the unicorn, the cowboy, the firefighter

We had a great time trick-or-treating at the dorms on campus tonight.
I want to remember:
1. That one woman exclaimed, "That unicorn is so cute, she gets extra candy!" and how very pleased Gwendolyn was at that comment.
2. That Linus announced, "I'm not showing anyone my red hair tonight because firemen always wear hats!"
3. That Casper really got into things and while his brother and sister knocked on a door, he would walk up to it and attempt to push it open.
4. That we gave Casper an entire lollipop and how upset he got when Todd took the half-eaten stick away.
5. That Gwendolyn got a packet of butter in her candy bag (good thing we checked all the loot).

not the favorite

Today we drove Granny to Austin and left her there with Auntie Tiffany. While we were all enjoying lunch together, Linus turned to me and said, "Mama, you're not my favorite. Auntie Tiffany and Granny are my favorite."

not walking, but close

So I mistakenly predicted that Casper would be walking by the end of September, and here it is the end of October and he's still mostly a crawler. He took his first steps back in early September and though he's taken a few steps every day since then, he really prefers to crawl. Though he seems to be the most athletic of the three kids, he was terrified of falling as a baby, so I think there may be some fear associated with the walking thing. Granny has been staying with us and has been encouraging Casper to walk; he's started taking her advice. Today especially, we've noticed some visible confidence in his little stride, and we've seen him begin to take more steps. This gradual mastery of a new skill is new to me. Gwennie and Linus both took their first steps (between 13 and 14 months) and gave up crawling on the spot. Maybe Casper will be exclusively walking by Christmas . . .

autumn at the farm

A group from the city had reserved a nearby farm for a seasonal celebration, so Todd took the day off of work and joined us at the farm. It was a cold, windy day, so the highlight for many of us was the campfire. Other highlights were the outside toys and swings, playing with friends, picking ripe persimmons, the hayride, and bringing home some pumpkins.

Hay maze

Autumn's been slow in coming to our corner of Texas, but we've been able to celebrate our favorite season with a few activities, if not through the enjoyment of crisp weather and changing foliage. Today we visited our local farmers' market, where some anonymous farmers had set up a great hay maze. The children enjoyed finding their way through the mildly scary maze, and Casper was particularly enthralled with the Casper-sized pumpkins. Since our family has something of a history with giant gourds of all kinds, we thought a photo series was called for:

(This is a shout out to Accardos everywhere.)

star gazing

This morning we went to the country with Granny to visit some dear family friends, the Hoyts. Gwendolyn and Linus were intrigued by Sister Hoyt's fully reclining deck chair, which she uses when star gazing. After the kids tromped around the yard for a while and found a small trailer, Gwennie announced, "When we spend the night here, we'll use this to look at the stars." Comfy.

the fabulous roslyn ruff

It just so happened that while I was in Dallas, I was able to connect with the beautiful and amazingly talented Roslyn Ruff! Roz is my dear, dear friend from grad school and is currently in the Dallas Theatre Center's production of The Good Negro by Tracey Scott Wilson. Roslyn and I had dinner on Monday night and though we haven't seen each other in over 7 years, it felt like no time had passed. We sat and chatted for three straight hours (and gorged ourselves for at least two).

On Tuesday evening I went to the opening night of the production and spent some time with Roslyn after the production, meeting her friends, talking, marveling at the fact that we were wearing the exact same outfit, and dragging out our good-byes. While not wanting to write a review here, let me say that I loved the play. I felt it was well written, well staged, well acted, poignant, culturally relevant, and that Roslyn's performance moved me to tears. If you live within a 500 mile radius of Dallas, get yourself a ticket. The best night of theatre I've had in a long time.

Roslyn, I'm back home now and I miss you already. Todd sends his love.

day at the arboretum

This morning we joined my dear friend Christina and her sweet son Rees on a trip to the Dallas Arboretum to enjoy their annual pumpkin festival. Gwendolyn and Linus enjoyed the pumpkin house and hay bale maze, a picnic on the lawn and watching the monarch butterflies. Casper was in love with Rees and belly-laughed the entire time they played in the rocks together. Unfortunately, no one was very patient with Mama trying to put them through another seasonal photo op. And I was thrilled to be spending time with one of my oldest friends -- Christina and I have been friends since junior high and now she lives just a few miles from my parents' house! Lucky me.

sunday afternoon play

saturday afternoon projects

This afternoon as Gwendolyn helped Grandad paint the master bathroom,

Linus managed to lock himself in a closet and take a nap.

first trim

Casper got his first haircut today and the mullet is gone. I can't get over how much older he looks. And how blonde he is.

before

after

neil

I made it to Neil! Linus ran a high fever on Tuesday, a mild fever on Wednesday and no fever today, so I packed up the kids and rushed them to Dallas this morning so I could see Neil tonight. And it was awesome. I love Neil Diamond and this was the 5th time I've seen him in concert. Again, it was awesome. Even at 68 years old, he is still so smooth. He was on stage for two straight hours -- what a performer! My sisters and I treated our dad to the show for his birthday and it was great to spend the evening with some of my favorite people.
For interested parties, here's the playlist:

Holly Holy
Beautiful Noise
Kentucky Woman
Love on the Rocks
Play Me
Cherry, Cherry
Thank the Lord for the Nighttime
Home Before Dark
Don't Go There
Pretty Amazing Grace
Crunchy Granola Suite
Done Too Soon
Brooklyn Roads
I am, I said
Solitary Man
Forever in Blue Jeans
Sweet Caroline
You Don't Buy Me Flowers
I'm a Believer
Man of Faith
Hell, Yeah

encore:
Cracklin Rose
America
Brother Love's Travellin' Salvation Show.

nasty, nasty stuff

For the past six days, Gwendolyn has run a fever. A fever that kept going up over 104 and kept her miserable. After two doctor visits we got the diagnosis of "virus". Finally, last night, her fever broke and she's been active and hungry all day.

But now Linus has a fever that keeps going up over 104.

And today I caught Casper drinking from a sippy cup which Linus had left on the sofa.

And I have a ticket to see Neil Diamond in Dallas on Thursday night and will likely still be housebound.

*sigh*

casper vs. the purple monkey stamp

get your game on

Todd was given some tickets to the University's football game, so this afternoon Todd and Linus went on a date. Linus was pretty excited about this since Gwennie and Mama had a date last weekend (and don't tell Linus, but the only reason Gwendolyn didn't join them is because she's had a high fever for the past three days). After two quarters, a giant corn dog, a sno-cone and a halftime show, they came home and Linus was a very happy boy. Here's his report of the "football show":

"They kept on footballing, then there was instruments, and there was a lot of instruments . . . blowing. And they were going how they were supposed to go, and they were walking around in circles. With horns. And there was a man with a stick, and he was the leader. It was like Harry the Dirty Dog. And then we ate something really yummy. A really big corn dog, and a what else? A snow cone. The flavor came from the faucet, and there were about seven flavors. I saw bumblebees eating it at the faucet!"

cute photo friday

the one about homeschooling

I homeschool my children. We just started Kindergarten with Gwendolyn and plan to begin first grade in January. I don’t know that I’ll still be doing this when my kids are in high school, but for now, we are a family of homeschoolers.

I’ve always been supportive of and greatly admired parents who homeschool and when Gwendolyn was little, I talked big about possibly being a homeschooling parent myself, but I never really, truly believed that I would be one. And yet, here I am. And here’s my dirty little secret: Homeschooling is not my first choice. It kind of terrifies me. I worry that I won’t be organized enough. I worry that there won’t be enough of me to go around. I worry that there will be big, gaping holes in their education. I worry that I will get burned out after a few years of creating and teaching three or four different curriculums at the same time. I worry that I won’t have any time left over in my day for me.

Education is very important to me and Todd (which is why we’ll be paying off our student loans for the next 60 years) and there are many reasons why we chose to homeschool. I’m going to list some of the main ones here, and try not to be too inflammatory (or long-winded).

1. I heart Rudolph Steiner. When Gwendolyn was in utero, I started researching educational philosophies in great detail and discovered Waldorf Education, which immediately resonated with me. For two years, Gwendolyn attended a mixed-age Waldorf Kindergarten. That school is an amazing place – you walk in the door and can feel the peaceful spirit. Her teacher loved and understood the soul of our feisty little girl in a way that seemed impossible for anyone who wasn’t a blood relative. Gwendolyn bloomed and matured at that school, our family was blessed, more peace entered our home and I became even more devoted to the Waldorf methodology. (I could write an entire post singing the praises of Waldorf Education, but I’ll save that for another day.) Last year when we moved to a small town with nothing Waldorf within 60 miles, homeschooling seemed like the only way to have my children educated in the way I felt was best.

2. I think homeschooling is one of the best ways to foster a deep, life-long love of learning. My kids will be learning at developmentally appropriate levels instead of being pushed into academics prematurely. My kids will be able to really explore and study in depth the things that spark their interest instead of being forced to stick with the same schedule and topics as the other 25 kids in the class. My kids will only need to spend a few hours, three or four days a week in “school” and will still have most of their day to play and be children and pursue their own interests instead of spending their time waiting on a bunch of other children to catch up or get in line or be disciplined.

3. I don’t trust the public school system. Todd and I both went to public schools and had great experiences in elementary school. I even liked high school (Todd is actually a high school dropout). There are really great public schools in our area. One just up the road from us is one of the best in the state, but I do not want my children spending their school days memorizing information so they can regurgitate it on a standardized test. I don’t want them feeling the stress that comes from schools and teachers who have to jump through hoops in order to keep jobs or get funding. I do not want to have my kid selling stuff to friends and relatives in an effort to raise money for their school. I know that most of the public school teachers out there are devoted to the children they teach and feel passionately about the work they do. I know these men and women are smart and talented and well-trained, but they also have to work within the parameters set by the federal government, the state legislature and the school board, and I’ve seen some of the complications that can come from that interference.

4. Maybe I don’t want my kids socializing with your kid. I say this tongue in cheek because some people worry about the socialization of homeschooled children. Frankly, I like the fact that Gwendolyn isn’t spending most of her waking hours being influenced by a bunch of 5 and 6 year olds. Even when Gwendolyn attended the private Waldorf school in the city, where all the families shared the same views of education and there were never more than a dozen kids in the class, she still struggled with peer pressure, cliques and inappropriate (for pre-school aged children) language/actions. I worry that Gwendolyn has the kind of personality that would go out into the world and swallow it whole – the good with the bad. I want to keep her and her brothers close to home so I can love and nurture and preserve their innocence a little longer. We have very limited media in our home (a personal choice, but also a tenet of the Waldorf philosophy). Call us snobs, but we’d just as soon not have our kids know about Hannah Montana, violent video games and action heroes, or all the big corporations trying to sell them junky toys and food. (The shows themselves can be annoying, but there’s something so insidious about corporations targeting children, attempting to create life-long consumers.) People will argue that those with strong moral values need to be in public schools to be a force of good in the world, to influence their peers. Sure, but not when they are little kids; they have a lifetime to be a force of good in the world. Childhood is just a tiny fraction of their lifetime and I don’t feel one bit guilty for wanting to share as much of that with them as possible.

As far as being socially stunted, my children will get plenty of interaction with peers though church, dance and sports teams, swim lessons, workshops at local museums and theatres, weekly library storytime, outings with local homeschooling groups and playdates with friends, not to mention the almost constant interaction with parents and siblings. I believe the latter will lead to a stronger parent-child bond and closer bonds with siblings. I actually feel that one of the advantages of homeschooling is the level of comfort these children have in their intellectual interactions with adults, a sort of mentoring which is often quashed during formal schooling.

5. While not a reason why I chose to homeschool, I do think I’m qualified. I may not have a teaching certificate, but I’m no dummy. Todd and I each have advanced degrees from ivy league schools, for the sake of Pete! I know my own kids and can assess their strengths and weaknesses and work with them one on one and when I do want my children to learn a subject which I don’t feel qualified to teach, there are community resources I can turn to. In fact, there is a homeschool resource center within walking distance of my house which offers classes like foreign languages, physics, dissection, etc to homeschoolers. I plan to take advantage of such things.

6. Finally, but most importantly, I prayed about it. I prayed long and hard (after researching nearly every public and private school in the area) and was told in no uncertain terms that I was to homeschool and that a Waldorf curriculum would be best for my children. This was not really what I wanted to hear, but then I saw how the Lord had provided many resources to help me. Our home (which Todd signed a contract on before I even saw pictures of it) is right across the street from a woman who homeschools her four kids, is close to the only homeschool store/resource center in town, is near to my friend Allison’s house (another Waldorf homeschooling Mama who has kids close to the ages of my own children). We are in this house for a reason. There are also great websites, Yahoo Groups and curriculum guides just for Waldorf homeschoolers.

Like I said, I don’t know how long we’ll be doing this, but for now, I know it’s the right decision for our family and we are really enjoying it. Most of the time.

a future with animals

Gwendolyn: When I’m a horse worker, I’m going to have a lot of money.
Mama: Oh, are you really?
Gwendolyn: Yeah. It says so right here.
She hands me a slip from a fortune cookie which reads, “You will become a great philanthropist in your later years.”

linus, post bath

Last night as we picked up the backyard, Linus, unbeknownst to me, put his rainboots under the grill cover instead of bringing them inside. This morning he and I were talking about last night’s rainstorm when he remembered his beloved boots. I told him that leaving boots outside was a bad idea because frogs and lizards might think they’d found a new home, so I sent him out to fetch them. While Linus was outside, I heard him scream and cry for me, so I rushed outside and found him sobbing. Apparently, as he went to put his foot into one of the boots, a large frog jumped out and scared him to death, poor kid. After recovering from the fright, he got so excited about meeting the frog (the biggest he'd ever seen) that he had to call Daddy at work to tell him about it.

Linus: There’s a party in my tummy. All the food I eat has to go there.

Linus: Elermenti-est School (Elementary School)

One evening after Mason ran down the hall to attack Mama Cat (a daily occurrence), I walked into Linus’s room and heard him praying that Mason would find another home to live in.

the biggest pumpkin in texas

While shopping at our local green grocer today, the kids spied what claimed to be the largest pumpkin in all of Texas. They were pretty excited about climbing all over the thing, so I tried to get a nice shot of them with the pumpkin and this is the best that Linus would give me. He's three.

on the mend

This little baby has been sick for a long time. He's had a cold for nearly two weeks, but it turned nasty on Wednesday. He's run a fever for three straight days, which means he's been cranky and clingy and sleeping poorly. But today, his fever broke and our happy little boy started to eat, sleep and play in his usual way. Oh happy day.

nice ass

Today Todd went to the city to give a lecture on wood engraving (and also go out for Thai food, and later sushi). Pictured is a sneak peek of one of Todd's current projects.

date night

Tonight I surprised Gwendolyn by taking her to a community theatre production of Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. She loved it and I loved my night out with her. She was excitedly singing and dancing around before we left (this is our first theatre outing since moving here) and gave me commentary throughout the performance. "I love the sparkles on that dress, Mama!" "Isn't the dancing beautiful?" "I wonder what its like to be on stage." She later confessed to Todd that her favorite part was the the bag of M&Ms I bought for her at intermission. Junkie.

Man, do I need a haircut ! Also, clothes that don't make me look pregnant.

little drummer boys

This little boy likes to make noise. He also hero worships his big brother (who doesn't have much time but a fair amount of disdain for his younger brother).