Hermit that is. A few weeks ago Michael won a hermit crab at the Fog Festival. It was a game where one would usually win a goldfish, but they had hermit crabs. We got it all set up in an appropriate habitat with all the stuff it needed. He bought a book Hermit Crabs for Dummies and has read the whole thing so now he is an expert. The book says that they need to have more than one or they get lonely, sick, and die. So this weekend we bought two more to join Hermie (the first one.) Hermie has a natural shell, and so does Shelly. But then we had to get this HUGE one that has his shell painted baby blue with an orange pumpkin on it. Whoever thought baby blue and orange go together was wrong. His name is Toby (from OcTOBer.) Nicholas wanted to name him Pumpkiny, but I just couldn't handle that.
Two kids, four cats, and three hermit crabs in a 36 foot RV. I love my life (seriously, I do!)
Oh and the other day I was sitting by the cliff reading while the boys were playing and there were sea lions out playing in the water. I couldn't get a picture of them because I had to use the binoculars to see them good. The were just floating on their backs and swimming around. Eventually about ten or so of them came together and played as a group, then they all swam back the way they came. I suppose the whales have moved on, otherwise they sea lions wouldn't be there.
Have a great day everyone!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Decisions
6:15 yoga yesterday and today. On Monday they had a revised schedule for Columbus Day, so it didn't fit with my schedule. I was a little aggravated with this at first. My birthday has fallen on Columbus day many times during my life and never has it affected my school or work schedule. But now it affects my yoga??? But I am over it, things happen. At least I am able to go to yoga most other days. Yoga is my calming strength.
So we are at a decision point once again, but we don't have all the factors to make a decision with. Jay has been offered a job here in the Bay area. He is alright with the job, it has a lot of potential for growth. We are waiting on the "formal" paperwork with the salary. Traveling we get paid housing reimbursement, car rental reimbursement, and a daily per diem for food. By settling somewhere, we won't get that, so the salary range he would be in is lower than what he is making now. It is still negotiable somewhat though. The decision is whether to take the salary offer and stay or to leave here in January and continue to travel to who know where. Now don't get me wrong, we love traveling. We have got to see so many wonderful things and experienced so much. BUT in the last two years we have had some major life setbacks and I am just feeling tired. Not tired in like I need a nap, but tired as in a need a year or two of routine so I can feel not crazy. The past two years I feel like life has gone by in a whirlwind. Between multiple medical problems throughout my family, job issues, homeschooling issues, adjusting to traveling, keeping in touch with family/friends, keeping the kids socialized and educated and trying to keep myself sane . . . I need a while to just breathe and take in everything. Now nobody has died and everyone is okay medically, the kids are fine, job is working out etc etc but I am constantly on edge for the next fiasco. I am trying to not be on edge and just take what life throws at me and run with it. And getting adjusted to another new place in a few months just sounds tiring and like a lot of work. (and yes I know we chose this, but there won't so many issues when we started.)
Back to the decision at hand - if we are to settle somewhere for a while (we would wait and decided if we wanted to stay forever or travel again after a few years) the place we are now has a lot of things we are looking for. There is the active homeschool group for the boys, a stable job with a decent salary and benefits for Jay, yoga right down the road for me, a soccer league for the boys, we are right on the Pacific ocean, lots of cultural activities and opportunities for tons of "field trips" in the area, laid back and nice people, the gym up the road with cheap babysitting, it is close to the mountains for snow activities, the weather is moderate (but foggy at times) and other things that I can't think of right now. There is also the issue that Jay is not ever guaranteed a job. He works for staffing agencies on a contract basis per job, so if there is time in between jobs it leaves us in limbo both physically and financially. On the other hand it is very expensive to live here. It is the most expensive campground we have been in, but electricity is included and we only need to fill our propane tanks once every three months or so. (As opposed to 2 - 3 times a week when we were in Truckee in the snow.) It is far from our family and friends in Florida and the money situation could be very tight depending on final numbers. There is a possibility that I may be able to get hired as an education specialist for the homeschool charter school here. An ES goes around and works with homeschool parents of school to make sure their children are doing what needs to be done. I could also enroll the boys in this school and get $1800 each a year for school curriculum and supplies without changing what I am doing now.
So we are just waiting for all the details to come in about the job so we can make a decision. I know that whatever decision is made we will be fine as a family and make it work.
So we are at a decision point once again, but we don't have all the factors to make a decision with. Jay has been offered a job here in the Bay area. He is alright with the job, it has a lot of potential for growth. We are waiting on the "formal" paperwork with the salary. Traveling we get paid housing reimbursement, car rental reimbursement, and a daily per diem for food. By settling somewhere, we won't get that, so the salary range he would be in is lower than what he is making now. It is still negotiable somewhat though. The decision is whether to take the salary offer and stay or to leave here in January and continue to travel to who know where. Now don't get me wrong, we love traveling. We have got to see so many wonderful things and experienced so much. BUT in the last two years we have had some major life setbacks and I am just feeling tired. Not tired in like I need a nap, but tired as in a need a year or two of routine so I can feel not crazy. The past two years I feel like life has gone by in a whirlwind. Between multiple medical problems throughout my family, job issues, homeschooling issues, adjusting to traveling, keeping in touch with family/friends, keeping the kids socialized and educated and trying to keep myself sane . . . I need a while to just breathe and take in everything. Now nobody has died and everyone is okay medically, the kids are fine, job is working out etc etc but I am constantly on edge for the next fiasco. I am trying to not be on edge and just take what life throws at me and run with it. And getting adjusted to another new place in a few months just sounds tiring and like a lot of work. (and yes I know we chose this, but there won't so many issues when we started.)
Back to the decision at hand - if we are to settle somewhere for a while (we would wait and decided if we wanted to stay forever or travel again after a few years) the place we are now has a lot of things we are looking for. There is the active homeschool group for the boys, a stable job with a decent salary and benefits for Jay, yoga right down the road for me, a soccer league for the boys, we are right on the Pacific ocean, lots of cultural activities and opportunities for tons of "field trips" in the area, laid back and nice people, the gym up the road with cheap babysitting, it is close to the mountains for snow activities, the weather is moderate (but foggy at times) and other things that I can't think of right now. There is also the issue that Jay is not ever guaranteed a job. He works for staffing agencies on a contract basis per job, so if there is time in between jobs it leaves us in limbo both physically and financially. On the other hand it is very expensive to live here. It is the most expensive campground we have been in, but electricity is included and we only need to fill our propane tanks once every three months or so. (As opposed to 2 - 3 times a week when we were in Truckee in the snow.) It is far from our family and friends in Florida and the money situation could be very tight depending on final numbers. There is a possibility that I may be able to get hired as an education specialist for the homeschool charter school here. An ES goes around and works with homeschool parents of school to make sure their children are doing what needs to be done. I could also enroll the boys in this school and get $1800 each a year for school curriculum and supplies without changing what I am doing now.
So we are just waiting for all the details to come in about the job so we can make a decision. I know that whatever decision is made we will be fine as a family and make it work.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Demoliton Derby
Last night Jay wanted to go to the races. He likes to go to dirt tracks, not pavement tracks. And they have to be somewhat small, no Nascar types. He had been wanting to go for a while and since last night was the last race of the season I said let's go. I am not too fond of racing, but on occasion it is interesting. So we headed out over the Golden Gate Bridge north to the races. The race last night had a 200 lap free for all. The cars were total beat up clunkers. The hit each other, blew out tires and kept going, kept going with bumpers dragging, smoking, sparking, just craziness. It started out with about 40 cars and by the last lap there were only eight left. Basically it was whoevers car could make it 200 laps without breaking or wrecking. We ate junk food and sodas and sat in the chilly night air. After the race they had a car go up a ramp to see how many times the driver could get it to roll over. He wouldn't go up the ramp fast so it finally rolled, but not alot. The final event was a demolition derby. They had twelve big clunkers and they just crashed them into each other until only one car was left running. Which was a lot of crashing! The boys had a great time. Nicholas is really into Hot Wheels and such, so he liked all the crashes. It will be interesting to see what type of tracks he builds after last night and how he plays with his cars. Both boys fell asleep on the way home. I had never seen an actual demoliton derby so it was fun for me as well. Not something I want to do all the time, but a fun experience.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Yoga (yes again) and homeschooling
No not together silly - two separate topics in one post.
Still loving yoga. Got up Monday, Wednesday, and today for the 6:15 class. I feel energized, awake, and ready to take on the world (or at least my two kids) after class. Tuesday I did Pilates and yesterday I did yoga at the gym and some weight training last night with Jay. After another week of daily yoga I am going to start trying to wean myself off my anxiety medicine. I am reading Bikram's book and it is awesome. It explains the sequence of postures, the history of yoga, the reason for the heat and just so much more. If you have ten minutes watch his interview from 60 Minutes Bikram's Interview. Michael has gone with me to a beginning class a few times and in two weeks they are starting a kids class twice a week. I am so excited!
Last weekend I made a schedule for our school day. I know that part of the idea of homeschooling is that you can have whatever schedule you want, but I am just not organized for that. So I made a rigorous schedule for each day of the week, just like I had when I taught in a traditional classroom. This week it has made a world of difference. No longer am I trying to figure out what subject we are doing next or how to entertain the other child while working with the current one. Each minute has something planned of each. I have cut the tv/computer/playstation time down tremendously and have stuck to my guns about it (much to their dismay.) For language arts with Michael I am using the curriculm I developed myself that is catered to his needs and it is going better than I hoped. I really feel that this school year is going to be one of tremendous growth for both boys. Nicholas has read two small stories in his phonics book and has increased his counting and math skills so much in just the short time we have been doing school this year.
We have found a great homeschool group in our area here. It has a bround range of kids that all play together. Both boys have ample amounts of playmates at the park days. They also have game nights at the local pizza place for board games or yu-gi-oh (Michael's obsession), a book club (for Michael), preschool playdates with arts and crafts, a Spanish conversation class, and much much more. The moms and dads that I have met in the group are extremely nice and down to earth, they seem to accept everyone as a homeschooler with their own method, without judgement on how you are teaching your children and what religious beliegs you may have. There are also so many homeschool activites that happen here throughout the Bay area that it is a little overwhelming. BUT WONDERFUL!!!
It is now time to begin our school day as per my schedule. Have a great day and weekend everyone!!!!! I do have other things to write about, maybe at lunch I can squeeze in another post.
Still loving yoga. Got up Monday, Wednesday, and today for the 6:15 class. I feel energized, awake, and ready to take on the world (or at least my two kids) after class. Tuesday I did Pilates and yesterday I did yoga at the gym and some weight training last night with Jay. After another week of daily yoga I am going to start trying to wean myself off my anxiety medicine. I am reading Bikram's book and it is awesome. It explains the sequence of postures, the history of yoga, the reason for the heat and just so much more. If you have ten minutes watch his interview from 60 Minutes Bikram's Interview. Michael has gone with me to a beginning class a few times and in two weeks they are starting a kids class twice a week. I am so excited!
Last weekend I made a schedule for our school day. I know that part of the idea of homeschooling is that you can have whatever schedule you want, but I am just not organized for that. So I made a rigorous schedule for each day of the week, just like I had when I taught in a traditional classroom. This week it has made a world of difference. No longer am I trying to figure out what subject we are doing next or how to entertain the other child while working with the current one. Each minute has something planned of each. I have cut the tv/computer/playstation time down tremendously and have stuck to my guns about it (much to their dismay.) For language arts with Michael I am using the curriculm I developed myself that is catered to his needs and it is going better than I hoped. I really feel that this school year is going to be one of tremendous growth for both boys. Nicholas has read two small stories in his phonics book and has increased his counting and math skills so much in just the short time we have been doing school this year.
We have found a great homeschool group in our area here. It has a bround range of kids that all play together. Both boys have ample amounts of playmates at the park days. They also have game nights at the local pizza place for board games or yu-gi-oh (Michael's obsession), a book club (for Michael), preschool playdates with arts and crafts, a Spanish conversation class, and much much more. The moms and dads that I have met in the group are extremely nice and down to earth, they seem to accept everyone as a homeschooler with their own method, without judgement on how you are teaching your children and what religious beliegs you may have. There are also so many homeschool activites that happen here throughout the Bay area that it is a little overwhelming. BUT WONDERFUL!!!
It is now time to begin our school day as per my schedule. Have a great day and weekend everyone!!!!! I do have other things to write about, maybe at lunch I can squeeze in another post.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Daily Calendar Oct. 3
Mickey Mouse Club TV Premiere (1955): This afternoon show for children was on ABC. Among its young cast members were Mouseketeers Annette Funicello and Shelley Fabares. The show was revived in 1977 and 1989. Christine Aguilera, Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears were cast members on the new edition.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Daily Calendar Oct. 2
Redwood national Park Established Anniversary (1968) - California's Redwood National Park was established.
"Peanuts" Debuts Anniversary (1950) This comic strip by Charles M. Schulz featured Charlie Brown, his sister Sally, Lucy, Linus, and Charlie Brown's dog Snoopy. The last daily "Peanuts" strip was published Jan 3, 2000, and the last Sunday strip was published Feb. 13, 2000. Schulz died the evening before the final strip appeared. Newspapers continue to run "Peanuts" in reruns, and it remains immensely popular.
Gandhi Birth Anniversary (1869) - Indian political and spiritual leader who achieved world honor and fame for his advocacy of nonviolent resistance as a weapon against tyranny, born at Porbandar, India. He was assassinated in the garden of his home at New Delhi, Jan 20, 1948. On the anniversary of Gandhi's birth thousands gather at the park on the Jumna River at Delhi where Gandhi's body was cremated. Hymns are sung, verses from the Gita, the Koran and the Bible are recited and cotton thread is spun on small spinning wheels (one of Gandhi's favorite activities.) Other observances are held at his birthplace and throughout India on this public holiday. www.mahatma.org
"Peanuts" Debuts Anniversary (1950) This comic strip by Charles M. Schulz featured Charlie Brown, his sister Sally, Lucy, Linus, and Charlie Brown's dog Snoopy. The last daily "Peanuts" strip was published Jan 3, 2000, and the last Sunday strip was published Feb. 13, 2000. Schulz died the evening before the final strip appeared. Newspapers continue to run "Peanuts" in reruns, and it remains immensely popular.
Gandhi Birth Anniversary (1869) - Indian political and spiritual leader who achieved world honor and fame for his advocacy of nonviolent resistance as a weapon against tyranny, born at Porbandar, India. He was assassinated in the garden of his home at New Delhi, Jan 20, 1948. On the anniversary of Gandhi's birth thousands gather at the park on the Jumna River at Delhi where Gandhi's body was cremated. Hymns are sung, verses from the Gita, the Koran and the Bible are recited and cotton thread is spun on small spinning wheels (one of Gandhi's favorite activities.) Other observances are held at his birthplace and throughout India on this public holiday. www.mahatma.org
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Motivation
I have sinus infection/sore throat and just can't motivate myself to start school today. I will though . . . soon.
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