Candy.Corn.Treats

Sorry,Beckie...I.misspoke.

I.havent.been.knitting...First.I.had.to.finish.a.fouryearlong.cross.stitch.project.

and.then.I.have.been.crocheting....Found.this.pattern.on.Lion.Brand.

and.modified.it.to.make.the.goody.bag.

The.chinese.takeout.container.is.from.Michaels.about

two.years.ago...But.I.see.them.every.year.

I.later.saw.a.pattern.for.a.candy.cane.bag.similar.to.mine.that.was.felted.

I.may.try.that.too...Like.it.much.better.

~R

When Nature Calls - Trees

While.admiring.my.new.tomatoes.on.the.vine,Repete.excitedly.told.me.he.knew.where.some.

more.tomatoes.were.as.he.walked.toward.the.imaginary.line.dividing.our.yard.

from.our.neighbors.

Heres.his.tomatoes.

After.a.quick.search.here.at.ArborDay.org,

we.discovered.we.have.a.

Persimmon.Tree.

It.is.said.if.you.cut.open.the.seeds.you.can.predict.the.winter.weather.

Supposedly,if.the.shape.inside.the.seed.looks.like.a.knife,the.winter.will.be.icy.cold..

If.the.shape.resembles.a.spoon,there.will.be.plenty.of.snow.to.shovel.

If.it.looks.like.a.fork,the.winter.will.be.mild.

What.do.you.think?

I.see.a.long.thin.line.in.the.center.

Icy.cold?

Brrrr.

~R

The.Great.Candy.Corn.Debate

I.am.making.candy.corn.goodies.for.all.our.little.friends.

Question?

White.Yellow.Orange.

OR

White.Orange.Yellow.

Think.on.that.without.cheating.and.looking.it.up.

~R

Giveakidaleafblower.

IthoughtIwouldletyouallintomyprivatehell.

PetespilledwateronmykeyboardandIhavenospacebar.

The.boys.wanted.to.use.the.decks.as.a.their.fort...But.first.they.wanted.to.clean.off.the.leaves.and.pine.needles...I.let.them.use.the.leaf.blower...All.playing.aside,the.decks.look.great.

I.think.I.will.hype.up.using.the.bathroom.as.a.fort.and.leave.cleaning.supplies.on.the.counter.

~R

ps...if.I.dont.visit.and.comment.for.a.bit,well,this.is.why.

When Nature Calls - Cattails

Barb over at Handbook of Nature Study is graciously hosting a Charlotte Mason approach to nature study. This series from her "Outdoor Hour Challenge" is the "Autumn Series" and this week's nature calling was Cattails.

I used to drive this overpass and see houses way out yonder and wonder who lived there. How does one even get there. I found out. We live there now. This area is on the outskirts of the Great Dismal Swamp so finding cattails should be easy. In fact, maybe there are some in my back yard.

We stand on the deck and zoom in a bit. We look left.

And then right. No cattails.

So the boys and I drive around to the next street where Sushi lives. She has a pond behind her house and I am pretty sure I remembered seeing cattails out there during one on my walks.

We are not dissappointed. Well maybe a little because they are

so scraggly

and we can't touch them.

I'm late getting to this, so I'll leave you with just these photos and when the boys and I finish our notebooking, I'll come back and post those pages.

Thanks, Barb!

~R

Adult Time?

WARNING Self-Righteous Post Alert

If I'm wrong, I don't wanna be right.

Forget socialization. This is the question about being a stay at home mom and homeschooling that boils my blood. Some of you may take this personally and for that I am truly sorry. This "logic" applies to me and my brood and if you take something away from here, then I'm happy to be of service.

Adult Time? "I need me time." "I need to be around other adults to feel complete." "I would go crazy being around my kids all the time." People actually wrote these things with regard to their children.

On that same thread about socialization, so many folks claimed they could never homeschool because they couldn't stand being around their children so much. ??? They needed that time away to be an adult. To do adult things.

My first instinct, because I am hot headed is to ask, "Why even bother having children if they disrupt your adult time so much." "They didn't ask to be in your way, a hindrance to your personal growth, so why torture yourself so."

But I try really hard to squelch that nasty part of myself. Karma and all that.

Now on the one hand, I get it. I really do. When my boys fight over who has more dirt in their pile, I want to throw the towel in. When they've reached their hundred questions per day limit, I want to throw the towel in. When I just want to read one more blog chapter or go to the bathroom by myself, I get needing that adult time.

And I get that some people want it all. Not everyone wants to stay home or homeschool. Career and families? Perfect! I love it! But if you start making comments like those above, using your career to avoid your children, then shame on you.

The way I see it is this. I'll probably live to see my eighties, maybe my nineties. I take reasonably good care of myself. The period of time my children are with me day in/day out? A mere 18 years. So mathematically, assuming I live to 90, I spent the first third of my life a free bird. I'll spend less than a quarter of my life caring for my children and then I'll have about half of my life to again do as I may, including taking a crap in private. (I don't actually want to work out the fractions, so don't add that up, pretty please.)

And then I'll hope that my adult children want to call me from time to time to chat.

That span of time the kids are in our home is so short. Sure, I'll gripe and complain from time to time. But in the end, I'm glad I didn't miss one single minute. I'll be glad I was there when...

But that's just me.

~R

Sing Along

BN and Me, 9-16-09

"Yes, I wear a muffin-top blouse, a muffin-top blouse, a muffin-top blouse. Yes, I wear a muffin-top blouse, so I can hide my fat."

Don't you love muffin-top shirts? It's sad that we live in a society where this style has become the norm, but it sure is wonderful for mommas who delivered 9 and 10 pound babies.

I will lose that baby fat. I mean, really, my baby is only five years old. Give a girl some time to recuperate, right?.?.

~R