Gummy Worm Cake Fantasy

In keeping my latest trend of posting tasty treats, I thought I'd share a picture of one of the fabulous cakes my friend dropped off today for the boys' birthday. The "dirt" is crushed oreo cookies. The grass is made of green frosting and of course there is the gummy worms on top.

Isn't it so cute?

This is my fantasy. To be able to make amazing cakes like this for my kids' birthday, instead of the Publix cakes that I buy.


Maybe next year..

Lunched is served

I could live on the She-crab soup and crab empanadas here at the hotel. What a great lunch! I had it twice during my stay. Can you say $75 per night incidental credit? It was worth not leaving the room for. I didn't make it to the spa because I seriously was cramming in all my reading, researching and blog writing.

Just think. Come tomorrow it will be me serving up the lunches and they won't look anything like this.
(sigh)

Until next year...

Snack Time

This is what the hotel sends to your room for snack time.
It changes daily. I'm going to miss snack time.

I love you Big Daddy
Thanks

On the Soap Box: Homeschooling & why we do it

Today I received this link to an article by Amy Platon on the Orlando Sentinel discussing her views on homeschooling. I am not sure if it was the fact that I'm going on 24-hours in a hotel room planning out my school year, or if its that I'm becoming more political and outspoken, but I felt the need to respond Ms. Platon's article and I commend her on being polite. It is in the same tone I hope my response is read.

If this home-school trend continues, we'll end up with adults who have learned we are each out for ourselves. If a system is not good enough, then leave it. If the education isn't good enough, don't take an active role to improve it — just quit. How can a home-schooled child have compassion for his community when he isn't part of it? And so, divided we fall.

In some ways we are each out for ourselves. I'm sorry I don't believe in socialism. It has never worked for a reason. I don't mean that we shouldn't try to help others or contribute to society but I do think that we are all given different gifts and when we develop those gifts in the way we were each individually created to, we will not all get the same results. Each person should be focused on developing his or her own gifts. It is a parents responsibility to actively assist their child in fulfilling their God given potential (not the parents own fantasy). If a parent chooses to do this by educating their child at home that is hardly something that could or should be viewed upon as quitting. On the contrary it is taking an active role quite literally. Not all of us are of the personality or inclination to make changes in government or even school systems. I personally am not gifted in that way. My energies are better spent educating my children at home while another parent may be better suited to taking on the PTA and making contributions to the school and community at large. My contributions at home also affect the community. I am raising children who are a part of our community whether or not they attend the same schools as the other community children. To say my child is not a part of the community and can have no compassion for the community because they do not attend a public school is laughable. Where is my child while the public school children are, in many cases, locked into the school building? Out in the community! Does our church not count as the community? Our neighborhood? The local businesses we frequent? The places we visit for field trips throughout the country? Don't misunderstand me. I don't believe homeschooling is the only way. It is a personal choice each parent must make and should have the option of making.

We all want to protect our children from bad influences, but if we pull all the well-parented children from the schools, then we are making the gap bigger. We are making a mess of their future. Send your well-parented child out into the world as a good influence.

I find it interesting the author would characterize those that homeschool as having well-parented children and then infer that the children in the school system are not well-parented and need the influences of those that are. I certainly think that there are homeschooled children who are not as well parented as some traditionally schooled children and vice versa. My children are out in the world---on a daily basis. I know you see us. It's okay to be friends with the local homeschool Mom, even if your child is enrolled in traditional school. We are not making a mess of the world by instilling values, real world experiences and a focused individualized education on our children. Use our experiences and results to demand change in your school systems if you are unhappy, but don't ask us to deny our children an opportunity to be educated at home simply because you choose not to.

Hands-on parents can still be involved with their child's education as school volunteers. Help your child at home in areas where he needs improvement. Encourage him to help his classmates when they are struggling. Share your passion for education in the classroom, where it's needed most.

There is now a segment of our homeschooling community that is doing just this. It's called co-schooling. You already have co-schoolers among you! Embrace them. Recognize that even if you put your kids on the school bus every morning, your job isn't done. You are still personally responsible for their education. Don't leave our underpaid school teachers with the bulk of your parental responsibilities---they have too many students and too few hours to do the job alone. I submit that the real problem is the fact that we have a growing nation of parents who don't want to parent. They are under the mistaken assumption that since their tax dollars pay for public schooling, they have no further responsibility in this area.

They are wrong.

Sweet Thanks

I recently came across these FREE DOWNLOADS from Living Lucurto, and I had to share them. Aren't they so sweet? Is there anyone who has been especially sweet to you or your family lately? Why not make them a little treat and thank them? These downloads fit perfectly over a sandwich ziplock bag.

Of course I also had to clip the blog post out and save it in my Evernote File. I you haven't yet tried Evernote, you should!

6 years ago today

Six years ago, After 3 1/2 months of complete bed rest, much prayer and an IVF procedure we were blessed with the birth of our twin boys. Bear weighed 6lbs 4oz and G-Man weighed 6lbs 3oz.


This morning we were blessed with a new Leopard Gecko hatched from our very first clutch!
What an awesome birthday present for the boys. We hope our 2nd egg hatches soon so that we can consider them "twins".

Does anyone bother to Rsvp anymore?

May is a very busy month for our family.
We celebrate 3 birthdays in the month of May alone.
Luckily, because we have twins, that means just two parties and not three.

Big Daddy has tried to institute a system where each child would be given a birthday party every other year. And by tried I mean he's told me repeatedly only to have it fall on seemingly deaf ears. What can I say, selective hearing goes both ways!

Luckily, since I don't require him to do much except for show up and help shlep, he takes my selective hearing in good humor. I cannot say I take his failure to hear a screaming baby at 3am in the same humor, but I guess he's just more evolved----or maybe he just is more well rested!


At any rate with two parties weeks apart I was rather surprised by what seems to be a growing trend---and not in a good way.

We have the:

Rsvping without Rsvping.
Huh? Yes, this is where you call to Rsvp but fail to actually commit to either coming or not coming. Hence not really Rsvping in the first place. It sounds a little something like this, "Hi, we received your invitation for the party on Saturday. I'm not sure if we can really come or not. Just put us down and if you don't see us, then you'll know something came up and we couldn't make it."

RSVP Amnesia
This is where you either forget to Rsvp and just show up unexpectedly (apparently this even happens at weddings!) or you Rsvp YES, and then immediately put the whole thing out of your mind and off your radar.

Entourage syndrome
Entourage syndrome is where your immediate family or child(ren) is invited to a party and you show up with not only your family or child(ren) but your sister, her kids, your neighbor, 3 nannies and some guy from the parking lot---or something like that. Maybe these people read too many issues of People or In Style but this isn't a case where your name is on the list as Your Name +++. I don't care if you roll 2 deep or 10. Show up with who I was expecting or make your own party next time.

Without even going into all the reasons why these trends are distasteful and not something that one should aspire to, let me just say this. If you fail to Rsvp for a party then you need to suck it up with your own crying child as to why they don't have a party favor bag. Don't leave me to do your dirty work and above all don't try to make me the bad guy for your social faux pas.

Anyone else with me?

Mother's Day Wishes

This Mother's Day, I pondered the unthinkable.
I pondered asking for a day without my children.
A day without any parental responsibility.
For most women, it was truly unthinkable.
For an infertile woman, it was truly shocking.


In the days leading up to Mother's Day, as my lack of sleep and general crankiness caught up to me, I started testing my thoughts on others.

"Why is it that on Mother's Day, Moms spend the entire day with their kids--- which is really no different than any other day? Whereas on Father's Day, Dad's go golfing or do whatever they wish for most of the day----which is also no different than any other day?"

Some people nodded.
A few chuckled.
And yet I knew in my heart, that to ask for the day off would mean I was a bad mother.

Finally I said to my husband, "As a homeschooling stay-at-home mother, I just want to spend the entire day doing nothing----by myself. I just want the day off. It's not fair!" And then I may have stamped my feet and pouted---or at least it came out sounding that way.

"Fine. It's your day." said my husband, in a tone one reserves for irrational toddlers, or the crazy.

"Great." I said, with a strangle tickle in my belly.

So on Mother's Day, when the baby started wailing at 6am I stayed in bed...cringing.
When I heard my kids outside the door loudly whispering, "Now can we give Mommy her presents? What about her breakfast in bed?" I guiltily pulled the covers over my head.

At 8am I tried to go downstairs, only to have my husband hand me my breakfast---which I couldn't eat. So I turned on the TV and attempted to watch and erase the shows TIVO had faithfully saved for me over the past 7 months or so. I gorged myself on Oprah & Real Housewives. Yeah, I did the important stuff. Then I took a super long shower without anyone knocking on the shower door or having to keep an eye on the baby crawling around the bathroom----and I missed them.

As I attempted to go downstairs again, my husband pushed me back into bed and said, "The kids want to give you your presents---IN BED."

And so, I went. A little sadly. But hey, they were coming up at least.

The handmade cards and presents came.
My oldest daughter solemnly handed me each gift with the words, "This is from all four of your children."

I loved every second of it.
And when they left so (mean) Mommy could spend the day without them-----I finished getting dressed and joined them downstairs.

Because sometimes,
you have to be careful what you wish for.
Luckily it was only 11:15AM and we still had the rest of the day to spend together.
I.am.so.grateful.to.be.a.mother.