Dunkin Donuts Writing Time

I shared with you a while back about how I have started getting out of the house to have a little writing time that isn't interrupted by my normal family life around here.  I had gone to a little, adorable coffee shop here in my town.

I have tried making the whole getting out of the house to write a regular thing and work around Rainman's work schedule, so I don't feel like I am slacking in my parenting or homeschooling duties either!

But, like I said in my post, while the cute little coffee shop is great and all.....the comfy chairs that actually fit my rear end are few and far between.

So, I have tried something and someplace else.

Even closer to my house than the coffee shop is a gas station.  A gas station that has a Dunkin' Donuts attached to it.  A Dunkin' Donuts that has booth type seating and easy to move tables.  So, I have been going there.


Sometimes I go by myself.  Sometimes, L-girl and/or A-girl come with depending on their school schedules.  They work on homework or talk and I just write.

It has worked out really well.  I have always been able to get this little corner booth section that has electricity and I have been able to shove 2 tables together and spread out.  The girls, if they are with me, just set up a bit down from me.

It is great.

Last week, L-girl and I went.  She brought her school along (beauty of homeschooling).  I worked/wrote.  Every now and then she would say to me, "Hey, there is________". Fill in the blank with someone we knew from church, or baseball, or our neighborhood.  Apparently lots of people frequent this gas station/donut shop.  Honestly, though, I didn't really see any of them.  I was working and my eyes are ...well....old, I guess.  If I am working on stuff right in front of me or reading, it is easier for me to take off my glasses.  So, when I look up at the world, everything is blurry....but everything right in front of me is good.

Anyway, I had been coming to this Dunkin' Donuts about once a week for a few weeks (minus our Disney week).  Last week, I was typing away on my scary writing project and one of the workers who happened to be wiping down tables near me asked, "Do you work from home?"

Well, I am not sure what came over me.  I said, "Yes, but when I really want to get stuff done, I come here.  It is hard to get stuff done with the kids around."

Then she said, "Oh, what do you do?  What is your job?"

As Cathy would say.....


(by Cathy Guisewite)

"Aaaaaaack!"

So, then I sort of stumbled through an explanation,  "I am trying to be a writer....well, I am sort of a writer."  Which elicited the response, "Oh?  What kind of writer are you?   What have you written?"

Now, I stumbled through...."Well, I write a blog, but I am working on this other thing and I....I...."  I just sort of petered off....with one of those sort of fake chuckles at the end.

She sort of wandered away.  I am sure it was a table wiping emergency.   It was awkward.

I told L-girl later, that I didn't even think before I answered her....but I wished I would have.  It reminded me of one of those conversations that you relive over and over in your head wishing that you could go back and change what you said.

I do work from home....sort of.  You know?  It was hard to feel like I had a legitimate answer for her. Then I knew I sounded desperate when I was trying to explain to her about my "writing"....and wished I could suck every word back into my skull.

There is a piece of me that now wants to become wildly successful, like J.K Rowling,  so the Dunkin' Donuts lady and I can both remember that horrible, awkward conversation about me "working" and "writing" and laugh about it during our appearance together on Ellen....or something.

I haven't been back to the Dunkin' Donuts since that conversation.  I promise though it isn't entirely because of that conversation I had with the nice donut lady.  It has just been extra busy around here and really, really hard for  me to sneak away for a few hours.

One day late last week, I was standing in the kitchen cooking dinner, while our normal life whirled around me. Rainman was talking sports with one of the kids, the little kids were twirling (literally twirling) in and out of the kitchen to tell me stuff/ask me stuff.  Pretty sure at least one of the big girls was singing a song.  You know....normal chaos.

D-man came up from the basement and said, "Wow!  It is crazy up here."

"What do you mean?", I asked.

He said, "Well, I was just downstairs and it was all dark and quiet with just my t.v. on, then I come up here and it is like....bam!  Everyone is talking.  Everyone is moving.  Everyone is having a different conversation."

I made some joke about him coming up from his cave to join the real world.

But, then I had an idea....if his cave worked for him....maybe it would work for me too.

So, I have had 2 basement writing days so far.

I have custody of the cave during the wee, small hours of the morning and D-man has custody in the wee small hours of the evening.

And, so far, so good.  The second writing day wasn't quite as successful, because people realized where I was and did pop in to ask a question or visit me.  But, for the  most part, it was dark, peaceful and I got quite a bit done.  Plus, the couch is comfy, I get to have my feet up, the coffee is free, and I don't have to wear a bra or have awkward conversations with people.

All pretty positive things right there!

I am not saying I won't ever go back to Dunkin' Donuts to work, but this is a pretty good alternative, especially if I can figure out a way to have the kids pretend I am gone too and not come to visit me quite so often.  Maybe I need to get a coffee pot for the basement too - then there won't be any evidence of me actually being home - when I come up for refills......hmmmmm.......

Bite Sized Morsels

I helped lead my Sunday School class this last week.  When I do that, I get to choose what we talk about.  So, I usually try to pick something that really speaks to me.

Normally, I go poke around the Proverbs 31 Ministries site and pick one, but this time, someone had posted one on Facebook that I really connected with.

It was called An Uncluttered Woman, by Gwen Smith.

To really paraphrase here, it talked about simplifying life.  It talked about facing the 10 bazillion things we need to do each day and being left dizzy and sick.  She referenced Matthew 6:33 about seeking God and the devotion closed with this prayer:

Dear God, Thanks for reminding me that I can always come to You and trade in my exhaustion for Your rejuvenation. Please bring order to my day and establish my priorities according to Your will. Teach me what it means to live a Spirit-led life and show me how to become an uncluttered woman.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

Trading my exhaustion for rejuvenation sounds fantastic!!!

However, I still have a tendency to twirl around every which way and see all the needs to be done.  I get overwhelmed, both mentally and physically. 

So, what do I do?  Nothing.  

I sit and watch NCIS reruns and think to myself, I will just tackle it all....later.  When later does come everything is worse than it was before.  I get overwhelmed and depressed and give up again.

It is a vicious cycle.

The "uncluttered" part of the devotion reminded me of the decluttering that we had to do before we sold our houses.  Boy, oh boy, was that a pain in the butt.  We packed up at least half of what we owned and put stuff away or threw it away.  The counters were clear.  The toys and books were put away out of site.  Dishes and pots and pans were not allowed to stack up in the kitchen, because you never knew when that call for a last minute showing would come.  We always had to be prepared, or at the very least "almost" prepared.  

The kids came to dread the words "show ready".  But, you know what?  It was also sort of wonderful. The house looked great.  It felt great.  Cleaning hardly took anytime, because it never got really out of control and super messy.

We learned to do silly things like:

Make our bed as soon as we got out of them.

Load the dishwasher right away.

Fill the sink with soapy water and just wash those pots/pans, even if there were only 2 - instead of 20.  
Not let the kids have free reign when playing with any and all of their toys.

Wipe those spatters on the bathroom mirrors.

Don't let the toothpaste get hard and crusty in the sink.


We were able to tackle the little things before they became big things.....and it made things easier.

We talked about the beauty of decluttering and simplifying in my Sunday School class and the fact that even though we all know how great it can be, it just still seems so overwhelming.  One of the ladies spoke up and reminded us of the story of how to eat an elephant.  One bite at a time.

I can handle that, I think.

But, then I start looking around my house (that has gotten completely out of control since my thyroid surgery.)  I mean MY room is an actual mess.  That hasn't happened in this house since we moved in.  But, once again, it has become the place to put the stuff that nobody knows where it goes.

I felt like I was standing in the middle of my life whirling and twirling and seeing all the stuff that needed to be done.  Dirty windows.  Lesson planning.  Mopping the floor (but first scraping the sticky goo off).  Curriculum choices.  Dirty light switches.  Organizing school cupboards.  The blue tape that has been on my wall, marking studs so I can hang some of my family heirlooms.  It has been stuck there since....hmmmm......probably February. (I am sort of funny about not wanting to make too many holes in my walls when hanging pictures - so I try to be really sure before I commit to hanging things!) Then, I started thinking about not reading my Bible everyday anymore.  I thought about not eating right and gaining all my weight that I lost last year back.

Once I started looking around, I saw thing after thing after thing that I should be doing and decided that one bite at a time might be too much.So, I have decided that instead of taking on my world one bite at a time, I am going to do something else.

You know when you take your kids out to DQ for ice cream and they get a cone.  Pretty soon, there ice cream is just dripping and melting down the sides, so you swoop in and grab the cone and take the quick lick and swipe around the edges and hand it back to them to finish quickly?

I am going to do that.  Take things one lick at a time.  Swooping in, taking care of the immediate melting mess and move on.  LOL

So, I decided that I was going to start Monday.

And, I did.

I decided to start by cleaning off the chair in my bedroom....and the pile of clothes that had magically appeared there.

You see, when we got back from our road trip at the middle of July, I never unpacked my suitcase.  I just plopped it on my chair and when necessary, I dug stuff out of it.  Then, when I washed clothes and didn't feel like putting my stuff away right away, they were just added to the suitcase on my chair.  Sometimes when I took my clothes off, I would toss them there too and not into the dirty clothes - so then I wasn't sure what was dirty and what was clean.  Then, I went to visit a friend and she gave me some hand me down clothes - for me.  Yay!  Onto the chair/pile they went and what didn't fit there went onto the floor nearby - so the shadow from the pile on the chair didn't scare me in the middle of the night.

At one time, I had had thoughts of decluttering my closet and going through my wardrobe before I put those things away....which is why everything just sat there.

So, I decided to take it in bite sized morsels....or, my new way....a quick lick around the sides....and just put everything away.  I got out a stack of hangers and put them all away.  As I did this, I kept getting sidetracked by competing thoughts:

I should just go through my closet now.

Look at all these shoes.  I should go through those too.

Hmmm....what are in these bins?

Why do I still have so many sweatshirts here in Georgia?

Wow!  I need to vacuum.

I should rearrange my furniture and put the chair on the other side of the window.

I think you get the general idea, but I kept reminding myself not to get overwhelmed and really and truly just do one small portion of the work I had waiting for me.  So, I hung up all those clothes and put away the suitcase....and walked away.

It felt great.  Yes, I will still need to do all the things that I mentioned above - get rid of clothes and shoes.  But, it is okay that I didn't do it first.  I did manage to easily find 2 shirts that I wanted to give away to charity.  Yay me!  The other ones that will require more thought, or me actually trying stuff on to see if it fits/looks good are going to have to wait for another day.

That was my first attempt at really just giving myself permission to just do a little bit.  It is a foreign concept for me.  I am used to jumping in and getting stuff done and if you are around me when I am in the zone.....look out.  But, I haven't been in the zone for a long time.

But, really, I have had great success so far this week, reminding myself just to take a lick or bite (if I have time/energy) of whatever job is waiting for me.

Just washing pots and pans - and not having to wipe down every surface and clear off the island.  Or, just clearing off the island and wiping it down, but not loading/unloading the dishwasher.  Or, just tackling the pile of books and papers next to my chair....only next to my chair....not every single stray book or pile of papers that exists around here.

Yes, there are still a LOT of things around here that I need to get done, and even though I have 6 kids and there will just always be some sort of chaos surrounding me, things are getting done.  And, really, I will never have a spotless house, nor do I want one.

But, things are getting done.  Little by little.  It just makes me feel better.  Makes me feel like less of a loser.   Bite by bite.  Lick my lick.

Even if it is something stupid like putting my own clothes away.

Yay me, right?

Transparency - What is Real?

I am working on an article about social media and its effect on teenagers, specifically teenage girls.  I was talking to one of my daughter's friends and a few of the things she said about her journey trying to let go of social media and some of the pitfalls, got me to thinking about my life and my blog.

She talked about feeling almost constantly judged.  People making mean comments or being snarky if they didn't like what she was wearing, or if they disagreed with her opinion on something.  She talked about seeing these pictures of other people's lives and knowing that they were having a lot more fun than her.

I tell my big kids all the time not to believe what they see on the internet.  And I am not just talking about about news stories.  I don't want them  to think that everyone else is having fun, fantastic times and going out all the time.  It sure can look like that though, since everybody posts every little thing about their lives.  But, a lot of it isn't real.

Which got me to thinking.....

Do I actually show you my real life?

Should I show you the real in my life?

I am in the middle of my rock and hard place.  I want to keep some privacy for the family, but I also want our stories out there.  I want my family and friends that no longer live near us to feel like they are getting a glimpse of the people my kids are turning into.  But, I don't want creeps looking at my site or my pictures and being able to find us because I have been so open.

I want to be real and relatable.  I do.  I want to be able to be an encouragement to other moms...homeschooling moms....moms with big families.....moms that don't live near family members.

But, I have to be honest, I carefully select the reality that I share with you all.

I carefully select and retake pictures of myself to post, so I look good.  So, I don't look too fat.  When the fact is....I am actually fat. I am not just a little overweight.  I don't just have a few of those stubborn baby pounds to lose.  Truth is......I have about 100 pounds to lose.  I legitimately could be a contestant on the Biggest Loser (A-man even told me that last year when he saw one of the contestants and thought she looked about the same as me. "Mom!  You should go on this show!"  )

So, yes, I have been transparent.......sort of.

I have shown you how messy my house gets here and here, but,  have I told you that it looks like that more often than not?

I have told you I do actually yell at my kids, but I haven't told you that, once in awhile, my throat is sore from how hard I have yelled at them.  It doesn't happen often.  People still tell me that they don't think I yell at the kids.  I do.  No, not all the time.  I don't need to.  But, just like my dad used to be....when I have had enough, I have had enough....so look out.  Learn the signs.  LOL 

I love Rainman.  I really do.  He is an awesome human being.  But, I haven't really told you that he is annoying and gross sometimes.  I have told you that in general terms.  I have shared that nobody ever told me that there would be times that I wouldn't actually "like" the man I married.  We do not have a perfect marriage.  It is not idyllic and romantic.  It is a constant dance of our own selifsh desires and actions, versus what will make the other person happy.   As I am typing this, I am thinking....oh man....now they will know what a jerk I am....how selfish I can be.  That sometimes, I sit in my chair and hope against all hope that Rainman will take us out to dinner, so I don't have to get up and cook.  Because, I just don't feel like it.  No good reason.  I just don't want to do it.

So, yeah, what you see on my blog is my life....sort of.

It is the carefully selected pictures and stories that I will allow you to see.

I guess that happens in real life too though.  We all have a "mom" voice that we use at the grocery store that is different than the voice that is used when rapping on the kitchen window when you see them doing something dumb in the backyard.  It is just that by having a blog I am inviting more actual strangers in to take a look.

I love my kids....more than I can truly describe to you.  But, ugg.....they do some...as Rainman would call them....boneheaded things.  Then they get yelled at.  Then they cry.  I usually don't tell you those stories on here.  Like the story of them playing catch with an open box of Cheerios in the kitchen.  Yes, no surprise here.....It ended badly.  That time though, Rainman did the yelling.  S-girl did the crying.  A-man did the flustered explanation of what they were thinking (Spoiler Alert:  They weren't).  And, the two of them did the cleaning up, while the other children passed judgment on them with snide remarks.  Which then escalated to both Rainman and I yelling at the rest of the kids to knock it off because they weren't helping and did they want us to remind them of the last boneheaded thing they did and got in trouble for?!?

It is NEVER dull here, that is for sure.

We ended up with 5 extra kids at our house a few days ago....all aged 6 and under.  So, we had 11 kids here and 2 parents.  It was actually a really good day.  Everyone had fun.  Only a few tears and boo-boos.  All in all, it was a good day.  I was exhausted when it ended and happy to see the extra kids go back home with their parents.

The next day, S-girl said to me, "Wouldn't it be great if we had 11 kids everyday mom?  Then we could have our own t.v. show and everything!"

Yikes!  I told her that I would love to have 11 kids, but that I didn't think I would want a t.v. show about our lives.  I don't want our "reality" out there in the world like that.  I like our relaxed, simple vibe around here.  I don't want to be judged by the outsiders about what we should or shouldn't be doing with our family.  I don't want to be judged for the mistakes we are making.  And, honestly...I don't want the masses to.....not like me.  That is what it boils down too.....just like a teenage girl....

Fear that I won't be liked.

On a side note:  There is "sort of" a version of us on T.V. already. We have started watching The Willis Family on TLC and take away the musical and dancing careers (LOL), that is pretty much how our family looks and runs behind the scenes.  Really.  But, again, comparison rears its ugly head and I think, "Why haven't our kids taken more advantage of the fact that we homeschool?  Why haven't they taken up song writing?  Why haven't they won dance competitions?  Why are my kids so.....normal....and average?"

We can't help but compare ourselves to others.  It is normal.  It is human.  It is dangerous.  I tell my kids that ALL THE TIME.  But, we grown ups need the reminder too. I need that reminder.  We all need to remember that what you are comparing yourself to is often a carefully constructed version of the truth.  Not a lie.  But, not quite the full truth either.  Like my blog.

I have an article coming up next month for Home & School Mosaics about rejecting being "Pinterest Shamed" for my summer with the kids.  I think I can take that to a whole other level with refusing to be "Life Shamed" by other people's lives.  To go ahead and take glimpses of their lives and enjoy seeing them.  To take ideas from what they are doing and trying with their family, but not think we are total losers if we don't operate the way they do.

I follow some awesome blogs.

There are life ones like Come Home To Roost.  She has awesome, beautiful children and takes amazing pictures.  But, if I am not careful, I end up comparing myself and thinking things like...."She is so skinny.  She has 7 kids and looks like that?!?  What is wrong with me?!?!?"

There are organizing/home ones like Sunny Side Up.  She is also another slim mom that takes great pictures, and she also has a brand new house that is becoming wonderfully organized.  If I am not careful, I could look around her world and compare myself.  I wouldn't come out on top.

There are crafting and creating blogs that I follow, like Whatever.  Another slim mom that takes beautiful pictures that decorates with colorful, fun stuff.

I think you are already getting to know my style of comparison, right?  My weak spots.

Having a blog is being part of a strange dance I am choosing to participate in.  I have a blog for a few reasons.  One of them is truly to keep my family and friends who now live thousands of miles away involved in what we are doing.  I also blog so I can get some homeschool curriculum for free by being a reviewer.

But, honestly, my other reasons are more selfish.  I want to have readership.  I want followers.  I want to be a writer.  There, I said it.  I want to turn writing into a job and make a little money on my blog.  So, I have to put things out there, that maybe I wouldn't normally tell a stranger.

What you are seeing here is reality. But, it is a small slice of our life.  A small percentage of the picture.  Not to say that what you see isn't real.  It is.  There is a LOT more to us than what you see here.  Some good.  Some bad.  Just like with the blogs I follow and have to fight the urge to compare myself too.  I am just seeing a small little slice of their lives too.  It is not as idyllic as it seems.

We all have to remember that just like movies and t.v. shows are....edited/more perfect/comical... versions of reality....so, is my blog.

So is Instagram.

So is Facebook.

This is my Goldberg's version of our life.   All based on truth, but prettied up a bit for your viewing pleasure.  Ha!

So, if you ever find yourself comparing yourselves to me, my family, my marriage, my way of homeschooling and feel like you don't measure up and you aren't....enough.

Just stop.

Don't do it.  You are enough.  You are your perfect version of....you.....and so am I.

Connections

Connections are important.

In the business and working world, the connections you make can be invaluable in this job and your next four.  It is called Networking.  Don't burn any bridges.  You never know how someone you meet today can help you get that job you really want next year.  Or something like that.....

Connections are important.

In electricity, the proper connections mean that your lights and t.v. will work and not for instance, start a fire because they were connected improperly.

Connections are important.

We had a new neighbor just move in recently.  We walked over and brought them some cookies to welcome them to the neighborhood.  I was reminded of when I moved to Georgia a little over 5 years ago now.  Hardly anyone reached out and connected with me/us.  We thought for sure there would be some of that famous Southern Hospitality and we would get some pecan pie or boiled peanuts....or something.

But, they didn't come.  We figured there was no way that they had missed us moving in....blond family.....six kids....all that jazz....we are sort of hard to ignore.

We did see our neighbor's teenage daughter out mowing one night, right next to the road...so, after a quick whispered conversation between Rainman and I about whether or not it would be creepy of us to stop and chat with her.....we decided to risk it and stopped, rolled down the window and started chatting.

First things first, that "teenage girl" was actually the mom of the teenagers that lived there.  She looked (and still does)  super young.  She looks just like......

Anna Trebunskaya from Dancing with the Stars....by the way.

So, it wasn't creepy of us at all.  Whew!

But, we had finally made our connection....with one person.  But, it was enough to help sustain me. Tina sort of saved my life.  I was so bummed to be living in Georgia away from everything I knew and almost everyone I loved.  So bummed.  So lonely.  So lost.  I also had to be the grown up and not let my kids know that I was feeling most of those things.  So, instead, I ate.  A lot.

But, that one tentative connection with Tina, started my love of Georgia and our new home.  She was a true friend.  She said things like "y'all" and "fixin'"....as in, "Y'all, I was fixin' to come over and introduce myself!"

My next connection came at the little country church that we decided to start attending.  We decided to try the church because it reminded me of my home church that I had grown up in.

Small, little, country church.

It was there that I met Miss Debbie, who would hold V-girl for me, while I sang in the little church choir.  It was there that I learned a little bit more how to discern what people with thick southern drawls were actually saying.  (It is harder than you think.)  We only stayed at the church for about a year partly because our kids ended up being 6 of the 7 children that attended that church.  But, my friendship with Miss Debbie carries on.

My next biggest connections came from the church we started attending after the little country church.  We found the church by accident really.  We drove by and saw a VBS sign and since our church only had 7 children (again....6 of which were mine), we didn't have VBS.  We all decided it would be fun.  The kids because it was a space theme....and me....because unlike my Minnesota VBS days....I wouldn't have to actually be in charge!  Yay!

So, we went to VBS and the rest...as they say....is history.  It became our new church home.

It is funny to hear people tell their stories and memories of first meeting our family that week at VBS. Again, we are a hard family to miss, you know?  It is funny to hear their ideas about the harried looking mom with a crazed look in her eyes that stumbled in with 6 kids. (I still don't think I looked like that!)  I have often wondered if they thought I was actually a single mom (since I haven't been able to fit back into my wedding ring since V-girl was born/the move to Georgia....see above reasons) What did they really think of the mom who, even though her 4 year old daughter was a little weepy everyday when she dropped her off, just gave her a hug...and left.   It wasn't that I was heartless and trying to dump my kids off with strangers so I could get a break....I just knew that S-girl is a very sensitive girl and that she would be fine....once I left....and she was.  She loved Miss Pixie and became her faithful little cling-on for the rest of the week.  And, I got a new friend out of the deal too. Pixie. (Yes, Toto, we aren't in Minnesota anymore.  We are in a magical land where people are actually named Pixie!)  

The longer I have spent at that church, the more connections I have made.  The ladies at church have truly become my Georgia family.  The list of names would be too long for me to list here!  They have been the listening ear for any and all things that have come up in my life.  The good and the bad. They are my sounding board on the big heart issues that my sisters and mom aren't here to deal with on a daily basis. They even stepped in and made food and took care of us after my thyroid surgery....just like a family would.

I was asked to share at church recently for Stewardship Sunday.  One of the things that I realized when putting together my notes for that, was that the connections I have made....with my neighbors and my church friends....is that these connections have become my hodge podge, stitched together, slight odd and quirky.... pseudo family.

My Georgia family that instead of saying things like "Uffda" and "You betcha" (but, let me say....we don't actually say that one - that is just in the movies) .......now says things like "Fixin'", "Y'all" and "Might Could".  And, yes, they really do say that last one.

IndoctriNation - Review

I was able to get my hands on a copy of the documentary by Great Commission Films called IndoctriNation - Public Schools and the Decline of Christianity in America.






I have seen clips and snippets of this film floating around Facebook for a long time, so I was super excited to get a chance to see the film in its entirety.

I really enjoyed watching this, but, I will be honest, this is going to be a very hard review for me to write.

I feel like the film is very well done.  I feel like it covered a lot of different sides of the current educational system in America.  I feel like a lot of people that are or were in the public school system were included in the movie, so it wasn't just a one-sided argument from homeschoolers about how our way is the best way.

I also feel like my public school teacher friends will feel angry or betrayed if I whole heartedly back this film.

It is also going to be really hard review to write without ticking off  the homeschooling community also.

Because, I agree with both sides.

I 100% believe that homeschooling is the very best option for our family.  I love it.  I am glad we do it.  I wouldn't want it to be any other way....for our family.

But, I do not believe that homeschooling is the best option for every family....even every Christian family.

I do understand the film makers mentality and agree that, from what I have seen, Christianity has been slowly and methodically removed from our public education system.  As a Christian, that saddens me, but more than that, it scares me, because what is sneaking in, in place of Christianity is a worldview education that I don't agree with.

Just to simplify things here, I will just use the whole "sexuality" issue.

The things that are being taught and the ages that they are being taught and introduced to this issue, in the pubic school system, is appalling to me.  It steals their innocence.  It teaches them that don't knock it till you try it...or if it feels good, go for it, you never know.  Even if, as a parent, I knew ahead of time and opted to have my child removed from the instruction in these areas, the rest of their classmates are being taught things that I don't want my kids to think are okay.  So, it is an uphill battle.  I imagine there is a lot of discussion between students about what they learned.....even if they weren't in the class.  And, looking ahead to teenage years when my kids start to date, they are being asked out by kids who sat through all those classes and learned what is okay and not okay.  Ugg....that makes me nervous and uncomfortable.

My basic point is that even if your child is removed from that particular class, that is the subject that will be talked about even when they are not in class.  That is the subject that will be whispered about, joked about, and discussed more than any other one outside of the classroom.  Too bad they don't talk about math and language arts outside of the classroom like that, right?  LOL

So, the whole message is still getting through to the kids....whether they actually sit through it or not.  Childhood is a time of figuring out how you fit into the world.  I don't want my kids swayed and taught by their peers.....on any subject, but especially not about sexuality.

I want my children swayed and taught by Rainman and I.  I want my kids influenced by family and friends that I know and trust.  Believe me when I say my circle of family and friends are not perfect. We are not all the same.  We have different lifestyles and choices.  But, the difference in my teaching them about sexuality and the world teaching them about it is night and day different.

And, yes, I do teach my children about sexuality.  We have to.  They are surrounding by it....both in the world....and in choices that they see their cousins making.  We have to discuss hard things.  We have to discuss embarrassing things.  We have to discuss what God's plan actually is for sexuality. But, God's plan cannot be discussed in public school anymore.

IndoctriNation is a fascinating look at the public school system and how Christianity has been slowly and methodically been blocked out of  America's educational system.  The historical facts and decisions included in the movie were truly interesting.

But, the best parts for me, were the interviews with current and past public school teachers.  The teachers shared their hearts about why they loved teaching and those that had left shared why they couldn't bring themselves to be part of that "system" anymore.  It is truly heartbreaking....because they were the exact people that you would WANT teaching your children.  You know?

The people like my public school teacher friends.  They are wonderful people.  Wonderful Christians.  Nice, funny, creative, big hearted, smart, intelligent people.  Just who you want teaching your children.  Except for the fact that in the current education system, they are a sort of hog tied in that they cannot openly share their faith.....even though it is a huge part of who they are.  If they are asked about it, they can share....but it can't be teacher led.

I get it.  Sort of.  I mean, honestly, I wouldn't want a Muslim or a Buddhist teacher in there openly recruiting for their faith either.  So, I get it from that aspect.  But, as a Christian, it makes me sad that my friends can't share that whole part of them that makes them so awesome.  Especially when I know it could make a huge difference in the lives of kids.

So, like the teachers in the film, they do the best they can.  They wait for students to ask them questions that they can answer.  They look for small ways to show love and share their faith with their students.....without actually using the words Christian or Jesus.   They do the best they can in the system that exists.  They are definitely trying to be salt and light to those kids.

I actually asked a few of my friends to watch this film and have a discussion with me, but none of them took me up on it.  I am not sure if it was a time thing or a fear that we would end up fighting afterwards, or if they thought I was going to try to convince them that they were wasting their time in the public school system.  I wasn't.

I really just didn't want to paint such a broad stoked idea of how evil the public education system has gotten in America.  Even though everything said in this film struck a chord with me as a Christian, and as a homeschool mom.

What IndoctriNation did for me is just helped really hit home the point that there has been a gradual culture shift thingie going on within our schools, for a long time.

I am the product of a public school education.  It wasn't horrible.  I did learn a lot.  Yes, there were things that I wish would have taught better (but, some of that was my fault).  I did learn a lot of things that were in direct conflict with Christian beliefs.  But, I also went to elementary school in the mid-70s when we still had "religious release time" once a week, where during the school day, we would troop down the block to the little church up the road and learn about Jesus for an hour.  Then we would walk back to school and learn about reading, writing and arithmetic.  It was normal.

Can you even imagine that?  It is crazy to think that was normal.

Think about other things that are "normal" or okay in today's society.  Now think about going back in time and explaining to your grandparents that they are okay.  For example, the whole Fifty Shades of Grey thing that is happening right now.   How in the world has that kind of domination and naughty sex stuff become okay and not only okay, but exciting and mainstream?

A gradual culture shift.

It is a slippery slope.

My dad used to say the same thing about the music I listened to.  He said by singing along to some of those lyrics I was becoming desensitized to what they really meant.  Although, to be honest...most of the time I had NO idea what I was singing.  (I still remember how horrified I was when I figured out what Billy Squires "The Stroke" meant.  I can vividly remember being on the dance floor in high school belting that one out  ) Or video games.....shooting all those pretend people.  I think it does desensitize people to the realities of actually pointing a gun at people and pulling the trigger.  It just seems wrong.

Lots of the things that are being taught in the public school system just seem wrong to me too.

But, I have chosen to homeschool.

Not everyone can make that same choice.

I understand that.

I wish there was an easy answer.  But, there isn't.

The public education system has gone a long way down the road away from Christian principles and it will be a long time, if ever, that it comes back.

Do I recommend this film?

Absolutely.

I would love for my friends to watch it.  Homeschoolers or not.  Christians or not.  It is an interesting film.  It makes a lot of good points that resonated with me.  One of them being how happy I am that we have chosen to homeschool our kids. But, it also made the point to me (and I have seen this in my friends) that there are good, Christian people inside the system that want it to be better.  That love those kids.  Their hands are just tied.  That is sad.

You can get your own copy of IndoctriNation, so you can make up your own mind, for $19.95.

I wish that I would have been able to convince one of my teacher friends to watch it and give me their opinion.  But, for me, someone who for various reasons, has already decided to homeschool their children, this movie was a hit.  Even though my original reasons didn't match up with the movie's focus that schools are not "neutral" ground and that, Christianity has, in essence, been able to be removed, even though there are still many Christian teachers and leaders,  It just reinvigorated my desire to keep the kids with me, schooling at home.

To take a look at what other reviewers thought of IndoctriNation.

Halloween 2014

In my usual, on the ball, fashion.  I am just now getting around to posting our Halloween pictures!

This year we were missing Rainman because he had to work.  But our wonderful friends still invited us over to a quick pizza dinner and Trick or Treating.  But, first our pumpkins!

Apparently, D-man escaped the individual pumpkin shot this year. You get distracted when you have 6 kids, you know..... Grrrr....

 He is in this one though.....along with my psuedo-kids....the neighbor boys (J-boy and Spider-man/C-boy - isn't his face paint awesome?)

Now, for our costumes....

Yes, I am wearing padding...that is NOT all me!

This one is a total  inside joke because D-man is dressed as his cousin.....this guy.....

Who also occasionally looks like this....

Anyway.....back to my offspring!

Rapunzel from Tangled.

Anna from Frozen.  I will just take a moment to brag on L-girl for a minute.  She made her costume.  She sewed the dress, AND, she hand painted the Scandinavian flower design on the front!  So proud.

I know.  It is not politically correct at all, but I comforted myself with the fact that my sister and I went as "hobos", back in the day, complete with bandana knapsacks tied to a stick....with coffee ground beards....and decided it would be okay.

Elsa from Frozen.  L-girl made this dress, complete with swirling cape for S-girl.

And to complete our Frozen-centric costume theme this year.  V-girl as Olaf!

Here is she being created by Elsa....

 

And a better shot of her cute little carrot nose with Rapunzel.

 

 As usual, the weather for Halloween here in the South, was spectacular.  Not too hot, not too cold.  Just right.  I will share a little bit of our fun town fall celebrations in another post.  But, thought I would get these out there for you before Thanksgiving!  Ha!

Here We Are....In All Our Blue Glory!

Rainman attends a different church than the kids and I do.

The upside of that is that we get 2 family pictures taken for the church directories.

Our last family picture was taken shortly after we moved to Georgia at my church.  I will not post that one here.....I had a migraine on picture day.....it was not a good shot.

But, this year the time came for directory pictures at Rainman's church.  I like this one.  (Mom....we have a copy for you......don't worry.)

Here we are......

(Sorry....I took a picture of a picture...hanging on my wall.....and I couldn't figure out how to crop out all the wall and wasted space!)

L-girl had broken one of the arms off her glasses, so her glasses were always askew on her face....and her new ones hadn't arrived yet.  We told her she didn't have to wear them for the picture, which lead to A-girl asking if she had to wear her glasses.  So, that just left the triangle of glasses wearers as Rainman, D-man, and I!  I am sort of wishing that I took mine off too.....but, now I can remember my cool aqua glasses I had back in 2014, right?!?!

Just Call Me Crystal Gayle

My hair has gotten really long. 

Like almost down to my butt......not down to my ankles like Crystal's was....

 (photo courtesy of  the Official Crystal Gayle Facebook Page   https://www.facebook.com/pages/Official-Crystal-Gayle/236343614779?id=236343614779&sk=photos_stream)






but it is still pretty long!

Partly from laziness.

Partly from the fact that I don't have a lot of extra money to go to a stylist.

Partly because I don't really trust anyone besides my faithful stylist, Sherilyn, from Minnesota.  (Who, by the way, was both cheap and masterful with my hair over the years!)

I sort of have a love/hate relationship with my hair.

I will admit that I sort of feel sexy with my long hair when it brushes against my arms and my back.

I will also admit that my hair makes me hot. 

No, not that kind of hot....


just plain, old, regular, hot.....sweaty hot.

So, I usually wear my hair up or pulled back.....which results in a headache or neckache....because I have so much hair.  It gets really heavy.

So, it is a delicate balancing act.

Rainman also has a love/hate relationship with my hair.  He likes to run his fingers through it when it is down.  He thinks I look pretty when I wear it down. 

But, I am always hitting him with my hair...like when he is standing near me and I flip my hair back over my shoulder.  Most of the time though, it is when I roll over in bed and flip my hair over my shoulder before settling in on pillow again.  You know?  I smack the poor unsuspecting, sleeping peacefully guy in the face with my hair....or, he ends up laying on it and I am trapped because I can't move my head.  So, I lay there and just keep whispering, "You are on my hair.  You are on my hair.  You are on my hair."  Until he hears me and rolls over.

Because of this, I have taken to usually being Caroline Ingalls at bedtime.



Yup....long braid....although I do still occasionally take Rainman out with my braid flinging too.  (That one actually hurts more.....apparently.)

I have been thinking of taking the plunge and cutting my hair.....I have enough to donate to Locks of Love....when I am ready.  But, I am not quite ready to let it go yet.

It sort of makes me feel young too.  I don't want old lady hair.  I don't want hair that will make me look...or feel....frumpy.  Although, I am pretty sure I look a little frumpy when I have my hair pulled up in a huge bun.

I am not sure what hair cut will look good on me with my larger sized.....everything.  You know?

My hair is very thick.  Very course.  Wavy.

But, see....it is only wavy in some places......

You would think that it would look good down....but, it doesn't really.  I mean, it isn't awful, but, it isn't shiny, like all the people in commercials with long hair.

This last summer, I tried going the Curly Girl, no shampoo route.  My hair is definitely better.  Softer, my waves are nicer....but it still needed a little something.

Sometimes, I can get L-girl or A-girl to curl my hair with the curling wand....but, since I have so much hair, it takes a really long time to finish.  And, I can't do it because my shoulders/arms get sore when I get to the back part of my hair.  I am sort of old, you know. 

I love the way it looks though when it is done....so I started looking for less labor intense ways to get the same look.

I sort of went right back to the Caroline Ingalls timeline.....I tried rag curls.

Yep.

Those kind of rag curls.

Aren't I cute?  Rainman didn't quite know what to do with me when I came to bed in these!  Although I didn't smack him in the face once....or whisper nastily that he was on my hair.


Look how it came out!!!

(Like the box that has been sitting on my counter since we moved in?  It is filled with those little things that I don't know where to put....so, they just sit there on my countertop....like a piece of furniture now!)

I loved it!!!  Although with my hair...this is a little labor intensive too....but much easier to talk someone into doing it while we watch a Hallmark Christmas movie.....and they don't get burned if they happen to look away for a millisecond.  Bonus!

Here it is after the curls relaxed a bit...

I totally need to get my split ends trimmed......I think I will get A-girl trained on that....for now.....one of these days I will get a new actual hair style....but, for now.....long and curly/wavy it is!!!

Any opinions on a future hair cut for me?

Let's Jump from Halloween to Christmas, Shall We?

We had a nice Thanksgiving and celebrated with friends, since Rainman had to work a 12 hour shift that day.

So, let's just jump to Christmas stuff.  Okay?

Have I told you lately how much I love our new house?

We have room for our Christmas tree....and we didn't have to remove half the furniture from the room first!  Plus we had room to put Rainman's train around the bottom!  We have never done that.  Granted, partly because we always had little babies that wouldn't leave it alone.....but, also partly due to the fact that we had no room!!!

Look at it over there in the corner with its crooked star! 

The three littlest participated in our church Christmas play, Chrismon program.

A-man was a kid shopping for the perfect Christmas tree.  He got a new haircut and asked me to actually put some "stuff" in it and style it for him!  Isn't he starting to look old and sortly of manly already?!?!?

S-girl was an angel and V-girl was, apparently, a freakishly happy and a little bit creepy Gift of Forgiveness.

Here, let's try this one, instead.....

Okay, that is much better....a lot less psycho!

Aren't they cute?

I finished 99% of my shopping!  Yay!  Just a few little filler things needed.

Five of the kids are singing tonight at our Womens Dinner at our church.  It is really cute.  They are singing Happy Birthday, Jesus.  D-man is running the sound, so he can't sing too....but I am hoping he will get a video tape of it....and that they aren't so nervous that they won't be able to sing in front of the ladies!

I worry about S-girl mostly.  Who so desires to perform....but gets horrible stage fright even when it is just us.  Her hands shake and everything.  She and V-girl wrote some songs and performed them for us last week.  S-girl started with her back to us...and then half way through the song was finally able to turn around and sing to us....although she never once looked up from her words.

V-girl was only a little embarrassed to perform her original song....(she dictated the words to A-girl, who wrote them down for her)....then she sang it reading the words, even flipping the page over half way through.....and all without being able to actually read!

Here is a close up of some of the words!

This was our view of S-girl (after she turned around for us)

I just love these kids so much....and these little moments that are just ours (well....and yours, I guess, since I share a bit of them here)....but you know what I mean.

So....How About Some Halloween Pictures???

I know.

It is December.

I have gotten a little behind around here.

But, better late than never, right?

Rainman will dress up every 3rd or 4th year with us.

I dress up every year, but I always wait until the last minute because I am helping the kids, and then have trouble coming up with something.....so, I was a bunny this year.....ho hum....

I just love Trick or Treating here in Georgia.  We had beautiful weather again this year.  We went with our good friends in their magazine worthy neighborhood.  Good times were had by all!

A Little House Progress....Not Sure I Am Loving It...

I have made some progress on painting and making the new house more "ours".  I got all the wallpaper border removed...and just doing that really lightened things ups.  I have moved on to the painting portion of my plans.  

Reminder of the "Befores"

 

Remember....that green is really darker than it looks in that picture...it is more like it shows up in this one....

 

 

I forgot a little how hard it is to fit in painting with the running of a homeschooling household with 6 children...one of which is a teenager who can't drive yet, and needs to be driven to numerous things. 

I also forgot how messy your house gets when you take time that you would normally use to do laundry and wash dishes and things.....to paint.

So, I have made a little progress....I am happy with some of my work...not sure I love the other parts.

I mean...look how pretty my color swatches are together?!?!

And, here are my fabrics that I am choosing between for my curtain topper thingies in the kitchen.  Pretty, right?  I am leaning towards the one with the bigger flowers - I love the colors and it reminds me of some curtains that my Grandma Pearl had in her house (now if I could only get her black and white kitty clock that moved its eyes and tail....oh, and her telephone table....I would be happy!)

Now, here is what the colors look like on the wall in the dining room.

I just don't know about the aqua on the walls...now it feels too bold....and for me, that is saying something.

I am in the process of painting the living room (which is to the right of this wall) the same soft yellow and I am loving that.  But, I am still playing around with colors in the kitchen.  I had planned for the aqua to be a more prominent color in there....but on the wall it is much bolder than the soft color swatch I played around with before I started.

So, progress is slow, but I am still loving our new house.  It just feels.....right.

I have been behind in blogging lately....and most of the only things you have seen are reviews, but I promise I am getting back in the groove and will show you - belated now - Halloween shots and other family stuff.  Plus, I should (cross your fingers) make a decision soon about my kitchen colors....so hopefully there will be some good before and after shots from that!