Unlikely Pioneers

I have always had a unlikely fascination with the life of the American Pioneers.  I say unlikely since most people who know me would peg me a century earlier and an ocean apart as a Jane Austen lady through and through.  And they are right, I would have been much more at home strolling through the manicured grounds of an English country estate, than I would have been trudging along side a dusty covered wagon.  In fact I have always assumed I would not have even made it past the Mississippi if I had lived during that time.  Or perhaps I would have flat out refused to travel West, preferring the comfort of my East Coast life. I am just not cut out for the rugged life of a pioneer.  Perhaps that is why they fascinate me so much with their tenacity, strength and guts.  


Caroline has inherited my Little House on the Prairie interest and is going on three years now of solid pioneer play.  Her bed is routinely a covered wagon and a trip to Hobby Lobby is not complete unless we sit on the wagon wheel bench and pretend we are headed West.  Competing for first place on Caroline's top ten list with Disneyland is a living history museum in Salt Lake City called This Is The Place.  Below are pictures taken from her first trip there at age 4 1/2.  She would have stayed washing that rag all day if I had let her.  She was just as excited when we went again a year later.

Max has been bitten by the bug too, first by playing along with Caroline, often as the role of the buffalo who was about to become dinner.  Later he embraced pioneer life with his obsessive fascination with guns.  When I had the kids picture taken at a western studio he got to hold a real gun (prop) for the first time.  I swear there must be some sort of gun chromosome.  He was so taken with it and so down right adorable, that my mother marched right out of the studio with him and bought him a toy western pistol.  Max loves to play "cowboy" and he has multiple sets of small plastic cowboys and Indians that he will play with for hours.

So, when it came time to plan a joint birthday for the kids a western theme was our/their first choice.  The deal was sealed almost a year ago when we road in a covered wagon at a fall festival.  When I discovered it was for hire, and for less than the cost of a party at our local bounce house party place, party planning commenced!  


I knew right away that this party was going to be a big one, renting a covered wagon is not something you do for only a few children.  In addition, we knew that we were celebrating more than our children's birthdays.  We were celebrating our family and our journey...our own western journey if you will.  We started on a trek that I never dreamed we would take.  A trek for which I felt ill equipped.  Along the way though I have discovered that I am tougher than I thought, our whole family is tougher than we thought.  Instead of broken wagon wheels, dusty trails and flooded rivers, we have dealt with medical tests, blood draws, special schools and diets, and OT and PT.  We didn't find a new physical homestead, but through a rare metabolic disorder we found a new home.  Our new home is a new way of looking at life.  


That is what we really celebrated last Saturday, a new life.  A life we thoroughly love. Ye-haw!


Stay tuned....more party details to follow!

Refreshed!

Well, like anything there was a honeymoon period with homeschooling.  The first few weeks were fun and full of energy and Caroline could not wait to work each day.  But as we moved into weeks four and five things began to slow down for both of us.  I expected this, but I was not sure how to handle it since we were both going through it at the same time.  Caroline began to get harder on herself and easily frustrated.  The whining, deep sighs, and agitated whimpering were less than soothing on my increasingly fraying nerves.  Very quickly I learned that we needed to take a lot of breaks, both of us!  


Ray and I had quite a few discussions about why I was so quick to get my buttons pushed, when I knew full well what was happening to both of us.  Ray is better than any psychologist in my book.  He helped me talk it out and we agreed that the best way to handle it was to look at Caroline as a little Rebecca.  It sounds egotistical, but when you view your child as the child version of yourself, you are suddenly filled with compassion and patience.  The old Golden Rule rings true once again, do unto others as you would have done unto you.  When I pictured my little six year old self getting frustrated with school it transformed me.  I just wanted to pick her up and cuddle her, which in many ways was exactly what she needed, instead of my sighs and frustration.  


This epiphany came just days before a much needed break for myself.  I had no idea that I would need a break as much as I did.  I am so thankful I had a trip planned to visit my dear friend Shelby and my sweet cousin Abbey in North Carolina.   For any new homeschooling families out there, week 6 you will hit a wall, take a vacation...alone!  It was perfect and just what I needed.  With my new attitude about Caroline and school work, I headed off for 5 days of relaxation where the new ideas could sink in some more.


  Visiting Shelby was like going to a spa.  She knows how to treat guests!  There was a cozy robe on the bathroom door and wonderful shampoos and soaps.  The guest room had everything one could want and more.  The bed was a foam bed, like a Temperpedic.  Oh my, I am sold!  It was like sleeping on a cloud!  We had the best time visiting with her son and daughter in law and touring around Charlotte together.  We tried new restaurants and visited every monogram shop we could find!   I ate fried okra for the first time and collard greens with sweet tea.  Shelby and I kept laughing that instead of me saying odd things to my kids (like get the bacon out of your hair), my comments were directed at her.  I never thought I would have to tell someone they had collard greens on their nose...ah Shelby!  The croissant in her hair the next day was equally as funny.  I don't think I was letting her get enough sleep!  My cousin was out of town on a vacation so I only got one day to see her, but it was fabulous even if it was short.  I got to snuggle her sweet kids and see the new house they are building!


I came back all smiles, SO REFRESHED.


AND.....








I got.......








Wait for it..........








A monogram for my car!  

I have a saying that if it slows down long enough I will monogram it.  Poor car, it never had a chance sitting in the garage like that.