We went snow tubing today. It was fun - I liked being one of those active families. Carrying Gracie up the hill was grueling. I haven't owned a pair of snowboots since I was a minor. I think it's time to indulge. It's not like my feet will grow. Eleanor gets a new pair every year. This evening we're going to see the Princess and the Frog with our cousins and then have them over for tacos.

Yesterday I spent hours researching cultural activities, to enrich the girls' lives, while ignoring the girls for the afternoon. I would like to get them to the theatre, ballet, symphony, and opera once a year. We sang-talked, like the opera, in the car on the way home from Chris and Bob's, where I had my first guitar lesson and where a visit from a few cousins turned into a spontaneous family party of a couple dozen. I like how that happens.

I have liked creme colored guazy baby-doll dresses since Courtney Love wore one on the cover of Vanity Fair in I think 1995. I'm vaguely aware that she's a certified, child-beating lunatic, and that to admit her as a style inspiration would be embarrassing. I cut that picture of her out, I think she was pregnant and heroin-chic, and used it in a collage book that I made for the teenage boy I loved, who gave me no response to my heartfelt project. I very vividly recall crying on Gram and Pa's couch for days waiting for him to call back. He still occasionally makes an appearance in my dreams, but it's more like a nightmare. I made peace with all the other young men in my life and they don't haunt my dreams anymore. Just this one. So I found him on facebook, 13 years later, hoping to chat, see what he's like now so I can replace the idealized memory of him with the actuality of a thirty something stranger, but he blew me off again. Maybe he's just a dick. He was so sweet in high school. Skinny and nerdy and so empathetic. I went on to compare every boy and man to him. My husband wins the prize by a margin the length of a football field. (the Bears are on in the other room.)
So I still like these dresses, with jeans, or heavy tights and boots. I wonder sometimes if I'm stuck in grunge like I saw 30 something ladies stuck in hair metal in the 90s. It doesn't really matter because my lifestyle/budget dictates one pair of jeans I wear all week (kind of grunge) and T-shirts, usually my husband's, usually a band. And a hoodie. More muumuu than flattering. I occasionally fantasize about ethereal palettes of grey creme and turquoise, lots of silver bangles on much skinnier arms.
I found this blog tonight of a man who photographs fashionable/beautiful/interesting women around the world, just women on the street. Of course, I first wonder how he funds this jetting around photo-ing ladies, but also slipping into the old media-driven habit of desiring to look like them. Aren't I too old for this poor sense of self?
I decided my brain was atrophying and I needed to work it out, so I bought Swann's Way by Proust and began reading it to the girls to put them to sleep. It quickly becomes sexual, so I started dropping phrases, then sentences, jumped a paragraph, then just declared - good night.

We had a much better day today. I decided before I fell asleep last night that the first thing I would do when I woke up would be to put on tea and start a load of laundry. This helped with the paralyzing "what do I do first" problem. We did laundry and math. Charlotte was so proud of herself. She ran around in circles when she finished. Eleanor was punished for laying down on the job and whining in refusal.

My mom came over for an art lesson. I put her in the bathroom for an hour to do a preliminary self-portrait. I finally made the kitchen curtains, only because the paper blinds were ripped off and I felt exposed.

Do you know why I don't have business cards? I don't know what to put on them. What is it I'm trying to do now? You want to be a rock star now? Some kind of artist?

I don't know that I can homeschool well. I don't know that I can be everything to them. I do much better in a competitive environment where I can specialize and receive praise. I love the idea of homeschooling. I wholly agree with the philosophy. I have lots of great ideas for our day to day. I just don't follow through.

I feel like my days are in slow motion - walking through jello. I can't wake up in the morning. I don't know what to do first so I choose: stay in bed. I think I'm depressed. Nothing is actually wrong. I feel paralyzed to leave the house.

self identity crisis.

Is it the winter weather? Is it adjusting to home-ownership? I can't just take off anymore. I feel helpless that my family and I eat terribly and watch too much TV/computer and are amassing so much stuff. I can't control them and I fall in line with my environment over time.

weakness of character.

We had a very nice Christmas.

Today was the sort of day where everything feels like a failure. Maybe because its Monday. Maybe because Chris is sick and home improvements are taking up time. I made it to the post office, I rescheduled my traffic school, all the kids got dressed, I made soup from scratch, and I folded laundry. Later, the girls played very cleverly as fashion designers and I let them do whatever they wanted with certain fabric. I made some little doll clothes for them this weekend and they're still into it. This was all good, but I feel like I'm not doing enough. Eleanor could be taking in more than I'm giving her. I think. Its really hard to schedule extracurriculars for them or get into a flow of learning or painting or whatever when we have to stop and get ready to go to work/sitter. I don't know if I can succeed at homeschooling and working . I've gone over it again and again but the other options are worse. Its just hard.

I was reading through my recipe box tonight. My mom gave it to me eight years ago, when we weren't getting along. It's just the size for 3x5 recipe cards and covered in Beatrix Potter type characters. It has recipe cards with the same little squirrels and bunnies in aprons. She bought it at a gift shop and the tag said 13 dollars, which gave me a sick sort of guilt that she spent so much on something so trivial - but. I sift through it now, filled with recipes, and they remind me of the people who gave them to me, of the time when I only had one baby and everything was so bittersweet. It contains my grandmother's handwriting and I run my finger along her letters and remember her. I appreciate my mom now. We talk on the phone and I enjoy her company. So much has changed in the time I've been a mother. I think about how I'll look back on these days. I can't imagine I'll regret the time I spent with them homeschooling. I look at all the recipe cards I printed out that say allrecipes 2001. I tried so hard to cook healthy and interesting meals. It was so lonely then. I'm never lonely now. No matter how much I think that I need to stop this treadmill and catch my breath, it can't. And its OK. I would tell the new mom me to relax. I feel the 40 year old me rolling my eyes at me now. 'Relax. Be happy. You have three amazing little kids who still think you're cool.' That treadmill just makes me feel like I'm hyperventilating on the emotional roller coaster that I'm prone to. Up and down. That's where Chris comes in. I've had friends in the past who did not understand our relationship. Probably people I got big ideas with, friends I dream with. Chris is the ground. constant. real. He is the guy standing on the grass holding the string and I am the wildly colored kite that flies around in circles and smashes into the ground. I love him so much.

It is 1 degree Fahrenheit. The annual questioning - why do we live here - skipped across my mind. But I know. Family.

I am getting restless. I can't stand the home decor obsession anymore. My world is shrinking, narrowing. I always thought I'd live differently. More globally. More outside. In a surfing, hiking, climbing sort of way. The travel-as-a-means-of-expanding-perspective bug has bitten again.

This is just the sort of sofa I want. I saw a similar set on Craig's list. God help me I'm obsessed.
(both apartment therapy)

I've become interested in this spring green yellow. there's a grey and yellow pillow at Target that I'm really perseverating on right now that's got me thinking this yellow in the hall and a light warm grey on the common area walls would be nice.

Also thinking, to make them really my own, I could get pale turquoise drapes and make a painting on them. My kitchen fabric is still draped over the living room rod. I like it so much I sort of want it in there but it's too busy.

Gracie has her first double earache. I called in to work, which I never do, and got her into the doctor, which I also never do. I love staying home with them. I made Charlotte eat green beans. She gagged. It took her twenty minutes to eat one bite. She cried. Eleanor and I each ate about two cups of these delicious frozen french green beans with butter and sea salt. I also made meat loaf. For lunch we had pork tenderloin fajitas - without the tortillas. I'm feeling low-carb today. But tonight I made chocolate pudding from scratch. The big girls played in the snow for hours today. It was the first snowy ground of the season. They made elaborate fort play with garden frames and tires and rickety fence pieces. Mondays are for grocery shopping. And cooking. We knocked out at least a half hour each girl of math u see and even read about Egypt in the Story of the World. All of these good things were nestled in between doubts about homeschooling at all today. I thought about how hard this is and that maybe I'm not doing enough or am not consistent enough. This is so hard sometimes. We now live where they could walk to the elementary and the junior high and the high school. Why do I always have to do things the hard way. I looked up the school district online. Charlotte saw what I was doing and started crying. I told her I was just curious and I wasn't going to send her to school. Our school district is at the bottom of the barrel - not too tempting even in times of weakness.

The girls put up the tree. the bathroom is still gutted. We took our annual silly family photo for Christmas. I still have Anthropolgie - itis - a disease that has me obsessed with getting my house to look like an Anthropologie catalogue. I never had this problem before. Rentals never felt like a reflection of me. They were just a place to stay.

Happy Birthday Chrissy. We had three cakes for you and lots of cousins over. I love you. I miss you.

*yesterday - planetarium field trip.

*today - showers at Grandma's, attended much loved unschool group -even if only for a little while

*tomorrow - toddler story hour and new library books. According to new schedule by Grandma, aka - "mom, I need help squeezing everything into the too small suitcase that is the 7-day week," we may even do some yoga

*currently reading - The Fairy Caravan by Beatrix Potter, took a break tonight to read Flat Stanley

*Charlotte has decided to start learning cursive today

*in reality, we do Math-U-See once a week

*I got bored with the Story of the World - haven't read or done activities since old house

*Thursday - looking to spend afternoon in woods - considering starting a nature club

*Friday- world religions playdate with our close friends - must learn about Islam and find Eid-appropriate recipe (will choose ethnicity based on own taste preferences.) Will also eat challah, and whatever it is that Catholics eat. My favorite Catholic eats lots of chocolate chip cookies. Maybe cookies.

Bumblebee Elementary totally DOES shit.

YES!YES!YES!

Forest Kindergartens

I felt very motivated today to make changes but when I get home from work and put the kids to bed, I don't WANT to exercise. I'm TIRED. and HUNGRY. Eat after 8, put on the weight? I want to eat rocky road ice-cream and Tyson chicken strips. Instead I am eating slightly stale honey nut cheerios.

This weekend, we unwittingly began to unravel the sweater that is our bathroom. I coerced Chris, slightly against his will, to bring home the tub surround we'd picked out. I didn't mean he had to start right away, but he did. After an excruciating day and a half of trial and error, it was concluded that the surround would never fit over the current yellow tub. (Honestly, I'd always hoped to get rid of it anyway.) But in the process, we learned that our pipes were all corroded, the drywall was mush, and the house isn't insulated. That explained a lot. (this house is SO cold.) So tomorrow, the ugly tub gets sledgehammered out. I also learned that obsessively peeling off cheap tile and smashing soft drywall is way more fun than trying to fit a round tub surround into a square hole.

The cheerios are gone.

Bumblebee feels in a state of chaos. Our routine has not been recovered since the move. The TV keeps coming on. I feel too much in a flat spin to fully take charge. This vague sense of panic is probably my disjointed way of worrying that the budget is supposed to come out tomorrow and we may lose our jobs.

I need a cleaning schedule.

An expense paid working week in Japan for June was presented to me today. I'm afraid to embrace it because I don't want to be disappointed. But... I think I'll dig out my nihongo books. I wrote an artist bio for the project. It's hard to write about yourself as an artist when you've been too busy to make anything lately. Perhaps part of this panic is that disconnect I feel from not making art.

I need a studio schedule.

My sister is becoming an international business woman and I know what I'm doing as a homeschooling mother is important, but it's hard not to question it a little when I see what could be. I start to panic when I worry I'm not living up to my potential.

The latest thing I'm looking into is Waldorf style homeschooling.

There is nothing I dread more than dishes

I'd rather go swim with the fishes

Sneak ice-cream instead

Then crawl into bed

Right! Me wash the m0-fucking dishes.

There once was a woman so lazy

Company tomorrow don't faze me

I sit here online

Poring over design

Driving my poor husband crazy

There once was a man with a daughter

Who ate rocky road like her father

Can I get you a bowl?

So you won't eat the whole...

Just eat from the carton, why bother?

velvet on grey silk

these are for the living room

(anthropologie)

long turquoise wall

from front room to dining nook

a robin's egg blue

perhaps a sofa

I'll remember Aunt Therese

long and yellow silk

escape escape escape

Oh god I'm so jealous of this woman. She's so talented and has twice as many kids as me. Look at her blog. I love her work.

I like these.

halloween homeschool skate party

I want this fabric for my kitchen curtains.

So we moved to the new house two weeks ago. It's really great. I still love the wood floors. The new paint was little more than a selling tactic as it's flat and already covered in grubby handprints. Last week things were normal enough that we showed up to both unschool gathering days. It was really great to see all the friendly faces we hadn't seen in a while. I had an interview for a local culture magazine as the featured artist today; I mostly enjoyed the company of the writer - I told her I'd found my tribe in unschooling. I sound like a missionary. Speaking of missionaries, I had the opportunity to attend the last day of the Weston Price conference yesterday. There was some review on diet on a budget, some great info on running a buying club, and a lot on the legal disputes over raw milk. One of the speakers made a crass joke at the expense of Mexicans and he caught my eyes while I was melting him with them. I thought this was supposed to be an educated and ethical group. Also can do without the bowing down to Sally at the closing. Overall though it was an inspiring experience and I was really grateful to be there. I bought a couple bottles of THE ONLY SUPPLEMENT YOU NEED at a great discount. Do yourself a favor and get the cinnamon tingle.

I made cookies for the girls' Liberty Belles meeting tomorrow and they are so good I can't keep my paws off them.

Ok. there are now only enough for each girl to get one instead of two.

is there a post partum depression for house buying? I love the house.

Last Sunday morning Chris and I and the girls went for a walk in the woods and to the park and for pastries. It was so nice out. We collected leaves. It was magical to be out there alone in the autumn woods on the river. We were all happy and Chris was part of it. I swung with the girls - they giggled and om'ed and held out little yoga meditation hands. I closed my eyes and the sun shone through my lids and I let go of my thoughts and felt an uncommon peace.

This Sunday morning we are moving to our new house. Our first house. We're mostly packed and a lot is already there, but the hot mess just keeps flowing from nooks and crannies. We've been here for four years.

We had a nice Halloween yesterday. We went trick or treating in the old neighborhood with Ray and Nicole and Dad and Violet. I said goodbye to Phyllis and Pam. Then we met Dan and Tania and Dad and Violet came with to trick or treat in our new neighborhood. There are a lot of cute elderly ladies there and a nice couple next door. Aunt Chris and Aunt Lisa and Brittany dropped by and they all gushed about our new house. I was happy. I'm glad they liked it.

We went to a memorial for Grampa's first birthday since he died. It was nice to spend the time with family. Can never pile too much onto one day. Still emotionally exhausted from the closing the day before. The seller was so scary. The girls went trick or treating with mil at the old ladies' club while we closed. Then right after, my mom and I trucked them to the woods, in the rain, to trick or treat with the unschoolers, where I dropped my camera and broke the lens.

Permaculture Principles.

Spray-painting half a black wig white for cruella deville costume. finished cape yesterday. mom came last night to help pack. nice visit. I'm in a bit of a sugar coma? I feel uneasy...yucky...maybe also nervous-ish about house moving stuff. Nothing is wrong. Kit kats are a bad breakfast choice. I have that paralyzed sort of panic creeping up. Up all night because I had two cups of coffee at class last night.

Excited to see how much fun a Flaming Lips concert on DVD was - Wayne Coyne on the crowd in a bubble, confetti, streamers, balloons, dancers in costume. Disappointed to see they use the same tricks at every show, too many druggies in the crowd. I can save my money.

I packed homeschool books and crafts and toys already. I don't have the energy to pull the kids away from the TV to take a walk in the woods. Fail.

Took the kids to the dentist today. Disappointed that our friendly, low tech dentist is going fancy. I'll have to find a new dentist. Do you know how hard it is to find a dentist who doesn't push cosmetic extras? They hired a consultant who told them to take down the polaroids of the kids who didn't get a cavity at their last visit - fun to look at and friendly - and replace it with a tired poster of La Grande Jatte. It really bummed me out.

fester

Today the mortgage broker called to let me know how much we needed for the closing on Friday and to ask what we like on our pizza, as he will send four pizzas and soda to our moving party at the new house. I thought that was so nice. I found my passport last night, which was really exciting because I thought I was up some kind of creek without an ID for the closing.

Charlotte turned 7 last week. We had two families over and kept it real tame like. She got such nice gifts from these good friends. One made her a skirt and a matching skirt for her doll and matching purse. The others looked for two days for a tiny toad, after I told them she'd just lost hers and cried for hours. The thought and time that went into these gifts made them so special. I bought Charlotte a 3 musketeers Barbie, as requested. I was so pleased that she loves toads and Barbies.

For the record, I no longer give the girls allowance or continue with any schedule I may ever have mentioned. Also, Gracie weaned about 3 weeks ago and she replaced some of that time with snuggling, which she previously wasn't into.

I am enjoying the Tao of Pooh; tonight we read about Wu Wei, or non-action. This is like unschooling. It looks like you are doing nothing, but the things are getting done and there isn't the stress of forcing it.

My latest idea, which comes from my friend/boss, is to start a local charter school. I am trying to imagine an unschooling-friendly non-curriculum that would be be appealing enough to warrant tax dollars. It may be worth pursuing because the biggest motivation I have is to serve the kind of high school kids I know now through my classes (which won't continue forever because of budget problems.) I can go on my merry way doing what I want for my own kids, but I think I could really help a lot of other kids and the community as a whole, too - and if my motives stay selfless, it still has the potential to be a good idea.

I envision as small a student body as possible. Like 20 would be perfect. Maybe we'd cover academics in the morning, have lunch together - mostly grown and prepared by the students, and send them each out for the afternoon to different apprenticeships or college classes appropriate to their goals. Every student would have an IEP, a plan, co-authored by them. Students can use the facilities of the community, get out into the real world and learn to live and work alongside a wide range of ages, while becoming useful and valued residents. ... I think the day should start with yoga and that art-making as therapy should be heavily involved, but I'm afraid that's just me and a little too granola. ... That's what I would want. And every student volunteers at a place like the soup kitchen and every student attends an annual camping trip ... of the ropes course variety ... for bonding. I guess I couldn't force those, it would be against the philosophy, but I'd offer it. I just want to take the mob mentality out of high school. These kids need individualized educations and personal attention. An educational system can't serve everyone's needs if it doesn't allow for different paces of learning.

Can I make a high school where we teach sustainability, survival skills, permaculture, Eastern philosophies and exercise, how to make stuff, including art, as well as math and reading and science and history and analyzing and writing? Or is that just all the stuff I like? OR, could that become an environment that a small group of students at a time could make their own, get comfortable enough to actually learn, and come out well-adjusted self-starters, equipped mentally, emotionally, and physically to live happily and successfully? The kind of students who would choose this school - it wouldn't be forced on anyone. (the kind of student who walks the halls of the enormous public HS wishing she were dead so she didn't have to be there ... yes, like me.)

How would we deal with discipline? Would we kick them out if they used drugs? I don't want to run a stoner club. What would it cost? Would there be good relationships between staff? Would it be too hard to get such an alternative school chartered. Probably. Would the tax money be worth the bureaucratic pain in the ass? Probably. Is it selfish to only worry about my own kids and forget it? Can we budget in international backpacking? Cause that's really what I want to do. ....Questionable, though, how fun would that be with 20 teenagers.

Why do I always have to have an idea festering in my head? An idea in the idea stage. Not like an idea in the almost done and now you can enjoy it stage, like, we bought a house and move in this weekend. I did think about that quite a bit today, too - but where's the challenge in that? No more puzzles to work out there.

Thorn Apple Valley is the WORST bacon I have ever used. It is nearly all fat. And so thin it sticks to the pan. If you buy it for your brunch party, it will make you even crabbier .

saw Wilco Sunday night at UIC. They played shot in the arm second and we were right up front and it took my breath away and I smiled uncontrollably and cried a little. That's my measure of a good show. I had a good time with Chris. We had dinner with BJ and Andi before at their house - that was really nice and my new favorite Thai dish is Panang noodles.

Yesterday all I ate was candy cookies and coffee and I felt AWFUL, so today I remembered No Sugar. Gracie and I went grocery shopping while the girls were at Liberty Belles. We snacked on apples and cheesesticks.

We went to the park with Mom and Violet yesterday. The last two days have been so beautiful out. Violet and Gracie play with each other now and Gracie even bosses around Violet now - it used to be the other way around. I think the power will continue to shift. They kept going down the slide together, climb back up the jungle gym, fun to the top of the slide, sit down and yell arms up, then slide down together and laugh and laugh. Violet sat on Gracie's side of the slide once and Gracie yelled at her to get out of her spot. It's fun to see them change from playing alone, next to each other, to playing together.

I'm feeling better about Margaret being in Nigeria. I can talk to her pretty easily now. She has an internet card now, but she couldn't get back to me this morning because the power went out, which happens regularly. Seems so backward to have wireless internet but unreliable basic electricity. When she first leaves, I prepare myself mentally for her to die. I guess I get over that fear after about a week.

I'm reading the girls the Tao of Pooh. I realize it's not a kids' book. It's my viewpoint and I'm sharing it. My job as a parent is to nurture, expose, and assist. We are also reading some My America books. We read all of Sophia's Immigrant Diary yesterday. I wish we had read that before we visited Boston this summer. If we go back, it will be all about graveyards!

Eleanor and I got our haircut together Saturday morning then met Grandma for tea and chandelier browsing. On Friday, she did five loads of laundry, and all the dishes. She cleaned the bathroom and did more laundry and dishes over the weekend. She is exerting her independence and I LOVE it. She actually asks permission to do these things. Like I'd say no to anyone who wanted to do these two most hated chores? I am so proud of her. She's acting so grown up.

We worked on the farm Sunday. The girls had a blast. I can still picture Charlotte jump-roping between rows of strawberries. The time went so fast. I have to work up to weeding all day. I kept picturing the little old Japanese ladies on our block who were completely and permanently folded over. I couldn't stand up at first after a few hours. I really want to do this. I ripped my own garden out today. The girls played in the sandbox - all three in the little turtle, and then the big girls played on their swing and they made a roly-poly farm. (Just this morning Charlotte cried over an hour at discovering her toad of two days had escaped - Eleanor had released her fresh-from-the-farm frog the day before at the river. also tears. so now, roly-polys.) Gracie is so cute, how she plays so long, alone. She speaks for dolls, now. Like, the dolls have out-loud conversations. That's fun. She can say the Pledge of Allegiance now, but won't recite on request, so I don't think anyone believes me.

Chris and Bob stopped by tonight to drop off 25# of organic carrots they got on sale. We had pizza and Bob had the girls laughing and laughing. Some of us pee when we laugh. They love him. Them. They are really good to the girls. They've already bought and showed me the girls' Christmas presents.

It's dawning on me that I'm not a college kid playing house anymore. This is our life and it's really great. I keep thinking, when we have enough money, then we'll be a valid family. I used to think when we bought a house we'd be valid, but that would never happen, but it seems to be working out. My anxieties are breaking away and I can see that our world is a beautiful place. I love my kids and I love my husband.

I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do with 25# of carrots that won't last much longer.

why I want to farm

I went to a CRAFT field day today. I was invited by the afore mentioned farmer, Bill, who I plan to work with. He is extremely generous with information; I can learn a lot from him. Per his suggestion, I'm considering starting a very small CSA for next year. Maybe 5 families. I feel very at home with the other eco-ag farmers. They're an appealing balance of 'laid-back' and 'not messin around.' There is no putting on airs. Maybe that would be obvious? So, an easy sense of belonging to the community is one reason I would want to farm. The biggest reason is I feel like it's the right thing to do. People need nutritious, local food. I want to know how to provide that and to teach others how to grow their own. If the food system falls apart, I don't want my family to be affected. I want my family to have the best health I can provide them, within our means, and growing our own food assures me of that. ...I have an adolescent need to be independent. I like to be outside. I like to live with the seasons. I like to create. I like creative problem solving. I like the infinite possibilities in farming. I want to be an entrepreneur and there is a growing demand for local, organic food. There are many parallels between the artist and the small eco-farmer - the planning, creating, and sharing of a product. The 'hands on, get dirty, and not work for the man' of it. The independence of it.

I like to watch things grow.

I never got over wanting to be Little House on the Prairie.
...

The house we're trying to buy has nothing to with being a farmer, but that's OK. With the 8000 tax credit and appraising for 7000 more than we're contracted for, I figure we're already 15,000 ahead. Considering we have 0 savings and lots of student loans, this is a good first investment for us. In a few years (you have to live in the house 3 years to keep the 8000) maybe we'll be ready to have our own farm. Or maybe not. But our small backyard will not be a bad thing. If anything, it will keep me from getting too gung-ho on side projects.

you know what else inspired me? in 2001, the first time I got out of the house without my first and tiny baby Eleanor, I went to Ladyfest Midwest with my sister at the empty bottle and saw Tracy and the Plastics.


She was awesome. I bought a Tshirt for 6 dollars that she printed on a thrift store shirt. It was pink. Five years later I saw her again and she sucked. She didn't care at all. I threw out my Tshirt.

You know what else I like? Did I already put this up?


Especially because in grad school I loved William Kentridge.


(Chris is home! Where has the time gone?)

a horsewoman is born.

week of the unfinished quilt
Gracie wants to ride horses, too.
If there's one thing we do around here, it's dance.
Eleanor asked me to make several poses while she photographed me washing kale.

Sometimes I look at her and think, oh my god, she's beautiful.



Charlotte made herself a swing.
Hot chocolate party.
Dusting off artifacts...
from our archeological dig project.
Fire safety field trip
First Friday - for better or worse, I am an amazonian.
Personal timeline project to start off our new history text.

And for the record, today was a very productive Math Monday. It may not be unschooling to tell them they can play on the DS five minutes for every worksheet they complete, but it's really fun to hear how much they love math after they get past the initial barrier of fearing it/not feeling like doing it. (We have just started Math-U-See, which uses colorful blocks to help explain arithmetic.) Also, work was really fun today. I gave my students the choice of building life-size paper mache skeletons or small shadow boxes with little skeletons for Day of the Dead.