Summer of Recovery - 2024

 We have turned the calendar page to September, so even though it is officially still summer until the 21st, mentally I have flipped from summer to fall - which is also my favorite season!   The weather here in North Carolina has cooperated wonderfully, giving us highs in the 70's and low 80's, with a break in the humidity as well.  Hallelujah!   Since I have lived here for over 30 years, I know very well that this is likely "False Fall", and we still have some hot and humid days ahead before the weather really commits to the cooler season.  That's okay.  I'm enjoying what I can get!

The summer was a whirlwind, but a lot of it was spent in recovery from a hip replacement surgery in June and neck surgery in August. (warning - incision pics!) 

Healing is going well, although I am impatient and want it to all be done now.  

Now. 

Please. 

But there is still swelling to come down and nerves that need to wake back up.  But I am grateful for successful procedures with no surprises, caring nurses, and a patient and caring husband who is living out the "for better or for worse, in sickness and in health" part of our marriage vows. 

An unexpected surprise this summer was a new puppy. There is a long story that goes with this, but Rosie is my daughter's Golden Retriever puppy who came to our house at 9 weeks and is living with us, perhaps temporarily and perhaps permanently - it remains to be seen.  But she is sweet and sassy and has been much fun and a great distraction from pain and boredom this summer!  It has been a very long time since we had a puppy, so we are learning as much as we can as fast as we can, about puppy training, feeding, health, etc. 

 

We got to take a quick trip up north at the end of July to visit family and friends.   Rosie went to stay with her "other mom" while we drove up to Connecticut  and Massachusetts for a class reunion house party (hubby and I went to high school together and graduated the same year), to visit my mom, sister and brother, and go out to eat with Mark's sister and brother.  We made sure to fit in a stop at George's Surf & Turf in Mendon for whole clams, onion rings, a lobster roll, and lime rickeys! 

 

I didn't get to go to the pool with my grandsons or see them as much as I would have liked, but I did get a couple of Grammie Fun Days in with the 4 yr old.  He loves coming to my house and doing crafts, baking, reading books, playing with the toys I have here - and I am ecstatic that I get to make these memories with him, and soon, with his little brother too!  

 

 

August is also a big birthday month, with Jason's, Mark's and my birthdays and also our anniversary. 

Cupcakes

I cannot believe it is July 1st! The summer is flying by - WHOOSH! My house doesn't look any cleaner either, so I better step up my game! No kids are home, since both Jason and Amanda are overnight camp staff at New Life Camp again this summer, so my only distractions are self-made. Unfortunately, I'm easily distracted.

I have been doing a lot of cupcake baking these past couple of weeks, providing cupcakes for 2 weddings and a rehearsal dinner. When you have grown children, there are lots of weddings among their friends. It takes mes 2-4 days of prepping, baking and frosting for each event, so that has kept me busy.  

 

Salty Sweet, Chocolate Chip Cannoli, Southern Peach, Red Velvet Cheesecake

Strawberry Cream, Red Velvet Cheesecake , Southern Peach, Chocolate Chip Cannoli, S'mores

 Tuxedo, S'mores, Chocolate Cheesecake

 

 

Carrot Cake, Chocolate Cheesecake, Strawberry Lemonade, S'mores, White Chocolate Raspberry, Tuxedo

White Chocolate Raspberry, Strawberry Lemonade, Carrot Cake

Why I Take a Long Summer Vacation...

... a.k.a  why I don't do year-round schooling..... a.k.a. Mama needs a break!

Homeschooling looks different for each family.  Some are early risers, some sleep in.  Some are textbook fans, some prefer "living books".   Some keep a strict daily and weekly schedule, some ... don't.

Some families follow a year-round schedule, and others love their summer break!  I fall in the latter category.

Perhaps it is because I am the daughter of two public school teachers, but I grew up with a deep appreciation for summer vacation.  In case any other summer lovers are feeling pressure to keep at the books during the sultry months, here are some of my reasons for taking a summer break. 

1.  Break from the routine: When my kids were younger, our school-year schedule was full of piano lessons, band practice, sports practices, field trips,  Co-op days,  enrichment classes, volunteer work, clubs, etc. etc.  All that was suspended for the summer months, and our schedule was our own!  We would go to the lake or the pool,  turn on the sprinkler in the yard, watch movies,  have play dates with friends,  do craft projects, play board games, build forts,  and just be free to relax.  I would usually make myself a calendar with an idea for each day, and  a poster with a list of "possibilities" for when the kids needed suggestions.  A few times I tried doing "school work" during the summer, but that never stuck, and honestly, I never worried about  "losing ground" over the summer.   We still read books; we still played educational games, we still went interesting places, we still learned something each day... how could we not? But it was different kinds of learning than what we focused on the rest of the year.   If we had to review some math at the start of the new "school year", that was no big deal to me.

2.  Visiting faraway family: Every summer we spent a week or two or three with the grandparents in Massachusetts, building family relationships and making memories. Some of my kids' favorite summer memories are of visits to Grammy and Grampa's antique-filled house with the big grassy yard, badminton net, and tire swing.   Special time was spent with cousins and neighbor kids.  Family traditions included going to see a movie at the Drive-In;  going to Dunkin Donuts with dad every morning;  visits to Southwick's Zoo and taking the train to Boston;  visiting Aunt Chris's cafe in Putnam; dinner at Wright's Chicken Farm; sleeping out on the screened porch;  sewing with Grammy and listening to Grandpa's stories.   Although we live hundreds of miles apart, these summer visits created strong bonds between the generations.

3. Summer Camps:  Summer camp was not part of my youth, but it has been a huge part of my children's growing up years!  The older boys enjoyed a week at Boy Scout Camp, usually with Dad, for many summers.  Basketball camp, Runners Camp,  Science Camp, Worldview Academy .... lots of specialized learning of all different kinds.  From age 8 on up through high school, my kids have spent a week every summer at New Life Camp.  From age 13 on, they also spent several weeks volunteering there as CITs, and eventually got summer jobs as counselors, program staff, lifeguard,
First Aid provider.  Leadership skills and a servant's heart, spiritual growth and maturity, mentors, best friends, and even a spouse have come from the time spent at this camp.

4. Family Camping: I grew up camping with my family during the summers, and continued doing that with my children.   We aren't rustic, back-country hikers, but enjoy a nice family campground with running water, flush toilets, and showers;  a playground and/or swimming pool /lake/mountain stream were nice bonuses!  Some camping trips were just lazy weekends swimming and fishing at a lake;  some involved exploring national parks or historic sites.  Some trips were nudged to the spring or fall months, since sleeping outside with no air-conditioning, in the South, during the summer,  requires a strong constitution! We camped with a big tent for many years, but upgraded to a pop-up camper the summer that we took a cross-country trip.  When we camped, each member of the family had certain responsibilities during set up, mealtimes, fire starting, break down, etc;  there was lots of family bonding and fun adventures and memory-making!

5. Cleaning/Organizing/School planning:  I am undeniably a "casual" housekeeper, and organization is not my strong suit, so things tend to "stack up" when life is super busy.  Summer break gives me a chance to find my bedroom floor, reorganize the school bins and bookshelves, sort through the piles of paper, clean out the closets, and study catalogs and websites as I plan for the coming school year.  Then throughout the year I can manage with occasional "Home/School Organization" days to keep things from getting too out of hand.


Enjoy your summer, whatever you have planned!

Find more Weekly Wrap-Ups at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers  HERE

Back to College and Back to Homeschool

When my oldest started college in 2003, we quickly learned that it was pretty useless to try to start back with homeschool until the college kids had gone back to school.  Amanda and Jason share the same friend group from working at camp, so this week has been full of beach days, lunches with friends, watching the meteor shower, bonfires, packing and goodbyes.

Next week will be our first week of eeaaaaaasing back into homeschool.  Instead of having a "first day/week of school" that includes EVERYTHING and stresses everyone, we ease in with a few subjects each week.  We'll start with History, Guitar, and setting up his science notebook. Week 2 will add Anatomy, Algebra Review and Spanish. Week 3 will add English, Worldview, and Civics, Then Personal Finance and Geography.

Today my baby girl heads back to college for the last time! She is a senior, with just one semester of classes to go, and then a semester-long internship and then... Graduation!     Holy Moly I am feeling old.   She will be our 4th college graduate! One more to go.

In addition, this is the FIRST TIME I am not driving the loaded car to move my college student in. Amanda got a car this summer, the 1st time any of my kids have bought a car before college graduation. Not only is she living off campus, bunking in with her sister at her apartment for the semester, she also needs to travel to various schools in the area for practicums and observation for her child-development classes. So she loaded up her Honda and is driving herself!


 And I am feeling very emotional about the whole thing!

See more Weekly Wrap-Ups at WeirdUnsocializedHomeschoolers.com.




 

Summer Planning

 Summertime. ahhhhhh.

My 2 youngest are working as counselors at a local overnight Christian summer camp, so they are gone from Sunday afternoon until late Friday night, for 10 weeks. They come home on the weekend, sleep, do their laundry, run to Target to replenish their toiletries and supplies, and are off again! Since they are only 10 miles from home, I do see them a time or two during the week. My husband and I cook breakfast at camp every Tuesday morning, flipping chocolate chip pancakes and cooking sausage links, something we started doing last summer. And I usually make at least one other stop in during the week, to drop off cupcakes for the staff and whatever other miscellaneous item one of them needs - an extra blanket, a certain t-shirt for skit night, a clip-on fan for the bed, a slushie from Sonic, etc

.

 Otherwise, I fill my days with my "summer projects" - organizing and decluttering my home, school planning for the coming year, reading. I sometimes can't believe that I am in this season of having NO KIDS home during the summer, and only one high schooler left to homeschool, and I do miss the days when my children were young.

No, I really, really do.

But I am trying to embrace this season as well, and have learned to enjoy the quiet. I still complain about not having enough time to get everything done. I think I have just slowed down, and spend more time reading and contemplating... I am an introvert, after all, and a lot of my activity takes place inside my head. :-) But I have big plans for J for this school year, and although I have completed my term on the Board of our support group, I am still active in leadership and still have a great desire to help new homeschoolers get a good start and to encourage as many homeschool families as I can.

I will be teaching high school English again this year, with a small group of teens in my living room, so I am choosing the literature we will study and working on a syllabus and lesson plans.  I know I want to include C.S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters,  Corrie Ten Boom's The Hiding Place,  and Harper Lee's  To Kill a Mockingbird, but still haven't decided which of the dozen or so others on my list to include. So many good choices!!

I have recently decided that I am also going to teach a Christian Worldview class, using several DVD series, and a Civics / US Constitution class.  I've been feeling an urgency about making sure that J and other teens have a rock-solid understanding of these things before leaving home.  Generation Joshua has a Civics curriculum that looks really good, called iCitizen: Civic Literacy for Young Americans.  I also like Constitutional Literacy from Michael Farris and Patrick Henry College, so I think I want to do the Civics class first semester, and then half of the Constitution class in the spring, finishing it next fall.  I really think the Civics part needs to come first, otherwise I would just do the Constitution class all of this year.   For worldview, I already have Focus on the Family's The Truth Project and also For the Life of the World  .  I'm also planning to use Doing the Right Thing, a series on ethics from The Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview.  And then I want to finish with a few weeks studying Darwin's theory of Evolution and alternative theories.  It is so important to me, as a Christian, that I teach these high school subjects from the perspective of a biblical worldview, since they will likely not get that perspective again in their educational pursuits.

Proverbs 9:10 says "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. "



 

Summertime, and the Living is Easy....

Ha!  Love that song, love that idea....ah!

Summer is quite different now that my children are mostly grown and NOT HERE for most of the summer.  My 2 youngest are working at an overnight summer camp, so they come home late Friday and go back on Sunday.  So I am kidless for most of the summer.  This is the 3rd summer like this - a new season of life for this mama of five used to the bustle and chaos of a house full.

So why is it that I still have a hard time getting my TO DO list done?  Probably because my list hasn't gotten shorter, it is just different!  In addition to the normal summer activities of "find the floor in my bedroom", "organize the piles", and "make plans for the coming school year that we may or may not follow",  I have added "Camp Cook" to my schedule one day a week.  In the 16 years that my kids have been going to New Life Camp, this is the first summer that I have set foot in the dining hall!  My friend, Sharon, convinced me that getting up at 5:00am to drive down to camp and make 400-600 chocolate chip pancakes would be fun!  You know, she was a psychology major in college, and I think they might teach some kind of mind-bending hypnosis techniques.  Ha!  So, it is a little earlier than I would normally get up, but not too bad.  And my hubby has jumped on board as well, much to my surprise!  He normally avoids kitchens unless it is to pick up a plate of already prepared food. He has been a trooper - last week he flipped pancakes and this week he was on sausage link duty!

They have always had pancakes on the menu once a week at camp, but since my kids have always enjoyed the chocolate chip version, I suggested that addition this summer, and it has been a definite hit!  So much so, that last week's campers voted Chocolate Chip Pancakes their favorite meal of the week! 

Short Week in Massachusetts

We just got back from a short week in Massachusetts - drove up on Sunday and back on Saturday. My mom and I were talking this week about how years ago when my kids were small, I used to stay up there with the  kids for 3-4 weeks!  Mark would drive up with us and then fly back home to work, then fly back up to spend the last couple of days before driving us all home. Then as the kids got older and there were jobs and sports and classes and missions trips to work around, the trips got shorter.  This time, it was just 3 of us for the first time ever-  me, Mark, and J - so we didn't even need to drive the big van!  That felt really strange.

We stayed with my parents and got to visit both my and Mark's family, since we grew up in neighboring towns and went to the same high school.  My  niece, who is 10, slept over at Grammy and Grampa's for the week so she could hang out with us.  That is the one good thing about living far away - when we visit, we LIVE together for days and days.  It doesn't really make up for the time spent apart, but at least it helps.  We had perfect summer weather all week -  mid-80's, with 60's at night. So much more comfortable than the 100's that were baking things here at home! 

J and Mark got to go to an afternoon Red Sox game at Fenway Park, which they both LOVED.  They also got in some good games of badminton in the backyard during the week, and J and I played bocce on Grandpa's real bocce court!

On another day, the 3 of us, my mom, and my niece went out on a Whale Watch with Capt.John Boats, out of Plymouth, MA.  I had done that with my 3 older kids when they were young, and now J got to see the humpback and minke whales spouting, surfacing, and diving all around us.  The naturalist on board the boat narrated the whole time, telling us exactly what we were seeing and also interesting information about the whales, their habits, and the things that she and other researchers are studying and learning about them!  It was VERY cool! 

Going to the Drive-In movie was another treat that we look forward to every summer. It brings back memories of me and my 2 brothers and my sister, clad in pajamas, laid out with our pillows and blankets in the back of our family station wagon with popcorn and drinks brought from home, watching "The Sound of Music" or "Fantastic Voyage" or "The Pink Panther".  Later, it was me and my friends or me and my date....
This time, it was me, Mark, J and A,  watching "Captain America", still eating popcorn and drinks brought from home.  

Summer S's

It is officially SUMMER!
We've been on school break for several weeks now, and enjoying the change of routine!

SPORTS
Jason is playing Little League baseball and his team, the Mets, is undefeated so far this season. They won their 1st tournament game last night and play in the semi-finals tonight.  He is also in basketball camp this week, where they work him and the other 40 kids hard on skills, drills, and scrimmages, so he is one tired 12-year-old when we get home at night!

SABRINA
My niece came down from CT for a visit last week, to go to Teen Week at New Life Camp. She came a few days early so we had some time to hang out, and she and J went ice skating and played several games of Monopoly. 

SUN
The day before Teen Week began,  we drove down to the NC coast for a day at the beach!  I love spending the day with my family, but the beach isn't my favorite place, mostly because I don't enjoy sitting out in the sun!  But this time, we stopped at a "beach store" on the way and bought a BEACH UMBRELLA for me!  Perfect! 

the umbrella could be bigger... but it works for me

SMOKE
Wildfires 2+ hours east and southeast of here produced very smoky, hazy conditions here in the Triangle early this week, enough that a Code Orange Air Quality alert caused youth baseball games to be cancelled on Tuesday night, and camp to move all their activities inside for the afternoon AND all campers to sleep inside the gymnasiums on Tuesday night!  That was a first.  The winds have shifted and the smoke has cleared away now.  But that was weird. 


SOLDIER
Alex is home for 10 days of leave!  YAY!  He is heading to Iraq again in a few weeks, so we won't see or hear much from him for the next year.  So I'm trying to get my fill now. :-)   His 4 year commitment to the Army comes to an end in the middle of this deployment, but  he'll finish the tour and then get out when he comes back to the states.   I am proud of him for serving his country, but I have to say I'll breathe easier when he is out.  Hopefully the experience he has gotten as an officer will help him land a civilian job later on. 

SWEETS
I'm still baking cupcakes, and this week the flavor is "Elvis" - banana chocolate chip cake topped with peanut butter frosting, chopped peanuts and a banana chip.   Last week it was "S'mores" , which was chocolate cake sitting on a graham cracker crust, topped with toasted marshmallow frosting! Money is going to Amanda's mission trip to Uganda with Ten Eighteen and to help support Sarah during her internship with Safe World Nexus!

 

Summer Reading List for Homeschool Parents

Summer is a great time to get in some reading, either while the kids are at camp or visiting grandma or while the family is on vacation.   Instead of grabbing a romance novel or the latest political thriller, why not consider some titles that will challenge you to be a better parent or spouse, or help shape and define your homeschooling philosophy or Biblical worldview?

Here are some great books that I have enjoyed reading and that have impacted me in those areas! Feel free to add your favorites in the comment section. 

The Mission of Motherhood: Touching Your Child's Heart for Eternity  by Sally Clarkson

I love all of Sally Clarkson's writing, and this one really speak's to a mother's heart and to building a loving relationship with our children. 

Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp

This book speaks to getting to the heart of your child when it comes to discipline, not just dealing with a certain behavior. You might not agree with everything he has to say, but you will  definitely find lots of good, sensible advice on raising children who obey out of love and conviction rather than out of fear or manipulation.

Age of Opportunity: A Biblical Guide to Parenting Teens  by Paul David Tripp

Raising teens doesn't have to be scary! Rather than another buddy or an unbending drill sargeant, teens need a mentor, guide, and loving authority figure to help them navigate the challenges of growing up.

I Kissed Dating Goodbye:  A New Attitude Towards Romance and Relationships  by Joshua Harris

If your kids are still little, read this book now and start thinking about how you will talk about romance with your children. Even elementary children get asked, "Do you have a boyfriend?" If you have middle school or high school ages kids, read this book and then have your kids read it too.  Whether or not you follow Mr. Harris's recommendations, he will give you a lot to think about!

Raising Real Men: Surviving, Teaching and Appreciating Boys  by Hal and Melanie Young

If you have boys, this is a must-read!  Our society is very confused about raising boys, and it is refreshing to read the Young's solid, biblical, and common-sense approach!

Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling by John Taylor Gatto

Former NY city and state teacher of the year holds no punches in his critique of the public education system and its agenda to stamp out passion, creativity and individuality in favor of group-think. This is a book everyone should read!

How Now Shall We Live?  by Charles Colson and Nancy Pearcey

A worldview is the set of underlying beliefs and assumptions through which we view every aspect of life. Being a Christian doesn't automatically mean you hold a biblical or Christian worldview. This important book addresses the building of a biblical worldview and how to engage a post-modern culture that has rejected most everything associated with that way of thinking.

The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman

Dr. Chapman, who has worked as a marriage counselor for 30 years, identifies 5 "love languages" which fill our "love tank" - Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service and Physical Touch.   I found his writing to be humorous and his examples spot-on!  Reading this helped me to understand my husband better.  It would be most helpful for both husband and wife to read it. :-)