Juli Ford

Pumpkins and Campfires and Zebras...oh my

Ok, confession...I didn't carve these.  The kids did (with the help of the world's best babysitter who somehow never seems to mind getting the jobs that I just didn't get around to...I am so lucky).  Thank you, Karyn!

Am I the only one who sees the ghostly apparitions in this photo?  I think I need to really finally learn how to use my camera.  Our festivities lasted all week-end long as we celebrated Rod's 39th Birthday on Saturday night with some friends, some amazing beer, an irresistable cake and ...um.....more than a few marshmellows.

The week-end wrapped up with some super trick or treating (followed later in the evening by a visit from The Switch Witch, who magically scoops up the candy loot while we sleep and turns it into a present to find the next morning).  And when you have fuddy duddy parents who don't dress up on Halloween, it is always good to have an awesome aunt (zebra) who is willing to go the extra mile for a spooky good time.  Thanks, Liz! 

Back to Homeschool

Just a few highlights from our homeschooling experience in September.  I'd like to blog more soon about the curriculum we're using this year and our schedule and rhythm...hmmmm....yes, I would like to do that.  In the meanwhile, there are also a few more pictures over at Flickr too.

Math fun with shapes. (I think what they actually enjoy most about these is when the elastics on the Geoboards "accidentally" spring off the board and fly randomly across the room.)

Alexa's watercolor of fall from our Art Class.

Second Grade copywork.

Alexa's drawing from our monthly Book Club.  We read Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin and we loved it!

Nick's Roman Legion Signum from History Class.

Checking the rain fall on our Science class rain gauges.

Dragon Lion Bread. Well, we had every intention of celebrating Michaelmas again this year by making Dragon Bread but when the 29th of September rolled around, we were so deeply into next month's Book Club selection, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, that it turned into Lion Bread instead.  Well. at least we got our dragon fix earlier in the month with Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.

September would not be complete without an apple picking trip!  (Although this looks more like pumpkin picking, doesn't it?  Many of you know that I hold back a lot of apple picking pictures each year in case some of them make it onto the Christmas card so it will be a surprise.  So... I am sharing the apple-picking-picture-of-the-pumpkin-tree.  We loved Tougas Farm, by the way.)

It has been a really great start to our homeschooling year here and I'm so glad I took a few minutes to look back and blog about it.  It helps put the month in perspective for me.  I spend a lot of time reviewing what we've done, trying to figure out what works and what doesn't and make changes where we need to.  Sometimes that means I am caught up quite a bit in the details.  But taking a look at the month as a whole and sharing some of it here helps me see the bigger picture and helps me realize that, yes, it was a really great month!  We're off to a good start.

 

Life Lessons

This just suddenly appeared on the homeschool table today.  I am not sure if there is any particular incident (or just ongoing family conversations) that led to this but... I think I like it!  We are "back to homeschool" as of last Tuesday and I will have more to share on that soon but I couldn't resist posting this here right away.  It made me smile.

Feels like spring....

So we decided to do a little planting...

And get our hands into a bucket of dirt...

And reclaim a corner of our dining room that had been given over to a small table and chair set for the last few years that, thanks to the homeschool room re-do (more on that later), has been passed along to smaller children.  For now, the corner will host a little bit of whatever we are growing...

The Not-to-Do-List

(Photo from last year's Mother Daughter Yoga Retreat)

"We must make the choices that enable us to fulfill the deepest capacities of our real selves."-Thomas Merton

One of the things I love best about being a health coach is that I am always finding mirrors in my clients that I need to gaze into.  This week-end, as I was working with a wonderful (and busy!) mom of three, I found myself yet again seeing things in someone else that I need to see in myself.  (It is so easy to see things in other people, isn't it?!)

She has a busy few weeks ahead of her and we talked about what it is that she could NOT do in the next few weeks in order to get done what MUST be done and still take good care of herself.  It is a little concept I am calling the "not-to-do-list" and as we talked about her list, I immediately realized I needed to make one of my own.

Shortly after beginning my list, I came across the quote above about making the choices that enable us to fulfill the deepest capacities of our real selves.  It caused me to consider my list in a new way, through a different lens.  Are the items on my to-do-list really the ones that are resonating with my true self?  Which things in my life are NOT in line with my real self?  What would your NOT-to-do-list look like if you only allowed the activities that really support your soul and your purpose onto your to-do-list?  What are you willing to let go?

The New Self Care Checklist

I'm trying out a new concept here.  A different kind of self-care checklist.  It is a work in progress but this is basically how it works...

I've come up with a list of do's (no "don'ts" on this list!) that is all stuff I know either makes me feel good and/or moves me forward towards my goals.  I'm keeping the list on the fridge and it is turning out to be remarkably helpful in reminding me to do some of the things that just get lost in the busy-ness of my days.

A few items from my list...

7 Hours or more sleep per night

Water, Water, and more Water

Conscious Breathing (no kidding, without a reminder, I do think I forget to breath sometimes- perhaps this has something to do with the little people constantly hanging about me, such as the one "typing" on my back right now- "Can you feel that, Mama?  Can you feel me typing on your back, Mama? Can you feel that, Mama? Mama? Mama?")

20 minutes of exercise

15 minutes playing my guitar

15 minutes studying Portuguese

20 minutes studying for school

Greens!!!!

That is a pretty good sample, I think.  The idea is not to be perfect but to grab the moments I can each day to do something good for me.  It helps me feel that these sometimes long mommy-ing days filled with daily STUFF still actually contain some snippets of "me-time" and that I am moving forward in my life instead of standing still.

One very cool thing the list revealed in its first week is that on the days I exercise in the morning, there are a LOT more checks in every other area throughout the day.  That may seem like a no-brainer but to see it there in black and white on my fridge was actually very enlightening.  Wow- look at that.  I worked out and had a really great day.  Huh.  Who knew?

What are you doing for yourself these days to keep you feeling that your life is GOOD in the moment AND moving in the direction you want?

at last!

It's done!  It's done!  For anyone following our little bathroom remodel saga...it's done!  I am one happy and grateful woman with one tired and overworked husband.  For a little glimpse at how far we have come, you can peek back at where we were on my birthday (and stay tuned for news on what happened to the hat in that post).

This project has been years in waiting and we are so excited to have it complete.  Well...almost complete.  That shower curtain in the photo...well, it is the fourth (and not the final) shower curtain I have tried.  It is now to be considered a placeholder until I find the perfect one or until I get brave enough to try to make one on my new sewing machine (but that is another topic entirely).

For now... I will just sit back and enjoy the results of Rod's months of hard labor.  Hmmm..... think I will sit back in THE TUB!!!  Thank you, Rod!!

Oh, and if you love that little tree picture hanging on the wall as much as I do, check out Rosie La Rosa Art Stuff for a little fun and inspiration.