacement part. Mm-hmm. But see, it still falls off the pole. So it's not fixed.

Silence. Oh, my, is it uncomfortable. I can just tell he's waiting for me to cave, tell him it's ok, or whatever. I'm staring at him and silent myself.

"Ok," he says. "Give me 15 minutes." I leave wondering what crap he's gonna pull next, and return in 25 minutes. The work hasn't even started. He "just wants to show me something."

Look, look, look. The Riccar company sent me defective parts! See how this NEW vacuum head works, but yours doesn't? Look at this... (droning on and on about how impossible it is to repair the vacuum with bad parts).

Um, ok. So, are you going to fix it?

Silence. But I'm pretty angry right now, and the silence is only uncomfortable insofar as I am biting my tongue.

Well... (rummages around the store) ok... it'll just be a minute. I fold my arms and wait. Meanwhile the vacuum saleslady is regaling G with all the cool vacuums. Thankfully G didn't ask me to buy a new one.

Finally, the vacuum is fixed! It works! It's great! Do you know what he did to fix it? He took a NEW vacuum, and robbed just the part that was "defective" in mine and replaced it with the floor model's. So, problem solved. But if I were buying a new vacuum, I would want a NEW vacuum. Not one that's been messed with and repaired and had parts removed and put in again. Maybe it doesn't matter to you. But to me? Well, I'm picky. I'm going to another dealer or buying a new vacuum before I go back to this guy. And I have half a mind to call corporate anyway because if it were MY company? I would not want my dealers to jerk customers around like that.

The vacuum is a great product. The service I got? Wasn't.

21 September 2009

The Vacuum Dealer

About eight years ago, I bought a vacuum. A nice one. From a VacuumBrand dealer here in town. Before I bought my current vacuum, I was going through vacuums about every year and a half. The service on an old Wal-Mart type vacuum really is prohibitive. Cheaper to buy a new one when one of the low-end models acts up because vacuum places charge labour by the hour.

The bad thing about having a nice vacuum is that you have to go to the dealer to get service and parts. Even the bags aren't available anywhere else. Which means you can do your business with the local dealership or travel to another, usually a good way away. That's it. It makes the "pick up a vacuum bag next time you're at Wal-Mart" mentality impossible with your vacuum. I think offhand, each paper bag runs just under $4. D once said that what we should do is just pull all of the dirt out of the old bag and re-use it. Yeah, that would work. But I guess I didn't realize all that before I bought the vacuum. Still, it's a nice vacuum and to say that it lasted eight years is really saying something. And you know? I don't think I've had to change the belts on that thing once. Rollers work well. I'm pretty happy with it overall, but not sure I'd want to buy one with a rolling canister again.

Lately the detachable head of my vacuum cracked where it snaps into place on the pole. I brought it in and was told that it would be a $35 charge. Well, I suppose since you tell me a new head would be $350, go ahead and do it. It would be worth it, because no way I'm paying $350 for an eight-year-old vacuum. It will be ready tomorrow afternoon? Great.

Two days later, I'm in the shop. Oh... they didn't have the part, so they had to order it. And then it took another week to be finished after that. Can you imagine what my house looked like after two weeks without vacuuming? On second thought, don't you think about it. We have an older house and literally two hours after dusting and vacuuming, you can see a thin layer. But I feel better after the dusting and vacuuming because it's no longer fluffy grey fur and dust season in the house.

When I came by to get the vacuum head, I was charged $49 instead. Well, I let things like that go. Maybe it just took longer than he figured to attach the part, or whatever. But I get annoyed. Things like that seem to happen to me all the time. Maybe I just am not clear on the idea that he THINKS it will cost $35, but winds up costing me $49. I keep figuring, "I can get this done for you for $35," means that my bill will be $35, or a little more with tax.

I have been dissatisfied with my interactions at this VacuumBrand place for a while. It isn't just that one time unexpected price hike. I've also ordered things and been told yes, they'll be here in two weeks... only to find out two weeks later that that kind of bag is no longer available. But we have cloth ones people LOVE! You want those! (Um, yeah, at $7,000 a bag, you're guaranteed satisfaction. I'm slightly exaggerating the actual cost... but... no one wants to admit they're a sucker, so they'll rave about what great bags they have. I wanted the paper ones!) I ordered the last of their paper stock and a few cloth bags. But I would have preferred the cheaper paper at the rate I go through 'em.

Anyway... when I brought the vacuum head home after "repair," it didn't work! The vacuum head kept popping off of the stupid pole! I took it in and asked them to fix it again. He hemmed and hawed about it, and how look... he fixed it. It just doesn't fit on the pole anymore. Well, you leave it and I'll try to get it done tomorrow.

I notice no price is quoted, and tell him I realllly don't want to spend MORE than another $60 on this problem again. I've already spent nearly $50! So I get the line about labour, don't know what you're getting into until you get into it blah blah blah. But I thought it was fixed before! And I paid to have it fixed!

Well what was I going to do? I went home and cried. D told me it was stupid; I should not have let them do that to me. You paid for the vacuum to get fixed and they'd better fix it! And why are you going to spend some unlimited amount of money on a problem that should have been fixed in the first place??

Well, I hate being mean. I hate being not nice to people. But D is right. I called, told him I was unhappy the more I thought about it. Told him I thought the problem was fixed, and I was charged to fix the problem.

He gave me some sad story about training "the new guy" and orders from VacuumBrand ... blah blah.

I told him I wanted the vacuum fixed.

Well, we'll try and blah blah...

No. I mean fixed. And for free. It should have been tested the first time. It should have been fixed the first time.

(New guy story again. I've had it...)

OK, so, you can either fix it for me for *free,* or I will take my stuff back, go to another Riccar dealer and call corporate on you.

*zing* I must have misunderstood. He wasn't going to charge me. He'd hate to lose one of his best customers etc. etc. and I'll call you when your vacuum head is done. I hung up knowing that I had been lied to at the beginning of the conversation and wondering if I had been lied to at the end.

to be continued...

Clue Game

Why would anyone want to sell an older Clue game in the original wooden box for only 75 cents? All the pieces, game characters and cards are here. It's a 2002 version. My neighbour says they never used it, and I believe her. Even the "Clue" pencils included are still sharp. Oh, yeahhh.

20 September 2009

Awww...

Do you want your son or daughter to have a new, loveable stuffed pet? You might want to check out RoadkillToys. They're cuter than Cabbage Patch kids and come with their own toe tag and death certificate. Have fun tucking their guts back in. Some of them even have patterned tire marks.

I'm thinking some people have pretty sick minds, and others have entirely too much money.

19 September 2009

Top Shelf.

You might want to visit Bev's blog. She has a list up about neurotypical "privilege" that is rather chilling and frightening. But true. Among them: "I can discuss my interests at length without this being viewed as a 'symptom.'" I read the list and wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.

18 September 2009

With Friends Like This...

We tried to go to the library on Wednesday. It's still too traumatic to talk about, but suffice to say we won't be back for a long time. Yep, this "incident" beats Elf's terrified, purple-faced screaming that there was a BOMB in the library last time we went... a year ago... because he saw some Muslims near the movies. Yeah, that was great. Better still? The library patrons were visibly angry... at the Muslims. Scaring that boy by wearing that getup, is what those ladies were doing.

Sometimes you just can't win. I felt awful, especially in light of the fact that I couldn't apologize. Elf was absolutely hysterical that he was gonna die, and we just had to get out of there. I don't think I want to know what happened after we left. The things people say about us, blessedly, don't get back to us often. Probably because we're never out and about on the town to hear it.

The only time Elf and Emperor get to see other children is at church on Wednesday nights. Sundays? Let's just say they've been ruined. This is also too traumatic to talk about. I'm not ready. But this all serves me right for trying to socialize the children by bringing them to preschool story time. I thought maybe... just maybe... we'd have a forgiving audience and people who would overlook social flubs.

I forgot about the children's parents. And the librarians. And that Woodjie would get overwhelmed JUST as Elf and Emperor need to look at books.

I can't do it all. I can't be everywhere. My children are NOT FUNCTIONING in the world, and the worse that happens, the more I have to pull in. The more I pull the kids in, the worse it gets over time.

But we just can't be having bomb threats in the library every week, people. Those other people deserve to have a relaxing experience.

Does that mean we should NEVER go out? Elf and Emperor shouldn't be able to check out books? Or go to the store? Or church? I'm admitting right here and now I don't have everything and everybody under control, and I need *help.* I've been formally asking for it since April through a center.

Since April. They still haven't gotten their paperwork together, and after they do? Two YEAR waiting list for help. If the children qualify. If the funding is still there. If.

I've got to admit here that I've really let myself go. I'm in despair. I've gained 30 pounds, and it isn't pretty.

Maybe those 30 pounds wouldn't be an issue to most people, but that's on TOP of the 70 extra I already had, and that sorta means that the picture you look at of me? Um, it's not very accurate. Oh! And all my hair is falling out. You can see my scalp. Ask me how often I get my hair done to disguise this. I keep thinking that a prairie bonnet would be a lot of fun to wear. I like bonnets. But they don't go with the velour fat-lady pantsuits I've been donning of late. They just... don't. But every day could be a bad hair day with a bonnet! Oops, but that would have to tie under one of my chins. If you have three chins, what's the proper etiquette for that?

Anyway...

I'm not the only one who has noticed what a fat lard-o I've become. I received an encouraging phone call from a neighbour. She wanted to let me know about a book that has changed her life. She's wanted to talk to me about it for a long time. She's noticed that I lost a lot of weight years ago, and that I'm yo-yoing again. And that I put all my weight on in my stomach. (Ok, all this is true, but I can feel the tears burning as I'm listening to her on the phone.) And that's really not healthy.

I'm trying, really hard, between gulps, to explain to her that I am just leading a rather sedentary lifestyle at the present and that when I get more time for exercise, I am sure I'll lose some weight. Thanks for calling.

OH, NO, she tells me. Rush Limbaugh or some guy proves that you can lose weight and be sedentary. You just follow the plan. I told her to tell me really slowly what it was so I could write it down. Well, I did write it down and tell her I'd talk to her later.

Not that I specially feel like looking that up at this point. I'm just feeling mighty blindsided. Where on earth did that come from? Why couldn't she take the "I don't want to talk about this" hint when I pulled the "I'm sure I'll be fine later... thanks for calling" line on her? My word. I tell you, this feels worse than when people ask me when the baby is due. Yes, they do.

I think I'll go hide now.

16 September 2009

Games and Play


I had to post this after watching a YouTube video about a homeschooler's typical day. You know, waking up late in the day and playing "Boggle" for English class? We get up early, but we do still play with blocks and Boggle. Yes, I count that for homeschooling if it's reasonably relevant, though of course that's not all we do for English class. I remember playing Bingo in public school when I was their age as well and can still write a complete sentence. I think younger children get a lot out of these games and are learning to using their eyes to locate and decipher things such as where to put their chips in Bingo or how to find words in Boggle. Here you see Elf and Emperor building with Math-U-See blocks to learn about volume. In the past, I have logged Battleship game hours when we were learning about finding points on a grid (B7, D2, and so on).

Hilarious!

Luke, God bless him, got me reading a really funny blog written by a fellow in my area. Matt's latest blog post is so funny that you just have to take a look. There are six arguments that atheists put forth that Christians can easily answer. One is the "hypocrite" argument.

"I'm sorry you think that," writes Matt. "I'm sorry you think occasionally failing to live up to high ethical standards is the root of all evil. I happen to think having no standards at all would naturally be much more evil.I'm happy for you that you have no convictions that you might not live up to once in a while.I'm sorry that Christians are the only people who've ever let you down.And I'm sorry that the only Christians you've known in your life were on TV."

Ok. Sneak preview over! Go check out his blog already.

14 September 2009

Homeschooling to Strangers' Standards.

Sarita Holzmann sends emails from Sonlight to my inbox every now and then. (I'm sure about 27,000 other people receive the emails at the same time, so don't think I'm all important and stuff.) In her latest missive, Holzmann questioned whether people hold homeschoolers to a higher standard than they would a public schooling family.

Oh... that is *so* true. Let your public-schooled kid think school is stupid and boring, and no one bats an eyelid at the doctor's office or Sam's Club. But a homeschooled kid? We have to wonder what that poor kid is going through at home. Maybe the kid is getting indoctrinated or something.

Emperor desperately wants to go to public school. That lady he lives with is a mean, rotten mom. She's keeping him down. He's certain that in public school, he wouldn't have to do "all this work." Folks, he works from 6:50 a.m. to ... sometimes past *noon*! It's child abuse, I tell ya. I mean, in public school he'd have things a lot easier, right??? Certainly they wouldn't give him longer hours than that. It isn't fair.

Aside from making the poor child slave all day, she does something so tyrannical, so horrible, that you'll want to rescue him right now. She makes him use a RULER sometimes when he does his math. Do you hear me? A RULER. Mom's picky about straight lines when we're measuring angles and stuff. Emperor said he's sure the kids up the street have it so easy, and he's in no danger of being locked in a closet like Elf. I mean, that whole week and a half he was there for kindergarten? They didn't lock him up then. Sure, they suspended him three times, and made this kid who could do triple-digit math identify a triangle and rectangle during "circle time" ... but they didn't lock him up! It just HAS to be a child-friendly place that he is missing out on. Life was so easy back then. (cue violin music)

Poor guy. And sad to say, if he voiced all this out at the Hy-Vee deli counter or to his public schooled friends, they'd think it was a tragedy.

But back to the forum post Holzmann shared. She mildly stated that a Sonlighter "faced some criticism from her family dentist when her son told him he thought school was boring."

"I just want to pass along to you from your son that he wants school to be more challenging," the dentist told the mom. "As I was walking out he said, 'Remember: something more challenging.' I left feeling like my kids and I were being tested because they're homeschooled. (Um, ya think??) I hate this. It seems like almost everywhere we go if they say they're homeschooled they're tested on their knowledge... then if they make one mistake I look bad."

"I know more families than just this Sonlight user experience criticism from doctors, friends, family, and other people who don't understand why they would decide to homeschool," Holzmann continued. "The truth is, it is very discouraging to feel scrutinized by others who don't understand. Criticism, albeit common, is hurtful and confusing. It may cause you to doubt yourself and your ability to offer the best education to your children."

That, or it may cause you to find a new dentist. Inspire you, even.

The problem with related exchanges like this is that we're not there to witness them. I know sometimes when I blow off steam on the blog, I'm telling it from my perspective. In real life, though, I might just come off as a little tiny bit abrasive on very rare occasions. Most of the time, I am all sweetness and flowers, and you should bear that in mind next time I post in a huff! Maybe the mom in question was one of those "nice" Christians who let people say all kinds of crap to them and get away with it without saying anything mean back.

Um, I wouldn't suggest pulling that one on me. Every now and then, I run out of flowers, and you don't want to be there when that happens.

13 September 2009

Photographers at Work


D gave Elf and Emperor a new digital camera for field trips and whatnot, and they got to try it out. I was eagerly awaiting their first batch of photos. They seemed to be so busy downstairs arranging things just-so for pictures. I was expecting nicely posed pictures of each child smiling with a beautiful background, but noooo. I got "dental surprise" and "laundry train" instead.

12 September 2009

"New" Curriculum.

Usually, when I'm disappointed with some product or service, I'd just not buy from them again. I'd stay away from the product and not make a fuss. But sometimes, when I've been doing business with someone a while, I'll let them know I'm unhappy about something.
Well, here's what happened:

I ordered a LIFEPAC kit for science and two fourth-grade Spelling workbooks (BJU) from Christian Book Distributors. When the box arrived, I had two little boys jumping about. They get very attached to the curriculum, especially if it's from Bob Jones. They *had* to write their names on the workbooks right then and put stickers on them. You just can't return them. It would be akin to returning a new family pet because the pet store sold Sparky when he had a broken leg or ticks.

Well, I was disappointed. I know it is NOT a big deal to have a bit of printing cut off the edges of a workbook, but when you spend $40 on two notebooks, and the pages aren't neatly set in them, and the cover is mis-printed? You get a little annoyed, I should think.

I called Bob Jones Press and explained to them that no, I wasn't looking into a refund, and the workbooks still seem useable, but this isn't the quality I expect from you guys! Just to let you know that if you've started cutting corners or using a new printer that your customers ARE noticing the difference. Just log it down that I'm unhappy about it.

No, I'm not looking for a refund. No, I'm not returning the workbooks, because I have two children who would feel I've betrayed them if I did that. But... just letting you know that if it becomes a consistent problem, I won't be such a consistent customer after a while. I know they save every scrap and review I send them, as I get phone calls and answers to my reviews rather often. Usually they're very positive, but telling them FYI there's a problem in your Civil War section and perhaps we need to group Lee with the *Southern* generals in your next teacher's edition.

Well, that made me sad. That was enough for one day. The next day, I opened up the LIFEPACs. Um... I guess I must not have washed my hands as well as I thought as there is some sort of chip or barbecue sauce residue on the teacher's manual. Hm. Even though I haven't had chips or barbecue sauce, better go wash my hands before diving into the pile.

Um... now I find children's fingerprints on several of the workbooks. Not just little fingerprints, but smeary fingerprints! The picture doesn't do it justice. They are exactly the only size that I do NOT have in the house... something between Woodjie and Elf-sized. In real life, when you can hold it away from glare, it's really... gross.

How strange. The LIFEPACs came in plastic wrap! They must have repackaged a return and tried to pass it off on me as new. Which... whatever. But I'm paying for new. Maybe I'm picky. I like my stuff *new* when I pay for new. If I'm at a vendor booth at a convention, I understand everyone and their dog probably touched the book before I bought it. But I'm holding it and looking at it before I buy it.

This is different.

Well, I called CBD about the LIFEPACs, anyway. They will send me a postage sticker and mail me a new bunch of LIFEPACs. I'm out the time it took me to grouse about it, and the time it will take me to package everything up and send it back. CBD has treated me well over the years, and I'm willing to overlook things if they're just occasional... but... if it keeps happening over time, I'll just forget it and buy used stuff. I'll save money that way, but then I'll be paying for used stuff and not new stuff and getting used stuff...

You know what I mean. Would you have complained?

10 September 2009

I Think I'm Alone in My Opinion Here.

Maybe I'm the only one that sees that this takes away parental rights when a child converts to Christianity. I'm not sure that they've shown clear danger to the child. (Or maybe they have. Not being on a jury, I can only go with what's in the article.) Do only Christian parents deserve the benefit of the doubt? Because I remember some people trampling the rights of the FLDS people back in the day.


I only know that if it were MY child, I'd want her back. I'd want a last chance to show her that my religion is the right way. How could one howl about parental rights for homeschoolers, but then comment at the end of the story that one hopes that this gets tied up in the courts so that the girl will be 18 (and thus decide for herself!) by the time a decision is made. Let's just intentionally drag this out.


WOW.


What if that were YOUR child, folks? What if you were in a Muslim-dominated land and they took your child away out of "concern" that you might get all upset about your kid's profession of another faith?


Someone's probably going to write that you know what? Some of those fundamentalist type Muslims are strange, and they DID find some creepy things at the FLDS ranch and so... that makes all that happened ok. And I'm probably going to not only disagree, but point out that I remember what the local Baptist church did when the YFZ ranch was raided. They prepared a "shelter" for these people when the authorities tipped them off. They said on TV that it was just to show Christian love to these folks. The church. Colluding with the state.


Do you know what else? I would submit to you that sometimes "Christian love" means calling these other folks up and warning them that these state people are up to no good. Sometimes it means coming up against the "powers that be" and resisting. Ummm... though... this article creeps me out, too:


"Our strategy will be to bleed this corrupt culture dry," it reads. "We will pick off the most intelligent and creative individuals in our society, the individuals who help give credibility to the current regime..."


"Our movement will be entirely destructive, and entirely constructive. We will not try to reform the existing institutions. We only intend to weaken them, and eventually destroy them..."


"We will use guerrilla tactics to undermine the legitimacy of the dominant regime..."


Bleed dry. Pick off. These kinda sound like violent words. So do words like "guerrilla." Yeah, they're followed up with blather about how they're gonna do this with bumper stickers. At first. Second stage of the game? Intimidation tactics.


I suppose there are probably 5 billion other websites like this out there, but forgive me when I express surprise at this language, because I've never seen them before. I'm a conservative Christian and I'd probably exist quite comfortably under a regime like this for about a tenth of a second. I think I'd rather stick with the Obama administration, and that's saying something.

09 September 2009

The Cops Stop Patrick!

Patrick wants to go on an orchestra trip to China. To do this, he must raise some $1,500 before April for his share of the expenses. He's selling "$5 off" coupons to a local car wash for $3, and so far he's raised $30. He wandered up the street to sell some more when the cops pulled up and demanded to know who he was and where he was going.

The kid was just up the street from our house. Practically in sight! We've lived in this house for 12 years, and by now you'd think everyone would know who he is. He wasn't stealing stuff, racing automobiles, or... oh... I don't know... vandalizing local churches and threatening to kill people like other kids on our street have allegedly (legal disclaimer!) done in the past. Not mentioning any names, because I'm sure those records get expunged and the perp is magically innocent legally when he turns 18, but let's just say if the cops need to come out, it probably shouldn't be to investigate Patrick.

He was selling $3 tickets. For orchestra boosters. From the local school. You know, a bonafide local fundraiser? Unlike the "send this inner-city kid to college with useless magazine subscriptions and you have no way to verify the organization" or "buy this special cleaning cloth" specials from some guy you've never seen before or even the, "Hi. Would you like a free copy of Watchtower magazine?" that we get on occasion.

I'd like to know who ratted the child out.

The officer sent him home and told him he couldn't do this. D says I need to just "let it go" and find out what licensing we'd need to purchase to get this done legally. And if this selling door-to-door thing is illegal, then it's illegal and there's no use arguing. And that I had a rather un-Christian attitude toward the (no-good dirty slime-dog, just adding that in for clarification) people who decided to call.

I'm steaming mad about it! I'm thinking under Sunshine Laws, I have a good chance of finding out who did it. D says I should just let it gooooo.

I have called various city code people and left messages at the Orchestra Boosters. Hopefully we'll get some answers soon as to what the real deal is. I am no lawyer but think that city code is on my side:

"It shall be unlawful for any person to exercise, carry on or engage in within the city for pay or profit, any of the occupations, trades, businesses, avocations or agencies, mentioned in this chapter without securing a license, and paying the license tax as provided in this chapter; provided, that, no religious, benevolent or educational society located in this city, shall be required to pay any license to conduct any kind of entertainment or to serve refreshments of any kind in any public building in this city."

I'm thinking the local public school counts. D says no, because the BOOSTERS are selling the tickets, and Patrick bought a ticket and is reselling them. Sigh. We finally got in touch with the city code officer and do you know what? She is going to talk to the legal team tomorrow about it and get this clarified.

Legal team. Clarified. Your tax dollars at work!

Now really, I understand if Patrick or anyone else starts looking in your windows and acting weird, that you'd call the cops. I've had that happen before with other strange salesguys. I've even had some lady try to open my front door before! Yes. And I've had some suspicious and sly characters about looking to convert me to become a Witness. But wow. Do you know how much money the taxpayer is going to have to spend on this stuff because some local cranky neighbour couldn't just say, "No, thank-you" to the tickets, or just not answer the door?

Oh. And she said that the city and the school district may have to get together to issue guidelines they'd both abide by. More money gone. What a waste!

Anyway, here's hoping that he can find a way to unload the rest of the tickets. What a hassle!

08 September 2009

??!

I suppose there are two perspectives to every news story, but I'm looking at this one and thinking there are probably way more than two. In the video, the newscaster does the usual "pit one side against the other" thing for the entertainment of the viewer.

Unschooling. And what do you think of unschooling? Here's some guy who unschools his kids and some lady who looks like she's eaten a lemon during the introduction who somehow knows what's best for everyone else's child. What her qualifications were, I never clearly grasped.

Here's my question: Whyyyyyy are they introducing a man who "unschools" his kids? If he's truly "unschooling," then HE isn't really "unschooling" the children; they are unschooling themselves. I'm thinking that, anyway, but the video is not clear on anything, other than the fact that little kids seem to be able to pick apples and play computer games.

Unschoolers are also the same as dropouts. I'm not sure why this comparison is made in the video, but whatever. I'm thinking you can't "drop out" of something you weren't participating in, true? It would be as though I said to you, "I'm not going to school at all! Never!" and you said, "Ohhh... You're in danger of dropping out if you do that, though."

??!!

And finally... the clincher. What on earth do you think of all sides agreeing about knowledge getting absorbed into your psyche and stuff while you're sleeping? That has to be the weirdest, most wacky occult idea I've heard in a while... and yet all sides seem to be agreeing on it. If we have to agree on something, does it have to be that?

07 September 2009

Leatherworking Pic

D made this watchband himself! He also makes other bracelets and bootstraps and an occasional belt.

05 September 2009

Hello!

Thought I'd post a little blurb with some updates on the family.

Elf and Emperor went to Home Depot this morning for the monthly Kids' Workshop project. Many thanks to Lori of My Little Wonders for suggesting it! It was a lot of fun, and the boys were able to bring their bean bag toss project home to do with Woodjie and Rose for "therapy." LOL, I suppose all directed play gets called by the catchall "therapy" around these parts. Elf and Emperor like to be a part of it. They can't wait to go next month!

In other news, G is working to pay off a $45 debt he incurred at home. I won't give details as he is up in his teen years and I wouldn't want every last thing *I* did at 14 on anyone's blog, but there it is. (YES, God's grace was upon my life! Whoo! That, or someone is only just now blogging about me. Do NOT forward me the link. I don't want to know. Really.)

That teen thing is not a lot of fun to deal with for everyone, including G. He can do so well and then things go downhill anyway. He *is* doing well in school by all reports, however. I can proudly say that he has had a great morning and done all of his work without complaint. Do you know what a blessing that is to be able to relate? Yeah.

Patrick has known about an orchestra visit to China for about forever. Of course, they didn't give a specific itinerary for the trip until now, as the departure date isn't until next June. Of course, this means Patrick had no real motivation to save his money. Of course, this means that NOW that he realizes there are some actual fun things on the trip, he wants to go.

It might just be unreachable at this point, and I'm tremendously sad for him. Even if he were to get ZERO souvenirs and ZERO snacks the entire trip, he would have to earn something like $43.89 per week between now and April when the final deposit is due. (If he earns $6 per hour after taxes, that would be about 8 hours a week, given that things will come up, etc.) And THAT is given the fact that we have pledged to finance half the trip and pay for his passport. I'm not sure he can do that with his workload at home and school.

D refuses to raise salaries here. Patrick gets $2.50 a week allowance and is expected to do some childcare, laundry and dinner cleanup for free. D doesn't want to raise this as he feels that paying about $1500 (plus... you know it's always plus) anyway should mean nothing else changes. I suppose he will apply for a job. Then who would have to drive him in the snow?

Yeah. I really wish we could just fork over the money and be done with it. But I don't want to have a huge marriage-busting fight over it. AND I'm peeved at Patrick for putting it off so long.

Ever get in the middle of a fight and just want to yell at everyone? And if Patrick can't go to China, I'll be so sad for him. I think I'll cry the whole week the orchestra is in China. And I'll be so angry at him! And so angry at D not to pad our end more! I'm feeling sick thinking about it.

Patrick's solution so far is to "think" of money-making ideas. He has spent $30 of his own money (about his savings... sigh) on fundraising tickets and hopes to sell these to people. I'm hoping he will not walk into the sanctuary and go, "HEY! Want to buy a ticket?" but then again, I've been approached in this manner before by other kids for missions fundraisers. (Just because it's "for church" doesn't make it less rude IMO.)

Well, if anyone wants local Green Lantern carwash tickets at $3 a piece, leave a comment. Let's see... if we can sell 1,000 of these exactly, his trip would be paid for! Wow! Oh. But you'd have to use up all your 1,000 car washes by March, ok? :P

02 September 2009

NO.

I have already written Patrick and G's respective schools to opt them out of this, the President's speech to be given to America's school children at noon EST on the 8th of September. In my opinion, the nation's public schools do not need to be a political platform for the president to foist his agenda on young minds. Complete with a teaching guide from the government! Intolerable.

I know... what is on the "agenda" is a short rah-rah speech to "start the year strong" and has nothing whatsoever to do with politics, but it's just to encourage parents, teachers and students to work together and become competitive in the global marketplace and blah blah blah. Whatever. I'm pretty sure we all know there is a definite political agenda behind it all, however, and I just don't think that children should be pawns in all that. From the website:

"Since taking office, the President has repeatedly focused on education, even as the country faces two wars, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and major challenges on issues like energy and health care. The President believes that education is a critical part of building a new foundation for the American economy. Educated people are more active civically and better informed on issues affecting their lives, their families and their futures."

That doesn't sound political at all, does it? LOL

Maybe my children will be the only ones opted out, just as they are made to feel that they are the only ones opted out of some of the "health" teachings. But I know I am not alone in feeling as I do. In my opinion, airing the inauguration as though he were being crowned the new King was bad enough.

01 September 2009

Congrats, Emperor!

Emperor has been homeschooling for two years today! This is the cake Emperor, Elf and I made together. Does it resemble any yellow spongy guy you've seen on TV? Lemon and chocolate icing were used, as well as one of those decorating gels from the grocery store. He also got to select the paper plates and ice cream he wanted for the celebration. He picked some really sweet Pooh bear things. I love that he can still enjoy these things while growing into developing a taste for literature and "older kid" things as well. Patrick says that our celebration is "silly," and celebrating this whole thing is a dopey idea. And *he* doesn't get any celebrations. (Oh. Then I guess we should just eat the cake and ice cream without you while you're at school?) "Oh, I'm celebrating!" Patrick said. "I just think it's silly." He might think it's silly, but he's not going to pass up ice cream and cake, even if it does get served on a cute Pooh bear plate. Congrats to Emperor for two great years!

Dinner.

I love free samples. At the local Sam's Club, they were giving out samples of chicken in sauce. So, I bought the stuff and made it at home. I put a whole package of grilled chicken strips (defrosted in microwave), along with one can of Classico Tomato and Basil, into a skillet. Then I cooked it. But I think it would go well with peppers and onions with a side of rice for those days when I might feel adventurous enough to get around to all that. :]

Bringing Garbage Home

Some people up the street were throwing this table away. It was in pretty bad shape and one of the legs was off. I've glued the leg back...