It’s less than 2 months until we officially start the homeschool journey with Kai. We’ll be doing some preschool/kindergarten with her to see how things go. This is our test year. Our year to see if I am able to pull this off.

We chose this age ’cause we decided if it didn’t work out, at least she wouldn’t be behind the other kids her age. But, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit nervous to try this.

Still, I think it will be an exciting adventure for Kai, me, and the rest of the family.

My biggest fear is socialization. Or rather, lack thereof. I tend to be a bit on the introverted side in real life (the internet gives me amazing courage) so my biggest worry is that my tendency to withdraw in social settings will ultimately affect Kai in a negative way.

But, I’d love to know, oh blogosphere friends, do those of you homeschooling have any words of wisdom for a fledgling homeschool mom embarking on this journey? And tips for making sure she’s educated and sociable??

Let me tell you a little about my highschool. It was an all-girls school. Which means we basically had an all-girls prom (with the exception of a few pitiful fellows bused in from the local military school). And, in case you couldn’t guess, all-girls proms pretty much, you know, blow. But, I went. Every year.

And here I am my junior year dressed as a deranged wedding cake topper. This outfit was not a joke. I was serious. Notice how I am alone in the pic? Yep. No date for prom. But that didn’t stop me from getting my picture taken in this stunning get-up. Oh no. I had to have photographic evidence of my horrendous fashion sense.

And that brings me to this.

My dearest mom,

why, oh why, did you ever let me out of the house dressed like this? why did you not call the national guard to barricade the door so I wouldn’t go into public in this dress? and this hair?

I know you love me, but seriously? would it have killed you to keep me from this embarrassment?

with all my love,
your beloved daughter/chronic fashion victim

Head over to That Family’s blog to see other pics from the past!

I have this annoying habit that drives cashiers, clerks, waitresses and my husband crazy. But it saves me from paying too much for everything from vitamins to car service.

I am a receipt checker. I sit down with my receipt as soon as I get in the car and check every single line item to make sure I have not paid more for something or paid for something twice. And, you know what? I find mistakes on a weekly basis.

My husband has admitted that it both drives him crazy and makes him appreciative how much time I spend checking these things out. But, I must say, just in the last week I have been double charged for vitamins, jipped on CVS Extra Care Bucks (I just started CVSing and that is a whole other post!), been charged for extermination services I didn’t receive, charged more than the price marked for grocery items, and even not charged for toothbrushes I had in my cart (which I am a stickler for returning and paying for ’cause my family owns retail stores and I apply the whole Golden Rule there) and all this happened at different places.

So, here’s what works for me. Checking my receipts the minute I get into the car. I wait until the kids are buckled in and settled which means I may sometimes have to make a return trip into the store if it turns out they did botch the checkout. But, it is worth it to know I have only paid for what I’ve received. I have even been known to get my BlackBerry calculator out to double check that everything adds up. I’m obsessive that way. Still, in my defense, I have been rewarded for my diligence many times by finding extra money on the receipt in the form of overcharges and whatnot so I can’t be totally crazy.

Anyways, that’s what is working for me. Head over to Shannon’s Dryer to see what is working for other moms this week…

I have this bizarre issue that I must confess. I have a violent and irrational aversion to food sounds. Any food sounds.

Let me explain.

You know those sounds that come when you eat cereal or ice cubes or popcorn? Those loud crunchy noises people make when they are sitting next to you? Those noises drive me out of my head.

But, the weirdest part is that it doesn’t stop with the obvious noisy foods. I can’t stand to hear someone eating noodles, lettuce, french fries, fried chicken, whatever. You name it the sound of it being masticated grosses me out.

But, sometimes the worst is drinking noises. Thomas will sit down across the couch from me and drink a glass of milk and, though I try to ignore it, I will nearly crawl out of my skin. I shuddered just thinking about it right now.

It’s not like I have to wear earplugs at dinner or anything weird like that. I just hate the sound of chewing, swallowing, and eating in general and have to try super hard to ignore it. It has driven my family crazy since I was a kid.

Anyways, so there you have it. I am a freak when it comes to eating/drinking noises. So, do tell, am I the only weirdo or do you guys have any weird issues that make people question your sanity?

I want to be organic and green. Really I do. Not ’cause it’s a fad but ’cause I actually enjoy it.

But after what happened today in my youngest’s cloth swim diaper, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to handle cloth diapers.

But I am interested, how many of you have chosen cloth diapers and of those who’ve done both cloth and disposable, what are your thoughts?

I keep having daydreams where the adjuster says the car is totaled and we get a new one. But, considering it only looks like that I am going to snap back to reality. The reality where we pay our $500 deductible and get the same car we had before. Oh well. A girl can dream can’t she?

While on our trip we made a short trek to Richmond to the Children’s Museum there. Every time we travel with the kids we make a point to stop at a children’s museum. Most cities have one and since visiting places often becomes about keeping the kids out of trouble they are the perfect place to let the kid’s loose in an environment designed just for them.

The Richmond Children’s Museum was one of our favorites. It had great local inspired exhibits like a “James River Boat Run,” a cave for “spelunking,” and a tree climbing exhibit. And of course the usual grocery store, diner, and trucks & cars that always make the kids happy.

By far my favorite, though, was their art room. They had a room filled with art supplies made from recycled items such as egg cartons, toilet paper rolls, shredded paper, plastic yogurt cups, and more. There were stations with paints, stamps, markers, and any other art supply you could imagine. Basically, the kids were given access to all the materials and free reign to create whatever struck their fancy.

We made butterflies out of shredded paper, toilet paper rolls, water bottle caps, and egg cartons. We also painted ’til our hearts were content. And made bird’s nests out of plastic yogurt cups and birthday streamers.

If you know me, you know I am all about creative expression in my house. I LOVE to let the kids paint and draw and glue and whatever else they can come up with. But, this. Oh, this has given me fabulous inspiration for our art room. I can’t wait to collect all kinds of random bits to make available to the girls for art creation!

The pics above were taken at the museum of some of the art pieces left by some of its patrons. I love seeing the creativity that evolves when kids have access to unusual materials.

You can definitely expect to be seeing more recycled art from the Loving girls from now on!

I learned that it is much easier than you might think for a child to dislocate her shoulder. Amazingly easy. So, yes, we wrapped up our trip with one dislocated shoulder for our dear Ives. Oh, the humanity!

Actually, she was such a trooper. It happened in the blink of an eye and the next thing we knew she was holding her little right arm limp at her side. One quick call to our super hero nurse friend (and my honorary sister) Ms. Yvonne and we had her diagnosed.

So, here’s what else I learned this week (besides that nurses are the coolest people in the entire Universe - cause I already knew that!) I learned that if a child dislocates her shoulder you don’t actually have to take them to the hospital. ‘Cause with minimal telephone coaching you, too, can pop a shoulder into it’s socket. It took about 10 seconds, saved us $2000 in out-of-state ER charges, and made Ivy happier much faster than if we had spent hours in the ER waiting room.

In fact, today she is as good as new. And, for that, we are thankful.

And while I am talking about being thankful, I want to say that without Ms. Yvonne we would probably have signed over our life savings to the vast medical expenses that seem to pop up in our world. She is a nurse and a friend and, quite honestly, family to us. Thank you, Ms. Yvonne, for being so generous with your time, your expertise, and your love for our girls. We love you and are thankful every day that God blessed us with such an amazing person in our lives!

I just wanted to give you a very public and personal shout-out so everyone can know how amazing you are!