Pizzas & Pijamas - Our Back to School Party!

It's back to school on Labor Day! Whoo-hoo! We decided to have our first day today as Sr. Smith would be able to join us. Typically when Daddy has a day off of work we are not doing school, so this just felt like the right way to get started this year.

To kick off our new year, we had a pizza & pijama party in our school room last night. After we ate, I gave each of the kids their new assignment notebooks and we went through them and our new schedule together. They were so excited to read through it all. "Look, Jirafa, a 15 minute break at 10:15!" Okay, so they weren't nearly as excited about the hours of work that preceded and followed the break, but they had fun thinking about what the first day would be like.

I plan to write about the changes I've made to how we work through our day, and new things we're doing this year. But for now I'm just posting about the party and pictures of our school room (aka "the loft"), which has been re-vamped to be more user-friendly. We hope to use it more for our actual work, whereas in the past we've sort of spread out all over the house. Of course, in the winter we'll be snuggled up by the fire :o)

Okay, here are the pictures from our party...

Braces and black olives...! Jirafa is starting year 5

Extra cheese, no sauce, with garlic shake! Paco is starting Year 3.5!

Each boy has his own bin filled with current books; the rest are on the shelf above his bin. Jirafa takes his bin to the large table, while Paco prefers the small table. Grab & go on Wednesdays!

Here's a view of most of the room - Sr. Smith built all those shelves & the window seat (which has four compartments that open for storage).

He's too good to me :o)

If you look to the bottom right hand corner of this picture, you can see the corner of a chair; Jirafa's table is up against that wall w/two chairs. A map of the world hangs above it. To the left you can see some smaller black shelves, those are just from Wal-Mart until Sr. Smith has time to build more shelves; to the left of those shelves is a map of the USA, followed by Doorposts charts on down the hallway (which is where I'm standing with the camera). Hermosa's picture books are on the shelf that faces the rocker where Sr. Smith is sitting, and behind him on the wall is the dry-erase board.

Well, that's a peek into our little world over here. Blessings to everyone starting school, whether at home or another school of your choice. Have a great year!

Consignment Sale on Cash

I've decided to start blogging about some of my money-saving finds both to share them with others as well as to keep myself going on our adventure of "living like no one else so that later we can live like no one else" (a la Dave Ramsey).

For a long time now, Sr. Smith has the habit of taking out cash every payday, giving it me to sort into my envelope system, and keeping some pad in the checking account "in case I end up short and need to put something on the debit card". Well, no more. I am determined not to need that padding!

This morning my friend & her daughter & my 3 headed to a consignment sale where I thought I was going to find "smashing deals". Well, not quite as smashing as I'd hoped, I still found great deals after some hunting around. I started looking through clothes for Hermosa, then made it over to jeans for the "King of Holes in the Knees" (jirafa) & found him a few tops also. We sat down near the Thomas train bed (the girls thought they were riding a choo-choo) & started going through our piles looking for holes & tears, and I pulled out a pen & an old receipt to write on. I started with the jeans for Jirafa, because that's where I was getting the biggest savings ($7 vs. $20 or more per pair), and wrote down each price. Then I sorted through Hermosa's & picked my favorite things. I kinda had $50 on each of them in my mind depending on what I found (my budget was $100). (btw, Paco hasn't outgrown what he has, so that's why I didn't shop for him - he isn't going around without clothes! He also gets whatever is passed from his brother) Well, when I wrote it all down it came to $99.50. I was so proud to stay in my budget!

Then when I got up to the register I told the guy working it that if I'd added right I had just what I wanted & .50 to spare - "Did you figure in tax?" He said. Oops. I didn't know they were charging tax. I quickly did the math in my head, and pulled out a pair of khaki's for Jirafa that were $8.50 to remove from my pile. "We take credit cards, you don't have to stick to cash," said the man very nicely. "Nope, cash only," I replied. He grinned when my total was $99.05.

But I grinned bigger :o)

Here's what I came home with:

4 pair size 14 jeans (3 Levi, 1 Wrangler)
1 pair size 14 camo pants
1 sweater (Gap)
2 long-sleeved cotton tops (Old Navy & Cherokee)

6 complete fall/winter outfits (pants and tops) for Hermosa. Some of these had an extra top for versatility, and one of the pants is cream colored corduroy which can go with other tops as well.
The brands of these are also good, high quality (Gap, Gymboree, Old Navy, Carter, and some boutique things I didn't recognize). And they are all super cute, modest, and comfie.

The kids will wear these hardly-worn items just as long as they would have worn them had I bought them brand new, and I paid less than half of what I would have paid in the store, even if they were on sale. The girls working the sale were wearing shirts that said, "Retail is for suckers," to which I'd add, "So are credit cards!"

Some may think I didn't get as great a deal as I could have gotten at a garage sale, for instance, which may be true. But I got a deal I'm happy with, and I stayed within budget, which right now is the goal.

Now if I could just get Jirafa to take better care of his jeans...

Jirafa is a Pretty Cool Kid

I just have to post this conversation Jirafa and I had whilst working on Paco's Term 1 assignment list. I had asked Jirafa if he had finished the last few chapters of Our Island Story, or if he had stopped at the chapter about how Canada was won. (mind you, he read this book year before last)

Jirafa: Can I look at it? Oh, no, I don't remember reading this. This chapter is about America. Was it not on my schedule?

Me: I don't guess so. (I'm not looking at the book at this point, he is) Maybe since that's where American history picks up, we just switched books for American history. Not much point in doubling up.

Jirafa: Will you put it on my free reading list for this year? I want to read it. It will be interesting because I bet it will have a different perspective. Cause, you know, how This Country of Ours was written by an American, and Our Island Story was written by someone from Britain? I've noticed that sometimes, that people from different countries think differently about the world. They have their way of thinking, and we have ours.

Last year I started this blog soon after the start of the school year. God had given me some much needed encouragement that day, and it was just what I needed as we started our new year. I don't think I realized I needed a little shot in the arm just yet (we start our official school year next Monday), I'm still finishing up my planning. But to hear Jirafa make a statement like this, completely unsolicited, just gives me more gas for my tank.

I can't help but wonder what people are thinking when they ask about how our children will know about the "real world" if we don't put them in public school? I guess part of what really jazzes me about what he said is not just that he realizes that there are lots of possibilities for how to view the world, but also that he actually intimated that he has his own way of looking at the world. So he sees himself as having a perspective, yet he wants to hear what others have to say.

And what's my perspective? I think Jirafa is a pretty cool kid.

Can I Be a Student Again?

I mean, with that being my only responsibility. Like, at the doctor's office where it asks for occupation, can I put "student"? I mean, I want to still be my husband's wife and my kids' mom, but can someone else do all my other stuff for one semester - oh, like a sabbatical that professors get! That would be so groooooovy. Because here's what I would do/learn:

1. How to do square foot gardening (I am reeeeally embarrassed about what my garden looks like - no pictures coming out anymore. You have to go to my backyard if you want to see it.)

2. Sign Language - I would take this class at the community college and then practice practice practice with friends at church.

3. Really invest in my Spanish. I started a Bible Study with friends who speak Spanish, but I might also read a couple of the books on my shelf. Like spend an hour or two each day reading or speaking in Spanish.

4. Photography - I would take a class, and learn how to use all the features on my camera (maybe even invest in a really nice one). I'd also learn how to transfer my old vhs tapes to dvd and how to edit them. Then I'd have a nice little collection of home movies that we could watch on our laptops.

5. Piano Lessons. Self explanatory - I am one of the many who took several years as a child only to let them drop and regret it later. And I have such a beautiful piano in my living room!

Okay, so that looks like a pretty good semester of classes, right? hehe... if only.

Cultural Comforts Article

I have removed a post I put up last week entitled, "Homeschoolers Threaten Our Cultural Comforts" because I decided that while it is an interesting perspective, it does not represent every homeschooling nor every non-homeschooling situation. And I have thoughts swirling in my head out about what I would like to say in response to this article, but don't have time to compose them right now. In the meantime, if you want to read the article you can find it by googling the title. I may write something about it in the future. I just decided it doesn't belong on my blog unless I have a good response post to go with it.

Introducing Mac

About two weeks ago our family answered an advertisement for a guinea pig that needed a new family. Paco Zapato had been wanting a guinea pig for several months, and this one was the perfect fit for him. The guinea pig's name is Mac, short for "Double Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut" - he's all black save one patch of white under his chin. And add to the physical description how super sweet he is, the name fits him to a tee. Sorry about the blur on these photos; I am frustrated with my camera at the moment (if my camera could talk would it be frustrated with me? I am sure it is user error...)

But here you see Mac & Paco getting acquainted in the living room. Paco built him a little shelter with a porch, and he was very happy to just stay there for awhile. The next photo was snapped quickly after I heard Hermosa saying, "Hi! I name Mac! Hi! I name Emily!" She was introducing her baby to Mac.

A New Meme

Now that I've been twice tagged (by Katie & Javamom) I can hide no longer! This is a really neat one.


If you came to my house, you would see:

Lots of my husband's projects - the tile, fireplace, window seat, shelves & cabinets, and the boys' new loft beds being built in the garage. Watercolor paintings by Grandpa Musick, Quilts on the wall (some hanging on an old ladder) by Pig and Grandma Smith, several stained-glass windows by my very talented SIL & BIL, the 1920's piano where once lived a television, other antique and hand-me-down furniture, Hermosa's vintage nursery with walls that I painted. Books, books, and more books, old photographs, lots of scrapbooks/photo albums, a juicer, dehydrator, Bosch, and toaster oven that take up most of my kitchen counter space, our first garden, and windows that I wish I knew what to do with. Depending on whether you were expected, you might also see a pile (or more) of laundry, school things sitting out, toys strewn about, and a fort or other playtime creation or mess.

We'd probably feed you:

Burritos made with homemade tortillas - you'd build your own and have the choice of black beans, potatoes, possibly pastured ground beef or chicken since we've added some meat back into our diet, shredded cheese, avocados, lettuce, red onion, tomato, cilantro, and Sr. Smith's salsa. If we had dessert, it would be no-bake chocolate oat bars.

And we'd offer you this to drink:

Filtered water, a variety of teas, fresh vegetable or fruit juice

We'd undoubtedly ask if you'd read:

The news, Jane Austen, Beatrix Potter, Robinson Crusoe, Dave Ramsey, David Allen (Getting Things Done), Laura Ingalls Wilder, C.S. Lewis, A.A. Milne

We'd want to play this music for you:

A cd we picked up from Pine Cove called, "The Second Life of Mattresses" - it is an ecclectic mix of worship music played by college students who have worked at Pine Cove. We all love it! We'd spare you our piano playing, although Hermosa might treat you to some groovy harmonica.

We'd want to tell you the latest about:

Our adventures with our cousin Ari staying with us - Scarborough Faire, movies, playtime, stories written and acted out, and other outings. The search for a decent commuter vehicle to replace Old Red (the 1995 F-150 truck that was our first major purchase after marriage), and of course our new church!

We'd probably suggest a game of:

Boggle, Nertz, or Scrabble - we're into games over here! We'd play anything you brought as well.
If you brought your tennis shoes you'd be hit up for basketball in the driveway.


We might show off:

The garden, the sparrow nest that is now empty, some of the boys' work, Hermosa's ability to recite a number of nursery rhymes or Psalm 100, the loft beds

If it was a long enough visit, we might watch:

The kids ride bikes, scooters, peddle-cart, trike out front. We wouldn't watch a movie or tv because we don't have a tv, and the screen on the laptop computer is really only adequate for 2 or 3 people to watch it.

What would a visit to your house be like?

Ginger, Laura, Lindy, and Brittany, I'm tagging you! If you don't have a blog, I tag you, too. Use this meme as your first post!