Nice Girls and Camping

Well, we’re back from our little camping trip to North Eastern Oklahoma. It was beautiful, but there was a bit too much nature for me; flies, ticks, mosquitoes and the like. We won’t be camping for 6 weeks until our Colorado trip the third week in July. It will probably take me that long to get over the mosquitoes bites.

Seriously, mosquitoes have no respect for the DEET that I spray all over my body, often. I must have 50 mosquito bites, AGAIN!

I have 4 to 5 days of scratching, bathing in Aveeno, slathering myself in Benadryl Cream while being in a stupor from taking the oral variety. Oh Joy!

Here is a photo of all of us, and yes that is my husband being a dork and ruining the nice family photo. My family of 6 (dh, myself, 2 boys and 2 girls; all the blondies in the photo, except me, I'm the only one in the family with dark hair.) and my dh's brother, his wife and his 2 girls (the brown headed girls) and we took dh's other brother's youngest daughter. (the darkest hair)



We took this photo before we went on a hike to Robbers Cave, where some notorious outlaws like Jesse James were reported to have hidden out. It was cool!

Now, the reason for this post. This book.



I don’t even know where to begin with this little book. It is called Nice Girls Don't Change The World. It is a quick read. I think I read it in 30 min. My sister in law told me I HAD to read it and handed it to me. She said it is life changing. Well, I have to admit, I’m a skeptic. I’m not a faddish person (okay except for those leggings, but who didn’t fall for that one?) I didn’t like the Secret of the Vine or Prayer of Jabez books. Not that I think they’re bad, I guess I just feel like If something is going to change my life, I’d just as soon it be the Bible itself.

But I read this little book because, well, honestly, I was in the hammock and forgot to bring my book with me and my SIL walked by and told me I HAD to read this book and put it in my hand and it was easier to read that book then walk all the way back to the camper and get mine. I am lazy like that.

I have to say that this book was stunning. It really blew be away. There were some powerful thoughts in this little book.

If anyone has read it I’d love to hear their opinion. I am a nice girl. I like being a nice girl. I think the idea that being a nice girl (hear people pleaser) may not be God’s best for me was hard to swallow. The idea that doing what others have asked, required, cajoled or guilted me into doing may not be what GOD wants for me, is a bitter pill to swallow.

Now, of course the author is not suggesting that we be selfish and just do what feels good, to throw off our roles and mothers and wives because nurturing is not our gift. I think she is suggesting that sometimes it is easier to hide behind what others require of us and not listen to what GOD is requiring of us.

I don’t have the book with me right now, but there was a passage about fear that hit me hard. That fear is one of the things that keep us from being obedient to God with the gifts he has given us. She made a comment about how she’d rather face her fear than have to face God and tell Him she didn’t have the courage to do what He asked.

There was another passage about low self esteem. The idea that God made us the way we are and we have something to offer to the world. I am the only one like Me. My perspective is unique. What I have to say, paint, do, sing, or offer in any way up to God, is something he created me for. It is a gift He gave me. What does it say to God when I think I’m not good enough to use the gift He gave me? Ouch! That one hurt. Others’ judgment should not be the thing that stops me from using the unique gift God gave me. Easier said then done!

This little book had some big thoughts in it. I hardly know what to think about it. I am praying that God leads me to His truth on this issue of being a Nice Girl.

Honestly, I’m not sure I want to change the world. I just want to be a Mom and Wife. Is that hiding, or can I change the world, not be judged, not face my fears, and be nice doing it? Hummm, thoughts to ponder.

I want my cake and eat it too!

***If you are Jewls, or are coming her by way of my comment on her blog. You might also find this post on fear interesting.

Happy Memorial Day everyone!

The blog will be quiet for a few days. My family and I are going on a camping trip over the holiday weekend.

So if you must have your Homeschooling on the Hilltop fix, go read some old posts, like the poignant post about my first son getting his learners permit. Or you could watch the spider video again. Come on, you know you want to!

Have a great weekend everyone!

ICK!

I think I have mentioned before that I have a problem, a medically documented issue, a phobia. I am not alone in this phobia. So many people share my phobia that they have made some really awful B movies about it. It is…you guessed it…arachnophobia.

I am absolutely certifiable when it comes to spiders.

Well, today has set my wellness plan back years, decades maybe. I found THIS in my house!



Okay, to be honest, my son found it. He was doing laundry (yes my teenage son knows how to do laundry. I am teaching him for his future wife. One day she will thank me) and he started to put the towel load into the machine. As he picked up a towel, he found his hand precariously near a HUGE spider. A TARANTUALLA!!!!!! Now, this load of towels has not sat in the basket for weeks, in fact I think I did a towel load about 3 days ago. We are not filthy people with nests of TRANTUALLAS in our home. We just live in TX.

In TX you can have the cleanest house on the block with the Merry Maids coming every other day, and you will still have creatures in your house.

I think we have a food chain going on under our house. I never see any roaches. I know that most people would rejoice at this, but as I said, in TX the presence or lack thereof of creatures, has no bearing on the state of your home. They are simply everywhere. And if they are not, it is because you have something higher on the food chain in or around your home. We have had snakes (not the good kind, the rattling kind) we have had many shapes and sizes of lizard. We have had bugs that even the most skilled entomologist would have a hard time identifying. But the thing that strikes fear into my heart is the GIANT SPIDER!!!

How do my kids feel about this whole thing? Watch this.



I guess I did not pass my certifiable phobia to my offspring. After watching this video my 12yods took of letting the GIANT SPIDER go FAR AWAY from my home, I do know my daughters have my girly silliness in spades!

Do they have GIANT SPIDERS in Canada? I think I’m moving!

What do you use? (This is a homeschool blog afterall!)

This is one of the questions you are bound to hear if you have more than two homeschoolers in one room.

At first I asked this question because I was looking for the magic bullet. The one curriculum that would teach my kids their letters, numbers, scripture and how to leap small buildings in a single bound. After a few years I learned that that magic bullet does not exist. Actually it might for me, but you might try it and hate it. Each of our kids is unique, so it follows that they will have a unique response to any given curriculum.

With that said, I thought it’d be fun to talk about what we use in our homeschool and why. What we like and what we hate. What worked wonders and what made our kids cry every time they laid eyes on it.

There is too much to cover in one post (I have been at this homeschooling thing for 10 years now) so I’ll start with this post and every now and then, update it.
So, let’s start with my favorite…History!

What do you use?



I use Sonlight now. I used Sonlight for my boys when they were in the 1st – 3rd grades and was not happy. It was just too much. I was too new to the homeschooling game to realize I was in charge not the schedule. So I kinda over did it.

My one beef Sonlight is the shocking lack of picture books. I Love picture books. When my girls were little I found Five in a Row. I LOVE Five in a Row. It was such a gentle approach. Five in a Row taught me that kids can really learn and it can be fun and painless.



My kids are too old for Five in a Row now, so we’ve gone back to Sonlight, although, I am teaching a Five in a Row class at our homeschool co op. So I’ll never really have to stop reading all those great picture books!

I really like Sonlight for older kids. Primarily 3rd grade and up. So while my oldest (he’ll be in 10th grade) will be doing core 100 (American History) my three younger kids (they’ll be in 3rd 5th and 7th) will be going through Core 3 (American History).

Really, the thing these curriculum have in common that I love is literature. Books, books, books. I think if someone told me to choose only one thing to use to teach all my kids, it would be a Library card.



I found something new that we are going to add to our American History study next year. It is called Simply Stated. It is inexpensive and really cool, and uses, you guessed it, BOOKS! I think this is going to be just the thing to add fun and the spark to our year. I spoke with the creators and know just how I want to use it. We’ll be making a notebook page for each state with a few facts and the state name and capital, drawing of the state bird, flower, etc. Then we'll read a short story from that state in It happened in America : true stories from the fifty states, then read one of the books in the list in the manual. Then we might do some map work, and place that state's sticker on our map.

There you have it. That is what I am using/have used for history. Five in a Row, Sonlight, and Simply Stated.

So, what are you using? You can put your answer in the comment or leave a link to your own blog where you answered your own post.

Look How the Time Flies!

Please allow me to reminisces…go back with me almost 13 years.

B was just over 3 and had gotten a new bike for his birthday. He rode it for about a week and began asking his dad to take off his training wheels. For over a week he begged, “Daddy, Plllleeeeaaaassseeeee, take them off.” Finally my husband relented and told him he’d take one off. He knew that as soon as he crashed and burned the first time, he’d want them back on.

An amazing thing happened. He did not crash. He went around the circle two or three times and then came to his Dad and said, “Daddy plllleeeeaaaassseeeee, take the other one off.” So he did.

There was my baby, with his little chili bowl haircut and knobby knees, riding around the circle, pretty-as-you-please, with no training wheels. That was the beginning of his love for all things with wheels. He has been riding a three-wheeler or dirt bike motorcycle almost as long as he has been riding his bicycle.

But today, we opened up a whole new chapter. Today, my baby got his learners permit.

He is allowed, with restrictions, to drive a car. He will have these restrictions for 6 months. I can already hear him saying “Plllleeeeaaaassseeeee, take them off”.

My, how time flies. I feel like I am looking at that same knobby kneed 3 year old, only this time he’s driving my car!

Do you see that empty passenger seat? That is my place now.

I posted over at The Well Drained Mind.
Come check it out!

Food Allergy Awareness Week

This is Food Allergy Awareness Week. Unless you have a child with a potentially fatal allergy, you probably don’t know that.
I do. My 8yodd is fatally allergic to dairy. ALL dairy. Just the smallest amount of whey powder in a graham cracker is enough to kill her. This makes our life interesting.

I am posting this today because in the 8 years we have been dealing with this we have come across several different responses to her allergy. It has been hard. Church has been one of the hardest places for my dd to be safe. This world revolves around food. People just don’t understand how serious a food allergy can be. We often have to just take her home instead of going to Sunday school because there will be food in the room. It breaks my heart to see her being excluded from Church because of her allergy. Sometimes I am heartsick at how other adults treat her. Christian adults.

So if you know someone raising a child with a food allergy, do me a favor. Don’t judge. Offer help. Pray. And don’t condemn.

If you work with children and have an allergy child, please find another way to reward your class other than food.

Is it really worth a life to hand out Hershey’s kisses on Valentines Day?

And try not to judge our over protectiveness. It is life and death.

I remember before I had A, reading an article about a school district that outlawed pb & j sandwiches because they had a couple peanut allergy kids in the district. I was incensed! How ridiculous, to make the whole district pay because of one or two kids. Now I get it. I didn’t know how easy it is to get exposed to the offending allergen, I didn’t know how little of the allergen is required to incite a reaction. I didn’t know it was life threatening.

Now I get it.
For more information on food allergy's go here.

Misery!

Is it possible to die of itching? To literally tear ones skin off one layer at a time?

Aveeno as become my new best friend! I can't stand it!!! Only after I have sat in an Aveeno bath, taken Benadryl orally, and rubbed the gel variety all over by body, do I get any relief, and it is short lived.

I HATE MISQUITOES!!! How long must I suffer?

I must go now, I've used my hands for something other than scratching for as long as I can stand...now...must...scratch!

Tricia Needs...

Okay, I’ve seen this on Kathleen’s blog and Jane’s. So of course, being the Lone Wolf that I am. I had to try it.

Here is what happened when I typed “Tricia needs” into Google. Hilarious!

Tricia needs constant assistance to meet her personal care needs.
Tricia needs affection, stability and devotion, not charm and empty words.
Tricia needs a rest.
Tricia needs our support.
Tricia Needs our prayers.
Tricia needs a new pair of shoes.
Tricia needs help again.
Tricia needs therapy.
Tricia needs a vacation.
Tricia needs to hear "I love you" every single day!
Tricia needs to see her roots and learn to drink beer from a koozie.
Tricia needs to study.
Tricia needs to train like a football player.
Tricia needs a similarly valley-girlish specimen with whom she can practice her supernatural powers.

And my all time favorite…
Tricia needs...uh...no, she's perfect.

Whew, before that last one Tricia was starting to worry about herself…and sound a lot like Bob Dole.

My Nemesis

I hate mosquitoes. They are quite possibly the most vile creatures on earth.

I am sitting up at 2am, covered in mosquito bites. I have at least 70 bites, and they ITCH! I am not a normal person, no my bites get nickel size and ITCH for days, really like, 10 to 12 days!

So here I sit, covered in Benadryl cream, and yes I know not to use to much, but, at this point I'm willing to risk a diphenhydramine overdose; it's that or tear my own legs apart with my nails.

We were camping for Mother's Day this year and I guess I made a tasty treat for the vile beasts. My kids and the other adults that were with us are not covered, only me. Want to know why? DEET!

I bought this new Off product because I hate the feel of Off, so I thought this would be great. It was, no sticky feel. It also does not work, AT ALL!!! It has no DEET. I did not know this when I bought it. I NEED DEET!

I will never, ever, ever, stray again. Never.

People, If it does not have DEET, It is just strange smelling perfume!

I must go now, I need both hands to scratch.