Magical Milk Pic-O-The-Week

(photo by Grimba)

I have no GPS, but I'm addicted to geocaching

I have Laura to blame for my newest dependence on this hobby.

If you haven't yet discovered the wild world of geocaching, then allow me to introduce you. Basically, there are these treasure chests - referred to as "caches" (usually a camouflaged plastic container of some sort) hidden all over the world. You look for these caches at web sites like Geocaching.com. You can then plug the coordinates into your GPS, and head off for the hunt!

Of course, my first thought was that this would be like everything else in rural Oklahoma - NONEXISTENT! Boy Howdy, was I wrong. There are caches all over this area! And there I was, with no GPS.

So, instead, the kids and I print maps from Google Earth, and go looking. It gets us within about 20-30 feet of the location, and then we just rely on our investigative skills. We've already found several. The kids bring a collection of little trinkets (McDonald's toys, plastic jewels, etc.). If the cache has some trade items in them, the kids swap one of their items.

It's fun, fun, FUN! And, yes, I am already scouting Ebay for a used handheld GPS that I can get for what I have in my mad money stash.

It involves so many wonderful aspects. The kids are reading maps. They're using critical thinking. They are having to focus and concentrate when digging through bushes. They must consider "fair trades" for the things in the caches.

Did I mention that we're addicted to this?






Check out this week's Carnival of Homeschooling for more ways to learn at home.

Overheard

"Mom, what do old people eat?"

Attention parents!

Think your daughter and her two friends went straight to the swimming pool and came straight home today? Hmmmm ... or, maybe they took a little side trip to grab a smoke behind a local church over on the south side of town.

I'm just saying ...

We live in an area where kids can find lots of nooks and crannies to congregate and hang out. I like to make a game out of it. If I know them, and I know they're doing something their parents won't enjoy, I just give 'ole Mom & Dad a ringy-ding (and YES, I totally watch out the window as their parents bust them - you know you would too!). If I DON'T know who they are, I grab my camera, pop out around a corner and start taking pictures (my favorite was the couple that was making out so heavily, they didn't even notice me standing there). You've never seen teenagers move so fast.

And they probably spend weeks SWEATING ... wondering, "Who the chic was with the camera?" ... "Who has those pictures?" ... long after I have deleted them.

Oh, life is fun in a small town.

Cornered

I'm a magnet for questions. We have three black kids. We have FIVE kids. We homeschool. Apparently, I have a tattoo on my forehead that says, "Please, openly question my judgment."

And I attend church with a great population of senior adults. So, there you have it.

Last night I got, "I would want to know how much schooling you have completed to be able to homeschool." I like that one. See how they try to make it sound almost like they're asking for someone else ... like the public at large?

I was feeling saucy. I replied, "You could have a third grade education and homeschool your kids to college." And I just stopped. Didn't say anything else.

And my kids walked up and started asking questions, and sweet question-asking person eventually just walked off ... literally befuddled ("Did she really just say that?" "Are my kids right, and I really should get hearing aids?" ).

Fun times.

"We're electing a president, not a Messiah!"

I have a new favorite song.

"A Savior On Capitol Hill."

How are you going to feel if the person you are voting for is not elected? Can you take a deep breath and realize that your power and influence and love and service and giving has not been taken from you?

Can you find a way to smile and move on? Can you find a way to still unite and cooperate? Can you do unto the "other side" as you would hope they would do unto you?

Easier said than done, I know. We're a passionate people, we Americans. I would guess that the majority of us already don't have a favorite left on the ballot. So, maybe we should start working on it now.

maybe?


(title of post is a quote from Brian Mclaren)

Oh happy day (hate happy daaaaaaays)

This is nothing new to me ... happy days in my home being really awful.

Tourettes goes into hyper drive when good things are going on ... birthdays, Christmas, the first day of school, etc..

RAD says, "I don't deserve anything special," and new things or unknown things are insanely scary.

So, what is a mother to do?

I celebrate! I make a big, giant whoopty-doo out of the first day of "school," and I hand out small gifts with words of praise, and I make a special breakfast, and I smile a lot ...

... and BOY does it suck. There are tics and anger and nausea and fighting and regression and acid reflux.

But we'll survive. Everyone deserves special days, even if those events put their behavior and ability to function in the pooper.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Telly

Some of you are going to totally roll your eyes at this. Some of you, however, are going to LOVE it. Regardless, I wanted to share. I sat through the whole half hour with my children, and was really interested to see that it will be commercial free, and the subscription rate is actually determined by the subscriber.

Yeah.

That's why I decided to post the link. My kids loved it, and are begging for more.



Enjoy Jelly Telly