The Ol' Switcheroo

It is currently March 16th.  Four more days until Spring is officially here.

We have almost officially survived winter in Montana, once again.

It actually has been a very mild winter.  It began looking like Spring more than a month ago, but I didn't believe it was real.  I was fairly certain this was Montana playing a big joke on us, tricking all of our Spring flowers to start growing too early so It could drop it's temperature on their tender baby green growth and kill them all dead.

Spring without Spring flowers, Montana's cruel idea of a joke.

I was so sure that was going to be the outcome that I buried all of my premature baby crocuses and tulips under mounds of old leaves last month. This morning I saw all my baby plants have fought their way out of their unnecessary protective blanket, defiantly showing me they will not stand for this over guarded stance I have taken for them.

So be it.  They are ready now.

Speaking of protective blankets and guarded stances, we have decided to try a different approach to Kloe's Middle School experience.  Starting next Fall, we are going to give home school a try.

Academically, she is doing great in school this year; all A's and B's and nothing but praise from all of her teachers.  She is growing up, and is a very funny kid.  I truly enjoy being around her most of the time.  But I can also see the social pressure pushing in on her, trying to shape and mold some of her attitudes on life.  I just can't stand the idea of her specialness being shaped into this idea of Typical American Teenager.  Can. Not. Stand. It.

I don't know if it's just a difference of temperament between Derrin and Kloe that has allowed him to get through Middle School without the outward manifestation of The Social Pressure Molding.   Maybe Middle School is harder on girls?  Maybe it is easier for me to recognize in my daughter because I had that same thing trying to shape me once upon a time ago.

We have offered Derrin the option of home school next year as well, but he has already enrolled in High School and is pretty excited about his classes.  But the option remains open.

What do we hope to achieve with home school versus public school?

My biggest goal is to provide an environment where she will be able to grow into the best version of herself.

She is naturally drawn to singing, writing, and art.  I'm hoping that by encouraging growth in those areas, it will help her form an idea of self-identity that has nothing to do with trying to fit in and be like everyone else.


I've been doing a lot of self-reflection during this decision.  Am I asking more from my daughter than I ask of myself?  It isn't fair to expect her to do the work of being her best self if I am not also doing the work of being my best self.

Self-discipline is going to be the quality that keeps this thing afloat or sinks it.  The only way I can expect her to have self-discipline is if I also have it in my own life.

Next fall I won't be going back the seasonal job I've worked the last six years.  I'll be home with Kloe, helping with home school.  I'll have a separate goal list for myself.

I've been looking into different online home school programs.  One of the that looks promising combines 7th and 8th grade.

My ideal/dream week of home school would look like this:

• Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday:  Get up at 7, get ready for the day.  Start school by 8.  Do the basic school stuff for about three-four hours. 

Other Ideas:

• Do something physically active, like play basketball (she mentioned that when we first discussed this with her), go on walks, see if she can do some things at my gym with me.
• Enroll her in an art class or have a voice coach once a week.
• Schedule definite times throughout the week to hang out with her friends, and plan on doing some traveling to make that happen.
• Spend more time with family... see if she can hang out with Aunt Renae, and Lyndsay.
• Have an actual mid-week service day that we can spend together.
• Derrick offered to spend more time teaching her how to play golf.
• She can also work in his office throughout the week to make some money.
• We can go on field trips together.
• Things I would love to share with her: Photography, painting, working with stained glass, making jewelery, and anything else we can dream up together.

Who knows how it will work out.  I've heard positive and negative experiences from different ones who have done it.  I'm hoping that by exploring ideas and defining the results we want, as well as acknowledging that we will have challenges, we'll have a better chance of aligning our hopes with what becomes reality.

Sunday Suds

I finally made the laundry soap from the recipe I found here a couple weeks ago.  The soap is super inexpensive (compared with regular laundry soap), and easy to make!!  For anyone interested, these are the things you'll need to gather to make the soap:

*1 bar of soap (any kind you want)
*1 cup of Borax
*1 cup of washing soda
*a big pot ( that holds more than 2 gallons)
*a grater
*a funnel
*a long spoon
*2 empty gallon jugs/containers

These are the three ingrediants.  You grate the bar of soap into

a large pan, add one gallon of water and melt the soap.  Once the soap is

melted, you add one cup of the washing soda and borax each, and

then bring to a boil.  Add one gallon of cool water, and then use a funnel

to pour into your 2 gallon jugs.

Grating the soap.

Soap is super easy to grate- it took less than five minutes.

Beautiful grated lavender soap.

The soap melted in about 10 minutes.

2 Gallons of Homemade Soap:)

One a different topic, I have managed to keep all of my little seedlings alive so far!  I'm wondering if I started them too early, as I'm sure I won't be planting anything outside for at least another seven weeks.  Hopefully, they will hang in there until then, and be big and strong and ready to produce tons of veges when the time comes.

Cucumber plants

Under grow lights- close up of butternut squash and tomato plants.

In the garage, under grow lights.  Everything is going well so far.

Tomato plants in the window.

Jessy, looking reproachfully at me while I make my soap, wanting some outside and playing time.

Fish pond in my kitchen.  Needed to take a pic, because I finally did some maintenance, and it looks nice again:)

Fish pond

Derrick folding laundry.  Because what wife's heart isn't melted a lot by seeing this?  :)

Words become Ideas become Actions

I'm reading a new book called "Today We Are Rich" by Tim Sanders (free on my Kindle!), and so far it is really good.  It reminds me a bit of "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill. In fact, Tim Sanders has used quotes from that book.  The author writes about lessons he learned from his wise ol' gramma Billye.  She believed in the power of thoughts, and was very deliberate about what she put in her brain, whether from books, tv, movies, or even friends conversations.  She was a believer in we are whatever our dominate thoughts are, and that thoughts can either hold us down or propel us forward.  I just finished reading these paragraphs (which I strongly need to apply): 

"When you sense you are about to feed your mind a bad memory, spit it out.  One way I do this is to see the negative memory as a headline on a whiteboard.  Then, with my mental eraser I wipe it off the board.  If it continues to try to present itself, I consciously say to myself, Delete, please.

We need to avoid the reintroduction of a bad memory that we've thought about before.  Often we continue to generate thoughts of regret by reliving our mistakes, and we become trapped in what Billye called the "woulda shoulda coulda" trap.  The more we chew on the painful past, the more details the subconscious coughs up, and the more it expands in our thinking.  Once we've learned a lesson from a mistake, we need to declare the details "useless memories" and discard them.  Store the insight, delete the details."

He talks about his gramma's morning routine- she'd get up early, make coffee, read her bible for fifteen minutes, then read something else inspirational, then write about her thoughts and what she'd read, then call her best friend who had a similar routine so they could discuss what they'd learned that morning.  I love her routine!  I want that!!  It sounds like what I've always wanted and yet haven't done- I blame it on my comfortable bed. Feeling very inspired to make changes.

Talking about the power of thoughts, here is an update on Kloe's dog project:  She has now saved thirty dollars.  She's been folding laundry- I found out yesterday that Derrick is paying her two dollars a basket.  We went to the library yesterday and she checked out three books about dogs, and one video (Dogs for Dummies) which we watched last night.  We've been watching every dog movie known to mankind on Netflicks.  I feel like we should all be receiving some sort of Canine degree or diploma, we have been that educated.  The little girl is focused and very committed.  This would be a good time of year to adopt of puppy; we'd have all summer for potty training and playing outside.  I've never been a dog person, but Kloe's enthusiasm is contagious and I'm excited too.

The house is a wreck- stacks of laundry still await to be folded- should have kept Kloe home from school for that! heh.  We have our C.O. visit this week, so there is more on the agenda then usual. I need to make a choice to either fold laundry and clean the house, or go running.  I'm pretty sure I know what choice will win out.  It is bee-uu-teee-ful out there.  Laundry will wait.

Two hours later... 
The laundry and dirty didn't wait.  It grabbed me as I tried to make my way from the house, and just MADE me wash and clean it.  No run today.

Gedanken Experiment

An experiment carried out in thought only. 

Einstein's Thought Experiment

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible without surrender

be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly;

and listen to others,

even the dull and the ignorant;

they too have their story.



Avoid loud and aggressive persons,

they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,

you may become vain and bitter;

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.



Keep interested in your own career, however humble;

it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs;

for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;

many persons strive for high ideals;

and everywhere life is full of heroism.



Be yourself.

Especially, do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love;

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment

it is as perennial as the grass.



Take kindly the counsel of the years,

gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,

be gentle with yourself.



You are a child of the universe,

no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.



Therefore be at peace with God,

whatever you conceive Him to be,

and whatever your labors and aspirations,

in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.



With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,

it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.