County Fair

This past weekend, we spent an afternoon at our county fair. One of my favorite parts of the fair is checking out the animals.

Here, Princess E asked the little goats if they wanted some straw. Know what they said?

"Naaaaaaaaa"

We didn't ride any of the midway rides. The prices are ridiculous! For the three of us to ride the ferris wheel, it would have cost $12. We let her ride the barrel train and we all took a hay ride. But, we decided to splurge and let her ride the horse. She has begged us for horse lessons. One of these days, maybe; but for now, this short ride satisfied her.

Here she is with Grandpa, on the hay ride.

Each year, she takes a few minutes to play in the dried corn box. It's kind of like a sandbox, just with corn instead of sand.

Over in the bird tent, there were hundreds of birds entered for judging. This little fellow seemed to have an inquisitive personality.

We were thankful for the sunny weather. It was supposed to be a rainy, dreary day. Instead, it was sunny, warm and beautiful!

To Catch a Thief

Our garden has given us an abundance of zucchini, plenty of yellow squash and piles of cherry tomatoes. Our larger tomatoes, suprisingly named "Early Girl", are just starting to come in. Last week, there was one on the vine starting to turn orange. Oh, it just looked so perfect! I couldn't wait to pick it and serve it with dinner.

One morning midweek, I looked out the window and realized it was lying on the ground, partially eaten. I called King J on his cell...

Me: You know that first tomato that's been growing so well?
Hubs: Yeah, what about it?
Me: Something ate it.
Hubs: You're kidding.
Me: Nope. It's half-eaten and laying in the garden away from the plant. Some animal ate it.
Hubs: Probably a mole or something.
Me: Yeah, bummer.

So, that evening, while I was cooking dinner, I looked out and saw our thief. I called King J and Princess E to the window, while I grabbed my camera. I caught our garden thief in the act.

I can't blame the little guy. Really, I can't. He doesn't know any better. I have to give him credit, too. He ate it ALL. Every. Last. Bite. He didn't waste a drop.

As for me, I picked the other orange ones and brought them into the house to finish ripening.

Back to (Home)School

It’s hard to believe another summer is nearly gone, and it is time for school once again. We started our school year last Monday. This year, we’re trying something new. We’ve become a homeschooling family!

I can hear some of you now…”Oh No! She’s gone crunchy!” Well, I’m not sure exactly what that means, although I do hear the term used frequently to describe homeschooling families. I really don’t think I’m crunchy, except maybe in the literal sense of the word; but it is quite unlikely that I will be eaten by dinosaurs, so it’s probably a moot point. LOL!

I bet you are wondering, do we…

…hate public school?

…dislike teachers?

…want to shelter our daughter from other kids?

No. No. and No.

So, why did we choose to homeschool?

There are several reasons. The main reason is that right now, in our current season of life, we believe this is the best educational opportunity available for our daughter. We are blessed to live in an area where the public schools rank very well, on both a state and national level. Our local public school, the one Princess E would attend, ranks quite high among the schools in our district. I am a graduate of the same school district. Sure, I have some issues with some of the material that is taught; but that would not stop me from sending her. There is nothing wrong with presenting children with opposing views, in my opinion. I intend to include age-appropriate alternative views of many subjects as part of our normal curriculum. Princess E attended private school for JK through 3^rd grade. We chose not to place her in public school from the beginning.

Why? Very simply, Princess E has some concerns that would make it very difficult for her to succeed in a public school classroom. For starters, around here, her grades have class sizes of around 25 students. She has a mild hearing deficit. She has the most difficulty with higher pitches, meaning she has difficulty hearing the voices of females and children. In a larger class, she would likely require a hearing aid to be able to function properly. Her doctor recommends that she be seated within three feet of her teacher to ensure she can hear. That creates a problem. She is a wee bit on the hyper side, and having her sit on the front row in the classroom creates distractions for the other students.

Well, why not get her on some ADHD meds? One doctor wanted to start medicating her for ADHD when she was 3! While we do believe there are many good reasons for medicating a child, we have chosen not to pursue that route. Each year, we have worked closely with her teachers, including discussing their opinions on whether or not to put her on medication. They have ALL suggested not medicating. Yes, it is true that she is busy, busy, busy and cannot seem to keep still. But, it has not impacted her ability to learn. She maintained honor roll for every grading period, except one, and maintained “A” honor roll for most. Clearly, she was focusing on the material and learning, even if she couldn’t keep still.

Princess E is very bright. Yes, I am biased; but this is also based on standardized test scores. Although she is still 7 years old (almost 8), she has already completed the 3^rd grade through the private school. She would have started 4^th this year had she returned, and we are using 4^th grade curriculum at home. She has completed standardized testing for 3^rd grade, and ranks above 90^th percentile in both reading and math. Will she always be this far advanced? Maybe. Or maybe not. We do not know what the future will bring. We do know that right now, she needs to be challenged. When she is not challenged, she acts out. It is very difficult address the academic needs of a specific child who is functioning outside the normal range for her age. In addition to that, she is still just 7 years old. Her academic abilities may be advanced; but her maturity is not. I’d even say she is slightly immature for her age. That is a large burden to place on any teacher, given that every student deserves to learn the best way possible for him/her.

Several months ago, we started researching homeschool. If you had asked me a year ago, I’d have told you I could not possibly do this. I know, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that I could not stand in front of a class of 25 students and motivate them to learn. I have the utmost respect for anyone who chooses to make a career out of teaching! My hat is off to them. It is surely a calling from God, and a career worthy of far more respect than it is given. I do believe, though, that I am unequivocally qualified to teach our daughter. I also believe the Bible gives us the responsibility and the authority to choose the best method for providing our daughter’s education. We believe God has opened doors for us to allow us to homeschool, at least for this season of our lives.

I’m sure I’ll be blogging more about our homeschooling journey. I’m interested in hearing your thoughts.

Show Us Your Life Friday - Baby Shower

Kelly over at Kelly's Korner is hosting the blog carnival "Show Us Your Life". This week's theme is Baby Showers.

I was blessed with two baby showers before Princess E was born. I only have digital photos of one of them.

Two of my aunts gave me a shower locally. It was held at our local rescue squad, since we were both active members at the time. I wish I had digital memories to share.

For the last 10 years or so, I've been blessed to be part of a group of friends in the internet world. This was back before blogging became so popular. This group of ladies would gather each summer for a mini-vacation. In 2001, I was unable to attend because of my late pregnancy. Much to my surprise, and with the assistance of a certain king-husband, these wonderful ladies planned a surprise virtual baby shower.

I didn't think much of it when packages began arriving at the house. We traditionally exchanged sweet remembrances during our trips, and since I wasn't going to be there, I just assumed I was being included in the fun. We had scheduled a phone call so I could be sure have a chance to talk to everyone. When the first phone call came in, I was instructed to open a specific box. Inside that box was a tablecloth and some other decorations. It was at that point I discovered we were having the shower. After that, my instructions were to open all the shipping packages (with help) and get ready for the next call. Here is what I found inside those boxes:

During the next call, the all gathered round the phone while I opened the packages one-by-one. I was waving at the camera, knowing this photo was going to end up being emailed to all my internet friends.

This last photo shows all the lovely gifts these ladies sent for our Princess E.

Now, why don't you head on over to Kelly's Korner and see even more great baby showers?

Top Ten Thursday

Several bloggers have started a new carnival, Top Ten Thursdays. After checking it out, I thought "Hey, kewl! I want in!" So, here I am, with my Top Ten.

The topic for this week is - "When I am not on blogger what top 10 websites can you find me on?

Oooh....I like this one! But, limiting it to 10 was the tough call. Here's my list:

10 - Google. It's my go-to source for finding information.

9 – Yahoo! Games. My faves (this week) are Ranch Rush and Letter of the Law.

8 – Yahoo Groups. I participate in a few small, private group discussions with very close IRL internet friends.

7 - MySpace. Honestly, I used to spend more time on MySpace than I do today. I use it primarly to keep in touch with the younger members of my family.

6 – icanhascheezburger.com. Because everyone needs to laugh! If you visit there, look me up. I am known as "All50in15". For an explanation of my handle, please visit the post just prior to this one.

5 – Local newspaper website. I really don't care to listen to the teasers "stay with us" and "up next". Just give me the news already. So, I get my news online.

4 – CNN - Some more news. 'nuff said

3 – Fox News - Even more news. 'nuff said.

2 – The Pioneer Woman - I greatly appreciate the peek into a real cattle ranch. Her photography is inspiring. Her recipes are (artery hardening) delicious. My day is not complete without a visit with Ree.

1 - Facebook - It's addicting. It's a great place to keep up with all my IRL friends and one (just one!) internet friend.

Now, why don't you head on over and visit these ladies who are co-hosting this carnival? (Granted, it is most likely that you came from one of them in the first place. LOL!)

Jennifer from It’s A Beauty Filled Life

Sara from Domestically Challenged

LZ from My Messy Paradise

Zeemaid from In The Mommy Trenches!

Many thanks to these ladies for hosting this fun blog carnival!

Show Us Your Life - Favorite Vacation Spots

Update: In the interest of full disclosure, I want to mention that all of these photos were taken with my camera and with the exception of cropping, none of the photos has been digitally altered.

I love to travel! One of the goals my husband and I have is to visit all 50 states during the first 15 years we are married. Here is a map of our progress so far:

So, how am I going to come up with favorite vacation spots? That's a tough question. There are so many places I have thoroughly enjoyed visiting, and relatively few I have not. Let's take a peek, shall we? I haven’t included photos from all the states we’ve visited. I haven’t always had a digital camera. Ha!

Arizona - Beautiful! What an incredible place!
Yes, there really is a Roadkill Cafe. It is located in Seligman along Historic US Route 66. No, we did not eat there.

No trip to Arizona is complete without a stop at the Grand Canyon.

Sedona was gorgeous!

I can offically say "I was standin' on a corner in Winslow Arizona"...

Arkansas - Been there, but I didn't take any really cool pics...

California - There's so much to see here.
San Francisco is a lovely city.

When we rounded the corner coming out of the tunnel and this came into view, my heart soared and sang.


O Lord my God
When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds
Thy hands have made...
Then sings my soul
My Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art
How great Thou art


Now this is a real ghost town. It is in Bodie, and it is being preserved in a state of arrested decay.

Hollywood

Colorado - I can say I touched my feet to soil in Colorado; but that's about it. More importantly, this proves you CAN be in more than one place at once. In fact, I was in SIX places at once (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Ute Tribal Lands and Navajo Nation).

Maryland – No trip to Baltimore is complete without paying respects to Edgar Allan Poe.


Massachusetts – I’ve been there many times and nobody knows my name. We pahked in an underground deck beneath Bahstan Cahmans.

Mississippi – Just the sign. Oops!

Montana – We were driving along I-90, and the outside temp was right around 70. We took a little excursion about three miles off the main road and found snow as high as the picnic tables. Brrrr! But, it was fun! The trees were impressive. Very tall pines, but quite narrow.

Nevada –
Vegas was a once-in-a-lifetime type place for us. “Hey Mommy, why are there pictures of naked people on the ground? Why is there a star over her privates? What are they doing? ”


Lake Mead is beautiful (but HOT!)

Hoover Dam. Amazing feat of engineering.

New Hampshire – I posted pics of this trip here and here.

New York –
We recently visited Niagara Falls on vacation. More on Niagara Falls here and here.

There’s nothing like visiting New York City for Thanksgiving weekend. Oh wow!


Oregon – The roses. Oh, the roses. Ahhhh…..

Rhode Island –

Tennessee – I greatly offended Princess E by visiting Memphis without her. Oh man do they have good BBQ and hot music.

Utah –
It seemed like we’d drive 30 miles in Monument Valley and not get any closer to these magnificent formations.


Goosenecks State Park may not be as big as the Grand Canyon; but it is quite impressive and well worth visiting.

Vermont – As many times as we’ve been to New England, we haven’t made it to Vermont.

Washington –
Spokane gets my vote for being the cleanest city I have ever visited. Ever. If I were to move to another city, Spokane would be very high on my list. To those of you who live there, you are truly blessed. It’s beautiful!

Seattle is another lovely city. I look forward to visiting again, perhaps when we go to Alaska.

Washington DC – I’ve been here many times over the years.



Many thanks to Kelly for hosting this blog carnival. Why don't you head on over to her place to find out about other folk's favorite vacation spots...

Insomnia

Why, oh why, do I get a second wind every night around 10 that keeps me up until 2 or 3? Why do I struggle to stay awake all day? Argh!

This is fairly new and it's making me nutso. Not a far trip, I readily admit. Ha!

Not Me! Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

I did not have a crazy schedule in July. We did not go on vacation to Niagara Falls/Buffalo. When we came home, we did not stay around less than 48 hours and take off again. When we got home from that trip, we did not drive straight to the hospital and leave my dad there. He was not in the hospital for a week. Once he was discharged, he did not go home and mow the neighbor’s grass within 48 hours of leaving the hospital. He was not re-admitted to the hospital the following day, and did not stay there for a few days. He was not discharged again last week, and has not been making an effort to get his strength back. Mom is not completely worn out from all this.

I have not been slow updating my blog, largely because of what hasn’t been happening.

I have not been taking the girls to two movies a week. It’s not hot here, or anything, so being inside a nice, cool theater wouldn’t be a real treat. I did not fall asleep watching Star Wars: Clone Wars. I didn’t fall asleep during Doogle, either. No adult would ever fall asleep in a movie theater, would they?

I did not go to the grocery store last night, and I was not shocked and appalled at the price of toilet paper.

My hubby did not take off work last Thursday and Friday to take care of some projects around the house. He did not replace the vanities and faucet sets in both of our upstairs bathrooms. I do not think the new sets (that don’t really exist) look beautiful. I am not thankful to have such a skillful hubby.

I did not post my 100th post last week and fail to even notice…

What haven’t you been up to this week?

Blueberry Syrup

When I was a kid, my Great Aunt Jane made blueberry syrup for us when we visited her in Florida. This morning, I made my very own first batch. It was most yumm-a-licious. Now, I also made pancakes. I'll refrain from sharing that recipe because they resembled soggy cardboard. Oh well, can't win 'em all.

Blueberry Syrup
1 (12 oz.) pkg. frozen, unsweetened blueberries
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1c. water, divided
3 tbsp. cornstarch
4 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp Splenda

Directions:
In a cold 2 quart saucepan, add the butter, lemon juice, 1/2 cup water and the blueberries. Cook over medium-high heat until it boils, stirring often. Lower the heat and let then simmer a few minutes, maybe 10 or so. While it is simmering, stir in the nutmeg, the sugar and the Splenda. (Use all sugar or all Splenda if you prefer.) In your measuring cup, add the cornstarch to the remaining 1/2 cup water and stir to dissolve. Add the cornstarch mixture to the simmering syrup and stir until it's thickened. If it is too thick, add a little water (a spoonful at a time) until it is the thickness you like.

Not too sweet. Mmmmmmm.....

Nope, I didn't take a picture. It looks remarkably like a thinned out version of canned blueberry pie filling.

Wordless Wednesday - Ocean Isle

My Not-So-Guilty Pleasure

There's a certain fast-food restaurant that has started serving their own line of coffee drinks. Now, I'm not one to buy fancy coffee drinks very often. The way I figure it, $3 for a cup of coffee isn't the best stewardship of our money. This particular restaurant offers free samples of their new beverages each Monday, and they also sent me a coupon for a free full size mocha or latte.

The morning we left for vacation, King J and I stopped in for breakfast. We used the coupon for the free latte. I discovered it was not a beverage I care to drink. Princess E, on the other hand, was beside herself. She thought it delicious.

Then, we stopped in one day for lunch while we were on vacation. It happened to be a Monday, so we decided to try the free sample of the mocha. Oh my! This drink is soooo good, I knew I'd want more. Given how much Princess E liked it, I'd be out $6 ever time we splurged. Not gonna happen.

Lucky for me, I watched them make the mocha. I decided to try my hand at them from home. Frankly, it wasn't that difficult. I just had never made them before. Now, Princess E and I can enjoy one nearly every day. I made this one today. Mmmmmm.....



Here's how I made them. I let the morning coffee cool. We grind our own beans, and prefer a dark roasted colombian bean. The stronger flavor is perfect for this. Anyway, I squirt a little dark-chocolate syrup into the bottom of the glass, just enough to coat the bottom. Then, I fill the glass about halfway with crushed ice. I add about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the cooled coffee, and a couple of tablespoons of half-and-half. On top goes a swirl of whipped cream, with a dribble or two more of the chocolate syrup. Insert a straw and enjoy. Give it a try sometime and see if you like it.

**Yes, we do allow Princess E to drink a little coffee. When she was much younger, caffeine was part of her medication protocol, so she tolerates it well in reasonable quantities. We do have to allow her to enjoy it as an early afternoon snack, though.