Simply, in the 'Burbs

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Birthday Interview: Little Boy at Four

On my children’s birthdays, I interview them, asking them the same set of questions each year. It's fascinating to see how they’re changing and if they have interests that remain the same.

I first heard of these Birthday Interviews on the Sparkling Adventures blog (which is worth checking out, for free range, unschooling, travelling inclined folks).

Anyhoo, Little Boy and Baby Girl just turned four (FOUR!!) last week. And I'm finally getting around to posting part one of their interviews. Enjoy ... these guys are so cute! (I'll be posting Baby Girl's interview in a few days).

What are you going to be when you grow up?

A monster.

What’s that going to be like?

I'll probably be a funny green monster.

What are your favorite toys?

Race cars. And nothing else.

Who are your best friends?

Feeny and Niko.

What makes you happy?

Building stuff and carving pumpkins.

What makes you sad?

When people hurt me.

When you dream at night, what do you dream about?

Riding my bike and pumpkins and that's it.

What do you like to do with Papa?

Hold hands and take a walk to the playground.

What do you like to do with Mama?

Work on things.

What’s your favorite color?

Red.

What’s your favorite book?

The Star Wars books.

What does Daddy do during the day?

Goes to work.

What does Mama do during the day?

Stays with us.

What do you do during the day?

Ride my bike and climb trees. I can climb trees now because I'm 4!

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Little House in the Burbs

It's funny sometimes, the things that you wish for in your children. For me, one of my silent yearnings was for a child who had a love for the Little House books as deep as mine. I had always imagined that this love for LIW would come from a daughter, but I love that right now the child who is as passionate about all things Little House is seven year old Little Guy.

We are immersed in Laura and Pa and Baby Carrie and log cabins and sugaring and covered wagons and everything Little House. All day, everyday. And can I tell you that I am just loving it.

A few things we've been doing!

Although this is something that I do, I invited the children to help me make bread for the family, and then we made our own butter, which feels very very Ma. The Little Guy asked whether we would be shaving a carrot and adding a little boiled carrot juice to the butter so that it was a pretty yellow color as Laura describes Ma doing in Little House in the Big Woods; I replied that we wouldn't. Apparently Ma had a much greater need for 'pretty' than I do! (Here's a link to a post I did a while ago about making butter; it is so so easy, and the kiddos think it is just magical!)

We have been listening to a lot of early fiddle music, which has lead to lots of jigging-style dance parties and whooping in our home. Trust me, it is so much fun to spontaneously jig! I've got my eye on the Arkansas Traveler CD, but for now we are listening to the Pa's Fiddle station on Pandora.

We are working our way through listening to the Little House books on CD in the car; we have been completely enamored by the Cherry Jones narrations (here, here and here), and despite the dozens of times I've read the books, listening to these recordings has brought a new depth of understanding for me. The children have never been so eager to spend time in the car as they are these days - "just one more chapter? Pleeeeeease?"

We have been researching covered wagons, threshing, panning for gold, how to build a log cabin and breaking ponies. We have spent so much time researching these areas, that I think we will be making it official and be doing a Little House unit study this coming year as part of our homeschool curriculum. We'll be using The Prairie Primer by Margie Gray, which is out of print, but there often seem to be copies available on Amazon and eBay.

One last thought! I mentioned that I had often imagined it would be a daughter who would share my love of LIW; but chatting to The Little Guy about the books, he is convinced that Pa is the hero of the books. He is strong, capable, kind and generous of spirit. What more could we want in a hero figure for our young boys! (Check out what Cindy Rollins, a well known Classical homeschooling blogger, says about the Little House books in her post about Books for Cultivating Honorable Boys ... it's all the way down at the end, but the whole post is a good one!)

Monday, July 20, 2015

A Day of Blurgh

I had a lovely post planned for today. It was thoughtful, sweet, well written, proofed and linked, that just needed a little last minute research and delightful photos added.

And then sometimes life just gets in the way.

Instead, I bring you this - a day of blurgh. A couple of weeks of poor sleep culminated in a truly awful night last night, so in a hope to bring a little 'real' here is what my day is looking like.

Children in pajamas, watching Octonauts, in nests of unfolded, clean laundry. And realistically this is what our day will look like, all day.

And that's okay. Because it isn't forever, it's just for today.

Sometimes you just have to know to quit while you're ahead, accept gracefully, and let it go.

Tomorrow, hopefully, we'll get back to our normal routine, the lesson plans and the to do list. But not today. Today is tea, toast, knitting and couch. And Octonauts.

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

A Year of Books

Anyone who knows me will know that I read. A lot!

Although I am never without a book at my side, I was certainly reading less during the first years of mama hood; even I choose sleep over reading. But now that life has a little more down time, I'm enjoying being able to read more.

(I should add here that although I do read a lot, I also listen to at least a third of my books either on CD while I'm in the car, or through Audible or Overdrive via my smart phone . I tend to listen while I do chores around my home, washing dishes and folding laundry and such. I've never been so eager to do chores before!)

I've always loved to check out other people's reading lists, and thought it would be fun to post mine, both noting what I have read and plan to read, and updating now and then.

Classics

~~Ruth, by Elizabeth Gaskell~~

~~Lorna Doone, by R.D. Blackmore~~

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

Jane Eyre, Emy Brönte

Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen