Right now, there's a squash casserole in the oven.
Now that I'm phasing out my extra job, I'm at home more in the evenings. This means that I can take charge of my house again and that includes enforcement of limits on the amount of TV that the kids watch (it never happens when they're at home with Daddy).
So after I announced that television and computer game time were over for the day, JG and BT were suddenly at a loss for something to do. After Mommy's suggested activity, some room cleaning, BT promptly fell asleep.
That left JG alone with his own thoughts. After laying around saying nothing for a while, he asked me, "What's the actual purpose of smoking?". So I got to explain to him what nicotine is and a bit about the physiology of drug addiction.
Next came a discussion of a TV show that he's seen called Total Drama Island, which apparently is a parody of Survivor. We talked about the meaning of parody and satire and also about the way people act in real reality shows and how people in real life can be equally cutthroat.
Next question: What is a guru? This takes us to www.dictionary.com ("Wow! They have EVERYTHING on the internet!!") and an examination of how JG himself is a guru to BT at times.
I doubt that any of this conversation would have happened tonight if the TV had still been on.
BT (age 5), looking at the remaining portion of my half-eaten quesadilla, said "It looks like a state that's bigger than Texas!" "You mean Alaska?", I queried. "Yeah!"
He was right. Viewing it from a certain angle, it did somewhat resemble the shape of Alaska.
BT has been very visually oriented ever since he was a toddler (probably before that as well, but it's hard to know since he couldn't talk then). He especially seems to show an affinity for geography. He can identify major countries just by seeing a portion of them, and since the age of four, he has surprised people by seeing a globe or world map and being able to immediately point to Los Angeles and proclaim, "That's where we live!"
JG is just the opposite; he's the classic kinesthetic type, the one who can't sit still, the one who might be labeled with an attention-span problem if he were in school. Loves working with his hands, makes really creative Lego constructions, but can't find things when they're right in front of him.
Which means that Mommy has to be prepared to work with each kid's individual learning style. One of things I love about homeschooling is that each one can do things that are designed just for him. And a lot of their learning progress can be assessed just by observing them instead of giving them tests. BT definitely passed his geography test today.
I have a gas stove again. Very glad.
Right now I'm sitting at the computer with my kids less than 10 feet away from me. The only available place for me to put my office was in a little cubby adjoining their room.
This is one of the things I really like about being back in a smaller house. It's easy for us to be close to each other and stay involved with each other. The other house was huge. There was a much greater distance between everyone's rooms. One of the things BT disliked the most about that place was that sometimes he would call for me and I couldn't even hear him. For a little 4-then-5-year-old, it can be distressing to call repeatedly for your parents and get no response. And the prospect of walking from his room all the way to the kitchen was so intimidating that he would ask someone to go with him so he wouldn't be scared. In this house, he can be heard by anyone from anywhere and he feels comfortable exploring his own home.
Also, my parental responsibility to know what my kids are watching on TV has gotten much easier; their shows are inescapable now! (Miss Spider is on at the moment.) Sometimes things get loud, but this is what we're used to and we like it.
After a year and a half of living in the enormous house in Carson, we are back at our old house in Lynwood. It really feels good. One of the things I missed the most at the other place was having a backyard. Previous owners had converted every inch of the backyard space into additional rooms (except for the little patch where the electric meter was, and that was covered with concrete).
When we arrived back at the Lynwood house (or, as I call it, "home"), JG (he's 8 now) and BT (he's 5) returned to their previous habits of going into the yard to observe bugs. And we have a great spot back there where we get good sun and very little breeze. Perfect for warming yourself on a winter morning.
And right now there are huge amounts of mallows growing in the yard! There's some sow thistle as well, and on the side of the house there is wood sorrel and some of the best chickweed we've ever gotten. At this very moment I'm eating one of those fantastic free organic salads that I've been missing for so long.
More tomorrow about why I'm glad to be back here.
Finally have a stove. Life approaching normality. More later. Really.
I told you all how much I enjoyed Crash, even though I didn't feel like it was as educational as some people found it. But I recently saw Memento (checked it out from the library) and boy, was it educational.
I enjoyed the murder mystery story and the acting and all that (for obvious reasons, they wanted to cast a guy who looks good with his shirt off, but I also thought he gave a great performance), but the thing that was really inspiring to me was the idea that even the most forgetful person can get a lot accomplished if they have an organized approach. I'm a pretty absent-minded person, and nothing feels worse than having to apologize to someone for breaking a promise because you forgot that you had even made the promise. What I learned from Leonard, the dude with the anterograde amnesia, is that I don't need to try to force myself to remember things, even things that seem obvious or ultra-important. I can just accept the fact that the future Joan (even if it's just one day into the future) may not remember this and just leave a note in a place where I know she'll see it -- my planner. Once it's written down, I feel free. I'm no longer worrying about whether I'm going to remember it. I don't feel like I've got a million different items crowding my thinking. Whatever it is, I don't have to "keep it in mind."
I don't have to feel any guilt about this. It's not about admitting that I'm scatterbrained, it's about having a system. Many of us, especially if we're raising children, have those "Leonard moments" where we finish one activity and realize that we're not really sure what we should be doing next or what is most important at this moment. When that happens, I just read the notes. They're a gift from my past self.
Lunchtime is over now. My schedule tells me that it's time to gather our stuff for the homeschoolers' beach day, call the girls that we're giving a ride to, and off we go. I already printed all the MapQuest directions last night because my schedule told me to plan out my next day's activities. Thank you, past self.
Suggested organization websites: FlyLady (mostly focuses on housekeeping, but the concept of planning and having routines can work for any endeavor), LargeFamilyLogistics (specifically geared toward Christian homeschooling families).
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