Been thinking a lot about the kids and their education and all the dreams that Michael and I have when it comes to life. Finished A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson and was unfortunately disappointed. It started off SO WELL and then...just sort of dies off into facts and figures and how he doesn't finished the AT but hikes 847 miles and that would be impressive if he wasn't striving for a particular goal.
Reading the book got me thinking a lot about what I want to do and why I want to do it and who I am as a mother and a person and a woman and all sorts of dangerous things. :-)
One of my dreams is to homeschool my kids.
I never thought I would say that. Fifteen years ago I would've looked at you as though you were insane. Ten years ago I would've lectured you about how much better the public school system is. Five years ago I would've told you I'd never have the time. Today it's what I wish I was doing.
I love Montessori. Don't get me wrong. It is good. It is good for Jonah. I am not sure how we will continue to afford it and add Maeryn to the mix. There is another school out there I'm interested in as well - but there is NO WAY we could ever afford that one - not unless both children got a fantastic scholarship there. I get their newsletter every so often and feel sad that my kids aren't a part of such a fabulous learning community.
But Michael and I want other things too. Education is VERY important to both of us. But so is adventure, in case you haven't noticed.
We both hope that after we pay off most of our debts we can spend at least a year traveling in an RV all over the country. We feel like we'll find the place we belong, first of all - we'll just know, if we can have that RV year. We want to see more things. We want to teach our children by experience and example. We want to learn from other Christians more about Christianity. We want to have that ultimate adventure.
I am supposed to start looking for online teaching positions and it has utterly slipped my mind until now, so I'm glad I'm writing this somewhat disjointed blog. That way we would have income on the road.
Regardless, we have been tossing around the option of unschooling.
I know there is a lot of critique floating around about unschooling, but having read a lot of literature by John Holt and read several blogs by unschooling moms, it's something I'm interested in for my children. I am certain that I am not interested in complete and total radical unschooling, where children set their own rules and decided every little thing about their lives, but I am very much interested in learner driven education, with parent as facilitator and mentor.
We'll see how it all pans out.
I'm mostly hoping that something actually happens and we don't just end up sitting idly.
I feel like we've been doing that long enough.
Showing posts with label Maeryn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maeryn. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
St. Mary's River State Park.
We went hiking today at St. Mary's River State Park.
It's a frequent haunt of ours and pretty much the only good hiking anywhere near us.
It was SO good to get back on the trail.
We did three glorious miles.
I took tons of pictures.
The kids had a GREAT time.
Jonah ran almost the entire way ahead of us. He's training for a mile long run we're heading to Cincinnati for in May (Michael will be running the marathon; me? MAYBE the 10K). The little guy is FAST!
Maeryn rode in the backpack most of the way, but walked the last quarter mile. It was a good day:
It's a frequent haunt of ours and pretty much the only good hiking anywhere near us.
It was SO good to get back on the trail.
We did three glorious miles.
I took tons of pictures.
The kids had a GREAT time.
Jonah ran almost the entire way ahead of us. He's training for a mile long run we're heading to Cincinnati for in May (Michael will be running the marathon; me? MAYBE the 10K). The little guy is FAST!
Maeryn rode in the backpack most of the way, but walked the last quarter mile. It was a good day:
There's the cute little girl donned in all pink. Daddy is sporting the Kelty Kids Journey - we got it on super sale at REI a few years back for Jonah. It's served us very well.
Here's Jonah on the beginnings of his crazy run through the woods. At one point he got scared because he ran a little out of ear shot and ran back to us in tears. It didn't take long for him to hit the trail again on his own, however. Not too long before we'll be hitting the AT :-)
Saw these berries and had to grab a picture - the reds and greens are gorgeous!
Jonah grabbed his sister's hat when we stopped for snacks: dried cranberries, Gushers, and pretzel sticks.
Not such a huge fan of the Great Value ad we seem to be showing here - I hate Walmart and pretty much everything about it, but being on the budget we are currently on forces us into things we wouldn't really like to be doing if we could help it. I love how Michael looks in this picture - yes, I realize he's in the middle of eating something, but I think it sort of really captures how I see him as a person.
Jonah ran ahead and ended up in the mobile long before we made it to the end of the trail. He surprised us by sticking his head out of the door and screaming at us, monster style.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Snowed IN.
Okay. I was nice and positive last time I talked about the snow. We were having tons of fun as a family. We are now stir crazy. Michael is taking the kids to the dump for a fun trip out of the house.
It's also been harder only having one car these last few days. I want to take the kids to the library, Michael has to go to work - that sort of thing.
I haven't yet mustered up the courage to check out the bus schedules and figure out how they work and drag the kids to the bus stop. I should really do this. I'd like to do a trial run myself before dragging the kids along, however, in case I end up on the wrong bus or end up riding the bus too long or end up getting off at the incorrect stop.
I'm wracking my brain to think of something fun for me to do with the kids, but the only thing fun that comes to mind is me, by myself, going to Panera Bread and writing or reading all alone at a lovely solitary table with my computer and a Chai and maybe a book to read. I long to read or write without interruption.
I know that people keep telling me I will be sorry when these days are over. I am sure that I will be. But I really will like having a little time to myself. I love my children. I love spending time with them, but a person has got to stay sane.
I do have a not so fun at the time but funny now story to relate regarding the past few days in the snow.
Two days ago I thought I would be a hero fun mom and take my kids out sledding.
We borrowed a sled from the neighbors and headed out to the hill across the street from our house.
The snow was very deep, so I decided I would take a trip down the hill first, in order to make a path for the sled so that the kids could go down quickly instead of having to drag themselves down the first time. I made it to the bottom, picking up the sled at the end to scamper back to the top of the hill as I had done so many times in my youth.
Unfortunately, it would not be so easy.
I found that I couldn't actually get back up the hill.
Everything was covered with ice and with only one hand free (since I was carrying the sled), I was unable to navigate to the top of the hill.
Both children were standing there, watching, and Jonah decided that he should come down to help.
"No, Jonah! Just stay there!"
"Mommy, I want to help you!"
He slid down the hill on his bottom. Now there were two of us stuck.
"I will carry the sled to the top!" Jonah said.
I let him try while I tried to get up without the sled.
Meanwhile, Maeryn was freaking out at the top of the hill.
"Mama! Nana (Jonah)!" She started to take steps down the hill.
"NO, Maeryn! Stay there, Mommy is coming!"
(a few more steps down the hill - the snow was almost to her waist) "Mamaaaaaa!"
"Maeryn, STOP!" She burst into tears.
Jonah: "Mommy, I can't get back up!"
"I know, Buddy, I told you not to come down!"
"But I can't get up!"
I ignore him and finally pull myself to the top of the hill, leaving Jonah and the neighbor's sled at the bottom.
"Mama!" Maeryn takes another step and begins to slide down the hill. I run over and snatch her before she can sink any farther and tell Jonah I'm taking her to the house.
Jonah is left at the bottom of the hill.
In the house, I take off Maeryn's snow-covered clothes (she is SCREAMING now).
My 21 month old is now safe in the house, but my five year old is trapped with the neighbor's sled at the bottom of the hill.
I leave her home alone.
"Be a good girl, Maeryn, I need to go and get Jonah." She is crying as I run out the door, across the street, and down the hill. I pray that when I return to the house she has not played with the knife set on the kitchen counter or burned down the house by turning the knobs on the stove...
Since I don't want to be trapped at the bottom of the hill again, I hold onto a tree branch and reach down and tell Jonah to grab my hand. It takes eternity for him to get all the way up to my hand and grab on. All I can think about is the little monster back in the house terrorizing everything. I am worried she is hurt or scared or that I'm going to get arrested for child neglect because some policeman is going to canvas our neighborhood and find the toddler alone in the house with the mother across the street with her five year old trapped in the middle of the biggest snow we have had since 1889.
Jonah falls and doddles and takes about fifty years to get back across the street while I panick about Maeryn's safety and the condition of our home with regard to this.
I run to the door and throw it open.
Maeryn, in socks and diaper, toddles out to the living room holding a chocolate chip banana muffin from a plate in the kitchen.
"Hi, Mama!" She says cheerily, taking a bite of the muffin.
I later find the she has also skillfully replaced the Saran Wrap over the muffin plate after retrieving her prize.
Apparently she is able to last independently for long periods without supervision and not burn down the entire neighborhood...
But don't worry, I'm thinking it won't happen again.
It's also been harder only having one car these last few days. I want to take the kids to the library, Michael has to go to work - that sort of thing.
I haven't yet mustered up the courage to check out the bus schedules and figure out how they work and drag the kids to the bus stop. I should really do this. I'd like to do a trial run myself before dragging the kids along, however, in case I end up on the wrong bus or end up riding the bus too long or end up getting off at the incorrect stop.
I'm wracking my brain to think of something fun for me to do with the kids, but the only thing fun that comes to mind is me, by myself, going to Panera Bread and writing or reading all alone at a lovely solitary table with my computer and a Chai and maybe a book to read. I long to read or write without interruption.
I know that people keep telling me I will be sorry when these days are over. I am sure that I will be. But I really will like having a little time to myself. I love my children. I love spending time with them, but a person has got to stay sane.
I do have a not so fun at the time but funny now story to relate regarding the past few days in the snow.
Two days ago I thought I would be a hero fun mom and take my kids out sledding.
We borrowed a sled from the neighbors and headed out to the hill across the street from our house.
The snow was very deep, so I decided I would take a trip down the hill first, in order to make a path for the sled so that the kids could go down quickly instead of having to drag themselves down the first time. I made it to the bottom, picking up the sled at the end to scamper back to the top of the hill as I had done so many times in my youth.
Unfortunately, it would not be so easy.
I found that I couldn't actually get back up the hill.
Everything was covered with ice and with only one hand free (since I was carrying the sled), I was unable to navigate to the top of the hill.
Both children were standing there, watching, and Jonah decided that he should come down to help.
"No, Jonah! Just stay there!"
"Mommy, I want to help you!"
He slid down the hill on his bottom. Now there were two of us stuck.
"I will carry the sled to the top!" Jonah said.
I let him try while I tried to get up without the sled.
Meanwhile, Maeryn was freaking out at the top of the hill.
"Mama! Nana (Jonah)!" She started to take steps down the hill.
"NO, Maeryn! Stay there, Mommy is coming!"
(a few more steps down the hill - the snow was almost to her waist) "Mamaaaaaa!"
"Maeryn, STOP!" She burst into tears.
Jonah: "Mommy, I can't get back up!"
"I know, Buddy, I told you not to come down!"
"But I can't get up!"
I ignore him and finally pull myself to the top of the hill, leaving Jonah and the neighbor's sled at the bottom.
"Mama!" Maeryn takes another step and begins to slide down the hill. I run over and snatch her before she can sink any farther and tell Jonah I'm taking her to the house.
Jonah is left at the bottom of the hill.
In the house, I take off Maeryn's snow-covered clothes (she is SCREAMING now).
My 21 month old is now safe in the house, but my five year old is trapped with the neighbor's sled at the bottom of the hill.
I leave her home alone.
"Be a good girl, Maeryn, I need to go and get Jonah." She is crying as I run out the door, across the street, and down the hill. I pray that when I return to the house she has not played with the knife set on the kitchen counter or burned down the house by turning the knobs on the stove...
Since I don't want to be trapped at the bottom of the hill again, I hold onto a tree branch and reach down and tell Jonah to grab my hand. It takes eternity for him to get all the way up to my hand and grab on. All I can think about is the little monster back in the house terrorizing everything. I am worried she is hurt or scared or that I'm going to get arrested for child neglect because some policeman is going to canvas our neighborhood and find the toddler alone in the house with the mother across the street with her five year old trapped in the middle of the biggest snow we have had since 1889.
Jonah falls and doddles and takes about fifty years to get back across the street while I panick about Maeryn's safety and the condition of our home with regard to this.
I run to the door and throw it open.
Maeryn, in socks and diaper, toddles out to the living room holding a chocolate chip banana muffin from a plate in the kitchen.
"Hi, Mama!" She says cheerily, taking a bite of the muffin.
I later find the she has also skillfully replaced the Saran Wrap over the muffin plate after retrieving her prize.
Apparently she is able to last independently for long periods without supervision and not burn down the entire neighborhood...
But don't worry, I'm thinking it won't happen again.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Fees and things
It's been an interesting week at our house.
I've been intensely busy. I need to stop that.
I have managed to fit in two runs this week. I ran 2 miles Monday and 3.3 miles today. Michael was awesome and invited me to run at the drill hall at the base where he works, so I did it. I am not as fast as I would like to be by any stretch. My goal for the 5K I've signed up for in March is to do it in under 30 minutes. I'm currently training at a 12 minute mile or so, so the math isn't hard to figure out there.
I did take the kids to Ann Marie Gardens on Monday. It was SUCH a nice day around here - temperatures were lingering in the sixties. It rained all morning, but the afternoon was nice. I figured the playgrounds would be soaking and puddle ridden, so I picked Jonah up from school and the three of us (Jonah, Maeryn, and I) went to the Gardens.
To my dismay they had posted a sign that clearly said admission to the sculpture trail was $3 per person. In the past this was sort of grey and it seemed to me that admission to the park (the outdoor areas) was free and the $3 charge was for the indoor section: a rotating gallery.
We did not pay the $3.
I feel sort of guilty, looking back.
I really do want to support what they're doing. I want them to have money for upkeep, things like that. It just made me so sad and sort of disgusted that I can't take my kids through the scuplture garden for free. It's a part of the Smithsonian. If I took the kids to DC all the other Smithsonians would be free - I guess I'm just not getting it and I'm certainly not digging it.
I won't be going back again with my $3, but I will be paying it begrudgingly when/if I go, I assure you. I hate that any parks require a charge, to be honest. I would rather pay higher taxes to those amenities than to have to pay per usage. Regardless, that was our deal on Monday.
We had a nice time. The kids played a lot in the puddles and checked out all of the sculptures and it was a very good trip.
I'm cutting this off quickly, the hubby is home and we are in dire need of time together.
I've been intensely busy. I need to stop that.
I have managed to fit in two runs this week. I ran 2 miles Monday and 3.3 miles today. Michael was awesome and invited me to run at the drill hall at the base where he works, so I did it. I am not as fast as I would like to be by any stretch. My goal for the 5K I've signed up for in March is to do it in under 30 minutes. I'm currently training at a 12 minute mile or so, so the math isn't hard to figure out there.
I did take the kids to Ann Marie Gardens on Monday. It was SUCH a nice day around here - temperatures were lingering in the sixties. It rained all morning, but the afternoon was nice. I figured the playgrounds would be soaking and puddle ridden, so I picked Jonah up from school and the three of us (Jonah, Maeryn, and I) went to the Gardens.
To my dismay they had posted a sign that clearly said admission to the sculpture trail was $3 per person. In the past this was sort of grey and it seemed to me that admission to the park (the outdoor areas) was free and the $3 charge was for the indoor section: a rotating gallery.
We did not pay the $3.
I feel sort of guilty, looking back.
I really do want to support what they're doing. I want them to have money for upkeep, things like that. It just made me so sad and sort of disgusted that I can't take my kids through the scuplture garden for free. It's a part of the Smithsonian. If I took the kids to DC all the other Smithsonians would be free - I guess I'm just not getting it and I'm certainly not digging it.
I won't be going back again with my $3, but I will be paying it begrudgingly when/if I go, I assure you. I hate that any parks require a charge, to be honest. I would rather pay higher taxes to those amenities than to have to pay per usage. Regardless, that was our deal on Monday.
We had a nice time. The kids played a lot in the puddles and checked out all of the sculptures and it was a very good trip.
I'm cutting this off quickly, the hubby is home and we are in dire need of time together.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
St. Mary's City.
Yesterday the fam and I went to St. Mary's City in St. Mary's County, Maryland. I was looking for a new place to hike and having a very hard time finding something, especially considering I didn't feel like trapsing through the muddy-mud (as Jonah would say) yesterday. In my google searching, I came across the fact that there were five or so miles worth of trails at Historic St. Mary's City and they were either gravel or paved. Score.
The actual exhibit stuff is not open on Mondays and they have shortened hours in the winter, but this is a good thing because we do NOT have the cash to pay $10 a piece (the kids are free - so if you've got a spare $20 and a free day I think it's a great trip) and we weren't there to see actors and gift shops and eat refreshments from the stand, we were just there to hike the trails.
We packed lunches and snacks and headed out in the mobile. Parked near the visitor's center and braved our way into the attraction. I was anxious about being "caught" illegally in the place - especially because there were signs that said "ticketed visitors only beyond this point" in several places, but Michael kept saying that we didn't have a ticket because there was no one to sell us a ticket, and we were seeing the things that were "secret" or whatever, so I needed to stop worrying about it.
We actually ended up seeing several other families and joggers all over the place as we made our way throughout the trail-ways, so that calmed my fears a little.
We got to check out the landing of one of the two ships - the Ark and Dove - that made the first Catholic landing on American soil, some houses from circa 1670, a reconstructed chapel, and a beautiful view of the river as we made our way through fields, beaches, and forest areas.
We stopped halfway through at the picnic tables provided by the City and chowed down on our packed lunches, snacks, and waters. Jonah took the opportunity to pee in full view of the world (Michael told him to go down into the woods, so he went right up to the edge, whipped it out, and peed a steady stream for all the world to see) - luckily he just missed the two college girls running down the path seconds after he zipped his pants.
It was a really great trip over all - complete with a mud puddle dive by Maeryn, Sun Chips, dried cranberries, views of squirrels and waterfowl, bridges, history, and family bonding all in one. A great day :-)
The actual exhibit stuff is not open on Mondays and they have shortened hours in the winter, but this is a good thing because we do NOT have the cash to pay $10 a piece (the kids are free - so if you've got a spare $20 and a free day I think it's a great trip) and we weren't there to see actors and gift shops and eat refreshments from the stand, we were just there to hike the trails.
We packed lunches and snacks and headed out in the mobile. Parked near the visitor's center and braved our way into the attraction. I was anxious about being "caught" illegally in the place - especially because there were signs that said "ticketed visitors only beyond this point" in several places, but Michael kept saying that we didn't have a ticket because there was no one to sell us a ticket, and we were seeing the things that were "secret" or whatever, so I needed to stop worrying about it.
We actually ended up seeing several other families and joggers all over the place as we made our way throughout the trail-ways, so that calmed my fears a little.
We got to check out the landing of one of the two ships - the Ark and Dove - that made the first Catholic landing on American soil, some houses from circa 1670, a reconstructed chapel, and a beautiful view of the river as we made our way through fields, beaches, and forest areas.
We stopped halfway through at the picnic tables provided by the City and chowed down on our packed lunches, snacks, and waters. Jonah took the opportunity to pee in full view of the world (Michael told him to go down into the woods, so he went right up to the edge, whipped it out, and peed a steady stream for all the world to see) - luckily he just missed the two college girls running down the path seconds after he zipped his pants.
It was a really great trip over all - complete with a mud puddle dive by Maeryn, Sun Chips, dried cranberries, views of squirrels and waterfowl, bridges, history, and family bonding all in one. A great day :-)
Saturday, November 28, 2009
running
I'm currently training for the Flying Pig Half Marathon in May.
I am not as motivated as I would like to be. I admit this.
I should've run over Thanksgiving at my parents' house.
I did not.
I should've run yesterday when we got home at the Drill Hall.
I did not.
I should run today.
I really hope I will. I THINK I will, but you never know what sort of excuse my tiny brain will come up with. I'm tired. I must do laundry. Whatever
Today I admit I'm bored. Jonah is outside playing with friends in the neighborhood. Maeryn is napping. Michael is shooting a friend's senior pictures. I'm hermiting on the computer. Which is ridiculous and against everything I wish I stood for.
My brother-in-law is currently in Antarctica. I look at his beautiful pictures and all I can think of is - "wow, that looks ridiculously cold". I am truly a wuss. At least lately.
I want to get out there in the world and stop being a big sloth-face, but I'm lacking motivation. Someone help me!
I am not as motivated as I would like to be. I admit this.
I should've run over Thanksgiving at my parents' house.
I did not.
I should've run yesterday when we got home at the Drill Hall.
I did not.
I should run today.
I really hope I will. I THINK I will, but you never know what sort of excuse my tiny brain will come up with. I'm tired. I must do laundry. Whatever
Today I admit I'm bored. Jonah is outside playing with friends in the neighborhood. Maeryn is napping. Michael is shooting a friend's senior pictures. I'm hermiting on the computer. Which is ridiculous and against everything I wish I stood for.
My brother-in-law is currently in Antarctica. I look at his beautiful pictures and all I can think of is - "wow, that looks ridiculously cold". I am truly a wuss. At least lately.
I want to get out there in the world and stop being a big sloth-face, but I'm lacking motivation. Someone help me!
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