So Sad

I have no pictures of the cake. None. Not one. I do have a video of us singing to Jack and him blowing out his candles, which I may be able to upload by some feat of technology other than this beloved phone.

So sorry. It was very cute.

G K Chesterton

I don't know why I always do this, but I always find about 3 books to bring home from the library and try to read them. When am I going to read these books??? My latest temptation was The Man Who was Thursday by GK Chesterton. I have never read Chesterton or even heard of him until about 5 or so years ago. But whenever I hear him spoken of, I feel as if I must go immediately and read something he has written. So while I was at the library on Saturday, I went perusing, and found two of his works, one of which was The Man Who was Thursday. It was thin, so I felt it was safe to check out.

I am halfway through already.

I have recommended it to none other than my FATHER. And it begins with a POEM.

I really wish this blogger app offered such options as italic and bold, because the all-caps just doesn't cut it.

In other news, James is finishing his ninth week of first grade. It is flying by! And Jack is turning 4 tomorrow! No! It cannot be true!!!

Cake pictures following the weekend.

Caramel Apples

My mom helped my boys make caramel apples last week, here are some pictures. They were delicious but we weren't completely satisfied with the caramel, so no recipe is included. But you can find one online and try it out yourself. It was very simple to do. Beware of extreme sugar high followed by EXTREME sugar low. :) Happy Fall, everybody!

Commitment

I am about half way through Parents and Children by Charlotte Mason. It has been just the right thing for me right now. With subjects such as "parents as inspirers" and "faith and duty", did I mention PARENTS AS INSPIRERS????!!!!! With such subjects discussed, it has been amazing. Really! It has brought so much focus and clarity to my thinking, with regards to education. It's just philosophy, philosophy, philosophy, and I love it. But then it's practical application after practical application. She speaks of the evidence with validates her philosophy to be true, and which I know to be true from my own experience, and which I see evidenced in my children.

I am attempting to retain as much as I can from what I'm reading. I'm not so great at narrating, though. I mean sure, I could narrate Pilgrim's Progress or Our Island Story or Pagoo, but we're talking about a completely different level here. The reason I know that I do do poorly at narrating CM is because I will try to tell Jason about something. Note the word "try". He answers with blank looks and answers such as, "ok, that's the most vague thing I've ever heard".

Sigh.

So I am committing right here, right now, to answer the questions in the appendix when I am finished reading Parents and Children. I mean answer the questions here on my blog. I have never gone through the appendices of CM's books because I was way too intimidated by the questions. But this will force me to clearly articulate what I have learned.

Current Books

I am reading five books right now. I think five is a good amount to keep going as I am not usually in the mood to read the same book night after night. Perhaps it's the Charlotte Mason mental feast thing rubbing off on me. Heh heh. Or maybe I don't see the need to discipline myself into finishing one book before beginning another. Whatever it is, that's just how it is with me right now. Along with CM's Volume 2, I am reading The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaeffer, the Something or Other of Motherhood ... Meaning? Method? It's a Sally Clarkson book I have been reading bits of for months now. So those are the grown up books I'm reading. Definitely each of them need to be savored. I don't think any of them would benefit me at all if I just read them cover to cover. They require Thinking.

So now that Joel is beginning Ambleside Online Year 3, I am finally through the Year 1 free read list. Until now, I have read all the free reads aloud. But at the last visit to the Library I picked up Brighty of the Grand Canyon by Marguerite Henry for Joel to read himself. I have him read two chapters a day (they are short chapters), at separate times. Since I have never read the book, I have been reading several chapters at night a few nights a week so I can stay ahead of him. It's a great book, and I'm glad I chose this one for him to read. I also checked out Five Children and It by Edith Nesbit. I plan to have Joel read it when he's done with Brighty. It Is a completely different flavor (from Brighty), and is quite delightful. It has longer chapters, and I am slowly working through them. I never thought I'd be staying up late reading children's books, but I am! Five Little Peppers and How They Grew is what I am reading to the boys at night, with Poems and Verses for Children interspersed. I am finding that reading children's literature while I have children is helping me. It reminds me of my own childhood, my own feelings as a child, and also to have more reasonable expectations of my children. To remember what's important.

Oh yeah, the Sally Clarkson book is The Mission of Motherhood.

Current Favorite Picture

Beautiful Weather

Right now I am working on a system of regular Bible reading, and regular Nature Study. I would love to do the Outdoor Hour Challenge. The only thing keeping me from being able to do it is the no Internet issue. I want to be able to go to the Library weekly -- ALONE -- with the laptop and get what I need to get, download what I need to download, etc., etc., etc. Again I say, I am working on a system. The key is not seeing all the things I cannot do right now and wishing I could be doing those things. It blinds one from seeing what one CAN be doing. If nothing else, we are spending more time outdoors.... The weather has been heavenly!

A New Beginning. Maybe.

After what seems ages of bemoaning the fact that I have no Internet, I finally had the thought that surely someone in this great Age of Blogging had come up with a way for those of us who have need to, to blog from their iDevice of choice. And they have. And there are options. Thankfully there is a free option among them!

Although I am quite aware that no one will probably read this as all have given up on this blog ever being updated, I do not great hopes of a large following. It is only the accountability of Cyberspace that I *keep telling myself* that I need. However, I don't always tell myself the truth (yes, I have been known to lie to myself) I may end up falling off the bandwagon again as we may find that this option is really not a viable one at this time. But let's not give up before we have begun. Again.