On a Roll!!!

After not being able to blog for so many months, I'm catching up nicely, I would say. This photo is me, JB and JW, enjoying Mother's Day with our families (and some champagne among ourselves).

Daddy and I and the kids have been working on the yard during our "wet" season (translation; only have to water twice a day). Things are coming up ROSES!


(ABOVE) This bush was here when we moved in. I have no idea what it is called, maybe "Sexy Rexy". But it's pretty and produces a ton of flowers. They have a delicate scent, if any at all and the bees are crazy about them.


This is my "Double Delight" bush just outside my kitchen window. These flowers are very strongly scented and they are "delightful" to behold. I never thought I would ever have any type of rose interest. But the more I care for them, the more they produce. In some parts of California, (like Lancaster which is in the middle of the desert) rose bushes thrive wildly with little or no care. Go figure.... one would think roses are delicate. I'm learning that this is not the case.

We are coming up on two full years here. The enjoyment we have here is so wonderful. It's a great place to be all day long as a homeschooling family. Not that we are here as much as that last sentence makes it sound. Between two park days a week, classes, playdates, field trips and oh yeah, that reading and writing thing, we have to PLAN to stay home! But we are never bored and are totally loving our life.

Many Blessings to All

~Mama

Hear Ye! The Lostus of the The Firstus Toothus!

Boy has lost his first tooth! He was determined to have the tooth fairy visit that night. He worked it loose himself and pulled it! What a smile. He got 4 Quarters!

Our little thespian is going to be Duke Theseus in "Pyramus and Thisbe". This is the current gathering of costumage: (we still need a crown).


Not to be outdone, Girl has been "reminding" me every day that I need to get her into a dance class. She is very persistent. Here is playing with the globe that JiJi got Boy for Solstice. (They like to fight over it). She's picked out Greenland. She really likes the music there. I hope she doesn't start her dance tour there.

Fog City Getaway

My first images of California are of this bridge. Is there anything like it in the world?




The photo above was taken at Baker Beach, just West of the Presidio.

We checked out Alcatraz. There was even a former inmate, Darwin Coon, there that day plugging his book, Alcatraz; The True End of the Line.

We stayed in this GREAT little place, Hotel Del Sol in the Marina District.It is the BEST place for kids. There were cookies and milk every night, videos for loan, games, *BRIGHT* colors (see photo below) and it was remarkably quiet for being in the middle of the City.



Our favorite babysitter attends SFSU. We got to drag her to the Exploratorium. I don't think she liked it much. (I'm being sarcastic.)




We wandered around Fisherman's Wharf, ate clam chowder from a bread bowl, had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe and even found the USS Pampanito.

As I have done my time with the military, I choose to stay topside. Submarines are way too close quarters for me.




















It was windy (not on the submarine) alot and we throughly enjoyed ourselves for the rest of our trip. I remembered what I originally loved about California. Things you can only find up north; Eucalyptus on the Bay breeze and fresh green vistas. But in the end, we returned home to SoCal safe and sound after having left a teeny bit of our hearts in San Francisco.









~~Mama

A Spring-y Celebration!

We celebrated the arrival of Spring on "Irish Day" (you'll see the date on the photos, so you'll be familiar with it) with some very good friends. (Translation: we ate corned beef and drank to everything Irish we could think of.)

The kids had a spectacular time as did the adults and we all went home happy and full of good cheer, I mean...Cheers...





We would normally do a celebration of Spring, but....alas, we all forgot. Too stout with Stout, I guess.

Cheers!
~~Mama

Nicolas is 7!!!

Boy turned 7 and it was a racous time. We have a standing NASCAR date with our dear friends, Lady and Smuffy and their kids and there just happened to be a race on Boy's birthday. Yes, his hair is quite long. He's been working on a padawan braid (like the Jedis) and so the rest of his hair was growing. But then it got too long and I had to give him some bangs. MORAL; never let Mama near your hair with a pair of scissors!!!! (It's since been fixed.)

~Mama

Fun at the Races

It has been too long since this reporter has graced the web with his witty dialogue, engaging writing style and his humble outlook on life...
So since that reporter is not available, I want to talk about racing.
It's only been a couple years since I started watching NASCAR and becoming a fan. In that time, I have to say that NASCAR is the best at educating it's viewers on the terms, rules, and strategies that make up racing.
In the times that I've become a fan of racing, I've picked a driver at random and started watching races now and again becoming more and more educated. What's funny is that I am a die-hard Steeler fan in football and they are dressed in black and gold. My driver is Matt Kenseth. What color is his car? Black and Gold. Coincidence? hmmmmm......
What I had not done is actually gone to a NASCAR race.

Last Sunday at the California Speedway, I did just that.

My good friend Ed and I got up really early and headed over to Fontana, CA. The race was set for noon, but we also got pre-race pit passes and wanted to make sure we got full use of that priviledge. We parked in general parking which is free, but a decent walk to the Speedway. This may sound like a pain, but it was totally worth the walking as leaving was not the ordeal it was for the other 90,000 people trying to worm their way out of the parking lot.

So we wandered about the trailers full of merchandise and "outfitted" our families, with shirts and hats then made our way to the pits.

What I didn't realize was that the pit pass allows you to actually go out onto the track itself, into the infield grass, and through all the pits themselves. The only thing you can't do is go up to the cars themselves. The pits have all the gear from high-tech screens to precision repair devices like aluminum bats.. :-)

After walking around for about 3 hours (one wouldn't think that there would be that much to do before a race...), we grabbed some grub and headed to our seats.

Oh yeah, we also go these headphones and track scanners that allow you to hear the driver-pit chatter throughout the race.

Now logically, I cannot explain how it would be fun at all to sit down with 90,000 other people and watch cars turn left for 250 laps. I have to tell you though.. I LOVED IT!! It was such a blast! The track scanners were awesome and I spent most of the time listening in to my driver.
At the end of the day, it was an exciting race and my driver won the first NASCAR race that I've ever been to. (By the way, Thanks honey for getting the awesome seats!!!)

So in conclusion: Racing= good, Live at the track= fun, Marc = silly.

Coming soon: We're going to be taking a family vacation up to San Francisco! So stay tuned for pics and stories from that adventure.

Signing off......
Marc

Tu-be or Not Tu-be

My little patriot--she found this headpiece soon after we were finished watching "Liberty's Kids".

Yes, we watch television in our house. As anyone who reads my blog on a regular basis (or talks to me in person for more than 2 minutes) knows, we school at home. Sometimes television is part of the day's curriculum. We've learned that within our family, too much TV can seem like the brain has been sucked right out of the body. But that is where our family rule about "everything in moderation" comes into play.

I hope that before anyone passes judgment on what they think they know about home education, time is spent talking to a child who is allowed the freedom to explore the world their way. Talk to them. You won't have to "dumb down" your speech or avoid using big words. They will have a full conversation with you (usually involving Legos and Star Wars and Dora the Explorer or Diego).

Having the freedom for my children to explore who they are at any given moment and taking advantage of that freedom is one thing I am grateful for today.

Now....it's time for Disney's Playhouse, so I have to go.

Ciao!

Happy Love Day

I'm not the only one who has renamed this original Hallmark Holiday. My friend, T, and I spent some time talking about this yesterday and the topics of discussion all around me were the nuances of Valentine's Day in the schools, both public and private.

In my niece's private school, the kids were asked to bring Valentines for each child. My sister couldn't find any boxed Valentine's that were not commercial in some way (SpongeBob Squarepants or Barbie Princesses) so she found some cardstock at JoAnn's and we spent the day cutting out hearts for my niece to decorate. That in itself was a great experience for me. I got some time to spend with my sister and the kids all had a great time playing dress-up.


My niece, "D", was looking at the list sent home by the teacher of all the kids in the class and she was giving me bits of information about each as she was making valentines for them. One child is mean to her and to all the other kids in the class. He always talks about stealing all of his Dad's money". She also doesn't like that he teases her about her relationship with my son. (Boy & D were "womb mates" of a sort and are inseparable.) I have had people tell me that this is "normal" socialization for children. Normal??? negative attitudes and snotty comments all the time? I wouldn't want give that kid a valentine, either. But, in this day and age of political correctness, there's no leaving anyone out.

I think I have the greatest MIL (mother-in-law). She sent packages to the kids for Love Day. In it were the coolest treasures! For each, she found these really interesting card games in little lunch box tins, a new t-shirt and--books! Books are the best. S's were painting books and N's were classics (yay!!!). Yep, my MIL totally rocks. She called to see if they enjoyed them. How could they not? There was paper strewn all over the room! And got to have a few words with each of the kids before they shooed themselves off to fight over who was going to play their game first!

She and I had a great conversation about how much she enjoys reading these blog entries. I am so thrilled and inspired (especially to watch more closely what I write about--Hee-hee!) My audience is more varied and diverse than I originally thought. (Hi Mary!!!)

On some days I feel the distance between our family and our extended family more strongly than on other days. For those days, I am very grateful for the telephone, internet, e-cards and regular cards. For all this "technological closeness", one would think it would be very difficult to feel those large spaces. But, we do. So, what do we do? We just love everyone wherever they are.

Happy Love Day!

~~Mama

Shmitle (rhymes with 'title")... OR.... the Beast at the Beginning

I would like to be a good writer. My sister and friend, bkwurm, whom I have mentioned before, is an aspiring writer and one of the best I know. Some of her prose rattles around my head at the most interesting times. The one about the trees and the seeds, in particular. She will know of what I speak and I don't have permission to publish the rest of that, but trust me, it's awesome! She writes all the time!

I have another friend who I mainly "see" online and she is a great inspiration on writing, too. She's a kick in the pants, a published writer, a great homeschooling mom and I really enjoy our discussions.

I used to think that being a writer meant that you had to write *good* all the time. Now I am beginning to realize that being a writer means only that you have to write *something* all the time, maybe even EVERY DAY, no matter what it looks or sounds like.

So, I carry my current books around (in case I get inspired by something I might by chance read, when I have a chance waiting in line or something) and my journal so that I have ONE PLACE to keep my thoughts. Because sometimes I feel as though my brain is too full of kid "assignments" and schedules and what all the little groups around me are doing....I can hardly remember the things I would LIKE to do, never mind all the things I HAVE to do. But if that is one bane of motherhood, pshaw! There are so many other wonderful things to dilute that.

Like this photo:

(Quick subject change and I get to talk about the kids). This is the kids idea of "shopping for boring new rugs for the kitchen with Mom". But, they learned about spatial relations (like my son can't actually fit onto the shelf in the store, at least not the way he wants to which is with his legs straight up in the air) and we talked about fractions and percentages and sale prices v. everyday prices. There was way more learning going on for all than I had originally planned. I just wanted to get new rugs! And we did, and they were a good price. Good for them, good for me, good for the house "finance department".

So, back to my "title". When I open a new post for posting, I immediately balk at the idea of giving something a "title". So, I try to find something random that might be eye-catching. Does today's "title" have anything to do with what I'm writing about? *SHRUG* You decide, dear reader. But I am getting new photos of the kids on the blog on a regular basis like I promised and I'm babbling a bit for purely entertainment value.

I do realize today that I'm beginning to get the hang of this writing thing (oh yeah, and that I can edit my posts!). And I'm enjoying it....

Now I'm off to write about completely different topics in my journal. And I don't give those pages a shmitle, just the date on the top of the page. Oh, I number my pages now, too. Thanks, Sistah!

Maybe I'll start giving those entries titles-shmitles, too. To practice-shmactice.

Hey! That's a good Shmitle.


~~Mama

New Discoveries

One can never be "too old" not "too young" for education.

I've been having these really great conversations lately about books with my friend and sister, "Bkwurm".




I found this poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay in a book she had lying out on the kitchen counter:

Sweet love, sweet thorn, when lightly to my heart
I took your thrust, whereby I since am slain,
And lie disheveled in the grass apart,
A sodden thing bedrenched by tears and rain,
While rainy evening drips to misty night
And misty night to cloudy morning clears,
And clouds disperse across the gathering light,
And birds grow noisy, and the Sun appears--
Had I bethought me then, sweet love, sweet thorn,
How sharp an anguish even at the best,
When alls requited and the future sworn
The happy hour can leave within the breast,
I had no so come running at the call
Of one who loves me little, if at all. -- Edna St. Vincent Millay

I was talking to J earlier and sort of teasing her about Emily Dickinson's poetry. I heard recently that most of her poems can be sung to the tune of "The Yellow Rose of Texas" and also the theme song to "Gilligan's Island".

So, I found a book of Emily's prose and this poem struck me:

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me. -- Emily Dickinson

So, time for bed, the little one said...........

~~Mama

ZBooks Partaken - 2007

Isn't our new library beautiful?!? It's in the South End addition. NOT!!!! Someday......

These are the books that we, Zawrotny-West, are reading or have read this year. This list was begun on January 19, 2007 and will be frequently updated.

1. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde (mpz)
2. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald (mpz)
3. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - Jules Verne (maz)
4. Thinking for a Change - John C. Maxwell (mpz)
5. Dumbing Us Down - John Taylor Gatto (mpz)
6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling (all)
7. A Horse and His Boy - C.S. Lewis (audio - nqz)
8. The Persian Pickle Club - Sandra Dallas (mpz)
9. Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card (maz)
10. Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert Heinlein (maz)
11. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey (maz)
12. Forty Million Dollar Slaves - William C. Rhoden (maz)
13. Personhood: the Art of Being Fully Human - Leo F. Buscaglia, PhD. (mpz)
14. Solitary Witch - Silver Ravenwolf (mpz)
15. The Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft - Christopher Penzcak (mpz)
16. Tales from Shakespeare - Tina Packer (all)
17. Cutting the Ties of Karma - Phyliss Krystal (mpz)
18. Sai Baba; The Holy Man and the Psychiatrist - Sandweiss (mpz)
19. Our Town - Thorton Wilder

Except for "CSI", we have given up any television habit now that football is (almost) over. Back to reading.........

How Do You "Know" That They Are Learning???

This is a question I get constantly as a homeschooling mother. Most of the time I think "well, DUH!? How does ANYONE really "know" that they are learning?" Oh, right....they get a D+ on an English test right after the teacher got a speeding ticket that morning or they are "average" because they got great grades in one class, but failed another because they argued with the teacher.

When you fall on your face and break your nose, you will "learn" that you shouldn't skate around on the freshly waxed kitchen floor with new socks. When you get slapped with a late charge of $50 and the interest rate on your credit card goes from the 8.9% special to the "for normal instant gratification-ers" rate of 35.99% you might "learn" to pay your bills on time. There is no end to these types of lessons.

Our current "average" standard is to "test" and "measure" and for our children to memorize facts for one purpose...one short-sighted, momentarily milestone.....THE EXAM. That is so backward to the Realism of life.

Our family considers itself an organization of "LifeLearners" so the "tests" are every moment, every single day.

I have a story in mind here that has prompted this musing.

Daddy has the day off in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. So, we thought we would take the day rather leisurely and sleep in a bit (perhaps 8:30am vs 7:15am).

Our two children were making the usual noises in the living room. "That was MY spot!" "Where's green blanket and ducky?" .... "No, that's MY crossbow!" (a very elaborate, original structure made from Lego's). Girl's first words nearly every morning are "I'm Hungry, Mama!" I've discovered that bread is a quick precursor to breakfast and ... they can get it themselves.
They can turn the television on and watch "PBS Sprout" since they are 7 and 3. So I heard "Teletubbies" in the distance while I was working myself casually out of sleep.

So, Boy wanders into the bedroom about 9:00am, gives me a kiss on the nose and whispers "Mama! We have a surprise for you!" Here's what we found:

Our 7 year old and our 3 year old, without hollering at each other and working as a team, pulled out the silverware, china plates, matching placemats (*I* don't even remember where I put those!!!), glasses, set the table, poured water, made toast for me and, get this.....a ham sandwich for Daddy! ... AND managed to find "oranges" for garnish (the are actually lemons off of the tree from the backyard, but, SO WHAT!?!?!?) Oh yeah, they didn't break anything or make a huge mess (probably because they have "learned" that they are responsible for cleaning up their own messes).

Perhaps you think there is nothing so unusual about this. Well, here is what is particularly interesting....we don't set the table this way for our everyday family meals. So, it isn't like Boy has learned to set the table because it's his "job" at mealtimes. We have, however, experienced this treatment when we have been guests at other's homes or if we have had special holiday meals or have guests over. So, what prompted my children to get up and give us this special gift? Well, they LEARNED it somewhere and I *know* that this was never a specific, structure, "lesson" in our house. However, they have seen Daddy and I be kind to one another and make breakfast for each other and/or the family, you know.....everyday stuff. They have seen (and heard) us each own up to our mistakes and offer sincere apologies when necessary. In our very exclusive private school (the tuition is just the right price, too) we do not use any structured curriculum. I run quickly the other way whenever such things are offered or suggested or I am criticized because I don't use one. We are raising Leaders, not automatons.

Normal life is learning every moment. The "training" that is suggested in public schools that life is a series of "jumps" from test to test to exam to graduation to first job rejection to working 50 years to retirement at 67 and then death the following year is so oppressive and depressing! We have chosen to guide our children and lead by example. We are kind to each other and those around us. We stand up for ourselves, we work to protect those that need protecting from tyranny and abuse and we live our lives in love and joy. We realize, as a family that all of our seeking and yearning is useless until we learn that whatever we search for outside of ourselves will never be achieved until we can look inside and find it for ourselves, first.

This cute little table with toast for breakfast (and chocolate donuts for dessert) may not be such a big deal in First Grade, or "count" in other structure curriculum but it showed us without a doubt that our children have "learned" valuable skills. And they never had to stress out studying for The Test. This experience brought tears to our eyes and swelled our hears with pure joy. All of us.

How do we *Know* our children are learning? We talk with them. We communicate with them, we don't push them to "memorize" or "conform". Their integrity speaks for itself. And we learn from them as well.

We ARE "the changes we wish to see in the world".

~~The Mama

Is it a NEW YEAR already????

I Love my Afghan, Babci!!!!!!

Happy New Year everyone! Girl and Daddy were ill with a stomach bug for the NYE celebrations. Then Boy fell ill and then finally, I got it. But we are all healthy now.


Don't worry.....she doesn't look like this permanently. At least we don't think this is permanent! :D

We got through the silly season and we just have to get away from these windy conditions. While it doesn't snow here. Usually, we might all be blown off the map.

And this week it is COLD!!!! Not "MamaCold". Downright, DADDYSaysItsCold--Cold!

So here is what we (well....one of us) are (is) doing now;



We. are. in. so. much. trouble.


Girl is taking a dance class. It's scary how much natural talent she has. AND she has informed me that she want a pair of ballet slippers BEFORE the next class!

We. are. in. so. much. trouble......... Did I mention that?

~~Mama

As 2006 Draws to a Close

...we are unearthing ourselves from the barrage of Christmas paper and putting batteries in all the new gear that requires batteries. Placide (Melissa's mother) was visiting and we had a wonderful time.

A few days before (Winter Solstice), Marc and Nicolas graduated to belts of Solid Blue in Taijutsu and Melissa moved to Blue/White Stripe (one belt below Marc and Nicolas). Now we are on training vacation until after the New Year holiday.



The day after Christmas, we headed out to the Reagan Library with about 50,000 other people. The Christmas trees from around the world were a beautiful display and of course, Air Force One was a HUGE hit. Here we are on our way....



So Mom is on her way back to Florida and we are digging out from under the barrage of wonderful presents. Our household received an iRobot Roomba, so we are playing with it and training it to clean the rugs and floors. It's really not a time-saver at the moment; we spend so much time watching it and "tricking" it.



We are looking forward to the rest of the week being quiet and playing with all of our new toys (and making room for all the new stuff!).


We'll post again soon!

~~Melissa

Winter Holidays 2006

How did the Holidays sneak up on us again?!? It’s not like they should be a surprise or anything! “Oh, look, Martha…there’s a new holiday this year on the calendar!”

The kids are great! Shannon is about to enroll in a dance class. She LOVES to sing and dance and is so very expressive. She has *quite* a determination and focus.

Check out the photo below…what a ham! Marc nearly choked when he saw it. The blinding flash twelve years into the future was just too much to bear.

Nicolas officially began attending a very exclusive private school this year. He LOVES it and just ADORES his teachers. We are fairly certain that Shannon will have a similar experience. (We are our own private school = homeschool.) He had a great soccer season, a great coach, an awesome team and for his last game, he was full of team spirit.

He will be starting the New Year attending a Shakespeare class with kids of all ages. I have no idea what play they will do, but he CAN’T WAIT! (Especially if it involves any type of swordplay.) He also wanted to take chess and fencing classes, but there wasn’t enough time this time around.

Melissa rides a sweet paint mare named “Bella”, owned by friend Cathy. Cathy also has a thoroughbred gelding, ex-police mount named Toby. Bella and Toby arrived in California from Ohio in February with Cathy and her family. Bella was carrying a bit more weight than was necessary or healthy. She needs regular exercise to keep trim and conditioned. Cathy and Melissa try to ride as often as possible which is at least every Saturday. The local orchards and close national park space provide plenty of shade and miles of trails to explore.

Marc, Melissa and Nicolas have been working on a black belt program in Taijutsu. Shannon will join us when she turns four. Sensei Woodard (a real-life Ninja) has a fantastic Leadership Program that is in perfect alignment with our family’s goals for the immediate and long-term future.

We are feeling the miles between all of us particularly during this time of year. The time difference often prevents us from “reaching out and touching someone” (well....that, and the potential lawsuits!). But hopefully you all know that we think of you often and send virtual hugs.

We'll close with this latest photo. We send you all lots of love.

~*~ Happy Holidays ~*~

SuperStars 2006 - Final Score - Who Knows????

Soccer Season in Moorpark is over.

Shannon says: Good! I can finally take a nap!

The season was great. Nicolas had a blast and ended the season with a great show of team spirit. (Actually, Mom is finally happy to be rid of that weird can of spray hair color). The SuperStars, Brandon, Ryan K., Sean, Quinton, Ryan H., Nicolas, Anthony and Jake all did exceptionally well. They played some awesome games and some not so great games. But they all had fun and we are sad to see the season end (in some respects).

Now we are all going to have a nap--until such time as the shopping season begins.

Cheers! ~~Melissa

Mo ichido....onegai shimas

"One more time.....please assist me". Learning japanese is part of our ninjitsu training. Counting to ten is a daily part of the routine. When we haven't practiced enough, it's tough to remember what the word for "ten" is!!

Here is the Z family with Sensei Matthew Woodard (he's a real "ninja"!) at our most recent belt graduation. Nicolas and Marc went from Yellow/Black Stripe to Blue/White Stripe and Melissa went from Yellow to Yellow/Black Stripe. (Melissa has just been invited to "fast track" to catch up to Nicolas and Marc. It won't really be "fast", but it will take a good amount of sweat.)

Shannon just goes for the cookies. She will start her training when she turns 4 years old. For now, she sits and watches during our training. She has practiced at home with us a bit and she has excellent form. It has been a tremendous boost for all of us in so many areas of our lives (all of the important ones!).

{{Special thanks to Jane Wolfe for this photo}}

Yep...Time for an update

Look at the lawn! We finally have success in having a nice yard (such as it is--we have a nice view.) Daddy worked so hard on it and I know all of our East Coast people who have not been out yet will choke on the size of it. Believe it or not, it's average around here and we are happy to have it.

Soccer ends in a few weeks and Taijutsu is in full swing. Daddy, Boy and Mama just received their newest belts at graduation on October 27. (When Auntie J sends us the photos, we'll post them!)

We joined a local homeschool group and discovered this fantastic family that lives a few houses down our street! We have a lot of similarities and look forward to spending lots of great days together. There is a LOT of Star Wars play and they have this really cool gopher snake!!!! Also, as part of the group, Boy will have a great opportunity to act in one of Shakespeare's plays (the mother of our neighbors coordinates it, so her kids will do it and then so will mine! This is fantastic peer pressure!)

We are busy, busy, busy playing with Legos and discussing Harry Potter, the planets (WHY did they demote Pluto???) and sharks and the Civil War (we can hear the cannon fire from the yearly re-enactment of key battles in the Civil War at a local farm just over the ridge) and listening to music such as Bach and Grieg ("Hall of the Mountain King" and "Air"--Thanks to Disney's "Little Einstein's" TV show).

Boy is READING!!! Everything and anything--The back of the snack truck, the countless numbers of catalog that are piling up in anticipation of Christmas shopping, all of the labels in the grocery store and even the weekly local newspaper! Mama is reading Call of the Wild and White Fang by Jack London and Daddy is reading The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Mama is also reading a book about Winston Churchill. We are reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling to Boy and occasionally, when she isn't tortuing Boy for some reason, Girl will sit and listen, too. She will also be training in taijutsu when she turns 4, she never sits so quietly during the hour long classes, two or three times a week. She loves to dance and we are going to find a town class or two for her to try out.

We have been missing our favorite babysitter who moved to SF a few months ago to start her college career. She was back to visit at the end of September, but we missed her as we were out of town. :( We know she checks the blog and hope she had a great visit. We can't wait to see her next time.

That's about it for now. We'll post more soon.

~Mama

A New Season.....

.....Fire. The smoke and ash drift down upon us covering the car with fine dust. We don't notice it to much on the ground, but we have been outside and it seems to be snowing ever so lightly. The "Day" fire in the Los Padres Forest about 30 miles from us has been burning for more than two weeks. The Santa Ana's were blowing over the weekend and our soccer game was called on account. Standing around (trying not to be blown around, actually) for the team photos was eerie with the view from the field virtually the same as the view to the left here. We have had cooler weather, but we still have the A/C running to clean out the air in the house. The kids are remembering vividly last year's fire and wondering if we will be in danger. I assured them that we are not.

There was a solar eclipse a few days ago, coincinding with the Autumn Equinox and though we weren't able to "view" it over here, the afternoons feel rather eclipse-like with the smoke and ash from the fire. And the sunsets, a lovely brilliant red, remind us that beauty can indeed be deceiving.

Our new homeschool park day seems to be lifting off the ground a bit. It's been rather lonely these past few weeks and I have been painfully reminded that who you associate with is as important as who you become as a person. The lesson of all of this going hand-in-hand and about trusting and boundaries have been front and center, too.

When I first moved out to California, I painted and glazed a ceramic napkin holder (that is still in use today) with the phrase "Keep company with those who make you better". Today, Nicolas read the whole thing with no help. Then he asked be about the phrase and we discussed why it's important to surround yourself with people of quality.

Why are people petty and manipulative? Is it the way of humanity to have to "one better" each other? There are no easy answers to these not-so easy questions.

Last evening, we had an excellent harvest feast with two other wonderful families. The turkey was excellent and the celebration grand. I made up a new green-bean recipe and it was a huge hit. None left (of course, the adults ate them all). And of course, great wine and homemade apple pie......

I spent some wonderful quality time with my sisters and ended the day in gratitude for the circle and cycles of life. Some joy, some pain and balance continuing to be fluid.

Here's a great photo of Girl hanging out at a friend's s soccer game. She had just done her new eye-crossing trick. She can make Boy choke at mealtime when she does it out of the "blue"...(eyes. She has blue eyes. Get it???) She's so sweet and cute, even with that feisty spirit.

Gods help us...........

To the Very Edge....

...Where the Summer Ends. I love Autumn. In New England it's the best. But even here, I've learned to read the sunlight and the wind change. Such a good little witch I am!

My mother recently sent me a CD with some photos of my family (Thanks, Mom!). She knows I have developed a certain passion for geneology (which blossomed when I heard that I am descended from one who was tried for witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials) and just enjoy the history of our family.

I was particularly struck by the photo of my mother and her two sisters (the B&W). My daughter very much resembles my mother, the one that looks like the trouble-maker in the middle. Actually....they ALL look like trouble-makers (Love ya, Aunties!)

We are all entering a Leadership Program journey toward Black Belt at our local martial arts studio, Woodard's Todai Dojo. You can see some photos there.

Girl can enter when she is 4 years old, but she accompanies us to class and is the quietest of any while class is in session. (Mr. Woodard thinks she's the cutest thing--and she IS!!!!!) When I get more photos of us in class, I'll post them. In the meantime, did you see the photo of me and my new "do"?

Boy had his first "official" soccer game of the 2006 Season today. He spent some time in the goal and made a save! The SuperStars didn't win this game, but it's only a matter of TIME........

The NFL season has started! Daddy and Mama (and Brother J) are involved in a Fantasy Football League. With the Steelers opening night (even without Big Ben at the QB helm) the Steelers had a great game and with Heath Miller, Cedrick Wilson and Hines Ward on my FFL roster, I didn't do so bad, either!

I can't believe that Toodles will be THREE BIG years old on Monday! Like most mothers, I feel like her birth was "only yesterday!" Thank the Gods that nature makes women forget the pain the second you look in the baby's eyes! Her's are still the bluest BLUE!!! And Boys...his eyes are the EXACT color of his Daddy's.....

Kids are THE BOMB!!!!!!

(yeah, yeah, yeah.....I'm such a goofball). I'm gonna go back to my chic-flick now.

L8R!!! ~Mama