7 Quick Takes Friday...No Unifying Theme

I

t's Friday!!! I'm totally tired and feeling a bit brain-dead right now, so these 7 Quick Takes are being written in a sleep-deprived stupor.

--- 1 ---

Why am I so tired you might ask? Well, it might have something to do with this amazing, floating baby. Actually, she's not really floating, she's sleeping on my lap. Which is the only way she naps...if I even *think* so much of putting her down, it's wake-up-and-party baby. So there she sleeps...until my notoriously small bladder can't take it anymore.

--- 2 ---

It's cold today! Well..cold by Florida standards..which means high only in the 60's. Yay!, I got to pull out my favorite fashion accessory. Baby leg warmers...try not to be too jealous of Elsa now. She's doing her part to bring back the 80's.  Notice my sandal-clad foot in the backgroud..cause it's never too cold for sandals. .  .

--- 3 ---

Today is March 1st..which means only 71 days until graduation and only about 3 months until we likely move out of Naples. Waaahh...I don't want to leave...we have too many good friends here. On the other hand..having a steady income again will be very, very, very good!

--- 4 ---

So..did you hear the one about the guy who got swallowed by a giant sinkhole while sleeping? Unfortunately, it's not a joke..it really happened. So sad and scary...and this happened just 2 hours or so north of us, in Tampa. Prayers for that family and survivors.

--- 5 ---

And, just to keep it real....here is a picture of John and his cake-wreck worthy car cake.   It looked horrible, but tasted great..and gluten-free to boot!

--- 6 ---

I haven't been watching any of the media coverage of the Pope's last day...mainly because I never watch media coverage and hate having the TV or anything on during the day. So, I've basically been getting all my news from Facebook..how sad is that? Anyway, our prayers are with him and we pray for the new Pope. Did you know that you can go Adopt a Cardinal to pray for? If you haven't done it yet..you should. I got Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa SchP from Chile.

--- 7 ---

I used to hate shrimp...and then Ben got us gift cards to Applebees and I got some chicken/shrimp dish (because it was one of the few gluten-free items they had) and it was delicious...and all of a sudden I've been LOVING shrimp. So, I'm going to attempt to make a pasta/shrimp dish for dinner tonight....gluten-free of course. I don't have a recipe, so I'll just wing it. If it turns out well..I'll post the recipe. And, if I don't..then you can assume it was a dismal failure and my family all went screaming off into the woods to hunt down a deer for dinner. Either that, or they all died of food poisoning.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

{pretty, happy, funny, real}...Happiness at the Beach in February

Much as I complain about the Florida weather, and how much I miss the seasons and colder temperatures...one thing I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE is that when February rolls around and two of my children have birthdays, we can celebrate outdoors...even at the beach! How fun! Generally I'm not a fan of February birthdays. They seem to come right on the heels of Christmas, oftentimes are during Lent and when we lived up North..too cold to have a party outdoors. 

However..9 months before February is June...which is the end of the school year...which was celebration-worthy when your husband was a teacher.  Hence...baby born in February. 

{pretty} 

 

See my 2 youngest pretty girls and the beautiful, blue Gulf ocean! 

{happy} 

 Happiness is playing with your best friend at the beach..in February. Also, linking this one up with Clan Donaldson for Theme Thursday.

{funny} 

 Okay, okay..so this one is not at the beach. But, it's a funny onesie she's wearing. I always feel a bit weird dressing her in that...like it's vain and ignorant all at the same time. 

{real}

 I think John is screaming something like Don't put me down, don't put me down, the water is FREEZING. The water was really, really cold..for Fl anyway. You go to the beach in August here and it's like stepping into a warm bath..but in February..the water is COLD.

Now, go see Like Mother, Like Daughter for more PHFR.

 

Happy 5th Birthday John..5 Years in Pictures!

Today is my little boy's 5th birthday!!! Happy 5th birthday John!!  John is very smart and loves learning.  He knows his letter sounds and basic counting, and is eager to start "school" for real.   He is all boy and loved to run around like crazy, dig in the dirt and turn every stick into a weapon.  Totally, totally typical.  He loves his sisters...but really wishes for a brother.  Maybe someday kiddo...

To celebrate..I'm posting 5 interesting facts about John and one picture for every year of his life.

•  John's full name is John de la Croix Bentrup.  It is John of the Cross in French.  Saint John of the Cross is Ben's favorite saint, and when you're pregnant you agree to crazy things, so somehow I agreed to name him John de la Croix.  Hopefully this won't cause him too much angst when he grows up and has to do grown-up things like fill out forms.

• John was born with a short umbilical cord.  The midwife said it was the shortest cord she ever saw.   You can read all about his birth here.  Ironically enough, the midwife (a different one) said the exact same thing after I had Elsa.  Apparently I grow short umbilical cords.  BTW, if you google short umbilical cord you will read all sorts of scary statistics and predictions and dire warnings about the problems that befall babies with short umbilical cords.  Thankfully, none of these have come to pass for us, so this is a perfect example of why I should (but won't) stop googling medical things. 
• John likes to play chess...by himself.  He sets the board up and then plays both sides.  Oddly enough, he always wins.  Clearly this demonstrates that he is bound for chess mastery and will be the next Josh Waitzkin.
• John has this amazing ability to fall asleep anywhere.  Laundry baskets and clothing bins are two of his favorites places.  
• John always wears his clothes backwards and inside out...and he loves it.  One would think that just by chance, he would put his pants on the right way 50% of the time..but apparently not.  He seems to get it wrong 100% of the time.  That takes talent, I'm sure. 

2008...what a sweet baby!

2009 Isn't he cute!  Hippy boy had adorable curly hair as a baby!!

 2010...The curls are gone..waaah! .  Notice that huge scratch..on his cheek.It's actually not a scratch, it is a burn.  Thankfully it healed fine, without any scarring.

 

2011...Aren't they cute together?  Greta and John have always been really good buddies!

2012!  You can't see it in this picture because his hand is covering it up, but he's holding a cross he made at homeschool coop.  He kept that cross on for weeks without taking it off.  That's because he's John de la Croix....just living up to his name!

2013..We celebrated his birthday at the beach! 

 
 Happy 5th birthday John!  We love you!

Catholic Woman's Almanac - Link Up

Monday
February 25
Feast of St Matthias

I am…

Thanking God for:
..our family's health

...our numerous friends...here in Florida and spread out across the country.

...air conditioning.  I have thanked God for this just about every day, since we moved to Florida. 

...generous friends and acquaintances who have shared their baby items with me.

Reading:
...Fed Up...Winning the War Against Childhood Obesity.   I picked this book up at the library a week ago.  I'm not sure how I feel about, but it's a fairly interesting read.

...Real Love, Guaranteed to Last.   I got this for free on our kindle on the recommendation of my friend, Amy.   

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE having a kindle.  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it.  I LOVE reading and there is nothing better than having hundreds of books stored on a tiny little device always ready at the fingertips.

Pondering:

...vaccinations...I somehow stupidly broke my personal rule about not getting sucked into debates on Facebook.  Mea culpa....facebook debates are a total time-suck.  But, it has gotten me thinking about them and the issue of forced vaccination.

Praying:
...for my husband, as he finishes law school and job searches and gets ready for the bar. 

...for my children..that they will always enjoy good health..both physical and spiritual. 

...for various friends who are dealing with sickness or other stresses.

Waiting For:
...our tax refund!!!!!!

Thinking About:
...what to make for dinner...at 6:00 PM.    Procrastination..thy name is Amelia.   

...also, thinking about the monumental task Ben and I have before us...filling out the bar application.  Yikes!

Wearing:

...tan cargo shorts and a brown t-shirt.  Boring..yep!  Shoes..never wear them in the house..or outside the house if I can help it.  We didn't go anywhere today, so these are my "around the house" clothes.

Trying:

...to make a "car-cake" for John's birthday tomorrow.  I'm really good at making cakes taste good...but not so good at making them look good.  No doubt, the final result will be something of cake-wreck fame. BTW..if you haven't visited that blog you, you totally should.  Because, your life really isn't complete until you see a cake that graphically depicts a baby being born.  

Captured:

...this adorable picture from the beach yesterday.  Yesterday, we went to the beach to celebrate John's 5th birthday with some friends.  So much fun!

Could this get any cuter?  I don't think so!




And of course, this one of the handsome birthday boy!  I think he looks a bit like a little surfer dude.  Surfing is one thing you can't do in the Gulf...there are NO waves.   I have to laugh when they describe these teeny, tiny little waves as "choppy"..it's nothing compared to the mighty Atlantic!

Be sure to visit Suscipio for more Catholic Women's Alamanc Link-ups.

7 Quick Takes Friday- The Homeschool Curriculum Edition

 I definitely DO NOT consider myself a homeschool veteran or guru or anything like that.  However, because my kids are great at fooling the masses....or least they appear to be able to read, write and do math...I frequently get asked what we use for curriculum. So, I figured I would share it in a handy, dandy quick takes..our 7 most frequently used curriculum choices.

--- 1 ---

Math U See:  .I started using this when Heidi was in first grade and have stuck with it ever since. It's not perfect, however the teaching DVD's are useful and I like the way it systemically teaches skills. It's not terribly strong on certain "other skill" like telling time, so I do supplement that. But, overall, it generally works for us..so we are sticking with it...for now. 

--- 2 ---

Handwriting Without Tears. :  This is something I started using when Heidi was in kindy and just stuck with it. We definitely don't do all those wooden blocks or extra things, I basically just use the workbooks to teach letter formation. However, I do like the way it teaches letter formation and systematically builds, starting with the easiest letters capital letters first and gradually getting harder.

--- 3 ---

Shurley English: . I like the way this teaches vocabulary, grammar and writing all in one. As a parent, I find it very easy to use...if not somewhat repetitive. But, everything is really, clearly laid out and doesn't take a lot of prep work..which is big for me.

--- 4 ---

Apologia Science:  . I have a love/hate relationship with Apologia. The books are really interesting and my kids will actually read them for fun. This year, we got the Notebooks for the first time, and my kids really enjoy making the notebooks and doing the notebook activities. Science is currently their favorite subject. Plus, our homeschool coop is using it...which is the main reason we are.

For the most part, it's pretty good. At times, it does get a bit too young earth creationist for me...as I consider myself a creationist (as in God created the world), but not a young-earth creationist. I definitely believe that God created the world and everything in it and created man in his image and likeness...but not necessarily that the earth is only 5000 years old or whatever it is.  The Catholic church doesn't teach that Genesis is to be taken literally, so I don't.

Overall, I'm learning to like Apologia. I definitely think it is better for grades 4th-6th..it's a bit hard for grades 2-3, in my opinion.

--- 5 ---

Sequential Spelling:  I love this program.  it is really simple and easy to use, and definitely seems to work.  It was designed for kids with dyslexia...and while my children are not dyslexic...this program definitely seems to have improved their spelling.  It works at building up bigger words from base words...so for example..if you can spell act, then you can spell activate and activates and activation., etc. 

-- 6 ---

I use a little, workbook program called Maps, Charts and Graphs. It's really simple and basic, but does a good job at giving kids a chance to learn map skills and reading charts and graphs. It's a bit outdated though. This year, Heidi has a problem in one of her books that talked about the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. So..yeah..it needs to be updated!

--- 7 ---

History:  I haven't found a decent history program yet. Currently, we are loosely following the history program outlined in Mother of Divine Grace. I don't love it however...but I haven't found anything else I really love, so we are using it. History is definitely not my forte. I think my kids mostly learn history from reading historical books..they love to read stories from times past, so they get a lot of history from those. The American Girl Books, Anne of Green Gables books and Little House on the Prarie books are current favorites.

I didn't mention what we use for religion..but I used up all my 7 Quick Takes so I'll have to leave that for a future post.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

The One Homeschooling Item I Couldn't Live Without

So this morning, like every other morning I hop on facebook and see this cool link-up about My Favorite Homeschooling Item from one of my most favorite blogs...House Unseen.   And, I think to myself...Hmm...I wonder what my favorite homeschooling item is?  And, I thought and thought and thought...and realized that the one thing I couldn't homeschool without are my friends and homeschooling community.

Is that sappy or what?  Totally, totally sappy.'  But, also totally, totally true.  I really couldn't homeschool without my friends or a strong homeschool community.  I need the support and encouragement...I really, really need it.

Let's face it...homeschooling can be tough.  There are many days when I just want to throw up my hands and throw everyone in school.  But, I don't...because I know there are other moms going through the exact same thing...and we support and encourage and help each other.  I NEED that support and community.

It is so wonderful to be able to meet up with other moms at the park, or coops or field trips or moms nights out.  It is so wonderful for my kids to have lots and lots of other friends.  And, it is so wonderful that there is this whole community out there of other families that I can reply on for support and help and friendship and field trips and park days.

Homeschoolers tend to be a pretty diverse bunch...and in our homeschooling journey, we've met all types.  And, for the most part...they are all wonderful people.

When we moved down to Florida, one of the first things I did was look up the local homeschooling groups and join a few.  When we move to our next..as..yet.to.be.determined location, I know that is one of the first things I will do there as well.

So, here's to all my fellow homeschooling mom friends...those I had in Rhode Island, those I have in Florida and those I've only met in that mysterious world called the internet.   Thank you for your support and encouragement and friendship.  Thank you for keeping me SANE.

No More Yelling

Photo by Probably Okay,  Used under the Creative Commons License

Hi, My name is Amelia and I am a (reformed) yeller.  I didn't used to yell at my kids.   I used to be calm and gentle all the time...way, way, way back when I only had one child.

Ever since I got pregnant with my first child, I've always believed very strongly in gentle discipline.  Not to open up a can of worms, but we don't spank or us any corporal punishments.  I've always felt very strongly against that, although I do know some some wonderful parents who I respect very much that do so.    However, for myself, I've always felt that spanking was wrong..that it's not respectful and that it's not effective, so I don't do it.

I own and have read so many gentle discipline books...Raising your Spirited Child, Unconditional Parenting, How to Talk so Your Kids Will Listen Listen so Your Kids Will Talk, Adventures in Gentle Discipline, The Discipline Book.

Heck..I'm even quoted in Adventures in Gentle Discipline. 

I knew how not to discipline...but I didn't know how to do so.   I don't like punishing or disciplining  my children.  I just don't...it hurts me to do so. So, I started yelling instead of really disciplining.   I'd yell empty threats...but never follow through.   I'd yell, instead of doing the hard work of actually teaching right from wrong.  It was easier to yell from where I was, then to get up, look a child in the eye and calmly speak to them.

The thing is..yelling certainly isn't gentle..and it's not respectful, and it's certainly not effective.   But, I justified it by telling myself, Well, at least I'm not spanking or All parents yell sometimes or I'm so stressed, I can't help it. 

But, the thing is, I CAN help it..and I CAN stop yelling.   This year for Lent, I decided to give up yelling..  And, I discovered something...I CAN do this.  I CAN be the gentle, calm, rational mother I want to be.

Now, it's only been a few days...but a strange thing happened when I stopped yelling and started making an effort to speak always in a calm and rational manner.  My kids started listening better and responding better and behaving better.   They actually PREFER to be justly punished (usually by losing privileges) than to be yelled at. 

I mentioned this to my wonderful, awesome husband, who is always a gentle and loving father and he said something that really stuck with me.  He said

Of course, they prefer punishment over yelling.  Yelling is not respectful and not just, while punishment is just.

 For example. when a certain someone was balking at writing her English essay and doing school...it was way more just and respectful to temporarily take away her library books which were the source of her distraction than it would have been to just yell or make empty threats.

I've also discovered something else in my few days of not yelling.  Patience begets patience...and trying to actively cultivate a spirit of patience and gentleness helps me BE more patient and gentle.  For example. when a certain someone was throwing a major tantrum in his room last night, I found I actually had to patience to go in and get him and read him a story to help him calm down.

And, being more patient and gentle with my kids, has helped me to be more patient and gentle with MYSELF. 

It's not easy, and I know there will be slip-ups...but this Lent, I am really focusing on calm, quiet speaking and just and merciful discipline.  God Help Me...I know I'll need it, but it's what I need to do and what my children deserve.