Correction

I've been instructed by Ds#1 to issue a correction: he did not win a Game Boy Advance. He won a Game Boy Advance SP. Very important difference, or so I'm told. :)

Said Game Boy Advance SP arrived today (oops, need to go leave feedback!), and the games should be here tomorrow. Let's just say that there's more than a little bit of excitement in the air around here.

Ds#2 is FOUR!!! Woohoo!!! We celebrated with our friends at the park with cupcakes and pizza. He's soooo excited to finally be 4 (it really seems like he's been four for so long already). I've told him the story of his birth several times, and the park we went to today (by accident, we tried to go to another one first) was the one that I labored in the day he came.

Well, off to read some stories and get some sleep. My new niece or nephew hasn't arrived yet. We thought that s/he might come in time for Ds#2's birthday (the way that my nephew did with Ds#1's 4th birthday), but now it looks like s/he might be closer to my MIL's b-day. Only time will tell!

Who knows

what this blog is becoming? It began as a theater blog, morphed into something personal, segued into personal exploration, and is teetering on the brink of homeschooling. Sigh. Apparently, I'm not so great with decisions. :)

Yesterday, we started reading and talking about ancient Crete (from which my favorite non-abusive insult comes), and learned about how the Cretans decorated their walls with frescoes. So, today we're going to make some frescoes of our own. I'll post some pictures when we're done.

We're also studying birds and our bodies in science. Ds#2 has rediscovered mazes, and Ds#1 has been working with bubble math puzzles. Ds#2 got a marble construction game (made in Italy, fwiw), and the game Tell a Story for his birthday, so those were great fun yesterday as well.

Speaking of Ds#2's birthday. We celebrated it on Saturday with my family and Dh who was "home" for the weekend (where is home now, exactly?) with barbecued chicken, homemade potato salad, hot yeast rolls, and chips and salsa (all his choice, as the birthday person chooses everything). Instead of cake, we had homemade banana splits, with fresh strawberries, pineapple, bananas, chopped cashews and almonds, chocolate syrup, and homemade whipped cream. Yum! My kids have great taste! ;-) I can't believe that he'll be 4 in a couple of days. My physical dynamo can't wait to sign up for swimming classes as soon as we move. I realized the other day that he doesn't just enter a room, he bounds into it. He doesn't leave it so much as he leaps out of it. He focuses when he needs to, but really, the kid is rarely not moving. :)

Ds#1 has a birthday in 2 weeks. So, he and Dh spent the weekend bidding on a Gameboy Advance (lots of good ones available since the new one has come out and everyone is upgrading). Ds LOVES ebay and the process of bidding. He won a red one (his favorite color), and is expecting it to arrive later in the week. He also won 2 games and will probably get more from my mom and brother. I think that he learned a lot from the process (he actually "lost" 2 gameboys before winning this one, and lost scads of games), and had a great deal of fun, too.

He really is growing up. This morning, with my direction, he made cream of wheat on the stove. He helps me take the dogs out every morning with nary a grumble. He hasn't argued as much lately, nor been so hard on his brother (he never fights with ds#3). On second thought, maybe he's coming down with something. ;-) There are cycles, of course, but this one gives me a beautiful glimpse of the responsible, generous person my child is and will continue to blossom fully into.

There are Worse Things I Could Do....

than drink a glass of tea or two (or three or...) :-) No soda, lots of organic tea... Has to be good right?

What a great full first day of homeschooling! We've been easing back in for the past week or so, and jumped in full strength today. I love that we chose this route for our family, and I love that the boys love it, too. It doesn't hurt that at least 75% of the time they wouldn't call what they're doing "school". :-)

We had yummy, easy to make food today, too, which I think lowered our stress levels quite a bit. We even have a yummy tomato and bean gulash simmering in the crock pot (I have to savor every minute and aspect of a day that goes well! LOL). All of this house stuff has really taken a toll on the whole family, and we're finally starting to get into a bit of a groove. I even boxed up a TON of toys (I feel as if I've been doing that for the past year). We're talking about downsizing, at least for awhile, and purchasing an investment property, so anything non-essential and clutter producing should probably find a new home...

Oh, and we're anxiously awaiting the birth of a new cousin (my 2nd niece/nephew). We can't wait to find out whether there will be five grandsons, or whether a girl is going to change things up a bit!

So many books...

So very little time...

I'm reading:

The Politics of Hate (John Weiss)

Teaching Kids to Love the Earth (Marina Lachecki Herman, et al)

The Art of Teaching Art to Children in School and at Home (Nancy Beal)

The Storyteller's Start-Up Book (Margaret Read MacDonald)

I'm listening to my son read:

Island of the Blue Dolphins (Scott O'Dell)

Melancholy

I'm making a plan to simplify my life. I consider every bag of clothing that I donate (I donated 4 bags today, plus two armloads of coats and jackets), every bag of recycled paper that I cull from my stashes of stuff, every time I choose not to buy something new to be a significant step in the right direction. It's hard -- I've been sifting through 15+ years of stuff for months. Some things, like the books and notebooks, and the boys' school supplies, and my craft/art supplies, are non-negotiable. But oh the rest. The scribbles on paper, the mountains of clothes, the old magazines, a thousand unused (and never to be used) coloring books, the broken crayons and colored pencils; well, you get the idea.

I'm cooking more, and buying less food. I haven't bought a box/bag of cookies or chips in months. I still treat the boys and myself when we do go out, but at home the bar has been raised significantly. It seems like a form of slavery to manage so much: the toys, the laundry, the food, the house itself. There have to be ways to cut back on the intake of stuff so that more time is spent doing cool things and visiting with and learning from awesome people. The rest really doesn't matter.

One of the main things that I've always LOVED about acting and theater is the sheer simplicity. You don't need anything but people to make astounding, gorgeous theater. It's amazing to just bring oneself to the stage, and simply DO.

I want that kind of simplicity in every part of my life.

Ever feel pulled in a million directions?

There's a story from the 70's called The Fire Cat. The cat in the book is described as being not a good cat or a bad cat, but a mixed up cat with big paws who wants to do great things.

The book irritates me on some levels, but for some reason I identify with the cat. Not good, not bad, but mixed up with a strong desire to do something truly important.