What We Did on The First Day of School

I think the pictures tell this story better than any words I could say.

On having a son....

I love being a mom. But being a mom to a son is whole new level of motherhood to love. My little guy (the red head) is fortunate that I had his cousin (the brown haired boy) to train me in the ways of Ninja motherhood :)

He is so wonderfully boyish. He brings out my masculine side. We play with swords, and video games, and read about planets and stars and discuss trading card games.

It is so different from my first 5 years of being a mom to a girl.

I love the balance I feel in this experience.

Lucky, thankful me!

We are going on a trip. I keep calling it a "trip".

Yesterday, my son asked, "Is a trip like a vacation?"

I said, "Yes!" Thrilled that maybe now he would get caught up in the excitement his sister I are feeling and he just hasn't joined in yet.

"Oh," he says - dejected! "What are we taking a vacation from?"

Ha! Lucky him, and lucky me! We have a vacation life (at least in his mind!). Yay!

Now, I don't mind at all that he is not excited. It is just one more wonder in a life of wonder.

Oh, and I said it was a vacation from our usual routines, and a vacation from cooking for me.

Living and Learning Then and Now

What a difference three years makes.

Next week, we will be heading out to Live and Live Unschooling Conference in No. Carolina. When we began the homeschooling part of our family's journey, we were all unsure of how it was going to look, be, feel, etc.

I was surfing the internet, and came across the Live and Learn conference in Peabody, Mass. It looked so cool (kids can come to everything! there is no curriculum discussion! live and learn! a round table on your out of sync child! talent show! Oh.My.God!). I was so excited, and it was only a few weeks away. We lived close enough to drive, my mom offered to pay for a family registration and we set off for the day. It was so unbelievably amazing that we stayed for the night.

So, we became unschoolers overnight.

As we are finally getting back to another Live and Learn conference, I have been gently looking at the other family that attended that conference and how far we have all come.

I remember thinking that everyone there was shockingly creative. There were all these raffle items that people had made (while their kids were home?!?!?), books people had written (about things other than children?!?!?!), talented adults and kids dancing, singing, running, jumping, grooving with mechanical hamsters, handling future guide dogs, discussing hair dye and duct tape, and everyone was grinning from ear to ear (with their children??!?!?!?).

Even my daughter was recruited to a cheer leading troupe. She bopped up on stage.

One! We are the Unschoolers!

Two! A little bit Louder!

Three! I still can't hear you!

More! More! More! MORE!

I was beginning to be one of these grinning from ear to ear people.

My son, who at the time LOVED his stroller, was the only child in one. Every other child was held or free range. There was a five year old who roamed confidently with her walkie talkie.

I kept grinning at her.

I couldn't figure out how all these people knew each other ~ well, it appeared. How was that woman (who looked AMAZING and had like a little posse of kids...) who I knew was from Colorado such good friends with that guy from Massachusetts? Had I stepped into something where everyone was somehow related? During the talent show, the "cool people" were in the back drinking wine and throwing their arms around each other. With, yep, more grinning.

There was the girl who recited a whole bunch of The Emperor's New Groove by heart, and the family that "Rocked the Funshops!"

Now, it is three years later. I know some of these people. I love some of these people. I will fling my arms around some people that I have never seen in real life.

I will grin from ear to ear.

In fact, I am even bringing some art to raffle, and a poncho I knit myself. Me ~ one of the creative people.

Most of all, I hope I can hold in my heart the memory of when I was baffled, enthralled, mystified, and eager to know more but not even knowing what questions to ask.

I hope I recognize that look on some one's face, as Valerie and Joyce recognized in mine, and start talking. Maybe even fling my arms around him or her.

But, I will definitely grin at them ear to ear.

And that doesn't even brging to touch on how my children have changed, but that is for another post.

Is it fall already?

It has been very chilly here! I actually love fall, but I could have used a couple more beach days. Once September hits, I rarely want to go in the water. In August I am all for it, but I don't know whether it is hurricane season or tides or what but the water and air seem "fall like" come September 1.

This summer has been great. It has really been filled with the three F's....fun family friendship!

Uh oh, more guests! Gotta go!

Sister Found!

When my mother in law was a teenager, she had a daughter who gave to another family for adoption. Last winter, she and her daughter found each other!
Last night we had a dinner with her to meet her for the first time. Now, my husband has a big sister and my kids have a new aunt. Wow!

This is a picture of sister, mom, and brother. Wasn't it nice of her to wear something that color-coordinated with our house .

I know that my mother in law has always wanted to find her, and what a way for the Universe to provide.

Oh, and check out the cake~yum :)

The Surfer Dudes

In this picture, they are all making the East Coast surfer sign!
Surf's up, dude.

We had a blast with the kids in the ocean. They are all getting to be such fish in the sea.

Declan loves going underwater and swimming with his eyes open. They all tried to stand on the boogie boards, but it was not working.

The water was warm, today, but I heard a family with kids near by saying, "Well, the Atlantic is always cold, sweetie". These kids were yelling, "Come in Jecca the water is like TOAST!!" through their blue lips :)

Cousins

My nieces and nephews are here for a visit this weekend. They are so awesome! I love having them here, and I love being here playing with them and with my children.

I am always grateful that they can be so close. Although my kids are home schooled and the cousins are in school, and they have a city life and we have a country life, they are all so close and loving to each other, the differences seem minor; in fact they melt away.

Today, we went to a birthday party for the daughter of my oldest friend. We have known each other since kindergarten! We have not always stayed in contact, but now we live less then 5 miles from each other. I had not met her sister's husband or kids, or seen her mom in years. It is funny how little people change, and yet how lives evolve. I hope *I* am not the same. I hope I move through this life manifesting the changes I feel inside.

I brought the kids and cousins, and we had a blast. It reminded me of all the big bashes we have had for all the kids in the past. Now, we are so happy to do what the kids want, not have a party that the adults will enjoy. One year, I had a luau for Ella, and it was a great party ~ tons of people, *great* decorations, tons of food. One year for Declan we had a big cook out themed party at my mom's with a huge cake we made that looked like a Hamburger.

This year, we have had much mellower, kid-directed parties. Ella actually wanted a big party, but we just had kids and kid food, with kid games and crafts. Declan had the cousins for a sleep over and played video games, and watched The Chronicles of Narnia and Shark Boy and Lava Girl. The older cousins (my 10 year old and nephew who is 9) played Shark Boy and Lava Girl for a long time, and now the youngers (5 - my son and 5 - my neice) love to play it.

So fun!

Welcome

Welcome to the first blog message on this blog about our life journey.
We are a family of four (mom, dad, son and daughter) and we have a bunch of house pets (dogs, cat, bird, turtle). A few years ago, we decided to try a year as home schoolers and three years later we are still at it. As D turns five, he is officially becoming a "home schooler" I guess.
But, we are not school at home people. When we decided to bring our daughter home from school for good, it seemed silly to recreate school (which wasn't functional) in our home (which was functional).
In one of those great serendipity moments facilitated by the internet, I happened upon the Live and Learn conference in Peabody, Massachusetts. Since it wasn't too far away, we decided to drive up for the day. It was an amazing experience to see all these wonderful children and families not just surviving but *thriving* without school. I had never even thought that a whole, full, life could be lived without experiencing school.
But, I was so, joyfully, wrong. What learning! What life! No school! It was Mind Blowing.
So, to clarify the title of the blog, although I am home with my children as they learn, and it is joyful to have them here, the title refers to me.
My children, thankfully, live in joy.
*I* am learning to embrace joy and find it along my path. I know it is there, I have to learn to see it as clearly as my children do.