Random Thoughts - Fall 2015 Edition

 

If "choosing good friends" is so important for teens and adults,

(and I truly believe that it is)

 because their behavior and choices tend to influence us,

 that certainly applies for little kids, too.

I don't think we can easily dismiss the qualities

 and characteristics of those we choose to spend our time with.

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Our family went outside yesterday after 10:30pm

and we all laid down on blankets in our driveway

and looked up at the sky to watch the blood moon

and lunar eclipse. We watched in wonder,

ate snacks together, and laughed and joked while we talked.

THESE MOMENTS.

I love these moments. They are the best.

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As a homeschooling family,

we often travel to neighboring counties for various educational,

fun, and social events and opportunities.

We've taken to listening to podcasts together

and we really enjoy that.

Our favorite show to listen to (especially Max)

is NPR's "Wait, Wait. Don't Tell Me."

Our next favorite is probably NPR's "Pop Culture Happy Hour."

(And I would LOVE that job - being a podcaster/writer for that show).

We also listen to the TED Radio Hour, 

Dear Hank&John, Fresh Air, Radiolab, etc.

 

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There are 3 houses for sale around us.

We live on a corner and the houses across both streets are both for sale.

And there is one 3 doors down that is also for sale.

It's kind of exciting to get new neighbors!

 

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We got to meet the buyers of the farmhouse at settlement

and they were GREAT. 

While it was bittersweet to sell the farmhouse,

meeting them helped.

 We're excited for them to make their own memories there now.

They are super excited.

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There is almost ALWAYS a board game out somewhere

 (and sometimes in multiple places) in our house.

I always walk by and smile.

It's a game all set up and ready to play!

And we love playing together.

Happiness.

 

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We have incredibly supportive friends

 who I can tell truly value our children.

I'm very grateful.

They take the time to truly get to know them,

and they send us information they find

 that they believe our kids would enjoy.

We've learned of writing camps

 thanks to our good friend Sherri

and Kate has enjoyed all of them.

We've learned of educational camps

 and writing opportunities

 and all kinds of things!

A friend of ours sends us information on

 books and authors that Max enjoys,

and also told us about a local game making contest coming up.

Sherri visited us before our trip

 and had made individual packs for both kids

for our flight to CA - how sweet is that?!?

Another friend recently took the time

 to write her alma mater and tell them all about Kate.

The college then wrote Kate to tell her

 and to send her information about their college

and writing camps.

We are VERY grateful for these people

 and all who take the time and energy

 to get to know and love and support our children.

It takes a village.

 

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I love our new house. 

It is FLOODED with light and beauty all around us.

So very grateful for this openness and environment.

We feel like we're enjoying it even more

 with the farmhouse sold! :P

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I was thinking today that

 there is an argument to having a bigger house

 and things like stairs.

Ever since we bought our townhouse in 2003,

 we've always had a home with stairs.

It's natural exercise!

It's a small hike to get places, 

so you naturally walk A LOT all day long.

I don't love exercise so this helps. :P

I even have this unspoken game with Scout,

who follows me everywhere.

She is FAST,

 so whenever we're climbing the stairs together,

I always try to race her to the top

(no easy feat!).

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We tend to eat a lot of vegetarian meals.

We're not big meat eaters and more and more,

 our cooking is lending itself naturally

 to a pesco-vegetarian diet.

That being said, we're not opposed to eating meat

 (just not lots of it),

and as I type this,

chicken and dumplings are cooking in the crockpot.

Welcome, fall!

 

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We've wanted to talk with a financial planner for years,

but have always been scared off because they charge you

 either a fee or a percentage of your investments

 or a commission, or they try to sell you products (I hate that!).

Well, we're in the process of refinancing our home mortgage

 (now that the farmhouse has sold),

and we found out our local bank

 has a guy who does financial planning

as his job there and there is no fee or percentage

 nor does he try to sell any products.

It's simply one of the things the bank has to offer. Woot!

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It has been a busy past few weeks

as we're into the new registration period

 with our homeschool group.

13 new families joined up this year

and many of them are all plugging in so well!

We're thrilled!

 

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Our kids both won pretty great prizes this year

for the library summer reading program.

 

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We got season passes to the Renaissance Faire

 for Christmas this year from Mark's parents,

as well as tickets to some other fun events.

The dinner was great and fun as always!

And the Ren Faire has been AWESOME.

With Kate working there,

it's handy to have the passes

(first year we've ever done this)

and go here and there for shorter bits of time

or for lunch or dinner or a few of the shows or whatever.

Such a fun place and welcoming environment.

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I am really wanting to sit down

 and write posts about

the foreign exchange students,

our trip to CA,

and our annual trip to the beach.

I keep meaning to do it, but we've been swamped

between work, the clinic, Kate's work schedule,

the kids' volunteering,

 different social and educational events,

homeschool group registration, etc.

A busy time of year, but a renewing one as well.

Trying not to have palpitations

 when I think of how NaNoWriMo

 and the holidays and Max's birthday

 are all around the corner.

Why does time fly so fast?!?

 

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Homeschooling older kids

 is a very different kind of adventure.

So different than with younger kids.

It's more involved, but there's also so much

 they can do independently.

There is a ton we do together, too,

 because let's face it,

it's fun!

We can talk about so many topics

 and enjoy things together,

like lectures and articles and museums.

They're involved in more, so there is a lot more

enrichment and coordination.

It's work, but it's also awesome

 and I'm grateful we get to do this!

 

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The other night, we had no food made

 and we were resisting

 the ever-strong siren call to eat out.

As much as we LOVE to eat out,

we try to do a lot of cooking at home

 as it helps us save money.

So, we whipped together a PHENOMENAL meal.

Mark and I ran to the store for ingredients

while the kids started chopping and cooking.

Max made a delicious side of cheesy, Mexican rice

(that he created and made up himself),

and Kate made a big batch of homemade apple crisp.

Mark and I got home and made chorizo and potato tacos

with cilantro, chopped onion, and hot sauce.

Our meal was INCREDIBLE.

I love working together in the kitchen!

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(Though I must admit that

 cooking at home is so much more

time and mess intensive,

 and sometimes I wonder about the savings.

You do save money, but the HOURS that go into

 shopping, cooking, cleaning up . . . 

it makes you wonder when you're already busy

 with so many other things!).

 

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Our next-door neighbors have kids

 and Max LOVES to go outside and play with them.

It is fantastic to be in a younger neighborhood

 with kids who play outside.

The neighbors often tell us how much they enjoy Max

 and how much their kids love his made-up games.

Well, the mom's parents are often there

 visiting their grandkids

and they are friendly and jolly and warm.

The grandpa is SO kind to us

 and speaks very highly of Max

(which is so nice to hear).

They're often there on weekends

 and we've seen them there after school daily

 to greet the kids when they get off the bus.

Well, now they drive 20 minutes daily

 to be at their house at 6:30am

and they drive their granddaughter

 to school (another 20 minutes away)

every single morning.

And they're not young

 and they have health issues and move slowly,

but always, always, always

 with big smiles on their faces and lots of love

for those kids.

 

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I really want to see the movie "End of the Tour"

with Jason Segel.

It's on limited release right now,

so it's mostly playing at indie theaters

that aren't near us.

Hopefully it gets to more theaters soon,

because the reviews are fantastic.