It has been too long...

Now that school is winding down for thw school year, I find myself with a little extra time on my hands.  This school year has not been the easiest.  I had more challenges than I thought I would.  I learned a lot though, and looking back I am truly grateful for each challenge.  Each one has made me appreciate the people around me and see their strengths even when dealing with their weaknesses. 

Next year I've already taken steps so that I can spend more time teaching MY kids.  I love having other kids in my life, but I feel I need to spend some time with one of my sons in particular next year.  He has one more year of being in the "little kid" classes in our co-op and I want to help him get the skills he needs to be prepared for the big kid classes the year after. 

And my littlest is learning like crazy and I know would like to have more of my time.  He knows all of his letters and sounds and most of his colors. 

One of my goals for the next year is to post more on this blog.  I really enjoy writing and having this outlet is nice.  I'm not promising anything, but I'm going to try...

Real Men Eat Quiche

Quiche is so easy to make.  Maybe too easy.  I make it about once a month and all of my boys love it.  I make it with leftovers or good deals.  It is a great way to make over something that we've already seen.  My husband, child of the 80's, decided he had to tell our boys that "real men don't eat quiche."  I know he was hoping to get them to react in some way.  Laugh, question, something.  They just kept eating.  They love the stuff.  I now call it "egg pie" for my husband so that he can be a REAL man.  My real young men don't care what it is called.  They just want me to make it.

The pie crust is fantastic... I've tried others but keep coming back to this one.  It is Pioneer Woman's and can be found here:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/12/p-p-p-pie_crust_and_its_p-p-p-perfect/

I make three at a time - at least - and usually do at least two with bacon and cheddar (but could be beef or chicken or pork if that is what I have).  I've also done one with mozzerella, tomato and basil... YUM!  Turkey and brocolli and cheese is good too.  Anyway, I put enough stuff in the pie shell to cover the bottom and then some.  I mix up 6 eggs with about 3/4 cup sour cream (per pie) in a blender with a little season salt.  I pour this over the stuff in the pie crust and then put it in a 350 degree oven for about 45 min.  Easy, flexible and very good.  I  make this all the time when we have company and everyone is always so impressed. 

Community

Last night we had a big party at our house.  It was fun.  We also had another, tamer party at my parents' next door.  At our house, the kids signed yearbooks and watched a DVD of the play they did last year (yes, I know, yearbook parties are usually at the END of the school year... long story.)  At my parents' house we had a baby shower for one of the moms in our homeschool co-op group.  It was wonderful to get a bunch of us together and just talk and visit!  It enabled one of the mothers to meet her son's teachers for the first time.  It allowed all of us to just sit around and talk about things that weren't necessarily related to classes.  We got to know each other better - which is always good for a community.  And the dads all hung out next door talking and keeping track of the kids.

A couple days ago a friend used the phrase, "It takes a village," in reference to raising her son.  I've always disliked that phrase.  I believe it is a parent's responsibility to raise their children, not a village.  Village in some way infers an unrelated group of people that just happen to be in the same vicinity... at least to me.  A community, on the other hand, is a group of people that come together for a specific purpose to build relationships for a common cause.  Our homeschool co-op has a goal of supporting the family as the center of learning.  I like this way of thinking so much better.  It keeps the responsibility where it should be.  If a village, school, government, etc. is going to raise your child, it can be easy to just step back and not worry about doing it yourself.  And when your child comes home doing and thinking and saying things you don't agree with, it is someone elses fault.  No, I'll stick with community, thank you.  Keep your village.

A Happy Home

When I was a kid I embroidered a little saying - "The greatest gift a father can give his children is to love their mother."  A happy home begins with a strong foundation.  I am grateful for that strong foundation.  We have our ups and downs, but I know I'm with the right man and I have no desire to find another one.

Yesterday we went to the beach for a family youth group activity sponsored by a regional group I'm hoping our boys will get more involved in.  My husband usually balks at attending these type of things.  He usually has the out that his work schedule doesn't allow him to go.  Yesterday he had off and he was happy and willing to go.  The boys and I love listening to books on tape.  My husband doesn't usually.  Yesterday he listened and commented and even looked forward to the next time we could put it on.  At the beach he took the time to run around with our 3 yr old.  He went into the water (even though he didn't bring a change of clothes) and spent time teaching our 10 yr old how to body surf.  He watched our older boys learn to surf.  He talked to people he didn't know in a situation I'm sure was slightly out of his comfort zone. 

Loving me may be the greatest gift he can give our boys, but yesterday was a wonderful gift for me.  Seeing him relate to his boys, take time to listen and play, was awesome.  I am so grateful for the day!

Being grateful for my baggage

Our home has a lot of baggage.  Not the physical kind.  The mental kind.  And, really, we probably don't have any more than anyone else, but I just got to thinking about it today.

My father's cousin is visiting and she is really into geneology.  I scanned a bunch of pictures for her and while I was doing that we talked about our family.  My brother-in-law recently gave us a print out of my husband's family so we could look at it on both sides.  When you go back just a few generations you find husbands that died months after marriage, wives that died leaving husbands with tiny babies and more to deal with. Men and women turned around after these incidents and remarried quickly.  My cousin was noting it probably was out of necessity.  What was that man going to do with a 4 month old baby?  He had to be out in the field all day.  He needed someone to take care of things. 

We are so pampered today.  I don't think most of the population would survive if all of the televisions self destructed (although we would be better off without the things, in my opinion.)  All the little things that seem to make my life hard, especially the emotional baggage that comes into play in relationships, is all so trivial compared to what our ancestors had to deal with.  It has made me more grateful for what I have.

And being grateful is always a good thing!

Just some thoughts...

I'm still getting used to our schedule.  School is getting busier.  I'm teaching 4 classes that none of my kids are in and I'm starting to think I'm not spending enough time on MY kids and too much time on other kids.  I know it will get better.  I'm just not used to it yet.

My personal finance class is great.  I have two kids that were in it last year.  They evidently wanted to take it again!  I'm really excited about the class.  It is full and fun and I really enjoy it.  The kids are participating and seem to be getting something out of it.  I'm a little bit concerned that the kids won't get the books they need.  The regional advisor thought they could just share a book that they are supposed to read through out the year.  Won't work.  I hope she will be able to get more.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to teach these classes.  I really do get more out of them than I think the kids do.  I put a lot into them too. 

The Pursuit of Knowledge & Goals

One of the many things I do is teach a physics/science class for the homeschool co-op I'm involved in.  It is a real stretch for me.  I have never thought of myself as good at science, even if I did technically teach a lab at OSU.  I know it goes back to my high school chemistry teacher.  He totally talked over my head and I didn't get anything from the class.  After that class I felt like I couldn't go on.  I also had a geometry teacher like that.  Both experiences had an influence on my decision to homeschool my kids.

But now, I'm teaching other peoples kids!  I want to make sure I inspire them to learn more instead of stunting their growth.  I can't believe I'm teaching 4 different classes this year (ok, two of them are sewing) and NONE of them have one of my 5 kids in them!  I love the classes though.  The kids in them seem to like them too.  But my physics/science class is my biggest challenge but it is also where I'm personally learning the most.  I'm pushing myself and meeting goals.  All the other classes I've taught before.  This one I have to put the most into because there isn't even any curriculum or guide to help.  We are totally doing it on our own.  I really want to do a good job so that I can pass it off to someone else to do next year.  I have more goals to pursue!