Mommy Brain

I enjoyed the focus that the Summer Reading Challenge gave me, so I’m hopping on to the Autumn Reading Challenge that Janie at Seasonal Soundings is organizing. My goal for the summer was 18 books off my list. I achieved my goal and read a few that weren’t on the list, too. My list for autumn is much shorter, but the books are more challenging. Here they are:

To Finish:

~Soul Survivor: How My Faith Survived the Church by Phillip Yancey
~Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
~Trinity by Leon Uris

To Start (and finish):

~Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton
~Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
~The March by E. L. Doctorow
~Leave Me Alone, I’m Reading: Finding and Losing Myself in Books by Maureen Corrigan
~A Circle of Quiet by Madeleine L’Engle
~A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby
~The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
~Patrick: Son of Ireland by Stephen R. Lawhead
~The Myth of You and Me by Leah Stewart
~The Collected Works of Emily Dickinson
~Persuasion by Jane Austen

If you want to participate, click on the link and let Janie know - and let me know, too, so I can check out your list.

I had the privilege of reading an Advance Reader Copy of Phillip Yancey’s new book, Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? The publisher sent me a copy to read and then I filled out a review/survey at their web site.

This book will be released on October 1st, and I highly recommend it. I have so many passages I would love to quote for you, but I’m not supposed to until I check with a published copy to make sure they didn’t get edited out. As soon as I can, I will post some great sections that made me think.

I’ve always struggled in the area of prayer. I know I should pray - and I do - but I’ve always wondered how much good it really does. God is sovereign, right? So are my prayers going to change His mind? And why did He heal my friend’s dog when she prayed but didn’t heal my other friend who died of cancer?

Yancey covers all these types of questions and more. He doesn’t have all the answers (who does?) but he does address each issue with intelligence and honesty. I will be reading this book again, when I can read more slowly and think more deeply on what I am reading.

In honor of yesterday, our first day back to homeschooling for the fall, I thought I’d finish this meme I’ve had on draft forever. Yesterday went great, but I don’t know how we’re going to get back in the swing of things! We’re taking today off already due to the older kids having an art class this morning (the last one of the summer) and all of them going to an end-of-the-summer slip-and-slide party down the street this afternoon. So they’re out having fun and I’m sitting here sipping my decaf and blogging away. Nice way to spend the second day of school!

1) What country/region/state do you live in?

Northeastern Washington State - we’re the halfway point between Spokane and the Canadian border.

2) How long have you been homeschooling? Just getting started, old pro or somewhere in between?

We’re starting our fifth year - so somewhere in between I guess. Some days I really know what I’m doing and other days I’m wandering around muttering to myself.

3) Write a little something about your family. Ages? Stages?

Natalie is 9 and a half and is starting 4th grade.
Noah is 8 and is starting 2nd grade.
Jonathan is 6 (7 in three weeks) and is starting 1st grade.
Josiah is 4 and a half and is learning his letters. He already knows his numbers.

4) Share some good homeschooling advice you’ve run across.

Treat your children as the individuals that they are. What works for one will not necessarily work for another, and vice versa.

5) Tell us something you’re passionate about. (Besides your family and homeschooling, those are givens!)

Reading, writing, leading worship, crocheting, movies. Mostly reading, though.

6) If you could take the ultimate field trip, where would you go and why?

Boy, that’s hard. I’d love to take the kids to New England and tour all of the colonial and revolutionary sites. I also want to go to Ireland to explore our heritage - my maiden name is Shannon.

7) What is a resource you can’t do without?

Our computer and our public library.

How do you homeschool? Classical, Charlotte Mason, Waldorf, Unschooling, Eclectic?

Ecclectic with tons of living books.

9) Share a website or two that you visit often - can be your favorite blogger or a curriculum supplier, just any sites you really like.

Bloglines - all of the blogs on my sidebar are terrific.

10) Tell us about one of your favorite projects/activities/trips you’ve had in the past few months.

Our Grand Adventure, of course! In June, the kids and I visited my sister in the Seattle area and took day trips to the Pacific Science Center and the Keyport Naval Undersea Museum, not to mention the beach.

11) What is a current/previous homeschooling challenge you’ve faced?

Keeping my house clean while homeschooling.

12) Share an accomplishment, something about you or your children. Come on, brag about it!

Teaching my kids to read has given me the biggest sense of accomplishment of anything I’ve done in my life. Three out of four so far.

13) What are you looking forward to over the coming year?

Getting back to our routine and learning about ancient history - something I don’t remember doing when I was in school.

14) Name three things you like doing in the summer with your family.

Going to the lake.
Playing at the park.
Lazy days with nothing to do.

15) Have a favorite homeschooling quote? Share it here.

My education was the liberty I had to read indiscriminately and all the time, with my eyes hanging out. —Dylan Thomas

PopTart Mom tagged me to do this one.

Three things about Natalie:
~She was only 4 pounds 12 ounces at birth.
~Her pictures at age 2 and 3 look just like me.
~She is a girly girl and loves to watch chick flicks with me.

Three things about Noah:
~He loves to draw - and is very good at it.
~He loves anything to do with animals.
~He has a special smile that he reserves just for me.

Three things about Jonathan:
~He has a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
~He is insatiably curious.
~He has more energy than the other three combined.

Three things about Josiah:
~His belly laugh cracks me up - as well as everyone else around.
~He is ticklish everywhere.
~He is a little charmer - and thus very difficult to discipline.

I tag: Andrea and Ron (I’m curious to see how your answers are different), Crissy, and Laney - if you want to and have time, of course.

It seems to me that household item and vehicle breakdowns all happen in waves. Our early summer (and almost $1000) was spent on vehicle repairs - first mine, and then Kevin’s, and then Kevin’s again.

Here’s a run-down of the last two weeks:

~Last week, our modem started going out, causing our DSL connection to slow down like the old dial-up days, and causing much consternation and gnashing of teeth. Ordered a new modem: $100.

~Also last week, our DVD player started acting tired and cranky. It would play the first hour of a movie and then start skipping and freezing. Since we do not have cable, our Netflix subscription and DVD player are a must! (I know, I’m totally spoiled.) New DVD player: $50.

~Tuesday our toilet stopped working. It would flush, but the tank would not refill unless I turned the water main under the toilet off and then back on again. Kevin replaced the float thingy Tuesday after work. Not expensive, but a hassle.

~And now we come to Thursday night. I was in the kitchen, ready to prepare dinner. I turned the oven to the desired temperature and then pushed the Start button. It kept flashing and beeping at me as if I hadn’t pushed it. I tried several times to turn it on and push Start, but nothing happened. Nothing, that is, until the lock light went on and the oven went into self-clean mode - all while the knobs were all turned off! I had to unplug the entire oven to stop it. This happened twice. I finally managed to preheat the oven and put my teriyaki chicken in to cook. Halfway through, the oven started beeping and flashing an error message at me. I turned it off and back on and managed to finish cooking my chicken. I absolutely dreaded telling Kevin that one more thing had gone wrong. After calling the appliance store Friday and being told that new parts to fix that particular error message would cost $315 - not counting labor - we knew we needed to buy a new range. And it was only 8 years old! So Saturday found us shopping for a new oven. $467. Ka-ching!

You want to know the most frustrating part? To me, at least - probably not for Kevin. I scrubbed that darn stove from top to bottom just last week. It’s the cleanest it’s been in five years and it’s now sitting in our back yard waiting for the next trip to the dump.

A little late, but it’s still Friday on my side of the world, so not too late.

Ron has put together a Homeschooling for Dummies, Part 1 post to address some of the basic issues homeschoolers are faced with.

I’ve seen these cartoons featured on some people’s blogs (though I can’t remember offhand which ones) and I finally clicked through and read all the archives. Very funny and true to life. Just click on next cartoon to keep going through to the current one.

Faithful Mommy linked to this music video. Have the kleenex handy!

D. C. Roe is continuing in his effort to find 2,996 bloggers to commemorate the 2,996 victims of September 11, 2001. As of last Saturday, he needed 996. If you want to help, click on over.

Elizabeth Kennedy at the About Children’s Books page has put together a Calendar of Children’s Books. She’s included books for every month of the year, from major holidays to minor events like National Poetry Month and Read Aloud Day.

That’s it! I’m completely worn out from more spring (late summer) cleaning and then wonderful food and conversation with friends. Remember this post? Well, a homeschooling family moved into our area this spring and we have been slowly getting to know each other. They have two boys - and my kids are so thrilled to find fellow homeschoolers to play Pokemon and talk Harry Potter with. Michelle and I have a lot in common, including an addiction to books and love (and a heritage rooted in) all things Irish. They joined us for burgers off the grill and lots of talking and laughing this evening. I know that we may not agree on everything, but I believe I’ve found a Christian homeschooling mom who I can have a conversation with - even about things we disagree on - and come away as much friends as we were before. So tonight, I’m feeling grateful for new friends.

We made our annual trip to the fair this evening after dinner, and I have to say I liked it much better than the madhouse that is Saturday morning at the fair. Number one, it was cool; number two, there were less people; and number three, the kids were well-behaved - probably because of numbers one and two.

After Noah and Natalie scaled the rock-climbing wall several times and Jonathan and Josiah went down the big slide and bounced in the castle - and we’d seen every horse, cow, llama, goat, rooster, chicken, guinea pig, rabbit, turkey, and duck under creation - we sat down to share an elephant ear. (Do all fairs have those, or is it a regional thing?)

Jonathan (6yo), my picky eater, refused to take a bite. I kept coaxing and finally got him to try it. As he licked the cinnamon and sugar off his fingers he said, “That’s good. So do they just cut its ear off?”

After we quit laughing, we quickly explained that it’s only called an elephant ear because of the size and shape, and that it’s simply fried dough sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. He was much relieved.

Pet Peeves:
Peope who condemn something that they know nothing about
Drivers who refuse to let me in on the freeway
Toilet seats left in the upright position

Favorite Sounds:
Thunderstorms
My children’s laughter
Silence

Favorite Candy:
Lindor Truffles
Snickers bars
Peanut M&Ms

Biggest Fears:
Losing one of my children
Losing my husband
Underwater aquariums

Biggest Challenges:
Being patient with my kids
Sticking to Weight Watchers
Keeping my house clean

Favorite Department Stores:
Where I live, we have one choice - Walmart
When I go to Spokane, I shop at Barnes & Noble - is that considered a department store? It has departments: literature, history, computers, religion, etc.

Most Used Words:
I love you.
Stop hitting (kicking, punching, pushing) your brother.
Please settle down!

Favorite Pizza Toppings:
Pepperoni
Sausage
Olives

Favorite Cartoon Characters:
Flinstones
Jetsons
Tom & Jerry

Movies Recently Watched:
The Ron Clark Story
Sharpe’s Rifles
Northern Exposure on DVD (not a movie, I know)

Favorite Fruits:
Nectarines
Bananas
Cherries

Favorite Vegetables:
Cauliflower
Um…

Hat tip: Everyday Mommy

Josiah came to Kevin last night after being tucked in and said, “I need to yawn, but I can’t!”

Kevin tucked him back in only to have him come out a few minutes later: “I need to go to Mommy. So she can take me to the hospital - because I can’t yawn!“

This morning I asked him about it and he said, “I still can’t yawn.”

Then later on when we were in the car taking the older kids to art class, he shouted, “Hey, Mommy! I yawned!”

Little blessings.

This month for my ClubMom assignment, I am supposed to come up with 5 questions pertaining to fall, winter, going back to school, cold and flu season, winter holidays, etc. Then, of course, I’m supposed to answer them. I did fine the last two months when I had to answer questions that were sent in by other moms, but I’m coming up with a big, fat blank when it comes to the questions themselves.

So, I’m asking for help. Can you think of any questions that moms might have (not necessarily yourself) that go along with those topics? The ages and stages that these questions are divided into are: Pregnancy, Babies (0-12 months), Toddlers (1-2), Preschoolers (3-4), School-Age Kids (5-8), Tweens (9-12), Teens (13-17), and Adult Children (18+). I would be every so grateful for any ideas you wonderful ladies have!

I’ve had this meme on draft for weeks now and just haven’t found the time to get back to it. But Blest tagged me, so I’m answering the call!

1) One homeschooling book you have enjoyed:

Homeschooling For Excellence by David and Micki Colfax and Things We Wish We’d Known by Bill and Diana Waring. I just wish I’d read them before our first year of homeschooling, when I purchased an entire kindergarten school in a box - and ended up disliking most of it!

2. One resource you wouldn’t be without:

Our public library! We’re on a first name basis with all of the librarians and library assistants and they joke about how we clear out the hold shelf every time we come in. We use lots of living books for our science and history, so the library is indispensable.

3. One resource you wish you had never bought:

The entire Abeka kindergarten package. I ended up loving their phonics program - still using it- but not liking anything else.

4. One resource you enjoyed last year:

Microsoft Encarta. I love it! And my kids have spent hours poking around on the kids’ program that is included.

5. One resource you’ll be using next year:

The Story of the World, Volume 1: Ancient Times. I’m excited to start this, but I have to tell you that the activity book is extremely intimidating. No way we’ll do close to half the suggested activities. I’ve been going through with a highlighter picking and choosing and not feeling guilty one bit!

6. One resource you would like to buy:

A laptop. And a housekeeper. That cooks. Weight Watchers approved recipes that my kids would all love, too.

7. One resource you wish existed:

A Bible study book that I could do with my kids that would keep them enthralled no matter their learning style and would grow in them a deep desire for the Word. We’ve tried something new every year in this area and I’ve never been satisfied. Any suggestions would be welcome.

8. One homeschool catalogue you enjoy reading:

Actually, I prefer to do my shopping on the web. And I’ve found all of my resources I’m currently using from recommendations on homeschooling blogs! (Except the Abeka phonics which I will be continuing with my 1st grader.)

9. One homeschool website you use regularly:

The forum at Atypical Homeschool. It hasn’t been as active lately as it has been in the past, but there are some great folks over there. Plus, I love Carolyn’s articles at Guilt-Free Homeschooling. I’m always encouraged when I spend time there.

I’m supposed to tag five people, but I think most everyone has already done this one. If you haven’t and you want to, then you’re it!

1. One book that changed your life?

Heaven by Randy Alcorn. This book gave me a joy in my faith in every area - not just in the anticipation of Heaven. You can read my thoughts on this book here, here, and here.

2. One book you have read more than once?

Just one? As a child I read Baby Island, Little Women, the whole Anne of Green Gables series, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, and The Witch of Blackbird Pond over and over and over again.

As an adult, I’ve also read the Anne stories a couple of times. I’ve also chosen to re-read Trinity, The Mitford series, and The Mark of the Lion trilogy.

3. One book you would want on a desert island?

My Bible. If I could add one to that, I’d add a volume of the complete works of C. S. Lewis.

4. One book that made you laugh?

The Mitford books always make me laugh.

5. One book that made you cry?

Little Women, no matter how many times I read it. And more recently, I cried over the ending of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

6. One book you wish had been written?

The Secret of How to Eat Whatever You Want and Still Wear a Size 6

7. One book you wish had never been written?

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. This piece of propaganda written about a (phony) conspiracy of Jews plotting to take over the world has fed much racism, hatred, and murder.

8. One book you are currently reading?

Check my sidebar!

9. One book you have been meaning to read?

The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis

10. Book you remember as a real page-turner?

I’ll say Pride and Prejudice. I just finished it for the first time, and I couldn’t put it down. Also, all of the Harry Potter books have been page-turners.

11. Non-fiction books that you’ve really enjoyed?

Recently: Credo: Believing in Something to Die For by Ray Pritchard, Jack’s Life: A Memory of C. S. Lewis by Douglas H. Gresham, The Know-It-All: One Man’s Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by A. J. Jacobs, and Fresh Brewed Life by Nicole Johnson

12. Children’s books your family has loved?

Owl Babies, The Napping House, Sweet Dream Pie, My Father’s Dragon, and The Doll People - to name a few!

I think most everyone’s already done this one, but if you haven’t yet and you want to, consider yourself tagged.

I know, it’s not technically Friday yet, but I had some time tonight and who knows if I will tomorrow, so here goes:

~Homeschool eStore is offering a complete unit study on horses in e-book form - free. (I do get a small referral fee if you click on the link and buy anything, but I only link to resources I have checked out, and this looks like a good one. Especially if you have a tween girl who loves horses, like I do.)

~Janie at Seasonal Soundings is putting together an Autumn Reading Challenge. I know, summer isn’t quite over yet, but she’s planning ahead.

~WOWIO is offering free e-books. Yep - completely free. They do have advertising in them, but you can skip the ads. Not a huge selection yet, but more going up every day. Hat tip: KeyWords at Infuze Magazine. You may need to register to read content at Infuze, but I believe it’s worth it. You get the latest news and reviews on entertainment and the arts from a Christian perspective. And they are not anti-everything mainstream.

~Just a reminder: entries for the flash fiction contest at Charis Connection are due tomorrow, the 19th.

~Great post by J. Mark Bertrand on discernment. Here’s a snippet, but go read the whole thing, it’s worth it:

“There are not two categories of influence, good and bad, that can be discreetly separated. You can’t draw a line between the Christian and the non-Christian, between the evangelical and the non-evangelical, between us and them, and declare everything on one side safe and everything on the other suspect, and then expect the task of discernment to consist of moving people and things like so many checker pieces to one side or another of that line. For one thing, every person and thing is tainted by the fall, which means there are no pure influences under the sun. For another, God’s grace and truth are active throughout creation, which means that not only do we get lies from truthtellers, but we also get the truth from liars.

To be discerning, you have to be critically engaged with a particular influence, sifting it, taking from it what is profitable. So you can’t be discerning about something and ignorant of it at the same time. Probably the biggest complaint the watchbloggers get from the people they adjudicate against is, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” And you know what? When I see someone who claims to have knowledge on a wide variety of topics — enough to be discerning on behalf of the rest of us — but who is constantly told by those who do have such knowledge that they don’t — well, I start beleiving it. How many times has someone with a minimal knowledge of the subject come along, pontificated long enough to establish “the Christian position on X” and then moved on? Ideas have consequences, but so do seat-of-the-pants accusations.”

~Another time-wasting and addictive game. Thanks to Angie at A Life in Pages. I believe she was also the one who got me hooked on the Guess-the-Google game.

We’re celebrating Mom’s birthday Friday night (it’s actually Saturday) so Happy Birthday, Mom! She reads occasionally, so she might see this, might not.

On Saturday we’re heading to the lake with some friends. Gotta squeeze every gorgeous, hot Saturday out of the summer, ya know!

Have a great weekend!

Saw this at Donna’s and thought it looked fun:

Go here, to the random quotes generator, and look through random quotes until you find five that you think:

a) reflect who you are

OR

b) what you believe.

Here are my five:

“Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou thinkst, thou dost overthrow,
die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me.”
~John Donne

“It is quite possible for people who have never met us and who have spent only twenty minutes thinking about us to come to a better understanding of who we are than people who have known us for years.” Exactly how I feel about blogging!
~Malcolm Gladwell

“Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward.”
~Kurt Vonnegut

“You can cover a great deal of country in books.”
“~Andrew Lang

“Learning makes a man fit company for himself.”
~Thomas Fuller

I’ve been busy the last few days - spring cleaning. I know it’s not spring, but I didn’t do it in the spring, and now I’m faced with “We’re starting school in a week and a half and I’ll barely have time to keep the house tolerably clean, let alone get any deep cleaning done, so if I’m going to do it, I better do it now!” thoughts.

So two days ago found me with my stove pulled away from the wall, up to elbows in grease and grime, scrubbing away. Stove, cupboards, countertops, dishwasher, microwave all spotless. Just need to do the inside of the fridge. I told Kevin yesterday I never want to use my kitchen again - let’s just keep it this way and eat out, ‘kay?

Still lots to go, but I took today off to catch up on my Bloglines - and surf to my heart’s content. Plus I finished my current audiobook and I can’t clean without something to listen to. I picked up The Amateur Marriage by Anne Tyler on CD at the library this morning, so I’m all set to jump back in tomorrow - I just need to load it on my MP3.

The other thing I’ve been doing in the past few days? Reading Pride and Prejudice. I finished last night. And loved it. Most of you are probably saying, “Well, duh.”

I tried reading it a couple years ago, right after reading The Well Educated Mind. I tried reading a lot of things then. And it felt just like high school lit class: I have to read this book, therefore I cannot possibly enjoy this book. I abandoned my list of “required reading”, though I have been expanding my literary horizons this year. But no one told me to. Big difference.

So I put P & P on The List for this year. I ordered a Penguins Classics copy and put it on my “To Be Read” shelf. And there it sat. And then a few days ago I was watching Emma with Nan and was overwhelmed with an urge to read it. So I did. And now I’m trying to decide which Austen I should read next. I’m open to suggestions.

And last, but certainly not least, Happy Birthday to Andrea - the only one of my sisters who reads my blog!