After almost a year.....

I am finally going to have an oven again! Yep, that's right! I have been without an oven for almost a year now! Actually, the broiler still worked, but the bottom coil was broken. So, I have been baking casseroles in the oven with just a broiler. It has not been easy, either! I had to put foil on the top rack to help diffuse the heat and then I would have to broil things on the low setting and it would take three times as long to cook. I made a breakfast casserole last week and it should take 30 minutes to bake and it ended up taking two hours! Yikes!

But, my dad came through and got the coil and took it to the store and ordered the replacement. Last week he dropped it off and DH put it in the oven. Voila! Heat!

So now, I am so excited to bake again! I have made cookies twice and have been making baked dishes for dinner almost every night! Oh, the small things in life that matter!

Life on Planet Mom

I am part of a MOPS group and this year the theme is "Life on Planet Mom" and we have a great book that corresponds with this theme. I was reading some of it yesterday and the chapter that I happened to read was on your relationship with your spouse. I am sure that it was not a coincidence that I read this chapter this week as my husband and I have been having a lot of disagreements lately about the way that a lot of things work in our relationship. He feels that I don't give enough of my time to him. That I spend my time and energy on the kids and the house and myself and I don't have any leftover for him. Well, this is partially true. I DO spend a lot of my energy on the kids and the house and the bills and the laundry and the planning and the appointments and the shopping and the budget and the and the and the......but where he is wrong is the fact that I spend a lot of time on myself. I honestly feel totally drained by the end of the night and there isn't much left for him. I just want to relax and have no one calling my name or needing me. Of course, I am sure that most married women know that at the end of the night is when your husband is calling you and needing you and grabbing at you, this is the last thing you want. The same thing that you dealt with ALL DAY from your kids. Intimacy can seem like just one more chore! Well, I decided, after reading this chapter in my book, that I needed to really try to make time for my husband and I and intentionally leave some of my time for him. So, last night I thought that I was doing this and guess what......it totally backfired! He didn't think that I was doing enough and I didn't think that he was responding to me. It ended in a big fat argument and both of us going to bed upset. Now, we are going to have to have a long drawn out, frustrating discussion tonight and I am not looking forward to it. I already know what is going to be said and what is going to happen. Ugh! I can only pray that God will help both of us to see and understand the other's point of view. I need to just remember that marriage is a long journey and there are going to be bumps in the road.

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Homeschool Blog

Interesting Article on Homeschooling....

A friend of mine sent me this article on Homeschooling and Socialization. I am so happy that this has finally been thoroughly researched and comes out in favor of homeschooling parents. Dealing with this concern from family and friends is a big obstacle and this gives me great confidence in the fact that we are doing the right thing for our family!

HOMESCHOOLING: Socialization is not a problem

By Michael Smith

One of the most persistent criticisms of home-schooling is the accusation that home-schoolers will not be able to fully participate in society because they lack "socialization." It's a challenge that reaches right to the heart of home-schooling, because if a child isn't properly socialized, how will that child be able to contribute to society?

Since the re-emergence of the home-school movement in the late 1970s, critics of home-schooling have perpetuated two myths. The first concerns the ability of parents to adequately teach their own children at home; the second is whether home-schooled children will be well-adjusted socially.

Proving academic success is relatively straightforward. Today, it is accepted that home-schoolers, on average, outperform their public school peers. The most recent study, "Homeschool Progress Report 2009," conducted by Brian Ray of the National Home Education Research Institute, surveyed more than 11,000 home-schooled students. It showed that the average home-schooler scored 37 percentile points higher on standardized achievement tests than the public school average.

The second myth, however, is more difficult to address because children who were home-schooled in appreciable numbers in the late 1980s and early 1990s are only now coming of age and in a position to demonstrate they can succeed as adults.

Home-school families across the nation knew criticisms about adequate socialization were ill-founded — they had the evidence right in their own homes. In part to address this question from a research perspective, the Home School Legal Defense Association commissioned a study in 2003 titled "Homeschooling Grows Up," conducted by Mr. Ray, to discover how home-schoolers were faring as adults. The news was good for home-schooling. In all areas of life, from gaining employment, to being satisfied with their home-schooling, to participating in community activities, to voting, home-schoolers were more active and involved than their public school counterparts.

Until recently, "Homeschooling Grows Up" was the only study that addressed the socialization of home-schooled adults. Now we have a new longitudinal study titled "Fifteen Years Later: Home-Educated Canadian Adults" from the Canadian Centre for Home Education. This study surveyed home-schooled students whose parents participated in a comprehensive study on home education in 1994. The study compared home-schoolers who are now adults with their peers. The results are astounding.

When measured against the average Canadians ages 15 to 34 years old, home-educated Canadian adults ages 15 to 34 were more socially engaged (69 percent participated in organized activities at least once per week, compared with 48 percent of the comparable population). Average income for home-schoolers also was higher, but perhaps more significantly, while 11 percent of Canadians ages 15 to 34 rely on welfare, there were no cases of government support as the primary source of income for home-schoolers. Home-schoolers also were happier; 67.3 percent described themselves as very happy, compared with 43.8 percent of the comparable population. Almost all of the home-schoolers — 96 percent — thought home-schooling had prepared them well for life.

This new study should cause many critics to rethink their position on the issue of socialization. Not only are home-schoolers actively engaged in civic life, they also are succeeding in all walks of life. Many critics believed, and some parents feared, that home-schoolers would not be able to compete in the job market. But the new study shows home-schoolers are found in a wide variety of professions. Being home-schooled has not closed doors on career choices.

The results are a great encouragement to all home-schooling families and to parents thinking about home-schooling. Home-schoolers, typically identified as being high academic achievers, also can make the grade in society.

Both "Homeschooling Grows Up" and "Fifteen Years Later" amply demonstrate home-school graduates are active, involved, productive citizens. Home-school families are leading the way in Canadian and American education, and this new study clearly demonstrates home-school parents are on the right path.

To read the full study or a synopsis, visit www.hslda.ca/cche.

• Michael Smith is the president of the Home School Legal Defense Association. He may be contacted at 540/338-5600 or send e-mail to media@hslda.org.

Sick MOM=Who cares?!

Being a mom and being sick is no fun at all! I started getting sick about four days ago and even though I would've liked a break, the world just didn't stop turning. I ran a constant fever and had a severe cough, but the kids didn't care.....they still needed to eat! I remember the days when I was sick and someone would tell me to go home and rest and I could actually do that. I could take the time I needed to get better and recuperate. Not now! These days it is basically the same routine I am just doing it all on half a tank of energy and even less patience. I couldn't take a nap, I couldn't just zone out in bed all day. Nope, I had to get up and continue on with my day as if I was totally healthy.

To put the icing on the cake, my dear hubby basically just kissed me goodbye in the mornings and went on his merry way. He didn't ask if he could get me a sitter, he didn't offer to stay at home with me and take a vacation day....nothing! I was so frustrated, tired, irritated, sick and just plain out grouchy. Would it hurt him to just pretend to want to baby me for a day?!

Now that I am on day four of my illness and the fever has finally passed, I can honestly say that the kids weren't as much of a burden as the days before, but they are definitely on their own when it comes to keeping themselves occupied because the fever and coughing has taken every bit of energy out of me and I can't bring myself to play or go anywhere.

I am looking forward to the day when I get to focus on me again when sick!

Drama Queen Version 3.0

Having three little girls has shown me that there are certain things that I get to deal with that most moms of boys do not. One of the biggest things is that girls can really be drama queens! Now, I know that there are some little boys in the world who emit their fair share of drama, but in a household of three girls, I get enough drama for about three families!

Now, I have my youngest daughter starting with her version of drama. While most of the time she is a tough little cookie, she can sometimes really play up the little bumps and bruises. The other night she was playing and ended up bumping her head. I don't even remember what it was that she bumped into now, but of course I remember the crying!

My husband's first reaction is to put ice on everything! Every sore muscle, bump, bruise, scrape, mosquito bite....anything! So, on this night, the first place he headed to was the freezer! My girls are now also hooked on ice for every problem and even though Little Bit isn't even two yet, she also likes a bag of ice! We sat her down on the couch and gave her the bag of ice and the picture says the rest! She looked so pitiful with that ice pack on her head, yet in the picture of her "bump" you can't even see anything because the red mark is so small!

Oh the joys of drama queens.....

Baked Goods anyone?!

So the other day I was feeling quite motivated so I decided to do some baking. Now, I should preface this story with s small story about my lovely husband(known as Sir Lovely from here on out) who has known that I my oven has been malfunctioning for over six months now. Granted, the broiler works, but the rest of the heating elements are broken. I haven't been able to preheat my oven to a specific temperature since then. Sir Lovely has been complaining that last summer I bought a bunch of zucchini for bread and yet he hasn't gotten a single loaf. I kept telling him that if he fixed the oven that I would be happy to bake him some bread. Well....Sir Lovely is still to this day avoiding his manly duties and hasn't fixed my poor oven. If I need something cooked, I have to broil it!

So on to the original story! I went ahead and got my electric roaster oven out and preheated it. I mixed up a batch of zucchini bread batter and put it in the roaster(which also doubles as an oven). Lo and behold, it worked! I spent an entire evening mixing and baking bread. I made four loaves of regular zucchini and four loaves of chocolate zucchini. It is so yummy!

While I was at it, I decided to go ahead and bake up a pineapple upside-down cake! It turned out delicious! It was so moist and tasty that it didn't last long at all. Overall, it was a successful night of baking and I had a lot of yummy treats for the kids, Sir Lovely and I to enjoy!