march last

Grammy came by first thing this morning to invite us Out.
The Mama told her that she had an idea of Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel at the dollar movie, and Grammy was eager to join in. There was a single eyebrow raised over that, but whatever.  We're glad to have her.

Maddie immediately wanted to tell Trevelyn about The Plan, and then she reasoned that she should wait for him to wake up.
Since she just couldn't wait, she came up with the idea to make him an invitation.

She had Grammy write the words for her.

And she placed it particularly, where Trev was sure to see it as soon as he awoke.
:)

"Mom!  Can I paint?"
Of course.

And - Wow!  Best Day Ever! -
We found Manilla (son of Godzilla) and Manda, and Bowser's Inside Story.  : )


And played.

[Sigh].... "Life is So Good," says Little Son.
: )  Now you know I'd never ask for more than that.

So Grammy comes
and drops off us at the shopping center
and we go to buy tennies for Maddie.
Dora ones this time. 
sigh.
I think this is the first time she actually chose them above others, though it's been a near thing often enough.
Ah, well.

To the movie!

 

 
Which wasn't as bad as the Mama thought it would be.
And the babes enjoyed it.

To the toystore!
To see if they had MarioKart for the ds.
They did - for a primo price. [gulp.]
Maddie got a Diego game for the ds, and a Dora umbrella.  :)
She's a little pink and purple today, I guess.

To dinner!
Yummy.

And after slushing and scurrying in the cold and snow today,
we're home safe and sound.
whew.
Thank goodness.

Godzilla the the Earth Defenders are up for Play,
and of course the ds was on duty as well.

Puzzles
-while singing-

 
Next chapter of Harry for Trev and I.  Only two chapters left!

 And now it's dark and cold and time to settle in, I think.
'Til tomorrow, then.

march 29: Yes.

One of the keys to living a happy and fulfilled unschooled life, I think,
is the willingness (and ability) to say "yes".


This is not something new or seemingly extraordinary to this Mama --
but it is something that often sounds like (while to me, meaning the same)
"Yes- In just a minute."
And "Yes, Honey, hang on...".
And "Of course, Bud, give me just a sec...."
These are not pacifiers, honestly,
just "my hands are (or head is) busy, so allow me to make this shift..."
Admittedly,
sometimes the moment has lost its momentum
when I have set aside my personal Immediatement.

I had not made a conscious decision to do so,
but today looked different.

Today looked like "Yes", with no caveats.

Yes, to embracing a cloudy sky.


Yes, right now.
Yes, I can jump.
Yes, I can help you be a Vegetarian, right this minute.
Yes, we can do that.

And even:


Yes, I can do that.


Yes, it's quite alright for me to warm my feet outdoors -
just sitting in the clouds and wind.


Yes, I can meditate upon This.


Yes, I can stop that, and return to This.


Yes, I can live and love, Here.


Yes, yes, yes.



And soon, again, it's back to


Yes, you can have a bath-- right this minute.
Yes, you can have candles.


Yes, I can do it right now.
Yes, it is out of the way.
Yes, I'll do it anyway.
Yes, I can come here right this second.


Now
[smile]
I'm not having any delusions
that I can keep up this crazy energy
for the Every Second For The Rest Of My Days,
but it has been a nice reminder
that the sky doesn't fall,
and that I'm not left feeling dizzy and shaking my head
after this constant "Absolutely Now"ing.

Just a reminder to all of us (my family)-
That if the thought or project that I was working upon was important,
chances are it will make itself known again -
should I be lucky enough to forget for a while.

And a reminder to my babes
that they are
That Important
and that Funny
and that
Beautiful
in all of those
Right This Second's.


Not a bad way to spend a day.


A bit tiring, mind you...
:)
but certainly
Inspiring
and calibrating.

Life. On Mondays: Mornings

Though I did not know it then,

this very thing set the tone for my day.


Clouds
and wind
and warm
and freedom
and cleansing
and Yes.

I am grateful.

sunday sunday

aaaaah.

march 27: iiiiiiiiiimpressive!

soggy graham crackers

jumping

scrubbing

JumpStart (Madd's been on it just about all day)

roller skating while cleaning (me)
(just kidding. Maddie)

Godzilla.

alternately making his mother laugh and sit up straighter with his fascination with (properly) using four and five syllable words today

Pooh

wee bit of Nintendo (like five minutes or so.)

facebook.
facebook misery.
facebook confusion.
facebook navigation.
facebook meaning of life.
Yeah whatever.

Trev's been wondering about awards for the great fun he had on the kitchen floor yesterday.
??? - lol. I am satisfied that it was award-winning fun.

crazy outfits.

cold!

popcorn and a movie in the dark (for Earth Hour) - notice we aren't actually turning off all electricity!
sigh.

Whatever.
Let's see if we make up for our "living by default" tomorrow!
:)

March 26: Beginnings

This post was began - who knows where it ends???- at 8:something in the morning...

This one's for the Unschooling Blog Carnival, hosted by Enjoy Life Unschooling. March's theme is Beginnings.
What a loaded topic!
I've been thinking on beginnings the last couple of days, and how this sparkly and dazzling subject is relative to our lives, and the way we live.


Beginnings, and all that the word/action/thought entails, are at the tippy-top of my list.
Like Mornings.


Beginnings always end in a question mark.
They're hopeful.
They're progressive.
They're exalting.
They give us a feeling of being Unlimited,
Undaunted,
and Empowered.
And like my friend HRMJ said, beginnings are a divine thing. They allow us to stop what was happening years ago or moments ago, and start afresh. As she said, "I can stop ~ right then and there ~ and start again."

You see where this is going, now, don't you?
Of course you do. :)

Obviously, to those who have a need to create themselves and who love Possibility - which is what Beginnings are - living an unschooled (un-regimented, free-flowing, and self-sovereigned) life.... well. It only makes sense, doesn't it?

Unschooling is full of beginnings. Every day has them.


In our family, upon starting our day we rarely know what the day will hold or offer us.
That might sound chaotic and frightening to some, but it truly isn't.

We have our comforts around us.
We have our favorite tools. (Tools being the things that we use to learn and create our lives.)
We have each other.


Somewhere in the beginning of our day we get together (if Daddy is home, he's included, too, of course), and each come up with a few ideas of things we'd like to do together.

So there is rhyme and rhythm to our day, though 'tis a flowing sort, and not anything rigid, or really even remotely structured.

And in there we find the Possibility.
And all of our Beginnings.

Under the microscope:

scorpion, beetle, corn chip crumbs, leg of honeybee, salt, carrot, paper, an ant.

* * *

* * *
Another - innocuous! - beginning.
Here's "Footprints".
(Which comes from Trevelyn's List, today.)
The Mama of the house quickly weighed all options...
holiday wrapping paper turned over...
tears easily...
taped to floor (verra cold and wet outside today)....
tearing, scooting....
oh, wait -frustrated children,
deflated Mama....
"Hey! I have an idea. C'mere, guys. Whaddayou think about this?"

So we have Footprints.
And so.


And so!!!



And guess what?

Easily and merrily.

* * *

And now...

And now we have a couple of other things in mind....

Lasagna - with all the trimmin's,
-now how Settled is that?-

Toy Story,

and the makings of Chocolate Chip Cookies.
See?

You Just Never Know!....
in the Beginning.

Life's a beautiful thing.