Wahoo Winklers

He was a good cat

2011-09-22T09:39:00.002-06:00

We said goodbye to our friend Cisco yesterday afternoon after a two year battle with kidney failure.

He was patient...

Handsome...

Did I mention patient? (Shown here with Sabine's best buddy Birch.)

And here with nephew Gabriel...

With baby Sabine...

And baby Vivian...

He will be missed.

The (b)rain barrel

2011-08-21T17:47:00.002-06:00

I've been meaning to post this one for a while...Bret's finished project. He is a pretty awesome artist!

Coastal camping

2011-08-21T17:45:00.001-06:00

Very delayed photos from our all girls camping trip to the coast with friends Kat, Marley and Ember. It was the first time I did all the camper stuff -- from backing it into our site, to setting it up (with Kat's great help!) myself. Felt really good to be able to do it!

I promised Kat I wouldn't publicize the camping spot...but suffice it to say, it was amazing! There's nothing like falling asleep to the sound of crashing waves. The girls had a great time exploring on the beach...

This is a place I want to visit again, and again, and again...

Ever wonder...

2011-08-21T17:13:00.003-06:00

What the inside of an upright piano looks like?

We had a sticky key, and our friend Ben, who's becoming a piano tuner opened up our piano to fix it (he's available in the Portland area if you have a piano that needs some help! Let me know if you want his contact info). The girls thought it was really cool!

Lost Lake, trip two

2011-08-21T17:13:00.002-06:00

We ended up returning to Lost Lake a second time. We were planning on trying Fishermen's Bend outside of Salem, but fortunately I called with a fishing question, and was told they were completely full -- even the first come first serve sites. We were going to head out on a Thursday afternoon, and felt confident that we would find a site at Lost Lake, due to it's relative isolation.

You can imagine our dismay when we completed the almost 2 hour drive and saw the big sign "CAMPSITE FULL" when we pulled up to the entry gate. We asked the employee if we could at least make a quick bathroom stop before we turned around...she said "hold on a second" then talked for a few minutes on her walkie-talkie and said we could set up our pop up in the overflow lot.

The overflow lot turned out to be pretty sweet -- the only drawback being we had no picnic table and fire ring (only one spot in the lot did, and it was taken). The lot was super close to the lake (much closer than any other of the RV campsites) and had great open sky for watching falling stars. We did end up finding a spot and moving the camper the next afternoon (we were staying for 3 nights), but it's good to know that the overflow thing is available (though not for tent camping).

We got to explore more on the old growth interpretive trail...

And eat fish caught by Bret and Sabine!

Sabine and Vivian pose by the statue of Sasquatch outside the little store. Note the Tootsie Roll in Squatchy's hand...

It's not Disney...

2011-08-21T17:11:00.001-06:00

The girls and I joined in a homeschool group outing to Enchanted Forest a couple of weeks ago. It was a fun day with friends. Vivian was not so into the tall costumed chipmunk (I think that's what it is...).

This was the ferris wheel in the little kids area (not sure you can see the bored look on Vivian and friend Ava's face...but it was kind of funny!).

Here are Sabine and friend Hailey turning away from the camera on the kiddie train.

I didn't get any photos of the bigger rides -- but the lines were really short, and the girls got to do laps on many of the rides. It was small enough that we could get around easily, and completely shaded by big beautiful trees, so it stayed nice and cool.

Here's an article about EF from the Oregonian. While it doesn't have the glitz and glamor of Disney, it was old-timey fun.

Fishing at Lost Lake

2011-07-17T17:47:00.003-06:00

Walking down the trail to go fishing.

Sweet fishing spot.

Getting worms on...

Yup. Worm on.

Blurry pic of the one that got away...

Hanging out at the lake.

Cooking at Lost Lake

2011-07-17T17:46:00.004-06:00

Night one...steak with marinated veggies and garlic bread in foil.

Morning one...bacon on the Wilson Handy Camp Grill (we didn't use the steel rod for the grill as we already had the campfire grill in place).

Eggs with leftover foil wrapped veggies. Yummm...

Camping at Lost Lake

2011-07-17T17:45:00.001-06:00

We broke out the pop up camper and spent last weekend up at Lost Lake Resort in Mt Hood, OR. It's a quick 1 3/4 hour drive from our house.

It gets chilly up there!

Nothing like a post dinner scooter ride to warm you up.

4th of July

2011-07-17T17:43:00.002-06:00

The girls really wanted to go to a 4th of July parade where there would be candy thrown...they also really wanted one where there would be ears of corn thrown (a la Jackson Hole) but we didn't see that happening...We did make it up to Corbett, OR for a "old timey" 4th of July celebration...

We ended up sitting next to some really nice folks from North Portland, who offered to take our picture.

First time I've seen one of these in a parade...

Though I think I might have seen one of these in Jackson.

The parade was preceeded by a TON of antique/restored cars. There were a lot of fun ones to look at, though the girls got a little bored and antsy for the "real" parade the start (even though many of the folks in the cars threw candy).

We spent 4th of July night at our friends Amy and Wade's house -- their neighbors take their fireworks VERY seriously, so with a quick bike ride over to their place, we got to see some amazing fireworks without any crowds. It rocked! The girls loved lighting sparklers, and seeing all the pretty lights in the sky.

More random creativity

2011-07-17T17:41:00.002-06:00

This was the bag Sabine put Bret's Father's Day gifts in. Love legos. This is the book we got for him.

The completed (b)rain barrel. Idea courtesy of these folks.

Bret's finished model surfboard. We might need to start a surfing club for our many Playmobil friends.

little sister, big sister

2011-07-17T17:40:00.001-06:00

Vivian, taking a call at the "office" at the Children's Museum. Looks like it's someone she doesn't want to talk to...

Vivian, with a plate of "pillows" (thin sliced ham wrapped around cream cheese...my grandmother Mimi used to make these for us).

Sabine, sitting on a big rock at the coast...

Sabine, up in a tree at librarian friend Deb's house (we were over there for an awesome music making party).

Random fun and creativity

2011-05-16T10:48:00.005-06:00

It seems the whole family has been having bursts of creativity:

These are little bags I sewed to sell at the Untrepreneurial fair at the upcoming Life is Good conference (can't wait!). The original purpose is that they can be sewn onto people's conference bags, so that it becomes a little handy tote (like this) that you can keep in your purse/backpack. But I realized that they can also be used as a little bag to put a gift in, or keep safe a special treasure. The photo isn't the best, as most of these are still inside out (serged thread ends still need to be sewn in), but the girls helped me pick out the fabrics, and I must say, they are really cute!

Vivian had a friend over to play the other day and Sabine asked if they wanted to play Twister. I thought "hmmm...we don't own Twister" but (thankfully) kept quiet, and Sabine proceeded to make a twister board out of fabric and books, then the spinner (pictured) out of cardboard and wood.

As you may know...we live in the Pacific NW...and we get our fair share of...the wet stuff. Bret found a container suitable for making into a rain barrel (except that it was clear-ish plastic, which lets in UV rays, or something like that) so he painted it brown. The white circle will be artistically designed later (it looks like a giant bottle of peroxide, no?). When Bret told the girls he was making a rain barrel, they heard BRAIN barrel...so there it is, our barrel of brains.

The orginal slice and bake cookie - one of the things I remember my mom baking when we were growing up. They are Belgian Ice Box cookies, see recipe at the bottom right hand side of the blog - under "What We're Eating".

The girls received a present of two matching Pixie dolls from our friends Kristin, Al and Acacia in Wyoming. They've been busy here in Portland...climbing trees...

...and babysitting at night.

The girls have been making good use of the hand rings from IKEA.

Apparently the doJump lessons are working.

Bird festival, upcoming stuff

2011-05-13T11:38:00.004-06:00

The other day while I was volunteering (and drooling at all the cool stuff) at Crafty Wonderland, Bret took the girls to a Bird Festival in Portland. The girls got to see several birds, climb trees and get their faces painted.

I heart Portland. Always fun stuff going on.

Also getting so very excited for the upcoming Life is Good conference. This will be our 5th year attending! I went to look for some photos, but apparently we are usually having so much fun that we don't remember to take pictures! Will try to remedy that this time. It is truly one of the highlights of our year.

In other news, we are getting ready to have our main floor bathroom remodeled. This is the last "big" project inside the house (still lots of "little" stuff to do...all in good time)...more pictures and details to emerge soon. Bret already did some demo to prepare for it: removing a tiny closet that will be replaced with a big one, and also re-hung the bathroom door. It's nice to get to do some of the work ourselves (that is, the "ourselves" that means Bret).

I've joined a bookclub here, which I'm very happy about. It's one of the things I really missed about Wyoming (hello any Bluestockings who might read this!). We had a fantastic meeting last night and voted on a year's worth of books (thanks, Nancy Pearl) using the method here. I'm lucky to have landed in a place with so many new fantastic women friends!

Shameless plea...

2011-05-06T16:34:00.003-06:00

We've entered a Rejuvenation contest for our kitchen remodel (we used several of their lights, and drawer pulls)...the grand prize for the people's vote is a $1,000 which we would LOVE! Since the kitchen is done, we're now working on the bathroom...call us crazy.

Here is the link to the contest.

You can quickly find our entry by doing a "find in page" search for the word "Carolyn" -- or look for this photo:

Thanks!

And yet another reason to love Portland

2011-04-25T22:14:00.003-06:00

Vivian and I had meandered up to Faubion School (right up the street from us) on Sunday afternoon so she could practice her training-wheel-less bike riding. We were getting ready to head home, and I noticed a person in a bunny suit riding a bicycle towards us. (It was Easter, so I wasn't too surprised...) but then I noticed another, and another, and WOAH -- about 60 of them! And one bunny on a tandem with a guy in a chicken suit in front.

Vivian and I left the playground while they were still waiting for all the bunnies to catch up. They then biked down our street -- Bret was already out front, and I was able to run in the house so Sabine could come see them too. It was a riot!

Apparently it's a Portland tradition. We'll have to catch it next year.

No more training wheels...

2011-04-25T22:12:00.001-06:00

for Vivian! She's very excited.

I'm baaaack...

2011-04-21T17:33:00.006-06:00

...in blogland. I think this has been the longest time between posts since I started. But I'm not going to go back and verify it, I'm just going to dig in.

Got the great news the other day that my dad's cancer appears to be gone! At least that's what the x-ray showed...he will still need to get a cat scan in 4 months, but it looks like the treatments he underwent at Vanderbilt were successful. Great BIG wahoo!

Back in January the girls and I had a fantastic trip up to Seattle with another homeschooling family. We took Amtrack, and it just might have ruined us for plane travel. What a difference it makes being able to get up and walk around, mosey down to the snack car, go to the restroom whenever you want...It's not a terribly practical (or inexpensive) way to travel cross country, but to buzz up to Seattle and back it's perfect.

While in Seattle, we got to see the Harry Potter exhibit that was at the Science Center, go up in the Space Needle at dusk (this was a group favorite!), swim in the hotel pool, and go to the aquarium. We also got to visit with Aunt Jan.

(...somewhere I have a photo of Bret and me in this same spot...wayyy before kids!)

The girls with Aunt Jan -- in front of a totem pole, note the space needle in the background.

I like how this picture juxtaposes the needle and totem.

We've been playing a lot of music with friends, attending weekly Wednesday potlucks hosted by another homeschooling family, having visitors (Bret's mom Joan and brother Kevin were here for the crab and beer festival at the Kennedy School in February - yummmm!), and enjoying our new kitchen/dining/living rooms (just the kitchen is new...but it now opens up to the dining and living rooms).

We went to Great Wolf Lodge in Washington for a 3rd time with a homeschooling group (we get a great discount), painted our living room and hung pictures, and cooked 16 new recipes in 4 days for a friend who's an author and needed the recipes photographed for a Pacific Northwest cookbook she's writing (she also needed photos of kids helping with the recipes...which sounds easier than it was!). The girls have taken lots of things apart...and put them back together again.

Bret and I started the C25K running program (thanks to our friend Allison in Wyoming!). It's been good to get out there and see more of our neighborhood, and exercise...rain (or hail!) or shine!

I re-organized my sewing room, and Bret has been working on several projects, including making a model surfboard.

And that's about it.

I was homeschooled

2011-01-14T19:48:00.002-07:00

Well, I wasn't...but my girls are, and the author of this article was (thanks, Grandmother Joan for calling to tell us about it!). One of my favorite points she makes is also about why we homeschool:

When I asked my mom why she decided to homeschool my brothers and I, she said, "I liked being around you." People expect a massive critique of society, which she can also do, when she feels like it. But underneath that is something much more straightforward.

I think that people want homeschooling to be incredibly complicated because school has become incredibly complicated. Education has become a messy, chaotic topic that we, as a nation, can't stop talking about. "Waiting for Superman", budget cuts, teen suicides, charter schools, healthier school lunches, colleges flooded with applications, student debt, student loans that go forever, elite preschools, KIPP, abstinence only sex ed, gay kids at prom, no child left behind, teachers' unions, rubber rooms, standardized testing, teacher suicides, cutting music and art classes, where it all is going, what we might be able to do, whether we should do it, and if it really works at all.

As Bret and I both have lots of experiences in public schools (as students, a librarian, student teaching and as coaches), and have many friends who are currently teachers, we know how hard it is...it is complicated because of the sheer size of schools/school districts. There's nothing better than having a teacher:student ratio of 1:1 (even though I'm home full time with the girls, I feel that they "learn" as much from me as they do from Bret...and we learn from them!). Or even if you look at it as a teacher:student ratio of 1:2, it's still pretty darn good.

While there are days when I long to just run a few errands solo, or feel that I am giving up a lot to stay home, in the "big picture" I know that this time will go quickly, and they will be grown up...knowing their parents well...all too soon!

The author of the above mentioned article also also writes at: unschooled.net, eat the damn cake (heck yeah!) and the Huffington Post.

art, gingerbread house, pantry, theme cooking

2011-01-09T16:00:00.002-07:00

Really, just some random stuff from the past several weeks...

Sabine's been doing a lot of drawing lately -- this is her "Mr. Toast" -- in this one he might be a fairy (see the wings and wand?) but then again, there's a baseball cap...hmmm...

We wanted to make 2 gingerbread houses, and got half way there. The girls had a blast decorating this one (bought pre-assembled from Costco...someday I'll make my own gingerbread/royal icing/etc...but not this year...)

And for Memet...the pantry! Bret built the shelves -- it really makes my (not overly cabinet heavy) kitchen WORK to have this space. While I sort of miss the doorway that used to be there, it was totally worth it.

We went to a Mad Men (1960s) themed holiday party in December. I had found the orange flowered tray recently, and it made the perfect vehicle for the cucumber herb butter mini sandwiches. The mandoline made easy work of creating ultra thin cucumbers.

Us, with friends Ben and Kristen at said party. My dress was bought at Deseret Industries for $6 (and it's hand made!), gloves belonged to my grandmother, Mimi, Bret's vest and tie are from my Great Uncle Lionel -- the tie clip says "GE - The Golden Value Line of the 60s". Classic.

awesome art classes

2011-01-07T13:46:00.003-07:00

The girls have been able to take a couple of classes offered by Becky at Portland Art Adventures. She's a super facilitator for creativity. Her classes have a basic structure, but she really understands unschooling and letting the kids take the projects where they think they should go -- there's no "This is what your finished product should look like" just lots and lots of amazing materials (she said most of them are from yard sales/S.C.R.A.P. and the like) and help/guidance when asked for.

These are the mini worlds the girls made back in December.

die cut machine

2011-01-07T13:20:00.002-07:00

I've been coveting a die cut machine for a while now...it's one of the tools I got to use when I was working in the library world, and I always thought it would be fun to have one of our own.

After looking into the different options (computerized vs. manual) I came up with the Sizzix Big Kick...mainly because it's simple enough for the girls to use, it can cut fabric, it can take different brands of dies, and it's one of the few die cut machines that you can use the 40% off coupon to buy it at Joann's (the Cricut and many others are excluded from the coupon).

The first day we had it we made a ton of paper dolls...very fun!

Sabine made a mushroom house for my fairy doll...

Someday I'd love to get a computerized one that can make customizable cuts, but for now...this is great!

the old dining room and kitchen

2010-12-22T14:35:00.003-07:00

In case you never got to see the old kitchen and dining room (or have blissfully forgotten what it looked like...) here it is...

dining room (wall behind table is what was opened up for the breakfast bar)

doorway into kitchen from dining room

peninsula area that got removed

previous fridge location, and door to hall on left edge that was closed off to make pantry (also not the ducks on the wallpaper border...)

breakfast area

nice light...

the NEW kitchen!

2010-12-22T14:24:00.003-07:00

I know, I know...I've been meaning to post these pictures forever...but here they are! It looks a little more tidy here than it does in everyday life. :) Wahoooooo!

from the bar into the kitchen/breakfast area

another view from the bar

from the breakfast nook into the kitchen

another view

breakfast nook

"floating shelves" and door into pantry

Learning through mistakes

2010-09-15T19:02:00.003-06:00

Very cool article here about the science of mistakes (and how people actually learn things)...thanks to my friend Margareta for passing this on!

The girls had a great class at S.C.R.A.P. today (love, love, love that place!) and I found, among other things, a comb binder for $6 (not as fancy as the one pictured...but it works...and did I mention it was only $6!). I've been wanting one for a while...and now it's here! Now if I could only will a die cut machine into our world...I miss working in a library that had all of these things...

This weekend...

2010-08-30T21:15:00.002-06:00

Was brought to us by the letter P...

P is for Playfort that was free on Craigslist...and is now re-assembled in our back yard...

P is for Pulley...set up by Sabine and Bret...

and P is for Panniers...sewn by Carolyn for the Yuba Mundo bike (note the black ninja kitty on the bike)...

I found the fabric at SCRAP (I think it was $6 -- and I have some left over -- it is a thick, lined material...formerly curtains), the straps were left over from a sewing project I did for our friend Bud back in Wyoming. I did have to by $6 worth of "D" rings once I finalized my design (I had a bunch, but used them all...). Much less expensive than Yuba's (albeit, nice) ones at $119 each.

At the coast

2010-08-30T21:14:00.001-06:00

Went to our favorite spot last Monday -- it's a bit of a hike in -- but great spot with views of surfers, logs to play on, and shallow water for splashing.

Many rocks were collected...

Kites were flown...

Sand castles were built.

Ducky Derby

2010-08-30T21:11:00.001-06:00

So the crazy-fun folks at Bret's office have an annual ducky derby. You pay $2 per duck (a two buck duck...) and can race them in either the stock or modified races. Of course, being the mad scientists that we are, we wanted to modify our 5 ducks.

Here's Bret -- assisting Sabine with her bamboo raft creation -- which won FIRST place in the people's choice awards. $25 for Sabine.

Vivan with her ducks...

Sabine working on her other creation - bicycle innertube to duck flotation device.

Fortunately, one of the ducks that Vivian helped create won FIRST PLACE in the modified race, netting her $50! We felt a little guilty about sweeping it like that...but quickly got over it.

Zucchini Lemon Loaf

2010-08-24T19:40:00.002-06:00

Just added this recipe, mainly for Kat...whose garden overflow-eth with zucchini grown by Chris! You can also scroll to the bottom of the page and see the recipe (and other favorites)...

Looking forward to cooking in our NEW KITCHEN...granted, it won't be done until (knock on wood) Thanksgiving...demo starts on our 13th wedding anniversary (September 20, in case you're interested...). Many thanks to architect Michael Howells for the design, and Mike at ReCraft for taking on the project! Whaoo!!!

Ice skating, tooth fairy visit

2010-08-10T14:04:00.001-06:00

The girls just finished up several weeks of ice skating lessons...Sabine didn't want me to take her picutre on the ice, but here's Vivian:

And another couple of the second child with a special gift from the Tooth Fairy -- Vivian now has 5 teeth missing (and she turns 5 in early October). TF thought that was good reason for a specail gift of an Ugly Doll. Happy girl.

We are cyclist...

2010-08-10T13:34:00.002-06:00

Our friends Dave and Karmin just returned from two weeks in Japan. They brought back all sorts of interesting treasures...including the following shirt for Bret:

[In case it's not legible, the tiny words on the bottom say "we can run without gasoline"]

Karmin also got to dress up like a Maiko (an apprentice Geisha) and they brought back darling cotton kimonos, socks and shoes for both girls (Vivian had a melt down and thus is not pictured here...) but I think Sabine looks pretty darn cute!

Karmin said she was told to not show her teeth while posing...

Not the best photo, but sabine's "toe socks" have a picture of a dragon on them, with the word DORAON. Might be a special Japanese lizard???

This is a test...

2010-04-21T11:42:00.001-06:00

...to see if my posts are updating to Facebook. This is only a test. If this were an actual blog post you would have seen or read something of interest by this point. We will now return to our regularly scheduled blogging. Thank you.

Great (old) book

2010-04-21T09:20:00.002-06:00

This is a book we had growing up (click on image to go to Amazon description):

(Thanks, Granny Jean and Boopy for hauling it all over the world until I wanted it. :) )

Yesterday the girls and I went on a walk (they were in the Burley, with some library books and snacks...so I guess technically I went on a push...but I digress). Sabine was reading A Chocolate Mousse for Dinner -- or it might have been The King who Rained -- to Vivian. (Also favorites from my childhood.) She came across the phrase "a family coat of arms" and asked what that meant. We talked about what they were, and I had a vague recollection of coats of arms being a section in Steven Caney's book.

Sure enough, there were a couple of pages on coats of arms, and ideas for making your family's own. Sabine made ours with a monkey for humor, a lightbulb for ingenuity, and a fox for cleverness. Not bad.

I love Steven Caney's writing style and this book is jam packed with fun things to do/read about -- from making a quill pen to fortune telling to grave stone art to how different kinds of nails are made. You can even buy a used copy on Amazon for $.39 (plus $4 shipping, of course...) but you might see one at a yard or library sale sometime...keep your eye out for one!

More on the GMA piece...

2010-04-21T09:06:00.002-06:00

...and thanks, Ronnie, for pulling these all together.

Just in case anyone watched...

2010-04-20T17:51:00.003-06:00

...the (IMHO) awful piece Good Morning America did on unschooling, (I'm reluctant to even link to it as the interviewer was so obviously biased against unschooling but hey, maybe she's just going for controversy to get ratings...) here's a great response from the Huffington Post.

Birthday!

2010-04-13T11:32:00.002-06:00

I suppose I should say BirthdayS! but it's really not all about me any more, is it? Oh well, we had a fun party for Sabine's 8th...fruit on a stick, pizza, cake, water balloon fights, face painting, and of course, general kinder-mayhem.

(Oh, and we finally found a living room couch -- look how many kids fit on it! and they could have added more!!!)

Easter

2010-04-13T11:31:00.001-06:00

Many an egg were dyed and hid...

Happy girls post-hunt...

Vivian hunting...

Steak on a stick

2010-04-13T11:30:00.001-06:00

I think that's all we need to say.

Tree swing

2010-04-13T11:29:00.002-06:00

Bret used a piece of wood from a shelf we pulled out of a closet, and bought a length of rope from the hardware store to make a front yard swing.

Hours of entertainment!

Wildlife area

2010-04-13T11:28:00.002-06:00

Bret took the girls to this wildlife spot near our house while I was at the Public Library Association Conference (here in PDX). Note the SUN SHINING in Portland...see, everyone? It can be BEAUTIFUL here! ;)

Excitable girl

2010-04-13T11:27:00.001-06:00

Vivian was given the right name for her...it means:

Full Of Life, Vibrant

Recycled art

2010-04-13T11:26:00.002-06:00

Sabine made this creation with objects (they're not trash if they're being used in art, right?) she found in the grass alley behind our house...

DoJump! end of session show

2010-04-13T11:18:00.001-06:00

The girls thoroughly enjoy their DoJump! class. Photos below are from their end of winter session show. They are in a homeschooling class together.

Vivian playing peek-a-boo!

Children's Museum

2010-04-13T11:16:00.001-06:00

One of the things we love about PDX are all the places to go/things to do with kids. The Children's Museum is a favorite.

Slacker blogger

2010-03-16T18:36:00.004-07:00

So it seems we continue to be busy with life...and just not so into posting these days. Ebb and flow, right?

But for a quick update of what we've been up to...

Playing at the school playground that's up the street from our house...

Sabine's still been into creating outfits for me (might not be able to see it here, but there is jewelery placed to go with it too -- a necklace and bracelet and earrings)...

We finished the Dealing with Dragons series by Patricia Wrede -- mostly read by Bret to Sabine at bedtime, but sometimes throughout the day when we're on a roll! It has a very feisty heroine -- reminds me of some girls I know! Just started the Inkheart series...

We had a really fun trip to the coast a few weeks back when we were having mock spring here. Vivian's posing with the skim board. Bret pulled both girls along the water to let them experience the fun, then Vivian proceeded to take an hour-long nap, snuggled up on our blankets. Sabine and Bret explored the driftwood, and Sabine made friends with another little girl. We each brought a bag of Catalina ashes to sprinkle -- on the path, and around the beach where she loved to dig.

We also had a fun trip to Great Wolf Lodge in WA -- a local homeschooling parent set up a trip with great group rates, so we jumped on it. Aside from the flat tire we got on the I-5 on the way up there it was an amazing trip (thank goodness Bret was a speedy tire changer -- we were no where near an exit, and fortunately the flat was on the passenger side, 'cause it was scary having all those big rigs speed by!).

Sweet Sisters...

2010-02-15T11:27:00.005-07:00

...here are the items they picked out at the toy store with Grandpa Jack's Christmas money (Vivian's is a bow and arrow so they can play Narnia and Sabine's is a "potholder" loom).

Just a sweet shot. Sometimes it seems they spend a good deal of the day bickering about things...it's nice to remember that they can be so very lovey, too!

We've been keeping busy at home and out, will post more about our active life soon! :)

Sweet doggie portrait

2010-01-19T09:00:00.005-07:00

Street Roots is an organization I like. I try to buy the paper from vendors whenever I see them. This past October they held a silent online auction and I bid on and won a custom pet portrait by artist Renee Hartig. I sent her several photos of Catalina, and surprised Bret with this lovely rendering of our sweet friend. It's now hanging in our kitchen, where Catalina can keep an eye on everything (sadly, no longer licking up my cooking spills!)...

Designing girl

2010-01-19T09:00:00.003-07:00

I forgot to take a photo of the centerpiece Sabine made for the New Years Eve party -- with plastic shiny ornaments, a string of white lights and some plastic fish...very cool...but here is one she made out of greenery from our yard and snips from the Christmas tree. She found the glass bowls in descending size, and set it all up...

The flowers below were given to us from our friend who works in the floral department of our local grocery store -- she gave us a BUNCH of flowers that were on their last legs and Sabine arranged them like this (while friend Marley and Vivian played bride with the two "bouquets" of tulips):

Xmas, New Years

2010-01-19T08:55:00.004-07:00

These were from Christmas morning, girls in their matching PJs...

Vivian sporting the Hula Girl outfit from Uncle Erik and Donna Sue!

Sabine is way into designing things, including outfits...(I admit to watching What Not to Wear and Say Yes to the Dress with her!)...these were the New Years Eve outfits she picked out for Vivian...

And herself...

Happy 2010!

2010-01-04T16:41:00.004-07:00

We've been enjoying settling into our new house...

We even had some snow, a few days after Christmas...

As long as we've been together, Bret and I haven't been big on presents for each other...but this year with the sale of our house in Wyoming we treated ourselves to a used pop-up camper (to replace the Airstream)...

We found it on Craigslist...bought it from a family who was upgrading to a small RV. Can't wait to explore more of Oregon in it! (Sabine and Vivian are happy exploring it in the yard!)

And a piano...

we bought it from The Piano School for the Blind -- the only school in the world that teaches blind and visually impaired people to tune and repair pianos. They take donations of pianos that their students fix up then they sell them -- partially to raise money for the school. The piano we got used to be a school piano. I've wanted a piano for a long time, and am looking forward to learning and playing with the whole family.

We went to the farm of some other homeschoolers to cut down our Christmas tree (reminding us of Wyoming)...

We had a small New Year's Eve party (at which I completely forgot to take pictures!), and enjoyed roasting marshmallows in the wood stove when the snow fell!

All in all a lovely end to 2009 and beginning of 2010!

New holiday tradition

2009-12-21T18:28:00.003-07:00

I love Chinaberry.com. When our house sale in Wyoming closed, I ordered the perpetual advent calendar pictured below. The box sizes are varied, so you could put actual small treasures in them, but we've been doing it like a treasure hunt. Each night after Bret gets home I put a note in the appropriate date and give the girls clues to where they can find that day's prize (an edible treat/holiday book/tickets to see a holiday show/a $1 bill for each girl/etc...). It's been a really fun way to count down to Christmas, and to get to know some of the nooks and crannies of our new home.

Of course, we've also enjoyed the chocolate-a-day calendars that Uncle Brian and Aunt Livia sent...Vivian ate all her chocolates on day 2...not Sabine, she takes this stuff seriously.

Economics of Unschooling

2009-11-24T11:07:00.004-07:00

Great article by Ren here. A couple of my favorite sections:

Food should be a celebration of life. Ideally, it is a source of pleasure and connectedness, not stress. Even with a smaller budget, approaching food and nourishment with an attitude of abundance will do so much for the level of calm and peace in a family. Portioning and worrying and talking about what one does not have isn’t going to help children feel the warmth or joy that a family exploring food with an open mind can create.

Peace and joy are more healing than any food of which I know. Healthy relationships, in which all members of the family are respected and given choice, create enough harmony to overcome any ill-effects of the “junk food” so many parents worry about constantly.

and:

For instance, when Jalen is passionate about a movie and all the toys or characters that go with it, all I have to think about is the cost of preschool. The monthly school fee is far greater than all the desires he could have in a month. His world is expanded to a much greater degree by having his choices supported than by being sent to some institution.

and:

Natural learning does have a cost attached to it. So does school. In choosing this unschooling path, we are choosing to put our money into people, into interests, into passions, into the things that really matter for each of us. I look at myself as an investor. I invest time, money and creative energy into helping my children explore their world more fully. I am investing in them as human beings. Human beings who have the potential to affect change in this world. Human beings who aren’t crushed by school thought and the paralysis it can bring. Human beings who will have the ability to see their passions as the most important path in life and who possess a deep inner knowledge that learning is a life-long endeavor. Along the way I am also investing in my own passions and interests alongside them. My children know what it means to honor those inner urgings because they see it played out from day to day as we all learn together and apart.

I think she's brilliant!

Oh, and I have a few posts labeled inexpensive fun...if you're interested. :)

Mutlu Yıllar!

2009-11-06T10:07:00.003-07:00

(That's Happy Anniversary in Turkish) mom and dad! They married in Ankara, Turkey (dad was Airforce, mom was Civil Service) 45 years ago today. They had to have 2 ceremonies (one with Turkish officials, one with US, if I remember correctly...) so they actually have 2 anniversaries -- today and tomorrow. Double the fun!

This photo is them standing in front of the apartment they lived in when they were first married. They took a trip to Turkey with my brother Steve and his wife Linda last fall...good times!

We love you!

I'm a winner!

2009-11-05T22:42:00.010-07:00

So you know those people who always win raffles? Yeah, not me. I never win drawings. I mean, really. NEVER. I buy the raffle ticket(s) write down my name and contact info, and just forget about it.

OK, now that I really think about it, maybe I won a thing or two at one of the Life is Good Conferences, but then again it might have been Bret or Sabine or Vivian's names on the ticket...usually I stick with things that I can semi-control like silent auctions (out of my way, I have a pen and will use it!!!).

But as of tonight, I'm a winner! First, I got out of the house with minimal mommy-clinginess from Vivian. (Granted she was upstairs in the bath when I left and Bret was talking to her, so maybe I just didn't hear the screaming.) Then, after a blissful 15 minute drive where I got to blast the radio and sing loudly to the station of my choice without another soul in the mini-van asking me to pick up the water bottle that fell under my seat, or what snacks we have in the car, or telling sisters to please stop antagonizing each other (so, not every car ride is like that, but you know what I mean), I arrived at Bolt Fabric Store for Amy Karol's book signing for her newest work:

I just bought the book tonight, so I can't comment on it, but I'm thinking it's going to make me more than a little distracted from packing! Must...concentrate...on...filling...boxes!

I have had her first book

for several years, and have found much inspiration from it. While the projects and patterns are great, I think the best thing about it is the attitude that ANYONE can sew, and that there's no need to be perfect...It feels like you're working alongside one of those nice friends that is supportive/funny/kind and wickedly creative.

Did I mention how deliciously wonderful Bolt is? I found it a few years back during a visit to Portland when I bought another sewing book (Sew What Skirts) at Powells, and the cashier asked me if I'd been to Bolt (nope). I wrote down the name, and lo and behold it was down the street from the Community Cycling Center which was on Bret's to-see list, so it was a win-win.

(Confession, I still have the fabric, washed and everything, that I bought that day to sew a skirt from the book...fortunately, I still love the fabric, and really will make that skirt someday...)

Anyhow, we were talking about me being a winner, right? So the time for the drawing arrives (this is after I've asked Amy to sign my newly purchased second book, and my first book, found in the house out of its Dewey decimal order on the bedside table and we've had a nice chat...she's just like she comes across in her book -- very warm and sweet -- wait, that sounds like I'm describing a Krispy Kream donut...never mind...), and my name is drawn. Mine! Me! Wahoo!

This is what I won:

It says on the outside: This bag contains very important craft supplies and possibly some chocolate. Yes it did! Two packages of iron on fabric transfer paper, a copy of Bend the Rules Fabric (which I had Amy sign for Kat -- she needs a nice surprise, right?) two bundles of sweet fat quarters, a box of Amy's new label s (they have just the amount of sarcasm that I love!), and indeed, some chocolate (shhh, I didn't tell the girls, though Sabine read it on the bag...I tried to gloss over it...). It was such a nice treat to win, and just what I needed at the end of this week.

I also got to talk with several interesting women -- many of whom are teachers of classes at Bolt (did I mention that Bolt is about a mile from our new house?) And that they have not only an amazing fabric selection, but also some amazing classes? And there's a solar waffle cart across the street? Oh yeah.

Oh, and when I got home, Sabine presented me with this creation (the photo does not do it justice):

Bret has made some lovely little sculptures with copper wire (dog, cat, flowers...must take some photos...) and Sabine got a hold of a little wire, a bead and a button. Sweet little flower. Creating things is so wonderful, as is receiving things that have been created by hand.

All right, this ended up being a much longer blog post than I intended...but it may be the last one for a bit. Tell me to go back to packing if you see me here again in the upcoming weeks.

Goodbye...

2009-11-04T09:18:00.004-07:00

...sweet friend Catalina.

We had our mobile vet euthanize Catalina yesterday at 1:30 at home. She had been having a tough time off and on for the past few weeks (vet suspected cancer of the spleen, but figured x-rays may or may not confirm it, and at her age (2 months shy of 16 years) and in her condition, the x-rays might have had a negative impact on her health). As some of you know, she also went through a rough bout of vestibular syndrome this summer, when we thought it was the end.

Apparently, having "Cat" in her name made her think she had 9 lives. :)

She ate a chicken dinner on her last night, and Bret had slept with her on the floor a few nights before (when she was having a tough time...but she "bounced" up in the morning to have another coulpe of good days). She got to take a some good trips to the coast this summer, and always had a wag in her tail and an excitable bark. Espeically when playing in the sand. She will be missed, and joins many of her dog (and cat) friends beyond.

Interestingly enough, our mobile vet was also the vet for Cynthia Rylant when she lived in Portland, and he euthanized one of her old dogs. She is the author of Dog Heaven and Cat Heaven -- beautiful books about losing a pet -- and numerous other books. Now I just need to find where I put my copy of Dog Heaven...

Boo!

2009-11-02T20:09:00.009-07:00

Had a great time trick-or-treating with the girls -- last year I stayed home to eat, I mean pass out candy, but we only had 3 people come by (2 of which were our neighbors) so this year we all went out.

Ronnie was down here to take her girls to the teen-unschooler-portland-party, and so joined us for the evening of fun.

Made yummy easy veggie chowder (with butter instead of margarine) with bread from Little T, then remembered at about 4pm that we still had a few pumpkins to carve, so whipped them out...

(Bret's alien pumpkin)

Then put the finishing touches on Sabine's costume:

from here. (Worth every penny...we use this daily...)

Then facepainted Sabine:

And then took some photos of both girls with Catalina -- Vivian was a PIXIE, by the way, NOT a fairy. :) She picked out the costume at Goodwill (thank goodness...as she said it was itchy and wanted to cut the sleeve off of it when we got home...go for it girl!)

Here are a few of my favorite photos from the night...some folks went ALL OUT on decorations/costumes...very fun.

Not sure if you can see them very well, but I made treat bags for both of the girls from fabric they picked out (when we went to the fabric store to buy elastic to fix Vivian's wings...). Sabine spotted the zebra fabric, and we knew we had to do something with it (besides sew a zebra costume...that's what masking tape is for!) and Vivian picked out a very cute blue owl print. Just right for a pixie.

Sabine and Vivian have been generously sharing their "loot" with the grownups...we're all almost candied out. Bring on Thanksgiving.

Pumpkin Carving Fun

2009-10-30T08:32:00.004-07:00

Must have been a fun party, as we forgot to take very many photos! But here are some of the jack-o-lanterns that were created.

Blue-Collar Brilliance

2009-10-21T09:28:00.002-06:00

Just read this interesting article in Utne -- it originally appeared in The American Scholar.

Blue-Collar Brilliance

Posted using ShareThis

Made me think about what kinds of knowledge is valued in our society, and how that impacts our perceptions of people's worth.

Great post from a list I'm on

2009-10-19T10:02:00.005-06:00

Apparently I've become a once or twice a month blogger...really, I hope to start posting more frequently, but we've just been doing other stuff!

I did want to share this post from the Unschooling Basics Yahoo Group. A parent was asking about how unschooled kids learn anything...but especially subjects like math. The response is from from Joyce Fetteroll whose webpage has a wealth of information on unschooling. (If you're reading, thanks for giving me permission to post this, Joyce!)

***

To add to Meredith's great post, I think when nonunschoolers read
about what unschoolers do it sounds like we're trying to impose some
airy fairy theory on kids, denying them the hard but good-for-them
medicine of disciplined learning and replacing it with something
gentle and nice, but that, from the outside, looks totally
ineffective. Unschooling seems to be a way of avoiding being mean to
the kids but will ultimately leave them unlearned.

[emphasis mine] But the truth is that what kids learn in school is *made* hard to learn. Not because educators are mean ;-) but because they need to demonstrate that specific learning is taking place. In order to prove learning, they are limited in the methods that yield something testable. Unfortunately the natural way we -- and all animals -- learn is scatter shot. We pick up bits and pieces here and there as we need them. We naturally learn to grow our understanding. It's very very hard to test for understanding (especially since we don't approach understanding linearly). (And very very hard to grade!) That's why most tests test for what's been memorized.

Learning is sort of like assembling a jigsaw puzzle. We naturally
work on the areas that interest us that expand and grow to meet up
with other areas of interest. And we jump around. At first the puzzle
often just looks like bigger pieces of chaos. ;-)

In school, the kids are told what they're going to make and told to
find the corner piece and place it in the corner. Then the next piece
that attaches to it. Then the next piece that attaches to it.

If the two puzzles were tested against school standards: how many of
the upper left is done, the schooled puzzle worker might have a
several dozen pieces in the corner. The natural puzzle worker might
have two. But what would be missed by a standardized test is all the
*other* pieces the natural puzzle worker had assembled. And, while
the schooled puzzle assembler might test well, they aren't learning
ways to tackle a jigsaw puzzle. They *look* like they're
accomplishing something, but what they're learning is that doing
puzzles is hard and boring and pointless and left on their own it's
unlikely they'll finish it. The natural puzzle worker doesn't look
like they're accomplishing anything (judging by their progress in the
corner since that's *all* a standardized test can test) but they're
having fun and the real accomplishment is happening far from the
testing area. And if they enjoy it, they're likely to do many puzzles
in their life.

School is to natural learning as Spanish class is to picking up
language as a child. One is hard and pretty much ineffective after
class is done. The other is effortless and effective. The second is
so effortless that we don't even take it seriously. We just know it's
something mysterious that happens and has no relationship to anything
else.

But it does! That's how we are designed to learn! It's messy. Chaotic
natural learning is very frustrating for someone who wants feedback
that specific learning is taking place. If there had been a
standardized test of language acquisition in 18 month olds, a typical
question would be pronouncing their name. My daughter would have
failed. A standardized test would *not* have asked how many dinosaur
names she knew ;-) (She had a shirt with 9 dinosaurs on it which she
could rattle off. She could say pachycephalosaurus before she could
say Kathryn ;-)

I'm betting that unless you're a history buff, that you've forgotten
way more history than you remember! The political doings of dead
white guys is really dull for most people. What most people find
interesting is bits of history of whatever interests them, social
history, how people lived in the past (movies and books are good for
that). As the build up that jigsaw puzzle, it eventually connects to
bits and pieces of political history.

My daughter probably knows more about early 1900s America than I do
because she's been fascinated by early baseball and has read several
books about it. One of her favorite guitarists was dressed as a
gangster in a video and that sparked an interest in gangsters. We're
reading a book about gangsters in film and it's starting way back
with the beginning of real gangsters and prohibition and the politics
surrounding it.

Is that the same as slogging through a history course? Absolutely
not. In some ways it's inferior since it doesn't cover the
"important" stuff. But how much of the "important" stuff do most
people remember? In many ways it's superior. My daughter really knows
the information she's read about early baseball. She hasn't just
memorized it. She knows the whys and wherefores. She knows some of
the social and political history that influenced what happened.
That's a foundation she'll build on throughout life.

The thing is educators get to say "We did our job. We put the
information in there. Not our fault if they don't remember it 10
years later." But *shouldn't* part of their job to be to make those
12 years time well spent? The "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader"
is pretty telling. But it doesn't tell what it supposedly does: that
5th graders are smarter than adults. It says that great huge chunks
of that stuff you put up with learning for 12 years is going to be
gone by the time you're an adult.

Yet how many adults can still recite the theme song to Gilligan's
Island? ;-) Some think it means we're naturally drawn to trivial
entertainment and must be made to learn the hard stuff. No, what it
really means is that if it's fun and *personally meaningful* we'll
remember.

> I mean, how will the kids learn math? You know, adding,
> subtracting, multiplication?? What about language? How will they
> know what to capitalize or the correct punctuation?
>

I know, it's hard to imagine. But they do. We are natural puzzle
solvers. We want to understand how things work. We want to master
what we enjoy. We don't necessarily want to know how things work on
someone else's schedule, though!

Just because an unschooled kid might not be using standard
punctuation and capitalization when schooled kids are doesn't mean
they don't care. It means it's not important to them. Yet. Mostly
kids are writing for themselves. *At that age* they don't need to
communicate to someone else so all that's important to them is
getting the thoughts down onto paper or screen. (It might be a story.
It might be a label.) Translating thoughts to words is important part
of writing. (And the part that's hard to test! Testing grammar and
punctuation is easy and why its made more important in school than it
really is.) Later, when they're communicating with others (and trying
to read others' communications) on message boards and email and so
on, they'll feel the difference between standard grammar and
creative. Reading a novel in chat speak might be interesting once but
it would be pretty obvious how limiting it is for meatier
communication! ;-) (But writing out thoughts formally on a text
screen is equally limiting! Each has their uses.)

It's really really really hard to imagine how kids can learn math
merely by using it. As an engineer I was certain you couldn't learn
math without hours and hours of practice. I was wrong. I didn't learn
math so much as practice applying formulas. I didn't really
understand what lay beneath the formulas because it was obscured by
the tedium of getting the precise answer to the 3rd decimal point. My
daughter, though, understands *how* numbers work. She understands
their fluid nature and how they're manipulated. The notation just
formalizes what she intuitively understands.

I've written a fair amount about math and reading and grammar (and
lots on chores!) at:
http://joyfullyrejoycing.com/

Also two articles that might help you understand why school makes so
much sense and why it's so hard to grasp why unschooling is better are:

Products of Education
http://sandradodd.com/joyce/products

Why You Can't Let Go
http://sandradodd.com/joyce/talk

Joyce

Lego house...

2009-09-28T12:44:00.000-06:00

Sabine's is below. James May's is here.

Our new horsey

2009-09-28T12:40:00.004-06:00

So our first Portland Horse Project pony got stolen...we thought about putting up a sign that read "We're from Wyoming. We hang horse thieves" but then thought better of it...Instead, Bret went to the hardware store and bought steel cable. This one's stayed...so far.

What we've been doing...

2009-08-11T16:02:00.014-06:00

...instead of blogging...

Lots of pattern block designing...

Visiting with friends young (little Eileen Cunningham-Maloney, or is Maloney-Cunningham???)...

...and old (well, compared to Sabine and Vivian)...that's Chloe on the couch (younger daughter of Frank and Ronnie, they and their elder daughter MJ came down the following day), Seth (token boy...) and Qaci (daughter of Zenmomma and Jon) all came to town to see the CSI Exhibit at OMSI, and other Portland delights! Vivian and Sabine were delighted with having teens (and other grown ups) around, as were we!

Building with Kapla Blocks (marbles make a nice addition)...

Keeping cool during the heat wave (Bret's birthday canoe made a really nice (if expensive) wading pool, but at least we didn't need to run out and buy a wading pool!)...

Finding scores like this one at Goodwill ($8!, but we did have to spend $7 on mallots...but it's an amazing instrument -- has beautiful tone!)...

And finding/tying up just the right pony for the Portland Horse Project. (We have a ring in front of our house)...

I like this one because it shows not only Cicso (friendly neighborhood ambassador cat) but the chalk board where we were writing/reading words (and drawing pictures) with Sabine.

Oh, and I almost forgot -- saw the Indigo Girls in concert at the Oregon Zoo...an amazing evening, made even nicer by Dave's offer to babysit so Bret and I could go sans-children...Zenmomma was in town the night before to hear a speaker, and we talked her into going with us. Very fun!

Photo credit here, since I didn't even bring our camera with us to the concert!

Now we're making plans for the fall (including DoJump Classes for Sabine and Vivian), playdate swaps with homeschooling friends, park days, OMSI visits, and more...stay tuned!

Visiting the Groves in Kentucky

2009-06-18T13:47:00.001-06:00

The girls and I had a great time in Kentucky with Granny Jean, Boopy and Uncle Turk (aka Austin).

Vivian presents (little) Clifford.

Granny Jean and Vivian.

Uncle Turk with Clifford, that's his dog The Dude's dark brown head at the bottom of the photo. Apparently I didn't take any photos of Boopy with my camera, except this one of his elbow. Sorry dad!

Grandpa Jack's visit

2009-06-18T13:34:00.001-06:00

Sabine with Anna and Grandpa Jack

Using Bret's new (birthday present from Jack and brother Kevin) fishing rod to...fly kites in the backyard. Love multi-use presents...

Vivian and Sabine enjoyed going through the box of hats and other treats brought by Grandpa Jack.

LIFE was Good!

2009-06-18T12:57:00.001-06:00

Somehow...we forgot to take our camera out until the last 24 hours of the conference...these are from the final picnic at Esther Short Park and the Barefoot Boogie the night before...good times were had by all!

Oh...and blocks

2009-06-18T12:37:00.002-06:00

The girls often are doing other things while watching TV...

A few favorite toys...

2009-06-18T12:33:00.003-06:00

This is what else we were doing in the busy month of May...

Connectagons from Magic Cabin

Kapla blocks...

and Wedgits...(found a full BIG set at Goodwill this winter...score!)

Music nights

2009-06-18T11:22:00.001-06:00

We spent many nights (and one brunch) in April and May with new-found musical friends...These photos were from a dinner party we had...

LOVE little Ben with his 1/2 size banjo (and tie dye shirt)

Not the best photo, but you can get an idea of the parties here...

And Sabine, helping Daddy on the bass...

We're Back!

2009-06-18T10:36:00.002-06:00

It's been a long time since posting...I know...it's been about equally long since I went to Jazzercize (stop laughing...it's a good work out! They've even sent me 2 postcards to entice me to come back...which I plan on doing once I get rid of this pesky, lingering cough).

So...what have we been doing?

May was a whirlwind of fun with visits from Kristin, Al and Acacia (from Jackson, WY), Margareta, Hamish and Fenna from BC, Canada, traveling across the river to Vancouver, WA for the wonderful Life is Good conference, then welcoming Bret's dad (Grandpa Jack) for a visit to Portland, and finally a trip to Murray, KY to visit Grannie Jean and Boopy (my parents)...the girls and I actually flew there on Sat, May 30...so that was only 2 days in May...but it still capped off a busy month! Bret joined us in St Louis to see 2 of my brothers/sister-in-laws for the second week of June, but more about that later.

This is the puzzle Kristin and I completed during their visit...Al was re-reading the Harry Potter series (in reverse -- which inspired us to start reading it (not in reverse) to Sabine, who's loving it).

And some random kid creations that I found on the camera.

We're here!

2009-05-21T09:35:00.004-06:00

At the Life is Good Conference!

Below is the raffle basket we brought of Anne and Pete Sibley's music (3 CDs and songbook -- thanks Anne and Pete for donating a copy of your new release and your songbook!). I found the very cool old-timey tin at Goodwill last week...perfect!

We're enjoying catching up with old friends...and looking forward to making new ones...

Pink snow

2009-05-16T19:08:00.002-06:00

(Not to be confused with that yellow snow in Wyoming!)

I'm glad I took some photos of the trees when in full bloom, because they didn't last long. This is actually from a few weeks ago -- they're now all full green.

We're saving the world!

2009-04-28T11:06:00.001-06:00

Love this article...it's from a Canadian, eh? Read the whole thing here.

Unschooling, by contrast, starts with the realization that you 'own' your time, and have the opportunity and responsibility to use it in ways that are meaningful and stimulating for you. When you have this opportunity, you just naturally learn a great deal, about things you care about, things that will inevitably be useful to you in making a life and a living. Your learning environment is the whole world, and you learn what and when you want, undirected by curricula, textbooks, alarm clocks and school bells. You develop deep peer relationships around areas of common interest, once you're allowed to explore and discover what those areas of interest are. And the Internet and online gaming allow you to make those relationships anywhere in the world, to draw on the brightest experts on the planet, and to communicate powerfully with like-minded, curious people of every age, culture and ideology.

Anti-anti coloring books

2009-04-28T10:10:00.002-06:00

Growing up, I remember my mom getting us the Anti Coloring Books -- they're still around -- and even have a web page. From said page, Anti Coloring Books:

Allow children to be creative, not just robots coloring inside the lines.
These books let children use their imaginations:

exciting motivation is provided
a scene is set
children get to put on their thinking caps
exercise their imaginations
and turn on their critical thinking

Most of all they have fun!

I haven't gotten any of them for Sabine or Vivian yet, but Bret often brings home (non-confidential) recycle paper from the office...which we sometimes use for printing, but occasionally Sabine turns them into coloring pages...

Have you ever seen a prettier MANHOLE COVER?

And I think the Portland lady looks just lovely...

What's not to love?

2009-04-28T10:07:00.001-06:00

Above is the view out our front living room window...

And this is out the dining room window (there are two other windows on either side...so it's actually a bigger view of the gorgeous trees...but I liked how this one was "framed")...

Another pink tree in our neighbor's yard just started blooming, and the apple tree in our back yard is now white-blossom-covered. Wow. Be-you-ti-ful.

The Madsen ad

2009-04-28T10:01:00.004-06:00

In case you're wondering...the Madsen banner that is at the top of my blog right now is for a contest to win a free Madsen bike on July 15...they're a new company based out of Salt Lake City. I actually took one for a test ride last week with Vivian and Sabine in tow -- I was amazed how well it handled. And it looked like you could haul some serious stuff with it (and it's pretty!!!). Maybe someday one will be in our world.

From Jeff Sabo...

2009-04-22T13:22:00.003-06:00

...unschooling dad extraordinaire...this is from the middle of his (long but well worth reading) post entitled: "Great" Expectations. The post is directed towards dads, but I think it applies to everyone...

But here's the creepy thing; I think we actually have more control when we unschool than if we don't. We like to think we can control things like what a child learns, what job they have, how happy they are, how healthy they are. We infuse our children constantly with what our expectations of them are. And then we send them to off to school, where we have no control over what they learn; we send them off to college, where we have no control over the direction their lives will take; we control what they eat in our house, where they only spend 20% of their waking hours; and we control what activities they participate in in pursuit of happiness. What we do not do is give them the trust and tools they need to make their own choices and set their own course, thereby putting them in the exact same position as we were once in - unsure, fearful, with the parent's definition of happiness and success. And then, when they become parents, they'll have to start at the top of this page and read the whole damned blog just to catch up. We create the illusion of control for ourselves and our children, and then we use it to build a house of cards that we pray won't fall down until the kids are too distracted to notice.

I love it...the whole control thing really hits home. And how we really can't MAKE our kids be/do/say anything. They are their own people, even if they aren't "allowed" to be them until they're "grown up" and making their own choices.

Thanks, Jeff, for the inspiration.

More canoe play...

2009-04-19T21:00:00.002-06:00

This is from Kat and Marley's visit for Handmade Nation...(I'm linking to Kat's post, as it's likely I'll never get my post on that done... :) )

The girls are playing on a slack line (don't worry, they don't walk on top of it...) Bret improvised with our hammock stand...we got rid of our (rotten) hammock when we moved, but kept the nifty metal stand...

And a few photos of the under-represented 2nd child.

Little movie star

2009-04-19T20:55:00.001-06:00

Must remember to get the girls their own sunglasses...mine keep getting absconded with...

Sisters

2009-04-19T20:00:00.001-06:00

These photos aren't great because I wanted to kind of sneak and take them...didn't want to interrupt what Sabine and Vivian were doing...just being sweet. They were actually drinking the Emergen-C (I had prepared for me...) in one cup with two straws, on the front porch...it was really cute. I love that even though they are 3.5 years apart, they have these moments of closeness and sharing.

Pattern blocks

2009-04-19T19:54:00.002-06:00

You can click on the title of this post to see where we got these blocks (Discount School Supply -- I did a lot of research online (after calling the local toy stores who were all out of them) and these were the cheapest available -- I think they're made in China, and they're not 100% perfect, but they're adequate!). I think I bought 2 sets of them this past fall when Sabine was going crazy with the smaller Melissa and Doug set that someone gave us. It's really fun to have LOTS of them to make into interesting patterns.

Happy 7 year old.

Poor man's hot tub

2009-04-19T19:47:00.001-06:00

So the hot tub we bought with every penny of our wedding gift money (plus a little extra) finally died our last winter in Jackson...with minimal problems, it gave us 10 years of excellent service. It's one of the things I would like to add to a house when we get the opportunity to buy again (anyone wanna buy a cool house in Jackson, Wyoming???). However, we are nothing if not resourceful, so we put the cooler Boopy (Carolyn's dad) gave us to good use over the past several days...

Axel and Vivian enjoy the restorative waters...

Vivian solo...

Sabine actually fit in it too (by herself) but we forgot to take a photo when she was in it...

Wyoming comes to Portland

2009-04-19T19:34:00.003-06:00

The Klomparens Crew (Julie, Shawn, Birch and Axel) came to see us over the kids' spring break. We've known Julie and Shawn since way before kiddos...went on a sailboat trip with them to Key West about 10 years ago, Julie and I had our first babies about 3 months apart, and we traded kinder-care for the first year or so our our girls' lives...Birch is the reason Sabine misses Wyoming so much! I wasn't sure how it would go with them having not seen each other for so many months...but I needn't have worried. Birch and Sabine basically picked up where they left off...and PLAYED for 4 straight days. They even made a LIBRARY in the basement. It was very sweet.

At the zoo with Vivi, Axel, Sabine and Birch.

Bret's new canoe was the object of much backyard imaginative play.

We celebrated Sabine's (and my) birthday a little early...

Even the grown-ups had fun (that's Karmin's back to us, Dave in the grey shirt, Julie, Shawn, and me). We were supposed to go out that night with Dave and Karmin to celebrate their April birthdays, but our babysitter got sick. So instead we got (sensational!) take out from Mai Thai and celebrated at home...

They Won!

2009-04-12T10:06:00.001-06:00

Congrats, Anne and Pete! Prairie Home's site says it will be listed on their website on Monday (4/13).

Our brush with fame

2009-04-10T20:27:00.002-06:00

We've been keeping busy since March 24th with a welcome stream of visitors -- first Kat and Marley from Corvallis (we met them at the Life is Good conference last year) -- Kat and I went to the Portland premiere of the movie Handmade Nation -- and then the Klomparens family from Jackson. We've been having so much fun that I haven't made time to blog about it!

I'll post some photos from those visits soon, but first had to share that our good friends and musicians extraordinaire, Anne and Pete Sibley, will be playing on Garrison Keilor's A Prairie Home Companion's Great American Duet Sing-Off live, tomorrow night (Sat. April 11) at 6 pm eastern. You can vote for your favorite act (Anne and Pete, of course) online -- click here to vote.

I dug up some photos from our past musical adventures with Anne and Pete...

Pete's one of those guys who can play ANYTHING...and make it sound good. He also knows how to trap a monkey with a banjo.

There's Sabine enjoying music as a baby, and later on at about age 4, I think, joining Anne and me on guitar.

Hopefully you'll get a chance to listen to them!

Breaking out...

2009-03-31T09:35:00.000-07:00

Here it is...

Kinder in a Kapla

2009-03-29T20:52:00.002-07:00

Sabine wanted to be built into a Kapla creation...so here she is...

The breaking out was pretty cool!

More Kapla

2009-03-29T20:50:00.001-07:00

Sabine rearranged the dining room after we came home last night...the everything in the room went into the living room, and the 1,000 Kapla blocks came out...Along with friend Scott, a tower was born...

And died...

What a difference...

2009-03-22T10:53:00.002-07:00

...a year makes.

March 26, 2008.

March 22, 2009.

Happy Spring, everyone!

No Knead Bread

2009-03-22T10:34:00.003-07:00

Click on the title of this post for the recipe. It really is amazingly easy. The only trick is mixing the water, flour and yeast the night before you want the bread so it can rest for 12-20 hours...the other trick is having a nice heavy pot with a lid to bake it in...I use my large Pampered Chef stoneware bowl, but you could also use cast iron, or enameled cast iron.

This was the loaf I made for dinner with our neighbors on Friday night...yummmm...

I still LOOOOOVE the bread from Little T (right up the street from us), but this less expensive option does not make me feel deprived at all!

Reading nook

2009-03-22T10:23:00.002-07:00

I was making lunch the other day and heard Sabine running back and forth, up and down the stairs. She said she was creating a surprise. She used the pillows from the guest room (under the pink blanket...she said we'll put them back in the guest room when people come to stay, don't worry) the ever-popular Chix Rule blanket made by our friend Theresa, some throw pillows from the couch and a $5 end table from Goodwill.

The window is at the mid-level-landing of the stairs...

The older book on top is a Webster Consolidated Encyclopedic Dictionary from 1950. It belonged to my grandparents. It has several pages of full color animals, plants, etc. Sabine's been enjoying it. Bret bought The Knowledge Book on one of his solo-job-hunting trips to Portland last year. Dave took him to the National Geographic Society's huge warehouse sale that only happens every couple of years...I can't wait to go to the next one!

A few quotes

2009-03-20T13:20:00.003-07:00

Found these quotes here -- tried to send a comment to the blogger, asking for permission to post them on my blog (and crediting them) but message never would go through...so I hope it's OK that they're here! She also has some great posts on control, and having an abundance of art supplies...they also have a vintage Airstream...we may jut be kindred spirits!

Unless warped by cruelty or neglect, children are by nature not only loving and kind but serious and purposeful. — John Holt

Just about everything [very little children] do, they do as well as they can. Except when tired or hungry, or in the grip of passion, pain, or fear, they are moved to act almost entirely by curiosity, desire for mastery and competence, and pride in work well done. But the schools, and many adults outside of school, hardly ever recognize or honor such motives, can hardly even imagine that they exist. — John Holt

Ask children. Hear them. Teach children to ask the questions they want answers to. Believe that what a seven-year-old has to say is important. Because it is. Just ask. — Ann Marie Corgill, Of Primary Importance: What’s Essential in Teaching Young Writers

Nothing you do for children is ever wasted. — Garrison Keillor

Some recent Sabine creations...

2009-03-17T16:38:00.001-07:00

This is a dollar bill, with "that guy with the funny hair" on it...

We Netflixed Peter Pan this week. This is Tinkerbell. The wings are taped on giving her a nice 3-D look.

This was a pie pan of green jello we made...the drawing is after eating 1/2 of it.

Living Math

2009-03-11T10:17:00.003-07:00

Just found this site, Living Math...looks interesting, and thought I'd put it here so I'd remember to look at it further.

From the site:

~ Insisting a child must be taught traditional, scope-and-sequence arithmetic to learn mathematics is like saying one must learn classical notes and scales before one can learn music. You might get there, but you miss out on the inspiration of beautiful music created by the masters along the way. We need not master all the "basics" before being able to experience the appreciation that carries us through the hard work of learning. Think of applying living math principles as developing a "mathematical ear" while working toward the mastery of basic theory. ~

As someone who thought I was always bad at math because I couldn't (or just didn't) memorize the times tables in 4th grade (but then went on to memorize whole songs/extensive lines in plays/etc...) then as an adult realized I LOVE spreadsheets (Excel) creating formulas, etc...I think I could have benefited from a non-traditional approach to math. Or maybe I already did.

What we're eating

2009-03-11T09:52:00.006-07:00

I've been inspired by Annie over at Sensible Living who has been sharing what she cooks, what tools she uses in her kitchen, etc. I also took a great class called "Hello Pantry, So Long Supermaket" from Lost Arts Kitchen a few weeks ago, and while I'm not ready to buy 50 lbs of flour and other grains just yet, I do want to reduce my grocery bill and trips to the store...so with that in mind I planned a month of meals, did one BIG shop at the less expensive grocery store (WinCo) at the beginning of the month, and plan to do smaller trips for produce/meats/etc. at New Seasons/Trader Joes/Limbo to supplement during the month. I'm really looking forward to the upcoming BIG farmers markets...we'll see how this changes things.

Chris at Lost Arts talked about how she cooked one type of meat each week (here's her blog), and then makes a variation of things each week - roast night, taco night, pasta night, stir fry night, you get the picture (and I couldn't find the exact post where she wrote about this, so I don't claim I remembered it exactly right...). While I would like to do that, I just crave more variety...and one thing I really liked about Chris is she said to do what works for you and your family -- there's not just one answer.

We're still eating a little more meat than I would like...and I'd also like to incorporate more fish...but it's a start. I'm hoping to put all these recipes into Google Documents and link them to the calendar at some point, but only have a few in so far (if I have it, the link to the recipes is below the meal title, you might have to copy and paste it). Or you can scroll down on the blog and get the recipe there...if there's a recipe that looks really intriguing, let me know and I'll get it done first. I had to make the calendar narrow to fit in the blog, but you can click on a recipe and it will show the whole thing.

Oh, and there are some "blank" days to make up for times that we'll just eat leftovers, or have friends over and make special dinners, or...gasp...go out to eat. Gotta have some fun and spontaneity!

Paper shredders are fun...

2009-03-06T14:15:00.002-07:00

These pretty much speak for themselves...please excuse the messy kitchen...it was Friday night.

Little Pocohontas

2009-03-06T14:08:00.003-07:00

We finally succumbed to Netflix...I had so many friends in Jackson who said they loved it, but I never wanted to deal with going to the PO Box just to get a movie. And there's this really cool looking independent movie rental place right around the corner from us...which I really DO want to support, but my girls...they just don't like leaving the house very much...soooo...here we are.

We watched Pocohontas (both one and two, if you must ask) and Vivian wanted me to make her a Pocohontas dress. Now, I can sew...but from scratch, I figured she'd be over it by the time I finished it...so we modified a dress that was in the dress-up box...cut off one sleeve, and sewed one shut. Fortunatley it already had a stretchy neck in place...She's pretty pleased with it.

She's also going through this phase (please, it must be a phase...) of drawing on her face...with pens, markers, whatever...

And here she is making...soup. What else could it be?

Kids ATC Swap

2009-03-06T13:57:00.004-07:00

Two lovely ladies organized this swap (click on title to see one blog). Apparently they had several hundred kids/parents respond...so Sabine made ATCs for 5 other kids who are also aged 6.75, living KY, OH (2), NC and Canada.

She had a great time making the cards -- started out with our colored masking tape, then moved on to these great pastels I'd gotten at the Knittn Kitten one of the first weeks we were in town. This project also gave us a great excuse to go to the discount art supply store, I've Been Framed which is only a few miles from our house.

These are the cards Sabine received (one child sent two, I think the one with the pink clouds is one Sabine made...we're still waiting for the one from Canada).

And these are a few she made just messing around.

It was fun to make them, and even more fun I think, for Sabine to receive mail!

It only takes one

2009-03-02T15:15:00.003-07:00

I first saw this on Diana's blog, then on Ronnie's. Here's my take on it...seemed easier that the "25 things about you" note on Facebook that I've been avoiding doing.

1. Where is your cell phone? pocket
2. Your significant other? fantastic
3. Your hair? growing
4. Your mother? activist
5. Your father? remodeling
6. Your favorite thing? books
7. Your dream last night? gone
8. Your favorite drink? depends
9. Your dream/goal? live
10. What room you are in? sun
11. Your hobby? multiple
12. Your fear? stillness
13. Regrets? fear
14. Where were you last night? home
15. 15? (no question listed)
16. Muffins? lovely
17. Wish list item? camper
18. Where you grew up? camp
19. Last thing you did? cooked
20. What are you wearing? jeans
21. Your TV? secondhand
22. Your pets? three
23. Friends? rule
24. Your life? enchanted
25. Your mood? mellow
26. Missing someone? friends
27. Car? messy
28. Something you're not wearing? contacts
29. Your favorite store? goodwill
30. Your favorite color? green
33. When is the last time you laughed? today
34. Last time you cried? movie
35. Who will resend this? n/a
36. One place that I go to over and over? bathroom

37. One person who emails me regularly? Dave
38. My favorite place to eat? home
39. Why you participated in this survey? fun
40. What are you doing tonight? eating

The world through Vivian's lens

2009-02-26T18:38:00.001-07:00

toes

mama, Catalina

the wall

the tv and globe

The things you can do...

2009-02-26T18:37:00.003-07:00

With some colored masking tape, a little construction paper, a smock dress, and time...

I like this one because you can see that's she's reading a book...