Signs

"But I'm not hungry"  "Hi"  "NO"  "yes"  "to"  "ok"  "Can we sleep"  "Home"  "What's that?"  "(translation needed on this one...)"  "go"

One of the things that I loved about homeschooling The Native's was letting them learn at their own pace.

"Jadon can't play because he hasa headache."

I found if I didn't force something on them, when they were ready, they would dive in head first and I couldn't stop their excitement for learning.

"Have you done your chores."

I don't put my little ones in preschool. I like to keep them home with me as long as possible. My kids are the ones who go to Kindergarten and don't know how to read let alone their ABC's.

"I love mommy"  (posted on my bedroom door)

I want them to be little children for as long as possible because in this world you can't go back. Our kids are having to grow up way too fast.

"I like everything in the world."  "I like to play with my toys."

It doesn't bother or worry me that my kids start school a bit behind the rest of their peers because I know when they are good and ready they'll catch up.

(Besides all of his sight words on his bedroom door)  "Can we go outside with Levi (more translation needed...)"

If I force them they won't love to read or to learn.

"I like to plays up Mario Kart."

I've seen it Native after Native and this Native who is in the first grade, he's just learning to read and write.

"I remember this."

Our house is covered in his writing and I'm excited for him as he sounds out words and explores the world of letters, sounds, and how they go together.

The signmaker himself.

He has also gotten excited about reading.

Can you tell the entire state of Utah has been under construction for awhile?  It's even showing up in my house!!

How cool is it to have a child come to you with a bunch of books and tell you that they are going to read to you?

You can't even walk out the door without being stopped by construction signs.....  umm, don't look at the dirty smears on my front door. 

The nice thing is that Mr. J's school teachers understand and are supportive of my opinions. I realize they have rules/laws they have to follow but they have worked hard trying to make sure the learning environment at school is fun.

Halloween decorations and more signs that I'll need translated.

Since I can't home school The Native's right now that means a lot to me.

Does this Native look like he is hating the learning process?

The happier the child I believe, the more progress they make in their learning........ Just my humble opinion.

The End!

P.S.  Good thing I don't have a "Martha Stewart" or "Better Homes and Garden" house!!  I'd hate to be so wrapped up in my house that having these cute little signs taped all around (with massive amounts of tape might I add.... ) would be considered ugly and not in conforming with the decor...  I believe in having a home for The Native's to grow up in.  Not a house.  There's a difference ya know....  Just another humble opinion of mine.

The End!  For Reals!

Inspired Bicycles

My boys showed this to me this evening. I found it to be incredible!

An Egg

I consider my chickens, The Girls to have a pretty posh life. I feed them fresh good food everyday, I make sure they have water, they live in a penthouse gypsy wagon, and when the sun goes down and it starts to get cold, I provide them with a nice warm sauna to sit in.

All I have asked of them in return is to give me one egg. Just one egg! If each of The Girls gives me an egg then I can have six a day. That isn't too much to ask is it? Especially when one should add to the above list of things I provide for them, a nice clean environment. Meaning poo control....

The Girls haven't been holding up their end of the bargain. Every day I go out and check to see and all I find is a lonely golf ball in the nest box.

I had a talk with The Girls and told them that Thanksgiving is coming. I have been patient, I have cared for them, and either they hold up their end of the bargain or I am not apposed to having roast chicken for Thanksgiving in a few weeks instead of roast turkey!

Guess who got to eat the first egg from our Girls this morning for breakfast?

I think we came to an understanding. I found this wee brown egg next to the golf ball last night when I put The Girls to bed. Henny Penny is holding it next to a store bought egg so you can see how cute and little it is.

I'm glad The Girls and I had a talk.

Fall Break

I was cleaning out some closets the other day and found a box with the date 1960 written on the side. It was covered in years and years of dust. I had no idea what was in it. My first inclination was just to toss it. If I haven't missed it in over 50 years then why open it. Curiosity over came me and to my delight I found these photos! They are of some family on a camping trip. By the looks of it, a camping trip during the fall. I'd go so far to even guess they were on a Fall Break of sorts. I am a historian you know. You didn't know that? Oh. Well. Now you know. I can totally pick up on these things. 

Here.  Let me show you.  For example.  This photo.  You can totally tell there were three older boys in this family and by the looks of this photo they were scouting an area to set up their tents. 

In this photo it is very obvious what is happening.  In the background you see the Dad.  Man I wish I knew him.  He is really hot!  Evidently he has more children than just the three older sons because here is another son pictured with him.  Things were different back in the 60's.  I can't imagine having as many kids as this dad has can you?

They just keep showing up!  More sons! 

Now from this photo we can tell that the temperatures are cold.  The child in this photo is bundled up but not good enough because he has his hands warming over the stove.  They didn't worry about hygiene and dirty camping hands around the cooking area back in the 60's.  It's okay if you didn't know this already.  Remember I'm a historian so I can help fill in the gaps of stuff you don't know.

Now this photo is very revealing.  Most would look at this photo and think it is of a little boy jumping into a tent because he is freezing cold and you can tell by the angle of the sun that it is early in the morning.  In some respects you'd be correct in assuming all of this but take a look at the next photo.

What really happened here is this child jumped into this tent with his shoes on and then got in his parents bed.  Again, I'm the historian and I pick up on these little things that others might not notice.  It's okay.  If you practice you'll get better at this historian stuff too.

Alas, I was beginning to wonder but it does appear this is a daughter in this family of boys.  We can see here that she is just waking up and by the looks of the way she is sitting she is contemplating whether she should go back to bed or not.  This is key here.  If this family weren't on Fall Break then we know she wouldn't be contemplating this.  She would be getting up before the sun is even up and starting her day but this shot right here, she is contemplating therefore she is on Fall Break.  Tricky stuff this historian deducing isn't it?

We'll use this photo here to again point out what the non historian would see verses the historian.  Here it looks like this little boy has lightning shooting from his mouth.  Not so.  This is a little boy who is showing how cold it is by blowing out his breath and pointing out that you can see it in the cold.  Now do you see it?

I just love seeing photos of families sitting together eating.  I feel like I am right there with this family clear back in the 1960's eating warm pancakes and sausage smothered in their mother's homemade blackberry syrup. 

You missed that part about the blackberry syrup didn't you?  Quit looking at the steam coming off of the pancakes and look at what is in the oldest child's hand.  I swear that man looks like he is handing those pancakes to me.  These photos are so real to me I feel like I am camping with this family!

Now here is where being a historian comes in handy because again there are things that the regular person won't see.  The regular person will see a young man who has just woken up and is stretching in the sun.  The historian sees a young man who just got his rank of eagle scout in shorts and a t-shirt while the rest of his family is all bundled up against the cold.  The historian sees this young man's clothes soaking wet from a dip in the creek the night before and being not prepared....... has nothing to wear but shorts and a t-shirt.  Now, this is guessing on my part but I am willing to bet with all of those boys that the Dad in these photos is a scout master and wanted to thump his teenage son.  Just guessing on that part...... but I'm willing to bet my historian life on it.

One would wonder if these are photos of before the camping trip on the way to the camp site or after on their way home.

Because of the smiles one might guess it is perhaps before and yet one might also guess because of the smiles it is after......  the next photo gives us the answer.

The dirty face, the fuzzy teeth, the wicked breath, and bloodshot eyes from lack of sleep clearly tell us that these were taken after the camp out on this families way home.

One Trip. No More. Even If It Kills Me!

When I was a kid growing up in rural Montana, USA, one of my jobs was to haul wood for the wood stove. We had a wood shed up the back of the property where we stacked the wood. It had to be chopped and then hauled to the porch so it was easily accessible for my Mum.

I loved chopping wood. I loved slamming the sledge hammer down on the wedge and having that wedge go straight through a piece of wood cutting it clean in half.

I do NOT!!! Like hauling the wood to the house. I was bound and determined to make only one trip. No more. No less.

To make only one trip seems impossible since a wheel barrow doesn't hold enough wood to fill the wood box on the porch. Enter Rachel and her scheming mad wheel barrow loading skills.

I would take some wood that I could find that was long. Usually pinched from my Dad's wood shop. A couple of pieces of 2x4s or 1x6s. I would put them on the end of the wheel barrow that sits over the tire because we all know that is where you want the majority of the weight right? Not in the front by the handles where you are lifting. I would then proceed to pack that sucker so high and full I don't think someone over six feet could see over the top let alone scrawny short little ol' me.

The trick was you had to walk super slow and do not, I repeat, do NOT let that sucker tip over. The Native's use a wheel barrow that has two wheels. Mine only had one and was prone to tipping if not careful. In the event if it did tip and you knew you weren't going to be able to stop it then it was very important to make it tip with gusto. You helped it tip by shoving it really hard and saying words that if your Mum was standing next to you, you'd have to wash your mouth out with soap.

The wood would then be loaded back into the wheel barrow and once again a slow walk to the wood box on the porch where it would be unloaded in one, thank you very much, trip!

It never occurred to me that it might be faster and less painful if I just made a few quick trips with smaller loads...... One load. One trip. No more. No less.

I did some pruning today in my yard. I giggled and chuckled as I took some larger sticks and made my garbage can taller so I could load it up nice and high. One load. One trip. No more. No less.

Some things you never grow out of.........

Fly Like An Eagle.......

This boy had his Eagle court of honor last Saturday. More photos to come later.......

This is where Mr. T thanked everyone in his life who helped him on the road to his rank of Eagle. Well, almost everyone.  He was reminded from someone in the audience that he forgot one person which then made him go red in the face with embarrassment and I howled with laughter! Then when we came home I made him scrub my kitchen floor on his hands and knees with a toothbrush. Every tile he scrubbed he had to say, "I love my mommy. She is the best mommy in the whole world. I would be nothing without my mommy. I'm so grateful for my mommy".

Amazing

When ever I use doTERRA's (doe tear uh) essential oils I am always amazed at how well they work.  It seems too good to be true ya know?  Those of  you that use these oils know what I am talking about.

Mr. J has been home this week from school.  Horrid cough, goopy nose, etc.  Not fun.  The other night at 2:30 AM he woke up crying.  His ear hurt.  As a mother, having a little one wake you up in the middle of the night with something like this can be frustrating.  How to get a little one through the night until you can get to the doctor in the morning.  Not anymore!

I took Mr. J and started applying doTERRA's essential oils on him.  I used Melaleuca and Helichrysum.  After I rubbed these oils around his ear inside and out, I put a few drops of Melaleuca on a small cotton ball and placed it in Mr. J's ear. (I also placed 2 drops of onion oil in his ear).  I then took a heating rice pillow on his ear.  After about 15 minutes Mr. J was ready to go back to his bed.  His ear had stopped hurting and he slept through the night.

No more earache still two days later. 

During the day I've been applying Melaleuca, Lavender, Breathe, Frankincense, and On Guard on the bottoms of Mr. J's feet.  It's been less than a week and the gooky nose is gone and the cough is almost cleared up.

The Native's tease me and say it is my snake oil and call me a witch doctor. I immediately think of the scene in Princess Bride, "I'm not a witch I'm your wife"!

One of the Apple's of my Eye

Mr. J's teacher showed me this on her classroom blog. Mr. J reciting the poem, "Way Up High". Try not to giggle when you watch it. I dare ya!

The little boy after Mr. J....... see his gappy grin?  One of the many reasons I love this age!

Hike Anyone?

A few weekends ago I along with all of my sisters and my Mum congregated in Montana for a Sister's Retreat. It's been a long time since we were all together. One of our adventures was a hike.
Wanna come and see it through my eyes? 

Disclaimer:  Horrendous lighting as the sun was mid day.......

I took this particular photo for Mr. B.  My rock climbing boy.  I wanted to see if he could see it.  The rope going up this rock wall......... 

Thanks for coming along. Your assignment, if you choose: Realizing I'm not a brilliant photographer..... which was your favorite photo and why?