We have had a full week here at the Harrison Abode and I am glad that it is Sunday and I can REST a bit. We started out the week Monday morning with a fun filled visit to the Cobb's house (aka heaven on earth for my boys) where a friend and I gleaned some wise homeschooling advice from Cynthia while the 9 older boys played outside. It was a great time for all and I sure did enjoy being with someone who home schools twice as many kids (5 out of 6 being boys) as me and is still sane and happy. After that I taught 2 classes that evening and then two on Tuesday and Wednesday as well which wore me out. Then we showed our house on Thursday for the first time since it has been listed so I (with a little help from the kids) worked like a madwoman cleaning all day for that. (the buyers wanted "a more conventional neighborhood") Friday I taught the Geography co-op class, which reminds me:

One of the things each teacher (mom) has done for the Geography class is to tell a little about the languages that are spoken in the country they are presenting. For example, the mom who taught about Mexico started the class speaking in fluent Spanish (she used to be a Spanish teacher) and another had some recordings of Chinese. Anyway, when I started our class I told the kids who I was and that we were going to be talking about Africa. This one little boy raised his hand and said completely seriously, "Why are you speaking with such a Southern accent?" He thought it had to do with my presentation and that I was putting on! I laughed a lot (as did the other moms) and told him that I actually always talk like this. He was as embarrassed as a home schooled 7 year old can be (not at all) and we continued on. No, I still think he was confused. I thought it was hilarious!

Seth was out of town for a long weekend for a Builders Golf Tournament and so Lorie and Kiah spent the night with us Friday night. Lorie and I stayed up pretty late talking and I played and sang all of my new stuff on the guitar for her. It was a fun time. Then Saturday I taught class and we spent most of the day at Mimi and Grandaddy's house so the boys could play with Kiah while Lorie worked. Also, I sang and played at church this morning so I spent every spare moment practicing for that this past week.

When Seth walked in the house I said, "Hi honey, I am glad you are home. Annabelle is taking a nap and the boys are in the backyard with Taylor and I really need a nap." So I took one and I feel much better now. Ah, rest.......... Now I need to start something for dinner.


I will leave you with lots of pictures from Lorie's camera:


This one is Caleb at Pigeon Forge on the balcony of the condo waiting to get his hair cut. He is mad as always and I had to tell him that he was not going to Dollywood until he got a haircut. I just love this picture because it is that little scowl that he has a lot of times. OK, maybe I don't love that scowl, but I think I will appreciate capturing this moment years down the road.

The rest are mostly from the weekend that Lorie took the boys to Boone with her. They went to Tweetsie Railroad and must be doing a climbing wall there.

Kiah and Annabelle snuggling on the couch at Mimi's house.

Now, go read Amie's blog and leave her a comment.

Let me think........ What has been going on here at our house lately? We had our gig at Cheshire Friday and it was super fun and all but I don't want to officially blog about it until I find some pictures from someone. None of the videos turned out for various reasons (one being that it got dark really quickly and you could see anything) so you'll have to wait til next time to see some.




On the kiddo front, we started our Co-op geography class on Friday in Black Mountain. There are almost 20 kids in the class and each mom is taking a week to teach about a different country throughout the semester. Thank the Lord that most of the other moms are there in the class to help out. I don't know how regular teachers can get things done with that many kids. I guess they don't do the same types of things. Anyhow, the boys love it. Annabelle actually sat in on the class too and enjoyed it all herself. We had the class then all ate a picnic lunch in the church yard afterward. There is an art and PE class offered after the Geography but I am pretty sure we are going to skip out on those since Annabelle needs to get home for a nap. Maybe next time around. School here at the house is still going well. The boys are loving this book that is a journal of a Vietnam soilder called My Name is America: The Journal of Patrick Seamus Flaherty. Why is war so interesting to them? I guess cause they are males. That book only makes me pray harder each night that I will never have to send either on of them off to fight in a war one day.

We start each day with our least favorite subject: HANDWRITING! The boys are working through the Handwriting Without Tears workbooks. Someone needs to come up with a series called Handwriting Without Anger for Caleb.




Annabelle is talking more and more each day. Can you believe she will be two years old in less than a month!!!!!!? I will try to get a good video up soon for you of all of her jabbering. (she has a lot more to say than the boys ever did!)

Yesterday was a lovely break from motherhood for me. After church Seth was off to his baseball game and the boys went with Grandaddy and Mimi to a Bartlett family gathering in Swannanoa. Annabelle and I were supposed to meet up with them after her nap, but it just so happened that Annabelle set a nap time record and slept for almost four hours in our silent house. The child was so tired! So there I was feeling so odd with little to do on a Sunday afternoon all alone. I read some, and played my guitar, and just rested.... nice and appropriate for a Sunday. Then Grandaddy took Caleb and Adam to a church picnic at Camp Rockmont and extended my break time even longer.

Happy Birthday Aunt Leslie! I did my figuring this morning and came up with her turning 27 although I was so sure it was 28. I am always off a year when I figure her age.
We miss you so come home..........

CIVIL WAR RE-ENACTMENT

Last Saturday, the boys and I went down to Old Fort to see a Civil War re-enactment with our friends, Paul and Amy. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I figured it would be a really great learning experience for the boys and fun too. They have always been obsessed with guns and weapons so I figured they would dig it. They did. Especially the part where they got to play with some 10 year old in the dirt while I watched the fashion show in a tent close by. Yep, while the men got ready for the "battle", the women (a few guys too) held a fashion show. Before we arrived, I had decided that my only regret was most likely going to be the fact that I was not in costume. (I love to dress up) However, after the show, I was glad that I hadn't even attempted because these folks took it very seriously and I was almost intimidated by the authenticity of the attire. This is my favorite little family: AND, the mom made all of their costumes. I was impressed!

OK, let me back up a little here and tell you about these Re-enactments. There are folks who do this as their hobby and will arrive at the designated location a few days ahead of the official skirmish to make camp. For three or four days, they dress the part and act the part of a civil war period family. It is pretty interesting. They try to be as authentic as possible by not using anything that wouldn't have been available in that time period. (within reason I suppose) The guy above told us that they had just "stolen some pork from the Yankees earlier that day" as we explored through the camp. I am sure he didn't use those exact words because it sounded better than that.
IT WAS HOT! But, I couldn't think of complaining with all of those poor souls dressed in wool uniforms or wearing seven layers of petty coats and skirts! The boys were not as sympathetic.



Now, onto the actual battle. We came prepared with earplugs for the boys but I really had no idea how loud the cannons were actually going to be.
It was the loudest noise I have ever heard. I was afraid it might even damage my eardrums so I spent the first fifteen minutes with my ears covered and wishing I had brought some for me too. Amy was such a great help with Caleb who sat in her lap so she could cover his ears over top of the earplugs. Eventually we got used to it and kept a close eye on the guys lighting the fuse so we could know when to brace ourselves.





It was kinda like a play or something. There was a doctor who went around to help the injured soldiers. No one "died" for quite some time because it was hotter than heck out there and I can't think of how miserable it would have been to lie in the grass for thirty minutes or so when you could be up shooting the bad guys.

There are Companies all from all over the place who do this sort of thing quite often. Some have both Yankee and Rebel uniforms and will fight on whatever side needs more men.
Other companies wouldn't dream of being on the opposing side.

These were the Yankees: By the way, they lost this particular skirmish.

My favorite part, aside from the fashion show, was watching the cavalry. The horses were so well-trained and the would charge ahead and do their thing and then all retreat back.

This horse only had one eye. It was creepy looking. He didn't lose it in the battle. He had some disease and the vet took it out. We asked.




For the most part, the place was just full of history buffs and such, but as I suspected, there were a good number of folks who use it as a good excuse to wave their rebel flags and wear questionable t-shirts.

In conclusion, I can't think of a better way to learn a little more about that war or history,in particularly from a little boy's perspective, than watching one of these. If I was in charge of the event, I would have held a "history lesson" before the battle giving information about the skirmish they were re-enacting and what actually happened in Old Fort, NC at that time. If I was more friendly, we could have learned more though Paul and Amy were a wealth of information themselves about it all.


Until the next time, I will be working on sewing our family costumes for the event. Nope, it would be too hot. Maybe if there is one in October or something. Paul may be a part of a Revolutionary War company soon. I think I would like that better. No one is bitter about the outcome of that war.

I just finished up reading Little House in the Big Woods to the boys for their bedtime story. Aunt Angie loaned us the book a while back and we started it earlier this month. Caleb and Adam enjoyed it more than I even expected, but I am quite sure that I took more pleasure in reading it to them. What a great book! I have always had a sort of "love affair" with the old days anyways, wishing that I had lived back then. However, I probably would have died in childbirth, so I will take the days of the C-section over that. In fact, I was born as a C-section because I was overdue and breach, so that would have wiped out me, Mom, and my younger siblings too. OK, OK, but I still love stories about the pioneer days. They were so darn crafty! It was great to explain to the kids how if they owned it, they probably made themselves. If they ate it, they grew it or shot it themselves......and that you can get maple syrup from trees and that they made their own soap......and that they had to grow wheat, grind it and make it into bread....and that they only got mittens and a piece of candy for Christmas---but they were so thrilled with them.......and how the only music they had ever heard was Pa's fiddle.........and how they had never been to town until Laura was six years old.....and on and on..... Oh my, should I have warned you about the spoilers in this post?

Reading stories has definitely been one of my favorite pastimes with my children. It is a little frustrating to me that they are all fidgety and squirmy (the nature of most boys) and rarely seem like they are listening. I quiz them as we go to make sure they have a bit of comprehension going on, and they always amaze me because they really are understanding and listening to the story. Tonight Kiah spent the night and it was just splendid to have a still, little child hanging onto every word I read. I could have started from the beginning and read to her all night long, but Caleb was having his nightly emotional breakdown and had to be firmly dealt with.

I'll just make this a "schooling" post because I need to write a bit about the Botany class last Friday. Adam loved it. I loved it. Caleb........hated it for the first hour and then loved it for the second hour. He was very nervous about it and for him, nervousness shows itself as anger. he was so MAD about going to class! He sat in his chair with the worst attitude at first. Then his friend, Gray, came over and talked to him a little which changed his attitude. In short, I am really excited about the class. We are going to do all sorts of projects together. We made a light box and are in the process of growing some herbs and flowers in it. I am secretly afraid that ours won't grow. I have a really bad track record with house plants. I don't suppose we would fail the class.......but I am sure that the boys would let everyone know if ours die or something. I'll keep you posted.








OK, I wrote all of that a couple of nights ago but didn't want to post it until I got a cute picture of the light box. Now it is Friday and I have a bit of time this morning, because school got canceled due to ice, thereby canceling my aerobics class. I am not letting it spoil my morning by trying to get a lot done before we head out to Botany and then later to our weekly band gathering.

Well, to be truthful, I haven't gotten anything extra done yet. I'll do that after I blog. It is just not spoiling my morning because I am generally in a very good mood in the mornings and things don't bother me so much at this hour.

I would like to say that some of my winter blues have been remedied by two new articles of clothing. I got a sweet ski jacket on sale at TJ Maxx the other day and a pair of flannel pjs at Old Navy a couple of weeks ago. I decided that one of the reasons I hate winter is due to the fact that I am always cold. No more will I be cold at night or outside with my cozy coat and pajamas. It really has made the days and nights better. Nana got Caleb this corny movie about snowboarding that he has watched every day this week. It gets him all pumped up about snowboarding and so then he spends the majority of his day boarding down the mulch hill out front. Guess where Annabelle wants to be. Right there with him, so I bundle us up and we spend the afternoon and morning outside in the coldness. He is getting really good at it all and asks daily when we are going to go snowboarding for real. I tell him very soon. I haven't been skiing in 8 years! Do you think it is like riding a bike and you don't ever forget how. I hope. We will see soon because we are planning on taking the boys in the next week or so. I have decided to try snowboarding since I will be on the bunny slope most of the time with them anyways. Plus, snowboarding is just much cooler and I definitely want to be cool. Seth and I have gotten very excited about the idea of our family going out west one day on a snowboarding trip together. We have even talked about getting some weekday family passes to a nearby resort next year. One of the better aspects of being homeschooled and self-employed is the freedom to go places during the week. Now we just need some money...............




Here are videos of the boys going down the mulch hill. Caleb's snowboarding is harder than it may look to you in this. He has gotten where he catches a bit of air on the jump now. I will have to get a video of that too.

I am on a blogging kick. I was thinking about heading off to bed but thought I would write a little something about our weekend. Seth played in a baseball tournament with his brother in Georgia so we tagged along to visit the Harrison side of the family. We always have a great time down there. Caleb and Adam ADORE their cousins, Walker and Amy (Aaron too, but he is only 3 months old) and I like hanging out with Seth's sister, Angie. The kids play so well together and I barely see them most of the time a part from feeding them and getting them off to bed. Caleb and Walker usually pair off and then Amy and Adam play together. It is really sweet. Angie and I cleaned up her upstairs room and I scored some more stuff to use for our homeschooling. Angie has given me loads of curriculum for school. She has clothed my kids as well. Without her pass downs, my kids would be illiterate and naked. ............ As of now they are just illiterate. My point is that Angie is very generous and I appreciate all that she provides for us.


Speaking of homeschooling, it is going well. I am so blessed because everyone close to me is very supportive of our decision. Angie has been homeschooling now for 5 years and has been a wealth of information and encouragement to me. We sit down for "school" during Annabelle's morning nap, but mainly I am focusing on teaching throughout the day. I like that parenthood makes you view the world so differently. Who knew that I could ever get so excited about dirtbikes or tractors or guns? Seeing the world through the boys' eyes makes me realize how much there is out there to learn.

On the ride home, Seth and I entertained ourselves (when I wasn't turned around tending to Annabelle) by playing name that tune with the radio. Neither of us listen to the radio so we were not very good. I waxed him in the beginning because there are a lot of country stations near Atlanta. I don't really listen to much country but I can recognize voices well. He beat me when it came to classic rock though. We laughed a lot and entertained one another with it. I even got a rap song correct because I recognized it from my aerobics cd. Here is what I took from it all:
1. The Judds are/were so talented in their day. I like them so much and will have get one of my Dad's cds to burn. Did they write their own music? We heard them sing "Have Mercy".
2. If it is a "today's rock" station, a good guess is always "Nickelback"
3. Crosby Stills and Nash is good guess for lots of songs that sound a little familiar but I am not sure about.
4. Most music on the radio makes me want to puke.

Back to the weekend visit. Caleb and Adam cried and cried when we left. We will get back down soon.

In Defense of Homeschooling

Today was the first day of school for all of the public schools in our area so we got plenty of inquiries about the boys' education at the gym and around town this morning. I suppose that I should get used to defending my choice to homeschool since so many people want an explanation for it. I feel like I need a concise answer that is not too offensive for those who ask. I have been thinking of homeschooling for over 6 years and truly believe it is the best way to educate one's children when done properly. So here is my politically correct answer for folks:

We are homeschooling because it is more efficient time-wise. I can accomplish what a kindergarten teacher teaches her students in a day within 2-3 hours. I really believe that 8 hours of school for a 5 or 6 year old boy is too much. They need more physical activity and outdoor time. There is such a great network of homeschoolers in this area and many opportunities for my children as well.

I was going to list some of my other reasons that I probably won't discuss with my daily acquaintances but I don't have time and some are pretty offensive.

Here is a good link to some reasons instead:




I will probably just say:

I just want to shelter my children as much as possible from the "real" world so that they can grow up and be really weird.

How about this:

We really need our kids in working our home-based business.

Oh my goodness, I knew I was forgetting something. I had better sign them up for school asap!

I still nurse them all so they have to be homeschooled.